# Here Now & Just Back WDW Reopening Experiences Including Park Hopping



## monica9

*Moderator Note - All Off Topic Posts Will be Deleted*.   Stick to Here Now /Just Back content and relavent questions or your post may be removed from this thread.  The Community Board is a great place to discuss the virus.  Thank you.  

Looking for a thread to check out for the first day back at WDW. The pros, cons, pics, etc.


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## SamFaniam

Maybe you just started it.


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## yulilin3

yep, let me edit the title and people can come here with reports


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## GADisneyDad14

Finally some action on the resort TV.


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## Chris Ehlers

Who will be Streaming Live today in AK?


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## RangerPooh

We’re at AK right now. They weren’t planning to open parking until 7:45 and kept redirecting people to McD, which was full. So at 7:30 they allowed people to line up at the tollbooths. At 7:45 the allowed us to begin parking (already lined up in holding in the lot). We were through the park turnstiles by 7:55. By 8:10 Avatar had a 10 minute wait. So as my family rides I’m enjoying the atmosphere of Pandora


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## Jacq7414

Is there any live stream of the opening of magic kingdom today? I know shanghai had one when they opened


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## paults

looking forward to see how it's going


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## Chris Ehlers

Jacq7414 said:


> Is there any live stream of the opening of magic kingdom today? I know shanghai had one when they opened


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## constanze

So exciting!!! So looking forward to hearing how it's going!!!


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## bernina

We're at Wilderness Lodge and will be heading to MK later today. We did previews on Thursday so not in a rush to get in early. Hoping the main gate rush will have slowed when we arrive. I'm seeing a few boats in the lake but unclear if they're running guests, we're on the Boulder Ridge side so can't see the docks. Have a great day everyone!!!


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## mrsap

Chris Ehlers said:


>



Already watching! There are 3 people streaming so far today! I keep switching between them! No one at AK, though.


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## GADisneyDad14




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## GADisneyDad14

Also resort boat is running. One of the bigger ones.


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## GADisneyDad14

I wish these bus dividers would stay.  Love them!   No one can see me sneaking in some DISBoard posts.


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## CarolynFH

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I wish these bus dividers would stay.  Love them!   No one can see me sneaking in some DISBoard posts.
> 
> View attachment 508615


What?! Couldn’t you promote DISboards before?


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## yulilin3

Anyone can confirm the trams are not running?


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## roomthreeseventeen

This person is also photodocumenting their day on twitter.


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## GADisneyDad14

yulilin3 said:


> Anyone can confirm the trams are not running?



Not at DAK from what I can see.  Although arguably no need - no one is here!


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## IluvMGM

So are the buses not going to be running around an hour before park opening like before?


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## Jacq7414

So excited the boats are running! We love the boat from WL to MK!


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## Spazz2k

Seems like while watching the live feeds, Disney is keeping it at about the same as the preview days for passholders


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## SamFaniam

Spazz2k said:


> Seems like while watching the live feeds, Disney is keeping it at about the same as the preview days for passholders



I agree.  FoP has been a 5 minute wait all day.


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## Llama mama

Ak seems like the place to be today! Great wait times .


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## GADisneyDad14




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## pepperandchips

GADisneyDad14 said:


> View attachment 508651


Did your watermelon socially distance itself to your water glass?


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## GADisneyDad14

pepperandchips said:


> Did your watermelon socially distance itself to your water glass?



Good eyes.  That big ole slice gets in the way of enjoying the beverage.


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## roomthreeseventeen

Please stay safe indoors.


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## SamFaniam

GADisneyDad14 said:


> View attachment 508651



That's my favorite!  Enjoy!!


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## jar

Are the wait times really what the app is posting?  5 minutes for virtually everything at DAK except 15 for Kali?


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## GADisneyDad14

Just FYI, if you had a post removed here it’s because it links to a website now allowed on DISBoards.


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## GADisneyDad14

jar said:


> Are the wait times really what the app is posting?  5 minutes for virtually everything at DAK except 15 for Kali?



It is as empty as I’ve ever seem DAK, IMO.


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## GADisneyDad14




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## brockash

bernina said:


> We're at Wilderness Lodge and will be heading to MK later today. We did previews on Thursday so not in a rush to get in early. Hoping the main gate rush will have slowed when we arrive. I'm seeing a few boats in the lake but unclear if they're running guests, we're on the Boulder Ridge side so can't see the docks. Have a great day everyone!!!


Would love to hear about transportation from the resorts (not sure if you have your own car.)


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## vinotinto

GADisneyDad14 said:


> It is as empty as I’ve ever seem DAK, IMO.


Light crowds at reopening will make for excellent PR/marketing. Hoping this trend stays for at least a few weeks!

Also, do you have a TiW card? did you have to get it extended?


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## brockash

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I wish these bus dividers would stay.  Love them!   No one can see me sneaking in some DISBoard posts.
> 
> View attachment 508615


Do you know what time the buses started running to the parks?


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## GADisneyDad14

brockash said:


> Do you know what time the buses started running to the parks?



I don’t unfortunately.  I kept checking the app this AM but it consistently said bus times are not available.


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## g-dad66

GADisneyDad14 said:


> It is as empty as I’ve ever seem DAK, IMO.




Just curious.  Does an empty park diminish any of the normal feeling of excitement?


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## PPFlight75

GADisneyDad14 said:


> View attachment 508651


Where is that? Looks delicious!


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## brockash

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I don’t unfortunately.  I kept checking the app this AM but it consistently said bus times are not available.


Thanks for checking.  I'm interested to see how they handle the transportation and times, especially at opening.  Hope you have a great day!  Thanks for reporting!


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## pepperandchips

PPFlight75 said:


> Where is that? Looks delicious!


I think he’s at Tiffin’s


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## Jadyreen1282

Have any of the social distancing queues filled up? What happens if the lines fill up to the end. Do they just say go away?


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## yulilin3

Jadyreen1282 said:


> Have any of the social distancing queues filled up? What happens if the lines fill up to the end. Do they just say go away?


no, you just keep making a line outside of the regular queue. There is no end for any queue


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## jar

I don't understand how FoP can ever be five minutes -- seems like waits like that would cause everyone on the park to head other there.

How do crowds at MK feel?  7 Dwarfs at 30 minutes and Space at 15 also seem incredible.


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## yulilin3

jar said:


> I don't understand how FoP can ever be five minutes -- seems like waits like that would cause everyone on the park to head other there.
> 
> How do crowds at MK feel?  7 Dwarfs at 30 minutes and Space at 15 also seem incredible.


I just drove past AK on my way home and the parking lot is like 15% full. It's nuts


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## monica9

oh boy, now I wish we went for opening week. I can't wait until fall 2021!! My wish is for a vaccine to be available by the beginning of February and go then but this set up may just be even better!


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## dorospin

Jadyreen1282 said:


> Have any of the social distancing queues filled up? What happens if the lines fill up to the end. Do they just say go away?


In MK today - no the line just continues. People are being good about keep some space between parties


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## dorospin

jar said:


> I don't understand how FoP can ever be five minutes -- seems like waits like that would cause everyone on the park to head other there.
> 
> How do crowds at MK feel?  7 Dwarfs at 30 minutes and Space at 15 also seem incredible.


Crowds at MK now are really light, but it is brutally hot so come prepared!


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## dorospin

They are running everything at half capacity - on it’s a small world - maybe one family in first row of the boat, and another family on the last row.  For thunder mountain - every other row, etc.  And at least this morning they were only running one side of BTM


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## PPFlight75

pepperandchips said:


> I think he’s at Tiffin’s


Thanks! I haven't been there yet but might need to go!


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## lovethattink

GADisneyDad14 said:


> View attachment 508663



where is this?


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## yulilin3

pepperandchips said:


> I think he’s at Tiffin’s





lovethattink said:


> where is this?


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## GADisneyDad14

Stayed on Kali 3x.  Could have done 3 more.  

They must have things dialed down, you barely get wet.  Splashed yes, wet no.


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## dorospin

Taken at 12:40pm


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## Jacq7414

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Stayed on Kali 3x.  Could have done 3 more.
> 
> They must have things dialed down, you barely get wet.  Splashed yes, wet no.


They probably didn’t want to get everyone’s masks soaking wet


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## osufeth24

Going to AK tomorrow.  Hopefully it's just as dead tomorrow as it is today


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## GADisneyDad14

Jacq7414 said:


> They probably didn’t want to get everyone’s masks soaking wet



But I WANT to get wet.  It’s Real Feel 101!


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## teach004

Question: When riding on a ride like Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Everest, etc...if you are the only party in the ride vehicle...are you allowed to take your mask off while riding? ( I apologize in advance if this was already asked and answered.)


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## GADisneyDad14

lovethattink said:


> where is this?



That pic was at Nomad Lounge.

Frankly I don’t really love being inside smallish restaurants like that,  but I caved because it’s so hot.  The spacing is as best as it came be, which is nice.   Still pushing my personal comfort zone though, if I’m honest.


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## TTA Rider Matt

I have been watching a ton of live streams and reading a lot of comments from people that are currently there, and while I would like to see these FL cases come down (another 10,000) today, it seems like WDW is really operating smoothly between the procedures they have in place, cast members doing an amazing job, and guests being respectful of all of the safety rules. I am supposed to go in 9 days, we have been on the fence for several weeks, and today is really pushing me into “leaning towards going” category.


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## yulilin3

teach004 said:


> Question: When riding on a ride like Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Everest, etc...if you are the only party in the ride vehicle...are you allowed to take your mask off while riding? ( I apologize in advance if this was already asked and answered.)


No


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## dorospin

TTA Rider Matt said:


> I have been watching a ton of live streams and reading a lot of comments from people that are currently there, and while I would like to see these FL cases come down (another 10,000) today, it seems like WDW is really operating smoothly between the procedures they have in place, cast members doing an amazing job, and guests being respectful of all of the safety rules. I am supposed to go in 9 days, we have been on the fence for several weeks, and today is really pushing me into “leaning towards going” category.


I have been so impressed with the precautions - we waited a little longer at haunted mansion because every so many cycles a cast member disinfects every Buggy as they go by before re loading. Social distancing and masks are being strictly enforced.


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## DavidNYC

Are there storms or are they taking rides down periodically for cleaning?  Just checked the app and 13 rides down.


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## TTA Rider Matt

dorospin said:


> I have been so impressed with the precautions - we waited a little longer at haunted mansion because every so many cycles a cast member disinfects every Buggy as they go by before re loading. Social distancing and masks are being strictly enforced.



Thank you so much for this information. Have you had any points during the day where you have felt unsettled at all regarding people being in too close of proximity?


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## yulilin3

DavidNYC said:


> Are there storms or are they taking rides down periodically for cleaning?  Just checked the app and 13 rides down.


Good rule of thumb.  When the rides down are outdoor rides it's 99% chance that it's because of weather.
And yes,  there's a storm rn


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## jar

GADisneyDad14 said:


> That pic was at Nomad Lounge.
> 
> Frankly I don’t really love being inside smallish restaurants like that,  but I caved because it’s so hot.  The spacing is as best as it came be, which is nice.   Still pushing my personal comfort zone though, if I’m honest.


LOVED Nomad Lounge when we visited in February.  Was our first time there.


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## wilkydelts

@yulilin3 I don't have an AP but just curious were you able to make a new park reservation the second you swiped in to MK today?


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## yulilin3

wilkydelts said:


> @yulilin3 I don't have an AP but just curious were you able to make a new park reservation the second you swiped in to MK today?


Im not at Disney today.  First day im using the system is Tuesday,  as soon as i scan in I plan to try and book another day


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## osufeth24

wilkydelts said:


> @yulilin3 I don't have an AP but just curious were you able to make a new park reservation the second you swiped in to MK today?





yulilin3 said:


> Im not at Disney today.  First day im using the system is Tuesday,  as soon as i scan in I plan to try and book another day



When I go to Ak tomorrow, I will try right away


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## Brett Wyman

jar said:


> I don't understand how FoP can ever be five minutes -- seems like waits like that would cause everyone on the park to head other there.
> 
> How do crowds at MK feel?  7 Dwarfs at 30 minutes and Space at 15 also seem incredible.



Small crowds and the “training video” portion  being eliminated have a lot to do it. The trading video exists to help slow and funnel the crowds prior to loading. But with small crowds and COVID times you just walk in and ride the ride.


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## yulilin3

osufeth24 said:


> When I go to Ak tomorrow, I will try right away


Awesome,  please report back and tag me.  Thanks


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## GADisneyDad14

jar said:


> LOVED Nomad Lounge when we visited in February.  Was our first time there.



It’s a personal fav too, love it there. They now have a CM managing tables/seating. Before it was a somewhat unmanaged free for all which had its flaws at high traffic times.

And Tiffins has always been the definition of social distancing (since it’s never that crowded) so we like eating there too.  We ate there after Nomad and it was excellent.  (Note, the menu is not for everyone, so YMMV).


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## yulilin3

GADisneyDad14 said:


> It’s a personal fav too, love it there. They now have a CM managing tables/seating. Before it was a somewhat unmanaged free for all which had its flaws at high traffic times.
> 
> And Tiffins has always been the definition of social distancing (since it’s never that crowded) so we like eating there too.  We ate there after Nomad and it was excellent.  (Note, the menu is not for everyone, so YMMV).


Ther outdoor seating is still open?


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## g-dad66

dorospin said:


> I have been so impressed with the precautions - we waited a little longer at haunted mansion because every so many cycles a cast member disinfects every Buggy as they go by before re loading. Social distancing and masks are being strictly enforced.




How do they social distance you in the dark chamber?


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## GADisneyDad14

yulilin3 said:


> Ther outdoor seating is still open?



Yep.  Reduced tables though.


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## dorospin

g-dad66 said:


> How do they social distance you in the dark chamber?


There is no “stretching room” hold anymore.


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## IluvMGM

dorospin said:


> There is no “stretching room” hold anymore.



I imagine all rides with preshows like that will just let you go through like Tower of Terror, Rock N Roller Coaster, etc..


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## yulilin3

IluvMGM said:


> I imagine all rides with preshows like that will just let you go through like Tower of Terror, Rock N Roller Coaster, etc..


We'll find out about the dhs attractions on Monday, but so far no preshow for hm, fop


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## dorospin

teach004 said:


> Question: When riding on a ride like Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Everest, etc...if you are the only party in the ride vehicle...are you allowed to take your mask off while riding? ( I apologize in advance if this was already asked and answered.)


I saw some people doing this - taking them off once the ride vehicle started moving and then putting back on before ride ended - but I don’t think it’s “allowed”


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## yulilin3

dorospin said:


> I saw some people doing this - taking them off once the ride vehicle started moving and then putting back on before ride ended - but I don’t think it’s “allowed”


It's not.  Disney is clear you can only take the mask off when eating or in the pool


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## GADisneyDad14

Me leaving DAK.


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## monica9

For those that are there, are you comfortable? Do you feel less safe as far as contracting the virus than you would at a grocery store or store in your town?
Are you pleased with what Disney is doing? Happy you made the decision to go?


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## Doingitagain

dorospin said:


> I saw some people doing this - taking them off once the ride vehicle started moving and then putting back on before ride ended - but I don’t think it’s “allowed”


And hopefully no screaming except in your head....


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## MomOTwins

dorospin said:


> I saw some people doing this - taking them off once the ride vehicle started moving and then putting back on before ride ended - but I don’t think it’s “allowed”


It is not allowed, and there is a good reason for the rule.  Covid infected droplets can remain suspended indoors in the air for a considerable period of time after you leave the room.  So if you take off your mask on Splash Mountain and are a carrier, you'll be breathing, singing and occasionally screaming out micro-droplets throughout the indoor portions of the ride, potentially infecting the people in the boat behind you (and probably several other boats).  

*soap box rant* Drives me nuts the disconnect between safety measures and how much the virus spreads.  People feel all comforted by Disney spraying stuff with disinfectant and requiring pointless temperature checks, when really the ONLY rule they actually need is to enforce masks.  Then enforce them some more.  Please if you see someone taking off their mask impermissibly, say something so others don't see it too and follow suit.


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## dorospin

MomOTwins said:


> It is not allowed, and there is a good reason for the rule.  Covid infected droplets can remain suspended indoors in the air for a considerable period of time after you leave the room.  So if you take off your mask on Splash Mountain and are a carrier, you'll be breathing, singing and occasionally screaming out micro-droplets throughout the indoor portions of the ride, potentially infecting the people in the boat behind you (and probably several other boats).
> 
> *soap box rant* Drives me nuts the disconnect between safety measures and how much the virus spreads.  People feel all comforted by Disney spraying stuff with disinfectant and requiring pointless temperature checks, when really the ONLY rule they actually need is to enforce masks.  Then enforce them some more.  Please if you see someone taking off their mask impermissibly, say something so others don't see it too and follow suit.





monica9 said:


> For those that are there, are you comfortable? Do you feel less safe as far as contracting the virus than you would at a grocery store or store in your town?
> Are you pleased with what Disney is doing? Happy you made the decision to go?


yes to all. I definitely feel safer than at the local grocery store.


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## GADisneyDad14

monica9 said:


> For those that are there, are you comfortable? Do you feel less safe as far as contracting the virus than you would at a grocery store or store in your town?
> Are you pleased with what Disney is doing? Happy you made the decision to go?



The answer will vary by the person of course, but overall it feels much safer than my local grocery store, in my opinion.

I am pleased with what Disney is doing and (perhaps more importantly) I am pleased that guests seem to be taking things seriously. I was by no means in the “I’m going no matter what camp” and had some serious misgivings, but I’m content with our decision. 

I could nitpick situations here and there, take ‘scandalous’ photos and post them, etc, but that doesn’t represent the overwhelming majority of situations we’ve encountered.

Not that I know how theme park revenue works, but to me it seems the crowd level at DAK today was unsustainably low, so I wonder how my feelings may change with more bodies around.

But on the whole, I’m frankly surprised/impressed/content.  DAK today was pretty much as Chapek described on that interview many weeks ago that got so much scrutiny.


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## WorldOfPooh

jar said:


> I don't understand how FoP can ever be five minutes -- seems like waits like that would cause everyone on the park to head other there.
> 
> How do crowds at MK feel?  7 Dwarfs at 30 minutes and Space at 15 also seem incredible.



Well if you can't park hop and nobody knew that AK would be open then I could see why it would be so empty since everyone sigend up for MK


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## DisneyMommy77

And it was amazing!!!
Great day! Didn’t feel like we were missing out on anything. I felt safe and observed just about everyone following the rules. I have never seen so much hand sanitizer in my life. It is everywhere! 

Wearing a mask didn’t take away from my experience at all! 

Cast Members all seemed so happy and happy to be back. 

To top it all off, we have Theme Park View Room at The Contemporary! 

Feeling so thankful that we get to have this experience!


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## yulilin3

Please stay on topic,  warning points will be given.  There are other threads where the virus numbers are being discussed


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## DL1WDW2

This morn walking to bus stop expecting no line for MK Bus cause it did not feel like very many people were staying here last night At POP ... the line goes entire length of all the bus stops and worse for MK
And just one bus loading 25 people at a time and resort manager frantically logging on his phone. I assume he is asking for more busses pronto.
Anyway, I noticed an empty AK Bus and decided to check APP for availabilty updates. Got lucky and had a wonderful day at AK cause I already had a wonderful castmember day at MK.
Plus The storms have been powerful which I enjoy too


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## vinotinto

MomOTwins said:


> It is not allowed, and there is a good reason for the rule.  Covid infected droplets can remain suspended indoors in the air for a considerable period of time after you leave the room.  So if you take off your mask on Splash Mountain and are a carrier, you'll be breathing, singing and occasionally screaming out micro-droplets throughout the indoor portions of the ride, potentially infecting the people in the boat behind you (and probably several other boats).
> 
> *soap box rant* Drives me nuts the disconnect between safety measures and how much the virus spreads.  People feel all comforted by Disney spraying stuff with disinfectant and requiring pointless temperature checks, when really the ONLY rule they actually need is to enforce masks.  Then enforce them some more.  Please if you see someone taking off their mask impermissibly, say something so others don't see it too and follow suit.


Louder please for those in the back. All the sanitizing is great, and all, but the virus s
spread through droplets. If everyone wears masks, we’ll prevent the spread.  if guests are allowed to be in attractions without a mask, or without proper mask coverage,, all the cleaning of the surfaces won’t help the droplets and particles from being breathed in. It seems to me they need to redistribute the CMs to have more of them ensuring mask compliance and fewer doing surface cleaning.


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## Randywatson79

MomOTwins said:


> So if you take off your mask on Splash Mountain and are a carrier, you'll be breathing, *singing* and occasionally screaming out micro-droplets...
> 
> People feel all comforted by Disney spraying stuff with disinfectant and requiring pointless temperature checks, when really the ONLY rule they actually need is to enforce masks.  Then enforce them some more.  Please if you see someone taking off their mask impermissibly, say something so others don't see it too and follow suit.



Singing? If I'm singing on a ride, the least of the other guests worries will be covid. 

In all seriousness, strict mask enforcement by CMs is what I want to see/hear about before our September trip, and will make or break our decision to go. Everything else is just safety theater. I hope they do it.


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## yulilin3

I would love to leave this thread open for reports if people that are actually at the parks.
Please stay on topic,  post your experience if you're here or your questions for people that are here now.
No judging who's coming,  no discussion of the virus, no telling people how to spend their money


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## gatordude99

Update: edited a few parts for clarity, and typos especially regarding the snafu with the annual pass renewal.

We just got back from 2 days at MK (passholder preview) and AK (opening day).

We stayed at B Hotel the night before the 7/10 AP preview and attempted to rope drop MK.  There was no point.  As of the way things are right now, there is no rope dropping it, and no reason to try.  Right now they don’t even let cars into the parking lot until like 45 minutes before opening, and the monorails don’t start running until a few minutes before official opening time.

If you do try to rope drop and arrive before the parking lot opens, they wave you through and make you circle back down World Drive.  It's random luck if you happen to arrive at just the perfect instant to be allowed to stay at the parking lot toll booth.  Per the CM at the booth, the opening time is not at the same time every day and they are not allowed to tell guests precisely when it will open so that guests can't try to time it.  Our day, they stopped waving people through at 8:13AM and started allowing people to line up at the tollbooth.  If you get up to the parking lot entrance later than the parking lot opening time and are at the back of the line at the toll booth, but still before park opening time, you might think you can get to the front of the lines into the monorails/ferry by springing for preferred parking.  It won’t work.  The parking staff separately hold up the preferred and handicap parking lines longer than the initial influx to regular parking so that preferred/handicapped arrive at the monorail and ferry stations either at the same time as, or slightly after most of the guests who use regular parking.  When we tried it, we didn't get to park until hundreds of other cars (including many who arrived after us) had already parked and unloaded.  Basically they have set this up so that the first trainload of guests is guaranteed to arrive at the gate right at opening time, but no earlier.

There ended up being no point to rope dropping anyway.  The lines for in-demand rides were less than 30 minutes all day, unless they were down due to mechanical issues or periodic deep cleanings.  Much of the time, the waits were much much less than the posted wait times.  We rode 7DMT with like 4 or 5 brief 20 second pauses in otherwise uninterrupted marches right up to the train...  four times scattered throughout the day.  We rode Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain several times with no wait at all in mid afternoon, etc etc.  Even with the reduced hours, even if we hadn’t repeated rides or stopped for a long lunch at Be Our Guest, we could easily have hit every attraction in the park by 7PM if we had wanted to, without really trying (walking leisurely, just walking up to rides in order of proximity, etc).

After MK, we ate at Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs.  Their rare cuts of sashimi were as good as ever, and contrary to reports we had heard previously, they still have their delicious spare-ribs on their limited coronavirus-era menu.  Our dessert, however, was weak - they took a really nice matcha-flavored panna cotta and covered it in some cafeteria-style strawberries, chocolate crumble and crushed hazelnut flakes or something like that.  Apparently, they are limited to only having 8 chefs at the moment instead of their usual 20, so they don't have a pastry chef.  Prior to the lockdown, Morimoto's had said they were about to start accepting Tables in Wonderland, but our card had expired in April, so we didn't have the gall to try and ask if they would honor it anyway.  Later in our trip, we tried to renew our Tables access, and we were told that all renewals had been put on hold by Disney.  Sounds like they are ending the program, if you ask me - which kind of makes sense being that almost all of the fine dining restaurants at the Disney Resorts and in Epcot remain closed, as well as several of the top restaurants in Disney Springs, and also that you require a park reservation to dine in any of the parks.

Our second night, we stayed at the newly reopened Pop Century.  The only surprise here was that the pools do not currently open until 11AM and capacity is limited, so a CM is going to be checking you in.  Since standard room checkout time is 11AM, we were guessing that this might mean that they are trying to cutdown on demand for the pool by preventing guests from using it on checkout day.  It's always been a bit nebulous about whether you are permitted to use amenities such as the pools that require MagicBand to access, after your official checkout time.  In the past, at least when we have stayed club level, several manager-types at individual resorts have told us that we could have access to the pool, club lounge, etc until midnight on the day we checked out even if our band didn't work, but I have a feeling this has never been official policy.  Now that a CM is keeping track of pool occupancy, and they have to actively let you into the pool, I'm guessing that they won't allow anyone in whose band shows that their checkout time has passed.

We had planned to hit up the pool in the morning and head to AK later, but when we found out about the pool opening time we headed right to the park.  We got there around 9:30AM - 90 minutes after opening.  Entrance was easy, but we did have a problem with one of our tickets (see below) that ate up nearly an hour of our already short day.  FOP line was listed as 5 minutes.  It was only that long because it takes about that long to walk the winding path up to the ride.  Seriously, two parties were ahead of me in line when I got up to the area where they send you to the viewing rooms.  Each party got their own room.  I was solo so I was alone in my room.  Dinosaur we walked right onto.  Same with Navi, same with Safari, same with Everest.  Kali River Rapids looked like a short line, but then we caught it right as their manager apparently decided to clean the rafts.  We got almost up to the front, then had to wait while CMs brought in the rafts 4 at a time (the boarding area holds 5, but apparently the CMs are only allowed to board and clean 4 of them per round) and sprayed them all down with some kind of disinfectant.  The whole process took around 30 minutes, but standing still in the hot sun, it seemed a lot longer than that.  When we got off the first raft run, they let anyone who wanted to go again just loop right back around at the boarding area and board another raft, which was nice of them.

We did encounter one problem, that I think more people may experience as time goes on.  Our son’s annual pass had been due to expire in mid-March, just a few days after the lockdown started.  When the reopening dates were announced, his pass was extended to July 22nd.  Since this put us into the window where we could renew his pass, we renewed it at the end of June.  The renewal covered July 22, 2020 to 2021.  Unfortunately, the Disney ticket system essentially forgot that it had extended his 2019-2020 pass from March 2020 to July 22nd.  It treated him like his pass had expired in March, so when we showed up at AK, the system didn’t have him as an active passholder.  It took around 45 minutes to get this sorted out with Guest Services (in the very hot sun).  Anyone who renews their pass after the lockdown extension, but who plans to visit the parks during the dates covered by the extended dates on the original pass should probably call ahead to sort this out ahead of time.

As for cleanliness, people seemed to have near 100% mask compliance from what we saw.  People also seemed to do very well with following the minimum distancing markings in the lines.  Hand sanitizer was available, and we used it compulsively - though to be fair that should not matter a whole ton when it comes to this kind of virus.  Cast members reminded us politely when our mask fell off our son, or when one of us was standing too close.  We spent much of both days over 6 yards away from the closest other people, let alone 6 feet.  With these crowd levels (and there is no guarantee that levels will remain this restricted as more guests take advantage of hotel reservations as a means of getting into the parks) we felt signficantly safer in the parks than at a supermarket in South Florida right now.

All in all, though it seems unpopular to say right now, we felt like our added risk of getting COVID as a result of this trip was minimal, in exchange for the opportunity to experience once-in-a-generation crowd levels at our beloved Disney Parks.  There was some risk here, but also some reward.  If you haven’t ever gone through the effort and expense of booking and planning a complete weeklong Disney vacation at club level over 3 months out, or have never paid hundreds or thousands for a guide, you may not realize how much it *usually* costs to have a wait-free Disney park experience.


----------



## WEDWDW

For everybody there now,is there EVER a "Heavy feeling" "in the air" because of the Virus situation or is it ALWAYS a "Good Time Rock And Roll Feeling" just like always at WDW?

Thanks.


----------



## mamaofsix

DL1WDW2 said:


> This morn walking to bus stop expecting no line for MK Bus cause it did not feel like very many people were staying here last night At POP ... the line goes entire length of all the bus stops and worse for MK
> And just one bus loading 25 people at a time and resort manager frantically logging on his phone. I assume he is asking for more busses pronto.
> Anyway, I noticed an empty AK Bus and decided to check APP for availabilty updates. Got lucky and had a wonderful day at AK cause I already had a wonderful castmember day at MK.
> Plus The storms have been powerful which I enjoy too


Wow, good quick thinking there on your part to switch parks.

It seems so strange that they wouldn't have anticipated how many buses they would need.  I mean, they would know in advance how many guests at their hotel were registered for MK that day.  And with the limited hours, chances are most guests would want to get there first thing in the morning.  Hopefully they fix the problem soon!


----------



## yulilin3

WEDWDW said:


> For everybody there now,is there EVER a "Heavy feeling" "in the air" because of the Virus situation or is it ALWAYS a "Good Time Rock And Roll Feeling" just like always at WDW?
> 
> Thanks.


No heavy feeling,  more of an aware feeling.  The crowds are so low that you can have fun but still the constant safety spiel every 15 minutes brings you back and you're aware.  The cm are making the magic with their attitudes and positivity


----------



## gatordude99

I was torn about the crowds.  My wife is pretty introverted, so she was in hog heaven with so few people.  If you had a park reservation for today, either you were a DVC member, an AP who woke up early on just the right day a few days ago, a diehard who kept previously purchased tickets throughout the initial lockdown, or else you were a member of the general-admission-paying public slick enough to have made a quick reservation at one of the Disney Springs or Bonnet Creek neighbor resorts and patient enough to get it linked in MDE for your entire family in time to make a reservation.  I guess technically, you also had a few hours to snap up an on-site reservation at Pop Century or something for the 10th or 11th immediately after the reservation system opened up, but I digress.  Bottom line, the people who were here today by and large were experienced Disney guests who knew what they were doing.  And in some ways, I agree with my wife that that's very nice.

Me?  I like the undercurrent of absolute joy that is evident on the faces of the children, and the people who come here from far away who have never been to Disney before.  There weren't very many of those people here today, either because they stayed home due to the virus, or just had no idea how to go about scoring access to admission.  So to me, the atmosphere here seemed lacking.

Also, it was a bit weird seeing so many shops and carts shuttered around the park.  There was always someplace nearby to get whatever you wanted or needed not too far away, but quite a few times I recall thinking, "hmm, I'm thirsty, or I'd like an ice cream" and looking where I knew a snack cart usually was, only to find it was closed.  It was just a bit jarring.

The best part about the atmosphere today was seeing the CMs back to work.  Whether it's because they needed the paycheck badly (all of them) or just that they truly like their jobs (most of them), I think almost all of them were happy being back to work today, and it showed.


----------



## cygnusx1jg

yulilin3 said:


> We'll find out about the dhs attractions on Monday, but so far no preshow for hm, fop


Monday?


----------



## vinotinto

gatordude99 said:


> We did encounter one problem, that I think more people may experience as time goes on.  Our son’s annual pass had been due to expire just a few days after the lockdown started.  So when the parks reopened, his pass was due to expire on July 22nd.  Since this put us into the window where we could renew his pass, we renewed it a week or so before this trip.  *Following the renewal covering July 22, 2020 to 2021, the Disney ticket system essentially forgot that it had extended his 2019-2020 pass from March 2020 to July 22nd.  So when we showed up at AK, the system didn’t have him as an active passholder.  It took around 45 minutes to get this sorted out with Guest Services (in the very hot sun). Anyone who renews their pass after the lockdown extension, but who plans to use their pass during the dates covered by the original pass should probably call ahead to sort this out ahead of time.*


Wow, interesting. Thanks for reporting.


----------



## Davey Jones II

Disney might have to do it this way for years, and even after a successful vaccine, they should consider sticking with a low capacity reservation system. Of course, the only way to do so profitably would be to initiate big price jumps. I believe it would be worth it for them, and even worth it for the fans, because you're paying more, but you're also getting a higher quality vacation -- and you can experience WDW in fewer days.

A couple years from now, masks may or may not be necessary.  But, let's face it, the overcrowding has been insane in recent years, and necessitated elaborate strategies and planning. Currently,  you can just show up and waltz right onto rides -- the low planning, stress free WDW vacation that people have been dreaming of.

Post-Covid (and all of us are looking forward to putting the damn virus in the rear view mirror) should Disney REALLY go back to their "pack 'em in at all costs" sardine can policies?


----------



## Robo

IluvMGM said:


> So are the buses not going to be running around an hour before park opening like before?


To be clear, *under normal conditions*, the Disney resort-to-park buses never started running "around an hour before park opening." (That was a very often repeated myth.)

If the park buses only started running an hour before park opening time, no resort guests could get to their before-opening ADR meals or pre-opening activities (like tours and Bibbity Bobbity Boutique.)
The park buses (*under normal conditions*) began running about 6:30AM, or so, every day.

However, *under the current conditions*, I don't know when they start operating.


----------



## Abigail Broughton

Davey Jones II said:


> I might get lynched for saying this, but what the heck, I already said it  (more or less) back in April.  Disney might have to do it this way for years, and even after a successful vaccine, they should consider sticking with a low capacity reservation system. Of course, the only way to do so profitably would be to initiate big price jumps. I believe it would be worth it for them, and even worth it for the fans, because you're paying more, but you're also getting a higher quality vacation -- and you can experience WDW in fewer days.
> 
> A couple years from now, masks may or may not be necessary.  But, let's face it, the overcrowding has been insane in recent years, and necessitated elaborate strategies and planning. Currently,  you can just show up and waltz right onto rides -- the low planning, stress free WDW vacation that people have been dreaming of.
> 
> Post-Covid (and all of us are looking forward to putting the damn virus in the rear view mirror) should Disney REALLY go back to their "pack 'em in at all costs" sardine can policies?


This is certainly not a wonderful park day for my family. I am not there and I am happy for those excited to be there but going to a Disney park just to get on and off rides is not my idea of a dream day. We like the music on Main Street, stage shows, fireworks, meet and greets. Wearing a mask in the heat of the day with so many restrictions and half the magic for my family is so sad. Our magical moments have always been meandering through the park and coming upon Mary Poppins while having a Nutella waffle at Sleepy Hollow or a picture with the Dapper Dans. Although a great start and so happy the parks are open for us it will be a while before it's worth a visit.


----------



## yulilin3

cygnusx1jg said:


> Monday?


Yes Monday is cm previews


----------



## GADisneyDad14

The DAK character and entertainment boats are a really cool idea, IMO.  Not sure if practical to do if crowds were normal or even a little higher (they create a bit of a mini rush to the few viewing spots on bridges and such when you hear the commotion going by), but this seems like something they could tweak/adjust and continue to do, especially around the RoL theatre where space is abundant.  It added a bit spark, excitement to the vibe which I thought was a nice touch.   They definitely don’t want you sitting around watching these though - they move quickly along.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

GADisneyDad14 said:


> View attachment 508663


Where is this from?


----------



## dorospin

WEDWDW said:


> For everybody there now,is there EVER a "Heavy feeling" "in the air" because of the Virus situation or is it ALWAYS a "Good Time Rock And Roll Feeling" just like always at WDW?
> 
> Thanks.


I felt like everyone was even happier than normal to be at WDW! Mask compliance near 100% at all times and distancing followed - everyone seems to just be happy to be back.


----------



## dorospin

Randywatson79 said:


> Singing? If I'm singing on a ride, the least of the other guests worries will be covid.
> 
> In all seriousness, strict mask enforcement by CMs is what I want to see/hear about before our September trip, and will make or break our decision to go. Everything else is just safety theater. I hope they do it.


I saw several managers in the parks who seemed to be walking around to ensure mask compliance. They are definitely making a huge effort to enforce.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

More about resorts than parks, but a quick experience observation.  At a compact mostly indoors resort like BLT/CR, I definitely saw almost 100% masks.  At a place like Poly which is much more spread out and you have to walk quite a bit outdoors to get to your room, you see more down around the chin, off the ear, etc.  Not a lot, but some.  Disney isn’t the ever-present mask enforcer and spend enough time looking around the resorts and parks and you’ll find various situations that aren’t flawless, but on the whole so far it seems very good.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Where is this from?



Tiffins at Animal Kingdom.


----------



## itsdisneytime

I'm totally greatful for those of you willing to share your experiences.  Im takingvmy daughter August 3rd - she was a Graduating Senior this year - with so many things canceled for her (and many of us), I just agonized with whether or not to postpone our trip.  I ultimately had decided to stay the course & move forward when I was able to make reservations for our park day.  Hearing the wise tips and suggestions is very helpful.  

I do have 1 silly question but ... "how long did your storms last yesterday?" ...
I hear it rains daily in August


----------



## yulilin3

itsdisneytime said:


> I'm totally greatful for those of you willing to share your experiences.  Im takingvmy daughter August 3rd - she was a Graduating Senior this year - with so many things canceled for her (and many of us), I just agonized with whether or not to postpone our trip.  I ultimately had decided to stay the course & move forward when I was able to make reservations for our park day.  Hearing the wise tips and suggestions is very helpful.
> 
> I do have 1 silly question but ... "how long did your storms last yesterday?" ...
> I hear it rains daily in August


it really depends, regular afternoon storms usually last anywhere from 5 min to maybe a couple of hours, there was a tropical disturbance and that brought rainy weather last week, where it rained off and on all day. We are going through a dry stream for the next couple of days
Best advice is just to bring an umbrella or rain poncho and if you look at the radar and there's a big storm coming seek out one of the relaxation (no mask) zones and go there before it fills to capacity so you have a dry spot to ride the storm


----------



## cygnusx1jg

yulilin3 said:


> Yes Monday is cm previews


My bad, forgot about round 2 of the CM previews. With MK and AK open, Epcot and DHS should be even less crowded than round 1.


----------



## yulilin3

cygnusx1jg said:


> My bad, forgot about round 2 of the CM previews. With MK and AK open, Epcot and DHS should be even less crowded than round 1.


not sure, lots of CM chose to go to DHS as their park for preview, so we might actually see more people tomorrow


----------



## osufeth24

yulilin3 said:


> Awesome,  please report back and tag me.  Thanks



Just tried for a random date in August and it wouldn't let me. Said limit was reached


----------



## Jacq7414

osufeth24 said:


> Just tried for a random date in August and it wouldn't let me. Said limit was reached


I wonder if you’ll be able to do it tomorrow after the day is fully over


----------



## osufeth24

Jacq7414 said:


> I wonder if you’ll be able to do it tomorrow after the day is fully over


That's my guess


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

Jacq7414 said:


> I wonder if you’ll be able to do it tomorrow after the day is fully over



Probably full unless people back out.


----------



## yulilin3

osufeth24 said:


> Just tried for a random date in August and it wouldn't let me. Said limit was reached


Check  sept. There are days in aug already full


----------



## vinotinto

Jacq7414 said:


> I wonder if you’ll be able to do it tomorrow after the day is fully over


Maybe it needs to "keep" today's reservation through the end of the day, in case you need to leave and come back.


----------



## osufeth24

I


yulilin3 said:


> Check  sept. There are days in aug already full



The error said park pass limit reached.


----------



## dorospin

itsdisneytime said:


> I'm totally greatful for those of you willing to share your experiences.  Im takingvmy daughter August 3rd - she was a Graduating Senior this year - with so many things canceled for her (and many of us), I just agonized with whether or not to postpone our trip.  I ultimately had decided to stay the course & move forward when I was able to make reservations for our park day.  Hearing the wise tips and suggestions is very helpful.
> 
> I do have 1 silly question but ... "how long did your storms last yesterday?" ...
> I hear it rains daily in August



about 45min on Friday and 20min Saturday - and honestly it was so hot that it was welcome


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Random comment, but just noting that DAK security with the walk through scanners was great yesterday.  Total breeze.  And the new front entrance/security plaza area is fabulous!   Hot and not much shade, but fabulous!   It is really nice to finally see real security structures and lots of capacity at all the parks.  I really like the flow/look getting into DAK now.


----------



## Jacq7414

vinotinto said:


> Maybe it needs to "keep" today's reservation through the end of the day, in case you need to leave and come back.


Yea that makes sense


----------



## reposado

These streamers are at Disney World, visited first aid last night for cough, shortness of breath, and severe vomiting, and were back in Magic Kingdom today complaining of sore throats. Seriously people??


https://v.redd.it/89oavf43mfa51/HLSPlaylist.m3u8


----------



## gatordude99

dorospin said:


> about 45min on Friday and 20min Saturday - and honestly it was so hot that it was welcome


Amen to that.  My wife and I were praying for the rain to come cool us off every time a cloud got near.  Most folks who live here ignore the rain unless there is lightning along with it.  We usually wear comfortable sneakers to the parks, but we carry a pair of flip-flops in our bag for each of us to wear in the rain so we can keep our shoes and socks dry.


----------



## chicagoshannon

reposado said:


> These streamers are at Disney World, visited first aid last night for cough, shortness of breath, and severe vomiting, and were back in Magic Kingdom today complaining of sore throats. Seriously people??
> 
> 
> https://v.redd.it/89oavf43mfa51/HLSPlaylist.m3u8


the one had an allergic reaction to accidentally eating a cashew, she was not ill beyond that.  I watched it happen.  People really need to be careful about what they see/read.  Not everything is true!


----------



## DisneyJade

gatordude99 said:


> All in all, though it seems unpopular to say right now, we felt like our added risk of getting COVID as a result of this trip was minimal, in exchange for the opportunity to experience once-in-a-generation crowd levels at our beloved Disney Parks.  There was some risk here, but also some reward.  If you haven’t ever gone through the effort and expense of booking and planning a complete weeklong Disney vacation at club level over 3 months out, or have never paid hundreds or thousands for a guide, you may not realize how much it *usually* costs to have a wait-free Disney park experience.



I completely understand this. Our girls are only 4 years old, so I don't think we can rely on them to be mask-compliant for a full theme park day, but if they were older, we would consider going now, to experience these park conditions, especially if we could quarantine for 2 weeks afterward. I don't think Disney fans should feel guilty about appreciating low crowds. Obviously no one would choose a pandemic for the circumstance, but it's okay to still feel awed by near-empty parks.

I'll be following this thread and future threads to see if crowds steadily increase over time. We never pulled the trigger on our 2021 reservation out of fear, and I'm debating now about whether it's worth it, just to have a reservation in hand. Thanks, everyone, for reporting your experiences!


----------



## reposado

chicagoshannon said:


> the one had an allergic reaction to accidentally eating a cashew, she was not ill beyond that.  I watched it happen.  People really need to be careful about what they see/read.  Not everything is true!


Food allergy symptoms are not what she described (high blood
Pressure etc).


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

reposado said:


> Food allergy symptoms are not what she described (high blood
> Pressure etc).



She described vomiting (not a symptom of allergies) also. And said the Benadryl she took didn't work. And she doesn't use an epi pen. Obviously, a liar.


----------



## reposado

roomthreeseventeen said:


> She described vomiting (not a symptom of allergies) also. And said the Benadryl she took didn't work. And she doesn't use an epi pen. Obviously, a liar.




Agreed. Bottom line. If you are sick, STAY HOME!
It’s so incredibly selfish to go to the park sick and possibly spread your disease so you can have fun. Imagine going on a ride after her...


----------



## mrsap

roomthreeseventeen said:


> *She described vomiting (not a symptom of allergies) *also. And said the Benadryl she took didn't work. And she doesn't use an epi pen. Obviously, a liar.



I beg to differ. It is. My DS, who has a severe peanut and tree nut allergy, experienced it after he ingested something with peanut. The FIRST symptom he had was severe stomach pain and wanting to vomit.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/peanut-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20376175


----------



## chicagoshannon

roomthreeseventeen said:


> She described vomiting (not a symptom of allergies) also. And said the Benadryl she took didn't work. And she doesn't use an epi pen. Obviously, a liar.





reposado said:


> Food allergy symptoms are not what she described (high blood
> Pressure etc).


Don't know what to tell you except I watched what happened live.  IF you want to see for yourself the live stream from Friday is out there.


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

Even if she just had an allergic reaction, the fact that the medical folks wanted her to stay in the hospital and she left AMA is enough to tell you about how responsible she is.


----------



## AndreaA

chicagoshannon said:


> Don't know what to tell you except I watched what happened live.  IF you want to see for yourself the live stream from Friday is out there.


A sore throat the day AFTER an allergic reaction is not normal.  Maybe she had a reaction, but it sounds like she’s also sick.


----------



## reposado

AndreaA said:


> A sore throat the day AFTER an allergic reaction is not normal.  Maybe she had a reaction, but it sounds like she’s also sick.



Not just a slight sore throat... but bad enough to stop and decide to head for Disney first aid.


----------



## chicagoshannon

AndreaA said:


> A sore throat the day AFTER an allergic reaction is not normal.  Maybe she had a reaction, but it sounds like she’s also sick.


The lady with the sore throat was the vlogger.  The one with the allergic reaction was her friend.  She says her throat was irritated from all the talking/screaming she'd been doing.  That I think is fair to criticize over not the very real allergic reaction her friend had.


----------



## SamFaniam

Can we please set aside the discussion of illness and symptoms, there’s another thread for that. I would just like to hear about people’s personal experiences. Not the experiences that they saw of a Vlogger.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Are we talking about Here Now and Just Back Disney reports, or talking about random bloggers?   Let’s try to move on please. Thank you.


----------



## dorospin

gatordude99 said:


> Amen to that.  My wife and I were praying for the rain to come cool us off every time a cloud got near.  Most folks who live here ignore the rain unless there is lightning along with it.  We usually wear comfortable sneakers to the parks, but we carry a pair of flip-flops in our bag for each of us to wear in the rain so we can keep our shoes and socks dry.


I wish I would’ve had flip flops in my bag! The rain didn’t bother us, but the soaking wet socks and shoes did! Next time for sure will either wear croc type shoes or bring flip flops in case of rain!


----------



## dorospin

DisneyJade said:


> I completely understand this. Our girls are only 4 years old, so I don't think we can rely on them to be mask-compliant for a full theme park day, but if they were older, we would consider going now, to experience these park conditions, especially if we could quarantine for 2 weeks afterward. I don't think Disney fans should feel guilty about appreciating low crowds. Obviously no one would choose a pandemic for the circumstance, but it's okay to still feel awed by near-empty parks.
> 
> I'll be following this thread and future threads to see if crowds steadily increase over time. We never pulled the trigger on our 2021 reservation out of fear, and I'm debating now about whether it's worth it, just to have a reservation in hand. Thanks, everyone, for reporting your experiences!


I was worried about my 4yo wearing her mask all day but honestly she didn’t ask to take it off once. I really think it may be easier for the kids to tolerate than adults!


----------



## dorospin

Waiting on sidewalk to get into MK Saturday at 8:30am. Today, there was no line on the walkway from Contemporary to MK at 8:30am so this probably was just a first day back up!


----------



## IluvMGM

So the bird show at Animal Kingdom is running? Watching it on a live stream now. Maybe without the whole "Up," Part? I thought this was supposed to stay closed, so excited to see you can still see the birds. Has anyone noticed anything else that was supposed to stay closed but is indeed open in some form?


----------



## dorospin

on the carousel- every other line of horses is skipped with just one family per every other line of horses.

We are leaving today - returning July 18. We stayed at Bay Lake and honestly the only times I felt unsafe were at the airport!  After being at WDW with vigilant social distancing, masking and cleaning, the airport did not seem safe. This has made us to decide to drive next time.

I really cannot say enough positive things about the steps Disney has taken to protect everyone.

walking into the magic kingdom Saturday morning and seeing all of the cast members - from senior managers to store clerks and custodians standing on the sidewalk waving and cheering as guests walked down Main Street, was truly magical.

yes some things were closed, and it was definitely a different experience.  If anyone has any specific questions I will do my best to answer from our experience!


----------



## Doingitagain

dorospin said:


> I was worried about my 4yo wearing her mask all day but honestly she didn’t ask to take it off once. I really think it may be easier for the kids to tolerate than adults!


Probably great role modeling by the rest of the family!  Our >2 year old granddaughter was practicing with her princess mask, and made her mom put hers on


----------



## WEDWDW

yulilin3 said:


> No heavy feeling,  more of an aware feeling.  The crowds are so low that you can have fun but still the constant safety spiel every 15 minutes brings you back and you're aware.  The cm are making the magic with their attitudes and positivity


Awesome-we always have said the WDW Cast Members are as important and as much fun as the attractions!

Can't wait for the return of the International and College Program Cast Members!


----------



## WEDWDW

Are the Main Street USA vehicles running?


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

WEDWDW said:


> Awesome-we always have said the WDW Cast Members are as important and as much fun as the attractions!
> 
> Can't wait for the return of the International and College Program Cast Members!



I assume that's a year away, at the very least.


----------



## yulilin3

WEDWDW said:


> Are the Main Street USA vehicles running?


no. They have had some characters on them but not taking guests up and down MS


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Since everyone has one... my opinion of the castle.  Like it from afar (it is beautiful from places like the entrance, CR, Poly, etc).   Don’t like it close up.  Looks better when overcast than in direct sun.  YMMV!


----------



## WEDWDW

roomthreeseventeen said:


> I assume that's a year away, at the very least.


More than likely.

World Showcase will really feel the loss,although I know the CMs assigned to WS will do a FANTASTIC job Wednesday operating the Showcase for the first time in WDW history without International Cast Members!

What do you think the costumes will be for the WS CMs Wednesday?

Will they wear the Country specific ones like the ICMs wear?


----------



## DisneyMommy77

My 6 year old son just had a 10 minute conversation with Jack Sparrow at MK. They talked about all things Pirate. The magic is still here in case your are wondering! It’s another awesome day at MK!!


----------



## Davey Jones II

Are they still doing the live shows, like Lion King and Nemo?


----------



## Dave006

Davey Jones II said:


> Are they still doing the live shows, like Lion King and Nemo?


No not currently.

Dave


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

Davey Jones II said:


> Are they still doing the live shows, like Lion King and Nemo?



The Actor's Equity Union Cast Members were locked out for asking Disney to test their employees.


----------



## jpolak

Looking forward to reading about people’s experiences. Have a great trip stay safe


----------



## CarolynFH

WEDWDW said:


> World Showcase will really feel the loss,although I know the CMs assigned to WS will do a FANTASTIC job Wednesday operating the Showcase for the first time in WDW history without International Cast Members!


We have met more than one international cast member who came on the ICM program and then stayed or came back to work there permanently. The most recent one I can think of was a server at Monsieur Paul’s restaurant. He was from France and was married to a very close friend of Cinderella!

So it’s entirely possible that there will be international cast members staffing World Showcase, even if not as many as before.


----------



## omniscientmommy

@dorospin My 6 yr old is in the same boat! He feels the masks are an accessory while my 9 yr old complains!


----------



## mitsukoshi samurai

CarolynFH said:


> We have met more than one international cast member who came on the ICM program and then stayed or came back to work there permanently. The most recent one I can think of was a server at Monsieur Paul’s restaurant. He was from France and was married to a very close friend of Cinderella!
> 
> So it’s entirely possible that there will be international cast members staffing World Showcase, even if not as many as before.


Probably from the operating participants


----------



## Rosanne

dorospin said:


> View attachment 509128on the carousel- every other line of horses is skipped with just one family per every other line of horses.
> 
> We are leaving today - returning July 18. We stayed at Bay Lake and honestly the only times I felt unsafe were at the airport!  After being at WDW with vigilant social distancing, masking and cleaning, the airport did not seem safe. This has made us to decide to drive next time.
> 
> I really cannot say enough positive things about the steps Disney has taken to protect everyone.
> 
> walking into the magic kingdom Saturday morning and seeing all of the cast members - from senior managers to store clerks and custodians standing on the sidewalk waving and cheering as guests walked down Main Street, was truly magical.
> 
> yes some things were closed, and it was definitely a different experience.  If anyone has any specific questions I will do my best to answer from our experience!



May I ask what size masks your daughters are wearing? I've heard they run small and I'd like to purchase some when we're there but don't want to buy the wrong size.  Thanks!


----------



## dorospin

Rosanne said:


> May I ask what size masks your daughters are wearing? I've heard they run small and I'd like to purchase some when we're there but don't want to buy the wrong size.  Thanks!


Hi! She is wearing a Disney child medium mask. She is 4! My 11 year old daughter wore a standard Disney adult size.


----------



## osufeth24

@yulilin3 

It's weird that today's park reservation is now gone from my MDE, but still saying I've reached my limit (and I've made sure to click on a date that had availability)

Kind of frustrating because I'm trying to get one for HS in Sept before that gets booked up


----------



## skeeter31

osufeth24 said:


> @yulilin3
> 
> It's weird that today's park reservation is now gone from my MDE, but still saying I've reached my limit (and I've made sure to click on a date that had availability)
> 
> Kind of frustrating because I'm trying to get one for HS in Sept before that gets booked up


I’m thinking you’re going to have to wait til tomorrow. Probably to stop people from trying to book another park for the same day.


----------



## Amy11401

dorospin said:


> Hi! She is wearing a Disney child medium mask. She is 4! My 11 year old daughter wore a standard Disney adult size.


Where are they sized as adult verses child?  Online when we bought they are just listed as small, medium and large.  That could be the problem with so many masks that have been bought online.


----------



## Pens Fan

Is the Tiki Room running?  It's included on the list of attractions for MK, but I've yet to see it show up in the wait times on MDE.

Thanks!


----------



## Rosanne

dorospin said:


> Hi! She is wearing a Disney child medium mask. She is 4! My 11 year old daughter wore a standard Disney adult size.


Thanks! Do the adult masks only come in one size? The advertising board seemed to indicate Medium and Large.


----------



## IluvMGM

Pens Fan said:


> Is the Tiki Room running?  It's included on the list of attractions for MK, but I've yet to see it show up in the wait times on MDE.
> 
> Thanks!



It should be. I don't believe it ever showed up with wait times since it is a show.


----------



## Rosanne

IluvMGM said:


> It should be. I don't believe it ever showed up with wait times since it is a show.


I think you were answering someone else.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

dorospin said:


> I was worried about my 4yo wearing her mask all day but honestly she didn’t ask to take it off once. I really think it may be easier for the kids to tolerate than adults!


Nice mask!


----------



## dorospin

Rosanne said:


> Thanks! Do the adult masks only come in one size? The advertising board seemed to indicate Medium and Large.


Oh yes for adults definitely get the large.


----------



## dorospin

Pens Fan said:


> Is the Tiki Room running?  It's included on the list of attractions for MK, but I've yet to see it show up in the wait times on MDE.
> 
> Thanks!


Yes it is


----------



## dorospin

Amy11401 said:


> Where are they sized as adult verses child?  Online when we bought they are just listed as small, medium and large.  That could be the problem with so many masks that have been bought online.


We bought ours at Disney and the child sizes labeled “child” so not sure online how it works


----------



## dorospin

TTA Rider Matt said:


> Thank you so much for this information. Have you had any points during the day where you have felt unsettled at all regarding people being in too close of proximity?


Honestly no at WDW. The airport thought, totally different story!!


----------



## BK2014

DW and I did castmember previews at MK on Wednesday. Have been following the updates this weekend.  Felt perfectly fine being back, only because of the low crowd size and social distancing measures.  Really enjoyed having an entire monorail car section to ourselves, the lack of busy restrooms and low wait times.  As others have mentioned, I am concerned that these low crowd levels are unsustainable/unprofitable.  Would hate to see crowd sizes increase, or price increases, but would probably prefer the latter.  But when all the resorts eventually open, I don't see how increasing capacity is avoidable.

I was impressed by the mask wearing.  Did not see anyone without one, even the children seemed willing to deal with it in the heat.  And it was hot.  Social distancing seems to be the biggest problem, especially with younger people.  This is understandable. Especially in queues that are moving, you get excited and don't realize the people in front of you are slowing down or stopping until you get too close. Or you're just so excited.  On some of the rides, like Peter Pan, with some of the twists and turns in the queues it is hard to see the next social distancing marker from where you are.  

Only disappointment from the castmember day was that the Peoplemover was not running with guests for some reason while we were there.


----------



## njcoach24

So impressed with what I’ve read on this forum about opening weekend. Makes we want to go this year instead of next. Spent last night in Atlantic City and it was PACKED and the casinos weren’t doing a good job at all regulating any COVID Measure and guests were not wearing makes or wearing them incorrectly...made me very uncomfortable to return to a hotel but these reports sound like Disney is doing a much better job (and the guests too) than other big companies.


----------



## yulilin3

BK2014 said:


> DW and I did castmember previews at MK on Wednesday. Have been following the updates this weekend.  Felt perfectly fine being back, only because of the low crowd size and social distancing measures.  Really enjoyed having an entire monorail car section to ourselves, the lack of busy restrooms and low wait times.  As others have mentioned, I am concerned that these low crowd levels are unsustainable/unprofitable.  Would hate to see crowd sizes increase, or price increases, but would probably prefer the latter.  But when all the resorts eventually open, I don't see how increasing capacity is avoidable.
> 
> I was impressed by the mask wearing.  Did not see anyone without one, even the children seemed willing to deal with it in the heat.  And it was hot.  Social distancing seems to be the biggest problem, especially with younger people.  This is understandable. Especially in queues that are moving, you get excited and don't realize the people in front of you are slowing down or stopping until you get too close. Or you're just so excited.  On some of the rides, like Peter Pan, with some of the twists and turns in the queues it is hard to see the next social distancing marker from where you are.
> 
> Only disappointment from the castmember day was that the Peoplemover was not running with guests for some reason while we were there.


it's still closed  that was my only disappointment as well


----------



## RN_Mama_inFL

So far we’ve had great experiences at MK yesterday and AK today. It seems pretty empty as far as crowds go. 
Wait times seem to be posted a tad under what it really is. For example, IASW yesterday was posted at 5 minutes, but it was really 12. Not a big deal but a difference. Same today for FOP. Posted time was 10 minutes and I waited about 15. And there was a little pre-ride movie thing. It was my first time so I’m not sure if that’s what people had said they were skipping?

Only had a couple instances where people were not following guidelines. One person walking with mask down and drinking. Another when we were seated eating outside of Yak & Yeti, the tables are marked so you can only sit every other table to keep people spaced and one family just ignored the sign and sat next to us. Then the guy put a pair of shoes ON the table. So we moved away.

Other than that it’s been great!! Even met and spoke with Jeff Vahle yesterday at CR and he was super nice and remembered us from earlier in the day.

I will echo @yulilin3 and say to eat at off-peak times because lunch is CRAZY busy to mobile order at the few open places. Today we decided to eat at 11 and it was much better, no wait.


----------



## osufeth24

yulilin3 said:


> it's still closed  that was my only disappointment as well



Same.   Was also hoping to get a better look of Tron as well


----------



## yulilin3

osufeth24 said:


> Same.   Was also hoping to get a better look of Tron as well


yes always looking forward to Tronstruction updates


----------



## Skippyboo

How are the buses between parks and resorts working?


----------



## Chisoxcollector

We were at AK today.  Crowd levels were great.  We rode Flight of Passage 3 times with no wait.  The only wait we had the whole day was for our first ride on Na'vi River Journey, which ended up being a 33 minute wait.  It was so strange.  We walked right onto FoP, and then waited 33 minutes for NRJ.  We also had a great lunch at Tiffins without a reservation.  Also, the new version of the bird show is really great!

As for the masks, I don't seem to be having the same great experiences everybody else is having.  We easily saw 50+ people with their noses uncovered during the 6 hours we were there.  Also many with masks down that either weren't eating/drinking at all, or were just carrying a Dasani bottle or whatever.  Many of these walked right by cast members without being called out.  We saw ONE cast member (good job whoever you are) tell somebody to pull their mask over their nose. When they seated your party at Tiffins, they asked that if you used the restroom, to please put your mask back on.  I'd say half the people ignored that and walked to the bathroom with no mask.

Also, lots of people had their masks off to eat or drink in the Na'vi River Journey queue, including the family in front of us and the family behind us while the line was at a standstill for 15 minutes.  I think they need to ban that.  What am I supposed to do when the family in front of me and the family behind me all take their masks off to have a snack?  I'm surrounded by people with no masks, with nowhere to go.  I can't believe that's allowed.

The last issue I saw was exiting rides.  There was NO social distancing exiting rides.  Multiple times I had to ask people to get away from me, as they literally walked right up to be shoulder to shoulder with me, and one even kicked the back of my shoe.  These people can't seem to be bothered if there aren't signs on the ground guiding them.

Overall, despite the issues with inconsiderate, selfish jerks and a lack of enforcement on Disney's part, we had a great time.  The crowd levels were low enough that for the most part we could avoid those people.  The queues and exits were the exception.


----------



## HollyMD

Just curious. We’re the families in the queue having their snacks following the social distancing spacing?


----------



## Chisoxcollector

The group in front of us was probably only 3 feet away from us, as they spread out behind their marker on the ground when they sat down.

When we're out in the open, I have the option of steering clear of idiots with their masks down.  When I am trapped in a queue, I have no options whatsoever.  Their apparently overwhelming need to eat right that second apparently trumps my desire to feel safe.

Every time we got a snack or a drink, we found a tucked away corner with nobody around before taking our masks off.  I don't see why that is so hard?


----------



## njcoach24

Chisoxcollector said:


> The group in front of us was probably only 3 feet away from us, as they spread out behind their marker on the ground when they sat down.
> 
> When we're out in the open, I have the option of steering clear of idiots with their masks down.  When I am trapped in a queue, I have no options whatsoever.  Their apparently overwhelming need to eat right that second apparently trumps my desire to feel safe.
> 
> Every time we got a snack or a drink, we found a tucked away corner with nobody around before taking our masks off.  I don't see why that is so hard?



Since starting to experience going out more it seems these business aren't capable to police people who choose to put others in harm. But after seeing many similar things (not in Disney) it seems people lack complete knowledge of personal space, training on how to actually wear a mask correctly (or maybe education as to why they need to wear it correctly), and mindfulness on when it is acceptable or not acceptable to wear. With what I saw last night in Atlantic City we going to be in big trouble for a long time.


----------



## DisneyRegulars

g-dad66 said:


> Just curious.  Does an empty park diminish any of the normal feeling of excitement?


We went in the years after 9/11 and it was eerie when the parks were empty.


----------



## gatordude99

RN_Mama_inFL said:


> And there was a little pre-ride movie thing. It was my first time so I’m not sure if that’s what people had said they were skipping?



Previously, the ride had two separate pre-ride movies.  The first was in a big square-ish room holding up to 14 people inside, where the younger male scientist (Dr. Stephens) would tell you about the avatar matching and the banshees, and performs genetic matching with your avatars.  Then a bit further up, you'd enter a second long skinny room where the director of the center Dr. Ogden would give her little pep talk and the instructions on how to enter the ride area itself.  The first larger room, you'd be in close proximity to lot more people.  In the second room, you'd only really be close to the person to your left and to your right.  So what they did was they eliminated the first room and have you proceed directly to the second room.  In the second room, they now show you a much shorter movie with messages from both Dr. Stephens and Dr. Ogden.

The original first movie was interesting, in that the ride operators could make the presentation shorter or longer depending on the needs of the queue.  Most of the time, in addition to the introdution and the matching, it has a little "surprise" I won't ruin for you, for when you eventually get to see it when this all blows over.


----------



## FeralCatRogue

Rosanne said:


> Thanks! Do the adult masks only come in one size? The advertising board seemed to indicate Medium and Large.


The masks from Disney are very oddly sized, at least ones ordered online. Ordered medium adult my Elsa build a bear is enjoying it because it fits her not me.


----------



## Davey Jones II

yulilin3 said:


> yes always looking forward to Tronstruction updates



They have resumed construction?


----------



## yulilin3

Davey Jones II said:


> They have resumed construction?


No clue


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Dang, still hard to find an open treat/beverage cart in MK.  I want to buy a Mickey Bar Disney!!


----------



## yulilin3

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Dang, still hard to find an open treat/beverage cart in MK.  I want to buy a Mickey Bar Disney!!


The 2 carts on the hub are closed? They were open on Thursday


----------



## GADisneyDad14

yulilin3 said:


> The 2 carts on the hub are closed? They were open on Thursday



I think those are open.  Others deeper in the park aren’t.  I assume they want to dissuade taking your mask off eating an ice cream bar and such, if that’s the case it’s working.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

So... shiny.


----------



## SamFaniam

The colors are a little jarring, but at least it’s not a cake!


----------



## pepperandchips

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Dang, still hard to find an open treat/beverage cart in MK.  I want to buy a Mickey Bar Disney!!


If you don’t get your fix in the park you can probably get one at Captain Cook’s (or Contempo, wherever is convenient)


----------



## Yooperroo

Chisoxcollector said:


> The group in front of us was probably only 3 feet away from us, as they spread out behind their marker on the ground when they sat down.
> 
> When we're out in the open, I have the option of steering clear of idiots with their masks down.  When I am trapped in a queue, I have no options whatsoever.  Their apparently overwhelming need to eat right that second apparently trumps my desire to feel safe.


Do you have to move to the next marker? In a situation like this, couldn't you just choose to hang back and leave one of the social distancing markers spaced in between you and the party in front of you, giving you more space? This is what I had planned on doing. And if the folks behind us take their masks off, I was going to politely ask them to leave an extra space between us and them while their masks were off.


----------



## yulilin3

Yooperroo said:


> Do you have to move to the next marker? In a situation like this, couldn't you just choose to hang back and leave one of the social distancing markers spaced in between you and the party in front of you, giving you more space? This is what I had planned on doing. And if the folks behind us take their masks off, I was going to politely ask them to leave an extra space between us and them while their masks were off.


Yes you can.  The space is relatively small for a larger group so this kind of situation will happen,  i just left 2 spaces between the large group and myself


----------



## only hope

RN_Mama_inFL said:


> Only had a couple instances where people were not following guidelines. One person walking with mask down and drinking.



From what I've read, you are allowed to have your mask down if you are drinking something. Universal is the same way. Walking around with a mask down and holding a beverage is not ok. People need to stay hydrated. I'm with other posters though, masks should stay on the entire time while in queues, especially inside. It's the safest thing to do.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

We left empty spaces when we entered the queue for our last FoP ride behind two guys with drinks that had their masks off for the entire length of the very long queue.  The cast members kept trying to make us fill the empty space, and every time I would say I refused to go any closer to jerks without masks.

In my previous example, we didn't know the parties around us were going to have a picnic in the queue until it was too late.  And you don't really have time to tell the people behind you to leave an empty space, as they get to their line pretty much the same time you do, and the people behind them are about 1 second behind.


----------



## HollyMD

Question for anyone that has taken DME. Are they still getting your baggage for you? And if so, are they delivering to room or do we pick up at bell services?


----------



## Doingitagain

HollyMD said:


> Question for anyone that has taken DME. Are they still getting your baggage for you? And if so, are they delivering to room or do we pick up at bell services?


No luggage service as of July 15.  You have to pick it up from baggage claim yourself and bring it with you to the bus to the resort (like you did before if you landed after 10 pm).  No resort service for luggage to the airport when you depart, either.


----------



## HollyMD

Thank you!


----------



## brockash

Chisoxcollector said:


> We were at AK today.  Crowd levels were great.  We rode Flight of Passage 3 times with no wait.  The only wait we had the whole day was for our first ride on Na'vi River Journey, which ended up being a 33 minute wait.  It was so strange.  We walked right onto FoP, and then waited 33 minutes for NRJ.  We also had a great lunch at Tiffins without a reservation.  Also, the new version of the bird show is really great!
> 
> As for the masks, I don't seem to be having the same great experiences everybody else is having.  We easily saw 50+ people with their noses uncovered during the 6 hours we were there.  Also many with masks down that either weren't eating/drinking at all, or were just carrying a Dasani bottle or whatever.  Many of these walked right by cast members without being called out.  We saw ONE cast member (good job whoever you are) tell somebody to pull their mask over their nose. When they seated your party at Tiffins, they asked that if you used the restroom, to please put your mask back on.  I'd say half the people ignored that and walked to the bathroom with no mask.
> 
> Also, lots of people had their masks off to eat or drink in the Na'vi River Journey queue, including the family in front of us and the family behind us while the line was at a standstill for 15 minutes.  I think they need to ban that.  What am I supposed to do when the family in front of me and the family behind me all take their masks off to have a snack?  I'm surrounded by people with no masks, with nowhere to go.  I can't believe that's allowed.
> 
> The last issue I saw was exiting rides.  There was NO social distancing exiting rides.  Multiple times I had to ask people to get away from me, as they literally walked right up to be shoulder to shoulder with me, and one even kicked the back of my shoe.  These people can't seem to be bothered if there aren't signs on the ground guiding them.
> 
> Overall, despite the issues with inconsiderate, selfish jerks and a lack of enforcement on Disney's part, we had a great time.  The crowd levels were low enough that for the most part we could avoid those people.  The queues and exits were the exception.


Thanks for the report.  Were you still socially distanced in the lines?  Like at Navi with the ppl. snacking; are you saying they were also close to you, like they didn't follow the markers on the ground?  If so, that would definitely frustrate me.  If they were still socially distanced; then it wouldn't bother me...I think that kind of thing is going to and currently does happen a lot and as far as I can tell reasonably speaking having ppl either socially distanced or with a mask is pretty decent.  If you have both that's just icing on the top, but I fully expect to only have 1 of those things happening when I'm out and about


----------



## Chisoxcollector

brockash said:


> Thanks for the report.  Were you still socially distanced in the lines?  Like at Navi with the ppl. snacking; are you saying they were also close to you, like they didn't follow the markers on the ground?  If so, that would definitely frustrate me.  If they were still socially distanced; then it wouldn't bother me...I think that kind of thing is going to and currently does happen a lot and as far as I can tell reasonably speaking having ppl either socially distanced or with a mask is pretty decent.  If you have both that's just icing on the top, but I fully expect to only have 1 of those things happening when I'm out and about


For the most part, people did follow the social distance markers in the queues.  There would be certain people that always went 2 steps past their marker, every single time. That was annoying. And occasionally people would absent mindedly go past their marker, not realizing the line had stopped ahead of them.  Usually they would then scamper back to their marker, but sometimes the next party would have already reached that marker, meaning they were now only 3 feet from the parties around them.  But overall I do believe almost everyone was trying to follow the markers.

In that specific Navi queue, the party ahead of us went to their correct marker.  But when they sat down, they spread out behind their marker, bringing the closest person to within about 3 feet of us.  Part of the problem is that Disney measured exactly 6 feet between most of the markers,  which means that groups with more than 1-2 people will typically be much closer than 6 feet away from the next party.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

More resorts than parks again, sorry. Having the benefit of now seeing two resorts - CR/BLT and now Poly, not a shocking statement about WDW, but not all resort operations are created equal.   At BLT this past week, cleaning around the pool was abundant.  If you got up and took your stuff, 8 out of 10 times they’d come clean your chairs.  CMs were quick to tell you when you leave to put your chair back down to indicate you were leaving and it needed cleaning.   CMs were wiping surfaces, including the entire handrail up the slide, frequently.

Can’t say I have seen the same level of detail at Poly yesterday or today.  Yes, some CMs do chair cleaning, but it’s not as abundant or as frequent as what I saw at BLT.  If you got a drink at the BLT bar, you needed a mask and CMs were quick to tell you.  Poly pool bar, not so much.  The Poly pool was also more on the crowded side of things (although not as bad as a normal July day).  I won’t go so far as to say it was a “bad” situation, it was just different than what we had experienced at BLT.  Admittedly, the guest count between the two was quite different. 

So, in somewhat usual WDW fashion, a good example of how conditions/experiences will vary from location, park, resort, CM, etc.  And as more people arrive on property, early experiences may change.

In terms of parks, popped into MK for the last two hours today and it was pretty darn empty. Very much After Hours like.   It was almost a little sad, to be honest.  

Bought a balloon on Main Street.  CM could take cash, band, or credit card.  Asked their preference and CM said no preference.  Paid cash with no issues.


----------



## coubogle

Chisoxcollector said:


> We were at AK today.  Crowd levels were great.  We rode Flight of Passage 3 times with no wait.  The only wait we had the whole day was for our first ride on Na'vi River Journey, which ended up being a 33 minute wait.  It was so strange.  We walked right onto FoP, and then waited 33 minutes for NRJ.  We also had a great lunch at Tiffins without a reservation.  Also, the new version of the bird show is really great!
> 
> As for the masks, I don't seem to be having the same great experiences everybody else is having.  We easily saw 50+ people with their noses uncovered during the 6 hours we were there.  Also many with masks down that either weren't eating/drinking at all, or were just carrying a Dasani bottle or whatever.  Many of these walked right by cast members without being called out.  We saw ONE cast member (good job whoever you are) tell somebody to pull their mask over their nose. When they seated your party at Tiffins, they asked that if you used the restroom, to please put your mask back on.  I'd say half the people ignored that and walked to the bathroom with no mask.
> 
> Also, lots of people had their masks off to eat or drink in the Na'vi River Journey queue, including the family in front of us and the family behind us while the line was at a standstill for 15 minutes.  I think they need to ban that.  What am I supposed to do when the family in front of me and the family behind me all take their masks off to have a snack?  I'm surrounded by people with no masks, with nowhere to go.  I can't believe that's allowed.
> 
> The last issue I saw was exiting rides.  There was NO social distancing exiting rides.  Multiple times I had to ask people to get away from me, as they literally walked right up to be shoulder to shoulder with me, and one even kicked the back of my shoe.  These people can't seem to be bothered if there aren't signs on the ground guiding them.
> 
> Overall, despite the issues with inconsiderate, selfish jerks and a lack of enforcement on Disney's part, we had a great time.  The crowd levels were low enough that for the most part we could avoid those people.  The queues and exits were the exception.


I agree with you on exiting of rides, my children did it a couple times and I had to tell them to wait for it to clear, but it was mostly adults doing it.


----------



## scrappinginontario

yulilin3 said:


> not sure, lots of CM chose to go to DHS as their park for preview, so we might actually see more people tomorrow


Were the CMs limited to one park for preview?  Would  make sense many would choose DHS as they were closed to them (I believe) once RotR opened.  Hope many finally get to ride it!!


----------



## coubogle

Skippyboo said:


> How are the buses between parks and resorts working?


We are staying at kidani and rode the bus to magic kingdom yesterday, the buses are supposed to start running at 8:30 to the magic kingdom but a transportation guy came by and said it would be there at 8:15, it showed up at 8:07. Seated us by family size and try to take people who were standing there first, only allowing about 20 people on the bus. There was another magic kingdom bus behind ours and it looked like it could get everyone else. We arrived at the bus stop at 7:45 and there was already 3 families waiting.


----------



## yulilin3

scrappinginontario said:


> Were the CMs limited to one park for preview?  Would  make sense many would choose DHS as they were closed to them (I believe) once RotR opened.  Hope many finally get to ride it!!


Yes


----------



## annadreamsofdisneyworld

It's disappointing but not surprising to hear about all the people in the parks wearing their masks incorrectly or keeping them off to snack in line/pretend to eat or drink while walking around. I'm betting that most people going to Disney World during the pandemic and Florida's surge in cases are those who don't worry about getting coronavirus so they don't bother following the rules. I really wish Disney cast members would stop this behavior. All this just confirms that we made the right decision in canceling, as tempting as the low wait times are.


----------



## monkeydawn

Chisoxcollector said:


> The group in front of us was probably only 3 feet away from us, as they spread out behind their marker on the ground when they sat down.
> 
> When we're out in the open, I have the option of steering clear of idiots with their masks down.  When I am trapped in a queue, I have no options whatsoever.  Their apparently overwhelming need to eat right that second apparently trumps my desire to feel safe.
> 
> Every time we got a snack or a drink, we found a tucked away corner with nobody around before taking our masks off.  I don't see why that is so hard?



If they were on the ground then you at least have the comfort of knowing gravity probably helped keep you safe.  As I understand it the particles expel out and then naturally start to fall unless something forces the droplets in another direction.  While I dont agree with snacking in line (D should probably ban this) if you have someone that just has to eat while in line, making that person sit on the ground is probably the safest position.

And theme parks or other places that are having families/ groups queue up together probably should be using 8 foot or more markers to allow for spread!


----------



## yulilin3

Dhs parking opening at 9:15


----------



## westie55

What time of day did you arrive, to what park, and how long was the line to get in?


----------



## yulilin3

westie55 said:


> What time of day did you arrive, to what park, and how long was the line to get in?


Parking lots are opening 45 min before park opens.  The fact that there's no tram service scatters arrival so the entrance isn't congested


----------



## Mamiamjo

coubogle said:


> We are staying at kidani and rode the bus to magic kingdom yesterday, the buses are supposed to start running at 8:30 to the magic kingdom but a transportation guy came by and said it would be there at 8:15, it showed up at 8:07. Seated us by family size and try to take people who were standing there first, only allowing about 20 people on the bus. There was another magic kingdom bus behind ours and it looked like it could get everyone else. We arrived at the bus stop at 7:45 and there was already 3 families waiting.


Are the buses taking You to the TTC, or to the park  bus area?


----------



## Chris Ehlers

Anyone Streaming DHS on YouTube today?


----------



## wilkydelts

yulilin3 said:


> Dhs parking opening at 9:15



Are they just holding cars until the designated time they allow parking or are they turning you away and you have to drive aimlessly or hideout somewhere else parked? (This question also applies to all parks, if it is a different answer per park)


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Please keep posts focused on the topic at hand.  Discussion of the virus can take place on the Community Board.  Thank you.


----------



## coubogle

Mamiamjo said:


> Are the buses taking You to the TTC, or to the park  bus area?


The to park


----------



## coubogle

Mamiamjo said:


> Are the buses taking You to the TTC, or to the park  bus area?


The to park


coubogle said:


> The to park


Sorry I meant to say to the park


----------



## only hope

monkeydawn said:


> If they were on the ground then you at least have the comfort of knowing gravity probably helped keep you safe.  As I understand it the particles expel out and then naturally start to fall unless something forces the droplets in another direction.  While I dont agree with snacking in line (D should probably ban this) if you have someone that just has to eat while in line, making that person sit on the ground is probably the safest position.
> 
> And theme parks or other places that are having families/ groups queue up together probably should be using 8 foot or more markers to allow for spread!



Universals markers are generally spaced out more than six feet apart for this reason.


----------



## Epcot242

It seems that it isn't necessary to arrive right at rope drop anymore, from what I'm reading here. While we're still on the fence, we're excited at the possibility of a trip where we don't have to get up super early every single morning and for the chance of staying at the resort a little more (scored a great deal on the BCV). 

Are people who have been finding that if you get there later, maybe half-hour/hour after park open, that wait times are fine? We'd love to avoid the crush of rope drop guests if possible.


----------



## Mamiamjo

Epcot242 said:


> It seems that it isn't necessary to arrive right at rope drop anymore, from what I'm reading here. While we're still on the fence, we're excited at the possibility of a trip where we don't have to get up super early every single morning and for the chance of staying at the resort a little more (scored a great deal on the BCV).
> Are people who have been finding that if you get there later, maybe half-hour/hour after park open, that wait times are fine? We'd love to avoid the crush of rope drop guests if possible.


I'd like to know that as well. It appears that certain ride waits may be shorter at park open and certain ones longer later on. Need to see if a pattern forms


----------



## dorospin

Mamiamjo said:


> I'd like to know that as well. It appears that certain ride waits may be shorter at park open and certain ones longer later on. Need to see if a pattern forms


Our experience on Saturday at the Magic Kingdom was that the wait times definitely dropped as the day went on - part of this is probably due to the crushing heat.  Walking around at 2-3pm was brutal.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

Epcot242 said:


> It seems that it isn't necessary to arrive right at rope drop anymore, from what I'm reading here. While we're still on the fence, we're excited at the possibility of a trip where we don't have to get up super early every single morning and for the chance of staying at the resort a little more (scored a great deal on the BCV).
> 
> Are people who have been finding that if you get there later, maybe half-hour/hour after park open, that wait times are fine? We'd love to avoid the crush of rope drop guests if possible.





Mamiamjo said:


> I'd like to know that as well. It appears that certain ride waits may be shorter at park open and certain ones longer later on. Need to see if a pattern forms



I can only speak to how AK was on Sunday.  We arrived at 9am, 1 hour after rope drop.  We went straight to Flight of Passage, and it was almost a walk-on.  We then did Na'vi River Journey, and had about a 30 minute wait.  Then we did Kilimanjaro Safaris and it was a walk on.  When we got of KS, Expedition Everest was showing a 20 minute wait.  By the time we got to it after seeing the bird show EE was down.  We then did Dinosaur which was a walk on.  After our lunch at Tiffins, Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey were both near walk-ons.  Kilimanjaro Safaris was showing a 5 minute wait.

So, assuming Disney doesn't increase capacity, I think it's fair to say that rope drop is much less important than it used to be.


----------



## yulilin3

wilkydelts said:


> Are they just holding cars until the designated time they allow parking or are they turning you away and you have to drive aimlessly or hideout somewhere else parked? (This question also applies to all parks, if it is a different answer per park)


Before 9 they were having us go around.  No where to hide,  you either keep driving or park somewhere and wait


----------



## Chrisinroch

So what are the daily admissions this first week?


----------



## westie55

How crowded do the restaurants feel, both quick service and table service?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Chrisinroch said:


> So what are the daily admissions this first week?


 Disney doesn’t release numbers.


----------



## GBRforWDW

scrappinginontario said:


> Disney doesn’t release numbers.


Need to find someone willing to stand out front with their own little clicker counter


----------



## OSUZorba

Chrisinroch said:


> So what are the daily admissions this first week?


USA Today estimated 16,000 on Saturday, no idea how they did that estimate.


----------



## GBRforWDW

monkeydawn said:


> If they were on the ground then you at least have the comfort of knowing gravity probably helped keep you safe.  As I understand it the particles expel out and then naturally start to fall unless something forces the droplets in another direction.  While I dont agree with snacking in line (D should probably ban this) if you have someone that just has to eat while in line, making that person sit on the ground is probably the safest position.
> 
> And theme parks or other places that are having families/ groups queue up together probably should be using 8 foot or more markers to allow for spread!


I get the sentiment behind banning eating in lines, however, there are times where it becomes unavoidable.  People should get the needs taken care of before entering a line, but if you get into a line that is unexpectedly longer, or stops moving for a long period of time and you have no way to exit, and a snack item is necessary, either hanger sets in, someone with diabetes needs a bite, kids getting upset, etc, theres many reasons not to ban food.  Just keep your own mask on when near someone that is eating and you'll remain protected.


----------



## wilkydelts

yulilin3 said:


> Before 9 they were having us go around.  No where to hide,  you either keep driving or park somewhere and wait



I don’t think I said it clearly can you get there say 8:15 and just sit in car in line at toll booth or they make you go somewhere else?


----------



## yulilin3

wilkydelts said:


> I don’t think I said it clearly can you get there say 8:15 and just sit in car in line at toll booth or they make you go somewhere else?


Before 9 you have to drive around,  you can't stop at the toll and wait


----------



## gatordude99

wilkydelts said:


> I don’t think I said it clearly can you get there say 8:15 and just sit in car in line at toll booth or they make you go somewhere else?


For the AP preview on 7/10, they stopped making people drive through the booth at 8:13 and on that day at least, they did allow a line to form.  Then they had people start driving up to the parking rows at around 8:30.  They had the line of cars wait right at the turn-in to the the rows of parking until 8:45 or so.  Disabled / preferred parking was allowed through the booth at 8:30, but then were pulled to the right and made to wait just past the booth until 8:45 before driving over to the parking rows.  Everyone was allowed to park at around 8:45-8:50 or so, go through security, and line up for the monorails / ferry.  We got on the 3rd or 4th monorail to depart, and we got through the gate and into the park at 9:18AM.  It all seemed to be timed so that the earliest anyone could get into the park was 9AM.

This was all for the AP preview.  It may have changed for the actual opening, which would kind of suck, since if they aren't even letting people into the parking lot until 9AM it would mean that nobody would be able to drive from the booth to the parking lot, park, unload the car, walk to the T&T center, go through security, wait through the monorail / ferry line, sit through the monorail / ferry trip, and get through the ticket check, until something like 9:30AM or later.  It wouldn't really matter for the length of the lines, but it would suck losing like 5-10% of your park day because they didn't want to open the lot early.

Buses weren't available for the AP preview, but they are now.  Also, I don't know when the resort monorails started on the AP preview days, but I didn't notice that any monorails were running when we got on ours.  It looked like there were like 3 of them lined up on the tracks waiting to head to MK, with no new ones coming down the line from Poly.  Also, I do not know what time they started allowing Contemporary guests to begin walking across the street to MK.  However, if the buses, resort monorails, and the walkway from Contemporary are all currently opened at 9AM, and as Yuli says, the parking lot isn't letting anyone in before 9AM now, then you might be able to buy yourself a pretty good chunk of extra park time from using one of those options.


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

I had a wonderful time in MK on Friday!  Skipper Canteen & BOG were taking walk-ups (I tried & failed to make an ADR so this made me happy) so I had lunch at Skipper Canteen.  Saw some snakes & the ducks were almost aggressive, haha.  One tried to eat my toes and they had no issue coming up to people & nibbling on them, begging for food.  [friendly reminder to not feed the ducks!]  The park music was almost weirdly loud, probably because the parks had so few people in them.  You could hear things a lot better on rides too.  Water rides like Splash & Small World seemed more backed up than usual (big line of boats all bumping into each other much earlier in the ride than normal), probably due to the extra time it took to spray the boats down.  This wasn't a big deal, but just something I noticed.  Wearing a mask was fine.  It wasn't too warm on Friday - it rained in the morning and I think the high was 88 degrees with a heat index of 100.  The day absolutely flew by and I can't wait to do all 4 parks this weekend.  I'm going to scroll back through this thread and read it again, but if there are any questions or picture requests let me know!  I thought the castle looked very nice, but it was weird to see it with such different colors!  By the end of the day I was used to it.


----------



## Epcot242

MusicalAstronaut said:


> I had a wonderful time in MK on Friday!  Skipper Canteen & BOG were taking walk-ups (I tried & failed to make an ADR so this made me happy) so I had lunch at Skipper Canteen.  Saw some snakes & the ducks were almost aggressive, haha.  One tried to eat my toes and they had no issue coming up to people & nibbling on them, begging for food.  [friendly reminder to not feed the ducks!]  The park music was almost weirdly loud, probably because the parks had so few people in them.  You could hear things a lot better on rides too.  Water rides like Splash & Small World seemed more backed up than usual (big line of boats all bumping into each other much earlier in the ride than normal), probably due to the extra time it took to spray the boats down.  This wasn't a big deal, but just something I noticed.  Wearing a mask was fine.  It wasn't too warm on Friday - it rained in the morning and I think the high was 88 degrees with a heat index of 100.  The day absolutely flew by and I can't wait to do all 4 parks this weekend.  I'm going to scroll back through this thread and read it again, but if there are any questions or picture requests let me know!  I thought the castle looked very nice, but it was weird to see it with such different colors!  By the end of the day I was used to it.



Thanks for the info. What did you think of eating indoors? Aside from the other obvious things that are putting us off somewhat (namely people potentially not wearing masks), indoor dining is our biggest worry. Was it crowded? I assume no one was wearing masks since that's one of few times it's allowed but I'm curious of your experience. Thanks!


----------



## oceanmarina

bernina said:


> We're at Wilderness Lodge and will be heading to MK later today. We did previews on Thursday so not in a rush to get in early. Hoping the main gate rush will have slowed when we arrive. I'm seeing a few boats in the lake but unclear if they're running guests, we're on the Boulder Ridge side so can't see the docks. Have a great day everyone!!!



Thanks for the update!! Are both pools open at WL. (Both quiet and main pools)   How crowded are the pools?


----------



## Sunnywho

Chisoxcollector said:


> For the most part, people did follow the social distance markers in the queues.  There would be certain people that always went 2 steps past their marker, every single time. That was annoying. And occasionally people would absent mindedly go past their marker, not realizing the line had stopped ahead of them.  Usually they would then scamper back to their marker, but sometimes the next party would have already reached that marker, meaning they were now only 3 feet from the parties around them.  But overall I do believe almost everyone was trying to follow the markers.
> 
> In that specific Navi queue, the party ahead of us went to their correct marker.  But when they sat down, they spread out behind their marker, bringing the closest person to within about 3 feet of us.  Part of the problem is that Disney measured exactly 6 feet between most of the markers,  which means that groups with more than 1-2 people will typically be much closer than 6 feet away from the next party.


My husband and I discussed that, as a family of five including grown kids, we would split into a group of 3 and a group of 2, because a group of 5 takes up too much space for the socially distanced markers to work right.


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

Epcot242 said:


> Thanks for the info. What did you think of eating indoors? Aside from the other obvious things that are putting us off somewhat (namely people potentially not wearing masks), indoor dining is our biggest worry. Was it crowded? I assume no one was wearing masks since that's one of few times it's allowed but I'm curious of your experience. Thanks!


Guests did not have masks on in Skipper Canteen because they were dining, but all of the Cast Members did.  They had the tables spaced out or used every other table.  I will say that the table closest to me was probably right at 6 feet away, but I was at a small window table & this was one of the ones in the "middle" of the room.  I would've preferred that they tried to stagger it so the table next to me wasn't occupied.  I feel like almost every other table was fine, too.  But the person in the far left was at the table next to mine, and the table was full so there was someone to *their* left who was closest to me.  Again, it was probably about 6', but they did feel a smidge close when all of the other tables were so spread out.  I blacked out everyone's faces so it's not too creepy haha, but in the restaurant most people took their mask off once they were seated.


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

Chisoxcollector said:


> For the most part, people did follow the social distance markers in the queues.  There would be certain people that always went 2 steps past their marker, every single time. That was annoying. And occasionally people would absent mindedly go past their marker, not realizing the line had stopped ahead of them.  Usually they would then scamper back to their marker, but sometimes the next party would have already reached that marker, meaning they were now only 3 feet from the parties around them.  But overall I do believe almost everyone was trying to follow the markers.
> 
> In that specific Navi queue, the party ahead of us went to their correct marker.  But when they sat down, they spread out behind their marker, bringing the closest person to within about 3 feet of us.  Part of the problem is that Disney measured exactly 6 feet between most of the markers,  which means that groups with more than 1-2 people will typically be much closer than 6 feet away from the next party.


From what I saw when USO did their presentation, I liked the way they did it better.  They had "stand here" and "don't stand here" areas.  1-2 people could stand on the line Disney had, but you're right, larger parties couldn't all fit there.  You can always leave more space for the people in front of you, but that won't stop the people behind you from getting close.  I experience this at the grocery store a lot.  The person behind me won't stay back, and it's not like I can move up, because they'll just move too.  I did have one instance (at Sleepy Hollow) where the group behind me was very spread out and almost next to me (I think they were trying to get out of the rain).  A CM came up, asked if we were all together, and asked them to move back.  

I also saw a lot of people going past their marker in windy queues and then backing up when they turned the corner & realized that the line had stopped.  I don't think there's a lot Disney can do to avoid that, it's a sightline problem.  Luckily most people were moving slowly and if you got "stuck" between spacing lines, it wasn't for long.


----------



## The Expert

Chisoxcollector said:


> I can only speak to how AK was on Sunday.  We arrived at 9am, 1 hour after rope drop.  We went straight to Flight of Passage, and it was almost a walk-on.  We then did Na'vi River Journey, and had about a 30 minute wait.  Then we did Kilimanjaro Safaris and it was a walk on.  When we got of KS, Expedition Everest was showing a 20 minute wait.  By the time we got to it after seeing the bird show EE was down.  We then did Dinosaur which was a walk on.  After our lunch at Tiffins, Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey were both near walk-ons.  Kilimanjaro Safaris was showing a 5 minute wait.



I've seen mention a few times above about changes to the bird show. Since you saw it, would you mind telling us what's changed? DH and I loved the original show, but hated the UP version (even though we love that movie) and haven't been back since our first post-change viewing. I'm curious if it's worth going back now.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

The Expert said:


> I've seen mention a few times above about changes to the bird show. Since you saw it, would you mind telling us what's changed? DH and I loved the original show, but hated the UP version (even though we love that movie) and haven't been back since our first post-change viewing. I'm curious if it's worth going back now.


Unfortunately I don't remember the older version well enough to do a direct comparison.  Compared to the Up version, the new show is really about the birds, with the hosts providing just a bit of comedy.  There is no forced narrative.  They just bring out the birds, the birds fly around and/or perform in some way, and they talk about the birds.  And the hosts weren't over the top and obnoxious.

The birds very rarely did what they were supposed to, when they were supposed to, as they have only been practicing this new show for a few weeks.  It was very entertaining and sweet.

They also did a good job spreading people out, though many guests had a difficult time following instructions.  Basically every other row is closed entirely.  The rows that are open have giant "Do Not Sit Here" stickers covering sections of the bench.  When you enter the theater, they tell you not to sit in a closed row, and not to sit on the stickers.  Quite a few people sat right on the stickers, and the CMs had to come move them.


----------



## The Expert

Chisoxcollector said:


> Unfortunately I don't remember the older version well enough to do a direct comparison.  Compared to the Up version, the new show is really about the birds, with the hosts providing just a bit of comedy.  There is no forced narrative.  They just bring out the birds, the birds fly around and/or perform in some way, and they talk about the birds.  And the hosts weren't over the top and obnoxious.
> 
> The birds very rarely did what they were supposed to, when they were supposed to, as they have only been practicing this new show for a few weeks.  It was very entertaining and sweet.
> 
> They also did a good job spreading people out, though many guests had a difficult time following instructions.  Basically every other row is closed entirely.  The rows that are open have giant "Do Not Sit Here" stickers covering sections of the bench.  When you enter the theater, they tell you not to sit in a closed row, and not to sit on the stickers.  Quite a few people sat right on the stickers, and the CMs had to come move them.



Thanks for the info! It sounds like an even more streamlined version than the original, which I like. We will most definitely check it out (and NOT sit on the don't-sit-here stickers)!


----------



## GPC0321

Chisoxcollector said:


> In that specific Navi queue, the party ahead of us went to their correct marker.  But when they sat down, they spread out behind their marker, bringing the closest person to within about 3 feet of us.


Was the queue that slow-moving that people had time to literally sit down and eat? I've never seen that even in normal times. Yikes.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

GPC0321 said:


> Was the queue that slow-moving that people had time to literally sit down and eat? I've never seen that even in normal times. Yikes.


The queue completely stopped for about 10,  maybe 15 minutes.  I'm not sure if they were cleaning the boats, or if something was wrong.  They didn't make any announcements.


----------



## yulilin3

PLEASE THIS THREAD IS NOT TO TALK ABOUT THE VIRUS AND HOW IT SPREADS


----------



## GBRforWDW

Sorry yulilin. 

Thanks for the livestream at DHS today.  Was good to see how things were flowing there.


----------



## Doingitagain

coubogle said:


> We are staying at kidani and rode the bus to magic kingdom yesterday, the buses are supposed to start running at 8:30 to the magic kingdom but a transportation guy came by and said it would be there at 8:15, it showed up at 8:07. Seated us by family size and try to take people who were standing there first, only allowing about 20 people on the bus. There was another magic kingdom bus behind ours and it looked like it could get everyone else. We arrived at the bus stop at 7:45 and there was already 3 families waiting.


How did the handle picking up people at Jambo?  Did they save room or was there a separate bus?


----------



## YawningDodo

I'm _very _interested to see feedback in this thread about DHS, particularly RotR--though I know that has its own thread (dangit I thought I was finally free of eternally watching that thread). Going to be very curious to see whether they let people in ahead of opening time to be able to book a boarding group at 10:00--seems like they would have discouraged rope droppers more effectively by bumping the first reservation period to 10:30 or 11:00. If my chances of getting a boarding group during one of the later reservation periods are decent (and if the shorter waits later in the day continue to hold) I'm probably going to avoid rope drop across the board on this upcoming trip. 



Doingitagain said:


> No luggage service as of July 15.  You have to pick it up from baggage claim yourself and bring it with you to the bus to the resort (like you did before if you landed after 10 pm).  No resort service for luggage to the airport when you depart, either.


Glad I stumbled across this info here, though I suspect I'll probably get a heads up about it when I finally get around to booking DME for my September trip (didn't have my flights done when I booked, didn't want to wait since I wasn't sure if those deep AP discounts would last or book fast). Where is Disney communicating this info? Is it in the Know Before You Go stuff on the WDW site? 

Side note, the airports are what have me most concerned about this trip after reading reports from those who have gone.  But I've still got plenty of time to cancel if it's looking untenable. At least I've got TSA Precheck so I shouldn't be waiting in the full security line at MCO.


----------



## brockash

MusicalAstronaut said:


> I had a wonderful time in MK on Friday!  Skipper Canteen & BOG were taking walk-ups (I tried & failed to make an ADR so this made me happy) so I had lunch at Skipper Canteen.  Saw some snakes & the ducks were almost aggressive, haha.  One tried to eat my toes and they had no issue coming up to people & nibbling on them, begging for food.  [friendly reminder to not feed the ducks!]  The park music was almost weirdly loud, probably because the parks had so few people in them.  You could hear things a lot better on rides too.  Water rides like Splash & Small World seemed more backed up than usual (big line of boats all bumping into each other much earlier in the ride than normal), probably due to the extra time it took to spray the boats down.  This wasn't a big deal, but just something I noticed.  Wearing a mask was fine.  It wasn't too warm on Friday - it rained in the morning and I think the high was 88 degrees with a heat index of 100.  The day absolutely flew by and I can't wait to do all 4 parks this weekend.  I'm going to scroll back through this thread and read it again, but if there are any questions or picture requests let me know!  I thought the castle looked very nice, but it was weird to see it with such different colors!  By the end of the day I was used to it.


You saw snskes at MK?  Were you in Tom Sawyer Island?  Just curious as I've seen a few at resorts but never at a park.


----------



## coubogle

Doingitagain said:


> How did the handle picking up people at Jambo?  Did they save room or was there a separate bus?


They did not go to Jambo, I assumed they had a separate bus in the morning, when we came back from magic kingdom I noticed a bus coming from kidani going into Jambo. The usual route is pick up at kidani first and then Jambo second


----------



## Doingitagain

YawningDodo said:


> Glad I stumbled across this info here, though I suspect I'll probably get a heads up about it when I finally get around to booking DME for my September trip (didn't have my flights done when I booked, didn't want to wait since I wasn't sure if those deep AP discounts would last or book fast). Where is Disney communicating this info? Is it in the Know Before You Go stuff on the WDW site?


www.wdwinfo has important updates on it, I follow that.  BTW, the "bring your own luggage to DME" starts July 16.


----------



## Lumpy1106

I had a question from a video I saw.  This was on the ferry - I have to assume it's elsewhere too.  They showed the benches on one level of the ferry had a "do not sit" sticker on all but one seat on a bench.  The idea I get - there is not room on the bench for social distancing.  OK, but if you are with your family, can the whole family sit on the bench (i.e., on the sticker) or are they enforcing the one person per bench?


----------



## HollyMD

Ok wait, does the bring you down luggage to the bus start July 15 or 16?! We come in in the 15th, but we haven’t gotten our luggage tags in the mail and someone said earlier it started the 15?


----------



## soniam

Lumpy1106 said:


> I had a question from a video I saw.  This was on the ferry - I have to assume it's elsewhere too.  They showed the benches on one level of the ferry had a "do not sit" sticker on all but one seat on a bench.  The idea I get - there is not room on the bench for social distancing.  OK, but if you are with your family, can the whole family sit on the bench (i.e., on the sticker) or are they enforcing the one person per bench?


The 3 of us sat on a bench together. I think it’s to discourage non-groups sitting together on a bench.


----------



## Doingitagain

HollyMD said:


> Ok wait, does the bring you down luggage to the bus start July 15 or 16?! We come in in the 15th, but we haven’t gotten our luggage tags in the mail and someone said earlier it started the 15?


I believe the last day they do luggage is the 15th.  But DVC said they aren’t sending luggage tags, when I talked to them.


----------



## soniam

We were at UO Thurs-Sun staying onsite. Went to Volcano Bay and then the other 2 parks. I can’t comment too much on the regular parks, because my diverticulitis kicked in Wednesday night, and I stayed in the room Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday. Ate some indoors and some outdoors.

We went to MK today. Staying at BWV and drove to the TTC. Did DS last night. Ate indoors at Plaza and outdoors at Homecoming.

I generally agree with what others have said. People are mostly following the rules. Employees are sometimes saying something. WDW spacing feels tighter than UO. Groups feel bigger at WDW, so they are taking up more walkways and more space in queues. I just don’t move until I can see that the people in front of me have a spot to go to. Make sure your group stays close together instead of spreading out like a bunch of rude, privileged Americans. I did see people taking masks off in dark rides. I saw a decent number of exposed noses. There is also the usual meandering idiots, who can’t figure out what they are doing or where they are going. Some things never change.

As for eating/drinking in line, I saw some but not a ton. I know that I would drink in line, because it’s difficult to pull down my mask (head straps) to drink while moving w/o spilling. However, I only pull mine down, really kind of out, while pouring water into my mouth; I pull it back up to swallow. Or I take 2-3 very quick drinks and then back on with the mask. We also keep ours on at restaurants if we are not actively eating or drinking.

We got to Plaza when it opened, so it wasn’t very crowded. Tables were spaced decently. So even when full, it wasn’t too close. We sat outside at Homecoming. I would have preferred a little more separation there, but people were not on top of us.

I like how UO puts the sanitizer on your hand right before you get in the attraction vehicle or in the seat. There is no one ensuring that people use the sanitizer before getting on. The only attraction that we saw being sanitized was BTMR. They could have been doing others though. BTMR and 7DMT had plastic up in the inside queues.

Saw weird spikes in wait times. I don’t know if it was due to cleaning or not. Wait times were generally low to non-existent. 7DMT and Splash were down in the morning. Those had the longest waits once back up, 30-40 min. Some of the wait times were inflated. We would get off a ride, and then see it backed up a bit. Walked onto Peter Pan. It was sometimes difficult to hear the cast members over the PPE and background music/sound.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

soniam said:


> As for eating/drinking in line, I saw some but not a ton. I know that I would drink in line, because it’s difficult to pull down my mask (head straps) to drink while moving w/o spilling. However, I only pull mine down, really kind of out, while pouring water into my mouth; I pull it back up to swallow. Or I take 2-3 very quick drinks and then back on with the mask. We also keep ours on at restaurants if we are not actively eating or drinking.


See, this I have no problem with.  Pop your mask down for a quick moment to take a drink or two, and then pull it right back up.  If everybody did this, particularly in queues, I would have had no complaints.


soniam said:


> my diverticulitis kicked in Wednesday night, and I stayed in the room Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday.


I feel for you!  Diverticulitis is the pits.


----------



## soniam

Chisoxcollector said:


> I feel for you!  Diverticulitis is the pits.



I see what you did there I had liquids only for 2 days. I don’t remember losing that much weight on vacation before. All the fat bloaty clothes I brought are kind of falling off. Luckily, most of the shorts have ties/drawstring.


----------



## JM23457

yulilin3 said:


> It's not.  Disney is clear you can only take the mask off when eating or in the pool


Or when horseback riding. We did that today at Fort Wilderness, and were relieved to be allowed to take our masks off once on the horse. Being on horseback kept us distanced, anyway.


----------



## DisneyMommy77

Today was our third day at the parks and we went to AK today. Walked onto FOP and we got stuck on it for about 10 minutes so they scanned our bands and gave us 2 additional attractions. I asked if this meant we go through the FastPass line to use them? The CM said,  “we are calling it the alternative line now.” So we used them later on in the day to ride FOP again and Everest. However, lines were so short that they probably weren’t really needed. 

It was a fun day and my kids enjoyed seeing the characters on the boats. We saw several throughout the day! 

CMs  are working hard to make sure masks are staying on. My 6 year old occasionally has had his slip below his nose and before I even realize it a CM is saying, “For your health and safety please pull up your face covering above your nose.”

The longest lines I have encountered are waiting for an elevator at Contemporary since each family rides alone, or waiting to get a mug refill. 

Back to MK tomorrow!


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

annadreamsofdisneyworld said:


> It's disappointing but not surprising to hear about all the people in the parks wearing their masks incorrectly or keeping them off to snack in line/pretend to eat or drink while walking around. I'm betting that most people going to Disney World during the pandemic and Florida's surge in cases are those who don't worry about getting coronavirus so they don't bother following the rules. I really wish Disney cast members would stop this behavior. All this just confirms that we made the right decision in canceling, as tempting as the low wait times are.



We cancelled today at 31 days based on this thread.  Can't fix stupid (people not wearing masks; apparently you can't quarantine it either).  I appreciate everyone's first hand reports.  I don't think my anxiety or temperment could handle it.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

brockash said:


> You saw snskes at MK?  Were you in Tom Sawyer Island?  Just curious as I've seen a few at resorts but never at a park.


S N A K E S????????????


----------



## Skippyboo

DisneyMommy77 said:


> Today was our third day at the parks and we went to AK today. Walked onto FOP and we got stuck on it for about 10 minutes so they scanned our bands and gave us 2 additional attractions. I asked if this meant we go through the FastPass line to use them? The CM said,  “we are calling it the alternative line now.” So we used them later on in the day to ride FOP again and Everest. However, lines were so short that they probably weren’t really needed.
> 
> It was a fun day and my kids enjoyed seeing the characters on the boats. We saw several throughout the day!
> 
> CMs  are working hard to make sure masks are staying on. My 6 year old occasionally has had his slip below his nose and before I even realize it a CM is saying, “For your health and safety please pull up your face covering above your nose.”
> 
> The longest lines I have encountered are waiting for an elevator at Contemporary since each family rides alone, or waiting to get a mug refill.
> 
> Back to MK tomorrow!


How are they doing the mug refills? Do you have do get use a new cup and then just pour it to the mug?


----------



## DisneyMommy77

Skippyboo said:


> How are they doing the mug refills? Do you have do get use a new cup and then just pour it to the mug?


Yes, the CM asks you what you would like and after flashing your mug to them they put your drink in a paper cup. Sometimes they even put a lid on it and give you a straw. I have then just walked over to a counter or table to pour it into the mug. The paper cup holds a little more than the mug, so you will have a little extra.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Skippyboo said:


> How are they doing the mug refills? Do you have do get use a new cup and then just pour it to the mug?


My understanding ya that CMs are stationed at the Soda stations.  They fill a fresh cup and give it to you to refill your mug.


----------



## YawningDodo

MusicalAstronaut said:


> I had a wonderful time in MK on Friday!  Skipper Canteen & BOG were taking walk-ups (I tried & failed to make an ADR so this made me happy) so I had lunch at Skipper Canteen.  Saw some snakes & the ducks were almost aggressive, haha.  One tried to eat my toes and they had no issue coming up to people & nibbling on them, begging for food.  [friendly reminder to not feed the ducks!]  The park music was almost weirdly loud, probably because the parks had so few people in them.  You could hear things a lot better on rides too.  Water rides like Splash & Small World seemed more backed up than usual (big line of boats all bumping into each other much earlier in the ride than normal), probably due to the extra time it took to spray the boats down.  This wasn't a big deal, but just something I noticed.  Wearing a mask was fine.  It wasn't too warm on Friday - it rained in the morning and I think the high was 88 degrees with a heat index of 100.  The day absolutely flew by and I can't wait to do all 4 parks this weekend.  I'm going to scroll back through this thread and read it again, but if there are any questions or picture requests let me know!  I thought the castle looked very nice, but it was weird to see it with such different colors!  By the end of the day I was used to it.


What kind of snakes? Were they cute? 


In all seriousness I'm not surprised the wildlife is more present/visible--I'd expect snakes and the like to go back into hiding as the parks see more use again. Not sure I'd expect the ducks to chill out, though; they're too used to getting food from people.


----------



## brockash

DisneyMommy77 said:


> Yes, the CM asks you what you would like and after flashing your mug to them they put your drink in a paper cup. Sometimes they even put a lid on it and give you a straw. I have then just walked over to a counter or table to pour it into the mug. The paper cup holds a little more than the mug, so you will have a little extra.


Lids!!!!  - Woohoo!!!  Lol...seriously I feel like I've found the gold mine when I find lids at Disney


----------



## bossofdos64

Fantastic first day at MK! While a bit of the "magic" is lost due to small attendance and lots of stores not being open, you could never ride more. A brief summary:

Longest line was 25 min at Splash Mountain
Two rides had 10 minute waits and the rest were virtually walk on
We rode/attended everything in the park by 5pm doing a couple of them twice.
Everyone was wearing masks and cast members immediately & politely asked those who might not have them on quite right to fix them.
Hand sanitizer stations EVERYWHERE!
Disney photographers still require you to wear masks during the pictures and if remove them during a ride photo like Splash Mountain they wont allow you to view/get the photo.
Splash Mountain merchandise is g-o-n-e
Most stores did not have pin trading boards yet
Resorts are very quiet. Staying at the Riviera and no problems social distancing even in the pools


----------



## PamNC

GADisneyDad14 said:


> View attachment 508663


OMG that looks devine.


----------



## PamNC

there's a part of me that thinks the watered down version currently going on in the parks would be worth sacrificing for the low crowd levels.


----------



## JM23457

bossofdos64 said:


> Everyone was wearing masks and cast members immediately & politely asked those who might not have them on quite right to fix them.


We were there yesterday and saw quite a few people not constantly wearing masks properly, particularly in lines with hot waits.

We had a 30+ minute wait for Splash at noon and as others have commented, Orlando was unusually hot the past two days (high 90's instead of the typical low 90's).  The group of young women right ahead of us kept taking their masks off for a minute and then putting them back on, and one of them then put the bottom of the mask right on her lower lip and left it there. They seemed to be concerned about their make-up melting. That went on for 20-ish minutes and was never corrected.

I noticed a few other people around the park with masks under noses, and other people putting masks under chin to drink while in lines or in the middle of walkways or in line for the monorail.

I did see one cast member at entrance sweetly correct a little girl's mask wearing, but that was the only correction I saw.

I agree that Disney is doing very well on this front, but don't want others to get the illusion that there aren't individuals who don't fully comply. Most people were following the rules, but I'd say about 5% were not (and without receiving correction).


----------



## scrappinginontario

JM23457 said:


> We were there yesterday and saw quite a few people not constantly wearing masks properly, particularly in lines with hot waits.
> 
> We had a 30+ minute wait for Splash at noon and as others have commented, Orlando was unusually hot the past two days (high 90's instead of the typical low 90's).  The group of young women right ahead of us kept taking their masks off for a minute and then putting them back on, and one of them then put the bottom of the mask right on her lower lip and left it there. They seemed to be concerned about their make-up. That went on for 20-ish minutes and was never corrected.
> 
> I saw other people around the park with masks under noses, and other people putting masks under chin to drink while in lines or in the middle of walkways or in the for the monorail.
> 
> I did see one cast member at entrance sweetly correct a little girl's mask wearing, but that was the only correction I saw.
> 
> I agree that Disney is doing well on the front, but don't want others to get the illusion that there aren't individuals who don't fully comply. There are plenty. Most people are following the rules, but I'd say sbout 5% were bending the rules (and without receiving correction), just to give some perspective.


I would be concerned too but I’m wondering where guests are supposed to go to take a drink of their water?  I can’t see a person going to a relaxation area each time they need a sip of water, which is often in the FL heat.

not being controversial, just asking where is acceptable?

Makeup checking/repair?  No way!!  But taking a sip of water in a 30 plus min wait at noon in line I thought would be acceptable.


----------



## JM23457

scrappinginontario said:


> I would be concerned too but I’m wondering where guests are supposed to go to take a drink of their water?  I can’t see a person going to a relaxation area each time they need a sip of water, which is often in the FL heat.
> 
> not being controversial, just asking where is acceptable?
> 
> Makeup checking/repair?  No way!!  But taking a sip of water in a 30 plus min wait at noon in line I thought would be acceptable.


I think stepping to the side of the walkway is fine for a drink. I was referencing people doing it in the middle of the walkway.


----------



## LovingPooh

We were at Animal Kingdom yesterday and everything was a walk on. Went to Magic Kingdom Sunday and everything was a walk on. In about 90 minutes we had already been on 8 rides. Including 2 of the mountains! Unreal! 
I haven’t seen such low crowds since the late 90’s when there was actually slow seasons. Loving the social distancing. Really wished it would stay like this. Love my personal space.


----------



## nikkistevej

bossofdos64 said:


> Fantastic first day at MK! While a bit of the "magic" is lost due to small attendance and lots of stores not being open, you could never ride more. A brief summary:
> 
> Longest line was 25 min at Splash Mountain
> Two rides had 10 minute waits and the rest were virtually walk on
> We rode/attended everything in the park by 5pm doing a couple of them twice.
> Everyone was wearing masks and cast members immediately & politely asked those who might not have them on quite right to fix them.
> Hand sanitizer stations EVERYWHERE!
> Disney photographers still require you to wear masks during the pictures and if remove them during a ride photo like Splash Mountain they wont allow you to view/get the photo.
> Splash Mountain merchandise is g-o-n-e
> Most stores did not have pin trading boards yet
> Resorts are very quiet. Staying at the Riviera and no problems social distancing even in the pools


Were there a lot of photopass photographers around? In front of the castle and all?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

nikkistevej said:


> Were there a lot of photopass photographers around? In front of the castle and all?



From my experience, there are some, but not the usual count around the Hub/Main Street.  But there are definitely some there and other parts of the park.  Lines were nonexistent, although I’m sure that ebbs/flows.


----------



## mousefan73

Keeping up with this thread as we should have been there in August but now cancelled and booked DLP for the first time!!!! I am curious what changes in the details are made. I will ask that over in the Disney Paris board they create a similar thread.


----------



## nikkistevej

GADisneyDad14 said:


> From my experience, there are some, but not the usual count around the Hub/Main Street.  But there are definitely some there and other parts of the park.  Lines were nonexistent, although I’m sure that ebbs/flows.


Thanks for your reply.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

ILoveMyDVC said:


> S N A K E S????????????


Oh, that's just my pet snake, Reggie.


----------



## GetMeOnSpaceMtn

Sounds like everything in the parks is pretty nice... How has the airport been? That's my big concern with MCO where you have to get on the tram with everyone and then there are bottle neck points here and there.


----------



## koquinn

GetMeOnSpaceMtn said:


> Sounds like everything in the parks is pretty nice... How has the airport been? That's my big concern with MCO where you have to get on the tram with everyone and then there are bottle neck points here and there.


Wondering this too - this is my biggest fear.  We have direct flights on Southwest, which isn't selling middle seats at least in August when we're scheduled, but I'm concerned about MCO.  Especially sitting there on the way home.


----------



## Epcot242

GetMeOnSpaceMtn said:


> Sounds like everything in the parks is pretty nice... How has the airport been? That's my big concern with MCO where you have to get on the tram with everyone and then there are bottle neck points here and there.



This isn't referencing MCO but I did have to fly recently (through Atlanta, Detroit, and Boston). In general, the security lines at all airports were low and got through quickly. We have N95s so we wore those the whole time, although research right now is showing that as long as everyone is wearing a mask then a surgical mask or similar is protective. The majority of people are wearing masks (the worst was Atlanta where we had tried to give ourselves a break with surgical masks but switched back to N95s because so many people just weren't wearing them). Atlanta was also the busiest. Boarding is actually a lot more pleasant as they did it from the back of the plane to the front so there wasn't a mad dash to all stand around for your boarding group. 

Again, not MCO but I imagine as it's such a big hub experiences would be similar. We didn't really encounter any huge bottleneck points at any of the airports but that's not to say they weren't busy. I think as long as you're wearing a mask, keeping distance as much as possible, and hand sanitizing you're OK. At least, it's the best and most you can do given the circumstances.


----------



## JM23457

nikkistevej said:


> Were there a lot of photopass photographers around? In front of the castle and all?


Yes. And the lines for those are shorter than usual, too.


----------



## itsdisneytime

bossofdos64 said:


> Fantastic first day at MK! While a bit of the "magic" is lost due to small attendance and lots of stores not being open, you could never ride more. A brief summary:
> 
> Longest line was 25 min at Splash Mountain
> Two rides had 10 minute waits and the rest were virtually walk on
> We rode/attended everything in the park by 5pm doing a couple of them twice.
> Everyone was wearing masks and cast members immediately & politely asked those who might not have them on quite right to fix them.
> Hand sanitizer stations EVERYWHERE!
> Disney photographers still require you to wear masks during the pictures and if remove them during a ride photo like Splash Mountain they wont allow you to view/get the photo.
> Splash Mountain merchandise is g-o-n-e
> Most stores did not have pin trading boards yet
> Resorts are very quiet. Staying at the Riviera and no problems social distancing even in the pools




Thank you for reporting about the Splash Merchandise, I wonder if they are going to restock?  We just wanted :something: for our memories *sigh*  I should have sprung for the stuff when I had the chance I guess lol


----------



## WEDWDW

What does World Showcase "feel" like without the ICMs and with so little open(I understand China only has the Movie and the Kiosks on the Promenade open)?

Are the CMs wearing the Country specific costumes?

Thanks.


----------



## Doingitagain

Chisoxcollector said:


> See, this I have no problem with.  Pop your mask down for a quick moment to take a drink or two, and then pull it right back up.  If everybody did this, particularly in queues, I would have had no complaints


What about bringing a straw to slip under your mask?  Or use a mask that has a straw hole with a cover flap?


----------



## Dave006

WEDWDW said:


> What does World Showcase "feel" like without the ICMs and with so little open(I understand China only has the Movie and the Kiosks on the Promenade open)?
> 
> Are the CMs wearing the Country specific costumes?
> 
> Thanks.


Should have better updates after Epcot opens tomorrow for the General Public.

Dave


----------



## leeniewdw

Epcot242 said:


> This isn't referencing MCO but I did have to fly recently (through Atlanta, Detroit, and Boston). In general, the security lines at all airports were low and got through quickly. We have N95s so we wore those the whole time, although research right now is showing that as long as everyone is wearing a mask then a surgical mask or similar is protective. The majority of people are wearing masks (the worst was Atlanta where we had tried to give ourselves a break with surgical masks but switched back to N95s because so many people just weren't wearing them). Atlanta was also the busiest. Boarding is actually a lot more pleasant as they did it from the back of the plane to the front so there wasn't a mad dash to all stand around for your boarding group.
> 
> Again, not MCO but I imagine as it's such a big hub experiences would be similar. We didn't really encounter any huge bottleneck points at any of the airports but that's not to say they weren't busy. I think as long as you're wearing a mask, keeping distance as much as possible, and hand sanitizing you're OK. At least, it's the best and most you can do given the circumstances.



This is great information.   

We had to fly back from MCO on 3/14/2020 (originally planned for 3/15 but we cut our trip short once the announcement of closure was made) and that MCO experience might have been the most stressful (we found the whole trip stressful actually, but obviously there was not any changes to guest safety at that time).  The SW bag check area was a zoo (MANY many HS/college teams were in the area with Spring events and all got canceled so they were traveling home and they had large and numerous gear bags) and you just couldn't distance.   At that time hardly ANYONE (ourselves included) were wearing masks.   After we got thru security we actually found a bench in the "atrium-like" area and sat on one with our hands in our laps until it was time to go to our gate and board.  We had a family of "coughers" behind and across the aisle from us on the flight and we actually did put on our N95 masks shortly after take off.  Since we had a direct flight, we wore them the whole time and removed them after getting off our flight.

I don't have plans to fly anytime soon, but I would definitely choose a N95 for any situation where I know I'm going to be very close to other people.   I wore one for a mammogram I had last week since no one (other than my spouse) has been that close to me since -- well probably that MCO experience lol.


----------



## maryj11

GetMeOnSpaceMtn said:


> Sounds like everything in the parks is pretty nice... How has the airport been? That's my big concern with MCO where you have to get on the tram with everyone and then there are bottle neck points here and there.


Yes I want to know too


----------



## WEDWDW

Dave006 said:


> Should have better updates after Epcot opens tomorrow for the General Public.
> 
> Dave


Have you seen any reports from the CM Preview?

I am really interested if the CMs are wearing the Country specific Costumes-trying to "picture" American CMs wearing the Country specifics,ESPECIALLY Japan!lol

Could be really fun for the CMs to wear them-something unique for them to do and a really special experience.

Thanks.


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

YawningDodo said:


> What kind of snakes? Were they cute?
> 
> 
> In all seriousness I'm not surprised the wildlife is more present/visible--I'd expect snakes and the like to go back into hiding as the parks see more use again. Not sure I'd expect the ducks to chill out, though; they're too used to getting food from people.


They were cute, I actually love snakes haha!  The ones I saw looked black, and fairly small (though long).


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

brockash said:


> You saw snskes at MK?  Were you in Tom Sawyer Island?  Just curious as I've seen a few at resorts but never at a park.


Nope, over at Barnstormer!  I didn't visit TSI but I would bet there would be a good number there.


----------



## WEDWDW

WEDWDW said:


> Are the CMs wearing the Country specific costumes?
> 
> Thanks.


Found this picture-looks like CMs are wearing the "basic" "World Showcase Festivals Costume"(at least in Norway). 

Looks really strange!!!!

Maybe by this time next year the "World" will be back at World Showcase!

The day that the ICMs return to the Showcase is going to be EPIC!

I will be there whenever it is-that day is going to be a PARTY!!!!


----------



## dorospin

koquinn said:


> Wondering this too - this is my biggest fear.  We have direct flights on Southwest, which isn't selling middle seats at least in August when we're scheduled, but I'm concerned about MCO.  Especially sitting there on the way home.


MCO was a problem for us. Lots of people wearing masks under their noses, lots of coughing, lots of sitting down right beside you, etc. this was Saturday. We will be driving for a while.


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

GetMeOnSpaceMtn said:


> Sounds like everything in the parks is pretty nice... How has the airport been? That's my big concern with MCO where you have to get on the tram with everyone and then there are bottle neck points here and there.


I mean, the trains were busy.  Not packed like normal, but they weren't enforcing any sort of social distancing on them.  I flew back on Saturday midday.  One thing I noticed was that I didn't see hand sanitizer in MCO, and the stations in ATL were empty.  So good on Disney for keeping those things full!  The airports were relatively empty, but there were bottlenecks on the trains & escalators.  I've said it before - it's easy to distance yourself from the person in front of you, but when the person behind you is right next to you you don't really have anywhere to go, and that sucks.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

Is it still one park per day even with Annual Pass?


----------



## FinallyFL

WorldOfPooh said:


> Is it still one park per day even with Annual Pass?


Yes


----------



## bernina

oceanmarina said:


> Thanks for the update!! Are both pools open at WL. (Both quiet and main pools)   How crowded are the pools?



Yes, both are open and aren't overly crowded. The three times we've been at the pools there was no one assigning chairs, there were plenty open. Quiet pool is open 24 hours.


----------



## DisneyMommy77

Day 4 for us in the parks!  We were back at MK today. Lines were still short, and 99.9% of the people I have seen are following the rules. CMs are really on top of it, so if they notice a mask isn’t on or pulled up over the nose they say something right away. For example, we were having a snack at a table near Pirates and another family was sitting at a table nearby. The child and grandmother were eating and drinking, but a CM noticed the mother wasn’t and asked her to put her mask back on while sitting at the table with her family. 

There is a relaxation station in Frontierland but it looks really sunny and hot. We haven’t visited the others. I have also noticed CMs getting stricter about which gift shop door to enter and which one to exit. They are using iPads to keep track of capacity I believe. We only had to wait twice to enter a store.

Splash Mountain gift shop now has a virtual queue. You just provide them your cell phone number and they text you when it’s your turn. I received a text within 10 minutes. 

We ate lunch at The Wave and they gave us little bread plates to put our masks on. This is the first table service that we have been to that told us to use them for our masks. Bacon and eggs isn’t on the menu right now, but I was able to order it for lunch! 

Back at MK the only line I didn’t feel was spaced out enough is the Carousel. There is distance between the people in front of and behind you, but not from the people next to you that are in the next row over.

Didn’t see as many PhotoPass photographers today and didn’t see any at all in the castle area. Maybe they only come out at certain times now?

Another great day! Headed to HS tomorrow!


----------



## Epcot242

DisneyMommy77 said:


> We ate lunch at The Wave and they gave us little bread plates to put our masks on. This is the first table service that we have been to that told us to use them for our masks. Bacon and eggs isn’t on the menu right now, but I was able to order it for lunch!



Can I ask how that went? Dining is a big part of why we go to WDW and we've made TS dinner reservations but are honestly very nervous about it and are debating sticking to QS. Did you have your mask off the whole time? How spaced out were you? In general how safe did you feel eating indoors?

Sorry for the barrage of questions! Just dying to know how this is working out for people.


----------



## soniam

Disappointed at FOP today. First ride was fine. The 2nd time later in the day, CMs were having people squeeze by in the queue before you enter the rooms in order to fill spots. They did this twice to us. We had to hug the walk and basically bury our face in it. Then, once on the bike, they only put 1 bike between our parties and left 2 empty bikes at the end. I felt like I had to look away from the other group. I would have left if I could have easily done so. Also had a CM rub past us. Most things were fine though, or about the same as MK yesterday.

There was a totally clueless woman in front of us in EE. She was so close to the group in front of her, that we thought she was part of their group. They had to point out the marker on the floor and told her to stay behind it. Some of the families with little kids are clueless as ever too. Hane family climb over me at the bird show to get up the bleachers when there were steps further down. The kids masks were so big they wouldn’t stay on. Please test out masks before you come and make necessary adjustments.

TIP at security: Both today at AK and yesterday at MK, security hassled me about my sunglass case. At AK, the security guard chided me saying that they told me to hold my eyeglass case in front like umbrellas. No such thing was said. So, if you have a metal glasses case, just pull it out and save everyone’s time and mood.

Hi @yulilin3. Good to see you. Maybe tomorrow too.


----------



## soniam

Epcot242 said:


> Can I ask how that went? Dining is a big part of why we go to WDW and we've made TS dinner reservations but are honestly very nervous about it and are debating sticking to QS. Did you have your mask off the whole time? How spaced out were you? In general how safe did you feel eating indoors?
> 
> Sorry for the barrage of questions! Just dying to know how this is working out for people.



We have eaten inside at 1 TS and 1QS. Plaza felt spaced out, but it’s a small area. Satuuli could have been a little more spaced out in some areas. However, people wear their masks more in QS I think, because they have their food when they sit down. Getting some AC in these temps makes the day a lot better, if you can handle it. QS will be shorter a time inside too.


----------



## Lumpy1106

soniam said:


> Disappointed at FOP today. First ride was fine. The 2nd time later in the day, CMs were having people squeeze by in the queue before you enter the rooms in order to fill spots. They did this twice to us. We had to hug the walk and basically bury our face in it. Then, once on the bike, they only put 1 bike between our parties and left 2 empty bikes at the end. I felt like I had to look away from the other group. I would have left if I could have easily done so. Also had a CM rub past us. Most things were fine though, or about the same as MK yesterday.
> 
> There was a totally clueless woman in front of us in EE. She was so close to the group in front of her, that we thought she was part of their group. They had to point out the marker on the floor and told her to stay behind it. Some of the families with little kids are clueless as ever too. Hane family climb over me at the bird show to get up the bleachers when there were steps further down. The kids masks were so big they wouldn’t stay on. Please test out masks before you come and make necessary adjustments.
> 
> TIP at security: Both today at AK and yesterday at MK, security hassled me about my sunglass case. At AK, the security guard chided me saying that they told me to hold my eyeglass case in front like umbrellas. No such thing was said. So, if you have a metal glasses case, just pull it out and save everyone’s time and mood.
> 
> Hi @yulilin3. Good to see you. Maybe tomorrow too.


Thanks for the update.  I've been preaching to my family for months - the trip is a go, but be sure and test/adjust the masks.  I can do a lot of things to make them more comfortable now, at home, but can do next to nothing once we arrive at WDW.  Great tip about security.  LOVE everything Disney is doing for COVID, but do try and relax a little.  It is exceeding rare for anyone to get COVID from the short interactions you are describing.


----------



## YawningDodo

DisneyMommy77 said:


> We ate lunch at The Wave and they gave us little bread plates to put our masks on. This is the first table service that we have been to that told us to use them for our masks. Bacon and eggs isn’t on the menu right now, but I was able to order it for lunch!


Nice! Part of the reason I bought masks with ties instead of ear loops is so I can leave the mask hanging around my neck instead of setting it down on the table when I take it off, but it's not terribly comfortable and I don't want to drop food in it. It'd be nice if they provided plates for masks at all the TS so they can be taken off without setting them on a surface that might not be clean.


----------



## JM23457

Epcot242 said:


> Can I ask how that went? Dining is a big part of why we go to WDW and we've made TS dinner reservations but are honestly very nervous about it and are debating sticking to QS. Did you have your mask off the whole time? How spaced out were you? In general how safe did you feel eating indoors?


In the past few days, we've eaten at Kona Cafe, Be Our Guest, Tiffins, and Skipper Canteen. At each restaurant, we were free to have masks off the entire time when seated. For the cost of table service meals at Disney, that level of comfort should be expected imo. Technically you are supposed to have the mask on if you leave the table, but there was no enforcement against going maskless to the restaurant's bathroom. The spacing was good. No one was ever seated close to us.


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

JM23457 said:


> In the past few days, we've eaten at Kona Cafe, Be Our Guest, Tiffins, and Skipper Canteen. At each restaurant, we were free to have masks off the entire time when seated. For the cost of table service meals at Disney, that level of comfort should be expected imo. Technically you are supposed to have the mask on if you leave the table, but there was no enforcement against going maskless to the restaurant's bathroom. The spacing was good. No one was ever seated close to us.



From what we know, indoors it doesn't matter how much people are spaced out. Please consider wearing a mask unless you are actually eating a bite of something.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Ate at The Wave a few days ago.  I’m a nervous indoor eater, if I’m honest, so I can’t say I feel totally comfortable in any setting but I think they are doing the best they can with spacing and such.  Did have a bit of a close talking waiter, for whatever that is worth.

The Wave’s physical setting doesn’t help much.  Feels dark, no light, lower ceilings.   Not that any of that matters in terms of COVID so this comment is totally illogical, but to me it adds to the “this is a space I’m not all that comfortable in” feeling.

But in terms of spacing, procedures, etc, it seemed on point.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Random note, one of the best parts of my day today was talking to a few CMs who had their first opportunity to ride RotR at the preview yesterday.  While I knew they have been locked out since the ride opened, I admit I take that for granted a bit.  Spoke to a few that were so giddy/excited at having the chance to finally experience the attraction, which was fun to see.  Reminded me of the better times from just a few months ago.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Another random observation.  I arrived at DAK today just after a storm/downpour.  They funneled us towards the white temp check tents but it was unstaffed and somewhat confusing what to do.  Given the rain and I presume close enough lightening, the Advent Health folks had been temporarily relocated all the way to the left of the new permanent security covering.  So, you walk over there, get your temp check, and then move ‘across’ to security.

So, if there are storms in the area you may encounter slightly modified temp check locations.

Like all of this stuff, YMMV.


----------



## Jason2015

mousefan73 said:


> I will ask that over in the Disney Paris board they create a similar thread.


Paris?  I thought most European countries weren’t allowing travel from the US..


----------



## mousefan73

Jason2015 said:


> Paris?  I thought most European countries weren’t allowing travel from the US..


I am happily stuck in Germany.


----------



## Yooperroo

Yooperroo said:


> Do you have to move to the next marker? In a situation like this, couldn't you just choose to hang back and leave one of the social distancing markers spaced in between you and the party in front of you, giving you more space? This is what I had planned on doing. And if the folks behind us take their masks off, I was going to politely ask them to leave an extra space between us and them while their masks were off.


I wanted for follow up with this as I've been both to MK and AK now, and while I haven't had to deal with anyone actually removing masks and/or eating in line, we have had people that are not so great at staying on their markers and we've left extra  marker spaces between us and them. Every time we've done this, the party behind us has picked up on it and whether intentionally or sub consciously has given us extra space behind as well.
We have found that everyone has been respectful of the boundaries, and the one time we saw a young girl walking around without her mask covering her nose, a cast member asked her to wear it correctly. 99% of the people I see eating and drinking move off to the side away fr everyone to do so. 
We also eat at off times and the restaurants have been virtually empty by doing so. for both dinner on Monday and lunch on Tuesday, we had entire sections to ourseleves.
We have been so pleased so far and have felt as safe as we possible could given the circumstances. Knock on wood.... We head to the opening of EPCOT today!


----------



## GADisneyDad14

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but for those onsite, the bus wait times in the app and on the boards at the bus stops continues to not work (meaning, it it not showing times).  They must have the feature turned off for whatever reason.


----------



## Yooperroo

Has anyone that is here gotten their magic shots and/or ride photos? We've been here 3 days and none of our magic shots or ride photos have been showing up in MDE.


----------



## monkeydawn

YawningDodo said:


> Nice! Part of the reason I bought masks with ties instead of ear loops is so I can leave the mask hanging around my neck instead of setting it down on the table when I take it off, but it's not terribly comfortable and I don't want to drop food in it. It'd be nice if they provided plates for masks at all the TS so they can be taken off without setting them on a surface that might not be clean.



Bring a baggie.  Fold mask in half, clean side in, do not touch inside of mask.  No plate necessary and you will always have a safe storage area.


----------



## monkeydawn

Yooperroo said:


> Has anyone that is here gotten their magic shots and/or ride photos? We've been here 3 days and none of our magic shots or ride photos have been showing up in MDE.


Are you taking your masks off during the photos?  Disney isnt allowing those photos to show up.


----------



## Yooperroo

No. Absolutely not.
Edit: Forgot to hit "reply" and I was replying to the question above.


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

Yooperroo said:


> No. Absolutely not.
> Edit: Forgot to hit "Quote" and I was replying to the question above.



It's possible someone else in your picture took their mask off?


----------



## Yooperroo

roomthreeseventeen said:


> It's possible someone else in your picture took their mask off?


For some I suppose, but for others we have been the only people in our ride vehicle.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Yooperroo said:


> For some I suppose, but for others we have been the only people in our ride vehicle.


 Are you possibly using  old MagicBands Purchased/obtained on previous trips?  I’ve heard sometimes the battery loses some If it’s power and the ride photos don’t pick up at a distance even though it works for close up taps to enter the park and make purchases.  Just a thought.


----------



## JM23457

Yooperroo said:


> Has anyone that is here gotten their magic shots and/or ride photos? We've been here 3 days and none of our magic shots or ride photos have been showing up in MDE.


Yes, we have.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Yooperroo said:


> Has anyone that is here gotten their magic shots and/or ride photos? We've been here 3 days and none of our magic shots or ride photos have been showing up in MDE.



They have been slow, but eventually coming.  We are missing some rides.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Although one thing on the photos, make sure to check “view all” on the filters.  Mine had either defaulted or at some point I switched it to “mine only” so I was not seeing anything others in my party had scanned.


----------



## AngelDisney

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Another random observation.  I arrived at DAK today just after a storm/downpour.  They funneled us towards the white temp check tents but it was unstaffed and somewhat confusing what to do.  Given the rain and I presume close enough lightening, the Advent Health folks had been temporarily relocated all the way to the left of the new permanent security covering.  So, you walk over there, get your temp check, and then move ‘across’ to security.
> 
> So, if there are storms in the area you may encounter slightly modified temp check locations.
> 
> Like all of this stuff, YMMV.


Did they have signage to direct you where to go or did you have to figure it out yourself?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

AngelDisney said:


> Did they have signage to direct you where to go or did you have to figure it out yourself?



No signage, but the Advent crew were waving/hollering to call you over to where they were.  It was only confusing for a few seconds before I figured it all out.


----------



## Yooperroo

scrappinginontario said:


> Are you possibly using  old MagicBands Purchased/obtained on previous trips?  I’ve heard sometimes the battery loses some If it’s power and the ride photos don’t pick up at a distance even though it works for close up taps to enter the park and make purchases.  Just a thought.


Nope. Brand new for this trip. I'm going to give it another full day and if we don't have those photos by tonight I'll email.


----------



## ksueboo

One tip about masks since I’m seeing it discussed here, buy or make an eyeglass chain with clips. It clips right on to the elastic bands and when you stop to eat or drink the mask can rest on you instead of holding it or trying to find a place to safely set it down. We use these at the medical center I work in and it’s works great!


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

Is anyone streaming from Epcot today?

Nevermind...found one on Youtube.


----------



## maryj11

I have read what to do with your masks while eating, but any advice on where to keep your purse or bag? On your lap?


----------



## disneymomof#2

might have to go back to a fanny pack, like I did in the 90s.


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

disneymomof#2 said:


> might have to go back to a fanny pack, like I did in the 90s.



Get a SPIbelt or a FlipBelt.


----------



## teach22180

Are the benches still in their usual locations? Is there any restriction to using them? Thanks!


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

disneymomof#2 said:


> might have to go back to a fanny pack, like I did in the 90s.


I see they are making a comeback! They sell them on ShopDisney .com.


----------



## DduzDis

Chris Ehlers said:


>



My daughter and I were waiting for the Carousel as RTV1 was filming this.  We make an appearance at 2:49:08 and each time he passes us.


----------



## DduzDis

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I think those are open.  Others deeper in the park aren’t.  I assume they want to dissuade taking your mask off eating an ice cream bar and such, if that’s the case it’s working.



I bought one in Liberty Square on Saturday. It was HOT so we had to eat it quickly.


----------



## DduzDis

GetMeOnSpaceMtn said:


> Sounds like everything in the parks is pretty nice... How has the airport been? That's my big concern with MCO where you have to get on the tram with everyone and then there are bottle neck points here and there.





koquinn said:


> Wondering this too - this is my biggest fear.  We have direct flights on Southwest, which isn't selling middle seats at least in August when we're scheduled, but I'm concerned about MCO.  Especially sitting there on the way home.



My daughter and I had flights on SWA with a connection each way.  I can say that we had no problems at all with distancing or mask compliance in any airport (to include the 2 hour wait we had in MCO following our DME ride) or on any of the SWA flights. The flight attendants are as good as the park CMs about monitoring IMO.  The line for tram had already dissipated when we arrived to it as we just made it before the doors closed.  The were two other people in our car and we were on the other end of it from them.  No distancing issues there either.


----------



## disneymomof#2

Does Security still have a "bags" and "bagless" line? Or does everyone walk through the same line?


----------



## DduzDis

disneymomof#2 said:


> Does Security still have a "bags" and "bagless" line? Or does everyone walk through the same line?



I had a bag but went through with everyone else.  But, they don't go through your bags anymore.  If your bag sets off the alarm they move you to a different table and you empty it.  I only had to do this once in our 4 park days.  No worries. Still easy breezy.


----------



## JM23457

In Hollywood Studios today. Seeing a lot of non-compliance with masking. Family with masks off throughout SDD line queue with masks under chins eating a snack for 20 minutes. Another person doing the same thing. Lots of masks under noses. Teen girl walking in middle of walkway with mask totally off. Walked right by CMs who ignored it.

If compliance is this lackadaisical now, what will it be like in a month?


----------



## MomOTwins

JM23457 said:


> In Hollywood Studios today. Seeing a lot of non-compliance with masking. Family with masks off throughout SDD line queue with masks under chins eating a snack for 20 minutes. Another person doing the same thing. Lots of masks under noses. Teen girl walking in middle of walkway with mask totally off. Walked right by CMs who ignored it.
> 
> If compliance is this lackadaisical now, what will it be like in a month?


Not going to get better unless Disney starts expelling people from the park for clear non-compliance (not talking about a sip of water--talking about the folks with masks completely off in queues/rides for an extended period of time.  Taking away photopass photos is not enough.


----------



## JimYvette

The more people that are in the parks the more non compliance we will see. It will also be harder for Disney to enforce the rules. The people blatantly breaking the rules should be escorted out. Unfortunately though, I think we should get used to seeing masks under noses and being taken off and on.


----------



## 2vets

JimYvette said:


> The more people that are in the parks the more non compliance we will see. It will also be harder for Disney to enforce the rules. The people blatantly breaking the rules should be escorted out. Unfortunately though, I think we should get used to seeing masks under noses and being taken off and on.


And that, right there, is why people will cancel.  If I start seeing this regularly, there is no way in Hades I'm going to Disney.  I can see that for free at home.


----------



## DduzDis

JM23457 said:


> In Hollywood Studios today. Seeing a lot of non-compliance with masking. Family with masks off throughout SDD line queue with masks under chins eating a snack for 20 minutes. Another person doing the same thing. Lots of masks under noses. Teen girl walking in middle of walkway with mask totally off. Walked right by CMs who ignored it.
> 
> If compliance is this lackadaisical now, what will it be like in a month?



I can't speak to walking by a CM with her mask off, but eating is clearly stated as a reason to take one's mask off.  It should still be 6 feet away.  Nobody has specified where that takes place.  So it makes you uncomfortable with the situation, but it is not any clear violation. Should they wait to have a snack? Maybe.  But, it is not required.  I'll tell you it was HOT when we were there and I did have my daughter and I drink water any time we could.....to include in the queues.


----------



## MomOTwins

DduzDis said:


> I can't speak to walking by a CM with her mask off, but eating is clearly stated as a reason to take one's mask off.  It should still be 6 feet away.  Nobody has specified where that takes place.  So it makes you uncomfortable with the situation, but it is not any clear violation. Should they wait to have a snack? Maybe.  But, it is not required.  I'll tell you it was HOT when we were there and I did have my daughter and I drink water any time we could.....to include in the queues.


Welll.... not exactly.  The website FAQ says "Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) and must be worn in all public areas, except while swimming or seated for dining."  Which excludes eating while walking down a pathway, or in a moving line queue.


----------



## DduzDis

MomOTwins said:


> Welll.... not exactly.  The website FAQ says "Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) and must be worn in all public areas, except while swimming or seated for dining."  Which excludes eating while walking down a pathway, or in a moving line queue.



It would not be a reason I would cancel a trip, but YMMV.


----------



## LoveToDisney

Regarding the new security screening process, did you see if ECVs and wheelchairs  could ride through the new screening or how they were handled?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

I guess everyone was waiting for Epcot F&W and all four parks to be open to get here!


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Current Kidcot status:


----------



## GADisneyDad14

I think they forgot to put Remy back out in some spots.  We are 1 for 3 in countries so far after extensive searching.


----------



## Best Aunt

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Although one thing on the photos, make sure to check “view all” on the filters.  Mine had either defaulted or at some point I switched it to “mine only” so I was not seeing anything others in my party had scanned.



For the person who can’t see their ride photos: an issue I had in the past when trying to find photos using my computer was that it had defaulted to the wrong theme park.


----------



## rodbates0322

> Not going to get better unless Disney starts expelling people from the park for clear non-compliance (not talking about a sip of water--talking about the folks with masks completely off in queues/rides for an extended period of time. Taking away photopass photos is not enough.



Disney definitely needs to be hardcore about mask rules. If it ever turns out, that the cases on the rise are coming out of theme parks, that gives them reason to close. I don't think the theme parks are the cause, probably more the bars but who knows. Even if you don't agree with masks, follow the rules to be safe and don't spoil this for everyone else who does follows the rules.


----------



## DavidNYC

rodbates0322 said:


> Disney definitely needs to be hardcore about mask rules. If it ever turns out, that the cases on the rise are coming out of theme parks, that gives them reason to close. I don't think the theme parks are the cause, probably more the bars but who knows. Even if you don't agree with masks, follow the rules to be safe and don't spoil this for everyone else who does follows the rules.



Theme parks may not be the cause now - but the more cases rise in general the more that any environment with that many people will become the cause.  Up here in NJ we've allowed summer camps to open because our numbers are now so low that the risk of transmission with precautions is very low.  But if numbers were to rise statewide for any reason - we'd need to shut them down because cannot isolate one type of crowded place from another.  Despite Disney making the best efforts possible - I've also seen way too many fan boards with way too many people downplaying the severity of this and who clearly would not hesistate to engage in behavior that most of us would realize was risky.


----------



## rodbates0322

DavidNYC said:


> Theme parks may not be the cause now - but the more cases rise in general the more that any environment with that many people will become the cause.  Up here in NJ we've allowed summer camps to open because our numbers are now so low that the risk of transmission with precautions is very low.  But if numbers were to rise statewide for any reason - we'd need to shut them down because cannot isolate one type of crowded place from another.  Despite Disney making the best efforts possible - I've also seen way too many fan boards with way too many people downplaying the severity of this and who clearly would not hesistate to engage in behavior that most of us would realize was risky.



Honestly you might be right, I personally don't know the right answer. I know if you look at the USA section on worldofmeters.info and scroll down to "Daily New Deaths in United States" it is way down from April, even with all the new cases.


----------



## JM23457

DduzDis said:


> I can't speak to walking by a CM with her mask off, but eating is clearly stated as a reason to take one's mask off.  It should still be 6 feet away.  Nobody has specified where that takes place.  So it makes you uncomfortable with the situation, but it is not any clear violation. Should they wait to have a snack? Maybe.  But, it is not required.


Lol. Interesting rationalization. No, it is not allowed to take masks off to eat in the queues. Ask any CM or supervisor if it would be okay to do so, and they'll tell you no.

Apparently Disney is going to have to be even more explicit for everyone to understand & follow their mask mandate.


----------



## sara_s

Has anyone received any surveys from Disney that ask how you felt while in the park re: social distancing, mask compliance, etc.?


----------



## scrappinginontario

@yulilin3 , what was your experience today with people wearing masks in DHS today?  Similar to your time in the other parks or different?  I'm hearing (a) report of people not wearing them/wearing them improperly.  Wondering what your experiences were today?


----------



## DduzDis

JM23457 said:


> Lol. Interesting rationalization. No, it is not allowed to take masks off to eat in the queues. Ask any CM or supervisor if it would be okay to do so, and they'll tell you no.
> 
> Apparently Disney is going to have to be even more explicit for everyone to understand & follow their mask mandate.



Or those with a discomfort in those situations should maybe find some woods somewhere away from people to spend vacation time.  I personally didn't see anything in my time in the parks that caused me any concern.  But, I was also not in everyone's business trying to police them either.


----------



## yulilin3

scrappinginontario said:


> @yulilin3 , what was your experience today with people wearing masks in DHS today?  Similar to your time in the other parks or different?  I'm hearing (a) report of people not wearing them/wearing them improperly.  Wondering what your experiences were today?


Ive seen about same compliance.  Only one entire family in the rise queue took them off completely after an hour in the sun


----------



## scrappinginontario

yulilin3 said:


> Ive seen about same compliance.  Only one entire family in the rise queue took them off completely after an hour in the sun


Thanks!  Although, disappointed in that family's choice.


----------



## MomOTwins

DduzDis said:


> I complied just fine and nobody encouraged anyone to break the rules.  Wow.



Yes, you did.  You said that "it is not required" to wear a mask if you are eating or drinking while in queues.  That is against the rules.



DduzDis said:


> I can't speak to walking by a CM with her mask off, but eating is clearly stated as a reason to take one's mask off.  It should still be 6 feet away.  Nobody has specified where that takes place.  So it makes you uncomfortable with the situation, but it is not any clear violation. Should they wait to have a snack? Maybe.  But, it is not required.  I'll tell you it was HOT when we were there and I did have my daughter and I drink water any time we could.....to include in the queues.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Please agree to disagree and let's move forward.


----------



## mom to minnie&mickey

DduzDis said:


> Or those with a discomfort in those situations should maybe find some woods somewhere away from people to spend vacation time. I personally didn't see anything in my time in the parks that caused me any concern. But, I was also not in everyone's business trying to police them either.




Or maybe those who have no intention of following the safety precautions Disney has taken to ensure the covid19 risks are minimized for everyone should find said "woods somewhere away from people."  I get that it is hot and humid but Disney was very clear about masks having to be worn at all times and where and when you can remove them.  Everyone was free to make a choice to vacation there or not but nobody should be free to remove their masks whenever/wherever they feel like it.  That behaviour potentially endangers others so it is their business.   Disney needs to get tough on this big time because if removal of masks becomes widespread in their parks/resorts it will only be a matter of time before they are forced to shut down again.


----------



## yulilin3

Please keep this thread focused on experiences and question for those there
No judgment or name calling


----------



## DduzDis

scrappinginontario said:


> Please agree to disagree and let's move forward.


Happy to.


----------



## DisneyMommy77

We went to HS today. Arrived before 10, but was unable to get ROTR. Tried again at 1pm and 4pm and still no luck. I had the app open and ready on time, but as soon as I tried to join it said it was full.

I will say HS felt way more busier than MK and AK!! Like a big difference in crowds to me! 
It was a quick moving, but long security line to get in. Rides had much longer wait times. I believe Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Train was at 70 minutes at one point. We left around 1:30 after being able to do 3 rides and a show. We are waiting out the current rain/storm and hopefully will head back over soon. 

I didn’t see any obvious mask non-compliance and everyone appeared to be trying to follow the rules, but it felt crowded to me, especially the first couple of hours. 

We took a break at that pizza place near muppets and sat outside at one of their tables prior to the restaurant being opened. We were eating our snacks, but were told we needed to leave as it was only for restaurant guests. Maybe that is the normal rule, but we were trying to be responsible by eating and drinking there compared to eating while walking or eating while in line. 

Also, on another note, last night at the Contemporary they ran out of straws, ice and napkins at Contempo Cafe. It took nearly an hour for my mobile order to be ready. 

The lines for the elevators have been so long that a CM started taking groups to the employee elevator to help out. We have waited nearly 20 minutes for an elevator on multiple occasions. I asked about stairs, but they said they can’t be used. I could see the stress on the CMs faces by these situations, so I continue to try to show my patience. They are doing the best they can! 

Even though HS was a little disappointing today we are still having a great time. I think my expectations were too high after the awesomeness of MK and AK. 

Epcot tomorrow!


----------



## mom to minnie&mickey

DisneyMommy77 said:


> We took a break at that pizza place near muppets and sat outside at one of their tables prior to the restaurant being opened. We were eating our snacks, but were told we needed to leave as it was only for restaurant guests. Maybe that is the normal rule, but we were trying to be responsible by eating and drinking there compared to eating while walking or eating while in line.




I think that CM was wrong because eating at a designated eating area is certainly the responsible thing to do, good for you.  What about people who bring their own food into the parks, where would they be able to eat if not at qs locations?  Disney has to make accommodations for them to safely enjoy their meals.   Maybe someone who has experienced this situation will post their experience.  Enjoy the rest of your vacation.


----------



## maryj11

mom to minnie&mickey said:


> I think that CM was wrong because eating at a designated eating area is certainly the responsible thing to do, good for you.  What about people who bring their own food into the parks, where would they be able to eat if not at qs locations?  Disney has to make accommodations for them to safely enjoy their meals.   Maybe someone who has experienced this situation will post their experience.  Enjoy the rest of your vacation.


I would think it would be fine to eat on an empty table. I know they have resting places around where you can sit and take off your masks. Maybe you can also eat there.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

DisneyMommy77 said:


> We took a break at that pizza place near muppets and sat outside at one of their tables prior to the restaurant being opened. We were eating our snacks, but were told we needed to leave as it was only for restaurant guests. Maybe that is the normal rule, but we were trying to be responsible by eating and drinking there compared to eating while walking or eating while in line.



That' might be a new rule.  It has never been an issue before hanging out in that area.


----------



## TallandGoofy

What time did they start letting people in?  When I checked the app at 10 (official opening) MMRR already had a 120 minute wait.  What the heck?!


----------



## yulilin3

TallandGoofy said:


> What time did they start letting people in?  When I checked the app at 10 (official opening) MMRR already had a 120 minute wait.  What the heck?!


9am


----------



## IluvMGM

yulilin3 said:


> 9am



I wonder is that an everyday sort of thing? Are all the parks letting people in an hour early?


----------



## yulilin3

IluvMGM said:


> I wonder is that an everyday sort of thing? Are all the parks letting people in an hour early?


no, only report of being that early has been DHS


----------



## HuskerFaninIL

DHS today. My 15 year old got Rise at 10 am but her select all was just her, she got group 1 and guest relations added the rest of us. So that was our saving grace.

MFSR was mostly walk on, rode 4 times.
TOT was a pain, line time always wrong or it broke.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

We enjoyed Epcot today.  Definitely more people than my prior experiences at MK and DAK.  Not heavy crowds, but not a ghost town either.  While not a perfect comparison, it felt somewhat like normal summer non festival Epcot crowds to me.

Not that I’m spending all my time looking, but mask compliance seemed very high to me.  You do see more people walking around with beverages and such given the preponderance of options around Epcot.  Most seem to drop the mask, take a sip/bite, then put the mask back on.  If you watch long enough you’ll see some pushing that a bit. 

I don’t know who it was but the woman playing piano in the UK garden was an unexpected treat.

Didn’t stop at any but F&W booths seemed mostly walk ups or 1-5 people waits.

Heat was brutal before the storms rolled in. I find myself buying a lot less water with the masks and have to keep reminding myself to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate rather than just truck through the heat.

I can easily go to Epcot and not ride a thing, so in that sense to me it’s a great park with all of this going on. Big park, mostly wide paths, can spend most of the time outside, fun food/beverage options.  

I thought the recent paving and path changes at the front of the park made things a heck of a lot better than when I was last there in Feb. 

Glad they made the call to open Epcot.


----------



## TallandGoofy

yulilin3 said:


> no, only report of being that early has been DHS


Were rides running at 9 as well or just letting people in?


----------



## TallandGoofy

Did anyone take a resort bus to Studios today?  And if so, what time did they get you there?


----------



## only hope

DisneyMommy77 said:


> We took a break at that pizza place near muppets and sat outside at one of their tables prior to the restaurant being opened. We were eating our snacks, but were told we needed to leave as it was only for restaurant guests. Maybe that is the normal rule, but we were trying to be responsible by eating and drinking there compared to eating while walking or eating while in line.



That's new. We nearly always pack, and frequently eat at an outdoor QS table. We've been doing this for a decade or more. We are respectful and don't take up a table without buying food if there aren't plenty to go around. I've eaten at that exact location before before they opened. Once there was a family just chilling at another table, not eating. I'd understand them telling you to move if they were open and tables were running low. I wonder if it's a cleaning thing? But to me that's silly as I don't expect any public surface that I sit on to be clean. Not pre-covid, not now.


----------



## JM23457

I agree with a PP that DHS had much longer lines than MK or AK. Everything had a real wait. Rides breaking down was also an issue (SDD, MMRR, TOT). Combined with the heat, it was a difficult day for us.

We've been to Orlando in July three times before and once in August, and have never been so challenged by the heat. It isn't the masks imo. I noticed the temps the past few days (not counting today) went into the upper 90's instead of Orlando's more common low 90's. But as much as that, I think it's being forced to tour midday that makes it so much hotter for us than usual. We're used to touring in the morning, spending the afternoon at the resort, and then maybe returning to the parks late evening. Now that both early morning & late evening are out, it's much harder to tour in summer.

On a practical level, we got a lot done in a few hours: TSMM, ROTR, SDD, TOT. But we couldn't wait to leave because of the heat. After 4 happy summers at WDW, that was a surprising development for us.


----------



## Doingitagain

maryj11 said:


> I would think it would be fine to eat on an empty table. I know they have resting places around where you can sit and take off your masks. Maybe you can also eat there.


Perhaps they have to keep the tables open to meet the social distancing requirements for guests purchasing at the restaurant. I would think you could sit there until the restaurant opens.


----------



## tvsdisney

So I can now indeed tell you that your temp can run to high and it shows you are running a fever. Walked into the HS temp check and both myself and my 5yo registered to high. We had to go sit in a tent for five minutes they offered us water and they checked again. That time we were both good to go!


----------



## soniam

Yooperroo said:


> Has anyone that is here gotten their magic shots and/or ride photos? We've been here 3 days and none of our magic shots or ride photos have been showing up in MDE.



Ours finally showed up during the day, starting from Monday.



GADisneyDad14 said:


> I think they forgot to put Remy back out in some spots.  We are 1 for 3 in countries so far after extensive searching.
> 
> View attachment 510561



I think there should be a hand sanitizer station hunt and find



sara_s said:


> Has anyone received any surveys from Disney that ask how you felt while in the park re: social distancing, mask compliance, etc.?


I got one about our first day, Monday, at MK. It had other MK stuff too but specifically asked about COVID stuff.



TallandGoofy said:


> Were rides running at 9 as well or just letting people in?


No, they just started letting people into the park and line up for MMRR.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

So for those that went, was DHS “too” crowded. I’m here so obviously have a level of human interaction tolerance that I’m OK with.  But some of these DHS reports seem like a lot of inside time with a lot of people and such, so just trying to picture things.


----------



## yulilin3

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I don’t know who it was but the woman playing piano in the UK garden was an unexpected treat.


the one and only Carol Stein, she usuall performs inside the Rose and Crown and also used to be the pianist for the Comedy Warehouse at Pleasure Island


TallandGoofy said:


> Were rides running at 9 as well or just letting people in?


I only noticed MMRR queue because I was close to it, not sure about the other ones. Obviously not RotR since the VQ opened at 10am


----------



## GADisneyDad14

yulilin3 said:


> the one and only Carol Stein, she usuall performs inside the Rose and Crown and also used to be the pianist for the Comedy Warehouse at Pleasure Island



Ahh, cool, thanks. With my kids usually in tow, I sadly can’t say I’ve ever spent much time inside Rose and Crown.


----------



## yulilin3

GADisneyDad14 said:


> So for those that went, was DHS “too” crowded. I’m here so obviously have a level of human interaction tolerance that I’m OK with.  But some of these DHS reports seem like a lot of inside time with a lot of people and such, so just trying to picture things.


the entrance was surprisingly smooth with no congestion but I have to admit I was the 2nd car parked in the lot. Still a steady influx of people. SWGE seemed very busy midday when I was there. The rest of the park felt ok, not crowded


----------



## Doingitagain

yulilin3 said:


> the entrance was surprisingly smooth with no congestion but I have to admit I was the 2nd car parked in the lot. Still a steady influx of people. SWGE seemed very busy midday when I was there. The rest of the park felt ok, not crowded


What time did they let you in the parking lot?


----------



## DisneyMommy77

Just got back after going back into HS after the storm passed. (Well, it’s still raining, but stopped dumping)
Lines were much shorter this evening. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad had an 80 minute wait posted at 6:15pm, but it was actually only 24 mins. Toy Story, Aerosmith, and Smuggler’s Run were both walk on. This could have been due to the rain.
It felt less crowded this evening, but still more crowded overall compared to MK and AK. 

Someone asked about the resort bus. We were outside waiting for the bus at 9AM and there was one already there picking up people.


----------



## wilkydelts

yulilin3 said:


> I only noticed MMRR queue because I was close to it, not sure about the other ones. Obviously not RotR since the VQ opened at 10am



I am not totally clear on this.. they let people into the line or the line was moving and people were getting on the ride before 10?


----------



## soniam

GADisneyDad14 said:


> So for those that went, was DHS “too” crowded. I’m here so obviously have a level of human interaction tolerance that I’m OK with.  But some of these DHS reports seem like a lot of inside time with a lot of people and such, so just trying to picture things.



Like @yulilin3 said, SWGE was definitely more crowded than AK or MK feltTSL was a bit crowded too. However, none of this felt like Xmas week. It felt more like a normal to less busy day, as opposed to ghost town like somethings have felt.



wilkydelts said:


> I am not totally clear on this.. they let people into the line or the line was moving and people were getting on the ride before 10?



They were letting people line up, probably inside, but I only saw the courtyard area outside all in front of the Chinese theater and even by the entrance to animation courtyard. I think somewhere between 9:45 and 10, the line started moving, so they were letting people ride.


----------



## Jason2015

mousefan73 said:


> I am happily stuck in Germany.


Ahh that make sense. Lucky you!


----------



## JM23457

In terms of crowding, DHS felt like a normal day to me. Not peak season crowded, but if I hadn't known capacity was limited, I never would have guessed. I assume the short hours and the shows all being closed contributed to the crowding. Consistent 6 foot social distancing was not a realistic goal in Toy Story Land or Star Wars Land. Even trying to consistently keep 3 feet of distance would be a challenge.

I'll also mention that TOT requires you to be about 3 feet from other groups as you wait in your assigned spots by the elevator. Not anywhere near 6 feet. I was a bit surprised by that, as other rides with assigned spots (FOP, ROTR) do keep you 6 feet apart. Once you're inside the elevator you're pretty spread out, though.


----------



## vinotinto

So, how are the buses? How is driving and parking? We’ll have our car, and are trying to decide best option between busing or driving from Contemporary to DHS, Epcot and AK.


----------



## slothlord

First time ever for me in Hollywood Studios today, and my friend and I got boarding group 1 for Rise right at 10am!! We went to the line at about 10:30 and had a short wait. Fantastic experience! All Preshows running as far as I can tell. Lots of distancing.


----------



## pepperandchips

slothlord said:


> First time ever for me in Hollywood Studios today, and my friend and I got boarding group 1 for Rise right at 10am!! We went to the line at about 10:30 and had a short wait. Fantastic experience! All Preshows running as far as I can tell. Lots of distancing.


Off topic but I love your username


----------



## JM23457

vinotinto said:


> So, how are the buses? How is driving and parking? We’ll have our car, and are trying to decide best option between busing or driving from Contemporary to DHS, Epcot and AK.


Driving and parking was easy for us at MK, AK & DHS (haven't been to Epcot yet). The lots are nowhere near full & we never needed a tram. I wouldn't want to bother with buses right now, given the increased waits due to distancing & the need to wear masks. After leaving a hot park, it's a nice lift to turn on your car's AC and take your mask off.


----------



## slothlord

pepperandchips said:


> Off topic but I love your username




That reddit video is basically my friend and me at animal kingdom yesterday


----------



## brandip22

JM23457 said:


> Driving and parking was easy for us at MK, AK & DHS (haven't been to Epcot yet). The lots are nowhere near full & we never needed a tram. I wouldn't want to bother with buses right now, given the increased waits due to distancing & the need to wear masks. After leaving a hot park, it's a nice lift to turn on your car's AC and take your mask off.



Thanks for this! I'm trying to decide now if I want to rent a car just for our DHS and AK days as we are staying at BLT and will walk to MK. Tho we may need the car for EPCOT as well.


----------



## vinotinto

JM23457 said:


> Driving and parking was easy for us at MK, AK & DHS (haven't been to Epcot yet). The lots are nowhere near full & we never needed a tram. I wouldn't want to bother with buses right now, given the increased waits due to distancing & the need to wear masks. After leaving a hot park, it's a nice lift to turn on your car's AC and take your mask off.


Thank you! Appreciate you sharing your experience.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

vinotinto said:


> So, how are the buses? How is driving and parking? We’ll have our car, and are trying to decide best option between busing or driving from Contemporary to DHS, Epcot and AK.



We usually don’t have a car at WDW but do this time. We’ve been about 50/50 bus/car. Lots are so empty car has been easy. I’ve sort of been doing game time decision, if the bus is there on my way to the resort parking lot, I take the bus. If not or there are a lot of people there, I take the car.

I have liked that Poly has not been sharing with GF. Less people and a few less minutes in the bus going.

While I’m OK with it, I don’t love the idea of enclosed public transportation right now, so have appreciated having a car.


----------



## vinotinto

GADisneyDad14 said:


> We usually don’t have a car at WDW but do this time. We’ve been about 50/50 bus/car. Lots are so empty car has been easy. I’ve sort of been doing game time decision, if the bus is there on my way to the resort parking lot, I take the bus. If not or there are a lot of people there, I take the car.
> 
> I have liked that Poly has not been sharing with GF. Less people and a few less minutes in the bus going.
> 
> While I’m OK with it, I don’t love the idea of enclosed public transportation right now, so have appreciated having a car.


Thank you! We’re not super comfortable with the enclosed bus space, but also not sure about the evenings we have dinner in the parks, it’s not ideal to have to drive afterwards. I think we are leaning towards driving unless we see the bus waiting pretty empty.


----------



## nfischer

Any news on rider swap?


----------



## yulilin3

nfischer said:


> Any news on rider swap?


working the same as always


----------



## nkereina

I'm sorry if I've missed it, but what are the recent experiences with resort hopping? Has anyone here tried to visit another resort that they did not have an ADR or reservation for? I know it was stated in Disney's guidance prior to opening that this would not be permitted, but it was not being enforced before the parks were open. I assumed this was due to low capacity. Now that the parks are open and there are presumably more people on-site, I've seen reports of people trying to drive to a different resort and being turned away. But what about those arriving by WDW transportation? Are they validating anything?


----------



## DisneyMommy77

nkereina said:


> I'm sorry if I've missed it, but what are the recent experiences with resort hopping? Has anyone here tried to visit another resort that they did not have an ADR or reservation for? I know it was stated in Disney's guidance prior to opening that this would not be permitted, but it was not being enforced before the parks were open. I assumed this was due to low capacity. Now that the parks are open and there are presumably more people on-site, I've seen reports of people trying to drive to a different resort and being turned away. But what about those arriving by WDW transportation? Are they validating anything?


I have taken the Monorail from the Contemporary to both the Polynesian and Grand Floridian and I was able to get in without anyone checking. (I did actually have ADRs, but no one checked when I got off the monorail)
I also took the SkyLiner from HS to Epcot and walked to Beach Club and Boardwalk from there. Again, no one checked.


----------



## nikkistevej

slothlord said:


> First time ever for me in Hollywood Studios today, and my friend and I got boarding group 1 for Rise right at 10am!! We went to the line at about 10:30 and had a short wait. Fantastic experience! All Preshows running as far as I can tell. Lots of distancing.


I've never ridden this(haven't been to the park since the ride opened), so would I just join the boarding group as soon as I get in the park? Thanks for any input.


----------



## nikkistevej

What time have the buses been getting to the resorts before the parks open? Like an hour, 45 min? My DD and I are staying at AKL Jambo, and trying to figure out timing for our trip on the 25th.


----------



## yulilin3

nkereina said:


> I'm sorry if I've missed it, but what are the recent experiences with resort hopping? Has anyone here tried to visit another resort that they did not have an ADR or reservation for? I know it was stated in Disney's guidance prior to opening that this would not be permitted, but it was not being enforced before the parks were open. I assumed this was due to low capacity. Now that the parks are open and there are presumably more people on-site, I've seen reports of people trying to drive to a different resort and being turned away. But what about those arriving by WDW transportation? Are they validating anything?


From day one I've been able to visit resorts by parking at DS and taking a resort bus, no issue. The problem is when you try and park at that resort.


----------



## GBRforWDW

nikkistevej said:


> I've never ridden this(haven't been to the park since the ride opened), so would I just join the boarding group as soon as I get in the park? Thanks for any input.


Hi NikkiStevej, Right now, Hollywood Studios has 3 different Boarding Group drop times, 10am, 1pm and 4pm.  You have to have been inside Hollywood Studios at least once during the day and logged into your MDE account on your phone at one of those time to try to join.

Check out this thread for more info:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...planning-and-information-no-spoilers.3782822/


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

Can anyone comment on staying at Pop & taking the Skyliner to DHS?  I know DHS literally just opened, but I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to take an uber to the park to be sure to be in before 10am, or if the Skyliner will be running much earlier than park opening.  Someone on another thread said it was crazy at Riviera just before Epcot opened & it wasn't clear when they actually started operating.  Thanks!


----------



## yulilin3

MusicalAstronaut said:


> Can anyone comment on staying at Pop & taking the Skyliner to DHS?  I know DHS literally just opened, but I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to take an uber to the park to be sure to be in before 10am, or if the Skyliner will be running much earlier than park opening.  Someone on another thread said it was crazy at Riviera just before Epcot opened & it wasn't clear when they actually started operating.  Thanks!


 i would not rely on it to get to dhs before 10


----------



## scrappinginontario

yulilin3 said:


> From day one I've been able to visit resorts by parking at DS and taking a resort bus, no issue. The problem is when you try and park at that resort.


  thanks!  We're hoping to be able to go to different resorts for QS meals to just change things up so this is good to know.


MusicalAstronaut said:


> Can anyone comment on staying at Pop & taking the Skyliner to DHS?  I know DHS literally just opened, but I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to take an uber to the park to be sure to be in before 10am, or if the Skyliner will be running much earlier than park opening.  Someone on another thread said it was crazy at Riviera just before Epcot opened & it wasn't clear when they actually started operating.  Thanks!


This picture is one someone posted yesterday:


With DHS 'officially' opening at 10:00 it appears the Skyliner would easily get you there in time.


----------



## LovingPooh

DisneyMommy77 said:


> We went to HS today. Arrived before 10, but was unable to get ROTR. Tried again at 1pm and 4pm and still no luck. I had the app open and ready on time, but as soon as I tried to join it said it was full.
> 
> I will say HS felt way more busier than MK and AK!! Like a big difference in crowds to me!
> It was a quick moving, but long security line to get in. Rides had much longer wait times. I believe Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Train was at 70 minutes at one point. We left around 1:30 after being able to do 3 rides and a show. We are waiting out the current rain/storm and hopefully will head back over soon.
> 
> I didn’t see any obvious mask non-compliance and everyone appeared to be trying to follow the rules, but it felt crowded to me, especially the first couple of hours.
> 
> We took a break at that pizza place near muppets and sat outside at one of their tables prior to the restaurant being opened. We were eating our snacks, but were told we needed to leave as it was only for restaurant guests. Maybe that is the normal rule, but we were trying to be responsible by eating and drinking there compared to eating while walking or eating while in line.
> 
> Also, on another note, last night at the Contemporary they ran out of straws, ice and napkins at Contempo Cafe. It took nearly an hour for my mobile order to be ready.
> 
> The lines for the elevators have been so long that a CM started taking groups to the employee elevator to help out. We have waited nearly 20 minutes for an elevator on multiple occasions. I asked about stairs, but they said they can’t be used. I could see the stress on the CMs faces by these situations, so I continue to try to show my patience. They are doing the best they can!
> 
> Even though HS was a little disappointing today we are still having a great time. I think my expectations were too high after the awesomeness of MK and AK.
> 
> Epcot tomorrow!


Hollywood studios felt much busier to us as well.  We were there yesterday. We were finally able to get a queue at 4 PM. Very hot yesterday. We were in the park from open to close


----------



## IluvMGM

scrappinginontario said:


> thanks!  We're hoping to be able to go to different resorts for QS meals to just change things up so this is good to know.
> 
> This picture is one someone posted yesterday:
> View attachment 510865
> 
> With DHS 'officially' opening at 10:00 it appears the Skyliner would easily get you there in time.




So are the buses for sure not running at all from Pop to DHS & Epcot? I know they weren't supposed to be, but just curious.


----------



## Dave006

MusicalAstronaut said:


> Can anyone comment on staying at Pop & taking the Skyliner to DHS? I know DHS literally just opened, but I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to take an uber to the park to be sure to be in before 10am, or if the Skyliner will be running much earlier than park opening.


For Uber, if you get there before the parking lot opens you will be delayed in reaching the drop off point. Once the parking opens there may still be a line for the drop off location.

For the Skyliner, I would not guarantee that you would be there by 10 AM at this time. The key may be "when are you going" vs how it is working today. Disney is really trying to slow down crowding for "Park Opening" to help with social distancing.

Dave


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

Another question, but for Epcot.  How are the Festival booth lines?  I'm thinking if DHS is such a mess, I might be happier using my repeat day in Epcot (assuming I can get in).


----------



## scrappinginontario

IluvMGM said:


> So are the buses for sure not running at all from Pop to DHS & Epcot? I know they weren't supposed to be, but just curious.


I don't believe this is correct unless they have made changes.  In the past, buses still ran (1 per hour) even during Skyliner hours.  Unless you have heard it announced officially, this should still be the case.


----------



## YawningDodo

Question: are they selling water at the relaxation stations, or do you need to pick up bottled water elsewhere if you want to hydrate while you sit?


----------



## yulilin3

YawningDodo said:


> Question: are they selling water at the relaxation stations, or do you need to pick up bottled water elsewhere if you want to hydrate while you sit?


At mk during ap preview they had a cart with bottled water for sale at the tomorrowland terrace location.  
Ak i didn't see any
Dhs didn't see any
Going to epcot Saturday


----------



## GBRforWDW

scrappinginontario said:


> I don't believe this is correct unless they have made changes.  In the past, buses still ran (1 per hour) even during Skyliner hours.  Unless you have heard it announced officially, this should still be the case.


I believe there was a rumor that buses weren't going to run from the skyliner resorts to DHS and Epcot, but I also believe that was debunked.  I can't find anything online about it, so unless someone knows for sure, we should assume they are running hourly, as they did before the shutdown.


----------



## slothlord

MusicalAstronaut said:


> Can anyone comment on staying at Pop & taking the Skyliner to DHS?  I know DHS literally just opened, but I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to take an uber to the park to be sure to be in before 10am, or if the Skyliner will be running much earlier than park opening.  Someone on another thread said it was crazy at Riviera just before Epcot opened & it wasn't clear when they actually started operating.  Thanks!



I took the skyliner yesterday around 9:30 or so, got in the park by 9:50 and was super lucky to get the first boarding group. Skyliner lines look long for the distancing but moves pretty quick.

However, this morning for epcot the skyliner line was moving pretty slow.


----------



## GBRforWDW

slothlord said:


> I took the skyliner yesterday around 9:30 or so, got in the park by 9:50 and was super lucky to get the first boarding group. Skyliner lines look long for the distancing but moves pretty quick.
> 
> However, this morning for epcot the skyliner line was moving pretty slow.


At least with Epcot, you don't have to mad dash get there for anything.   It is frustrating though that they don't start these sooner to get more people through to the entrance before the park opens


----------



## Dave006

With DHS being a very confined space to hold guests while social distancing, Disney is trying to slow the bottle necks before the Tapstiles, Hollywood Blvd, and at Sunset Blvd.

Where would you suggest everyone wait?

The biggest impact now to the BG / VQ situation is the vastly reduced capacity on RoTR due to social distancing.

Dave


----------



## yulilin3

Dave006 said:


> With DHS being a very confined space to hold guests while social distancing, Disney is trying to slow the bottle necks before the Tapstiles, Hollywood Blvd, and at Sunset Blvd.
> 
> Where would you suggest everyone wait?
> 
> The biggest impact now to the BG / VQ situation is the vastly reduced capacity on RoTR due to social distancing.
> 
> Dave


There's no bottle neck going through bag check or entering. 
You mean wait inside the park?


----------



## Sugarshock

For anyone who's visited the parks since they re-opened, how are 3D glasses being handled? Is a cast member handing them to you? Is that person wearing gloves? I'm worried they may just be in a bin where everyone reaches in with their potentially unwashed hands... Thanks in advance!


----------



## mickeymom629

I love hearing about all the experiences of this week at WDW and I am trying to keep hopeful that our family trip (moved to mid-Jan from early Dec) will really happen.  

Are any of you feeling stressed/anxious, even as you are enjoying?  Are you sleeping peacefully at your resort? (I haven't been since this whole thing started...)

Do you feel "safe" in the park bathrooms or are you closely passing other people?  
Are you feeling "safe" with your children (toddlers, specifically)?  
Are you (overly) concened when you sit on a seat (NOT talking about a toilet seat ) previously occupied by someone else - like in COP, Carousel, bus or elsewhere?  

Any advice for people thinking about their upcoming trips?  Will you be returning soon or did this trip make you feel like you are done until things are more in control?

I just can't help but think that it will be stressful, especially with children to watch. At our house, only DH is going out of the house to work, so he is designated shopper and wearing mask when around the house, even, and sleeping in another room . A son, his wife and two little children live with us and they want us to be extra careful.  We have friends and relatives (even in the healthcare fields) who are coming home and showering and NOT wearing masks around their loved ones, so I know we are maybe going overboard at our house.

We all want to go back to WDW so badly but we don't want to get into arguments with each other or others about staying "clean".

I hope it's okay to ask here - please move if not.


----------



## yulilin3

mickeymom629 said:


> I love hearing about all the experiences of this week at WDW and I am trying to keep hopeful that our family trip (moved to mid-Jan from early Dec) will really happen.
> 
> Are any of you feeling stressed/anxious, even as you are enjoying?  Are you sleeping peacefully at your resort? (I haven't been since this whole thing started...)
> 
> Do you feel "safe" in the park bathrooms or are you closely passing other people?
> Are you feeling "safe" with your children (toddlers, specifically)?
> Are you (overly) concened when you sit on a seat (NOT talking about a toilet seat ) previously occupied by someone else - like in COP, Carousel, bus or elsewhere?
> 
> Any advice for people thinking about their upcoming trips?  Will you be returning soon or did this trip make you feel like you are done until things are more in control?
> 
> I just can't help but think that it will be stressful, especially with children to watch. At our house, only DH is going out of the house to work, so he is designated shopper and wearing mask when around the house, even, and sleeping in another room . A son, his wife and two little children live with us and they want us to be extra careful.  We have friends and relatives (even in the healthcare fields) who are coming home and showering and NOT wearing masks around their loved ones, so I know we are maybe going overboard at our house.
> 
> We all want to go back to WDW so badly but we don't want to get into arguments with each other or others about staying "clean".
> 
> I hope it's okay to ask here - please move if not.


Ive done 3 out of 4 parks,  epcot will be Saturday and Disney has done a great job.  Mask compliance is high,  of course there's the occasional person who takes it off or wears it incorrectly,  the random person that gets too close. 
Ultimately it's your decision.  If you feel stressed just thinking about it maybe it's not the best time for you to come


----------



## yulilin3

Sugarshock said:


> For anyone who's visited the parks since they re-opened, how are 3D glasses being handled? Is a cast member handing them to you? Is that person wearing gloves? I'm worried they may just be in a bin where everyone reaches in with their potentially unwashed hands... Thanks in advance!


Same as always, in some cases they are handed out,  in some you grab from the basket


----------



## Davey Jones II

This may have been asked and answered already, but do they make you wear a mask while riding RnR? At that speed, I don't see how that's even feasible. And on other rides, like Slinky Dog, you risk having it fly off your face.


----------



## vinotinto

Davey Jones II said:


> This may have been asked and answered already, but do they make you wear a mask while riding RnR? At that speed, I don't see how that's even feasible. And on other rides, like Slinky Dog, you risk having it fly off your face.


You have to wear a mask at all times except when seating down to dine or swimming.

The centrifugal forces will keep your mask in place. I would make sure it fits tightly across your face and well secured with the ear loops.


----------



## yulilin3

vinotinto said:


> You have to wear a mask at all times except when seating down to dine or swimming.
> 
> The centrifugal forces will keep your mask in place. I would make sure it fits tightly across your face and well secured with the ear loops.


SCIENCE!
Lol, I've done slinky,  btmr, mummy and Hagrid's,  no issues


----------



## junderwood99

So, what are some suggestions for families with older kiddos on activities to do after parks close? Disney Springs is an option, as well as a dip in the pools. What are some other options for families that are more night owls - since parks are closing so much earlier than usual and resort options are limited?


----------



## SamFaniam

junderwood99 said:


> So, what are some suggestions for families with older kiddos on activities to do after parks close? Disney Springs is an option, as well as a dip in the pools. What are some other options for families that are more night owls - since parks are closing so much earlier than usual and resort options are limited?



Fantasia Gardens is open, but I don’t think Winter Summerland is.

Make a reservation at Sanaa and see the animals at Kidani.


----------



## WEDWDW

mickeymom629 said:


> I love hearing about all the experiences of this week at WDW and I am trying to keep hopeful that our family trip (moved to mid-Jan from early Dec) will really happen.
> 
> Are any of you feeling stressed/anxious, even as you are enjoying?  Are you sleeping peacefully at your resort? (I haven't been since this whole thing started...)
> 
> Do you feel "safe" in the park bathrooms or are you closely passing other people?
> Are you feeling "safe" with your children (toddlers, specifically)?
> Are you (overly) concened when you sit on a seat (NOT talking about a toilet seat ) previously occupied by someone else - like in COP, Carousel, bus or elsewhere?
> 
> Any advice for people thinking about their upcoming trips?  Will you be returning soon or did this trip make you feel like you are done until things are more in control?
> 
> I just can't help but think that it will be stressful, especially with children to watch. At our house, only DH is going out of the house to work, so he is designated shopper and wearing mask when around the house, even, and sleeping in another room . A son, his wife and two little children live with us and they want us to be extra careful.  We have friends and relatives (even in the healthcare fields) who are coming home and showering and NOT wearing masks around their loved ones, so I know we are maybe going overboard at our house.
> 
> We all want to go back to WDW so badly but we don't want to get into arguments with each other or others about staying "clean".
> 
> I hope it's okay to ask here - please move if not.


Concerns similar to yours,the fact that we were flying down and mainly the Surge in Florida were what made us finally make the heartbreaking decision not to go(we were SO excited that a trip to Pop Century we had scheduled back in January would have begun July 11!).

We knew the odds were probably long that we would contract COVID-19 on the trip,BUT in the end we just couldn't justify taking the chance on becoming infected and then,worst of all,possibly infecting someone else by taking a voluntary,LEISURE trip!

At some point,it will become clear to you what is right for your Family(it took a long time for us).

You have the advantage of time-things in Florida could be A LOT better by January!

And even though we didn't go,we have no judgment for anyone who did or does.


----------



## DisneyMommy77

Our Epcot Experience:
We took the morning off and swam, took the monorail to lunch at GF, napped and then headed into Epcot around 5:30pm.

Soarin had a 5 minute wait and then we hit World Showcase. Mask Compliance still remained really high at Epcot, but definitely more people walking while eating/drinking. However, with the wide walkways it didn’t feel unsafe. 

We tried to get some caramel treats in Germany, but all they had were pre-made bagged Werther’s caramel corn. However, they said they are getting their shipment of treats tomorrow and should have most of the usual treats! 

No school bread this trip, but plenty of other Food and Wine Festival options. Nitro cake pops and Pineapple Sparkling Wine were my favorites tonight. 

We got in line for Frozen at 8:45 and it said there was a 40 min wait. I think it was more about 25 minutes. 

The store in Japan and the tea store in England were open. We didn’t make it all the way to Mexico, so I am not sure what was open there. As we were leaving we tried to go to MouseGears but I guess they closed right at 9pm. I thought previously they stayed open later, but maybe not.

We will be going back to Epcot several more times this trip, but today was a nice quiet day at Epcot.


----------



## JM23457

mickeymom629 said:


> I love hearing about all the experiences of this week at WDW and I am trying to keep hopeful that our family trip (moved to mid-Jan from early Dec) will really happen.
> 
> Are any of you feeling stressed/anxious, even as you are enjoying?  Are you sleeping peacefully at your resort? (I haven't been since this whole thing started...)
> 
> Do you feel "safe" in the park bathrooms or are you closely passing other people?
> Are you feeling "safe" with your children (toddlers, specifically)?
> Are you (overly) concened when you sit on a seat (NOT talking about a toilet seat ) previously occupied by someone else - like in COP, Carousel, bus or elsewhere?
> 
> Any advice for people thinking about their upcoming trips?  Will you be returning soon or did this trip make you feel like you are done until things are more in control?
> 
> I just can't help but think that it will be stressful, especially with children to watch. At our house, only DH is going out of the house to work, so he is designated shopper and wearing mask when around the house, even, and sleeping in another room . A son, his wife and two little children live with us and they want us to be extra careful.  We have friends and relatives (even in the healthcare fields) who are coming home and showering and NOT wearing masks around their loved ones, so I know we are maybe going overboard at our house.
> 
> We all want to go back to WDW so badly but we don't want to get into arguments with each other or others about staying "clean".
> 
> I hope it's okay to ask here - please move if not.


I felt safe because we're at low risk of complications from Covid. I would not feel safe there if we were at high risk of complications from Covid.

We were there for a week (just got back tonight), and I estimate that around 5% of park guests do not follow the mask rules. 95% is a high rate of compliance, but it isn't perfect. When you're in a 50 minute ride line, and halfway through, the family directly in front of you all takes their masks off to eat for the next 20 minutes right there in line, and there are no CMs in sight to correct the matter, you won't feel safe. I know from experience because that happened to us at HS yesterday. And there were other similar examples. Most people wear masks properly, but don't count on everyone complying & making it safe for you. That isn't the situation,  unfortunately.


----------



## tbrown6791

MusicalAstronaut said:


> Can anyone comment on staying at Pop & taking the Skyliner to DHS?  I know DHS literally just opened, but I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to take an uber to the park to be sure to be in before 10am, or if the Skyliner will be running much earlier than park opening.  Someone on another thread said it was crazy at Riviera just before Epcot opened & it wasn't clear when they actually started operating.  Thanks!


The Pop sandwich board says the skyliner to DHS opens at 9am. We walked over there at 8:50am yesterday and were on the skyliner right away, there were maybe 4 other parties in line. The CM we spoke to said the official opening is 9am but if the systems are up and running and they get the all clear to open early, they will. We were at HS and through the gates at 9:04am, there was practically no one at the CBR hub, the trip was so smooth!


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

tbrown6791 said:


> The Pop sandwich board says the skyliner to DHS opens at 9am. We walked over there at 8:50am yesterday and were on the skyliner right away, there were maybe 4 other parties in line. The CM we spoke to said the official opening is 9am but if the systems are up and running and they get the all clear to open early, they will. We were at HS and through the gates at 9:04am, there was practically no one at the CBR hub, the trip was so smooth!


Awesome!  How were the crowds/lines at DHS?  I’ve heard conflicting things & I’ll be there tomorrow so I want to be prepared.


----------



## tbrown6791

MusicalAstronaut said:


> Awesome!  How were the crowds/lines at DHS?  I’ve heard conflicting things & I’ll be there tomorrow so I want to be prepared.


The morning was the most crowded for lines and walkways but between 10 and 1 we did MMRR, slinky, toy story mania, ROR and took some shade breaks. I think the wait times are definitely inflated and for the most part the lines are constantly moving. Also, with social distancing the line experience is much better than before, so the waits don’t bother us at all.

We took a break and went back to the room from 2-5 and when we got back to HS everything was basically a walk on. We did MMRR twice and waited about 25 mins each time, maybe less (and the wait times were posted at 60-80 mins). Then slinky, aliens, MFSR and had dinner and did some shopping. Just a note, they were locking the store doors at exactly 8pm so if you wait till the end of the day to shop, get in there before the official park closing time.


----------



## tbrown6791

We are on the way to MK from Pop now. At 8:05 the bus lines were very long and snaking down towards the other bus stops. They were pretty good about having multiple buses after one another, with maybe a 10min lag before the next set of buses. We were on a bus by 8:30 and almost to the MK bus lot now.


----------



## LovesTimone

yulilin3 said:


> Same as always, in some cases they are handed out,  in some you grab from the basket




I am bring wipes, to wipe them down... not going to make a big deal out of it, just do it quietly...and keep enjoying the day


----------



## yulilin3

LovesTimone said:


> I am bring wipes, to wipe them down... not going to make a big deal out of it, just do it quietly...and keep enjoying the day


I´ve seen people walking around with a tub of wipes, no one will look at you differently


----------



## nkereina

Davey Jones II said:


> This may have been asked and answered already, but do they make you wear a mask while riding RnR? At that speed, I don't see how that's even feasible. And on other rides, like Slinky Dog, you risk having it fly off your face.


The guidance Disney released around face coverings is that it must fit snugly to your face and be secured with ear loops or ties. If your mask truly fits snugly and is secured properly, it shouldn't be an issue.



vinotinto said:


> You have to wear a mask at all times except when seating down to dine or swimming.


Do they require a mask while on the pool deck at the resorts if you're sitting in a lounge chair? I know this is not required at Universal resorts, so just curious how Disney is handling.


Epcot question - any reports on how the lines have been at park opening? I imagine most people are capable of making an 11am "rope drop", and I would imagine many people will want to get there at opening to maximize their park day due to the shortened hours. Just curious how bad the line to get in at opening was, and how they were keeping people distanced appropriately.


----------



## LovingPooh

We are here now and I would agree that 95% of people are compliant with their masks, including kids. The other 5% do walk around with their mask under their chin or not at all. Only when a cast member says something to them do they put them on, then once the cast member is out of sight, off comes their masks again. So irresponsible....


----------



## fla4fun

Chisoxcollector said:


> The group in front of us was probably only 3 feet away from us, as they spread out behind their marker on the ground when they sat down.
> 
> When we're out in the open, I have the option of steering clear of idiots with their masks down.  When I am trapped in a queue, I have no options whatsoever.  Their apparently overwhelming need to eat right that second apparently trumps my desire to feel safe.
> 
> Every time we got a snack or a drink, we found a tucked away corner with nobody around before taking our masks off.  I don't see why that is so hard?


I benefitted from your experience.  I now stop two markers back instead of one.  It gives me a little wiggle room should one party or the other stop a little too close.  So far, it has been working well.  Thanks!


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

tbrown6791 said:


> The morning was the most crowded for lines and walkways but between 10 and 1 we did MMRR, slinky, toy story mania, ROR and took some shade breaks. I think the wait times are definitely inflated and for the most part the lines are constantly moving. Also, with social distancing the line experience is much better than before, so the waits don’t bother us at all.
> 
> We took a break and went back to the room from 2-5 and when we got back to HS everything was basically a walk on. We did MMRR twice and waited about 25 mins each time, maybe less (and the wait times were posted at 60-80 mins). Then slinky, aliens, MFSR and had dinner and did some shopping. Just a note, they were locking the store doors at exactly 8pm so if you wait till the end of the day to shop, get in there before the official park closing time.


Thank you so much, this is very helpful!


----------



## LovesTimone

yulilin3 said:


> I´ve seen people walking around with a tub of wipes, no one will look at you differently




LOL... a tub of wipes... I just keep some in a ziploc in my bag, and use as needed... now when I had little kids, I would take a tub of wipes with us...


----------



## pepperandchips

nkereina said:


> Do they require a mask while on the pool deck at the resorts if you're sitting in a lounge chair?


As of July 5, no, you were free to remove your mask anywhere on the pool deck, including sitting in a lounge chair or just walking through the pool area. There are recreation cast members at the pools keeping track of chair cleaning and spacing and I never saw them ask anyone to put on a face covering. However, I didn't see this policy written anywhere, it was just like all guests understood it.


----------



## FRANKTSJR

For those that have been there, do you notice less senior citizens than usual?


----------



## BebopBaloo

I've been reading lots of posts and watching live streams, but haven't encountered Mission Space yet. Anyone know what the safety procedures for Mission Space are, or other rides that have head rest/shoulder restraints?  Mission Space really stuck out to me on the list of open attractions because of the tiny space, shoulder restraints, and allll the things to touch for the interactive parts. We don't do the orange side, but my kids really like the green side. I'm looking ahead and wondering if we should skip it this time around.


----------



## yulilin3

BebopBaloo said:


> I've been reading lots of posts and watching live streams, but haven't encountered Mission Space yet. Anyone know what the safety procedures for Mission Space are, or other rides that have head rest/shoulder restraints?  Mission Space really stuck out to me on the list of open attractions because of the tiny space, shoulder restraints, and allll the things to touch for the interactive parts. We don't do the orange side, but my kids really like the green side. I'm looking ahead and wondering if we should skip it this time around.


MS is open to one party per capsule.  Not sure  what you mean about head rest and shoulder restraints. Same procedure as everywhere else It seems all the attractions are being cleaned every two hours.  There's hand sanitizer at the entrance and exit and there's a restroom nearby fore you ro wash your hands


----------



## BebopBaloo

yulilin3 said:


> MS is open to one party per capsule.  Not sure  what you mean about head rest and shoulder restraints. Same procedure as everywhere else It seems all the attractions are being cleaned every two hours.  There's hand sanitizer at the entrance and exit and there's a restroom nearby fore you ro wash your hands


I was curious about the shoulder restraint cleaning procedure because it is closer to ones face than other restraints, so therefore more likely to actually be touched by ones face.


----------



## yulilin3

BebopBaloo said:


> I was curious about the shoulder restraint cleaning procedure because it is closer to ones face than other restraints, so therefore more likely to actually be touched by ones face.


like I said, same procedure as all other attractions. Remember you can't take off thee mask, if you are nervous about it maybe bring wipes and clean them when you sit. The most important part is to clean your hands after riding and don't touch your face, the other thing you can do is to wash your face right after, if that would make you feel better


----------



## YawningDodo

BebopBaloo said:


> I've been reading lots of posts and watching live streams, but haven't encountered Mission Space yet. Anyone know what the safety procedures for Mission Space are, or other rides that have head rest/shoulder restraints?  Mission Space really stuck out to me on the list of open attractions because of the tiny space, shoulder restraints, and allll the things to touch for the interactive parts. We don't do the orange side, but my kids really like the green side. I'm looking ahead and wondering if we should skip it this time around.


Honestly, the enclosed space would worry me more than the restraints given the info that's been coming out lately about droplets remaining in the air. I don't know that I'm super confident in the ventilation of those capsules.


----------



## JM23457

FRANKTSJR said:


> For those that have been there, do you notice less senior citizens than usual?


No, but I don't normally see a lot of seniors at WDW. There were some there during our trip this past week, like usual.


----------



## CJK

My apologies if this has been mentioned, but is Star Tours not operating in DHS? I haven't seen it mentioned. Thanks!


----------



## GBRforWDW

CJK said:


> My apologies if this has been mentioned, but is Star Tours not operating in DHS? I haven't seen it mentioned. Thanks!


According to the app, it has a 5 minute wait.  I'd assume its working


----------



## yulilin3

CJK said:


> My apologies if this has been mentioned, but is Star Tours not operating in DHS? I haven't seen it mentioned. Thanks!


I did it Wednesday,  they have the same dividers as soarin


----------



## fla4fun

I noticed on the bus back from MK that they had the roof emergency exits open about an inch to aid in air circulation.  I didn’t notice if the bus this morning was that way as I was assigned to the front seat.  Coming back I was in the back seat so I had a view down  the entire bus.  I was also surprised to see that they moved the Pop stop to the second aisle of bus stops so we didn’t have to walk all the way out like we usually do at MK.  That was very welcome.  I was also surprised to see a mask vending machine in the bus depot.  I assumed you wouldn’t be allowed to get on a bus without one.  Is that not correct?  Maybe it’s there in case your mask breaks?

I will say to anyone coming in July or August, if you get a day without clouds to shield the sun, wearing a mask is very hot.  My first two days were cloudy and it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it was today.  I am rethinking my park reservations for August since I may need a day or two to just hang at the hotel instead of hitting them every day.

I am glad I came for a short trip now so I know better what to expect.  Plus it just plain made me happy, something I have not been for a few months.


----------



## lovethattink

For entry, it says you need park pass and ticket. Did you print out your park reservation or show it from the mde app?


----------



## fla4fun

lovethattink said:


> For entry, it says you need park pass and ticket. Did you print out your park reservation or show it from the mde app?


No.  Not asked for it either.  I assume if you try to enter a park without one Mickey turns blue instead of green.


----------



## scrappinginontario

For anyone staying on property, did you notice if the daily security checks are still being done?  If so, do they just open the door to the room or do they actually enter the room?  Hoping they just look inside.


----------



## fla4fun

JM23457 said:


> No, but I don't normally see a lot of seniors at WDW. There were some there during our trip this past week, like usual.


One thing I have noticed is fewer strollers and ECVs.  There is a lot less stroller parking at MK because of the distance markers.


----------



## cheshiregoofy22

fla4fun said:


> they moved the Pop stop to the second aisle of bus stops


----------



## fla4fun

scrappinginontario said:


> For anyone staying on property, did you notice if the daily security checks are still being done?  If so, do they just open the door to the room or do they actually enter the room?  Hoping they just look inside.


Well I am not sure what happened in my room.  I declined housekeeping, but someone did a trash and towel service anyway.  They did not make the bed or do anything else.  So I don’t know if housekeeping made a boo boo or what. I am at Pop and left the curtains open and the shears were closed also.  I think they are still doing the checks in some form though.

ETA - I just got back to my room and no sign of anything moved, even the curtains are still open.  If they were smart they would just look through the window, but I guess they have to see the bathroom too.


----------



## fla4fun

cheshiregoofy22 said:


>


Yeah, it was the closest stop in too which was great. Right next to the temperature tent too.  I am sure it will get pushed back as other hotels open up, so enjoy it while it lasts.


----------



## DisneyMommy77

We were back at MK today. Today I noticed there were new announcements being made by CMs while waiting in line. (This was different that the announcements being made throughout the parks)
The announcement was telling everyone to wash their hands and use the provided hand sanitizer stations. I also noticed more reminders by CMs as you entered a line to keep physical distance. Even on the monorail today the driver told everyone to keep their face covering on. 

I still see high mask compliance at MK. 

We visited Tom Sawyer Island today. We saw Chip and Dale there! They came off one of the rafts so maybe they are riding by on the rafts waving at guests in Frontierland. The playground area, and barrel bridge are closed. The area where kids can climb up and shoot the guns was open. 

Still minimal lines, but feels a little busier than earlier in the week. People Mover isn’t open, but I did see it running for a bit. 

If the NBA interests you then when riding the monorail past the Grand Floridian you may be able to spot a few players. We saw two walking back to their rooms, and saw another player sitting on his balcony while eating lunch at GF quick service yesterday. They are also selling Disney basketball merchandise at GF. They have a basketball loungefly back pack as well.


----------



## scrappinginontario

fla4fun said:


> Yeah, it was the closest stop in too which was great. Right next to the temperature tent too.  I am sure it will get pushed back as other hotels open up, so enjoy it while it lasts.


The articulated buses must also be parked and not running right now either as they need the far row of stops due to their length.  I'm sure there is no need for the extended buses with the reduced park capacity right now.


----------



## lovethattink

fla4fun said:


> No.  Not asked for it either.  I assume if you try to enter a park without one Mickey turns blue instead of green.



That’s good! I printed mine out for next Tuesday and the park, date and time we blank.


----------



## fla4fun

scrappinginontario said:


> The articulated buses must also be parked and not running right now either as they need the far row of stops due to their length.  I'm sure there is no need for the extended buses with the reduced park capacity right now.


I haven’t seen any of the articulated buses at the resort or park, but when I left MK today, not everyone could fit on the bus to come back.  There were 5-6 parties who had to wait for the next bus.


----------



## Dave006

lovethattink said:


> For entry, it says you need park pass and ticket. Did you print out your park reservation or show it from the mde app?


No need to print anything. If you have it in MDE then the Mickey head on the tapstile will turn *Green *and you are in...

Dave


----------



## LovingPooh

scrappinginontario said:


> For anyone staying on property, did you notice if the daily security checks are still being done?  If so, do they just open the door to the room or do they actually enter the room?  Hoping they just look inside.


Still doing them at Bay Lake. They just look inside


----------



## pepperandchips

Is Enchanted Rose at the GF still closed?


----------



## Dave006

The Disney Experience Update page shows that the Enchanted Rose is open.

Link:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/resorts/#drawer-card-grandFloridian
Dave


----------



## pepperandchips

Dave006 said:


> The Disney Experience Update page shows that the Enchanted Rose is open.
> 
> Link:
> 
> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/resorts/#drawer-card-grandFloridian
> Dave


Thank you! I saw some posts on Twitter also. Looks like it reopened 7/5. Just missed it, darn!


----------



## DisneyMommy77

LovingPooh said:


> Still doing them at Bay Lake. They just look inside


Yep, they are doing them at Contemporary. They came in while we were napping a bit ago.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Really?


----------



## pangyal

Question to hopefully avoid having my kid seem obnoxious: How is the current loading system set up for, “Can I have my own_ (row/ clam/ honeypot, etc.)” Would it be easy for one person to have their own row on Big Thunder, for example, while the other person is in the row behind,  or would this terribly slow down the line? I definitely don’t want to be *that* person, but I know that he will see the low crowds and beg me to ask the CMs. I want to be prepared with the reason for saying no .


----------



## koquinn

Any word yet on lightsaber making opening?  I scheduled the 3 kids for the droids but 2 of them would really rather do the lightsabers.  Also, if I get a BG for RTTR that overlaps with the droid time, will I really get charged if I cancel the droids the same day?


----------



## Cliz155

Are all the park Starbucks locations open? We're big coffee drinkers, and I haven't seen anyone posting about Starbucks.


----------



## ScubaCat

Cliz155 said:


> Are all the park Starbucks locations open? We're big coffee drinkers, and I haven't seen anyone posting about Starbucks.


They are, but they obstruct my view of Joffreys.


----------



## Cliz155

ScubaCat said:


> They are, but they obstruct my view of Joffreys.



Thanks! And lol, maybe I'll have to give Joffreys a try.


----------



## Cliz155

One more question-- is the build your own lightsaber station open in the Star Tours gift shop? (the plastic lightsabers)


----------



## only hope

pangyal said:


> Question to hopefully avoid having my kid seem obnoxious: How is the current loading system set up for, “Can I have my own_ (row/ clam/ honeypot, etc.)” Would it be easy for one person to have their own row on Big Thunder, for example, while the other person is in the row behind,  or would this terribly slow down the line? I definitely don’t want to be *that* person, but I know that he will see the low crowds and beg me to ask the CMs. I want to be prepared with the reason for saying no .



All the reports on here are that for ride vehicles where distancing is impossible, it’s one group per vehicle. Also one group per pod on Smugglers Run though two single people could be placed six ft apart. The exception is for rides where plexiglass has been installed. 




koquinn said:


> Any word yet on lightsaber making opening?  I scheduled the 3 kids for the droids but 2 of them would really rather do the lightsabers.  Also, if I get a BG for RTTR that overlaps with the droid time, will I really get charged if I cancel the droids the same day?



Seeing as Savi’s uses Equity actors and they are at a stalemate with WDW, I wouldn’t expect it to go back to lightsaber building soon. It is open but just to sell legacy sabers. If it looks like your BG will interfere with droids, just stop by and try to build early.


----------



## solstice621

I am curious what people are doing with their masks when it’s raining? We have been in some tremendous downpours at WDW and I’m assuming the masks will get wet. Are people bringing extras? Are they keeping them on when it’s raining? (I hope the answer is yes but I keep reading masks should be removed when wet).


----------



## Sunnywho

pangyal said:


> Question to hopefully avoid having my kid seem obnoxious: How is the current loading system set up for, “Can I have my own_ (row/ clam/ honeypot, etc.)” Would it be easy for one person to have their own row on Big Thunder, for example, while the other person is in the row behind,  or would this terribly slow down the line? I definitely don’t want to be *that* person, but I know that he will see the low crowds and beg me to ask the CMs. I want to be prepared with the reason for saying no .


All he has to do is declare that he's a party of one when they ask. Yes, it will slow down the line compared to sitting together. If he goes through the line on his own, then he really will be a party of one. Depending how old he is, perhaps that's an option.


----------



## yulilin3

Cliz155 said:


> One more question-- is the build your own lightsaber station open in the Star Tours gift shop? (the plastic lightsabers)


It is open,  cm are there to help build it. I didn't see the entire process


solstice621 said:


> I am curious what people are doing with their masks when it’s raining? We have been in some tremendous downpours at WDW and I’m assuming the masks will get wet. Are people bringing extras? Are they keeping them on when it’s raining? (I hope the answer is yes but I keep reading masks should be removed when wet).


People keep them on,  no issue.  I use the blue ones and with am umbrella it's been fine


----------



## mrg013

nkereina said:


> Do they require a mask while on the pool deck at the resorts if you're sitting in a lounge chair? I know this is not required at Universal resorts, so just curious how Disney is handling.



We were at the Copper Creek pool at WL yesterday and masks were not required anywhere once we were within the pool area. We were in our lounge chairs mask-free the whole time, and everyone else I saw was doing the same. The CM who was leading the poolside games made an announcement about it and specifically said that once you’re within the gates of the pool area, masks do not have to be worn, but anytime you walk outside the pool area fence, masks have to go back on.


----------



## fla4fun

solstice621 said:


> I am curious what people are doing with their masks when it’s raining? We have been in some tremendous downpours at WDW and I’m assuming the masks will get wet. Are people bringing extras? Are they keeping them on when it’s raining? (I hope the answer is yes but I keep reading masks should be removed when wet).


I wore disposable ones and carried three extra to the parks in a ziplock baggie.  I was in a monsoon at Epcot on Wednesday, and my umbrella kept my head dry and that’s all.  But if it had become wet, I was prepared.  I have reusable masks to wear in regular life, but find the disposable ones to be more comfortable in the heat.


----------



## MomOTwins

fla4fun said:


> I wore disposable ones and carried three extra to the parks in a ziplock baggie.  I was in a monsoon at Epcot on Wednesday, and my umbrella kept my head dry and that’s all.  But if it had become wet, I was prepared.  I have reusable masks to wear in regular life, but find the disposable ones to be more comfortable in the heat.


Yep.  If you don't want to carry around umbrellas, ponchos with hoods do a reasonable job of keeping your face dry too.  But yeah, as a backup, we plan to bring extra masks in a ziploc--not just for rain, but in case the elastic breaks, or it falls off on a ride or something.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

For the resort folks, I noticed yesterday they have taken the “show bus times” feature out of the app.  It hadn’t been working since reopening, so probably a good thing for the time being.  

I also noticed the board at Poly (and I’m assuming other resorts) now shows actual operating times.  FWIW.


----------



## solstice621

Thanks for the answers on the masks. We wear ponchos and I was picturing the masks getting wet during the monsoons. My plan is to wear the reusable ones to begin with each day, and then pack extra disposable ones for each of us as we go through the day. I’m guessing they could also get sweaty.


----------



## pepperandchips

solstice621 said:


> Thanks for the answers on the masks. We wear ponchos and I was picturing the masks getting wet during the monsoons. My plan is to wear the reusable ones to begin with each day, and then pack extra disposable ones for each of us as we go through the day. I’m guessing they could also get sweaty.


Yes, earlier in July after walking around for a while I could taste the saltiness on my mask from sweating. I plan to bring a lot of different options for my next trip including disposable and reusable options and pack some laundry detergent for overnight sink washes


----------



## koquinn

pepperandchips said:


> Yes, earlier in July after walking around for a while I could taste the saltiness on my mask from sweating. I plan to bring a lot of different options for my next trip including disposable and reusable options and pack some laundry detergent for overnight sink washes


Us too.  Hoping they dry quickly overnight in the hotel!


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

koquinn said:


> Us too.  Hoping they dry quickly overnight in the hotel!



Just take extras in case they aren't dry.


----------



## koquinn

roomthreeseventeen said:


> Just take extras in case they aren't dry.


We plan to, just hoping we don't have too many break or get wet and sweaty. I think we each have 3 that someone made for me.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Recommend packing clothes pins as they’ll dry faster single layered.  Had never thought to travel with those until I went away with a friend.  They’re now a part of our packing list for every trip!


----------



## MomOTwins

roomthreeseventeen said:


> Just take extras in case they aren't dry.


Hair dryers can also come in handy if they are a little damp.


----------



## ScubaCat

I recommend a strap for the medical ones so they don't irritate your ears. I tried a few options and these are my current favorite:  
https://amzn.to/3jfhF4B


----------



## Epcot242

mrg013 said:


> We were at the Copper Creek pool at WL yesterday and masks were not required anywhere once we were within the pool area. We were in our lounge chairs mask-free the whole time, and everyone else I saw was doing the same. The CM who was leading the poolside games made an announcement about it and specifically said that once you’re within the gates of the pool area, masks do not have to be worn, but anytime you walk outside the pool area fence, masks have to go back on.



Thanks for this info! If we go this August the pool will be something we really hope to take advantage of. How spaced out were the chairs? Did you feel comfortable being there for some time? And was it crowded? (I know that’ll differ for each resort but just curious.) Thanks in advance if you answer any of these!


----------



## IluvMGM

ScubaCat said:


> I recommend a strap for the medical ones so they don't irritate your ears. I tried a few options and these are my current favorite:
> https://amzn.to/3jfhF4B



Are they allowed though? Someone mentioned in a previous thread that earsaver type things might not be allowed at Disney. Does anyone know?


----------



## pepperandchips

IluvMGM said:


> Are they allowed though? Someone mentioned in a previous thread that earsaver type things might not be allowed at Disney. Does anyone know?


I have not seen anyone report not being allowed to use ear savers. I’ve seen multiple people using them in videos in the parks. They still comply with Disney’s face covering guidelines so I would be surprised if they are a problem to use.


----------



## ScubaCat

IluvMGM said:


> Are they allowed though? Someone mentioned in a previous thread that earsaver type things might not be allowed at Disney. Does anyone know?





pepperandchips said:


> I have not seen anyone report not being allowed to use ear savers. I’ve seen multiple people using them in videos in the parks. They still comply with Disney’s face covering guidelines so I would be surprised if they are a problem to use.



It's the type of mask that matters, not the method of attachment.

What I like about that particular one is the ear loop string has no way to pop off the clips, it's adjustable, and it's elastic so it stays put pretty well. The silicone ones don't stay up for me and an ear loop seems to pop off from time to time if it shifts even slightly. I ordered and tried several styles (which reminds me, I need to send the rest back!)


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Anecdotal/moment in time of course. But I’ve been on both Splash and Pirates today where they stop the line and make announcements they are stoping the ride to do cleaning “for approx 15 mins.”   CMs spray down the boats/surfaces.   Definitely an all stop.  Not going anywhere.


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Anecdotal/moment in time of course. But I’ve been on both Splash and Pirates today where they stop the line and make announcements they are stoping the ride to do cleaning “for approx 15 mins.”   CMs spray down the boats/surfaces.



They should be doing that every ride, no?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

roomthreeseventeen said:


> They should be doing that every ride, no?



I assume so. But you can easily go about your day and not see much of this. And have other times where you happen to be there at that moment in time where they are stopping the ride to clean.


----------



## mrg013

Epcot242 said:


> Thanks for this info! If we go this August the pool will be something we really hope to take advantage of. How spaced out were the chairs? Did you feel comfortable being there for some time? And was it crowded? (I know that’ll differ for each resort but just curious.) Thanks in advance if you answer any of these!



The chairs were arranged in various sized groupings (some groups of 2 chairs, some of 4, etc.), with what appeared to be just about 6 feet between each group of chairs. I wouldn’t say that we felt super far away from other groups, but it was sufficient to us and felt safe for the several hours we were there. And definitely more spaced out than what Disney normally does with chairs by the pool.  

If you’re worried about the pool chairs being wiped down between groups, I would say that was the one thing that wasn’t handled as well as it could have been. Simply from reading things online, I knew that the intended process was for guests to put down the backs of lounge chairs after they were done using them, so that CMs could clean them and put them back up for other guests once sanitized. However, there was no sign about this or any CMs telling guests to do that, so we saw multiple groups of chairs turn over between guests without ever being cleaned. Based on everything we’ve read about the virus, we’re not overly concerned about surfaces like a pool chair. However, if you are, I’d recommend bringing your own wipes for the pool chairs since the process for vacating and then sanitizing them wasn’t clear. Despite this, CMs were by the pool constantly sanitizing just about any other surface you could find. 

As far as crowds at the pool, we thought the Copper Creek pool was just about the most crowded place at the resort, but not actually ‘crowded’. Everywhere else at the resort has been pretty empty, so comparatively, the pool was more crowded, but still very easy to get chairs and have plenty of space to yourself inside the pool area too. It was a very pleasant experience for us.


----------



## brich330

Brief summary of my experience opening week (your mileage may vary):

Pros-
-Crowd levels are amazing (never seen main street this low)
-Except for ride unloads (Soarin was the worst), bus pickup/drop off, & Hollywood Studios, social distancing is being handled the best it can be
-If shopping isn’t you’re thing, you won’t miss much from your last trip 
-Cast Member’s (for the most part) are trying their best!  
-Wait times (If all you care about is rides, go book now!)

Cons-
-Limited hours (No Disney at nighttime)
-Masks 
-Do you like shopping at Disney? Don’t go right now.
-Limited Menus
-Some guests aren’t giving Cast Members enough slack (#They’re trying their best #they don’t get a relaxation zone whenever they feel like it).

Advice-
-First trip? Don’t go
-Disney Vet? Go for a short trip (5 days or less)
-Don’t feel comfortable? Don’t go right now (they haven’t worked out the kinks yet)


----------



## Micca

I've heard that more shops are opening in MK--The Confectionery, Ye Olde Christmas Shop, and the jewelry store on Main St.  
Thanks for your observations.


----------



## Ccstctc

Some shops are opening (I think today) My favorite (Plaza Ice Cream Shop) is still closed.


----------



## MB1232

Epcot242 said:


> Thanks for this info! If we go this August the pool will be something we really hope to take advantage of. How spaced out were the chairs? Did you feel comfortable being there for some time? And was it crowded? (I know that’ll differ for each resort but just curious.) Thanks in advance if you answer any of these!


We stayed at the Pop last weekend. Our experience at the pool was a pretty good one. They were playing games for the kids but they kids stayed in the pool at their social distanced spots to answer trivia or dance. The chairs were separated in groups of 2 or 3 mostly. They reminded people of the rules to put the chair backs forward when you were leaving so they could sanitize the area and a new party could sit. It wasn’t crowded when we were there so there was plenty of space to spread out in chairs and in the pool. Not sure how it is now that all of the parks are open!


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

In line for MMRR, the line was moving great & now it stopped moving. Here’s hoping it hasn’t broken down!  Also, we had beers & were drinking/quickly walking to the ride, and a CM said that they’re asking people to keep masks on while moving & it’s ok to remove while standing still (at the appropriate distance) to eat/drink. We thanked them for telling us & he looked shocked. Be nice to the CM’s & listen to directions.


----------



## osufeth24

Just got back from HS, I am exhausted lol

I don't know if it was less crowds or what, but I didn't see the issues that was plaguing HS the first couple of days inside SWGE.

Yes, it was more crowded then any of the other 3 parks I've been to since reopening, but it still wasn't crazy.

MMRR will always have a long line.  Personally, I say don't go right at opening as that's when it's the longest.  I went around 1pm, probably waited a hour (it was listed at 50 min, but had a 15 minute shutdown to clean).  It was listed at 35min for just a brief moment, but by the time I got there it jumped to 50, then 75 not long after I got in line.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

The ducks have officially taken over.  On guard.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Current pin trading sign:


----------



## fla4fun

I wondered if anyone currently there has experienced this today, since it wasn’t that way yesterday.  Another site is reporting that effective today, you cannot walk and consume food or drink with your mask removed.  You have to stop and find a place six feet away from others before removing your mask to drink/eat.  If you are moving you must be masked.  I don’t think it’s a bad idea, as it does make enforcement a little easier for the CMs, and I was basically doing that anyway because I didn’t want to have my mask even partially removed around others.  However, there were a lot of people at Epcot who were walking and actively eating/drinking at the same time with their mask lowered or off, and I know people also do it a lot at DS.  I received a survey from Disney this morning with a lot of questions regarding their virus protocols, and the only issue I really had were people who weren’t wearing their masks properly, mostly noses uncovered.  Things will probably change on the fly as they get more feedback from we guinea pigs.

ETA I see someone above came across this situation too.  It is good to have these threads, since thing are changing so rapidly.


----------



## yulilin3

Micca said:


> I've heard that more shops are opening in MK--The Confectionery, Ye Olde Christmas Shop, and the jewelry store on Main St.
> Thanks for your observations.


Those have been open from day 1


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

fla4fun said:


> I wondered if anyone currently there has experienced this today, since it wasn’t that way yesterday.  Another site is reporting that effective today, you cannot walk and consume food or drink with your mask removed.  You have to stop and find a place six feet away from others before removing your mask to drink/eat.  If you are moving you must be masked.  I don’t think it’s a bad idea, as it does make enforcement a little easier for the CMs, and I was basically doing that anyway because I didn’t want to have my mask even partially removed around others.  However, there were a lot of people at Epcot who were walking and actively eating/drinking at the same time with their mask lowered or off, and I know people also do it a lot at DS.  I received a survey from Disney this morning with a lot of questions regarding their virus protocols, and the only issue I really had were people who weren’t wearing their masks properly, mostly noses uncovered.  Things will probably change on the fly as they get more feedback from we guinea pigs.


This seems correct. A little while ago at DHS we were walking while drinking beers, and a CM asked us to stay masked while moving & drink when we were standing still. CM’s were enforcing it & while it surprised us the first time they stopped us, we immediately complied. It’s not hard, and honestly drinking a beer/beverage while walking isn’t ideal anyway haha.


----------



## fla4fun

MusicalAstronaut said:


> This seems correct. A little while ago at DHS we were walking while drinking beers, and a CM asked us to stay masked while moving & drink when we were standing still. CM’s were enforcing it & while it surprised us the first time they stopped us, we immediately complied. It’s not hard, and honestly drinking a beer/beverage while walking isn’t ideal anyway haha.


I do feel a little bad for people with alcoholic drinks that are better sipped than guzzled.  Lots of pausing in their future.  But it does give the CMs a clear cut way to know for sure if someone is in compliance, and I am all for making it easier on them.


----------



## JM23457

pangyal said:


> Question to hopefully avoid having my kid seem obnoxious: How is the current loading system set up for, “Can I have my own_ (row/ clam/ honeypot, etc.)” Would it be easy for one person to have their own row on Big Thunder, for example, while the other person is in the row behind,  or would this terribly slow down the line?


When the CM asks how many, have your child say "one". That avoids the need for time-consuming conversation about wanting to be seated in separate rows/clams/honeypots. Your child will be placed alone automatically (assuming he or she is old & tall enough). They are not seating anyone next to a stranger. You might not be on the same coaster, but you will at least be on consecutive coasters. One person riding separately isn't going to crash the line.


----------



## osufeth24

Posted this in the news and rumors thread, but I'll leave this here as well for those that don't travel into that place

Btw, I'll add to my day, got to ride MMRR for first time. Even though I'm a 32 year old male, I'll say the ride is super cute. I never got to go on Great Movie Ride so can't compare. I loved every second of it. It was probably the must "fun" i've had on a ride. It's not thrilling, it's not exciting, it's not immersive like Rise of the Resistance. But I had a big ol smile the whole time and was really enjoying the technology they put into the ride, and the CMs that work it inside, seem to really enjoy it, some of the most enthusiastic CMs i've seen on a ride. They were just having a grand ol time

They weren't doing the preshow, so I don't know what the adds (I'll watch it on youtube)


----------



## JM23457

osufeth24 said:


> Posted this in the news and rumors thread, but I'll leave this here as well for those that don't travel into that place
> 
> Btw, I'll add to my day, got to ride MMRR for first time. Even though I'm a 32 year old male, I'll say the ride is super cute. I never got to go on Great Movie Ride so can't compare. I loved every second of it. It was probably the must "fun" i've had on a ride. It's not thrilling, it's not exciting, it's not immersive like Rise of the Resistance. But I had a big ol smile the whole time and was really enjoying the technology they put into the ride, and the CMs that work it inside, seem to really enjoy it, some of the most enthusiastic CMs i've seen on a ride. They were just having a grand ol time
> 
> They weren't doing the preshow, so I don't know what the adds (I'll watch it on youtube)


Is MMRR loud? We didn't have time to ride it the other day (it kept breaking down), but noticed that loud music was being played at the theatre where the ride is located.


----------



## osufeth24

JM23457 said:


> Is MMRR loud? We didn't have time to ride it the other day (it kept breaking down), but noticed that loud music was being played at the theatre where the ride is located.



Possibly? I didn't notice it lol. I'm used to loud stuff (was in drumline, worked at a Nascar and drag race track) so I guess I'm used to it?


----------



## Chisoxcollector

We were at Epcot today.  Just like our days at MK and AK, we had a wonderful day, with mask compliance being the only black mark.  We saw slightly less exposed noses,  probably around 25 or so, versus 50+ the previous days.  But we also saw more people with their masks off altogether.  Probably 12-15 or so, not counting people sitting and eating.  We also saw two couples of selfish idiots that were told by CMs to wear their masks correctly that made a point of pulling their masks back down literally 5 seconds later.  People really suck.

We walked on Frozen, Soarin', Living With the Land, Finding Nemo, and Spaceship Earth, and rode Test Track a couple of times with pretty short waits.  F&W booths typically had 5, sometimes 10 minute waits.  The ones in the World Showplace building had the longest lines.  I waited in line for around 20 minutes at the desserts and champagne booth.


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

Today was our DHS day. My sister rode ROTR for the first time & had fun. We went on everything else once.  The crowds weren’t bad.  MMRR was.....a ride. It was fine, I won’t bother doing it more than once. Maybe children will enjoy it more. Now we’re at Disney Springs, waiting on more busses so we can leave. Two have shown up so far, and taken about 1/4 of the line. One left & the other has been sitting here ~10+ minutes. We took a Lyft here because it took so long for a bus to come to the resort. Hoping more busses come soon!  Also, I saw many more people not wearing masks today. At DHS they were on the chin, at Springs it was busy & they were just not wearing them.  Very disappointed but not surprised.


----------



## cheshiregoofy22

Pixie bus dust to you!    I‘ll be leaving wicked wide berths around those non compliant folks!  Sheesh!


----------



## soniam

scrappinginontario said:


> For anyone staying on property, did you notice if the daily security checks are still being done?  If so, do they just open the door to the room or do they actually enter the room?  Hoping they just look inside.



BWV they are doing trash everyday. This DVC. I really wish they wouldn’t though. I already wiped down the room.



Cliz155 said:


> One more question-- is the build your own lightsaber station open in the Star Tours gift shop? (the plastic lightsabers)



yes



solstice621 said:


> I am curious what people are doing with their masks when it’s raining? We have been in some tremendous downpours at WDW and I’m assuming the masks will get wet. Are people bringing extras? Are they keeping them on when it’s raining? (I hope the answer is yes but I keep reading masks should be removed when wet).



hasn’t been a problem yet



koquinn said:


> Us too.  Hoping they dry quickly overnight in the hotel!


 Ours have. I’ve been washing them every night. I do ring them out and use a dry towel.


----------



## soniam

The worst things that have happened so far:
1) son was sitting on a bench outside Soarin. A woman sat next to him. The bench maybe fit 3 people. We made him get up, and the rest of her trashy family ran him over to sit next to her.

2) some teens drank from the fountains right next to where I was filling my water bottle in Batuu, like maybe a foot or so away. When I left, they started licking the fountains and the water bottle filler.

This is why we can’t have nice things


----------



## KrissyD715

For those of you who have done multiple days at a park, is there enough to stay busy?


----------



## pepperandchips

soniam said:


> , they started licking the fountains and the water bottle filler.


Excuse me WHAT?! I just... wow. I cannot believe that. I mean I do believe you but... who does that?!


----------



## mickeymom629

soniam said:


> The worst things that have happened so far:
> 1) son was sitting on a bench outside Soarin. A woman sat next to him. The bench maybe fit 3 people. We made him get up, and the rest of her trashy family ran him over to sit next to her.
> 
> 2) *some teens drank from the fountains right next to where I was filling my water bottle in Batuu, like maybe a foot or so away. When I left, they started licking the fountains and the water bottle filler.*
> 
> This is why we can’t have nice things



That is appalling!  Too bad you didn't get them on tape.  They need to be banned from WDW.  And, if they were teens, they were probably there with their family?? So sad.


----------



## JM23457

KrissyD715 said:


> For those of you who have done multiple days at a park, is there enough to stay busy?


Not really. The exception might be MK, which has more to do. But on the whole, one park per day is more than adequate right now.


----------



## coolbrook

KrissyD715 said:


> For those of you who have done multiple days at a park, is there enough to stay busy?


We went to MK on three different days this week.  It was so hot we really only wanted to spend 3 or 4 hours each time, so we did rides in different areas each day with no back tracking or criss-crossing the park. That was my favorite park this trip, because of the music, the character surprises, and the short lines. We sure missed Columbia Harbour House though. Enjoyed table service meals at Tony's and Skipper Canteen.


----------



## AngelDisney

pepperandchips said:


> Excuse me WHAT?! I just... wow. I cannot believe that. I mean I do believe you but... who does that?!


When I go in December, I will stick with bottled water. Forget about bringing my thermo water  bottle.


----------



## NWOhiogal

soniam said:


> 2) some teens drank from the fountains right next to where I was filling my water bottle in Batuu, like maybe a foot or so away. When I left, they started licking the fountains and the water bottle filler.



I would have found the nearest CM and reported them. That's appallingly dangerous behavior. Any of them could have had COVID.


----------



## coolbrook

annadreamsofdisneyworld said:


> It's disappointing but not surprising to hear about all the people in the parks wearing their masks incorrectly or keeping them off to snack in line/pretend to eat or drink while walking around. I'm betting that most people going to Disney World during the pandemic and Florida's surge in cases are those who don't worry about getting coronavirus so they don't bother following the rules. I really wish Disney cast members would stop this behavior. All this just confirms that we made the right decision in canceling, as tempting as the low wait times are.


Hello, We just got back last night from a 5 day trip staying at Bay Lake.  I was incredibly impressed by the level of mask and distancing compliance and enforcement at Disney! As others have mentioned the airport afterwards was jarringly different.  I think the reason Disney is able to achieve this is that they have devoted so many CMs to encouraging compliance and directing guests.  They are being very firm in enforcement.  As we were waiting to be seated for Chef Mickey's one morning we saw a mom, dad, and probably young 3 year old trying to go onto the monorail.  There is a temp check and a CM reminding people to wear a facial covering.  That kiddo was having none of that mask.  The parents shrugged like "What do you want me to do?" at the cm who just shook her head no.  The family eventually went back up on the elevator presumably to their room.  As we sat there I heard the cm remind three people who all complied.  There are CMs outside the parks as people are walking up the sidewalks from the parking lots ensuring face covering compliance as well as inside the parks.  They are stopping stroller families and asking how old the kids are.  They are gesturing for folks to pull masks up over noses.  They are asking people to maintain physical distance as they wait to enter HS at rope drop. Some folks feel compelled to lower their masks to talk on their phones.  I saw a lady do this outside Philharmagic and just as I noticed her a CM came over and asked her to pull it back up.  She did.  Was mask wearing 100% perfect? No, but it is better than any other place I have been.  If I didn't have to fly or drive for two longs days I would keep my November reservation, but the experience in the airports and on the planes did not help me feel safe.  We will hope things are better for spring break in March.


----------



## coolbrook

dorospin said:


> MCO was a problem for us. Lots of people wearing masks under their noses, lots of coughing, lots of sitting down right beside you, etc. this was Saturday. We will be driving for a while.


yep. MCO was the worst!


----------



## coolbrook

My balloon magic shot took a couple days to show up for some reason, but it did eventually.


----------



## Amy11401

pepperandchips said:


> Excuse me WHAT?! I just... wow. I cannot believe that. I mean I do believe you but... who does that?!


Unfortunately it is shocking but recently I have seen many things posted throughout the country of people doing things that I have this same exact response to.  It seems to be happening all over the place not just at Disney


----------



## cakebaker

soniam said:


> 2) some teens drank from the fountains right next to where I was filling my water bottle in Batuu, like maybe a foot or so away. When I left, they started licking the fountains and the water bottle filler.



Surely you reported this to a CM so they could get it sanitized.


----------



## jpolak

Have a safe trip. Following the updates.


----------



## DisneyMommy77

We are checking out of the Contemporary this morning after 9 wonderful nights! Thankfully we aren’t headed home until a couple more weeks, but are moving off-site for a while before spending our last week at Boardwalk and Caribbean. I am so glad we didn’t cancel and we took our trip!

 It is a special time here at WDW and I am
glad we got to experience their reopening. I love the new character experiences better than the previous meet and greets. We have seen more characters than before this way. The CMs have been wonderful and you can feel their appreciation  for being back at work and appreciation that guests have returned. 

Most guests here want to and do follow the rules. The people we have been around have been respectful of space. 

I love the new castle color and even though MK doesn’t have fireworks to watch from our Contemporary balcony we did see fireworks last night in the sky somewhere in the distance. I am
not sure where they were coming from, but it was a nice surprise. 

The masks didn’t bother me much. Either way, it’s July in Florida so it’s already steaming hot, so I don’t feel like it made it much more difficult. After a couple days you get used to it and it’s no big deal. 

Disney has done a great job and I don’t feel like we are “missing” anything. I haven’t even really thought about those things because there are so many great things to experience. As always, Disney has exceeded our expectations!


----------



## coolbrook

YawningDodo said:


> Question: are they selling water at the relaxation stations, or do you need to pick up bottled water elsewhere if you want to hydrate while you sit?


I bought a bottle of water from a cart that was only selling water at the entrance to the Launch Bay relaxation station in Hollywood Studios.


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

Confirmation you can no longer eat or drink while walking around.


----------



## ParrotBill

Can someone describe the new character experiences mentioned above?  I can't seem to find any other description.  thanks in advance!


----------



## Alice Sr.

coolbrook said:


> Hello, We just got back last night from a 5 day trip staying at Bay Lake.  I was incredibly impressed by the level of mask and distancing compliance and enforcement at Disney! As others have mentioned the airport afterwards was jarringly different.  I think the reason Disney is able to achieve this is that they have devoted so many CMs to encouraging compliance and directing guests.  They are being very firm in enforcement.  As we were waiting to be seated for Chef Mickey's one morning we saw a mom, dad, and probably young 3 year old trying to go onto the monorail.  There is a temp check and a CM reminding people to wear a facial covering.  That kiddo was having none of that mask.  The parents shrugged like "What do you want me to do?" at the cm who just shook her head no.  The family eventually went back up on the elevator presumably to their room.  As we sat there I heard the cm remind three people who all complied.  There are CMs outside the parks as people are walking up the sidewalks from the parking lots ensuring face covering compliance as well as inside the parks.  They are stopping stroller families and asking how old the kids are.  They are gesturing for folks to pull masks up over noses.  They are asking people to maintain physical distance as they wait to enter HS at rope drop. Some folks feel compelled to lower their masks to talk on their phones.  I saw a lady do this outside Philharmagic and just as I noticed her a CM came over and asked her to pull it back up.  She did.  Was mask wearing 100% perfect? No, but it is better than any other place I have been.  If I didn't have to fly or drive for two longs days I would keep my November reservation, but the experience in the airports and on the planes did not help me feel safe.  We will hope things are better for spring break in March.


Can I ask what airport you flew in and out of and what airline you used?  I have flown Allegiant and Delta since Covid and did not walk away with negative experiences.  I only fly non-stop, took the earliest flights available to minimize the number of potential interaction, and chose small airports when available.  Not sure if that made a difference or not.  I do think the larger airports struggle with control more than the smaller ones.  Thank you for your post!


----------



## fla4fun

coolbrook said:


> We went to MK on three different days this week.  It was so hot we really only wanted to spend 3 or 4 hours each time, so we did rides in different areas each day with no back tracking or criss-crossing the park. That was my favorite park this trip, because of the music, the character surprises, and the short lines. We sure missed Columbia Harbour House though. Enjoyed table service meals at Tony's and Skipper Canteen.


I think it depends on your admission media.  I would totally agree with this, as I spent two days at Epcot and one at MK, but due to the heat I was only in the parks about five hours.  I just couldn’t take it longer than that.  But I have an AP, so I am fine doing that, and I certainly didn’t do everything the parks have available.  I think if I had gone into a park with the idea that I had to do everything on offer at least once, it would have been close to a full day, and for people with regular tickets, I do think you can get a full day’s value out of them.

I also delayed my arrival on purpose to avoid any crowding at park open, which would have made my day shorter from the get go, and had planned to leave before close for the same reason.  The heat just drove me out a little earlier than anticipated.


----------



## coolbrook

Alice Sr. said:


> Can I ask what airport you flew in and out of and what airline you used?  I have flown Allegiant and Delta since Covid and did not walk away with negative experiences.  I only fly non-stop, took the earliest flights available to minimize the number of potential interaction, and chose small airports when available.  Not sure if that made a difference or not.  I do think the larger airports struggle with control more than the smaller ones.  Thank you for your post!


We flew American.  Felt pretty safe in the Kansas City Airport.  We connected in Charlotte before arriving at MCO.  Orlando was the worst as far as mask compliance especially among employees of the airport and airline.  Two women with reflective vests and employee ids of some kind in women's restroom with masks off talking loudly on cell phone on speaker the whole time I was in there. A security guy with mask down. A gate agent with mask below nose.  Two Spirit flight attendants walking through terminal with masks down below nose.  Lots of travelers with masks down on chin to talk on cell phones. Why?  We just tried to keep as much distance as possible, but stressful as I felt I had to keep scanning the crowd for the best place to sit or stand.  My DD and I wore double masks in airport and on plane with medical disposable first the Jannuu mask over that.  DH just wore medical mask.  Except in the bathroom and on the plane we were able to keep 6 feet at least.  On the last leg of our flight home a man in front of us had his mask on his chin almost the whole flight.  Acted like little kid pulling it up when flight attendant walked by then immediately down.  Most of the flight no crew walked by.


----------



## Epcot242

coolbrook said:


> We flew American.  Felt pretty safe in the Kansas City Airport.  We connected in Charlotte before arriving at MCO.  Orlando was the worst as far as mask compliance especially among employees of the airport and airline.  Two women with reflective vests and employee ids of some kind in women's restroom with masks off talking loudly on cell phone on speaker the whole time I was in there. A security guy with mask down. A gate agent with mask below nose.  Two Spirit flight attendants walking through terminal with masks down below nose.  Lots of travelers with masks down on chin to talk on cell phones. Why?  We just tried to keep as much distance as possible, but stressful as I felt I had to keep scanning the crowd for the best place to sit or stand.  My DD and I wore double masks in airport and on plane with medical disposable first the Jannuu mask over that.  DH just wore medical mask.  Except in the bathroom and on the plane we were able to keep 6 feet at least.  On the last leg of our flight home a man in front of us had his mask on his chin almost the whole flight.  Acted like little kid pulling it up when flight attendant walked by then immediately down.  Most of the flight no crew walked by.



We had to fly through Atlanta recently and that was pretty bad too. A lot of people not complying and taking the mask down to talk. We decided to just be overly cautious and wear N95s the whole time, only taking the, down to eat quick. Flying felt safe in general and with the N95 I was less concerned. But it’s good to know MCO isn’t great. We’ll try to bolt through as fast as possible when we land.


----------



## Doingitagain

Alice Sr. said:


> Can I ask what airport you flew in and out of and what airline you used?  I have flown Allegiant and Delta since Covid and did not walk away with negative experiences.  I only fly non-stop, took the earliest flights available to minimize the number of potential interaction, and chose small airports when available.  Not sure if that made a difference or not.  I do think the larger airports struggle with control more than the smaller ones.  Thank you for your post!


I have volunteered at the Minneapolis airport information booths (behind plexiglass and wearing a mask), and I noted 95% compliance with people walking through the airport.  There are hand sanitizer stations all over.  Remodeled restrooms have touchless flushing, soap, water, and towel dispensers.  The biggest issue is when the flight gets closer to board and people bunch up at the gate.  If you can stay outside that area until you need to, that would be an option.


----------



## RangerPooh

We’re been at the parks since AP preview and am enjoying the low crowds and most people wearing their masks. The one thing that frustrates me is everyone and their mother vlogging. I’m sure someone will flame me, but I’m sick of having vloggers being rude and loud to capture their videos, cutting in front of me for shots, stopping short, etc. Sorry but you’re not that important. Just waiting for those hand held units to get banned like selfie sticks.


----------



## wilkydelts

Chisoxcollector said:


> We were at Epcot today.  Just like our days at MK and AK, we had a wonderful day, with mask compliance being the only black mark.  We saw slightly less exposed noses,  probably around 25 or so, versus 50+ the previous days.  But we also saw more people with their masks off altogether.  Probably 12-15 or so, not counting people sitting and eating.  We also saw two couples of selfish idiots that were told by CMs to wear their masks correctly that made a point of pulling their masks back down literally 5 seconds later.  People really suck.
> 
> We walked on Frozen, Soarin', Living With the Land, Finding Nemo, and Spaceship Earth, and rode Test Track a couple of times with pretty short waits.  F&W booths typically had 5, sometimes 10 minute waits.  The ones in the World Showplace building had the longest lines.  I waited in line for around 20 minutes at the desserts and champagne booth.



I am sorry you have to walk around Disney all day long and worry about mask compliance.

This whole thread is becoming the righteous police. We know not everyone is going to adhere. Coming to a message board to bash and judge people who will never see is in itself a trival task. All you can do is try your best to stay safe and ENJOY THAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN DISNEY.


----------



## Alice Sr.

fla4fun said:


> I think it depends on your admission media.  I would totally agree with this, as I spent two days at Epcot and one at MK, but due to the heat I was only in the parks about five hours.  I just couldn’t take it longer than that.  But I have an AP, so I am fine doing that, and I certainly didn’t do everything the parks have available.  I think if I had gone into a park with the idea that I had to do everything on offer at least once, it would have been close to a full day, and for people with regular tickets, I do think you can get a full day’s value out of them.
> 
> I also delayed my arrival on purpose to avoid any crowding at park open, which would have made my day shorter from the get go, and had planned to leave before close for the same reason.  The heat just drove me out a little earlier than anticipated.


You are allowed to leave and go back later in the day as long as it's to the park you reserved correct?


----------



## yulilin3

Alice Sr. said:


> You are allowed to leave and go back later in the day as long as it's to the park you reserved correct?


Yes


----------



## yulilin3

RangerPooh said:


> We’re been at the parks since AP preview and am enjoying the low crowds and most people wearing their masks. The one thing that frustrates me is everyone and their mother vlogging. I’m sure someone will flame me, but I’m sick of having vloggers being rude and loud to capture their videos, cutting in front of me for shots, stopping short, etc. Sorry but you’re not that important. Just waiting for those hand held units to get banned like selfie sticks.


Free publicity for Disney.  It won't happen,  sorry you've encountered some rude vloggers


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

yulilin3 said:


> Free publicity for Disney.  It won't happen,  sorry you've encountered some rude vloggers


Plus, those of us that can't be there right now can see how everything is working out. I loved watching some from Epcot! So, thank you vloggers!


----------



## fla4fun

yulilin3 said:


> Free publicity for Disney.  It won't happen,  sorry you've encountered some rude vloggers


The sad thing is I didn’t recognize a single blogger I saw in the park . . .


----------



## fla4fun

Alice Sr. said:


> You are allowed to leave and go back later in the day as long as it's to the park you reserved correct?


Yes, but quite frankly I was too tuckered out to go back.


----------



## yulilin3

fla4fun said:


> The sad thing is I didn’t recognize a single blogger I saw in the park . . .


not sure why that's sad. Most vloggers just want to put the info out there. Some will look for fame and fortune which is the wrong reason for doing it. Also there are hundreds all in different levels of notoriety


----------



## RangerPooh

yulilin3 said:


> not sure why that's sad. Most vloggers just want to put the info out there. Some will look for fame and fortune which is the wrong reason for doing it. Also there are hundreds all in different levels of notoriety


I think this is why it’s frustrating to me. We’ve encountered plenty who act like they’re important, and that what they have to say and film is imperative. When I’m reality you can get the info from around the internet and YouTube already. The average family filming for themselves is not the issue. But to do it in the hopes of fame...we’ll, sorry that’s probably not going to happen.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

coolbrook said:


> *Enjoyed table service meals at Tony's*...


I think this may be the first time I've ever heard someone say that.


----------



## MushuHill

I saw a few post with people wanting to know what to do with mask when they are able to take them off. Our local school system is recommending kids bring a lanyard to hook it on while eating lunch. That way they are keeping them off tables, clean, and hopefully the kids won’t lose them.


----------



## Doingitagain

MushuHill said:


> I saw a few post with people wanting to know what to do with mask when they are able to take them off. Our local school system is recommending kids bring a lanyard to hook it on while eating lunch. That way they are keeping them off tables, clean, and hopefully the kids won’t lose them.


Hmmm, may have finally found a way to use the purse hooks I bought, meant to hang purses on edge of table so they don't sit on the floor.


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

Space Mountain dropped all pretense & has posted a wait time of 0 minutes


----------



## Doingitagain

I heard that Disney was adding 18% gratuity to all parties, has that been your experience?


----------



## fla4fun

yulilin3 said:


> not sure why that's sad. Most vloggers just want to put the info out there. Some will look for fame and fortune which is the wrong reason for doing it. Also there are hundreds all in different levels of notoriety


It was sad for me.  I hoped I would see some of the ones I follow, since I was in Epcot on reopening day, but I did not recognize anyone.


----------



## YawningDodo

wilkydelts said:


> I am sorry you have to walk around Disney all day long and worry about mask compliance.
> 
> This whole thread is becoming the righteous police. We know not everyone is going to adhere. Coming to a message board to bash and judge people who will never see is in itself a trival task. All you can do is try your best to stay safe and ENJOY THAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN DISNEY.


I'm really glad that people who are seeing noncompliance are being honest about their experiences instead of sugarcoating things. Knowing that even a small number of people are flaunting the rules without consequences is valuable information to me as I decide whether or not to retain my reservations for September, and I imagine the information is useful to others as well. So far it sounds to me like compliance is high enough at WDW to satisfy my personal criteria at least in the parks themselves, but I will very much want to know if that ends up not being true. Please do not discourage people from posting honest reports of their time in the parks in a thread devoted to those reports.


----------



## soniam

NWOhiogal said:


> I would have found the nearest CM and reported them. That's appallingly dangerous behavior. Any of them could have had COVID.





cakebaker said:


> Surely you reported this to a CM so they could get it sanitized.



I tried to report it to the nearest CM. The only one around was the CM manning the line for the market. I couldn’t get right to him, because there was a line. I tried to get his attention multiple times, but every time we made eye contact he looked away. I think he was just really busy and pre-occupied. All day long we saw multiple CM, but at the moment, he was the only one even remotely nearby. It was like shift change or something. I even looked for a custodian and couldn’t find anyone. It was very frustrating.



Doingitagain said:


> I heard that Disney was adding 18% gratuity to all parties, has that been your experience?



I haven’t seen that, and we have done multiple TS. There are only 3 of us though.


----------



## soniam

I do have to say that out of 7 days so far, my 2 bad experiences are pretty small. As long as you won’t be constantly freaking out, it generally feels pretty safe and comfortable. The majority of people are following the rules. You do need to be assertive and observant, but I haven’t felt as anxious as I thought I would. We hadn’t really left the house much since March, before our trip. The CMs are pretty much amazing! Crowds, now that all of the parks have been open are pretty light. Some tight areas will build up a little crowd, like Fantasyland between Peter Pan and Small World, mostly due to Pan’s line.


----------



## wilkydelts

YawningDodo said:


> I'm really glad that people who are seeing noncompliance are being honest about their experiences instead of sugarcoating things. Knowing that even a small number of people are flaunting the rules without consequences is valuable information to me as I decide whether or not to retain my reservations for September, and I imagine the information is useful to others as well. So far it sounds to me like compliance is high enough at WDW to satisfy my personal criteria at least in the parks themselves, but I will very much want to know if that ends up not being true. Please do not discourage people from posting honest reports of their time in the parks in a thread devoted to those reports.



You are talking about information, which early on was helpful and being discussed, not so much now. Mask compliance has gone from informational to condemning, name calling, and self-proclaimed righteousness. It is no longer a informational point but long anecdotal situations of bashing other people. Some people posting here seem to be more occupied with mask compliance than actually enjoying Disney.


----------



## lotsohugginbear

Mask wearing can save lives. It's a Disney requirement. Stop rabble rousing Wilkey.


----------



## YawningDodo

wilkydelts said:


> You are talking about information, which early on was helpful and being discussed, not so much now. Mask compliance has gone from informational to condemning, name calling, and self-proclaimed righteousness. It is no longer a informational point but long anecdotal situations of bashing other people. *Some people posting here seem to be more occupied with mask compliance than actually enjoying Disney.*


You and I clearly have very different priorities and values, and this is not going to be a productive conversation. I would just like other posters to this thread to know that I appreciate the updates on when and where people are seeing noncompliance and what is or isn't being done about it, and I'm going to bow out of replying here unless I have a question to ask of those who have been back on property since reopening.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Ok folks, everyone has voiced their perspective, moving on....

Thank you.


----------



## dorospin

We are back this week after being here last weekend. Last weekend I posted here that masks were being enforced 99% of time and crowds were non existent. I have to say that a week has made a huge difference. Mask enforcement seems to be way down. Lots of noses.  And, DHS today was pretty packed. We’re still having a great time, but can tell a difference.


----------



## roomthreeseventeen

dorospin said:


> We are back this week after being here last weekend. Last weekend I posted here that masks were being enforced 99% of time and crowds were non existent. I have to say that a week has made a huge difference. Mask enforcement seems to be way down. Lots of noses.  And, DHS today was pretty packed. We’re still having a great time, but can tell a difference.



Disappointing. What are the CMs doing?


----------



## dorospin

roomthreeseventeen said:


> Disappointing. What are the CMs doing?


Well last weekend CMs and managers were walking around to make sure everyone was complying with the masks. I just haven’t seen that so far this week. Last weekend it seemed like every manager Disney has was in the parks making sure everything was going smoothly. Not the same presence that I’ve seen now.


----------



## donp

Can you still use gift card or magic band for payment options with all the mobile ordering? When I have mobile ordered in the past, you had to use a credit/debit card. Didn’t know since they are requiring the mobile ordering if they expanded ways to pay. Thanks!


----------



## GADisneyDad14

donp said:


> Can you still use gift card or magic band for payment options with all the mobile ordering? When I have mobile ordered in the past, you had to use a credit/debit card. Didn’t know since they are requiring the mobile ordering if they expanded ways to pay. Thanks!



Gift card yes, MB no.


----------



## nancipants

I went to Epcot today. I was very nervous about it, and my husband and I agreed if we were uncomfortable we’d leave. We did see people not complying with masks, but it was so empty that it was very easy to avoid those people. We stayed outside mostly (I went to the bathroom once and my husband got drinks form a gift shop). We agreed we’d go back to Epcot again without any qualms. I’m attaching some pictures I took of “crowds.” (Sorry for it being flipped in some photos, I don’t know how to rotate them.)


----------



## dancergirlsmom

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Gift card yes, MB no.



Can't you use your magic band to charge back to your resort then pay off the bill at the resort with gift cards?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

dancergirlsmom said:


> Can't you use your magic band to charge back to your resort then pay off the bill at the resort with gift cards?



PP was asking about Mobile Ordering via the app - for that you can’t pay with a MagicBand. 

But yes, for things you can charge to a MB I believe you can still use a gift card for payment with the resort.  Check with the folks on the Resorts board though, these days Disney charges your card on file after every $100 or so dollars spent - I’m not entirely sure how that works with those that pay via gift cards (although I see it mentioned frequently so I’m assuming it’s still possible).  Someone please chime in if I’m off on this info.


----------



## donp

GADisneyDad14 said:


> PP was asking about Mobile Ordering via the app - for that you can’t pay with a MagicBand.
> 
> But yes, for things you can charge to a MB I believe you can still use a gift card for payment with the resort.  Check with the folks on the Resorts board though, these days Disney charges your card on file after every $100 or so dollars spent - I’m not entirely sure how that works with those that pay via gift cards (although I see it mentioned frequently so I’m assuming it’s still possible).  Someone please chime in if I’m off on this info.


Yes. I was really wondering if and how to use my gift card for mobile ordering food I didn’t think it was an option in the past, but will try to load one up when I am there.


----------



## pepperandchips

GADisneyDad14 said:


> PP was asking about Mobile Ordering via the app - for that you can’t pay with a MagicBand.
> 
> But yes, for things you can charge to a MB I believe you can still use a gift card for payment with the resort.  Check with the folks on the Resorts board though, these days Disney charges your card on file after every $100 or so dollars spent - I’m not entirely sure how that works with those that pay via gift cards (although I see it mentioned frequently so I’m assuming it’s still possible).  Someone please chime in if I’m off on this info.





donp said:


> Yes. I was really wondering if and how to use my gift card for mobile ordering food I didn’t think it was an option in the past, but will try to load one up when I am there.


Yes, you can still pay off room charges with a gift card. In my experience front desk CMs had nifty new card readers so they never needed to touch my GC. I swiped it myself. I paid off my room balance each morning following any day we charged things on MBs but based on the “holds” on my credit card I just barely beat the charge to my CC.

The MDE app was updated to allow for mobile order payments with GC. Make sure your app is updated or let the CMs at QS know your phone doesn’t support the app or you have a discount or whatever the circumstances are.


----------



## pangyal

We arrived yesterday and are starting out at the Polynesian. We started with MK today with the intention of doing a few hours in the morning, then coming back for a work/AC break, then returning to the park around 5pm. This proved a good strategy other than seeing the headliners at around 35-45 minutes until about 5pm (with the exception of SM, as posted above it was a walk-on all day- my kid said that he intended to “spam-ride Space Mountain all day and got his wish, much to the future chagrin of my chiropractor). 

Between 5 and 7, the wait times got pretty low, so we did a bunch of rides in the morning but left SDMT and PP for the return trip. Both were walk-ons around 6pm. We saved Splash, Jungle Cruise and Big Thunder for another day, but were the only cars on Speedway around 6:45pm, which was really cool.

Mask compliance and attention to distancing were very good at MK and on the monorail. I have seen more “transgressions” at the resort, however, including one charming gentleman who pushed his way maskless out of the door by Pineapple Lanai while coughing and walking towards the table directly beside us. I am sort of hoping for a survey so that I can provide feedback on the mask compliance difference levels I’ve seen between the parks and resorts. 

Overall, today being our first day, I am reserving judgement but I do feel overall safe here and that the vast majority of people want to do the right thing. The CMs are as fantastic as always and the magic is definitely here, despite everything.


----------



## mrg013

I just returned home today from a 2-night trip adults-only trip, and very much agree with what a lot of others have said, so apologies in advance to the extent that anything I'm about to say is redundant:

Our group was just myself, my wife, my brother-in-law and his girlfriend (all late 20s/early 30s with no kids) on a rescheduled/shortened trip that was supposed to occur in May with a much larger family group of all ages. We were the only ones left in the group who were willing to go despite all of the restrictions, and we honestly had a very laid-back, 'we'll just see what happens' kind of attitude. We've been to WDW many times and were only going to be there for two nights and one park day, so we were totally open to just getting away and seeing how things would be.

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with the cleanliness, sanitization procedures, use of signage and social distancing markers, and great attitude of the CMs throughout the property. If Disney wasn't doing a great job, we would admit it, but we were honestly pretty shocked at how truly comfortable and safe we felt throughout our stay. Many people told us we were crazy to go to Florida right now, and we debated it ourselves before the trip, but we banked on the fact we could trust Disney to create a safe environment, and we really felt comfortable when we were on property. We don't regret going at all, and think this trip was so unique that it will leave us with some great lasting memories.

We stayed at CCV in a two-bedroom villa, and it was awesome. We love WL in general, and on this trip in particular it just felt so calm and clean in all public spaces, and our villa was spotless too. We spent several hours at the pool in the afternoon on our arrival day, and it was very enjoyable to be there. When we arrived at the pool, it finally felt like we were on a "normal" vacation after dealing with flying down to WDW that morning, and we loved it.

Our group split up between HS and Epcot for one park day, and we both had great experiences with minimal wait times. Epcot sounded much emptier than HS, and HS definitely felt "energetic" (which is one step below "busy" in my mind). HS didn't have the ghost town feel that I've seen in most pictures from the other three parks, but I also felt comfortable there anyway. Even though there are certain areas that are chokepoints in the park, such as in SWGE and in TSL, the fact that these are all outdoor areas where you're actively walking past anyone you're coming near (while all wearing masks) made me feel ok with it. I was never stationary while feeling like people were closer to me than I was comfortable with. Constant cleaning was also very evident in the park. At Oga's, for example, we literally watched two separate people thoroughly wipe down the bar itself and the taps for the drinks within less than 5 minutes of each other, when literally no one had touched any of it in the interim. Wait times in the park were a bit all over the place, although they were all short. At one point in the afternoon, we walked right onto ToT,  with the wait time immediately jumping up to 65 minutes as soon as we exited. It just seemed hard to believe it could have jumped so much so quickly. Rides also don't seem to be as reliable as you'd expect (between tech/maintenance with the rides themselves and with covid cleanings periodically), so we missed a couple of things we wanted to do because we didn't hit them at quite the right times. However, in return, we got to have a day free of the stress of FP+ time windows dictating everything.

Restaurants were all operating pretty well for the most part. In the area where we live, indoor dining has not yet been permitted at all, so it was a novelty to be able to eat inside a restaurant, and it felt totally safe, with plenty of distance between tables, and most servers wearing both a face mask and a face shield. It was clear to us that they're still figuring things out with TS restaurant staffing though. For example, when we went to lunch at Whispering Canyon, our server was great, and the restaurant was pretty empty, but they had so few staff that it was obvious they just couldn't keep up with things like clearing and cleaning tables after each party. Even though we were there well into lunch hours, they were still trying to find time to clear and clean tables from breakfast. It didn't affect our experience, but was interesting to observe.  During dinner at Topolino's, all of our drink orders, even for just a basic glass of wine, took forever to come. Our server profusely apologized and explained that the delay was because the bar was understaffed. We also had dinner at California Grill, and although service was great, it was obvious our server just had too many tables and was being run ragged (despite doing a great job at it). Most bizarre of all was when my brother-in-law and his girlfriend had dinner at Kona Cafe, their server was from Beaches & Cream, still wearing her Beaches & Cream uniform, but had been pulled to Kona truly last minute to help in a staffing crunch. I've never experienced something like that at WDW at any other time. None of these experiences were a problem, since the service was still impeccable everywhere, and we had really great meals. It was just a common refrain that staffing at TS restaurants seems to still need to get into its groove, and if anything, it seems clear that if TS restaurant CMs are still furloughed, more should be called back to work.

We ordered QS one time at Roaring Fork using mobile order, and I think this system needs to improve. We placed a really simple order at an off time, and it was surprising how long it took for the food to be ready. I also don't quite understand why it is that when placing an order to be ready "now", you then have to actively also go into the app and confirm when you've arrived to pick up the food, with no effort being made to make the food until you do that. This meant that there was zero chance the food would be ready when I arrived at Roaring Fork, when all I was hoping for was to arrive and find my order conveniently packaged and ready to go. At least at resort QS (we haven't done mobile ordering in the parks to compare) it just feels like the system is set up in a way that leads to a lot of unnecessary waiting on the guest's part, rather than simply walking up and finding my food ready and waiting like it would be after placing an order at most fast casual restaurants outside of WDW.

DS was the only place that felt crowded and a little crazy when we went on Saturday night. I thought DS had strict capacity limits, but I assume those have been raised, because it felt quite packed walking around outside there (definitely more so than HS). Although mask compliance was still pretty good at DS, it was definitely worse there than at the resort or park, with a lot more uncovered noses than I had seen anywhere else on property. People not following the mask rules really bothers us, as it is reckless and indifferent towards others. There was no major mask issue at WDW, but just prepared that at some point, you will see one or more guests not wearing their masks properly. In the rare instances in which we saw this, we made sure to remove ourselves from the setting ASAP.

The place that absolutely felt the worst of the entire trip was MCO. There were so many people there who made absolutely no effort at physical distancing, and wearing a mask properly was almost more the exception at the airport than the norm. There were so many uncovered noses everywhere, and no one there to enforce the rules.  We even saw pilots walking around the terminal with no mask at all, which was frustrating, since they should be a role model for others in this situation.When we bought something in one of the shops, even though there were social distancing markers on the floor, people still bunched up in line (many not wearing a mask properly). We didn't feel particularly comfortable at MCO, and just tried to seek out an emptier gate area with private space while waiting for our flight to board. It didn't help that our AA flight was completely full. I'm not sure if it's an MCO problem, a Florida problem, or something else, but we did find mask compliance (while still not good enough) to be much better at PHL, the airport we were traveling to/from, than it was at MCO, where things felt like a free-for-all. With such great processes in place at Disney, it was disappointing to see that it's a different story at the airport.


----------



## HollyMD

dorospin said:


> We are back this week after being here last weekend. Last weekend I posted here that masks were being enforced 99% of time and crowds were non existent. I have to say that a week has made a huge difference. Mask enforcement seems to be way down. Lots of noses.  And, DHS today was pretty packed. We’re still having a great time, but can tell a difference.


We have had the opposite experience. We got to Disney last Wed and just left this morning and we saw a lot of mask enforcement , as well as social distancing enforcement. Even at Disney Sprongs, while in line for a store, the lady behind me got a little closer than she should have and a CM politely asked her if she was not with me, to please move behind the line. Most(but not all) people we saw were abiding by the mask rule, but we definitely saw CM’s reminding people that it must fully cover mouth, nose, and chin.


----------



## Epcot242

First -- thanks for your report, it was really very helpful and encouraging to hear about your experience. My wife and I are mostly in the same boat as you and your group, it seems, in terms mindset about the trip and COVID precautions.



mrg013 said:


> We also had dinner at California Grill, and although service was great, it was obvious our server just had too many tables and was being run ragged (despite doing a great job at it).



Awesome to hear you ate at the CG. Dining is one of the main reasons we go to Disney and I'm glad that at least the CA Grill will be open when we're there (bummed the Flying Fish is still closed, though!). Our state also hasn't opened indoor dining yet and I actually had my first restaurant experience (outdoors) a few days ago. How was the experience for you in terms of not wearing a mask throughout the meal? Since the CA Grill is so big I can imagine people are spaced out but I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that you felt OK dining there overall. I think we're going to potentially wear masks while not actually eating, only removing briefly to take drinks.

Thanks again!


----------



## mrg013

Epcot242 said:


> First -- thanks for your report, it was really very helpful and encouraging to hear about your experience. My wife and I are mostly in the same boat as you and your group, it seems, in terms mindset about the trip and COVID precautions.
> 
> 
> 
> Awesome to hear you ate at the CG. Dining is one of the main reasons we go to Disney and I'm glad that at least the CA Grill will be open when we're there (bummed the Flying Fish is still closed, though!). Our state also hasn't opened indoor dining yet and I actually had my first restaurant experience (outdoors) a few days ago. How was the experience for you in terms of not wearing a mask throughout the meal? Since the CA Grill is so big I can imagine people are spaced out but I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that you felt OK dining there overall. I think we're going to potentially wear masks while not actually eating, only removing briefly to take drinks.
> 
> Thanks again!



We were super excited to find out that CG would be open during our trip, and we also really hope that more of the signature restaurants open up soon! My impression is that once each resort opens fully (rather than just the DVC portions), they're opening more restaurants, which seems to explain why CG opened at the same time that Contemporary joined BLT in welcoming guests back.

We were fine with not wearing masks during the meal - granted, that was our third TS meal of the trip, so we were a bit more used to it by the time we got to CG. However, even during our first TS indoor meal, it felt fine (although a little weird at first). Like you said, the interior space of CG is great for distancing between parties. It's so large and open/airy, so there were definitely 6 feet, if not more, between us and each table around us. We felt very good about that. Our server was also wearing both a mask and face shield, so it felt like even with masks off, he was very well protected from us and vice versa. 

Almost everyone there did the same as us, and took masks off at all times when seated at the table, while putting them back on to leave the table to use the bathroom or visit the roof deck. However, we did see one or two groups that did what you're thinking of, and kept masks on except when eating or drinking. I think it's totally fine to do whatever works best for you, and you can have a wonderful meal either way. The food and drinks were great, and the atmosphere was just as lovely as we've recalled in the past, even without a fireworks view this time.

They were also strict about letting anyone up to the restaurant who didn't have a dinner reservation, such as for going to the bar. The bar seating was open (but only sat 2 or 3 distanced parties at a time), while the lounge seating near the bar was all closed. A couple that was ahead of us in line to check in was hoping to go to the bar or lounge, and was told that they would be texted if a bar spot opened, but not to count on it because capacity was being kept so limited.


----------



## RangerPooh

Doingitagain said:


> I heard that Disney was adding 18% gratuity to all parties, has that been your experience?


We're a family of 6 so it always gets added. We've been using TIW this entire trip, the 18% is automatically applied when using the card. Our friends are a party of 4 and haven't noticed it when it's the just the 4 of them at a TS.


I will agree with PP who commented that mobile ordering needs to improve. We've been at BLT and WL for the last two weeks, and have used it both at the resorts and the parks. Waits can be long. The parks are often a reasonable wait, but peak hours can get long. It's the wait for resort food that is unreasonable. One night we waited 20 minutes for ice cream bars. Another night we waited 45 minutes for 3 flat bread pizzas. One morning we waited 30 minutes for two bowls of oatmeal and two kid mickey waffle platters. At the 30 minute mark we approached the counter and were informed that the oatmeal they received was the long cook variety so it would not be ready for quite a while. The kids food was cold by the time they gave it to us and canceled our oatmeal.  Overall lines waiting for food and drinks have been long. The night we waited for ice cream a manager came by and offered us (and about 4 other tables) bottles of water as a consolation for our long wait. Which was nice. With some hotels at high capacity you'd think the kitchen staff would be at higher capacity for peak meal times.


----------



## LovingPooh

dancergirlsmom said:


> Can't you use your magic band to charge back to your resort then pay off the bill at the resort with gift cards?


Yes you can. That is what we did


----------



## Epcot242

mrg013 said:


> We were super excited to find out that CG would be open during our trip, and we also really hope that more of the signature restaurants open up soon! My impression is that once each resort opens fully (rather than just the DVC portions), they're opening more restaurants, which seems to explain why CG opened at the same time that Contemporary joined BLT in welcoming guests back.
> 
> We were fine with not wearing masks during the meal - granted, that was our third TS meal of the trip, so we were a bit more used to it by the time we got to CG. However, even during our first TS indoor meal, it felt fine (although a little weird at first). Like you said, the interior space of CG is great for distancing between parties. It's so large and open/airy, so there were definitely 6 feet, if not more, between us and each table around us. We felt very good about that. Our server was also wearing both a mask and face shield, so it felt like even with masks off, he was very well protected from us and vice versa.
> 
> Almost everyone there did the same as us, and took masks off at all times when seated at the table, while putting them back on to leave the table to use the bathroom or visit the roof deck. However, we did see one or two groups that did what you're thinking of, and kept masks on except when eating or drinking. I think it's totally fine to do whatever works best for you, and you can have a wonderful meal either way. The food and drinks were great, and the atmosphere was just as lovely as we've recalled in the past, even without a fireworks view this time.
> 
> They were also strict about letting anyone up to the restaurant who didn't have a dinner reservation, such as for going to the bar. The bar seating was open (but only sat 2 or 3 distanced parties at a time), while the lounge seating near the bar was all closed. A couple that was ahead of us in line to check in was hoping to go to the bar or lounge, and was told that they would be texted if a bar spot opened, but not to count on it because capacity was being kept so limited.



That's a good point. Hopefully over time it'll open up more.

I appreciate the insight--that's encouraging to hear. It's obviously still a risk but it sounds like everything that can be done is being done so that's great. Thank you!


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## disneyseniors

soniam said:


> We were at UO Thurs-Sun staying onsite. Went to Volcano Bay and then the other 2 parks. I can’t comment too much on the regular parks, because my diverticulitis kicked in Wednesday night, and I stayed in the room Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday. Ate some indoors and some outdoors.
> 
> We went to MK today. Staying at BWV and drove to the TTC. Did DS last night. Ate indoors at Plaza and outdoors at Homecoming.
> 
> I generally agree with what others have said. People are mostly following the rules. Employees are sometimes saying something. WDW spacing feels tighter than UO. Groups feel bigger at WDW, so they are taking up more walkways and more space in queues. I just don’t move until I can see that the people in front of me have a spot to go to. Make sure your group stays close together instead of spreading out like a bunch of rude, privileged Americans. I did see people taking masks off in dark rides. I saw a decent number of exposed noses. There is also the usual meandering idiots, who can’t figure out what they are doing or where they are going. Some things never change.
> 
> As for eating/drinking in line, I saw some but not a ton. I know that I would drink in line, because it’s difficult to pull down my mask (head straps) to drink while moving w/o spilling. However, I only pull mine down, really kind of out, while pouring water into my mouth; I pull it back up to swallow. Or I take 2-3 very quick drinks and then back on with the mask. We also keep ours on at restaurants if we are not actively eating or drinking.
> 
> We got to Plaza when it opened, so it wasn’t very crowded. Tables were spaced decently. So even when full, it wasn’t too close. We sat outside at Homecoming. I would have preferred a little more separation there, but people were not on top of us.
> 
> I like how UO puts the sanitizer on your hand right before you get in the attraction vehicle or in the seat. There is no one ensuring that people use the sanitizer before getting on. The only attraction that we saw being sanitized was BTMR. They could have been doing others though. BTMR and 7DMT had plastic up in the inside queues.
> 
> Saw weird spikes in wait times. I don’t know if it was due to cleaning or not. Wait times were generally low to non-existent. 7DMT and Splash were down in the morning. Those had the longest waits once back up, 30-40 min. Some of the wait times were inflated. We would get off a ride, and then see it backed up a bit. Walked onto Peter Pan. It was sometimes difficult to hear the cast members over the PPE and background music/sound.



Thanks for this report, for the most part.
I am getting tired of some people always dissing Americans, and the comment "like rude privileged Americans"  That was an uncalled for comment,IMO.  When people do this, it just shows how uninformed and uncouth their part of the world view is.   They come across as quite rude and make where they come from look bad.


----------



## brockash

mrg013 said:


> I just returned home today from a 2-night trip adults-only trip, and very much agree with what a lot of others have said, so apologies in advance to the extent that anything I'm about to say is redundant:
> 
> Our group was just myself, my wife, my brother-in-law and his girlfriend (all late 20s/early 30s with no kids) on a rescheduled/shortened trip that was supposed to occur in May with a much larger family group of all ages. We were the only ones left in the group who were willing to go despite all of the restrictions, and we honestly had a very laid-back, 'we'll just see what happens' kind of attitude. We've been to WDW many times and were only going to be there for two nights and one park day, so we were totally open to just getting away and seeing how things would be.
> 
> Overall, I was incredibly impressed with the cleanliness, sanitization procedures, use of signage and social distancing markers, and great attitude of the CMs throughout the property. If Disney wasn't doing a great job, we would admit it, but we were honestly pretty shocked at how truly comfortable and safe we felt throughout our stay. Many people told us we were crazy to go to Florida right now, and we debated it ourselves before the trip, but we banked on the fact we could trust Disney to create a safe environment, and we really felt comfortable when we were on property. We don't regret going at all, and think this trip was so unique that it will leave us with some great lasting memories.
> 
> We stayed at CCV in a two-bedroom villa, and it was awesome. We love WL in general, and on this trip in particular it just felt so calm and clean in all public spaces, and our villa was spotless too. We spent several hours at the pool in the afternoon on our arrival day, and it was very enjoyable to be there. When we arrived at the pool, it finally felt like we were on a "normal" vacation after dealing with flying down to WDW that morning, and we loved it.
> 
> Our group split up between HS and Epcot for one park day, and we both had great experiences with minimal wait times. Epcot sounded much emptier than HS, and HS definitely felt "energetic" (which is one step below "busy" in my mind). HS didn't have the ghost town feel that I've seen in most pictures from the other three parks, but I also felt comfortable there anyway. Even though there are certain areas that are chokepoints in the park, such as in SWGE and in TSL, the fact that these are all outdoor areas where you're actively walking past anyone you're coming near (while all wearing masks) made me feel ok with it. I was never stationary while feeling like people were closer to me than I was comfortable with. Constant cleaning was also very evident in the park. At Oga's, for example, we literally watched two separate people thoroughly wipe down the bar itself and the taps for the drinks within less than 5 minutes of each other, when literally no one had touched any of it in the interim. Wait times in the park were a bit all over the place, although they were all short. At one point in the afternoon, we walked right onto ToT,  with the wait time immediately jumping up to 65 minutes as soon as we exited. It just seemed hard to believe it could have jumped so much so quickly. Rides also don't seem to be as reliable as you'd expect (between tech/maintenance with the rides themselves and with covid cleanings periodically), so we missed a couple of things we wanted to do because we didn't hit them at quite the right times. However, in return, we got to have a day free of the stress of FP+ time windows dictating everything.
> 
> Restaurants were all operating pretty well for the most part. In the area where we live, indoor dining has not yet been permitted at all, so it was a novelty to be able to eat inside a restaurant, and it felt totally safe, with plenty of distance between tables, and most servers wearing both a face mask and a face shield. It was clear to us that they're still figuring things out with TS restaurant staffing though. For example, when we went to lunch at Whispering Canyon, our server was great, and the restaurant was pretty empty, but they had so few staff that it was obvious they just couldn't keep up with things like clearing and cleaning tables after each party. Even though we were there well into lunch hours, they were still trying to find time to clear and clean tables from breakfast. It didn't affect our experience, but was interesting to observe.  During dinner at Topolino's, all of our drink orders, even for just a basic glass of wine, took forever to come. Our server profusely apologized and explained that the delay was because the bar was understaffed. We also had dinner at California Grill, and although service was great, it was obvious our server just had too many tables and was being run ragged (despite doing a great job at it). Most bizarre of all was when my brother-in-law and his girlfriend had dinner at Kona Cafe, their server was from Beaches & Cream, still wearing her Beaches & Cream uniform, but had been pulled to Kona truly last minute to help in a staffing crunch. I've never experienced something like that at WDW at any other time. None of these experiences were a problem, since the service was still impeccable everywhere, and we had really great meals. It was just a common refrain that staffing at TS restaurants seems to still need to get into its groove, and if anything, it seems clear that if TS restaurant CMs are still furloughed, more should be called back to work.
> 
> We ordered QS one time at Roaring Fork using mobile order, and I think this system needs to improve. We placed a really simple order at an off time, and it was surprising how long it took for the food to be ready. I also don't quite understand why it is that when placing an order to be ready "now", you then have to actively also go into the app and confirm when you've arrived to pick up the food, with no effort being made to make the food until you do that. This meant that there was zero chance the food would be ready when I arrived at Roaring Fork, when all I was hoping for was to arrive and find my order conveniently packaged and ready to go. At least at resort QS (we haven't done mobile ordering in the parks to compare) it just feels like the system is set up in a way that leads to a lot of unnecessary waiting on the guest's part, rather than simply walking up and finding my food ready and waiting like it would be after placing an order at most fast casual restaurants outside of WDW.
> 
> DS was the only place that felt crowded and a little crazy when we went on Saturday night. I thought DS had strict capacity limits, but I assume those have been raised, because it felt quite packed walking around outside there (definitely more so than HS). Although mask compliance was still pretty good at DS, it was definitely worse there than at the resort or park, with a lot more uncovered noses than I had seen anywhere else on property. People not following the mask rules really bothers us, as it is reckless and indifferent towards others. There was no major mask issue at WDW, but just prepared that at some point, you will see one or more guests not wearing their masks properly. In the rare instances in which we saw this, we made sure to remove ourselves from the setting ASAP.
> 
> The place that absolutely felt the worst of the entire trip was MCO. There were so many people there who made absolutely no effort at physical distancing, and wearing a mask properly was almost more the exception at the airport than the norm. There were so many uncovered noses everywhere, and no one there to enforce the rules.  We even saw pilots walking around the terminal with no mask at all, which was frustrating, since they should be a role model for others in this situation.When we bought something in one of the shops, even though there were social distancing markers on the floor, people still bunched up in line (many not wearing a mask properly). We didn't feel particularly comfortable at MCO, and just tried to seek out an emptier gate area with private space while waiting for our flight to board. It didn't help that our AA flight was completely full. I'm not sure if it's an MCO problem, a Florida problem, or something else, but we did find mask compliance (while still not good enough) to be much better at PHL, the airport we were traveling to/from, than it was at MCO, where things felt like a free-for-all. With such great processes in place at Disney, it was disappointing to see that it's a different story at the airport.


Thx for the feedback.  Some of your reports about restaurants seem so odd, especially for Disney and disappointing with the lack of staff (for us and the workers that are there.)  Hopefully Disney fixes that issue soon.


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

ROTR updates: The Skyliner took 50 minutes (9:15 to 10:08) for us to get from Pop to DHS, so we had to do a 1pm boarding group. We’re group 50. It said 130 minutes at 1pm, 105 minutes now. I just hope we get to ride before the park closes, and I don’t know how they’re going to release more at 4pm. Have people successfully been riding with a 4pm BG?


----------



## pepperandchips

disneyseniors said:


> Thanks for this report, for the most part.
> I am getting tired of some people always dissing Americans, and the comment "like rude privileged Americans"  That was an uncalled for comment,IMO.  When people do this, it just shows how uninformed and uncouth their part of the world view is.   They come across as quite rude and make where they come from look bad.


The poster who made this comment is from Texas... she wasn't saying all Americans are rude, she was saying some rude Americans spread out in ways that are reflective of privilege and rudeness when we should all be more aware of space and use restraint and common sense during the pandemic.


----------



## Dave006

MusicalAstronaut said:


> ROTR updates: The Skyliner took 50 minutes (9:15 to 10:08) for us to get from Pop to DHS, so we had to do a 1pm boarding group. We’re group 50. It said 130 minutes at 1pm, 105 minutes now. I just hope we get to ride before the park closes, and I don’t know how they’re going to release more at 4pm. Have people successfully been riding with a 4pm BG?


You should be good with BG 50 unless there are operational issues with RoTR. 

What took so long in the Skyliner long line or another issue?

Dave


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

Dave006 said:


> You should be good with BG 50 unless there are operational issues with RoTR.
> 
> What took so long in the Skyliner long line or another issue?
> 
> Dave


The line seemed average, but we stopped many times with the “temporarily delayed” message playing. Not sure what was up with it.

Rise seems to be having MAJOR issues today. :/


----------



## Nick6300

Everything we knew about RD schedules are out the window, and I get that things can keep changing. During the re-opening, I saw a vlog where onsite guests were allowed to enter MK at 8:30am for 9am open. 

1) For each of the 4 parks, about how early are CMs letting you enter? 
2) Are they holding you in the traditional spots like Sunset Blvd, bridge at Tiffins, hub at MK, FW until like 10-15 min before official opening time - Or I'd think they'd let you hit the attractions once you tap, since they don't want crowding? 
3) It used to be that buses were arriving like an 1.5 hrs before earliest park's opening time including EMH. I'm sure that's different with the staggered openings and I think no more early dining reservations. How early are they arriving at the hotels? Just AK buses and then MK or do they all come at once? 
4) How early does the skyliner run from Pop to HS/EP? 
5) Do you have to go to a resort from a park to grab a bus to DS or is there a direct DS bus from the parks? If no direct DS bus, I'm not sure if you can walk from Old Key West, or no bridge/access to DS. 
6) How has waiting for buses at end of park night been like with the 25ish capacities per bus? 
7) Still able to last ride 5-10 min before park closes or are they encouraging you to stick to the park closing time? I think if they let you, with these early park closures, I'd be interested in shopping some after park closes. 

Mainly interested in the park openings and buses, but I'd appreciate any sharing of recent experiences this summer. Thanks!


----------



## yulilin3

Nick6300 said:


> Everything we knew about RD schedules are out the window, and I get that things can keep changing. During the re-opening, I saw a vlog where onsite guests were allowed to enter MK at 8:30am for 9am open.
> 
> 1) For each of the 4 parks, about how early are CMs letting you enter?
> 2) Are they holding you in the traditional spots like Sunset Blvd, bridge at Tiffins, hub at MK, FW until like 10-15 min before official opening time - Or I'd think they'd let you hit the attractions once you tap, since they don't want crowding?
> 3) It used to be that buses were arriving like an 1.5 hrs before earliest park's opening time including EMH. I'm sure that's different with the staggered openings and I think no more early dining reservations. How early are they arriving at the hotels? Just AK buses and then MK or do they all come at once?
> 4) How early does the skyliner run from Pop to HS/EP?
> 5) Do you have to go to a resort from a park to grab a bus to DS or is there a direct DS bus from the parks? If no direct DS bus, I'm not sure if you can walk from Old Key West, or no bridge/access to DS.
> 6) How has waiting for buses at end of park night been like with the 25ish capacities per bus?
> 7) Still able to last ride 5-10 min before park closes or are they encouraging you to stick to the park closing time? I think if they let you, with these early park closures, I'd be interested in shopping some after park closes.
> 
> Mainly interested in the park openings and buses, but I'd appreciate any sharing of recent experiences this summer. Thanks!


most of these are answered by peoples experiences here so please read back on this thread. Here are my experiences, have gone to the parks 6 times since reopening
1) They are holding people before the toll booth, after they let you park, the park is open. MK opens parking around 8:20, AK around 7:20, DHS around 9-9:15 and Epcot around 10:15
2) Once they let you through the entrance the entire park is open, and you just go to whatever attraction and wait there for it to open
3) since it's a staggered opening for parks the buses will run an hour before park official opening
4) 9am
5) there are direct buses from the parks to DS
6) didn't experience this
7) you can get in line up to a minute before park closing


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## Nick6300

yulilin3 said:


> most of these are answered by peoples experiences here so please read back on this thread. Here are my experiences, have gone to the parks 6 times since reopening
> 1) They are holding people before the toll booth, after they let you park, the park is open. MK opens parking around 8:20, AK around 7:20, DHS around 9-9:15 and Epcot around 10:15
> 2) Once they let you through the entrance the entire park is open, and you just go to whatever attraction and wait there for it to open
> 3) since it's a staggered opening for parks the buses will run an hour before park official opening
> 4) 9am
> 5) there are direct buses from the parks to DS
> 6) didn't experience this
> 7) you can get in line up to a minute before park closing



Hi Yulilin, do you know why every time I try to post a new post it just ends up going into someone else's post that I may or may not been in awhile back?


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## yulilin3

Nick6300 said:


> Hi Yulilin, do you know why every time I try to post a new post it just ends up going into someone else's post that I may or may not been in awhile back?


We're trying to keep similar topics in the same threads, you'll get better answers here where people have been reporting back on their experiences instead of opening another thread


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## LovingPooh

MusicalAstronaut said:


> ROTR updates: The Skyliner took 50 minutes (9:15 to 10:08) for us to get from Pop to DHS, so we had to do a 1pm boarding group. We’re group 50. It said 130 minutes at 1pm, 105 minutes now. I just hope we get to ride before the park closes, and I don’t know how they’re going to release more at 4pm. Have people successfully been riding with a 4pm BG?


We got a 4:00 pm BG, but we were group 54 and boarded at 7:00 pm. We were there second day they opened.


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## MusicalAstronaut

Update: Rise broken again/still (we are BG 50).  Sister went to Slinky, it broke, she’s was just evacuated. After checking with Oga’s multiple times throughout the day, we finally got on the walk-up list!  I skipped SDD so once she gets here I’ll be in the wonderful air conditioning.


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## Nick6300

yulilin3 said:


> most of these are answered by peoples experiences here so please read back on this thread. Here are my experiences, have gone to the parks 6 times since reopening
> 1) They are holding people before the toll booth, after they let you park, the park is open. MK opens parking around 8:20, AK around 7:20, DHS around 9-9:15 and Epcot around 10:15
> 2) Once they let you through the entrance the entire park is open, and you just go to whatever attraction and wait there for it to open
> 3) since it's a staggered opening for parks the buses will run an hour before park official opening
> 4) 9am
> 5) there are direct buses from the parks to DS
> 6) didn't experience this
> 7) you can get in line up to a minute before park closing



Thanks for this. It sounds like if you're taking a bus to the parks in am, since running beg. an hour before, you will likely get there after they already started to let guests in. You would then wait in a line at Runaway train, for instance, until 10 am. 

Do you think there would be a MK bus around 7am, since AK opens at 8 or would it be closer to 8am?


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## yulilin3

Nick6300 said:


> Thanks for this. It sounds like if you're taking a bus to the parks in am, since running beg. an hour before, you will likely get there after they already started to let guests in. You would then wait in a line at Runaway train, for instance, until 10 am.
> 
> Do you think there would be a MK bus around 7am, since AK opens at 8 or would it be closer to 8am?


Buses are running only about an hour before each park opens.  So for mk they wiil start running around 8


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## Claudia1

Just left DHS after 5 days back “home”.   We went to DHS 2 days and AK, MK, and Epcot one day each.  Here are some quick observations.  (Excuse any typos.  I’m traveling and on a touchy iPad)

1).  We often had to wait for “ride cleaning”.  MMRR, Test Track, and  Haunted Mansion took the longest at around 20 minutes.  I don’t know how often they did it but the lines stopped for it.   That can also account for brief peaks in wait times.   Be prepared, be patient, and appreciate the extra work they are doing to protect us.

2). We saw the mask rule being courteously enforced across the board. Sanitizer was EVERYWHERE. I especially appreciated them at the ride exits so we could used them after getting off, touching bars and seat belts that someone else just touched.

3). Most people were social distancing in lines but rarely in the main traffic areas.

4). Busses will take only 1 ECV or wheelchair unless there are 2 from the same family.   (We did have a driver at Kindani take a second one and then let the extra passengers get on in a way that they had to pass in front of seated guests but every other bus did the correct procedure)

5). Not many quick or table service places were open so we had to be strategic.  (We hadiabetics in our group so it was important)

6). I was amazed at how well we all adapted to the masks! It was not the same as not wearing one and we never forgot we had them on but it was not a deal-breaker.

7). Take a cell phone charger with you! Menus and EVERYTHING are on your phones!

8) it is very, very hard to hear CMs. Ride instructions, servers, security, etc... were all muffled and you can’t see their lips move. I never realized how much I depend on visually seeing verbal cues. When you add the background music or an unfamiliar accent, it can be tricky.

Hope this helps!


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## MusicalAstronaut

DHS update: My sister is cuter than me. We were literally the last group on Rise. Also, people are not wrong. It is really hard to hear people with their mask and face shield. God bless them.


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## soniam

Totally agree about not hearing CMs, especially security. They really need to project well and look forward, maybe even slightly up, when talking.

Got pinged by the DHS metal detectors all 3 days Every time they were angry and insistent that I must have something on me. I had to dump the contents of my bag into a bin, then security rifled through them with the same gloves they used on the previous person. I was also wanded each time. Except  for my sunglass case at MK, I didn’t have problems at any other park. Really annoying. I never have problems with the bag scanners at Universal.


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## mrg013

Claudia1 said:


> 8) it is very, very hard to hear CMs. Ride instructions, servers, security, etc... were all muffled and you can’t see their lips move. I never realized how much I depend on visually seeing verbal cues. When you add the background music or an unfamiliar accent, it can be tricky.


I totally agree on this point! We had the exact same experience this weekend. Especially when you're in louder areas of the park or somewhere with music playing, I found it really hard to hear CMs. It was especially difficult whenever they were wearing face shields in addition to masks. It's a small price to pay for a safer park experience, but I kept hoping I would get better at understanding without the visual cues, and I really didn't. Maybe next time...


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## Claudia1

MusicalAstronaut said:


> DHS update: My sister is cuter than me. We were literally the last group on Rise. Also, people are not wrong. It is really hard to hear people with their mask and face shield. God bless them.



Just curious, what was your boarding group?


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## dorospin

Updates: 

Rise - we were able to get boarding group 10 right at 10am. We were called around 11:30. It broke down while were inside - waiting for an hour at star trooper scene. Was out right around 1.

we’ve now been to all 4 parks and DHS really seems crowded compared to the rest.

pool at BLT last night was crowded, it could’ve been summer night 2019.

lots of mask compliance CMs out at Epcot last night.


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## MusicalAstronaut

Claudia1 said:


> Just curious, what was your boarding group?


50. We got called around 7, but the ride was down again when we got there. We rode MFSR and on our way out of the park we checked Rise again around 7:30, it was running, and they let us in the line.


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## shoegal9

Anyone staying at/stayed at Boardwalk or Beach Club who can comment on the walkways to DHS?  Are they blocking off the walkways in the mornings/have security stationed in the area, or are you free to make your way over there as early as you would like (i.e. before cars are let into parking lots)? Thanks!


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## IluvMGM

I don't understand why Rise breaks down all the time. It seems like it is down more than it actually runs. Why did they open it in the first place when they knew something isn't right with it? It just seems crazy to me, all it does is stress everyone out. LOL


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## TheSouthernBelle

I think these first hand accounts everyone is offering are great, thank you. We are heading back in a few weeks and it's nice to see non-youtuber first hand accounts/comments!! THANK YOU  I am looking forward to heading home!


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## leeniewdw

Claudia1 said:


> 2).  Sanitizer was EVERYWHERE. I especially appreciated them at the ride exits so we could used them after getting off, touching bars and seat belts that someone else just touched.



I suppose it's silly to consider that they wouldn't do this but this was confusing to us when we visited in March (just 2 days before it closed) that was not at all the case.  I think the closest to "ride exit" was a table between ToT and RnRC with pump bottles.   This access alone would make me feel so much better.  




IluvMGM said:


> I don't understand why Rise breaks down all the time. It seems like it is down more than it actually runs. Why did they open it in the first place when they knew something isn't right with it? It just seems crazy to me, all it does is stress everyone out. LOL



It's really strange that with months of no guests and the ability to work on the ride endlessly that it's still this unreliable.


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## osufeth24

leeniewdw said:


> I suppose it's silly to consider that they wouldn't do this but this was confusing to us when we visited in March (just 2 days before it closed) that was not at all the case.  I think the closest to "ride exit" was a table between ToT and RnRC with pump bottles.   This access alone would make me feel so much better.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's really strange that with months of no guests and the ability to work on the ride endlessly that it's still this unreliable.



They couldn't work on the ride during shutdown


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## GetMeOnSpaceMtn

Sitting at the airport after 5 days at VGF. The mask compliance and safety precautions were very reassuring while were here. We didn’t do AK so I can’t speak on that, but MK and HS has 99% mask compliance/social distance enforcement. I felt very comfortable there. Epcot has lower mask compliance but that is a function of F&W both on people walking and eating/drinking and some having a few too many. We went to Disney Springs to go to World of Disney and mask compliance was wayyy lower and social distancing was non-existent. The extreme comfort I felt in the parks was gone and we got out of there pretty quickly. YMMV but that was our first hand experience


----------



## Davey Jones II

BebopBaloo said:


> I've been reading lots of posts and watching live streams, but haven't encountered Mission Space yet. Anyone know what the safety procedures for Mission Space are, or other rides that have head rest/shoulder restraints?  Mission Space really stuck out to me on the list of open attractions because of the tiny space, shoulder restraints, and allll the things to touch for the interactive parts. We don't do the orange side, but my kids really like the green side. I'm looking ahead and wondering if we should skip it this time around.



No need to touch the buttons. They all go to autopilot after a few seconds.


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## Davey Jones II

mrg013 said:


> I totally agree on this point! We had the exact same experience this weekend. Especially when you're in louder areas of the park or somewhere with music playing, I found it really hard to hear CMs. It was especially difficult whenever they were wearing face shields in addition to masks. It's a small price to pay for a safer park experience, but I kept hoping I would get better at understanding without the visual cues, and I really didn't. Maybe next time...



Disney should probably adjust to this by lowering the volume of the music. In some places, it's always been too loud anyway, but with the masks and face shields, sounds like cranking it down is a necessity now.


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## scrappinginontario

GetMeOnSpaceMtn said:


> Sitting at the airport after 5 days at VGF. The mask compliance and safety precautions were very reassuring while were here. We didn’t do AK so I can’t speak on that, but MK and HS has 99% mask compliance/social distance enforcement. I felt very comfortable there. *Epcot has lower mask compliance but that is a function of F&W both on people walking and eating/drinking and some having a few too many. *We went to Disney Springs to go to World of Disney and mask compliance was wayyy lower and social distancing was non-existent. The extreme comfort I felt in the parks was gone and we got out of there pretty quickly. YMMV but that was our first hand experience


  sorry you experienced this.  Hopefully the update that a guest must be stopped to eat and drink will decrease this problem.


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## brockash

osufeth24 said:


> They couldn't work on the ride during shutdown


I believe they could have, at least during s decent portion of the shut down.  FL didn't shut down the same or as completely and def. not as long as some other states.  Disney chose not to spend the money or deal with it.


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## Dave006

IluvMGM said:


> I don't understand why Rise breaks down all the time. It seems like it is down more than it actually runs. Why did they open it in the first place when they knew something isn't right with it? It just seems crazy to me, all it does is stress everyone out. LOL


Well it has been open only about a week since shutting down in March. It will take time to ramp up operational reliability since it is a very complex attraction.

Dave


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## Best Aunt

MusicalAstronaut said:


> DHS update: My sister is cuter than me.



Sibling rivalry getting to you?


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## thanxfornoticin

scrappinginontario said:


> sorry you experienced this.  Hopefully the update that a guest must be stopped to eat and drink will decrease this problem.


I expect it's the roving eating and drinking at EPCOT that's the primary need for the stricter requirements.  Seems like some folks didn't realize how much their masks were down.  Others kinda using it as an excuse to not wear it.  Glad they're tightening up.  We've seen many other places where eating and drinking has to be at a table - not roaming around.


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## IluvMGM

Dave006 said:


> Well it has been open only about a week since shutting down in March. It will take time to ramp up operational reliability since it is a very complex attraction.
> 
> Dave


But wasn't the ride like that before the shutdown? I thought it broke down a lot before also.


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## LovingPooh

Just wanted to share with everyone. My family and I just returned from Disney on Saturday and had the best time. Low crowds, great eats, wonderful cast members, but one of the biggest highlights of my trip was running into a YouTuber....Paging Mr. Morrow. My family and I love watching him and enjoy all his videos.


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## Khobbs18

We went July 10 and 11 for PH preview (DH and I only) and opening day but since we essentially have until August 11 to cancel we booked a last minute trip with the 40% off offer August 4-9 and are contemplating bringing the kiddos. 

If we do bring the kiddos: DD is 1 and DS is 3. DS has no problem wearing the mask but I am a little worried about the heat. We avoid this time of year normally even without the mask requirement. DD isn't required to wear a mask but we will try to get her to wear one anyway- especially on the flight down. Anyway, the point of this post is to ask how everyone's very little littles are doing in the heat with the mask and lack of FP (longer wait times)? We saw lots of babies and toddlers opening weekend and they seemed fine but was just looking for some first hand experiences


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## leeniewdw

osufeth24 said:


> They couldn't work on the ride during shutdown



I hadn't thought of that.  But given FL's more aggressive re-opening, it seems like they should have been able to work on it at some point since March.



brockash said:


> I believe they could have, at least during s decent portion of the shut down.  FL didn't shut down the same or as completely and def. not as long as some other states.  Disney chose not to spend the money or deal with it.



It would seem so.  FL allowed people to go dine in restaurants and bars, so I don't see why they would have been prevented from having cast/crew work on the ride for at least some portion of the "shutdown".


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## osufeth24

leeniewdw said:


> I hadn't thought of that.  But given FL's more aggressive re-opening, it seems like they should have been able to work on it at some point since March.
> 
> 
> 
> It would seem so.  FL allowed people to go dine in restaurants and bars, so I don't see why they would have been prevented from having cast/crew work on the ride for at least some portion of the "shutdown".



Nothing from FL's side prevented them, Disney furloughed the employees.  They can't be paying people when there's no revenue coming in


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## kniquy

We watch him too but I can't stand the slow-mo eating he does - that music!   We are always on the hunt for our favorite YouTubers - obviously anyone from the Dis, Tim tracker, Molly from All Ears, and Adam the Woo are some of our fav's we would love to run into.  You always wonder how they would be in person.  But alas the hunt for us goes on.


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## wfjny

LovingPooh said:


> Just wanted to share with everyone. My family and I just returned from Disney on Saturday and had the best time. Low crowds, great eats, wonderful cast members, but one of the biggest highlights of my trip was running into a YouTuber....Paging Mr. Morrow. My family and I love watching him and enjoy all his videos.


We will be arriving this weekend for a Sunday - Sat trip. 

Any tips you can share at this point? We are DVC/AP for the past 10 years, but due to some family weddings last year, have not been there in over a year...


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## dark54555

Reposting my trip report: https://www.disboards.com/threads/trip-report-wdw-7-15-7-19-brief-thoughts.3808043/




dark54555 said:


> When we had some other travel plans get cancelled so I made this booking a few months ago with the attitude "Well, not idea if this will happen or not."  Lo an behold, it happened.  Trip was me, my wife, and our 2 boys (7 and 10).
> 
> Background:
> Had originally booked Caribbean Beach, with the plan to get in late 7/15, then his the parks 7/16-18, fly back the 19th.  Only figured we'd hit 3 parks anyway, so the lack of park hopper wasn't a big deal (and hadn't booked park hopper tickets to begin with).  Called in a few weeks back, and got moved to the Contemporary as CBR still isn't open.  Which brings us to the trip.
> 
> 7/15
> Flight was very, very empty.  I had arranged a car service to pick us up, and they were very cautious about COVID (driver was wearing 2 masks; disposable on top of fabric).  Arrived late (11 pm) at the Contemporary, online check in worked great, went straight to the room, only to see one of the few issues.  Nothing was open, and the vending machines were...not great.  Our floor (12) didn't work. I managed to get some snacks by going floor to floor, but nearly every drink machine was sold out of everything.  Finally got a bottle of tea on one floor.  We all went to bed.
> 
> 7/16 - Magic Kingdom
> Mobile ordered breakfast at Contempo Cafe.  It was fine, but there was no syrup for the waffles.  Getting downstairs proved to be a challenge for a lot of people.  Being on 12, took us about 3 elevators to get one (Elevators are limited to one party or 4 people; being a party of 4, we had to have our own elevator).  We then stopped at every floor on the way down.  I can't imagine how long it took to get an elevator on, say, the 7th floor. Monorail was awesome; one party per cabin, felt very safe.  Temperature check was inside the hotel, before going through security.
> 
> Getting into the park, it was almost surreal how empty it was. I've been in some low crowd times before, but nothing like this.  I don't think we waited more than 20 minutes for any ride all day.  No splash mountain merch anywhere; store was closed and the ride exit store had nothing but pressed pennies.  Kind of disappointing.  The splashing is turned way down, which is great for people like me who don't like being soaked.  No poncho necessary.  Haunted Mansion is a bit odd with no stretching room.  Rides are frequently paused for loading to be disinfected.  Every line has a minimum of 3 hand sanitizer stations: one at the entrance to the line, one at the end of the line before you board, and one when you get off the ride.  Had lunch at Cosmic Ray's, and mobile order again was well managed.  And remember: everything is cashless.  Don't show up without a credit card or magic band or a phone with mobile payments enabled.
> 
> All in all, it's still fun. Some stores are closed, but I can't think of a time I was within 6 feet of someone with a mask off.  We headed back to the room to shower before dinner at California Grill.  7:40 reservation, and not seated until 8:10, but I'd rather be a little behind than them rushing folks or putting people too close together.  Spacing was great, and the lack of fireworks kept any folks standing outside to a minimum.  Food was as good as ever, occupied tables were plenty far apart, and servers were going out of their way to remain cautious.  I really like the QR code mobile only menus.
> 
> 7/17 - Hollywood Studios
> Took the bus, and no issues.  They were careful to keep the loads only to what the bus could fit, and there were more busses running to make up for the lack of people per bus.  More of a crowd today, for sure.  That said, the only significant waits were Rise of the Resistance (Boarding Group 9, but the ride went down while we were in line and we chose to wait that out) and Runaway Railway (probably 50 minutes).  Slinky Dog Dash was probably 30 minutes, but Midway Mania was nearly a walk on, as was Smuggler's Run.  You could see more people in Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land, but the Tower of Terror/Rockin' Roller Coaster end of the park was pretty empty.  Had lunch at Ronto Roasters, and they were having people wait for tables to be sanitized between every party (using a yellow EcoLab spray).  Had a late afternoon reservation at Olga's, and that was very well spaced.  All the booths seemed to be in use, then there were standing tables and bar spots as space allowed.  There are only 2 collectible cups now (the Endor one and the Porg mug); not sure if that's a permanent change.  We also built droids (with a reservation) later in the day; crowd there was low.  They have the bays with barriers between them.  Some were single, others double, which meant both the boys were working side by side without a divider between them.  Dinner was at 50s Prime Time.  Table spacing was a bit more odd in here (some tables seemed less than a full 6 feet apart, but the layout inside is a bit atypical to being with), but we didn't feel uncomfortable.  We got the last bus back (7:40 dinner reservation), and were the only ones on it.
> 
> 7/18 - EPCOT
> Took the bus again (as the EPCOT monorail isn't running), and it went fine.  Lower crowd than HS for sure. After HS the day before, it was a reminder of how badly EPCOT needs some of the coming attractions. But it's still the same EPCOT I love despite the construction.  Nice to see Spaceship Earth one more time in the current form.  The Food and Wine Booths were all good, though some were closed unexpectedly.  Similarly, most of the country pavilions only had one set of shops open.  Surprised to still see some cast members from their countries (Germany and Japan, in particular, had quite a few).  Lunch was just snacking around some Food and Wine booths (China's was a big hit with the dumplings and bao buns), and dinner was at Germany.  I've never seen the Biergarten so empty, but spacing was not an issue and the family style system works.  This was also the day the rule changed to "you must stand still to eat/drink with your mask off" and, not that I saw much of it, but cast members were working to enforce it.
> 
> 7/19 - Checkout was super easy and automatic.  No issues.
> 
> Odds and Ends:
> -Photopass ride photos and magic photos seemed to take a lot longer than normal to appear in the account.  Regular photopass photographer photos shows up very quickly, though.
> -I didn't see the typical rude people or entitled person meltdown the entire trip.  I can't remember a time I haven't witnessed at least one or the other per day.  People were well behaved and happy to be there.
> -Pin Trading is nearly non-existent.  We only found a handful of boards across all the parks.
> -Checked everyone's temperatures this morning, and no fevers so *knock on wood* we ended up as safe as we felt.
> -Wearing masks are no big deal.  We used disposable ones mostly; they seemed to be the most comfortable in the heat.  You could get by with one a day, but changing to a clean one mid-day was nice.  Not a fan of the Disney ones comfort level, but YMMV. (We did use cloth ones on the flights.)
> 
> Happy to answer questions if anyone has them about what things are like right now.


----------



## koquinn

How are they handling cleaning the buttons on Mission Space, the screens on Test Track, etc?  Do they do it between each guest?


----------



## MomOTwins

Khobbs18 said:


> We went July 10 and 11 for PH preview (DH and I only) and opening day but since we essentially have until August 11 to cancel we booked a last minute trip with the 40% off offer August 4-9 and are contemplating bringing the kiddos.
> 
> If we do bring the kiddos: DD is 1 and DS is 3. DS has no problem wearing the mask but I am a little worried about the heat. We avoid this time of year normally even without the mask requirement. DD isn't required to wear a mask but we will try to get her to wear one anyway- especially on the flight down. Anyway, the point of this post is to ask how everyone's very little littles are doing in the heat with the mask and lack of FP (longer wait times)? We saw lots of babies and toddlers opening weekend and they seemed fine but was just looking for some first hand experiences


Please note that for your one year old, the CDC states masks should not be worn by children under 2 (due to suffocation risk): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html


----------



## dark54555

koquinn said:


> How are they handling cleaning the buttons on Mission Space, the screens on Test Track, etc?  Do they do it between each guest?



Test Track's build screens are disabled.  There's no reason to touch the screen in the vehicle.  It seems to be being sprayed down with the vehicle as a whole.

Mission Space (and Smuggler's Run) seem to be wiped down every hour or so. The majority of guests seems to be using hand sanitizer before and after riding.  With that plus the mask, risk for contamination seems low.


----------



## CHunterK

I went to DW from Wednesday, July 15th to Sunday, July 19th with my son (2) and stayed at Pop Century.  We are AP holds and DVC members.  I tried to note some of the things that would have been helpful or insightful since the reopening.


First, Disney did a great job making us feel safe.  You can tell a lot of time was spent on finding the best ways to encourage social distancing, enforcing masks, keeping crowds apart.  I have no concerns bringing my mother (in her 60's) to the park in a few weeks.
I didn’t get full use of the Table in Wonderland card.  For example, all of the quick service restaurants that allow TiW (hotel food courts) are now mobile order only.  It would be nice if Disney allowed us to attach our TiW card to our profile so we could get the discount.  I’m sure if I talked to a manager they would apply a discount somehow but it wasn’t worth the hassle.
I hope Disney keeps the relaxation zones.  With a 2 and 4 year old they often fall asleep in the stroller.  It’s difficult on a normal day to find a place to relax with them in the shade.  Big areas like Tomorrowland Terrace are perfect for us but it’s often closed.  Tomorrowland Terrace is now a relaxation spot and was a perfect spot for a break.  Why can’t this always be the case?
My son loves the skyliner and I was excited for a new form of transportation.  However, of the 4 times I planned to use it, only once was it open.  It’s disappointing that it closes down with any risk of a storm.  I totally get that guest safety is priority but it doesn’t make much sense to invest into a system that isn’t safe with any risk of thunder in Florida.  It storms everyday there.  
The cast members were great.  Feels like the Disney service from the 90’s when I was a kid going to Disney World.  This is probably because they are all full time cast members.  I hope Disney starts to shift back to a model of more more full time cast members vs temps and college students.  We often hear Pete on the podcast mention this and I never gave it much thought.  However the level of service this week was noticeably better.  
Mask compliance was 99.9%  Only once did I see somebody take it off during a show.  If anybody took them off the cast members did a great job of reminding them of the rules.  I’m sure dealing with this isn’t fun for cast members.  
You might want to bring your own water to the park.  In the past you could go up to a quick service restaurant and get a cup of water.  However with only mobile ordering, that is more difficult.  I wish Disney would add the option of tap water to mobile ordering. 
All of the food we had was excellent.  I think since the kitchen doesn’t have to focus on so many people they can take the time to prep a meal the way it was intended.  Everything was cooked perfectly and tasted great.
Even though the food was excellent, the Pop food court was pretty limited.  Some of the fun things that you can get like mickey waffles for dinner or ice cream weren't available.  Not a big deal, but something to know before you go.
One of the things that I hate about the parks is the security lines.  It’s a hassle with children in strollers, diaper bags, etc.  This often prevents me from park hopping.   The new technology they are using that lets you walk right through with only taking out is a HUGE step forward.  We used it at Animal Kingdom, Epcot at the International Center entrance and Disney Springs.  They need to hurry up and get it installed everywhere.  When going through the traditional metal detectors you now have to take out umbrellas, sunscreen cans and metal water bottles.  You can keep your backpack on but it often goes off. And if it goes off be prepared to empty your entire bag item by item.  I had my backpack go off at EPCOT and I had to take out each item one and one and put them in a bin.  This was a major hassle.
If you are driving don’t speed on property.  With less traffic it’s easy to go 20mph over the limit.  However I often saw OC police with radar guns on our way to the parks and back each day.  Use WAZE even if you know your way around.
I feel like I’m missing something with the exit of Disney Studios.   For quick weekend trips I often stay at Pop Century.   Every time I leave Disney studios I have to go west on Osecola HWY, double loop on the next exit and go back east on Osecola HWY just to get back to Victory way.  Is this really how it’s designed to leave the park? Seems like the civil engineers missed something here?  It’s super simple with an entrance right from Victory into the park, why the hassle to get back?  This is a poor design for a brand new entrance.
I didn’t bring a popcorn bucket because I thought there was no way they would do refillable popcorn now.  Turns out they still offer it.  All you have to do is show your popcorn bucket and you get popcorn in the cardboard holder.
Disney has facemasks for sale.  However it’s totally random if they will fit regardless of the size on the packaging.  The sizes are all over the place so it’s like buying a lottery ticket if they fit.   This is one thing you can’t return or exchange so you're stuck with it even if it doesn’t fit.
As mentioned we stayed at Pop.  In the past the rooms were sort of clean.  Usually if you wore white socks you could expect them to be dirty from the floor.  Dust was in hidden areas of the rooms.  This time the room was spotless (like it should always be).
Disney has been really cramming the cars closer and closer in the parking lot.  I absolutely hate parking at Disney.   If you or the person next to you doesn’t park exactly in the middle of the spot (not off more than 6”) you can’t get out of your car.  People can't open their trunks to get a stroller out or parents can’t open the door the whole way to get kids out of a car seat.  Not to mention I have a new Denali that I really don’t want door dings in.  Parking every other space was so nice.  In the future I don’t need every other space but I really need more room to park and get out and in.  This one thing that needs to look at (considering the price of parking).
You can now self check into restaurants.  This is a nice feature and saves time waiting in line.  
I really like how characters just pop up in the parks.  I think this is something they should do going forward.  We saw them on the lawns in EPCOT and on boats going around Animal Kingdom.  It was exciting for my son and added to the experience. 
If you have little kids don’t expect to be able to do much in some of the parks, especially Studios.  All we could do there was TS Mania, Alien Saucers, Muppets, Mickey Railway and Cars.  With no shows taking place I was very limited in what we could do.  Since it was just my son and I, rider swap wasn’t an option.   If you are paying full price for a ticket to studios I would skip if you have very little kids and can’t rider swap.
Not necessarily Disney related but it makes you appreciate Disney.  On our last day I went to Sea World.  I had not been in a while and we already did all 4 Disney parks.   Social distancing and mask compliance was a disaster there.  At best 50% of the people wore their masks during shows.  Walking around maybe 80% wore their masks.  Sea World employees never addressed it.  If they aren’t following this obvious safety rule, what other safety rules are being overlooked.  It was a day and night difference compared to Disney World.  Makes you appreciate how Disney handled the situation.


----------



## dark54555

CHunterK said:


> Disney has facemasks for sale. However it’s totally random if they will fit regardless of the size on the packaging. The sizes are all over the place so it’s like buying a lottery ticket if they fit. This is one thing you can’t return or exchange so you're stuck with it even if it doesn’t fit.



Interesting.  Might explain why none of the ones we bought were even remotely comfortable.  We only bought 4, and some are still in their bags.


----------



## Insomniacat

CHunterk: Thank you for your report. I have been looking for experiences to gage whether or not I should go in the near future.


----------



## a1tinkfans

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!


----------



## Jadyreen1282

Great report. Makes me want to go less and sadly that's what I need right now. The less I miss it the less I will miss it.


----------



## yulilin3

Just back from MK, I was there for CM, AP preview and last Monday, can tell you that it is definitely busier but still very, very manageable. Walked in at around 8:50am, did PP, Pooh, Indy Speedway and Buzz with no wait. Later did Haunted Mansion no wait, Jungle Cruise 10 min wait around 11:30am and SM no wait around 1:30pm Ate at Skippers Canteen very good food and nice social distancing.
We saw plenty of CM making sure people were wearing their masks, even saw 5 instances where CM came to tell people to pull their mask back on when they were taking a photo on their own
Left at 2:30pm and NO ONE was walking in


----------



## soniam

It seems they are cleaning rides about every 2 hours. We hit cleaning at Kali and Everest about 10am today. If you can time stuff, it might help. We noticed this a little at the other parks too.




shoegal9 said:


> Anyone staying at/stayed at Boardwalk or Beach Club who can comment on the walkways to DHS?  Are they blocking off the walkways in the mornings/have security stationed in the area, or are you free to make your way over there as early as you would like (i.e. before cars are let into parking lots)? Thanks!



We were never stopped and left the room at BWV as early as 9am. They had some signs up for a while saying the walkway was closed, but I think someone just forgot to remove them for a few days after DHS opened. They line people up out front, if they haven’t let people in yet. The time they let people in is all over the place. Opening day, they were already in by 9:30. Another day, they didn’t let us in until between 9:30-9:45. Monday, yesterday, we walked in about 9:15-9:30 and were off MMRR way before 10am. We were in line for SDD getting out ROTR BG.

They do block the walkway to BC from Epcot. We had to enter the building from the side and walk through the hotel to get to Beaches & Cream. It’s blocked at SAB.


----------



## Insomniacat

For those that went and flew in : what was your experience at the airport? 
It looks like Disney and Disney property is doing what they can but I wonder about everything else.


----------



## LovingPooh

wfjny said:


> We will be arriving this weekend for a Sunday - Sat trip.
> 
> Any tips you can share at this point? We are DVC/AP for the past 10 years, but due to some family weddings last year, have not been there in over a year...


We are DVC and AP as well. Be prepared for it being hot. But tolerable. We made dining reservations everyday to have an enjoyable relaxing meal. Drink plenty of water. We brought in frozen bottles that thaw throughout the day. We felt better at Disney than we do at home now. Only about 20% of people where I live wear masks out in public. Really missing Disney right now. Hope you have a wonderful vacation. Enjoy! You will love the low crowds and walk onto rides.


----------



## dark54555

Insomniacat said:


> For those that went and flew in : what was your experience at the airport?
> It looks like Disney and Disney property is doing what they can but I wonder about everything else.



We flew Southwest.  Flight to MCO was nearly empty.  Everyone had masks on the whole time.

Return flight was fuller but still less than a full 2/3 capacity.  Flight attendants were enforcing the mask policy (though I saw one tweenage child not complying while waiting to deplane a few rows away).  Airports themselves were also sparsely populated, though I was surprised to see a few off duty TSA agents not wearing masks from a distance when we left.


----------



## Insomniacat

dark54555 said:


> We flew Southwest.  Flight to MCO was nearly empty.  Everyone had masks on the whole time.
> 
> Return flight was fuller but still less than a full 2/3 capacity.  Flight attendants were enforcing the mask policy (though I saw one tweenage child not complying while waiting to deplane a few rows away).  Airports themselves were also sparsely populated, though I was surprised to see a few off duty TSA agents not wearing masks from a distance when we left.


Thank you! We would be using SW also so thank you for that.


----------



## disneyfan150

Insomniacat said:


> For those that went and flew in : what was your experience at the airport?
> It looks like Disney and Disney property is doing what they can but I wonder about everything else.


I flew into MCO to make a connection (weird place for a connection BTW) via Southwest.  The airport was not very crowded when I was there.  Not everyone was wearing a mask correctly, but you could easily social distance away.  Most of my Southwest flights were low capacity.  The middle seat was always empty with the exception of parties flying together.  My sister flew AA, and the flights were packed.  I also had a connection in Nashville.  That airport had me a little nervous.


----------



## Insomniacat

Thank you disneyfan. I am thinking about Feb 2021 , wonder what it will be like then.


----------



## DL1WDW2

Great trip report. I was at POP almost the exact same time and really had fun. We happened to be in room whenever they knocked to enter for
“ safety check”.... still can’t figure out why he flushed the toilet .
I think they should focus on safety inspections with rooms that have a view from window or balcony that could be a danger but most rooms don’t offer that worry or threat.Maybe I don’t want to know what they have found to keep this up. Must be important.
My other pet peeve is guests that throw their trashy pizza boxes and food containers outside door to sit for the whole night. The trash containers are so close in most cases. I worried about bugs all night long cause at POP that pull down bed is pretty close to door And neighbor! Haha.  People do this at really nice Hilton’s too , etc and others.  At least Disney seems to monitor for this better than the fancy hotels.

youmention leaving HS .... can’t help cause it is confusing.
Thought you might want to know , one of the few areas that continued construction work during closure was a hill built to cover the view of new Star Wars Hotel where the old exit road was. I live in Celebration and did lots of drive arounds ... they kept building it higher with more soil and then covered it with fast growing Disney grass .
Still can’t figure out what the hugely huge mound of soil in middle of MK parking lot is . I know they are replaceing sewer lines or  whatever big time . Maybe the MK needed it and it was a good time to get that done.
The only other construction on property that continued was the COVE new Swan Dolphin Hotel from Loews property and the fancy new McDonalds near All Stars. Warning this location is fancy and Disney priced. They do not have $1 beverage fountain drinks. 2 minutes away is a fairly new McDs in Celebration so the exact same orders was $8 difference!


----------



## mrg013

Insomniacat said:


> For those that went and flew in : what was your experience at the airport?
> It looks like Disney and Disney property is doing what they can but I wonder about everything else.


We flew into and out of MCO this weekend, and it felt fine when we arrived at MCO. Since we weren't looking to spend any time there, we just went straight to the monorail to the main terminal building, went down and collected our luggage at baggage claim, and left. We waited to use bathrooms further away from the gate so that we could find ones that would be less crowded, and we thought everyone did a good job of distancing themselves on the monorail. At baggage claim, some people felt the need to cluster right near the spot where the bags came out, but we just walked further down the belt to a spot where we could have space. 

On the way home, it was another story. The check-in desk was mobbed (we were on American) and it was impossible to be in the bag drop line without clustering near other people the way it was set up (I was really missing the social distancing markers from WDW). We saw a lot of mask non-compliance while we were in the airport waiting for our flight, and that included passengers, TSA, other airport workers, and flight crews even, which was disappointing. It wasn't necessarily that people didn't have a mask at all, but there were a lot of uncovered noses and masks as chin guards. When we went to a store to buy a bottle of water, people were tightly clustered by the checkout counter, totally ignoring social distancing markers on the ground. We ultimately just found a more empty gate area and waited there until it was time to board our flight so that we could stay away from other people. I also think we reacted to the situation more on the way home because we had just been at WDW, where guests were really good about mask wearing and Disney had done such a thoughtful job with everything.

At least right now, I think Southwest is a better bet than some of the other airlines. I know Southwest and Delta are still blocking middle seats on all flights. Both of our flights on American were totally packed with all seats taken. The flight attendants did what they could to enforce the mask requirement, but I definitely still saw some people trying to skirt the rule during the flight, and I would have felt more comfortable if there was more empty space in general.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

This will probably be a TLDR report, apologies in advance, but maybe it is helpful for some.

Just back from some time at WDW.  Like many here our plans had waffled all over for several months with resort uncertainty, park uncertainty, travel uncertainty, virus uncertainty, etc.  I can't say I was necessarily in the "going no matter what" camp given everything going on, but the preview and reopening dates and resort movements ended up falling into place with something that worked for us.

We all have our individual perspectives on this and that's OK.  I'd be lying if I said it was easy to shake the "is this the right thing" thinking from at least some part of my psyche at times.  But I also feel we (the general we) need to find ways to go about some elements of commerce, leisure, and life in general in cautious, safe, respectful, and appropriate ways, so honestly I guess I fall somewhere in the middle about how to approach our decisions right now.  Personal responsibility supplemented with businesses that create safer situations with their product generally feel like a good recipe right now, for me.  Obviously a highly personal perspective.

But anyway, here are my thoughts, in no particular order:

1) My overall impression of being in the parks was quite favorable.  Crowds at MK and Epcot were generally very low, DAK seemed unsustainably low, which was a bit sad.  I will get flamed off this board for saying this, but one day at MK I caught myself thinking "I'd pay double for this experience."  Ok, a bit of hyperbole there, but I did have that passing thought.

2) I stayed at MK twice until after closing and the experience felt just like after a DAH event to me.  For DAH, oftentimes the park feels very empty throughout but then at the end as people head out Main Street looks more crowded and you're like "where did all these people come from."  MK (and all the parks) can really absorb a lot of people.  Had a bit of resort boat and monorail transportation delays leaving both of those evenings, but nothing crazy.  But again, very low crowds.

3) DHS was the most crowded park in my experience.   I didn't feel unsafe being there, but it was maybe borderline at times.  Just more people around, in walkways, etc.  I liked the other parks better in this regard.  While I won't sit here and say you should skip DHS as there are certainly times later day when it's really nice, we probably would skip it if given the choice.

4) Overall it's so easy to zag when others zig that even when you come across situations where you might be uncomfortable, you can usually adjust and move on.

5) I could nitpick various mask situations, but they were by far the very small minority of experiences.  Overall I felt the large majority of guests knew the rules, knew what needed to be done, and were sticking to the rules.  Almost every no mask or chin mask situation I saw was outside, around the resort walkways, etc.   One time a guy in line in front of me at the Pirates gift shop had it down below his nose.  I opted to move on, pretty simple to adjust.

6) I personally do not expect Disney to be the ever-present mask enforcer or surface cleaner and think that is an unrealistic expectation to put on any place of business.  WDW is not a Utopian bubble that you enter and everything is COVID perfect.  Yes there are new rules which apply to all, but 100% compliance is a really high standard for any place that attracts thousands of people (IMO) - and I thought Disney did an admirable job creating an environment which inspired buy-in from its guests and select enforcement when needed.   That said, stay long enough and you will run into situations where someone drops their mask, situations where someone walks by you closer than 6 feet, situations where there's a big line for a bus, the need to touch something someone else has touched, or other countless situations which may raise your brow a bit.  I personally have some level of tolerance on these things within reason, others may not.  It will be a highly personal experience.

7) I was really proud of my kids (10 and 5) and masks.  We had big questions about the 5 year old (so much so she and DW didn't come for the first part of our trip), but on property she was a total champ!  Our biggest worry became our least.  It really helped that my DW had made patterned/coordinated masks and had spent a ton of time working with her on ones that really fit well - that was key.

8) We're not usually character peeps, but I thought the mini-parades/showcases at the parks were really awesome - probably saw more characters than we had in years!   The Epcot short character drives around World Showcase felt a little silly and out of place (man they crank up the music when they go by), but everywhere else was on theme and really appreciated.  Would love to see the DAK music boats continue in some form long term, that really fits that park.

9) We usually fly to WDW but I was happy to drive this time.   We were 50/50 bus and car.  I appreciated having options.  While I have some tolerance for it, I'm less OK with enclosed places like transportation, generally speaking, so the car was appreciated.

10) Side note, on the drive to WDW I had packed a cooler, drinks, food and only made stops at rest stops - which are generally quick in/out with larger restrooms.   I didn't properly pack on the way home so had to stop for meals, gas, etc.  The most unsafe feeling I've had in two weeks was at the Love's Travel Stop in Lake City, FL.  Going back to the real world and different rules, behaviors takes some getting used to.

11) Given the resort rescheduling craziness we ended up with stays at BLT, Poly, and one night at WL - since this is a theme parks board I'll spare the details but happy to answer any questions.  In the past I have been staunchly anti cooking/cleaning at WDW and have never stayed in a DVC/Villa - but not going to lie, having a kitchen and quick access to washer/dryer in the current situation was really nice.  We ordered from Garden Grocer with no issues and it was nice having a few food items around to cut down on times we needed to mobile order or eat out.

12) I will note that the new park hours create a few ripple effects at the pools, generally speaking.  Poly, for example, has a rather small feature pool/deck and at times it was pretty crowded (may be too crowded for some folks) and other times where it was pretty darn empty.   Really erratic though.  Mobile ordering would sometimes take minutes, and sometimes take a really long time.  Pool bars were sometimes deserted and sometimes had long lines.   Staffing is pretty thin in some areas and heavy in others.  I suspect reopening growing pains with staffing levels, call outs, etc.  Will be interesting to watch as more of the resorts fully reopen over time.

13) CMs really made this trip excellent for us - I saw moments of Disney magic and charm that are perhaps overlooked under normal circumstances.   The slower pace of the parks and resorts allows opportunities to really take things in, have a more in depth chat with someone, take 20 posed PhotoPass shots with no one in line, or whatever strikes your fancy.  With some exceptions, I sensed an overwhelming "glad to be back" spirit around the parks.

14) I do hesitate to be overwhelmingly positive/pixie dust about our experience - there are serious things to consider when deciding to come to a place like a theme park that shouldn’t really be taken lightly (my opinion) - but the reality was that for frequent visitors like us the WDW experience right now was a good one.   I was (and am) pretty grumbly about the hours, shows, etc, but I get that's not possible now and we adjusted with little issue.  Not getting the 'full' experience is going to make the value equation very tough for some, no doubt.  If it weren't for already purchased APs, not sure how I'd feel about all of this.

15) My main questions going forward are guest demand and experience sustainability.  I will be very curious to see how things evolve over time.   I did feel like things in general around the parks and resorts were picking up slowly by the day, especially around the weekends.

16) Absolutely loved the temp check and security procedures - entering the parks with many of the new entrances (eg, DAK and MK) was a total breeze.   Almost felt like WDW was over-staffed at these locations at times. 

Happy to answer any questions, sorry for being long-winded.


----------



## tvsdisney

yulilin3 said:


> From day one I've been able to visit resorts by parking at DS and taking a resort bus, no issue. The problem is when you try and park at that resort.



Resorts minus the GF will allow you to park if you are staying in property.


----------



## yulilin3

tvsdisney said:


> Resorts minus the GF will allow you to park if you are staying in property.


Not at the moment. Also I'm a local so I don't stay on site


----------



## wallskm

Davey Jones II said:


> This may have been asked and answered already, but do they make you wear a mask while riding RnR? At that speed, I don't see how that's even feasible. And on other rides, like Slinky Dog, you risk having it fly off your face.


Late reply on this...mine has stayed on on everything except RnR...but I think it was that particular mask and the way I had it tied (it has ties instead of elastic). It didn’t fly off or anything but fell down below my mouth and wouldn’t stay up. My sons and husband had no issue even on RnR. I haven’t had issues on any other ride and I think if it had been tied better I would have probably been fine.


----------



## GetMeOnSpaceMtn

Insomniacat said:


> For those that went and flew in : what was your experience at the airport?
> It looks like Disney and Disney property is doing what they can but I wonder about everything else.



we flew Delta from Detroit. Plane is usually always packed. Row in front was empty both ways, row behind had one person in it each time. When we flew into MCO it seems like there was a ton of people in the terminal but that was a lot based on timing of getting in at 12pm. Almost all the people in the airport had masks on. We noticed some workers at the airport wearing them as chinstraps and we made sure we avoided those people. We waited an extra tram to the terminal to allow it to clear out a bit. Flew home this morning. Airport was empty when we got in because there were so flew departing flights and magical express dropped us off 2 hours before our flight at 12:30. It ended up being nice because we were able to get through security without being in a crowd.


----------



## mak'smom

shoegal9 said:


> Anyone staying at/stayed at Boardwalk or Beach Club who can comment on the walkways to DHS?  Are they blocking off the walkways in the mornings/have security stationed in the area, or are you free to make your way over there as early as you would like (i.e. before cars are let into parking lots)? Thanks!


At  Boardwalk now.  Walked  to   HS yesterday. Walkways were not blocked. We got to the enterance about 9:10  second in line for temperature  check, they opened the park at 9:15.


----------



## pepperandchips

Awesome write up @GADisneyDad14! Looking forward to trying the parks (we hope) next month. 

For any others afraid of GaDad’s Love’s episode, and traveling on I-75 to Florida, we drive 90% of the time and I recommend exit 18 in Valdosta, GA. There’s Starbucks, nearly every fast food chain, and a (recently rebranded) Circle K with astonishingly clean restrooms and competitive gas prices. Of course if you can pack a cooler and an astronaut diaper that’s even better


----------



## disneyfan150

Insomniacat said:


> Thank you disneyfan. I am thinking about Feb 2021 , wonder what it will be like then.


I agree. If you are nervous, you may want to wait as long as possible to make a reservation.  Just keep your eye on air fares and Covid numbers. I have been flying Southwest lately because it is so easy to make changes when needed - and I have needed to make many changes. I have actually flown SW three times in the last three months.  I rarely fly, so it is a very strange time to be a "frequent flyer" all of a sudden.  But my Dad passed away, my sister got married, and DD and I went a little crazy and took off to Universal on a whim. With each flight, things seem to be more crowded.  In May, places and planes were so strangely quiet as most of the country was still shut down.  But even then, my sister's American flight was full. I have never really been much of a fan of Southwest b/c I really dislike the unknown factor of no seat assignment.  But, I have to say, they have done a great job. We are flying to Disney in a less than two weeks. So this will be my third time at MCO (including the Universal trip and the strange connecting flight a couple weeks ago). The airport was totally empty in early June.  There were many more folks in July.  We passed through  the airport during the AP and CM previews. Now that Disney is open, we'll see what happens.


----------



## disneyfan150

pepperandchips said:


> Of course if you can pack a cooler and an astronaut diaper that’s even better


Oh my gosh that is so funny! I had forgotten all about that happening.


----------



## Grandmad

Insomniacat said:


> For those that went and flew in : what was your experience at the airport?
> It looks like Disney and Disney property is doing what they can but I wonder about everything else.


I flew home on Sunday at noon. After the compliance with masks and distancing at Disney we were shocked at how many people at MCO, both workers and passengers, were wearing their masks below their chins.


----------



## Doingitagain

tvsdisney said:


> Resorts minus the GF will allow you to park if you are staying in property.


We have an ADR at GF, will they let us park there?


----------



## Alice Sr.

GADisneyDad14 said:


> This will probably be a TLDR report, apologies in advance, but maybe it is helpful for some.
> 
> Just back from some time at WDW.  Like many here our plans had waffled all over for several months with resort uncertainty, park uncertainty, travel uncertainty, virus uncertainty, etc.  I can't say I was necessarily in the "going no matter what" camp given everything going on, but the preview and reopening dates and resort movements ended up falling into place with something that worked for us.
> 
> We all have our individual perspectives on this and that's OK.  I'd be lying if I said it was easy to shake the "is this the right thing" thinking from at least some part of my psyche at times.  But I also feel we (the general we) need to find ways to go about some elements of commerce, leisure, and life in general in cautious, safe, respectful, and appropriate ways, so honestly I guess I fall somewhere in the middle about how to approach our decisions right now.  Personal responsibility supplemented with businesses that create safer situations with their product generally feel like a good recipe right now, for me.  Obviously a highly personal perspective.
> 
> But anyway, here are my thoughts, in no particular order:
> 
> 1) My overall impression of being in the parks was quite favorable.  Crowds at MK and Epcot were generally very low, DAK seemed unsustainably low, which was a bit sad.  I will get flamed off this board for saying this, but one day at MK I caught myself thinking "I'd pay double for this experience."  Ok, a bit of hyperbole there, but I did have that passing thought.
> 
> 2) I stayed at MK twice until after closing and the experience felt just like after a DAH event to me.  For DAH, oftentimes the park feels very empty throughout but then at the end as people head out Main Street looks more crowded and you're like "where did all these people come from."  MK (and all the parks) can really absorb a lot of people.  Had a bit of resort boat and monorail transportation delays leaving both of those evenings, but nothing crazy.  But again, very low crowds.
> 
> 3) DHS was the most crowded park in my experience.   I didn't feel unsafe being there, but it was maybe borderline at times.  Just more people around, in walkways, etc.  I liked the other parks better in this regard.  While I won't sit here and say you should skip DHS as there are certainly times later day when it's really nice, we probably would skip it if given the choice.
> 
> 4) Overall it's so easy to zag when others zig that even when you come across situations where you might be uncomfortable, you can usually adjust and move on.
> 
> 5) I could nitpick various mask situations, but they were by far the very small minority of experiences.  Overall I felt the large majority of guests knew the rules, knew what needed to be done, and were sticking to the rules.  Almost every no mask or chin mask situation I saw was outside, around the resort walkways, etc.   One time a guy in line in front of me at the Pirates gift shop had it down below his nose.  I opted to move on, pretty simple to adjust.
> 
> 6) I personally do not expect Disney to be the ever-present mask enforcer or surface cleaner and think that is an unrealistic expectation to put on any place of business.  WDW is not a Utopian bubble that you enter and everything is COVID perfect.  Yes there are new rules which apply to all, but 100% compliance is a really high standard for any place that attracts thousands of people (IMO) - and I thought Disney did an admirable job creating an environment which inspired buy-in from its guests and select enforcement when needed.   That said, stay long enough and you will run into situations where someone drops their mask, situations where someone walks by you closer than 6 feet, situations where there's a big line for a bus, the need to touch something someone else has touched, or other countless situations which may raise your brow a bit.  I personally have some level of tolerance on these things within reason, others may not.  It will be a highly personal experience.
> 
> 7) I was really proud of my kids (10 and 5) and masks.  We had big questions about the 5 year old (so much so she and DW didn't come for the first part of our trip), but on property she was a total champ!  Our biggest worry became our least.  It really helped that my DW had made patterned/coordinated masks and had spent a ton of time working with her on ones that really fit well - that was key.
> 
> 8) We're not usually character peeps, but I thought the mini-parades/showcases at the parks were really awesome - probably saw more characters than we had in years!   The Epcot short character drives around World Showcase felt a little silly and out of place (man they crank up the music when they go by), but everywhere else was on theme and really appreciated.  Would love to see the DAK music boats continue in some form long term, that really fits that park.
> 
> 9) We usually fly to WDW but I was happy to drive this time.   We were 50/50 bus and car.  I appreciated having options.  While I have some tolerance for it, I'm less OK with enclosed places like transportation, generally speaking, so the car was appreciated.
> 
> 10) Side note, on the drive to WDW I had packed a cooler, drinks, food and only made stops at rest stops - which are generally quick in/out with larger restrooms.   I didn't properly pack on the way home so had to stop for meals, gas, etc.  The most unsafe feeling I've had in two weeks was at the Love's Travel Stop in Lake City, FL.  Going back to the real world and different rules, behaviors takes some getting used to.
> 
> 11) Given the resort rescheduling craziness we ended up with stays at BLT, Poly, and one night at WL - since this is a theme parks board I'll spare the details but happy to answer any questions.  In the past I have been staunchly anti cooking/cleaning at WDW and have never stayed in a DVC/Villa - but not going to lie, having a kitchen and quick access to washer/dryer in the current situation was really nice.  We ordered from Garden Grocer with no issues and it was nice having a few food items around to cut down on times we needed to mobile order or eat out.
> 
> 12) I will note that the new park hours create a few ripple effects at the pools, generally speaking.  Poly, for example, has a rather small feature pool/deck and at times it was pretty crowded (may be too crowded for some folks) and other times where it was pretty darn empty.   Really erratic though.  Mobile ordering would sometimes take minutes, and sometimes take a really long time.  Pool bars were sometimes deserted and sometimes had long lines.   Staffing is pretty thin in some areas and heavy in others.  I suspect reopening growing pains with staffing levels, call outs, etc.  Will be interesting to watch as more of the resorts fully reopen over time.
> 
> 13) CMs really made this trip excellent for us - I saw moments of Disney magic and charm that are perhaps overlooked under normal circumstances.   The slower pace of the parks and resorts allows opportunities to really take things in, have a more in depth chat with someone, take 20 posed PhotoPass shots with no one in line, or whatever strikes your fancy.  With some exceptions, I sensed an overwhelming "glad to be back" spirit around the parks.
> 
> 14) I do hesitate to be overwhelmingly positive/pixie dust about our experience - there are serious things to consider when deciding to come to a place like a theme park that shouldn’t really be taken lightly (my opinion) - but the reality was that for frequent visitors like us the WDW experience right now was a good one.   I was (and am) pretty grumbly about the hours, shows, etc, but I get that's not possible now and we adjusted with little issue.  Not getting the 'full' experience is going to make the value equation very tough for some, no doubt.  If it weren't for already purchased APs, not sure how I'd feel about all of this.
> 
> 15) My main questions going forward are guest demand and experience sustainability.  I will be very curious to see how things evolve over time.   I did feel like things in general around the parks and resorts were picking up slowly by the day, especially around the weekends.
> 
> 16) Absolutely loved the temp check and security procedures - entering the parks with many of the new entrances (eg, DAK and MK) was a total breeze.   Almost felt like WDW was over-staffed at these locations at times.
> 
> Happy to answer any questions, sorry for being long-winded.


I have the same issue with transportation.  I was planning to rent a van but at $700 it gave me pause, you helped me confirm my decision to rent. Awesome report, thank you.


----------



## yulilin3

Doingitagain said:


> We have an ADR at GF, will they let us park there?


yes as long as you are
A guest of the resort
or
have an ADR to eat at that resort
you can park, parking for dining guests is limited to 2 hours


----------



## shoegal9

soniam said:


> We were never stopped and left the room at BWV as early as 9am





mak'smom said:


> At Boardwalk now. Walked to HS yesterday. Walkways were not blocked. We got to the enterance about 9:10 second in line for temperature check, they opened the park at 9:15.



Thank you! We check into BWV next Thursday and are looking forward to making our way over early on foot with a cup of coffee.


----------



## nkereina

mak'smom said:


> they opened the park at 9:15.


I've been bad with keeping up with all the recent reports. Are all of the parks generally letting people in this much earlier than the stated opening time? Trying to gauge when to leave the resort.

On a similar note, is RotR operating with boarding groups similar to how it was pre-COVID? Do those become available at 10am or whenever they start to allow guests in? Do they still fill up within minutes?


----------



## Dave006

The actually opening varies daily but is almost always at least 30-40 minutes before scheduled / posted park opening time.

RoTR is using BGs again but now has 3 windows: 10 AM, 1 PM, and 4 PM. The number of slots available at 1 PM and 4 PM vary based on the operational status of the attraction daily.

You must be past the tapstiles to join a BG. And yes the BGs fill very quickly the 10 AM can fill in less then 15 seconds.

dave


----------



## mrg013

nkereina said:


> On a similar note, is RotR operating with boarding groups similar to how it was pre-COVID? Do those become available at 10am or whenever they start to allow guests in? Do they still fill up within minutes?


Yes, RotR is using boarding groups similar to how it was pre-COVID. The main difference is that boarding groups now open up at 10:00, 1:00, and 4:00 each day, not just at park opening, and you'll get a notification when your boarding group has been called with a one hour window to return to the attraction (I believe it was two hours before COVID). You can only join a boarding group once per day (so if you join at 10:00, you can't ride it in the morning and then also join again at 1:00). You have to have already scanned into the park to join a boarding group, and boarding groups have typically all filled within seconds each day. I don't think I've seen any reports of them being available for more than a minute after the windows have opened on any given day.


----------



## yulilin3

Also remember there's a complete thread devoted to RotR bg on the swge sub forum with plenty of recent reports


----------



## PrincessV

1. Many thanks to all for the first-hand reports - it's been very helpful AND enjoyable!

2. I may or may not try visiting AK this weekend. I'm local enough to make a day trip, but it's a 1.5-2 hour drive and I'm trying to decide on a time frame for this visit... I'm only planning to do outdoor activities, and main priority is animal viewing. I don't mind rain/storms in the park at all, but would prefer not to be caught in anything torrential while on I-4 (eastbound to WDW, westbound to home). 

Thoughts on best times to view animals, tigers especially?
Safari - how have wait times been through the day? Better times to find animals out and about?
Mobile food ordering - is there any way to use a Disney Visa Rewards card to pay? There wasn't in the past, but thought I'd ask, just in case.


----------



## yulilin3

PrincessV said:


> 1. Many thanks to all for the first-hand reports - it's been very helpful AND enjoyable!
> 
> 2. I may or may not try visiting AK this weekend. I'm local enough to make a day trip, but it's a 1.5-2 hour drive and I'm trying to decide on a time frame for this visit... I'm only planning to do outdoor activities, and main priority is animal viewing. I don't mind rain/storms in the park at all, but would prefer not to be caught in anything torrential while on I-4 (eastbound to WDW, westbound to home).
> 
> Thoughts on best times to view animals, tigers especially?
> Safari - how have wait times been through the day? Better times to find animals out and about?
> Mobile food ordering - is there any way to use a Disney Visa Rewards card to pay? There wasn't in the past, but thought I'd ask, just in case.


I rope drop ak and went straight to safari, all the animals were out and the 2 lionesses were roaring while the lion looked on majestically.  After i did gorilla falls trail and all the gorillas were by thew observation window including baby grace. 
The tigers were a different situation,  only one and it was sleeping


----------



## GADisneyDad14

PrincessV said:


> Mobile food ordering - is there any way to use a Disney Visa Rewards card to pay? There wasn't in the past, but thought I'd ask, just in case.



Yes, you can now pay with different payment methods, including gift cards.


----------



## DCLMP

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Yes, you can now pay with different payment methods, including gift cards.


 This is probably a dumb question. When you order off the app can you charge it to your room?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

DCLMP said:


> This is probably a dumb question. When you order off the app can you charge it to your room?



No, no room charge available when mobile ordering.


----------



## Claudia1

dbtex83 said:


> On a similar note, is RotR operating with boarding groups similar to how it was pre-COVID? Do those become available at 10am or whenever they start to allow guests in? Do they still fill up within minutes?



Seconds, literally seconds.   We rode it twice and the first time, we stood near a group with a stopwatch that were counting down the seconds.   We got our group within 5 seconds (our son has lightening quick fingers!) and we were boarding group 21.  The next day, we refreshed every second until the "join" button came up and we thought we were just as fast but got boarding group 29.   Still a good group but with the continual down times, we didn't get called until 2:40.


----------



## PrincessV

yulilin3 said:


> I rope drop ak and went straight to safari, all the animals were out and the 2 lionesses were roaring while the lion looked on majestically.  After i did gorilla falls trail and all the gorillas were by thew observation window including baby grace.


So worth it get my rear out of bed and on the road by 6:30am - got it! Thanks 



GADisneyDad14 said:


> Yes, you can now pay with different payment methods, including gift cards.


Oh, that is fantastic news - thank you! With no visits since January, the Reward dollars have been stacking up.


----------



## FWphanatic

If anyone was in front of the castle around 10:00 this morning, my niece got engaged!  Shout out to Alex and her new fiance, Andrew!!


----------



## soniam

PrincessV said:


> 1. Many thanks to all for the first-hand reports - it's been very helpful AND enjoyable!
> 
> 2. I may or may not try visiting AK this weekend. I'm local enough to make a day trip, but it's a 1.5-2 hour drive and I'm trying to decide on a time frame for this visit... I'm only planning to do outdoor activities, and main priority is animal viewing. I don't mind rain/storms in the park at all, but would prefer not to be caught in anything torrential while on I-4 (eastbound to WDW, westbound to home).
> 
> Thoughts on best times to view animals, tigers especially?
> Safari - how have wait times been through the day? Better times to find animals out and about?
> Mobile food ordering - is there any way to use a Disney Visa Rewards card to pay? There wasn't in the past, but thought I'd ask, just in case.



Safari wait times have been nothing all day long, like 5-10 minutes, basically a walk-on.


----------



## soniam

Couple of last thoughts. We had another ride in FOP, where there was only 1 bike between parties. I don’t think it’s 6ft, but maybe 5ft. They were having filler groups come up the middle, empty queues, instead of squeezing by everyone in the queue. Much better.

Wash your hands frequently. The hand sanitizer really builds up. Also, dispensers that are indoors or in the shade seem to be less thick/sticky.

Have a few masks. Wash them daily. Carry at least 2 during the day so that you can switch out if needed. Make sure they fit. You don’t want to be constantly pulling them up over your nose. It’s very important on little kids. They think 10-19 year olds are the biggest spreaders now, but they aren’t showing symptoms. I saw some people with plastic cinchers that went behind the head and brought the ear straps tighter on the head. I don’t know where they got them though. They looked like plastic garbage bag ties.

Use your paper towel from drying your hands to dab your face. You will get a sweaty upper lip. Also, keep the paper towel to open the bathroom door. Some have to be manually opened with the handle.

Remember sunscreen and stay hydrated.


----------



## FWphanatic

FWphanatic said:


> If anyone was in front of the castle around 10:00 this morning, my niece got engaged!  Shout out to Alex and her new fiance, Andrew!!


----------



## FWphanatic




----------



## coolbrook

Has anyone else that just returned from a Disney trip developed a "mask rash?"  We were there for 5 days and when we got home I had a rough rash on my chin, around my mouth, and my nose.  Mostly just dry peeling skin, but kind of crusty on one side of my mouth.  I just kept night-time moisturizer on it and it has cleared up now after 5 days.  I imagine if my trip had been longer it would have gotten worse.  Does anyone have any tips for avoiding this or treating it more effectively for next time?


----------



## nancipants

I rub vaseline on my baby's neck/face every night to prevent him from getting drool rash. I bet that or something similar would work for mask rash, too.


----------



## tvsdisney

Doingitagain said:


> We have an ADR at GF, will they let us park there?



yes if you have an ADR they will. Otherwise they are super strict because of the nba


----------



## wfjny

FWphanatic said:


> If anyone was in front of the castle around 10:00 this morning, my niece got engaged!  Shout out to Alex and her new fiance, Andrew!!


Congrats!

My daughter got engaged a by the castle in Nov 2018, and married in Nov 2019.

I mention that only because the amount of pixie dust they got afterwards was amazing. My at the time 13 year old son was annoyed because he just wanted to do rides, and not wait around for them to call everyone across four states with the news.

As we went around telling our story that evening, we were:
1) Sent thru the fast pass (remember them) line on a few attractions
2) One cast member met us at the end of a rid with His and Her pins and some other trinkets
3) Another cast member gave them a certificate to get Bride and Groom Mickey Ears.

Sometimes with all the craziness in the world, we forget about those little things. In the end that did not cost Disney all that much money, but it sure made them feel special.


----------



## grannyminnie

*GaDisneydad*...my question is specifically about the fridges in the DVC rooms (and I'm wondering if they are the same as the regular rooms)...did you feel that the temp of it kept your food cool/fresh?  I questioned the temp of mine in a regular room one stay and felt like it didn't cool properly.
I'll probably be booking a DVC room in the near future just to utilize the kitchenette during this time so this will be important to me.


----------



## pepperandchips

grannyminnie said:


> *GaDisneydad*...my question is specifically about the fridges in the DVC rooms (and I'm wondering if they are the same as the regular rooms)...did you feel that the temp of it kept your food cool/fresh?  I questioned the temp of mine in a regular room one stay and felt like it didn't cool properly.
> I'll probably be booking a DVC room in the near future just to utilize the kitchenette during this time so this will be important to me.


I’m not @GADisneyDad14 but we brought groceries and felt that the mini fridge in the Polynesian Studio and the regular size refrigerator in our Riviera 1 bedroom were both cold enough. We had dairy, meat, and produce and it was all fine. It even cooled our beverages down from room temperature to what I’d expect at home. 

I know what you are talking about though - some of what appear to be mini fridges in the standard rooms are actually called “beverage coolers” or something like that and don’t actually seem very cold. 

It also helps if you can fill your fridge with already cool items - bell services had cold storage before COVID and I would think they do now too.


----------



## tvsdisney

They are deleting ride photos if you pull your mask down FYI! And you get completely bottle necked and there is no social distance on rides when trying to look at/for your photos. Very uncomfortable situation! 
i truly think in a lot of ways they have become more lax since opening and the bloggers haven’t been here as much!


----------



## CAQDaddy

pepperandchips said:


> Awesome write up @GADisneyDad14! Looking forward to trying the parks (we hope) next month.
> 
> For any others afraid of GaDad’s Love’s episode, and traveling on I-75 to Florida, we drive 90% of the time and I recommend exit 18 in Valdosta, GA. There’s Starbucks, nearly every fast food chain, and a (recently rebranded) Circle K with astonishingly clean restrooms and competitive gas prices. Of course if you can pack a cooler and an astronaut diaper that’s even better


I live in Missouri and have driven down several times over the years. I love that exit  Several years back I stopped a few exits north of there to fill up. I asked the clerk if they knew of a Starbucks nearby. In a southern drawl she yelled across the store to her coworker. "Hey Judy! He wants to know where a Starbucks is! HaHaHa!" Apparently they thought that was a funny question and they had no idea where to find a Starbucks. I thought it was kind of funny that there was a Starbucks just a few miles down the interstate. I guess they thought I was a yankee


----------



## GADisneyDad14

grannyminnie said:


> *GaDisneydad*...my question is specifically about the fridges in the DVC rooms (and I'm wondering if they are the same as the regular rooms)...did you feel that the temp of it kept your food cool/fresh?  I questioned the temp of mine in a regular room one stay and felt like it didn't cool properly.
> I'll probably be booking a DVC room in the near future just to utilize the kitchenette during this time so this will be important to me.



What @pepperandchips said.


----------



## soniam

coolbrook said:


> Has anyone else that just returned from a Disney trip developed a "mask rash?"  We were there for 5 days and when we got home I had a rough rash on my chin, around my mouth, and my nose.  Mostly just dry peeling skin, but kind of crusty on one side of my mouth.  I just kept night-time moisturizer on it and it has cleared up now after 5 days.  I imagine if my trip had been longer it would have gotten worse.  Does anyone have any tips for avoiding this or treating it more effectively for next time?



You might need to wash it. I usually can’t wear clothes without them being washed, because I break out in a rash. I actually found the opposite problem with my mask. I had to quit putting lotion on my laugh lines, because they were already moist/sweaty.



grannyminnie said:


> *GaDisneydad*...my question is specifically about the fridges in the DVC rooms (and I'm wondering if they are the same as the regular rooms)...did you feel that the temp of it kept your food cool/fresh?  I questioned the temp of mine in a regular room one stay and felt like it didn't cool properly.
> I'll probably be booking a DVC room in the near future just to utilize the kitchenette during this time so this will be important to me.



Regular rooms have a different fridge. At BWV, the studio has a good cold small fridge with a freezer. The 1+ bedrooms have a real fridge. We had food leftovers in the studio fridge without issues. I wouldn’t do that in a regular room fridge,


----------



## dorospin

Updates...

AK today was so empty that the CM’s were letting people getting off Avatar just loop right back to the FP line and ride again.

DHS is only park this week that to us seemed a bit crowded, at least compared to the other 3 parks being empty.

Bay Lake Tower on the other hand seems full. Lots of people in the pool and walking around.

Mask compliance today at AK was very good. There were lots of CMs just hanging around and saying hi.


----------



## DCLMP

GADisneyDad14 said:


> No, no room charge available when mobile ordering.


Wow. I thought it would be set up for that since they have your credit card info.


----------



## yulilin3

DCLMP said:


> Wow. I thought it would be set up for that since they have your credit card info.


Well if you're using the same credit card that you have linked on your mde as the one for the room charges then it would charge the same card


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

coolbrook said:


> Has anyone else that just returned from a Disney trip developed a "mask rash?"  We were there for 5 days and when we got home I had a rough rash on my chin, around my mouth, and my nose.  Mostly just dry peeling skin, but kind of crusty on one side of my mouth.  I just kept night-time moisturizer on it and it has cleared up now after 5 days.  I imagine if my trip had been longer it would have gotten worse.  Does anyone have any tips for avoiding this or treating it more effectively for next time?





nancipants said:


> I rub vaseline on my baby's neck/face every night to prevent him from getting drool rash. I bet that or something similar would work for mask rash, too.


Try this...Medzone face balm...amazon.com


----------



## DCLMP

yulilin3 said:


> Well if you're using the same credit card that you have linked on your mde as the one for the room charges then it would charge the same card



I think that's what I meant. Ok then I don't need to worry about carrying a credit card.


----------



## disneymomof#2

I am staying at Poly from July 29-8/5. I would love to hop to WL and have a beverage/snacks at the Geyser place. Any recommendations on how to get there from Poly? 
Will water taxi service be going to MK? 
How late do the buses run?


----------



## WEDWDW

[Q 


CHunterK said:


> The cast members were great.  Feels like the Disney service from the 90’s when I was a kid going to Disney World.  This is probably because they are all full time cast members.  I hope Disney starts to shift back to a model of more more full time cast members vs temps and college students.  We often hear Pete on the podcast mention this and I never gave it much thought.  However the level of service this week was noticeably better.



I must respectfully disagree that the CP and ICPs don't deliver the Magic!

We have had so many of them bend over backwards over the years in trying to provide amazing service to us.

Could not disagree more that the CPs and ICPs aren't doing their best to be amazing CMs.

JMHO


----------



## armerida

Are people wearing masks on the pool decks? I remember reading that pool CM’s were telling people they didn’t have to once in pool area...


----------



## DCLMP

disneymomof#2 said:


> I am staying at Poly from July 29-8/5. I would love to hop to WL and have a beverage/snacks at the Geyser place. Any recommendations on how to get there from Poly?
> Will water taxi service be going to MK?
> How late do the buses run?


Uber or lyft will be the fastest.


----------



## soniam

armerida said:


> Are people wearing masks on the pool decks? I remember reading that pool CM’s were telling people they didn’t have to once in pool area...



At BWV, DH saw some people wearing them, but most were in/traveling to\from the pool. You will need it to walk to the pool from your room though,


----------



## mrg013

armerida said:


> Are people wearing masks on the pool decks? I remember reading that pool CM’s were telling people they didn’t have to once in pool area...


At WL this past weekend, when we were at the pool and asked for confirmation, CMs at the Copper Creek pool told us that masks were not required once we had entered the gates of the pool deck. Pretty much everyone took their masks off once they reached their lounge chairs, and kept them off the rest of the time they were on the pool deck or in the pool. The only time masks were worn was really when first entering or exiting the pool deck.


----------



## mrg013

DCLMP said:


> I think that's what I meant. Ok then I don't need to worry about carrying a credit card.


Nope - no need to carry a credit card for mobile ordering. It's totally fine unless you prefer to have one running tab for all charges on your room folio, because each mobile order will show up as a separate charge on your credit card as you go.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

armerida said:


> Are people wearing masks on the pool decks? I remember reading that pool CM’s were telling people they didn’t have to once in pool area...



In my experience, general walking around the pool deck, say, to-from the bathroom, waiting in line at the bar, was mixed.  Most wore masks, but some didn't.  

At BLT, the CMs (and one in particular) were often very quick to ask you to wear a mask if they saw you in line at the bar, just as an example.   At Poly, I saw less (perhaps none) of this type of direction. 

Most times I'd get in line at the Poly bar there’d be at least one person without a mask.

YMMV


----------



## Have3Kids&aHusband

GADisneyDad14 said:


> In my experience, general walking around the pool deck, say, to-from the bathroom, waiting in line at the bar, was mixed.  Most wore masks, but some didn't.
> 
> At BLT, the CMs (and one in particular) were often very quick to ask you to wear a mask if they saw you in line at the bar, just as an example.   At Poly, I saw less (perhaps none) of this type of direction.
> 
> Most times I'd get in line at the Poly bar there’d be at least one person without a mask.
> 
> YMMV


This is what we saw at BWV. When in line to get food & drinks people were wearing their masks. When sitting on lounge chairs, some people wore them and some didn't.


----------



## armerida

Thanks for the responses; I’m not trying to get around wearing my mask at the pool, just want to be prepared


----------



## DisneyMomx7

disneymomof#2 said:


> I am staying at Poly from July 29-8/5. I would love to hop to WL and have a beverage/snacks at the Geyser place. Any recommendations on how to get there from Poly?
> Will water taxi service be going to MK?
> How late do the buses run?



We will be there July 28-August 5!


----------



## DCLMP

mrg013 said:


> Nope - no need to carry a credit card for mobile ordering. It's totally fine unless you prefer to have one running tab for all charges on your room folio, because each mobile order will show up as a separate charge on your credit card as you go.


Thanks I've made several trips to WDW since the MDE app, but I've never used mobile ordering. 2020 is going to be a different kind of trip that's for sure.


----------



## momimouse27

I've never used mobile ordering either.  There will just be some things I'll have to get used to.  But I'm going to try my best to have fun anyway.


----------



## DCLMP

momimouse27 said:


> I've never used mobile ordering either.  There will just be some things I'll have to get used to.  But I'm going to try my best to have fun anyway.


I'm going to have fun. I'm really looking forward to less crowds and no fast passes. It's just me and my youngest child age 16 in a 1 bedroom villa at WL. Dh and my college kid are taking a national park road trip. It's all good.


----------



## davidl81

We have been here two days so far (BWV 1 BR) and I’ll post some quick thoughts.
Went to Epcot yesterday and it was weird how empty it was.  The mini food and wine fest is great though.  Basically  no lines for food, and with a smaller number of booths you can really sample a bunch in one day.  We rode sorin, TT, mission space, and the frozen ride all within about 1.5 hours.  Frozen had about a 15 min wait and everything else was virtually walk on.
Really high mask compliance, never felt concerned at all.  And I really like the markers they put in the lines for rides.  They are spaced about 12’ apart and it does a good job of keeping space.  It makes the lines look long, but in reality they are not.
Did DHS today and there were for sure more people here then Epcot, although by 3:00 the park was pretty empty.  Slinky dog was down half of the day, but opened back up and we got on with a 10 min wait.  Smugglers run was about 10-20min wait all day (we rode it twice) and we did get a ROTR boarding pass.  That ride is amazing.  We left the park at 7 and we were able trade every single attraction, and we were not rushing at all.  We had two sit down meals and have our two young kids with us.  It was very relaxing not to have to worry about fast passes.  It really frees you up.  I saw a post earlier about how someone said they would pay double for park days like this, and I agree with them.  So far this has been one of the best WDW trip we have taken.  The mask do suck because it’s hot, but honestly it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be in the heat.  You forget you are wearing them 90% of the time.


----------



## JM23457

armerida said:


> Are people wearing masks on the pool decks? I remember reading that pool CM’s were telling people they didn’t have to once in pool area...


I was there last week. You don't have to wear masks in the pool area, with the exception of when you're ordering from a pool bar.


----------



## imbelle

disneymomof#2 said:


> I am staying at Poly from July 29-8/5. I would love to hop to WL and have a beverage/snacks at the Geyser place. Any recommendations on how to get there from Poly?
> Will water taxi service be going to MK?
> How late do the buses run?


I heard that they were only letting guests staying at that specific resort into the resort (unless you have an ADR).


----------



## LovesTimone

fla4fun said:


> I wore disposable ones and carried three extra to the parks in a ziplock baggie.  I was in a monsoon at Epcot on Wednesday, and my umbrella kept my head dry and that’s all.  But if it had become wet, I was prepared.  I have reusable masks to wear in regular life, but find the disposable ones to be more comfortable in the heat.




I agree the disposable one are more comfortable in the heat.... they are not as heavy. I was out and about yesterday, (local) and got caught a few time in the rain... I wear a rain jacket with hood up, so left my mask on when going to the car... It wasn't storming, and did get slightly wet, I did notice right away that I needed to change it... I carry a box of mask in the car, as well as a extra in my bag... I will say when the wind was blowing you want to keep your head turned, so it doesn't blow the mask flat against your face...


----------



## yulilin3

imbelle said:


> I heard that they were only letting guests staying at that specific resort into the resort (unless you have an ADR).


you can visit without an ADR by going to Disney Springs and getting on a bus


----------



## yulilin3

disneymomof#2 said:


> I am staying at Poly from July 29-8/5. I would love to hop to WL and have a beverage/snacks at the Geyser place. Any recommendations on how to get there from Poly?
> Will water taxi service be going to MK?
> How late do the buses run?


you have to head to Disney Springs and then go on a bus to WL, or go to MK and grab a bus from there or a boat (can't remember if the WL boat is operating)  buses from Disney Springs I believe run until 10pm


----------



## LovesTimone

coolbrook said:


> Has anyone else that just returned from a Disney trip developed a "mask rash?"  We were there for 5 days and when we got home I had a rough rash on my chin, around my mouth, and my nose.  Mostly just dry peeling skin, but kind of crusty on one side of my mouth.  I just kept night-time moisturizer on it and it has cleared up now after 5 days.  I imagine if my trip had been longer it would have gotten worse.  Does anyone have any tips for avoiding this or treating it more effectively for next time?




I have sensitive skin as well as dry skin... I use Neutrogena ultra gentle daily face cleanser in the white pump bottle to wash my face in...  then with my Neutrogena hydro boost face lotion ( blue pot), and I liberally apply it, and let is soak in, for me that's the key letting is soak in and some times I reapply it and again let it soak it...( I do the same process in the morning and at night)..    
I also carry the Netrogena hydro boost face wipes with me, to clean as well as moisturize my face... 
We are going next weekend for a long weekend.. so I plan to put some extra of the face lotion, in a little travel pot, so that after I use the face wipe, I can reapply the lotion... As well I use the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer dry touch sunscreen 100+ SPF... for my face... I know they have come out with a Hydro boost sunscreen but I haven't tried it yet, as well I haven't seen it out anywhere yet... 
I just want to say... I do not work for Neutrogena... 
I love their products, they just work for me... and I have tried everything... 

If you wear a base make-up, you might need something that will moisturize...  makeup for dry skin will have more moisturizer in it...  

Before we head out on any trip, I like to do a spa day at home... and hydrating face mask or collagen mask... I took a tip from a friend and take a moisturizing face mask with me a any long trip, especially if we are flying internationally... it really helps rejuvenate the skin, and gets it back on track... 

As well you probably want to stay hydrated as possible, with the humidity and heat... and the mask dehydrates you even more... so lots of water, and sports drinks... Gatorade works the best for us... in the park however they only sell Powerade... which is fine, I will drink it, it just has a weird after taste.... So we have Gatorade in the room... as well I am looking for some type of packets to carry with us to add to the water to help with hydration ...   

I have a friend that has extremely dry skin, due to the medicine that she takes.. just flying down here, she has to prepare...  she brings those cooling and moisturizing face mask and use them in the room at night... I know she has a prescription for some type of cream, she said it is super expensive... You might want to talk to a dermatologist...  

Good luck, hope you find something that work for you...


----------



## LovesTimone

davidl81 said:


> We have been here two days so far (BWV 1 BR) and I’ll post some quick thoughts.
> Went to Epcot yesterday and it was weird how empty it was.  The mini food and wine fest is great though.  Basically  no lines for food, and with a smaller number of booths you can really sample a bunch in one day.  We rode sorin, TT, mission space, and the frozen ride all within about 1.5 hours.  Frozen had about a 15 min wait and everything else was virtually walk on.
> Really high mask compliance, never felt concerned at all.  And I really like the markers they put in the lines for rides.  They are spaced about 12’ apart and it does a good job of keeping space.  It makes the lines look long, but in reality they are not.
> Did DHS today and there were for sure more people here then Epcot, although by 3:00 the park was pretty empty.  Slinky dog was down half of the day, but opened back up and we got on with a 10 min wait.  Smugglers run was about 10-20min wait all day (we rode it twice) and we did get a ROTR boarding pass.  That ride is amazing.  We left the park at 7 and we were able trade every single attraction, and we were not rushing at all.  We had two sit down meals and have our two young kids with us.  It was very relaxing not to have to worry about fast passes.  It really frees you up.  I saw a post earlier about how someone said they would pay double for park days like this, and I agree with them.  So far this has been one of the best WDW trip we have taken.  The mask do suck because it’s hot, but honestly it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be in the heat.  You forget you are wearing them 90% of the time.




How was the world showcase? a negative Nelly that I know said nothing is open on the world showcase side? If you don't mind could you give a me a brief run down on what was opened over there...


----------



## yulilin3

LovesTimone said:


> How was the world showcase? a negative Nelly that I know said nothing is open on the world showcase side? If you don't mind could you give a me a brief run down on what was opened over there...


not the poster you quoted but I was there Sunday,
Almost every pavilion has at least one shop open (minus China) off the top of my head Mexico, Norway, American Adventure, Japan, Morroco and Canada had all their stores open, the others just had one. The difference in feel is the lack of international CP, and just the lack of CM in general, there's maybe 2 CM per store so it feels pretty dead
I will be live streaming tonight (link in my signature) from WS at 7pm just to see how the last 2 hours of park feel from back there


----------



## grannyminnie

pepperandchips said:


> I’m not @GADisneyDad14 but we brought groceries and felt that the mini fridge in the Polynesian Studio and the regular size refrigerator in our Riviera 1 bedroom were both cold enough. We had dairy, meat, and produce and it was all fine. It even cooled our beverages down from room temperature to what I’d expect at home.
> 
> I know what you are talking about though - some of what appear to be mini fridges in the standard rooms are actually called “beverage coolers” or something like that and don’t actually seem very cold.
> 
> It also helps if you can fill your fridge with already cool items - bell services had cold storage before COVID and I would think they do now too.


Thanks for your reply.  I had an experience last year with the regular room fridge and you have confirmed my suspicion that they don't cool properly.


----------



## Nick6300

If skyliner can take long enough from 9 to potentially miss the 10am BG to RotR, does it make sense to get to the buses at 850am and hope for a 9am bus instead from pop? And if 1030 is the start of skyline to EP and they’re letting you in at 1015... seems bus is preferred there too. Are there indeed buses on the hour for both ep and Hs at pop?


----------



## Katie Count

https://blogmickey.com/2020/07/disn...istance-virtual-queue-a-week-into-operations/


----------



## IluvMGM

Nick6300 said:


> If skyliner can take long enough from 9 to potentially miss the 10am BG to RotR, does it make sense to get to the buses at 850am and hope for a 9am bus instead from pop? And if 1030 is the start of skyline to EP and they’re letting you in at 1015... seems bus is preferred there too. Are there indeed buses on the hour for both ep and Hs at pop?



I have been wondering the same thing. I have heard mixed experiences about the skyliner either getting you there with plenty of time to spare or late. I haven't heard any mention yet of the bus situation to those parks from Pop.


----------



## LovesTimone

yulilin3 said:


> not the poster you quoted but I was there Sunday,
> Almost every pavilion has at least one shop open (minus China) off the top of my head Mexico, Norway, American Adventure, Japan, Morroco and Canada had all their stores open, the others just had one. The difference in feel is the lack of international CP, and just the lack of CM in general, there's maybe 2 CM per store so it feels pretty dead
> I will be live streaming tonight (link in my signature) from WS at 7pm just to see how the last 2 hours of park feel from back there




Oh that's great... I am wondering as well is the American adventure theater opened? or in Japan and Canada, the theater opened? the 3 amigos ride in Mexico? we like to use these area's to cool off and take a break... so just trying to plan ahead..

Thanks so much...


----------



## koquinn

LovesTimone said:


> Oh that's great... I am wondering as well is the American adventure theater opened? or in Japan and Canada, the theater opened? the 3 amigos ride in Mexico? we like to use these area's to cool off and take a break... so just trying to plan ahead..
> 
> Thanks so much...


The 3 Amigos ride was open but Jose took a digger the other day so it's been closed since...  One of my youngest's favorite rides for some bizarre reason, so we are hoping they fix Jose quickly!!


----------



## LovesTimone

koquinn said:


> The 3 Amigos ride was open but Jose took a digger the other day so it's been closed since...  One of my youngest's favorite rides for some bizarre reason, so we are hoping they fix Jose quickly!!




DH and I enjoy this ride too, There is just something too cute about it... and it's nice and cool in there...


----------



## koquinn

LovesTimone said:


> DH and I enjoy this ride too, There is just something too cute about it... and it's nice and cool in there...


I think one year we went on it 10 times in a row...


----------



## LovesTimone

koquinn said:


> I think one year we went on it 10 times in a row...




Your a great parent... LOL


----------



## Geomom

LovesTimone said:


> Oh that's great... I am wondering as well is the American adventure theater opened? or in Japan and Canada, the theater opened? the 3 amigos ride in Mexico? we like to use these area's to cool off and take a break... so just trying to plan ahead..
> 
> Thanks so much...


All the country movies are supposed to be open--Canada, France, and China.  I believe American adventure is open.  Also the 2 rides are open--Mexico and Norway.  The big things missing are about half the shops, restaurants, and the country entertainment...and of course the international CMs.  The America gardens theater is supposed to have the jammitors and Mariachi cobre during the day.


----------



## yulilin3

LovesTimone said:


> Oh that's great... I am wondering as well is the American adventure theater opened? or in Japan and Canada, the theater opened? the 3 amigos ride in Mexico? we like to use these area's to cool off and take a break... so just trying to plan ahead..
> 
> Thanks so much...


you can see what´s operating through MDE.
All 3 are operating


----------



## brockash

yulilin3 said:


> not the poster you quoted but I was there Sunday,
> Almost every pavilion has at least one shop open (minus China) off the top of my head Mexico, Norway, American Adventure, Japan, Morroco and Canada had all their stores open, the others just had one. The difference in feel is the lack of international CP, and just the lack of CM in general, there's maybe 2 CM per store so it feels pretty dead
> I will be live streaming tonight (link in my signature) from WS at 7pm just to see how the last 2 hours of park feel from back there


Are any of the counter service places in world showcase open (other than Regal Eagle?)  I was looking yesterday on mobile order and it looked like the only counter services open was Sunshine Seasons and Regal Eagle at Epcot.


----------



## brockash

koquinn said:


> The 3 Amigos ride was open but Jose took a digger the other day so it's been closed since...  One of my youngest's favorite rides for some bizarre reason, so we are hoping they fix Jose quickly!!


It's closed?  I thought I saw a live stream with it open, just missing Jose?


----------



## yulilin3

brockash said:


> Are any of the counter service places in world showcase open (other than Regal Eagle?)  I was looking yesterday on mobile order and it looked like the only counter services open was Sunshine Seasons and Regal Eagle at Epcot.


The quick service at Mexico, Morocco and the bakery in France are open


----------



## brockash

yulilin3 said:


> The quick service at Mexico, Morocco and the bakery in France are open


Awesome thx...I assume there's just no mobile ordering for them then.


----------



## yulilin3

brockash said:


> It's closed?  I thought I saw a live stream with it open, just missing Jose?


It's open


----------



## Chris Ehlers

Can anyone confirm the parking lot opening times for DHS? we arrive this weekend


----------



## koquinn

brockash said:


> It's closed?  I thought I saw a live stream with it open, just missing Jose?


Oh good. I hadn't heard that. Hopefully it's not the 2 Caballeros for too long!


----------



## yulilin3

Chris Ehlers said:


> Can anyone confirm the parking lot opening times for DHS? we arrive this weekend


Anytime from 9 to 9:15


----------



## nkereina

When the parks open early, are they just permitting guests to go inside and then you have to wait for the respective rides to open? Or are the rides typically open when a park opens early, such as when Epcot is opening at 10:15 when the stated time is 11? Trying to gauge what time we should be arriving at each park.


----------



## yulilin3

nkereina said:


> When the parks open early, are they just permitting guests to go inside and then you have to wait for the respective rides to open? Or are the rides typically open when a park opens early, such as when Epcot is opening at 10:15 when the stated time is 11? Trying to gauge what time we should be arriving at each park.


It depends.
Once the parking lot open the park opens.  Meaning there's no waiting to enter the park.
From what I've seen and experienced ive walked on rides at mk before 9am, epcot had to wait until 11am, dhs sometimes the rides are open before 10am sometimes they wait.  Ak walked on to  Safari at around 7:55


----------



## armerida

yulilin3 said:


> The quick service at Mexico, Morocco and the bakery in France are open


Omg please tell me Choza de Margarita is open too! My first stop at Epcot will be a margarita and tostada from there!


----------



## yulilin3

armerida said:


> Omg please tell me Choza de Margarita is open too! My first stop at Epcot will be a margarita and tostada from there!


Sorry,  did not see it open. Im going tonight and I'll look to make sure
Cava was open


----------



## Spazz2k

Ok so stupid question, but can a park reservation be made on the fly?  We may go stay onsite this weekend, and may do a park, so is it possible to wake up and if available, make a reservation for MK? Or do they need to be made before the actual day you plan to go?


----------



## yulilin3

Spazz2k said:


> Ok so stupid question, but can a park reservation be made on the fly?  We may go stay onsite this weekend, and may do a park, so is it possible to wake up and if available, make a reservation for MK? Or do they need to be made before the actual day you plan to go?


You can make it same day,  obviously check your ticket group to see if spots are available.  For example I'm a local ap, can't go to dhs until September unless a slot opens up.  On site resort guests have clear availability right now


----------



## Skili9111

armerida said:


> Are people wearing masks on the pool decks? I remember reading that pool CM’s were telling people they didn’t have to once in pool area...


We just returned from AKL and stayed at Jambo House. For the most part no one wore them on the pool decks, but there were so few people at that pool that there was a ton of space between loungers. The only exception was we saw a young couple who was double masked, with a cloth mask over a surgical mask, and they wore theirs into the pool.


----------



## Chris Ehlers

yulilin3 said:


> Anytime from 9 to 9:15


Thank you as always @yulilin3 for all your information


----------



## nkereina

yulilin3 said:


> It depends.
> Once the parking lot open the park opens.  Meaning there's no waiting to enter the park.
> From what I've seen and experienced ive walked on rides at mk before 9am, epcot had to wait until 11am, dhs sometimes the rides are open before 10am sometimes they wait.  Ak walked on to  Safari at around 7:55


Got it, thanks. Generally speaking, what time have the parking lots been opening up?


----------



## yulilin3

nkereina said:


> Got it, thanks. Generally speaking, what time have the parking lots been opening up?


around 45 minutes before park opening


----------



## Doingitagain

imbelle said:


> I heard that they were only letting guests staying at that specific resort into the resort (unless you have an ADR).


This is what came out from DVC, probably in response to people complaining about lack of QS at some resorts:
*Members and Guests staying at a Disney Resort may travel between select resorts for dining, shopping and recreation activities. However, only Members and Guests with reservations at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, and Disney's Yacht Club Resort will be allowed access to the resort. Please note, pool hopping is still not available at any resort.*


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

imbelle said:


> I heard that they were only letting guests staying at that specific resort into the resort (unless you have an ADR).


If you take Disney transportation it's fine.  If you drive up, you need to have a reservation.


----------



## upbeatred

I spent five days in the parks and just got back home on Monday.  Besides Hollywood Studios, I felt like mask enforcement and cleaning were excellent.  We did not go to Disney Springs at all, and ate all our meals outside.  I was just dying to go on this trip, I think I thought once I went to Disney all my COVID issues would be resolved.  Or maybe it was just that it would be such a break from the boring, stay at home, stressful life that we all deal with due to this pandemic.  Well the parks were pretty empty and it was nice, but the atmosphere is different and COVID is always present and in your mind.  It was especially true at EPCOT because it just lacked any charm.  How can you really enjoy a food and wine festival, when you are worried about clean hands, masks, and super hot weather?  In addition, there is not really any live entertainment.  It just felt kind of sad.  We took every precaution that we could, but now I am home and every day I'm thinking do I have COVID?  Was this trip really worth the risk?  I guess only time will tell, but if you are planning to go in the near future just know that in my opinion the lack of lines did not make up for just the general happy, high you get at Disney.


----------



## yulilin3

upbeatred said:


> I spent five days in the parks and just got back home on Monday.  Besides Hollywood Studios, I felt like mask enforcement and cleaning were excellent.  We did not go to Disney Springs at all, and ate all our meals outside.  I was just dying to go on this trip, I think I thought once I went to Disney all my COVID issues would be resolved.  Or maybe it was just that it would be such a break from the boring, stay at home, stressful life that we all deal with due to this pandemic.  Well the parks were pretty empty and it was nice, but the atmosphere is different and COVID is always present and in your mind.  It was especially true at EPCOT because it just lacked any charm.  How can you really enjoy a food and wine festival, when you are worried about clean hands, masks, and super hot weather?  In addition, there is not really any live entertainment.  It just felt kind of sad.  We took every precaution that we could, but now I am home and every day I'm thinking do I have COVID?  Was this trip really worth the risk?  I guess only time will tell, but if you are planning to go in the near future just know that in my opinion the lack of lines did not make up for just the general happy, high you get at Disney.


Merged you to the existing thread
Thanks for your thoughts


----------



## cdobert

We just got back from a 10 day stay.  We had a good time and thought Disney did a good job overall.  Our biggest problems were at the airports - people were not wearing masks, even in the trains.   Only complaint against Disney is that I couldn't upgrade to an annual pass.  It was my plan to do so and it bugged me that I couldn't especially when the discounts dropped for merchandise and rooms.


----------



## leeniewdw

upbeatred said:


> I Well the parks were pretty empty and it was nice, but the atmosphere is different and COVID is always present and in your mind.  It was especially true at EPCOT because it just lacked any charm.  How can you really enjoy a food and wine festival, when you are worried about clean hands, masks, and super hot weather?  In addition, there is not really any live entertainment.  It just felt kind of sad.  We took every precaution that we could, but now I am home and every day I'm thinking do I have COVID?  Was this trip really worth the risk?  I guess only time will tell, but if you are planning to go in the near future just know that in my opinion the lack of lines did not make up for just the general happy, high you get at Disney.



Thanks for your post.  I was curious if the new "precautions" would change the feeling as compared to me when visiting in March (12-14).  I found the bus (which they packed in, which surprised me) and the Flower & Garden fest the hardest to detach myself from the current environment.    

I suspect personality as much to do with how you handle/experience WDW "in this time".  We were just talking about it last night and my spouse recalled how he was just not as concerned about going (I had a lot of trepidation the night before we left).   He did become much more concerned about a week after week got back (in a general sense).   We both said we have no inclination to go back to WDW in 2020 or 2021 at this point (we had planned to bring our grown kids and their significant others this fall or spring 2021).

Anyway, that's one of the things I think is important about traveling to WDW these days....the feeling of the whole party. The entire party should understand the changes, expectations, precautions, etc...that will be in place for the trip. The night before we left when I was semi-freaking out, we altered some plans (we wouldn't be doing any Rope Drops, would stick mostly to our FPs, cancel our reservation for Oga's and we rented a car so we didn't have to ride the ME and have other transport options). We had a whole system of cleaning things when we returned to our room etc and it would have created tension if my spouse expressed any "this is unnecessary" kind of thoughts. My "routine" made me feel like I had some control about the situation. We also flew home a day early after WDW announced (on our first night) the eminent closing 3 days later.

Good luck in your post WDW 2 weeks.  I admit I took my temp a number of times and kind of kept a log of how I was feeling.  I also  tried to treat my anxiety with walks/stretching/meditation.  I think most of us had peak anxiety in March and having the WDW trip on top of it


----------



## WEDWDW

upbeatred said:


> I spent five days in the parks and just got back home on Monday.  Besides Hollywood Studios, I felt like mask enforcement and cleaning were excellent.  We did not go to Disney Springs at all, and ate all our meals outside.  I was just dying to go on this trip, I think I thought once I went to Disney all my COVID issues would be resolved.  Or maybe it was just that it would be such a break from the boring, stay at home, stressful life that we all deal with due to this pandemic.  Well the parks were pretty empty and it was nice, but the atmosphere is different and COVID is always present and in your mind.  It was especially true at EPCOT because it just lacked any charm.  How can you really enjoy a food and wine festival, when you are worried about clean hands, masks, and super hot weather?  In addition, there is not really any live entertainment.  It just felt kind of sad.  We took every precaution that we could, but now I am home and every day I'm thinking do I have COVID?  Was this trip really worth the risk?  I guess only time will tell, but if you are planning to go in the near future just know that in my opinion the lack of lines did not make up for just the general happy, high you get at Disney.


Thank you so much for sharing this.

Your report definitely makes me feel not quite as sad for having to cancel our July 11-17 trip.


----------



## upbeatred

Doingitagain said:


> This is what came out from DVC, probably in response to people complaining about lack of QS at some resorts:
> *Members and Guests staying at a Disney Resort may travel between select resorts for dining, shopping and recreation activities. However, only Members and Guests with reservations at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, and Disney's Yacht Club Resort will be allowed access to the resort. Please note, pool hopping is still not available at any resort.*


We went to Boardwalk one night and we had a reservation at Trattoria, they actually scanned our band and they would not let the car in front of us in.  I heard him say he was a DVC member and owner at Boardwalk, and they said no.  We also tried to look around Fort Wilderness because we are getting a RV.  It was a no go.  They would not let us in.


----------



## crazymomof4

Epcot242 said:


> We had to fly through Atlanta recently and that was pretty bad too. A lot of people not complying and taking the mask down to talk. We decided to just be overly cautious and wear N95s the whole time, only taking the, down to eat quick. Flying felt safe in general and with the N95 I was less concerned. But it’s good to know MCO isn’t great. We’ll try to bolt through as fast as possible when we land.


Thx to all here posting their experiences.  It's helping me mentally prepare for our Sept. Trip.  
We also plan on wearing N95s in airports and on planes. Some sort of eye covering as well.


----------



## Budzooka

Just wrapping first day at HS and it has been great. I haven’t seen anyone not wearing a mask and me wearing a mask in the heat hasn’t bothered me near as bad as I expected. I know it helps it was overcast a good chunk of the day, but the sun came out this afternoon after a good shower right after lunch.

Lots of distancing and hand sanitizer. I wasn’t worried about visiting and haven’t seen anything to make me feel differently.

Most of the rides have been walkons with the exception of MMRR and Tower of Terror. We waited and did MMRR late and it was only a 20 min wait and I don’t know why TOT has been a 45+ min wait all day.  We just walked on to Slinky Dog and waited for about 15 min earlier in the afternoon.

We did not get here at park opening but got ROR boarding passes at 1pm. First time to ride and it was a cool experience. I’m not a big Star Wars guy, but can appreciate the attention to detail.

I do miss the live shows. We love the rides and the short waits, but enjoy taking a break and watching a good show as well. Lots of concession stands and shops are closed.

We are headed to MK tomorrow and all reports are the crowds should be lower there than HS. If this is as bad as it gets, it hasn’t been bad at all.


----------



## soniam

armerida said:


> Omg please tell me Choza de Margarita is open too! My first stop at Epcot will be a margarita and tostada from there!



Choza was open last week, as well as La Cava.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

soniam said:


> Choza was open last week, as well as La Cava.



And the best part, no/minimal lines at both!  (At least when I visited)


----------



## Chris Ehlers

upbeatred said:


> We went to Boardwalk one night and we had a reservation at Trattoria, they actually scanned our band and they would not let the car in front of us in.  I heard him say he was a DVC member and owner at Boardwalk, and they said no.  We also tried to look around Fort Wilderness because we are getting a RV.  It was a no go.  They would not let us in.


That’s because of the NBA for those resorts


----------



## Lumpy1106

Will be there week after next - thanks for the updates. Really looking forward to a chill trip without all the FP+ and long line drama.  One concern; DHS.  Do you know if you can take Disney Transportation (busses) and get there comfortably before 10a open? Really want to do ROTR but everything I'm reading says that you don't have much of a shot of getting a BG during the later times due to ride breakdowns. Any advice?

Edit: staying at BLT if that matters.


----------



## crazymomof4

Doingitagain said:


> This is what came out from DVC, probably in response to people complaining about lack of QS at some resorts:
> Members and Guests staying at a Disney Resort may travel between select resorts for dining, shopping and recreation activities. However, only Members and Guests with reservations at _Disney's Grand Floridian_ Resort & Spa, _Disney's Coronado Springs_ Resort, and _Disney's Yacht Club _Resort will be allowed access to the resort. Please note, pool hopping is still not available at any resort.





upbeatred said:


> We went to Boardwalk one night and we had a reservation at Trattoria, they actually scanned our band and they would not let the car in front of us in.  I heard him say he was a DVC member and owner at Boardwalk, and they said no.  We also tried to look around Fort Wilderness because we are getting a RV.  It was a no go.  They would not let us in.



These two bits of info seem to conflict. (Not that conflicting info during this time period is completely out of the ordinary). I'm looking on the official site for clarification, but so far have only found the old wording about visiting resorts as a day guest. Could it be that the DVC statement came out prematurely, ie: before the official policy change and website could be changed?   

"  Please be aware that you'll also need:

*A confirmed room reservation* for your stay. Be sure to link your reservation to your Disney account to receive important information prior to your arrival—visit My Plans to get started
*A confirmed dining reservation* if you’re a day Guest (not staying overnight) "


----------



## crazymomof4

GADisneyDad14 said:


> these days Disney charges your card on file after every $100 or so dollars spent - I’m not entirely sure how that works with those that pay via gift cards (although I see it mentioned frequently so I’m assuming it’s still possible).  Someone please chime in if I’m off on this info.


Oh boy!  Just $100??   It used to be much higher.  $500 or $600???  I remember having to visit my resort desk about halfway through our vaca to use my GC to pay the balance.  If they're doing it at $100 then that would be a bit of a pain in the neck.


----------



## Claudia1

The K


Lumpy1106 said:


> Will be there week after next - thanks for the updates. Really looking forward to a chill trip without all the FP+ and long line drama.  One concern; DHS.  Do you know if you can take Disney Transportation (busses) and get there comfortably before 10a open? Really want to do ROTR but everything I'm reading says that you don't have much of a shot of getting a BG during the later times due to ride breakdowns. Any advice?
> 
> Edit: staying at BLT if that matters.



We stayed at AKL Jambo House and the buses started at 9am.   We were at the bus stop by 8:45.  Got on the first bus the first day and the second bus the second day.  On the second day, we unloaded at 9:45 and just barely made into the park at 9:56am but did get a Boarding Group.   I would suggest being that the bus stop before 9am because I don't know if BWV shares a bus with another resort.  Just my thoughts.


----------



## DCLMP

GADisneyDad14 said:


> And the best part, no/minimal lines at both!  (At least when I visited)


Sorry to change the subject , but do you happen to know if you have to wear a mask while exercising in the gym or running outdoors?


----------



## yulilin3

DCLMP said:


> Sorry to change the subject , but do you happen to know if you have to wear a mask while exercising in the gym or running outdoors?


yes you do


----------



## JimmyMartin

yulilin3 said:


> yes you do


Running out doors should be fine. Golfers not wearing masks.


----------



## yulilin3

JimmyMartin said:


> Running out doors should be fine. Golfers not wearing masks.


if you go by Disney wording you do. Golfers are social distancing the entire time and are with their group. Even at the mini golf they are asking people to keep their masks on.


----------



## JimmyMartin

I have been here since 7/15. Unless you are local and have an annual pass Don’t make plans to come.  Currently it is not worth the top prices that Disney is still charging. So if once in 5 years or once in a lifetime you will be wasting money. I have been coming since 1983 nearly annually. I had DVC points I was lucky to be able to use. WDW is basically a glorified amusement park with constant mask wearing. No shows and very little magic.


----------



## JimmyMartin

yulilin3 said:


> if you go by Disney wording you do. Golfers are social distancing the entire time and are with their group. Even at the mini golf they are asking people to keep their masks on.


I am staying at SSR on the golf course holes 9 and 18. Haven’t seen a mask yet on a golfer even ones riding together.


----------



## DCLMP

JimmyMartin said:


> Running out doors should be fine. Golfers not wearing masks.


Thank you I plan on running around the campground. I'll carry a mask just in case someone says something, but in the past the only living things I've come across is deer. Running in the heat with a mask on has it's own set of risks.


----------



## Dis Dragon

Anyone that has been to the parks, can you sum up where the current pin trading boards are located within the parks?  I know there's one at the Africa pin station in AK and also Dinoland, also one at Epcot Pin trading - but are there any outside of that?

Thanks,


----------



## wilkydelts

JimmyMartin said:


> I have been here since 7/15. Unless you are local and have an annual pass Don’t make plans to come.  Currently it is not worth the top prices that Disney is still charging. So if once in 5 years or once in a lifetime you will be wasting money. I have been coming since 1983 nearly annually. I had DVC points I was lucky to be able to use. WDW is basically a glorified amusement park with constant mask wearing. No shows and very little magic.



I think you are in the extreme minority with those thoughts and feelings.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

wilkydelts said:


> I think you are in the extreme minority with those thoughts and feelings.



Although just to add for others thinking of adding their experiences to the thread , all posts, feelings, opinions, experiences are welcome.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.


----------



## ML_LovesDisney

JimmyMartin said:


> I have been here since 7/15. Unless you are local and have an annual pass Don’t make plans to come.  Currently it is not worth the top prices that Disney is still charging. So if once in 5 years or once in a lifetime you will be wasting money. I have been coming since 1983 nearly annually. I had DVC points I was lucky to be able to use. WDW is basically a glorified amusement park with constant mask wearing. No shows and very little magic.



I appreciate you saying this as I was just going to ask "has anyone felt like they've wasted their money". We don't have plans to go until next year, so hopefully things get better by then!


----------



## tsme

JimmyMartin said:


> I have been here since 7/15. Unless you are local and have an annual pass Don’t make plans to come.  Currently it is not worth the top prices that Disney is still charging. So if once in 5 years or once in a lifetime you will be wasting money. I have been coming since 1983 nearly annually. I had DVC points I was lucky to be able to use. WDW is basically a glorified amusement park with constant mask wearing. No shows and very little magic.



I haven’t been back yet, we go in Sept, but I said something like this to a friend of mine yesterday who only goes every few years. I told her for us, we don’t mind that not everything is open because we’ve been so many times & even if we don’t ride anything or see a show we’re still happy just to be there. But for those who only go every so often, once in a life timers, or those who must ride & see everything, I’d suggest postponing because it wouldn’t be worth it to them at this time. As for us, though we’re a little apprehensive, we just can’t bring ourselves to cancel so we’ll be there in 51 days!


----------



## GADisneyDad14

DCLMP said:


> Sorry to change the subject , but do you happen to know if you have to wear a mask while exercising in the gym or running outdoors?



I ran every other day during the BLT and Poly portions of our trip, so can speak from experience as I had the same question / wasn't quite sure what to do.  For context, I don't run with a mask at home, just common runner courtesy to leave a wide path, etc.

At BLT the running path there shares the route in some spots with CMs walking into CR to work (I run first thing in the morning when many are arriving), landscapers, etc.   I really didn't know what to do so I wore a mask as that seemed like the right thing, other runners I saw were not wearing them.

Later during the trip I asked two separate recreation CMs about running with masks.  One didn't know and went to ask her manager, the other knew right away.  Both reported masks are not required while exercising in the gyms or on the running paths.   To and from each activity, yes - while doing them, no.  One of these CMs was one that, shall I say, was "on it" in terms of mask/chair/cleaning enforcement at the BLT pool - so while this was CM info (and we all know what to do with CM info), I trusted her info as she seemed to take things seriously.

At Poly, I saw a few runners with masks, but most didn't.

Somewhat random, on two Poly run mornings I ran by two Incredi Crew CMs several times.  I am not sure what they were doing exactly but I passed them in various spots as they walked from the TTC to GF and back - I guess that maybe this was part of their rounds?  Every time I passed them they just waved and said good morning.

So my ultimate takeaway from all of that is that masks aren't needed while running, just typical common sense/courtesy to leave space, wide paths, etc.  After my first few masked runs (which I found were fine for 30 mins but got pretty un-breathable after that once they get wet), I ran without a mask but did have a gaiter around my neck in case I came up on any situation where I'd pass a lot of people.

Although, with some exceptions all-in-all when I was running (again, early in the day) you really don't pass many people at all other than fellow runners - and depending on the path it was almost always possible to hop off in the grass, sand, or whatever during the rare time you might pass someone.

I didn't go in any gym, so can't comment specifically there (other than what the CM told me above).

Hope that helps!


----------



## osufeth24

DCLMP said:


> Sorry to change the subject , but do you happen to know if you have to wear a mask while exercising in the gym or running outdoors?



I don't know if it helps, but the Orange County mask mandate says you don't have to wear a mask when doing outdoor exercising  (I know Disney could have different rules, but wanted to let you know at least what the county mandate is)


----------



## Best Aunt

Chris Ehlers said:


> That’s because of the NBA for those resorts



oops should have quoted more.  The NBA players are not at the Boardwalk.


----------



## Darcy03231

JimmyMartin said:


> I have been here since 7/15. Unless you are local and have an annual pass Don’t make plans to come.  Currently it is not worth the top prices that Disney is still charging. So if once in 5 years or once in a lifetime you will be wasting money. I have been coming since 1983 nearly annually. I had DVC points I was lucky to be able to use. WDW is basically a glorified amusement park with constant mask wearing. No shows and very little magic.



I have to admit this factored into the cancellation of my September trip.   I felt like I was being charged full price for half the value.  Also factoring in it was a first trip for a 6 y.o. and 1.5 year old and DH has an underlying medical condition that puts him in a higher risk category it made sense for us to cancel and visit another time.


----------



## crazymomof4

tsme said:


> I haven’t been back yet, we go in Sept, but I said something like this to a friend of mine yesterday who only goes every few years. I told her for us, we don’t mind that not everything is open because we’ve been so many times & even if we don’t ride anything or see a show we’re still happy just to be there. But for those who only go every so often, once in a life timers, or those who must ride & see everything, I’d suggest postponing because it wouldn’t be worth it to them at this time. As for us, though we’re a little apprehensive, we just can’t bring ourselves to cancel so we’ll be there in 51 days!


Agree wholeheartedly.  Have said this many times.  This is one of the reasons why the decision should be different for everyone.  I gave the same advice to a family member who was planning on taking folks for whom it would be their very first trip to WDW.  Told them to wait.  Their first impression won't be what it *should* be.
But for our family, who has been to WDW and DLR many times (mostly 8-12 day stays) over the past decades, we won't miss the things that aren't currently running/open. We plan on taking a very casual approach to this upcoming trip. Do what we feel comfortable with, not push ourselves in the heat and make the most of what IS there rather than focus or dwell on what is not.

*To steal Cory's line from the intro to DISunplugged Podcasts:  "I'm just happy to be here!" will be my mantra for the trip.
We leave in 54 days! *


----------



## scrappinginontario

crazymomof4 said:


> Agree wholeheartedly.  Have said this many times.  This is one of the reasons why the decision should be different for everyone.  I gave the same advice to a family member who was planning on taking folks for whom it would be their very first trip to WDW.  Told them to wait.  Their first impression won't be what it *should* be.
> But for our family, who has been to WDW and DLR many times (mostly 8-12 day stays) over the past decades, we won't miss the things that aren't currently running/open. We plan on taking a very casual approach to this upcoming trip. Do what we feel comfortable with, not push ourselves in the heat and make the most of what IS there rather than focus or dwell on what is not.
> 
> *To steal Cory's line from the intro to DISunplugged Podcasts:  "I'm just happy to be here!" will be my mantra for the trip.
> We leave in 54 days! *


If we go, our situation will be similar to yours in that we go often but I will say that due to all the closures, to lessen the amount of days of exposure we'll be cutting our trip in half.  We normally go for 10 nights but this trip will be just 5 nights as I figure we need only one day in each park and the water parks are closed so 5 nights will be lots for us.

We leave in 50 days...maybe!


----------



## Epcot242

crazymomof4 said:


> But for our family, who has been to WDW and DLR many times (mostly 8-12 day stays) over the past decades, we won't miss the things that aren't currently running/open. We plan on taking a very casual approach to this upcoming trip. Do what we feel comfortable with, not push ourselves in the heat and make the most of what IS there rather than focus or dwell on what is not.



This is how we feel. We've been a bunch of times over the years and we're honestly looking forward to taking it easy. Normally we're up every day at 7:30 to eat, get ready, and book it out of the door. Our first full day will be Epcot and I can't tell you how excited I am to sleep a little more, go to the pool for a little bit, and then head over to the park without worrying about unmanageable wait times and increasing crowds.

We scored a great deal at the BWV so we're just going to enjoy the resort, the bigger room, and just take our time with everything. It'll be a nice break from sitting in front of our computers all day in our apartment.


----------



## DCLMP

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I ran every other day during the BLT and Poly portions of our trip, so can speak from experience as I had the same question / wasn't quite sure what to do.  For context, I don't run with a mask at home, just common runner courtesy to leave a wide path, etc.
> 
> At BLT the running path there shares the route in some spots with CMs walking into CR to work (I run first thing in the morning when many are arriving), landscapers, etc.   I really didn't know what to do so I wore a mask as that seemed like the right thing, other runners I saw were not wearing them.
> 
> Later during the trip I asked two separate recreation CMs about running with masks.  One didn't know and went to ask her manager, the other knew right away.  Both reported masks are not required while exercising in the gyms or on the running paths.   To and from each activity, yes - while doing them, no.  One of these CMs was one that, shall I say, was "on it" in terms of mask/chair/cleaning enforcement at the BLT pool - so while this was CM info (and we all know what to do with CM info), I trusted her info as she seemed to take things seriously.
> 
> At Poly, I saw a few runners with masks, but most didn't.
> 
> Somewhat random, on two Poly run mornings I ran by two Incredi Crew CMs several times.  I am not sure what they were doing exactly but I passed them in various spots as they walked from the TTC to GF and back - I guess that maybe this was part of their rounds?  Every time I passed them they just waved and said good morning.
> 
> So my ultimate takeaway from all of that is that masks aren't needed while running, just typical common sense/courtesy to leave space, wide paths, etc.  After my first few masked runs (which I found were fine for 30 mins but got pretty un-breathable after that once they get wet), I ran without a mask but did have a gaiter around my neck in case I came up on any situation where I'd pass a lot of people.
> 
> Although, with some exceptions all-in-all when I was running (again, early in the day) you really don't pass many people at all other than fellow runners - and depending on the path it was almost always possible to hop off in the grass, sand, or whatever during the rare time you might pass someone.
> 
> I didn't go in any gym, so can't comment specifically there (other than what the CM told me above).
> 
> Hope that helps!


I'm staying at WL so I shouldn't be seeing too many people on my runs. Running outdoors this time of year is difficult enough in the heat and humidity a mask would just add to the risk.  I also plan on using the gym. I'll report back what I learn.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

DCLMP said:


> I'm staying at WL so I shouldn't be seeing too many people on my runs. Running outdoors this time of year is difficult enough in the heat and humidity a mask would just add to the risk.  I also plan on using the gym. I'll report back what I learn.



You may know this already but FYI, the path to FW is still closed.  Unfortunately it limits running options a bit around WL.  :-(

Enjoy your trip!  We did one night at WL our last night of the trip and it wasn’t enough!


----------



## DCLMP

GADisneyDad14 said:


> You may know this already but FYI, the path to FW is still closed.  Unfortunately it limits running options a bit around WL.  :-(
> 
> Enjoy your trip!  We did one night at WL our last night of the trip and it wasn’t enough!


The roads are still open aren't they? I may need to switch resorts then.


----------



## Lumpy1106

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I ran every other day during the BLT and Poly portions of our trip, so can speak from experience as I had the same question / wasn't quite sure what to do.  For context, I don't run with a mask at home, just common runner courtesy to leave a wide path, etc.
> 
> At BLT the running path there shares the route in some spots with CMs walking into CR to work (I run first thing in the morning when many are arriving), landscapers, etc.   I really didn't know what to do so I wore a mask as that seemed like the right thing, other runners I saw were not wearing them.
> 
> Later during the trip I asked two separate recreation CMs about running with masks.  One didn't know and went to ask her manager, the other knew right away.  Both reported masks are not required while exercising in the gyms or on the running paths.   To and from each activity, yes - while doing them, no.  One of these CMs was one that, shall I say, was "on it" in terms of mask/chair/cleaning enforcement at the BLT pool - so while this was CM info (and we all know what to do with CM info), I trusted her info as she seemed to take things seriously.
> 
> At Poly, I saw a few runners with masks, but most didn't.
> 
> Somewhat random, on two Poly run mornings I ran by two Incredi Crew CMs several times.  I am not sure what they were doing exactly but I passed them in various spots as they walked from the TTC to GF and back - I guess that maybe this was part of their rounds?  Every time I passed them they just waved and said good morning.
> 
> So my ultimate takeaway from all of that is that masks aren't needed while running, just typical common sense/courtesy to leave space, wide paths, etc.  After my first few masked runs (which I found were fine for 30 mins but got pretty un-breathable after that once they get wet), I ran without a mask but did have a gaiter around my neck in case I came up on any situation where I'd pass a lot of people.
> 
> Although, with some exceptions all-in-all when I was running (again, early in the day) you really don't pass many people at all other than fellow runners - and depending on the path it was almost always possible to hop off in the grass, sand, or whatever during the rare time you might pass someone.
> 
> I didn't go in any gym, so can't comment specifically there (other than what the CM told me above).
> 
> Hope that helps!


Thank you - this does help.  One of my favorite things to do @ WDW is get up before everyone else and go for a run - we are talking pre-sunrise early.  I can't imagine anyone would care I was even out there, but happy to know that is the policy.


----------



## Malela9

I am so happy to see all of your positive comments. We have Premier annual passes and went to WDW in January. We also have Universal annual passes. We never watch shows or fireworks, so the thought of walking on rides and a 30% discount is heaven! I normally would have spent all summer at Disneyland, so getting some Disney magic will be much needed for my mental health.


----------



## YawningDodo

upbeatred said:


> I spent five days in the parks and just got back home on Monday.  Besides Hollywood Studios, I felt like mask enforcement and cleaning were excellent.  We did not go to Disney Springs at all, and ate all our meals outside. * I was just dying to go on this trip, I think I thought once I went to Disney all my COVID issues would be resolved. * Or maybe it was just that it would be such a break from the boring, stay at home, stressful life that we all deal with due to this pandemic.  Well the parks were pretty empty and it was nice, but the atmosphere is different and COVID is always present and in your mind.  It was especially true at EPCOT because it just lacked any charm.  How can you really enjoy a food and wine festival, when you are worried about clean hands, masks, and super hot weather?  In addition, there is not really any live entertainment.  It just felt kind of sad.  We took every precaution that we could, but now I am home and every day I'm thinking do I have COVID?  Was this trip really worth the risk?  I guess only time will tell, but if you are planning to go in the near future just know that in my opinion the lack of lines did not make up for just the general happy, high you get at Disney.


I appreciate this...and I've realized lately that all my anxiety and FOMO about my September trip come down to pretty much the same line of thinking you describe here. My anxiety has spiked pretty hard at a few points this summer (golly gee, wonder why) and I realized I've been looking toward travel as a way to "fix" myself...because it usually works. But instead this time around it's turned into a feedback loop of anxiety as I stress about whether or not I should go, and I'm not positive I won't have the same emotional reaction you did if I go. Or I might enjoy myself, as others have, and come back feeling refreshed. Either way, though, I've been realizing that it's not been good for my mental health to obsess over this trip as the "fix" for my feelings. I still haven't cancelled my reservations and don't plan to make that call until the end of August, but I've been able to let go of it a bit for now and I'm feeling pretty happy about my staycation options (and the money I'll save) if I need to change my plans.

Right now I'm personally satisfied with what I'm hearing about Disney's safety measures and dissatisfied with what I'm hearing about airports and Florida in general. If I cancel it's almost probably to be based on Florida's general response and infection rates rather than on what Disney is doing (unless Disney makes changes for the worse, which I suppose could still happen).

*Actual question:* I've been seeing reports that Disney Springs has lower mask compliance/feels more crowded/feels more dangerous than the parks. Can folks who have been to DS please continue chiming in with reports and opinions about that?


----------



## brockash

YawningDodo said:


> I appreciate this...and I've realized lately that all my anxiety and FOMO about my September trip come down to pretty much the same line of thinking you describe here. My anxiety has spiked pretty hard at a few points this summer (golly gee, wonder why) and I realized I've been looking toward travel as a way to "fix" myself...because it usually works. But instead this time around it's turned into a feedback loop of anxiety as I stress about whether or not I should go, and I'm not positive I won't have the same emotional reaction you did if I go. Or I might enjoy myself, as others have, and come back feeling refreshed. Either way, though, I've been realizing that it's not been good for my mental health to obsess over this trip as the "fix" for my feelings. I still haven't cancelled my reservations and don't plan to make that call until the end of August, but I've been able to let go of it a bit for now and I'm feeling pretty happy about my staycation options (and the money I'll save) if I need to change my plans.
> 
> Right now I'm personally satisfied with what I'm hearing about Disney's safety measures and dissatisfied with what I'm hearing about airports and Florida in general. If I cancel it's almost probably to be based on Florida's general response and infection rates rather than on what Disney is doing (unless Disney makes changes for the worse, which I suppose could still happen).
> 
> *Actual question:* I've been seeing reports that Disney Springs has lower mask compliance/feels more crowded/feels more dangerous than the parks. Can folks who have been to DS please continue chiming in with reports and opinions about that?


We went to DS the middle of June - 4 different times, all early evening - 9ish.  We saw mask compliance most of the time.  We never felt uncomfortable.


----------



## Epcot242

YawningDodo said:


> Right now I'm personally satisfied with what I'm hearing about Disney's safety measures and dissatisfied with what I'm hearing about airports and Florida in general. If I cancel it's almost probably to be based on Florida's general response and infection rates rather than on what Disney is doing (unless Disney makes changes for the worse, which I suppose could still happen).



To be honest, we have had to fly recently and it wasn't ideal but not terrible. The worst was Atlanta, in terms of mask compliance. I hear MCO is bad as well. These are certainly concerns for us, but N95s are mostly available online so if you're going to do it, I'd suggest getting some for yourself and your family and wearing those in the airports. That's what we did and it gave us peace of mind. Our plan when we travel down to MCO will be to wear those, and move as quickly as possible to pick up luggage and then the Magical Express.

I don't imagine FL will be tightening restrictions to the same extent other states have (like NY, MA, or PA) and this will keep those case numbers up. I'm encouraged to see that the NBA players in the "bubble" have not tested positive yet, at least, and see the precautions Disney is taking as comparable to those in states that are taking this seriously.

Good luck with whatever you choose!


----------



## upbeatred

brockash said:


> We went to DS the middle of June - 4 different times, all early evening - 9ish.  We saw mask compliance most of the time.  We never felt uncomfortable.


I thought Mask compliance was excellent at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and EPCOT,  there were issue at Hollywood studios especially in the line for Mickey's Railroad.  We actually complained to cast members and folks would pull up there masks and then immediately pull them back down when the cast members walked away.  It was frustrating! In the airport even the gate agents at Southwest and the cleaners had their masks pulled all the way down.  People in the waiting area were not really wearing masks or pulling them down.  It was disconcerting, but if the employees don't even comply you can't expect people to comply.


----------



## Brett Wyman

Darcy03231 said:


> I have to admit this factored into the cancellation of my September trip.   I felt like I was being charged full price for half the value.  Also factoring in it was a first trip for a 6 y.o. and 1.5 year old and DH has an underlying medical condition that puts him in a higher risk category it made sense for us to cancel and visit another time.



I agree this is not the time anyone should take a first trip to WDW.


----------



## shoegal9

crazymomof4 said:


> Oh boy!  Just $100??   It used to be much higher.  $500 or $600???  I remember having to visit my resort desk about halfway through our vaca to use my GC to pay the balance.  If they're doing it at $100 then that would be a bit of a pain in the neck.



They don't actually "charge" your card in additional increments when your spending starts. They just increase the hold amount on the credit card.  When we check out we still have one lump charge on the checkout date. That being said, I would go apply the cards the day before checkout. Our last two trips they had already charged our card, and they did take the gift cards, apply them, and issue a partial refund to the credit card. But it took a LONG time for that refund to hit.


----------



## shoegal9

crazymomof4 said:


> These two bits of info seem to conflict. (Not that conflicting info during this time period is completely out of the ordinary). I'm looking on the official site for clarification, but so far have only found the old wording about visiting resorts as a day guest. Could it be that the DVC statement came out prematurely, ie: before the official policy change and website could be changed?
> 
> "  Please be aware that you'll also need:
> 
> *A confirmed room reservation* for your stay. Be sure to link your reservation to your Disney account to receive important information prior to your arrival—visit My Plans to get started
> *A confirmed dining reservation* if you’re a day Guest (not staying overnight) "



That DVC member turned away at Boardwalk could have been a "day guest"?  I talked to DVC member services about this. They said the "day guest- not staying overnight" meant not staying overnight at any Disney resort. Not necessarily the resort you are trying to visit. But who knows... so much conflicting info.


----------



## brockash

shoegal9 said:


> That DVC member turned away at Boardwalk could have been a "day guest"?  I talked to DVC member services about this. They said the "day guest- not staying overnight" meant not staying overnight at any Disney resort. Not necessarily the resort you are trying to visit. But who knows... so much conflicting info.


It seems what it boils down to is if you arrive at a resort via some mode of Disney transportation; you can get in/eat/shop.  If you're driving and trying to park; there seems to be more of an issue.


----------



## yulilin3

brockash said:


> It seems what it boils down to is if you arrive at a resort via some mode of Disney transportation; you can get in/eat/shop.  If you're driving and trying to park; there seems to be more of an issue.


Bingo


----------



## emilymad

YawningDodo said:


> *Actual question:* I've been seeing reports that Disney Springs has lower mask compliance/feels more crowded/feels more dangerous than the parks. Can folks who have been to DS please continue chiming in with reports and opinions about that?



We just got back and went to DS on Sunday at 10:30 am when they opened at 10 am.  There was a ton of people streaming into DS.  In the garage people did not seem to keep their distance until you got to the temperature check.  Disney does funnel you through a path and it was hard to keep social distant.  The escalators were the same. We saw lots of people in not wearing masks or wearing them incorrectly.  People were taking them off while on the escalator.  There seemed to be no control or enforcement of masks.   It felt crowded and I am sure it wasn't compared to at night.  

WOD made you walk around entire building to find the entrance.  Once in WOD it was really hard to keep apart from people.  I am sure they were monitoring how many people where in the store but it still felt like a lot.  And again no one enforcing masks.  Other Disney owned stores would make you leave and then go back in other doors to get to the next store for those stores that are all in one building.  It all felt a little silly when the paths outside the stores were busy and masks weren't enforced.

We ate at Ghiradelli and Chicken Guy and both places handled everything well but we went when both places first opened so it wasn't crowded yet.

If I were going on a trip I would skip DS all together.  We thought Epcot did a good job on everything with the exception of ride exits where people bunched up.  For example, we were leaving Soarin' and another theater dumped out at the same time and it was just a mass of people with no where to go.


----------



## scrappinginontario

shoegal9 said:


> They don't actually "charge" your card in additional increments when your spending starts. They just increase the hold amount on the credit card.  When we check out we still have one lump charge on the checkout date. That being said, I would go apply the cards the day before checkout. Our last two trips they had already charged our card, and they did take the gift cards, apply them, and issue a partial refund to the credit card. But it took a LONG time for that refund to hit.


Just a heads up that they will also charge a CC after the first few days of a trip.  Possibly 4 or 5?  I normally pay off what I'm owing on day 3 and then every 3 days after that to ensure charges are not applied to my cc if I want to pay with gift cards.


----------



## shoegal9

scrappinginontario said:


> Just a heads up that they will also charge a CC after the first few days of a trip.  Possibly 4 or 5?  I normally pay off what I'm owing on day 3 and then every 3 days after that to ensure charges are not applied to my cc if I want to pay with gift cards.


 
They haven't done that for my last 4 trips.  Some were as long as 7 nights. They increased the holds- but charged the entire total at checkout. idk


----------



## pepperandchips

crazymomof4 said:


> Oh boy!  Just $100??   It used to be much higher.  $500 or $600???  I remember having to visit my resort desk about halfway through our vaca to use my GC to pay the balance.  If they're doing it at $100 then that would be a bit of a pain in the neck.





shoegal9 said:


> They don't actually "charge" your card in additional increments when your spending starts. They just increase the hold amount on the credit card.  When we check out we still have one lump charge on the checkout date. That being said, I would go apply the cards the day before checkout. Our last two trips they had already charged our card, and they did take the gift cards, apply them, and issue a partial refund to the credit card. But it took a LONG time for that refund to hit.





scrappinginontario said:


> Just a heads up that they will also charge a CC after the first few days of a trip.  Possibly 4 or 5?  I normally pay off what I'm owing on day 3 and then every 3 days after that to ensure charges are not applied to my cc if I want to pay with gift cards.


This appears to be a "your mileage may vary" issue since the policy was changed last year. Here are 83 pages worth of discussion: https://www.disboards.com/threads/new-credit-card-authorization-holds.3729383/

It seems to be part luck, part what kind of card you use, perhaps which resort it is, and maybe what your mood ring says. If you are close to your credit limit or are worried about foreign transaction fees or have another reason that I can't think of, it's probably best to be hyper-vigilant about paying room charges every day. I paid my room charges with gift cards for my early July trip and by the time I made the first payment, they'd put the charge through for my initial batch of spending even though it didn't even show as pending on my card at the time when I paid. After I checked out, the charges had gone through but were reversed as a refund, it wasn't just a pre-authorization. This was a Disney Chase if that is at all helpful.


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

YawningDodo said:


> I appreciate this...and I've realized lately that all my anxiety and FOMO about my September trip come down to pretty much the same line of thinking you describe here. My anxiety has spiked pretty hard at a few points this summer (golly gee, wonder why) and I realized I've been looking toward travel as a way to "fix" myself...because it usually works. But instead this time around it's turned into a feedback loop of anxiety as I stress about whether or not I should go, and I'm not positive I won't have the same emotional reaction you did if I go. Or I might enjoy myself, as others have, and come back feeling refreshed. Either way, though, I've been realizing that it's not been good for my mental health to obsess over this trip as the "fix" for my feelings. I still haven't cancelled my reservations and don't plan to make that call until the end of August, but I've been able to let go of it a bit for now and I'm feeling pretty happy about my staycation options (and the money I'll save) if I need to change my plans.
> 
> Right now I'm personally satisfied with what I'm hearing about Disney's safety measures and dissatisfied with what I'm hearing about airports and Florida in general. If I cancel it's almost probably to be based on Florida's general response and infection rates rather than on what Disney is doing (unless Disney makes changes for the worse, which I suppose could still happen).
> 
> *Actual question:* I've been seeing reports that Disney Springs has lower mask compliance/feels more crowded/feels more dangerous than the parks. Can folks who have been to DS please continue chiming in with reports and opinions about that?


I did feel like Springs had lower mask compliance.  It's still better compared than my grocery store or the airport, but yes, I thought there were more people with masks off.  In the parks it often felt like we were out-numbered by Cast Members so it's probably just easier for them to encourage people to wear masks & distance themselves.  And you have to remember, the parks are closing a little earlier than normal, so then a lot of people all go to DS.  I think that it's extra crowded there because of that & because everything at Springs shuts down at 10pm so people only have a couple hours to eat dinner/shop/hang out.


----------



## Candris79

For those of you who have ventured to WDW since it reopened, was it fun? Is the magic currently gone? Trying to decide whether to make a trip or not before my AP expires in September. The low crowds and short lines seem like it would be a dream, but is it actually just creepy and less exciting? And is it annoying trying to stay away from people, using hand sanitizer constantly, trying to find somewhere to eat distanced from people? Thank you in advance!


----------



## yulilin3

Candris79 said:


> For those of you who have ventured to WDW since it reopened, was it fun? Is the magic currently gone? Trying to decide whether to make a trip or not before my AP expires in September. The low crowds and short lines seem like it would be a dream, but is it actually just creepy and less exciting? And is it annoying trying to stay away from people, using hand sanitizer constantly, trying to find somewhere to eat distanced from people? Thank you in advance!


Merged you to the existing thread.  Read back on reports
For me personally the parks are still fun but the lack of entertainment is evident especially at epcot
The safety rules are not annoying if you come knowing you have to do them , if you think they'll be an inconvenience i suggest not to come right now


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## Candris79

yulilin3 said:


> Merged you to the existing thread.  Read back on reports
> For me personally the parks are still fun but the lack of entertainment is evident especially at epcot
> The safety rules are not annoying if you come knowing you have to do them , if you think they'll be an inconvenience i suggest not to come right now



Thank you! I couldn’t find the existing thread. I am fine with the safety rules but wasn’t sure if it feels “worth it” to come now. Also, is there enough to do to keep you busy all day.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Candris79 said:


> Thank you! I couldn’t find the existing thread. I am fine with the safety rules but wasn’t sure if it feels “worth it” to come now. Also, is there enough to do to keep you busy all day.


You will find a whole variety of answers to your question if you read through this thread.  Basically, it's personal as each person may feel differently.


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## YawningDodo

While I suspect I may be giving into confirmation bias by paying more attention to the negative replies about DS than the positive ones, it's confirming for me that I'm probably going to be more comfortable if I spend my arrival evening at Epcot instead of going to DS for dinner. I went ahead and grabbed a park pass to make that happen.


----------



## omniscientmommy

upbeatred said:


> I thought Mask compliance was excellent at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and EPCOT,  there were issue at Hollywood studios especially in the line for Mickey's Railroad.  We actually complained to cast members and folks would pull up there masks and then immediately pull them back down when the cast members walked away.  It was frustrating! In the airport even the gate agents at Southwest and the cleaners had their masks pulled all the way down.  People in the waiting area were not really wearing masks or pulling them down.  It was disconcerting, but if the employees don't even comply you can't expect people to comply.


Was this at MCO or another airport where people had their masks down?


----------



## momandmousefan

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Yes, you can now pay with different payment methods, including gift cards.


Oh thank you!! I didn’t realize they finally were accepting gift cards this way so now I need to see how to enter ours.


----------



## upbeatred

omniscientmommy said:


> Was this at MCO or another airport where people had their masks down?


at MCO


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## GADisneyDad14

DCLMP said:


> The roads are still open aren't they? I may need to switch resorts then.



Roads, as in roads with cars?  Yes.  I always read about people running on WDW roads, but I've never felt comfortable with that myself.


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## JM23457

We were there during opening week and did find it magical. Maybe even a little more magical than usual, due to not having to orchestrate our day around FPs, and due to a lack of the crowding that typically puts a damper on everything at WDW. It was a wonderful novelty to have personal space in line. We saw characters at our character dining meals, and in surprise character floats. Mary Poppins saw & waved to us from her float. And the cast members were uber welcoming.

The only drawback for us was the heat. We look forward to returning in March, and enjoying better weather.


----------



## shoegal9

pepperandchips said:


> This appears to be a "your mileage may vary" issue since the policy was changed last year. Here are 83 pages worth of discussion: https://www.disboards.com/threads/new-credit-card-authorization-holds.3729383/
> 
> It seems to be part luck, part what kind of card you use, perhaps which resort it is, and maybe what your mood ring says. If you are close to your credit limit or are worried about foreign transaction fees or have another reason that I can't think of, it's probably best to be hyper-vigilant about paying room charges every day. I paid my room charges with gift cards for my early July trip and by the time I made the first payment, they'd put the charge through for my initial batch of spending even though it didn't even show as pending on my card at the time when I paid. After I checked out, the charges had gone through but were reversed as a refund, it wasn't just a pre-authorization. This was a Disney Chase if that is at all helpful.



Interesting. I have a Disney Chase too with a very high credit limit & we stay DVC on our points. Very peculiar that it isn’t uniform though!


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## DCLMP

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Roads, as in roads with cars?  Yes.  I always read about people running on WDW roads, but I've never felt comfortable with that myself.


I know the path went a long a road that wasn’t used very much from what I’ve read thats all closed off. It’s a deal breaker for me if that’s the case.


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## WEDWDW

Geomom said:


> The big things missing are about half the shops, restaurants, and the country entertainment...and of course the international CMs.


WOW!I just saw that a Go Fund Me account has been set up for an organization that has been supplying food to Disney Cultural Representatives who have NEVER been able to secure Flights back home since the Parks were closed!

It says there are still 40 of them in Orlando!

I can't believe Disney hasn't been more helpful to them!

Just shocked to see that.


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## crazymomof4

Epcot242 said:


> This is how we feel. We've been a bunch of times over the years and we're honestly looking forward to taking it easy. Normally we're up every day at 7:30 to eat, get ready, and book it out of the door. Our first full day will be Epcot and I can't tell you how excited I am to sleep a little more, go to the pool for a little bit, and then head over to the park without worrying about unmanageable wait times and increasing crowds.
> 
> We scored a great deal at the BWV so we're just going to enjoy the resort, the bigger room, and just take our time with everything. It'll be a nice break from sitting in front of our computers all day in our apartment.


THIS!  1000x This!!!!!  Due to Covid changes, my 20-something kids *can't* run me ragged! Yay!
We are in BWV too!


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## java

Mid last minute trip update as today will be our only park day.
we went to Epcot. Had a great day. Everything was a walk on. We ate a bunch of festival food. Loved the chicken dumplings and the lobster roll. (Everything we are was good)
There was great social distancing going 
We felt very safe


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## DCLMP

Lumpy1106 said:


> Thank you - this does help.  One of my favorite things to do @ WDW is get up before everyone else and go for a run - we are talking pre-sunrise early.  I can't imagine anyone would care I was even out there, but happy to know that is the policy.


I switched from WL to Riviera. The lack of Wilderness trail at the Wilderness lodge was a game changer for me. I think you have to be a runner to understand. Thanks to GADisneydad14 for the heads up that saved me a lot of disappointment.


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## gochief58

JM23457 said:


> We were there during opening week and did find it magical. Maybe even a little more magical than usual, due to not having to orchestrate our day around FPs, and due to a lack of the crowding that typically puts a damper on everything at WDW. It was a wonderful novelty to have personal space in line. We saw characters at our character dining meals, and in surprise character floats. Mary Poppins saw & waved to us from her float. And the cast members were uber welcoming.
> 
> The only drawback for us was the heat. We look forward to returning in March, and enjoying better weather.


What were the Character meals like?  Any photo ops or were they just passing through?  Which character meals did you do?   Thank you


----------



## Sarahraegraham

Candris79 said:


> For those of you who have ventured to WDW since it reopened, was it fun? Is the magic currently gone? Trying to decide whether to make a trip or not before my AP expires in September. The low crowds and short lines seem like it would be a dream, but is it actually just creepy and less exciting? And is it annoying trying to stay away from people, using hand sanitizer constantly, trying to find somewhere to eat distanced from people? Thank you in advance!


We’ve been here for a few days and leave day after tomorrow. If you stop and let yourself think about negative things, you could feel it’s creepy, but in general we’ve really enjoyed the peace and relative quiet with the lower crowds. We rode Spaceship Earth today and commented how we heard parts of the ride that we’d never heard before because of how quiet it was. The masks have surprisingly been a non-issue as far as comfort 99% of the time. And I actually think they should keep the hand sanitizer from now on. They’re awesome! Staying away from people has been easy almost all of the time. Humans are really adaptable. The longer you’re here, the less you think about the changes. We had planned to come over the 4th of July and cancelled. Then we said you know what, screw it. We’re really glad we came, as this has been a truly unique and memorable experience. Not having FP times to keep track of has made touring more relaxed. If people feel comfortable coming and adhering to the changes, and if they come relatively often, it’s a great time to be here. Wish we could stay longer!


----------



## Candris79

Sarahraegraham said:


> We’ve been here for a few days and leave day after tomorrow. If you stop and let yourself think about negative things, you could feel it’s creepy, but in general we’ve really enjoyed the peace and relative quiet with the lower crowds. We rode Spaceship Earth today and commented how we heard parts of the ride that we’d never heard before because of how quiet it was. The masks have surprisingly been a non-issue as far as comfort 99% of the time. And I actually think they should keep the hand sanitizer from now on. They’re awesome! Staying away from people has been easy almost all of the time. Humans are really adaptable. The longer you’re here, the less you think about the changes. We had planned to come over the 4th of July and cancelled. Then we said you know what, screw it. We’re really glad we came, as this has been a truly unique and memorable experience. Not having FP times to keep track of has made touring more relaxed. If people feel comfortable coming and adhering to the changes, and if they come relatively often, it’s a great time to be here. Wish we could stay longer!


Thank you!! It’s so confusing on whether or not to go at this weird time. Enjoy the rest of your trip!


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## JM23457

gochief58 said:


> What were the Character meals like?  Any photo ops or were they just passing through?  Which character meals did you do?   Thank you


We had character meals at Be Our Guest (dinner), Garden Grill (dinner), Topolino's Terrace (breakfast) and Ravello at Four Seasons Orlando (Saturday morning breakfast).

In each case, the characters would come out, wave to your table from a safe distance, and pose so that your table could take a picture.

Garden Grill has an unusual layout due to it being a revolving restaurant, so the characters would show up behind you on the upper level. The presence of the handler let you know they were there.  Because they were behind you, it was possible to get a photo of your child with them in the background, or a selfie with them in the background.


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## GADisneyDad14

Sarahraegraham said:


> We rode Spaceship Earth today and commented how we heard parts of the ride that we’d never heard before because of how quiet it was.



I’ve been thinking about this point recently as well, and totally agree.  You sort of take for granted how other people in your ride vehicle are often making noise, talking, baby screaming, or whatever, and when you take that out of the equation it does tend to create a situation where you can hear or focus on new things.  

We especially noticed this on Rise of the Resistance. Also PotC.  

While obviously unsustainable in normal times, there are some rides where having your own vehicle is awfully nice.


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## AnaHtDis

I am sitting at my FW cabin now watching everyone around me sleep....peace.  Usually by now I  running around like a frazzled mom screaming (gently urging) to get to the bus on time.  This trip is different.  We went to MK yesterday and my husband asked me repeatedly “what is wrong with you?”
well, I am relaxed.
my advice to those questioning whether to come or not is most importantly, know your audience. I am traveling with my DH and two college-aged sons who still wanted to go to Disney with mom and dad, so I’ll take it. Horrifyingly, my family doesn’t care about parades, meet/greet, and the cutesy stuff. They wanted to go on space mountain 4 times in a row walking right through...success.
as for safety, i did not feel nervous or anxiety.  We have no underlying conditions (smart- teenagers doesn’t count).  I did see a CM tell someone their face mask was not covering their nose, so they are trying hard to enforce safety for all.
For my family, it was the right decision to come and enjoy time together.  You have to think of your family’s needs and wishes.  Good luck to all!  We are going to mosey our way to AK today.


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## dorospin

Heading back from a week at Bay Lake Tower. Some thoughts:

1. Parks are pretty empty , DHS at opening in first few hours seemed much busier than the others; AK seemed especially empty

2. Mask compliance in parks has been something like 95% from what we’ve seen over a week.  Last night at MK I witnessed a CM telling a lady to cover her nose with her mask. She complied, walked a few feet, and pulled it back down. I think it’s inevitable that there will always be a few of these people no matter what the CMs do.

3. Bay Lake Towers seems pretty full.  The pool - especially at night - is packed, and of course no masks in the pool. People do seem to be trying to distance as much as possible.

Last night - not a lot of distancing in this line and some mask issues:

But here is another night walking out of MK:

So - definitely seems to vary based on time, day, and where you are - in line, walking etc.


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## achang2001

I just wish they had fireworks or Fantasmic a couple of nights per week...I’m bringing 3 friends for their first trip at the end of Sept. We are splurging with 2BR villas at Riviera and Grand Floridian due to expiring DVC points for the 4 of us x 5 nights. The fireworks are my favorite part!


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## roomthreeseventeen

achang2001 said:


> I just wish they had fireworks or Fantasmic a couple of nights per week...I’m bringing 3 friends for their first trip at the end of Sept. We are splurging with 2BR villas at Riviera and Grand Floridian due to expiring DVC points for the 4 of us x 5 nights. The fireworks are my favorite part!



Save their first trip for non-pandemic times. These things will be back in a few years.


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## koquinn

achang2001 said:


> I just wish they had fireworks or Fantasmic a couple of nights per week...I’m bringing 3 friends for their first trip at the end of Sept. We are splurging with 2BR villas at Riviera and Grand Floridian due to expiring DVC points for the 4 of us x 5 nights. The fireworks are my favorite part!


Me too, I'm the one who stands there with tears streaming down my face smiling the whole time like I've never seen it a million times before! We are taking my au pair who is from South Africa; I don't know if he will get a chance to go back. It's his first trip, and I've already explained to him that there are going to be a few things missing. I think your friends will be fine, and then they will probably be addicts just like the rest of us!


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## cdobert

We were onsite from the 11th to the 21st.  We had a great, relaxed trip.  Coming from Colorado we normally are up early to rope drop - this time we slept in every day. We saw a few people breaking the mask rules in the parks, saw more at the airports.  Tested negative for Covid yesterday.  If we can get a hotel discount we will be back in the fall.


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## OKWFan88

Just got back from 11 day trip. I posted a trip report in the disney trip forum. Overall we had a great time. We knew what we were getting into and it was still great.


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## scrappinginontario

achang2001 said:


> I just wish they had fireworks or Fantasmic a couple of nights per week...I’m bringing 3 friends for their first trip at the end of Sept. We are splurging with 2BR villas at Riviera and Grand Floridian due to expiring DVC points for the 4 of us x 5 nights. The fireworks are my favorite part!


While I wish there were fireworks they just gather too many people.  Last Sept (when the parks were in the quieter side) we went to see the fireworks one of the two nights during our trip they were offered and we couldn’t move!!!  During our trip there were 5 MNSSHP nights so we went to the MK one of the other nights and many others had the same idea.  (Small World was a 45 min wait and we couldn’t find the end of the People Mover line!) Until they can safely put more people in the parks and thus bring in more revenue, I can’t see fireworks added back in.  Can’t imagine how much $$ it costs Disney each night for fireworks!


cdobert said:


> We were onsite from the 11th to the 21st.  We had a great, relaxed trip.  Coming from Colorado we normally are up early to rope drop - this time we slept in every day. We saw a few people breaking the mask rules in the parks, saw more at the airports.  Tested negative for Covid yesterday.  If we can get a hotel discount we will be back in the fall.


Thank you for sharing this.  As someone with a possible trip in the books, I’m wondering how many people are choosing to be tested when they return home and what the results are.  (Not saying they catch it at Disney, just sometime during their trip.) I’ve mentioned to my DD that if we do go in Sept then we will get tested a week after we get home, or earlier if either of us is experiencing symptoms.


----------



## Amy11401

scrappinginontario said:


> While I wish there were fireworks they just gather too many people.  Last Sept (when the parks were in the quieter side) we went to see the fireworks one of the two nights during our trip they were offered and we couldn’t move!!!  During our trip there were 5 MNSSHP nights so we went to the MK one of the other nights and many others had the same idea.  (Small World was a 45 min wait and we couldn’t find the end of the People Mover line!) Until they can safely put more people in the parks and thus bring in more revenue, I can’t see fireworks added back in.  Can’t imagine how much $$ it costs Disney each night for fireworks!
> Thank you for sharing this.  As someone with a possible trip in the books, I’m wondering how many people are choosing to be tested when they return home and what the results are.  (Not saying they catch it at Disney, just sometime during their trip.) I’ve mentioned to my DD that if we do go in Sept then we will get tested a week after we get home, or earlier if either of us is experiencing symptoms.


I wonder how many people will go to Disney then go home and get tested.  Then if their test comes back positive, they will assume they got it on the trip.  When actually they could have already had it before they left and been asymptomatic.  I think some people will blame Disney/their trip when they could have had covid before they left.  I am mostly referring to people who are asymptomatic.


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## Chisoxcollector

We went to Epcot again today.  The mask compliance was terrible, much worse than any of our days the previous two weekends.  I felt like we were at Sea World or Busch Gardens.  I had hoped the new rule about having to be stationary while eating would help.  Pffft!  So many people with their masks down under the chins, so many noses.  And today we didn't see a single cast member enforce the policy.  We are officially done with Epcot until either the pandemic ends, or Disney actually does something to improve the situation.

We are going to Hollywood Studios tomorrow.  I'm expecting the worst.  If things are as bad as I think they will be, I am done with Disney for the foreseeable future.  That makes me very sad.


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## crazymomof4

Chisoxcollector said:


> We went to Epcot again today.  The mask compliance was terrible, worse than any of our days the previous two weekends.  I felt like we were at Sea World or Busch Gardens.  I had hoped the new rule about having to be stationary while eating would help.  Pffft!  So many people with their masks down under the chins, so many noses.  And today we didn't see a single cast member enforce the policy.  We are officially done with Epcot until either the pandemic ends, or Disney actually does something to improve the situation.
> 
> We are going to Hollywood Studios.  I'm expecting the worst.  If things are as bad as I think they will be, I am done with Disney for the foreseeable future.  That makes me very sad.


Maybe popping off a quick email to Guest Services with this feedback?  You could even cut and paste what you wrote here.  It is well worded and expresses your true feelings about your experience.  The more people to report this, the sooner WDW can do something to mitigate it.


----------



## Sarahraegraham

Chisoxcollector said:


> We went to Epcot again today.  The mask compliance was terrible, much worse than any of our days the previous two weekends.  I felt like we were at Sea World or Busch Gardens.  I had hoped the new rule about having to be stationary while eating would help.  Pffft!  So many people with their masks down under the chins, so many noses.  And today we didn't see a single cast member enforce the policy.  We are officially done with Epcot until either the pandemic ends, or Disney actually does something to improve the situation.
> 
> We are going to Hollywood Studios.  I'm expecting the worst.  If things are as bad as I think they will be, I am done with Disney for the foreseeable future.  That makes me very sad.



I will echo your experience because the same thing happened at Magic Kingdom tonight. Up until now, we’ve seen excellent guest compliance and cast member enforcement. Today we had at best 80% compliance,I even saw one guest with a SHEER face mask, and children at BOG walking all around the restaurant without masks on, within a couple feet of other people’s tables. I would absolutely avoid Saturdays if you’re coming. Just make it a resort day. Sad to end our trip on this note, as we leave tomorrow. Otherwise it was very nice. Still glad we came, but we won’t be back again until all of these guest requirements are gone.


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## wfjny

Arrived in Orlando today (driving). Went to Disney springs from about 3-7. I thought most people were wearing masks. A few were stopped and having a drink. Lots of and uniformed security.

Lost of people arriving as we were leaving, so maybe it gets worse.

Again, new world order. Used to showing up and the parking garage having just a few spaces open. There were hundreds Free on each floor. 

We head to AK tomorrow. Keeping our fingers crossed.


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## wfjny

wfjny said:


> Lots of and uniformed security.


Sorry phone edit. 
lots of deputies and uniformed Disney security.


----------



## asc

Sarahraegraham said:


> I will echo your experience because the same thing happened at Magic Kingdom tonight. Up until now, we’ve seen excellent guest compliance and cast member enforcement. Today we had at best 80% compliance,I even saw one guest with a SHEER face mask, and children at BOG walking all around the restaurant without masks on, within a couple feet of other people’s tables. I would absolutely avoid Saturdays if you’re coming. Just make it a resort day. Sad to end our trip on this note, as we leave tomorrow. Otherwise it was very nice. Still glad we came, but we won’t be back again until all of these guest requirements are gone.


Sounds like my concerns are confirmed. People can not be trusted to follow some pretty simple rules. And unless Disney has a one and ejected policy, people will ignore rules.

And peoples noses uncovered is actually the worst as the nose sheds virus more than the mouth. I'll pass until things improve.


----------



## luvflorida

My husband and I spent a wonderful day at Hollywood Studios yesterday!  We arrived at the entrance to the parking lot a little after 9 and waited in a short line of cars.  They started letting cars through at 9:15.  Parking attendants were leaving an empty parking space between each car, which was nice.  We had a short walk to the entrance of the park.  Temperature checks were done in walk-through tents, then it was on to security/bag check.  No lines at either place.  So much easier to be able to just walk through the metal detectors with your purse/backpack.  

Our main goal for the day was to get a spot in the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance.  We decided to head right over to Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad and try to secure a spot for RoR while waiting in line.  The wait time was at 25 minutes and the line seemed to move pretty quickly.  We got a little nervous that we'd be inside the building before 10am, and we weren't sure how cell phone reception would be inside.  It was kind of funny, because we were hoping the line would slow down and not move as fast as it was!  I mean, how often does anyone stand in a queue at Disney and actually hope the line moves slower instead of faster!  LOL!  We were seconds from entering the building when it turned 10am on our phones.  We both tried immediately to secure a boarding group and luckily, I got one for us on my phone.  I was so excited!  There was a cast member standing right at the entrance to the building and he was rooting for us, and everyone else in line trying to do the same thing!  We got boarding group 49 (300 minutes) and that was only a few seconds after 10am, so I'm guessing all boarding groups for that time slot were quickly filled.

It was our first time on MMRR and we really enjoyed it.  I thought it was a cute, fun ride!  After MMRR we headed over to Star Wars Land just to walk around a bit.  The line for the Millennium Falcon was at 30 minutes, so we decided to get in line.  Again, I think the actual wait time was shorter.  We've done MF several times in the past, but neither of us has ever gotten to be pilots.  Well, with the way Disney is handling safety/health and social distancing concerns, groups of guests are not put in close proximity to other groups of guests.  So, my husband and I had the whole spaceship to ourselves...and we both got to pilot the ship!  We had a blast, even though we weren't (okay, mostly me) very good at our jobs!  I forgot to mention it above, but we were also the only people in our train car on MMRR!

We walked out of Star Wars Land through the back exit and into Toy Story Land.  I was just amazed at how few people were in TSL.  The crowds were low throughout the entire park, but I felt it was especially noticeable in TSL, because I've never been in that area without it being packed with people.  Everything was walk-on, with just a short wait for Slinky Dog Dash.  Crazy!  We don't do coasters or spinning rides, but all I could think was how awesome it would be to have our grandkids and their parents there with us, because they would have LOVED going on everything without having to wait in lines!  Unfortunately, they don't live in Florida.  However, my husband and I love Toy Story Mania, so we went on that...twice.  

Next up, we went into Walt Disney Presents and watched the film about Walt's life story.  I've seen it many, many times, but it never gets old!  My husband took this opportunity, though, for a short nap.Earlier in the day, we secured a lunch reservation for 1:50 (only available time slot) at Mama Melrose's Italian Restaurant.  We kept checking frequently on our return time for RoR, which seemed on track for 2:45ish.  We took a stroll Sunset Blvd and Hollywood Blvd and browsed in a few shops.  We caught a couple of the small pop-up parades as we walked back over toward Star Wars.  I have to say, I really like the cavalcades they're doing now in the parks.  It's a nice surprise when they occur, and there's no waiting curbside in crowds of people.  I feel that the characters do an especially great job of interacting with guests, even though they're at a distance.  Many of the characters make it a point to pose and wave and acknowledge everyone watching along the parade route, especially the kids.

Speaking of kids, it is a weird feeling being in the parks and not seeing a lot of little ones around.  I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was, but after being at the MK and HS, I've realized that, along with very low crowds, it's the lack of strollers and the lack of hearing kids yelling, laughing, crying, etc. that really contributes to the atmosphere of the parks feeling strange, and at times, a bit unsettling!

We had an hour until our lunch reservation, but we decided to go over to the restaurant to see if it was possible to get in earlier than our 1:50 time slot.  It was indeed, so we were seated and had a delicious lunch!  It was very relaxing to sit in air-conditioning and take our masks off!

Ahhhhh....Rise of the Resistance!  I can't even...it was absolutely incredible!!!! It was our first time experiencing the attraction, and it was everything everyone says it is!  Our grandson and his dad got to experience RoR soon after it opened.  They are huge fans of Star Wars and they said it was the best Disney attraction they've ever done...ever!  Our grandson has been telling us for months- "Gramma and Grampa, you HAVE to go on Rise of the Resistance...you just HAVE to!"  Well, we finally did!

Lucky for us, our boarding group time of 300 minutes was very accurate, and we walked on right around 2:45.  We kept our fingers crossed throughout the day that the ride wouldn't break down or close before our boarding group was called.  Again, the social distancing was great and groups were kept together.  No crowding whatsoever.  And, my husband and I had a vehicle all to ourselves, so of course, we got front row seats!  There was a group of three that was in one of the rooms with us and then they were in their own vehicle.  We loved RoR!  I felt like I was actually in a Star Wars movie! When we got home later that night, we video chatted with our grandkids, and our grandson was so excited that we got to go on RoR!  He was thrilled that we liked it so much!

After RoR, we walked around the park a bit, then headed out.  We really enjoyed our day at Hollywood Studios!  As far as health/social distancing concerns, we felt perfectly safe in the park (as I did the day I went to MK) and feel that Disney is doing a fantastic job with temp checks, masks requirements, social distancing markers and cleaning/sanitizing.  Honestly, I feel safer at Disney than at my local Publix!  The pros to going now to WDW: low crowds, little to no waiting in lines, no need to feel rushed or hurried to get to the parks.  The one thing that is a bit disappointing is that a lot of the small food carts are closed, along with some of the quick service restaurants.  We like getting ice cream from Hollywood Scoops on Sunset Blvd, but it was closed.  No popcorn available anywhere, either.

Tomorrow, we're headed to Animal Kingdom, and looking forward to walking around and going on Kilamanjaro Safaris!


----------



## Budzooka

Sarahraegraham said:


> I will echo your experience because the same thing happened at Magic Kingdom tonight. Up until now, we’ve seen excellent guest compliance and cast member enforcement. Today we had at best 80% compliance,I even saw one guest with a SHEER face mask, and children at BOG walking all around the restaurant without masks on, within a couple feet of other people’s tables. I would absolutely avoid Saturdays if you’re coming. Just make it a resort day. Sad to end our trip on this note, as we leave tomorrow. Otherwise it was very nice. Still glad we came, but we won’t be back again until all of these guest requirements are gone.



We finished up out 3rd day at WDW and Sat was just like the two before, with excellent mask compliance and social distancing.  We spent the day at AK and didn’t have any problems at all. I can count the number of people that were not following the rules on one hand for the entire trip.


----------



## AnaHtDis

Still sitting in my cabin enjoying my coffee.  Some quick observations from yesterday at AK:
Characters on boats were exciting to see. It automatically puts a smile on your face.
Wait times were always wrong- FoP said 35 most of the day and we rode it 3 times 12-14 min waits.  Pretty much the same with all others.
Kali River was disappointing, because we were hot and looking forward to getting wet/soaked/sprinkled and got Nothing!!!!
Everest is amazing even after 4 times in a row (12 min avg. actual wait, posted 30-35)
People are a little anxious... we need to be patient/empathetic with others.  I ordered a 50 pack of blue disposable masks from amazon.  They kept breaking!!!! Take backups. My mask snapped in a line once and I got the look of death from the lady behind me.  I freaked out and hurriedly switched it out, but I was so nervous someone was going to blast my picture all over social media.  Check the quality of your masks before you go to avoid the evil glares.
AK was still magical for us.


----------



## yulilin3

I was also at AK and although the heat index went up into the triple digits mask compliance was pretty high. My DD and her BF were there since rope drop and by 4pm they had done everything, even the animation academy at Rafiki's Planet Watch, both trails and did FoP and Safari twice, it did seem a bit busier but that is to be expected people will start coming back.
For those that expect compliance at 100% or who expect Disney to police 100% of the time you are fooling yourselves and it's a good idea not to come right now if that will bother you, Not making excuses for anyone but Disney can't be everywhere and all CM are not cut out the same way in terms of being strict. The only real issue with mask compliance is when you are in a long queue or when you are in a ride that lasts more than 10 minutes with people in the same ride vehicle, both instances are rare


----------



## Chris Ehlers

yulilin3 said:


> I was also at AK and although the heat index went up into the triple digits mask compliance was pretty high. My DD and her BF were there since rope drop and by 4pm they had done everything, even the animation academy at Rafiki's Planet Watch, both trails and did FoP and Safari twice, it did seem a bit busier but that is to be expected people will start coming back.
> For those that expect compliance at 100% or who expect Disney to police 100% of the time you are fooling yourselves and it's a good idea not to come right now if that will bother you, Not making excuses for anyone but Disney can't be everywhere and all CM are not cut out the same way in terms of being strict. The only real issue with mask compliance is when you are in a long queue or when you are in a ride that lasts more than 10 minutes with people in the same ride vehicle, both instances are rare





yulilin3 said:


> I was also at AK and although the heat index went up into the triple digits mask compliance was pretty high. My DD and her BF were there since rope drop and by 4pm they had done everything, even the animation academy at Rafiki's Planet Watch, both trails and did FoP and Safari twice, it did seem a bit busier but that is to be expected people will start coming back.
> For those that expect compliance at 100% or who expect Disney to police 100% of the time you are fooling yourselves and it's a good idea not to come right now if that will bother you, Not making excuses for anyone but Disney can't be everywhere and all CM are not cut out the same way in terms of being strict. The only real issue with mask compliance is when you are in a long queue or when you are in a ride that lasts more than 10 minutes with people in the same ride vehicle, both instances are rare


Glad to hear the Animation Academy is open.  
will make my DD happy. She could spend most of her day there just drawing.


----------



## yulilin3

Chris Ehlers said:


> Glad to hear the Animation Academy is open.
> will make my DD happy. She could spend most of her day there just drawing.


they drew Dumbo, very cute. The petting zoo is not open but you can still see thee animals from behind the fence.


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## disneyfan150

yulilin3 said:


> I was also at AK and although the heat index went up into the triple digits mask compliance was pretty high. My DD and her BF were there since rope drop and by 4pm they had done everything*, even the animation academy at Rafiki's Planet Watch*, both trails and did FoP and Safari twice, it did seem a bit busier but that is to be expected people will start coming back.
> For those that expect compliance at 100% or who expect Disney to police 100% of the time you are fooling yourselves and it's a good idea not to come right now if that will bother you, Not making excuses for anyone but Disney can't be everywhere and all CM are not cut out the same way in terms of being strict. The only real issue with mask compliance is when you are in a long queue or when you are in a ride that lasts more than 10 minutes with people in the same ride vehicle, both instances are rare


I had forgotten about this activity now being at AK! I just love this activity. Did your DD give you any indication how crowded it was in the building? I really miss this academy at HS. Using the clipboard in your lap is just not the same.  But it is still fun to draw with a live person.


----------



## Sarahraegraham

Budzooka said:


> We finished up out 3rd day at WDW and Sat was just like the two before, with excellent mask compliance and social distancing.  We spent the day at AK and didn’t have any problems at all. I can count the number of people that were not following the rules on one hand for the entire trip.



Yeah, so much of the experience depends on the individual guests we come in contact with. If we hadn’t gone to MK in the evening yesterday, we would have said our entire trip was excellent as far as compliance. It was Saturday evening that was the problem. We even had a line cutting attempt, which I have never personally experienced before.

Another thing was parents with multiple kids letting them get away with stuff in line that you expect under normal circumstances but which aren’t ok right now. If a parent can’t stop their child from running amok and not respecting other people’s spaces then they shouldn’t bring them to WDW *right now*. It’s a different time that requires different behavior. Kids don’t always get it, but they have to now in order for it to be safe.


----------



## DisneyMommy77

We went back to HS yesterday and it felt so much better than when we went on opening day of HS.

 I previously mentioned how much more crowded HS felt than MK and AK, but yesterday it felt much better and much easier to physical distance while waking around. It was such a great day!

How often can you ride Slinky Dog 3 times, Tower of Terror 4 times, Smugglers run 2 times, Toy Story Mania 3 times, Runaway Railway 2 times, and Rise  of the Resistance all still have time for more? There were no lines!
Hopefully my kids won’t get used to this and get mad when things are back to normal and we can’t do so much in a day!!

We got back-up boarding group 67 for ROTR but we were called at 5:22pm to ride! 

Our Sci-Fi Dinner wasn’t the best we had there, but I think it’s because I didn’t stick to my usual. 

From what I see, 99% of people still continue to follow the rules and the biggest area I see where people are pulling down their masks are when in line and CMs are not near. I don’t really see anyone completely removing them, but this is when I notice some people slipping them down under nose the most. 

They play a message over the park speakers throughout the day reminding everyone to follow the rules and they even added the part about remaining stationary while eating and drinking. They play it so often that my 6 year old has memorized it! 

If you still go to the grocery store right now you will definitely will feel safe at Disney. They are doing such a great job!


----------



## monkeydawn

cdobert said:


> We were onsite from the 11th to the 21st.  We had a great, relaxed trip.  Coming from Colorado we normally are up early to rope drop - this time we slept in every day. We saw a few people breaking the mask rules in the parks, saw more at the airports.  Tested negative for Covid yesterday.  If we can get a hotel discount we will be back in the fall.



That's great that you had one negative test.  Please remember that anything you picked up on this trip possibly might not be detectable until as late as 8/5.  Please do not take extra risks now that you have had one negative test, act with the caution you would if you hadnt had a negative test.


----------



## nancipants

I also went to Epcot again yesterday and I don’t think it was much different than last week. It felt more crowded but it was still super easy to avoid people. Most everyone I saw was eating while stationary.


----------



## davidl81

DCLMP said:


> I'm staying at WL so I shouldn't be seeing too many people on my runs. Running outdoors this time of year is difficult enough in the heat and humidity a mask would just add to the risk.  I also plan on using the gym. I'll report back what I learn.


I decided not to run since I’m staying at BWV and there are always a decent number of people on the running areas.  I am very pro mask, but in this heat wearing a mask while running at a decent pace is not a great idea.  I did go to the gym several times and there are signs that say mask are required, but it was maybe 75/25 with mask on at the gym.  I wore mine, but most of the time no one was in the gym with me and I would pull it down when I was doing something intense and then put it back up once I was done.  The times others were in the gym I just kept it on.


----------



## runjulesrun

Went to Epcot yesterday and saw most everyone wearing masks properly. A cast member even reminded my husband to put his mask on when he forgot and got up to throw garbage away right next to us. It was a little more crowded than I was expecting but rides were essentially walk-on.

HS today was crazy. We got In line for the Skyliner at 8:50am and were sweating bullets (literally and figuratively) trying to get in the park in time. We swiped our Magic Bands at 9:58 because we got lucky and got into a quick moving line to get in. It was a complete zoo. I was shaking (nerves? Adrenaline?) by the time 10am came. We got boarding group 37. It was so crowded we left and went for a swim. Lines and actual wait times are very long. Again, it seems people are masking correctly and are distancing properly but there are far more people than I thought there would be.


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## yulilin3

The real feel it's 104 so another very hot day


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## koquinn

yulilin3 said:


> The real feel it's 104 so another very hot day


Oddly enough it's about the same here in Wisconsin - I'm hoping it's mother nature's way of prepping us!


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

Are all of the parks opening earlier than listed time? 
I've been away from the boards for a bit, just wondering which parks I should hit earlier than posted next week.


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## bsmcneil

runjulesrun said:


> We got In line for the Skyliner at 8:50am and were sweating bullets (literally and figuratively) trying to get in the park in time.


How?! That sounds dangerous!


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## soniam

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> Are all of the parks opening earlier than listed time?
> I've been away from the boards for a bit, just wondering which parks I should hit earlier than posted next week.



Pretty much all of them, but how early depends. DHS is the most erratic.


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## GADisneyDad14

This kind of thing is all fine and good for now until Pooh slips and ends up in the water.... but that aside, this has to be one of the best interim character setups in any of the parks (IMO).  My kids would have never wanted to meet Pooh in a regular meet and greet format, but they sat there and watched for 5 minutes when we were there earlier this month.  Super cute and kudos to Epcot managers for thinking outside the box.



__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1287458051713359877


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## CarolynFH

Reports of Pooh chasing butterflies in Epcot, characters playing music on barges at AK, etc., reminds me of our first few visits in the mid-90s. You’d turn a corner, and there would be someone walking along or interacting with guests. You never knew who you’d see - it was more magical than standing in line inside a building, for sure! I hope they continue something like this in future, even though it means forgoing autographs. Protects guests and characters from transmission of illnesses (not to mention characters from being groped or accused of groping).


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## davidl81

So I’m on our flight back after 6 days in the parks and here are my thoughts.
Social distancing was better than anything you could reasonably expect.  And mask compliance was very high.  Don’t get me wrong if you are trying to find an issue you can find one, but overall my wife and I were beyond pleased with that aspect.

The parks themselves are running I’d guess 20% capacity. So even with the rides not at full capacity wait times are so low. The app does not do justice to how quick the lines are. 
Food choices are limited.  I’d guess 60% of restaurants are open.  And everything has a slightly limited menu.  Not a huge deal, but it should be brought up.
I would say that there is less “magic” then normal, but that being said I would go back next week if I could.  For people who have been a bunch it’s so nice just to get to ride attractions with out having to plan fast passes like crazy and let that dictate your entire trip.  We had a great time and that’s with 90+ deg temps and wearing a mask while pushing a stroller.


----------



## The Expert

runjulesrun said:


> HS today was crazy. We got In line for the Skyliner at 8:50am and were sweating bullets (literally and figuratively) trying to get in the park in time. We swiped our Magic Bands at 9:58 because we got lucky and got into a quick moving line to get in. It was a complete zoo. I was shaking (nerves? Adrenaline?) by the time 10am came. We got boarding group 37. It was so crowded we left and went for a swim. Lines and actual wait times are very long. Again, it seems people are masking correctly and are distancing properly but there are far more people than I thought there would be.



I was at Studios today too, and it was nuts. We drove from Kidani. Left the resort at 9:20 and we were in the temp check line at 10. It let me log on for a boarding group even though we weren't tapped in yet, but we missed it. We did get backup group 68 at the 2pm window, but the ride has been down many times today and we have Cali Grill at 7. We won't get on.

The park was definitely busy. Not typical July but not unlike what we see in October. Good mask compliance even in the heat, though.


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## dachsie

So for those of you staying at a resort and using the bus system - how early do the busses get you to the parks?


----------



## IluvMGM

GADisneyDad14 said:


> This kind of thing is all fine and good for now until Pooh slips and ends up in the water.... but that aside, this has to be one of the best interim character setups in any of the parks (IMO).  My kids would have never wanted to meet Pooh in a regular meet and greet format, but they sat there and watched for 5 minutes when we were there earlier this month.  Super cute and kudos to Epcot managers for thinking outside the box.
> 
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1287458051713359877



I hope we see this when we go. I raise butterflies, I almost want to bring some for poor Winnie to catch since he has no luck. LOL


----------



## davidl81

I


dachsie said:


> So for those of you staying at a resort and using the bus system - how early do the busses get you to the parks?


I know this sounds crazy but with the exception of DHS there is no need to get to the park super early.  Seems like pick ups start 1 hour before park opening, so depending on where you are and where you are going you can get to the parks 30 mins before opening.  But honestly there is no reason to rush.  I do not think I can stress how low the wait time are.  We got to DHS yesterday at noon and rode every ride in the park by 7 and that’s with a meal at brown derby and lunch.  The waits are crazy low.  Walk on TOT, walk on RNRC, 5 min wait TSM.  10 mins maybe for Slinkly dog.  It will honestly mess you up about going at a different time.


----------



## mu51c10rd

yulilin3 said:


> Anyone can confirm the trams are not running?


I was there a week ago. There were no trams running at any park.  However,  they were only using the Preferred lot.


----------



## kymickeyfan717

scrappinginontario said:


> For anyone staying on property, did you notice if the daily security checks are still being done?  If so, do they just open the door to the room or do they actually enter the room?  Hoping they just look inside.



I’m at SSR for a couple days for a resort only stay.  Came back to the room right before it looked like it was going to storm.  Heard housekeeping making their rounds for security check.   I opened the door when they got to mine and she asked when was a good time to come back.  I was like you can come in and get the trash.  She said I could not be in the room so I volunteered to wait in the hallway - I was even willing to wear my mask in the room.  Apparently I had to wait 15 mins before I could come back after she left.  I couldn’t give her a time when I wouldn’t be in the room as I didn’t know when rain was hitting or ending.  She said she would have to call her manager.  5 mins later phone rings - I had to be out for them to get trash and they wanted a time.   I have not seen or heard that mentioned anywhere.  I was well aware that security checks were still happening- just not that I had to leave room for 15 mins so they could do them


----------



## GADisneyDad14

kymickeyfan717 said:


> I’m at SSR for a couple days for a resort only stay.  Came back to the room right before it looked like it was going to storm.  Heard housekeeping making their rounds for security check.   I opened the door when they got to mine and she asked when was a good time to come back.  I was like you can come in and get the trash.  She said I could not be in the room so I volunteered to wait in the hallway - I was even willing to wear my mask in the room.  Apparently I had to wait 15 mins before I could come back after she left.  I couldn’t give her a time when I wouldn’t be in the room as I didn’t know when rain was hitting or ending.  She said she would have to call her manager.  5 mins later phone rings - I had to be out for them to get trash and they wanted a time.   I have not seen or heard that mentioned anywhere.  I was well aware that security checks were still happening- just not that I had to leave room for 15 mins so they could do them



I think this is one of those situations that may vary by the CM/situation in question.  I had several encounters with Mousekeeping/trash/security checks at BLT and Poly, some where I stepped outside for a bit (with no 15 min rule), some I sat on the balcony.  Like a lot of Disney resort things, I suspect YMMV (as your situation proves).


----------



## OKWFan88

When I was at Disney for 11 days on 7/12/20 - 7/23/20, I had a DVC split stay at AKL for three nights, Poly one night and OKW twice, one for three days and other for four days ... Housekeeping came every day for both times we were at OKW for trash. They wouldn't come in, so I brought it to them. Never saw trash taken during the AKL or Poly stays. Never encountered a security room check while we were there.


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## DWillowBay

kymickeyfan717 said:


> I’m at SSR for a couple days for a resort only stay.  Came back to the room right before it looked like it was going to storm.  Heard housekeeping making their rounds for security check.   I opened the door when they got to mine and she asked when was a good time to come back.  I was like you can come in and get the trash.  She said I could not be in the room so I volunteered to wait in the hallway - I was even willing to wear my mask in the room.  Apparently I had to wait 15 mins before I could come back after she left.  I couldn’t give her a time when I wouldn’t be in the room as I didn’t know when rain was hitting or ending.  She said she would have to call her manager.  5 mins later phone rings - I had to be out for them to get trash and they wanted a time.   I have not seen or heard that mentioned anywhere.  I was well aware that security checks were still happening- just not that I had to leave room for 15 mins so they could do them


You're right.  That's new, at least in my experience.   I can see, with the impending rain, why it would be hard to give a precise time.   Did they 'get' that?    ???   I might talk with a housekeeping manager directly, that I call, not who calls me.   I don't know that as a policy.   Front desk might be a good Plan B.   Anyway, by now the rain probably stopped and you're off having fun and I'm wishing I was you!   Enjoy!


----------



## crazymomof4

I think I may send a nicely worded email to Guest Services telling them that I have been reading *mixed* reports about mask compliance and CM enforcement.  I have thusfar kept our plans for Sept trip based on my expectations that WDW will be strictly enforcing masks.  My request of WDW, in the email, will be that they KEEP strongly encouraging their CMs to not become lax and frustrated. Guests in Sept deserve the same level of enforcement as guests had the first week after opening. I'm *only* going because my comfort level is based on WDW policy. I will feel safe if a very high % of guests I'm around comply with WDW mask policy. If I see 50% compliance I'm not going to feel safe. 

Thanks to all who are taking the time to report what their experiences have been.  It is really helpful.


----------



## koquinn

crazymomof4 said:


> I think I may send a nicely worded email to Guest Services telling them that I have been reading *mixed* reports about mask compliance and CM enforcement.  I have thusfar kept our plans for Sept trip based on my expectations that WDW will be strictly enforcing masks.  My request of WDW, in the email, will be that they KEEP strongly encouraging their CMs to not become lax and frustrated. Guests in Sept deserve the same level of enforcement as guests had the first week after opening. I'm *only* going because my comfort level is based on WDW policy. I will feel safe if a very high % of guests I'm around comply with WDW mask policy. If I see 50% compliance I'm not going to feel safe.
> 
> Thanks to all who are taking the time to report what their experiences have been.  It is really helpful.


I totally agree. I just keep hoping things stay pretty much the same (crowds, mask compliance) for our 8/7 trip.  Holding my breath a little!!


----------



## runjulesrun

crazymomof4 said:


> I think I may send a nicely worded email to Guest Services telling them that I have been reading *mixed* reports about mask compliance and CM enforcement.  I have thusfar kept our plans for Sept trip based on my expectations that WDW will be strictly enforcing masks.  My request of WDW, in the email, will be that they KEEP strongly encouraging their CMs to not become lax and frustrated. Guests in Sept deserve the same level of enforcement as guests had the first week after opening. I'm *only* going because my comfort level is based on WDW policy. I will feel safe if a very high % of guests I'm around comply with WDW mask policy. If I see 50% compliance I'm not going to feel safe.
> 
> Thanks to all who are taking the time to report what their experiences have been.  It is really helpful.


We haven’t been to all the parks yet but at Epcot and at HS, masks were on everyone. I really expected worse than what we have seen. My husband commented today that he couldn’t imagine catching anything at a Disney the way the first 2 days have gone.


----------



## crazymomof4

runjulesrun said:


> We haven’t been to all the parks yet but at Epcot and at HS, masks were on everyone. I really expected worse than what we have seen. My husband commented today that he couldn’t imagine catching anything at a Disney the way the first 2 days have gone.


Thats really good to hear!  The more posts like your's I read the better I feel.   I don't think there's anything wrong with expecting WDW to enforce its own policy. Guests who are compliant shouldn't have to feel at risk bc of guests who are breaking the rules set forth by the owners of the property they are on.


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## AnaHtDis

Just got back from a 4 day stay. Mask compliance was very good at the parks, in my opinion. I will say you have to be flexible in some situations..  today it was 104 degrees standing outside (45 minutes,no shade) in line for MMRR at HS. I found it necessary to carefully place a water bottle under my mask to drink water (socially distanced).  Another time (i mentioned in a previous post) my blue disposable mask snapped and I quickly pulled another one out and changed it (while I got an evil glare from the lady behind me). I do not think you could/should blame disney for those examples of “non-compliance”.  People have to be reasonable and realistic (100%) is impossible.  If you are adamant about complete compliance at all times, then I would not go.  AND stay away from the resort pools because no one has a mask around or in the pool.


----------



## Laura+4

Longtime lurker here - thought I’d give our first day impressions. We’re a family of 7 - kids are 16, 14, 12, 3 next week, and 10 months. We rented points for a spring break stay, moved it to July, and after much deliberation, decided to go through with our visit. We are staying at BLT, but came in a day early (we were 7 of the 18 people on our Southwest flight) and stayed at the Hilton Bonnet Creek last night. The Hilton wasn’t great. The rooms were loud and, while there was good mask compliance in the hotel, the lazy river was crowded and many people had had way too much to drink.
We went to the MK today around 11:30 (after baby’s morning nap) and had a great day. I hoped to have the littles nap at BLT, but our room wasn’t ready until after 5. We loved the low crowds and thought most (not all) people were very responsible and respectful of the guidelines. We LOVED the cavalcades. My almost 3-yr-old was thrilled - the characters made great eye contact with her and blew kisses. We ate lunch at sleepy hollow and dinner at contempo cafe. Both good. We’re looking forward to HS tomorrow (and probably a good bit of time at the pool).
A note about my toddler and wearing a mask - she has been working on wearing a mask for months. Initially she wouldn’t even put one on her face. We tried lots of different types and figured out the ones that tie at the back of her head work best for her. I secure them with a bow. (Having a well-fitted mask is key.) We let her pick out some from Etsy and had her practice at our (very hot) zoo and botanical garden in the last few weeks. We had no problem at all today. She knows wearing a mask is non-negotiable and she’ll happily do it to get to go to Disney.


----------



## monroe18

We are staying at Pop and got in line for Skyliner at 8:20. The line was out the bridge and around the corner down towards the 50s  Based on what I had read I thought they may open up prior to 9 but they didn’t. By 9 the line was all the way down in the 50s section. We got on a few minutes after 9 and was through turnstiles at HS around 9:30ish. 
HS was very busy today, well busier than I expected. Mask compliance was very good everywhere as was physical distancing in the lines.it definitely started clearing out after the rain cam through which was nice. That was more of the crowd level I was expecting.


----------



## Dismrk155

monroe18 said:


> We are staying at Pop and got in line for Skyliner at 8:20. The line was out the bridge and around the corner down towards the 50s  Based on what I had read I thought they may open up prior to 9 but they didn’t. By 9 the line was all the way down in the 50s section. We got on a few minutes after 9 and was through turnstiles at HS around 9:30ish.
> HS was very busy today, well busier than I expected. Mask compliance was very good everywhere as was physical distancing in the lines.it definitely started clearing out after the rain cam through which was nice. That was more of the crowd level I was expecting.


How is the food at pop?


----------



## Dismrk155

AnaHtDis said:


> Just got back from a 4 day stay. Mask compliance was very good at the parks, in my opinion. I will say you have to be flexible in some situations..  today it was 104 degrees standing outside (45 minutes,no shade) in line for MMRR at HS. I found it necessary to carefully place a water bottle under my mask to drink water (socially distanced).  Another time (i mentioned in a previous post) my blue disposable mask snapped and I quickly pulled another one out and changed it (while I got an evil glare from the lady behind me). I do not think you could/should blame disney for those examples of “non-compliance”.  People have to be reasonable and realistic (100%) is impossible.  If you are adamant about complete compliance at all times, then I would not go.  AND stay away from the resort pools because no one has a mask around or in the pool.


Heat not an issue with masks?


----------



## crazymomof4

Laura+4 said:


> Longtime lurker here - thought I’d give our first day impressions. We’re a family of 7 - kids are 16, 14, 12, 3 next week, and 10 months. We rented points for a spring break stay, moved it to July, and after much deliberation, decided to go through with our visit. We are staying at BLT, but came in a day early (we were 7 of the 18 people on our Southwest flight) and stayed at the Hilton Bonnet Creek last night. The Hilton wasn’t great. The rooms were loud and, while there was good mask compliance in the hotel, the lazy river was crowded and many people had had way too much to drink.
> We went to the MK today around 11:30 (after baby’s morning nap) and had a great day. I hoped to have the littles nap at BLT, but our room wasn’t ready until after 5. We loved the low crowds and thought most (not all) people were very responsible and respectful of the guidelines. We LOVED the cavalcades. My almost 3-yr-old was thrilled - the characters made great eye contact with her and blew kisses. We ate lunch at sleepy hollow and dinner at contempo cafe. Both good. We’re looking forward to HS tomorrow (and probably a good bit of time at the pool).
> A note about my toddler and wearing a mask - she has been working on wearing a mask for months. Initially she wouldn’t even put one on her face. We tried lots of different types and figured out the ones that tie at the back of her head work best for her. I secure them with a bow. (Having a well-fitted mask is key.) We let her pick out some from Etsy and had her practice at our (very hot) zoo and botanical garden in the last few weeks. We had no problem at all today. She knows wearing a mask is non-negotiable and she’ll happily do it to get to go to Disney.


Good for you, mom! Getting a less than 3 yr old to wear a mask is not an easy thing but seems like you nailed it!
Thanks for the report.
Enjoy the rest of your vacation.


----------



## AnaHtDis

I live in Florida, but today the heat bothered me more than the mask.  I think you get used to the mask and kind of forget it is there (similar to sunglasses). The lines outside at HS today seemed hotter than ever. I think we had more air conditioning breaks at MK and AK.  My advice would be to break up the outside queue lines.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

The wife and I went to Hollywood Studios today.  We arrived at the parking booths at 9:15, and there was quite a backup.  We got through at about 9:35.  Even though there were tons of people, we got through temperature check, bag check, and the entrance very quickly.  We found a shady place to sit and waited until 10 to try for a RotR boarding group.  Much to my surprise, we got group 1!  We went straight to the ride and were probably one of the first 5 or so groups on.  We loved how the cast members stayed in character with all of the virus stuff.  One First Order guard suggested that we sanitize our hands, and as we did so he said now he was definitely going to lock us up because it looked like we were planning something evil (rubbing our hands together).

Mask compliance was much better than the absolutely terrible situation at Epcot yesterday.  Still way too many jerks with their masks off or below their noses, but probably only 1/3 as many as at Epcot yesterday.  Hollywood Studios was extremely crowded compared to the other 3 parks, and at times it was difficult to social distance.  I had to tell a few people to get away from us after they get way too close to us, included one pair of ladies that sat right next to me on a bench.  I also had to tell a few people that were right next to us in line to wear their masks.  They would typically whisper to each other right after I did it, clearly talking about me.  Yeah, I'm the jerk in that situation. Whatever.

We actually had a pretty great day.  We rode RotR, Minnie & Mickey's Runaway Railway 3 times, Smuggler's Run 3 times, and everything else once.

At this point, I'd probably still be okay visiting every park except Epcot.  We're done at Epcot until things change one way or another.  In terms of feeling safe at the parks, I'd rate it Animal Kingdom -> Magic Kingdom ---> Hollywood Studios -------> Epcot.


----------



## davidl81

I think mask compliance is well above what I expected especially given the temperatures.  That being said it is not 100%, and if only 100% is going to make you feel comfort able then now is not the time to go.  There is only so much the CMs can do and there will always be a few people who do not fully comply.  There is a certain level of risk in going to WDW right now, I think they have done the best they can to lower that risk, but there are still 1000s of people around you.  Just kinda being blunt, if you are highly concerned about Covid then I don’t know if it’s the right move.


----------



## yulilin3

Dismrk155 said:


> Heat not an issue with masks?


Heat is an issue which is why you should plan on taking more breaks to drink and cool down.  To be honest though you get used to the mask fairly quickly if it's a comfortable one for you.  Just remember to drink water


----------



## Alice Sr.

Laura+4 said:


> Longtime lurker here - thought I’d give our first day impressions. We’re a family of 7 - kids are 16, 14, 12, 3 next week, and 10 months. We rented points for a spring break stay, moved it to July, and after much deliberation, decided to go through with our visit. We are staying at BLT, but came in a day early (we were 7 of the 18 people on our Southwest flight) and stayed at the Hilton Bonnet Creek last night. The Hilton wasn’t great. The rooms were loud and, while there was good mask compliance in the hotel, the lazy river was crowded and many people had had way too much to drink.
> We went to the MK today around 11:30 (after baby’s morning nap) and had a great day. I hoped to have the littles nap at BLT, but our room wasn’t ready until after 5. We loved the low crowds and thought most (not all) people were very responsible and respectful of the guidelines. We LOVED the cavalcades. My almost 3-yr-old was thrilled - the characters made great eye contact with her and blew kisses. We ate lunch at sleepy hollow and dinner at contempo cafe. Both good. We’re looking forward to HS tomorrow (and probably a good bit of time at the pool).
> A note about my toddler and wearing a mask - she has been working on wearing a mask for months. Initially she wouldn’t even put one on her face. We tried lots of different types and figured out the ones that tie at the back of her head work best for her. I secure them with a bow. (Having a well-fitted mask is key.) We let her pick out some from Etsy and had her practice at our (very hot) zoo and botanical garden in the last few weeks. We had no problem at all today. She knows wearing a mask is non-negotiable and she’ll happily do it to get to go to Disney.


We are going in Oct with a then 3 and 1 yr old.  We started practicing yesterday, not bad for a 1st go at it but it was with the disposable version. I bought a ventilated (small fan) mask for her thinking if she got hot it would be harder for her to comply. That was a definitive no go. If you could share the site you got your 3 yr old's mask that would be much appreciated.  Might have to PM me if you are not allowed to post the link.  Thanks


----------



## Budzooka

Dismrk155 said:


> Heat not an issue with masks?



Not anything close to what I expected. We packed extra masks to change throughout each day and we only changed twice in 4 days. Once when it got wet from the rain and another time when the string broke.  I won’t go so far as to say I forgot I had it on, but was not as problematic as I thought it would be.


----------



## mzelent

Chisoxcollector said:


> The wife and I went to Hollywood Studios today.  We arrived at the parking booths at 9:15, and there was quite a backup.  We got through at about 9:35.  Even though there were tons of people, we got through temperature check, bag check, and the entrance very quickly.  We found a shady place to sit and waited until 10 to try for a RotR boarding group.  Much to my surprise, we got group 1!  We went straight to the ride and were probably one of the first 5 or so groups on.  We loved how the cast members stayed in character with all of the virus stuff.  One First Order guard suggested that we sanitize our hands, and as we did so he said now he was definitely going to lock us up because it looked like we were planning something evil (rubbing our hands together).
> 
> Mask compliance was much better than the absolutely terrible situation at Epcot yesterday.  Still way too many jerks with their masks off or below their noses, but probably only 1/3 as many as at Epcot yesterday.  Hollywood Studios was extremely crowded compared to the other 3 parks, and at times it was difficult to social distance.  I had to tell a few people to get away from us after they get way too close to us, included one pair of ladies that sat right next to me on a bench.  I also had to tell a few people that were right next to us in line to wear their masks.  They would typically whisper to each other right after I did it, clearly talking about me.  Yeah, I'm the jerk in that situation. Whatever.
> 
> We actually had a pretty great day.  We rode RotR, Minnie & Mickey's Runaway Railway 3 times, Smuggler's Run 3 times, and everything else once.
> 
> At this point, I'd probably still be okay visiting every park except Epcot.  We're done at Epcot until things change one way or another.  In terms of feeling safe at the parks, I'd rate it Animal Kingdom -> Magic Kingdom ---> Hollywood Studios -------> Epcot.


Hi, thank you for sharing! We're supposed to leave on Sunday and have two days planned in Hollywood Studios. Anything you would have done differently re safety measures? We have DH, DW and 10 year old daughter. Driving from N.C. so no plane - split stay at Pop Century and Saratoga Springs.


Chisoxcollector said:


> The wife and I went to Hollywood Studios today.  We arrived at the parking booths at 9:15, and there was quite a backup.  We got through at about 9:35.  Even though there were tons of people, we got through temperature check, bag check, and the entrance very quickly.  We found a shady place to sit and waited until 10 to try for a RotR boarding group.  Much to my surprise, we got group 1!  We went straight to the ride and were probably one of the first 5 or so groups on.  We loved how the cast members stayed in character with all of the virus stuff.  One First Order guard suggested that we sanitize our hands, and as we did so he said now he was definitely going to lock us up because it looked like we were planning something evil (rubbing our hands together).
> 
> Mask compliance was much better than the absolutely terrible situation at Epcot yesterday.  Still way too many jerks with their masks off or below their noses, but probably only 1/3 as many as at Epcot yesterday.  Hollywood Studios was extremely crowded compared to the other 3 parks, and at times it was difficult to social distance.  I had to tell a few people to get away from us after they get way too close to us, included one pair of ladies that sat right next to me on a bench.  I also had to tell a few people that were right next to us in line to wear their masks.  They would typically whisper to each other right after I did it, clearly talking about me.  Yeah, I'm the jerk in that situation. Whatever.
> 
> We actually had a pretty great day.  We rode RotR, Minnie & Mickey's Runaway Railway 3 times, Smuggler's Run 3 times, and everything else once.
> 
> At this point, I'd probably still be okay visiting every park except Epcot.  We're done at Epcot until things change one way or another.  In terms of feeling safe at the parks, I'd rate it Animal Kingdom -> Magic Kingdom ---> Hollywood Studios -------> Epcot.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

mzelent said:


> Hi, thank you for sharing! We're supposed to leave on Sunday and have two days planned in Hollywood Studios. Anything you would have done differently re safety measures? We have DH, DW and 10 year old daughter. Driving from N.C. so no plane - split stay at Pop Century and Saratoga Springs.



 As long as you're cognizant of your surroundings, do what you can to avoid the people not wearing masks,  and speak up if put in an unsafe, inescapable situation, you'll do fine.   It sounds like you'll be going on weekdays, so maybe it will be slightly less crowded?

Some general tips.  Make sure to mobile order for any quick service meals you may have.  Also, they will not allow you into the building to pick up your order until you get the notification that your order is ready for pickup.  Lots of people will cluster at the entrance of the restaurant, not observing any kind of social distancing.  I'd hang back out of the way until you get your notification.  

The food is lacking, but we found Pizzerizzo to be a great place to grab a cold beverage, and relax in the AC.  They have tons of seating, and even on a "busy" Sunday everybody was spread out nicely.  Both floors were open.  

If you are planning on trying for the 10am RotR boarding groups, I'd recommend arriving at the park by 9:30.  That should give you time to get inside well before 10.  If you want to be near the front of the line for a headliner attraction, especially the new Mickey and Minnie ride, you'll need to get there considerably earlier.

I'm happy to answer any questions about Hollywood Studios specifically, since it's still so fresh in my mind.  We really did have a great time.  Getting boarding group 1 for RotR really got the day off to a good start.


----------



## koquinn

Chisoxcollector said:


> If you are planning on trying for the 10am RotR boarding groups, I'd recommend arriving at the park by 9:30.  That should give you time to get inside well before 10.  If you want to be near the front of the line for a headliner attraction, especially the new Mickey and Minnie ride, you'll need to get there considerably earlier.


What time do you recommend getting to HS?  I think we're committed to taking an Uber instead of the Skyliner from Pop - seems too unreliable.  But I get the impression if we get there too early we'll be turned away.  I'd rather not circle around with an Uber driver if we don't have to!


----------



## AnaHtDis

We drove our own car yesterday and got there at 9:00. A nice police officer told us we had to drive around and get there closer to 9:15.  We drove around and got there at 9:17.  There were about 8 cars in front of each entrance lined up.  They started letting us in at that point. Parked, walked right through security, and was at MMRR line by 9:30. It was comical to see everyone standing in line with their phones ready to go close to 10:00 am.  My hands were shaking so bad, but was able to get BG 24 at 10 am.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

koquinn said:


> What time do you recommend getting to HS?  I think we're committed to taking an Uber instead of the Skyliner from Pop - seems too unreliable.  But I get the impression if we get there too early we'll be turned away.  I'd rather not circle around with an Uber driver if we don't have to!


As @AnaHtDis mentioned, if you want to get in line for a headliner, I'd plan on getting to the parking booths by 9:10 - 9:15.  It's all about timing, as one minute could be the difference between being told to leave versus being the first car in line.

You could arrive a few minutes later if you only care about getting a RotR boarding group.  But not much later, as you don't want to risk getting into the park at 10:01 or something.


----------



## constanze

We just got back after spending 8 magical days — anyone with questions, please feel free to ask. We stayed at the Riviera. Became a lover of the Skyliner— took it all three mornings to Hollywood studios and our two days to Epcot. For HS— we would take it at 9:15am be in the park by 9:35 am, walked on MMRR 2 mornings and slink one morning all before 10 and was able to secure a boarding group all three mornings for rise.—


----------



## farleyville

We are staying at Caribbean Beach this weekend... What time does the Skyliner start operating to HS?


----------



## Nick6300

would you guys agree with someone who mentioned to use disposable masks vs. cloth ones at the parks since they're lighter/less warm? We'd be taking maybe 2 of those each/day and take a couple reuseable ones in case those break/rained on.


----------



## constanze

Nick6300 said:


> would you guys agree with someone who mentioned to use disposable masks vs. cloth ones at the parks since they're lighter/less warm? We'd be taking maybe 2 of those each/day and take a couple reuseable ones in case those break/rained on.


The disposable ones for us were definitely the way to go!

ETA—before the trip — I was really worried about wearing the masks all the time in the heat— but you really do get use to wearing them. And you can get free ice water at any quick counter service and go off to the side  and sit anywhere and with the super low crowds it’s super easy to physically distance and hydrate


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

What time is HS opening? We hope to go straight to MMRR walking over from BCV next week.


----------



## AnaHtDis

Disposable ones feel better, imo.  But beware...open your pack and make sure they are good. I ordered a 50 pack and they kept snapping.  I was trying to be super careful and still had issues. I think I got a bad batch. Just pull strings before and take backups.


----------



## constanze

farleyville said:


> We are staying at Caribbean Beach this weekend... What time does the Skyliner start operating to HS?


9 am — when we first arrived it was 9:30, but it was posted 9am last we checked — but even when it was posted 9:30— it started early—- we found if we were always there at 9:15 (at the Riviera)— we were good to go— of course you’re even closer being at the Caribbean


----------



## constanze

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> What time is HS opening? We hope to go straight to MMRR walking over from BCV next week.


They usually start letting folks on MMRR around that 9:40 time— we were unusually the first party or saw the first party board— at least the days we were there

ETA—-they let you in the line earlier tho and hold you


----------



## Surr

Chisoxcollector said:


> At this point, I'd probably still be okay visiting every park except Epcot.  We're done at Epcot until things change one way or another.  In terms of feeling safe at the parks, I'd rate it Animal Kingdom -> Magic Kingdom ---> Hollywood Studios -------> Epcot.



That's interesting!  We just got back Friday, and I haven't had a chance to write up my report yet.  We would have ranked Epcot the best, followed by AK, MK, HS, and only if you are a risk-taker go to DS.  At Epcot we easily managed physical distancing even though we did see a few people walking around masks down while drinking, this was before they clarified the rule that you had to be stationary.  Epcot (World Showcase specifically) was the only park I saw cast members walking around whose sole purpose was to enforce the rules.


----------



## DanielNYC

Chisoxcollector said:


> Getting boarding group 1 for RotR really got the day off to a good start.


Great write up.  Other than making sure that you're ready to go right at 10:00AM, any other suggestions/tips on getting a boarding group?  Did you have to refresh a bunch of times in order to get the "join" button?  I wish I could see exactly what it's going to look like so I don't screw it up!


----------



## FinallyFL

Around 9:15 this morning the line for the Skyliner at the IG at Epcot was running out onto the bridge to the Boardwalk. I was back in my room at 9:30 so I don't know how quickly the line cleared.  Last Thursday, I walked from the BWV; I left my room at 9:15 and was sitting by RNR at 9:40.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

DanielNYC said:


> Great write up.  Other than making sure that you're ready to go right at 10:00AM, any other suggestions/tips on getting a boarding group?  Did you have to refresh a bunch of times in order to get the "join" button?  I wish I could see exactly what it's going to look like so I don't screw it up!



I closed my app and reopened it at 9:59am.  I had my finger hovering over the join button, and the second the clock on my phone changed to 10am I clicked Join.  I just followed the prompts from there.  I didn't have to refresh, and my party showed up correctly.  Everything went very quickly, each screen loading almost instantly.


----------



## DanielNYC

Chisoxcollector said:


> I closed my app and reopened it at 9:59am.  I had my finger hovering over the join button, and the second the clock on my phone changed to 10am I clicked Join.  I just followed the prompts from there.  I didn't have to refresh, and my party showed up correctly.  Everything went very quickly, each screen loading almost instantly.


Thank you!  Just to be clear, you had to add the members of your party one by one, right?  It doesn't just automatically populate the request to join with your party.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

Surr said:


> That's interesting!  We just got back Friday, and I haven't had a chance to write up my report yet.  We would have ranked Epcot the best, followed by AK, MK, HS, and only if you are a risk-taker go to DS.  At Epcot we easily managed physical distancing even though we did see a few people walking around masks down while drinking, this was before they clarified the rule that you had to be stationary.  Epcot (World Showcase specifically) was the only park I saw cast members walking around whose sole purpose was to enforce the rules.


It's so funny how different the experiences can be between different groups.  For all I know, the big maskless groups I saw were immediately reprimanded as soon as I walked past them.  But our second Epcot day was quite a bit more crowded than our first, and with such a large quantity of the maskless people I decided it just isn't worth the risk.  Hollywood Studios was the other park that felt kind of risky, only because it was so much more crowded which made avoiding the jerks harder.  I felt safe (as safe as possible anyway) at MK and AK because it was so easy to avoid other people, other than in the queues and while exiting attractions.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

DanielNYC said:


> Thank you!  Just to be clear, you had to add the members of your party one by one, right?  It doesn't just automatically populate the request to join with your party.



Yes, I had to manually add my wife to the party after clicking Join.


----------



## DanielNYC

Chisoxcollector said:


> Yes, I had to manually add my wife to the party after clicking Join.


Got it.  Very helpful.  Thank you again.


----------



## Dave006

DanielNYC said:


> Thank you!  Just to be clear, you had to add the members of your party one by one, right?  It doesn't just automatically populate the request to join with your party.


No. The first "Check box" is a Select All to select everyone in your list but if you only have 1 person on your list it takes the same time to click the check box on an individual name.

Dave


----------



## prs_14

Chisoxcollector said:


> I closed my app and reopened it at 9:59am.  I had my finger hovering over the join button, and the second the clock on my phone changed to 10am I clicked Join.  I just followed the prompts from there.  I didn't have to refresh, and my party showed up correctly.  Everything went very quickly, each screen loading almost instantly.


Out of curiosity, where were you physically standing inside the park when you did this?


----------



## LovingPooh

FinallyFL said:


> Around 9:15 this morning the line for the Skyliner at the IG at Epcot was running out onto the bridge to the Boardwalk. I was back in my room at 9:30 so I don't know how quickly the line cleared.  Last Thursday, I walked from the BWV; I left my room at 9:15 and was sitting by RNR at 9:40.


I love the walk from BWV to Hollywood Studios. It is very relaxing to me.


----------



## Malela9

davidl81 said:


> So I’m on our flight back after 6 days in the parks and here are my thoughts.
> Social distancing was better than anything you could reasonably expect.  And mask compliance was very high.  Don’t get me wrong if you are trying to find an issue you can find one, but overall my wife and I were beyond pleased with that aspect.
> 
> The parks themselves are running I’d guess 20% capacity. So even with the rides not at full capacity wait times are so low. The app does not do justice to how quick the lines are.
> Food choices are limited.  I’d guess 60% of restaurants are open.  And everything has a slightly limited menu.  Not a huge deal, but it should be brought up.
> I would say that there is less “magic” then normal, but that being said I would go back next week if I could.  For people who have been a bunch it’s so nice just to get to ride attractions with out having to plan fast passes like crazy and let that dictate your entire trip.  We had a great time and that’s with 90+ deg temps and wearing a mask while pushing a stroller.


Great post. Getting on a plane tomorrow. How did you feel about flying to Florida?


----------



## Chisoxcollector

prs_14 said:


> Out of curiosity, where were you physically standing inside the park when you did this?


Yes, I was well inside of the park.


----------



## prs_14

Chisoxcollector said:


> Yes, I was well inside of the park.


Sorry - I was interested to know approximately or specifically where inside the park you were?  Wondering if there is some "magic" to where you were standing!  No worries if you would rather not reveal and thanks for all of your feedback provided here - very helpful to those us still planning to come down in August.


----------



## Love Ft Wilderness

brockash said:


> It seems what it boils down to is if you arrive at a resort via some mode of Disney transportation; you can get in/eat/shop.  If you're driving and trying to park; there seems to be more of an issue.


I'm hoping to make dining reservations at the Poly or GF as a day guest.  Does anybody think it would be a problem to park at the resort of the reservation?  We might try to walk over to the other resort for shopping after that.  Has anybody tried this successfully?


----------



## Jimmy Mouse

On our way home. Here’s our experience. We arrived at Contemporary Thursday night (Friday morning 7/24) at 1:45am. We went to the front desk and gave them our info. We knew we may have to chill in the lobby till at least 7:00am but they had a room ready for us. 11th floor (more on why that’s a good thing later) so up we go for a much needed sleep after a 7 hour drive.
Friday 7/24
We woke up around 9:00am and went to The Wave for breakfast. Food was good as usual. We headed to Epcot by bus around 11:00. Short 10 minute wait and social distance seating. Arriving at Epcot was weird being so empty. Temp scan, fast bag check and we were in, less than 10 minutes total. Rides were basically walk on all day. We snacked at the F&W booths and the best by day was the pork slider at the Hawaii booth.  We left around 7:00. Besides the people eating off to the side, I think I seen one person with their mask pulled down all day. Mask compliance was 99.999%. Bus back was empty. Us and one other family. We showered and went to California Grill check in. Nothing showed on MDX so we took a chance and they seated us within 15 minutes.  Menu was limited but they had the Kanaza sushi roll so I was happy. Wife and kids had steak.

Saturday 7/25
Overslept and missed Cheif Mickey’s breakfast. Got in the Monorail Headed to MK.  Temp and security was fast.  Arrived and no wait to get in. Low crowds. Again, walk in everything except 7DMT, Splash and BTM. Longest wait we had was a posted 45 min but actual 30 if that. Mask compliance was pretty perfect. I seen one guy vaping and a CM told him put on your mask and no vaping. He complied. We left around 5:00 and took the monorail again. No line at all.  We changed and headed to the pool for 2 hours. Pool was very crowded and no CM enforced social distancing and people would swim right up beside you. We showered and took a Lyft to DS for dinner at Planet Hollywood. Again, Mask compliance was perfect.

Sunday 7/26
Woke up around 8:00am, took a bus to HS arriving at 9:15. Empty entrance and fast temp/security. Headed to MMRR and it was less than 10 minutes and we were on. We sat and had Churros for breakfast waiting till 10:00 and got boarding group 12.  Headed to RnR with 30 min posted. Actual 15. It was DD6 first time. We rode up front and she loved it!  We then headed to ST then baseline tap house for the Longest wait of the day lol. Other rides were maybe 30 minutes at the most.  Again, mask compliance was great.

We did this short trip to be 100% sure we wanted to keep our Christmas trip and decided yes. A lot of stores and restaurants were closed but honestly we didn’t miss them. This trip did have its problems. Mostly at our resort. No towel service till we called 3 times, ran out of TP and every vending machine in every floor was empty. The number one problem was elevators at The Contemporary.  We got lucky to be on the 11th floor. Every time we went down, the elevator would stop on at least 5 floors with people wanting to get on. If it was 2 or 1 person, we invited them. The whole elevator situation is ridiculous. We waited 30 minutes once (yesterday) just to have a family walk up and go in front of us. I said something and the first one in got back off arguing with me and we missed it. I was not happy.   But besides that one thing, overall great trip!

edit:  we had no issues wearing masks all day in 90+ degrees. It did get a little uncomfortable at times but not as bad as I imagined.  I was worried about DD6 but her and DD9 did great!


----------



## Nick6300

constanze said:


> 9 am — when we first arrived it was 9:30, but it was posted 9am last we checked — but even when it was posted 9:30— it started early—- we found if we were always there at 9:15 (at the Riviera)— we were good to go— of course you’re even closer being at the Caribbean


so you didn’t get in line for skyliner until 9:15? Someone reported getting in line at 8:20 at Pop with lines to the 50s bldgs, waiting until 9ish, getting one around 9:15, and getting to HS around 9:45. Nervous that it’ll be tougher once CBR have guests for the skyliner too. I guess AoA opening has been moved to Nov 1 now, which would help Pop guests some.


https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...usted-opening-dates-for-select-resort-hotels/


----------



## Budzooka

Love Ft Wilderness said:


> I'm hoping to make dining reservations at the Poly or GF as a day guest.  Does anybody think it would be a problem to park at the resort of the reservation?  We might try to walk over to the other resort for shopping after that.  Has anybody tried this successfully?



Yes, we had dinner reservations at Fort Wilderness and was able to park there. They did confirm our reservation at the entry point.


----------



## constanze

Nick6300 said:


> so you didn’t get in line for skyliner until 9:15? Someone reported getting in line at 8:20 at Pop with lines to the 50s bldgs, waiting until 9ish, getting one around 9:15, and getting to HS around 9:45. Nervous that it’ll be tougher once CBR have guests for the skyliner too. I guess AoA opening has been moved to Nov 1 now, which would help Pop guests some.
> 
> 
> https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...usted-opening-dates-for-select-resort-hotels/


Yep---Riviera---in line at 9:15am and really just walked-on. I've never been to POP, but Riviera is a pretty small resort. However we didn't have to stand in any lines for the layover at the CBR---it's about a five minute ride to the CBR and then another 6 minutes (ish) to HS--- We were at HS on the 21st, the 24th and 25th.---However, I don't know what will happen once CBR opens on the 29th.


----------



## cjlong88

constanze said:


> Yep---Riviera---in line at 9:15am and really just walked-on. I've never been to POP, but Riviera is a pretty small resort. However we didn't have to stand in any lines for the layover at the CBR---it's about a five minute ride to the CBR and then another 6 minutes (ish) to HS--- We were at HS on the 21st, the 24th and 25th.---*However, I don't know what will happen once CBR opens on the 29th.*



That's a great point. With more people using the skyliner when CBR opens, it makes me wonder if Pop guests should have a back-up plan if the Skyliner lines are too long or if there are delays, causing a later-than-usual arrival to HS.


----------



## Love Ft Wilderness

Budzooka said:


> Yes, we had dinner reservations at Fort Wilderness and was able to park there. They did confirm our reservation at the entry point.


Fort Wilderness?  I didn't think there was a restaurant open that took reservations there right now during post opening.


----------



## Nick6300

cjlong88 said:


> That's a great point. With more people using the skyliner when CBR opens, it makes me wonder if Pop guests should have a back-up plan if the Skyliner lines are too long or if there are delays, causing a later-than-usual arrival to HS.


I'll be interested in hearing how the skyliner went for you at Pop, since it looks like you'll be there pretty soon - before us, and with CBR open.


----------



## yulilin3

Love Ft Wilderness said:


> Fort Wilderness?  I didn't think there was a restaurant open that took reservations there right now during post opening.


Maybe the poster meant Wilderness Lodge, Trails End and Hoop Dee Doo are closed for now at FW


----------



## Surr

Chisoxcollector said:


> It's so funny how different the experiences can be between different groups.  For all I know, the big maskless groups I saw were immediately reprimanded as soon as I walked past them.  But our second Epcot day was quite a bit more crowded than our first, and with such a large quantity of the maskless people I decided it just isn't worth the risk.  Hollywood Studios was the other park that felt kind of risky, only because it was so much more crowded which made avoiding the jerks harder.  I felt safe (as safe as possible anyway) at MK and AK because it was so easy to avoid other people, other than in the queues and while exiting attractions.



Our first Epcot day was Saturday the 18th, and then Thursday the 23rd.  The 18th was a little more crowded than the 23rd, both days had some rain, but Thursday much more.  So that may have contributed.  We never saw big groups of people without masks except at Disney Springs.  We did not feel safe at Disney Springs at times.  I contacted guest services over the app chat and emailed them about it especially a bus situation.  

We did two HS days as well, it certainly was the most crowded of any park, but mostly in Galaxy's Edge.  AK was the best as far as low crowds and fewest people not following protocol.  It's surprised me how much more I enjoyed FoP not having to wait in a long line.  It may be my favorite attraction again.  RotR is great, and I am a Star Wars fan, but FoP was more fun.


----------



## Nick6300

Surr said:


> Our first Epcot day was Saturday the 18th, and then Thursday the 23rd.  The 18th was a little more crowded than the 23rd, both days had some rain, but Thursday much more.  So that may have contributed.  We never saw big groups of people without masks except at Disney Springs.  We did not feel safe at Disney Springs at times.  I contacted guest services over the app chat and emailed them about it especially a bus situation.
> 
> We did two HS days as well, it certainly was the most crowded of any park, but mostly in Galaxy's Edge.  AK was the best as far as low crowds and fewest people not following protocol.  It's surprised me how much more I enjoyed FoP not having to wait in a long line.  It may be my favorite attraction again.  RotR is great, and I am a Star Wars fan, but FoP was more fun.


It's fairly obvious, but I think AK being the lowest wait time park makes total sense. No Lion King, no Nemo, the petting zoo - ok, not a huge deal maybe. Kali has the water cannons off and guest controlled sprinklers off so that you're not as likely to get drenched with a mask on... There isn't anything new at AK. I count only 6 attractions I'd go on, which we could do in a half day. MK is MK, and almost nothing is closed. EP has the mini version of F&W going, and there are actually 9 attractions + several films, Seas, and many more dining options (we haven't been to Smokehouse). During normal F&W years, EP draws a lot of local attn. HS has GE and MMRR, and so everyone wants to check them out. But I only count 6 attractions 2 each in TL, GE, and Sunset that we'd visit. And having the new attractions, and the 2nd smallest park, without the number of queues like MK, size of AK, or spacing of WS... it makes sense that HS is the most crowded. I just picture walking through the tight little alleys like by ABC Commissary (even though that's closed).


----------



## Budzooka

yulilin3 said:


> Maybe the poster meant Wilderness Lodge, Trails End and Hoop Dee Doo are closed for now at FW



Yep. My apologies, as I meant Wilderness Lodge. We had dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe Sat night.


----------



## tvsdisney

armerida said:


> Omg please tell me Choza de Margarita is open too! My first stop at Epcot will be a margarita and tostada from there!



its open I got one last week


----------



## BlueRibbon

Today at AK, we were on Kilimanjaro Safari and at the end, the driver and the unload attendant had a gag where the unloader wouldn't let the driver pull up until he put his mask on(driver already had a mask on). Pretty funny right? Not to a lady in the middle of the bus, she yelled right out "C'mon driver! Just put the mask on!!"

Sensing that their gag was backfiring, they ended it and just proceeded as normal. As we were all getting out, the lady approached the unload CM and said "Thank you for ensuring the driver's mask was on. Some people dont get it." The dude replied with a "yeah, sure lady"

That was a situation that's great to witness, but you don't want to get close to being involved with...


----------



## mcomber7

Nick6300 said:


> I'll be interested in hearing how the skyliner went for you at Pop, since it looks like you'll be there pretty soon - before us, and with CBR open.


When does CBR open?  We will be at Pop Friday for a week and I’m going back and forth between Lyft and Skyliner for HS....


----------



## StageTek

mcomber7 said:


> When does CBR open?


https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...usted-opening-dates-for-select-resort-hotels/


----------



## Nick6300

mcomber7 said:


> When does CBR open?  We will be at Pop Friday for a week and I’m going back and forth between Lyft and Skyliner for HS....


Yes, July 29


https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...usted-opening-dates-for-select-resort-hotels/


----------



## Alice Sr.

yulilin3 said:


> Heat is an issue which is why you should plan on taking more breaks to drink and cool down.  To be honest though you get used to the mask fairly quickly if it's a comfortable one for you.  Just remember to drink water


Thank you for that, I have spent so much time and effort on trying to find the most comfortable mask.


----------



## maciemouse

Surr said:


> That's interesting!  We just got back Friday, and I haven't had a chance to write up my report yet.  We would have ranked Epcot the best, followed by AK, MK, HS, and only if you are a risk-taker go to DS.  At Epcot we easily managed physical distancing even though we did see a few people walking around masks down while drinking, this was before they clarified the rule that you had to be stationary.  Epcot (World Showcase specifically) was the only park I saw cast members walking around whose sole purpose was to enforce the rules.


We just got back last night from a 5 night stay.  I would rank Epcot as #1 too.  In fact, my order would be the same as yours.  Honestly, I felt really safe and never had any issues with anyone even getting close to me.  That includes swimming at Riviera.  I would go back in a heartbeat.  Disney is doing a great job.


----------



## MomOTwins

mcomber7 said:


> When does CBR open?  We will be at Pop Friday for a week and I’m going back and forth between Lyft and Skyliner for HS....


Would love if you could post what you observe if you go the skyliner route when you get back.  We're staying in August and I'm trying to figure out tactics too. We're at Riviera so if the transfer situation is bad at CBR, we may just get up real early and walk tot he caribbean station before it opens to avoid having to transfer.


----------



## wendow

We’re here now and took the skyliner to HS this morning. We could and should have taken our rental car but kids talked us into skyliner. Line back to 50’s section. Got in line at 9:09. Took forever. Got off at CBR to get on HS line and that line was so long. We tapped in at HS at 10:06 and missed getting a BG. At the 2pm time, we had 4 phones trying and could only get a backup group which never got called. Thankfully we did get to do RotR a couple days ago. 

We’ve been here since 7/21 and today was, by far, the busiest we’ve seen. I was loving how everything was walk-on early in the trip but very little fell into that category today (or even last couple days). 

Mask compliance and distancing has been great. I think Disney has done a good job enforcing their rules.


----------



## Nick6300

wendow said:


> We’re here now and took the skyliner to HS this morning. We could and should have taken our rental car but kids talked us into skyliner. Line back to 50’s section. Got in line at 9:09. Took forever. Got off at CBR to get on HS line and that line was so long. We tapped in at HS at 10:06 and missed getting a BG. At the 2pm time, we had 4 phones trying and could only get a backup group which never got called. Thankfully we did get to do RotR a couple days ago.
> 
> We’ve been here since 7/21 and today was, by far, the busiest we’ve seen. I was loving how everything was walk-on early in the trip but very little fell into that category today (or even last couple days).
> 
> Mask compliance and distancing has been great. I think Disney has done a good job enforcing their rules.



Thanks for reporting. This is not the first report I’ve seen having trouble getting to HS on time via skyliner at Pop. An hr is ridiculous, and this is before CBR is open. we could very well have to uber if they don’t make the launches earlier or allow for buses to HS.


----------



## IluvMGM

Nick6300 said:


> Thanks for reporting. This is not the first report I’ve seen having trouble getting to HS on time via skyliner at Pop. An hr is ridiculous, and this is before CBR is open. we could very well have to uber if they don’t make the launches earlier or allow for buses to HS.


It's frustrating they are only giving us 1 form of transportation to get there and time is an issue because you have to be in the park by 10 for a boarding group.


----------



## yulilin3

lets please get back to just back reports. Thank you


----------



## shoegal9

Does anyone know if masks are required in the fitness centers at resorts?  I know in our state they are mandated, with the exception of when one is actively exercising.


----------



## yulilin3

shoegal9 said:


> Does anyone know if masks are required in the fitness centers at resorts?  I know in our state they are mandated, with the exception of when one is actively exercising.


if you read back a couple of pages you can see some first hand reports. Disney hasn't really said anything other than masks not needed when swimming or actively eating or drinking but some have reported going to the gym or jogging and not wearing masks


----------



## Chris Ehlers

http://www.brevardtimes.com/2020/07...lone-9-track-to-florida-spaghetti-models/amp/
Looking like things might get fun this coming weekend........looks like will need to get more libations for the hotel room


----------



## vinotinto

Back from 9 days at WDW July 18-26. We had 1.5 days at Epcot, 2 days at DHS, 2 days at AK and 2.25 days at MK.

These are my observations and impressions. It's possible someone else has a different experience, because the same way you cannot step into the same river twice, you cannot step into the same park twice, LOL!

*Highlights and Positives:*
1. *Overall *- IMHO, Disney hit it out of the ballpark in terms of safety, while balancing providing an amazing experience in the middle of a pandemic. My DH got really cold feet about a week before we were scheduled to leave, It was around the time that FL hit 15,000 new cases in one day and he asked me (rather passive-aggressively) "we are not _really _going to FL next weekend, are we?" I had been monitoring the pictures and reports here on DISBoards and I said to him, "I really think it's going to be fine." And it was. Low crowds allowed physical-distancing and masks were enforced (more on this later). Low crowds made our visit much more relaxing and pleasant (more on this later too).

2. *Mask Enforcement* - One of the concerns of many here on the DISboards was whether masks would be enforced. We noticed that mask enforcement got proactively and progressively better after the first couple of days. For example, on our first say (July 18th) at Epcot, I saw plenty of people with masks down, walking and eating. On our second Epcot day, I did not see a single person walking and eating with the masks down. I saw CMs walking around with a sign that said: "Wear a face covering unless stopped to eat or drink." There were signs on each cart/restaurant that said "Face coverings are to be worn at all times except when actively eating or drinking while stationary and physically distanced."

Saw a couple on the right pathway (by the old rose garden) to the side of the castle taking a selfie.  They were the only ones there - there was no one within at least a 30-40 feet radius from them, and a CM yelled at them all the way from the bridge to Fantasyland to put on their mask.

I also started hearing reminders that face covering must cover nose and mouth while on the ride more as the trip went along. On our last few days, I would say mask compliance at resort, parks, transportation, etc., was in the 99%. It was that good. Most guests we encountered were really good about proper wear.

3. *Lower Crowds* - We enjoyed being able to move around the walkways without bumping into people. It made the experience most pleasant and made physical distancing possible. DHS seemed the most "congested," but MK definitely had the most people. Epcot was the least congested.

4. *Waits / No FPs *- Some waits were longer than FastPass+ lines. We waited 20 minutes for 7DMT. 20 minutes is nothing if you have been in one of the typical 120 minute lines there, but with FP+, I've never waited more than 5 minutes. Same with Jungle Cruise. But, some had as short or shorter waits without FPs. Space Mountain was often a walk-on for us this trip. Test Track and Soarin were walk-ons in the evening!

And the total experience of not being bound to a specific time or having to refresh to get additional FPs made the total experience more positive for my family. If the crowd levels stay the way they are, I think this is a win over FP+. Also, being able to finally walk through the queues, for example, at FoP, and finally see them was great.

5. *Characters *- We really enjoyed the roaming cavalcades and thought they were more fun than waiting for the Meet and Greets. The ones on the boats at AK were so original and fun. Characters (Rey, Vi Moradi, Storm Troopers, etc.) popped up on top of the low buildings at SWGE. Very cool. And my absolute favorite were Anastasia and Drizella on the castle. they interacted from up there with guests. They were a hoot!

6. *QS/Mobile Ordering* - This worked well. Cpt Cooks at Poly was very fast and the food was good/fresh. At the parks, we had to wait a while at Pecos Bill, but Cosmic Ray's was very quick. I wish they all had mobile order. At Epcot, many places do not have the mobile ordering set-up yet at the World Showcase. Tangeriene Cafe did NOT have mobile order and someone snagged our food. After we realized that they handed the tray to the wrong party, I had to convince them that "no, the other party wasn't part of my party and I never got my lamb." LOL. My only issue is that customizations were more limited than what you could do when you talked to a human (more on this below).

7. *TS Dining* - We mostly enjoyed the TS dining. The food tasted fresh and the restaurants were limited in capacity. Some did a better job than others at spacing. Shout outs to Sci-Fi, Tiffins, Wine Bar George, Yak & Yeti and Spice Road for excellent spacing between parties (more than 6 feet, which I feel it is appropriate indoors).  You will need reservations for Sci-Fi and Yak & Yeti. Saw tons of people being turned away, and when you are seated inside you can understand why as capacity was greatly reduced to allow for distancing.

Tiffins and Cali Grill showed why they are Signatures and I highly recommend them. Food was at least as good as in previous trips, wines still great and they had more variety in the menu than most of the 'reduced' menus in other restaurants.

8. *Lounges *- We love the lounges, and ate/drank at Baseline, Oga's, Nomad's. More on this below...

9. *Taste of Epcot* - The indoor "Festival Marketplace" with 4 booths had plenty of distanced tables and A/C. Great place for a food break. Lines for booths were non-existent and a great experience overall.

10. *Mariachi Cobre/Marimba de las Americas and Jammitors* - Were a highlight of the week. These were the only performances this week and we loved them. Very few people in the huge outdoor auditorium. Go see them!

11. *RotR *- If you can get there, it's worth trying for a boarding group. It's a great ride.

12. *MMRR *- Very cute and a wonderful addition to DHS. I know many won't agree, but I thought it was better than GMR.

13. *Poly *- Poly was spotless, and the quiet pool (Oasis) was a delight in the mornings and afternoons (while people were in the parks and at dinner).

14. *Transportation *- We drove to all the parks from Poly, so I cannot comment on the bus. Just felt safer having our vehicle. Parking was quick and efficient. I highly recommend having a car.

*Things We Missed /Caveats*
15. *QS/Mobile Ordering* - Customization through the app were limited. For example, at Pecos Bill, I wanted a salad with the taco beef topping. Nope. You can have nachos with the beef topping or salad with chicken or pork, but not a salad with beef topping. I mostly eat low carb and there wasn't always a way to swap out the carb sides for non-carb sides elsewhere on the menu. Menus were also limited, so only a few options, especially for those with food preferences.

16. *Lounges *- Nomad's menu is pretty short now and you cannot order anymore from the Tiffin's menu.  Also, Tutto Gusto was listed in the app as being open, but it's only open to sit guests from Tutto Italia. There isn't really a Lounge with food anymore at Epcot as Tutto Gusto is closed and Cava is only serving booze (no guac and chips).

17. *Performers / Performances* - We really missed the non-rides/streetsmosphere/performers. Some of our favorite things to watch are on an indefinite pause - Monster's Laugh Floor, Citizens of Hollywood, Dapper Dans, Beauty and the Beast show, FotLK, Nemo, Epcot's countries performers (acrobats, serveur amusant, sergio, etc.), AK performers, etc. The harambe drummers were on a float, and they sounded wonderful, but they went by fast and left you wishing you could listen to them some more.

18. *Need More Mask Reminders* - As the week went along, this got better, but at the beginning of the week not every ride was reminding guests to keep their nose and mouth covered. The guy next to me pulled his mask down on FoP. I only had one banshee between me and him. More reminders are needed. This did get much better as the week got along.

19. *Transportation *- At monorail, they would sit two parties per doorway - one on each couch, which is much better than the usual cramming that used to happen. However, we were sat across from someone who was wearing one of those masks with the vent and the space did not seem large enough for being indoors with basically someone across from you being maskless. Yeah, I hear those masks with valves are now banned (thankfully), but I think two parties is too much for one doorway. if someone takes off a mask, it can lead to a confrontation. We opted for the Ferryboat, but the walkway from Poly wasn't open until after 9 am, so for those trying to arrive at MK early, that option would not work.

20. *TS Dining* - Some restaurants felt rather crowded, even being at 50% capacity. Kona was the worst one. Only about 6 feet between parties. Just too little for indoor spacing, IMHO. Raglan Road also seemed rather close too.

21. *Evening Pool Time* - With only the quiet (Oasis) pool open after 9pm, and no fireworks or spectaculars to pull guests away, the Oasis pool after 8:30pm felt like the Lava pool at 4pm in July 2019. Distancing was difficult.

22. *Housekeping during Trip* - I'm not a fan of the "light housekeeping." 8 nights and they came once. Another time, they knocked after 9pm to see if we wanted housekeeping. Hmm, not at that time, no, thank you.

OK, so those are my experiences. I will try to dig up come pics of this stuff. Ask away!


----------



## DisneyElite4

vinotinto said:


> Back from 9 days at WDW July 18-26. We had 1.5 days at Epcot, 2 days at DHS, 2 days at AK and 2.25 days at MK.
> 
> These are my observations and impressions. It's possible someone else has a different experience, because the same way you cannot step into the same river twice, you cannot step into the same park twice, LOL!
> 
> *Highlights and Positives:*
> 1. *Overall *- IMHO, Disney hit it out of the ballpark in terms of safety, while balancing providing an amazing experience in the middle of a pandemic. My DH got really cold feet about a week before we were scheduled to leave, It was around the time that FL hit 15,000 new cases in one day and he asked me (rather passive-aggressively) "we are not _really _going to FL next weekend, are we?" I had been monitoring the pictures and reports here on DISBoards and I said to him, "I really think it's going to be fine." And it was. Low crowds allowed physical-distancing and masks were enforced (more on this later). Low crowds made our visit much more relaxing and pleasant (more on this later too).
> 
> 2. *Mask Enforcement* - One of the concerns of many here on the DISboards was whether masks would be enforced. We noticed that mask enforcement got proactively and progressively better after the first couple of days. For example, on our first say (July 18th) at Epcot, I saw plenty of people with masks down, walking and eating. On our second Epcot day, I did not see a single person walking and eating with the masks down. I saw CMs walking around with a sign that said: "Wear a face covering unless stopped to eat or drink." There were signs on each cart/restaurant that said "Face coverings are to be worn at all times except when actively eating or drinking while stationary and physically distanced."
> 
> Saw a couple on the right pathway (by the old rose garden) to the side of the castle taking a selfie.  They were the only ones there - there was no one within at least a 30-40 feet radius from them, and a CM yelled at them all the way from the bridge to Fantasyland to put on their mask.
> 
> I also started hearing reminders that face covering must cover nose and mouth while on the ride more as the trip went along. On our last few days, I would say mask compliance at resort, parks, transportation, etc., was in the 99%. It was that good. Most guests we encountered were really good about proper wear.
> 
> 3. *Lower Crowds* - We enjoyed being able to move around the walkways without bumping into people. It made the experience most pleasant and made physical distancing possible. DHS seemed the most "congested," but MK definitely had the most people. Epcot was the least congested.
> 
> 4. *Waits / No FPs *- Some waits were longer than FastPass+ lines. We waited 20 minutes for 7DMT. 20 minutes is nothing if you have been in one of the typical 120 minute lines there, but with FP+, I've never waited more than 5 minutes. Same with Jungle Cruise. But, some had as short or shorter waits without FPs. Space Mountain was often a walk-on for us this trip. Test Track and Soarin were walk-ons in the evening!
> 
> And the total experience of not being bound to a specific time or having to refresh to get additional FPs made the total experience more positive for my family. If the crowd levels stay the way they are, I think this is a win over FP+. Also, being able to finally walk through the queues, for example, at FoP, and finally see them was great.
> 
> 5. *Characters *- We really enjoyed the roaming cavalcades and thought they were more fun than waiting for the Meet and Greets. The ones on the boats at AK were so original and fun. Characters (Rey, Vi Moradi, Storm Troopers, etc.) popped up on top of the low buildings at SWGE. Very cool. And my absolute favorite were Anastasia and Drizella on the castle. they interacted from up there with guests. They were a hoot!
> 
> 6. *QS/Mobile Ordering* - This worked well. Cpt Cooks at Poly was very fast and the food was good/fresh. At the parks, we had to wait a while at Pecos Bill, but Cosmic Ray's was very quick. I wish they all had mobile order. At Epcot, many places do not have the mobile ordering set-up yet at the World Showcase. Tangeriene Cafe did NOT have mobile order and someone snagged our food. After we realized that they handed the tray to the wrong party, I had to convince them that "no, the other party wasn't part of my party and I never got my lamb." LOL. My only issue is that customizations were more limited than what you could do when you talked to a human (more on this below).
> 
> 7. *TS Dining* - We mostly enjoyed the TS dining. The food tasted fresh and the restaurants were limited in capacity. Some did a better job than others at spacing. Shout outs to Sci-Fi, Tiffins, Wine Bar George, Yak & Yeti and Spice Road for excellent spacing between parties (more than 6 feet, which I feel it is appropriate indoors).  You will need reservations for Sci-Fi and Yak & Yeti. Saw tons of people being turned away, and when you are seated inside you can understand why as capacity was greatly reduced to allow for distancing.
> 
> Tiffins and Cali Grill showed why they are Signatures and I highly recommend them. Food was at least as good as in previous trips, wines still great and they had more variety in the menu than most of the 'reduced' menus in other restaurants.
> 
> 8. *Lounges *- We love the lounges, and ate/drank at Baseline, Oga's, Nomad's. More on this below...
> 
> 9. *Taste of Epcot* - The indoor "Festival Marketplace" with 4 booths had plenty of distanced tables and A/C. Great place for a food break. Lines for booths were non-existent and a great experience overall.
> 
> 10. *Mariachi Cobre/Marimba de las Americas and Jammitors* - Were a highlight of the week. These were the only performances this week and we loved them. Very few people in the huge outdoor auditorium. Go see them!
> 
> 11. *RotR *- If you can get there, it's worth trying for a boarding group. It's a great ride.
> 
> 12. *MMRR *- Very cute and a wonderful addition to DHS. I know many won't agree, but I thought it was better than GMR.
> 
> 13. *Poly *- Poly was spotless, and the quiet pool (Oasis) was a delight in the mornings and afternoons (while people were in the parks and at dinner).
> 
> 14. *Transportation *- We drove to all the parks from Poly, so I cannot comment on the bus. Just felt safer having our vehicle. Parking was quick and efficient. I highly recommend having a car.
> 
> *Things We Missed /Caveats*
> 15. *QS/Mobile Ordering* - Customization through the app were limited. For example, at Pecos Bill, I wanted a salad with the taco beef topping. Nope. You can have nachos with the beef topping or salad with chicken or pork, but not a salad with beef topping. I mostly eat low carb and there wasn't always a way to swap out the carb sides for non-carb sides elsewhere on the menu. Menus were also limited, so only a few options, especially for those with food preferences.
> 
> 16. *Lounges *- Nomad's menu is pretty short now and you cannot order anymore from the Tiffin's menu.  Also, Tutto Gusto was listed in the app as being open, but it's only open to sit guests from Tutto Italia. There isn't really a Lounge with food anymore at Epcot as Tutto Gusto is closed and Cava is only serving booze (no guac and chips).
> 
> 17. *Performers / Performances* - We really missed the non-rides/streetsmosphere/performers. Some of our favorite things to watch are on an indefinite pause - Monster's Laugh Floor, Citizens of Hollywood, Dapper Dans, Beauty and the Beast show, FotLK, Nemo, Epcot's countries performers (acrobats, serveur amusant, sergio, etc.), AK performers, etc. The harambe drummers were on a float, and they sounded wonderful, but they went by fast and left you wishing you could listen to them some more.
> 
> 18. *Need More Mask Reminders* - As the week went along, this got better, but at the beginning of the week not every ride was reminding guests to keep their nose and mouth covered. The guy next to me pulled his mask down on FoP. I only had one banshee between me and him. More reminders are needed. This did get much better as the week got along.
> 
> 19. *Transportation *- At monorail, they would sit two parties per doorway - one on each couch, which is much better than the usual cramming that used to happen. However, we were sat across from someone who was wearing one of those masks with the vent and the space did not seem large enoughf or basically someone across from you being maskless and indoors. Yeah, I hear those are now banned (thankfully), but I think two parties is too much for one doorway. if someone takes off a mask, it can lead to a confrontation. We opted for the Ferryboat, but the walkway from Poly wasn't open until after 9 am, so for those trying to arrive at MK early, that option would not work.
> 
> 20. *TS Dining* - Some restaurants felt rather crowded, even being at 50% capacity. Kona was the worst one. Only about 6 feet between parties. Just too little for indoor spacing, IMHO. Raglan Road also seemed rather close too.
> 
> 21. *Evening Pool Time* - With only the quiet (Oasis) pool open after 9pm, and no fireworks or spectaculars to pull guests away, the Oasis pool after 8:30pm felt like the Lava pool at 4pm in July 2019. Distancing was difficult.
> 
> 22. *Housekeping during Trip* - I'm not a fan of the "light housekeeping." 8 nights and they came once. Another time, they knocked after 9pm to see if we wanted housekeeping. Hmm, not at that time, no, thank you.
> 
> OK, so those are my experiences. I will try to dig up come pics of this stuff. Ask away!



Sounds great! Just curious if you have children, and how did they do with masks if so? Also curious if you visited any of the rest areas, and what you thought of them. Thanks!


----------



## Epcot242

Thanks for posting this great (and detailed) report! It's good know about the pools as that's something we plan to take advantage of (and also we'll be at BWV where the "big pool" is closed so we're limited to quiet pools). We will plan accordingly. 



vinotinto said:


> Tiffins and Cali Grill showed why they are Signatures and I highly recommend them. Food was at least as good as in previous trips, wines still great and they had more variety in the menu than most of the 'reduced' menus in other restaurants.
> 
> 8. *Lounges *- We love the lounges, and ate/drank at Baseline, Oga's, Nomad's. More on this below...



Really happy to hear about these two restaurants. We spend the majority of our money on signature restaurants and love the diversity in lounges/bars that Disney offers. Did you find that the lounges were as spaced out as Tiffins or CA Grill was? Did you have an issue finding a seat there? We have a reservation for Tiffins but would love to visit the Nomad Lounge as well, since it's just so fun to relax and listen to the music.


----------



## DisneyElite4

Epcot242 said:


> Thanks for posting this great (and detailed) report! It's good know about the pools as that's something we plan to take advantage of (and also we'll be at BWV where the "big pool" is closed so we're limited to quiet pools). We will plan accordingly.
> 
> 
> 
> Really happy to hear about these two restaurants. We spend the majority of our money on signature restaurants and love the diversity in lounges/bars that Disney offers. Did you find that the lounges were as spaced out as Tiffins or CA Grill was? Did you have an issue finding a seat there? We have a reservation for Tiffins but would love to visit the Nomad Lounge as well, since it's just so fun to relax and listen to the music.



Just wanted you to know that Luna Park Pool, the main pool at BWV, is open!


----------



## mcomber7

MomOTwins said:


> Would love if you could post what you observe if you go the skyliner route when you get back.  We're staying in August and I'm trying to figure out tactics too. We're at Riviera so if the transfer situation is bad at CBR, we may just get up real early and walk tot he caribbean station before it opens to avoid having to transfer.


Absolutely!  I’ll post our experiences with this


----------



## Love Ft Wilderness

yulilin3 said:


> Maybe the poster meant Wilderness Lodge, Trails End and Hoop Dee Doo are closed for now at FW


I was thinking that too.  I was hoping, and even getting excited, if Trails End suddenly opened.  Thanks.


----------



## vinotinto

DisneyElite4 said:


> Sounds great! Just curious if you have children, and how did they do with masks if so? Also curious if you visited any of the rest areas, and what you thought of them. Thanks!


Great question! I have two teens - DS is 15 and DD turned 13 during the trip. No issues at all wearing masks at all times. We brought extras every day. Kids in the park did great. Saw one with the nose out and one of the CMs kindly and cheerfully said "sweetie, remember to keep your face covering over your nose." I also saw a kid pulling down his mask with his mom at Epcot on the afternoon of July 22. If that mom is reading this, I want to tell you that you did awesome! She gently pulled it back up and said, keep it on while we walk and in 10 minutes we'll get a break. The kid kept his mask on and kept walking. I think that kids that have used masks before, with everything around them, they forget they even have the masks on. Honestly, the few cases I saw of non-compliance tended to be older adults, which is rather ironic.  

We did not visit the relaxation areas, mostly because we sat down for food and beverage break mid-day and we didn't really need a break in-between. I know one area was by Mission Space and there was no one there and it had umbrellas and tables.


----------



## vinotinto

Epcot242 said:


> Thanks for posting this great (and detailed) report! It's good know about the pools as that's something we plan to take advantage of (and also we'll be at BWV where the "big pool" is closed so we're limited to quiet pools). We will plan accordingly.
> 
> 
> Really happy to hear about these two restaurants. We spend the majority of our money on signature restaurants and love the diversity in lounges/bars that Disney offers. Did you find that the lounges were as spaced out as Tiffins or CA Grill was? Did you have an issue finding a seat there? We have a reservation for Tiffins but would love to visit the Nomad Lounge as well, since it's just so fun to relax and listen to the music.


I thought the spacing at the Lounges were good. 

Oga's was staggered. Every other table blocked off. Booths were all open. We were at the stand-up table in front of Rex.
Nomad's had some tables completely removed - every other two-person table by the wall was removed to create staggering. It's open-air and distancing was pretty good.
Baseline Tap had many tables blocked off that allowed good distancing and all seating is outdoors.
here are some food pics to inspire you!

Oga’s:
Oga’s:


Baseline Tap:


Wine Bar George:

Tiffin’s:


Cali Grill:


----------



## vinotinto

Here are Drizelle and Anastasia interacting w guests:


Reminders in carts and restaurants to only remove mask while eating and drinking and stationary:


Character Cavalcades:


----------



## Epcot242

vinotinto said:


> I thought the spacing at the Lounges were good.
> 
> Oga's was staggered. Every other table blocked off. Booths were all open. We were at the stand-up table in front of Rex.
> Nomad's had some tables completely removed - every other two-person table by the wall was removed to create staggering. It's open-air and distancing was pretty good.
> Baseline Tap had many tables blocked off that allowed good distancing and all seating is outdoors.



Thanks for the reply. Worth it to see those pics alone, wow. Really killing my last-minute pre-trip diet.... 

Cheers!


----------



## armerida

vinotinto said:


> I thought the spacing at the Lounges were good.
> 
> Oga's was staggered. Every other table blocked off. Booths were all open. We were at the stand-up table in front of Rex.
> Nomad's had some tables completely removed - every other two-person table by the wall was removed to create staggering. It's open-air and distancing was pretty good.
> Baseline Tap had many tables blocked off that allowed good distancing and all seating is outdoors.
> here are some food pics to inspire you!
> 
> Oga’s:
> Oga’s:
> View attachment 514239
> 
> Baseline Tap:
> View attachment 514240
> 
> Wine Bar George:View attachment 514241
> 
> Tiffin’s:
> View attachment 514242
> 
> Cali Grill:
> View attachment 514243
> View attachment 514244
> View attachment 514246
> View attachment 514247
> View attachment 514248
> View attachment 514249


Wow, is that the shareable skirt steak from Wine Bar George?! It looks huge and delicious! Might have to add that to our list!


----------



## koquinn

vinotinto said:


> I think that kids that have used masks before, with everything around them, they forget they even have the masks on. Honestly, the few cases I saw of non-compliance tended to be older adults, which is rather ironic.


This was our experience with our local zoo too - the kids did awesome, while the adults and especially older adults were the ones not following the rules.


----------



## Nick6300

yulilin3 said:


> if you read back a couple of pages you can see some first hand reports. Disney hasn't really said anything other than masks not needed when swimming or actively eating or drinking but some have reported going to the gym or jogging and not wearing masks


Really tough to wear a mask while running on a treadmill. I'm consistently the only person who wears a mask at my gym, but I take it off while on a tread ea. day. They have every other treadmill blocked off. Not that I would personally visit a gym at WDW anyhow.


----------



## vinotinto

armerida said:


> Wow, is that the shareable skirt steak from Wine Bar George?! It looks huge and delicious! Might have to add that to our list!


It is! It's a pound of skirt steak with a delicious chimichurri sauce, plus the potatoes and asparagus. It definitely feeds 2-4. We also ordered the cheese plate, the octopus salad and the hummus (for my DD - she's vegetarian). The whole seabass sounded amazing, but DS15 was more excited about the skirt steak. Distancing was great. Outdoor seating was hot until the sun went down, but my DH did not want to move inside even though they offered. Service was great and wow, what a variety of wines, including a ton by the glass.


----------



## armerida

vinotinto said:


> It is! It's a pound of skirt steak with a delicious chimichurri sauce, plus the potatoes and asparagus. It definitely feeds 2-4. We also ordered the cheese plate, the octopus salad and the hummus (for my DD - she's vegetarian). The whole seabass sounded amazing, but DS15 was more excited about the skirt steak. Distancing was great. Outdoor seating was hot until the sun went down, but my DH did not want to move inside even though they offered. Service was great and wow, what a variety of wines, including a ton by the glass.


That sounds amazing! It has been on my radar, but we’ve never tried it for some reason. Bonus points for the outdoor seating! All your meal photos look spectacular, getting me excited for our trip in a few weeks


----------



## The Expert

We got back last night after a short trip. It was just DH and I, both 49 and in good health (no kids or at-risk contacts at home here in Utah).
We arrived late afternoon on Thursday, July 23. Departed afternoon of Monday, July 27. We stayed at AKV Kidani. We were in a one-bedroom savanna view the first three nights, then a studio savanna view the last night due to points banking rules.

We flew out on Delta on a non-stop flight; our second air travel trip since Covid restrictions. Both airports were empty with not great mask compliance in the terminal or at the gate, but once on-board everyone followed the rules most of the time. Delta blocks middle seats and only fills the planes 60%. It was "full" by those standards but we felt like we had plenty of room. We rented a car and have status with Avis so went right to the car. We had scheduled a grocery pick-up at the Publix on John Young Parkway and picked that up on our way from the airport. We landed after 4 so our room was ready and we went directly there with no issues.

Thursday night we reserved Epcot primarily to do the Food & Wine booths for dinner.
Friday was Magic Kingdom.
Saturday we did Animal Kingdom and had a reservation at Wine Bar George for dinner.
Sunday was Hollywood Studios and a reservation for California Grill for dinner.
Monday we revisited Epcot until about 3, when we had to go to the airport.

Overall the parks were pretty empty except for Studios. Most rides didn't get up to more than a 30-45 minute wait at peak. But until they change the system for getting RotR, everybody will continue to get to DHS at the same time, and it's not going to work if they want to increase capacity there. It wasn't July-level busy but definitely on par with crowds we see during our normal October/November trips. That said, people were really good about complying with the mask rules. Or they were everywhere except Disney Springs. We did see someone in line at Runaway Railway take their mask off to sneeze twice into their arm. Also at RotR the adult man and teen boy in line in front of us touched literally every surface in the queue. But otherwise, everyone was trying and the CMs were great about catching noses peeking out and such.

Now, back to Disney Springs. When we went for Wine Bar George on Saturday, we decided to drive our rental car. As we approached, there were signs saying surface parking was "at capacity" and that both Orange and Lime garages were full. There was seemingly no alternative for parking at all! We started to panic, but followed a line of traffic that did a u-turn at Hotel Plaza Blvd and went in through the valet entrance (valet was closed). They had that one single access open for the Orange garage, but no signage or anything telling people that. It was crazy! Thankfully we'd given ourselves time to get there and weren't too late. Disney Springs was BY FAR busier than any other area of property and mask compliance was maybe 70%. I would definitely avoid it if you can.

We spent some time every afternoon at the Maji Pool Bar, which was not terribly busy. The pool was pretty full most days that it didn't storm, and they don't require masks on the deck. They DO require them if you come up to order at the bar and probably half of the people coming from the pool area forgot to put theirs on when they came up. The bartenders would mention it and remind them, but still take their orders. The tables were far enough from the bar and ordering area that we didn't feel unsafe.

We had a little pixie dust with our room! We checked with the front desk the night before we were supposed to move from the one-bedroom to the studio to see if there was somewhere to put groceries. The CM scanned my band and looked something up on the computer and said it looked like they were going to keep us in the same room! (Makes sense, not having to clean two and displace us for a night.) They told us to check back first thing in the morning and, sure enough, we got to stay. That was really nice!

*Conclusions/thoughts:*
I was most worried about masks in the heat and a lack of magic, but neither was a problem. I loved the character pop-ups (though I somehow missed both Merida and the stepsisters on our MK day)! The CMs were amazing and all very happy to be there and have guests back. Orlando in July is just miserably hot, so the masks don't really make it any worse. Just be sure you fine one that fits well, the material isn't too heavy and try for a lighter color so it doesn't absorb the sun. You'll honestly almost forget it's there most of the time. We never did need to use any of the relaxation areas, though it's nice they are there.

I did miss some of our favorite signature restaurants, but noticed new things open every day. I'm glad they're being smart and stepping back open a little at a time. I wouldn't take anyone on a first time trip right now, or try to do a big family group or a bunch of little kids who are into characters, shows and fireworks, but for us it was a really nice bit of "normal" that we needed.  We are going back the first week of October and can't wait!

EDITED TO ADD: 
We're both working from home and able to self-quarantine until we can get tested and get results. Advice is to wait 3-5 days before getting tested, and here it's taking 24-48 hours for results. We're basically behaving as if we've caught it, just in case.


----------



## Nick6300

The Expert said:


> We got back last night after a short trip. It was just DH and I, both 49 and in good health (no kids or at-risk contacts at home here in Utah).
> We arrived late afternoon on Thursday, July 23. Departed afternoon of Monday, July 27. We stayed at AKV Kidani. We were in a one-bedroom savanna view the first three nights, then a studio savanna view the last night due to points banking rules.
> 
> We flew out on Delta on a non-stop flight; our second air travel trip since Covid restrictions. Both airports were empty with not great mask compliance in the terminal or at the gate, but once on-board everyone followed the rules most of the time. Delta blocks middle seats and only fills the planes 60%. It was "full" by those standards but we felt like we had plenty of room. We rented a car and have status with Avis so went right to the car. We had scheduled a grocery pick-up at the Publix on John Young Parkway and picked that up on our way from the airport. We landed after 4 so our room was ready and we went directly there with no issues.
> 
> Thursday night we reserved Epcot primarily to do the Food & Wine booths for dinner.
> Friday was Magic Kingdom.
> Saturday we did Animal Kingdom and had a reservation at Wine Bar George for dinner.
> Sunday was Hollywood Studios and a reservation for California Grill for dinner.
> Monday we revisited Epcot until about 3, when we had to go to the airport.
> 
> Overall the parks were pretty empty except for Studios. Most rides didn't get up to more than a 30-45 minute wait at peak. But until they change the system for getting RotR, everybody will continue to get to DHS at the same time, and it's not going to work if they want to increase capacity there. It wasn't July-level busy but definitely on par with crowds we see during our normal October/November trips. That said, people were really good about complying with the mask rules. Or they were everywhere except Disney Springs. We did see someone in line at Runaway Railway take their mask off to sneeze twice into their arm. Also at RotR the adult man and teen boy in line in front of us touched literally every surface in the queue. But otherwise, everyone was trying and the CMs were great about catching noses peeking out and such.
> 
> Now, back to Disney Springs. When we went for Wine Bar George on Saturday, we decided to drive our rental car. As we approached, there were signs saying surface parking was "at capacity" and that both Orange and Lime garages were full. There was seemingly no alternative for parking at all! We started to panic, but followed a line of traffic that did a u-turn at Hotel Plaza Blvd and went in through the valet entrance (valet was closed). They had that one single access open for the Orange garage, but no signage or anything telling people that. It was crazy! Thankfully we'd given ourselves time to get there and weren't too late. Disney Springs was BY FAR busier than any other area of property and mask compliance was maybe 70%. I would definitely avoid it if you can.
> 
> We spent some time every afternoon at the Maji Pool Bar, which was not terribly busy. The pool was pretty full most days that it didn't storm, and they don't require masks on the deck. They DO require them if you come up to order at the bar and probably half of the people coming from the pool area forgot to put theirs on when they came up. The bartenders would mention it and remind them, but still take their orders. The tables were far enough from the bar and ordering area that we didn't feel unsafe.
> 
> We had a little pixie dust with our room! We checked with the front desk the night before we were supposed to move from the one-bedroom to the studio to see if there was somewhere to put groceries. The CM scanned my band and looked something up on the computer and said it looked like they were going to keep us in the same room! (Makes sense, not having to clean two and displace us for a night.) They told us to check back first thing in the morning and, sure enough, we got to stay. That was really nice!
> 
> *Conclusions/thoughts:*
> I was most worried about masks in the heat and a lack of magic, but neither was a problem. I loved the character pop-ups (though I somehow missed both Merida and the stepsisters on our MK day)! The CMs were amazing and all very happy to be there and have guests back. Orlando in July is just miserably hot, so the masks don't really make it any worse. Just be sure you fine one that fits well, the material isn't too heavy and try for a lighter color so it doesn't absorb the sun. You'll honestly almost forget it's there most of the time. We never did need to use any of the relaxation areas, though it's nice they are there.
> 
> I did miss some of our favorite signature restaurants, but noticed new things open every day. I'm glad they're being smart and stepping back open a little at a time. I wouldn't take anyone on a first time trip right now, or try to do a big family group or a bunch of little kids who are into characters, shows and fireworks, but for us it was a really nice bit of "normal" that we needed.  We are going back the first week of October and can't wait!



Thank you for your trip notes. 
I would think that Delta still fills every row? So despite not having someone in the middle seat, there could still be someone in your lap. We're flying Delta on way there and American on way back, which I would guess tries to fill completely, inc. middle seat, since they're in rougher shape, don't have as much cash build up.


----------



## Dismrk155

Well written. Thank You. Our vacation  cancelled at Disney. Got up did my 10 miles on the bike path to the Erie Canal. Enjoyed a Tim Hortons coffee and went home. Had dinner on the deck.


----------



## The Expert

Nick6300 said:


> Thank you for your trip notes.
> I would think that Delta still fills every row? So despite not having someone in the middle seat, there could still be someone in your lap. We're flying Delta on way there and American on way back, which I would guess tries to fill completely, inc. middle seat, since they're in rougher shape, don't have as much cash build up.



They did not block rows front-to-back, no. Not even in First. But they are using some kind of super HEPA filter like what is used in surgical rooms. Between that, everyone wearing masks, extra cleaning of the plane between flights and the individual wipes to clean your own area again if you want, I felt very safe.


----------



## The Expert

Dismrk155 said:


> Well written. Thank You. Our vacation  cancelled at Disney. Got up did my 10 miles on the bike path to the Erie Canal. Enjoyed a Tim Hortons coffee and went home. Had dinner on the deck. View attachment 514277



Nice setup you got there! Sorry you weren't able to be at Disney.


----------



## Dismrk155

The Expert said:


> Nice setup you got there! Sorry you weren't able to be at Disney.


I love it. No plane trips for the rest of the year. Were heading to the baseball hall of fame, herkimer diamonds mines and howe caverns late next month.


----------



## Dismrk155

Erie Canal. North Tonawanda


----------



## Dismrk155

Erie Canal. North Tonawanda


----------



## Spazz2k

Wife and I just got back from a quick spur of the moment trip Sunday till Tuesday staying at Copper Creek..

Here are some thoughts
Booked a Studio and when we arrived, we were upgraded to a 2nd floor 1 Bedroom overlooking the pool towards the end of the hall.  Great spot to exit right out the room down to the pool and the pool bar.

Tickets go by what appears to be most restrictive...what I mean by that is, I booked the room 1st, then bought and made reservations for the parks.  I wanted to do HS on Sunday, but it was sold out for resort guests, but not for people who purchased tickets....so when I said, I am buying tickets not using my AP, they told me I should have gotten the tickets 1st as they had availability, but because I got my resort 1st...they go by that.  I thought that was strange.  Something to keep in mind.  On another note...we are AP holders (silver) blacked out till the 7th of Aug.  I thought that if I bought tickets I can have the cost of those tickets applied to my renewal...but was told that was not the case.  They said I am blocked out right now, and in order for me to do that I would have to purchase the tickets while I was not blocked out and use them then...so I never realized that.  They said it is so if I want to go say to HS and it is sold out for passholders but not people purchasing tickets, buy the tickets and tell them to apply it to your renewal...

Going to the parks and resorts right now is really hard on the spur of the moment, at least it was for us.  If you don’t have a reservation for dinner at the resort or TS at the parks prior to arrival....they are basically sold out.  We got lucky at Y&Y at AK when the manager was at the front checkin desk and he hooked us up with a table, but you couldn’t get in anything all day and night at both AK and HS Sunday or Monday.  Might not seem like a big deal, but when it is over 100 with heat index...going inside to sit for lunch and a drink is a blessing.  At the lodge, you could do QS or limited menu at pool bar, which we wound up doing both nights.

Pools are pretty easy to deal with...not really crowded at all and plenty of space to socially distance and hang out.  Only thing we found strange was the number of people who went out on Monday morning to the pool outside of Boulder Ridge and put towels all over the seats with cover at 7am ....lol felt like we were on a cruise.  20+ towels out....3 people in the pool.  All in all we enjoyed hanging out at the pool in the evening both nights and cooling off.

As most people have said...Disney does a great job with both social distancing and cleaning.  We felt safe the entire time without issue, both on the rides and walking around.  Speaking of rides...no lines for anything we did...they were all walk on.  We did get Rise of the Resistance passes at 10 am...the ride is different with all the new Covid stuff...from the barriers...to the shuttle part of the ride...to the end of the ride.  Not the same as opening day and opening week.  So side not for anyone trying to get on the ride....reboot your phone when you get into the park...turn of WiFi and Bluetooth and go stand up against the railing of the lake in the center of the park...open the app 1.5 mins before 10...we have never had a problem getting in the virtual queue doing this... WiFi, Bluetooth, buildings and crowds will mess with your ability to get thru.

What else....we drove to the parks both days...didn’t do any transportation 
Was hot as heck both days....phew 
Enjoyed our time together back in the parks


----------



## vinotinto

Spazz2k said:


> Wife and I just got back from a quick spur of the moment trip Sunday till Tuesday staying at Copper Creek..
> 
> Here are some thoughts
> Booked a Studio and when we arrived, we were upgraded to a 2nd floor 1 Bedroom overlooking the pool towards the end of the hall.  Great spot to exit right out the room down to the pool and the pool bar.
> 
> Tickets go by what appears to be most restrictive...what I mean by that is, I booked the room 1st, then bought and made reservations for the parks. * I wanted to do HS on Sunday, but it was sold out for resort guests, but not for people who purchased tickets....so when I said, I am buying tickets not using my AP, they told me I should have gotten the tickets 1st as they had availability, but because I got my resort 1st...they go by that. * I thought that was strange.  Something to keep in mind.  On another note...we are AP holders (silver) blacked out till the 7th of Aug.  I thought that if I bought tickets I can have the cost of those tickets applied to my renewal...but was told that was not the case.  They said I am blocked out right now, and in order for me to do that I would have to purchase the tickets while I was not blocked out and use them then...so I never realized that.  They said it is so if I want to go say to HS and it is sold out for passholders but not people purchasing tickets, buy the tickets and tell them to apply it to your renewal...
> 
> Going to the parks and resorts right now is really hard on the spur of the moment, at least it was for us.  If you don’t have a reservation for dinner at the resort or TS at the parks prior to arrival....they are basically sold out.  We got lucky at Y&Y at AK when the manager was at the front checkin desk and he hooked us up with a table, but you couldn’t get in anything all day and night at both AK and HS Sunday or Monday.  Might not seem like a big deal, but when it is over 100 with heat index...going inside to sit for lunch and a drink is a blessing.  At the lodge, you could do QS or limited menu at pool bar, which we wound up doing both nights.
> 
> Pools are pretty easy to deal with...not really crowded at all and plenty of space to socially distance and hang out.  Only thing we found strange was the number of people who went out on Monday morning to the pool outside of Boulder Ridge and put towels all over the seats with cover at 7am ....lol felt like we were on a cruise.  20+ towels out....3 people in the pool.  All in all we enjoyed hanging out at the pool in the evening both nights and cooling off.
> 
> As most people have said...Disney does a great job with both social distancing and cleaning.  We felt safe the entire time without issue, both on the rides and walking around.  Speaking of rides...no lines for anything we did...they were all walk on.  We did get Rise of the Resistance passes at 10 am...the ride is different with all the new Covid stuff...from the barriers...to the shuttle part of the ride...to the end of the ride.  Not the same as opening day and opening week.  So side not for anyone trying to get on the ride....reboot your phone when you get into the park...turn of WiFi and Bluetooth and go stand up against the railing of the lake in the center of the park...open the app 1.5 mins before 10...we have never had a problem getting in the virtual queue doing this... WiFi, Bluetooth, buildings and crowds will mess with your ability to get thru.
> 
> What else....we drove to the parks both days...didn’t do any transportation
> Was hot as heck both days....phew
> Enjoyed our time together back in the parks


I find the whole 'people with tickets getting priority over resort guests because their bucket is not sold out' rather annoying. I understand that they already have the resort guests' package ticket $$ and want to make more from those buying tickets, but it is still annoying.


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

vinotinto said:


> Back from 9 days at WDW July 18-26. We had 1.5 days at Epcot, 2 days at DHS, 2 days at AK and 2.25 days at MK.
> 
> These are my observations and impressions. It's possible someone else has a different experience, because the same way you cannot step into the same river twice, you cannot step into the same park twice, LOL!
> 
> *Highlights and Positives:*
> 1. *Overall *- IMHO, Disney hit it out of the ballpark in terms of safety, while balancing providing an amazing experience in the middle of a pandemic. My DH got really cold feet about a week before we were scheduled to leave, It was around the time that FL hit 15,000 new cases in one day and he asked me (rather passive-aggressively) "we are not _really _going to FL next weekend, are we?" I had been monitoring the pictures and reports here on DISBoards and I said to him, "I really think it's going to be fine." And it was. Low crowds allowed physical-distancing and masks were enforced (more on this later). Low crowds made our visit much more relaxing and pleasant (more on this later too).
> 
> 2. *Mask Enforcement* - One of the concerns of many here on the DISboards was whether masks would be enforced. We noticed that mask enforcement got proactively and progressively better after the first couple of days. For example, on our first say (July 18th) at Epcot, I saw plenty of people with masks down, walking and eating. On our second Epcot day, I did not see a single person walking and eating with the masks down. I saw CMs walking around with a sign that said: "Wear a face covering unless stopped to eat or drink." There were signs on each cart/restaurant that said "Face coverings are to be worn at all times except when actively eating or drinking while stationary and physically distanced."
> 
> Saw a couple on the right pathway (by the old rose garden) to the side of the castle taking a selfie.  They were the only ones there - there was no one within at least a 30-40 feet radius from them, and a CM yelled at them all the way from the bridge to Fantasyland to put on their mask.
> 
> I also started hearing reminders that face covering must cover nose and mouth while on the ride more as the trip went along. On our last few days, I would say mask compliance at resort, parks, transportation, etc., was in the 99%. It was that good. Most guests we encountered were really good about proper wear.
> 
> 3. *Lower Crowds* - We enjoyed being able to move around the walkways without bumping into people. It made the experience most pleasant and made physical distancing possible. DHS seemed the most "congested," but MK definitely had the most people. Epcot was the least congested.
> 
> 4. *Waits / No FPs *- Some waits were longer than FastPass+ lines. We waited 20 minutes for 7DMT. 20 minutes is nothing if you have been in one of the typical 120 minute lines there, but with FP+, I've never waited more than 5 minutes. Same with Jungle Cruise. But, some had as short or shorter waits without FPs. Space Mountain was often a walk-on for us this trip. Test Track and Soarin were walk-ons in the evening!
> 
> And the total experience of not being bound to a specific time or having to refresh to get additional FPs made the total experience more positive for my family. If the crowd levels stay the way they are, I think this is a win over FP+. Also, being able to finally walk through the queues, for example, at FoP, and finally see them was great.
> 
> 5. *Characters *- We really enjoyed the roaming cavalcades and thought they were more fun than waiting for the Meet and Greets. The ones on the boats at AK were so original and fun. Characters (Rey, Vi Moradi, Storm Troopers, etc.) popped up on top of the low buildings at SWGE. Very cool. And my absolute favorite were Anastasia and Drizella on the castle. they interacted from up there with guests. They were a hoot!
> 
> 6. *QS/Mobile Ordering* - This worked well. Cpt Cooks at Poly was very fast and the food was good/fresh. At the parks, we had to wait a while at Pecos Bill, but Cosmic Ray's was very quick. I wish they all had mobile order. At Epcot, many places do not have the mobile ordering set-up yet at the World Showcase. Tangeriene Cafe did NOT have mobile order and someone snagged our food. After we realized that they handed the tray to the wrong party, I had to convince them that "no, the other party wasn't part of my party and I never got my lamb." LOL. My only issue is that customizations were more limited than what you could do when you talked to a human (more on this below).
> 
> 7. *TS Dining* - We mostly enjoyed the TS dining. The food tasted fresh and the restaurants were limited in capacity. Some did a better job than others at spacing. Shout outs to Sci-Fi, Tiffins, Wine Bar George, Yak & Yeti and Spice Road for excellent spacing between parties (more than 6 feet, which I feel it is appropriate indoors).  You will need reservations for Sci-Fi and Yak & Yeti. Saw tons of people being turned away, and when you are seated inside you can understand why as capacity was greatly reduced to allow for distancing.
> 
> Tiffins and Cali Grill showed why they are Signatures and I highly recommend them. Food was at least as good as in previous trips, wines still great and they had more variety in the menu than most of the 'reduced' menus in other restaurants.
> 
> 8. *Lounges *- We love the lounges, and ate/drank at Baseline, Oga's, Nomad's. More on this below...
> 
> 9. *Taste of Epcot* - The indoor "Festival Marketplace" with 4 booths had plenty of distanced tables and A/C. Great place for a food break. Lines for booths were non-existent and a great experience overall.
> 
> 10. *Mariachi Cobre/Marimba de las Americas and Jammitors* - Were a highlight of the week. These were the only performances this week and we loved them. Very few people in the huge outdoor auditorium. Go see them!
> 
> 11. *RotR *- If you can get there, it's worth trying for a boarding group. It's a great ride.
> 
> 12. *MMRR *- Very cute and a wonderful addition to DHS. I know many won't agree, but I thought it was better than GMR.
> 
> 13. *Poly *- Poly was spotless, and the quiet pool (Oasis) was a delight in the mornings and afternoons (while people were in the parks and at dinner).
> 
> 14. *Transportation *- We drove to all the parks from Poly, so I cannot comment on the bus. Just felt safer having our vehicle. Parking was quick and efficient. I highly recommend having a car.
> 
> *Things We Missed /Caveats*
> 15. *QS/Mobile Ordering* - Customization through the app were limited. For example, at Pecos Bill, I wanted a salad with the taco beef topping. Nope. You can have nachos with the beef topping or salad with chicken or pork, but not a salad with beef topping. I mostly eat low carb and there wasn't always a way to swap out the carb sides for non-carb sides elsewhere on the menu. Menus were also limited, so only a few options, especially for those with food preferences.
> 
> 16. *Lounges *- Nomad's menu is pretty short now and you cannot order anymore from the Tiffin's menu.  Also, Tutto Gusto was listed in the app as being open, but it's only open to sit guests from Tutto Italia. There isn't really a Lounge with food anymore at Epcot as Tutto Gusto is closed and Cava is only serving booze (no guac and chips).
> 
> 17. *Performers / Performances* - We really missed the non-rides/streetsmosphere/performers. Some of our favorite things to watch are on an indefinite pause - Monster's Laugh Floor, Citizens of Hollywood, Dapper Dans, Beauty and the Beast show, FotLK, Nemo, Epcot's countries performers (acrobats, serveur amusant, sergio, etc.), AK performers, etc. The harambe drummers were on a float, and they sounded wonderful, but they went by fast and left you wishing you could listen to them some more.
> 
> 18. *Need More Mask Reminders* - As the week went along, this got better, but at the beginning of the week not every ride was reminding guests to keep their nose and mouth covered. The guy next to me pulled his mask down on FoP. I only had one banshee between me and him. More reminders are needed. This did get much better as the week got along.
> 
> 19. *Transportation *- At monorail, they would sit two parties per doorway - one on each couch, which is much better than the usual cramming that used to happen. However, we were sat across from someone who was wearing one of those masks with the vent and the space did not seem large enough for being indoors with basically someone across from you being maskless. Yeah, I hear those masks with valves are now banned (thankfully), but I think two parties is too much for one doorway. if someone takes off a mask, it can lead to a confrontation. We opted for the Ferryboat, but the walkway from Poly wasn't open until after 9 am, so for those trying to arrive at MK early, that option would not work.
> 
> 20. *TS Dining* - Some restaurants felt rather crowded, even being at 50% capacity. Kona was the worst one. Only about 6 feet between parties. Just too little for indoor spacing, IMHO. Raglan Road also seemed rather close too.
> 
> 21. *Evening Pool Time* - With only the quiet (Oasis) pool open after 9pm, and no fireworks or spectaculars to pull guests away, the Oasis pool after 8:30pm felt like the Lava pool at 4pm in July 2019. Distancing was difficult.
> 
> 22. *Housekeping during Trip* - I'm not a fan of the "light housekeeping." 8 nights and they came once. Another time, they knocked after 9pm to see if we wanted housekeeping. Hmm, not at that time, no, thank you.
> 
> OK, so those are my experiences. I will try to dig up come pics of this stuff. Ask away!


Did you see toddler age kids wearing masks? Curious about the 2-3 age range.


----------



## vinotinto

Jonathan Friedman said:


> Did you see toddler age kids wearing masks? Curious about the 2-3 age range.


Yes, tons of little ones! They did great with masks. Do you have 2-year old? make sure they have worn masks in your neighborhood. It will be easier at Disney because EVERYONE is wearing it, including all the kids, and the CMs will nicely remind them, and there is so much to see and do they forget. They follow whatever the adults were doing.


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

vinotinto said:


> Yes, tons of little ones! They did great with masks. Do you have 2-year old? make sure they have worn masks in your neighborhood. It will be easier at Disney because EVERYONE is wearing it, including all the kids, and the CMs will nicely remind them, and there is so much to see and do they forget. They follow whatever the adults were doing.


Yes he’s just over two and we feel he will be ok. We are just concerned about being asked to leave if he struggles.


----------



## soniam

The Expert said:


> EDITED TO ADD:
> We're both working from home and able to self-quarantine until we can get tested and get results. Advice is to wait 3-5 days before getting tested, and here it's taking 24-48 hours for results. We're basically behaving as if we've caught it, just in case.



I'm curious why you are getting tested, if you are quarantining anyway. We got back last Wednesday and are quarantining for 14 days. We also can work from home. I wasn't even going to bother getting tested. We just check our temps everyday and have been since mid-March. Plus, getting tested here in Austin requires you to show symptoms and can take more than a week to get results.


----------



## dachsie

soniam said:


> I'm curious why you are getting tested, if you are quarantining anyway. We got back last Wednesday and are quarantining for 14 days. We also can work from home. I wasn't even going to bother getting tested. We just check our temps everyday and have been since mid-March. Plus, getting tested here in Austin requires you to show symptoms and can take more than a week to get results.


Are you quarantining by choice or are you being told to?


----------



## soniam

dachsie said:


> Are you quarantining by choice or are you being told to?



By choice


----------



## monkeydawn

soniam said:


> I'm curious why you are getting tested, if you are quarantining anyway. We got back last Wednesday and are quarantining for 14 days. We also can work from home. I wasn't even going to bother getting tested. We just check our temps everyday and have been since mid-March. Plus, getting tested here in Austin requires you to show symptoms and can take more than a week to get results.


I'd tag on and say I agree with your method as safer.  A test at 3-5 days post trip means you dont have a sufficient viral load at that point in time.  But there are still 9-11 days when you could potentially have a viral load high enough to infect others.  Getting the test mid incubation period is problematic to me for a few reasons:
1-I'd expect at least some people would take that negative as a go ahead to stop quarantining
2-You arent quarantining when you go out to get the test
3-False negatives are still higher than I'd like to see
4-That test, which really doesnt tell you if you brought anything home since it's mid incubation, could be taking testing capacity away from someone that needs it or contributing to a longer result time frame, it feels like a waste of a test to me

I also dont see any upside to the test.  It's not as if you can safely stop quarantining until 14 days past your trip end.  There isnt really anything you can take if you are asymptomatic yet positive that has been proven effective at helping.  I guess if you take a bad turn you can tell the ICU people you already have a positive test from X date but that seems like a negligible benefit.  But I am also in an area where you cant just get a test because you want one (and traveling isnt a good enough reason to get a test) so maybe that is coloring my perception, I'd have to lie about symptoms to get tested.

Curious to see what the reason is for testing at that point because I've seen several people say it and, like I said above, I can only think of reasons not to and no real reason to get tested.


----------



## Nick6300

monkeydawn said:


> I'd tag on and say I agree with your method as safer.  A test at 3-5 days post trip means you dont have a sufficient viral load at that point in time.  But there are still 9-11 days when you could potentially have a viral load high enough to infect others.  Getting the test mid incubation period is problematic to me for a few reasons:
> 1-I'd expect at least some people would take that negative as a go ahead to stop quarantining
> 2-You arent quarantining when you go out to get the test
> 3-False negatives are still higher than I'd like to see
> 4-That test, which really doesnt tell you if you brought anything home since it's mid incubation, could be taking testing capacity away from someone that needs it or contributing to a longer result time frame, it feels like a waste of a test to me
> 
> I also dont see any upside to the test.  It's not as if you can safely stop quarantining until 14 days past your trip end.  There isnt really anything you can take if you are asymptomatic yet positive that has been proven effective at helping.  I guess if you take a bad turn you can tell the ICU people you already have a positive test from X date but that seems like a negligible benefit.  But I am also in an area where you cant just get a test because you want one (and traveling isnt a good enough reason to get a test) so maybe that is coloring my perception, I'd have to lie about symptoms to get tested.
> 
> Curious to see what the reason is for testing at that point because I've seen several people say it and, like I said above, I can only think of reasons not to and no real reason to get tested.


Got tested today because I was forced to for surgery on Fri. I honestly didn’t even know how the test was supposed to be done. They shoved the swab so hard up each nostril that I laid back hard. Here in IL we have drive by tests, free, for anyone to test anytime. But I had to go to a dr for a quicker turnaround test.


----------



## monkeydawn

Nick6300 said:


> Got tested today because I was forced to for surgery on Fri. I honestly didn’t even know how the test was supposed to be done. They shoved the swab so hard up each nostril that I laid back hard. Here in IL we have drive by tests, free, for anyone to test anytime. But I had to go to a dr for a quicker turnaround test.


GL!  Ive heard both that the tests are bad and that they arent.  I guess it depends on your personal comfort level.  If I insert something into my nose (dont ask how I know, just accept it as fact LOL) I tend to sneeze.  Slightly terrified of that with respect to testing.  It wouldnt keep me from going if I felt it was best for the situation but it does make me nervous.

Ive heard the drive thru testing at CVS here is self administered.  I dont know that I'd trust myself to successfully do that (especially if I had never had one properly administered before).


----------



## Geomom

Here now.  Arrived Saturday, staying until 8/8, 3 resorts. Flew from MHT on Southwest.  MHT was so-so with masks.  The Dunkin employee had her nose exposed and then saw a security guard come over to talk with her...no mask on the security guard.  Thankfully felt very safe on Southwest.  Our flight was less than half full, smelled super clean.  Everyone wore masks unless actively eating/drinking.  Had empty rows in front and behind our 2 rows, just people across the aisle from us.  Picked up our luggage at MCO, used DME.  Was on a bus in 15 minutes, we were 3rd stop.  DME leaving 2 rows empty between groups, and assigning you spots to sit.  Group in front of us took off their masks for the ride, unfortunately.

First 5 NTS at Grand Floridian villas, studio.  One of the worst balcony views...view of portico roof and a sliver of monorail...oh well... someone was going to get that room guess it was our turn.  Just a warning about mobile order at Gasparilla grill... check the slip on the bag of food when you pick it up, we've had numerous items missing that we paid for.  If you tell them before you leave, and can show your order confirmation, they'll give you the items.  Haven't gone to pool yet.  Close to 100% mask compliance around resort.  Used monorail to go to MK Sunday and today.  Sunday we were put in a car with 2 maskless people on way to MK.  Other trips we were the only ones in our car.  Bus to Epcot Monday, we were only ones on bus TO Epcot.  Full bus back, everyone had masks and were in their assigned areas.  

Epcot felt too empty on Monday in world showcase.  Mask compliance 95%.  Only waits for rides was due to cleaning procedures, Frozen and the land were around half hour waits.  It was hot!  Had dinner at Rose and Crown after showers had come through, so it was comfortable outside eating.  Cheese board was yummy.  

Magic kingdom was much more crowded today (Tuesday) than it was Sunday.  Bottlenecks noticeable by Peter pan/small world.  Mask compliance was actually better today than Sunday, but it felt cooler and less humid today, so that may be why.  It was excellent both days, but only saw a couple noses today.  More strollers around today as well.  Sunday we had lunch at liberty tree tavern...they seated us in diamond horseshoe.  It was a much needed mask free a/c break.  Tables were spaced well, felt safe.  Food yummy!  Today we did mobile order at Pinocchio for lunch around 12:30.  It was a cluster of people/chaos inside after getting the text our order was ready.  Eventually got our food, ended up eating outside as no tables free inside, but it was fine, felt safer outside after the chaos inside.  Had dinner at The Wave.  Tables well spaced and food was delicious.  

Masks, we're all wearing cloth ones, 1/day.  I have disposables and extra cloth in our day pack just in case.  DH and I are using cloth ones from Old Navy, great price for them ($2.50/mask).  Patterned ones seem thicker/harder to breathe through in the humidity.  Solid colors were thinner and more comfortable outside.  Kids (20 and 16) have K-pop themed ones, different material.  We're all doing well with them, but it's nice to have a break during lunch/dinner.

We're having a good time, nice to be here after 4 months at home.  It is definitely different though.  Disney has done a great job with safety precautions.  Love the social distancing in lines and on rides.  But people are people, you need to be comfortable with less than 100% compliance.  

Will try to report more if I have a chance during our trip.


----------



## koquinn

For those of you flying Southwest, are they still doing the lineup for boarding ahead of time? How are they handling distancing that way?


----------



## Sarahraegraham

koquinn said:


> For those of you flying Southwest, are they still doing the lineup for boarding ahead of time? How are they handling distancing that way?


They’re calling 10 at a time, and you just walk up to the agent, scan and board. PIT had ground markers for those ten to stand on. MCO did not.


----------



## ckelly14

Not sure I would get into a monorail car with 2 mask less people and not pitch a fit


----------



## 720L

What is everyone doing with their towels & garbage with limited housekeeping? I'm packing garbage bags because normally our garbage is full every day because the trash cans are so small.


----------



## Doingitagain

720L said:


> What is everyone doing with their towels & garbage with limited housekeeping? I'm packing garbage bags because normally our garbage is full every day because the trash cans are so small.


We are in a Jambo villa.  They are stopping by every day to pick up trash even though we don’t have any housekeeping scheduled for our six day stay.  She usually asks if we need anything else.  A bit annoying, because yesterday she knocked and came in even though the Room Occupied sign was out, and woke us (including the baby) from our afternoon nap.  I realize the sign had been out all day, but my son was in the room working remotely all day.


----------



## mak'smom

ckelly14 said:


> Not sure I would get into a monorail car with 2 mask less people and not pitch a fit



We had the same situation on the monorail.    Only one of our non-masking wearing riders was coughing without  her mask on. I did pitch a fit and she put her mask on for the remainder of the ride.  However, her companion‘s remained off.  It was the single most selfish thing I witnessed during our  seven day trip  and I wasn’t shy of telling them that. I also had an issue on FOP.  The couple in the room with us wore their masks under their nose for the whole ride. I asked them to put them over their nose and they refused. While we found most people were following the rules,  no matter how good of a job Disney does you are still at the mercy of other people.  My advice is to take the ferry boat to MK if you can and ask to be seated without other guests in the room at FOP. We did that the second time we rode and Disney  was able to accommodate the request.


----------



## Chumpieboy

Chisoxcollector said:


> Yes, I had to manually add my wife to the party after clicking Join.


Which is ridiculous.  They already know who is in my party.  They already know which of those party members have swiped their tickets into the park.  But you still have to waste precious seconds selecting your party to get into a BG?

Same issue with MDE and DVC website when making reservations - The DVC account is in my wife's name but I"m on the deed too.  Why the  do i have to re-enter my information each time we make a DVC reservation?  Why not assume that the same people already present will be attending FP and dining reservations?

Sorry.  rant over.


----------



## Kmedders

Question for those who have been or are there now. Are the buses taking a long time? We will be there in a few weeks and I’m trying to decide if we should rent a car. I prefer the Disney transportation, but if due to social distancing they are taking much longer, I’ll rent my own vehicle.


----------



## constanze

Kmedders said:


> Question for those who have been or are there now. Are the buses taking a long time? We will be there in a few weeks and I’m trying to decide if we should rent a car. I prefer the Disney transportation, but if due to social distancing they are taking much longer, I’ll rent my own vehicle.


I’m not sure if people are having different experiences depending on where they are staying— I was at the Riviera and never had any issues with the busses— I was there the 19th-26th— crowds were super low— never had to wait longer then a few minutes for any bus and was always able to get on


----------



## Kmedders

constanze said:


> I’m not sure if people are having different experiences depending on where they are staying— I was at the Riviera and never had any issues with the busses— I was there the 19th-26th— crowds were super low— never had to wait longer then a few minutes for any bus and was always able to get on



Great, thank you! We will be at Old Key West.


----------



## The Expert

soniam said:


> I'm curious why you are getting tested, if you are quarantining anyway. We got back last Wednesday and are quarantining for 14 days. We also can work from home. I wasn't even going to bother getting tested. We just check our temps everyday and have been since mid-March. Plus, getting tested here in Austin requires you to show symptoms and can take more than a week to get results.





dachsie said:


> Are you quarantining by choice or are you being told to?





monkeydawn said:


> I'd tag on and say I agree with your method as safer.  A test at 3-5 days post trip means you dont have a sufficient viral load at that point in time.  But there are still 9-11 days when you could potentially have a viral load high enough to infect others.  Getting the test mid incubation period is problematic to me for a few reasons:
> 1-I'd expect at least some people would take that negative as a go ahead to stop quarantining
> 2-You arent quarantining when you go out to get the test
> 3-False negatives are still higher than I'd like to see
> 4-That test, which really doesnt tell you if you brought anything home since it's mid incubation, could be taking testing capacity away from someone that needs it or contributing to a longer result time frame, it feels like a waste of a test to me
> 
> I also dont see any upside to the test.  It's not as if you can safely stop quarantining until 14 days past your trip end.  There isnt really anything you can take if you are asymptomatic yet positive that has been proven effective at helping.  I guess if you take a bad turn you can tell the ICU people you already have a positive test from X date but that seems like a negligible benefit.  But I am also in an area where you cant just get a test because you want one (and traveling isnt a good enough reason to get a test) so maybe that is coloring my perception, I'd have to lie about symptoms to get tested.
> 
> Curious to see what the reason is for testing at that point because I've seen several people say it and, like I said above, I can only think of reasons not to and no real reason to get tested.



We are quarantining by choice, and getting tested primarily out of curiosity, TBH. Testing is readily available with fast results here in Utah. The advice on the timing for testing is coming directly from the Intermountain Hospital system, where we will be scheduling ours. That said we don't really have anywhere to go and don't have any plans for haircuts, doc appointments or gym training sessions so we will likely just continue the quarantine anyway.


----------



## disneybass

Kmedders said:


> Great, thank you! We will be at Old Key West.


WE WERE AT OKW LAST WEEK AND THE BUS TRANSPORTATION WAS VERY SMOOTH


----------



## monorailmom

Geomom said:


> Here now.  Arrived Saturday, staying until 8/8, 3 resorts. Flew from MHT on Southwest.  MHT was so-so with masks.  The Dunkin employee had her nose exposed and then saw a security guard come over to talk with her...no mask on the security guard.  Thankfully felt very safe on Southwest.  Our flight was less than half full, smelled super clean.  Everyone wore masks unless actively eating/drinking.  Had empty rows in front and behind our 2 rows, just people across the aisle from us.  Picked up our luggage at MCO, used DME.  Was on a bus in 15 minutes, we were 3rd stop.  DME leaving 2 rows empty between groups, and assigning you spots to sit.  Group in front of us took off their masks for the ride, unfortunately.
> 
> First 5 NTS at Grand Floridian villas, studio.  One of the worst balcony views...view of portico roof and a sliver of monorail...oh well... someone was going to get that room guess it was our turn.  Just a warning about mobile order at Gasparilla grill... check the slip on the bag of food when you pick it up, we've had numerous items missing that we paid for.  If you tell them before you leave, and can show your order confirmation, they'll give you the items.  Haven't gone to pool yet.  Close to 100% mask compliance around resort.  Used monorail to go to MK Sunday and today.  Sunday we were put in a car with 2 maskless people on way to MK.  Other trips we were the only ones in our car.  Bus to Epcot Monday, we were only ones on bus TO Epcot.  Full bus back, everyone had masks and were in their assigned areas.
> 
> Epcot felt too empty on Monday in world showcase.  Mask compliance 95%.  Only waits for rides was due to cleaning procedures, Frozen and the land were around half hour waits.  It was hot!  Had dinner at Rose and Crown after showers had come through, so it was comfortable outside eating.  Cheese board was yummy.
> 
> Magic kingdom was much more crowded today (Tuesday) than it was Sunday.  Bottlenecks noticeable by Peter pan/small world.  Mask compliance was actually better today than Sunday, but it felt cooler and less humid today, so that may be why.  It was excellent both days, but only saw a couple noses today.  More strollers around today as well.  Sunday we had lunch at liberty tree tavern...they seated us in diamond horseshoe.  It was a much needed mask free a/c break.  Tables were spaced well, felt safe.  Food yummy!  Today we did mobile order at Pinocchio for lunch around 12:30.  It was a cluster of people/chaos inside after getting the text our order was ready.  Eventually got our food, ended up eating outside as no tables free inside, but it was fine, felt safer outside after the chaos inside.  Had dinner at The Wave.  Tables well spaced and food was delicious.
> 
> Masks, we're all wearing cloth ones, 1/day.  I have disposables and extra cloth in our day pack just in case.  DH and I are using cloth ones from Old Navy, great price for them ($2.50/mask).  Patterned ones seem thicker/harder to breathe through in the humidity.  Solid colors were thinner and more comfortable outside.  Kids (20 and 16) have K-pop themed ones, different material.  We're all doing well with them, but it's nice to have a break during lunch/dinner.
> 
> We're having a good time, nice to be here after 4 months at home.  It is definitely different though.  Disney has done a great job with safety precautions.  Love the social distancing in lines and on rides.  But people are people, you need to be comfortable with less than 100% compliance.
> 
> Will try to report more if I have a chance during our trip.




So frustrating to hear that you had pretty much the exact same experience at MHT that we did at the end of June.  I even emailed them to complain both about the security staff and the Dunkin’s.  I only got a pretty standard answer so I guess I’m not surprised it hasn’t improved.  We are leaving in just over 2weeks ugh at least we’ll know to bring breakfast this time.


----------



## APiratesLifeForMe2

yulilin3 said:


> Anyone can confirm the trams are not running?


No trams at any park. Long walk but parks not very crowded either so it isn’t terrible.


----------



## Dismrk155

*along the Erie Canal. SUNY Brockport. In our own backyard. If you can't get to Disney, discover your own area. *


----------



## scrappinginontario

It might be worth picking up masks at a reliable source like Costco or someplace like that rather than ordering online when they are going to be worn for an extended period of time.


----------



## GrumpyInPhilly

disneybass said:


> WE WERE AT OKW LAST WEEK AND THE BUS TRANSPORTATION WAS VERY SMOOTH



Hi.  Were the boats to Disney Springs running?


----------



## TaraD76

I’ve been checking my Disney experience and it looks like attraction wait times are going up.  Has anyone found this to be true?


----------



## yulilin3

TaraD76 said:


> I’ve been checking my Disney experience and it looks like attraction wait times are going up.  Has anyone found this to be true?


It's normal,  people are feeling more comfortable with positive reports on safety and social distancing guidelines


----------



## Epcot242

yulilin3 said:


> It's normal,  people are feeling more comfortable with positive reports on safety and social distancing guidelines



Do you mean that wait times are beginning to increase overall? Or still more or less the same as it's been the past few weeks?


----------



## yulilin3

Epcot242 said:


> Do you mean that wait times are beginning to increase overall? Or still more or less the same as it's been the past few weeks?


Wait times and crowds are starting to grow


----------



## brockash

Epcot242 said:


> Do you mean that wait times are beginning to increase overall? Or still more or less the same as it's been the past few weeks?


Not the OP, but from what I've been following; yes it seems things are getting more crowded and wait times are getting longer (compared to the first couple weeks of them being open.)


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

Noticed the crowds increasing too. We are going in September. Hope it stays relatively quiet.


----------



## Princess2R

TaraD76 said:


> I’ve been checking my Disney experience and it looks like attraction wait times are going up.  Has anyone found this to be true?



I noticed this too! I wonder what is going to happen in a few months.


----------



## Spazz2k

I can only go by this past Sunday and Monday and say that the crowd size was still very small.  We had no lines whatsoever at AK and really nothing crazy at HS.  I do think that after August 7th, when silver AP go active again, it will get very busy compared to the current level.  I can see wait times going up dramatically just due to increase in people and social distancing of the lines and ride capacity limits.


----------



## Dallasmomoftwo

Spazz2k said:


> I can only go by this past Sunday and Monday and say that the crowd size was still very small.  We had no lines whatsoever at AK and really nothing crazy at HS.  I do think that after August 7th, when silver AP go active again, it will get very busy compared to the current level.  I can see wait times going up dramatically just due to increase in people and social distancing of the lines and ride capacity limits.



Excellent. We arrive the 8th. Just what I wanted. Bigger crowds and long waits 
Just my luck!


----------



## reposado

Spazz2k said:


> I do think that after August 7th, when silver AP go active again, it will get very busy compared to the current level.  I can see wait times going up dramatically just due to increase in people and social distancing of the lines and ride capacity limits.



You are 100% correct. Even with the increased annual pass numbers per Disney it starts to fully sell out for annual pass holders starting exactly on the 7th. For that beautiful no crowd book a trip prior to the 7th. See link below:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/availability-calendar/?segments=tickets,resort,passholder


----------



## Ensusieasm

soniam said:


> The worst things that have happened so far:
> 1) son was sitting on a bench outside Soarin. A woman sat next to him. The bench maybe fit 3 people. We made him get up, and the rest of her trashy family ran him over to sit next to her.
> 
> 2) some teens drank from the fountains right next to where I was filling my water bottle in Batuu, like maybe a foot or so away. When I left, they started licking the fountains and the water bottle filler.
> 
> This is why we can’t have nice things


About those teens licking the water fountain and water bottle filler. Behavior like that can get a person arrested during the pandemic. There have been arrests for lesser offenses. I sure do wish they would have been led away in handcuffs.


----------



## Geomom

Another MK day today, looked as busy as yesterday when we arrived at 11am, but other than our 40 minute wait for 7D mine train at 11:30am (decided to wait today as we hadn't been on yet and it was closed due to PM storms our last 2 MK days), and 20 minutes for haunted mansion cleaning cycle, we walked on rides (or 5-10 minute waits) this afternoon, very different from yesterday.  Had lunch at pecos bill, not quite as crazy as Pinocchio inside...but still no indoor tables free, so we ate outside.  Saw a variety of 'entertainment': marching band, characters above train station, tink float, princess float, stitch and buzz at Tomorrowland, and interacted with Jack Sparrow (he was curious about their hair colors, telling DD20 that all of her would turn blue).  Dinner at Kona, good food, but tables too close, at most 4 ft from the back of my kids heads to the back of other people heads as they were on the bench seating.


----------



## soniam

Doingitagain said:


> We are in a Jambo villa.  They are stopping by every day to pick up trash even though we don’t have any housekeeping scheduled for our six day stay.  She usually asks if we need anything else.  A bit annoying, because yesterday she knocked and came in even though the Room Occupied sign was out, and woke us (including the baby) from our afternoon nap.  I realize the sign had been out all day, but my son was in the room working remotely all day.



That's the security check. The Room Occupied sign is effectively worthless now. If you don't want them in the room while you are there, you have to do the door latch.


----------



## Dave006

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> Excellent. We arrive the 8th. Just what I wanted. Bigger crowds and long waits
> Just my luck!


Won't be bigger crowds as long as the Disney Park Pass counts are limited. 

The busiest park was and will be HS due to Galaxy's Edge. Epcot and AK appear to be tied to the lowest attendance on a daily basis and they both have plenty of room for guests to spread out.  

Dave


----------



## MomOTwins

reposado said:


> You are 100% correct. Even with the increased annual pass numbers per Disney it starts to fully sell out for annual pass holders starting exactly on the 7th. For that beautiful no crowd book a trip prior to the 7th. See link below:
> 
> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/availability-calendar/?segments=tickets,resort,passholder


Right--MK, AK, and HS are pretty much all sold out to AP holders prior to the 7th, it's only Epcot that has availability most days.  Not going to make a difference if I go to HS on the 6th or the 8th since it equally sold out for both days.


----------



## scrappinginontario

soniam said:


> That's the security check. The Room Occupied sign is effectively worthless now. If you don't want them in the room while you are there, you have to do the door latch.


Agree although the room latch would be a much louder sound if a baby is sleeping when they attempt to open the door.  As you mentioned, security now accesses each room, each day.


----------



## koquinn

scrappinginontario said:


> Agree although the room latch would be a much louder sound if a baby is sleeping when they attempt to open the door.  As you mentioned, security now accesses each room, each day.


Why? I'm confused about why this is happening?


----------



## polynor

Kmedders said:


> Question for those who have been or are there now. Are the buses taking a long time? We will be there in a few weeks and I’m trying to decide if we should rent a car. I prefer the Disney transportation, but if due to social distancing they are taking much longer, I’ll rent my own vehicle.


We are at BLT now.  Buses have been ok, but we haven’t been trying to catch the opening except for DHS, and then we drove ourselves.  Tonight, we closed out Epcot and just missed a bus back.  One arrived within a minute  but had to go through some sort of check for about 10 min before we could board.  With that time, enough people had arrived that they had to take the next bus.  
with 6 zones, the buses fill up fast but they seem to be coming at a higher frequency.


----------



## scrappinginontario

koquinn said:


> Why? I'm confused about why this is happening?


 Disney security now checks every room each day.  They may change towels or take away garbage but basically they are ensuring nothing inappropriate is happening within the rooms.  Most major hotel chains started doing this after the tragedy in Las Vegas.


----------



## Doingitagain

soniam said:


> That's the security check. The Room Occupied sign is effectively worthless now. If you don't want them in the room while you are there, you have to do the door latch.


It was the door knocking that did it.  Yesterday my husband saw someone in the hall and requested it after four and they were there right at four.


----------



## koquinn

scrappinginontario said:


> Disney security now checks every room each day.  They may change towels or take away garbage but basically they are ensuring nothing inappropriate is happening within the rooms.  Most major hotel chains started doing this after the tragedy in Las Vegas.


That is really weird.  I guess it makes some sense but depressing thought.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

FWIW, you can read all about the room checks that have been occurring since 2018 on this thread over on the Resorts Board:  Guest experiences with daily room checks

To cut to the punchline, nearly every thread on the topic eventually has had to be closed by the moderator of the Resorts board, and that experience post sticky itself was ultimately closed earlier this year.  It's one of those topics where us DISers just can't seem to get along and discuss rationally. 

Feel free to carry the discussion over to the Resorts Board, but do so at your own risk.


----------



## APiratesLifeForMe2

Geomom said:


> Dinner at Kona, good food, but tables too close, at most 4 ft from the back of my kids heads to the back of other people heads as they were on the bench seating.


Completely agree with this. We had dinner at Kona and the bench seating is too close. We had horrific  service here too. They didn’t seem on their game.


----------



## JPM4

Leaving today after 4 days at OKW. Pack your patience with the busses. I didn’t go to any parks for rope drop but saw the amount of people at the bus stops and they did an ok job of sending busses with the social distancing inside but if you’re trying to get to DHS for Rise drive yourself or take an Uber. 
Went to the parks around noon each day and you can easily do everything you want to do and have plenty of time to spare. It is more relaxing however with the absence of park hoppers there isn’t much to do and night. Avoided Disney springs because of the stories I’ve heard. 
Felt DHS was by far the “busiest” but still manageable. DAK and MK unquestionably to me felt the safest. Epcot saw a lot of people walking and eating and drinking and not enough cast members to go around. 
  Was never huge DAK fans but absolutely fell in love with it during this time. The boat calvacades are great. You could ride anything anytime with minimal waits. Went to Nomad Lounge for the first time and it’s amazing. A seat by the water and you can see the characters go right by very cool.


----------



## CAQDaddy

GADisneyDad14 said:


> FWIW, you can read all about the room checks that have been occurring since 2018 on this thread over on the Resorts Board:  Guest experiences with daily room checks
> 
> To cut to the punchline, nearly every thread on the topic eventually has had to be closed by the moderator of the Resorts board, and that experience post sticky itself was ultimately closed earlier this year.  It's one of those topics where us DISers just can't seem to get along and discuss rationally.
> 
> Feel free to carry the discussion over to the Resorts Board, but do so at your own risk.


Reminds me of years ago when my then three year old nephew said, "The sky sure is blue."
My then two year old daughter replied, "No it's not."


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

JPM4 said:


> Leaving today after 4 days at OKW. Pack your patience with the busses. I didn’t go to any parks for rope drop but saw the amount of people at the bus stops and they did an ok job of sending busses with the social distancing inside but if you’re trying to get to DHS for Rise drive yourself or take an Uber.
> Went to the parks around noon each day and you can easily do everything you want to do and have plenty of time to spare. It is more relaxing however with the absence of park hoppers there isn’t much to do and night. Avoided Disney springs because of the stories I’ve heard.
> Felt DHS was by far the “busiest” but still manageable. DAK and MK unquestionably to me felt the safest. Epcot saw a lot of people walking and eating and drinking and not enough cast members to go around.
> Was never huge DAK fans but absolutely fell in love with it during this time. The boat calvacades are great. You could ride anything anytime with minimal waits. Went to Nomad Lounge for the first time and it’s amazing. A seat by the water and you can see the characters go right by very cool.


Curious if you saw mask enforcement on ages between 2 and 3 who had trouble wearing masks 100% of the time?


----------



## JPM4

I didn’t see any cm ask a child to put their mask on unless they were clearly older like 9+.


----------



## yulilin3

Jonathan Friedman said:


> Curious if you saw mask enforcement on ages between 2 and 3 who had trouble wearing masks 100% of the time?


today at MK saw a CM ask the mom to put the mask on the kid. She was in the stroller and looked to be around 4 or 5, the mom said "good luck having her keep it on"


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

yulilin3 said:


> today at MK saw a CM ask the mom to put the mask on the kid. She was in the stroller and looked to be around 4 or 5, the mom said "good luck having her keep it on"


4 or 5 I’d expect that. 2-3 is just a bit more challenging. What did the CM say in response to the mom?


----------



## yulilin3

Jonathan Friedman said:


> 4 or 5 I’d expect that. 2-3 is just a bit more challenging. What did the CM say in response to the mom?


she said :when you bought tickets and also on MDE you are told that everyone has to wear a mask when coming. The mom shrugged it off and put the mask on the child


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

yulilin3 said:


> she said :when you bought tickets and also on MDE you are told that everyone has to wear a mask when coming. The mom shrugged it off and put the mask on the child


Good! Hopefully my two year old does ok. Have you seen any around that age have trouble?


----------



## KimK2006

I am arriving on Wednesday night.  How are the lines to get on a bus in the morning?  If I want to arrive to a park and get through bag check by the time the parks open, how early should I get in line for the bus?  (Staying at Pop, if that matters...)  Also, how early are they letting guests in the parks before official opening time?


----------



## yulilin3

Jonathan Friedman said:


> Good! Hopefully my two year old does ok. Have you seen any around that age have trouble?


I've been very surprised with little ones, only a few have had issues (from what I've seen) best thing to do is practice at home and also wear yours while they little ones are practicing, wear them to walk outside around your neighborhood or to the park or even when watching TV


----------



## JFox

soniam said:


> That's the security check. The Room Occupied sign is effectively worthless now. If you don't want them in the room while you are there, you have to do the door latch.



I'm fine with a security check but do not want to be bothered when it's nap time.  You know what works?  A post it on the door that says "we are having sex".  Never been bothered since.


----------



## DisneyElite4

JFox said:


> I'm fine with a security check but do not want to be bothered when it's nap time.  You know what works?  A post it on the door that says "we are having sex".  Never been bothered since.



Hmmm...wonder if that will work with my kids here at home.


----------



## monroe18

I have to say, I was very disappointed with HS today. We were there on Sunday (our first park day) and it felt pretty crowded but tolerable. Today was a cluster. We rode the Skyliner from Pop and there were very long lines at Pop, at the transfer, then to get into the park. It was packed. They are allowing way too many reservations for this park considering its size and the limited number of attractions. If today had been our first park day, we would not go back the rest of the trip. The wait times are a little misleading IMO. Yes, some of the rides have lower wait times than average, but walking around the park is very crowded, especially Toy Story and Star Wars land.


----------



## MusicalAstronaut

Jonathan Friedman said:


> Good! Hopefully my two year old does ok. Have you seen any around that age have trouble?


When I was there, the little ones seemed to be doing better than the adults with wearing them.


----------



## MomOTwins

JFox said:


> I'm fine with a security check but do not want to be bothered when it's nap time.  You know what works?  A post it on the door that says "we are having sex".  Never been bothered since.


Lol, though have to say, if I were a security guard, that would probably make me MORE suspicious than a do not disturb sign.


----------



## monkeydawn

MomOTwins said:


> Lol, though have to say, if I were a security guard, that would probably make me MORE suspicious than a do not disturb sign.



I wonder if a more Disney way to say it would work, maybe "adult time"?


----------



## JFox

monkeydawn said:


> I wonder if a more Disney way to say it would work, maybe "adult time"?



As if the DO NOT DISTURB sign wasn't enough.


monkeydawn said:


> I wonder if a more Disney way to say it would work, maybe "adult time"?



Nope. This is more fun.  And that is what the DO NO DISTURB sign is for.


----------



## The Druggist

Two questions for everyone that has been recently: 
1. Are the pressed penny machines still operational?

2. Can you pay with cash?

we’re leaving Saturday 8/1 and I have a 7yo daughter that’s saved up her allowance for months for this trip. I’d just hate to get down there and her not be able to pay for things herself, with her “big girl” money. TIA.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

The Druggist said:


> Two questions for everyone that has been recently:
> 1. Are the pressed penny machines still operational?
> 
> 2. Can you pay with cash?
> 
> we’re leaving Saturday 8/1 and I have a 7yo daughter that’s saved up her allowance for months for this trip. I’d just hate to get down there and her not be able to pay for things herself, with her “big girl” money. TIA.



While I didn’t actually use any machines, they appeared to be operating as usual from my recollection.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Also, if we could keep the resort discussion to the Resorts Board, we’d appreciate it.  The room check topic has taken up a lot of bandwidth in this theme parks thread recently. 

Thanks.


----------



## dorospin

vinotinto said:


> Back from 9 days at WDW July 18-26. We had 1.5 days at Epcot, 2 days at DHS, 2 days at AK and 2.25 days at MK.
> 
> These are my observations and impressions. It's possible someone else has a different experience, because the same way you cannot step into the same river twice, you cannot step into the same park twice, LOL!
> 
> *Highlights and Positives:*
> 1. *Overall *- IMHO, Disney hit it out of the ballpark in terms of safety, while balancing providing an amazing experience in the middle of a pandemic. My DH got really cold feet about a week before we were scheduled to leave, It was around the time that FL hit 15,000 new cases in one day and he asked me (rather passive-aggressively) "we are not _really _going to FL next weekend, are we?" I had been monitoring the pictures and reports here on DISBoards and I said to him, "I really think it's going to be fine." And it was. Low crowds allowed physical-distancing and masks were enforced (more on this later). Low crowds made our visit much more relaxing and pleasant (more on this later too).
> 
> 2. *Mask Enforcement* - One of the concerns of many here on the DISboards was whether masks would be enforced. We noticed that mask enforcement got proactively and progressively better after the first couple of days. For example, on our first say (July 18th) at Epcot, I saw plenty of people with masks down, walking and eating. On our second Epcot day, I did not see a single person walking and eating with the masks down. I saw CMs walking around with a sign that said: "Wear a face covering unless stopped to eat or drink." There were signs on each cart/restaurant that said "Face coverings are to be worn at all times except when actively eating or drinking while stationary and physically distanced."
> 
> Saw a couple on the right pathway (by the old rose garden) to the side of the castle taking a selfie.  They were the only ones there - there was no one within at least a 30-40 feet radius from them, and a CM yelled at them all the way from the bridge to Fantasyland to put on their mask.
> 
> I also started hearing reminders that face covering must cover nose and mouth while on the ride more as the trip went along. On our last few days, I would say mask compliance at resort, parks, transportation, etc., was in the 99%. It was that good. Most guests we encountered were really good about proper wear.
> 
> 3. *Lower Crowds* - We enjoyed being able to move around the walkways without bumping into people. It made the experience most pleasant and made physical distancing possible. DHS seemed the most "congested," but MK definitely had the most people. Epcot was the least congested.
> 
> 4. *Waits / No FPs *- Some waits were longer than FastPass+ lines. We waited 20 minutes for 7DMT. 20 minutes is nothing if you have been in one of the typical 120 minute lines there, but with FP+, I've never waited more than 5 minutes. Same with Jungle Cruise. But, some had as short or shorter waits without FPs. Space Mountain was often a walk-on for us this trip. Test Track and Soarin were walk-ons in the evening!
> 
> And the total experience of not being bound to a specific time or having to refresh to get additional FPs made the total experience more positive for my family. If the crowd levels stay the way they are, I think this is a win over FP+. Also, being able to finally walk through the queues, for example, at FoP, and finally see them was great.
> 
> 5. *Characters *- We really enjoyed the roaming cavalcades and thought they were more fun than waiting for the Meet and Greets. The ones on the boats at AK were so original and fun. Characters (Rey, Vi Moradi, Storm Troopers, etc.) popped up on top of the low buildings at SWGE. Very cool. And my absolute favorite were Anastasia and Drizella on the castle. they interacted from up there with guests. They were a hoot!
> 
> 6. *QS/Mobile Ordering* - This worked well. Cpt Cooks at Poly was very fast and the food was good/fresh. At the parks, we had to wait a while at Pecos Bill, but Cosmic Ray's was very quick. I wish they all had mobile order. At Epcot, many places do not have the mobile ordering set-up yet at the World Showcase. Tangeriene Cafe did NOT have mobile order and someone snagged our food. After we realized that they handed the tray to the wrong party, I had to convince them that "no, the other party wasn't part of my party and I never got my lamb." LOL. My only issue is that customizations were more limited than what you could do when you talked to a human (more on this below).
> 
> 7. *TS Dining* - We mostly enjoyed the TS dining. The food tasted fresh and the restaurants were limited in capacity. Some did a better job than others at spacing. Shout outs to Sci-Fi, Tiffins, Wine Bar George, Yak & Yeti and Spice Road for excellent spacing between parties (more than 6 feet, which I feel it is appropriate indoors).  You will need reservations for Sci-Fi and Yak & Yeti. Saw tons of people being turned away, and when you are seated inside you can understand why as capacity was greatly reduced to allow for distancing.
> 
> Tiffins and Cali Grill showed why they are Signatures and I highly recommend them. Food was at least as good as in previous trips, wines still great and they had more variety in the menu than most of the 'reduced' menus in other restaurants.
> 
> 8. *Lounges *- We love the lounges, and ate/drank at Baseline, Oga's, Nomad's. More on this below...
> 
> 9. *Taste of Epcot* - The indoor "Festival Marketplace" with 4 booths had plenty of distanced tables and A/C. Great place for a food break. Lines for booths were non-existent and a great experience overall.
> 
> 10. *Mariachi Cobre/Marimba de las Americas and Jammitors* - Were a highlight of the week. These were the only performances this week and we loved them. Very few people in the huge outdoor auditorium. Go see them!
> 
> 11. *RotR *- If you can get there, it's worth trying for a boarding group. It's a great ride.
> 
> 12. *MMRR *- Very cute and a wonderful addition to DHS. I know many won't agree, but I thought it was better than GMR.
> 
> 13. *Poly *- Poly was spotless, and the quiet pool (Oasis) was a delight in the mornings and afternoons (while people were in the parks and at dinner).
> 
> 14. *Transportation *- We drove to all the parks from Poly, so I cannot comment on the bus. Just felt safer having our vehicle. Parking was quick and efficient. I highly recommend having a car.
> 
> *Things We Missed /Caveats*
> 15. *QS/Mobile Ordering* - Customization through the app were limited. For example, at Pecos Bill, I wanted a salad with the taco beef topping. Nope. You can have nachos with the beef topping or salad with chicken or pork, but not a salad with beef topping. I mostly eat low carb and there wasn't always a way to swap out the carb sides for non-carb sides elsewhere on the menu. Menus were also limited, so only a few options, especially for those with food preferences.
> 
> 16. *Lounges *- Nomad's menu is pretty short now and you cannot order anymore from the Tiffin's menu.  Also, Tutto Gusto was listed in the app as being open, but it's only open to sit guests from Tutto Italia. There isn't really a Lounge with food anymore at Epcot as Tutto Gusto is closed and Cava is only serving booze (no guac and chips).
> 
> 17. *Performers / Performances* - We really missed the non-rides/streetsmosphere/performers. Some of our favorite things to watch are on an indefinite pause - Monster's Laugh Floor, Citizens of Hollywood, Dapper Dans, Beauty and the Beast show, FotLK, Nemo, Epcot's countries performers (acrobats, serveur amusant, sergio, etc.), AK performers, etc. The harambe drummers were on a float, and they sounded wonderful, but they went by fast and left you wishing you could listen to them some more.
> 
> 18. *Need More Mask Reminders* - As the week went along, this got better, but at the beginning of the week not every ride was reminding guests to keep their nose and mouth covered. The guy next to me pulled his mask down on FoP. I only had one banshee between me and him. More reminders are needed. This did get much better as the week got along.
> 
> 19. *Transportation *- At monorail, they would sit two parties per doorway - one on each couch, which is much better than the usual cramming that used to happen. However, we were sat across from someone who was wearing one of those masks with the vent and the space did not seem large enough for being indoors with basically someone across from you being maskless. Yeah, I hear those masks with valves are now banned (thankfully), but I think two parties is too much for one doorway. if someone takes off a mask, it can lead to a confrontation. We opted for the Ferryboat, but the walkway from Poly wasn't open until after 9 am, so for those trying to arrive at MK early, that option would not work.
> 
> 20. *TS Dining* - Some restaurants felt rather crowded, even being at 50% capacity. Kona was the worst one. Only about 6 feet between parties. Just too little for indoor spacing, IMHO. Raglan Road also seemed rather close too.
> 
> 21. *Evening Pool Time* - With only the quiet (Oasis) pool open after 9pm, and no fireworks or spectaculars to pull guests away, the Oasis pool after 8:30pm felt like the Lava pool at 4pm in July 2019. Distancing was difficult.
> 
> 22. *Housekeping during Trip* - I'm not a fan of the "light housekeeping." 8 nights and they came once. Another time, they knocked after 9pm to see if we wanted housekeeping. Hmm, not at that time, no, thank you.
> 
> OK, so those are my experiences. I will try to dig up come pics of this stuff. Ask away!


I totally agree about housekeeping - in 7 nights our room was “lightly” cleaned once which meant trash and towel change. Highly recommend bringing garbage bags so that you can bag up garbage and towels as needed if you’re going for a long trip.


----------



## yulilin3

The Druggist said:


> Two questions for everyone that has been recently:
> 1. Are the pressed penny machines still operational?
> 
> 2. Can you pay with cash?
> 
> we’re leaving Saturday 8/1 and I have a 7yo daughter that’s saved up her allowance for months for this trip. I’d just hate to get down there and her not be able to pay for things herself, with her “big girl” money. TIA.


2. You can pay with cash but they are strongly encouraging card payment.  Why not take her money and put it in a gift card?


----------



## vinotinto

JPM4 said:


> I didn’t see any cm ask a child to put their mask on unless they were clearly older like 9+.


I saw a CM ask a child, who was in the 5-6 age range, "pull up your mask sweetie." The kid had the mask below the nose. She asked very nicely and the kid pulled the mask up.


----------



## vinotinto

Geomom said:


> Another MK day today, looked as busy as yesterday when we arrived at 11am, but other than our 40 minute wait for 7D mine train at 11:30am (decided to wait today as we hadn't been on yet and it was closed due to PM storms our last 2 MK days), and 20 minutes for haunted mansion cleaning cycle, we walked on rides (or 5-10 minute waits) this afternoon, very different from yesterday.  Had lunch at pecos bill, not quite as crazy as Pinocchio inside...but still no indoor tables free, so we ate outside.  Saw a variety of 'entertainment': marching band, characters above train station, tink float, princess float, stitch and buzz at Tomorrowland, and interacted with Jack Sparrow (he was curious about their hair colors, telling DD20 that all of her would turn blue).  Dinner at Kona, good food, but tables too close, at most 4 ft from the back of my kids heads to the back of other people heads as they were on the bench seating.
> View attachment 514504View attachment 514505View attachment 514506View attachment 514507View attachment 514508





APiratesLifeForMe2 said:


> Completely agree with this. We had dinner at Kona and the bench seating is too close. We had horrific  service here too. They didn’t seem on their game.


I mentioned in my observations above that I thought Kona's tables were too close to each other for indoor dining, even with the restaurant blocking about 50% of them. The food was delicious, but my family did not feel comfortable.

 For context, we ate at these other restaurants, and we thought their spacing was good:
Sci-Fi
Tiffin's
Spice Road
Baseline Tap
Wine Bar George
Skipper's Canteen
Yak and Yeti
Cali Grill
Oga's
Nomad's


----------



## The Druggist

yulilin3 said:


> 2. You can pay with cash but they are strongly encouraging card payment.  Why not take her money and put it in a gift card?


That was my wife’s solution. She’s definitely the brains of the operation.


----------



## Dismrk155

dorospin said:


> I totally agree about housekeeping - in 7 nights our room was “lightly” cleaned once which meant trash and towel change. Highly recommend bringing garbage bags so that you can bag up garbage and towels as needed if you’re going for a long trip.


My thoughts. Poor service. Another way disney is cutting back.


----------



## Spazz2k

I say it has to be tough in this heat to ask a 2 year old to wear a mask.  We were there this weekend and we really didn't see many kids under 4, and to be honest the little ones we did see looked to be doing ok wearing masks remarkably enough.  We took our 4 year old godson to RR for the 4th and he will do anything to go-to Disney...so he was good wearing a mask when he was asked to.  

I personally would be more worried about the heat than the mask staying on...it is brutal right now for little ones in central Florida.  My advice is hydrate the little ones not only when you go, but before you go.


----------



## donp

With Mobile order pay, I know that the Disney
Gift Card is now an option to pay. Is there a way to load that up on MDE for food payments to still allow for contactless payment? Can the Disney Visa Rewards Redemption Card also be loaded up in the same way?


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

vinotinto said:


> I saw a CM ask a child, who was in the 5-6 age range, "pull up your mask sweetie." The kid had the mask below the nose. She asked very nicely and the kid pulled the mask up.


I’d honestly be curious at the 2 year age mark if they know the difference between a 23 month old and a 26 month old.


----------



## Disneylover99

Jonathan Friedman said:


> I’d honestly be curious at the 2 year age mark if they know the difference between a 23 month old and a 26 month old.


I'm assuming no. I mean, how can you know for sure at that age unless you ask the parents?
But if a CM notices a mask around a young child's neck, they'll most likely assume the child's old enough and kindly ask them to wear it properly.


----------



## TarotFox

Banking on people assuming your child is young to not bother you is horrible anyway. I get that wearing masks is hard for the younger children, just as many (even older children) have a hard time with some of the other rules right now like social distancing. If your kid isn't capable of following Disney's pandemic park rules, then Disney isn't a good trip for your family to be taking right now.


----------



## Antonio

Is there any parades going on? Star Wars in Hollywood studios specifically? My 6 and 3 year old just got into Star Wars and would love to see the characters around.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

Antonio said:


> Is there any parades going on? Star Wars in Hollywood studios specifically? My 6 and 3 year old just got into Star Wars and would love to see the characters around.


 Check out you tube. They are having mini “cavalcades”, basically mini parades that are not scheduled or publicized in order to keep people from congregating together in a tight space to watch a parade.


----------



## polynor

We are midway thru our trip.  Here’s observations to pay it forward for the many tips I’ve seen.  
the parks have low crowds, but are not empty anymore. DHS is the main one that feels more crowded than the others.
it’s raining almost everyday.   if you can stick it out after the rain, it’s cooler and less crowded.  Make dining ressies for around 2 or 3pm.  because of the rain, do the outside rides in the morning. We messed that up on our first MK day.

rides will say they have a wait,  but the longer times seem like a fake out with a couple of exceptions.   RNRC said 55, it was 25.  FoP said 25, it was walkon.  Smugglers, after 5pm, you can try as many times as you want to get the coaxium.

mobile order, worked fairly well.  For cooked food,  account for a 10-15 min wait once you hit the “I’m here”. 

getting into the park, temp checks are pretty fast, but some are faster than others.  In the morning each line has two checkers.  Pick the line thats moving faster.  Means one of the temp checker is located a little differently (usu outside the tent) and processing people faster.  Security lines - short!  But people still seem to prefer to queue up when there are lanes with no one there...

my kids really wanted to ride the gondolas, so we took them to riviera to visit our home resort.   We were able to walk around the resort and took the open house tour. We have tried visiting the other resorts yet (on the monorail line).

on the resort thread, I know there’s discussion of long elevator waits at the contemporary.   Not the case at BLT.  Only 2 times have we not been able to get in the elevator.  
mask compliance.  So far, pretty good.  Cases where you see noses, we dont confront, we move away from them.   CMs have been remind people to cover up and most comply.  Did seem quite a few though that have a mask just for show and have gaps around the nose and cheeks.  All three of my boys are wearing and complying.  The 6yo needs a reminder after drinking or eating.  we also brought a water bottle, that’s helped immensely (we’ve never done that, always used to just stop by a counter) and we order a couple of extra water cups when we eat to fill up the bottle.

Lines—   In the lines, we’re a family of 5, we would often take the full space between two markers to give more distance.  Also, the line marking are not all 6ft apart from the next one.  Some are marked so they’re 6ft from the ones on the other side, which means the ramps may have only 1 marking or none at all.  And because we’re all going through standby, its a nice time to enjoy the detail they put in the queue that normally we would miss in the fast pass line.

I was hoping it would be slightly less crowded, but can’t complain too much...


----------



## polynor

Antonio said:


> Is there any parades going on? Star Wars in Hollywood studios specifically? My 6 and 3 year old just got into Star Wars and would love to see the characters around.


There’s an area in galaxys edge where Rey, Chewie and the storm troopers will show up ( separately).


----------



## yulilin3

Antonio said:


> Is there any parades going on? Star Wars in Hollywood studios specifically? My 6 and 3 year old just got into Star Wars and would love to see the characters around.


No parades with sw characters but inside GE you can see chewie, rey and vi moradi on top of the garage by the droid depot and kylo and first order troopers by the tie echelon next to the milk stand,  from time to time.  No schedules


----------



## omniscientmommy

Is there any pin trading going on?


----------



## vinotinto

Jonathan Friedman said:


> I’d honestly be curious at the 2 year age mark if they know the difference between a 23 month old and a 26 month old.


Masks are required for 2-year olds And reports indicate that they are enforcing it. If your child needs a break, you can sit in the relaxation zone with him until he is ready to put it back up. Make sure to get him a mask that fits properly and have him wear it daily - when watching TV, walking through the neighborhood, playing outside, etc., to get him used to it. Make sure you are often modeling mask-wearing for him. Here is a report I saw last night:


----------



## DisneyElite4

polynor said:


> We are midway thru our trip.  Here’s observations to pay it forward for the many tips I’ve seen.
> the parks have low crowds, but are not empty anymore. DHS is the main one that feels more crowded than the others.
> it’s raining almost everyday.   if you can stick it out after the rain, it’s cooler and less crowded.  Make dining ressies for around 2 or 3pm.  because of the rain, do the outside rides in the morning. We messed that up on our first MK day.
> 
> rides will say they have a wait,  but the longer times seem like a fake out with a couple of exceptions.   RNRC said 55, it was 25.  FoP said 25, it was walkon.  Smugglers, after 5pm, you can try as many times as you want to get the coaxium.
> 
> mobile order, worked fairly well.  For cooked food,  account for a 10-15 min wait once you hit the “I’m here”.
> 
> getting into the park, temp checks are pretty fast, but some are faster than others.  In the morning each line has two checkers.  Pick the line thats moving faster.  Means one of the temp checker is located a little differently (usu outside the tent) and processing people faster.  Security lines - short!  But people still seem to prefer to queue up when there are lanes with no one there...
> 
> my kids really wanted to ride the gondolas, so we took them to riviera to visit our home resort.   We were able to walk around the resort and took the open house tour. We have tried visiting the other resorts yet (on the monorail line).
> 
> on the resort thread, I know there’s discussion of long elevator waits at the contemporary.   Not the case at BLT.  Only 2 times have we not been able to get in the elevator.
> mask compliance.  So far, pretty good.  Cases where you see noses, we dont confront, we move away from them.   CMs have been remind people to cover up and most comply.  Did seem quite a few though that have a mask just for show and have gaps around the nose and cheeks.  All three of my boys are wearing and complying.  The 6yo needs a reminder after drinking or eating.  we also brought a water bottle, that’s helped immensely (we’ve never done that, always used to just stop by a counter) and we order a couple of extra water cups when we eat to fill up the bottle.
> 
> Lines—   In the lines, we’re a family of 5, we would often take the full space between two markers to give more distance.  Also, the line marking are not all 6ft apart from the next one.  Some are marked so they’re 6ft from the ones on the other side, which means the ramps may have only 1 marking or none at all.  And because we’re all going through standby, its a nice time to enjoy the detail they put in the queue that normally we would miss in the fast pass line.
> 
> I was hoping it would be slightly less crowded, but can’t complain too much...



This is great info. As for eating around 2-3 p.m. - How did you manage that with kids? Would you eat a late breakfast and then snack a lot until that time, then snack again and eat a late dinner?


----------



## Geomom

Switched resorts yesterday.  Dedicated 1 bedroom standard view at BWV for 4 NTS.  Dropped our luggage with bell services at VGF yesterday morning and it was at BWV by the time our room was ready at 3:30.  Good view this time.  Overlooking driveway bridge/canal area.  Doing tons of laundry, dryer is slow to dry.  Went to Epcot yesterday, only ones on bus from VGF.  Bus driver said they have timed stops and only doing the same routes over and over.  No wait for temp check or security at 11:15.  Walked on spaceship earth.  17 minute wait for test track (posted at 40), 15 minute wait for Frozen ( posted at 30).  Got lunch from China, Africa, and Germany booths, all yummy.  Saw Elsa/Anna cavalcade.  Did American adventure, shopped in Japan, kids got gelato in France.  That's when we got our room ready notice.  Kids had finished Remy scavenger hunt, so we picked up the ceramic flower pot prizes at World traveler on our way out the international gateway.  We were at Epcot 4 1/2 hrs, but felt like we did plenty in that time.  Had dinner at Trattoria Al Forno.  The tables at the diagonal seem to be right at 6 feet.  A little close for our comfort, but much better than Kona.  Had a bunch of appetizers, pizza, desserts, all yummy.

Over the past few days, I've noticed that CMs are reminding people to keep masks on during shows--tiki birds, American adventure, carousel of progress, etc.  Mask wearing still excellent.  Although, I did just see a family walk by the empty walkway below our balcony...3 kids all wearing masks, Mom is holding hers.  Kids are generally doing better than adults with compliance, but still seeing 95-99% compliance overall.  Heard people at Epcot saying they were told they couldn't have their drinks in line, had to finish them first, so CMs are doing a good job with enforcement.


----------



## vinotinto

Antonio said:


> Is there any parades going on? Star Wars in Hollywood studios specifically? My 6 and 3 year old just got into Star Wars and would love to see the characters around.


The Star Wars characters appear in the roof the buildings around SWGE. We saw Ray, Storm Troopers, Vi Moradi, and Kylo.

here are a couple of pics:


----------



## yulilin3

omniscientmommy said:


> Is there any pin trading going on?


yes but not from CM lanyards, you have to go to certain stores, they have the pin board out. At MK it's the pins tore at Frontierland, DHS the one at the entrance (camera store) Epcot at pin traders by SE and AK I think it's at the store right of the Tree of life


----------



## Kimpossible1

The pin boards at AK are in Africa and Dinoland, not Discovery Trading Company


----------



## yulilin3

Kimpossible1 said:


> The pin boards at AK are in Africa and Dinoland, not Discovery Trading Company


thanks for clarifying!!


----------



## amyecca

JPM4 said:


> Leaving today after 4 days at OKW. Pack your patience with the busses. I didn’t go to any parks for rope drop but saw the amount of people at the bus stops and they did an ok job of sending busses with the social distancing inside but if you’re trying to get to DHS for Rise drive yourself or take an Uber.
> Went to the parks around noon each day and you can easily do everything you want to do and have plenty of time to spare. It is more relaxing however with the absence of park hoppers there isn’t much to do and night. Avoided Disney springs because of the stories I’ve heard.
> Felt DHS was by far the “busiest” but still manageable. DAK and MK unquestionably to me felt the safest. Epcot saw a lot of people walking and eating and drinking and not enough cast members to go around.
> Was never huge DAK fans but absolutely fell in love with it during this time. The boat calvacades are great. You could ride anything anytime with minimal waits. Went to Nomad Lounge for the first time and it’s amazing. A seat by the water and you can see the characters go right by very cool.


Did you have any difficulty finding an outdoor table at Nomad Lounge? I am thinking of having lunch there sometime but would only want to sit outside. I'm wondering how crowded it has been. Thanks!


----------



## vinotinto

amyecca said:


> Did you have any difficulty finding an outdoor table at Nomad Lounge? I am thinking of having lunch there sometime but would only want to sit outside. I'm wondering how crowded it has been. Thanks!


They take your cell number and text you when your table is ready. There are distance markets on the ground while you wait to put your cell down. We did not specify, but were sat outside. FYI, there was good distancing in the indoor tables. We were told 35-40 minutes when we checked in at 12:45, received the confirmation of check-in at 12:47, and received the ‘table is ready’ text at 1:31, so fairly good on the estimate. We were told that once they send you the table is ready text you have to check back w the hostess within 10 minutes. At that time, if you are not there, they text the next party.


----------



## yulilin3

amyecca said:


> Did you have any difficulty finding an outdoor table at Nomad Lounge? I am thinking of having lunch there sometime but would only want to sit outside. I'm wondering how crowded it has been. Thanks!


I was there this past Saturday,  checked around 3pm and it was a 90 minute wait for a table


----------



## nkereina

KimK2006 said:


> I am arriving on Wednesday night.  How are the lines to get on a bus in the morning?  If I want to arrive to a park and get through bag check by the time the parks open, how early should I get in line for the bus?  (Staying at Pop, if that matters...)  Also, how early are they letting guests in the parks before official opening time?


Last I read, they are opening park gates when they open the parking lots which is generally about 45 minutes prior to the stated park opening time. The rides are not necessarily operating at that time, but rather I believe its done to avoid the crowds/queues at the entry gate with people waiting to get in. Allowing people to enter and disperse throughout the park is better for that.


----------



## jvalic33

Just for fun I tried to get a boarding group this morning at exactly 10am and it wouldn't load.  Did they open up boarding groups earlier this morning?


----------



## yulilin3

jvalic33 said:


> Just for fun I tried to get a boarding group this morning at exactly 10am and it wouldn't load.  Did they open up boarding groups earlier this morning?


No. It lasted about 15 seconds.  You can follow along on the swge sub forum.  Make sure to check that your mde is up to date


----------



## jvalic33

yulilin3 said:


> No. It lasted about 15 seconds.  You can follow along on the swge sub forum.  Make sure to check that your mde is up to date


Thank you, will do.


----------



## disneybass

GrumpyInPhilly said:


> Hi.  Were the boats to Disney Springs running?


no boats were running to Disney Springs


----------



## jvalic33

jvalic33 said:


> Thank you, will do.


Looks like there was and update on July 23rd that I missed.  So glad you had me check!


----------



## amyecca

yulilin3 said:


> I was there this past Saturday,  checked around 3pm and it was a 90 minute wait for a table


Yikes! Could you put your name on a list, or did you have to stalk a table?


----------



## yulilin3

amyecca said:


> Yikes! Could you put your name on a list, or did you have to stalk a table?


You put your name down and they text you when it's ready.


----------



## amyecca

vinotinto said:


> They take your cell number and text you when your table is ready. There are distance markets on the ground while you wait to put your cell down. We did not specify, but were sat outside. FYI, there was good distancing in the indoor tables. We were told 35-40 minutes when we checked in at 12:45, received the confirmation of check-in at 12:47, and received the ‘table is ready’ text at 1:31, so fairly good on the estimate. We were told that once they send you the table is ready text you have to check back w the hostess within 10 minutes. At that time, if you are not there, they text the next party.
> 
> View attachment 514890


Thank you so much! This is very helpful. Did the give you the option to ask for outdoor seating only?


----------



## disneyseniors

Wow, I just wish my garden would grow as fast as this post, LOL!   
I check every day and it grows by 3 or 4 or more pages!
I love reading what everyone has done and encountered at WDW since I can't be there at this time.


----------



## vinotinto

amyecca said:


> Thank you so much! This is very helpful. Did the give you the option to ask for outdoor seating only?


It's funny, we were going to request it and then I just forgot, and we weren't asked where we wanted to sit, and we were seated outside anyway. I'm sure you can request it, but of course, it may take a little longer to get seated if the table that becomes available when your turn is up happens to be indoors.


----------



## GrumpyInPhilly

disneybass said:


> no boats were running to Disney Springs



Thanks.


----------



## momandmousefan

On the nomad lounge subject still...How was the spacing outside? Like always (tables of 2 along the water and couches along the restaurant?) or are they spreading people out more? And it was the limited menu with a couple items right? Also, has anyone seen how busy Tiffins is?


----------



## JPM4

momandmousefan said:


> On the nomad lounge subject still...How was the spacing outside? Like always (tables of 2 along the water and couches along the restaurant?) or are they spreading people out more? And it was the limited menu with a couple items right? Also, has anyone seen how busy Tiffins is?


The nomad lounge was spread out. I sat outside and felt safe and everyone was distant enough. Had the bread service and it was delicious plus you get a great view of the floating characters


----------



## senadler

Does anyone know how long after the Magic Kingdom closes that the Ferry is still running?  We are tentatively planning to eat at the Wave, and need to get back to Poly after dinner.


----------



## armerida

vinotinto said:


> It's funny, we were going to request it and then I just forgot, and we weren't asked where we wanted to sit, and we were seated outside anyway. I'm sure you can request it, but of course, it may take a little longer to get seated if the table that becomes available when your turn is up happens to be indoors.


@vinotinto Do you have any idea how early one would need to arrive to avoid a wait? We usually like to swing over there after the 11:00 FOTLK show and in the past we’ve had our pick of tables. Obviously times have changed...Once they take your name and number, are you free to head to another attraction while you wait?


----------



## yulilin3

senadler said:


> Does anyone know how long after the Magic Kingdom closes that the Ferry is still running?  We are tentatively planning to eat at the Wave, and need to get back to Poly after dinner.


I believe it;s an hour after closing just like the monorail


----------



## polynor

donp said:


> With Mobile order pay, I know that the Disney
> Gift Card is now an option to pay. Is there a way to load that up on MDE for food payments to still allow for contactless payment? Can the Disney Visa Rewards Redemption Card also be loaded up in the same way?


You have to put in the gift card number each time, at least for me, it doesn’t “remember“ it.


----------



## polynor

DisneyElite4 said:


> This is great info. As for eating around 2-3 p.m. - How did you manage that with kids? Would you eat a late breakfast and then snack a lot until that time, then snack again and eat a late dinner?


We’ve been eating a late breakfast and have not turned down early snacking for them.  Of course, the last two days there’s been no aftn rain but the break has been good still


----------



## yulilin3

Some quick observations, I have been to MK 5 times since reopening but never to close the park. Today I decided to be there for closing.
A lot of CM and management at the HUB in the evening making sure people wear their masks while taking pics, I saw them talk to many guests including kids
Emporium and Confectionary both had a line at closing, they are open only 30 min after closing so if you need to buy something make sure to be inside before 7:30pm
Longish lines for monorail and ferry, they did have all 3 ferries running, took the boat to Poly they are using the really big, old ones that go ridiculously slow, like the trip took around 15 minutes
Mask compliance still really high even in 110 degree weather


----------



## constanze

yulilin3 said:


> Some quick observations, I have been to MK 5 times since reopening but never to close the park. Today I decided to be there for closing.
> A lot of CM and management at the HUB in the evening making sure people wear their masks while taking pics, I saw them talk to many guests including kids
> Emporium and Confectionary both had a line at closing, they are open only 30 min after closing so if you need to buy something make sure to be inside before 7:30pm
> Longish lines for monorail and ferry, they did have all 3 ferries running, took the boat to Poly they are using the really big, old ones that go ridiculously slow, like the trip took around 15 minutes
> Mask compliance still really high even in 110 degree weather


We had late night ADR’s at the parks every night — one night at BOG— the server forgot to put our order in so our dinner came out REALLY late and then he lost our order, yada, yada, yada....we got out super late—we were really worried about getting back to the Riviera— figured we’d have to take a couple Lyfts as there were 5 of us- and we ended up getting out of MK close to 2 hours after park close—- and we were shocked they still had a bus to take us back to the resort —- it was wild being the last non-cast members out of MK...


----------



## nerdboyrockstar

For those of you who stayed onsite recently, did you do any ordering in for lunch/dinner or to-go options? I'm staying at AKL Jambo House which.. there is no dining currently.. and I haven't really dined in any restaurants since March. What was showing up for delivery options to the hotel or where did you grab to-go from?


----------



## Mouse Ears

Party of six, ranging from 14 to 50. Staying at BCV.
arrived on 7/30, so finished our first full day.
Flew Southwest and had no issues where everyone mostly kept masks on. They served water and snack on our 2.5 hour flight, but many people passed and stayed masked. 

7/30 Epcot. Entered before 4pm at IG and circled the park. Walked on Soarin, Spaceship Earth, and Mission Space Then waited about 25 minutes for test track.  Stopped for dinner about 6:30 at Regal Eagle Smokehouse with minimal wait for mobile ordering.  Hot, but felt safe with good enforcement everywhere. 

7/31 Hollywood Studios. Drove to gate and 8-10 cars deep for parking at 9:18. Parked and entered by 9:40. Grabbed coffee and found a standing spot in Toy Story Land (people everywhere) and tried for ROTR BG. Failed. Most around me celebrated, so I guess I was just too slow (less than 10 secs). Tried again at 2pm, faster, and got backup group 56. Our group was called at about 5:15pm, so we were lucky that they ran pretty smoothly today. During the day, we had a TS lunch at Primetime, visited Oga’s in the afternoon (worth the ressie!) and enjoyed ALL the available attractions except the Lightning McQueen show, Swirling Saucers, and Dance Party and sat down for a quick dinner before closing. I consider that a very successful day. I never felt unsafe today personally, but did see several adults walking around without masks (not too near) and it surprised me. Crowds (even lighter ones) make it so much harder to enforce even though Disney is doing great.

Here till 8/7. Hope the rest of our trip goes smoothly.


----------



## GBRforWDW

constanze said:


> We had late night ADR’s at the parks every night — one night at BOG— the server forgot to put our order in so our dinner came out REALLY late and then he lost our order, yada, yada, yada....we got out super late—we were really worried about getting back to the Riviera— figured we’d have to take a couple Lyfts as there were 5 of us- and we ended up getting out of MK close to 2 hours after park close—- and we were shocked they still had a bus to take us back to the resort —- it was wild being the last non-cast members out of MK...


That's good info.  I was thinking about a BOG ressie right before park closing, but was worried about how the transportation would work out.


----------



## erinch

I have allergies and have to take antihistamines that dry My mouth out. So I am constantly sipping water. Is it a faux pas to slip a straw under a mask while in line for a ride?


----------



## JPM4

GBRforWDW said:


> That's good info.  I was thinking about a BOG ressie right before park closing, but was worried about how the transportation would work out.


Everything I saw posted stated transportation would run for 90 minutes after park closing


----------



## yulilin3

This is posted at the poly stating monorail service ends at 8pm,  we know Disney won't leave you stranded at mk obviously, they might use buses


----------



## rodbates0322

Just got back from a 5 night stay. Couple things I noticed were crowds were heavier than we expected especially Thursday at Hollywood Studios, with wait times reaching 80 minutes for Tower of Terror, which was mainly due to half the ride breaking. Most lines still moved quick though but very few walk ons.

We had dinner at Whispering Canyon and had to take the boat from Fort Wilderness to Wilderness Lodge for 7:40 PM reservation. Boat stopped at 8:30 and so did the bus so we had to take an Uber.

Other than that the trip was good and the rest of the parks were not nearly as crowded as Hollywood Studios.


----------



## constanze

JPM4 said:


> Everything I saw posted stated transportation would run for 90 minutes after park closing


Which is why we were worried—we were so relieved to see a bus waiting for us


----------



## pepperandchips

polynor said:


> You have to put in the gift card number each time, at least for me, it doesn’t “remember“ it.


One tip for this is to save your GC number in a notes app in your phone to quickly copy and paste. Saw this tip online - wouldn’t have thought of it myself so thought I’d share!


----------



## SamFaniam

erinch said:


> I have allergies and have to take antihistamines that dry My mouth out. So I am constantly sipping water. Is it a faux pas to slip a straw under a mask while in line for a ride?



I think this would be a good option as your mouth and nose are still covered. Certainly better than lifting your mask regularly to take a drink.


----------



## teach22180

nerdboyrockstar said:


> For those of you who stayed onsite recently, did you do any ordering in for lunch/dinner or to-go options? I'm staying at AKL Jambo House which.. there is no dining currently.. and I haven't really dined in any restaurants since March. What was showing up for delivery options to the hotel or where did you grab to-go from?


I'm interested in this too. I'm excited about my October trip, but not sure I'm ready to eat inside.


----------



## The Expert

nerdboyrockstar said:


> For those of you who stayed onsite recently, did you do any ordering in for lunch/dinner or to-go options? I'm staying at AKL Jambo House which.. there is no dining currently.. and I haven't really dined in any restaurants since March. What was showing up for delivery options to the hotel or where did you grab to-go from?



We were at Kidani and overheard several people at the Maji Pool Bar mention they were at Jambo. They have quick service food, and Sanaa was also open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and you could order to go from their bar). The shuttle was running between Kidani and Jambo, if you don't want to drive or use the walking path.


----------



## maryj11

teach22180 said:


> I'm interested in this too. I'm excited about my October trip, but not sure I'm ready to eat inside.


I really love eating at the table service restaurants, but like you I’m not sure it’s safe.


----------



## soniam

erinch said:


> I have allergies and have to take antihistamines that dry My mouth out. So I am constantly sipping water. Is it a faux pas to slip a straw under a mask while in line for a ride?



You should be fine. Your mask isn't coming off. I too take a lot of allergy medicine. However, I have found that my mouth and throat don't feel as dry when wearing a mask. I suspect it's because you are breathing in moist air, especially in Orlando. I am not saying that you won't get yelled at for this, but I never did. I have a mask that goes behind my head, which makes this easier. I would unscrew/uncap my water bottle, pull down my mask part way, pour water into my mouth, pull up my mask even before swallowing, and then put the cap/lid back on my water. It was such a quick process that I don't think anyone would have had time to say anything. I would do this while walking, in outdoor queues, and occasionally in an indoor queue if we had been stuck a while (I'm looking at you BTMRR and ROTR). It was so quick, I didn't even have time to breath out. If someone had said something to me, I would have immediately pulled it back up and apologized. However, the mask was literally down for a few seconds. If you are quick about it, I don't think it's a problem. It's the people that are lingering and keeping their masks down for significant periods that are really the issue. We also would do it with a straw sometimes, especially for margaritas from La Cava. With the straw, we never pulled the mask down.


----------



## armerida

soniam said:


> We also would do it with a straw sometimes, especially for margaritas from La Cava. With the straw, we never pulled the mask down.


Aww but then you miss on the yummy ant salt rim!


----------



## soniam

armerida said:


> Aww but then you miss on the yummy ant salt rim!



We would usually stand out of the way and drink some down first, including the salt. Our son doesn't enjoy watching us drink margaritas, and I don't like chugging, so at some point, we would start walking with them.


----------



## tsme

Usually, we go to the bus stop, at whichever resort we’re staying at, one hour before park opening. What time do y’all recommend we go down to the resort bus stop (heading to MK) now?


----------



## nancipants

Today we went to Animal Kingdom and I did not feel nearly as comfortable there. People did not seem to be aware of staying distanced and there were many kids without masks/with masks below their noses. More people walking while eating/drinking, too. I think we’re going to stick to Epcot for now.


----------



## yulilin3

nancipants said:


> Today we went to Animal Kingdom and I did not feel nearly as comfortable there. People did not seem to be aware of staying distanced and there were many kids without masks/with masks below their noses. More people walking while eating/drinking, too. I think we’re going to stick to Epcot for now.


I honestly don't think the park is the issue,  it's the people.  Same person that breaks the rules in one park will do it in another.


----------



## Obliviate

yulilin3 said:


> I honestly don't think the park is the issue,  it's the people.  Same person that breaks the rules in one park will do it in another.


Are people who break the rules more likely to frequent certain parks?


----------



## yulilin3

Obliviate said:


> Are people who break the rules more likely to frequent certain parks?


I doubt it. There's no indication that CM enforcement is different depending on the park. When we see someone breaking the rules we only see them for a moment,  maybe a couple of minutes, then they move on or we move on, it also depends if CMs are around and what they do. Not all CM enforce the rules the same way not all guests break the rules, but, human nature says that if they manage to break the rules in one park they will also do that everywhere else


----------



## emmabelle

so can you go to your reserved park in the morning and go back to the same park late afternoon?  I wasn't sure if you can only enter once.


----------



## yulilin3

emmabelle said:


> so can you go to your reserved park in the morning and go back to the same park late afternoon?  I wasn't sure if you can only enter once.


yes you can


----------



## emmabelle

@yulilin3 - yay!  We are staying on the skyliner so maybe we would do that for HS and Epcot, probably not MK or AK.


----------



## JPM4

yulilin3 said:


> I honestly don't think the park is the issue,  it's the people.  Same person that breaks the rules in one park will do it in another.


This. This. This. 
    Because when I went I felt Epcot was the worst and DAK was hands down the best. It’s absolutely the people and not the park.


----------



## MomOTwins

JPM4 said:


> This. This. This.
> Because when I went I felt Epcot was the worst and DAK was hands down the best. It’s absolutely the people and not the park.


True, but some parks feel more congested and thus make it harder to keep away from people who are not wearing masks.  I think world showcase and magic kingdom do a better job spreading around guests than AK or HS


----------



## yulilin3

MomOTwins said:


> True, but some parks feel more congested and thus make it harder to keep away from people who are not wearing masks.  I think world showcase and magic kingdom do a better job spreading around guests than AK or HS


I think the park and more specifically area, that has the biggest issue in terms of crowding is DHS-SWGE. AK has tons of space other than maybe some points in Pandora. I have been to all parks, several times, since opening, and on any given day I could say mask wearing has been lax in each one of them


----------



## mcomber7

MomOTwins said:


> Would love if you could post what you observe if you go the skyliner route when you get back.  We're staying in August and I'm trying to figure out tactics too. We're at Riviera so if the transfer situation is bad at CBR, we may just get up real early and walk tot he caribbean station before it opens to avoid having to transfer.


Here’s my report back!  We are staying at pop and after Debating between Lyft and Skyliner, decided to go Skyliner.  My husband is an early bird and volunteered to go down real early to the Skyliner line.  He was in line about 7:50 and was 5th in line.  We joined him about 8:40. Skyliner started a few minutes after 9, transfer was pretty quick, and we were in Hollywood studious by about 9:30.  We even got in line for MMRR and rode it, getting off at 9:59 just in time to sign up for ROR.  Whole family tried for a boarding pass and my daughter who lives in Connecticut actually was the one to snag our passes for us, boarding group 15!  If you are ok getting up early, Skyliner was awesome.  The line got long pretty fast.  Best of luck to you!


----------



## Chisoxcollector

erinch said:


> I have allergies and have to take antihistamines that dry My mouth out. So I am constantly sipping water. Is it a faux pas to slip a straw under a mask while in line for a ride?



I've probably been the most vocal person in this thread about people not wearing their masks properly.  I would have no issue with you slipping a straw under your mask.  First of all, your mask is still basically on.  Secondly, you are showing consideration for other people by doing it this way, rather than taking your mask off altogether.  A big part of why I personally get upset is people's utter disregard for others.  Just the principle of it.


----------



## summerw

mcomber7 said:


> Here’s my report back!  We are staying at pop and after Debating between Lyft and Skyliner, decided to go Skyliner.  My husband is an early bird and volunteered to go down real early to the Skyliner line.  He was in line about 7:50 and was 5th in line.  We joined him about 8:40. Skyliner started a few minutes after 9, transfer was pretty quick, and we were in Hollywood studious by about 9:30.  We even got in line for MMRR and rode it, getting off at 9:59 just in time to sign up for ROR.  Whole family tried for a boarding pass and my daughter who lives in Connecticut actually was the one to snag our passes for us, boarding group 15!  If you are ok getting up early, Skyliner was awesome.  The line got long pretty fast.  Best of luck to you!



So no line at CB around 9? That’s encouraging!


----------



## mcomber7

summerw said:


> So no line at CB around 9? That’s encouraging!


There was a bit of a line, but honestly, it was about 5 minutes.  The lines look long, but move fast!


----------



## summerw

mcomber7 said:


> There was a bit of a line, but honestly, it was about 5 minutes.  The lines look long, but move fast!



Someone on FB said they waited 45 minutes starting at 9:30. I was surprised since they do usually move fast but maybe it was a lot of small parties. 

Thanks for the response!


----------



## GBRforWDW

emmabelle said:


> @yulilin3 - yay!  We are staying on the skyliner so maybe we would do that for HS and Epcot, probably not MK or AK.


Theres no reason you couldn't with MK/AK other than the bus rides can take time.  But if you wanted to be there for park open and park close, but take a 3-4 hour early afternoon break, you'd still get 6-7 hours in the parks.  

Mainly depends on what you're using your break for and if you want to get more hours in the park and leave early, etc.


----------



## mcomber7

Does Epcot open before 11 right now?  If so, are the attractions open early too?


----------



## Skippyboo

I got here today. Staying at Pop. Lucky my room was ready at 2 pm when I parked from my drive in from Atlanta area. Brought the luggage in, lathered the sunscreen, grabbed my park bag and headed to bus stop. The MK bus appeared very shortly. The bus times feature in MDE isn’t available  There was only 2 groups on the bus, got to MK, did temp screen, bag set off metal detector, so had to take the stuff out and let them look in bottom of bag (my guess is the portable battery changer as culprit) 

Did Dumbo, Pirates, Splash and Buzz. Watch out on Dumbo the seat was super hot from the sun. The mask compliance was pretty good. A few nose peakers. I gave myself an extra wait here sticker on pirates and splash because the group ahead was sort of spreading out on their markers.

The dedicated entrance and exits on the shops, QS take a bit of getting used to. Epcot tomorrow.


----------



## runjulesrun

erinch said:


> I have allergies and have to take antihistamines that dry My mouth out. So I am constantly sipping water. Is it a faux pas to slip a straw under a mask while in line for a ride?


I bought an ice tea from Joffreys and slid the straw under my mask to drink. A cast member approached me and told me I had to step to the side to consume my beverage, even the way I was drinking it. It only takes a second to step to the side to take a sip so it wasn't a big deal but they did call me out on it.


----------



## donp

Just got back from EPCOT today, staying at Riviera. Lines were consistently shorter than posted with longest being Frozen (stated 45, took 30). Masking was excellent in my opinion. Ride social distancing was great as well. Cleaning stations and gel stations all over the place. I felt very good about the whole experience. . . But sure wish my son would stop touching everything!!


----------



## polynor

nancipants said:


> Today we went to Animal Kingdom and I did not feel nearly as comfortable there. People did not seem to be aware of staying distanced and there were many kids without masks/with masks below their noses. More people walking while eating/drinking, too. I think we’re going to stick to Epcot for now.


We were at AK today too.  Last time, seemed great in terms of compliance, today was more mixed.  I also didn’t see too much enforcement.  Two groups ahead of us was one that was a chin bracer and behind us was a nose peeker for FoP.  Passed two sets of cm’s — no comments from either set.  i stayed behind an extra marker to space out my family from the nose peeker.  What was frustrating was the rest of both of those groups were wearing their masks properly...  unfortunately, death stares dont result in mask compliance.


----------



## Minniefan18

I was at Hollywood Studios and was in line for Slinky Dog last week and there was a guy not wearing his mask. Within a minute a cast member told the guy to please wear his mask. I was so happy. Disney is the only place I've gone to wear if someone isn't wearing a mask something is said.  I did notice when I was in line at a few attractions that other guests would get too close and not stay 6 feet away. I just keep moving ahead.  Overall I had a great time!


----------



## crazymomof4

erinch said:
I have allergies and have to take antihistamines that dry My mouth out. So I am constantly sipping water. Is it a faux pas to slip a straw under a mask while in line for a ride?




Chisoxcollector said:


> I've probably been the most vocal person in this thread about people not wearing their masks properly.  I would have no issue with you slipping a straw under your mask.  First of all, your mask is still basically on.  Secondly, you are showing consideration for other people by doing it this way, rather than taking your mask off altogether.  A *big part of why I personally get upset is people's utter disregard for others*.  Just the principle of it.



Count me as feeling the same, erinch.
We have these plastic bendable straws that are extra long (the straw itself but also the bendable part is longer). I tested this out using a mask and that bendy part will literally conform to the curves of your chin and reach up to your mouth with the mask still being virtually in place. I have set aside a number to pack for our WDW trip.
I can't recall exactly which store I purchased them from but most likely either DollarTree or Walmart. They are multiple neon colors (yellow, green, orange and pink)...
Hope that's helpful.


----------



## crazymomof4

polynor said:


> We were at AK today too.  Last time, seemed great in terms of compliance, today was more mixed.  I also didn’t see too much enforcement.  Two groups ahead of us was one that was a chin bracer and behind us was a nose peeker for FoP.  Passed two sets of cm’s — no comments from either set.  i stayed behind an extra marker to space out my family from the nose peeker.  What was frustrating was the rest of both of those groups were wearing their masks properly...  unfortunately, death stares dont result in mask compliance.


Hmmm  Surrounded by non-maskers.  This would make me uncomfortable.  Not sure I'd have the guts to speak to the CMs about what they've "missed" though.  Like is there a discreet way?   I know you always have the option of exiting the space when you see a person not using their mask, but in line.....  I don't think it's quite fair that the one conforming with WDW policies should have to give up their place in line.


----------



## wendow

donp said:


> Just got back from EPCOT today, staying at Riviera. Lines were consistently shorter than posted with longest being Frozen (stated 45, took 30). Masking was excellent in my opinion. Ride social distancing was great as well. Cleaning stations and gel stations all over the place. I felt very good about the whole experience. . . But sure wish my son would stop touching everything!!


I pretty much felt my boys were licking the entire place when we were there last week. Just hands all over. At one point, I was like, "why must you touch everything!?!".  The people all around us looked and laughed but for real, they literally had to touch it all. Thank God for hand sanitizer everywhere.


----------



## wendow

polynor said:


> We were at AK today too.  Last time, seemed great in terms of compliance, today was more mixed.  I also didn’t see too much enforcement.  Two groups ahead of us was one that was a chin bracer and behind us was a nose peeker for FoP.  Passed two sets of cm’s — no comments from either set.  i stayed behind an extra marker to space out my family from the nose peeker.  What was frustrating was the rest of both of those groups were wearing their masks properly...  unfortunately, death stares dont result in mask compliance.


We noticed something similar at AK last week. Guy in the EE line. Mask totally off and hanging on his ear. He was drinking a beer and vaping very openly and not a single CM said a word to him. My dd17 glared at him the entire line (he was pretty far ahead of us...) and at some point he caught her eye so he evil-eyed her back for awhile. Very annoying that he got away with not only a beer but also vaping.


----------



## nancipants

wendow said:


> We noticed something similar at AK last week. Guy in the EE line. Mask totally off and hanging on his ear. He was drinking a beer and vaping very openly and not a single CM said a word to him. My dd17 glared at him the entire line (he was pretty far ahead of us...) and at some point he caught her eye so he evil-eyed her back for awhile. Very annoying that he got away with not only a beer but also vaping.



I’m glad (?) I wasn’t alone in feeling that way about AK. I wonder if enforcement is naturally stronger at Epcot due to the festival.


----------



## yulilin3

mcomber7 said:


> Does Epcot open before 11 right now?  If so, are the attractions open early too?


All the parks are now opening before their scheduled times but most attractions open at scheduled time.  They don't want people waiting before the tapstiles


----------



## yulilin3

Anyone can speak up if someone in line is not following the rules,  do not rely on cm. 9 out of 10 times people will comply,  it's your own safety,  you must speak up.  If they still don't comply then you can search for a cm
 Remember if you feel self conscience or uncomfortable about asking someone to put on their mask some cm do to,  it's human nature to avoid confrontation
I have told people to keep their distance and put masks on and ive gotten evil looks and sneers but they've done it


----------



## Dismrk155

yulilin3 said:


> Anyone can speak up if someone in line is not following the rules,  do not rely on cm. 9 out of 10 times people will comply,  it's your own safety,  you must speak up.  If they still don't comply then you can search for a cm
> Remember if you feel self conscience or uncomfortable about asking someone to put on their mask some cm do to,  it's human nature to avoid confrontation
> I have told people to keep their distance and put masks on and ive gotten evil looks and sneers but they've done it


Be careful. Some people will react in a bad way. Disney needs enough cast members to keep their customers safe.


----------



## yulilin3

Dismrk155 said:


> Be careful. Some people will react in a bad way. Disney needs enough cast members to keep their customers safe.


And that's the answer that my local manager at publix gave me as to why they don't enforce.  But i will risk the possibility of being physically attacked for the ability to get someone to put on the mask.  Again if anyone gets angry with a request to follow the rules they will get angry with me or with the cm. The cm get physically and verbally attacked everyday,  we all know how some people behave but that won't stop me from speaking up


----------



## osufeth24

yulilin3 said:


> And that's the answer that my local manager at publix gave me as to why they don't enforce.  But i will risk the possibility of being physically attacked for the ability to get someone to put on the mask.  Again if anyone gets angry with a request to follow the rules they will get angry with me or with the cm. The cm get physically and verbally attacked everyday,  we all know how some people behave but that won't stop me from speaking up



agreed.  I don't think people realize how nasty people get when you ask them to wear their mask, and how abusive people are.  Where I work luckily it's not my main job to police it, but I do have to speak up if I see it.  I have mocked and made fun of so many times.  And yes, there have been times, I "pretend" i don't see it because I don't feel like getting attacked (i'll alert manager to go deal with it).

If it's like that for me, I'm guessing at Disney or Universal, you times that by 10.


----------



## LuvMyEAR

Sounds like Disney is trying but selfish guests are not!


----------



## yulilin3

LuvMyEAR said:


> Sounds like Disney is trying but selfish guests are not!


exactly, and that is what it boils down to. I have seen so many instances of CM trying to enforce the rules and people giving them lip or just taking off their masks as soon as CM looks away only to continue walking and be told by another CM.
A CM told a lady that her child needed to wear a mask and the guest said :good luck having her keep it on: the CM said "well when you booked your trip and on the site and on MDE it says that if you come you have to comply with these rules"  she shrugged
People relying 100% on Disney and its employees to keep you safe are not being proactive or realistic. I have let go of situations when I am just walking down a street but when we are in a queue, or sitting for a show I do speak up because we will be spending a considerable amount of time together, again I've gotten the evil look and the sneer and that's fine with me as long as you put your mask back on and social distance


----------



## Antonio

Is the skyliner situation from Pop that bad? Only really asking for ROTR. What time should I get to the skyliner if I wanna make rope drop?


----------



## IluvMGM

Antonio said:


> Is the skyliner situation from Pop that bad? Only really asking for ROTR. What time should I get to the skyliner if I wanna make rope drop?



Some people have good luck and some not so much. I think the consensus is the earlier the better, maybe around 8 am to be safe.


----------



## Brett Wyman

yulilin3 said:


> And that's the answer that my local manager at publix gave me as to why they don't enforce.  But i will risk the possibility of being physically attacked for the ability to get someone to put on the mask.  Again if anyone gets angry with a request to follow the rules they will get angry with me or with the cm. The cm get physically and verbally attacked everyday,  we all know how some people behave but that won't stop me from speaking up



We dont tell people to put on their masks, but we tell them to step back and give us our space.


----------



## yulilin3

Antonio said:


> Is the skyliner situation from Pop that bad? Only really asking for ROTR. What time should I get to the skyliner if I wanna make rope drop?


there's no bus transportation from Pop so there's no other way unless you have a vehicle, this will be worse once AoA reopens


----------



## omniscientmommy

yulilin3 said:


> And that's the answer that my local manager at publix gave me as to why they don't enforce.  But i will risk the possibility of being physically attacked for the ability to get someone to put on the mask.  Again if anyone gets angry with a request to follow the rules they will get angry with me or with the cm. The cm get physically and verbally attacked everyday,  we all know how some people behave but that won't stop me from speaking up


DH is a big scary looking guy so I feel like if he said something to someone about their mask they would probably pull it back up. I on the other hand being 5'4" and petite would probably not have much of an effect.


----------



## scrappinginontario

For those asking about straws slidden into marks, the guidelines (regardless of ‘why’ you need to drink more often) are clear.  To consume a beverage in any way, please step aside, stop and drink how you wish.  Same rules for everyone.


----------



## yulilin3

omniscientmommy said:


> DH is a big scary looking guy so I feel like if he said something to someone about their mask they would probably pull it back up. I on the other hand being 5'4" and petite would probably not have much of an effect.


This is why female cm get harassed more than males but still doesn't matter,  If you feel unsafe you have to speak up


----------



## Dismrk155

yulilin3 said:


> And that's the answer that my local manager at publix gave me as to why they don't enforce.  But i will risk the possibility of being physically attacked for the ability to get someone to put on the mask.  Again if anyone gets angry with a request to follow the rules they will get angry with me or with the cm. The cm get physically and verbally attacked everyday,  we all know how some people behave but that won't stop me from speaking up


I agree with you, but as we all I know that jerks are everywhere and just be careful.


----------



## erinch

scrappinginontario said:


> For those asking about straws slidden into marks, the guidelines (regardless of ‘why’ you need to drink more often) are clear.  To consume a beverage in any way, please step aside, stop and drink how you wish.  Same rules for everyone.



I am the OP on the dry mouth,  straw question. So if you are in a queue and need to take a sip of water, the protocol is you need to leave the line to step aside? Or move to the boundaries of the queue? I am trying to understand what the expectation of the rules are.

in my day job I am a supervisor of a number of churches trying to develop reopening protocols, and take a lot of abuse over policies that require masks in order to gather. So don’t hear this as in anyway trying to subvert the rules that keep us safer.


----------



## donp

erinch said:


> I am the OP on the dry mouth,  straw question. So if you are in a queue and need to take a sip of water, the protocol is you need to leave the line to step aside? Or move to the boundaries of the queue? I am trying to understand what the expectation of the rules are.
> 
> in my day job I am a supervisor of a number of churches trying to develop reopening protocols, and take a lot of abuse over policies that require masks in order to gather. So don’t hear this as in anyway trying to subvert the rules that keep us safer.


Hmmm. I guess we have been breaking the rules then. If we are in line on one of the spacer markers, stopped, I have allowed my kids to pull down their masks to drink. When we start again, they pull them back up . . .


----------



## dachsie

I am of the belief, if you give lip to a CM about a mask, You should be escorted out of the park and not allowed to re-enter for an hour


----------



## Alice Sr.

yulilin3 said:


> there's no bus transportation from Pop so there's no other way unless you have a vehicle, this will be worse once AoA reopens


There's no bus service for Pop?  Will AoA not have bus service either?


----------



## Chisoxcollector

I know it would never happen, but I wish they would implement a warning system based on your ticket media.  If they give you a warning, they scan your ticket/magicband and and it logs the warning.  If you get scanned twice in one day, you're out and not allowed to re-enter for the rest of the day.


----------



## IluvMGM

Alice Sr. said:


> There's no bus service for Pop?  Will AoA not have bus service either?


Things could change in November, but I doubt they would have buses from AOA and not POP.


----------



## yulilin3

Alice Sr. said:


> There's no bus service for Pop?  Will AoA not have bus service either?


We don't know until they open


----------



## IluvMGM

erinch said:


> I am the OP on the dry mouth,  straw question. So if you are in a queue and need to take a sip of water, the protocol is you need to leave the line to step aside? Or move to the boundaries of the queue? I am trying to understand what the expectation of the rules are.
> 
> in my day job I am a supervisor of a number of churches trying to develop reopening protocols, and take a lot of abuse over policies that require masks in order to gather. So don’t hear this as in anyway trying to subvert the rules that keep us safer.



I'm not sure what the proper thing to do is, but I bring hard candy with me to help with the dry mouth situation. I will probably put one of those in my mouth before getting in line for a ride, hopefully that will get me through.


----------



## wombat_5606

IluvMGM said:


> I'm not sure what the proper thing to do is, but I bring hard candy with me to help with the dry mouth situation. I will probably put one of those in my mouth before getting in line for a ride, hopefully that will get me through.



And step aside before you get in the line and take a big drink.


----------



## mcomber7

Antonio said:


> Is the skyliner situation from Pop that bad? Only really asking for ROTR. What time should I get to the skyliner if I wanna make rope drop?


We took the Skyliner from pop yesterday and it worked great!  We got in line early, we just sent one person, and we joined him later.  my husband got in line at 7:45, we joined him at 8:30.  We were in HS by 9:30 and even rode MMRR before 10:00.  We got boarding group 15.  Our daughter at home got our boarding group.


----------



## pointybubble

mcomber7 said:


> We took the Skyliner from pop yesterday and it worked great!  We got in line early, we just sent one person, and we joined him later.  my husband got in line at 7:45, we joined him at 8:30.  We were in HS by 9:30 and even rode MMRR before 10:00.  We got boarding group 15.  Our daughter at home got our boarding group.



I would love to do this since we will have DS2 and DS5 with us, it sounds like nobody had a problem with this? Does the line start inside the Skyliner queue or do they not open that part until they start running? We bring a double stroller and I was worried about pushing past anybody inside the Skyliner queue and getting to close to them/ violating the social distancing rules. If the line starts outside the queue area I guess it wouldn't be a problem?


----------



## Geomom

erinch said:


> I am the OP on the dry mouth,  straw question. So if you are in a queue and need to take a sip of water, the protocol is you need to leave the line to step aside? Or move to the boundaries of the queue? I am trying to understand what the expectation of the rules are.
> 
> in my day job I am a supervisor of a number of churches trying to develop reopening protocols, and take a lot of abuse over policies that require masks in order to gather. So don’t hear this as in anyway trying to subvert the rules that keep us safer.


We're here now.  You need to be stationary to eat/drink.  There are plenty of times in line when you are stopped on your social distancing marker, especially if you hit a 15-20 minute cleaning cycle.  While stopped in line, we'll quickly lift masks to take a drink.  We haven't seen CMs tell anyone doing that not to.  They do tell people walking while eating/drinking to put masks back on.


----------



## brockash

donp said:


> Hmmm. I guess we have been breaking the rules then. If we are in line on one of the spacer markers, stopped, I have allowed my kids to pull down their masks to drink. When we start again, they pull them back up . . .


There are also tons of vlogs showing the same thing.  When we're in line, at least 6 ft. away from others I am fully expecting there to be times when my family and others take their mask off for a quick drink of water.  OP, I think you'll be fine doing that...just not walking around.  I think common sense will generally win out in these types of situations.


----------



## mcomber7

pointybubble said:


> I would love to do this since we will have DS2 and DS5 with us, it sounds like nobody had a problem with this? Does the line start inside the Skyliner queue or do they not open that part until they start running? We bring a double stroller and I was worried about pushing past anybody inside the Skyliner queue and getting to close to them/ violating the social distancing rules. If the line starts outside the queue area I guess it wouldn't be a problem?


The line starts outside and no one had a problem with it.  Each group has its own skyliner, so it doesn’t matter if it’s one person in your party, or 8, it’s still one skyliner!  Super easy to push a stroller up and join whoever got in line early!  The skyliner itself started a couple minutes after 9:00.  I would probably have everyone there by 8:45 just to be safe...though I don’t think it ever starts loading people before 9.  Best of luck to you!


----------



## cindy17

Alice Sr. said:


> There's no bus service for Pop?  Will AoA not have bus service either?
> [/QUOTE
> 
> Sorry if this has already been addressed, but just to confirm: I'm going mid October (hopefully!) staying at POP. So busses will only run to MK and AK? If we're going to Epcot or HS, its only Skyliner?


----------



## IluvMGM

As of now, yes


----------



## donp

Report from today at HS—not sure whether it was the potential storm or what, but we have ridden MMRR twice, ToT 3x, Rockin’ twice, AS2 once, Slinky 3x, Millenium, RotR, TSM 4x, Star Tours, eaten at 50’s Prime Time and that is still with cleaning breaks and RotR going down while we were in line for 30 minutes. Great weekend day!! Hope you guys experience the same!


----------



## eiblehs

Antonio said:


> Is the skyliner situation from Pop that bad? Only really asking for ROTR. What time should I get to the skyliner if I wanna make rope drop?



I just got back from a week at Pop with two park days at HS. We got in line at 8:10 am both mornings for the Skyliner and made it inside the park around 9:30 am. We got boarding groups both days with no issues. I highly recommend you get in line for the Skyliner early because one day the line stretched beyond the 80s buildings by the time the Skyliner opened. The second day we went, oddly enough, the line didn’t stretch as far. Just to be safe, I’d get in line no later than 8:15 am!


----------



## Alice Sr.

A couple of questions.  I listened to a blog and they said that hardly any of the stores were open in Epcot's WS. None in England, China Germany and they thought Italy and Japan were also closed.  Can someone please confirm?  I thought it was just the CS and some TS closed.  Also, only two more days until we make our TS resv.  There is really not a lot of choices, we had planned on having dinner a couple of nights at DS but after hearing the reviews regarding distancing issues and less stringent mask wearing we are crossing DS off our list except for 1 or 2 early lunches.  Our party includes a 1 and 3 year old, what are your thoughts about resv CA Grill or Tiffins.  If there was a meltdown we would absolutely remove the little offender but the 1 year old in particular can be loud, really cute, sweet and adorable but a real chatter.  I don't want to get the death stare.


----------



## Jimmy Mouse

I posted up our experiences from last weekend a few pages back and as I posted, we saw 99.99% mask compliance but reading through the post made me remember something I forgot. Of all the places, almost every time I had to use the bathroom, I seen people take their mask off or let it hang from one ear while taking a leak.  Did anyone else see people doing this? Seems to me to be the one place you do NOT want to take it off is the bathroom.


----------



## nancipants

dachsie said:


> I am of the belief, if you give lip to a CM about a mask, You should be escorted out of the park and not allowed to re-enter for an hour



You’re nicer than me, I’d say kick them out for good.


----------



## Alice Sr.

One additional question can anyone confirm if you can still walk to HS from BWV.  I thought I read that the walkway was blocked off for some reason.


----------



## yulilin3

donp said:


> Report from today at HS—not sure whether it was the potential storm or what, but we have ridden MMRR twice, ToT 3x, Rockin’ twice, AS2 once, Slinky 3x, Millenium, RotR, TSM 4x, Star Tours, eaten at 50’s Prime Time and that is still with cleaning breaks and RotR going down while we were in line for 30 minutes. Great weekend day!! Hope you guys experience the same!


Remember Alien Swirling Saucer is AS2 or else you get the asterisks 



Alice Sr. said:


> A couple of questions.  I listened to a blog and they said that hardly any of the stores were open in Epcot's WS. None in England, China Germany and they thought Italy and Japan were also closed.  Can someone please confirm?  I thought it was just the CS and some TS closed.  Also, only two more days until we make our TS resv.  There is really not a lot of choices, we had planned on having dinner a couple of nights at DS but after hearing the reviews regarding distancing issues and less stringent mask wearing we are crossing DS off our list except for 1 or 2 early lunches.  Our party includes a 1 and 3 year old, what are your thoughts about resv CA Grill or Tiffins.  If there was a meltdown we would absolutely remove the little offender but the 1 year old in particular can be loud, really cute, sweet and adorable but a real chatter.  I don't want to get the death stare.


At WS the only pavilion that doesn't have a store open is China although the little shop by the water is.  Other than that all the pavilions have at least half of the stores open


----------



## yulilin3

Alice Sr. said:


> One additional question can anyone confirm if you can still walk to HS from BWV.  I thought I read that the walkway was blocked off for some reason.


You can still walk from BW to DHS, only a portion by YC is blocked


----------



## soniam

Alice Sr. said:


> A couple of questions.  I listened to a blog and they said that hardly any of the stores were open in Epcot's WS. None in England, China Germany and they thought Italy and Japan were also closed.  Can someone please confirm?  I thought it was just the CS and some TS closed.  Also, only two more days until we make our TS resv.  There is really not a lot of choices, we had planned on having dinner a couple of nights at DS but after hearing the reviews regarding distancing issues and less stringent mask wearing we are crossing DS off our list except for 1 or 2 early lunches.  Our party includes a 1 and 3 year old, what are your thoughts about resv CA Grill or Tiffins.  If there was a meltdown we would absolutely remove the little offender but the 1 year old in particular can be loud, really cute, sweet and adorable but a real chatter.  I don't want to get the death stare.



I didn't try any of the stores in England or China. Karamel Kuche in Germany is open but with limited selection. Italy looked pretty closed. The stores in Japan are definitely open. Keep in mind, that these things are changing daily. If your trip is 60+ days out, a lot could change before then.

Tiffins is kind of quiet sometimes, but it's in the theme park. People should expect children. I have seen a lot of kids at CA Grill too. It's all a theme park, except for V&A and Takumi Tei, feel free to take your kid in.


----------



## SamFaniam

Alice Sr. said:


> A couple of questions.  I listened to a blog and they said that hardly any of the stores were open in Epcot's WS. None in England, China Germany and they thought Italy and Japan were also closed.  Can someone please confirm?  I thought it was just the CS and some TS closed.  Also, only two more days until we make our TS resv.  There is really not a lot of choices, we had planned on having dinner a couple of nights at DS but after hearing the reviews regarding distancing issues and less stringent mask wearing we are crossing DS off our list except for 1 or 2 early lunches.  Our party includes a 1 and 3 year old, what are your thoughts about resv CA Grill or Tiffins.  If there was a meltdown we would absolutely remove the little offender but the 1 year old in particular can be loud, really cute, sweet and adorable but a real chatter.  I don't want to get the death stare.



If you go to the MDE app you can filter for Epcot shopping.  As Yulilin3 says, many of the shops are open.  I think there may have been more closed when Epcot first opened, so if you’re looking at an older blog that may be part of it.


----------



## Geomom

Alice Sr. said:


> A couple of questions.  I listened to a blog and they said that hardly any of the stores were open in Epcot's WS. None in England, China Germany and they thought Italy and Japan were also closed.  Can someone please confirm?  I thought it was just the CS and some TS closed.  Also, only two more days until we make our TS resv.  There is really not a lot of choices, we had planned on having dinner a couple of nights at DS but after hearing the reviews regarding distancing issues and less stringent mask wearing we are crossing DS off our list except for 1 or 2 early lunches.  Our party includes a 1 and 3 year old, what are your thoughts about resv CA Grill or Tiffins.  If there was a meltdown we would absolutely remove the little offender but the 1 year old in particular can be loud, really cute, sweet and adorable but a real chatter.  I don't want to get the death stare.


The reopening page of the Disney site should list everything open in parks/resorts.  We didn't try to go shopping in each Epcot country, but these are the ones I know about: Canada--only promenade kiosks open, UK--only Twinings is open, France--shop by patisserie is open (and the patisserie and gelato shops), Morocco shops are open, Japan shop is open...but no pick a pearl, no idea on America and Italy, Germany just Karamel kuche--limited selection and promenade kiosks are open, Outpost kiosks are open, china--only kiosk shops on promenade are open, Norway shop is open, and most of Mexico seemed open.

We enjoyed eating at the Wave at the contemporary.  We haven't dined at CA grill or Tiffin's.


----------



## crazymomof4

yulilin3 said:


> exactly, and that is what it boils down to. I have seen so many instances of CM trying to enforce the rules and people giving them lip or just taking off their masks as soon as CM looks away only to continue walking and be told by another CM.
> A CM told a lady that her child needed to wear a mask and the guest said :good luck having her keep it on: the CM said "well when you booked your trip and on the site and on MDE it says that if you come you have to comply with these rules"  she shrugged
> People relying 100% on Disney and its employees to keep you safe are not being proactive or realistic.* I have let go of situations when I am just walking down a street but when we are in a queue, or sitting for a show I do speak up because we will be spending a considerable amount of time together,* again I've gotten the evil look and the sneer and that's fine with me as long as you put your mask back on and social distance


This
In passing, I don't feel unsafe. But a line is different story.
Disney keeps tweeking and adding to policy.  I really hope they come up with a system where there is some sort of penalty for non-compliance.  Like immediate removal from the line, with an invitation to take a position at the back of the line and try again to obey the posted rules.   I feel like these types of people will only comply if there are direct consequences.


----------



## Cliz155

We're at AKL Kidani right now and I just wanted to report on mousekeeping. We get new towels and trash emptied every two days, but that's it. We're going on 6 days now, and we would like a few other surfaces wiped down and maybe some vacuuming. I definitely miss regular mousekeeping. Has anyone had cleaning done during their stay? Or just the towel replenishment/trash removal?


----------



## Dave006

Cliz155 said:


> We're at AKL Kidani right now and I just wanted to report on mousekeeping. We get new towels and trash emptied every two days, but that's it. We're going on 6 days now, and we would like a few other surfaces wiped down and maybe some vacuuming. I definitely miss regular mousekeeping. Has anyone had cleaning done during their stay? Or just the towel replenishment/trash removal?


You will have to call if you want more services.

From Disney: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/resorts/

And during your stay, your room will receive a light cleaning service every other day, which will include:

Removal of trash and used towels
Replenishment of towels and amenities throughout the room and bathroom
Wiping and cleaning of the vanity and counter surfaces
Vacuuming if needed
You can also decline every-other-day service.

Please note that:

If you’re a Disney Vacation Club Member using your Membership to stay, you’ll receive service on the 4th and 8th days, unless you decline that service.
Dave


----------



## Geomom

Here now update...

Friday, did HS, felt busy midday.  We were there from 11:30-6.  TSL looked busy, but TSM and AS only had 10-15 min waits, 30 for SDD.  Did not get a boarding pass at 2pm for RotR, will try again tomorrow... some year we'll get on it.  Ate lunch at Sci-Fi, great spacing for dining--every other car and 1 party per car.  Got in line for MMRR at 3:30...hit a cleaning cycle, ended up being 45 minutes.  Went to Galaxy's edge, only 15 minute wait for MFSR.  Walked around the shops taking in atmosphere. Saw Rey, Chewbacca, and someone else.  Went to Muppets on way out, walk on.  Soooo hot that day.  Wait times way down as we were leaving, but we were worn out. 

Did Epcot both Saturday and Sunday... amazing how different it was.  Saturday was busy, seemed crowded in countries, wait times longer.  Sunday, few people around, short or no waits, felt much safer Sunday (tropical storm probably kept people away, but we only had rain for an hour).  Saturday had a guy 2 groups ahead of us in line for soarin with his mask off most of the stopped wait...my kids saw him vaping...no CMs in that area.  We saw cavalcades Saturday-Mickey/Minnie/Pluto/Goofy, and princesses later.  Had dinner at Biergarten Saturday, spaced every other table, family style meal, oompah band played for a bit.  Had lunch at Spice Road Table today, ate inside as it was so humid, tables inside a little closer than we'd like, but felt okay in our corner table once I moved in further on the bench seat and the party seated nearby sat in the seats by the window, distancing from us.  One family came in with masks off before getting to their table...and saw the mom take small toddler to bathroom...no masks as she walked through restaurant...ug...I just don't understand some people.  Enjoyed the food at both.

Cloth masks harder to breathe through on humid days--like today.  Luckily lots of A/c rides/attractions at Epcot.

We've been at BWV 1 bedroom for 4 nts...which is why we've done all these days at HS and Epcot as we can walk to both.  Moving to AKV studio tommorow for the last 5 NTS.  Have yet to visit a pool, looked too busy for us after the parks.  (DH did get food for us from the pool bar 1 nt, said people were good about wearing a mask to the bar.)


----------



## Dallasmomoftwo

Alice Sr. said:


> Our party includes a 1 and 3 year old, what are your thoughts about resv CA Grill or Tiffins. If there was a meltdown we would absolutely remove the little offender but the 1 year old in particular can be loud, really cute, sweet and adorable but a real chatter. I don't want to get the death stare.


With kids this young, I would skip Cali Grill for sure, and probably Tiffins as well. Both can be very quiet, and I'm sure even more so now with reduced capacity. I've taken my kids to both, but waited until they were older, like 7-8 yo. They are both very nice restaurants and both are expensive. If your little one has a meltdown (which I know mine would have been likely to do at that age), I would have hated to have my meal ruined by stepping out with them. Especially at Cali Grill, where you have ridden an elevator to the top and there aren't many out of the way places you can take a small child while waiting for a meltdown to end.

Maybe Grand Floridian Cafe or Yak and Yeti instead?


----------



## crazymomof4

Dave006 said:


> You will have to call if you want more services.
> 
> From Disney: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/resorts/
> 
> And during your stay, your room will receive a light cleaning service every other day, which will include:
> 
> Removal of trash and used towels
> Replenishment of towels and amenities throughout the room and bathroom
> Wiping and cleaning of the vanity and counter surfaces
> Vacuuming if needed
> You can also decline every-other-day service.
> 
> Please note that:
> 
> If you’re a Disney Vacation Club Member using your Membership to stay, you’ll receive service on the 4th and 8th days, unless you decline that service.
> Dave


We rented DVC points via a vendor.  Which will apply to our stay, the upper or lower part of your post?


----------



## wendow

osufeth24 said:


> agreed.  I don't think people realize how nasty people get when you ask them to wear their mask, and how abusive people are.  Where I work luckily it's not my main job to police it, but I do have to speak up if I see it.  I have mocked and made fun of so many times.  And yes, there have been times, I "pretend" i don't see it because I don't feel like getting attacked (i'll alert manager to go deal with it).
> 
> If it's like that for me, I'm guessing at Disney or Universal, you times that by 10.


I have one dd who works at Target and one who works at an aquarium. We have a statewide mask mandate. Both of my dd's have to constantly ask guests to wear a mask (or at the aquarium, be on a waitlist until capacity eases). People are so rude and chew them both out. They both explain that these are not their rules but the rules set forth by the government and they must enforce them. People go ballistic. It's really amazing to me that people think it's okay to take their frustration with the rules out on the poor workers, who are essentially, risking their own health to be there. You can agree or not agree with wearing masks but if you choose to go to Disney, or Target or wherever, you must follow their rules. Simple as that.


----------



## wendow

crazymomof4 said:


> We rented DVC points via a vendor.  Which will apply to our stay, the upper or lower part of your post?


Even with rented points, you will receive the DVC owner cleaning schedule which is on the 4th and 8th days.


----------



## wendow

Alice Sr. said:


> A couple of questions.  I listened to a blog and they said that hardly any of the stores were open in Epcot's WS. None in England, China Germany and they thought Italy and Japan were also closed.  Can someone please confirm?  I thought it was just the CS and some TS closed.  Also, only two more days until we make our TS resv.  There is really not a lot of choices, we had planned on having dinner a couple of nights at DS but after hearing the reviews regarding distancing issues and less stringent mask wearing we are crossing DS off our list except for 1 or 2 early lunches.  Our party includes a 1 and 3 year old, what are your thoughts about resv CA Grill or Tiffins.  If there was a meltdown we would absolutely remove the little offender but the 1 year old in particular can be loud, really cute, sweet and adorable but a real chatter.  I don't want to get the death stare.


Hi friend! We ate at Via Napoli in Italy and shopped in Japan (can't remember if any restaurants were open). Much of the WS is closed. We didn't even spend a full day at Epcot - makes me sad to say cause we love EP - but there just wasn't much to do outside of Future World, and we all know how sparse that is right now.


----------



## wendow

Cliz155 said:


> We're at AKL Kidani right now and I just wanted to report on mousekeeping. We get new towels and trash emptied every two days, but that's it. We're going on 6 days now, and we would like a few other surfaces wiped down and maybe some vacuuming. I definitely miss regular mousekeeping. Has anyone had cleaning done during their stay? Or just the towel replenishment/trash removal?


We requested a cleaning by chatting through the app. Honestly, our room at Pop was not clean. Hairs on floor and on bathroom cabinets at check-in. Really gross. I felt bad complaining cause I know they are probably overworked with less CM's but we had two rooms and one was pretty yucky. I requested a re-clean (disney's term). We also were not receiving replenished coffee and cups so I asked for that.


----------



## wendow

Antonio said:


> Is the skyliner situation from Pop that bad? Only really asking for ROTR. What time should I get to the skyliner if I wanna make rope drop?


So, I definitely think earlier is the way to go! Here is our experience...we were at wdw from 7/21-7/27 with two DHS days. First HS day we drove our rental car. Best idea ever lol. Left the hotel at 9:00, tapped in at 9:30 and got a BG. Next HS day, we decided to take the Skyliner from Pop. Got in line at 9:09 (line back to 50's). Line took a long, long time and then when we got off at the transfer station, a long, long line awaited us. We tapped in at 10:06 and missed a BG. Couldn't get a 2:00 group either. That was BEFORE CBR opened so I'm not sure how things look now but from what I am reading, you need to be in the Pop line at about 8:00.


----------



## UVACHRIS11

Alice Sr. said:


> One additional question can anyone confirm if you can still walk to HS from BWV.  I thought I read that the walkway was blocked off for some reason.



No, we walked over three times during our trip. In line at the end of the bus stop at 9:00a.m. released as soon as they started letting cars in at 9:15 and rode MMRR and slinky before 10 a.m each time.


----------



## armerida

UVACHRIS11 said:


> No, we walked over three times during our trip. In line at the end of the bus stop at 9:00a.m. released as soon as they started letting cars in at 9:15 and rode MMRR and slinky before 10 a.m each time.


What time did you leave your resort to get there for 9:00?


----------



## UVACHRIS11

8:35-8:40ish


----------



## UVACHRIS11

I arrived on August 18th and left on Aug. 31st and the crowd levels were significantly increased the second week.
Epcot and AK had no energy, due to lack of entertainment and music, didn't realize I would miss that as much as I did.
MK was the most noticeable as far as increased crowd size.
I was also surprised at how the decrease in food options affected the trip.
99.9 % mask compliance in the parks. DS was another story and was a nightmare with long lines in the heat.
Homecomin is now my favorite restaurant on property.


----------



## skip-seglipse

UVACHRIS11 said:


> I arrived on August 18th and left on Aug. 31st and the crowd levels were significantly increased the second week.
> Epcot and AK had no energy, due to lack of entertainment and music, didn't realize I would miss that as much as I did.
> MK was the most noticeable as far as increased crowd size.
> I was also surprised at how the decrease in food options affected the trip.
> 99.9 % mask compliance in the parks. DS was another story and was a nightmare with long lines in the heat.
> Homecomin is now my favorite restaurant on property.



When you can, please let us know how you figured out time travel!


----------



## shoegal9

We just returned from 4 days and overall, we enjoyed our trip. Biggest bummer was the restaurants and bars that we love that remain closed.  A few takeaways:

They need more for people to do at night and more venues for adults after 9.  No hotel bars open (and adult beverages have a high profit margin), Disney Springs closes too early for a late dinner, and the feature pools close at 9.  At the Polynesian the only place to get a drink is the pool bar. Would it kill them to open up one of those makeshift lobby bars?  I mean, I'm willing to pay $14 for your Pina Colava, so.... please do something other than roll up the sidewalks which just pushes people to Disney Springs. For our next trip I made sure to make the latest dinner reservations I can just to make sure we have something to do at night with no kids. Normally we would go to Top of the World, Trader Sams, Jellyrolls.. all of which are closed. 

I expected dead parks from everything I have been reading on these boards. That was not reality. MK was BUSY on Thursday. The only ride we walked on was Little Mermaid. DHS sure seemed plugged on Friday too. We got lucky because we were staying at Boardwalk so we walked to the park and arrived in line around 9 am. They started letting us in before people were even allowed into the parking lot. So, we were 8th in line for MMRR and were off the ride by 9:40ish then knocked out SDD and TSMM. I'm so glad we stayed at BWV for that reason. However, ROTR broke down twice while we were in line.  After waiting for more than 2 hours to ride, I am done with that attraction until they figure out the issues. It was just ridiculous. We were there in December on the second day it was open. Broke down twice on us that day as well. 

Mask compliance was great. We aren't terrified of getting sick, so that made our trip a lot easier, but two masks situations that annoyed me.  When entering DHS the party in front of me was a family of 5 (2 kids were older and walking with masks on) one was in the stroller.  I didn't see the baby's face, but what I did see was a CM and what appeared to be her boss look at the stroller. One CM approached the family and said "do you have a mask for her?" pointing at the baby in the stroller. The mother said, no she is 1.  The CM walked  back to her boss and said, "they said she is only 1" and then the boss lady walked up to the family, halted their stroller, and stared at the baby from like 3 feet away just examining her alleged age.  It was so strange because she stared for a while and said nothing to the parents.  Then she walked back to the other CM and said "Yes, that is definitely a small baby."  It was so awkward.  Another instance was when we were in hour # 2 of waiting for Rise to work again, I was sitting on the floor and said something to my BF. He was standing and couldn't understand/hear me because of the mask, and bent down to hear me and then laughed at what I said.  When he laughed his mask slipped (for a hot second) ever so slightly under his nose. This CM was just waiting to pounce on him and as he was fixing it (immediately after noticing it had slipped) then she yelled at him in front of the whole room of people. It was super unnecessary. She could have said something in a normal tone of voice as she was literally standing right next to him anyways.  It was as if she was grandstanding to say "Look at me everyone- I/Disney am enforcing rules." Which, yes it is your job to enforce rules, and I am glad you're doing it, but not in that manner. It was rude. He wasn't some jerk walking around with his mask under his nose or trying to skirt the rules.  Mine slide down under my nose when I screamed on the Splash Mountain drop, so it just happens and you fix it. Which he did -immediately. 

This trip was really a test to see if we wanted to shorten our 9 night September trip. At this point, we are planning to go and not shave off any days.  However, I really hope that they have a bit more in terms of food and beverage offerings.  That being said, I am really happy that there is still some magic to be had while we are still going through this situation.  We are happy to return and give our money to the mouse so that WDW can rebound from this.


----------



## shoegal9

Geomom said:


> , no idea on America and Italy, Germany just Karamel kuche--limited selection and promenade kiosks are open, Outpost kiosks are open, china--only kiosk shops on promenade are open, Norway shop is open, and most of Mexico seemed open.





Alice Sr. said:


> Can someone please confirm?



In Germany the stores next to Caramel Kuche are open- the Christmas tree ornament store, the one with the Germany gear in it (steins/tees), and the wine bar. Only stores closed in Germany are the ones across the way with the toys/clocks. 

No stores open in Italy. And although it says Tutto Gusto is open, its actually just overflow for Tutto Italia.  

In American Pavilion, the art store is open.


----------



## dachsie

shoegal9 said:


> In Germany the stores next to Caramel Kuche are open- the Christmas tree ornament store, the one with the Germany gear in it (steins/tees), and the wine bar. Only stores closed in Germany are the ones across the way with the toys/clocks.
> 
> No stores open in Italy. And although it says Tutto Gusto is open, its actually just overflow for Tutto Italia.
> 
> In American Pavilion, the art store is open.


Actually the store where they sell the kitchen items is open in Italy from what I have read.


----------



## shoegal9

dachsie said:


> Actually the store where they sell the kitchen items is open in Italy from what I have read.



I was there Saturday and it wasn't. But who knows... some shops seem to be random.


----------



## dachsie

shoegal9 said:


> I was there Saturday and it wasn't. But who knows... some shops seem to be random.


Interesting.  Wonder if it were a staffing issue.  DFB posted some new products they are carrying just last week


----------



## LaDonna

wendow said:


> So, I definitely think earlier is the way to go! Here is our experience...we were at wdw from 7/21-7/27 with two DHS days. First HS day we drove our rental car. Best idea ever lol. Left the hotel at 9:00, tapped in at 9:30 and got a BG. Next HS day, we decided to take the Skyliner from Pop. Got in line at 9:09 (line back to 50's). Line took a long, long time and then when we got off at the transfer station, a long, long line awaited us. We tapped in at 10:06 and missed a BG. Couldn't get a 2:00 group either. That was BEFORE CBR opened so I'm not sure how things look now but from what I am reading, you need to be in the Pop line at about 8:00.



so it sounds like if you have a vehicle that is best way to go, saveS about 30 minutes time.....hmmm really want to take skyliner though. thinking maybe I can talk my husband into just going and standing in line while I get the kids ready


----------



## shoegal9

dachsie said:


> Interesting.  Wonder if it were a staffing issue.  DFB posted some new products they are carrying just last week



Well, that makes me sad. I'm Italian and always love checking out their merch!


----------



## pepperandchips

Alice Sr. said:


> Our party includes a 1 and 3 year old, what are your thoughts about resv CA Grill or Tiffins.  If there was a meltdown we would absolutely remove the little offender but the 1 year old in particular can be loud, really cute, sweet and adorable but a real chatter.  I don't want to get the death stare.


How do your toddlers do in restaurants at home? As other posters have mentioned, it’s WDW and we expect to see children everywhere. 

The only times I have felt like giving or given the death stare are when people lack common courtesy (kid’s tablet or phone blaring videos at full volume with no headphones, woman using her phone flashlight inside a restaurant and shining it in our eyes at a nearby table) or when parents have children in “adult spaces” obviously after bedtime. I say that last part only because the times we’ve seen kids at restaurants late at night, the poor kids are obviously exhausted and acting out and it’s not their fault they’re out of their normal routine. 

While I am only aware of age limits at Trader Sam’s, I think it is courteous to assume that it is an “adult space” at pretty much any lounge on property after 8 or 8:30 pm. Tiffins is actually in the theme park so I think it’s kind of expected to see littles there at any time, but AK closes way before bedtime.


----------



## yulilin3

shoegal9 said:


> I was there Saturday and it wasn't. But who knows... some shops seem to be random.


Did you actually check or just saw the door closed? The store to the right as you enter the pavilion not the perfume store.  The store to the right was opened last week,  i was also there in the evening so wondering if you went early


----------



## shoegal9

Yes, it's La Bottega Italiana. I checked  both doors- the door right off the pavilion where the tables are, and then the exit door in the back. And there were no people inside. It was about 4 pm.  Not sure, maybe they locked up for a minute? Happy to know they are open since we are going back in September!


----------



## ONUAtrain

Question. How early do they start running MMRR at HS? RotR is priority so I want to make sure I get a shot at getting a BG, but if they start MMRR at 930 i have a chance to do both. Thanks!


----------



## MomOTwins

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> With kids this young, I would skip Cali Grill for sure, and probably Tiffins as well. Both can be very quiet, and I'm sure even more so now with reduced capacity. I've taken my kids to both, but waited until they were older, like 7-8 yo. They are both very nice restaurants and both are expensive. If your little one has a meltdown (which I know mine would have been likely to do at that age), I would have hated to have my meal ruined by stepping out with them. Especially at Cali Grill, where you have ridden an elevator to the top and there aren't many out of the way places you can take a small child while waiting for a meltdown to end.
> 
> Maybe Grand Floridian Cafe or Yak and Yeti instead?


When my 1 year old got a bit fussy at Cali Grill I took him out on the scenic viewing platform (which is pretty much empty with no fireworks)--no need to go all the way downstairs.


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## ars0525

Passholder who went solo to HS on Sunday (8/2) & drove over for day so this was my experience & what I saw which we know in Disney time can change quickly.

*Parking*: I arrived at the HS lot entrance at 8:30am & was nicely told to return at 9 (they had 3 CM's & a cop car out there directing). They were making people leave, but there is no where to "wait" & they tell you NOT to park along the roads (which you do see people doing anyways or driving REALLY SLOW on the roads stalling). I went to McDonald's by the All Stars to park, but FYI it's drive thru only so no bathroom in case you're hoping for that. I got back to the parking lot entrance at 8:57 & cars were already lining up. At 9 they opened up the "holding area" & everyone pulled up to the booths & lined up waiting. At 9:13 they opened the parking booths to let cars in. And there are no trams so you have to walk in from the parking BUT it's all upfront as close as they can get you.

*Entering the Park*: very simple process. Your party stays together. Take temp. Move on to next area which is security. Bag or no bag lines. I had a backpack with some waters & Gatorade & container with PBJs. I had my phone & spare battery in my hand cause I thought that's what they were announcing to do. I walked right thru the security alarm thing. They didn't look in my bag or do any extra checks on me. Took maybe 5 minutes for all that. They seem to be getting this process much more streamlined.

*Inside Park*: I walked in park 9:25. Again just walking in, no lines, no rushing. I went straight to Slinky Dog & got in line. It wasn't running yet, but at 9:40 they must have started cause the line started shuffling (I was off the ride by 9:52). I think every ride at this point was just getting organized & people getting in line. They did have good signage letting people know which way to go for what attraction.

*ROTR 10am Boarding Pass:* I turned the WiFi off on my phone so I wasn't on Disney Wifi. I tried to step away from others & be in an open area (not in a building or under cover) but not sure if that helps? At 9:57 I got my phone ready. When my phone said 10am I swiped for a refresh & boom it had changed to the next screen. I was lucky & got Boarding Group 9!!! There were others standing by me that didn't get in & it probably did take only about 30 seconds for it to be "full". At 10:25 I got a notification my group was boarding so I headed that way. Scanned in at 10:32. Waited in the line inside (it was rainy so bonus!). Got to the starting point at 10:57 & here I go! Nope...after the initial starting part we walked outside & got escorted off to a side area where they gave us a FP good for any ride that day (and told if we left it wouldn't be good again) & instructed we just had to keep checking back for ROTR to be running again if that's what we wanted. I did see it was running again about 1ish so I went & used my FP then. Waited maybe 5 minutes in the FP line & got to ride it! Being a solo traveler I got a whole transporter to myself.

*Other Rides:* The wait times aren't accurate as stated. RnR said 30 minutes. I rode it twice in 25 minutes! I stood in line for the new Mickey & Minnie, but after 20 minutes I left to use my FP for ROTR cause I wasn't even inside yet. The sign holder said 50 minutes & the app had said 30 minutes. I'm thinking the sign holders are more accurate at that point. It was rainy on/off in the morning cause of the hurricane off shore so I stuck with the indoor rides & browsing stores for awhile. No rain & AC while waiting isn't bad! I left at 2:30pm feeling I had a very full day & doing everything I wanted to.

*Notes: *A lot of the stores & food places aren't all open. I brought my own food this time in my backpack after my trip to MK 2 weeks ago. I just parked on a rock & watched the characters come out in Galaxy's Edge & interact with the crowd while I ate & drank. There are updated signs all around stating you must be stationary to remove your mask to eat/drink. I saw everyone wearing a mask properly & only heard a CM 1x remind someone. The water bottle refill stations in GE were working (I checked), but after reading here about people licking them I'd be wary of using anything. Crowd wise it's obviously still low compared to "normal". I was walking thru Toy Story Land at 2ish & it was empty spaces. Lots of great photo ops! The parking lot when I left at 2:30 was maybe 1/4 full?? Also the PhotoPass people don't seem to be out at park openings? I noticed this at MK 2 weeks ago. They seem to come out later so you have to circle back or really look for them now.

*AP sidenote*: I tried getting a park reservation to go to another park when I was leaving HS, but it wouldn't let me. I don't know if it did allow that before, but they have closed that loophole in case anyone was wondering.


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## yulilin3

ars0525 said:


> Passholder who went solo to HS on Sunday (8/2) & drove over for day so this was my experience & what I saw which we know in Disney time can change quickly.
> 
> *Parking*: I arrived at the HS lot entrance at 8:30am & was nicely told to return at 9 (they had 3 CM's & a cop car out there directing). They were making people leave, but there is no where to "wait" & they tell you NOT to park along the roads (which you do see people doing anyways or driving REALLY SLOW on the roads stalling). I went to McDonald's by the All Stars to park, but FYI it's drive thru only so no bathroom in case you're hoping for that. I got back to the parking lot entrance at 8:57 & cars were already lining up. At 9 they opened up the "holding area" & everyone pulled up to the booths & lined up waiting. At 9:13 they opened the parking booths to let cars in. And there are no trams so you have to walk in from the parking BUT it's all upfront as close as they can get you.
> 
> *Entering the Park*: very simple process. Your party stays together. Take temp. Move on to next area which is security. Bag or no bag lines. I had a backpack with some waters & Gatorade & container with PBJs. I had my phone & spare battery in my hand cause I thought that's what they were announcing to do. I walked right thru the security alarm thing. They didn't look in my bag or do any extra checks on me. Took maybe 5 minutes for all that. They seem to be getting this process much more streamlined.
> 
> *Inside Park*: I walked in park 9:25. Again just walking in, no lines, no rushing. I went straight to Slinky Dog & got in line. It wasn't running yet, but at 9:40 they must have started cause the line started shuffling (I was off the ride by 9:52). I think every ride at this point was just getting organized & people getting in line. They did have good signage letting people know which way to go for what attraction.
> 
> *ROTR 10am Boarding Pass:* I turned the WiFi off on my phone so I wasn't on Disney Wifi. I tried to step away from others & be in an open area (not in a building or under cover) but not sure if that helps? At 9:57 I got my phone ready. When my phone said 10am I swiped for a refresh & boom it had changed to the next screen. I was lucky & got Boarding Group 9!!! There were others standing by me that didn't get in & it probably did take only about 30 seconds for it to be "full". At 10:25 I got a notification my group was boarding so I headed that way. Scanned in at 10:32. Waited in the line inside (it was rainy so bonus!). Got to the starting point at 10:57 & here I go! Nope...after the initial starting part we walked outside & got escorted off to a side area where they gave us a FP good for any ride that day (and told if we left it wouldn't be good again) & instructed we just had to keep checking back for ROTR to be running again if that's what we wanted. I did see it was running again about 1ish so I went & used my FP then. Waited maybe 5 minutes in the FP line & got to ride it! Being a solo traveler I got a whole transporter to myself.
> 
> *Other Rides:* The wait times aren't accurate as stated. RnR said 30 minutes. I rode it twice in 25 minutes! I stood in line for the new Mickey & Minnie, but after 20 minutes I left to use my FP for ROTR cause I wasn't even inside yet. The sign holder said 50 minutes & the app had said 30 minutes. I'm thinking the sign holders are more accurate at that point. It was rainy on/off in the morning cause of the hurricane off shore so I stuck with the indoor rides & browsing stores for awhile. No rain & AC while waiting isn't bad! I left at 2:30pm feeling I had a very full day & doing everything I wanted to.
> 
> *Notes: *A lot of the stores & food places aren't all open. I brought my own food this time in my backpack after my trip to MK 2 weeks ago. I just parked on a rock & watched the characters come out in Galaxy's Edge & interact with the crowd while I ate & drank. There are updated signs all around stating you must be stationary to remove your mask to eat/drink. I saw everyone wearing a mask properly & only heard a CM 1x remind someone. The water bottle refill stations in GE were working (I checked), but after reading here about people licking them I'd be wary of using anything. Crowd wise it's obviously still low compared to "normal". I was walking thru Toy Story Land at 2ish & it was empty spaces. Lots of great photo ops! The parking lot when I left at 2:30 was maybe 1/4 full?? Also the PhotoPass people don't seem to be out at park openings? I noticed this at MK 2 weeks ago. They seem to come out later so you have to circle back or really look for them now.
> 
> *AP sidenote*: I tried getting a park reservation to go to another park when I was leaving HS, but it wouldn't let me. I don't know if it did allow that before, but they have closed that loophole in case anyone was wondering.


To your last note.  You can make another park reservation after 9 pm the day of use


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## wendow

shoegal9 said:


> Another instance was when we were in hour # 2 of waiting for Rise to work again, I was sitting on the floor and said something to my BF. He was standing and couldn't understand/hear me because of the mask, and bent down to hear me and then laughed at what I said.  When he laughed his mask slipped (for a hot second) ever so slightly under his nose. This CM was just waiting to pounce on him and as he was fixing it (immediately after noticing it had slipped) then she yelled at him in front of the whole room of people. It was super unnecessary. She could have said something in a normal tone of voice as she was literally standing right next to him anyways.  It was as if she was grandstanding to say "Look at me everyone- I/Disney am enforcing rules." Which, yes it is your job to enforce rules, and I am glad you're doing it, but not in that manner. It was rude. He wasn't some jerk walking around with his mask under his nose or trying to skirt the rules.  Mine slide down under my nose when I screamed on the Splash Mountain drop, so it just happens and you fix it. Which he did -immediately.



I can relate to both of these situations - my dh took his mask off, while sitting on a bench outside Muppet Vision to drink some water and eat a quick snack. He finished the snack and continued drinking water. He put the lid on his cup and bent down to put it in his backpack. When he sat back up, immediately a CM was on him to put his mask on. If she had waited 5 secs, she would have seen that he would have put it back on, very willingly, himself. That really annoyed my dh because he & I and all 4 of our kids were following all of Disney's rules regarding mask and distancing. 

And then yep, my 9yo's mask fell below his nose on splash. Just barely below but we didn't get the ride photo and two CM's got on to him (both at the same time so it seemed harsher than it really was) as soon as they saw. I don't think he even realized it had slid down. He's excellent about keeping a mask on...even though it fogs up his glasses...he still never fights it or even asks to take it off. I could feel mine sliding down on several attractions.


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## MomOTwins

wendow said:


> I can relate to both of these situations - my dh took his mask off, while sitting on a bench outside Muppet Vision to drink some water and eat a quick snack. He finished the snack and continued drinking water. He put the lid on his cup and bent down to put it in his backpack. When he sat back up, immediately a CM was on him to put his mask on. If she had waited 5 secs, she would have seen that he would have put it back on, very willingly, himself. That really annoyed my dh because he & I and all 4 of our kids were following all of Disney's rules regarding mask and distancing.
> 
> And then yep, my 9yo's mask fell below his nose on splash. Just barely below but we didn't get the ride photo and two CM's got on to him (both at the same time so it seemed harsher than it really was) as soon as they saw. I don't think he even realized it had slid down. He's excellent about keeping a mask on...even though it fogs up his glasses...he still never fights it or even asks to take it off. I could feel mine sliding down on several attractions.


If your masks are sliding down, you really need a new mask. A well fitted one or one with a nose wire will not slide down.  A mask that slips down exposes your nose is like an umbrella with a giant hole in the middle—it does not offer protection to you or anyone else.


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## shoegal9

wendow said:


> I can relate to both of these situations - my dh took his mask off, while sitting on a bench outside Muppet Vision to drink some water and eat a quick snack. He finished the snack and continued drinking water. He put the lid on his cup and bent down to put it in his backpack. When he sat back up, immediately a CM was on him to put his mask on. If she had waited 5 secs, she would have seen that he would have put it back on, very willingly, himself. That really annoyed my dh because he & I and all 4 of our kids were following all of Disney's rules regarding mask and distancing.
> 
> And then yep, my 9yo's mask fell below his nose on splash. Just barely below but we didn't get the ride photo and two CM's got on to him (both at the same time so it seemed harsher than it really was) as soon as they saw. I don't think he even realized it had slid down. He's excellent about keeping a mask on...even though it fogs up his glasses...he still never fights it or even asks to take it off. I could feel mine sliding down on several attractions.



Yeah! I felt it slide down when I moved my mouth on Splash and it was SOAKED because we were in the front row. I was certain that I wouldn't get my ride photo, but we did.  It's one thing to be blatantly disregarding rules, but quite another to be following them and have something like that happen... and to have a CM not realize that isn't fair to guests.  She could have just said, "Sir please make sure your mask stays up above your nose" in a normal tone of voice and he would have apologized. But she was so rude. We brushed it off.. but still. It's a training point. You don't need to go out of your way to make someone look bad or embarrass them.


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## shoegal9

MomOTwins said:


> If your masks are sliding down, you really need a new mask. A well fitted one or one with a nose wire will not slide down.  A mask that slips down exposes your nose is like an umbrella with a giant hole in the middle—it does not offer protection to you or anyone else.



if your mask is soaking wet and you move your mouth it will certainly slide beneath your nose because its literally plastered to your face.  We both had cloth masks that fit securely, behind the ears and under the chin.


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## Judique

Alice Sr. said:


> A couple of questions.  I listened to a blog and they said that hardly any of the stores were open in Epcot's WS. None in England, China Germany and they thought Italy and Japan were also closed.  Can someone please confirm?  I thought it was just the CS and some TS closed.  Also, only two more days until we make our TS resv.  There is really not a lot of choices, we had planned on having dinner a couple of nights at DS but after hearing the reviews regarding distancing issues and less stringent mask wearing we are crossing DS off our list except for 1 or 2 early lunches.  Our party includes a 1 and 3 year old, what are your thoughts about resv CA Grill or Tiffins.  If there was a meltdown we would absolutely remove the little offender but the 1 year old in particular can be loud, really cute, sweet and adorable but a real chatter.  I don't want to get the death stare.



Hi Alice, can't speak to the Grill for 1 and 3 but we took my grandkids to Tiffins and they were fine, although I think they were 2 and 3 at the time. It wasn't busy when we went, we went in at opening and didn't have an ADR but now I think that's more necessary.  

As far as any restaurant, I've taken ours wherever I want to go if the restaurant doesn't prohibit children.  Same with my own when they were small - my youngest who is 28 this month dined happily at CG when she was 4 and onward. It's me that's sort of burned out on CG, not that it isn't good, I just want to try everything. 

The only place I ever had to remove with a grand was a Sunday brunch in a very casual tavern - she went all wackadoodle on us, plus knocked over my orange juice onto the bench seat where I was sitting, screamed and generally caused a ruckus. Didn't see that before and haven't seen it since, but it can happen. I took her out so the rest could eat in some kind of peace and I was all wet anyway.  Made me wary for the following dining events but they turned out okay.


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## Redhead5

I believe much of the problem with eating and drinking and a mask being off is that people are doing things other than actively eating or drinking. Surfing your phone, talking and laughing with those around you, and putting your food and drink away are not actively eating. That is why cast members are asking you to put your mask back on. I am happy they are doing it.


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## Walt4ever

Alice Sr. said:


> A couple of questions.  I listened to a blog and they said that hardly any of the stores were open in Epcot's WS. None in England, China Germany and they thought Italy and Japan were also closed.  Can someone please confirm?  I thought it was just the CS and some TS closed.  Also, only two more days until we make our TS resv.  There is really not a lot of choices, we had planned on having dinner a couple of nights at DS but after hearing the reviews regarding distancing issues and less stringent mask wearing we are crossing DS off our list except for 1 or 2 early lunches.  Our party includes a 1 and 3 year old, what are your thoughts about resv CA Grill or Tiffins.  If there was a meltdown we would absolutely remove the little offender but the 1 year old in particular can be loud, really cute, sweet and adorable but a real chatter.  I don't want to get the death stare.



A lot of stores ARE closed, with apparently no plans to re-open any time soon.  Looking in the windows this past weekend, no plexi shields in site, so no plans to open.  Unfortunately, two of the stores we specifically went to Studios to visit were on the closed list.  At Epcot, Germany, Norway, Japan, Italy, Mexico and Morocco were all partially open.    England's tea shop was open, but not the rest.

You can go to your Disney experience app, go to the map, instead of looking for wait times, look at merchandise.  It will tell you what is open and what is closed ('temporarily unavailable').  Same for dining options.  I should have done that myself before the trip.  We didn't notice that Backlot Express closed early, so I missed out on getting a Wookie Cookie 

Maybe because it was 99+ degrees with heat indexes in the 105+ range, but we did not run into any overly zealous CM mask police at Epcot nor at Studios.  At Studios, every window service eatery with seating (even the dining locations that were closed) had most of the 'open' tables full of people with their masks off.  They got fuller as the day went on.  To the point that some did not have any open tables.  Many had water or other liquids trying to stay hydrated, but even without "actively heating and drinking", if you were seated, you were left alone since the tables were already socially distanced.   They became de facto 'relaxation' areas.  

Woody's Lunchbox, as an example, in Toy Story Land is closed, but their seating area was full a good bit of the afternoon.  "Open" tables had the umbrellas open to provide shade, with all the fans in the area on high.  There was only one food/drink cart in the whole land, so not a lot of "actively" drinking or eating going on as there wasn't much to buy in that area.  Did I mention it felt like 105+ degrees out?  Maybe it was suppose to be an official relaxation area, but there were no signs to that effect.

On the attractions side, several folks in lines would slip their mask down to drink water, or briefly to talk to each other (VERY briefly to help clarify a specific word, for example, that got muffled in the mask).  A mom with a handful of young ones took her mask off while entering the theater with Mickey's vacation short film.  The young one she was holding may have aided in pulling it down to start with.  She got everyone situated, sat down herself, and put the mask back on without any CM berating her.  In that instant, the CM at the control station watched her and I'm sure would have said something if the mask had not gone back on, but waited to give the mom the chance to do it herself.

If you don't want to see a random nose or maskless faces sitting in the shade, don't go.  Because you WILL see them.  There are still some semi-see through one layer masks as well.  Just because someone wore a thick one at the gate, doesn't mean they didn't swap it out later in the day.  If that doesn't bother you, lines are reasonably short, but a lot of the shops and food options are closed.  Yes, you will hear about some CM's going above and beyond, some borderline militant, with enforcement, but they are outnumbered by those that understand the reality and know most people are not trying to "beat the system", but are just doing the best they can.

An issue that larger families need to be aware of is if you are a group larger than 4 you have to separate in pretty much all theater type attractions (Muppetvision, Canada circle vision, etc).  So mom, dad and 3 kids ... figure out how you are going to break up and sit because they will only let 4 people sit together.  I get that that's the "easy" way to make sure there are gaps between each group.  They have stickers on the seats you aren't allowed to stand in.  Makes less sense in circle visions that you stand in, but okay, still easier than telling folks "make sure you leave 4 empty seats between you and the next group of people".


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## Stringer Bell

MomOTwins said:


> If your masks are sliding down, you really need a new mask. A well fitted one or one with a nose wire will not slide down.  A mask that slips down exposes your nose is like an umbrella with a giant hole in the middle—it does not offer protection to you or anyone else.




   Having just been there for a week, I can tell you that masks can, do , and will continue to move around on your face. It was 90+ degrees every day with a feel-like temp over 100 everyday.
We had a group of 8 and each had their own designer mask plus a batch of 50 of the blue masks for spares kept in our backpack as backups. We washed our  cotton masks nightly because of the face sweat and smells that become trapped inside. For the people accustomed to using a mask for a grocery store trip in a climate controlled environment, you may be in for a surprise after being in the heat for hours on end. You will constantly readjust your mask throughout the day - whether you know you're doing it or not.

   As far as CMs reminding people about their masks, I thought they did a good job and didn't see any of them being over the top with their reminders nor did I see or hear anyone replying in a negative manner to the CMs. It's an uncomfortable situation for all parties to be sure.

  For the guests giving  the "death stares" or taking it upon themselves to police other people's masks - you should be very careful. By stepping into someone else's personal space and pointing fingers, chastising, and making them feel threatened in general in any way - the  situation can go sideways ( and not in your favor ) at any moment. If you really feel the need to do this, I would advise you to think really hard about the consequence of your actions. You are not the mask police and  a theme park may not be  the place for you to be at this time if you feel strongly enough to confront others. Let the CMs handle the situations as they did an excellent job of reminding people in a gentle way.


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## Spazz2k

My biggest problem with masks is the fact that I cannot hear well after 22 surgeries on my ears since birth, so I rely also on reading lips.  When my wife is not with me it can become extremely difficult to understand what someone is saying sometimes.  When we ordered food or drink at a TS I often relied on her to repeat what was asked of me.  So to my point, while in the line to FOP at DAK, wife asked me something I could not hear or understand...after saying it a couple of times, she pulled her mask down for the time it took her to ask me what time dinner was at...and the lady behind us gave us the dirtiest look.  Wasn't the end of the world, and the 2 seconds it took for her to pull her mask below her face was not going to kill anyone....but you would have thought we were assassins out to wipe out her and her family.  Wonder what she would have thought when i asked the CM at bell services to pull his mask down so I could understand him.  So for me I have no problem wearing a mask...but for selfish reasons, I wish nobody else did...lol


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## Walt4ever

Spazz2k said:


> My biggest problem with masks is the fact that I cannot hear well after 22 surgeries on my ears since birth, so I rely also on reading lips.  When my wife is not with me it can become extremely difficult to understand what someone is saying sometimes.  When we ordered food or drink at a TS I often relied on her to repeat what was asked of me.  So to my point, while in the line to FOP at DAK, wife asked me something I could not hear or understand...after saying it a couple of times, she pulled her mask down for the time it took her to ask me what time dinner was at...and the lady behind us gave us the dirtiest look.  Wasn't the end of the world, and the 2 seconds it took for her to pull her mask below her face was not going to kill anyone....but you would have thought we were assassins out to wipe out her and her family.  Wonder what she would have thought when i asked the CM at bell services to pull his mask down so I could understand him.  So for me I have no problem wearing a mask...but for selfish reasons, I wish nobody else did...lol



I can very much relate!  I suffered from permanent hearing loss as a toddler and didn't realize how much I relied on lip reading until masks became mandated for workers.  Fortunately, most around here wear them as chin straps so I can still understand them!  At the parks this past weekend, several times I had to ask my hubby to give me clues as to what was being asked, or for him to just answer for me.  I would LOVE for no one to wear them and would enjoy the parks so much more.  I asked both Disney and Universal if I could ask CMs to pull theirs down (I didn't want to ask if it would get the CM in trouble).   Both responded that it would be better if I had someone with me that could communicate for me.  To say the least, a very un-ADA friendly response, if not an outright violation, but I just let hubby do the listening.  

The one time is was especially problematic was going thru security at the front of Studios.  Hubby was already walking thru, I had the bag and was having to guess as to what I was being told to do with electronics, etc.  After about the 3rd or 4th time of trying to say it so I could understand him, CM/security guy put his hands out in front of him to demonstrate that he wanted me to hold the bag and cell phone out in front of me while going thru metal detector, and that he just wanted to make sure I didn't have an umbrella in the bag.  Communication had gotten a little comical at that point.  There isn't a lot of consistency with security (put metal in bin, put metal in clear bag, hold it in front of you, hold it over your head, phone in pocket is fine, etc), so the masks can be problematic for hearing impaired as we guess our way through.


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## Dentam

On the mask topic, I work outdoors and we have been required to wear masks for months now.  I have found that the disposable paper masks work best and I have not had any issues with them slipping while I work (physical job with a lot of bending over and working in the heat every day) and they are the easiest to breathe through.  Mine have a wire around the nose which helps a lot.  I agree that if you find your mask is slipping, it's time to find a better one.


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## crazymomof4

Chisoxcollector said:


> I know it would never happen, but I wish they would implement a warning system based on your ticket media.  If they give you a warning, they scan your ticket/magicband and and it logs the warning.  If you get scanned twice in one day, you're out and not allowed to re-enter for the rest of the day.


I HAD THAT SAME THOUGHT!!!
(great minds)


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## tnolan

This is why I wish the masks with a transparent mouth panel would become more popular.


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## fbarker

mcomber7 said:


> Here’s my report back!  We are staying at pop and after Debating between Lyft and Skyliner, decided to go Skyliner.  My husband is an early bird and volunteered to go down real early to the Skyliner line.  He was in line about 7:50 and was 5th in line.  We joined him about 8:40. Skyliner started a few minutes after 9, transfer was pretty quick, and we were in Hollywood studious by about 9:30.  We even got in line for MMRR and rode it, getting off at 9:59 just in time to sign up for ROR.  Whole family tried for a boarding pass and my daughter who lives in Connecticut actually was the one to snag our passes for us, boarding group 15!  If you are ok getting up early, Skyliner was awesome.  The line got long pretty fast.  Best of luck to you!



I am just wondering how many people are in your party and how the people behind your husband reacted when the group arrived after 50 mins of him being in line.   Was this a problem at all?


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## yulilin3

fbarker said:


> I am just wondering how many people are in your party and how the people behind your husband reacted when the group arrived after 50 mins of him being in line.   Was this a problem at all?


The poster explained it wasn't an issue because the gondola is one per group anyways,  so no one lost their place in line


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## aweehughes

Did anyone happen to notice if the refillable water stations were working? We are debating what do for water on our upcoming trip.


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## Alice Sr.

wendow said:


> Hi friend! We ate at Via Napoli in Italy and shopped in Japan (can't remember if any restaurants were open). Much of the WS is closed. We didn't even spend a full day at Epcot - makes me sad to say cause we love EP - but there just wasn't much to do outside of Future World, and we all know how sparse that is right now.


Hi @wendow!  Thank you for this info, we have 2 days planned at Epcot. Maybe we will drop it down to just one if there aren't more things to do before our trip.  We were thinking about Sea World maybe we'll move that up to our 2nd Epcot day.


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## soniam

Spazz2k said:


> My biggest problem with masks is the fact that I cannot hear well after 22 surgeries on my ears since birth, so I rely also on reading lips.  When my wife is not with me it can become extremely difficult to understand what someone is saying sometimes.  When we ordered food or drink at a TS I often relied on her to repeat what was asked of me.  So to my point, while in the line to FOP at DAK, wife asked me something I could not hear or understand...after saying it a couple of times, she pulled her mask down for the time it took her to ask me what time dinner was at...and the lady behind us gave us the dirtiest look.  Wasn't the end of the world, and the 2 seconds it took for her to pull her mask below her face was not going to kill anyone....but you would have thought we were assassins out to wipe out her and her family.  Wonder what she would have thought when i asked the CM at bell services to pull his mask down so I could understand him.  So for me I have no problem wearing a mask...but for selfish reasons, I wish nobody else did...lol



That's a bummer. I really feel for people with hearing impairments right now. I have excellent hearing but still couldn't hear some of the CMs above the fans and BGM. I can't imagine if I had a hard time hearing normally. I would have been tempted to tell the woman with the death stare that I have hearing difficulties. But we shouldn't judge anyway. We don't know anyone's particular situation.



aweehughes said:


> Did anyone happen to notice if the refillable water stations were working? We are debating what do for water on our upcoming trip.



They were, but be careful. I saw some kids licking the water dispensing part of the fountain/dispenser in SWGE.


----------



## Alice Sr.

shoegal9 said:


> In Germany the stores next to Caramel Kuche are open- the Christmas tree ornament store, the one with the Germany gear in it (steins/tees), and the wine bar. Only stores closed in Germany are the ones across the way with the toys/clocks.
> 
> No stores open in Italy. And although it says Tutto Gusto is open, its actually just overflow for Tutto Italia.
> 
> In American Pavilion, the art store is open.


Well at least they got the right store open in Germany


----------



## Alice Sr.

pepperandchips said:


> How do your toddlers do in restaurants at home? As other posters have mentioned, it’s WDW and we expect to see children everywhere.
> 
> The only times I have felt like giving or given the death stare are when people lack common courtesy (kid’s tablet or phone blaring videos at full volume with no headphones, woman using her phone flashlight inside a restaurant and shining it in our eyes at a nearby table) or when parents have children in “adult spaces” obviously after bedtime. I say that last part only because the times we’ve seen kids at restaurants late at night, the poor kids are obviously exhausted and acting out and it’s not their fault they’re out of their normal routine.
> 
> While I am only aware of age limits at Trader Sam’s, I think it is courteous to assume that it is an “adult space” at pretty much any lounge on property after 8 or 8:30 pm. Tiffins is actually in the theme park so I think it’s kind of expected to see littles there at any time, but AK closes way before bedtime.


You raise a good point we would be resv the earliest possible seating nor would we let the babies terrorize other diners. I think we will pass on CG but will go to Tiffins.  Thanks


----------



## pepperandchips

Alice Sr. said:


> You raise a good point we would be resv the earliest possible seating nor would we let the babies terrorize other diners. I think we will pass on CG but will go to Tiffins.  Thanks


I know your babies won’t terrorize anyone, you seem very conscientious! I hope you all have a fabulous trip and some great meals. (And I truly apologize if I made it seem like your toddlers would offend anyone!)


----------



## yulilin3

aweehughes said:


> Did anyone happen to notice if the refillable water stations were working? We are debating what do for water on our upcoming trip.


like at quick services? You go to the fountain and ask the CM there to give you a cup of water, you can also ask for water at Starbucks or go into first aid and get water from the water cooler


----------



## aweehughes

yulilin3 said:


> like at quick services? You go to the fountain and ask the CM there to give you a cup of water, you can also ask for water at Starbucks or go into first aid and get water from the water cooler


Thanks for the info about QS. I was referencing the bottle refill stations that were around the parks in December, like this one.


----------



## yulilin3

aweehughes said:


> Thanks for the info about QS. I was referencing the bottle refill stations that were around the parks in December, like this one.
> View attachment 515685


No,  these are not around.  Only some left in fop queue and exit to mfsr, maybe some other ones i can't remember


----------



## Alice Sr.

Judique said:


> Hi Alice, can't speak to the Grill for 1 and 3 but we took my grandkids to Tiffins and they were fine, although I think they were 2 and 3 at the time. It wasn't busy when we went, we went in at opening and didn't have an ADR but now I think that's more necessary.
> 
> As far as any restaurant, I've taken ours wherever I want to go if the restaurant doesn't prohibit children.  Same with my own when they were small - my youngest who is 28 this month dined happily at CG when she was 4 and onward. It's me that's sort of burned out on CG, not that it isn't good, I just want to try everything.
> 
> The only place I ever had to remove with a grand was a Sunday brunch in a very casual tavern - she went all wackadoodle on us, plus knocked over my orange juice onto the bench seat where I was sitting, screamed and generally caused a ruckus. Didn't see that before and haven't seen it since, but it can happen. I took her out so the rest could eat in some kind of peace and I was all wet anyway.  Made me wary for the following dining events but they turned out okay.


Hi @Judique!  We're going to book Tiffins, thanks for the recommendation, we'll see if we can get an outside table.  He's a happy little guy but oh so vocal.  I was changing my Delta flight the other day and the agent asked if I had a parrot. There was a closed door and two rooms between us, and the phone wasn't on speaker.  Are you keeping your Nov trip?  If so hope you have a great time.


----------



## mcomber7

fbarker said:


> I am just wondering how many people are in your party and how the people behind your husband reacted when the group arrived after 50 mins of him being in line.   Was this a problem at all?


Great question, we are a party of 6, and they are only doing one party per gondola.  One person takes the same as six people ....just one gondola, so this is not an issue.  Does that make sense?  It seemed like this was the thing to do as most people sent one person early and families joined them later.  It doesn’t affect anyone’s place in line, it’s still just one gondola.


----------



## mcomber7

Just wanted to give people coming a heads up, the busses have been a bit frustrating for us.  We are here now and really overall enjoying the parks and short lines.  People have been great, CM’s very kind.  However, the busses are rough!  The lines are long and with the small number of people (understandably) that can go on each bus, waits are really long too.  I think it’s confusing for some of the drivers too.  Today, after waiting for the MK bus for over an hour, a driver asked our party of 6 to step aside for 2 parties of 3.  We told him we would split up, but he said no.  We had to wait for the next bus.  We usually love the busses, but I wish we would have rented a car this time. We are staying at Pop, maybe other resorts are different!


----------



## brockash

mcomber7 said:


> Just wanted to give people coming a heads up, the busses have been a bit frustrating for us.  We are here now and really overall enjoying the parks and short lines.  People have been great, CM’s very kind.  However, the busses are rough!  The lines are long and with the small number of people (understandably) that can go on each bus, waits are really long too.  I think it’s confusing for some of the drivers too.  Today, after waiting for the MK bus for over an hour, a driver asked our party of 6 to step aside for 2 parties of 3.  We told him we would split up, but he said no.  We had to wait for the next bus.  We usually love the busses, but I wish we would have rented a car this time. We are staying at Pop, maybe other resorts are different!


Argh...that not thinking and not using common sense is one of my biggest pet peeves.  There is absolutely no reason your party of 6 should've had to wait while they took 2 parties of 3 ahead of you.  We have a large party going in Sept.  I'm wondering if we should just board as separate parties...so frustrating.


----------



## mcomber7

brockash said:


> Argh...that not thinking and not using common sense is one of my biggest pet peeves.  There is absolutely no reason your party of 6 should've had to wait while they took 2 parties of 3 ahead of you.  We have a large party going in Sept.  I'm wondering if we should just board as separate parties...so frustrating.


We’re trying to be conscientious about being extra kind and patient, but that was a rough one today!  I think large parties throw them for a loop, the biggest section on the busses right now is 5 people.  Crazy times....


----------



## cmp1976

Does anyone know how late are buses running from Magic Kingdom back to CBR? We have a dining reservation that’s close to 7pm in Magic Kingdom.


----------



## constanze

cmp1976 said:


> Does anyone know how late are buses running from Magic Kingdom back to CBR? We have a dining reservation that’s close to 7pm in Magic Kingdom.


We had late park ADR’s too—- posted times For busses are 90 minutes after park close— but one night we got out super late from a BOG res— almost 2 hours past park close and were lucky to still catch a bus back to the Riviera


----------



## cmp1976

constanze said:


> We had late park ADR’s too—- posted times For busses are 90 minutes after park close— but one night we got out super late from a BOG res— almost 2 hours past park close and were lucky to still catch a bus back to the Riviera



Thanks for the info. I was a little concerned about how late they would run.


----------



## wendow

MomOTwins said:


> If your masks are sliding down, you really need a new mask. A well fitted one or one with a nose wire will not slide down.  A mask that slips down exposes your nose is like an umbrella with a giant hole in the middle—it does not offer protection to you or anyone else.


I was wearing the mask Disney sells. In a size L. The M size fits my 11yo. It really does fit well overall. Just a few rides messed with it.


----------



## wendow

shoegal9 said:


> if your mask is soaking wet and you move your mouth it will certainly slide beneath your nose because its literally plastered to your face.  We both had cloth masks that fit securely, behind the ears and under the chin.


My ds was in the front and his got wet too. My dh's mask (which does have the wire over the nose) slid down on RnRC. Can't control that kind of thing.


----------



## yulilin3

mcomber7 said:


> Great question, we are a party of 6, and they are only doing one party per gondola.  One person takes the same as six people ....just one gondola, so this is not an issue.  Does that make sense?  It seemed like this was the thing to do as most people sent one person early and families joined them later.  It doesn’t affect anyone’s place in line, it’s still just one gondola.


And just to be clear each gondola fits 8-10 unless there's a stroller or ecv  So parties of that size will be in the same gondola so no worries there.


----------



## Alice Sr.

pepperandchips said:


> I know your babies won’t terrorize anyone, you seem very conscientious! I hope you all have a fabulous trip and some great meals. (And I truly apologize if I made it seem like your toddlers would offend anyone!)


Not at all, I appreciated your comments and they helped me feel more comfortable about resv Tiffins.  Thanks!


----------



## achang2001

mcomber7 said:


> Great question, we are a party of 6, and they are only doing one party per gondola.  One person takes the same as six people ....just one gondola, so this is not an issue.  Does that make sense?  It seemed like this was the thing to do as most people sent one person early and families joined them later.  It doesn’t affect anyone’s place in line, it’s still just one gondola.


Is the queue for the skyliner set up in a manner where the 5 of you were able to walk past a line of people that has formed over the course of an hour and stay 6 feet away???


----------



## Alice Sr.

Walt4ever said:


> *You can go to your Disney experience app, go to the map, instead of looking for wait times, look at merchandise. It will tell you what is open and what is closed ('temporarily unavailable'). Same for dining options.* I should have done that myself before the trip. We didn't notice that Backlot Express closed early, so I missed out on getting a Wookie Cookie


Great idea, would have never of thought of using the shopping feature to identify open stores.  I have used it to scope out the menus for mobile ordering options but have not been able to fine the TS.  Are on the app also?


----------



## yulilin3

Alice Sr. said:


> Great idea, would have never of thought of using the shopping feature to identify open stores.  I have used it to scope out the menus for mobile ordering options but have not been able to fine the TS.  Are on the app also?


On the top you have a drop menu. You can filter that to wait times,  attractions,  dining,  shops, etc. You can also filter on the side by park


----------



## yulilin3

achang2001 said:


> Is the queue for the skyliner set up in a manner where the 5 of you were able to walk past a line of people that has formed over the course of an hour and stay 6 feet away???


The queue is set up next to the railing so there's plenty of space to walk


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Alice Sr. said:


> Hi @Judique!  We're going to book Tiffins, thanks for the recommendation, we'll see if we can get an outside table.  He's a happy little guy but oh so vocal.  I was changing my Delta flight the other day and the agent asked if I had a parrot. There was a closed door and two rooms between us, and the phone wasn't on speaker.  Are you keeping your Nov trip?  If so hope you have a great time.



Just FYI, Tiffins doesn't have outdoor seating.  The connected lounge - Nomad Lounge - does, but not Tiffins. 

I eat at Tiffins almost every trip - it is usually not crowded and it's a rather quiet place with somewhat of an adult feel to it.  It's so quiet that unfortunately with a little one it sort of makes every little noise feel amplified.   But there are always children of all ages there.  Mine are older now (10 and 6) but I never thought twice about taking mine when they were younger.  They know it's daddy's adult place so sit down, behave, enjoy the A/C, and they can act up later.


----------



## mlayman7

Was at EPCOT yesterday for the first park day of our vacation. We entered the park around 1 pm and easily managed to do every ride by 6 pm including stopping for breaks at multiple f&w booths and the member lounge. Felt safe but wish Disney would have thought of big groups when figuring out their line markings. There are 5 of us and if we get behind another party of 5 or more you are basically on top of each other from  line to line so we often stay back another line but people behind you are at their next line which is right behind you. We spent 3 days at universal and it seems like their marking are further apart and their line queues are maybe better designed with wider spaces to spread out. The longest line we had was for test track at about 25 minutes then another 20 for frozen, otherwise everything else was nearly a walk on. The biggest moment we had when noticing how sparse the crowd was, was when we parked the stroller at the land pavillion where usually you have 3 stroller attendants there to help you find a space. It was wide open. Off to Hollywood Studios this afternoon, hopefully lines will be shorter for most rides later on instead of at park opening. Hoping but not relying on getting a virtual pass at 2 pm for rotr.


----------



## mak'smom

ONUAtrain said:


> Question. How early do they start running MMRR at HS? RotR is priority so I want to make sure I get a shot at getting a BG, but if they start MMRR at 930 i have a chance to do both. Thanks!


Both times we went they started running MMRR at 9:30. We walked over from BW got to HS at 9:08 the first day and was not held on the walkway. The second day at 9:07 and held at the walkway until 9:08. Both days they opened the park at 9:15. We were second family in line on each day.  Both days were able to ride MMRR, SR and be out in time to get in que for ROR. the second time we went we were the first people on MMRR. The temperature check to the left of the park definitely gives you a time advantage at getting into the park.  Even though it is only slightly closer to the entrance, it makes a big difference.


----------



## Wood Nymph

ars0525 said:


> *AP sidenote*: I tried getting a park reservation to go to another park when I was leaving HS, but it wouldn't let me. I don't know if it did allow that before, but they have closed that loophole in case anyone was wondering.


Thanks for posting this information. I was curious as to whether someone could reserve a second park for the same day after leaving the first park, if the second park still had openings for the day.

 I guess the answer is "no".


----------



## yulilin3

Wood Nymph said:


> Thanks for posting this information. I was curious as to whether someone could reserve a second park for the same day after leaving the first park, if the second park still had openings for the day.
> 
> I guess the answer is "no".


you can't as that would be park hopping, but you can reserve another day after 9pm


----------



## Sarahraegraham

mlayman7 said:


> Felt safe but wish Disney would have thought of big groups when figuring out their line markings. There are 5 of us and if we get behind another party of 5 or more you are basically on top of each other from  line to line so we often stay back another line but people behind you are at their next line which is right behind you.



I noticed this was an issue, too. I think it’s one where larger groups above 3 to 4 people really need to split up into two groups in lines.


----------



## yulilin3

As a person behind one of these bigger groups I just leave an extra marker in between them and myself, common sense, imo. Of course there are a lot of people who lack common sense


----------



## SunnyBunny33

Stringer Bell said:


> For the guests giving the "death stares" or taking it upon themselves to police other people's masks - you should be very careful. By stepping into someone else's personal space and pointing fingers, chastising, and making them feel threatened in general in any way - the situation can go sideways ( and not in your favor ) at any moment. If you really feel the need to do this, I would advise you to think really hard about the consequence of your actions. You are not the mask police and a theme park may not be the place for you to be at this time if you feel strongly enough to confront others. Let the CMs handle the situations as they did an excellent job of reminding people in a gentle way.



Well said! Most people are well meaning and following the rules. They don’t need death stares or confrontations for a 5 second mask slip.


----------



## LaDonna

I was unable to try one on our last trip does anyone know or have they seen these in the parks right now lately


----------



## only hope

mlayman7 said:


> Was at EPCOT yesterday for the first park day of our vacation. We entered the park around 1 pm and easily managed to do every ride by 6 pm including stopping for breaks at multiple f&w booths and the member lounge. Felt safe but wish Disney would have thought of big groups when figuring out their line markings. There are 5 of us and if we get behind another party of 5 or more you are basically on top of each other from  line to line so we often stay back another line but people behind you are at their next line which is right behind you. We spent 3 days at universal and it seems like their marking are further apart and their line queues are maybe better designed with wider spaces to spread out. The longest line we had was for test track at about 25 minutes then another 20 for frozen, otherwise everything else was nearly a walk on. The biggest moment we had when noticing how sparse the crowd was, was when we parked the stroller at the land pavillion where usually you have 3 stroller attendants there to help you find a space. It was wide open. Off to Hollywood Studios this afternoon, hopefully lines will be shorter for most rides later on instead of at park opening. Hoping but not relying on getting a virtual pass at 2 pm for rotr.



If the group behind you in line fails to skip a marker to ensure adequate spacing, the next time the line moves you can just split your group and just half moves up so everyone has enough room. You can rejoin at the end. I skip markers at Uni when needed, as Yullin said you’d think that’d be common sense.


----------



## Walt4ever

Alice Sr. said:


> Great idea, would have never of thought of using the shopping feature to identify open stores.  I have used it to scope out the menus for mobile ordering options but have not been able to fine the TS.  Are on the app also?



Yes, the menus for TS are in the app too.  I think it is actually a link that brings you to the website (same page you get when you scan the QR code at the restaurant).  The restaurants don't give you a menu.  You get a QR code to scan with your phone.  If you have difficulties, they do have a small number of paper menus that they can bring to you.  At Canada, apparently the QR menu does not include the wine list so they offer that to you as a paper menu before seating.  We did not have any TS ressies, but were able to walk up and get a table at Canada with no waiting, and at Sci Fi at Studios with only a short wait.  We strolled around for about 20 minutes before we got the text that the table was ready.


----------



## wombat_5606

Stringer Bell said:


> For the guests giving the "death stares" or taking it upon themselves to police other people's masks - you should be very careful. By stepping into someone else's personal space and pointing fingers, chastising, and making them feel threatened in general in any way - the situation can go sideways ( and not in your favor ) at any moment. If you really feel the need to do this, I would advise you to think really hard about the consequence of your actions. You are not the mask police and a theme park may not be the place for you to be at this time if you feel strongly enough to confront others. Let the CMs handle the situations as they did an excellent job of reminding people in a gentle way.



Your statement makes me so sad that someone's response to being reminded to wear the mask that was agreed upon when you entered the park, is to threaten violence.

Did you actually have someone violently confront you in the park when you weren't wearing your mask?

They aren't the mask police but you are having an effect on their health by not wearing your mask. But the bigger question is why would your response to someone like that be further violence? Why don't you go find a CM to handle what you perceive to be an out of control park visitor?


----------



## Walt4ever

mlayman7 said:


> Hoping but not relying on getting a virtual pass at 2 pm for rotr.



On Saturday, we were in the park for 10, but didn't try.  Was full by 10:03.  I got a boarding group at 2 without any trouble (46).  However, the ride did break down several times throughout the day.  It was 7:30 by the time my boarding group was called.  Then it broke down again while in queue.  About 8:20, fixed and line started moving again.  Broke down for the night while I was on it, so I got the back of house walk out to end the night.  It was about 10 I think when we finally left.  Got some cool photos of the main street as we left.  Have 'heard' that everyone usually gets a boarding group that wants one, and generally everyone gets a ride.  Bad luck with breakdowns Saturday seemed to have broken that streak.


----------



## ars0525

yulilin3 said:


> To your last note.  You can make another park reservation after 9 pm the day of use



So at 9pm you can then reserve another park for the same day? Go to HS til 10pm or Epcot til 11pm if they have openings?


----------



## yulilin3

ars0525 said:


> So at 9pm you can then reserve another park for the same day? Go to HS til 10pm or Epcot til 11pm if they have openings?


 None of the parks are open past 9pm


----------



## ars0525

yulilin3 said:


> None of the parks are open past 9pm



My bad, I am getting my numbers swapped around here.  I was mentioning in my original post for those that had previously asked about getting same day at a 2nd park when they leave the 1st park. I wish if other parks had openings still available they would let you hop over, but oh well. Maybe some day.


----------



## cjlong88

LaDonna said:


> I was unable to try one on our last trip does anyone know or have they seen these in the parks right now latelyView attachment 515772



If I remember correctly, I believe they are sold at Neighborhood Bakery in Pixar Place, which is currently marked as "temporarily unavailable." I did a brief look through the dining menus at the open HS locations and didn't see it.

I hope they make a return soon. That was one of our favorite snacks at HS on our last trip.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Park hopping is not allowed at this time.


----------



## mcomber7

achang2001 said:


> Is the queue for the skyliner set up in a manner where the 5 of you were able to walk past a line of people that has formed over the course of an hour and stay 6 feet away???


Absolutely!  We actually didn’t have to walk by anyone, the line follows the curve of the lake, and we took a different path and came in from the side, no problems with that at all!


----------



## Stringer Bell

wombat_5606 said:


> Your statement makes me so sad that someone's response to being reminded to wear the mask that was agreed upon when you entered the park, is to threaten violence.
> 
> Did you actually have someone violently confront you in the park when you weren't wearing your mask?
> 
> They aren't the mask police but you are having an effect on their health by not wearing your mask. But the bigger question is why would your response to someone like that be further violence? Why don't you go find a CM to handle what you perceive to be an out of control park visitor?




You should probably read my last paragraph again. The very last sentence clearly stated that if someone is uncomfortable because of how someone is wearing their mask that THEY should find a CM for help. It would not be up to me or anyone else that's  confronted by another park goer to find a CM.  As far as violence goes, I would have no idea what someone's motive is while approaching any of my family members. I simply stated that if someone feels the need to invade someone's personal space in a confrontational way regarding a mask, that those people really should stay away from the general public until they feel they can control themselves. We were near hundreds of people on a daily basis last week that were not wearing masks in restaurants, pool areas, relaxation stations, adjusting their masks, etc. and I would never feel the need to accost anyone regarding their masks.  There are literally hundreds of videos across the web of people confronting people for not wearing a mask properly or even adjusting their mask in some way that lead to physical encounters and it seems to always go bad for the person doing the confronting. This is not like someone posting anonymously behind a keyboard. There are absolute repercussions for actions in real life.


----------



## wombat_5606

Stringer Bell said:


> You should probably read my last paragraph again. The very last sentence clearly stated that if someone is uncomfortable because of how someone is wearing their mask that THEY should find a CM for help. It would not be up to me or anyone else that's  confronted by another park goer to find a CM.  As far as violence goes, I would have no idea what someone's motive is while approaching any of my family members. I simply stated that if someone feels the need to invade someone's personal space in a confrontational way regarding a mask, that those people really should stay away from the general public until they feel they can control themselves. We were near hundreds of people on a daily basis last week that were not wearing masks in restaurants, pool areas, relaxation stations, adjusting their masks, etc. and I would never feel the need to accost anyone regarding their masks.  There are literally hundreds of videos across the web of people confronting people for not wearing a mask properly or even adjusting their mask in some way that lead to physical encounters and it seems to always go bad for the person doing the confronting. This is not like someone posting anonymously behind a keyboard. There are absolute repercussions for actions in real life.





Stringer Bell said:


> I simply stated that if someone feels the need to invade someone's personal space in a confrontational way regarding a mask, that those people really should stay away from the general public until they feel they can control themselves.



I'm sorry. I haven't seen a single person that has done this. Wouldn't that be good advice for both sides of the mask issue, though?



Stringer Bell said:


> There are literally hundreds of videos across the web of people confronting people for not wearing a mask properly or even adjusting their mask in some way that lead to physical encounters and it seems to always go bad for the person doing the confronting. This is not like someone posting anonymously behind a keyboard. There are absolute repercussions for actions in real life.



I do agree that maybe people should not confront people in society, because of the episodes I've seen in the media. Those episodes have been overwhelmingly, a situation where the person who doesn't want to wear a mask, is the one that's violent. There have been instances where these people have even shot employees. Most of these people have lashed out violently when it's been discovered that they've been on video recorded by an innocent bystander, who they then go on to attack. 

I was told the reason CMs wear face shields is because an angry non-mask wearing guest, spit on a CM. 

I agree the CM is the best resource, but I think it's a good resource for both groups of people in the park.

Where's the warning for those people who are asked to wear their mask by a CM or anyone, who could then react violently?


----------



## nancipants

Yeah, the viral videos are always non-mask wearers mad about being told to wear a mask.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Probably best to get back to park experiences and not mask confrontation debates.  Other threads can be created for those that want to continue that kind of discussion.  Thanks.


----------



## mlayman7

Just finished with Hollywood Studios. We got there around 1 pm to see if we could get lucky for a boarding group. We rode Mickey's, slinky, and the falcon before the release at 2 and we got a back up group of 73. Family of five so it seems to put us at a slight disadvantage to add everyone to our group but happy we would have a shot to ride. We ended up getting called right at 530 pm as we got into dinner at 50s prime time. Knowing it would be okay to show up late if dinner ran over an hour we still ended up getting on at 630 exactly. We did rotr back in december and once called had a long wait inside the queue but we nearly made it all the way to the first scene. Overall, we got a ton accomplished, rode Mickey's 3x, slinky, saucers, rotr, falcon, star tours. Back later in the week so ds10 can ride the 'fun rides' tot & RnR.


----------



## Alice Sr.

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Just FYI, Tiffins doesn't have outdoor seating.  The connected lounge - Nomad Lounge - does, but not Tiffins.
> 
> I eat at Tiffins almost every trip - it is usually not crowded and it's a rather quiet place with somewhat of an adult feel to it.  It's so quiet that unfortunately with a little one it sort of makes every little noise feel amplified.   But there are always children of all ages there.  Mine are older now (10 and 6) but I never thought twice about taking mine when they were younger.  They know it's daddy's adult place so sit down, behave, enjoy the A/C, and they can act up later.


I agree, but I think one or two people here were seated outside or had the option to for Tiffins dining.  We went when it 1st opened but really did not care for it then, with options being limited we are going to give it another shot.  I have read a lot of great reviews so I'm really looking forward to it.  If the baby is too talkie I'll just take him outside for a walk while the rest finish dinner.  Glad you have taught your babies that dining out isn't the same as hanging in your living room, everyone's a winner.


----------



## yulilin3

Just back from Epcot. Arrived at 5:30pm right before Thor decided to give is a show. The park was empty, like empty empty,maybe a couple of hundred people walking around. It just feels dead to me, my DD also pointed out that the music is just playing very low, especially around so everything seems to take extra long to walk to. Did SE, the Awesome Planet movie, Gran Fiesta Tour, a set of Marimbas de America in the Gardens Theater, shopped at Japan for a bit and finished the night inside World Showplace for some fisherman's pie, kielbasa and spanakopita. World Showplace was so empty, maybe 15 people inside and this was round 8:15pm.  Epcot has never been my favorite but now is just a complete waste to me other than to go try food. Kudos for those that enjoy it.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

LuvMyEAR said:


> Sounds like Disney is trying but selfish guests are not!


Sounds like Disney is NOT trying.  Pull a few $$passes$$ and word will get around quickly.  It's the CM's JOB to say something.  Sorry, MOD, I've been lurking for a really long time and I've been quiet.  I cancelled my July/Aug trip because I know the pattern.  No way CMs are going to confront the Hoaxers. 

And,  "sipping'  (it's always 'sipping') water, please. So sick of the excuses.  STAY HOME for this one year if you can't wear the mask.  Vaping?  Really?  We're back to that?

CMs don't stop cigarette smoking either.

$$$$$$ fines, pulled passes, kick 'em  out and word will spread around the boards and social media as fast as throw away rooms and other nonsense.

I'll go back to silent reading now.  Promise.

edited to add:  I wrote this in response to page 40 something.  Just seeing GADisneyDad's note now.


----------



## wendow

yulilin3 said:


> As a person behind one of these bigger groups I just leave an extra marker in between them and myself, common sense, imo. Of course there are a lot of people who lack common sense


We are a fam of 6 and I'd say 90% of the time, people left an extra marker since we filled the entire space from marker to marker. Many times we tried to split 3/3 to help people who weren't figuring it out themselves but most were very conscientious of our size and their need to stay back further.


----------



## wendow

yulilin3 said:


> Just back from Epcot. Arrived at 5:30pm right before Thor decided to give is a show. The park was empty, like empty empty,maybe a couple of hundred people walking around. It just feels dead to me, my DD also pointed out that the music is just playing very low, especially around so everything seems to take extra long to walk to. Did SE, the Awesome Planet movie, Gran Fiesta Tour, a set of Marimbas de America in the Gardens Theater, shopped at Japan for a bit and finished the night inside World Showplace for some fisherman's pie, kielbasa and spanakopita. World Showplace was so empty, maybe 15 people inside and this was round 8:15pm.  Epcot has never been my favorite but now is just a complete waste to me other than to go try food. Kudos for those that enjoy it.


We love Epcot but it felt empty and dead to us too. We used to spend 2 days there but struggled to stay for even 75% of a day this time. I agree music was very low, which shouldn't really bother us, but it did. At times, it just felt so quiet!


----------



## jvalic33

Alice Sr. said:


> I agree, but I think one or two people here were seated outside or had the option to for Tiffins dining.  We went when it 1st opened but really did not care for it then, with options being limited we are going to give it another shot.  I have read a lot of great reviews so I'm really looking forward to it.  If the baby is too talkie I'll just take him outside for a walk while the rest finish dinner.  Glad you have taught your babies that dining out isn't the same as hanging in your living room, everyone's a winner.


I have eaten at both places with 4 under 6 at the time.  I prefer Cali Grill because the food there is more kid friendly for my kids because they like sushi and sashimi, etc.  I always found my kids were great as long as they were eating.  I honestly think you'll be fine at both. Bring some snack for them while you are waiting for food.  Sometimes I would keep a small bag of oyster crackers in my purse from another restaurant and/or a squirty tube of baby food because as long as I had that to keep them occupied we were all set.

I'm sorry to say that we ran into some issues with Tiffins over the years.  They were never as friendly as ALL the other signature dining restaurants we went to and we are from a restaurant family and the last time we were there I was given old shrimp. My husband used to go to the South Street Seaport market with his Dad when he was a little boy to pick out the fish and he knows fresh fish and my shrimp were inedible and they actually argued with him and were so nasty...and we NEVER complain in restaurants.  We will try it again, but not for a bit.  It is probably our only negative memory of eating at a Disney restaurant and we have eaten at all the Signatures with all the kids


----------



## nancipants

yulilin3 said:


> Just back from Epcot. Arrived at 5:30pm right before Thor decided to give is a show. The park was empty, like empty empty,maybe a couple of hundred people walking around. It just feels dead to me, my DD also pointed out that the music is just playing very low, especially around so everything seems to take extra long to walk to. Did SE, the Awesome Planet movie, Gran Fiesta Tour, a set of Marimbas de America in the Gardens Theater, shopped at Japan for a bit and finished the night inside World Showplace for some fisherman's pie, kielbasa and spanakopita. World Showplace was so empty, maybe 15 people inside and this was round 8:15pm.  Epcot has never been my favorite but now is just a complete waste to me other than to go try food. Kudos for those that enjoy it.


 
An empty Epcot sounds like heaven to me. Lol.


----------



## yulilin3

nancipants said:


> An empty Epcot sounds like heaven to me. Lol.


lol, it is really hard to convey, I think it's the lack of music tbh. It's just too quiet, plus not having music coming from the extinct live shows and entertainment just makes it worse. You know the excited chatter of guests walking around, there is none of that.


----------



## koquinn

jvalic33 said:


> I'm sorry to say that we ran into some issues with Tiffins over the years.  They were never as friendly as ALL the other signature dining restaurants we went to and we are from a restaurant family and the last time we were there I was given old shrimp. My husband used to go to the South Street Seaport market with his Dad when he was a little boy to pick out the fish and he knows fresh fish and my shrimp were inedible and they actually argued with him and were so nasty...and we NEVER complain in restaurants.  We will try it again, but not for a bit.  It is probably our only negative memory of eating at a Disney restaurant and we have eaten at all the Signatures with all the kids



We eat at nice restaurants a LOT and we weren't impressed at Tiffins with the service. The food was fine, but the waiter was super snooty and frankly not friendly at all. Acted like we didn't belong there or something. My kids are older and know how to behave so it wasn't that. It was not an experience we would bother with again. We did it for the ROL package at the time.


----------



## MaxsDad

Alice Sr. said:


> Hi @wendow!  Thank you for this info, we have 2 days planned at Epcot. Maybe we will drop it down to just one if there aren't more things to do before our trip.  We were thinking about Sea World maybe we'll move that up to our 2nd Epcot day.


I am in the same boat. We are going in early October. We had 1 day planned at Epcot and were going to go to Universal one day but since they cancelled Halloween Horror nights we decided there was no reason to go. Right now we replaced that day with a 2nd Epcot day but I am considering swapping it with DHS because I really want to make sure I get on RotR and right now we only have one DHS day planned. Sounds like one day at Epcot is enough and two at DHS might be the way to go. Really hate not being able to hop.


----------



## jvalic33

koquinn said:


> We eat at nice restaurants a LOT and we weren't impressed at Tiffins with the service. The food was fine, but the waiter was super snooty and frankly not friendly at all. Acted like we didn't belong there or something. My kids are older and know how to behave so it wasn't that. It was not an experience we would bother with again. We did it for the ROL package at the time.


Yes, other than the food issue, we had issues with the waiters there as well.  We had issues with the waitstaff there on 2 occasions. The funny things is once we were such a large party that we were split up and one group had great service whereas the other table not so much.  I have gone back there with my kids now 4 under 11 and they are phenomenal in restaurants and it wasn't that either.  They are just not very nice.  After the entrees come out and they see my kids eat like adults, they get a little nicer, but there is still just something off there with service and I'm not happy to say someone else experienced it as well, but just glad I'm not crazy.   

Narcoosees, Cali Grill, Yachtsman, Le Cellier, Monsieur Paul....I have had such great service there that I have actually left compliments with the managers...but never had that same experience at Tiffins and we have been there I would say 4 times.  I'm not one to complain about service and honestly if the food were great you could throw it at me and I'd be happy, but I think the original poster with the question might want to have a more friendly experience if they are worried about dining with kids and unfortunately, from my experience, Tiffins is not that friendly kid atmosphere because of the staff, not for any other reason.


----------



## delmar411

yulilin3 said:


> Just back from Epcot. Arrived at 5:30pm right before Thor decided to give is a show. The park was empty, like empty empty,maybe a couple of hundred people walking around. It just feels dead to me, my DD also pointed out that the music is just playing very low, especially around so everything seems to take extra long to walk to.



We did Epcot on Sunday.  It was dead then too.  We arrived around 5pm and did every ride except Mission Space and Frozen before leaving at 9pm.  Frozen was a solid 35-45min wait all evening and my DH just didnt want to do Mission Space (it was walk on though). We also walked the entire world showcase and checked out the F&W booths.  

The F&W situation was very disappointing to us.  But honestly we enjoyed just walking onto the rides. I hate waiting in lines. LOL

I do like the new cut through areas and I hope those stay after the park re-do.  Makes the flow much easier.


----------



## MomOTwins

jvalic33 said:


> Yes, other than the food issue, we had issues with the waiters there as well.  We had issues with the waitstaff there on 2 occasions. The funny things is once we were such a large party that we were split up and one group had great service whereas the other table not so much.  I have gone back there with my kids now 4 under 11 and they are phenomenal in restaurants and it wasn't that either.  They are just not very nice.  After the entrees come out and they see my kids eat like adults, they get a little nicer, but there is still just something off there with service and I'm not happy to say someone else experienced it as well, but just glad I'm not crazy.
> 
> Narcoosees, Cali Grill, Yachtsman, Le Cellier, Monsieur Paul....I have had such great service there that I have actually left compliments with the managers...but never had that same experience at Tiffins and we have been there I would say 4 times.  I'm not one to complain about service and honestly if the food were great you could throw it at me and I'd be happy, but I think the original poster with the question might want to have a more friendly experience if they are worried about dining with kids and unfortunately, from my experience, Tiffins is not that friendly kid atmosphere because of the staff, not for any other reason.


This is why I have a rule of thumb to never judge a disney restaurant by anecdotal reports of bad service—we’ve always had superb service at tiffins!  Our last waiter even did a magic show for the kids and brought extra of a certain kind bread from the upcharge bread basket on the house for our son who loved it.  On another trip our baby fell asleep in the stroller while we were on our way to the restaurant and they let us bring the stroller inside to the table so he could finish a nap which most places won’t do.


----------



## koquinn

So for those of you who feel like there's not much to do... We love the rides and probably can do them a million times and be happy, but I am a little concerned about filling our evenings. We're there 8 full days. And it sounds like DS isn't amazing for safety and the pools aren't ideal either. We'll do both, but I'm not thinking we'll spend all our free time at either of those. Thoughts on what else to do? With kids ages 9, 12, and 15, plus my 21yo bro pair from South Africa? Is Winter Summerland open yet?


----------



## Epcot242

koquinn said:


> So for those of you who feel like there's not much to do... We love the rides and probably can do them a million times and be happy, but I am a little concerned about filling our evenings. We're there 8 full days. And it sounds like DS isn't amazing for safety and the pools aren't ideal either. We'll do both, but I'm not thinking we'll spend all our free time at either of those. Thoughts on what else to do? With kids ages 9, 12, and 15, plus my 21yo bro pair from South Africa? Is Winter Summerland open yet?



We're concerned about this too. We made a reservation at the Fantasia Golf for one of the nights so there's that. Otherwise, we're planning on maybe doing the pool at night and staying until close for whatever park we're in that day. It's unfortunate that we're all sort of stuck with things closing early but I share your concern about DS. We're doing it mid-day one day in the hopes it won't be as crowded. It just doesn't seem worth the risk.


----------



## yulilin3

koquinn said:


> So for those of you who feel like there's not much to do... We love the rides and probably can do them a million times and be happy, but I am a little concerned about filling our evenings. We're there 8 full days. And it sounds like DS isn't amazing for safety and the pools aren't ideal either. We'll do both, but I'm not thinking we'll spend all our free time at either of those. Thoughts on what else to do? With kids ages 9, 12, and 15, plus my 21yo bro pair from South Africa? Is Winter Summerland open yet?


the only mini golf open on property is Fantasia Gardens, If you will have a car or can uber/lyft I would recommend heading off property, ICON Park has fun stuff to do https://iconparkorlando.com/about/directions-hours/


----------



## MomOTwins

yulilin3 said:


> the only mini golf open on property is Fantasia Gardens, If you will have a car or can uber/lyft I would recommend heading off property, ICON Park has fun stuff to do https://iconparkorlando.com/about/directions-hours/


We've never done the mini golf but glad to have this suggestion.  Thanks!


----------



## Dallasmomoftwo

delmar411 said:


> I do like the new cut through areas and I hope those stay after the park re-do. Makes the flow much easier.


Where are the new cut through areas?


----------



## brockash

yulilin3 said:


> Just back from Epcot. Arrived at 5:30pm right before Thor decided to give is a show. The park was empty, like empty empty,maybe a couple of hundred people walking around. It just feels dead to me, my DD also pointed out that the music is just playing very low, especially around so everything seems to take extra long to walk to. Did SE, the Awesome Planet movie, Gran Fiesta Tour, a set of Marimbas de America in the Gardens Theater, shopped at Japan for a bit and finished the night inside World Showplace for some fisherman's pie, kielbasa and spanakopita. World Showplace was so empty, maybe 15 people inside and this was round 8:15pm.  Epcot has never been my favorite but now is just a complete waste to me other than to go try food. Kudos for those that enjoy it.


I've seen lots of reports of the music being played really low...do we know why they're doing that?  Seems really odd to me??


----------



## yulilin3

brockash said:


> I've seen lots of reports of the music being played really low...do we know why they're doing that?  Seems really odd to me??


no clue, but I would think they would pump the music up, you know.


----------



## brockash

yulilin3 said:


> no clue, but I would think they would pump the music up, you know.


Lol...that's kinda what I was thinking...wouldn't they want it louder now, more than ever...just to drown out any construction noise and to pretend the parks alive lol.  I wonder if something isn't working right???  So weird.


----------



## yulilin3

brockash said:


> Lol...that's kinda what I was thinking...wouldn't they want it louder now, more than ever...just to drown out any construction noise and to pretend the parks alive lol.  I wonder if something isn't working right???  So weird.


there is no construction sound unfortunately. The system works fine because when the safety announcement comes on it's loud and clear, then it goes back to the soft music


----------



## NotGrumpyButPrettyClose

brockash said:


> I've seen lots of reports of the music being played really low...do we know why they're doing that?  Seems really odd to me??





brockash said:


> Lol...that's kinda what I was thinking...wouldn't they want it louder now, more than ever...just to drown out any construction noise and to pretend the parks alive lol.  I wonder if something isn't working right???  So weird.





yulilin3 said:


> there is no construction sound unfortunately. The system works fine because when the safety announcement comes on it's loud and clear, then it goes back to the soft music


My wild guess:
It makes it easier for masked guests/CM's to converse without raising their voices.  They may be trying to keep any risks of transmission as low as they can.
Over time, they might save a $ on the electric bill


----------



## yulilin3

NotGrumpyButPrettyClose said:


> My wild guess:
> It makes it easier for masked guests/CM's to converse without raising their voices.  They may be trying to keep any risks of transmission as low as they can.
> Over time, they might save a $ on the electric bill


this would be a good theory if the other parks wouldn't be pumping the music at their regular volume


----------



## Cliz155

koquinn said:


> So for those of you who feel like there's not much to do... We love the rides and probably can do them a million times and be happy, but I am a little concerned about filling our evenings. We're there 8 full days. And it sounds like DS isn't amazing for safety and the pools aren't ideal either. We'll do both, but I'm not thinking we'll spend all our free time at either of those. Thoughts on what else to do? With kids ages 9, 12, and 15, plus my 21yo bro pair from South Africa? Is Winter Summerland open yet?



We went to DS last Wednesday night and it was ridiculously crowded and basically zero mask enforcement. The line for World of Disney was almost all the way around the building and no one was enforcing masks/distancing in line. I saw a bunch of people near us on phones (no masks) and the family behind us let their kids run right up to us and they (the adults) took off their masks. I switched to a KN95 I had with me and added another mask on top of that... but that was the end of DS at night. I just didn't feel safe, and it wasn't worth the stress. To add to the fun, a family sat by us on the bus on the way back took off their masks and were sitting maskless for a while. When I asked them to please pull up their masks, the older woman in the party said "I'm a da** senior citizen. Don't you know we can take off our masks when stationary? *then showed me her drinks that they weren't drinking*" The family proceeded to talk about us all the way back saying how "someone" who is worried about the virus shouldn't travel right now. They did pull their masks up though, so I ignored them.

We went to DS last Sunday morning and it was a totally different story! No waits for anything. We were the only people in Goofy's Candy Co. So my advice is to try to get to DS around 10 or 11 on the days when parks open late (HS or EPCOT) and then go to a park in the later afternoon/evening. DS is definitely better in the morning/early afternoon right now!


----------



## koquinn

Cliz155 said:


> We went to DS last Wednesday night and it was ridiculously crowded and basically zero mask enforcement. The line for World of Disney was almost all the way around the building and no one was enforcing masks/distancing in line. I saw a bunch of people near us on phones (no masks) and the family behind us let their kids run right up to us and they (the adults) took off their masks. I switched to a KN95 I had with me and added another mask on top of that... but that was the end of DS at night. I just didn't feel safe, and it wasn't worth the stress. To add to the fun, a family sat by us on the bus on the way back took off their masks and were sitting maskless for a while. When I asked them to please pull up their masks, the older woman in the party said "I'm a da** senior citizen. Don't you know we can take off our masks when stationary? *then showed me her drinks that they weren't drinking*" The family proceeded to talk about us all the way back saying how "someone" who is worried about the virus shouldn't travel right now. They did pull their masks up though, so I ignored them.
> 
> We went to DS last Sunday morning and it was a totally different story! No waits for anything. We were the only people in Goofy's Candy Co. So my advice is to try to get to DS around 10 or 11 on the days when parks open late (HS or EPCOT) and then go to a park in the later afternoon/evening. DS is definitely better in the morning/early afternoon right now!


OMG.  I am so dreading these moments - it's going to stress me out for sure.  It's why we have basically gone nowhere in WI since March other than work.  I don't have a problem changing direction or plans in DS or the parks, but stuck on a bus with someone that ignorant is going to make me a bit insane.  I appreciate the insight on the timing!


----------



## scrappinginontario

koquinn said:


> So for those of you who feel like there's not much to do... We love the rides and probably can do them a million times and be happy, but I am a little concerned about filling our evenings. We're there 8 full days. And it sounds like DS isn't amazing for safety and the pools aren't ideal either. We'll do both, but I'm not thinking we'll spend all our free time at either of those. Thoughts on what else to do? With kids ages 9, 12, and 15, plus my 21yo bro pair from South Africa? Is Winter Summerland open yet?


This was my concern too so we shortened our trip (took it from 9 nights down to 5) as people are saying only 1 day per park required.  Tucking the extra $ away for a future trip.


----------



## DisneyElite4

Cliz155 said:


> We went to DS last Wednesday night and it was ridiculously crowded and basically zero mask enforcement. The line for World of Disney was almost all the way around the building and no one was enforcing masks/distancing in line. I saw a bunch of people near us on phones (no masks) and the family behind us let their kids run right up to us and they (the adults) took off their masks. I switched to a KN95 I had with me and added another mask on top of that... but that was the end of DS at night. I just didn't feel safe, and it wasn't worth the stress. To add to the fun, a family sat by us on the bus on the way back took off their masks and were sitting maskless for a while. When I asked them to please pull up their masks, the older woman in the party said "I'm a da** senior citizen. Don't you know we can take off our masks when stationary? *then showed me her drinks that they weren't drinking*" The family proceeded to talk about us all the way back saying how "someone" who is worried about the virus shouldn't travel right now. They did pull their masks up though, so I ignored them.
> 
> We went to DS last Sunday morning and it was a totally different story! No waits for anything. We were the only people in Goofy's Candy Co. So my advice is to try to get to DS around 10 or 11 on the days when parks open late (HS or EPCOT) and then go to a park in the later afternoon/evening. DS is definitely better in the morning/early afternoon right now!



Was the wait for a bus long going either way in the mornings vs. at night? Thanks!


----------



## nancipants

Cliz155 said:


> The family proceeded to talk about us all the way back saying how "someone" who is worried about the virus shouldn't travel right now.



This makes me so mad. People who aren't willing to abide by a theme park's rules shouldn't be traveling to that theme park. This is why I wish Disney would kick out/ban people who violate the new rules.


----------



## MaxsDad

koquinn said:


> OMG.  I am so dreading these moments - it's going to stress me out for sure.  It's why we have basically gone nowhere in WI since March other than work.  I don't have a problem changing direction or plans in DS or the parks, but stuck on a bus with someone that ignorant is going to make me a bit insane.  I appreciate the insight on the timing!


Yeah, we decided to rent a car to avoid the covid buses.


----------



## JPM4

MaxsDad said:


> Yeah, we decided to rent a car to avoid the covid busses.


Also thinking about renting a car next time myself. I spent a lot of time waiting out busses until everyone else went to get one for myself or with a few other families. Also left parks earlier than I wanted  to avoid busy busses at closing. But if you don’t mind going during the middle part of the day you’ll get a bus almost all to yourself


----------



## JennyDrake

*I am just back! 8/1 Epcot 8/2 HS & DS 8/3 MK 8/4 AK.

In summary , LOW crowds. Haven't seen it like this since 1995-2000. Mask compliance was close to 100%.*
Stayed at CBR - very very few food options
In fact, very very few food options anywhere but F&W
Relaxation stations need to be added. Lots of them.
*THE MISERY OF THE MASK IN THE HEAT CANNOT BE OVERSTATED;* FWIW, I live in The South, I work outdoors and my house doesn't have a/c. I am exceptionally heat tolerant but breathing your own CO2 and steam gets real old real fast.
The social distancing is GREAT and I hope they keep it! So nice in AUGUST to not be told "fill in all the available space"
Hands down AK had the shortest lines. Epcot wait times were mostly UNDERestimated. Soarin said 10 minutes and we waited 40..... Very little to do in Epcot other than eat at kiosks.
DS had the most people out and about.
Getting inside the parks has never been faster! I like not having finger scans. Temp checks were walk throughs. Rapid, friendly and easy. 
The gondolas are great. Also had great bus service.
*Security getting into the parks was very inconsistent in what to do* with purse, umbrella and battery charger and they were downright harsh and crabby. Everywhere. Not like there was a line.... Ex; "KEEP COMING! Dont take your purse off! I said keep walking" (trying to get battery pack out of purse) <alarm goes off> "STep over here. The signs say the battery packs DOES NOT go through the scanner!" Carry the umbrella don't carry the umbrella carry it but hold it way out in front of you. Frustrating.

I welcome questions!


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

We have been here since Monday (3rd), BLT. 
Mask compliance at parks and here has been close to 100% if not 100. Only issue we had was walking back from MK lastnight, and a family passed us, 1 without a mask, got infront of us hit the cross light, crossed and then all took off their masks.  We paused to let them walk even further, and saw them walk over to their car in the BLT parking lot to leave. Couldn't wait to remove those mask 2 minutes later when in their car apparently.
Loving the social distancing in parks and in lines. Haven't waited for anything at MK and did AK today. 
And the hand sanitizer before and after rides!! 
Oh, found my Together Again shirt at AK today. I had read they were sold out, so was very excited to find it. 
We are at BLT until Saturday then move over to BCV until 13th. We will hit MK tomorrow and Friday, then do HS and Epcot once we switch.
Masks haven't really bothered us. We also do open to lunch and then leave and go back for dinner to close, so not in the extreme heat of the day.
We also have neck fans. HIGHLY recommend!! 
SO happy to be here, a whole lot of cancellations since March, but we made it!!!


----------



## JennyDrake

koquinn said:


> So for those of you who feel like there's not much to do... We love the rides and probably can do them a million times and be happy, but I am a little concerned about filling our evenings. We're there 8 full days. And it sounds like DS isn't amazing for safety and the pools aren't ideal either. We'll do both, but I'm not thinking we'll spend all our free time at either of those. Thoughts on what else to do? With kids ages 9, 12, and 15, plus my 21yo bro pair from South Africa? Is Winter Summerland open yet?



No, it isn't open yet. And resort (main) pools (and bars) closed at 9pm . We (2 adults) were also at a loss especially since it was so hot and miserable with the masks during the days.


----------



## mak'smom

MaxsDad said:


> Yeah, we decided to rent a car to avoid the covid busses.


We drove to avoid Disney transportation. The only problem was magic kingdom, We were stuck in a monorail car with two people with masks below their chin, one of which was coughing. I recommend taking the ferry.


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## Kyhome

I have two days of parks to report thus far.

Huge Disney vets and OCD planners (me). I always get the fast passes 60 days out, we always stay on property, always get hoppers, etc. Have been to Disney at least once a year each year in last 10 years.

We wanted to take advantage of lower lines and less crowds. My kids are older now-8 and 13 years old. We have never cared about parades or fireworks (sorry but we do rides during those times) but are all about maximizing rides.

First two days have been great, split stay with Universal, which is new to us. We are staying off disney property for the first time in forever bc there are no extra hours and no early fast passes with staying at Disney.

At AK, we were there from 8-12:30, did FOP twice, EE four times, dinosaur twice, tricero spin, safari, and Navi once, rapids twice. Minimal or no waits for each.

Hollywood studios, we got there at 930 (drove), got a boarding pass number 8 for Rise. Did Rock and Roller x5, Tower terror x4, Mickey and Minnie x2, TSM x2, SDD x2, Smugglers run x2, Rise around 10:30, Star Tours x1 (not all in that order)! Took a two hour break in middle of day to leave park and go eat during a rainstorm.

I do miss the character greetings but my kids aren’t into that anymore (sad).
If you are into rides, now is the time to go because of low waits.

We also don’t really stop to eat (like I said, we go off parks to eat usually) so can’t comment on that.
Entry to parks was easy, including temp checks and bag walk through. I do like that universal now puts hand sanitizer on each persons hands where Disney just had it available. Mask compliance at parks close to 100 percent. Maybe 95? But I saw a few corrected. Yes it’s hot with a mask but we are from the south so we are used to it and did not bother us.
Feel free to ask any questions!


----------



## koquinn

Kyhome said:


> I have two days of parks to report this far.
> 
> Huge Disney vets and OCD planners (me). I always get the fast passes 60 days out, we always stay on property, always get hoppers, etc. Have been to Disney at least once a year each year in last 10 years.
> 
> We wanted to take advantage of lower lines and less crowds. My kids are older now-8 and 13 years old. We have never cared about parades or fireworks (sorry but we do rides during those times) but are all about maximizing rides.
> 
> First two days have been great, split stay with Universal, which is new to us. We are staying off disney property for the first time in forever bc there are no extra hours and no early fast passes with staying at Disney.
> 
> At AK, we were there from 8-12:30, did FOP twice, EE four times, dinosaur twice, tricero spin, safari, and Navi once, rapids twice. Minimal or no waits for each.
> 
> Hollywood studios, we got there at 930 (drove), got a boarding pass number 8 for Rise. Did Rock and Roller x5, Tower terror x4, Mickey and Minnie x2, TSM x2, SDD x2, Smugglers run x2, Rise around 10:30, Star Tours x1. Took a two hour break in middle of day to leave park and go eat during a rainstorm.
> 
> I do miss the character greetings but my kids aren’t into that anymore (sad).
> If you are into rides, now is the time Bc of low waits.
> We also don’t really stop to eat (like I said, we go off parks to eat usually) so can’t comment on that.
> Entry to parks was easy, including temp checks and bag walk through. I do like that universal now puts hand sanitizer on each persons hands where Disney just had it available. Mask compliance at parks close to 100 percent. Maybe 95? But I saw a few corrected. Yes it’s hot with a mask but we are from the south so we are used to it and did not bother us.
> Feel free to ask any questions!


You guys totally sound like us. Glad to hear it's been amazing! I am not sure what we'll do with ourselves the rest of the days, but hopefully just more rides!


----------



## Kyhome

koquinn said:


> You guys totally sound like us. Glad to hear it's been amazing! I am not sure what we'll do with ourselves the rest of the days, but hopefully just more rides!


Yes! Are y’all still here? We have one more day! It’s been one of the best trips ever! My kids just said it has been “epic”.


----------



## Cliz155

DisneyElite4 said:


> Was the wait for a bus long going either way in the mornings vs. at night? Thanks!



We waited about 20 minutes for a bus to DS at night and more like 5 minutes when we went in the morning, but I think it's just a matter of lucky timing. We've seen DS buses every day when we go to get on other buses, so I would say they are running just as often as any other bus. Overall, bus waits haven't been bad at all -- just a few longer waits, but that's normal.


----------



## Cliz155

koquinn said:


> OMG.  I am so dreading these moments - it's going to stress me out for sure.  It's why we have basically gone nowhere in WI since March other than work.  I don't have a problem changing direction or plans in DS or the parks, but stuck on a bus with someone that ignorant is going to make me a bit insane.  I appreciate the insight on the timing!



I will say that this moment was the exception, not the rule. Overall bus rides have been mostly empty. The few times we have had to board a more "full" bus I felt pretty safe because of all the distancing (blocked off seats) and barriers up inside of the bus. They also leave the emergency hatch open in the back so you get a constant flow of fresh air. That being said, Disney needs to be more consistent about the "eating and drinking" (no masks) rule on the bus... we don't hear that message being played consistently. Just this evening we rode home on a bus where a girl nearby was sipping on a drink all the way home. I wasn't in the mood to correct her, and she was 6+ feet away. Still, I think it wouldn't be hard to add in a reminder message on buses like they play on rides.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

koquinn said:


> So for those of you who feel like there's not much to do... We love the rides and probably can do them a million times and be happy, but I am a little concerned about filling our evenings. We're there 8 full days. And it sounds like DS isn't amazing for safety and the pools aren't ideal either. We'll do both, but I'm not thinking we'll spend all our free time at either of those. Thoughts on what else to do? With kids ages 9, 12, and 15, plus my 21yo bro pair from South Africa? Is Winter Summerland open yet?



With the caveat that I’m the kind of person that can just “be there” and be pretty content, we found we were in bed earlier and slept later than normal trips... but at the end of the day perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing.  Not to glamorize a WDW vacation during a pandemic because there are all sorts of things that make it not so glamorous, but for us the experience was great as it was one of the first times we’ve returned from WDW without the proverbial “I need a vacation from that vacation” feeling.

Did I miss fireworks and late nights in the parks?  You bet.  But I still felt content with what was available on the whole.


----------



## koquinn

Kyhome said:


> Yes! Are y’all still here? We have one more day! It’s been one of the best trips ever! My kids just said it has been “epic”.


Nope, we arrive Friday night!  We are counting the minutes!!!!


----------



## Alice Sr.

jvalic33 said:


> I have eaten at both places with 4 under 6 at the time.  I prefer Cali Grill because the food there is more kid friendly for my kids because they like sushi and sashimi, etc.  I always found my kids were great as long as they were eating.  I honestly think you'll be fine at both. Bring some snack for them while you are waiting for food.  Sometimes I would keep a small bag of oyster crackers in my purse from another restaurant and/or a squirty tube of baby food because as long as I had that to keep them occupied we were all set.
> 
> I'm sorry to say that we ran into some issues with Tiffins over the years.  They were never as friendly as ALL the other signature dining restaurants we went to and we are from a restaurant family and the last time we were there I was given old shrimp. My husband used to go to the South Street Seaport market with his Dad when he was a little boy to pick out the fish and he knows fresh fish and my shrimp were inedible and they actually argued with him and were so nasty...and we NEVER complain in restaurants.  We will try it again, but not for a bit.  It is probably our only negative memory of eating at a Disney restaurant and we have eaten at all the Signatures with all the kids


Thanks for the feedback it is reassuring.  We did go ahead and book CG thanks to @MomOTwins. comments. We also booked Tiffins, I was planning on getting the shrimp but I might have to rethink that .


----------



## JFox

wendow said:


> I pretty much felt my boys were licking the entire place when we were there last week. Just hands all over. At one point, I was like, "why must you touch everything!?!".  The people all around us looked and laughed but for real, they literally had to touch it all. Thank God for hand sanitizer everywhere.



January 2020 my husband and I visited for our anniversary trip.  The first few days of the trip I made several videos of my hands on various surfaces to make a video about the sense of touch.  Well we both picked up something BAD and ended up sick as dogs for almost a week.  We were holed up in our room surviving on room service.  2 trips to urgent care.  By the end of our trip we were well enough to travel.  Never again will I willingly put my hands on anything.


----------



## Alice Sr.

Kyhome said:


> I have two days of parks to report thus far.
> 
> Huge Disney vets and OCD planners (me). I always get the fast passes 60 days out, we always stay on property, always get hoppers, etc. Have been to Disney at least once a year each year in last 10 years.
> 
> We wanted to take advantage of lower lines and less crowds. My kids are older now-8 and 13 years old. We have never cared about parades or fireworks (sorry but we do rides during those times) but are all about maximizing rides.
> 
> First two days have been great, split stay with Universal, which is new to us. We are staying off disney property for the first time in forever bc there are no extra hours and no early fast passes with staying at Disney.
> 
> At AK, we were there from 8-12:30, did FOP twice, EE four times, dinosaur twice, tricero spin, safari, and Navi once, rapids twice. Minimal or no waits for each.
> 
> Hollywood studios, we got there at 930 (drove), got a boarding pass number 8 for Rise. Did Rock and Roller x5, Tower terror x4, Mickey and Minnie x2, TSM x2, SDD x2, Smugglers run x2, Rise around 10:30, Star Tours x1 (not all in that order)! Took a two hour break in middle of day to leave park and go eat during a rainstorm.
> 
> I do miss the character greetings but my kids aren’t into that anymore (sad).
> If you are into rides, now is the time to go because of low waits.
> 
> We also don’t really stop to eat (like I said, we go off parks to eat usually) so can’t comment on that.
> Entry to parks was easy, including temp checks and bag walk through. I do like that universal now puts hand sanitizer on each persons hands where Disney just had it available. Mask compliance at parks close to 100 percent. Maybe 95? But I saw a few corrected. Yes it’s hot with a mask but we are from the south so we are used to it and did not bother us.
> Feel free to ask any questions!


 What was your strategy for getting that great BP?  Thanks!


----------



## DogDoc94

JennyDrake said:


> *I am just back! 8/1 Epcot 8/2 HS & DS 8/3 MK 8/4 AK.*
> 
> 
> Stayed at CBR - very very few food options
> In fact, very very few food options anywhere but F&W
> 
> 
> I welcome questions!



We will be staying for the first time in a preferred room at CBR next month.  Can you confirm the buses only run for MK & AK unless Skyliner is down for weather? Is also sounds like the buses do not start their pickup as early in the morning as before COVID? Any other thoughts on the resort would be welcome.
Thanks!


----------



## Kyhome

Alice Sr. said:


> What was your strategy for getting that great BP?  Thanks!


I read these boards endlessly for the month leading up to our trip and then I “practiced” at home for the first few steps.

I used cell phone data (not WiFi) and stood off to the side at 9:50-near the Disney Jr theater because no one else was there. I have no idea if it matters if no one else is around or not but I felt it helped with better reception. Then I sent my kids to ride tower of terror so they did not stress me out (ha)!

I practiced with opening the app at 9:59 on my iPhone and then would click “join” on the VQ about 30 seconds later. It was never there at that time- 9:59 and 30 seconds). But then I hit “back”, waited until exactly 10:00 am and then I Hit join again and could actually click my party and join. Again, no idea if this would work for all but I literally practiced at 10 and 2 for a week leading up to being in the park! Also I had other friends and-family linked to my account but deleted them prior to this trip bc you need to select your party so I only wanted the four of us that were on this trip.


----------



## Alice Sr.

MaxsDad said:


> I am in the same boat. We are going in early October. We had 1 day planned at Epcot and were going to go to Universal one day but since they cancelled Halloween Horror nights we decided there was no reason to go. Right now we replaced that day with a 2nd Epcot day but I am considering swapping it with DHS because I really want to make sure I get on RotR and right now we only have one DHS day planned. Sounds like one day at Epcot is enough and two at DHS might be the way to go. Really hate not being able to hop.


We'll be there the same time, I also rented a car, a van actually. I do not love the buses so for me it was not optional.  I was hoping for a better deal but oh well with all the stores closed and the self imposed DS PM restriction I'm sure we will save some money there.


----------



## Alice Sr.

Kyhome said:


> I read these boards endlessly for the month leading up to our trip and then I “practiced” at home for the first few steps.
> 
> I used cell phone data (not WiFi) and stood off to the side at 9:50-near the Disney Jr theater because no one else was there. I have no idea if it matters if no one else is around or not but I felt it helped with better reception. Then I sent my kids to ride tower of terror so they did not stress me out (ha)!
> 
> I practiced with opening the app at 9:59 on my iPhone and then would click “join” on the VQ about 30 seconds later. It was never there at that time- 9:59 and 30 seconds). But then I hit “back”, waited until exactly 10:00 am and then I Hit join again and could actually click my party and join. Again, no idea if this would work for all but I literally practiced at 10 and 2 for a week leading up to being in the park! Also I had other friends and-family linked to my account but deleted them prior to this trip bc you need to select your party so I only wanted the four of us that were on this trip.


Ok thanks, that's pretty much what I am planning.  I have been driving my DD and SIL nuts with who has the fastest phone and service.  I have an iPhone and Verizon, my SIL has an Android and Sprint and my DD has an Android and AT&T.  I'm sure we will get on, one of them will hit it. I'm old and slow so I have no chance lol, I just need to keep the competition between them heated up.  Your practice and strategy paid off that was a great number.  Thanks


----------



## Sydney2977

delmar411 said:


> The F&W situation was very disappointing to us.  But honestly we enjoyed just walking onto the rides. I hate waiting in lines. LOL



We've been to both F&G and F&W multiple times, so I was excited that even though we had to cancel the trip during F&G earlier this year that we would get at least some kind of festival in Sept. Can you share what specifically in your opinion was disappointing? I just want to mentally prepare myself. TIA!


----------



## hereforthechurros

I thought I saw someone ask about magical
Express wait times. This is now posted at the entrance. We only waited about 15 minutes. Sorry it’s sideways, dang mobile.


----------



## Dave006

Hi @hereforthechurros, I fixed it for you.



Dave


----------



## Dismrk155

Not funny. Things are going downhill fast. No excuse for poor service.


----------



## NC State

O my goodness, I'm glad we are driving!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

Minutes or hours?  It doesn't say.


----------



## westie55

Just back!  We had an amazing time.  My party was me, DH, DS5 and DS3, both who had birthdays.  

1) Masks: compliance was near 100% in all parks (we attended MK twice and both Epcot and DHS once.  In MK I saw one grown man without a mask and two families who didn't appear to even have masks out for their children who were 3-5 years old.  Once we were behind a family in line for the carousel.  The CMs didn't say anything to the children.  The other time the family was in the square by Tony's on Main St (the man without the mask was presumably the children's father-- he had a shirt that said "Dad").  Besides this, I didn't see anyone without masks and very few noses poking out.  My boys tolerated their masks better than I expected.  My 5 year old didn't fuss even once and the 3 year old did wane but we would just go back to the resort for a break.  He put it back on when I asked.  I didn't enjoy wearing a mask in the heat but my husband and I both agreed it wasn't that bad.  We both wore the blue disposable masks.  My kids wore homemade masks.

2) Wait times for rides were great!  In MK waits were very short overall with the exception of 7DMT and Splash.  I got in line for 7DMT at closing and waited 20 minutes.  For Splash the wait said 30 but we only waited 13 minutes.  Pooh said 20 but it was a walk on.  Same with Pirates.  The only wait longer than anticipated was for Philharmagic.  It said 10 but we waited 20 minutes or so.  At Epcot FEA had a 35 min wait spilling out of the building in the hot sun so we skipped that.  Everything else was a short wait.  In HS, we got boarding group 16 for ROTR which was supposed to have us on around 12:00, but it broke down for the majority of the day.  Just when I was resigned to the fact that I might miss it, it reopened around 6:30 pm and we got on.  It was impressive.  MFSR had a 15 min wait.  We got in line for MMRR at closing and waited about 20 min.  We skipped SDD.  The line is too hot lol.  

3) Transportation:  we did well with buses besides our first day trying to get to MK for rope drop.  The bus filled up with only 4 families.  There was only one bus running (to Riviera) and we literally waited for that same bus to drop off and return.  There should have been multiple buses running because the line to go to MK was long behind us and I imagine some of those families had to wait multiple cycles.  I loved the skyliner.  The line looked really long from CBR to HS for rope drop but it moved quickly and we got into the park with about 10 min to spare to get our boarding group.  We probably got in line for the skyliner at Riviera at 9:20.

4) Pool wasn't too crowded although I wish there had been a lifeguard enforcing proper behavior in the children's splash area. Kids (some of them middle school age) were climbing up the enclosed water slide while others (including several toddlers) were trying to come down.  It was super unsafe and their parents were not watching them.  I tried to remind kids not to go up and while for the most part the younger ones listened, the middle school age kids ignored me.  I don't know if this was a covid cut or if the kids area never has any staff.

5) For us, the magic was definitely still there.  We liked the spontaneous character appearances in the parks.  We had a fantastic time!


----------



## yulilin3

Dismrk155 said:


> Not funny. Things are going downhill fast. No excuse for poor service.


other than transportation what else is going downhill fast? Cause I've been to the parks 3 times a week since reopening and that's the only issue I have seen


----------



## Epcot242

GADisneyDad14 said:


> but for us the experience was great as it was one of the first times we’ve returned from WDW without the proverbial “I need a vacation from that vacation” feeling.



That's really encouraging to hear. We tend to really go all out when we visit and we're inevitably exhausted after every trip. It's a bummer that park hours are shortened but if it "forces" us to relax then I'm OK with it.


----------



## nancipants

yulilin3 said:


> other than transportation what else is going downhill fast? Cause I've been to the parks 3 times a week since reopening and that's the only issue I have seen



Also, like....we're in a pandemic. Things are not normal. They will never be "normal" again. The fact that people still are angry about Disney not operating as usual during an unprecedented worldwide event is crazy to me. It's like some people have forgotten they were closed for almost four months for a reason.


----------



## yulilin3

nancipants said:


> Also, like....we're in a pandemic. Things are not normal. They will never be "normal" again. The fact that people still are angry about Disney not operating as usual during an unprecedented worldwide event is crazy to me. It's like some people have forgotten they were closed for almost four months for a reason.


exactly, than you!! I go to the parks and cannot stop but be impressed of what they are doing. I think we all knew their Achilles heel would be transportation, but yeah, if you're coming now don't expect normal unless you want to be packed into a bus like before, remember? standing up, shoulder to shoulder with people?


----------



## Kyhome

Epcot242 said:


> That's really encouraging to hear. We tend to really go all out when we visit and we're inevitably exhausted after every trip. It's a bummer that park hours are shortened but if it "forces" us to relax then I'm OK with it.


Yes, we are usually rope droppers and take a break mid -day and return to close the parks out. For this trip, having earlier closings forced us to get more rest and sleep, ha! We do not feel half as exhausted as we usually do!


----------



## Amy11401

nancipants said:


> Also, like....we're in a pandemic. Things are not normal. They will never be "normal" again. The fact that people still are angry about Disney not operating as usual during an unprecedented worldwide event is crazy to me. It's like some people have forgotten they were closed for almost four months for a reason.


I totally agree with you.  But in society in general not just Disney some people seem to not realize things are not normal anymore and we just can't go back to the way things used to be before.


----------



## MaxsDad

mak'smom said:


> We drove to avoid Disney transportation. The only problem was magic kingdom, We were stuck in a monorail car with two people with masks below their chin, one of which was coughing. I recommend taking the ferry.


Thanks. We are staying at Poly so we have a few options for getting to MK.



Alice Sr. said:


> We'll be there the same time, I also rented a car, a van actually. I do not love the buses so for me it was not optional.  I was hoping for a better deal but oh well with all the stores closed and the self imposed DS PM restriction I'm sure we will save some money there.



We always rent a car. Since this trip is just my wife and I to celebrate my birthday and our anniversary (belated) I was looking forward to not renting a car. The only thing I am really disapointed about is having to drive to Epcot instead of being able to take the monorail.


----------



## nancipants

Amy11401 said:


> I totally agree with you.  But in society in general not just Disney some people seem to not realize things are not normal anymore and we just can't go back to the way things used to be before.



Yes, it's frustrating all over. As for Disney I feel bad for the cast members trying to make a living and dealing with people who don't want to follow the rules or who are mad Disney is "different" now.


----------



## yulilin3

MaxsDad said:


> Thanks. We are staying at Poly so we have a few options for getting to MK.
> 
> 
> 
> We always rent a car. Since this trip is just my wife and I to celebrate my birthday and our anniversary (belated) I was looking forward to not renting a car. The only thing I am really disapointed about is having to drive to Epcot instead of being able to take the monorail.


Just an fyi on the boat.  They are using the old ones that are bigger to take more people but the boat moves incredibly slow,  like double the time of the regular boat so if you're taking that make sure you account for the time


----------



## Obliviate

The ME was showing 60 min when I arrived today but there were two buses waiting outside and I walked right in, no wait. I might have been lucky though. 

On another note, I assumed I'd be exhausted from the flight so I went to Epcot to grab some food and later today dinner. I used to live in France and always love to practice my french with the CM at Les Halles Boulangerie, who are lovely. Plus the food is excellent. It was honestly heartbreaking, there were only three CM and half the shelves were empty. It struck me hard. I really hope they are well and can come back soon.


----------



## Best Aunt

Obliviate said:


> I used to live in France and always love to practice my french with the CM at Les Halles Boulangerie, who are lovely. Plus the food is excellent. It was honestly heartbreaking, there were only three CM and half the shelves were empty. It struck me hard. I really hope they are well and can come back soon.



Not sure if you are aware that everyone in the International program was sent home.


----------



## JennyDrake

DogDoc94 said:


> We will be staying for the first time in a preferred room at CBR next month.  Can you confirm the buses only run for MK & AK unless Skyliner is down for weather? Is also sounds like the buses do not start their pickup as early in the morning as before COVID? Any other thoughts on the resort would be welcome.
> Thanks!



If the skyliner is running, there are no buses to Epcot or HS. I didn't pay any attention to the start times--I'm sorry! The ONLY food is at Customs House and MUST be mobile ordered. VERY limited selection. Only ~ 4 entrees. One burger, one plant based, jerk chicken and something else. Only 4 breakfast offerings. At least one section of the resort wasn't even open). Bus service was very good. I"m sure you know no housekeeping until I think day 5. If you want more towels you have to call and tell them how many of each kind/size of towel you want (???). There ARE pool towels. You have to call to have trash emptied and you set the trash cans outside your door. It's my I think 5th stay there; as you know stuff could change between now and when you go.....more might be open. If you do on line check in, you don't go to the desk at all. We got a call that we could check our luggage at airline check in BUT it hadn't reopened.


----------



## Dismrk155

JennyDrake said:


> If the skyliner is running, there are no buses to Epcot or HS. I didn't pay any attention to the start times--I'm sorry! The ONLY food is at Customs House and MUST be mobile ordered. VERY limited selection. Only ~ 4 entrees. One burger, one plant based, jerk chicken and something else. Only 4 breakfast offerings. At least one section of the resort wasn't even open). Bus service was very good. I"m sure you know no housekeeping until I think day 5. If you want more towels you have to call and tell them how many of each kind/size of towel you want (???). There ARE pool towels. You have to call to have trash emptied and you set the trash cans outside your door. It's my I think 5th stay there; as you know stuff could change between now and when you go.....more might be open. If you do on line check in, you don't go to the desk at all. We got a call that we could check our luggage at airline check in BUT it hadn't reopened.


This shouldn't happen at all. Motel 6 has better service. Same high rate and no cleaning and calling for twirls and poor selection of food. Disney has no excuse.


----------



## yulilin3

Dismrk155 said:


> This shouldn't happen at all. Motel 6 has better service. Same high rate and no cleaning and calling for twirls and poor selection of food. Disney has no excuse.


Again you don't seem to understand the reason for this.  Do you want people coming into your room everyday right now? Disney is protecting the guest and the housekeeper.  People who decide to come know this,  it's on their website and explicit when you book


----------



## Walt4ever

yulilin3 said:


> Again you don't seem to understand the reason for this.  Do you want people coming into your room everyday right now? Disney is protecting the guest and the housekeeper.  People who decide to come know this,  it's on their website and explicit when you book



The point wasn't that they didn't understand the reason.  The point was that they are charging the same thing ... but providing less.  Personally, I don't care if housekeeping is coming every day or not, but if they aren't, then the overall room rate should be discounted, or guests should automatically get the "no housekeeping" gift cards they received previously for no housekeeping.  

That said, I haven't stayed or tried to stay in a Disney-proper resort yet, so maybe they are discounting the rooms sufficiently to balance the fewer amenities.  We did stay at an "on site" non-Disney hotels (so that we could get park reservations since AP reservations were non-existent) this past weekend and they are all still charging the same resort fees when they too are not providing the same amenities that those fees were suppose to cover (shuttle service, as an example).  However, the room rates themselves are discounted from "normal" for no housekeeping.  

I was able to get the park ressies I wanted for our next trip in a few weeks so we'll be staying offsite next time.


----------



## yulilin3

Walt4ever said:


> The point wasn't that they didn't understand the reason.  The point was that they are charging the same thing ... but providing less.  Personally, I don't care if housekeeping is coming every day or not, but if they aren't, then the overall room rate should be discounted, or guests should automatically get the "no housekeeping" gift cards they received previously for no housekeeping.
> 
> That said, I haven't stayed or tried to stay in a Disney-proper resort yet, so maybe they are discounting the rooms sufficiently to balance the fewer amenities.  We did stay at an "on site" non-Disney hotels (so that we could get park reservations since AP reservations were non-existent) this past weekend and they are all still charging the same resort fees when they too are not providing the same amenities that those fees were suppose to cover (shuttle service, as an example).  However, the room rates themselves are discounted from "normal" for no housekeeping.
> 
> I was able to get the park ressies I wanted for our next trip in a few weeks so we'll be staying offsite next time.


But you know this when you book and you agree on the price.  People here have said they have chosen to stay off property because the benefits are not worth the price.  The poster i quoted has been on several threads posting the same argument,  which is why i responded to that particular post


----------



## Dismrk155

Walt4ever said:


> The point wasn't that they didn't understand the reason.  The point was that they are charging the same thing ... but providing less.  Personally, I don't care if housekeeping is coming every day or not, but if they aren't, then the overall room rate should be discounted, or guests should automatically get the "no housekeeping" gift cards they received previously for no housekeeping.
> 
> That said, I haven't stayed or tried to stay in a Disney-proper resort yet, so maybe they are discounting the rooms sufficiently to balance the fewer amenities.  We did stay at an "on site" non-Disney hotels (so that we could get park reservations since AP reservations were non-existent) this past weekend and they are all still charging the same resort fees when they too are not providing the same amenities that those fees were suppose to cover (shuttle service, as an example).  However, the room rates themselves are discounted from "normal" for no housekeeping.
> 
> I was able to get the park ressies I wanted for our next trip in a few weeks so we'll be staying offsite next time.


Well said. Same high prices with little to no services. Same high park tickets and again less hours and no entertainment. Disney can't have it both ways.


----------



## monkeydawn

Dismrk155 said:


> Well said. Same high prices with little to no services. Same high park tickets and again less hours and no entertainment. Disney can't have it both ways.


Disney can have it both ways if people continue to visit.

Beyond that, there are costs associated with COVID, like increased cleaning and enforcement.  So there may be some amenities missing but the important amenity of safety is being provided (as much as Disney can).  Some places are stripping away amenities and adding a COVID surcharge. (Which creeps me out in places like dentist offices and nail places...COVID doesnt require and special chemicals, just the cleaning that should be done between each client anyway, what werent they doing before?)


----------



## Dismrk155

monkeydawn said:


> Disney can have it both ways if people continue to visit.
> 
> Beyond that, there are costs associated with COVID, like increased cleaning and enforcement.  So there may be some amenities missing but the important amenity of safety is being provided (as much as Disney can).  Some places are stripping away amenities and adding a COVID surcharge. (Which creeps me out in places like dentist offices and nail places...COVID doesnt require and special chemicals, just the cleaning that should be done between each client anyway, what werent they doing before?)


This stuff shouldn't happen.


----------



## yulilin3

Dismrk155 said:


> This stuff shouldn't happen.


You've made your point,  time to move on please


----------



## Choirmom

I have a question regarding food allergies and mobile ordering. I have Celiacs disease and must eat gluten free. In the past, the cook/chef has come out and taken my order. I have also been instructed by CMs to only accept my food from the cook as that way I know it's the gluten free meal. Has anyone been in this situation recently? How is it now handled?


----------



## yulilin3

Choirmom said:


> I have a question regarding food allergies and mobile ordering. I have Celiacs disease and must eat gluten free. In the past, the cook/chef has come out and taken my order. I have also been instructed by CMs to only accept my food from the cook as that way I know it's the gluten free meal. Has anyone been in this situation recently? How is it now handled?


If you go on MDE and go on mobile order,  pick the restaurant you want and click on more options or allergy free at the top of the menu.  You'll see the options for gluten free


----------



## mlayman7

We spent yesterday at the MK and went back to HS this morning. 

1 - arrive later in the day if possible, especially HS. Wait times drop dramatically after 2 pm. Only issue is getting rotr pass but if you can forgo that, it is worth it. 

2. Magic kingdom, there was a lot more people around, on the pathways, in lines, but seems like it could easily handle it. We actually had to wait in line for 10 to 15 minutes vs walking on. Still you could easily do everything in a day plus repeats on some in one day. Longest wait here was splash mountain. 

3. The only area we feel uncomfortable are the busses. They do everything they can to keep distance between guests, they even have the vent on top open to increase air flow but you are sitting right next to others with a small divider between other groups. Most of the time, we have been on busses with only one or two other groups so no issue at all. This morning we missed the first bus to HS because it was full, and barely caught the second one. The way back at 3 pm, only people on it. 

4. We dined at 50s prime time cafe two nights ago, not as packed with people but still not spread out enough for indoor dining. You are still really close to others in there. The food though, best we've had there and have always loved it for the last 5 to 6 years. 

5. Staying at kidani village. Nothing beats the view of the Savannah on property.


----------



## Obliviate

Best Aunt said:


> Not sure if you are aware that everyone in the International program was sent home.


Yes, I was aware. But last time I heard France and Morocco were supposed to at least have some representation. Regardless, it is one thing to know the international CM won't be there and that the menu is limited, and then there is to walk into an empty boulangerie, almost literally. I thought it was closed at first.


----------



## summerw

Yulilin, thanks for maintaining a great thread! You are always so informed and helpful. 

And thank you to all the people reporting back. It’s so different planning right now and I really appreciate the info.

Although none of us likes it, Disney probably the most, everything at Disney is costing them more... all the barriers, how they have to staff and space causing them to get less value from everything, PPE, food, sanitizer, disposable everything, training. The value you are being offered is their effort to keep you safe during a pandemic. 

I don’t know how anyone wouldn’t assume that closed spaces like elevators and buses would be a problem. We planned our hotels and park days around transportation and will also rent a car this time. I’m assuming that most things will have kinks that are being worked out, like everything in our lives right now. 

I’m shocked people think others should be booted for mask violations, not for refusing to cooperate with a cast member (which would be reasonable), but for violations, which could be intentional or accidental. This is a new thing for all of us and we will make mistakes.


----------



## JPM4

mlayman7 said:


> We spent yesterday at the MK and went back to HS this morning.
> 
> 1 - arrive later in the day if possible, especially HS. Wait times drop dramatically after 2 pm. Only issue is getting rotr pass but if you can forgo that, it is worth it.
> 
> 2. Magic kingdom, there was a lot more people around, on the pathways, in lines, but seems like it could easily handle it. We actually had to wait in line for 10 to 15 minutes vs walking on. Still you could easily do everything in a day plus repeats on some in one day. Longest wait here was splash mountain.
> 
> 3. The only area we feel uncomfortable are the busses. They do everything they can to keep distance between guests, they even have the vent on top open to increase air flow but you are sitting right next to others with a small divider between other groups. Most of the time, we have been on busses with only one or two other groups so no issue at all. This morning we missed the first bus to HS because it was full, and barely caught the second one. The way back at 3 pm, only people on it.
> 
> 4. We dined at 50s prime time cafe two nights ago, not as packed with people but still not spread out enough for indoor dining. You are still really close to others in there. The food though, best we've had there and have always loved it for the last 5 to 6 years.
> 
> 5. Staying at kidani village. Nothing beats the view of the Savannah on property.


I agree with DHS. The later the better. We are staying at Kidani for 2 nights in a couple of weeks. How rough is the food situation there? Have the pools been packed or with Jambo pool open is it a little more spread out?


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

nancipants said:


> Things are not normal. They will *never *be "normal" again.


I would agree to an extent... hopefully, this has made people realize the importance of good hygiene, etc. and that awareness will have permanent (positive) impacts.  But I don't subscribe to the dystopian view that we now have to wear masks for the rest of our lives, must avoid contact with other human beings, and can never again eat at a buffet, go on a cruise, or attend a live concert.  

My biggest fear is that, once this disease has been licked (and I have faith that we WILL get past it), we'll be told that things _still _can't go back to normal. The next disease might be waiting to pounce at any time and we can't risk removing these extreme measures for fear of there being another pandemic.


----------



## pointybubble

Can anyone tell me if you have seen the model trains running at Germany in Epcot? This is one of my DS5's most favorite things in all of Disney World and I'm wondering if I should prepare him for them to down.


----------



## mlayman7

JPM4 said:


> I agree with DHS. The later the better. We are staying at Kidani for 2 nights in a couple of weeks. How rough is the food situation there? Have the pools been packed or with Jambo pool open is it a little more spread out?



We have a 2 bedroom and ordered plenty of food, frozen pizzas, mac n cheese, etc. So not an issue for us. The pool bar/grill really is a last resort. Better off getting food in the shop inside the lobby. We are at sanaa, had a reservation for dinner earlier in the week, and it was great, but cant afford or would want to eat their regularly. So short answer, if staying in a studio, food options are seriously lacking. 

We have went swimming every day that we have been here so far, either morning or evening. Mornings definitely quieter, evening aren't too bad either. Never have we felt uncomfortable. I like the method they have with cleaning the seats after people have left. That slide though, would be fine if you weren't going down speed bumps, not sure why this hasn't been addressed at a deluxe resort.


----------



## yulilin3

pointybubble said:


> Can anyone tell me if you have seen the model trains running at Germany in Epcot? This is one of my DS5's most favorite things in all of Disney World and I'm wondering if I should prepare him for them to down.


They were running 3 days ago


----------



## Sarahraegraham

pointybubble said:


> Can anyone tell me if you have seen the model trains running at Germany in Epcot? This is one of my DS5's most favorite things in all of Disney World and I'm wondering if I should prepare him for them to down.


Yup. And you actually have time and space to enjoy them now that the crowds are so low


----------



## JPM4

mlayman7 said:


> We have a 2 bedroom and ordered plenty of food, frozen pizzas, mac n cheese, etc. So not an issue for us. The pool bar/grill really is a last resort. Better off getting food in the shop inside the lobby. We are at sanaa, had a reservation for dinner earlier in the week, and it was great, but cant afford or would want to eat their regularly. So short answer, if staying in a studio, food options are seriously lacking.
> 
> We have went swimming every day that we have been here so far, either morning or evening. Mornings definitely quieter, evening aren't too bad either. Never have we felt uncomfortable. I like the method they have with cleaning the seats after people have left. That slide though, would be fine if you weren't going down speed bumps, not sure why this hasn't been addressed at a deluxe resort.


Awesome. Thanks for the info!


----------



## DanielNYC

Kyhome said:


> I read these boards endlessly for the month leading up to our trip and then I “practiced” at home for the first few steps.
> 
> I used cell phone data (not WiFi) and stood off to the side at 9:50-near the Disney Jr theater because no one else was there. I have no idea if it matters if no one else is around or not but I felt it helped with better reception. Then I sent my kids to ride tower of terror so they did not stress me out (ha)!
> 
> I practiced with opening the app at 9:59 on my iPhone and then would click “join” on the VQ about 30 seconds later. It was never there at that time- 9:59 and 30 seconds). But then I hit “back”, waited until exactly 10:00 am and then I Hit join again and could actually click my party and join. Again, no idea if this would work for all but I literally practiced at 10 and 2 for a week leading up to being in the park! Also I had other friends and-family linked to my account but deleted them prior to this trip bc you need to select your party so I only wanted the four of us that were on this trip.


This has been stressing me a bit so thanks very much for the crystal clear explanation!


----------



## thingaboutarsenal

We got back Monday from 7 nights at the Poly and I just finished recovering from vacation so here's my two cents.

The Polynesian: it's still the greatest hotel on property IMO.  Sure looking at Space Mountain and the Castle from our room was somewhat disappointing knowing there'd be no fireworks, but the view was still great.  The pool is always great and this time was no different.  The staff of this hotel were beyond amazing.  My son was treated like family by so many CM at the Poly and it was absolutely magical.

MK: it was great to ride 7d, which is something pre Covid we never did being local AP who don't ride without fastpasses.  However it kinda sucked to wait for Winnie the Poo and other rides that always had a fastpass, even on busy days.  It's a trade off I guess, but seeing distancing markers way back in some lines was pretty ominous to me and has me worried that they plan on increasing capacity without bringing Fastpass back.  Longest wait we did was Splash Mountain at 45 minutes.  Also did Skipper Canteen fully expecting it to be heavy on Skipper kitsch, which we love, but light on food.  We were pleasantly surprised by the food.  It was tasty and adventurous.  No night time in MK was a major bummer.

HS: was a park we used to never do, but my son is now 41 inches so we really enjoyed it.  Maybe an unpopular opinion, but Mickey and Minnie is better than the Great Movie Ride.  Got 9 and 21 in two days for ROTR.  On the 21 day it was broken most of the day including 90 minutes that we waited in line after getting called, then taken to interrogation before being evacuated.  Finally got to ride at 5pm.  The ride is amazing.  I don't even like Star Wars and I thought it was great.  HS has come a long way from a few years ago.

Epcot: I know it's in bad shape, but it was one of our favorites.  Tangerine Cafe was closed  and WS was quite weird without much international staff.  Hacienda de San Angel had the best meal (and server, Gerry from Toluca) of the vacation with Pollo al Pastor.  It was a transcendental meal.  The longest and hottest line of vacation however was Frozen Ever After.  The first 15 minutes are outside getting slammed by sun.  Did it at rope drop the next time and rode 3x as a walk on.  Mariachi Cobre miked up sounds better.  I didn't think it was possible.  They are, IMO the best musicians in all of WDW.

AK: by far the most disappointing park, which breaks my heart.  There are 7 attractions not including Tough to be a Bug, which I only ever do when there are no Fastpasses left, not that I hate it, it's just old and boring and IMO a cautionary tale of using IP because it's dated with a movie that is not very timeless.  FOP at 10 minutes was great and I got to see the standby queue for that and NRJ for the first time in my life.

Other observations: we had the most ridiculous encounter with a CM at world of Disney who made my 3 year old take a half step, literally a half step, like 3 inches, because he was not fully behind the plexiglass.  He was wearing a mask and extremely excited because he was being rewarded with a toy for being so good about wearing a mask for the first half.  He didn't understand her but I thought it was super petty and unnecessary especially the tone she used which sucked because he was getting rewarded for following rules that were hard for him at times. It was our only negative experience.  It's funny too because we then went to the Sanuk store where one employee played with my son while the other leaned around the plexiglass because she said she feels like she can't hear behind it.  I just laughed at how two different experiences happened back to back.  We also got smoked by a rainstorm at AK, just a minute after I decided not to buy ponchos.  We learned two things: 1. Social distancing happens much less in lines with little rain protection.  2. Soaking wet masks are suffocating, I'm asthmatic and it was brutal, fortunately we brought extra masks, but the time from the rain untill we got back to the stroller were awful.  Also Kali got my mask wet too, which was confusing because Sea World makes you remove your mask for Infinity Falls, which is essentially the same ride system.

TL;DR Poly is great, everything else is cool, wet masks = suffocating


----------



## MomOTwins

thingaboutarsenal said:


> We got back Monday from 7 nights at the Poly and I just finished recovering from vacation so here's my two cents.
> 
> The Polynesian: it's still the greatest hotel on property IMO.  Sure looking at Space Mountain and the Castle from our room was somewhat disappointing knowing there'd be no fireworks, but the view was still great.  The pool is always great and this time was no different.  The staff of this hotel were beyond amazing.  My son was treated like family by so many CM at the Poly and it was absolutely magical.
> 
> MK: it was great to ride 7d, which is something pre Covid we never did being local AP who don't ride without fastpasses.  However it kinda sucked to wait for Winnie the Poo and other rides that always had a fastpass, even on busy days.  It's a trade off I guess, but seeing distancing markers way back in some lines was pretty ominous to me and has me worried that they plan on increasing capacity without bringing Fastpass back.  Longest wait we did was Splash Mountain at 45 minutes.  Also did Skipper Canteen fully expecting it to be heavy on Skipper kitsch, which we love, but light on food.  We were pleasantly surprised by the food.  It was tasty and adventurous.  No night time in MK was a major bummer.
> 
> HS: was a park we used to never do, but my son is now 41 inches so we really enjoyed it.  Maybe an unpopular opinion, but Mickey and Minnie is better than the Great Movie Ride.  Got 9 and 21 in two days for ROTR.  On the 21 day it was broken most of the day including 90 minutes that we waited in line after getting called, then taken to interrogation before being evacuated.  Finally got to ride at 5pm.  The ride is amazing.  I don't even like Star Wars and I thought it was great.  HS has come a long way from a few years ago.
> 
> Epcot: I know it's in bad shape, but it was one of our favorites.  Tangerine Cafe was closed  and WS was quite weird without much international staff.  Hacienda de San Angel had the best meal (and server, Gerry from Toluca) of the vacation with Pollo al Pastor.  It was a transcendental meal.  The longest and hottest line of vacation however was Frozen Ever After.  The first 15 minutes are outside getting slammed by sun.  Did it at rope drop the next time and rode 3x as a walk on.  Mariachi Cobre miked up sounds better.  I didn't think it was possible.  They are, IMO the best musicians in all of WDW.
> 
> AK: by far the most disappointing park, which breaks my heart.  There are 7 attractions not including Tough to be a Bug, which I only ever do when there are no Fastpasses left, not that I hate it, it's just old and boring and IMO a cautionary tale of using IP because it's dated with a movie that is not very timeless.  FOP at 10 minutes was great and I got to see the standby queue for that and NRJ for the first time in my life.
> 
> Other observations: we had the most ridiculous encounter with a CM at world of Disney who made my 3 year old take a half step, literally a half step, like 3 inches, because he was not fully behind the plexiglass.  He was wearing a mask and extremely excited because he was being rewarded with a toy for being so good about wearing a mask for the first half.  He didn't understand her but I thought it was super petty and unnecessary especially the tone she used which sucked because he was getting rewarded for following rules that were hard for him at times. It was our only negative experience.  It's funny too because we then went to the Sanuk store where one employee played with my son while the other leaned around the plexiglass because she said she feels like she can't hear behind it.  I just laughed at how two different experiences happened back to back.  We also got smoked by a rainstorm at AK, just a minute after I decided not to buy ponchos.  We learned two things: 1. Social distancing happens much less in lines with little rain protection.  2. Soaking wet masks are suffocating, I'm asthmatic and it was brutal, fortunately we brought extra masks, but the time from the rain untill we got back to the stroller were awful.  Also Kali got my mask wet too, which was confusing because Sea World makes you remove your mask for Infinity Falls, which is essentially the same ride system.
> 
> TL;DR Poly is great, everything else is cool, wet masks = suffocating


Sounds like a great trip!  With the DS CM I do think we all need to give CMs some grace when they are strict—we are choosing to be there, but they need the job, and some may have high risk family members they are scared for.  It has to be stressful even for the ones who are able to stay upbeat.


----------



## thingaboutarsenal

MomOTwins said:


> Sounds like a great trip!  With the DS CM I do think we all need to give CMs some grace when they are strict—we are choosing to be there, but they need the job, and some may have high risk family members they are scared for.  It has to be stressful even for the ones who are able to stay upbeat.


I'm all for grace but being rude to a 3 year old about moving 3 inches is absurd.  He was more than 6 feet away and wearing a mask.  Also, according to a peer reviewed study in the medical journal "pediatrics" little kids rarely carry the disease and even more rarely infect someone else.  

Other than this it was magical.  I didn't want to leave and my house is only 90 minutes away.


----------



## Kyhome

Kyhome said:


> I have two days of parks to report thus far.
> 
> Huge Disney vets and OCD planners (me). I always get the fast passes 60 days out, we always stay on property, always get hoppers, etc. Have been to Disney at least once a year each year in last 10 years.
> 
> We wanted to take advantage of lower lines and less crowds. My kids are older now-8 and 13 years old. We have never cared about parades or fireworks (sorry but we do rides during those times) but are all about maximizing rides.
> 
> First two days have been great, split stay with Universal, which is new to us. We are staying off disney property for the first time in forever bc there are no extra hours and no early fast passes with staying at Disney.
> 
> At AK, we were there from 8-12:30, did FOP twice, EE four times, dinosaur twice, tricero spin, safari, and Navi once, rapids twice. Minimal or no waits for each.
> 
> Hollywood studios, we got there at 930 (drove), got a boarding pass number 8 for Rise. Did Rock and Roller x5, Tower terror x4, Mickey and Minnie x2, TSM x2, SDD x2, Smugglers run x2, Rise around 10:30, Star Tours x1 (not all in that order)! Took a two hour break in middle of day to leave park and go eat during a rainstorm.
> 
> I do miss the character greetings but my kids aren’t into that anymore (sad).
> If you are into rides, now is the time to go because of low waits.
> 
> We also don’t really stop to eat (like I said, we go off parks to eat usually) so can’t comment on that.
> Entry to parks was easy, including temp checks and bag walk through. I do like that universal now puts hand sanitizer on each persons hands where Disney just had it available. Mask compliance at parks close to 100 percent. Maybe 95? But I saw a few corrected. Yes it’s hot with a mask but we are from the south so we are used to it and did not bother us.
> Feel free to ask any questions!




And for our last park day-we spent 10 hours at MK. We thought it was great. Per previous post, I have always been the OCD planner with fast passes and we have always stayed on property. We have never really waited over 20 minutes in line for anything because I always plan and strategically place fast passes, park days, etc.

However, we loved no fast passes this trip. It made the days so much more relaxing because everything was not planned and we could walk around to short waits. The longest we waited over three days was 30 minutes one time for Splash. Almost everything else was a walk on or very low wait. Today at MK, we walked on most rides (other than 30 minutes at Splash and 20 for Mine Train).

We honestly also liked driving ourselves to the parks. No waiting on busses and it was a lot easier than we had thought.

We are a ‘ride‘ family and go for the rides so this was the perfect time for us. Yes there are limited hours, limited dining and missing some attractions but the magic is still there, if you allow it to be. We were grateful to be out there, felt safe, and loved every single minute of this trip


----------



## Cliz155

JPM4 said:


> I agree with DHS. The later the better. We are staying at Kidani for 2 nights in a couple of weeks. How rough is the food situation there? Have the pools been packed or with Jambo pool open is it a little more spread out?



We made Sanaa reservations for AK days (since they close early at 6pm)-- around 7:30 or so worked perfect. We made reservations at the parks for dinner on the other days (HS, EPCOT, MK). Try to time it so that your dinner reservation is about 10 minutes before park close and you'll get an emptier restaurant and a nice and peaceful park exit too!  A lot of times, we ended up bringing back leftovers for the next day at lunch-- yay microwave! Otherwise, we did QS for lunch. For breakfasts, I packed a box of cereal and bought a half gallon of milk when we arrived. The donuts in the gift shop are an easy breakfast option too.


----------



## Cliz155

I made a new thread about shipping info because I wanted people to be able to search for it... but maybe I should post it here instead? or in addition? We spent a ton of time on the phone and asking different places about shipping, so I want to save everyone some time/hassle. 

*Current Shipping Info*

After our long quest to find a way to ship home lightsabers and other Star Wars stuff, I just wanted to share back our findings. I was told by both the front desk, and guest services on the phone, that Disney World Resorts are NOT shipping any merchandise home for guests right now, even if you have the receipts. I asked guest services (from the phone in the room) about business centers, but none were open (even though the answering machine messages listed hours that _seemed_ open). For example, Contemporary's business center had hours from 8-5pm (I think?) but when I called around 2 pm, they were not open. 

Next, I decided to try and see if we could ship home from a park. Both guest services (from the phone in the hotel room) and the guest services in person at the front of Hollywood studios said that you could NOT ship merchandise home from a park. *However, Hollywood Studios guest services did add that you COULD ship home, but ONLY at the point of purchase. If you're going to do shipping, make sure you're ready to ship when you purchase.  Right now shipping home is only happening from the parks directly.*


----------



## disney_kings

Choirmom said:


> I have a question regarding food allergies and mobile ordering. I have Celiacs disease and must eat gluten free. In the past, the cook/chef has come out and taken my order. I have also been instructed by CMs to only accept my food from the cook as that way I know it's the gluten free meal. Has anyone been in this situation recently? How is it now handled?



We are at the parks now and my oldest daughter has Celiacs.  We were told to always avoid the mobile ordering and order direct at a window to ensure it gets made properly.  Haven't had any probs and even with reduced offerings because so many locations are closed, we haven't had trouble finding food for her that she likes.


----------



## polynor

We are back and getting back into our routine.  some more thoughts now that the trip has passed. 
1. Epcot. Finding remy kept the boys engaged at WS.  They also were interested in some of the food.  Places like Germany and Italy were completely empty.  japans store was still populated, not too crowded.  AP discount doesn’t apply here (separately owned).  my 5yo was dying for AC, so we wandered into the “lamp shop” and then realized it’s where you probably meet jasmine/Aladdin?  It was empty and he could run around for a little bit in cool air (and he didn’t take off his mask!).   
2. Instagrammers.  Ran into several trying to set up their shots.  It’s ok if theyre not impeding the walkway but they often are and take a lot longer to get their shot.  some would also then remove their masks to get the shot.
3. ROTR.  We got boarding groups 2, 8, 5.  We were about to board SDD @9:57.  The cm let us step to the side and then boarded us after.  turn off the WiFi and have someone else do a countdown.  At 10sec, keep swiping down to refresh until the join shows up.   We had to remove my parents each time so it‘s still possible.
4. masks.  i read the prior conversation in this thread, I was the death stare poster.  I will clarify, we didn’t confront.  Ive seen enough videos where that goes poorly.  I think it sucks that people react with that level of disregard for others, but that’s what we live with now.  We chose to put more distance.  I'm of the opinion if you can’t comply, you shouldn’t visit. While posters mentioned about people with small lapses, those are not the ones I’m concerned about, it’s those with flagrant noncompliance.  While DHS was more crowded, we saw more CM engagement there.  AK while not crowded was the poorest in CM engagment for masks. 
5. mask care. We were staying in a 2br at BLT. We packed a delicates bag and put all the masks in there each day to wash. I made my family switch out midday to new masks as well due to exposure (brought an ziploc labeled dirty for them). We used cloth, and while the disposable are lighter, I found if you got the right seal on them, they trap in more moisture. The cloth ones absorb it ( why you should change them out). 
6. because of the hours, we cooked quite a few meals and ended up with two instacart orders.  Overall, we found it relaxing it.  I brought individual Proseccos with me and snack packs of cheese and meats and had my own happy hour on the balcony lookingout on bay lake.


----------



## MomOTwins

thingaboutarsenal said:


> Also, according to a peer reviewed study in the medical journal "pediatrics" little kids rarely carry the disease and even more rarely infect someone else.



And I can point to this peer-reviewed study in JAMA Pediatrics just a week ago said that while earlier reports had suggested children were not major contributors to the spread, children under 5 actually carry significantly greater viral amounts.   https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2768952

I'm just saying, none of us knows for sure what is "safe" and shouldn't be too hard on a CM for strictly enforcing the rules that are designed to protect them.


----------



## shoegal9

hereforthechurros said:


> I thought I saw someone ask about magical
> Express wait times. This is now posted at the entrance. We only waited about 15 minutes. Sorry it’s sideways, dang mobile.



They also told us it could be "up to 60 minutes" and we waited 5.  So, just a general caveat I think.


----------



## yulilin3

lets please move on from the science of covid and into your experiences being back from WDW, thank you


----------



## Best Aunt

polynor said:


> I brought individual Proseccos with me and snack packs of cheese and meats and had my own happy hour on the balcony lookingout on bay lake.



Thanks for posting this.  It's kind of relaxing to think about somebody being able to do this, even if it's not me.


----------



## erinch

If conditions don’t deteriorate, we are going for the last 2 weeks in October, staying at the Vistana, for comparatively palatial space at a fraction of the price. We are very sad about the 7 day ticket limit as we are taking my daughter’s fiance. He is 25, and the only theme parks he has ever been to is Hershey, which is 20 minutes from us and Cedar Point, where we took him last year. Our favorite park is normally Epcot, and at present that’s the best option for only one day. There are so many restaurants there that are family traditions, and my DD is sad at not being able to take her fiancé to more than one of them. I’m  actually thinking about springing for extra days on separate tickets, if they don’t bring back APs or other options by then. This week Discovery Cove is still running a 40% sale, so I got those for them as an Engagement gift, and for $20 extra, you can conclude 14 days of Sea World and Aquatica. We are bringing our Amazon Firestick, and are planning Disney+ evenings for after everything has closed down.

I keep telling them this is an adventure your kids will never believe. (Let us hope and pray that is so. )


----------



## only hope

thingaboutarsenal said:


> Also did Skipper Canteen fully expecting it to be heavy on Skipper kitsch, which we love, but light on food.  We were pleasantly surprised by the food.  It was tasty and adventurous.



Were people spaced far apart in Skippers? We are considering doing one or two indoor meals next week but only if spacing is far apart. It's either that, eat in the hotel, or sweat outside on patios. No good choice really.


----------



## koquinn

erinch said:


> We are bringing our Amazon Firestick, and are planning Disney+ evenings for after everything has closed down.


Do they have Disney+ in the rooms?  And/or can I sign in somehow on the TVs in the rooms since we already have an account?


----------



## erinch

At the Vistana, if you bring your Firestick, the TVs all have hdmi ports and it works seamlessly for any  subscribed streaming service. I would guess Disney TVs would be the same? We bring a power strip to make sure it can be plugged in.


----------



## Choirmom

disney_kings said:


> We are at the parks now and my oldest daughter has Celiacs.  We were told to always avoid the mobile ordering and order direct at a window to ensure it gets made properly.  Haven't had any probs and even with reduced offerings because so many locations are closed, we haven't had trouble finding food for her that she likes.


Thank you! This really helps ease my mind. I was aware of the gluten free options,. I really wanted to make sure they were still taking the precautions they have in the past.


----------



## LiteBrite

Choirmom said:


> I have a question regarding food allergies and mobile ordering. I have Celiacs disease and must eat gluten free. In the past, the cook/chef has come out and taken my order. I have also been instructed by CMs to only accept my food from the cook as that way I know it's the gluten free meal. Has anyone been in this situation recently? How is it now handled?






yulilin3 said:


> If you go on MDE and go on mobile order,  pick the restaurant you want and click on more options or allergy free at the top of the menu.  You'll see the options for gluten free



This only works for the restaurants that have an allergy category on the app, they don't all have it.  None of the resort counter service places do, and in Disney Springs the only counter service that offers mobile ordering, D-Luxe Burger, does not have an allergy category. 

In the past, I've always had to speak to a chef at places like that, and so mobile ordering was not an option for me at those places.  I haven't been to the parks since the closure, but I've read others say that in the parks, you can still go in and speak to chef and order at the register.  I would assume it's also true at the resorts.


----------



## Rach73

We have been here since Sat. 8/2. Today is our last park day. We left a day earlier than planned because of the hurricane threat (driving from La.). Turned out to be unnecessary but wanted to be safe. 
On the topic of safety I wish I could report what I have seen others post with a 98% mask compliance. Our experience has been 90% or a little less actually. Now we are rule followers but more than we are respectful of others. I will commend the folks especially the little ones we have seen out here doing the right thing because it has been rough in the heat. But that other group of thoughtless people who just can’t seem to follow the rules even as they are loudly playing over the speakers should just stay home. As much as we have tried to have fun and feel some magic the rule breakers do put a bad vibe out there. Too many noses poking out, lots of eating/drinking and walking, one lady fanning herself with her mask in line behind us, taking on the phone with no mask on. Really too many instances of non compliance. I have seen some cast members out there verbally enforcing the rules but not nearly enough. The lines and the grounds of Pop Century have been the worst. 
So maybe it’s the heat making it harder for people to follow the rules? We won’t come back in the warmer months if mask are still required it is pretty brutal. But not enough for us to disrespect the rules and those around us. 
Not to be reporting all negative news we have enjoyed most of our time here. Had good meals at Sanaa, Y&Y and Skippers that were spaced out comfortably. It’s great not having to worry about Fastpasses and being able to go at a more relaxed pace. We are afternoon break people and that has been difficult but mostly because of the heat. Do miss the parks at night that is my favorite time to be there. 
If you are coming soon as many have said be cautious of the heat and the last few hours in the parks have been the best for crowds and short lines.


----------



## dolewhipdreams

koquinn said:


> Do they have Disney+ in the rooms?  And/or can I sign in somehow on the TVs in the rooms since we already have an account?





erinch said:


> At the Vistana, if you bring your Firestick, the TVs all have hdmi ports and it works seamlessly for any  subscribed streaming service. I would guess Disney TVs would be the same? We bring a power strip to make sure it can be plugged in.


Yeah we've done that at the Disney resorts with our Firestick and/or Apple TV.


----------



## mu51c10rd

shoegal9 said:


> They also told us it could be "up to 60 minutes" and we waited 5.  So, just a general caveat I think.



Slightly offtopic, but in the parks, the wait times for rides were often posted as far longer than the actual wait time. For example, we would see a 25 minute wait time on Splash Mountain, but would walk right through the queue and it was a walkon. I think the wait times that are posted are lagging from when they close a ride to clean/disinfect. We saw a posted 35 minute for Micky and Minnies Runaway Railway, and it turned out the actual wait we did was about 10 minutes.


----------



## bastraker

At HS today. The waits as so much longer today than anything we have seen since Sunday.  Most things have been consistently 60 minutes. Prior to this -.most rides were walk on.

I assume this is due to locals today.

Finally got to ride the new star wars ride! Wow! Just amazing!! Loved it.


----------



## shoegal9

mu51c10rd said:


> Slightly offtopic, but in the parks, the wait times for rides were often posted as far longer than the actual wait time. For example, we would see a 25 minute wait time on Splash Mountain, but would walk right through the queue and it was a walkon. I think the wait times that are posted are lagging from when they close a ride to clean/disinfect. We saw a posted 35 minute for Micky and Minnies Runaway Railway, and it turned out the actual wait we did was about 10 minutes.



yes, we had the same experience with ride wait times.


----------



## leeannf

Hello All - how is your experiences this week with resort hopping for quick service and shopping? I  chatted with WDW online chat and was told it is not problem arriving at the resorts. Has anyone had issues in the last few days?


----------



## mirandag819

yulilin3 said:


> Just an fyi on the boat.  They are using the old ones that are bigger to take more people but the boat moves incredibly slow,  like double the time of the regular boat so if you're taking that make sure you account for the time





bastraker said:


> At HS today. The waits as so much longer today than anything we have seen since Sunday.  Most things have been consistently 60 minutes. Prior to this -.most rides were walk on.
> 
> I assume this is due to locals today.
> 
> Finally got to ride the new star wars ride! Wow! Just amazing!! Loved it.


I noticed all the parks had longer wait times on the app today than I had seen any prior day since reopening...hoping it’s just the weekend and wait times drop again on Monday (our first Disney park day is Monday)


----------



## maryj11

mirandag819 said:


> I noticed all the parks had longer wait times on the app today than I had seen any prior day since reopening...hoping it’s just the weekend and wait times drop again on Monday (our first Disney park day is Monday)


Report back and let us know how the weekdays are.


----------



## yulilin3

It's going to be normal for people to start coming as consumer confidence rises.  With the park's being open for almost a month now and major outbreak associated to any of them people will feel more comfortable in coming


----------



## reposado

bastraker said:


> At HS today. The waits as so much longer today than anything we have seen since Sunday.  Most things have been consistently 60 minutes. Prior to this -.most rides were walk on.
> 
> I assume this is due to locals today.
> 
> Finally got to ride the new star wars ride! Wow! Just amazing!! Loved it.



A lot more AP holders are allowed into the part starting the 7th(today). I checked the wait times and yes they are significantly worse. 45min of Pirates Carribean, 50min Avatar FOP, 55min splash mountain, 1 hour MMRR, etc.

Too bad.

Combined that with the diminished experience, hot weather, Covid risk, makes it pretty unappealing unless you are a local with AP IMO. Definitely not worth travelling long distance and paying full price for.


----------



## yulilin3

reposado said:


> A lot more AP holders are allowed into the part starting the 7th(today). I checked the wait times and yes they are significantly worse. 45min of Pirates Carribean, 50min Avatar FOP, 55min splash mountain, 1 hour MMRR, etc.
> 
> Too bad.
> 
> Combined that with the diminished experience, hot weather, Covid risk, makes it pretty unappealing unless you are a local with AP IMO. Definitely not worth travelling long distance and paying full price for.


the fact that Silver ap holders can go in doesn't really matter since the pool for AP is the same for all APs it's not like each category has a pool of spots to pull from.
It's just more people coming


----------



## Spazz2k

I think a lot has to do with silver now being able to go...With the exception of Epcot, all AP reservations are filled for the rest of August.  We personally know soooo many silver passholders who are there this weekend and next.  Silver is definitely the largest group of passholders


----------



## Amanda2525

Just got back from a 3 days Contemporary 8/4 -8/7 and wanted to contribute since you guys helped me finally take the plunge during this weird time. Warning: Long review, my takeaways are near the end. I did our check in through MDE app as soon as I made the reservations. This was a last minute trip and planned a week in advance. We only live 2 hours away so its not as arduous as living out of state. On our drive there around 10am I got the text our room was ready and got the room number. That was pretty awesome. 

We parked, unloaded our stuff ourselves and went to our room. Pretty seamless. We went to the main pool soon after we unpacked and there were probably 10 people total there. They want you to wear a mask in all the common areas but once you are through the gate for the pool you can take them off. I saw the chairs, rails and other surfaces being wiped down. Someone came over to us and let us know the rules as soon as we grabbed chairs. Even though I have been studying how things work at Disney now and was familiar she was very friendly and just wanted to inform us. 

That night we had dinner planned at San Angel Inn in Epcot around 5. We decided to drive since the monorail is not operating to Epcot. I did not see any parking attendants directing people on how or where to park so there was no social distancing in between cars like I've read others report. We were able to get a close spot and the walk was easy. Epcot was pretty empty near the front of the park and then got busier as you got back towards World Showcase. I say busy but it still wasn't. San Angel Inn was a ghost town in the restaurant area and there were many open tables. Service was great, food was great. I always love the atmosphere inside.

A family near us brought a small dog inside. It looked like a pomeranian mix. It was a little odd and the dog barked more than a few times which was very annoying and kind of weird. I'm sure it was a companion dog loophole type situation but it was strange. The girl at the table had it on her lap and when he would bark she would shush him and then get down on the floor with him to quiet him. That said, I love dogs and my 4 year old was entertained by it.  We rode the boat ride after dinner. It was a walk on essentially. We got in line for Frozen which had a 30 minute wait and literally as we were at the que to board our boat the ride broke down. The escorted everyone out of the line que and told us it would be back later hopefully. I did ask for FP to get on later and they obliged. We ended up riding Nemo and then going to the aquarium and heading home afterwards as Frozen was still down. 

The next day we did Chef Mickey breakfast and Magic Kingdom afterwards. Chef Mickeys was great, tons of food family style. We got to MK around 9:45 and the park entrance was empty. We were able to ride Dumbo twice, Carousel twice, tried to ride Small World but it broke down after waiting 20 minutes in line. This was something that seemed to be occurring more frequently than I've ever seen in the parks and I've been going for 35+ years as a Florida native (I'm 40 >_<) It seems like when I would check MDE lots of rides would be randomly down for longer than normal periods. I have some theories as to whats going on but its not definitely normal. We did a mobile order for Cosmic Rays and sat inside. Its SO hot right now and we needed the AC. We walked to AL to get Dole Whips and then headed back to Contemporary. 

We came back around 5 for and had dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. We were able to walk on Small World even though the MDE and wait time outside the ride both said it was 25 minute wait. So you may want to actually physically look at a ride que before writing it off based on MDE and posted wait times. We also rode Jungle Cruise with a 10 minute wait. This was the only time I was uncomfortable at Disney. They were crowding people on the boats and I don't understand why? They were loading the boats with 5 or 6 families per boat and leaving a person sized space between each group. There were some plexiglass dividers up but I was still not comfortable. 

This morning we had breakfast at Floridian Cafe at GF. The NBA blue tarp and chainlink really takes away from the beauty of the resort. I would honestly not want to stay at those Villas right now as lots of the common areas outside are completely blocked off. We are now back home and I'm in that annoying limbo of vacation mode and reality of unpacking suitcases and cleaning out my fridge.

Some takeaways and thoughts...mask compliance everywhere we went was excellent. I'd say along the lines of the 98% or better that I keep seeing posted here. The resort monorails were never crowded and they are doing a good job of spacing people out. I never saw anyone cleaning inside the cars so I recommend bringing wipes if your kids like to touch the poles. Hand sanitizer dispensers were generously dispersed throughout the Contemporary and the parks we went to. It is HOT folks and wearing a mask in this weather magnifies that. I highly recommend neck fans, cooling towels (Chil pal brand specifically) and disposable masks. The disposable ones are much more breathable. They even sell kids disposable masks on Amazon. 

My 4 year old who has mild sensory issues (she wears headphones in the rides as they are too loud for her) did amazing with this type of mask. Meanwhile she has a cloth one that she hates wearing in the AC as it makes her mouth hot lol. We did take lots of mini breaks, mostly for me to sip water off to the side. The CMs we encountered are polite about correcting mask wearing when they did it. My daughter had her nose out at one point and I didn't notice and the CM told her "Cover your nose! Your nose knows to be covered dear" I got a laugh out of that one!

Lots of rides breaking down for extended amounts of time to the point they escort the entire line out. This happened to us twice in 3 days. I've never experienced that more than a few times in all the times I've gone to Disney. Normally they can get rides back up and running within 15 minutes or so. 

I saw someone else post about the security being crabby everywhere and that was our experience too. It felt weird since they don't have the stress of long lines. They are usually very friendly, even during busy times so it felt off. For example, monorail security at Contemporary had totally different procedures each time we walked through. Sometimes I would have to make my daughter get out of the stroller and walk through with me, other times she had to remain in the stroller and I was told to park it to the side and walk through alone. You walk up and they look at you with blank stares then get mad when you do something wrong. My husband was yelled at for not knowing to take out a stainless steel water cup out of the backpack but he wasn't told to take anything out and just to walk through. They sure did seem CRANKY,  I can concur with the other poster. Overall we had a great time and all the CMs seemed really appreciative that we were there. We were thanked multiple times for being there. I welcome any questions!


----------



## NettieNolan

We just left today. I found that the posted wait times didn’t match the actual wait times.  They were always inflated.  For example, splash had a 45 minute posted wait time yesterday (8/6), but we only waited 20 minutes.  Same with mine train, never waited more than 20 minutes but wait times always showed 30-45 minutes.


----------



## Amanda2525

NettieNolan said:


> We just left today. I found that the posted wait times didn’t match the actual wait times.  They were always inflated.  For example, splash had a 45 minute posted wait time yesterday (8/6), but we only waited 20 minutes.  Same with mine train, never waited more than 20 minutes but wait times always showed 30-45 minutes.


Yes! Same here! Small World of all things was posted 25 minute wait. It was walk on. Wonder what the thinking behind this is? Inflated wait times don't make me personally want to get in line. Short wait times however do! Maybe they are trying to make it seem like they are busier than they are and possibly deterring people from riding things that are breaking down more frequently? Total speculation, I honestly have no idea whats going on.


----------



## koquinn

Amanda2525 said:


> Yes! Same here! Small World of all things was posted 25 minute wait. It was walk on. Wonder what the thinking behind this is? Inflated wait times don't make me personally want to get in line. Short wait times however do! Maybe they are trying to make it seem like they are busier than they are and possibly deterring people from riding things that are breaking down more frequently? Total speculation, I honestly have no idea whats going on.


Or they just don't want to disappoint people? Or it's fluctuating too much to manage. Don't they normally have people take those red cards thru the line for timing? I imagine they don't want the guests handling those?


----------



## HollyMD

Anyone else notice they just shortened hours for September and October even more?


----------



## Obliviate

Amanda2525 said:


> This morning we had breakfast at Floridian Cafe at GF. The NBA blue tarp and chainlink really takes away from the beauty of the resort. I would honestly not want to stay at those Villas right now as lots of the common areas outside are completely blocked off.



Agree on the weather, I thought it'd be a non-factor being used to it myself, but it's definitely something to keep in mind. Would you recommend breakfast at Chef Mickey over GF Cafe right now? In terms of both food and physical distancing.


----------



## yulilin3

HollyMD said:


> Anyone else notice they just shortened hours for September and October even more?


Being discussed in the main covid operational thread


----------



## Amanda2525

koquinn said:


> Or they just don't want to disappoint people? Or it's fluctuating too much to manage. Don't they normally have people take those red cards thru the line for timing? I imagine they don't want the guests handling those?


Oh could be! I forgot about the red cards! The Small World instance was weird. It said 25 minutes for over an hour and was clearly walk on the entire time. So not really sure. If I a can look at a ride que an go "Yep, thats a walk on" surely a CM could see that its not a 25 minute wait. Maybe its just not a priority right now to adjust wait times too?


----------



## NettieNolan

Amanda2525 said:


> Yes! Same here! Small World of all things was posted 25 minute wait. It was walk on. Wonder what the thinking behind this is? Inflated wait times don't make me personally want to get in line. Short wait times however do! Maybe they are trying to make it seem like they are busier than they are and possibly deterring people from riding things that are breaking down more frequently? Total speculation, I honestly have no idea whats going on.


No clue! I was thinking maybe they’re not good at looking at the line and determining wait times with the new social distancing measures in place? I noticed some groups would allow multiple markers between them and the group ahead of them causing the line to look longer than what it really was.  Just a guess!  Also, the lines seemed to move fast.  You never really stopped walking even on rides that had a wait.


----------



## brockash

HollyMD said:


> Anyone else notice they just shortened hours for September and October even more?


I saw a push notification, but when I look at the hrs.; they're all the same as they have been??? Are you seeing actual shorter hrs somewhere?


----------



## HollyMD

I noticed because of a push notification. 
MK 9-6
EP 11-7
HS 10-7
AK 9-5


----------



## yulilin3

brockash said:


> I saw a push notification, but when I look at the hrs.; they're all the same as they have been??? Are you seeing actual shorter hrs somewhere?


After September 8
Again this is being discussed in the covid operations thread,  let's keep this one focused on just back experiences


----------



## Amanda2525

Obliviate said:


> Agree on the weather, I thought it'd be a non-factor being used to it myself, but it's definitely something to keep in mind. Would you recommend breakfast at Chef Mickey over GF Cafe right now? In terms of both food and physical distancing.


So it kind of depends. GF cafe had better food and there was maybe a tad less people but Chef Mickeys felt very well spread out and its such a giant space that I think as far as ventilation goes it might be better? Chef Mickeys food was the typical food they always serve and the atmosphere is still fun but no characters. GF cafe is more of a quiet, relaxed breakfast for grown ups type place. I had the eggs benedict and marinated tomato salad and it was excellent. They also brought out biscuits with honey citrus butter. We had a seat by a window and what normally is a gorgeous view is now a view of a blue tarp and chain link fence. That was the one drawback.


----------



## Skippyboo

Back in my Pop hotel leaving tomorrow, enjoyed my week for the most part. Definitely hard to find something to do at night. Went to DS twice, definitely more crowded and less compliance with masks than the parks. So sick at eating at Pop food court. 

The new security system needs better explanations of what to take out of your bag. Umbrellas are definitely a take out item.

Epcot and AK were super dead. HS seemed the most crowded. MK wasn’t bad but definitely noticed longer wait times today.

The stores need better labeling where the entrances are. The big gift store at AK is a prime example. There is like 5 exits but the entrance is over by flame tree. Didn’t stop 2 scooter ladies from driving through an exit because the doors were open.

I recommend being your own advocate. If you are behind a family with less than stellar mask habits in the line for Splash Mt put an extra wait here space between you.

I have a 9 night trip booked at end September at Pop. With the reduced F&W and no HHN, probably going to cancel and wait for cooler weather and hopefully a large room discount.


----------



## Mickey18girl

Sharing my experiences Aug 6-7, 2020. I went to AK and Epcot.

Animal Kingdom

Great cast members... lots of people welcoming and saying hello (did not have this at Epcot)
The boats with characters and musicians were fun and added some needed liveliness, just wish it was more often
Animal Kingdom you can easily do everything in four hours. Recommend arriving near opening if it is blazing hot out or you want to do the safari and maximize chances of seeing animals. I arrived around 8:20 a.m. and walked on Everest, Kali and almost walked on Safari, then walked on Kali again. At this point, around 9:30 a.m. the wait times started increasing (but in pandemic world that meant from walk on or 5 minutes to 15 minutes or 25 minutes).
Flight of Passage was about 10 minute wait until 9:30. Around 10 it jumped to 40 minutes then went back to about 25 minutes late morning. I felt least safe in this long queue and in the narrow hallways leading out of the building. Lots of merging on staircases and people just not paying attention to social distancing.
Breakfast food is scarce. Eat breakfast beforehand if you go early or bring food. I only spotted one breakfast option, which was one sausage/egg breakfast sandwich near the safari line.
Lots of open space to walk and spaces to sit and relax, including in shade
More directional markers on the ground in AK... I missed a few of them. Didn't see them in Epcot. They also have super long extended distancing wait queue for FOP, into Africa, and Safari wait queues almost into Pandora, which makes me think they may increase park capacity at some point
Epcot

Felt comfortable, plenty of space to spread out and the park was pretty empty at close
Biggest mask issue was some people walking while drinking or eating when you are supposed to be stationary.
Epcot experience felt "slower" because of having to stay in one place to eat and drink, but no long lines at the food booths. It didn't seem quite as enjoyable as a single person since you didn't have someone to chat with while stationary and I'd almost lean toward a dining reservation than food festival because taking masks on and off for small bites and drinks got a little tiresome after awhile
Epcot was a really hot place to be in the afternoon (it was about 95 when I was there). There isn't a lot of shade when you are walking _around _the park (but yes there are shady places to sit or stand). This park might be better later in the day (4-9pm or 5-9pm)
If you go in the summer, plan on that 5-6/7pm rain storm, so a good time to be waiting for an indoor ride (like Soarin) or in an indoor exhibit.
Security and temperature checks fast like at AK; I entered via International Gateway
Check on Skyliner hours and beware of evening lightning... when I left at 9pm the Skyliner wasn't running... maybe because of the weather. So if it is stormy, and you can't walk to your hotel, exit out the front and wait on a bus
Also I missed not going to MK, but it is still busy this time of year despite pandemic and didn’t want to deal with the crowds. If I come back in the fall I would go to MK, And also hope they offer some evening hours then. I really miss not being in the parks at night


----------



## NokOnHarts

Amanda2525 said:


> Just got back from a 3 days Contemporary 8/4 -8/7 and wanted to contribute since you guys helped me finally take the plunge during this weird time. Warning: Long review, my takeaways are near the end. I did our check in through MDE app as soon as I made the reservations. This was a last minute trip and planned a week in advance. We only live 2 hours away so its not as arduous as living out of state. On our drive there around 10am I got the text our room was ready and got the room number. That was pretty awesome.
> 
> We parked, unloaded our stuff ourselves and went to our room. Pretty seamless. We went to the main pool soon after we unpacked and there were probably 10 people total there. They want you to wear a mask in all the common areas but once you are through the gate for the pool you can take them off. I saw the chairs, rails and other surfaces being wiped down. Someone came over to us and let us know the rules as soon as we grabbed chairs. Even though I have been studying how things work at Disney now and was familiar she was very friendly and just wanted to inform us.
> 
> That night we had dinner planned at San Angel Inn in Epcot around 5. We decided to drive since the monorail is not operating to Epcot. I did not see any parking attendants directing people on how or where to park so there was no social distancing in between cars like I've read others report. We were able to get a close spot and the walk was easy. Epcot was pretty empty near the front of the park and then got busier as you got back towards World Showcase. I say busy but it still wasn't. San Angel Inn was a ghost town in the restaurant area and there were many open tables. Service was great, food was great. I always love the atmosphere inside.
> 
> A family near us brought a small dog inside. It looked like a pomeranian mix. It was a little odd and the dog barked more than a few times which was very annoying and kind of weird. I'm sure it was a companion dog loophole type situation but it was strange. The girl at the table had it on her lap and when he would bark she would shush him and then get down on the floor with him to quiet him. That said, I love dogs and my 4 year old was entertained by it.  We rode the boat ride after dinner. It was a walk on essentially. We got in line for Frozen which had a 30 minute wait and literally as we were at the que to board our boat the ride broke down. The escorted everyone out of the line que and told us it would be back later hopefully. I did ask for FP to get on later and they obliged. We ended up riding Nemo and then going to the aquarium and heading home afterwards as Frozen was still down.
> 
> The next day we did Chef Mickey breakfast and Magic Kingdom afterwards. Chef Mickeys was great, tons of food family style. We got to MK around 9:45 and the park entrance was empty. We were able to ride Dumbo twice, Carousel twice, tried to ride Small World but it broke down after waiting 20 minutes in line. This was something that seemed to be occurring more frequently than I've ever seen in the parks and I've been going for 35+ years as a Florida native (I'm 40 >_<) It seems like when I would check MDE lots of rides would be randomly down for longer than normal periods. I have some theories as to whats going on but its not definitely normal. We did a mobile order for Cosmic Rays and sat inside. Its SO hot right now and we needed the AC. We walked to AL to get Dole Whips and then headed back to Contemporary.
> 
> We came back around 5 for and had dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. We were able to walk on Small World even though the MDE and wait time outside the ride both said it was 25 minute wait. So you may want to actually physically look at a ride que before writing it off based on MDE and posted wait times. We also rode Jungle Cruise with a 10 minute wait. This was the only time I was uncomfortable at Disney. They were crowding people on the boats and I don't understand why? They were loading the boats with 5 or 6 families per boat and leaving a person sized space between each group. There were some plexiglass dividers up but I was still not comfortable.
> 
> This morning we had breakfast at Floridian Cafe at GF. The NBA blue tarp and chainlink really takes away from the beauty of the resort. I would honestly not want to stay at those Villas right now as lots of the common areas outside are completely blocked off. We are now back home and I'm in that annoying limbo of vacation mode and reality of unpacking suitcases and cleaning out my fridge.
> 
> Some takeaways and thoughts...mask compliance everywhere we went was excellent. I'd say along the lines of the 98% or better that I keep seeing posted here. The resort monorails were never crowded and they are doing a good job of spacing people out. I never saw anyone cleaning inside the cars so I recommend bringing wipes if your kids like to touch the poles. Hand sanitizer dispensers were generously dispersed throughout the Contemporary and the parks we went to. It is HOT folks and wearing a mask in this weather magnifies that. I highly recommend neck fans, cooling towels (Chil pal brand specifically) and disposable masks. The disposable ones are much more breathable. They even sell kids disposable masks on Amazon.
> 
> My 4 year old who has mild sensory issues (she wears headphones in the rides as they are too loud for her) did amazing with this type of mask. Meanwhile she has a cloth one that she hates wearing in the AC as it makes her mouth hot lol. We did take lots of mini breaks, mostly for me to sip water off to the side. The CMs we encountered are polite about correcting mask wearing when they did it. My daughter had her nose out at one point and I didn't notice and the CM told her "Cover your nose! Your nose knows to be covered dear" I got a laugh out of that one!
> 
> Lots of rides breaking down for extended amounts of time to the point they escort the entire line out. This happened to us twice in 3 days. I've never experienced that more than a few times in all the times I've gone to Disney. Normally they can get rides back up and running within 15 minutes or so.
> 
> I saw someone else post about the security being crabby everywhere and that was our experience too. It felt weird since they don't have the stress of long lines. They are usually very friendly, even during busy times so it felt off. For example, monorail security at Contemporary had totally different procedures each time we walked through. Sometimes I would have to make my daughter get out of the stroller and walk through with me, other times she had to remain in the stroller and I was told to park it to the side and walk through alone. You walk up and they look at you with blank stares then get mad when you do something wrong. My husband was yelled at for not knowing to take out a stainless steel water cup out of the backpack but he wasn't told to take anything out and just to walk through. They sure did seem CRANKY,  I can concur with the other poster. Overall we had a great time and all the CMs seemed really appreciative that we were there. We were thanked multiple times for being there. I welcome any questions!


What brand of disposable masks did you buy? Also, do you feel it was worth the trip with the ride breakdowns as that's pretty much what everyone is going there for currently?


----------



## WillAustin

only hope said:


> Were people spaced far apart in Skippers? We are considering doing one or two indoor meals next week but only if spacing is far apart. It's either that, eat in the hotel, or sweat outside on patios. No good choice really.


Not sure about Skipper's Canteen, but when we were there 3+ weeks ago, all the restaurants were appropriately spaced for distancing. Chef Mickey's, California Grill, Backlot, The Wave, 50's Prime Time, STK Orlando, Oga's Cantina, and Grand Floridian Cafe. All had great distancing. We felt safe.


----------



## Amanda2525

NokOnHarts said:


> What brand of disposable masks did you buy? Also, do you feel it was worth the trip with the ride breakdowns as that's pretty much what everyone is going there for currently?


So my husband had a bunch of the adult disposable masks from his work and I’m not sure what brand they were. I know you can type in disposable facemasks Amazon and lots of options will pop up. I would buy based on reviews. I can link the kids masks that I bought off Amazon though.
 www. amazon.com/dp/B089Y97QVB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_tZPlFbJ6EFPHJ

As far as being worth the trip for us it absolutely was. I have a 4 year old and can’t prioritize rides the way I used to when I was child free anyway  It was also so nostalgic to feel like we had the park to ourselves. That was how it used to be in the late 90s in September. I never thought Id get an opportunity to see it like that again.

Something you can do is look at the wait times on the MDE app frequently throughout the day over the course of a week. You can monitor how often rides are going down and which ones.


----------



## Sydney2977

We have a breakfast reservation at Whispering Canyon at 9 am on one of our MK days. We are staying at YC. I'm not sure if we will take the bus or our vehicle to the park (We normally take all WDW transport while on vacation and don't have a problem waiting, etc. It's nice to let someone else do the driving/piloting!) Just wondering if anyone who has been recently would recommend taking bus to MK, then boat to WL and back, or driving to WL, then to MK after breakfast, and why. Thanks for the advice!


----------



## Amanda2525

I just got back from 3 days at Contemporary and preferred to avoid busses if we could. I’d read about some people taking masks off and then bus drivers letting too many people on for some people’s comfort. We did monorail and drove our car to Epcot.


----------



## Mickey18girl

Just walked by entrance to HS at 9:45am on Saturday and line to enter was back to the bus bays!!! Not to mention crowds like that make me nervous. If I were to plan HS visit, would choose weekday and arrive in afternoon with a dinner reservation and stay until close.


----------



## yulilin3

Mickey18girl said:


> Just walked by entrance to HS at 9:45am on Saturday and line to enter was back to the bus bays!!! Not to mention crowds like that make me nervous. If I were to plan HS visit, would choose weekday and arrive in afternoon with a dinner reservation and stay until close.


Doesn't matter if it's the weekend, RotR requires for people to be at the entrance before 10am, it's been happening almost every morning.


----------



## maryj11

Amanda2525 said:


> Just got back from a 3 days Contemporary 8/4 -8/7 and wanted to contribute since you guys helped me finally take the plunge during this weird time. Warning: Long review, my takeaways are near the end. I did our check in through MDE app as soon as I made the reservations. This was a last minute trip and planned a week in advance. We only live 2 hours away so its not as arduous as living out of state. On our drive there around 10am I got the text our room was ready and got the room number. That was pretty awesome.
> 
> We parked, unloaded our stuff ourselves and went to our room. Pretty seamless. We went to the main pool soon after we unpacked and there were probably 10 people total there. They want you to wear a mask in all the common areas but once you are through the gate for the pool you can take them off. I saw the chairs, rails and other surfaces being wiped down. Someone came over to us and let us know the rules as soon as we grabbed chairs. Even though I have been studying how things work at Disney now and was familiar she was very friendly and just wanted to inform us.
> 
> That night we had dinner planned at San Angel Inn in Epcot around 5. We decided to drive since the monorail is not operating to Epcot. I did not see any parking attendants directing people on how or where to park so there was no social distancing in between cars like I've read others report. We were able to get a close spot and the walk was easy. Epcot was pretty empty near the front of the park and then got busier as you got back towards World Showcase. I say busy but it still wasn't. San Angel Inn was a ghost town in the restaurant area and there were many open tables. Service was great, food was great. I always love the atmosphere inside.
> 
> A family near us brought a small dog inside. It looked like a pomeranian mix. It was a little odd and the dog barked more than a few times which was very annoying and kind of weird. I'm sure it was a companion dog loophole type situation but it was strange. The girl at the table had it on her lap and when he would bark she would shush him and then get down on the floor with him to quiet him. That said, I love dogs and my 4 year old was entertained by it.  We rode the boat ride after dinner. It was a walk on essentially. We got in line for Frozen which had a 30 minute wait and literally as we were at the que to board our boat the ride broke down. The escorted everyone out of the line que and told us it would be back later hopefully. I did ask for FP to get on later and they obliged. We ended up riding Nemo and then going to the aquarium and heading home afterwards as Frozen was still down.
> 
> The next day we did Chef Mickey breakfast and Magic Kingdom afterwards. Chef Mickeys was great, tons of food family style. We got to MK around 9:45 and the park entrance was empty. We were able to ride Dumbo twice, Carousel twice, tried to ride Small World but it broke down after waiting 20 minutes in line. This was something that seemed to be occurring more frequently than I've ever seen in the parks and I've been going for 35+ years as a Florida native (I'm 40 >_<) It seems like when I would check MDE lots of rides would be randomly down for longer than normal periods. I have some theories as to whats going on but its not definitely normal. We did a mobile order for Cosmic Rays and sat inside. Its SO hot right now and we needed the AC. We walked to AL to get Dole Whips and then headed back to Contemporary.
> 
> We came back around 5 for and had dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. We were able to walk on Small World even though the MDE and wait time outside the ride both said it was 25 minute wait. So you may want to actually physically look at a ride que before writing it off based on MDE and posted wait times. We also rode Jungle Cruise with a 10 minute wait. This was the only time I was uncomfortable at Disney. They were crowding people on the boats and I don't understand why? They were loading the boats with 5 or 6 families per boat and leaving a person sized space between each group. There were some plexiglass dividers up but I was still not comfortable.
> 
> This morning we had breakfast at Floridian Cafe at GF. The NBA blue tarp and chainlink really takes away from the beauty of the resort. I would honestly not want to stay at those Villas right now as lots of the common areas outside are completely blocked off. We are now back home and I'm in that annoying limbo of vacation mode and reality of unpacking suitcases and cleaning out my fridge.
> 
> Some takeaways and thoughts...mask compliance everywhere we went was excellent. I'd say along the lines of the 98% or better that I keep seeing posted here. The resort monorails were never crowded and they are doing a good job of spacing people out. I never saw anyone cleaning inside the cars so I recommend bringing wipes if your kids like to touch the poles. Hand sanitizer dispensers were generously dispersed throughout the Contemporary and the parks we went to. It is HOT folks and wearing a mask in this weather magnifies that. I highly recommend neck fans, cooling towels (Chil pal brand specifically) and disposable masks. The disposable ones are much more breathable. They even sell kids disposable masks on Amazon.
> 
> My 4 year old who has mild sensory issues (she wears headphones in the rides as they are too loud for her) did amazing with this type of mask. Meanwhile she has a cloth one that she hates wearing in the AC as it makes her mouth hot lol. We did take lots of mini breaks, mostly for me to sip water off to the side. The CMs we encountered are polite about correcting mask wearing when they did it. My daughter had her nose out at one point and I didn't notice and the CM told her "Cover your nose! Your nose knows to be covered dear" I got a laugh out of that one!
> 
> Lots of rides breaking down for extended amounts of time to the point they escort the entire line out. This happened to us twice in 3 days. I've never experienced that more than a few times in all the times I've gone to Disney. Normally they can get rides back up and running within 15 minutes or so.
> 
> I saw someone else post about the security being crabby everywhere and that was our experience too. It felt weird since they don't have the stress of long lines. They are usually very friendly, even during busy times so it felt off. For example, monorail security at Contemporary had totally different procedures each time we walked through. Sometimes I would have to make my daughter get out of the stroller and walk through with me, other times she had to remain in the stroller and I was told to park it to the side and walk through alone. You walk up and they look at you with blank stares then get mad when you do something wrong. My husband was yelled at for not knowing to take out a stainless steel water cup out of the backpack but he wasn't told to take anything out and just to walk through. They sure did seem CRANKY,  I can concur with the other poster. Overall we had a great time and all the CMs seemed really appreciative that we were there. We were thanked multiple times for being there. I welcome any questions!


You sure they were not just cleaning rides when you thought they were breaking down? I did read they clean them every hour I think.


----------



## Princesspixi

Quick question, I don’t think I saw anything about this. The wayway from the Poly to the ticketing center is open right? I have a breakfast reservation at Kona on my MK day and wanted to park at the park and walk over. Also, the parking lots have been opening about 30-45 min before the park correct? My reservation is just before park opening and want to make sure I plan correctly. Thanks!


----------



## 720L

At HS now, it's very busy, 60 min waits everywhere. Hoping that changes this afternoon.


----------



## yulilin3

Princesspixi said:


> Quick question, I don’t think I saw anything about this. The wayway from the Poly to the ticketing center is open right? I have a breakfast reservation at Kona on my MK day and wanted to park at the park and walk over. Also, the parking lots have been opening about 30-45 min before the park correct? My reservation is just before park opening and want to make sure I plan correctly. Thanks!


parking opens 45 mins before the park opening. If the walkway is not open you can take the resort monorail. You can also take the CM walkway from the MK parking lot. let me see if I find a good map to show you basically instead of walking towards the TTC you walk towards the left and there's an opening in the Woody lot that crosses the street and takes you to the Poly. At rope drop they start loading Aladdin first so it's a short walk to Woody


----------



## bastraker

At MK right now. Also very busy. Splash has been down on and off. HM has been down. Largest crowds we've seen since we got here on Sunday. 

I would definitely recommend coming during the week. Sunday through Thursday were great. Friday and Saturday so far have been bad for waits.

FYI- had dinner at grand floridan cafe the other night.  We are staying at BLT so we decided to take the resort monorail(should have just drove the car). We got out of dinner around 830pm only to find out the monorail closes at 8pm.


----------



## Princesspixi

yulilin3 said:


> parking opens 45 mins before the park opening. If the walkway is not open you can take the resort monorail. You can also take the CM walkway from the MK parking lot. let me see if I find a good map to show you basically instead of walking towards the TTC you walk towards the left and there's an opening in the Woody lot that crosses the street and takes you to the Poly. At rope drop they start loading Aladdin first so it's a short walk to Woody
> View attachment 516596


Thanks for the great info!


----------



## Spazz2k

And just like that the silvers have returned...just talked to some friends who are also silver AP and they said it is busy.  One group at MK and one group at AK, both told me I was a list for saying the crowds are not bad...lol


----------



## Robertfam08

Spazz2k said:


> And just like that the silvers have returned...just talked to some friends who are also silver AP and they said it is busy.  One group at MK and one group at AK, both told me I was a list for saying the crowds are not bad...lol



This is exactly what I was worried about the second I heard about park hours being shortened. "Awesome. Just when crowds are going to pick up they announce less hours." Yuck. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll change their mind, haha. Not counting on that.


----------



## MomOTwins

On the magical express right now.  They no longer had the “60 minutes” wait sign and there was no wait for the bus.  They are also doing assigned seating to leave rows empty between families which is nice. They are definitely mix and matching resorts more than I am used to, presumably due to low demand, as we are heading to Beach Club, Riviera, Caribbean, and Pop in that order.

MCO was also very quiet with good mask wearing.  Not at all like the airport we flew in from (St. Louis) which was jam packed with every seat full and people standing between not wearing masks (know that’s not relevant to most folks but had to vent a bit).  Made me feel panicked we were making a horrid mistake but felt better when we boarded the plane as Southwest required masks and gave them to people who did not have them.

Although the plane was quite full, the fact that they were not selling middle seats made a huge differencein spacing out guests.  They emphasized the mask requirement repeatedly and people complied. Was definitely a fan of how they handled it.

We wore surgical masks on the way downon the theory it would be more protective and I hate them.  Can’t wait to get to our hotel room (which we just got the text for) and switch to my cloth mask.  The surgical one hurts my ears and fogs my glasses horribly.


----------



## Amanda2525

maryj11 said:


> You sure they were not just cleaning rides when you thought they were breaking down? I did read they clean them every hour I think.



No, these were definitely break downs. For the first one we were next in line to board Frozen and heard the CM say that all the lights in the ride came on and there was a malfunction. They escorted everyone out of line and were told to come back later. The next one was Small World and it too was a malfunctioning ride. The boats stopped and then you could see some commotion at the CM tower area. Next they ushered everyone out of line and were told to come back later, the ride was down at the moment. I did actually witness a ride being cleaned  while I was there as well. It was Cinderella's Carousel. Everyone was allowed to stay in line and a CM sprayed a disinfectant on all the horses. It took about 20 minutes and then the ride started again.

 I kind of wonder if they are short staffed on engineers and have to wait until one can come fix the ride. Maybe before there was an engineer assigned to each ride and when it went down they were already there to get it running again.


----------



## maryj11

MomOTwins said:


> On the magical express right now.  They no longer had the “60 minutes” wait sign and there was no wait for the bus.  They are also doing assigned seating to leave rows empty between families which is nice. They are definitely mix and matching resorts more than I am used to, presumably due to low demand, as we are heading to Beach Club, Riviera, Caribbean, and Pop in that order.
> 
> MCO was also very quiet with good mask wearing.  Not at all like the airport we flew in from (St. Louis) which was jam packed with every seat full and people standing between not wearing masks (know that’s not relevant to most folks but had to vent a bit).  Made me feel panicked we were making a horrid mistake but felt better when we boarded the plane as Southwest required masks and gave them to people who did not have them.
> 
> Although the plane was quite full, the fact that they were not selling middle seats made a huge differencein spacing out guests.  They emphasized the mask requirement repeatedly and people complied. Was definitely a fan of how they handled it.
> 
> We wore surgical masks on the way downon the theory it would be more protective and I hate them.  Can’t wait to get to our hotel room (which we just got the text for) and switch to my cloth mask.  The surgical one hurts my ears and fogs my glasses horribly.


All the masks I’ve tried fog up my glasses. I hate that.


----------



## GBRforWDW

maryj11 said:


> All the masks I’ve tried fog up my glasses. I hate that.


I bought a bottle of Z Clear anti fog spray on Amazon.  I have to apply it every couple of weeks, but otherwise it works great at preventing fog.


----------



## WIll C

I was watching a live stream this morning and HS had real long ride times and looked busy. Not wall to wall people but it was busier than I'd seen it before.


----------



## Best Aunt

Sydney2977 said:


> We have a breakfast reservation at Whispering Canyon at 9 am on one of our MK days. We are staying at YC. I'm not sure if we will take the bus or our vehicle to the park (We normally take all WDW transport while on vacation and don't have a problem waiting, etc. It's nice to let someone else do the driving/piloting!) Just wondering if anyone who has been recently would recommend taking bus to MK, then boat to WL and back, or driving to WL, then to MK after breakfast, and why. Thanks for the advice!



Pre-Covid, the bus between Wilderness Lodge and MK ran more frequently and was a shorter ride than the boat.  I don’t know what the situation is like now.


----------



## brockash

bastraker said:


> At MK right now. Also very busy. Splash has been down on and off. HM has been down. Largest crowds we've seen since we got here on Sunday.
> 
> I would definitely recommend coming during the week. Sunday through Thursday were great. Friday and Saturday so far have been bad for waits.
> 
> FYI- had dinner at grand floridan cafe the other night.  We are staying at BLT so we decided to take the resort monorail(should have just drove the car). We got out of dinner around 830pm only to find out the monorail closes at 8pm.


How'd you end up getting back?


----------



## Dallasmomoftwo

We just arrived this morning and are at MK. I thought I’d post a quick update while we are in line for Carousel of Progress. MK is very busy today. The wait times are accurate or understated if anything. We have been waiting on average about 5 minutes longer than the posted time. I am so surprised they are letting this many people in. Crowds are about double of a sold out Villians After Hours with corresponding waits.


----------



## maryj11

GBRforWDW said:


> I bought a bottle of Z Clear anti fog spray on Amazon.  I have to apply it every couple of weeks, but otherwise it works great at preventing fog.


Wow I didn’t know they had such a thing! Thanks!


----------



## bastraker

brockash said:


> How'd you end up getting back?


We asked at the front desk at grand floridan and they said there was a resort bus available - so we did that.  However,  we would have driven our rental car if we knew.


----------



## bastraker

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> We just arrived this morning and are at MK. I thought I’d post a quick update while we are in line for Carousel of Progress. MK is very busy today. The wait times are accurate or understated if anything. We have been waiting on average about 5 minutes longer than the posted time. I am so surprised they are letting this many people in. Crowds are about double of a sold out Villians After Hours with corresponding waits.


We were also at MK this morning but it was too busy. We left after about 90 minutes.  Kids were not doing those lines or heat today.

I complained on the way out to guest services. I asked them to allow us to go to epcot for the day instead.  I told them it was too crowded and the kids rode one ride each.  

She was very gracious and did offer us to switch to epcot. We are at the pool now but plan on going to epcot around 5pm. Hopefully it will be better!


----------



## wilkydelts

The waits have all been much lower a couple hours after opening. Right now in MK at 3:40 all of them are very reasonable must headliner around 35 minutes.


----------



## maryj11

bastraker said:


> We were also at MK this morning but it was too busy. We left after about 90 minutes.  Kids were not doing those lines or heat today.
> 
> I complained on the way out to guest services. I asked them to allow us to go to epcot for the day instead.  I told them it was too crowded and the kids rode one ride each.
> 
> She was very gracious and did offer us to switch to epcot. We are at the pool now but plan on going to epcot around 5pm. Hopefully it will be better!


That was good! I didn’t think they would let you switch parks.


----------



## reposado

wilkydelts said:


> The waits have all been much lower a couple hours after opening. Right now in MK at 3:40 all of them are very reasonable must headliner around 35 minutes.


 
the wait time on the app still looks pretty bad.... 50 min for pirates and thunder mountain...

I’d stay away right now unless your a local AP holder. To travel there in the heat, risking covid, greatly diminished experience, paying full price, and still wait forever for rides. Lots of cons no pros at the moment.


----------



## bastraker

maryj11 said:


> That was good! I didn’t think they would let you switch parks.


They're not suppose to but it was too crowded and they could see by our magic bands that we weren't there that long. 

I wasn't the only one there complaining. Several other moms were there with the same complaint.


----------



## cmp1976

I wonder why this weekend seems so much worse for crowds.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

cmp1976 said:


> I wonder why this weekend seems so much worse for crowds.



Silver APs were just un-blacked out, FWIW.  

Weekends have been growing in popularity as well. Ever so slowly confidence in visiting a theme park grows, new groups such as silver APs can visit, last chance for some summer vacationers, etc. It’s never usually one factor, but contributions from several factors.

IMO with the distancing in the queaues, periodic closures for cleaning, etc, it definitely won’t take many more people in the park before the wait times look/feel more crowded than they have been.


----------



## wilkydelts

reposado said:


> the wait time on the app still looks pretty bad.... 50 min for pirates and thunder mountain...
> 
> I’d stay away right now unless your a local AP holder. To travel there in the heat, risking covid, greatly diminished experience, paying full price, and still wait forever for rides. Lots of cons no pros at the moment.



18/21 rides at MK on Saturday have a 35 minute or less wait at 4:20 eastern which includes 10/21 with 15 minutes or less wait. I can not imagine how this is consider bad


----------



## yulilin3

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Silver APs were just un-blacked out, FWIW.
> 
> Weekends have been growing in popularity as well. Ever so slowly confidence in visiting a theme park grows, new groups such as silver APs can visit, last chance for some summer vacationers, etc. It’s never usually one factor, but contributions from several factors.
> 
> IMO with the distancing in the queaues, periodic closures for cleaning, etc, it definitely won’t take many more people in the park before the wait times look/feel more crowded than they have been.


so am I in the wrong to think that Silver APs being able to go now is NOT the reason why it's more crowded?
My reasoning is that the AP pool of spots has been full for weeks before this weekend, meaning whatever number they had allotted for all ap have been taken in days prior. So if there are 10k ap spots they have been taken by gold, platinum for weeks and now silver also get a dip in that pool
so for me the reason is not that silver aps can go now cause that allotted number is constant....unless it isn't.
Could it be that just more people feel better coming after seeing how the parks have operated for a month? more people using the resort and day ticket spots.
I've heard this silver ap position before and to me just doesn't make sense. But of course I could be wrong


----------



## mirandag819

yulilin3 said:


> so am I in the wrong to think that Silver APs being able to go now is NOT the reason why it's more crowded?
> My reasoning is that the AP pool of spots has been full for weeks before this weekend, meaning whatever number they had allotted for all ap have been taken in days prior. So if there are 10k ap spots they have been taken by gold, platinum for weeks and now silver also get a dip in that pool
> so for me the reason is not that silver aps can go now cause that allotted number is constant....unless it isn't.
> Could it be that just more people feel better coming after seeing how the parks have operated for a month? more people using the resort and day ticket spots.
> I've heard this silver ap position before and to me just doesn't make sense. But of course I could be wrong


I still think it may have to do with silver APs, they are coming back for the first time, so they are more likely to come first thing and stay all day...in prior weeks APs may have had a reservation and taken up a reserved spot but not shown up until later in the day.


----------



## soniam

yulilin3 said:


> so am I in the wrong to think that Silver APs being able to go now is NOT the reason why it's more crowded?
> My reasoning is that the AP pool of spots has been full for weeks before this weekend, meaning whatever number they had allotted for all ap have been taken in days prior. So if there are 10k ap spots they have been taken by gold, platinum for weeks and now silver also get a dip in that pool
> so for me the reason is not that silver aps can go now cause that allotted number is constant....unless it isn't.
> Could it be that just more people feel better coming after seeing how the parks have operated for a month? more people using the resort and day ticket spots.
> I've heard this silver ap position before and to me just doesn't make sense. But of course I could be wrong



It's hard to tell. However, when we were there 7/13-21, weekends were always busier, except for opening day at DHS, 7/15. I think your theory about silver APs definitely holds water.


----------



## reposado

yulilin3 said:


> So if there are 10k ap spots they have been taken by gold, platinum for weeks and now silver also get a dip in that pool
> so for me the reason is not that silver aps can go now cause that allotted number is constant....



Only Disney knows if that number is constant. If I had to guess I’d say Disney is constantly playing with the cap(obviously increasing it recently). I’d be surprised if it was actually constant.


----------



## koquinn

We're at hs today for our first day and I feel like it's really busy. People are still staying apart pretty nicely but these lines are longer than I had hoped for. We spent about 45 minutes in Ogas and got quick service for lunch, but otherwise we've been nonstop on rides and we still haven't done everything. Pretty close, but for being in here at 930 and now it's 445 I feel like we should have done some duplicates based on what everyone was saying for crowds before today.


----------



## wilkydelts

I don’t think they are increasing capacity at all. If the demand was there to necessitate raising capacity they would not be cutting hours down. I think it is some increased numbers in the non AP bucket and the weekends are always more busy


----------



## caseyem67

JUST BACK FROM SPLIT STAY AT SSR AND AKL with one day at HS

Flew Frontier Airlines....plane was about 3/4 full but mask wearing was definitely emphasized and we felt comfortable.  MCO was busy but not packed.  We rented a car to avoid ME.  Flight home a little more crowded but everyone wearing masks.

SARATOGA SPRINGS
Our room was ready before we arrived (we got off plane around 3:30).  SSR was deserted!  We were in Congress Park Sat-Wed.  At most there would be about 30 people at the main pool, at quiet pool we never saw more than 4 other people.  It was very quiet, everyone wore masks and if you passed someone they gave you space.  I felt safer there than I do at home going to the grocery store! Mousekeeping stopped by one morning but we just asked for towels.  Our room was spotless when we arrived and the refurbished rooms are great.  The design is wonderful.  Couldn't be happier with our stay there.

DISNEY SPRINGS
DS was a bit more crowded but I didn't see one person not wearing a mask and I actually can't say that I even saw anyone wearing them wrong. I did hear one or two cast members asking a guest to put mask on correctly.  Walked in to The Boathouse on Sunday night for dinner (party of 4) for an outside table, had no wait.  Tables were spaced appropriately and all staff wore masks.  Bar had only a few strategically placed stools around it, we stopped for a drink on the way out because they had dueling pianos there that night (I think it was something special arranged for a manager's birthday).

Monday night we had a party of 7 and walked in to City Works at about 7.  We called earlier in the day and they said they were booked for reservations but we could try a walk in, which was fine with us.  They were using every other table and we all felt safe. Both places had disposable menus or QR codes.

Tuesday night we ate at Planet Hollywood...paper menus, everyone wearing masks and plenty of room between tables and only a few stools at the bar.

Wednesday we went to Blaze Pizza with same situation...every other table was being used, staff member got our drinks for us and masks worn by all workers. There was about a 2 minute wait to order so not bad at all.  My DD and I shopped after dinner, many stores had already closed for the day (Vera, Lilly, a few others in that area), and others were limited with how many could be in at a time.  There was a line to get into the Co-op but all others we were able to walk right into.  And bonus that at some stores the DVC discount was 30%!

Thursday night we ate at Terralina's which was excellent...pretty much same as all the others as far as tables, menus and masks.


KONA CAFE AND FISHING EXCURSION
Lined up a 7 AM fishing trip leaving from Poly.  Just three in my family plus the guide.  Masks were on the entire time and there was sanitizer available.  Great experience to try if you haven't!  I had a 10:45 Kona reservation that I had tried to change online for days for an earlier time but no luck.  We walked up there at about 9:10 after fishing and they were able to get us in right away.  Tonga toast for the first time....AMAZING!  Again, tables were every other and all staff wore masks.

ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE
Checked into AKL on Wednesday AM (got text that our room was ready at 10AM!).  I will say that AKL was way more crowded than SSR.  Pool chairs were sopaced iout and a cast member actually walked us to chairs for us to use. Everyone seemed to give others their personal space but there were more people than I thought would be there.  No night goggles that I saw.  I did ask at desk but was told they weren't using them at this point.

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
We had not been to WDW since 2017 so a lot of new things we wanted to try!  Of course main goal was RotR and we did it!! Woo Hoo!  

After a week of practicing (thank you for the tip!!) here is how it all went down.  I set my phone alarm for 9:55 AM and 1:55 PM for a week and practiced (and made my DD15 do the same..."I don't get this, Mom, it's simple!")  We got to parking lot at 9:15 (they had the ramp to the toll/parking lot booths) closed until 9.  At 9 we were allowed to get to the booths but they only opened at 9:15.  DH dropped us off and we went through the temp check (go to the LEFT one...much shorter line, also a tip I read on here...thanks!).  I was tempted to do M&MRR but was too nervous that we would miss the 10AM boarding so instead walked back to Slinky which opened at 9:45.  We were third in line and I was still nervous!

After the ride we walked to the entrance of TS and waited in the stroller parking area.  I wanted to be in an area without a lot of other people.  We both had the app open and kept refreshing, my DD used cellular  and I used WiFi.  It does take about 10-15 seconds after clock turns to 10 to actually see the "JOIN" come up and it seems like forever, but all the practicing helped!  She was able to get us BG 5 (mine was slower or maybe I just am not as fast as her  )!!!  We needed to get there by 11:07.  The people right next to us were even faster...they were BG 2!  Not sure how they did that but they did.  All BG's were gone in about 20 seconds.  Crazy!

Overall I would say HS was crowded but not packed.  We weren't bumping into people on the streets but there were plenty of people around.  Queues were well marked and spaced, everyone I saw was wearing a mask.  Lots of hand sanitizer...before you entered line, before you got on ride, and right as you exited the ride.  Wait times were pretty much spot on to what app was reporting, except SR said 30 minutes when we entered second time and it was more like an hour.  

Only rides we were able to do more than once were SR, TS, and ToT.  We did have midday break at Cantina in GE and used mobile app to order lunch.   We left park at 7:15 but wish we would have stayed until 8, i think we would have been able to ride RRC once more. 

Basically, we felt COVID safer in Disney than at home going to the grocery store or other stores.  Less crowded, lots more sanitizer, cast members enforcing rules, and signs everywhere to remind people of social distancing and rules.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

yulilin3 said:


> so am I in the wrong to think that Silver APs being able to go now is NOT the reason why it's more crowded?
> My reasoning is that the AP pool of spots has been full for weeks before this weekend, meaning whatever number they had allotted for all ap have been taken in days prior. So if there are 10k ap spots they have been taken by gold, platinum for weeks and now silver also get a dip in that pool
> so for me the reason is not that silver aps can go now cause that allotted number is constant....unless it isn't.
> Could it be that just more people feel better coming after seeing how the parks have operated for a month? more people using the resort and day ticket spots.
> I've heard this silver ap position before and to me just doesn't make sense. But of course I could be wrong



While probably not a ton of people, some Silvers can also be staying on site and therefore be pulling from a different pool, right?  I admit I may be a little ignorant as to the profile of a typical Silver AP holder.  In staters doing a staycation and such?

IMO it’s probably several little things. Every Saturday wait times have been inching up... confidence grows, new pass levels may opt to travel, people ‘figure out’ this new system more, traditional August vacationers who liked what they say in July and kept their plans, etc. I would bet it’s some of all of the above.

Heck, a major public school system around here just pushed back reopening two weeks (was supposed to be next week) and we know two families that bolted to WDW with <24 hours notice. 

Could probably pick all sorts of unique situations that are making Saturdays “feel” more crowded I guess.

(and I’m a conspiracy theorist and do think Disney tinkers with the numbers on the margins to suit whatever they see fit at the time)

I’m admittedly being OT for this thread.


----------



## delmar411

Sydney2977 said:


> We've been to both F&G and F&W multiple times, so I was excited that even though we had to cancel the trip during F&G earlier this year that we would get at least some kind of festival in Sept. Can you share what specifically in your opinion was disappointing? I just want to mentally prepare myself. TIA!



Only a few booths were open when we went, there were multiple booths with signs saying coming in the fall.  Some items that have been on the menus year after were gone, like the sliders in America (it was all seafood and smells horrid just even trying to go up to the booth).  Some of the 'booths' are now in that festival center between Canada and the UK and the offerings just weren't what I personally was hoping for.


----------



## Spazz2k

I wonder if Disney has raised the AP cap to correspond with silver coming online.  There are many factors that play with this weekend...also remember that if you are a silver passholders and we're not able to secure a reservation, you can purchase a ticket and have the cost of that ticket reduced from your renewal.

I do think that the crowd is definitely due to silver AP holders, like someone else stated...higher level passholders can basically come whenever they want for whatever they want.  I honestly think a lot of people the past month or so may have had reservations, but for whatever reason decided not to go or maybe went to shop or dine.  I'd be interested in the percent of no shows on average for the parks.


----------



## Mickey18girl

Princesspixi said:


> Quick question, I don’t think I saw anything about this. The wayway from the Poly to the ticketing center is open right? I have a breakfast reservation at Kona on my MK day and wanted to park at the park and walk over. Also, the parking lots have been opening about 30-45 min before the park correct? My reservation is just before park opening and want to make sure I plan correctly. Thanks!



I don’t know and am curious too. I was able to take boat from MK to Poly.


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## Mickey18girl

koquinn said:


> We're at hs today for our first day and I feel like it's really busy. People are still staying apart pretty nicely but these lines are longer than I had hoped for. We spent about 45 minutes in Ogas and got quick service for lunch, but otherwise we've been nonstop on rides and we still haven't done everything. Pretty close, but for being in here at 930 and now it's 445 I feel like we should have done some duplicates based on what everyone was saying for crowds before today.



On my trip, weekend seemed busier and waits higher. I think weekdays might have less people in general like pre-pandemic.


----------



## Dallasmomoftwo

We just left MK and waits were 45-60 for many rides until about 5:30 when they came down some. Whenever we got in a line we set a timer and the posted waits are accurate. On some rides the lines stretched out all the way to they very end of the distance markers. Hand sanitizer was out at a few stations. It is not shoulder to shoulder but definitely more crowded and many people in the lines get close to other groups. We waited about 20 minutes for Carousel of Progress and I can not remember ever waiting that long for it before. It was so hot and is no fun to wait in long lines out in the sun. We ended up doing Hall of Presidents, Barnstormer and Dumbo just because they were some of the only things without 25+ minute waits. I’m hoping the rest of the week gets better. I will say all the CMs we encountered were great. They really are the heart of the park.


----------



## wilkydelts

I checked times all day for MK and I did not see anything close to long waits “ALL” day


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## Dallasmomoftwo

wilkydelts said:


> I checked times all day for MK and I did not see anything close to long waits “ALL” day


I don’t know which app you were checking but I was in the park today and can tell you from first hand knowledge that the park was crowded and waits were long.


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## DisneyElite4

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> We just left MK and waits were 45-60 for many rides until about 5:30 when they came down some. Whenever we got in a line we set a timer and the posted waits are accurate. On some rides the lines stretched out all the way to they very end of the distance markers. Hand sanitizer was out at a few stations. It is not shoulder to shoulder but definitely more crowded and many people in the lines get close to other groups. We waited about 20 minutes for Carousel of Progress and I can not remember ever waiting that long for it before. It was so hot and is no fun to wait in long lines out in the sun. We ended up doing Hall of Presidents, Barnstormer and Dumbo just because they were some of the only things without 25+ minute waits. I’m hoping the rest of the week gets better. I will say all the CMs we encountered were great. They really are the heart of the park.



I’m so sorry, but glad you made the best of it! Any chance you have another day at MK during the week? M


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## wilkydelts

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> I don’t know which app you were checking but I was in the park today and can tell you from first hand knowledge that the park was crowded and waits were long.



I was using MDE all day long in fact I wrote the following today on this thread: 

“18/21 rides at MK on Saturday have a 35 minute or less wait at 4:20 eastern which includes 10/21 with 15 minutes or less wait. I can not imagine how this is consider bad”


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## Rach73

I was in MK yesterday as well as Mon 8/3 and it was no good yesterday. Long waits and long lines. Too many people to safely distance. We were there all week with yesterday being our last day. Beginning of week was low waits as we have seen being reported. Yesterday was a different story. The problem right now with the longer waits that move slow in the heat is it lends itself to people breaking the rules. Mask come off in the lines the markers on the ground being ignored.


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## dachsie

Princesspixi said:


> Quick question, I don’t think I saw anything about this. The wayway from the Poly to the ticketing center is open right? I have a breakfast reservation at Kona on my MK day and wanted to park at the park and walk over. Also, the parking lots have been opening about 30-45 min before the park correct? My reservation is just before park opening and want to make sure I plan correctly. Thanks!


I saw on DFB that it does close so not sure when they open it in the mornings so it might not be available


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## brockash

wilkydelts said:


> I checked times all day for MK and I did not see anything close to long waits “ALL” day


Lol...well I'm certainly going to take the report of someone who's actually there (actually have seen multiple posts about wait times today and yesterday) as opposed to what Disney puts on their often inaccurate site.


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## mu51c10rd

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> I don’t know which app you were checking but I was in the park today and can tell you from first hand knowledge that the park was crowded and waits were long.


I read somewhere that today was the first day silver passholders could enter. Looking at pictures of today,  looks far more crowded than when we were there midJuly. I feel bad for people there now, it looks too busy for a pandemic.


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## mitsukoshi samurai

mu51c10rd said:


> I read somewhere that today was the first day silver passholders could enter. Looking at pictures of today,  looks far more crowded than when we were there midJuly. I feel bad for people there now, it looks too busy for a pandemic.


And the last weekend before ap cancellations take effect


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## TestingH2O

MomOTwins said:


> Not at all like the airport we flew in from (St. Louis) which was jam packed with every seat full and people standing between not wearing masks (know that’s not relevant to most folks but had to vent a bit). Made me feel panicked we were making a horrid mistake but felt better when we boarded the plane as Southwest required masks and gave them to people who did not have them.


St Charles and Jeff Co. Need I say more?


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## koquinn

mu51c10rd said:


> I read somewhere that today was the first day silver passholders could enter. Looking at pictures of today,  looks far more crowded than when we were there midJuly. I feel bad for people there now, it looks too busy for a pandemic.


We just got here today. Did hs. It felt busy ish but not ridiculous. We did every ride from 930-745, plus a couple twice, plus evacuation from MMRR which took up a lot of time. It was manageable and we never felt unsafe. If we had had to do shows we never would have seen it all without FP. But overall we had a great day, no complaints.


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## MomOTwins

Had an amazing first day back at the World.  Riviera resort was beautiful and the pools were busy but not too crowded (everyone was able to keep a good distance).  We had dinner at contemporary and I’m not sure if this has been posted yet, but we were allowed to walk to the MK buses (they opened the rope for us at the temp check) to catch a bus back to Riviera.  On the bus now and our driver said we are his last run (and this appeared to be one of if not the last bus out of MK) so if attempting this strategy try to be at the MK bus stop before 9pm.

Just have to say could not be happier to be at WDW.  It is as magical as always!


----------



## MomOTwins

TestingH2O said:


> St Charles and Jeff Co. Need I say more?


Lol, yeah.. That was part of our reasoning in this feeling good about going to Florida—can’t be worse than going to the grocery store at home.


----------



## Dave006

mu51c10rd said:


> I read somewhere that today was the first day silver passholders could enter. Looking at pictures of today,  looks far more crowded than when we were there midJuly. I feel bad for people there now, it looks too busy for a pandemic.


Actually yesterday Aug. 7th was the first day back for Silver Passholders. This year the summer blockout window was June 1 - Aug. 6th.

Dave


----------



## Khobbs18

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> I don’t know which app you were checking but I was in the park today and can tell you from first hand knowledge that the park was crowded and waits were long.


Same. We were there today. We have littles and would go to rides that the app labeled a 15 minute wait that were FAR above that. Philharmagic was backed up down the castle ramp with a posted 5 minute wait...


----------



## Obliviate

At MK today. I was changing resorts so I arrived at 11am, and it was very hot and crowded - I left and came back at 4pm. Taking it easy, I managed to do: Starbucks (I swear this has longer lines than most rides), Dumbo, Barnstormer x2, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, 7DMT, Haunted Mansion, and BTM. At 7pm the crowds on Main Street were a bit crazy as far as post-covid crowds go, no way to practice social distancing. The line for the Emporium extended beyond Casey's corner. That said, it felt significantly nicer in the afternoon. If you are not spending the whole day at the park, I'd strongly recommend arriving later in the day. The physical lines (not wait times) were much shorter.

I agree with everyone else about the wait times, they are wildly unreliable. 7DMT was showing 45min in the morning when the line was aaaall the way to the Little Mermaid (!!!), and also in the afternoon when the line wasn't even out the door. Haunted Mansion showed 30min when it was walk on and when the line was out the Mansion, Branstormer showed 20min and I was literally the only person riding it (twice).


----------



## Dayton Flyer

We just got back from a week at WDW, 2nd day at MK was today. We were only there from open to 2:30 as we had a flight to catch.

Today was BY FAR the most crowded day at any park we had this week.  Fantasyland felt overrun (relatively speaking).  It was literally not possible to socially distance UNLESS you were in a line.   We had lunch in Pinocchio Village Haus, and you would've thought it was the middle of a regular summer day with how hard it was to find a table (yes, I understand half the tables are blocked off).

If this is the capacity they plan to run at then EVERYTHING or nearly everything needs to be open,  not over half of the restaurants, shops, and snack areas closed that basically forces guests into the few open non-ride refuges ESPECIALLY on a day as hot as today was.  It was the first day that felt like Disney was just saying "screw the capacity controls, let's just reopen like we used to".

The wait times were all over the place and almost certainly never accurate.  Small World read 20 minutes and was 30.  Buzz Lightyear read 20 and was 5.

Other than today, it was a very fine trip.


----------



## tnolan

aweehughes said:


> Thanks for the info about QS. I was referencing the bottle refill stations that were around the parks in December, like this one.
> View attachment 515685


I used one in Cosmic Ray's, and there was one at the bus station restrooms in HS.


----------



## mirandag819

wilkydelts said:


> I checked times all day for MK and I did not see anything close to long waits “ALL” day


I checked all day today and while they weren’t long by normal summer standards with fast pass available, they were significantly longer than they have been on any prior day since reopening. Without fast pass I would absolutely consider them long waits.


----------



## soniam

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> We just left MK and waits were 45-60 for many rides until about 5:30 when they came down some. Whenever we got in a line we set a timer and the posted waits are accurate. On some rides the lines stretched out all the way to they very end of the distance markers. Hand sanitizer was out at a few stations. It is not shoulder to shoulder but definitely more crowded and many people in the lines get close to other groups. We waited about 20 minutes for Carousel of Progress and I can not remember ever waiting that long for it before. It was so hot and is no fun to wait in long lines out in the sun. We ended up doing Hall of Presidents, Barnstormer and Dumbo just because they were some of the only things without 25+ minute waits. I’m hoping the rest of the week gets better. I will say all the CMs we encountered were great. They really are the heart of the park.



They are barely filling the COP theater, so it takes longer. Also, it was having some issues last week, so that could be contributing. I have actually had to wait through 2 shows for COP during the week between xmas and new years. We got there right when one room loaded and didn't make the next room either. It gets pretty busy during Thanksgiving week too.


----------



## armerida

Heading down this Friday and currently have HS booked for Saturday. After seeing the wait times and apparent crowd levels yesterday, wondering if I should move it to Sunday, or if there hasn’t been much of a difference in crowds/waits between the 2 days?

I booked Epcot for Sunday bc in the past, Saturday’s have been busier with locals during festivals, but looks like that may not be a problem now...


----------



## Dallasmomoftwo

I agree with the poster that said it kind of felt like Disney just said to heck with it, let’s just roll with the crowd that shows up. I’m sure that is not the case, and I greatly appreciate all the time and effort the company and especially the CMs put into place trying to mitigate the risk for their guests. However, when it is this hot and you have as many people as were at MK yesterday, many of the safety procedures will go out the window. People were so hot they were taking their masks off at times and the lines were getting so long that the social distancing guidelines were not being followed by many guests because they are trying to inch up in the line and get to shade. Even though there are fewer people in the park, capacity is reduced on the attractions making for long waits. If you are used to normal crowded park days, you will probably be fine with this but for the people coming that are expecting a safe, socially distanced experience, you will not get that - at least at yesterday’s crowd levels. We are definitely making the best of it and will enjoy our trip because we are at Disney but it is just significantly different than some past reports of many things being walk ons, short waits for headliners, empty park photos, etc.


----------



## DCLMP

I was at Islands of Adventure yesterday. It was pretty packed. Luckily we had express passes. We’re heading to WDW tomorrow. Hoping for the best.


----------



## crayon3448

How was AK yesterday? We arrive next Friday and Saturday is our only AK day. Wondering if we should try to switch it to a weekday but that would require switching a few dining reservations and a minigolf reservation.


----------



## Geomom

crayon3448 said:


> How was AK yesterday? We arrive next Friday and Saturday is our only AK day. Wondering if we should try to switch it to a weekday but that would require switching a few dining reservations and a minigolf reservation.


We did AK yesterday 10-1, as we had a flight at 5:15.  FOP was an actual 30 minutes during that time, Safari listed at 30 (and lines out into Africa), but was 15 minutes...they were filling every row on the jeeps (with the partitions).  Kali was a walk-on at 10:15, but there was a cleaning cycle when we got off.  We also saw the new bird show as we were walking past it 5 minutes before it started.  It was busier than when we went on Wednesday--that day FOP was maybe a 5 minute wait and they were offering re-rides all day--after you left the building, there was a person directing you to a shortcut to cut out most of the queue.  We didn't take them up on the offer, much to DD16s dismay...it's why we added an AK day yesterday, but no re-rides on a Saturday, but she did get on twice, once with each parent, and did the safari.  DD20 has no desire to ride it and DD16 had no desire to ride Kali--so we split up, did safari together, and changed partners.


----------



## Princess_Nikki

I’m loving all these reviews!

But I have a trip planned Thursday, August 13-22. Staying at CBR. I had not planned on using any park days for the weekends because I just assumed they would be busier, but now I’m nervous about Monday through Friday! Maybe I can hope if the crowd increase IS due to the silver APs that they are coming in for the weekend and hopefully Monday through Friday won’t be nearly as crowded.  I don’t know - not sure if now is a great time or not. It’s me and my DS 13 & DS 11. We all are used to the masks and know a lot will be closed, but we were tempted to go hearing about all the short lines.


----------



## coolbrook

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> I will say all the CMs we encountered were great. They really are the heart of the park.


I love this!  I felt the same way.


----------



## Kimpossible1

I remember someone asking about pin boards, and at AK there is one now at Discovery Trading Company.  It is outside the store as you turn right towards Dinoland


----------



## Geomom

Princess_Nikki said:


> I’m loving all these reviews!
> 
> But I have a trip planned Thursday, August 13-22. Staying at CBR. I had not planned on using any park days for the weekends because I just assumed they would be busier, but now I’m nervous about Monday through Friday! Maybe I can hope if the crowd increase IS due to the silver APs that they are coming in for the weekend and hopefully Monday through Friday won’t be nearly as crowded.  I don’t know - not sure if now is a great time or not. It’s me and my DS 13 & DS 11. We all are used to the masks and know a lot will be closed, but we were tempted to go hearing about all the short lines.


Monday through Thursday is much lower than Friday to Sunday.  We just got back from a 2 week trip, weekends are noticeably busier.  But even on our 'busy' MK day on Friday, we did 11 rides/attractions from 11:30-6:30, with an hour plus break for 2pm lunch at skipper canteen..  Out longest waits were 30-40 minutes for Mine train (with a cleaning cycle), big thunder, and haunted mansion midday.  Buzz was a walk-on, other rides 10-20 minutes during the day.  Didn't attempt splash or space.  Pirates had a long listed wait, so we skipped it and never got back over there...had already done it on previous days anyways. With most days having afternoon showers/storms, lots of people are doing outside rides before 3pm.  The longest waits are when you hit a cleaning cycle, which happens every 2 hrs...not all the rides at once though...so you can be unlucky and hit cleaning cycles on multiple rides....or somehow miss them all, lol.  Cleaning cycles take 5-20 minutes depending on the ride...shorter rides have shorter cycles...like mine train.

We had a great time, did lots of rides with lower than normal waits, enjoyed seeing the various cavalcades and pop up characters from a distance, and found it more relaxing than usual.


----------



## Dallasmomoftwo

We are at AK today and the crowd situation is much the same as we found at MK yesterday. Lots of people, walkways crowded and it is very hard to social distance. FOP is an 80 minute wait and Kali is 45. Everest says 35 but it is a complete bottleneck to get in the end of the line and the CM keeps moving the end of the line marker farther and farther back so that wait time is likely going to be more.


----------



## WEDWDW

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> We are at AK today and the crowd situation is much the same as we found at MK yesterday. Lots of people, walkways crowded and it is very hard to social distance. FOP is an 80 minute wait and Kali is 45. Everest says 35 but it is a complete bottleneck to get in the end of the line and the CM keeps moving the end of the line marker farther and farther back so that wait time is likely going to be more.


"very hard to social distance"

Sounding more and more like Disney started out with very good intentions to provide as safe of an environment as humanly possible,but as time passes,is gradually finding that harder and harder to accomplish.

I just think many,incluiding The Mouse,are showing signs of "virus fatigue" and are "letting their guard down" despite the best of intentions.


----------



## weatherboy80

I was also at MK yesterday (Sat 8/9) and showed up at about 3 until closing and will echo what others have said.  This was by far the busiest I have seen the parks since they re-opened.  Yes cast members are doing great especially in the heat and having to deal with the few folks that will not obey the rules.  Did see lots of masks dipping below the nose again, but will say most folks did a good job especially for being 100 degrees with little cloud cover.  What was worrisome to see was the crowds in Frontierland, mostly near Splash mountain in the afternoon and then worse on Main Street (also for loading for the ferry or monorails) at closing was nearly impossible to social distance.  Not sure if Disney has officially "bumped" capacity but not sure I'll be trying to leave the park right around closing for a while either.


----------



## CR88

Just got back from a stay at the Polynesian.  Originally we planned a staycation and to visit the surrounding area and see the rocket launch, but after seeing all of the vlogs and reviews about the short waits we added a day at Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom.

We are so glad we did, we did every ride our family likes, some multiple times.  We could not ride ROTR, and that is after trying to book right at the times they were available, 10 am and 2 pm.  Not sure how people were able to book faster, we did it the second it opened and the app said it was full.  That was disappointing but numerous rides on Toy Story, TOT, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and Smuggler's run were enough to make for a happy family.  Toy Story Mania was 5 min, RnR was 15, TOT was 15, and Smuggler's Run was 10.  Magic Kingdom was even better, the longest wait was the Mine Ride.  It listed 45 on the board but was 25 at most.  Everything else was 5-10, Splash Mountain was the second highest at 15.

We did try to see more of the non-Disney area but noticed that the rest of Florida wasn't really too keen on the mask and social distancing policy. While we weren't too worried about the virus itself, my family is in health care and seem to think this is more political posturing with the coming election and fear of liability, there were a couple in our group that noticed and didn't feel comfortable off property.  But, we did abide by all of the rules without issue.  Disney felt MUCH safer than other parts of Florida though.  The biggest bummers, at least from our travelers, was that many of our favorite dining stops were closed.  (Woody's Lunch Box, Ample Hills Creamery, Port Orleans QS's, and O'hana to name a few.)  Overall, we all enjoyed the trip for what it was.  But, it was NOT near the level of what we usually experience.  We all noticed the food options were not only limited but not at the level of what we normally get.  Mickey Waffles, which are a family favorite were clearly prepared well in advance and thus not as fresh as usual, likely due to the limited staff.  We also had to order everything with apps and could not get modifications as easily.  Ex. we usually get a side of eggs when we order Tonga Toast, or skip the potatoes and biscuits and get double eggs on the bounty platter for family members that can't have that many carbs.  Also, our nephew has Silliac's disease and can not have gluten.  Normally getting a bunless burger was a piece of cake, not this time.  He had to order and just pitch out the bun.  Not that big if of a deal, but they were only with us for two days so he found other items that worked.

Disney Springs was PAAACKED!!  Every time we went, especially the weekend.  Later at night seemed better, which is when we went for dinners, but it was still packed. For anyone at high risk, or worried about COVID in general, I would probably avoid that area and the local outlet malls, they were packed as well.  The Disney outlet stores were closed anyway, so not really worth the trek to us.

These are not complaints as much as they are observations and expected changes during COVID.  We expected a Disney lite trip and that's what we got, it's all good, it was still Disney.  Disney staff was awesome as usual and went above and beyond for the most part.  They were overly friendly and joked many times with our family.  They seemed glad to be back.  For a first-timer, I would definitely skip and go when you can get the full experience.  But, given that we normally go twice per year, it was nice just chilling by the pool, grabbing dinners and doing a couple of park days.  We liked it.  For frequent Disney travelers who are OK with the limitations and changes, they will enjoy being able to ride EVERYTHING in about 6-7 hours.  According to some in our group, that alone was worth it.


----------



## The Expert

armerida said:


> Heading down this Friday and currently have HS booked for Saturday. After seeing the wait times and apparent crowd levels yesterday, wondering if I should move it to Sunday, or if there hasn’t been much of a difference in crowds/waits between the 2 days?
> 
> I booked Epcot for Sunday bc in the past, Saturday’s have been busier with locals during festivals, but looks like that may not be a problem now...



It's been a few weeks since we were there, but our experience was that Saturday and Sunday are both pretty equally busy with locals. Unless you can move HS to a weekday, I'm not sure it'll matter much which you pick.


----------



## Kimpossible1

I thought AK was crowded yesterday, much more than MK last Sunday.


----------



## 720L

At MK today, it's busy, not normal busy, but still busier than I expected OR than it should be. Disney is letting too many people in.


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## Obliviate

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> We are at AK today and the crowd situation is much the same as we found at MK yesterday. Lots of people, walkways crowded and it is very hard to social distance. FOP is an 80 minute wait and Kali is 45. Everest says 35 but it is a complete bottleneck to get in the end of the line and the CM keeps moving the end of the line marker farther and farther back so that wait time is likely going to be more.


Same experience. I arrived at AK at 11am and the lines were scary. The line for Everest went beyond the bridge, and I could not even find the end of the line for FOP. Understandably, Africa was empty though. The Safari was the only attraction with a very low wait throughout the day, I'm not sure why because I saw most of the animals. With no shows and Dinosaur down half of the day, there were only 5 rides to do in the whole park. I'm hoping things improve tomorrow!


----------



## GADisneyDad14

This isn’t meant to be a critical comment about anything or anyone, just an observation.  This thread is starting to read like an After Hours or MNSSHP thread to me.  Ebbs and flows of experiences, opinions, and feelings.

At least some things are getting back to normal!


----------



## koquinn

The bus for DS to Pop tonight at 9pm. Stop 19 but we're back all the way to 24. Insanity. AK today felt very busy when in line. Not as bad walking around but still crowded. Many more maskless people and people who didn't have their noses covered. Very little enforcement from CMs. Hoping tomorrow is better because this kinda sucks without fp after planning for short lines and walk ons.


----------



## 720L

koquinn said:


> View attachment 517027
> 
> The bus for DS to Pop tonight at 9pm. Stop 19 but we're back all the way to 24. Insanity. AK today felt very busy when in line. Not as bad walking around but still crowded. Many more maskless people and people who didn't have their noses covered. Very little enforcement from CMs. Hoping tomorrow is better because this kinda sucks without fp after planning for short lines and walk ons.


Feel the same! I was prepared to be able to endure the mask because of short lines. Wearing a mask & running around the park looking for shorter lines = not a happy camper. Also not many food choices.


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## koquinn

720L said:


> Feel the same! I was prepared to be able to endure the mask because of short lines. Wearing a mask & running around the park looking for shorter lines = not a happy camper. Also not many food choices.


Yep. Shortest line we waited in was 25 minutes unless you count Triceratops Spin. Most were 35-45. Wouldn't be terrible if we could at least use fp. But it gets old standing in the hot sun in the queues that stretch way beyond the entrance.


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## koquinn

Can't even see the end of the line for Pop bus. We've been waiting 50 minutes now at DS.


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## LizzyDragon

I did MK today. It was my first time being in a park since reopening. Mask compliance was nearly 100%. Wait times were either as advertised or up to 10-15 minutes shorter. Lots of stores/restaurants were closed, but most of the rides were open. Because of the social distancing, lines visually appeared to be way longer than normal (often snaking around corners and ramps), which sometimes made it a little tricky to figure out where they started. But Disney did have staff members with signs marking the start of the line if it went out the normal entrance to the ride.

Guests generally maintained the 6ft distance in the lines. In places where things like fans or shade were a factor, people spaced out more to take advantage of the nicer spots instead of bunching up. Outside of the lines, the park is empty enough that it's easy to move past anyone that may get too close for comfort.

I did do Skipper Canteen for lunch- seemed pretty normal to me (besides using every other table and having digital menus).

The crowd levels are way lower than what I would normally expect for this time of year. The weirdest things for me was how quiet the park was (not as much crowd noise or sounds from street performances), and not seeing the normal shows/parades/fireworks. But I think under the circumstances, Disney is doing the best they can. I don't think they could do much more short of closing down again. I saw staff cleaning surfaces frequently and reminding guests of the changes.

I've got plans to visit HS next weekend, and plan to keep visiting when I can (I'm a local silver AP). The biggest drawback of all the changes is needing to get park reservations- I'm so used to dropping in whenever and not having to plan in advance. I've already had one day this week that my friend and I had to make other plans because we couldn't get park reservations.


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## Dismrk155

koquinn said:


> View attachment 517030
> Can't even see the end of the line for Pop bus. We've been waiting 50 minutes now at DS.


That's not fun


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## mickey0624

Did people really think crowds were going to stay that small?...I honestly don't get why anyone is surprised. We had a trip scheduled this week and canceled about a month ago just because we didn't want to pay top dollar for a limited experience. But why this spike in crowds is a surprise to anyone boggles my mind. Disney has not hid anything....lines are spread out, restaurants that are open are at limited capacity, menus are limited, transportation is limited. As numbers in Florida drop and hotels begin to open, crowds will get even larger. Right now there are almost no hotels open, only DVC. People are becoming more comfortable going out and Disney has not yet hit their limited capacity on any days. If you are only going because you think every ride will be walk on or 5 minutes, you may want to rethink your plan.


----------



## koquinn

mickey0624 said:


> Did people really think crowds were going to stay that small?


Yes because covid hasn't changed, so why Disney is suddenly letting more people in is beyond me.


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## mickey0624

koquinn said:


> Yes because covid hasn't changed, so why Disney is suddenly letting more people in is beyond me.


theyre not "letting" more people in....they have a limited capacity number whether it be 20K or 25K...whatever it was it was never close to reaching that number. Well now it is and the crowds are getting larger. They haven't upped their capacity, but instead of getting 4K or 5K theyre now getting 10K or 15K


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## momimouse27

I am headed there for a trip 9/26.  Just wondering, for those of you who have been or are there now, are the sudden longer lines due to it just being a weekend, do you think?  Or has WDW bumped up to the next "phase" of capacity?  We plan on visiting MK on a Wednesday during our trip, so hoping we will miss some of that extra weekend traffic.  All our park days are on weekdays except our first day, which is Epcot and that's on Sunday.


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## koquinn

mickey0624 said:


> theyre not "letting" more people in....they have a limited capacity number whether it be 20K or 25K...whatever it was it was never close to reaching that number. Well now it is and the crowds are getting larger. They haven't upped their capacity, but instead of getting 4K or 5K theyre now getting 10K or 15K


I don't know how anyone really knows that, but I know that compared to all the reports on here today was disappointing. I hope tomorrow is better, being a Monday. We planned this trip long before covid, when fp still existed. That would be a game changer for us, having fp. We are working really hard to get everything in and it's more exhausting than it's supposed to be.


----------



## koquinn

momimouse27 said:


> I am headed there for a trip 9/26.  Just wondering, for those of you who have been or are there now, are the sudden longer lines due to it just being a weekend, do you think?  Or has WDW bumped up to the next "phase" of capacity?  We plan on visiting MK on a Wednesday during our trip, so hoping we will miss some of that extra weekend traffic.  All our park days are on weekdays except our first day, which is Epcot and that's on Sunday.


I'll let you know my opinion tomorrow!


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## mickey0624

I hope it gets better for you, I really do. It should be a vacation and not stressful, which is one of the reasons we canceled, as we were worried that it may become work and as you said exhausting. Hopefully it was just the weekend, I just do think that as the COVID numbers in Florida start to go down, and people become more comfortable, we will start to see the crowds increase and the parks will begin reaching that reduced capacity...whatever that number may be.


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## sagosto

We are debating keeping our November booking but a ton of contradicting experiences here with respect to wait times and attendance...


----------



## Robertfam08

mickey0624 said:


> *Did people really think crowds were going to stay that small?*...I honestly don't get why anyone is surprised. We had a trip scheduled this week and canceled about a month ago just because we didn't want to pay top dollar for a limited experience. But why this spike in crowds is a surprise to anyone boggles my mind. Disney has not hid anything....lines are spread out, restaurants that are open are at limited capacity, menus are limited, transportation is limited. As numbers in Florida drop and hotels begin to open, crowds will get even larger. Right now there are almost no hotels open, only DVC. People are becoming more comfortable going out and Disney has not yet hit their limited capacity on any days. If you are only going because you think every ride will be walk on or 5 minutes, you may want to rethink your plan.



No, I didn't. Which is why the extra cut in hours is so unbelievably annoying to me. I was only cool with the shorter hours initially because of reports of such low crowds and the ability to "do it all" in less time.


----------



## brockash

koquinn said:


> View attachment 517030
> Can't even see the end of the line for Pop bus. We've been waiting 50 minutes now at DS.


See this stuff is unacceptable in my opinion.  Disney knows they have absolutely nothing offered to guests at night; yet they're not going to ramp up bus service to DS.  Reports like this and the crazy wair times is what may make us cancel our upcoming trips.  It's one thing to accept not having certain shows/night time stuff etc.; it's quite another for them to basically say who cares and not even try.  We can accept paying more for less right now; we can't accept paying to be miserable and this weekend and the previous sporadic reports of long bus times etc. looks pretty miserable.  Really disappointing.  I really feel for any who are there right now on vacation.


----------



## brockash

mickey0624 said:


> Did people really think crowds were going to stay that small?...I honestly don't get why anyone is surprised. We had a trip scheduled this week and canceled about a month ago just because we didn't want to pay top dollar for a limited experience. But why this spike in crowds is a surprise to anyone boggles my mind. Disney has not hid anything....lines are spread out, restaurants that are open are at limited capacity, menus are limited, transportation is limited. As numbers in Florida drop and hotels begin to open, crowds will get even larger. Right now there are almost no hotels open, only DVC. People are becoming more comfortable going out and Disney has not yet hit their limited capacity on any days. If you are only going because you think every ride will be walk on or 5 minutes, you may want to rethink your plan.


woohoho...Mr. CEO specifically said "anyone lucky enough to get into Disney during this time would be experiencing once in a lifetime low crowds etc."  You mean that he wasn't being genuine lol.

On a serious note; while I know Disney mst likely wouldn't stay the way it was the first couple weeks...what's been reported over the last 3 days or so seems pretty crappy for lack of a better word.


----------



## DanielNYC

Arrived here yesterday (Sunday) at around 10:00AM after driving up from Miami (a dream, btw, on a Sunday morning with no traffic and a straight shot up on the turnpike).  This was our resort hop day (a first for us).  All went pretty much according to plan with a few surprises here and there.  Went to 8 resorts (PC, CB, RV, BC, AKL, Poly, GF and CR).  We dropped off the car at DS and used buses, the skyliner (loved it!), 1 Uber and our feet to get around.

It was a lot of fun exploring all the resorts (most of which we'd never set foot in) and taking in the vibe and themeing at all the properties.  Didn't have any issues accessing any of the resorts except the one time we used an Uber to get to our lunch reservation at AKL.  The guard asked to see our reservation confirmation, we showed it to him, and that was that.  Worth noting that if we'd taken a bus there instead we would not have been questioned as nobody said anything to us at any of the other resorts when we arrived by Disney transportation or on foot.  The only negative was that we couldn't meander inside any of the QS restaurants at the resorts because you had to mobile order something in order to go inside and we didn't need to do that.  However the shops and public spaces were fair game and that was enough for us.

Lunch was at Sanaa and dinner was at The Wave.  Both very good, but our waiter at The Wave (Joseph) was a standout. I don't think I've ever been waited on by someone with such a positive attitude.  He's wasted as a waiter and should be giving seminars on how to be an outstanding waiter. My wife made it a point to find the manager before we left to sing his praises.  

The evening ended with a bus ride back to DS from the CR to pick up the car. I was pleased to see near 100% mask compliance at all the resorts. People also seemed to be very aware of their personal space. When we ate at both restaurants all the masks came off for all diners but that didn't bother me because the table spacing at both restaurants met the distancing requirements.

So far we feel really good about being here.  Today is our Epcot day and we're all very excited!


----------



## koquinn

Line for buses to MK this morning at Pop. No social distancing. Not enough buses. So frustrating!


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## koquinn

And it's the 3rd day in a row the Skyliner has been down from Pop so the line for HS is almost as big 1.5hts before park open.


----------



## Dallasmomoftwo

720L said:


> Feel the same! I was prepared to be able to endure the mask because of short lines. Wearing a mask & running around the park looking for shorter lines = not a happy camper. Also not many food choices.


This exactly! Usually when we come we make good use of our fast passes and get more throughout the day. We fill the time in between with shows. We never wait more than 20 minutes with this strategy combined with after hours events, dessert parties, etc. None of those things are available now so we are left with chasing shorter lines and limited selections of food with no shows to fill time.


----------



## Obliviate

On a positive note, I believe WDW employees in general and CM in particular are still going out of their way to make visiting the parks as memorable as possible given the circumstances, and I always make sure to thank every CM I see. One can tell that they really appreciate our gratitude and understanding. 

So yesterday it started to rain right before AK closed so I lingered at the shops for a bit. When I arrived to the bus stop at 6:30 (not even that late), what I assume was a manager quickly approached and put me in the first available bus to make sure I didn't have to wait in the storm until my resort bus arrived.


----------



## koquinn

Obliviate said:


> On a positive note, I believe WDW employees in general and CM in particular are still going out of their way to make visiting the parks as memorable as possible given the circumstances, and I always make sure to thank every CM I see. One can tell that they really appreciate our gratitude and understanding.
> 
> So yesterday it started to rain right before AK closed so I lingered at the shops for a bit. When I arrived to the bus stop at 6:30 (not even that late), what I assume was a manager quickly approached and put me in the first available bus to make sure I didn't have to wait in the storm until my resort bus arrived.


I agree 100% with this. We couldn't play mini-golf cuz of the storms last night but the CM there played with my kids just letting them toss the balls down the fairways for a bit while we waited to see if the lightning would clear. Great servers at dinner. Very nice!


----------



## yulilin3

I think it's safe to say that if you are visiting now maybe budget for some Uber/Lyft in terms of transportation or be prepared to wait a while for buses. 
Since the beginning we've been saying transportation was going to be Disney's biggest hurdle


----------



## nkereina

The photos from Pop are making me nervous for my October trip. We have no issue with calling an Uber/Lyft, but I'm curious how close by they are in the morning, especially in the current environment? And is it possible to Uber to the Contemporary right now so we can walk to MK from there, or would we need to be a guest of the Contemporary to enter? I've never been to the MK area except on a Disney bus, so I don't know where/how the checkpoints are.


----------



## brockash

koquinn said:


> View attachment 517110
> Line for buses to MK this morning at Pop. No social distancing. Not enough buses. So frustrating!


Wow; that's insane.  Thank you to all who are reporting their experiences; the good and the bad.  It really helps the rest of us who are still on the fence.  This looks terrible.  Wishing you better luck for the rest of your stay.


----------



## yulilin3

nkereina said:


> The photos from Pop are making me nervous for my October trip. We have no issue with calling an Uber/Lyft, but I'm curious how close by they are in the morning, especially in the current environment? And is it possible to Uber to the Contemporary right now so we can walk to MK from there, or would we need to be a guest of the Contemporary to enter? I've never been to the MK area except on a Disney bus, so I don't know where/how the checkpoints are.


they are not allowing cars, even ubers into resort parking without a dining reservation BUT the driver can always drop you off on the side and you walk, of course this isn't recommended. The correct way is to go to drop of at TTC then you monorail or ferry to MK


----------



## Geomom

It seems like the Pop has the most bus issues.  I also think if you're trying to rope drop parks, the bus lines will be longer.  We took buses from VGF and AKV.  The driver for the empty Epcot bus from VGF implied that he was the only one, doing back and forth runs on a timed schedule of departures.  It doesn't sound like they're doing demand buses, this is where Disney is lacking, no CM nearby and no schedule for when buses will arrive.  We didn't really have any issues at VGF and AKV. (At BWV we walked to HS and Epcot.) One morning at AKV the MK and Epcot bus stop was already full of people, we knew we wouldn't get on the next bus, so we took a bus to AK (quick turnover rate for those as it's so close) with the plans of taking a bus to an MK resort and either walking or taking monorail.  It worked out for us... Contemporary bus was at AK already, only a couple stops from where we were dropped off.  Took bus to contemporary and walked to MK.  The other days we had no issues, waited 20 minutes once as we had just missed a bus.  We were getting going late each day...10:30-11 for all parks.


----------



## 2vets

mitsukoshi samurai said:


> And the last weekend before ap cancellations take effect


So...some of the crowds through August 11 are people trying to get one last hurrah out of an AP before they cancel their pass?  I hope that's part of it.  I can't possibly justify flying across the country and paying top dollar this November with reports like those of this weekend -- knowing that long waits and super-short hours are in store for at least two (weekend) of four days.  Not to mention the fact that I'm scared about the crowding.


----------



## reposado

sagosto said:


> We are debating keeping our November booking but a ton of contradicting experiences here with respect to wait times and attendance...



November is anyone’s guess but as of now I certainly wouldn’t be planning a last min trip to Disneyworld. Between the heat,COVID, greatly diminished experience, shorter hours, now add in crappy wait times with no fp all at full price....

Seems like no pro and all cons.


----------



## koquinn

brockash said:


> Wow; that's insane.  Thank you to all who are reporting their experiences; the good and the bad.  It really helps the rest of us who are still on the fence.  This looks terrible.  Wishing you better luck for the rest of your stay.


Well some good - we've done Dwarf Train and Space and are halfway thru the line for Thunder and got into the park an hour ago. Pretty decent. I think we need to be up earlier for Disney transportation or plan on Lyft the rest of the week.


----------



## reposado

2vets said:


> So...some of the crowds through August 11 are people trying to get one last hurrah out of an AP before they cancel their pass?  I hope that's part of it.


 Doubt it since the AP availability is fully booked till the end of the month. All data show Disney likely greatly increased the number of AP allowed as well.


----------



## yulilin3

reposado said:


> Doubt it since the AP availability is fully booked till the end of the month. All data show Disney likely greatly increased the number of AP allowed as well.


This is complete and pure speculation. And this forum is not about that


----------



## butterscotchcollins

What do you guys consider "crappy wait times"? To me anything under 45 minutes is perfectly reasonable. I admire anyone who has a superfan strategy that avoids lines longer than 20 minutes but for us mere mortals these current crowd levels/wait times are the dream. Even with the "increase" in crowds this is still nowhere near normal.


----------



## wilkydelts

reposado said:


> November is anyone’s guess but as of now I certainly wouldn’t be planning a last min trip to Disneyworld. Between the heat,COVID, greatly diminished experience, shorter hours, now add in crappy wait times with no fp all at full price....
> 
> Seems like no pro and all cons.



I would not be telling others how to feel, plan, or spend their money.


----------



## koquinn

butterscotchcollins said:


> What do you guys consider "crappy wait times"? To me anything under 45 minutes is perfectly reasonable. I admire anyone who has a superfan strategy that avoids lines longer than 20 minutes but for us mere mortals these current crowd levels/wait times are the dream. Even with the "increase" in crowds this is still nowhere near normal.


Well if you can plan with getting here at rope drop and using FP wisely you shouldn't have to wait that long for EVERY ride. It's definitely harder without being able to have reliable morning transportation and no FP.


----------



## mrd7896

reposado said:


> November is anyone’s guess but as of now I certainly wouldn’t be planning a last min trip to Disneyworld. Between the heat,COVID, greatly diminished experience, shorter hours, now add in crappy wait times with no fp all at full price....
> 
> Seems like no pro and all cons.



this thread is for us to read the experiences of those who are currently there. so those can gear up for their trips or for those that are on the fence of traveling. 

I look forward to reading this thread every day to gather some more insight on how my trip in less than a month is going to go. 

if you don't want to go to Disney right now, then don't. no one is forcing your hand

but let others form their opinions themselves. I've seen you post on about 8 other threads with the same doom and gloom response.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

koquinn said:


> Well if you can plan with getting here at rope drop and using FP wisely you shouldn't have to wait that long for EVERY ride. It's definitely harder without being able to have reliable morning transportation and no FP.



Except those things aren't necessary now. So I don't understand the current complaints re: increased wait times - it's still better than an average day.


----------



## koquinn

butterscotchcollins said:


> Except those things aren't necessary now. So I don't understand the current complaints re: increased wait times - it's still better than an average day.


They are necessary when you wait almost an hour for a bus home at night or in the morning get up early and still can't make rope drop because they don't have enough buses running. And we would normally have done more rides by now but we've been standing still in Thunder Mountain for 15 minutes watching empty trains go (and it's not for cleaning). If they'd bring back the fp so we're not standing in EVERY line this long it'd make more sense. This is frustrating compared to our normal trips.


----------



## yulilin3

Let's please focus on the thread subject


----------



## 2vets

reposado said:


> Doubt it since the AP availability is fully booked till the end of the month. All data show Disney likely greatly increased the number of AP allowed as well.


Sure, I can see that, but I am thinking some spilled over into resort bookings.  Last hurrah weekend, if you will.  Hey, a girl's gotta try to remain optimistic.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

koquinn said:


> And it's the 3rd day in a row the Skyliner has been down from Pop so the line for HS is almost as big 1.5hts before park open.



I liked the skyliner the early part of the day but it was down for 4 out of our 5 nights last week. It only came back online one night and that was a night we weren’t at Epcot or DHS. It’s fine if Disney wants to push the skyliner for us and move away from buses but when it’s not running they need buses fast. It’s not like it doesn’t rain every summer day in Florida and it’s unexpected. Transportation has been the biggest letdown for me since reopening.


----------



## otterpop

reposado said:


> Doubt it since the AP availability is fully booked till the end of the month. All data show Disney likely greatly increased the number of AP allowed as well.



Time to watch Willy Wonka..."Cheer up Charlie" is my favorite.


----------



## brockash

butterscotchcollins said:


> What do you guys consider "crappy wait times"? To me anything under 45 minutes is perfectly reasonable. I admire anyone who has a superfan strategy that avoids lines longer than 20 minutes but for us mere mortals these current crowd levels/wait times are the dream. Even with the "increase" in crowds this is still nowhere near normal.


For us, yeah we almost never wait for anything longer than 20 mins.  We go during not real busy times, rope drop and use fastpasses.  I think the other big issue is that with social distancing it seems more of the lines are waiting out in the weather elements.  Waiting 30 mins in a cool building or shade is VERY different than waiting 30 mins. in the hot sun.  I think one of the reasons ppl. (myself included) were willing to spend the same amount of money at Disney right now with reduced hrs., limited attractions,limited food, experience etc.; is because of the "low capacity" and low wait times that were reported in the first few weeks, but now with waits and experiences being worse/longer than a usual trip added to all the limited experiences is a pretty tough pill to swallow.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

Wow, sounds like the parks took a big increase over the weekend with attendance. We were there all last week and crowds overall were great. Perhaps during the week is the way to go and avoid weekends. Idk. Other than DHS “feeling” crowded since it’s smaller, we had great park experiences. We were able to ride some rides several times in a row and we saw details in parks that we always miss. In normal circumstances you have to make sure you aren’t running anyone over or vice versa, it was nice to stroll and see things we never have been able to before. 

 I hope that these magical low crowds stick around as we want to head back sooner than later.


----------



## brockash

butterscotchcollins said:


> Except those things aren't necessary now. So I don't understand the current complaints re: increased wait times - it's still better than an average day.


I think for many that's not currently accurate.  The wait times and especially transportation issues are higher/worse (transportation much worse) than an average trip.  - Maybe not worse than Christmas week, but we go/have gone in every month between Jan-Oct and don't generally have the kind of waits and transportation issues that have been reported over the last few days.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

brockash said:


> I think for many that's not currently accurate.  The wait times and especially transportation issues are higher/worse (transportation much worse) than an average trip.  - Maybe not worse than Christmas week, but we go/have gone in every month between Jan-Oct and don't generally have the kind of waits and transportation issues that have been reported over the last few days.



I would agree. We’ve stayed January, February, March (spring break), June, July, August and November and none of those visits, even during peak attendance times, had worse transportation experiences than last week. I expected delays given no bus crowding and we were patient, but as the week went on, it never got any better. At first I thought it was just isolated to CBR but after talking with friends who were also there, and others on the boards, it’s wide spread. We overheard 4 different families calling Disney dining telling them they’d miss their ADR. Also saw a handful of people bailing on the bus for an uber/Lyft. Our mantra was we really didn’t care since we weren’t in a rush. Our only time crunch was leaving DHS for a 3pm beaches and cream reservation. Skyliner was down, got to bus at 2:05; arrived at beaches and cream at 3pm. Poor elderly man bailed on his family for a midday break and he told us he arrived at the bus stop 25 min before us. Yikes!! I get that we can’t change it but it’s just disappointing when you don’t get what you pay for.


----------



## cmp1976

TheSouthernBelle said:


> I would agree. We’ve stayed January, February, March (spring break), June, July, August and November and none of those visits, even during peak attendance times, had worse transportation experiences than last week. I expected delays given no bus crowding and we were patient, but as the week went on, it never got any better. At first I thought it was just isolated to CBR but after talking with friends who were also there, and others on the boards, it’s wide spread. We overheard 4 different families calling Disney dining telling them they’d miss their ADR. Also saw a handful of people bailing on the bus for an uber/Lyft. Our mantra was we really didn’t care since we weren’t in a rush. Our only time crunch was leaving DHS for a 3pm beaches and cream reservation. Skyliner was down, got to bus at 2:05; arrived at beaches and cream at 3pm. Poor elderly man bailed on his family for a midday break and he told us he arrived at the bus stop 25 min before us. Yikes!! I get that we can’t change it but it’s just disappointing when you don’t get what you pay for.



How were buses in the morning to the parks?


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

cmp1976 said:


> How were buses in the morning to the parks?


Stayed at CBR in Jamaica, for the whole week, we only had one time where a bus was waiting on us at the depot or arrived in less than 30 min. All other times headed to the parks were after park opening, we waited a while. We even waited 30 min for the internal CBR bus. Makes no sense. That bus just drives around the resort in a circle. Disney’s cost saves are apparent in the transportation. I hope that some QC sees what’s transpiring and they remedy the situation soon. Right now with no FP+, EMH and crappy transportation options, there’s no real benefit to stay onsite.


----------



## Dallasmomoftwo

We are at HS this morning. We walked over from the Swan and got here about 9:30. We got inline for MMRR. Posted time 60 actual wait 35. We got BG 5 in the line (inside the bldg). As soon as we got off MMRR we walked over to GE. Our group was called just as were arriving. We rode with no issues. It was our first time and all I can say is WOW! It is like no other ride. So glad we got to do it. It sets the bar


----------



## butterscotchcollins

brockash said:


> IThe wait times and especially transportation issues are higher/worse (transportation much worse) than an average trip.  - Maybe not worse than Christmas week, but we go/have gone in every month between Jan-Oct and don't generally have the kind of waits and transportation issues that have been reported over the last few days.





TheSouthernBelle said:


> I would agree. We’ve stayed January, February, March (spring break), June, July, August and November and none of those visits, even during peak attendance times, had worse transportation experiences than last week. I expected delays given no bus crowding and we were patient, but as the week went on, it never got any better.



It's unfortunate that you're experiencing Disney transportation issues but I was referring specifically to in-park wait times for rides. As of right now 12:20PM which is normally peak time at the parks the longest posted wait is 55 minutes (for MF:SR). That is quite unheard of. I also go off-peak times and an afternoon wait time for top attractions can be anywhere from 90-120 minutes. So, I stick by my opinion that FPs aren't necessary and these aren't "crappy" wait times to the average guest who isn't as overly prepared and a hyperplanner. I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip and consider spending $10 on an Uber or Lyft to relieve some of the stress you're experiencing over Disney transportation.


----------



## mousiemom

just want to say, i'm enjoying this thread and info you guys are giving. we usually stay @ pop, but thinking of staying @ Bonnet Creek and we are driving into parks and DS.  Are the boat taxis running? We are looking forward to our disney fix.  we will have fun no matter what!!


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

butterscotchcollins said:


> It's unfortunate that you're experiencing Disney transportation issues but I was referring specifically to in-park wait times for rides. As of right now 12:20PM which is normally peak time at the parks the longest posted wait is 55 minutes (for MF:SR). That is quite unheard of. I also go off-peak times and an afternoon wait time for top attractions can be anywhere from 90-120 minutes. So, I stick by my opinion that FPs aren't necessary and these aren't "crappy" wait times to the average guest who isn't as overly prepared and a hyperplanner. I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip and consider spending $10 on an Uber or Lyft to relieve some of the stress you're experiencing over Disney transportation.


Sorry. I thought you meant bus times. We left Saturday so haven’t been in parks this week but during the week our longest attraction wait time was splash, posted wait was 40 min, we waited 25. That was last Friday.


----------



## koquinn

OK so this is at 1245. I guess I can't really complain about the crowds!  We waited a long time for Thunder Mountain but that was the worst one for sure.


----------



## yulilin3

mousiemom said:


> just want to say, i'm enjoying this thread and info you guys are giving. we usually stay @ pop, but thinking of staying @ Bonnet Creek and we are driving into parks and DS.  Are the boat taxis running? We are looking forward to our disney fix.  we will have fun no matter what!!


They're not


----------



## Dave006

koquinn said:


> OK so this is at 1245. I guess I can't really complain about the crowds!  We waited a long time for Thunder Mountain but that was the worst one for sure.


I fixed your photo for you. Wow it sure looks busy in front of the Castle today, how are you managing to socially distance with all the ghostly guests wandering about?



Dave


----------



## koquinn

Dave006 said:


> I fixed your photo for you. Wow it sure looks busy in front of the Castle today, how are you managing to socially distance with all the ghostly guests wandering about?
> 
> Dave



 

How do you turn those photos - driving me crazy?!


----------



## Lumpy1106

Just got back - 8/2 - 8/7, staying at BLT.  BUSES ARE TERRIBLE! Our examples;

Sunday - We gave ourselves 1:15 to get from BLT to DS.  The first bus was full - so we waited, and waited, and waited.  About 45 minutes later the bus comes back - we don't make it on, we're not alone.  We opted for Lyft and barely made our Raglan Road reservation (LOVED it BTW!).
Tuesday - We got to the bus stop  at 8:45 hoping to catch a bus to DHS for 10a opening and ROTR boarding pass.  The line was back to the door at Contemporary, everyone waiting for DHS.  No way we'll even make the second bus, we opt for Lyft again.  Word to the wise - be at the bus stop at 8 if you plan on getting a BG for ROTR or you won't make it to the park by 10 (yes, 2 hours early).  That gets you at the front of the line for the one bus that will make it on time, because they do not start running until 9.
Wednesday - We catch AK bus just as it gets there so no problem getting there, but my wife and younger daughter opt to leave the park about an hour early.  They go out to the bus line, I go on one last ride on Everest with my other two kids - then make it back out to the bus line only to find them still there.  We waited 45 minutes, the people in front of us waited over an hour
Thurs - this was the capper - we go out to the bus stop at about 10:15 to go to EPCOT. There's a line of people but we think we'll make it on.  The bus comes about 30 minutes later, we are the next on when the bus driver says, "I only have room for a party of 5 at the back of the bus".  We tell him we can split up, when he then takes a look back down the line behind us and thinks better of inviting smaller parties on the bus, shuts the door and drives off without saying another word (GRR!!!).  We opted to make an adventure out of it and take the monorail to MK, take a bus to Riviera and ride the Skyliner.  Highly recommend, but all tolled, it cost us 2 hours in the park - a park that will soon only be open 8 hours a day (!!)
You might notice, no Monday or Friday - those were our MK days, so yeah, every day we needed the buses, we had hour long plus waits, and very unreliable service.  It would be nice if they were running TTT to Epcot monorails, but no - that line is shut down too.

Don't get me wrong, the trip was great.  We had 0-30 minute waits every day, including Friday when the FL local crowd was noticeably larger.  The wait times you see on the MDE app were always generously longer than reality. 

Other notes - not sure if this has been mentioned, but the pre-ride experiences are all not happening right now (except ROTR - you get the full experience there).  Not such a big deal in some cases - I think FoP is actually better now, but for rides like Mickey and Minnies Runaway RR, it made a big difference.  Do yourself a favor and pull up the pre-show video on Youtube if you haven't ridden - it's pretty jarring getting from the Manns Chinese Theater to the barn where you load and makes no sense otherwise (but a GREAT ride! Loved it both times we rode).  Post-ride experiences are also not a thing.  This was especially bad at Test Track and Spaceship Earth.  You don't design a car anymore, so the ride makes NO sense, and the walk through to the exit is downright depressing.  Same goes for SSE - made me think they had already started dismantling the post-ride area prior to deciding the ride would be open after all.


----------



## yulilin3

the bus situation looks truly awful. I hope and ask everyone who came back or maybe are still there to email Disney so they know what's happening
wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

Lumpy1106 said:


> Just got back - 8/2 - 8/7, staying at BLT.  BUSES ARE TERRIBLE! Our examples;
> 
> Sunday - We gave ourselves 1:15 to get from BLT to DS.  The first bus was full - so we waited, and waited, and waited.  About 45 minutes later the bus comes back - we don't make it on, we're not alone.  We opted for Lyft and barely made our Raglan Road reservation (LOVED it BTW!).
> Tuesday - We got to the bus stop  at 8:45 hoping to catch a bus to DHS for 10a opening and ROTR boarding pass.  The line was back to the door at Contemporary, everyone waiting for DHS.  No way we'll even make the second bus, we opt for Lyft again.  Word to the wise - be at the bus stop at 8 if you plan on getting a BG for ROTR or you won't make it to the park by 10 (yes, 2 hours early).  That gets you at the front of the line for the one bus that will make it on time, because they do not start running until 9.
> Wednesday - We catch AK bus just as it gets there so no problem getting there, but my wife and younger daughter opt to leave the park about an hour early.  They go out to the bus line, I go on one last ride on Everest with my other two kids - then make it back out to the bus line only to find them still there.  We waited 45 minutes, the people in front of us waited over an hour
> Thurs - this was the capper - we go out to the bus stop at about 10:15 to go to EPCOT. There's a line of people but we think we'll make it on.  The bus comes about 30 minutes later, we are the next on when the bus driver says, "I only have room for a party of 5 at the back of the bus".  We tell him we can split up, when he then takes a look back down the line behind us and thinks better of inviting smaller parties on the bus, shuts the door and drives off without saying another word (GRR!!!).  We opted to make an adventure out of it and take the monorail to MK, take a bus to Riviera and ride the Skyliner.  Highly recommend, but all tolled, it cost us 2 hours in the park - a park that will soon only be open 8 hours a day (!!)
> You might notice, no Monday or Friday - those were our MK days, so yeah, every day we needed the buses, we had hour long plus waits, and very unreliable service.  It would be nice if they were running TTT to Epcot monorails, but no - that line is shut down too.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, the trip was great.  We had 0-30 minute waits every day, including Friday when the FL local crowd was noticeably larger.  The wait times you see on the MDE app were always generously longer than reality.
> 
> Other notes - not sure if this has been mentioned, but the pre-ride experiences are all not happening right now (except ROTR - you get the full experience there).  Not such a big deal in some cases - I think FoP is actually better now, but for rides like Mickey and Minnies Runaway RR, it made a big difference.  Do yourself a favor and pull up the pre-show video on Youtube if you haven't ridden - it's pretty jarring getting from the Manns Chinese Theater to the barn where you load and makes no sense otherwise (but a GREAT ride! Loved it both times we rode).  Post-ride experiences are also not a thing.  This was especially bad at Test Track and Spaceship Earth.  You don't design a car anymore, so the ride makes NO sense, and the walk through to the exit is downright depressing.  Same goes for SSE - made me think they had already started dismantling the post-ride area prior to deciding the ride would be open after all.


I didn’t want to “like” your comments but I feel your pain- stayed at CBR Aug 3-8 and the buses/skyliner were awful. We contemplated a split stay at BWV but didn’t see the point since the skyliner would get us to Epcot and DHS anyway. Should have just stayed at BWV the whole trip. The buses were always bad, and especially bad when the skyliner was down. It’s not right that WDW transport can operate this way. In all our years we’ve never experienced buses being so poorly run.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

yulilin3 said:


> the bus situation looks truly awful. I hope and ask everyone who came back or maybe are still there to email Disney so they know what's happening
> wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com


Thanks I already did yesterday after returning. We unfortunately had other issues outside of just the bus transportation.


----------



## Lumpy1106

yulilin3 said:


> the bus situation looks truly awful. I hope and ask everyone who came back or maybe are still there to email Disney so they know what's happening
> wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com


Well, I have now.  Thanks for the e-mail address - I was going to ask.


----------



## thingaboutarsenal

MomOTwins said:


> And I can point to this peer-reviewed study in JAMA Pediatrics just a week ago said that while earlier reports had suggested children were not major contributors to the spread, children under 5 actually carry significantly greater viral amounts.   https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2768952
> 
> I'm just saying, none of us knows for sure what is "safe" and shouldn't be too hard on a CM for strictly enforcing the rules that are designed to protect them.


So stepping 3 inches for an excited toddler was worth a super negative interaction?  If the disease is that dangerous, the store shouldn't be open.

Edit: read your own post "data on children as sources of SARS-CoV-2 spread are sparse."

"Children younger than 5 years had significantly lower CT values compared with children aged 5 to 17 years"


----------



## yulilin3

And it'll only get worse with more resorts opening,  although as the NBA games end they'll get some buses back


----------



## Lumpy1106

yulilin3 said:


> And it'll only get worse with more resorts opening,  although as the NBA games end they'll get some buses back


It looked to us like they have one bus per resort per park.  Riviera looked like it had more?  We saw several buses come and go there when we were waiting at AK, and there were a ton of buses on property when we rode there to catch the Skyliner to Epcot.


----------



## mrd7896

thank gosh we are renting a car!!


----------



## KayKayJS

How has Epcot been in the evenings this week?


----------



## Alana20

Lumpy1106 said:


> It looked to us like they have one bus per resort per park.  Riviera looked like it had more?  We saw several buses come and go there when we were waiting at AK, and there were a ton of buses on property when we rode there to catch the Skyliner to Epcot.


We just got back today from a week at Riviera and I was shocked to see all of the comments here about buses. We had no issues at all. Never waited more than 10 minutes even when the skyliner was down which was basically every evening. We never got to ride the skyliner back at close. Other than HS we pretty much waited less than 20/30 minutes for everything. The brutal heat with masks did make some of the outdoor lines rough but it was so nice to be able to walk around and have whole walkways to ourselves. We did notice a crazy long line one night for POP so maybe it does depend on how crowded the resort is?


----------



## DCLMP

Anyone Uber or Lyft?


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

Alana20 said:


> We just got back today from a week at Riviera and I was shocked to see all of the comments here about buses. We had no issues at all. Never waited more than 10 minutes even when the skyliner was down which was basically every evening. We never got to ride the skyliner back at close. Other than HS we pretty much waited less than 20/30 minutes for everything. The brutal heat with masks did make some of the outdoor lines rough but it was so nice to be able to walk around and have whole walkways to ourselves. We did notice a crazy long line one night for POP so maybe it does depend on how crowded the resort is?



Consider yourself lucky. At first I thought it was just our resort, CBR; but I talked with someone at the parks that had issues at beach and yacht club, poly and then read about issues with POP. Leaving the parks it seemed pretty clear that POP and CBR were the busier resorts with long lines. of course, they’re larger resorts but looking at other bus depots, it did not appear like other open resorts had many guests. Not sure what riviera was like but we ate at primo piatto one night and the resort seemed fairly empty.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

DCLMP said:


> Anyone Uber or Lyft?


Contemplated it a few times but didn’t. We actually had friends that picked up an Uber from one of the CBR village bus stops to Epcot. They bailed after waiting 45 min and their uber grabbed them pretty quickly from Jamaica. We usually uber and/or Minnie van a few times per trip but we never were in a rush for anything so we didn’t bother. In retrospect, we wasted a lot of time at the bus stops.


----------



## ArielRae

koquinn said:


> How do you turn those photos - driving me crazy?!



Anyone who posts a photo that is in protrait mode will get it posted in landscape cause this site automatically sets all photos that way now since the update. The way to fix this is to slightly crop your protrait photo before posting and it will post correctly and not turn sideways (landscape)


----------



## IluvMGM

We are thinking of using Uber when we arrive, at least to go to Hollywood Studios if transportation doesn't improve from then until now. Is 9:15 still around when they let cars enter the parking lot, does anyone know?


----------



## yulilin3

IluvMGM said:


> We are thinking of using Uber when we arrive, at least to go to Hollywood Studios if transportation doesn't improve from then until now. Is 9:15 still around when they let cars enter the parking lot, does anyone know?


yes


----------



## koquinn

IluvMGM said:


> We are thinking of using Uber when we arrive, at least to go to Hollywood Studios if transportation doesn't improve from then until now. Is 9:15 still around when they let cars enter the parking lot, does anyone know?


Yes. If your Uber arrives before 9 they turn you around. Between 9-915 you wait in line to enter. At 915 they open the parking lot/drop-off area. Don't be early - our driver came early and we had to pay him double. I had it scheduled the day before.


----------



## brockash

Lumpy1106 said:


> Just got back - 8/2 - 8/7, staying at BLT.  BUSES ARE TERRIBLE! Our examples;
> 
> Sunday - We gave ourselves 1:15 to get from BLT to DS.  The first bus was full - so we waited, and waited, and waited.  About 45 minutes later the bus comes back - we don't make it on, we're not alone.  We opted for Lyft and barely made our Raglan Road reservation (LOVED it BTW!).
> Tuesday - We got to the bus stop  at 8:45 hoping to catch a bus to DHS for 10a opening and ROTR boarding pass.  The line was back to the door at Contemporary, everyone waiting for DHS.  No way we'll even make the second bus, we opt for Lyft again.  Word to the wise - be at the bus stop at 8 if you plan on getting a BG for ROTR or you won't make it to the park by 10 (yes, 2 hours early).  That gets you at the front of the line for the one bus that will make it on time, because they do not start running until 9.
> Wednesday - We catch AK bus just as it gets there so no problem getting there, but my wife and younger daughter opt to leave the park about an hour early.  They go out to the bus line, I go on one last ride on Everest with my other two kids - then make it back out to the bus line only to find them still there.  We waited 45 minutes, the people in front of us waited over an hour
> Thurs - this was the capper - we go out to the bus stop at about 10:15 to go to EPCOT. There's a line of people but we think we'll make it on.  The bus comes about 30 minutes later, we are the next on when the bus driver says, "I only have room for a party of 5 at the back of the bus".  We tell him we can split up, when he then takes a look back down the line behind us and thinks better of inviting smaller parties on the bus, shuts the door and drives off without saying another word (GRR!!!).  We opted to make an adventure out of it and take the monorail to MK, take a bus to Riviera and ride the Skyliner.  Highly recommend, but all tolled, it cost us 2 hours in the park - a park that will soon only be open 8 hours a day (!!)
> You might notice, no Monday or Friday - those were our MK days, so yeah, every day we needed the buses, we had hour long plus waits, and very unreliable service.  It would be nice if they were running TTT to Epcot monorails, but no - that line is shut down too.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, the trip was great.  We had 0-30 minute waits every day, including Friday when the FL local crowd was noticeably larger.  The wait times you see on the MDE app were always generously longer than reality.
> 
> Other notes - not sure if this has been mentioned, but the pre-ride experiences are all not happening right now (except ROTR - you get the full experience there).  Not such a big deal in some cases - I think FoP is actually better now, but for rides like Mickey and Minnies Runaway RR, it made a big difference.  Do yourself a favor and pull up the pre-show video on Youtube if you haven't ridden - it's pretty jarring getting from the Manns Chinese Theater to the barn where you load and makes no sense otherwise (but a GREAT ride! Loved it both times we rode).  Post-ride experiences are also not a thing.  This was especially bad at Test Track and Spaceship Earth.  You don't design a car anymore, so the ride makes NO sense, and the walk through to the exit is downright depressing.  Same goes for SSE - made me think they had already started dismantling the post-ride area prior to deciding the ride would be open after all.


Wow...the transportation seems really ridiculous.  I'm so sorry for all that are dealing with it and greatly appreciate the feedback.  Definitely is something to consider.


----------



## IluvMGM

koquinn said:


> Yes. If your Uber arrives before 9 they turn you around. Between 9-915 you wait in line to enter. At 915 they open the parking lot/drop-off area. Don't be early - our driver came early and we had to pay him double. I had it scheduled the day before.



You had to pay extra because you had to drive around until the parking lot opened? How does that work, don't they show you the price up front? I have never used a ride sharing company before, so don't know how it all works.


----------



## Alana20

TheSouthernBelle said:


> Consider yourself lucky. At first I thought it was just our resort, CBR; but I talked with someone at the parks that had issues at beach and yacht club, poly and then read about issues with POP. Leaving the parks it seemed pretty clear that POP and CBR were the busier resorts with long lines. of course, they’re larger resorts but looking at other bus depots, it did not appear like other open resorts had many guests. Not sure what riviera was like but we ate at primo piatto one night and the resort seemed fairly empty.


Yeah I assume we just got lucky. Riviera was not very busy at all. Some evenings at the pool were a little crowded but nothing too bad. Most of the time it was only our family and one other group on the buses. What we thought was very odd was on the magical express to the resort they were very particular about assigning seats and skipping rows in between families, but the way back this morning was just a total free for all and completely full except for like 5 seats.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

IluvMGM said:


> You had to pay extra because you had to drive around until the parking lot opened? How does that work, don't they show you the price up front? I have never used a ride sharing company before, so don't know how it all works.



The price is based on both mileage and time, so if it costs $x from point A to point B in ~10 minutes the price will hold (give or take a minute assuming your driver went a direct route and with steady traffic conditions based on when the app estimated your cost). However if you're just sitting in the car at your destination and time is adding up the price will continue to rise because time is money


----------



## Lumpy1106

IluvMGM said:


> We are thinking of using Uber when we arrive, at least to go to Hollywood Studios if transportation doesn't improve from then until now. Is 9:15 still around when they let cars enter the parking lot, does anyone know?


It's about that time - yes


----------



## DCLMP

TheSouthernBelle said:


> Contemplated it a few times but didn’t. We actually had friends that picked up an Uber from one of the CBR village bus stops to Epcot. They bailed after waiting 45 min and their uber grabbed them pretty quickly from Jamaica. We usually uber and/or Minnie van a few times per trip but we never were in a rush for anything so we didn’t bother. In retrospect, we wasted a lot of time at the bus stops.


Thanks I considered renting a car, but with the 25 dollar parking fee plus rental cost it makes more sense to lyft.


----------



## koquinn

IluvMGM said:


> You had to pay extra because you had to drive around until the parking lot opened? How does that work, don't they show you the price up front? I have never used a ride sharing company before, so don't know how it all works.


Yeah, we took Lyft this time and paid twice as much as expected since it took so long. I told the driver via their messaging app he was too early and we'd be turned away based on info here, but he insisted earlier was better. Nope. Turns out disboards people know better than the locals! Also keep in mind if you have 6 or more people you'll have to split into 2 cars because they don't let anyone sit in front right now for either Uber or Lyft - both only allow a max of 5.


----------



## Princess2R

monroe18 said:


> I have to say, I was very disappointed with HS today. We were there on Sunday (our first park day) and it felt pretty crowded but tolerable. Today was a cluster. We rode the Skyliner from Pop and there were very long lines at Pop, at the transfer, then to get into the park. It was packed. They are allowing way too many reservations for this park considering its size and the limited number of attractions. If today had been our first park day, we would not go back the rest of the trip. The wait times are a little misleading IMO. Yes, some of the rides have lower wait times than average, but walking around the park is very crowded, especially Toy Story and Star Wars land.



I was really curious about when the crowds & wait times would be picking up.
 that sucks to hear!! 

How long did it take to get there from pop on the skyliner?


----------



## koquinn

Princess2R said:


> I was really curious about when the crowds & wait times would be picking up.
> that sucks to hear!!
> 
> How long did it take to get there from pop on the skyliner?


I'm not sure when that post being quoted is from - I think skyliner has been down for several days in the morning.


----------



## yulilin3

koquinn said:


> Yeah, we took Lyft this time and paid twice as much as expected since it took so long. I told the driver via their messaging app he was too early and we'd be turned away based on info here, but he insisted earlier was better. Nope. Turns out disboards people know better than the locals! Also keep in mind if you have 6 or more people you'll have to split into 2 cars because they don't let anyone sit in front right now for either Uber or Lyft - both only allow a max of 5.


or the driver knew he would make more by insisting of going earlier


----------



## mickey0624

nkereina said:


> The photos from Pop are making me nervous for my October trip. We have no issue with calling an Uber/Lyft, but I'm curious how close by they are in the morning, especially in the current environment? And is it possible to Uber to the Contemporary right now so we can walk to MK from there, or would we need to be a guest of the Contemporary to enter? I've never been to the MK area except on a Disney bus, so I don't know where/how the checkpoints are.


Rent a car...even when there is no COVID that's what we always do....makes life sooooo much easier


----------



## Amanda2525

Lumpy1106 said:


> Well, I have now.  Thanks for the e-mail address - I was going to ask.


You should be able to chat with customer service/CMs on the MDE app as well! Maybe try both?


----------



## koquinn

We had the 6:55 ressie for BOG tonight. We walked out into a crazy thunderstorm and a totally empty park. It was truly amazing!


----------



## Winston Wolf

koquinn said:


> Yeah, we took Lyft this time and paid twice as much as expected since it took so long. I told the driver via their messaging app he was too early and we'd be turned away based on info here, but he insisted earlier was better. Nope. Turns out disboards people know better than the locals! Also keep in mind if you have 6 or more people you'll have to split into 2 cars because they don't let anyone sit in front right now for either Uber or Lyft - both only allow a max of 5.


 well that's interesting. Hadn't thought about this.  For an Uber X or standard Lyft, wouldn't the maximum be 3 for the back seat of a sedan?


----------



## 720L

Epcot today, the crowds were lighter & more like I was thinking they'd be. The mask seemed not as bad also, but that's probably because of all the air conditioned rides.


----------



## koquinn

Winston Wolf said:


> well that's interesting. Hadn't thought about this.  For an Uber X or standard Lyft, wouldn't the maximum be 3 for the back seat of a sedan?


I think standard is 3 for both and xl or whatever is 5 now. I don't use it often but you can check now if you want to schedule a ride. I emailed Lyft to double check and they said 5 cuz of covid.


----------



## koquinn

720L said:


> Epcot today, the crowds were lighter & more like I was thinking they'd be. The mask seemed not as bad also, but that's probably because of all the air conditioned rides.


Agreed, overall MK seemed better today than the past 2 weekend days. It started off rough with the bus from Pop but once we got there it was a great day.


----------



## Winston Wolf

koquinn said:


> I think standard is 3 for both and xl or whatever is 5 now. I don't use it often but you can check now if you want to schedule a ride. I emailed Lyft to double check and they said 5 cuz of covid.


Eeeep.  Well, then that creates a premium for the bigger vehicles.  Will make sure we reserve in advance or plan to be in line for the bus at 8am to get to DHS.


----------



## 2kidsForMe

I am currently here at Kidani with my 17 year old daughter. We arrived from Boston yesterday. Went to MK today. We arrived around 10:30. We drove our rental car to the park. Easy. Was able to park close and had maybe 4 other families on the ferry boat with us. We felt waits were overall very good. The longest line we had was probably Mine Train, which ended up being  around 30 minutes all in. It was HOT! We did struggle with the masks a bit when we were outdoors in the sun. The lack of available quick service was a drag. We ended up doing a mobile order at Pinocchio Village House. Our margarita flatbreads weren’t good today, I’m sorry to report. They tasked like cracker pizza lol. Like someone took a saltine cracker and added ketchup and a little fake cheese. Oh well. Not the end of the world. Social distancing while walking around the park was pretty good. No real issues there. The biggest concern we had all day was the mask compliance and other guests. I hate to be negative, and maybe we were just unlucky, but we saw so many chin strap mask and noses. I mean everywhere. Plenty of exposed faces on kids over 2. We did have several instances where other guests didn’t observe social distancing in lines, and crowded right up behind us. Ugh. While the majority were compliant (probably 65-70%), we saw did see a lot guests walking past CMs while improperly wearing their masks. In one case, we passed a guy who was wearing his paper mask like a mustache, while actively talking to a CM. Weird. We only saw one occasion where the CM asked a guest to cover their nose, and this was on Mine Train after the ride was over. For example, on HM, a group of ladies promptly removed their masks as soon as they sat down. Same thing for the group behind us on Space.  Another example was a boy around 9 or 10 complaining  to his mom about his mask while in line for LM. She said, just take it off when you sit down. Yikes! The CMs seemed to have just given up. They are in a no-win situation I guess, and I feel for them. They don’t want to confront guests. I get it. I went into this trip telling myself that I can only control what I do for myself and my daughter, and I won’t let other guests behavior negatively impact our trip. I’m non confrontational by nature. I didn’t expect perfect compliance. But today rattled me. I’m hoping things improve tomorrow. We are headed to HS. LMK if anyone has any questions.


----------



## Winston Wolf

2kidsForMe said:


> I am currently here at Kidani with my 17 year old daughter. We arrived from Boston yesterday. Went to MK today. We arrived around 10:30. We drove our rental car to the park. Easy. Was able to park close and had maybe 4 other families on the ferry boat with us. We felt waits were overall very good. The longest line we had was probably Mine Train, which ended up being  around 30 minutes all in. It was HOT! We did struggle with the masks a bit when we were outdoors in the sun. The lack of available quick service was a drag. We ended up doing a mobile order at Pinocchio Village House. Our margarita flatbreads weren’t good today, I’m sorry to report. They tasked like cracker pizza lol. Like someone took a saltine cracker and added ketchup and a little fake cheese. Oh well. Not the end of the world. Social distancing while walking around the park was pretty good. No real issues there. The biggest concern we had all day was the mask compliance and other guests. I hate to be negative, and maybe we were just unlucky, but we saw so many chin strap mask and noses. I mean everywhere. Plenty of exposed faces on kids over 2. We did have several instances where other guests didn’t observe social distancing in lines, and crowded right up behind us. Ugh. While the majority were compliant (probably 65-70%), we saw did see a lot guests walking past CMs while improperly wearing their masks. In one case, we passed a guy who was wearing his paper mask like a mustache, while actively talking to a CM. Weird. We only saw one occasion where the CM asked a guest to cover their nose, and this was on Mine Train after the ride was over. For example, on HM, a group of ladies promptly removed their masks as soon as they sat down. Same thing for the group behind us on Space.  Another example was a boy around 9 or 10 complaining  to his mom about his mask while in line for LM. She said, just take it off when you sit down. Yikes! The CMs seemed to have just given up. They are in a no-win situation I guess, and I feel for them. They don’t want to confront guests. I get it. I went into this trip telling myself that I can only control what I do for myself and my daughter, and I won’t let other guests behavior negatively impact our trip. I’m non confrontational by nature. I didn’t expect perfect compliance. But today rattled me. I’m hoping things improve tomorrow. We are headed to HS. LMK if anyone has any questions.


Well that disappointing to hear about the masks.  One of the things that's made us more comfortable about a trip have been the reports of how well people were complying to the mask rules and that CM's we correcting people early and often if they were not following the rules.


----------



## 2kidsForMe

We had a non refundable DVC reservation as well as tickets purchased pre-pandemic.  I also needed this getaway with my daughter for personal reasons. We would not have come otherwise during this pandemic. I did a lot of research and understood the risks and limitations.


----------



## Winston Wolf

I'll answer, even though I sense a hint of judgement in the question.

For us, we've had not one but two Disney Cruises cancelled this year.  My wife works in Healthcare and has been under a tremendous amount of stress since March.  The kids and I have been stuck/safe at home for the last 5 months.  Frankly, we all really need a vacation that we already needed back in March.  We look forward to things like this every year.  I don't live to work, I work to live...and when there's nothing to look forward to and it's an unending cycle of bad news every day...it wears you out.  So we both want and need this trip.  Additionally, none of us have an pre-existing conditions which would put us in a higher risk category.  We also won't be around anyone who is at higher risk for quite some time after we return.  And finally, save one post I read an hour ago, I've been pretty impressed with how Disney has handled things during the re-open.  We'll wash our hands regularly, happily wear our masks, and stay as physically distant as possible from others.  Within those constraints, I'm convinced that we can have a fun and safe vacation.


----------



## oceanmarina

yulilin3 said:


> the bus situation looks truly awful. I hope and ask everyone who came back or maybe are still there to email Disney so they know what's happening
> wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com



Yep, I agree. I hope everyone who was impacted emails , that’s the only way to get a response,the waits sound really unacceptable


----------



## ctl

Dallasmomoftwo said:


> We are at AK today and the crowd situation is much the same as we found at MK yesterday. Lots of people, walkways crowded and it is very hard to social distance. FOP is an 80 minute wait and Kali is 45. Everest says 35 but it is a complete bottleneck to get in the end of the line and the CM keeps moving the end of the line marker farther and farther back so that wait time is likely going to be more.





2kidsForMe said:


> I am currently here at Kidani with my 17 year old daughter. We arrived from Boston yesterday. Went to MK today. We arrived around 10:30. We drove our rental car to the park. Easy. Was able to park close and had maybe 4 other families on the ferry boat with us. We felt waits were overall very good. The longest line we had was probably Mine Train, which ended up being  around 30 minutes all in. It was HOT! We did struggle with the masks a bit when we were outdoors in the sun. The lack of available quick service was a drag. We ended up doing a mobile order at Pinocchio Village House. Our margarita flatbreads weren’t good today, I’m sorry to report. They tasked like cracker pizza lol. Like someone took a saltine cracker and added ketchup and a little fake cheese. Oh well. Not the end of the world. Social distancing while walking around the park was pretty good. No real issues there. The biggest concern we had all day was the mask compliance and other guests. I hate to be negative, and maybe we were just unlucky, but we saw so many chin strap mask and noses. I mean everywhere. Plenty of exposed faces on kids over 2. We did have several instances where other guests didn’t observe social distancing in lines, and crowded right up behind us. Ugh. While the majority were compliant (probably 65-70%), we saw did see a lot guests walking past CMs while improperly wearing their masks. In one case, we passed a guy who was wearing his paper mask like a mustache, while actively talking to a CM. Weird. We only saw one occasion where the CM asked a guest to cover their nose, and this was on Mine Train after the ride was over. For example, on HM, a group of ladies promptly removed their masks as soon as they sat down. Same thing for the group behind us on Space.  Another example was a boy around 9 or 10 complaining  to his mom about his mask while in line for LM. She said, just take it off when you sit down. Yikes! The CMs seemed to have just given up. They are in a no-win situation I guess, and I feel for them. They don’t want to confront guests. I get it. I went into this trip telling myself that I can only control what I do for myself and my daughter, and I won’t let other guests behavior negatively impact our trip. I’m non confrontational by nature. I didn’t expect perfect compliance. But today rattled me. I’m hoping things improve tomorrow. We are headed to HS. LMK if anyone has any questions.


Thanks for the info. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip. It's unfortunate that not everyone is sticking to the safety protocols.  If there is a large outbreak traced to WDW that could scupper all our hopes of getting more normalcy in the parks.


----------



## oceanmarina

2kidsForMe said:


> I am currently here at Kidani with my 17 year old daughter. We arrived from Boston yesterday. Went to MK today. We arrived around 10:30. We drove our rental car to the park. Easy. Was able to park close and had maybe 4 other families on the ferry boat with us. We felt waits were overall very good. The longest line we had was probably Mine Train, which ended up being  around 30 minutes all in. It was HOT! We did struggle with the masks a bit when we were outdoors in the sun. The lack of available quick service was a drag. We ended up doing a mobile order at Pinocchio Village House. Our margarita flatbreads weren’t good today, I’m sorry to report. They tasked like cracker pizza lol. Like someone took a saltine cracker and added ketchup and a little fake cheese. Oh well. Not the end of the world. Social distancing while walking around the park was pretty good. No real issues there. The biggest concern we had all day was the mask compliance and other guests. I hate to be negative, and maybe we were just unlucky, but we saw so many chin strap mask and noses. I mean everywhere. Plenty of exposed faces on kids over 2. We did have several instances where other guests didn’t observe social distancing in lines, and crowded right up behind us. Ugh. While the majority were compliant (probably 65-70%), we saw did see a lot guests walking past CMs while improperly wearing their masks. In one case, we passed a guy who was wearing his paper mask like a mustache, while actively talking to a CM. Weird. We only saw one occasion where the CM asked a guest to cover their nose, and this was on Mine Train after the ride was over. For example, on HM, a group of ladies promptly removed their masks as soon as they sat down. Same thing for the group behind us on Space.  Another example was a boy around 9 or 10 complaining  to his mom about his mask while in line for LM. She said, just take it off when you sit down. Yikes! The CMs seemed to have just given up. They are in a no-win situation I guess, and I feel for them. They don’t want to confront guests. I get it. I went into this trip telling myself that I can only control what I do for myself and my daughter, and I won’t let other guests behavior negatively impact our trip. I’m non confrontational by nature. I didn’t expect perfect compliance. But today rattled me. I’m hoping things improve tomorrow. We are headed to HS. LMK if anyone has any questions.



Thanks for the update. We go every August so I know that heat - once you leave the air conditioning of the resort, the humidity is ROUGH in FL in the summer. I can’t even imagine walking around in that heat with a mask. That was a main reason DH wanted to cancel our 8/27 trip. 

I hear you about Pinocchio’s Village Hause, the Margeruita flatbread we had 2 summers ago there was no better than a  frozen Celeste pizza you could get at home. Roaring Fork quick service over at Wilderness Lodge used to have the most amazing flatbreads, they would even have a cool flatbread of the day choice. Then they refurbished it and thief new flatbreads were terrible. Like kids meal flatbreads... sigh... 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip & the mask compliance situation gets better. Keep us posted!!


----------



## Obliviate

In case you are as oblivious as I was, the 30% AP discount can be used at Droid Depot. According to the CM, the discount will only work there (or only for certain items) until Friday. Interestingly, I also bought some stuff at Tatooine Traders and the CM said that I did not need to show my AP card because "pretty much everyone who is here now is an AP".


----------



## Princess2R

yulilin3 said:


> the bus situation looks truly awful. I hope and ask everyone who came back or maybe are still there to email Disney so they know what's happening
> wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com


Where can I see the pictures of the bus situation at pop?


----------



## yulilin3

Princess2R said:


> Where can I see the pictures of the bus situation at pop?


Someone posted a few pages back


----------



## yulilin3

Please stay on topic. This is not the place to discuss why people are coming to Disney or why they aren't going somewhere else


----------



## nkereina

mickey0624 said:


> Rent a car...even when there is no COVID that's what we always do....makes life sooooo much easier


We may consider it if Disney were not charging parking fees, but unfortunately they are. Its hard to justify the cost of the car and parking charges, especially when we really don't want to rent one. Driving in Orlando traffic is anxiety inducing for us small towners and plus we like to have some drinks where we can. So it seems like Uber/Lyft or deal with Pop buses are our options.

On a related note, has the bus situation been noticeably bad at other resorts? Or is Pop the resort that's most full right now, resulting in the poor bus experiences?


----------



## koquinn

The bus stop for Pop from DS was the only one with (way) more than a handful of people Sunday night. 

Yesterday at MK I even saw a guy walking through Tomorrowland smoking with no mask anywhere. I said something to my DH loud enough for the guy to hear but he didn't care. I agree the mask compliance and enforcement seems to get a little worse each day. I even saw a CM pull her mask down to talk to another CM on Thunder Mountain twice. Lots of walking while eating and drinking, and lots of eating and drinking in line (which we've done too out of desperation but only while still outside and with our masks up between sips of water and while staying extra far from people). Wearing the masks in the heat hasn't bothered us more than the heat in general I don't think. It's just really freaking hot. But people definitely aren't as compliant as I'd hoped. I think it's easy to get a false sense of security in the happiest place on earth.


----------



## sjrec

nkereina said:


> We may consider it if Disney were not charging parking fees, but unfortunately they are. Its hard to justify the cost of the car and parking charges, especially when we really don't want to rent one. Driving in Orlando traffic is anxiety inducing for us small towners and plus we like to have some drinks where we can. So it seems like Uber/Lyft or deal with Pop buses are our options.
> 
> On a related note, has the bus situation been noticeably bad at other resorts? Or is Pop the resort that's most full right now, resulting in the poor bus experiences?


My daughter and her family have been there the past 10 days and other than a 35 minute wait for a DS bus from BCV they haven’t had any bus or transportation issues. They were at CBR 4 days and rode the gondolas with only only one night closed because of weather and then got right on a bus. Many times they were one of two families on a bus. So even though you’re hearing from people that had issues (and emailing is absolutely the right thing to do) it’s possible you won’t.


----------



## PrincessV

Random question for those who've been on POTC with social distancing in place - are the boats still flooding? Or has that issue been solved by less load in the boats? If the're staying dry I may actually ride again lol!


----------



## Kimpossible1

2kidsForMe said:


> The CMs seemed to have just given up. They are in a no-win situation I guess, and I feel for them. They don’t want to confront guests. I get it.



They haven't given up but guests do not listen or care... and yes the CM's don't want to be confrontational.  They have no back up.  There is definitely an increase in improper mask wearing.


----------



## Alli1988

For those at Disney now (week of August 10th) and the last couple of days. Is it still very short lines, etc. ?


----------



## Lumpy1106

koquinn said:


> The bus stop for Pop from DS was the only one with (way) more than a handful of people Sunday night.
> 
> Yesterday at MK I even saw a guy walking through Tomorrowland smoking with no mask anywhere. I said something to my DH loud enough for the guy to hear but he didn't care. I agree the mask compliance and enforcement seems to get a little worse each day. I even saw a CM pull her mask down to talk to another CM on Thunder Mountain twice. Lots of walking while eating and drinking, and lots of eating and drinking in line (which we've done too out of desperation but only while still outside and with our masks up between sips of water and while staying extra far from people). Wearing the masks in the heat hasn't bothered us more than the heat in general I don't think. It's just really freaking hot. But people definitely aren't as compliant as I'd hoped. I think it's easy to get a false sense of security in the happiest place on earth.


We saw pretty decent mask compliance - this is the extreme minority from our observations last week - record heat on Friday for reference.  We saw one guy who had his mask down, walking while drinking - he was confronted by a security CM and he argued with him a bit.  The CM was awesome and handled it well.  We saw the guy at other times and he was struggling - I don't think he really thought it through.  His family was having no problems though.

The worst example was the one we could not stop laughing about all week.  There was a family of about 7 people who did not have a properly affixed mask among them.  One kid had a pair of goggles hanging off the side of his head, the Mom had her mask off so she could take pictures (yeah, no idea how that helps), they were blocking the Buzz Lightyear cue to take selfies at multiple points.  The family member that came closest to wearing the mask was the baby they were carrying, and even his nose was exposed (yes, I know babies do not need masks - I was not going to get close enough to tell them that). The funniest thing was there was a CM that saw them as they were leaving the gift shop and he made a motion like he was going to go talk to them, then sort of threw up his hands and shrugged - that would have been a DEEP dive to fix all the problems they were having.  We did not see them the rest of the day, but referred to them as "the Buzz Lightyear family" the rest of the week.

Like I said though - we saw these two examples for a full week of being in the parks and DS - everyone else was following the rules to a T, including using the hand sanitizers at all entrances and exits.  BRAVO to the guests for taking it so seriously!  Gotta say - masks were really the least of our worries all week - just do it, not a big deal.


----------



## DisneyPB

Just got back yesterday from a long weekend stay (8/6-8/10) and have a few thoughts and experiences to share: 

We are from South Florida and drove up on Thursday afternoon. I noticed something that I usually see around the school holidays (Memorial Day/Labor Day/etc) which is there were a lot of cars headed north with AP or other Disney magnets. I really think this impacted crowd levels this weekend and why they were so much higher than they have been since opening. Almost everyone we know has a silver pass and is planning a trip in the next few weeks now that we are out of blackout dates. We stayed at Pop to get around the 3 day limit for passholders as we have another trip planned for Labor Day and I booked the park reservations from that "bucket" when they were first released and I believe many people are doing this as well. When we were at Homecomin' on Thursday night the hostess remarked "Whats going on? The last 10 people who have checked in have all been from South Florida." 

Masks - Compliance was pretty good for the most part but in our experience no where near the 95-99% number that I see reported by others in this thread. Our first interaction with another guest was a man with no mask asking if we wanted to get on the elevator with him. Many other guests walking around the resort without a mask or having it hanging off one ear. Most would put it back on quickly when they saw you, but many didn't seem to care so we just avoided them. Lots of noses peeking out or people walking and drinking. 

Transportation - Oh boy. It's bad. Like really bad. The Pop Skyliner line was down pretty much the whole time we were there. Saturday morning we walked over around 10:45 to take it to Epcot to find out it was closed. Walked up front to a line for the Epcot bus that looked similar to other pictures posted here and decided to take an Uber. It ended up costing me around $30 because our driver and us sat in a 40 minute line just to get into the parking lot and I felt like I had to tip big because were taking away his opportunity to make money off other riders as we sat. For some reason they only had one person working both sides of the line even though it was opening and they had to know they would be busy. We received messages each morning on our room phone that the Skyliner was experiencing "a delayed opening" so it got to the point that we didn't even head back there. With the exception of one day where we had a bus to ourselves returning to MK around 4:30 the buses were constantly full, and few and far between. We planned our park days to avoid the buses as much as possible so the Skyliner being down was a real bummer. If you are someone like me who hated Disney transportation pre-pandemic, really pack your patience now. 

Disney Springs - It's night and day difference than the parks. No social distancing and people just walking around without masks. If you're someone who is uncomfortable at all when you experiences those things do not even bother. 

Crowds - I think from here on out if you want to experience lower crowd levels, go during the week. We went to Animal Kingdom yesterday until around 4 and it was what I was expecting based on the crowds thus far. Walked onto FoP twice and had short waits for Everest and the safari. It was a night and day difference between Monday and the weekend. The heat does not help the feeling of crowding either. We are used to this heat and I've walked around outside with a mask on for months, but this weekend was brutally hot. Everyone was trying to stay out of the heat as much as possible so this just made the stores and inside attractions feel even more busy than they normally would. 

With all that said we still really enjoyed ourselves and just the feeling of being back and returning to a small semblance of normalcy for us felt good. Disney trips are always about setting expectations to get the most out of them and that is even more true now. If you go in knowing this will be unlike any trip you've had before and roll with the changes and closures you will have a great time and relish in even the diminished experience just because you are there. I also recognize that is easy for me to say when we live so close, have multiple trips planned this year and don't need to see everything every trip. 

I've been living vicariously through everyone's experiences on this thread so I wanted to give a little of my insight as a thank you. I hope everyone who has a trip upcoming enjoys themselves in this strange reality that we are living and gets a little bit of that magic fix we all need right about now.


----------



## Geomom

PrincessV said:


> Random question for those who've been on POTC with social distancing in place - are the boats still flooding? Or has that issue been solved by less load in the boats? If the're staying dry I may actually ride again lol!


No flooding of the boats.  They are seating parties with 2 empty rows between them on the boats.  But wow, we really got splashed by the cannons when we were seated in the front!


----------



## mickey0624

nkereina said:


> We may consider it if Disney were not charging parking fees, but unfortunately they are. Its hard to justify the cost of the car and parking charges, especially when we really don't want to rent one. Driving in Orlando traffic is anxiety inducing for us small towners and plus we like to have some drinks where we can. So it seems like Uber/Lyft or deal with Pop buses are our options.
> 
> On a related note, has the bus situation been noticeably bad at other resorts? Or is Pop the resort that's most full right now, resulting in the poor bus experiences?


If you are a resort guest you do not pay for parking at the parks


----------



## yulilin3

just got back from my MK stream. rope drop to around 11:30
crowds are slowly but surely increasing, still managed to get on Pooh and Buzz walk on, 7DMT was 20 min at 9:30am. Line for BTMR and SM at around 30 with the queue spilling out, this is due to social distancing
saw one instance of improper mask use inside the park and one outside
the Emporium was pretty empty around 11am which surprised me


----------



## CarolynFH

mickey0624 said:


> If you are a resort guest you do not pay for parking at the parks


Correct, but you do pay for parking at the resort, $15-$25/night depending on whether value, moderate or deluxe resort.


----------



## mirandag819

Alli1988 said:


> For those at Disney now (week of August 10th) and the last couple of days. Is it still very short lines, etc. ?


Magic kingdom was shortish yesterday if you had good timing on rides, on average we waited 20 mins, but really realized how much I missed FP when we waited 45 in seven dwarfs mine train line in the hot sun with a mask on...today at Hollywood studios everything is 45 mins or so and stretched out into the sun, rise of the resistance has been down all day so those with boarding groups aren’t leaving and the wait times haven’t started to drop like they have most days.


----------



## ReginaMBK

yulilin3 said:


> just got back from my MK stream. rope drop to around 11:30
> crowds are slowly but surely increasing, still managed to get on Pooh and Buzz walk on, 7DMT was 20 min at 9:30am. Line for BTMR and SM at around 30 with the queue spilling out, this is due to social distancing
> saw one instance of improper mask use inside the park and one outside
> the Emporium was pretty empty around 11am which surprised me


Do you think the crowd increase will be sustained for a little while? Especially when school starts back up (whenever that is that for FL)?


----------



## yulilin3

ReginaMBK said:


> Do you think the crowd increase will be sustained for a little while? Especially when school starts back up (whenever that is that for FL)?


I don't know the makeup of the crowds. Sept tends to be less busy than Aug normally so I'm expecting it'll be the same, Disney is offering 60% off rooms for september to CM so that should indicate less demand


----------



## nkereina

mickey0624 said:


> If you are a resort guest you do not pay for parking at the parks


Right, but its the parking at the resort that adds up!


----------



## rj9555

TheSouthernBelle said:


> We even waited 30 min for the internal CBR bus. Makes no sense. That bus just drives around the resort in a circle. Disney’s cost saves are apparent in the transportation.



I stayed at CBR a few years ago, and the way I remember it was that the internal bus didn't just drive around the resort. I believe it came from Disney Springs, then did the internal route, and then went on to a theme park.


----------



## sagosto

There's something VERY WRONG if you need to take non-WDW transportation because they can't seem to figure out how to transport guests to a park that's been open for like 5 decades... Just sayin' the obvious.


----------



## yulilin3

sagosto said:


> There's something VERY WRONG if you need to take non-WDW transportation because they can't seem to figure out how to transport guests to a park that's been open for like 5 decades... Just sayin' the obvious.


Yes,  it's called COVID. 
the issue is social distancing and an extreme reduction of bus capacity. Before they would pack them full with people sitting and standing.  Now only 6 groups can ride at the most.


----------



## koquinn

EPCOT has been delightful today. Crowds are super low, CMs are super friendly. We've found a few surprises we didn't know existed (Beauty singalong, Epcot experience, and a food pavilion with yummy stuff and a/c). Been a great day!


----------



## yulilin3

koquinn said:


> EPCOT has been delightful today. Crowds are super low, CMs are super friendly. We've found a few surprises we didn't know existed (Beauty singalong, Epcot experience, and a food pavilion with yummy stuff and a/c). Been a great day!


I wish the entire festival was inside world showplace,  its so nice.  Obviously in can't cause of size


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

rj9555 said:


> I stayed at CBR a few years ago, and the way I remember it was that the internal bus didn't just drive around the resort. I believe it came from Disney Springs, then did the internal route, and then went on to a theme park.


Correct. We had a nice chat with the bus driver of the internal bus and he said he makes several loops and then goes to parks as needed. He said there should be an internal bus no more than every 20-25 min and that’s what Disney transportation said too. The Disney transportation team definitely has no clue how bad it is right now. I though at first the bus arrival times were no longer posted in MDE or at the bus stop monitors to avoid crowds, it’s because they are dealing with a mess and they really don’t know which end is up right now.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

yulilin3 said:


> Yes,  it's called COVID.
> the issue is social distancing and an extreme reduction of bus capacity. Before they would pack them full with people sitting and standing.  Now only 6 groups can ride at the most.


 I know that and had low expectations. However the busiest resorts should have had more buses knowing that a line of 100+ ppl would be leaving the parks upon close and/or trying to go to Epcot and DHS when the skyliner was down. Hard for anyone to social distance when a bus only comes once per hour.  Covid or not, they’re open and guests are paying and they need to provide better service.


----------



## yulilin3

TheSouthernBelle said:


> I know that and had low expectations. However the busiest resorts should have had more buses knowing that a line of 100+ ppl would be leaving the parks upon close and/or trying to go to Epcot and DHS when the skyliner was down. Hard for anyone to social distance when a bus only comes once per hour.  Covid or not, they’re open and guests are paying and they need to provide better service.


Valid point. I hope you emailed them to let them know.  What was the answer they gave you at the front desk? Im wondering if they called more buses


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

yulilin3 said:


> Valid point. I hope you emailed them to let them know.  What was the answer they gave you at the front desk? Im wondering if they called more buses



Thank you. Yes I did. I emailed them Sunday and got this response below back. I thought the comment about their response time was fitting. Goes with the territory  our issues extended beyond bad transport too. We had a sewage smelling room at CBR and no housekeeping. None of it was a big deal and CBR corrected it promptly but you could see it on the resort CM faces that they were struggling. I felt bad for the front desk CMs. They really got beat up for all that was wrong with online check in, the buses and mobile ordering. 






Thank you for writing to us. We sincerely appreciate your loyalty to Disney and value the time you took to share your thoughts.
We do have Cast Members available to assist urgent matters during this time, however, you may experience a longer than normal wait time for a response.

Thank you so much for your understanding.
We look forward to assisting you.
Sincerely,





Rose
Guest Experience Services


----------



## sagosto

I think I know the answer but given FP is dead -- What about rider swap? There's a .01% chance we'd go this year given the madness but this might seal the deal


----------



## koquinn

sagosto said:


> I think I know the answer but given FP is dead -- What about rider swap? There's a .01% chance we'd go this year given the madness but this might seal the deal


You can still rider swap.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

sagosto said:


> I think I know the answer but given FP is dead -- What about rider swap? There's a .01% chance we'd go this year given the madness but this might seal the deal


As of last week you could still do rider swap. They had CM outfront for the more popular rides and you can ask them. We almost did it for Everest but it was no wait so I just got back in line.


----------



## yulilin3

Alright,  let's please keep this focused on just back experiences


----------



## Lumpy1106

yulilin3 said:


> Yes,  it's called COVID.
> the issue is social distancing and an extreme reduction of bus capacity. Before they would pack them full with people sitting and standing.  Now only 6 groups can ride at the most.


That's true, but they also aren't stationing supervisors to send additional buses when people get left at the bus stop.  In fact, there aren't any "additional" buses.  That's the problem.


----------



## lovethattink

I’m here now for a 3 night stay. 



TheSouthernBelle said:


> I know that and had low expectations. However the busiest resorts should have had more buses knowing that a line of 100+ ppl would be leaving the parks upon close and/or trying to go to Epcot and DHS when the skyliner was down. Hard for anyone to social distance when a bus only comes once per hour.  Covid or not, they’re open and guests are paying and they need to provide better service.



We took the Skyliner once to DHS, but due to weather (which didn’t arrive til a couple hours after the Skyliner was closed), they switched to bus. We were the 2nd name for DHS on the cm’s list. We waited 55 minutes at the CBR Skyliner station for a bus to arrive. 

We spent a short time at the park. No rain or anything. DHS was like a ghost town. Which definitely isn’t the case at park opening. 

Pop is listed as #2 at the buses, but the bus actually stopped at 1. Thankfully not many people were there and we all fit on the bus.

The rain started and the bus has its emergency hatch open for air circulation. All of us in the back of the bus got wet from the rain. So we’ve used our car instead of Disney transportation since. 

I used Sprint’s cellular to make our boarding group. I had best reception just inside the park. Sat on the stone wall. Got boarding group 16 on Monday and 18 today. Rode yesterday, but today the attraction was shut down. 

So glad we got to ride it yesterday for the first time. Mind blowing attraction!!

Launch Bay has both indoor and outdoor seating for the Relaxation Station. You can still see most of the Star Wars stuff inside. The outside seating area is to the left of the cm greeting you. 

Has anyone seen the Disney orchestra playing at the theater that houses Beauty and the Beast? I wanted to but we didn’t.


----------



## SamFaniam

lovethattink said:


> We took the Skyliner once to DHS, but due to weather (which didn’t arrive til a couple hours after the Skyliner was closed),



I remember speaking to one of the transportation CMs about something like this last year, and the radius for lightning and shutting down the Skyliner is relatively wide. If I recall correctly any lightning within 30 miles and they close the Skyliner. So it may not always be evident locally.  Does anyone know if they are running relief buses from the Boardwalk? That was something they did last year so that people who came in through the IG didn’t have to go to the front of the park to take a bus back to a skyliner resort.


----------



## hereforthechurros

I reallllly want to say that I’m so happy we went but just not sure that’s true. We had our usual fun and moments of magic. But the flight down was a full flight, mostly younger people taking advantage of cheap airfare I’m sure, who were not taking masks seriously. Flight back was the same. We had issues with comfort levels, at time, at both S&D and Epcot. Masks get old. Cleaning and sanitizing gets old. We got home today and showered, did laundry, and wiped everything down. Disney will always be there, there really isn’t any reason to push it and go right now.


----------



## Aishaahm

Just touched down in good old Missouri! We did two days at the Poly on rented points, and two days at the parks, AK and MK. We did AK yesterday (Monday), hit all headliners there by 1:30 and even came back in the evening for a walk on FOP repeat! Here’s what that looked like....

*AK day*
FOP
NAV
ate at Satu’li Canteen
Character Boat-Chip, Dale, Goofy
Kilamanjaro Safari
Gorilla Falls Trail-saw baby Grace
Dinosaur
Triceratops spin
Expedition Everest
Met Tim Tracker
Swam
FOP again

Went to MK this morning (Tuesday) from Poly and they wouldn’t let us out of the monorail until after 8:30. So we passed MK station at 8:24 and had to go all the way around again before they let us disembark and it was 8:42 by then. We were still able to accomplish the following on our departure day by 11:15 am in time to catch the monorail back to Poly to make our Magical Express Bus.....

*MK DAY*
Characters at the Main Street Train Station
7DMT
Space Ranger Spin
Space Mountain x 2
Character Cavalcade- Pooh Friends
POTC
ate at Pecos Bills
Under the Sea
Barnstormer
Caught Move it Shake it leaving

*Transportation and COVID changes*
Poly resort was very easy to socially distance, other than maybe between 2:30-5 at the Lava Pool. Monorail was one family per partition, and the only time we needed the bus it was right there for AK and we were the ONLY people waiting/riding both to and from the park. DS was busy, but we just popped in for some Chicken Guy and left when a storm blew in.

**** I took multiple videos throughout the park just out of amazement for lack of crowds and the ability to socially distance. Of course we went on a Monday and Tuesday so there’s that!

If you are wondering whether or not it’s still magical, I believe it was one of the most relaxing Disney trips we have ever taken, so much so that we switched parks day of with no fret or fuss!


----------



## LaDonna

That’s interesting so Let’s say you have a reservation for mk but that morning you want to go to ak u can just go into mde and change it


----------



## Aishaahm

Wellll, I went to guest services to ask for help and while he said he could do it for me, he assured me because we were on-site, that we should not have a problem doing that for that morning. So I took his word in good faith, canceled them all for MK and was able to book AK right away...this is just my personal experience. If it’s helpful to know as well, we had 3 APs and 2 regular tickets purchased separately!


----------



## Lumpy1106

hereforthechurros said:


> I reallllly want to say that I’m so happy we went but just not sure that’s true. We had our usual fun and moments of magic. But the flight down was a full flight, mostly younger people taking advantage of cheap airfare I’m sure, who were not taking masks seriously. Flight back was the same. We had issues with comfort levels, at time, at both S&D and Epcot. Masks get old. Cleaning and sanitizing gets old. We got home today and showered, did laundry, and wiped everything down. Disney will always be there, there really isn’t any reason to push it and go right now.
> 
> I landed to a text from a neighbor saying ‘I heard you went to Disney and just want to make sure your son doesn’t play with my son’ so that sucked, but I totally get it. Day one of quarantine starts now.


What airline did you fly on?  Reason I ask; We flew LAX-MCO on Jet Blue.  While we waited to board @ LAX, we were next to a gate that was unloading a Spirit ORD-LAX flight.  We could not believe how many people came off that plane!  They just kept coming - hundreds of people!  Our Jet Blue flight was maybe 50% full, but then Jet Blue doesn't have nearly the fire sale ticket prices that Spirit has.  I was tracking it since I booked our trip in 2019 and the price had come all the way down to $58 RT on Spirit (!) You  could fly cheaper than you could check your bags - crazy!  Jet Blue flight back was also about 50% full, no center seats full unless it is the person you are travelling with on both flights.

BTW - have you flown on a new Jet Blue plane yet?  GORGEOUS!!! We flew on an older Jet Blue plane on the way out - nice, but a bit worn.  Only about 1/2 the channels worked on the TV's and the WiFi was glitchy.  The new planes though - WOW!  They have this all-new entertainment system that had about 60 channels, all worked flawlessly, dozens of HBO movies, a bunch of podcast channels, the WiFi worked perfectly.  The new planes also have power ports between each seat so you can plug in a regular AC plug or USB - that was a really nice touch.  Not only that, but they handed out "sanitation packs" as we got on the plane that had 2 disinfectant wipes and a small pack of hand sanitizer in a sealed bag.  They came down the aisle every 30 minutes or so to collect garbage so you don't leave it in the seat back.  Snacks both ways were sealed bags containing small bottles of water, cookies and these weird seed bar snacks.  No soft drinks, alcohol or any of that thanks to COVID.


----------



## Aishaahm

Ok to be fair flights were nerve-wracking for sure and we actually flew two different airlines (Allegiant to and Frontier back) it was the most uncomfortable I felt the entire time. Yes, full flights, yes, people not wearing masks after they sit down and think no one is watching, as well as the thought of rebreathing all of that cabin air. BUT, thus far we have no indication that we have contracted anything and have had normal temps the whole 6-day trip (although symptoms can start from 7-9 days out). Here’s hoping the desperation that the airlines are feeling doesn’t continue to cloud their judgement about limiting passengers and/or grouping them by families etc.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Lumpy1106 said:


> What airline did you fly on?  Reason I ask; We flew LAX-MCO on Jet Blue.  While we waited to board @ LAX, we were next to a gate that was unloading a Spirit ORD-LAX flight.  We could not believe how many people came off that plane!  They just kept coming - hundreds of people!  Our Jet Blue flight was maybe 50% full, but then Jet Blue doesn't have nearly the fire sale ticket prices that Spirit has.  I was tracking it since I booked our trip in 2019 and the price had come all the way down to $58 RT on Spirit (!) You  could fly cheaper than you could check your bags - crazy!  Jet Blue flight back was also about 50% full, no center seats full unless it is the person you are travelling with on both flights.
> 
> BTW - have you flown on a new Jet Blue plane yet?  GORGEOUS!!! We flew on an older Jet Blue plane on the way out - nice, but a bit worn.  Only about 1/2 the channels worked on the TV's and the WiFi was glitchy.  The new planes though - WOW!  They have this all-new entertainment system that had about 60 channels, all worked flawlessly, dozens of HBO movies, a bunch of podcast channels, the WiFi worked perfectly.  The new planes also have power ports between each seat so you can plug in a regular AC plug or USB - that was a really nice touch.  Not only that, but they handed out "sanitation packs" as we got on the plane that had 2 disinfectant wipes and a small pack of hand sanitizer in a sealed bag.  They came down the aisle every 30 minutes or so to collect garbage so you don't leave it in the seat back.  Snacks both ways were sealed bags containing small bottles of water, cookies and these weird seed bar snacks.  No soft drinks, alcohol or any of that thanks to COVID.


Jet Blue doesn’t fly from our city to MCO otherwise we would. Love that airline.

We were on Frontier because we are drowning in Frontier and United credits. Neither of which are underselling flights at the moment but packing them in apparently. Lesson learned for sure.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Moving on though with some positive... the food at wdw has never tasted better. No waits for dining reservations, online check in is a breeze and the service was excellent in restaurants.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Welcome back @hereforthechurros.  Appreciate the feedback posts, despite the bumps in the road.


----------



## duder92

Landed this afternoon and headed to Beach Club. Went to Epcot for a great dinner by the water at Spice Road and then hit Living with the Land, Test Track, and Frozen before park close. Wonderful evening.

We are going to Magic Kingdom tomorrow. What time should we drive over to be at the front of the pack? Do they still turn everyone away before 8:15a?


----------



## AllSam

duder92 said:


> Landed this afternoon and headed to Beach Club. Went to Epcot for a great dinner by the water at Spice Road and then hit Living with the Land, Test Track, and Frozen before park close. Wonderful evening.
> 
> We are going to Magic Kingdom tomorrow. What time should we drive over to be at the front of the pack? Do they still turn everyone away before 8:15a?


Yes sort of - they don’t let cars in until 8:15 but they let the cars line up a little before then. We are also staying in Beach Club Villas and grabbed a reservation for breakfast at Waves so we could walk over. Great breakfast btw


----------



## only hope

PrincessV said:


> Random question for those who've been on POTC with social distancing in place - are the boats still flooding? Or has that issue been solved by less load in the boats? If the're staying dry I may actually ride again lol!



Rode today, no flooding, though I never experienced that pre-covid.



Alli1988 said:


> For those at Disney now (week of August 10th) and the last couple of days. Is it still very short lines, etc. ?



Did HS yesterday. MMRR had a posted time of anywhere from 30-80mn; SDD hovered around 30-50; ToT was around 30-50; SR 15-50. The rest were mostly 20 or less. Wait times peaked around lunch and dropped from there. We rode SR twice in about 35mn from 7-735. 

MK today was 10mn or less for Pooh, PP, IaSW, Mermaid, Thunder, Carpets, Pirates, HM, Buzz, and CoA. Waited nearly 20mn for Philhar due to bad timing; 7DMT was 13mn right before close; posted was 35. Most other wait times stated 15-25 mn so I agree with others about the overestimating. We arrived on Main St just before noon and accomplished all of the above, plus snack breaks and some shopping. When we arrived a bit before noon we saw the Pooh cavalcade (watched from inside the shop), Mickey and co, and Tink, all about 10mn apart. Waited for the next one and nothing came so we headed to Fantasyland. Stitch was out once on the Tomorrowland stage



LaDonna said:


> That’s interesting so Let’s say you have a reservation for mk but that morning you want to go to ak u can just go into mde and change it



If it’s available yes. If you have a resort stay you shouldn’t have an issue. We changed our next HS day from tomorrow to Thurs a few hours ago.



Mask compliance: was horrible at MK imo. Noses everywhere. Many people with chin straps. Some walking while eating/drinking, and not counting a quick sip of water in a queue. A few younger kids didn’t even have a chin strap. Very rarely did I see a cm correct anybody. On Carpets there was a 6-ish year old with no mask in siand nothing was said; another person had a selfie stick and nothing said. I felt much unsafer at MK today than I have at Uni or at HS yesterday. Many people didn’t bother trying to social distance either. We had to tell a few people to back off, mainly in queues. HS had the same problems yesterday but to a lesser degree. Very unpleasantly surprised to see so many people not wearing a mask and nothing being done about it. We saw no masks almost constantly throughout the day. I assured my mom it’d be safe (for the times anyways), that people on here reported high compliance, but that wasn’t the case today.

The ferryboat was too crowded leaving. Groups were barely six feet apart. The markers are too close together. The markers on the ground are too close. If a group is more than two and can’t stand side by side, you won’t be six feet apart for the most part. Many times the spacing for switchbacks without plexiglass is inadequate- it’s more like four feet diagonally. Going into and out of theaters is a free for all. Universal handles these things better too. Usually I sing Disneys praises over Universals.


----------



## jvalic33

Does anyone have any input on the Boardwalk at night?  

Is there any action/performers outside or is it a ghost town?  Would be curious to know how it feels. I know some of the restaurants, etc. are open, but it would be really odd to see the Boardwalk without a single shop or entertainer.  I  realize they may want to limits unrestricted crowds so maybe this has been temporarily eliminated?


----------



## andy_dangg

jvalic33 said:


> Does anyone have any input on the Boardwalk at night?
> 
> Is there any action/performers outside or is it a ghost town?  Would be curious to know how it feels. I know some of the restaurants, etc. are open, but it would be really odd to see the Boardwalk without a single shop or entertainer.  I  realize they may want to limits unrestricted crowds so maybe this has been temporarily eliminated?


I was there mid July and it was VERY quiet. This was my first time ever at BW so it didn't really feel eerie or different to me. But I could see how it would be fun with more people and shops open.

Trattoria al Forno, the pizza window, Boardwalk Bakery, Abracadabar, and the general store were open. No entertainers.


----------



## jvalic33

andy_dangg said:


> I was there mid July and it was VERY quiet. This was my first time ever at BW so it didn't really feel eerie or different to me. But I could see how it would be fun with more people and shops open.
> 
> Trattoria al Forno, the pizza window, Boardwalk Bakery, Abracadabar, and the general store were open. No entertainers.


One of our favorite parts of the night when we stay at BW or BC is that you don't feel like the day is over because there is so much going on there.  We still remember the jokes and the tricks from some of the performers.  You really have to go back when things get back to normal and I do believe one day they will!


----------



## Donzie

I am here for the week. Sunday 8/9 arrive at Fort Wilderness cabins.  4 park days Monday through Friday with a rest pool day.  Leave Saturday.

Fort Wilderness - still here, still big, still full of wildlife, golf carts are always fun to drive around in (and not chase after half a dozen of my lost golf balls). First cabin was not up to snuff. Refrigerator didn't work, smelled like cat and/or dog pee and pull out couch mattress pad was full of crumbs and dirt.  I complained and was given a few options and simply said I clearly need a new cabin.  Within 10 minutes I was given one next door to move to.  It is clean and all in working order, except the house phone which may be on purpose so I cannot complain anymore, lol. 

Takeout food from PJ's is ok and reasonably priced for Disney.  Bus coverage is under 10 minute waits with minimal lines at non peak times. I  chose to go a half hour after peak to avoid the congestion at bus stops and don't stay in towers or campus hotels (during covid otherwise pop would be nice to save $).  Mask compliance is solid for walkers and settlement and shop areas.  Not so for golf cart riders maybe 50 to 75% compliance.  This place is so huge and on the carts they may not really be needed but staff will ask you to wear a mask.  Driving around the resort for 3 days and I have not seen more then 10 to 20 people in my entire pan view.  I have NOT been to the main pool as yet! 

The bad - no boats to Magic Kingdom, no Hoop De Doo, and no Trail's end Buffet.  Damn covid killed a hella good buffet, but PJ's still has the chicken, ribs and taters. Overall crowd is down, some RV loops closed, cabins are mostly full and at max on Saturdays. 

The construction wall behind the settlement is obnoxious at best, hopefully Disney has money to fix it soon.  I miss Mickey's Backyard BBQ. No character campfire sing-a-longs but there are social distancing movie nights.  I have seen many deer, rabbits, birds, salamanders, birds and an armadillo. But no mice, at the resort atleast!

Next report will be my MK report for Monday.


----------



## Pens Fan

I feel really bad for everyone having transportation issues.  That stinks and I hope it's something that Disney can improve on (as others have said - let them know!).

But for anyone heading down in the near future, I do want to share my son's impressions after being there last week.  They stayed at Copper Creek and found transportation from WL to AK, Epcot and MK (bus was far better than the boat!) perfectly fine - no issues at all.

They did have an issue the one time they headed to DHS mid-day and waited a very long time for a bus.  I think that's pretty understandable considering most people head over first thing in the morning, so it makes sense that the bus service to _that_ park is limited at that time.  The other time they went to DHS they were trying to make it by 10 AM so they preordered a Lyft the night before to make sure they arrived in time.  So he doesn't know what the lines for the bus were like at that time.

However bus service to DS was an issue.  The fact that they are not currently running busses from the parks to DS caught them by surprise.  They lucked out and caught a quick bus back to WL from DHS but the line to the DS bus at WL was loooooong.  There was no way they would make their reservation.  They called for a Lyft and the Mickey gods were smiling.  Their driver was a furloughed DS CM.  She knew just where to drop them off for easy access to Raglin Road and they made it just in time.  CM's are awesome even when on furlough!!   

He said the lines for DS busses in the evening were a problem all week so that's an issue Disney definitely needs to get a handle on.  With the parks closing so early, it's to be expected that tons of folks are heading to DS at that time.  They just grabbed an Uber or Lyft so it wasn't a big deal.  Overall they had an absolute blast, loved the lack of crowds and low wait times.  They'd go back in a heartbeat.


----------



## yulilin3

I don't think it's hard to stay on topic. 
Share your just back experiences you had ar WDW or ask a question to someone that just got back.  No need to know what you're doing once you're back home or what anyone else is thinking or doing or the school is doing


----------



## MomOTwins

only hope said:


> Rode today, no flooding, though I never experienced that pre-covid.
> 
> 
> 
> Did HS yesterday. MMRR had a posted time of anywhere from 30-80mn; SDD hovered around 30-50; ToT was around 30-50; SR 15-50. The rest were mostly 20 or less. Wait times peaked around lunch and dropped from there. We rode SR twice in about 35mn from 7-735.
> 
> MK today was 10mn or less for Pooh, PP, IaSW, Mermaid, Thunder, Carpets, Pirates, HM, Buzz, and CoA. Waited nearly 20mn for Philhar due to bad timing; 7DMT was 13mn right before close; posted was 35. Most other wait times stated 15-25 mn so I agree with others about the overestimating. We arrived on Main St just before noon and accomplished all of the above, plus snack breaks and some shopping. When we arrived a bit before noon we saw the Pooh cavalcade (watched from inside the shop), Mickey and co, and Tink, all about 10mn apart. Waited for the next one and nothing came so we headed to Fantasyland. Stitch was out once on the Tomorrowland stage
> 
> 
> 
> If it’s available yes. If you have a resort stay you shouldn’t have an issue. We changed our next HS day from tomorrow to Thurs a few hours ago.
> 
> 
> 
> Mask compliance: was horrible at MK imo. Noses everywhere. Many people with chin straps. Some walking while eating/drinking, and not counting a quick sip of water in a queue. A few younger kids didn’t even have a chin strap. Very rarely did I see a cm correct anybody. On Carpets there was a 6-ish year old with no mask in siand nothing was said; another person had a selfie stick and nothing said. I felt much unsafer at MK today than I have at Uni or at HS yesterday. Many people didn’t bother trying to social distance either. We had to tell a few people to back off, mainly in queues. HS had the same problems yesterday but to a lesser degree. Very unpleasantly surprised to see so many people not wearing a mask and nothing being done about it. We saw no masks almost constantly throughout the day. I assured my mom it’d be safe (for the times anyways), that people on here reported high compliance, but that wasn’t the case today.
> 
> The ferryboat was too crowded leaving. Groups were barely six feet apart. The markers are too close together. The markers on the ground are too close. If a group is more than two and can’t stand side by side, you won’t be six feet apart for the most part. Many times the spacing for switchbacks without plexiglass is inadequate- it’s more like four feet diagonally. Going into and out of theaters is a free for all. Universal handles these things better too. Usually I sing Disneys praises over Universals.


MK was really bad today too.  My four year old actually started telling people behind us “go back to your line” at one point. And I agree that at any given time you can look around and see people with no masks or noses out/under the neck.  Lots of walking and eating too.  Only time I saw a CM speak up (kind of) was to tell someone they had to eat their Mickey bar before entering the ride queue, but then they just walked away eating—no instruction to go sit to eat.


----------



## MomOTwins

Read a few posts back and see people are looking for insight on bus transportation.  I will share we have had good steady bus transportation at Riviera but that is clearly not true for other resorts. Last night Skyliner was down, and at Epcot after closing I was literally the only person at the riviera bus stop and the Pop line (the stop next to Riviera) was hundreds of people deep.  My bus took the expected 20 mins, so not bad, but in that time the PoP line just kept growing, never shrinking.  I asked my driver if we could give a lift to the Pop folks but she said they are not allowed to, and I get that. There were actually buses lined up for pop guests but they were only loading one bus at a time and with the assigned seating system it was slow.  Felt so bad for the people stuck in line getting rained on.


----------



## lovethattink

I played around with MDE as a resort guest. At least for this trip, I can cancel my park reservation for the day and pick any of the 4 parks when making a new one as a resort guest. Once inside a park, mde doesn’t let YOU change to a different park for that day. 

Ex. I cancelled DHS just now. Made a new park resie and was able to choose any of the 4 parks. I switched back and forth cancelling and making new ones with ease.


----------



## AllSam

andy_dangg said:


> I was there mid July and it was VERY quiet. This was my first time ever at BW so it didn't really feel eerie or different to me. But I could see how it would be fun with more people and shops open.
> 
> Trattoria al Forno, the pizza window, Boardwalk Bakery, Abracadabar, and the general store were open. No entertainers.


We are here now and this is still true. Very sad looking over there with everything closed.


----------



## lovethattink

MomOTwins said:


> Read a few posts back and see people are looking for insight on bus transportation.  I will share we have had good steady bus transportation at Riviera but that is clearly not true for other resorts. Last night Skyliner was down, and at Epcot after closing I was literally the only person at the riviera bus stop and the Pop line (the stop next to Riviera) was hundreds of people deep.  My bus took the expected 20 mins, so not bad, but in that time the PoP line just kept growing, never shrinking.  I asked my driver if we could give a lift to the Pop folks but she said they are not allowed to, and I get that. There were actually buses lined up for pop guests but they were only loading one bus at a time and with the assigned seating system it was slow.  Felt so bad for the people stuck in line getting rained on.



Someone on the Pop thread said they used the chat with us feature on MDE the other night after waiting in a huge bus line. Shortly after the contact, a bus was sent. 

So maybe using the new chat with us feature on MDE can work?


----------



## 720L

Anyone guess if Rise will be open today?


----------



## dachsie

MomOTwins said:


> Read a few posts back and see people are looking for insight on bus transportation.  I will share we have had good steady bus transportation at Riviera but that is clearly not true for other resorts. Last night Skyliner was down, and at Epcot after closing I was literally the only person at the riviera bus stop and the Pop line (the stop next to Riviera) was hundreds of people deep.  My bus took the expected 20 mins, so not bad, but in that time the PoP line just kept growing, never shrinking.  I asked my driver if we could give a lift to the Pop folks but she said they are not allowed to, and I get that. There were actually buses lined up for pop guests but they were only loading one bus at a time and with the assigned seating system it was slow.  Felt so bad for the people stuck in line getting rained on.


My impression of Disney Bus service is that they focus least on the value resorts.  We waited for an hour several years ago for ASSp bus at DHS watching all the other busses come and go 2-3 times.  I finally went to ask a cast member why we weren't getting a bus and they finally sent one.  Had to wait a long time at DS for one to AoA once as well.


----------



## dachsie

720L said:


> Anyone guess if Rise will be open today?


Depends on if they fixed the electrical issue.


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

Are people reporting non-compliance at MK emailing or going to GS and reporting to Disney? These reports are scary and we are staying clear of MK now.


----------



## LaDonna

lovethattink said:


> I played around with MDE as a resort guest. At least for this trip, I can cancel my park reservation for the day and pick any of the 4 parks when making a new one as a resort guest. Once inside a park, mde doesn’t let YOU change to a different park for that day.
> 
> Ex. I cancelled DHS just now. Made a new park resie and was able to choose any of the 4 parks. I switched back and forth cancelling and making new ones with ease.



I haven’t played around with it but do you have to actually cancel it then go back and book another one or can you see the availability before canceling


----------



## omniscientmommy

@caseyem67 Did you notice the buses at all while there? We are staying at SSR and we aren't going to have a car. I am wondering if we should try to rely on the buses or Uber.


----------



## yulilin3

P'colaBeachBum said:


> Are people reporting non-compliance at MK emailing or going to GS and reporting to Disney? These reports are scary and we are staying clear of MK now.


non compliance happens everywhere, it's not limited to one place


----------



## 720L

I haven't noticed mask compliance worse at any specific park. For the most part everyone is complying.


----------



## only hope

P'colaBeachBum said:


> Are people reporting non-compliance at MK emailing or going to GS and reporting to Disney? These reports are scary and we are staying clear of MK now.



On our way out of MK at closing I’d say about 20% of people weren’t wearing a mask at all/properly. Two managers were headed towards us and mom let them know; they just said thank you. I dunno if they corrected anyone.

At AK now, very empty and haven’t seen a single nose or mouth aside from stationary distanced people eating/drinking.


----------



## Lumpy1106

Not to hang this on any one group, but the only time we saw mask non-compliance was on Friday when the crowd picked up.  Just sayin'...


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

yulilin3 said:


> non compliance happens everywhere, it's not limited to one place


Yes, I'm aware of that. Disney went out of their way to promote safety at the parks. If the CM's are not approaching people due to not wanting a confrontation then what's the point. Sounds like they need more CM's or security to enforce their own rules...imo.


----------



## yulilin3

P'colaBeachBum said:


> Yes, I'm aware of that. Disney went out of their way to promote safety at the parks. If the CM's are not approaching people due to not wanting a confrontation then what's the point. Sounds like they need more CM's or security to enforce their own rules...imo.


I'm going to be honest with you, if you are thinking that Disney or any other property, store, company, will police these guidelines 100% you will be disappointed. If you are thinking of coming expecting this to happen I recommend you save your money, not saying it in a mean way at all, it's just reality.
Where have you been where you have seen 100% policing? They would need to have a CM per family entering each park, to walk around with them at all times to make sure they are following rules


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

yulilin3 said:


> I'm going to be honest with you, if you are thinking that Disney or any other property, store, company, will police these guidelines 100% you will be disappointed. If you are thinking of coming expecting this to happen I recommend you save your money, not saying it in a mean way at all, it's just reality.
> Where have you been where you have seen 100% policing? They would need to have a CM per family entering each park, to walk around with them at all times to make sure they are following rules


I agree...that is why I have no intention of going to MK or HS. But, and it's a big one....don't promote safety rules at theme parks if you are not willing to enforce them. Disney has their requirements posted all over the parks and websites. And, in my area , an hour away from WDW, people are doing a great job of following rules posted at the resturants and stores. Sorry for being off topic.


----------



## Rach73

No one is expecting a CM per family but some extra policing is definitely needed. Last week I saw plenty of cast members not correcting guest and I don’t blame them with the way people can be. They need some backup. There were way to many people not following the rules we should be able to expect better from Disney.


----------



## yulilin3

P'colaBeachBum said:


> I agree...that is why I have no intention of going to MK or HS. But, and it's a big one....don't promote safety rules at theme parks if you are not willing to enforce them. Disney has their requirements posted all over the parks and websites. And, in my area , an hour away from WDW, people are doing a great job of following rules posted at the resturants and stores. Sorry for being off topic.


I'm assuming you have not come yet, so you haven't seen for yourself if Disney is enforcing or not. Again enforcement is not 100% but I have seen masks being enforced by CM in every trip, I have been to all the parks since they reopened, I visit 3 times a week, every time I have seen CM reminding people to wear their mask properly not only to adults but also pointing it out for some kids. 
If each park has 5k people at any given time and only 100 are not wearing them properly for the split second you see it I think that is very good.
Now if it was a free for all and mostly no one would be wearing them and CM weren't saying anything that's a different situation, that's not what happening here, if you read back you can see most people report high mask compliance


----------



## yulilin3

Rach73 said:


> No one is expecting a CM per family but some extra policing is definitely needed. Last week I saw plenty of cast members not correcting guest and I don’t blame them with the way people can be. They need some backup. There were way to many people not following the rules we should be able to expect better from Disney.


and you know what, there is actually extra policing now than there was in July. So they are seeing the need and adjusting to it.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

lovethattink said:


> I’m here now for a 3 night stay.
> 
> 
> 
> We took the Skyliner once to DHS, but due to weather (which didn’t arrive til a couple hours after the Skyliner was closed), they switched to bus. We were the 2nd name for DHS on the cm’s list. We waited 55 minutes at the CBR Skyliner station for a bus to arrive.
> 
> We spent a short time at the park. No rain or anything. DHS was like a ghost town. Which definitely isn’t the case at park opening.
> 
> Pop is listed as #2 at the buses, but the bus actually stopped at 1. Thankfully not many people were there and we all fit on the bus.
> 
> The rain started and the bus has its emergency hatch open for air circulation. All of us in the back of the bus got wet from the rain. So we’ve used our car instead of Disney transportation since.


What do you mean you were the second name on the CMs list?  The hatches being open was annoying. The back seats were always wet late in the day. The CBR Epcot/DHS bus situation was awful!!


----------



## Rach73

yulilin3 said:


> and you know what, there is actually extra policing now than there was in July. So they are seeing the need and adjusting to it.


That’s good to hear. I really wish I would have seen more enforcement last week when we were there.  I’d feel better about keeping our next scheduled trip.


----------



## The Expert

hereforthechurros said:


> Jet Blue doesn’t fly from our city to MCO otherwise we would. Love that airline.
> 
> We were on Frontier because we are drowning in Frontier and United credits. Neither of which are underselling flights at the moment but packing them in apparently. Lesson learned for sure.



Your flight experience will definitely vary greatly based the airline. We've flown twice on Delta in the last six weeks and both experiences were excellent. They're still blocking middle seats and only filling planes halfway. They kindly enforce the mask rules as well. I've heard good things about Southwest, too. 

As for mask enforcement in the parks, there's a whole team of CMs whose job is nothing but that. IME, they were doing a wonderful job of it at all four parks, with DS being the outlier.


----------



## nancipants

I worry that certain people won't comply with the mask rules, and will not listen to cast members repeatedly telling them to do so, unless cast members have the authority to have those people escorted from the park.


----------



## Lumpy1106

I would say the majority of the "policing" should be through peer pressure.  If you are wearing a mask, using the hand sanitizers, etc religiously, others around you will too.  Let's get real here; it is OUR responsibility to make sure that the Disney COVID protocols are being followed as much as it is theirs.  The minute there is an outbreak tied to Disney parks the whole thing will be shut down.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

As far as mask compliance and covid guidelines, as of late, WDW is by far the BEST hospitality-vacation spot I’ve visited since covid that’s implemented and enforced their guidelines. We’ve been to Margaritaville, hammock beach and several smaller hotels like Hilton’s and Hamptons and none have anyone enforcing any of their “safety policies” and some have no policies at all.  We actually had a day at the DHS Starbucks (trolly car), where a non working CM schooled us about how you’re supposed to stand on the social distancing markers as a family. So, while I think you’ll always see people’s noses, and some folks walking/eating and the like, on a whole, WDW is knocking it out of the park with overall compliance.


----------



## Erica Ladd

Trip reports? Anyone?


----------



## 720L

AK yesterday, it wasn't busy. HS today, also doesn't seem busy. It's definitely better than Saturday.


----------



## koquinn

Pretty jammed in Toy Story Land right now but it's our 2nd day in HS so we're ok waiting a little more today. Trying to be patient and remind my kids too!


----------



## yulilin3

720L said:


> AK yesterday, it wasn't busy. HS today, also doesn't seem busy. It's definitely better than Saturday.


I wonder if this last weekend bump were lots of AP getting a last trip before cancelling their tickets yesterday


----------



## armerida

yulilin3 said:


> I wonder if this last weekend bump were lots of AP getting a last trip before cancelling their tickets yesterday


That would make sense, go out with a bang..


----------



## Chris Ehlers

Back from 8 nights @ BLT ( Biggest Issue was problems with AC in Room) did all parks twice while there.   AK and Epcot for the most part were empty and at  points kind of sad  the busy part of AK was Satu'li Canteen around lunch time but FOP was walk on and if you wanted to ride again they directed you to the FP line.   MK was great we did every single ride and then did our faves multiple times.  HS we were able to get boarding groups for RotR for both days first day was #10 for the 10am.  secured that while in line for MMRR  the second day we didnt go till HS till lunch time and we got boarding group #80 never expecting it to reach us, but it did, both times we never waited in a line it was completely walk on.  MFSR was walk on for the most part as well, SDD was around 30min and TSMM was 10min   RRC and ToT wwere walk on as well but i did see times rise at certain parts of the day.  over all we did see mask compliance to be around 95% there were still people eating in line  or taking masks off just to get a breather while in line.    Epcot with the HEAT and the lack of paces in the shade made for a tough time in some countries to eat and drink.    If y'all have any questions on anything else let me know


----------



## taxmom04

P'colaBeachBum said:


> Yes, I'm aware of that. Disney went out of their way to promote safety at the parks. If the CM's are not approaching people due to not wanting a confrontation then what's the point. Sounds like they need more CM's or security to enforce their own rules...imo.


When we were at MK this past Saturday, CM's were approaching people and asking for mask compliance several times through-out the day that I witnessed.


----------



## drloftis

Just got back from 10 days UOR/WDW.  We stayed at the Poly at WDW.  My thoughts are...

1.  If you can, rent / drive your own car.  Besides the transportation woes you read about, we found it most useful at night b/c of very limited offerings at the resorts.  
2.  Overall mask compliance is good.  Nothing more to add beyond posts above in this thread.
3.  SHOUT OUT TO YOU PARENTS OUT THERE!  I have adult "kids" and just wanted to praise you parents of little ones.  I was pleasantly surprised at how the kids were doing with masks.  In fact the young ones were doing better than the parents or young adults we saw.
4.  Social distancing, not as good.  If you are freaked out about people getting near you, _this may not be the time to come_.  Lines are marked, but families (we were guilty as well) sometimes loose focus and encroach on your space.  Also, exiting rides and shows is a free-for-all.  
5.  It is HOT.  I live in NorCal, so this was even worse for us, but walking around in the hot day surrounded by cement it a mask can be challenging.
6.  Wait times over the weekend are still high.  We did not wait over 1 hour for anything, but we were at Epcot on Saturday and DHS on Sunday.  The waits both days were considerably higher than during the week.
7.  Plan for Summer storms in the evening.  Ride those rides that are outside in the morning.  If you put off these rides to the afternoon, you may. not get a chance to ride.  We almost did not get to ride Test Track because of this.
8.  A lot of shops and restaurants are closed.  If you have a 'must-have' food or reservation, check MDE and the menus.  Menus are pretty limited.

Overall, there is always good and bad, but we are still very happy we went.  It was a great trip for us.


----------



## tlmadden73

drloftis said:


> Just got back from 10 days UOR/WDW.  We stayed at the Poly at WDW.  My thoughts are...
> 
> 1.  If you can, rent / drive your own car.  Besides the transportation woes you read about, we found it most useful at night b/c of very limited offerings at the resorts.
> 2.  Overall mask compliance is good.  Nothing more to add beyond posts above in this thread.
> 3.  SHOUT OUT TO YOU PARENTS OUT THERE!  I have adult "kids" and just wanted to praise you parents of little ones.  I was pleasantly surprised at how the kids were doing with masks.  In fact the young ones were doing better than the parents or young adults we saw.
> 4.  Social distancing, not as good.  If you are freaked out about people getting near you, _this may not be the time to come_.  Lines are marked, but families (we were guilty as well) sometimes loose focus and encroach on your space.  Also, exiting rides and shows is a free-for-all.
> 5.  It is HOT.  I live in NorCal, so this was even worse for us, but walking around in the hot day surrounded by cement it a mask can be challenging.
> 6.  Wait times over the weekend are still high.  We did not wait over 1 hour for anything, but we were at Epcot on Saturday and DHS on Sunday.  The waits both days were considerably higher than during the week.
> 7.  Plan for Summer storms in the evening.  Ride those rides that are outside in the morning.  If you put off these rides to the afternoon, you may. not get a chance to ride.  We almost did not get to ride Test Track because of this.
> 8.  A lot of shops and restaurants are closed.  If you have a 'must-have' food or reservation, check MDE and the menus.  Menus are pretty limited.
> 
> Overall, there is always good and bad, but we are still very happy we went.  It was a great trip for us.


A lot of downsides and upsides .. makes it hard to make that "value" decision of if the trip is "worth" the money spent. 

To me . .the wait times would probably be the biggest bummer as I see that as the biggest upside to going right now. 

With crowds EXTREMELY low crowds, having to wait 30+ minutes for anything seems ridiculous. For a lot of rides could be frustrating, especially when you know how fast these rides COULD load.

One thing I'd like to comment on: Social Distancing. I don't know what some people's expectations are, but social distancing a lot  of the time is just NOT possible in any public situation, so to me it's pointless to be overly worried about. Grocery store, wal-mart, walking down the street .. there are plenty of times you just HAVE to be within 6 feet of people . .and that will be okay.   We are just going to have to be comfortable being near people again for things to get back to normal.  We don't need to be crowded shoulder to shoulder to watch fireworks for 30 minutes, but we can pass by people in a store or queue for a few seconds.


----------



## yulilin3

one of my friends is at MK now and she's coming live for snippets at a time, each time her and her finally can be heard saying ""wow it's so empty" they are just walking on to SM right now


----------



## Lumpy1106

One thing I will say is that inadvertent line-cutting is a bit of an issue right now when there are lines.  We got line-cut on Peter Pan and Space Mountain - not sure they even knew they were doing it though.  We didn't make a fuss because we were not at the front of the line and, come on - the line is 15 minutes anyway.  You are standing 6'+ apart, it starts to rain, everyone scootches over under cover, but that doesn't follow the marking on the ground so it get's hard to see who is and is not in line.  Just kinda be aware.


----------



## hereforthechurros

jvalic33 said:


> Does anyone have any input on the Boardwalk at night?
> 
> Is there any action/performers outside or is it a ghost town?  Would be curious to know how it feels. I know some of the restaurants, etc. are open, but it would be really odd to see the Boardwalk without a single shop or entertainer.  I  realize they may want to limits unrestricted crowds so maybe this has been temporarily eliminated?


No entertainers or games going. There is music playing but not loudly. The margarita and food stands are closed. BW Bakery, Pizza Window and Trattoria are open. Screen Door is open. There are movies 3-4 nights a week on the fake grass out front. That’s about it. It’s very quiet.


----------



## yulilin3

hereforthechurros said:


> No entertainers or games going. There is music playing but not loudly. The margarita and food stands are closed. BW Bakery, Pizza Window and Trattoria are open. Screen Door is open. There are movies 3-4 nights a week on the fake grass out front. That’s about it. It’s very quiet.


Glad there's music at all. I went over the first week the resort reopened and the music was turned off completely, it was the eeriest thing, especially with no one walking around


----------



## LaDonna

drloftis said:


> Just got back from 10 days UOR/WDW.  We stayed at the Poly at WDW.  My thoughts are...
> 
> 5.  It is HOT.  I live in NorCal, so this was even worse for us, but walking around in the hot day surrounded by cement it a mask can be challenging.
> 
> 7.  Plan for Summer storms in the evening.  Ride those rides that are outside in the morning.  If you put off these rides to the afternoon, you may. not get a chance to ride.  We almost did not get to ride Test Track because of this.
> 
> Overall, there is always good and bad, but we are still very happy we went.  It was a great trip for us.



good to know even with the mask and it being super hot you’re still happy with your experience 

that is a very good suggestion I guess now I have some planning I can do I need to sit down and write all of the outside attractions in each park


----------



## Lumpy1106

LaDonna said:


> good to know even with the mask and it being super hot you’re still happy with your experience
> 
> that is a very good suggestion I guess now I have some planning I can do I need to sit down and write all of the outside attractions in each park


There aren't many - we did the same thing - just hit them first.  Unfortunately it's the resort pools too.  My 6 yo had a couple of meltdowns over that.


----------



## koquinn

Lumpy1106 said:


> There aren't many - we did the same thing - just hit them first.  Unfortunately it's the resort pools too.  My 6 yo had a couple of meltdowns over that.


Yes we've been struggling to find time to swim with the pool hours. We left HS midday today to swim and are just about to hit the pool now.


----------



## Mike DAddio

Happy to hear CM's are staying on top of the mask requirements.


----------



## LaDonna

Lumpy1106 said:


> There aren't many - we did the same thing - just hit them first.  Unfortunately it's the resort pools too.  My 6 yo had a couple of meltdowns over that.


What were the pool hours again?
oops disregard thought i was in my pop thread


----------



## monkeydawn

tlmadden73 said:


> One thing I'd like to comment on: Social Distancing. I don't know what some people's expectations are, but social distancing a lot  of the time is just NOT possible in any public situation, so to me it's pointless to be overly worried about. Grocery store, wal-mart, walking down the street .. there are plenty of times you just HAVE to be within 6 feet of people . .and that will be okay.   We are just going to have to be comfortable being near people again for things to get back to normal.  We don't need to be crowded shoulder to shoulder to watch fireworks for 30 minutes, but we can pass by people in a store or queue for a few seconds.



SD whilst walking past people is one thing but a family not following the markers while in in a ride line for 15+ minutes is another.  I appreciate knowing how people are doing with the line markers because I can admit to being guilty of not keeping at my marker (especially early on) since we are just *so* trained to keep a line fairly tight.


----------



## Lumpy1106

monkeydawn said:


> SD whilst walking past people is one thing but a family not following the markers while in in a ride line for 15+ minutes is another.  I appreciate knowing how people are doing with the line markers because I can admit to being guilty of not keeping at my marker (especially early on) since we are just *so* trained to keep a line fairly tight.


We took it to mean one full gap, line to line, as even a small group of 4-5 people will fill quite a bit of that space between lines.  A lot of other people were doing that too.  Note that the switch-back lines often would have no markings every-other switchback and you had to wait until that full switchback is clear before moving to the next line.  People were pretty good about doing that.  Occasionally everyone sort-of spaces out as you move in the line and you have to catch yourself and create the space again.  Again, everyone was pretty good about that.  TO be honest, I REALLY like the social distancing.  having strangers 2-3 feet from you for any length of time is no fun IMHO - it's much more relaxed with the social distancing markers.


----------



## lovethattink

LaDonna said:


> I haven’t played around with it but do you have to actually cancel it then go back and book another one or can you see the availability before canceling



Actually have to cancel. 



TheSouthernBelle said:


> What do you mean you were the second name on the CMs list?  The hatches being open was annoying. The back seats were always wet late in the day. The CBR Epcot/DHS bus situation was awful!!



We took the Skyliner from Pop. Got to CBR hub and they announced they were activating bus service. There was a cm with a clip board who wrote down each party’s name and where they were headed. As buses came, the cm announced party name as their bus arrived. 





Erica Ladd said:


> Trip reports? Anyone?



Link in my signature!


----------



## Dallasmomoftwo

Our experiences during the week have been soooo much better than our experiences on Saturday and Sunday. We went to HS on Monday and managed to do everything by checking wait times and and going to rides when the lines were shorter. We left mid afternoon and came back around 6 and crowds were pretty light and lines were much shorter. At one point in GE, cast members outnumbered guests where we were (by the Milk Stand). It was so nice to just hang out in that area for a while and watch the Stormtroopers do their thing.
We had a great day at Epcot yesterday with low crowds and very manageable lines. We were at MK today and it was still pretty crowded but we were able to get a lot done by checking wait times and going to rides with shorter waits. We had so much fun at Epcot yesterday that we changed our park pass to go there tomorrow instead of HS. Tomorrow is our last day here. Overall it has been good during the week but it was a nightmare over the weekend.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

lovethattink said:


> Actually have to cancel.
> 
> 
> 
> We took the Skyliner from Pop. Got to CBR hub and they announced they were activating bus service. There was a cm with a clip board who wrote down each party’s name and where they were headed. As buses came, the cm announced party name as their bus arrived.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Link in my signature!



OK got it. Wasn't sure what you meant but that makes sense.


----------



## ksromack

MomOTwins said:


> Had an amazing first day back at the World.  Riviera resort was beautiful and the pools were busy but not too crowded (everyone was able to keep a good distance).  We had dinner at contemporary and I’m not sure if this has been posted yet, but we were allowed to walk to the MK buses (they opened the rope for us at the temp check) to catch a bus back to Riviera.  On the bus now and our driver said we are his last run (and this appeared to be one of if not the last bus out of MK) so if attempting this strategy try to be at the MK bus stop before 9pm.
> 
> Just have to say could not be happier to be at WDW.  It is as magical as always!


We're coming from Missouri also, in about a month.  I cannot wait.  Wish we were staying at Riviera but first night is at Pop then 2 more nights at BWV.  Purposefully chose BWV so we could walk to Epcot and DHS.


MomOTwins said:


> Lol, yeah.. That was part of our reasoning in this feeling good about going to Florida—can’t be worse than going to the grocery store at home.


I hear ya


koquinn said:


> And it's the 3rd day in a row the Skyliner has been down from Pop so the line for HS is almost as big 1.5hts before park open.


Is the Skyliner being down due to weather or has there been mechanical issues with it?


Aishaahm said:


> Just touched down in good old Missouri! We did two days at the Poly on rented points, and two days at the parks, AK and MK. We did AK yesterday (Monday), hit all headliners there by 1:30 and even came back in the evening for a walk on FOP repeat!
> 
> If you are wondering whether or not it’s still magical, I believe it was one of the most relaxing Disney trips we have ever taken, so much so that we switched parks day of with no fret or fuss!


I wish we could squeeze in MK.  It just feels wrong to go to WDW and not spend time at MK.  I may have to add on another park day.

I really appreciate everyone's comments regarding their experiences at the parks and with transportation.  It helps with my expectations.  I can't wait to do my own TR!


----------



## koquinn

ksromack said:


> Is the Skyliner being down due to weather or has there been mechanical issues with it?


I think a bit of both.


----------



## Dave006

ksromack said:


> Is the Skyliner being down due to weather or has there been mechanical issues with it?


The biggest variable with the Skyliner is the weather. It can be wind, rain or just lightning anywhere in the zone. This time of year in Orlando (late summer) is a busy in terms of quickly changing weather.

Dave


----------



## AllSam

Just back from 5 nights staying at Beach Club Villas.  We decided to rent a car to avoid communal transportation.  We were able to walk to Epcot and HS, drove to AK and MK.   Generally we found that you noticed the lack of crowds on the walk ways but due to reduced capacity rides and restaurants while feeling empty still have a wait.  We are from Texas and it was very hot - we made use of the washer/dryer because we were so wet every time we got back. Masks definitely made this more difficult but not oppressive.  As others have said there really is not much to do at night. 

Overall glad we went but won’t go back until it everything is normal again.  

Saturday - Epcot Test Track down most of the morning and went down in the evening due to rain so only a couple of hour window to ride and lines were long.  Did Frozen at rope drop and road Soarin twice then filled in with other smaller rides.  Felt like we had done the park by mid afternoon.  Returned for dinner but just not the same strolling through world showcase right now so left.

Sunday - HS felt like this was by far the most crowded with the least shade.  We all felt pretty bad by the time we finished.  Rope dropped SDD, rode TSM twice and alien saucers before getting in line for Smugglers Run and Star Tours.  Rise was down in the morning so no boarding passes and were not able to get one at 2pm. This was a huge bummer so the new Star Wars land was the whole reason we planned the trip.  Son bought a Kylo REN lightsaber From Savi’s we only to unpack it at home to find half of it does not work.  Ugh - emailed park merchandise and hoping for some fix.  We left mid day and came back from dinner were able to ride Star Tours walk on Smugglers run 20 minute wait and TSM twice in a row.

Monday - AK super empty.  Rope dropped FOP rode twice and then did the river journey headed to safari almost got rammed by a Rhino!  Great picture though.  Rode Kali River Rapids twice without exiting (all jets off so you hardly get wet) had lunch at Yack and Yeti and left.

Tuesday - MK - Rope dropped 7DMT rode twice, rode BTM twice, SM, Haunted Manson, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain twice, Astro Orbiter (Probably longest ride - one family per elevator up and down makes long total time, Tomorrowland Speedway then a late lunch at Skippers and we left around 4pm.


----------



## lotsohugginbear

omniscientmommy said:


> @caseyem67 Did you notice the buses at all while there? We are staying at SSR and we aren't going to have a car. I am wondering if we should try to rely on the buses or Uber.


We've been at SSR for five nights -- leaving Friday. Bus service has been terrific. They are starting the busses 45 minutes to an hour before park openings. For HS, you might want to walk to the first stop to ensure you get on. We got on the first HS  bus at the 4th stop (Congress Park), but there were only two of us and no one else made it. Busses run frequently and returning from the parks has been good as well. Later park openings have enabled us to go into DS some mornings to get Starbucks.  The marketplace Starbucks opens at 8. SSR is a great resort to stay at right now! It's easy to leave DS if you feel it's too crowded.


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## omniscientmommy

lotsohugginbear said:


> We've been at SSR for five nights -- leaving Friday. Bus service has been terrific. They are starting the busses 45 minutes to an hour before park openings. For HS, you might want to walk to the first stop to ensure you get on. We got on the first HS  bus at the 4th stop (Congress Park), but there were only two of us and no one else made it. Busses run frequently and returning from the parks has been good as well. Later park openings have enabled us to go into DS some mornings to get Starbucks.  The marketplace Starbucks opens at 8. SSR is a great resort to stay at right now! It's easy to leave DS if you feel it's too crowded.


Thanks! On the DVC SSR resort thread they were saying that only 8 of the buildings are being used. So maybe they are refubing the others???


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## summerlvr

For anyone who has stayed or currently staying at Pop, CBR or Riviera, if the skyliner stops running due to weather or whatever,  and you are at Epcot, do you have to walk to the skyliner to find out that it isn’t running and then walk all the way to the front of the park to get a bus? Sorry if that’s a silly question, but say I was at Spaceship Earth and walked to the skyliner only to find out it isn’t running and then had to walk all the way back to the front of the park and out to the bus stops, well that could be pretty brutal, especially at the end of the night after walking in the heat all day long. Wasn’t sure if they had some way of letting folks know to go to the bus stops. Not sure how they would do that though. Thanks


----------



## Leigh L

Alli1988 said:


> For those at Disney now (week of August 10th) and the last couple of days. Is it still very short lines, etc. ?


Epcot had fairly low lines all day on Wednesday. Soarin' was posted at 15 later in the day (it was threatening rain), we waited maybe 20. Earlier in the day we had walked on 2x in a row. Frozen was about 45 in the afternoon which was the highest I'd seen all day on the app. We walked on just about everything else (Didn't do TT or Mission Space) and spent a lot of time wandering World Showcase which had people but was not crowded at all. Easy to social distance which was great since people are off to the sides eating due to Food & Wine. Looking fwd to DHS today and MK tomorrow.



LaDonna said:


> That’s interesting so Let’s say you have a reservation for mk but that morning you want to go to ak u can just go into mde and change it


We did this yesterday. Originally we had Universal plans for Wed and Epcot on Saturday. Decided on a whim in the morning to cancel it and move it to Wed. and headed straight to WDW, Before changing a park reservation, just make sure there is availability first though since you have to cancel and rebook.

We saw almost complete mask compliance at Epcot. One bad incident where a guy had his hanging on his chin and he was trying to high 5 people as they walked by (he approached my adult DD and she said "air high 5's, social distancing ya know") I had looked for a CM since as I was waiting for DH, the guy continued to approach and touch people, but a CM saw him first and walked up to him. 

There were a few other minor incidents, but we felt very safe at Epcot. Leaving Soarin' was a message reminding people to take their time exiting to allow for social distancing.


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## koquinn

summerlvr said:


> For anyone who has stayed or currently staying at Pop, CBR or Riviera, if the skyliner stops running due to weather or whatever,  and you are at Epcot, do you have to walk to the skyliner to find out that it isn’t running and then walk all the way to the front of the park to get a bus? Sorry if that’s a silly question, but say I was at Spaceship Earth and walked to the skyliner only to find out it isn’t running and then had to walk all the way back to the front of the park and out to the bus stops, well that could be pretty brutal, especially at the end of the night after walking in the heat all day long. Wasn’t sure if they had some way of letting folks know to go to the bus stops. Not sure how they would do that though. Thanks


I think you would, though we've been chatting in the app or asking people before we make our decisions at least in the morning. It usually takes a bit to get someone who knows. They really need a better system for notifying people.


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## WEDWDW

summerlvr said:


> For anyone who has stayed or currently staying at Pop, CBR or Riviera, if the skyliner stops running due to weather or whatever,  and you are at Epcot, do you have to walk to the skyliner to find out that it isn’t running and then walk all the way to the front of the park to get a bus? Sorry if that’s a silly question, but say I was at Spaceship Earth and walked to the skyliner only to find out it isn’t running and then had to walk all the way back to the front of the park and out to the bus stops, well that could be pretty brutal, especially at the end of the night after walking in the heat all day long. Wasn’t sure if they had some way of letting folks know to go to the bus stops. Not sure how they would do that though. Thanks


In that scenario,buses back to the Skyliner Resorts will be available at the BWI Bus Depot,not too bad of a walk from IG.


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## Donzie

20 ride and or attractions at Magic Kingdom on Monday 8/10. I saw the reports of weekend crowds and annual pass stories and was concerned.  But my plan was always parks on weekdays and no weekends.  Our first park day was MK last Monday.

We left from FW waited under 10 minutes for bus from Settlement.  Got to MK 25 minutes after park opening and was through temperature check, bag screening, and the magicband check in 5 minutes.  Park crowd was lower but still a good amount of folks funneling down Main street. I know Disney, particularly MK, and I knew with the MDE app wait times checks and a bit of take no prisoners fast walking I could do some damage to the overall ride count if the crowds remained lower. And IMO they did.

Heat was overwhelming at first with a mask on and a full backpack to carry.  But, it's Disney.  Still fun and awesome.  Crowd mask usage was acceptable to me.  Majority of people space out and wear mask.  Sometimes a kid or overwhelmed adult adjust or cheats to get a breath or two.  Let's not kid oursleves you are in Disney during a pandemic.  You chose to take risks.  If your not comfortable with it or August heat DO NOT come here.  Weekday crowds are the lowest I have ever seen in 7 trips but you are still in the parks with thousands of people. *At any one moment in time you and yours can be overwhelmed by the crowds or turn a corner and not see anyone but your family in the park for a minute or two.   *The crowds will return unless the covid death rate spikes beyond comprehension. Disney CM will ask that mask be worne if they see you without them on or on correctly.

I was gonna go counterclockwise to hit Tomorrowland first.  But Splash was calling.  Ride me before I get a facelift. So we rode Splash Mountain, BTMR, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan (super cool cue line never saw it due to fast pass), Small World, Hall of Presidents and then an awesome lunch at The Liberty Tree Tavern. I enjoyed the heavy food on a hot day as I had no breakfast or lunch as yet.

Then onto the Carousel ride.  Don't get me start I got the horse with the pistol (yep Tim Tracker).  My kids were mad but hey I gotta have fun too and find your own horse. Walk on Pooh ride.  Minecart 20 minute wait but listed at 35 minutes next, Ariel, 2 rides on Barnstormer.  Dumbo (unbearable 20 minute downtime for cleaning but part of the new procedures we used as a water break. Then onto the teacups, Speedway next. Forget about it I got the red and blue number 13 car (my favorite). Absolutely living my best MK Disney life, albeit hot as Hades in a mask in a pandemic but I digress.  2 yes 2 walk on rides on Space Mountain.  OK I finally admit it the ride track is rough, but still a great ride my kids love it. Onto Astro Orbiter and a painfully slow elevator line wait that led to an incredible majestic ride with horizon park views. Last before close was 2 rides on with Buzz blasting away (when they worked) at Zurg.

Park was closing, thunderstorms were rolling overhead in half the sky and the other half were clear.  Crowds were heavy as everyone is funneling out through Main street.  Leave early or sit to the side for a bit to avoid congestion. We couldn't get to it all but we got another MK day and 20 rides (one HOP) is a successful trip at anytime.  My family was cooked and exhausted as I still pushed to do as much as possible but that's how I do Disney.  Rest is back at the cabin and during ride wait times.  Everyone had a great day but there were heat and mask and line wait meltdowns.  Patience and a bit of water and back into it.  The heat can be overwhelming!

Do not come here thinking you are going to be escorted around the park like a celebrity alone or that ten of thousands of other human beings are all gonna be responsible and safe 24/7.  Disney will provide as safe an experience to ride their rides as possible.  But the lack of Nighttime shows, park hours and performers is a strange tradeoff for crowds at or near 25 to 35 percent of max capacity. Weekends and DHS seem like 50 percent, IMO.  Some other folks are gonna be rude or not wear a mask correctly.  If that is a deal breaker for you stay home for now.

Next report Animal Kingdom.  Yikes walk and walk and walk in African heat. And did I mention 20 rides at MK, yep 20!View attachment 518067


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## butterscotchcollins

That sounds like my kind of trip! I can't wait to drag DH onto his least favorite ride (7DMT) 4 times in a row because he loves me and he will


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## Donzie

butterscotchcollins said:


> That sounds like my kind of trip! I can't wait to drag DH onto his least favorite ride (7DMT) 4 times in a row because he loves me and he will



This is definitely the time to isolate your favorite rides and do repeat rides. If the wait time is low keep cycling through.  Wait lines and MDE wait times appear to be a CM's best guess from looking at the back of the line periodically.  But if they aren't  paying close attention or staff is low close to closing time they are not accurate and are usually inflated by 10 minutes or so.  Then other times the cleaning breaks cause the times to be underestimated though and are painfully slow to watch.  But our new reality and necessity.

I hope you get those multiple rides on 7DMT and remember hands up.
And masks on (even during the ride) or you will be scrubbed from the ride pictures.  I heard this from a cast member on Space Mountain telling a family that Dad was cropped out of the shot because his mask was down. But who wants those candid ride pics with masks on anyways?


----------



## gratefulfred

dachsie said:


> My impression of Disney Bus service is that they focus least on the value resorts.  We waited for an hour several years ago for ASSp bus at DHS watching all the other busses come and go 2-3 times.  I finally went to ask a cast member why we weren't getting a bus and they finally sent one.  Had to wait a long time at DS for one to AoA once as well.


We waited 1hr and 15 minutes for a bus to Disney springs from the poly in 2018, we were so aggravated by the time we got there it wasn’t even worth going.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Donzie said:


> This is definitely the time to isolate your favorite rides and do repeat rides. If the wait time is low keep cycling through.  Wait lines and MDE wait times appear to be a CM's best guess from looking at the back of the line periodically.  But if they aren't  paying close attention or staff is low close to closing time they are not accurate and are usually inflated by 10 minutes or so.  The cleaning breaks cause the times to be underestimated though and are painfully slow to watch.  But our new reality and necessity.
> 
> I hope you get those multiple rides on 7DMT and remember hands up.
> And masks on (even during the ride) or you will be scrubbed from the ride pictures.  I heard this from a cast member on Space Mountain telling a family that Dad was cropped out of the shot because his mask was down. But who wants those candid ride pics with masks on anyways?



No chin straps here! I will happily have my mask on and think the ride photos with them are actually a cool souvenir  

Also I hear you on that Space Mountain track - we were there the day before everything closed down for Dorian and the park was EMPTY but after two rides we had to move on because our necks were killing us. Getting old is interesting XD


----------



## erinch

Somebody upstream had 8 days in the parks. From NorCal! Do you have annual passes or how did you manage that? We are taking DD’s fiancé in October, and he has never been. Trying to figure out how to get into each park twice.


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## ScubaCat

I've been here since Saturday. Was definitely significantly more crowded on the weekend. There was a noticeable drop-off in crowd level Monday and Tuesday. The mask surprisingly does not add to body heat, although the basic blue "medical" ones seem to be the way to go. I tried a fabric one but it seemed hotter so I switched back pretty quickly. It's just extremely hot (for me at least) so it'll overwhelm you either way. Breaks, shade, hydration are key. Overall, wearing a face mask (correctly, the entire time) is far less annoying and uncomfortable than I thought it would be. 

Previous comments on sporadic wait times are definitely true. Splash posted 30 minutes yesterday and that's about what it was. Yet Peter Pan said 25 minutes and it was basically a walk on. (maybe 4 minutes to board the row waiting in the last bit of queue approaching the ride).  

Most people seem happy to be here, and there's a very good time to be had if you just take your time, follow the instructions, and keep a little distance. Also be prepared to go the wrong way and be corrected by a friendly cast member. I've tried to go out the wrong door a couple of times at the roaring fork and it can get a little silly when no ones around, but I just roll with it and make it a joke. 

Sure I'm missing some of the stuff that's closed, but this is also one of my all time favorite trips. I'm enjoying the lower crowds, full time cast members, and have met some nice folks at the pool during night swims, something I've missed out on when parks stay open later. I'm also surprisingly enjoying someone else serving me my coffee in a cup (it's the little things, folks ) and I REALLY enjoyed the family style breakfast at Chef Mickey's (for $25!!).  I've also enjoyed checking out a new-to-me resort; this will likely be the only time ever that 7 nights in a Copper Creek studio are available 2 weeks before arrival! 

I've done all I came to do, so am going to relax a bit and stroll into a park later this afternoon just for fun. I'm thinking of trying for another ROTR boarding pass at 2.  (I rode Sunday and got one on Tuesday but they didn't open it that day due to Emporer Palpatine's force lightning strike.)


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## ScubaCat

erinch said:


> Somebody upstream had 8 days in the parks. From NorCal! Do you have annual passes or how did you manage that? We are taking DD’s fiancé in October, and he has never been. Trying to figure out how to get into each park twice.


I have a gold AP and am staying on property. I could book Hollywood Studios every day if I wanted to. If you're a resort guest or buy a regular (Non-AP) ticket, the calendar is almost completely wide open.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...ckets,resort,passholder&defaultSegment=resort


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## monkeydawn

For those concerned about weather taking the Skyliner down, why not install a lightning tracker on your phone and set the radius to 30 miles.  I like My Lightning Tracker on iOS as it seems the best at sending notifications to my watch, its free.  I have my interval notice set to 15 minutes, this way it
s not constantly going off but I have an idea if its safe to get into the pool.  There are many lightning tracker apps if you dont like this one.


----------



## summerlvr

WEDWDW said:


> In that scenario,buses back to the Skyliner Resorts will be available at the BWI Bus Depot,not too bad of a walk from IG.


Thanks! That’s much better than going all the way to the buses at the front of the park.


----------



## gratefulfred

koquinn said:


> Yes we've been struggling to find time to swim with the pool hours. We left HS midday today to swim and are just about to hit the pool now.


The website says the main pools are going by the posted hours but the quiet pools are open 24 hrs, so you should be able to swim in the quiet pools at 3 am


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## koquinn

gratefulfred said:


> The website says the main pools are going by the posted hours but the quiet pools are open 24 hrs, so you should be able to swim in the quiet pools at 3 am


Is there a quiet pool at Pop? And do you have to be quiet?! My kids wouldn't be...


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## WEDWDW

koquinn said:


> Is there a quiet pool at Pop? And do you have to be quiet?! My kids wouldn't be...


Negative-all  Pools at POP are on a 9-9 schedule and are locked and un-lifeguarded otherwise.


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## koquinn

WEDWDW said:


> Negative-all  Pools at POP are on a 9-9 schedule and are locked and un-lifeguarded otherwise.


Ok that's what I figured. Bummer. Thanks tho!


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## IluvMGM

Has anyone lately tried bringing a Ziploc bag of ice into the parks? Wondering if that is still acceptable?


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## koquinn

IluvMGM said:


> Has anyone lately tried bringing a Ziploc bag of ice into the parks? Wondering if that is still acceptable?


It'll melt in about 17 seconds... Just ask for ice waters at the QS restaurants?


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## drloftis

erinch said:


> Somebody upstream had 8 days in the parks. From NorCal! Do you have annual passes or how did you manage that? We are taking DD’s fiancé in October, and he has never been. Trying to figure out how to get into each park twice.



That was probably me, we had 7 days in the parks.  No AP, we were on a Recovery plan b/c we booked Free Dining in January.


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## GBRforWDW

IluvMGM said:


> Has anyone lately tried bringing a Ziploc bag of ice into the parks? Wondering if that is still acceptable?


I would assume the ziplock bag of ice would fall under the "loose ice" category.

*Loose and dry ice is not permitted *in our parks. Reusable ice packs are recommended.

*Why is loose or dry ice not permitted in your parks?*
In order to improve guest flow, ease congestion and streamline the bag-check and entry processes, loose and dry ice is not permitted. Reusable ice packs are recommended.

*What happens if I need ice for baby food, medicine, or some other item?*
Reusable ice packs are recommended. Cups of ice are available at no charge at Food & Beverage locations.


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## ned911

Any success booking dining at last minute?


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## CarolynFH

GBRforWDW said:


> I would assume the ziplock bag of ice would fall under the "loose ice" category.
> 
> *Loose and dry ice is not permitted *in our parks. Reusable ice packs are recommended.
> 
> *Why is loose or dry ice not permitted in your parks?*
> In order to improve guest flow, ease congestion and streamline the bag-check and entry processes, loose and dry ice is not permitted. Reusable ice packs are recommended.
> 
> *What happens if I need ice for baby food, medicine, or some other item?*
> Reusable ice packs are recommended. Cups of ice are available at no charge at Food & Beverage locations.


Prior to COVID-19, ice in a ziplock bag was allowed, because the ice was not loose and the screener could move it around easily to view contents of the container. Thus the question since screening protocols have changed with the new equipment.


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## ksromack

butterscotchcollins said:


> No chin straps here! I will happily have my mask on and think the ride photos with them are actually a cool souvenir
> 
> Also I hear you on that Space Mountain track - we were there the day before everything closed down for Dorian and the park was EMPTY but after two rides we had to move on because our necks were killing us. Getting old is interesting XD


Dh can't even ride SM anymore because of this!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

ksromack said:


> Dh can't even ride SM anymore because of this!



It's so jerky and rough!


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## Donzie

IluvMGM said:


> Has anyone lately tried bringing a Ziploc bag of ice into the parks? Wondering if that is still acceptable?



Bag check has changed.  My experience this week has been keep moving with a backpack or purse unless you have an umbrella. It has to come out and be carried by hand.  Otherwise they wave you in.  No one has questioned our bag contents and they seem isolated on scanning for weapons.  If you slow down they wave you through and tell you to keep on moving.  Keys, phone, change in pockets, just keep moving through.

Don't  see why a small bag of ice would even be noticed. If so dump it. Disney is changing as needed and when needed during this pandemic.


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## monkeydawn

CarolynFH said:


> Prior to COVID-19, ice in a ziplock bag was allowed, because the ice was not loose and the screener could move it around easily to view contents of the container. Thus the question since screening protocols have changed with the new equipment.


I know this is heading way OT but I have to know.  If the rules state no loose ice but ziplocks of ice were allowed were people just bringing in pockets full of ice or what was going on here?  Can someone please message me and let me know because this is driving me crazy (the need for the loose ice rule)?


----------



## wombat_5606

monkeydawn said:


> I know this is heading way OT but I have to know.  If the rules state no loose ice but ziplocks of ice were allowed were people just bringing in pockets full of ice or what was going on here?  Can someone please message me and let me know because this is driving me crazy (the need for the loose ice rule)?



I think, for instance, it was people bringing in small coolers or bags and they had just poured the ice in from the ice machine at the resorts. Therefore, for security to really know what was under that ice, it necessitated them pawing through that loose ice.


----------



## koquinn

butterscotchcollins said:


> It's so jerky and rough!


I made my family let me sit up front today and it was much better. Still rough but better!


----------



## reposado

butterscotchcollins said:


> That sounds like my kind of trip! I can't wait to drag DH onto his least favorite ride (7DMT) 4 times in a row because he loves me and he will



Dont get your hopes up. 7DMT wait times on average seems to be about 40min per the app.


----------



## koquinn

reposado said:


> Dont get your hopes up. 7DMT wait times on average seems to be about 40min per the app.


Yeah worse today cuz it rained and it shut down for awhile. I would do it first thing (before rope drop even) if you want more than one ride without a long wait. Today we did BTMR at 845, first train car to go, and then were on Splash at 903.


----------



## IluvMGM

koquinn said:


> It'll melt in about 17 seconds... Just ask for ice waters at the QS restaurants?



We want to use the bag of ice to help keep a few drinks cold in a small cooler that fits in our backpack. I know we can't dump loose ice in the cooler.


----------



## yulilin3

I am seriously done with this heat. It has been the worse from living here for 23 years, I was at Universal today and it was just oppressive, nothing really to do with masks, just awful, cannot wait for temps below 90


----------



## Farro

yulilin3 said:


> I am seriously done with this heat. It has been the worse from living here for 23 years, I was at Universal today and it was just oppressive, nothing really to do with masks, just awful, cannot wait for temps below 90



It's been HOT even in Chicago this year.  Dew points in 70s and it feels like soup outside. (this week is finally better)
We are walking around with masks on to prepare for Disney next May...I don't know how you do it! 

I'm ready for fall too.


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## luvdisney73

My daughters and I spent a short weekend celebrating a birthday. We arrived Friday morning at the Polynesian, resort hopped, and spent the afternoon in the pool before heading over to Disney Springs for dinner. I feel that the pool area was very crowded for an afternoon as was Disney Springs that evening. Magic Kingdom on Saturday was very low in crowds. Masks were being worn correctly (98.00 percent maybe) but a few people were still showing their noses. Come on people! I never saw a staff member correct them. I did ask the cast member at the Jungle Cruise boarding area if we could wait for the next boat as the people in front of us would not wear their mask over their noses. She said sure but she never asked the guests to wear their masks correctly. I was surprised with the wait times with an average of 30-40 minutes for most big attractions. We have always had our FastPasses in order so waiting has never been our thing but the lines were greatly spaced out and everyone seemed to be following the rules of social distancing. I loved the impromptu characters throughout the park. I wish they would keep that up! All in all, I totally felt that we were safe on this trip. I loved the slower pace and I am so happy we did not cancel our trip in August. We are planning another girls birthday trip in November! Well done Walt Disney World!


----------



## Rockbro

Farro said:


> It's been HOT even in Chicago this year.  Dew points in 70s and it feels like soup outside. (this week is finally better)
> We are walking around with masks on to prepare for Disney next May...I don't know how you do it!
> 
> I'm ready for fall too.



Can I give you some advice? My wife and I have not been back to the parks yet (AP florida residents, and not for lack of trying... Disney is just not giving AP's due diligence in providing open reservation times). BUT, that being said, I just took a 5 minute trip to the store, it just rained here, and the mask thing was intolerable. The second I left the store, i yanked the mask off, jumped in the car and cranked the AC. I don't want to discourage you in any way, but there is no "preparation" for what you will experience. Especially when the heat and humidity crank back up in May.

For families, Disney can be a cranky place without masks, given the walking, long days, and overall commando style vacation. I truly hope for your sake that masks are a thing of the past in May of 2021. Good luck.

And oh, "soup" in Chicago?  It feels like thick corn chowder here, with a side of beef stew!


----------



## Farro

Rockbro said:


> Can I give you some advice? My wife and I have not been back to the parks yet (AP florida residents, and not for lack of trying... Disney is just not giving AP's due diligence in providing open reservation times). BUT, that being said, I just took a 5 minute trip to the store, it just rained here, and the mask thing was intolerable. The second I left the store, i yanked the mask off, jumped in the car and cranked the AC. I don't want to discourage you in any way, but there is no "preparation" for what you will experience. Especially when the heat and humidity crank back up in May.
> 
> For families, Disney can be a cranky place without masks, given the walking, long days, and overall commando style vacation. I truly hope for your sake that masks are a thing of the past in May of 2021. Good luck.
> 
> And oh, "soup" in Chicago?  It feels like thick corn chowder here, with a side of beef stew!



Thanks!

We are going late April/early May and if masks are still required, we will handle it!


----------



## monkeydawn

wombat_5606 said:


> I think, for instance, it was people bringing in small coolers or bags and they had just poured the ice in from the ice machine at the resorts. Therefore, for security to really know what was under that ice, it necessitated them pawing through that loose ice.


THANKS!  I knew it has to be a more reasonable explanation than people dumping out pockets full of ice along with their keys and change but that was all I could picture.


----------



## Chris Ehlers

Just had some PIXIE dust sprinkled on us.  

 In my post about our last trip to BLT we had numerous issues with our room, from bad AC to clogged drains and a very worn out room.   on the way out i spoke with the manager and let him know all the issues and that they should get all the issues fixed before it was rented again.  

Today we had 4 nights refunded to us - so we just booked Riviera for 4 nights 2 bedroom preferred villa  for Thanksgiving.........Boom!


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## pepperandchips

IluvMGM said:


> Has anyone lately tried bringing a Ziploc bag of ice into the parks? Wondering if that is still acceptable?



We brought in our camelbak full of ice (and water) yesterday and today, no problems. You should be fine.



yulilin3 said:


> I am seriously done with this heat. It has been the worse from living here for 23 years, I was at Universal today and it was just oppressive, nothing really to do with masks, just awful, cannot wait for temps below 90


Glad to see you say this, thought my husband was going to have a heatstroke in MK today and I was wondering if it was just us


----------



## lovethattink

koquinn said:


> Is there a quiet pool at Pop? And do you have to be quiet?! My kids wouldn't be...



The quiet pools at Pop aren’t very quiet. I could hear the music clearly from my room, but didn’t hear the people. The 50’s pool was fairly crowded. We didn’t feel safe swimming.



WEDWDW said:


> Negative-all  Pools at POP are on a 9-9 schedule and are locked and un-lifeguarded otherwise.



Yep! That was our experience, 9 to 9.



IluvMGM said:


> Has anyone lately tried bringing a Ziploc bag of ice into the parks? Wondering if that is still acceptable?



Not recently. But we drove and had a cooler packed with ice in a freezer bag and drinks. Was very nice to have a cold drink once we reached the car. So hot in Florida!! 

I’m not sure what they are allowing for medical purposes. I know first aid had ice, not for consumption though. My son had to wear a cooling vest for years, and pre-Covid, they would store his ice packets or give us bags of ice to keep it in our cooler.  He no longer needs the vest, so I’m not sure how first aid handles things that need frozen or refrigerated.


----------



## pepperandchips

We are here now, please feel free to ask me anything you are curious about. We are from Atlanta and came for a resort stay last month and were comfortable enough with that preview to come again, this time for limited park entry as well. 

This time we splurged on a preferred one bedroom at SSR with the AP rate. Hot take: for this kind of trip, this is my new favorite resort. The room itself is gorgeous and we are using the kitchen more than we have on any other trip. Pancakes and bacon this morning, brought more groceries than usual. We can walk to Disney Springs which is the reason we booked this room because last time we were not happy with the resort dining offerings. 

Enjoying our favorite restaurants is one of the reasons we return to Disney over and over again - I’m still here for the food but we learned from our resort stay in July that the food options right now don’t really work for our vacation style. The resort QS options are so limited - be prepared for many QS and TS menus to have like 5 entrees and that’s it. They are very pared down. I wanted nachos last night and we were planning to go to Paradiso 37 and checked the menu and they’re gone.  

We like to eat dinner late - most restaurants are closing by 8 on weekdays right now, some at 9 - and this is at DS where normally you see restaurants open til midnight. We are still struggling with this and we knew about it from July. Just plan ahead and know you may need to adjust on the fly and potentially order in! Boathouse looks to be open until 11. I wish I’d known this last night but will file it in my brain for future use. 

We have only been to MK and Epcot so far (as well as DS) but I would say so far, bring multiple masks and lots of different kinds. We are liking the surgical kind. I got a box of 50 from Office Depot for $15 after I saw people post about them here on the Boards. I didnt realize how quickly they’d get sweaty/stinky so I’m glad I brought a lot extra. I also brought both hand-safe wipes and disinfecting wipes. I wiped all the light switches and remotes in the room even if they are supposed to be cleaned more frequently. There is hand sanitizer readily available in the parks but I like my wipes.

Bring rain gear - it felt right to have our own ponchos and umbrellas when it started raining yesterday so that we didn’t even consider compromising our risk aversion/acceptance standards to shelter from the rain. 

I also brought our camelbak for the first time ever to be sure we had water close at hand - normally I rely on free QS ice water but I dont want to have to worry about that this trip. We had Pecos Bill for lunch today and they gave us 4 small (kids) cups of ice water when we asked but they didn’t have much ice. They were easily gone by the time we finished lunch! It was hotter than heck today. Definitely recommend cooling towels, lots of water and shade, and personal fans. I bought a dual neck fan for my husband on a recommendation from a Facebook group and we like it a lot so far. Gets about an hour of runtime on high per charge: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07S28R7N4?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

It’s a little weird that they aren’t running trams - we were able to park super close to the Epcot entrance yesterday so that was great. However today we parked in Zurg at the TTC and were directed to a spot farther down the row and more rows back than would have been ideal without the tram. I got a blister walking around today so every step back to the car was noticeable.   On our way into MK today around 1:30 there were a total of eight people on the ferry (we were two of them). That was wild. 

I have been going to the Disney parks regularly for the last 6 years (and Universal, but less often) - normally I’m here at least every 2-3 months, and I’m used to the steps and my feet are acclimated. But this time it’s been 5+ months since I’ve been in a theme park and my feet are so mad today and we really didn’t walk as much as usual. So bring a lot of broken in shoes and don’t get your callouses shaved before your trip!!!

I am reluctant to even say anything about “mask compliance” because I don’t think my experience really helps other people since the guests here with us today won’t be the same ones you see tomorrow or next month. But I have generally been impressed and have seen cast member corrections of non-compliance. I have only seen one person indoors not wearing a mask (other than restaurants of course) and that is where my personal line is. I turned around and left. 

One other random thing, a pressure washer compressor woke me up this morning at 6:00 AM on the dot. Not very happy. I’d gotten a push notification with the request to let the resort manager know if we had feedback so as I laid in bed stewing about being awake an hour later I emailed about how loud it was. I had a response about an hour later - I was impressed with the response time but not with the substance letting me know they need to pressure wash the bus stops starting at 7:00 since buses start running at 8:00. I hope they don’t do that EVERY morning at 7:00 

We are having a great time. Let me know if I can help answer any questions!


----------



## Dentam

Hotels are always noisy, either with maintenance or rude ppl next-door or running down hallways.  I always bring a few pairs of earplugs and wear them to sleep, especially since I'm a very light sleeper.


----------



## Stratman50th

luvdisney73 said:


> My daughters and I spent a short weekend celebrating a birthday. We arrived Friday morning at the Polynesian, resort hopped, and spent the afternoon in the pool before heading over to Disney Springs for dinner.


I thought the Poly was closed until October? I'm trying to get a reservation at 'Ohana but it's still listed as closed.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Stratman50th said:


> I thought the Poly was closed until October? I'm trying to get a reservation at 'Ohana but it's still listed as closed.



DVC side is open, but not the resort side.  

Ohana is still closed.


----------



## Stratman50th

GADisneyDad14 said:


> DVC side is open, but not the resort side.
> 
> Ohana is still closed.


Gotchya, thanks!


----------



## ksromack

pepperandchips said:


> I also brought our camelbak for the first time ever to be sure we had water close at hand - normally I rely on free QS ice water but I dont want to have to worry about that this trip. We had Pecos Bill for lunch today and they gave us 4 small (kids) cups of ice water when we asked but they didn’t have much ice. They were easily gone by the time we finished lunch! It was hotter than heck today. Definitely recommend cooling towels, lots of water and shade, and personal fans. I bought a dual neck fan for my husband on a recommendation from a Facebook group and we like it a lot so far. Gets about an hour of runtime on high per charge: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07S28R7N4?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
> 
> 
> We are having a great time. Let me know if I can help answer any questions!


Sounds like a great getaway to me!  We purchased something very similar to your personal fans for our trip to the GE Passholder preview and subsequent August trip last year.  I must say, they help a lot, especially coupled with the cooling towels.  We may have to look into Camelbaks.  Is that a brand name?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Stratman50th said:


> Gotchya, thanks!



FWIW, I did see a rumor that Tambu Lounge is opening later this month, not sure if that has been confirmed or not (I’m behind on the boards/info).


----------



## hereforthechurros

summerlvr said:


> For anyone who has stayed or currently staying at Pop, CBR or Riviera, if the skyliner stops running due to weather or whatever,  and you are at Epcot, do you have to walk to the skyliner to find out that it isn’t running and then walk all the way to the front of the park to get a bus? Sorry if that’s a silly question, but say I was at Spaceship Earth and walked to the skyliner only to find out it isn’t running and then had to walk all the way back to the front of the park and out to the bus stops, well that could be pretty brutal, especially at the end of the night after walking in the heat all day long. Wasn’t sure if they had some way of letting folks know to go to the bus stops. Not sure how they would do that though. Thanks


At that point I’d walk to beach Club and Uber to Pop.


----------



## Stratman50th

GADisneyDad14 said:


> FWIW, I did see a rumor that Tambu Lounge is opening later this month, not sure if that has been confirmed or not (I’m behind on the boards/info).


I'll be checking into the Fort Oct 15. Be there through the 19th. The Poly is supposed to open on the 4th. Fingers crossed on 'Ohana.


----------



## Disneykate605

YawningDodo said:


> *Actual question:* I've been seeing reports that Disney Springs has lower mask compliance/feels more crowded/feels more dangerous than the parks. Can folks who have been to DS please continue chiming in with reports and opinions about that?


 We were there from 7/17-7/26 and I thought Disney springs did not have good mask compliance. Many were wearing them under the nose or chin, walking around with masks down and drinking (instead of staying stationary) and I also saw  4 different families with no masks. It was more crowded and much harder to socially distance there as well. We love Disney springs but don't plan on going back during our November trip if things there don't change.


----------



## koquinn

Just sat on a bench at DS waiting for dinner and watched masks. Overall I think it's decent here. It's not perfect, and the offenders are more obvious here (like chin strap vs nose peeking) but I would say it's not really worse than the parks.


----------



## Disneyliscious

reposado said:


> Dont get your hopes up. 7DMT wait times on average seems to be about 40min per the app.



Is this because they are allowing more people into the parks now than before?


----------



## yulilin3

Disneyliscious said:


> Is this because they are allowing more people into the parks now than before?


They haven't hit park capacity so far,  as in all ticket pools being unavailable to book a park reservation, this just means more people are coming


----------



## Geomom

Disneyliscious said:


> Is this because they are allowing more people into the parks now than before?


They aren't letting more people in, I don't think they've hit their initial limited capacity yet..so some days are closer to capacity or have very few people there.  

We went to MK 5x from 7/26-8/7, rode 7DMT 3x.  About a 30 minute wait each time, including a cleaning cycle.  The ride goes down during storms.. almost every afternoon for a couple hours or more.  After missing it the first day, we headed to this ride as soon as we entered the park... I'm sure we're not the only ones.  Precovid, the normal wait times for times we visit were 120 minutes...we were happy to wait 30 minutes!


----------



## Davey Jones II

mickey765 said:


> Which top 2 rides at MK should I prioritize for a 4th or 5th fastpass?
> 
> - HM
> - IASW
> - Pirates
> - Buzz
> - Pooh
> - Under the Sea





reposado said:


> Dont get your hopes up. 7DMT wait times on average seems to be about 40min per the app.



That`s still a lot shorter than usual...


----------



## Leigh L

koquinn said:


> I made my family let me sit up front today and it was much better. Still rough but better!


I agree, definitely the way to go!
Today, I finally was brave enough to go back on RnR today to put an extra smile on DD13's face since no one else in our family can ride it due to medical reasons. We were in the last car loaded and they weren't taking requests for seats (totally understandable).  Oh boy, that way in the back was bad, lol. It took me a bit to recover on many levels haha.
Also, I do better with SM and Slinky in the front too 

To keep myself from getting too OT. DHS was HOT today. but wait times were OK, a little higher than times I'm seeing listed at the other parks on the app, but still far lower than they were in January. It felt weird to stand on some lines though (not bad, just different) and saw/noticed queues I'd either missed because of FP or crowded queues where I can't see over people lol.

MMRR averaged about 40-50 minutes all day, ToT and RnR were 20-40 minutes. We got on those two at 25 minutes and it was about right for both rides. TSMM was pretty much a walk on both times we rode. I think we waited 10 minutes the first time. Star Tours was also a walk on for the most part.


----------



## 720L

MK today. Didn't wait more than 20 mins for anything. Walked on Peter Pan!!!! What??!!


----------



## Jennasis

We are on a non park Orlando vacation and had lunch in DS on Wednesday 8/12. The place was empty for the most part. Mask compliance was good. We saw one ,maskless couple and 3 or 4 noses but that was it. We ate at Homecoming walk up and requested to sit outside where we were the only guests. There were people indoors but we haven't eaten at ANY indoor restaurants this whole trip.

We ran...literally...into WoD to nab a baby Yoda. The store was empty and we literally ran to the Star Wars section, grabbed it and ran to the counter. Total in store time was 5 min. We haven't been within 20 feet of another human all week aside from masked servers and cashiers.

This trip has been a lot of work to maintain distance and clean things constantly.


----------



## Disneyguy1

TRIP REPORT FOR 8/13/14. 

My wife and I just got to DW today. It is just the two of us. I have taken over 30 separate trips to DW in my life and today has been one of the best days I can ever remember. It was absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the trip holds. 

RESORT - We are staying at Pop Century. We arrived at the resort around 1:00 pm or so. There was no wait at the front counter and only a handful of people in the lobby. We ate lunch at the food court. I counted a total of 3 other people in the WHOLE food court. It was awesome. It felt and feels like we have this whole place to ourselves. 

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS (RIDES) - We went to HS today (arrived around 4:00). The park felt like a ghost town. I have NEVER seen it this empty in my life other than late at night after everybody has left. We started with Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway. We waited 40 mins for it (the longest we had to wait for anything). It was an easy wait as the weather was cooler and it was overcast when we were outside waiting. Plus, the whole time we were pretty much walking so it felt even shorter IMO. We then rode Slinky Dog. It posted a 40 min wait. However, it was a little under 25 mins in reality. Once again, felt even shorter because of the distance and the way they have the lines. You are constantly moving so you feel like you are getting somewhere. After that, we did Midway Mania. It was a walk-on, no wait at all (even though it posted at 15 mins). When we were done, they let us ride again without even having to get out. We could have done it 3 times in a row without having to get off, but our arms were hurting, lol. We then did the Alien Saucer Swirl and it was a walk-on. After that, we did the Millennium Falcon - it was about 20 mins or so. 

HOLYWOOD STUDIOS (FOOD) - Mobile ordering was awesome. We ate at Docking Bay 7. It was empty. We later went to Oga's for drinks right before the park closed. Once again, it was pretty much empty (we had to wait maybe 10 mins max?). 

MASK COMPLIANCE - I would say it was about 95% from what I could tell. A few folks wore it below their noses and one family, in particular, continued to take their masks off a few families down from us while we were waiting for Micky and Minnie's Railway. The CM did a FANTASTIC job of holding them responsible. I do not know what they said, but after the third time, someone (who looked like they were "higher up" at Disney) said something to them, and from that point forward they did not take their masks off again. Another CM told us that they will escort people out of the park if they catch you continuing to not wear your mask. I think they are really buckling down. Someone reported on here that it feels like Disney is getting looser. We DID NOT get that impression at all. If anything, they were firmer than what I had even expected. 

SOCIAL DISTANCING -I was very impressed by the social distancing. I can honestly say that there was never a time I felt unsafe or where I felt Disney could improve. Typical Disney; above and beyond. 

SKYLINER - The Skyliner was down both times when we needed to use it (weather). The first time, we hopped a bus with no problem (we waited about 10 mins). Coming back, it was a very long line, so we Ubered. 

Overall, this is shaping up to perhaps be our best trip yet. We only spent 4 hours in the park today and got way more done than we expected while taking our time and not having anybody around us the whole time. It was fantastic!!! CM were great as always, too. They seemed to really be on their game.


----------



## Disneyguy1

One other thing is that I was wearing a cloth mask without any type of wire lining to be able to form to your nose. Within just a couple of hours, I was getting a blister on my nose. I switched to the basic 3 ply disposable masks with the wire lining (we bought like 50 lol). They worked A WHOLE lot better. As my wife put it, "They are not cutesy," but I told her I honestly did not care about cutesty if it meant I would be rubbing a blister on my nose for the whole trip, haha. So, if you are looking at what kind of masks, I personally recommend the kind that has a metal wiring so you can make them fit more snug where they do not rub as much.

Most people making them on Etsy will not make them with the wiring. They will be the standard cloth masks. I'm sure different people have different experiences with what works best, but I discovered that the masks with the wire works best for me.


----------



## brockash

Davey Jones II said:


> That`s still a lot shorter than usual...


It is and it isn't.  Yes, it's shorter than a regular day in stand-by; however there are many ppl. (myself included) who never wait in the standby line for that anyways...so it's definitely longer than the 5-10 mins that I'd usually wait.


----------



## shoegal9

GADisneyDad14 said:


> FWIW, I did see a rumor that Tambu Lounge is opening later this month, not sure if that has been confirmed or not (I’m behind on the boards/info).



Yes! Tambu is confirmed to be opening this Sunday!


----------



## pepperandchips

ksromack said:


> Sounds like a great getaway to me!  We purchased something very similar to your personal fans for our trip to the GE Passholder preview and subsequent August trip last year.  I must say, they help a lot, especially coupled with the cooling towels.  We may have to look into Camelbaks.  Is that a brand name?


It is a brand name but the generic for what I mean is just “water bladder”. We have a 100 oz one for hiking that slips easily into a pocket of my backpack - the backpack wasn’t made specifically for that but it works great!


----------



## Kyhome

brockash said:


> It is and it isn't.  Yes, it's shorter than a regular day in stand-by; however there are many ppl. (myself included) who never wait in the standby line for that anyways...so it's definitely longer than the 5-10 mins that I'd usually wait.



We are a family that has never waited over 20 minutes for a ride at Disney b/c I always plan fast passes, ride order, etc. We were wondering how our trip would go a few weeks ago (we went mid week, no weekends) because we truly are spoiled with lack of waiting (first world problems, I know). However, this was the best trip ever. We did wait about 25 minutes for Mine Train and Splash and a 30 minute wait in HS (Mickey and Minnie)- but walking on the other rides was amazing. Just being able to walk through again and again and ride FOP, Everest, Space, Toy Story, Millineum Falcon, etc! I could not ride FOP anymore b/c I was getting motion sick. That's a great problem to have!

Even with fast passes in busy times (we usually go in the summer), we still have to wait later in the day because the FP line gets backed up.


----------



## dachsie

Disneyguy1 said:


> One other thing is that I was wearing a cloth mask without any type of wire lining to be able to form to your nose. Within just a couple of hours, I was getting a blister on my nose. I switched to the basic 3 ply disposable masks with the wire lining (we bought like 50 lol). They worked A WHOLE lot better. As my wife put it, "They are not cutesy," but I told her I honestly did not care about cutesty if it meant I would be rubbing a blister on my nose for the whole trip, haha. So, if you are looking at what kind of masks, I personally recommend the kind that has a metal wiring so you can make them fit more snug where they do not rub as much.
> 
> Most people making them on Etsy will not make them with the wiring. They will be the standard cloth masks. I'm sure different people have different experiences with what works best, but I discovered that the masks with the wire works best for me.





lovethattink said:


> Emelee Originals uses a pipe cleaner. Works pretty good.


I have used floral wire in mine.  You have to make a pocket to insert it in.


----------



## Disney1fan2002

I am going in September. 9 nights at OKW.  I will just be happy to be in the Disney "bubble" again. If I don't care about character meet and greets, dining or parades and special events, basically just there for the rides and the ambiance, will it feel very different? Are there any rides that are not operating strictly because of Covid?


----------



## koquinn

We've been here since Friday and stay till Sunday. Here are my thoughts so far. 

1) I was very paranoid about COVID and almost canceled this trip. Like, we hadn't really left the house other than work and a few runs for urgent groceries since 3/13. Getting here felt weird but good. We quickly acclimated to the Disney bubble for better or for worse, and now I'm not sure how to go back to reality. Do we eat in restaurants when we get home? I don't think so, but being here has somehow shifted my brain a bit so that I've kind of forgotten how worried we were. I'm not sure that's a good thing, but it doesn't take too long to feel more comfortable and assume Disney and the other guests are protecting you. It's very much a false sense of security if I'm being honest, but I think if you're going to enjoy your trip it may be that you have to assume the best of people and hope that the virus levels in the park are minimal. You will spend time closer to people than you have at home, and there's no way to avoid this. If you don't like that, now isn't the time to come. 

2) That all said, I do think compliance with the rules is generally good. We have seen probably 95% mask compliance. It's very slightly worse at the hottest times of the day and then later evening at DS and EPCOT. My assumption is that by the end of the day people are either tired or have had some alcohol and their judgment isn't as good so they get more lax. Most of the time it's easy to avoid people because the crowds aren't much. But sometimes you get stuck in line with a group that clearly doesn't care and you just figure out how to stay a few more lines on the floor away from them. 

3) The masks haven't bothered us nearly as much as the heat. Mask or not, it's hot. We have been unable to avoid drinking in line - there were a few times I felt like I might pass out and having some water was the only thing that saved me. We, and most people, do it in a safe-ish way, ie quick lift of the mask while facing away from people and staying back an extra line. It's just impossible not to with so many queues in the hot sun beyond the ride queue starts. Overall I don't think people are abusing this, mostly just trying to survive. 

4) It's peaceful here. People have generally been friendly and excited to be back, and the usual arguments between families and such are at a minimum. CMs seem more wonderful than usual. We've had some great service all around. 

5) Transportation is dodgy. When it works it's great - they do a good job separating people on buses and such. But if Skyliner is down, or they aren't sending enough buses for Pop, it's more frustrating than usual. The longest lines we've waited in have been for buses hands down. 

6) Ride lines are great on the weekdays. The weekend was much busier as others have said. We love FP and rarely wait for rides, but overall we've felt like we've been able to do what we wanted and a decent pace. Getting in before rope drop is key, especially at HS. Plan to start early especially with the heat. 

7) We brought extra trash bags for our room and ordered groceries. Both things have very much helped avoiding the morning rush for breakfast at Pop and keeping our room somewhat clean with limited housekeeping. I don't think I'd pay for housekeeping if I had it to do over. They are doing the bare minimum and we've had to call for a broom and extra towels. 

8) I brought a bottle of detergent and some suction cup hooks for the mirror. Washing out the masks at night and hanging them to dry has worked well. 

If you're a Disney fanatic and healthy, come. You'll have a great time. If you expect perfection and full service everything, or you have health risks or are really worried about getting sick, wait a bit. It's still very magical, and CMs are doing a great job, but it's not the same as normal. We've enjoyed it and have no regrets, but it is a very different trip than we're used to. We miss park hopping the most, and not having things to do early morning and later at night as we like full days. That said it's been relaxing too. Let me know if you have any questions!


----------



## LaDonna

koquinn said:


> 3) The masks haven't bothered us nearly as much as the heat. Mask or not, it's hot. We have been unable to avoid drinking in line - there were a few times I felt like I might pass out and having some water was the only thing that saved me. We, and most people, do it in a safe-ish way, ie quick lift of the mask while facing away from people and staying back an extra line. It's just impossible not to with so many queues in the hot sun beyond the ride queue starts. Overall I don't think people are abusing this, mostly just trying to survive.



yeah I wondered if this was happening........with the very real possibility of heat exhaustion in this kind of heat I think it’s almost unavoidable


----------



## momtwoboys

looking for any recent DME experiences? How many are allowed onto the bus?


----------



## jvalic33

On a positive note:

I just wanted to say that I have had numerous conversations with people currently working in the restaurants, The Boathouse, The Brown Derby, Yak & Yeti and CMs who have family back in the parks and the sentiment is that CMs are over the moon to be back at work and as one said, "Bringing the magic back to people like us."

While some people are consumed with fear, if we refuse to go back out there and give people a reason to work, there are other ramifications to fear such as poverty and joblessness, so while I get the cautiousness, I also appreciate the fact that they need me to live life again for them to survive.

Not everyone has the luxury of quarantining at home with a salary or income.

I'm excited to be returning to Disney and excited to give them my money because I feel like I'm helping the CMs finally get back on their feet.


----------



## koquinn

jvalic33 said:


> On a positive note:
> 
> I just wanted to say that I have had numerous conversations with people currently working in the restaurants, The Boathouse, The Brown Derby, Yak & Yeti and CMs who have family back in the parks and the sentiment is that CMs are over the moon to be back at work and as one said, "Bringing the magic back to people like us."
> 
> While some people are consumed with fear, if we refuse to go back out there and give people a reason to work, there are other ramifications to fear such as poverty and joblessness, so while I get the cautiousness, I also appreciate the fact that they need me to live life again for them to survive.
> 
> Not everyone has the luxury of quarantining at home with a salary or income.
> 
> I'm excited to be returning to Disney and excited to give them my money because I feel like I'm helping the CMs finally get back on their feet.


Agreed, we chatted with one of our servers and he said it's a bit nerve wracking but most guests are great and he's happy to be back. He was working at an Amazon warehouse to make ends meet till WDW reopened. He said they brought back the most senior people first, which also sometimes meant the older CMs, so some had tough decisions to make. But he said they could opt out for medical reasons if they wanted to.


----------



## yulilin3

jvalic33 said:


> On a positive note:
> 
> I just wanted to say that I have had numerous conversations with people currently working in the restaurants, The Boathouse, The Brown Derby, Yak & Yeti and CMs who have family back in the parks and the sentiment is that CMs are over the moon to be back at work and as one said, "Bringing the magic back to people like us."
> 
> While some people are consumed with fear, if we refuse to go back out there and give people a reason to work, there are other ramifications to fear such as poverty and joblessness, so while I get the cautiousness, I also appreciate the fact that they need me to live life again for them to survive.
> 
> Not everyone has the luxury of quarantining at home with a salary or income.
> 
> I'm excited to be returning to Disney and excited to give them my money because I feel like I'm helping the CMs finally get back on their feet.


as an Orlando resident I thank you for spending money here.
The traffic has been increasing steadily and each time a car cuts 3 lanes of traffic in front of me and I can tell they are tourist I just thank them for being here


----------



## jvalic33

yulilin3 said:


> as an Orlando resident I thank you for spending money here.
> The traffic has been increasing steadily and each time a car cuts 3 lanes of traffic in front of me and I can tell they are tourist I just thank them for being here





I'm not that tourist. I'm a former New Yorker but got all those nasty little habits out of me after moving to rural America!  Plus I have a boatload of kids with me so I only cut over one or maybe too lanes, depending on how excited I am to get there!


----------



## yulilin3

jvalic33 said:


> I'm not that tourist. I'm a former New Yorker but got all those nasty little habits out of me after moving to rural America!  Plus I have a boatload of kids with me so I only cut over one or maybe too lanes, depending on how excited I am to get there!


I always tell people coming, if you miss the exit there will be another, all roads lead to WDW here in Central Florida


----------



## koquinn

Oh one more tip - definitely take advantage of the chat feature in the app. Just requested more towels to our room while waiting in line for skyliner. Also have requested more buses, gotten info on how to get from here to there, etc. Works great!


----------



## 720L

momtwoboys said:


> looking for any recent DME experiences? How many are allowed onto the bus?


I have felt very comfortable on the buses. I'm guessing 25 on a bus? There are plastic separators between groups and seats are blocked off for social distancing. They have the top hatch open for more air. I was really nervous about the buses but felt fine.


----------



## momtwoboys

720L said:


> I have felt very comfortable on the buses. I'm guessing 25 on a bus? There are plastic separators between groups and seats are blocked off for social distancing. They have the top hatch open for more air. I was really nervous about the buses but felt fine.


How about DME? I am wondering how many are allowed on there to and from MCO. I heard that the disney bus transport is limiting and the plastic dividers but what about Magical Express?


----------



## Geomom

momtwoboys said:


> looking for any recent DME experiences? How many are allowed onto the bus?


For magical express--the trip from the airport on 7/25 felt extremely safe, with them assigning seats--loading from the back, and keeping 2 rows empty between groups.  It sounds like the trip from the airport is still operating that way.  I think there was going to be 4 resort stops, and we only waited 15 min for a bus at 5:45pm.

Coming home on 8/8 though felt like a free for all.  We had to ask guest services for the printout to know when our bus would be at AKV Kidani--2pm  (We had a split stay, so not sure if that affected it...I had to do 2 DME reservations initially for each leg of the trip.). A DME bus was dropping his last group off at 1:56, and didn't think he was our bus...turns out he was, so he told us to sit anywhere...we double checked...yep anywhere.  And his mask kept slipping off his nose.  Next he picked up at Jambo, 2 groups got on, and they social distanced from us on their own.  Next he went to Pop, where they were sending tons of buses for a huge group (part of the 92 member family reunion we saw in the parks previous days.) Their bus was supposed to be 2:35pm, most didn't have their luggage yet.  About half the big group got on our bus, eventually, but didn't social distance despite plenty of seats being available, and they were extremely lax with mask wearing--some having it off completely.  We were waiting at Pop for that group for so long, we feared we'd miss our flight with having to self check luggage and security--thankfully, luggage and security were quick..like 5 minutes to get through security...unheard of for us at MCO.  We flew Southwest and there were empty gates to spread out at, and only 35 people on our flight home.  So it all ended well, but we weren't happy with DME on the way home... probably depends on the bus driver...from the radio, it sounded like they were still trying to figure out the bus routes back to the airport... hopefully they get that figured out soon.


----------



## ejdmomma

luvdisney73 said:


> My daughters and I spent a short weekend celebrating a birthday. We arrived Friday morning at the Polynesian, resort hopped, and spent the afternoon in the pool before heading over to Disney Springs for dinner. I feel that the pool area was very crowded for an afternoon as was Disney Springs that evening. Magic Kingdom on Saturday was very low in crowds. Masks were being worn correctly (98.00 percent maybe) but a few people were still showing their noses. Come on people! I never saw a staff member correct them. I did ask the cast member at the Jungle Cruise boarding area if we could wait for the next boat as the people in front of us would not wear their mask over their noses. She said sure but she never asked the guests to wear their masks correctly. I was surprised with the wait times with an average of 30-40 minutes for most big attractions. We have always had our FastPasses in order so waiting has never been our thing but the lines were greatly spaced out and everyone seemed to be following the rules of social distancing. I loved the impromptu characters throughout the park. I wish they would keep that up! All in all, I totally felt that we were safe on this trip. I loved the slower pace and I am so happy we did not cancel our trip in August. We are planning another girls birthday trip in November! Well done Walt Disney World!


We are thinking about doing a quick weekend trip in two weeks.  I've been on the fence only because weekend reports have been sort of negative.  Glad to hear that wasn't the case.  We would be doing Magic Kindgom on a Saturday (just two adults). I think even with 30-40 minute waits we would still go.  Just looking for a little escape trip and it's our anniversary!


----------



## JessiMommy

Rockbro said:


> I don't want to discourage you in any way, but there is no "preparation" for what you will experience. Especially when the heat and humidity crank back up



I think this is subjective based on a given person’s personal tolerability. I live in South Florida and hate wearing the mask but it’s becoming more the norm for me the longer I have to wear it. My gym now requires me to wear it while working out. While it is by no means preferable it is absolutely doable...for me. I know others who have given up the gym because they can’t do it. So while one person can’t handle it, another person may be just fine. JMO


----------



## momtwoboys

Geomom said:


> For magical express--the trip from the airport on 7/25 felt extremely safe, with them assigning seats--loading from the back, and keeping 2 rows empty between groups.  It sounds like the trip from the airport is still operating that way.  I think there was going to be 4 resort stops, and we only waited 15 min for a bus at 5:45pm.
> 
> Coming home on 8/8 though felt like a free for all.  We had to ask guest services for the printout to know when our bus would be at AKV Kidani--2pm  (We had a split stay, so not sure if that affected it...I had to do 2 DME reservations initially for each leg of the trip.). A DME bus was dropping his last group off at 1:56, and didn't think he was our bus...turns out he was, so he told us to sit anywhere...we double checked...yep anywhere.  And his mask kept slipping off his nose.  Next he picked up at Jambo, 2 groups got on, and they social distanced from us on their own.  Next he went to Pop, where they were sending tons of buses for a huge group (part of the 92 member family reunion we saw in the parks previous days.) Their bus was supposed to be 2:35pm, most didn't have their luggage yet.  About half the big group got on our bus, eventually, but didn't social distance despite plenty of seats being available, and they were extremely lax with mask wearing--some having it off completely.  We were waiting at Pop for that group for so long, we feared we'd miss our flight with having to self check luggage and security--thankfully, luggage and security were quick..like 5 minutes to get through security...unheard of for us at MCO.  We flew Southwest and there were empty gates to spread out at, and only 35 people on our flight home.  So it all ended well, but we weren't happy with DME on the way home... probably depends on the bus driver...from the radio, it sounded like they were still trying to figure out the bus routes back to the airport... hopefully they get that figured out soon.


thank you for sharing that. I am debating using a towncar service but didnt want to spend the money if the DME buses were running half empty and felt safe.


----------



## Geomom

momtwoboys said:


> thank you for sharing that. I am debating using a towncar service but didnt want to spend the money if the DME buses were running half empty and felt safe.


Like I said, felt safe and well managed on the way to the resorts--so if you want to save some money, take DME there and towncar service the day you're leaving.  I know some people have had no issues coming home (only 8 people on the bus, well distanced, etc)...it likely depends upon the demand, but with only the bus driver at the resort vs multiple supervisors figuring things out at the airport, you have no idea what the trip back will look like.


----------



## Luv2Travel

koquinn said:


> Oh one more tip - definitely take advantage of the chat feature in the app. Just requested more towels to our room while waiting in line for skyliner. Also have requested more buses, gotten info on how to get from here to there, etc. Works great!



This is a great tip, thank you! May I ask a few follow on questions, please?
(1) Did you have to be in your room for the towels to be delivered?
(2) Could you get info on the Skyliner (if it's running) through chat?
(3) (If you're a coffee drinker) Did you have to ask for more coffee for your room, or was there already a decent supply (for more than one day)?


----------



## koquinn

Luv2Travel said:


> This is a great tip, thank you! May I ask a few follow on questions, please?
> (1) Did you have to be in your room for the towels to be delivered?
> (2) Could you get info on the Skyliner (if it's running) through chat?
> (3) (If you're a coffee drinker) Did you have to ask for more coffee for your room, or was there already a decent supply (for more than one day)?


1 - nope! I asked for a couple extra blankets last night tho and they had me fill out an online form with my personal info, presumably to verify it was me. I assume because it was late at night and they didn't want to show up in a room that wasn't really mine? Today I didn't have to verify anything. 
2 - yes but they had to transfer me to the a CM that knew transportation answers. 
3 - there was maybe 2 days' worth? DH is a coffee drinker. We did request more and they brought a large bag full of all the supplies. They didn't restock when they cleaned our room yesterday. I assume we can get more at anytime.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

yulilin3 said:


> ... each time a car cuts 3 lanes of traffic in front of me and I can tell they are tourist I just thank them for being here



That's a much different reaction than most people's first inclination (pre-COVID).


----------



## yulilin3

Grumpy by Birth said:


> That's a much different reaction than most people's first inclination (pre-COVID).


Believe me, I know


----------



## Stratman50th

@yulilin3, I stay off of Thunder Rd at all costs! I absolutely hate it! Unfortunately sometimes there is no avoiding it. Funny thing is, I noticed a lot more Florida tags doing crazy stuff than out of state. Of course, I'm a little further west than Disney.


----------



## Dentam

yulilin3 said:


> I always tell people coming, if you miss the exit there will be another, all roads lead to WDW here in Central Florida



I am and always have been horrible at navigating.  When I did my summer internship at Epcot back in 2000 I was constantly turning off on the wrong exit or missing my exit altogether.  I once ended up on a toll road and ran out of change so got a warning ticket.  I could see right where I needed to go but there was no exit to get there!  This is why I never rent a car now when I go to WDW.


----------



## pepperandchips

Your newest SSR fan stopping by to report that there are four families at the Congress Park pool right now, of which we are one. Pool capacity is not an issue here! Very different from our Poly and Riviera stays  




There is a custodial CM stopping by to clean but no recreation CM here to explain about the process to indicate you’re done with your chair or anything like I’ve seen at other resorts. Just something to be aware of if you want to bring your own wipes or anything. We are comfortable with the cleaning going on so please don’t take this as a criticism.


----------



## tsme

koquinn said:


> Oh one more tip - definitely take advantage of the chat feature in the app. Just requested more towels to our room while waiting in line for skyliner. Also have requested more buses, gotten info on how to get from here to there, etc. Works great!



I didn’t know you could that. Thanks!


----------



## Earningmywings

Has anyone stayed at any of the Disney Springs hotels that usually offer shuttles with Mears (I think). I have read that they are not offering shuttles right now.


----------



## Rockbro

Stratman50th said:


> @yulilin3, I stay off of Thunder Rd at all costs! I absolutely hate it! Unfortunately sometimes there is no avoiding it. Funny thing is, I noticed a lot more Florida tags doing crazy stuff than out of state. Of course, I'm a little further west than Disney.



This is one of the things that I really miss about being a cop. In my time, I had maybe 6 different cruisers. Some of them were unmarked. There was such a sense of accomplishment when someone was driving like a...  that I could stop them and educate them with the pen and citation book.

Now, I drive on 4 and shake my head constantly at the absolute disregard for others and safety. I once took my bike to Disney (yes, feeling brave that day) and was tense the entire time on 4. I will never do that again.

I drive a big pickup and still feel unbelievably unsafe on 4.


----------



## duder92

Brief report.

Arrived Tuesday afternoon, hit Epcot for dinner at Spice Road, which was fantastic. Afterwards we were able to walk on Frozen, Test Track, and Living with the Land before taking a lovely stroll back to Beach Club after close. Park was pretty much a ghost town.

Went to MK on Wednesday, ride times were low pretty much all day. Got unlucky on splash as they paused to clean it, so waited about 45 minutes, which was the longest wait of the day by about 20 minutes. Space was almost a walk on all day. Went to Boathouse for dinner, our table outside was not really physically distanced so we moved down to the dock and had a fantastic meal at sunset.

Animal kingdom on Thursday, low crowds all day, multiple rides on Everest, FoP and the safari. Returned for dinner at Tiffins just before park close. This was our first attempt to eat inside since this mess started and we asked to be as far from others as possible. Got a large corner booth for the two of us, and were probably 30 feet from nearest people. Felt very safe and dinner was the usual top quality we have always received there.

Just got back to the room from our day at HS. We walked over, was let in the park at 915. Went straight to Mickey and Minnie Railroad, were we waited near the front of the que until 930 when they started boarding. Was off the ride around 940. Walked back to Slinky, got in line where they started loading at 945. Right before we were about to board we were able to grab boarding group 2 at Rise. Went straight to Rise after getting off Slinky. No technical problems, and we were off the ride at a little before 11. Pretty successful day to have the 3 heavyweights done before 11, don't think we could have timed it any better. Otherwise, HS was by far the 'busiest of the parks so far, but we were able to knock out the rest of the rides and were out at 3p. Lunch at docking bay 7 was very good. 

Today is definitely the hottest day, but the masks aren't really an issue. Honestly forget they are there half the time. Compliance has been pretty great, and there haven't been any times where I felt uncomfortable. Besides the masks, the parks don't really feel that different to me, just like a nice low crowd day. The resorts are definitely different, as they are pretty dead.

Still have a few more days, but we are having a blast.


----------



## yulilin3

Let's please keep this to just back reports


----------



## maryj11

Aishaahm said:


> Just touched down in good old Missouri! We did two days at the Poly on rented points, and two days at the parks, AK and MK. We did AK yesterday (Monday), hit all headliners there by 1:30 and even came back in the evening for a walk on FOP repeat! Here’s what that looked like....
> 
> *AK day*
> FOP
> NAV
> ate at Satu’li Canteen
> Character Boat-Chip, Dale, Goofy
> Kilamanjaro Safari
> Gorilla Falls Trail-saw baby Grace
> Dinosaur
> Triceratops spin
> Expedition Everest
> Met Tim Tracker
> Swam
> FOP again
> 
> Went to MK this morning (Tuesday) from Poly and they wouldn’t let us out of the monorail until after 8:30. So we passed MK station at 8:24 and had to go all the way around again before they let us disembark and it was 8:42 by then. We were still able to accomplish the following on our departure day by 11:15 am in time to catch the monorail back to Poly to make our Magical Express Bus.....
> 
> *MK DAY*
> Characters at the Main Street Train Station
> 7DMT
> Space Ranger Spin
> Space Mountain x 2
> Character Cavalcade- Pooh Friends
> POTC
> ate at Pecos Bills
> Under the Sea
> Barnstormer
> Caught Move it Shake it leaving
> 
> *Transportation and COVID changes*
> Poly resort was very easy to socially distance, other than maybe between 2:30-5 at the Lava Pool. Monorail was one family per partition, and the only time we needed the bus it was right there for AK and we were the ONLY people waiting/riding both to and from the park. DS was busy, but we just popped in for some Chicken Guy and left when a storm blew in.
> 
> **** I took multiple videos throughout the park just out of amazement for lack of crowds and the ability to socially distance. Of course we went on a Monday and Tuesday so there’s that!
> 
> If you are wondering whether or not it’s still magical, I believe it was one of the most relaxing Disney trips we have ever taken, so much so that we switched parks day of with no fret or fuss!


Oh awesome you got to meet Tim Tracker! I just watched his video a few days ago about his AK day.


----------



## lotsohugginbear

pepperandchips said:


> Your newest SSR fan stopping by to report that there are four families at the Congress Park pool right now, of which we are one. Pool capacity is not an issue here! Very different from our Poly and Riviera stays ❤
> 
> 
> View attachment 518447
> 
> There is a custodial CM stopping by to clean but no recreation CM here to explain about the process to indicate you’re done with your chair or anything like I’ve seen at other resorts. Just something to be aware of if you want to bring your own wipes or anything. We are comfortable with the cleaning going on so please don’t take this as a criticism.
> 
> View attachment 518447


Love this pool and the view towards DS.  We were in building three -- closest to the DS walkway.
I've stayed at Saratoga quite a few times, but this was a favorite trip.  And, without a doubt, we were the only Mainers there! We are back home now, and I'll be getting ready to get back in my classroom.


----------



## maryj11

koquinn said:


> 1 - nope! I asked for a couple extra blankets last night tho and they had me fill out an online form with my personal info, presumably to verify it was me. I assume because it was late at night and they didn't want to show up in a room that wasn't really mine? Today I didn't have to verify anything.
> 2 - yes but they had to transfer me to the a CM that knew transportation answers.
> 3 - there was maybe 2 days' worth? DH is a coffee drinker. We did request more and they brought a large bag full of all the supplies. They didn't restock when they cleaned our room yesterday. I assume we can get more at anytime.


Good to know about the towels and coffee.[/QUOTE]


----------



## Shellyred8

dachsie said:


> I have used floral wire in mine.  You have to make a pocket to insert it in.


I just finished adding pockets to our masks and I used pipe cleaners for the wire nose piece.  I like the floral wire idea too!


----------



## hereforthechurros

Has anyone with a recent on-site hotel stay been able to watch HEA on channel 74? We tried this past weekend but this message was all that was shown no matter the time.


----------



## Geomom

hereforthechurros said:


> Has anyone with a recent on-site hotel stay been able to watch HEA on channel 74? We tried this past weekend but this message was all that was shown no matter the time.


Not sure what channel we watched it, or which days, but we were at Disney from 7/25-8/8 and saw it on.  
Lol, my kids favorite channel was called 'Japan TV'...it was just Disney Parks music, so they liked having it on as background music, one night we had to wait for it to cycle through so they could hear 'Canada' before we went to bed.


----------



## lynch34

Just to confirm - there is no park hopping?

pools busy or no?


----------



## monkeydawn

lynch34 said:


> Just to confirm - there is no park hopping?
> 
> pools busy or no?


You really should read the last 10-20 pages to answer your pool question since there is a wide variety in pool, time of day, etc..


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## erinch

Thank you to the moderators for all your shepherding!


----------



## Dave006

lynch34 said:


> Just to confirm - there is no park hopping?
> 
> pools busy or no?


Definitely no park hopping at this time unless you have two separate tickets and two different park reservations.

What resort pool and what time of day as it varies widely.

Dave


----------



## Sydney2977

pepperandchips said:


> It is a brand name but the generic for what I mean is just “water bladder”. We have a 100 oz one for hiking that slips easily into a pocket of my backpack - the backpack wasn’t made specifically for that but it works great!



Thanks for sharing that Camelbaks are still allowed. Ever since the kids got old enough, and DH or I didn't have to be the ones schlepping the big family bag, DH has brought his as his own personal bag. His is a smaller backpack style and I would highly recommend in this hot weather, and for ease since you have to stop to take drinks- you can just pull the mouth piece under your mask for a quick sip while still being 6 ft. form others. Both the boys have ones too and have brought them (they had theirs for Boy Scouts too). If you ask the CM's for cups of water and/or ice you can dump them in the "bladder" and it seems to stay cool longer.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Geomom said:


> Not sure what channel we watched it, or which days, but we were at Disney from 7/25-8/8 and saw it on.
> Lol, my kids favorite channel was called 'Japan TV'...it was just Disney Parks music, so they liked having it on as background music, one night we had to wait for it to cycle through so they could hear 'Canada' before we went to bed.


So bummed we missed it! We tried on 8/6 with no luck. Maybe it just wasn't working that one night?


----------



## pepperandchips

Sydney2977 said:


> Thanks for sharing that Camelbaks are still allowed. Ever since the kids got old enough, and DH or I didn't have to be the ones schlepping the big family bag, DH has brought his as his own personal bag. His is a smaller backpack style and I would highly recommend in this hot weather, and for ease since you have to stop to take drinks- you can just pull the mouth piece under your mask for a quick sip while still being 6 ft. form others. Both the boys have ones too and have brought them (they had theirs for Boy Scouts too). If you ask the CM's for cups of water and/or ice you can dump them in the "bladder" and it seems to stay cool longer.


It’s been a lifesaver this trip. We’ve filled it as full as we could with ice in the morning and added some water, we have only stayed about 4 hours at a time in the park but usually leave with a little ice still in the bottom. 

It’s HOT! Another beautiful day though.


----------



## koquinn

Today at MK is way busier than it was Thurs when we were here. I guess the line times are still manageable but it's much harder to distance today. We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's and some guy sat down right next to us and used the sign that said "For your health and safety, this table is not available" to fan his daughter while they ate. Unreal. 

Also for anyone who plays Sorcerers, be aware Tortuga Tavern is locked up tight so you can't get to that portal. We had to go to the Fire House 2x to reset our game, very frustrating. They finally fixed it the 2nd time so we just went back and forth between 2 portals in Frontierland. It was fun, but we did the whole first level and I was about to pass out from the heat today after all the walking back and forth. Killed any hope I had of finishing all 3 levels today but hopefully we'll be back before our game gets erased again!


----------



## Geomom

hereforthechurros said:


> So bummed we missed it! We tried on 8/6 with no luck. Maybe it just wasn't working that one night?


Just talked to DD20.  It was on the DVC Spanish channel.  While it said 6-10, there were breaks between shows where it just shows that sign.  DD remembers putting it on at 9 one night and wondering why it wasn't showing.  They definitely saw it multiple times during our 2 week trip though, but if you waited a while and it didn't show, maybe it wasn't working that night.


----------



## MomOTwins

koquinn said:


> Today at MK is way busier than it was Thurs when we were here. I guess the line times are still manageable but it's much harder to distance today. We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's and some guy sat down right next to us and used the sign that said "For your health and safety, this table is not available" to fan his daughter while they ate. Unreal.
> 
> Also for anyone who plays Sorcerers, be aware Tortuga Tavern is locked up tight so you can't get to that portal. We had to go to the Fire House 2x to reset our game, very frustrating. They finally fixed it the 2nd time so we just went back and forth between 2 portals in Frontierland. It was fun, but we did the whole first level and I was about to pass out from the heat today after all the walking back and forth. Killed any hope I had of finishing all 3 levels today but hopefully we'll be back before our game gets erased again!


We just gave up and left MK.  Complete madhouse.  Waited 30 minutes for magic flippin carpets, with maskless family behind me that I had to remind to keep to their marker EVERY SINGLE TIME the line moved—they were so close they kept bumping into me before I asked them to move back.  Couldn't even get into tiki room as it was full.  Unreal.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

On the topic of fireworks on the resort TVs.... FYI, posted today on DPB:

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...periences-at-walt-disney-world-resort-hotels/


----------



## MickeyBalloons

Just back from DHS today.  HOT HOT and HOT. It is nothing like the first few weeks the parks were open. The lines for rides are all long and people everywhere, It is hard to get used to the idea of waiting in line to get into the shops, even the Black Spire Marketplace or into Baseline. You can find nice quiet pockets of no people, we watched the Mickey cavalcade roll past and there were only 3 or 4 people. Now and then the park feels empty, but for those wishing for low crowds, that seems to be early mornings only. We had a great time, but it would be difficult for those who want to do it all.


----------



## 2kidsForMe

We just left Epcot. I second that it is wicked HOT. My 17 year old I were directed to the cooling tent upon entering, around 11:30. We drove and had walked across the hot parking lot.  I knew we were not running a fever because we take our temps every morning and evening, and are really paying attention to how we are feeling. We were cleared to enter after the third attempt at the temp check. There was a line to get into the tent, so we weren’t the only ones by far. The park was busy. Not normal summer weekend busy of course, but there were a  lot of people. Lines for food booths were on average 5-25 deep. We managed Frozen Ever After, which took about 35 minutes. Waiting in the hot sun with the mask was rough, but things improved once you got inside. We didn’t attempt any other rides. We sat and listened to a set by Mariachi Cobre. They were fantastic. Mask compliance was probably 75%. Some blatant violators, but that is to be expected. Lots of noses peeking out and mask less kids. Social distancing was tough at times. Some people either not caring or not paying attention.  We walked by Rose and Crown, and it was packed! Looked like any other summer day, minus the crowds milling around outside the entrance. We are unsure if we will head back to the park tonight. Food options are very limited at our resort (Kidani) so we will see.


----------



## Princesspixi

maryj11 said:


> Good to know about the towels and coffee.


[/QUOTE]
So the coffee maker is still in the rooms? 
Is it a standard coffee make with loose grounds or is it one that uses pods? 
We’ll be staying at Kidani Village if that makes a difference. Thanks!


----------



## koquinn

So the coffee maker is still in the rooms?
Is it a standard coffee make with loose grounds or is it one that uses pods?
We’ll be staying at Kidani Village if that makes a difference. Thanks!
[/QUOTE]
Still in the room at Pop so I assume everywhere. We had to ask for more stuff to restock. It's not pods, it's the weird Jeoffreys stuff that I don't think you can bring your own.


----------



## Geomom

So the coffee maker is still in the rooms?
Is it a standard coffee make with loose grounds or is it one that uses pods?
We’ll be staying at Kidani Village if that makes a difference. Thanks!
[/QUOTE]
Kidani has a 12 cup basket style coffee maker.  We're DVC, stayed in a studio.  There were 2 regular and 2 decaf Joffreys coffee pouches to start with and we got more on our day 4 trash and towel service day.  You can always bring your own if you need to.


----------



## koquinn

Just saw 2 more people smoking in MK... I can't even... Makes my blood boil!


----------



## MomOTwins

koquinn said:


> Just saw 2 more people smoking in MK... I can't even... Makes my blood boil!


People seem to think any old excuse is good to take off masks.  Saw someone take off a mask to take a phone call.  Cracked me up—you can talk through a mask!


----------



## yulilin3

Just got back from Disney Springs, had a job interview that didn't pan out  anyways, busy for sure, mask adherence at it's worst, almost spoke up when a whole family, with masks on their chins were blocking the escalator to go up to the lime garage, I was already upset about the job and if I had opened my mouth it would not have ended pretty.
Anyways, if possible avoid DS weekend afternoons.


----------



## Leigh L

I echo those reports recommending to go to parks on weekdays instead of weekends if you have flexibility to do so. We did UO Sunday (far busiest of any park on any day for us), Monday and Tuesday, EP Wednesday, DHS Thursday and MK on Friday.

After swapping UO for EP on Wednesday on a whim, it was our intent to go back to UO today. Looking at the app wait times this morning we bailed on those plans. Doing our parks days during the weekdays worked out well for us at both theme parks. Epcot wasn't terribly busy on Wednesday. Not talking deserted parks, but plenty of room to space out and wait times were not too high. DHS was Thursday and was the busiest of all parks but we did pretty much everything we wanted, except never made it on Slinky and Aliens but we opted to take in the ambiance of Galaxy's Edge rather than stand on lines. Visited Oga's for the first time, that was fun! MK was the emptiest I've ever seen it over the course of an overall day but again, not an empty park either. It was weird going old-school at this park more than the others, but the stress-free and laid back way of exploring was great.

Today was also our last move resort day since I had to do an add-on resort for one night with all the flight cancellations. On our way to Shades of Green about 10:30 a.m., MK parking lot and entry looked so crowded from where we could see. So it seems weekends are definitely picking up.


----------



## koquinn

MomOTwins said:


> People seem to think any old excuse is good to take off masks.  Saw someone take off a mask to take a phone call.  Cracked me up—you can talk through a mask!


In the Canada movie yesterday a girl had her mask off. When the CM came over to say something she quick grabbed her friend's drink and used that as her excuse. She told him, "I've been drinking it the whole time!" um, no, you weren't. I've kinda had it with some of the crappy people we've encountered. Glad we're done with parks after today, ready to get away from people for awhile again.


----------



## Leigh L

MomOTwins said:


> We just gave up and left MK.  Complete madhouse.  Waited 30 minutes for magic flippin carpets, with maskless family behind me that I had to remind to keep to their marker EVERY SINGLE TIME the line moved—they were so close they kept bumping into me before I asked them to move back.  Couldn't even get into tiki room as it was full.  Unreal.


I'm so sorry .
Yesterday at MK we saw a few nose peekers, but most people were wearing their masks far as we can tell unless they were off to the side and stationary. However, we were in the queue for Philharmonic and they delayed so they could clean the theatre. No big deal, except then two of the three people directly in front of us started eating in the indoor part of the queue. That made me uncomfortable since while social distanced, it didn't feel like enough space for that in the enclosed environment. (I'm leery of indoor dining as it is).

On a different visiting the parks note (instead of making a separate post ) I've done way better in this heat with the paper disposables than the cloth ones I bought from Disney. DD13 and DH were OK with cloth but adult DD and myself couldn't handle it, even though I'm used to 90+ degree days since that's what we have at home. I pretty much stick to paper there too - honestly, I don't even notice those now. We were at the pool this afternoon and I forgot I was wearing a mask and waded into the pool with it until DD and DH pointed out I was wearing it LOL


----------



## Dismrk155

Thank you one and all for giving us a look-see into what's really happening. I'm not happy that people aren't complying with social distancing or wearing masks.


----------



## koquinn

Dismrk155 said:


> Thank you one and all for giving us a look-see into what's really happening. I'm not happy that people aren't complying with social distancing or wearing masks.


I still would say most people are, but when it's more crowded like today there are more people in general, so more people not doing the right thing. And there just aren't enough CMs around to catch them when you're in a queue or around a quiet corner.


----------



## Dismrk155

koquinn said:


> I still would say most people are, but when it's more crowded like today there are more people in general, so more people not doing the right thing. And there just aren't enough CMs around to catch them when you're in a queue or around a quiet corner.


The uncertainty of this virus is enough to keep me from doing a lot of things I like. The thought of not knowing when we're thru the worst of this is like waiting for a bad movie to end or worse yet a minister delivering a bad sermon and you're in the front row.


----------



## hereforthechurros

2kidsForMe said:


> We just left Epcot. I second that it is wicked HOT. My 17 year old I were directed to the cooling tent upon entering, around 11:30. We drove and had walked across the hot parking lot.  I knew we were not running a fever because we take our temps every morning and evening, and are really paying attention to how we are feeling. We were cleared to enter after the third attempt at the temp check. There was a line to get into the tent, so we weren’t the only ones by far. The park was busy. Not normal summer weekend busy of course, but there were a  lot of people. Lines for food booths were on average 5-25 deep. We managed Frozen Ever After, which took about 35 minutes. Waiting in the hot sun with the mask was rough, but things improved once you got inside. We didn’t attempt any other rides. We sat and listened to a set by Mariachi Cobre. They were fantastic. Mask compliance was probably 75%. Some blatant violators, but that is to be expected. Lots of noses peeking out and mask less kids. Social distancing was tough at times. Some people either not caring or not paying attention.  We walked by Rose and Crown, and it was packed! Looked like any other summer day, minus the crowds milling around outside the entrance. We are unsure if we will head back to the park tonight. Food options are very limited at our resort (Kidani) so we will see.


Sounds similar to our visit last Saturday. I expected Epcot to be the chillest park during our visit but was the most crowded. Definitely seems like week visits are the way to go if you can swing it.

Noticed your location (and use of the word wicked ) Last weekend we were surrounded by what seemed like only locals and people from New England. You all must love wdw up there!


----------



## maryj11

So the coffee maker is still in the rooms?
Is it a standard coffee make with loose grounds or is it one that uses pods?
We’ll be staying at Kidani Village if that makes a difference. Thanks!
[/QUOTE]
They have the pods at CBR


----------



## mickey0624

We had a trip for this past week planned that we canceled about a month ago. One of the biggest factors for us was the limited experiences and masks. We live in NY, so we took a mini trip to Hershey Park. Spent the day yesterday at the park from 10am-5pm, and like Disney we were required to wear masks in the park. Weather was decent...low - mid 80's not bad humidity and honestly the masks were a huge pain. For one day, we were able to put up with it. Those of you going for a week in Florida heat and humidity, and wearing masks all day, I give you a lot of credit. I honestly don't know how it isn't unbearable, but if you can manage it, I say that's great. For us, just no chance we'll be going until the mask requirement is gone. I know that may mean not going for a year or two (personally I think masks will be required until at least 2022) but I guess we'll just have to wait.


----------



## 2kidsForMe

maryj11 said:


> So the coffee maker is still in the rooms?
> Is it a standard coffee make with loose grounds or is it one that uses pods?
> We’ll be staying at Kidani Village if that makes a difference. Thanks!


They have the pods at CBR
[/QUOTE]
We are currently at Kidani (Studio) and the coffee makers are in the room. We have the loose Joffrey’s.


----------



## MomOTwins

Feeling better a bit after a nice dinner at be our guest.  Was crying earlier when we had to leave MK and got back to the resort only to have the pool closed due to lightning.

To follow up on my earlier post, I think the biggest problem I am seeing with mask/distance compliance is lack of consequences.  We were on pirates in the back row with a party in front.  CM pointedly asked party in front to raise their masks. Multiple times. They just sat and ignored it with little “who me?” smirks.  CM let the ride launch without them complying.

If Disney started removing people from rides and parks for blatant noncompliance they might shape up or stop coming. But Disney won’t do that.  So next best thing would be limiting attendance more.  But they just added AP availability, so that is clearly not happening either.

I was a full believer that Disney would “do things right” and was impressed with everything I heard but do feel a bit let down.  And we spent a lot more time waiting in line than we do with fastpass. So I really can’t recommend coming now if you are concerned about covid.


----------



## Dentam

MomOTwins said:


> Feeling better a bit after a nice dinner at be our guest.  Was crying earlier when we had to leave MK and got back to the resort only to have the pool closed due to lightning.
> 
> To follow up on my earlier post, I think the biggest problem I am seeing with mask/distance compliance is lack of consequences.  We were on pirates in the back row with a party in front.  CM pointedly asked party in front to raise their masks. Multiple times. They just sat and ignored it with little “who me?” smirks.  CM let the ride launch without them complying.
> 
> If Disney started removing people from rides and parks for blatant noncompliance they might shape up or stop coming. But Disney won’t do that.  So next best thing would be limiting attendance more.  But they just added AP availability, so that is clearly not happening either.
> 
> I was a full believer that Disney would “do things right” and was impressed with everything I heard but do feel a bit let down.  And we spent a lot more time waiting in line than we do with fastpass. So I really can’t recommend coming now if you are concerned about covid.



This is really discouraging to hear.  I would let guest services know about your disappointment and the lack of compliance you've seen there.


----------



## mickey0624

MomOTwins said:


> Feeling better a bit after a nice dinner at be our guest.  Was crying earlier when we had to leave MK and got back to the resort only to have the pool closed due to lightning.
> 
> To follow up on my earlier post, I think the biggest problem I am seeing with mask/distance compliance is lack of consequences.  We were on pirates in the back row with a party in front.  CM pointedly asked party in front to raise their masks. Multiple times. They just sat and ignored it with little “who me?” smirks.  CM let the ride launch without them complying.
> 
> If Disney started removing people from rides and parks for blatant noncompliance they might shape up or stop coming. But Disney won’t do that.  So next best thing would be limiting attendance more.  But they just added AP availability, so that is clearly not happening either.
> 
> I was a full believer that Disney would “do things right” and was impressed with everything I heard but do feel a bit let down.  And we spent a lot more time waiting in line than we do with fastpass. So I really can’t recommend coming now if you are concerned about covid.


Honestly, Disney and their cast members are going above and beyond and doing everything in their power....the complaints are really getting a little picky.


----------



## Dentam

mickey0624 said:


> Honestly, Disney and their cast members are going above and beyond and doing everything in their power....the complaints are really getting a little picky.



It's not picky to expect ppl to follow the rules and to expect Disney to enforce them.  Good grief.


----------



## maryj11

MomOTwins said:


> Feeling better a bit after a nice dinner at be our guest.  Was crying earlier when we had to leave MK and got back to the resort only to have the pool closed due to lightning.
> 
> To follow up on my earlier post, I think the biggest problem I am seeing with mask/distance compliance is lack of consequences.  We were on pirates in the back row with a party in front.  CM pointedly asked party in front to raise their masks. Multiple times. They just sat and ignored it with little “who me?” smirks.  CM let the ride launch without them complying.
> 
> If Disney started removing people from rides and parks for blatant noncompliance they might shape up or stop coming. But Disney won’t do that.  So next best thing would be limiting attendance more.  But they just added AP availability, so that is clearly not happening either.
> 
> I was a full believer that Disney would “do things right” and was impressed with everything I heard but do feel a bit let down.  And we spent a lot more time waiting in line than we do with fastpass. So I really can’t recommend coming now if you are concerned about covid.


Oh it’s people like that who ruin things! They should of said mask on or get off! 
Do you know that when they take the ride photos for photo pass that the riders who don’t have masks on  those photos are not shown and not available. So if your on a ride where people in the same photo like Splash have no mask you won’t get that photo.
Unless it has changed.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Just a reminder that this thread is for Here Now  and Just Back Experiences and related questions, not a place for debate or arguments.  

Thank you.


----------



## lotsohugginbear

I thought mask compliance was good, not great. I think a combination of apathy and anxiety are keeping CMs from consistently enforcing rules. Apathy -- they ask nicely and are either ignored or the person complies briefly. Anxiety -- Is this the person who is going to swear at, spit at or God forbid attack them? I did email @ guest services with a suggestion that a CM should be walking through the queues checking on mask compliance. They thanked me for my suggestion.  Overall, go, have fun, but remember your personal responsibility. If you're uncomfortable, leave and go do something else. Plan low-key weekend days as the parks are busy. Disney Springs is okay for an early weekend brunch. I would definitely go to WDW again and have reservations over Christmas.  Who knows what could be going on by then?


----------



## Leigh L

maryj11 said:


> Do you know that when they take the ride photos for photo pass that the riders who don’t have masks on  those photos are not shown and not available. So if your on a ride where people in the same photo like Splash have no mask you won’t get that photo.
> Unless it has changed.


I'll circle back and let you know!
We rode Pirates yesterday and the family in the front were all masked except a child (he looked older than 2 to me, but wasn't going to judge as some kids are taller). I did wonder if the photo would show up though. So far it hasn't, but neither have some others taken within an hour or two after that. Ride photos are slower to show up than usual.


----------



## Sarahraegraham

lotsohugginbear said:


> I did email @ guest services with a suggestion that a CM should be walking through the queues checking on mask compliance.


My husband and I said this as well. Give the CMs the authority to remove them from the line: no warnings. If they want to start to comply they can get back in line, at the end of the line. Failure to follow a 2nd time equals security called and removed from the park. But hey, leave the spoiled children to police themselves, they’ll start doing the right thing without consequences, right? 

Our trip a few weeks ago in mid-July was great as far as mask compliance, up until a Saturday evening at MK. All things considered, we felt Disney was doing a great job with everything. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t always room for improvement or that it’s not understandable for us as guests to be frustrated with people who disregard the rules for selfish reasons. 

We are hoping to go again in a few weeks, and all I can ask is that they keeping working to provide and maintain a sense of safety. I honestly don’t see how they could raise capacity after being at the park while it still had availability and feeling like it was too full. In spite of my mixed feelings, this is such an interesting time in Disney history, and once things are back to “normal” I’m sure we’ll all look back and enjoy the memory of having gone through it, with all it’s stressors and peculiarities.


----------



## monkeydawn

How much of an actual security presence is there?  While I really want Disney to be enforcing the rules (otherwise why have them) I dont want the CMs to be under the threat of physical harm from the wack a doodles.  So if a CM were to need security back up, how far away is that typically?  I know if I were a CM that might affect how aggressively I enforced the policy.

Or maybe the CMs feel like "why bother" since no punitive action can be taken and the maskholes can just pull their masks down 30 seconds after being addressed.  I know Id certainly bother why I am risking confronting someone like that.

Perhaps those of you that have visited and felt unsafe should mention these as a concern too when you contact Disney.


----------



## ksromack

Leigh L said:


> I echo those reports recommending to go to parks on weekdays instead of weekends if you have flexibility to do so.  Epcot wasn't terribly busy on Wednesday. Not talking deserted parks, but plenty of room to space out and wait times were not too high. DHS was Thursday and was the busiest of all parks but we did pretty much everything we wanted, except never made it on Slinky and Aliens but we opted to take in the ambiance of Galaxy's Edge rather than stand on lines. Visited Oga's for the first time, that was fun! MK was the emptiest I've ever seen it over the course of an overall day but again, not an empty park either. It was weird going old-school at this park more than the others, but the stress-free and laid back way of exploring was great.


This makes me very happy we opted for a weekday mini trip in September.  Question regarding Oga's.  We have been once during the first week of opening with a reservation but did you have a reservation this time? I'm not seeing any availability so im wondering if walk ins are available?


----------



## koquinn

ksromack said:


> This makes me very happy we opted for a weekday mini trip in September.  Question regarding Oga's.  We have been once during the first week of opening with a reservation but did you have a reservation this time? I'm not seeing any availability so im wondering if walk ins are available?


We had a ressie. I heard them turn away a walkin when we were going by on Wed.


----------



## Princesspixi

ksromack said:


> This makes me very happy we opted for a weekday mini trip in September.  Question regarding Oga's.  We have been once during the first week of opening with a reservation but did you have a reservation this time? I'm not seeing any availability so im wondering if walk ins are available?


We will be there next Sunday, and yesterday my mom was able to grab a reservation. Keep checking. One should pop up sooner or later.


----------



## Leigh L

ksromack said:


> This makes me very happy we opted for a weekday mini trip in September.  Question regarding Oga's.  We have been once during the first week of opening with a reservation but did you have a reservation this time? I'm not seeing any availability so im wondering if walk ins are available?


We did have a reservation. Tried to adjust it to a different time but there was no availability. I'm sorry, I'm not sure if they were taking walkups right now but can't hurt to ask?


----------



## tinkandonaldfans

Just curious, wanting to hear of any experiences with the parks being open of very young children wearing face masks.

We had to cancel our trip due in September due to flights being cancelled and border bans. We would love to try and plan a trip next year but not sure about the face masks.

Me and my husband are happy to wear one if we had to but our current nearly 3 year old is a different situation. I just can’t imagine getting her to wear one all day without some serious tantrums/constant nagging. In the UK we only need to wear them when in shops and kids under 10 don’t need to wear them so never tried to get her to wear one.

Would Disney kick us out if she wouldn’t keep hers on?


----------



## duder92

Compliance has been pretty good for the most part. I'm actually surprised it is as good as it is, as I have very little faith in humanity to begin with. I feel the ratio of selfish bleeps to those following directions is much higher than what you encounter in everyday life. 

Short of staying at home, this is about as safe and comfortable as I've felt since this mess started.

I would warn anyone of going to any indoor shows if you are any bit bothered by people without masks. Without really thinking about it, we went in and saw the American Experience on Saturday. Everyone was wearing a mask when we sat down. I looked around during after the show had started and id guess that half the audience had taken them off as soon as the lights went down.  The theater was probably a 1/4 full and everyone was spaced properly, but if we get sick, that is definitely the prime candidate from where we got it.


----------



## omniscientmommy

So we are currently here. What we have taken away so far is the heat is brutal. Especially if you’re from further north with less humidity. The humidity is really a killer. We have had lots of water and have really tried to take a relaxed approach. I would say this past weekend lines for newer rides have been longer than previously reported. It could be a weekend thing because of locals. Waiting to see how this upcoming week is. I am doing our trip report ———> Link here I am trying to post the morning after. 
Mask compliance has been pretty good IMO but we also live in Wisconsin and only recently had a mask mandate go into effect for the whole state. So for us this is an improvement over what’s going on at home. Some noses here and there with maybe 2 or 3 people who are wearing chin straps.


----------



## ryanpatricksmom

yulilin3 said:


> Just got back from Disney Springs, had a job interview that didn't pan out  anyways, busy for sure, mask adherence at it's worst, almost spoke up when a whole family, with masks on their chins were blocking the escalator to go up to the lime garage, I was already upset about the job and if I had opened my mouth it would not have ended pretty.
> Anyways, if possible avoid DS weekend afternoons.


I agree re the masks yesterday at DS. I saw a CM approach a maskless guy yesterday and he just said that he was hot and needed a break.....I guess the rest of us are reveling in wearing face coverings while navigating the gates of hell.  I'd say kids under the age of 5 have been about 50/50 in the parks, and in families around our resort, it's typically been the dads that have been in violation.  I have to be honest and acknowledge that in the past 10 days I've gotten up at a restaurant and forgotten 3 times and DH has done it twice. I'm not coming back for a real trip again until November. We haven't spent more than 3 hours in a park on any day because of the heat and the additional discomfort of the mask.


----------



## ryanpatricksmom

2kidsForMe said:


> They have the pods at CBR
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We're at CBR and they're not the keurig pods, they're the Joffrey packets.  We brought our own mini Keurig just because I find it easier to deal with.  We had a Keurig at CSR, so I expected one here too, but no such luck.


----------



## koquinn

Someone asked about dme back to the airport. This is our view from the back row. Pretty decently spaced. No more stops, just those of us from Pop.


----------



## Disneylover99

ryanpatricksmom said:


> I have to be honest and acknowledge that in the past 10 days I've gotten up at a restaurant and forgotten 3 times and DH has done it twice.


I understand how that could happen.  

I could totally see myself heading to the washroom mid meal and forgetting to put on a mask.


----------



## jkwarmy

How long have the lines been in general


----------



## koquinn

jkwarmy said:


> How long have the lines been in general


I'd say in general shorter than the app times. Sometimes longer if you hit a cleaning cycle, sometimes right on the app time. They're hotter tho because the queues stick out into the sunshine beyond the entrance to the ride.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

Second park day today. First day, Hollywood Studios and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of mask compliance. Second day, Magic Kingdom and we were disappointed. The running theme is families “eating” in line. Saw a family bring a whole meal into the Mine Train queue and the CMs just let them pass. Extremely disappointed the CMs didn’t say anything because the family used the entire 30 minute wait to eat with their masks down around their chins. Saw this several more times throughout the day and we just started getting out of line when we saw it and would come back later. Hoping the weekdays are better going forward...


----------



## WEDWDW

koquinn said:


> View attachment 519025
> Someone asked about dme back to the airport. This is our view from the back row. Pretty decently spaced. No more stops, just those of us from Pop.


I guess the only thing more depressing than riding _The Sad Bus_ back to OIA is riding it during a one-hundred year Pandemic!!!!


----------



## koquinn

WEDWDW said:


> I guess the only thing more depressing than riding _The Sad Bus_ back to OIA is riding it during a one-hundred year Pandemic!!!!


You got that right!


----------



## dachsie

How has AK been on a weekend?  I keep trying to remember to check wait times and I am failing.  lol. Has anyone been to AK on a Sat or Sun?


----------



## koquinn

dachsie said:


> How has AK been on a weekend?  I keep trying to remember to check wait times and I am failing.  lol. Has anyone been to AK on a Sat or Sun?


We went last Sunday and it was busy but not insane compared to our other weekend days.


----------



## monkeydawn

tinkandonaldfans said:


> Just curious, wanting to hear of any experiences with the parks being open of very young children wearing face masks.
> 
> We had to cancel our trip due in September due to flights being cancelled and border bans. We would love to try and plan a trip next year but not sure about the face masks.
> 
> Me and my husband are happy to wear one if we had to but our current nearly 3 year old is a different situation. I just can’t imagine getting her to wear one all day without some serious tantrums/constant nagging. In the UK we only need to wear them when in shops and kids under 10 don’t need to wear them so never tried to get her to wear one.
> 
> Would Disney kick us out if she wouldn’t keep hers on?



There have been many reports of kids handling the face masks much better than expected.  Those parents that have said this have usually listed a great fit (which might require trying a few styles or adjusting to a more personalized fit if you have that skill set) and practice as vital to having a good Disney experience.  Get her used to wearing it inside while she is engrossed in a favorite show, movie or activity.  And adjusting how you talk about the mask in front of her probably wouldnt hurt too.  Dont make it seem like a hassle or chore for you, just something youve got to put on before you leave the house like shoes or a jacket.

Please do not try to circumvent the rules for public safety just because you might be able to get away with it.  Get something that fits her well (and a backup) and practice, you will be fine!


----------



## RIP_MrToadsRide

Went to MK today (local AP). Got there around 9:15 and was able to do 10 rides in 2 hours. We have a 2.5 year old so we were doing more kiddie stuff but still were pleased
2.5 year old does well most of the time with the mask but apparently pulls it down when getting pushed in stroller( unbeknownst to us). Cast members have reminded her several times to get it over her nose. Hard for the younger crew but doable. Definitely ready for things to go back to normal but enjoy the less crowded WDW including security and getting into the park.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

tinkandonaldfans said:


> Just curious, wanting to hear of any experiences with the parks being open of very young children wearing face masks.
> 
> We had to cancel our trip due in September due to flights being cancelled and border bans. We would love to try and plan a trip next year but not sure about the face masks.
> 
> Me and my husband are happy to wear one if we had to but our current nearly 3 year old is a different situation. I just can’t imagine getting her to wear one all day without some serious tantrums/constant nagging. In the UK we only need to wear them when in shops and kids under 10 don’t need to wear them so never tried to get her to wear one.
> 
> Would Disney kick us out if she wouldn’t keep hers on?



As to your last question, the rules apply to all, even fussy kids.

While I concede there’s a difference between a 5 year old and 3 year old, we were very worried about our 5 year old in July but it turned out to be a total non issue - she did great!  She had been giving us problems at home with masks.  We found the key was proper fit.  DW actually figured out how to sew our own, and once we found the right fit for her face/little ears, that was a game changer.   A little peer pressure from older brother and subtle reminders before the trip from us of “no mask, no Disney” also helped. 

Didn’t hear a peep about them all week.  Obviously YMMV.


----------



## fla4fun

yulilin3 said:


> Yes,  it's called COVID.
> the issue is social distancing and an extreme reduction of bus capacity. Before they would pack them full with people sitting and standing.  Now only 6 groups can ride at the most.


I agree, but they knew that going in. They also know how many people are at each resort, and with park reservations, they know a lot about where they are going.  With so many resorts closed, they should have the additional buses to use at the resorts that ARE open.  When I was there last month there were still a lot of buses parked and idle in the far MK parking lots.  I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask that they put some of them to use, especially when they see there is an ongoing issue.

DS buses are always bad though.  I waited for a couple hours for a bus back to Pop pre Covid (last September), with a CM there trying desperately to get us a bus.  I am sure that has just gotten worse if they are still running on the same schedule and only transporting a fraction of the guests at a time.  It’s disheartening.  I will have a car with me later this month, but the whole reason I stay on property is so I don’t have to drive.

Question to anyone . . . Is there someplace in the app to find out if the Skyliner is down?  Do I look it up on the resort page?  I couldn’t find it in the app last month and with so many weather issues, and a lot of Epcot days coming up, it would be very helpful.  I figure I am just missing it somehow . . .


----------



## nancipants

tinkandonaldfans said:


> Just curious, wanting to hear of any experiences with the parks being open of very young children wearing face masks.
> 
> We had to cancel our trip due in September due to flights being cancelled and border bans. We would love to try and plan a trip next year but not sure about the face masks.
> 
> Me and my husband are happy to wear one if we had to but our current nearly 3 year old is a different situation. I just can’t imagine getting her to wear one all day without some serious tantrums/constant nagging. In the UK we only need to wear them when in shops and kids under 10 don’t need to wear them so never tried to get her to wear one.
> 
> Would Disney kick us out if she wouldn’t keep hers on?



Yesterday when we were walking into Epcot there was a family with two kids in a double stroller. The cast member greeting people asked how old the kids were (3 and 1) and the CM asked if they had a face covering for the 3 year old. I didn’t stick around to see what the result was but the CM sounded adamant (nicely) that the 3 year old had to wear one. So, I’d expect CMs to either ask their age and remind them to keep the mask on.


----------



## 64ghs

Donzie said:


> I am here for the week. Sunday 8/9 arrive at Fort Wilderness cabins.  4 park days Monday through Friday with a rest pool day.  Leave Saturday.
> 
> Fort Wilderness - still here, still big, still full of wildlife, golf carts are always fun to drive around in (and not chase after half a dozen of my lost golf balls). First cabin was not up to snuff. Refrigerator didn't work, smelled like cat and/or dog pee and pull out couch mattress pad was full of crumbs and dirt.  I complained and was given a few options and simply said I clearly need a new cabin.  Within 10 minutes I was given one next door to move to.  It is clean and all in working order, except the house phone which may be on purpose so I cannot complain anymore, lol.
> 
> Takeout food from PJ's is ok and reasonably priced for Disney.  Bus coverage is under 10 minute waits with minimal lines at non peak times. I  chose to go a half hour after peak to avoid the congestion at bus stops and don't stay in towers or campus hotels (during covid otherwise pop would be nice to save $).  Mask compliance is solid for walkers and settlement and shop areas.  Not so for golf cart riders maybe 50 to 75% compliance.  This place is so huge and on the carts they may not really be needed but staff will ask you to wear a mask.  Driving around the resort for 3 days and I have not seen more then 10 to 20 people in my entire pan view.  I have NOT been to the main pool as yet!
> 
> The bad - no boats to Magic Kingdom, no Hoop De Doo, and no Trail's end Buffet.  Damn covid killed a hella good buffet, but PJ's still has the chicken, ribs and taters. Overall crowd is down, some RV loops closed, cabins are mostly full and at max on Saturdays.
> 
> The construction wall behind the settlement is obnoxious at best, hopefully Disney has money to fix it soon.  I miss Mickey's Backyard BBQ. No character campfire sing-a-longs but there are social distancing movie nights.  I have seen many deer, rabbits, birds, salamanders, birds and an armadillo. But no mice, at the resort atleast!
> 
> Next report will be my MK report for Monday.


Is souvenir delivery to the front of the theme parks or to Disney Resort hotels will be suspended?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

fla4fun said:


> Question to anyone . . . Is there someplace in the app to find out if the Skyliner is down? Do I look it up on the resort page? I couldn’t find it in the app last month and with so many weather issues, and a lot of Epcot days coming up, it would be very helpful. I figure I am just missing it somehow . . .



No, there’s nowhere to check on the app or online. Can pretty much only use the eye test - get somewhere you can see it.


----------



## dachsie

koquinn said:


> We went last Sunday and it was busy but not insane compared to our other weekend days.


How were the wait times?  I scheduled AK on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and am wondering if I messed up.


----------



## 64ghs

GusGusTheMouse said:


> Second park day today. First day, Hollywood Studios and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of mask compliance. Second day, Magic Kingdom and we were disappointed. The running theme is families “eating” in line. Saw a family bring a whole meal into the Mine Train queue and the CMs just let them pass. Extremely disappointed the CMs didn’t say anything because the family used the entire 30 minute wait to eat with their masks down around their chins. Saw this several more times throughout the day and we just started getting out of line when we saw it and would come back later. Hoping the weekdays are better going forward...


that’s unfortunate...


----------



## koquinn

fla4fun said:


> Question to anyone . . . Is there someplace in the app to find out if the Skyliner is down?  Do I look it up on the resort page?  I couldn’t find it in the app last month and with so many weather issues, and a lot of Epcot days coming up, it would be very helpful.  I figure I am just missing it somehow . . .



They left us messages in our room, but I was chatting with the CM in the app to check or calling the front desk. 



64ghs said:


> Is souvenir delivery to the front of the theme parks or to Disney Resort hotels will be suspended?


All suspended. Carry your own stuff. It's a bummer!


----------



## koquinn

dachsie said:


> How were the wait times?  I scheduled AK on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and am wondering if I messed up.


We only had one day (Sunday) at AK, 2 everywhere else, and had no problem doing everything plus FOP twice and Everest 4x. That includes dinner at Yak and Yeti as well as both walking trails. You'll probably be fine, just get there as early as possible cuz everyone else sleeps in and you can get a lot done early.


----------



## 64ghs

koquinn said:


> They left us messages in our room, but I was chatting with the CM in the app to check or calling the front desk.
> 
> 
> All suspended. Carry your own stuff. It's a bummer!


awww man...that sucks. Hopefully that changes in December.


----------



## fla4fun

GADisneyDad14 said:


> No, there’s nowhere to check on the app or online. Can pretty much only use the eye test - get somewhere you can see it.


That’s what I was afraid of.  That won’t necessarily work if I am on the opposite side of WS.  By the time I get to the correct side, it could be closed.  It’s a long walk to a bus if you make the wrong decision.   I was hoping by now they would have some sort of notification ability in the app, which they could also use for boat notification when those are all running again. Hopefully I won’t be there in a monsoon like I was last month.  Thanks!


----------



## yulilin3

64ghs said:


> Is souvenir delivery to the front of the theme parks or to Disney Resort hotels will be suspended?


You can still ship them straight home though


----------



## HollyMD

Are they still not doing resort airline check in currently? And DME still not picking up luggage, correct?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

HollyMD said:


> Are they still not doing resort airline check in currently? And DME still not picking up luggage, correct?



Correct and correct.


----------



## HollyMD

Thank you!


----------



## 64ghs

yulilin3 said:


> You can still ship them straight home though


Does it cost extra?


----------



## JoJoGirl

koquinn said:


> 64ghs said:
> Is souvenir delivery to the front of the theme parks or to Disney Resort hotels will be suspended?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> All suspended. Carry your own stuff. It's a bummer!
Click to expand...


I have been wondering about purchasing a bottle of wine at one of the shops in Epcot World Showcase, like Les Vins de France.  Will we now be allowed/required to carry these out of the parks ourselves?  Was thinking that this was not permitted pre-Covid.


----------



## Momtomouselover

Can you go to other resorts and eat at quick service locations? Can you drive and park or do you need to go to a park and then transfer? Looking only for things I can eat outside so don’t want to book sit down places.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

Momtomouselover said:


> Can you go to other resorts and eat at quick service locations? Can you drive and park or do you need to go to a park and then transfer? Looking only for things I can eat outside so don’t want to book sit down places.



So far, security has asked to scan our magic bands to confirm a reservation. I do not think they will allow for a QS pickup.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Momtomouselover said:


> Can you go to other resorts and eat at quick service locations? Can you drive and park or do you need to go to a park and then transfer? Looking only for things I can eat outside so don’t want to book sit down places.



You may not be allowed to park but you can dine at the resort QS if you take Disney transportation or walk.


----------



## pepperandchips

dachsie said:


> How has AK been on a weekend?  I keep trying to remember to check wait times and I am failing.  lol. Has anyone been to AK on a Sat or Sun?


We did AK yesterday. We did not have the interest or stamina to stick around long but enjoyed an almost deserted trip through the Maharajah Jungle Trek (with the female tiger showing off for us), would have walked on Kali but for a cleaning cycle, had a less than 20 minute wait for Safari (posted 40 and using entire queue including outside starting approximately where the face painting cart is) and tons and tons of empty pavement. It was a beautiful thing. 



JoJoGirl said:


> I have been wondering about purchasing a bottle of wine at one of the shops in Epcot World Showcase, like Les Vins de France.  Will we now be allowed/required to carry these out of the parks ourselves?  Was thinking that this was not permitted pre-Covid.


Les Vins de France isn’t open, so I’m not sure you’ll get the answer you’re looking for. I didn’t check Germany or Italy for wine shops but they’re not likely open either. No festival center so no festival wine shop, and I didn’t see any wine in the shop near Refreshment Port. May be a non-issue.


----------



## scrappinginontario

tinkandonaldfans said:


> Just curious, wanting to hear of any experiences with the parks being open of very young children wearing face masks.
> 
> We had to cancel our trip due in September due to flights being cancelled and border bans. We would love to try and plan a trip next year but not sure about the face masks.
> 
> Me and my husband are happy to wear one if we had to but our current nearly 3 year old is a different situation. I just can’t imagine getting her to wear one all day without some serious tantrums/constant nagging. In the UK we only need to wear them when in shops and kids under 10 don’t need to wear them so never tried to get her to wear one.
> 
> Would Disney kick us out if she wouldn’t keep hers on?


 I have been pleasantly surprised to see how young children have adapted to wearing masks. As others have said, finding the right fit it a huge help.  While we haven’t been to Disney yet, I have seen a great number of children in our local stores and they just wear them as everyone else is.  So Much is preparing at home and making it a fun situation.


----------



## JoJoGirl

pepperandchips said:


> Les Vins de France isn’t open, so I’m not sure you’ll get the answer you’re looking for. I didn’t check Germany or Italy for wine shops but they’re not likely open either. No festival center so no festival wine shop, and I didn’t see any wine in the shop near Refreshment Port. May be a non-issue.



Thanks for the info.  I guess it is resort gift shop wine for me then.  Better to know in advance though!


----------



## momimouse27

Wow, long thread!  Well, I am feeling really thankful that we are drivers right now!  We'll have two vehicles and we'll be making use of them if the bus lines are ridiculous.  I appreciate all the info, especially the info about eating in the parks.  I have never used mobile ordering for quick service, but we may have to have a family infosession before we leave for our trip so our whole group can prepare for that.  I do really hate that the QS resort options are so limited.  We will be in AKL Kidani and I have an autistic picky eater, so looks like a grocery trip will definitely be in the works for our trip.


----------



## ten6mom

I am following this thread pretty closely (planning my first ever trip in November) but please forgive my confusion.

I'm seeing several mentions of Fast Passes.  I thought WDW did not do those other than the kind you have to do months in advance? And I thought they weren't currently being used at all right now and everything is standby only.

Can someone explain what I am missing?

Thank you!


----------



## Best Aunt

ten6mom said:


> I'm seeing several mentions of Fast Passes.  I thought WDW did not do those other than the kind you have to do months in advance? And I thought they weren't currently being used at all right now and everything is standby only.
> 
> Can someone explain what I am missing?



Fastpasses are not being used now.

In the past, you could book Fastpasses in advance: one park per day, 3 Fastpasses at that park.  When you got to the park that day, after you used them or the time for them had passed, you could book more for that day, 1 at a time (at any park, if I recall correctly because park hopping used to be allowed).

You didn’t have to book them months in advance, but that was the best way to get what you wanted.  You could book them when you got to the park, if there were any left.

Sometimes people are mentioning them now to compare how many rides they can do now versus how many rides they could do in the past using Fastpass.


----------



## ten6mom

Best Aunt said:


> Fastpasses are not being used now.
> 
> Sometimes people are mentioning them now to compare how many rides they can do now versus how many rides they could do in the past using Fastpass.



Ah, that makes so much sense.  Thank you... I was beginning to think I missed a major announcement somehow!


----------



## disneytraveler

Can i leave luggage at the resort desk before departing to the airport ?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

disneytraveler said:


> Can i leave luggage at the resort desk before departing to the airport ?



You can store your luggage at bell services and come reclaim it prior to leaving.  Remote Airline Checkin (where you can check in and they’ll take your bags to the airport, for select airlines) is not available.


----------



## yulilin3

64ghs said:


> Does it cost extra?


of course, it's like shipping anything, you have to pay shipping. The price varies by the total amount of the transaction, not sure how much


----------



## crayon3448

We were at MK yesterday (Sunday). On Saturday we played minigolf and it was HOT, I thought with the crowds that were reported at MK plus the heat we'd  struggle (plus our first trip without the double stroller so the kids had to walk) but it was one if the best days we've had. We got done a ton even with shorter hours and left the park not dead tired- it helps we we went in a planned path vs back and forth with FP.  Definitely not dead with crowds- the parks and resort have felt busy and there was quite a line sat afternoon for the feature pool at CBR- but park wait times were great. 

First in line to park shortly after 8. Let in at 8:15 to park. Took ferry boat. Btmrr x2, Splash, pirates, Jungle cruise, Haunted mansion, Peter pan, iasw, pinocchio haus for ice water, teacups, Barnstormer x2, dumbo x2, little mermaid, Philharmagic, Skipper canteen lunch @ 1230. Emporium Shopping. Ferry to car. Back in room 2:45 for rest/swin. Parked & took Monorail. Back at park shortly after 5, Space mountain x2, Buzz, speedway. Ice water stop. 7dmt . Ferry to car, Back at room 7:45 to swim.


----------



## MissQueen

crayon3448 said:


> We were at MK yesterday (Sunday). On Saturday we played minigolf and it was HOT, I thought with the crowds that were reported at MK plus the heat we'd  struggle (plus our first trip without the double stroller so the kids had to walk) but it was one if the best days we've had. We got done a ton even with shorter hours and left the park not dead tired- it helps we we went in a planned path vs back and forth with FP.  Definitely not dead with crowds- the parks and resort have felt busy and there was quite a line sat afternoon for the feature pool at CBR- but park wait times were great.
> 
> First in line to park shortly after 8. Let in at 8:15 to park. Took ferry boat. Btmrr x2, Splash, pirates, Jungle cruise, Haunted mansion, Peter pan, iasw, pinocchio haus for ice water, teacups, Barnstormer x2, dumbo x2, little mermaid, Philharmagic, Skipper canteen lunch @ 1230. Emporium Shopping. Ferry. Back in room 2:45 for rest/swin. Monorail. Back at park shortly after 5, Space mountain x2, Buzz, speedway. Ice water stop. 7dmt . Ferry. Back at room 7:45 to swim.



That is quite an impressive list before lunch! Makes me feel good about our MK day coming up next week. Just a one-day birthday celebration for my son. I want to get him on all the things now that he's tall enough for most of it! Sounds like you were able to leave the park and come back in relatively short timing. I was thinking we would just spend the whole day there because the getting back to the TTC, to the hotel, hang out, back to TTC, and to park.... might take up too much time in a shortened day. But we do have littles, so nice to know that might be an option.


----------



## Dentam

JoJoGirl said:


> Thanks for the info.  I guess it is resort gift shop wine for me then.  Better to know in advance though!



We've also gotten bottles of wine in Disney Springs at the kitchen/home goods shop - can't remember the name of it offhand.  It may be the same wine sold at resort gift shops.


----------



## shoegal9

JoJoGirl said:


> I have been wondering about purchasing a bottle of wine at one of the shops in Epcot World Showcase, like Les Vins de France.  Will we now be allowed/required to carry these out of the parks ourselves?  Was thinking that this was not permitted pre-Covid.



I was having dinner at Tutto Gusto and this drunk group was taking swigs of brandy from a bottle they bought in the Germany pavilion. So, you definitely can buy bottles of alcohol and carry them out with you. Eventually the waiter at TG saw them and told them to put the bottle back in the box/bag. I think the wine shop is also open in Italy...


----------



## 720L

We got home Saturday from a 8 day in the parks trip. I feel somewhat recovered today LOL. We always go in the summer so I know the intense heat. But with masks on it tripled (for me & DS). DH & DD said eventually they forgot about the masks!! Not me. I was miserable. I won't be going back until no masks. Not even in cooler weather because I always knew I had a mask on & it took away from the magic. Also there were a lot of restaurants/food carts closed. We couldn't find soft serve ice cream in DHS! The crowds were not what I expected. The first day in the parks was a Saturday at DHS. It was busy. I was mad because I expected pretty much walk on. Thankfully the rest of our days were better. I've heard weekends tend to be busier. We stayed at the Swan. I'm not a fan. You can tell its not a Disney resort. The resort fee is supposed to include bottles of water & Smores kits every day. We only got water 2 days probably because of no housekeeping. But still, they couldve had a place for you to pick it up. They could've offered something in place of Smores kit. The swan boats were supposed to be free to guests but they were never open. I honestly was too tired to call & complain. Also lots of people not wearing masks properly in the lobby. I wonder if mask wearing at a Disney resort would be more enforced?  The walking paths to Epcot & DHS also had lots of people not wearing masks. Probably because there aren't any CMs around to enforce it.They were great at enforcing masks & social distancing at the parks. I felt safe. Most people in the parks were following the rules.


----------



## rtill

We got back yesterday after a long weekend. Very hot obviously but we all had a great time. We felt that mask compliance was very good at the parks. Disney has really done a very good job with everything and all of the CMs were awesome that we came into contact with. The heavier crowds on the weekends are real - we were at AK yesterday and Pandora felt very crowded - really not much different than a normal day. While Disney has done a good job providing for physical distancing in line areas, there really is not much that can be done in the common areas. This should really be considered by anyone with an upcoming visit - there will be many times where physical distancing is not possible.


----------



## SPSRAS

crayon3448 said:


> We were at MK yesterday (Sunday). On Saturday we played minigolf and it was HOT, I thought with the crowds that were reported at MK plus the heat we'd  struggle (plus our first trip without the double stroller so the kids had to walk) but it was one if the best days we've had. We got done a ton even with shorter hours and left the park not dead tired- it helps we we went in a planned path vs back and forth with FP.  Definitely not dead with crowds- the parks and resort have felt busy and there was quite a line sat afternoon for the feature pool at CBR- but park wait times were great.
> 
> First in line to park shortly after 8. Let in at 8:15 to park. Took ferry boat. Btmrr x2, Splash, pirates, Jungle cruise, Haunted mansion, Peter pan, iasw, pinocchio haus for ice water, teacups, Barnstormer x2, dumbo x2, little mermaid, Philharmagic, Skipper canteen lunch @ 1230. Emporium Shopping. Ferry to car. Back in room 2:45 for rest/swin. Parked & took Monorail. Back at park shortly after 5, Space mountain x2, Buzz, speedway. Ice water stop. 7dmt . Ferry to car, Back at room 7:45 to swim.


This makes me feel so much better about our trip! We are leaving tomorrow and I was honestly thinking of cancelling with all the war stories from the weekend. I am keeping my fingers crossed that by Wednesday the crowds will have thinned out. Glad to hear you had such success even on one of the busier days!


----------



## TheNotSoGreatGonzo

OK - I've been stalking this thread and have a list of (hopefully) quick questions that I wished some recent visitors could respond to.  Over the weekend, my wife and I went and booked a trip only 4 days from now (we've never been so spontaneous before like this - we usually book everything the minute that we can (FPs, ADRs, etc.)).  It'll be just the two of us, leaving our 4 kids at home (2 are so young that they wouldn't be able to keep masks on).  We've just gone stir crazy and need to get out, and we had 2 free nights (from a previous nightmare trip).

4 nights at the Riviera
Friday Epcot with Dinner at Rose and Crown
Saturday DHS with Dinner at Mama Melrose
Sunday Epcot with Food and Wine all day
Monday MK with Dinner at The Plaza (although we are holding out hope for an ADR at Homecomin')
Tuesday AK

Questions:
1. What are people doing after the parks close?  With the parks closing early, I imagine we will want to swim (but pools close at 9) or eat (most dining closes early as well).  It seems as though ars care closing at 9 or 10 in most cases.  With parks opening later in the morning, it doesn't seem right to just go to the room and watch TV/sleep.  What are people doing from 9pm to 11pm/midnight?  2 adults here that want to live their best lives!

2. How crowded are the pools at the end of the evening?  Part of me says it'd be crowded because of the heat and there's nothing else to do, but the other part of me says that most visitors are not staying at resorts which are supposedly operating at reduced capacity anyways.

3. Can you sit/eat at the "relaxation stations"?  For instance, I heard Akershus is a relaxation station.  Can you order from the Bakery (that only has outdoor seating) and go eat in the A/C inside of Akershus?

4. I think I saw that Orlando schools start in-school learning on Friday 8/21.  Is it possible this might lead to an even bigger dropoff in park attendance from the recent trip reports from the last week?

5. Beaches and Cream still doing walk-up to-go orders for ice cream/shakes?

6. We've never eaten at Mama Melrose.  Should we go with that for dinner or try Topolino's or even Brown Derby - both of which we've never eaten at either?


----------



## pepperandchips

Here are the ones I have thoughts on....



TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> What are people doing after the parks close? With the parks closing early, I imagine we will want to swim (but pools close at 9) or eat (most dining closes early as well). It seems as though ars care closing at 9 or 10 in most cases. With parks opening later in the morning, it doesn't seem right to just go to the room and watch TV/sleep. What are people doing from 9pm to 11pm/midnight? 2 adults here that want to live their best lives!


Disney Springs closes at 10:00 right now, so that means that most of the restaurants are stopping seating then or well before then, and yes, it is early! We thought that the Boathouse was open until 11 based on their hours on DisneySprings.com but our server told us it was last call around 10:00. The couple sitting next to us asked if anything was open later and our server said that Raglan Road is open a smidge later but that everything has to close by (11, I think, my eavesdropping trailed off). He gave them the name of a local dive bar and they were going to uber there, but he warned them that due to local ordinance some bars are closing earlier as well. We stayed at Raglan Road on Saturday until the outdoor singer stopped playing around 10:40. Looked like drinks were being served still (we were done). At Riviera when we were there in July we watched a lot of stuff on Disney+ cast to the tv in the room late at night. This isn't a great time to visit for night owls. There is a whole thread devoted to what to do at night somewhere but there just isn't as much as in "normal" operations.

FWIW the Beau Soleil pool (quiet pool) at Riviera did not close at 9:00 and we saw lots of swimmers from our balcony. I think the hours say until 11 but I didn't see anyone being swept out.



TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> How crowded are the pools at the end of the evening? Part of me says it'd be crowded because of the heat and there's nothing else to do, but the other part of me says that most visitors are not staying at resorts which are supposedly operating at reduced capacity anyways.


I would also ask in the Riviera thread but when we were there over the Fourth of July weekend there were definitely people in the pool at night but it wasn't crowded at all. I haven't seen reports of the Riviera pools reaching capacity - especially the Beau Soleil pool. 



TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> We've never eaten at Mama Melrose. Should we go with that for dinner or try Topolino's or even Brown Derby - both of which we've never eaten at either?


Brown Derby is a favorite of ours, it's really good and the service is impeccable. I think it depends what you're in the mood for but on adults only trip I would be more inclined to try Brown Derby.

Also you mentioned somewhere about waiting for a Homecoming ADR to come through for you - in our experience we didn't need ADRs for any of the places we wanted to eat. Our longest wait was about 20 minutes for Homecoming in July and we just used that time to shop. No problem walking up at Boathouse, Frontera, Spice Road Table, Raglan Road, or Homecoming. The only restaurants we made ADRs for were restaurants at resorts we weren't staying at just to be certain we wouldn't have any problems accessing the resort in our car to park.


----------



## Leigh L

maryj11 said:


> Oh it’s people like that who ruin things! They should of said mask on or get off!
> Do you know that when they take the ride photos for photo pass that the riders who don’t have masks on those photos are not shown and not available. So if your on a ride where people in the same photo like Splash have no mask you won’t get that photo.
> Unless it has changed.





Leigh L said:


> I'll circle back and let you know!
> We rode Pirates yesterday and the family in the front were all masked except a child (he looked older than 2 to me, but wasn't going to judge as some kids are taller). I did wonder if the photo would show up though. So far it hasn't, but neither have some others taken within an hour or two after that. Ride photos are slower to show up than usual.


Just checked again, WDW removing photos without masks hasn't changed. All the photos from our trip showed up except the Pirates ride. The adults in that party were all wearing masks, so either the child not wearing one triggered it or someone else popped theirs off maybe? I think it would have shown up by now since our last park day was on Friday and photos taken after Pirates are now available.


----------



## Best Aunt

TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> 3. Can you sit/eat at the "relaxation stations"?  For instance, I heard Akershus is a relaxation station.  Can you order from the Bakery (that only has outdoor seating) and go eat in the A/C inside of Akershus?



I thought the Norway bakery is closed.


----------



## disneyseniors

NotsogreatGonzo:   I can only relate to the last question, about Mama Melroses.
We have eaten there 3 times and had great service and really good Italian food.  Take this with a grain of salt, as we are not "foodies" but enjoy good comfort food.  We love the kitschy decorations and surroundings.


----------



## TheNotSoGreatGonzo

pepperandchips said:


> Here are the ones I have thoughts on....
> 
> 
> Disney Springs closes at 10:00 right now, so that means that most of the restaurants are stopping seating then or well before then, and yes, it is early! We thought that the Boathouse was open until 11 based on their hours on DisneySprings.com but our server told us it was last call around 10:00. The couple sitting next to us asked if anything was open later and our server said that Raglan Road is open a smidge later but that everything has to close by (11, I think, my eavesdropping trailed off). He gave them the name of a local dive bar and they were going to uber there, but he warned them that due to local ordinance some bars are closing earlier as well. We stayed at Raglan Road on Saturday until the outdoor singer stopped playing around 10:40. Looked like drinks were being served still (we were done). At Riviera when we were there in July we watched a lot of stuff on Disney+ cast to the tv in the room late at night. This isn't a great time to visit for night owls. There is a whole thread devoted to what to do at night somewhere but there just isn't as much as in "normal" operations.



Good points/suggestions.  I wouldn't say we're night owls, but with park openings at Epcot and DHS at 10am and 11am, I just don't think we'll be struggling to make the opening bell even if we were out until midnight.  



pepperandchips said:


> FWIW the Beau Soleil pool (quiet pool) at Riviera did not close at 9:00 and we saw lots of swimmers from our balcony. I think the hours say until 11 but I didn't see anyone being swept out.
> 
> 
> I would also ask in the Riviera thread but when we were there over the Fourth of July weekend there were definitely people in the pool at night but it wasn't crowded at all. I haven't seen reports of the Riviera pools reaching capacity - especially the Beau Soleil pool.



I want to say I saw on WDW Info that the Beau Soleil pool is open 24 hours - maybe because of the heat and the fact that there's nothing else to do. 



pepperandchips said:


> Brown Derby is a favorite of ours, it's really good and the service is impeccable. I think it depends what you're in the mood for but on adults only trip I would be more inclined to try Brown Derby.
> 
> Also you mentioned somewhere about waiting for a Homecoming ADR to come through for you - in our experience we didn't need ADRs for any of the places we wanted to eat. Our longest wait was about 20 minutes for Homecoming in July and we just used that time to shop. No problem walking up at Boathouse, Frontera, Spice Road Table, Raglan Road, or Homecoming. The only restaurants we made ADRs for were restaurants at resorts we weren't staying at just to be certain we wouldn't have any problems accessing the resort in our car to park.



Yeah, I'm thinking I might switch to Brown Derby.  Neither of us are that into Italian, and Derby seems more adult-ish.  Great tip on Homecoming...I just assumed ADRs are a must given the reduced capacity right now.  I know they used to allow walk-ins for bar seating, but I wasn't sure if their bar seating is even open right now.  I'm sure it's limited if it is open.



Best Aunt said:


> I thought the Norway bakery is closed.



Uh-oh...better keep that from my wife until we arrive or else she'll want to cancel.


----------



## koquinn

TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> 6. We've never eaten at Mama Melrose.  Should we go with that for dinner or try Topolino's or even Brown Derby - both of which we've never eaten at either?


We enjoy MM, but the menu was limited this time compared to previous. Our server Kyle was phenomenal though and made the experience for us. Topolinos didn't have any ressies I could get last minute. BD wasn't our favorite but it was years ago and we had a naughty toddler that ruined the dining experience so that one might be on us! If you have park tickets for EPCOT, and like Italian, I would highly recommend via Napoli - their prosciutto melon pizza is absolutely to die for and I enjoyed the white wine flight as well. But don't bother with the caprese, it wasn't anything special.


----------



## TheNotSoGreatGonzo

koquinn said:


> We enjoy MM, but the menu was limited this time compared to previous. Our server Kyle was phenomenal though and made the experience for us. Topolinos didn't have any ressies I could get last minute. BD wasn't our favorite but it was years ago and we had a naughty toddler that ruined the dining experience so that one might be on us! If you have park tickets for EPCOT, and like Italian, I would highly recommend via Napoli - their prosciutto melon pizza is absolutely to die for and I enjoyed the white wine flight as well. But don't bother with the caprese, it wasn't anything special.



Totally agree on Via Napoli.  The only thing keeping us from an ADR there is Food & Wine festival.


----------



## shoegal9

TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> Good points/suggestions.  I wouldn't say we're night owls, but with park openings at Epcot and DHS at 10am and 11am, I just don't think we'll be struggling to make the opening bell even if we were out until midnight.
> 
> 
> 
> I want to say I saw on WDW Info that the Beau Soleil pool is open 24 hours - maybe because of the heat and the fact that there's nothing else to do.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, I'm thinking I might switch to Brown Derby.  Neither of us are that into Italian, and Derby seems more adult-ish.  Great tip on Homecoming...I just assumed ADRs are a must given the reduced capacity right now.  I know they used to allow walk-ins for bar seating, but I wasn't sure if their bar seating is even open right now.  I'm sure it's limited if it is open.
> 
> 
> 
> Uh-oh...better keep that from my wife until we arrive or else she'll want to cancel.



We went to Disney Springs on a Saturday night around 9 (August 1st).  We were able to walk up to Homecomin' and we were seated.  If you are willing to go late you can usually get a table at Disney Springs locations. Same with Raglan and Boathouse.


----------



## brockash

SPSRAS said:


> This makes me feel so much better about our trip! We are leaving tomorrow and I was honestly thinking of cancelling with all the war stories from the weekend. I am keeping my fingers crossed that by Wednesday the crowds will have thinned out. Glad to hear you had such success even on one of the busier days!



Crowds should be fine until Fri. and then again especially on Sat./Sun.  It seems the weekdays (especially middle of the week) have been pretty tame compared to Fri- Sun.'s from the reports.


----------



## disneytraveler

GADisneyDad14 said:


> You can store your luggage at bell services and come reclaim it prior to leaving.  Remote Airline Checkin (where you can check in and they’ll take your bags to the airport, for select airlines) is not available.


Thank you


----------



## koquinn

TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> Totally agree on Via Napoli.  The only thing keeping us from an ADR there is Food & Wine festival.


Um... Does that mean I SHOULDN'T have had about 6-7 different things around the lake for lunch and then a giant dinner at Napoli?!


----------



## pepperandchips

Had an issue with my room folio which I emailed about (charged for parking when I shouldn’t have been). I love how I tried to follow Disney’s own protocol to avoid a trip to the front desk for this - I used the chat feature in MDE to limited success - and the person in billing tells me to go to the front desk


----------



## Lumpy1106

TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> Totally agree on Via Napoli.  The only thing keeping us from an ADR there is Food & Wine festival.


We did Via Napoli on our trip.  Food was good but pricey.  Service was nothing t o write home about.  All in all I think we would have rather just eaten from the F&W booths.  2-3 selections each from there would have been cheaper and would not have demanded a tip, nor a dedicated reservation time.


----------



## MomOTwins

TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> OK - I've been stalking this thread and have a list of (hopefully) quick questions that I wished some recent visitors could respond to.  Over the weekend, my wife and I went and booked a trip only 4 days from now (we've never been so spontaneous before like this - we usually book everything the minute that we can (FPs, ADRs, etc.)).  It'll be just the two of us, leaving our 4 kids at home (2 are so young that they wouldn't be able to keep masks on).  We've just gone stir crazy and need to get out, and we had 2 free nights (from a previous nightmare trip).
> 
> 4 nights at the Riviera
> Friday Epcot with Dinner at Rose and Crown
> Saturday DHS with Dinner at Mama Melrose
> Sunday Epcot with Food and Wine all day
> Monday MK with Dinner at The Plaza (although we are holding out hope for an ADR at Homecomin')
> Tuesday AK
> 
> Questions:
> 1. What are people doing after the parks close?  With the parks closing early, I imagine we will want to swim (but pools close at 9) or eat (most dining closes early as well).  It seems as though ars care closing at 9 or 10 in most cases.  With parks opening later in the morning, it doesn't seem right to just go to the room and watch TV/sleep.  What are people doing from 9pm to 11pm/midnight?  2 adults here that want to live their best lives!
> 
> 2. How crowded are the pools at the end of the evening?  Part of me says it'd be crowded because of the heat and there's nothing else to do, but the other part of me says that most visitors are not staying at resorts which are supposedly operating at reduced capacity anyways.
> 
> 3. Can you sit/eat at the "relaxation stations"?  For instance, I heard Akershus is a relaxation station.  Can you order from the Bakery (that only has outdoor seating) and go eat in the A/C inside of Akershus?
> 
> 4. I think I saw that Orlando schools start in-school learning on Friday 8/21.  Is it possible this might lead to an even bigger dropoff in park attendance from the recent trip reports from the last week?
> 
> 5. Beaches and Cream still doing walk-up to-go orders for ice cream/shakes?
> 
> 6. We've never eaten at Mama Melrose.  Should we go with that for dinner or try Topolino's or even Brown Derby - both of which we've never eaten at either?


We just finished 9 days at Riviera so I think I can answer most of these.
1. The Beau Soleil pool is open until 11pm, so that was our go to entertainment after 9pm, though you have to be okay with crowds (see below).
2. Crowded. Best time to swim to avoid crowds at the pools is mornings (definitely a good option on Epcot day since it opens later).  Starting at 2pm the main pool is packed until it closes at 9pm but Beau Soleil isn't bad. Then when the main pool closes at 9pm everyone moves over to Beau Soleil.
3. You can eat at relaxation stations, though whenever we went all the tables were full at first and we had to do standing room only and wait for a table to open up.  Norway bakery is closed but French one is open.
4. Maybe? Most of the people we talked to were not local though so not sure how big of a difference that will be.
5. Yep.
6. We did all three of those.  Brown Derby was the best, followed by Topolino’s and then Mama Melrose a distant last place.


----------



## LizzyDragon

I went to HS yesterday for the first time since reopening and had a blast! It was fun hanging out with friends and riding everything to our heart's content. I never waited more than 40 minutes for anything, and often the waits were significantly shorter then that. Everyone in my group got ROTR bgs; I finally got to be the rebel spy; and got to take my first ride on MMRR. Woot!

Mask compliance was very high (nearly 100% everywhere except for the parking lot). Plenty of hand sanitizer available in many places, and rides were periodically closed for 5-10 minutes throughout the day for cleaning. I also tried out mobile ordering for the first time since reopening- the biggest change is that pretty much every food location now requires a mobile order. Even walk-up places like Ronto Roasters now require it. The other change is that you now must pick a window of time that you plan to pick up the food. But ordering was quick, and the food was ready nearly immediately.


----------



## MomOTwins

Well, we are leaving today.  As I posted a couple of times during our trip, I can’t help but feel a disappointed, and I don’t expect we will be returning for some time.

The pros:  We stayed at Riviera for the first time and it is wonderful.  The pools and kids splash areas were lovely (though did get crowded in afternoon/evening), the food was excellent, rooms were beautiful and well designed (love the two showers) and the grounds were gorgeous.  The skyliner when it was working was fantastic (more on that later). Also, we really had no trouble with masks (four year old included) and don’t get all the fuss.  We used Disney cloth masks and they were very comfortable and easy to breathe in.

The cons: It was crowded. Waits were frequently in the 30-60 min range which is not bad compared to normal standby times, but as someone who knew how to fastpass refresh and so never waited more than 10mins to ride anything, it was rough—especially outdoor queues in the heat. The cleaning procedures were annoying because the wait time did not factor it in—so as an example I entered a 15 minute queue with my son and then the my started cleaning, and it was a 40 minute wait in the heat even though the posted wait time never changed.
The skyliner was down a LOT because of thunderstorms and alternate bis service was very inadequate with long waits.
I don’t know if people reporting near perfect mask compliance were lucky or unobservant.  There was never a single point in time where I could look around and not see someone within 20 feet of me with their mask under the chin/on the ear/below the nose or just not on at all.  I saw CMs try to correct this often but people just ignored them or complied for and then removed the mask 10 seconds later.


----------



## 720L

I forgot to mention, the paper/surgical masks were much better than all the cloth ones I bought.


----------



## yulilin3

Just back from MK, that first hour is golden, rope dropped and the park looked emptier than last week when I went Tuesday. Walked on to PP, Dumbo (rode 2 times no need to get out cause I was the only one on it) Goofy's, Teacups, 7DMT had a 20 min wait, Country Bears at 10:30 and hopped over to Tom Sawyer Island.Saw all character cavalcades plus the Main Street band as well


----------



## GBRforWDW

yulilin3 said:


> Just back from MK, that first hour is golden, rope dropped and the park looked emptier than last week when I went Tuesday. Walked on to PP, Dumbo (rode 2 times no need to get out cause I was the only one on it) Goofy's, Teacups, 7DMT had a 20 min wait, Country Bears at 10:30 and hopped over to Tom Sawyer Island.Saw all character cavalcades plus the Main Street band as well


Dumb question, Did you see the Cavalcades from Tom Sawyer Island?  Or where would be a good spot for viewing?


----------



## MomOTwins

Sorry, adding a couple more thoughts that I forgot to include in my above post.

We liked what they did with the characters.  The cavalcades were adorable. But their timing was unpredictable and we did wish there was more character dining—we loved the Topolino’s breakfast and would love if they added more meals like it.

Dining in general was a downgrade from prior trips.  We knew going into it that a lot of our favorite restaurants were closed and that menus were limited, but weren’t prepared for how disappointing that would be in practice—a lot of the new places we tried because our favorites were closed just weren’t good.  We also really missed having the dining plan when we saw the hotel charge folio—we’ve always saved a lot of money on the dining plan because my kids love snacks and DH and I like to get alcohol, steaks/seafood and desserts when we are on vacation, so we went wayyy over budget, but c’est la vie.

I do wonder if crowd-wise we were just really unlucky going the week silver APs were allowed back.  In my mind, I thought that since passholder passes were sold out in prior weeks when there were low crowds it couldn’t make a difference. But anecdotally, a lot of APs I talked to booked onsite stays to extend their passes beyond 3 days, so that explains the crowd uptick since the resort bucket was never full previously. I can’t imagine how bad crowds and waits would be if all three park pass buckets were full!


----------



## Lumpy1106

GBRforWDW said:


> Dumb question, Did you see the Cavalcades from Tom Sawyer Island?  Or where would be a good spot for viewing?


The Cavalcades are a real casual thing - a vehicle of some sort with some characters - most people don't even stop what they are doing as they pass.  Call me crazy, but I prefer that to the crowd that gathers and clogs the entire park during the parades.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Lumpy1106 said:


> The Cavalcades are a real casual thing - a vehicle of some sort with some characters - most people don't even stop what they are doing as they pass.  Call me crazy, but I prefer that to the crowd that gathers and clogs the entire park during the parades.


yeah, i know the laid back nature of these, and definitely know what you mean about parades.  we could not squeeze into a spot when trying to view one the only time we've been so far.  Was just wondering how easily they could be viewed from TSI.


----------



## yulilin3

GBRforWDW said:


> Dumb question, Did you see the Cavalcades from Tom Sawyer Island?  Or where would be a good spot for viewing?


Anywhere along the parade route is fine cause there's not a lot of people so you hear the music,  just walk up to the street.  I was at Tom Sawyer and saw the goofy one,  easy to see from the dock side


----------



## disneytraveler

LizzyDragon said:


> I went to HS yesterday for the first time since reopening and had a blast! It was fun hanging out with friends and riding everything to our heart's content. I never waited more than 40 minutes for anything, and often the waits were significantly shorter then that. Everyone in my group got ROTR bgs; I finally got to be the rebel spy; and got to take my first ride on MMRR. Woot!
> 
> Mask compliance was very high (nearly 100% everywhere except for the parking lot). Plenty of hand sanitizer available in many places, and rides were periodically closed for 5-10 minutes throughout the day for cleaning. I also tried out mobile ordering for the first time since reopening- the biggest change is that pretty much every food location now requires a mobile order. Even walk-up places like Ronto Roasters now require it. The other change is that you now must pick a window of time that you plan to pick up the food. But ordering was quick, and the food was ready nearly immediately.


That is great to see


----------



## Quilty

shoegal9 said:


> I was having dinner at Tutto Gusto and this drunk group was taking swigs of brandy from a bottle they bought in the Germany pavilion. So, you definitely can buy bottles of alcohol and carry them out with you. Eventually the waiter at TG saw them and told them to put the bottle back in the box/bag. I think the wine shop is also open in Italy...


Yes.  The wine shop in Italy is open.


----------



## 64ghs

yulilin3 said:


> of course, it's like shipping anything, you have to pay shipping. The price varies by the total amount of the transaction, not sure how much


thanks


----------



## rnorwo1

We will be there in a week and a half, Sunday through Friday. I was trying to choose the least likely-to-be-crowded park for Sunday, which I assumed to be Epcot since Pandora is still fairly new. However, I’ve read a few threads that suggest Epcot may be busier than AK? Does anyone have a sense of which one may be the better park?


----------



## koquinn

rnorwo1 said:


> We will be there in a week and a half, Sunday through Friday. I was trying to choose the least likely-to-be-crowded park for Sunday, which I assumed to be Epcot since Pandora is still fairly new. However, I’ve read a few threads that suggest Epcot may be busier than AK? Does anyone have a sense of which one may be the better park?


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


----------



## Alice Sr.

Dentam said:


> I am and always have been horrible at navigating.  When I did my summer internship at Epcot back in 2000 I was constantly turning off on the wrong exit or missing my exit altogether.  I once ended up on a toll road and ran out of change so got a warning ticket.  I could see right where I needed to go but there was no exit to get there!  This is why I never rent a car now when I go to WDW.


My DDs always complained the sign they saw the most was "You are now leaving Walt Disney World".  Then one year I didn't rent a car so we relied on buses lol.  They never complained about it again (at least out loud).


lovethattink said:


> Someone on the Pop thread said they used the chat with us feature on MDE the other night after waiting in a huge bus line. Shortly after the contact, a bus was sent.
> 
> So maybe using the new chat with us feature on MDE can work?


Excellent, thank you!


----------



## katyringo

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

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

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


----------



## figmentfinesse

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


----------



## 502Girlie

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


----------



## NJMomto2

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


----------



## yulilin3

NJMomto2 said:


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


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


----------



## yulilin3

katyringo said:


> I’m used to planning and over analyzing every aspect of our trip.
> 
> we making dinning reservations this Friday and I’ve looked at some recently touring plans..
> 
> but is there anything else I’m missing?Can we really just show up to the parks and go?


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


----------



## Sydney2977

NJMomto2 said:


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



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


----------



## Obliviate

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

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


----------



## only hope

NJMomto2 said:


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



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


----------



## jvalic33

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


----------



## dunkindonut

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

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

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

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

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


----------



## scrappinginontario

jvalic33 said:


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


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

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

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


----------



## wombat_5606

jvalic33 said:


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



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


----------



## Turksmom

jvalic33 said:


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


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


----------



## rnorwo1

koquinn said:


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


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


----------



## omniscientmommy

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


----------



## Best Aunt

omniscientmommy said:


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



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


----------



## alliecat726

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


----------



## yulilin3

jvalic33 said:


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


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


----------



## brockash

jvalic33 said:


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


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


----------



## alliecat726

alliecat726 said:


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


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


----------



## jvalic33

scrappinginontario said:


> According to the Disney website, folding chairs are not permitted into the parks.
> 
> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/park-rules/
> 
> There are some lines (Peter Pan) that have wheelchairs for guests to transfer into who are using scooters but I don't think they offer those in many lines.


Thank you for the link...I wonder if the cane folding seat the other poster mentioned is okay.....it may be worth a try


----------



## jvalic33

Turksmom said:


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


Have you actually brought one into the park?  I did find one on walmart for $25...would be worth it to try for her. She is in denial and uses the stroller to support herself but if we were in a line where I had to park it, it might be difficult for her.

Thanks for the idea!


----------



## jvalic33

yulilin3 said:


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



She would destroy numerous toes with a wheelchair or ECV.  I feel bad for people in the crowd when she runs over them with the stroller.  She's just bad with spacing herself appropriately, I don't know how else to explain it and she would never go for that.  She enjoys walking, but I'm just worried she is more out of shape now due to Covid. She is barely getting out of the house.  We'll just have to see how it goes. Maybe after the first day I'll be able to convicence her and I'm going to buy that cane with the seat for her.


----------



## yulilin3

jvalic33 said:


> Have you actually brought one into the park?  I did find one on walmart for $25...would be worth it to try for her. She is in denial and uses the stroller to support herself but if we were in a line where I had to park it, it might be difficult for her.
> 
> Thanks for the idea!


I have seen people bring them in,  i have not seen anyone using it as a chair though


----------



## katyringo

Has anyone used a touring plan recently? Is it needed?
What planning should I be doing ahead of this unique trip?


----------



## shoreward

jvalic33 said:


> Have you actually brought one into the park?  I did find one on walmart for $25...would be worth it to try for her. She is in denial and uses the stroller to support herself but if we were in a line where I had to park it, it might be difficult for her.
> 
> Thanks for the idea!


There is a discussion about the cane with attached seat:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/cane-with-attached-seat.3564753/
Someone suggested contacting Disney’s Disabilities department for further information.

Disability Services (407) 560-2547 or email disability.services@disneyparks.com.


----------



## hereforthechurros

alliecat726 said:


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


No food. The whole space is cleared of tables and chairs to let the line for take-out drinks snake around inside. No food to go either.


----------



## dachsie

jvalic33 said:


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


Rent a scooter.  Best thing I ever did.  I walked so much that I had blisters on my feet, and walked in great pain.  I rented a scooter in EP the next day and it helped tremendously.  I was able to walk again the day after by just giving my feet a rest.  Now I may have ti rent one for the week because I have chronic tendonitis.  Wore a boot for 7 months and go off it in May and its starting to act up again.


----------



## alliecat726

hereforthechurros said:


> No food. The whole space is cleared of tables and chairs to let the line for take-out drinks snake around inside. No food to go either.


Thank you!


----------



## shoegal9

alliecat726 said:


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



They actually do have the chips and guacamole, but that’s it for food.  We talked to the manager and expressed our sadness about the cheese Because it’s amazing. He said that he fought for it. So maybe that will come back...

La Hacienda has the same Cava drink menu and obviously they have food.


----------



## jvalic33

shoreward said:


> There is a discussion about the cane with attached seat:
> 
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/cane-with-attached-seat.3564753/
> Someone suggested contacting Disney’s Disabilities department for further information.
> 
> Disability Services (407) 560-2547 or email disability.services@disneyparks.com.


Thank you for the info that's a great idea!


----------



## jvalic33

dachsie said:


> Rent a scooter.  Best thing I ever did.  I walked so much that I had blisters on my feet, and walked in great pain.  I rented a scooter in EP the next day and it helped tremendously.  I was able to walk again the day after by just giving my feet a rest.  Now I may have ti rent one for the week because I have chronic tendonitis.  Wore a boot for 7 months and go off it in May and its starting to act up again.


I will try....not an easy sell, but if it gets noticeably bad, I'll have to talk her into it.


----------



## lindsaydavis1982

Are there August Activities Calendars for the resorts right now? I haven't been able to find any of them posted online.


----------



## alliecat726

shoegal9 said:


> They actually do have the chips and guacamole, but that’s it for food.  We talked to the manager and expressed our sadness about the cheese Because it’s amazing. He said that he fought for it. So maybe that will come back...
> 
> La Hacienda has the same Cava drink menu and obviously they have food.


Hmm, maybe we'll just hit Hacienda. (I also made a 3:30 res @ Spice Road Table, they seem to still be offering a half dozen apps w/ their drink selection.) Thanks so much for the first-hand Cava info! (But boo on the CHEESE!)


----------



## pepperandchips

jvalic33 said:


> I will try....not an easy sell, but if it gets noticeably bad, I'll have to talk her into it.


What if you had one delivered to the hotel through scooterbug and didn’t say anything about it and see how the first day goes. If it’s bad, you can “book one online” (really the one that was already delivered) and if she’s fine then you just don’t go pick it up. The reason I suggest booking it in advance is that my husband had a foot injury and tried to tough it out. By the time he agreed to the ECV, it was difficult to find one and we missed out on some things we’d planned to do waiting around at the hotel for the scooter delivery.


----------



## Someluck

jvalic33 said:


> I will try....not an easy sell, but if it gets noticeably bad, I'll have to talk her into it.


I would suggest renting a 3 wheel scooter from an offsite store. They are much smaller and easier to control than the large 4 wheel unit available in the parks. You would also have the use of them getting into the long walks into the parks. I used one at WDW for the first time a few years ago and it made such a difference in my ability to keep up with my family. I don't use one at home, but the parks are huge!


----------



## Jodyfarmgirl

Someluck said:


> I would suggest renting a 3 wheel scooter from an offsite store. They are much smaller and easier to control than the large 4 wheel unit available in the parks. You would also have the use of them getting into the long walks into the parks. I used one at WDW for the first time a few years ago and it made such a difference in my ability to keep up with my family. I don't use one at home, but the parks are huge!


I second the idea of a smaller 3-wheel scooter. They are lighter and smaller and psychologically not as scary. I have my own. It is my third one and by far the best and most practical. You can take it through lines easily because it has a smaller turning radius and that’s the most difficult thing to deal with. I sure wish I could talk to your mother.


----------



## jvalic33

pepperandchips said:


> What if you had one delivered to the hotel through scooterbug and didn’t say anything about it and see how the first day goes. If it’s bad, you can “book one online” (really the one that was already delivered) and if she’s fine then you just don’t go pick it up. The reason I suggest booking it in advance is that my husband had a foot injury and tried to tough it out. By the time he agreed to the ECV, it was difficult to find one and we missed out on some things we’d planned to do waiting around at the hotel for the scooter delivery.


That's a good idea.  I'll look into it.  Thank you!


----------



## jvalic33

Jodyfarmgirl said:


> I second the idea of a smaller 3-wheel scooter. They are lighter and smaller and psychologically not as scary. I have my own. It is my third one and by far the best and most practical. You can take it through lines easily because it has a smaller turning radius and that’s the most difficult thing to deal with. I sure wish I could talk to your mother.


No you don't....(wish you could talk to her).  I've been talking to her for years and it doesn't really go far...LOL!


----------



## Jodyfarmgirl

jvalic33 said:


> No you don't....(wish you could talk to her).  I've been talking to her for years and it doesn't really go far...LOL!


----------



## FinallyFL

jvalic33 said:


> Does anyone know if my mother could bring one of those little fold open chairs into the parks?  She has a little metal and canvas one and while she is older, she can walk but has trouble standing around and waiting.


Would your mother use a rolling walker, my daughter also has problems standing in place and it's what she uses in the park. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Medline-Fold...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==


----------



## crayon3448

lindsaydavis1982 said:


> Are there August Activities Calendars for the resorts right now? I haven't been able to find any of them posted online.


I looked at the CBR pool the first day and the only thing on the calendar was the nights they are having movies under the stars. The one afternoon we were at the feature pool the cast member was doing trivia. I don't think they can do games and other projects since people would have to touch the supplies or be too close.


----------



## Best Aunt

jvalic33 said:


> No you don't....(wish you could talk to her).  I've been talking to her for years and it doesn't really go far...LOL!



In some families, it depends who makes the suggestion.  If your family is like that, then it won’t work if you make the suggestion, but it might work if it comes from a grandchild or from someone who is not related.


----------



## jvalic33

FinallyFL said:


> Would your mother use a rolling walker, my daughter also has problems standing in place and it's what she uses in the park. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Medline-Fold...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==


I'll see, I already sent her some info on the other ideas and she's not really amenable to much advice thus far.  I will be pretty pregnant on this trip though and was thinking I could rent the scooter for myself (wink wink) and let her borrow it every once in awhile. That might be my best bet!


----------



## FinallyFL

jvalic33 said:


> I'll see, I already sent her some info on the other ideas and she's not really amenable to much advice thus far.  I will be pretty pregnant on this trip though and was thinking I could rent the scooter for myself (wink wink) and let her borrow it every once in awhile. That might be my best bet!


This might be the best idea. You can ask her to drive it so that you can "stretch your legs"


----------



## Redhead5

There are a lot of us out here with bad knees and hard heads. We should rent a scooter but fight it. If it is a knee issue, has she been to an orthopedic surgeon? There are injections and other treatments short of surgery that may help. They've helped me a lot and I'm able to tour the parks pain free now. It never hurts to know your options. I agree, there needs to be more seating options in the parks.


----------



## Mzpalmtree

With so many reports already I’m not sure if mine will have value anymore but here is my “just back” report. We did a very quick trip Thurs-Mon with a late arrival and early departure so really just three days. Due to a long story I won’t get into with our plans changing over and over and joining friends onsite we had a three way split stay: two nights at the Swan, one night Contemporary GW, one night Bay Lake Tower studio. We went to HS, AK, and MK. We did not take Disney transportation except the monorail, we drove our own car or walked to the parks but our friends took the bus to MK from the Swan and said they were very comfortable and did not wait long either way. For a little background on us, we have not left the house much since late March. We have not eaten inside a restaurant since March before this trip. Although our area does not have a mandatory mask order, we do wear them when we go out but we really don’t go out enough to wear them for long periods of time. Our impressions:

Swan: we got an amazing rate so decided to try it for the first time. I was concerned because I had read some negative things about crowds, long waits for elevators, and poor mask compliance. When we arrived around 6 for check in the lobby was empty, but funnily enough the first people we saw were a family who appeared dressed up for dinner walking through the lobby towards the parking lot completely maskless. It was not a great start, but we did find the mask compliance overall during our stay was about on par with the Disney resorts we stayed at which is to say good for the most part with some minor exceptions (mostly in the evening). Java was great for coffee and small meals. Loved that it opened at 6 am. The pool was lovely and not crowded. We only experienced issues with long elevator waits during high travel times such as opening and closing of HS. Il Mulino was also very good with good spacing between tables and the food was delicious. They also did take out orders quite late (until 11) which was wonderful because many of the restaurants particularly in the Crescent Lake area are closed or close early.

Contemporary: we had not stayed here before but always wanted to. We requested our room to be available at 7 am but it wasn’t ready until almost 4 pm which was kind of a bummer on a one night stay and left us homeless for quite some time which is more uncomfortable than usual wearing masks in the intense heat. Again, as we walked up to our room for the first time we encountered an entire maskless family in the lobby—strange for this to happen during both check in times as it was not the norm. Our room was very nice. The feature pool was a bit more crowded than I liked at 3pm but not unreasonable. The bullseye pool was fairly empty and we set up there for a little while before our California Grill reservation. California Grill was delicious and I’m a bit embarrassed to say that we ate there twice because the trip was for my daughters birthday and it was her favorite. I made the reservations for sunset times since there were no fireworks. Unfortunately both times we were sat in a small back room with no sunset view. I complained the second night and we were begrudgingly moved. The service was excellent the first night and exceptionally poor the second so much so that we cancelled our reservation there for our upcoming trip. Spacing was good between the tables, however. We had breakfast at Contempo Cafe the next day. Mobile order was quick and easy but our food was terrible. We had oatmeal and fruit and the fruit was sour-ish like it had started to turn while the oatmeal tasted burnt. I probably should have complained but I didn’t because the cast members were all trying so hard and I felt for them with their masks and face shields...our friends had breakfast sandwiches and they said theirs were good.

BLT: our first time here as well. We are brand new DVC and added a last minute night in a standard studio. It was awesome, clean, with a lovely view of Space MT and Bay Lake. It was actually ready earlier than I expected at 12:30 pm. We REALLY loved our stay here. CMs were very friendly from the lobby staff, to housekeeping, to the lifeguards at the pool, and the bartender at the Cove bar.

the Parks: like others have said, we were impressed with the guidelines Disney has put in place and if the guests follow them, they will be as “safe” as you can be visiting a theme park. The problem is that there are guests (rare, but they are there) who are intent on NOT following them. Examples: a young couple who pushed ahead of us in the queue for FOP—we thought they were trying to join their party but they were really just pushing as far up as they could (and we were pretty far into the line not towards the end), they didn’t mind the social distancing markers and I eventually noticed that they both had rough holes sliced into their masks like by scissors or a knife—it was honestly pretty shocking behavior. We rode FOP again and the man that was put in the room with us hopped two spots closer to us (CM didn’t say a word) and then took his mask off for the whole ride. We stopped riding FOP. Another example: BTM a family of four was behind us and the mother keep blowing through the social distancing markers and was inches from my back for most of the queue. Also her kids were pushing us. I started staring her down and she backed off a little but kept creeping up when I didn’t directly stare. On the monorail one time a family did not listen to the CM about the car they were meant to go in and came into the car with us...they were not told to leave and we were pretty uncomfortable the rest of the ride. On Astro orbiter, a teen girl kept completely taking her mask off and was not told to put it back on. It was the evening and I think the CMs were weary. In every park noses came out of the masks in the evening—more parties had at least one person with their nose out than not. I think people intend to follow the rules but it’s easy to overdo it in the heat especially if you don’t take breaks. I wish people would be honest with themselves, take breaks, and recognize their limits and utilize the relaxation areas but I rarely saw them used. I did hear CM tell people to put on their masks for pictures etc, but again as the day wore on the reminders tended to get less. I felt bad for the CM with their masks and face shields on top of it—great for keeping us safe but they have to get soooo HOT. It sounds like I’m being negative but our experience was actually good overall and mask compliance by most was very good earlier in the day except by those completely intent on breaking it.

Take aways: Plan your meals: mobile orders are GREAT but seating can sometimes be a problem with social distancing we had a very hard time finding a table at Satuli Canteen. Table service was far less stressful. I’d make at least one table service ADR per day. Take breaks—if you don’t in this heat you’ll eventually hit a wall. Your heat tolerance will be far worse in a mask too, so plan breaks for sure! Drink LOTS of water. More than you think you’ll need. Wait times were all far shorter than what was posted, so don’t be intimidated by them if they seem long. Last tip: the social distancing markers in some of the queues can have random odd spacing between them at certain points. Because of that it can be easy to get trapped between them when the line is moving and suddenly stops. Keep your eye on the feet of the party in front of you and don’t move from your marker until they’ve reached theirs. It will make more sense when you see it if you haven’t already. If you’ve held on with me through this whole post you rock because I had a lot to say, lol! We really had a great time and it was nice to be back.


----------



## Jodyfarmgirl

FinallyFL said:


> Would your mother use a rolling walker, my daughter also has problems standing in place and it's what she uses in the park. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Medline-Fold...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==


I second this suggestion tooThese are a great middle step between canes and scooters. I have one of these too and like it for “medium” situations. 
_now I just gotta talk to your mom Does make me wonder what my DD says about me_


----------



## Wiltony

We just got back from a full week out there.  It was undeniably hot and I will avoid August in the future, but it didn't ruin our trip.  Masks were not fun to have to wear, but again, not trip ruining and we were ok.  We were really happy to be there and for the most part had a great time.  Just had to go with the flow for a lot of things not open, not operating, limited capacity, closing early, etc.  Lines were longer and parks busier than I would have thought after reading about others' experiences, but still MUCH shorter/lower than we would have experienced during a normal trip.  We went on pretty much everything we wanted to go on each day, at each park.

It's was definitely a memorable trip and we have tons of mask-on pictures to remind us of our "great pandemic WDW trip of 2020."

Summary of pros/cons:


Pros
Shorter Lines
Lower crowd levels
Pools were great
Cast Members were excellent, as usual
Most food was great
Most people were respectful and good about mask wearing and social distancing, and everyone was happy to be there
More mobile ordering (I love mobile ordering)
Hand sanitizer everywhere (this should remain permanently)
30% AP Merch Discount was freaking phenomenal.  I saved literally hundreds of dollars.
WE GOT TO BE AT DISNEY WORLD

Cons (while there are many more, they still don't outweigh the pros and we're really glad we went!)
Mask wearing is not fun, but not world-ending.  Biggest impacts from masks are:
Hearing each other -- too often I was trying to have a conversation with a CM and we're both wearing masks and they're behind plexiglass
Pictures -- others seem to be good at it, but I'm not good at smiling with my eyes.  Even though I was smiling, I look irritated or mad in a lot of my pictures.
Ear fatigue -- I actually found an ear-saver on the ground and ended up sanitizing it and using it the rest of my trip -- it was a life (ear!) saver!
Where to put it when taking it off -- I recommend getting a binky lanyard of some kind to hold your mask when taking it off.  No good places in the bathroom or a restaurant to put your mask.
If you have a larger face and/or beard, make sure you have your comfortable masks before you come in the parks.  I searched for 5 of my 8 days for an XL disney mask and couldn't find any.  They're very rare!  Even once I found them, they're sized inconsistently and only 1 of the 2 I bought fit me.
Once in a while it did feel a little suffocating.  During those times, it helped to pull it away from your face a little (not to the side, and not off) when breathing in, then back on your face when breathing out so it can do the job it was intended to do.

Transportation -- it was extremely difficult to get home to BLT after we had dinner at Riviera and Wilderness Lodge.  On both occasions a CM had to make a "special exception" to get us home.
Bay Lake Boat Transportation loop (Contemporary/WL/Ft. Wilderness) was closed
Epcot Monorail Closed
Bus transportation was awkward with social distancing, and Contemporary bus stop did poor job and enforcing first-come-first serve, so a lot of people would jump ahead to get on the next bus.
Usually my solution involved getting back to MK then walking home from there, but they said they weren't allowed to bring guests to MK after park close, which was at 7, and that was usually after we had finished dinner.
My backup plan was to take a bus to the springs then a bus to BLT, luckily did not have to do that.

TOTWL at BLT Closed
Electric Water Pageant Closed (I think I missed this the most, out of everything)
While I like mobile ordering, they had a glitch where they would cancel your order if you didn't complete it with a certain amount of time.  I lost a few orders this way, _even while actively adding things to the order_
No Fireworks, of course
Everything closes too early (parks, pools, restaurants) -- there's nothing to do after 9p
QR Codes for Menus got old fast -- I hate using phones at the table
No park or resort delivery from gift shops -- minor annoyance if I decided to buy something earlier in the day
Lines to get into shops, especially at the end of the day
Almost everything is off on Kali River Rapids.  We couldn't get wet at all despite going on it three times.  They said they didn't want people to get their masks wet.
I lost a ROTR boarding group #1 because lightning knocked out the ride the night before  

Again, seems like I'm complaining about a lot, but I'm actually really glad we went -- we had a great time and you will too as long as you keep your expectations low and remain easy going while there.


----------



## dunkindonut

The trust system is the biggest flaw.


----------



## BebopBaloo

Wiltony said:


> Almost everything is off on Kali River Rapids.  We couldn't get wet at all despite going on it three times.  They said they didn't want people to get their masks wet.



Interesting about Kali. I've never been on it because I don't like getting soaked. Did your shoes get wet?


----------



## NC State

I have a question for the people that have driven to the parks. How early are you allowed into the parking lot? (for all 4 parks)


----------



## yulilin3

NC State said:


> I have a question for the people that have driven to the parks. How early are you allowed into the parking lot? (for all 4 parks)


45 min prior to opening


----------



## disneyfiend42

Wiltony said:


> Transportation -- it was extremely difficult to get home to BLT after we had dinner at Riviera and Wilderness Lodge. On both occasions a CM had to make a "special exception" to get us home.
> 
> Bay Lake Boat Transportation loop (Contemporary/WL/Ft. Wilderness) was closed


So you are not allowed to take the boat to the MK from Ft Wilderness or from Ft Wilderness to Contemporary/WL?


----------



## jvalic33

Jodyfarmgirl said:


> I second this suggestion too❣These are a great middle step between canes and scooters. I have one of these too and like it for “medium” situations.
> _now I just gotta talk to your mom❣ Does make me wonder what my DD says about me_


She'll just argue that the stroller is her rolling walker!


----------



## Wiltony

BebopBaloo said:


> Interesting about Kali. I've never been on it because I don't like getting soaked. Did your shoes get wet?



Nope! Just a few sprinkles. There is also a bar that you can rest your feet on to keep them elevated off the floor of the raft.


----------



## Wiltony

disneyfiend42 said:


> So you are not allowed to take the boat to the MK from Ft Wilderness or from Ft Wilderness to Contemporary/WL?


Correct, for the MK <> resort boats, if it is after MK is closed, they don't accept passengers going back to MK from anywhere.

For the Bay lake boat "loop" where boats normally just go between Ft. wilderness/Contemporary/WL, those aren't running at all.


----------



## mousiemom

Obliviate said:


> I just got back from a 10-day stay and I'd go again in a heartbeat. I gave most of my thoughts while I was there so I won't repeat myself, but I wanted to share a few pictures and some final remarks.
> 
> I am honestly lost for words thinking about what I felt during this trip. I am probably never going to experience anything like that again - a combination of low to no crowds, early park closures, time of the year, and nice weather made for some truly unforgettable moments. I encourage everyone to stick around a few minutes after close whenever possible. Here are some quick photos.
> View attachment 519564 View attachment 519565 View attachment 519567 View attachment 519568 View attachment 519569 View attachment 519570 View attachment 519571 View attachment 519572 View attachment 519573 View attachment 519574


great photos!!!  I can't wait to go experience the low crowds!!!


----------



## fla4fun

I am here and Epcot was empty today (bonus - no rain yet today but overcast enough to keep the worst of the heat away).  Great sales on several lines of merch (F&G, rainbow, neon, summer) and with the AP discount, even better. I like doing mobile ordering with a gift card so much better than a cc.  I have never been a big mobile order person but it makes sense right now.  No issues at Pop and it does not appear to be busy.  Going to MK tomorrow and hoping the crowd levels hold.


----------



## Spazz2k

Anyone ever see this before?? A wait time posted at a resort?


----------



## yulilin3

Spazz2k said:


> Anyone ever see this before?? A wait time posted at a resort?


all part of the new system that tells you about availability as a walk up. Here's Kona's info


----------



## Spazz2k

Ahh..very smart, never seen it before...but glad it is there


----------



## yulilin3

Spazz2k said:


> Ahh..very smart, never seen it before...but glad it is there


it launched today


----------



## fla4fun

yulilin3 said:


> it launched today


That is so cool!  I hope it hangs around for a long time.


----------



## ScubaCat

yulilin3 said:


> all part of the new system that tells you about availability as a walk up. Here's Kona's info





Spazz2k said:


> Ahh..very smart, never seen it before...but glad it is there





fla4fun said:


> That is so cool!  I hope it hangs around for a long time.


All part of "limited contact", although I'd still probably walk up and ask in some cases if it didn't show availability since they can sometimes squeeze you in.


----------



## omniscientmommy

So we weren't able to get boarding groups our previous 2 days at HS and now the news is reporting some serious breakdowns of this ride today. Tomorrow is our final HS day and idk if it's worth it. Going to talk with dh about switching our days.


----------



## soniam

omniscientmommy said:


> So we weren't able to get boarding groups our previous 2 days at HS and now the news is reporting some serious breakdowns of this ride today. Tomorrow is our final HS day and idk if it's worth it. Going to talk with dh about switching our days.


Were you trying at 10am? Just curious,


----------



## omniscientmommy

soniam said:


> Were you trying at 10am? Just curious,


We tried the other day at 10 am.


----------



## peaceluv&mickeymouse

BebopBaloo said:


> Interesting about Kali. I've never been on it because I don't like getting soaked. Did your shoes get wet?


was thinking the same. Lol. I may go on now.


----------



## Jodyfarmgirl

jvalic33 said:


> She'll just argue that the stroller is her rolling walker!


----------



## momandmousefan

fla4fun said:


> Great sales on several lines of merch (F&G, rainbow, neon, summer) and with the AP discount, even better.


By sales, do you mean things were actually marked down or just good pricing?


----------



## yulilin3

momandmousefan said:


> By sales, do you mean things were actually marked down or just good pricing?


I believe those are 50% off


----------



## momandmousefan

yulilin3 said:


> I believe those are 50% off


Oh cool, since the outlets are still closed they’re actually keeping some markdowns in the park. Hope there’s some left in a week. Lol


----------



## omniscientmommy

momandmousefan said:


> Oh cool, since the outlets are still closed they’re actually keeping some markdowns in the park. Hope there’s some left in a week. Lol


The summer collection is on sale 30% off and if you have an AP you get an additional 20% off.


----------



## Dentam

Hope there's still some sales when we get there in 2.5 weeks!


----------



## Dentam

DVC members still get a discount also I believe?


----------



## fla4fun

momandmousefan said:


> By sales, do you mean things were actually marked down or just good pricing?


Most of what I saw were percent off (looked like most were 30% off, I know F&G was 30%).  Then you could stack your AP or other discount on top.  I made out like a bandit with a Dooney bag from F&G that I had really wanted, but the price kept holding me back on shopdisney.com.  I was so glad I waited!  I think they really want to clear out the spring and summer stuff quickly.  They had a lot of racks of sale stuff in Mousegear today.


----------



## Dismrk155

fla4fun said:


> Most of what I saw were percent off (looked like most were 30% off, I know F&G was 30%).  Then you could stack your AP or other discount on top.  I made out like a bandit with a Dooney bag from F&G that I had really wanted, but the price kept holding me back on shopdisney.com.  I was so glad I waited!  I think they really want to clear out the spring and summer stuff quickly.  They had a lot of racks of sale stuff in Mousegear today.


What's f&g and what's a Dooney bag?
Is their a heading what tells what the abbreviation s are


----------



## Dismrk155

Is a Dooney bag a fancy plastic bag of some sort.


----------



## fla4fun

Dismrk155 said:


> What's f&g and what's a Dooney bag?
> Is their a heading what tells what the abbreviation s are


Dooney and Bourke is a brand of handbags that can be a little pricey.

F&G is the Flower and Garden festival at Epcot.


----------



## brockash

Wiltony said:


> Correct, for the MK <> resort boats, if it is after MK is closed, they don't accept passengers going back to MK from anywhere.
> 
> For the Bay lake boat "loop" where boats normally just go between Ft. wilderness/Contemporary/WL, those aren't running at all.


Are the boats to/from Ft Wilderness running during MK hrs?


----------



## yulilin3

Dismrk155 said:


> Is a Dooney bag a fancy plastic bag of some sort.


Flower and Garden=F&G and Dooney is a Dooney and Burke, a brand


----------



## Donzie

brockash said:


> Are the boats to/from Ft Wilderness running during MK hrs?



Yes.

I went last week.  I was told the boats were not running at checkin on Sunday 8/9 but during the week we saw people lining up at the dock.  Sure enough they were running the boats during MK hours (45 min to an hour prior to opening and same for close). We rode to and from Fort Wilderness Resort to MK on Friday 8/14 and enjoyed it.  The line at MK separates in 2 for the Wilderness cabin and camping resort and The Wilderness Lodge.  Separate boats were running each line.  The friendly first mate told us the boat we rode back on Friday was just out of dry dock that day, freshly painted and ready to go again.

Obviously subject to change.  Crowds were fairly low and I wouldn't doubt Disney will start cutting money where they can if crowds do not return.


----------



## Dismrk155

Ok. Don't carry a hand bag. I'm a guy. Have a off brand wallet gorv$9.00


----------



## hereforthechurros

Conclusion from our early August trip: we’ve been home for 10 days and in strict quarantine during that time. After being home for five days I had a COVID test done and got the negative results today!

We flew on an uncomfortably packed plane, took Disney transport as well as Uber, and ate in many restaurants so it’s very reassuring to see a WDW trip can be done safely. We washed and sanitized like crazy, masks constantly obviously, showered and changed after each park day, and did laundry once which hopefully all made a difference.

Edit: not sure why this would make anyone mad. We followed all guidelines and quarantined and were tested. Aren’t we told over and over we can reopen and do things as long as we follow safety protocols and get tested?


----------



## Geomom

hereforthechurros said:


> Conclusion from our early August trip: we’ve been home for 10 days and in strict quarantine during that time. After being home for five days I had a COVID test done and got the negative results today!
> 
> We flew on an uncomfortably packed plane, took Disney transport as well as Uber, and ate in many restaurants so it’s very reassuring to see a WDW trip can be done safely. We washed and sanitized like crazy, masks constantly obviously, showered and changed after each park day, and did laundry once which hopefully all made a difference.


Happy to hear you've felt fine and got negative test results!

We flew home on 8/8 after 2 weeks at Disney (only 35 people on the Southwest plane home), only used Disney transit, ate inside, did not shower/change right when we got back to room, did not use the pools, did laundry in middle of trip, fresh masks daily, plenty of hand sanitizer and washing hands, stayed away from DS.  We all still feel fine.  DD20 and DH got covid tests done on day 5, negative results received 24 hrs later.  DD16 and I are doing the strict self quarantine as mandated by our state (negative covid tests release you from quarantine).  DD20 needed to be tested for college and DH is moving her in this weekend.  DH just got car serviced and said he felt safer at Disney than in the waiting area.


----------



## shoegal9

crayon3448 said:


> I looked at the CBR pool the first day and the only thing on the calendar was the nights they are having movies under the stars. The one afternoon we were at the feature pool the cast member was doing trivia. I don't think they can do games and other projects since people would have to touch the supplies or be too close.



They were doing tie-dye tee shirts at the Boardwalk pool on August 1st. So, assuming there are even some hands on activities. Not sure about the calendars though.


----------



## jlnten17

Is DVC still getting 30% discount or is it back to 20%?  We arrive next week and I have my eye on a bag. TIA!


----------



## shoegal9

jlnten17 said:


> Is DVC still getting 30% discount or is it back to 20%?  We arrive next week and I have my eye on a bag. TIA!


20%


----------



## yulilin3

Just a reminder that this thread is not to discuss the virus or quarantine or any other aspects other than trip reports from those who just got back and any question about WDW operations


----------



## Justrose

Am I able to put a gift card on my room, and then charge mobile ordering to that?  I thought I had read somewhere that mobile orders were linked to credit card only.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Justrose said:


> Am I able to put a gift card on my room, and then charge mobile ordering to that?  I thought I had read somewhere that mobile orders were linked to credit card only.



You can pay with a gift card when you mobile order.  It'll be a payment option when you go to check out.  

You can't charge mobile order to your resort room account.


----------



## Chris Ehlers

Wiltony said:


> We just got back from a full week out there.  It was undeniably hot and I will avoid August in the future, but it didn't ruin our trip.  Masks were not fun to have to wear, but again, not trip ruining and we were ok.  We were really happy to be there and for the most part had a great time.  Just had to go with the flow for a lot of things not open, not operating, limited capacity, closing early, etc.  Lines were longer and parks busier than I would have thought after reading about others' experiences, but still MUCH shorter/lower than we would have experienced during a normal trip.  We went on pretty much everything we wanted to go on each day, at each park.
> 
> It's was definitely a memorable trip and we have tons of mask-on pictures to remind us of our "great pandemic WDW trip of 2020."
> 
> Summary of pros/cons:
> 
> 
> Pros
> Shorter Lines
> Lower crowd levels
> Pools were great
> Cast Members were excellent, as usual
> Most food was great
> Most people were respectful and good about mask wearing and social distancing, and everyone was happy to be there
> More mobile ordering (I love mobile ordering)
> Hand sanitizer everywhere (this should remain permanently)
> 30% AP Merch Discount was freaking phenomenal.  I saved literally hundreds of dollars.
> WE GOT TO BE AT DISNEY WORLD
> 
> Cons (while there are many more, they still don't outweigh the pros and we're really glad we went!)
> Mask wearing is not fun, but not world-ending.  Biggest impacts from masks are:
> Hearing each other -- too often I was trying to have a conversation with a CM and we're both wearing masks and they're behind plexiglass
> Pictures -- others seem to be good at it, but I'm not good at smiling with my eyes.  Even though I was smiling, I look irritated or mad in a lot of my pictures.
> Ear fatigue -- I actually found an ear-saver on the ground and ended up sanitizing it and using it the rest of my trip -- it was a life (ear!) saver!
> Where to put it when taking it off -- I recommend getting a binky lanyard of some kind to hold your mask when taking it off.  No good places in the bathroom or a restaurant to put your mask.
> If you have a larger face and/or beard, make sure you have your comfortable masks before you come in the parks.  I searched for 5 of my 8 days for an XL disney mask and couldn't find any.  They're very rare!  Even once I found them, they're sized inconsistently and only 1 of the 2 I bought fit me.
> Once in a while it did feel a little suffocating.  During those times, it helped to pull it away from your face a little (not to the side, and not off) when breathing in, then back on your face when breathing out so it can do the job it was intended to do.
> 
> Transportation -- it was extremely difficult to get home to BLT after we had dinner at Riviera and Wilderness Lodge.  On both occasions a CM had to make a "special exception" to get us home.
> Bay Lake Boat Transportation loop (Contemporary/WL/Ft. Wilderness) was closed
> Epcot Monorail Closed
> Bus transportation was awkward with social distancing, and Contemporary bus stop did poor job and enforcing first-come-first serve, so a lot of people would jump ahead to get on the next bus.
> Usually my solution involved getting back to MK then walking home from there, but they said they weren't allowed to bring guests to MK after park close, which was at 7, and that was usually after we had finished dinner.
> My backup plan was to take a bus to the springs then a bus to BLT, luckily did not have to do that.
> 
> TOTWL at BLT Closed
> Electric Water Pageant Closed (I think I missed this the most, out of everything)
> While I like mobile ordering, they had a glitch where they would cancel your order if you didn't complete it with a certain amount of time.  I lost a few orders this way, _even while actively adding things to the order_
> No Fireworks, of course
> Everything closes too early (parks, pools, restaurants) -- there's nothing to do after 9p
> QR Codes for Menus got old fast -- I hate using phones at the table
> No park or resort delivery from gift shops -- minor annoyance if I decided to buy something earlier in the day
> Lines to get into shops, especially at the end of the day
> Almost everything is off on Kali River Rapids.  We couldn't get wet at all despite going on it three times.  They said they didn't want people to get their masks wet.
> I lost a ROTR boarding group #1 because lightning knocked out the ride the night before
> 
> Again, seems like I'm complaining about a lot, but I'm actually really glad we went -- we had a great time and you will too as long as you keep your expectations low and remain easy going while there.


for really good "XL facemask before you go,  I found the ones from *DXL menswear* to be the best for for Big Guys and Guys with Beards.   Life saver.   I got a XL Mickey face mask the day they hit the Parks and the Ear Loops are too small for me and harder to breath


----------



## Chris Ehlers

BebopBaloo said:


> Interesting about Kali. I've never been on it because I don't like getting soaked. Did your shoes get wet?


Whats Crazy is we rode that and didn't get wet either, but on the 3x we did Splash we got completely soaked and had to change masks


----------



## Vols1977

Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..

Anyone have thoughts on this?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Vols1977 said:


> Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..
> 
> Anyone have thoughts on this?



I'm Team Disposable Mask.  Cotton/cloth ones didn't do it for me... was much happier with the disposable ones, both for convenience and breath-ability.  Would put on one, put five in a ziplock bag in my pocket, and off we go.  I appreciated being able to toss an old one/get a fresh one from time to time during the day.


----------



## Chris Ehlers

Wiltony said:


> Correct, for the MK <> resort boats, if it is after MK is closed, they don't accept passengers going back to MK from anywhere.
> 
> For the Bay lake boat "loop" where boats normally just go between Ft. wilderness/Contemporary/WL, those aren't running at all.


Also if you're in any MK Resorts the Monorail closes at 8pm, so if you're at GF and staying at BLT you might have to take car or get Uber to get back after dinner, found that out the hard way


----------



## Geomom

Vols1977 said:


> Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..
> 
> Anyone have thoughts on this?


We did fine with cloth masks, but did bring disposables with us just in case.  We were there 2 weeks.  It was just so hot in general that the masks didn't make it worse.  Wear whatever you're used to that feels comfortable to you.


----------



## Leigh L

Vols1977 said:


> Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..
> 
> Anyone have thoughts on this?


I agree 100% with what @GADisneyDad14 said. Adult DD and I were far more comfortable with disposable and pretty much didn't notice it.
DH and DD13 did wear cloth and seemed to prefer it though.

(On our last day we were relaxing in the pool at Shades of Green and I waded right in, mask and all. I forgot I was wearing it! lol)


----------



## disneygirlsng

Vols1977 said:


> Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..
> 
> Anyone have thoughts on this?


I haven't been to WDW yet (2 days!!), but I have been to a couple other theme parks this summer in 90+ degree temps and found the disposable masks to be quite comfortable. Didn't even notice it was on after the first 30 min or so.


----------



## yulilin3

Another vote for disposable,  been wearing them through the entire summer season in the parks


----------



## momimouse27

Here's a question...wearing the masks, did anyone get an awful "mask tan"??  I plan to wear my facial sunscreen, but I have this picture in my mind of me with this horrible white spot around my face once I get home!


----------



## Chris Ehlers

yulilin3 said:


> Another vote for disposable,  been wearing them through the entire summer season in the parks


only problem with disposable ones is that they are becoming like Dental Flossers, they don't break down in the environment and people just throw them were ever they please. every time we left a park that we drove to i would see them blowing in the wind in the parking lots.    sorry @yulilin3 for the "M" word post


----------



## pepperandchips

Vols1977 said:


> Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..
> 
> Anyone have thoughts on this?


We did a combination of both and always carried options. The cloth ones stayed "fresher" for me after hours of use but the disposable type may have felt a touch cooler, it's hard to say. This is probably TMI but the disposable ones got funky smelling after we sweated in them for a couple of hours. I don't know if it was me or the mask - we bought the box of 50 from Office Depot that has been popular on the boards. I never noticed mask breath that people warned about so I feel like it wasn't my hygiene   



momimouse27 said:


> Here's a question...wearing the masks, did anyone get an awful "mask tan"??  I plan to wear my facial sunscreen, but I have this picture in my mind of me with this horrible white spot around my face once I get home!



No, but I did wear a sunhat a couple days out of fear of this!


----------



## yulilin3

momimouse27 said:


> Here's a question...wearing the masks, did anyone get an awful "mask tan"??  I plan to wear my facial sunscreen, but I have this picture in my mind of me with this horrible white spot around my face once I get home!


I wear sunscreen and my liquid foundation also has spf, don't have any tans,  that it's a horrifying thought


----------



## pepperandchips

Chris Ehlers said:


> only problem with disposable ones is that they are becoming like Dental Flossers, they don't break down in the environment and people just throw them were ever they please. every time we left a park that we drove to i would see them blowing in the wind in the parking lots.    sorry @yulilin3 for the "M" word post


Agreed - we saw discarded or lost disposable masks in weird places too, like in a hotel elevator hanging on a handrail (not a Disney hotel, thank goodness).


----------



## koquinn

momimouse27 said:


> Here's a question...wearing the masks, did anyone get an awful "mask tan"??  I plan to wear my facial sunscreen, but I have this picture in my mind of me with this horrible white spot around my face once I get home!


I'm terrible about sunscreen.  I had my Figment hat on with the mask & didn't get any funky tan lines.  I'd probably do sunscreen or a hat to make sure though!


----------



## BebopBaloo

momimouse27 said:


> Here's a question...wearing the masks, did anyone get an awful "mask tan"??  I plan to wear my facial sunscreen, but I have this picture in my mind of me with this horrible white spot around my face once I get home!


Had not even thought about that....oh dear


----------



## PrincessV

A note about disposable vs. cloth: test whatever you're considering at home first! I live in FL and agree that the disposable ones seemed like the best option when temps and humid started rising with summer... but something about them wreaks havoc with my skin. I only need to wear a mask for 30ish minutes while grocery shopping, but that's enough for my skin to blister and peel from the 3 different brands of disposable masks I've tried. I have no such issues with cotton cloth masks. The Hanes 3-ply wicking cotton masks that were recommended to me by workers in a local medical center are fantastic! Soft, light, comfortable, and no skin damage. I'm glad to know this before trying to wear a mask all day at WDW!


----------



## Zookoo10

momimouse27 said:


> Here's a question...wearing the masks, did anyone get an awful "mask tan"??  I plan to wear my facial sunscreen, but I have this picture in my mind of me with this horrible white spot around my face once I get home!


So slightly off topic sorry but I work at Starbucks that has a drive thru and because of the frequency we are all in the sun in the window we all have terrible mask tans! So be very careful and lather with that sunblock!


----------



## mrd7896

PrincessV said:


> A note about disposable vs. cloth: test whatever you're considering at home first! I live in FL and agree that the disposable ones seemed like the best option when temps and humid started rising with summer... but something about them wreaks havoc with my skin. I only need to wear a mask for 30ish minutes while grocery shopping, but that's enough for my skin to blister and peel from the 3 different brands of disposable masks I've tried. I have no such issues with cotton cloth masks.



sorry to keep on the mask topic since there are hundreds of threads with mask questions and this is a 'just back' thread, but i work at a restaurant and run around like a mad person, sweating, going outside for tables, in the kitchen and i wear disposable but also bought cloth masks from Januu. They are SO comfortable! you don't even feel the straps behind your ears. the company primarily makes scrubs so i think they are really great with producing something that is comfortable to wear for hours! 

PA heat is pretty brutal too so i think it is pretty comparable to what i will experience in disney. will be bringing my 10 cloth masks and a BUNCH of disposable just to have options when i get there in two weeks.


----------



## coolbrook

yulilin3 said:


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


I highly recommend a rollator.  I rented a Vive rollator last year from Gold Mobility and ended up liking it so much I bought my own.  I only use it for long outings like Disney parks, the zoo and airports.  At home I usually walk with no assistance except for a cane for uneven sidewalks sometimes.  At Disney the rollator is very handy for sitting on in lines and while waiting for shows and quick service food and balance on uneven pavement, also for holding things like a stroller used to be when I had little kids. I am only 57, but I have one bad ankle from a previous break and a weak knee.  The Vive also folds differently than others rollators, so it can stand stably while folded and looks more sporty like a bike.


----------



## coolbrook

ten6mom said:


> I am following this thread pretty closely (planning my first ever trip in November) but please forgive my confusion.
> 
> I'm seeing several mentions of Fast Passes.  I thought WDW did not do those other than the kind you have to do months in advance? And I thought they weren't currently being used at all right now and everything is standby only.
> 
> Can someone explain what I am missing?
> 
> Thank you!


Another thing you may have seen is when a ride goes down the CM may give a "FP" to return later.  This is currently happening and being talked about sometimes here.


----------



## coolbrook

jvalic33 said:


> She'll just argue that the stroller is her rolling walker!


The difference is that you can take the rollator all the way through every line. It also signals the cast members to direct you to a way to enter the line that does not require any stairs.  This is a huge help for me.


----------



## wishicouldgomoreofte

Mzpalmtree said:


> With so many reports already I’m not sure if mine will have value anymore but here is my “just back” report. We did a very quick trip Thurs-Mon with a late arrival and early departure so really just three days. Due to a long story I won’t get into with our plans changing over and over and joining friends onsite we had a three way split stay: two nights at the Swan, one night Contemporary GW, one night Bay Lake Tower studio. We went to HS, AK, and MK. We did not take Disney transportation except the monorail, we drove our own car or walked to the parks but our friends took the bus to MK from the Swan and said they were very comfortable and did not wait long either way. For a little background on us, we have not left the house much since late March. We have not eaten inside a restaurant since March before this trip. Although our area does not have a mandatory mask order, we do wear them when we go out but we really don’t go out enough to wear them for long periods of time. Our impressions:
> 
> Swan: we got an amazing rate so decided to try it for the first time. I was concerned because I had read some negative things about crowds, long waits for elevators, and poor mask compliance. When we arrived around 6 for check in the lobby was empty, but funnily enough the first people we saw were a family who appeared dressed up for dinner walking through the lobby towards the parking lot completely maskless. It was not a great start, but we did find the mask compliance overall during our stay was about on par with the Disney resorts we stayed at which is to say good for the most part with some minor exceptions (mostly in the evening). Java was great for coffee and small meals. Loved that it opened at 6 am. The pool was lovely and not crowded. We only experienced issues with long elevator waits during high travel times such as opening and closing of HS. Il Mulino was also very good with good spacing between tables and the food was delicious. They also did take out orders quite late (until 11) which was wonderful because many of the restaurants particularly in the Crescent Lake area are closed or close early.
> 
> Contemporary: we had not stayed here before but always wanted to. We requested our room to be available at 7 am but it wasn’t ready until almost 4 pm which was kind of a bummer on a one night stay and left us homeless for quite some time which is more uncomfortable than usual wearing masks in the intense heat. Again, as we walked up to our room for the first time we encountered an entire maskless family in the lobby—strange for this to happen during both check in times as it was not the norm. Our room was very nice. The feature pool was a bit more crowded than I liked at 3pm but not unreasonable. The bullseye pool was fairly empty and we set up there for a little while before our California Grill reservation. California Grill was delicious and I’m a bit embarrassed to say that we ate there twice because the trip was for my daughters birthday and it was her favorite. I made the reservations for sunset times since there were no fireworks. Unfortunately both times we were sat in a small back room with no sunset view. I complained the second night and we were begrudgingly moved. The service was excellent the first night and exceptionally poor the second so much so that we cancelled our reservation there for our upcoming trip. Spacing was good between the tables, however. We had breakfast at Contempo Cafe the next day. Mobile order was quick and easy but our food was terrible. We had oatmeal and fruit and the fruit was sour-ish like it had started to turn while the oatmeal tasted burnt. I probably should have complained but I didn’t because the cast members were all trying so hard and I felt for them with their masks and face shields...our friends had breakfast sandwiches and they said theirs were good.
> 
> BLT: our first time here as well. We are brand new DVC and added a last minute night in a standard studio. It was awesome, clean, with a lovely view of Space MT and Bay Lake. It was actually ready earlier than I expected at 12:30 pm. We REALLY loved our stay here. CMs were very friendly from the lobby staff, to housekeeping, to the lifeguards at the pool, and the bartender at the Cove bar.
> 
> the Parks: like others have said, we were impressed with the guidelines Disney has put in place and if the guests follow them, they will be as “safe” as you can be visiting a theme park. The problem is that there are guests (rare, but they are there) who are intent on NOT following them. Examples: a young couple who pushed ahead of us in the queue for FOP—we thought they were trying to join their party but they were really just pushing as far up as they could (and we were pretty far into the line not towards the end), they didn’t mind the social distancing markers and I eventually noticed that they both had rough holes sliced into their masks like by scissors or a knife—it was honestly pretty shocking behavior. We rode FOP again and the man that was put in the room with us hopped two spots closer to us (CM didn’t say a word) and then took his mask off for the whole ride. We stopped riding FOP. Another example: BTM a family of four was behind us and the mother keep blowing through the social distancing markers and was inches from my back for most of the queue. Also her kids were pushing us. I started staring her down and she backed off a little but kept creeping up when I didn’t directly stare. On the monorail one time a family did not listen to the CM about the car they were meant to go in and came into the car with us...they were not told to leave and we were pretty uncomfortable the rest of the ride. On Astro orbiter, a teen girl kept completely taking her mask off and was not told to put it back on. It was the evening and I think the CMs were weary. In every park noses came out of the masks in the evening—more parties had at least one person with their nose out than not. I think people intend to follow the rules but it’s easy to overdo it in the heat especially if you don’t take breaks. I wish people would be honest with themselves, take breaks, and recognize their limits and utilize the relaxation areas but I rarely saw them used. I did hear CM tell people to put on their masks for pictures etc, but again as the day wore on the reminders tended to get less. I felt bad for the CM with their masks and face shields on top of it—great for keeping us safe but they have to get soooo HOT. It sounds like I’m being negative but our experience was actually good overall and mask compliance by most was very good earlier in the day except by those completely intent on breaking it.
> 
> Take aways: Plan your meals: mobile orders are GREAT but seating can sometimes be a problem with social distancing we had a very hard time finding a table at Satuli Canteen. Table service was far less stressful. I’d make at least one table service ADR per day. Take breaks—if you don’t in this heat you’ll eventually hit a wall. Your heat tolerance will be far worse in a mask too, so plan breaks for sure! Drink LOTS of water. More than you think you’ll need. Wait times were all far shorter than what was posted, so don’t be intimidated by them if they seem long. Last tip: the social distancing markers in some of the queues can have random odd spacing between them at certain points. Because of that it can be easy to get trapped between them when the line is moving and suddenly stops. Keep your eye on the feet of the party in front of you and don’t move from your marker until they’ve reached theirs. It will make more sense when you see it if you haven’t already. If you’ve held on with me through this whole post you rock because I had a lot to say, lol! We really had a great time and it was nice to be back.


That last tip is very valuable.  I don't go until Dec, and maybe not then depending on Covid, so I hope I still remember then!   Can you tell me about the relaxation areas--where they are and what they constitute?  Thank you in advance.  Very useful trip report.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Vols1977 said:


> Coming down this weekend. Are disposable masks more comfortable in the heat? We have plenty of cloth masks but the disposable masks seem like they would be more comfortable in the Florida heat..
> 
> Anyone have thoughts on this?


The Disney masks surprised me! They were very lightweight and comfortable. I bought one out of curiosity and wound up loving it. I switched back and forth between it and disposable masks which are very breathable but a little scratchy IMO. Bring a few options to try.


----------



## Lumpy1106

wishicouldgomoreofte said:


> That last tip is very valuable.  I don't go until Dec, and maybe not then depending on Covid, so I hope I still remember then!   Can you tell me about the relaxation areas--where they are and what they constitute?  Thank you in advance.  Very useful trip report.


We did not find them all that useful.  They are on the park maps now - I think 3 per park?  It's nothing more than some tables in the shade or tables with umbrellas where you can take your mask off.  I saw the one over by the exit to POTC had a CM that assigned you a table to maintain distancing.  The one in SW:GE was in the blazing hot sun in a cove surrounded by rock formations on 3 sides - it got zero breeze and was just plain uncomfortable being there.

It's kinda dumb though - you can take your mask off if you are stationary and eating or drinking.  So, buy a snack and find somewhere to sit - why is there a special place for taking your mask off?


----------



## IluvMGM

Lumpy1106 said:


> We did not find them all that useful.  They are on the park maps now - I think 3 per park?  It's nothing more than some tables in the shade or tables with umbrellas where you can take your mask off.  I saw the one over by the exit to POTC had a CM that assigned you a table to maintain distancing.  The one in SW:GE was in the blazing hot sun in a cove surrounded by rock formations on 3 sides - it got zero breeze and was just plain uncomfortable being there.
> 
> It's kinda dumb though - you can take your mask off if you are stationary and eating or drinking.  So, buy a snack and find somewhere to sit - why is there a special place for taking your mask off?



Well, with the lack of shows to go into and cool off, I imagine the air conditioned ones will be useful when you need to cool off and take a mask break. The ones out in the sun, I agree with you, not so much.


----------



## Mzpalmtree

wishicouldgomoreofte said:


> That last tip is very valuable.  I don't go until Dec, and maybe not then depending on Covid, so I hope I still remember then!   Can you tell me about the relaxation areas--where they are and what they constitute?  Thank you in advance.  Very useful trip report.


Here is an article that lists them in each park https://allears.net/2020/07/23/the-ultimate-guide-to-disney-worlds-relaxation-stations/


----------



## Lumpy1106

Mzpalmtree said:


> Here is an article that lists them in each park https://allears.net/2020/07/23/the-ultimate-guide-to-disney-worlds-relaxation-stations/


I will say if you are in SW:GE and want  a nice place to take off your mask, go get a drink and head to the rock formation entrance over by Muppets.  it's a nice large space, well shaded, plenty of air flow, and if I'm not mistaken, has air conditioning.  Even if you don't take your mask off, it's far better than the relaxation station in SW:GE.


----------



## wishicouldgomoreofte

Wiltony said:


> Correct, for the MK <> resort boats, if it is after MK is closed, they don't accept passengers going back to MK from anywhere.
> 
> For the Bay lake boat "loop" where boats normally just go between Ft. wilderness/Contemporary/WL, those aren't running at all.


I will be staying at Poly in Dec, and planned to take the boat to WL to eat at Geyser Point.  How will I get there, or do I need to scrap that plan?  I thought I could get boat to MK, and boat to WL.


----------



## ScubaCat

wishicouldgomoreofte said:


> I will be staying at Poly in Dec, and planned to take the boat to WL to eat at Geyser Point.  How will I get there, or do I need to scrap that plan?  I thought I could get boat to MK, and boat to WL.


As of now I don't believe the Poly boats are running, so you'd take monorail to MK and then boat to WL.  Who knows by December, though.


----------



## Dentam

momimouse27 said:


> Here's a question...wearing the masks, did anyone get an awful "mask tan"??  I plan to wear my facial sunscreen, but I have this picture in my mind of me with this horrible white spot around my face once I get home!



I've had to wear them at work all summer here (work outdoors) and haven't had an issue with this.  I do wear a tinted moisturizer with SPF 45.


----------



## koquinn

ScubaCat said:


> As of now I don't believe the Poly boats are running, so you'd take monorail to MK and then boat to WL.  Who knows by December, though.


Buses run to Disney Springs and back until midnight.  It's not super efficient, but that's how we got back and forth to later dinner ressies last week.


----------



## sunshine1

Chris Ehlers said:


> only problem with disposable ones is that they are becoming like Dental Flossers, they don't break down in the environment and people just throw them were ever they please. every time we left a park that we drove to i would see them blowing in the wind in the parking lots.    sorry @yulilin3 for the "M" word post



Why are there bio hazard bins to dispose of these masks?
Not just in Disney but everywhere?


----------



## soniam

ScubaCat said:


> As of now I don't believe the Poly boats are running, so you'd take monorail to MK and then boat to WL.  Who knows by December, though.



I thought the boats from Poly and GF were running. Maybe it's just GF.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

soniam said:


> I thought the boats from Poly and GF were running. Maybe it's just GF.



The boat from Poly to MK and back was running in July when we were there.  It had odd hours though and wasn’t reliable for rope drop or at closing.  It was like a mystery - it’s not listed as a transportation option but it ran back and forth most of the day.  CMs of course were bo

I’ve seen mixed reports about it lately, not really sure of current status.

The boat was not servicing GF since the dock was behind the NBA bubble when we were there.


----------



## momimouse27

Thanks for the info on the "mask tan".  Somewhere along the way I have seen a silly meme with people that have one of these, and it's just stuck in my mind. If I go to the beach, I always burn and not tan, but only my forehead and nose.  Hopefully that will stick. Especially since I'm not a hat wearer.

I have a Mary Kay face primer I'm hoping will do the trick along with spf in my makeup.  I've heard from other posters that the mask makes your face dry and need extra moisture.  I'm hoping I'm covered with that.


----------



## pepperandchips

wishicouldgomoreofte said:


> I will be staying at Poly in Dec, and planned to take the boat to WL to eat at Geyser Point.  How will I get there, or do I need to scrap that plan?  I thought I could get boat to MK, and boat to WL.


The boat route that a prior poster was talking about that is not running is the blue flag launch that makes a circuit of the contemporary, the wilderness lodge, and fort wilderness. It doesn’t go to MK. As far as we know, the Poly has had some boat service as @GADisneyDad14 noted and the Wilderness Lodge boat is running.

https://www.wdwinfo.com/transportation/water.htm


----------



## scrappinginontario

If I arrive home with a mask tan it won’t be a huge problem as everywhere we go we wear a mask.  The only people seeing it will be my immediate family at home.   I have to think many people who work outdoors must already be sporting these but nobody sees it.


----------



## ten6mom

coolbrook said:


> Another thing you may have seen is when a ride goes down the CM may give a "FP" to return later.  This is currently happening and being talked about sometimes here.


Thank you!


----------



## Best Aunt

wishicouldgomoreofte said:


> I will be staying at Poly in Dec, and planned to take the boat to WL to eat at Geyser Point.  How will I get there, or do I need to scrap that plan?  I thought I could get boat to MK, and boat to WL.



I have not been to Disney since the pandemic started, but when I was there the bus between MK and WL was much better than the boat between MK and WL.  The bus ride was shorter and the buses departed more often.


----------



## yulilin3

wishicouldgomoreofte said:


> I will be staying at Poly in Dec, and planned to take the boat to WL to eat at Geyser Point.  How will I get there, or do I need to scrap that plan?  I thought I could get boat to MK, and boat to WL.


First what time? Park transportation ends 90 minutes after parks close, since we don't know what time MK is closing that is something to keep in mind. If it's during MK operating hours you can
monorail or boat to MK then bus or boat to WL and back
OR
Bus to DS bus to WL and back
OR
take an Uber/Lyft


----------



## scrappinginontario

yulilin3 said:


> First what time? Park transportation ends 90 minutes after parks close, since we don't know what time MK is closing that is something to keep in mind. If it's during MK operating hours you can
> monorail or boat to MK then bus or boat to WL and back
> OR
> Bus to DS bus to WL and back
> OR
> take an Uber/Lyft


 With Disney allowing some dining reservations after park close, I wonder if they will offer transportation longer than 90 mins after park close too?

https://blogmickey.com/2020/08/sele...pen-after-park-close-beginning-september-8th/


----------



## yulilin3

scrappinginontario said:


> With Disney allowing some dining reservations after park close, I wonder if they will offer transportation longer than 90 mins after park close too?
> 
> https://blogmickey.com/2020/08/sele...pen-after-park-close-beginning-september-8th/


They haven't announced anything so i would stick with what we know


----------



## koquinn

I do know one guest I talked to last week said they got stuck somewhere from dinner and waited over an hour for a bus.  Disney ended up giving them a cab voucher back to their resort.  I don't recall the details but if you end up somewhere on property and unable to get back, might be worth asking a CM.


----------



## ned911

So does that mean Skyliner stops running at 8;30 since HS and EP both close at 7pm in September?


----------



## omniscientmommy

Anyone at Saratoga springs right now who's just starting their stay? I have 4 cases of water and 3 gallon jugs of drinking water. We're leaving tomorrow. PM or quote or reply to my message to coordinate if you want this.


----------



## scrappinginontario

ned911 said:


> So does that mean Skyliner stops running at 8;30 since HS and EP both close at 7pm in September?


We won't actually know until the first day the hours are reduced but it's anticipated that they Skyliner hours may also be reduced.


----------



## Dentam

I'm seeing that DS closes at 10pm but someone here said midnight.  Which is correct?


----------



## omniscientmommy

Dentam said:


> I'm seeing that DS closes at 10pm but someone here said midnight.  Which is correct?


On the MDE app it says open 10am to 10pm


----------



## Dentam

omniscientmommy said:


> On the MDE app it says open 10am to 10pm



Okay, thanks!  We might use the buses to and from resorts and DS for evening dining or resort exploration since we'll be there a few evenings when parks start closing even earlier.


----------



## koquinn

omniscientmommy said:


> On the MDE app it says open 10am to 10pm


The buses run till midnight tho.


----------



## disneyseniors

coolbrook said:


> I highly recommend a rollator.  I rented a Vive rollator last year from Gold Mobility and ended up liking it so much I bought my own.  I only use it for long outings like Disney parks, the zoo and airports.  At home I usually walk with no assistance except for a cane for uneven sidewalks sometimes.  At Disney the rollator is very handy for sitting on in lines and while waiting for shows and quick service food and balance on uneven pavement, also for holding things like a stroller used to be when I had little kids. I am only 57, but I have one bad ankle from a previous break and a weak knee.  The Vive also folds differently than others rollators, so it can stand stably while folded and looks more sporty like a bike.



Coolbrook:  I'm curious as to the cost to rent one from Gold Mobility?   I have been thinking about this for my husband to use, as he had back surgery and is unstable on his feet at times.  I'm glad to hear you liked so much.  Thanks


----------



## yulilin3

Not sure if it was posted here already but the summer,  rainbow and Americana collection are 30% off and you can stack any other discount on top of that


----------



## lindsaydavis1982

Of late, have there been any noticeable differences in ME wait/travel times from MCO to resorts?


----------



## Lumpy1106

lindsaydavis1982 said:


> Of late, have there been any noticeable differences in ME wait/travel times from MCO to resorts?


If anything, it's quicker.  Hard to say from our limited experience.  We arrived on a late flight and had our own private van - no waiting.  On departure we were picked up at BLT first and we stopped for one group each at Wilderness lodge, Poly and Grand Floridian.  The bus was not full by any means.


----------



## JPM4

lindsaydavis1982 said:


> Of late, have there been any noticeable differences in ME wait/travel times from MCO to resorts?


We arrived Wednesday at 9:10am. Sign said 60 minute wait however we literally walked right on a bus. We stayed at Kidani and had Pop,CBR,Riviera and Beach club before us so it was about an hour to get to the resort but I’d rather be doing that then sitting at MCO


----------



## hereforthechurros

lindsaydavis1982 said:


> Of late, have there been any noticeable differences in ME wait/travel times from MCO to resorts?


There’s a sign out front saying wait time could take up to 60 minutes just FYI. We waited about 15 minutes.


----------



## Lisa75

Here now.  Disney’s guidelines are really good when they work.  I’m not sure what everyone has experienced.   With regard to the distancing markers in the ride ques oftentimes  the party ahead of us has a lot of people.  If one fits in the distancing market and the rest fall in behind I’ve been leaving an extra marker between us and them. Otherwise we’d be really close.  Got a really hard time about this from a CM tonight.   Kept insisting I move up.  When I asked her how that’s correct if that would leave approximately a foot between us she still was unrelenting.


----------



## Geomom

Lisa75 said:


> Here now.  Disney’s guidelines are really good when they work.  I’m not sure what everyone has experienced.   With regard to the distancing markers in the ride ques oftentimes  the party ahead of us has a lot of people.  If one fits in the distancing market and the rest fall in behind I’ve been leaving an extra marker between us and them. Otherwise we’d be really close.  Got a really hard time about this from a CM tonight.   Kept insisting I move up.  When I asked her how that’s correct if that would leave approximately a foot between us she still was unrelenting.


That's what we did as well during our 7/25-8/8 stay.  We left an extra mark between us if there wasn't going to be 6 ft between us.  Very odd that CM was insistent about it, we never encountered that.  Sorry you did, hopefully that will be the only instance.


----------



## Disneylover99

Lisa75 said:


> Here now.  Disney’s guidelines are really good when they work.  I’m not sure what everyone has experienced.   With regard to the distancing markers in the ride ques oftentimes  the party ahead of us has a lot of people.  If one fits in the distancing market and the rest fall in behind I’ve been leaving an extra marker between us and them. Otherwise we’d be really close.  Got a really hard time about this from a CM tonight.   Kept insisting I move up.  When I asked her how that’s correct if that would leave approximately a foot between us she still was unrelenting.


Wow. That’s too bad. 
I’d be doing the same as you.


----------



## RaySharpton

disneyseniors said:


> Coolbrook:  I'm curious as to the cost to rent one from Gold Mobility?   I have been thinking about this for my husband to use, as he had back surgery and is unstable on his feet at times.  I'm glad to hear you liked so much.  Thanks












> gold mobility
> Premium Walker Rental - THEME PARK APPROVED
> $69.99
> ALL-INCLUSIVE FLAT-RATE PRICE UP TO 7 FULL DAYS INCLUDING DELIVERY & PICKUP, AND FREE DAMAGE WAIVER





> Your GMS personal assigned concierge provides:
> 
> Pre-delivery contact for scheduled personalized one on one rental scooter delivery at your resort or hotel.
> 
> On-site custom personalized rental scooter adjustments.
> 
> Hands on instructions for mobility scooter use and answers to any mobility questions.
> 
> An Assigned Exclusive concierge direct phone number for help or questions for your rental Scooter assisted vacation.
> 
> Pre- Pick-up contact for personalized one on one pickup at your resort of hotel.
> 
> Access via text message to our theme park experts if any question should arise during your stay.
> 
> (Most all Central Florida Resorts & Hotels)





> *Rollator Walker Vive Mobility*
> 
> SKU: MOB1010WHT
> List Price: $ 224.99
> Price: $ 159.99
> 
> Stable support for those with limited mobility
> Folding compact design
> Supports up to 300 pounds
> Dual braking system
> Detachable storage bag and cane holder



https://www.vivehealth.com/products/rollator-walker


----------



## Aimeedyan

Lisa75 said:


> Here now.  Disney’s guidelines are really good when they work.  I’m not sure what everyone has experienced.   With regard to the distancing markers in the ride ques oftentimes  the party ahead of us has a lot of people.  If one fits in the distancing market and the rest fall in behind I’ve been leaving an extra marker between us and them. Otherwise we’d be really close.  Got a really hard time about this from a CM tonight.   Kept insisting I move up.  When I asked her how that’s correct if that would leave approximately a foot between us she still was unrelenting.



I had that happen a few times so far, too, and once, the CM even reminded me to leave an extra marker in between because of the size in front of me. Every other time, the CM's didn't say a word.

I can't imagine they are trained to be so rigid - a little common sense is sometimes needed  I would have held my ground (literally.), too.


----------



## pepperandchips

Lisa75 said:


> Here now.  Disney’s guidelines are really good when they work.  I’m not sure what everyone has experienced.   With regard to the distancing markers in the ride ques oftentimes  the party ahead of us has a lot of people.  If one fits in the distancing market and the rest fall in behind I’ve been leaving an extra marker between us and them. Otherwise we’d be really close.  Got a really hard time about this from a CM tonight.   Kept insisting I move up.  When I asked her how that’s correct if that would leave approximately a foot between us she still was unrelenting.


Do you mind sharing which attraction this was? Sorry you had to deal with this.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Lisa75 said:


> Here now.  Disney’s guidelines are really good when they work.  I’m not sure what everyone has experienced.   With regard to the distancing markers in the ride ques oftentimes  the party ahead of us has a lot of people.  If one fits in the distancing market and the rest fall in behind I’ve been leaving an extra marker between us and them. Otherwise we’d be really close.  Got a really hard time about this from a CM tonight.   Kept insisting I move up.  When I asked her how that’s correct if that would leave approximately a foot between us she still was unrelenting.





pepperandchips said:


> Do you mind sharing which attraction this was? Sorry you had to deal with this.


And how long the posted wait time was at the time?

seems like extra space shouldn’t matter regardless, but just wondering if it was a more popular ride with a longer line.


----------



## Lisa75

It wasn’t long and sillily it was.....dumbo.   Not a long time to deal with it but from inside to the ride load it occurred.  What made the situation longer is that the party of about 6 in front wanted to wait out a ride either so they could all go together or to get certain cars I couldn’t tell.   So they weren’t moving off the last marker before the ride.   So not a long issue but a surprising one.


----------



## yulilin3

Lisa75 said:


> It wasn’t long and sillily it was.....dumbo.   Not a long time to deal with it but from inside to the ride load it occurred.  What made the situation longer is that the party of about 6 in front wanted to wait out a ride either so they could all go together or to get certain cars I couldn’t tell.   So they weren’t moving off the last marker before the ride.   So not a long issue but a surprising one.


I wouldn't take this particular instance too seriously, it might have been they were trying to hit their quota for number of guests per hour and the CM was a bit eager. With all the rumors floating about certain rides closing due to not being very popular it can be understandable if the CM want to get people moving through efficiently.
This definitely doesn't happen often, I also leave 2 markers between the group in front of me and myself and have never been told to move up


----------



## grannyminnie

Rumors about certain rides closing due to not being popular?  Where has this come from?


----------



## yulilin3

grannyminnie said:


> Rumors about certain rides closing due to not being popular?  Where has this come from?


from a lot of different people, rumors are rumors and I don't put a ton of weight in them but we already saw this happening at Universal, managers are actively taking notes of attractions that are not bringing people in, I was at triceratops spin and saw one of them taking notes, this is being done for all attractions


----------



## Dentam

Double checked my flight changes with Southwest, and what do you know, they actually had changed my return flight to a 1-stop... grrr.  Nothing in their email to me noted this.  I was able to change it just now to a later non-stop for no additional charge even though the price had gone up.  Phew!


----------



## coolbrook

disneyseniors said:


> Coolbrook:  I'm curious as to the cost to rent one from Gold Mobility?   I have been thinking about this for my husband to use, as he had back surgery and is unstable on his feet at times.  I'm glad to hear you liked so much.  Thanks


On their website today a price of $69.99 for a full 7 days is quoted.  I thought that was very reasonable.  They deliver it to you at your hotel in person.  You do need to reserve it in advance though.  My sister tried to get a same day scooter rental from Gold Mobility for my mom on our trip in January, and they told her it had to be reserved ahead of time.  Great service and I highly recommend the company and the product.


----------



## mom2elle

At DHS today. We were “first in line” in our uber waiting for the parking lot to open (opened at 9:10). We were in the park by 9:25, rode MMRR and were off that by 9:45. Waited in Galaxys edge for a rise boarding group - we got 8! This will be our first time for rise! It’s not running yet so fingers crossed that it does open. In line for Smugglers now.


----------



## NJMomto2

One thing I have not seen posted here: there are no parking lot trams running.  I had forgotten my handicapped hanger and had a hard time walking from car to entrance and then the entire park too.

Probably not an issue for average guests.
Should have taken resort bus once we saw this.


----------



## mouselovenfamily

Can anyone say what is happening at Tutto Gusto right now? Can you actually go in and have drinks and food or is it take out only?


----------



## ScubaCat

Dentam said:


> Double checked my flight changes with Southwest, and what do you know, they actually had changed my return flight to a 1-stop... grrr.  Nothing in their email to me noted this.  I was able to change it just now to a later non-stop for no additional charge even though the price had gone up.  Phew!



This happened 3 times (!) to my flight last week. And 2 of the 3 times I didn't even receive the email.  If you're flying southwest, be sure to recheck your flight every so often.  If you notice your nonstop now has a stop, change it online to the next most convenient nonstop.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Just preparing everyone for the inevitable weekly “it was crowded” posts likely to follow later today.  #weekends  #saturdays


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1297201076467380224


----------



## yulilin3

A friend at epcot right now


----------



## disneyseniors

RaySharpton said:


> View attachment 520700
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.vivehealth.com/products/rollator-walker




Wow that looks delux!  It looks really nice  Thanks for sharing, Ray!


----------



## dachsie

mouselovenfamily said:


> Can anyone say what is happening at Tutto Gusto right now? Can you actually go in and have drinks and food or is it take out only?


Last I heard it was being used for overflow seating for the restaurant


----------



## numberonenole

Just left our Disney bubble. It was a great trip! It was hot, but storms in the afternoon helped cool things off. Bring your ponchos! 

Crowds were crazy low. We've never been through the Peter Pan standby line, so that was neat! We could have walked back on several rides with little wait, but wanted to keep going and do the next one. Our Jungle Cruise skipper was one of the funniest we've ever had! 

As soon as we checked in to every table service meal we got a text saying they were ready for us, so be close by! They were asking people to check in using their phone versus going to the entrance at the restaurant. The only counter service meals we ate were at the Contemporary Resort and I had no problems walking up and making our allergy order. We also had no problems finding a place to sit and eat. It was really nice! 

The park was the cleanest I have ever seen. The bathroom counters were even dry! There was someone in or nearby cleaning in every one I went. Tables and rails were being wiped down. We had to wait a couple of times for rides to be cleaned, but we were inside in the ac when it happened so it was a pleasant and cool wait! We watched the CM in Haunted Mansion wiping down each little post leading up to the ride. We have always commented on how dirty those must be, so this was nice to see! 

We did get to see some preshows to rides (like at Star Tours), so that was different than what I expected. We did not see the one at Runaway Railroad, though. 

The monorails stop an hour after MK closes, so we canceled our Kona reservation and just ate at Contempo Cafe so we wouldn't have to deal with transportation back to our resort. There was a bus we could have used that ran between the monorail resorts, but we choose to stay close.

It was so hot and we sweat a lot. I felt like the masks kept us from drinking as much water as we usually do. Take a bath cloth or something to wipe your sweat! Our family of four used three different types of masks and we were all happy with them, so that is a personal choice. Also, we really like the rides and don't tend to stop to watch entertainment, so we were fine with not having those options. We liked the little parades! It was short and sweet and then we were on our way. We walked by Crystal Palace and several characters were out waving and Stitch was on the Tomorrowland stage. That was so cool so see! It felt more personal. That was the magic! I missed the fireworks, but not the crowds. It was different but nice and we really enjoyed it!


----------



## crazymomof4

ScubaCat said:


> This happened 3 times (!) to my flight last week. And 2 of the 3 times I didn't even receive the email.  *If you're flying southwest, be sure to recheck your flight every so often*.  If you notice your nonstop now has a stop, change it online to the next most convenient nonstop.


I'll second this.  Southwest has been making changes to flights on the regular and unless you check your emails, you may not even know.  We've seen 4 changes just since June to our flight to MCO.   The last one changed us from non-stop to a stop in ATL.  It will still get us there way sooner (11:30am) than the only non-stop left on that day (lands 7:55pm), so we are keeping it.  We booked at $49 and today its at $266. Meantime, our return flight with American hasn't changed a bit and I booked that before the Southwest flight!


----------



## RaySharpton

NJMomto2 said:


> One thing I have not seen posted here: there are no parking lot trams running.  I had forgotten my handicapped hanger and had a hard time walking from car to entrance and then the entire park too.
> 
> Probably not an issue for average guests.
> Should have taken resort bus once we saw this.



I no longer own a car and rarely rent an SUV.  But when I did, I forgot my car handicap placard, too.

I made color copies of my car handicap placard with the front and back both showing on both sides.  I never had to use it.  But I keep copies in my suitcase and in my wheelchair bag just in case I forgot mine.

My state's car handicap placard has the state info on it like my name, serial number, state phone number in case the police questioned the authenticity.  I don't know they would work with police.  But I could tape it to my car mirror if I was at WDW.

Just a suggestion.


----------



## ScubaCat

crazymomof4 said:


> I'll second this.  Southwest has been making changes to flights on the regular and unless you check your emails, you may not even know.  We've seen 4 changes just since June to our flight to MCO.   The last one changed us from non-stop to a stop in ATL.  It will still get us there way sooner (11:30am) than the only non-stop left on that day (lands 7:55pm), so we are keeping it.  We booked at $49 and today its at $266. Meantime, our return flight with American hasn't changed a bit and I booked that before the Southwest flight!


Not only that, I got a call a week before I left asking if I would be willing to change the time of my return to a later time in exchange for a $200 voucher or 12,000 rapid reward points.  That was kinda cool - I took a bump but didn't have to sit at the airport the whole time.  And then, an earlier time came up so I changed it back almost to my prior time and kept the 12,000 points     (I actually asked the nice lady that called if that was allowed.  She said absolutely but she'd be surprised if it happened.  It popped up the next day. lol.)


----------



## Rockbro

My wife and I are going back for the first time since closure in about a week (we are FL resident AP holders and there have been a lot of block out dates). For those of you who have been there, any GOOD suggestions? And when I say good, I don't mean bring your patience. Has anyone come up with a good touring plan? We typically only spend about 2 hours in a park because we used to have constant access, but is that even possible anymore, or do we have to devote a lot more time?

FYI: We will be going to Hollywood


----------



## yulilin3

Rockbro said:


> My wife and I are going back for the first time since closure in about a week (we are FL resident AP holders and there have been a lot of block out dates). For those of you who have been there, any GOOD suggestions? And when I say good, I don't mean bring your patience. Has anyone come up with a good touring plan? We typically only spend about 2 hours in a park because we used to have constant access, but is that even possible anymore, or do we have to devote a lot more time?
> 
> FYI: We will be going to Hollywood


Rope drop continues to be the best plan.  Do the popular attractions first or leave them for the last hour
Tons of reports here so you can read and learn from personal,  recent experiences


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Rockbro said:


> My wife and I are going back for the first time since closure in about a week (we are FL resident AP holders and there have been a lot of block out dates). For those of you who have been there, any GOOD suggestions? And when I say good, I don't mean bring your patience. Has anyone come up with a good touring plan? We typically only spend about 2 hours in a park because we used to have constant access, but is that even possible anymore, or do we have to devote a lot more time?
> 
> FYI: We will be going to Hollywood



We pretty much just made things up on the fly, TBH.


----------



## soniam

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Just preparing everyone for the inevitable weekly “it was crowded” posts likely to follow later today.  #weekends  #saturdays
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1297201076467380224



Hopefully the crowds help with their bottom line. It sucks for those having to experience it though.



yulilin3 said:


> A friend at epcot right now
> View attachment 520855



That's the Canada booth, right? That booth would be crowded during the Zombie Apocalypse with a nest full of zombies right next to it


----------



## pepperandchips

Rockbro said:


> My wife and I are going back for the first time since closure in about a week (we are FL resident AP holders and there have been a lot of block out dates). For those of you who have been there, any GOOD suggestions? And when I say good, I don't mean bring your patience. Has anyone come up with a good touring plan? We typically only spend about 2 hours in a park because we used to have constant access, but is that even possible anymore, or do we have to devote a lot more time?
> 
> FYI: We will be going to Hollywood


You can get a ton done in two hours. Not many people are reporting about touring plans because they aren’t super necessary right now. Advice seems to be arrive very early (if you want to do Rise of the Resistance) or very late for low crowds. Have fun!


----------



## Rockbro

pepperandchips said:


> You can get a ton done in two hours. Not many people are reporting about touring plans because they aren’t super necessary right now. Advice seems to be arrive very early (if you want to do Rise of the Resistance) or very late for low crowds. Have fun!



No... star wars mens nothing to us. We just want TOT, Rockin, Mania, Dog Dash and Alien


----------



## pepperandchips

Rockbro said:


> No... star wars mens nothing to us. We just want TOT, Rockin, Mania, Dog Dash and Alien


When we went, the later we arrived, the better parking spot we got. Later in the day they let us fill in vacant spots from guests who’d departed. Weekend travelers may be clearing out by late afternoon - I’d personally try to arrive about 3:30 or 4 depending on whether there’s an afternoon storm tomorrow. 

Right now waits are 

RnRoller: 25
ToT: 20
Mania: 15
Aliens: 10
Slinky: 40

In my experience those times are inflated so you could easily get all that done between now and park close plus time for breaks and maybe dinner or re-rides. Hopefully tomorrow’s waits would be the same or lower. Very different from the “before” park visits.


----------



## conniehar90

Are the increased wait times just on Saturdays?


----------



## brockash

conniehar90 said:


> Are the increased wait times just on Saturdays?


Weekends seem to be crowded now, followed by Fri and Mon from what I've been seeing reported.


----------



## numberonenole

I forgot to say that we didn't arrive at rope drop but we were able to get a "backup boarding pass" for Rise of the Resistance at 2pm. We got called and then rode around 4:30! That was awesome!


----------



## Dismrk155

Lisa75 said:


> It wasn’t long and sillily it was.....dumbo.   Not a long time to deal with it but from inside to the ride load it occurred.  What made the situation longer is that the party of about 6 in front wanted to wait out a ride either so they could all go together or to get certain cars I couldn’t tell.   So they weren’t moving off the last marker before the ride.   So not a long issue but a surprising one.


I have a great reply but the Disney police will ban me. Lol. I do wonder what they were doing.


----------



## omniscientmommy

So we're home and here's my takeaway: 
*Pros:*

Low crowds, after 2pm at parks
Resort also had low crowds, which meant pools weren't crowded
We had crazy good luck with the buses. I don't think we really waited more than 5 most times, and 10 min at the max.
Ride times after 2pm were 20 min or less
If you ask for something, like towels or whatever, a CM seems to be there in 20 min or less with it
Mask compliance was 99%, it will never be 100%, still better than what it is here at home
*Cons:*

Heat was brutal, especially with a mask in August
Lots of restaurants closed, combined with no kitchen, made for a lot of meh quick service
No park hopping
Some of the magic feels like it's missing. It's a combo of CMs wearing masks, and also so many things being closed.
We had an older unit at SSR and the bed was terrible. It wasn't firm enough and they did offer to switch the bed but dh didn't want to go through the trouble.
Wearing a mask (yes this sucks for everyone!)
No mousekeeping
*Overall Thoughts/Experience:*
I love Disney but the magic was missing. We aren't the people that stake out parade spots, or fireworks spots and wait in crazy lines for rides but somehow it felt 'less than'. I know Disney is doing there best but if this was my first visit I would be SUPER disappointed! The no park hopping was really a big downer for us because we always park hop when at Disney! Plus all the CMs wearing a mask made it hard to hear them and even trying to hear each other. Plus the masks would get sweaty and smell bad and then you have to change them. Ugh. Then add the heat. Soo oppressive! Even when in A/C the mask wasn't comfortable. We really aren't meant to be wearing a mask ALL DAY.
Although the resort was nice, we had an older unit and it was a studio. We stopped staying on site because it's cheaper to stay off site and rent a car, typically, and we like having a kitchen. Dh has food allergies and eating out every single day after 2 - 3 days is hard on my stomach. Combine that with we ate a lot of QS because so much was closed, and the kids would only eat like 1/4 of their food at a TS place. We couldn't keep shelling out $100+ a meal for 2 kids who weren't eating all of it! I have motion sickness and those buses, ugh, I really would have preferred to drive myself. We only stayed at a resort this time because of the limit on AP park reservations. If we hadn't been limited to 3 days we would have definitely stayed off-site! I did feel safe in our room but we did have to ask multiple days for housekeeping to bring us extra stuff, like towels, soap, etc.
Flying - ugh. Although the airports were empty and the plane wasn't packed I still question if I would fly. Southwest leaving the middle seat open is great! I wouldn't be comfortable flying in this Pandemic with a stranger sitting right next to me. I mean we had people in front and behind us, closer than 6 ft, but somehow the thought of having someone plopped right next to my elbow makes me more uncomfortable than behind or in front.

The *big* questions: Would I go again? Flying or driving?
I think the answer is No. The magic is missing! I'm glad we went so that I could judge it for myself. We typically fly Frontier, and they pack them in like cattle. I would NOT fly! I definitely want a vacation with my family again but *IF* we went somewhere I would have to 1 - drive and 2 - stay somewhere with a kitchen.


----------



## reposado

Just returned from a week trip at Disney/universal. I did not want to go due to Covid risk but wife insisted. Turns out she was right as the trip was amazing. If you have kids whose focus is rides then this is literally a once in a lifetime experience. As someone who hates lines/crowded places like crowded amusement parks or large cruise ships(did royal caribbean once and never again. I'll stick with Oceania)  I would gladly pay twice or three times as much for the VIP like experience. 

Magic Kingdom: Get there 30 min prior to opening and did snow white minecart twice with no wait. Rest of the day were mostly short/no wait. Kids did space mountain about 5 times in a row all walk on. Longest we had to wait was thunder mountain 25min. 

Animal Kingdom: FOP and Expedition everest walk on = amazing day.

Skipped Epcot.

HS: As other said it's the most crowded park but still manageable. Got there early at 9:20am and was surprised all rides were already operating. We love toy story mania and being a walk on ride we did it 3 times in a row. 

Overall points: 1) With the closed shows and short lines you really don't need multiple days at a park.  2) Even with the daily afternoon storms its easy to finish the park and ride multiple times at a leisurely pace.  3) We are relatively young and fit and statistically low risk if we had contracted the virus. Lets not kid ourselves, even with all the precautions there are plenty of crowded places/touching shared objects(3d glasses, interactive rides, etc), me personally would stay away if I was a high risk Covid group(tho I was surprised to see plenty of senior people there).


----------



## WEDWDW

The above 2 Posts really illustrate how different Covid World can feel to different Guests.


----------



## Kimpossible1

Yesterday at AK it was the busiest day attendance wise since it opened.


----------



## WEDWDW

reposado said:


> (tho I was surprised to see plenty of senior people there).


That is really just shocking to read.

(Not judging anybody at all-just wasn't expecting that.)


----------



## yulilin3

WEDWDW said:


> That is really just shocking to read.
> 
> (Not judging anybody at all-just wasn't expecting that.)


Not sure what's shocking about it,  I see so many older folks at the supermarket and other places, it's everyone's own choice,  there are a lot of older cm working as well


----------



## Jen Stauch

Just have a couple questions for those who have traveled recently....

Is Southwest sky cap open at MCO ?

Is the magic express taking your luggage to hotel or do you have to retrieve it yourself ?

can I take a travel size can of Lysol in my carry on?

any reports of activities still happening at the fort wilderness ... we got bumped to a cabin there

thanks


----------



## Geomom

Jen Stauch said:


> Just have a couple questions for those who have traveled recently....
> 
> Is Southwest sky cap open at MCO ?
> 
> Is the magic express taking your luggage to hotel or do you have to retrieve it yourself ?
> 
> can I take a travel size can of Lysol in my carry on?
> 
> any reports of activities still happening at the fort wilderness ... we got bumped to a cabin there
> 
> thanks


Skycaps are not open. 

You need to retrieve your luggage, and also bring it with you on the ride back to the airport. 

Not sure about Lysol spray but I doubt it's allowed...but check the TSA website to be sure.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Jen Stauch said:


> Is the magic express taking your luggage to hotel or do you have to retrieve it yourself ?
> 
> thanks


I can answer this one.  You must transport your luggage yourself on DME


----------



## donnishobson

Re: older folks at Disney and Universal. I am a 72 year old retired MD. Other than age, I don't have any risk factors. I try to be reasonable but I feel I have to continue living my life - many of my friends and family are already dead. I am planning a trip to Disney and Universal in early December. I can't see postponing my life, sitting at home. Those of us who are older know that we will die from something in the not too distant future. COVID doesn't seem any worse to me than most other illnesses.


----------



## Dentam

yulilin3 said:


> Not sure what's shocking about it



Likely the fact that those in this group are considered to be highest risk.


----------



## yulilin3

Dentam said:


> Likely the fact that those in this group are considered to be highest risk.


It's everyone's own choice


----------



## Dentam

yulilin3 said:


> It's everyone's own choice



Didn't say it wasn't - I was guessing as to why the poster was shocked.


----------



## ScubaCat

Jen Stauch said:


> can I take a travel size can of Lysol in my carry on?





Geomom said:


> Not sure about Lysol spray but I doubt it's allowed...but check the TSA website to be sure.


I'm pretty sure that's fine as long as it's within the (rather silly IMHO) 3.4oz limit. I brought some disinfecting wipes and wiped the armrests and tray table real quick. I couldn't find lysol brand but the grocery store had small packs of some other newly created brand and I'm sure they were fine. (better than nothing, anyway)

Edit:  3.4oz deodorant and aerosol hair spray are allowed, so my guess is you'd be fine.


----------



## Snowysmom

Regarding older folks, DH and I are in our mid sixties with no underlying health conditions.  We hope to be in WDW in November.  I believe that being older we know that we have to live our lives now as there are no guarantees in life.  We follow the guidelines and will avoid any situation that we don't feel comfortable in.  I think alot of people our age and older feel the same way.


----------



## omniscientmommy

Jen Stauch said:


> Just have a couple questions for those who have traveled recently....
> 
> Is Southwest sky cap open at MCO ?
> 
> Is the magic express taking your luggage to hotel or do you have to retrieve it yourself ?
> 
> can I take a travel size can of Lysol in my carry on?
> 
> any reports of activities still happening at the fort wilderness ... we got bumped to a cabin there
> 
> thanks


since they say no aerosols allowed I would say no. Bring sanitizing wipes instead


----------



## Suejacken

crazymomof4 said:


> I'll second this.  Southwest has been making changes to flights on the regular and unless you check your emails, you may not even know.  We've seen 4 changes just since June to our flight to MCO.   The last one changed us from non-stop to a stop in ATL.  It will still get us there way sooner (11:30am) than the only non-stop left on that day (lands 7:55pm), so we are keeping it.  We booked at $49 and today its at $266. Meantime, our return flight with American hasn't changed a bit and I booked that before the Southwest flight!


This is so funny because my nephew and his fiancée were booked one way on southwest non-stop from Philly to Orlando and they booked their return one way on American too. They were just notified the other day that their non-stop on Southwest was also now a layover in Atlanta and the travel time would increase a little more than two hours. They cancelled their southwest and booked an economy fare on American that allowed them to pay a fee to pick their seats.


----------



## yulilin3

My DD went today with friends using her main entrance and guest passes,  they arrived at 9:30 and did SM, 7DMT, Pirates, Buzz, LM, HM, Tiki,  CoP and Tom Sawyer Island,  they ate at Pecos Bill and hung out at the hub grass and left by 4:30pm


----------



## lynzi2004

For those just back, is the pickup for ME still 3 hours before plane departure or have they upped it?


----------



## DCLMP

lynzi2004 said:


> For those just back, is the pickup for ME still 3 hours before plane departure or have they upped it?


Yes it is. We stayed at the MCO Hyatt on the last night. Not knowing how to schedule this I gave them a fake flight number. The flight I gave was at 1815 and the pick up time I got was 1455 over 3 hours. I called them and told them we were staying at the Hyatt and asked if they had a time we could picked up later. They were happy to accommodate and gave us a 1645 pick up.


----------



## wishicouldgomoreofte

Lisa75 said:


> Here now.  Disney’s guidelines are really good when they work.  I’m not sure what everyone has experienced.   With regard to the distancing markers in the ride ques oftentimes  the party ahead of us has a lot of people.  If one fits in the distancing market and the rest fall in behind I’ve been leaving an extra marker between us and them. Otherwise we’d be really close.  Got a really hard time about this from a CM tonight.   Kept insisting I move up.  When I asked her how that’s correct if that would leave approximately a foot between us she still was unrelenting.


Was the line crowded?  Did she lack total sense and understanding?
That would really make me mad.  Just curious, was she younger or older?


----------



## Lisa75

wishicouldgomoreofte said:


> Was the line crowded?  Did she lack total sense and understanding?
> That would really make me mad.  Just curious, was she younger or older?



Not crowded.    And I think so yes lol.  I’d say in her 20’s so I could be her mother age wise.


----------



## Dismrk155

omniscientmommy said:


> So we're home and here's my takeaway:
> *Pros:*
> 
> Low crowds, after 2pm at parks
> Resort also had low crowds, which meant pools weren't crowded
> We had crazy good luck with the buses. I don't think we really waited more than 5 most times, and 10 min at the max.
> Ride times after 2pm were 20 min or less
> If you ask for something, like towels or whatever, a CM seems to be there in 20 min or less with it
> Mask compliance was 99%, it will never be 100%, still better than what it is here at home
> *Cons:*
> 
> Heat was brutal, especially with a mask in August
> Lots of restaurants closed, combined with no kitchen, made for a lot of meh quick service
> No park hopping
> Some of the magic feels like it's missing. It's a combo of CMs wearing masks, and also so many things being closed.
> We had an older unit at SSR and the bed was terrible. It wasn't firm enough and they did offer to switch the bed but dh didn't want to go through the trouble.
> Wearing a mask (yes this sucks for everyone!)
> No mousekeeping
> *Overall Thoughts/Experience:*
> I love Disney but the magic was missing. We aren't the people that stake out parade spots, or fireworks spots and wait in crazy lines for rides but somehow it felt 'less than'. I know Disney is doing there best but if this was my first visit I would be SUPER disappointed! The no park hopping was really a big downer for us because we always park hop when at Disney! Plus all the CMs wearing a mask made it hard to hear them and even trying to hear each other. Plus the masks would get sweaty and smell bad and then you have to change them. Ugh. Then add the heat. Soo oppressive! Even when in A/C the mask wasn't comfortable. We really aren't meant to be wearing a mask ALL DAY.
> Although the resort was nice, we had an older unit and it was a studio. We stopped staying on site because it's cheaper to stay off site and rent a car, typically, and we like having a kitchen. Dh has food allergies and eating out every single day after 2 - 3 days is hard on my stomach. Combine that with we ate a lot of QS because so much was closed, and the kids would only eat like 1/4 of their food at a TS place. We couldn't keep shelling out $100+ a meal for 2 kids who weren't eating all of it! I have motion sickness and those buses, ugh, I really would have preferred to drive myself. We only stayed at a resort this time because of the limit on AP park reservations. If we hadn't been limited to 3 days we would have definitely stayed off-site! I did feel safe in our room but we did have to ask multiple days for housekeeping to bring us extra stuff, like towels, soap, etc.
> Flying - ugh. Although the airports were empty and the plane wasn't packed I still question if I would fly. Southwest leaving the middle seat open is great! I wouldn't be comfortable flying in this Pandemic with a stranger sitting right next to me. I mean we had people in front and behind us, closer than 6 ft, but somehow the thought of having someone plopped right next to my elbow makes me more uncomfortable than behind or in front.
> 
> The *big* questions: Would I go again? Flying or driving?
> I think the answer is No. The magic is missing! I'm glad we went so that I could judge it for myself. We typically fly Frontier, and they pack them in like cattle. I would NOT fly! I definitely want a vacation with my family again but *IF* we went somewhere I would have to 1 - drive and 2 - stay somewhere with a kitchen.


What an honest assessment. For once someone telling it like it is. My takeaway is that Disney should be ashamed at the product they delivered.


----------



## momimouse27

Idk...to some extent a trip is what you make of it.   My biggest disappointment is no fireworks, no parties and no parks at night.  BUT I am going to have a good time, I will make myself!  I have waited too long to go, and stay in my dream resort room.  Many times it's all in the attitude.  I guess I can say once I'm back, but I'm going to assume the trip will be amazing.


----------



## SPSRAS

Just back from a quick, last-minute 3 day trip. We flew Frontier. Stayed at WBC.
1 day Universal (our first time), 1 pool day,
1 day MK. I have read on a lot of blogs recommendations for going now if you are a frequent visitor but not if it’s once in a lifetime trip and I would agree with that assessment. Some things about our trip were great but there was also a lot missing. It didn’t bother us as we’ve seen it before and we know we will be back. 

Pros:
•No traffic - driving was a breeze. Hotel nearly empty parked in the first space of the first row every time, overall quiet and relaxing in a way I have never experienced in Orlando before.
•No lines - we had the most amazing day at Universal and honestly felt like the park was our private event. Being the only family for Ollivanders,  the only family in the whole Gringotts building. Walked up to every spell location with no one around and seeing them all the first time as my daughter did them. It was truly magical and honestly made the trip worth it.
•The shorter park hours made for a more relaxing and restful trip - we had dinner and pool time both nights after the parks which is not something we ever were able to do before - it was nice and felt more like vacation 

Cons
• Wearing the masks was uncomfortable and annoying. Also really made interaction with cast/team members difficult. Universal staff did a way better job making the extra effort required to interact with guests. Disney cast members were like silent zombies - had only one pleasant interaction all the rest were like robots you could barely hear speak. It was awkward. 
• Lack of dining especially at MK. Again Universal has many more options open. MK there is just no choice. That being said we had a great waffle from Sleepy Hollow and really enjoyed the expanded seating. And our lunch at Pecos Bills was surprisingly good. For one day absolutely fine for a week-long trip - less so.
•Shorter park hours - I know I have this in pros but our MK day was hot! With regular hours we would have gone back for a swim break and come back for nighttime- not possible so really had a miserable couple of hours trying to survive the brutal afternoon.
Overall I’m glad we went. We really needed to get away and we accomplished a lot in 3 days and felt happy with our time and the costs. It was a different trip bur one we will remember more for the good than for the bad.


----------



## shoegal9

mouselovenfamily said:


> Can anyone say what is happening at Tutto Gusto right now? Can you actually go in and have drinks and food or is it take out only?



We are there a couple weeks ago. As others have said, it’s basically Tutto Italia overflow seating (the bar is closed) but they do have the full Tutto Gusto wine list and many of the same appetizers (charcuterie boards, meatballs etc).


----------



## DCLMP

Dismrk155 said:


> What an honest assessment. For once someone telling it like it is. My takeaway is that Disney should be ashamed at the product they delivered.


We've been 12 times in the last 10 years and I don't think Disney has anything to be ashamed of. It was the best trip we've had since the creation of fast pass plus. These are different times and anyone going needs to realize that it's going to be different. I thought Disney did a great job. If you can't handle the Covid changes don't go.


----------



## ksromack

scrappinginontario said:


> With Disney allowing some dining reservations after park close, I wonder if they will offer transportation longer than 90 mins after park close too?
> 
> https://blogmickey.com/2020/08/sele...pen-after-park-close-beginning-september-8th/


Earlier today I looked at the ADRs I made right before they announced the reduced park hours. I had a 50’s Prime Time Cafe ADR for 7:55 and DHS closes at 7pm on that day. I was worried that it would get canceled so I changed my reservation for our Resort restaurant.  That was a good 8 hours ago.  After reading that post I decided to try and switch it back and lo and behold, my exact time was there waiting for me so I grabbed it back.  Now I’m ok with the risk of losing it because we can always find something else for dinner.  What would we do from the 7pm park closing time till my ADR (nearly an hour later)?  I suppose we’ll have to wait for reports from folks with later ADRs after the park hours change.


----------



## GBRforWDW

ksromack said:


> Earlier today I looked at the ADRs I made right before they announced the reduced park hours. I had a 50’s Prime Time Cafe ADR for 7:55 and DHS closes at 7pm on that day. I was worried that it would get canceled so I changed my reservation for our Resort restaurant.  That was a good 8 hours ago.  After reading that post I decided to try and switch it back and lo and behold, my exact time was there waiting for me so I grabbed it back.  Now I’m ok with the risk of losing it because we can always find something else for dinner.  What would we do from the 7pm park closing time till my ADR (nearly an hour later)?  I suppose we’ll have to wait for reports from folks with later ADRs after the park hours change.


You could hop into the ride line with the longest wait right before close, you could browse stores while everyone else leaves the park, you could leisurely stroll through the park to your restaurant.  I’d venture a guess though that at some point, security would usher you to your restaurant and have you wait out front.  But, yes, would definitely love to hear what others come up with while waiting.


----------



## yulilin3

ksromack said:


> Earlier today I looked at the ADRs I made right before they announced the reduced park hours. I had a 50’s Prime Time Cafe ADR for 7:55 and DHS closes at 7pm on that day. I was worried that it would get canceled so I changed my reservation for our Resort restaurant.  That was a good 8 hours ago.  After reading that post I decided to try and switch it back and lo and behold, my exact time was there waiting for me so I grabbed it back.  Now I’m ok with the risk of losing it because we can always find something else for dinner.  What would we do from the 7pm park closing time till my ADR (nearly an hour later)?  I suppose we’ll have to wait for reports from folks with later ADRs after the park hours change.


If the times hadn't changed what would you be doing 30 minutes before an adr?


----------



## crazymomof4

Suejacken said:


> This is so funny because my nephew and his fiancée were booked one way on southwest non-stop from Philly to Orlando and they booked their return one way on American too. They were just notified the other day that their non-stop on Southwest was also now a layover in Atlanta and the travel time would increase a little more than two hours. They cancelled their southwest and booked an economy fare on American that allowed them to pay a fee to pick their seats.


Yep.  After Sept 5th the usual (pre-Covid) early AM non-stop is gone and replaced with a stop in ATL.  I will look into where the SW cancellation policy stands. I booked with points when the cash price for our flight (at the time, non-stop) was $49 so I don't know if I could come close to that on AA (would want the added pick your seat fee too), but I'll check. Thx for putting it into my head.  This trip has been like a lump of Play-Doh..... constantly changing shape!

ETA:  Switched our flights!   AA has their early morning non-stop at $45! With $10 seat selection fee + I get one checked bag free bc I'm an AAdvantage cardholder.  Our SW returned points will be returned for later use.   So HAPPY to not have almost twice the time in-flight and a stop and 1 hr wait in ATL airport.


----------



## ksromack

yulilin3 said:


> If the times hadn't changed what would you be doing 30 minutes before an adr?


Probably just checking out the gift shops and explaining to dh why he probably would never wear that Jedi robe (that he’s eyeing) again. Or maybe we’d both be getting one . I get your point. I guess i am just worrying that at the last minute they will realize they don’t want to keep people in the park 2 hours after closing and cancel the ADRs.  Because I assume dinner at 7pm will take about an hour.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to have an empty park when we leave!


----------



## yulilin3

ksromack said:


> Probably just checking out the gift shops and explaining to dh why he probably would never wear that Jedi robe (that he’s eyeing) again. Or maybe we’d both be getting one . I get your point. I guess i am just worrying that at the last minute they will realize they don’t want to keep people in the park 2 hours after closing and cancel the ADRs.  Because I assume dinner at 7pm will take about an hour.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to have an empty park when we leave!


lol on the robes. Yeah, I mean they can and have in the past, changed their minds and cancelled people's reservations, but there's nothing we can do about that so try not to worry.


----------



## LaDonna

Anyone seen these anywhere recently?


----------



## only hope

NJMomto2 said:


> One thing I have not seen posted here: there are no parking lot trams running.  I had forgotten my handicapped hanger and had a hard time walking from car to entrance and then the entire park too.
> 
> Probably not an issue for average guests.
> Should have taken resort bus once we saw this.



Disney doesn’t always require a handicap pass to park in handicap. Once we drove two cars, only one with a handicap placard (out of state placard, Florida cars), and they allowed both of our cars to park in handicap so we could stay together. It was early in the day and there were plenty of spots. If you forget it again you could ask- worse they can do is say no.  If you have a photo that may help. I’ve seen lots of cars in handicap at Disney over the years with no placard/sticker/license plate designation.


----------



## Suejacken

crazymomof4 said:


> Yep.  After Sept 5th the usual (pre-Covid) early AM non-stop is gone and replaced with a stop in ATL.  I will look into where the SW cancellation policy stands. I booked with points when the cash price for our flight (at the time, non-stop) was $49 so I don't know if I could come close to that on AA (would want the added pick your seat fee too), but I'll check. Thx for putting it into my head.  This trip has been like a lump of Play-Doh..... constantly changing shape!


It’s the same for them which is too bad because it’s their honeymoon


----------



## Pens Fan

DCLMP said:


> We've been 12 times in the last 10 years and I don't think Disney has anything to be ashamed of. It was the best trip we've had since the creation of fast pass plus. These are different times and anyone going needs to realize that it's going to be different. I thought Disney did a great job. If you can't handle the Covid changes don't go.



My son and his friends were there Aug 1- 8.  Last night we were watching a YouTube video with Molly from All Ears trying to do everything in the MK in a day.  It took us about 50% longer than normal to watch because he kept pausing it, and telling fun stories of things they experienced when the were there.  Finally he just looked over at me and said that this trip was probably his favorite one ever.  We've been numerous times as a family over the years and he's been on three school group trips as well, so that's saying something.

My husband and I went out to dinner last weekend with the parents of the other two guys that went with him.  They both said that their sons could not stop talking about how much fun they had.  For one of them it was his first time at WDW.  I was a little bit nervous for him beforehand but he absolutely loved it.

As others have said.  You have to go in with the right attitude and expect that things will be different.  We are going as a family in October and I can't wait.  As our son is unfortunately caught up with so many other 2020 grads still looking for a job that actually uses his hard earned degree, it looks like he'll be joining us.  While he'd rather be starting his career, he feels pretty lucky to be returning to WDW again - just a couple of months after the last trip.


----------



## Spazz2k

So just back from a quick last minute trip with our 4 year old godson with us.  It is the 1st time that we have brought him post-covid reopening to a park..and I must say it is a little different with a toddler for sure.

A little background for us since reopening...
We have so far stayed at the following Riviera Resort 2 bedroom villa, Copper Creek 1 bedroom, Caribbean Beach King Room, Fort Wilderness cabin, and Contemporary Tower room.  I will say that each time we have gone, the crowds at the resorts has increased dramatically over time, as is to be expected.  We went from being the only ones in the pool at Riviera to normal summer crowd pools.  Bars are busier, dining locations are busier, parks seem busier.  

So on to this weekend.
We stayed at a cabin a Fort Wilderness for 2 nights and the final night decided to stay at Contemporary for the last night on a whim because the kids all wanted to do the resort hop from the monorail.  We decided to take our godson to MK on Friday morning and just play it by ear.  We arrived about 10 am and rode about 4 rides and left at noon.  Getting on the rides is a breeze, but let me tell you the heat is not...phew it was hot and after a couple of hours we were ready to leave...just too hot to make a 4 year old endure.  It is really different taking a toddler to the parks right now with having to wear masks and the heat.  I honestly felt bad for him because he was sweating like crazy...moving his mask...and just could see him getting frustrated with the heat and mask gimmick.  So it was back to the cabin for some pool time and BBQ some lunch.   While he loved the short time he was at MK, we decided that until it cools down we would probably not be taking the little guy back to a park.  Also side note, we missed seeing his little expressions with his little face covered by the mask....so that is different also.

We loved staying at the cabins right now because it was so nice to BBQ lunch and dinner without worries about your order being placed correctly, or waiting for food or making a resi.  When we wanted to cook...we just fired up the grill and got to it...so easy and the best way to enjoy meals right now.  Only real downer for us at Fort Wilderness is that the playgrounds are closed, and the mask requirement on the golf carts.  I get the playgrounds being closed for covid reasons, but I honestly do not get the reason to require a mask on the golf cart when you are just cruising around.  I mean I drive all over Disney property on my way to the resorts with my windows down and no mask...we saw people running all over CBR around the lakes without masks....We like to just cruise and drink coffee in the mornings and look at animals.  Strange IMHO.  

Saturday we decided instead of going home we would stay another night and book a room at Contemporary and enjoy some resort hopping.  We books a standard view room, went to the pool for a few hours, came back to nap, then the A/C went crazy and they had to move us.  They switched us to the 5th floor of the tower because they said it may take them a little while to get someone to fix that A/C or even look at it.  So after moving we got all ready and did the resort hop to Poly and then Grand Floridian...1st let me say that Poly is very strange right now with no Ohana open, the bar is basically take out drinks only and the whole vibe just seemed off.  I really don't get why some bars on property have some seating and others do not at all, seems very strange to us.  So we had a drink, wife and kids shopped and then off to GF.  GF was dead..but the Beauty and the Beast bar had a good crowd going and they had seating and actually served us drinks in glasses!!! whoo hoo!!! We ordered a round and then we all went and sat outside under cover and had fun playing and had a dance off with my 4 year old...then we went back to Contemporary for some QS dinner and a little unwind time in the room.  CR was pretty busy at 7:30 and the elevators can def be a problem...we escaped that situation by taking the stairs up 1 floor from 4 to 5 with no issues.  Was a fun day for sure.

Sunday we came home pretty early...so nothing to report there..

So after 5 or so trips during reopening...here is what I think some of the best things about the resorts we have visited have been

Best pool:  Riviera Resort - 2 close to one another...bar and different food options close by
Best Vibe to normal:  CBR hands down felt so normal to us...
Best Food:  Fort Wilderness because we did our own...but if not there, then I would have to say Riviera
Best Bar:  Geyser Point at Wilderness Lodge...and great food too
Best Castmembers:  Copper Creek
Best Social Distancing:  Wilderness Campgrounds...Cabin Life


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## Abbie135

Went to all four parks last week. Used several relaxation stations in all four parks.  Cast members were right there to sanitize the tables and chairs In Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom.  They were not sanitizing stations at Hollywood Studios.  Did not give me a very warm fuzzy feeling.  Many areas overcrowded at HS and long wait times.  Got to see several cavalcades at every park except Hollywood studios. Not sure where they were.  Any idea why they are letting down at this park?  Anyone having similar experiences?  I won’t go back to Studios until I feel comfortable that issues are resolved.  JMHO


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## LongGone78

omniscientmommy said:


> So we're home and here's my takeaway:
> *Pros:*
> 
> Low crowds, after 2pm at parks
> Resort also had low crowds, which meant pools weren't crowded
> We had crazy good luck with the buses. I don't think we really waited more than 5 most times, and 10 min at the max.
> Ride times after 2pm were 20 min or less
> If you ask for something, like towels or whatever, a CM seems to be there in 20 min or less with it
> Mask compliance was 99%, it will never be 100%, still better than what it is here at home
> *Cons:*
> 
> Heat was brutal, especially with a mask in August
> Lots of restaurants closed, combined with no kitchen, made for a lot of meh quick service
> No park hopping
> Some of the magic feels like it's missing. It's a combo of CMs wearing masks, and also so many things being closed.
> We had an older unit at SSR and the bed was terrible. It wasn't firm enough and they did offer to switch the bed but dh didn't want to go through the trouble.
> Wearing a mask (yes this sucks for everyone!)
> No mousekeeping
> *Overall Thoughts/Experience:*
> I love Disney but the magic was missing. We aren't the people that stake out parade spots, or fireworks spots and wait in crazy lines for rides but somehow it felt 'less than'. I know Disney is doing there best but if this was my first visit I would be SUPER disappointed! The no park hopping was really a big downer for us because we always park hop when at Disney! Plus all the CMs wearing a mask made it hard to hear them and even trying to hear each other. Plus the masks would get sweaty and smell bad and then you have to change them. Ugh. Then add the heat. Soo oppressive! Even when in A/C the mask wasn't comfortable. We really aren't meant to be wearing a mask ALL DAY.
> Although the resort was nice, we had an older unit and it was a studio. We stopped staying on site because it's cheaper to stay off site and rent a car, typically, and we like having a kitchen. Dh has food allergies and eating out every single day after 2 - 3 days is hard on my stomach. Combine that with we ate a lot of QS because so much was closed, and the kids would only eat like 1/4 of their food at a TS place. We couldn't keep shelling out $100+ a meal for 2 kids who weren't eating all of it! I have motion sickness and those buses, ugh, I really would have preferred to drive myself. We only stayed at a resort this time because of the limit on AP park reservations. If we hadn't been limited to 3 days we would have definitely stayed off-site! I did feel safe in our room but we did have to ask multiple days for housekeeping to bring us extra stuff, like towels, soap, etc.
> Flying - ugh. Although the airports were empty and the plane wasn't packed I still question if I would fly. Southwest leaving the middle seat open is great! I wouldn't be comfortable flying in this Pandemic with a stranger sitting right next to me. I mean we had people in front and behind us, closer than 6 ft, but somehow the thought of having someone plopped right next to my elbow makes me more uncomfortable than behind or in front.
> 
> The *big* questions: Would I go again? Flying or driving?
> I think the answer is No. The magic is missing! I'm glad we went so that I could judge it for myself. We typically fly Frontier, and they pack them in like cattle. I would NOT fly! I definitely want a vacation with my family again but *IF* we went somewhere I would have to 1 - drive and 2 - stay somewhere with a kitchen.



This review is excellent and I agree with many of the points but not all. We recently returned from a stay at Poly DVC. We did 6 park days plus 1 day at Universal (first time at WWHP). Here are my takeaways ( I stole some of the points from ominscientmommy):

*Pros:*

Low crowds especially Sunday - Thrusday. (was at UO on Friday)
Resort also had low crowds, which meant pools weren't crowded
Resort was very clean and well maintained. 
We rented a car to avoid using buses so I cannot comment on that. 
Many rides were walk ons from Monday - Thursday and even the most popular rides had waits a fraction of their normal lengths. We rode everything we wanted to, usually multiple times. 
Mask compliance was better at WDW than anywhere else I have gone since COVID began. 
(non-Disney) The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was very impressive and immersive - especially in Diagon Alley. The UO team members in that section were Disney level with their commitment. 
*Cons:*

Heat was brutal - mask did not help. But its August so I knew it would be tough but still...
Lots of restaurants closed and limited choices for food. 
No park hopping
No EPCOT monorail was a bummer
Saturday at MK was not magical and it felt crowded. Waits were up and a number of CMs were not their chipper selves. May have been a bad day but with the FL resident discounts seemingly help increase attendance, I would avoid MK on weekends.
Some of the magic is missing. Little things like the Electric Water Pageant to big things like fireworks and meet & greets. Selfishly, we had a theme park view at Poly, so it would have been cool to see fireworks once from the room, but it was not a deal breaker. 
Mask Compliance at Universal Orlando was not as good as WDW. But mask compliance outside the WDW bubble was quite poor and I was not conformable. And I am someone who has traveled a bit during COVID and am not easily disturbed. Going to WalMart or Target you would lucky to see 75% compliance. 

We flew to MCO and I will be honest, we had a very positive flight experience from the airports to the flights. I did not feel unsafe. I would fly again. Would I take the trip again? Yes, I would. This was our best WDW trip to date and it was primarily based on the ability to experience the parks with low crowds and wait times. Our family is a "rides" family, so for us this was an unique opportunity. The elimination of fast pass did not bother us and the freedom from having to have you entire trip planned so far in advance , allowed for a much more relaxing trip. I am glad we went, we had a great time and had a chance to experience wait times that we are unlikely to see again once we return whatever the next normal becomes. All that said, I would not advise this as someone's first Disney trip. To me, the magic is too important to that first trip and I would wait till these experiences return. Being from the Northeast, the mask wearing did not bother us, as we have been wearing them routinely for some time. We found that if we took snack breaks every 2-3 hours , we would have a decent break from the mask. The Disney made masks run small and are not comfortable in the heat. I found the Harry Potter masks from UO a much better fit. 

Taking a trip at this time is a uniquely personal decision. There is no right or wrong. For us, it worked very well and I felt like I was getting value for the money I had spent. Disney is delivering the best product possible at the moment and taking the necessary safety precautions. They are doing it better than Universal and probably every other theme park. Whether its enough for you to go to the park now is your call alone.


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## rj9555

Spazz2k said:


> CR was pretty busy at 7:30 and the elevators can def be a problem...we escaped that situation by taking the stairs up 1 floor from 4 to 5 with no issues.



How did you get from the outside stairs into the 5th floor hallway? Was the stairwell door propped open? Normally you can only go out from the hallway to the stairs but not the other way around.


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## yulilin3

Abbie135 said:


> Went to all four parks last week. Used several relaxation stations in all four parks.  Cast members were right there to sanitize the tables and chairs In Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom.  They were not sanitizing stations at Hollywood Studios.  Did not give me a very warm fuzzy feeling.  Many areas overcrowded at HS and long wait times.  Got to see several cavalcades at every park except Hollywood studios. Not sure where they were.  Any idea why they are letting down at this park?  Anyone having similar experiences?  I won’t go back to Studios until I feel comfortable that issues are resolved.  JMHO


All my experiences at DHS have been positive,  it might feel more crowded cause dhs has a couple of bottle neck areas.  The cavalcades go from the entrance to star tours  about every 30 minutes starting at 11am, they do take a lunch break.


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## Spazz2k

They had the doors open, also there was a sign by the elevators stating that there was stairs adjacent to a room number.  I am not sure if they had this going on all the floors or even if they had it going all night, but it was def open and we along with a lot of other people took advantage of it that night.  It was like a train of people going up....The next morning when we left, we went down the stairs all the way to the 1st floor to leave for home...very easy from floor 5.


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## rj9555

Spazz2k said:


> They had the doors open, also there was a sign by the elevators stating that there was stairs adjacent to a room number.  I am not sure if they had this going on all the floors or even if they had it going all night, but it was def open and we along with a lot of other people took advantage of it that night.  It was like a train of people going up....The next morning when we left, we went down the stairs all the way to the 1st floor to leave for home...very easy from floor 5.



Yes, I stayed on the 5th floor last year and noticed that the door to the stairwell was propped open for most of my stay. It looked like a guest did it. Made it much quicker to get back to my room, even pre-Covid.


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## disneygirlsng

Had a fabulous day at AK today. Every single CM I have encountered has been just absolutely fantastic, so much energy and positivity. Gotta say I never thought I would see the day when I got off FOP and was asked if I wanted to ride it again, and to get back in line, after 5 times in a row I started getting a little dizzy though haha. 

I know I've been reading all over how well Disney is doing with this, but they really have thought of everything, even down to keeping the push-open trashcans locked open. I've been very impressed.


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## momimouse27

I have heard the searing heat mentioned several times here.  I have been in July, August, May and September, so that's no surprise to me.  But...I'm attempting to prepare myself for the heat while wearing a mask.  We have bought a handheld mister, and someone suggested I get cooling towels.  Anyone have experience using the cooling towels recently when you're wearing a mask?  Do you have to keep wetting them for them to work?  Seems like that might work better than the mister considering it will wet the mask, even though we do have cloth reusable masks.


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## crazymomof4

momimouse27 said:


> I have heard the searing heat mentioned several times here.  I have been in July, August, May and September, so that's no surprise to me.  But...I'm attempting to prepare myself for the heat while wearing a mask.  We have bought a handheld mister, and someone suggested I get cooling towels.  Anyone have experience using the cooling towels recently when you're wearing a mask?  Do you have to keep wetting them for them to work?  Seems like that might work better than the mister considering it will wet the mask, even though we do have cloth reusable masks.


I recently bought a "Perfect" brand cooling towel (Walmart $5).  Tested it out here speed-walking on a hot and humid day in NJ.  I wrapped it around my neck and tucked the ends down the front of my t-shirt.  As it was warmed by my body heat, I kept flipping it so a cool part was on my neck.  No further rewetting.  I came home from our walk NOT SWEATY.  I am menopausal and have been sweating way more than usual and always come home sweaty after our walks here in summer.  So I am definitely taking this to WDW  in Sept!


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## pepperandchips

momimouse27 said:


> I have heard the searing heat mentioned several times here.  I have been in July, August, May and September, so that's no surprise to me.  But...I'm attempting to prepare myself for the heat while wearing a mask.  We have bought a handheld mister, and someone suggested I get cooling towels.  Anyone have experience using the cooling towels recently when you're wearing a mask?  Do you have to keep wetting them for them to work?  Seems like that might work better than the mister considering it will wet the mask, even though we do have cloth reusable masks.


You can get a small Frog Toggs brand cooling towel in neon orange for $1.99 on Amazon. We bought one and DH used it. It stayed cool quite a while. We also bought a dual neck fan from amazon that he liked a lot as well. We saw those everywhere in the parks!


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## NJMomto2

only hope said:


> Disney doesn’t always require a handicap pass to park in handicap. Once we drove two cars, only one with a handicap placard (out of state placard, Florida cars), and they allowed both of our cars to park in handicap so we could stay together. It was early in the day and there were plenty of spots. If you forget it again you could ask- worse they can do is say no.  If you have a photo that may help. I’ve seen lots of cars in handicap at Disney over the years with no placard/sticker/license plate designation.


 Thanks!  It did cross my mind that Disney probably would do the right thing and help. I had a picture of my car and license plate and insurance/registration as well as a scar down the back of my leg


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## Dentam

momimouse27 said:


> I have heard the searing heat mentioned several times here.  I have been in July, August, May and September, so that's no surprise to me.  But...I'm attempting to prepare myself for the heat while wearing a mask.  We have bought a handheld mister, and someone suggested I get cooling towels.  Anyone have experience using the cooling towels recently when you're wearing a mask?  Do you have to keep wetting them for them to work?  Seems like that might work better than the mister considering it will wet the mask, even though we do have cloth reusable masks.



I bought one of the dual neck fan things after it was recommended by Prince Charming Dev (vlogger) as the one he uses in the parks.  I'll be trying it out in less than two weeks when I'm there!


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## Buzz2014

Has anyone seen the Clorox wipes (travel size) that are now supposed to be available in the parks for $2.49. I saw them in a dfb post but not sure if they were only in the one shop or if they are really everywhere.
We have a trip in November and it would be nice to know they are available in the parks if we run out.


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## crazymomof4

pepperandchips said:


> You can get a small Frog Toggs brand cooling towel in neon orange for $1.99 on Amazon. We bought one and DH used it. It stayed cool quite a while. We also bought a dual neck fan from amazon that he liked a lot as well. We saw those everywhere in the parks!


After I  bought the lime green on amazon for $1.99 I saw them at DollarTree for $1.    
I have the dual neck fan ready to go as well.


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## pepperandchips

crazymomof4 said:


> After I  bought the lime green on amazon for $1.99 I saw them at DollarTree for $1.
> I have the dual neck fan ready to go as well.


$1 

You’re ready!!!! Your resort lineup in your signature looks amazing. When all else fails... pool time! Have a great trip!


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## CAQDaddy

Just returned from a solo trip. Stayed off property with a rental car. Flew Southwest. Southwest is handling things very well in my opinion. This was my fourth trip with Southwest since COVID began.
Did DAK on Thursday, DHS on Friday, and EP on Saturday. Overall I thought it was a good experience.
I had visited Disney World with the family in early November of 2001 and the crowds last week were much less than the 2001 trip. I was able to ride everything at every park I visited some multiple times. Wait times were very low. As for COVID precautions, considering it is a theme park, I felt Disney did everything they could to create a safe environment. If you get freaked out if someone comes within six feet of you or if someone has a mask below their nose then you shouldn't visit. I didn't like wearing the mask, but other than that I thought it was a fantastic experience.


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## ScubaCat

CAQDaddy said:


> Just returned from a solo trip. Stayed off property with a rental car. Flew Southwest. Southwest is handling things very well in my opinion. This was my fourth trip with Southwest since COVID began.
> Did DAK on Thursday, DHS on Friday, and EP on Saturday. Overall I thought it was a good experience.
> I had visited Disney World with the family in early November of 2001 and the crowds last week were much less than the 2001 trip. I was able to ride everything at every park I visited some multiple times. Wait times were very low. As for COVID precautions, considering it is a theme park, I felt Disney did everything they could to create a safe environment. If you get freaked out if someone comes within six feet of you or if someone has a mask below their nose then you shouldn't visit. I didn't like wearing the mask, but other than that I thought it was a fantastic experience.


I went solo for a week Aug 8-15 and had a fabulous time. Also flew southwest. The "middle seat open" policy really makes a difference in these tricky times.  I opted to stay on property but I drove to Epcot and DHS. I actually didn't mind the mask NEARLY as much as I thought I would.  Of course there are occasional spacing issues and people not wearing them correctly, but it's as good as it possibly could be IMHO. Considering literally anywhere else I've been, compliance was surprisingly good! I also found the limited park hours and dining options forced me to try new things. I even stayed at Wilderness Lodge having never even set foot on that property before, and let me tell you... It won't be my last stay there! I still prefer the Epcot crescent lake area, but that's a very close runner up. The boat ride to and from MK across bay lake was really pretty and enjoyable. (and wow, the Bison burger at Geyser Point is legit!!)


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## GusGusTheMouse

Just got back from our WDW honeymoon! First, let me say that this has been an incredibly stressful few months for us as we were constantly changing wedding and honeymoon plans so our expectations for this trip were low. We were just happy we could have a small ceremony and a “minimoon” after our Hawaii portion of our honeymoon got scrapped.

We had to come in two days early due to flight changes and Disney put us in a one bedroom suite at Boulder Ridge. As we were not originally expecting to be at WDW those days, we had no park reservations so we stuck around the resort. It was great!

Pros:

Minimal guests since WL is closed
EMPTY leisure pool
Easy parking
No wait at Geyser Point
Geyser Point was a GREAT outdoor dining option. We felt very comfortable there.
Cons:

QS was seriously lacking in options and quality
Feature pool was often crowded after 3pm
Little to do after dinner
We then went over to the Contemporary.  As it was our honeymoon and the room we requested was no longer available they moved us to a one bedroom at Bay Lake Tower, which we enjoyed very much. The pool crew at both CR and BLT were great! Only negative was that both pools were quite crowded after 12pm.

As for the parks, I think we were less comfortable than some reporting back here. But let me preface it with that DH and I were supposed to go down to the FL keys after our WDW portion of the trip but DH decided he thought WDW was probably safer because most people are doing their best to abide by the rules. So we ultimately extended our WDW stay 4 more days half way through our trip and cancelled the keys portion (which was great because our keys resort lost our reservation).

PROS

Relatively short wait times - I will not say they are great but compared to standard standby times I was pleased.
Got some Splash merch and was able to ride 6+ times between our 3 MK days.
If you eat QS at off times, food and seating are easy to come by
You can get some GREAT photos at the castle with no one else in them first thing and last thing of the day
AK was EMPTY - FOP was walk on at 1pm...
Don’t trust the posted wait times - it’s either walk on or a 40 minute wait due to cleaning back up
Got BG 3 for ROTR
Riding TSM 8 times in a row with no wait... was easily getting the cat prize every time!
CONS

F&W was underwhelming. The food was just not that great and so few options. Loved the hummus fries though!
Families bring food and drink (other than water) into lines. You know at that point there will be no masks worn the entire time in line...
Losing out on ride photos because someone in another party went mask-less
Mask only photos by WDW photographers... while initially comical they start to get disappointing on the 7th day
Limited TS options and difficulty and delays in QS during peak hours
No nighttime park time - We were able to get a BOG reservation 5 minutes before park closing and that was the only night I got to see Main Street lit up.
Non-disposable masks getting wet don’t do well - bring lots of disposable if you plan on riding Splash
LONG line on Saturday for MMRR - over an hour
Overall, I was very pleased with our WDW honeymoon considering the circumstances! We knew going in that like our wedding ceremony this would not be what we originally imagined, but I still think this will be a very memorable trip and would recommend going to those who are willing to abide by the rules and are willing to remove yourself from situations that make you uncomfortable. CMs were usually very accommodating when we said we wanted to wait until a certain non-rule abiding family passed us in line and when the CMs didn’t understand we were okay with just leaving the entire area for a while. It will take a while for you to understand your own comfort levels and even a bit more time until you feel comfortable voicing your discomfort to CMs but I honestly think everyone (except a few families) did the best they could.


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## Lake183

Just back and wanted to throw my thoughts out into the dis-universe. Perhaps they can be helpful to someone. We visited two weeks before the parks closed and then again last week so pre/post virus comparisons were inevitable.

Our trip was not Disney-centric. My two sons and I did a stop-over on our way to bring my oldest back to college. (He’s off campus and has two weeks before classes begin and will be tested prior to attending class - for those who may feel like inserting their public opinions into our personal decisions.) We had a car so we drove to the parks. Stayed at the Poly. Car stayed in Florida with my son, other son and I flew home on SW out of Tampa. 


We did three park days, no EPCOT.  
Sun 8/16 - AK. 
Mon 8/17 - HS. 
Tues 8/18 - MK.

I'll start with masks - we are NY'ers, we are used to masks. Spent a few weeks in Massachusetts at the beach this summer, super mask compliant there as well. They are a no-brainer for us. But they are very tough in the heat. After three full days in Florida weather w masks both my kids agreed that they will now laugh at kids who complain about masks in air conditioned rooms on campus and in school. So I'm taking that as a positive!

Moving on...overall thoughts:

*Cons

Mobile Ordering* - Ugh. Normally I love this but not this trip. Menus are so so limited. Experience is tough. Cast members stopping you from entering--did you order?--go over there--whoops, make sure you go the right way--go back--can't get that here—exit is THIS way NOT that way—stand on the dot—not that dot—order ready?--go over here to THIS dot. 

Ugh!! It was just a lot of not knowing what to do or where to go and cast members looking at you like you are a complete idiot. I’m a smart person, my kids are quite bright and we were constantly confused when entering, maneuvering within and leaving QS restaurants. We tried to customize once at Poly and paid double for two items — only to find the order wasn’t at all customized and we’d wasted our money. We were in our room and it was storming HARD when we figured it out.  I was going to address it later but the mobile ordering at Captain Cooks, with the one way entrance/exit enter again for dining area, was such a pain that I just never made it back over. Multiple people seemed frustrated. Cast members tried to help, tried to make sure people understood (and I know this one way in/out randomly selected pathways isn’t a plan they personally developed) so I feel awful for them trying to get people to abide by the rules. 

*Food* - Pre-pandemic our family had a few QS favs but we mostly eat in lounges. We like good food and find that the lounges offer the best food and the best service as they are not really dining plan friendly and don’t serve as many people and you don't need reservations.  Well, none of those were really available and the ones that were open had VERY limited menus. We drove off-site for dinners because I just couldn’t justify paying $$$$ money for a mediocre product. We were pretty disappointed in everything we ate on property. Cinnamon rolls from Gaston’s were missed by all. These were things we knew going in, so it wasn’t unexpected, but how much it affected our trip was a surprise. 

*Heat *- It’s Florida...in the summer...it’s hot. Pools often closed all afternoon due to storms. Not our first summer trip so we expected this, but it makes for a boring afternoon break. 

*Last two hours* - Each day we returned for the last two hours. During this time mask compliance is about 70% of what it was during the day. People are OVER the rules and the heat. Cast Members seem tired. I can’t blame them. At this point it's been a long day for everyone. I say this not really as a con but as a warning to those who are super-duper-mask-compliant and expect others to do the same: you may want to stay away from the parks for the day's last few hours.

*PARK HOPPING* - this is our deal breaker going forward. Until this comes back, we will stay away. We missed it SO much. We prob would have spent our evenings eating in EPCOT if hopping had been allowed.

*Pros

Short lines* - We rode what we wanted to whenever we wanted. Never waited more than 30 mins. Only line we skipped due to length was Runaway Railway. We were hoping wait time would go down at the end of the day but it didn’t. (35 mins.) We rode it first that morning so it was not a huge deal. Lines did exist though. Only a few things were walk-on unless super early or late so expectations should be managed. 

*Empty walkways* - It was amazing to be alone in areas of the park at random times. Surreal. 

*No rope drop* - I despise the huddle-up-and-sprint-hope-I-don't-step-on-someone-who-tripped-get-your-double-stroller-off-my-heels stampede. I hope this remains.

*Cast Members* - Some seemed so happy to be there and to greet guests. (But it was hard to have great conversations and random interactions with the masks and shields and plexiglass dividers.)

*Once in a lifetime* - Someday my kids will have kids and they will ask about this pandemic. We went to Disney, they will say.  I will have the mask photos to prove it. I love that. 

Overall, it is different, which should be expected. I miss the shows and the upbeat atmosphere. The experience felt very very subdued. We won’t be back until park hopping returns and more restaurants are open. But we had a great time and it was three days w my college kid (I won't see him for months) that I will never regret.

Side-note: Post-Disney we stayed at a beach resort in my son’s college town while helping him move in. We visited several different beach towns in this area of Florida. Coming from NY, it was shocking to see so much normalcy in restaurants and in towns. Bands playing in restaurants at night, people dining indoors, families walking the streets without masks and just an overall “pre-pandemic” feeling. (Masks were mostly worn by people in all the stores.)  No judgement being passed by me whatsoever—just observational information for those considering a trip...

Hope this helps someone!


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## Erica Ladd

My dd is interested in going to a college by the beach - do you mind sharing which school?? Thanks either way!




Lake183 said:


> Just back and wanted to throw my thoughts out into the dis-universe. Perhaps they can be helpful to someone. We visited two weeks before the parks closed and then again last week so pre/post virus comparisons were inevitable.
> 
> Our trip was not Disney-centric. My two sons and I did a stop-over on our way to bring my oldest back to college. (He’s off campus and has two weeks before classes begin and will be tested prior to attending class - for those who may feel like inserting their public opinions into our personal decisions.) We had a car so we drove to the parks. Stayed at the Poly. Car stayed in Florida with my son, other son and I flew home on SW out of Tampa.
> 
> 
> We did three park days, no EPCOT.
> Sun 8/16 - AK.
> Mon 8/17 - HS.
> Tues 8/18 - MK.
> 
> I'll start with masks - we are NY'ers, we are used to masks. Spent a few weeks in Massachusetts at the beach this summer, super mask compliant there as well. They are a no-brainer for us. But they are very tough in the heat. After three full days in Florida weather w masks both my kids agreed that they will now laugh at kids who complain about masks in air conditioned rooms on campus and in school. So I'm taking that as a positive!
> 
> Moving on...overall thoughts:
> 
> *Cons
> 
> Mobile Ordering* - Ugh. Normally I love this but not this trip. Menus are so so limited. Experience is tough. Cast members stopping you from entering--did you order?--go over there--whoops, make sure you go the right way--go back--can't get that here—exit is THIS way NOT that way—stand on the dot—not that dot—order ready?--go over here to THIS dot.
> 
> Ugh!! It was just a lot of not knowing what to do or where to go and cast members looking at you like you are a complete idiot. I’m a smart person, my kids are quite bright and we were constantly confused when entering, maneuvering within and leaving QS restaurants. We tried to customize once at Poly and paid double for two items — only to find the order wasn’t at all customized and we’d wasted our money. We were in our room and it was storming HARD when we figured it out.  I was going to address it later but the mobile ordering at Captain Cooks, with the one way entrance/exit enter again for dining area, was such a pain that I just never made it back over. Multiple people seemed frustrated. Cast members tried to help, tried to make sure people understood (and I know this one way in/out randomly selected pathways isn’t a plan they personally developed) so I feel awful for them trying to get people to abide by the rules.
> 
> *Food* - Pre-pandemic our family had a few QS favs but we mostly eat in lounges. We like good food and find that the lounges offer the best food and the best service as they are not really dining plan friendly and don’t serve as many people and you don't need reservations.  Well, none of those were really available and the ones that were open had VERY limited menus. We drove off-site for dinners because I just couldn’t justify paying $$$$ money for a mediocre product. We were pretty disappointed in everything we ate on property. Cinnamon rolls from Gaston’s were missed by all. These were things we knew going in, so it wasn’t unexpected, but how much it affected our trip was a surprise.
> 
> *Heat *- It’s Florida...in the summer...it’s hot. Pools often closed all afternoon due to storms. Not our first summer trip so we expected this, but it makes for a boring afternoon break.
> 
> *Last two hours* - Each day we returned for the last two hours. During this time mask compliance is about 70% of what it was during the day. People are OVER the rules and the heat. Cast Members seem tired. I can’t blame them. At this point it's been a long day for everyone. I say this not really as a con but as a warning to those who are super-duper-mask-compliant and expect others to do the same: you may want to stay away from the parks for the day's last few hours.
> 
> *PARK HOPPING* - this is our deal breaker going forward. Until this comes back, we will stay away. We missed it SO much. We prob would have spent our evenings eating in EPCOT if hopping had been allowed.
> 
> *Pros
> 
> Short lines* - We rode what we wanted to whenever we wanted. Never waited more than 30 mins. Only line we skipped due to length was Runaway Railway. We were hoping wait time would go down at the end of the day but it didn’t. (35 mins.) We rode it first that morning so it was not a huge deal. Lines did exist though. Only a few things were walk-on unless super early or late so expectations should be managed.
> 
> *Empty walkways* - It was amazing to be alone in areas of the park at random times. Surreal.
> 
> *No rope drop* - I despise the huddle-up-and-sprint-hope-I-don't-step-on-someone-who-tripped-get-your-double-stroller-off-my-heels stampede. I hope this remains.
> 
> *Cast Members* - Some seemed so happy to be there and to greet guests. (But it was hard to have great conversations and random interactions with the masks and shields and plexiglass dividers.)
> 
> *Once in a lifetime* - Someday my kids will have kids and they will ask about this pandemic. We went to Disney, they will say.  I will have the mask photos to prove it. I love that.
> 
> Overall, it is different, which should be expected. I miss the shows and the upbeat atmosphere. The experience felt very very subdued. We won’t be back until park hopping returns and more restaurants are open. But we had a great time and it was three days w my college kid (I won't see him for months) that I will never regret.
> 
> Side-note: Post-Disney we stayed at a beach resort in my son’s college town while helping him move in. We visited several different beach towns in this area of Florida. Coming from NY, it was shocking to see so much normalcy in restaurants and in towns. Bands playing in restaurants at night, people dining indoors, families walking the streets without masks and just an overall “pre-pandemic” feeling. (Masks were mostly worn by people in all the stores.)  No judgement being passed by me whatsoever—just observational information for those considering a trip...
> 
> Hope this helps someone!


----------



## 2vets

GusGusTheMouse said:


> Just got back from our WDW honeymoon! First, let me say that this has been an incredibly stressful few months for us as we were constantly changing wedding and honeymoon plans so our expectations for this trip were low. We were just happy we could have a small ceremony and a “minimoon” after our Hawaii portion of our honeymoon got scrapped.



Thanks for this detailed report, especially the mask details.

Also, I wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS!  The fact that you remained flexible during the current goings-on and had a great trip says a lot about your relationship .


----------



## Redhead5

I'm tired of posters who say that those of us who want to obey the mask requirement should stay away because of those who don't. If you can't obey the requirement and/or have your nose out of the mask it's time for you to leave the park. If you don't, I expect cast members to help you towards the exit. The rules apply during all hours the park is open. They aren't suspended for the last two.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

Redhead5 said:


> I'm tired of posters who say that those of us who want to obey the mask requirement should stay away because of those who don't. If you can't obey the requirement and/or have your nose out of the mask it's time for you to leave the park. If you don't, I expect cast members to help you towards the exit. The rules apply during all hours the park is open. They aren't suspended for the last two.



We were vigilant rule followers while there as our state is one of the most extreme policy-wise. We were definitely disappointed in some guests actions and even more so when the CMs ignored it, but I think there are two things we kept in mind. First, I don’t want CMs putting themselves in harms way to confront disobedient guests. Some people are just crazy nowadays and no one should be spit on, harrassed, or scared. There are only certain CMs trained to confront these types of guests. Second, people are coming from all sorts of places. Disney’s rules might be the most extreme they have experienced thus far or sometimes parents are doing the absolute best they can. So yes, people should follow the rules but if you want 100% compliance understand you will not get that and rethink your plans.

That said, on our last day we did see security escorting two men without masks right down main st and out the door. They were clearly heated and not happy about the situation. So I think there needs to be an expectation of compliance but also reasonable expectations.


----------



## Shellyred8

Trip dates: 8/17 - 8/24
The biggest con for us was the food selections at the quick serves.  We knew going into this that there would be limited availability at these places, but it didn't really hit me until we were there and experiencing it.  If we go again during all of this, we will plan to at least eat breakfasts in our room.  My biggest disappointment was the fruit and nutella waffle at Sleepy Hollow.  I remember those being light and fluffy and just the right amount of crispy.  But this time they were greasy and dense.  Not a pleasant experience this time around.  

With the exception of HS, we didn't go to the parks right at opening.  We were usually there within an hour or two of park opening.  The lines for the less popular rides were almost always walk-on to 15 minutes.  The head-liners had longer waits most of the day, but they dropped quite a bit during the last 3 hours of the park day.  So, we would usually wait until then to hit those rides.  FOP was awesome because after you did your first ride, they allowed you to re-ride right away and take a short-cut.  We took advantage of this twice.   

As others have mentioned, the posted wait times were frequently over stated.  Sometimes by 15 - 30 minutes or more.  We tried to estimate the wait just by looking at the physical line (when possible) and how fast it was actually moving.

For the most part, people were good about following the physical distancing markers in the ride queues.  But we did have one family on the MFSR that just didn't seem to care about them.  It looked to be a mom, dad and 3-4 kids ranging in age from about 12-17.  When we finally got to point where the CM's were directing us where to go, they started telling them to wait on the lines, so that was nice.  But that was really the only incident where they just kept invading our space.  Most other times when someone wasn't following the markers, a quick glance at them made them remember that they were getting too close.  And we were guilty of that on a couple of occasions too, so I totally get the occasional incidents.  The line gets moving and you are talking to someone in your party and then the line stops and you weren't paying as close of attention as you should be and you end up too close to your neighbors.  Most people, including us, just tried to pay closer attention after that and the rest of the wait was fine.  I think that one group needs to be the subject of a "don't be that family..." article!  LOL!!!

And then there is the mask situation.  Most people were good and wore their masks properly.  We did see several nose-peekers.  We also witnessed an incident where a supervisor was called because a guy wouldn't wear his mask.  That was sad to see because there was a kid with him that looked to be about 12 and the kid was trying to tell the guy to just do what they asked, but the guy just kept complaining and swearing about how ridiculous the rule was.  
I'm not going to lie and say wearing masks all the time was no problem, because it got old fast in that heat and humidity.  DH did pretty well with them.  I needed to stop and take mask breaks a little more often than he did.  If the weather was a little cooler, wearing the mask wouldn't have been an issue at all for me.  So, I'll just wait to go again until it cools off a bit.  

We stayed at the Boardwalk for 4 of our nights.  The evenings are definitely more quiet there right now.  No evening entertainment and all of the boardwalk "carts" are closed.  

Overall, it was a good trip and I'm glad we went.  Our next trip will just be when the weather has cooled off a bit!


----------



## 2vets

GusGusTheMouse said:


> I don’t want CMs putting themselves in harms way to confront disobedient guests. Some people are just crazy nowadays and no one should be spit on, harrassed, or scared.
> 
> ...on our last day we did see security escorting two men without masks right down main st and out the door. They were clearly heated and not happy about the situation. So I think there needs to be an expectation of compliance but also reasonable expectations.


Agree with the first, though it’s disappointing we have to consider that.
On the last point - WOW. I’m glad you posted this. That’s the first time I’ve heard about anything like this. I’m glad to see that this level of enforcement happens if necessary (although I suppose we’re sort of assuming the mask thing was the issue).


----------



## twodogs

crazymomof4 said:


> Yep.  After Sept 5th the usual (pre-Covid) early AM non-stop is gone and replaced with a stop in ATL.  I will look into where the SW cancellation policy stands. I booked with points when the cash price for our flight (at the time, non-stop) was $49 so I don't know if I could come close to that on AA (would want the added pick your seat fee too), but I'll check. Thx for putting it into my head.  This trip has been like a lump of Play-Doh..... constantly changing shape!
> 
> ETA:  Switched our flights!   AA has their early morning non-stop at $45! With $10 seat selection fee + I get one checked bag free bc I'm an AAdvantage cardholder.  Our SW returned points will go to travel funds that won't expire til Sept 2022!  So HAPPY to not have almost twice the time in-flight and a stop and 1 hr wait in ATL airport.


I'm not sure about the SWA policy, but most airlines will be REQUIRED to refund your money or return your points if they switch you from a non-stop to a stop over flight.  They will almost NEVER offer to do this (they want to keep your money or points), but they will if you ask (and if it is their policy).


----------



## brockash

Redhead5 said:


> I'm tired of posters who say that those of us who want to obey the mask requirement should stay away because of those who don't. If you can't obey the requirement and/or have your nose out of the mask it's time for you to leave the park. If you don't, I expect cast members to help you towards the exit. The rules apply during all hours the park is open. They aren't suspended for the last two.


I mean obviously you can do what you want, but the posters are just explaining what they see and going in with the thinking  you have the opportunity to control what you can.  You cannot control and basically have 0 sayso over what other guests do.  I'm grateful for those reporting so we know what to expect.  If you choose to go the fact is right now there's a decent chance mask compliance will be much better earlier in the day, so make your choice etc.  It doesn't matter what you want or what you think should happen; the posters are just reporting reality and what they're seeing.  You get to choose whatever you'd like to do with that information.


----------



## crazymomof4

twodogs said:


> I'm not sure about the SWA policy, but most airlines will be REQUIRED to refund your money or return your points if they switch you from a non-stop to a stop over flight.  They will almost NEVER offer to do this (they want to keep your money or points), but they will if you ask (and if it is their policy).


Thanks!    I'm OK with the points being refunded.


----------



## crazymomof4

Lake183 said:


> *Mobile Ordering* - Ugh. Normally I love this but not this trip. Menus are so so limited. Experience is tough. Cast members stopping you from entering--did you order?--go over there--whoops, make sure you go the right way--go back--can't get that here—exit is THIS way NOT that way—stand on the dot—not that dot—order ready?--go over here to THIS dot.
> 
> Ugh!! It was just a lot of not knowing what to do or where to go and cast members looking at you like you are a complete idiot. I’m a smart person, my kids are quite bright and we were constantly confused
> 
> Hope this helps someone!


What?  You mean you don't visit WDW frequently while a Global Pandemic is going on?   LOL. CMs need to realize that, while they deal with this on a daily basis, many of their guests are experiencing this new protocol for the first time. No amount of time reading DisBoards can prepare us for every single detail of _WDW in the time of Covid_.
I'd better not get the "looking at you like you are a complete idiot" treatment..... when I get that at home (mom to 4 ages 20-31) a lecture often ensues.


----------



## VandVsmama

I've found this thread to be REALLY helpful so I know what to expect on our upcoming WDW trip.  Many thanks to everyone who's posted so far!


----------



## IluvMGM

crazymomof4 said:


> What?  You mean you don't visit WDW frequently while a Global Pandemic is going on?   LOL. CMs need to realize that, while they deal with this on a daily basis, many of their guests are experiencing this new protocol for the first time. No amount of time reading DisBoards can prepare us for every single detail of _WDW in the time of Covid_.
> I'd better not get the "looking at you like you are a complete idiot" treatment..... when I get that at home (mom to 4 ages 20-31) a lecture often ensues.



I think there will be a learning curve for sure, how to do Disney in a different way. I am sure we will make some mistakes or have some sort of confusion next week when we go.


----------



## disneygirlsng

Did DHS today, not too crowded at all. Got boarding group 3 for Rise while in line for MMRR. Both of those were my first time riding them and I was so impressed with them!! Mickey and Minnie's is super cute and ROTR, no words, fantastic experience (not just ride) from start to finish, the CMs played the parts so well, . Longest wait of the day for me was ROTR, I was off the ride about 45 minutes after I got in line.

I didn't have any issues with food in regards to meals (still loooove Docking Bay, so yummy), but wish there had been more snack options throughout the park. Haven't had any issues with mobile ordering at any park or DS yet, love it, but that's pretty much all I've been using at QS the last couple years anyway.

If you are staying at Pop, get to the Skyliner early! I got there about 8:40 and the line was all the way back by the 50s buildings (I think?, the bowling pins lol). Still had plenty of time, got into DHS about 9:40, but had planned on being there a little earlier than that.


----------



## Suejacken

crazymomof4 said:


> Yep.  After Sept 5th the usual (pre-Covid) early AM non-stop is gone and replaced with a stop in ATL.  I will look into where the SW cancellation policy stands. I booked with points when the cash price for our flight (at the time, non-stop) was $49 so I don't know if I could come close to that on AA (would want the added pick your seat fee too), but I'll check. Thx for putting it into my head.  This trip has been like a lump of Play-Doh..... constantly changing shape!
> 
> ETA:  Switched our flights!   AA has their early morning non-stop at $45! With $10 seat selection fee + I get one checked bag free bc I'm an AAdvantage cardholder.  Our SW returned points will go to travel funds that won't expire til Sept 2022!  So HAPPY to not have almost twice the time in-flight and a stop and 1 hr wait in ATL airport.


That’s awesome. Have a great time


----------



## Dismrk155

disneygirlsng said:


> Did DHS today, not too crowded at all. Got boarding group 3 for Rise while in line for MMRR. Both of those were my first time riding them and I was so impressed with them!! Mickey and Minnie's is super cute and ROTR, no words, fantastic experience (not just ride) from start to finish, the CMs played the parts so well, . Longest wait of the day for me was ROTR, I was off the ride about 45 minutes after I got in line.
> 
> I didn't have any issues with food in regards to meals (still loooove Docking Bay, so yummy), but wish there had been more snack options throughout the park. Haven't had any issues with mobile ordering at any park or DS yet, love it, but that's pretty much all I've been using at QS the last couple years anyway.
> 
> If you are staying at Pop, get to the Skyliner early! I got there about 8:40 and the line was all the way back by the 50s buildings (I think?, the bowling pins lol). Still had plenty of time, got into DHS about 9:40, but had planned on being there a little earlier than that.


Try getting to the line the night before.....lol. That's crazy. If they see the lines are crazy crank up the skyliner earlier. No wait... That would make sense


----------



## disneygirlsng

Dismrk155 said:


> Try getting to the line the night before.....lol. That's crazy. If they see the lines are crazy crank up the skyliner earlier. No wait... That would make sense


It did start running about 10 minutes early, the line moved super fast and the wait really wasn't bad at all.


----------



## Greta

Hi all - I have a question (out of curiosity) for those just back. 
pretty much just wondering, since it isn’t what I have heard.
I heard from 2 travel nurses at work today who are from Orlando that Disney is using the temperature scanners that you walk through rather than an infrared hand-held thermometer.   Also heard that they are bringing back more shows   
Any observations?
Thank you!

We are looking forward to our trip there in October.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

Greta said:


> Hi all - I have a question (out of curiosity) for those just back.
> pretty much just wondering, since it isn’t what I have heard.
> I heard from 2 travel nurses at work today who are from Orlando that Disney is using the temperature scanners that you walk through rather than an infrared hand-held thermometer.   Also heard that they are bringing back more shows
> Any observations?
> Thank you!
> 
> We are looking forward to our trip there in October.



All thermometers were the handheld guns as it’s done by a third party. Advent Health (?), not by Disney.

AK did have a new security screen though that eliminated the metal detector. But all the other parks were standard metal detectors.

This is all from first hand experience from last week and I went to all 4 parks and DS.

As for shows, the CM I spoke to said they don’t expect stage shows anytime soon. I think best bet for anything returning are non-stage shows, like Monsters Laugh Floor and Turtle Talk. The CM I spoke with said her union actress friend was just told her furlough was extended indefinitely.


----------



## Greta

GusGusTheMouse said:


> All thermometers were the handheld guns as it’s done by a third party. Advent Health (?), not by Disney.
> 
> AK did have a new security screen though that eliminated the metal detector. But all the other parks were standard metal detectors.
> 
> This is all from first hand experience from last week and I went to all 4 parks and DS.
> 
> As for shows, the CM I spoke to said they don’t expect stage shows anytime soon. I think best bet for anything returning are non-stage shows, like Monsters Laugh Floor and Turtle Talk. The CM I spoke with said her union actress friend was just told her furlough was extended indefinitely.



Thank you! 
  Bummer about the shows but I will still be soooo happy to get away and go on vacation.


----------



## MonorailPrincess

Still no boats, other tha MK resorts?


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

2vets said:


> On the last point - WOW. I’m glad you posted this. That’s the first time I’ve heard about anything like this. I’m glad to see that this level of enforcement happens if necessary (although I suppose we’re sort of assuming the mask thing was the issue).



Yes, we assumed it was mask related or something re social distancing as one man had no mask to be seen while the other had it in his hand and only put it on briefly while security continued to forcibly remove them through the tunnel under the main st train station. But it is possible that their removal stemmed from something else entirely.

Additionally, the more heated man was wearing one of those Walmart Disney “Dad” shirts so I assume mom, son, daughter, etc remained in the park.

Honestly, I was more shocked they marched them right down main st, usually they do it in a more discrete manner backstage.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

wombat_5606 said:


> The last few posts have talked about seeing people escorted out of the parks. That has been refreshing information and too long in coming. Disney may actually see their attendance improve if they continue with that action.


As I was the one who witnessed this, I want to clarify. I think there is a pretty split percentage of those who desire total compliance, those who are impartial, and those who think the requirements are excessive. I say that due to my different observations. First, I saw a surprising amount of masks with interesting “political” statements on them. I also overheard a lot of conversations amongst families arguing whether or not the surrounding people cared if little Joey ate his goldfish in line or not. There were also a lot of moms who have the “who me?” look when a CM asked to put the mask over her nose as well.

But I also had a lot of comradeship with fellow families doing their best to stay away from those people. People talking amongst the groups about how annoying so and so family is.

I am an attorney, I have no problem confronting people. But for the first time I resisted that urge. I resisted the urge to do so because for the first time a simple comment could lead to danger to me, my DH, or a cast member who did not sign up for such a thing. The saddest part of my trip was seeing all the elderly CMs. For whatever reason, financial or social, they are there keeping WDW open. And I felt an obligation to me, my family, and those CMs not to instigate anything as something as simple as coming to close to one another is something we might regret later.

Don’t get me wrong, I wish everyone was as compliant as we were, but I also know there is a thin tightrope we are all walking on right now and the slightest slip can lead certain people to dive off the edge. That is why I recommend rethinking a trip right now if compliance is your top priority.


----------



## disneygirlsng

DHS had the same walk through screening as AK yesterday, could be new. 

I've done a couple shows, Lightning McQueen, the bird show at AK, then the theater shows like Muppets and tough to be a bug, but yes, not many and none with real stage performers.


----------



## yulilin3

Greta said:


> Hi all - I have a question (out of curiosity) for those just back.
> pretty much just wondering, since it isn’t what I have heard.
> I heard from 2 travel nurses at work today who are from Orlando that Disney is using the temperature scanners that you walk through rather than an infrared hand-held thermometer.   Also heard that they are bringing back more shows
> Any observations?
> Thank you!
> 
> We are looking forward to our trip there in October.


The only park that has walk through scanners in Orlando is sea world
All entertainment done by equity actors is on indefinite hold


----------



## yulilin3

MonorailPrincess said:


> Still no boats, other tha MK resorts?


No boats yet


----------



## crazymomof4

GusGusTheMouse said:


> That said, on our last day we did see security escorting two men without masks right down main st and out the door. They were clearly heated and not happy about the situation. So I think there needs to be an expectation of compliance but also reasonable expectations.


----------



## crazymomof4

IluvMGM said:


> I think there will be a learning curve for sure, how to do Disney in a different way. I am sure we will make some mistakes or have some sort of confusion next week when we go.


Me too!  Definitely ME!! I'm the guest always staring at all the wonderful WDW details on the walls, ceiling, etc, so it will be difficult to retrain myself to be more aware of where I need to be standing. But.... I'm sure my young adult kids with me will have no issue grabbing my arm when I take a wrong step.


----------



## Dentam

disneygirlsng said:


> DHS had the same walk through screening as AK yesterday, could be new.





yulilin3 said:


> The only park that has walk through scanners in Orlando is sea world



I'm confused


----------



## disneygirlsng

Dentam said:


> I'm confused


She was quoting the poster in regards to the walk through temp screen. I was talking about security screening.


----------



## Dentam

disneygirlsng said:


> She was quoting the poster in regards to the walk through temp screen. I was talking about security screening.



Ah, okay gotcha!


----------



## Redhead5

Glad to hear that Disney is escorting people out for mask compliance (we think.) These individuals are putting cast members (in addition to other visitors) at risk by their non compliance. If the rule is enforced by removal from the parks (and maybe banishment from the parks) word will get out and many of these people will either comply or not visit. This being said, I am not someone who confronts people over this. I just try to get as far away as possible. However, I do expect Disney to enforce their rules. I do not believe this is an unreasonable expectation.


----------



## disneygirlsng

Purely based off observation and assumption, so could be totally off, I would say at least half of the people who I've seen who have their nose hanging out of the mask just look like their mask is too big. While that is still a problem, I don't think a lot of them are intending to break the rules. But maybe I'm too optimistic about people's intentions. So just a tip, make sure your mask fits and doesn't slide off your face while you walk! One helpful thing I've done is twist the ear loops, that is especially helpful on faster rides to prevent them from sliding down (just make sure the sides don't open up too much).


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

disneygirlsng said:


> One helpful thing I've done is twist the ear loops, that is especially helpful on faster rides to prevent them from sliding down (just make sure the sides don't open up too much).



THIS!
DH and I could not figure out why so many people had what we called the “twist”. At first we thought at some point they had it hanging from one ear and it twisted around on the other side and they didn’t realize when they put it back on. But then we saw someone purposefully do it before getting on Everest. I then got on and my mask promptly blew off my nose and mouth and over my eyes. Next time, I did the “twist” and it stayed on great!


----------



## mrd7896

i'm sure this question has been asked/answered but i am staying at POP in 9 days!!!!!!! but we have a breakfast at ale and compass (8:30 am) prior to Epcot opening (11 am). we are renting a car. is the skyliner running that early to get us to epcot?
would we have to drive?
where do we park?

TIA


----------



## chicagoshannon

mrd7896 said:


> i'm sure this question has been asked/answered but i am staying at POP in 9 days!!!!!!! but we have a breakfast at ale and compass (8:30 am) prior to Epcot opening (11 am). we are renting a car. is the skyliner running that early to get us to epcot?
> would we have to drive?
> where do we park?
> 
> TIA


the skyliner will not be open that early unless things have changed in the last couple of days.


----------



## yulilin3

mrd7896 said:


> i'm sure this question has been asked/answered but i am staying at POP in 9 days!!!!!!! but we have a breakfast at ale and compass (8:30 am) prior to Epcot opening (11 am). we are renting a car. is the skyliner running that early to get us to epcot?
> would we have to drive?
> where do we park?
> 
> TIA


Skyliner is one way from epcot to CBR until 10:30am so you won't be able to go CBR to Epcot that early
You will have to drive and park at YC or Uber/Lyft to YC
If you drive after breakfast you drive to epcot if you're going to the park that day


----------



## disneygirlsng

I saw them let a family who had a breakfast reservation onto the Epcot Skyliner at CBR around 9:15 yesterday, but it didn't seem like it was a normal thing. One CM seemed hesitant and then another CM let them go. But I would probably drive and not rely on one example.


----------



## yulilin3

disneygirlsng said:


> I saw them let a family who had a breakfast reservation onto the Epcot Skyliner at CBR around 9:15 yesterday, but it didn't seem like it was a normal thing. One CM seemed hesitant and then another CM let them go. But I would probably drive and not rely on one example.


They're not supposed to and in any case the posters reservation is for 8:30, the skyliner doesn't start operating until 9am


----------



## crazymomof4

Redhead5 said:


> Glad to hear that Disney is escorting people out for mask compliance (we think.) These individuals are putting cast members (in addition to other visitors) at risk by their non compliance. If the rule is enforced by removal from the parks (and maybe banishment from the parks) word will get out and many of these people will either comply or not visit. This being said, I am not someone who confronts people over this. I just try to get as far away as possible. However, I do expect Disney to enforce their rules. I do not believe this is an unreasonable expectation.


My thoughts precisely.  Some people need a visual of actual enforcement to comply with rules.  Like how everyone slows down on an interstate when they see a police car and a pulled over speeder on the shoulder of the highway.  I'm not expecting 100% but the higher the % the happier I will be.  I know Disney is doing the best they can. 
I also will not confront someone over this.  You never know how short a stranger's fuse is.  Last month in our area a receptionist at a Dr's office was shot and killed because the person got angry over the wait to see the Dr.  No guns in WDW obviously but I don't want to have my park day ruined because someone spit in my face or similar.  I'll just move away from them anyway I can. If I can't then maybe seek out a CM in as nice a way as I can bc I know they've been through a lot lately!!


----------



## kittylady1972

Just back from a recent trip and thought I'd post my own observations and experiences, though I think most of it has already been covered here pretty extensively.

We planned a very last minute 3 night trip, 2 adults, frequent Disney visitors with DVC membership.  We arrived Tuesday night and left Friday evening, flew out on SWA from Baltimore.  We visited 3 out of 4 parks...didn't get to AK.

*PROS:*

-Lines, lines, lines...or rather lack of them...it's all true what they say but don't tell the others.  We arrived at MK Friday morning just after 8am opening and rode 7DMT with a walk-on, Peter Pan (walk-on), Haunted Mansion (walk-on...miss the stretch room though), Splash (15 min wait), BTMRR (walk-on) all in about an hour (8:45am-9:50am).  
-Crowds...or lack of them...we found some pretty empty parks for most of our trip.
-Friendly CMs...I mean it was pretty obvious they were just thankful to be working.  We tipped every single server generously in cash.  Even the people walking around cleaning areas would talk to us.  One day we were sitting at Woody's Lunchbox (which was sadly closed) at a table just getting a drink and cooling off a bit...and a cleaning CM stopped to ask us about our day and we chatted for a bit.  
-Sanitizer to the extreme...I mean you could not turn around anywhere and not see a sanitizing station.  DH hit every single one of them no matter if he just sanitized earlier...it was crazy.  I preferred the hand washing stations myself but didn't see as many of them.
-Easy to get ADRs...perhaps because there were only 2 of us and we usually travel with larger groups of 5+, we had no problem getting some last minute ADRs for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Yes the menus were more limited but we had some fantastic meals at some new and not-been-to-in-a-long-time places.  We had breakfast at GFC (very good) and WCC (good),  dinner at Coral Reef (excellent), Dinner2/dessert at La Hacienda de San Angel (very good), lunch at Tony's Town Square (excellent) and lunch at Geyser Point (and late night apps and drinks a previous night) which was excellent and a new favorite for us...no ADRs here of course. 
CONS: (yes sadly there are some)

I miss the parades and shows...there are some of my favorites.  We did see character calvacades at HS (Incredibles, Monster's Inc.), World Showcase of EPCOT (princesses) and saw Pooh at EPCOT near Imagination and Pluto, Mickey, Minnie and Goofie at EPCOT walking and riding around WS, and at MK at the train station as we left we waved to Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Donald up above us.
Lack of quick service...yes this was sad to see so many places for QS closed.  On the bright side F&W at EPCOT helped out a bit there and gave lots of good options.  The World Showplace area is really nice with all the booths and tables there.
Transportation...hadn't known that the EPCOT monorail wasn't running ahead of time...we had planned to utilize this one morning but instead returned to our resort and just drove.  
So we rented a car and didn't use Disney transportation that much.  We did ride the monorail around to the Poly and Contemporary from MK to do some shopping...yes it was VERY eerily quiet in the hotel lobbies...all of them.  We were staying at Copper Creek at WL which we loved!  Geyser point as I mentioned is our new favorite.  It was sad to not be able to really go inside Roaring Fork and check out food but I ordered using the mobile app there twice and it worked GREAT for me.  Also used mobile ordering at MK for Sunshine Terrace and that was good as well.

Social distancing and mask wearing we found to be excellent.  The lines worked really well...and it was rare that anybody was too close though sometimes you thought you could move to the next line but you couldn't and there would be a backup.  You learn early to watch the people ahead of the people ahead of you and adjust.  On our last day, waiting for our Tony's reservation, I caught on video a guy walking through the MK gates with mask below his chin, strolling down Main Street.  They had CMs placed all around with signs and we saw a young CM in the distance stop him and presume tell him to fix it.  As soon as he walked away you could tell he pulled it right down...and it looked like she followed him.  I wish I could have seen the outcome there.  I actually spoke to a CM at MK one afternoon and asked him how he was doing and he said okay...I said I hope it gets better and he mentioned it would if only people would WEAR THEIR MASKS.  I can only imagine the frustration and abuse for the CMs trying to manage that.  Where we live, mask wearing has been required for quite some time, our state has been pretty agressive in trying to stop the spread, so we were used to it.  I will say we brought disposable masks to wear in the parks during the day which worked well and we didn't find to be as umcomfortable as the cloths ones.  We switched to our cloth ones for evenings.  We honestly didn't notice the masks as much as we thought we would even wearing them all day.  We never used a comfort station but we stopped frequently to sit somewhere and consume a drink or food which was fine for us.

Oh and one day as we were leaving HS we saw a VERY angry man in the parking lot walking back to his car.  From what we could gather he tried to walk in with a gaitor, which isn't allowed, and got turned away and he was NOT happy.  Read the rules dude!  My DH wears those all the time here, but he knew they weren't allowed in Disney.  

Yes I miss some of the pre-shows also (talking to you Aerosmith!) but overall since we have BTDT we found it quite enjoyable to do as much as we did in such a short period of time.  Now I will say we intentionally avoided the weekends, chosing to go to HS Wed, EPCOT Thur and MK Friday...the crowd photos I see on weekend appear to be much worse.


----------



## monkeydawn

crazymomof4 said:


> My thoughts precisely.  Some people need a visual of actual enforcement to comply with rules.  Like how everyone slows down on an interstate when they see a police car and a pulled over speeder on the shoulder of the highway.



Maybe this is a reason to bring the actors back?  Have a couple of very public "shows" in each park each day, word will spread and no risk to CMs since the bad guests are really actors.


----------



## Judique

monkeydawn said:


> Maybe this is a reason to bring the actors back?  Have a couple of very public "shows" in each park each day, word will spread and no risk to CMs since the bad guests are really actors.



I've canceled one upcoming trip but have 2 more booked. So, been reading a lot and now we are hearing of some enforcement.  I was actually thinking that Disney may have done some silent enforcement where people were escorted away through the back areas, and the average person didn't get to see.

It's not Disney that makes me need to cancel. It's other guest behavior.  I experienced this on a weekend trip with other guests in our hotel. Elevator capacity = 4 wearing masks. Yet, sometimes there would be 8 or 9 people getting off or trying to fit in.  I avoided and took the stairs. 

I just don't want to spend my time avoiding people at Disney. So now, I'm planning January and February - with the possibility of a resort only trip. Only 4-5 floors to climb at BWV!


----------



## monkeydawn

Judique said:


> I've canceled one upcoming trip but have 2 more booked. So, been reading a lot and now we are hearing of some enforcement.  I was actually thinking that Disney may have done some silent enforcement where people were escorted away through the back areas, and the average person didn't get to see.
> 
> It's not Disney that makes me need to cancel. It's other guest behavior.  I experienced this on a weekend trip with other guests in our hotel. Elevator capacity = 4 wearing masks. Yet, sometimes there would be 8 or 9 people getting off or trying to fit in.  I avoided and took the stairs.
> 
> I just don't want to spend my time avoiding people at Disney. So now, I'm planning January and February - with the possibility of a resort only trip. Only 4-5 floors to climb at BWV!


Its my understanding that typically Disney is very discrete about kicking guests out.  Maybe they have thought better of that plan for this issue.  I agree that a visual demonstration, which now seems to be happening, is likely to be a deterrent for some.  

I know this would never fly but I almost wish they made everyone visiting have a credit card connected to their ticket, with penalties for cleaning if you are caught without your mask in an inappropriate area.  Again, I know this wont happen but a monetary deterrent would work for some.


----------



## Judique

monkeydawn said:


> Its my understanding that typically Disney is very discrete about kicking guests out.  Maybe they have thought better of that plan for this issue.  I agree that a visual demonstration, which now seems to be happening, is likely to be a deterrent for some.
> 
> I know this would never fly but I almost wish they made everyone visiting have a credit card connected to their ticket, with penalties for cleaning if you are caught without your mask in an inappropriate area.  Again, I know this wont happen but a monetary deterrent would work for some.




There are lots of things that most of us have thought would never happen. Your idea may sound a bit far fetched now, but you never know.


----------



## ScubaCat

(deleting since off topic)


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

As enforcement seems to be of interest, here is what I saw enforcement-wise:

CMs stationed in the middle of longer queue lines and saw them reminding noses to be put back behind masks, including SM, HM, TT, ToT, and RnR.
A man at the entrance of HS being asked whether he had anything more than his gaitor.
Several people in line at the mask vending machine outside of the DS parking garage who were clearly denied entrance due to lack of mask, mask with a vent, or had a gaitor on.
The 2 men removed down Main St that I mentioned earlier.
When we were uncomfortable around certain non-compliant families and asked to be seated away from them or to allow guests to pass so we had space between them, CMs generally reminded the non-abiding group to either stay at their respective marker or to put their masks on properly. And the CM would not put us on the same riding group as them. Sometimes the CM would let us go through the FP line instead to avoid the family.
Crazy amount of CMs around the castle hunting down people without masks on for photos.
Management walking around Fantasyland reminding people with noses out.
But for each of these instances I saw the opposite as well. CMs not addressing or stopping eating in queue lines, CMs not looking at children with vented masks, groups taking advantage of no CMs in the middle of lines, and CMs not moving families taking snack breaks in horribly congested areas.


----------



## yulilin3

Let's please bring the conversation back to report trips and NOT what Disney should do in terms of enforcement.
Thanks


----------



## momandmousefan

Erica Ladd said:


> My dd is interested in going to a college by the beach - do you mind sharing which school?? Thanks either way!


Totally jumping in as not the OP.... but possibly look at Flagler College in St. Augustine. (I *almost* went there and still am a little bummed I didn’t!)


----------



## soniam

GusGusTheMouse said:


> All thermometers were the handheld guns as it’s done by a third party. Advent Health (?), not by Disney.
> 
> AK did have a new security screen though that eliminated the metal detector. But all the other parks were standard metal detectors.
> 
> This is all from first hand experience from last week and I went to all 4 parks and DS.





disneygirlsng said:


> DHS had the same walk through screening as AK yesterday, could be new.



AK, DHS, and Epcot (at least at IG) have the walk through scanners. DHS just added them in the last couple of weeks.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Question for anyone arriving or departing Copper Creek or Boulder Ridge via ME does bus still drop off at bottom of entrance steps so you have to pull luggage up/down steps?

Also has anyone used “door dash” to order food from outside the resort?


----------



## davedvf

Hello,

We have 2 days to visit WDW. We hope to visit MK and Epcot (Hollywood is at limit unfortunately). However, I 'hear' that a lot of the countries are only partially open and that the park is generally the least visited right now. Since there are no park hoppers right now I am just a bit worried that there will be enough to do there to fill a full day.  Wondering if anyone who has been there this month has any advice/thoughts  to share.   Thanks!


----------



## yulilin3

davedvf said:


> Hello,
> 
> We have 2 days to visit WDW. We hope to visit MK and Epcot (Hollywood is at limit unfortunately). However, I 'hear' that a lot of the countries are only partially open and that the park is generally the least visited right now. Since there are no park hoppers right now I am just a bit worried that there will be enough to do there to fill a full day.  Wondering if anyone who has been there this month has any advice/thoughts  to share.   Thanks!


Merged you to the just back thread where you can read recent reports
To me,  epcot won't fill a full day unless you do all the attractions and really take your time walking around world showcase.  All the rides are open and the countries are all there to explore just some gift shops are closed. But if you loved epcot before im sue you'll enjoy it now


----------



## nerdboyrockstar

Lsdolphin said:


> Also has anyone used “door dash” to order food from outside the resort?



Yes! At AKL though, not WL. Driver ended up at Kidani vs Jambo House where we were so had to turnaround (yes I had specified that in the instructions). Other than that, it was pretty smooth!


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

nerdboyrockstar said:


> Yes! At AKL though, not WL. Driver ended up at Kidani vs Jambo House where we were so had to turnaround (yes I had specified that in the instructions). Other than that, it was pretty smooth!


Did they bring to your room or just the lobby?


----------



## LaDonna

So I had heard that when getting a boarding group that your party is automatically checked or addEd for you now(a recent change)..... that u no longer have to go in and check each one..... I’m guessing maybe they can only do that once you enter the park because I tried it this morning from home and I still had to check everyone from my current reservation


----------



## ksromack

yulilin3 said:


> Merged you to the just back thread where you can read recent reports
> To me,  epcot won't fill a full day unless you do all the attractions and really take your time walking around world showcase.  All the rides are open and the countries are all there to explore just some gift shops are closed. But if you loved epcot before im sue you'll enjoy it now


But what a great way to really explore Epcot minus the closures, of course.  I’m afraid we tend to breeze through Epcot sometimes so I’m really looking forward to diving in full force.  Also, maybe a little mid day (or early afternoon as it would be) break to take in a swim or some AC at our resort then return for more fun. It’s probably not dark at 7 pm in September, though. I usually love Epcot all lit up.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

ksromack said:


> But what a great way to really explore Epcot minus the closures, of course.  I’m afraid we tend to breeze through Epcot sometimes so I’m really looking forward to diving in full force.  Also, maybe a little mid day (or early afternoon as it would be) break to take in a swim or some AC at our resort then return for more fun. It’s probably not dark at 7 pm in September, though. I usually love Epcot all lit up.



I feel the same way, last time we were at Epcot we skipped the attractions and just did F&W for a few hours. I've never done Living with the Land or The Seas with Nemo and Friends and am relishing the chance to really fully explore the park!


----------



## ksromack

butterscotchcollins said:


> I feel the same way, last time we were at Epcot we skipped the attractions and just did F&W for a few hours. I've never done Living with the Land or The Seas with Nemo and Friends and am relishing the chance to really fully explore the park!


Oh, I really enjoy those attractions.


----------



## disneygirlsng

LaDonna said:


> So I had heard that when getting a boarding group that your party is automatically checked or addEd for you now(a recent change)..... that u no longer have to go in and check each one..... I’m guessing maybe they can only do that once you enter the park because I tried it this morning from home and I still had to check everyone from my current reservation


It automatically checks anyone in your MDE who has entered the park that day, so yes, you would have to be in the park to see that.


----------



## lap1072

Curious if anyone had this experience...... MK last week in Tomorrowland my sister and I were sitting on a bench with no one close by, drinking a coffee. CM comes over asking if everything is ok. We say yes everything is great. She said, I asked because you are supposed to have a face covering on unless actively eating or drinking. With a coffee in my hand, I said yes I know but we are drinking a coffee.  She said you have to be actively drinking. I just smiled and said ok, sorry. But ??? We were a little confused by that one lol


----------



## Kimpossible1

lap1072 said:


> Curious if anyone had this experience...... MK last week in Tomorrowland my sister and I were sitting on a bench with no one close by, drinking a coffee. CM comes over asking if everything is ok. We say yes everything is great. She said, I asked because you are supposed to have a face covering on unless actively eating or drinking. With a coffee in my hand, I said yes I know but we are drinking a coffee.  She said you have to be actively drinking. I just smiled and said ok, sorry. But ??? We were a little confused by that one lol



Most people will move their mask and take a drink and replace the mask.  If you were sitting there without a mask and holding a coffee then I can understand how a CM would ask you to replace your mask.  Some people just hold a drink so they do not have to have their mask up.  The CM's are trying very hard to do the right thing.


----------



## yulilin3

lap1072 said:


> Curious if anyone had this experience...... MK last week in Tomorrowland my sister and I were sitting on a bench with no one close by, drinking a coffee. CM comes over asking if everything is ok. We say yes everything is great. She said, I asked because you are supposed to have a face covering on unless actively eating or drinking. With a coffee in my hand, I said yes I know but we are drinking a coffee.  She said you have to be actively drinking. I just smiled and said ok, sorry. But ??? We were a little confused by that one lol


if you want to enjoy a beverage while sitting then I would suggest to go to an outdoor restaurant sitting area or a relaxation station


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

lap1072 said:


> Curious if anyone had this experience...... MK last week in Tomorrowland my sister and I were sitting on a bench with no one close by, drinking a coffee. CM comes over asking if everything is ok. We say yes everything is great. She said, I asked because you are supposed to have a face covering on unless actively eating or drinking. With a coffee in my hand, I said yes I know but we are drinking a coffee.  She said you have to be actively drinking. I just smiled and said ok, sorry. But ??? We were a little confused by that one lol



We did not have this happen to us but we tried to stay actively drinking or eating when we found a bench with masks off. I would say the overwhelming amount of people sitting on the edges (Benches, fences, pulled to the side of sidewalks) were eating and drinking but not always actively. I personally think it would be giving guests too much credit to say most take a sip and then put their mask back on, that is nowhere close to what I saw personally. Did I see that happen? Yes, but I also saw just as many people with masks off with just food and drink in hand and I was in the parks for 10+ days.


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## lap1072

Oh I’m all for the masks and had no problem wearing them while there. I obviously misunderstood the eating or drinking while stationary and away from people rule.


----------



## PrincessV

Adding my just back thoughts...

*Background:* I'm local-ish: about 100 miles from WDW, so a 1.5-2 hour drive. I do day trips, overnights, and multi-day trips throughout the year. I kept my AP with the extended expiration and was planning a day or two to try it out with the lower crowds. When I was able to snag an incredibly discounted DVC Poly studio rental rate, I  booked it a couple weeks out for Aug. 24-26 - M, T, W weekdays. With Hurricane Laura looming, I didn't make my final park day selections until the morning of the 24th. I made no dining reservations. My county has a mask ordinance in place, but I've been working form home, so until getting to WDW, I'd only ever worn a mask for the 30 minutes it took for me to get groceries once a week.

*Comfort level - I went in with these personal rules:*
No indoor dining
No indoor shows
No queues or rides longer than about 15 minutes
Generally keep indoor time to a minimum
No buses, no monorail
Take it easy, do what felt comfortable, leave any situation that didn't feel okay

How it went...

*Resort (Poly Villas):* Excellent!! With half the resort closed, it was very quiet, very relaxing, and VERY easy to socially distance.
Shops - I bought a mug and some milk - I was the only non-CM in each shop.
Food - I mobile ordered lunch two days from Capt Cooks, both times around 12pm. Each time, I ordered and immediately hit "I'm here", and each time my order was ready in about 5 minutes. It was waiting for me in a to-go container inside a brown bag. Condiments were packaged for grab & go.
Pools/Beach - I spent a couple hours at the Oasis pool, roughly from about 12-3pm Mon, and 10a-12p Tues. At its quietest, I was alone out there, and at its busiest there were two other families. PLENTY of room for everyone to stay far from each other. Volcano pool looked busier, but still had adequate room for all who were there. The beach was empty; I had the entire stretch to myself to watch the sun set for an hour. Music was playing everywhere. It was bliss!

*Parks:*
Monday 8/24, EP - around 4:30-8:30pm
I drove and was parked waaay far up in Journey - I don't think I've ever been that close! They did have parking attendant directing cars.
Took metal water bottle and umbrella out for security. No lines for security or entry.
Got food from a few booths - contactless payment via Disney Visa Rewards card at all but Italy, which required giving my card to a CM to swipe.
Only rode Nemo, which was a walk-on, and stopped inside to briefly watch dolphins and manatees.
Most rides showed a 5-min wait, but I wasn't there for rides.
Crowds were nonexistent; TONS of room for personal space. I spent my time snapping photos with no people in them, noticing details I haven't seen in ages, and sitting in various spots for a while, just enjoying the ambient music and lovely breeze.
While walking, I moved myself to give more space from others at times, but I'm comfortable with passing by someone for a second or two, so it was minimal.
Had no trouble at all finding spots in the shade to sit at a distance to eat or drink.
Mask compliance was just shy of 100% - I saw one nose-peeper and one person drinking maskless while walking. That was it.

Tuesday 8/25, MK - around 3-6:30pm
Walked to TTC and took ferry to MK - one of only 3 parties on the ferry and the only person on the top deck. Some benches had an end not marked "No Sitting", so I sat on one... and was told to get up because there's no sitting allowed anywhere on the ferry due to COVID. I don't follow the logic there, but I complied. Returning later, every bench had people sitting and nothing was said, so I don't know what that was about.
Walked on to: Buzz, Space, Under the Sea, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, and Treehouse. Splash and BTMRR were posted as 30-mins. Everything else was walk-on - I just wasn't interested in doing more. Mobile ordered from Pecos Bills and it was ready in 5 mins - I took it out to a table in the shade with nobody near me to eat.
MK felt a bit more people-y than EP, but there was still plenty of room to distance oneself. I did have to use a bit more effort to give myself space while moving around, but had no trouble finding spots to sit in the shade away from others to eat or drink.
Saw a couple nose-peepers, but far enough away to not matter and that was it.
ETA: the one place I wasn't comfortable was the Emporium on Main St. NOBODY was attempting to social distance in there! I grabbed the coupe things I wanted to buy, paid, and got out quickly.

Wednesday 8/26, AK - 10am-1pm
Drove myself.
Walked on Safari and EE. Strolled through Gorilla Falls and Maharajah Jungle. Heard a few gentle reminders from CMs on the trails for Guests to keep their distance when gathered to look at gorillas and tigers - Guests readily complied.
Ate at Yak & Yeti Local Foods - no mobile order there, so I placed my order the old fashioned way, but with plexiglass between me and the CM.
Very little crowdedness anywhere.
Saw more droopy masks here than the other parks - Heat Index was approaching 112, so maybe sweat makes some masks droop and hang? It didn't look comfy.

*Overall takeaways:*
It was one of the best visits I've had in 15+ years!! I came to love WDW back in the 90s, when low crowds, some things closed, not having fireworks or parades every day, no FastPass was the norm, and this felt very much like those days again. No backtracking or criss-crossing parks to do rides: I just circled through each park, stopping at things I wanted to do as I got to them.

Wearing a mask was a non-issue. I had a pile of Vera Bradley ones and Hanes - all cotton; I found the Vera ones a bit more comfortable in the worst of the heat, but both were soft, easy to breathe in, and did not bother my skin or ears at all. I changed to a fresh mask after eating, so I used 2-3 masks per day.

With no rain all three days, temps were HIGH: heat indexes well over 100. I'm acclimated to it, I drank plenty of fluids, stuck to the shade when I could, and used an umbrella when I couldn't.

I was amazed by how clean were the parks! Not just in terms of pandemic hygiene - but no overflowing trash cans, CMs constantly picking up litter. The standards WDW used to hold itself to all the time.

I found most CMs happy to chat and appreciative of some kind words. it was nice to see them looking relaxed and not stressed by the demands of trying to manage hoards of humans.

I felt very, very safe at WDW and will absolutely go back for more. I'm sure going on weekdays helped with that; I'm not sure I'm up to a weekend visit yet.


----------



## PrincessV

disneygirlsng said:


> Purely based off observation and assumption, so could be totally off, I would say at least half of the people who I've seen who have their nose hanging out of the mask just look like their mask is too big.


Yep, I share your observation, and will add that some seemed too small to wear properly, too. Saw a few men with full beards whose masks didn't go down under their beards.


----------



## maryj11

PrincessV said:


> Adding my just back thoughts...
> 
> *Background:* I'm local-ish: about 100 miles from WDW, so a 1.5-2 hour drive. I do day trips, overnights, and multi-day trips throughout the year. I kept my AP with the extended expiration and was planning a day or two to try it out with the lower crowds. When I was able to snag an incredibly discounted DVC Poly studio rental rate, I  booked it a couple weeks out for Aug. 24-26 - M, T, W weekdays. With Hurricane Laura looming, I didn't make my final park day selections until the morning of the 24th. I made no dining reservations. My county has a mask ordinance in place, but I've been working form home, so until getting to WDW, I'd only ever worn a mask for the 30 minutes it took for me to get groceries once a week.
> 
> *Comfort level - I went in with these personal rules:*
> No indoor dining
> No indoor shows
> No queues or rides longer than about 15 minutes
> Generally keep indoor time to a minimum
> No buses, no monorail
> Take it easy, do what felt comfortable, leave any situation that didn't feel okay
> 
> How it went...
> 
> *Resort (Poly Villas):* Excellent!! With half the resort closed, it was very quiet, very relaxing, and VERY easy to socially distance.
> Shops - I bought a mug and some milk - I was the only non-CM in each shop.
> Food - I mobile ordered lunch two days from Capt Cooks, both times around 12pm. Each time, I ordered and immediately hit "I'm here", and each time my order was ready in about 5 minutes. It was waiting for me in a to-go container inside a brown bag. Condiments were packaged for grab & go.
> Pools/Beach - I spent a couple hours at the Oasis pool, roughly from about 12-3pm Mon, and 10a-12p Tues. At its quietest, I was alone out there, and at its busiest there were two other families. PLENTY of room for everyone to stay far from each other. Volcano pool looked busier, but still had adequate room for all who were there. The beach was empty; I had the entire stretch to myself to watch the sun set for an hour. Music was playing everywhere. It was bliss!
> 
> *Parks:*
> Monday 8/24, EP - around 4:30-8:30pm
> I drove and was parked waaay far up in Journey - I don't think I've ever been that close! They did have parking attendant directing cars.
> Took metal water bottle and umbrella out for security. No lines for security or entry.
> Got food from a few booths - contactless payment via Disney Visa Rewards card at all but Italy, which required giving my card to a CM to swipe.
> Only rode Nemo, which was a walk-on, and stopped inside to briefly watch dolphins and manatees.
> Most rides showed a 5-min wait, but I wasn't there for rides.
> Crowds were nonexistent; TONS of room for personal space. I spent my time snapping photos with no people in them, noticing details I haven't seen in ages, and sitting in various spots for a while, just enjoying the ambient music and lovely breeze.
> While walking, I moved myself to give more space from others at times, but I'm comfortable with passing by someone for a second or two, so it was minimal.
> Had no trouble at all finding spots in the shade to sit at a distance to eat or drink.
> Mask compliance was just shy of 100% - I saw one nose-peeper and one person drinking maskless while walking. That was it.
> 
> Tuesday 8/25, MK - around 3-6:30pm
> Walked to TTC and took ferry to MK - one of only 3 parties on the ferry and the only person on the top deck. Some benches had an end not marked "No Sitting", so I sat on one... and was told to get up because there's no sitting allowed anywhere on the ferry due to COVID. I don't follow the logic there, but I complied. Returning later, every bench had people sitting and nothing was said, so I don't know what that was about.
> Walked on to: Buzz, Space, Under the Sea, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, and Treehouse. Splash and BTMRR were posted as 30-mins. Everything else was walk-on - I just wasn't interested in doing more. Mobile ordered from Pecos Bills and it was ready in 5 mins - I took it out to a table in the shade with nobody near me to eat.
> MK felt a bit more people-y than EP, but there was still plenty of room to distance oneself. I did have to use a bit more effort to give myself space while moving around, but had no trouble finding spots to sit in the shade away from others to eat or drink.
> Saw a couple nose-peepers, but far enough away to not matter and that was it.
> ETA: the one place I wasn't comfortable was the Emporium on Main St. NOBODY was attempting to social distance in there! I grabbed the coupe things I wanted to buy, paid, and got out quickly.
> 
> Wednesday 8/26, AK - 10am-1pm
> Drove myself.
> Walked on Safari and EE. Strolled through Gorilla Falls and Maharajah Jungle. Heard a few gentle reminders from CMs on the trails for Guests to keep their distance when gathered to look at gorillas and tigers - Guests readily complied.
> Ate at Yak & Yeti Local Foods - no mobile order there, so I placed my order the old fashioned way, but with plexiglass between me and the CM.
> Very little crowdedness anywhere.
> Saw more droopy masks here than the other parks - Heat Index was approaching 112, so maybe sweat makes some masks droop and hang? It didn't look comfy.
> 
> *Overall takeaways:*
> It was one of the best visits I've had in 15+ years!! I came to love WDW back in the 90s, when low crowds, some things closed, not having fireworks or parades every day, no FastPass was the norm, and this felt very much like those days again. No backtracking or criss-crossing parks to do rides: I just circled through each park, stopping at things I wanted to do as I got to them.
> 
> Wearing a mask was a non-issue. I had a pile of Vera Bradley ones and Hanes - all cotton; I found the Vera ones a bit more comfortable in the worst of the heat, but both were soft, easy to breathe in, and did not bother my skin or ears at all. I changed to a fresh mask after eating, so I used 2-3 masks per day.
> 
> With no rain all three days, temps were HIGH: heat indexes well over 100. I'm acclimated to it, I drank plenty of fluids, stuck to the shade when I could, and used an umbrella when I couldn't.
> 
> I was amazed by how clean were the parks! Not just in terms of pandemic hygiene - but no overflowing trash cans, CMs constantly picking up litter. The standards WDW used to hold itself to all the time.
> 
> I found most CMs happy to chat and appreciative of some kind words. it was nice to see them looking relaxed and not stressed by the demands of trying to manage hoards of humans.
> 
> I felt very, very safe at WDW and will absolutely go back for more. I'm sure going on weekdays helped with that; I'm not sure I'm up to a weekend visit yet.


Which type of Vera Bradley mask did you have? I see they have pleated with straps behind the head and others with straps behind the ears.


----------



## PrincessV

maryj11 said:


> Which type of Vera Bradley mask did you have? I see they have pleated with straps behind the head and others with straps behind the ears.


I have the no-pleats, around the ears type. It has a pocket for a filter, and I use a 4-cup size coffee filter folded in half in there. IDK if the filter really does much about transmission, but it does lend some stability to the fabric, which I find more comfortable than not having anything in there.


----------



## momimouse27

Hearing you guys talk about the lack of QS in the parks.  How do I find out what the limited menus are at each place?  I have googled but only get the normal menu items.  I have an autistic, picky teen whose diet is pretty much pizza, nuggets(NOT the kid kind-the strips), spaghetti and fries.


----------



## yulilin3

momimouse27 said:


> Hearing you guys talk about the lack of QS in the parks.  How do I find out what the limited menus are at each place?  I have googled but only get the normal menu items.  I have an autistic, picky teen whose diet is pretty much pizza, nuggets(NOT the kid kind-the strips), spaghetti and fries.


Go on the app. To the restaurant you want and check the menu


----------



## momimouse27

*Sigh*  Duh...I can't believe I didn't do that.  I think 2020 is affecting my brain...

BTW, I will say I am not mobile order savvy.  I have never once used mobile order in WDW.  Our last trip was 2 1/2 years ago, and I never had the need at the time.  Looks like I better learn.


----------



## yulilin3

momimouse27 said:


> *Sigh*  Duh...I can't believe I didn't do that.  I think 2020 is affecting my brain...
> 
> BTW, I will say I am not mobile order savvy.  I have never once used mobile order in WDW.  Our last trip was 2 1/2 years ago, and I never had the need at the time.  Looks like I better learn.


You can go to the app, the restaurant and click order food. 
You pick a pick up time,  then the items you want.  Pay with your linked credit card and when you're at the restaurant you just click "make my order"


----------



## Akck

You can practice now by starting an order now. Just don’t finish it. Add a few items to an order and then back out of it. The worse thing that might happen is when you’re in the park, your practice order pops up and you have to delete what you don’t want. The likely case is the app forgets your order when you back out of it.


----------



## maryj11

PrincessV said:


> I have the no-pleats, around the ears type. It has a pocket for a filter, and I use a 4-cup size coffee filter folded in half in there. IDK if the filter really does much about transmission, but it does lend some stability to the fabric, which I find more comfortable than not having anything in there.


Ok thank you! I have some Hanes mask and they are comfortable. I might get a few of those to.


----------



## Princesspixi

Just back from a quick weekend trip. 
MK on Saturday the 22
HS on Sunday the 23
AK on Monday the 24, only rode FOP. Was offered to get back in line to ride again but I couldn’t. 

It was a little crowded, but manageable. Overall I felt everyone was respectful of each other and the rules. There were people who took their masks off or temporarily down, but put them right back. CM were also giving out reminders. I never saw anyone blatantly disregarding the rules. 

The ground markers were confusing and took time to get used to. I would wait on mine until the group Infront of me got to their next one then move. I only had to give one lady a mean look cause she was literally standing with my group. She backed up. 

I’m my experience wait times were less than what was posted every time. Except Mine train. Less than 10 minutes for Space Mountain both times I rode it and I would have walked in FOP if people weren’t taking pictures. 

Everyone seemed really happy to be there. Both cast members and guests. In my 3 days I only saw 1 break down/tantrum  

Mickey and Minnie Railroad is great! We got in line at 9:35 it said a 35 min which was perfect for getting a boarding group! Well it went faster, much faster and we were boarding at 9:55. I set a timer for 9:58 to get logged into my phone and ready. We missed the entire last scene waiting to hit join. When it stopped to get off it showed me the confirmation I got one. I didn’t practice, I used WiFi, and all members of my party were already selected. We got boarding group 4, but it wasn’t boarding yet. So, we went to ride Smugglers Run. By the time we got off our group was boarding. 
Now, my family is not a fan of Star Wars so this could be why, but we weren’t impressed. Not at all. Until the demand calms down it was probably a one and done for us. We also got a lunch reservation at Ogas so we could get out of the heat and check it out. It was really fun! The drinks were tasty as was the ration (big Jell-O shot)

I put a camel back bladder in my park bag. It was great! I kept it full and was able to drink without taking off my mask. 

The pool area of our hotel (Kidani Village) was pretty crowded. I was also disappointed with the lack of food options. We made it work and it wasn’t an issue, but it could complicate your stay. 

Masks made it hard to hear. So be sure to listen closely. 

I think going with minimal expectations is the way to go. Just go with the flow and plan the day as you go. I was able to ride everything at MK and HS with the exception of 6 rides, 3 of which were down. The other 3 I just didn’t do. I had no plan or expectation except have a relaxing day at the park, ride what I could, and Mickey and Minnie was a priority 
Let me know if I can answer any questions.


----------



## cjlong88

We arrived in Orlando around 12:15 am today. Walked down to the car rentals and waited in line. We noticed that every time someone would go up to the counter, they would suddenly get angry. What the hell was going on?!

We wait about an hour before it’s our turn. I walk up, and I can just tell that the woman working the counter is over it. I say hello and decide that whatever is causing others to get angry, I’m just gonna let it roll off my back.

I ask her how she’s doing, and she says she has been better. I ask if everything is okay. And she says, “Well, I got to work this evening and there were no rental cars in the garage.” Like, zero. So...instead of giving out cars, she was giving out the only thing she could, which was 15-person passenger vans.

Maybe it was lack of sleep or the stress I felt from flying during COVID, but all I did was laugh. I told her that as long as it worked and had all four wheels, we will take it. Those poor humans behind us had no clue what was waiting for them.

We get to the garage and see the thing. It’s gigantic. My partner and I cannot believe it. It’s the strangest way a Disney trip has ever started. If this is a sign of things to come, I cannot wait to report back. The entire van ride to the hotel was spent talking about how we should trick out the van and start a competing Lyft service around Disney. I’m talking TV, mini bar, snacks. Concierge service for those who pay extra per mile, which includes a bathrobe, complimentary Mickey Bars, and free WiFi.

Partner is working on his computer this morning, and we will be heading to Epcot sometime around 2ish. Can’t wait to eat and drink all of the things.


----------



## NC State

cjlong88 said:


> We arrived in Orlando around 12:15 am today. Walked down to the car rentals and waited in line. We noticed that every time someone would go up to the counter, they would suddenly get angry. What the hell was going on?!
> 
> We wait about an hour before it’s our turn. I walk up, and I can just tell that the woman working the counter is over it. I say hello and decide that whatever is causing others to get angry, I’m just gonna let it roll off my back.
> 
> I ask her how she’s doing, and she says she has been better. I say is everything okay? And she says, “Well, I got to work this evening and there were no rental cars in the garage.” Like, zero. So...instead of giving out cars, she was giving out the only thing she could, which was 15-person passenger vans.
> 
> Maybe it was lack of sleep or the stress I felt from flying during COVID, but all I did was laugh. I told her that as long as it worked and had all four wheels, we will take it. Those poor humans behind us had no clue what was waiting for them.
> 
> We get to the garage and see the thing. It’s gigantic. My partner and I cannot believe it. It’s the strangest way a Disney trip has ever started. If this is a sign of things to come, I cannot wait to report back. The entire van ride to the hotel was spent talking about how we should trick out the van and start a competing Lyft service around Disney. I’m talking TV, mini bar, snacks. Concierge service for those who pay extra per mile, which includes a bathrobe, complimentary Mickey Bars, and free WiFi.
> 
> Partner is working on his computer this morning, and we will be heading to Epcot sometime around 2ish. Can’t wait to eat and drink all of the things.
> 
> View attachment 522247


I'm sure you made her feel better just being nice about it.


----------



## yulilin3

@cjlong88  thanks for not getting angry and with attitude. Everyone working in the service industry is having very rough shifts, I bet you didn't have driving a 15 person van at Disney in your bingo card for 2020?


----------



## kittylady1972

cjlong88 said:


> We arrived in Orlando around 12:15 am today. Walked down to the car rentals and waited in line. We noticed that every time someone would go up to the counter, they would suddenly get angry. What the hell was going on?!
> 
> 
> I ask her how she’s doing, and she says she has been better. I ask if everything is okay. And she says, “Well, I got to work this evening and there were no rental cars in the garage.” Like, zero. So...instead of giving out cars, she was giving out the only thing she could, which was 15-person passenger vans.
> 
> Maybe it was lack of sleep or the stress I felt from flying during COVID, but all I did was laugh. I told her that as long as it worked and had all four wheels, we will take it. Those poor humans behind us had no clue what was waiting for them.
> 
> We get to the garage and see the thing. It’s gigantic. My partner and I cannot believe it. It’s the strangest way a Disney trip has ever started. If this is a sign of things to come, I cannot wait to report back. The entire van ride to the hotel was spent talking about how we should trick out the van and start a competing Lyft service around Disney. I’m talking TV, mini bar, snacks. Concierge service for those who pay extra per mile, which includes a bathrobe, complimentary Mickey Bars, and free WiFi.
> 
> Partner is working on his computer this morning, and we will be heading to Epcot sometime around 2ish. Can’t wait to eat and drink all of the things.



Just a word of caution for you...because I didn't know this and I've rented one of those large vans before....hope you also got the insurance.

Yes...normally your own car insurance and/or credit card with travel protection will cover rental cars if something happens HOWEVER there is a special clause for these larger vans that excludes them from the coverage.

As somebody who rented one of these beasts before...and ended up having some difficulty parking it in a garage and scraping it up a bit on a support beam...and then paying out of pocket for the damages....just *BE AWARE*.


----------



## cjlong88

Thank you for the heads up! They also install the SunPass in them with the hope that you use it so they can charge you. Not today, Satan!

went to grab breakfast this morning and opted to go inside because I didn’t think I would meet the clearance. 

The only places we are driving to are Epcot and MK and back to MCO, so I’m hoping we don’t run into any issues.

On another note, will Disney consider a 15-passenger van as an “oversized vehicle”?


----------



## Sara W

Thank you for completely making my morning with your hilarious story and positive attitude. I needed that!


----------



## yulilin3

cjlong88 said:


> Thank you for the heads up! They also install the SunPass in them with the hope that you use it so they can charge you. Not today, Satan!
> 
> went to grab breakfast this morning and opted to go inside because I didn’t think I would meet the clearance.
> 
> The only places we are driving to are Epcot and MK and back to MCO, so I’m hoping we don’t run into any issues.
> 
> On another note, will Disney consider a 15-passenger van as an “oversized vehicle”?


I don't think it's an oversized vehicle.


----------



## Stasieki

PrincessV said:


> *Overall takeaways:*
> It was one of the best visits I've had in 15+ years!! I came to love WDW back in the 90s, when low crowds, some things closed, not having fireworks or parades every day, no FastPass was the norm, and this felt very much like those days again. No backtracking or criss-crossing parks to do rides: I just circled through each park, stopping at things I wanted to do as I got to them.
> 
> Wearing a mask was a non-issue. I had a pile of Vera Bradley ones and Hanes - all cotton; I found the Vera ones a bit more comfortable in the worst of the heat, but both were soft, easy to breathe in, and did not bother my skin or ears at all. I changed to a fresh mask after eating, so I used 2-3 masks per day.
> 
> With no rain all three days, temps were HIGH: heat indexes well over 100. I'm acclimated to it, I drank plenty of fluids, stuck to the shade when I could, and used an umbrella when I couldn't.
> 
> I was amazed by how clean were the parks! Not just in terms of pandemic hygiene - but no overflowing trash cans, CMs constantly picking up litter. The standards WDW used to hold itself to all the time.
> 
> I found most CMs happy to chat and appreciative of some kind words. it was nice to see them looking relaxed and not stressed by the demands of trying to manage hoards of humans.
> 
> I felt very, very safe at WDW and will absolutely go back for more. I'm sure going on weekdays helped with that; I'm not sure I'm up to a weekend visit yet.



Ohhh.  I have been on the DIS for a long time and loved reading your TR's.  When I first started reading them I always followed your advice.  I was just having kids taking them to our first trips.  We lived in Jacksonville at the time.  The kids are now 14 and 10 and we live in Tennessee now.  Anyways.  Was so happy to see your sign-on.


----------



## Lsdolphin

cjlong88 said:


> We arrived in Orlando around 12:15 am today. Walked down to the car rentals and waited in line. We noticed that every time someone would go up to the counter, they would suddenly get angry. What the hell was going on?!
> 
> We wait about an hour before it’s our turn. I walk up, and I can just tell that the woman working the counter is over it. I say hello and decide that whatever is causing others to get angry, I’m just gonna let it roll off my back.
> 
> I ask her how she’s doing, and she says she has been better. I ask if everything is okay. And she says, “Well, I got to work this evening and there were no rental cars in the garage.” Like, zero. So...instead of giving out cars, she was giving out the only thing she could, which was 15-person passenger vans.
> 
> Maybe it was lack of sleep or the stress I felt from flying during COVID, but all I did was laugh. I told her that as long as it worked and had all four wheels, we will take it. Those poor humans behind us had no clue what was waiting for them.
> 
> We get to the garage and see the thing. It’s gigantic. My partner and I cannot believe it. It’s the strangest way a Disney trip has ever started. If this is a sign of things to come, I cannot wait to report back. The entire van ride to the hotel was spent talking about how we should trick out the van and start a competing Lyft service around Disney. I’m talking TV, mini bar, snacks. Concierge service for those who pay extra per mile, which includes a bathrobe, complimentary Mickey Bars, and free WiFi.
> 
> Partner is working on his computer this morning, and we will be heading to Epcot sometime around 2ish. Can’t wait to eat and drink all of the things.
> 
> View attachment 522247




Can u even drive a 15 passenger van in a regular drivers license?


----------



## KrazeeK120

Lsdolphin said:


> Can u even drive a 15 passenger van in a regular drivers license?



yes. My kid goes to Catholic school and...shocker...there are many large families in the school. A few families have these types of vans. No special license required.


----------



## kdonnel

Lsdolphin said:


> Can u even drive a 15 passenger van in a regular drivers license?


15 passengers is the limit before a CDL is required.

I remember one cruise vacation I rented one because we were a group of 9 and were spending a few days pre cruse in Miami.  I would always pull up to the hotel to drop the passengers before heading to self parking.  Every time after everyone got out, people waiting for the hotel shuttle would try to get in thinking I was the shuttle and would be going to the airport.  Every time.


----------



## DSLRuser

cjlong88 said:


> Thank you for the heads up! They also install the SunPass in them with the hope that you use it so they can charge you. Not today, Satan!




LOL...depends on if I am expensing the rental or not.


----------



## DSLRuser

yulilin3 said:


> if you want to enjoy a beverage while sitting then I would suggest to go to an outdoor restaurant sitting area or a relaxation station




Suggestion noted.......but as long as said person is "socially distant"...they are following Disney's rules and can be free to drink theiur coffee


----------



## yulilin3

DSLRuser said:


> Suggestion noted.......but as long as said person is "socially distant"...they are following Disney's rules and can be free to drink theiur coffee


technically yes, but you will get the over controlling CM, so, if possible, just find a dinning area or the relaxation station to avoid further issues.


----------



## LaDonna

Since so many places are closed or offering less choices. Can anyone tell me the best icecream products to get at each park. I know we will won’t dole whip at Mk and I’m thinking story book treats will still be open. But how about other park? Besides the usual Mickey bars etc


----------



## backsideofmagicfanclub

LaDonna said:


> Since so many places are closed or offering less choices. Can anyone tell me the best icecream products to get at each park. I know we will won’t dole whip at Mk and I’m thinking story book treats will still be open. But how about other park? Besides the usual Mickey bars etc


In Epcot, definitely check out L'Artiasan des Glaces in the France pavillion. So good!


----------



## disneygirlsng

backsideofmagicfanclub said:


> In Epcot, definitely check out L'Artiasan des Glaces in the France pavillion. So good!


I second this! Or you can take the 5 minute walk outside Epcot over to the take out window of Beaches and Cream, also delicious!

I didn't see much ice cream at HS other than Mickey bars and the frozen lemonade they usually have at the carts. AK has dole whips (with rum!) and some raspberry swirl treat, not sure about that one though, didn't try it.


----------



## LaDonna

disneygirlsng said:


> I second this! Or you can take the 5 minute walk outside Epcot over to the take out window of Beaches and Cream, also delicious!
> 
> I didn't see much ice cream at HS other than Mickey bars and the frozen lemonade they usually have at the carts. AK has dole whips (with rum!) and some raspberry swirl treat, not sure about that one though, didn't try it.


We have a reservationS for beaches and cream we’re going to get the kitchen sink 
maybe I should start looking at shakes and slushes too we will be splurging on lots of cold treats


----------



## PrincessV

Stasieki said:


> Ohhh.  I have been on the DIS for a long time and loved reading your TR's.  When I first started reading them I always followed your advice.  I was just having kids taking them to our first trips.  We lived in Jacksonville at the time.  The kids are now 14 and 10 and we live in Tennessee now.  Anyways.  Was so happy to see your sign-on.


Oh my gosh - thank you, this just made my day!!! My "Leo" is now an adult. AN ADULT!!!11!!!!! So crazy. I miss those amazing TR heydays; we sure had a lot of fun, didn't we?! Wishing you well and hope you get to enjoy some more great WDW time with those kiddos over the next few years. It goes by entirely too quickly.


----------



## disneygirlsng

LaDonna said:


> We have a reservationS for beaches and cream we’re going to get the kitchen sink
> maybe I should start looking at shakes and slushes too we will be splurging on lots of cold treats


The Peter Pan Float at Storybook Treats in MK is one of my favs!!


----------



## LaDonna

disneygirlsng said:


> The Peter Pan Float at Storybook Treats in MK is one of my favs!!


I think that was the one I had last year it was really good


----------



## SPSRAS

Judique said:


> I've canceled one upcoming trip but have 2 more booked. So, been reading a lot and now we are hearing of some enforcement.  I was actually thinking that Disney may have done some silent enforcement where people were escorted away through the back areas, and the average person didn't get to see.
> 
> It's not Disney that makes me need to cancel. It's other guest behavior.  I experienced this on a weekend trip with other guests in our hotel. Elevator capacity = 4 wearing masks. Yet, sometimes there would be 8 or 9 people getting off or trying to fit in.  I avoided and took the stairs.
> 
> I just don't want to spend my time avoiding people at Disney. So now, I'm planning January and February - with the possibility of a resort only trip. Only 4-5 floors to climb at BWV!


We took two trips over the summer - One to Disney/US the other the Gaitlinburg. The difference in compliance could not have been more stark. At both parks there really were only the odd few with improper mask wearing and every time I noticed one it was very easy to avoid or move away from that person. Like many others have said I found it much better than my local stores/streets and much better organised for social distancing which works even better than a mask.


----------



## Jennx36

For those that have recently visited WDW, has the Minnie Van service resumed?


----------



## disneygirlsng

Jennx36 said:


> For those that have recently visited WDW, has the Minnie Van service resumed?


Not as of yesterday


----------



## disneygirlsng

All good things must come to an end, I've had a fantastic week here going solo, but I'm headed home in the morning. Spent yesterday in MK and did every single open attraction, with several repeats, it was so much fun! After 3 trips at Pop since the skyliner opened, it is still one of my most favorite things here. It is going to be very, very hard for me to stay anywhere that is not on the line again in the future.

Of all areas of WDW that I've been to, I got to explore a brand new to me area this week with the Car Care Center. Something in my car didn't feel quite right on the way down and worsened throughout the week, turns out that somewhere along the trip down my engine mount broke. Very lucky that something seriously bad didn't happen driving it. But very thankful for the awesome guys that were able to fix it right up and make it good as new. Was "forced" to add an extra day to my trip to get it fixed, but an extra day here was welcomed (the bill not so much).


----------



## TJA

Just back from a 6-night stay (3 nights at CR and 3 nights at YC).  

Parks:
Our MK days were Friday and Sunday.  Probably not the best planning on my part.  Wait times for the big-ticket rides were mostly always posted anywhere from 40-50 minutes.  However, real-time waits for us were normally 20-30 minutes with the exception of 7DMT which ended up being 40 minutes (posted time was 50 minutes).  The biggest "joke" for us was Pirates posted time being 45 minutes and we were on the ride in 12 minutes!  It was literally a walk on.  We were betting they just forgot to change the posted time. 

AK day was Saturday.  Our longest wait time was for Navi(!) believe it or not.  We waited almost exactly what was posted (40 minutes).  FoP took 21 minutes and I *think* the posted time was 45 minutes.  First time for our family on EE this trip!!  My DDs loved it, so they ended up closing down the park going on it time after time.  It was walk-on by the end of the night.  Bus experience there and back was awesome, but then again attendance wasn't high so we made it on the first bus both times (unless we were just lucky on our timing).

HS days were Monday and Wednesday.  Those were the exhausting days for me....probably because the actual wait times were kind of long (30-40 minutes) for the newest rides, and most lines seemed to be outside in the sun.  RotR was incredible!  So glad we binge-watched Star Wars before our trip.  We easily got in Boarding Groups both of our days there while in line for Slinky Dog (Group 17 on Monday and 12 on Wednesday).  We really enjoyed taking the skyliner back to Epcot (and then walk to YC) each night.  

Epcot day was Tuesday and was so awesome!  Wait times were very low.  Posted 15-20 minutes for Soarin, TT, and Frozen.  We forgot to keep track of the actual wait time, but we were all in agreement it was no longer than 10-15 minutes for all 3 rides.

Random Thoughts:
One big thing we noted was we really did enjoy not having FP's.  It was so nice going to a park each day and knowing we'd be able to go on ALL the rides whenever we chose.  Having said that, I do hope once Disney increases attendance that there will be some sort of FP feature otherwise we'll be waiting over an hour for each popular ride.

A take-away is the lack of park hopping.  One of the reasons we love staying at YC/BC is the ability to end each night in Epcot with a nice dinner or snacks in the World Showcase.  So that was a big adjustment for us.  I do hope they find a way to allow same-day options to choose a 2nd park if it's not at capacity that day/night.

All-in-all, it was one of our best trips because the crowds were so low and most rides were easy to get on.  We really enjoyed not having everyone cram together on rides and on buses.  We didn't mind the masks (we're from NY where masks have been mandated for a while).  The heat wasn't the greatest but we all brought fans that helped quite a lot.  It had been a long time since we stayed at CR, so it was nice to get back there.  Our stay at YC began on its first day open (August 24) so SAB wasn't very crowded and that was very nice too!  Oh, and I finally got to meet one of my long-time DIS friends! 

Onto planning for the next trip!!


----------



## nancy155

I searched the forum but haven't been able to locate an answer.  I know with mobile ordering pre-Covid there was not a way to receive the AP discount.  Now with the strong encouragement to use mobile ordering is there a way to obtain the AP discount, or does one have to order with a cast member?  Thanks!


----------



## yulilin3

nancy155 said:


> I searched the forum but haven't been able to locate an answer.  I know with mobile ordering pre-Covid there was not a way to receive the AP discount.  Now with the strong encouragement to use mobile ordering is there a way to obtain the AP discount, or does one have to order with a cast member?  Thanks!


Here's the answer on the site https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/my-disney-experience/mobile-order-discounts/
Now i know that at ak cm are able to apply their discount straight on the app


----------



## Earningmywings

disneygirlsng said:


> All good things must come to an end, I've had a fantastic week here going solo, but I'm headed home in the morning. Spent yesterday in MK and did every single open attraction, with several repeats, it was so much fun! After 3 trips at Pop since the skyliner opened, it is still one of my most favorite things here. It is going to be very, very hard for me to stay anywhere that is not on the line again in the future.
> 
> Of all areas of WDW that I've been to, I got to explore a brand new to me area this week with the Car Care Center. Something in my car didn't feel quite right on the way down and worsened throughout the week, turns out that somewhere along the trip down my engine mount broke. Very lucky that something seriously bad didn't happen driving it. But very thankful for the awesome guys that were able to fix it right up and make it good as new. Was "forced" to add an extra day to my trip to get it fixed, but an extra day here was welcomed (the bill not so much).


 
Did you notice the times the Skyliner was open? We are staying at Pop and looking to do a reservation on the Boardwalk, but we don’t want to get stranded and have to call an Uber.


----------



## nancy155

yulilin3 said:


> Here's the answer on the site https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/my-disney-experience/mobile-order-discounts/
> Now i know that at ak cm are able to apply their discount straight on the app


Yes the cast member I spoke about it on the phone said she was able to apply her CM discount when mobile ordering but did not know about AP or TIW.  Thank you for responding, I appreciate it!  Always can count on other "dis'ers


----------



## yulilin3

Earningmywings said:


> Did you notice the times the Skyliner was open? We are staying at Pop and looking to do a reservation on the Boardwalk, but we don’t want to get stranded and have to call an Uber.


Skyliner opens at 9am but only one way from epcot to cbr until 10:30


----------



## kittylady1972

cjlong88 said:


> Thank you for the heads up! They also install the SunPass in them with the hope that you use it so they can charge you. Not today, Satan!
> 
> went to grab breakfast this morning and opted to go inside because I didn’t think I would meet the clearance.
> 
> The only places we are driving to are Epcot and MK and back to MCO, so I’m hoping we don’t run into any issues.
> 
> On another note, will Disney consider a 15-passenger van as an “oversized vehicle”?



Wow....I've seen the SunPass in some vehicles but I have my own and always bring it.  Most of the time I even remember to take it back out of the rental when I return it.   

Disney does not consder the 15 passenger an oversized...we always ended up parking in the regular lots with no issue.


----------



## Earningmywings

yulilin3 said:


> Skyliner opens at 9am but only one way from epcot to cbr until 10:30



Sorry I meant what time does it stop running, poor wording in my original post.


----------



## cjlong88

Just got back to the hotel from Epcot. Here’s a quick report.

PROS:
- Parking was easy. Arrived around 12:30 with no one at the gate and was directed right to the front of the lot.

- Crowds in the early afternoon were nonexistent. We were shocked at how few people we saw.

-Lines were very short. Like, crazy short. Even when the wait was posted at 30 minutes, it was more like 5-10. Most rides were walk-ones. We could have easily ridden everything multiple times.

- Despite what people say, there is PLENTY to do at Epcot if you take it easy and enjoy everything it has to offer right now.

- We got to walk at a leisurely pace. We didn’t have to have a plan. We were spontaneous and took frequent breaks. We weren’t the usual Disney tired at the end of the day because we took our time. It was simply wonderful.

- Mask compliance was fantastic. Only 2 people I saw the entire day walking around without masks. Only a few noses peaking out. Never had a single problem with people crowding us in the lines. I was preparing myself for worse, was pleasantly surprised by how responsible everyone was. It restored my faith in humanity...maybe we really can care about one another.

- Our favorite eats/drinks: Furano Martini (Japan), Caramalized Onion Tart (France), Kulua Pork Slider (Hawaii), La Vie en Rose Slush (France...I could have had 10 of these), Schinkennudeln (Germany), Liquid Nitro Cake Pops (Desserts and Champagne)


CONS:
- Epcot in the evening was noticeably more crowded. Even after the thunderstorm came through. My guess is that those with annual passes who had a reservation must have come to enjoy the festival after work. Still was easy to navigate, but some of the choke points were definitely trickier.

- The Land Pavilion can be tricky when it comes to social distancing. Same with some parts of WS.

OVERALL:

A wonderful first day. We are so happy to be back. I think Epcot is a great park to visit now. Lots of space to move around, great food options, and wait times were low.

We look forward to seeing how our day at MK goes tomorrow.


----------



## summerw

Stasieki said:


> Ohhh.  I have been on the DIS for a long time and loved reading your TR's.  When I first started reading them I always followed your advice.  I was just having kids taking them to our first trips.  We lived in Jacksonville at the time.  The kids are now 14 and 10 and we live in Tennessee now.  Anyways.  Was so happy to see your sign-on.





PrincessV said:


> Oh my gosh - thank you, this just made my day!!! My "Leo" is now an adult. AN ADULT!!!11!!!!! So crazy. I miss those amazing TR heydays; we sure had a lot of fun, didn't we?! Wishing you well and hope you get to enjoy some more great WDW time with those kiddos over the next few years. It goes by entirely too quickly.



I was actually thinking the same thing when I saw your report, PrincessV. I read a lot of older ones when I joined Dis in 2010 and loved them. That was before our first trip and they made me so excited to go!


----------



## disneygirlsng

Earningmywings said:


> Sorry I meant what time does it stop running, poor wording in my original post.


10:30


----------



## disneygirlsng

nancy155 said:


> Yes the cast member I spoke about it on the phone said she was able to apply her CM discount when mobile ordering but did not know about AP or TIW.  Thank you for responding, I appreciate it!  Always can count on other "dis'ers


I can't think of anywhere that does mobile ordering that has AP discounts, not sure about TiW though. I believe the only QS that accept AP discounts are in Disney Springs, none in the parks.


----------



## yulilin3

disneygirlsng said:


> I can't think of anywhere that does mobile ordering that has AP discounts, not sure about TiW though. I believe the only QS that accept AP discounts are in Disney Springs, none in the parks.


I think you might be right.  I vaguely remember having a m.o. discount at ak when the program first launched,  but now the only discount i see is for cm


----------



## Alice Sr.

cjlong88 said:


> Furano Martini (Japan)


Interesting, is it a standard martini just made with Japanese vodka or is it flavored?  Thanks for reporting, so happy to hear your opinion on Epcot.


----------



## yulilin3

Booked a one night room at Pop using CM discount ($80) decided to come befor dhs to have breakfast,  lo and behold got the notification that the room was ready.  70s section building 6.
Can say that the line for mk buys st 7:45 was long,  cm at the ends furiously texting on his phone,  transportation doesn't start until an hour befor but people don't seem to know or care

The room is really nice,  definitely no great view or anything but want expecting that
Found the channel that plays happily ever after continually from 6pm to 10pm, channel 74, must dos is now on 73


----------



## dachsie

yulilin3 said:


> Booked a one night room at Pop using CM discount ($80) decided to come befor dhs to have breakfast,  lo and behold got the notification that the room was ready.  70s section building 6.
> Can say that the line for mk buys st 7:45 was long,  cm at the ends furiously texting on his phone,  transportation doesn't start until an hour befor but people don't seem to know or care
> 
> The room is really nice,  definitely no great view or anything but want expecting that
> Found the channel that plays happily ever after continually from 6pm to 10pm, channel 74, must dos is now on 73


@yulilin3 Could you verify for me that the TV has ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and SECN for me or which ones of those it has.  Thanks!


----------



## cjlong88

Alice Sr. said:


> Interesting, is it a standard martini just made with Japanese vodka or is it flavored?  Thanks for reporting, so happy to hear your opinion on Epcot.



It had lavender syrup and yuzu juice accompanying the vodka. It begins very floral but then has a nice, sweet after taste. One of the more complex flavored drinks I have had at F&W. The portion is small, but I was glad. While I enjoyed it very much, I don’t think I could have consumed too much more of it.


----------



## trishadono

TJA said:


> Just back from a 6-night stay (3 nights at CR and 3 nights at YC).
> 
> Parks:
> Our MK days were Friday and Sunday.  Probably not the best planning on my part.  Wait times for the big-ticket rides were mostly always posted anywhere from 40-50 minutes.  However, real-time waits for us were normally 20-30 minutes with the exception of 7DMT which ended up being 40 minutes (posted time was 50 minutes).  The biggest "joke" for us was Pirates posted time being 45 minutes and we were on the ride in 12 minutes!  It was literally a walk on.  We were betting they just forgot to change the posted time.
> 
> AK day was Saturday.  Our longest wait time was for Navi(!) believe it or not.  We waited almost exactly what was posted (40 minutes).  FoP took 21 minutes and I *think* the posted time was 45 minutes.  First time for our family on EE this trip!!  My DDs loved it, so they ended up closing down the park going on it time after time.  It was walk-on by the end of the night.  Bus experience there and back was awesome, but then again attendance wasn't high so we made it on the first bus both times (unless we were just lucky on our timing).
> 
> HS days were Monday and Wednesday.  Those were the exhausting days for me....probably because the actual wait times were kind of long (30-40 minutes) for the newest rides, and most lines seemed to be outside in the sun.  RotR was incredible!  So glad we binge-watched Star Wars before our trip.  We easily got in Boarding Groups both of our days there while in line for Slinky Dog (Group 17 on Monday and 12 on Wednesday).  We really enjoyed taking the skyliner back to Epcot (and then walk to YC) each night.
> 
> Epcot day was Tuesday and was so awesome!  Wait times were very low.  Posted 15-20 minutes for Soarin, TT, and Frozen.  We forgot to keep track of the actual wait time, but we were all in agreement it was no longer than 10-15 minutes for all 3 rides.
> 
> Random Thoughts:
> One big thing we noted was we really did enjoy not having FP's.  It was so nice going to a park each day and knowing we'd be able to go on ALL the rides whenever we chose.  Having said that, I do hope once Disney increases attendance that there will be some sort of FP feature otherwise we'll be waiting over an hour for each popular ride.
> 
> A take-away is the lack of park hopping.  One of the reasons we love staying at YC/BC is the ability to end each night in Epcot with a nice dinner or snacks in the World Showcase.  So that was a big adjustment for us.  I do hope they find a way to allow same-day options to choose a 2nd park if it's not at capacity that day/night.
> 
> All-in-all, it was one of our best trips because the crowds were so low and most rides were easy to get on.  We really enjoyed not having everyone cram together on rides and on buses.  We didn't mind the masks (we're from NY where masks have been mandated for a while).  The heat wasn't the greatest but we all brought fans that helped quite a lot.  It had been a long time since we stayed at CR, so it was nice to get back there.  Our stay at YC began on its first day open (August 24) so SAB wasn't very crowded and that was very nice too!  Oh, and I finally got to meet one of my long-time DIS friends!
> 
> Onto planning for the next trip!!


It was such a pleasure to finally meet you!

Nice review!


----------



## yulilin3

dachsie said:


> @yulilin3 Could you verify for me that the TV has ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and SECN for me or which ones of those it has.  Thanks!


Espn classic,  cbs sports  , nfl network mlb network,  espn deportes


----------



## dachsie

yulilin3 said:


> Espn classic,  cbs sports  , nfl network mlb network,  espn deportes


It doesn't have the others?


----------



## scrappinginontario

dachsie said:


> It doesn't have the others?


Based in what @yulilin3 said, since she is there and actually checked, no, the others are not there.


----------



## Guyvis

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Finally some action on the resort TV.
> 
> View attachment 508579


Makes me so happy to see this


----------



## Guyvis

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I wish these bus dividers would stay.  Love them!   No one can see me sneaking in some DISBoard posts.
> 
> View attachment 508615


i love the dividers


----------



## WEDWDW

scrappinginontario said:


> Based in what @yulilin3 said, since she is there and actually checked, no, the others are not there.


That's too bad.

Do we know why ESPN,ESPN2,ESPNU and SEC Network have been removed form Resort TV?

That is really strange.

College Football Season is almost here(HOPEFULLY)!

There are going to be some very unhappy Guests!lol


----------



## yulilin3

WEDWDW said:


> That's too bad.
> 
> Do we know why ESPN,ESPN2,ESPNU and SEC Network have been removed form Resort TV?
> 
> That is really strange.
> 
> College Football Season is almost here(HOPEFULLY)!
> 
> There are going to be some very unhappy Guests!lol


Just checked the boards,  i left right after i posted that this morning,  I'm at dhs as soon as i get back to the room I'll check more thoroughly


----------



## Amy11401

WEDWDW said:


> That's too bad.
> 
> Do we know why ESPN,ESPN2,ESPNU and SEC Network have been removed form Resort TV?
> 
> That is really strange.
> 
> College Football Season is almost here(HOPEFULLY)!
> 
> There are going to be some very unhappy Guests!lol


This sucks even more since people are in their rooms earlier because parks, etc close up so early.


----------



## WEDWDW

Amy11401 said:


> This sucks even more since people are in their rooms earlier because parks, etc close up so early.


No doubt-I just don't understand why Disney would remove all the ESPN Channels form Resort TV after all these years.

Surely they will put them back up when Football(HOPEFULLY) starts back!

If they don't they may get one or two or one million complaints!lol


----------



## yulilin3

Ok, I'm in the room,  here's thre full lineup, sorry i didn't get then all before , i wad rushing to get to dhs.
Espn, espn2, espn news, espn U college football,  golf pga, espn deportes, mlb network,  nfl network,  cbs sports,  nbc sports,  espn classic,  espn wwos,


----------



## WEDWDW

So no SEC Network anymore on Resort TV Channel 27-that is too bad.

Going to be a lot of MAD SEC fans!lol


----------



## only hope

disneygirlsng said:


> I can't think of anywhere that does mobile ordering that has AP discounts, not sure about TiW though. I believe the only QS that accept AP discounts are in Disney Springs, none in the parks.



There used to be one qs at AK that gave passholders a discount (Flametree maybe?). But yeah, many qs at DS but 0 in the parks. I’m more willing to buy food at Uni since I get a discount at _all_ qs.


----------



## nancy155

only hope said:


> There used to be one qs at AK that gave passholders a discount (Flametree maybe?). But yeah, many qs at DS but 0 in the parks. I’m more willing to buy food at Uni since I get a discount at _all_ qs.


Pecos Bills used to have the AP discount available. Looks like it has been removed and only a few QS in AK still have discounts.


----------



## brockash

scrappinginontario said:


> Based in what @yulilin3 said, since she is there and actually checked, no, the others are not there.


I think the poster was just asking for clarity (pretty reasonable) in which it looks like come to find out; most of them are there.  Had that poster not asked for clarity they would've thought the original ones were the only ones there.  Nothing wrong with them asking for clarity.


----------



## Alice Sr.

brockash said:


> I think the poster was just asking for clarity (pretty reasonable) in which it looks like come to find out; most of them are there.  Had that poster not asked for clarity they would've thought the original ones were the only ones there.  Nothing wrong with them asking for clarity.


Only 4 days left!  Are you going to give us daily updated ?


----------



## MomOTwins

yulilin3 said:


> Ok, I'm in the room,  here's thre full lineup, sorry i didn't get then all before , i wad rushing to get to dhs.
> Espn, espn2, espn news, espn U college football,  golf pga, espn deportes, mlb network,  nfl network,  cbs sports,  nbc sports,  espn classic,  espn wwos,


Don’t forget espn 8 “the ocho”


----------



## yulilin3

MomOTwins said:


> Don’t forget espn 8 “the ocho”


I don't get the reference  but ok


----------



## MomOTwins

yulilin3 said:


> I don't get the reference  but ok


Sorry--joke fell flat.  It's from Dodgeball (comedy movie)--the joke is there are so many ESPN channels, they ran out of sports, so ESPN 8 has all kinds of silly sports like dodgeball and axe throwing.


----------



## yulilin3

MomOTwins said:


> Sorry--joke fell flat.  It's from Dodgeball (comedy movie)--the joke is there are so many ESPN channels, they ran out of sports, so ESPN 8 has all kinds of silly sports like dodgeball and axe throwing.


I am not a sports person so I was amazed when i was actually getting that list of sports channels


----------



## dachsie

WEDWDW said:


> That's too bad.
> 
> Do we know why ESPN,ESPN2,ESPNU and SEC Network have been removed form Resort TV?
> 
> That is really strange.
> 
> College Football Season is almost here(HOPEFULLY)!
> 
> There are going to be some very unhappy Guests!lol


That's why I am asking.


----------



## dachsie

WEDWDW said:


> So no SEC Network anymore on Resort TV Channel 27-that is too bad.
> 
> Going to be a lot of MAD SEC fans!lol


Yea and with my luck that will be the channel my game will be on


----------



## WEDWDW

dachsie said:


> Yea and with my luck that will be the channel my game will be on


Not all is lost.  

When SEC Network was added to Resort TV a few years ago,it replaced ESPN Classic on Channel 27,BUT Disney never changed the Resort TV Guide list

The Poster does list ESPN Classic as one of the current Channels,so my "guess" is that ESPN Classic has not been "brought back" and replaced SEC Network on Channel 27 and SEC Network is still part of Resort TV.


----------



## lindsaydavis1982

What time would you recommend arriving for rope drop at AK?


----------



## brockash

Alice Sr. said:


> Only 4 days left!  Are you going to give us daily updated ?


Lol...that's an old countdown...never figured out how to get rid of it...but we will be heading to the Polynesian on Friday for a week.  We're excited, but getting a little worried about the crowds...and yes I'll be happy to report back


----------



## wendow

nancy155 said:


> Pecos Bills used to have the AP discount available. Looks like it has been removed and only a few QS in AK still have discounts.


Hmm, we were there in July and didn't get an AP discount at FlameTree. How do you get that when mobile ordering? That was required in July.


----------



## cjlong88

Okay, we are back in our hotel after a full day at MK....

OVERALL:

- I wouldn’t say it was super crowded. I also wouldn’t say it was empty. There were definitely more people than I anticipated. There was one moment in Fantasyland where it just felt like a normal day at Disney.

- Mask compliance was pretty good. Maybe 90%. Some pretty tricky choke points all over MK. Everyone did a very good job in queues with physical distancing.

- The first half of the day was definitely busier than the second half. The evening had noticeably lower crowds.

PROS:

- Jungle Skipper Canteen was EXCELLENT. The food was superb, the service was perfect, and we were spaced out well from other guests.

- We spent a good portion of our day playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom for the very first time. I had SO MUCH FUN. We finished the easy level and went back to the fire station to upgrade to medium. She gave each of us two free card packs, then gave us a giant stack of extra card packs (maybe 8-9 extras). We got so many great cards! We can’t wait to return and play the medium and hard levels.

- Spicy Chicken and Waffle sandwich from Sleep Hollow was amazing. That will be something I get every time at MK from now on.

- Some rides had long waits, but many were 20 minutes or less. Almost everything we rode had a shorter wait time than posted. Attractions we did: Space (3x), 7DMT (2x), BTMRR, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, HM, Buzz, Tomorrowland Speedway, Little Mermaid, Swiss Robinson Treehouse. All of the rides we chose to do had a 20-minute or less posted wait time, although we didn’t wait longer than 15 minutes for anything.

-Transportation at the end of the night was very well organized and the monorail line moved very quickly. Bravo to them for figuring out how to keep everything in order! Only took us 18 minutes from park exit to our beautiful 15-passenger van.

CONS:

- Honestly, with how busy it was today, it’s next to impossible to social distance appropriately the entire time. Pack your patience and wash your hands frequently.

- Lots of large families with small kids took up lots of space along the thoroughfares. They also seemed completely oblivious to the fact that no one could get around them or pass by them safely. It really makes it difficult to find a good route around them while maintaining our personal space.

- Splash and PotC had very long lines almost all day. 55-60 minutes a few times in the afternoon. Consistently 45 minutes throughout most of the day. If these are must-dos, tackling them first might be best for short lines. They both had a 5-minute posted wait at rope drop but quickly shot up within 45 minutes of park open before both rides suddenly went down (who knows why). HM and 7DMT had significantly shorter waits at the end of the day.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

- Epcot is more social distance friendly and made for a more relaxed pace. MK was fine, but not amazing.

- If you are the kind of person who would FP everything and refuse to wait longer than 5 minutes for ANY ride, then this might not be the best time for you to go. With FP we could have done a lot more rides, even during the busiest times of the year. That didn’t bother us since we visit so often, but if that is a deal breaker, maybe postpone until FP returns.

- If you don’t have patience (be honest, people), don’t go. When a line was long, we just tracked it on the app and waited to ride until it went down to a decent wait time. People will cut you off. We just stopped and let them go ahead of us (better than them creeping up behind us). This is not a good time to go if you get short-tempered from minor inconveniences.

- The magic is still here. But it definitely feels different.

- The flight is the most nerve wreaking part of the entire trip.

- With everyone you are around from flight to hotel to parks, it’s almost guaranteed that you are bound to come across someone with COVID. There are way more people in the parks than at your local grocery store or Target, and you will be confined within those spaces a lot longer. There’s definitely a risk, but Disney is doing everything they can to keep guests safe. If guests follow the rules, you really minimize the risk of contracting the virus.

-Masks were surprisingly easy to wear, even in the heat. We used bamboo cloth masks with adjustable ear loops and they were exceptionally comfortable.

- Would I do Pandemic Disney again? Yes. I wouldn’t visit MK again. Too many choke points all over. I would probably do AK instead simply because they have bigger thoroughfares and more room to spread out (plus it’s my favorite park).


----------



## Geomom

wendow said:


> Hmm, we were there in July and didn't get an AP discount at FlameTree. How do you get that when mobile ordering? That was required in July.


Flame tree only offers a discount for TIW currently.  Looks like the only QS that offer AP discounts are at DS and some resorts (values and moderates?).  I also don't think it's possible to get a discount while mobile ordering at this time anyways... would likely need to attempt to order in person.


----------



## yulilin3

Geomom said:


> Flame tree only offers a discount for TIW currently.  Looks like the only QS that offer AP discounts are at DS and some resorts (values and moderates?).  I also don't think it's possible to get a discount while mobile ordering at this time anyways... would likely need to attempt to order in person.


There's a button now on m.o. where you can apply your discount.  My dd did it at ak using her cast member discount they were giving in July


----------



## nancy155

yulilin3 said:


> There's a button now on m.o. where you can apply your discount.  My dd did it at ak using her cast member discount they were giving in July


Yes I saw that and did a “mock trial order” when I tried to put in “AP” it took me to a page that someone linked above that stated no AP or TIW discounts can be used when mobile ordering.  I will speak to CM when I am there and inquire.  . Can’t wait for my trip.


----------



## Turksmom

nancy155 said:


> Yes I saw that and did a “mock trial order” when I tried to put in “AP” it took me to a page that someone linked above that stated no AP or TIW discounts can be used when mobile ordering.  I will speak to CM when I am there and inquire.  . Can’t wait for my trip.


I tried the AP ID # and my TIW # on a mock order and neither of those worked either.


----------



## buzz2400

cjlong88 said:


> Okay, we are back in our hotel after a full day at MK....
> 
> OVERALL:
> 
> - I wouldn’t say it was super crowded. I also wouldn’t say it was empty. There were definitely more people than I anticipated. There was one moment in Fantasyland where it just felt like a normal day at Disney.
> 
> - Mask compliance was pretty good. Maybe 90%. Some pretty tricky choke points all over MK. Everyone did a very good job in queues with physical distancing.
> 
> - The first half of the day was definitely busier than the second half. The evening had noticeably lower crowds.
> 
> PROS:
> 
> - Jungle Skipper Canteen was EXCELLENT. The food was superb, the service was perfect, and we were spaced out well from other guests.
> 
> - We spent a good portion of our day playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom for the very first time. I had SO MUCH FUN. We finished the easy level and went back to the fire station to upgrade to medium. She gave each of us two free card packs, then gave us a giant stack of extra card packs (maybe 8-9 extras). We got so many great cards! We can’t wait to return and play the medium and hard levels.
> 
> - Spicy Chicken and Waffle sandwich from Sleep Hollow was amazing. That will be something I get every time at MK from now on.
> 
> - Some rides had long waits, but many were 20 minutes or less. Almost everything we rode had a shorter wait time than posted. Attractions we did: Space (3x), 7DMT (2x), BTMRR, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, HM, Buzz, Tomorrowland Speedway, Little Mermaid, Swiss Robinson Treehouse. All of the rides we chose to do had a 20-minute or less posted wait time, although we didn’t wait longer than 15 minutes for anything.
> 
> -Transportation at the end of the night was very well organized and the monorail line moved very quickly. Bravo to them for figuring out how to keep everything in order! Only took us 18 minutes from park exit to our beautiful 15-passenger van.
> 
> CONS:
> 
> - Honestly, with how busy it was today, it’s next to impossible to social distance appropriately the entire time. Pack your patience and wash your hands frequently.
> 
> - Lots of large families with small kids took up lots of space along the thoroughfares. They also seemed completely oblivious to the fact that no one could get around them or pass by them safely. It really makes it difficult to find a good route around them while maintaining our personal space.
> 
> - Splash and PotC had very long lines almost all day. 55-60 minutes a few times in the afternoon. Consistently 45 minutes throughout most of the day. If these are must-dos, tackling them first might be best for short lines. They both had a 5-minute posted wait at rope drop but quickly shot up within 45 minutes of park open before both rides suddenly went down (who knows why). HM and 7DMT had significantly shorter waits at the end of the day.
> 
> FINAL THOUGHTS:
> 
> - Epcot is more social distance friendly and made for a more relaxed pace. MK was fine, but not amazing.
> 
> - If you are the kind of person who would FP everything and refuse to wait longer than 5 minutes for ANY ride, then this might not be the best time for you to go. With FP we could have done a lot more rides, even during the busiest times of the year. That didn’t bother us since we visit so often, but if that is a deal breaker, maybe postpone until FP returns.
> 
> - If you don’t have patience (be honest, people), don’t go. When a line was long, we just tracked it on the app and waited to ride until it went down to a decent wait time. People will cut you off. We just stopped and let them go ahead of us (better than them creeping up behind us). This is not a good time to go if you get short-tempered from minor inconveniences.
> 
> - The magic is still here. But it definitely feels different.
> 
> - The flight is the most nerve wreaking part of the entire trip.
> 
> - With everyone you are around from flight to hotel to parks, it’s almost guaranteed that you are bound to come across someone with COVID. There are way more people in the parks than at your local grocery store or Target, and you will be confined within those spaces a lot longer. There’s definitely a risk, but Disney is doing everything they can to keep guests safe. If guests follow the rules, you really minimize the risk of contracting the virus.
> 
> -Masks were surprisingly easy to wear, even in the heat. We used bamboo cloth masks with adjustable ear loops and they were exceptionally comfortable.
> 
> - Would I do Pandemic Disney again? Yes. I wouldn’t visit MK again. Too many choke points all over. I would probably do AK instead simply because they have bigger thoroughfares and more room to spread out (plus it’s my favorite park).


Where did you get the bamboo cloth masks


----------



## julierocks

For those who have been to HS recently, I'm curious as to the actual wait time for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway.  No matter wait time of day I put it into a touring apps plan, it's 70+ mins for an estimated wait time.  I'm hoping this is because there's not enough data yet.  How can it be 70+ mins at rope drop?


----------



## IluvMGM

julierocks said:


> For those who have been to HS recently, I'm curious as to the actual wait time for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway.  No matter wait time of day I put it into a touring apps plan, it's 70+ mins for an estimated wait time.  I'm hoping this is because there's not enough data yet.  How can it be 70+ mins at rope drop?



I think because people arrive earlier than 10:00 and try to do that first, so by the time 10:00 hits, there is already a line.


----------



## julierocks

Didn't think of that.  How far before opening are CMs letting you in?


----------



## lovethattink

julierocks said:


> For those who have been to HS recently, I'm curious as to the actual wait time for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway.  No matter wait time of day I put it into a touring apps plan, it's 70+ mins for an estimated wait time.  I'm hoping this is because there's not enough data yet.  How can it be 70+ mins at rope drop?



Every morning I’ve been to DHS, it seems most people stop there first. We made Slinky Dog our first stop.


----------



## soniam

julierocks said:


> For those who have been to HS recently, I'm curious as to the actual wait time for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway.  No matter wait time of day I put it into a touring apps plan, it's 70+ mins for an estimated wait time.  I'm hoping this is because there's not enough data yet.  How can it be 70+ mins at rope drop?



Touring Plans assumes that you entered the park at the opening time. Since lines have already formed outside or inside, you would be at the back of a long line. They have been opening it before the parks opens though. TP has been doing this for FOP for a long time. I usually put in a break with a time and attraction name. Or I just live with it, knowing that we will be way ahead of schedule. I don't know if they have updated wait times yet in TP. We went the 2nd week of MK/AK opening/1st week of DHS/Epcot opening, so the times were completely wrong. I didn't even up end using them.


----------



## IluvMGM

julierocks said:


> Didn't think of that.  How far before opening are CMs letting you in?


I think the park opens when the parking lot does, 9:15?


----------



## disneygirlsng

julierocks said:


> Didn't think of that.  How far before opening are CMs letting you in?


About 45 minutes or so before official open. I waited 30 minutes on Tuesday, got in line at 9:45. Later in the afternoon it said 60 min, but the line was about where I was earlier in the day so probably closer to 30.


----------



## yulilin3

I have been seeing a lot of repeat questions. Please take the time to read back a couple of pages and your question might already been answered. Thank you


----------



## momandmousefan

We got to Hollywood Studios today (Sunday) a few minutes before 9 and had to circle around the block again before they would let cars line up. By 9:05 long lines of cars were let in. We chose poorly with the parking gate and didn’t get to park until about 9:20-9:30 (and got unlucky again and had to start a new row. Lol)  We got in after temp and such by about 9:40. There was already a wrap around line at Mickeys Railway. We wrapped around awhile and noticed the sign said 70 minutes. It took us about 35 minutes total. Based in where the line was further out compared to where we started it was probably at least 35-40 minutes wait all day until the afternoon.


slinky dog, millennium and toy story, rNr, tot also had super long lines a good part of the day. (Lines our way past the usual entrances)  The virtual reservation system for Rise was down until noon too. Overall, studios was a bit of a crowded zoo today. (alien saucers said 20 when we went on though but that was a walk on)

Lots of noses peeking out, and walking drinkers/smackers today too and bigger crowds to navigate.

We found Animal kingdom pretty busy yesterday too. (Saturday) Long line outside the entrance for FOP, and safari line at one point was all the way to Dawa Bar.

We’re definitely hoping this was just a weekend thing and tomorrow gets quieter again.


----------



## lelew

I have been following this thread for a while. With info from here and watching vlogs I decided to grab a last minute trip stay at old key west. Our trip started Saturday morning driving down from VA. We stopped overnight in Savanna GA. I would recommend not doing that for folks driving down 95. It was horrible. We went to downtown Savanna and everyone walking around with no mask.  There were crowds of young people walking around with drinks just getting trashed. It reminded me of something you see on Bourbon st in New Orleans precovid. They also had some sort of 10 person bike where you peddle for free shots and people were getting trashed on those things. I felt this was a big mistake  on my part stopping there. The next day we drove to Florida and checked in to Keywest. It was a breath of fresh air. I'm still here and so far feel VERY SAFE. We also went to Disney Spring around 5pm Sunday evening to eat dinner at Splitsville and that also felt safe. The Springs was a little crowded but that's ok. Compared to downtown Savanna there are no complaints coming from me. So far Disney is doing a phenomenal job with trying to keep guest safe. It is now 830 Sunday night and we are only a few families here at the pool. Also employees here at Old Keywest are Super friendly, So far it's lovely and relaxing. My two teenage kids are loving it as well even with the mask.


----------



## sara_s

We went into Epcot tonight for some food booths. Didn't do any rides because of the listed wait times. It's been raining on and off since we arrived earlier, but it cooled off and the breeze was fantastic!

I'd been reading that some folks saw less mask compliance at the end of the day, etc. I'm happy to report that tonight I would mark it as 90% compliance. Some people walking while eating, but most people respectfully pulling off to the side and eating or drinking. I would say 90% even because it was really obvious when someone's nose and/or mouth was out.

Tomorrow is MK day....I hope Mondays are good days. I also hope the weather holds up!


----------



## yulilin3

sara_s said:


> We went into Epcot tonight for some food booths. Didn't do any rides because of the listed wait times. It's been raining on and off since we arrived earlier, but it cooled off and the breeze was fantastic!
> 
> I'd been reading that some folks saw less mask compliance at the end of the day, etc. I'm happy to report that tonight I would mark it as 90% compliance. Some people walking while eating, but most people respectfully pulling off to the side and eating or drinking. I would say 90% even because it was really obvious when someone's nose and/or mouth was out.
> 
> Tomorrow is MK day....I hope Mondays are good days. I also hope the weather holds up!


These temperatures are amazing,  enjoy them while we have them


----------



## sara_s

yulilin3 said:


> These temperatures are amazing,  enjoy them while we have them


As a Floridian, I'll take a cloudy, breezy park day over anything else!


----------



## cjlong88

buzz2400 said:


> Where did you get the bamboo cloth masks



NxtStop Apparel. https://thenxtstop.com/


----------



## Elle23

The high wait times I have seen on the app and the reports here have been a little disconcerting. The low wait times is seriously the only perk left and now it seems like that is dwindling. High wait times when the parks will only be open 8 hours is really frustrating.


----------



## wilkydelts

Elle23 said:


> The high wait times I have seen on the app and the reports here have been a little disconcerting. The low wait times is seriously the only perk left and now it seems like that is dwindling. High wait times when the parks will only be open 8 hours is really frustrating.



They aren’t high


----------



## cjlong88

Elle23 said:


> The high wait times I have seen on the app and the reports here have been a little disconcerting. The low wait times is seriously the only perk left and now it seems like that is dwindling. High wait times when the parks will only be open 8 hours is really frustrating.



I agree. I will say that I think overall Disney is definitely inflating the wait times, so the times on the app may be a bit misleading. A 30 minute wait was often only 10 or 15 minutes max. 20 minutes usually meant a 5 minute or a walk on. With the line moving almost continuously, it also made the waiting go by much faster than just standing still like the standby line when FP was up and running.

Wait times really jump up when they do a routine cleaning. We got lucky and only got caught in a queue when they stopped the loading process for cleaning once (Spaceship Earth). That definitely adds a bit of time to the wait. All three times we did Space Mountain, we would be walking off the ride just as they started the cleaning process. It’s luck of the draw, that’s for sure.


----------



## Elle :)

We went to HS today. We walked over and arrived around 9:15am. We were lined up outside (near the skyliner) and held until about 9:30ish when we went through temperature checks. I‘m glad we showed up early because the line behind  A couple more minutes and we were let through ticketing. We went straight to Slinky Dog which was a walk on. After trying unsuccessfully to get a boarding group for ROTR (the virtual queue was down), we walked onto Alien swirling saucers. I used my phone to track posted wait times vs what we waited. Toy story had a 45 minute wait. We waited 45 minutes. I think we got caught in a cleaning cycle because we didn’t move for a good ten minutes. Rock n roller coaster had a 50 minute posted wait and we were through in just about 25 minutes. We left around 2pm after a fun trip to Olgas Cantina. 

The park felt pretty busy but it wasn’t insane. The line for MMRR looked intense so we didn’t try it. Mask compliance looked pretty good and there were plenty of hand washing stations and hand sanitizer.


----------



## Elle23

wilkydelts said:


> They aren’t high



They sure looked high on the app. Test Track was 60 minutes, Frozen 50, Splash 50, BTM 45-50 to name a few. Many were 40 minutes throughout the day. Small World was consistently around 30 minutes.

And with no park hopping, if we get one of those days at one of the parks we are stuck.


----------



## Elle23

cjlong88 said:


> I agree. I will say that I think overall Disney is definitely inflating the wait times, so the times on the app may be a bit misleading. A 30 minute wait was often only 10 or 15 minutes max. 20 minutes usually meant a 5 minute or a walk on. With the line moving almost continuously, it also made the waiting go by much faster than just standing still like the standby line when FP was up and running.
> 
> Wait times really jump up when they do a routine cleaning. We got lucky and only got caught in a queue when they stopped the loading process for cleaning once (Spaceship Earth). That definitely adds a bit of time to the wait. All three times we did Space Mountain, we would be walking off the ride just as they started the cleaning process. It’s luck of the draw, that’s for sure.



Any thoughts on why they are inflating the wait times?


----------



## Aimeedyan

Elle23 said:


> They sure looked high on the app. Test Track was 60 minutes, Frozen 50, Splash 50, BTM 45-50 to name a few. Many were 40 minutes throughout the day. Small World was consistently around 30 minutes.
> 
> And with no park hopping, if we get one of those days at one of the parks we are stuck.



It's hard to judge based on the app as they inflate them some to cover cleaning times. But if you hit during a cleaning, it's pretty darn close IMO.

MMRR was posted at 50 minutes this week - nearly all day. We waited 35 minutes (mostly in the sun).
Small World was posted at 25 minutes a couple of weeks ago and we waited 25 minutes.
Buzz was posted at 10 minutes. We stood outside in the sun, not moving, for 15 minutes and finally bailed. 
HM was posted at 10 minutes and we waited 15 minutes.

But other times, it was posted at 10 and we walked on. I never hit anything posted more than 10-15 minutes that was a walk-on.


----------



## yulilin3

Elle23 said:


> The high wait times I have seen on the app and the reports here have been a little disconcerting. The low wait times is seriously the only perk left and now it seems like that is dwindling. High wait times when the parks will only be open 8 hours is really frustrating.


It's has been reported on several outlets,  along with normal operations,  that weekend are busier,  also as time goes by people feel more comfortable and are starting to travel more.  I've been flipping about 3 times a week wince reopening and can say that weekends are in fact busier BUT if you rope drop efficiently and stay until closing you will still find a lot of walk on attractions


Elle23 said:


> Any thoughts on why they are inflating the wait times?


It's hard to predict wait times with social distancing and the cleaning cycles.  Queries generally look longer because they are spilling out of buildings but that's because of social distancing,  in most cases the times posted are longer.  They will never under post wait times cause then they get people upset. Some times a queue time is posted at 10 or 15 and a lot of people swarm over making the line longer,  but these cases are few,  it usually happens in rides like Buzz when space mountain goes down and with out the peoplemover,  everyone flocks there


----------



## SPSRAS

Elle23 said:


> The high wait times I have seen on the app and the reports here have been a little disconcerting. The low wait times is seriously the only perk left and now it seems like that is dwindling. High wait times when the parks will only be open 8 hours is really frustrating.


Our experience the week 17th was that wait times were completely inflated every single time. We rode SM twice once posted 20min one posted 35min we walked on both times. We weren’t there on a weekend but as others have said the lines look really long but they keep moving quickly so it goes much faster than when FP is in use.


----------



## Happy99

Olga's - still need reservations?


----------



## armerida

Happy99 said:


> Olga's - still need reservations?


Yup. We tried for a walk up a week ago and they were totally booked.


----------



## mamamelody2

Happy99 said:


> Olga's - still need reservations?



Yes, but Craig from the DIS did a live stream last week where he had been unable to get an ADR.  He decided to ask if they were taking walkups and he only had to wait a couple minutes and was let in, so definitely ask if you're unable to get an ADR!


----------



## EjandMD

sara_s said:


> We went into Epcot tonight for some food booths. Didn't do any rides because of the listed wait times. It's been raining on and off since we arrived earlier, but it cooled off and the breeze was fantastic!
> 
> I'd been reading that some folks saw less mask compliance at the end of the day, etc. I'm happy to report that tonight I would mark it as 90% compliance. Some people walking while eating, but most people respectfully pulling off to the side and eating or drinking. I would say 90% even because it was really obvious when someone's nose and/or mouth was out.
> 
> Tomorrow is MK day....I hope Mondays are good days. I also hope the weather holds up!


Please come back and report your day at MK!


----------



## TheNotSoGreatGonzo

So I got back a week ago and just now have the chance to update.  Just my wife and I went (4 nights at Riviera, with Epcot-Fri/DHS-Sat/Epcot-Sun/MK-Mon/AK-Tues park days).

The Good:
- Barely any wait times.  I think the longest we waited was 25 mins at MMRC (rope drop), Slinky, and 7DMT.  Everything else was walk-on/5 mins (when we rode, at least).
- CMs were great as always.
- WDW did a great job with social distancing.
- Mask compliance was amazing.
- Riviera was a very nice hotel (coming in just behind GF and Poly).
- Skyliner is super-convenient (at times).
- Brown Derby is a new favorite for us (had never been there).
- Epcot food and wine festival (some of our faves - Frozen Smores with vodka, Lobster roll, Street corn funnel cake, etc.)
- Very few strollers/scooters in the park (not sure how to explain that, but it opened things up for foot traffic even more while also making bus access more efficient).
- Between 8:30 and 11:30 at AK, we had ridden Dinosaur, Everest (twice - only ones on the ride), Safaris, Kali River Rapids, Tough to be a Bug, and Flight of Passage). Under the current circumstances with no shows and no Tuskerhouse, I would only plan for a 1/2 day here.  We ate at Yak n Yeti, and left the park around 1pm.
- Even at MK, we did everything we wanted to do and left at 4:30pm after being the 1st ones on Main Street that morning.  Space Mtn twice, BTMR twice, Splash, 7DMT, Dumbo, Under the Sea, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz ride, Pirates, Country Bears, Carousel of Progress, Haunted Mansion, and Hall of Presidents.  We did Sleepy Hollow for a quick lunch.

The Bad:
- SOOOOO much is closed.  Stores, kiosks, food carts, restaurants, etc. - all closed.  I get that WDW can't afford to bring all CMs back immediately when crowds are lower, but I had no idea it was THIS bad.  Some of our favorite shops/snacks were simply not available on this trip - disappointing.
- We had to spend about 90 minutes at City Hall to sort through a Magic Band issue where we couldn't room-charge.  We finally figured out that when our resort merged our 2 separate 2-night reservations into one, they didn't copy the credit card on file on the 1st reservation over to the 2nd reservation, so we were not able to charge starting on Monday at MK until we got back to the resort later that night.  Fortunately, my wife had Apple Pay because we didn't have any credit cards with us in the parks.
- Disney transportation.  Left DHS mid-day to head to B&C for ice cream and had to walk because the boats weren't running.  The buses were okay, but we often had to wait 15-30 minutes for a bus (probably again due to reduced operation based on lower crowds).  The Skyliner we loved, but the hours were tough.  After a late dinner at Brown Derby, it had already shut down, so we had to Uber it.
- Skyliner (process) - We were 1st in line at Riviera so we could get inside DHS as early as possible.  Unfortunately, when it stops at CBR, you have to get in the BACK of the line to switch to the DHS line.  This seemed a bit unfair to us and set us back about 15 minutes.
- It was most crowded at DHS (Saturday, duh!).  We didn't get ROTH virtual passes despite our best efforts, although it appeared it was down for most of the day, so it may not have mattered anyways.  Around 5pm, we walked by ROTR and they were only on Groups 13-18(!!!).  Regardless, we did everything else (and LOVED MMRC...so good).


----------



## katyringo

TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> So I got back a week ago and just now have the chance to update.  Just my wife and I went (4 nights at Riviera, with Epcot-Fri/DHS-Sat/Epcot-Sun/MK-Mon/AK-Tues park days).
> 
> The Good:
> - Barely any wait times.  I think the longest we waited was 25 mins at MMRC (rope drop), Slinky, and 7DMT.  Everything else was walk-on/5 mins (when we rode, at least).
> - CMs were great as always.
> - WDW did a great job with social distancing.
> - Mask compliance was amazing.
> - Riviera was a very nice hotel (coming in just behind GF and Poly).
> - Skyliner is super-convenient (at times).
> - Brown Derby is a new favorite for us (had never been there).
> - Epcot food and wine festival (some of our faves - Frozen Smores with vodka, Lobster roll, Street corn funnel cake, etc.)
> - Very few strollers/scooters in the park (not sure how to explain that, but it opened things up for foot traffic even more while also making bus access more efficient).
> - Between 8:30 and 11:30 at AK, we had ridden Dinosaur, Everest (twice - only ones on the ride), Safaris, Kali River Rapids, Tough to be a Bug, and Flight of Passage). Under the current circumstances with no shows and no Tuskerhouse, I would only plan for a 1/2 day here.  We ate at Yak n Yeti, and left the park around 1pm.
> - Even at MK, we did everything we wanted to do and left at 4:30pm after being the 1st ones on Main Street that morning.  Space Mtn twice, BTMR twice, Splash, 7DMT, Dumbo, Under the Sea, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz ride, Pirates, Country Bears, Carousel of Progress, Haunted Mansion, and Hall of Presidents.  We did Sleepy Hollow for a quick lunch.
> 
> The Bad:
> - SOOOOO much is closed.  Stores, kiosks, food carts, restaurants, etc. - all closed.  I get that WDW can't afford to bring all CMs back immediately when crowds are lower, but I had no idea it was THIS bad.  Some of our favorite shops/snacks were simply not available on this trip - disappointing.
> - We had to spend about 90 minutes at City Hall to sort through a Magic Band issue where we couldn't room-charge.  We finally figured out that when our resort merged our 2 separate 2-night reservations into one, they didn't copy the credit card on file on the 1st reservation over to the 2nd reservation, so we were not able to charge starting on Monday at MK until we got back to the resort later that night.  Fortunately, my wife had Apple Pay because we didn't have any credit cards with us in the parks.
> - Disney transportation.  Left DHS mid-day to head to B&C for ice cream and had to walk because the boats weren't running.  The buses were okay, but we often had to wait 15-30 minutes for a bus (probably again due to reduced operation based on lower crowds).  The Skyliner we loved, but the hours were tough.  After a late dinner at Brown Derby, it had already shut down, so we had to Uber it.
> - Skyliner (process) - We were 1st in line at Riviera so we could get inside DHS as early as possible.  Unfortunately, when it stops at CBR, you have to get in the BACK of the line to switch to the DHS line.  This seemed a bit unfair to us and set us back about 15 minutes.
> - It was most crowded at DHS (Saturday, duh!).  We didn't get ROTH virtual passes despite our best efforts, although it appeared it was down for most of the day, so it may not have mattered anyways.  Around 5pm, we walked by ROTR and they were only on Groups 13-18(!!!).  Regardless, we did everything else (and LOVED MMRC...so good).



how annoying to have to get back in line for the skyliner! Another poster stated they didn’t have to. Super conflicting. We would love to take the skyliner but now I’m not sure...


----------



## disneygirlsng

katyringo said:


> how annoying to have to get back in line for the skyliner! Another poster stated they didn’t have to. Super conflicting. We would love to take the skyliner but now I’m not sure...


I did not have to go to the back of the line coming from Pop, can't speak to how it is from Riviera though. They essentially had us in our own line and they would alternate between the different lines they had formed. There was a 3rd line, I had assumed it was from those coming from Riviera based on it being near the Epcot side, but I can't confirm.


----------



## lovethattink

TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> So I got back a week ago and just now have the chance to update.  Just my wife and I went (4 nights at Riviera, with Epcot-Fri/DHS-Sat/Epcot-Sun/MK-Mon/AK-Tues park days).
> 
> The Good:
> - Barely any wait times.  I think the longest we waited was 25 mins at MMRC (rope drop), Slinky, and 7DMT.  Everything else was walk-on/5 mins (when we rode, at least).
> - CMs were great as always.
> - WDW did a great job with social distancing.
> - Mask compliance was amazing.
> - Riviera was a very nice hotel (coming in just behind GF and Poly).
> - Skyliner is super-convenient (at times).
> - Brown Derby is a new favorite for us (had never been there).
> - Epcot food and wine festival (some of our faves - Frozen Smores with vodka, Lobster roll, Street corn funnel cake, etc.)
> - Very few strollers/scooters in the park (not sure how to explain that, but it opened things up for foot traffic even more while also making bus access more efficient).
> - Between 8:30 and 11:30 at AK, we had ridden Dinosaur, Everest (twice - only ones on the ride), Safaris, Kali River Rapids, Tough to be a Bug, and Flight of Passage). Under the current circumstances with no shows and no Tuskerhouse, I would only plan for a 1/2 day here.  We ate at Yak n Yeti, and left the park around 1pm.
> - Even at MK, we did everything we wanted to do and left at 4:30pm after being the 1st ones on Main Street that morning.  Space Mtn twice, BTMR twice, Splash, 7DMT, Dumbo, Under the Sea, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz ride, Pirates, Country Bears, Carousel of Progress, Haunted Mansion, and Hall of Presidents.  We did Sleepy Hollow for a quick lunch.
> 
> The Bad:
> - SOOOOO much is closed.  Stores, kiosks, food carts, restaurants, etc. - all closed.  I get that WDW can't afford to bring all CMs back immediately when crowds are lower, but I had no idea it was THIS bad.  Some of our favorite shops/snacks were simply not available on this trip - disappointing.
> - We had to spend about 90 minutes at City Hall to sort through a Magic Band issue where we couldn't room-charge.  We finally figured out that when our resort merged our 2 separate 2-night reservations into one, they didn't copy the credit card on file on the 1st reservation over to the 2nd reservation, so we were not able to charge starting on Monday at MK until we got back to the resort later that night.  Fortunately, my wife had Apple Pay because we didn't have any credit cards with us in the parks.
> - Disney transportation.  Left DHS mid-day to head to B&C for ice cream and had to walk because the boats weren't running.  The buses were okay, but we often had to wait 15-30 minutes for a bus (probably again due to reduced operation based on lower crowds).  The Skyliner we loved, but the hours were tough.  After a late dinner at Brown Derby, it had already shut down, so we had to Uber it.
> - Skyliner (process) - We were 1st in line at Riviera so we could get inside DHS as early as possible.  Unfortunately, when it stops at CBR, you have to get in the BACK of the line to switch to the DHS line.  This seemed a bit unfair to us and set us back about 15 minutes.
> - It was most crowded at DHS (Saturday, duh!).  We didn't get ROTH virtual passes despite our best efforts, although it appeared it was down for most of the day, so it may not have mattered anyways.  Around 5pm, we walked by ROTR and they were only on Groups 13-18(!!!).  Regardless, we did everything else (and LOVED MMRC...so good).



 That’s the same for the Skyliner from Pop, have to get back in line at CBR to go to Epcot or DHS.


----------



## ksueboo

We just left after a 3 night stay at CBR. We went to HS on Saturday, arriving via bus at 9:10am because Skyliner was having issues. Held at temp check tent until 9:15 then headed straight for MRR. The ride started running at exactly 9:30am, we were the 17th group in line and we were off in time to walk to GE and got a BG. My DH and I both tried, he was on the Virtual Q page refreshing and I was on the home page (opened it 3 min till 10). His phone won with BG 12. We were called approx 11ish. Amazing ride. 
Wait times definitely inflated by almost double. The Orchestra show was nice and a great way to avoid the rain. The Mulan preview was good and so was the Mickey Short theater. Just a few things outside of the normal that you can break from the heat and do! We did every ride/attraction except Star Tours and Muppets, and plenty of time to stop and eat lunch. I would guess 95% mask compliance, lots of hand sanitizers everywhere, and generally everyone being safe and having fun. 
Overall it was a great day, but the feel of the park is definitely different.


----------



## sara_s

Early MK report! Caveat - we’re FL AP’s and this was a test run. We’ve been overly cautious during the pandemic and I was concerned about MK crowds. Turns out, I didn’t need to be!

Pros:
-Everything we did was a walk on - to the point where we were trying to keep space between us and party ahead of us but also had to keep up.
-POTC - 5 mins
-BTMR - 10
- HM - less than 5
- Castle photos are easy to get and plenty of room to stand and get a good one. Same with walkways.
-Pretty much full compliance with masks. One guy in boat ahead of us in Pirates had his nose peeking out and the CM corrected it before they let the boat go.
- Shops were pretty empty too. I’ve never seen the Confectionary so empty!
- We decided to go back to the hotel (WL) for lunch and good thing we did - it started pouring while we were waiting for boat. Then it cleared up within 10 mins and cooled off.

Cons:
- Not many. Some of the CM’s aren’t quite as friendly in the sense of telling you what to do. So sometimes they seem annoyed that you can’t read their mind, especially because of the masks. I just try to be friendly because I am so happy to see them all.
- Only social distancing issue we had this morning was in queue for HM. Like I said above, sometimes it’s moving too fast and you try to give the party ahead of you room to move, but the people behind us were on us for the entire time we were stopping and going. Two CMs didn’t say anything. If we hadn’t gotten through so quickly I was about to ask them to give me some space.

Weather depending, we may go back in after the storms this afternoon.


----------



## disneygirlsng

lovethattink said:


> That’s the same for the Skyliner from Pop, have to get back in line at CBR to go to Epcot or DHS.


I did not have to do that last week when the Skyliner first opened for DHS opening. They had a separate line for those getting off Pop and merged it with the CBR people as well as another line (I had assumed it was Riviera). They would send 5 or so groups from one line, then switch to the other, and kept rotating so it was pretty even, but we  did not have to go to the end of the line of those coming from CBR.


----------



## ghtx

TheNotSoGreatGonzo said:


> So I got back a week ago and just now have the chance to update.  Just my wife and I went (4 nights at Riviera, with Epcot-Fri/DHS-Sat/Epcot-Sun/MK-Mon/AK-Tues park days).
> 
> The Good:
> - Barely any wait times.  I think the longest we waited was 25 mins at MMRC (rope drop), Slinky, and 7DMT.  Everything else was walk-on/5 mins (when we rode, at least).
> - CMs were great as always.
> - WDW did a great job with social distancing.
> - Mask compliance was amazing.
> - Riviera was a very nice hotel (coming in just behind GF and Poly).
> - Skyliner is super-convenient (at times).
> - Brown Derby is a new favorite for us (had never been there).
> - Epcot food and wine festival (some of our faves - Frozen Smores with vodka, Lobster roll, Street corn funnel cake, etc.)
> - Very few strollers/scooters in the park (not sure how to explain that, but it opened things up for foot traffic even more while also making bus access more efficient).
> - Between 8:30 and 11:30 at AK, we had ridden Dinosaur, Everest (twice - only ones on the ride), Safaris, Kali River Rapids, Tough to be a Bug, and Flight of Passage). Under the current circumstances with no shows and no Tuskerhouse, I would only plan for a 1/2 day here.  We ate at Yak n Yeti, and left the park around 1pm.
> - Even at MK, we did everything we wanted to do and left at 4:30pm after being the 1st ones on Main Street that morning.  Space Mtn twice, BTMR twice, Splash, 7DMT, Dumbo, Under the Sea, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz ride, Pirates, Country Bears, Carousel of Progress, Haunted Mansion, and Hall of Presidents.  We did Sleepy Hollow for a quick lunch.
> 
> The Bad:
> - SOOOOO much is closed.  Stores, kiosks, food carts, restaurants, etc. - all closed.  I get that WDW can't afford to bring all CMs back immediately when crowds are lower, but I had no idea it was THIS bad.  Some of our favorite shops/snacks were simply not available on this trip - disappointing.
> - We had to spend about 90 minutes at City Hall to sort through a Magic Band issue where we couldn't room-charge.  We finally figured out that when our resort merged our 2 separate 2-night reservations into one, they didn't copy the credit card on file on the 1st reservation over to the 2nd reservation, so we were not able to charge starting on Monday at MK until we got back to the resort later that night.  Fortunately, my wife had Apple Pay because we didn't have any credit cards with us in the parks.
> - Disney transportation.  Left DHS mid-day to head to B&C for ice cream and had to walk because the boats weren't running.  The buses were okay, but we often had to wait 15-30 minutes for a bus (probably again due to reduced operation based on lower crowds).  The Skyliner we loved, but the hours were tough.  After a late dinner at Brown Derby, it had already shut down, so we had to Uber it.
> - Skyliner (process) - We were 1st in line at Riviera so we could get inside DHS as early as possible.  Unfortunately, when it stops at CBR, you have to get in the BACK of the line to switch to the DHS line.  This seemed a bit unfair to us and set us back about 15 minutes.
> - It was most crowded at DHS (Saturday, duh!).  We didn't get ROTH virtual passes despite our best efforts, although it appeared it was down for most of the day, so it may not have mattered anyways.  Around 5pm, we walked by ROTR and they were only on Groups 13-18(!!!).  Regardless, we did everything else (and LOVED MMRC...so good).


Glad that you enjoyed the trip even without getting a boarding group for ROTR.  That is our big fear, and hopefully if we are unsuccessful we'll still be able to enjoy ourselves at DHS.


----------



## mouselovenfamily

ghtx said:


> Glad that you enjoyed the trip even without getting a boarding group for ROTR.  That is our big fear, and hopefully if we are unsuccessful we'll still be able to enjoy ourselves at DHS.



Wow! What is the huge draw for this ride? I'm nervous I may get sick on it but for my group we will try to get passes so they can ride. I can't imagine not riding a ride could possibly ruin my day.


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## disneygirlsng

mouselovenfamily said:


> Wow! What is the huge draw for this ride? I'm nervous I may get sick on it but for my group we will try to get passes so they can ride. I can't imagine not riding a ride could possibly ruin my day.


It's new, it's Star Wars, it is the most technologically advanced ride I've ever seen, and it's loads of fun!! It really is a whole experience that is hard to put into words without doing it (or spoiling it), but it is way more than just a ride. There really is just brief sections of video with mostly actual scenes that you go through, likely causing minimal motion sickness. If you aren't a Star Wars fan I could see how it wouldn't be as big of a draw, but if you are even a casual fan, then it absolutely is a must-do.

And since there are limited spots available and you have to go through the boarding group process, it builds up the excitement for it even more.


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## mouselovenfamily

disneygirlsng said:


> It's new, it's Star Wars, it is the most technologically advanced ride I've ever seen, and it's loads of fun!! It really is a whole experience that is hard to put into words without doing it (or spoiling it), but it is way more than just a ride. There really is just brief sections of video with mostly actual scenes that you go through, likely causing minimal motion sickness. If you aren't a Star Wars fan I could see how it wouldn't be as big of a draw, but if you are even a casual fan, then it absolutely is a must-do.
> 
> And since there are limited spots available and you have to go through the boarding group process, it builds up the excitement for it even more.



We will try for sure, just hope Im not sick if I do it. We are soooo looking forward to being out of town, not much will ruin this trip. Thank you!


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## disneygirlsng

mouselovenfamily said:


> We will try for sure, just hope Im not sick if I do it. We are soooo looking forward to being out of town, not much will ruin this trip. Thank you!


I can get sensitive to motion at times, but there were no issues at all on this ride. I've also never really heard many people mentioning it about this ride. Smuggler's Run may be more likely to cause sickness.


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## cjlong88

Elle23 said:


> Any thoughts on why they are inflating the wait times?



I think there may be multiple factors contributing to this, but they are just guesses. Disney might be having a more challenging time determining an accurate wait time because of the social distancing markers in queues. They are probably factoring in time to clean the rides. It can also be the good old "under promise over deliver" mindset. Better to overestimate than underestimate. Who knows really.

Here were my experiences with wait times this past weekend (what was posted vs. what we actually waited):

*EPCOT:*
FEA - 35 minutes posted; 25 minute wait
TT - 30 minutes posted; 10 minute wat
Soarin' - 20 minutes posted; walk-on
Journey into Imagination - 15 minutes posted; walk-on
Spaceship Earth - 5 minutes posted; 5 minute wait (due to cleaning)
Nemo - 15 minute posted; walk-on

*MK:*
BTMRR - 35 minutes posted; 20 minute wait
HM - 20 minutes posted; 5 minute wait
SDMT - 20 minutes posted; 10 minute wait (both times)
Tomorrowland "Speed"way - 15 minute posted; 5 minute wait
Space - 30 minute posted; 10 minute wait (all 3 times)
Buzz - 10 minute posted; walk-on
PhilharMagic - 15 minute posted; 15 minute wait (due to cleaning)
Little Mermaid - 15 minute posted; 15 minute wait

The times are the lowest at the beginning and end of the day. Plan the most popular rides at rope drop and park close and you will get to ride them with minimal waits. I still stand by my statement that riding PotC, Splash, and BTMRR at park open is an excellent strategy. Those waits were high during the late morning and well into the afternoon, but were quite short first thing in the morning.

The only reason we didn't ride Splash and PotC on Saturday is because they were both down right after we got of BTMRR (both were posted at 5 minutes), which was a bummer. Once they opened back up, their wait times were high, but I would imagine that their actual wait times would have been shorter so long as we didn't run into a cleaning cycle. We just didn't feel like gambling it and decided to play Sorcerers instead.


----------



## momof2halls

Here’s how our day went today at MK
Arrived At the park at 1045am
Waited 15min @ Starbucks, sat at Casey’s and ate breakfast then headed to ride
Buzz - posted 5 walk on
Space Mountain- posted 5, walk on, rode 2 times in a row
Mine Train- posted 25,  Actual 16 mins (leisurely walk through the queue)
Peter Pan- posted 15, actual 7 mins
Spash- posted 30, Actual 20 mins (hit cleaning cycle 1/2 way through queue)
2pm- Mobile ordered at Pecos Bills, sat inside and ate. Took about an hour total. 
Pirates of the Caribbean- posted 10,  actual 30mins watched them clean every boat
Big thunder mountain- (rode 2 times) posted 5 then 10, walk on 1st time, 5min 2nd time
Haunted Mansion- posted 25, actual 5min
It’s a small world-posted 10, Actual 4mins
Philharmagic- posted 10, actual 5mins
Little Mermaid- posted 15, walk on
Mine train- posted 20, Actual 13mins
Space Mtn- posted 5, walk on


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## only hope

sara_s said:


> Early MK report! Caveat - we’re FL AP’s and this was a test run. We’ve been overly cautious during the pandemic and I was concerned about MK crowds. Turns out, I didn’t need to be!
> 
> Pros:
> -Everything we did was a walk on - to the point where we were trying to keep space between us and party ahead of us but also had to keep up.
> -POTC - 5 mins
> -BTMR - 10
> - HM - less than 5
> - Castle photos are easy to get and plenty of room to stand and get a good one. Same with walkways.
> -Pretty much full compliance with masks. One guy in boat ahead of us in Pirates had his nose peeking out and the CM corrected it before they let the boat go.
> - Shops were pretty empty too. I’ve never seen the Confectionary so empty!
> - We decided to go back to the hotel (WL) for lunch and good thing we did - it started pouring while we were waiting for boat. Then it cleared up within 10 mins and cooled off.
> 
> Cons:
> - Not many. Some of the CM’s aren’t quite as friendly in the sense of telling you what to do. So sometimes they seem annoyed that you can’t read their mind, especially because of the masks. I just try to be friendly because I am so happy to see them all.
> - Only social distancing issue we had this morning was in queue for HM. Like I said above, sometimes it’s moving too fast and you try to give the party ahead of you room to move, but the people behind us were on us for the entire time we were stopping and going. Two CMs didn’t say anything. If we hadn’t gotten through so quickly I was about to ask them to give me some space.
> 
> Weather depending, we may go back in after the storms this afternoon.



We don’t move from our marker until the next one is clear. That way if the group in front moved prematurely and does the backslide, we are still distanced. 



mouselovenfamily said:


> Wow! What is the huge draw for this ride? I'm nervous I may get sick on it but for my group we will try to get passes so they can ride. I can't imagine not riding a ride could possibly ruin my day.



Without getting into spoilers, it is the most immersive attraction I’ve ever been on, by a long shot. It makes the Harry Potter stuff at Universal look like childs play. So for huge SW fans, it an amazing experience to literally step into that world and be part of a story. Most attractions you just witness a story.


----------



## ksueboo

mouselovenfamily said:


> Wow! What is the huge draw for this ride? I'm nervous I may get sick on it but for my group we will try to get passes so they can ride. I can't imagine not riding a ride could possibly ruin my day.


I am very sensitive to virtual motion rides. Smugglers Run made me sick almost right  from the start. The second time I rode it, I chose to be the gunner and never looked out the “windows” and did fine. With ROTR, I was totally fine. No motion sickness at all except for the Pre show area where you are on the transport vehicle (I don’t know how to describe it without giving anything away). Just look down and not out the windows. The actual ride, you are moving, so unless typical moving rides make you sick, you should be fine. It’s an AMAZING ride, one of a kind and worth trying to ride!


----------



## sara_s

only hope said:


> We don’t move from our marker until the next one is clear. That way if the group in front moved prematurely and does the backslide, we are still distanced.


That's what we did too. The people behind us were just being obnoxious.


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## yulilin3

For more info on RotR go to the Galaxy's edge subforum we have a spoiler free and spoiler thread.  Let's not discuss details here in case someone has remained spoiler free


----------



## wdw&sonny

Does anyone think they have increased capacity since the initial reopening?  What's your guess on how full are the parks (i.e. 10%, 30%, 50%)?


----------



## yulilin3

wdw&sonny said:


> Does anyone think they have increased capacity since the initial reopening?  What's your guess on how full are the parks (i.e. 10%, 30%, 50%)?


they have, we know that for sure, att least for this coming weekend, all the tiers of reservations were showing full at one point and then they were all available again. As to percentage, I'm not sure, maybe 30 to 40% of the usual amount of people this time of year NOT on maximum capacity


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## ReginaMBK

EPCOT on a Monday afternoon report:

Crowds: LOW! So few people. We were just in World Showcase though so I can't report on Future World, and we didn't ride anything (line for Frozen was outside and it's not worth it for us). We also came in through International Gateway, so can't comment on main entrance. Ease of entry at IG though was great. Didn't have to touch a thing, as they have the new screening tech there. There were a few places that got crowded, but it's the normal points (ie. France coming off the bridge from International Gateway side). The only booth where we waited in a line was Germany, and there were only 2 parties ahead of us. Cava del Tequila was literally empty. We were the only people in there.

Masks: Ehhhhhhh, I don't know where these reports of high 90% compliance are coming from... I would put it in the high 80% range. Lots of noses, a handful of people walking and drinking, handful of people stopping in the middle of sidewalks to take pictures with them off, ~4 people had them below the chin walking around. Good news is with the low crowds you can make sure to walk as far away from them as possible.

Misc Safety: Lots of hand sani around, but very few hand washing stations. We expected to see a lot more? Also, people will walk close to you or walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk, or come too close to you around turns. There's no reason for this. The sidewalks are huge. It's not hard to just be a little more conscientious. CMs are doing an excellent job - a big thanks to all of them!!!! 

Dining: Had dinner at La Hacienda. We were one of about 5 parties. It was excellent. I have a full report on my "Scared of Indoor Dining" thread. 

Shopping: Dipped into Mouse Gear and immediately regretted it. To be fair, it was right around park close. We didn't browse. I grabbed what I wanted and went right to the register, DH waited for me outside while I paid. No social distancing or respect for personal space. CMs were doing a good job though of trying to mitigate that I think.


----------



## yulilin3

ReginaMBK said:


> EPCOT on a Monday afternoon report:
> 
> Crowds: LOW! So few people. We were just in World Showcase though so I can't report on Future World, and we didn't ride anything (line for Frozen was outside and it's not worth it for us). We also came in through International Gateway, so can't comment on main entrance. Ease of entry at IG though was great. Didn't have to touch a thing, as they have the new screening tech there. There were a few places that got crowded, but it's the normal points (ie. France coming off the bridge from International Gateway side). The only booth where we waited in a line was Germany, and there were only 2 parties ahead of us. Cava del Tequila was literally empty. We were the only people in there.
> 
> Masks: Ehhhhhhh, I don't know where these reports of high 90% compliance are coming from... I would put it in the high 80% range. Lots of noses, a handful of people walking and drinking, handful of people stopping in the middle of sidewalks to take pictures with them off, ~4 people had them below the chin walking around. Good news is with the low crowds you can make sure to walk as far away from them as possible.
> 
> Misc Safety: Lots of hand sani around, but very few hand washing stations. We expected to see a lot more? Also, people will walk close to you or walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk, or come too close to you around turns. There's no reason for this. The sidewalks are huge. It's not hard to just be a little more conscientious. CMs are doing an excellent job - a big thanks to all of them!!!!
> 
> Dining: Had dinner at La Hacienda. We were one of about 5 parties. It was excellent. I have a full report on my "Scared of Indoor Dining" thread.
> 
> Shopping: Dipped into Mouse Gear and immediately regretted it. To be fair, it was right around park close. We didn't browse. I grabbed what I wanted and went right to the register, DH waited for me outside while I paid. No social distancing or respect for personal space. CMs were doing a good job though of trying to mitigate that I think.


hand washing stations are only placed in areas where restrooms are farther away. If there isn't a hand washing station odds are a restroom is close by


----------



## Eastern

sara_s said:


> - Only social distancing issue we had this morning was in queue for HM. Like I said above, sometimes it’s moving too fast and you try to give the party ahead of you room to move, but the people behind us were on us for the entire time we were stopping and going. Two CMs didn’t say anything. If we hadn’t gotten through so quickly I was about to ask them to give me some space.



I've seen mulitple complaints about people behind one's party moving forward too quickly. My suggestion is to let them get ahead of you in the line, so you can maintain your own distance.


----------



## vital

mouselovenfamily said:


> We will try for sure, just hope Im not sick if I do it. We are soooo looking forward to being out of town, not much will ruin this trip. Thank you!


I don't think you'll get sick. I can't do ANY motion rides like Star Tours or any of the Universal rides and this one was fine. I can't give much away, but it's nowhere near as bad as Star Tours.


----------



## lynzi2004

We are just back and had a great time! We are from small Missouri town where masks aren’t required and “social distancing” is usually joked about. (I am not saying that to be rude, snarky, etc just giving perspective as to where I’m coming from to get acclimated to a place like Disney where it’s the norm.) As far as Disney travels, we come once a year and use FP+, rider swap, rope drop, park close, etc to our advantage as much as possible...here are my thoughts. Just DH and I this trip, left the kids at home to feel it out for a future trip.

Travel Dates: Aug 28-31 at POP
Pros: Friday at Epcot was fantastic. Everything was walkon, we were the only people in our China show, the only line we encountered was at park close at Test Track. 55 min (although I’m pretty sure that was inflated) but after getting up at 3:30am we skipped it as we had already ridden it. World Showcase got noticeably more crowded as locals showed up after work. Not crazy, but there weren’t 6 feet between parties in many areas. Im not sure how they could do it, but making WS one way after 4-5pm night could help. As previous posters mentioned, there was no social distancing in Mouse Gear at park close, except at the checkouts. 2-3 minute wait for Skyliner back to PoP.
Saturday-HS day we knew it would be the most crowded so decided to put it on Saturday in hopes that the crowds on the other days would pay off and it did, but Saturday there was nuts! I’m not talking Precovid nuts, but just a generally busy day. We just felt there wasn’t anywhere to turn to really get away from the crowds. We arrived at 9:15 and were able to walk on MMRR, Slinky, Aliens and had a 20 min wait for Smugglers Run. But after we got off that, it was like a light switch. I was never uncomfortable, but all the stores were full of people in Galaxy’s edge, you couldn’t find an empty table at quick service. RotR was having a rough day and that wasn’t helping the crowds as people kept hanging around. We even did Muppets and the theater was at capacity limits. All in, we spent about 2 1/2 hours attempting to ride and finally did, about 3pm. Our initial boarding time was around 12:30 but it broke down at group 31 (we were 35). A huge storm rolled in while we were in line, and by the time we got off about 4pm, crowds had dissipated to what I would have considered manageable, realistic crowds for distancing. We walked past many of the stores and half the people were in them than had been before. We Were able to accomplish all the rides between 4-7pm again. Short wait again for the Skyliner. Like I said, we knew that day would be crowded but if parks are like that all the time, I would not be interested in bringing my kids. I really missed FP when we tried ToT and RnRC at 1:30 And both lines said 45 min and were snaked out outside the buildings and CMs were putting more rope up. Normally I would have FP those back to back and been on my way. They might have been closer to 20 min in reality but our Rise started working again so we hightailed it back.

Sun at MK was great. We were on the first Pop bus and were able to ride 7DMT 2x, Pan, HM, BTMRR, Splash 2x, Pirates, Carpets, and Jungle by about 11ish?There were people milling about but MKs walkways seem a lot bigger or we were just able to avoid people better than at HS. We did Tiki, Country Bears and Presidents before heading back to Fanstasyland and starting at LM, Dumbo, Teacups, Speedway, Buzz, Space and CoP before a 4pm dinner at the Plaza. It could not have gone more perfect. The longest wait we had was 25 for Space but we walked the whole time. After dinner at 5pm we finished with Small world, Philharmagic, Pooh, and was able to make it to BTMRR and Splash right before close. We couldn’t have asked for a better day and had wished we had the kids! That being said, although we walked on everything, I still felt like we had to have a game plan to get the headliners done and a good rope drop strategy is still important. Splash and BTMRR stayed at 40-50 min during the day. But since we had done them early we didn’t check to see how accurate they were till the end of the night.

AK on Monday was heaven. Walk on everything as many times as you wanted. No touring strategy needed. We actually waited longer for FoP at rope drop than we did mid day.

Social distancing was fine in the lines. Everyone messed up every now and then, but would quickly correct. No one got snippy or upset that we saw. Just appreciative and courteous to others. Getting off rides/leaving shows is a different story. It was a blob every time. If you are a strict social distance person, you will definitely want to take it upon yourself to hang back for a minute. The thing we found the hardest, are we are quick walkers and it was tricky to get around people while still giving them space.

I am prone to motion sickness but it usually doesn’t bother me at WDW. I found with the mask, I wasn’t Getting enough air on some of the rides and even got a little queasy on Pandora. A wet towel behind the neck helped considerably!

All around we had a great time! I felt safe the whole time. I did miss FP plus on the most crowded days but as long as you go mid-week/non holiday there is no need for it!


----------



## PrincessV

Eastern said:


> I've seen mulitple complaints about people behind one's party moving forward too quickly. My suggestion is to let them get ahead of you in the line, so you can maintain your own distance.


I'll second this. I did that a couple times last week when people behind me were obviously anxious and wanting to hurry forward. Just a simple, "Please go ahead - I'm moving slow today!" with a friendly tone and they were on their way and I was comfortable keeping my distance.


----------



## sara_s

Today was DHS day! We drove and arrived at the gate at 9:10, it took around 10 mins to get through the line. Got a great parking spot - 1st row right on the end next to the walkway. Security was a breeze, we got tapped in around 9:40.

We headed back to SDD - shocked there weren't more people there. We got into the line and I started to bite my nails as we were definitely going to board right as 10am rolled around. We were joking with the parties around us that we would be trying to get a BG while on the ride! We boarded at 9:57 - I kept staring at my phone while screaming on SDD. We all jumped out at 9:59, and still were able to get BG 11!! I was so happy and relieved. Time to get coffee.

We hit Star Tours and this was the one ride I thought was a bit dodgy. We weren't crammed in by any means, but the small space made me and DH go "Hmmm....maybe that wasn't a good idea." We actually skipped MFSR because of the enclosed experience. We meandered through Galaxy's Edge for 15 mins before our BG got called. We waited in line for 20 minutes before actually going into the pre-show room. Not too bad. Then another 10 mins in the interrogation room(s). It was worth it - we got our own ride vehicle and my goodness what a great ride. My 3rd time doing it and was still blown away.

We finished up with RnRr - we waited about 20 mins total because as soon as we got in line, they announced that they were cleaning it.

We left at 12:45 - going back in for dinner and to see if we can try MMRR and/or SDD one more time before dinner at Brown Derby.

Overall this was by far the most crowded I've seen the parks. And the first time since I've been back that I felt it was riskier than other parks - only because of amount of people, not due to behavior. A lot of the rides are indoor queues. My experience was excellent in terms of social distancing and mask compliance. I only saw one CM have to ask someone to pull the mask up above the nose and the guy listened.

So I recommend doing weekday trips to DHS if you can help it. I am so excited to do AK tomorrow on our last day. I have a good feeling about it.


----------



## 2xcited2sleep

Just back from 4 nights at the Yacht Club.  Overall a terrific trip.  One small (but noticeable to a Disney nerd) detail that I hadn't seen reported is that Stacey and the must-dos are no longer playing on the resort TV.  The channel is still titled Must-Dos but it is all different clips of Live with Kelly and Ryan and other stuff.  Not sure if because no more park hopping, the in-park video doesn't show masks and distancing, or all of the above, but I always have Stacey on in the background.  No big deal but I missed her.    

Resort and parks were significantly more crowded Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon.  I am fairly conservative in terms of the social distance I'm comfortable with and the park crowds on weekends were a bit beyond my comfort level.  We experienced a few downpours and in those moments especially it seemed like distancing was abandoned in an effort to find cover - not in a malicious way, just temporarily forgetting the requirements.  Week days, however, were a delight.

We dined indoors several times and felt comfortable.  Tiffins and Brown Derby share the gold medal with outstanding distancing but there was nowhere I was uncomfortable (dined at Biergarten, Topolino's, Ale & Compass, Via Napoli, Docking Bay 7, Martha's Vineyard lounge, Brown Derby, Tiffins).  I was very pleased with all of the visible cleaning in parks, restaurants, and at the resort.  They even regularly scrubbed the big globe in the Yacht Club lobby.


----------



## yulilin3

2xcited2sleep said:


> Just back from 4 nights at the Yacht Club.  Overall a terrific trip.  One small (but noticeable to a Disney nerd) detail that I hadn't seen reported is that Stacey and the must-dos are no longer playing on the resort TV.  The channel is still titled Must-Dos but it is all different clips of Live with Kelly and Ryan and other stuff.  Not sure if because no more park hopping, the in-park video doesn't show masks and distancing, or all of the above, but I always have Stacey on in the background.  No big deal but I missed her.
> 
> Resort and parks were significantly more crowded Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon.  I am fairly conservative in terms of the social distance I'm comfortable with and the park crowds on weekends were a bit beyond my comfort level.  We experienced a few downpours and in those moments especially it seemed like distancing was abandoned in an effort to find cover - not in a malicious way, just temporarily forgetting the requirements.  Week days, however, were a delight.
> 
> We dined indoors several times and felt comfortable.  Tiffins and Brown Derby share the gold medal with outstanding distancing but there was nowhere I was uncomfortable (dined at Biergarten, Topolino's, Ale & Compass, Via Napoli, Docking Bay 7, Martha's Vineyard lounge, Brown Derby, Tiffins).  I was very pleased with all of the visible cleaning in parks, restaurants, and at the resort.  They even regularly scrubbed the big globe in the Yacht Club lobby.


Stacey is on the must do spanish channel,  in English  now you have to book another trip to watch


----------



## fbb

dachsie said:


> Yea and with my luck that will be the channel my game will be on



SEC Network is channel 27, confirmed


----------



## WEDWDW

fbb said:


> SEC Network is channel 27, confirmed


Is Channel 27 still listed as _ESPN Classic_ on the Resort TV Guide or have they finally updated it?


----------



## disneytraveler

2xcited2sleep said:


> Just back from 4 nights at the Yacht Club.  Overall a terrific trip.  One small (but noticeable to a Disney nerd) detail that I hadn't seen reported is that Stacey and the must-dos are no longer playing on the resort TV.  The channel is still titled Must-Dos but it is all different clips of Live with Kelly and Ryan and other stuff.  Not sure if because no more park hopping, the in-park video doesn't show masks and distancing, or all of the above, but I always have Stacey on in the background.  No big deal but I missed her.
> 
> Resort and parks were significantly more crowded Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon.  I am fairly conservative in terms of the social distance I'm comfortable with and the park crowds on weekends were a bit beyond my comfort level.  We experienced a few downpours and in those moments especially it seemed like distancing was abandoned in an effort to find cover - not in a malicious way, just temporarily forgetting the requirements.  Week days, however, were a delight.
> 
> We dined indoors several times and felt comfortable.  Tiffins and Brown Derby share the gold medal with outstanding distancing but there was nowhere I was uncomfortable (dined at Biergarten, Topolino's, Ale & Compass, Via Napoli, Docking Bay 7, Martha's Vineyard lounge, Brown Derby, Tiffins).  I was very pleased with all of the visible cleaning in parks, restaurants, and at the resort.  They even regularly scrubbed the big globe in the Yacht Club lobby.


Good to see Brown Derby recommended. I have not been there in years. It will be my choice for reservation among others. Oh no no Stacey !


----------



## DL1WDW2

Whoever made the decision to (temporarily) replace Stacey Why? 
She is my best Disney Forever friend .


----------



## yulilin3

DL1WDW2 said:


> Whoever made the decision to (temporarily) replace Stacey Why?
> She is my best Disney Forever friend .


They don't want to confuse people with "must dos" that cannot be done.  Also like i said,  she's still there just a different channel


----------



## djj14

Going in late October and we're trying to decide which park to do two days at. Any recommendations based on recent experiences? We love all of them. We're kind of leaning Epcot so we can just do a day of relaxing/eating/drinking there.


----------



## pepperandchips

2xcited2sleep said:


> all of the above, but I always have Stacey on in the background. No big deal but I missed her.


Nooooooooo, I am so sorry you didn’t know about the sneaky tip to check the Spanish version! I might have actually shed a tear when I thought she was really gone. Though to be honest I watch her at home on YouTube occasionally. R and I will quote her if the time is right 

So glad to hear you had a great stay otherwise!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

DHS has been cited as consistently most crowded but how does a current crowded DHS day compare to a “slow” pre-covid DHS day?


----------



## MrKnight

djj14 said:


> Going in late October and we're trying to decide which park to do two days at. Any recommendations based on recent experiences? We love all of them. We're kind of leaning Epcot so we can just do a day of relaxing/eating/drinking there.



I would definitely recommend Epcot, it seems to be the least crowded (likely due to ample space) and also seems to have the most reservation availability, IMHO this is the best time to soak in all the little details of WS without the typical crowds.  Enjoy!


----------



## Elle :)

We went to magic kingdom today...and it was great!
We were walking into the park by 8:45 and right onto the rides. Here’s a quick breakdown.
- Space mountain x 2 (walk on)
- Buzz lightyear (walk on)
- Carousel (walk on)
- 7DMT (10 minutes)
- Haunted Mansion (4 minutes)
- Splash Mountain (15 minutes -posted at 30)
- Big Thunder Railroad (10 minutes - posted at 25)
- Pirates of the Caribbean (10-15 minutes - posted at 30)
- Jungle Cruise (10 minutes - posted at 25)

Litterally all of that was done before 12:30pm (and with snack breaks)!!

We lucked out twice today. First, we walked to 7DMT and it was having “technical difficulties” so we rode the carousel. By the time we got off, I saw the ride was loading again and we went on in. We also lucked out on Splash Mountain. They started a cleaning cycle just as we finished and I saw the wait times jump up to 45+ minutes.


----------



## djj14

MrKnight said:


> I would definitely recommend Epcot, it seems to be the least crowded (likely due to ample space) and also seems to have the most reservation availability, IMHO this is the best time to soak in all the little details of WS without the typical crowds.  Enjoy!



Thanks for the encouragement. That was my line of thinking as well, so I'm glad to hear it makes sense.


----------



## nkereina

For those who have been recently, generally speaking, how many hours in a day is it taking you to get through most/all of each park?

Currently planning our ADRs for our October trip. I've read that QS is limited, so we're planning more TS than usual. But, the planner in me knows how much time can be wasted with TS meals and I hate to do that when park hours are shortened to begin with. So, I'm curious about how long its taken you to do most or all of the open attractions in each of the parks. We will have one day per park, just two adults no kids.


----------



## yulilin3

butterscotchcollins said:


> DHS has been cited as consistently most crowded but how does a current crowded DHS day compare to a “slow” pre-covid DHS day?


I would say on weekdays the crowd is about 60% less than normal,  on weekends about 40%


----------



## yulilin3

nkereina said:


> For those who have been recently, generally speaking, how many hours in a day is it taking you to get through most/all of each park?
> 
> Currently planning our ADRs for our October trip. I've read that QS is limited, so we're planning more TS than usual. But, the planner in me knows how much time can be wasted with TS meals and I hate to do that when park hours are shortened to begin with. So, I'm curious about how long its taken you to do most or all of the open attractions in each of the parks. We will have one day per park, just two adults no kids.


Merged you to the just back thread.  Most reports have a timeline so make sure to read back a couple of pages
If you focus just on attractions i say you can do all of them in most parks with the hours provided
Ak without the animal trails or animation academy can be done well before park closing
Dhs depending on RotR can be done with a good plan
Obviously rope drop continues to be key,  especially at mk and dhs


----------



## fbb

WEDWDW said:


> Is Channel 27 still listed as _ESPN Classic_ on the Resort TV Guide or have they finally updated it?


Still listed as ESPN Classic


----------



## nkereina

yulilin3 said:


> Merged you to the just back thread.  Most reports have a timeline so make sure to read back a couple of pages
> If you focus just on attractions i say you can do all of them in most parks with the hours provided
> Ak without the animal trails or animation academy can be done well before park closing
> Dhs depending on RotR can be done with a good plan
> Obviously rope drop continues to be key,  especially at mk and dhs


Thanks. I'm most interested in knowing whether people are finishing up early if they're arriving at park opening. TS meals will take at least an hour out of our day, so I'm just curious which parks that will make a difference in. We would rather forego a TS meal if it means we'd have to skip rides because it took too much time. But if a TS meal can fit in comfortably mid-day, and we can still accomplish most everything else, then we'll book it.


----------



## Dave006

sara_s said:


> We actually skipped MFSR because of the enclosed experience.


Were you worried about the queue or the actual vehicle experience? 

If you have another day at DHS you might want to reconsider MFSR again. For the active portion of the attraction you don't share a vehicle with another group. So it would just be the 2 of you in a pod that accommodates up to a party of 6. The other positions will be on auto-function. A party 1 one will have the entire vehicle all to their self.

Dave


----------



## LongGone78

nkereina said:


> Thanks. I'm most interested in knowing whether people are finishing up early if they're arriving at park opening. TS meals will take at least an hour out of our day, so I'm just curious which parks that will make a difference in. We would rather forego a TS meal if it means we'd have to skip rides because it took too much time. But if a TS meal can fit in comfortably mid-day, and we can still accomplish most everything else, then we'll book it.



When we were there two weeks ago - AK and Epcot were doable with a TS meal factored in. AK is half a day right now with no shows. Epcot depends on your World Showcase activities, but we balanced that with rides and did everything except Mission Space. At DHS, we did Sci Fi for lunch , had BG 49 for RotR (got called around 3pm) and we got through Galaxy Edge, Pandora, RnR, ToT and almost every other ride with the exception of MMRR, which we skipped this trip. It was close though, we maybe finished 30 minutes before close. For MK, we did a Liberty Tree Tavern early dinner (5pm - the park closed at 7pm ). We were able to get in all the rides we wanted before dinner and hit a few again in the hour we had left on the way out. 7DMT probably had the longest wait and everything else was a walk on or less than 20 minutes (regardless of posted time). I think another important factor is the day you go. We went on weekdays, where the crowds were low and wait times even lower. Our last day was a Saturday in MK and it was "crowded" (in Covid-19 era terms), the waits were longer (but still shorter than usual) and the walkways more crowded. I think we would have been hard pressed to complete everything on a Saturday at MK.


----------



## sara_s

Dave006 said:


> Were you worried about the queue or the actual vehicle experience?
> 
> If you have another day at DHS you might want to reconsider MFSR again. For the active portion of the attraction you don't share a vehicle with another group. So it would just be the 2 of you in a pod that accommodates up to a party of 6. The other positions will be on auto-function. A party 1 one will have the entire vehicle all to their self.
> 
> Dave


It was more the indoor queue / boarding process. We weren’t sure how that worked. We’ve done it before so not a huge loss and we’re local so we can always try again. Overall we definitely feel safe, sometimes your head can get in your way.


----------



## PrincessV

sara_s said:


> We actually skipped MFSR because of the enclosed experience....
> 
> A lot of the rides are indoor queues.


I've avoided DHS so far for these reasons. I don't want to be indoors with other people longer than 15ish minutes and DHS is just a tough park for that kind of self-imposed rule. I have a few upcoming AP-booked DHS days, though, so we'll see - I may be more willing to give it a try soon. It's helpful to hear your perspective on it, so thanks!



djj14 said:


> Going in late October and we're trying to decide which park to do two days at. Any recommendations based on recent experiences? We love all of them. We're kind of leaning Epcot so we can just do a day of relaxing/eating/drinking there.


I allotted myself about 5 hours for EP last week, thinking that was more than enough time... it wasn't. I could have happily spent another 5 hours there, taking it all in minus the crowds! And in that 5 hours, I only did one ride, lol! I wandered slowly, took lots of photos, and enjoyed sitting in the shade to eat and drink, or just hang out and relax. I definitely recommend it!



nkereina said:


> For those who have been recently, generally speaking, how many hours in a day is it taking you to get through most/all of each park?


I can't answer this directly, because my goal was not to do everything: I went to 3 parks last week with the goal of enjoying a few hours and if I never did a single ride, I'd be fine with that. But at MK, as an example, I arrived around 3pm and wound up riding: Buzz, Space, Under the Sea, HM, PP. I also spent time eating, taking photos, and relaxing in the shade. And I was done by 6:30p, so 3+ hours. I could have easily done everything in 5-6 hours, I imagine.


----------



## doombuggy

Just back from my 3 night staycation at the Contemporary Tower room with theme park view.
I checked in Friday after spending a couple of hours at DAK to ride Everest, safari and FoP.  Each was under a 15 minute wait with FoP probably being closest to 15 minutes.
Saturday was my DHS day and I was able to get a boarding pass for RoR at 10am (group #17) with no problem.  I was in the park shortly after 9:30, hit the rest room and waited in a shady spot for 10am.  I then walked on TSM, waited 5 minutes for the saucers then waited about 15-20 min for TSM again.  I never did slinky dog as it was hot, wait times were around 40 minutes and I get migraines, so I took a pass.  Did Smuglers Run (interesting being by yourself in the Falcon cockpit) and then my group was called for Rise.  Hit ToT and some shops before leaving to get lunch at Disney Springs and change.  Went back to DHS around 5pm via bus this time for the evening.  Rode Smuggler's again, MMRR and Star Tours Twice (guess who finally was pegged as the resistance spy?!) and had dinner after riding ToT again.
Sunday at MK was more crowded but my longest wait was at IASW because it broke down (about 30 minutes in line).  I got into the park at 9 and by 12, I had ridden 6 rides (Space, Astro, Buzz, 7DMT, Splash & BTMRR).  Had lunch at Peco's then headed to POTC, VLM, Pooh and HM before heading back to my room at 3:30 to change for dinner at Tony's.  I could have hit up another ride or 2 before dinner, but went shopping instead (found a Jim Shore piece I was looking for). 
Monday at EPCOT was surprising.  Not many people there and it seemed like a lot was closed versus the Friday afternoon I was there in late July.  I was there from about 10:45 until 2:30 and experienced 7 attractions and had lunch.  It was raining in the early afternoon, so after a soggy walk around the world showcase to get my pockys from Japan, I headed home (i live about 35 miles away). 

For the most part, people were following the mask requirements.  I did see a few people walking and eating, but CMs that saw them reminded them to stand off to the side to eat or drink.  I think for the most part, people just forgot.  What I did experience a few times was teens amd twenty somethings getting to close/not following the markings in line.  When I was in the POTC line, the group of 4 20somethings appeared to find it funny when I looked at them was the stood right behind me.  Some people think this is a joke or not serious.  It can be annoying, but on the whole, people pretty much adhered.  Much better than the grocery store!


----------



## ReginaMBK

MK on a Tuesday report!

Overall -- can't say I felt great being there. I'm beginning to realize that perhaps I'm from somewhere in the country that's far more careful than I originally thought, in comparison.

A couple bad experiences and then I'll share the good.

1. Cosmic Ray's: We needed to order inside (serious gluten allergy). In line, the family in front of us had masks below the nose and was standing really close to the CM taking orders. At one point, both mom and dad took their masks down to talk to her. She didn't say anything. As I was looking around, there were whole families walking around maskless. One family was walking out, all drinking their drinks, masks off. A CM at the exit told them the rules and they literally ignored her and walked out. They didn't even look at her. About a minute after that, I placed my order and was waiting. Looked back, and the person ordering behind me was completely maskless. Not a one in sight. CM said nothing, and there was a leader right there that also said nothing. Needless to say, as soon as I got my food, I fled right outside.

2. Haunted Mansion: In line, there was a college-age looking kid behind us (he had on a DCP Alumni shirt, which makes this even worse...). He and his friend were talking about whether they felt safer at WDW or Universal. He literally said "well I don't really care about the virus or if I get it, but...". We then get into the loading area and notice a grown man slumped/laying on the barrier between the line and the omnimover belt. He was the party ahead of us, and we started to get a little nervous. There was one doom buggy between us, and the WHOLE RIDE he was screaming obnoxiously and cracking jokes and talking loudly. We're pretty sure they took their masks off from what we could see. As we're exiting the graveyard, either he or his ride partner (a kid?) started sneezing like crazy. At this point, DH and I were holding our breath and almost in tears. After the sneezes ended, the guy goes "OH NO! CORONA EVERYWHERE!" and then just cackles laughing!

Safety: Mask compliance was 75-80%. Noses everywhere you looked. People walking around with masks off or below the chin. CMs were trying, but not very assertively. Had an instance on POC where the family behind us kept inching towards us and off their marker. At one point, the mom was 1ft behind DH. I asked her to back up and she just glared at me and took a small step backwards. Only other line instance was for Splash. The family behind us kept getting right up on us, and after asking them once to please respect our space they were fine. Hand sanitizer everywhere and we sure used it. People will walk into your space, on the wrong side of the sidewalk, or just stop in the middle causing you to stop abruptly or veer around them. We really had to pay attention. 12-3pm was the worst time of day. We didn't bother with some of the rides - Fantasyland was way too crowded and lots of kids touching everything, so we didn't do Small World, Peter Pan, Mermaid, Pooh. 7DMT was down most of the day so we didn't get to do it.

Good stuff:

Morning and before close were great. Tons of room to walk around and stay away from people. Most rides are walk on or minimal line, including all three Mountains. The only cleaning we caught was POC, and it was quick. Posted wait times are longer than actual for the most part. Only one where that may not be true is 7DMT, as it looked longer than posted and kept breaking. Mobile order was convenient. Bathrooms were clean for the most part. CMs were out reminding people of the rules. You can notice a lot of details that you can't normally. We got a lot of great pictures, especially at sunset. 

So I don't know. I'm happy I went, but can't say I'd go back during this moment in time. EPCOT felt far safer, and rule compliance was higher. The problem isn't Disney, the problem is other people. I don't understand why people think they're above the rules, or the rules don't apply to them. By coming here, you are agreeing to follow what they set out and that's just not happening to the extent that the vloggers, and even some of the posters on here, are making it out to be.


----------



## sara_s

FOP and Navi evacuated for emergency - mass exodus happening - we’re trying to go to Africa.


----------



## wilkydelts

Has anyone figured out the a cleaning schedule yet? Is there away to know if they will clean shortly or have started cleanly so you can avoid those lines?


----------



## armerida

wilkydelts said:


> Has anyone figured out the a cleaning schedule yet? Is there away to know if they will clean shortly or have started cleanly so you can avoid those lines?


I believe it’s every 2 hours, so you’ll hit the first cycle 2 hours after park openinf. The subsequent ones likely won’t be right on the hour tho if you account for how much time the first cleaning of the day took (we’ve seen some rides as low as 5 minutes cleaning and others up to 20).


----------



## yulilin3

wilkydelts said:


> Has anyone figured out the a cleaning schedule yet? Is there away to know if they will clean shortly or have started cleanly so you can avoid those lines?


no way to know ahead of time, it's not really on a scheduled basis, if you see CM starting to walk with the canisters and hose then you know it's about to happen, this can only be done on attractions where you can see the vehicle, IASW, PP, Tea Cups, Dumbo, for rides like MFSR, RotR, ST, FoP you won;t really know


----------



## yulilin3

armerida said:


> I believe it’s every 2 hours, so you’ll hit the first cycle 2 hours after park openinf. The subsequent ones likely won’t be right on the hour tho if you account for how much time the first cleaning of the day took (we’ve seen some rides as low as 5 minutes cleaning and others up to 20).


the only problem is that the parks are opening earlier than their scheduled time with most attractions opening earlier as well, but I would agree that first hour of scheduled park operation should be free of cleaning delays


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

Has anyone taken an Uber? Do they have partitions up between the back and the driver?

Also, how early would you recommend before arriving for rope drop?


----------



## ksueboo

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Has anyone taken an Uber? Do they have partitions up between the back and the driver?
> 
> Also, how early would you recommend before arriving for rope drop?


We took a Lyft from MCO to Loews Royal Pacific and then another one from Loews RP to CBR, there was no partition up. The driver and us had our masks on the entire time.


----------



## lelew

We decided to randomly purchase tickets today for MK. We didn't really plan on doing parks this trip. I'm glad we came today. This is the most I have ever been relaxed in MK. We are just strolling the park and have already did four attractions in less than an hour including space moutain. I was even able to grab Starbucks with very little wait. Like most people said in this thread come during the week it's slow


----------



## yulilin3

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Has anyone taken an Uber? Do they have partitions up between the back and the driver?
> 
> Also, how early would you recommend before arriving for rope drop?


for rope drop 45 minutes before official park opening times


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

yulilin3 said:


> for rope drop 45 minutes before official park opening times



So just to confirm, they are letting people in past the gates early?


----------



## yulilin3

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> So just to confirm, they are letting people in past the gates early?


yes, they open the parking lots 45 minutes before official time of parks and at the same time open the parks so when you walk over there's no waiting at the gates anymore, now that doesn't mean that the attractions are open (some are) but you can head inside and start to queue up at your first choice


----------



## brockash

wilkydelts said:


> Has anyone figured out the a cleaning schedule yet? Is there away to know if they will clean shortly or have started cleanly so you can avoid those lines?


I asked the same thing a while ago, but at that time it didn't seem that anyone knew...I'd be interested to know as well


----------



## yulilin3

brockash said:


> I asked the same thing a while ago, but at that time it didn't seem that anyone knew...I'd be interested to know as well


and still no one knows


----------



## sara_s

AK report from today:
We got there a little after 9. 

Pros:
-EE 2x with less than 10 min wait each time
- Dinosaur walk on
- Baby Grace is adorable!

Cons:
-The heat really got to us today. I meant to buy a hat but we bolted after 2.5 hours for pool and AC. Going back in tonight for Tiffins res
- Both FOP and NRJ went from 5 min waits to 35 and 40 once they opened from the evac
-Evac was awful, no social distancing and it was all packed in
- I wasn’t a fan of the full safari truck on KS
- Even the gorilla trails were busy - had to wait in line to see Grace

I thought this would be our easy heaven day but it was pretty full. Not getting to do anything in Pandora for less than 30 mins stinks. We’re going back in a few hours, hopefully the lunch rush will have subsided.


----------



## yulilin3

sara_s said:


> AK report from today:
> We got there a little after 9.
> 
> Pros:
> -EE 2x with less than 10 min wait each time
> - Dinosaur walk on
> - Baby Grace is adorable!
> 
> Cons:
> -The heat really got to us today. I meant to buy a hat but we bolted after 2.5 hours for pool and AC. Going back in tonight for Tiffins res
> - Both FOP and NRJ went from 5 min waits to 35 and 40 once they opened from the evac
> -Evac was awful, no social distancing and it was all packed in
> - I wasn’t a fan of the full safari truck on KS
> - Even the gorilla trails were busy - had to wait in line to see Grace
> 
> I thought this would be our easy heaven day but it was pretty full. Not getting to do anything in Pandora for less than 30 mins stinks. We’re going back in a few hours, hopefully the lunch rush will have subsided.


Grace has been the star attraction,  always a wait to see her.  Sorry it wasn't ideal


----------



## Turksmom

ReginaMBK said:


> on the wrong side of the sidewalk,


I've seen this mentioned a couple of times- are the sidewalks marked for specific directions now? Like one-way grocery aisles?


----------



## momandmousefan

*Monday, August 31
Magic Kingdom*
This was a super rainy day on and off all day.
Crowds were pretty light. 9:30-10ish the wait for Splash Mountain was less than 20 minutes. There’s virtually nothing left in the Splash gift shop FYI. Aladdins magic carpets- walk on. Pecos Bills was quite empty around 10:45. We had an early lunch and had the patio to ourselves.   Buzz light year was a walkon (so we got right off and went back on again). Quick run to Space Mountain and it was a walk on even in the rain. Speedway took about 5-10 minutes. The Carousel crazy enough was one of the longer waits. Maybe about 15 minutes. It was loading pretty slow. Haunted Mansion was a walk on midday (though the sign said 20 min) We did get stuck a long time waiting for pirates and unfortunately behind a loud mostly mask less group in front and one unmasked woman behind ysu, guessing it was probably boat cleaning time. Little Mermaid- walk on, Small World 10-15 minutes (crowded moreso because of people escaping the rain) Tea Cups, 5 min, Barnstormer walk on, Mine Train-20ish. Our most crowded area was getting dole whips. It was just hard to find an out of the way place to unmask and eat. Park crowds were light, though the rain made things rough (lots of ride shut downs due to weather. We never managed to catch BTMR or Dumbo for that reason )

*Tuesday September 1
Epcot*
AMAZING!
Super light crowds. Everything except Frozen and Test Track was a walk on. Test Track was shut down a bit so it got up to about 40 minutes when it finally reopened. Food and Wine crowds were VERY light. Mask compliance with very few exceptions was excellent. This was a marvelous day. By the way, Food & Wine 2020 merchandise is out


----------



## yulilin3

Turksmom said:


> I've seen this mentioned a couple of times- are the sidewalks marked for specific directions now? Like one-way grocery aisles?


no they are not. I believe the OP was just refering to the fact that most walk on the riight side and some people just walk towards you on the same side.


----------



## shanes17

momandmousefan said:


> *Tuesday September 1
> Epcot*
> AMAZING!
> Super light crowds. Everything except Frozen and Test Track was a walk on. Test Track was shut down a bit so it got up to about 40 minutes when it finally reopened. Food and Wine crowds were VERY light. *Mask compliance with very few exceptions was excellent.* This was a marvelous day.



Curious what you mean by this?


----------



## momandmousefan

shanes17 said:


> Curious what you mean by this?


Just a few noses here and there (one on Soarin, a couple of people walking by...but lots of room to avoid the walkers) and a couple of walking drink sippers, and one gal who thought the bathroom was a mask break spot primping in front of the mirror. Way less issues than Friday night by FAR! People were very respectful of each other’s space Tuesday.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

momandmousefan said:


> Just a few noses here and there (one on Soarin, a couple of people walking by...but lots of room to avoid the walkers) and a couple of walking drink sippers, and one gal who thought the bathroom was a mask break spot primping in front of the mirror. Way less issues than Friday night by FAR! People were very respectful of each other’s space Tuesday.



Bathrooms are a strange place where I saw a lot of masks off. I guess the thought process is that the stalls act like plexiglass. Thankfully all the dehydration makes for less bathroom trips!


----------



## sara_s

Update to add we went back into AK around 5 and got onto FOP - I wanted to ride twice before our Tiffins reservation, but no one offered a second ride or a secret hallway I've been reading about LOL. It took 5 full minutes of nonstop walking, then you go into the 2nd pre-show room with no more than 6 people total.

Also, tonight was our first Tiffins experience and it did not disappoint! Delicious!!


----------



## ReginaMBK

yulilin3 said:


> no they are not. I believe the OP was just refering to the fact that most walk on the riight side and some people just walk towards you on the same side.


Yup, I just meant the normal traffic flow of staying to your right.


----------



## momandmousefan

Today weds sept 2
Disney Springs (am) Magic Kingdom (pm)

midweek first thing in the morning was a perfect time for Disney Springs! World of Disney, Uniqlo, Lego, Marvel store,Christmas Shop, Art of Disney, etc... all had plenty of room. Build a Dino is open (much to my kiddos excitement)  You still can’t try on dresses at the Dress Shop though. We were the ONLY people at Deluxe Burger at lunch time on the patio. The co-op was the only place we went that seemed a little more busy. Erin McKennas also had pretty full cases still at 2pm.

Magic Kingdom after 5pm seemed to be walk on for just about everything except Pirates, BTMR, and Splash which were 15-25 minutes-ish. Even Peter Pan was a walk on. The biggest crowds were leaving the park at 7 and we didn’t encounter anything less than cheery, nice people until a big family shoved ahead of everyone for the Ferry (no biggie though, obviously everyone gets on)

Quite a nice day.


----------



## summerw

Does anyone know if they’re doing hair wraps by any of the pools?


----------



## Mercenary

sara_s said:


> FOP and Navi evacuated for emergency - mass exodus happening - we’re trying to go to Africa.


Does anyone know exactly why it evacuated today?


----------



## yulilin3

summerw said:


> Does anyone know if they’re doing hair wraps by any of the pools?


They're not


----------



## lindsaydavis1982

In all of the parks, are there specific rides that have been consistently opening up before official park hours? If so, can anyone let me know what those are? Or is there no consistency to what rides open early?


----------



## lelew

Here is a quick update on my trip so far. I mentioned earlier In this thread about about  my drive down from Va and stopping in Savanna which wasn't pleasant. We have been on Disney property for 4 days so far and I will admit I do feel safer on Disney property than I do  at other public places. Today we had a fabulous time at MK. Granted we come every year so for us it was relaxing just exploring the park and hopping on rides if we wanted. In the four days we been here we have been to the Polynesian twice for lunch and dole whips, nonstressfully explored the entire MK, Disney Spring twice for Dinner, slept in every day, hung at the pool, played basketball, rode bikes, stayed up late to watch movies and hang out on the balcony. This has been one of the best trips to Disney so far. However watching the local news and seeing employees being laid off makes me sad and makes me realize how fortunate I am to be able to come here. I see these employees working hard everyday in such trying times. I also see some guest who feel entitled. I'm not going into details but just want to say if you come to Disney during this time please be patient and treat the cast members nicely. They are trying their best to make guest happy.


----------



## tussking

Seems all of the COVID threads have been diluted with political opinions.
My family has been tested 2x in the last 8 weeks and is COVID-Free.
We have stayed home, had all of our items delivered or done curbside. I have been inside a store or doctor's office 3x in 6 months.
I am so eager to bring my 14 & 17-year old for 1.5 days to experience some enjoyment. They deserve it. We had plans booked for 5 days in March when this all hit. We are all healthy although I have asthma.
I have my N95/N99 masks along with Purell and gloves.
Can I please get first-hand accounts of visitors from the last couple of days? I expect this weekend to be busy but knowing kids and people are back to work Tuesday I figured if we could get a few rides in Monday afternoon at Epcot and some delicious food it would be so nice. Then my expectation is Tuesday the 8th MK will be dead. Thoughts on this? Staying in my first hotel too the JW Marriott at Bonnet Creek one night. I am not going to lie - I AM SCARED.


----------



## cindy17

Can’t give u first hand advice but check out the Here Now/Reopening Experiences page. Lots of posts about how it’s all going down


----------



## yulilin3

tussking said:


> Seems all of the COVID threads have been diluted with political opinions.
> My family has been tested 2x in the last 8 weeks and is COVID-Free.
> We have stayed home, had all of our items delivered or done curbside. I have been inside a store or doctor's office 3x in 6 months
> I am so eager to bring my 14 & 17-year old for 1.5 days to experience some enjoyment. They deserve it. We had plans booked for 5 days in March when this all hit. We are all healthy although I have asthma.
> I have my N95/N99 masks along with Purell and gloves.
> Can I please get first-hand accounts of visitors from the last couple of days? I expect this weekend to be busy but knowing kids and people are back to work Tuesday I figured if we could get a few rides in Monday afternoon at Epcot and some delicious food it would be so nice. Then my expectation is Tuesday the 8th MK will be dead. Thoughts on this? Staying in my first hotel too the JW Marriott at Bonnet Creek one night. I am not going to lie - I AM SCARED.


Merged you to the existing thread.
Read back several pages for all the recent reports.  Just an fyi there's no talk of virus,  numbers, in this forum just talk about planning the trip and experience


----------



## chicagoshannon

We are here now.  Went to Disney springs last night.  We arrived around 6pm.  There seemed to be a lot of staff monitoring things.  Everyone we saw was following the rules.  We had a short wait for guest services and no wait for Earl of Sandwich.  We had a pleasant experience at the stores we went into.  I was leary after all of the reports here but had no issues even with the rain.

We are staying at Bonnet Creek with a Skyliner view.  It's been running on the line since at least 6:30.  Would be nice if they let people on it earlier than they do.

We're off to Universal today.  Will see how they're doing.


----------



## emmabelle

chicagoshannon said:


> We're off to Universal today.  Will see how they're doing.




I'd love to hear your experiences there today.  We're planning to go there next Thursday.


----------



## melissa723

lelew said:


> Here is a quick update on my trip so far. I mentioned earlier In this thread about about  my drive down from Va and stopping in Savanna which wasn't pleasant. We have been on Disney property for 4 days so far and I will admit I do feel safer on Disney property than I do  at other public places. Today we had a fabulous time at MK. Granted we come every year so for us it was relaxing just exploring the park and hopping on rides if we wanted. In the four days we been here we have been to the Polynesian twice for lunch and dole whips, nonstressfully explored the entire MK, Disney Spring twice for Dinner, slept in every day, hung at the pool, played basketball, rode bikes, stayed up late to watch movies and hang out on the balcony. This has been one of the best trips to Disney so far. However watching the local news and seeing employees being laid off makes me sad and makes me realize how fortunate I am to be able to come here. I see these employees working hard everyday in such trying times. I also see some guest who feel entitled. I'm not going into details but just want to say if you come to Disney during this time please be patient and treat the cast members nicely. They are trying their best to make guest happy.



Did you rent the bikes from your resort or bring your own? I wasn't sure if they were still doing that right now, but if they are then that's great news! We used to do it all the time when I was little, but I haven't had the chance to rent them with my daughter yet.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

emmabelle said:


> I'd love to hear your experiences there today.  We're planning to go there next Thursday.



Us too...I should probably get around to buying my tickets, huh


----------



## LaDonna

Headed to Pop today from Ga  going to SeaWorld tomorrow then 8 days at the parks  my youngest(1of3)turns 3 on the 13th so this will be our cheapest trip for a very long while  POR or 2 value rooms in our future


----------



## WEDWDW

summerw said:


> Does anyone know if they’re doing hair wraps by any of the pools?


Unfortunately no and also no Temporary Tattoos and no Caricature Artists.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

WEDWDW said:


> Unfortunately no and also no Temporary Tattoos and no Caricature Artists.



The only pool activity I saw was the afternoon DJ playing non-contact games like trivia. Everything else is closed except the pool bar if the resort has one.

I saw a few caricature artists doing mask drawings of people at AK and M


----------



## lelew

melissa723 said:


> Did you rent the bikes from your resort or bring your own? I wasn't sure if they were still doing that right now, but if they are then that's great news! We used to do it all the time when I was little, but I haven't had the chance to rent them with my daughter yet.


They are renting bikes here at Old Keywest


----------



## shanes17

momandmousefan said:


> Just a few noses here and there (one on Soarin, a couple of people walking by...but lots of room to avoid the walkers) and a couple of walking drink sippers, and one gal who thought the bathroom was a mask break spot primping in front of the mirror. Way less issues than Friday night by FAR! People were very respectful of each other’s space Tuesday.



Gotcha, thanks for the clarification.

I would caution worrying too much about how other people handle this mask stuff, especially without knowing each persons given circumstances. There are a lot of folks out there who have a hard time with the masks, either because of health reasons or for psychological ones as well.

Worrying yourself about how others wear them isn't going to do you, or anyone really for that matter any good. I have a daughter with anxiety and has always dealt with the fear of suffocation, so you can imagine the impacts this all has on her. There are plenty more out there like that I am sure, along with asthma and other factors that might keep them from wearing their mask the exact why you might think they should.

Just throwing that out there.


----------



## Turk February

shanes17 said:


> Gotcha, thanks for the clarification.
> 
> I would caution worrying too much about how other people handle this mask stuff, especially without knowing each persons given circumstances. There are a lot of folks out there who have a hard time with the masks, either because of health reasons or for psychological ones as well.
> 
> Worrying yourself about how others wear them isn't going to do you, or anyone really for that matter any good. I have a daughter with anxiety and has always dealt with the fear of suffocation, so you can imagine the impacts this all has on her. There are plenty more out there like that I am sure, along with asthma and other factors that might keep them from wearing their mask the exact why you might think they should.
> 
> Just throwing that out there.



It’s not about how anyone thinks they should be wearing their mask, it’s how Disney has mandated them to be worn when on property.


----------



## CDRT

I am wondering if they are allowing use of lockers?  We are planning for later this year, and I know we will need sweatshirts or jackets in the morning and evenings.


----------



## scrappinginontario

shanes17 said:


> Gotcha, thanks for the clarification.
> 
> I would caution worrying too much about how other people handle this mask stuff, especially without knowing each persons given circumstances. There are a lot of folks out there who have a hard time with the masks, either because of health reasons or for psychological ones as well.
> 
> Worrying yourself about how others wear them isn't going to do you, or anyone really for that matter any good. I have a daughter with anxiety and has always dealt with the fear of suffocation, so you can imagine the impacts this all has on her. There are plenty more out there like that I am sure, along with asthma and other factors that might keep them from wearing their mask the exact why you might think they should.
> 
> Just throwing that out there.


While I respect wearing masks is difficult for some due to their particular situation, Disney has made it very clear that if you go to Disney property right now, masks worn properly are required.  This could mean delaying trips for some if wearing masks cannot be done.


----------



## wilkydelts

Edited to remain on topic and not further mask comments.


----------



## yulilin3

This is the reason these threads and the entire forum Is being monitored carefully.  Please remember to keep the discussion on topic
No need to talk about how you think others should feel about mask compliance.  It's everyone's own decision to come or not


----------



## WEDWDW

GusGusTheMouse said:


> The only pool activity I saw was the afternoon DJ playing non-contact games like trivia. Everything else is closed except the pool bar if the resort has one.
> 
> I saw a few caricature artists doing mask drawings of people at AK and M


My bad-because of the OP asking about  "Pool Activity",I was referring to the Lobby Caricature Artists in the Resorts.


----------



## bridgettesmom

tussking said:


> Seems all of the COVID threads have been diluted with political opinions.
> My family has been tested 2x in the last 8 weeks and is COVID-Free.
> We have stayed home, had all of our items delivered or done curbside. I have been inside a store or doctor's office 3x in 6 months.
> I am so eager to bring my 14 & 17-year old for 1.5 days to experience some enjoyment. They deserve it. We had plans booked for 5 days in March when this all hit. We are all healthy although I have asthma.
> I have my N95/N99 masks along with Purell and gloves.
> Can I please get first-hand accounts of visitors from the last couple of days? I expect this weekend to be busy but knowing kids and people are back to work Tuesday I figured if we could get a few rides in Monday afternoon at Epcot and some delicious food it would be so nice. Then my expectation is Tuesday the 8th MK will be dead. Thoughts on this? Staying in my first hotel too the JW Marriott at Bonnet Creek one night. I am not going to lie - I AM SCARED.



We are also venturing out to Disney this weekend for the first time since March, so, I know exactly how you feel. I do have to warn you, we are locals, used to our crazy weather and I’ve tried wearing N95 and N99  and the heat really makes it unbearable. Maybe you will able to tolerate it, but, bring some backups masks.


----------



## ReginaMBK

tussking said:


> Seems all of the COVID threads have been diluted with political opinions.
> My family has been tested 2x in the last 8 weeks and is COVID-Free.
> We have stayed home, had all of our items delivered or done curbside. I have been inside a store or doctor's office 3x in 6 months.
> I am so eager to bring my 14 & 17-year old for 1.5 days to experience some enjoyment. They deserve it. We had plans booked for 5 days in March when this all hit. We are all healthy although I have asthma.
> I have my N95/N99 masks along with Purell and gloves.
> Can I please get first-hand accounts of visitors from the last couple of days? I expect this weekend to be busy but knowing kids and people are back to work Tuesday I figured if we could get a few rides in Monday afternoon at Epcot and some delicious food it would be so nice. Then my expectation is Tuesday the 8th MK will be dead. Thoughts on this? Staying in my first hotel too the JW Marriott at Bonnet Creek one night. I am not going to lie - I AM SCARED.


If you are scared, now is not a good time to come in my opinion. We were scared and found we felt less safe than we expected to.


----------



## tussking

ReginaMBK said:


> If you are scared, now is not a good time to come in my opinion. We were scared and found we felt less safe than we expected to.



Could you please elaborate? Why did you feel less safe?


----------



## BahamasBride03

tussking said:


> Seems all of the COVID threads have been diluted with political opinions.
> My family has been tested 2x in the last 8 weeks and is COVID-Free.
> We have stayed home, had all of our items delivered or done curbside. I have been inside a store or doctor's office 3x in 6 months.
> I am so eager to bring my 14 & 17-year old for 1.5 days to experience some enjoyment. They deserve it. We had plans booked for 5 days in March when this all hit. We are all healthy although I have asthma.
> I have my N95/N99 masks along with Purell and gloves.
> Can I please get first-hand accounts of visitors from the last couple of days? I expect this weekend to be busy but knowing kids and people are back to work Tuesday I figured if we could get a few rides in Monday afternoon at Epcot and some delicious food it would be so nice. Then my expectation is Tuesday the 8th MK will be dead. Thoughts on this? Staying in my first hotel too the JW Marriott at Bonnet Creek one night. I am not going to lie - I AM SCARED.


I totally understand - I am in the same boat as you.  I have felt very comfortable while we have been here (since Sunday). Our room at Saratoga was exceptionally clean but I did wipe down some areas with a Clorox wipe. I’m nervous about the parks this weekend but this week they have been great and it has been easy to stay distant.   It’s nerve wracking after months of staying in.  Continue to be vigilant with hand sanitizing and cleaning but also try to relax and enjoy being here.  I agree with many others who said they feel more comfortable here than at stores at home.


----------



## BahamasBride03

CDRT said:


> I am wondering if they are allowing use of lockers?  We are planning for later this year, and I know we will need sweatshirts or jackets in the morning and evenings.


Yes lockers are available


----------



## happymom2one

IS there many shops open? I can't tell by everything?


----------



## scrappinginontario

happymom2one said:


> IS there many shops open? I can't tell by everything?


You can get an idea of how many shopping locations are open within each park using the MDE app.

- Filter by Park
- 'Wait Times' is the default display
- Using the centre button at the top of your screen with the \/, filter on shops.


----------



## cygnusx1jg

DL1WDW2 said:


> Whoever made the decision to (temporarily) replace Stacey Why?
> She is my best Disney Forever friend .


I like Stacey, but I REALLY liked Kryssa!


----------



## happymom2one

scrappinginontario said:


> You can get an idea of how many shopping locations are open within each park using the MDE app.
> 
> - Filter by Park
> - 'Wait Times' is the default display
> - Using the centre button at the top of your screen with the \/, filter on shops.




Thank you!!


----------



## momandmousefan

Thurs sept 3
Animal Kingdom

If our experience is typical I’d say skip the weekends or stay at the hotel and enjoy the parks on weekdays instead if you can. Today was GREAT! (Such a marked difference in crowds between our weekend visit and today) We got to the park around 9 (so about an hour after opening) Rode FOP two times in a row. Both times walk on. (Time said 15 minutes, but that was pretty much time to walk in) The second time we got to take the “short” entrance, I’m guessing probably because we were coming off the second floor/level basically by ourselves. Went over to Everest and rode three times in a row, all walk right on. My daughter loved riding the triceratops spin two times in a row and not even having to get off the ride. The safari and Navi river fluctuated between 20-30 minutes most the day, not sure why those both were a little longer. FOP had a shorter line than Navi all day which was so weird. Dinosaur was a walk on even at lunch time,

We didn’t take the gorilla or tiger trails today but everything around the tree of life was pretty quiet and shops seemed roomy enough for decent distancing.

Lunch was at Restaurantosaurus, low wait and patio seating outside to the left was quiet.

Nomad Lounge around 4 had a little room. The chicken Manchurian rice bowl is a DELICIOUS new addition to the menu. Nice and comfy and cool.

We finished off the day riding Navi River three times in a row (all walk on) from about 5:30-6:00


----------



## momandmousefan

happymom2one said:


> IS there many shops open? I can't tell by everything?


At Epcot I’d say about half are. (Half of Germany wasn’t, half of UK wasn’t, etc...) At animal Kingdom most the big ones are but some of the smaller ones aren’t. Magic Kingdom most of Main Street was, the bazaar outside Pirates was open, memento Mori was open. Briar Patch was shut as were some other small ones.


----------



## Alice Sr.

chicagoshannon said:


> We are here now.  Went to Disney springs last night.  We arrived around 6pm.  There seemed to be a lot of staff monitoring things.  Everyone we saw was following the rules.  We had a short wait for guest services and no wait for Earl of Sandwich.  We had a pleasant experience at the stores we went into.  I was leary after all of the reports here but had no issues even with the rain.
> 
> We are staying at Bonnet Creek with a Skyliner view.  It's been running on the line since at least 6:30.  Would be nice if they let people on it earlier than they do.
> 
> We're off to Universal today.  Will see how they're doing.



Thank you so much!  I had completely crossed DS off my list but you have given me hope!


LaDonna said:


> Headed to Pop today from Ga  going to SeaWorld tomorrow then 8 days at the parks  my youngest(1of3)turns 3 on the 13th so this will be our cheapest trip for a very long while  POR or 2 value rooms in our future


Would love to know how your trip to SeaWorld goes.  We are going there on our 2nd Epcot day in the morning and having dinner in Epcot after we return.  We are also traveling with a 3 year old.


----------



## sara_s

Mercenary said:


> Does anyone know exactly why it evacuated today?


Never heard why. We got out of there because it became a herd of people leaving Pandora. No bueno for social distancing.


----------



## Mercenary

sara_s said:


> Never heard why. We got out of there because it became a herd of people leaving Pandora. No bueno for social distancing.


Yep was there too and in that crowd. I have no idea they could hold that many folks on that ride in the queue. We were just sitting on the "bikes" and boom... Sigh no make up etc... Oh well did get to see backstage.  Our trip has been great, today super hot and maybe masks not as good but still over 90 to 95 percent. Prior to that masks easy at 95 to 99. Seen folks distance like they should, have had to speak up or give a few looks but for the most all good. Even saw a cast member, after 5 minutes of trying, ask a family off a ride as the son would not wear a mask. Bravo! I had to track her down and say thanks, as I imagine it would be so easy to say whatever and let them ride.


Over all the trip is not the same, as it has been in the past. Yet the stores and restaurants being closed, esp QS, is a real pain or a bummer but we make the most of it, and well we are happy we came. Got to see Tim today so that was neat!


----------



## disneygirlsng

momandmousefan said:


> Thurs sept 3
> Animal Kingdom
> 
> If our experience is typical I’d say skip the weekends or stay at the hotel and enjoy the parks on weekdays instead if you can. Today was GREAT! (Such a marked difference in crowds between our weekend visit and today) We got to the park around 9 (so about an hour after opening) Rode FOP two times in a row. Both times walk on. (Time said 15 minutes, but that was pretty much time to walk in) The second time we got to take the “short” entrance, I’m guessing probably because we were coming off the second floor/level basically by ourselves. Went over to Everest and rode three times in a row, all walk right on. My daughter loved riding the triceratops spin two times in a row and not even having to get off the ride. The safari and Navi river fluctuated between 20-30 minutes most the day, not sure why those both were a little longer. FOP had a shorter line than Navi all day which was so weird. Dinosaur was a walk on even at lunch time,
> 
> We didn’t take the gorilla or tiger trails today but everything around the tree of life was pretty quiet and shops seemed roomy enough for decent distancing.
> 
> Lunch was at Restaurantosaurus, low wait and patio seating outside to the left was quiet.
> 
> Nomad Lounge around 4 had a little room. The chicken Manchurian rice bowl is a DELICIOUS new addition to the menu. Nice and comfy and cool.
> 
> We finished off the day riding Navi River three times in a row (all walk on) from about 5:30-6:00


I think Navi gets so long because it is loading so slow and only doing one party per boat.  I had been tracking wait times prior to my trip and noticed that it was consistently the longest in the park, when I rode it and saw how slow the loading process was due to the distancing it all made sense. I waited about 5 minutes when I rode it, but there were only around 10 or less groups in front of me. FOP can hold soooo many people at once, even with distancing, so that line moves much faster.


----------



## chicagoshannon

Alice Sr. said:


> Thank you so much!  I had completely crossed DS off my list but you have given me hope.


I'm sure we'll be back again and will post if i see anything different.


emmabelle said:


> I'd love to hear your experiences there today.  We're planning to go there next Thursday.


At universal yesterday crowds were lowish but the parks did not feel empty.  The only times crowds sort of gathered were at the Hogwarts express exit and at park close walking back to parking garage.

Team members were fantastic.  They were cleaning all the time and always did the hand sanitizer before the rides (although sometimes the squirt if sanitizer was pretty small)).

I saw one TM ask a p erson to cover his nose. People generally police themselves.  I noticed several people with masks briefly down or off while outside. it was actually nice seeing people able to take a quick fresh air break without being immediately pounced on.  Every person i saw taking a quick breather putt the mask up when approaching anyone and i never saw it for mores than a few seconds.  In ride lines i never witnessed any without proper mask usage.  

In summary if you're (General you)  bothered by seeing someone off by themselves, at least 500 feet from anyone with a mask down, you probably should stay away for now.  I found it refreshing to not be so heavily policed and people did a good job on their own.

On a side note the new Bourne stunt show was phenomenal.  It was seriously fantastic.

Busch Gardens today.


----------



## yulilin3

chicagoshannon said:


> I'm sure we'll be back again and will post if i see anything different.
> 
> At universal yesterday crowds were lowish but the parks did not feel empty.  The only times crowds sort of gathered were at the Hogwarts express exit and at park close walking back to parking garage.
> 
> Team members were fantastic.  They were cleaning all the time and always did the hand sanitizer before the rides (although sometimes the squirt if sanitizer was pretty small)).
> 
> I saw one TM ask a p erson to cover his nose. People generally police themselves.  I noticed several people with masks briefly down or off while outside. it was actually nice seeing people able to take a quick fresh air break without being immediately pounced on.  Every person i saw taking a quick breather putt the mask up when approaching anyone and i never saw it for mores than a few seconds.  In ride lines i never witnessed any without proper mask usage.
> 
> In summary if you're (General you)  bothered by seeing someone off by themselves, at least 500 feet from anyone with a mask down, you probably should stay away for now.  I found it refreshing to not be so heavily policed and people did a good job on their own.
> 
> On a side note the new Bourne stunt show was phenomenal.  It was seriously fantastic.
> 
> Busch Gardens today.


Glad you're having a great time, I also loved Bourne, very well done. Hydrate it's another triple digit day here


----------



## chicagoshannon

yulilin3 said:


> Glad you're having a great time, I also loved Bourne, very well done. Hydrate it's another triple digit day here


Yeah it was tough yesterday.  We used the urest zones a lot and my kids probably had 6 icees.  Haha.


----------



## allaboutthemouse

LaDonna said:


> Headed to Pop today from Ga  going to SeaWorld tomorrow then 8 days at the parks  my youngest(1of3)turns 3 on the 13th so this will be our cheapest trip for a very long while  POR or 2 value rooms in our future





Alice Sr. said:


> Would love to know how your trip to SeaWorld goes.  We are going there on our 2nd Epcot day in the morning and having dinner in Epcot after we return.  We are also traveling with a 3 year old.


 Am also interested in your sea world day!  Thanks!


----------



## ReginaMBK

tussking said:


> Could you please elaborate? Why did you feel less safe?


The park crowds are low comparatively but MK and HS were still too busy for my comfort. Mask compliance isn't nearly as high as people on here are saying. I'd put it in the 75-80% range at MK and HS, 95% at EPCOT. If you're scared of noses/people walking around maskless/taking off masks on rides, then you're not going to have a good time. People are also going to get in your space while walking around. Lines were fine for the most part, but you will still find yourself crowded, or people coming way too close to you. CMs are correcting people but not really forcefully (see my earlier post about Magic Kingdom). Plus, Disney is just germy on a regular basis. Sure they're cleaning rides, but it's every 2 hours. I guess what I mean is, if you're scared in any way, you're not going to feel totally comfortable here. It's by no means perfect, but they're doing their best...people are breaking the rules with few consequences and if you're at all anxious about that you're not going to have a good time.


----------



## happymom2one

momandmousefan said:


> At Epcot I’d say about half are. (Half of Germany wasn’t, half of UK wasn’t, etc...) At animal Kingdom most the big ones are but some of the smaller ones aren’t. Magic Kingdom most of Main Street was, the bazaar outside Pirates was open, memento Mori was open. Briar Patch was shut as were some other small ones.



Thanks! Hopefully more open before we get there Nov 15. Fingers crossed. We loved the Christmas store/Ornament store in Epcot.


----------



## lelew

Just went to the pool this morning at Old Keywest they are now checking room numbers and handing out wrist bands. Life guard said the pool is first come on the weekends. They also closed the second entrance to the pool. Everyone must check in at main entrance.


----------



## Melodious

Not sure if this is the right place to ask.  Has anyone seen the Disney attraction face masks for sale in the parks or resorts?  I saw a Haunted Mansion mask on a vlog but haven't seen anyone talk about the Small World or Tiki bird ones.  TIA


----------



## momandmousefan

happymom2one said:


> Thanks! Hopefully more open before we get there Nov 15. Fingers crossed. We loved the Christmas store/Ornament store in Epcot.


Are you talking about the one in Germany? (Because that’s the half that was opened )


----------



## Shellyred8

Judique said:


> It's other guest behavior. I experienced this on a weekend trip with other guests in our hotel. Elevator capacity = 4 wearing masks. Yet, sometimes there would be 8 or 9 people getting off or trying to fit in. I avoided and took the stairs.


During our trip to Disney a couple of weeks ago, I found that people were very good about respecting the elevator capacity limits at the resorts.  The only time someone else was in the elevator with DH and I was once at BWV when a Bellman asked if it was OK if he joined us.  We said yes without hesitation.  He was very grateful.  I can only imagine what their days must look like having to wait for an empty elevator all the time.


----------



## momandmousefan

Gastons has reopened. I’m not sure if that’s just temporary for the holiday weekend or not. Also the big crowds are back again for the weekend. (Very little distancing walking around, much longer lines)


----------



## disneygirlsng

momandmousefan said:


> Gastons has reopened. I’m not sure if that’s just temporary for the holiday weekend or not. Also the big crowds are back again for the weekend. (Very little distancing walking around, much longer lines)


It was announced a few days ago that Gaston's would be re-opening today (part of an announcement for other dining locations as well). I had assumed that would not be for just this weekend.


----------



## ScubaCat

wilkydelts said:


> Has anyone figured out the a cleaning schedule yet? Is there away to know if they will clean shortly or have started cleanly so you can avoid those lines?





brockash said:


> I asked the same thing a while ago, but at that time it didn't seem that anyone knew...I'd be interested to know as well





yulilin3 said:


> and still no one knows



Yes we do know, actually.  If you see me getting in line for an attraction, it's about to be cleaned.


----------



## unbanshee

wilkydelts said:


> Has anyone figured out the a cleaning schedule yet? Is there away to know if they will clean shortly or have started cleanly so you can avoid those lines?



Every 2 hours

https://blogmickey.com/2020/07/here...leaning-their-attractions-throughout-the-day/


----------



## happymom2one

momandmousefan said:


> Are you talking about the one in Germany? (Because that’s the half that was opened )



I am thinking it wasn't in Germany? I think it was on the other side of the park but in front of the lake. I hope I am using the right terminology.


----------



## 20yBWDW

Here now. Tuesday through yesterday = all great. Today? Well, Disney dropped the ball with increased capacity for the holiday weekend. No enforcement on masks, people eating and drinking in line. Lots of people not respecting social distancing. Lines are long, waits are miserable, and we got stuck in RotR queue for an hour with people who took their masks off.


----------



## momandmousefan

Cancelling AK reservations for tomorrow in about one minute (driving home tomorrow and with the crowds we decided not to sneak in a few more hours and just have a pool morning) ....go grab ‘em if you can!


----------



## momandmousefan

20yBWDW said:


> Here now. Tuesday through yesterday = all great. Today? Well, Disney dropped the ball with increased capacity for the holiday weekend. No enforcement on masks, people eating and drinking in line. Lots of people not respecting social distancing. Lines are long, waits are miserable, and we got stuck in RotR queue for an hour with people who took their masks off.


Yeah, having been here from last weekend until today we noticed the same. During the week is pretty nice and relaxing, behaviors and crowds suck on the weekends. (Sorry to hear you got stuck in a line like that btw)


----------



## Lumpy1106

momandmousefan said:


> Yeah, having been here from last weekend until today we noticed the same. During the week is pretty nice and relaxing, behaviors and crowds suck on the weekends. (Sorry to hear you got stuck in a line like that btw)


That describes our experience from 1st week in Aug.  Mon-Thurs, RELAXING is the right word - man I never would have guessed that about a WDW trip.  Friday at MK was different - that was the only time we saw anyone argue with a CM about masks.  Still, even that was pretty chill.  Sounds like this w/e is another story.


----------



## mrd7896

Landed in Orlando! Reported that we got on the “fake monorail” at 3:45 and by 4:09 we were seated on the magical express and off we go! So happy to be back


----------



## Raven01

Are the shops on MK with costumes open?  Pondering a modified dress up since CRT is opening.


----------



## yulilin3

Raven01 said:


> Are the shops on MK with costumes open?  Pondering a modified dress up since CRT is opening.


With costumes? For adults?


----------



## 20yBWDW

momandmousefan said:


> Yeah, having been here from last weekend until today we noticed the same. During the week is pretty nice and relaxing, behaviors and crowds suck on the weekends. (Sorry to hear you got stuck in a line like that btw)



Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday all were fantastic. So many short lines, people were following rules, cast members were on top of everything. It was just so different today.


----------



## auntlynne

tussking said:


> Seems all of the COVID threads have been diluted with political opinions.
> My family has been tested 2x in the last 8 weeks and is COVID-Free.
> We have stayed home, had all of our items delivered or done curbside. I have been inside a store or doctor's office 3x in 6 months.
> I am so eager to bring my 14 & 17-year old for 1.5 days to experience some enjoyment. They deserve it. We had plans booked for 5 days in March when this all hit. We are all healthy although I have asthma.
> I have my N95/N99 masks along with Purell and gloves.
> Can I please get first-hand accounts of visitors from the last couple of days? I expect this weekend to be busy but knowing kids and people are back to work Tuesday I figured if we could get a few rides in Monday afternoon at Epcot and some delicious food it would be so nice. Then my expectation is Tuesday the 8th MK will be dead. Thoughts on this? Staying in my first hotel too the JW Marriott at Bonnet Creek one night. I am not going to lie - I AM SCARED.



Based on what you said, I‘d recommend you don’t go.

Facing your Fears and riding a roller coaster at an amusement park with a good safety record is one thing.

Being Scared and going to a place with people from all over the country during an outbreak of a new disease with no known treatment is another.

Let’s say WDW doesn’t survive economically and closes forever.  You didn’t go this weekend.  End of the world (not the park) for you? 

One of your kids gets sick or dies after this trip - are you going to forgive yourself for making the decision that you just HAD to go now instead of 6 months, one or two years - or after treatments and vaccines exist?

...

Where I’m  coming from (mindset)

I have a week scheduled at WDW two weeks from now.  If there’s no big change in conditions I will be there - and again in early November (replacing a Disney Cruise).

I spent over four years going nowhere (Other than driven to the doctor or two hospital stays) due to an auto-immune disease.  Last December, I was able to resume travel and visited St Thomas, January to Orlando, Feb a Carnival Cruise, and March was Hawaii.  While in Hawaii, they started their shutdown. When I left, they began quarantines for new arrivals.

I go to the grocery (at least twice weekly), Walmart and most Scheduled doctor’s visits throughout these times.  Wearing a mask and doing the social-distancing dance in stores.  You would think we were Canadians as polite as most people are when shopping.

Last month, my sister (who has only ventured out to the office  very few times this summer) and I drove to Hilton Head for a week in a timeshare.  Great social distancing at the beach.  Timeshare elevators were one family only at a time.

I still feel fine and think I have not acquired the virus.

I live in Alabama, a state high on the list of % cases per population, but in a city with it better under control.  I practice virus safety and do not participate in high-risk activities or in high-density/ long-time exposure locations.


----------



## momof2halls

auntlynne said:


> Based on what you said, I‘d recommend you don’t go.
> 
> Facing your Fears and riding a roller coaster at an amusement park with a good safety record is one thing.
> 
> Being Scared and going to a place with people from all over the country during an outbreak of a new disease with no known treatment is another.
> 
> Let’s say WDW doesn’t survive economically and closes forever.  You didn’t go this weekend.  End of the world (not the park) for you?
> 
> One of your kids gets sick or dies after this trip - are you going to forgive yourself for making the decision that you just HAD to go now instead of 6 months, one or two years - or after treatments and vaccines exist?
> 
> ...
> 
> Where I’m  coming from (mindset)
> 
> I have a week scheduled at WDW two weeks from now.  If there’s no big change in conditions I will be there - and again in early November (replacing a Disney Cruise).
> 
> I spent over four years going nowhere (Other than driven to the doctor or two hospital stays) due to an auto-immune disease.  Last December, I was able to resume travel and visited St Thomas, January to Orlando, Feb a Carnival Cruise, and March was Hawaii.  While in Hawaii, they started their shutdown. When I left, they began quarantines for new arrivals.
> 
> I went to the grocery (at least twice weekly), Walmart and most Scheduled doctor’s visits throughout.  Wearing a mask and doing the social-distancing dance in stores.  You would think we were Canadians as polite as most people are when shopping.
> 
> Last month, my sister (who has only ventured out to the office  very few times this summer) and I drove to Hilton Head for a week in a timeshare.  Great social distancing at the beach.  Timeshare elevators were one family only at a time.
> 
> I still feel fine and think I have not acquired the virus.
> 
> I live in Alabama, a state high on the list of % cases per population, but in a city with it better under control.  I practice virus safety and do not participate in high-risk activities or in high-density/ long-time exposure locations.


I completely agree with your post. 
We have been here (@ wdw) for over 10 days, if anyone is afraid of coming in contact with a person not from your family don’t waste your time or money.  I say that because you can only control you, you can’t control anyone you come into contact with, you cant control who used the bathroom stall right before you or who sat in the seat you are about to sit in (attraction or dining). Disney is doing a great job cleaning, we have hit many cleaning cycles and got to watch them clean train cars/boats as well as railings and seats, however there are still germs here. We brought a variety of mask and most were unbearable in the parks.  Each day we have been in the area where someone has coughed or sneezed in our presence, we have passed by unmasked people. 
We extended grace and mercy during rain, thunder and lightning. We witnessed multiple occasions where cast members upheld the “social distancing” standard and where strangers joined together to help each other putting those standards aside. Don’t place your trust/safety/comfort in anything Disney or anyone else does, we are all human, we will never be perfect nor will anything we ever do.


----------



## IluvMGM

20yBWDW said:


> Here now. Tuesday through yesterday = all great. Today? Well, Disney dropped the ball with increased capacity for the holiday weekend. No enforcement on masks, people eating and drinking in line. Lots of people not respecting social distancing. Lines are long, waits are miserable, and we got stuck in RotR queue for an hour with people who took their masks off.



We were at DHS today also. We didn't think wait times were that long, not too much of a difference from when we went on Tuesday. We have seen people at every park all week who have their masks down while eating and walking, who try to take them off for photopass photos, who pull them down or take them off while in lines etc.. This morning we saw a guy walk from his hotel room, enter the main lobby and go up to the front desk all with no mask. They ended up giving him one from behind the counter. But it is what it is, and we are just trying to be as careful as we can.


----------



## chicagoshannon

Busch Gardens, first i need to say it was surface of the sun hot today.  Mask compliance  50% maybe.  It was rough, so rough today.  That being said it was very easy to distance from everyone.  There are basically no indoor areas.  They have a special sanitation squad out looking for things to clean.  Rides were all walk on.  They have a ton of mask relaxation zones, at least one in every land.  We went on the giraffe encounter which was great as they limit it to 2 parties.

in summary if you are super strict about masks save yourself the aggravation and skip Busch Gardens.

  We were sooooooooo glad they weren't super strict as there is no way we would have lasted as long as we did today without a nose peek here and there.  We sat in the mask free zones a ton today.  The staff was a lot more concerned with heart stroke today than masks (which i found appropriate given the weather).

We love Busch Gardens and hate to suggest not going but it's better for all if you don't go if you are expecting anywhere near total mask compliance.


----------



## Raven01

yulilin3 said:


> With costumes? For adults?



The kids shop.  There is one by Cinderella’s Castle I think?  The ones with different princess dresses.

DD3 can’t do BBB but can still dress up and eat in the castle.


----------



## brockash

Arrived today.  First I'll say we've flown multiple times since this all started, but today the airports were much busier.  Our flight was "at capacity" by SW standards (no middle seats filled.)  I think 85% of the ppl. on our plane were heafed to Disney...LOTS of Disney outfits; lots of talking about plans etc...lots of talk of having to get your own luggage lol.  

We landed around 1055 and got to the Polynesian around 1pm.  Got in line for ME snd they told us it'd be 45-60 mins, but we basically walked right on the bus.  We went to Pop (that parking lot was PACKED,) Riviera, Saratoga Springs and finally Polynesian.  As soon as we got off the bus we got alert that our room was ready which was awesome.  We didn't get the building we asked for, but we have 4 rooms total and we all got the ground floor request.  The lobby was very quiet.  Found our room in Moorea bldg...def. a bit of a walk and got lunch at CCs...they were very polite and let us sit at the tables while we waited because it took a pretty decent amount of time to get 4 meals.  

Went to DS this afternoon/evening znd it was pretty low crowds...we were literally the only customers in Goofys.  Bus service the 2 times we used it was really good.  Came back to the mssg about their strong recommendation that we take private transportation as they expect heavy crowds over the next several days.  Came to the pool and had a lifeguard come to tell us how things worked snd also warned us about the calm before the storm and that it's going to be much busier over the next few days.  We'll see how it goes...main pool is now open til 10...not sure if we knew that. so that was a nice surprise...also got $10] gc per room because they had to switch our resort twice so thst was nice.


----------



## LaDonna

allaboutthemouse said:


> Am also interested in your sea world day!  Thanks!


We had a great time. No waits for anything 
Nighttime was more crowded during electric mix party/fireworks


----------



## Geomom

Raven01 said:


> The kids shop.  There is one by Cinderella’s Castle I think?  The ones with different princess dresses.
> 
> DD3 can’t do BBB but can still dress up and eat in the castle.


That shop was closed when we were there 7/25-8/8, but they had moved the princess dresses over to Sir Mickey's right across from the shop you're talking about.


----------



## pepperandchips

momof2halls said:


> We extended grace and mercy during rain, thunder and lightning. We witnessed multiple occasions where cast members upheld the “social distancing” standard and where strangers joined together to help each other putting those standards aside.


What does this mean?


----------



## Mercenary

20yBWDW said:


> Here now. Tuesday through yesterday = all great. Today? Well, Disney dropped the ball with increased capacity for the holiday weekend. No enforcement on masks, people eating and drinking in line. Lots of people not respecting social distancing. Lines are long, waits are miserable, and we got stuck in RotR queue for an hour with people who took their masks off.



Yep I agree. Loved the trip up until today...


----------



## Dentam

brockash said:


> Came back to the mssg about their strong recommendation that we take private transportation as they expect heavy crowds over the next several days. Came to the pool and had a lifeguard come to tell us how things worked snd also warned us about the calm before the storm and that it's going to be much busier over the next few days.



Curious if they're expecting it to be busy over the next several days or few days?  Really hoping things will die down after Monday...


----------



## yulilin3

Raven01 said:


> The kids shop.  There is one by Cinderella’s Castle I think?  The ones with different princess dresses.
> 
> DD3 can’t do BBB but can still dress up and eat in the castle.


Ah, BBB Is closed but Sir Mickey's Is open and they sell dresses and knight apparel. Also the emporium has dresses and some costumes now


----------



## Alice Sr.

lelew said:


> Just went to the pool this morning at Old Keywest they are now checking room numbers and handing out wrist bands. Life guard said the pool is first come on the weekends. They also closed the second entrance to the pool. Everyone must check in at main entrance.


I am surprised they didn't leave a msg for you like they did for brockash about transportation.  That would be terrible to come back from a hot day at the park to find out you were shut out of the pool.  If you had a heads up you could adjust your plans accordingly.


disneygirlsng said:


> It was announced a few days ago that Gaston's would be re-opening today (part of an announcement for other dining locations as well). I had assumed that would not be for just this weekend.


I have been keeping an eye open for notices about additional restaurant openings but missed this, thanks.


20yBWDW said:


> Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday all were fantastic. So many short lines, people were following rules, cast members were on top of everything. It was just so different today.


Thank you, this has got to be such a difficult situation for the CM's going from the harder line stance and control vs the loss of control with larger crowds.


brockash said:


> Came back to the mssg about their strong recommendation that we take private transportation as they expect heavy crowds over the next several days.


I find this interesting, guess it's an acknowledgement that they aren't prepared to handle the crowds they are expecting (as efficiently as guests would expect anyway or according to their standard).  At least they are being proactive.  I wasn't planning on any trips around the holidays, but this confirms I will want to avoid even minor holidays until they are fully functional whenever that is.  Thanks for the update.


----------



## Mercenary

Dentam said:


> Curious if they're expecting it to be busy over the next several days or few days?  Really hoping things will die down after Monday...


They are saying Friday to Monday would be very busy. If today is worse than yesterday. Well that will not be good. Mask compliance was down. Day started great, as day and heat went on started to see 80 to 85 %. Social distancing was hit or miss, some was just blatantly bad. I saw no correction of masks or spacing. In some cases Cast members were still trying to cram everyone in the lines like they used to. Dumbo was the worst. You have to make your own space and stay vigilant if it's important to you.


----------



## Mercenary

Alice Sr. said:


> I am surprised they didn't leave a msg for you like they did for brockash about transportation.  That would be terrible to come back from a hot day at the park to find out you were shut out of the pool.  If you had a heads up you could adjust your plans accordingly.
> 
> I have been keeping an eye open for notices about additional restaurant openings but missed this, thanks.
> 
> Thank you, this has got to be such a difficult situation for the CM's going from the harder line stance and control vs the loss of control with larger crowds.
> 
> I find this interesting, guess it's an acknowledgement that they aren't prepared to handle the crowds they are expecting (as efficiently as guests would expect anyway or according to their standard).  At least they are being proactive.  I wasn't planning on any trips around the holidays, but this confirms I will want to avoid even minor holidays until they are fully functional whenever that is.  Thanks for the update.



I would say yesterday that was true, at least to a point. It was funny to see the masking tape line markers come out etc for make shift lines and extensions for some rides.


----------



## brockash

Dentam said:


> Curious if they're expecting it to be busy over the next several days or few days?  Really hoping things will die down after Monday...


My opinion is that now through Monday will be much busier than the following days.


----------



## Princesspixi

julierocks said:


> For those who have been to HS recently, I'm curious as to the actual wait time for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway.  No matter wait time of day I put it into a touring apps plan, it's 70+ mins for an estimated wait time.  I'm hoping this is because there's not enough data yet.  How can it be 70+ mins at rope drop?


I know you posted this several pages back but...We went 2 weeks ago and ride twice. Didn’t wait more than 30 minutes either time. Posted wait times were 35 min (actually waited about 20) and and hr (didn’t time this one but it was about 20-30min). First ride at “rope drop” (before 10) and second around 4pm. 
They start loading at 9:30 so if you get there right at 10, people have already gotten in line and it has already started running. We loaded at 9:55 and got off right at 10.


----------



## Mercenary

Princesspixi said:


> I know you posted this several pages back but...We went 2 weeks ago and ride twice. Didn’t wait more than 30 minutes either time. Posted wait times were 35 min (actually waited about 20) and and hr (didn’t time this one but it was about 20-30min). First ride at “rope drop” (before 10) and second around 4pm.
> They start loading at 9:30 so if you get there right at 10, people have already gotten in line and it has already started running. We loaded at 9:55 and got off right at 10.


We rode it twice waited about 30, posted 35 or 25.

The lines on Thursday afternoon were long, based on what we have seen 60 minutes maybe expected.


----------



## coolbrook

LaDonna said:


> Since so many places are closed or offering less choices. Can anyone tell me the best icecream products to get at each park. I know we will won’t dole whip at Mk and I’m thinking story book treats will still be open. But how about other park? Besides the usual Mickey bars etc


Hollywood Scoops will be opening soon in Hollywood Studios.


----------



## Sydney2977

I want to purchase some Disney masks while we are there, specifically the Haunted Mansion print and "The Child" ones, but not sure where I can get them. I want to get them before the MK and DHS park days so I can wash them in our room and then wear them at the parks. Our first day is at AK- has anyone seen them there? On our arrival evening we will be eating at GF and popping over to MK Guest Services to activate our tickets. Has anyone seen them in the GF gift shop, or is the gift shop right outside MK open and have them? TIA for any help!


----------



## Shellbells

I'm watching 2 livestreams this morning.  One from EP and one from MK. A 3rd on from AK will start in 45 minutes. 
The crowds at EP are increased but doesn't look unbearable. Yet, anyway.
For post-covid MK is packed. I would probably leave MK if I was there today.
We'll be there the week of Veterans day and since it's on a Wednesday I'm hoping it won't be this bad but park capacity could be increased by then as well. Luckily, Disney is letting you cancel up until the day before your trip. (I believe)


----------



## tussking

Shellbells said:


> I'm watching 2 livestreams this morning.  One from EP and one from MK. A 3rd on from AK will start in 45 minutes.
> The crowds at EP are increased but doesn't look unbearable. Yet, anyway.
> For post-covid MK is packed. I would probably leave MK if I was there today.
> We'll be there the week of Veterans day and since it's on a Wednesday I'm hoping it won't be this bad but park capacity could be increased by then as well. Luckily, Disney is letting you cancel up until the day before your trip. (I believe)



Would you mind posting links to the live streams, please?


----------



## Shellbells

I'm not sure I'm allowed to post the links. The AK one is dislyfeofours. Mousetalk is EP. Magicalnewslive is MK.
They're all on YouTube


----------



## vital

How are they checking temperatures? Have y'all seen anyone turned away?


----------



## Mercenary

Shellbells said:


> I'm watching 2 livestreams this morning.  One from EP and one from MK. A 3rd on from AK will start in 45 minutes.
> The crowds at EP are increased but doesn't look unbearable. Yet, anyway.
> For post-covid MK is packed. I would probably leave MK if I was there today.
> We'll be there the week of Veterans day and since it's on a Wednesday I'm hoping it won't be this bad but park capacity could be increased by then as well. Luckily, Disney is letting you cancel up until the day before your trip. (I believe)


Here now  World showcase is busy.... Reminds me of a normal day almost.


----------



## Best Aunt

Sydney2977 said:


> I want to purchase some Disney masks while we are there, specifically the Haunted Mansion print and "The Child" ones, but not sure where I can get them. I want to get them before the MK and DHS park days so I can wash them in our room and then wear them at the parks. Our first day is at AK- has anyone seen them there? On our arrival evening we will be eating at GF and popping over to MK Guest Services to activate our tickets. Has anyone seen them in the GF gift shop, or is the gift shop right outside MK open and have them? TIA for any help!



Make sure you have a backup plan even if you think these masks will be readily available.  some people like the Disney masks but some people hate them.  I found the elastic to be extremely uncomfortable.

I think mask advice for Disney should be like shoe advice: it’s a good idea to wear them at home and make sure they are comfortable before you plan to wear them in the parks.


----------



## Grandmad

Best Aunt said:


> Make sure you have a backup plan even if you think these masks will be readily available.  some people like the Disney masks but some people hate them.  I found the elastic to be extremely uncomfortable.


I also found the Disney masks to be umcomfortable.


----------



## wilkydelts

I am unsure why people keep mentioning “that they hope Disney does not raise capacity” or something similar. Disney could offer no capacity limits right now and other than some specific weekends/holidays it would not matter. The demand for Disney/travel just is not there right now. If you closely watch the park reservation calendar other than AP no one has problems getting in which means they are not even close to worrying about numbers. In fact if they were worried about numbers you wouldn’t see AP availability all of a sudden go wide open meaning they are allowing more APs to attend because demand is not there. They just opened up more and more deals to get people to come while still trying to be respectful of Covid19 and not be “enticing” wide spread travel.  Disney is not something most people do spur of the moment as well as Disney relies mostly on the non-Disney type visitors who don’t go all the time as their main money makers. Those people just aren’t going now especially with all the changes and operating procedures.


----------



## DisneySoldier

vital said:


> How are they checking temperatures? Have y'all seen anyone turned away?


We just arrived yesterday and have been to Epcot and MK so far.  They have Advent Health employees (don't appear to be Disney cast members) in tents before you get to the security check, and they do a forehead scan as you enter.  I assume if you are above a certain temperature - the device will beep differently, and they'll turn you away.  So far - I haven't seen anyone turned away or require any kind of additional screening.


----------



## Dave006

DisneySoldier said:


> I assume if you are above a certain temperature - the device will beep differently, and they'll turn you away. So far - I haven't seen anyone turned away or require any kind of additional screening.


They don't just turn you away. 

You are allowed to stay and cool down and have your temp taken again. Most guests that test hot are just warm from the walk the parking or the bus areas.

Dave


----------



## vital

Dave006 said:


> They don't just turn you away.
> 
> You are allowed to stay and cool down and have your temp taken again. Most guests that test hot are just warm from the walk the parking or the bus areas.
> 
> Dave



This is what I was curious about. We'll be walking from the Swan and was curious what they would do if we were above their threshold, which I assume is 100.4.


----------



## Geomom

vital said:


> This is what I was curious about. We'll be walking from the Swan and was curious what they would do if we were above their threshold, which I assume is 100.4.


They have cooling tents they would send you to that have fans and ice water.  They'll scan your temp again after you sit for a while.  At the initial temp scan, if your forehead temp is high, they also scan behind your ear.  My kids and I had that done a couple times, and that temp was cooler, so we were able to enter without going to the cooling tent.  (Hot sun beating down on your forehead, and I have bangs as well that can trap heat.  We checked our temps before leaving the room so we knew no one was feverish.)


----------



## Spazz2k

Just checked in at RR and we're upgraded from tower studio to deluxe studio...we have now been upgraded for each of our stays post covid, which is nice.  Haven't been down to the pool yet, but the parking lot is packed solid.  We shall see....


----------



## Shacka1

Hi Guys

I wanted to hear from people who have recently been there how the waits/lines are for rides and food

We recently went to a local theme park (dorney park) and it was so unenjoyable, between them only letting people sit every other seat and then cleaning in between. We spent the entire day standing around waiting and extremely annoyed, barely rode anything

So I wanted to reach out to see what to expect

For rides and food please!

Thank you!


----------



## brockash

coolbrook said:


> Hollywood Scoops will be opening soon in Hollywood Studios.


Do we know how soon?  We'd love for it to be open Wed.


----------



## Spazz2k

Main pool at RR is busier than we have seen it, but all good.  They are checking names at the entrance instead of magic bands.  Most chairs are taken currently, but still some available...which brings me to the family next to us...they are leaving their stuff here to go ride the rise of the resistance...ugh...see so many families looking for shade with little ones, but they are just leaving all their stuff here for the next couple of hours?? Silly


----------



## tussking

Spazz2k said:


> Main pool at RR is busier than we have seen it, but all good.  They are checking names at the entrance instead of magic bands.  Most chairs are taken currently, but still some available...which brings me to the family next to us...they are leaving their stuff here to go ride the rise of the resistance...ugh...see so many families looking for shade with little ones, but they are just leaving all their stuff here for the next couple of hours?? Silly



Silly no Selfish YES


----------



## yulilin3

Shacka1 said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> I wanted to hear from people who have recently been there how the waits/lines are for rides and food
> 
> We recently went to a local theme park (dorney park) and it was so unenjoyable, between them only letting people sit every other seat and then cleaning in between. We spent the entire day standing around waiting and extremely annoyed, barely rode anything
> 
> So I wanted to reach out to see what to expect
> 
> For rides and food please!
> 
> Thank you!


read a couple of pages back for recent reports


----------



## Shacka1

yulilin3 said:


> read a couple of pages back for recent reports


Thank you !!


----------



## cindy17

Spazz2k said:


> Main pool at RR is busier than we have seen it, but all good.  They are checking names at the entrance instead of magic bands.  Most chairs are taken currently, but still some available...which brings me to the family next to us...they are leaving their stuff here to go ride the rise of the resistance...ugh...see so many families looking for shade with little ones, but they are just leaving all their stuff here for the next couple of hours?? Silly


Sorry but that’s sooo rude ... some people only think of themselves


----------



## Spazz2k

The good news is a cast member came and removed their stuff... sunblock, shoes and stuff.  Was pleasantly surprised to see that...should be interesting when they return, as another family has occupied the space.


----------



## momof2halls

pepperandchips said:


> What does this mean?


When things happen that we aren’t expecting it’s easy to forget about social distancing, especially when people are afraid and seeking safety.  One incident we witnessed was during a lightning storm at Hollywood Studios, lightning hit and an alarm went off and Cast Members we trying to enforce social distancing outside a building that had an awning, the people standing there told the Cast Member it was ok that the family was clearly shaken up and seeking shelter.  Not one time did we encounter people being ugly or requesting people to move out of their space, we saw grace and mercy extended.


----------



## dachsie

Spazz2k said:


> The good news is a cast member came and removed their stuff... sunblock, shoes and stuff.  Was pleasantly surprised to see that...should be interesting when they return, as another family has occupied the space.


Report back if you can.


----------



## mrd7896

Even though this is the Disney forum, Universal was horrible today (as i anticipated...i had really low expectations). Felt like a completely normal day you’d experience pre covid. We left around 430 because of how hot, crowded, wait times all well over 80 minutes, low mask compliance and no possibility of social distancing. Also the fact that more rides weren’t VQ shocked me


----------



## 20yBWDW

momof2halls said:


> When things happen that we aren’t expecting it’s easy to forget about social distancing, especially when people are afraid and seeking safety.  One incident we witnessed was during a lightning storm at Hollywood Studios, lightning hit and an alarm went off and Cast Members we trying to enforce social distancing outside a building that had an awning, the people standing there told the Cast Member it was ok that the family was clearly shaken up and seeking shelter.  Not one time did we encounter people being ugly or requesting people to move out of their space, we saw grace and mercy extended.



If the "being ugly and requesting people move out of their space" was directed at me earlier in the thread complaining about the lack of social distancing, I  find it a very odd characterization. I was not casting people out to a storm. I do not think it is"being ugly" to expect coughing people without masks to maintain 6 ft. Ifthey have to get closer due to weather, fine. That happened, I had no objection. But sitting down 2 ft away from children, removing your mask, and coughing IS being ugly in my opinion. asking someone not to do that is not the bad behavior here.


----------



## chicagoshannon

Sea World was packed today.  Busier than I've seen it since my Christmas week trips of yore(mid 1990).  It was very hard to distance from others.  They had their mask enforcement squad out in full force and were doing a really good job.

There were just so many people that didn't listen.  People just outright ignore instructions especially when leaving the stadiums.

Today reminded me of the days past when you'd get to the parade early and get a great spot only for it to be ruined last minute by someone squeezing in.  They'd squeeze in instead of leaving the space they are supposed to at the shows.

We looking forward to going back during the week this week.

Tomorrow is Kennedy Space Center.  I'm assuming it won't be crowded but we'll see!


----------



## JFDIS

We did a three night stay at Poly last week. It was the absolute most relaxing Disney trip we’ve ever had. It went so well that we are booking two more stays this year (YC in three weeks & CR December) also going back next week for a MK day trip. Here are my highlights;
- No lines at MK on Sunday & Monday apart from 7DMT winch we walked on twice at rope drop. We didn’t do the the other mountains. 
- Wonderful cast member interactions. We felt like VIP.
- Loved the surprise of character cavalcades. 
- No stress of fast passes. We just asked the kids what they wanted to do next and that’s how our day went. 
- Didn’t need to plan anything but dining. 
- Menus were limited but food quality & service were great. (Kona, Capt Cooks, Tambu, Beaches & Cream & The wave)
- Never waited for a bus.
- Pools weren’t crowded winch made it easy to find chairs with shade. 
Negatives;
- It was HOT!!!
- Missed fireworks but our kids fell asleep each night watching them on tv.
Masks;
I wanted to be totally transparent and share my experience. This trip was my husband and I and our two daughters ages one and three. The three year old did way better than I could have imagined but on Monday it was so hot at noon and she was exhausted we just couldn’t get her to wear her mask anymore so of course we left. This meant we had to walk through the park with her maskless in the stroller. So please keep that in mind if you see a small child not wearing their mask. Also, she took it off once in the stroller and must have dropped it somewhere on the ground. We had no idea she had no mask on until a cast member kindly made us aware. This last part is embarrassing but one night we were all hanging out in the room  and wanted to walk outside to see the castle lit up. It wasn’t until we were walking back and I saw another family that I realized NONE of us had masks on!!! My husband and I felt so bad but it happened.


----------



## allaboutthemouse

chicagoshannon said:


> Tomorrow is Kennedy Space Center.  I'm assuming it won't be crowded but we'll see!


 Would love to hear how your KSC day goes!


----------



## chicagoshannon

allaboutthemouse said:


> Would love to hear how your KSC day goes!


I'll report back tomorrow.  They're open 10-4.  I'll try to be more detailed about the attractions open also since not as many go.


----------



## DoryGirl1963

JFDIS said:


> We did a three night stay at Poly last week. It was the absolute most relaxing Disney trip we’ve ever had. It went so well that we are booking two more stays this year (YC in three weeks & CR December) also going back next week for a MK day trip. Here are my highlights;
> - No lines at MK on Sunday & Monday apart from 7DMT winch we walked on twice at rope drop. We didn’t do the the other mountains.
> - Wonderful cast member interactions. We felt like VIP.
> - Loved the surprise of character cavalcades.
> - No stress of fast passes. We just asked the kids what they wanted to do next and that’s how our day went.
> - Didn’t need to plan anything but dining.
> - Menus were limited but food quality & service were great. (Kona, Capt Cooks, Tambu, Beaches & Cream & The wave)
> - Never waited for a bus.
> - Pools weren’t crowded winch made it easy to find chairs with shade.
> Negatives;
> - It was HOT!!!
> - Missed fireworks but our kids fell asleep each night watching them on tv.
> Masks;
> I wanted to be totally transparent and share my experience. This trip was my husband and I and our two daughters ages one and three. The three year old did way better than I could have imagined but on Monday it was so hot at noon and she was exhausted we just couldn’t get her to wear her mask anymore so of course we left. This meant we had to walk through the park with her maskless in the stroller. So please keep that in mind if you see a small child not wearing their mask. Also, she took it off once in the stroller and must have dropped it somewhere on the ground. We had no idea she had no mask on until a cast member kindly made us aware. This last part is embarrassing but one night we were all hanging out in the room  and wanted to walk outside to see the castle lit up. It wasn’t until we were walking back and I saw another family that I realized NONE of us had masks on!!! My husband and I felt so bad but it happened.


We hung an unused (obviously) disposable mask on the door handle of our hotel room as a reminder to mask up before leaving the room - worked like a charm !


----------



## JFDIS

DoryGirl1963 said:


> We hung an unused (obviously) disposable mask on the door handle of our hotel room as a reminder to mask up before leaving the room - worked like a charm !


Great idea!!!


----------



## CAPSLOCK

DoryGirl1963 said:


> We hung an unused (obviously) disposable mask on the door handle of our hotel room as a reminder to mask up before leaving the room - worked like a charm !


+1 fabulous idea!


----------



## IluvMGM

Epcot was busier today for sure. We ate breakfast at Chef Mickey and took the bus from the Contemporary to Epcot, were the first ones on the bus, got to Epcot super early. I knew if we didn't go right to Test Track we wouldn't be able to ride it and of course it wasn't running. So, needless to say we didn't get to ride it with wait times over an hour most of the day. Everything except Test Track and Frozen were manageable as far as wait times. Long wait to get into Mexico, but once you got it, the line for the ride wasn't long. We always say we are going to arrive at the parks before rope drop, and never manage to do so. This trip we have been super early using Disney transportation, usually one of the first ones in the park. Again spotted people walking to the hotel lobby with no masks on, still don't understand it. Social distancing isn't really going that well walking through the parks. People walk wherever they want through the parks and exiting rides is tough as well. If it's raining, all bets are off and people act like there is no need to social distance. We heard one kid say it was okay, they could take their masks off because it's raining out and covid can't spread in the rain.


----------



## allaboutthemouse

chicagoshannon said:


> I'll report back tomorrow.  They're open 10-4.  I'll try to be more detailed about the attractions open also since not as many go.


Thank you!


----------



## nancipants

Was at Epcot today. It was way more crowded than our previous visits and many times I was not comfortable with the amount of people around us. Lots of people walking around unmasked, both eating and not. A few times we found a shady spot to sit and feed the baby only to have another family come sit right next to us. So we got up and moved. My husband and I both agreed we would not be going back during holiday times. 

Magic Kingdom on Wednesday was wonderful, on the other hand. Not crowded at all, and the relaxation area at Tomorrowland Terrace was so nice to feed the baby. Even the afternoon rainstorm didn’t ruin the day (baby slept through it  ).


----------



## Spazz2k

We were not at the pool long enough to see the squatters return...got hungry and went and ate at the pool bar...very yummy, but very busy!! We got a table when we got there at about 7:45...long line for go-to drinks...2 bartenders, Chris and Ken and 2 servers on the floor.  The food is always good!!! Highly recommend!!


----------



## morganms22

How was it going with a one year old not required to wear a mask? We are going with our one year old next month and I just don’t want to spend our whole trip being stopped and asked about her age...



JFDIS said:


> We did a three night stay at Poly last week. It was the absolute most relaxing Disney trip we’ve ever had. It went so well that we are booking two more stays this year (YC in three weeks & CR December) also going back next week for a MK day trip. Here are my highlights;
> - No lines at MK on Sunday & Monday apart from 7DMT winch we walked on twice at rope drop. We didn’t do the the other mountains.
> - Wonderful cast member interactions. We felt like VIP.
> - Loved the surprise of character cavalcades.
> - No stress of fast passes. We just asked the kids what they wanted to do next and that’s how our day went.
> - Didn’t need to plan anything but dining.
> - Menus were limited but food quality & service were great. (Kona, Capt Cooks, Tambu, Beaches & Cream & The wave)
> - Never waited for a bus.
> - Pools weren’t crowded winch made it easy to find chairs with shade.
> Negatives;
> - It was HOT!!!
> - Missed fireworks but our kids fell asleep each night watching them on tv.
> Masks;
> I wanted to be totally transparent and share my experience. This trip was my husband and I and our two daughters ages one and three. The three year old did way better than I could have imagined but on Monday it was so hot at noon and she was exhausted we just couldn’t get her to wear her mask anymore so of course we left. This meant we had to walk through the park with her maskless in the stroller. So please keep that in mind if you see a small child not wearing their mask. Also, she took it off once in the stroller and must have dropped it somewhere on the ground. We had no idea she had no mask on until a cast member kindly made us aware. This last part is embarrassing but one night we were all hanging out in the room  and wanted to walk outside to see the castle lit up. It wasn’t until we were walking back and I saw another family that I realized NONE of us had masks on!!! My husband and I felt so bad but it happened.


----------



## Mercenary

nancipants said:


> Was at Epcot today. It was way more crowded than our previous visits and many times I was not comfortable with the amount of people around us. Lots of people walking around unmasked, both eating and not. A few times we found a shady spot to sit and feed the baby only to have another family come sit right next to us. So we got up and moved. My husband and I both agreed we would not be going back during holiday times.
> 
> Magic Kingdom on Wednesday was wonderful, on the other hand. Not crowded at all, and the relaxation area at Tomorrowland Terrace was so nice to feed the baby. Even the afternoon rainstorm didn’t ruin the day (baby slept through it  ).


Overall this sums up exactly how we feel for out Epcot visit today.  Yuck, had and absolutely disappointing no mask experience today today and was just shocked. We were waiting outside for journey, there was a family behind us, good news they were distancing, so did not pay much attention. As we entered the building we had to let them go ahead as someone from our party was finishing water. I never noticed but their 8yr was not hearing a mask, the castmember saw it right away as they were entering the main line, he had a brief exchange about the no mask, then let them go on. He called someone else to report the violation. They continued through the line. Ride breaks down as that family is right in front of the final castmember about to board the ride vehicles. After about 5 minutes and the we broke down announcement they family sits down and all the masks come off. A second cast member, again who is right in front of them does nothing. I was so disappointed. We left the line as I did not feel comfortable being enclosed and with zero mask compliance next family in front of me. I left the ride, expressed my concerns, was basically told sorry and he did call someone to assist them. However I feel, they should have never been let in the building, and the other castmember should have asked them to put their masks on while waiting...


Maybe they said something to the 1st castmember not sure and made him feel uncomfortable, but overall we were not happy today especially with all the drinking eating and no masks.


----------



## LaDonna

coolbrook said:


> Hollywood Scoops will be opening soon in Hollywood Studios.


Oooh did u hear a date? we are here this week


----------



## WDW88

We are here now. More crowded than I wanted.  Mask compliance around 80 -85% while in MK, better at EOCOT yesterday.  My question is, where are people obtaining drinking water?  We can only seem to find it in the Starbucks locations, as many counter services do not appear open and the little kiosks that sell ice cream and popcorn don’t have tap water.  Today we waited in a Starbucks line for 40 minutes for coffee, breakfast, and waters.  Yesterday at EPCOT, we also obtained water from Starbucks with only about a 15 minute wait. We want to stay hydrated without spending money on bottle water. Heading to AK tomorrow and then HS on Monday and back to MK on Tuesday. Anyone know of quick access to ice water?


----------



## Mercenary

WDW88 said:


> We are here now. More crowded than I wanted.  Mask compliance around 80 -85% while in MK, better at EOCOT yesterday.  My question is, where are people obtaining drinking water?  We can only seem to find it in the Starbucks locations, as many counter services do not appear open and the little kiosks that sell ice cream and popcorn don’t have tap water.  Today we waited in a Starbucks line for 40 minutes for coffee, breakfast, and waters.  Yesterday at EPCOT, we also obtained water from Starbucks with only about a 15 minute wait. We want to stay hydrated without spending money on bottle water. Heading to AK tomorrow and then HS on Monday and back to MK on Tuesday. Anyone know of quick access to ice water?


Unless you want to buy it it must be at a counter service or cart with a soda fountain.


----------



## Disney Loving Ohana

Great idea!!!
[/QUOTE]


DoryGirl1963 said:


> We hung an unused (obviously) disposable mask on the door handle of our hotel room as a reminder to mask up before leaving the room - worked like a charm !


Love that idea! I can’t tell you how many times we forgot our masks until almost in lobby on our last trip!


----------



## momof2halls

20yBWDW said:


> If the "being ugly and requesting people move out of their space" was directed at me earlier in the thread complaining about the lack of social distancing, I  find it a very odd characterization. I was not casting people out to a storm. I do not think it is"being ugly" to expect coughing people without masks to maintain 6 ft. Ifthey have to get closer due to weather, fine. That happened, I had no objection. But sitting down 2 ft away from children, removing your mask, and coughing IS being ugly in my opinion. asking someone not to do that is not the bad behavior here.


In no way was this directed at you, I apologize if it sounded as if it was.  
Honestly, i haven’t even seen your post.


----------



## lynzi2004

WDW88 said:


> We are here now. More crowded than I wanted.  Mask compliance around 80 -85% while in MK, better at EOCOT yesterday.  My question is, where are people obtaining drinking water?  We can only seem to find it in the Starbucks locations, as many counter services do not appear open and the little kiosks that sell ice cream and popcorn don’t have tap water.  Today we waited in a Starbucks line for 40 minutes for coffee, breakfast, and waters.  Yesterday at EPCOT, we also obtained water from Starbucks with only about a 15 minute wait. We want to stay hydrated without spending money on bottle water. Heading to AK tomorrow and then HS on Monday and back to MK on Tuesday. Anyone know of quick access to ice water?



We stayed at Pop last week. There was always plenty of ice water at the food court. We would get a couple cups in the morning and then again at night. I know we got it at the Joeffreys stand in front of Space at MK, at the stand by the relaxation station in front of Mission Space at Epcot, Restaurantasourous at AK. We also made sure to ask for to-go cups of watersat each TS Meal. I’m sure there were others, but we also had refillable bottles with us so did that part of the time too. Hope this helps!


----------



## JFDIS

morganms22 said:


> How was it going with a one year old not required to wear a mask? We are going with our one year old next month and I just don’t want to spend our whole trip being stopped and asked about her age...


She is very tall of her age and I was worried about the same thing. One cast member asked the ages of both the kids when entering the park. I only had one older couple stop me and ask me her age and if she was required to wear a mask. At first I was a little annoyed but after talking to them they were just curious because they had a granddaughter around the same age and wanted her to join them on a family trip. There is no way on this planet I’d be able to get her to wear a mask. I’ve tried and I imagine it would be similar to bathing a cat. Guests and cast members seemed very lenient to those children who were in that very early one to two year old age range.


----------



## KimPittPA

lynzi2004 said:


> We stayed at Pop last week. There was always plenty of ice water at the food court. We would get a couple cups in the morning and then again at night. I know we got it at the Joeffreys stand in front of Space at MK, at the 3stand by the relaxation station in front of Mission Space at Epcot, Restaurantasourous at AK. We also made sure to ask for to-go cups of watersat each TS Meal. I’m sure there were others, but we also had refillable bottles with us so did that part of the time too. Hope this helps!



I wonder about refilling the water bottles.  Any posted signs restricting this on fountains? Have they installed the semi-contactless kind of bottle fillers that you depress with the full side of the bottle?


----------



## auntlynne

JFDIS said:


> She is very tall of her age and I was worried about the same thing. One cast member asked the ages of both the kids when entering the park. I only had one older couple stop me and ask me her age and if she was required to wear a mask. At first I was a little annoyed but after talking to them they were just curious because they had a granddaughter around the same age and wanted her to join them on a family trip. There is no way on this planet I’d be able to get her to wear a mask. I’ve tried and I imagine it would be similar to bathing a cat. Guests and cast members seemed very lenient to those children who were in that very early one to two year old age range.



I love the analogy of masks on toddlers to bathing a cat.

I am surprised every time I see a little kid wearing a mask.  

And saddened when I see adults Not wearing one.

Teens / twenties just seem oblivious to the world around them (They need someone to set them on the right path)

I see no need to question the age of a maskless toddler IF their posse is COVID- responsible.  

I am a mask wearer; but not cautious enough to avoid going to WDW later this month.

Thanks everyone for helpful reports.


----------



## auntlynne

WDW88 said:


> We are here now. More crowded than I wanted.  Mask compliance around 80 -85% while in MK, better at EOCOT yesterday.  My question is, where are people obtaining drinking water?  We can only seem to find it in the Starbucks locations, as many counter services do not appear open and the little kiosks that sell ice cream and popcorn don’t have tap water.  Today we waited in a Starbucks line for 40 minutes for coffee, breakfast, and waters.  Yesterday at EPCOT, we also obtained water from Starbucks with only about a 15 minute wait. We want to stay hydrated without spending money on bottle water. Heading to AK tomorrow and then HS on Monday and back to MK on Tuesday. Anyone know of quick access to ice water?



Found this in another thread



tnolan said:


> We were just there and there are 3 filling stations I know of that are still operating. The one in Cosmic Ray's in MK, the one in Pandora in Animal Kingdom, and the one in front of the restrooms near the bus stops in HS. There are hopefully more but these are ones I have personally seen and/or used.


----------



## yulilin3

WDW88 said:


> We are here now. More crowded than I wanted.  Mask compliance around 80 -85% while in MK, better at EOCOT yesterday.  My question is, where are people obtaining drinking water?  We can only seem to find it in the Starbucks locations, as many counter services do not appear open and the little kiosks that sell ice cream and popcorn don’t have tap water.  Today we waited in a Starbucks line for 40 minutes for coffee, breakfast, and waters.  Yesterday at EPCOT, we also obtained water from Starbucks with only about a 15 minute wait. We want to stay hydrated without spending money on bottle water. Heading to AK tomorrow and then HS on Monday and back to MK on Tuesday. Anyone know of quick access to ice water?


At mk the only counter service that's not open is Casey's and harbor house.  You can ask for water in all the open ones,  Starbucks and first aid


----------



## MinnieMSue

Went to Epcot yesterday via the skyliner. It have extremely long at Caribbean beach - lots of CM directing the multiple long lines. Left pop at 9:50 and in Epcot around 10:45. Went over to Mexico and started there. Walk-on for that ride after purchasing the remy map. Slowly made our way around the countries and eating at the booths. Never a line until Germany so we skipped that. Frozen was posted 55 and was 25 for us. Finished countries and movies/showsabout 5 - crowds definitely increased significantly back there by then. Lots of lines. Never much of an issue with masks noncompliance for us (just occas random noses but never right next to us) and mostly people stayed away from us. Most rides in future world were basically walk on. Soarin took about 25 min or so. Skipped spaceship earth because we were not “feeling it”. It looked like a long line but prob moved quickly. Mission space was very slow for green side but orange was faster. Test track said 55 but prob took 35 and that was because of what I assume to be a cleaning session. The skyliner after word was insane. The line snaked around toward boardwalk and back toward Epcot. Moved fairly quickly but prob 45 min to return to pop


----------



## Best Aunt

MinnieMSue said:


> Went to Epcot yesterday via the skyliner. It have extremely long at Caribbean beach - lots of CM directing the multiple long lines. Left pop at 9:50 and in Epcot around 9:45. Went over to Mexico and started there. Walk-on for that ride after purchasing the remy map. Slowly made our way around the countries and eating at the booths. Never a line until Germany so we skipped that. Frozen was posted 55 and was 25 for us. Finished countries and movies/showsabout 5 - crowds definitely increased significantly back there by then. Lots of lines. Never much of an issue with masks noncompliance for us (just occas random noses but never right next to us) and mostly people stayed away from us. Most rides in future world were basically walk on. Soarin took about 25 min or so. Skipped spaceship earth because we were not “feeling it”. It looked like a long line but prob moved quickly. Mission space was very slow for green side but orange was faster. Test track said 55 but prob took 35 and that was because of what I assume to be a cleaning session. The skyliner after word was insane. The line snaked around toward boardwalk and back toward Epcot. Moved fairly quickly but prob 45 min to return to pop



When you have a minute, you might want to edit the time you left Pop or the time you arrived in Epcot.


----------



## nancipants

KimPittPA said:


> I wonder about refilling the water bottles.  Any posted signs restricting this on fountains? Have they installed the semi-contactless kind of bottle fillers that you depress with the full side of the bottle?



At Epcot, there are bottle fillers in the preview center and near the new bathrooms by Starbucks. I used the one in the preview center several times (pressed button with my elbow and sanitized immediately after). 

I tried to use the one in Cosmic Rays but they’re only letting people inside with a mobile order. 

Also, here’s a secret: the baby care centers have water coolers, and you could also use the sink to refill bottles.


----------



## dachsie

nancipants said:


> At Epcot, there are bottle fillers in the preview center and near the new bathrooms by Starbucks. I used the one in the preview center several times (pressed button with my elbow and sanitized immediately after).
> 
> I tried to use the one in Cosmic Rays but they’re only letting people inside with a mobile order.
> 
> Also, here’s a secret: the baby care centers have water coolers, and you could also use the sink to refill bottles.


What/where is the preview center?


----------



## yulilin3

dachsie said:


> What/where is the preview center?


Odyssey  building, between Test Track and Mexico, next to first aid and baby center


----------



## yulilin3

For anyone interested in seeing crowds, I'll be live streaming from Sea World at 10:30am, you can watch in the fb link below


----------



## Spazz2k

Line to Hollywood at RR this morning...was gone in about 2 mins.  Definitely quicker access from RR than CBR.


----------



## Sydney2977

Best Aunt said:


> Make sure you have a backup plan even if you think these masks will be readily available.  some people like the Disney masks but some people hate them.  I found the elastic to be extremely uncomfortable.
> 
> I think mask advice for Disney should be like shoe advice: it’s a good idea to wear them at home and make sure they are comfortable before you plan to wear them in the parks.



I am bringing plenty of masks with me (have different kinds), I have been required to wear one at work since the first of April, and I anticipate having to wear one there long after even local requirements don't mandate it (we were doing it before these requirements). That's why I was thinking of adding some fun Disney ones to my collection! For the price I figured if they aren't comfortable to wear during our trip (too loose or tight) I can always alter them when we get home and I'll still get use out of them. I didn't want to order online because I only want certain ones, not all four from a pack.

So I'll ask again- has anyone seen the Haunted Mansion or Baby Yoda masks at YC, BC, BW, or GF gift shops, or the gift shops outside MK (going to activate tickets on arrival day), or the gift shops outside Epcot IG or DHS (we could walk from YC)? Or have you seen any of the Disney masks at these locations? Thanks!


----------



## crayon3448

nancipants said:


> At Epcot, there are bottle fillers in the preview center and near the new bathrooms by Starbucks. I used the one in the preview center several times (pressed button with my elbow and sanitized immediately after).
> 
> I tried to use the one in Cosmic Rays but they’re only letting people inside with a mobile order.
> 
> Also, here’s a secret: the baby care centers have water coolers, and you could also use the sink to refill bottles.


This happened to us also at Cosmic Ray's. Wasn't let inside for water- even though it was empty- and they sent us down to the ice cream place in future world (sorry, can't recall the name) where we had to wait inside in the line to get water.


----------



## WEDWDW

Just an FYI-Pools at Pop Century have changed over from 9-9 to 10-10-I guess they thought Guests would rather have an extra hour in the PM than the AM.

We were talking to some Guests staying at CBR and the Pool over there is now 10-10 also so I am "guessing" the change is property wide.


----------



## coolbrook

brockash said:


> Do we know how soon?  We'd love for it to be open Wed.


I wasn't told a date just that they are working on opening it.


----------



## edmartin

More than enough coverage of mask compliance so a quick report of our experience beyond masks (we just arrived yesterday (Saturday))...

Checked in online at OKW. Worked flawlessly.  Went direct to our room and used the app to open the door. We had reserved a 1BR and were thrilled to find that we were upgraded to a 2BR. It's just me & my wife on this trip so we don't need the extra space but it's really nice to experience the larger room.  Wow, is it nice!

Went to Epcot - arrived around 6PM.  Long story but we ended up driving and parking in the main lot.  As you might expect, at this capacity and at that hour, there were a lot of spots available.  We drove all the way up front and got a primo spot.

Obviously, a tremendous amount of construction in Future World.  But the number of walls and different traffic flow was beyond what we expected.  For that reason (and the fact we wanted to get to Food & Wine), we wanted to bee-line it to World Showcase.  But the maze was "interesting".

Crowds in World Showcase were about what we expected.  I believe they did hit capacity yesterday.  At that hour, given the Future World construction, and the fact that it is Food & Wine Festival, it seems like the vast majority of guests were in World Showcase.  It felt like a ghost town coming across the bridge under the monorail.  We didn't feel "crowded" until we got to Mexico - but that's always a tight area. [By the way, the pop-up F&W stand for Mexico serves an awesome margarita!]. But overall, it felt comfortable (crowd-wise).

To be honest, the Food & Wine selections this year are disappointing.  I get it!... all the things working against Disney to even pull this off.  I'm glad they went forward with Food & Wine at all!  But if you come for it, temper your expectations.  Strangely enough, our favorite country ended up being America. The lobster roll this year is spectacular.  The carrot cake was amazing.  And you had me at "wine", anyway.  Don't skip it!

One other interesting thing...  We love the wine tasting room at the front of Italy.  We were surprised to see the doors open as we got there.  France, for example, has their tasting room closed.  So we went in.  They are not serving by the glass (you can get wine at the pop-up F&W stand, of course).  But, they said we could buy a bottle and take it with us. I might be wrong but I think the old procedure was that you could buy bottles but they had to be sent to your room or for pickup at the exit; I don't think they normally allow you to walk away with it.  But they do now.  So we have a nice bottle to enjoy by the OKW pool tonight!

Back to the room at OKW... The new cleaning measures feel really good.  The room was spotless. A sign in the kitchen covered the enhanced procedures. Every TV remote is sealed in a plastic bag.  We've always felt that DVC does a great job prepping & cleaning rooms. But this is step above.  Well done.

Magic Kingdom, here we come!


----------



## ksromack

I just can’t tell everyone how excited we are for our upcoming trip. Reading everyone’s little reports only makes me more excited. We are going to the parks Wednesday-Friday week after next so I am hoping this weekend‘s crowds will have left.


----------



## Greta

I have a couple questions for anyone that has visited recently -

1. Are we allowed to eat a snack in the relaxation stations?  I have seen people talk about being able to drink water in them but not sure about bringing in a snack

2. When you have had food at a QS or a snack cart - has it been relatively easy to then find a close place to sit down, take off masks and eat?

thank you in advance


----------



## pepperandchips

I think I may have already posted this but it was handy. We brought our magnetic hooks that we purchased for cruise travel and hung them on the door to our room to hang masks from at SSR. I think most hotel room doors are metal, and others may have metal frames. It was great to have our masks there where you could not miss seeing them on the way out of the room


----------



## ReginaMBK

Greta said:


> 2. When you have had food at a QS or a snack cart - has it been relatively easy to then find a close place to sit down, take off masks and eat?


Depends on where. MK was hard because there aren't many places to pull off in the first place. EPCOT was super easy, yes. HS, I only attempted this in Galaxy's Edge and it was hard. This is my experience on weekdays, btw.


----------



## Spazz2k

So moved over from RR to Yacht Club today...place is pretty jacked up.  Got here at 9:30...got in line for SAB at 9:45...11:45 currently and they are on a wait to get into pool.  All chairs are taken, pool is pretty busy...but all good.... cocktails are flowing!!


----------



## Greta

ReginaMBK said:


> Depends on where. MK was hard because there aren't many places to pull off in the first place. EPCOT was super easy, yes. HS, I only attempted this in Galaxy's Edge and it was hard. This is my experience on weekdays, btw.


Thank you!


----------



## ScubaCat

Spazz2k said:


> So moved over from RR to Yacht Club today...place is pretty jacked up.  Got here at 9:30...got in line for SAB at 9:45...11:45 currently and they are on a wait to get into pool.  All chairs are taken, pool is pretty busy...but all good.... cocktails are flowing!!


Wow, and that's with beach club being closed! We're all the tables available or did they have the "not available" sign on some of them?


----------



## disneygirlsng

Greta said:


> I have a couple questions for anyone that has visited recently -
> 
> 1. Are we allowed to eat a snack in the relaxation stations?  I have seen people talk about being able to drink water in them but not sure about bringing in a snack
> 
> 2. When you have had food at a QS or a snack cart - has it been relatively easy to then find a close place to sit down, take off masks and eat?
> 
> thank you in advance


1. Yes.
2. I had zero trouble finding a spot to pull off to the side or sit to eat/drink anywhere.


----------



## Greta

disneygirlsng said:


> 1. Yes.
> 2. I had zero trouble finding a spot to pull off to the side or sit to eat/drink anywhere.


Thank you!


----------



## lynzi2004

KimPittPA said:


> I wonder about refilling the water bottles.  Any posted signs restricting this on fountains? Have they installed the semi-contactless kind of bottle fillers that you depress with the full side of the bottle?



There were a few contactless ones but water fountains were open as well. We filled up one time in the exit of the Falcon.


----------



## Jen Stauch

WDW88 said:


> We are here now. More crowded than I wanted.  Mask compliance around 80 -85% while in MK, better at EOCOT yesterday.  My question is, where are people obtaining drinking water?  We can only seem to find it in the Starbucks locations, as many counter services do not appear open and the little kiosks that sell ice cream and popcorn don’t have tap water.  Today we waited in a Starbucks line for 40 minutes for coffee, breakfast, and waters.  Yesterday at EPCOT, we also obtained water from Starbucks with only about a 15 minute wait. We want to stay hydrated without spending money on bottle water. Heading to AK tomorrow and then HS on Monday and back to MK on Tuesday. Anyone know of quick access to ice water?



I think the 2 snack carts closest to the hub at MK sell fountain soda so you should be able to get water there ... also Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays also would be good options.


----------



## cindy17

edmartin said:


> More than enough coverage of mask compliance so a quick report of our experience beyond masks (we just arrived yesterday (Saturday))...
> 
> Checked in online at OKW. Worked flawlessly.  Went direct to our room and used the app to open the door. We had reserved a 1BR and were thrilled to find that we were upgraded to a 2BR. It's just me & my wife on this trip so we don't need the extra space but it's really nice to experience the larger room.  Wow, is it nice!
> 
> Went to Epcot - arrived around 6PM.  Long story but we ended up driving and parking in the main lot.  As you might expect, at this capacity and at that hour, there were a lot of spots available.  We drove all the way up front and got a primo spot.
> 
> Obviously, a tremendous amount of construction in Future World.  But the number of walls and different traffic flow was beyond what we expected.  For that reason (and the fact we wanted to get to Food & Wine), we wanted to bee-line it to World Showcase.  But the maze was "interesting".
> 
> Crowds in World Showcase were about what we expected.  I believe they did hit capacity yesterday.  At that hour, given the Future World construction, and the fact that it is Food & Wine Festival, it seems like the vast majority of guests were in World Showcase.  It felt like a ghost town coming across the bridge under the monorail.  We didn't feel "crowded" until we got to Mexico - but that's always a tight area. [By the way, the pop-up F&W stand for Mexico serves an awesome margarita!]. But overall, it felt comfortable (crowd-wise).
> 
> To be honest, the Food & Wine selections this year are disappointing.  I get it!... all the things working against Disney to even pull this off.  I'm glad they went forward with Food & Wine at all!  But if you come for it, temper your expectations.  Strangely enough, our favorite country ended up being America. The lobster roll this year is spectacular.  The carrot cake was amazing.  And you had me at "wine", anyway.  Don't skip it!
> 
> One other interesting thing...  We love the wine tasting room at the front of Italy.  We were surprised to see the doors open as we got there.  France, for example, has their tasting room closed.  So we went in.  They are not serving by the glass (you can get wine at the pop-up F&W stand, of course).  But, they said we could buy a bottle and take it with us. I might be wrong but I think the old procedure was that you could buy bottles but they had to be sent to your room or for pickup at the exit; I don't think they normally allow you to walk away with it.  But they do now.  So we have a nice bottle to enjoy by the OKW pool tonight!
> 
> Back to the room at OKW... The new cleaning measures feel really good.  The room was spotless. A sign in the kitchen covered the enhanced procedures. Every TV remote is sealed in a plastic bag.  We've always felt that DVC does a great job prepping & cleaning rooms. But this is step above.  Well done.
> 
> Magic Kingdom, here we come!


Hi I hv a question ... are u DVC owners? Just curious if u did anything special to get that upgrade? We are checking into OKW Thursday with a 1BR but would love access to a shower with curtain that’s only avail with studio or 2BR (I hv an adult autistic son who I need to help with a shower, the door could make that tough) ... I kinda casually mentioned this to CM at resort when requesting building close to main pool. He didn’t seem too interested in my plight with the shower door but I feel confident he will help me with pool request  Thanks and hope ur having a good day!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Jen Stauch said:


> I think the 2 snack carts closest to the hub at MK sell fountain soda so you should be able to get water there ... also Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays also would be good options.


Others have reported that you can only enter Pecos Bills or Cosmic Rays if you’ve placed a mobile order so they are not available solely for water.


----------



## Spazz2k

ScubaCat said:


> Wow, and that's with beach club being closed! We're all the tables available or did they have the "not available" sign on some of them?


All the tables were available...just taken early.  We didn't notice any that had signs saying they were closed.


----------



## ScubaCat

Jen Stauch said:


> I think the 2 snack carts closest to the hub at MK sell fountain soda so you should be able to get water there ... also Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays also would be good options.



Don't forget the smaller QS windows like Aloha Isle, Sunshine Seasons, the one in fantasyland with the meh soft serve, the one in tomorrowland next to the gift shop I can't remember the name of either, etc...



scrappinginontario said:


> Others have reported that you can only enter Pecos Bills or Cosmic Rays if you’ve placed a mobile order so they are not available solely for water.



Has anyone simply asked the CM at the door are we just assuming this?  That seems rather odd they would prevent you from filling a water bottle. "To aid in social distancing, you must wait out here and suffer heat exhaustion and/or dehydration."


----------



## crayon3448

ScubaCat said:


> Don't forget the smaller QS windows like Aloha Isle, Sunshine Seasons, the one in fantasyland with the meh soft serve, the one in tomorrowland next to the gift shop I can't remember the name of either, etc...
> 
> Has anyone simply asked the CM at the door are we just assuming this?  That seems rather odd they would prevent you from filling a water bottle. "To aid in social distancing, you must wait out here and suffer heat exhaustion and/or dehydration."


Yes, I posted this on the previous page. The cast member at Cosmic Ray's turned us away.  We weren't t let inside for water- even though it was empty- and they sent us down to the ice cream place in future world (sorry, can't recall the name) where we had to wait inside in the line to get water.


----------



## scrappinginontario

ScubaCat said:


> Has anyone simply asked the CM at the door are we just assuming this?  That seems rather odd they would prevent you from filling a water bottle. "To aid in social distancing, you must wait out here and suffer heat exhaustion and/or dehydration."


Yes.  The quote below was posted on this thread earlier today so it is current information.



crayon3448 said:


> This happened to us also at Cosmic Ray's. Wasn't let inside for water- even though it was empty- and they sent us down to the ice cream place in future world (sorry, can't recall the name) where we had to wait inside in the line to get water.


----------



## ScubaCat

crayon3448 said:


> Yes, I posted this on the previous page. The cast member at Cosmic Ray's turned us away.  We weren't t let inside for water- even though it was empty- and they sent us down to the ice cream place in future world (sorry, can't recall the name) where we had to wait inside in the line to get water.



Sorry I missed your previous post.  That seems a little silly but then again they don't want CMs making determinations based on crowd level, so they have to set the policy regardless if there are people inside or not.  Kinda sucks but makes sense from a corporate standpoint at least.  I can think of an easy way to work around this dilemma but I won't post that here (per board rules )


----------



## DocDar

So it seems alot of people I know decided to go to Florida. I caved in and will more than likely go within the next two weeks, just gotta figure out some home stuff first. Anyway, anyone want to chime in on the parks and their experiences and such. And yes, I know about all the COVID requirements; that won't really stop me. I also know about the lack of shows and characters, which won't stop me as those aren't the reasons I go to the parks. Would also love some tips on buying last minute flights from SoCal. I kinda making it harder for myself by flying only Delta as I've been told they have the strictest mask policies right now which is what I want . Thanks again for any advice you can give


----------



## yulilin3

DocDar said:


> So it seems alot of people I know decided to go to Florida. I caved in and will more than likely go within the next two weeks, just gotta figure out some home stuff first. Anyway, anyone want to chime in on the parks and their experiences and such. And yes, I know about all the COVID requirements; that won't really stop me. I also know about the lack of shows and characters, which won't stop me as those aren't the reasons I go to the parks. Would also love some tips on buying last minute flights from SoCal. I kinda making it harder for myself by flying only Delta as I've been told they have the strictest mask policies right now which is what I want . Thanks again for any advice you can give


merged you to the existing thread. Read back a couple of pages for the most recent experiences


----------



## yulilin3

crayon3448 said:


> Yes, I posted this on the previous page. The cast member at Cosmic Ray's turned us away.  We weren't t let inside for water- even though it was empty- and they sent us down to the ice cream place in future world (sorry, can't recall the name) where we had to wait inside in the line to get water.


"Future World" that's a trip for some water  I think you meant tomorrowland, probably to Auntie Gravity
It is strange that they are turning people away for water


----------



## glocon

I just looked at MDE and the wait times don’t look so bad at the moment at any of the parks. A few outliers but for the most part, pretty good. Hope everyone there is having fun and staying cool!


----------



## 20yBWDW

I posted Friday about a not-so-magical day. Now that our trip is over, I thought I would share more about the trip overall. First, weekdays and even weekends starting half hour before official park opening, you can get about 2 hours of the walk-on and short lines you're dreaming of if you have a trip planned soon. During that time, the masks don't seem so bad, most of your time is in A/C or moving rides. 

When the lines get longer and the air gets hotter, it is exponentially worse. It is not the same as pre-Covid hour waits, when you drink, eat, chat away, and play with interactive queues. In some queues, the partitions put up for Covid make the air feel hotter or stuffier. Talking is even harder, due to muffling from masks. This is where mask compliance drops off significantly as well.  Other challenges as the crowds increase include finding space to sit, take a breather or getting food and water, with longer lines and fewer places open. It is impossible to keep 6 ft distance in walkways in the type of crowd we saw this weekend.

If you are a park all day kind of person, I suggest lunchtime ADRs for a sit down meal in A/C. If you are a mid-day break kind of person, I suggest sticking with that plan, even with reduced hours. If you arrive 45 minutes before official opening, have your own water, and hit it hard and smart  for 2 hours before the first round of cleaning cycles, you'll probably get enough done to feel satisfied with the shorter session before your mid-day break. And the afternoon just sucked this weekend. Crowds around food stands/QS restaurants, waiting for mobile orders. Long lines. Of course, many of the people who push through the afternoon tend to leave well before park closing, so the last few hours seem better.


----------



## chicagoshannon

Kennedy Space center was really busy today.  I was a little surprised.  The hours today were10-4.  It's definitely not enough time to see everything especially with so many people.  You need to arrive early to all the presentations as they'd close the doors early due to capacity.

Most of the interactive areas were closed off.  Not unexpected but still disappointing.  Main restaurant and gift shop were open.  I'm glad they are giving away another day next year for free because while what was open was good, a lot was missing.  No bus tours are running right now.

I did not see any no mask zones but they weren't really needed since so much is inside in ac.  I did not see much cleaning going on so make sure to wipe your table and wash hands a lot.  Hand sanitizer was all over.  There weren't many employees out policing masks but it didn't matter as i saw almost total compliance arrest.  I  didn't even really see nose peekers.

If you have the opportunity to go I'd recommend going now if you can get back next year to use the free ticket or waiting until they are open longer and have more things open.


----------



## brockash

We're at Epcot today.  The lines have not been terrible; but longer than what we're used to standing in for tgis time of year.  Worldshowcase is and has been packed all day...very littlr social distancing as it's just not possible.


----------



## yulilin3

brockash said:


> We're at Epcot today.  The lines have not been terrible; but longer than what we're used to standing in for tgis time of year.  Worldshowcase is and has been packed all day...very littlr social distancing as it's just not possible.


like no space at all in World showcase to separate? like shoulder to shoulder?


----------



## brockash

yulilin3 said:


> like no space at all in World showcase to separate? like shoulder to shoulder?


It was pretty darn tight...at first I thought it'd just be Mexico and it'd clear up but it def. was packed most the whole way through...if you weren't wanting to go in anywhere or walk through yes, there were places where you could "hide" and be 6 ft away, but otherwise no very few, if any walking space to be 6 ft apart from ppl.  My sister commented that it seemed busier in world showcase especially than when we usually come in Sept.  Part of it could be all the outside extended lines for attractions blocking some of the pathways but pretty packed either way.


----------



## IluvMGM

We did Magic Kingdom today, of course more crowded than it was earlier in the week. We still got to do just about everything we wanted to and wait times were a lot less than posted. Splash said 45 minutes and we timed it to be only 17 minutes. Social distancing was difficult again today, too many people walking all over the place. We noticed quite a few people with masks off or down. One cast member told a guy to put his mask on and he put it on and as she walked away he grumbled and off it went again. People just don't seem to care. We are not parade people, but I have to say I really do like the cavalcades and it would be fun if they stayed. One thing I really didn't think about before the trip was Disney smells. With masks on you can still smell strong smells in some rides, like the fall of Rome in SSE. But, just the way certain rides or buildings smell is not possible with masks on. I didn't realize as silly as it sounds, that Disney smells meant so much to me.


----------



## lelew

Update on my stay In Orlando so far. I mentioned on this post about my time here since last weekend. We checked out of Old Keywest on Friday and transferred to Hilton Grand SeaWorld. It is very nice but they don't have Disney Standards when it comes to mask. My husband was wearing a neck gator at the Disney pool and a cast member came to him and said not allowed and politely gave him a disposable mask. Here people are not even wearing mask as they walk around the resort. The pools were so crowded that we immediately went back to our rooms. It was bad I cant believe they let that many people in the pool at this time. Today ( Sunday) my husband wanted to drive to Madeira Beach since we didn't feel safe going to pools or even a park. That was a 100 times worse. NOBODY had on mask there. I didn't even get out the car. I told him We need to get back to the "Disney Bubble" asap. So for people who are worried about Disney I wouldn't be to worried. They have seemed to be the safest we have seen so far. Tomorrow we are going back to stay a little longer at a Disney resort since they came out with discounts while we where down here. My kids start Virtual School on Tuesday so they will be doing that from the resort which they are looking forward too. As I said before This has been a great time for us. People have to use their best judgment and stay vigilant.


----------



## unbanshee

lelew said:


> Update on my stay In Orlando so far. I mentioned on this post about my time here since last weekend. We checked out of Old Keywest on Friday and transferred to Hilton Grand SeaWorld. It is very nice but they don't have Disney Standards when it comes to mask. My husband was wearing a neck gator at the Disney pool and a cast member came to him and said not allowed and politely gave him a disposable mask. Here people are not even wearing mask as they walk around the resort. The pools were so crowded that we immediately went back to our rooms. It was bad I cant believe they let that many people in the pool at this time. Today ( Sunday) my husband wanted to drive to Madeira Beach since we didn't feel safe going to pools or even a park. That was a 100 times worse. NOBODY had on mask there. I didn't even get out the car. I told him We need to get back to the "Disney Bubble" asap. So for people who are worried about Disney I wouldn't be to worried. They have seemed to be the safest we have seen so far. Tomorrow we are going back to stay a little longer at a Disney resort since they came out with discounts while we where down here. My kids start Virtual School on Tuesday so they will be doing that from the resort which they are looking forward too. As I said before This has been a great time for us. People have to use their best judgment and stay vigilant.



Welcome to Florida, enjoy your time here


----------



## Jimmy Mouse

lelew said:


> My husband was wearing a neck gator at the Disney pool and a cast member came to him and said not allowed and politely gave him a disposable mask.


That's not good news at all!  We were just there in July, stayed at Contemporary and the policy was as soon as we entered the pool area we didn't have to wear a mask. I hope they go back to no masks at the pool when we come back at Christmas!


----------



## lelew

Jimmy Mouse said:


> That's not good news at all!  We were just there in July, stayed at Contemporary and the policy was as soon as we entered the pool area we didn't have to wear a mask. I hope they go back to no masks at the pool when we come back at Christmas!


Not in the pool. But when you exit the pool deck they want you in a mask. When walking around the resort they want your mask on. He was approached next to the pool gate outside the pool and was told he had to switch the mask. Either way they are taking it seriously.


----------



## Jimmy Mouse

lelew said:


> Not in the pool. But when you exit the pool deck they want you in a mask. When walking around the resort they want your mask on. He was approached next to the pool gate outside the pool and was told he had to switch the mask. Either way they are taking it seriously.


Yeah I know that and we all wore our masks properly at all times. Once we walked through the pool gate we were allowed to take our mask off.  You said at the Disney Pool so I thought you meant at the pool, not outside the pool gate. Thanks for clarifying.


----------



## scrappinginontario

I believe the challenge was that he was wearing a gator which are not allowed at Disney.  Masks must have ear loops.


----------



## lelew

Jimmy Mouse said:


> Yeah I know that and we all wore our masks properly at all times. Once we walked through the pool gate we were allowed to take our mask off.  You said at the Disney Pool so I thought you meant at the pool, not outside the pool gate. Thanks for clarifying.


Sorry about that he was standing outside the gate when approached by cast member to chang his mask at Disney. But the resort we are staying at now is not enforcing anything. I was just noting that Disney seems to be very strict when it comes to guest wearing a mask around the resort.


----------



## kdonnel

Not quite back yet from a quick Labor Day weekend trip. We stayed at Animal Kingdom Kidani.



Let’s get the minuses out of the way.


Our longest wait was 1 hour at the Budget rental car counter.
Parking is horrible at Kidani if you are in a villa on the left side of the resort if facing the lobby.
Not being able to drive to other hotels for counter service stinks.
There is no counter service place open at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.


Positives


We did almost every ride we wanted by 3pm each day.
Waiting in line is so much more enjoyable spread so far apart.


Saturday we went to Hollywood Studios. We arrived by personal car right at 9:15. They were parking cars every other spot and still only filled a dozen or so rows. We walked straight back to Smugglers Run and road it first. We missed out on getting a boarding group at 10am. So we just went ride to ride. At 2:30 we had eaten lunch at Backlot Express and ridden Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Star Tours, Muppet Vision, Smugglers Run, Alien Swirling Saucers, Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy, and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. At 2pm we snagged boarding group 115, they were boarding 61 at the time.

We were all tired so we left the park and rode the Skyliner while we debated if we thought we should stick around to see if our boarding group made it. Ultimately we all decided to return and hope for the best.

So we rode more rides. Slinky Dog three more times, Toy Story Mania twice more. Rock ‘n’ Roller Twice more. All while watching the boarding groups continue to rise!

Finally just before 6pm our boarding group was called. We rode and left.

Getting dinner was a challenge. We wanted counter service but not what Hollywood Studios offered but could not drive to any of the hotels because they were not letting anyone in who did not have reservations. We tried at Riviera and were turned away. We gave up and ate at Chic Fil A. They had the dining room open unlike ours at home.



Sunday was a Magic Kingdom day.  We started the day with Chef Mickeys and a 7:25am reservation. We drove to the Contemporary and left our car in self parking for the day. Breakfast was good, would have liked the buffet but family style worked well enough. Other then the watered down apple juice everything was really tasty, especially the hash browns.

After breakfast we rode the resort monorail to the Magic Kingdom arriving at 8:30. We went left and straight to Pirates. Then on to Big Thunder Mountain. It was now 9:05 so Splash was now open so we rode.

We kept working our way right and rode Haunted Mansion, Small World, Peter Pan, Pooh, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tea Cups, Tomorrowland Speedway, Space Mountain, Carousel of Progress, and Buzz.   After the speedway we stopped for lunch at Cosmic Ray’s. Mobil ordering made it easy to get our food and a table even with a large number of tables unavailable since they appeared to limit orders to match the reduced seating capacity.

We called it quits at 2:30 having done everything we wanted. Rode the monorail back to the car with plans to hang by the pool or try again to visit the Riviera. Soon it started to rain so we hoped the bus to Animal Kingdom and caught a bus to the Riviera. Had to have been the quickest bus trip ever. We waited for 2 minutes at our hotel and not at all at the connection. We ate at the counter service restaurant at the Riviera. Everyone liked what they got. The plan was to ride the SkyLiner but Mother Nature kept up a lightning storm so that didn’t happen.

We ended up catching an Uber back to the hotel because no one wanted to wait at the bus stop in all the lightning.

We are booked to return part of the weekend and week before Thanksgiving. Based on this trip we are excited to come back.  We had no problems with the crowd level, ability to social distance, or others mask usage or anti Covid behaviors.



The main downside is our 5:20am boarding for our flight home tomorrow. What was I thinking?????  Last time we had a flight that early we stayed at the Magic Kingdom until 3am, went to the hotel to pick up our bags, and drove to the airport. No chance to do that this time.


----------



## lelew

scrappinginontario said:


> I believe the challenge was that he was wearing a gator which are not allowed at Disney.  Masks must have ear loops.


Right he thought only in Parks and Disney Springs. But I'm okay with that I like the enforcement rules. I did my research before coming and told him they weren't allowed in parks and The Springs. But he wore it to the pool thinking it was okay and they told him no where on property.


----------



## elsbit

We arrived today and rented 3 nights dvc points at Kidani. They messed up our room so we got an upgrade to a one bedroom!!!!

We did Epcot today and felt pretty good about it. It stormed in the afternoon and at one point when I was in the Japan shop standing in line, people kept cutting through the line getting too close. one woman even put her hand on my shoulder and said excuse me. That was the only time that I felt that people were obnoxious.  Mask compliance was pretty great. I did see a few people trying not to cover their noses. I also saw a cast member telling people to be stationary when they ate and drink. in some lines there are plastic barriers between you and the other people waiting in line. Soarin also had plastic barriers between sets of seats. Living the land had plastic barriers between rows. Frozen they put us in the front row and another family in the last row.  Test track we had the car to ourselves.


----------



## mrd7896

Went to Epcot today! Got let into the park around 1030 and went right to Soarin as everyone was going to test track. Around 10:50 they let us start shuffling onto the ride and we were off just about at 11.

Then we decided to head to frozen- both frozen and test track posted a 75 minute wait. We had planned to do the showcase backwards but didn’t end up doing that since crowds were already up and we wanted to get more rides out of the way.

frozen ended up being about 35 minutes—brunt of the wait outside stretching back to China in the heat which wasn’t fun. But not mad about the wait time!

we then decided to hit two booths and saw test track dropped from 90 minutes to 50 so we quickly headed over there. The ride was either broken or was getting cleaned because we didn’t move for a solid 15 minutes. By then they came over the intercom and said they were getting things up and running but that the total wait time would be 85 minutes and a lot of people started leaving. Eventually the line started back up and in total we waited just shy of 50.

then we started back in the showcase—definitely my favorite thing was the lobster roll at hops and barley. Followed by the escargot pastry at France.

By about 4:30 we had done everything we wanted to at the festival and went to figment (posted 20-actually 7), Soarin again (posted 60, actual 33), spaceship earth (posted 25, actually 13). We then went to teppan edo for a fabulous dinner at 630. If you like sushi the volcano roll is probably the best sushi roll I’ve ever tried. Lastly hit spaceship earth again on our way out because why not.

overall a successful day! We were happy that the booth lines didn’t take too long since the crowds were rather large. I didn’t feel uncomfortable and since Epcot is a big park, i felt the crowds were manageable and clearly we accomplished everything we wanted to!


----------



## Dentam

First park day today.  Waited about 40 minutes for a bus to Epcot from AKL this morning since first bus that arrived had people on it and no room for us after the two groups in front of us boarded.  No line to get into Epcot by the time we arrived a little before noon so that was nice.  Pretty crowded although strong thunderstorms moved through around 6pm or so and it really cleared out after that. Line for Frozen stayed long though so we skipped that. Able to get food at a few booths with no wait though. Boardwalk area has lines for the pizza window and bakery. Checked into our room and found that we have no hot water in the shower so may be moving rooms if they can't fix it. Sigh.  (ETA: hot water works fine this morning, apparently they were just about out by the time we got back last night from too many people using it?)

Oh, and mask compliance was pretty high - notable exception being a guy directly in front of us in the line for Soarin' who kept putting it around his chin and then just took it off altogether. CM caught him and he said "I forgot, sorry". Um, no we watched him put it up only when a CM came into our sightline throughout the line. Grr. We just kept two markers between him and us. There always has to be that one jerk to try to ruin an experience for others.

Other than that, a good but fairly crowded day. That said, the longest we waited was about 15-20 minutes for Soarin' when it was posted as a 30 min wait. Others were also shorter than posted wait times and mostly walk ons to 5 or 10 minutes. Didn't do Frozen like I mentioned and also Test Track was a long wait initially followed by shutting down due to the storms so we didn't do it either. I should also note that in the Living Seas area there was no social distancing and it was pretty crowded looking into the different aquariums so that would be an area to skip on a crowded day.

AK tomorrow and from looking at the wait times at that park today we feel like it won't be too bad. Knock on wood.


----------



## brockash

Jimmy Mouse said:


> That's not good news at all!  We were just there in July, stayed at Contemporary and the policy was as soon as we entered the pool area we didn't have to wear a mask. I hope they go back to no masks at the pool when we come back at Christmas!


You don't have to wear a mask in the pool area...I think that poster misspoke.


----------



## brockash

lelew said:


> Right he thought only in Parks and Disney Springs. But I'm okay with that I like the enforcement rules. I did my research before coming and told him they weren't allowed in parks and The Springs. But he wore it to the pool thinking it was okay and they told him no where on property.


.


----------



## lelew

brockash said:


> .


We were at Old Keywest on the opposite side of the pool gate next to the bikes/ping pong tables. My husband was approached by cast member and was told the type of mask he was wearing was not allowed. They then gave him a disposable mask. Also another cast member was during pool side trivia at the pool when she told someone over the microphone that they couldn't leave the pool deck without their mask. Maybe some resorts are stricter than others when it comes to this policy but from what I have witnessed first hand at Old Keywest they are enforcing mask when leaving the pool and around the resort.


----------



## cmp1976

Arrived today. Went to HS around 12:30. Overall not nearly as busy as what I was expecting today to be. Social distancing was good, CMs were super friendly. Didn’t see any major mask compliance issues.

Skyliner to CBR was down In the evening but there were back to back buses so waited no more than 5 minutes,

Tower of Terror. Posted 25, took 15.
MMRR. Posted 75, took around 30.
Smugglers Run. Posted 35, took around 20.
Toy Story Mania. Posted 10, took 10.
Alien Spinning Saucers. Posted 5. Took 5. Rode again without getting off.
ROTR. Got backup group 60. Called around 4:15, but the ride went down. Back up around 45 mins later.


----------



## WEDWDW

Just a few notes:

Best Relaxation Station goes to Akershus-great AC,tables for enjoying a snack and a "private" Restroom.

They are having a terrible time with Pool Crashers-Pop Century is checking Guests' names at all 3 Pools-never seen POP check names before.

If you are looking for as authentic a World Showcase experience as possible,go to Japan and Morocco-just about all the CMs are from those Countries and they are wearing the traditional attire.

Norway had the Kidcot bags with all the cards in them on a table.

With Skyliner down late in the day at Epcot,there were 6 or 7 "Covid bus loads" of Skyliner Resort Guests at BWI waiting and the buses were SO SLOW in coming.Disney really dropped the ball on that today.Until they get that situation ironed out,I would recommend just going to the Epcot Bus Depot or better yet calling for a rideshare at Beach Club or BWI.Lyft is what we ended up doing.

The Skyliner Gondolas handle the heat very well-WHEN THEY ARE RUNNING!LOL

World Showplace is the best place to enjoy F&W IMO-no standing in lines in the blistering heat,lots of tables,GREAT AC,merchandise area, Restrooms that go on forever,and the Pianist(normally seen at R&C Pub) is awesome.

Finally,we did DAK Friday and DHS Saturday and thought Mask participation was really good.Today we did Epcot and OH MY!!!!
The later it got in World Showcase,the more the Masks slid down the faces or came off all together and the more  non-stationary drinkers and eaters
appeared.

As the Alcohol consumption went up,the Masks went down.

The Cast really is doing the best they can-we see them trying all the time to get Guests to comply and we have seen them take incredible abuse from Guests.

It was quite a sight to see as night fell on the Showcase!


----------



## Earningmywings

Are the car design stations available in the Test Track que? Or have they closed that portion like most of the other interactive que stuff?


----------



## MinnieMSue

I already talked about Epcot yesterday and how we were mostly ahead of the crowds by doing world showcase first then going back to future world. Today we went to MK. Pop had multiple busses taking people to MK when we got to the stop at 8 so almost no wait. They opened the main rides at 8:30 - thunder space Peter Pan and 7 D. We did thunder the. Had to wait on a shady bench for splash to open which was a walk-on. Haunted mansion also a walk on as was small world and Pan was a constantly moving line that took little time although it was long going toward tangled restrooms - posted 25 but was 10. Went to carousel which said 10 but was longer. Had to ride it - our first time and my daughter had the carousel ears which are just beautiful. Somehow they put us in the row with the special horse (Cinderella’s??) and we didn’t realize it until after my daughter was on the horse. She liked the flowers on its neck. I then looked back and noticed the gold in its tail!  She said it was the magic of her ears. Also the employee seating people complimented her ears - although they seated us I. The row in order so prob coincidence. Anyway. Then carpets of Aladdin was walkon and we had a couple minutes before our food was ready at Pecos  Bill. At 11 all the seats were pretty full. They let people sit down before they had their food and that meant lots standing holding trays. Very disappointed that they didn’t make people have food before sitting. Pirate ride said 50 min but was only 20. They were measuring and placing masking tape to extend the queue down toward jungle cruise direction. We were surprised how fast that crazy line went. Jungle cruise said 45 and was 15. Got an I lava you float and then to Buzz which was 18 min with posted 20. Then to space mountain. This was the brutal wait of the day. It was like being on a candy land game board all through tomorrow land. You started near the front of the ride but went all around the stage and back in the normal extended queue by the face painting before going inside. Most all in direct sun. We hit the first of what was to be many cleaning cycles while near the stage and it was bad. Posted 40 min and actual 45. Carousel of progress line was long but shorter than previous but hit another cleaning cycle so it took a long long long time. Didn’t check my watch unfortunately. Got in line for 7 D but closed it after a bit due to weather. Short wait for Pooh. 25 min wait for philharmagic. We just missed a show and were first to be positioned to go into the next one. Line for 7d again and moving fast but closed again for storm. Never got on it that day but don’t like it that much anyway. just missed hall of presidents so did country bears. Then just missed hall of presidents again lol. Ended up hanging out waiting for our 6:45 BOG. At 8:15 MK was a raining beautiful empty park. Walked to pop bus and they again had nonstop busses coming. Took just a few minutes to get on and head back to our resort. Overall it was a great day. .


----------



## elsbit

Earningmywings said:


> Are the car design stations available in the Test Track que? Or have they closed that portion like most of the other interactive que stuff?



No, they were not available. However, they did have some screens on running the video of making a car in various languages, so you could see what the activity looked like. It was not interactive.


----------



## Dentam

WEDWDW said:


> Best Relaxation Station goes to Akershus-great AC,tables for enjoying a snack and a "private" Restroom.



Agreed!  We loved that relaxation station yesterday and there were only a few other people in it while we were there so it was very socially distanced inside.


----------



## edmartin

cindy17 said:


> Hi I hv a question ... are u DVC owners? Just curious if u did anything special to get that upgrade?



We are DVC owners (since 2000).  We didn't do anything special and didn't ask for an upgrade... it just happened.  We did online check-inn and during our drive down to WDW from North Carolina our room was assigned.  No indication of an upgrade.  We went direct to the room once we arrived, opened the door with the app and it wasn't until then that we realized we had been upgraded.


----------



## erinch

It is testimony to the general perversity of human nature test those are the only 2 MK QS I want! 


yulilin3 said:


> At mk the only counter service that's not open is Casey's and harbor house.  You can ask for water in all the open ones,  Starbucks and first aid


----------



## chicagoshannon

We're headed to slot today but not until late afternoon.  Hoping crowds will thin by then.


----------



## yulilin3

erinch said:


> It is testimony to the general perversity of human nature test those are the only 2 MK QS I want!


I miss the tuna sandwich from CHH and corn dog nuggets from Casey's for sure


----------



## JFDIS

I’m still questioning how Casey’s and CHH got skipped by Pinocchio Village haus?


----------



## edmartin

Report from Sunday 9/7 at Magic Kingdom...

I know that many are reading these posts trying to understand what it's like here.  Every poster (including me) is going to have their unique take on things.  And everyone has their personal tolerance on things related to coronavirus. I will try to write as unbiased (in any direction) as possible.  But a few things...

Even at "full capacity", the parks are at about 30%.  So no matter what, it feels extremely more empty than pretty much any other time you may have visited.  But if less than one third of what you've experienced before is still going to be "more crowded than you'd like", you probably shouldn't come to Disney World.  At least not on Labor Day weekend.

If you are expecting 100% compliance on masks 100% of the time and are upset when it doesn't happen, you're going to be disappointed. Here or anywhere. Personally, my observation & feeling is that guests are doing a very good job of abiding by the rules here (we have been to Epcot & MK so far on Saturday & Sunday respectively).  But there are going to be exceptions.  I also think the cast members are doing an excellent job of trying to patrol and enforce the rules.  To me, it is has been extremely rare to see someone without a mask on when they should have it on. And it's VERY easy to stay 6, 10 or 50 feet away from people as you walk around this place.

On to the MK report...

Lines are very short (relatively).  The "big hitters" never went more than an hour and many rides never went over 15 minutes.  Mine Train said it was going to be 50 minutes and it was spot on - including a shut-down when the cast was cleaning all of the ride vehicles (which seemed like a scheduled break). Others like Space Mountain and Peter Pan were less than the 30 & 45 minutes estimates.  The only time things got backed up was when it rained.  We could hear thunder so the outdoor rides were all shut down.

The spread-out queues are pretty well done.  In places like Splash Mountain where they designed a huge area for lines, it's great.  But for something like Buzz Lightyear, it can get a little funky.  The line for Buzz started in front of Monsters Inc.  And when you got to the "normal" section, the 6-foot markers on the ground were kind of a cluster because of how they move chains based on queue size.  But guests seem to be doing a good job of spacing themselves out.  Just expect to take a bit of personal responsibility.  It's not hard. You have 1 group ahead of you and 1 behind you.  You can work it out and have a lot of fun chatting with your queue-neighbors.

Well, there was one exception.  When the skies opened, I made the comment to my wife that social distancing was the most important thing in the world to many people... until it starts to rain.  ;-). As you would expect, people ran for cover wherever it could be found. 

The "pop up parades" are really fun.  All of a sudden, a band or a float will show up.  It's random and it's fun to see.  I hope this is something that they end up keeping in the future even when the big parades come back.

We ate at Pecos Bill's.  It wasn't planned... we were just in the area when we decided it was time to eat.  We ordered online in the app.  We were standing on the porch as we were ordering.  A cast member came up to us and said that we were welcome to come inside to complete the order if we wanted to get out of the heat.  Food was great and prepared quickly.  We had no trouble finding a table inside (it was about 1:30 when we ate) and they have the tables spaced and/or closed-off very well to provide distancing.

The strangest part of the day was when we decided to leave the park and try out the new lounge (Enchanted Rose) over at the Grand Floridian.  It reported that it was open even though the Grand Floridian remains closed (DVC is open and the NBA is using some of the buildings for teams... but they aren't allowed out).  So we took the monorail.  Walking into a relatively-empty Grand Floridian was surreal.  We've spent a lot of time in that hotel since our honeymoon there 30 years ago.  But it had a "Hotel California"... or maybe even a "Tower of Terror" vibe to it (no, we did not get on the elevator! ;-)).  Almost nobody in the lobby and everything closed... except Enchanted Rose!  Which was great.

One last thing on ordering... QR codes are a big(ger) thing now. Pinocchio's, for example, had a big sign-board out front enticing guests to order online.  Just open the camera app on your phone (iOS and Android both work this way) and it will pick it up.  And at Enchanted Rose, they do not have menus out... they have a card on the table with a QR code (English in the front, other languages on the back) that brings up the menu.

Back to Epcot today!...


----------



## yulilin3

@edmartin  great report. I call the feel of the GF similar to The Shining, I expect to see Danny in his big wheel turn a corner


----------



## emmabelle

We went to MK this morning.  Parked, took the ferry and was in the park by 8:30am.  Went right to 7D’s and waited 20 minutes, next to Thunder for basically a walk-on.  Next to HM, walk on.  Lastly Space for a 20 minute wait.  Left after that because the lines were growing long and it was hot.  Going back later for dinner and a few rides we missed.


----------



## mrd7896

Animal kingdom today! Arrived at 730, unlike 90 percent of the crowds we went to Kilimanjaro..they didn’t let us on until 8 on the dot but we had a WONDERFUL ride.

then we went over to FoP, posted 60 minute wait and was about 45. We stopped and got some food and coffee and half of our party went to Navi and the other half went back on to FoP. Both were posted 45 minutes-Navi was a little less than 35 and FoP was spot on.

We were going to go to EE at a posted 20 minute wait but we stopped for a bathroom break and to shop and by then it was 45. We decided for dinosaur at a posted 25 and it was just shy of 15.

then over to EE with a wait of 25 and it was also about 15.

did bugs life, ate at Yak and Yet (delicious!!) and did the maharajah jungle trek and was met by a pretty big storm so we headed out!

back to the resort by 3 pm.


----------



## dachsie

yulilin3 said:


> I miss the tuna sandwich from CHH and corn dog nuggets from Casey's for sure


You can get the corn dog nuggets at Westward Ho right now.


----------



## yulilin3

dachsie said:


> You can get the corn dog nuggets at Westward Ho right now.


Is it open though?


----------



## dachsie

yulilin3 said:


> Is it open though?


DFB bought some the other day and posted about it


----------



## MinnieMSue

yulilin3 said:


> Is it open though?



we saw it open while we were waiting outside Pecos Bill Sunday around 11


----------



## Dentam

We went to AK today and had a really great day.  We decided after a long day at Epcot yesterday that we would sleep in a bit and then had a really tasty breakfast at Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk (we're staying at BWV and bonus, we can see spaceship earth from our room!) then we lucked out with a bus that pulled up right as we walked out to the bus stop.  Had the bus all to ourselves which was a theme that carried on throughout the day and evening for us!

No line to enter the temp check, security, etc at AK when we arrived at 11am.  Front of the park was pretty nice and empty.  We did Bug's Life first with less than a 10 minute wait, then the Safari with another short wait.  Dinosaur was posted at 25 and we waited about 15.  We skipped Everest today but are going back on Thursday and plan to ride it then.  Watched the bird show in that area which was fun.  Waited until the last hour and a half of the evening to do the attractions in Pandora and were able to ride Navi with a 15 minute wait and Flight of Passage twice in a row with the wait being about ten minutes the first time and just the time it took to walk through the line the second time.

Since AK closed at 6, we went over to the WL and ate dinner at Geyser Point - highly recommend this place for excellent food and a nice outdoor area to dine in.  Took a bus afterward to DS to transfer directly to a bus to BWV.  One note is that they made us go through the temp check at DS even though all we wanted to do was get onto another bus.  Kind of silly, but at least there was no wait to do so.

HS tomorrow - looking forward to seeing Galaxy's Edge for the first time and hopefully having good luck with RotR!  I snagged us a reservation at Oga's for after park closing also so looking forward to seeing that new area at night.

One final note - mask compliance was better at AK today then Epcot yesterday.  It was cooler today also with a nice breeze on and off which helped a lot I'm sure.


----------



## pepperandchips

I’m taking advantage of one of my work perks by being able to “work from home” from anywhere. This week it’s in Orlando. Heavy traffic down from Atlanta today and arrived to my off property accommodations around 6:00pm, and was parked and walking toward Epcot at 7:00 pm. There weren’t any CMs at the parking booths when I arrived and I drove up to Amaze 30 and enjoyed a super short walk into the park.

There was no one else going in at all. Epcot was dreamy tonight - very sparse attendance and the late afternoon storms had cleared a lot of the humidity and the weather was very pleasant. Oh and Islands of the Caribbean booth was open!!! I was so happy. I don’t know the latest with this one but I was dying to try the flancocho and it was SO worth it.  I didn’t do any rides, but my only real line to speak of was at the France booth when there were maybe 5 parties in front of me. I got a little choked up thinking about how it would be my last real Epcot after dark experience for a while because of the shift in the hours. 

I did confirm with the CM at Impressions de France that once the hours change tomorrow that the BatB show will switch over to Impressions earlier in the day. I think she said around 5:00. 

I hit Mousegear on my way out and it was busy-ish but I was still able to stay distant. I picked up my Figment rocks glasses and some AP pins. Lots of rainbow merch still available 30% off and Halloween stuff fairly well stocked. Several cast who saw my reusable shopping bag on the way out thanked me for shopping and coming  No problem, this fool and her money are easily parted.


----------



## MonorailPrincess

Dentam said:


> We went to AK today and had a really great day.  We decided after a long day at Epcot yesterday that we would sleep in a bit and then had a really tasty breakfast at Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk (we're staying at BWV and bonus, we can see spaceship earth from our room!) then we lucked out with a bus that pulled up right as we walked out to the bus stop.  Had the bus all to ourselves which was a theme that carried on throughout the day and evening for us!
> 
> No line to enter the temp check, security, etc at AK when we arrived at 11am.  Front of the park was pretty nice and empty.  We did Bug's Life first with less than a 10 minute wait, then the Safari with another short wait.  Dinosaur was posted at 25 and we waited about 15.  We skipped Everest today but are going back on Thursday and plan to ride it then.  Watched the bird show in that area which was fun.  Waited until the last hour and a half of the evening to do the attractions in Pandora and were able to ride Navi with a 15 minute wait and Flight of Passage twice in a row with the wait being about ten minutes the first time and just the time it took to walk through the line the second time.
> 
> Since AK closed at 6, we went over to the WL and ate dinner at Geyser Point - highly recommend this place for excellent food and a nice outdoor area to dine in.  Took a bus afterward to DS to transfer directly to a bus to BWV.  One note is that they made us go through the temp check at DS even though all we wanted to do was get onto another bus.  Kind of silly, but at least there was no wait to do so.
> 
> HS tomorrow - looking forward to seeing Galaxy's Edge for the first time and hopefully having good luck with RotR!  I snagged us a reservation at Oga's for after park closing also so looking forward to seeing that new area at night.
> 
> One final note - mask compliance was better at AK today then Epcot yesterday.  It was cooler today also with a nice breeze on and off which helped a lot I'm sure.



Always wanted to try Geyser Point, I think we'll check it out during our stay later this month. How does QS work at the resorts?  Just like the parks, where you have to order a head of time on the app?


----------



## Dentam

MonorailPrincess said:


> Always wanted to try Geyser Point, I think we'll check it out during our stay later this month. How does QS work at the resorts?  Just like the parks, where you have to order a head of time on the app?



They asked us when we walked up if we wanted to pick up food to go or dine in.  We chose the latter (I'm guessing if we'd said to go that they would have had us place a mobile order) and we were immediately seated at a table with a waitress to take our food and drink orders.  The bison cheeseburger with fries was so good!  We stopped in Roaring Fork afterward to grab a cupcake and a magic bar and they had us mobile order those and then pick them up about 10 seconds later when they had them ready for us.  Wouldn't let us go inside to order those.


----------



## anniebean

pepperandchips said:


> I’m taking advantage of one of my work perks by being able to “work from home” from anywhere. This week it’s in Orlando. Heavy traffic down from Atlanta today and arrived to my off property accommodations around 6:00pm, and was parked and walking toward Epcot at 7:00 pm. There weren’t any CMs at the parking booths when I arrived and I drove up to Amaze 30 and enjoyed a super short walk into the park.
> 
> There was no one else going in at all. Epcot was dreamy tonight - very sparse attendance and the late afternoon storms had cleared a lot of the humidity and the weather was very pleasant. Oh and Islands of the Caribbean booth was open!!! I was so happy. I don’t know the latest with this one but I was dying to try the flancocho and it was SO worth it.  I didn’t do any rides, but my only real line to speak of was at the France booth when there were maybe 5 parties in front of me. I got a little choked up thinking about how it would be my last real Epcot after dark experience for a while because of the shift in the hours.
> 
> I did confirm with the CM at Impressions de France that once the hours change tomorrow that the BatB show will switch over to Impressions earlier in the day. I think she said around 5:00.
> 
> I hit Mousegear on my way out and it was busy-ish but I was still able to stay distant. I picked up my Figment rocks glasses and some AP pins. Lots of rainbow merch still available 30% off and Halloween stuff fairly well stocked. Several cast who saw my reusable shopping bag on the way out thanked me for shopping and coming  No problem, this fool and her money are easily parted.
> 
> View attachment 524537
> 
> View attachment 524538
> 
> View attachment 524539
> 
> View attachment 524540


So we can use our reusable bags down there?  We use them at home for groceries, but since the pandemic started, we were told we could no longer use them....
If so, I’ll pack some for our trip tomorrow!


----------



## yulilin3

anniebean said:


> So we can use our reusable bags down there?  We use them at home for groceries, but since the pandemic started, we were told we could no longer use them....
> If so, I’ll pack some for our trip tomorrow!


Yes you can use reusable bags,  also all the bags right now,  no matter the size,  are $1


----------



## anniebean

yulilin3 said:


> Yes you can use reusable bags,  also all the bags right now,  no matter the size,  are $1


Awesome!!  Thank you!


----------



## mrd7896

Mask compliance so far is okay. I’m pleasantly surprised at how many people follow the rules when there’s no one there to enforce them.
However i forgot to mention that yesterday during our first wait for FoP there was a party of 5 behind us that kept creeping up into our space-we gave them some glares but they didn’t stop. We let them go ahead of us since we had to wait for two members of our party to join us (and so we didn’t have to deal with that)

throughout the entire queue that family was so close to the group in front of them you would’ve thought they were all together. And the one woman-probably in her 30s-wore her mask as a chin strap 90% of the time. She would take it off to view things better...the others in the party had noses peaking would take the mask off completely to take pictures and wait to put it back on.

at one point the older gentleman heard us talking about them and just shook his head in agreement with us but didn’t correct the rest of his party. We left an extra space behind them the entire time.

it astonishes me that little kids can wear masks better than adults!!


----------



## Sara W

We are staying at BLT and drove to Geyser Point for lunch yesterday while waiting for the room to be ready. The guy at the gate gave me a bit of a hard time- asking if I had reservations (they don’t take reservations), then asking if I already placed a mobile order (we wanted to dine in). He said he couldn’t let me in because his manager said only resort guests could eat there. I kindly reminded him that I am a resort guest at BLT, so he finally scanned my band (that was on my wrist hanging out the window while talking to him) and let us drive through. So just an FYI, if you are staying on property and they don’t let you in at first, keep trying.

We stayed at Club Wyndham on Sunday night because I wanted an extra day to do stuff. Very little mask compliance (multiple people without masks at all, a few with masks below the chin waiting for elevators and walking through the lobby). The pools were packed. The waitlist was several scrolls on the phone long on Sunday night. I’m sure it had to do with a combination of the holiday and parks closing early, but we didn’t make it to the pool. My mom tried to go at 8am Monday and ended up leaving it was so crowded. BLT was much better.


----------



## yulilin3

Sara W said:


> We are staying at BLT and drove to Geyser Point for lunch yesterday while waiting for the room to be ready. The guy at the gate gave me a bit of a hard time- asking if I had reservations (they don’t take reservations), then asking if I already placed a mobile order (we wanted to dine in). He said he couldn’t let me in because his manager said only resort guests could eat there. I kindly reminded him that I am a resort guest at BLT, so he finally scanned my band (that was on my wrist hanging out the window while talking to him) and let us drive through. So just an FYI, if you are staying on property and they don’t let you in at first, keep trying.
> 
> We stayed at Club Wyndham on Sunday night because I wanted an extra day to do stuff. Very little mask compliance (multiple people without masks at all, a few with masks below the chin waiting for elevators and walking through the lobby). The pools were packed. The waitlist was several scrolls on the phone long on Sunday night. I’m sure it had to do with a combination of the holiday and parks closing early, but we didn’t make it to the pool. My mom tried to go at 8am Monday and ended up leaving it was so crowded. BLT was much better.


The current policy is only resort guests of each resort or guest with dining reservation can enter a resort and park their vehicles
It's a difficult and stressful time for everyone involved,  i would highly recommend against trying to talk yourself through and just use Disney buses to travel to other properties If  you're doing a quick service.
Some people might be successful in talking your way in but then others won't if the CM at the booth follows rules so it will be frustrating for you as a visitor to have to lave with your stomach empty.


----------



## chicagoshannon

We were at epcot last night.  Arrived a little before 3pm just as it started raining.  As we walked in the park was emptying out.  Rain lasted all of 5 minutes.  Lines were short for frozen and test track.  The photos pass people were taking a lot of time doing several magic shots etc.  We also found it pretty easy to get unmasked photos around the park from tables just after eating and so on.

We did find it much harder to find the no mask zones than at the other theme parks.  They aren't advertised well at all.  At both Universal and Sea World parks there were giant signs and flags directng you.  At Epcot you had to look really hard for the signs.  We were only able to find 2 spots and that was mostly because we had seen them on vlogs.

Back to Universal today.


----------



## FFMickey

mrd7896 said:


> Mask compliance so far is okay. I’m pleasantly surprised at how many people follow the rules when there’s no one there to enforce them.
> However i forgot to mention that yesterday during our first wait for FoP there was a party of 5 behind us that kept creeping up into our space-we gave them some glares but they didn’t stop. We let them go ahead of us since we had to wait for two members of our party to join us (and so we didn’t have to deal with that)
> 
> throughout the entire queue that family was so close to the group in front of them you would’ve thought they were all together. And the one woman-probably in her 30s-wore her mask as a chin strap 90% of the time. She would take it off to view things better...the others in the party had noses peaking would take the mask off completely to take pictures and wait to put it back on.
> 
> at one point the older gentleman heard us talking about them and just shook his head in agreement with us but didn’t correct the rest of his party. We left an extra space behind them the entire time.
> 
> it astonishes me that little kids can wear masks better than adults!!


This happened to me yesterday too. A group of 7  kept getting right behind me, until the oldest kid stopped on the distance mark.  It seems like the kids are doing so much better than the adults with the masks and social distancing.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Dentam said:


> They asked us when we walked up if we wanted to pick up food to go or dine in.  We chose the latter (I'm guessing if we'd said to go that they would have had us place a mobile order) and we were immediately seated at a table with a waitress to take our food and drink orders.  The bison cheeseburger with fries was so good!  We stopped in Roaring Fork afterward to grab a cupcake and a magic bar and they had us mobile order those and then pick them up about 10 seconds later when they had them ready for us.  Wouldn't let us go inside to order those.



Was this at the QS counter or the bar area?


----------



## Dentam

Bar area, counters were closed.


----------



## EjandMD

yulilin3 said:


> The current policy is only resort guests of each resort or guest with dining reservation can enter a resort and park their vehicles
> It's a difficult and stressful time for everyone involved,  i would highly recommend against trying to talk yourself through and just use Disney buses to travel to other properties If  you're doing a quick service.
> Some people might be successful in talking your way in but then others won't if the CM at the booth follows rules so it will be frustrating for you as a visitor to have to lave with your stomach empty.



Wow, ok we were thinking the same thing.  We love Geyser Point and we're planning to have dinner there.  We are staying at Pop so we cannot drive there?  Just to clarify.


----------



## yulilin3

EjandMD said:


> Wow, ok we were thinking the same thing.  We love Geyser Point and we're planning to have dinner there.  We are staying at Pop so we cannot drive there?  Just to clarify.


you can only park at another resort if you have a dining reservation. You can arrive via Disney bus from DS . Since the restaurants are at lower capacity they are doing this to have space for the guest actually staying at each resort. You can still bus over and eat at the quick services


----------



## disneyseniors

chicagoshannon said:


> We were at epcot last night.  Arrived a little before 3pm just as it started raining.  As we walked in the park was emptying out.  Rain lasted all of 5 minutes.  Lines were short for frozen and test track.  The photos pass people were taking a lot of time doing several magic shots etc.  We also found it pretty easy to get unmasked photos around the park from tables just after eating and so on.
> 
> We did find it much harder to find the no mask zones than at the other theme parks.  They aren't advertised well at all.  At both Universal and Sea World parks there were giant signs and flags directng you.  At Epcot you had to look really hard for the signs.  We were only able to find 2 spots and that was mostly because we had seen them on vlogs.
> 
> Back to Universal today.




Will you be able to do a report on your visits to Universal?   I'd love to hear about Universal  Thanks.


----------



## WEDWDW

EjandMD said:


> Wow, ok we were thinking the same thing.  We love Geyser Point and we're planning to have dinner there.  We are staying at Pop so we cannot drive there?  Just to clarify.


I would Skyliner to DHS and catch a WL bus there.


----------



## WEDWDW

mrd7896 said:


> Mask compliance so far is okay. I’m pleasantly surprised at how many people follow the rules when there’s no one there to enforce them.
> However i forgot to mention that yesterday during our first wait for FoP there was a party of 5 behind us that kept creeping up into our space-we gave them some glares but they didn’t stop. We let them go ahead of us since we had to wait for two members of our party to join us (and so we didn’t have to deal with that)
> 
> throughout the entire queue that family was so close to the group in front of them you would’ve thought they were all together. And the one woman-probably in her 30s-wore her mask as a chin strap 90% of the time. She would take it off to view things better...the others in the party had noses peaking would take the mask off completely to take pictures and wait to put it back on.
> 
> at one point the older gentleman heard us talking about them and just shook his head in agreement with us but didn’t correct the rest of his party. We left an extra space behind them the entire time.
> 
> it astonishes me that little kids can wear masks better than adults!!


LOL-the kids do seem more conscientious than the adults. 

The Nose Peekers are the ones that drive us crazy.

There are so many of them I really think some of them think if their mask is over their mouth that they are in compliance. 

By the way never in a million years would we have dreamed the term Nose Peekers would one day become part of our daily conversation !

What would REALLY have been interesting is if The 15s had been able to come in July !

Don't think they would have done too good with masking and can you even imagine The 15s and SOCIAL DISTANCING!LOL


----------



## kdonnel

EjandMD said:


> Wow, ok we were thinking the same thing.  We love Geyser Point and we're planning to have dinner there.  We are staying at Pop so we cannot drive there?  Just to clarify.


I was turned away from Riviera, trying to eat at the counter service restaurant. It is less then ideal at this point.

Had no problems arriving by Disney bus the next day.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

WEDWDW said:


> What would REALLY have been interesting is if *The 15s* had been able to come in July !
> 
> Don't think they would have done too good with masking and can you even imagine *The 15s *and SOCIAL DISTANCING!LOL


Sounds like an idea for a new post-apocalyptic TV show:

They descend upon Disney World, wreaking havoc in their wake.  They are...


----------



## WEDWDW

chicagoshannon said:


> We were at epcot last night.  Arrived a little before 3pm just as it started raining.  As we walked in the park was emptying out.  Rain lasted all of 5 minutes.  Lines were short for frozen and test track.  The photos pass people were taking a lot of time doing several magic shots etc.  We also found it pretty easy to get unmasked photos around the park from tables just after eating and so on.
> 
> We did find it much harder to find the no mask zones than at the other theme parks.  They aren't advertised well at all.  At both Universal and Sea World parks there were giant signs and flags directng you.  At Epcot you had to look really hard for the signs.  We were only able to find 2 spots and that was mostly because we had seen them on vlogs.
> 
> Back to Universal today.


The Relaxation Stations are shown on the new Covid Edition Park Maps.

Akershus and Star Wars Launch Bay are the only 2 with AC I "think".


----------



## Geomom

WEDWDW said:


> The Relaxation Stations are shown on the new Covid Edition Park Maps.
> 
> Akershus and Star Wars Launch Bay are the only 2 with AC I "think".


There is at least one a/c relaxation zone in each park. AK has pizzafari and MK has the big top tent area (not sure what it is called) In storybook circus.


----------



## yulilin3

Geomom said:


> There is at least one a/c relaxation zone in each park. AK has pizzafari and MK has the big top tent area (not sure what it is called) In storybook circus.


And the tomorrowland terrace,  even though open air it still has a/c vents in the ceiling


----------



## WEDWDW

Geomom said:


> There is at least one a/c relaxation zone in each park. AK has pizzafari and MK has the big top tent area (not sure what it is called) In storybook circus.


Awesome-we didn't need one in DAK and used Tomorrowland Terrace yesterday.

Will definitely use Pizzafari and Pete's Silly Sideshow on our next DAK and MK days-AC RULES!

I just wish there was some way Disney could have cups of Ice Water available at the Stations,but I am sure there is a reason they aren't doing it.

Are the Restrooms open for Relaxtion Guests in Pizzafari? Thanks.


----------



## edmartin

Monday @ Disney Springs & Epcot, Tuesday at Hollywood Studios.

This is going to cover a lot of ground... we've done a lot in the last 2 days since my last report.

We moved from Old Key West to Riviera on Monday.  This was by design; we decided it would be fun to stay in the oldest DVC resort (OKW) and the newest (Riviera) on the same trip.  And they were the only 2 DVC resorts we had never stayed at.  I know this forum is about the parks but just a quick commentary on OKW & Riviera.  Particularly in these times, the "small separate buildings" feel of OKW was very comfortable. It really hit us when we got to Riviera and it felt like a very busy hotel in comparison.  Just something to keep in mind.  We loved both and they are VERY different (obviously).

Related: transportation.  I was one of those that when I first heard about it a few years ago, I was not a fan of the Skyliner idea.  But then it happened, we tried it and we really liked it.  So I say this from a "pro Skyliner" perspective.  One of the highlights of Riviera is direct access to the Skyliner - then to Epcot & Hollywood Studios.  Well, it tends to rain in FL, right?  And for a lot of the year, that rain comes with thunder & lightning.  So, the Skyliner gets shut down.  And just like that, Riviera becomes another hotel on the bus line.  And maybe it's because of the current situation but it's a bit worse.  We were leaving the Studio this afternoon in the rain.  Skyliner was shut down.  But the bus signs did not list Riviera - at all.  So we had to walk back to the Skyliner attendant and ask.  They turn the bus line on to Riviera when it rains but it's not marked on the boards (it was #6, BTW).

But back to the parks & Disney Springs...

We checked out of OKW and went to Disney Springs on Monday (Labor Day) while waiting for our room at Riviera to be ready.  Not sure why but traffic into the garage was really slow & backed up. But we parked, got screened and in we went.  Like the parks, the crowds seemed relatively light.  But unlike the parks, the queues to get into places like World of Disney & Lego are pretty disorganized.  I get it; they never expected long lines.  But if you go, be prepared.  

We didn't have reservations but we were able to get 2 seats at the bar at Wine Bar George.  We always enjoy it there and this time was terrific.  

We hung out for a while, checked into Riviera and then went to Epcot.  Remember what I said about Skyliner being shut down if it rains?  Ya... bingo; that's what happened last night.  So we grabbed an Uber over to Boardwalk and went into Epcot through International Gateway.

I've talked about Food & Wine Festival 2020 in a prior post.  I give Disney a lot of leeway for pulling it together at all.  We have been coming for F&W for many years.  If you are thinking of coming because of F&W, my recommendation would be for you to delay until 2021.  It's understandable why... but it's disappointing.

Crowds were noticeably lighter yesterday (Monday) than we saw Saturday.  Picture attached of what America looked like at about 8 PM.

Today was the Studio.  We were lucky to have done Rise of the Resistance when it opened but we were dying to try it again.  So, we walked over to the Caribbean Skyliner station and boarded when they opened at 9:00.  [It's faster to walk to Caribbean than to transfer from the Riviera line first thing in the AM.]. Though the gate, quick stop at Starbucks and then into the line for Runaway Railway (while we waited for the Rise of the Resistance boarding group system to go live at 10:00).  We were just about to board the train when Rise went live; we got our boarding group and really liked Runway Railway.  [FYI, Rise boarding groups were gone in less than a minute today.]

Overall, lines weren't bad.  Railway was about 40 minutes.  Slinky Dog was 60.  Millennium Falcon was under 30. Midway Mania was a walk-on. Rockin' Rollercoaster was about 40.  So we hit everything we wanted.  Late lunch at Mama Melrose (it was fantastic) & then back to Riviera.

The only negative I have to say about the Studio was the lack of food options.  Most restaurants are open.  But food stands are few & far between.  Plenty of popcorn... but good luck finding a Mickey bar.  I get it that capacity is down and it's a Tuesday today.  But it (food stand availability) was very different in the Studio than we had seen at MK or Epcot.

Finally... sorry to harp on it but for those keeping score, we tried to use Skyliner to/from Riviera 3 times and it was shut down because of weather 2 out of 3 times (in the last 24 hours). Riviera is beautiful. But for the number of points to stay here, if you are doing it because of access to Skyliner... temper your expectations.  We lived in central FL for 4 years; it rains and thunders in Orlando in the afternoon A LOT.  The rule for Skyliner is that once a thunder storm gets within a 10-mile radius, they shut it down until no storms have been within 10 miles for 30 minutes.  Great call from a safety perspective!  But from an uptime perspective... it's going to take a toll.  I would classify Riviera as near Grand Floridian quality... but on the bus line (effectively).


----------



## WEDWDW

Grumpy by Birth said:


> Sounds like an idea for a new post-apocalyptic TV show:
> 
> They descend upon Disney World, wreaking havoc in their wake.  They are...
> 
> View attachment 524626


TOO FUNNY!!!!

We asked a Bus Driver one time what the capacity of his bus was and he said:

"72 Guests or  double that for a  South American Tour Group"lol

The 15s and Social Distancing would be something to see!lol


----------



## elsbit

So today was a major first for me in the parks. While on the ride ROR the person in front of me stopped in the room with the stormtroopers to pose in the Nazi salute heil Hitler while his girlfriend or wife took his picture. A young cast member told him sir you cannot do that again but let him proceed on the ride.  When we got  off of the ride I saw him flash an Aryan gang sign again posing for a picture.  We went to one cast member and told her that she told us to find somebody else.  So we went and spoke to someone who got a manager who took it seriously and security was going to look for him. Those two employees were great. We gave them pics of him and based in his appearance he should have been easy to find. I truly hope that he got removed from the park. It made for an uncomfortable situation and I am not sorry we escalated it. The manager was nice and asked us if we wanted to have another ride on our OR but we declined.

Out of our last 3 days in the park I felt that Hollywood studios felt the most congested compared to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. It was still possible to tmostly socially distance but for some reason it seemed like the crowd was sometimes was a little more oblivious to it. I also saw some more mask issues and more people eating and drinking in moving lines. We got boarding group 29. The family in front of us said that they had been here another day and did not get any boarding group. today they got 11.  Our group was called about 1:18 pm. We ate at Sci Fi Diner and felt the cars were well distanced and not crowded. The only thing I disliked was being seated right next to the only entrance into the room (the side with the bathroom is the exit) and having foot traffic near my meal. 
We did three parks on this trip and I felt pretty good most of the time in any instance that I did not feel good I made sure to put more distance between us and people who made me uncomfortable. There was hand sanitizer everywhere and I felt that lines were well marked. There could be more hand washing stations but there's plenty of bathrooms to step into and wash your hands. We are staying at kidani and there is hand sanitizer at every elevator point. I did choose not to wear the glasses for toy story mania which we rode twice. My friend felt comfortable wearing them but I did not as the people handing them out did not have gloves on and I did not want something like that near my nose or mouth. They only real ride cleaning that I personally saw was at it's a small world. They seemed pretty hardcore about spraying down the boats and we watched them do that frequently while in line. Most of the hand sanitizer stations were always working though sometimes they did not (it appeared battery related) but there was always another one very close by. I never ever saw a cast member inappropriate with their mask. Most often they wore a face shield and a mask. I will say it was hard to hear them talk and the interactions were not as friendly as I was normally used to, bit I feel they were doing the best they could. Wearing a mask in the heat was sometimes very oppressive. In the span of 3 days it caused me to have breakouts on my chin and above my lip and I don't normally ever break out.  It was very nice to go and to sit down restaurants with air conditioning and take the masks off. They're also selling cute Disney masks that are fabric but they can be very hard to find proper sizes. Am I glad I came? Yes, but I admit that I came because part of my trip was non refundable. Would I come again after this experience?? Yes. What I recommend first-timers come? No. I do have a family trip coming up in October and I have an 11-year-old, 8-year-old, and 3-year-old. I will post again then to talk about the experience with having kids in various ages and dealing with a toddler with a mask.


----------



## elsbit

Also want to add that I felt that the restaurant did a good job cleaning the tables. When we ate breakfast at the Grand Floridian I watched them wash down a table and wipe down the chairs including the seats and the backs. also when we ate at Liberty Tavern they actually had us eating in that diamond restaurant for spacing.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Our experience at MK today was a bit different than what I was expecting and definitely different but still fun.

The good:
-Wait times were more than reasonable although BTMRR and Splash were down for the first 1.5 or so this AM. The longest waits were for 7DMT (Posted 35, waited about that) and the Carousel (also about 30 mins for some reason? Not on a cleaning cycle). We did all the attractions we wanted though with reasonable waits.
-The cavalcades are SO FUN! It’s so thrilling to suddenly hear the music and turn around and catch a glimpse. Gaston on a horse was epic.
-Very easy to get cute pics in front of the castle with pretty much no one in your shot (I recommend the middle of the afternoon when the hub seemed at its emptiest and the sun gives great lighting w/o casting weird shadows)
-Plenty of hand sanitizer stations.

The bad:
-Guests don’t use those hand sanitizer stations nearly as much as they should -_- lol
-The lack of QS for easy water fills and the stupid line at Sleepy Hollow all day made for extremely limited options when we needed a snack or water. We wound up caving and buying several bottles of water from the carts because trying to refill our bottles at water fountains or find a place that didn’t have a line was a waste of time.

I must admit, I didn’t think it would bother me to miss fireworks or have shorter park hours but it did. Especially with the afternoon rain, you really have to get all the outdoor attractions out of the way before about 2pm or so, and if you want multiple rides keep that in mind too. It started to heavily downpour around 4 and the park closed at 6 so even if I wanted to wait out the rain for another ride on 7DMT or BTMRR I couldn’t. On the plus side it drove everyone else out of the park or into gift shops so PP, HM and Buzz were walk ons at that point.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

elsbit said:


> So today was a major first for me in the parks. While on the ride ROR the person in front of me stopped in the room with the stormtroopers to pose in the Nazi salute heil Hitler while his girlfriend or wife took his picture. A young cast member told him sir you cannot do that again but let him proceed on the ride.  When we got  off of the ride I saw him flash an Aryan gang sign again posing for a picture.  We went to one cast member and told her that she told us to find somebody else.  So we went and spoke to someone who got a manager who took it seriously and security was going to look for him. Those two employees were great. We gave them pics of him and based in his appearance he should have been easy to find. I truly hope that he got removed from the park. It made for an uncomfortable situation and I am not sorry we escalated it.



You did the right thing. Thank you for that.


----------



## Shellbells

@elsbthank you for your report. I'm glad that you had a good time but oh my goodness, I'd be so upset if I saw someone doing nazi signs in the park. I'm glad you spoke to someone


----------



## Disney1fan2002

Question for those that have been to AK in the last few days. Kali River Rapids, have they turned up the water force yet? When WDW first re-opened, I think I read here that someone was disappointed that Kali River Rapids had barely a splash. I go on that ride specifically to cool off by getting drenched. I will be there this weekend, I hope they turned up the splash!


----------



## monkeydawn

Any vegetarians going to the parks these days?  I dont need vegan but due to Crohns limit cheese or ice cream to once a day (Ok, I *try* to do this).  The times I visited have usually been warm which kills my appetite anyway but what I would usually eat would be snack cart things...popcorn, pretzels, Mickey bars.  I saw reports of popcorn but no MBs.  Are pretzels an option? Any other good vegetarian recommendations?


----------



## yulilin3

monkeydawn said:


> Any vegetarians going to the parks these days?  I dont need vegan but due to Crohns limit cheese or ice cream to once a day (Ok, I *try* to do this).  The times I visited have usually been warm which kills my appetite anyway but what I would usually eat would be snack cart things...popcorn, pretzels, Mickey bars.  I saw reports of popcorn but no MBs.  Are pretzels an option? Any other good vegetarian recommendations?


All those foods are still available,  also you can check the allergy menu of each restaurant on mde


----------



## Jimmiemac02

Disney1fan2002 said:


> Question for those that have been to AK in the last few days. Kali River Rapids, have they turned up the water force yet? When WDW first re-opened, I think I read here that someone was disappointed that Kali River Rapids had barely a splash. I go on that ride specifically to cool off by getting drenched. I will be there this weekend, I hope they turned up the splash!


We rode it today. There was no splash and nobody got wet.


----------



## chicagoshannon

disneyseniors said:


> Will you be able to do a report on your visits to Universal?   I'd love to hear about Universal  Thanks.



Universal was a lot busier today than it was last Thursday.  Lines weren't too horrible (except for Hogwarts express at 80 minutes) but there were a lot more people roaming around.  We only did a couple of rides at Universal before going to Islands.  Island wasn't as busy as studios.  Rides were mostly walk on.

It seems that you're allowed to walk and eat/drink at Universal.  We saw a lot of people doing that.  But if yoh had a nose peeking out you got told to pull the mask up pretty quickly.  I also saw  lot of gaitor masks which i thought were banned but maybe they changed that rule again.  Also saw a kid with only a face shield while on a ride.  I thought that you had to wear a mask on rides if you were allowed to use a shield.

I don't really care but would be nice if they were consistent.  Hulk was down a good portion of the day so we missed out on that ride.  Was nice being able to take the mask off for water rides.  They have  you buckle in first, then you can remove it.  We  didn't have to use the relaxation zones today as the high was only 90 (lol).

I fix not notice many hands washing stations at universal but they have huge signs pointing out the bathrooms all over.


WEDWDW said:


> The Relaxation Stations are shown on the new Covid Edition Park Maps.
> 
> Akershus and Star Wars Launch Bay are the only 2 with AC I "think".


I haven't looked at a Disney map in years!  I like the huge flags at the other parks.  It's just nice to walk by and think yep let's take a break.


----------



## emmabelle

disneyseniors said:


> Will you be able to do a report on your visits to Universal?   I'd love to hear about Universal  Thanks.



We did Universal today and made a questionable decision to wait for a virtual queue for Hagrid’s.  There wasn’t one at least until noon when we left.  The ride opened with a 20 minute wait but we were in the Studios and figured the wait would be crazy If we tried to get over there.  So we rode Gringotts, Mummy, ET, and Woody Woodpecker.  Haha. We’re going back Thursday morning and going straight to IOA, we won’t make the decision to bank on a virtual queue again.  We still had fun and it wasn’t horribly crowded at all.


----------



## 2vets

@elsbit omg, I am so sorry this happened, so sorry you witnessed something like this, especially at WDW, which is supposed to be a place for everyone. Thank you so much for persisting in ensuring this was reported.


----------



## mrd7896

Magic kingdom today!
Rundown of our day: 
-PotC and were the first four people on the ride
-jungle cruise with about a 10 minute wait
-wanted waffles from sleepy hollow but the wait was too long, so we went to gastons for a cinnamon roll
-Peter Pan with a 25 minute wait that was about 15
-7DMT with a posted 35 and was about 25
-space mountain with a posted 20 and was on in just about that 
-buzz posted 25 but was less than 20
-carousel of progress was posted 20 and was that 
-by then it was about 12:30 and we went back over to sleepy hollow for waffles.

Short rant-the line was LONG. because of the madame leota sipper. The amount of people that complained about the amount of sippers they could buy was wild to watch. People were going crazy and it was....ugly. 
When we showed the gentleman working our receipt that was just for two waffles he literally thanked us for having a normal order...

-After sitting for a minute we walked over to philharmagic. Posted 20 and we missed the first show by 3 people. So it was probably about 20 minutes. 

-haunted mansion. Posted 20 actual 10
—placed a mobile order for the Hades Nachos (just okay) at Pecos bill while in line and went to pick it up almost immediately after getting off the ride.

 —splash had dropped from a 60 minute wait down to 30 so we rushed over there. Then it quickly jumped back up to 65 minutes and when we reached the cast member he mentioned that the cleaning would be done by about 3:45. At that point it was after 3:15 so we stuck it out in line since it was actually moving. We got off the ride at 3:56. 

—starting POURING while at sunshine tree terrace getting the headless horseman rides again dole whip. DELICIOUS! May like it better than the original......

-shopped in the emporium for a bit then decided to go back to buzz since it was a posted 5 minute wait. 

-walked over to the contemporary for a wonderful dinner at the Wave. Very happy with that dinner especially for the price.

Mask compliance was really great and social distancing in queues was good.
Agree with a PP that finding quick service water was nearly impossible.

Overall a pretty great day and we definitely accomplished everything we normally do. Certain attractions had much lower waits than we are used to but others had longer waits than we have ever experienced. Everything is a give and take. I definitely like the freedom of not having fastpasses though!!

Onto universal tomorrow and then finishing up at Hollywood studios on Thursday!


----------



## crazymomof4

mrd7896 said:


> Short rant-the line was LONG. because of the madame leota sipper. The amount of people that complained about the amount of sippers they could buy was wild to watch. People were going crazy and it was....ugly.
> When we showed the gentleman working our receipt that was just for two waffles he literally thanked us for having a normal order...



This is so sad for the poor CMs! As if setting purchasing limits is something WDW invented and just *sprung* on them! What about the _limits being in place so it's FAIR to everyone_ do these "people acting crazy" not understand? I would sooo NOT last long as a CM!

Thank you for your report.  We are going to the Wave too!  The last time we went there was 2016 I think.  It used to be a "hidden gem" but it's becoming less "hidden" lately.    Enjoy the rest of your vaca!


----------



## emtgirl4

We were at mk kingdom today as well. I wish I could say that I thought mask compliance was good today but it just wasn't. It was our first day there but I am hesitant to go back. Alot of the issue was it seemed there was a fairly large group of people that were together but split into smaller groups. They were all wearing the same stuff. Anyway every time I saw any of them most were not wearing masks or it was under there nose. We also were unfortunate enough to get them behind us several times in line and not only did they not have on masks they stood right up on you and not on the markers. I said something in each line and they pretended they didn't speak English but mircously stopped atleast for a time when they heard me tell a cm(who didn't correct the masks or them). Also every time I turned around it seemed like there was people without masks or below there noses. Maybe I was in the wrong places at the wrong time today but it was super frustrating. We are supposed to have one more mk day and maybe I'll give it another shot based off other peoples reports today. Epcot yesterday they were fabulous. All the CM were on top of it. I even saw a cm at the alps booth telling multiple people that passed to correct there masks. He was great. Before I came I definitely expected mk to be better then epcot so I was surprised.


----------



## Dentam

Great day at HS today! We got boarding group 40 for RotR and our group was called around 2:30. We were able to ride it (first time for us) with no issues! The CM's  before the interrogation rooms really made the experience for us, they were in character the entire time which was a lot of fun.

Beyond that, we were able to ride everything we wanted with wait times consistently well under what was posted. I think our longest wait was about 25 minutes for Micky and Minnie's Runaway Railway.

The highlight came at the end of the evening when we had a reservation for Oga's after park close. Reservation was for 7:45 but we weren't called in until about 8:00. By the time we finished at 8:45 we were not only the only ones left in the cantina but the last ones in GE! Had a CM meet us at the door as we exited and escorted us out of the land while giving us time to take a few last photos. Might be the highlight of the entire trip right there!  Attaching a few pics from the end of the night although it looks like I didn't take any with my phone after leaving Oga's.


----------



## mrd7896

crazymomof4 said:


> This is so sad for the poor CMs! As if setting purchasing limits is something WDW invented and just *sprung* on them! What about the _limits being in place so it's FAIR to everyone_ do these "people acting crazy" not understand? I would sooo NOT last long as a CM!
> 
> Thank you for your report.  We are going to the Wave too!  The last time we went there was 2016 I think.  It used to be a "hidden gem" but it's becoming less "hidden" lately.    Enjoy the rest of your vaca!



It did make me feel bad for the CMs too! And based on how long the line was almost all day I’m sure they had to hear it a lot. 

I got the pork tenderloin at dinner and two of my family members got the fish of the day which was a blackened salmon that tasted delicious-kind of wish i had gotten that!!

I saw a PP mention iffy mask compliance at MK and i know the group she is talking about. They were a few spots behind us in philharmagic and were a mess. They were either not wearing masks completely or had it under their noses. The CM working did try to tell them (i heard multiple times) only about one or two would fix it. And a few of the older kids did try to correct the young ones.

I can totally understand feeling uncomfortable if you were around them multiple times during the day.


----------



## mrd7896

Dentam said:


> Beyond that, we were able to ride everything we wanted with wait times consistently well under what was posted. I think our longest wait was about 25 minutes for Micky and Minnie's Runaway Railway.
> 
> The highlight came at the end of the evening when we had a reservation for Oga's after park close. Reservation was for 7:45 but we weren't called in until about 8:00. By the time we finished at 8:45 we were not only the only ones left in the cantina but the last ones in GE!



Those pictures are lovely! We have dinner at 50s at 730 tomorrow and am eager to take pictures of a nearly empty park at night!

In regards to wait times i was looking frequently at the app and it showed ToT at 85, MMRR at 60, SDD at 60, MFSR at 50–did you ride all the headliners? Did you just get them at a good time? Kind of nervous if those wait times were actually that high!!


----------



## Alice Sr.

mrd7896 said:


> It did make me feel bad for the CMs too! And based on how long the line was almost all day I’m sure they had to hear it a lot.
> 
> I got the pork tenderloin at dinner and two of my family members got the fish of the day which was a blackened salmon that tasted delicious-kind of wish i had gotten that!!
> 
> I saw a PP mention iffy mask compliance at MK and i know the group she is talking about. They were a few spots behind us in philharmagic and were a mess. They were either not wearing masks completely or had it under their noses. The CM working did try to tell them (i heard multiple times) only about one or two would fix it. And a few of the older kids did try to correct the young ones.
> 
> I can totally understand feeling uncomfortable if you were around them multiple times during the day.


I hate that the CM's are put in that position.  They aught to have backup in situations like that.  It reminds me of the Brazilian groups that would become unruly and intrusive but allowed to continue their behavior unchecked despite efforts by CM's to slow their roll a bit.


----------



## chicagoshannon

Seething i forgot to mention yesterday, the plastic dividers that put on some ride vehicles.  They are awful.  If there was one thing that bothered me most I this it would be those.  They are on the Land boat ride and on Kong at universal (I think other rides that we haven't gone on yet).  The Land was so awful i wouldn't even ride again.  Could hardly see anything I that ride.  We were in the last row so had to look through 5 of them to try to see anything straight ahead.

King wasn't as bad because they had the more rigid plexiglass, but the video reflected which was distracting.

I hope the first thing they do when this is over is take the plastic things down!  I don't even know why they have them on the Land.  They aren't even seating every row.


----------



## Cliff Secord

mrd7896 said:


> Kind of nervous if those wait times were actually that high!!



Agreed on this count. Wondering if it's lingering Labor Day crowds, or some reductions in operating capacity. Interested to hear your take on today. 

Good luck!


----------



## Dentam

mrd7896 said:


> Those pictures are lovely! We have dinner at 50s at 730 tomorrow and am eager to take pictures of a nearly empty park at night!
> 
> In regards to wait times i was looking frequently at the app and it showed ToT at 85, MMRR at 60, SDD at 60, MFSR at 50–did you ride all the headliners? Did you just get them at a good time? Kind of nervous if those wait times were actually that high!!



Yes we rode all of the headliners except Rock'n Roller Coaster since that one gives us headaches. Wait time was listed as 55 minutes for the railway and we only waited 25 wait time was listed as 35 I think when we did tower of terror and we only waited 15 or 20 so the times listed are longer than actual waits. Rode Slinky dog when the wait time was listed as 30 (got on when it reopened after storms went through) and it took us about 20 and that was with them stopping to do a cleaning cycle. Millennium falcon was listed as 35 minute wait when we got in line then jumped to 45 and I think we waited about 20-25 minutes. Toy Story Mania was listed as 30 and was a walk on - we rode it twice.


----------



## Victoria3

I was also at MK yesterday and I'm always surprised by the amount of people that walk around in the rain with their paper/disposable masks on. It wasn't a light sprinkle either. Waterboarding yourself doesn't sound fun.


----------



## mouselovenfamily

How are crowds post holiday? Thinning?


----------



## lelew

mouselovenfamily said:


> How are crowds post holiday? Thinning?


I did a solo trip to epcot Yesterday while kids did online work. I arrived around 1145 leaving Pop There was very little wait for the skyliner going to the park. Once their I did walkon for everyride except test track which was down at the time. Their were little waits if any at food booths. Dinner at The Springs was a little crowded but not bad at all. Today when I went to order coffee at the cafeteria in Pop the cashier said it has been very slow compared to last week.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

mouselovenfamily said:


> How are crowds post holiday? Thinning?



It’s actually busier than I was expecting but not crazy. Agree that the social distancing makes the lines look a lot longer and crazier than they actually are. We’re currently in line for MFSR and the posted time was 55 - we’re almost to the ride after about 40. A 40 min wait for a ride at Disney is definitely doable and not unheard of


----------



## cheshiregoofy22

Wondering if anyone's been over to AK with the new hours?  Are all the attractions opening at 9:00 AM?  Thanks in advance!   Edit: Gee, guess I could just check MDE. Apologies!!


----------



## yulilin3

Just came back home from MK
Leisurely walked t FL by 10 gad done IASW, Pooh, Tea Cups and Buzz, could've done PP. 7DMT was at 30 min when I walked past. Dumbo and Barnstormer were walk ons as well


----------



## emtgirl4

We are at hollywood studios today! Its been great. Great mask compliance, a totally different feel from mk. Thanks to this group we got boarding group number 3 for rise of the resistance. This is our first time here since star wars land opened and we absolutely loved it. Having a great day and crowds are not bad!


----------



## DSLRuser

I will gladly wait my spot in line knowing someone can not jump in front of me.  Posted 45 minute waits were always less than 30.  The trip was so much fun not having every minute of the day scripted.  most waits were less then 20  minutes.  Something is awesome k=getting in line knowing I only have to worry about the line in front of me.  Not all the FP+ who will jump in front.


With everyone waiting in line....we got to do so much more in any single day.  you cant do that during FP+.  because after you 3,4,or 5 FP+, every other attraction will be 60+ minutes.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

emtgirl4 said:


> We are at hollywood studios today! Its been great. Great mask compliance, a totally different feel from mk. Thanks to this group we got boarding group number 3 for rise of the resistance. This is our first time here since star wars land opened and we absolutely loved it. Having a great day and crowds are not bad!



I’m not really a Star Wars fan but I find the immersion and offerings of Galaxy’s Edge to be really fun and interesting, we have had a blast the past few times. We were also there today and agree that mask compliance has been good, lots of places to pull over to have a drink or a snack, no problems with mobile ordering. The posted waits were longer than pre-Labor Day weekend but SDD posted at 50 on in 25, MFSR posted 50 on it in about 35, RnR was closer to 15 but that’s because we were held for cleaning (it only took 6 or 7 minutes and they were thorough). We left around 2:30 to take a pool break and clean up, planning to go back in a bit to finish up w/ TSMM and whatever else we can do before our 6:15 at Oga’s.


----------



## DSLRuser

we loved having a little extra space in all the lines.  made the lines seem to move faster too because you were almost always on the move.  And not having the sweaty family of 5 bump into you every time you stopped was just a bonus.

With the exception of Disney Transportation.  The skyliner was almost unusable during peak times because of only 1 family to a car.  Same with busses.  They need to pack the people in.  Busses are only efficient when you pack them full of people.  10 people to a bus that can hold 50 is just a waste.


----------



## mom2rtk

It's amazing what operating at 20% of capacity will do. I'm pretty sure Disney won't want to maintain that for long.


----------



## mom2rtk

I have a hunch it was about crowd level more than presence or absence of FP. But yeah, wish I had been there to experience it.


----------



## DSLRuser

here is how our Saturday Morning at the studios went.

Arrived at the park and thru security by 9:25.....got in line for Minnie and Mickey RR and were off the ride by 9:55.  Went o Rock n Rollercoaster and walked on...were done by 9:58.   Got a boarding group for star wars #23.

Walked to toy story land and into Galaxy Edge.  Had an AWEFULL Rontos Roaster...(yuck)...and waited 20 mins for Alien Saucers......were off that by 10:40am.....waited for slinky dog.....were off that by 11:30......walked onto midway mania were off that by noon.

Went back to Galaxy Edge....40 minute wait for Smugglers Run.......by that time ROR boarding group came......we had a 10 min wait for that.  Were done by 1:30

went to H Brown Derby for a mediocre lunch.  Were done by 2:45.   Went to RNR and walked on....and left the park by 3:10 having accomplushed everything we cared about.


----------



## Tormania

Well when in line for any attraction, at any time, you can always control how close you get to people in front of you.  I too prefer more personal space around me (not nearly to the extent of the current social distancing requirements though) as I don't like feeling squished and the be honest I've rarely felt too confined in most lines.  Occasionally you'll get that person who's "bubble" includes your space which is annoying, but that more the exception than the rule I have found.


----------



## emtgirl4

butterscotchcollins said:


> I’m not really a Star Wars fan but I find the immersion and offerings of Galaxy’s Edge to be really fun and interesting, we have had a blast the past few times. We were also there today and agree that mask compliance has been good, lots of places to pull over to have a drink or a snack, no problems with mobile ordering. The posted waits were longer than pre-Labor Day weekend but SDD posted at 50 on in 25, MFSR posted 50 on it in about 35, RnR was closer to 15 but that’s because we were held for cleaning (it only took 6 or 7 minutes and they were thorough). We left around 2:30 to take a pool break and clean up, planning to go back in a bit to finish up w/ TSMM and whatever else we can do before our 6:15 at Oga’s.



I totally agree with you. It's has been amazing with the immersion. Its been a great day here. We will see you at Oga’s. Our reservation is at 630!


----------



## yulilin3

@DSLRuser  merged you to the existing thread


----------



## DSLRuser

butterscotchcollins said:


> I’m not really a Star Wars fan but I find the immersion and offerings of Galaxy’s Edge to be really fun and interesting, we have had a blast the past few times. We were also there today and agree that mask compliance has been good, lots of places to pull over to have a drink or a snack, no problems with mobile ordering. The posted waits were longer than pre-Labor Day weekend but SDD posted at 50 on in 25, MFSR posted 50 on it in about 35, RnR was closer to 15 but that’s because we were held for cleaning (it only took 6 or 7 minutes and they were thorough). We left around 2:30 to take a pool break and clean up, planning to go back in a bit to finish up w/ TSMM and whatever else we can do before our 6:15 at Oga’s.




Moderators...quit moving posts....this post lost it's point when you removed the subject line.


----------



## DSLRuser

yulilin3 said:


> @DSLRuser  merged you to the existing thread




why...it had nothing to do with this thread...it was for open discussion talking about the desire to not have fast pass return...and the reasons behind it


----------



## yulilin3

DSLRuser said:


> why...it had nothing to do with this thread...it was for open discussion talking about the desire to not have fast pass return...and the reasons behind it


That would go in the community forum then,  not this forum


----------



## shjrc371

Stayed from August 25 through Sept. 1 at CR.  Spent 4 days at MK, 2 at HS, 1 at AK, and 1 at EP.  Masks were tough for DW and my oldest DS in the 100+ Real-Feel heat.  The other DS, DD, and I thrive in hot weather so it was bearable just to be able to be back in WDW.  Mask compliance was 99 % and social distancing measures by Disney were superb.  Obviously, some people had different definitions of social distancing and proper mask wearing, but when dealing with the unpredictability inherent in human nature it is not unexpected.  The measures I observed in FL were far better than anything I've seen in PA or NJ.  Simply though, if one is worried about exposure to a disease in a pandemic, visiting the world's largest theme park during said pandemic is not advisable.  Weekends were far more crowded than weekdays, but still far below crowd levels from the pre-Covid era.

We had a great time overall.  Mobile ordering was easy, yet I miss the human interaction in ordering meals in person.  Masks and distancing detract greatly from the customer experience that is the Disney brand.


----------



## lelew

W





Victoria3 said:


> I was also at MK yesterday and I'm always surprised by the amount of people that walk around in the rain with their paper/disposable masks on. It wasn't a light sprinkle either. Waterboarding yourself doesn't sound fun.


We were riding big thunder and as soon as the train pulled off it starting pouring rain. It was so bad I couldn't see on the ride. Our disposable mask was nasty including our backups because everything was drenched by the time we got off the ride. Thankfully the cast member told us to stay with her and she would have someone bring us new mask


----------



## ksromack

Dentam said:


> The highlight came at the end of the evening when we had a reservation for Oga's after park close. Reservation was for 7:45 but we weren't called in until about 8:00. By the time we finished at 8:45 we were not only the only ones left in the cantina but the last ones in GE! Had a CM meet us at the door as we exited and escorted us out of the land while giving us time to take a few last photos. Might be the highlight of the entire trip right there!  Attaching a few pics from the end of the night although it looks like I didn't take any with my phone after leaving Oga's.


Oh, man.  We have a "after park close" dinner ADR at 50's Prime Time, which I love btw but I really should have made it for Oga's since that is the area I find the most amazing in the dark.  I may have to stalk for a late Oga's.  Your pictures are lovely!  We did see the land in the dark when we were there for the grand opening only it wasn't late at night, it was super early "before the sun rose" early morning.  Nothing like the view of GE!


----------



## ghtx

Disney1fan2002 said:


> Question for those that have been to AK in the last few days. Kali River Rapids, have they turned up the water force yet? When WDW first re-opened, I think I read here that someone was disappointed that Kali River Rapids had barely a splash. I go on that ride specifically to cool off by getting drenched. I will be there this weekend, I hope they turned up the splash!


We rode it on Sunday; there was still hardly any water.


----------



## oceanmarina

shjrc371 said:


> Stayed from August 25 through Sept. 1 at CR.  Spent 4 days at MK, 2 at HS, 1 at AK, and 1 at EP.  Masks were tough for DW and my oldest DS in the 100+ Real-Feel heat.  The other DS, DD, and I thrive in hot weather so it was bearable just to be able to be back in WDW.  Mask compliance was 99 % and social distancing measures by Disney were superb.  Obviously, some people had different definitions of social distancing and proper mask wearing, but when dealing with the unpredictability inherent in human nature it is not unexpected.  The measures I observed in FL were far better than anything I've seen in PA or NJ.  Simply though, if one is worried about exposure to a disease in a pandemic, visiting the world's largest theme park during said pandemic is not advisable.  Weekends were far more crowded than weekdays, but still far below crowd levels from the pre-Covid era.
> 
> We had a great time overall.  Mobile ordering was easy, yet I miss the human interaction in ordering meals in person.  Masks and distancing detract greatly from the customer experience that is the Disney brand.



Thanks for the update. We had similar dates (8/27-9/1) but unfortunately we had to canceled because Florida got put on the quarantine list and I had work starting 9/3.  Your post made me feel better about how hot it was with the masks.  Real feel 100* temps must have been ROUGH with masks. My DD ave DH are really heat sensitive.  We go every August and are used to the heat when we go there but never wearing masks with heat like that. So your post made me feel better about canceling.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

emtgirl4 said:


> I totally agree with you. It's has been amazing with the immersion. Its been a great day here. We will see you at Oga’s. Our reservation is at 630!



Lol I feel like such a creep any time I look at the people around me and think, do I possibly know them from the DIS?

FWIW we’re standing at a table by the door and I have a rather ostentatious dress on.


----------



## ghtx

We just got back from a five-night stay at OKW.  Drove from Atlanta on Friday, Saturday at DHS, Sunday at AK, Monday at MK, Tuesday at resort pool and Disney Springs for dinner, Wednesday (today) drove home.  

Overall a great trip (as always)!  A lot more similar to previous trips than I thought it would be.  Disney World is basically the same as it's always been, except that everyone is wearing masks and there's no more FastPass.  

The wait times were pretty short.  Basically, almost everything was a 20-minute wait all the time.  I did not ever experience the parks being "empty;" it usually looked almost as crowded as it has in the past.  Some parts were really congested, e.g. at lunchtime in the MK in the small world/Peter Pan bottleneck.  

Saturday morning we arrived at DHS parking lot gate around 9:05 and were about 10 cars back.  They started letting in cars around 9:15; we were in a slow lane (just one attendant for two lanes), so got through and parked around 9:25, then through temp check, security, and entry quickly and straight to MMRR queue, arriving around 9:35.  The CM said it was about a 55-minute wait, which ended up being right.  The line didn't start moving until 9:45.  We were outside and three of us went for the ROTR boarding group at 10; I think my son had fastest fingers and got us BG #9!  Which ended up actually cutting it a bit close; we were called while still in the MMRR queue and were worried about missing it, but ended up with about 20 minutes to spare.  So we did MMRR (~1 hour wait, including before ride opened), ROTR (about 15 minute wait), MFSR (posted 30 but actually about 45, got stuck in a cleaning cycle), SDD (20 min), then lunch at 1:20 at Brown Derby (delicious), then Tot and RnRC (each about 20 min), then TSMM and Alien Saucers (each walk-ons), then our Oga's reservation (disappointed that we had a standing table w/ no chairs - wasn't much of a break), then some Galaxy's Edge souvenir shopping, then my daughter's Droid depot appt, and my other kids and I rode Star Tours twice, about 5 min wait each.  We left around 5, having done every ride, plus Star Tours twice, plus a nice lunch and drinks at Oga's.

Sunday morning we arrived at AK parking lot around 7:30, went straight through, and were in the FoP queue by 7:45.  Basically walked straight through the queue then waited about 5 min in the loading area.  Then Na'vi river (about 15 min wait), Safari (5 min), Kali River (walk-on - no water), Everest (25 min), Dinosaur (25 min), and Triceratops (walk-on).  Then it was 11am, and we had already done all seven rides in the park!  We shopped a bit then had an early lunch at Tiffin's.  Afterwards we decided to do one more ride on FoP, and it was just about a 25-minute wait.  By then it was hot as blazes, and I wanted to stay longer to do the animal trails but no one else did, so we left around 1 or 1:30, having done every ride plus FoP twice.  It rained most of the rest of the afternoon so I'm glad we left.

Monday morning 8:00 at the MK parking lot gate, let us in right around 8:00, ferry boat across then in the Mine Train queue by about 8:35.  It was already running; we waited 30 min.  Then Big Thunder (walk-on), Splash (20 min), Pirates (15 min), Jungle Cruise (20 min - cleaning cycle), Dole Whip break (no wait! - mobile order), Haunted Mansion (20 min - including an interminable 10 min without moving, presumably a cleaning), small world (20 min).  Then monorail to Contemporary for lunch at Contempo cafe, back to the park a couple hours later (about 3pm). Barnstormer, Dumbo (got rained on), Teacups, all walk-on, then Space Mtn twice, about 5 min wait each time.  Then the family left but I stayed on; the rain and clouds brought the temps down a lot and it wasn't raining anymore.  Did Buzz (5 min), astro orbiter (15 min), Sorcerers for about 15 minutes, Swiss treehouse, Hall of Presidents, which let out perfectly right as the "Rainy Day Cavalcade" was coming through Liberty Square. Left around 6pm on the bus.  That made about 15 rides, plus a few other attractions, and a 2-hour out-of-park lunch break, from 9-6.  

So I would call that a pretty good trip!  Wearing the face masks didn't bother me so much.  The heat was horrible, true, but I don't think the masks really made it that much worse (maybe 1% worse).  We usually park hop, but after this trip I might give that up. I liked focusing on just one park, taking a break via a sit-down air-conditioned lunch, and finishing early-ish.  We aren't much for fireworks or parades either.  I was really impressed with all of the meals we had (Brown Derby, Tiffins, Contempo, and Frontera at DS).  We had a kitchen at OKW so cooked most breakfasts and dinners.  Kind of getting nostalgic or whatever that our kids won't be kids forever! (They're now 8, 10, and 13.)

Can't wait to come back!  Maybe next summer; I'm curious about how things will look by then.


----------



## chicagoshannon

We got group 14 this morning at DHS.  I thought the crowds were incredibly heavy this morning.  We probably went in the absolute wrong order for rides though.  By about 4:30 crowds dearly started to thin out.

We had a fabulous day.  Was pleasantly surprised by the mask situation.  They seemed to have found a good balance of strict enforcement and reasonableness.  It seemed as long as you were sitting at a table you could have your mask off.  This was great because there aren't many no mask zones.

I fyi have to say it's not easy finding ice water at dhs.  There is no where in you story land to get any.  We also really miss having refillable chips like you can get at Sea World and Universal.

We can't wait to go on Ride again next week.


----------



## ghtx

edmartin said:


> More than enough coverage of mask compliance so a quick report of our experience beyond masks (we just arrived yesterday (Saturday))...
> 
> Checked in online at OKW. Worked flawlessly.  Went direct to our room and used the app to open the door. We had reserved a 1BR and were thrilled to find that we were upgraded to a 2BR. It's just me & my wife on this trip so we don't need the extra space but it's really nice to experience the larger room.  Wow, is it nice!



Jealous!  We checked into OKW on Friday, with a 1 BR reservation, and didn't get upgraded.  And there are five of us; we could have used the extra space!


----------



## lelew

ghtx said:


> We just got back from a five-night stay at OKW.  Drove from Atlanta on Friday, Saturday at DHS, Sunday at AK, Monday at MK, Tuesday at resort pool and Disney Springs for dinner, Wednesday (today) drove home.
> 
> Overall a great trip (as always)!  A lot more similar to previous trips than I thought it would be.  Disney World is basically the same as it's always been, except that everyone is wearing masks and there's no more FastPass.
> 
> The wait times were pretty short.  Basically, almost everything was a 20-minute wait all the time.  I did not ever experience the parks being "empty;" it usually looked almost as crowded as it has in the past.  Some parts were really congested, e.g. at lunchtime in the MK in the small world/Peter Pan bottleneck.
> 
> Saturday morning we arrived at DHS parking lot gate around 9:05 and were about 10 cars back.  They started letting in cars around 9:15; we were in a slow lane (just one attendant for two lanes), so got through and parked around 9:25, then through temp check, security, and entry quickly and straight to MMRR queue, arriving around 9:35.  The CM said it was about a 55-minute wait, which ended up being right.  The line didn't start moving until 9:45.  We were outside and three of us went for the ROTR boarding group at 10; I think my son had fastest fingers and got us BG #9!  Which ended up actually cutting it a bit close; we were called while still in the MMRR queue and were worried about missing it, but ended up with about 20 minutes to spare.  So we did MMRR (~1 hour wait, including before ride opened), ROTR (about 15 minute wait), MFSR (posted 30 but actually about 45, got stuck in a cleaning cycle), SDD (20 min), then lunch at 1:20 at Brown Derby (delicious), then Tot and RnRC (each about 20 min), then TSMM and Alien Saucers (each walk-ons), then our Oga's reservation (disappointed that we had a standing table w/ no chairs - wasn't much of a break), then some Galaxy's Edge souvenir shopping, then my daughter's Droid depot appt, and my other kids and I rode Star Tours twice, about 5 min wait each.  We left around 5, having done every ride, plus Star Tours twice, plus a nice lunch and drinks at Oga's.
> 
> Sunday morning we arrived at AK parking lot around 7:30, went straight through, and were in the FoP queue by 7:45.  Basically walked straight through the queue then waited about 5 min in the loading area.  Then Na'vi river (about 15 min wait), Safari (5 min), Kali River (walk-on - no water), Everest (25 min), Dinosaur (25 min), and Triceratops (walk-on).  Then it was 11am, and we had already done all seven rides in the park!  We shopped a bit then had an early lunch at Tiffin's.  Afterwards we decided to do one more ride on FoP, and it was just about a 25-minute wait.  By then it was hot as blazes, and I wanted to stay longer to do the animal trails but no one else did, so we left around 1 or 1:30, having done every ride plus FoP twice.  It rained most of the rest of the afternoon so I'm glad we left.
> 
> Monday morning 8:00 at the MK parking lot gate, let us in right around 8:00, ferry boat across then in the Mine Train queue by about 8:35.  It was already running; we waited 30 min.  Then Big Thunder (walk-on), Splash (20 min), Pirates (15 min), Jungle Cruise (20 min - cleaning cycle), Dole Whip break (no wait! - mobile order), Haunted Mansion (20 min - including an interminable 10 min without moving, presumably a cleaning), small world (20 min).  Then monorail to Contemporary for lunch at Contempo cafe, back to the park a couple hours later (about 3pm). Barnstormer, Dumbo (got rained on), Teacups, all walk-on, then Space Mtn twice, about 5 min wait each time.  Then the family left but I stayed on; the rain and clouds brought the temps down a lot and it wasn't raining anymore.  Did Buzz (5 min), astro orbiter (15 min), Sorcerers for about 15 minutes, Swiss treehouse, Hall of Presidents, which let out perfectly right as the "Rainy Day Cavalcade" was coming through Liberty Square. Left around 6pm on the bus.  That made about 15 rides, plus a few other attractions, and a 2-hour out-of-park lunch break, from 9-6.
> 
> So I would call that a pretty good trip!  Wearing the face masks didn't bother me so much.  The heat was horrible, true, but I don't think the masks really made it that much worse (maybe 1% worse).  We usually park hop, but after this trip I might give that up. I liked focusing on just one park, taking a break via a sit-down air-conditioned lunch, and finishing early-ish.  We aren't much for fireworks or parades either.  I was really impressed with all of the meals we had (Brown Derby, Tiffins, Contempo, and Frontera at DS).  We had a kitchen at OKW so cooked most breakfasts and dinners.  Kind of getting nostalgic or whatever that our kids won't be kids forever! (They're now 8, 10, and 13.)
> 
> Can't wait to come back!  Maybe next summer; I'm curious about how things will look by then.


My kids are 14 and over we been coming since they were babies. Sometimes I just want to cry when I dont see that sparkle in their eyes at Disney like when they where younger. Now I just smile at all the other little Angel's running around so happy to be here


----------



## lindsaydavis1982

DSLRuser said:


> Arrived at the park and thru security by 9:25.....got in line for Minnie and Mickey RR and were off the ride by 9:55.  Went o Rock n Rollercoaster and walked on...were done by 9:58.   Got a boarding group for star wars #23.



Do you happen to know if there were any other HS rides that open before 10am, besides MMRR and RnR?


----------



## Buzz2014

Can anyone tell me is they are selling Clorox to go wipes or any travel size wipes in the shops either in the park or any resorts. It would be nice to know if I run out while in the park I have options vs just sanitizer. A blog stated they were in AKL for 2.49 but not sure if that was one day and gone. Thanks


----------



## backfire103

Anyone gotten tested just to be safe when they get back? Going to try to go down in a few months when my work slows down and I can quarantine. Thinking about getting one of those Labcorp kits if I go.


----------



## emtgirl4

butterscotchcollins said:


> Lol I feel like such a creep any time I look at the people around me and think, do I possibly know them from the DIS?
> 
> FWIW we’re standing at a table by the door and I have a rather ostentatious dress on.



Oh shoot I'm just seeing this now. My daughter had on a white very in depth mickey and Minnie star wars dress. You might have seen her.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

lindsaydavis1982 said:


> Do you happen to know if there were any other HS rides that open before 10am, besides MMRR and RnR?



Slinky Dog Dash!



Buzz2014 said:


> Can anyone tell me is they are selling Clorox to go wipes or any travel size wipes in the shops either in the park or any resorts. It would be nice to know if I run out while in the park I have options vs just sanitizer. A blog stated they were in AKL for 2.49 but not sure if that was one day and gone. Thanks



I have not seen them at our hotel (YC) or in any of the park shops we’ve stopped at (MK Emporium, DHS the big main one) - not to say they aren’t available somewhere but if that’s a concern for you i’d recommend packing some.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

emtgirl4 said:


> Oh shoot I'm just seeing this now. My daughter had on a white very in depth mickey and Minnie star wars dress. You might have seen her.



Shoot I think I missed her but her dress sounds amazing! I hope you guys had a great time (our server Nick was awesome!!) 

If you’re planning on hitting up Epcot on Friday that’s where we’ll be


----------



## lelew

butterscotchcollins said:


> Slinky Dog Dash!
> 
> 
> 
> I have not seen them at our hotel (YC) or in any of the park shops we’ve stopped at (MK Emporium, DHS the big main one) - not to say they aren’t available somewhere but if that’s a concern for you i’d recommend packing some.


Well if you have a car the cvs across from SeaWorld had plenty of lysol spray but its double the price at over 10dollars for one can. The also have plenty of off brand wipes.


----------



## Buzz2014

butterscotchcollins said:


> Slinky Dog Dash!
> 
> 
> 
> I have not seen them at our hotel (YC) or in any of the park shops we’ve stopped at (MK Emporium, DHS the big main one) - not to say they aren’t available somewhere but if that’s a concern for you i’d recommend packing some.


Thanks For the reply , I usually do but last time left an entire Regular size  pack in a restroom.. my kiddo has special needs so there is a lot going on most of the day and often I have my backpack of misc items the most parents don’t need to carry. Figured it would be nice to have a backup.


----------



## Tinksbff

Buzz2014 said:


> Can anyone tell me is they are selling Clorox to go wipes or any travel size wipes in the shops either in the park or any resorts. It would be nice to know if I run out while in the park I have options vs just sanitizer. A blog stated they were in AKL for 2.49 but not sure if that was one day and gone. Thanks


They are selling travel size wipes and hand sanitizer at MK. I saw them in a few locations. The one I remember most is at the cash register at Plaza del Sol Caribe Bazaar (Pirates gift shop).


----------



## brockash

chicagoshannon said:


> We got group 14 this morning at DHS.  I thought the crowds were incredibly heavy this morning.  We probably went in the absolute wrong order for rides though.  By about 4:30 crowds dearly started to thin out.
> 
> We had a fabulous day.  Was pleasantly surprised by the mask situation.  They seemed to have found a good balance of strict enforcement and reasonableness.  It seemed as long as you were sitting at a table you could have your mask off.  This was great because there aren't many no mask zones.
> 
> I fyi have to say it's not easy finding ice water at dhs.  There is no where in you story land to get any.  We also really miss having refillable chips like you can get at Sea World and Universal.
> 
> We can't wait to go on Ride again next week.


We were at DHS today too znd def felt the am crowds were high - we literally had about 50 ppl waiting for a dhs bus at the Polynesian this morning- it was a bit of a mess because it seems over the LD weekend they were starting things earlier - example we got a epcot bus 1 1/2 hrs before park open on sun and on mon we were at ttc at 805/810 and it was pretty evident we were late to the party,so many ppl were at bus stop 1 1/2 prior to dhs opening today and just ak bus afyer ak bus coming with no dhs bus until a lil after 9...unfortunately by that time it was going to take 3/4 buses to get everyone.  
We ended up making it into the park around 930 and got in line for mmrr... we were sweating the time...boarded at 955 and as i was stepping off the ride i was able to get bg 3.  We did Slinky with a 35 min wait, then basically walked onto RoR.  Then did tot and rnr, both aroind 20 min waits.  Had lunch at a packed backlot Express but afyer lunch crowds REALLY thinned out.  We ended the night with a 745pm Scifi dinner and walked out of the park to waiting buses that went to wherever ypu were staying - that was really nice.  All in all we had a successful day.


----------



## cindy17

Victoria3 said:


> I was also at MK yesterday and I'm always surprised by the amount of people that walk around in the rain with their paper/disposable masks on. It wasn't a light sprinkle either. Waterboarding yourself doesn't sound fun.


Yeah but u can’t take off ur mask just because it’s raining ... correct? There’s not always gonna be a place to escape the rain


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

Buzz2014 said:


> Can anyone tell me is they are selling Clorox to go wipes or any travel size wipes in the shops either in the park or any resorts. It would be nice to know if I run out while in the park I have options vs just sanitizer. A blog stated they were in AKL for 2.49 but not sure if that was one day and gone. Thanks


For the first time since February, I saw actual CLOROX wipes being sold, travel size not the big cylinder containers.  Oddly enough it was at the little market by Yak and Yeti. We picked up 5 packets because there was no limit and we haven’t seen anything Clorox brand in months where we live.
Otherwise, there is a ton of Germ-X sanitizer available to purchase pretty much in any store on property which we just put on tissues to wipe down when we were in a crunch.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

backfire103 said:


> Anyone gotten tested just to be safe when they get back? Going to try to go down in a few months when my work slows down and I can quarantine. Thinking about getting one of those Labcorp kits if I go.



our state requires quarantine unless you can show a negative test within 72 hours. We did not get one while down in FL but both DH and I came down with slight sniffles after the trip back home and we explained that and our trip to WDW to our doctors and both doctors referred us for a test just to make sure. We took the tests about 5 days after returning home, both negative! Because we were referred by our doctors, it didn’t cost us anything.


----------



## cindy17

ghtx said:


> We just got back from a five-night stay at OKW.  Drove from Atlanta on Friday, Saturday at DHS, Sunday at AK, Monday at MK, Tuesday at resort pool and Disney Springs for dinner, Wednesday (today) drove home.
> 
> Overall a great trip (as always)!  A lot more similar to previous trips than I thought it would be.  Disney World is basically the same as it's always been, except that everyone is wearing masks and there's no more FastPass.
> 
> The wait times were pretty short.  Basically, almost everything was a 20-minute wait all the time.  I did not ever experience the parks being "empty;" it usually looked almost as crowded as it has in the past.  Some parts were really congested, e.g. at lunchtime in the MK in the small world/Peter Pan bottleneck.
> 
> Saturday morning we arrived at DHS parking lot gate around 9:05 and were about 10 cars back.  They started letting in cars around 9:15; we were in a slow lane (just one attendant for two lanes), so got through and parked around 9:25, then through temp check, security, and entry quickly and straight to MMRR queue, arriving around 9:35.  The CM said it was about a 55-minute wait, which ended up being right.  The line didn't start moving until 9:45.  We were outside and three of us went for the ROTR boarding group at 10; I think my son had fastest fingers and got us BG #9!  Which ended up actually cutting it a bit close; we were called while still in the MMRR queue and were worried about missing it, but ended up with about 20 minutes to spare.  So we did MMRR (~1 hour wait, including before ride opened), ROTR (about 15 minute wait), MFSR (posted 30 but actually about 45, got stuck in a cleaning cycle), SDD (20 min), then lunch at 1:20 at Brown Derby (delicious), then Tot and RnRC (each about 20 min), then TSMM and Alien Saucers (each walk-ons), then our Oga's reservation (disappointed that we had a standing table w/ no chairs - wasn't much of a break), then some Galaxy's Edge souvenir shopping, then my daughter's Droid depot appt, and my other kids and I rode Star Tours twice, about 5 min wait each.  We left around 5, having done every ride, plus Star Tours twice, plus a nice lunch and drinks at Oga's.
> 
> Sunday morning we arrived at AK parking lot around 7:30, went straight through, and were in the FoP queue by 7:45.  Basically walked straight through the queue then waited about 5 min in the loading area.  Then Na'vi river (about 15 min wait), Safari (5 min), Kali River (walk-on - no water), Everest (25 min), Dinosaur (25 min), and Triceratops (walk-on).  Then it was 11am, and we had already done all seven rides in the park!  We shopped a bit then had an early lunch at Tiffin's.  Afterwards we decided to do one more ride on FoP, and it was just about a 25-minute wait.  By then it was hot as blazes, and I wanted to stay longer to do the animal trails but no one else did, so we left around 1 or 1:30, having done every ride plus FoP twice.  It rained most of the rest of the afternoon so I'm glad we left.
> 
> Monday morning 8:00 at the MK parking lot gate, let us in right around 8:00, ferry boat across then in the Mine Train queue by about 8:35.  It was already running; we waited 30 min.  Then Big Thunder (walk-on), Splash (20 min), Pirates (15 min), Jungle Cruise (20 min - cleaning cycle), Dole Whip break (no wait! - mobile order), Haunted Mansion (20 min - including an interminable 10 min without moving, presumably a cleaning), small world (20 min).  Then monorail to Contemporary for lunch at Contempo cafe, back to the park a couple hours later (about 3pm). Barnstormer, Dumbo (got rained on), Teacups, all walk-on, then Space Mtn twice, about 5 min wait each time.  Then the family left but I stayed on; the rain and clouds brought the temps down a lot and it wasn't raining anymore.  Did Buzz (5 min), astro orbiter (15 min), Sorcerers for about 15 minutes, Swiss treehouse, Hall of Presidents, which let out perfectly right as the "Rainy Day Cavalcade" was coming through Liberty Square. Left around 6pm on the bus.  That made about 15 rides, plus a few other attractions, and a 2-hour out-of-park lunch break, from 9-6.
> 
> So I would call that a pretty good trip!  Wearing the face masks didn't bother me so much.  The heat was horrible, true, but I don't think the masks really made it that much worse (maybe 1% worse).  We usually park hop, but after this trip I might give that up. I liked focusing on just one park, taking a break via a sit-down air-conditioned lunch, and finishing early-ish.  We aren't much for fireworks or parades either.  I was really impressed with all of the meals we had (Brown Derby, Tiffins, Contempo, and Frontera at DS).  We had a kitchen at OKW so cooked most breakfasts and dinners.  Kind of getting nostalgic or whatever that our kids won't be kids forever! (They're now 8, 10, and 13.)
> 
> Can't wait to come back!  Maybe next summer; I'm curious about how things will look by then.


Great review! But it looks like u didn’t use busses from OKW. Is there a reason for that? We’re getting there tomorrow for 5 nights and even though we’ll hv a car, was hoping to use the busses thx!


----------



## Dentam

Another great day today, this time in MK.  Did 5 attractions before our 11:40 lunch at Skipper Canteen, a reservation we grabbed last minute while in line for Jungle Cruise since we didn't eat breakfast before leaving the hotel this morning.  We were able to do everything we wanted today with very minimal waits.  The craziest was HM listed at a 50 minute wait that turned out to be just a long walk on - line wrapped down along the water but never stopped moving.  Storms moved in and the rain stuck around most of the evening.  We left MK around 5:30 and headed to the Grand Floridian via the monorail.  Poked around a bit there and agree that the lobby feels like the one in ToT especially with the music loop going.  Barely any people inside, no flower arrangements in the vases, no pianist, etc.

Went to Disney Springs this evening and were very pleasantly surprised to see excellent mask compliance up until we were leaving when a girl and her boyfriend walked by with masks around their chins.  She proceeded to sneeze not once, not twice, but three times then put her mask back on.  Lovely.  We weren't very close to her and neither was anyone else luckily.  Had an excellent dinner at The Polite Pig prior to that and went into World of Disney and the Co-Op.  Definitely a good number of people around that area tonight with the parks closing early but overall we felt safe.

Hoping the weather will hold tomorrow for our skyliner resort tour after AK closes... if not we will still check out the Riviera via bus from AK!


----------



## Dentam

backfire103 said:


> Anyone gotten tested just to be safe when they get back? Going to try to go down in a few months when my work slows down and I can quarantine. Thinking about getting one of those Labcorp kits if I go.



I have to get tested when I return home and receive a negative result before I can return to work.  I will post my experience with that next week.  Feeling great though and hoping to stay that way.  This trip has been a much easier pace which has kept me from feeling as tired and run down as I normally do at the tail end of a Disney trip.


----------



## backfire103

GusGusTheMouse said:


> our state requires quarantine unless you can show a negative test within 72 hours. We did not get one while down in FL but both DH and I came down with slight sniffles after the trip back home and we explained that and our trip to WDW to our doctors and both doctors referred us for a test just to make sure. We took the tests



sadly my state doesn’t let you do that but I get a few weeks off of work for Christmas. May just take my trip before that so I can quarantine when I get home. The test would just be for personal knowledge to make myself feel better hah.Thanks for your input!


----------



## mrd7896

As everyone has said, universal is fabulous on weekdays. Yesterday we got to the park around 7:45 and were let in immediately. We walked on to:
-gringotts
-men in black
-transformers 
-rip ride rock it 
All before 9:45. That also included us spending basically the entire extra hour in diagon alley shopping, doing spells and getting butter beer. 

We skipped despicable me unfortunately because the wait was posted 45. We probably could’ve done it as the first attraction of the day but we have big Harry Potter fans in our party and some that hadn’t ridden gringotts so that was our priority.

The longest wait of the day was the hogwarts express. At 9:55 it was already posted 45. Actually was about a half hour since every party gets their own car. 

Got over to IoA and proceeded to do:
-hagrids walk on (posted 35)
-forbidden journey walk on (posted 10)
-kong walk on (posted 20)
-dudleys twice in a row with a 5 minute wait
-Popeyes twice in a row with a 5 minute wait
-Spider-Man walk on (posted 10)
-hulk walk on (posted 15)
-back to hagrids before the rain pulled in. It took about 10 minutes to walk the queue only really stopping once or twice. We got on just as they were making an announcement the ride may be delayed for weather. We went in the rain and it was fun! Albeit a bit painful at times lol
-went to voodoo doughnuts and back to our hotel by 4:30.

Super successful day and I’m so happy we got to experience the short crowds since our Saturday was horrible. 

I would say mask compliance was good but we were never in queue with anyone..the times we did have to stop in line near somewhere there were a few nose peekers but as always we kept our distance. And i do like how universal hand sanitizes EVERYONE before getting on an attraction. 

Oh that all also included an hour lunch at Mythos. It’s one of our favorites and we go every year. They sat our party of 8 twenty minutes before our reservation which was amazing and in the large room overlooking the lake and hulk. The meal was yummy as always and our server was fantastic!

Today is our last day at DHS!


----------



## chicagoshannon

brockash said:


> We were at DHS today too znd def felt the am crowds were high - we literally had about 50 ppl waiting for a dhs bus at the Polynesian this morning- it was a bit of a mess because it seems over the LD weekend they were starting things earlier - example we got a epcot bus 1 1/2 hrs before park open on sun and on mon we were at ttc at 805/810 and it was pretty evident we were late to the party,so many ppl were at bus stop 1 1/2 prior to dhs opening today and just ak bus afyer ak bus coming with no dhs bus until a lil after 9...unfortunately by that time it was going to take 3/4 buses to get everyone.
> We ended up making it into the park around 930 and got in line for mmrr... we were sweating the time...boarded at 955 and as i was stepping off the ride i was able to get bg 3.  We did Slinky with a 35 min wait, then basically walked onto RoR.  Then did tot and rnr, both aroind 20 min waits.  Had lunch at a packed backlot Express but afyer lunch crowds REALLY thinned out.  We ended the night with a 745pm Scifi dinner and walked out of the park to waiting buses that went to wherever ypu were staying - that was really nice.  All in all we had a successful day.


Nice.  We drove in and they didn't open the parking booths until 9:15.  I was definitely anxious.  We didn't go on any rides until after getting our boarding group.  I was just too nervous about it.  We will ride something rigid away next time.  Really hoping next week is quiet.


we are heading to Aquatica today.  My kids are excited for a mask free day today.


----------



## momandmousefan

Buzz2014 said:


> Can anyone tell me is they are selling Clorox to go wipes or any travel size wipes in the shops either in the park or any resorts. It would be nice to know if I run out while in the park I have options vs just sanitizer. A blog stated they were in AKL for 2.49 but not sure if that was one day and gone. Thanks


We saw some at the Kidani gift shop about a week ago on the counter.


----------



## dachsie

yulilin3 said:


> Just came back home from MK
> Leisurely walked t FL by 10 gad done IASW, Pooh, Tea Cups and Buzz, could've done PP. 7DMT was at 30 min when I walked past. Dumbo and Barnstormer were walk ons as well


did you get the corn dog nuggets?


----------



## yulilin3

dachsie said:


> did you get the corn dog nuggets?


It's not open everyday


----------



## IluvMGM

Buzz2014 said:


> Can anyone tell me is they are selling Clorox to go wipes or any travel size wipes in the shops either in the park or any resorts. It would be nice to know if I run out while in the park I have options vs just sanitizer. A blog stated they were in AKL for 2.49 but not sure if that was one day and gone. Thanks


 The only place I noticed them was in AK at the Rainforest Cafe gift shop.


----------



## MinnieMSue

Just finished our trip 9/5-10 staying at Pop. It was a great trip. Not many issues with mask noncompliance other than a few families here and there. The notable exception was a family on safari 2 rows in front of us (they boarded every other row both times we rode). They were eating the whole ride with masks off. The driver told them to pull them up a couple of times but apparently gave up. I thought eating in that ride should be a no-no to begin with but I don’t know. We did Epcot on Sat and started in world showcase since we took the skyliner over (which was a pain from pop coming and going - insanely long lines at the transfer station and leaving Epcot). By the time we were done in world showcase around 5 it was significantly more crowded but we really didn’t have to wait in lines for festival food and frozen was 20 min or so when posted 50). Lines really short in future world except test track because we hit a cleaning cycle. MK on Sunday was definitely crowded but ride wait times were good. We didn’t get to do 7D because it stormed every time we got in line. We also skipped dumbo and Astro orbiter. We arrived at hall of presidents 2 times 1 min late so we didn’t get to do that either. All lines were shorter than posted except carousel and space. Space was prob the worst line of the trip. We literally wound our way all through Tomorrowland in brutal sun. We hit a cleaning cycle which nearly melted is from heat. Oddly once we got inside there was no line down the long ramp at all until we hit the queues near the boarding area. One side was only for what I assume is DAS so the entire crowd was only being out on the other side. We had a 6:45 BOG dinner and visualized ourselves walking out of an empty MK. That happened but it was in pouring rain lol. Tuesday we did studios and it was it’s typical busy self - we did runaway railway which we loved pre park open. We were lucky they Merged us at the Caribbean beach skyway station instead of making us pop peasants go behind the CBR guests. Anyway we were well into the slinky line when we got boarding group 26.  Because of a rise downtime our boarding group ended up at the same time as our sci fi lunch to the minute. We were told to eat lunch then return. We were late for our time (about an hour and 10 min) but they didn’t say anything so I guess there is some leeway. I noticed it was closed near the end of the day and lots of people sitting near there hoping it would come up. Felt bad for them. All other lines weee shorter than posted that day. Last we did AK yesterday with the new shortened hours. Lines were longer than anticipated but shorter than usual times. We did every single thing in the park at least once except the dinosaur spinner ride. FOP was our longest wait. We had to wait 40-44 min the first time and 25 around 4:15 which made us late to yak and yetti 4:45 reservation. We ran to it and made it before 5 and they said it was fine as long as we made it before close. The surprise was we had $50 on our Landry card so we are free. Luckily I remembered to tip the waitress - I was so tired I actually almost forgot. Also the biggest thing was the happy cast members. They were so extra nice and friendly and thanking us for coming a lot. Never ran into a single one who wasn’t truly over the top friendly and nice. They made the trip amazing. I felt safe the whole time because even with people removing masks we really were almost never close to anyone more than briefly.


----------



## only hope

The safari driver should stop the vehicle until all masks are on properly. I dunno if that’s allowed but it should be. If the people continue to pull them down security should meet them at the exit and escort them out.


----------



## monkyby87

Forgive my ignorance, as I haven't been following the topics lately.  I am going to MK at the end of September here.  Is there any sort of general tip for making the most?  Are there any specifics I need to be aware of in terms of the rides?  I head heard they were letting people in up to 45 minutes before opening...


----------



## ghtx

cindy17 said:


> Great review! But it looks like u didn’t use busses from OKW. Is there a reason for that? We’re getting there tomorrow for 5 nights and even though we’ll hv a car, was hoping to use the busses thx!


We mostly used our own car, since we had it with us, instead of the busses.  Both because of worries about COVID and because it's easier to get around we find with our own car.  I only used the bus once, on the way back from MK since the rest of my family left in the car a few hours before I did.  I think the car will get you there faster, especially if you are aiming for rope drop.


----------



## alliecat726

emtgirl4 said:


> I totally agree with you. It's has been amazing with the immersion. Its been a great day here. We will see you at Oga’s. Our reservation is at 630!


I am curious... I keep seeing people's posts about their dinner ADRs @ Oga's--don't they just have drinks and snack mix and mostly SRO? Is there a hidden food menu/sit-down meal area somewhere I don't know about? I'd sure love to experience an actual dinner there if they have something to offer!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

alliecat726 said:


> I am curious... I keep seeing people's posts about their dinner ADRs @ Oga's--don't they just have drinks and snack mix and mostly SRO? Is there a hidden food menu/sit-down meal area somewhere I don't know about? I'd sure love to experience an actual dinner there if they have something to offer!


ADRs for Oga's at dinner _time _are still labeled as a "dinner" reservation in the system even though they only have drinks and a few snack items.

Agree, it would be great if they offered something with a little more substance.  Even if it was just a Ronto Wrap or one or two of the entrees from DB7.

But that would probably get in the way of consistently turning over tables every 45 minutes.


----------



## Berger1

I just got back on Monday 9/7.  We were at BCV 8/30 - 9/2, BWV 9/2 - 9/4 and AK Jambo 9/4 - 9/6.  

The positives - 

The crowds were very light at all 3 resorts and the pools were very enjoyable.  The parks were great on the week days and you were pretty much able to walk on everything FOP 10mins, got ROR both times we went to HS, Mickey RARW was the longest all week with an actual wait time of about 40 min.  You could tell the parks were significantly busier on the weekends when you don't have any FP's.  We drove so used our car for most of our transportation.  We did take the bus to MK and back from BCV one day.  The buses were also very empty and easy to use if you didn't mind waiting for the bus.  

The negatives - 

It was sad not having the parks open later to go in the evening and not being able to park hop to Epcot from BCV and BWV.  The food was also challenging.  BC market place was closed and they didn't offer drink refills at the temporary location in the solarium.  AK Jambo had none of their regular restaurants open.  They did open of the pool bar for labor day weekend because they were fully booked, but said they would close it again after labor day.  The food options were also very limited at the places that were open.  The pool at Kidani was crazy packed and actually reached capacity on Saturday and Sunday that weekend so we didn't spend much time there even though they had the few food options.  

The heat over labor day weekend was crazy too so we spent the majority of those days at the pool to be mask free.  99 degrees with a feels like 110 actually feels pretty good when you take your mask off after walking around the parks in that heat. 


We did have another trip scheduled in October before our season passes expire, but have decided to cancel it.  It was definitely worth going once during this time for us to experience the lower crowds, but unless they open up park hours later and allow park hopping, it wasn't worth paying for the rooms again as things stand now.


----------



## ghtx

Grumpy by Birth said:


> ADRs for Oga's at dinner _time _are still labeled as a "dinner" reservation in the system even though they only have drinks and a few snack items.
> 
> Agree, it would be great if they offered something with a little more substance.  Even if it was just a Ronto Wrap or one or two of the entrees from DB7.
> 
> But that would probably get in the way of consistently turning over tables every 45 minutes.


And also as I found out the hard way, having a reservation doesn't even guarantee you a seat! They have several standing-room-only tables that you might get assigned to if you get unlucky.


----------



## yulilin3

ghtx said:


> And also as I found out the hard way, having a reservation doesn't even guarantee you a seat! They have several standing-room-only tables that you might get assigned to if you get unlucky.


This has always been the case.  There's always been more standing tables an and counter space than tables


----------



## bucation

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Finally some action on the resort TV.
> 
> View attachment 508579


miss this! it really is the little things we miss the most like the toiletries, the resort TV, STACY!!!!


----------



## Cliff Secord

Berger1 said:


> I just got back on Monday 9/7.  We were at BCV 8/30 - 9/2, BWV 9/2 - 9/4 and AK Jambo 9/4 - 9/6.
> 
> We drove so used our car for most of our transportation.



Good stuff, thanks. We are going in 10 days, and will be driving to the parks, too. 

How was it driving to HS to make it in before 10? What time did you arrive? Any issues or anxiety?


----------



## ars0525

Went to AK on Saturday (9-5). AP who drives over. This was my last park to visit since re-opening having been to the other 3 already.

They have definitely streamlined the whole temperature check, security, getting you in the park entrance part every time I visit.

Left my car in the parking lot at 7:30am (park opened at 8am). Went to FOP after getting inside. It was steady continuous walking the whole way. No crowds or running. Went thru the "official" stand by entrance & it was maybe 10 minutes til I was on the ride (before 8am). Just walking the whole way looking at things until we got in the laboratory room & then it was a little stop & go. Next was the Safari which was pretty much a walk on still. I meandered thru exhibits looking at animals & slowly made my way to EE. That said 20 minute wait, but it was way less than that. Meandered around more, took some pics, shopped, watched characters go by in the River & got a Dole whip in Africa so I sat down to eat & charge my phone for 20 minutes. Rode the Safari again. Line was like 15 minutes but it was close to 11am & getting warm so less animals to see. Started heading to the front of the park, stopped at Guest Relations for an issue & was back at my car by noon. Day complete in 4.5 hours.

I know all the parks had no availability that day so wasn't sure what to expect. As I pulled up to the AK parking lot the electric sign was flashing that no park reservations were available. And the parking person asked if I had a park reservation (I don't recall the other times anyone asking). Crowd wise I noticed it filling up later (park opened at 8am) like 10:30/11ish but in that park it seems pretty spread out.

ETA: I did notice when I rode Safari early & wasn't any line they sat us with empty rows between the parties on the truck. When I rode 2 hours later they were no longer leaving the empty row between groups. I was seated in the last row which was nice cause then it was open air behind me. I only rode EE once & they had empty rows between parties. And on FOP I was the end seat & an empty spot between me & the other group.


----------



## yulilin3

Cliff Secord said:


> Good stuff, thanks. We are going in 10 days, and will be driving to the parks, too.
> 
> How was it driving to HS to make it in before 10? What time did you arrive? Any issues or anxiety?


Parking opens at 9am, don't arrive earlier cause you'll have to circle around


----------



## Berger1

yulilin3 said:


> Parking opens at 9am, don't arrive earlier cause you'll have to circle around





Cliff Secord said:


> Good stuff, thanks. We are going in 10 days, and will be driving to the parks, too.
> 
> How was it driving to HS to make it in before 10? What time did you arrive? Any issues or anxiety?



We got to the Parking lot at about 9:30 both days, drove once and walked from BWV once.  We were already through security and in the park by about 9:35. That process was great and didn't give us any anxiety.  We didn't try the skyliner because we wanted to keep the transportation in our hands.  

The tricky part was once you were in the park trying to pick what to do so you'd be able to make your ROR reservation at 10.  They were pretty much running all the rides by 9:35 or 9:40 so it was extremely tempting to get started on some rides while the lines were short.  They were warning people that there could be internet issues if you were inside M&M RARW that could cause reservation challenges.  Timing worked out the first day where I was grabbing my reservation while on Slinky Dog the first day.  We literally were getting on the ride at 9:58.


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## yulilin3

So just a heads up cause it's the first time I've seen this enforced 
Im eating at Rosie's at dhs, it's pretty empty,  anyways there are some people sitting but not eating and the cm went table to table telling them to put masks on unless they're eating. 
First time ive seen this enforced im such an empty,  open space.  So remember just because it looks empty and technically you can take the mask off you have to be actively eating


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## Shacka1

Berger1 said:


> I just got back on Monday 9/7.  We were at BCV 8/30 - 9/2, BWV 9/2 - 9/4 and AK Jambo 9/4 - 9/6.
> 
> The positives -
> 
> The crowds were very light at all 3 resorts and the pools were very enjoyable.  The parks were great on the week days and you were pretty much able to walk on everything FOP 10mins, got ROR both times we went to HS, Mickey RARW was the longest all week with an actual wait time of about 40 min.  You could tell the parks were significantly busier on the weekends when you don't have any FP's.  We drove so used our car for most of our transportation.  We did take the bus to MK and back from BCV one day.  The buses were also very empty and easy to use if you didn't mind waiting for the bus.
> 
> The negatives -
> 
> It was sad not having the parks open later to go in the evening and not being able to park hop to Epcot from BCV and BWV.  The food was also challenging.  BC market place was closed and they didn't offer drink refills at the temporary location in the solarium.  AK Jambo had none of their regular restaurants open.  They did open of the pool bar for labor day weekend because they were fully booked, but said they would close it again after labor day.  The food options were also very limited at the places that were open.  The pool at Kidani was crazy packed and actually reached capacity on Saturday and Sunday that weekend so we didn't spend much time there even though they had the few food options.
> 
> The heat over labor day weekend was crazy too so we spent the majority of those days at the pool to be mask free.  99 degrees with a feels like 110 actually feels pretty good when you take your mask off after walking around the parks in that heat.
> 
> 
> We did have another trip scheduled in October before our season passes expire, but have decided to cancel it.  It was definitely worth going once during this time for us to experience the lower crowds, but unless they open up park hours later and allow park hopping, it wasn't worth paying for the rooms again as things stand now.


We are staying at Kidani for NYE week and I'm so nervous about that small pool being packed.  Are you allowed to have your mask off if your laying on a chair at the pool? Or do you have to be in it?


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## soniam

ghtx said:


> And also as I found out the hard way, having a reservation doesn't even guarantee you a seat! They have several standing-room-only tables that you might get assigned to if you get unlucky.


Heck you weren’t even guaranteed a table last summer at Disneyland. I saw people stacked 2 deep at the bar. Wouldn’t happen anytime soon now though.


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## Tinksbff

What time (EST) in the middle of the night/morning can you start booking an adr that is 60 days away?  I need an Oga’s reservation to surprise DD so I’m willing to wake up extra early (and then go right back to sleep).


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## karma459

Tinksbff said:


> What time (EST) in the middle of the night/morning can you start booking an adr that is 60 days away?  I need an Oga’s reservation to surprise DD so I’m willing to wake up extra early (and then go right back to sleep).



6am EST online/7am EST via phone
check out this thread:  https://www.disboards.com/threads/what-time-can-i-start-booking-adrs-online.3776121/


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## chicagoshannon

yulilin3 said:


> So just a heads up cause it's the first time I've seen this enforced
> Im eating at Rosie's at dhs, it's pretty empty,  anyways there are some people sitting but not eating and the cm went table to table telling them to put masks on unless they're eating.
> First time ive seen this enforced im such an empty,  open space.  So remember just because it looks empty and technically you can take the mask off you have to be actively eating


Wow.  This wasn't an issue yesterday.  Maybe too many people doing it now.


----------



## summerw

yulilin3 said:


> So just a heads up cause it's the first time I've seen this enforced
> Im eating at Rosie's at dhs, it's pretty empty,  anyways there are some people sitting but not eating and the cm went table to table telling them to put masks on unless they're eating.
> First time ive seen this enforced im such an empty,  open space.  So remember just because it looks empty and technically you can take the mask off you have to be actively eating



As in you need to be actively taking a bite or just having food in front of you would be enough?


----------



## sweetyk83

Has anyone that is here now seen the Together Again tee anywhere in the parks? 
I would love to get one but I think they may be sold out. Haven’t seen them at HS,EP, or MK yet.


----------



## yulilin3

chicagoshannon said:


> Wow.  This wasn't an issue yesterday.  Maybe too many people doing it now.





summerw said:


> As in you need to be actively taking a bite or just having food in front of you would be enough?


It might have been an overzealous CM. I noticed him going from table to table looking if there was food, the ones he told to put masks on did not have food, some were on their phones, I'm assuming maybe mobile ordering? I have been to plenty QS where people finish eating and then stay talking or on their phones, this is the first time I saw someone actively checking table to table
In any case, just don't want that behaviour too be a surprise if it does happen to anyone, we are all learning here, even the CM.


----------



## pepperandchips

yulilin3 said:


> It might have been an overzealous CM. I noticed him going from table to table looking if there was food, the ones he told to put masks on did not have food, some were on their phones, I'm assuming maybe mobile ordering? I have been to plenty QS where people finish eating and then stay talking or on their phones, this is the first time I saw someone actively checking table to table
> In any case, just don't want that behaviour too be a surprise if it does happen to anyone, we are all learning here, even the CM.


Might have been an overzealous CM. We had one last month tell us that we needed to have masks on in the pool area unless we were physically swimming. I was also taking a swig of my drink when she told me to put on a mask, which I know is not the correct protocol. Have not seen any other reports of that - some CMs probably just being extra vigilant. Though I don’t disagree that it sounds like the people with no food/drinks in the eating area were taking advantage and shouldn’t have been doing that.


----------



## yulilin3

pepperandchips said:


> Might have been an overzealous CM. We had one last month tell us that we needed to have masks on in the pool area unless we were physically swimming. I was also taking a swig of my drink when she told me to put on a mask, which I know is not the correct protocol. Have not seen any other reports of that - some CMs probably just being extra vigilant. Though I don’t disagree that it sounds like the people with no food/drinks in the eating area were taking advantage and shouldn’t have been doing that.


it's a fine line the CM are walking right now and I always give them the benefit of the doubt. For sure if you are not going to eat you shouldn't use the tables and chairs but what struck me is that it was so empty and sometimes you just need a break.


----------



## crazymomof4

pepperandchips said:


> Might have been an overzealous CM. We had one last month tell us that we needed to have masks on in the pool area unless we were physically swimming. I was also taking a swig of my drink when she told me to put on a mask, which I know is not the correct protocol. Have not seen any other reports of that - some CMs probably just being extra vigilant. Though I don’t disagree that it sounds like the people with no food/drinks in the eating area were taking advantage and shouldn’t have been doing that.


Just so we have the protocol straight heading into our stay --  Disney allows guests to be maskless in the pool area (deck) as well as while in the water?


----------



## brockash

summerw said:


> As in you need to be actively taking a bite or just having food in front of you would be enough?


Having food in front of you would certainly be enough...the only exception would be a power hungry very literal CM, in which case I wouldn't worry about it and would ask for a manager if nees be.  No one should be expected to put a mask on in between bites lol.


----------



## brockash

crazymomof4 said:


> Just so we have the protocol straight heading into our stay --  Disney allows guests to be maskless in the pool area (deck) as well as while in the water?


Correct...inside the gates no mask needed unless you're ordering from the bar...and that seems only sometimes.


----------



## pepperandchips

crazymomof4 said:


> Just so we have the protocol straight heading into our stay --  Disney allows guests to be maskless in the pool area (deck) as well as while in the water?


That has been my experience every time I was in a pool area with this one exception. You are definitely allowed to remove your face covering to drink while stationary and distanced, which is the protocol I was referencing and what I was doing when she told me I needed to put on a mask. It was just one CM that I have ever seen say anything to guests inside a pool enclosure. At the same resort multiple cms walked through and never gave sunbathing maskless guests a second look.


----------



## lelew

crazymomof4 said:


> Just so we have the protocol straight heading into our stay --  Disney allows guests to be maskless in the pool area (deck) as well as while in the water?


My take is if your leaving the pool deck you need to have on your mask ( not in the pool or inside the gate).I have stayed at pop century this week and outside the pool deck everyone is in a mask unless eating at the outdoor tables. Their have been times when people including myself leave the table without a mask and  If the cast member see you they will remind you. Last week we stayed at Old Keywest and the rules where just as strict. However we stayed off property Labor Day weekend at SeaWorld Hilton Grand and they had signs posted mask need to be worn but their was no enforcement at all. For example, They have employees driving golf carts to transport guest around the resort and their would be different families on the cart getting a ride and No One had mask except the employee who was driving the cart.


----------



## chicagoshannon

yulilin3 said:


> it's a fine line the CM are walking right now and I always give them the benefit of the doubt. For sure if you are not going to eat you shouldn't use the tables and chairs but what struck me is that it was so empty and sometimes you just need a break.


They also tend to close the mask free areas early.  We tried to get in the launch bay zone an hour before park close so we could snack out of the rain.  It was already closed.  So if you need a break the only option is a random bench or table.


----------



## WEDWDW

chicagoshannon said:


> They also tend to close the mask free areas early.  We tried to get in the launch bay zone an hour before park close so we could snack out of the rain.  It was already closed.  So if you need a break the only option is a random bench or table.


And Launch Bay didn't open until 11:00 AM the day we went to it-and we were so ready for some AC!lol


----------



## Victoria3

chicagoshannon said:


> They also tend to close the mask free areas early.  We tried to get in the launch bay zone an hour before park close so we could snack out of the rain.  It was already closed.  So if you need a break the only option is a random bench or table.



I noticed this in the Disney parks. Something to be aware of if you need to use a mask free area. They may close early.


----------



## yulilin3

Victoria3 said:


> I noticed this in the Disney parks. Something to be aware of if you need to use a mask free area. They may close early.


I reported this first day of operations,  they close an hour before park closing
Didn't know they didn't open with park opening


----------



## emmabelle

ghtx said:


> And also as I found out the hard way, having a reservation doesn't even guarantee you a seat! They have several standing-room-only tables that you might get assigned to if you get unlucky.




we were that unlucky couple.  I didn’t know that could be the case and it made it feel awkward. 




other than that we did have a good afternoon at HS on Wednesday though.  We had BG 48 so we headed over from the Riviera at 1:30 by the Skyliner.  Got there before 2pm and we’re called around 2:30 for our BG.  We went to Smugglers afterwards and that’s when ran into the most selfish family of seven in front of us in the queue.  They proceeded to enjoy their entire lunch while walking the queue.  I’m talking sandwiches, chips, crackers, granola bars, cookies, candy.  I was like just how much food do they have in that backpack????  We stayed two lengths from them but still why do you think this is ok?  Anyways after that we rode AS, SD, TSSM, TT, And RNRC and ate at Rosie’s all within 2 hours.  So productive afternoon!


----------



## wilkydelts

I have no problem with people eating in line. In many cases with the limited access to tables now due to capacity limits there are few options.


----------



## emmabelle

wilkydelts said:


> I have no problem with people eating in line. In many cases with the limited access to tables now due to capacity limits there are few options.



well you are entitled to that opinion but if Disney says if I have to wear a mask while moving then everyone should.  What if everyone in the line had their masks down eating, what would be the point of wearing one in the first place?  There are plenty of places to sit and eat your food.  I was just there.


----------



## Berger1

Shacka1 said:


> We are staying at Kidani for NYE week and I'm so nervous about that small pool being packed.  Are you allowed to have your mask off if your laying on a chair at the pool? Or do you have to be in it?



If you are inside the pool deck you can have your mask off.  When you leave the gated area (going to the pool bar or restroom) you have to put it on.  As long as you're inside the gated area you're good.  

When the Kidani pool was really crowded we went over to the Jambo pool.  It's soo much bigger and more spread out without the regular resort being open.  The only downside of Jambo's pool is if you have kids in the 5-10 range that want a bigger slide and splash area.  If it's just the adults or kids who don't need a big slide / splash area then Jambo pool was great.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

crazymomof4 said:


> Just so we have the protocol straight heading into our stay --  Disney allows guests to be maskless in the pool area (deck) as well as while in the water?



we were told no mask while seated and in the pool or moving to/from the pool. If you are going to the pool bar or the bathroom then mask is needed. I’ve seen people mention the pool bar but I saw a lot of CMs stop people from heading to the bathroom without a mask which makes sense since you are heading indoors to a more confined space.


----------



## swelch1976

Hi everybody - I've searched this thread for the answer, but answers seem to differ. When is Epcot opening the parking lots? When is the park itself opening? And when do the rides start operating? Thanks and sorry if this has been answered clearly somewhere else!


----------



## yulilin3

Please stay on topic
This thread is not to discuss covid or cdc guidelines.  Gor anyone visiting the parks you have to abide by Disney regulations,  no exceptions


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## wilkydelts

Sorry @yulilin3, was not trying to get off topic.  My point was missed above and was trying to indicate those eating in line are not breaking Disney regulations.

"You may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking, but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing."


----------



## Dentam

Stuck in line with PP going down. Woman in front of us with mask as chin strap. No CM around so we're going to leave the line. Just be aware that there are a good number of ppl who do this while stuck in lines indoors with no CM's around. We don't feel comfortable confronting a fellow guest about it.

ETA: she finally put it back on so we're staying in line.


----------



## AmishGuy91

Dentam said:


> Stuck in line with PP going down. Woman in front of us with mask as chin strap. No CM around so we're going to leave the line. Just be aware that there are a good number of ppl who do this while stuck in lines indoors with no CM's around. We don't feel comfortable confronting a fellow guest about it.



I wonder if you just started coughing if they would help remind them to put their mask on


----------



## FFMickey

We also had a run in with an overzealous CM. We were sharing a blue milk at SWGE and we had our masks off because we were both actively drinking, sitting by the droids. The CM told us we had to put the masks back on between sips, but we we’re adequately social distanced and we were both taking sips. I wasn’t going to dirty up my masks between sips. You can call me a rebel, but we were about 15 feet from the closest living person. 

Also, I found out the relaxation areas open 1 hour after park opening and closes 1 hour before park closing.


----------



## IluvMGM

We are back from an 11 day trip at Pop Century. We had some crowded days with the holiday and some slower days. I think the crowded days wouldn't have seemed so bad had we had fastpasses and if shows were open to spread out the crowd. It was super hot most of the time. We loved the cavalcades and hope they stay. We didn't miss parades since we don't usually watch those. We probably would have done fireworks if they had them, but it was not a huge deal for us. I was most worried about transportation from what I read here, but I thought it was pretty good. We were always one of the first in line for the buses or skyliner, and were one of the first inside the parks (beating the cars, so glad we didn't Uber). We felt like getting in early was definitely an advantage everywhere, especially DHS, where we could get right on Minnie & Mickey with plenty of time to spare to get a boarding group. I was stressed about that before the trip, but ended up getting group 19 our 1st and 2nd times there and somehow managed to get group 1 on the last day. I also noticed it looked like buses came one right after the other, so I was pleasantly surprised with that. Sometimes they did board more people than they should have. Which brings me to the mask compliance and social distancing, which we thought was not very good. Whether in line for a ride, bus, etc.. you could always look around and see people with masks off or down, eating wherever they wanted, even while walking around. Cast members would usually ignore them, but when they did say something about the masks, the people where rude about it and often needed to be told more than once. A family in the log behind on Splash Mountain all had their masks off while riding and they still got their picture, not sure how that worked. I don't really understand it, it's not that hard and you know it's what you have to do to be at Disney and be safe. There wasn't social distancing at all when leaving rides and when walking through the park. Magical Express going to the airport was also odd, there were no assigned seats and no social distancing. The driver then announced he had 3 too many people on the bus and need 3 people to get off. I think there was still magic, although I did miss a lot of the smells of Disney.


----------



## KrazeeK120

wilkydelts said:


> Sorry @yulilin3, was not trying to get off topic.  My point was missed above and was trying to indicate those eating in line are not breaking Disney regulations.
> 
> "You may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking, but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing."


Should be stationary. You’re not stationary if you’re in a ride line.


----------



## mrd7896

Well off to the airport! 
Successful trip and sad to be going home. 

Yesterday was DHS and this is how our day went. 
-left Pop around 9:05 to drive our rental car. Met with a huge line of cars at the entrance and were parking by 9:20.
-by 9:35 we were in the park and it was CROWDED. 98% of the crowds went straight to MMRR and SDD, so we headed down to ToT and RnR. We noticed that both weren’t letting people into the official queues but some were lining up outside. Once we saw the lines opening we went straight to ToT. We got inside and heard the CM say it’s a dead zone once you get past the preshow room and that if you want a BG don’t keep going. But it was only 9:48 and there was NO ONE in the line. We got off the ride by 9:55 and scoped out a spot for a BG. 
-got BG 5 and went right to RnR where it was a walk on
-when we got off RnR our boarding group was boarding so we headed over. By 10:15 we had ridden two rides and already were going to RotR-it was great!
-right as we were checking in for our BG we noticed my step moms band wasn’t on her wrist. Thankfully a CM (who was definitely a higher up) let us go through without needing to scan her band. 
-got off Rise by about 11. 
-headed over to TSMM. 25 minute posted only about 10 minutes
-virtually walked onto Star Tours
-lunch at Sci fi, didn’t get one of the legit cars which was super disappointing but still love that place
-after lunch we headed back over to TSM which was walk on
-MFSR was a posted 25 and was just about that. 
-decided that MMRR probably wouldn’t drop below 60 so we took a chance and the line ended up being about 40. Super cute ride! 
-went to lost and found and miraculously retrieved the missing magic band
-walked onto ToT
-walked onto MFSR
-Ogas reservation for 6 pm
-walked around the shops for about 20 minutes then checked into our 50s reservation
-Were back in our room by 830 just in time to watch the kickoff of football season!

I think i was hoping that crowds would be a smidge less throughout the trip but i can’t really complain because we did everything we wanted to, and even some rides twice
Mask compliance was okay overall but expecting 100% compliance is unrealistic. I didn’t feel unsafe and if there were guests not following the rules i would try to distance ourselves from them. We hand sanitized before and after every ride, wiped down surfaces, changed masks frequently, washed hands and held up our end of the bargain! It was super hot so i won’t be coming back in August/September anytime soon.

I did make the executive decision that i probably won’t be going to WDW in 2021 (gasp!) but waiting until December of 22. That way new attractions will be out and we can skip the anniversary year. Will most likely be visiting DLR in July of 2021 though so we will still get our fix.


----------



## disneygirlsng

KrazeeK120 said:


> Should be stationary. You’re not stationary if you’re in a ride line.


The whole time, no. But you are definitely stationary plenty of times in a ride line. There were multiple times (almost every line), where we stopped, I made sure everyone was a good distance around me, I took my mask off and took a sip of water. Don't see it being any different if I replaced that water with a bite of food. Walking and eating throughout the line is different, but I wouldn't say that everyone eating in line is breaking the rules. Plenty of others around me were doing similar things, and I had zero issue with it.


----------



## yulilin3

the rules are easily modified to interpretation depending on your specific situation and your level of comfort
In lines there are moments when you might be stationary for more than a minute and distanced enough to take a sip of water, eating a full lunch in line is not part of this situation
Disney cannot have queue monitor CM scattered through out each queue at each attraction so again it's your level of comfort.
When coming Disney has told you through MDE, through the website and through email that you take an inherent risk of exposure to COVID
everyone coming should NOT expect an exposure free experience
It is up to you and you alone to know what is your level of comfort
You will see:
people walking without masks or wearing them improperly
people eating or drinking in queues
people taking off the mask to sneeze or cough
people taking off the mask to take a pic
people getting into your personal space
Disney and al the parks are doing their very  best to provide as safe of an experience as possible but it goes both ways

I have told people to step back from me or to pull their masks up if they are next to me in a queue, but you might not be comfortable doing that
None of the theme parks are required visiting destinations so PLEASE think carefully before coming and have realistic expectations

With that lets please go back to the topic of the thread


----------



## 20yBWDW

Dentam said:


> Stuck in line with PP going down. Woman in front of us with mask as chin strap. No CM around so we're going to leave the line. Just be aware that there are a good number of ppl who do this while stuck in lines indoors with no CM's around. We don't feel comfortable confronting a fellow guest about it.
> 
> ETA: she finally put it back on so we're staying in line.



This is a great point for those questioning to go or not to go. This was our downfall. I knew we would not see perfect mask compliance and did not expect it to bother me. But being trapped in situations where people did not respect social distancing, removed masks, in one case coughing, another one sneezing, and not knowing how long we would be there or having any escape route because of our spot in the queue, or because we were on a bus, that was the situation that made me feel I had been reckless in going. Had it not been for those moments, I likely would have come home telling everyone it was an amazing week and they should definitely go. I wish the queues were set up so there is always an escape route if you get stuck in line with a jerk.


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## Redhead5

How about those who can't / won't follow the rules Disney has not visit? Please stop telling those who want to follow the rules and expect Disney to enforce the rules not to visit. Yulilin3, I'm sure that's not what you thought you were saying but that's how it reads.


----------



## emmabelle

Went to Epcot this morning.  Got in around 10:45am and went straight to Frozen and we were on in 12 minutes.  My husband loves to time stuff.  Got an ice coffee at Joffrey’s and a quick tostada while sittting at a bench.  Lol Went and rode Soarin with no wait.  We then. ate some tenderloin at Canada.  My husband went back to the Riviera after that and I hit France.  Got my macaron ears!  They didn’t have them on Tuesday.  They are adorable but rather heavy but it’s all about the fashion anyways.  

At the pool now, going to head back tonight and hopefully get on Test Track weather permitting.


----------



## 20yBWDW

Redhead5 said:


> How about those who can't / won't follow the rules Disney has not visit? Please stop telling those who want to follow the rules and expect Disney to enforce the rules not to visit. Yulilin3, I'm sure that's not what you thought you were saying but that's how it reads.



In an ideal world, it would be those who don't follow the rules who stay home. That would be better for more people (particularly cast members and health care providers, because those who are not keeping their masks on are probably more likely to have and spread Covid).

But the more realistic and helpful advice on this board is to warn people that this is going to happen, so for your own sake, be prepared and stay home if it will upset you. No matter how careful *you* are, neither you or Disney can control other people, so keep your expectations realistic.


----------



## yulilin3

Redhead5 said:


> How about those who can't / won't follow the rules Disney has not visit? Please stop telling those who want to follow the rules and expect Disney to enforce the rules not to visit. Yulilin3, I'm sure that's not what you thought you were saying but that's how it reads.


what I'm saying is not to expect 100% compliance, and if you are going expecting 100% compliance you will be disappointed/stressed
People who can't/won't follow the rules should most definitely not come but you know that some will still come and break the rules

Again lets please move along, the subject of rule compliance is being discussed in the community boards, this one is for just back reports


----------



## mickey0624

yulilin3 said:


> the rules are easily modified to interpretation depending on your specific situation and your level of comfort
> In lines there are moments when you might be stationary for more than a minute and distanced enough to take a sip of water, eating a full lunch in line is not part of this situation
> Disney cannot have queue monitor CM scattered through out each queue at each attraction so again it's your level of comfort.
> When coming Disney has told you through MDE, through the website and through email that you take an inherent risk of exposure to COVID
> everyone coming should NOT expect an exposure free experience
> It is up to you and you alone to know what is your level of comfort
> You will see:
> people walking without masks or wearing them improperly
> people eating or drinking in queues
> people taking off the mask to sneeze or cough
> people taking off the mask to take a pic
> people getting into your personal space
> Disney and al the parks are doing their very  best to provide as safe of an experience as possible but it goes both ways
> 
> I have told people to step back from me or to pull their masks up if they are next to me in a queue, but you might not be comfortable doing that
> None of the theme parks are required visiting destinations so PLEASE think carefully before coming and have realistic expectations
> 
> With that lets please go back to the topic of the thread


Perfectly said!!!!!


----------



## NoraRose

We’ve never mobile ordered. With everyone doing it now due to Covid restrictions, how long is the wait between ordering and getting your food?


----------



## IluvMGM

NoraRose said:


> We’ve never mobile ordered. With everyone doing it now due to Covid restrictions, how long is the wait between ordering and getting your food?



We never waited more than 10 minutes anywhere.


----------



## yulilin3

NoraRose said:


> We’ve never mobile ordered. With everyone doing it now due to Covid restrictions, how long is the wait between ordering and getting your food?


Depends on time of day.  At busy times you might have to wait a while,  maybe 10 to 15 minutes
Remember if you're planning on eating at heavy times reserve your spot early so you don't have to wait for the next ordering time slot


----------



## disneygirlsng

NoraRose said:


> We’ve never mobile ordered. With everyone doing it now due to Covid restrictions, how long is the wait between ordering and getting your food?


Usually close to 5 minutes on average once you hit the "I'm here, prepare my food", but yea, not longer than 10 minutes at busier times for me. It's fantastic, it's really all I've used the last several years for QS (the ones that have had it at least).


----------



## Dentam

NoraRose said:


> We’ve never mobile ordered. With everyone doing it now due to Covid restrictions, how long is the wait between ordering and getting your food?



Usually within 5 minutes but today we did one at Pecos Bill and never got the message saying our food was ready.  Turns out the wi-fi is spotty there the CM told us so turning it off works better.  Our food sat there ready for probably close to 10 minutes before we found that CM to check for us.  A bit crazy in there at lunch time.  MK overall was more crowded today though.


----------



## robinstrip

IluvMGM said:


> We are back from an 11 day trip at Pop Century. We had some crowded days with the holiday and some slower days. I think the crowded days wouldn't have seemed so bad had we had fastpasses and if shows were open to spread out the crowd. It was super hot most of the time. We loved the cavalcades and hope they stay. We didn't miss parades since we don't usually watch those. We probably would have done fireworks if they had them, but it was not a huge deal for us. I was most worried about transportation from what I read here, but I thought it was pretty good. We were always one of the first in line for the buses or skyliner, and were one of the first inside the parks (beating the cars, so glad we didn't Uber). We felt like getting in early was definitely an advantage everywhere, especially DHS, where we could get right on Minnie & Mickey with plenty of time to spare to get a boarding group. I was stressed about that before the trip, but ended up getting group 19 our 1st and 2nd times there and somehow managed to get group 1 on the last day. I also noticed it looked like buses came one right after the other, so I was pleasantly surprised with that. Sometimes they did board more people than they should have. Which brings me to the mask compliance and social distancing, which we thought was not very good. Whether in line for a ride, bus, etc.. you could always look around and see people with masks off or down, eating wherever they wanted, even while walking around. Cast members would usually ignore them, but when they did say something about the masks, the people where rude about it and often needed to be told more than once. A family in the log behind on Splash Mountain all had their masks off while riding and they still got their picture, not sure how that worked. I don't really understand it, it's not that hard and you know it's what you have to do to be at Disney and be safe. There wasn't social distancing at all when leaving rides and when walking through the park. Magical Express going to the airport was also odd, there were no assigned seats and no social distancing. The driver then announced he had 3 too many people on the bus and need 3 people to get off. I think there was still magic, although I did miss a lot of the smells of Disney.


Did you get to DHS an hour before opening or what time to get on M&M pretty fast?


----------



## Dentam

MK was pretty busy today.  Definitely a different experience than Wednesday, that's for sure.

Took the Magical Express to the airport.  They weren't spacing people on the bus but luckily it wasn't too full.  I wasn't super comfortable with it though given two people coughing throughout the half hour drive to the airport, one of whom had his nose out of his mask.  Also, they still schedule your ME to leave at least 3 hours before your flight (3.5 in my case), so there's a lot of downtime at the airport.  Mask compliance isn't as good here and I've had to move in the waiting area twice now to get away from a woman coughing without a mask on the first time and then a guy that sat back to back with my seat despite plenty of other open seats.  I would probably arrange alternate transportation to the airport if I had it to do over and arrive here closer to my flight time.

All in all though, we had a great trip and felt pretty safe other than today at MK which was more crowded and here at the airport. Will get tested a few days after arriving home and then wait for the results before returning to work.  Fingers crossed all goes well.  We won't be returning until next fall at the earliest.  Hope everyone with trips coming up has a great time!


----------



## chicagoshannon

Sea world was fantastic day.  I think Friday is the best day to go because everything is open and it's still very low crowds.  

We move to BCV tomorrow and Epcot is the park of the day.  I hope they still have the macaron ears as my daughter really wants them and they weren't there last Saturday.


----------



## IluvMGM

robinstrip said:


> Did you get to DHS an hour before opening or what time to get on M&M pretty fast?



They opened at 10 when we went. They let us in to the park by 9:15, we were one of the first ones waiting to enter. We went right to M&M and got into line. They didn't start running the ride until around 9:30, we got on and off quickly. By the time we get off the ride the line is crazy long since most people seem to go there first.


----------



## NashvilleMama

Arrived at MK today straight from the airport, around 11am. Short walk into the park from the parking lot, temp check and security took about 2 minutes start to finish. (Umbrellas set off the scanners, FYI.)

I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect based on recent reports, but was pleasantly surprised at the low crowd levels. We always come during 9-10 crowd level days due to school breaks, so this was CRAZY low to us.

Even with a few rain stoppages of rides, we got everything done we wanted to do by park close at 6. e.g. Space was 25 mins mostly walking the whole time, Peter Pan 15 (I realized I have NEVER seen the standby queue and it was so cool to do so), Splash was longer because of a storm stoppage but we were thankful to be in the inside queue portion to wait it out! 

Very high mask adherence overall. And it was HUMID and HOT. One group of young teenagers didn’t have theirs on at all during BTMRR line and we were highly annoyed with them, so it was a little satisfying to watch them board the train then immediately get kicked off before it started by the multiple CMs who handled it beautifully amidst lots of loud protesting. Wearing them all day in this heat was kind of hard, I won’t lie. And we’re pretty used to them 

I almost had a small anxiety attack on the plane, but at the park I felt fine. Ate lunch at Cosmic Rays and felt perfectly ok inside (really needed a heat break.)

CBR is relatively empty but the pool is utterly packed to the brim right now at 8pm. 

Also, mobile ordering for Dole Whips need to stay forEVER. 

Tomorrow: DHS day! So far so good, definitely a one time thing for us but glad we pulled the trigger on this trip after so much debate. We all needed this.


----------



## lelew

This is our last night after two weeks here in Orlando we have spent a few nights by the pool here at Pop. Tonight (Friday) is the first night since we checked in on Labor Day that we have seen them shut the pool down due to reaching capacity. People are forming lines to get in. Also pool bar line is super long. The cafeteria line is really long. So something to keep in mind if your planning on weekend trips.


----------



## Brett Wyman

NashvilleMama said:


> Arrived at MK today straight from the airport, around 11am. Short walk into the park from the parking lot, temp check and security took about 2 minutes start to finish. (Umbrellas set off the scanners, FYI.)
> 
> I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect based on recent reports, but was pleasantly surprised at the low crowd levels. We always come during 9-10 crowd level days due to school breaks, so this was CRAZY low to us.
> 
> Even with a few rain stoppages of rides, we got everything done we wanted to do by park close at 6. e.g. Space was 25 mins mostly walking the whole time, Peter Pan 15 (I realized I have NEVER seen the standby queue and it was so cool to do so), Splash was longer because of a storm stoppage but we were thankful to be in the inside queue portion to wait it out!
> 
> Very high mask adherence overall. And it was HUMID and HOT. One group of young teenagers didn’t have theirs on at all during BTMRR line and we were highly annoyed with them, so it was a little satisfying to watch them board the train then immediately get kicked off before it started by the multiple CMs who handled it beautifully amidst lots of loud protesting. Wearing them all day in this heat was kind of hard, I won’t lie. And we’re pretty used to them
> 
> I almost had a small anxiety attack on the plane, but at the park I felt fine. Ate lunch at Cosmic Rays and felt perfectly ok inside (really needed a heat break.)
> 
> CBR is relatively empty but the pool is utterly packed to the brim right now at 8pm.
> 
> *Also, mobile ordering for Dole Whips need to stay forEVER.*
> 
> Tomorrow: DHS day! So far so good, definitely a one time thing for us but glad we pulled the trigger on this trip after so much debate. We all needed this.



At MK? It’s been there awhile and is permanent!


----------



## WEDWDW

chicagoshannon said:


> Seething i forgot to mention yesterday, the plastic dividers that put on some ride vehicles.  They are awful.  If there was one thing that bothered me most I this it would be those.  They are on the Land boat ride and on Kong at universal (I think other rides that we haven't gone on yet).  The Land was so awful i wouldn't even ride again.  Could hardly see anything I that ride.  We were in the last row so had to look through 5 of them to try to see anything straight ahead.


We have started calling it Plexiglass World!lol

I sure wish I had a TON of Stock in whoever Disney is buying their Plexiglass from!lol


----------



## NoraRose

NashvilleMama said:


> Arrived at MK today straight from the airport, around 11am. Short walk into the park from the parking lot, temp check and security took about 2 minutes start to finish. (Umbrellas set off the scanners, FYI.)
> 
> I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect based on recent reports, but was pleasantly surprised at the low crowd levels. We always come during 9-10 crowd level days due to school breaks, so this was CRAZY low to us.
> 
> Even with a few rain stoppages of rides, we got everything done we wanted to do by park close at 6. e.g. Space was 25 mins mostly walking the whole time, Peter Pan 15 (I realized I have NEVER seen the standby queue and it was so cool to do so), Splash was longer because of a storm stoppage but we were thankful to be in the inside queue portion to wait it out!
> 
> Very high mask adherence overall. And it was HUMID and HOT. One group of young teenagers didn’t have theirs on at all during BTMRR line and we were highly annoyed with them, so it was a little satisfying to watch them board the train then immediately get kicked off before it started by the multiple CMs who handled it beautifully amidst lots of loud protesting. Wearing them all day in this heat was kind of hard, I won’t lie. And we’re pretty used to them
> 
> I almost had a small anxiety attack on the plane, but at the park I felt fine. Ate lunch at Cosmic Rays and felt perfectly ok inside (really needed a heat break.)
> 
> CBR is relatively empty but the pool is utterly packed to the brim right now at 8pm.
> 
> Also, mobile ordering for Dole Whips need to stay forEVER.
> 
> Tomorrow: DHS day! So far so good, definitely a one time thing for us but glad we pulled the trigger on this trip after so much debate. We all needed this.


Please post about your day tomorrow! We are headed to HS next Friday and I’m so nervous about MMRR and RotT.


----------



## hereforthechurros

sweetyk83 said:


> Has anyone that is here now seen the Together Again tee anywhere in the parks?
> I would love to get one but I think they may be sold out. Haven’t seen them at HS,EP, or MK yet.


Sorry if this was already answered but the Marketplace Co-Op at Disney Springs had a good amount of Together Again Merch when we were there last month.


----------



## cmp1976

We are leaving tomorrow. Been a great week overall. The only attraction that we did that I feel Disney needs to do a better job with is It's Tough to Be a Bug*! *When the doors to the theater open they really need some CMs to control the flow of people and direct you to a row and where to sit. It seemed a disorganized mess. Zero social distancing at that point.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

sweetyk83 said:


> Has anyone that is here now seen the Together Again tee anywhere in the parks?
> I would love to get one but I think they may be sold out. Haven’t seen them at HS,EP, or MK yet.


I was desperately looking for this as well at the beginning of August. I could not find the tshirts but found a few of the masks. But those were going quickly as well. Disappointed...


----------



## emmabelle

chicagoshannon said:


> I hope they still have the macaron ears as my daughter really wants them and they weren't there last Saturday.



They still had them last night at 6pm when we went to get food at  Les Halles.  I bought them earlier in the day and they are a little heavy but still super cute!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

My three biggest takeaways from our trip:
1. Parks as stated are consistently opening and running earlier than the posted park time - get there an hour earlier.
2. In the rainy season (i.e. now) get all the outdoor attractions you want to do out of the way in the morning so that you’re not cranky and stressed when they shut for weather in the afternoon - the shorter park hours make it hard to wait out the rain and circle back
3. Buses don’t go to Disney Springs from the parks  Oops.


----------



## robinstrip

IluvMGM said:


> They opened at 10 when we went. They let us in to the park by 9:15, we were one of the first ones waiting to enter. We went right to M&M and got into line. They didn't start running the ride until around 9:30, we got on and off quickly. By the time we get off the ride the line is crazy long since most people seem to go there first.


Thanks. We will be staying at CBR for the first time. Debating the Skyliner vs driving in order to get there early. I appreciate your answer!


----------



## MomOTwins

robinstrip said:


> Thanks. We will be staying at CBR for the first time. Debating the Skyliner vs driving in order to get there early. I appreciate your answer!


We rode the skyliner twice on our trip and found it was very quick and efficient. No trouble getting in the park well in advance of 10am both times


----------



## SugarSweetLee

IluvMGM said:


> We are back from an 11 day trip at Pop Century. We had some crowded days with the holiday and some slower days. I think the crowded days wouldn't have seemed so bad had we had fastpasses and if shows were open to spread out the crowd. It was super hot most of the time. We loved the cavalcades and hope they stay. We didn't miss parades since we don't usually watch those. We probably would have done fireworks if they had them, but it was not a huge deal for us. I was most worried about transportation from what I read here, but I thought it was pretty good. We were always one of the first in line for the buses or skyliner, and were one of the first inside the parks (beating the cars, so glad we didn't Uber). We felt like getting in early was definitely an advantage everywhere, especially DHS, where we could get right on Minnie & Mickey with plenty of time to spare to get a boarding group. I was stressed about that before the trip, but ended up getting group 19 our 1st and 2nd times there and somehow managed to get group 1 on the last day. I also noticed it looked like buses came one right after the other, so I was pleasantly surprised with that. Sometimes they did board more people than they should have. Which brings me to the mask compliance and social distancing, which we thought was not very good. Whether in line for a ride, bus, etc.. you could always look around and see people with masks off or down, eating wherever they wanted, even while walking around. Cast members would usually ignore them, but when they did say something about the masks, the people where rude about it and often needed to be told more than once. A family in the log behind on Splash Mountain all had their masks off while riding and they still got their picture, not sure how that worked. I don't really understand it, it's not that hard and you know it's what you have to do to be at Disney and be safe. There wasn't social distancing at all when leaving rides and when walking through the park. Magical Express going to the airport was also odd, there were no assigned seats and no social distancing. The driver then announced he had 3 too many people on the bus and need 3 people to get off. I think there was still magic, although I did miss a lot of the smells of Disney.



What smells did you miss and why weren't they there ?


----------



## IluvMGM

SugarSweetLee said:


> What smells did you miss and why weren't they there ?



Wearing a mask made it difficult to smell things that weren't super strong. I could still smell the fall of Rome in SSE, I couldn't smell what ride buildings smelled like. Tower of Terror for example, the musty boiler room smell. Just little Disney smells I had no clue meant so much to me.


----------



## mouselovenfamily

Have the parks seen there post Labor day drop off in numbers? Seem like today is busy although it's a weekend, wondering if numbers will be going lower?


----------



## maryj11

Dentam said:


> MK was pretty busy today.  Definitely a different experience than Wednesday, that's for sure.
> 
> Took the Magical Express to the airport.  They weren't spacing people on the bus but luckily it wasn't too full.  I wasn't super comfortable with it though given two people coughing throughout the half hour drive to the airport, one of whom had his nose out of his mask.  Also, they still schedule your ME to leave at least 3 hours before your flight (3.5 in my case), so there's a lot of downtime at the airport.  Mask compliance isn't as good here and I've had to move in the waiting area twice now to get away from a woman coughing without a mask on the first time and then a guy that sat back to back with my seat despite plenty of other open seats.  I would probably arrange alternate transportation to the airport if I had it to do over and arrive here closer to my flight time.
> 
> All in all though, we had a great trip and felt pretty safe other than today at MK which was more crowded and here at the airport. Will get tested a few days after arriving home and then wait for the results before returning to work.  Fingers crossed all goes well.  We won't be returning until next fall at the earliest.  Hope everyone with trips coming up has a great time!


Oh gee I don’t like that about the coughing. We will be flying in using the magic express too.  They need to enforce some rules !


----------



## NashvilleMama

robinstrip said:


> Thanks. We will be staying at CBR for the first time. Debating the Skyliner vs driving in order to get there early. I appreciate your answer!


 We took Lyft this morning instead of Skyliner from CBR and glad we did. We could have probably made it but eliminating the stress of it was worth it to us. Will just skyliner “home.”


----------



## maryj11

IluvMGM said:


> Wearing a mask made it difficult to smell things that weren't super strong. I could still smell the fall of Rome in SSE, I couldn't smell what ride buildings smelled like. Tower of Terror for example, the musty boiler room smell. Just little Disney smells I had no clue meant so much to me.


I love the smells too. I love the musty boiler room


----------



## NashvilleMama

mouselovenfamily said:


> Have the parks seen there post Labor day drop off in numbers? Seem like today is busy although it's a weekend, wondering if numbers will be going lower?



it feels pretty empty at DHS today, but the weather is hit or miss with storms coming through so assuming that’s a big factor for local crowds.


----------



## Victoria3

mouselovenfamily said:


> Have the parks seen there post Labor day drop off in numbers? Seem like today is busy although it's a weekend, wondering if numbers will be going lower?



The weekends have been steadily getting more crowded since the parks reopened. Week days are still pretty dead.


----------



## disneyseniors

yulilin3 said:


> the rules are easily modified to interpretation depending on your specific situation and your level of comfort
> In lines there are moments when you might be stationary for more than a minute and distanced enough to take a sip of water, eating a full lunch in line is not part of this situation
> Disney cannot have queue monitor CM scattered through out each queue at each attraction so again it's your level of comfort.
> When coming Disney has told you through MDE, through the website and through email that you take an inherent risk of exposure to COVID
> everyone coming should NOT expect an exposure free experience
> It is up to you and you alone to know what is your level of comfort
> You will see:
> people walking without masks or wearing them improperly
> people eating or drinking in queues
> people taking off the mask to sneeze or cough
> people taking off the mask to take a pic
> people getting into your personal space
> Disney and al the parks are doing their very  best to provide as safe of an experience as possible but it goes both ways
> 
> I have told people to step back from me or to pull their masks up if they are next to me in a queue, but you might not be comfortable doing that
> None of the theme parks are required visiting destinations so PLEASE think carefully before coming and have realistic expectations
> 
> With that lets please go back to the topic of the thread




Common sense, finally!  Thanks Yulilin3


----------



## disneyseniors

yulilin3 said:


> Depends on time of day.  At busy times you might have to wait a while,  maybe 10 to 15 minutes
> Remember if you're planning on eating at heavy times reserve your spot early so you don't have to wait for the next ordering time slot



Sorry if this has been asked before, but we don't have a smart phone!  gasp!  I know we are dinosaurs
So, with so much being set up for the 99.9% who do have them, is it ok to order inside?  Or what do we do (besides buy a smart phone, LOL)


----------



## yulilin3

disneyseniors said:


> Sorry if this has been asked before, but we don't have a smart phone!  gasp!  I know we are dinosaurs
> So, with so much being set up for the 99.9% who do have them, is it ok to order inside?  Or what do we do (besides buy a smart phone, LOL)


yes you can still order inside, just explain to the CM at the door you don't have a smart phone


----------



## NoraRose

NashvilleMama said:


> it feels pretty empty at DHS today, but the weather is hit or miss with storms coming through so assuming that’s a big factor for local crowds.


We go next Friday and hoping it’s the same then! I’m looking at the app wait times and they seem high. Is that not the case in-person?


----------



## emmabelle

We went over to Epcot at noon and it was really crowded in the countries to me.  We went to eat at Via Napoli which was good.  We left after going to Mousegears.  Just way too crowded.  It seemed like a regular F&W weekend last fall.


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

Animal Kingdom was a madhouse today - left after a couple hours. Ridiculous.


----------



## brockash

mouselovenfamily said:


> Have the parks seen there post Labor day drop off in numbers? Seem like today is busy although it's a weekend, wondering if numbers will be going lower?


I felt like there was a pretty big drop after LD, but I still think the weekends are busy.


----------



## robinstrip

MomOTwins said:


> We rode the skyliner twice on our trip and found it was very quick and efficient. No trouble getting in the park well in advance of 10am both times


Thanks!!


----------



## NashvilleMama

I can’t remember and we go tomorrow, could someone remind me if AK rides open early (like DHS) or is showing up right before park open ok? Thx!!


----------



## FFMickey

Here at DHS now and the crowds are definitely higher. We managed to get on MMRR at 9:45 and was off before 10. We got boarding group 20, but the ride was down for a couple of hours earlier. They are only on group 16 right now. The queues are moving along nicely, but the wait times are close to accurate.

Update: Group 20 just got called at 3:53 PM.


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

Are Saturday crowds typically higher or lower than Sunday?


----------



## WB1971

NashvilleMama said:


> it feels pretty empty at DHS today, but the weather is hit or miss with storms coming through so assuming that’s a big factor for local crowds.


And even so, 60+ minute waits on the popular rides, and impossible to get ROTR boarding group.  Really bad show Disney.


----------



## brockash

NashvilleMama said:


> I can’t remember and we go tomorrow, could someone remind me if AK rides open early (like DHS) or is showing up right before park open ok? Thx!!


When we went Thursday...FoP started a few mins before 9 opening...they let you in the line whenever you get there but didn't start boarding until closer to 9am which was different than the other parks for us.


----------



## wilkydelts

WB1971 said:


> And even so, 60+ minute waits on the popular rides, and impossible to get ROTR boarding group.  Really bad show Disney.



According to MDE only two rides at HS are 40 or more minutes (only one is 60 minutes) at 5:20pm about 40 minutes after you posted. Not sure why Disney is having a “bad showing”


----------



## Naomeri

wilkydelts said:


> According to MDE only two rides at HS are 40 or more minutes (only one is 60 minutes) at 5:20pm about 40 minutes after you posted. Not sure why Disney is having a “bad showing”


And a lot of the reports from people on this board have said that many wait times are actually shorter than posted


----------



## NashvilleMama

Naomeri said:


> And a lot of the reports from people on this board have said that many wait times are actually shorter than posted


Yep. Our experience today was 50-75% of the posted wait times. We never waited more than 30 mins for anything today (other than the Rise issues but we eventually got on).


----------



## Jimmiemac02

Monday 9/7 - EPCOT

Came straight from the airport to the park, arrived at 12:30. Did everything except for Mission Space. TT was a 20 minute wait each time we rode (twice). Waited until the end of the night to get in line for Frozen, still waited 30 minutes. Hawaiian Pork Sliders are worth the hype.

Side note: this trip was to take my wife to Disney as a first timer. As a first timer, she thought all of the attractions at EPCOT were “very odd” which I kind of get. As a veteran you kind of know what you’re getting into with EPCOT attractions, but if you’re a first timer going from flying over the world, to a greenhouse, to a purple dragon ride, to an animatronic American show could be very weird. Also, SSE was her most disappointing attraction. She was expecting something super exciting to be inside the park landmark.

Tuesday 9/8 - Animal Kingdom

Rode Safaris first with some active animals then on to Pandora and the rest of the park. Rode FOP twice with a 20 minute wait each time. This was the first time I rode it (having not been to the park since 2015) and I didn’t think it quite measured up to the hype and super high wait times. We both really enjoyed the night blossom drink from Pongu Pongu and overall had a good day at the park.

Wednesday 9/9 - Volcano Bay

Really nice park. Could walk on everything except for the aquacoaster which we rode 4 times. Really great theming and I thought social distancing went well throughout the day with the exception of the entrance procedures.

Thursday 9/10 - Magic Kingdom

We did everything except for the Hall of Presidents, riverboat, and Tom Sawyer Island. Everything was a walk on or a 10 minute wait that we rode. We literally walked on Space Mountain at one point and was the highlight of my trip. My wife’s favorite ride at the park ended up being Peter Pan's Flight.

Friday 9/11 - Hollywood Studios

We were the first people in the park and on MMRR (which ended up being my wife’s favorite ride of the trip). We got boarding group 6 and went to ride slinky (30 minute wait). We exited the park midday and rode the skyliner. Came back and did the rest of the attractions. We rode midway mania 3 times! At one point we were dumped from the Falcon queue due to a fire alarm but we went back, waited through a cleaning cycle and finally got a ride (about an hour all said and done).

Transportation:
We used Uber/Lyft the entire time and it worked out really well. Here are some tips to be the first people in the parks:

To get to MK we took an Uber to get here at 7:45 am and walked using the path from the contemporary (we were the first people in the park):
Coordinates: 28.416950, -81.576744 (the website won't let me post pictures)

To get to HS we took an Uber to get here here at 8:30 am and walked to the entrance using the path from the boardwalk area (we were the first people in the park):
Coordinates: 28.363216, -81.553243 (the website won't let me post pictures)

Other notes:

-It was pleasantly crowded, everything wasn’t a walk on, but waits were acceptable.

-We never had trouble finding free cups of water, we had to wait a few minutes a couple times, but it was not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be.

-It was hot

-Social distancing was about 90% ok. I had to ask a few people to give us our space a couple times. Other times a nasty stare would do the trick and they would pay more attention to the markings.

-Shorter hours do make a difference, I missed seeing Main Street lit up.

-You’re mileage may vary, but the only attractions/things I really missed were: the Peoplemover, Finding Nemo the Musical, Festival of the Lion King, the cultural representatives in EPCOT, and the Laugh Floor. Even with these things missing, I was more than satisfied with my visit (I visit every 5 years or so)!

-I really enjoyed the spontaneous nature of this trip and not planning 6+ months in advance!

-I also really enjoyed no FastPass. The combination of social distancing and no FastPass made the lines move way faster.

-We stayed at Homewood Suites Lake Buena Vista. It was very nice and had a full size fridge and stove. I would recommend it.


----------



## chicagoshannon

WEDWDW said:


> We have started calling it Plexiglass World!lol
> 
> I sure wish I had a TON of Stock in whoever Disney is buying their Plexiglass from!lol
> 
> 
> View attachment 525381



We got getting row today thankfully.


emmabelle said:


> They still had them last night at 6pm when we went to get food at  Les Halles.  I bought them earlier in the day and they are a little heavy but still super cute!



We rope dropped the ears today.  Got a nice pair


mouselovenfamily said:


> Have the parks seen there post Labor day drop off in numbers? Seem like today is busy although it's a weekend, wondering if numbers will be going lower?


EPCOT was ridiculous today.We arrived at 10:30 and it was already busy.  Lines fur food booths super long right at 11am.  We only rode the Land and figment and then left.  Went back at 6:30 to try to get on test track bout it was a 100 minute wait.  Went on spaceship earth instead which still had a decent line. Lines for food booths still super long at that time too.  When we left the line for the skyline was ask the way over the bridge.  They made a huge mistake closing Epcot at 7pm on a Saturday!  They missed out on a 27th of revenue for sure.

For those waiting for merch the food and wine spirit jersey and ears finally arrived.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

Jimmiemac02 said:


> Monday 9/7 - EPCOT
> 
> Came straight from the airport to the park, arrived at 12:30. Did everything except for Mission Space. TT was a 20 minute wait each time we rode (twice). Waited until the end of the night to get in line for Frozen, still waited 30 minutes. Hawaiian Pork Sliders are worth the hype.
> 
> Side note: this trip was to take my wife to Disney as a first timer. As a first timer, she thought all of the attractions at EPCOT were “very odd” which I kind of get. As a veteran you kind of know what you’re getting into with EPCOT attractions, but if you’re a first timer going from flying over the world, to a greenhouse, to a purple dragon ride, to an animatronic American show could be very weird. Also, SSE was her most disappointing attraction. She was expecting something super exciting to be inside the park landmark.
> 
> Tuesday 9/8 - Animal Kingdom
> 
> Rode Safaris first with some active animals then on to Pandora and the rest of the park. Rode FOP twice with a 20 minute wait each time. This was the first time I rode it (having not been to the park since 2015) and I didn’t think it quite measured up to the hype and super high wait times. We both really enjoyed the night blossom drink from Pongu Pongu and overall had a good day at the park.
> 
> Wednesday 9/9 - Volcano Bay
> 
> Really nice park. Could walk on everything except for the aquacoaster which we rode 4 times. Really great theming and I thought social distancing went well throughout the day with the exception of the entrance procedures.
> 
> Thursday 9/10 - Magic Kingdom
> 
> We did everything except for the Hall of Presidents, riverboat, and Tom Sawyer Island. Everything was a walk on or a 10 minute wait that we rode. We literally walked on Space Mountain at one point and was the highlight of my trip. My wife’s favorite ride at the park ended up being Peter Pan's Flight.
> 
> Friday 9/11 - Hollywood Studios
> 
> We were the first people in the park and on MMRR (which ended up being my wife’s favorite ride of the trip). We got boarding group 6 and went to ride slinky (30 minute wait). We exited the park midday and rode the skyliner. Came back and did the rest of the attractions. We rode midway mania 3 times! At one point we were dumped from the Falcon queue due to a fire alarm but we went back, waited through a cleaning cycle and finally got a ride (about an hour all said and done).
> 
> Transportation:
> We used Uber/Lyft the entire time and it worked out really well. Here are some tips to be the first people in the parks:
> 
> To get to MK we took an Uber to get here at 7:45 am and walked using the path from the contemporary (we were the first people in the park):
> Coordinates: 28.416950, -81.576744 (the website won't let me post pictures)
> 
> To get to HS we took an Uber to get here here at 8:30 am and walked to the entrance using the path from the boardwalk area (we were the first people in the park):
> Coordinates: 28.363216, -81.553243 (the website won't let me post pictures)
> 
> Other notes:
> 
> -It was pleasantly crowded, everything wasn’t a walk on, but waits were acceptable.
> 
> -We never had trouble finding free cups of water, we had to wait a few minutes a couple times, but it was not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be.
> 
> -It was hot
> 
> -Social distancing was about 90% ok. I had to ask a few people to give us our space a couple times. Other times a nasty stare would do the trick and they would pay more attention to the markings.
> 
> -Shorter hours do make a difference, I missed seeing Main Street lit up.
> 
> -You’re mileage may vary, but the only attractions/things I really missed were: the Peoplemover, Finding Nemo the Musical, Festival of the Lion King, the cultural representatives in EPCOT, and the Laugh Floor. Even with these things missing, I was more than satisfied with my visit (I visit every 5 years or so)!
> 
> -I really enjoyed the spontaneous nature of this trip and not planning 6+ months in advance!
> 
> -I also really enjoyed no FastPass. The combination of social distancing and no FastPass made the lines move way faster.
> 
> -We stayed at Homewood Suites Lake Buena Vista. It was very nice and had a full size fridge and stove. I would recommend it.




*Question....You said in reference to Transportation:*
You said.......*We used Uber/Lyft the entire time and it worked out really well. Here are some tips to be the first people in the parks:

To get to MK we took an Uber to get here at 7:45 am and walked using the path from the contemporary (we were the first people in the park):

Question..* I thought you could not get into the Contemporary resort in an Uber unless you were a guest there.. Did the Uber driver drop you off on the sidewalk in front of the Contemporary?


----------



## Dave006

NashvilleMama said:


> Also, mobile ordering for Dole Whips need to stay forEVER.


Yes it is very handy and was one of the early Mobile order locations back in 2019 so it is here to stay. 

Dave


----------



## lelew

disneyseniors said:


> Sorry if this has been asked before, but we don't have a smart phone!  gasp!  I know we are dinosaurs
> So, with so much being set up for the 99.9% who do have them, is it ok to order inside?  Or what do we do (besides buy a smart phone, LOL)


there have been times during my trip where I could not scan the bar codes to pull up the menu or I need to pay with cash at quick service just let the cast member know and they will let you order directly at the cash checkout and/or give you a paper menu if you cant scan it on your phone.


----------



## Jimmiemac02

DisneyNDecember said:


> *Question....You said in reference to Transportation:*
> You said.......*We used Uber/Lyft the entire time and it worked out really well. Here are some tips to be the first people in the parks:
> 
> To get to MK we took an Uber to get here at 7:45 am and walked using the path from the contemporary (we were the first people in the park):
> 
> Question..* I thought you could not get into the Contemporary resort in an Uber unless you were a guest there.. Did the Uber driver drop you off on the sidewalk in front of the Contemporary?



Yes, we never went past the parking gate. We were dropped off on World Drive at the sidewalk in front of the Contemporary Resort.


----------



## WB1971

wilkydelts said:


> According to MDE only two rides at HS are 40 or more minutes (only one is 60 minutes) at 5:20pm about 40 minutes after you posted. Not sure why Disney is having a “bad showing”


I was there today, very early afternoon. Waits were as I stated, I took a screenshot on my phone at 12:06, smugglers run and runaway railway 90 minutes, star tours and slinky dog 60 minutes. I was quoting Walt when I said “bad show” it’s not “bad showing”. It’s bad show because you are unnecessarily making guests wait due to ridiculously lowered capacity. It’s also bad show for boarding groups to be gone after 1 second at 10am for ROTR. This guest was not impressed having booked a resort and park reservation to get on the ride. It’s a bad system and there are far too many arbitrary restrictions and closures in place right now in general. This isn’t Disney quality.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

Jimmiemac02 said:


> Yes, we never went past the parking gate. We were dropped off on World Drive at the sidewalk in front of the Contemporary Resort.



I stayed at the Contemporary only once & it was wonderful, I have walked to MK from the sidewalk inside the front of the resort.
So there is a sidewalk in front of the resort that you can also walk to MK directly from? You don't have to walk thru the front gates of the Contemporary Resort to get to the sidewalk to MK?

Never mind.. Thanks for the info.. I just googled it.. Thank you for the information !!!


----------



## only hope

butterscotchcollins said:


> 3. Buses don’t go to Disney Springs from the parks  Oops.



double post


----------



## only hope

butterscotchcollins said:


> 3. Buses don’t go to Disney Springs from the parks  Oops.



I think those start at 4. Though maybe they don’t have them at all now? Precovid pretty sure it was starting at 4.


----------



## CalSea12

Since we are staying for 7 days with 6 Park days one of those is a Sunday... 

I am doing 
3 MK
2 Epcot
1 HS

Which would you recommend doing on Sunday?


----------



## lelew

CalSea12 said:


> Since we are staying for 7 days with 6 Park days one of those is a Sunday...
> 
> I am doing
> 3 MK
> 2 Epcot
> 1 HS
> 
> Which would you recommend doing on Sunday?


since your doing MK 3 days just use one of those day for Sunday. Your doing HS only one day so save that day for mid week when its slower


----------



## scrappinginontario

only hope said:


> I think those start at 4. Though maybe they don’t have them at all now? Precovid pretty sure it was starting at 4.


It has been reported that buses from the parks to DS have not run since the parks reopened in July.

If this has changed, please let us know.


----------



## Dentam

chicagoshannon said:


> EPCOT was ridiculous today.We arrived at 10:30 and it was already busy. Lines fur food booths super long right at 11am. We only rode the Land and figment and then left. Went back at 6:30 to try to get on test track bout it was a 100 minute wait. Went on spaceship earth instead which still had a decent line. Lines for food booths still super long at that time too. When we left the line for the skyline was ask the way over the bridge. They made a huge mistake closing Epcot at 7pm on a Saturday! They missed out on a 27th of revenue for sure.



Wow.  We just got back last night and were pretty concerned about the park days we had over Labor Day weekend.  We did Epcot last Sunday and while it was busy, it was nowhere near as bad as today from your description.  Yesterday at MK was the busiest day of our trip.  Definitely unexpected that this weekend is turning out to be busier than last weekend!


----------



## MonorailPrincess

scrappinginontario said:


> It has been reported that buses from the parks to DS have not run since the parks reopened in July.
> 
> If this has changed, please let us know.


Is this true?  That's crazy!  So parks close early, you want to go to dinner at DS and need to take bus to your resort then wait for a bus to DS?  Is that righr?


----------



## lelew

scrappinginontario said:


> It has been reported that buses from the parks to DS have not run since the parks reopened in July.
> 
> If this has changed, please let us know.


I tried catching a bus from epcot to DS on Wednesday and was told buses are not running from the park. I was told my best option was to go to Walk to Beach Club and bus from their


----------



## Dentam

MonorailPrincess said:


> Is this true?  That's crazy!  So parks close early, you want to go to dinner at DS and need to take bus to your resort then wait for a bus to DS?  Is that righr?



Yep


----------



## ScubaCat

I rode Soarin on Saturday, August 8th and immediately walked almost into the Patrick area. Today at 6pm, both sides of the initial queue (they're using both for distancing/capacity) were queued about half way to the entrance with a 35 minute posted wait. Definitely more people!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

only hope said:


> Though maybe they don’t have them at all now?





MonorailPrincess said:


> Is this true?  That's crazy!  So parks close early, you want to go to dinner at DS and need to take bus to your resort then wait for a bus to DS?  Is that righr?



Yup! We didn’t know and planned to head to our dinner res @ Boathouse after we were done at DHS. Rolled up to the buses and they were all Resorts only. In a panic we hopped on the Skyliner to CBR and took the bus from there but all told that took an hour. So if you want to head to the Springs from the Parks and have some time you can take the Resort Tour, otherwise Uber/Lyft is your friend.


----------



## cmp1976

Yesterday was our last day. Spent it at MK. It was considerably busier than Labor Day at MK.  Glad that the rest of our week was not that busy. I thought that the terrible rain would have thinned the crowds a little, but apparently not.


----------



## disneygirlsng

lelew said:


> there have been times during my trip where I could not scan the bar codes to pull up the menu or I need to pay with cash at quick service just let the cast member know and they will let you order directly at the cash checkout and/or give you a paper menu if you cant scan it on your phone.


Am I the only one that never used the QR codes outside the restaurants? I've been seeing people saying that they had trouble with them at times, but it never even crossed my mind to use them. I just pulled up mobile ordering on the MDE app just like always with no issues. The menus are all on there too anyway.


----------



## skeeter31

DisneyNDecember said:


> I stayed at the Contemporary only once & it was wonderful, I have walked to MK from the sidewalk inside the front of the resort.
> So there is a sidewalk in front of the resort that you can also walk to MK directly from? You don't have to walk thru the front gates of the Contemporary Resort to get to the sidewalk to MK?
> 
> Never mind.. Thanks for the info.. I just googled it.. Thank you for the information !!!


Just keep in mind, there are occasionally Disney security guards in that area yelling at Ubers and passengers as that is NOT an unloading area and can cause traffic and is quite a dangerous place to be unloaded. The problem has gotten worse and worse over the past few years and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Disney do something to put a stop to ride shares being able to drop people at that crosswalk. It’s an extremely congested area as it is with CMs, busses, and walkers from the contemporary, now with the added ride shares stopping in the middle of traffic it’s gotten exponentially worse.


----------



## jimbostacks

Definitely hearing mixed reports on wait times, but holidays and weekends seem very different - maybe locals?   But with the Holidays coming has anyone heard if Fast Passes coming back maybe in a  hybrid way?  Are the fast pass lanes set up for social distancing as well?  I am there Christmas week and  hoping for some ways to battle the crowds...but at 30%  would think lines would be better.....

thanks!!!!


----------



## Jeterdog2004

I have a bunch of trip reports from our August and July trips. 
Here is one that might help people with the HS character cavalcades  

http://jilteddisneybride.com/2020/0...emption-of-hollywood-studios-and-travel-home/


----------



## skeeter31

jimbostacks said:


> Definitely hearing mixed reports on wait times, but holidays and weekends seem very different - maybe locals?   But with the Holidays coming has anyone heard if Fast Passes coming back maybe in a  hybrid way?  Are the fast pass lanes set up for social distancing as well?  I am there Christmas week and  hoping for some ways to battle the crowds...but at 30%  would think lines would be better.....
> 
> thanks!!!!


No rumors for FP return. I wouldn’t bank on it being back, the way it used to be, any time soon, if ever. My guess is they will return in a paid fashion, well after other restrictions are lifted. Disney will continue to utilize the FP queues for regular line social distancing. But if I were you I’d start prepping myself for no FPS as I’d put their chances of being there for Christmas week at about 0.2%.


----------



## ScubaCat

disneygirlsng said:


> Am I the only one that never used the QR codes outside the restaurants? I've been seeing people saying that they had trouble with them at times, but it never even crossed my mind to use them. I just pulled up mobile ordering on the MDE app just like always with no issues. The menus are all on there too anyway.


Either way works fine.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

skeeter31 said:


> Just keep in mind, there are occasionally Disney security guards in that area yelling at Ubers and passengers as that is NOT an unloading area and can cause traffic and is quite a dangerous place to be unloaded. The problem has gotten worse and worse over the past few years and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Disney do something to put a stop to ride shares being able to drop people at that crosswalk. It’s an extremely congested area as it is with CMs, busses, and walkers from the contemporary, now with the added ride shares stopping in the middle of traffic it’s gotten exponentially worse.



Thank you. I agree 100%. That is why it seemed odd to me. I will avoid this for this very reason. Thank you again.


----------



## Shacka1

WB1971 said:


> I was there today, very early afternoon. Waits were as I stated, I took a screenshot on my phone at 12:06, smugglers run and runaway railway 90 minutes, star tours and slinky dog 60 minutes. I was quoting Walt when I said “bad show” it’s not “bad showing”. It’s bad show because you are unnecessarily making guests wait due to ridiculously lowered capacity. It’s also bad show for boarding groups to be gone after 1 second at 10am for ROTR. This guest was not impressed having booked a resort and park reservation to get on the ride. It’s a bad system and there are far too many arbitrary restrictions and closures in place right now in general. This isn’t Disney quality.


This is what I am mostly worried about! Especially since we'll be there NYE week. I don't understand why they took away FP


----------



## yulilin3

Shacka1 said:


> This is what I am mostly worried about! Especially since we'll be there NYE week. I don't understand why they took away FP


if standby wait are 90 min with no fp offered think of what the standby wait times will be with FP.
I hate to have to repeat this but this is all new and unprecedented and Disney is trying to give EVERYONE the same experience right now. If they were to reopen fp not only would these fp be very limited (due to ride capacity) but would balloon standby wait times to at least another 30 minutes per attraction.


----------



## LaDonna

disneygirlsng said:


> Am I the only one that never used the QR codes outside the restaurants? I've been seeing people saying that they had trouble with them at times, but it never even crossed my mind to use them. I just pulled up mobile ordering on the MDE app just like always with no issues. The menus are all on there too anyway.


I cannot remember now where we were at but this past week I was doing just that on MDE and I asked where a certain item was that I remembered people were talking about/or I saw on the menu somewhere while doing my trip research.... And she informed me that sometimes mde everything is Not on there if you scan the QR code it’s more up to date/full menu..... And she was right I found the item but for the life of me now I can’t remember what the heck it was where we were at


----------



## Shacka1

yulilin3 said:


> if standby wait are 90 min with no fp offered think of what the standby wait times will be with FP.
> I hate to have to repeat this but this is all new and unprecedented and Disney is trying to give EVERYONE the same experience right now. If they were to reopen fp not only would these fp be very limited (due to ride capacity) but would balloon standby wait times to at least another 30 minutes per attraction.


I didn't think of that, nice way to look at it


----------



## Took

Given these higher than expected attendance rates at the parks, I really wish they'd increase park hours again for September.  They cut them back AFTER I had made and paid for my trip.


----------



## soniam

disneygirlsng said:


> Am I the only one that never used the QR codes outside the restaurants? I've been seeing people saying that they had trouble with them at times, but it never even crossed my mind to use them. I just pulled up mobile ordering on the MDE app just like always with no issues. The menus are all on there too anyway.



We never used the QR at the QS, but we did use the QR to check in at the TS.


----------



## mcomber7

How are the busses with the increase in crowds?  We were at pop in August and loved the low crowds with the exception of the busses.  We had bad luck with transportation.  We will be back in December and are considering renting a car or Uber.


----------



## WEDWDW

mcomber7 said:


> How are the busses with the increase in crowds?  We were at pop in August and loved the low crowds with the exception of the busses.  We had bad luck with transportation.  We will be back in December and are considering renting a car or Uber.


We've had pretty good luck with buses here at Pop Century except for when Skyliner is down and Skyliner Resort Guests are sent to the BWI Bus Depot.

But with Covid Buses,depending on group sizes,only being able to carry as little as six Guests and only as many as 25 Guests(as opposed to 72 Guests on a non Pandemic bus),waits are bound to happen at times.


----------



## mrd7896

We were pleasantly surprised with the buses when we used them at Pop this past week (Only had to a few times though). One evening we finished dinner at the contemporary just in time for MK to close and everyone rush to the bus stops. POP was miles longer than every other hotel stop which wasn’t a great look but they had buses pulling in one after another. I’m not sure how long it officially took for us to get on because of the limited capacities but it was at least reassuring to see that as soon as one bus was full they’d bring another in. We never waited more than two minutes with no bus there.

In regards to mobile ordering i actually really enjoyed it. Never had to wait too long aside from one instance at Pizzarizzo. We only ordered drinks and it took a few minutes for the “your order is ready” to appear. Once we got inside it was another 10 minutes before we even got to our counter, and when we got up to the counter all he had to do was pour our drinks that were clearly not ready. (Not that I’m angry they weren’t ready considering how long we had to wait vs how quickly he poured the drinks). 

And i was worried about the mobile ordering at Pop because the Saturday before Labor Day we saw the line stretching outside the building to even get into the food court but we personally didn’t experience it. We also learned quickly to hit “prepare my order” during our walk from our room. Always timed very well.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

jimbostacks said:


> Definitely hearing mixed reports on wait times, but holidays and weekends seem very different - maybe locals?   But with the Holidays coming has anyone heard if Fast Passes coming back maybe in a  hybrid way?  Are the fast pass lanes set up for social distancing as well?  I am there Christmas week and  hoping for some ways to battle the crowds...but at 30%  would think lines would be better.....
> 
> thanks!!!!



I think the “mixed” reports are a matter of perception. If you’re a FP+ expert and never wait more than 5 minutes for a ride (and seriously are those the only 3 rides you do in the park??) then the wait times might feel rough. If you’re used to the busier seasons with routine 90-120 minute waits, this is going to feel glorious.

FWIW even with reduced hours and slightly higher crowds on Wednesday we had time to do everything, SDD three times, and take a pool break.


----------



## 20yBWDW

butterscotchcollins said:


> I think the “mixed” reports are a matter of perception. If you’re a FP+ expert and never wait more than 5 minutes for a ride (and seriously are those the only 3 rides you do in the park??) then the wait times might feel rough. If you’re used to the busier seasons with routine 90-120 minute waits, this is going to feel glorious.
> 
> FWIW even with reduced hours and slightly higher crowds on Wednesday we had time to do everything, SDD three times, and take a pool break.



I think the mixed reports can be due to luck. I have seen reports from same parks same days we were there that were completely opposite our experience (in both directions). In some cases, it was luck with regard to cast members. For example, we were told to wait outside for a mobile order, in the heat, until we got an order is ready text. Only after 30+ minutes did we find out something had gone wrong with our order is ready text, and it was much later we found out the other CM directed people to wait inside, and that there was a dead zone outside making our problem a common one. Our perspective was that the crowd and wait right in front of that QS was awful, while those directed inside had a much different perspective because they were in a not-so-crowded air-conditioned room and got their text in less than 10 minutes.

Other times, I think catching lines on cleaning cycles or technical difficulties made for a negatively skewed perspective, while catching it shortly after made for a positively skewed perspective, because the wait time dropped significantly just as someone got in line.  Same line, same time, the person in front could've stepped into a line that said 30 minutes, waited 35, while person in back stepped in when it said 45, waited 20. Only a 15-minute difference, but based on expectations, feels very different.


----------



## Naomeri

Question: how late do the buses run from DS back to the resorts?  If I go to a movie in the evening during my trip, I want to make sure I can catch a bus back to Pop


----------



## NashvilleMama

AK was a madhouse today. Third park day for us and so much worse than the last two at MK and DHS. It was a great lesson for my kids in “and this is why you should appreciate all of mommy’s work on getting FPs and touring plans in place for us” as they now understand horrendous wait times. 

Wait time for FOP was posted at 50 mins when we entered the line. We waited two hours. TWO HOURS. (And we all agreed it was still worth it as that ride will never cease to blow me away. I actually teared up during it as I felt six months of stress release while “flying” through the air.)

We heard more than a few locals talking about how crazy it is now compared to just 2-3 weeks ago. I guess the word is out + capacity increases and gone are the walk-on days.

we’ll definitely not be returning until FP comes back, and longer evening hours.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

I love your insight “I actually teared up during it as I felt six months of stress release while “flying” through the air”. 
We are set to come back for our first time in 7 years and are spoiled to Fast Passes. The thought of a two hour wait in line does not sound fun. But I really want to try FOP because Avatar land was not there when we visited in 2013.
I sure hope this gets worked out before our visit on December 11-19, 2020.
Still kind of sad we still won’t get to be in Animal Kingdom when it is dark, but 7  years ago it was never opened past dark anyway, so that won’t be any different for us.


----------



## chicagoshannon

MK today.  We arrived about 8:30 and if was already decently busy.  Walked on several rides until about 10am.  Then it was pretty busy.  Most rides were 35 + minutes the entire day.  We waited 50 minutes for HM, small world,and sdmt.  There was a point where we just had to get in the long line.  It's never been this busy this week for us the 10 years we've been coming.  I really think it's the reduced hours.

The lunch wait was the worst.  They really need to get more quick service open.  It took almost an hour to get our food.  We ordered but then the window didn't open for 25 minutes.  Then when the window opened it took almost 20 minutes for it to be "ready", then almost another 10 for it to actually be ready.

Really hoping crowds go away this week.


----------



## Princess2R

chicagoshannon said:


> MK today.  We arrived about 8:30 and if was already decently busy.  Walked on several rides until about 10am.  Then it was pretty busy.  Most rides were 35 + minutes the entire day.  We waited 50 minutes for HM, small world,and sdmt.  There was a point where we just had to get in the long line.  It's never been this busy this week for us the 10 years we've been coming.  I really think it's the reduced hours.
> 
> The lunch wait was the worst.  They really need to get more quick service open.  It took almost an hour to get our food.  We ordered but then the window didn't open for 25 minutes.  Then when the window opened it took almost 20 minutes for it to be "ready", then almost another 10 for it to actually be ready.
> 
> Really hoping crowds go away this week.


Ugh that sucks and sounds so disappointing! 

I think reduced hours+ all the discounts released+ increasing capacity + word getting out about how the cleanliness is and ppl feeling safe really is upping the crowds. 

I go in less the 2 months and I worry that it'll just keep getting more crowded! 

I'm used to fast passing everything and never waiting more than 15-20 minutes


----------



## davidcyndi

So are we for sure they increased park capacity from the 20 or 30% that it was?  Or is it that there arent as many no shows as there were before?


----------



## chicagoshannon

Princess2R said:


> Ugh that sucks and sounds so disappointing!
> 
> I think reduced hours+ all the discounts released+ increasing capacity + word getting out about how the cleanliness is and ppl feeling safe really is upping the crowds.
> 
> I go in less the 2 months and I worry that it'll just keep getting more crowded!
> 
> I'm used to fast passing everything and never waiting more than 15-20 minutes


I just can't figure out why they decreased the hours, especially on the weekend, when the know how busy it is.


----------



## HollyMD

We are here now, came for a quick 2 days trip. Epcot yesterday and AK today. Crowds were MUCH bigger than when we were here in July. At AK today, FOP was consistently 75+minutes, and we walked on every time in July. Lines were long at F&W booths yesterday, and saw Frozen line wrapped around into China a couple of times. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not usual Disney summer time crowds. But significantly more crowded than 2 months ago. And while I still think mask compliance and social distancing are good and much better than stores at home, definitely not as high as 2 months ago. I chalk that up to more people there, more there that want to skirt the rules. But I WILL say, we saw SEVERAL CM’s telling people to put mask back on, pull up over nose, etc.


----------



## sweetpee_1993

We are here now.  Epcot yesterday (Saturday) and Animal Kingdom today (Sunday).  Epcot yesterday was insane.  That’s as busy as I’ve seen it in the past except no Fastpass, reduces hours, and limited food offerings.  The cavalcades were a TERRIBLE idea because the already jammed walkways were shoved to the sides.  It was not possible to effectively socially distance.  Every attraction was consistently 45+ minutes all day.

Today in AK was not much better.  With the exception of the first hour, every line was consistently normal operation time lengths.  But, reduced hours and limited offerings in terms of food. 

Went to Disney Springs tonight in search of XL masks.  I should’ve taken a pic of the line just to get in World of Disney.  At 8:00 at night.  Ghirardelli has a super long line.  We left at 9:00 tonight, a Sunday, and the place was still very busy.

I have no idea how they can justify these shorter hours and reduced food offerings.  I’m praying it gets better during the week.  If not we may just chalk up our losses, change our flights, and go home.


----------



## mickey0624

sweetpee_1993 said:


> We are here now.  Epcot yesterday (Saturday) and Animal Kingdom today (Sunday).  Epcot yesterday was insane.  That’s as busy as I’ve seen it in the past except no Fastpass, reduces hours, and limited food offerings.  The cavalcades were a TERRIBLE idea because the already jammed walkways were shoved to the sides.  It was not possible to effectively socially distance.  Every attraction was consistently 45+ minutes all day.
> 
> Today in AK was not much better.  With the exception of the first hour, every line was consistently normal operation time lengths.  But, reduced hours and limited offerings in terms of food.
> 
> Went to Disney Springs tonight in search of XL masks.  I should’ve taken a pic of the line just to get in World of Disney.  At 8:00 at night.  Ghirardelli has a super long line.  We left at 9:00 tonight, a Sunday, and the place was still very busy.
> 
> I have no idea how they can justify these shorter hours and reduced food offerings.  I’m praying it gets better during the week.  If not we may just chalk up our losses, change our flights, and go home.


I think shorter hours are going to be the new norm even after the pandemic. Disney will realize we don't need to stay open until 10, 11, so they won't.


----------



## Retroecho

Princess2R said:


> Ugh that sucks and sounds so disappointing!
> 
> I think reduced hours+ all the discounts released+ increasing capacity + word getting out about how the cleanliness is and ppl feeling safe really is upping the crowds.
> 
> I go in less the 2 months and I worry that it'll just keep getting more crowded!
> 
> I'm used to fast passing everything and never waiting more than 15-20 minutes


This is exactly what we are worried about. That we timed it that the crowds will feel normal but with no fast passes  we leave Friday for two weeks but only 5 park days. Ugh. I’m stressed out about it all.


----------



## mickey0624

Retroecho said:


> This is exactly what we are worried about. That we timed it that the crowds will feel normal but with no fast passes  we leave Friday for two weeks but only 5 park days. Ugh. I’m stressed out about it all.


don't go in with any type of expectations...its a strange year...who knows what tomorrow brings...just go an d whatever it is have fun just because your in Disney


----------



## sweetpee_1993

mickey0624 said:


> I think shorter hours are going to be the new norm even after the pandemic. Disney will realize we don't need to stay open until 10, 11, so they won't.


True.  And I agree.  Disney is going to do whatever they can to reduce operating costs and make up some ground on the income.  But even just 8:00 would be nice.  Restaurants close early.  Resort shops close early.  The monorail doesn’t run in the evenings.  It’s lots of reductions but the people are here.


----------



## Melodious

We're here now. EP yesterday (Saturday) but we didn't do many rides, only Soarin' at closing (we waited about thirteen minutes of the listed thirty-five).  Food lines were long but not unbearable. We easily got in the showplace and lines went down later in the afternoon

Today we were at MK. It was definitely busy by midmorning and there was more blatant mask noncompliance than anticipated, but I never felt personally in danger. Offenders were generally walking by with chin straps, etc. In line, there were few problems, just the occasional sip of water or accidentally forgetting about distance but correcting it. Mobile order was a problem all day

Wait times were mostly overestimated, at Pirates (15), Peter Pan (20), HM (a long walk but only 15 min), even SDMT(30 minutes including a rain storm) However, we did wait forty-five minutes at small world and twenty five at barn-stormer. Oh, and we were the group that broke Splash mtn this morning 

Tomorrow, we're going to HS. Debating Lyft or bus from BLT.


----------



## mickey0624

sweetpee_1993 said:


> True.  And I agree.  Disney is going to do whatever they can to reduce operating costs and make up some ground on the income.  But even just 8:00 would be nice.  Restaurants close early.  Resort shops close early.  The monorail doesn’t run in the evenings.  It’s lots of reductions but the people are here.


Its so depressing...nothing like being in the park at night...place is so magical....will change vacationing. Love going in the am...back to hotel for afternoon swim and lunch...then to the park at around 6:00 for the night. Those days may unfortunately be over even when this pandemic ends


----------



## sweetpee_1993

Retroecho said:


> This is exactly what we are worried about. That we timed it that the crowds will feel normal but with no fast passes  we leave Friday for two weeks but only 5 park days. Ugh. I’m stressed out about it all.


We were worried we’d miss out on the lower attendance, too.  I’m starting to think maybe we did.  Oh well.  It’s par for the 2020 course.  Enjoying the time with my family regardless.


----------



## mickey0624

sweetpee_1993 said:


> We were worried we’d miss out on the lower attendance, too.  I’m starting to think maybe we did.  Oh well.  It’s par for the 2020 course.  Enjoying the time with my family regardless.





sweetpee_1993 said:


> We were worried we’d miss out on the lower attendance, too.  I’m starting to think maybe we did.  Oh well.  It’s par for the 2020 course.  Enjoying the time with my family regardless.


I know people going want the super low crowds, but there is little bit of comfort to see the parks getting more crowded


----------



## butterscotchcollins

mickey0624 said:


> Its so depressing...nothing like being in the park at night...place is so magical....will change vacationing. Love going in the am...back to hotel for afternoon swim and lunch...then to the park at around 6:00 for the night. Those days may unfortunately be over even when this pandemic ends



I know it’s not the same but if you’re willing to adjust your expectations, you can basically swap pool and PM park time so that you’re in parks til early close for probably the same amount of hours as you’re used to and then back at the hotel for dinner and night swimming. I also love parks after dark (and fireworks!) but we really enjoyed the more restful PM dinner/swim vs being exhausted and cranky exiting the parks at night w the flood of crowds.


----------



## momimouse27

As far as reduced hours, I think if they just opened an hour later and opened a couple more QS places, that would help so much.  I would think they wouldn't wait much longer to do it.  I don't think they'll go to closing early permanently, I really don't.  Because fireworks and nighttime activities draw people, people spend money and the longer people stay in the park, the more money they spend.  Honestly, I was shocked that announced closing at 6 this month.  Clearly they have enough people to justify opening, I guess they are cutting the hours for employees.


----------



## Princess2R

Retroecho said:


> This is exactly what we are worried about. That we timed it that the crowds will feel normal but with no fast passes  we leave Friday for two weeks but only 5 park days. Ugh. I’m stressed out about it all.


It does sound stressful! Especially when now is supposed to be the time that it isn't stressful due to "lower crowds" and not having to plan so much. 

I think for me, I'm going with no/ low expectations & just going to make the best of it. 

Also,  I think we definitely missed out on the super low crowds but let's not forget how hot it was!


----------



## Pksmom03

We are going to Epcot Saturday and MK Sunday and I’m a little concerned about crowd sizes for the weekend now after seeing the reports from the past 2 days. Any suggestions? Get to MK at 8 and Epcot parking lot at 10? Thanks


----------



## jerseygal

GADisneyDad14 said:


> View attachment 508663


That is SO CUTE and looks DELIC!


----------



## yulilin3

chicagoshannon said:


> MK today.  We arrived about 8:30 and if was already decently busy.  Walked on several rides until about 10am.  Then it was pretty busy.  Most rides were 35 + minutes the entire day.  We waited 50 minutes for HM, small world,and sdmt.  There was a point where we just had to get in the long line.  It's never been this busy this week for us the 10 years we've been coming.  I really think it's the reduced hours.
> 
> The lunch wait was the worst.  They really need to get more quick service open.  It took almost an hour to get our food.  We ordered but then the window didn't open for 25 minutes.  Then when the window opened it took almost 20 minutes for it to be "ready", then almost another 10 for it to actually be ready.
> 
> Really hoping crowds go away this week.


This has been the biggest issue since opening, lunch time
My recommendation would be, if you know what location and approximate time you want to eat mobile order early in the day without hitting the last (prepare my meal) button. That way you basically are reserving your meal time
So at 9 or 10am if you think you'll want to eat around 12:30pm, go on the app, the restaurant you want and click that time period (usually go in 20 min increments) at that time of day (9am or 10am) you will most likely see all the times available, pick your time, order your food and when you get to the restaurant at noon you won't have to wait for a window to open just wait for your food to be made
I hope that all makes sense
In the end it basically works just like an ADR


----------



## yulilin3

mickey0624 said:


> I know people going want the super low crowds, but there is little bit of comfort to see the parks getting more crowded


100% agree, Disney opened blind, not knowing what the crowd situation would be, they have already divulged that they had a lot of people cancel in July so they tweaked hours accordingly, now people seem more comfortable to travel and not cancel so I am sure they will tweak again, But seeing more people in the parks is a small sigh of relief for the tourism industry and the economy of Central Florida as a whole


----------



## emmabelle

Retroecho said:


> This is exactly what we are worried about. That we timed it that the crowds will feel normal but with no fast passes  we leave Friday for two weeks but only 5 park days. Ugh. I’m stressed out about it all.




We were there last week.  If you can somehow not do parks on Sat or Sun you'll have a good time!  Last Tuesday around 6pm, we walked on to Test Track two times in a row with no wait at all, same with Soarin.  I felt that the best time to get stuff done was in the last two hours.  We went to HS last Wednesday, got there by 9:10am, we were in line for MMRR by 9:20 and were off by 9:45am.  When we got off the line was snaking all around outside.  The lines for everything were getting long so we rode TOT and left, came back for our BG and then at 4pm we did AS, SD, TSMM, RNRC and TOT all in like an hour and a half.




Just as a side note, I said to my husband at Epcot on Friday night, "do you want to ride Mission Space?"  He said sure but only if we do orange.  I have never done the orange side but said ok anyways.  Never, ever, ever, ever again.  I was so sick that it ruined the rest of the night, but at least I can say I did it.


----------



## lelew

Princess2R said:


> Ugh that sucks and sounds so disappointing!
> 
> I think reduced hours+ all the discounts released+ increasing capacity + word getting out about how the cleanliness is and ppl feeling safe really is upping the crowds.
> 
> I go in less the 2 months and I worry that it'll just keep getting more crowded!
> 
> I'm used to fast passing everything and never waiting more than 15-20 minutes


I also think the crowds will increase especially when the weather cools down


----------



## momimouse27

After sleeping on it and reading this thread, I'm seriously considering relying on table service for lunch while in the parks.  And after reading some of what we have about how DS is on weekends, I'm thinking of changing our normal DS first night meal to a resort meal.  Our reservation for Terralina is at 5:30 on a Saturday, so it's an early one.  Anyone have advice?  Will we have to wait in a hour line to get in the parking garage and then get turned away from DS because it's at capacity?


----------



## HollyMD

Another note. We had good luck with buses from resort to parks in July and again this trip. Only buses we’ve had any trouble with has been DME to airport. In July, it was over an hour late for our pick up time, and today the route was really strange- picked us up at YC, then went to OKW, then BACK to Boardwalk?? Then to Riveria, which we PASSED on the way to OKW. Very unnecessary time on bus for that back and forth route.


----------



## Shellbells

We're supposed to arrive on November 4th but with the crowd and dining reports we might cancel. 
We're going to wait until a bit closer and see what happens. I think more people will go with the cooler weather, discounts and the large number of people that got the pin code. If they don't extend the hours and crowd levels are bad we'll just go another time.


----------



## NashvilleMama

momimouse27 said:


> After sleeping on it and reading this thread, I'm seriously considering relying on table service for lunch while in the parks.  And after reading some of what we have about how DS is on weekends, I'm thinking of changing our normal DS first night meal to a resort meal.  Our reservation for Terralina is at 5:30 on a Saturday, so it's an early one.  Anyone have advice?  Will we have to wait in a hour line to get in the parking garage and then get turned away from DS because it's at capacity?



we didn't have any issues with QS this weekend (Friday - Sunday park days.) I usually placed our orders to secure our time slot well in advance, and then as the time neared I'd submit the actual "we're here" order so they started prepping the order. Never waited more than 10-15 minutes to pick it up and always able to find a table nearby.


----------



## hereforthechurros

sweetpee_1993 said:


> We are here now.  Epcot yesterday (Saturday) and Animal Kingdom today (Sunday).  Epcot yesterday was insane.  That’s as busy as I’ve seen it in the past except no Fastpass, reduces hours, and limited food offerings.  The cavalcades were a TERRIBLE idea because the already jammed walkways were shoved to the sides.  It was not possible to effectively socially distance.  Every attraction was consistently 45+ minutes all day.
> 
> Today in AK was not much better.  With the exception of the first hour, every line was consistently normal operation time lengths.  But, reduced hours and limited offerings in terms of food.
> 
> Went to Disney Springs tonight in search of XL masks.  I should’ve taken a pic of the line just to get in World of Disney.  At 8:00 at night.  Ghirardelli has a super long line.  We left at 9:00 tonight, a Sunday, and the place was still very busy.
> 
> I have no idea how they can justify these shorter hours and reduced food offerings.  I’m praying it gets better during the week.  If not we may just chalk up our losses, change our flights, and go home.


For full ticket price no less.

My only suggestion to guests that are returning and have questions regarding measures they are taking right now, please reach out to guest services and explain your experience. If they start hearing over and over that their current measures are neither efficient nor safe perhaps they’ll make some changes.


----------



## NanetteG

sweetpee_1993 said:


> We are here now.  Epcot yesterday (Saturday) and Animal Kingdom today (Sunday).  Epcot yesterday was insane.  That’s as busy as I’ve seen it in the past except no Fastpass, reduces hours, and limited food offerings.  The cavalcades were a TERRIBLE idea because the already jammed walkways were shoved to the sides.  It was not possible to effectively socially distance.  Every attraction was consistently 45+ minutes all day.
> 
> Today in AK was not much better.  With the exception of the first hour, every line was consistently normal operation time lengths.  But, reduced hours and limited offerings in terms of food.
> 
> Went to Disney Springs tonight in search of XL masks.  I should’ve taken a pic of the line just to get in World of Disney.  At 8:00 at night.  Ghirardelli has a super long line.  We left at 9:00 tonight, a Sunday, and the place was still very busy.
> 
> I have no idea how they can justify these shorter hours and reduced food offerings.  I’m praying it gets better during the week.  If not we may just chalk up our losses, change our flights, and go home.


Thanks for the report Sweetpee and please keep them coming.  We are due to arrive next Monday and I am anxious to know what to expect.


----------



## yulilin3

Ak this morning,  parked and inside by 8:35, i rope dropped navi which opened at 9am, was on the second boat
Walked to safari,  10 minute walk through queue saw all the animals it was great.  And then gorilla falls trail,  walking out saw 3 of the cavalcades,  left at 11


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

emmabelle said:


> Just as a side note, I said to my husband at Epcot on Friday night, "do you want to ride Mission Space?"  He said sure but only if we do orange.  I have never done the orange side but said ok anyways.  Never, ever, ever, ever again.  I was so sick that it ruined the rest of the night, but at least I can say I did it.


Oh my word, I know that feeling, I was tricked into going on the that side...terrible just terrible.  It ruined the next couple of hours for me.  I will never, ever, ever, ever go on that again.


----------



## silver236

Watching the app today, and it seems with the exception of Studios the wait times have dropped back down again. Hope that holds for our trip in a couple of weeks.


----------



## ksromack

LeeLee'sMom said:


> Oh my word, I know that feeling, I was tricked into going on the that side...terrible just terrible.  It ruined the next couple of hours for me.  I will never, ever, ever, ever go on that again.


I remember riding Mission Space before they had the two sides....and I'm  with ya, will never do that ride again. It really did ruin the rest of my day at Epcot!


----------



## escriven75

sweetpee_1993 said:


> We are here now.  Epcot yesterday (Saturday) and Animal Kingdom today (Sunday).  Epcot yesterday was insane.  That’s as busy as I’ve seen it in the past except no Fastpass, reduces hours, and limited food offerings.  The cavalcades were a TERRIBLE idea because the already jammed walkways were shoved to the sides.  It was not possible to effectively socially distance.  Every attraction was consistently 45+ minutes all day.
> 
> Today in AK was not much better.  With the exception of the first hour, every line was consistently normal operation time lengths.  But, reduced hours and limited offerings in terms of food.
> 
> Went to Disney Springs tonight in search of XL masks.  I should’ve taken a pic of the line just to get in World of Disney.  At 8:00 at night.  Ghirardelli has a super long line.  We left at 9:00 tonight, a Sunday, and the place was still very busy.
> 
> I have no idea how they can justify these shorter hours and reduced food offerings.  I’m praying it gets better during the week.  If not we may just chalk up our losses, change our flights, and go home.



Yikes!  This is discouraging.  Our March trip is rescheduled for Dec 18-23 but I'm starting to wonder if we should reschedule AGAIN?  I made park reservations a long while back but now that park hours have been changed and shortened I am planning to try to switch some of our days but they haven't released the hours for Dec yet.  I wonder if they're hearing about experiences such as your's and are planning to bump the hours back up for the holiday season?  I almost don't even wanna try to go to Epcot this trip....and we LOVE Epcot!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

I think it should be a requirement on this thread for each poster to define what they consider "busy" or "insane" or a "nightmare" in terms of crowds/wait times. The binary of exaggeration and understatement isn't helpful for an already anxious and on-edge fanbase 

I consider anything under 45 minutes reasonable, anything under 30 good, and anything 25 and under absolutely glorious. Based on that criteria, we found our trip last week to be very fun and pleasant  Lots of walk-ons that had long posted wait times, and also lots of situations where we had to skirt a group of people on a walkway. At EPCOT on Friday for F&W and it was busy but the longest line we experienced for the booths was France around 5pm, we waited socially distanced behind about 10 people and it took probably about 10-15 minutes to get through at the booth - definitely not a miserable experience. The longest wait for a ride was 40 mins for Test Track because of a cleaning cycle but everything else was pretty much a walk on (Soarin' was maybe 15 minutes waiting for the previous show to start and then unload).

Also, there were plenty of spots to grab a table or a seat to enjoy your beverages/snacks. Having to walk 10 yards to find a table is not a miserable experience either.

I think another poster said it best - if you're expecting tumble weeds and empty parks, and for everything to be a walk-on, don't go. If you are frightened of someone coming within 6 feet of you in a gift shop or on a walkway, stay home. If you're spoiled by having to wait more than 5 minutes in a line, you're not going to like it. If, however, you pack your patience you will find a fun and relaxing trip waiting for you.


----------



## soniam

yulilin3 said:


> This has been the biggest issue since opening, lunch time
> My recommendation would be, if you know what location and approximate time you want to eat mobile order early in the day without hitting the last (prepare my meal) button. That way you basically are reserving your meal time
> So at 9 or 10am if you think you'll want to eat around 12:30pm, go on the app, the restaurant you want and click that time period (usually go in 20 min increments) at that time of day (9am or 10am) you will most likely see all the times available, pick your time, order your food and when you get to the restaurant at noon you won't have to wait for a window to open just wait for your food to be made
> I hope that all makes sense
> In the end it basically works just like an ADR


The app always quits on us and doesn’t allow us to keep a mobile order for too long. Does yours actually stay up for hours or keep you logged in for hours?


----------



## yulilin3

soniam said:


> The app always quits on us and doesn’t allow us to keep a mobile order for too long. Does yours actually stay up for hours or keep you logged in for hours?


once you order (as in paid for) the food your time slot stays there, when you get to the restaurant at your time you open it and go to "my orders" and then click "I'm here prepare my food"
So you can do that as early as 9am, pick a restaurant, pick your time slot, pick and pay for the food. At that time the app will just wait for you to say "prepare my food" you don;t have to leave the mobile order window open


----------



## NoraRose

So there’s no park hoppers right now, but is it possible to buy tickets for 2 parks in 1 day? Does anyone know? Would be expensive, but we only have 1 day. I think we could pull off HS and then MK.


----------



## Naomeri

NoraRose said:


> So there’s no park hoppers right now, but is it possible to buy tickets for 2 parks in 1 day? Does anyone know? Would be expensive, but we only have 1 day. I think we could pull off HS and then MK.


No, there is no way to get around the 1 park per day rule


----------



## NoraRose

Naomeri said:


> No, there is no way to get around the 1 park per day rule


Oh, I didn’t know it was a rule! that makes sense!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

NoraRose said:


> So there’s no park hoppers right now, but is it possible to buy tickets for 2 parks in 1 day? Does anyone know? Would be expensive, but we only have 1 day. I think we could pull off HS and then MK.





Naomeri said:


> No, there is no way to get around the 1 park per day rule





NoraRose said:


> Oh, I didn’t know it was a rule! that makes sense!


You could hold multiple tickets, but the park reservation system would prevent you from being able to reserve more than one park per day to use them that way.


----------



## dachsie

butterscotchcollins said:


> I think it should be a requirement on this thread for each poster to define what they consider "busy" or "insane" or a "nightmare" in terms of crowds/wait times. The binary of exaggeration and understatement isn't helpful for an already anxious and on-edge fanbase
> 
> I consider anything under 45 minutes reasonable, anything under 30 good, and anything 25 and under absolutely glorious. Based on that criteria, we found our trip last week to be very fun and pleasant  Lots of walk-ons that had long posted wait times, and also lots of situations where we had to skirt a group of people on a walkway. At EPCOT on Friday for F&W and it was busy but the longest line we experienced for the booths was France around 5pm, we waited socially distanced behind about 10 people and it took probably about 10-15 minutes to get through at the booth - definitely not a miserable experience. The longest wait for a ride was 40 mins for Test Track because of a cleaning cycle but everything else was pretty much a walk on (Soarin' was maybe 15 minutes waiting for the previous show to start and then unload).
> 
> Also, there were plenty of spots to grab a table or a seat to enjoy your beverages/snacks. Having to walk 10 yards to find a table is not a miserable experience either.
> 
> I think another poster said it best - if you're expecting tumble weeds and empty parks, and for everything to be a walk-on, don't go. If you are frightened of someone coming within 6 feet of you in a gift shop or on a walkway, stay home. If you're spoiled by having to wait more than 5 minutes in a line, you're not going to like it. If, however, you pack your patience you will find a fun and relaxing trip waiting for you.


Thank you.  It's been all over the place.  But you said this well.


----------



## summerw

yulilin3 said:


> once you order (as in paid for) the food your time slot stays there, when you get to the restaurant at your time you open it and go to "my orders" and then click "I'm here prepare my food"
> So you can do that as early as 9am, pick a restaurant, pick your time slot, pick and pay for the food. At that time the app will just wait for you to say "prepare my food" you don;t have to leave the mobile order window open



what happens if you get stuck on a ride or something and miss your time slot? And I really enjoyed your live stream! Thanks for all you do!


----------



## yulilin3

summerw said:


> what happens if you get stuck on a ride or something and miss your time slot? And I really enjoyed your live stream! Thanks for all you do!


That i don't know,  you have a 20 min time slot but I'm assuming you can just hit the I'm here button after that? Really not sure and thank you for watching.  I'll be live tomorrow from mk for all the cavalcades and decorations


----------



## Vern60

ksromack said:


> I remember riding Mission Space before they had the two sides....and I'm  with ya, will never do that ride again. It really did ruin the rest of my day at Epcot!


Maybe some T-shirts are in order?
"I turned Green riding the Orange!"


----------



## crazymomof4

NashvilleMama said:


> AK was a madhouse today. Third park day for us and so much worse than the last two at MK and DHS. It was a great lesson for my kids in “and this is why you should appreciate all of mommy’s work on getting FPs and touring plans in place for us” as they now understand horrendous wait times.
> 
> Wait time for FOP was posted at 50 mins when we entered the line. We waited two hours. TWO HOURS. (And we all agreed it was still worth it as that ride will never cease to blow me away. I actually teared up during it as I felt six months of stress release while “flying” through the air.)
> 
> We heard more than a few locals talking about how crazy it is now compared to just 2-3 weeks ago. I guess the word is out + capacity increases and gone are the walk-on days.
> 
> we’ll definitely not be returning until FP comes back, and longer evening hours.


Ugh!  Very disappointing.  FOP went from "We rode it 4x in a row"  "No wait" a short time ago to TWO HOURS wait?     Lovely!  
WDW-- if you are going to increase capacity limits then you have to give us back FP!


----------



## Eldritch

After today’s debacle at HS studios today, I’m worried about MK tomorrow morning. I was wondering if someone could give some quick information/advice on how to start the day off.  We are staying at Pop. 

We got into our Uber around 8am and saw the huge lines for buses.  What’s the best way to get to MK and at the best time to take advantage of anything going on before the official 9am rope drop?  We could take the bus but at this point I don’t mind Ubering.  Is that the way to go, and if so WHERE?  I would guess the Contemporary?

When do they start things up at MK?  Is it like HS where they let people in early and start rides soon after that?

I would assume 7 Dwarfs first?  We were thinking of doing all of fantasyland while we’re there.  Or would it be better to let that sit and go down by Pirates, Splash and Thunder with maybe hitting Mansion along the way?

I’m sorry if this is already somewhere else.  I did look.  Thank you.


----------



## yulilin3

Eldritch said:


> After today’s debacle at HS studios today, I’m worried about MK tomorrow morning. I was wondering if someone could give some quick information/advice on how to start the day off.  We are staying at Pop.
> 
> We got into our Uber around 8am and saw the huge lines for buses.  What’s the best way to get to MK and at the best time to take advantage of anything going on before the official 9am rope drop?  We could take the bus but at this point I don’t mind Ubering.  Is that the way to go, and if so WHERE?  I would guess the Contemporary?
> 
> When do they start things up at MK?  Is it like HS where they let people in early and start rides soon after that?
> 
> I would assume 7 Dwarfs first?  We were thinking of doing all of fantasyland while we’re there.  Or would it be better to let that sit and go down by Pirates, Splash and Thunder with maybe hitting Mansion along the way?
> 
> I’m sorry if this is already somewhere else.  I did look.  Thank you.


Mk opens about 8:30, some rides start opening at that time,  if 7DMT is a priority go there first for sure
You can read back a couple of pages for recent reports


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Eldritch said:


> After today’s debacle at HS studios today, I’m worried about MK tomorrow morning. I was wondering if someone could give some quick information/advice on how to start the day off.  We are staying at Pop.
> 
> We got into our Uber around 8am and saw the huge lines for buses.  What’s the best way to get to MK and at the best time to take advantage of anything going on before the official 9am rope drop?  We could take the bus but at this point I don’t mind Ubering.  Is that the way to go, and if so WHERE?  I would guess the Contemporary?
> 
> When do they start things up at MK?  Is it like HS where they let people in early and start rides soon after that?
> 
> I would assume 7 Dwarfs first?  We were thinking of doing all of fantasyland while we’re there.  Or would it be better to let that sit and go down by Pirates, Splash and Thunder with maybe hitting Mansion along the way?
> 
> I’m sorry if this is already somewhere else.  I did look.  Thank you.



We tried hitting Frontierland first last week and both Splash and BTMRR were down for the first 2 hours of the morning. It was maddening to walk all the way back there and then have to change course.

I would recommend rope dropping 7DMT and then moving on from there to whatever headliners you want to hit - wait times are still a bit of a bell curve. And just remember wait times are inflated


----------



## Eldritch

butterscotchcollins said:


> We tried hitting Frontierland first last week and both Splash and BTMRR were down for the first 2 hours of the morning. It was maddening to walk all the way back there and then have to change course.
> 
> I would recommend rope dropping 7DMT and then moving on from there to whatever headliners you want to hit - wait times are still a bit of a bell curve. And just remember wait times are inflated



Thanks, they definitely were inflated at Epcot yesterday (I’m not going to talk any more today at DHS).  I will keep that in mind.

Sounds like 8:30 is the time to be at MK tomorrow.  Just have to figure out how to get there.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Grumpy by Birth said:


> You could hold multiple tickets, but the park reservation system would prevent you from being able to reserve more than one park per day to use them that way.


What about day of walk up tickets?


----------



## yulilin3

hereforthechurros said:


> What about day of walk up tickets?


I think it's possible if you have separate mde accounts.  An expensive park day for sure


----------



## hereforthechurros

yulilin3 said:


> I think it's possible if you have separate mde accounts.  An expensive park day for sure


If you purchase a walk-up ticket do they have you create a park reservation on the spot?


----------



## yulilin3

hereforthechurros said:


> If you purchase a walk-up ticket do they have you create a park reservation on the spot?


You need a park reservation and yes you can make a reservation day of and enter the park


----------



## Melodious

Today we went to HS. We took a Lyft from BLT but barely made it in before 10 am. Technical issues so we didn't get a boarding pass. Park was definitely busy and lines were long. We waited 70 minutes at MFSR when it was posted fifty in the afternoon. Waited fifty at Tower when it was posted 45. Only waited 15 minutes at TSM when it was posted at thirty.  And we caught SDD at a really good time and only waited thirty minutes. As we were leaving though, the line was back to being really long.  Used a guest recovery fp at MMRR.  We had a good lunch at Brown Derby.  And mask and distancing compliance was overall good.


----------



## backfire103

Can anyone whose been through ATL or MCO lately speak to how mask compliance is? Still on the fence about making a trip down before the end of the year and while I feel like Disney is doing the right thing who knows with the airports.


----------



## yulilin3

Hollywood Scoops has reopened and is operating noon to 6pm


----------



## 5kidsmommy

We are here now. I was super cranky Saturday and Sunday but today made up for it. I think combined Saturday and Sunday we spent 6 hours in MK. It was just so crowded. Then we missed the last mororail back to the resort by one minute and had to take the ferry. A women without a mask, not standing on a dot coughed on my son. It pushed me over the edge. I was just so done with the crowds.
Today made up for it. hS was busy but doable and everyone seemed to be social distancing and wearing their masks plus it didn’t rain.
I don’t regret our trip. We had a lovely stay at the Poly even with much of it closed.


----------



## RN2003AZ

Melodious said:


> We're here now. EP yesterday (Saturday) but we didn't do many rides, only Soarin' at closing (we waited about thirteen minutes of the listed thirty-five).  Food lines were long but not unbearable. We easily got in the showplace and lines went down later in the afternoon
> 
> Today we were at MK. It was definitely busy by midmorning and there was more blatant mask noncompliance than anticipated, but I never felt personally in danger. Offenders were generally walking by with chin straps, etc. In line, there were few problems, just the occasional sip of water or accidentally forgetting about distance but correcting it. Mobile order was a problem all day
> 
> Wait times were mostly overestimated, at Pirates (15), Peter Pan (20), HM (a long walk but only 15 min), even SDMT(30 minutes including a rain storm) However, we did wait forty-five minutes at small world and twenty five at barn-stormer. Oh, and we were the group that broke Splash mtn this morning
> 
> Tomorrow, we're going to HS. Debating Lyft or bus from BLT.


We were in line for Splash when you broke it! It didn’t come back up until around 4pm! 
I found lines ridiculously long and mask compliance severely lacking. As a medical professional I had higher hopes for the new policies. We had a good couple days until,this experience at MK. I will be emailing guest services with observations and complaints... and I’m not one to ever say anything.


----------



## WeLuvTink!

Eldritch said:


> Thanks, they definitely were inflated at Epcot yesterday (I’m not going to talk any more today at DHS).  I will keep that in mind.
> 
> Sounds like 8:30 is the time to be at MK tomorrow.  Just have to figure out how to get there.


Please report back and let us know about your rope dropping experience.  Looks like MK opens officially at 9 am tomorrow, so am curious how your experience is after walking through the tapstiles around 8:30.  Pixie dust to you for a good day!


----------



## crazymomof4

IluvMGM said:


> They opened at 10 when we went. *They let us in to the park by 9:15, we were one of the first ones waiting to enter.* We went right to M&M and got into line. They didn't start running the ride until around 9:30, we got on and off quickly. By the time we get off the ride the line is crazy long since most people seem to go there first.



What time did you arrive at or near DHS to be "one of the first ones to enter"?  We will be at BWV and walking to DHS, so we have control over our timing.


----------



## chicagoshannon

yulilin3 said:


> Ak this morning,  parked and inside by 8:35, i rope dropped navi which opened at 9am, was on the second boat
> Walked to safari,  10 minute walk through queue saw all the animals it was great.  And then gorilla falls trail,  walking out saw 3 of the cavalcades,  left at 11


We rope dropped FOP  and then went to safari.  We were just behind increasing crowds.  Gorilla Falls was closed when we got off safari.  They didn't tell us why.


----------



## Naomeri

yulilin3 said:


> Hollywood Scoops has reopened and is operating noon to 6pm


Yay!!
Now, if they would just reopen Market before my trip next month so I can get my french toast pretzel, all would be well with my world (my Disney-related world, anyway)


----------



## hereforthechurros

Naomeri said:


> Yay!!
> Now, if they would just reopen Market before my trip next month so I can get my french toast pretzel, all would be well with my world (my Disney-related world, anyway)


I was just thinking I hope Market is open by Christmas. We loved their Olaf snow flurry drink and gingerbread cookies.


----------



## Eldritch

crazymomof4 said:


> What time did you arrive at or near DHS to be "one of the first ones to enter"?  We will be at BWV and walking to DHS, so we have control over our timing.



We Uber’d from Pop to Boardwalk this morning.  We were there at 8:15 and walked from Boardwalk to HS.  Nice trail.  We got to where they held us up around 8:30.  There were maybe 20 people before us (though not explicit line).  At 9 they walked us to the temperature stations and we waited there until 9:15, when they let us in.


----------



## Eldritch

WeLuvTink! said:


> Please report back and let us know about your rope dropping experience.  Looks like MK opens officially at 9 am tomorrow, so am curious how your experience is after walking through the tapstiles around 8:30.  Pixie dust to you for a good day!



Thank you very much.  I feel like we could use all the help we can get.

I’m going to park my  in the bus line very early, as it sounds like we can’t Uber to Contemporary (they get pissed), and to Uber to the gateway doesn’t help as the monorails don’t themselves start until 8:30.


----------



## yulilin3

Eldritch said:


> Thank you very much.  I feel like we could use all the help we can get.
> 
> I’m going to park my  in the bus line very early, as it sounds like we can’t Uber to Contemporary (they get pissed), and to Uber to the gateway doesn’t help as the monorails don’t themselves start until 8:30.


Just be careful with the words you use,  they got asterisk'ed i erased out for you so you don't get warning points


----------



## Eldritch

Didn’t, know, now I do (and knowing is half the battle).  Thanks.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Eldritch said:


> We Uber’d from Pop to Boardwalk this morning.  We were there at 8:15 and walked from Boardwalk to HS.  Nice trail.  We got to where they held us up around 8:30.  There were maybe 20 people before us (though not explicit line).  At 9 they walked us to the temperature stations and we waited there until 9:15, when they let us in.



Co-signed - last week we walked from YC to the holding line (between Skyliner and bus station) left the hotel around 8:18 and got there about 8:30 (we walk fast). When they moved everyone forward to the temp check and spread us out between tents we wound up being the first in line at our tent, and then the first through security and tapstiles, and the first on MMRR that morning. It was pretty cool


----------



## 20yBWDW

Never mind. Off topic.


----------



## katyringo

butterscotchcollins said:


> Co-signed - last week we walked from YC to the holding line (between Skyliner and bus station) left the hotel around 8:18 and got there about 8:30 (we walk fast). When they moved everyone forward to the temp check and spread us out between tents we wound up being the first in line at our tent, and then the first through security and tapstiles, and the first on MMRR that morning. It was pretty cool


 This idea of Uber to a walking distance resort for HS is intriguing. I just keep hearing of the skyliner taking a while to start, people having to get in the back of the line at beach resort once getting off from pop, ubers being held at parking.  Could someone be more specific about the route of walking once dropped off at boardwalk? New to Disneyworld.


----------



## lynzi2004

Eldritch said:


> After today’s debacle at HS studios today, I’m worried about MK tomorrow morning. I was wondering if someone could give some quick information/advice on how to start the day off.  We are staying at Pop.
> 
> We got into our Uber around 8am and saw the huge lines for buses.  What’s the best way to get to MK and at the best time to take advantage of anything going on before the official 9am rope drop?  We could take the bus but at this point I don’t mind Ubering.  Is that the way to go, and if so WHERE?  I would guess the Contemporary?
> 
> When do they start things up at MK?  Is it like HS where they let people in early and start rides soon after that?
> 
> I would assume 7 Dwarfs first?  We were thinking of doing all of fantasyland while we’re there.  Or would it be better to let that sit and go down by Pirates, Splash and Thunder with maybe hitting Mansion along the way?
> 
> I’m sorry if this is already somewhere else.  I did look.  Thank you.



We stayed at Pop about 2 weeks ago. We got in line for the Mk bus around 7am and were within the first 4-5 families there so on the first bus. The line quickly ballooned after about 7:20. This was on a Sunday morning.We were the first bus to bag check and some of the first people on MainStreet that morning. We did 7DMT 2x, PP, HM, BTMRR, Splash 2x, Pirates, Carpets, and Jungle Cruise by 11am. Afterward a Dole Whip break we did Tiki Room, Country Bears, and Hall of Presidents before moving back to Fantasyland and doing LM, Dumbo, Teacups, Speedway, Space and CoP all before a Plaza reservation at 4:10.After dinner we finished with Philharmagic, Small World, BTMRR and Splash. Now this was with the 7pm close. But I would still recommend something similar to this, maybe not all the extra shows if you aren’t interested, but we were kid free and had never done them so figured why not. Small World was walkon when we did it, but when we tried to do it midday it was a 30+min wait with the line to match the wait time. It’s just such a slow loading ride. The only thing I would have done different is skip the 2nd splash ride first thing that morning. Although we walked on Pirates, it was showing a 30 min wait. But we somehow lucked out and they opened the FP lane and we were some of the first to get to go through so we walked right on.
Yes, we had roughly a 1hr wait to get in the bus first thing that morning, but it made the rest of the day a BREEZE! I would suggest over and over again, if your worried about crowds, bring on that FIRST bus is the key to a very pleasant day! Good luck!


----------



## Eldritch

lynzi2004 said:


> We stayed at Pop about 2 weeks ago. We got in line for the Mk bus around 7am and were within the first 4-5 families there so on the first bus. The line quickly ballooned after about 7:20. This was on a Sunday morning.We were the first bus to bag check and some of the first people on MainStreet that morning. We did 7DMT 2x, PP, HM, BTMRR, Splash 2x, Pirates, Carpets, and Jungle Cruise by 11am. Afterward a Dole Whip break we did Tiki Room, Country Bears, and Hall of Presidents before moving back to Fantasyland and doing LM, Dumbo, Teacups, Speedway, Space and CoP all before a Plaza reservation at 4:10.After dinner we finished with Philharmagic, Small World, BTMRR and Splash. Now this was with the 7pm close. But I would still recommend something similar to this, maybe not all the extra shows if you aren’t interested, but we were kid free and had never done them so figured why not. Small World was walkon when we did it, but when we tried to do it midday it was a 30+min wait with the line to match the wait time. It’s just such a slow loading ride. The only thing I would have done different is skip the 2nd splash ride first thing that morning. Although we walked on Pirates, it was showing a 30 min wait. But we somehow lucked out and they opened the FP lane and we were some of the first to get to go through so we walked right on.
> Yes, we had roughly a 1hr wait to get in the bus first thing that morning, but it made the rest of the day a BREEZE! I would suggest over and over again, if your worried about crowds, bring on that FIRST bus is the key to a very pleasant day! Good luck!



I like your plan and will likely try to do something very similar (though I’ll likely go down to the bus stop even earlier).  I’m just not so optimistic we can get that much done after what happened today at HS.

Thanks, and thanks for the well wishes.  I‘ll take it!


----------



## Julie Amber

We were in Hollywood Studios today. This is our first experience back at the parks since the whole Covid mess, but have been many times in the past during this time of year. 

We walked in the gates at 9:30 and were met with 80 min line at MMRR. The line attendant actually asked us to come back later so that they could get the line social distanced more and they closed the line for a bit

We decided to go to Slinky instead and waited about 20 minutes. 

We tried to get a Rise boarding group right at 10 am. The system glitched and wouldn't recognize that we were in the park (even with refreshing and going out and back in). We were smart and took a screen shot, which was good to use later on. We had heard that if that happens and you take a screenshot to show the guest services, sometimes they can help you 

After that, we did Rockin Rollercoast and Tower. Both were listed at 50-60 minutes. We got on each in about 25 minutes. So we saw much inflated posted times. We were pretty grateful for such quite ride times compared to listed waits

All of our QS dining went fantastic. I am totally in love with mobile ordering. We used it as Rontos and Pizza Rizzo where they had our food ready super duper fast (maybe 1-2 minutes after arrival) and we found it easier and quicker than regular ordering by far. Loving that and hope it stays forever

The rest of our waits: Walked on TSMM and Alien Saucers, 10 min wait for Star Tours, 45 for Millennium Falcon.

The line for guest services was forever long right around 10 am when a lot of people didn't get Rise boarding groups, so we decided to check it out later in the day. We visited guest services around 2:30 and only had one person in line in front of us. They gave us a fast pass for MMRR because of the Rise glitch. We walked right on that one... which was our first time riding ever and we loved it so much!!

Overall, it was a great day. We ended up going to Disney Springs for dinner and had an amazing meal at Polite Pig, which had our food ready the moment we sat down at our table. 

So, overall, today has been a pretty great day. Even though it LOOKED pretty crowded at HS today, we were able to do everything but Rise, ate some amazing food, did some shopping, picked up the exact Halloween popcorn bucket I wanted (Poison Apple) and found most people to be very good at following the rules...

Which, for the record, I am okay with social distancing staying for a while. I'm really enjoying being in the parks without being smooshed right up against everyone else. lol. 

Magic Kingdom tomorrow with everyone else on the planet. Hoping to get there in time to rope drop the biggies!!


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

Just back after a long weekend with my daughter. We went to AK on Saturday and MK on Sunday. Long story short, while still lower than normal, I'm guessing the empty parks are a thing of the past. We got to AK about 30 minutes pre opening. Walked on FOP then waited maybe 10 minutes for Navi. When we got off of Navi, FOP was already a 30 minute wait and only climbed from there. We rode it again at the end of the day and waited an hour, which was what was posted. In fact, I found listed wait times to be accurate both days. At one point, the line to FOP made it all the way to Lion King.

It rained quite a bit on Saturday but it's still doable at AK, especially because it kept temps lower. Kali soaks you anyway. We didn't ride EE because my daughter wasn't into it so I can't speak to that line. Dinosaur was about a 30 minute wait. I think it got up to 50-55 during the hardest rain times.

Mobile order from Flame Tree and we waited about 15 minutes for it. I REALLY enjoyed sitting down and eating by the lake. We saw several floating drummers and some characters that way.

Sunday at MK we arrived about 30 minutes before again and after a few amazing pics in front of the castle (don't miss this, the photographers were so great!) we went straight to 7DMT and waited 25 minutes. This is pretty much the tone set for the day. Lots of waiting. Splash was down for most of the day and Space for quite a bit too, so those crowds went to the other big rides. At one point BTMR was 80 minutes! I think we waited 60, would've been shorter but we caught a cleaning cycle riiiiiight before we got on. It was nice to know we were sitting on clean seats though.

Dinner reservation right at closing at BOG. The filet was delicious. It was fun to walk out of an empty park. Castmembers were gently shooing people out, so we stopped for a few quick photos and kept walking. They had buses ready and waiting for late diners. By the way, cast members were amazing! So nice, kind, and helpful. Definitely magical. Also magical are the calvacades! We felt like it was a personal parade, with the eye contact and waving. The wicked stepsisters hang out on the back of the castle to heckle people walking by. They are my favorite characters and never disappoint!

I found the standby lines kind of fun! Some of the best ones I'd never been through as I was a FP stalker. It was a fun, magical surprise to see some new things. My daughter also loved having room to just run around, something that never happens in normal times. We spent a lot of time looking at wildlife in the parks.

Reduced menus kind of stink but I get it. Sometimes it was something weird too, like not as many goodies in the confectionary as normal. Having some fun Halloween snacks to track down was fun. My daughter really loved the poison apple cupcake. Oh, and Gaston's is open, yeah!

Mask wearing was 99%, from what I saw, and I never saw a cast member correct anyone for mask misuse. Not due to ignoring it, but they just weren't around then. I maybe saw 10 people blatantly disregarding the rules and from messages on their clothing, I'm guessing they were making an intentional statement. I tried to just give them a wide berth and move on like most others. Every now and then you'd see someone take a quick breath or drink but it got pretty muggy, especially on Saturday. Distancing was really good too, except for that bottleneck in Fantasyland. Lots of people in the morning saying oops and backing up in a line, it got better as the day went on.

Flying: Friday was ok (on SW), Monday was not fun out of the Disney bubble. I even saw one of the flight attendants take off her mask every time she went up by the cockpit. Mad rushes to the line to board, even when asked to wait for their number. maybe 75% mask compliance in the terminal.

Now that I've filled my Disney cup, I'm glad I went, but also glad it was a short trip. Even using disposable masks was hard in the super muggy parts of the day. We had a great trip and I'm sorry to miss the Halloween decorations going up tomorrow.


----------



## lynzi2004

Eldritch said:


> I like your plan and will likely try to do something very similar (though I’ll likely go down to the bus stop even earlier).  I’m just not so optimistic we can get that much done after what happened today at HS.
> 
> Thanks, and thanks for the well wishes.  I‘ll take it!


Getting there earlier wouldn’t hurt a thing, that’s for sure. On our AK day we got to the stop around 6:30 and I think there were 2 people in the MK bus line to give you an idea.

I missed what happened to you at HS, but I feel for you as ours was a crazy experience too. Seems to be par for the course with that park! But I will say that our MK day was a nice reprieve from the crazy  anxiety of our Hs day the day before!


----------



## IluvMGM

crazymomof4 said:


> What time did you arrive at or near DHS to be "one of the first ones to enter"?  We will be at BWV and walking to DHS, so we have control over our timing.



We took the skyiner from Pop Century which got us there a few minutes after 9:00.


----------



## IluvMGM

lynzi2004 said:


> We stayed at Pop about 2 weeks ago. We got in line for the Mk bus around 7am and were within the first 4-5 families there so on the first bus. The line quickly ballooned after about 7:20. This was on a Sunday morning.We were the first bus to bag check and some of the first people on MainStreet that morning. We did 7DMT 2x, PP, HM, BTMRR, Splash 2x, Pirates, Carpets, and Jungle Cruise by 11am. Afterward a Dole Whip break we did Tiki Room, Country Bears, and Hall of Presidents before moving back to Fantasyland and doing LM, Dumbo, Teacups, Speedway, Space and CoP all before a Plaza reservation at 4:10.After dinner we finished with Philharmagic, Small World, BTMRR and Splash. Now this was with the 7pm close. But I would still recommend something similar to this, maybe not all the extra shows if you aren’t interested, but we were kid free and had never done them so figured why not. Small World was walkon when we did it, but when we tried to do it midday it was a 30+min wait with the line to match the wait time. It’s just such a slow loading ride. The only thing I would have done different is skip the 2nd splash ride first thing that morning. Although we walked on Pirates, it was showing a 30 min wait. But we somehow lucked out and they opened the FP lane and we were some of the first to get to go through so we walked right on.
> Yes, we had roughly a 1hr wait to get in the bus first thing that morning, but it made the rest of the day a BREEZE! I would suggest over and over again, if your worried about crowds, bring on that FIRST bus is the key to a very pleasant day! Good luck!



I second this. We were at Pop and always one of the first, if not the first in line for the bus or skyliner. It was fine with us that the parks closed earlier, we went back to the hotel and went to sleep so we could get up early to start our day.


----------



## grannyminnie

backfire103 said:


> Can anyone whose been through ATL or MCO lately speak to how mask compliance is? Still on the fence about making a trip down before the end of the year and while I feel like Disney is doing the right thing who knows with the airports.


I flew out of Atlanta a couple of weeks ago (on a Saturday) and was pleasantly surprised at social distancing and mask compliance.  I had read posts that suggested otherwise.  Of course, your mileage may vary at any time, but I would feel comfortable doing so again.  I didn't fly into Orlando, so am wondering how that is going to be by November.  Incidentally, I flew SW if that helps.


----------



## RunWI1265

Arrived yesterday afternoon at BCV. First time staying here. Love it so far! Will follow up with more details later on.

Epcot day today. Anyone know what’s the better plan for open Frozen or TT? Will be entering via IG.


----------



## JoJoGirl

Arrived at WDW yesterday around noon.  Glad to finally be back at WDW after the long Covid wait!  I’ve been EXTEMELY cautious during the pandemic and this was my first time traveling.  We haven’t been in a grocery, eaten in restaurants (even outside), or done any recreational activities besides walking in the park since quarantine started.  In our area, people just don’t care about the virus - masks 40% on a good day, people gathering for weddings and parties, etc.  Spread right now in my county is 3x what is is in Orange County FL.  I was VERY nervous about this trip.

Flew in early on Southwest, nonstop from Columbus.  My airport experience was OK,  not too scary, but I’m glad it was brief.  In CBus, proper mask compliance was spotty (maybe 70%) and it was more difficult to physically distance at the gate due to another departure at the next gate.  Once that flight boarded, there was plenty of room to spread out.  I was glad to be wearing a KN95 mask and eye protection.  Once on the plane, only 75 or the 175 available seats were filled, so distancing felt good.  MCO actually felt less crowded than CBus, no trouble staying 6+ feet away from people 98% of the time, even at luggage claim.  

Waited about 15 minutes for ME.  Guests on ME were well spaced, but I still wore my KN95 and eye protection until we arrived at the Yacht Club around 11:45.  Then I switched to sunglasses and a disposable surgical mask.  Got my room ready text while on the bus right after crossing into WDW, Bonus!!  After a quick spiff-up at the room, I headed out to Epcot!

Crowd levels at Epcot were, to me, perfect!  Had no trouble distancing on the walkways.  Visited four F&W booths — The longest lines I experienced were 5 people deep at Canada around 4:30, and four at France around 1:00.  Brazil and Mexico had no line.  I LOVE the ability to grab a quick bite and eat it outside!  Never felt uncomfortable with the spacing of people who were eating with their masks down.  

Around 5:00, the wait time at Soarin‘ showed 10 minutes, so I thought I’d take a chance.  Walked straight through the queue, 15 feet away from anyone, into the boarding area.  Our flight group had only nine people, all adults with 100% mask compliance.  Thought that this was the greatest luck ever!  Little did I know — Patrick was halfway through his spiel when the CM interrupted him and announced a cleaning cycle.  Bummer!  About 10-15 minutes later, she returned and said they were having problems with the theater.  We were eventually moved to another boarding area and got on the ride after maybe 30 minutes total wait.  Everyone in my group was great, but I could imagine that if people had started sitting down, removing their masks, and eating, it would have been very uncomfortable.  Mental note to carry an extra KN95 and eye protection in case this happens again.  

Exited Soarin’ and saw no wait at Living with the Land. Walked right on the boat there (no cleaning cycle, yay!).  I got the front row, and one more party was seated a couple of rows behind me - that was it.  

People are correct when they say there is no physical distancing at the ride exits.  Both times I hung back and let everyone else exit first, and was able to keep comfortable distance that way.

After 6:00 Epcot basically petered out - the crowd thinned considerably. I grabbed a bite and a Smoked Mango Margarita at the Mexico booth, wandered around WS until 7:00, then headed back to YC.

Overall I would say it was a great day at Epcot!  Enough people that it didn’t feel deserted, but plenty of space everywhere.  Plenty of socially distant places to stop to eat and drink.  Short wait times for rides around the dinner time hour (except for some bad luck at Soarin’).  The only disappointment was that so many shops were closed - however the open shops were not busy at all, so I can understand why they all can’t be open.  But I did have a great time, and have two more Epcot days planned this week thanks to the great distancing there.  

As a side note, when I woke up yesterday morning at 4:00 am (yikes!) the wether forecast for Orlando was “heavy downpours, sometimes torrential” for most of the day.  I ended up not seeing a drop of rain, just some welcome cloud cover and some lightning in the distance.  The Skyliner was closed again most of the afternoon/early evening, but was open again by park close.  

Visiting Epcot again today - will see if my luck holds out with the crowds and weather.  Having a great time so far!


----------



## Geomom

RunWI1265 said:


> Arrived yesterday afternoon at BCV. First time staying here. Love it so far! Will follow up with more details later on.
> 
> Epcot day today. Anyone know what’s the better plan for open Frozen or TT? Will be entering via IG.


Test track.  Wait times seem consistently high for it and as it's an outdoor ride, it closes when there is weather.


----------



## RunWI1265

Geomom said:


> Test track.  Wait times seem consistently high for it and as it's an outdoor ride, it closes when there is weather.


Thank you! We will head there. Four year old is finally tall enough to ride!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

RunWI1265 said:


> Thank you! We will head there. Four year old is finally tall enough to ride!



Agree with Test Track and in general any outdoor rides you want to hit get done first in the day - we had afternoon thunderstorms every day of our trip last week, they don't generally last long but the wait for them to move out of the 10-mile radius for the outdoor rides to safely operate is usually in total about 2 hours. Saved ourselves a lot of frustration/heartache in the Disney parks using this rule of thumb


----------



## katyringo

So I have been reading through all these posts and I am very type A and like to have things written out. What I am finding is that most folks who haven’t had long waits for skyliner and bus have arrived to the skyline station and bus station about 2.5 hours before park opening if you want to rope drop/be in the parks early. So.. for current park hours:

HS: arrive to skyline station by 730am. Open at 10.
MK: arrive to bus station by 630am. Open at 9am
Epcot: arrive to skyline station by 830am. Open 11
AK:  arrive to bus station by 630am. Open at 9am


----------



## brockash

butterscotchcollins said:


> I think it should be a requirement on this thread for each poster to define what they consider "busy" or "insane" or a "nightmare" in terms of crowds/wait times. The binary of exaggeration and understatement isn't helpful for an already anxious and on-edge fanbase
> 
> I consider anything under 45 minutes reasonable, anything under 30 good, and anything 25 and under absolutely glorious. Based on that criteria, we found our trip last week to be very fun and pleasant  Lots of walk-ons that had long posted wait times, and also lots of situations where we had to skirt a group of people on a walkway. At EPCOT on Friday for F&W and it was busy but the longest line we experienced for the booths was France around 5pm, we waited socially distanced behind about 10 people and it took probably about 10-15 minutes to get through at the booth - definitely not a miserable experience. The longest wait for a ride was 40 mins for Test Track because of a cleaning cycle but everything else was pretty much a walk on (Soarin' was maybe 15 minutes waiting for the previous show to start and then unload).
> 
> Also, there were plenty of spots to grab a table or a seat to enjoy your beverages/snacks. Having to walk 10 yards to find a table is not a miserable experience either.
> 
> I think another poster said it best - if you're expecting tumble weeds and empty parks, and for everything to be a walk-on, don't go. If you are frightened of someone coming within 6 feet of you in a gift shop or on a walkway, stay home. If you're spoiled by having to wait more than 5 minutes in a line, you're not going to like it. If, however, you pack your patience you will find a fun and relaxing trip waiting for you.


This is true perception makes such a difference.  For my folks we find a wait of 20-35 mins (depending on the attraction) reasonable.  Under 20, we're happy and ecstatic with under 5- 10 mins.  Anything over 35 mins we start feeling as though it may not be worth it and can't imagine waiting truly and over an hr for anything.  I'm not talking posted times, I mean real times.  Again the attraction makes a difference as well.  For example we're much more accepting of waiting 30 mins for Splash or Space, but would be pretty annoyed if we waited that long for Small World.


----------



## brockash

katyringo said:


> So I have been reading through all these posts and I am very type A and like to have things written out. What I am finding is that most folks who haven’t had long waits for skyliner and bus have arrived to the skyline station and bus station about 2.5 hours before park opening if you want to rope drop/be in the parks early. So.. for current park hours:
> 
> HS: arrive to skyline station by 730am. Open at 10.
> MK: arrive to bus station by 630am. Open at 9am
> Epcot: arrive to skyline station by 830am. Open 11
> AK:  arrive to bus station by 630am. Open at 9am


The buses were back to only running an hr before park open last week.  - Was more like 1.5 hrs before over the long weekend.  I wouldn't see a need to get to bus stop more than an hr and 15 mins prior to open now and we like to be as close to 1st in the park as possible lol


----------



## nkereina

Julie Amber said:


> 45 for Millennium Falcon.


Is this 45 minutes once you got in line for your boarding group? Or is this standby? I've not been following recent experiences too closely, so I don't even know if standby is an option.


----------



## Naomeri

nkereina said:


> Is this 45 minutes once you got in line for your boarding group? Or is this standby? I've not been following recent experiences too closely, so I don't even know if standby is an option.


Millennium Falcon doesn’t have boarding groups, just standby.  You’re thinking of Rise of the Resistance


----------



## nkereina

Naomeri said:


> Millennium Falcon doesn’t have boarding groups, just standby.  You’re thinking of Rise of the Resistance


Yep, you're right. DH would be mad at me for confusing my Star Wars terms lol! Thanks!

On a related note - is ROTR only boarding groups right now?


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

nkereina said:


> Yep, you're right. DH would be mad at me for confusing my Star Wars terms lol! Thanks!
> 
> On a related note - is ROTR only boarding groups right now?


Correct.  ROTR is by Boarding Group (BG) only.


----------



## NoraRose

Looks like the millennium falcon was down all day. Is this correct? Seems like GE is having a lot of problems lately.

We’re headed there Friday, for just 1 day. Debating whether or not to reschedule our day from Hollywood Studios to another park.
Thoughts?


----------



## yulilin3

NoraRose said:


> Looks like the millennium falcon was down all day. Is this correct? Seems like GE is having a lot of problems lately.
> 
> We’re headed there Friday, for just 1 day. Debating whether or not to reschedule our day from Hollywood Studios to another park.
> Thoughts?


The falcon issue is rare,  RotR goes down everyday,  sometimes a lot sometimes a little,  up to you what you want to do at the park


----------



## Homemom

Went to HS today. Drove from AKV Kidani left at 9am and scanned into park at 9:48. Got ROTR boarding group 25. It was called at 1:50. We got in line at 2:10 and were on the ride at 3:00. Slinky dog said 70 minutes but was only 35. The Alien saucers said 45 minutes and it was only 10. We waited 90 minutes for MMRR at 12:30.  Smugglers run was down all day.


----------



## WeLuvTink!

IluvMGM said:


> I second this. We were at Pop and always one of the first, if not the first in line for the bus or skyliner. It was fine with us that the parks closed earlier, we went back to the hotel and went to sleep so we could get up early to start our day.


Thanks for sharing your experience.  So how early did you line up for the skyliner or bus compared to the posted park hours?


----------



## IluvMGM

WeLuvTink! said:


> Thanks for sharing your experience.  So how early did you line up for the skyliner or bus compared to the posted park hours?


 We tried to get to the skyliner around 7:30 am when DHS opened at 10:00. For AK we were 2nd in line around 6:20 am for the 8 am opening. For MK I think we got in line a little before 7 am for the  9 am opening.


----------



## backfire103

grannyminnie said:


> I flew out of Atlanta a couple of weeks ago (on a Saturday) and was pleasantly surprised at social distancing and mask compliance.  I had read posts that suggested otherwise.  Of course, your mileage may vary at any time, but I would feel comfortable doing so again.  I didn't fly into Orlando, so am wondering how that is going to be by November.  Incidentally, I flew SW if that helps.



That's good to hear. I would either be on SWA through BWI or Delta through Atlanta. I feel like the people of Baltimore are taking wearing a mask more diligently.


----------



## chicagoshannon

Dhs waz a bit rough today.  Falcon never opened.  Waits at least 45 minutes for every ride staying at about 10:30 and lasting until after 2pm.  MMRR went down a lot today too.  There was at least an hour where all 3 news rides were down art the same time.

They really need to get the big shows up and running again.


----------



## Tinkerbellmom43

I left Hollywood Studios today. I was there first thing this morning as well. I rode MMRR and Slinky by 10 am. I checked the app and saw that RNR was 45 and figured it was inflated until I got there. I decided to go to  Starbucks and that line was spilling onto Sunset Blvd. I got off of the line and left. The lines for RNR and TOT were not socially distanced at all at 10:26 this morning. If you zoom in closely there's no markers under anyones feet. Most of the wait times were 60 or more for the better rides and the Star Wars Rides were down at that time. I've had a great week with the exception of Epcot on Saturday. Bring your patience for DHS


----------



## chicagoshannon

Tinkerbellmom43 said:


> I left Hollywood Studios today. I was there first thing this morning as well. I rode MMRR and Slinky by 10 am. I checked the app and saw that RNR was 45 and figured it was inflated until I got there. I decided to go to  Starbucks and that line was spilling onto Sunset Blvd. I got off of the line and left. The lines for RNR and TOT were not socially distanced at all at 10:26 this morning. If you zoom in closely there's no markers under anyones feet. Most of the wait times were 60 or more for the better rides and the Star Wars Rides were down at that time. I've had a great week with the exception of Epcot on Saturday. Bring your patience for DHS


Yep.  We watched the Mickey shorts, Mulan preview, and Muppets.  More first thing and got group 9 for rise.  Managed to ride TSM and aliens before our 3:30 droid appointment.  We left after that mostly because my kids didn't want to carry their stuff the rest of the day!


----------



## summerw

nevermind. Delete post.


----------



## JoJoGirl

Second day at WDW today.  Visited Epcot again to enjoy more of the Food & Wine Festival.

How do you tell your brain that it is OK to sleep in at WDW?  I wish I knew because I woke up at 7:00 am and was WIDE awake.  Being at the Yacht Club when Epcot doesn’t open until 11:00, it would have been fine to sleep past 9:00.  At home this would not have been a problem, lol.

Entered Epcot via the IG just before 11:00, and headed around the back side of the lagoon.  There were very few people on the promenade and no lines at all at the food booths for at least the first hour.  For some time, I felt like the only guest in the Japan pavilion.  It was wonderful to be able to simply explore and get as many pictures as I wanted without blocking walkways or bothering anyone.  Japan is truly a gorgeous pavilion!

Grabbed a bite at Japan, then Germany, where there were many empty picnic tables right up by the lagoon.  It was a great place to do some messaging and get caught up with everyone at home. There may or may not have been some “empty Epcot” pics shared.

I continued around the Lagoon and where the line to Frozen was already stretching to the promenade.  So that’s where all the people were!  At 12:15 there was no wait to get in the Mexico pyramid.  Noticed as I entered that there was NO LINE at La Cava (a first that I’ve seen), but since drinks aren’t allowed on the boat ride, I reluctantly passed and went to visit the Three Caballeros, which was a walk-on.  By the time I exited, the line at La Cava was a few people deep.  On a non-Covid day this would have been a boon, but today I was ready to get outside.  Luckily, there was only one person In line at La Choza, and a Cucumber Margarita was secured in short order.  Grabbed a picnic table behind the East side Kiosk shop, and was the only person in that whole area for about 15 minutes.  Eventually the secret was discovered, so I finished my drink and headed over to Future World.

Nemo was a walk-on just before 1:00, but the Seabase was crowded enough that it was difficult to maintain 6+ feet of distancing around the exhibits, even as a solo.   Maybe I will return and do this first thing Thursday morning.  

Headed to Spaceship Earth, which had a bit of a line, but the CM said they were cleaning and would be done in five minutes.  The line was outside and very well spaced, so I just queued up.  Never felt uncomfortable.  Here’s a pic:



You may not be able to tell, but there are a couple of empty rows between each open queue lane, keeping everyone far enough apart.  Once the line started moving it was less than five minutes to boarding, and the vehicle was nice and newly-cleaned.  It was GREAT to see SE again - I thought that when we went in February it would be the last time before the “reimagining.”  

After that, I headed over to Imagination and walked on to visit Figment.  Not sure why, but I enjoyed this ride much more than usual - maybe because I was not worried about time or what else I could have been doing.  It’s so much more relaxing not having to worry about FastPasses!

By then there were more people in the park.  For those of you who keep track of stroller parking, this is what it looked like in Future World west around 2:00 today: 



Headed back into World Showcase and decided to do my own “Tour de Lobster.”  Tried the Lobster tail at Citrus Blossom (no line), the Lobster Mac-n-Cheese at World Showplace (no line) and the Lobster Roll at Hops & Barley (again no line).  The Mac-n-Cheese was the winner, with the Hops-n-Barley coming in second, and Citrus Blossom a disappointing third.  Loved Carol the pianist, who was playing at World Showplace, and wished I could have stayed longer to listen but was trying to limit my indoor time.  Tables at World Showplace were only about 35-40% filled so distancing was all right there.

Along the way, I Grabbed a Bass Ale from the Rose & Crown stand and enjoyed it in the totally empty courtyard where British Revolution used to play.  I shed a silent tear that they are no longer there.

By 4:00 the Promenade was busier, and some popular food booths, like Canada, had lines of 5-10 people.  Along the main walkway, it was sometimes hard to avoid passing closer than 6 feet to people, but other times it was completely clear.  I am accustomed to passing people while walking at home, and since this was outside, only momentary, and almost everyone was masked, it did not feel uncomfortable to me.

Spent the rest of the day wandering WS, grabbing a bite or a drink here and there, and taking a ton of great pictures that I normally couldn’t due to the crowds.  It’s great to notice so many new things, even after almost 30 trips to WDW.  This one truly is unique!  Not having to fight crowds made it pleasant to stay in the park from open to close, even on a hot September day.

And once again, the weather surprised by not raining despite the forecast!  Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom, we’ll see if the luck holds out.


----------



## JoJoGirl

Tinkerbellmom43 said:


> I left Hollywood Studios today. I was there first thing this morning as well. I rode MMRR and Slinky by 10 am. I checked the app and saw that RNR was 45 and figured it was inflated until I got there. I decided to go to  Starbucks and that line was spilling onto Sunset Blvd. I got off of the line and left. The lines for RNR and TOT were not socially distanced at all at 10:26 this morning. If you zoom in closely there's no markers under anyones feet. Most of the wait times were 60 or more for the better rides and the Star Wars Rides were down at that time. I've had a great week with the exception of Epcot on Saturday. Bring your patience for DHS



Wow!  I’m at WDW now too but opted to skip HS this trip.  It’s been tough to be SO close but not go.  Kind of glad I‘m missing those crowds and lines, though.


----------



## Spazz2k

Anyone have this problems with the closing time change?? Park now closed for reservations at Olga's


----------



## katyringo

Spazz2k said:


> Anyone have this problems with the closing time change?? Park now closed for reservations at Olga's


 From my understanding there are still several restaurants that are saying open past park closing and those reservations are valid.


----------



## Dentam

Spazz2k said:


> Anyone have this problems with the closing time change?? Park now closed for reservations at Olga's



Oga's is open an hour after park close.  We had a 7:45 reservation last Tuesday and it was so cool being the last one's in Oga's and the last two people in GE that evening!


----------



## Julie Amber

We were in Magic Kingdom today

I was super concerned that it would be outrageously crowded with the start of everything Halloween today, but it wasn't bad at all!!

We got to the bus stop at Pop at 7:35. Buses started running right at 8 am. We were on the 4th bus and boarded right at 8:04 am. Not kidding. They had buses lined up one after the next and got people on FAST!

We absolutely LOVED the Halloween cavalcades. I mean, this really helped the magic really feel real to me. I especially loved the one with Mickey all dressed up and the music from MNSSHP. We ended up seeing 4 different cavalcades today without even trying

We walked on: SDMT, Splash, Thunder, Peter Pan, Dumbo, and HM

Waited about 5-10 for: Pooh, Space, Tiki room, Little Mermaid

Waited 20-30 min: Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Small World

I'll take that for a great Disney touring day.


----------



## katyringo

Julie Amber said:


> We were in Magic Kingdom today
> 
> I was super concerned that it would be outrageously crowded with the start of everything Halloween today, but it wasn't bad at all!!
> 
> We got to the bus stop at Pop at 7:35. Buses started running right at 8 am. We were on the 4th bus and boarded right at 8:04 am. Not kidding. They had buses lined up one after the next and got people on FAST!
> 
> We absolutely LOVED the Halloween cavalcades. I mean, this really helped the magic really feel real to me. I especially loved the one with Mickey all dressed up and the music from MNSSHP. We ended up seeing 4 different cavalcades today without even trying
> 
> We walked on: SDMT, Splash, Thunder, Peter Pan, Dumbo, and HM
> 
> Waited about 5-10 for: Pooh, Space, Tiki room, Little Mermaid
> 
> Waited 20-30 min: Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Small World
> 
> I'll take that for a great Disney touring day.



im glad to hear this. Since they don’t announce their times I’m worried we will miss all of them!


----------



## yulilin3

katyringo said:


> im glad to hear this. Since they don’t announce their times I’m worried we will miss all of them!


They start rolling down the parade route at around 10am.


----------



## AKVFamily

Homemom said:


> Went to HS today. Drove from AKV Kidani left at 9am and scanned into park at 9:48. Got ROTR boarding group 25. It was called at 1:50. We got in line at 2:10 and were on the ride at 3:00. Slinky dog said 70 minutes but was only 35. The Alien saucers said 45 minutes and it was only 10. We waited 90 minutes for MMRR at 12:30.  Smugglers run was down all day.


What do you suggest as a morning strategy at HS?


----------



## tussking

If I am reading correctly it seems MK is the least busy park during the week?


----------



## Tinkerbellmom43

JoJoGirl said:


> Wow!  I’m at WDW now too but opted to skip HS this trip.  It’s been tough to be SO close but not go.  Kind of glad I‘m missing those crowds and lines, though.


It's a little rough there. I was contemplating changing my park res. after speaking to a couple on Monday. They had just gotten back and said it was busy. Lol next time I'm going with my inner voice and switching  I went to DHS last Thursday when I arrived in the afternoon and it was manageable. Maybe afternoon is key? Ending my stay today at MK on a good note  Enjoy the rest of your trip!


----------



## Tinkerbellmom43

double post


----------



## Melodious

We were in EP yesterday. Headed first to Frozen but it was down for hours. Crowds were low. We walked on Soarin', Mission to Mars, Spaceship Earth, and Living with the Land. I was disappointed in the procedure at Living with the Land. At first they loaded every other lane. Once we were on the boat, they decided to load the rest. I felt I did not have time to object.

Frozen had a line stretching into China for most of the day when it came back up. Mask compliance was good and it was the first day we heard CMs correcting usage

Today we are heading to AK


----------



## OhioWDWDuo

Melodious said:


> We were in EP yesterday. Headed first to Frozen but it was down for hours. Crowds were low. We walked on Soarin', Mission to Mars, Spaceship Earth, and Living with the Land. I was disappointed in the procedure at Living with the Land. At first they loaded every other lane. Once we were on the boat, they decided to load the rest. I felt I did not have time to object.
> 
> Frozen had a line stretching into China for most of the day when it came back up. Mask compliance was good and it was the first day we heard CMs correcting usage
> 
> Today we are heading to AK



Had the same experience on Living with the Land yesterday! There was no wait for this ride, so really no reason to load every row on the boat. The group directly in front of us pulled their masks down to chin straps for the ENTIRE ride as soon as it started. We were so uncomfortable! It has been the only ride so far during this trip where we felt unsafe. Would not ride this again unless the CMs guarantee not to load every row. It would be worth asking before getting on; wish we had done that.


----------



## disneygirlsng

OhioWDWDuo said:


> Had the same experience on Living with the Land yesterday! There was no wait for this ride, so really no reason to load every row on the boat. The group directly in front of us pulled their masks down to chin straps for the ENTIRE ride as soon as it started. We were so uncomfortable! It has been the only ride so far during this trip where we felt unsafe. Would not ride this again unless the CMs guarantee not to load every row. It would be worth asking before getting on; wish we had done that.


Did your boat not have the dividers? My understanding was once they installed the dividers they started seating every row. That wouldn't bother me if the dividers were there.


----------



## OhioWDWDuo

disneygirlsng said:


> Did your boat not have the dividers? My understanding was once they installed the dividers they started seating every row. That wouldn't bother me if the dividers were there.



Yes, the boat had the dividers. But it was still very uncomfortable, since the party in front of us took their masks off and the dividers do not go all the way up/down. The boat directly in front and behind us were completely empty, so there was no reason to pack in every row. Now that I know, I will definitely ask for future rides. It wouldn’t have been bad if we had mask compliance in our boat.


----------



## Melodious

OhioWDWDuo said:


> Yes, the boat had the dividers. But it was still very uncomfortable, since the party in front of us took their masks off and the dividers do not go all the way up/down. The boat directly in front and behind us were completely empty, so there was no reason to pack in every row. Now that I know, I will definitely ask for future rides. It wouldn’t have been bad if we had mask compliance in our boat.



The dividers also have large gaps below and on top. Basically I would just like to have the information to make a decision before riding


----------



## Momma of 4

I'm interested in hearing about people's experiences while eating, specifically QS. Are you able to find ample tables outside close to the QS? We plan to eat outside as much as possible in October, and I worry about being able to find places for us all to sit (family of 6). Especially because we like to snack often and will be needing to "pull over" to do so.


----------



## mouselovenfamily

Just got boarding group 15 for rise!


----------



## PrincessV

Momma of 4 said:


> I'm interested in hearing about people's experiences while eating, specifically QS. Are you able to find ample tables outside close to the QS? We plan to eat outside as much as possible in October, and I worry about being able to find places for us all to sit (family of 6). Especially because we like to snack often and will be needing to "pull over" to do so.


I went a few weeks ago and had no problem finding outdoor tables away from others - all of my days were weekdays...
EP: I only did the F&W booths, but had no issues finding a bench or standing table in the shade to enjoy every item I ate. 
MK: mobile ordered from Pecos Bill's around 6pm - plenty of tables immediately outside, as well as plenty of benches further away if I'd opted to wander off a bit.
AK: in-person ordered at Y&Y Local Foods - a bit busier in the outdoor seating area than my EP or M experiences, but still ample open tables at least a table or more away from other diners.

tl;dr: no issue at all finding places to eat QS well removed from others.


----------



## mouselovenfamily

mouselovenfamily said:


> Just got boarding group 15 for rise!



We got in queue to get on the ride and it has broke down. So we have gotten out of line heading to her Oglas reservation and will go back after that.


----------



## yulilin3

Momma of 4 said:


> I'm interested in hearing about people's experiences while eating, specifically QS. Are you able to find ample tables outside close to the QS? We plan to eat outside as much as possible in October, and I worry about being able to find places for us all to sit (family of 6). Especially because we like to snack often and will be needing to "pull over" to do so.


Outdoor seating is  easier than indoors,  everyone wants reprieve from the heat


----------



## Shellyred8

backfire103 said:


> Can anyone whose been through ATL or MCO lately speak to how mask compliance is? Still on the fence about making a trip down before the end of the year and while I feel like Disney is doing the right thing who knows with the airports.


We went through MCO at the end of August and mask usage was maybe 50/50.  On the plus side, it wasn't very busy, so it was very easy to social distance.


----------



## Melodious

Momma of 4 said:


> I'm interested in hearing about people's experiences while eating, specifically QS. Are you able to find ample tables outside close to the QS? We plan to eat outside as much as possible in October, and I worry about being able to find places for us all to sit (family of 6). Especially because we like to snack often and will be needing to "pull over" to do so.



So far the only time we struggled to find outdoor seating was lunch at Pinocchio house. Also most tables are spaced for four people. Trying to sit more than that would have been difficult a few times


----------



## oceanbec

Any updates about popcorn?
Are refills available yet?

thanks


----------



## yulilin3

oceanbec said:


> Any updates about popcorn?
> Are refills available yet?
> 
> thanks


Refills have been available since reopening,  they give you a regular size popcorn instead of filling up your bucket directly


----------



## IluvMGM

Shellyred8 said:


> We went through MCO at the end of August and mask usage was maybe 50/50.  On the plus side, it wasn't very busy, so it was very easy to social distance.



I didn't think MCO was that great the beginning of September. Whole families were sitting around with no masks, people walking into the bathrooms with no masks. Even some airport employees were walking around with their mask pulled down. I did see hand sanitizer every once in awhile at MCO. We flew out of PHL and there wasn't a single hand sanitizer dispenser anywhere, which surprised me. I kind of thought even before Covid there might be a few around.


----------



## emmabelle

backfire103 said:


> Can anyone whose been through ATL or MCO lately speak to how mask compliance is? Still on the fence about making a trip down before the end of the year and while I feel like Disney is doing the right thing who knows with the airports.




last Saturday night at 6pm MCO was a ghost town.  No line at security.  Hardly anything open.  Sooooo weird.


----------



## NoraRose

For those who have been to HS this week, how are the wait times compared to the posted wait times?


----------



## alliecat726

One week from right now, we'll be landing in Orlando, woo hoo! Heading to all 4 parks (TH-MK, FR-AK, SA-HS & SU-EPC) and I have a couple questions for anyone that knows firsthand...  1) Can you use the mobile ordering app for the booths @ Epcot's Food & Wine? 2) Are there any online resources that track wait times in detail (ie recent wait times on the weekends vs during the week; wait times since reduced hours started; etc) to make for better ride strategies? 3) We do not plan to get up early, wait in bus/skyliner lines forever & arrive @ the parks before/right at opening time as it seems like every time I check the wait times on app from home they're always so bad during that first hour after opening--so we plan to arrive within/after that first hour and take our time--would people agree or is this crazy? (Only exception is HS so we can try for the 10am BP, so we'll shoot to get there before 9:30 that day--unfortunately on Saturday so I'm expecting to be surprised, disappointed and annoyed by the crowds/waits lol). Thanks for any insights on these 3 items!


----------



## summerw

alliecat726 said:


> One week from right now, we'll be landing in Orlando, woo hoo! Heading to all 4 parks (TH-MK, FR-AK, SA-HS & SU-EPC) and I have a couple questions for anyone that knows firsthand...  1) Can you use the mobile ordering app for the booths @ Epcot's Food & Wine? 2) Are there any online resources that track wait times in detail (ie recent wait times on the weekends vs during the week; wait times since reduced hours started; etc) to make for better ride strategies? 3) We do not plan to get up early, wait in bus/skyliner lines forever & arrive @ the parks before/right at opening time as it seems like every time I check the wait times on app from home they're always so bad during that first hour after opening--so we plan to arrive within/after that first hour and take our time--would people agree or is this crazy? (Only exception is HS so we can try for the 10am BP, so we'll shoot to get there before 9:30 that day--unfortunately on Saturday so I'm expecting to be surprised, disappointed and annoyed by the crowds/waits lol). Thanks for any insights on these 3 items!


Josh from easywdw has been doing lots of comparisons of wait times by day. And accoring to him, since everyone tries to get a BG, HS is typically the most crowded during the first few hours, and before 2. Since the parks are opening before the posted time, that hour before can be really low wait times. We plan on going early to MK and AK at least, but a non-rushed family in the morning is its own reward.

He actually suggests going to HS Saturday or Sunday because all the parks are crowded on weekends, with many running out of park passes for passholders. Since HS does that during the week too, he says it's not as big of a difference between the week and weekend. I'm going to stop regurgitating. Lol. He has lots of good stuff from the past weeks.


----------



## alliecat726

summerw said:


> Josh from easywdw has been doing lots of comparisons of wait times by day. And accoring to him, since everyone tries to get a BG, HS is typically the most crowded during the first few hours, and before 2. Since the parks are opening before the posted time, that hour before can be really low wait times. We plan on going early to MK and AK at least, but a non-rushed family in the morning is its own reward.
> 
> He actually suggests going to HS Saturday or Sunday because all the parks are crowded on weekends, with many running out of park passes for passholders. Since HS does that during the week too, he says it's not as big of a difference between the week and weekend. I'm going to stop regurgitating. Lol. He has lots of good stuff from the past weeks.


Hm! Okay, guess that's a good point/I didn't really think about that (HS being busy every day so no diff between weekdays & -ends, why not go on -end & save weekdays for less crowding @ other parks)! Also good point about getting on a ride or 2 before park opening, guess the MDE app doesn't post wait times for pre-park hours, lol. Thanks much, good thoughts! (I'll also check out Josh from easywdw for more info!)


----------



## IluvMGM

alliecat726 said:


> One week from right now, we'll be landing in Orlando, woo hoo! Heading to all 4 parks (TH-MK, FR-AK, SA-HS & SU-EPC) and I have a couple questions for anyone that knows firsthand...  1) Can you use the mobile ordering app for the booths @ Epcot's Food & Wine? 2) Are there any online resources that track wait times in detail (ie recent wait times on the weekends vs during the week; wait times since reduced hours started; etc) to make for better ride strategies? 3) We do not plan to get up early, wait in bus/skyliner lines forever & arrive @ the parks before/right at opening time as it seems like every time I check the wait times on app from home they're always so bad during that first hour after opening--so we plan to arrive within/after that first hour and take our time--would people agree or is this crazy? (Only exception is HS so we can try for the 10am BP, so we'll shoot to get there before 9:30 that day--unfortunately on Saturday so I'm expecting to be surprised, disappointed and annoyed by the crowds/waits lol). Thanks for any insights on these 3 items!



No mobile ordering for Food & Wine, you have to wait in line and order that way. I liked getting into the parks early and getting a jump on the popular rides before the lines get crazy.


----------



## Tracey868

Hearing all this Right now about when to go to parks.. I have   I arrive Oct 31-  No Parks as we land at 3pm.  Not enough park time unless they extend 

Sunday - AK
Monday MK
Tues- Epcot
Wed- HS
Thur - MK 

What should I change if anything???


----------



## mrd7896

as others have posted, i thought we wouldn't rush to the parks every morning but quickly realized it was necessary.
we were off of Soarin by 10:52 and headed to Frozen before the park officially 'opened'
we were off of Pirates and walking onto Jungle Cruise before the park officially 'opened'
by 10:10 we had ridden ToT, RnRC and secured Boarding Group 5 for Rise.
can't remember if AK opened at 8 or 9 but regardless we had already been on the Safari with a fabulous early morning ride and in line for FoP within minutes of park opening.

if you were already planning on arriving within the first hour or so of the day anyway, you might as well shoot for official park open. pretty much every day we had cleared temp checks/security and were physically in the park 30 minutes before open and looking back it was definitely the smart move!

YMMV but looking at how the popular rides still climbed to 40-60 minute waits within the first few hours, we are certainly glad to have gotten some out of the way without using up park time.


----------



## oceanbec

yulilin3 said:


> Refills have been available since reopening,  they give you a regular size popcorn instead of filling up your bucket directly


Thank you! I previously saw something that said no popcorn refills and I wasn't finding any new info.


----------



## Melodious

NoraRose said:


> For those who have been to HS this week, how are the wait times compared to the posted wait times?



I was there Monday and wait times were more accurate than other parks. They were about right for TOT, SDD, and MMRR. We waited twenty minutes longer than posted for Millennium falcon and fifteen minutes less than posted for TSM


----------



## DisneyNDecember

mouselovenfamily said:


> We got in queue to get on the ride and it has broke down. So we have gotten out of line heading to her Oglas reservation and will go back after that.


 For a new ride, and such a popular ride, man this thing breaks down all the time.


----------



## WEDWDW

alliecat726 said:


> One week from right now, we'll be landing in Orlando, woo hoo! Heading to all 4 parks (TH-MK, FR-AK, SA-HS & SU-EPC) and I have a couple questions for anyone that knows firsthand...  1) Can you use the mobile ordering app for the booths @ Epcot's Food & Wine?



No,the Booths are not set up for Mobile Order.

My best F&W tip is to head into World ShowPlace!

Why?

Several Booths usually with short lines.
COLD AC-no standing in lines in the blistering heat at the outdoors Booths.
HUGE Restrooms(probably the biggest at WDW)-never a wait!
LOTS of tables.
Merchandise area.
Awesome Pianist performances.


----------



## WEDWDW

DisneyNDecember said:


> For a new ride, and such a popular ride, man this thing breaks down all the time.


But that thing is SO technologically advanced and SO far ahead of any other attraction in any other Park in the World,it kind of amazes me that there are times when everything works at once!lol


----------



## summerw

DisneyNDecember said:


> For a new ride, and such a popular ride, man this thing breaks down all the time.



I don’t think getting struck by lightning helped. Lol.


----------



## runjulesrun

NoraRose said:


> For those who have been to HS this week, how are the wait times compared to the posted wait times?


Was at HS today. Every single wait time was overstated for us. MMRR posted 70 min, was 50. SDD posted 60min, was 50, etc. we did every single ride including taking a break mid-day for a Skyliner ride and still left the park over an hour before it closed because we had done everything we wanted to.


----------



## jvalic33

Does anyone know what time the IG entrance for Epcot opens and what rides start running before "official" opening time?


----------



## Raven01

Is Pick a Pearl open in Epcot?


----------



## mouselovenfamily

Raven01 said:


> Is Pick a Pearl open in Epcot?



No it's not


----------



## nancy155

WEDWDW said:


> No,the Booths are not set up for Mobile Order.
> 
> My best F&W tip is to head into World ShowPlace!
> 
> Why?
> 
> Several Booths usually with short lines.
> COLD AC-no standing in lines in the blistering heat at the outdoors Booths.
> HUGE Restrooms(probably the biggest at WDW)-never a wait!
> LOTS of tables.
> Merchandise area.
> Awesome Pianist performances.



My Favorite restrooms in Disney!


----------



## JoJoGirl

Day 3 at WDW - Animal Kingdom.

When planning this trip, I wasn’t sure how comfortable I would feel in the parks, or how many rides I’d really want to go on.  So this was probably the day that made me the most nervous, first because getting to AK requires a bus ride, and second because FoP, Navi, and Dinosaur are indoor rides and I didn’t want to get stuck in a looooong queue with people who were not being careful.

My plan was basically to be early for everything to minimize waiting in lines.  Showed up early enough at the bus stop to snag a bench before the queue started stretching down the sidewalk, which it did within about 10 minutes.  The people in line ahead of me boarded the MK bus that came at 8:15, so when the first AK bus arrived at 8:20, I was the first on.  Bus spacing was OK, with no one closer than six feet, but I put on a KN95 mask and sunglasses just for good measure.  Was hoping the buses would start earlier — Didn’t they always used to start running an hour before the park opened? In any event, between the bus ride and the line for the temperature check, it was 8:50 until I got to the tapstyles and actually entered the park.

I decided to keep wearing the heavier mask for the first few rides at AK.  Headed straight back to Pandora (along with everyone else coming in the gate), and joined the outside queue for FoP at 8:55.  The line wasn’t quite to the path that heads toward Africa, and it moved at a steady walking pace all the way through the beautiful Valley paths, the building, and into the short preshow with Dr. Ogden.  There were four of us in one flight room, with an empty banshee between each party.  At this point things had moved quickly enough that being indoors didn’t feel as worrisome as it would have had the line been slow or stopped.  This ride is the best way to start the day! I really wakes you up and immerses you in the experience.  I LOVE it! 

Exited FoP At 9:20, and headed to Navi, which had a posted 20-minute wait.  By now, this line was moving at a more normal (slower) pace that required stopping on the spacing markers instead of walking straight through.  Time in line was pretty close to the 20-minute estimate.  Exited Navi at 9:50 and headed toward the Safari.  By this time the line for FoP stretched almost all the way to the bridge at the edge of Africa.

Queued up for the Safari at 10:10.  Estimated wait per MDE was 35 minutes, actual wait was 15.  This was one of the best Safaris I’ve ever had - so many animals!  A good half-dozen bongos were out in plain view, and the Zebras were right next to the ride vehicle, even crossing in front of it.  The baby zebra was only a few feet away as we passed.  Amazing!  All the usual suspects were out, even the two cheetahs were up and walking around.  

After the Safari, I grabbed a water and walked leisurely through Gorilla Falls.  The trail wasn’t very busy, but people tended to bunch up near the more interesting animals.  At the glass windows where the gorilla family hangs out, there was enforced social distancing using markers and dots on the ground, and a CM was there directing and keeping people from staying too long.  The mother gorilla and her baby were out this morning - so cute to watch!  People were pretty considerate at this time of day, not hogging the views and moving along in decent time.

By about noon the walkways were getting busier, and there were times when it was not possible to distance and keep moving.  But then you would walk on another hundred feet and the way was completely clear.  In AK especially, it seems as if one group walking slowly four abreast or stopping in the middle of the walkway can make the whole area feel crowded when it really isn’t.

Next, I caught the Bird Show (Cute!) and tried Kali Rapids for the first time in 20 years (Yikes!). Posted wait was 10 minutes, actual wait was walk-on.  I like this ride so much better when you don’t get drenched!  Was placed in a raft along with a family of four who sat directly opposite.  We got splashed a bit, just enough to get a little wet but not soaked.  It felt great!

By this time it was getting HOT, so I ditched the heavy mask for a light surgical one.  Walked through the Jungle trek, and saw only one tiger but enjoyed the lush greenery.  It was now time to head to Tiffin’s for my 1:25 ADR.  

Was able to cross the park quickly, and arrived at Tiffin’s at 1:05, just as my mobile check-in window opened.  Was seated in five minutes in the room to the outer side of Nomad Lounge.  This was my first time in an indoor restaurant in over six months, so I was a little apprehensive.  The tables there have always been well-spaced, and now half of them are blocked off to make the spacing even better.  It did appear as if almost all of the availble table were filled at least part of the time I was there.  Here’s a pic:




Menu was online-only, which was easy enough.  The server brought out some savory bread and spicy oil, yum!  I continued with the Tiffin’s Salad and my old hot-day favorite, a Snow Leopard Salvation, which slipped down super quickly. It may have been the heat, or the fact that it was after 1:00 and I had forgotten to eat breakfast, but everything was Soooo Delicious!  For my entree I got the Tamarind-glazed Beef Short Rib (fork tender!), accompanied by the Cauliflower in Manchurian sauce (ok, fried cauliflower, but it‘a still a vegetable, right?).  And I couldn’t be at Tiffin’s without having an Annapurna Zing to balance out the savory meal.  Oh my, was this ever good, and worth the six-month wait.

Tiffin‘s took exactly an hour and a half, and by that time it was blisteringly hot outside.  93 degrees, with a feels-like temp of 104. To give my lunch a chance to settle, I took the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch and explored around a few minutes.  This place is a little sad with the petting zoo off-limits. It really didn’t feel worth the waits for the train there and back.  But it did kill over an hour, and the crowds were really thinning out, so now I was ready to tackle The Yeti.

Everest had a posted wait time of 10 minutes at 3:45.  Actually got through in half that, doing a slow steady walk all the way though the queue to the loading area.  I was assigned the very last seat on the train (17 I think), a first for me on that ride.  IMO, that seat may be a little bumpier, but still a ton of fun.  I had been getting tired after the big lunch and the heat of the day, and this ride woke me up!  

From there I headed back to the Jurassic Period to help find Our Dino.  It was after 4:00 and the path from Asia to Dinoland was empty, and Dinosaur was a walk-on.  I was the only person seated in the front row of our vehicle, with two more in back.  One giant asteroid and one rescued Iguanadon later, It was time to go.

Overall, I was able to do everything I wanted, including the three indoor rides, by hitting the blockbusters during the first and last hour.  Filling the middle was more of a challenge, especially without the big shows running.  There is something about Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo — the musical shows and shared communal experience both relax you and raise your energy level at the same time.  They are sorely missed.

Exited the park at 4:45.  Five minute wait for a bus, which pulled away at 4:54 pm.

I won’t lie, with the heat, this day was exhausting.  I still had a great time, but needed some downtime at the resort to recuperate afterward.  Also had the third straight park day with no rain, though we did get a shower at the YC later.

Tomorrow it’s back to Epcot for more Food & Wine.  Glad my last day will be a relaxing one!


----------



## Akck

NoraRose said:


> For those who have been to HS this week, how are the wait times compared to the posted wait times?



We were there on Tuesday and wait times were mostly shorter. Star Tours posted 5 minutes actual walk on, Alien Swirling Saucers posted 30 actual 18 and MMRR posted 95 actual 60. MFSR was down the entire day as far as I know. We got BG 45 and were called around 4:50 and queue and ride took about an hour.


----------



## Nana2Callie

runjulesrun said:


> Was at HS today. Every single wait time was overstated for us. MMRR posted 70 min, was 50. SDD posted 60min, was 50, etc. we did every single ride including taking a break mid-day for a Skyliner ride and still left the park over an hour before it closed because we had done everything we wanted to.


Break mid-day for Skyliner?  This looks like something we want to do as we want to try this out - where did you go?


----------



## happymom2one

oceanbec said:


> Any updates about popcorn?
> Are refills available yet?
> 
> thanks




we have never done the refillable popcorn since we always to the dining plan with snack credits. Do you just buy one bucket and then just refill when needed? Or is there a charge each time? what is the cost of the bucket? thanks!!


----------



## dolewhipdreams

happymom2one said:


> we have never done the refillable popcorn since we always to the dining plan with snack credits. Do you just buy one bucket and then just refill when needed? Or is there a charge each time? what is the cost of the bucket? thanks!!


I love popcorn buckets! You purchase one bucket to use for the length of your trip. It comes full of popcorn, then when you're ready for more just return to any popcorn stand. It's $2 per refill, and right now they're giving out individual boxes for the refills instead of filling up your bucket directly.

Buckets themselves cost $10 ish for the basic, and up to $20 something for the specialty ones. A regular popcorn (not a refill) is usually around $5. So depending on how much popcorn your family plans to eat through the trip, it could be a good deal if you're looking for an easy snack. Although reports here say fewer popcorn stands are open than normal, so you may have to walk a little further to find one.


----------



## Justrose

@JoJoGirl Your posts are so helpful!  I really appreciate you!


----------



## RunWI1265

Yesterday made it to the Contemporary after two nights at BCV. Will highlight everything at the end of the trip. We’re in a garden wing room. Love how spacious these rooms are. Shower water wouldn’t get warm this morning which was a bummer. I’m sure a cool shower would feel nice returning from the parks but first thing in the morning, no thanks. While my toddler is napping I used the chat feature to set up a time for someone to come look at it. 

We had a nice morning at MK. We were the second car of the day for SDMT. And followed up with PP, SW, HM, Splash and circled back for Pooh which broke down mid ride and we were escorted off and given FPs (can’t use on PP or 7Ds though). By this time it was close to 11 so we went back towards Main St and caught a couple cavalcades and stopped in the Emporium. Kid is napping and hopefully will be refreshed for an afternoon return. It was a rough end to the morning for him (us). At open the crowds were very light and lines were walk-on. Hard for me to pinpoint the time but it seemed like maybe around 10ish or slightly later the crowds picked up a bit.


----------



## georgina

Justrose said:


> @JoJoGirl Your posts are so helpful!  I really appreciate you!


I was thinking the same thing. I am still quite apprehensive about making the trip in October, really helps reading her posts.


----------



## alliecat726

Question to anyone who's been on Skyliner from Riviera to DHS in the last week to make 10am BP attempt: Has anyone tried walking from Riv to CBR and waiting in that line vs waiting in the Riv line & having to transfer @ CBR? How do they "merge" Riv transferers to the CBR line/does that add time? Or maybe the walk over to CBR cancels that out. Just wondering if one is faster from beginning to end (DHS) esp per pre-10am anxiety.


----------



## IluvMGM

alliecat726 said:


> Question to anyone who's been on Skyliner from Riviera to DHS in the last week to make 10am BP attempt: Has anyone tried walking from Riv to CBR and waiting in that line vs waiting in the Riv line & having to transfer @ CBR? How do they "merge" Riv transferers to the CBR line/does that add time? Or maybe the walk over to CBR cancels that out. Just wondering if one is faster from beginning to end (DHS) esp per pre-10am anxiety.



We stayed at Pop and based on what we saw, if you were one of the first people on the skyliner from Pop or Riviera, you went right to the front of the line at CBR, bypassing the CBR people waiting in line. If you were not one of the first, you got merged with the CBR people. So, I think you'd be better off being super early and taking the skyliner from Riviera.


----------



## summerw

IluvMGM said:


> We stayed at Pop and based on what we saw, if you were one of the first people on the skyliner from Pop or Riviera, you went right to the front of the line at CBR, bypassing the CBR people waiting in line. If you were not one of the first, you got merged with the CBR people. So, I think you'd be better off being super early and taking the skyliner from Riviera.



That's interesting. Only the first people? Like the first gondola or the first several? That seems arbitrary. Thanks for your report!


----------



## IluvMGM

summerw said:


> That's interesting. Only the first people? Like the first gondola or the first several? That seems arbitrary. Thanks for your report!


I would say if you were in maybe the first 10 groups from Pop and Riviera you bypass all the CBR people.


----------



## disneygirlsng

I feel like it's almost different every day. When I was there a few weeks ago, staying at Pop, I was a good 200+ people back in line on my HS day. When I got to CBR, they had us go to the right in our own line of people just from Pop. There was also a line on the opposite side of the station, where the Riviera people were in their own line. Then there was the third line of people from CBR, going out the station. They would take maybe 5 or so groups at a time from each line to go to the actual HS line. I was definitely not anywhere near the front of the Pop line and did not have to wait in the same line as those staying at CBR. But I've heard all kinds of different reports on this, so I feel like it's hard to say what it will be.


----------



## summerw

I totally get they are still trying to dial things in, but not knowing how it's handled is confusing. Gettin stuck behind the CBR line after getting there early at Riviera would be frustrating. I think I'll just walk to take the guesswork out. Anyone know what time the line at CBR starts to form?


----------



## cindy17

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Just back after a long weekend with my daughter. We went to AK on Saturday and MK on Sunday. Long story short, while still lower than normal, I'm guessing the empty parks are a thing of the past. We got to AK about 30 minutes pre opening. Walked on FOP then waited maybe 10 minutes for Navi. When we got off of Navi, FOP was already a 30 minute wait and only climbed from there. We rode it again at the end of the day and waited an hour, which was what was posted. In fact, I found listed wait times to be accurate both days. At one point, the line to FOP made it all the way to Lion King.
> 
> It rained quite a bit on Saturday but it's still doable at AK, especially because it kept temps lower. Kali soaks you anyway. We didn't ride EE because my daughter wasn't into it so I can't speak to that line. Dinosaur was about a 30 minute wait. I think it got up to 50-55 during the hardest rain times.
> 
> Mobile order from Flame Tree and we waited about 15 minutes for it. I REALLY enjoyed sitting down and eating by the lake. We saw several floating drummers and some characters that way.
> 
> Sunday at MK we arrived about 30 minutes before again and after a few amazing pics in front of the castle (don't miss this, the photographers were so great!) we went straight to 7DMT and waited 25 minutes. This is pretty much the tone set for the day. Lots of waiting. Splash was down for most of the day and Space for quite a bit too, so those crowds went to the other big rides. At one point BTMR was 80 minutes! I think we waited 60, would've been shorter but we caught a cleaning cycle riiiiiight before we got on. It was nice to know we were sitting on clean seats though.
> 
> Dinner reservation right at closing at BOG. The filet was delicious. It was fun to walk out of an empty park. Castmembers were gently shooing people out, so we stopped for a few quick photos and kept walking. They had buses ready and waiting for late diners. By the way, cast members were amazing! So nice, kind, and helpful. Definitely magical. Also magical are the calvacades! We felt like it was a personal parade, with the eye contact and waving. The wicked stepsisters hang out on the back of the castle to heckle people walking by. They are my favorite characters and never disappoint!
> 
> I found the standby lines kind of fun! Some of the best ones I'd never been through as I was a FP stalker. It was a fun, magical surprise to see some new things. My daughter also loved having room to just run around, something that never happens in normal times. We spent a lot of time looking at wildlife in the parks.
> 
> Reduced menus kind of stink but I get it. Sometimes it was something weird too, like not as many goodies in the confectionary as normal. Having some fun Halloween snacks to track down was fun. My daughter really loved the poison apple cupcake. Oh, and Gaston's is open, yeah!
> 
> Mask wearing was 99%, from what I saw, and I never saw a cast member correct anyone for mask misuse. Not due to ignoring it, but they just weren't around then. I maybe saw 10 people blatantly disregarding the rules and from messages on their clothing, I'm guessing they were making an intentional statement. I tried to just give them a wide berth and move on like most others. Every now and then you'd see someone take a quick breath or drink but it got pretty muggy, especially on Saturday. Distancing was really good too, except for that bottleneck in Fantasyland. Lots of people in the morning saying oops and backing up in a line, it got better as the day went on.
> 
> Flying: Friday was ok (on SW), Monday was not fun out of the Disney bubble. I even saw one of the flight attendants take off her mask every time she went up by the cockpit. Mad rushes to the line to board, even when asked to wait for their number. maybe 75% mask compliance in the terminal.
> 
> Now that I've filled my Disney cup, I'm glad I went, but also glad it was a short trip. Even using disposable masks was hard in the super muggy parts of the day. We had a great trip and I'm sorry to miss the Halloween decorations going up tomorrow.


You really didn’t miss much as far as decorations go ... just the Mickey pumpkin wreaths on light poles down Main Street. The cavalcades were Halloween themed but besides that, you didn’t miss much!


----------



## WEDWDW

disneygirlsng said:


> I feel like it's almost different every day. When I was there a few weeks ago, staying at Pop, I was a good 200+ people back in line on my HS day. When I got to CBR, they had us go to the right in our own line of people just from Pop. There was also a line on the opposite side of the station, where the Riviera people were in their own line. Then there was the third line of people from CBR, going out the station. They would take maybe 5 or so groups at a time from each line to go to the actual HS line. I was definitely not anywhere near the front of the Pop line and did not have to wait in the same line as those staying at CBR. But I've heard all kinds of different reports on this, so I feel like it's hard to say what it will be.


And yet another scenario-when arriving at CBR Station from POP there was one line for all 3 Resorts and we were directed to the end of it which was almost to the bridge,BUT they had direct buses to DHS waiting at the end of the line for anyone who didn't want to wait for Skyliner-we hopped on and were at DHS in 5 minutes.


----------



## jvalic33

jvalic33 said:


> Does anyone know what time the IG entrance for Epcot opens and what rides start running before "official" opening time?



Just reposting this. I'm sure someone must have some insight. Would hate to walk my old Mom over there early only to have to have her wait for an hour for the gate to open.

Thank you!


----------



## JoJoGirl

jvalic33 said:


> Just reposting this. I'm sure someone must have some insight. Would hate to walk my old Mom over there early only to have to have her wait for an hour for the gate to open.
> 
> Thank you!




The IG was open and letting people through when I arrived there at 10:30 this morning.  Was able to get in line for Soarin‘ at around 10:45, but I don’t think the ride itself started until almost 11:00.  Not sure about Frozen or Test Track.   Hopefully someone else can comment on those.


----------



## Melodious

Is it true that security will let a Lyft into the Boardwalk resort if I have a mobile order at the Boardwalk Bakery?  We are trying to get to HS tomorrow early. Monday we tried a Lyft straight to HS and that was a disaster. Also I don't want to have to fight about who was first at the bus stop at the Contemporary. This is our last chance to try to get a ROTR boarding pass and I'm almost sick from anxiety about it


----------



## Geomom

Melodious said:


> Is it true that security will let a Lyft into the Boardwalk resort if I have a mobile order at the Boardwalk Bakery?  We are trying to get to HS tomorrow early. Monday we tried a Lyft straight to HS and that was a disaster. Also I don't want to have to fight about who was first at the bus stop at the Contemporary. This is our last chance to try to get a ROTR boarding pass and I'm almost sick from anxiety about it


There is no mobile ordering at the boardwalk bakery (we stayed there in late July), so that won't work.  Sorry you're stressing out about the ROTR boarding pass.  We did HS twice during our summer trip, we only tried to get boarding passes with the 2pm slot as we wanted to avoid the morning craziness.  Second day we got a backup group (58)...but ride went down for hours, so we never got called (got a notification 2 hrs before park closed that we weren't going to be called.)  Some year we'll get to ride it.


----------



## lynzi2004

Melodious said:


> Is it true that security will let a Lyft into the Boardwalk resort if I have a mobile order at the Boardwalk Bakery?  We are trying to get to HS tomorrow early. Monday we tried a Lyft straight to HS and that was a disaster. Also I don't want to have to fight about who was first at the bus stop at the Contemporary. This is our last chance to try to get a ROTR boarding pass and I'm almost sick from anxiety about it



I’ve never stayed at the Contemporary, but I find it crazy that they haven’t set up a true “line” for that stop yet. When the Skyliner went down at Pop and we had to take a bus, the que was quickly formed and due to the barriers there was no skipping line. I’m sorry for you that it doesn’t work like that there!
What about walking to the MK buses and taking a bus back to Boardwalk that is dropping off at MK? I realize that may not be the normal method, but I would assume that if someone was staying at Boardwalk and forgot umbrella/sunglasses, etc that somewhere along the way there would be a bus going back to the resort? I realize this isn’t the conventional method but might be an option.


----------



## IluvMGM

disneygirlsng said:


> I feel like it's almost different every day. When I was there a few weeks ago, staying at Pop, I was a good 200+ people back in line on my HS day. When I got to CBR, they had us go to the right in our own line of people just from Pop. There was also a line on the opposite side of the station, where the Riviera people were in their own line. Then there was the third line of people from CBR, going out the station. They would take maybe 5 or so groups at a time from each line to go to the actual HS line. I was definitely not anywhere near the front of the Pop line and did not have to wait in the same line as those staying at CBR. But I've heard all kinds of different reports on this, so I feel like it's hard to say what it will be.



Right, if you are one of the first groups from Pop or Riviera you go right to the front of the line for the skyliner to DHS. If you are further back, the merge the 3 lines and pull people from each. That was what we saw happening.


----------



## IluvMGM

lynzi2004 said:


> I’ve never stayed at the Contemporary, but I find it crazy that they haven’t set up a true “line” for that stop yet. When the Skyliner went down at Pop and we had to take a bus, the que was quickly formed and due to the barriers there was no skipping line. I’m sorry for you that it doesn’t work like that there!
> What about walking to the MK buses and taking a bus back to Boardwalk that is dropping off at MK? I realize that may not be the normal method, but I would assume that if someone was staying at Boardwalk and forgot umbrella/sunglasses, etc that somewhere along the way there would be a bus going back to the resort? I realize this isn’t the conventional method but might be an option.



It could work, but I don't know how much time that will take. We found the bus stop at the Contemporary odd also. We ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's and were going to Epcot. We were super early for the Epcot bus and weren't really sure how things were working with no queues. There were 2 cast members there and they approached us and asked where we were going and wrote it down. By the time the bus arrived there were others also going and they put us on first, so they do keep track of who was there first. I think it would be a lot easier for the cast members if they simply had queues for people to line up.


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## pepperandchips

Melodious said:


> Is it true that security will let a Lyft into the Boardwalk resort if I have a mobile order at the Boardwalk Bakery?  We are trying to get to HS tomorrow early. Monday we tried a Lyft straight to HS and that was a disaster. Also I don't want to have to fight about who was first at the bus stop at the Contemporary. This is our last chance to try to get a ROTR boarding pass and I'm almost sick from anxiety about it


You can also have your Lyft drop you off at the Swan, no questions asked, or at the Speedway near the Boardwalk which gives you a head start on your walk. The walk from the Speedway is the yellow line I drew


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## Shinrai

pepperandchips said:


> You can also have your Lyft drop you off at the Swan, no questions asked, or at the Speedway near the Boardwalk which gives you a head start on your walk. The walk from the Speedway is the yellow line I drew
> 
> View attachment 526652



You don’t need an ADR to be dropped off at the Swan?


----------



## chicagoshannon

Tracey868 said:


> Hearing all this Right now about when to go to parks.. I have   I arrive Oct 31-  No Parks as we land at 3pm.  Not enough park time unless they extend
> 
> Sunday - AK
> Monday MK
> Tues- Epcot
> Wed- HS
> Thur - MK
> 
> What should I change if anything???


NM got my days mixed up.


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## chicagoshannon

Update on the mobile ordering situation.  We were at MK again yesterday and ordered at Pecos Bill.  Took the advice and picked the time we wanted early in the day and then hit the I'm here button on our way over.  It was actually ready by the time we got there.  So maybe it's just Pinocchio that needs help or maybe it's because it was significantly less busy yesterday.


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## Mr. Drauer

Shinrai said:


> You don’t need an ADR to be dropped off at the Swan?


Swan and Dolphin are not Disney resorts, and do not have a security booth to drive in.


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## pepperandchips

Shinrai said:


> You don’t need an ADR to be dropped off at the Swan?


That’s correct. As @Mr. Drauer noted, there would be no place for them to even verify if you had an ADR. Their entrance area is like the main drop off at many major hotels, it’s separate from the parking lot and anyone can drive up to the front entrance for a pick up/drop off.


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## Dentam

We were there during Labor Day week and I promised to post an update once I got tested.  I waited four days after my return flight home to get tested per the guidance of the urgent care near my house.  Test was very quick and painless, self administered with guidance from a physician at a drive-up testing site.  Got tested Tuesday, late afternoon and received my results via email on Wednesday evening - negative!

I think if you take all of the proper precautions and follow the rules, both on your flights if you're flying to Orlando, and in the parks and resorts, you can have a safe and amazing trip to WDW right now.  I hope those with trips coming up have a great time and stay safe and healthy!


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## chicagoshannon

I'm probably not going to post much more in this thread as our trip is almost over.  I do want to mention the parking and park opening procedures though.  They seem to be letting people in later and later.  Yesterday at MK they didn't open parking until 8:25am.  They need to open it up before then.  We barely made it over to the MK by 9am.  We were only about 5 cars back so I'm sure a lot of people didn't make it over.  This not only puts you at a disadvantage for rides but you may also miss the characters at the train station.

This is an area i feel Disney could easily improve on without costing them a whole lot.  You'd think they'd want people to trickle in not mob rush the temp check area.  The staff is all already there so no rain to not open it!


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## JoJoGirl

Geomom said:


> There is no mobile ordering at the boardwalk bakery (we stayed there in late July), so that won't work.  Sorry you're stressing out about the ROTR boarding pass.  We did HS twice during our summer trip, we only tried to get boarding passes with the 2pm slot as we wanted to avoid the morning craziness.  Second day we got a backup group (58)...but ride went down for hours, so we never got called (got a notification 2 hrs before park closed that we weren't going to be called.)  Some year we'll get to ride it.



Boardwalk Bakery does have mobile ordering now, it has been added since July.  When I was there a couple of days ago, the CM standing outside was encouraging people to use it.


----------



## Dentam

JoJoGirl said:


> Boardwalk Bakery does have mobile ordering now, it has been added since July.  When I was there a couple of days ago, the CM standing outside was encouraging people to use it.



Yep, same when we were there during LBD week.  You are able to go inside to order as well and to have your mug refilled.


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## Melodious

Yes! There is mobile order at the Boardwalk Bakery. We made an order then took a Lyft to the Boardwalk. Security did let us in and we had a nice breakfast and a nice walk to HS. Got on MMRR by 9:30


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## mstevenson

Since there are no longer Minnie Vans, is it hard to get an Uber or Lyft with a child seat at the resorts?  Considering for HS of course, not sure how the bus from WL would be that day.  But we also might want to do the Fantasia mini-golf on our day off.


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## katyringo

Melodious said:


> Yes! There is mobile order at the Boardwalk Bakery. We made an order then took a Lyft to the Boardwalk. Security did let us in and we had a nice breakfast and a nice walk to HS. Got on MMRR by 9:30


hummmmmm…… This is a very possible idea.


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## Nanceliz319

can you not get a Lyft directly to the parks?


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## disneygirlsng

Nanceliz319 said:


> can you not get a Lyft directly to the parks?


You can, but you have to wait until they open the parking lots. If you go to a resort that you can walk from you can get to the park earlier.


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## Melodious

Nanceliz319 said:


> can you not get a Lyft directly to the parks?


 We tried that or first HS day and only barely made it into the park before 10.


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## mouselovenfamily

Is there still a disabled pass area? I thought that was no longer a thing at Disney World? But we are seen several several several families going through the Fastpass line and being told it's for disabled this guess past


----------



## mfly

mouselovenfamily said:


> Is there still a disabled pass area? I thought that was no longer a thing at Disney World? But we are seen several several several families going through the Fastpass line and being told it's for disabled this guess past


Disney eliminated their old GAC system, and replaced it with the current DAS system.

Guests no longer receive disability assistance access when they exclusively have mobility issues, as (almost) all lines are wheelchair accessible.

Guests who are using the current DAS system still wait for the posted wait time, but they don’t do so in line. Once that time had passed, they return to the attraction and enter a shorter line.

The disABILITIES section of disboards has a lot of valuable information for those families who need to use the DAS.


----------



## crazymomof4

Melodious said:


> We tried that or first HS day and only barely made it into the park before 10.


Ya. We r staying at BWV and left our room at 8am sharp.  Still had to sit on the concrete, in the sun in the holding area until 9am.  Then they took us to a second holding area at the temp check tent and waited there, in the sun for ages before they started that line moving.  Not sure this trick gains you anything.


----------



## runjulesrun

Nana2Callie said:


> Break mid-day for Skyliner?  This looks like something we want to do as we want to try this out - where did you go?


We took the Skyliner over to Epcot. Would have walked to the Boardwalk for a treat but were close to our RoTR callback so we just went straight back to the park. It was a fun, relaxing and quick break.


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## Miffy

disneygirlsng said:


> You can, but you have to wait until they open the parking lots. If you go to a resort that you can walk from you can get to the park earlier.


Unless something has changed, you can't get a rideshare or taxi directly to MK. You'll be dropped off at the TTC and will have to take the ferry or monorail from there. But I believe you can get a rideshare or cab to the other 3 parks. My information is from December, however, so perhaps things have changed.

ETA: The trick to MK is to get your cab to drop you off near the Contemporary. There are threads where this is discussed. I've never done it myself, so can't advise.


----------



## disneygirlsng

Miffy said:


> Unless something has changed, you can't get a rideshare or taxi directly to MK. You'll be dropped off at the TTC and will have to take the ferry or monorail from there. But I believe you can get a rideshare or cab to the other 3 parks. My information is from December, however, so perhaps things have changed.
> 
> ETA: The trick to MK is to get your cab to drop you off near the Contemporary. There are threads where this is discussed. I've never done it myself, so can't advise.


Correct. There was someone who posted within the past week or so that was dropped off outside the security gates of the Contemporary, on the side of the road, then walked to MK. I've seen people talking about this for a while, but it's a newer strategy to get dropped off near the Boardwalk to walk to HS to get there before BGs open.


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## britneyt

Miffy said:


> Unless something has changed, you can't get a rideshare or taxi directly to MK. You'll be dropped off at the TTC and will have to take the ferry or monorail from there. But I believe you can get a rideshare or cab to the other 3 parks. My information is from December, however, so perhaps things have changed.
> 
> ETA: The trick to MK is to get your cab to drop you off near the Contemporary. There are threads where this is discussed. I've never done it myself, so can't advise.



We took a rideshare to TTC and then took a bus (when our Lyft driver recommended)...it was much faster than waiting on the monorail or ferry to MK


----------



## brockash

lynzi2004 said:


> I’ve never stayed at the Contemporary, but I find it crazy that they haven’t set up a true “line” for that stop yet. When the Skyliner went down at Pop and we had to take a bus, the que was quickly formed and due to the barriers there was no skipping line. I’m sorry for you that it doesn’t work like that there!
> What about walking to the MK buses and taking a bus back to Boardwalk that is dropping off at MK? I realize that may not be the normal method, but I would assume that if someone was staying at Boardwalk and forgot umbrella/sunglasses, etc that somewhere along the way there would be a bus going back to the resort? I realize this isn’t the conventional method but might be an option.


None of the deluxe or moderates have actual bus lines.  I wish they did though.


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## Jennifer Brian

We have airline tickets booked for Nov.5-10.  Reluctant to go with the reduced park hours.  Is this a valid concern or can we do all we need to do?


----------



## Khobbs18

IluvMGM said:


> It could work, but I don't know how much time that will take. We found the bus stop at the Contemporary odd also. We ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's and were going to Epcot. We were super early for the Epcot bus and weren't really sure how things were working with no queues. There were 2 cast members there and they approached us and asked where we were going and wrote it down. By the time the bus arrived there were others also going and they put us on first, so they do keep track of who was there first. I think it would be a lot easier for the cast members if they simply had queues for people to line up.


How crazy was it and what time did you get there? We are going to HS with a 10AM opening. My FIL is in a scooter. We were thinking if we got there by 8/830 latest we would get one of the first buses if they are still coming an hour before park opening.


----------



## wilkydelts

There are 153 pages to help answer your questions right here:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/here-now-just-back-wdw-reopening-experiences.3807247/


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## Aurora_Disney

How are the waits for lines. Since Labor Day I have been watching the wait times at all the parks and they seem high. Are the actual waits true to what’s posted?


----------



## StageTek

Jennifer Brian said:


> We have airline tickets booked for Nov.5-10.  Reluctant to go with the reduced park hours.  Is this a valid concern or can we do all we need to do?


I was concerned, too. On Sat Sept 12 I was in DHS and it was about as busy as I have ever seen it. Very long waits for everything but I did all I needed to do.
The rest of the trip (Sept 8 to 15) the parks felt nearly empty. Did everything in MK easily and most things 2 or three times. Even Mine Train. 

No way to know how Nov. will be. But I think you'll be able to do all you need to do.


----------



## only hope

Aurora_Disney said:


> How are the waits for lines. Since Labor Day I have been watching the wait times at all the parks and they seem high. Are the actual waits true to what’s posted?



Many reports on here are that unless you hit a cleaning cycle, wait times are usually less than what is posted. That has been my experience too. The red lanyards that are used to measure wait times to keep them accurate are, of course, not being used. Cleaning cycles are about every two hours.


----------



## Upatnoon

The weekends have been reported as busy but the midweek not so much. 

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/ has been doing a great job at tracking and reporting wait times so you can see for yourself what you are getting in to.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Aurora_Disney said:


> How are the waits for lines. Since Labor Day I have been watching the wait times at all the parks and they seem high. Are the actual waits true to what’s posted?



With the exception of the Carousel (NEVER AGAIN) all wait times were less than posted. 7DMT was about 5-10 mins shorter and all other rides were about 50-75% of the posted time (so on average 15-20 minutes). In DHS Slinky was posted 55, waited 35. It really does go pretty fast.


----------



## mrd7896

someone asked about getting dropped off at Contemporary and walking over to MK in the morning.
We did that for our MK morning and our Uber driver said that if we just were trying to use it for the walkway, he would advise that we go to the TTC. As the security guard may ask questions and not let us in. (which honestly who cares we probably would've just got out at that moment and started walking over)
I asked 'my dad is eating breakfast at Chef Mickey's and would like to meet us for the walk over, is that allowed?' and he said he will try.

when we got to the security the uber driver showed his ID and said he was dropping off for breakfast. the security guard had him roll down his windows to see us and cleared us to go through. no other questions asked.

unsure if we kind of cheated the system, but we were a little stressed doing so. our uber driver said a few times 'i hope they don't ask to see your reservation' which didn't help...

but the night prior we had dinner at Cali Grille and got dropped off VIA uber and our driver didn't even say we had dinner...that guard didn't ask any questions.

unsure if it's just by chance of who is working but while we were walking on the pathway we saw an uber immediately get through security, do a U turn, drop people off at the walking path and head out


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## mrd7896

whereas the one evening upon returning from Pop, the worker scanned our magic band and said 'we hope you enjoyed california grille!" and my boyfriend was SO CONFUSED and thought he was a mind reader. it was a bit comical


----------



## IluvMGM

Khobbs18 said:


> How crazy was it and what time did you get there? We are going to HS with a 10AM opening. My FIL is in a scooter. We were thinking if we got there by 8/830 latest we would get one of the first buses if they are still coming an hour before park opening.



I think our breakfast reservation was 8:05, so maybe 45 minutes later we went out and sat on a bench waiting for the Epcot bus. There were a lot of people going to HS and AK and the buses were coming one after the other.


----------



## Best Aunt

mstevenson said:


> Since there are no longer Minnie Vans, is it hard to get an Uber or Lyft with a child seat at the resorts?  Considering for HS of course, not sure how the bus from WL would be that day.  But we also might want to do the Fantasia mini-golf on our day off.



my understanding is that Lyft never had child seats.  uber has categories  (Uber X Car Seat and Uber XL Car Seat)for cars with child seats, the uber will only have 1 and there won’t necessarily be a car available in those categories when you want one.  Some people bring portable child seats so they can go in a regular Uber or a Lyft.


----------



## smelton521

We are driving and staying at Poly in Dec so will have our car. From what I’m reading, we may not want to drive ourselves to the parks because by the time they open the parking lots, there is already a long line to get in from resort bus drop offs? Is this for every park or just HS?


----------



## disneygirlsng

mrd7896 said:


> someone asked about getting dropped off at Contemporary and walking over to MK in the morning.
> We did that for our MK morning and our Uber driver said that if we just were trying to use it for the walkway, he would advise that we go to the TTC. As the security guard may ask questions and not let us in. (which honestly who cares we probably would've just got out at that moment and started walking over)
> I asked 'my dad is eating breakfast at Chef Mickey's and would like to meet us for the walk over, is that allowed?' and he said he will try.
> 
> when we got to the security the uber driver showed his ID and said he was dropping off for breakfast. the security guard had him roll down his windows to see us and cleared us to go through. no other questions asked.
> 
> unsure if we kind of cheated the system, but we were a little stressed doing so. our uber driver said a few times 'i hope they don't ask to see your reservation' which didn't help...
> 
> but the night prior we had dinner at Cali Grille and got dropped off VIA uber and our driver didn't even say we had dinner...that guard didn't ask any questions.
> 
> unsure if it's just by chance of who is working but while we were walking on the pathway we saw an uber immediately get through security, do a U turn, drop people off at the walking path and head out


Most of the people that I've seen post about getting dropped off at the Contemporary are getting dropped off outside of the security guard gate, so they don't have to say why they are there. Just getting out at that intersection where you turn into the actual hotel parking lot instead of going all the way in.


----------



## MinnieMSue

butterscotchcollins said:


> With the exception of the Carousel (NEVER AGAIN) all wait times were less than posted. 7DMT was about 5-10 mins shorter and all other rides were about 50-75% of the posted time (so on average 15-20 minutes). In DHS Slinky was posted 55, waited 35. It really does go pretty fast.



omg that carousel line! We rode it for the first time ever Sunday before Labor Day and the wait was much much longer than posted and they weren’t cleaning or anything!  My daughter had carousel ears because she loved them and all the CM complimented them but that wait!  Then the CM put us  in the row behind the people in line in front of us and my daughter picked the horse she liked best in that row and after we got on our horses I noticed she had Cinderella’s horse. She was so happy. We don’t know if it was the magic of the ears or the CM purposely put us in that row. But that line!  It was so bad


----------



## JoJoGirl

Fourth day at WDW yesterday - Epcot (again)

Once again it hit home to me what a different kind of trip this was.  For the first time ever at Disney, I had been waking up well before my alarm.  Rope drop at 11:00 am is a new experience for this Disney vet.  That said, it’s wonderful to savor a leisurely shower and enjoy some extended coffee and breakfast time on the balcony before hitting the parks.

I arrived at the IG right at 10:30, and the line for the temp check extended back to about the level of the Skyliner.  A steady stream of people were deboarding there and joining it.  The line moved quickly, and the CMs had to keep encouraging people to move along.  One nice thing about the temp check is that it regulates the inflow of people, and decreases the clusters at security and the entrance tapstyles.  

For the record, my body temp normally runs a little warmer than average, and I passed the temp checks every time, even after walking over from the YC In the heat of the day.  Maybe wearing a hat helped.

Getting through the entrance procedure was quick and easy, and I was able to get to the Land pavilion and queue up for Soarin’ by 10:45.  There were already a number of people in line, which extended to this point:   


Soarin‘ must not start early, because the line was stationary for a good ten minutes.  When we did move, it went quickly enough.  I think we were the second group to enter our theater.  At this time they were loading two groups per row, leaving the center section between the clear partitions open.  I lucked out today and was in B2, so got a perfect ride and the Eiffel Tower was _almost_ straight!

It was probably about 11:15 when I headed over to The Seas.  Nemo was a walk-on, but what I really wanted was to see the exhibits and main tank.  They were much less buy at this time of day than when I tried earlier in the week in the mid-afternoon.  It was usually possible to keep six feet of distance and still see the tanks.  The main tank observation area (the smaller circular area down the tank corridor) was patrolled by a couple of CMs who tried to encourage distancing and to keep people moving along.  Most people were conscientious, but there were a few who either stayed a while at the best views, or who decided not to wait and exited by walking past the people at the glass, within six feet because only the lowest lane is open.  Encounters with those people were very brief.  I think they really need to open one of the upper lanes as an optional exit here.  I did have to bypass one family who was not moving from their spot.  Between the ride and the exhibits, I was in the pavilion just over 30 minutes.

WS was next.  The promenade was a little busier than Tuesday, with lines of 5+ people already starting to form at the booths closer to Future World.  Mexico had about eight parties in line so I bypassed it.  

Frozen was open, and at 12:00 it had a posted wait of 20 minutes.  The line stretched this far when I entered (the people are all off to the left winding around the little grove of trees:  


Actual wait time was 16 minutes.  People stayed well spaced, and there were CMs stationed at the blind turns to let people know when they could proceed around the corner.  Our boat had two parties in it, me in the front seat and a small family farther back.  We got splashed a little, but it felt good!  By the time I exited, the wait had climbed to 30 minutes and the line stretched to the promenade.

It was time for lunch, so I hit the food booth in China and spent some time shopping and taking pictures in the pavilion, which was still very quiet.  Then I headed back to Mexico and grabbed a Margarita at  Choza, where I was again the second party in line.   The picnic tables along the lagoon behind the East Kiosk were again completely empty.  I’m amazed that this place is such a secret.  Even in the sun, the breeze off the lagoon is wonderful and very comfortable, and the view can’t be beat.  

Though the promenade was getting busier, in most places it was easy enough to distance.  However, there are bottlenecks particularly at Mexico, and in the opposite area near Starbucks, Citrus Blossom, and Hawaii.  With the restrooms being right there, it is impossible to get through while distancing.  In those spots you will probably pass within 3 feet of others for a short stretch, but not shoulder bumping.  Fortunately, you can pass through those spots quickly enough unless you want to stop. 

Spent the early afternoon noshing around the World.  Lines at the popular booths like Canada and France were getting into the 10-marker range.  Others like Germany were shorter, or maybe I just hit it at a good time.  And the Bier stand was open today!  I wasn’t on Monday or Tuesday, so this was a welcome sight.  Here is the back courtyard at Germany at 2:00:



The line at Hops & Barley was a little bit insane at 3:30.  It was too long to count - yes, all those people are in line!  I scrapped the idea of a carrot cake for dessert.


The funnel cake stand, on the other hand, only had one person in line, so a street corn funnel cake became my snack instead.  The Jammitors were just starting a set at America Gardens, bonus.  This is where some of my luck ran out.  After three songs, the Jammitors thanked the crowd and left.  “Shortest set ever,” I thought. Turns out they knew something, and the skies opened up shortly after.  Those people in line at Hops & Barley were definitely getting wet!  There was some shelter under the theater awning, enough to stay put and eat what I wanted of the funnel cake.  Then, at what probably would have been the end of the set, the recording came on to clear the theater, and the custodial CMs shooed everyone out.  So out came the poncho and I headed back to the YC for a break.

By 5:00 the rain had cleared up except for a few friendly drops.  It appeared that a lot of park guests had toughed it out, because the line at the France booth was still ten markers deep when I returned to the park.  

Spent the rest of the evening until close walking around World Showcase, grabbing a couple of snacks, and catching the last set of Mariache Cobre.  I have a strong musical background and am always impressed by how talented these guys are.  It’s not easy to be that good!  

Again, the crowd thinned considerably after 6:00, and the lines at Canada and France dropped back down to five or so.  The lines I joined all moved quickly.

Between Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, Thursday was definitely the busiest at Epcot, especially WS.  Not sure if crowds are picking up overall, or if they are just higher closer to the weekend.  I was still able to do the higher-demand items with less than 20-minute waits and acceptable distancing during the first and last hours, though I didn’t try to get in Test Track this trip.  Even at the busiest times, it was possible to find quiet, well-spaced areas to enjoy, and maybe see some new and beautiful things.  However, you may need to leave the main walkways do it. Look for the areas further back in the pavilions, like the gardens in Britain, China, Canada, and Japan, and the shops and back streets in Morocco.  Also, when crossing between FW and WS, the path from Imagination to the WS promenade is very congested thanks to Starbucks, some food booths, and the restrooms being located there.  It’s much easier to maintain spacing on the center spine walkway or the walkway on the Test Track side that passes by the Odyssey building.

This was the end of my last park day at Disney  so I drowned my sorrows with one last La Vie en Rose before returning to the YC.


Tomorrow:  Magical Express and Orlando Airport


----------



## JoJoGirl

Departure Day - Magical Express and Orlando Airport

My Southwest flight was scheduled to leave MCO at 11:25, and I was given a Magical Express pickup time of 8:25.  There was one other person waiting at the YC stop when the bus arrived around 8:20.  Once again I wore a KN95 mask and eye protection for the entire trip.

It was a regular ME bus and driver.  He did not assign seats, but the passengers seemed to be distancing themselves in the same manner that we boarded at the airport, with empty rows between and staggered rows side to side.  I chose a seat in the same pattern.  There was still a sizable empty section in the back, but no on seemed to want to go back that far.  I thought perhaps there would be one more stop, but YC was the last, so all those empty seats were a lost opportunity, lol.

I’m so glad we had a regular ME driver.  Ours was funny and he kept us laughing during the sad trip back to MCO.  We arrived in good time and I headed up to level 3 to check my bag.  The area around Southwest ticketing allows for spacing, but just barely.  A tip is to keep walking all the way to the left and past the more crowded section of kiosks.  There are plenty more further down where it is easier to physcally distance.

The security line was nonexistent at 9:15 am.  I was third in line to the TSA ID check.  The line to the scanning conveyor took a little longer, but fortunately lacked the convoluted twists that it sometimes had pre-Covid. 

I was one of the first passengers to the gate, so spacing was very good at first.  As it filled in, people did try to keep a chair or two between them, but there was still not 6-foot distancing between everyone in the area.  Luckily no one sat that close to me, but there were a couple of empty gates nearby I could have hopped over to if necessary.

The flight itself was filled to Southwest’s capacity, leaving middle seats open.  They boarded in groups of ten to prevent congestion, but a few people congregated up by the head of the line anyway.  Fortunately you can pass by them very quickly when your boarding position is called.

I was A46, which was early enough to get a window seat.  My row mate turned out to be a gentleman who was a nose-peeker.  At takeoff I did ask him nicely (I hope!) if he could pull his mask over his nose.  He was very nice about it, and asked if I minded if he drank his soda during the flight.  I said no, but I would appreciate it if he would pull his mask back up when he was done.  He was great for the rest of the flight.  So I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask nicely if you feel you have to.

The rest of the trip was blissfully uneventful.  Vacation is wonderful, especially a Disney vacation, but there is no place like home.  I’m glad to be sitting here in my own living room watching our high school football live stream with my husband and son. ❤❤

Overall, this was a great trip and I’m very glad I went! Of course, everything carried a risk for Covid, but I think Disney is handling things very well, all things considered.  Going on an indoor ride at Disney felt MUCH more comfortable to me than the local post office or DMV, where only about 40% of people are distancing and wearing masks.  I will be keeping myself away from others for a couple of weeks now for good measure.

I’m looking forward to going back to WDW the third week of November and hopefully visiting MK, and maybe even HS if they can bring back the live shows.  It will be interesting to experience firsthand how Disney handles the Holidays - I’m sure it will be fun and festive, although in a different way.

Until then — Au Revoir, Walt Disney World!  M-I-C, See you real soon!  K-E-Y, Why?  Because I LIKE you!  (And want another trip on my AP!)


----------



## soniam

lynzi2004 said:


> I’ve never stayed at the Contemporary, but I find it crazy that they haven’t set up a true “line” for that stop yet. When the Skyliner went down at Pop and we had to take a bus, the que was quickly formed and due to the barriers there was no skipping line. I’m sorry for you that it doesn’t work like that there!
> What about walking to the MK buses and taking a bus back to Boardwalk that is dropping off at MK? I realize that may not be the normal method, but I would assume that if someone was staying at Boardwalk and forgot umbrella/sunglasses, etc that somewhere along the way there would be a bus going back to the resort? I realize this isn’t the conventional method but might be an option.



It's always been a mess at Contempo. I don't usually have problems, but I will speak up for my family and for others about who's turn it is next. I also have very pointy elbows


----------



## Dentam

JoJoGirl said:


> The main tank observation area (the smaller circular area down the tank corridor) was patrolled by a couple of CMs who tried to encourage distancing and to keep people moving along. Most people were conscientious, but there were a few who either stayed a while at the best views, or who decided not to wait and exited by walking past the people at the glass, within six feet because only the lowest lane is open.



I'm glad to hear that Disney is addressing this area by having CM's stationed there.  None were around when we were in that area the Sunday of LBD weekend and it was crowded with no distancing.  Definitely made me uncomfortable so we didn't spend too long looking in the tank.


----------



## teach22180

Sorry I'm confused by the transportation news, is a boat running from Wilderness Lodge to MK?


----------



## auntlynne

After reading bunches of posts, the bottom line so far has been

1. Weekends are more busy
2. The parks are getting more full as we move from July
3. People are reporting riding everything they want, many of them multiple times
3a. They leave before the park closing time
3b. This includes being willing to wait in lines that can run an hour - and still cover all the rides (and they don’t seem to be fazed by that long a wait!  I am used to FP wait times. Makes me think they are enjoying themselves - and that is in FL summer heat)
4. Parks open up to an hour (or maybe 30 minutes) before official times, wherein you can get on at least one ride in most parks with little or no wait.

I’m doing six days starting Sunday and then five Nov 7.  I’m looking forward to experiencing it and comparing the two weeks - and versus my three parks in one day visit in January.

Can you be happy if you can’t do everything at the Happiest Place?

And remember, no shows, parades or fireworks to take up time.


----------



## summerw

What are the odds they‘d let us park at Boardwalk if we mobile ordered?


----------



## yulilin3

Jennifer Brian said:


> We have airline tickets booked for Nov.5-10.  Reluctant to go with the reduced park hours.  Is this a valid concern or can we do all we need to do?


Merged you to the just back thread with lots of reports that answer your question


----------



## Akck

teach22180 said:


> Sorry I'm confused by the transportation news, is a boat running from Wilderness Lodge to MK?



Yes. We’re at BLT and can see the boats running during the day.


----------



## scrappinginontario

summerw said:


> What are the odds they‘d let us park at Boardwalk if we mobile ordered?


 You can park there to pick up your mobile order but not for the day.  Any guests driving to a resort for dining (Table or QS) are supposed to remove their vehicle from the resort lot after dining.


----------



## MinnieMSue

JoJoGirl said:


> Departure Day - Magical Express and Orlando Airport
> 
> My Southwest flight was scheduled to leave MCO at 11:25, and I was given a Magical Express pickup time of 8:25.  There was one other person waiting at the YC stop when the bus arrived around 8:20.  Once again I wore a KN95 mask and eye protection for the entire trip.
> 
> It was a regular ME bus and driver.  He did not assign seats, but the passengers seemed to be distancing themselves in the same manner that we boarded at the airport, with empty rows between and staggered rows side to side.  I chose a seat in the same pattern.  There was still a sizable empty section in the back, but no on seemed to want to go back that far.  I thought perhaps there would be one more stop, but YC was the last, so all those empty seats were a lost opportunity, lol.
> 
> I’m so glad we had a regular ME driver.  Ours was funny and he kept us laughing during the sad trip back to MCO.  We arrived in good time and I headed up to level 3 to check my bag.  The area around Southwest ticketing allows for spacing, but just barely.  A tip is to keep walking all the way to the left and past the more crowded section of kiosks.  There are plenty more further down where it is easier to physcally distance.
> 
> The security line was nonexistent at 9:15 am.  I was third in line to the TSA ID check.  The line to the scanning conveyor took a little longer, but fortunately lacked the convoluted twists that it sometimes had pre-Covid.
> 
> I was one of the first passengers to the gate, so spacing was very good at first.  As it filled in, people did try to keep a chair or two between them, but there was still not 6-foot distancing between everyone in the area.  Luckily no one sat that close to me, but there were a couple of empty gates nearby I could have hopped over to if necessary.
> 
> The flight itself was filled to Southwest’s capacity, leaving middle seats open.  They boarded in groups of ten to prevent congestion, but a few people congregated up by the head of the line anyway.  Fortunately you can pass by them very quickly when your boarding position is called.
> 
> I was A46, which was early enough to get a window seat.  My row mate turned out to be a gentleman who was a nose-peeker.  At takeoff I did ask him nicely (I hope!) if he could pull his mask over his nose.  He was very nice about it, and asked if I minded if he drank his soda during the flight.  I said no, but I would appreciate it if he would pull his mask back up when he was done.  He was great for the rest of the flight.  So I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask nicely if you feel you have to.
> 
> The rest of the trip was blissfully uneventful.  Vacation is wonderful, especially a Disney vacation, but there is no place like home.  I’m glad to be sitting here in my own living room watching our high school football live stream with my husband and son. ❤❤
> 
> Overall, this was a great trip and I’m very glad I went! Of course, everything carried a risk for Covid, but I think Disney is handling things very well, all things considered.  Going on an indoor ride at Disney felt MUCH more comfortable to me than the local post office or DMV, where only about 40% of people are distancing and wearing masks.  I will be keeping myself away from others for a couple of weeks now for good measure.
> 
> I’m looking forward to going back to WDW the third week of November and hopefully visiting MK, and maybe even HS if they can bring back the live shows.  It will be interesting to experience firsthand how Disney handles the Holidays - I’m sure it will be fun and festive, although in a different way.
> 
> Until then — Au Revoir, Walt Disney World!  M-I-C, See you real soon!  K-E-Y, Why?  Because I LIKE you!  (And want another trip on my AP!)



we were on that same southwest flight and same time ME bus to airport. Almost the exact identical situation. I thought people at MCO crowded the boarding area much more than people in CMH. No one did on our early flight out of Columbus.


----------



## JoJoGirl

MinnieMSue said:


> we were on that same southwest flight and same time ME bus to airport. Almost the exact identical situation. I thought people at MCO crowded the boarding area much more than people in CMH. No one did on our early flight out of Columbus.



Same here.  It baffles me why people do this, especially after the SW gate agent made an announcement saying it wasn’t necessary.   I thought bag claim at CMH was a little hairy with people crowding the conveyor though.  My bag came out early so I was able to clear out in a couple of minutes.

Hope you had a great trip!


----------



## Melodious

Wow, we were at EPCOT last Saturday, but it feels like crowds have doubled in size this Saturday. Today is crazy. CMs and security are out in force and they're playing the mask announcement about every five minutes


----------



## crazymomof4

Here now. MK.   We visit in Sept more often than any other time and to the estimation of our family of 4 Disney veterans, the "feels like" *crowds are right at or worse *than a typical September Saturday.  I'm not going to guess what the capacity is at now but I've NEVER spent so much time waiting in lines for so much of my park day as I have today!!  Any little thing you want to eat is a 20-45 I'm wait.   Lines to get into gift shops!  This level of attendance with no fast passes and limited food/shows/parades to draw off people makes it *feel* crowded.  Also due to social distancing, many lines are outside in the sun so that makes it harder to bear the waiting.  My advice to people reading this is if you have a trip or are thinking about a trip soon, don't watch or read anything from mid-July to Labor Day.  That IS NOT what WDW is now!  I had no choice.  By post-Labor Day, our DVC points (rented in Jan)  were far from able to be cancelled. I can tell you this for sure.... *We won't be back until everything is open, and FP returns. *


----------



## bb32

crazymomof4 said:


> Here now. MK.   We visit in Sept more often than any other time and to the estimation of our family of 4 Disney veterans, the "feels like" *crowds are right at or worse *than a typical September Saturday.  I'm not going to guess what the capacity is at now but I've NEVER spent so much time waiting in lines for so much of my park day as I have today!!  Any little thing you want to eat is a 20-45 I'm wait.   Lines to get into gift shops!  This level of attendance with no fast passes and limited food/shows/parades to draw off people makes it *feel* crowded.  Also due to social distancing, many lines are outside in the sun so that makes it harder to bear the waiting.  My advice to people reading this is if you have a trip or are thinking about a trip soon, don't watch or read anything from mid-July to Labor Day.  That IS NOT what WDW is now!  I had no choice.  By post-Labor Day, our DVC points (rented in Jan)  were far from able to be cancelled. I can tell you this for sure.... *We won't be back until everything is open, and FP returns. *



Recent crowd reports have solidified my decision not to go. Guess the lower crowds aren’t a guarantee anymore. Good news that there are more visitors. Hopefully this triggers Disney to start allowing more capacity and longer hours.


----------



## Melodious

crazymomof4 said:


> Here now. MK.   We visit in Sept more often than any other time and to the estimation of our family of 4 Disney veterans, the "feels like" *crowds are right at or worse *than a typical September Saturday.  I'm not going to guess what the capacity is at now but I've NEVER spent so much time waiting in lines for so much of my park day as I have today!!  Any little thing you want to eat is a 20-45 I'm wait.   Lines to get into gift shops!  This level of attendance with no fast passes and limited food/shows/parades to draw off people makes it *feel* crowded.  Also due to social distancing, many lines are outside in the sun so that makes it harder to bear the waiting.  My advice to people reading this is if you have a trip or are thinking about a trip soon, don't watch or read anything from mid-July to Labor Day.  That IS NOT what WDW is now!  I had no choice.  By post-Labor Day, our DVC points (rented in Jan)  were far from able to be cancelled. I can tell you this for sure.... *We won't be back until everything is open, and FP returns. *



I wish that I could like this a hundred times. We also rented points eleven months ago thinking this was the slowest time of year


----------



## Melodious

And if you didn't like their drinking t shirts, wait till you see their coordinating masks!


----------



## yulilin3

Melodious said:


> I wish that I could like this a hundred times. We also rented points eleven months ago thinking this was the slowest time of year


Remember it's not about crowds it's about capacity for attractions,  restaurants ands stores
The only real solution is to allow bigger capacity on those


----------



## crazymomof4

Melodious said:


> I wish that I could like this a hundred times


I feel like I based my decision to keep our reservations and not to try to reschedule our trip on the limited capacity we were witnessing after reopening and through Aug (the time period where I *may* have had a chance to reschedule) and then BAM! Labor Day hit and Disney said, "load em in!" and we got stuck coming still during a Pandemic but with no low crowds for social distancing and no fast passes to reduce time in lines.  Kinda feels a little "bait and switch-ish" .  I knew severely reduced capacity would be increased eventually but I didn't think they'd open it up to this many locals while FL's numbers are still on the higher end, relatively speaking.  There are lots of locals here and their behavior shows they really aren't used to the safety precautions that our family (and I'm sure many others from the NE) has made part of our lifestyle when in public.  Waiting for my kids to get off SM and then we are hopping on a monorail to a lounge in one of the resorts! Hoping the rain comes and filters out some peeps before we return for dinner at Skippers.


----------



## soniam

JoJoGirl said:


> Same here.  It baffles me why people do this, especially after the SW gate agent made an announcement saying it wasn’t necessary.   I thought bag claim at CMH was a little hairy with people crowding the conveyor though.  My bag came out early so I was able to clear out in a couple of minutes.
> 
> Hope you had a great trip!



This was always a problem before hand, and it's always been completely unnecessary for every airline. I will tell people, politely, to get out of the way. It's really unsafe now. Idiots! Glad to see that the more things change; the more they stay the same  I will be prepared with my patience and pointy elbows and stares for my Thanksgiving trip.


----------



## Snowysmom

bb32 said:


> Recent crowd reports have solidified my decision not to go. Guess the lower crowds aren’t a guarantee anymore. Good news that there are more visitors. Hopefully this triggers Disney to start allowing more capacity and longer hours.


I hear you.  I have a trip planned for November and will be watching the reports from people returning. I may decide to cancel and go some place else closer to home.  It seems like Disney is not reacting to the higher crowds and just trying to keep everything at the same level of service.  If more people are coming they should be making changes to react to that like longer hours or running rides at full capacity.  I appreciate all the people who are posting their experiences.  Thank you.


----------



## crazymomof4

yulilin3 said:


> Remember it's not about crowds it's about capacity for attractions,  restaurants ands stores
> The only real solution is to allow bigger capacity on those


Even a simple measure like opening up more food and merch carts would lessen the waits in the CS and gift shop lines.   It was time to do that, like, TWO WEEKS AGO. At least for weekends.


----------



## yulilin3

crazymomof4 said:


> Even a simple measure like opening up more food and merch carts would lessen the waits in the CS and gift shop lines.   It was time to do that, like, TWO WEEKS AGO. At least for weekends.


Agreed.  I don't think it'll happen at the level needed until Thanksgiving


----------



## Melodious

yulilin3 said:


> Remember it's not about crowds it's about capacity for attractions,  restaurants ands stores
> The only real solution is to allow bigger capacity on those



At EPCOT I'm not sure that's true. The drinking teams are back and they want to be in WS drinking. Seems there are plenty of carts to do that but then everyone stands around, eating and drinking, shoulder to shoulder.


----------



## MinnieMSue

JoJoGirl said:


> Same here.  It baffles me why people do this, especially after the SW gate agent made an announcement saying it wasn’t necessary.   I thought bag claim at CMH was a little hairy with people crowding the conveyor though.  My bag came out early so I was able to clear out in a couple of minutes.
> 
> Hope you had a great trip!



yes we experienced  the same. Bag claim at MCO everyone stood back but atCMH people crowded up. I just stayed back until ours came around and quickly grabbed them


----------



## becks59

I’m so not excited about my trip in a week after reading all these reports after the last couple weeks. Long lines, shorter hours, barely any decorations. This is my first time seeing the Halloween decorations and it sounds like it’s not great. Pretty sure my little podunk town in Idaho has better decorations to look at just driving around the neighborhoods. I can’t figure out why Disney did not work with the actors union better to get shows up and running. That right there would be enough to keep wait times short for the rides. And I also can’t figure out why they cut the hours when they knew for a fact how many people were coming due to the reservation system. More people coming so let’s cut the hours!  I was so excited before, but now all I can think is I’ll be waiting for at least 30-45min in the heat and humidity in a mask for every single ride. With little kids and a baby we will be lucky to ride 3 rides a day before everyone loses it.


----------



## yulilin3

Melodious said:


> At EPCOT I'm not sure that's true. The drinking teams are back and they want to be in WS drinking. Seems there are plenty of carts to do that but then everyone stands around, eating and drinking, shoulder to shoulder.


Epcot world showcase is shoulder to shoulder? This doesn't happen at all,  only during nye.
There's space to spread out,  guests are choosing not to do so


----------



## brockash

yulilin3 said:


> Remember it's not about crowds it's about capacity for attractions,  restaurants ands stores
> The only real solution is to allow bigger capacity on those


Ehhh...also opening the shows and things that are still closed and going back to more normal park hrs would also certainly help spread the crowds...there are also a few rides where they're only running 1 side (thunder and space mountain for example.)


----------



## Shellbells

These recent trip reports are discouraging. We have a trip booked for early November. If Disney doesn't make some adjustments in the next few weeks we'll cancel


----------



## brockash

yulilin3 said:


> Epcot world showcase is shoulder to shoulder? This doesn't happen at all,  only during nye.
> There's space to spread out,  guests are choosing not to do so


Like I reported last week...World showcase was very busy for us and unless we were going to just go hide in a corner; no there was no way to socially distance while walking around world showcase.  I think there's a big difference between NYE shoulder to shoulder and still much too crowded to socially distance and it seems reports keep coming back that on the weekends at least it's pretty busy.


----------



## yulilin3

brockash said:


> Like I reported last week...World showcase was very busy for us and unless we were going to just go hide in a corner; no there was no way to socially distance while walking around world showcase.  I think there's a big difference between NYE shoulder to shoulder and still much too crowded to socially distance and it seems reports keep coming back that on the weekends at least it's pretty busy.


I just don't feel like there's no way to social distance,  sure you have to walk past groups at times but there is space,  anyone expecting Disney to stay empty is kissing themselves.  I still feel safe walking away and finding places to keep 6ft apart


----------



## Melodious

yulilin3 said:


> Epcot world showcase is shoulder to shoulder? This doesn't happen at all,  only during nye.
> There's space to spread out,  guests are choosing not to do so



Yes, they could take their food and drinks off the walkways. But as it is, you can't get inside a bathroom without being within a foot of some other, probably maskless, person


----------



## fbb

brockash said:


> Ehhh...also opening the shows and things that are still closed and going back to more normal park hrs would also certainly help spread the crowds...there are also a few rides where they're only running 1 side (thunder and space mountain for example.)


When did they go to only running one side of those rides? At the end of August both sides were running


----------



## Aimeedyan

We visit this week every year for my birthday and IMO the parks felt the same as they have the last couple of years, if not heavier (esp in HS!). This is historically a really low crowd time so it's a bummer to see higher crowds but I really think it won't continue in years to come. I think people who canceled WDW trips have seen the reopening reports, felt comfortable, and decided to come. Many of them would normally have visited in late spring or summer.

Epcot was busier yesterday than it has been in recent after-reopening trips with lots of matching shirt drinking groups but it was a Friday. They have a lot more tables set up so it's pretty easy to find a place to sit or stand and eat. I hope that stays around! Since we were staying at Boardwalk, we just hopped in and out for meals, mostly.

It was also the first time we've been in Mexico since they started the new entrance line and it totally threw people off. I LOVED it, as you could actually move inside the building!

ETA: The 7pm close is a killer at Epcot-  there were so many groups still hanging around the back of WS even at 730 when we finished dinner. Many still nursing drinks/food. So much lost revenue!


----------



## brockash

fbb said:


> When did they go to only running one side of those rides? At the end of August both sides were running


Only 1 side last week, however to be fair that happens a lot in Sept.


----------



## yulilin3

Melodious said:


> Yes, they could take their food and drinks off the walkways. But as it is, you can't get inside a bathroom without being within a foot of some other, probably maskless, person


Not sure how that can be prevented? You want Disney to monitor restroom capacity?


----------



## Melodious

yulilin3 said:


> Not sure how that can be prevented? You want Disney to monitor restroom capacity?



No, I'd like them to reduce capacity to manageable levels for social distancing. Last Saturday, it 'felt busy' but was perfectly easy to distance and eat at tables. Today is a completely different beast. It feels twice as busy and like a normal day at F&W. Normally, it wouldn't bother me but it is impossible to social distance and get through crowds. And because these crowds are here too eat and drink, they are not wearing their masks. Are you here today?


----------



## HashberryOTG

MinnieMSue said:


> yes we experienced  the same. Bag claim at MCO everyone stood back but atCMH people crowded up. I just stayed back until ours came around and quickly grabbed them



We've found just go to end end of the luggage carriage instead of near the front. Way fewer people.


----------



## only hope

crazymomof4 said:


> I feel like I based my decision to keep our reservations and not to try to reschedule our trip on the limited capacity we were witnessing after reopening and through Aug (the time period where I *may* have had a chance to reschedule) and then BAM! Labor Day hit and Disney said, "load em in!" and we got stuck coming still during a Pandemic but with no low crowds for social distancing and no fast passes to reduce time in lines.  Kinda feels a little "bait and switch-ish" .  I knew severely reduced capacity would be increased eventually but I didn't think they'd open it up to this many locals while FL's numbers are still on the higher end, relatively speaking.  There are lots of locals here and their behavior shows they really aren't used to the safety precautions that our family (and I'm sure many others from the NE) has made part of our lifestyle when in public.  Waiting for my kids to get off SM and then we are hopping on a monorail to a lounge in one of the resorts! Hoping the rain comes and filters out some peeps before we return for dinner at Skippers.



How do you know that it is locals that are not taking proper precautions? I assure you many Floridians are used to it. Masks have been mandatory in many counties for months now, including Orange County, Osceola County, and many others within an hour or so of Disney. And Disney has made no effort to limit attendance from locals, nor should they. AP reservations have been hard to get sometimes but not all AP's are local, and not all locals visiting use an AP to get in. Disney is trying to lure locals actually, there are special ticket deals right now.


----------



## yulilin3

Melodious said:


> No, I'd like them to reduce capacity to manageable levels for social distancing. Last Saturday, it 'felt busy' but was perfectly easy to distance and eat at tables. Today is a completely different beast. It feels twice as busy and like a normal day at F&W. Normally, it wouldn't bother me but it is impossible to social distance and get through crowds. And because these crowds are here too eat and drink, they are not wearing their masks. Are you here today?


Not today but crowds will continue to grow,  it's financially impossible for Disney to stay open with lower crowds.  
A question for you,  impossible to social distance while walking around? Or impossible as to you can't find a place separated by others within 6ft?


----------



## Melodious

yulilin3 said:


> Not today but crowds will continue to grow,  it's financially impossible for Disney to stay open with lower crowds.
> A question for you,  impossible to social distance while walking around? Or impossible as to you can't find a place separated by others within 6ft?



I'm not going to debate which is safer, mask, maskless, walking, stopping, either, neither.  Or what Disney needs to do to survive. This is not the thread for it. I'm just sharing my experience for those that are interested in reading just back reports


----------



## crazymomof4

This was the point where we left the park. Saw this looking into Tomorrowland.  The kids did SM while I found a shady corner (was very hard to find a spot away from others).  When they got off we left. Went back to BW and swam in the pool. 0 dollars spent during that time.  Disney is gaining admissions  but losing food and merch revenue. When guests leave bc they don't feel comfortable, it's $ lost for the parks.  My kids are big Disney merch spenders but we've been here 4 days and they haven't bought one thing.


----------



## Homemom

brockash said:


> Only 1 side last week, however to be fair that happens a lot in Sept.



We were just there on Wednesday and both sides were open on both rides. BTM said 45 minutes but only took 20 and Space said 10 but was a walk on.


----------



## HashberryOTG

We were in epcot today as well. Left after noon, crowd got to be too much for me, lines for F&W stuff got crazy. Came back for the evening. A lot of folks leaving. 20 mins for soarin.


----------



## Kimpossible1

FOP was 90 minutes at one point today, and the stores were very crowded.


----------



## KrazeeK120

britneyt said:


> We took a rideshare to TTC and then took a bus (when our Lyft driver recommended)...it was much faster than waiting on the monorail or ferry to MK



When did they start offering bus service from TTC to MK?!?!


----------



## dancergirlsmom

Hmm, this is all so interesting. We were there the end of July and it was amazing.  We went to HS, MK and Epcot 2x and AK 1x.  We noticed even then that the weekends were busier than the weekdays which makes sense.  We rode every ride in MK and some two times on one of the weekdays we were there.  Started in Adventureland and just worked our way around.  We are going again in mid October for just 2 days and 1 day at Universal.  We are going to MK and HS and made reservations for the weekdays hoping that it won't be as crowded.  Going to Universal on the weekend but have reservations at Royal Pacific so have Express pass.  We haven't been to MK in the Fall since 2007 and looking forward to seeing the decorations, trying the special Halloween food and cavalcades.


----------



## disneygirlsng

crazymomof4 said:


> This was the point where we left the park. Saw this looking into Tomorrowland.  The kids did SM while I found a shady corner (was very hard to find a spot away from others).  When they got off we left. Went back to BW and swam in the pool. 0 dollars spent during that time.  Disney is gaining admissions  but losing food and merch revenue. When guests leave bc they don't feel comfortable, it's $ lost for the parks.  My kids are big Disney merch spenders but we've been here 4 days and they haven't bought one thing. View attachment 527018


I know everyone has their limits, but that photo doesn't make me even remotely uncomfortable. Plenty of space, likely just walking past people, everyone I can see has a mask on. Not really seeing an issue, but that's me.


----------



## soniam

crazymomof4 said:


> This was the point where we left the park. Saw this looking into Tomorrowland.  The kids did SM while I found a shady corner (was very hard to find a spot away from others).  When they got off we left. Went back to BW and swam in the pool. 0 dollars spent during that time.  Disney is gaining admissions  but losing food and merch revenue. When guests leave bc they don't feel comfortable, it's $ lost for the parks.  My kids are big Disney merch spenders but we've been here 4 days and they haven't bought one thing. View attachment 527018



Just for reference purposes, does this seem crowded to you for a normal time, not covid times? Just want a frame of reference. I have to say that this doesn't really look crowded to me for normal times, but we usually come Thanksgiving, xmas, Spring Break, or summer. We are used to heavy crowds. Our July 2020 trip was mostly a ghost town, except DHS.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

Kimpossible1 said:


> FOP was 90 minutes at one point today, and the stores were very crowded.


And to think, back in 2019 we would have been discussing how awesome it was that FOP waits had dropped in half!


----------



## Shellbells

For me the worry isn't crowded walkways. It's long lines with long wait times, limited food options with long waits and limited transportation with...long wait times.
We usually fastpass the rides we really want and if we come across anything with a short wait time we'll ride it.
We also watch all the shows.
Obviously the shows are off the table and we'll be fine with whatever food we get but I'd like to feel like I semi got my money's worth for the trip overall.
I love Disney World and we have a trip booked for early November that I'm very excited about.
But we spent 4k for this trip and I don't want to feel like it wasn't worth it.

If Disney doesn't improve transportation and increase ride capacity we are going to cancel. 

We live in Vegas so it's not like we can go often. I think locals/AP's might have a different perspective.  This is just my opinion based on my family and I don't mean to belittle anyone else's feelings or opinions.
I booked the trip with open eyes and I'm fully aware that it won't be like our other trips.
I know one person's perspective of crowds might not match another's. 
I'm just going to wait and see what happens in the next few weeks and decide then.


----------



## fbb

disneygirlsng said:


> I know everyone has their limits, but that photo doesn't make me even remotely uncomfortable. Plenty of space, likely just walking past people, everyone I can see has a mask on. Not really seeing an issue, but that's me.


Since the family in the foreground was comfortable enough to drop $20 on a balloon, can we infer they must be local?


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## lynch34

Honestly, if crowds are up - the whole thing sounds miserable to anyone who doesn’t think everything Disney does is “magical.”

Masks
Heat
No fireworks
Limited restaurants
No parades
Crowds
No park hopping
Limited discounts for a totally limited experience


----------



## yulilin3

Shellbells said:


> For me the worry isn't crowded walkways. It's long lines with long wait times, limited food options with long waits and limited transportation with...long wait times.
> We usually fastpass the rides we really want and if we come across anything with a short wait time we'll ride it.
> We also watch all the shows.
> Obviously the shows are off the table and we'll be fine with whatever food we get but I'd like to feel like I semi got my money's worth for the trip overall.
> I love Disney World and we have a trip booked for early November that I'm very excited about.
> But we spent 4k for this trip and I don't want to feel like it wasn't worth it.
> 
> If Disney doesn't improve transportation and increase ride capacity we are going to cancel.
> 
> We live in Vegas so it's not like we can go often. I think locals/AP's might have a different perspective.  This is just my opinion based on my family and I don't mean to belittle anyone else's feelings or opinions.
> I booked the trip with open eyes and I'm fully aware that it won't be like our other trips.
> I know one person's perspective of crowds might not match another's.
> I'm just going to wait and see what happens in the next few weeks and decide then.


I definitely think that opening the shows back up will make a huge difference,  especially for ak and mk


----------



## DanielNYC

I had intended to do a "just back" post when we returned from our Aug 10-15 trip, but work and back-to-school prep took over and I'm just now coming back to this board.  I'm not going to post a bunch of details about our trip because after reading some of the recent posts here it's obvious that things have already changed quite a bit.

The bottom line is that I'm happy we did the trip.  The low waits at most attractions and the lack of having to obsess about fast passes outweighed the closed shops and restaurants (we're not parade, fireworks or meet and greet people so none of that was missed).  A huge bonus was that since we weren't rushing to make fast passes, we were all able to savor a slower pace and take in all the great details in the parks (several of which we'd never noticed before).  We even got to experience that modified F&W festival which normally doesn't happen because we always go in late August.  Love, love, loved it!  I detest crowds so festivals are normally not my thing, but with a deliciously empty EPCOT on the day we went most of the food booths were walk up and there was always an empty table nearby.

Mask & distancing compliance was very good (a big concern for me) and the non-compliant people were easy to avoid for the most part.  The one bizarre thing that we witnessed happened right at the end of our last park day which was at MK.  So we're about to enter the confectionary when we saw this really loud woman emerging from the exiting crowd.  She was yelling obscenities at the CM who was clearly "tailing" her because she wasn't wearing a mask.  At one point the woman even turned around and coughed on the CM!  She then turned on her heel and walked toward the exit defiantly twirling her mask in the air and continuing the verbal assault.  I swear, it was like watching a viral video on YouTube.  I couldn't believe that there wasn't security personnel called in to back up the CM, but maybe she felt it was better to just let her go since she was on her way out anyway.  Regardless, it was surreal.

 Big thanks to the mods and everyone who helped me with all the great advice.  Much appreciated!


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## katyringo

So are people wearing costumes to MK? The first day of Halloween I saw lots of costumes on Instagram and picture. I put together a whole outfit and now I’m worried I’ll stand out like a goof ball.


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## soniam

katyringo said:


> So are people wearing costumes to MK? The first day of Halloween I saw lots of costumes on Instagram and picture. I put together a whole outfit and now I’m worried I’ll stand out like a goof ball.



Go for it! Some travelers won't be able to bring a costume due to luggage restrictions. I bet people will be jealous. I am always jealous of people at the parties in their nice outfits, since I travel via plane.


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## dachsie

crazymomof4 said:


> Even a simple measure like opening up more food and merch carts would lessen the waits in the CS and gift shop lines.   It was time to do that, like, TWO WEEKS AGO. At least for weekends.


I would recommend a nice long email to guest services.  The more they hear from people, the better chance something will change


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## MonorailPrincess

Just returned fron an 8 day trip.  After scanning the last few pages, I feel like this needsto be said.  No, shouted.  Weekends aside, THE PARKS ARE NOT CROWDED.  Look, you have to adapt.  Just like when they opened muliple parks, every time there's  a new attraction, started the original FP, then FP+ etc.

Strategy now is to use weekend for resort day, DS, or really AK would probably be fine.  Then on weekdays, get inside parks 30-45 minutes before official opening.  You will get on 2-3 of the biggest attractions, and have the rest of the day to mix in the rest.  We did everything we wanted, some more than once.  

More restaurants at the parks and resorts would be great, but we went to DS most evenings where there's a ton of choices.

Finally, a word about masks and distancing. Reading the forums beforehand, we expected very high compliance.  What we experienced exceeded that.  Only one family we noticed playing cat and mouse with the cms. ONE family the entire trip.  Everyone used the dustance markers properly.  Just in general, you can see Disney is taking any  and all precautions they can.

That said, even with low crowds there are pinch points in all the parks, and stores are tough to distance ALL the time.  None of that bothered us at all, but for anyone planning on going expecting to be distanced 100% of the time....not gonna happen.


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## wilkydelts

@MonorailPrincess 

THANK YOU!


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## Akck

We were at Epcot on Saturday and while it was definitely more crowded than what past reports have sounded like, we never once felt unsafe while there. We did have to get close to others at times, but with the breeze and relatively good mask compliance, one would have to be mask-less and coughing in your face to feel unsafe (no one did this). 

We arrived prior to park opening, but not in the first wave. We went directly to the Land Pavilion and it was a walk-on for Living with the Land (posted 5 minutes). We went to Soaring next, posted 25 minutes actual about 15 minutes. The situation changed after we finished as the line to get into the Land Pavilion stretched well past the ramp. We then watched the Pixar/Disney shorts and had lunch at Katsura Grill. Probably the only place we felt slightly unsafe because there wasn’t anyone cleaning the outdoor tables. We then explored World Showcase clockwise, ending in Italy for our dinner reservation.

Mask compliance was good, but there was a lot of eating/drinking while moving going on. There was enough space to avoid anyone doing this.


----------



## fabfemmeboy

katyringo said:


> So are people wearing costumes to MK? The first day of Halloween I saw lots of costumes on Instagram and picture. I put together a whole outfit and now I’m worried I’ll stand out like a goof ball.


We will be - we're flying Southwest so we can bring an extra bag, and we're both guys so we don't have much to bring besides clothes and our remote work stuff.  I was worried because in the couple pictures I saw from the 15th, I didn't see anyone but kids dressed up and was worried we'd look ridiculous or that I had misunderstood/misread the rules!
(My partner is going as a Jedi (sans robe of course), and I'm turning my wheelchair + myself into R2D2.  The only bummer is that we can only do it in MK, not DHS which would be more fun!)


----------



## lmbcdb

Eldritch said:


> We Uber’d from Pop to Boardwalk this morning.  We were there at 8:15 and walked from Boardwalk to HS.  Nice trail.  We got to where they held us up around 8:30.  There were maybe 20 people before us (though not explicit line).  At 9 they walked us to the temperature stations and we waited there until 9:15, when they let us in.


I thought they only let Ubers in if you have a dining reservation ?


----------



## erinch

Just arrived at the Vistana  after Wed-Saturday at Universal. Will post more in appropriate forums, but DS was crazy crowded at 7 last night. We had reservations at Jaleo, and could not get near. Surface parking and the orange garage were full. I assume lime was, but we could not even try to turn in coming from the direction of orange. A big sign said DS was at capacity. We sadly cancelled Jaleo. There were no reservations on Disney property. We had A happy anyway dinner at a dispirited Macaroni grill on Irlo Bronson, chosen solely because it was next door to the Krispy Kremes. Off to Epcot today. Looks stormy.


----------



## Sydnerella

This is similar to my feelings right now. Except crowded walkways wont be cool for us either...



Shellbells said:


> For me the worry isn't crowded walkways. It's long lines with long wait times, limited food options with long waits and limited transportation with...long wait times.
> We usually fastpass the rides we really want and if we come across anything with a short wait time we'll ride it.
> We also watch all the shows.
> Obviously the shows are off the table and we'll be fine with whatever food we get but I'd like to feel like I semi got my money's worth for the trip overall.
> I love Disney World and we have a trip booked for early November that I'm very excited about.
> But we spent 4k for this trip and I don't want to feel like it wasn't worth it.
> 
> *If Disney doesn't improve transportation and increase ride capacity we are going to cancel.*
> 
> We live in Vegas so it's not like we can go often. I think locals/AP's might have a different perspective.  This is just my opinion based on my family and I don't mean to belittle anyone else's feelings or opinions.
> I booked the trip with open eyes and I'm fully aware that it won't be like our other trips.
> I know one person's perspective of crowds might not match another's.
> I'm just going to wait and see what happens in the next few weeks and decide then.



I agree with this approach and have the same feelings of reduced cost/benefit it sounds like you are feeling. Our trip was rescheduled from March when we had our vacation cancelled a week beforehand. At the time we didn’t know our federal government response would put us in such a terrible position compared to the rest of the world still in November. So we rebooked at the time, hoping things would be closer to “normal“ by Thanksgiving.

We were still feeling ok with going a month ago due to the “Disney bubble“ and the lower capacity/crowds - despite Floridas numbers. Disney was doing everything right and we could manage with much more lightly attended parks. But reading about the increased capacity, long waits and even the transportation issues that are present now does not make it worth the money nor worth the risk for my family to visit. This trip - before the cost of dining and activities - is $6500 for us and we fly from Minneapolis. So not at all like a local experience where there is less travel and you could just come another time.

Based on our Disney park practices of early rope dropping, maximizing fastpass and never waiting more than 20 minutes for standby, we would be fairly unhappy standing in a two hour FOP line, even a one hour line, not to mention super stressed out by the potential for COVID 19 exposure standing indoors in those small corridors for that long. Even with Physical distancing - thats a long time to be indoors with a decent amount of others in small spaces. Not something we are comfortable doing.

We too will wait and see how reports come back through October and early November but without shorter wait times or fastpass and more timely/better transportation the trip will be cancelled. As sad as that makes me to write. Hard to justify spending that much to be waiting in long lines, stressed out and risking safety.  Cruising through lines with little waits, minimal crowding or ability to avoid it, and just fewer people in general plus the chance to “stop and smell the roses” more with different experiences at the resort or other resorts or on property due to limited park hours/events made the trade offs worth it, even with many holiday things cancelled and reduced hours, restaurant options etc.  It is not sounding that way now. The possibility of Increased capacity combined with Thanksgiving week and no FP, limited bus service has the makings of a nightmare trip for us.

Disney seems to be in this middle ground now of getting busier, which is good for Disney and a positive sign for sure, but not busy enough for them to go to the expense of better transportation measures or even the ability to better manage crowds through fastpass due to the physical space needed for safety protocols for COVID 19. The opposite of the “sweet spot” and more like the “awkward middle” sadly.


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## yulilin3

Let's try and keep this thread focused on here and just back experiences and not on what we think Disney should or shouldn't do 
Thank you


----------



## Flamingeaux

For AK, DHS and EPCOT is it safe to say that the you can get in the parking lot line about an hour before the posted opening of each park?  And they open the lots around 45 minutes prior to opening?  And some rides may be running?  tia


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## Grumpy by Birth

I posted on the Community board, but no replies so I thought maybe someone "There now or Just Back" might be able to report about the Splash Mountain gift shop.  Any recent reports of whether it's open and if they have Splash merchandise available?  And if they are restocking, is this still happening first thing in the morning?



ETA: Are the Lion King Drum popcorn buckets still available at Animal Kingdom?


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## WEDWDW

Melodious said:


> Yes, they could take their food and drinks off the walkways. But as it is, you can't get inside a bathroom without being within a foot of some other, probably maskless, person


GO TO THE RESTROOMS IN WORLD SHOWPLACE!!!!

They are probably the largest in WDW-you can be in another ZIP CODE from the next Guest in there!lol


----------



## emily nicole

I keep reading on various groups about how terrible the parks are right now on weekends or especially Saturdays. So I'm having difficulty choosing a park for Saturday during our trip (we are going Wednesday through Wednesday). Does anyone have a suggestion on the best park for Saturdays? Is it bad enough that we should just make it a rest day (we usually don't need/do rest days)? Are Sundays bad as well?


----------



## lynzi2004

Grumpy by Birth said:


> I posted on the Community board, but no replies so I thought maybe someone "There now or Just Back" might be able to report about the Splash Mountain gift shop.  Any recent reports of whether it's open and if they have Splash merchandise available?  And if they are restocking, is this still happening first thing in the morning?
> 
> View attachment 527118
> 
> ETA: Are the Lion King Drum popcorn buckets still available at Animal Kingdom?
> 
> View attachment 527123



Not sure about the popcorn drums, but the Splash Mtn gift shop is basically empty. Some generic candy and a place to buy photos. We were really disappointed as we were hoping to buy DS something as it’s his favorite ride. thankfully, we bought Brer Fox on a trip last year but I would have loved to get him a shirt, ornament, anything. So frustrating that Disney did not do something to stop the hoarding when they opened if they weren’t going to restock! We couldn’t find Splash merchandise anywhere else, including the Christmas store.


----------



## scrappinginontario

emily nicole said:


> I keep reading on various groups about how terrible the parks are right now on weekends or especially Saturdays. So I'm having difficulty choosing a park for Saturday during our trip (we are going Wednesday through Wednesday). Does anyone have a suggestion on the best park for Saturdays? Is it bad enough that we should just make it a rest day (we usually don't need/do rest days)? Are Sundays bad as well?


 I have heard recommendations that you should go to DHS on a Saturday Or Sunday.  It’s running at or near capacity every day so you won’t encounter more people than other days and allows you to visit other parks on the lesser busy days.


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

only hope said:


> How do you know that it is locals that are not taking proper precautions? I assure you many Floridians are used to it. Masks have been mandatory in many counties for months now, including Orange County, Osceola County, and many others within an hour or so of Disney. And Disney has made no effort to limit attendance from locals, nor should they. AP reservations have been hard to get sometimes but not all AP's are local, and not all locals visiting use an AP to get in. Disney is trying to lure locals actually, there are special ticket deals right now.


What she described sounds like the local groups that go to F&W every year. They wear matching t-shirts. The groups have shirts like "Drunk 1, Drunk 2, etc...like Thing 1 and Thing 2. Some have lists with all the dates they do every year. Some are from UCF. I have seen them every year that we have been going to F&W.


----------



## Naomeri

fabfemmeboy said:


> We will be - we're flying Southwest so we can bring an extra bag, and we're both guys so we don't have much to bring besides clothes and our remote work stuff.  I was worried because in the couple pictures I saw from the 15th, I didn't see anyone but kids dressed up and was worried we'd look ridiculous or that I had misunderstood/misread the rules!
> (My partner is going as a Jedi (sans robe of course), and I'm turning my wheelchair + myself into R2D2.  The only bummer is that we can only do it in MK, not DHS which would be more fun!)


Maybe you can’t do full-on costumes at DHS, but certain levels of Star Wars-bounding are acceptable, so maybe you can adapt?  Here’s a Disney Parks blog with details: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...ing-for-your-visit-to-star-wars-galaxys-edge/


----------



## soniam

scrappinginontario said:


> I have heard recommendations that you should go to DHS on a Saturday Or Sunday.  It’s running at or near capacity every day so you won’t encounter more people than other days and allows you to visit other parks on the lesser busy days.



DHS is not always running at capacity on weekdays for hotel guests. I have recently done a bunch of changes for the week of Thanksgiving. I am not convinced of this advice. I know when we went in July, DHS on opening day was very busy. A week day we went was busy but not bad. A weekend day that we went was almost as bad as the opening day.


----------



## WEDWDW

After finally giving in to our WDW Addiction   and returning for the first time since the reopening,I am so glad we went!

We did miss many,many things though.

We missed:
The longer hours
The shows
F!,Epcot Forever,HEA
Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon!
Not being able to see everyone's smiles!
The College Program Cast Members
Not having the International Guests-one of the most fun and unique aspects of WDW
The "Normal" Food Court experience at Pop Century
Not having daily Housekeeping at Pop Century
Not being able to use the AoA buses and Food Court
Citizens of Hollywood
Concerts at America Gardens
Riding the FriendShips in Crescent Lake and Lake Hollywood
The ability to "meet" and have conversations with other Guests on the buses due to "Covid Dividers"
The ability to ride the Monorail from TTC to Epcot
Going to ESPN Club to watch the College Football games
Probably more than anything the International Cast Members in World Showcase
etc,.etc.


But we still had a BLAST!!!

*THE CAST MEMBERS WITHOUT EXCEPTION WERE AMAZING!  *

Thank you to all of them and we are so sorry for the "abuse" you are receiving from some "Guests".

It was just so wonderful to hang out at the Hippy Dippy Pool listening to some Elvis Presley,flying high over WDW on the incredible Disney Skyliner,experiencing MMRR for the first time,experiencing the trailblazing Rise of the Resistance once again,catching a Movie on "The Green" at Pop Century,seeing 5 Cheetahs on Kilimanjaro Safari,etc.

We are huge Live Music people so probably the most fun we had was one night at Disney Springs in the Courtyard at House of Blues listening to David Schweizer/Life On Mars while enjoying a nice meal at a safe socially distanced table-our first Live Music experience since February.

*The whole trip was such a stress relieve*r-Disney is doing all they can to protect the Guests!

*We felt MUCH safer hanging out at WDW than going through our daily activities back at home!*

My advice is this:
If you are like us and "addicted" to WDW and need a "Disney Fix",are willing to take the very small risk(IMHO) involved and can go in with the mindset "IT IS WHAT IT IS",by all means go(we will most likely be going back soon).

If you are "addicted" to WDW,BUT have doubts you can accept "IT IS WHAT IT IS",do not go-it will just "frustrate" you!

If you would be going for your First Time-do not get within ONE-HUNDRED MILES of WDW(Sorry Mickey!)-the experience now is just way too diminished for a First Timer.

One "positive" with this situation is that after experiencing "Covid Disney World" when we go back for our first visit after EVERYTHING is back to normal,it is going to almost feel like the feeling we had on our VERY first visit to WDW!

And when your trip is over you will be VERY familiar with this sign!lol


----------



## brockash

Grumpy by Birth said:


> I posted on the Community board, but no replies so I thought maybe someone "There now or Just Back" might be able to report about the Splash Mountain gift shop.  Any recent reports of whether it's open and if they have Splash merchandise available?  And if they are restocking, is this still happening first thing in the morning?
> 
> View attachment 527118
> 
> ETA: Are the Lion King Drum popcorn buckets still available at Animal Kingdom?
> 
> View attachment 527123


We were there last week - really no Splash merch.  The store just had generic Disney stuff.


----------



## JFDIS

Please keep in mind that busy parks mean more CM’s are able to return to their jobs and provide for their families.


----------



## crazymomof4

disneygirlsng said:


> I know everyone has their limits, but that photo doesn't make me even remotely uncomfortable. Plenty of space, likely just walking past people, everyone I can see has a mask on. Not really seeing an issue, but that's me.


I was hoping people would zoom beyond the foreground of the pic to see what we were heading INTO.  Trust me, in that crush of people inside Tomorrowland (not back where  standing while taking the pic) there was 0 chance for social distancing which is constantly being announced over the loudspeaker for guests to do.  I feel like if they are encouraging/expecting guests to maintain social distance, then they should limit the crowd levels to actually make it *possible*.  You can't tell your goldfish to swim 6" apart and then stick 20 of them in a single glass of water!  I had to had to wander around for 5 mins just to find a spot to STAND STILL and wait that was away from others.                                                  I just want to warn others coming soon not to expect anything remotely like the reports dated July/Aug.  It all changed Labor Day weekend. Especially in terms of weekends.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

lynzi2004 said:


> Not sure about the popcorn drums, but the Splash Mtn gift shop is basically empty. Some generic candy and a place to buy photos. We were really disappointed as we were hoping to buy DS something as it’s his favorite ride. thankfully, we bought Brer Fox on a trip last year but I would have loved to get him a shirt, ornament, anything. So frustrating that Disney did not do something to stop the hoarding when they opened if they weren’t going to restock! We couldn’t find Splash merchandise anywhere else, including the Christmas store.





brockash said:


> We were there last week - really no Splash merch.  The store just had generic Disney stuff.


On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating?  Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?


----------



## coolbrook

Grumpy by Birth said:


> On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating?  Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?
> 
> View attachment 527161


That is a great idea for a souvenir!


----------



## disneygirlsng

crazymomof4 said:


> I was hoping people would zoom beyond the foreground of the pic to see what we were heading INTO.  Trust me, in that crush of people inside Tomorrowland (not back where  standing while taking the pic) there was 0 chance for social distancing which is constantly being announced over the loudspeaker for guests to do.  I feel like if they are encouraging/expecting guests to maintain social distance, then they should limit the crowd levels to actually make it *possible*.  You can't tell your goldfish to swim 6" apart and then stick 20 of them in a single glass of water!  I had to had to wander around for 5 mins just to find a spot to STAND STILL and wait that was away from others.                                                  I just want to warn others coming soon not to expect anything remotely like the reports dated July/Aug.  It all changed Labor Day weekend. Especially in terms of weekends.


I was taking the whole picture into consideration with my post, not just the foreground.


----------



## lynzi2004

Grumpy by Birth said:


> On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating?  Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?
> 
> View attachment 527161



I forgot all about that being there! BUT I really don’t think I saw it there as we were turning to use the restrooms next door. I remember looking back bc it was an exit only and I was trying to see if anything was left. I hope someone there can check as we will be back in November! Great idea!


----------



## linzjane88

JFDIS said:


> Please keep in mind that busy parks mean more CM’s are able to return to their jobs and provide for their families.


I just hope they adjust capacity fairly quickly in response to increased crowds. I feel like there's going to be an unavoidable lag between keeping the reduced capacity and shorter hours, etc and the increased return of guests. Presumably they would need to see a pattern of guest demand before calling all the CM back. I just hope it doesn't happen November 7 to 15! Lol.


----------



## busymomma123

My DH is in severe Disney withdrawal. He's wanting us to go for a three day weekend with the kids.  I would rather wait until things get back to "normal", but three days does sound like fun. My question is how is the Disney magic without fireworks,  shows, limited hours and wearing masks?  Does it still feel magical there?  TIA


----------



## DWillowBay

I went for 4 days in late Aug / early Sept.   It was glorious.   I love all the things that you listed as missing, and when they return I'll be very happy.   However, it was wonderful to see "old friends" again and share in the joy of DisneyWorld.   JMHO.


----------



## pooch

Grumpy by Birth said:


> On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating?  Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?
> 
> View attachment 527161


My DGS will be heading down with a roll of shiny new pennies and 2 rolls of quarters. We will pick up a pressed penny book (hopefully) at Pop Century gift shop and he will spend the week happily running from machine to machine.  Cheapest souvenirs ever!!


----------



## Naomeri

Here’s a whole thread of info for you: https://www.disboards.com/threads/here-now-just-back-wdw-reopening-experiences.3807247/


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## Sarahslay

I had a three night solo trip at the end of August, and while I did miss a lot of stuff, it was just great being back. I know things will come back eventually, but for now it was just really good to experiece what I could. It really helped scratch the disney itch, and I'll be going back both Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks without hesitation.


----------



## Homemom

We are strictly a ride family. No parades, shows, or fireworks for us. So we really enjoyed last week with low wait times and less people to bump into. It was over 90% humidity so the mask wearing was not fun, but didn’t stop us.


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## soniam

disneygirlsng said:


> I was taking the whole picture into consideration with my post, not just the foreground.



Me too. However, the depth of field on the photo was very shallow, so it was a bit difficult to tell if the further crowd was just right there all together, or was from that whole depth of area near Lunching Pad and further back toward Space Mountain.


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## Geomom

For us the pop up character interactions are what made our summer trip magical.  Characters up by the train station, in cavalcades, on stages for socially distanced pics, we loved them all.

Our first day back at magic kingdom... everything just seemed brighter to me...all the colors in small world, etc, after months of just being home and seeing the same scenery daily.


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## emmabelle

Well my husband didn’t miss any of those things because he just likes to go on rides.  I just missed character interactions but I did like the cavalcades!  Getting into a park with basically no wait at bag check and no finger scan was pretty awesome.


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## OKW Lover

The Disney magic is still alive and well.  The attractions, atmosphere and CM's are just as wonderful as ever.


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## crazymomof4

disneygirlsng said:


> I was taking the whole picture into consideration with my post, not just the foreground.


So from someone who actually walked into that crowd I will say, if a person is coming to the parks and having an expectation of "social distancing", it was absolutely NOT physically possible in that crowd.   I read many many reports leading up to our trip where people wrote "it was crowded but social distancing was still possible".   This weekend didn't match those reports.  I'm just trying to be one of the ones giving an updated report from this weekend.  I'm used to being in parks with this volume of guests during a normal Sept. and I think nothing of it.  But this is not a normal Sept.   I posted the pic and my report from this weekend for reader's who may not be comfortable in crowds of this density during a time when social distancing is still being advised by both health experts and WDW.


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## emily nicole

scrappinginontario said:


> I have heard recommendations that you should go to DHS on a Saturday Or Sunday.  It’s running at or near capacity every day so you won’t encounter more people than other days and allows you to visit other parks on the lesser busy days.





soniam said:


> DHS is not always running at capacity on weekdays for hotel guests. I have recently done a bunch of changes for the week of Thanksgiving. I am not convinced of this advice. I know when we went in July, DHS on opening day was very busy. A week day we went was busy but not bad. A weekend day that we went was almost as bad as the opening day.



Well... conflicting advise, but thanks nonetheless!  

What does the "hotel guests" part mean? Is that onsite guests? We'll be offsite, so I'm not sure what that will mean for us.


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## DL1WDW2

Grumpy by Birth said:


> On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating?  Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?
> 
> View attachment 527161



I just used the one next to the entrance to Liberty Belle , which is a strange location. It presses each Hitchhiking Ghost or the set of 3 plus the trio altogether (so 4 in a set.. Mickey is the Hatbox Ghost and Goofy and Donald Duck (forgot names but I am guessing Donald is short one with long beard )...  They only take credit cards and set is $4 .  Maybe it was $5 
They turn out really cheap & thin pressed. It has been a long time since I did this. Sad it has been cheapened.
Never again fun for kids


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## Leigh L

Grumpy by Birth said:


> On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating?  Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?
> 
> View attachment 527161


We purchased a full set in August from the machine in the Splash gift shop. Pretty much all the splash merch was gone except one style of t-shirts and I think they were child-sized.


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## smelton521

Oops


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## Leigh L

pooch said:


> My DGS will be heading down with a roll of shiny new pennies and 2 rolls of quarters. We will pick up a pressed penny book (hopefully) at Pop Century gift shop and he will spend the week happily running from machine to machine.  Cheapest souvenirs ever!!


My 13YO still does this, great souvenirs and she has so much fun hunting them down and then choosing which ones from each machine. She doesn't want the credit card ones and pretty much walks by those (with a few exceptions).


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## karen4546

Has anyone used the TIW card since re-opening?  If so, what was your experience?


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## crazymomof4

Leigh L said:


> My 13YO still does this, great souvenirs and she has so much fun hunting them down and then choosing which ones from each machine. She doesn't want the credit card ones and pretty much walks by those (with a few exceptions).


My 20 yr old DD still does this!  She brought her supply of quarters and shiny pennies.  Disney is about holding on to the nuances of childhood and this is one inexpensive way of doing so!


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## monorailmom

karen4546 said:


> Has anyone used the TIW card since re-opening?  If so, what was your experience?




We just got back last night, had no problems using our Tables card!


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## Jen Stauch

Shellbells said:


> For me the worry isn't crowded walkways. It's long lines with long wait times, limited food options with long waits and limited transportation with...long wait times.
> We usually fastpass the rides we really want and if we come across anything with a short wait time we'll ride it.
> We also watch all the shows.
> Obviously the shows are off the table and we'll be fine with whatever food we get but I'd like to feel like I semi got my money's worth for the trip overall.
> I love Disney World and we have a trip booked for early November that I'm very excited about.
> But we spent 4k for this trip and I don't want to feel like it wasn't worth it.
> 
> If Disney doesn't improve transportation and increase ride capacity we are going to cancel.
> 
> We live in Vegas so it's not like we can go often. I think locals/AP's might have a different perspective.  This is just my opinion based on my family and I don't mean to belittle anyone else's feelings or opinions.
> I booked the trip with open eyes and I'm fully aware that it won't be like our other trips.
> I know one person's perspective of crowds might not match another's.
> I'm just going to wait and see what happens in the next few weeks and decide then.



Hello from Ohio ! 
I just got back from Disney and in my opinion you may not find it worth the money at this time ... Unless you are a ride person ... my good friend and I had a day at MK and HS ... we went in to our trip knowing it was going to be different as former annual pass holders for several years we have done a lot at Disney and I was really sad this time because we ended up leaving both parks early because we had ridden the rides and there is not much else ... we saw the calvalcades but those only last a minute or 2 and are very cute. But without the shows and limited food options we went back early and ate in our room and went swimming. 
I really missed the stuff that makes the parks feel magical to me like the trolley show, dapper dans, the stage show, opening morning show on the castle stage, fireworks, projection show on the castle, etc.
Something to consider ... we did a day at Discovery cove and a day at Sea World and found much more value in both of those day ... we didn't want to leave either place when the park was closing... let me know if you would like to hear more about either of them.  I hope you have a wonderful vacation and enjoy it !


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## ajrwdwgirl

karen4546 said:


> Has anyone used the TIW card since re-opening?  If so, what was your experience?



I had no problem using my TIW card at any table service.  We stayed at the Pop and I used it a few times but it was a hassle to go to an actual person to order and then wait that I ended up just using mobile order there the next couple times.  I only gave up a couple bucks by not using the discount.


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## allaboutthemouse

Jen Stauch said:


> Hello from Ohio !
> I just got back from Disney and in my opinion you may not find it worth the money at this time ... Unless you are a ride person ... my good friend and I had a day at MK and HS ... we went in to our trip knowing it was going to be different as former annual pass holders for several years we have done a lot at Disney and I was really sad this time because we ended up leaving both parks early because we had ridden the rides and there is not much else ... we saw the calvalcades but those only last a minute or 2 and are very cute. But without the shows and limited food options we went back early and ate in our room and went swimming.
> I really missed the stuff that makes the parks feel magical to me like the trolley show, dapper dans, the stage show, opening morning show on the castle stage, fireworks, projection show on the castle, etc.
> Something to consider ... we did a day at Discovery cove and a day at Sea World and found much more value in both of those day ... we didn't want to leave either place when the park was closing... let me know if you would like to hear more about either of them.  I hope you have a wonderful vacation and enjoy it !


Would love to hear about your discovery cove and sea world days!  We have DC booked for October with a cabana and shark swim.  How did you feel about the amount of people there and distancing?  We have been before in April and felt like we had plenty of space, so I’m thinking with even less people allowed in it will be even less crowded feeling? Thanks!


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## lelew

Jen Stauch said:


> Hello from Ohio !
> I just got back from Disney and in my opinion you may not find it worth the money at this time ... Unless you are a ride person ... my good friend and I had a day at MK and HS ... we went in to our trip knowing it was going to be different as former annual pass holders for several years we have done a lot at Disney and I was really sad this time because we ended up leaving both parks early because we had ridden the rides and there is not much else ... we saw the calvalcades but those only last a minute or 2 and are very cute. But without the shows and limited food options we went back early and ate in our room and went swimming.
> I really missed the stuff that makes the parks feel magical to me like the trolley show, dapper dans, the stage show, opening morning show on the castle stage, fireworks, projection show on the castle, etc.
> Something to consider ... we did a day at Discovery cove and a day at Sea World and found much more value in both of those day ... we didn't want to leave either place when the park was closing... let me know if you would like to hear more about either of them.  I hope you have a wonderful vacation and enjoy it !


On my last visit not stressing about FP and ADR I took the opportunity to explore the parks at a very slow pace. It was nice getting in a regular line and seeing things I never saw before because we always had FP to skip regular lines. But as I reflect back on my visit those things that you mentioned are truly missed. I really enjoyed my trip end of August/September  and wanted to return this December but decided to wait until Disney is up and running with shows firework ect


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## WEDWDW

After finally giving in to our WDW Addiction and returning for the first time since the reopening,I am so glad we went!

We did miss many,many things though.

We missed:
The longer hours
The shows
F!,Epcot Forever,HEA
Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon!
Not being able to see everyone's smiles!
The College Program Cast Members
Not having the International Guests-one of the most fun and unique aspects of WDW
The "Normal" Food Court experience at Pop Century
Not having daily Housekeeping at Pop Century
Not being able to use the AoA buses and Food Court
Citizens of Hollywood
Concerts at America Gardens
Riding the FriendShips in Crescent Lake and Lake Hollywood
The ability to "meet" and have conversations with other Guests on the buses due to "Covid Dividers"
The ability to ride the Monorail from TTC to Epcot
Going to ESPN Club to watch the College Football games
Probably more than anything the International Cast Members in World Showcase
etc,.etc.


But we still had a BLAST!!!

*THE CAST MEMBERS WITHOUT EXCEPTION WERE AMAZING!*

Thank you to all of them and we are so sorry for the "abuse" you are receiving from some "Guests".

It was just so wonderful to hang out at the Hippy Dippy Pool listening to some Elvis Presley,flying high over WDW on the incredible Disney Skyliner,experiencing MMRR for the first time,experiencing the trailblazing Rise of the Resistance once again,catching a Movie on "The Green" at Pop Century,seeing 5 Cheetahs on Kilimanjaro Safari,etc.

We are huge Live Music people so probably the most fun we had was one night at Disney Springs in the Courtyard at House of Blues listening to David Schweizer/Life On Mars while enjoying a nice meal at a safe socially distanced table-our first Live Music experience since February.

*The whole trip was such a stress relieve*r-Disney is doing all they can to protect the Guests!

*We felt MUCH safer hanging out at WDW than going through our daily activities back at home!*

My advice is this:
If you are like us and "addicted" to WDW and need a "Disney Fix",are willing to take the very small risk(IMHO) involved and can go in with the mindset "IT IS WHAT IT IS",by all means go(we will most likely be going back soon).

If you are "addicted" to WDW,BUT have doubts you can accept "IT IS WHAT IT IS",do not go-it will just "frustrate" you!

If you would be going for your First Time-do not get within ONE-HUNDRED MILES of WDW(Sorry Mickey!)-the experience now is just way too diminished for a First Timer.

One "positive" with this situation is that after experiencing "Covid Disney World" when we go back for our first visit after EVERYTHING is back to normal,it is going to almost feel like the feeling we had on our VERY first visit to WDW!

And when your trip is over you will be VERY familiar with this sign!lol


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## hereforthechurros

karen4546 said:


> Has anyone used the TIW card since re-opening?  If so, what was your experience?


We used ours everywhere we could in August and it was easy. They didn’t even take it most times, a few places didn’t even ask to see it, just mentioning it was enough. But it was accepted no issues.


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## VeeHam

linzjane88 said:


> I just hope they adjust capacity fairly quickly in response to increased crowds. I feel like there's going to be an unavoidable lag between keeping the reduced capacity and shorter hours, etc and the increased return of guests. Presumably they would need to see a pattern of guest demand before calling all the CM back. I just hope it doesn't happen November 7 to 15! Lol.


We are traveling the week of Thanksgiving. I am prepared for it to be busy. On the disney website calendar for park reservations, Thanksgiving week has no availability left for DHS. This lets me know 2 months out, it will be busy. I hope by November, they open a few more restaurants. On the whole, my moto is to be thankful we are able to go on a vacation and try to enjoy it even without FP and fireworks.


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## soniam

emily nicole said:


> Well... conflicting advise, but thanks nonetheless!
> 
> What does the "hotel guests" part mean? Is that onsite guests? We'll be offsite, so I'm not sure what that will mean for us.



Yes, it is conflicting. I think we are darned if we and darned if we don't right now.

Hotel guest = onsite guest.
If you are offsite and have a day ticket (not AP), then that's a 3rd category. I know day ticket guests get more availability than APs. I don't know if they get more than onsite guests. Usually day tickets guest availability has been pretty good.

Here are links explaining the categories and the calendar of availability.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/park-reservations/https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...ort,passholder,tickets&defaultSegment=tickets


VeeHam said:


> We are traveling the week of Thanksgiving. I am prepared for it to be busy. On the disney website calendar for park reservations, Thanksgiving week has no availability left for DHS. This lets me know 2 months out, it will be busy. I hope by November, they open a few more restaurants. On the whole, my moto is to be thankful we are able to go on a vacation and try to enjoy it even without FP and fireworks.



It still shows AP availability, but I am sure that will disappear as it gets closer. Although, hopefully, local APs are smart enough to not go that week.


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## MonorailPrincess

3 day trip would be great for you, but I would do it during the week if at all possible.


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## JoJoGirl

karen4546 said:


> Has anyone used the TIW card since re-opening?  If so, what was your experience?



Used mine at Tiffins last week. Worked same as always.


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## yulilin3

Daily reminder to keep this thread ON TOPIC
just back experiences and questions for those that are just back or still here
No need to discuss what Disney needs to do or not,  or what you think Disney is doing wrong.  
Thank you


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## Sarahslay

karen4546 said:


> Has anyone used the TIW card since re-opening?  If so, what was your experience?


Same as using it before everything, server took my card, came back with the updated bill, I signed and went on about my day.


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## Jen Stauch

allaboutthemouse said:


> Would love to hear about your discovery cove and sea world days!  We have DC booked for October with a cabana and shark swim.  How did you feel about the amount of people there and distancing?  We have been before in April and felt like we had plenty of space, so I’m thinking with even less people allowed in it will be even less crowded feeling? Thanks!



When you arrive at DC you que up outside but the line moves very fast and they have several podium areas inside where they set you up for the day ... we were given a little gift pack with a logo mask, water resistant bag, hand sanitizer and our lanyards and off we went to breakfast ... we were sort of early and found it easy to find a table ... breakfast is eggs,meat, biscuits, potatoes, waffle, French toast, etc.  the different part is for like sides they have them set up... you ask for what you want it and a gloved associate sets it towards the front of the counter where you can take it ... it was like this for sweet rolls, danishes, fruit cups, muffins, yogurt parfait etc.  at the end the ask why utensils and condiments you would like.  Lunch worked very similarly... the main entrees were steak, chicken, salmon, burgers, bbq pulled pork, etc.  from when we have been before it seemed about the same maybe a bit less as far as attendance goes.  What made me feel a bit uncomfortable was seeing so many people without masks... you can not wear masks in the water ways... I think part of it was just the culture shock of seeing people without them.  I didn't not feel unsafe but you for sure have to be your own advocate for staying away from people... we wore our masks anytime we were not in a waterway but masks were not being enforced if you were in beach clothes or a wet suit you didn't have to wear a mask... normally I didn't find this too bad with the exception of at the snack bar /drink station areas ... they were busy and many with no masks.  For the most part we were able to socially distance and would just get our snack or soda and take it away from the area.  We had a wonderful time and could have stayed a few more hours ... why can't hours at work pass by that quickly 

Sea World was wonderful, while we were there it was craft beer festival and there were several booths that had food not just beer giving the park a lot of extra food options (it was a Saturday)... we never went to any of the shows but did hear them "dismissing" people at the end of the shows.  We found the viewing areas for the animals and the aquariums to be very entertaining and enjoyable. 
We could have stayed for hours ... I will say that the mask compliance was better then I had seen reported but not as good as at Disney. It wasn't open when we were there but I did see fall / Halloween decor going up so I'm not sure what might be happening in October.
Sorry this post is so long ... enjoy your trip.


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## dachsie

emily nicole said:


> Well... conflicting advise, but thanks nonetheless!
> 
> What does the "hotel guests" part mean? Is that onsite guests? We'll be offsite, so I'm not sure what that will mean for us.


You will be in the Theme park ticket bucket if you are not an AP


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## BioInfoLib

Hi Everyone, I think this is my first post and it is going to be a long one. We recently returned from a week-long trip (Sept 11-18), staying at Old Key West and visiting all four parks. You all helped us so much in tempering our expectations and giving us a heads up of what we were likely to see in the parks, that I want to pay it back (and forward).

A bit about us to give you context regarding our comfort (or lack thereof) with covid risk – I am 61 and my husband is 65. We are university faculty, and have been working from home since March 17 or so. We have not set foot in any store except CVS (like twice) and had not eaten even outside at a restaurant during that time. We have been exceptionally careful. Until late August, when we were required to fly out west to take my mother to all of the doctors’ appts she has missed over the last many months. Talk about ripping the bandaid off! On that trip I spent many hours on the plane and accompanying her to Kaiser for numerous tests (always in my KN95). And we ate lunch outside every day at restaurants. So after that gauntlet we decided to keep the September Disney reservations that we’ve had since January. Given our trip was basically free (AP, DVC, TIW) except for food and gas money, we decided to give covid Disney a try.

The good to great:

For the first time in history we received our room is ready text by 9:30 am day of arrival and were able to go straight to the room using old magic bands to open our door. Old Key West (our home resort) was perfect for distancing!

It was amazing to be back at Disney for the first time since early March. Enjoyed the outdoors (instead of being stuck in my house); rode all the attractions we wanted (save Rise of the Resistance); had our favorite treats (EPCOT caramel popcorn, Amorette's 11 layer cake, churros from anywhere, High Tower Rocks at Nomad Lounge, incredible Frozen Mudslides at Gurgling Suitcase ); loved the adorable cavalcades (especially the ones on boats at AK and Jack and Sally in MK) - all of this was magical and so very needed. The joy experienced on Flights of Passage - we rode 4X! - alone made the whole trip worthwhile.
The Cast Members seemed to be so happy to see us – in every restaurant they thanked us profusely for coming. We thanked the CMs for helping keep us safe and they really seemed to appreciate that as well.
Overall, people were really good about distancing in attraction lines - this surprised me a lot and in a good way. Sometimes large groups ended up in our space but it was easy enough to leave one additional six-foot space between us and the large party. And because the bulk of most lines is outside, we spent very little time indoors in line.
In our experience 99% of people wore masks, and probably 99% of those wore them correctly over both nose and mouth. The ones who didn't, though, were egregious (see below), and of course are the ones you remember. But if you actually count the number of people around you and do the math, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
We felt more in control than we thought we would - there were like 3 times in lines over the entire 7 days where we felt a bit unsafe and we just left the line (unsafe is probably too strong a word, probably more like uncomfortable). Even in those instances we were sufficiently distanced. Sadly that wasn’t the case on rides (see below).
Disney Springs was supposed to be a nightmare, but we had lunch there almost every day and it was absolutely fine at least between 11:00 and 1:00. Our strategy was to get to the restaurant at opening, and ask to sit outside away from other people. We were always accommodated (except once, see below) and usually had the space entirely to us for the first 45 minutes or so.
Most days we were in the park only 2.5-3.5 hours, and yet we were able to ride everything we wanted (except ROTR). Here’s what we did:
Friday, 9/11 - arrived at EPCOT around 3:00, rode Soaring, Frozen, Test Track, visited Mexico, had Cucumber Margarita at La Cava, bought Caramel Corn in Germany, people watched, left at 6:00.
Saturday, 9/12 – arrived Animal Kingdom around 2:00, rode FOP, KS, walked the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, and then Dinosaur 3X. Left at 5:00.
Sunday, 9/13 – the day before had seemed super crowded, and it was hot, so we decided to just go to a nice lunch and then the pool. And then watch the Rays on  Fox Sports Go in the room.
Monday, 9/14 – arrived at Hollywood Studios by 9:30, was part of the “not in the park” debacle for ROTR, gave up and rode Slinky Dog (2X), Aliens (1X), TSMM (2X), had a churro, rode Star Tours (3X). Got in line for MMRR and after waiting about 20 minutes it broke down; left about 12:30.
Tuesday, 9/15 – arrived Magic Kingdom 10:30ish, rode SDMT (2X), BTMRR (2X), Splash, MCA (2X – it was so hot but the ride and the spitting camels cooled us down), lunch at Pecos Bills, LSR, HM. Saw every cavalcade. Left by 2:00ish.
Wednesday, 9/16 – back to DHS, again foiled by ROTR, so rode MMRR (2X). Walked through GE, and headed off to DS for lunch before a 1:10 Rays start. After the game and some pool time, headed back to DHS and rode SDD (2X), and TSMM (2X) between 5:30 and 6:45.
Thursday, 9/17, last day at AK; arrived around 10:30, rode FOP then a long and sorta relaxing lunch at Nomad Lounge. Rode FOP again (walk on) and yet again (15 minutes). Back on the bus by 2:00.
Friday, 9/18, lunch at DS, milk chocolate caramel apples at Candy Cauldron (30% off with AP), and then hit the road.  
Throughout the trip wait times were highly inflated – 90 minutes usually meant 45; 70 meant 35, 30 meant anywhere between walk on and 35 (if you hit a cleaning cycle).

Busses were much better than we expected, but we tended to ride them at off times (we drove to DHS in the morning). Over half the time we were the only ones on the bus. Before the trip we had decided that busses were off limits, but we gave it a try and were glad (note that we always wore the KN95 masks on the bus, so felt pretty safe.) They only allow 6 parties at a time on the busses, so we were always socially distanced.
Dining is a really big deal to us on our Disney trips, and we were able to cobble together a nice slate of restaurants – lunches at Frontera Cocina, City Works, Boathouse, Pecos Bills, Wolfgang Puck (and added a mushroom pizza to go), Nomad Lounge, Polite Pig, and 5:00 dinner at House of Blues. All meals were outside. We were able to use TIW everyplace that would typically take it, and usually just flashed them the card.
OK, the things that were less than stellar.

The parks “seemed” incredibly crowded (it’s a pandemic!), especially on the weekend. But we know capacity is low, so what gives?  There is just no place to put all the people! At least half of the restaurants are closed; those that are open are decreased capacity and lots of people eat outside making everything look crowded. Stores have limited capacity, so lots of socially distanced lines outside. Rides have the bulk of their lines outside (to keep from trapping people inside close together), and because they are so socially distanced, they look horrifying long and there are just seem to be so many people at the edges of every walk way. But, to be honest, the sparse bus ridership, fast moving lines, and empty bathrooms show that while the outdoor space might feel crowded, there are not that many people.  
Many restaurants are closed, have reduced hours, and/or reduced menus. Morimoto is only open at dinner. Jaleo is also dinner only but only 4 days a week. Even Splitsville and House of Blues did not open for lunch on the days we thought to eat there. And many menus are bleak. This was not unexpected because of all of your wonderful and informative reports! I did fine finding delicious things to eat but it was rough for my husband given he does not eat fried food or red meat – many menus are so reduced and seem to be on the less than healthy side. Homecomin' was a real disappointment - they would not seat us outside even though there was plenty of space (they had not staffed it). They offered inside or the screened in porch (which gets zero air flow). So we declined. I could have asked for a manager but I was hot and tired and happy to give my money to some other establishment who understood the words "I have not eaten in an enclosed space since March due to the, ugh, pandemic ..." And we canceled a reservation for later in the week. So two lost sales.
There were a few times when I did not feel completely safe. I do think we had a lot more control than I had envisioned, but ... people. And then my own comfort levels too, which sometimes surprised me. The very first ride on the very first day – Soaring – the entitled family of four next to my husband took their masks off as soon as the ride started. Are you kidding me? And there was nothing we could do but be glad we had on the KN95s. That same day we were in the Test Track line, and a couple parties in front of us a party of 4 adults decided to eat and drink in line with masks off. OK, they were about 18 feet away from us, so whatever, ... but then the ride went down and who knew how long we would be stuck in this situation, indoors, so we bailed (second ride of the vacation - at that point we just felt like we were covidiot magnets). Second day, Kilimanjaro Safaris - it was the weekend so they were filling every row, one party per row. There is a clear divider between rows. I would have felt safe, but the guy right in front of me had his mask below his nose for much of the ride (and it is a long ride). Jungle Cruise line - no one was doing anything wrong, but this poor guy just kept coughing in his mask (they were the party right in front of us) - we were outside and distanced and everyone in masks but we bailed. In line, you have control, you can bail if you need to. But once the ride starts, you are at the mercy of the people around you and while that was only a problem twice, it was pretty annoying. We found that when someone wasn’t following the rules, it tended to be the entire family. The entitled family from Soaring (plus grandma and grandpa) – all with noses out or masks off altogether – ended up in line with us for SDMT. Luckily this time they were several parties away from us and someone elses' problem. We wore the KN95s always on the bus and indoor rides, and then in lines too if we saw something troubling.
I learned that my comfort zone with masks off is very, very small. Because we arrived at restaurants at opening we had the run of the place for most of the meals and it was awesome. However, we ate twice at outdoor bars (House of Blues and Nomad Lounge). Even though we arrived at opening, it was a really different vibe than the restaurants. More crowded (but still definitely more than 6' apart), people stayed longer, and people were louder - some shouting, some singing (there was a band at House of Blues), and of course, everyone with masks off. Except for me, as I was bordering on terrified. As much as I love those places, I would not go to an outdoor bar again until things are less crazy. Likewise, the pool. Once you enter the fenced in pool area, you don't have to have a mask. The first time we went to the pool we were the only ones there. Blissful. The second time, there was also a family of 3, and a party of 2. All more than appropriately distanced, but of course, masks off, and really loud (I could just envision all of those virus particles spewing everywhere ...). The family of three next went to the hot tub, and the other party followed about 5 minutes later. OMG, the hot tub was so tiny and these two parties were mingling and apparently perfectly comfortable ... and I was a mess just having been in the massive pool, appropriately spaced from them. So although we were willing to go to Disney during a pandemic, I clearly have my limits, and should be in as few mask-less spaces as possible!
No park hopping was not a real problem for us, the only issue was that I couldn't hop over to EPCOT on the last night after AK to get a stash of fresh caramel corn to bring home.
Overall, we had a really good time, and there were times when it felt amazing - Flights of Passage, dining outside just the two of us, the first pool day - it was like nothing was wrong in the world and I was completely relaxed. So magical. And because we are local, AP, DVC, TIW – a really cheap trip. So even with all of the limitations, we felt that it was worth going, was good value, and mostly great for our mental health. If we were paying full price for a park that was only open 8 hours, with no fast passes, limited restaurants and menus, no fireworks or shows, we might feel differently (although maybe not given how desperate we were for a vacation).

Anyway, thanks to all of you who informed our trip, and hope this recap is of use to someone. For those of you going, have a great trip! And let me know if you have any questions!


----------



## DeterminedOne

March 7, 2020. As long as my November trip doesn’t look like this ...


----------



## katyringo

We are 29 days away today. Those of you posting your experiences have been so helpful!!

I still constantly feel like I’m missing something in my planning but I think that’s because I’m used to planing all the fastpasses, etc.


----------



## lovethattink

DeterminedOne said:


> March 7, 2020. As long as my November trip doesn’t look like this ...
> View attachment 527268



Shouldn’t look even close to that.


----------



## Melodious

Aimeedyan said:


> We visit this week every year for my birthday and IMO the parks felt the same as they have the last couple of years, if not heavier (esp in HS!). This is historically a really low crowd time so it's a bummer to see higher crowds but I really think it won't continue in years to come. I think people who canceled WDW trips have seen the reopening reports, felt comfortable, and decided to come. Many of them would normally have visited in late spring or summer.
> 
> Epcot was busier yesterday than it has been in recent after-reopening trips with lots of matching shirt drinking groups but it was a Friday. They have a lot more tables set up so it's pretty easy to find a place to sit or stand and eat. I hope that stays around! Since we were staying at Boardwalk, we just hopped in and out for meals, mostly.
> 
> It was also the first time we've been in Mexico since they started the new entrance line and it totally threw people off. I LOVED it, as you could actually move inside the building!
> 
> ETA: The 7pm close is a killer at Epcot-  there were so many groups still hanging around the back of WS even at 730 when we finished dinner. Many still nursing drinks/food. So much lost revenue!



Rose and Crown pub is open and serving beers in the pub and to go until 8:30pm.  We had a 7pm ADR at the restaurant and left about 8:15pm.  Buses are waiting at EP to take you to whichever resort.  I found buses faster and easier after park close than trying to leave in the middle of the day.

Edit:  I guess I should add that we also saw a girl pass out drunk while waiting for our ADR.  This resulted in lots of maskless drunk people trying to "help"/commotion, etc.  I am not normally bothered by people drinking around the world but I wanted to let others know if you are bothered.  The maskless yelling and jostling around the area bothered me more.  This was in front of the restrooms in England



katyringo said:


> So are people wearing costumes to MK? The first day of Halloween I saw lots of costumes on Instagram and picture. I put together a whole outfit and now I’m worried I’ll stand out like a goof ball.



We definitely saw a few individuals and a couple groups wearing full costumes.  Have fun!



WEDWDW said:


> GO TO THE RESTROOMS IN WORLD SHOWPLACE!!!!
> 
> They are probably the largest in WDW-you can be in another ZIP CODE from the next Guest in there!lol



These restrooms are great!  It was the first time we had been in World Showplace and it was a great place to hang out and rest.  Unfortunately, on Saturday, it had a long wait.  I can't hold it that long!!   Also I meant that I just could not get into the bathroom area without wading through a group trying to eat. 



karen4546 said:


> Has anyone used the TIW card since re-opening?  If so, what was your experience?



Yes!  Worked same as always


----------



## britneyt

KrazeeK120 said:


> When did they start offering bus service from TTC to MK?!?!


Not sure but it was so nice and very quick...so glad we took our driver's advice


----------



## jvalic33

Someluck said:


> I would suggest renting a 3 wheel scooter from an offsite store. They are much smaller and easier to control than the large 4 wheel unit available in the parks. You would also have the use of them getting into the long walks into the parks. I used one at WDW for the first time a few years ago and it made such a difference in my ability to keep up with my family. I don't use one at home, but the parks are huge!


I am reconsidering your idea and curious.  Did you rent the one that was able to be broken down and put in a car?


----------



## mousiemom

LeeLee'sMom said:


> Oh my word, I know that feeling, I was tricked into going on the that side...terrible just terrible.  It ruined the next couple of hours for me.  I will never, ever, ever, ever go on that again.


When my family rides it I go shopping @ mousegears


----------



## lovethattink

KrazeeK120 said:


> When did they start offering bus service from TTC to MK?!?!



They don’t do this all the time, but when they do it’s much much quicker!! We caught the bus a few times in the morning.


----------



## becks59

lovethattink said:


> They don’t do this all the time, but when they do it’s much much quicker!! We caught the bus a few times in the morning.


Having never driven and parked at the TTC before, how can I know if the busses are running?  Is it obvious or is there a certain place to go to? I like the idea of the busses getting us to magic kingdom quicker than the monorail or ferry.


----------



## yulilin3

becks59 said:


> Having never driven and parked at the TTC before, how can I know if the busses are running?  Is it obvious or is there a certain place to go to? I like the idea of the busses getting us to magic kingdom quicker than the monorail or ferry.


If the buses are running they usually have a cm sending people over or you can just ask the cm at the bottom of the monorail ramp
The buses are to the right of the monorail station,  past the restrooms


----------



## KrazeeK120

lovethattink said:


> They don’t do this all the time, but when they do it’s much much quicker!! We caught the bus a few times in the morning.



mid heard about it before during busy times, I just didn’t realize they’d been doing it since reopening.


----------



## PrincessV

lynch34 said:


> Honestly, if crowds are up - the whole thing sounds miserable to anyone who doesn’t think everything Disney does is “magical.”


Not here to argue, but I'd like to add a different perspective...

As anyone who's known me for my many, many years as a DISer can attest, I'm far from being a Disney apologist: I find fault with a LOT of what Disney does. But my recent visits to WDW were genuinely great. For me...


> Masks


 were a non-issue: I was perfectly comfortable wearing a mask the entire time.


> Heat


 also a non-issue: I live in FL and am used to it, and just wasn't any more bothered by the heat than I am during any summer visit to WDW.


> No fireworks


 I LOVE fireworks! So I thought not having them would be disappointing, but it was fine, honestly. I'd be very sad if they never came back, but I can live without them for a while.


> Limited restaurants


 Mostly a non-issue for my short stay, but might have been more difficult for a longer visit. I was unwilling to eat indoors, which limited my selections to QS - and I was able to find something to eat for every meal, but would have liked to see CHH open, for instance.


> No parades


 I'm not into parades, so total non-issue, and actually a perk because it made for a quieter day at MK! I actually enjoyed the pop-up cavalcades.


> Crowds


 I experienced the lowest crowds I've seen in many years.


> No park hopping


 This one is tough. I'd love to do a day trip to DHS, but I know I'll only stay a couple hours, so it would be great to wander over to EP for a bit when I'm done. I can live with no hopping, but do miss it.


> Limited discounts for a totally limited experience


 I scored a Poly villa rental I'd NEVER be able to afford any other time, so I was very happy! That said, I don't think WDW's cash discounts are adequate.

I didn't go in expecting things to be "normal" and I was not disappointed at all. I really do think those for whom "normal" is critical to their enjoyment should wait to visit, because they're going to be disappointed.


----------



## Theactualdisneyprincess

Hello DISers! 

Can’t wait to be back to the magic in a few days!!! I have a few questions that I haven’t been able to get direct answers to and would appreciate your feedback on here. 

1. Has anybody been told that they can’t pay for things with cash? I know that mobile ordering and plastic is preferred and highly encouraged, but I was curious if anybody was being denied or restricted to small bills only?
2. How is the wait for getting on a bus for Magical Express? Torn between doing this and paying for an Uber upon arrival. 
3. Are we still able to leave our bags at the front desk if our room isn’t ready yet upon arrival?
4. Are the fuelrod stations still operating for swaps?
5. Where are the cool magic shots or photo opportunities for Halloween and fall in the parks? If there is a list somewhere and someone would please link me to it, I’d appreciate it. 

I believe that’s it for now. Thanks for any and all help!


----------



## yulilin3

Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> Hello DISers!
> 
> Can’t wait to be back to the magic in a few days!!! I have a few questions that I haven’t been able to get direct answers to and would appreciate your feedback on here.
> 
> 1. Has anybody been told that they can’t pay for things with cash? I know that mobile ordering and plastic is preferred and highly encouraged, but I was curious if anybody was being denied or restricted to small bills only?
> 2. How is the wait for getting on a bus for Magical Express? Torn between doing this and paying for an Uber upon arrival.
> 3. Are we still able to leave our bags at the front desk if our room isn’t ready yet upon arrival?
> 4. Are the fuelrod stations still operating for swaps?
> 5. Where are the cool magic shots or photo opportunities for Halloween and fall in the parks? If there is a list somewhere and someone would please link me to it, I’d appreciate it.
> 
> I believe that’s it for now. Thanks for any and all help!


Merged you to the existing thread.  Read back a couple of pages for answers to all your questions,  here's my info from personal experience
1. You can pay with cash everywhere,  they will encourage contactless payment though
3. Yes
4. Yes they're open but not free anymore unless you are part of the founders program
5. I got mine on the sides of the castle with the flaming Jack o lantern. Search photopass magic shots for the main thread


----------



## Theactualdisneyprincess

yulilin3 said:


> Merged you to the existing thread.  Read back a couple of pages for answers to all your questions,  here's my info from personal experience
> 1. You can pay with cash everywhere,  they will encourage contactless payment though
> 3. Yes
> 4. Yes they're open but not free anymore unless you are part of the founders program
> 5. I got mine on the sides of the castle with the flaming Jack o lantern. Search photopass magic shots for the main thread



How do you know if you’re part of the founders program? I have had mine a couple of years, but I don’t have a receipt anymore


----------



## Geomom

Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> Hello DISers!
> 
> Can’t wait to be back to the magic in a few days!!! I have a few questions that I haven’t been able to get direct answers to and would appreciate your feedback on here.
> 
> 1. Has anybody been told that they can’t pay for things with cash? I know that mobile ordering and plastic is preferred and highly encouraged, but I was curious if anybody was being denied or restricted to small bills only?
> 2. How is the wait for getting on a bus for Magical Express? Torn between doing this and paying for an Uber upon arrival.
> 3. Are we still able to leave our bags at the front desk if our room isn’t ready yet upon arrival?
> 4. Are the fuelrod stations still operating for swaps?
> 5. Where are the cool magic shots or photo opportunities for Halloween and fall in the parks? If there is a list somewhere and someone would please link me to it, I’d appreciate it.
> 
> I believe that’s it for now. Thanks for any and all help!


1. Can't answer for Disney, but wanted to add that we weren't allowed to use cash at the airport food court (inside security.)
2. Our trip was late July, we only waited 15 minutes for a magical express bus.  When you check in, they tell you it could be an hour wait, but I've read plenty of stories like ours, told up to 60 min, took 15.  I'm sure a lot depends upon the time of day you're arriving--how many buses are dropping people off at the airport.  As far as safety, we felt very safe going to Disney on DME, they tell you where to sit to be socially distanced.  On the way back to the airport, they didn't do that and we didn't feel safe with how close others sat to us...and they removed their masks. 
3. Yes, and they're also transferring luggage between resorts if you have a split stay, and you can leave luggage there after you check out if you're doing something the day you're leaving.


----------



## yulilin3

Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> How do you know if you’re part of the founders program? I have had mine a couple of years, but I don’t have a receipt anymore


You had to go on their site and join but im not sure if the window got that closed already


----------



## Shellyred8

Grumpy by Birth said:


> On a related note, is the pressed penny machine in Frontierland still operating?  Several of the pennies are "Splash" themed, so I'm curious if they've discontinued those or if you can still purchase the complete set?
> 
> View attachment 527161


When we were there in August, it was still there.  It was the only Splash souvenir available.


----------



## Best Aunt

Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> How do you know if you’re part of the founders program? I have had mine a couple of years, but I don’t have a receipt anymore



See this:
https://fuel-rod.com/pr/200710_FuelRod_Founders.pdf
Also this:
https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020...under-status-program-is-live-in-disney-world/


----------



## CarolynFH

Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> Are the fuelrod stations still operating for swaps?





yulilin3 said:


> Yes they're open but not free anymore unless you are part of the founders program





Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> How do you know if you’re part of the founders program? I have had mine a couple of years, but I don’t have a receipt anymore


I don’t have my receipt either, but I was able to tell them the month and year I bought it as well as the location, and I uploaded a photo of my current FuelRod. It worked!


----------



## Someluck

jvalic33 said:


> I am reconsidering your idea and curious. Did you rent the one that was able to be broken down and put in a car?


Yes I did. Most of the time we didn't have to break it all the way to fit in a car. We even used UberXL a few times and it was easy to load into the back.


----------



## kristenabelle

Just got here yesterday. Epcot was pretty “packed” - less than a typical food and wine weekend I think, but distanced queues and no street entertainment made it seem more crowded.

highly recommend going after a storm/pre-close. Most booths had zero wait from 6-7.

mask compliance was honestly not as great as I was hoping, based on previous reports. Saw a fair amount of noses and drink walkers. That said, DHS was also relatively crowded today and compliance was amazing! So could be a combination weekend/Epcot thing.

ROTR seems to be running well today, was able to get a 10 AM boarding pass & it was a perfect ride! Also hopped on and off MMRR pre open, and walked onto TSMM after a Starbucks breakfast.

having a really great time by managing my expectations and trying to tour differently (breaks, checking off favorites and skipping others, taking advantage of post-close reservations, etc.)

MK tomorrow, then over to Universal with a day at AK later this week.


----------



## kelscross

Have our trip booked for December and can’t wait!! We have went 25 times so we are ok with some stuff not operating. My question is I have been reading this thread and have seen various reports that crowds are “insane”, “packed”. Can that be clarified? “Insane and packed” as in pre-covid packed? Or exceeded your expectation with the parks operating at lower capacity and/or more crowded than your taste for social distancing.

thanks!


----------



## lovethattink

kelscross said:


> Have our trip booked for December and can’t wait!! We have went 25 times so we are ok with some stuff not operating. My question is I have been reading this thread and have seen various reports that crowds are “insane”, “packed”. Can that be clarified? “Insane and packed” as in pre-covid packed? Or exceeded your expectation with the parks operating at lower capacity and/or more crowded than your taste for social distancing.
> 
> thanks!



In my experience, there have been occasional bottlenecks in the parks, but nothing like pre-Covid. 

Saturday night at Disney Springs was very full. It was hard to keep socially distanced. But almost everyone had their masks on.


----------



## emily nicole

dachsie said:


> You will be in the Theme park ticket bucket if you are not an AP



no we don’t have APs. I haven’t bought tickets yet but on the calendar our dates are all green. So that means there is availability?

Edit: I don’t know what theme park ticket bucket means either. Does that mean even if I make a park reservation (once I buy tickets) we might not get in?


----------



## Helvetica

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is pretty nuts today, but I’ve still had a good time. I got to the parking lot over an hour early, so I was able to get into the park about 45 minutes before the park opened. Everyone else went towards Mickie and Minnie’s, so I went Tower of Terror. I was able to ride Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster before the park officially opened.

Socially Distant Oga’s is still incredible, Rise is still a favorite and Docking Bay 7 still rocks. I was able to get a lot done for the first half.

I went back for a nap and by the time I got back the place is really busy. Maybe it’s the spacing, but it feels busier than a normal September. The line for ToT goes into the que of Beauty and the Beast.

On a more positive notes, ride ops today have been exceptionally good. I don’t think I’ll be doing a second DHS day, but we’ll have to see what the other parks look like during the week.



Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> Hello DISers!
> 
> Can’t wait to be back to the magic in a few days!!! I have a few questions that I haven’t been able to get direct answers to and would appreciate your feedback on here.
> 
> 1. Has anybody been told that they can’t pay for things with cash? I know that mobile ordering and plastic is preferred and highly encouraged, but I was curious if anybody was being denied or restricted to small bills only?
> 2. How is the wait for getting on a bus for Magical Express? Torn between doing this and paying for an Uber upon arrival.
> 3. Are we still able to leave our bags at the front desk if our room isn’t ready yet upon arrival?
> 4. Are the fuelrod stations still operating for swaps?
> 5. Where are the cool magic shots or photo opportunities for Halloween and fall in the parks? If there is a list somewhere and someone would please link me to it, I’d appreciate it.
> 
> I believe that’s it for now. Thanks for any and all help!



Docking Bay 7 is only accepting mobile orders. I haven’t seen anywhere else impose such a restriction.


----------



## yulilin3

Helvetica said:


> Disney’s Hollywood Studios is pretty nuts today, but I’ve still had a good time. I got to the parking lot over an hour early, so I was able to get into the park about 45 minutes before the park opened. Everyone else went towards Mickie and Minnie’s, so I went Tower of Terror. I was able to ride Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster before the park officially opened.
> 
> Socially Distant Oga’s is still incredible, Rise is still a favorite and Docking Bay 7 still rocks. I was able to get a lot done for the first half.
> 
> I went back for a nap and by the time I got back the place is really busy. Maybe it’s the spacing, but it feels busier than a normal September. The line for ToT goes into the que of Beauty and the Beast.
> 
> On a more positive notes, ride ops today have been exceptionally good. I don’t think I’ll be doing a second DHS day, but we’ll have to see what the other parks look like during the week.
> 
> 
> 
> Docking Bay 7 is only accepting mobile orders. I haven’t seen anywhere else impose such a restriction.


The park feels busier because
A) it's smaller,  with smaller walkways at points
B) the shows are closed,  those swallow lots of people
DB7 does take cash,  they're just very insistent on mobile ordering but you can talk to a manager if thr front cm refuses to do so


----------



## Helvetica

yulilin3 said:


> The park feels busier because
> A) it's smaller,  with smaller walkways at points
> B) the shows are closed,  those swallow lots of people
> DB7 does take cash,  they're just very insistent on mobile ordering but you can talk to a manager if thr front cm refuses to do so



I guess it’s all relative and reasonable minds may differ. To me, DHS feels very busy today and by mid-day it got to the point where I felt uncomfortable and left. Epcot and Animal Kingdom were also really busy on Saturday and Sunday. It’s nothing like when I was here in July.

If a manager makes an exception, then I guess that’s their right, but today the front-line cast member was telling people that they’re only accepting mobile orders, which makes sense since they really didn’t have enough seating inside or out when I ate there.


----------



## Pksmom03

I’m at HS right now. We got here before opening and couldn’t get boarding group either time but we have ridden everything else. It did seem more crowded than AK or MK over the weekend.


----------



## yulilin3

My DD tells me today is definitely busier


----------



## Shinrai

emily nicole said:


> no we don’t have APs. I haven’t bought tickets yet but on the calendar our dates are all green. So that means there is availability?
> 
> Edit: I don’t know what theme park ticket bucket means either. Does that mean even if I make a park reservation (once I buy tickets) we might not get in?



From what I understand, there are a certain number of reservation spots set aside for AP's, a different number for people with regular tickets, and number set aside for resort guests. The AP slots fill up faster than the other two. Once you have tickets & reservation set you're good to go. There shouldn't be any question at that point about getting in or not.


----------



## disneygirlsng

emily nicole said:


> no we don’t have APs. I haven’t bought tickets yet but on the calendar our dates are all green. So that means there is availability?
> 
> Edit: I don’t know what theme park ticket bucket means either. Does that mean even if I make a park reservation (once I buy tickets) we might not get in?


When you look at the availability calendar it should have 3 tabs or selections to choose from above the calendar. Resort guests (on-site), annual passholders, and then theme park ticket guests. You have to click on the option that you will be (theme park guests) to see that specific buckets availability as they can be different for each selection.


----------



## yulilin3

emily nicole said:


> Well... conflicting advise, but thanks nonetheless!
> 
> What does the "hotel guests" part mean? Is that onsite guests? We'll be offsite, so I'm not sure what that will mean for us.


if you are not an APholder and not staying on site your bucket is from the "theme park ticket guest"
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/availability-calendar/?segments=tickets,resort,passholder


----------



## kelscross

My other question sorry if this goes somewhere else, currently we are to claim our bags before going to ME and put them under the bus instead of delivery to the resort correct?


----------



## emily nicole

yulilin3 said:


> if you are not an APholder and not staying on site your bucket is from the "theme park ticket guest"
> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/availability-calendar/?segments=tickets,resort,passholder


Thanks!


----------



## MinnieMSue

kelscross said:


> My other question sorry if this goes somewhere else, currently we are to claim our bags before going to ME and put them under the bus instead of delivery to the resort correct?



Myra you get your bags from baggage claim and when you get to the bus the driver loads them under the bus and pulls them out for you at the resort. Then you can leave them with luggage services at your resort if your  room isn’t ready yet. At Pop they then put them in our room while we were at the parks (they told me they would do this when I gave them my bags so I tipped when I dropped off my bags)


----------



## Theactualdisneyprincess

MinnieMSue said:


> Myra you get your bags from baggage claim and when you get to the bus the driver loads them under the bus and pulls them out for you at the resort. Then you can leave them with luggage services at your resort if your  room isn’t ready yet. At Pop they then put them in our room while we were at the parks (they told me they would do this when I gave them my bags so I tipped when I dropped off my bags)



So they are still delivering to the room possibly? Good to know if so. Also staying at Pop!


----------



## MinnieMSue

Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> So they are still delivering to the room possibly? Good to know if so. Also staying at Pop!



yes I was very surprised when he told me that. But sure enough they put the bags in our room and the little  cooler in my room fridge (I had a small cooler with ice packs and frozen Greek yogurts in my suitcase that I asked bell services to put in their fridge). I completely wasn’t expecting that at all. They also didn’t charge me for it


----------



## maryj11

yulilin3 said:


> You had to go on their site and join but im not sure if the window got that closed already


I just got the app downloaded . I think it is working. I don’t have my receipt or remember the date of purchase. I guessed. I opened the app and says I have a 5.00 credit. So I’m guessing it worked


----------



## yulilin3

maryj11 said:


> I just got the app downloaded . I think it is working. I don’t have my receipt or remember the date of purchase. I guessed. I opened the app and says I have a 5.00 credit. So I’m guessing it worked


If you go to your profile it will say 
Membership level:founder


----------



## maryj11

yulilin3 said:


> If you go to your profile it will say
> Membership level:founder


It says member level default?


----------



## yulilin3

maryj11 said:


> It says member level default?


Did you fill out the founder questionnaire? Cause after they review it is when they change that to founder


----------



## DeterminedOne

Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> Hello DISers!
> 
> Can’t wait to be back to the magic in a few days!!! I have a few questions that I haven’t been able to get direct answers to and would appreciate your feedback on here.
> 
> 1. Has anybody been told that they can’t pay for things with cash? I know that mobile ordering and plastic is preferred and highly encouraged, but I was curious if anybody was being denied or restricted to small bills only?
> 2. How is the wait for getting on a bus for Magical Express? Torn between doing this and paying for an Uber upon arrival.
> 3. Are we still able to leave our bags at the front desk if our room isn’t ready yet upon arrival?
> 4. Are the fuelrod stations still operating for swaps?
> 5. Where are the cool magic shots or photo opportunities for Halloween and fall in the parks? If there is a list somewhere and someone would please link me to it, I’d appreciate it.
> 
> I believe that’s it for now. Thanks for any and all help!


Good questions. I would like to know as well.


----------



## dachsie

emily nicole said:


> no we don’t have APs. I haven’t bought tickets yet but on the calendar our dates are all green. So that means there is availability?
> 
> Edit: I don’t know what theme park ticket bucket means either. Does that mean even if I make a park reservation (once I buy tickets) we might not get in?


If you look on the availability calendar, there are three groups.  Theme park ticket holders, resort guests and pass holders.  If you are off property and getting tickets you will be in the first group.  Green means availability but I wouldn't wait too long to get tickets and make your reservations because some of the parks are filling up and then it becomes yellow.  It is grayed out when there in no availability in any park


----------



## katyringo

Helvetica said:


> Disney’s Hollywood Studios is pretty nuts today, but I’ve still had a good time. I got to the parking lot over an hour early, so I was able to get into the park about 45 minutes before the park opened. Everyone else went towards Mickie and Minnie’s, so I went Tower of Terror. I was able to ride Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster before the park officially opened.
> 
> Socially Distant Oga’s is still incredible, Rise is still a favorite and Docking Bay 7 still rocks. I was able to get a lot done for the first half.
> 
> I went back for a nap and by the time I got back the place is really busy. Maybe it’s the spacing, but it feels busier than a normal September. The line for ToT goes into the que of Beauty and the Beast.
> 
> On a more positive notes, ride ops today have been exceptionally good. I don’t think I’ll be doing a second DHS day, but we’ll have to see what the other parks look like during the week.
> 
> 
> 
> Docking Bay 7 is only accepting mobile orders. I haven’t seen anywhere else impose such a restriction.



I needed to read this. I am most excited for DHS but the ticking up wait times have me nervous. But we are rope droppers to our core (I was once first in line at Disneyland the day after thanksgiving) so we will just plan on getting there early early .. we have two days there. Will do MickEy and Minnie when we enter the first day and head another direction the second day!


----------



## dachsie

maryj11 said:


> It says member level default?





yulilin3 said:


> Did you fill out the founder questionnaire? Cause after they review it is when they change that to founder


Mine says that as well, but it also said it could take 5 days to verify


----------



## soniam

DeterminedOne said:


> March 7, 2020. As long as my November trip doesn’t look like this ...
> View attachment 527268



It might depend upon when in November. I am going the week of Thanksgiving. I am just assuming it will look like this. If it is, then I am prepared. If it's not, then I will be pleasantly surprised. Even it's if not overall crowded, there could be areas that look like this, probably small areas though if at all.


----------



## kristenabelle

kelscross said:


> Have our trip booked for December and can’t wait!! We have went 25 times so we are ok with some stuff not operating. My question is I have been reading this thread and have seen various reports that crowds are “insane”, “packed”. Can that be clarified? “Insane and packed” as in pre-covid packed? Or exceeded your expectation with the parks operating at lower capacity and/or more crowded than your taste for social distancing.
> 
> thanks!



so I’ve definitely been here during way busier times, but as everyone is saying it’s a combination of things. People eating parades and shows aren’t happening, some restaurants are closed, and queue spacing makes waits seem much longer. So you have people competing for less things to do/go, which makes it seem crowded.

That said, many wait times seem to be inflated, and you move more quickly (no stopping for forever because folks are being ushered continuously through FP lines like in pre-COVID times)

I had a feeling crowds would pick up, so I adjusted my expectations before I got here and am still really enjoying my trip. But I’d say we’re beyond the “absolutely no waits/crowds” of summer.


----------



## erinch

We were at MK today. My crew were foot dragged this am and we did not get in parking lot till 9 am. We were behind the curve all day and did not get to do everything. . _Had fun, ate __at Gramd Floridian for lunch_ and LTT after park close. Both were magical.

a tip for hand washing. Pull down paper towels first, then wash hands !
The CMs are all fabulous.


----------



## Cliff Secord

We were at EPCOT today. Arrived right at Noon, because we wanted our kids to do a half-day of online school. The crowd felt light coming in, so much so that we immediately did Spaceship Earth because it was only a 7 min wait. Next, my son (10) was insistent that we do Test Track, and my 6 year old daughter wanted to go ride Frozen ("Let's go see Anna & Elsa!"). So we headed in that direction. I need to mention that my daughter has been to WDW before, but she was very little. The best part of this trip - hands down - has been watching her experience the Disney magic for the "first time" with absolute wonder and amazement. Anywho...right as we approached Test Track the announcement was made that the ride was down. Bummer! I assured my son that it would likely open again soon, and we kept walking.

As we approached World Showcase the park started to feel more crowded, but that was understandable to me, seeing as it was lunchtime and we were entering the Mexico pavilion. A short distance over in Norway, Frozen was posted at 40 min, and we ended up getting on the ride just shy of that (even with a stop for a mandatory full ride cleaning). By the time we were off and exiting through the gift shop, we were ready for food and drinks. We walked back over to Mexico to get tacos al pastor, empanadas, esquites, margaritas, and a beer. They truly hit the spot! We wanted to walk in and check out Gran Fiesta, but it was posted as a 20 min wait. No, thank you. We decided to try that later.

Test Track was still down, so we headed over to their next favorite ride, which is Figment. On the way we saw a horse-drawn carriage featuring Anna & Elsa (we saw 'em!). Journey into Imagination was a total walk-on, so we rode it twice. Then we walked into The Land and waited 15 min for Soarin'. This totally blew my daughter's mind. As we were flying over the Sydney harbor, she turned to me and asked with astonishment, "_Are we really here?!?_" Her eyes were huge, and she could not believe that we were not really flying! She wanted to ride again right away, but we convinced her to check out Living w/ the Land (5 min wait). She didn't appreciate that near as much as the rest of us did, as she literally could not wait to fly again. A quick 10 min later, we were above the mountain peaks once more.

By now Test Track was back up and running, so that was our next major goal. But, being so close to Nemo, we walked over and walked on that quickly. TT was listed at 40 min, so we got in line prepared to wait it out. Thankfully things moved relatively swiftly and we boarded in just over 20 min. The ride was everything that my son remembered, and was hoping for. So much so that we did it again immediately afterward with the same wait time. Then we made it back to Mexico to ride Gran Fiesta. It was listed as 20 min, but took only 5. This one was special to us, as we recently spent 2 years living in Mexico City for my wife's job, and have not been back since our return to the U.S. in Feb. Even this slight little taste of Mexico made our hearts happy. And to top it off, we grabbed some mezcal drinks before leaving the pavilion, which made us even happier!

It was already 6:30, so we had to head to our ADR at Spice Road Table (6:45). I should also say that it was thanks to this board that I had the foresight to book a late dinner so that we could milk a little extra time in the park (so...thanks!). On the way we stopped in China to get a jasmine beer and a mongolian beef bao bun. Not the best I've ever had, but far from the worst. Then we walked past Germany, Italy, USA, and Japan en route to our reservation in Morocco. We picked Spice Road Table because it is open air, and offers a full bar. Check and check. We kept things light and ordered a couple of appetizers (calamari and lamb sausage), chicken nuggets & fries for the kids to split, and some beer and wine for me and my wife. This was great, as the weather was good, and we were ready to sit down and chill for a bit. And again it was a great tip in the sense that we were able to get some really amazing shots of Spaceship Earth all lit-up as we walked out almost completely alone at 8p.

Overall it was a great day! It was definitely more crowded than I expected. It's clear to me that there is a lot of pent-up desire to travel, and the word has clearly gotten out that WDW is relatively safe and clean. But the low capacities that we heard about in July and August (which lured us down here) are certainly behind us. The capacities have been increased in all of the parks, and they are all fairly busy. But we got on everything we wanted to ride (sorry, Mission: Space) and several things twice. Mask compliance was absolutely terrific. Barely even saw any nose-peekers. And we loved the socially distant spacing in the queues. Can that stick around forever?

Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios. We get to finally see if these weeks of RotR practice have paid off. Wish me luck! I'm a bit freaked out by the huge wait times that I saw reported over there today, but it seems to just be par for the course these days. What can you do when you jam a park full immediately at opening?!? Just hoping for the best.


----------



## PortieOwner

erinch said:


> We were at MK today. My crew were foot dragged this am and we did not get in parking lot till 9 am. We were behind the curve all day and did not get to do everything. . _Had fun, ate __at Gramd Floridian for lunch_ and LTT after park close. Both were magical.
> 
> a tip for hand washing. Pull down paper towels first, then wash hands !
> The CMs are all fabulous.



Yes, MK was plenty busy today. The weather was phenomenal. Warm, dry air, strong wind.

I got any early resort monorail, followed a modified touring plan from you-know-where which was moderately productive. I was through the gate at 8:30 and by 9:05am I have been on Buzz, Pooh, and Seven Dwarves. Also bagged Small World and Peter Pan with almost no wait. Waits times built quickly from then on. I hit Pirates, which should have been a fast line but they did a cleaning cycle which stalled the line for 15 minutes. Went to Jungle Cruise and again got blocked by a cleaning cycle (they hose down each boat with chemicals and send it on a round-trip to dry off).  These cleaning cycles play hell with getting through a lot of rides fast. By the time I finished Swiss Family, Tiki Room, Country Bears, and had a coconut Dole Whip, it was noon and nearly all lines were difficult. I trekked back to Little Mermaid and got it with about a 15 minute wait. By now it was 1:00pm, crowded, hot, and nothing had a reasonable wait time. I headed back to the hotel for a swim and hot tub soak.

Warning: food service looked really jammed up at lunch time, from 11:30-2:00. Expect waits.

Returned to MK at 4:30. Rode Big Thunder once, went to Tom Sawyer's island, then another Pirates trip--this trip 30 minutes on the dot. 

During the course of the day I saw the Dapper Dans sing twice, saw a princess cavalcade and a characters Halloween cavalcade, and Chip and Dale above Country Bears and I saw an excellent portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow across from the Pirates. 

Never got a ride on Splash or HM--the lines were too long all day.

Ate at LTT after hours and it was great. The food was so good.

Not surprisingly, WDW is doing two things really well: engineering "safer" queues which keep people apart. They have done some real genius-level work on this. Second, the cast members have been universally wonderful. It has taken me a couple of days to get acclimated to how friendly and helpful people who work here are.


----------



## maryj11

yulilin3 said:


> Did you fill out the founder questionnaire? Cause after they review it is when they change that to founder


Yes but I guessed at the dates of purchase, because I couldn’t remember.


----------



## yulilin3

maryj11 said:


> Yes but I guessed at the dates of purchase, because I couldn’t remember.


I guessed as well and i got founder status,  Good luck


----------



## Raven01

Planned for magic kingdom next Monday and  AK on Sunday, guessing MK would be busier on a weekend.

AK is not available Sunday, but there is still availability in MK.

should I switch them?  Go to MK Sunday and AK Monday instead?


----------



## Greta

Cliff Secord said:


> We were at EPCOT today. Arrived right at Noon, because we wanted our kids to do a half-day of online school. The crowd felt light coming in, so much so that we immediately did Spaceship Earth because it was only a 7 min wait. Next, my son (10) was insistent that we do Test Track, and my 6 year old daughter wanted to go ride Frozen ("Let's go see Anna & Elsa!"). So we headed in that direction. I need to mention that my daughter has been to WDW before, but she was very little. The best part of this trip - hands down - has been watching her experience the Disney magic for the "first time" with absolute wonder and amazement. Anywho...right as we approached Test Track the announcement was made that the ride was down. Bummer! I assured my son that it would likely open again soon, and we kept walking.
> 
> As we approached World Showcase the park started to feel more crowded, but that was understandable to me, seeing as it was lunchtime and we were entering the Mexico pavilion. A short distance over in Norway, Frozen was posted at 40 min, and we ended up getting on the ride just shy of that (even with a stop for a mandatory full ride cleaning). By the time we were off and exiting through the gift shop, we were ready for food and drinks. We walked back over to Mexico to get tacos al pastor, empanadas, esquites, margaritas, and a beer. They truly hit the spot! We wanted to walk in and check out Gran Fiesta, but it was posted as a 20 min wait. No, thank you. We decided to try that later.
> 
> Test Track was still down, so we headed over to their next favorite ride, which is Figment. On the way we saw a horse-drawn carriage featuring Anna & Elsa (we saw 'em!). Journey into Imagination was a total walk-on, so we rode it twice. Then we walked into The Land and waited 15 min for Soarin'. This totally blew my daughter's mind. As we were flying over the Sydney harbor, she turned to me and asked with astonishment, "_Are we really here?!?_" Her eyes were huge, and she could not believe that we were not really flying! She wanted to ride again right away, but we convinced her to check out Living w/ the Land (5 min wait). She didn't appreciate that near as much as the rest of us did, as she literally could not wait to fly again. A quick 10 min later, we were above the mountain peaks once more.
> 
> By now Test Track was back up and running, so that was our next major goal. But, being so close to Nemo, we walked over and walked on that quickly. TT was listed at 40 min, so we got in line prepared to wait it out. Thankfully things moved relatively swiftly and we boarded in just over 20 min. The ride was everything that my son remembered, and was hoping for. So much so that we did it again immediately afterward with the same wait time. Then we made it back to Mexico to ride Gran Fiesta. It was listed as 20 min, but took only 5. This one was special to us, as we recently spent 2 years living in Mexico City for my wife's job, and have not been back since our return to the U.S. in Feb. Even this slight little taste of Mexico made our hearts happy. And to top it off, we grabbed some mezcal drinks before leaving the pavilion, which made us even happier!
> 
> It was already 6:30, so we had to head to our ADR at Spice Road Table (6:45). I should also say that it was thanks to this board that I had the foresight to book a late dinner so that we could milk a little extra time in the park (so...thanks!). On the way we stopped in China to get a jasmine beer and a mongolian beef bao bun. Not the best I've ever had, but far from the worst. Then we walked past Germany, Italy, USA, and Japan en route to our reservation in Morocco. We picked Spice Road Table because it is open air, and offers a full bar. Check and check. We kept things light and ordered a couple of appetizers (calamari and lamb sausage), chicken nuggets & fries for the kids to split, and some beer and wine for me and my wife. This was great, as the weather was good, and we were ready to sit down and chill for a bit. And again it was a great tip in the sense that we were able to get some really amazing shots of Spaceship Earth all lit-up as we walked out almost completely alone at 8p.
> 
> Overall it was a great day! It was definitely more crowded than I expected. It's clear to me that there is a lot of pent-up desire to travel, and the word has clearly gotten out that WDW is relatively safe and clean. But the low capacities that we heard about in July and August (which lured us down here) are certainly behind us. The capacities have been increased in all of the parks, and they are all fairly busy. But we got on everything we wanted to ride (sorry, Mission: Space) and several things twice. Mask compliance was absolutely terrific. Barely even saw any nose-peekers. And we loved the socially distant spacing in the queues. Can that stick around forever?
> 
> Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios. We get to finally see if these weeks of RotR practice have paid off. Wish me luck! I'm a bit freaked out by the huge wait times that I saw reported over there today, but it seems to just be par for the course these days. What can you do when you jam a park full immediately at opening?!? Just hoping for the best.
> 
> View attachment 527462


Your daughter’s reaction to Soarin’ made my heart smile!


----------



## dachsie

maryj11 said:


> Yes but I guessed at the dates of purchase, because I couldn’t remember.


I got assigned the founders status within an hour of doing it.  I was pretty specific on when I got it though because I bought it at IAH on the way to a conference April 18 or 19, 2018


----------



## melissa723

erinch said:


> We were at MK today. My crew were foot dragged this am and we did not get in parking lot till 9 am. We were behind the curve all day and did not get to do everything. . _Had fun, ate __at Gramd Floridian for lunch_ and LTT after park close. Both were magical.
> 
> a tip for hand washing. Pull down paper towels first, then wash hands !
> The CMs are all fabulous.



We have late dining reservations at LTT when we go as well, and wanted to know how long the buses were running after the park closed?


----------



## Calee

melissa723 said:


> We have late dining reservations at LTT when we go as well, and wanted to know how long the buses were running after the park closed?


If you have an in the park reservation, they will not leave you stranded. The bus will run you back when you are finished.


----------



## robinstrip

erinch said:


> We were at MK today. My crew were foot dragged this am and we did not get in parking lot till 9 am. We were behind the curve all day and did not get to do everything. . _Had fun, ate __at Gramd Floridian for lunch_ and LTT after park close. Both were magical.
> 
> a tip for hand washing. Pull down paper towels first, then wash hands !
> The CMs are all fabulous.


We have LTT at 5:30 one day. I am excited to see the park after closing. I know it won't be empty, but excited none the less.


----------



## maryj11

yulilin3 said:


> I guessed as well and i got founder status,  Good luck


I got it yay!


----------



## MaryKatesMom

In Hollywood today 9/22 with 10 second rise of the resistance filled.  Mickey’s Railway closed because of overcrowding and it has a 105 minute wait. Tower of terror is 60 minutes.  Smugglers is 70 Slinky dog is 80minutes.  Star tours is 55.  Toy Story is 55.

The Standby line for slinky dog is byArial


----------



## MaryKatesMom

I tried to change my park reservation on Sat 9/26 and all parks were full to AP’s and resort guests.

Last weekend Epcot was as busy as any F&W weekend but with fewer booths and slower lines.  ALL the Kiosks including Worldshowplace, Canada and France had only ONE cashier.  The line moved super slow but as soon as you got your food it got handed to you immediately.  The CMs passing out food were standing there waiting for tickets.  Frozen SB line was in China.


----------



## only hope

Where do the Dapper Dans perform at nowadays? Same place as before?


----------



## Tormania

So fuller and fuller parks, but not added capacity to rides or restaraunts, that doesn't sound promising.  So more people standing in lines for longer and longer, hmmm.


----------



## smelton521

Have CMs been letting people into Epcot early or just MK and HS?  We will be at Epcot Dec 1 and it says it opens at noon.  What time would you all suggest arriving?


----------



## AllieBoo

I am seriously rethinking my trip in a couple of weeks.  I was only interested in going if there were still going to be super short waits for everything.


----------



## rwdavis2

The wait times may be due to running the rides at half capacity.  Or taking longer to load due to distancing, etc.


----------



## MaryKatesMom

Attraction are loading as fast as usual BUT they are there are only two rows used in IASW and only one on MickeyRailroad.  The rides are running at severely reduced capacity


----------



## yulilin3

@MaryKatesMom merged you to the existing thread


----------



## KaityB

Hey all! I've got a trip in about 2 weeks and everyday for awhile now, I have been checking wait times on MDE.  I've slowly watched the wait times go up everywhere and while I know it's nothing compared to the past, it still makes me nervous that we'll be wasting a lot of time waiting with reduced park hours. 

So, for people that have recently been...are the wait times on point or do they seem to be inflated?


----------



## wilkydelts

there are 163 pages of information relating to that topic here:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/here-now-just-back-wdw-reopening-experiences.3807247/


----------



## Darcy03231

From reading these boards, people are reporting that wait times have increased since the July/August reported low waits.   In some instances the posted times have not been correct and people have reported much lower wait times, and others have reported that they were accurate.  The general consensus has been that wait times are definitely higher than they were in July/August and weekends are busier than weekdays.


----------



## KaityB

wilkydelts said:


> there are 163 pages of information relating to that topic here:
> 
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/here-now-just-back-wdw-reopening-experiences.3807247/


been there, it's 163 pages of people jumping all over the place, not specific to my topic


----------



## brockash

Calee said:


> If you have an in the park reservation, they will not leave you stranded. The bus will run you back when you are finished.


This...we got out of Scifi atounf 845 the night we ate there - they closed at 7 that night and they had workers and bus after bus just pulling up taking who arrived directly to their resort.  It was great...although it was the first week they were doing it so who knows if it's as efficient for guests now but you'll get back.


----------



## Darcy03231

The other thing that some people are reporting is that the wait times in the later afternoon seem to be lower  - like the last two hours the parks are open.


----------



## MaryKatesMom

yulilin3 said:


> @MaryKatesMom merged you to the existing thread


That thread is from July.  Conditions are different now.


----------



## yulilin3

MaryKatesMom said:


> That thread is from July.  Conditions are different now.


This thread is for just back reports after covid not just July.


----------



## turbojsf

Rather than write up a trip report from our visit two weeks ago I made a video trip report.  Took a lot longer of course but it was fun and I think entertaining as well as helpful (hopefully).  You can find it on YouTube by searching "*Mission Disney 2020*" (by Art Tomassetti).  It was one of the least stressful visits to Disney I can remember next to Grad night back in 82.  The only stress was around trying to get on ROTR but we were lucky with Boarding group 15.  We did things we have never taken the time to do before like just wander around AK.  Found trails and waterfalls I had no clue existed.  We spent 30 minutes inside Walt Disney Presents at HS which we had never even walked through before.  Fascinating exhibit if you are Disney fan.  Can't wait to go back again for Epcot and MK.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

Odd question, a lot of people are talking about long lines the past few weeks and blaming it on low ride capacity and restaurant/show closures not taking on some of the overflow. All totally understandable as (most of) that is what is needed to ensure social distancing requirements are followed. And it’s understandable that they can’t fund an entire show for only a small portion of the intended viewers. But are these limitations or closures due to state and local restrictions? Or internal Disney policy? I assume the show closures is a decision by Disney because it does not make sense right now since you can’t have people sitting next to one another. But the ride one confuses me more.

We are thinking of going again in the winter as we had a great time in August. But if Disney has the ability to change things like ride capacity on their own whim we would reconsider. If it’s local/state guidelines, then I’d be more reassured that we would at least get some notice before things change.

Anyone know?


----------



## katyringo

GusGusTheMouse said:


> Odd question, a lot of people are talking about long lines the past few weeks and blaming it on low ride capacity and restaurant/show closures not taking on some of the overflow. All totally understandable as (most of) that is what is needed to ensure social distancing requirements are followed. And it’s understandable that they can’t fund an entire show for only a small portion of the intended viewers. But are these limitations or closures due to state and local restrictions? Or internal Disney policy? I assume the show closures is a decision by Disney because it does not make sense right now since you can’t have people sitting next to one another. But the ride one confuses me more.
> 
> We are thinking of going again in the winter as we had a great time in August. But if Disney has the ability to change things like ride capacity on their own whim we would reconsider. If it’s local/state guidelines, then I’d be more reassured that we would at least get some notice before things change.
> 
> Anyone know?



I actually think most of the shows are closed is because Disney and the CM union the reps most of the performers couldn't come to an agreement on testing. They have now and I think we will slowly see shows returned.  They are running some of the shows like Muppets and the indoor ones and have the seating spaced out and blocked off every other or so.


----------



## crazymomof4

A little heads up about getting a free cup of ice or ice water from the side of the counters where they fill drink cups.... Most don't expect you to stand in the long line and will just hand you a pre-filled water BUT... After standing in long line for my ice cream (where they told me to go to Rosie's for ice water) I was snapped at by the CM who told me I have to stand in the line (with my rapidly melting ice cream) for the ice water which were inches from the edge of the counter where she stood.  So don't assume all CS give it out without standing in the line. I had a cup in my bag and used the water fountain.


----------



## PortieOwner

MaryKatesMom said:


> I tried to change my park reservation on Sat 9/26 and all parks were full to AP’s and resort guests.
> 
> Last weekend Epcot was as busy as any F&W weekend but with fewer booths and slower lines.  ALL the Kiosks including Worldshowplace, Canada and France had only ONE cashier.  The line moved super slow but as soon as you got your food it got handed to you immediately.  The CMs passing out food were standing there waiting for tickets.  Frozen SB line was in China.



At one point on Sunday the Frozen line stretched to Italy.


----------



## PortieOwner

AllieBoo said:


> I am seriously rethinking my trip in a couple of weeks.  I was only interested in going if there were still going to be super short waits for everything.



Then forget it, or get very creative. Maybe sleep overnight inside the Studios to get first in line for MMRR? 

At DHS today (which opened officially at 10am): I drove. Arrived at the traffic jam leading to the parking lot at 9:00am. At 9:05 they began letting in cars. At 9:20 I was parked. At 9:30 I was in the park. Line at MMRR was already 70 minutes. Star Tours not open yet. I did Smugglers Ru. n as a walk on then went to the Animation Courtyard to try to get a boarding group. Hit the button at 10:00:02 and did not get a group. Only one of five parties in my area of the Animation Courtyard got a group. By now MMRR was up to 105 minutes, Slinky Dog was 70+ minutes, everything was jammed. I rode Toy Story with a 15 minute wait (it would be 60 minutes soon), did Star Tours with a 25 minute wait. The new Star Tours is much worse than the old version. Then did the Muppets with another 25 minute wait. 

At this point everything was jammed up including long lines for Backlot Express and the bar next to Sci Fi Drive In. I was continually amongst a crowd of people from the minute I arrived 1/2 hour before opening. I have been to WDW in Septmber before and it was nothing like this. 

No place to get a cold drink and sit and relax. So I left. Skyliner to Riviera. 20 minutes after leaving Studios I had a meal and cold drink in front of me at Primo Patti. Excellent food and service here! Walked around that resort (not really that great). Skyliner back to Studios and saw the Lightning McQueen show then got a sundae at Hollywood Scoops. The ice cream line was short when I got there, got longer soon after. No tables to sit and eat so I sat on a stone wall. 2:00pm came and I got a backup group for RROTR. We will see if I get to ride. 

Summary: paid $88 for the day, rode 5 rides, one of them new and an E-ticket.


----------



## PortieOwner

smelton521 said:


> Have CMs been letting people into Epcot early or just MK and HS?  We will be at Epcot Dec 1 and it says it opens at noon.  What time would you all suggest arriving?



Walk in from International Gateway at 10:30am. It's the only way top be sure you are ahead of the crowd. If I were to do it over I'd Uber to Swalphin and hike into IG at 9:30am.


----------



## Junebugwv

Here now and this mini-opinion is for those who are used to being at WDW in slow times.  We have come mid-September for over 10 years. This is nothing like the short wait times we have experienced in the past. We are at Hollywood Studios today and the lines are much longer than anything we have ever experienced this time of year. Of course, the queue lines look long, but we have found that they really are long- maybe not as long as posted, but our experience today has been long waits.   I’m currently seated outside of Ronto Roasters and the long line wrapped around the outer building has barely moved the past half hour. Next September will be awesome!


----------



## Junebugwv

PortieOwner said:


> Then forget it, or get very creative. Maybe sleep overnight inside the Studios to get first in line for MMRR?
> 
> At DHS today (which opened officially at 10am): I drove. Arrived at the traffic jam leading to the parking lot at 9:00am. At 9:05 they began letting in cars. At 9:20 I was parked. At 9:30 I was in the park. Line at MMRR was already 70 minutes. Star Tours not open yet. I did Smugglers Ru. n as a walk on then went to the Animation Courtyard to try to get a boarding group. Hit the button at 10:00:02 and did not get a group. Only one of five parties in my area of the Animation Courtyard got a group. By now MMRR was up to 105 minutes, Slinky Dog was 70+ minutes, everything was jammed. I rode Toy Story with a 15 minute wait (it would be 60 minutes soon), did Star Tours with a 25 minute wait. The new Star Tours is much worse than the old version. Then did the Muppets with another 25 minute wait.
> 
> At this point everything was jammed up including long lines for Backlot Express and the bar next to Sci Fi Drive In. I was continually amongst a crowd of people from the minute I arrived 1/2 hour before opening. I have been to WDW in Septmber before and it was nothing like this.
> 
> No place to get a cold drink and sit and relax. So I left. Skyliner to Riviera. 20 minutes after leaving Studios I had a meal and cold drink in front of me at Primo Patti. Excellent food and service here! Walked around that resort (not really that great). Skyliner back to Studios and saw the Lightning McQueen show then got a sundae at Hollywood Scoops. The ice cream line was short when I got there, got longer soon after. No tables to sit and eat so I sat on a stone wall. 2:00pm came and I got a backup group for RROTR. We will see if I get to ride.
> 
> Summary: paid $88 for the day, rode 5 rides, one of them new and an E-ticket.


We are also at Hollywood Studios today.  You summed it up perfectly. Adding this....we keep watching the MMRR wait time which keeps increasing . It is now 120 minutes. Missing FPs!!


----------



## momimouse27

That is the one park I am dreading going into.  Epcot is so big that you can kind of get away from crowds in little tucked away places.  But DHS seems very tight and less spacey.  I know the lines will be bad, but my dh and my dd have been waiting to go to GE for a long time, so I know they will want to be there and try their luck at RROTR.  Once chance...that's it.  We have one day for DHS.  Thank God I got ADR's for SciFi, because I don't want to be standing a ridiculous line for food for an hour.  At least we'll be in the air conditioning relaxing.


----------



## Helvetica

I have had a good day at Magic Kingdom, but it’s more like a normal day. I got to the parking lot over an hour early, did the whole spin around thing and became one of the first to park at the front of the pack. I was able to ride Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train before park open and was able to ride a lot of rides before 10:30. By 12:30 the place got really busy to the point of me feeling uncomfortable so I left to take a nap.

For the last few hours, it’s still pretty busy, but the ride ops are really good. It’s really nothing like July.

I’m still having a good time, but I don’t know if I’ll be back until things get closer to normal. The shortened hours really makes things difficult.


----------



## Kaiserycy

What would be the best drop off point for Uber/Lyft for each park if I want to get there way before parking lot opens? Willing to walk. Thank you so much!


----------



## yulilin3

Just back from MK, arrived around 11:30am left around 1:30pm. If you don't know I've been visiting the parks weekly since they reopen, today felt like a regular, slow crowd day. Keep in mind:
the crowds are growing
Disney has not opened any more big crowd swallowers (shows)
Disney has not opened more food places
Here is atip
Get familiar with the Mobile Order option, you can plan your meal just like aa table service, decide in the morning at what time you want to have lunch, order your food from the quick service to guarantee the time. That way when it's Noon (if that's the time you decided to eat at) you will have your time reserved and not have to wait 20 extra minutes for a time window to open

In all honestly there is still space to social distance while walking, Disney has also gotten creative with overflow queues for attractions so you can still social distance there. For the cavalcades pick to watch from Frontierland or Liberty Square for the best empty areas. It is still possible to stay safe BUT if waiting in line for more than 20 or 20 minutes is not for you them I would advice to wait until they reopen more things or they up the ride capacity


----------



## soniam

GusGusTheMouse said:


> Odd question, a lot of people are talking about long lines the past few weeks and blaming it on low ride capacity and restaurant/show closures not taking on some of the overflow. All totally understandable as (most of) that is what is needed to ensure social distancing requirements are followed. And it’s understandable that they can’t fund an entire show for only a small portion of the intended viewers. But are these limitations or closures due to state and local restrictions? Or internal Disney policy? I assume the show closures is a decision by Disney because it does not make sense right now since you can’t have people sitting next to one another. But the ride one confuses me more.
> 
> We are thinking of going again in the winter as we had a great time in August. But if Disney has the ability to change things like ride capacity on their own whim we would reconsider. If it’s local/state guidelines, then I’d be more reassured that we would at least get some notice before things change.
> 
> Anyone know?


There are different capacity issues occurring. There is spacing on individual ride vehicles/theater seats, and then there is how many vehicles are running. For instance, both Space Mountain and Dinosaur have two loading areas. If they are only using one, then that halves the capacity not even considering social distancing issues. They may be able to increase ride capacity by utilizing both loading areas. They also may have just reduced the number of ride vehicles. They can just use less boats on Jungle Cruise, for instance. The one that is possibly not completely under their control is spacing within vehicles for social distancing. Even if the authorities allowed them to cram more people per vehicle, it could look really bad PR-wise.


----------



## yulilin3

soniam said:


> There are different capacity issues occurring. There is spacing on individual ride vehicles/theater seats, and then there is how many vehicles are running. For instance, both Space Mountain and Dinosaur have two loading areas. If they are only using one, then that halves the capacity not even considering social distancing issues. They may be able to increase ride capacity by utilizing both loading areas. They also may have just reduced the number of ride vehicles. They can just use less boats on Jungle Cruise, for instance. The one that is possibly not completely under their control is spacing within vehicles for social distancing. Even if the authorities allowed them to cram more people per vehicle, it could look really bad PR-wise.


it is a fine line they are navigating right now
For example Peter Pan today when I was there was at 25 minutes but the line snaked towards Columbia Harbour House, the line looks huge but the wait is not bad for PP because of social distancing queue and they can fill up each boat like normal
Across the way IASW was at the same wait time, the queue snaked toward the Tangle bathrooms but they cannot fill the boats to regular capacity, IASW very rarely sees long line but now it does because of ride capacity restriction


----------



## Aimeedyan

Junebugwv said:


> Here now and this mini-opinion is for those who are used to being at WDW in slow times.  We have come mid-September for over 10 years. This is nothing like the short wait times we have experienced in the past. We are at Hollywood Studios today and the lines are much longer than anything we have ever experienced this time of year. Of course, the queue lines look long, but we have found that they really are long- maybe not as long as posted, but our experience today has been long waits.   I’m currently seated outside of Ronto Roasters and the long line wrapped around the outer building has barely moved the past half hour. Next September will be awesome!



Yup. We are frequent Sept visitors and it's nothing like a normal Sept. If you could handle the heat/humidity/rain, September has always been an amazing time to visit due to lack of crowds. Not this year!


----------



## brockash

GusGusTheMouse said:


> Odd question, a lot of people are talking about long lines the past few weeks and blaming it on low ride capacity and restaurant/show closures not taking on some of the overflow. All totally understandable as (most of) that is what is needed to ensure social distancing requirements are followed. And it’s understandable that they can’t fund an entire show for only a small portion of the intended viewers. But are these limitations or closures due to state and local restrictions? Or internal Disney policy? I assume the show closures is a decision by Disney because it does not make sense right now since you can’t have people sitting next to one another. But the ride one confuses me more.
> 
> We are thinking of going again in the winter as we had a great time in August. But if Disney has the ability to change things like ride capacity on their own whim we would reconsider. If it’s local/state guidelines, then I’d be more reassured that we would at least get some notice before things change.
> 
> Anyone know?


It's Disney's choice...mainly to do with $$.


----------



## brockash

Junebugwv said:


> Here now and this mini-opinion is for those who are used to being at WDW in slow times.  We have come mid-September for over 10 years. This is nothing like the short wait times we have experienced in the past. We are at Hollywood Studios today and the lines are much longer than anything we have ever experienced this time of year. Of course, the queue lines look long, but we have found that they really are long- maybe not as long as posted, but our experience today has been long waits.   I’m currently seated outside of Ronto Roasters and the long line wrapped around the outer building has barely moved the past half hour. Next September will be awesome!


I think this is really where the disconnect is for some ppl.  For ppl. who are used to going during more crowded times; this current time doesn't seem bad and is probably better than qhat they're used to crowd and wait times.  However for those of us eho choose to travel during the slower times; this is really nothing like that.  We're waiting for things in much longer lines than what we're used to and there's no fastpass.  For ppl who are used to going in typical Sept. times; this September is generally worse line wait times or at the very least certainly not a benefit which is different than the perspective of ppl. who go during more peak times.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

yulilin3 said:


> it is a fine line they are navigating right now
> For example Peter Pan today when I was there was at 25 minutes but the line snaked towards Columbia Harbour House, the line looks huge but the wait is not bad for PP because of social distancing queue and they can fill up each boat like normal
> Across the way IASW was at the same wait time, the queue snaked toward the Tangle bathrooms but they cannot fill the boats to regular capacity, IASW very rarely sees long line but now it does because of ride capacity restriction



I think this is an interesting observation. What confuses me is whether there is any discretion by the CMs. Some rides there were clearly Disney rules. For example, there seems to be a hard rule of two parties front and back of Splash or one party of 4 or more. We did not see this deviate while we were there.

But on Safari they load every other row and then all rows during peak hours. Or in space we usually had two seats between us and another party of two but were caught by surprise once when we were put with a party of three and only one spot was between us. We were fine with it, but it’s always great to know the situation your getting yourself into beforehand and some of the loading procedures are changing based on the time or based on the CM.

I assume no one has the “intel” on how Disney is actually making these decisions but I’m just curious if during the reopening presentation to the local committee did Disney present these ride occupancy scenarios.


----------



## zapple

Ok, this is a rant. I apologize in advance. 

We were here the last week of July and are back this week (lots of DVC points expiring) and it is so different this time. The parks are way more crowded but there’s still the same amount of stuff (not) open. The wait times are crazy now, we are fast pass experts and never wait for anything so 30+ minutes for things like small world or muppets is just a nonstarter for us. It’s obvious that they’ve increased attendance capacity but they haven’t been open about that and I think that’s shady.

Today was our HS day, we got there early and didn’t get a boarding group and the wait times were ridiculous and people were just streaming into the park. So at 10:03 we headed for the exit and spent the day at Universal and had a great time. We spent yesterday at Universal too even though we had planned for AK. We had never been before and bought annual passes to check it out. I think UO is doing a way better job than Disney at making a positive guest experience. Mask compliance is every bit as good as at disney. It wasn’t crowded, team members were WONDERFUL, there was plenty to ride without super long waits, TONS of entertainment, tasty food. We waited for one of those new crepes for about 40 minutes and in that time we saw: the fountain show, the scooby doo gang, the Secret Life of Pets float and dancers, the spongebob float, Marilyn, a penguin and King Julian from Madagascar. And all without moving away from the crepe stand! Wizarding world blew my mind and puts galaxy’s edge to shame. Like seriously, that is some next-level theming. At noon, I was able to make a 12:35 appointment for my own private wand experience at Ollivander’s. And the frog choir is one of the best things I’ve ever seen! I could watch them all day! Hey look, Disney, they’re singing and entertaining us with masks on! See? It can be done!

I never thought I would say this, but Disney’s dropped the ball. I was expecting an improved experience by now compared to July, but that is not what’s happening, if you’re staying on property especially. There is not enough to do after the parks close, people are literally wandering around looking for places to eat or have a drink. We went to abracadabar last night for a drink and they turned away about 15 people while we were there for 20 minutes because they were full and they aren’t serving outside. And there’s nowhere else to get a drink on the boardwalk. That’s money Disney isn’t making. Why don’t they open Big River and espn club? Or even the margarita stand? We had to rush back to Riviera from the BW because the skyliner stops at 8:30. People on the monorail loop are shocked that the monorail stops running at 7! The parks are just leaving us feeling angry and frustrated because there isn’t much to do and we feel like we waste a day of park pass at a park that’s too busy but we can’t parkhop. Epcot is the only one that’s fun now but only because of the food booths, we all know futureworld is a hot mess.

As for safety, I felt quite safe at UO or my home park of BG Williamsburg because people are following the rules for the most part in pretty much the same proportions at all the parks; there are bad actors at all of them. I feel like they mostly have good policies and procedures in place (I actually prefer the way UO makes you sanitize instead of doing the useless hosing down of the rides every 2 hours, which then forces me to wait in an indoor queue with strangers while not moving for anywhere from 10-25 minutes instead of moving on, THAT’S what makes me feel unsafe).  I felt safe here in July, I now don’t feel as safe at disney as at other parks because they are letting in way too many people for the amount of attractions and activities they have open and they keep trapping us in long lines that sometimes stop for a long time, whether for breakdowns or cleanings.

I won’t mince words: If you’re on the fence about coming here, I say delay your trip or go to Uni and seaworld instead. You can actually buy annual passes for those parks lol. We have more points that are expiring and so we have another trip planned for Nov and I’m not really looking forward to it because they’re going to be even more crowded then because it’s holiday time and the weather’s better. Guess we’ll have to just spend more time (and money) at the non-disney parks.


----------



## mmouse50

Sorry if this has been mentioned but I just skimmed through the thread - are the wait times on MDE close to being accurate?  Are people still waiting 200 minutes for rides at HS on a Tuesday?  And over an hour for Pirates?


----------



## yulilin3

mmouse50 said:


> Sorry if this has been mentioned but I just skimmed through the thread - are the wait times on MDE close to being accurate?  Are people still waiting 200 minutes for rides at HS on a Tuesday?  And over an hour for Pirates?


Usually they're off by about 10 to 20 minutes,  or depends if you're caught in a cleaning cycle
What attraction had a200 min wait yesterday?


----------



## robinstrip

mmouse50 said:


> Sorry if this has been mentioned but I just skimmed through the thread - are the wait times on MDE close to being accurate?  Are people still waiting 200 minutes for rides at HS on a Tuesday?  And over an hour for Pirates?


I have been staying with this thread pretty well and the last week or so it seems like the wait times are getting more accurate, unless people just aren't saying when they report here.


----------



## yulilin3

@mmouse50 maybe you meant 100?


----------



## dachsie

zapple said:


> Ok, this is a rant. I apologize in advance.
> 
> We were here the last week of July and are back this week (lots of DVC points expiring) and it is so different this time. The parks are way more crowded but there’s still the same amount of stuff (not) open. The wait times are crazy now, we are fast pass experts and never wait for anything so 30+ minutes for things like small world or muppets is just a nonstarter for us. It’s obvious that they’ve increased attendance capacity but they haven’t been open about that and I think that’s shady.
> 
> Today was our HS day, we got there early and didn’t get a boarding group and the wait times were ridiculous and people were just streaming into the park. So at 10:03 we headed for the exit and spent the day at Universal and had a great time. We spent yesterday at Universal too even though we had planned for AK. We had never been before and bought annual passes to check it out. I think UO is doing a way better job than Disney at making a positive guest experience. Mask compliance is every bit as good as at disney. It wasn’t crowded, team members were WONDERFUL, there was plenty to ride without super long waits, TONS of entertainment, tasty food. We waited for one of those new crepes for about 40 minutes and in that time we saw: the fountain show, the scooby doo gang, the Secret Life of Pets float and dancers, the spongebob float, Marilyn, a penguin and King Julian from Madagascar. And all without moving away from the crepe stand! Wizarding world blew my mind and puts galaxy’s edge to shame. Like seriously, that is some next-level theming. At noon, I was able to make a 12:35 appointment for my own private wand experience at Ollivander’s. And the frog choir is one of the best things I’ve ever seen! I could watch them all day! Hey look, Disney, they’re singing and entertaining us with masks on! See? It can be done!
> 
> I never thought I would say this, but Disney’s dropped the ball. I was expecting an improved experience by now compared to July, but that is not what’s happening, if you’re staying on property especially. There is not enough to do after the parks close, people are literally wandering around looking for places to eat or have a drink. We went to abracadabar last night for a drink and they turned away about 15 people while we were there for 20 minutes because they were full and they aren’t serving outside. And there’s nowhere else to get a drink on the boardwalk. That’s money Disney isn’t making. Why don’t they open Big River and espn club? Or even the margarita stand? We had to rush back to Riviera from the BW because the skyliner stops at 8:30. People on the monorail loop are shocked that the monorail stops running at 7! The parks are just leaving us feeling angry and frustrated because there isn’t much to do and we feel like we waste a day of park pass at a park that’s too busy but we can’t parkhop. Epcot is the only one that’s fun now but only because of the food booths, we all know futureworld is a hot mess.
> 
> As for safety, I felt quite safe at UO or my home park of BG Williamsburg because people are following the rules for the most part in pretty much the same proportions at all the parks; there are bad actors at all of them. I feel like they mostly have good policies and procedures in place (I actually prefer the way UO makes you sanitize instead of doing the useless hosing down of the rides every 2 hours, which then forces me to wait in an indoor queue with strangers while not moving for anywhere from 10-25 minutes instead of moving on, THAT’S what makes me feel unsafe).  I felt safe here in July, I now don’t feel as safe at disney as at other parks because they are letting in way too many people for the amount of attractions and activities they have open and they keep trapping us in long lines that sometimes stop for a long time, whether for breakdowns or cleanings.
> 
> I won’t mince words: If you’re on the fence about coming here, I say delay your trip or go to Uni and seaworld instead. You can actually buy annual passes for those parks lol. We have more points that are expiring and so we have another trip planned for Nov and I’m not really looking forward to it because they’re going to be even more crowded then because it’s holiday time and the weather’s better. Guess we’ll have to just spend more time (and money) at the non-disney parks.


I highly recommend you send this to guest services.  Thats the only way it will change


----------



## xiphoid76

Overall a great trip.  The parks are not too crowded, but as people have said wait times are crazy because of the ridiculous amount of safety theater Disney is doing.  The combination of reduced capacity on rides and one ways make it a little of a mess.  They could easily double the amount of people on theaters such as tiki birds and country bears while maintaining distancing and safety.  A little safety theater is good PR, but too much just gets you frustrated.  You can’t catch a germ to save your life at Disney right now which is good but overboard.  It was still fun but is missing a little magic.  Hopefully things will return to normal soon. They could at least increase ride and show capacity, add fireworks and the electrical water parade.


----------



## katyringo

These most recent reports have me nervous. Being Disneyland folks I can tell we are really going to miss Maxpass.  I think I am going to need to talk to hubby (it’s just us going) and adjust our expectations and set some priorities for each park.  Our first trip to Disneyland was the days after Christmas a few years ago and we knew going in it would be a mad house and choosing 2-3 must do each day really helped us manage expectations. Looks like I should do the same for this trip.

I am rethinking our park passes.  We are doing Epcot on arrival day (I’ve had weight loss surgery so eating around the works isn’t really our thing)... and then we have a full day at universal followed by 2 full HS days, a full MK day and a half AK day. I’m second guessing that 2nd full HS day (which is a Saturday). At this moment magic kingdom doesn’t seem to full up so I guess we could change it if we need to.  Almost kinda wish we planned 2 days at universal..


----------



## yulilin3

I say this every couple of pages.
Real expectations are key!!
Do not think the crowds will be July and August crowds
Do not think the attractions will be walk on or 10 to 15 min wait times
Do not think 100% of people are wearing mask, physical distancing in queues and looking at entrance and exit markers

DO

have a flexible plan
rope drop, as in be at the parks 45 min before official opening time
go to your number 1 priority attraction first
stay until end of day
Use mobile order to your advantage, meaning order early in the day to lock the time you want to eat, this will avoid the extra 20 min wait time if that specific wait time is full
Be open minded and considerate to others. Just because you see someone without a mask for 1 minute doesn't meant his person ahs been blatantly ignoring the rules or it might, but just walk away and try to not let that bother you too much
Listen to the CM/TM/Ambassadors directions

Just have realistic expectations, even before covid I would tell people coming pick 3 attractions that you must do, plan around them and the rest is icing on the cake, there are still attractions that are walk ons at certain times of the day. This is all brand new for everyone and if you decide to come now just be aware that this will be unlike any other trip and go with the flow

If the recent long wait reports seem like too much reconsider coming now. Why come if you are already nervous and feeling negative about your trip?


----------



## katyringo

yulilin3 said:


> I say this every couple of pages.
> Real expectations are key!!
> Do not think the crowds will be July and August crowds
> Do not think the attractions will be walk on or 10 to 15 min wait times
> Do not think 100% of people are wearing mask, physical distancing in queues and looking at entrance and exit markers
> 
> DO
> 
> have a flexible plan
> rope drop, as in be at the parks 45 min before official opening time
> go to your number 1 priority attraction first
> stay until end of day
> Use mobile order to your advantage, meaning order early in the day to lock the time you want to eat, this will avoid the extra 20 min wait time if that specific wait time is full
> Be open minded and considerate to others. Just because you see someone without a mask for 1 minute doesn't meant his person ahs been blatantly ignoring the rules or it might, but just walk away and try to not let that bother you too much
> Listen to the CM/TM/Ambassadors directions
> 
> Just have realistic expectations, even before covid I would tell people coming pick 3 attractions that you must do, plan around them and the rest is icing on the cake, there are still attractions that are walk ons at certain times of the day. This is all brand new for everyone and if you decide to come now just be aware that this will be unlike any other trip and go with the flow
> 
> If the recent long wait reports seem like too much reconsider coming now. Why come if you are already nervous and feeling negative about your trip?



literally just took a screen shot of this! Great advice. So you can mobile order early in the day for a time you want later?


----------



## monkyby87

I think people need to take a step back if you're getting nervous and worried.  There will be wait times, and there still will be crowds.  It's different now, but you still should plan like you would a normal Disney trip.  No you can't make FP right now, but nobody can.  Be ready for waits (which you should automatically have the mindset of since it's Disney), and enjoy what you can when you can.  If you keep worrying about wait times and crowds, you won't enjoy your trip.  And honestly, if you want relatively low crowds, this is still the time to go.  

The more you read trip reports, the more you'll not want to come.  Like many people, I've been to Disney countless times.  But I've enjoyed every trip, and had very few bad trips, because of my expectations.  @yulilin3 gives great advice and knows Disney.  Listen to her and take what she says to heart.


----------



## yulilin3

katyringo said:


> literally just took a screen shot of this! Great advice. So you can mobile order early in the day for a time you want later?


yes in the morning you go on MDE to the restaurant you want to eat lunch at, lets say Pecos Bill, pick your time, lets say you think you want to eat around noon, the time would be noon to 12:20, order your items and pay, then at the time window you go back to the restaurant and hit "I'm here prepare order" and you just wait the time it takes for your order to be ready. So it's like you're making an ADR for a QS
If you don't pick your time period early when you get to Pecos at noon that time period most likely be full, then you have to wait for the 12:20 to 12:40 time period AND wait for your food to be ready
Keep in mind once you lock in your time period you cannot say "I'm here prepare my food" any earlier
You can go on it now and look how it works without finishing your order


----------



## Sarahslay

zapple said:


> Ok, this is a rant. I apologize in advance.
> 
> We were here the last week of July and are back this week (lots of DVC points expiring) and it is so different this time. The parks are way more crowded but there’s still the same amount of stuff (not) open. The wait times are crazy now, we are fast pass experts and never wait for anything so 30+ minutes for things like small world or muppets is just a nonstarter for us. It’s obvious that they’ve increased attendance capacity but they haven’t been open about that and I think that’s shady.
> 
> Today was our HS day, we got there early and didn’t get a boarding group and the wait times were ridiculous and people were just streaming into the park. So at 10:03 we headed for the exit and spent the day at Universal and had a great time. We spent yesterday at Universal too even though we had planned for AK. We had never been before and bought annual passes to check it out. I think UO is doing a way better job than Disney at making a positive guest experience. Mask compliance is every bit as good as at disney. It wasn’t crowded, team members were WONDERFUL, there was plenty to ride without super long waits, TONS of entertainment, tasty food. We waited for one of those new crepes for about 40 minutes and in that time we saw: the fountain show, the scooby doo gang, the Secret Life of Pets float and dancers, the spongebob float, Marilyn, a penguin and King Julian from Madagascar. And all without moving away from the crepe stand! Wizarding world blew my mind and puts galaxy’s edge to shame. Like seriously, that is some next-level theming. At noon, I was able to make a 12:35 appointment for my own private wand experience at Ollivander’s. And the frog choir is one of the best things I’ve ever seen! I could watch them all day! Hey look, Disney, they’re singing and entertaining us with masks on! See? It can be done!
> 
> I never thought I would say this, but Disney’s dropped the ball. I was expecting an improved experience by now compared to July, but that is not what’s happening, if you’re staying on property especially. There is not enough to do after the parks close, people are literally wandering around looking for places to eat or have a drink. We went to abracadabar last night for a drink and they turned away about 15 people while we were there for 20 minutes because they were full and they aren’t serving outside. And there’s nowhere else to get a drink on the boardwalk. That’s money Disney isn’t making. Why don’t they open Big River and espn club? Or even the margarita stand? We had to rush back to Riviera from the BW because the skyliner stops at 8:30. People on the monorail loop are shocked that the monorail stops running at 7! The parks are just leaving us feeling angry and frustrated because there isn’t much to do and we feel like we waste a day of park pass at a park that’s too busy but we can’t parkhop. Epcot is the only one that’s fun now but only because of the food booths, we all know futureworld is a hot mess.
> 
> As for safety, I felt quite safe at UO or my home park of BG Williamsburg because people are following the rules for the most part in pretty much the same proportions at all the parks; there are bad actors at all of them. I feel like they mostly have good policies and procedures in place (I actually prefer the way UO makes you sanitize instead of doing the useless hosing down of the rides every 2 hours, which then forces me to wait in an indoor queue with strangers while not moving for anywhere from 10-25 minutes instead of moving on, THAT’S what makes me feel unsafe).  I felt safe here in July, I now don’t feel as safe at disney as at other parks because they are letting in way too many people for the amount of attractions and activities they have open and they keep trapping us in long lines that sometimes stop for a long time, whether for breakdowns or cleanings.
> 
> I won’t mince words: If you’re on the fence about coming here, I say delay your trip or go to Uni and seaworld instead. You can actually buy annual passes for those parks lol. We have more points that are expiring and so we have another trip planned for Nov and I’m not really looking forward to it because they’re going to be even more crowded then because it’s holiday time and the weather’s better. Guess we’ll have to just spend more time (and money) at the non-disney parks.


Also remember, end of July a lot of people moved their trips and delayed due to the virus and wanting to see how Disney handled stuff....a lot of them moved to September. I'm sure they did up capacity as they did in the asian parks with starting out at a fraction of what they were working their way up to. There are more resorts open now, so more people there, and people feel a bit more comfortable going than they did in the beginning. I'll be honest, I don't mind the "hosing down" of rides, because even with sanitizer that can't prevent germs from getting on handle bars/the ride when people decide to slide their mask down (and they do, often, at all the parks not just at Disney). Rides with high touch points like Buzz, TSM, and SE really need that since people could touch their face and then touch the controls. I'll happily wait knowing that when I get on it'll be nice and clean for me (because, usually, they always shut down to clean right before I get on because I have amazing timing). They do need to slow their roll on raising attendance levels though if they aren't going to bring back FP, if it gets any higher it starts to be a lot less safe which causes other issues aside from virus transmission. People won't want to stay in the parks, they'll head out real quick, and they're left with people not spending the money they're trying to get. It's a lose-lose for everyone. I'm going back during two holiday weeks and am managing my expectations, even though my trip right before labor day was anything but quiet, it's just not realistic to think they would keep attendance down to what it was in the very beginning.


----------



## katyringo

yulilin3 said:


> yes in the morning you go on MDE to the restaurant you want to eat lunch at, lets say Pecos Bill, pick your time, lets say you think you want to eat around noon, the time would be noon to 12:20, order your items and pay, then at the time window you go back to the restaurant and hit "I'm here prepare order" and you just wait the time it takes for your order to be ready. So it's like you're making an ADR for a QS
> If you don't pick your time period early when you get to Pecos at noon that time period most likely be full, then you have to wait for the 12:20 to 12:40 time period AND wait for your food to be ready
> Keep in mind once you lock in your time period you cannot say "I'm here prepare my food" any earlier
> You can go on it now and look how it works without finishing your order


Thank you! Great tip! Will do this for sure.


----------



## Sarahslay

yulilin3 said:


> yes in the morning you go on MDE to the restaurant you want to eat lunch at, lets say Pecos Bill, pick your time, lets say you think you want to eat around noon, the time would be noon to 12:20, order your items and pay, then at the time window you go back to the restaurant and hit "I'm here prepare order" and you just wait the time it takes for your order to be ready. So it's like you're making an ADR for a QS
> If you don't pick your time period early when you get to Pecos at noon that time period most likely be full, then you have to wait for the 12:20 to 12:40 time period AND wait for your food to be ready
> Keep in mind once you lock in your time period you cannot say "I'm here prepare my food" any earlier
> You can go on it now and look how it works without finishing your order


I actually had it glitch on me during my trip a few weeks ago. Ordered my food a little over an hour before I wanted to pick it up (breakfast), and started getting ready. My window didn't even open to hit the button for another hour at that point, but the system when ahead and pushed it through and within 15 minutes I got a "your order is ready!" message on my notifications but I was nowhere near ready or even near the place to pick up my food, I was in my room. So people need to pay attention to things like that, have notifications turned on so if that happens to anyone else they can go right to GR about it instead of finding out later that their order was fulfilled hours ago and now they have no food.


----------



## Helvetica

The classic rope drop seems to be what I’ve found works best for me at DHS. I was literally the first person to park on the parking lot and U was able to ride Micke and Minnie’s, Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster before the park officially opened at 10 am. I also got a boarding group for Rise. The park does seem to be filling up, so I’ll probably go back to the resort after I ride Rise in a couple of hours.


----------



## Befferk

yulilin3 said:


> I say this every couple of pages.
> Real expectations are key!!
> Do not think the crowds will be July and August crowds
> Do not think the attractions will be walk on or 10 to 15 min wait times
> Do not think 100% of people are wearing mask, physical distancing in queues and looking at entrance and exit markers
> 
> DO
> 
> have a flexible plan
> rope drop, as in be at the parks 45 min before official opening time
> go to your number 1 priority attraction first
> stay until end of day
> Use mobile order to your advantage, meaning order early in the day to lock the time you want to eat, this will avoid the extra 20 min wait time if that specific wait time is full
> Be open minded and considerate to others. Just because you see someone without a mask for 1 minute doesn't meant his person ahs been blatantly ignoring the rules or it might, but just walk away and try to not let that bother you too much
> Listen to the CM/TM/Ambassadors directions
> 
> Just have realistic expectations, even before covid I would tell people coming pick 3 attractions that you must do, plan around them and the rest is icing on the cake, there are still attractions that are walk ons at certain times of the day. This is all brand new for everyone and if you decide to come now just be aware that this will be unlike any other trip and go with the flow
> 
> If the recent long wait reports seem like too much reconsider coming now. Why come if you are already nervous and feeling negative about your trip?



Thanks for this. I get frustrated reading some of the trip reports where people make it sound like the sky is falling while they're there. I have VERY realistic expectations of our upcoming trips, but I have a plan to navigate the people and I know we will have a good time. Things like nose-peekers and non-social-distancing people don't bother me one bit (although I do follow the rules myself for other peoples' comfort) so there's nothing for me to get worked up about while there.


----------



## Naomeri

yulilin3 said:


> I say this every couple of pages.
> Real expectations are key!!
> Do not think the crowds will be July and August crowds
> Do not think the attractions will be walk on or 10 to 15 min wait times
> Do not think 100% of people are wearing mask, physical distancing in queues and looking at entrance and exit markers
> 
> DO
> 
> have a flexible plan
> rope drop, as in be at the parks 45 min before official opening time
> go to your number 1 priority attraction first
> stay until end of day
> Use mobile order to your advantage, meaning order early in the day to lock the time you want to eat, this will avoid the extra 20 min wait time if that specific wait time is full
> Be open minded and considerate to others. Just because you see someone without a mask for 1 minute doesn't meant his person ahs been blatantly ignoring the rules or it might, but just walk away and try to not let that bother you too much
> Listen to the CM/TM/Ambassadors directions
> 
> Just have realistic expectations, even before covid I would tell people coming pick 3 attractions that you must do, plan around them and the rest is icing on the cake, there are still attractions that are walk ons at certain times of the day. This is all brand new for everyone and if you decide to come now just be aware that this will be unlike any other trip and go with the flow
> 
> If the recent long wait reports seem like too much reconsider coming now. Why come if you are already nervous and feeling negative about your trip?


Thank you for your repeated messages of calm and patience.  I’m a little sad that it seems like it will be busier than it seemed when I booked my trip a couple weeks ago, but I‘ve never been a FP+ master and usually just get in line for the rides I want, wait time be darned (I once waited more than 2 hours for FOP (while soaking wet from a pre-hurricane downpour )) so this trip probably won’t be too different than my previous trips.

On the other hand, there’s still a month to go before I get there, so who knows what changes WDW will make by then?


----------



## mmouse50

I have real expectations of the wait times and the park looking like being like a normal busy summer day but in the past I always had the option of a fastpass - so the rides that I really wanted I did fastpass and then did the other "must do rides" early in the day.  I guess that I was just a little freaked out by the wait times and curious if the MDE app was inflating them a little or if it was the actual wait times.


----------



## lovethattink

The last couple of times we went to MK, we went a few hours before closing. We found those 3 hours to work best for us. 

We went on 7 attractions including 7DMT which had a 40 minute wait posted, walked at a slow pace, and shopped, and got stopped on Peter Pan for 20 minutes because someone fell getting out of their ship right before us.


----------



## katyringo

I do wonder what are the concerns for bringing back fast passes. I'm sure there are reasons beyond low crowds. The organization of the two lines, the spacing on the rides, etc.   We purchased express pass for our universal day.  Id love for a Fastpass version like disneylands to come to world.  Day of and for the park you are in.  But I don't get the vibe this is a priority for Disney right now.  They need people in the lines since so much is still closed.


----------



## CanucksRock

I went last week, and we experienced the very quite and very busy. I do agree - get there early, before park open. Hit your must do rides first. You can get at least a few in before numbers pick up. Even on a busy Friday, right off the bat we went to 7DMT, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, BTMR, and SM before crowds started picking up. DHS was certainly the busiest park we experienced. If you go to AK before park open - just go to Pandora. The other rides don't open until park open. (we learned this the hard way...but had a nice walk through an empty park  )


----------



## Shinrai

katyringo said:


> I do wonder what are the concerns for bringing back fast passes. I'm sure there are reasons beyond low crowds. The organization of the two lines, the spacing on the rides, etc.   We purchased express pass for our universal day.  Id love for a Fastpass version like disneylands to come to world.  Day of and for the park you are in.  But I don't get the vibe this is a priority for Disney right now.  They need people in the lines since so much is still closed.


 
Same.  We're also Disneyland people, and I'm wishing WDW would put in some kind of option similar to Maxpass.


----------



## yulilin3

Shinrai said:


> Same.  We're also Disneyland people, and I'm wishing WDW would put in some kind of option similar to Maxpass.


That's the rumor ands it's being discussed in the news and rumors forum


----------



## disneygirlsng

Shinrai said:


> Same.  We're also Disneyland people, and I'm wishing WDW would put in some kind of option similar to Maxpass.


I know rumors of paid FP have been amping up more and more lately that it's pretty much inevitable at this point, but I hate that I could do just as much, if not much more at times with free FP+ than I could with Maxpass. Free and being able to ride everything with refreshing is hard to pass up. FP+ was just so absolutely perfect for me, it'll be hard to do anything else.


----------



## elgerber

yulilin3 said:


> That's the rumor ands it's being discussed in the news and rumors forum


can you say what the thread title is? I don't go over there much.


----------



## Tormania

As others have mentioned, busy for one person is "normal" for someone else so it's all perspective.  Personally all of our trips have been after Thanksgiving in early Dec specifically to "limit" crowds and have great weather.

But my big question for WDW is what is the criteria they are using before they start to increase ride capacity, open more restaurants, etc???  Right now it seems completely arbitrary which my logical brain doesn't appreciate that much.


----------



## hereforthechurros

yulilin3 said:


> I say this every couple of pages.
> Real expectations are key!!
> Do not think the crowds will be July and August crowds
> Do not think the attractions will be walk on or 10 to 15 min wait times
> Do not think 100% of people are wearing mask, physical distancing in queues and looking at entrance and exit markers
> 
> DO
> 
> have a flexible plan
> rope drop, as in be at the parks 45 min before official opening time
> go to your number 1 priority attraction first
> stay until end of day
> Use mobile order to your advantage, meaning order early in the day to lock the time you want to eat, this will avoid the extra 20 min wait time if that specific wait time is full
> Be open minded and considerate to others. Just because you see someone without a mask for 1 minute doesn't meant his person ahs been blatantly ignoring the rules or it might, but just walk away and try to not let that bother you too much
> Listen to the CM/TM/Ambassadors directions
> 
> Just have realistic expectations, even before covid I would tell people coming pick 3 attractions that you must do, plan around them and the rest is icing on the cake, there are still attractions that are walk ons at certain times of the day. This is all brand new for everyone and if you decide to come now just be aware that this will be unlike any other trip and go with the flow
> 
> If the recent long wait reports seem like too much reconsider coming now. Why come if you are already nervous and feeling negative about your trip?


All valid, but it's also unfair of WDW to raise park capacity which increases safety risk and not increase ride capacity, entertainment and dining options all while still charging full price for a less than experience. At least we're seeing some wiggle room with hours being extended but it's still pretty paltry.


----------



## lynch34

Are most people who get into DHS getting Rise groups if they do the proper steps at opening?

Is Disney allowing you to get one at 10 am and at 2 pm?


----------



## mcomber7

Has anyone stayed at pop recently?  I’m wondering what time to be at the Skyliner for Hollywood studios to be close to the front of the line....


----------



## Homemom

lynch34 said:


> Are most people who get into DHS getting Rise groups if they do the proper steps at opening?
> 
> Is Disney allowing you to get one at 10 am and at 2 pm?



On Tuesday, September 15, we were all scanned into park at 9:48. We sat down and waited for 10:00. At 9:59 three of us started trying to join and I got boarding group 25. The ride went down awhile but our group was called at 1:50.


----------



## Geomom

lynch34 said:


> Are most people who get into DHS getting Rise groups if they do the proper steps at opening?
> 
> Is Disney allowing you to get one at 10 am and at 2 pm?


You can only get one group per day.  No idea on the first question, but I doubt it.  When we were there in July we only tried for the 2pm slot.  Failed on day 1, got a backup group (58) on day 2...but Rise was down for hours so we never got called.


----------



## twodogs

disneygirlsng said:


> I know rumors of paid FP have been amping up more and more lately that it's pretty much inevitable at this point, but I hate that I could do just as much, if not much more at times with free FP+ than I could with Maxpass. Free and being able to ride everything with refreshing is hard to pass up. FP+ was just so absolutely perfect for me, it'll be hard to do anything else.


Have you used Maxpass at DLR (this is not meant to sound rude!  Just wondering if you have used both)?  We are in Texas so we go to both parks, and I will say that I LOVE Maxpass so much more than FP+.  No stressful planning months ahead, and everyone is on equal footing when you walk into the park for the day (and I don't have to pick which park that I want to be in months ahead of time either).  Also, the ability to stack FPs so that you can hold numerous FPs at once on the Maxpass platform is SO much better to me than only being able to hold one at a time, after your first 3, with FP+.  "Refresh" works on MP too as earlier times or things that were unavailable come up all the time that way!  

The cost issue for me is separate from which platform actually works the best for my family and our touring style.  I agree with you that eventually I think we all figured WDW would monetize FP the same way that DLR did (though DLR still has the free option of going to the FP machines and getting your FP that way).  WDW tried the "extra FP" with CL booking, and that probably made them some money, but I think they would make much more by monetizing FP for ALL guests since most people can't afford/don't want to pay for CL just for more FPs (but it is great if you already stay CL).  And at the end of the day, making money is the number one priority for Disney, IMO.


----------



## disneygirlsng

twodogs said:


> Have you used Maxpass at DLR (this is not meant to sound rude!  Just wondering if you have used both)?  We are in Texas so we go to both parks, and I will say that I LOVE Maxpass so much more than FP+.  No stressful planning months ahead, and everyone is on equal footing when you walk into the park for the day (and I don't have to pick which park that I want to be in months ahead of time either).  Also, the ability to stack FPs so that you can hold numerous FPs at once on the Maxpass platform is SO much better to me than only being able to hold one at a time, after your first 3, with FP+.  "Refresh" works on MP too as earlier times or things that were unavailable come up all the time that way!
> 
> The cost issue for me is separate from which platform actually works the best for my family and our touring style.  I agree with you that eventually I think we all figured WDW would monetize FP the same way that DLR did (though DLR still has the free option of going to the FP machines and getting your FP that way).  WDW tried the "extra FP" with CL booking, and that probably made them some money, but I think they would make much more by monetizing FP for ALL guests since most people can't afford/don't want to pay for CL just for more FPs (but it is great if you already stay CL).  And at the end of the day, making money is the number one priority for Disney, IMO.


Yep, I've used it a few times. I don't find the planning stressful at all, quite the opposite actually in that I really, really enjoy it. Having my favorite rides locked in before I even get there is one of my favorite things. Only having one at a time doesn't bother me, once I'm in line for one ride I'm almost always able to snag one for the next ride before I even get on the ride I'm in line for. It's not that I didn't like Maxpass, it's just that I could do pretty much the exact same thing at WDW for free. I'm usually in a small group of 3-4 people, which does make FP+ easier than those that are in larger groups, so that can play a factor as well.


----------



## Spazz2k

So this past weekend we had the chance to take some pictures after closing in SWGE at DHS and I will say it was incredible.  Not only did we get some amazing shots, we also had a chance to witness something that is rarely seen flying over head...the goodyear blimp over Batuu was a sight to see.  We also got to do Savi's Workshop on re-opening and that was very special too.  My wife and I did it on opening day and my daughter and I did it on re-opening.  

Some pics after closing...all are no filter, no adjustments...you can see how incredible the lighting is in Batuu at night


----------



## Justrose

mcomber7 said:


> Has anyone stayed at pop recently?  I’m wondering what time to be at the Skyliner for Hollywood studios to be close to the front of the line....



I have heard 8:00 AM.


----------



## allaboutthemouse

Spazz2k said:


> So this past weekend we had the chance to take some pictures after closing in SWGE at DHS and I will say it was incredible.  Not only did we get some amazing shots, we also had a chance to witness something that is rarely seen flying over head...the goodyear blimp over Batuu was a sight to see.  We also got to do Savi's Workshop on re-opening and that was very special too.  My wife and I did it on opening day and my daughter and I did it on re-opening.
> 
> Some pics after closing...all are no filter, no adjustments...you can see how incredible the lighting is in Batuu at night


Those are great pictures!
Was the Savi’s experience any different on re-opening as opposed to pre-COVID?


----------



## mickeyfanachey1999

We arrived Labor Day weekend and stayed through the following weekend.  DHS wait times were tough on the weekends.  Muppets was 35 minutes.  Mask compliance is better than what I am used to locally but that's a pretty low bar being from Georgia.  If you are concerned about masks or about people in your space it's probably better if you don't go right now.  I personally saw/heard cast members enforce mask compliance only 3 times in 8 days of parks/resorts/Disney Springs.  Busses were not a problem as they were nearly empty each time we were on them.  That being said, only 9 days until we arrive at the Boardwalk


----------



## Spazz2k

allaboutthemouse said:


> Those are great pictures!
> Was the Savi’s experience any different on re-opening as opposed to pre-COVID?



Same experience but with less people, which in turn meant more 1 on 1 interaction and cast member attention.  Was still very cool, but it def is cooler with a packed room when all of the light sabers light up at the end.


----------



## erinch

We were at DHS today. The good things were getting BG 12, and slinky dog first thing. But it is really hot, very crowded, and wait times at 45-75 for basically everything. We left to go back to the vistana and regroup at 3 and are going back at 5. 7:30 ADR for Sci Fi. It feels like before they invented FP. We waited 45 for muppets. Not kidding.


----------



## IluvMGM

mcomber7 said:


> Has anyone stayed at pop recently?  I’m wondering what time to be at the Skyliner for Hollywood studios to be close to the front of the line....



I would try to get there at 7:30. We were 1st, 5th and 3rd or 4th on the 3 days we went.


----------



## robinstrip

IluvMGM said:


> I would try to get there at 7:30. We were 1st, 5th and 3rd or 4th on the 3 days we went.


I read a blog post that said if they aren't gearing up the Skyliner at 8:40ish getting ready to start them at 9 then it might be better to use Lyft or Uber to HS. I might cry if I get in line at 7:30 and it ends up not running lol.


----------



## kelscross

yulilin3 said:


> I say this every couple of pages.
> Real expectations are key!!
> Do not think the crowds will be July and August crowds
> Do not think the attractions will be walk on or 10 to 15 min wait times
> Do not think 100% of people are wearing mask, physical distancing in queues and looking at entrance and exit markers
> 
> DO
> 
> have a flexible plan
> rope drop, as in be at the parks 45 min before official opening time
> go to your number 1 priority attraction first
> stay until end of day
> Use mobile order to your advantage, meaning order early in the day to lock the time you want to eat, this will avoid the extra 20 min wait time if that specific wait time is full
> Be open minded and considerate to others. Just because you see someone without a mask for 1 minute doesn't meant his person ahs been blatantly ignoring the rules or it might, but just walk away and try to not let that bother you too much
> Listen to the CM/TM/Ambassadors directions
> 
> Just have realistic expectations, even before covid I would tell people coming pick 3 attractions that you must do, plan around them and the rest is icing on the cake, there are still attractions that are walk ons at certain times of the day. This is all brand new for everyone and if you decide to come now just be aware that this will be unlike any other trip and go with the flow
> 
> If the recent long wait reports seem like too much reconsider coming now. Why come if you are already nervous and feeling negative about your trip?


I’m so glad to see this!! I’ve been reading this thread. We booked for December 5 and who knows there might be more changes in the next couple months. However I look at the app and the lines still look shorter than times I went even this past March. We could only get the first 3 FP and that was it so we waited in lines here and there. I think FP has us spoiled in a way. When I read it was “packed” or “insane” those terms mean week between Xmas and New Years in my mind and it doesn’t seem to be to that level so it is perception. FOP used to get up to 240 mins easily so 60 seems like a breeze at this point.


----------



## erinch

At home I went to Costco the other day, and easily half the people in the store we’re not wearing masks, and it was shoulder to shoulder people. So from that POV, I think mask compliance has been nearly perfect, everywhere we’ve gone at WDW and Universal. But if you need to have that 6 foot perimeter between you and others, it isn’t possible in the parks. You wait on lines or dots going in, but going out is very crowded together.


----------



## xiphoid76

Just a quick note as I have seen a number of posts about mask compliance.  I can not imagine a place better than Disney for compliance!  As a healthcare worker, I am entertained (maybe not the correct word) by the improper mask usage - basically wearing them as chin straps.  We spent some time at Universal and the compliance was around 98%, but only about 70% wearing them properly.  No one enforcing proper usage there at all.
At Disney, mask compliance was 99%, maybe 100%.  Proper mask usage was up to around 95%, and if not worn properly, cast members would politely tell you.  My husband brought a smaller mask that did not always fully cover the top part of the nose (not necessary but Disney does say the masks need to cover fully the nose and mouth - and combination of humidity and sunblock made it drop a lot). He was told 7 times by cast members that his mask was not fully covering his nose.  It got a little annoying, but hey, they were doing their job.  I can't imagine any other place having better mask compliance and proper usage.  At home (Minneapolis) the mask usage is good, but no one wears them properly.  Outside very few people wear them here, so we are not used to wearing them in the sun, heat and humidity of Florida, but it is doable.  
Universal had many relaxation stations around wear we sat and took off the masks.  Dollywood has them as well.  We didn't see any in Disney - they may be hidden, or they took them away?  Not sure, would be nice if they had some.


----------



## Naomeri

xiphoid76 said:


> Just a quick note as I have seen a number of posts about mask compliance.  I can not imagine a place better than Disney for compliance!  As a healthcare worker, I am entertained (maybe not the correct word) by the improper mask usage - basically wearing them as chin straps.  We spent some time at Universal and the compliance was around 98%, but only about 70% wearing them properly.  No one enforcing proper usage there at all.
> At Disney, mask compliance was 99%, maybe 100%.  Proper mask usage was up to around 95%, and if not worn properly, cast members would politely tell you.  My husband brought a smaller mask that did not always fully cover the top part of the nose (not necessary but Disney does say the masks need to cover fully the nose and mouth - and combination of humidity and sunblock made it drop a lot). He was told 7 times by cast members that his mask was not fully covering his nose.  It got a little annoying, but hey, they were doing their job.  I can't imagine any other place having better mask compliance and proper usage.  At home (Minneapolis) the mask usage is good, but no one wears them properly.  Outside very few people wear them here, so we are not used to wearing them in the sun, heat and humidity of Florida, but it is doable.
> Universal had many relaxation stations around wear we sat and took off the masks.  Dollywood has them as well.  We didn't see any in Disney - they may be hidden, or they took them away?  Not sure, would be nice if they had some.


Hey fellow Minnesotan!  Apparently Disney does have them, and they’re marked on the printed maps, or the digital versions thereof, but I don’t know if they’re well marked in the parks or in the app.


----------



## Pksmom03

Went to MK today. Arrived in park about 8:40 and walked directly to 7DMT which was listed at 45 but we were on in 25 minutes. Wait times today were much better than our Sunday visit. 15 minute wait for PP, 5 min wait for BTM so we got off and went through line again- 10 min the second time. Walked on HM. All before 11. Times were longer after that but nothing was more than 30 minutes. Saw many of the character cavalcades- Goofy, Jack and Sally, Princesses, the Fab 5, Pooh and friends. Saw Cpt Jack by Pirates and look out for Peter Pan posing in front of the Crystal Palace. Only ride we didn’t get to do was Space Mt because it broke down for about an hour and a half so we left. Tomorrow is Epcot.


----------



## lynzi2004

katyringo said:


> I do wonder what are the concerns for bringing back fast passes. I'm sure there are reasons beyond low crowds. The organization of the two lines, the spacing on the rides, etc.   We purchased express pass for our universal day.  Id love for a Fastpass version like disneylands to come to world.  Day of and for the park you are in.  But I don't get the vibe this is a priority for Disney right now.  They need people in the lines since so much is still closed.



Although I do not like standing in lines, I don't want to see FP return yet either.  If rides are already running at reduced capacity, cutting that down further will make for INCREDIBLY long waits. Like I don’t think it would be physically possible for them to have both lines full space wise in the parks.


----------



## lynzi2004

robinstrip said:


> I read a blog post that said if they aren't gearing up the Skyliner at 8:40ish getting ready to start them at 9 then it might be better to use Lyft or Uber to HS. I might cry if I get in line at 7:30 and it ends up not running lol.


This happened to us and it was honestly a blessing in disguise. If you are at the front of the Pop Skyliner line and it doesn’t end up running, they will start towards the front and apologize and say you will have to take buses. Don’t wait around, longer, question....just GO! Get to the bus stop ASAP! It takes a few minutes for people to process what’s going on and for news to get to the back of the Skyliner line. A bus showed up within minutes and we were headed directly to HS, no transfer mess at CBR or worrying about how we would end up in line there. We basically walked on MMRR and Slinky Dog and secured a BG before our Slinky ride. But like I said if it goes down HUSTLE! After the announcement, many people were aggravated and stood around a min or two to get their bearings, some had strollers with kids and food spread out, so just be prepared and move!


----------



## Best Aunt

lynzi2004 said:


> This happened to us and it was honestly a blessing in disguise. If you are at the front of the Pop Skyliner line and it doesn’t end up running, they will start towards the front and apologize and say you will have to take buses. Don’t wait around, longer, question....just GO! Get to the bus stop ASAP! It takes a few minutes for people to process what’s going on and for news to get to the back of the Skyliner line. A bus showed up within minutes and we were headed directly to HS, no transfer mess at CBR or worrying about how we would end up in line there. We basically walked on MMRR and Slinky Dog and secured a BG before our Slinky ride. But like I said if it goes down HUSTLE! After the announcement, many people were aggravated and stood around a min or two to get their bearings, some had strollers with kids and food spread out, so just be prepared and move!



maybe explain to people how to get to the buses from the skyliner line.


----------



## hpa

Can someone tell me the answer to the above?  Looking for recent information, we‘re going tomorrow.  Do they allow you to line up before the toll booths actually open?


----------



## yulilin3

hpa said:


> Can someone tell me the answer to the above?  Looking for recent information, we‘re going tomorrow.  Do they allow you to line up before the toll booths actually open?


You can start lining up at 8am, they open the lot at 8:15am


----------



## lynzi2004

Best Aunt said:


> maybe explain to people how to get to the buses from the skyliner line.


So from the Skyliner bridge, head straight back around Pop’s main pool. We went to the right of the pool as people were lined up down the left side. We went through the main Pop lobby to the original HS bus line. Some people went around the building on the right If your towards the front, going between the lobby and Everything Pop would be fine. If your a little late to the game, going around to the right of the building might save some time bc the line stretches that direction. You might have to backtrack a bit if you go to the lobby a bit late and too big of line is already forming. Also, if you are super late to the game and you see a hoard of people hustling to the building about 8:45, immediately turn around and head for the bus stop and you might end up ahead of the game! Lol


----------



## Jaina

yulilin3 said:


> You can start lining up at 8am, they open the lot at 8:15am


WDW newbie here; is this all of the lots, or just the main one by MK? Do all the lots open at the same time, or a set time before park opening? (ie How early can I get there and wait outside the parking lot?)


----------



## tbssenterprises

Was there September 13-18.  Hotter than heck, and I live in the South.  Unbearable.  Went to HS on Tuesday, and couldn't do/ride anything.  (Actually adult daughter got there before me and she rode Slinky).  The next day we went to MK.  She walked right onto Space Mountain.  Mine Train was 45 minutes.  So, we did things we normally wouldn't do: Dumbo, Goofy Barnstormer, Winnie The Pooh, Peter Pan, walked onto Thunder Mountain).  Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain wait times were ridiculous...and this was a Wednesday!  Had lunch at Pecos Bill.  Very difficult to find a table, but kept walking around till we found one.  Pirates looked long, so we went on that Aladdin Magic Carpet Ride thing.  We left shortly thereafter since the heat was UNBEARABLE and we had StormAlongBay to look forward to.  Did some shopping down main street, hopped on a bus and was in our swim suits shortly thereafter!


----------



## yulilin3

Jaina said:


> WDW newbie here; is this all of the lots, or just the main one by MK? Do all the lots open at the same time, or a set time before park opening? (ie How early can I get there and wait outside the parking lot?)


All the parks are about the same.  Line up an hour before,  they open the parking lots about 45 minutes before official park opening


----------



## PortieOwner

Today's MK trip:

Began at GF Cafe for breakfast. I was done with the meal and at the monorail station at 8:10 but they held me there until 8:25 which was the first Resort monorail to MK. At the gate at 8:30, but found almost nothing open! Only Seven Dwarves was open and I found I don't like that ride (severe motion sickness). Peter Pan opened at 8:50 so I rode it with a short wait, then walked onto Haunted Mansion at 9:00. I then went to Big Thunder. Should have been a fast line but they were only running one side of the trains, so this was about a 15-20 minute wait. Splash was broken down until about 10am, so I headed into Adventureland. 

Pirates was showing a 5 minute wait but I walked in and hit what was probably a cleaning cycle so I was stuck there and the ride became more of a 30 minute experience. Next was Jungle Cruise, which also hit a cleaning cycle and at least two boats loaded up handicapped passengers, so this was another 20-30 minute wait. 

The next step was back to Fantasyland to ride Philharmagic, then over to Frontierland for Splash Mountain (long wait). By now it was 1pm, so back to the Polynesian for some pool time. 

I returned to the park at about 4:20. I rode Buzz and Pooh, then returned to Splash. It was a shorter wait but still 40 minutes and I exited the ride at 6:03 to begin the journey back to the resort.  I rode about 10 rides, the majority were E-rickets, in about 6 hours in the park.


----------



## robinstrip

lynzi2004 said:


> This happened to us and it was honestly a blessing in disguise. If you are at the front of the Pop Skyliner line and it doesn’t end up running, they will start towards the front and apologize and say you will have to take buses. Don’t wait around, longer, question....just GO! Get to the bus stop ASAP! It takes a few minutes for people to process what’s going on and for news to get to the back of the Skyliner line. A bus showed up within minutes and we were headed directly to HS, no transfer mess at CBR or worrying about how we would end up in line there. We basically walked on MMRR and Slinky Dog and secured a BG before our Slinky ride. But like I said if it goes down HUSTLE! After the announcement, many people were aggravated and stood around a min or two to get their bearings, some had strollers with kids and food spread out, so just be prepared and move!


Got it!! Thanks for the advice.


----------



## momimouse27

I just want to put this out there that I really appreciate all the info here-positive and negative.  As the mother of a teen with autism, we usually know what to expect and just roll with it, but are use to using FP for the things he enjoys and we know we won't have that this time.  On top of that, having several members of the group who have been sitting on hands waiting to visit SWGE, it puts extra pressure on me(the planner) to know what's going on.  I have a husband who doesn't want to deal with anything until he gets there and then he wants to know it ALL.  Fun for me, right??? 

I have the extra fear of not being able to get what my son wants to eat when he's in the park.  I am trying to get a handle on the food situation, but you never really truly know until you get there!  Anyway, it has really helped hearing what all of your experiences have been and I appreciate the effort in coming here and imparting your knowledge to those of us who haven't been yet.


----------



## PortieOwner

I also want to amend my Tuesday post a bit. I returned to DHS at about 5pm on Tuesday following a restful visit to the Volcano pool. I knew I had a backup boarding group, which would probably not be activated, and I thought I'd see what I could ride and then head to a 7:30 ADR at Sanaa. 

Some Disney Magic began to hit my trip. I had a walk-on for Midway Madness, then checked out the Walt Disney Story. That put me in a better mood so I got into the line for MMRR at 5:45. It was a long, long line. But I got on the ride and emerged at the end right at 7:00pm. I know that I should have left then to drive to Kidani, but my phone beeped. They were boarding my group. In fact they went out as far as Group 82 that night, right at closing time! I ran to SWGE and got in line. It was a long line, and a long attraction. I thought the attraction was excellent! The CM actors who play the Empire were pretty scary, and they were good actors! 

I got off the ride at about 7:55pm. Now horribly late for my ADR with Sanaa I rushed to the exit. It was after dark, most of the crowds were gone, and the Studios look great after dark. I got to Sanaa, parked, went inside and explained what had happened. They said they'd still seat me even though I was almost an hour late. I hung around the animal observation area for a while--there were two fantastic wildlife experts there answering questions. 

I got a text from the restaurant, went inside, and had a huge meal. So it turned out to be a good Disney day! I'm not sure if it was the Polynesian pool or seeing the Walt Disney Story that changed my luck.


----------



## mcomber7

IluvMGM said:


> I would try to get there at 7:30. We were 1st, 5th and 3rd or 4th on the 3 days we went.


Thank you!


----------



## erinch

For the Rest of our DHS day, we returned at 5:30. We were able to go on a ToT, RnRC and SDD by 7 and then went over to our 7:35 ADR at Sci Fi. Great server. The food was barely basic. Fried pickles were the winner, and the wedge salad was fine. One serving of the chicken pasta would have fed us all. It was fine. The glazed donut with apples and ice cream was incredibly stale and a 10 dollar bad choice. But we weren’t there for the food. Meredith wanted to take Her fiance, and they had fun being an engaged couple at the drive in. Gorgeous being the last out of the park.
As we apporached our van, we saw it surrounded by security vehicles. And the security guy shouted out my husband’s name. Uh oh. It turned out a cat had crawled up into our engine. Amd they ran our plates and were able to get into my MDE to try to track us down. They had tried to call, but my phone sound was turned off. But by the time we got out there, the cat had gone into the security guy’s engine, and 7 of them were trying to coax it out. Grateful that our engine was clear, and that no one had bashed us, and hoping the best for the yowling  kitty, we made our way home.


----------



## coolbrook

lynch34 said:


> Are most people who get into DHS getting Rise groups if they do the proper steps at opening?
> 
> Is Disney allowing you to get one at 10 am and at 2 pm?


I don't think so.  When we were there in July they were doing three times a day to try to get a boarding group.  We had four people trying all three opportunities and did not get a boarding group.  We had been before in January and successfully gotten a boarding group.  It was very frustrating!


----------



## aml1676

tbssenterprises said:


> Was there September 13-18.  Hotter than heck, and I live in the South.  Unbearable.  Went to HS on Tuesday, and couldn't do/ride anything.  (Actually adult daughter got there before me and she rode Slinky).  The next day we went to MK.  She walked right onto Space Mountain.  Mine Train was 45 minutes.  So, we did things we normally wouldn't do: Dumbo, Goofy Barnstormer, Winnie The Pooh, Peter Pan, walked onto Thunder Mountain).  Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain wait times were ridiculous...and this was a Wednesday!


Can I ask what qualifies as a ridiculous wait time? Was it posted time, or just the length of the lines in either park? I'm honestly curious - we leave in about 2-/12 weeks for our first visit and there are so many conflicting reports.


----------



## GusGusTheMouse

erinch said:


> It turned out a cat had crawled up into our engine. Amd they ran our plates and were able to get into my MDE to try to track us down. They had tried to call, but my phone sound was turned off. But by the time we got out there, the cat had gone into the security guy’s engine, and 7 of them were trying to coax it out. Grateful that our engine was clear, and that no one had bashed us, and hoping the best for the yowling kitty, we made our way home.



Im sorry but this needs more of an explanation! I knew there were cats at DLR... but HS? Was it someone’s pet or are there wild HS kittens that I am unaware of? I follow the DLR cat Instagram so I will keep an eye out for cats next time in FL as well if this is accurate! We are looking to adopt a cat...


----------



## shoreward

GusGusTheMouse said:


> Im sorry but this needs more of an explanation! I knew there were cats at DLR... but HS? Was it someone’s pet or are there wild HS kittens that I am unaware of? I follow the DLR cat Instagram so I will keep an eye out for cats next time in FL as well if this is accurate! We are looking to adopt a cat...


During my last visit to the YC, I spotted a large, well-fed black cat, walking through bushes in front of the resort.  A couple of Disney security guards told me that Disney took good care of the cats, as the cats took good care of Disney.  I don’t know about cats wandering parking lots, but they are around the resort hotels.


----------



## yulilin3

GusGusTheMouse said:


> Im sorry but this needs more of an explanation! I knew there were cats at DLR... but HS? Was it someone’s pet or are there wild HS kittens that I am unaware of? I follow the DLR cat Instagram so I will keep an eye out for cats next time in FL as well if this is accurate! We are looking to adopt a cat...


This made me laugh,  sorry,  yes there are cats at wdw, as well as gators, snakes, wild turkeys and a lot of other wildlife   stay late at a theme park after closing and you start seeing them


----------



## yulilin3

momimouse27 said:


> I just want to put this out there that I really appreciate all the info here-positive and negative.  As the mother of a teen with autism, we usually know what to expect and just roll with it, but are use to using FP for the things he enjoys and we know we won't have that this time.  On top of that, having several members of the group who have been sitting on hands waiting to visit SWGE, it puts extra pressure on me(the planner) to know what's going on.  I have a husband who doesn't want to deal with anything until he gets there and then he wants to know it ALL.  Fun for me, right???
> 
> I have the extra fear of not being able to get what my son wants to eat when he's in the park.  I am trying to get a handle on the food situation, but you never really truly know until you get there!  Anyway, it has really helped hearing what all of your experiences have been and I appreciate the effort in coming here and imparting your knowledge to those of us who haven't been yet.


A couple of things,  you know you can use a DAS card,  this way you won't need to wait in line,  you can wait while wandering the park,  second as far as food options you can go to mde now and see what restaurants and food items are available and try and prepare him for it.


----------



## only hope

Tormania said:


> But my big question for WDW is what is the criteria they are using before they start to increase ride capacity, open more restaurants, etc???  Right now it seems completely arbitrary which my logical brain doesn't appreciate that much.



Ride capacity is not arbitrary. They put as many people on as they can while maintaining a six foot distance between groups. They do need to call the actors union back and figure out how to run the shows safely. Not sure if all of the shows can be modified to keep the actors apart but some of them can.

Did MK yesterday. Arrived at toll plaza at 8:08, about ten cars back. Had to wait for them to open. Took the ferry over and walked into the park at 8:50. Went to 7DMT but the line wrapped around past tea cups already. Did BTMR, said 5, took 20. Splash was up so did that next- 25mn. We dislike waiting more than 20mn for anything (other than Smugglers Run for me- 25-30 is fine because I can enjoy the queue)- even 20 is pushing it. Pirates, Splash, Space, Jungle Cruise, and 7DMT had 40+ mn wait most of the day. We also did Pooh, Philharmagic, Ariel, Dumbo, HM, saw a few calvacades, Peter Pan, Small World, and browsed the gift store a few mn. Waited 10-20mn for each ride. We left at 3:45.

Been watching the HS wait times and they’re insane. They’re letting too many people in. There should not be a 45+ mn wait for everything most of the day. We’re probably going to drop our park pass for Friday and go elsewhere.


----------



## mamaofsix

only hope said:


> Ride capacity is not arbitrary. They put as many people on as they can while maintaining a six foot distance between groups. They do need to call the actors union back and figure out how to run the shows safely. Not sure if all of the shows can be modified to keep the actors apart but some of them can.
> 
> Did MK yesterday. Arrived at toll plaza at 8:08, about ten cars back. Had to wait for them to open. Took the ferry over and walked into the park at 8:50. Went to 7DMT but the line wrapped around past tea cups already. Did BTMR, said 5, took 20. Splash was up so did that next- 25mn. We dislike waiting more than 20mn for anything (other than Smugglers Run for me- 25-30 is fine because I can enjoy the queue)- even 20 is pushing it. Pirates, Splash, Space, Jungle Cruise, and 7DMT had 40+ mn wait most of the day. We also did Pooh, Philharmagic, Ariel, Dumbo, HM, saw a few calvacades, Peter Pan, Small World, and browsed the gift store a few mn. Waited 10-20mn for each ride. We left at 3:45.
> 
> Been watching the HS wait times and they’re insane. They’re letting too many people in. There should not be a 45+ mn wait for everything most of the day. We’re probably going to drop our park pass for Friday and go elsewhere.


It's being reported on here that many of the rides are routinely only running half the tracks, half the boats, half the ride vehicles, etc. - even though said vehicles are placed well apart.  Which means they are not putting as many people on as they can with social distancing.  It means they can hire less staff and use less power, wear & tear, etc.  to run the park.  It was common before COVID, too.    The OP is correct that they are increasing park capacity without also increasing attraction capacity.


----------



## yulilin3

mamaofsix said:


> It's being reported on here that many of the rides are routinely only running half the tracks, half the boats, half the ride vehicles, etc. - even though said vehicles are placed well apart.  Which means they are not putting as many people on as they can with social distancing.  It means they can hire less staff and use less power, wear & tear, etc.  to run the park.  It was common before COVID, too.    The OP is correct that they are increasing park capacity without also increasing attraction capacity.


just a reminder this is not the thread to point out what Disney is doing right or wrong, simply to post your experience if you have come or to ask a questions about their experience to those who have come.
We don't know if Disney is purposefully closing sides on attractions all day long, we can see if we go at any specific time if one side is closed that doesn't mean it is closed all the time, it might be getting ready to launch, it might be getting a cleaning or it might be closed all day long.
Attraction CM both f/t and p/t have all been recalled and by their union agreements they have to hit a certain number of hours, also Disney has allowed CM that have been recalled to stay furloughed if they so wish until December
So again we really don't know for sure unless we work in the operations management department at Disney


----------



## erinch

Honestly, it was a little creepy that as we came in shouting distance of our car, a jovial guy started shOuting  my husband’s name. And they knew my phone number. And where we were eating dinner. Amd that we are moving onto property on Oct3 for a 2 night stay at OKW. If the First Order takes over WDW, we are all in trouble. The cat sounded terrified. And it was great to see 7 security guys so determined to save the cat. They had a net. And sardines amd looked prepared to take apart the engine. Also glad it wasn’t our engine at that point.






GusGusTheMouse said:


> Im sorry but this needs more of an explanation! I knew there were cats at DLR... but HS? Was it someone’s pet or are there wild HS kittens that I am unaware of? I follow the DLR cat Instagram so I will keep an eye out for cats next time in FL as well if this is accurate! We are looking to adopt a cat...


----------



## footballmouse

Okay, so I've been keeping up with this thread but I still have some questions.

- We are staying offsite so we will be driving to the parks. Am I correct understanding that since we have to wait for the parking lot to open, we will not be able to get into the parks earlier than the scheduled opening time? If so, would using an Uber be better since they can bypass parking in the lot? If this would be better, what are your recommendations on getting to the park entrance from other than the parking lot?
- Also, we are planning to go the first part of November. Any opinions on that being a better time to go since Halloween will be over and Thanksgiving will still be 2 weeks out. I'm hoping the crowds will die down a bit and the lines not be outrageously long as they have been this month. I'm praying that everyone rescheduled for September and not November. 

Thanks for your help. Tickets have not been purchased yet so we can go somewhere else if we decide to cancel this trip.


----------



## yulilin3

footballmouse said:


> Okay, so I've been keeping up with this thread but I still have some questions.
> 
> - We are staying offsite so we will be driving to the parks. Am I correct understanding that since we have to wait for the parking lot to open, we will not be able to get into the parks earlier than the scheduled opening time? If so, would using an Uber be better since they can bypass parking in the lot? If this would be better, what are your recommendations on getting to the park entrance from other than the parking lot?
> - Also, we are planning to go the first part of November. Any opinions on that being a better time to go since Halloween will be over and Thanksgiving will still be 2 weeks out. I'm hoping the crowds will die down a bit and the lines not be outrageously long as they have been this month. I'm praying that everyone rescheduled for September and not November.
> 
> Thanks for your help. Tickets have not been purchased yet so we can go somewhere else if we decide to cancel this trip.


The only parking that taking an uber bypass is mk, for the other 3 you need to line up with everyone else,  unless you uber to the speedway across boardwalk and from there you can walk to either dhs or epcot ig


----------



## dachsie

footballmouse said:


> Okay, so I've been keeping up with this thread but I still have some questions.
> 
> - We are staying offsite so we will be driving to the parks. Am I correct understanding that since we have to wait for the parking lot to open, we will not be able to get into the parks earlier than the scheduled opening time? If so, would using an Uber be better since they can bypass parking in the lot? If this would be better, what are your recommendations on getting to the park entrance from other than the parking lot?
> - Also, we are planning to go the first part of November. Any opinions on that being a better time to go since Halloween will be over and Thanksgiving will still be 2 weeks out. I'm hoping the crowds will die down a bit and the lines not be outrageously long as they have been this month. I'm praying that everyone rescheduled for September and not November.
> 
> Thanks for your help. Tickets have not been purchased yet so we can go somewhere else if we decide to cancel this trip.


You can line up for the parking an hour before park opening and they let you in within 15 mins so you can park and be inside a park before opening


----------



## OKW Lover

footballmouse said:


> Am I correct understanding that since we have to wait for the parking lot to open, we will not be able to get into the parks earlier than the scheduled opening time?


The lots typically open 45 minutes before the scheduled opening time.  So you may be able to actually get into the park early even if you park in the lot.


----------



## ELT

Helvetica said:


> The classic rope drop seems to be what I’ve found works best for me at DHS. I was literally the first person to park on the parking lot and U was able to ride Micke and Minnie’s, Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster before the park officially opened at 10 am. I also got a boarding group for Rise. The park does seem to be filling up, so I’ll probably go back to the resort after I ride Rise in a couple of hours.
> 
> Can I ask where you were in the park when you were able to score a boarding group? Also did you start a MMRR or go straight to RNR? Thank you


----------



## Homemom

aml1676 said:


> Can I ask what qualifies as a ridiculous wait time? Was it posted time, or just the length of the lines in either park? I'm honestly curious - we leave in about 2-/12 weeks for our first visit and there are so many conflicting reports.



We were there those same days and had a different experience. We did HS on Tuesday and the wait times were exaggerated. Slinky said 70 by took 35. Alien was a walk on, so was Rockin Rollercoaster. We got boarding group 25 For ROTR and with it shutting down awhile we got called at 1:50. Our longest wait was 100 minutes for MMRR. We visited MK on Wednesday and the heat was unbearable,  but we hit fantasyland at 9:30 and everything said 10 minutes but we felt like we walked on to them all PP, IASW, Ariel, Pooh, tea cups, Dumbo, Goofy.  Pirates said 25, but was faster we actually never stopped walking in the line until we got to load.  We mobile ordered Pecos while in line for pirates and picked it up after, finding a table outside. Decided to ride Splash that said 40, but took 15. Space said 10 and we rode it three times in a row, again that 10 minute wait was strictly walking to the loading area. We stayed until 6 feeling like it was a good day.


----------



## becks59

What has been people’s experience using rider switch?  I’ve used it at DL but never at WDW. I’ve been assuming it’s the same procedure at both parks, but now I’m wondering if they’ve changed anything where there aren’t FP lines to go through.


----------



## yulilin3

becks59 said:


> What has been people’s experience using rider switch?  I’ve used it at DL but never at WDW. I’ve been assuming it’s the same procedure at both parks, but now I’m wondering if they’ve changed anything where there aren’t FP lines to go through.


It's the same and you use the fp lane for the second rider


----------



## wilkydelts

yulilin3 said:


> It's the same and you use the fp lane for the second rider



Is rider swap still 1+2 or can you get more companions joining you since many vehicles are based on the a single party and not size?


----------



## Helvetica

The morning at Magic Kingdom was better for me than it was earlier in the week. I took the first bus from Old Key West today instead of driving, so I ended up getting there much earlier than if I would have drove. I double masked it on the bus, so hopefully that helped.

I was first to tap my magic band and the first to ride Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. I was so far ahead of the pack that I was able to ride it by myself. Before park open I was also able to ride Peter Pan’s Flight and BTMR. I was able to ride and experience quite a bit before the crowds started to hit around 11 am. I got on the bus by 11:30. We’ll see what happens after my nap.




ELT said:


> Can I ask where you were in the park when you were able to score a boarding group? Also did you start a MMRR or go straight to RNR? Thank you



I went MMRR, Tower, RnR. I got my boarding group while I was waiting in line for my second ride on RnR.

I used cellular data instead of in-park WiFi. Closed the app at 9:58, reopened at 9:59, clicked join at 10.


----------



## glocon

Spazz2k said:


> So this past weekend we had the chance to take some pictures after closing in SWGE at DHS and I will say it was incredible.  Not only did we get some amazing shots, we also had a chance to witness something that is rarely seen flying over head...the goodyear blimp over Batuu was a sight to see.  We also got to do Savi's Workshop on re-opening and that was very special too.  My wife and I did it on opening day and my daughter and I did it on re-opening.
> 
> Some pics after closing...all are no filter, no adjustments...you can see how incredible the lighting is in Batuu at night


Those are amazing pictures! That blimp was a stroke of luck too, such a cool shot. I haven’t been out much except for work and some shopping since March, but those pictures make me realllly want to see Batuu. Thanks for posting those


----------



## yulilin3

wilkydelts said:


> Is rider swap still 1+2 or can you get more companions joining you since many vehicles are based on the a single party and not size?


not sure how many people you can bring in


----------



## katyringo

I think our official plan for HS from pop is a mobile order from boardwalk bakery, Uber, and walking over.


----------



## DanielNYC

lynch34 said:
Are most people who get into DHS getting Rise groups if they do the proper steps at opening?

Is Disney allowing you to get one at 10 am and at 2 pm?



coolbrook said:


> I don't think so.  When we were there in July they were doing three times a day to try to get a boarding group.  We had four people trying all three opportunities and did not get a boarding group.  We had been before in January and successfully gotten a boarding group.  It was very frustrating!



FYI, when we were there in early August, the groups were gone in THREE seconds at 10:00AM.  Couldn't believe it, and was disappointed because that was our only day at DHS.  Anyway, I decided to let it go and then tried again at 2:00PM.  Got a group, but I noticed that all day the attraction didn't seem to be loading any groups.  At around 4:00PM I walked up to one of the CMs that was standing in front of the entrance to the attraction and asked her what was up.  She said that the previous evening's lightning storm had caused issues with the attractions systems and that no groups had been called that day so far, and that from what she could see there would be none for the rest of the day.  She was right, and I suddenly felt better for not getting an early group, but I have to imagine that there were a LOT of annoyed SW fans there that day.


----------



## mamathompson

I have a question about restaurants right now. We have six kids and MIL so 9 total. Are groups of 9 from one party allowed to sit together? Or are we required to split due to social distancing?


----------



## yulilin3

mamathompson said:


> I have a question about restaurants right now. We have six kids and MIL so 9 total. Are groups of 9 from one party allowed to sit together? Or are we required to split due to social distancing?


if the restaurant has a table big enough you can sit together, not sure if you can fit 9 in a square table like at Pecos Bill


----------



## Kimpossible1

Just got home from MK and it was crowded today...wait times were longer than before, and rides were not walk ons.  The Peter Pan queue went from the side of Pan down to Harbor House and then back up to the regular queue and said 40 minutes, and someone told us they waited 30.  We waited for our mobile order to be ready for 15 minutes, which doesn't sound long but it is much longer than previous days.  I think the crowds felt like a "party night" size crowd.  I wasn't happy with the amount of crowds today, it was much more congested, and there seemed to be lots of large groups/families.


----------



## Alice Sr.

Not sure this is the best place to post (and maybe it has already been reported).  Posting here as there have been many concerns about dining options.  I just received a call from San Angel Inn moving us from there for our Oct 7th dinner resv to La Hacienda.  Not our favorite but not going to turn it down.  He said San Angel will be closed Monday's - Wednesday's, but the shopping and ride would still be open.


----------



## soniam

footballmouse said:


> Okay, so I've been keeping up with this thread but I still have some questions.
> 
> - We are staying offsite so we will be driving to the parks. Am I correct understanding that since we have to wait for the parking lot to open, we will not be able to get into the parks earlier than the scheduled opening time? If so, would using an Uber be better since they can bypass parking in the lot? If this would be better, what are your recommendations on getting to the park entrance from other than the parking lot?
> - Also, we are planning to go the first part of November. Any opinions on that being a better time to go since Halloween will be over and Thanksgiving will still be 2 weeks out. I'm hoping the crowds will die down a bit and the lines not be outrageously long as they have been this month. I'm praying that everyone rescheduled for September and not November.
> 
> Thanks for your help. Tickets have not been purchased yet so we can go somewhere else if we decide to cancel this trip.



We stayed onsite but drove to MK and AK during our July trip. We waited at the parking lot booths and were usually let into the parking lot ~45 minutes before opening. We always made it into the park before official opening. There could be outliers where things don't open up as early, but I have only heard of a few of these.


----------



## robinstrip

We went to MK today. Got to the parking lot around 1 and in the park by 1:30. Splash had 60 min posted and we were on in 25 min. We had a blast! I have been worried seeing the wait times, but several wait times were less. SDMT was posted 40 min. We were off the ride in 38 min. If you wanted to ride the smaller kid rides you could have rode several in 30-40 min or less. As others have reported the lines were constantly moving. LTT was great. We really enjoyed our day. I am sure our HS day won't be as great but we are OK with that. Pic is when we got to MK and a cavalcade had just come through.


----------



## Cynt

Helvetica said:


> The morning at Magic Kingdom was better for me than it was earlier in the week*. I took the first bus from Old Key West *today instead of driving, so I ended up getting there much earlier than if I would have drove. I double masked it on the bus, so hopefully that helped.



Helv, what time are the first buses leaving OKW?  Thanks.


----------



## Helvetica

Cynt said:


> Helv, what time are the first buses leaving OKW?  Thanks.



I was picked up before 8 am.


----------



## lmbcdb

Helvetica said:


> I went MMRR, Tower, RnR. I got my boarding group while I was waiting in line for my second ride on RnR.
> 
> I used cellular data instead of in-park WiFi. Closed the app at 9:58, reopened at 9:59, clicked join at 10.


May I ask why you closed and reopened the app?


----------



## lmbcdb

katyringo said:


> I think our official plan for HS from pop is a mobile order from boardwalk bakery, Uber, and walking over.


I agree.  It seems to be the one with the least variables.


----------



## CanucksRock

Just a couple comments. Disney 100% has mask relaxation areas. The ones we saw were usually pretty empty. (We did not use, only time we took masks off was eating /drinking) 

When I was there last week, Epcot parking opened at 10:30 (we were front of the line, so it stands out). The other parks generally ~45 mins prior to open. We were less than 10 min drive away and headed to the parks generally at the 60-70 mins before park opening mark.


----------



## GBRforWDW

lmbcdb said:


> May I ask why you closed and reopened the app?


The close/reopen method was the most reliable way before the covid shutdown to get the join buttons to work properly.  Post shutdown, it doesn’t seem to matter as much, but can help if you just force close all apps to remove the clutter, which can slow the phone a bit, then restart the mde app.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

Do you mean completely log out of the app and then log back in? Or just a simple getting out of the app?


----------



## yulilin3

DisneyNDecember said:


> Do you mean completely log out of the app and then log back in? Or just a simple getting out of the app?


Not login out just force closing all apps on your phone and then owning just mde
The best method to get a bg is explained on post 1 of the bg thread in the SWGE subforum. Let's please keep this thread on topic


----------



## robinstrip

At HS. We ate breakfast at Ale & Compass. Our ADR was at 7:35, but we got there at 7:25 and were seated. Left at 8:15. Breakfast was the best we have ever had at Disney, but service was a little slow when we were in a hurry lol. Walked over to HS. Probably 30 - 50 people ahead of us already. They let us go to temp scan at 9 or a little after. There are about 40 people in line in front of us for MMRR. Ubering would have been smart too if they didn't have to go through parking. It looked like 1 family did that the way they entered the temp check line. Would have definitely been less hot. Happy we chose to walk instead of Skyliner from CBR though.


----------



## robinstrip

They opened it at 9:32 ish.


----------



## PortieOwner

Thursday (yesterday) AK Report:

Summary: a nice day, good weather, only two long lines, and saw everything by 3:30pm. It seems that Thursday is a good day to visit Animal Kingdom. 

Total miles walked according to my phone: 10.5

Checked out of the Polynesian at 8:25 and drove to the AK Parking Lot gates. They were holding all cars at the parking entrance. We started to move at around 8:40. There was then another traffic jam just getting to a parking spot. They seemed to have only 2 guys working in the lot! I was parked on the far, far side of the lot with a long hike to the entrance. Parked, past security and temp check and in the gate by 9:05. 

I had a touring plan from you know who in hand, but immediately tossed it because I wanted to see the FOP ride but the line stretched all the way to Harambe Theatre, at just after 9:00. So I continued on to the Safari, which did have a delay but when it ran it was good. Many animals were out, and the male lion was roaring. I then made a big backtrack, picking up coffee and a cheese Danish at Creature Comforts and went to ride Dinosaur. No wait, and for some reason I really like that ride. There was a Goofy/Chip/Dale boat going past as I crossed to Asia. Next I went to Everest. No wait, but I never need to ride it again. My bag somehow came flying out of the train storage pocket and I rode half the ride trying to keep my gear from exiting the train car. 

Next stop was Kali River Rapids. There was a delay for raft cleaning, but I was done and soaked (!) by about 10:40. I then did the Asian Jungle Trek followed by the African Trail, and placed a mobile lunch order for just after noon for Flame Tree. This involved another big backtrack to the far side of Discovery Island. Lunch was ribs and onion rings. It was enough for two people. Plenty of seating at the tables behind Flame Tree. I did not try for a river view. 

Next was It's Tough to be a Bug! On the way over I observed a YouTube vlogger taping his evaluation of a Disney cupcake. I thought about photobombing him, but didn't. The Bug attraction also had a longer wait that I would have expected, I think it was another cleaning cycle. 

Now finally time to see FOP. It was down to a 35 minute wait, and that's about what it took. It's an excellent ride! Last on the list was the Navi River ride. It listed a 40 minute wait, and it was a long line, half of it in the sun. This ride didn't wow me, but I rewarded myself for standing in the sun so long with an ice cream sundae from Dino Bites snack bar. Then it was time to head to the parking lot, and the airport. 

The airport is very quiet, no TSA line at all, and my flight home had 30 passengers.


----------



## Jaina

PortieOwner said:


> Thursday (yesterday) AK Report:
> 
> Now finally time to see FOP. It was down to a 35 minute wait, and that's about what it took. It's an excellent ride! Last on the list was the Navi River ride. It listed a 40 minute wait, and it was a long line, half of it in the sun. This ride didn't wow me, but I rewarded myself for standing in the sun so long with an ice cream sundae from Dino Bites snack bar. Then it was time to head to the parking lot, and the airport.



Is it normal for it to drop down like that later in the day sometimes, or was that a fluke? We are going next month and I'm trying to decide what to do. We will have a rental car so will have to park. Should try to hit FOP first (since this may be my only WDW trip and it's an absolute must-do) or would it maybe be better to wait until later in the day? How is its line to wait in during the hot afternoon right now? 

Also, random question, but does anyone know if I can call into dining and modify my reservation from 1 to 2 people at a few places? I was just going to fly in and do a solo trip, but now I have a friend traveling with me. I would assume so, since any table that can seat 1 could also seat 2?


----------



## pd1138

wilkydelts said:


> Is rider swap still 1+2 or can you get more companions joining you since many vehicles are based on the a single party and not size?


We were there in August.  Needed rider switch for RNR.  Same procedure as before, they load it on the magic band before the first ride.   I rode first with our three other kids standing in line then when we came out my husband went in fast pass lane.  Just as before the Policy states  only the rider waiting with the too small child plus 2 guests. Since we had three kids (not including the too short rider) I simply asked if all three could ride again with their father since the way RNR is set up they would sit two and two anyway and they were not going to be putting a single rider in that other seat as they would have before.  But, the CM gave us a hard no and said only two kids plus Dad so we had to pick two to  ride again with dad and the seat remained empty,


----------



## HollyMD

Can you use rider swap for ROTR if you get a boarding group?


----------



## PortieOwner

Jaina said:


> Is it normal for it to drop down like that later in the day sometimes, or was that a fluke? We are going next month and I'm trying to decide what to do. We will have a rental car so will have to park. Should try to hit FOP first (since this may be my only WDW trip and it's an absolute must-do) or would it maybe be better to wait until later in the day? How is its line to wait in during the hot afternoon right now?
> 
> Also, random question, but does anyone know if I can call into dining and modify my reservation from 1 to 2 people at a few places? I was just going to fly in and do a solo trip, but now I have a friend traveling with me. I would assume so, since any table that can seat 1 could also seat 2?



I don't know if it's typical of FOP lines or not. You can watch the lines daily on MDE and see how they behave. Weekdays would definitely be better than weekends. 

The sun will only get less strong from now until December 21, and while I was complaining about it, it's not that bad on an otherwise mid-80s, dry day. By the time I rode, the FOP queue was mostly under shade. 

About dining, why not call WDW Dining and ask them? They use the same tables for 1, 2, 3, or 4 people in my experience (single dining, LTT, Sanaa, and GF Cafe). It seemed like for my trip it would have been easier to score a reservation as a group of 2, not 1.


----------



## yulilin3

HollyMD said:


> Can you use rider swap for ROTR if you get a boarding group?


Yes


----------



## tsme

Is the Epcot monorail running?


----------



## DeterminedOne

Jaina said:


> Is it normal for it to drop down like that later in the day sometimes, or was that a fluke? We are going next month and I'm trying to decide what to do. We will have a rental car so will have to park. Should try to hit FOP first (since this may be my only WDW trip and it's an absolute must-do) or would it maybe be better to wait until later in the day? How is its line to wait in during the hot afternoon right now?
> 
> Also, random question, but does anyone know if I can call into dining and modify my reservation from 1 to 2 people at a few places? I was just going to fly in and do a solo trip, but now I have a friend traveling with me. I would assume so, since any table that can seat 1 could also seat 2?


Won’t be a problem. You probably don’t even have to call. I have always been seated at a two topper when I’m solo.


----------



## scrappinginontario

tsme said:


> Is the Epcot monorail running?


No.  Has not opened yet since the parks reopened in July.


----------



## mickeyfanachey1999

Jaina said:


> Is it normal for it to drop down like that later in the day sometimes, or was that a fluke? We are going next month and I'm trying to decide what to do. We will have a rental car so will have to park. Should try to hit FOP first (since this may be my only WDW trip and it's an absolute must-do) or would it maybe be better to wait until later in the day? How is its line to wait in during the hot afternoon right now?
> 
> Also, random question, but does anyone know if I can call into dining and modify my reservation from 1 to 2 people at a few places? I was just going to fly in and do a solo trip, but now I have a friend traveling with me. I would assume so, since any table that can seat 1 could also seat 2?



Thursday September 10th we waited in at the parking gate with plenty of cars in front of us, parked went through temp check wife got stopped for bag check like she did every single day and then went to FOP.  i don't really know what time it was but the line was about 20 minutes.  Later in the day we went back and rode 2 more times with very little wait other than the long walk through the queue.


----------



## vital

PortieOwner said:


> Thursday (yesterday) AK Report:
> 
> Summary: a nice day, good weather, only two long lines, and saw everything by 3:30pm. It seems that Thursday is a good day to visit Animal Kingdom.
> 
> Total miles walked according to my phone: 10.5
> 
> Checked out of the Polynesian at 8:25 and drove to the AK Parking Lot gates. They were holding all cars at the parking entrance. We started to move at around 8:40. There was then another traffic jam just getting to a parking spot. They seemed to have only 2 guys working in the lot! I was parked on the far, far side of the lot with a long hike to the entrance. Parked, past security and temp check and in the gate by 9:05.
> 
> I had a touring plan from you know who in hand, but immediately tossed it because I wanted to see the FOP ride but the line stretched all the way to Harambe Theatre, at just after 9:00. So I continued on to the Safari, which did have a delay but when it ran it was good. Many animals were out, and the male lion was roaring. I then made a big backtrack, picking up coffee and a cheese Danish at Creature Comforts and went to ride Dinosaur. No wait, and for some reason I really like that ride. There was a Goofy/Chip/Dale boat going past as I crossed to Asia. Next I went to Everest. No wait, but I never need to ride it again. My bag somehow came flying out of the train storage pocket and I rode half the ride trying to keep my gear from exiting the train car.
> 
> Next stop was Kali River Rapids. There was a delay for raft cleaning, but I was done and soaked (!) by about 10:40. I then did the Asian Jungle Trek followed by the African Trail, and placed a mobile lunch order for just after noon for Flame Tree. This involved another big backtrack to the far side of Discovery Island. Lunch was ribs and onion rings. It was enough for two people. Plenty of seating at the tables behind Flame Tree. I did not try for a river view.
> 
> Next was It's Tough to be a Bug! On the way over I observed a YouTube vlogger taping his evaluation of a Disney cupcake. I thought about photobombing him, but didn't. The Bug attraction also had a longer wait that I would have expected, I think it was another cleaning cycle.
> 
> Now finally time to see FOP. It was down to a 35 minute wait, and that's about what it took. It's an excellent ride! Last on the list was the Navi River ride. It listed a 40 minute wait, and it was a long line, half of it in the sun. This ride didn't wow me, but I rewarded myself for standing in the sun so long with an ice cream sundae from Dino Bites snack bar. Then it was time to head to the parking lot, and the airport.
> 
> The airport is very quiet, no TSA line at all, and my flight home had 30 passengers.



When you say "soaked" on Kali do you mean they're squirting the water again or just the splashing from the ride itself. I remember reading that people weren't getting wet anymore. 

Sounds like you had a great last day! Safe travels home.


----------



## mcomber7

I’ve read about some people ordering from the boardwalk bakery to get to HS early.  I’ve never done this, but would like to try.  So I would put in an order maybe around 8, take a Lyft over and they’d let us in with a mobile order?  Then we can walk to HS?


----------



## GBRforWDW

mcomber7 said:


> I’ve read about some people ordering from the boardwalk bakery to get to HS early.  I’ve never done this, but would like to try.  So I would put in an order maybe around 8, take a Lyft over and they’d let us in with a mobile order?  Then we can walk to HS?


Some are reporting that you can do this, or you can take the uber/lyft to the Speedway gas station and walk over and then you don't have to worry about not being let in/having to buy something.


----------



## Befferk

GBRforWDW said:


> Some are reporting that you can do this, or you can* take the uber/lyft to the Speedway gas station and walk over* and then you don't have to worry about not being let in/having to buy something.



This is exactly our plan.


----------



## vital

I guess I don't understand why you need to go through a different route instead of the main way in. We're staying at the Swan and seeing everyone coming in this way worries me that we may need to leave earlier than planned because of this. Not being snarky, just honestly don't understand the draw when the parks aren't letting people line up anyway.


----------



## GBRforWDW

vital said:


> I guess I don't understand why you need to go through a different route instead of the main way in. We're staying at the Swan and seeing everyone coming in this way worries me that we may need to leave earlier than planned because of this. Not being snarky, just honestly don't understand the draw when the parks aren't letting people line up anyway.


The swan is great as it has its own built in walking path to HS.  The problem is, everyone wants to be first in line and through discussion here have found the walkers are generally the first to get through the temp checks.  I can't imagine this is happening at alarming rates each day that would need to worry anyone since everyone's vacation is at different times and there are only so many uber/lyfts available at a time.  

For those that have used the walking paths, either through staying at crescent lake resorts or uber/lyfted over to something along the walker paths, how many people are generally lined up in the morning when temp checks open?


----------



## vital

GBRforWDW said:


> The swan is great as it has its own built in walking path to HS.  The problem is, everyone wants to be first in line and through discussion here have found the walkers are generally the first to get through the temp checks.  I can't imagine this is happening at alarming rates each day that would need to worry anyone since everyone's vacation is at different times and there are only so many uber/lyfts available at a time.
> 
> For those that have used the walking paths, either through staying at crescent lake resorts or uber/lyfted over to something along the walker paths, how many people are generally lined up in the morning when temp checks open?



We'll be staying there in December so I'm wondering if more people will go this way then. I'll keep watching and seeing if there's increasing talk of it. Are the walking paths supposed to be for resort guests only or is the rub in the parking availability?


----------



## IluvMGM

GBRforWDW said:


> The swan is great as it has its own built in walking path to HS.  The problem is, everyone wants to be first in line and through discussion here have found the walkers are generally the first to get through the temp checks.  I can't imagine this is happening at alarming rates each day that would need to worry anyone since everyone's vacation is at different times and there are only so many uber/lyfts available at a time.
> 
> For those that have used the walking paths, either through staying at crescent lake resorts or uber/lyfted over to something along the walker paths, how many people are generally lined up in the morning when temp checks open?



The skyliner beat the cars because we passed them still lined up to get in, and probably beat most of the buses. I would say when we arrived there were probably 40 or 50 people lined up ahead of us at the temp check tents. I don't know if they were all people that had walked, possibly some were from buses. But, it wasn't really a huge deal, once they start moving the lines go quickly.


----------



## vital

IluvMGM said:


> The skyliner beat the cars because we passed them still lined up to get in, and probably beat most of the buses. I would say when we arrived there were probably 40 or 50 people lined up ahead of us at the temp check tents. I don't know if they were all people that had walked, possibly some were from buses. But, it wasn't really a huge deal, once they start moving the lines go quickly.



Was everyone social distancing or crammed up together?


----------



## IluvMGM

vital said:


> Was everyone social distancing or crammed up together?



They have markers everywhere, like with the rides.


----------



## scrappinginontario

vital said:


> We'll be staying there in December so I'm wondering if more people will go this way then. I'll keep watching and seeing if there's increasing talk of it. Are the walking paths supposed to be for resort guests only or is the rub in the parking availability?


The walking paths are for anyone.  Disney guests and those not staying on Disney property.


----------



## hpa

We went to HS today.  Took a Lyft from Pop at 8:05am to the Speedway, tell the driver to pull through all the pumps and go to the back exit which is across the street from the entrance to the Boardwalk.  You have to cross the street without a crosswalk, but there is little Traffic and the sidewalk is right there.  We started walking towards the pathway about 8:05 and arrived at the first holding point at 8:15am.  There were probably 20 people there.  Around 8:45 we were able to start walking to temperature check where we waited about 15-20 min.  We were first through the tent, go to the tents on the left side, lines seem shorter there.  We arrived at the queue for MMRR about 9:10 And the cast member announced they would not be starting the ride until close to Park scheduled opening time, ugh.  We were the 10th people in line.

At 9:30, they opened the doors and we went inside.  Made it to the last holding room and waited until 9:50 to get into the loading room.  On the ride at 9:52, off at 9:58, stayed in the exit area and got BG 10  for Rise.

We had a much different experience on Tuesday.  Railroad was up and running at 9:10am, rode it, walked to SDD, waited about 15 minutes, rode, walked back to Brown Derby area at 9:55, got BG 17.


----------



## Turk February

scrappinginontario said:


> The walking paths are for anyone.  Disney guests and those not staying on Disney property.



Also don't forget we message board/super planners are a very small % of guests overall.


----------



## robinstrip

At HS. We didn't get a BG at 10, but got BG 84 at 2 PM. We got on a little after 5. AMAZING ride. Great day! Just hot. Glad we made ADRs to guarantee a seat inside. People were walking up hoping to join a list, but everywhere was full according to a manager. We mobile ordered dinner from Primo Pattia at the Riveira. It was great.


----------



## Helvetica

I had a pretty good day at Animal Kingdom. I drove, so they let me in the parking lot at 7:15 am. I was able to ride every ride, have a snack, eat lunch and walk the trails by noon. By 12:30 people started coming, so I went back to the resort. When I got back people were starting to leave, so I was able to ride some more stuff.

I’m really worried about Saturday at Epcot because last I checked all the buckets were full. If I feel uncomfortable, I’ll just go back to the resort, but who knows... Maybe I’ll be surprised.


----------



## katyringo

GBRforWDW said:


> The swan is great as it has its own built in walking path to HS.  The problem is, everyone wants to be first in line and through discussion here have found the walkers are generally the first to get through the temp checks.  I can't imagine this is happening at alarming rates each day that would need to worry anyone since everyone's vacation is at different times and there are only so many uber/lyfts available at a time.
> 
> For those that have used the walking paths, either through staying at crescent lake resorts or uber/lyfted over to something along the walker paths, how many people are generally lined up in the morning when temp checks open?


The only people who would really know this would be people on boards like this.  The other “issue” for us type A planners is we don’t like variables. The skyliner and Uber parking situations have too many variables and inconsistencies.. but I can trust my own walking legs.


----------



## mjr0483

We are planning on going Jersey Week (11/4 to 11/8). Is anyone else concerned about the pictures coming out of the parks lately? It seems one of two things, either more people are coming or they are increasing capacity. The pictures show very crowded walkways and I know camera angles can play tricks, but they look pretty crowded. More people, combined with social distancing on the lines, less capacity per ride vehicle and cleaning, the lines are getting longer and longer. Plus still very early park closing and no park hopping. I went from this is going to be great, to this is going to be a disaster. Someone please walk me off the ledge.


----------



## vital

mjr0483 said:


> We are planning on going Jersey Week (11/4 to 11/8). Is anyone else concerned about the pictures coming out of the parks lately? It seems one of two things, either more people are coming or they are increasing capacity. The pictures show very crowded walkways and I know camera angles can play tricks, but they look pretty crowded. More people, combined with social distancing on the lines, less capacity per ride vehicle and cleaning, the lines are getting longer and longer. Plus still very early park closing and no park hopping. I went from this is going to be great, to this is going to be a disaster. Someone please walk me off the ledge.



I wish I could. I'm getting concerned about our trip Dec 13-21. My husband keeps telling me it's still three months away so a lot of things can happen. We'll be celebrating 2 milestone birthdays and I just hope we can make the best of it!


----------



## RunWI1265

GBRforWDW said:


> For those that have used the walking paths, either through staying at crescent lake resorts or uber/lyfted over to something along the walker paths, how many people are generally lined up in the morning when temp checks open?



I walked from BCV to Epcot (tuesday) and HS (Wednesday) last week. I think you are asking about HS specifically. I arrived a little later than planned. Got in temp check line just after 9am. Cars were not in at this point. There was two areas for temp checks. One near the skyliner and one up a bit, off to the left. I chose the skyliner tent and was maybe the 5th or so person in line. Once the cars come in the lines build very quickly. You definitely want to get there before then.


----------



## GBRforWDW

RunWI1265 said:


> I walked from BCV to Epcot (tuesday) and HS (Wednesday) last week. I think you are asking about HS specifically. I arrived a little later than planned. Got in temp check line just after 9am. Cars were not in at this point. There was two areas for temp checks. One near the skyliner and one up a bit, off to the left. I chose the skyliner tent and was maybe the 5th or so person in line. Once the cars come in the lines build very quickly. You definitely want to get there before then.


Thanks, I was mainly trying to alleviate fears from the poster I quoted who was concerned the pathways would be crowded.  I know coming on a site like this where everyone talks about the same thing, it seems like everyone is doing it, but we’re just a small percentage of guests and very few go to the same park on the same days. Definitely helpful to get a better idea from those who’ve done it what the lines up crowds are like prior to temp check opening.


----------



## vital

GBRforWDW said:


> Thanks, I was mainly trying to alleviate fears from the poster I quoted who was concerned the pathways would be crowded.  I know coming on a site like this where everyone talks about the same thing, it seems like everyone is doing it, but we’re just a small percentage of guests and very few go to the same park on the same days. Definitely helpful to get a better idea from those who’ve done it what the lines up crowds are like prior to temp check opening.



Yes, thank both of you for explaining it to me!


----------



## brewhome

Alice Sr. said:


> Not sure this is the best place to post (and maybe it has already been reported).  Posting here as there have been many concerns about dining options.  I just received a call from San Angel Inn moving us from there for our Oct 7th dinner resv to La Hacienda.  Not our favorite but not going to turn it down.  He said San Angel will be closed Monday's - Wednesday's, but the shopping and ride would still be open.



Interesting... I tried to make one at La Hacienda in November and it was grayed out all Mon-Wed... I just looked at 10/7 and it’s grayed out for that date too. San Angel is available all Mon-Wed.  Perhaps you wrote your post backwards?


----------



## mcomber7

hpa said:


> We went to HS today.  Took a Lyft from Pop at 8:05am to the Speedway, tell the driver to pull through all the pumps and go to the back exit which is across the street from the entrance to the Boardwalk.  You have to cross the street without a crosswalk, but there is little Traffic and the sidewalk is right there.  We started walking towards the pathway about 8:05 and arrived at the first holding point at 8:15am.  There were probably 20 people there.  Around 8:45 we were able to start walking to temperature check where we waited about 15-20 min.  We were first through the tent, go to the tents on the left side, lines seem shorter there.  We arrived at the queue for MMRR about 9:10 And the cast member announced they would not be starting the ride until close to Park scheduled opening time, ugh.  We were the 10th people in line.
> 
> At 9:30, they opened the doors and we went inside.  Made it to the last holding room and waited until 9:50 to get into the loading room.  On the ride at 9:52, off at 9:58, stayed in the exit area and got BG 10  for Rise.
> 
> We had a much different experience on Tuesday.  Railroad was up and running at 9:10am, rode it, walked to SDD, waited about 15 minutes, rode, walked back to Brown Derby area at 9:55, got BG 17.


I like this idea!  So do you walk across the boardwalk parking lot to the sidewalk by the water?  I’m trying to remember the details of that area....


----------



## hpa

mcomber7 said:


> I like this idea!  So do you walk across the boardwalk parking lot to the sidewalk by the water?  I’m trying to remember the details of that area....


No, you cross the street in front of the Boardwalk entrance, get on the sidewalk that parallels Buena Vista Blvd, walk a little bit bit before there is a slight right down the hill to to path to DHS.  Turn left and you’ll go under Buena Vista Blvd., to the first checkpoint.


----------



## mcomber7

hpa said:


> No, you cross the street in front of the Boardwalk entrance, get on the sidewalk that parallels Buena Vista Blvd, walk a little bit bit before there is a slight right down the hill to to path to DHS.  Turn left and you’ll go under Buena Vista Blvd., to the first checkpoint.


Thank you!


----------



## Befferk

mcomber7 said:


> I like this idea!  So do you walk across the boardwalk parking lot to the sidewalk by the water?  I’m trying to remember the details of that area....



If you zoom into the satellite view of Google Maps you can see the walking trails along Buena Vista Blvd


----------



## RunWI1265

GBRforWDW said:


> Thanks, I was mainly trying to alleviate fears from the poster I quoted who was concerned the pathways would be crowded.  I know coming on a site like this where everyone talks about the same thing, it seems like everyone is doing it, but we’re just a small percentage of guests and very few go to the same park on the same days. Definitely helpful to get a better idea from those who’ve done it what the lines up crowds are like prior to temp check opening.


 Ah, yes. Reading back I see that now. @vital On my walk, once on the path I encountered three other parties walking in the same direction. So, not crowded at all. Two of the three groups were, however, maskless.


----------



## mcomber7

Befferk said:


> If you zoom into the satellite view of Google Maps you can see the walking trails along Buena Vista Blvd


Good idea, this will help, thank you!


----------



## katyringo

Magic bands came today! And cute luggage tags!

to Confirm : luggage service isn’t available right now, correct? We need to get our own luggage before heading to magical express.


----------



## runjulesrun

katyringo said:


> Magic bands came today! And cute luggage tags!
> 
> to Confirm : luggage service isn’t available right now, correct? We need to get our own luggage before heading to magical express.


Correct, there is no luggage service currently. You need to pick up your own luggage before heading to ME.


----------



## Akck

We were at WDW last week and before that, Houston visiting family for about 10 days. We just got a negative Covid test result as required by our state upon returning. During our stay, we visited all 4 parks, Disney Springs and ate indoors at several restaurants. IMHO, you can be safe at WDW by following the safety precautions. In general, mask compliance was good, but you did see an occasional nose sticking out or eating/drinking while moving. I was easy to be 10+ feet away from them as they passed by.  

Our flight was delayed due to a weather backup, so we were only able to get dinner at La Cantina in EP. Crowds were thin, but it was near closing. Our second day was at HS, where we got BG 45 For ROTR. To me, the crowd felt like EEM in October 2019. Ride-wise, actual wait times were less than posted, anywhere from 5-30 minutes less (I.e., MMRR posted 90 actual 60 minutes). Lunch was at Docking Bay 7, inside to take advantage of the AC and dinner at Sanaa. We were comfortable at both with the table spacing.

AK was our next park, where we went to FOP. While the line extended almost to Africa, it moved relatively fast. We opted to skip Navi, as we didn’t think a 60 minute wait was worth it. Kilimanjaro Safari was a short wait, about 5 minutes shorter than the posted time. Lunch was at Yak and Yeti and was very comfortable in the AC and table spacing. The afternoon was scheduled for DS, where we ate dinner inside at Homecomin‘. The heat was oppressive, making it difficult to do a lot of shopping, so we cut the night short. Mask compliance was good, only the occasional nose peeking out.

MK was our park for the next 2 days and most rides were a 20 minute wait or walk on. The exception being 7DMT, which had a 40 minute posted wait (35 minutes actual). Crowds were smaller here than the other parks. Meals these days were at Pecos Bill, the Wave, Skipper Canteen, Cosmic Rays and Contempo Cafe. All were indoors except the last which we ate in our room.

EP was our last park day, on a Saturday. We were able to walk on Living with the Land and a 15 minute wait for Soaring. When we left the Land Pavilion, there was a line to get in that stretched past the walkway leading to the building. Needless to say EP was the most crowded park. We ate lunch outside at Katsura Grill (not that good), and then explored the world showcase pavilions. We did take a break and rode the skyliner. We were going to ride Frozen, but the line stretched through China and we would’ve missed our reservation at Via Napoli.

Our last day was shopping at DS. Probably one of the slowest queues was getting into the parking garage. Mask compliance was good again, but some of the stores got crowded. Lunch was outside at D-Luxe Burger. We then headed back to the resort to collect our luggage and the off to the airport. We did rent a car for this trip to allow us mask breaks and no waiting for transportation to/from the parks. It allowed us almost immediate cooling relief and likely spoiled us for future trips.


----------



## HashberryOTG

We just got back a day or two ago and were there for a week. MK on a weekend was rough.  Wait times were long, but harder to judge because it stormed/rained a good portion of the time we were there.  Our other weekend day was Epcot (along with 1.5 weekdays, it's our favorite!).  Some areas were uncomfortably busy.  We left around 1 when it started getting really bad, came back around 4. Lines for F&W stuff were generally small on weekdays (except that scary 1pm range! lol), so got to try lots of food without ridiculously long waits.  AK was great, and HS was just the opposite.

We were in HS for about 3 hours before just giving up and going to Disney Springs for the rest of the day because HS was packed tight.  Even "short" line rides were 40-45 minutes. MMRR was mostly a 2+ hour wait, mostly in the sun.  Millennium also sat at over 2 hours for a  good portion of the time. There was no where to sit to snack or rest, especially if you needed to get out of the sun. Even Muppets was 45 minutes at the lowest. I watched the times throughout the evening so we could head back if they improved.  Millennium dropped to an hour for the evening, otherwise not much change for the rides we were watching.

Overall, I'd say we had a good time.  Mask compliance was great. Distancing was mostly ok.  People seemed to generally try though.  I don't mind passing someone briefly in a walkway, but some queues were uncomfortable because some just ignore the distancing, and some walkways did get very backed up. HS was a huge disappointment tho. Having to wait that long for a ride, having no place to sit, add in reduced services, no fireworks, so much closed or simply unreasonable, that day just felt bad.

I feel strongly they need to open more food options, even if it is only during peak times. As things get busier in the parks, it does feel harder to justify that kind of $ for a trip with reduced offerings.  On the other hand, you offer more things, people crowd even more.  I also wish there was SOME way to offer a limited park hopping, maybe just for the last few hours.  But that has the potential to screw over someone returning to the park.  I don't have the answers, that's for sure.  But had I realized things would pick up like this after labor day I would have scheduled things differently.


----------



## pal6860

hpa said:


> We went to HS today.  Took a Lyft from Pop at 8:05am to the Speedway, tell the driver to pull through all the pumps and go to the back exit which is across the street from the entrance to the Boardwalk.  You have to cross the street without a crosswalk, but there is little Traffic and the sidewalk is right there.  We started walking towards the pathway about 8:05 and arrived at the first holding point at 8:15am.  There were probably 20 people there.  Around 8:45 we were able to start walking to temperature check where we waited about 15-20 min.  We were first through the tent, go to the tents on the left side, lines seem shorter there.  We arrived at the queue for MMRR about 9:10 And the cast member announced they would not be starting the ride until close to Park scheduled opening time, ugh.  We were the 10th people in line.
> 
> At 9:30, they opened the doors and we went inside.  Made it to the last holding room and waited until 9:50 to get into the loading room.  On the ride at 9:52, off at 9:58, stayed in the exit area and got BG 10  for Rise.
> 
> We had a much different experience on Tuesday.  Railroad was up and running at 9:10am, rode it, walked to SDD, waited about 15 minutes, rode, walked back to Brown Derby area at 9:55, got BG 17.



I love this plan!!!  Question:  Can I do this plan with a car? 

We will be going directly to the airport that afternoon and will have already checked out of our hotel.
We are DVC and Annual Passholders.  Can we park at Boardwalk and walk over?  Or get breakfast reservations somewhere allowing us to park at the resort?

Thanks!


----------



## erinch

Yesterday, Friday 9/25 AK suddenly announced the day before they would be opening at 8 instead of 9. The family, DH who doesn’t do Fop or Everest, and 25 year old DD who had had a drink sample at EVERY Epcot booth the day before decided to come later. I got an Uber and was in AK at 9:03. Uber was great. Drop off was right at the temperature tents. I walked on to FoP and was on again with 2 rides by 9:30. At that point, I met the family and we did safari, then used the Landry card to get front of line at Yak and Yeti. None of the sit downs had any walk up availability, and people were eating lunch at 10:30. Lines weee very manageable. We did wait for Navi River, about 45 minutes. Because so much of that wait is in the blazing sun it seemed much longer. But we had never been on it! After that we left around 3. It was our second day, so we had done much the day before. If it were less hot, we would have gone back for Everest and Safari again.


----------



## yulilin3

pal6860 said:


> I love this plan!!!  Question:  Can I do this plan with a car?
> 
> We will be going directly to the airport that afternoon and will have already checked out of our hotel.
> We are annual Passholders.  Can we park at Boardwalk and walk over?  Or get breakfast reservations somewhere allowing us to park at the resort?
> 
> Thanks!


You cannot park at a resort without a dining reservation and with that,  only four 2 hours.  Disney can tow your car if it stays longer than that. 
Many people do this and haven't had a problem but just letting you know Disney can tow. 
You cannot park at the speedway either


----------



## pal6860

yulilin3 said:


> You cannot park at a resort without a dining reservation and with that,  only four 2 hours.  Disney can tow your car if it stays longer than that.
> Many people do this and haven't had a problem but just letting you know Disney can tow.
> You cannot park at the speedway either



That’s what I thought . Thx.


----------



## robinstrip

pal6860 said:


> I love this plan!!!  Question:  Can I do this plan with a car?
> 
> We will be going directly to the airport that afternoon and will have already checked out of our hotel.
> We are DVC and Annual Passholders.  Can we park at Boardwalk and walk over?  Or get breakfast reservations somewhere allowing us to park at the resort?
> 
> Thanks!


I could be wrong but I think the rule is that you can only park at the resort for 2 hrs when you have a reservation. (I don't know if they enforce it though.) Can you Uber to Speedway and just leave your car at your resort and take Disney transportation back to your resort/car when you are done?


----------



## pal6860

robinstrip said:


> I could be wrong but I think the rule is that you can only park at the resort for 2 hrs when you have a reservation. (I don't know if they enforce it though.) Can you Uber to Speedway and just leave your car at your resort and take Disney transportation back to your resort/car when you are done?



I think that will be our plan.  We’re staying at Bay Lake, so maybe we’ll just Uber it back and forth.  I wanted to park close by so we can maximize our time in the park before heading out to catch our 4pm flight.  But I’d rather exit the park a little earlier (during peak times), than arrive a little later at park opening (if that makes any sense!!).


----------



## robinstrip

mjr0483 said:


> We are planning on going Jersey Week (11/4 to 11/8). Is anyone else concerned about the pictures coming out of the parks lately? It seems one of two things, either more people are coming or they are increasing capacity. The pictures show very crowded walkways and I know camera angles can play tricks, but they look pretty crowded. More people, combined with social distancing on the lines, less capacity per ride vehicle and cleaning, the lines are getting longer and longer. Plus still very early park closing and no park hopping. I went from this is going to be great, to this is going to be a disaster. Someone please walk me off the ledge.


Honestly I was concerned before our trip this week, but we ended up having a great time. MK was great. Longest line we stood in was SDMT but it was less than posted. We knew that HS was gonna be a hurry up and wait situation. But even with that we got to ride all the rides our son was interested in and some of them twice. I would definitely walk or Uber to HS. I could be wrong, but Ubering in looked better they let you off right at the tents. The issue is I don't  know if they have a separate entrance or if they have to come in through the parking lot. We were hot and it was a little frustrating to start the morning in lines to get in and for MMRR, but otherwise we wouldn't have been able to ride it without a huge wait. I would also highly suggest ADRs personally. We wanted to eat inside out of the heat. (I know some people would prefer outside.) It was necessary to have an ADR in my opinion rather than taking a chance of maybe getting a seat inside. What concerns me is that the FL governor announced yesterday that he is removing restrictions and said the theme parks should return to normal operations. I don't know what Disney will do, but if they go back to "normal" I think a lot of people just won't come due to Covid. We had a blast but come in with expectations that it wouldn't  be like other trips. We really enjoyed a lower crowd MK, but lately we have come in the summer, so are used to crowds.


----------



## Helvetica

I’ve been pretty freaked out by the buses, but I think they’ve done a good job at Old Key West. I decided to try my luck at Epcot and got on the first bus and I was able to get to the que of Test Track at 10:15. They don’t start letting people on the ride until later, but I’m first in line.

They only allow 6 groups per bus, so I can’t imagine what it’s like for people staying at values or moderates. The buses were going constantly this morning.


----------



## footballmouse

mjr0483 said:


> We are planning on going Jersey Week (11/4 to 11/8). Is anyone else concerned about the pictures coming out of the parks lately? It seems one of two things, either more people are coming or they are increasing capacity. The pictures show very crowded walkways and I know camera angles can play tricks, but they look pretty crowded. More people, combined with social distancing on the lines, less capacity per ride vehicle and cleaning, the lines are getting longer and longer. Plus still very early park closing and no park hopping. I went from this is going to be great, to this is going to be a disaster. Someone please walk me off the ledge.



I'm right there with you. I have a long weekend planned the weekend after you're there but I'm really on the fence. I really talked this up so my son would go with me, now I feel bad. I started looking at maybe going to Washington DC instead and just stick with next September for a week long trip.


----------



## Greta

Hello DIS friends -  
Question for anyone that has been to AK lately:   Is the animation experience still happening?   The one that you take the train ride to get to and learn how to draw a Disney animal?
Thank you!

5 more days!  ️


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## erinch

They were during the class on Tuesday this past week. Looked like fun. We just took the train over a d back.


Greta said:


> Hello DIS friends -
> Question for anyone that has been to AK lately:   Is the animation experience still happening?   The one that you take the train ride to get to and learn how to draw a Disney animal?
> Thank you!
> 
> 5 more days!


----------



## Greta

erinch said:


> They were during the class on Tuesday this past week. Looked like fun. We just took the train over a d back.


Thank you!   I think our 14 year old will LOVE this experience


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## yulilin3

Greta said:


> Thank you!   I think our 14 year old will LOVE this experience


they really have upgraded this from the old animation class, I love the animal facts that goes into it as well


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## erinch

It is in the lobby, so you can watch the class! 



yulilin3 said:


> they really have upgraded this from the old animation class, I love the animal facts that goes into it as well


----------



## tussking

Thanks for all the info...

I am in South Florida. It just seems smartest for me to stay away on Saturday or Sunday? It seems to be the busiest. Epcot specifically because of Food & Wine. Need some opinions, please. I am going for two days. Either getting there tomorrow around noon checking into Marriott off-site and going to Epcot say 1-7 and MK Monday or going up Monday very early and doing MK Monday and Epcot Tuesday. Should I avoid Epcot Sunday?


----------



## Best Aunt

pal6860 said:


> We are DVC and Annual Passholders.  Can we park at Boardwalk and walk over?



When it comes to parking at a resort where you are not staying, I don't think being a DVC owner or Annual Passholder helps; I think the rules are the same as if you were not a DVC owner or Annual Passholder.  I assume someone will correct me if I am wrong.


----------



## Helvetica

tussking said:


> Thanks for all the info...
> 
> I am in South Florida. It just seems smartest for me to stay away on Saturday or Sunday? It seems to be the busiest. Epcot specifically because of Food & Wine. Need some opinions, please. I am going for two days. Either getting there tomorrow around noon checking into Marriott off-site and going to Epcot say 1-7 and MK Monday or going up Monday very early and doing MK Monday and Epcot Tuesday. Should I avoid Epcot Sunday?



There are no park passes available tomorrow for any of the parks, so unless if you have a park pass already it’s probably not a great idea. I’d do MK Monday and Epcot Tuesday.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...urchasing your ticket, Annual Pass or package.


----------



## erinch

We were at Epcot last Sunday. If you can avoid, I would. The F &W lines are all in the sun. And very long. 


tussking said:


> Thanks for all the info...
> 
> I am in South Florida. It just seems smartest for me to stay away on Saturday or Sunday? It seems to be the busiest. Epcot specifically because of Food & Wine. Need some opinions, please. I am going for two days. Either getting there tomorrow around noon checking into Marriott off-site and going to Epcot say 1-7 and MK Monday or going up Monday very early and doing MK Monday and Epcot Tuesday. Should I avoid Epcot Sunday?


----------



## Jen0107c

I’m here now... staying at boardwalk villas. Crowds are definitely higher then when I was here the first week in August. Wait times are higher today (Saturday) then on the weekdays as well.


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## tussking

I didn't even realize Sunday was not available. That changes my plan. Now it says 70% rain Mon and Tues. UGH.


----------



## jvalic33

Can anyone give me input on transportation from the Poly or Contemporary to MK?  I am trying to figure out where I should eat breakfast to get over to MK the quickest.  Is it true the monorail is not running from the POLY in which case I would have to take the boat?  Also if the monorail is running from the Contemporary, which is faster, walking to MK or hopping on the monorail?  Or boat?


----------



## djmeredith

HashberryOTG said:


> I feel strongly they need to open more food options, even if it is only during peak times. As things get busier in the parks, it does feel harder to justify that kind of $ for a trip with reduced offerings.  On the other hand, you offer more things, people crowd even more.  I also wish there was SOME way to offer a limited park hopping, maybe just for the last few hours.  But that has the potential to screw over someone returning to the park.  I don't have the answers, that's for sure.  *But had I realized things would pick up like this after labor day I would have scheduled things differently.*


Thanks for the report! We are headed down in a couple weeks and Disney has increased capacity yet again for the upcoming school fall break weeks. What specifically would you have planned differently? Did you mean postpone the trip? Any tips appreciated.


----------



## IluvMGM

jvalic33 said:


> Can anyone give me input on transportation from the Poly or Contemporary to MK?  I am trying to figure out where I should eat breakfast to get over to MK the quickest.  Is it true the monorail is not running from the POLY in which case I would have to take the boat?  Also if the monorail is running from the Contemporary, which is faster, walking to MK or hopping on the monorail?  Or boat?



We ubered to Chef Mickey's for breakfast and walked over to Magic Kingdom. The Monorail didn't start running until 8:30 they told us, so walking got us there a lot faster. We were one of the first people let inside the park.


----------



## yulilin3

jvalic33 said:


> Can anyone give me input on transportation from the Poly or Contemporary to MK?  I am trying to figure out where I should eat breakfast to get over to MK the quickest.  Is it true the monorail is not running from the POLY in which case I would have to take the boat?  Also if the monorail is running from the Contemporary, which is faster, walking to MK or hopping on the monorail?  Or boat?


Are you starting at the poly or contemporary? You cannot park and leave your car if you're just having breakfast
Walking from contempo is faster than monorail. And poly monorail service ends next week until next year


----------



## jvalic33

yulilin3 said:


> Are you starting at the poly or contemporary? You cannot park and leave your car if you're just having breakfast
> Walking from contempo is faster than monorail. And poly monorail service ends next week until next year


I could do either or, I want to cancel either Kona's breakfast or the Wave so I'm trying to decide which would be better factoring in shorter time vs. shorter walk.  I won't be there until October 10th so it sounds like the monorail will definitely be down.


----------



## vital

Jen0107c said:


> I’m here now... staying at boardwalk villas. Crowds are definitely higher then when I was here the first week in August. Wait times are higher today (Saturday) then on the weekdays as well.



What food options are there at the Boardwalk right now? I know things will change by the time we come in December, but I'm curious. Thanks!


----------



## Greta

djmeredith said:


> Thanks for the report! We are headed down in a couple weeks and Disney has increased capacity yet again for the upcoming school fall break weeks. What specifically would you have planned differently? Did you mean postpone the trip? Any tips appreciated.



Did Disney announce that they have increased capacity or is their capacity limit the same as July and there are simply more people visiting now?


----------



## Jen0107c

vital said:


> What food options are there at the Boardwalk right now? I know things will change by the time we come in December, but I'm curious. Thanks!



For food and drinks Trattoria al forno, the pizza window, boardwalk bakery, leaping horse libations, and abracada bar are all open. None of the little boardwalk stands are open yet.


----------



## yulilin3

Greta said:


> Did Disney announce that they have increased capacity or is their capacity limit the same as July and there are simply more people visiting now?


Disney won't announce numbers of any kind or when they increase


----------



## NanetteG

*Just Back Mon 21-Fri 25 Visit:   *Relaxation was the point of this visit so we didn't plan much time in the parks or restrict ourselves to too many ADRs that we would have to plan around. In fact, we would have spent all of our time at Typhoon Lagoon had it been open. We chose the YC for its small lazy river and it's proximity to the WS which is the one park we planned to visit and we planned to split that across two days. I've made some notes below from our stay which we enjoyed very much.

** Monday - *We arrived at MCO at 11:30 and was onboard our DME bus and on the road within 10 minutes of arriving at the DME station. We were spaced every other row with no one sitting across the isle from other passengers. The journey to YC took apx. 45 minutes with prior stops at a couple of other resorts. Using the MDE app (love it btw) I requested a King room noting that early room availability was our greater priority. Both requests were accommodated soon after arriving at the YC.  We had lunch reservations at B&C and then hit the pool for the afternoon.  We had 8:30 dinner reservations at The Boat House on DS and was at the YC bus stop at 7:30 with only 2 or 3 other couples on the bus with us.  DS was pretty crowded and entrance into World of Disney was monitored.  After dinner and a bit of browsing we made our way to the bus stop for the trip back to the resort.  Because of distancing we had to wait for the 3rd resort bus even though there were only 20ish people in front of us, so it took a very long time to get back to the resort.  As a result of that experience we decided to cancel our dinner reservation on DS for Wednesday evening. 
** Tuesday - * We were able to make last minute breakfast reservations at A&C after which we walked over to International Gateway.  Since there was a large crowd waiting to get into the park we decided to take a ride on the skyliner.  Again, they are limiting passengers to family groups which was not a problem on our trip away from Int'l Gateway but became an issue when we got off at The RR and had to wait our turn for the few empty gondolas coming from CBR.  Three ladies in front of us invited us to be their family and we got on the gondola together and rode back to Int'l Gateway and entered WS.  Masks are required while in the park and it was a very hot day so we only got as far as Germany when he decided to call it a day.  Many of the shops in the pavilions are still closed which we really missed.  We were able to be seated at Spice Road Table without a reservation and after a great lunch on the water we made our way back to the YC and back to the pool. 
** Wednesday - *We stayed at the resort all day Wednesday and enjoyed the pool.  There are limited food options for take out at the resort. It's either bagged sandwiches at the pool bar or bagged sandwiches from the market so we made do since we didn't want to leave the pool to change for dinner.  It was a wonderfully relaxing day.
** Thursday - *Back to WS.  We were actually in the park at about 10:30.  It was another hot day so I am glad we split the park between 2 days.  The line for Frozen was wrapped around to China when we entered the Chinese pavilion but was only half as long when we exited. We enjoyed margaritas and air conditioning inside the Mexican pavilion which is my favorite at WS.  We then headed to  Soarin' which had about a 15 minute wait and were seated with two seats between us and another couple. After Soarin' we headed to Canada for our reservation (made earlier that morning) at La Cellier.  Our ADR was at 2:10 but we were seated as soon as we arrived at 1:30.  The steaks were delicious! Most everything seemed closed at England pavilion so we did not spend much time there as we headed back to the YC and back to the pool.  
** Friday - *We had a late afternoon flight with DME scheduled to pick us up at 1:55. We were able to get a table at A&C for breakfast without an ADR after which we brought our bags down to bell services and enjoyed the pool until it was time to change for DME.  Interestingly, there was no spacing on the bus for the trip back to the airport. We had a full bus by the time we picked up the last passengers with all the rows occupied.  We were dropped off at the DME point of pick up, but it seems like they used to bring us to our airline ticketing entrance.

It was a great trip and gave us exactly what we were looking for in a vacation - relaxation.  We certainly understand the necessity for masks for safety purposes at this time (we both have to wear them all day every day), but we have made the decision to wait until masks are no longer required before we make another trip.  It was just oppressively hot wearing them in the park.  Perhaps cooler weather will make the masks more bearable.  

We always love our trips to The World!


----------



## lynch34

They have reached the tipping point. They need to open more things up.


----------



## Greta

lynch34 said:


> They have reached the tipping point. They need to open more things up.


I read that the bakery in Norway and the Fish& Chips shoppe in UK opened today.  

also saw a rumor that the egg roll cart in MK Adventure land is preparing to reopen

I think they are opening things 1 by 1 from what I’ve seen


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## Helvetica

Epcot was pretty nuts today. I was able to get a lot done in the morning, but by around 2-2:30 I started to feel unsafe. I probably should have left sooner, but that’s on me.

I guess we’ll see what the evening brings, but for now it’s back to the resort for some pool time.


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## Junebugwv

Had to have a ticket issue resolved at HS Guest Relations this afternoon.  When I mentioned that the comp ticket they were issuing would not allow me to link it to MDE, thus losing the option I had for getting 60-day Fps in the future...the CM said, "We don't know that Fast Passes will ever resume."  Of course, that was just her opinion, I HOPE.


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## djmeredith

Greta said:


> Did Disney announce that they have increased capacity or is their capacity limit the same as July and there are simply more people visiting now?


As stated above, they are not announcing increases. However, they have increased capacity for the past few weeks as evidenced by the “sold out” park pass days suddenly getting lots of availability in all parks. One blog has been tracking this closely and the increases are usually happening on Thursdays. That happened again this week. Columbus Day weekend and week were fully booked for all parks and on Friday all had more availability. In addition to these quiet increases, there are more people coming as well after the room discount and reports of low crowds lured people in. Also as stated above, Disney is going to hit a tipping point and probably on the next few weeks with the school fall break crowds (including me) coming.


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## lynch34

Junebugwv said:


> Had to have a ticket issue resolved at HS Guest Relations this afternoon.  When I mentioned that the comp ticket they were issuing would not allow me to link it to MDE, thus losing the option I had for getting 60-day Fps in the future...the CM said, "We don't know that Fast Passes will ever resume."  Of course, that was just her opinion, I HOPE.



Of course it’ll be back. Fastpass tier system allows them to properly use assets. When the park was back to 100%, some of the assets they dumped money in would be a waste.


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## erinch

I I was looking at all the people along with us for miserable waits in direct sun this week. Some of you were there, probably in the same lines, and I was thinking, we are each others’ unwanted crowds. Because of social distancing a big  problem is queues are where no one was supposed to have stand, in direct sunlight. By the time you get to the actual standby queue with fans and shade, you’ve been standing for 20 minutes to half an hour in direct sun. It is definitely like the older days before FP.


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## yulilin3

At DHS, saw the Disney society orchestra and just walked around.  The queues are long and the are queues for some of the stores even but the walkways are wide open to social distance in between


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## CJK

yulilin3 said:


> At DHS, saw the Disney society orchestra and just walked around. The queues are long and the are queues for some of the stores even but the walkways are wide open to social distance in between


So glad you got to see the Disney Society Orchestra. We never got to see them DHS, but am so sad they won't be back at the Grand.


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## Turk February

djmeredith said:


> As stated above, they are not announcing increases. However, they have increased capacity for the past few weeks as evidenced by the “sold out” park pass days suddenly getting lots of availability in all parks. One blog has been tracking this closely and the increases are usually happening on Thursdays. That happened again this week. Columbus Day weekend and week were fully booked for all parks and on Friday all had more availability. In addition to these quiet increases, there are more people coming as well after the room discount and reports of low crowds lured people in. Also as stated above, Disney is going to hit a tipping point and probably on the next few weeks with the school fall break crowds (including me) coming.



To be fair, even though I agree with you that they are quietly increasing capacity we cannot prove that they aren't "capping" passes early and then releasing more of their inventory later on to encourage people to book other parks instead of DHS.


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## DisneyNDecember

erinch said:


> I I was looking at all the people along with us for miserable waits in direct sun this week. Some of you were there, probably in the same lines, and I was thinking, we are each others’ unwanted crowds. Because of social distancing a big  problem is queues are where no one was supposed to have stand, in direct sunlight. By the time you get to the actual standby queue with fans and shade, you’ve been standing for 20 minutes to half an hour in direct sun. It is definitely like the older days before FP.



I always carry a small umbrella for this very reason.


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## yulilin3

Leaving DHS, it's very empty by SWGE and TSLand. Definitely try and stay until closing if you're ie coming


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## GBRforWDW

Not sure if I should put this here or the covid thread, but saw people here mention needing more stuff.  Big news for Hollywood Studios on October 5th

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...eriences-abound-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/


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## achang2001

jvalic33 said:


> Can anyone give me input on transportation from the Poly or Contemporary to MK?  I am trying to figure out where I should eat breakfast to get over to MK the quickest.  Is it true the monorail is not running from the POLY in which case I would have to take the boat?  Also if the monorail is running from the Contemporary, which is faster, walking to MK or hopping on the monorail?  Or boat?



From Contemporary, the walk is so close....


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## emi6891

We had a great day at HS today! After reading all the boards, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect and how it would be* very* different than our usual. We are usually ones to get at least 5-6 FP (and sometimes 10+ at MK) and not really wait in lines more than 20-30 minutes, hopping to another park if it seems too crowded. There were some noses showing and some eating in lines but I never felt unsafe. It was busy, but I wouldn't consider it crowded. There was enough room to move away from others except for when we were first walking in at rope drop. We got done everything we wanted to do and despite the heat, thought most people did well with mask and line marker compliance.

Arrived to the line for the parking lot just before 9 (official park opening 10am). Parked in line for a few minutes and then started moving right at 9am. Through temp check, security (love the walk-through scanners and hope those stay) and the tapstiles by 9:20. Headed straight to MMRR and got in line in front of the stage circling around to the left of the stage. At some point throughout the day they seemed to switch it to the right side of the stage. We got to the doors of the Chinese theater building at 9:58 and stepped aside to let others pass to get our boarding group for ROTR (#57) before walking into the building. Stepped back into line and enjoyed the ride very much. Headed next to slinky dog and in line for that at 10:24. Line was between Ariel and Walt Disney presents and was listed as 85 minutes but we were on after about an hour. Headed next to TSMM which was listed as 45 minutes at 11:35 when we got in line. The line extended down past the Joffrey’s outside of Toy Story Land but we were off TSMM by 11:58. While in line for TSMM, had mobile ordered at Pizzerizzo and headed straight there afterwards. Found the mobile order process there very efficient, better than usual. After lunch, got in line for Muppetvision at 12:45. It was listed at 35 minute wait and we were in the preshow at 1:10. Next went to Star Tours. In line at 1:30 and off at 1:50 but had been listed as a 30 minute wait. Went to MFSR next. Listed at 80 minutes but off within an hour. Heard the announcement at 2:03 that boarding groups were full for the day. Just as we were getting off MFSR at 3:00, our boarding group was called and we were in line for ROTR by 3:10. Finished just around 4 to head back to hotel for a quick swim in the pool before heading to our dinner reservations at 5:20. Hopefully our day at MK tomorrow will be great too!


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## tuckymom

Yay for some more things for kids coming back (although I do loathe the GF Orchestra is leaving).  HS seems  the least kid friendly park (and has for a long time) so glad to see more things for my toddler to do!


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## kellys3711

Are most the the shops in world showcase open  or closed ?  Heading to wdw on Friday and I’m hoping the spend some time exploring the different countries.


----------



## lmbcdb

emi6891 said:


> Arrived to the line for the parking lot just before 9 (official park opening 10am). Parked in line for a few minutes and then started moving right at 9am. Through temp check, *security (love the walk-through scanners* and hope those stay) and the tapstiles by 9:20. Headed straight to MMRR and got in line in front of the stage circling around to the left of the stage.


What are the walk through scanners?


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## yulilin3

kellys3711 said:


> Are most the the shops in world showcase open  or closed ?  Heading to wdw on Friday and I’m hoping the spend some time exploring the different countries.


I would say half are open. Go to mde filter to shops and epcot and you'll see which ones are open


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## yulilin3

lmbcdb said:


> What are the walk through scanners?


It's a new scanner that you walk through with your bags on you.  You just have to take out anything metal and hold it in front of you while you walk thru it


----------



## Apiary

It looked like they added more park passes when they increased the park hours. Which makes sense.


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## skatalite

My family has a trip coming up Friday, Nov. 27 through Sunday, Dec. 6. I'm having a great time following along with everything that's being shared, so thanks for all of the information!

The way things have been going the past few weeks -- specifically with increased capacity and the return of some food options and shows/experiences -- causes me to believe that, by the time our trip rolls around, things will be drastically different than they are now. Which also causes me to wonder how long it'll be before FastPass+ returns.


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## mmouse50

I wouldn't mind if they make some rides Fast pass only - Autopia was like that one summer when I went - saw that the line was short so was going to hop in but there was a sign stating that it was fast pass only.


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## WEDWDW

kellys3711 said:


> Are most the the shops in world showcase open  or closed ?  Heading to wdw on Friday and I’m hoping the spend some time exploring the different countries.


The current state of World Showcase reminds me somewhat of PM EMH-all Countries are open but not everything in every Country is open.

The 2 biggest shops,House of Good Fortune and Mitsukoshi,ARE open,but some smaller shops are not.

For the most "authentic" World Showcase experience I recommend Morocco and Japan-just about all of the Cast Members are from those Countries and are in the traditional attire.


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## briarwolf

mickey0624 said:


> If you are a resort guest you do not pay for parking at the parks


Not true. Just checked out of Pop and we were charged $15 per night for parking.


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## Naomeri

briarwolf said:


> Not true. Just checked out of Pop and we were charged $15 per night for parking.


That was for parking at the resort, the post you quoted was referring to parking at the parks


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## Helvetica

I had a good morning for the most part at Magic Kingdom. I used the bus, so I was able to get a lot done before the park officially opened and left by 11:30. Mobile order still kind of sucks. They screwed up my order and I was overcharged. It was only a one dollar up charge, so at least they’re getting better in that regard. Last screw up they double charged me, but that was over a year ago.


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## erinch

Right the FP lines are being used for DAS and child swap. To do social distancing with standby, they’d need a LOT of plexiglass.


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## TandDandE

Helvetica said:


> I used the bus, so I was able to get a lot done before the park officially opened and left by 11:30.



What time did you catch the bus to get in early? What time did you get into the park?

Thanks!


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## Befferk

WEDWDW said:


> The 2 biggest shops,House of Good Fortune and Mitsukoshi,ARE open,but some smaller shops are not.



At Mitsukoshi, are they doing pick-a-pearl?


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## Jakedadogg

Befferk said:


> At Mitsukoshi, are they doing pick-a-pearl?


It was mentioned earlier and they are not currently.


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## Helvetica

TandDandE said:


> What time did you catch the bus to get in early? What time did you get into the park?
> 
> Thanks!



I got picked up a little before 8 am and got into the park a little after 8:15. I wasn’t first.


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## hmkenn0

Okay I’ve read all of these threads and I’m wondering about going to Hollywood studios later in the day (maybe noon) on Tuesday October 6th. We’ve done ROTR before and love it- are people getting them at 2pm? We have a 7:35 at sci-fi and I’m not sure I want to be there from 9-9 just to get rotr.


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## GBRforWDW

hmkenn0 said:


> Okay I’ve read all of these threads and I’m wondering about going to Hollywood studios later in the day (maybe noon) on Tuesday October 6th. We’ve done ROTR before and love it- are people getting them at 2pm? We have a 7:35 at sci-fi and I’m not sure I want to be there from 9-9 just to get rotr.


We had a conversation about this a week or two ago in the rotr thread. 

https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...information-no-spoilers.3782822/post-62323458
Essentially, there’s a lot of variables at play. However,  If you’re there on A good day for the ride, you’ll probably ride with a 2pm BG. If the ride is down awhile that day, the opportunity becomes diminished.


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## hmkenn0

GBRforWDW said:


> We had a conversation about this a week or two ago in the rotr thread.
> 
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...information-no-spoilers.3782822/post-62323458
> Essentially, there’s a lot of variables at play. However,  If you’re there on A good day for the ride, you’ll probably ride with a 2pm BG. If the ride is down awhile that day, the opportunity becomes diminished.


Thanks!


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## ladyelizabeth

Hello friends! 

First off thank you all for your commentary and suggestions through this board; it was very helpful when I was planning our trip. We are now sitting in the Orlando airport (which is very, very quiet and many stores and dining places are closed) after a 4 night stay at Copper Creek. We did the parks over 5 days, with 2 days in Epcot to enjoy F&W, spending 1 day is each other park. Our resort was nice and quiet. As previously mentioned, the hotel side of WL is not open and it is just Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek that is open to guests. The pools were lovely and guests generally spread out both by virtue of the chairs situated, but also in the water. Only 1 time did we leave the hot tub when a bit too many people for my comfort level started coming in. If you are staying at WL or want to dine at Geyser Point, just a couple thoughts. We love Geyser Point and always go during our trips. The word must have gotten out and the fact that it is outdoor, has lended itself to being more popular right now. On our first night, Wednesday evening, we were hoping to grab dinner and a drink, but the wait for a table was over an hour. We ended up just ordering from the bar and eating at the tables near Roaring Forks. When you go up, there is a line with markers to order from the bar or a cast member with an iPad to take your name and phone number, then they will text you when the table is ready. Another night, since we knew the procedure now, came by a bit earlier, put our names down for a table and were seated in about 35 minutes (this was around 9:30pm and they kept the kitchen open a little late so that they could accommodate us for dinner). Mobile ordering at Roaring Forks was hit or miss. As WDW has been highly encouraging guests to use mobile order, it has inevitably had bugs with the system. One morning we could not use the app for mobile ordering and when I asked a cast member how we could order, they pointed to the sign about mobile ordering. We explained that we had tried multiple times on the app on two separate phones, repeatedly receiving an error message (v frustrating). The cast member finally took our order at the cash register. It seemed that other families were also having difficulties and waiting while for food that morning. Another time, we went to just get soft drinks from Roaring Forks and did mobile order, but it took a solid 5 minutes for our order to be "ready" which felt oddly ridiculous as we just wanted some coke zero and no food. I think the orders are not shuffled accordingly, so you have to wait for other food orders prior. 

For the parks. Our first day we went to Epcot and had a blast. Walked onto almost everything or waited no more than 15 minutes. Some of the F&W booths had longer lines, but we didn't feel the wait was extravagant, except in the France pavilion, where for reasons unknown to anyone had ONE cast member taking orders and making food. When we finally reached the front, a second cast member finally appeared. After that was smooth sailing. Our second day, we went to HS. Wait times were definitely higher, but less than the posted time. We typically waited about 45 minutes for most rides that were listed for >60 minutes. We did ride MMRR twice, which was a highlight, and by some stroke of faith, were able to get a boarding pass at 2pm and got on RoR at 4pm. Epcot our second day was as lovely as our first. When we got to Animal Kingdom on Saturday, I was starting to feel as though there were more crowds. Overall, we had a great day, but between the crowds and heat, I was starting to feel uneasy. We were in the park prior to opening and got in line for FoP (we waited 30-40 minutes). Initially the line was snaking back to the bathrooms near the Harambe theater. I expected this and knew that with the spacing in line, the standby line would appear very long (I have waited all the way back there pre-COVID), so we were not surprised. However judging by other guests with multiple exclamations of "this is ridiculous" and "how could this be" it seems that many people expected to have the parks to themselves. We left the park after doing Navi River Journey (about a 30 minute wait), Safari (about 20 minutes), and Everest (about 20 minutes). We were happy with those and after it started heating up, started back for a relaxing afternoon at the pool. 

Today we were at the Magic Kingdom and it felt very crowded. I think this had more to do with the limited shows, character M&G, and limited dining. It just seemed we were always met with a very long line and crowds of people. We did SDMT right away when we got to the park around 8:30am (via boat from WL) with only a 20 minute wait. We did some other of our favorites (haunted mansion, little mermaid, big thunder) with relatively short waits (about 20-30 minutes). But after 10:30am, the wait times continued to increase and since the queues are spaced with so many outside, we cut our day short around 12:30. This was mostly prompted by us entering the line for pirates and the time increasing to 70 minutes with much more of the queue in the hot sun. I envied the people who thought to bring umbrellas for shade! We jumped ship (pun intended) and got some dole whips. The Main Street bypass was even open and we were able to avoid Main Street on our exit (and the accompanying crowds). All the dining locations had long lines for mobile order pick-ups, so we headed to the WL and got on the walk-up list for Whispering Canyon. We waited in the lobby for about 30 minutes and were seated. It was a lovely and relaxing lunch at the end of a hot morning. 

If you asked me at the beginning of the vacation, I would have said that I had no problem with coming back to WDW during this pandemic. However, as the week continued and the parks got more crowded over this weekend, coupled with the Governor's recent announcement to move to Phase 3, I'm not planning on returning to WDW anytime soon (personal preference!). I would be okay with do a resort-only stay as the resorts do seem less crowded or only doing the parks during weekdays. Right now the parks are in an adjustment period as capacity increases, but with limited offerings. I hope this is helpful to someone!


----------



## Retroecho

So we are here now!
We are here for two weeks. One on site at Fort Wilderness tent camping (I won’t ever plan a park day while tent camping ) and one week in an offsite condo (family of 6 so nothing on-site really fits us for a decent price except the campground). We went to Hollywood studios on Friday and it was a great time. Most rides were about half the posted wait time. We did wait once for slinky (rode it twice!) and for tot/smugglers run and Mickey’s runaway. We look forward to what this week has for us! I will say the worst part was the masks with the heat. I normally go from open to close even in August heat with no issue but the mask in the heat was really hard for me. I switched to a paper mask which did help some but it was pretty miserable.


----------



## Helvetica

I did not know how much I needed to see the castle at night. 



Overall, not a bad day. I left as it was getting crowded and came back for the last 4 hours.


----------



## lelew

Helvetica said:


> I did not know how much I needed to see the castle at night.
> 
> View attachment 528469
> 
> Overall, not a bad day. I left as it was getting crowded and came back for the last 4 hours.


So pretty


----------



## Klismania

DisneyNDecember said:


> I always carry a small umbrella for this very reason.


What a great idea! I have a small purse-sized one that I could probably stick in my day bag. Thanks!


----------



## summerw

We are wrapping up our second full day of our trip.  Sorry it got long but here are the first two  days.

We flew in from LAX on American on crowded flights. I think the worst part was they apparently aren’t springing for turning on the air conditioning while at the gate. Boarding and waiting for takeoff with masks in that heat was awful. That will be the last American flight I book for a long time.
We landed at 12:15 am and didn’t get to Wilderness Lodge until  2, mostly due to picking up the rental car. Note: If you are a new Budget Fastbreak member, you can’t proceed directly to the garage until your 2nd rental. Oops. Also, the middle of the night crew is not fast and the closure of Terminal B services was a pain. Only minivans and trucks were left so we got an upgrade.

Wilderness Lodge is beautiful even at night. I’m sure the signs to guest rooms are fine normally, but for the bleary eyed entering a completely empty lobby (not a soul in sight), they took a few minutes of wandering to find the Copper Creek rooms.

We loved the studio and took a few to unpack before heading to bed. We also called down for our Instacart order and they brought it up very quickly. Instacart was a bust: they’d texted me while on the plane and substituted over a third of my order with things I didn’t really want, but when I went through it, another third was missing. Also there were items I hadn’t ordered that will go to waste.
Day 1 (Saturday) we slept until about 10 and grabbed brunch at Roaring Fork, a cheeseburger, pulled pork sandwich and chicken and waffles. Everyone enjoyed their food. DH especially enjoyed the sandwich.

After lunch we tried both pools. They weren’t crowded and we found chairs in the shade. Everyone kept their distance. The slide may not be the best on property, but we still laughed our way down several times each. It was a great way to start the trip.
We drove over to Animal Kingdom around 3 pm (closing at 6) and after some pics, we waited for Dinosaur. Wait time said 20 and would have been that, but they started a cleaning cycle when we were 3 parties from boarding. It took about 7 minutes. Then we headed for some otter viewing and a Starbucks break and then Flight of Passage. It said 50 minutes and we waited that to close the park. This is our favorite ride although they stopped the audio after a minute to tell people to put on their masks. It definitely took us out of the moment, but I’m glad they are enforcing it.

When we got back to the hotel, we stopped by the front desk to check in on the issue we’d reported earlier with the fold out couch folding upward any time DS moved at all. I had a message from housekeeping that they couldn’t duplicate the problem we were having and wanted to meet us in our room. We met the supervisor who was great and was going to try to fix it or add a mattress while we were at dinner at Geyser Point. The wait for that was 90 minutes but that’s no problem when your room is only a few steps away.

We shared the charcuterie board, cheesy brisket and bacon cheeseburger. All amazing and we finished just before 10. I had some Homer Simpson moments eating the brisket. So good. We left the charcuterie board empty too.

The supervisor called while we were there and said they couldn’t fix the couch without taking it all apart but would upgrade us to a 1 bedroom!!! We were so excited and the 1 bedroom is AMAZING!! Packing cubes for the win and even with our overpacking, we were moved in about 30 minutes. It was at the end of the hall overlooking Geyser Point and a view of the lake (pic above).
The mattresses are more comfortable than the studio’s on both beds, we love the bathroom “window,” my boys can’t get enough of the bathtub and it’s enormous. DS has already made me promise we will get a 1 bedroom here in a future year.


We got settled in and both DH and DS decided to take advantage of the tub with bubbles. They finished up and we headed to bed. Supposedly. All quiet until the tub jets switched on so we switched them off. Back to bed and 20 minutes later, there they go again. I finally called the front desk who had to call specialists in who broke into a lock for a door covering the breakers so they could switch them off until they could fix it the next day. By then it was 1:30 which was rough for our early breakfast wake up, but whatever. We love this room and the CMs been so kind and helpful through all of this. The supervisor even texted me the next day to say she was so sorry to hear about the tub trouble and ask if we needed anything. Sweetest lady.
Day 2 (Sunday) was an early day. We had breakfast planned for Ale & Compass to take advantage of the walk to HS. We ordered the eggs Benedict, apple caramel french toast and bacon blueberry pancakes. The eggs Benedict were decent. The sauce was a little bland and I’m not sure I love the roasted pork element. It was a little tough which made it hard to cut with the butter knife and chew and the charred flavor overwhelmed the rest. DH said the French toast was more raisin than apple and wasn’t enthusiastic about the dish. DS said the pancakes were good, but he ordered apple juice and between that and the side sausage which DH said was spicy, I think it was just too much for his stomach at that hour. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there again, but it was decent. The service was excellent. Our server left a pot of coffee with us and brought a pitcher of water to fill our water bottles when I asked for a cup. He also had the check ready.

Then we headed off to HS where I saw the Skyliner moving and buses going to HS and wondered if walking wouldn’t be an advantage this day. However neither was actually moving guests yet. We arrived at 8:48. I’ve included a picture of the line at that time. It was maybe 50-60 people. They held us there until 9 and then brought us to lines in front of the temperature tents on the left. At 9:03 people started arriving on the Skyliner and the line of cars in appeared. They directed Skyliner people to the still empty temp check lines on the right.

At 9:10 they started letting everyone into the temp check tents and we walked quickly through security. I’d read you should hold your water bottle and umbrella in front of you. A security guard saw me and demonstrated I should hold them as far from me as possible so they were farther from my body than the scan panels are wide. No beeps and we sailed though.

We walked quickly to MMRR and were loading at 9:21. Such a cute ride! We love the shorts and loved this. We moved quickly from there to Slinky and were in line for that by 9:36.

Fortunately, we were still about 10 groups from boarding when 10:00 came and DH counted down while DS and I tried for RoTR. I clicked through quickly assuming all our names would be checked but apparently only I got BG1. I went back and hit join again and got BG38 for DH and DS.

Since my group was already called, we headed that direction and stopped by the GET umbrella on the way. They were able to move them into my group, although before the cm with an iPad could help me, his supervisor had asked me what I needed and he was saying multiple people must have been trying on my account because there was no way one person could get through twice. I explained I got them both. He was shocked.
Here are my suggestions: use cell service instead of WiFi as long as you have good reception where you are. Josh from easywdw said to turn off the location services so I did. I do notice it slows me up other times while it takes a second to locate me so I think that helped. And I did it by staying on the home page screen and waiting to click on Join under the two AT-ATs right as my husband said it was 10 by following the time on an app that shows the seconds.

We pretty much walked through the whole ROTR line and were into the preshow quickly. On the transport section, the front and back screens were broken and still showing the planet scene so that part wasn’t as immersive. DS and I had ridden it at Disneyland but this was DH’s first time. Other things were missing or out of sync but I don’t want to give anything away by explaining. Hopefully they have it running smoothly soon.

None of these ruined anything, but I will say between it all working and the amazing CMs at Disneyland where I’ve ridden it before , when the doors opened to the scene right before you board, I actually felt nervous for a minute. I don’t think I’d ever felt more like I was living in the story of any ride than in that moment. It wasn’t not good today. It just wasn’t quite that level I’d experienced at Disneyland.
After that, we exited to the heat just being overwhelming. Hot and so sticky. It was 93 with a real feel of 101. Just ewww. We drank lots of water but DS said he was hungry. We had a lunch reservation for Brown Derby at 1:25 and it was around 11, but between lack of sleep, the heat and never knowing if you’ve forced enough water on the kid, we decided to stop to get him a kids meal from Docking Bay 7. We had to wait 15 minutes for an open time slot but we’d accomplished 3 big rides so we decided to just hunker down in the shade.
When we picked up DS’s chicken tip yip, the CM said they’d made an extra pot roast and offered it to us. I had a few bites and it was very good. DH inhaled it. I think we were all a little off so the break was nice although the a/c was so cold we were all shivering. DS orders the chicken every time we eat there in Disneyland and it was gone in seconds.

Then it was time for Savi’s. After a lot of go here and there in a hot courtyard with a little shade, we were directed inside by the poor CMs who have so much to explain and coordinate with all this social distancing. I think it took about 20-25 minutes to go through and get inside and about that agin for the rest. The ceremony was great and the CMs were wonderful about helping DS11 get everything together. When I saw another family with their 4 kids and dad doing it, I was very grateful we got off with just $400. I love Star Wars but getting a saber isn’t my thing, probably because I’m not going to spend any time whacking someone else with it. However DH and DS have already spent the evening doing that so money well spent.
Then it was time for Brown Derby (first visit). I ordered the cobb and DS got a hot dog. DH was still full but ordered a French press pot and was in heaven. Unpopular opinion: I wasn’t crazy about the cobb. It was very egg forward with tiny bits of lettuce. I prefer the tangy cheese and dressing parts so it was just ok for me. I couldn’t finish it and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a slice of the grapefruit cake down as well, which bummed me out since I’d read about it so many times. The waiter asked if we wanted dessert and I said sorry, I’m sad there’s no room for the cake because I hear it’s delicious. He asked, you’ve never had it?, and I told him no. When he reappeared he brought me a small piece they must use for celebrations! Sweet man! It was sooo good. I turned away for a second to say something to DH and DS had snatched the rest of it. Kids! We all 3 really liked it. I would definitely eat here again.
We walked back outside into the wall of liquid heat. Everything had caught up with us and we headed back to the hotel for a rest. On our way to get the car from YC, we took the Skyliner back to Epcot, which made us even more excited to move to our home resort at Riviera on Tuesday.
Well that rest turned into a nap and mutiny. Lol. No one was up for going back (even though it was open until 8 and cooler at that point) so we headed to the pool, checked out Whispering Canyon (one hour wait at 7:45) and opted for Roaring Fork. The boys got the pork sandwich and burger again and I got the tuna sandwich, which was good. They both got the campfire cupcake and loved them. I tried a bite of the cake and even though I usually favor white cake, this was really good and moist. I got the magic cookie bar. It was good but sooo sweet. I ate a few bites and imagine it will stretch over a few days.
Overall there have been a few bumps, but so much pixie dust and Disney is always worth it to me. The masks are brutal but so is the heat without them. When it’s not sweltering or we’re in a/c, I forget I’m wearing one sometimes. I’ve been favoring ones I have from Athleta and Toes on the Nose.

I’ll keep reporting while I’m here though next Sunday if people are interested.


----------



## Pyotr

summerw said:


> We are wrapping up our second full day of our trip.  Sorry it got long but here are the first two  days.
> 
> We flew in from LAX on American on crowded flights. I think the worst part was they apparently aren’t springing for turning on the air conditioning while at the gate. Boarding and waiting for takeoff with masks in that heat was awful. That will be the last American flight I book for a long time.
> We landed at 12:15 am and didn’t get to Wilderness Lodge until  2, mostly due to picking up the rental car. Note: If you are a new Budget Fastbreak member, you can’t proceed directly to the garage until your 2nd rental. Oops. Also, the middle of the night crew is not fast and the closure of Terminal B services was a pain. Only minivans and trucks were left so we got an upgrade.
> 
> Wilderness Lodge is beautiful even at night. I’m sure the signs to guest rooms are fine normally, but for the bleary eyed entering a completely empty lobby (not a soul in sight), they took a few minutes of wandering to find the Copper Creek rooms.
> 
> We loved the studio and took a few to unpack before heading to bed. We also called down for our Instacart order and they brought it up very quickly. Instacart was a bust: they’d texted me while on the plane and substituted over a third of my order with things I didn’t really want, but when I went through it, another third was missing. Also there were items I hadn’t ordered that will go to waste.
> Day 1 (Saturday) we slept until about 10 and grabbed brunch at Roaring Fork, a cheeseburger, pulled pork sandwich and chicken and waffles. Everyone enjoyed their food. DH especially enjoyed the sandwich.
> 
> After lunch we tried both pools. They weren’t crowded and we found chairs in the shade. Everyone kept their distance. The slide may not be the best on property, but we still laughed our way down several times each. It was a great way to start the trip.
> We drove over to Animal Kingdom around 3 pm (closing at 6) and after some pics, we waited for Dinosaur. Wait time said 20 and would have been that, but they started a cleaning cycle when we were 3 parties from boarding. It took about 7 minutes. Then we headed for some otter viewing and a Starbucks break and then Flight of Passage. It said 50 minutes and we waited that to close the park. This is our favorite ride although they stopped the audio after a minute to tell people to put on their masks. It definitely took us out of the moment, but I’m glad they are enforcing it.
> 
> When we got back to the hotel, we stopped by the front desk to check in on the issue we’d reported earlier with the fold out couch folding upward any time DS moved at all. I had a message from housekeeping that they couldn’t duplicate the problem we were having and wanted to meet us in our room. We met the supervisor who was great and was going to try to fix it or add a mattress while we were at dinner at Geyser Point. The wait for that was 90 minutes but that’s no problem when your room is only a few steps away.
> 
> We shared the charcuterie board, cheesy brisket and bacon cheeseburger. All amazing and we finished just before 10. I had some Homer Simpson moments eating the brisket. So good. We left the charcuterie board empty too.
> 
> The supervisor called while we were there and said they couldn’t fix the couch without taking it all apart but would upgrade us to a 1 bedroom!!! We were so excited and the 1 bedroom is AMAZING!! Packing cubes for the win and even with our overpacking, we were moved in about 30 minutes. It was at the end of the hall overlooking Geyser Point and a view of the lake (pic above).
> The mattresses are more comfortable than the studio’s on both beds, we love the bathroom “window,” my boys can’t get enough of the bathtub and it’s enormous. DS has already made me promise we will get a 1 bedroom here in a future year.
> 
> 
> We got settled in and both DH and DS decided to take advantage of the tub with bubbles. They finished up and we headed to bed. Supposedly. All quiet until the tub jets switched on so we switched them off. Back to bed and 20 minutes later, there they go again. I finally called the front desk who had to call specialists in who broke into a lock for a door covering the breakers so they could switch them off until they could fix it the next day. By then it was 1:30 which was rough for our early breakfast wake up, but whatever. We love this room and the CMs been so kind and helpful through all of this. The supervisor even texted me the next day to say she was so sorry to hear about the tub trouble and ask if we needed anything. Sweetest lady.
> Day 2 (Sunday) was an early day. We had breakfast planned for Ale & Compass to take advantage of the walk to HS. We ordered the eggs Benedict, apple caramel french toast and bacon blueberry pancakes. The eggs Benedict were decent. The sauce was a little bland and I’m not sure I love the roasted pork element. It was a little tough which made it hard to cut with the butter knife and chew and the charred flavor overwhelmed the rest. DH said the French toast was more raisin than apple and wasn’t enthusiastic about the dish. DS said the pancakes were good, but he ordered apple juice and between that and the side sausage which DH said was spicy, I think it was just too much for his stomach at that hour. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there again, but it was decent. The service was excellent. Our server left a pot of coffee with us and brought a pitcher of water to fill our water bottles when I asked for a cup. He also had the check ready.
> 
> Then we headed off to HS where I saw the Skyliner moving and buses going to HS and wondered if walking wouldn’t be an advantage this day. However neither was actually moving guests yet. We arrived at 8:48. I’ve included a picture of the line at that time. It was maybe 50-60 people. They held us there until 9 and then brought us to lines in front of the temperature tents on the left. At 9:03 people started arriving on the Skyliner and the line of cars in appeared. They directed Skyliner people to the still empty temp check lines on the right.
> 
> At 9:10 they started letting everyone into the temp check tents and we walked quickly through security. I’d read you should hold your water bottle and umbrella in front of you. A security guard saw me and demonstrated I should hold them as far from me as possible so they were farther from my body than the scan panels are wide. No beeps and we sailed though.
> 
> We walked quickly to MMRR and were loading at 9:21. Such a cute ride! We love the shorts and loved this. We moved quickly from there to Slinky and were in line for that by 9:36.
> 
> Fortunately, we were still about 10 groups from boarding when 10:00 came and DH counted down while DS and I tried for RoTR. I clicked through quickly assuming all our names would be checked but apparently only I got BG1. I went back and hit join again and got BG38 for DH and DS.
> 
> Since my group was already called, we headed that direction and stopped by the GET umbrella on the way. They were able to move them into my group, although before the cm with an iPad could help me, his supervisor had asked me what I needed and he was saying multiple people must have been trying on my account because there was no way one person could get through twice. I explained I got them both. He was shocked.
> Here are my suggestions: use cell service instead of WiFi as long as you have good reception where you are. Josh from easywdw said to turn off the location services so I did. I do notice it slows me up other times while it takes a second to locate me so I think that helped. And I did it by staying on the home page screen and waiting to click on Join under the two AT-ATs right as my husband said it was 10 by following the time on an app that shows the seconds.
> 
> We pretty much walked through the whole ROTR line and were into the preshow quickly. On the transport section, the front and back screens were broken and still showing the planet scene so that part wasn’t as immersive. DS and I had ridden it at Disneyland but this was DH’s first time. Other things were missing or out of sync but I don’t want to give anything away by explaining. Hopefully they have it running smoothly soon.
> 
> None of these ruined anything, but I will say between it all working and the amazing CMs at Disneyland where I’ve ridden it before , when the doors opened to the scene right before you board, I actually felt nervous for a minute. I don’t think I’d ever felt more like I was living in the story of any ride than in that moment. It wasn’t not good today. It just wasn’t quite that level I’d experienced at Disneyland.
> After that, we exited to the heat just being overwhelming. Hot and so sticky. It was 93 with a real feel of 101. Just ewww. We drank lots of water but DS said he was hungry. We had a lunch reservation for Brown Derby at 1:25 and it was around 11, but between lack of sleep, the heat and never knowing if you’ve forced enough water on the kid, we decided to stop to get him a kids meal from Docking Bay 7. We had to wait 15 minutes for an open time slot but we’d accomplished 3 big rides so we decided to just hunker down in the shade.
> When we picked up DS’s chicken tip yip, the CM said they’d made an extra pot roast and offered it to us. I had a few bites and it was very good. DH inhaled it. I think we were all a little off so the break was nice although the a/c was so cold we were all shivering. DS orders the chicken every time we eat there in Disneyland and it was gone in seconds.
> 
> Then it was time for Savi’s. After a lot of go here and there in a hot courtyard with a little shade, we were directed inside by the poor CMs who have so much to explain and coordinate with all this social distancing. I think it took about 20-25 minutes to go through and get inside and about that agin for the rest. The ceremony was great and the CMs were wonderful about helping DS11 get everything together. When I saw another family with their 4 kids and dad doing it, I was very grateful we got off with just $400. I love Star Wars but getting a saber isn’t my thing, probably because I’m not going to spend any time whacking someone else with it. However DH and DS have already spent the evening doing that so money well spent.
> Then it was time for Brown Derby (first visit). I ordered the cobb and DS got a hot dog. DH was still full but ordered a French press pot and was in heaven. Unpopular opinion: I wasn’t crazy about the cobb. It was very egg forward with tiny bits of lettuce. I prefer the tangy cheese and dressing parts so it was just ok for me. I couldn’t finish it and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a slice of the grapefruit cake down as well, which bummed me out since I’d read about it so many times. The waiter asked if we wanted dessert and I said sorry, I’m sad there’s no room for the cake because I hear it’s delicious. He asked, you’ve never had it?, and I told him no. When he reappeared he brought me a small piece they must use for celebrations! Sweet man! It was sooo good. I turned away for a second to say something to DH and DS had snatched the rest of it. Kids! We all 3 really liked it. I would definitely eat here again.
> We walked back outside into the wall of liquid heat. Everything had caught up with us and we headed back to the hotel for a rest. On our way to get the car from YC, we took the Skyliner back to Epcot, which made us even more excited to move to our home resort at Riviera on Tuesday.
> Well that rest turned into a nap and mutiny. Lol. No one was up for going back (even though it was open until 8 and cooler at that point) so we headed to the pool, checked out Whispering Canyon (one hour wait at 7:45) and opted for Roaring Fork. The boys got the pork sandwich and burger again and I got the tuna sandwich, which was good. They both got the campfire cupcake and loved them. I tried a bite of the cake and even though I usually favor white cake, this was really good and moist. I got the magic cookie bar. It was good but sooo sweet. I ate a few bites and imagine it will stretch over a few days.
> Overall there have been a few bumps, but so much pixie dust and Disney is always worth it to me. The masks are brutal but so is the heat without them. When it’s not sweltering or we’re in a/c, I forget I’m wearing one sometimes. I’ve been favoring ones I have from Athleta and Toes on the Nose.
> 
> I’ll keep reporting while I’m here though next Sunday if people are interested.
> 
> View attachment 528496
> 
> View attachment 528495
> 
> View attachment 528497




Sounds like you are having a great time!

Just curious on the tub. Once the water drains, it runs a loud cleaning cycle that lasts a couple minutes. Could this be what you experienced?


----------



## Alice Sr.

brewhome said:


> Interesting... I tried to make one at La Hacienda in November and it was grayed out all Mon-Wed... I just looked at 10/7 and it’s grayed out for that date too. San Angel is available all Mon-Wed.  Perhaps you wrote your post backwards?


Lol, nope it's correct.  I wish it weren't as I looked at the menu and am not thrilled.  Good luck


----------



## Carol_

We just got back. HS was packed with long waits, MK was better than usual, and AK crowds were good but the offerings were so slimmed down as to be barely worth it. I still waited 40 min to get on FOP but having never obtained a FP before, I figured this was my only chance to ride it. I hated the movie but the ride was great.
MCO is much busier than it was in June. (June was spooky empty.)


----------



## AKVFamily

ladyelizabeth said:


> Hello friends!
> 
> First off thank you all for your commentary and suggestions through this board; it was very helpful when I was planning our trip. We are now sitting in the Orlando airport (which is very, very quiet and many stores and dining places are closed) after a 4 night stay at Copper Creek. We did the parks over 5 days, with 2 days in Epcot to enjoy F&W, spending 1 day is each other park. Our resort was nice and quiet. As previously mentioned, the hotel side of WL is not open and it is just Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek that is open to guests. The pools were lovely and guests generally spread out both by virtue of the chairs situated, but also in the water. Only 1 time did we leave the hot tub when a bit too many people for my comfort level started coming in. If you are staying at WL or want to dine at Geyser Point, just a couple thoughts. We love Geyser Point and always go during our trips. The word must have gotten out and the fact that it is outdoor, has lended itself to being more popular right now. On our first night, Wednesday evening, we were hoping to grab dinner and a drink, but the wait for a table was over an hour. We ended up just ordering from the bar and eating at the tables near Roaring Forks. When you go up, there is a line with markers to order from the bar or a cast member with an iPad to take your name and phone number, then they will text you when the table is ready. Another night, since we knew the procedure now, came by a bit earlier, put our names down for a table and were seated in about 35 minutes (this was around 9:30pm and they kept the kitchen open a little late so that they could accommodate us for dinner). Mobile ordering at Roaring Forks was hit or miss. As WDW has been highly encouraging guests to use mobile order, it has inevitably had bugs with the system. One morning we could not use the app for mobile ordering and when I asked a cast member how we could order, they pointed to the sign about mobile ordering. We explained that we had tried multiple times on the app on two separate phones, repeatedly receiving an error message (v frustrating). The cast member finally took our order at the cash register. It seemed that other families were also having difficulties and waiting while for food that morning. Another time, we went to just get soft drinks from Roaring Forks and did mobile order, but it took a solid 5 minutes for our order to be "ready" which felt oddly ridiculous as we just wanted some coke zero and no food. I think the orders are not shuffled accordingly, so you have to wait for other food orders prior.
> 
> For the parks. Our first day we went to Epcot and had a blast. Walked onto almost everything or waited no more than 15 minutes. Some of the F&W booths had longer lines, but we didn't feel the wait was extravagant, except in the France pavilion, where for reasons unknown to anyone had ONE cast member taking orders and making food. When we finally reached the front, a second cast member finally appeared. After that was smooth sailing. Our second day, we went to HS. Wait times were definitely higher, but less than the posted time. We typically waited about 45 minutes for most rides that were listed for >60 minutes. We did ride MMRR twice, which was a highlight, and by some stroke of faith, were able to get a boarding pass at 2pm and got on RoR at 4pm. Epcot our second day was as lovely as our first. When we got to Animal Kingdom on Saturday, I was starting to feel as though there were more crowds. Overall, we had a great day, but between the crowds and heat, I was starting to feel uneasy. We were in the park prior to opening and got in line for FoP (we waited 30-40 minutes). Initially the line was snaking back to the bathrooms near the Harambe theater. I expected this and knew that with the spacing in line, the standby line would appear very long (I have waited all the way back there pre-COVID), so we were not surprised. However judging by other guests with multiple exclamations of "this is ridiculous" and "how could this be" it seems that many people expected to have the parks to themselves. We left the park after doing Navi River Journey (about a 30 minute wait), Safari (about 20 minutes), and Everest (about 20 minutes). We were happy with those and after it started heating up, started back for a relaxing afternoon at the pool.
> 
> Today we were at the Magic Kingdom and it felt very crowded. I think this had more to do with the limited shows, character M&G, and limited dining. It just seemed we were always met with a very long line and crowds of people. We did SDMT right away when we got to the park around 8:30am (via boat from WL) with only a 20 minute wait. We did some other of our favorites (haunted mansion, little mermaid, big thunder) with relatively short waits (about 20-30 minutes). But after 10:30am, the wait times continued to increase and since the queues are spaced with so many outside, we cut our day short around 12:30. This was mostly prompted by us entering the line for pirates and the time increasing to 70 minutes with much more of the queue in the hot sun. I envied the people who thought to bring umbrellas for shade! We jumped ship (pun intended) and got some dole whips. The Main Street bypass was even open and we were able to avoid Main Street on our exit (and the accompanying crowds). All the dining locations had long lines for mobile order pick-ups, so we headed to the WL and got on the walk-up list for Whispering Canyon. We waited in the lobby for about 30 minutes and were seated. It was a lovely and relaxing lunch at the end of a hot morning.
> 
> If you asked me at the beginning of the vacation, I would have said that I had no problem with coming back to WDW during this pandemic. However, as the week continued and the parks got more crowded over this weekend, coupled with the Governor's recent announcement to move to Phase 3, I'm not planning on returning to WDW anytime soon (personal preference!). I would be okay with do a resort-only stay as the resorts do seem less crowded or only doing the parks during weekdays. Right now the parks are in an adjustment period as capacity increases, but with limited offerings. I hope this is helpful to someone!


Any interesting activities/hidden gems these days for a WL stay?  And how often does the MK ferry run?


----------



## AKVFamily

summerw said:


> We are wrapping up our second full day of our trip.  Sorry it got long but here are the first two  days.
> 
> We flew in from LAX on American on crowded flights. I think the worst part was they apparently aren’t springing for turning on the air conditioning while at the gate. Boarding and waiting for takeoff with masks in that heat was awful. That will be the last American flight I book for a long time.
> We landed at 12:15 am and didn’t get to Wilderness Lodge until  2, mostly due to picking up the rental car. Note: If you are a new Budget Fastbreak member, you can’t proceed directly to the garage until your 2nd rental. Oops. Also, the middle of the night crew is not fast and the closure of Terminal B services was a pain. Only minivans and trucks were left so we got an upgrade.
> 
> Wilderness Lodge is beautiful even at night. I’m sure the signs to guest rooms are fine normally, but for the bleary eyed entering a completely empty lobby (not a soul in sight), they took a few minutes of wandering to find the Copper Creek rooms.
> 
> We loved the studio and took a few to unpack before heading to bed. We also called down for our Instacart order and they brought it up very quickly. Instacart was a bust: they’d texted me while on the plane and substituted over a third of my order with things I didn’t really want, but when I went through it, another third was missing. Also there were items I hadn’t ordered that will go to waste.
> Day 1 (Saturday) we slept until about 10 and grabbed brunch at Roaring Fork, a cheeseburger, pulled pork sandwich and chicken and waffles. Everyone enjoyed their food. DH especially enjoyed the sandwich.
> 
> After lunch we tried both pools. They weren’t crowded and we found chairs in the shade. Everyone kept their distance. The slide may not be the best on property, but we still laughed our way down several times each. It was a great way to start the trip.
> We drove over to Animal Kingdom around 3 pm (closing at 6) and after some pics, we waited for Dinosaur. Wait time said 20 and would have been that, but they started a cleaning cycle when we were 3 parties from boarding. It took about 7 minutes. Then we headed for some otter viewing and a Starbucks break and then Flight of Passage. It said 50 minutes and we waited that to close the park. This is our favorite ride although they stopped the audio after a minute to tell people to put on their masks. It definitely took us out of the moment, but I’m glad they are enforcing it.
> 
> When we got back to the hotel, we stopped by the front desk to check in on the issue we’d reported earlier with the fold out couch folding upward any time DS moved at all. I had a message from housekeeping that they couldn’t duplicate the problem we were having and wanted to meet us in our room. We met the supervisor who was great and was going to try to fix it or add a mattress while we were at dinner at Geyser Point. The wait for that was 90 minutes but that’s no problem when your room is only a few steps away.
> 
> We shared the charcuterie board, cheesy brisket and bacon cheeseburger. All amazing and we finished just before 10. I had some Homer Simpson moments eating the brisket. So good. We left the charcuterie board empty too.
> 
> The supervisor called while we were there and said they couldn’t fix the couch without taking it all apart but would upgrade us to a 1 bedroom!!! We were so excited and the 1 bedroom is AMAZING!! Packing cubes for the win and even with our overpacking, we were moved in about 30 minutes. It was at the end of the hall overlooking Geyser Point and a view of the lake (pic above).
> The mattresses are more comfortable than the studio’s on both beds, we love the bathroom “window,” my boys can’t get enough of the bathtub and it’s enormous. DS has already made me promise we will get a 1 bedroom here in a future year.
> 
> 
> We got settled in and both DH and DS decided to take advantage of the tub with bubbles. They finished up and we headed to bed. Supposedly. All quiet until the tub jets switched on so we switched them off. Back to bed and 20 minutes later, there they go again. I finally called the front desk who had to call specialists in who broke into a lock for a door covering the breakers so they could switch them off until they could fix it the next day. By then it was 1:30 which was rough for our early breakfast wake up, but whatever. We love this room and the CMs been so kind and helpful through all of this. The supervisor even texted me the next day to say she was so sorry to hear about the tub trouble and ask if we needed anything. Sweetest lady.
> Day 2 (Sunday) was an early day. We had breakfast planned for Ale & Compass to take advantage of the walk to HS. We ordered the eggs Benedict, apple caramel french toast and bacon blueberry pancakes. The eggs Benedict were decent. The sauce was a little bland and I’m not sure I love the roasted pork element. It was a little tough which made it hard to cut with the butter knife and chew and the charred flavor overwhelmed the rest. DH said the French toast was more raisin than apple and wasn’t enthusiastic about the dish. DS said the pancakes were good, but he ordered apple juice and between that and the side sausage which DH said was spicy, I think it was just too much for his stomach at that hour. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there again, but it was decent. The service was excellent. Our server left a pot of coffee with us and brought a pitcher of water to fill our water bottles when I asked for a cup. He also had the check ready.
> 
> Then we headed off to HS where I saw the Skyliner moving and buses going to HS and wondered if walking wouldn’t be an advantage this day. However neither was actually moving guests yet. We arrived at 8:48. I’ve included a picture of the line at that time. It was maybe 50-60 people. They held us there until 9 and then brought us to lines in front of the temperature tents on the left. At 9:03 people started arriving on the Skyliner and the line of cars in appeared. They directed Skyliner people to the still empty temp check lines on the right.
> 
> At 9:10 they started letting everyone into the temp check tents and we walked quickly through security. I’d read you should hold your water bottle and umbrella in front of you. A security guard saw me and demonstrated I should hold them as far from me as possible so they were farther from my body than the scan panels are wide. No beeps and we sailed though.
> 
> We walked quickly to MMRR and were loading at 9:21. Such a cute ride! We love the shorts and loved this. We moved quickly from there to Slinky and were in line for that by 9:36.
> 
> Fortunately, we were still about 10 groups from boarding when 10:00 came and DH counted down while DS and I tried for RoTR. I clicked through quickly assuming all our names would be checked but apparently only I got BG1. I went back and hit join again and got BG38 for DH and DS.
> 
> Since my group was already called, we headed that direction and stopped by the GET umbrella on the way. They were able to move them into my group, although before the cm with an iPad could help me, his supervisor had asked me what I needed and he was saying multiple people must have been trying on my account because there was no way one person could get through twice. I explained I got them both. He was shocked.
> Here are my suggestions: use cell service instead of WiFi as long as you have good reception where you are. Josh from easywdw said to turn off the location services so I did. I do notice it slows me up other times while it takes a second to locate me so I think that helped. And I did it by staying on the home page screen and waiting to click on Join under the two AT-ATs right as my husband said it was 10 by following the time on an app that shows the seconds.
> 
> We pretty much walked through the whole ROTR line and were into the preshow quickly. On the transport section, the front and back screens were broken and still showing the planet scene so that part wasn’t as immersive. DS and I had ridden it at Disneyland but this was DH’s first time. Other things were missing or out of sync but I don’t want to give anything away by explaining. Hopefully they have it running smoothly soon.
> 
> None of these ruined anything, but I will say between it all working and the amazing CMs at Disneyland where I’ve ridden it before , when the doors opened to the scene right before you board, I actually felt nervous for a minute. I don’t think I’d ever felt more like I was living in the story of any ride than in that moment. It wasn’t not good today. It just wasn’t quite that level I’d experienced at Disneyland.
> After that, we exited to the heat just being overwhelming. Hot and so sticky. It was 93 with a real feel of 101. Just ewww. We drank lots of water but DS said he was hungry. We had a lunch reservation for Brown Derby at 1:25 and it was around 11, but between lack of sleep, the heat and never knowing if you’ve forced enough water on the kid, we decided to stop to get him a kids meal from Docking Bay 7. We had to wait 15 minutes for an open time slot but we’d accomplished 3 big rides so we decided to just hunker down in the shade.
> When we picked up DS’s chicken tip yip, the CM said they’d made an extra pot roast and offered it to us. I had a few bites and it was very good. DH inhaled it. I think we were all a little off so the break was nice although the a/c was so cold we were all shivering. DS orders the chicken every time we eat there in Disneyland and it was gone in seconds.
> 
> Then it was time for Savi’s. After a lot of go here and there in a hot courtyard with a little shade, we were directed inside by the poor CMs who have so much to explain and coordinate with all this social distancing. I think it took about 20-25 minutes to go through and get inside and about that agin for the rest. The ceremony was great and the CMs were wonderful about helping DS11 get everything together. When I saw another family with their 4 kids and dad doing it, I was very grateful we got off with just $400. I love Star Wars but getting a saber isn’t my thing, probably because I’m not going to spend any time whacking someone else with it. However DH and DS have already spent the evening doing that so money well spent.
> Then it was time for Brown Derby (first visit). I ordered the cobb and DS got a hot dog. DH was still full but ordered a French press pot and was in heaven. Unpopular opinion: I wasn’t crazy about the cobb. It was very egg forward with tiny bits of lettuce. I prefer the tangy cheese and dressing parts so it was just ok for me. I couldn’t finish it and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a slice of the grapefruit cake down as well, which bummed me out since I’d read about it so many times. The waiter asked if we wanted dessert and I said sorry, I’m sad there’s no room for the cake because I hear it’s delicious. He asked, you’ve never had it?, and I told him no. When he reappeared he brought me a small piece they must use for celebrations! Sweet man! It was sooo good. I turned away for a second to say something to DH and DS had snatched the rest of it. Kids! We all 3 really liked it. I would definitely eat here again.
> We walked back outside into the wall of liquid heat. Everything had caught up with us and we headed back to the hotel for a rest. On our way to get the car from YC, we took the Skyliner back to Epcot, which made us even more excited to move to our home resort at Riviera on Tuesday.
> Well that rest turned into a nap and mutiny. Lol. No one was up for going back (even though it was open until 8 and cooler at that point) so we headed to the pool, checked out Whispering Canyon (one hour wait at 7:45) and opted for Roaring Fork. The boys got the pork sandwich and burger again and I got the tuna sandwich, which was good. They both got the campfire cupcake and loved them. I tried a bite of the cake and even though I usually favor white cake, this was really good and moist. I got the magic cookie bar. It was good but sooo sweet. I ate a few bites and imagine it will stretch over a few days.
> Overall there have been a few bumps, but so much pixie dust and Disney is always worth it to me. The masks are brutal but so is the heat without them. When it’s not sweltering or we’re in a/c, I forget I’m wearing one sometimes. I’ve been favoring ones I have from Athleta and Toes on the Nose.
> 
> I’ll keep reporting while I’m here though next Sunday if people are interested.
> 
> View attachment 528496
> 
> View attachment 528495
> 
> View attachment 528497


Interested whether you plan to drive to the parks or take the buses/ferry from WL?


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## dachsie

summerw said:


> We are wrapping up our second full day of our trip.  Sorry it got long but here are the first two  days.
> 
> We flew in from LAX on American on crowded flights. I think the worst part was they apparently aren’t springing for turning on the air conditioning while at the gate. Boarding and waiting for takeoff with masks in that heat was awful. That will be the last American flight I book for a long time.
> We landed at 12:15 am and didn’t get to Wilderness Lodge until  2, mostly due to picking up the rental car. Note: If you are a new Budget Fastbreak member, you can’t proceed directly to the garage until your 2nd rental. Oops. Also, the middle of the night crew is not fast and the closure of Terminal B services was a pain. Only minivans and trucks were left so we got an upgrade.
> 
> Wilderness Lodge is beautiful even at night. I’m sure the signs to guest rooms are fine normally, but for the bleary eyed entering a completely empty lobby (not a soul in sight), they took a few minutes of wandering to find the Copper Creek rooms.
> 
> We loved the studio and took a few to unpack before heading to bed. We also called down for our Instacart order and they brought it up very quickly. Instacart was a bust: they’d texted me while on the plane and substituted over a third of my order with things I didn’t really want, but when I went through it, another third was missing. Also there were items I hadn’t ordered that will go to waste.
> Day 1 (Saturday) we slept until about 10 and grabbed brunch at Roaring Fork, a cheeseburger, pulled pork sandwich and chicken and waffles. Everyone enjoyed their food. DH especially enjoyed the sandwich.
> 
> After lunch we tried both pools. They weren’t crowded and we found chairs in the shade. Everyone kept their distance. The slide may not be the best on property, but we still laughed our way down several times each. It was a great way to start the trip.
> We drove over to Animal Kingdom around 3 pm (closing at 6) and after some pics, we waited for Dinosaur. Wait time said 20 and would have been that, but they started a cleaning cycle when we were 3 parties from boarding. It took about 7 minutes. Then we headed for some otter viewing and a Starbucks break and then Flight of Passage. It said 50 minutes and we waited that to close the park. This is our favorite ride although they stopped the audio after a minute to tell people to put on their masks. It definitely took us out of the moment, but I’m glad they are enforcing it.
> 
> When we got back to the hotel, we stopped by the front desk to check in on the issue we’d reported earlier with the fold out couch folding upward any time DS moved at all. I had a message from housekeeping that they couldn’t duplicate the problem we were having and wanted to meet us in our room. We met the supervisor who was great and was going to try to fix it or add a mattress while we were at dinner at Geyser Point. The wait for that was 90 minutes but that’s no problem when your room is only a few steps away.
> 
> We shared the charcuterie board, cheesy brisket and bacon cheeseburger. All amazing and we finished just before 10. I had some Homer Simpson moments eating the brisket. So good. We left the charcuterie board empty too.
> 
> The supervisor called while we were there and said they couldn’t fix the couch without taking it all apart but would upgrade us to a 1 bedroom!!! We were so excited and the 1 bedroom is AMAZING!! Packing cubes for the win and even with our overpacking, we were moved in about 30 minutes. It was at the end of the hall overlooking Geyser Point and a view of the lake (pic above).
> The mattresses are more comfortable than the studio’s on both beds, we love the bathroom “window,” my boys can’t get enough of the bathtub and it’s enormous. DS has already made me promise we will get a 1 bedroom here in a future year.
> 
> 
> We got settled in and both DH and DS decided to take advantage of the tub with bubbles. They finished up and we headed to bed. Supposedly. All quiet until the tub jets switched on so we switched them off. Back to bed and 20 minutes later, there they go again. I finally called the front desk who had to call specialists in who broke into a lock for a door covering the breakers so they could switch them off until they could fix it the next day. By then it was 1:30 which was rough for our early breakfast wake up, but whatever. We love this room and the CMs been so kind and helpful through all of this. The supervisor even texted me the next day to say she was so sorry to hear about the tub trouble and ask if we needed anything. Sweetest lady.
> Day 2 (Sunday) was an early day. We had breakfast planned for Ale & Compass to take advantage of the walk to HS. We ordered the eggs Benedict, apple caramel french toast and bacon blueberry pancakes. The eggs Benedict were decent. The sauce was a little bland and I’m not sure I love the roasted pork element. It was a little tough which made it hard to cut with the butter knife and chew and the charred flavor overwhelmed the rest. DH said the French toast was more raisin than apple and wasn’t enthusiastic about the dish. DS said the pancakes were good, but he ordered apple juice and between that and the side sausage which DH said was spicy, I think it was just too much for his stomach at that hour. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there again, but it was decent. The service was excellent. Our server left a pot of coffee with us and brought a pitcher of water to fill our water bottles when I asked for a cup. He also had the check ready.
> 
> Then we headed off to HS where I saw the Skyliner moving and buses going to HS and wondered if walking wouldn’t be an advantage this day. However neither was actually moving guests yet. We arrived at 8:48. I’ve included a picture of the line at that time. It was maybe 50-60 people. They held us there until 9 and then brought us to lines in front of the temperature tents on the left. At 9:03 people started arriving on the Skyliner and the line of cars in appeared. They directed Skyliner people to the still empty temp check lines on the right.
> 
> At 9:10 they started letting everyone into the temp check tents and we walked quickly through security. I’d read you should hold your water bottle and umbrella in front of you. A security guard saw me and demonstrated I should hold them as far from me as possible so they were farther from my body than the scan panels are wide. No beeps and we sailed though.
> 
> We walked quickly to MMRR and were loading at 9:21. Such a cute ride! We love the shorts and loved this. We moved quickly from there to Slinky and were in line for that by 9:36.
> 
> Fortunately, we were still about 10 groups from boarding when 10:00 came and DH counted down while DS and I tried for RoTR. I clicked through quickly assuming all our names would be checked but apparently only I got BG1. I went back and hit join again and got BG38 for DH and DS.
> 
> Since my group was already called, we headed that direction and stopped by the GET umbrella on the way. They were able to move them into my group, although before the cm with an iPad could help me, his supervisor had asked me what I needed and he was saying multiple people must have been trying on my account because there was no way one person could get through twice. I explained I got them both. He was shocked.
> Here are my suggestions: use cell service instead of WiFi as long as you have good reception where you are. Josh from easywdw said to turn off the location services so I did. I do notice it slows me up other times while it takes a second to locate me so I think that helped. And I did it by staying on the home page screen and waiting to click on Join under the two AT-ATs right as my husband said it was 10 by following the time on an app that shows the seconds.
> 
> We pretty much walked through the whole ROTR line and were into the preshow quickly. On the transport section, the front and back screens were broken and still showing the planet scene so that part wasn’t as immersive. DS and I had ridden it at Disneyland but this was DH’s first time. Other things were missing or out of sync but I don’t want to give anything away by explaining. Hopefully they have it running smoothly soon.
> 
> None of these ruined anything, but I will say between it all working and the amazing CMs at Disneyland where I’ve ridden it before , when the doors opened to the scene right before you board, I actually felt nervous for a minute. I don’t think I’d ever felt more like I was living in the story of any ride than in that moment. It wasn’t not good today. It just wasn’t quite that level I’d experienced at Disneyland.
> After that, we exited to the heat just being overwhelming. Hot and so sticky. It was 93 with a real feel of 101. Just ewww. We drank lots of water but DS said he was hungry. We had a lunch reservation for Brown Derby at 1:25 and it was around 11, but between lack of sleep, the heat and never knowing if you’ve forced enough water on the kid, we decided to stop to get him a kids meal from Docking Bay 7. We had to wait 15 minutes for an open time slot but we’d accomplished 3 big rides so we decided to just hunker down in the shade.
> When we picked up DS’s chicken tip yip, the CM said they’d made an extra pot roast and offered it to us. I had a few bites and it was very good. DH inhaled it. I think we were all a little off so the break was nice although the a/c was so cold we were all shivering. DS orders the chicken every time we eat there in Disneyland and it was gone in seconds.
> 
> Then it was time for Savi’s. After a lot of go here and there in a hot courtyard with a little shade, we were directed inside by the poor CMs who have so much to explain and coordinate with all this social distancing. I think it took about 20-25 minutes to go through and get inside and about that agin for the rest. The ceremony was great and the CMs were wonderful about helping DS11 get everything together. When I saw another family with their 4 kids and dad doing it, I was very grateful we got off with just $400. I love Star Wars but getting a saber isn’t my thing, probably because I’m not going to spend any time whacking someone else with it. However DH and DS have already spent the evening doing that so money well spent.
> Then it was time for Brown Derby (first visit). I ordered the cobb and DS got a hot dog. DH was still full but ordered a French press pot and was in heaven. Unpopular opinion: I wasn’t crazy about the cobb. It was very egg forward with tiny bits of lettuce. I prefer the tangy cheese and dressing parts so it was just ok for me. I couldn’t finish it and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a slice of the grapefruit cake down as well, which bummed me out since I’d read about it so many times. The waiter asked if we wanted dessert and I said sorry, I’m sad there’s no room for the cake because I hear it’s delicious. He asked, you’ve never had it?, and I told him no. When he reappeared he brought me a small piece they must use for celebrations! Sweet man! It was sooo good. I turned away for a second to say something to DH and DS had snatched the rest of it. Kids! We all 3 really liked it. I would definitely eat here again.
> We walked back outside into the wall of liquid heat. Everything had caught up with us and we headed back to the hotel for a rest. On our way to get the car from YC, we took the Skyliner back to Epcot, which made us even more excited to move to our home resort at Riviera on Tuesday.
> Well that rest turned into a nap and mutiny. Lol. No one was up for going back (even though it was open until 8 and cooler at that point) so we headed to the pool, checked out Whispering Canyon (one hour wait at 7:45) and opted for Roaring Fork. The boys got the pork sandwich and burger again and I got the tuna sandwich, which was good. They both got the campfire cupcake and loved them. I tried a bite of the cake and even though I usually favor white cake, this was really good and moist. I got the magic cookie bar. It was good but sooo sweet. I ate a few bites and imagine it will stretch over a few days.
> Overall there have been a few bumps, but so much pixie dust and Disney is always worth it to me. The masks are brutal but so is the heat without them. When it’s not sweltering or we’re in a/c, I forget I’m wearing one sometimes. I’ve been favoring ones I have from Athleta and Toes on the Nose.
> 
> I’ll keep reporting while I’m here though next Sunday if people are interested.
> 
> View attachment 528496
> 
> View attachment 528495
> 
> View attachment 528497


Great report and would love to hear more!


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## twodogs

anyone there today??  I will be trying from Texas for a BG for our friends who are there.  I sure hope someone gets it!!!


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## twodogs

I was on 4 phones here in Texas, they were on 3 phones there (2 wifi, 1 cell).  I got BG 8 with one of the phones here on Wifi!  Mission Accomplished!!!


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## twodogs

And their group just got called!  I have to share on here because no one else understands how exciting this is, even though I am 1000 miles from WDW right now!!  Thanks for indulging me!


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## Nanceliz319

I thought you had to be in the park to get a boarding group. This is good news.


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## unbanshee

Nanceliz319 said:


> I thought you had to be in the park to get a boarding group. This is good news.



You have to be in the park to be qualified for a Boarding Group. Anyone on your friends/family list is able to get a boarding group for you anywhere in the world


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## twodogs

I logged into their MDE account from my house, and I got a BG for them, not for me!  You can only get a BG if you are scanned into DHS.


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## yulilin3

The process of getting a bg is explained in great detail in the sub forum,  lets keep this thread on just back reports


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## Khobbs18

Does anyone still just just take the bus to HS? My FIL has a scooter and we have 3 littles that need carseats so an Uber isn't really an option for us. I was hoping getting to the bus stop by 8AM for a 10AM opening would get us there between 930-945...


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## mickeyfanachey1999

GBRforWDW said:


> Not sure if I should put this here or the covid thread, but saw people here mention needing more stuff.  Big news for Hollywood Studios on October 5th
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...eriences-abound-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/



Monday October 5th is our DHS day.  That makes me happy.  Especially since I am dreading the lines at DHS.


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## Walt4ever

Just back from a 3 day stay.  Almost want to call it "the one where we experienced transportation". 

The difference in the overall lightening of the mood was palpable over the weekend with the announcement that Florida was OPEN.  Parks were busy with Saturday being at capacity, Sunday very close to it.  We stayed off site, but nearby.  Friday was Epcot and Disney Springs.  We got in early, and since Epcot doesn't open until 11, we started the day at Springs, grabbed Starbucks, then took a bus to Polynesian as we wanted to get something from the gift shop there.  Ended up staying a bit longer for a brunch at Captain Cook's.  It's one of our favorite resort quick service locations.  Took a bus from there to Epcot.  Focused just on the front as we had planned Saturday as our eat around the world day, then took bus to Contemporary where we again looked thru gift shops before taking another bus to Springs where we meandered around for a few hours.

Saturday again parked at Springs, took bus to Poly, went back to gift shop as I wanted an Orange Bird fan I had seen at Contemporary.  Contemporary had it on display, but none in stock.  Yet another bus to HS so that we could ride the gondolas to the back entrance of Epcot.  Ate around the world, dining exclusively at festival booths.  Only hit about a third of them.  Planning to do the ones we missed on our next trip.  Back to the gondolas, this time stopping at Riviera.  Wanted to check it out.  Personal opinion - rather blah.  This turned out to be a mistake as there was a long line of folks waiting to go to Springs.  It would have been a full bus load in normal times.  We were on the 3rd bus, but easily could have had to wait for the 4th.  First bus driver took the common sense approach.  The buses are divided into typically 6 sections.  One group per section.  Some of the sections have 4 seats on one side and 4 seats on the other.  Bus driver asked first to make sure the people didn't mind, but he put 2 small groups into the same section, on opposite sides.  So they were still distanced from each other, but didn't have an overabundance of empty seats.  Based on everyone's comments in line, we all would have happily rode together.  2nd bus was much more by the book.  One group of 4, he only had a section with 3 seats for.  Dad stormed off and said he didn't want to go to Springs anyway.

Sunday was MK, but again started off parking at Springs, then bus to Poly as I wanted the tiki sipper.  Unfortunately, resort monorail was down.  Hoped to do the trifecta of bus-gondolas-monorail, but that was not to be.  They had buses running the "monorail route".  It was cool still as after the stop at Grand Floridian, it took a right and went all the way around the back of MK.  You can't see much, but there was a glimpse of the back of the big top tents.  The bus temp check line was also very much shorter than the front.  We only really went to MK that day to get the Haunted Mansion sipper and donut holder (got the popcorn one last fall).  They are doing all of the Mickey's Not So Scary stuff all throughout the day, which was really cool.  We got to see a couple of the mini-parades while we were there.  Exited and walked to Contemporary to catch bus back to Springs.   That location made it easy to get gas on our way off property for our drive home.

Parking at Springs each day was really an unusual tactic for us this trip.  We are AP holders, so we get free parking at the parks anyway.  We weren't trying to avoid paying.  But what we did is really the only way to get to some of the resorts, which ended up being a bigger part of this trip than normal.  They ask at the parking gate if you have park reservations, so trying to get to Poly by car would have been cumbersome.

For anyone interested in masks - Friday I actually saw a few CMs noses.  Not many, and they were brief, but there they were.  Saturday and Sunday, a few more occasional CM faces - when they were far away from people and trying to escape the heat like everyone else.  By far, you will see the most faces at Epcot.  Mostly following the rules of being stationary, but we also saw several walking about drinking or talking and holding masks in hands.  CMs did say something if they were moving, and there was a CM in the area.  We were behind one maskless family that walked from Test Track and entered into the building with the Epcot Experience video, without anything being said to them.  The areas around all the festival booths are lined with folks enjoying the food and refreshments.  The steps across the walkway from the saki place in Japan were covered with people sitting and enjoying their saki, etc., laughing and having a good time.  If this bothers you, be warned, as you will see a lot more faces throughout Orlando and Florida in general now.  One of the gas stations we usually stop at in Lake City - masks on workers Thursday night, bright smiling faces on workers Sunday afternoon.  Florida is OPEN.  Disney will most likely be the last one to loosen things up, but you WILL see faces around town.

Edited to add - the line for Frozen at Epcot was INSANE Saturday.  The end of the line was in China, back at the store entrance.


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## mcomber7

summerw said:


> We are wrapping up our second full day of our trip.  Sorry it got long but here are the first two  days.
> 
> We flew in from LAX on American on crowded flights. I think the worst part was they apparently aren’t springing for turning on the air conditioning while at the gate. Boarding and waiting for takeoff with masks in that heat was awful. That will be the last American flight I book for a long time.
> We landed at 12:15 am and didn’t get to Wilderness Lodge until  2, mostly due to picking up the rental car. Note: If you are a new Budget Fastbreak member, you can’t proceed directly to the garage until your 2nd rental. Oops. Also, the middle of the night crew is not fast and the closure of Terminal B services was a pain. Only minivans and trucks were left so we got an upgrade.
> 
> Wilderness Lodge is beautiful even at night. I’m sure the signs to guest rooms are fine normally, but for the bleary eyed entering a completely empty lobby (not a soul in sight), they took a few minutes of wandering to find the Copper Creek rooms.
> 
> We loved the studio and took a few to unpack before heading to bed. We also called down for our Instacart order and they brought it up very quickly. Instacart was a bust: they’d texted me while on the plane and substituted over a third of my order with things I didn’t really want, but when I went through it, another third was missing. Also there were items I hadn’t ordered that will go to waste.
> Day 1 (Saturday) we slept until about 10 and grabbed brunch at Roaring Fork, a cheeseburger, pulled pork sandwich and chicken and waffles. Everyone enjoyed their food. DH especially enjoyed the sandwich.
> 
> After lunch we tried both pools. They weren’t crowded and we found chairs in the shade. Everyone kept their distance. The slide may not be the best on property, but we still laughed our way down several times each. It was a great way to start the trip.
> We drove over to Animal Kingdom around 3 pm (closing at 6) and after some pics, we waited for Dinosaur. Wait time said 20 and would have been that, but they started a cleaning cycle when we were 3 parties from boarding. It took about 7 minutes. Then we headed for some otter viewing and a Starbucks break and then Flight of Passage. It said 50 minutes and we waited that to close the park. This is our favorite ride although they stopped the audio after a minute to tell people to put on their masks. It definitely took us out of the moment, but I’m glad they are enforcing it.
> 
> When we got back to the hotel, we stopped by the front desk to check in on the issue we’d reported earlier with the fold out couch folding upward any time DS moved at all. I had a message from housekeeping that they couldn’t duplicate the problem we were having and wanted to meet us in our room. We met the supervisor who was great and was going to try to fix it or add a mattress while we were at dinner at Geyser Point. The wait for that was 90 minutes but that’s no problem when your room is only a few steps away.
> 
> We shared the charcuterie board, cheesy brisket and bacon cheeseburger. All amazing and we finished just before 10. I had some Homer Simpson moments eating the brisket. So good. We left the charcuterie board empty too.
> 
> The supervisor called while we were there and said they couldn’t fix the couch without taking it all apart but would upgrade us to a 1 bedroom!!! We were so excited and the 1 bedroom is AMAZING!! Packing cubes for the win and even with our overpacking, we were moved in about 30 minutes. It was at the end of the hall overlooking Geyser Point and a view of the lake (pic above).
> The mattresses are more comfortable than the studio’s on both beds, we love the bathroom “window,” my boys can’t get enough of the bathtub and it’s enormous. DS has already made me promise we will get a 1 bedroom here in a future year.
> 
> 
> We got settled in and both DH and DS decided to take advantage of the tub with bubbles. They finished up and we headed to bed. Supposedly. All quiet until the tub jets switched on so we switched them off. Back to bed and 20 minutes later, there they go again. I finally called the front desk who had to call specialists in who broke into a lock for a door covering the breakers so they could switch them off until they could fix it the next day. By then it was 1:30 which was rough for our early breakfast wake up, but whatever. We love this room and the CMs been so kind and helpful through all of this. The supervisor even texted me the next day to say she was so sorry to hear about the tub trouble and ask if we needed anything. Sweetest lady.
> Day 2 (Sunday) was an early day. We had breakfast planned for Ale & Compass to take advantage of the walk to HS. We ordered the eggs Benedict, apple caramel french toast and bacon blueberry pancakes. The eggs Benedict were decent. The sauce was a little bland and I’m not sure I love the roasted pork element. It was a little tough which made it hard to cut with the butter knife and chew and the charred flavor overwhelmed the rest. DH said the French toast was more raisin than apple and wasn’t enthusiastic about the dish. DS said the pancakes were good, but he ordered apple juice and between that and the side sausage which DH said was spicy, I think it was just too much for his stomach at that hour. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there again, but it was decent. The service was excellent. Our server left a pot of coffee with us and brought a pitcher of water to fill our water bottles when I asked for a cup. He also had the check ready.
> 
> Then we headed off to HS where I saw the Skyliner moving and buses going to HS and wondered if walking wouldn’t be an advantage this day. However neither was actually moving guests yet. We arrived at 8:48. I’ve included a picture of the line at that time. It was maybe 50-60 people. They held us there until 9 and then brought us to lines in front of the temperature tents on the left. At 9:03 people started arriving on the Skyliner and the line of cars in appeared. They directed Skyliner people to the still empty temp check lines on the right.
> 
> At 9:10 they started letting everyone into the temp check tents and we walked quickly through security. I’d read you should hold your water bottle and umbrella in front of you. A security guard saw me and demonstrated I should hold them as far from me as possible so they were farther from my body than the scan panels are wide. No beeps and we sailed though.
> 
> We walked quickly to MMRR and were loading at 9:21. Such a cute ride! We love the shorts and loved this. We moved quickly from there to Slinky and were in line for that by 9:36.
> 
> Fortunately, we were still about 10 groups from boarding when 10:00 came and DH counted down while DS and I tried for RoTR. I clicked through quickly assuming all our names would be checked but apparently only I got BG1. I went back and hit join again and got BG38 for DH and DS.
> 
> Since my group was already called, we headed that direction and stopped by the GET umbrella on the way. They were able to move them into my group, although before the cm with an iPad could help me, his supervisor had asked me what I needed and he was saying multiple people must have been trying on my account because there was no way one person could get through twice. I explained I got them both. He was shocked.
> Here are my suggestions: use cell service instead of WiFi as long as you have good reception where you are. Josh from easywdw said to turn off the location services so I did. I do notice it slows me up other times while it takes a second to locate me so I think that helped. And I did it by staying on the home page screen and waiting to click on Join under the two AT-ATs right as my husband said it was 10 by following the time on an app that shows the seconds.
> 
> We pretty much walked through the whole ROTR line and were into the preshow quickly. On the transport section, the front and back screens were broken and still showing the planet scene so that part wasn’t as immersive. DS and I had ridden it at Disneyland but this was DH’s first time. Other things were missing or out of sync but I don’t want to give anything away by explaining. Hopefully they have it running smoothly soon.
> 
> None of these ruined anything, but I will say between it all working and the amazing CMs at Disneyland where I’ve ridden it before , when the doors opened to the scene right before you board, I actually felt nervous for a minute. I don’t think I’d ever felt more like I was living in the story of any ride than in that moment. It wasn’t not good today. It just wasn’t quite that level I’d experienced at Disneyland.
> After that, we exited to the heat just being overwhelming. Hot and so sticky. It was 93 with a real feel of 101. Just ewww. We drank lots of water but DS said he was hungry. We had a lunch reservation for Brown Derby at 1:25 and it was around 11, but between lack of sleep, the heat and never knowing if you’ve forced enough water on the kid, we decided to stop to get him a kids meal from Docking Bay 7. We had to wait 15 minutes for an open time slot but we’d accomplished 3 big rides so we decided to just hunker down in the shade.
> When we picked up DS’s chicken tip yip, the CM said they’d made an extra pot roast and offered it to us. I had a few bites and it was very good. DH inhaled it. I think we were all a little off so the break was nice although the a/c was so cold we were all shivering. DS orders the chicken every time we eat there in Disneyland and it was gone in seconds.
> 
> Then it was time for Savi’s. After a lot of go here and there in a hot courtyard with a little shade, we were directed inside by the poor CMs who have so much to explain and coordinate with all this social distancing. I think it took about 20-25 minutes to go through and get inside and about that agin for the rest. The ceremony was great and the CMs were wonderful about helping DS11 get everything together. When I saw another family with their 4 kids and dad doing it, I was very grateful we got off with just $400. I love Star Wars but getting a saber isn’t my thing, probably because I’m not going to spend any time whacking someone else with it. However DH and DS have already spent the evening doing that so money well spent.
> Then it was time for Brown Derby (first visit). I ordered the cobb and DS got a hot dog. DH was still full but ordered a French press pot and was in heaven. Unpopular opinion: I wasn’t crazy about the cobb. It was very egg forward with tiny bits of lettuce. I prefer the tangy cheese and dressing parts so it was just ok for me. I couldn’t finish it and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a slice of the grapefruit cake down as well, which bummed me out since I’d read about it so many times. The waiter asked if we wanted dessert and I said sorry, I’m sad there’s no room for the cake because I hear it’s delicious. He asked, you’ve never had it?, and I told him no. When he reappeared he brought me a small piece they must use for celebrations! Sweet man! It was sooo good. I turned away for a second to say something to DH and DS had snatched the rest of it. Kids! We all 3 really liked it. I would definitely eat here again.
> We walked back outside into the wall of liquid heat. Everything had caught up with us and we headed back to the hotel for a rest. On our way to get the car from YC, we took the Skyliner back to Epcot, which made us even more excited to move to our home resort at Riviera on Tuesday.
> Well that rest turned into a nap and mutiny. Lol. No one was up for going back (even though it was open until 8 and cooler at that point) so we headed to the pool, checked out Whispering Canyon (one hour wait at 7:45) and opted for Roaring Fork. The boys got the pork sandwich and burger again and I got the tuna sandwich, which was good. They both got the campfire cupcake and loved them. I tried a bite of the cake and even though I usually favor white cake, this was really good and moist. I got the magic cookie bar. It was good but sooo sweet. I ate a few bites and imagine it will stretch over a few days.
> Overall there have been a few bumps, but so much pixie dust and Disney is always worth it to me. The masks are brutal but so is the heat without them. When it’s not sweltering or we’re in a/c, I forget I’m wearing one sometimes. I’ve been favoring ones I have from Athleta and Toes on the Nose.
> 
> I’ll keep reporting while I’m here though next Sunday if people are interested.
> 
> View attachment 528496
> 
> View attachment 528495
> 
> View attachment 528497


Great report!  Where is the locator permission that you turned off on you phone?  Is it in the Disney app?


----------



## IluvMGM

Khobbs18 said:


> Does anyone still just just take the bus to HS? My FIL has a scooter and we have 3 littles that need carseats so an Uber isn't really an option for us. I was hoping getting to the bus stop by 8AM for a 10AM opening would get us there between 930-945...


 A lot of people are staying at the skyliner resorts, so no bus option. We ubered to the Contemporary for breakfast and took a bus to Epcot from there. We were super early, so saw the first bunch of buses arrive for HS. They were one right after the other, as we experienced taking the buses to AK and MK from POP. So, I am guessing most of the resorts are like that.


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## Khobbs18

IluvMGM said:


> A lot of people are staying at the skyliner resorts, so no bus option. We ubered to the Contemporary for breakfast and took a bus to Epcot from there. We were super early, so saw the first bunch of buses arrive for HS. They were one right after the other, as we experienced taking the buses to AK and MK from POP. So, I am guessing most of the resorts are like that.


Thanks! We are staying at BLT so we will walk over to CR for busses. Kind of nervous because their bus line doesn't break out into specific lines for each park but hopefully we just get there much earlier than most or they have a CM there conducting people traffic.


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## IluvMGM

Khobbs18 said:


> Thanks! We are staying at BLT so we will walk over to CR for busses. Kind of nervous because their bus line doesn't break out into specific lines for each park but hopefully we just get there much earlier than most or they have a CM there conducting people traffic.



Yeah, it's very awkward, we weren't sure where we were supposed to stand to wait for the bus. There were 2 people there that you checked in with and they wrote down who was going where and in what order. So, we just sat and waited on a bench. They remembered we were the first ones waiting for Epcot and we got on first.


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## BK2014

DW and I were at MK this morning.  We are local so we drove.  We arrived at the MK tollbooth right at 8:00am, just as the car that were lined up on the right side of the road were starting to get in line at the tollbooth.  We waited about 15 minutes at the tollbooth before they started letting us through.  It appeared that some cars were let through right at 8:00am, but then they stopped letting car through - but I couldn't see for sure.

We go into MK a little after 8:30am and were on and off Buzz Lightyear by 8:50am.  We then did Dumbo, the Little Mermaid Ride, Peter Pan, and Phillharmagic.  The longest waits was Peter Pan, which was posted at 15 minutes took right around 15 minutes.  We were done with all that by around 10:35.

Then we watched a couple of cavalcades as we waited for our 11:15 ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern.  The food  at LTT was good, but I am not sure it was worth the price.  With only two of us, we definitely did not care to eat more than they brought us the first time.  But we did enjoy the food.  We were seated inside the Diamond Horseshoe, a venue we had never been inside of before.

It was definitely more crowded than our other post-covid trips.  The area between Phillharmagic and Momento Mori's really felt crowded, but part of that is because some of the queue lines were taking up outdoor space.   Mask compliance was good, but notably less than on other trips. 

Only saw one adult without a mask on at all.  Unfortunately, that person was DW.  It was an honest mistake. DW loves the characters.  When were were eating lunch, she heard another cavalcade.  In her excitement she ran out of the restaurant to see it, and simply forgot her mask.  She didn't realize it until someone mentioned it to her, and she felt bad about forgetting her mask.

After lunch, we were full and hot and decided it was time to head home.  I love going to the parks, but I think visits with masks on have diminishing returns.  The mask in the heat was more bearable at first, due to the excitement of being back after WDW was closed.  But with each subsequent trip the mask becomes harder to bear -  at least for me.  But then again, going to the parks usually means I am walking 10,000 steps, instead of my normal 2,500 as I sit down all day at work.  This is not a commentary on the mask policy, just my own observations about what it is like having to wear the masks in the parks.


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## GBRforWDW

IluvMGM said:


> Yeah, it's very awkward, we weren't sure where we were supposed to stand to wait for the bus. There were 2 people there that you checked in with and they wrote down who was going where and in what order. So, we just sat and waited on a bench. They remembered we were the first ones waiting for Epcot and we got on first.


I'm glad they're taking names at the bus stop and getting people in the order they arrived.  When I was at CBR a couple years ago, it was always a scramble to get on the bus in the order you arrived.  some people were good about making sure the ones that came before them got on, but others weren't aware of any of their surroundings.


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## brockash

GBRforWDW said:


> I'm glad they're taking names at the bus stop and getting people in the order they arrived.  When I was at CBR a couple years ago, it was always a scramble to get on the bus in the order you arrived.  some people were good about making sure the ones that came before them got on, but others weren't aware of any of their surroundings.


I don't think this is the norm.  We just returned from a 10 day trip at Poly and there was NEVER a CM at the bus stop or anyone taking names...there were times it got pretty confusing and awkward


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## maryj11

GBRforWDW said:


> We had a conversation about this a week or two ago in the rotr thread.
> 
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...information-no-spoilers.3782822/post-62323458
> Essentially, there’s a lot of variables at play. However,  If you’re there on A good day for the ride, you’ll probably ride with a 2pm BG. If the ride is down awhile that day, the opportunity becomes diminished.


If we get a boarding group at 10:00 are we allowed to try for another one at 2:00?


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## yulilin3

maryj11 said:


> If we get a boarding group at 10:00 are we allowed to try for another one at 2:00?


no


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## erinch

We were in MK today, Monday Sept 28. Very manageable in morning. We ate at Cindys at 11:40, will give review in restaurant forum. Much more crowded in afternoon, and a torrential downpour. Saw a Simging in the Rain cavalcade, which was really fun.


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## Best Aunt

mcomber7 said:


> Great report!  Where is the locator permission that you turned off on you phone?  Is it in the Disney app?



If you are asking how to turn off Location Services on an iPhone:
Settings.  Privacy.  Location Services is near the top.


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## brewhome

Alice Sr. said:


> Lol, nope it's correct.  I wish it weren't as I looked at the menu and am not thrilled.  Good luck



We got one for Rose & Crown instead... not sure if we are going to keep it, depends on if the F&W Festival is still going on.  If it is we will just eat our way around the booths all day.


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## tink2424

Went to HS today, Sept 28th.  Drove our rental car & was waiting at the toll booth by 8:50am.  Waited about 10 minutes to be let in  to park.  We parked & walked in with barely a wait but there were tons of people.  
We headed to Slinky Dog first since I had read that getting a boarding group in Toy Story Land tends to have better odds & we had never been.  I feel it was a good choice as after we rode Slinky we scored BG 14!!  Whooo Hooo!

We then did Toy Story Mania & then to ROTR.  The ride was better than I expected.  I had steered clear of most of the spoilers so I was pleasantly surprised by some of the ride.  It was very good & if you have the chance, definitely ride.

It was then time for lunch which was quick service for us & it was just ok.  We had Rosie’s & I had plan our meal time ahead & hit the prepare my meal on the way.  So that worked well & we found a table pretty easily.

then ride TOT which was a long over hour wait, mostly in the sun. Then to MMRR which also was just over an hour, mostly in the sun. We lucked out in that it had just started to rain when we got to the theatre entrance. It is a really fun ride that I wish was a little longer in length & I wish they had us in each room a little longer to see more.
It was pouring when we came out but we pulled out our umbrellas & walked over to the backlot express for an early dinner.  Hard to find a table but we did that was a little bit misty from rain but we ate our food just fine.  Again the meal was just ok.  I wish they would do better with the meals at Disney.

we finally then went to MFSR and I wasn’t impressed.  That is probably a 1 & done for me.  Got a little sick with the motion simulation And the controls are super sensitive so hard to maneuver.

at this point it was still raining so we went back to ride MMRR one more time.  Only took 40 minutes standing mostly out in the rain but it is a cute ride.  Rain had stopped on our way out.  We could have gotten in 1 more ride but we were tired.

the day was VERY HOT!! It was 86 & felt like 96 with the humidity. Masks make this feel so much worse. I have lung sensitivity from having had COVID and I’m still having issues back at my room. I’m happy we have a break & will not be in a park again until Wednesday. Masks are fine until it is very hot & very humid. After the rain it was easier but I can’t wait for this mandate to be over.

overall the lines for every ride were ridiculously long. They need to increase capacity on the rides like load every row. It can’t continue like this. 
These are my observations from being there today.


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## lmbcdb

What’s the elevator ride like for Haunted Mansion? (I guess my question is, what are they doing for social distancing?)


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## Nightshiftplanner

We are just back from a long weekend trip. MK on Friday, AK on Sat. HS on Sunday. We were staying at CBR. My thoughts:
-loved skyliner, totally bummed it was closed for lightning on our return from HS on Sunday.
-loved not being jam packed on to buses.
-We rode basically everything and some things twice.
-CM were very strict about people taking off masks for pictures in front of the castle but on the contrary I observed numerous times someone entering a line carrying beers and squeezing past everyone to "catch up" with their party deep into the line. I didn't feel this should be allowed, due to them passing by everyone in tight quarters and also carrying drinks that should really only be consumed while stationary. I saw this happen at least 7-8 times in 3 days.
-getting a boarding group for ROR was beyond nerve wracking and I hate to even say this but I think my kids liked MFSR just as much as ROR, if not more!
-this was my first time riding FOP, we rode it twice and I literally could have rode it 10 more times, that's how much I liked it.
-I had brought disney gift cards to do mobile order but I discovered that the app will not allow you to use a gift card for the order unless you are depleting the balance...in other words, what I was purchasing needed to cost more than what was on the gift card and then I would use my credit card for the rest. The one day mobile ordering was down and it was chaos!


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## Nightshiftplanner

lmbcdb said:


> What’s the elevator ride like for Haunted Mansion? (I guess my question is, what are they doing for social distancing?)


When we rode, they put one large family (6 people I think) across the whole back row and my whole family (5 of us) across the front row.


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## becks59

My dh, 4 kids (9, 7, almost 3, and 5mo) and I I were at magic kingdom today. We ended up leaving the hotel (offsite) later than expected and didn’t get into the park until about 9:45. The good thing though was that when we entered Main Street the cadaver Dans were singing and we essential walked beside them as they sang all the way to the castle!  That was pretty awesome! 

We started off with the carousel with about a ten minute wait. Then headed to do barnstormer with another 10 min wait the first time and ride it twice due to rider swap. Then ended up on Tomorrowland speedway with about a 15min wait. and again used rider swap.  We tried to meet up with some family but the timing didn’t work out well and we wandered the parks a bit. We saw the Jack Skelington cavalcade and my daughter loved that Jack told her happy Halloween. Then we  had a very refreshing citrus swirl which is one of my favorite treats. The kids and my dh explored the treehouse while I fed the baby. They are all decided that they like tarzans treehouse at DL much better. 

After this we took the monorail to capt cooks for lunch. This was a much needed break from the humidity and heat and masks. The kids were a bit disappointed that we had only done three rides all morning. I was frustrated about this too.  Not what we were wanting our trip to be like. 

After lunch we felt reinvigorated and were finally able to meet up with family. My bro in law doesn’t like crazy or fast roller coasters so he watched the 2 youngest while they slept in the stroller and the rest of us went in space mountain. It was posted at 60min and we waited about 70min. Afterwards I realized I forgot to ask about rider swap to the first cm, so when I exited the ride I asked about doing it and they okayed it!  So my dh took our boys on it again while I fed the baby and entertained the youngest. We said bye to family too. It was now about 5pm and we had only done 4 different rides. Luckily we were able to squeeze in pirates and then we split up for the older ones and dh to do splash and I took the younger ones on magic carpets. 

The day ended better than it started, but it was still quite a disappointing day when we normally do about 15 rides/shows a day compared to 6 today. My boys mentioned on the way to the hotel that they thought Disney world would be funnier than this. They liked it, but it was not what they were expecting. We usually go to DL and use max pass to its full potential so this was hard for them (and me). We are hoping Epcot goes better tomorrow and are planning to have the morning go more smoothly to get there early.


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## brockash

Nightshiftplanner said:


> We are just back from a long weekend trip. MK on Friday, AK on Sat. HS on Sunday. We were staying at CBR. My thoughts:
> -loved skyliner, totally bummed it was closed for lightning on our return from HS on Sunday.
> -loved not being jam packed on to buses.
> -We rode basically everything and some things twice.
> -CM were very strict about people taking off masks for pictures in front of the castle but on the contrary I observed numerous times someone entering a line carrying beers and squeezing past everyone to "catch up" with their party deep into the line. I didn't feel this should be allowed, due to them passing by everyone in tight quarters and also carrying drinks that should really only be consumed while stationary. I saw this happen at least 7-8 times in 3 days.
> -getting a boarding group for ROR was beyond nerve wracking and I hate to even say this but I think my kids liked MFSR just as much as ROR, if not more!
> -this was my first time riding FOP, we rode it twice and I literally could have rode it 10 more times, that's how much I liked it.
> -I had brought disney gift cards to do mobile order but I discovered that the app will not allow you to use a gift card for the order unless you are depleting the balance...in other words, what I was purchasing needed to cost more than what was on the gift card and then I would use my credit card for the rest. The one day mobile ordering was down and it was chaos!


Hmmm...you must have had a weird issue with your giftcard.  We used gift cards for all mobile orders earlier this month with no issue...odd.


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## GlowTheWeird

brockash said:


> Hmmm...you must have had a weird issue with your giftcard.  We used gift cards for all mobile orders earlier this month with no issue...odd.


There was an alert that was pushed out within the APP that it’s a known issue at the moment that gift cards are not taking as payment.


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## tussking

Finally built up the courage to take my teens to Epcot (Wednesday) & MK (Thursday). Has there been any cases reported after visiting Disney? Do you all feel safe sleeping in a hotel? Just trying to get a feel. I usually travel 75+ nights a year for work and stay in hotels. It feels so odd to me. It's been 7 months. Any tips for hotels? Any tips for Epcot & MK? Thanks in advance.


----------



## Akck

lmbcdb said:


> What’s the elevator ride like for Haunted Mansion? (I guess my question is, what are they doing for social distancing?)



When we rode it, they just walked us directly through the room, while socially distancing us.


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## jerseygal

tussking said:


> Finally built up the courage to take my teens to Epcot (Wednesday) & MK (Thursday). Has there been any cases reported after visiting Disney? Do you all feel safe sleeping in a hotel? Just trying to get a feel. I usually travel 75+ nights a year for work and stay in hotels. It feels so odd to me. It's been 7 months. Any tips for hotels? Any tips for Epcot & MK? Thanks in advance.


We haven't been to the parks, only Disney Springs, everyone was compliant there, temp checks getting in, hand sanitizing machines in every restaurant, waitstaff properly wearing masks, socially distance tables, no problem, we avoid weekends, so mid week was very quiet, which we love! We stayed 3 times summer at Riviera, DIsney Vero, and Disney Hilton Head and couldn't be happier with Covid procedures! I felt safer there than say shopping at Publix  or a Walmart.
Enjoy! Florida numbers are quite good now. Hope that it remains now with no restrictions on the 50 percent...Orange County as of now is still mandating mask wearing, although the state guideline removed that restriction on Friday. Hope that going forward through fall with Covid and flu season, that mask wearing in public places continues to be mandated in Orange County.


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## disneygirlsng

lmbcdb said:


> What’s the elevator ride like for Haunted Mansion? (I guess my question is, what are they doing for social distancing?)


There isn't an actual elevator on the one in WDW (unlike at DL), so they just have both doors open and you walk right through.


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## emily nicole

Nightshiftplanner said:


> We are just back from a long weekend trip. MK on Friday, AK on Sat. HS on Sunday.



How were the Saturday crowds at AK? Do you think AK is a good choice for a Saturday? (Asking because I keep reading how Saturdays are horrible in the parks lately.)


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## DisneyOma

GBRforWDW said:


> I'm glad they're taking names at the bus stop and getting people in the order they arrived.  When I was at CBR a couple years ago, it was always a scramble to get on the bus in the order you arrived.  some people were good about making sure the ones that came before them got on, but others weren't aware of any of their surroundings.



How does one not get on in order if people are lined up at the bus stop? Was there no queue? We always queue at CBR, so not sure what the issue was? 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Are people finding it easy to get a reservation into the parks, restaurants, etc?  Toying with the idea of making a quick trip down before we go to visit family in the tamp area, but not willing to spend $$$ if we can't go where we want to?


----------



## Biggen

tussking said:


> Finally built up the courage to take my teens to Epcot (Wednesday) & MK (Thursday). Has there been any cases reported after visiting Disney? Do you all feel safe sleeping in a hotel? Just trying to get a feel. I usually travel 75+ nights a year for work and stay in hotels. It feels so odd to me. It's been 7 months. Any tips for hotels? Any tips for Epcot & MK? Thanks in advance.


Just go and stop worrying.


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## Victoria3

lmbcdb said:


> What’s the elevator ride like for Haunted Mansion? (I guess my question is, what are they doing for social distancing?)



There's no elevator in the FL version of HM. They keep both sets of doors open and you walk through the stretching room.


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## Turk February

tussking said:


> Finally built up the courage to take my teens to Epcot (Wednesday) & MK (Thursday). Has there been any cases reported after visiting Disney? Do you all feel safe sleeping in a hotel? Just trying to get a feel. I usually travel 75+ nights a year for work and stay in hotels. It feels so odd to me. It's been 7 months. Any tips for hotels? Any tips for Epcot & MK? Thanks in advance.



There have been no outbreaks that link back to theme parks. I am sure there have been cases after visiting Disney/Florida but it's almost impossible to pinpoint where someone contracted it (park? hotel? grocery store? airport? bus? etc). IMO, if you are questioning whether sleeping in a hotel is safe this might not be the best time to take a trip to Disney.


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## Nightshiftplanner

Nightshiftplanner said:


> When we rode, they put one large family (6 people I think) across the whole back row and my whole family (5 of us) across the front row.


I'm so sorry, when I read your question I had TOT on my brain and that's how I answered LOL!


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## NokOnHarts

Just back, we were there Sept. 20-27th. Overall, we had a great trip and we were really glad we went. Couple things we noted: Get there as early as possible, that is still the name of the game. We arrived about 30-40 min before park opening each day and it was the best hour.

Our first day was Monday at MK and I have to say this day was the one that felt the most crowded to us of the whole week, which was surprising. The morning was amazing though, we did 7DMT twice in a row without any wait, hit PP, then Big Thunder and Splash. Pirates is definitely a long wait now so we tried to ride this next but after not moving for 15 minutes near the entrance we left the line. The afternoon got to where it was difficult to avoid running into people in the more narrow areas of MK and I honestly was surprised at the amount of people that were there. But probably our longest waits were around 30 minutes, so we got to ride almost everything we wanted and felt it was a really successful day. 

Tuesday was HS and again - it felt like a lot of people to try to walk around especially in Toy Story land / Star Wars land. We got in line for MMRR about 9:30, waited probably 15-20 min., by the time we got over to Slinky Dog, the line was a good 40 min wait. Most waits this day were 45+, but lower than what was posted. We still got to ride everything we wanted, got boarding group 24, and didn't have any issues with ride breakdowns this day so we were really happy with how the day went, regardless of the crowded feeling.

AK was Wed - this was our first day of feeling like crowds were low, you could walk through the park without congestion and the wait times were really reasonable! It was one of our favorite park days.

MK on Thursday felt less crowded than on Monday. It picked up as expected in the afternoon but never got to a "crowded" feel and wait times were again around 15-30 min, depending on the ride. Wait times were overstated, some more than others but felt very reasonable. 

EP on Friday was great, it never got crowded and the morning (10:30am) was empty. We walked onto TT and then waited about 15 min. for frozen (I think the wait time was posted at 45-50 at this point). Ride times were good all day and even though the WS picked up more in the evening there was plenty of space to walk and the waits at the booths were reasonable. One tip I had forgotten is that the skyliner will drop you off in France and it was a walk from there to TT, which was fine, I just wish I had remembered that!    AK and EP were our favorite parks for a more relaxing day where we felt we could slow down and and still get things done.

HS again on Saturday and surprisingly, this felt less crowded than Tuesday! I would highly recommend HS on Saturday for those wondering which park to do. Yes there were people there, but all day it felt like less than Tuesday had, and wait times were around 30-50 minutes, similar to Tuesday but I'd say improved. We did have more ride breakdowns this day (got stuck boarding ROTR for 1.5+ hours when the ride broke down, which truly did feel like a hostage situation at that point) but still managed to ride everything we had wanted.

Mobile ordering worked well for us, but order early as the waits and available windows go fast as it gets close to the lunch and dinner hours. We usually would order about an hour or so before we thought we'd want to eat and never had an issue with a long wait.

I thought Disney did a good job with the social distancing markers and we made a new game out of "Whose line is it anyway" as you find yourself staring at the ground the whole wait to find your marker spot. Hand sanitizer was everywhere, I think I used more in this week than in my whole life.

Masks were good, I felt most people followed the rules but it honestly doesn't bother me to see someone's nose out, which happened more at the resort than in the parks, but overall this wasn't an issue.

Our weather was great this week, but on the hottest day, I switched to the paper disposable mask and was MUCH more comfortable than in my cloth one that had worked fine before in the 85 degree weather.

Overall, it felt like a new learning experience compared to our previous trips, but we had a great time and were really glad we went. We tried some new shows and rides we hadn't made time for before. It did feel like crowds had definitely increased from what we read about in August but it was manageable and still worth the trip for us, but I fully agree that whatever crowd level they are at now, it needs to stay there and not keep increasing. Feel free to ask any questions.


----------



## GBRforWDW

DisneyOma said:


> How does one not get on in order if people are lined up at the bus stop? Was there no queue? We always queue at CBR, so not sure what the issue was?
> 
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> 
> Are people finding it easy to get a reservation into the parks, restaurants, etc?  Toying with the idea of making a quick trip down before we go to visit family in the tamp area, but not willing to spend $$$ if we can't go where we want to?


Might depend on which building you're staying in/bus stop you go to, but the one we had was very small and people would just show up and stand around, not really in a line.  

But this is off topic for the thread.  Was just hoping it was getting more organized, but again, probably depends on resort and individual bus stops.


----------



## PrincessV

tussking said:


> Do you all feel safe sleeping in a hotel? Just trying to get a feel. I usually travel 75+ nights a year for work and stay in hotels. It feels so odd to me. It's been 7 months. Any tips for hotels?


I get it. I was nervous about staying in a hotel the first time during the pandemic, too. My room was ready when I arrived around 11am, which was great, but... when I walked in I could tell it had _just _been cleaned. In my mind, that meant it was possible the previous Guests had only departed an hour or so earlier, and housekeeping had definitely been in there shortly before. I opted to leave my mask on, drop my things, and go get lunch and spend some time at the pool - by the time I went back to the room, it had been a couple hours and I felt like that was good enough to let any virus in the air disperse. I've always wiped down touch areas of a hotel room before using the room, and this trip was no different. The only addition was that I did so again each time I returned to the room, in case anyone had been in there and touched light switches, etc. It may have been overkill, but it made me feel comfortable in there.


----------



## NokOnHarts

GBRforWDW said:


> Might depend on which building you're staying in/bus stop you go to, but the one we had was very small and people would just show up and stand around, not really in a line.
> 
> But this is off topic for the thread.  Was just hoping it was getting more organized, but again, probably depends on resort and individual bus stops.



We just got back from CBR and used the first stop in Martinique. We were always the first party each day (arrived around 7:20 am). There was no one there asking who had been first but a few of the bus drivers did ask for the "first 6 families" or something to that affect. For the most part, other guests were good about letting those who were first go on but we did have to speak up a few times that we had arrived at 7:20 am and should be able to board before those who arrived at 7:50. I agree with another poster that it is awkward and I wish they would just make a real line for people to use.


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## Befferk

Turk February said:


> IMO, if you are questioning whether sleeping in a hotel is safe this might not be the best time to take a trip to Disney.



Very well put!!


----------



## Debbru

jerseygal said:


> Orange County as of now is still mandating mask wearing, although the state guideline removed that restriction on Friday. Hope that going forward through fall with Covid and flu season, that mask wearing in public places continues to be mandated in Orange County.


Actually, Florida removed the penalties imposed by any county/city for not wearing masks.  They didn't remove the recommendations of mask wearing, social distancing etc.


----------



## Naomeri

Debbru said:


> Actually, Florida removed the penalties imposed by any county/city for not wearing masks.  They didn't remove the recommendations of mask wearing, social distancing etc.


Which only means that the local government can’t punish anyone for not wearing masks, but they can still tell people they have to.  And private companies, like Disney, can mandate as they please, and deny entry to guests who refuse.


----------



## DisHeels

We went this past weekend, Sept 25-28. We stayed at AK Kidani with a savannah view. We just wanted to get away from sitting at home. Our mindset was we didn’t care if all we did was sit in the room, watch Mickey Cartoons and order takeout from Sanaa all weekend. But we did manage three parks and had a great trip.

Friday: Magic Kingdom
Got there around 3pm. Crowded in a few spots but most of the time everyone was spread out comfortably. Only at bottleneck points and when the cavalcades came by did if feel crowded. I did not see anyone not following mask policy. We did happen to always get someone in front of us in lines that did not stop at their marker on the ground. Other than that everyone followed rules around us. We loved the cavalcades and random characters.
Left around 6pm to get takeout from Sanaa. No issues and the food was great. My wife and I even got to get a to-go drink from the bar while we waited.

Saturday: Hollywood Studios/Disney Springs
I shared this update on the RotR thread but we took the bus from Kidani to HS. Got to the bus stop at 8:30. There were about 4 or 5 groups ahead of us. 1st bus came around 8:48am. We got on the 2nd bus just after 9am. The security guard at HS checking my wife and daughter’s bags was terrible. He would point at stuff in their bag and say “did you bring this”? Huh? That was for each..and…every…item. Then after that he wanted to tell us how we should have walked through the metal detectors. Anyhoo, we went straight to MMRR. While in line we hit 10am and got boarding group 3 for RotR! It is funny how quiet it is up until everyone either lucks out or not. We rode MMRR and RotR by 11am. Not bad. And that is all we wanted to do so I don’t have much in the way of touring for HS. We ate at the Brown Derby for the first time. Loved it. Only saw one person walking with their mask down. A castmember asked him to put on his mask but he walked past without acknowledging her. He was a young guy so he was probably too cool for rules. The castmember didn’t press it either. Lines were long everywhere but the crowds didn’t seem too bad.
Disney Springs on a Saturday night was a whole other beast. It was crowded. I mean it’s obvious it would be but we definitely didn’t think anything about it. That’s on us. World of Disney was a 30-45 minute wait. All other stores we wanted to check out wasn’t too bad of a wait if any. We ate at Boathouse for dinner. Food was great. Every table was used. Not sure if this was part of the state of Florida lifting restrictions. Since we were on the other side from the buses we grabbed a Lyft back to the resort. It did say there weren’t many Lyft drivers and would be 40 minutes. Ended up being about 20 minutes.

Sunday: Epcot
Epcot was not crowded for the most part. We were the only one’s on the bus to Epcot. Got to security around 1pm. No wait. Figment had a posted time of 30 minutes but was more like 20. Then we did the Pixar Shorts next door. Maybe a 5 minute wait. Food booths up until France were little to no lines. France booth was busy. Maybe 20-25 groups long. I think that might have been the longest food booth line all day we saw. We had a 5pm Rose & Crown reservation so we didn’t want to hit too many food booths. We tried to get into Tutto Gusto but it was at capacity. The castmember was not a fan of me asking questions. Is there a waitlist? No. Can we wait on the bench inside? No. How do we know if a spot opens up? Come back. I will give her the benefit of the doubt since I’m sure everyone was asking the same thing over and over. Came back about an hour later and the place was virtually empty. They are using the same menu as Tutto Italia so don’t expect the smaller plates they normally have. Left there for Rose & Crown. I got my Half and Half and a scotch egg. We got other food but those two are what I want every trip. Went to Spaceship Earth with a 20 minute wait time posted. Was maybe 5 minutes. We walked World Showcase for the shops then headed back to the resort. I will say the Japan store was packed at the back where the snacks are. My wife didn’t like it and zoomed out of there. Me and the kid were in line. After we checked out there was no one in there. Funny how the crowds can change within minutes.

Overall it was a great trip. The masks suck as I sweat like an unsavory person in church. But never at any point did I feel like I couldn’t wear them in the heat. Actually we never needed the cool off areas. Disney owned stores had 30% for DVC members so I got the Lego Disneyland Train Station for $100 off at HS. If you go now with the plan of doing whatever is available/low lines then you will have fun. If you go thinking you are going to ride everything then you will be frustrated with some of the longer lines. That’s my random thoughts.


----------



## AKVFamily

For those who have been recently, are any of the EPCOT rides operating before the park opens?


----------



## yulilin3

AKVFamily said:


> For those who have been recently, are any of the EPCOT rides operating before the park opens?


merged you to the existing thread. The 2 times I have been there SE and FEA opened with the park official hour


----------



## wilkydelts

Those who have recently attended F&W at EPCOT, do they give you a master menu (like a park map) when you enter or should I print a listing off ahead of time?


----------



## yulilin3

wilkydelts said:


> Those who have recently attended F&W at EPCOT, do they give you a master menu (like a park map) when you enter or should I print a listing off ahead of time?


No paper map,  you only find the info on mde


----------



## brockash

GlowTheWeird said:


> There was an alert that was pushed out within the APP that it’s a known issue at the moment that gift cards are not taking as payment.


Yikes...is that still happening?


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

brockash said:


> I don't think this is the norm.  We just returned from a 10 day trip at Poly and there was NEVER a CM at the bus stop or anyone taking names...there were times *it got pretty confusing and awkward*







disneygirlsng said:


> There isn't an actual elevator on the one in WDW (unlike at DL), so *they just have both doors open* and you walk right through.





Victoria3 said:


> There's no elevator in the FL version of HM. *They keep both sets of doors open* and you walk through the stretching room.


Omitting one of the best moments (not to mention ruining some of the magic!)   

 

And consider this dismaying observation... this chamber has no windows and *two *doors… which offers you this chilling challenge: nevermind, there's the way out!


----------



## disneygirlsng

Grumpy by Birth said:


> View attachment 528756
> 
> 
> 
> Omitting one of the best moments (not to mention ruining some of the magic!)
> 
> View attachment 528759 View attachment 528760


Haha when I posted that I was like dang, I hope I didn't just spoil that for somebody.


----------



## only hope

I wish they’d open up the graveyard as a queue for those who want to wait for the stretching room. Keep the walkthrough one and run the show with distancing in the other. The lack of preshows at parks right now stinks. I don’t see why most of them can’t be done with distancing, or as a combo walk throug/show for the ones with two sides.


----------



## yulilin3

only hope said:


> I wish they’d open up the graveyard as a queue for those who want to wait for the stretching room. Keep the walkthrough one and run the show with distancing in the other. The lack of preshows at parks right now stinks. I don’t see why most of them can’t be done with distancing, or as a combo walk throug/show for the ones with two sides.


When you say graveyard you mean the interactive queue? That's open now
They don't have the physical space to do one Room with pre show and the other as a walk through


----------



## Greta

brockash said:


> Hmmm...you must have had a weird issue with your giftcard.  We used gift cards for all mobile orders earlier this month with no issue...odd.


I’m so glad to hear this.    That made me nervous


----------



## only hope

yulilin3 said:


> When you say graveyard you mean the interactive queue? That's open now
> They don't have the physical space to do one Room with pre show and the other as a walk through



It wasn’t open the two times I’ve been to MK. Glad to hear it’s open sometimes. Maybe only when the line is long? Or maybe I just have bad timing.


----------



## tussking

I just purchased my tickets and booked reservations. I must admit I am excited. Can I get suggestions? Arriving @ Epcot around noon tomorrow and MK Thursday open to close. What time does the toll booth open for parking? What time does the boat or monorail start from the Visitor Center? Looking for the best plan and opinions. Thanks!


----------



## Darcy03231

tussking said:


> Finally built up the courage to take my teens to Epcot (Wednesday) & MK (Thursday). Has there been any cases reported after visiting Disney? Do you all feel safe sleeping in a hotel? Just trying to get a feel. I usually travel 75+ nights a year for work and stay in hotels. It feels so odd to me. It's been 7 months. Any tips for hotels? Any tips for Epcot & MK? Thanks in advance.



There was someone on another thread on these boards that reported she and her family came down with COVID after a WDW trip.  Not sure if they got it at WDW, airport, airplane, bus, etc.


----------



## silver236

Just got back from a 5 day trip.  1 night BWV, and three nights Poly.  Arrived Friday at noon.  That was our Epcot day.  Would have been awesome if it weren't for me renting from Budget rental car for the last time.  Even still, got on everything except frozen (not a big deal for us) three Cabeleros (there was always a line to get into the pavillion), and Test track (broke down when we were on the loading platform and it never went back up), ate everything from F/W we wanted.  I did realize how much I rely on the Epcot shops to stop in and cool down on the hot days.  So many of them are still closed.
Day 2 was a Saturday at HS.  Day went really, really well.  We had the advantage of staying at the boardwalk so we were one of the first ones in the park.  Rode MMRR and MFSR before the park even opened.  Got BG 42 (Bit of a scare when it went down on group 40-but it came back up and we got on). Rode everything at least once, including multiples on MFSR, RNRC, TSMM.  Park was crowded in the afternoon so we spent the high point snacking waiting for the times to go down.
Day 3 (Sunday) was at AK.  Drove over from the Poly.  We hit the headliners early doing FOP, RJ, EE (2) before the crowd built.  Spent the afternoon during the high crowds doing the trails, checking out all the small details and exhibits that we always skip, got a quick run Kali, and when the waits went down hit everything else including two more rides on FOP (almost got a fourth but missed it by 4 minutes).
Day 4 (yesterday) was at MK.  We've been watching the wait times for a few weeks for weekdays at MK.  They reflected NOTHING like what we saw yesterday.  It was hell.  We got there right away and got on Pirates, BTMR, and Splash and Haunted Mansion.  By the time we got off of Splash the wait times across the park had exploded and the walkways were packed.  At one point we even saw a wait time of 45 minutes for the carousel of progress!!!  We hit a few short waits that would pop up, and actually went back to the room to re-shower and get fresh masks because it was extremely hot and humid.  Got back and did a posted 45 minute wait for Space Mountain because it was the lowest posted all day (actually ended up being 60). The thunderstorm actually helped us out.  We got in line for IASW right before the lightning (we were watching out weather app) so we missed the onslaught of the rain.  We both had waterproof sandals and raincoats with us so we hiked over the Little Mermaid and got on that.   Luckily the rain cleared a lot of people out so we managed to get on quite a few on our list but not all.  We were so tired this morning we decided to just hang in the room before heading to the airport.  Not sure what the anomaly was at MK on Monday because the posted wait times today were a fraction of what they were yesterday.

My takeaways:
Masks make it feel 10 degrees warmer
The cast members are always incredible and were on our trip
Disney needs to get shows open.  It is my honest opinion they are not taking these closures into account in what their "capacity" is.  There were just too many people in MK yesterday.  I'm actually wondering if it was a computer glitch somewhere.
Seeing the musicians and dancers last night at Raglan Road made our trip.
If this is your first trip to WDW, do NOT go.  It's fun but so much is missing.

We had a great time.  Going to re-evaluate when we are going back and see how this progresses.


----------



## hlrubin507

hpa said:


> We went to HS today.  Took a Lyft from Pop at 8:05am to the Speedway, tell the driver to pull through all the pumps and go to the back exit which is across the street from the entrance to the Boardwalk.  You have to cross the street without a crosswalk, but there is little Traffic and the sidewalk is right there.  We started walking towards the pathway about 8:05 and arrived at the first holding point at 8:15am.  There were probably 20 people there.  Around 8:45 we were able to start walking to temperature check where we waited about 15-20 min.  We were first through the tent, go to the tents on the left side, lines seem shorter there.  We arrived at the queue for MMRR about 9:10 And the cast member announced they would not be starting the ride until close to Park scheduled opening time, ugh.  We were the 10th people in line.
> 
> At 9:30, they opened the doors and we went inside.  Made it to the last holding room and waited until 9:50 to get into the loading room.  On the ride at 9:52, off at 9:58, stayed in the exit area and got BG 10  for Rise.
> 
> We had a much different experience on Tuesday.  Railroad was up and running at 9:10am, rode it, walked to SDD, waited about 15 minutes, rode, walked back to Brown Derby area at 9:55, got BG 17.


This is fascinating!  You were staying at a Skyliner resort and it sounds like you got your serious game on by NOT using the Skyliner and doing this instead.  I love it!  I'm going to copy you (although I'm staying off property).  Thank you so much for the detailed information as Google maps says it's a 1.1 mile/23 minute walk from Speedway to the entrance and I'm not looking to add miles to my day on purpose


----------



## Shinrai

silver236 said:


> Just got back from a 5 day trip.  1 night BWV, and three nights Poly.  Arrived Friday at noon.  That was our Epcot day.  Would have been awesome if it weren't for me renting from Budget rental car for the last time.  Even still, got on everything except frozen (not a big deal for us) three Cabeleros (there was always a line to get into the pavillion), and Test track (broke down when we were on the loading platform and it never went back up), ate everything from F/W we wanted.  I did realize how much I rely on the Epcot shops to stop in and cool down on the hot days.  So many of them are still closed.
> Day 2 was a Saturday at HS.  Day went really, really well.  We had the advantage of staying at the boardwalk so we were one of the first ones in the park.  Rode MMRR and MFSR before the park even opened.  Rode everything at least once, including multiples on MFSR, RNRC, TSMM.  Park was crowded in the afternoon so we spent the high point snacking waiting for the times to go down.
> Day 3 (Sunday) was at AK.  Drove over from the Poly.  We hit the headliners early doing FOP, RJ, EE (2) before the crowd built.  Spent the afternoon during the high crowds doing the trails, checking out all the small details and exhibits that we always skip, got a quick run Kali, and when the waits went down hit everything else including two more rides on FOP (almost got a fourth but missed it by 4 minutes).
> Day 4 (yesterday) was at MK.  We've been watching the wait times for. a few weeks for weekdays at MK.  They reflected NOTHING like what we saw yesterday.  It was hell.  We got there right away and got on Pirates, BTMR, and Splash and Haunted Mansion.  By the time we got off of Splash the wait times across the park had exploded and the sidewalks were packed.  At one point we even saw a wait time of 45 minutes for the carousel of progress!!!  We hit a few short waits that would pop up, and actually went back to the room to re-shower and get fresh masks because it was extremely hot and humid.  Got back and did a posted 45 minute wait for Space Mountain because it was the lowest posted all day (actually ended up being 60). The thunderstorm actually helped us out.  We got in line for IASW right before the lightning (we were watching out weather app) so we missed the onslaught of the rain.  We both had waterproof sandals and raincoats with us so we hiked over the Little Mermaid and got on that.   Luckily the rain cleared a lot of people out so we managed to get on quite a few on our list but not all.  We were so tired this morning we decided to just hang in the room before heading to the airport.  Not sure what the anomaly was at MK on Monday because the posted wait times today were a fraction of what they were yesterday.
> 
> My takeaways:
> Masks make it feel 10 degrees warmer
> The cast members are always incredible and were on our trip
> Disney needs to get shows open.  It is my honest opinion they are not taking these closures into account in what their "capacity" is.  There were just too many people in MK yesterday.  I'm actually wondering if it was a computer glitch somewhere.
> Seeing the musicians and dancers last night at Raglan Road made our trip.
> If this is your first trip to WDW, do NOT go.  It's fun but so much is missing.
> 
> We had a great time.  Going to re-evaluate when we are going back and see how this progresses.



For our upcoming trip we have a weekend booked very much like yours, with HS Saturday, AK Sunday and MK Monday. Sounds like MK was a mess on your Monday, but I'm crossing my fingers that the Sat & Sun parks go they way yours did!. 

And I hear what you're saying about first timers vs the amount of stuff that is missing from the parks right now. We are first timers to WDW, and we gave that some serious thought before deciding to make our plans for our upcoming trip. For us, we decided that this being our first time to the parks, we won't really notice the "missing" elements as much as a park veteran might. We're Disneyland veterans, and when we think of returning to Disneyland under similar circumstances, it just makes us kind of sad. But, when we go to a new park we spend so much time wandering around looking at the theming and just taking everything in. We're also noticing that we're not feeling as overwhelmed with choices as we have in the past when considering a trip to WDW.   So, we know we are going to miss out on some things, but we're still expecting to have a great trip! And, when we go again in a few years there will be a lot of "new" stuff for us to see.


----------



## Naomeri

Shinrai said:


> For our upcoming trip we have a weekend booked very much like yours, with HS Saturday, AK Sunday and MK Monday. Sounds like MK was a mess on your Monday, but I'm crossing my fingers that the Sat & Sun parks go they way yours did!.
> 
> And I hear what you're saying about first timers vs the amount of stuff that is missing from the parks right now. We are first timers to WDW, and we gave that some serious thought before deciding to make our plans for our upcoming trip. For us, we decided that this being our first time to the parks, we won't really notice the "missing" elements as much as a park veteran might. We're Disneyland veterans, and when we think of returning to Disneyland under similar circumstances, it just makes us kind of sad. But, when we go to a new park we spend so much time wandering around looking at the theming and just taking everything in. We're also noticing that we're not feeling as overwhelmed with choices as we have in the past when considering a trip to WDW.   So, we know we are going to miss out on some things, but we're still expecting to have a great trip! And, when we go again in a few years there will be a lot of "new" stuff for us to see.


That’s a great way to look at it!


----------



## silver236

hlrubin507 said:


> This is fascinating!  You were staying at a Skyliner resort and it sounds like you got your serious game on by NOT using the Skyliner and doing this instead.  I love it!  I'm going to copy you (although I'm staying off property).  Thank you so much for the detailed information as Google maps says it's a 1.1 mile/23 minute walk from Speedway to the entrance and I'm not looking to add miles to my day on purpose


Yep, HS got REALLY busy on Sat around 11-3 and then after that it just emptied out.  I think the heat sapped a lot of the energy from families with small kids.


----------



## becks59

Went to Epcot today and had a great day!  Much better than MK yesterday. Waits were low and we rode everything we wanted. We got to the parking lot right when it opened. Went straight to TT. Not sure how long the wait was because we did rider switch. While dh and boys were doing that I took dd and baby to do FEA. It was about a 20min wait. Felt longer having to hold a baby and keep a 2 yr old in line though. . After that we did rider switch for TT and I rode with the boys. Rider switch has been really great this trip and the boys have loved riding things multiple times. 

We went to regal eagle for lunch and it was delicious and such a great way to have a relaxing lunch in the A/C. We also got the gourmet Mac n cheese and lobster Mac n cheese from showplace. We all loved it. We got the kielbasa dish too and shared it with the kids. That was good too. Then we got the cake pops and I loved those. I just couldn’t spend time enjoying it though because we were rushing to get to the last ride of spaceship earth. It had broken down earlier right when we were about to get in line so we really wanted to ride it. But the cake pops were really good even eating them so quickly. 

CMs have been great and very helpful. My son accidentally slammed into a big sign inside showplace and got knocked to the ground. He was crying and a CM came right over with a Powerade for him to help cheer him up. 

Tomorrow is HS. It’s our first time seeing galaxies edge and I’m hoping for a boarding group!  We will be with family who has card tickets. Can I scan them into my MDE to try and get a BG for all of us?


----------



## Nightshiftplanner

emily nicole said:


> How were the Saturday crowds at AK? Do you think AK is a good choice for a Saturday? (Asking because I keep reading how Saturdays are horrible in the parks lately.)


It felt kind of crowded, but we rode all the rides and rode FOP and EE twice. We could have even ridden those a third time, so overall I felt that was really good considering it was a Saturday. I think the walk ways feel more crowded because of how they are lining people up.


----------



## GG880

We are headed down next Thursday (staying at the Swan) and I have a few questions about our day at Epcot, which is a Saturday so I expect it to be pretty crowded. What time does the IG begin letting guests in typically? Do the main gate and IG open at the same time? And more importantly will Les Halles be open immediately once they begin letting guests in? What about other F&W booths being open early? We are hoping to be among the first through the IG, hit up Les Halles and then maybe head to get in line for either TT or FEA.

Also, are they still doing the Kidcot travelers cards?


----------



## Raven01

brockash said:


> Yikes...is that still happening?



Yes.  Gift Card did not work with mobile order.

A side note - plan meals in advance.  Pre covid meals were very fluid in the day or two leading up to the park day.  Now, that’s not true.  People cannot park hop so plans are not changing.  Don’t count on a meal opening up.  Availability the day of for restaurants needing reservations is limited.  Generally, I’m finding we want a sit down, relaxing lunch, and prefer to “hodge podge“ dinner.  The lunch helps break up the park day.


----------



## *pixie*

DisHeels said:


> Disney owned stores had 30% for DVC members so I got the Lego Disneyland Train Station for $100 off at HS.



The DVC discount is good for LEGO’s?? We are not going to Hollywood Studios this trip, but I wonder if I can find the train station in another store??


----------



## wilkydelts

I went in and was playing with Mobile Ordering. They have completely removed the option to pay with a Gift Card or Disney Redemption Rewards Card. Very worried about this getting fixed!


----------



## wilkydelts

I have not been able to find a clear cut answer on this. F&W festival booths are all stand and wait correct, no mobile ordering for them? Also can you use a Disney Visa Rewards Redemption Card (talking about the bonus dollars redemption card) at the F&W booths to pay for food?


----------



## yulilin3

wilkydelts said:


> I have not been able to find a clear cut answer on this. F&W festival booths are all stand and wait correct, no mobile ordering for them? Also can you use a Disney Visa Rewards Redemption Card (talking about the bonus dollars redemption card) at the F&W booths to pay for food?


Yes and yes


----------



## becks59

Got to HS today and was in line for the parking tolls at 9:00am. Parked, got through security and tapstiles and in line for MMRR at 9:30. They told me that it was an 80min wait when I got in line. Actual wait time was 50min. Loved that ride so much!!!  

At 10am we snagged BG 34 for RotR. I turned off location settings while in line and at 9:55 I reset the app. Watched the second hand on the Apple Watch and jumped for joy when we got it! It started boarding right away, but just went down. Crossing my fingers it gets up and going again soon.


----------



## Khobbs18

OK, weird question. My SIL can no longer go on our trip but a family friend can. Can we just keep the room, ticket, and park pass in the old name or do we have to switch to the new person's name? I am worried we will lose our HS park reservation if we go through all the hassle anyway...


----------



## Akck

*pixie* said:


> The DVC discount is good for LEGO’s?? We are not going to Hollywood Studios this trip, but I wonder if I can find the train station in another store??



They had it at the Christmas Store at MK, however, a CM told us the 30% discount didn’t apply to it. Maybe she was wrong.


----------



## brockash

Khobbs18 said:


> OK, weird question. My SIL can no longer go on our trip but a family friend can. Can we just keep the room, ticket, and park pass in the old name or do we have to switch to the new person's name? I am worried we will lose our HS park reservation if we go through all the hassle anyway...


As long as she's not the lead guest on the room, yes just keep everything the same and whoever is going now will use your sil magicband etc.  If she is the lead guest; it's more complicated and a bit of a gamble, but honestly would still probably work out fine.


----------



## alliecat726

AKVFamily said:


> For those who have been recently, are any of the EPCOT rides operating before the park opens?


We arrived @ Epcot on Sunday before the park opened and walked right onto Space Mountain & Buzz and then got in line for Frozen all before park-open. (Still had to wait almost an hour for Frozen, but) yes, they let people on early, at least on Sunday when we were there!


----------



## jodybird511

becks59 said:


> Got to HS today and was in line for the parking tolls at 9:00am. Parked, got through security and tapstiles and in line for MMRR at 9:30. They told me that it was an 80min wait when I got in line. Actual wait time was 50min. Loved that ride so much!!!
> 
> At 10am we snagged BG 34 for RotR. I turned off location settings while in line and at 9:55 I reset the app. Watched the second hand on the Apple Watch and jumped for joy when we got it! It started boarding right away, but just went down. Crossing my fingers it gets up and going again soon.


Are folks finding that they are able to get boarding groups typically while in line for MMRR?  What I mean is, is that a good location to attempt?


----------



## alliecat726

wilkydelts said:


> Those who have recently attended F&W at EPCOT, do they give you a master menu (like a park map) when you enter or should I print a listing off ahead of time?


There is a QR code posted everywhere around the festival areas to download all the menus (but, they are organized individually so you do have to click on each one to view the individual menus, it's not like one giant long list with all 30 booths' menu offerings in a row). As far as a printed one, I didn't see that (but doesn't mean they don't have it).


----------



## alliecat726

jodybird511 said:


> Are folks finding that they are able to get boarding groups typically while in line for MMRR?  What I mean is, is that a good location to attempt?


We arrived @ HS (this past) Sat around 9:20am & immediately got in line for MMRR. They started boarding for that ride @ 9:30. Of course, we boarded the ride (which is 4 mins & 30 secs long BTW) @ 9:56 so we were on the ride (toward the end during a particularly bumpy part lol) when the clock turned 10:00--but we had all been practicing & researching like crazy for days and managed to get BG 7! The family in the car behind us also got one, not sure what group. We all went bananas for the last 1-2 mins of the ride, I don't even remember the ending!  FYI all 4 of us in my group (me, my hubby & our 2 kids) had 4 bars on our phones for the whole ride. While we were outside in the queue, the bars kept changing up & down from 2-3-4. Actually better for all of inside the ride! Two of us used the Dis wifi & two of us used cell data. My 14-yr old daughter was the one who got the BP using data. Got off the ride @ 10:02, went over to GE, our BG was called, & we basically walked on ROTR. Went on MFSR right afterward, wait for that was bout 30 mins. Couldn't believe we were on & off these 3 rides by 11am.


----------



## scrappinginontario

alliecat726 said:


> We arrived @ Epcot on Sunday before the park opened and walked right onto Space Mountain & Buzz and then got in line for Frozen all before park-open. (Still had to wait almost an hour for Frozen, but) yes, they let people on early, at least on Sunday when we were there!


I think you have your parks muddled a bit.  Space Mountain and Buzz are in the Magic Kingdom and Frozen is in Epcot.  The OP was asking about rides open in Epcot prior to park opening.


----------



## alliecat726

scrappinginontario said:


> I think you have your parks muddled a bit.  Space Mountain and Buzz are in the Magic Kingdom and Frozen is in Epcot.  The OP was asking about rides open in Epcot prior to park opening.


Lol, OMG I just realized that myself, my brain is Disney mush after getting back from a 6-day trip! We DID arrive early @ MK on Thurs & got on those 2 rides before park open; Sun we arrived @ Epcot about 10 min before open and went straight to Frozen, where we waited for just under an hour. It did not appear they were letting people on anything prior to 11am when the park opened. (Sorry about the original confusing answer--I need a vacation from my vacation!)


----------



## tink2424

Got evacuated off of FOP about an hour ago.  Had to fight with guest relations for a fast pass return.  We we watching the video right before you go into the ride room.

this is why people are not thrilled with Disney.  In years past they would be handing out fast passes as you were walking off the ride.  Not cool Disney, not cool!


----------



## happymom2one

alliecat726 said:


> We arrived @ HS (this past) Sat around 9:20am & immediately got in line for MMRR. They started boarding for that ride @ 9:30. Of course, we boarded the ride (which is 4 mins & 30 secs long BTW) @ 9:56 so we were on the ride (toward the end during a particularly bumpy part lol) when the clock turned 10:00--but we had all been practicing & researching like crazy for days and managed to get BG 7! The family in the car behind us also got one, not sure what group. We all went bananas for the last 1-2 mins of the ride, I don't even remember the ending!  FYI all 4 of us in my group (me, my hubby & our 2 kids) had 4 bars on our phones for the whole ride. While we were outside in the queue, the bars kept changing up & down from 2-3-4. Actually better for all of inside the ride! Two of us used the Dis wifi & two of us used cell data. My 14-yr old daughter was the one who got the BP using data. Got off the ride @ 10:02, went over to GE, our BG was called, & we basically walked on ROTR. Went on MFSR right afterward, wait for that was bout 30 mins. Couldn't believe we were on & off these 3 rides by 11am.



How did you practice?


----------



## yulilin3

happymom2one said:


> How did you practice?


https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...planning-and-information-no-spoilers.3782822/


----------



## alliecat726

Hi fellow Disney planners! Just got back from a 5-night/6-day trip Monday evening and thought instead of typing out our entire experience in great detail (because, if left to my own devices, I’ll write a 20-page novella) I thought I'd just outline what we did, and if anyone is doing any of these activities for their upcoming trip and has any specific questions (re airports/airplanes, Riviera, pool, Skyliner, buses, Disney Springs, shopping, dining, Food & Wine, all 4 parks, rides, cavalcades, queues, masks, social distancing, timing, etc) feel free to ask & I'll do my best to answer!! Went with my hubby & our 2 kids, 12 & 14. Rescheduled trip from canceled March plans. Also maybe worth mentioning, 1st time staying @ Riviera & 1st time eating @ every single restaurant/bar we visited. We’re DVC BTW.

*Wed 9/23: Arrived in Orlando* @ 3pm from Chicago/Ohare (United Club B open @ Ohare BTW). Did not rent a car, took Magical Express. Stayed @ Riviera. Took bus to Disney Springs, ate dinner @ Homecomin' & shopped a little. Went back to the Riv & hit the pool & hot tub.

*Thurs 9/24: Went to MK* via AM bus. Did 12 attractions (not in this order, I don’t remember now, sorry): Small World, Big Thunder, Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Pirates, 7 Dwarfs, Space Mt, Splash, Tiki Room, & Haunted Mansion. Lunch @ Skipper Canteen; Happy Hour @ Tony’s; Dinner @ Be Our Guest. Left empty park around 7:45/after close; took bus back to Riv.

*Fri 9/25: Went to AK* via AM bus. Did 7 attractions (again, not in order): Flight of Passage (twice), Navi River, Kali Rapids, Everest (twice), Safari, Dinosaur, & Tough to be a Bug. Ate lunch @ Yak & Yeti; intended to do a Happy Hour @ Nomad Lounge but decided to go on those 2 rides a 2nd time instead due to shorter wait times. Took bus back to Riv, showered & went to Topolino’s for dinner.

*Sat 9/26: Went to HS* via AM Skyliner. Did 9 attractions (no order): Tower of Terror, Rockin Rollercoaster, Min/Mick RR, Rise/Resistance, Smuggler’s Run, Slinky, Toy Story, Alien Saucers, & Muppet 3D. Lunch @ Sci Fi; Happy Hour @ Oga’s; cancelled dinner @ Paddlefish @ DS due to lateness & heat exhaustion/vertigo, bleah. Left park via Skyliner around 6pm. Got take-out @ Riviera’s counter service Primo Piatto & took up to room.

*Sun 9/27: Went to Epcot* via late-AM Skyliner. Did 7 attractions (no order): Frozen, Soarin, Test Track, Grand Fiesta boat, Journey/Imagination/Figment, Mission Space, Epcot Experience. (Wanted to do Living w/ the Land & Spaceship Earth but ran out of time.) Lunch @ Food & Wine; Happy Hour @ Spice Road; Dinner @ Le Cellier. BTW it POURED this night. Bus back to Riv. due to no Skyliner/rain.

*Mon 9/28: Brunch @ Topolino’s* for character meal. Late check-out @ noon. Did DVC tour of tower studio, 2- & 3-bedroom units @ Riv. Took Uber to airport due to Magical Express snafu. (United Club not open @ airport so waited @ gate.) The End!

LMK if you want any details about any facets of our trip, I am happy to share whatever I can! I will say, at the end of the day, while we had some concerns, worries, reservations, questions, etc before leaving (and, we did miss the fireworks and wearing masks in the heat was rough), overall we had a great & safe time and we are really glad we went.


----------



## alliecat726

happymom2one said:


> How did you practice?


I just posted an abbreviated overall trip report here, but I'll be posting a ROTR-specific report in another thread later tonight!


----------



## madzy

alliecat726 said:


> Hi fellow Disney planners! Just got back from a 5-night/6-day trip Monday evening and thought instead of typing out our entire experience in great detail (because, if left to my own devices, I’ll write a 20-page novella) I thought I'd just outline what we did, and if anyone is doing any of these activities for their upcoming trip and has any specific questions (re airports/airplanes, Riviera, pool, Skyliner, buses, Disney Springs, shopping, dining, Food & Wine, all 4 parks, rides, cavalcades, queues, masks, social distancing, timing, etc) feel free to ask & I'll do my best to answer!! Went with my hubby & our 2 kids, 12 & 14. Rescheduled trip from canceled March plans. Also maybe worth mentioning, 1st time staying @ Riviera & 1st time eating @ every single restaurant/bar we visited. We’re DVC BTW.
> 
> *Wed 9/23: Arrived in Orlando* @ 3pm from Chicago/Ohare (United Club B open @ Ohare BTW). Did not rent a car, took Magical Express. Stayed @ Riviera. Took bus to Disney Springs, ate dinner @ Homecomin' & shopped a little. Went back to the Riv & hit the pool & hot tub.
> 
> *Thurs 9/24: Went to MK* via AM bus. Did 12 attractions (not in this order, I don’t remember now, sorry): Small World, Big Thunder, Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Pirates, 7 Dwarfs, Space Mt, Splash, Tiki Room, & Haunted Mansion. Lunch @ Skipper Canteen; Happy Hour @ Tony’s; Dinner @ Be Our Guest. Left empty park around 7:45/after close; took bus back to Riv.
> 
> *Fri 9/25: Went to AK* via AM bus. Did 7 attractions (again, not in order): Flight of Passage (twice), Navi River, Kali Rapids, Everest (twice), Safari, Dinosaur, & Tough to be a Bug. Ate lunch @ Yak & Yeti; intended to do a Happy Hour @ Nomad Lounge but decided to go on those 2 rides a 2nd time instead due to shorter wait times. Took bus back to Riv, showered & went to Topolino’s for dinner.
> 
> *Sat 9/26: Went to HS* via AM Skyliner. Did 9 attractions (no order): Tower of Terror, Rockin Rollercoaster, Min/Mick RR, Rise/Resistance, Smuggler’s Run, Slinky, Toy Story, Alien Saucers, & Muppet 3D. Lunch @ Sci Fi; Happy Hour @ Oga’s; cancelled dinner @ Paddlefish @ DS due to lateness & heat exhaustion/vertigo, bleah. Left park via Skyliner around 6pm. Got take-out @ Riviera’s counter service Primo Piatto & took up to room.
> 
> *Sun 9/27: Went to Epcot* via late-AM Skyliner. Did 7 attractions (no order): Frozen, Soarin, Test Track, Grand Fiesta boat, Journey/Imagination/Figment, Mission Space, Epcot Experience. (Wanted to do Living w/ the Land & Spaceship Earth but ran out of time.) Lunch @ Food & Wine; Happy Hour @ Spice Road; Dinner @ Le Cellier. BTW it POURED this night. Bus back to Riv. due to no Skyliner/rain.
> 
> *Mon 9/28: Brunch @ Topolino’s* for character meal. Late check-out @ noon. Did DVC tour of tower studio, 2- & 3-bedroom units @ Riv. Took Uber to airport due to Magical Express snafu. (United Club not open @ airport so waited @ gate.) The End!
> 
> LMK if you want any details about any facets of our trip, I am happy to share whatever I can! I will say, at the end of the day, while we had some concerns, worries, reservations, questions, etc before leaving (and, we did miss the fireworks and wearing masks in the heat was rough), overall we had a great & safe time and we are really glad we went.


HiHow did you feel Epcot crowds were on a Sunday?   How were the lines for Food and Wine?


----------



## erinch

Today we arrived at Epcot at 10:05 or so. We were about the 4th car back in our queue. They started letting cars in at 10:15, and we were on Test Track by 10:30 and on Soarin a little before 11. FEA also is letting line up at 10:15. We did so another day, and they opened about 10:40.



AKVFamily said:


> For those who have been recently, are any of the EPCOT rides operating before the park opens?


----------



## erinch

We did Epcot on a Sunday, and today, a Wednesday. Sunday was really crowded. Today was amazing. Light crowds, low lines for all but TT and FEA, and those were under an hour. Food booth lines low.


madzy said:


> HiHow did you feel Epcot crowds were on a Sunday?   How were the lines for Food and Wine?


----------



## alliecat726

madzy said:


> HiHow did you feel Epcot crowds were on a Sunday?   How were the lines for Food and Wine?


Well, to be honest, we were a little shocked (and disappointed/annoyed) at the crowds @ Epcot Sunday! We'd been thinking all along that Epcot would be our least stressful/busy day, that we could just wander around the countries, leisurely enjoy F&W, go on the handful of attractions we wanted, etc, but it ended up being the "worst" park day we had! It was SO hot and humid, and it was really crowded (mostly in the World Showcase/around the F&W areas--the other side wasn't quite as crowded--but we did have to wait considerably for every major ride)--and it was the only park day we didn't make a reservation for lunch as we purposefully planned to hit multiple F&W booths. Which we did... but we didn't end up going to the ones we really wanted as the lines were just too long. Not helping was that our kids' least favorite park is Epcot. (So the constant whining was excellent.) We'd never been to WDW/Epcot during F&W before, so honestly, between having only been there in the past w/ our kids during apparently less-busy times as well as having "low crowd September expectations" from reading online info (and being SO excited to experience F&W for the 1st time), we were sorely mistaken/misinformed. (It also started POURING rain, as in, torrential downpour/flooding, during our dinner, so while we'd been excited to have another hour+ in a dark park post-dinner for a ride or two, we just ran literally soaking wet from Le Cellier to Figment and then to a giftshop and then to the bus stop instead of Skyliner.) It was all really too bad. HAVING SAID ALL THAT HOWEVER...!!!!!!! We did go on 85% of the things we'd wanted, and the food/drinks we did get (@ the 5 booths and 2 restaurants we visited) were all absolutely fantastic. (First time @ F&W, Spice Road, & Le Cellier, so am happy to share food & drink experiences if anyone is interested.) I still love LOVE Epcot so much, even though this particular experience kinda sucked. Chalking it up to the glory that is 2020!


----------



## summerw

Pyotr said:


> Sounds like you are having a great time!
> 
> Just curious on the tub. Once the water drains, it runs a loud cleaning cycle that lasts a couple minutes. Could this be what you experienced?



Yes, someone on Facebook finally explained it to me. I so don’t get why the front desk and engineering didn’t know this. Also it cycled through at least 3 times without any interference from us. Idk.



mcomber7 said:


> Great report!  Where is the locator permission that you turned off on you phone?  Is it in the Disney app?



On an iPhone, go to settings, find MDE and turn Location Services to Never.


----------



## summerw

Day 3 (Monday) Today was apparently a holiday for local schools so I was worried it would make Magic Kingdom crazy. We got to the boat doc at 8. No boat came until 8:30, when 2 arrived. The line was long in front of us so I think those were the first of the day. We got on the second one.

We made it to MK around 8:45 and headed to 7DMT. It said 50 minutes. We got in line at 9:06 and we’re boarding at 9:40 (34 minutes). We were worried when we got in line since it was back to Storybook Circus but we moved quickly.

Much more than HS, I noticed a lot of the queues at MK just involved walking continuously.
We got in line for Peter Pan which said 25 minutes at 9:55 and had ridden and were in line for Haunted Mansion, which said 35 minutes, by 10:18. We boarded HM at 10:33.

Before getting in line for HM, DS said he was hungry so we checked out getting Cheshire Cat Tails from Cosmic Rays. The next available pick up window didn’t open for almost 20 minutes so it was open by the time we got off HM. We headed over there and enjoyed our tails. Very sweet and buttery but excellent warm pastry.

DS has local friends and they arrived right as we were finishing. They hadn’t eaten so we stayed while they ordered cheeseburgers and DS was still hungry so he got nuggets. Standard Disney fare.
With the kids topped off, we headed to Splash which said 55 minutes at noon and we were off in 41. Next up was BTMRR which said 45 minutes. We got in line 1:12 and we’re boarding at 1:26.

By now it was 93 degrees out and the kids were getting melty. Citrus swirls for everyone! DH got it as a float with Sprite and loved it. It was my first citrus swirl and I loved the combo!
They were better but still hot so it seemed like a great time for Carousel of Progress. The wait said 25 and the line was down the ramp out into the sun, but we made it on the following rotation. DS’s friends had never seen it and were skeptical, but they laughed out loud several times. John, always entertaining.

The crew headed to Space and since my vertigo says no to rides in circles in the dark, I left them to go shopping on Main Street. They said the wait wasn’t bad at all.

The crew headed to Space and since my vertigo says no to rides in circles in the dark, I left them to go shopping on Main Street. They said the wait wasn’t bad at all.

I walked by Merchant of Venus and it was closed, so I headed to the jewelers in Main Street. I picked up the new Jack ears, some Tinkerbell earrings for my mom for watching the dogs and decided to check out the Pandora items since the only non-post earrings they had were $125. FYI I haven’t seen any dangly earrings anywhere else.

There was a line for the Pandora section, but I had time. We were waiting on markers in the store when it started pouring, hard. That’s when they decided to relocate us outside. It was covered, but it started coming down harder and sideways so it was impossible to stay totally dry. The line took 15-20 since they can only let 4 families in at a time. I rewarded myself with a Madame Leota charm. I like to wear them singly on a necklace and it’s a beautiful color. I have the Wishes black bead that I wear all the time. People ask me about it a lot. I love the Parks exclusive ones.

The rain was lighter and the Emporium stores were calling. There was a long line, but it took less than 2 minutes, even though it went by at least 3 stores/sections. There were a lot of people inside, but distancing was no harder than at the grocery store and people were respectful, often apologizing and taking a step back when we accidentally got too close.

The boys had texted they were done and wanted Pirates. I do not love it at WDW like I do at DL so I finished my shopping and headed to Liberty Square for a Constance Wedding Cake. I passed people leaving the park in droves, despite that it was just sprinkling now. The cake was good but the novelty exceeded the flavor, more raspberry cream flavor than actual cake.

The boys must have boarded in minutes as they were off and wanted Jungle Cruise. It had just reopened and they boarded before I could even make the 2 minute walk. I rejoined them after.

It was after 5 and we decided we needed another ride on HM. We walked continuously for about 3 minutes. After the ride, we said goodbye to DS’s friends and DH and I forced DS onto Small World. It was an under 10 minute wait and we were exiting as the park closed.

We took the resort launch back and enjoyed the post-rain weather on the boat. The boats are my favorite part of the MK resorts. It’s so serene on the water.
We cleaned up as we were eating at The Wave. We were a few minutes late because I could find my Tevas. I finally realized my husband had worn them to go get the car. Rofl. I wear a women’s 9 and he wears a men’s 11. This might be the best example of how tired we were.

The tables were far apart and the had plates for us to put our masks on. I had a bite of the bread, and it was ok, but I wanted to save all the room for bacon and eggs. The pork belly was melt in your mouth, drool as your eating it good. The eggs and grits were excellent too and so creamy. We’ve been eating a whole food, no sweetener diet for about 90 days so they were on the rich side for me, but I ate them anyway. Lol. The egg was excellent and cooked perfectly.

DH and I decided to order Caesar salads and split a beef tenderloin. DS had gotten a Caesar for an appetizer and said it was “spicy.” That’s the word he uses whether it’s zesty, tangy, tart, peppery or hot. I understood what he meant. It didn’t taste like black pepper to me but, but I would still call it a peppery spice. I enjoyed it and finished it. The tenderloin was just good. Maybe the bacon and eggs were too tough an act to follow. I didn’t love the potatoes. I felt the cream overwhelmed the potatoes, cheese, seasoning, all the other flavors. Overall it was an excellent meal with slightly salty, great service from Peggy. Add in 10% off and we will definitely eat there again!

We were all exhausted from the day and headed to bed. So here are my thoughts on masks... They aren’t as awful as I was dreading, but they do wear you out faster, I think. The heat was brutal this day and I feel I could have dealt with it better without the extra sweat on my face, being able to drink as we were walking places and having unfettered access to air. It’s not a deal breaker for me but it’s something to factor in. Count on tiring more quickly, count on needing more seated breaks, count on taking advantage of air conditioning and be sure to have extras for when the rain gets them.

I loved this day. I felt we all had our own versions of a perfect Disney day and the cm’s still make the magic. They are so happy to be there and they have always made Disney the place it is.

Also DS had worn his Scoops Ahoy Steve costume but we only saw maybe 10 other people in costume, outside of little girls in princess dresses.

Sorry I’m on my iPhone and apparent this forum hates my pictures. Lol. If a moderator can fix them, that would be awesome. Otherwise I can when I get back to my computer.


----------



## GlowTheWeird

alliecat726 said:


> Hi fellow Disney planners! Just got back from a 5-night/6-day trip Monday evening and thought instead of typing out our entire experience in great detail (because, if left to my own devices, I’ll write a 20-page novella) I thought I'd just outline what we did, and if anyone is doing any of these activities for their upcoming trip and has any specific questions (re airports/airplanes, Riviera, pool, Skyliner, buses, Disney Springs, shopping, dining, Food & Wine, all 4 parks, rides, cavalcades, queues, masks, social distancing, timing, etc) feel free to ask & I'll do my best to answer!! Went with my hubby & our 2 kids, 12 & 14. Rescheduled trip from canceled March plans. Also maybe worth mentioning, 1st time staying @ Riviera & 1st time eating @ every single restaurant/bar we visited. We’re DVC BTW.
> 
> *Wed 9/23: Arrived in Orlando* @ 3pm from Chicago/Ohare (United Club B open @ Ohare BTW). Did not rent a car, took Magical Express. Stayed @ Riviera. Took bus to Disney Springs, ate dinner @ Homecomin' & shopped a little. Went back to the Riv & hit the pool & hot tub.
> 
> *Thurs 9/24: Went to MK* via AM bus. Did 12 attractions (not in this order, I don’t remember now, sorry): Small World, Big Thunder, Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Pirates, 7 Dwarfs, Space Mt, Splash, Tiki Room, & Haunted Mansion. Lunch @ Skipper Canteen; Happy Hour @ Tony’s; Dinner @ Be Our Guest. Left empty park around 7:45/after close; took bus back to Riv.
> 
> *Fri 9/25: Went to AK* via AM bus. Did 7 attractions (again, not in order): Flight of Passage (twice), Navi River, Kali Rapids, Everest (twice), Safari, Dinosaur, & Tough to be a Bug. Ate lunch @ Yak & Yeti; intended to do a Happy Hour @ Nomad Lounge but decided to go on those 2 rides a 2nd time instead due to shorter wait times. Took bus back to Riv, showered & went to Topolino’s for dinner.
> 
> *Sat 9/26: Went to HS* via AM Skyliner. Did 9 attractions (no order): Tower of Terror, Rockin Rollercoaster, Min/Mick RR, Rise/Resistance, Smuggler’s Run, Slinky, Toy Story, Alien Saucers, & Muppet 3D. Lunch @ Sci Fi; Happy Hour @ Oga’s; cancelled dinner @ Paddlefish @ DS due to lateness & heat exhaustion/vertigo, bleah. Left park via Skyliner around 6pm. Got take-out @ Riviera’s counter service Primo Piatto & took up to room.
> 
> *Sun 9/27: Went to Epcot* via late-AM Skyliner. Did 7 attractions (no order): Frozen, Soarin, Test Track, Grand Fiesta boat, Journey/Imagination/Figment, Mission Space, Epcot Experience. (Wanted to do Living w/ the Land & Spaceship Earth but ran out of time.) Lunch @ Food & Wine; Happy Hour @ Spice Road; Dinner @ Le Cellier. BTW it POURED this night. Bus back to Riv. due to no Skyliner/rain.
> 
> *Mon 9/28: Brunch @ Topolino’s* for character meal. Late check-out @ noon. Did DVC tour of tower studio, 2- & 3-bedroom units @ Riv. Took Uber to airport due to Magical Express snafu. (United Club not open @ airport so waited @ gate.) The End!
> 
> LMK if you want any details about any facets of our trip, I am happy to share whatever I can! I will say, at the end of the day, while we had some concerns, worries, reservations, questions, etc before leaving (and, we did miss the fireworks and wearing masks in the heat was rough), overall we had a great & safe time and we are really glad we went.




great post thank you!!! Question: you cancelled a same day dining reservation at paddlefish, did you incur a cancellation charge? I was wondering if there was any flexibility with those? I can see if it storms and we are soaking etc what flexibility we have with cancellation or just heat exhaustion and needing to head back to the resort.


----------



## tussking

Back at Marriott. Spent the day from 1-7:30 @ Epcot. 
Rode:
Soarin - Walked on @ 1:30
Test Track - 20 mins @ 2:00
Ate some great food in China - Mongolian Beef Bao Bun, Chicken Dumplings, Spicy Shrimp then got 2 amazing egg rolls next door at the Tea stand.
Frozen - 30 mins @ 3:15 
Spaceship Earth @ 4:00
Churros and Popcorn next to the relaxation station to the left of Test Track - It's the ONLY popcorn stand in Epcot open.
Test Track - 30 mins @ 4:30
Walked all the countries and ate some snack foods.
Three Caballeros - Walked on @ 6:30
Frozen again - 10 mins @ 6:45

Great day.

No restaurants open in countries. Still, a lot of stands closed.

Definitely busy in the countries - I would say 90% compliance with masks. Did see people walking and eating or drinking. Only saw one Disney Security demand a group put the mask on. 
Doing the rides I felt 100% safe. Walking the countries was tight at times. 

Tomorrow we decided MK about 9:45 am after the initial rush. Doing 6 or 7 rides and done.


----------



## becks59

jodybird511 said:


> Are folks finding that they are able to get boarding groups typically while in line for MMRR?  What I mean is, is that a good location to attempt?


We got ours in line as well as my sister in law. They were about 5-10min behind us in line. We were not in the building yet either. There were quite of few shouts of joy from people getting it that we heard too.  Unfortunately an older couple right in front of us did not get a boarding group though.


----------



## becks59

AKVFamily said:


> For those who have been recently, are any of the EPCOT rides operating before the park opens?


We went to Epcot on Tuesday and arrived early. Our group had some go to TT and some go to Frozen before park opening. Not sure if any other rides are up and going though.


----------



## Greta

wilkydelts said:


> I went in and was playing with Mobile Ordering. They have completely removed the option to pay with a Gift Card or Disney Redemption Rewards Card. Very worried about this getting fixed!


I had the same experience last night and I did a chat on MDE asking about it.   The Cast member told me to use the add a card feature -   I told her I tried and it would only allow a credit card.  I was using it at P&J’s in Fort Wilderness.    I was hoping it was just that restaurant and in the park today I would be able to use it.
If I tell a CM that I don’t have a phone at a place like Pecos Bill’s will they let us in to order the old fashioned way?

our entire meal budget is my Disney rewards Redemption Card


----------



## Greta

Greta said:


> I had the same experience last night and I did a chat on MDE asking about it.   The Cast member told me to use the add a card feature -   I told her I tried and it would only allow a credit card.  I was using it at P&J’s in Fort Wilderness.    I was hoping it was just that restaurant and in the park today I would be able to use it.
> If I tell a CM that I don’t have a phone at a place like Pecos Bill’s will they let us in to order the old fashioned way?
> 
> our entire meal budget is my Disney rewards Redemption Card



I just updated my MDE app and the option for using a gift card or rewards redemption card is back!
Crisis averted! On to the Magic Kingdom ️


----------



## wilkydelts

Greta said:


> I just updated my MDE app and the option for using a gift card or rewards redemption card is back!
> Crisis averted! On to the Magic Kingdom



Thanks for the update. However, you MUST update the app to get that payment option back. When I first went in it was not there and I updated and it was.


----------



## Erica Ladd

My phone updates automatically. Where do I find the part where gift cards are?


----------



## alliecat726

GlowTheWeird said:


> great post thank you!!! Question: you cancelled a same day dining reservation at paddlefish, did you incur a cancellation charge? I was wondering if there was any flexibility with those? I can see if it storms and we are soaking etc what flexibility we have with cancellation or just heat exhaustion and needing to head back to the resort.


I called Paddlefish directly (like, 90 mins before our reservation time) and cancelled over the phone with the hostess--she was totally fine to cancel but she did tell me to also call Disney to make sure they knew (as we'd made the ADR thru Dis, not PF). So I called Dis and the Castmember did ask me why I was cancelling and I told her I did not feel well--and that we wouldn't have made it anyway due to getting so behind @ the park that day. She said that normally she would have charged me (or, rather the system would automatically charge me) $10 per person for a same-day cancellation but that because I'd cancelled it first w/ Paddlefish it wouldn't incur a charge. Since Paddlefish is @ Dis Springs and you can call it directly, it worked--but if you wanted to cancel @ a park or resort restaurant that you cannot call directly & can only call the main Dis #, I have a feeling you'd be charged. I suppose you could always just walk over to the restaurant ahead of time to cancel in person if you're @ the park where you're eating, but if it were @ a resort, I'm not sure...  Can people call resorts directly? I think not, again, you'd have to call the main # and plead your case. (And apparently saying I don't feel well or that I am too late due to rides/lines etc wouldn't have worked for me! Cancelling directly w/ PF was the reason I got out of it.)


----------



## alliecat726

tink2424 said:


> Overall the lines for every ride were ridiculously long. They need to increase capacity on the rides like load every row. It can’t continue like this.
> These are my observations from being there today.


Got back from a 5-night trip on Mon (did all 4 parks, MK Thurs, AK Fri, HS Sat, EC Sun) and I have to agree with you on many of the lines taking too long. We waited a long time for the F&W booth lines as well as for most major rides @ all the parks (w/ the exception of before official park open time @ MK & HS where they started letting people on 30 mins early) and we didn't even go on a handful of things as we spent so much time waiting in lines--we just ran out of time! If Dis is slowly moving in the direction to increase capacity, IMO they have to resume FastPasses. I would not feel comfortable being jammed into a queue or ride w/ strangers right now to decrease wait times, but I'd sure as heck take some FPs! Even ONE for a Tier 1 ride @ each park would be helpful!


----------



## teach22180

alliecat726 said:


> I called Paddlefish directly (like, 90 mins before our reservation time) and cancelled over the phone with the hostess--she was totally fine to cancel but she did tell me to also call Disney to make sure they knew (as we'd made the ADR thru Dis, not PF). So I called Dis and the Castmember did ask me why I was cancelling and I told her I did not feel well--and that we wouldn't have made it anyway due to getting so behind @ the park that day. She said that normally she would have charged me (or, rather the system would automatically charge me) $10 per person for a same-day cancellation but that because I'd cancelled it first w/ Paddlefish it wouldn't incur a charge. Since Paddlefish is @ Dis Springs and you can call it directly, it worked--but if you wanted to cancel @ a park or resort restaurant that you cannot call directly & can only call the main Dis #, I have a feeling you'd be charged. I suppose you could always just walk over to the restaurant ahead of time to cancel in person if you're @ the park where you're eating, but if it were @ a resort, I'm not sure...  Can people call resorts directly? I think not, again, you'd have to call the main # and plead your case. (And apparently saying I don't feel well or that I am too late due to rides/lines etc wouldn't have worked for me! Cancelling directly w/ PF was the reason I got out of it.)


You can modify the reservation to a few day away and then cancel to avoid the fee.


----------



## alliecat726

teach22180 said:


> You can modify the reservation to a few day away and then cancel to avoid the fee.


OMG, brilliant, duh!  Next time...!


----------



## disneygirlsng

teach22180 said:


> You can modify the reservation to a few day away and then cancel to avoid the fee.





alliecat726 said:


> OMG, brilliant, duh!  Next time...!


Yep, I've modified as close as 20 minutes before hand on the app with no penalty a few times before. Just change it to the next day, or any day in the future, then cancel. Never had any issues doing that.


----------



## Turk February

alliecat726 said:


> Got back from a 5-night trip on Mon (did all 4 parks, MK Thurs, AK Fri, HS Sat, EC Sun) and I have to agree with you on many of the lines taking too long. We waited a long time for the F&W booth lines as well as for most major rides @ all the parks (w/ the exception of before official park open time @ MK & HS where they started letting people on 30 mins early) and we didn't even go on a handful of things as we spent so much time waiting in lines--we just ran out of time! If Dis is slowly moving in the direction to increase capacity, IMO they have to resume FastPasses. I would not feel comfortable being jammed into a queue or ride w/ strangers right now to decrease wait times, but I'd sure as heck take some FPs! Even ONE for a Tier 1 ride @ each park would be helpful!



Adding fastpass without increasing ride capacity will not work. They have to be done together or we’ll just see even longer waits and lines.


----------



## tink2424

Turk February said:


> Adding fastpass without increasing ride capacity will not work. They have to be done together or we’ll just see even longer waits and lines.


Agree.  Fast pass isn’t the issue here & you’re right it would make things worse.  They need to increase ride capacity.  Whether that be more trains, cars, theatres, whatever or filling each ride experience more fully that is what they need to do.  It really doesn’t make sense for these short rides to leave so much empty space if the lines are crazy...  

You spend more time indoors on the line then in the rides themselves anyway.  So I don’t see it increasing anyone’s risk of getting the virus.  Yes, same family in each row but fill each row.


----------



## alliecat726

Turk February said:


> Adding fastpass without increasing ride capacity will not work. They have to be done together or we’ll just see even longer waits and lines.


Yeah, maybe you're right.


----------



## OKW Lover

Just back from 2 hours at Epcot.  We are local and went specifically for Food & Wine.  Got there ~11 am and left about 1.  Park was almost empty.  



Untitled by jalves_02360, on Flickr



Untitled by jalves_02360, on Flickr



Untitled by jalves_02360, on Flickr



Untitled by jalves_02360, on Flickr


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## Greta

Erica Ladd said:


> My phone updates automatically. Where do I find the part where gift cards are?



When you are about to pay there is an option that says add a card.  This is where you can add a gift card or rewards redemption card


----------



## Greta

We went to MK this morning.   Took the boat from Fort Wilderness, strolled into the park at about 8:45 or so.    Walked on Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates.     We waited about 20 min for BTMR and carousel. 
had a lovely mobile order experience with no quirks and early lunch at Cosmic Rays.     Then waiting about 20 min each for Space mountain and Buzz Lightyear.    Walked over to catch the Liberty square steamboat and caught Goofy’s cavalcade as well as the Villains.    we rode the boat, went in a couple stores on Main Street and took the boat back to our cabin for a rest.

We have an ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern later 

It was a great first day so far.   We never felt crowded or rushed and just took each activity as it came.    We strolled in and out of gift shops, are some snacks, took rest breaks for water, etc.   

The energy of the people is a little different and it might not be the best time for a first timer to visit but we made sure to reach out to people, talk to them, compliment people’s costumes, and just be happy. 

Life is what you make it - we are here for the fun!


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## tussking

Let me set the record straight. I’m here at MK right now standing in front of SM. There is ZERO magic. ZERO social distancing. Most people are wearing masks. Good luck staying at least 6 feet from others. Today looks like a normal weekday. I live in FL been coming for 25 years. I’m dissapointed. I felt completely safe at Epcot yesterday as far as distancing goes and had a great day! Here no one cares. Can’t wait to leave in 2 hours. I found a sitting area near Galactic Gateway stage and there is 50 ft for people to avoid me yet they walk within 2-3 feet. All day long....There is going to be massive Corona spikes in Florida in the next 2-6 weeks. Forget waking near it’s a small world or 7 dwarfs you can’t get 2 ft away from anyone.


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## ellbell

Greta said:


> We went to MK this morning.   Took the boat from Fort Wilderness, strolled into the park at about 8:45 or so.    Walked on Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates.     We waited about 20 min for BTMR and carousel.
> had a lovely mobile order experience with no quirks and early lunch at Cosmic Rays.     Then waiting about 20 min each for Space mountain and Buzz Lightyear.    Walked over to catch the Liberty square steamboat and caught Goofy’s cavalcade as well as the Villains.    we rode the boat, went in a couple stores on Main Street and took the boat back to our cabin for a rest.
> 
> We have an ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern later
> 
> It was a great first day so far.   We never felt crowded or rushed and just took each activity as it came.    We strolled in and out of gift shops, are some snacks, took rest breaks for water, etc.
> 
> The energy of the people is a little different and it might not be the best time for a first timer to visit but we made sure to reach out to people, talk to them, compliment people’s costumes, and just be happy.
> 
> Life is what you make it - we are here for the fun!


If I could love this comment I would have


----------



## ellbell

tussking said:


> Let me set the record straight. I’m here at MK right now standing in front of SM. There is ZERO magic. ZERO social distancing. Most people are wearing masks. Good luck staying at least 6 feet from others. Today looks like a normal weekday. I live in FL been coming for 25 years. I’m dissapointed. I felt completely safe at Epcot yesterday as far as distancing goes and had a great day! Here no one cares. Can’t wait to leave in 2 hours. I found a sitting area near Galactic Gateway stage and there is 50 ft for people to avoid me yet they walk within 2-3 feet. All day long....There is going to be massive Corona spikes in Florida in the next 2-6 weeks. Forget waking near it’s a small world or 7 dwarfs you can’t get 2 ft away from anyone.


I think it's about perspective.  The person above you posted their experience in MK today as well and they are having a great time.


----------



## Fitzwoman27

Khobbs18 said:


> OK, weird question. My SIL can no longer go on our trip but a family friend can. Can we just keep the room, ticket, and park pass in the old name or do we have to switch to the new person's name? I am worried we will lose our HS park reservation if we go through all the hassle anyway...


Pretty sure you will be asked for Id somewhere along the line. If you are staying on property you shouldnt have problem rebooking


----------



## Befferk

Greta said:


> The energy of the people is a little different and it might not be the best time for a first timer to visit but *we made sure to reach out to people, talk to them, compliment people’s costumes, and just be happy.
> 
> Life is what you make it - we are here for the fun!*



Thank you for saying this, reading some people's reports, I am convinced they are determined to have a terrible time and pick everything apart. I'm going to remember your words on our trip, and decide to be HAPPY that we're there and engage with other people! It is my son's GF's first trip, so I'm going to do everything I can to make it special. We can make our own magic, it's a choice.


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## yulilin3

again, it's perspective, attitude going in and expectations.
But a friendly reminder that everyone is entitled to their opinions, this is all very subjective, so anyone can post what  they think of the situation and no one should dispute what they think or feel


----------



## tussking

What’s quite amusing is I spent the day in Epcot yesterday and reported how amazing it was. Sorry, but the truth hurts. I’m a realistic not someone who pretends things are when they’re NOT. Now is NOT the time to come for first timers.


----------



## tussking

Just walked thru Adventureland about to walk on Pirates. You could barely walk.


----------



## Greta

tussking said:


> Just walked thru Adventureland about to walk on Pirates. You could barely walk.


I’m happy we decided to take an afternoon break


----------



## tussking




----------



## disneygirlsng

tussking said:


> View attachment 529289


Pretty good social distancing there...


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## Cynt

tussking said:


> View attachment 529289



Tussking, Where are all the people you are talking about?


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## becks59

Had a great day at AK today. Lines were all shorter than what was posted. Navi was the longest we waited. Posted 40 waited 30. Kali was posted 20min and ended up being about 5min. Basically a walk on. Safari posted 25 around 10:30 and we waited probably 15. Everest shut down for half the day. My boys had never ridden it before so we were a little sad to have missed it as we were walking out. I decided to check MDE one last time within 30yards of the exit. Saw it was open with 10 min to spare until closing. We booked it over there and we got to ride. They were even letting people get in line for about 20min after closing so my dh was able to take them too!  Great way to end the day!

The thing we are noticing about food though is that a lot of places are closing an hour or two before closing time. So if there is something you want, don’t wait until the end of the day to get it because the place could be closed.


----------



## fabfemmeboy

tussking said:


> What’s quite amusing is I spent the day in Epcot yesterday and reported how amazing it was. Sorry, but the truth hurts. I’m a realistic not someone who pretends things are when they’re NOT. Now is NOT the time to come for first timers.



Respectfully, I think you may have misinterpreted the comments people made.  They weren't saying you're lying or just trying to slam anything for sake of being negative, they were saying that you and another person are at the same park at the same time and reporting wildly different experiences.  That means one of two things - either:
1. Crowds are huge in one place and low in another at all points in time, and you happen to be in the Charlie Brown Cloud of people (which is entirely possible based on other posts in this thread and watching wait times ebb and flow throughout the day); OR
2. You and the other poster have very different perceptions of crowd sizes.  What feels fine to her feels oppressive and scary to you.  There's nothing wrong with that AT ALL, but saying "Sorry but the truth hurts. I'm a realistic not someone who pretends things are okay when they're NOT" - as though you're honourably telling the truth while the other poster is purposefully lying to paint a rosy picture where there isn't one - comes across as disproportionately defensive.  

I'm sorry that your day at MK wasn't nearly as good as your day at EPCOT.


----------



## only hope

tink2424 said:


> Agree.  Fast pass isn’t the issue here & you’re right it would make things worse.  They need to increase ride capacity.  Whether that be more trains, cars, theatres, whatever or filling each ride experience more fully that is what they need to do.  It really doesn’t make sense for these short rides to leave so much empty space if the lines are crazy...
> 
> You spend more time indoors on the line then in the rides themselves anyway.  So I don’t see it increasing anyone’s risk of getting the virus.  Yes, same family in each row but fill each row.



The time spent in line is spent (if people are following the rules) is socially distanced, so that’s not a fair comparison to the shorter time spent on the ride. In line, if people near you decide other people’s safety isn’t important and don’t wear their mask correctly/at all, you have the options of leaving extra space, letting them pass you, or leaving the line. On the ride you don’t have that choice if someone near you takes their mask off. Social distancing needs to be in place until the pandemic is over. They should run both sides of tracks/all theaters where applicable though. 

Btw, safari and Livin with the Land load every row if there’s a line because Disney thinks a flimsy plastic barrier that doesn’t extend all the way up, down, or to the sides in some cases is enough protection. I’m going to email them about this. Safari at least is outside and goes fast with airflow. Ironic how they ask guests to social distance at all times but then put you too close to others for the sake of a wait time.


----------



## Took

Just a heads up. The buses are not predictable at all. I waited at BCV for 45 minutes trying to get to AK this morning. During that time, no buses came for AK  THREE MK buses came. Don’t know if there are buses still to DHS from BCV but none came. When a bus showed up, that driver claimed buses ran every 20 minutes. Misinformation.


----------



## brockash

Fitzwoman27 said:


> Pretty sure you will be asked for Id somewhere along the line. If you are staying on property you shouldnt have problem rebooking


I don't know what you think they'd be asked an ID for???  In over 15 years of going to Disney at least annually and lately multiple times a year; I, nor has anyone else in my party ever been asked for an ID.  If the SIL was not the lead guest; it should never be an issue and even if she was they most likely would still have no issue.  I understand rebooking with correct names would be fine as well...but we all know there are many reasons why that may not work and honestly the less you have Disney messing with your reservation the better and less likely there is to be a problem.


----------



## kdonnel

Took said:


> Just a heads up. The buses are not predictable at all. I waited at BCV for 45 minutes trying to get to AK this morning. During that time, no buses came for AK  THREE MK buses came. Don’t know if there are buses still to DHS from BCV but none came. When a bus showed up, that driver claimed buses ran every 20 minutes. Misinformation.


That is not new.  That is how the buses have worked for decades, at least that has always been my luck with the buses.


----------



## Lizzards

alliecat726 said:


> Hi fellow Disney planners! Just got back from a 5-night/6-day trip Monday evening and thought instead of typing out our entire experience in great detail (because, if left to my own devices, I’ll write a 20-page novella) I thought I'd just outline what we did, and if anyone is doing any of these activities for their upcoming trip and has any specific questions (re airports/airplanes, Riviera, pool, Skyliner, buses, Disney Springs, shopping, dining, Food & Wine, all 4 parks, rides, cavalcades, queues, masks, social distancing, timing, etc) feel free to ask & I'll do my best to answer!! Went with my hubby & our 2 kids, 12 & 14. Rescheduled trip from canceled March plans. Also maybe worth mentioning, 1st time staying @ Riviera & 1st time eating @ every single restaurant/bar we visited. We’re DVC BTW.
> 
> *Wed 9/23: Arrived in Orlando* @ 3pm from Chicago/Ohare (United Club B open @ Ohare BTW). Did not rent a car, took Magical Express. Stayed @ Riviera. Took bus to Disney Springs, ate dinner @ Homecomin' & shopped a little. Went back to the Riv & hit the pool & hot tub.
> 
> *Thurs 9/24: Went to MK* via AM bus. Did 12 attractions (not in this order, I don’t remember now, sorry): Small World, Big Thunder, Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Pirates, 7 Dwarfs, Space Mt, Splash, Tiki Room, & Haunted Mansion. Lunch @ Skipper Canteen; Happy Hour @ Tony’s; Dinner @ Be Our Guest. Left empty park around 7:45/after close; took bus back to Riv.
> 
> *Fri 9/25: Went to AK* via AM bus. Did 7 attractions (again, not in order): Flight of Passage (twice), Navi River, Kali Rapids, Everest (twice), Safari, Dinosaur, & Tough to be a Bug. Ate lunch @ Yak & Yeti; intended to do a Happy Hour @ Nomad Lounge but decided to go on those 2 rides a 2nd time instead due to shorter wait times. Took bus back to Riv, showered & went to Topolino’s for dinner.
> 
> *Sat 9/26: Went to HS* via AM Skyliner. Did 9 attractions (no order): Tower of Terror, Rockin Rollercoaster, Min/Mick RR, Rise/Resistance, Smuggler’s Run, Slinky, Toy Story, Alien Saucers, & Muppet 3D. Lunch @ Sci Fi; Happy Hour @ Oga’s; cancelled dinner @ Paddlefish @ DS due to lateness & heat exhaustion/vertigo, bleah. Left park via Skyliner around 6pm. Got take-out @ Riviera’s counter service Primo Piatto & took up to room.
> 
> *Sun 9/27: Went to Epcot* via late-AM Skyliner. Did 7 attractions (no order): Frozen, Soarin, Test Track, Grand Fiesta boat, Journey/Imagination/Figment, Mission Space, Epcot Experience. (Wanted to do Living w/ the Land & Spaceship Earth but ran out of time.) Lunch @ Food & Wine; Happy Hour @ Spice Road; Dinner @ Le Cellier. BTW it POURED this night. Bus back to Riv. due to no Skyliner/rain.
> 
> *Mon 9/28: Brunch @ Topolino’s* for character meal. Late check-out @ noon. Did DVC tour of tower studio, 2- & 3-bedroom units @ Riv. Took Uber to airport due to Magical Express snafu. (United Club not open @ airport so waited @ gate.) The End!
> 
> LMK if you want any details about any facets of our trip, I am happy to share whatever I can! I will say, at the end of the day, while we had some concerns, worries, reservations, questions, etc before leaving (and, we did miss the fireworks and wearing masks in the heat was rough), overall we had a great & safe time and we are really glad we went.


How was the transportation from Riviera to the parks? We are staying there in November for the first time.  Did you wait long for buses or the sky liner? Did you have to get in line early? Anything you specifically did or was it easy to get to from there.....Thanks!


----------



## Sarahslay

Took said:


> Just a heads up. The buses are not predictable at all. I waited at BCV for 45 minutes trying to get to AK this morning. During that time, no buses came for AK  THREE MK buses came. Don’t know if there are buses still to DHS from BCV but none came. When a bus showed up, that driver claimed buses ran every 20 minutes. Misinformation.


No buses from Epcot resorts to HS, at least never any time I have stayed there (and I was at YC at the end of August, only MK & AK buses). AK takes forever to get to anyway from a lot of the resorts, and in the morning with people trying to drive to parks there is some traffic, so you never know what has happened. The buses have always been that sporadic though, that's why Disney tells you to give yourself 1.5 hours to get anywhere on property, be it RD or ADR.


----------



## soniam

Sarahslay said:


> No buses from Epcot resorts to HS, at least never any time I have stayed there (and I was at YC at the end of August, only MK & AK buses). AK takes forever to get to anyway from a lot of the resorts, and in the morning with people trying to drive to parks there is some traffic, so you never know what has happened. The buses have always been that sporadic though, that's why Disney tells you to give yourself 1.5 hours to get anywhere on property, be it RD or ADR.


The problem is that the morning buses aren’t usually running an hour and a half before the park open. Sometimes they do, but officially right now, I believe they start an hour before.


----------



## Sarahslay

soniam said:


> The problem is that the morning buses aren’t usually running an hour and a half before the park open. Sometimes they do, but officially right now, I believe they start an hour before.


That is true, but it still hasn't changed how sporadic they are. On my MK day three came back to back leaving AK folks just standing there waiting, of course there were a lot more people going to MK at the time but I'm sure all those folks were pretty annoyed.


----------



## soniam

Sarahslay said:


> That is true, but it still hasn't changed how sporadic they are. On my MK day three came back to back leaving AK folks just standing there waiting, of course there were a lot more people going to MK at the time but I'm sure all those folks were pretty annoyed.


If I had a dime for every time I have experienced this... They’ve been like this since we have been going in 2012. We have been driving or walking to the parks for a while now. It’s not new. It’s still a bummer. If it didn’t get fixed pre-Covid, when they were raking in dough, it definitely won’t get fixed now that they are strapped for cash.


----------



## HikingFam

Lizzards said:


> How was the transportation from Riviera to the parks? We are staying there in November for the first time.  Did you wait long for buses or the sky liner? Did you have to get in line early? Anything you specifically did or was it easy to get to from there.....Thanks!


Today, the Skyliner to Epcot began at 9:50 or so (despite the posted opening time of 10:30). There were maybe 15 parties in line when it opened.


----------



## HikingFam

We spent the last week here, with 2 kids and a DAS. The DAS made the trip manageable, but we spent less time in the parks than we normally do, due to the wait times. We have APs, so it’s not a big deal to hit the park for 2-3 hours and then head back for a swim.

We felt safer than expected- we commented that we wished the general public at home would be as tolerant of masks as people are here. We saw almost no one trying to skirt the rules.

Things I loved and hope to stick around post-pandemic: mobile ordering, online restaurant check in, orderliness of lines and assigned seats on transport. There is usually a cast member asking how many in your party and telling you exactly where to sit.

I missed park hopping more than expected. With shorter days in the parks, it would have been nice to hop to dinner in Epcot. I also really miss FP. I’m the target audience who will pay an up charge for FP, EMH, whatever they decide to offer. Our family just doesn’t do lines over 20 min, and it has never been a problem in the past with FP and rope dropping.

The park opening times are annoying, since they all “really” open 45 minutes or so prior to the posted time. We mostly drove to the parks, and the opening time for parking was a crapshoot. Like how are you supposed to know that HS opens at 10, but they will let you line up at maybe 9:00 or 9:15, depending on the day (it was actually 8:51 on Thursday). Or that the Epcot Skyliner starts at 9:50, even though the sign says it starts at 10:30. I just wish they would communicate this stuff more accurately. It took a lot more strategy to get to the parks than usual, but that’s because we like to rope drop. 

Overall, we had a lot more fun than expected and are planning to return soon. I just hope they find a way to address the wait times, because that is the biggest deterrent right now for our family. It feels like they’ve reached a tipping point.


----------



## only hope

HikingFam said:


> We spent the last week here, with 2 kids and a DAS. The DAS made the trip manageable, but we spent less time in the parks than we normally do, due to the wait times. We have APs, so it’s not a big deal to hit the park for 2-3 hours and then head back for a swim.
> 
> We felt safer than expected- we commented that we wished the general public at home would be as tolerant of masks as people are here. We saw almost no one trying to skirt the rules.
> 
> Things I loved and hope to stick around post-pandemic: mobile ordering, online restaurant check in, orderliness of lines and assigned seats on transport. There is usually a cast member asking how many in your party and telling you exactly where to sit.
> 
> I missed park hopping more than expected. With shorter days in the parks, it would have been nice to hop to dinner in Epcot. I also really miss FP. I’m the target audience who will pay an up charge for FP, EMH, whatever they decide to offer. Our family just doesn’t do lines over 20 min, and it has never been a problem in the past with FP and rope dropping.
> 
> The park opening times are annoying, since they all “really” open 45 minutes or so prior to the posted time. We mostly drove to the parks, and the opening time for parking was a crapshoot. Like how are you supposed to know that HS opens at 10, but they will let you line up at maybe 9:00 or 9:15, depending on the day (it was actually 8:51 on Thursday). Or that the Epcot Skyliner starts at 9:50, even though the sign says it starts at 10:30. I just wish they would communicate this stuff more accurately. It took a lot more strategy to get to the parks than usual, but that’s because we like to rope drop.
> 
> Overall, we had a lot more fun than expected and are planning to return soon. I just hope they find a way to address the wait times, because that is the biggest deterrent right now for our family. It feels like they’ve reached a tipping point.



I suspect the slightly different, unadvertised early opening times for parking lots/parks and starting times for transportation day to day are an effort to minimize crowds.


----------



## emi6891

I've gotten very behind on my trip report and have had such busy days at work, that I haven't had time to type it up. Last Sunday at MK was noticeably more crowded than Saturday at HS. Lots of crowding in the area between Peter Pan and Small World and somewhat crowded around Splash and Thunder throughout the day. Got in line for 7 dwarves at 8:58 (official park open 9am) and was all the way around the back towards the circus area. The wait was listed as 50 minutes and got off the ride by 9:40. Headed to tomorrowland for space which was listed as 10 minutes when getting in line but the sign changed to 25 just before getting to the inside part of the line and ended up being a little less than 20 minutes. Buzz was a 10 minute wait for us. It was listed as 15 when we were going in but 25 coming out. Peter Pan was listed as a 35 minute wait and was probably around 25. Next we went to Thunder which was listed as a 45 minute wait but was really less than 15. Splash had been down for the most of the morning and was not open when walking to Thunder, but as we were getting off Thunder, it was open with a 70 minute wait. I have no idea where all those people came from all of a sudden to fill up that line. I think it ended up being about a 40 minute wait. Next was lunch as Pecos Bill which was mobbed. We really should have known not to eat lunch around 12, but we were hungry and didn't want to walk back to Cosmic Ray's where we had originally intended to get lunch. Had to wait outside to be let in when the order was ready for pickup and then spent time wandering around the whole restaurant looking for tables, finally having to grab one as someone else was leaving. After lunch, got in line for pirates that was listed as 75 minutes but took just over 30. Jungle cruise was listed as 55 but was actually only 25. Next we did tiki birds with a 10 minute wait. Ordered a dole whip float while waiting for tiki birds and hit the I'm here when the show ended to pick it up right away. It was quite hot by that time and our feet were starting to hurt so we considered leaving to go to the hotel pool. I wanted the poison apple cupcake from Pinocchio's so I mobile ordered and picked that up then met up at tomorrowland terrace where I knew we could take off masks and relax a little before leaving. After the rest, we decided to stay a little longer. Went next on Carousel of Progress to try to cool off some more and was maybe only a 10 minute wait. Did Winnie the Pooh with a 10 minute wait listed as 25 and Mansion with a 20 minute wait that was listed as 50. It was a bit after 5pm by this time and we decided to call it a day and go back to the hotel. The park was definitely emptying out by this time so staying late can definitely benefit you with shorter lines.

Finished out our trip on Monday with Animal Kingdom. Official park open 9:00 and we were in line to park at 8. Started moving at 8:15 and paid, but were then held again until 8:23. Through temp check, security and tapstiles by 8:38. Headed straight to FOP and ended up in line at 8:43 down the path towards Lion King adjacent with the sign that says Valley of Moara. We were in the 2nd preshow at 9:19 (first preshow is skipped). Next got in line for Navi river which was originally listed as 20 minutes but increased to 35 while in line and we waited 30. Enjoyed the pineapple lumpia and night blossom from Pongu Pongu before heading to Africa. By this time, the line for FOP extended all the way to the Lion King theater even though it was only listed as 75 minutes. Got in line for the safari at 10:30 and it was listed as 40 minutes and took about 30. Afterwards, did the gorilla trail and saw the baby gorilla nursing. Then headed to Asia for Kali which was listed at 20 minutes, but was probably about 10. Did Kali twice, getting right back in line at the fastpass merge point I think. Then did the tiger trail and Everest twice. Decided to go to Disney Springs for lunch prior to heading home for work Tuesday morning and Disney Springs was not crowded at all, at least at that time of day.


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## oceanmarina

silver236 said:


> Just got back from a 5 day trip.  1 night BWV, and three nights Poly.  Arrived Friday at noon.  That was our Epcot day.  Would have been awesome if it weren't for me renting from Budget rental car for the last time.  Even still, got on everything except frozen (not a big deal for us) three Cabeleros (there was always a line to get into the pavillion), and Test track (broke down when we were on the loading platform and it never went back up), ate everything from F/W we wanted.  I did realize how much I rely on the Epcot shops to stop in and cool down on the hot days.  So many of them are still closed.
> Day 2 was a Saturday at HS.  Day went really, really well.  We had the advantage of staying at the boardwalk so we were one of the first ones in the park.  Rode MMRR and MFSR before the park even opened.  Got BG 42 (Bit of a scare when it went down on group 40-but it came back up and we got on). Rode everything at least once, including multiples on MFSR, RNRC, TSMM.  Park was crowded in the afternoon so we spent the high point snacking waiting for the times to go down.
> Day 3 (Sunday) was at AK.  Drove over from the Poly.  We hit the headliners early doing FOP, RJ, EE (2) before the crowd built.  Spent the afternoon during the high crowds doing the trails, checking out all the small details and exhibits that we always skip, got a quick run Kali, and when the waits went down hit everything else including two more rides on FOP (almost got a fourth but missed it by 4 minutes).
> Day 4 (yesterday) was at MK.  We've been watching the wait times for a few weeks for weekdays at MK.  They reflected NOTHING like what we saw yesterday.  It was hell.  We got there right away and got on Pirates, BTMR, and Splash and Haunted Mansion.  By the time we got off of Splash the wait times across the park had exploded and the walkways were packed.  At one point we even saw a wait time of 45 minutes for the carousel of progress!!!  We hit a few short waits that would pop up, and actually went back to the room to re-shower and get fresh masks because it was extremely hot and humid.  Got back and did a posted 45 minute wait for Space Mountain because it was the lowest posted all day (actually ended up being 60). The thunderstorm actually helped us out.  We got in line for IASW right before the lightning (we were watching out weather app) so we missed the onslaught of the rain.  We both had waterproof sandals and raincoats with us so we hiked over the Little Mermaid and got on that.   Luckily the rain cleared a lot of people out so we managed to get on quite a few on our list but not all.  We were so tired this morning we decided to just hang in the room before heading to the airport.  Not sure what the anomaly was at MK on Monday because the posted wait times today were a fraction of what they were yesterday.
> 
> My takeaways:
> Masks make it feel 10 degrees warmer
> The cast members are always incredible and were on our trip
> Disney needs to get shows open.  It is my honest opinion they are not taking these closures into account in what their "capacity" is.  There were just too many people in MK yesterday.  I'm actually wondering if it was a computer glitch somewhere.
> Seeing the musicians and dancers last night at Raglan Road made our trip.
> If this is your first trip to WDW, do NOT go.  It's fun but so much is missing.
> 
> We had a great time.  Going to re-evaluate when we are going back and see how this progresses.



My sister just left today after a 4 day stay and said exactly the same things. The waits were nothing like the posted wait times. They were soooo much longer. And she’s a rope drop person. She said the lines were AWFUL.  90 minute waits for most rides at Hollywood Studios. And she would be next to load the line and then they had to stop for another 20 minutes to clean it. She hated the process for ordering food, missed the characters, the restaurants.  She felt it was void of all the magic. Plus crazy long waits for the rides (not just at HS)


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## Disneyforus

Here now at Ft Wilderness....just saw Fireworks in the sky...maybe Epcot or HS?
It’s 8pm


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## TandDandE

HikingFam said:


> Today, the Skyliner to Epcot began at 9:50 or so (despite the posted opening time of 10:30). There were maybe 15 parties in line when it opened.



Thanks for your posts!

Did you RD MK? If so, what was your strategy/experience?


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## HikingFam

Disneyforus said:


> Here now at Ft Wilderness....just saw Fireworks in the sky...maybe Epcot or HS?
> It’s 8pm


I was at Epcot tonight- no fireworks here.


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## HikingFam

TandDandE said:


> Thanks for your posts!
> 
> Did you RD MK? If so, what was your strategy/experience?


We did! We were staying at the Fort for that portion of the trip (moved to Riviera later). So, we took the boat to MK on Sunday and again on Tuesday. The posted time for the first boat is 8:30 (30 min prior to park opening). On Sunday, we were on the first boat at 7:59 and went straight into the park. Rode 7DMT, Peter Pan and Big Thunder by 9:00. From there, we started using the DAS but found everything to be pretty manageable  until our lunch reservation at 11:30. At that point, lines were getting longer and it was getting hotter, so we called it a day after lunch.
We basically replicated the entire experience on Tuesday, except the first boat didn’t come until the advertised time of 8:30 (I‘m telling you all of this about the boats, in case there is some kind of consistency across all modes of transportation— it seems they start running transportation and letting people into the parks earlier on weekends).


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## Greta

We went to EPCOT today 

Our longest wait of the day was about 25-30 min at Frozen ride.   We went on TT (15 min), mission space (15 min), Soarin(10 min), Living with the Land (walk on), Nemo (walk on)

Mexico boat ride was down when we were there so we will catch it on Monday.
We really enjoyed the Mariachi Cobre and the   Beauty & the Beast Sing along.
 We snacked here and there.   Our favorite of the day was the Lobster Mac and cheese at the Festival center. 

We took a side trip on the Skyliner as the was the first time we ever rode it.    Our 14 year old loved it and it was a highlight of her day!

We had a 6:45 dinner reservation at Coral Reef and the shrimp and grits were delicious.   It was like a mixture of Shrimp and grits along with a nod to jambalaya.  

There were definitely people around anywhere we went but there was always room for us to still feel comfortable.   We never had a problem finding a table or spot to sit and eat our snacks.  

I am sad I missed The Alps today because I think it may be closed when we visit on Monday but we walked by that and the outpost quickly since my daughter wanted to get to a restroom 

the CM’s we encountered were happy to be there and many of them thanked us genuinely for visiting. We had some nice conversations with both CM’s and fellow visitors.
The weather was perfect today too!


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## tussking

oceanmarina said:


> My sister just left today after a 4 day stay and said exactly the same things. The waits were nothing like the posted wait times. They were soooo much longer. And she’s a rope drop person. She said the lines were AWFUL.  90 minute waits for most rides at Hollywood Studios. And she would be next to load the line and then they had to stop for another 20 minutes to clean it. She hated the process for ordering food, missed the characters, the restaurants.  She felt it was void of all the magic. Plus crazy long waits for the rides (not just at HS)



AGREE!


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## tussking

fabfemmeboy said:


> Respectfully, I think you may have misinterpreted the comments people made.  They weren't saying you're lying or just trying to slam anything for sake of being negative, they were saying that you and another person are at the same park at the same time and reporting wildly different experiences.  That means one of two things - either:
> 1. Crowds are huge in one place and low in another at all points in time, and you happen to be in the Charlie Brown Cloud of people (which is entirely possible based on other posts in this thread and watching wait times ebb and flow throughout the day); OR
> 2. You and the other poster have very different perceptions of crowd sizes.  What feels fine to her feels oppressive and scary to you.  There's nothing wrong with that AT ALL, but saying "Sorry but the truth hurts. I'm a realistic not someone who pretends things are okay when they're NOT" - as though you're honourably telling the truth while the other poster is purposefully lying to paint a rosy picture where there isn't one - comes across as disproportionately defensive.
> 
> I'm sorry that your day at MK wasn't nearly as good as your day at EPCOT.



Appreciate the response. I live in Florida been coming for 25 years. I've been inside MK during New Year's Eve many times. I've also been to MK many times in the winter when it's dead. Considering we are in a pandemic it was busy. Much busier than I expected. I spoke with many employees throughout the day that were very surprised how busy it was compared to 1 and 2 weeks ago. My point was and still is PEOPLE DIDN'T BEHAVE LIKE WE ARE IN A PANDEMIC. That was un-nerving. I'm home and done debating this topic. I hope my posts helped some people. That was my only goal. It's very expensive to go to Disney even for a few days.


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## becks59

Went to Magic Kingdom again yesterday and had a very great day!  A few lines were longer, like SDMT was about 30min. But posted at about 45min. We got in a few rides on Splash. It’s my husbands favorite ride and we most likely won’t be back to parks before they close it down for retheming. It was our last ride of the day and we booked it from Astro to Splash in 7minutes!  We made it with 1min to spare before closing. We got some excellent pictures of it after closing too. The lighting was perfect!  Most rides seemed to be listing wait times about 15min longer than what was posted. Probably to cover for any cleaning down times. We didn’t seem to hit cleaning times really though. Today is our last day at WDW and we will be visiting Hollywood Studios!  I’m a little curious to see how the crowds compare to when we went on Wednesday. I just checked the reservation calendar and it is full in all three buckets. I’ll report back how I think it compared.


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## mommyburns

Here now, arrived yesterday around 11 andMagicalExpress (first time) was very smooth. If you are staying at a new resort, the direct to room can be inconvienent trying to find your way around.  It was also a little difficult to figure out busses (we have never stayed somewhere that had an internal shuttle) . We went to the pool after checkin and it felt pretty empty around 130. Went to Disney springs for 500 dinner reservation and it seemed a good crowd shopping before dinner but noticed MANY more people after dinner. Went back to the pool where it was much more crowded. We transfer to another resort today so excited to see a new one. My first take away is be prepared for non park activities to pick up in crowds once parks start to close for the night. Overall we are excited to be here and can’t wait to see the parks


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## silver236

oceanmarina said:


> My sister just left today after a 4 day stay and said exactly the same things. The waits were nothing like the posted wait times. They were soooo much longer. And she’s a rope drop person. She said the lines were AWFUL.  90 minute waits for most rides at Hollywood Studios. And she would be next to load the line and then they had to stop for another 20 minutes to clean it. She hated the process for ordering food, missed the characters, the restaurants.  She felt it was void of all the magic. Plus crazy long waits for the rides (not just at HS)


I just read in another thread that schools were off in FL on Monday.  Makes total sense now why the crowds were nuts and we saw so many large groups of kids with multiple moms.


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## itsdisneytime

I know I am jumping in late in the game but reading all of these posts is making me so glad that I decided to go when I did.  I was in Magic Kingdom on August 3rd and Animal Kingdom on August 5th.  I was dreading going because I hate... literally HATE the heat.  I think the fact that the parks had only been open roughly 2 weeks at that point had something to do with the fact, but.....we felt like it was a ghost town when we were at Animal Kingdom.  WE got there at opening and my daughter rode Everest 8 times in a row and it only took a total of maybe 20 minutes.  We did have to wait approx 20 minutes for Navi river and maybe 15 minutes for the Safari ride but overall we were shocked at how Magical it was to be there in a virtually empty park.  The cavalcades were amazing and the characters really got to interact with you because there were so few people around.   In Magic Kindom, we literally got pictures in front of the castle with no need to filter out any other people it was unbelieveable.  I was so happy with how safe I felt there that I decided to plan another trip for December... now I am reading that folks are reporting crowds and such -- I am just going to roll with it but I wanted to just put my two cents in that I think Disney is doing a fantastic job at trying to keep things safe for all while still giving us the Magical Feels that we need when we go


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## yulilin3

At DHS now,  arrived at 1:30pm, grabbed bg 74 at the 2pm drop.  Im only here to record the last performance of the Grand Floridian Orchestra. 
The park is definitely feeling like a regular day,  long lines right now for attractions and food.  I'll report end of day feel.  
The weather is amazing though


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## Theactualdisneyprincess

*Please feel free to move if this is the wrong thread or if this has been answered elsewhere*

What hours does the Magical Express run right now? I am looking at about 7:30pm on a Saturday evening. Flights for that weekend are cheaper at that time, but I would be paying for an extra night at the hotel vs. flying in Sunday morning. 

Is it possible to still get a bus from a skyliner resort to Epcot or Hollywood Studios? When I was at one last week it had looked like the area for a bus was roped off with a sign that said that you must use the skyliner. May be going to the parks solo this trip and I am definitely not comfortable going on a skyliner by myself, so trying to see if it may be better costwise to go to a different resort vs getting an Uber or Lyft to get around.


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## lovethattink

I’m at MK this afternoon. Huge difference between a Saturday and a Tuesday or Thursday! Almost everything is a 50 minute wait. We arrive just before 3. Saw the princess cavalcade and the end of Cadaver Dans show. Ds is in costume.


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## lovethattink

Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> *Please feel free to move if this is the wrong thread or if this has been answered elsewhere*
> 
> What hours does the Magical Express run right now? I am looking at about 7:30pm on a Saturday evening. Flights for that weekend are cheaper at that time, but I would be paying for an extra night at the hotel vs. flying in Sunday morning.
> 
> Is it possible to still get a bus from a skyliner resort to Epcot or Hollywood Studios? When I was at one last week it had looked like the area for a bus was roped off with a sign that said that you must use the skyliner. May be going to the parks solo this trip and I am definitely not comfortable going on a skyliner by myself, so trying to see if it may be better costwise to go to a different resort vs getting an Uber or Lyft to get around.



It’s only possible when it’s lightening. Then they’ll activate the buses for the Skyliner resorts.


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## erinch

We ate at OKW for 2 nights. Just restor. We spent 2 weeks at Vistana and 11 days in the parks. Will write up some thoughts on laptop soon. Regarding meal cancellations, we had to cancel several for various reasons. Soaking wet. Someone with a headache. Etc. we would bop into a park guest relations and they courteously and immediately made it disappear. I was in hold one with Disney dining for an hour and 17 minutes to cancel and then was disconnected.


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## disneygirlsng

Theactualdisneyprincess said:


> *Please feel free to move if this is the wrong thread or if this has been answered elsewhere*
> 
> What hours does the Magical Express run right now? I am looking at about 7:30pm on a Saturday evening. Flights for that weekend are cheaper at that time, but I would be paying for an extra night at the hotel vs. flying in Sunday morning.
> 
> Is it possible to still get a bus from a skyliner resort to Epcot or Hollywood Studios? When I was at one last week it had looked like the area for a bus was roped off with a sign that said that you must use the skyliner. May be going to the parks solo this trip and I am definitely not comfortable going on a skyliner by myself, so trying to see if it may be better costwise to go to a different resort vs getting an Uber or Lyft to get around.


My understanding is they are only running buses if the skyliner is down right now. Not sure what your hesitation of doing the skyliner solo is, but as of now they are only putting one party in each gondola, so if you are by yourself you will be the only one on it if that helps you.

For the first question you should be totally fine with a later flight.


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## Junebugwv

HikingFam said:


> I missed park hopping more than expected. With shorter days in the parks, it would have been nice to hop to dinner in Epcot. I also really miss FP. I’m the target audience who will pay an up charge for FP, EMH, whatever they decide to offer. Our family just doesn’t do lines over 20 min, and it has never been a problem in the past with FP and rope dropping.
> 
> The park opening times are annoying, since they all “really” open 45 minutes or so prior to the posted time. We mostly drove to the parks, and the opening time for parking was a crapshoot. Like how are you supposed to know that HS opens at 10, but they will let you line up at maybe 9:00 or 9:15, depending on the day (it was actually 8:51 on Thursday). Or that the Epcot Skyliner starts at 9:50, even though the sign says it starts at 10:30. I just wish they would communicate this stuff more accurately. It took a lot more strategy to get to the parks than usual, but that’s because we like to rope drop.


Wholeheartedly agree with you.  We returned home on Oct. 1 from a 10-day trip and experienced the same thing with openings.  No information available and no consistent opening for the parking lot.  However, the actual park entry was very easy at each park.


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## Junebugwv

only hope said:


> I suspect the slightly different, unadvertised early opening times for parking lots/parks and starting times for transportation day to day are an effort to minimize crowds.


I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense.  One of our recent AK days had us puzzled as they made us wait until 8:15 to enter the parking lot.  We parked, made the long walk to the entrance then straight to FOP and were in line 10 minutes before opening.  The line was almost to the bathrooms near Festival of the Lion King.  We could only surmise that all the people in line had to be from the buses.


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## becks59

At HS today. It was busy this morning for sure. Longer waits and hard to get through the crowds, especially in Galaxy’s Edge. But after 2:30, things have really slowed down. Shorter lines and lower crowds. It has been drizzling too, not sure if that is contributing to lower crowds or not. It feels great temperature wise though!  

We got on MMRR this morning. Got in line at 9:35, waited 50min. This was the same as Wednesday almost exactly. I was able to snag boarding group 4!  Again I turned off location services after getting in the park. 

My daughter just barely reached 38inches for this trip and was able to ride all the 38in rides  except for MFSR. The measuring stick right before getting on seems to be more than 38in. She passed the one at the front of the line, but not the last one. She wasn’t trying to stand up really tall, but she easily got onto Slinky without trying. So if you have a little one close to 38in then they may not be able to get on smugglers. 

Overall this was a great trip!  It started off rough on Monday morning, but since then the days have been great!  If you are worried about crowds at HS then I would suggest waiting until after 3pm to come and to avoid Galaxy’s Edge. That has some choke points that did not allow for distancing. We felt very safe and were so happy to be there. However, it is too much money for us to fly across the country again and pay for tickets for our family to justify coming again until it is all back to normal. Not to mention that we all either just tolerated or despised the masks. But it was definitely a trip to remember!


----------



## Apiary

We leave today after three nights in the Epcot resort area. We did three park days, but skipped MK. I think if we were to do this again I would skip HS. It’s at capacity almost everyday, and almost everyone who is visiting for the day shows up for rope drop. Making the morning really crowded. We visited on Friday and were able to pick up a boarding group, but we didn’t ride much other than that. Just shopped and walked around for a couple hours until they called us. We came back in the evening and rose MFSR, and it felt like everyone had given up on rules. Lots of visible noses and people ignoring the distancing markers. 
Our trip to AK on Saturday was fine, but we should have avoided Pandora all together. It was very crowded and felt a little chaotic. That day we rode the safari, did the walking trails, ate at Nomad Lounge and then left. 
We did Epcot on arrival day, Thursday, and it was great. Walked onto rides, barely waited for food and drink. It was easy to find a table away from other people. But again, the last hour of park operation felt sloppy. Lots of people drinking around the world and ignoring mask rules. 
Overall, the last hour or so in the park is not great for safety, but it’s still not super bad. HS is best avoided because you are going to be there on an at capacity day, no matter what day you visit. And Epcot on a weekday afternoon is extremely pleasant.


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## Raven01

Quick and dirty trip report:

1.  Boardwalk for 7 nights.  Limited quick food options close by.  We ate a lot of pizza.  Loved the hotel and clown pool, though the pool heater was broken and left me frigid and my daughter with blue lips LOL.

2.  Parks seemed - I'm guessing - at half capacity.  Not empty, but not packed either.  It felt like maybe the 1990s?  Epcot was the only park that actually seemed empty.

3.  Food options were far more limited, and not flexible.  I would strongly suggest making sit down lunch reservations at the (now) 60 day mark.  It's a nice break for a meal and from masks.  Don't count on making last minute reservations.

4.  I'm a mask wearing person, but am not overly OCD about COVID.  I felt fine and perfectly safe - just as safe as at my local store.  I grabbed hand sanitizer when I saw it.  Photopass to me is a bust with masks, though.

5.  LOVED the mini parades.  I hope they keep them.

6.  We had a DAS pass, so I can't comment on whether line times were accurate.  I can say most rides had a 20-40 minute posted time.  I feel like we are getting to the point that Fastpass would be needed.  Use the mornings - we did a lot of Fantasyland at rope drop.  Posted wait times for the best rides did not necessarily drop at the end of the day - but again, ACTUAL wait times I'm not sure of.

7.  Mask wearing really did not bother us.  Even my three year old was fine.  She only had issues when she was wanting to nap - we have a cute picture of her napping in a stroller, her mask covering her face and thumb. I was more frustrated with the limited entrance and exits - necessary, I understand, but at times I had to walk a block to find an entrance.

8.  Loved the newer rides. Mickey and Minnie's was a hit with us, even when half our party got stuck!  ROTR was also awesome.  Finally rode Slinky Dog.  My 3 year old is tall, over 40 inches, and rode everything!  Newer rides are MUCH better equipped to handle handicapped visitors.

The one incident that sticks out in my mind was at the Contemporary.  We walked over from MK to catch a Disney Springs bus (again, dinner is limited, so Disney Springs or bust).  Bus #1 was full, and a line of people were sitting on benches waiting.  So we got in the back of the line, with Grandpa and his scooter.  Bus #2 came, and was filled.  So at that point, Grandpa needed the restroom.  I sat on the bench, front of the line of 15-20 people, waiting on Bus #3.  A lady on a scooter comes past the line, and has a large group.  Bus #3 comes, so we all stand to move forward.  Grandpa is already back with his scooter, and Lady has a fit.  She starts arguing that she was there, and has a party of NINE.  The bus driver was young, kept saying he wasn't there, and puts the party of nine on the bus.  Chaos ensues.  Finally, a nice couple beside of me who were also arguing state they were in line, we were too, and that scooter lady was behind everyone.  Bus driver loads us, then Grandpa with his scooter.  At that point, party of 9 is on the bus and doesn't exit, but a man in the 9 says he "wants to stay with his wife" and gets off.  Lady again starts yelling at the bus driver.

I am pretty sure Lady on Scooter did not realize that Grandpa was with me - Grandpa and Grandma ended up a couple of people behind me, and when boarded, sat by the scooter instead of us.  That's an honest mistake.  What I am flabbergasted about is that the Lady on the Scooter actually thought her party of 9, plus her, should skip the 15-20 people in line because she had a scooter.  That was her goal.  She thought she was the first scooter there, so she had her party of 9 board the bus before everyone else.  They moved to the front of the line on arrival, and planned to jump the line.  The issue was that we had a scooter too.  Her husband left the bus because he "wanted to stay with his wife" - which would have happened naturally if they had not jumped the line.  I feel so sorry for the groups of people behind us.  I think Disney needs some "Line Starts Here" signs or something, because this was not necessary.  Some folks said Contemporary had an employee there in the morning so it was not a problem then.  They also really need a Disney Springs bus at the MK - there's no reason for us to walk all the way to Contemporary.

I'm exhausted, my daughter got a ton of toys, and I'm ready to go back to work - so all in all a good vacation!  I'm hoping next trip we take it slower.  We did a lot this week and went a lot faster than I had intended!  My daughter and I are taking a special surprise trip in March, and I'm hoping to take it MUCH slower.


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## LSUfan4444

How fast are RoTR boarding groups running out each morning?

Sorry, i'm sure this has been discussed a thousand times but the search function is giving me alot of indo but cant find much recent.


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## mom2rtk

LSUfan4444 said:


> How fast are RoTR boarding groups running out each morning?
> 
> Sorry, i'm sure this has been discussed a thousand times but the search function is giving me alot of indo but cant find much recent.


8-10 seconds


----------



## vital

LSUfan4444 said:


> How fast are RoTR boarding groups running out each morning?
> 
> Sorry, i'm sure this has been discussed a thousand times but the search function is giving me alot of indo but cant find much recent.



This morning more like 2 seconds. UGH


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## elsbit

It was gone at 10 am this morning. We did not get a boarding pass.


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## Befferk

I'd agree with boarding passes being gone consistently in less than 10 seconds.


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## Flamingeaux

LSUfan4444 said:


> How fast are RoTR boarding groups running out each morning?
> 
> Sorry, i'm sure this has been discussed a thousand times but the search function is giving me alot of indo but cant find much recent.



We just got back.  It was less then 5 seconds at 10.  I thought we had it but no.  At 2 I thought we had it again but it turned out we had backup group 111.  111 came up around 6:30.  It was fun.


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## CarolynFH

LSUfan4444 said:


> How fast are RoTR boarding groups running out each morning?
> 
> Sorry, i'm sure this has been discussed a thousand times but the search function is giving me alot of indo but cant find much recent.


For detailed recent (daily) information, Watch this thread! https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...planning-and-information-no-spoilers.3782822/.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Junebugwv said:


> Wholeheartedly agree with you.  We returned home on Oct. 1 from a 10-day trip and experienced the same thing with openings.  No information available and no consistent opening for the parking lot.  However, the actual park entry was very easy at each park.




Park entry wouldn’t have been so easy if everyone had arrived at the same time! That’s why they have some earlier entry openings to spread out crowds.


----------



## Befferk

Lsdolphin said:


> Park entry wouldn’t have been so easy if everyone had arrived at the same time! That’s why they have some earlier entry openings to spread out crowds.



Yes, and I'm sure that's why it varies, and they don't announce _what time_ exactly they're going to let people in early. Because if it was widely know that HS was always going to open gates 45 minutes before official park opening, then everyone would pack in at that time instead of official "rope drop". So leaving it a mystery helps spread people out a bit more.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Befferk said:


> Yes, and I'm sure that's why it varies, and they don't announce _what time_ exactly they're going to let people in early. Because if it was widely know that HS was always going to open gates 45 minutes before official park opening, then everyone would pack in at that time instead of official "rope drop". So leaving it a mystery helps spread people out a bit more.




Exactly!


----------



## Theactualdisneyprincess

disneygirlsng said:


> My understanding is they are only running buses if the skyliner is down right now. Not sure what your hesitation of doing the skyliner solo is, but as of now they are only putting one party in each gondola, so if you are by yourself you will be the only one on it if that helps you.
> 
> For the first question you should be totally fine with a later flight.



I was on one with a friend when it got stuck for a bit and they were having issues- and this was over the highway. I don't think I would be comfortable going on it alone. If a bus is not an option, would you recommend Uber or Lyft to a different resort and getting around via bus or other transportation that way? I heard it was getting harder to rideshare directly to places on property, but not sure if that's true or not.


----------



## disland7

How is photopass at the parks right now?


----------



## HikingFam

disland7 said:


> How is photopass at the parks right now?


We saw plenty of photographers, many just standing around waiting for someone who wanted a photo. We didn’t take any photos this trip, because I personally don’t care to have them with masks (we have APs so have plenty of photos from other trips).


----------



## mcomber7

Does anyone know where to go for ride share at animal kingdom?  Do we go over by the bus stop?


----------



## lovethattink

disland7 said:


> How is photopass at the parks right now?



Plenty of photographers and cool new magic shots! You must wear a mask in the photo.


----------



## ♥ Mandi ♥

Hi guys. Please forgive me if this has been asked a hundred times in this thread but I’ve gone back rather far and haven’t seen it discussed yet.

Has anyone in this thread or anyone you know gotten COVID after visiting the parks/assume you likely picked it up while at a park? I know there haven’t been any “outbreaks” able to be tied back to parks reopening.

We are heading down in November for 3.5 weeks. We’ll be skipping indoor dining and utilizing our DAS as much as we can but I’m of course still a bit on edge.


----------



## lovethattink

mcomber7 said:


> Does anyone know where to go for ride share at animal kingdom?  Do we go over by the bus stop?



Probably best to ask on the transportation board. I think it use to be over near disability parking.


----------



## kdonnel

♥ Mandi ♥ said:


> Has anyone in this thread or anyone you know gotten COVID after visiting the parks/assume you likely picked it up while at a park? I know there haven’t been any “outbreaks” able to be tied back to parks reopening.


There is virtually no contact tracing going on so the answer ranges somewhere between no one and thousands have died due to visits to WDW.


----------



## Sarahslay

♥ Mandi ♥ said:


> Hi guys. Please forgive me if this has been asked a hundred times in this thread but I’ve gone back rather far and haven’t seen it discussed yet.
> 
> Has anyone in this thread or anyone you know gotten COVID after visiting the parks/assume you likely picked it up while at a park? I know there haven’t been any “outbreaks” able to be tied back to parks reopening.
> 
> We are heading down in November for 3.5 weeks. We’ll be skipping indoor dining and utilizing our DAS as much as we can but I’m of course still a bit on edge.


From personal experience, from going myself and from friends and family who have gone (some for multi week trips), myself and others have no gotten sick or think we got sick from the parks. I did two indoor ADRs, I had a friend who did multiple a day on a two week trip, we followed the rules and were fine. If you are that on edge you might want to take scope on why you are and maybe reconsider going if you are that worried (I know, I know, we shouldn't do the "if you're that worried then don't go!" argument, but really, Disney isn't for everyone right now honestly and I say that with all the kindness in the world). I have two more trips planned, one over thanksgiving and one over christmas with at least 1 (and sometimes 2) ADRs a day, and it is the only place that I honestly feel safe eating indoors. Wear your mask, wash your hands/sanitize, follow the rules, and try and have a good time.


----------



## lovethattink

♥ Mandi ♥ said:


> Hi guys. Please forgive me if this has been asked a hundred times in this thread but I’ve gone back rather far and haven’t seen it discussed yet.
> 
> Has anyone in this thread or anyone you know gotten COVID after visiting the parks/assume you likely picked it up while at a park? I know there haven’t been any “outbreaks” able to be tied back to parks reopening.
> 
> We are heading down in November for 3.5 weeks. We’ll be skipping indoor dining and utilizing our DAS as much as we can but I’m of course still a bit on edge.



I’ve been going once or twice a week since re-opening. Been healthy. 

My son works at Universal City Walk and my daughter in law at Disney Springs and both have been healthy. 

Obviously, anywhere in public there is a risk of exposure.


----------



## yulilin3

mcomber7 said:


> Does anyone know where to go for ride share at animal kingdom?  Do we go over by the bus stop?


It's not at the bus loop.  As you're leaving the park it's left of the bag check,  or as facing the entrance it's right , by the handicap parking


----------



## Darcy03231

♥ Mandi ♥ said:


> Hi guys. Please forgive me if this has been asked a hundred times in this thread but I’ve gone back rather far and haven’t seen it discussed yet.
> 
> Has anyone in this thread or anyone you know gotten COVID after visiting the parks/assume you likely picked it up while at a park? I know there haven’t been any “outbreaks” able to be tied back to parks reopening.
> 
> We are heading down in November for 3.5 weeks. We’ll be skipping indoor dining and utilizing our DAS as much as we can but I’m of course still a bit on edge.



There was someone on another thread (I think it was the Community Board) that came down with COVID (along with their family) after a WDW trip.  They pointed out, however, that they could have gotten it in the airport, on the plane, in a bus, WDW, etc.   Really no sure way to pinpoint where it came from.


----------



## maryj11

Greta said:


> I had the same experience last night and I did a chat on MDE asking about it.   The Cast member told me to use the add a card feature -   I told her I tried and it would only allow a credit card.  I was using it at P&J’s in Fort Wilderness.    I was hoping it was just that restaurant and in the park today I would be able to use it.
> If I tell a CM that I don’t have a phone at a place like Pecos Bill’s will they let us in to order the old fashioned way?
> 
> our entire meal budget is my Disney rewards Redemption Card


Ours is on a reward redemption card too!


----------



## alliecat726

Lizzards said:


> How was the transportation from Riviera to the parks? We are staying there in November for the first time.  Did you wait long for buses or the sky liner? Did you have to get in line early? Anything you specifically did or was it easy to get to from there.....Thanks!


Hi, sorry about the delayed reply, we were (yet again) out of town from Fri thru today (for a wedding)! So, to get to MK & AK, your choices are the bus or a cab/uber etc. We opted for the bus for both as we really weren't in a huge hurry to rope-drop either park (though, we did end up getting to MK early & rode a few rides before park opening--AK we got there after right around/just after park opening). Interestingly the bus line for AK was longer/had more ppl in it both mornings we were there @ the stop. But the buses came w/in 10 mins for both MK & AK and we were able to get on the first bus so no probs. Took buses back @ night, too. Can feel like a long walk at night from the back of the park to the bus terminals when you're hot & exhausted, so be prepared! Though again, even when it felt like there were a lot of ppl in the PM bus lines, we didn't wait long & got on the first buses that came. So not horrible. We took the Skyliner to Epcot painlessly (but had to bus back to Riv as there was a thunder/lightening/rain storm @ night). HS: after an insane amount of research on uber/car rental/bus/Skyliner etc to get there for the whole BG issue, we decided to walk to CBR from Riv. Mistake. The line from CBR to get on the Skyliner was like 10 times longer than the line for the ppl getting off the Skyliner line from Riv & waiting (in a separate line) @ CBR. We hoofed it from the Riv to CBR early (and were already totally hot & sweating) and then were stuck in the CBR line while we watched groups of ppl sailing in from Riv to CBR and then proceeding right up to the front of that line & onto the Skyliner. So next time, we plan to be the first ppl in line @ the Riv Skyliner line to get to HS faster. This did impact our day as we were on MMRR @ 10am to get our BG for ROTR--we're convinced that had we been in the first group/s on the Riv Skyliner line, we'd have arrived @ HS like 15 mis earlier & been OFF MMRR before 10 (and not waited so long for other rides like Slinky, ToT, RRC, etc)! Hope this helps!!!


----------



## Ecomommy09

Checking into CBR last night. Super tired.  Plane trouble delayed our landing so I had to drive in the dark which put me in a terrible mood.  Two things about my review:  I work at the hospital and so I know COVID is real and deadly, but I’m at work all day AND I’m cool with social distancing OR masks, but you don’t have to social distance if you’re wearing your mask correctly.  

They had cute little bags on the remote.  That was nice and I just didn’t take it off. The room was nice and clean. The bed was marvelous (water view room).  It’s lovely.  
Pool was WAY to crowded at night.  I wouldn’t have gone in.  No way to SD and no one was wearing masks. 
Tomorrow is parks.


----------



## DisneyPoly

I just returned from Bay Lake, having been there last week and the pool area was very empty and those that were there were very distant from each other.  We had our temperatures taken at most of our restaurants and found those in the parks to all be wearing masks.  Hollywood Studios was our most crowded experience, but that was on Friday, so we weren't surprised. We visited all parks and Disney Springs and had a wonderful experience and am willing to answer any questions.


----------



## hmkenn0

Here now- today was Animal Kingdom. I had planned to sleep in and go later, but everyone was up early. Left Jambo house at 8:45 tapped in almost exactly at 9am. Went to Kilimanjaro waited 5 (5 was posted), saw more animals than I’ve ever seen including the new baby giraffe! Did the Gorilla falls (also tons of active animals), and went to Everest waited about 10 min (posted 15 and was all the way over the bridge toward Nemo). Got off and did Tough to be a Bug (maybe 5-10 minute wait in the preshow area for the next show). Ordered food from Satu’li Canteen (which was awesome- thanks Disboards for the rec!) we are right about noon. Following that we did FoP- posted 45 min, waited about 30 min. Walked over and did Kali River Rapids and then sat and ate ice cream with the younger son while the older and dad did the Jungle Trek. We were back at the hotel by 2:20 and I’m sitting by the pool with MAYBE 10 people at Jambo. Great day- I’d say the crowd expectations I had from this thread were accurate- it was empty in places and crowded in bottlenecks but I really saw everyone wearing masks and distancing. Yes we got a little close to a few people but that was for seconds at the most so it was fine. I’d say expect a “normal off season” crowd and you will be fine. If you have questions I’m happy to answer. Tomorrow is Hollywood studios and then Epcot and magic kingdom later in the week! Glad to be here and I’m glad I feel safe (for reference- I would say I have been on the VERY cautious end of this thing).


----------



## Tormania

Sarahslay said:


> From personal experience, from going myself and from friends and family who have gone (some for multi week trips), myself and others have no gotten sick or think we got sick from the parks. I did two indoor ADRs, I had a friend who did multiple a day on a two week trip, we followed the rules and were fine. If you are that on edge you might want to take scope on why you are and maybe reconsider going if you are that worried (I know, I know, we shouldn't do the "if you're that worried then don't go!" argument, but really, Disney isn't for everyone right now honestly and I say that with all the kindness in the world). I have two more trips planned, one over thanksgiving and one over christmas with at least 1 (and sometimes 2) ADRs a day, and it is the only place that I honestly feel safe eating indoors. Wear your mask, wash your hands/sanitize, follow the rules, and try and have a good time.



I agree. I have a  good friend that is part of our weekly board game night and we haven't got together since Feb.  We tried once back in Aug and even though she was wearing a mask she didn't last 5 minutes at the table before her anxiety completely maxed out and she had to get away from everyone else.  She would fall into the group that should NOT be going to a theme park anytime soon.  It's all about personal comfort level AND realizing how comfortable you are around others who may not nearly be as concerned as you are.


----------



## HelloTheDrakes

Here today at Animal Kingdom. We started the day wanting to go to FOP....apparently everyone else had the same idea. We realized quickly and changed course. We jumped out of line and hopped over to Everest (walk on), then to Safari (10 min). About halfway through our Safari trek, we saw the Safari wait jump to 50 mins. We were happy to see that our quick thinking worked out.

Below is a screenshot of my ride wait data for the day:



I plan to keep track for the next 2 days: tomorrow- HS, Wednesday- MK.


----------



## Befferk

HelloTheDrakes said:


> Here today at Animal Kingdom. We started the day wanting to go to FOP....apparently everyone else had the same idea. We realized quickly and changed course. We jumped out of line and hopped over to Everest (walk on), then to Safari (10 min). About halfway through our Safari trek, we saw the Safari wait jump to 50 mins. We were happy to see that our quick thinking worked out.
> 
> Below is a screenshot of my ride wait data for the day:
> 
> View attachment 530170
> I plan to keep track for the next 2 days: tomorrow- HS, Wednesday- MK.



Can't see your attachment.... Did you go on FOP later then? How long was the wait?


----------



## HelloTheDrakes

Befferk said:


> Can't see your attachment.... Did you go on FOP later then? How long was the wait?



I tried to edit my post above to fix it. We went back later at 10:40 for a 60 min wait and then at 1:45 for a 45 minute wait. At this point in the day, we’d done everything else we wanted, so we didn’t mind waiting.

We made the decision to leave thinking that it would hover at 60 all day.  We figured we could ride other rides while most of the other guests were waiting for FOP. Worked out how we’d hopped.


----------



## Ahabart

We are here now. Flew in Saturday, so Sunday was the first day in the parks.  We flew Allegiant.  The plane was totally packed.  I think we saw one empty seat.  I was wondering if that was a sign for how Disney would be and it seems like it was!  Saturday night was Disney Springs, which was much busier than I expected.  Even in the rain there were people everywhere!  It was virtually impossible to social distance honestly.  The kids wanted to eat at TRex. The wait was 1.5 hrs at 5:30.  There were lines to get into most stores...essentially no social distancing in any line.

Yesterday (Sunday) was our first MK day.  We stayed at the Contemporary and walked over around 8.Busses were already running. We were in front of the castle about 8:10, but several people were already in the park.  We had ridden 7DMT, Peter Pan, Ariel, Pooh, Thunder, Splash and Pirates by 10:15. Very little wait on any ride, many were walk-on.  We noticed wait times balloon quickly. By early afternoon the waits were higher than we prefer, so we headed over for some drinks at Poly and went back around 6.  As others have reported, the last hour was far less busy. 

There are more restaurants and/or carts open now than I saw reported previously.  Even so, every time we walked by Pecos Bill, there were people EVERYWHERE.  It's ironic that tables are blocked off and everyone is mobile ordering to help with distancing and yet people are packed in like sardines all around the restaurant.  I hope Disney opens more restaurants soon.  From what we've seen, I would think they could.  I've never seen such a line to get into Pinocchio Village House.

I have seen very few noses, maybe 90% compliance?  With that said, social distancing is POOR in my opinion.  People actually observing distance and line markings are easer to count as there are far fewer of them.  If you are worried in any way, I would stay home.  If my parents were with us this trip, I would be worried.    While we have definitely been here when it's been more crowded, I would NOT consider this to be a low crowd environment. If you're planning to visit thinking you are taking advantage of lower crowds, you will be disappointed.

Side note- we have friends staying at Pop.  They waited for the Skyliner for over an hour this morning. Really glad we opted for Contemporary for MK!

Today we transferred to the Swan.  For those wondering, they definitely ARE transferring luggage.  Contemporary to Swan was no problem at all!

Today we did MK again.  No buses were running at 8 and the resort monorail did not start running until 8:30.  We walked over from the Contemporary and had to wait until 8:25 to get in. Again crowds were low for the first 1-2 hours and then exploded. I honestly feel like MK was busier today than yesterday, which I had not expected.  Between the heat, longer lines, and crowds everywhere, we opted to come back to the hotel for the afternoon. 

I hope this is helpful info for someone!  Tomorrow is Epcot, Wed. HS, Thurs. A.K.


----------



## pal6860

Quick question.  Staying at Bay Lake.  Going to EPCOT on Saturday.  Which option would get us to the front gate earliest, Driving or Bus?

In other words, when does Epcot allow us to start lining up at the parking booths, and when do they start letting cars in?  Versus, when do buses start running to Epcot from Contemporary?

Thanks!


----------



## yulilin3

pal6860 said:


> Quick question.  Staying at Bay Lake.  Going to EPCOT on Saturday.  Which option would get us to the front gate earliest, Driving or Bus?
> 
> In other words, when does Epcot allow us to start lining up at the parking booths, and when do they start letting cars in?  Versus, when do buses start running to Epcot from Contemporary?
> 
> Thanks!


Epcot is the latest to allow people through,  at around 10:15-10:30 on days the park opens at 11am 11:15-11:30 on days it opens at noon


----------



## Future_WorldPhonencian

Anyone have experience with the SSR buses post COVID? We will have a car but if drivers are being held at the parking booths (especially at MK) is it still worth driving?


----------



## BK2014

I asked this on the ROTR thread, but maybe it is better asked here - are they consistently letting people on MMRR at DHS prior to park opening at 10:0am, or is it hit and miss?  On Friday, the line didn't start moving until 10:00am, and I am curious if that was a fluke.  I have seen reports of people getting on and off MMRR before 10:00am.


----------



## ellbell

My 15 year old son and I got here last night and today was our first day in the parks.

Today was a great day at Epcot.  The park was open from 11-7.  We left our room for the skyliner just before 9am.  We got in line all the way back by building 2 in the 50s section at 9am.  We were on the skyliner by 9:30.  At Caribbean beach we were added to the end of the line.  All guests for Epcot and HS got in the same line and it didn't matter that POP guests already waited to get on the skyliner.  At 9:40 we reached the end of the line for the skyliner.  I had heard reports that there were buses to take people to HSat Caribbean beach because of how long the line was but this was not the case today.  At 10:06 reached the point where the HS and epcot line seperated and we were told the Epcot line would start flying at 10:30. At 10:26 they started loading it up.

At 10:42 we were off the skyliner amd by 10:59 we were in line for Frozen with a posted wait of 45 minutes.  There are shade umbrellas all through the outdoor queue.  We were in the ride by 11:25.

After frozen we walked on to Gran Fiesta in Mexico.  We decided on lunch after that and got a walk up to Garden Grill. 

After lunch we got in line for Soarin with a 40 minute wait.  We were in the preshow by 1:06.  Soarin is allowing 3 groups per row with plexiglass in a 2 seat, 2 seat, 3 seat configuration. After getting off soarin we walked right back on to ride again.  

We then rode living with the land, watched awesome planet, rode figment, watched disney and pixar shorts, rode nemo and friends and spaceship earth all as walk ons.  My son then rode Mission space while I sat in the empty relaxation station.

Then we went to wait on line for test track. We got in line at 5:04.  At 5:14 the ride went down for cleaning.  We didn't move for 20 minutes.  We finally got on the ride at 5:50. That was our longest wait and it was because of the cleaning.

We ran out of time to spend any other time in world showcase. We ended up getting dinner in our room.

All day I only saw one adult nose out of the mask.  3 kids had noses out that I noticed. Everyone was really compliant.  The cast was all really friendly and genuinely happy to be there.


----------



## IluvMGM

BK2014 said:


> I asked this on the ROTR thread, but maybe it is better asked here - are they consistently letting people on MMRR at DHS prior to park opening at 10:0am, or is it hit and miss?  On Friday, the line didn't start moving until 10:00am, and I am curious if that was a fluke.  I have seen reports of people getting on and off MMRR before 10:00am.



All 3 times we were there it started running around 9:30. Could there have been a problem with the ride?


----------



## TikiTikiFan

I'm a Disneyland park goer switching over to WDW for the holidays (since we have no reopening date in sight..) and I was wondering if anyone could help answer a few questions for me about their recent park experiences!

I've been lurking for a few days and I'm reading that weekends tend to be more busier. Is that true for all four parks or the more popular ones like Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom? I think I can finagle things to make our park days only weekdays for the most part but we might have one weekend day too.

Art of Animation vs. Caribbean Resort- which has a better atmosphere to spend your evenings in? I think we're going to avoid Disney Springs and just stick to the parks so trying to pick which resort we should go with. My son is 10 so he'd love the cartoon themes but I prefer the look of the Caribbean Resort... What do you think? Do the resorts feel really crowded in the evenings right now? Does it really matter? We'd save more money staying at the Art of Animation that I could easily turn into an extra park day..

Does anyone have a good resource for park strategies right now? I've been following along on this thread but it sounds like we're all just winging it- does that sound about right? But like, what rides do you head towards first? I'm so used to operating on a rope drop strategy I'm having a hard time letting go of that lol!

Any other tips you want to give me? Thanks everyone!


----------



## keishashadow

BK2014 said:


> I asked this on the ROTR thread, but maybe it is better asked here - are they consistently letting people on MMRR at DHS prior to park opening at 10:0am, or is it hit and miss?  On Friday, the line didn't start moving until 10:00am, and I am curious if that was a fluke.  I have seen reports of people getting on and off MMRR before 10:00am.


I’m guessing a fluke in play there but you really do have to hustle to get to MMRR.  People move very fast, not quite the running of the bulls but it’s a quick pace.

Last Thursday, we were off it by 9:35 am.  RoTR group 63

On Saturday, closer to 10:45 am.  RoTR, shut out via error messaage on one iphone, no times left on 2nd on 10 am distribution.  2 pm go-round, we scored group 86, rode relatively early 3:30 pm or so.  I’m thinking fact that it was a rainy day, many people gave up and left.


----------



## brockash

pal6860 said:


> Quick question.  Staying at Bay Lake.  Going to EPCOT on Saturday.  Which option would get us to the front gate earliest, Driving or Bus?
> 
> In other words, when does Epcot allow us to start lining up at the parking booths, and when do they start letting cars in?  Versus, when do buses start running to Epcot from Contemporary?
> 
> Thanks!


I really think it depends, but when we went a cpl weeks ago and staying at Poly; we got a bus around 940 and we could see all the stopped cars as we went through the gates a little before 10.  Having said that they seem to start buses earlier on the weekends, so who knows.


----------



## mcomber7

yulilin3 said:


> It's not at the bus loop.  As you're leaving the park it's left of the bag check,  or as facing the entrance it's right , by the handicap parking


Thank you so much!


----------



## pooch

ellbell said:


> My 15 year old son and I got here last night and today was our first day in the parks.
> 
> Today was a great day at Epcot.  The park was open from 11-7.  We left our room for the skyliner just before 9am.  We got in line all the way back by building 2 in the 50s section at 9am.  We were on the skyliner by 9:30.  At Caribbean beach we were added to the end of the line.  All guests for Epcot and HS got in the same line and it didn't matter that POP guests already waited to get on the skyliner.  At 9:40 we reached the end of the line for the skyliner.  I had heard reports that there were buses to take people to HSat Caribbean beach because of how long the line was but this was not the case today.  At 10:06 reached the point where the HS and epcot line seperated and we were told the Epcot line would start flying at 10:30. At 10:26 they started loading it up.
> 
> At 10:42 we were off the skyliner amd by 10:59 we were in line for Frozen


WOW!! Almost 2 hours from Pop to Epcot via Skyliner?!?!?!  That’s insane!


----------



## ellbell

pooch said:


> WOW!! Almost 2 hours from Pop to Epcot via Skyliner?!?!?!  That’s insane!


Ya it was constantly moving amd we did have to wait for 20 minutes for the skyliner to epcot to start but there were a lot of peope who were angry about not getting to HS on time.  I left early toake rope drop at Epcot but I would suggest using a different method of transportation to HS if a boarding pass is your goal.  The rest of the day there were no lines for the skyliner.


----------



## dachsie

TikiTikiFan said:


> I'm a Disneyland park goer switching over to WDW for the holidays (since we have no reopening date in sight..) and I was wondering if anyone could help answer a few questions for me about their recent park experiences!
> 
> I've been lurking for a few days and I'm reading that weekends tend to be more busier. Is that true for all four parks or the more popular ones like Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom? I think I can finagle things to make our park days only weekdays for the most part but we might have one weekend day too.
> 
> Art of Animation vs. Caribbean Resort- which has a better atmosphere to spend your evenings in? I think we're going to avoid Disney Springs and just stick to the parks so trying to pick which resort we should go with. My son is 10 so he'd love the cartoon themes but I prefer the look of the Caribbean Resort... What do you think? Do the resorts feel really crowded in the evenings right now? Does it really matter? We'd save more money staying at the Art of Animation that I could easily turn into an extra park day..
> 
> Does anyone have a good resource for park strategies right now? I've been following along on this thread but it sounds like we're all just winging it- does that sound about right? But like, what rides do you head towards first? I'm so used to operating on a rope drop strategy I'm having a hard time letting go of that lol!
> 
> Any other tips you want to give me? Thanks everyone!


I would say Caribbean Beach would probably have more to do than AoA.  If nothing else, you could enjoy a drink at Banana Cabana in the evenings.  I would go on the resort board and ask there tho.  I haven't heard if any of the activities are going on. AoA has Animation class in normal times - that might be fun they are doing it.  Also, if you dont get a suite at AoA, you will walk forever to get to your regular hotel room in Little Mermaid section.


----------



## auntlynne

TikiTikiFan said:


> I'm a Disneyland park goer switching over to WDW for the holidays (since we have no reopening date in sight..) and I was wondering if anyone could help answer a few questions for me about their recent park experiences!
> 
> I've been lurking for a few days and I'm reading that weekends tend to be more busier. Is that true for all four parks or the more popular ones like Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom? I think I can finagle things to make our park days only weekdays for the most part but we might have one weekend day too.
> 
> Art of Animation vs. Caribbean Resort- which has a better atmosphere to spend your evenings in? I think we're going to avoid Disney Springs and just stick to the parks so trying to pick which resort we should go with. My son is 10 so he'd love the cartoon themes but I prefer the look of the Caribbean Resort... What do you think? Do the resorts feel really crowded in the evenings right now? Does it really matter? We'd save more money staying at the Art of Animation that I could easily turn into an extra park day..
> 
> Does anyone have a good resource for park strategies right now? I've been following along on this thread but it sounds like we're all just winging it- does that sound about right? But like, what rides do you head towards first? I'm so used to operating on a rope drop strategy I'm having a hard time letting go of that lol!
> 
> Any other tips you want to give me? Thanks everyone!



Looks like a consensus of arrive early - before official rope drop time to shorten wait times for the first hour or two.

Hit your favorite of the popular rides first. Everest, FoP, 7DMT, BigThunder, ...

It seems like MMRR never has a short line - and you don’t want to be it at RotR BG attempt time.  

As someone just posted (and I concur), if you get to a ride with a long wait, consider trying something else at that moment.  I saw several lines at AK go from long to reasonable while doing something else (or while I was on them).


----------



## Pens Fan

We were at MK today and while we had a blast the crowds seemed almost like a normal day to us.  Our son estimated that they were 2 to 3 times as large as when he was there the first week of August.  The first hour or so was fantastic.  We walked on Pirates and Splash, waited about 25 minutes for Big Thunder, but from then on it was lines, lines and more lines.  I will say that I was pretty impressed with the how the crowds were managed though.  With the exception of one completely clueless family behind us in the Big Thunder queue most people seemed to be at least trying to do a good job of distancing.  Mask compliance was very high.  We never felt unsafe, but by around 4:00 or so we decided the lines were just too long for the things we still wanted to do and we headed back to the hotel.  That was fine, as we were tired anyway and it was nice to relax a bit before heading out to a wonderful dinner at the Wave.  We'll be back to MK in a few days to hopefully finish up the things we missed today.

Lines over the weekend at AK and EP were pretty long as well - especially EP (though not as bad as MK was today).  I'm not saying this to discourage anyone from coming.  We are having a great time.  But just be aware that the days of wandering around an empty park all day and walking on rides seem to be ending.  Rope drop is a must, as is tempering your expectations.  I recommend monitoring ride times prior to coming so you will know which rides to hit first thing after rope drop.

Two other items of note for anyone heading to the MK:

1. They are sold out of Madame Leota sippers.  The CM told us they'd been on reorder for two weeks, but haven't come in yet.
2.  The spring roll cart was not open as of around 11:00 or so.  I don't know if it ever opened, but it wasn't open at that time.  We'd heard it was open over the weekend and were excited to grab some, but missed out today.  We plan on trying again next Saturday.

Heading to DHS tomorrow.  Fingers crossed we get a Rise boarding group!!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Thanks for the tips folks! 

New question: I'm seeing lots of reports of limited food carts/etc. Can you still find the staples like churros and pretzels? I mean, that'd be a given wouldn't it? But then I keep hearing people say there's not many options.


----------



## lmbcdb

ellbell said:


> Today was a great day at Epcot.  The park was open from 11-7.  We left our room for the skyliner just before 9am.  We got in line all the way back by building 2 in the 50s section at 9am.  We were on the skyliner by 9:30.  At Caribbean beach we were added to the end of the line.  All guests for Epcot and HS got in the same line and it didn't matter that POP guests already waited to get on the skyliner.  At 9:40 we reached the end of the line for the skyliner.  I had heard reports that there were buses to take people to HSat Caribbean beach because of how long the line was but this was not the case today.  At 10:06 reached the point where the HS and epcot line seperated and we were told the Epcot line would start flying at 10:30. At 10:26 they started loading it up.
> 
> At 10:42 we were off the skyliner amd by 10:59 we were in line for Frozen with a posted wait of 45 minutes.  There are shade umbrellas all through the outdoor queue.  We were in the ride by 11:25.


So including travel and wait time, it took you almost 1 hr 45 minutes to get from Pop to EPCOT?

If these times are happening regularly, I’d rather shell out some money for an Uber/Lyft.  Does anyone know how much they run? (yes, I realize it depends on how far).This thread has shown  me that I probably am going to Uber/Lyft from Pop to both HS and EPCOT.


----------



## Best Aunt

lmbcdb said:


> If these times are happening regularly, I’d rather shell out some money for an Uber/Lyft.  Does anyone know how much they run? (yes, I realize it depends on how far).This thread has shown  me that I probably am going to Uber/Lyft from Pop to both HS and EPCOT.



People look at RideGuru to get an estimate of what ride shares would cost.  You also can open the Uber and Lyft apps on your phone while you are home, and type in the pick up and destination points you would want, to see what the cost would be.  (Your phone will think you want to be picked up wherever you currently happen to be, so you have to change the pick up point. But you can change it to someplace at Disney World.)


----------



## lmbcdb

Best Aunt said:


> People look at RideGuru to get an estimate of what ride shares would cost.  You also can open the Uber and Lyft apps on your phone while you are home, and type in the pick up and destination points you would want, to see what the cost would be.  (Your phone will think you want to be picked up wherever you currently happen to be, so you have to change the pick up point. But you can change it to someplace at Disney World.)


Thank you! We live in the suburbs and have two cars, so I have very little experience with this.


----------



## HollyMD

Just encountered the worst bus driver ever picking up for AL at BRV. Line was AK and HS. He pulls up, opens sores, waits 2 secs, then starts closing doors to pull off. Someone flagged him down, then the END of the very well labeled line starting rushing on the bus. Was a dang free for all! And there are so many people on the bus, since he didn’t assign seats, that several are STANDING. no social distancing whatsoever.


----------



## snappy

HollyMD said:


> Just encountered the worst bus driver ever picking up for AL at BRV. Line was AK and HS. He pulls up, opens sores, waits 2 secs, then starts closing doors to pull off. Someone flagged him down, then the END of the very well labeled line starting rushing on the bus. Was a dang free for all! And there are so many people on the bus, since he didn’t assign seats, that several are STANDING. no social distancing whatsoever.




This is freaking unacceptable. I think it will only get worse. Is there a way to report a particular driver?


----------



## HollyMD

I’m going to try to find the bus number, etc and report to guest relations. Worse case, I can give date and time and they can see who it was


----------



## yulilin3

HollyMD said:


> I’m going to try to find the bus number, etc and report to guest relations. Worse case, I can give date and time and they can see who it was


not sure if you're still on the bus but take a pic of the situation.


----------



## snappy

yulilin3 said:


> not sure if you're still on the bus but take a pic of the situation.



Hopefully others on the bus will go the same.


----------



## Zaccypoo

We're headed to Disney on 10/21 with some friends. We decided to brave COVID and go since the parks had such low wait times... but that's not really the case anymore... Wait times seem to be about where they were before COVID and now there's no fast pass at all. Has anyone been recently and been successful with a strategy? We're in our mid 20's so we mostly are going for the rides and hope to get everything done in each park. We've been multiple times and have a great strategy to get everything done with fast pass, but have no idea how to tackle the wait times without it.


----------



## yulilin3

Zaccypoo said:


> We're headed to Disney on 10/21 with some friends. We decided to brave COVID and go since the parks had such low wait times... but that's not really the case anymore... Wait times seem to be about where they were before COVID and now there's no fast pass at all. Has anyone been recently and been successful with a strategy? We're in our mid 20's so we mostly are going for the rides and hope to get everything done in each park. We've been multiple times and have a great strategy to get everything done with fast pass, but have no idea how to tackle the wait times without it.


Merged you to the existing thread
Rope drop and the last couple of hours are the best strategy right now.  Read back a couple of pages for the recent reports


----------



## Naomeri

Zaccypoo said:


> We're headed to Disney on 10/21 with some friends. We decided to brave COVID and go since the parks had such low wait times... but that's not really the case anymore... Wait times seem to be about where they were before COVID and now there's no fast pass at all. Has anyone been recently and been successful with a strategy? We're in our mid 20's so we mostly are going for the rides and hope to get everything done in each park. We've been multiple times and have a great strategy to get everything done with fast pass, but have no idea how to tackle the wait times without it.


A lot of recent reports say that many wait times are somewhat inflated, so don’t necessarily freak out about what MDE is showing you.  But as yulilin3 said, rope drop and end of day do sound like the best thing for lower actual wait times.


----------



## Befferk

Best Aunt said:


> You also can open the Uber and Lyft apps on your phone while you are home, and type in the pick up and destination points you would want, to see what the cost would be.  (Your phone will think you want to be picked up wherever you currently happen to be, so you have to change the pick up point. But you can change it to someplace at Disney World.)



I did this when I was wondering the same thing - we're staying offsite and wanted to know the cost to get to the Speedway outside of HS (staying at Windsor Hills so about 5~ish miles). It was $16 and some change (note that this is for an Lyft XL, since there will be 4 of us. I did not check Uber).


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

Naomeri said:


> A lot of recent reports say that many wait times are somewhat inflated, so don’t necessarily freak out about what MDE is showing you.  But as yulilin3 said, rope drop and end of day do sound like the best thing for lower actual wait times.


^ This.

Even though the conventional wisdom is that crowd calendars are somewhat useless right now, I've been looking at Touring Plans predicted wait times and where they compare to the actual wait times over the past several weeks.  

Honestly, the times don't appear to be too bad (at least "on paper").  And their predictions are still generally pretty close to the actual waits.

We're going on days that are still rated as "1" crowds, but I'm not completely lulled into a false sense of security.  I don't expect it to be as empty as July.  But we're rope-droppers and accustomed to traditional Spring Break and Summer crowds.  Also, we don't plan to try to ride EVERY ride.  If we don't get to ride ROTR, it will be the one big disappointment, but not to the extent that it would "ruin" the trip.  

If we have to wait 90 minutes for MMRR, so be it.  But I'm still encouraged that rides like FOP are on average seeing 30-45 minute waits instead of the usual 3 hours.  I'm cautiously optimistic that we won't experience insane crowds and have to wait over an hour for every attraction.


----------



## Turk February

Befferk said:


> I did this when I was wondering the same thing - we're staying offsite and wanted to know the cost to get to the Speedway outside of HS (staying at Windsor Hills so about 5~ish miles). It was $16 and some change (note that this is for an Lyft XL, since there will be 4 of us. I did not check Uber).



$15 is a good estimate for just about any trip around WDW property (after tip). We used Uber and Lyft a lot last year during our trip and that's what I'm budgeting for next week. However, prices inflate very much at park closing when demand is high.


----------



## tink2424

Grumpy by Birth said:


> ^ This.
> 
> Even though the conventional wisdom is that crowd calendars are somewhat useless right now, I've been looking at Touring Plans predicted wait times and where they compare to the actual wait times over the past several weeks.
> 
> Honestly, the times don't appear to be too bad (at least "on paper").  And their predictions are still generally pretty close to the actual waits.
> 
> We're going on days that are still rated as "1" crowds, but I'm not completely lulled into a false sense of security.  I don't expect it to be as empty as July.  But we're rope-droppers and accustomed to traditional Spring Break and Summer crowds.  Also, we don't plan to try to ride EVERY ride.  If we don't get to ride ROTR, it will be the one big disappointment, but not to the extent that it would "ruin" the trip.
> 
> If we have to wait 90 minutes for MMRR, so be it.  But I'm still encouraged that rides like FOP are on average seeing 30-45 minute waits instead of the usual 3 hours.  I'm cautiously optimistic that we won't experience insane crowds and have to wait over an hour for every attraction.



it really depends on which park you are in and what ride.  Yes, most wait times are inflated but not all are.  When I was at HS last week all the rides were 60+ minutes actual wait times.  Also some at MK were actually as long as the listed wait time.  So more people does mean that the wait times are more correct.


----------



## riversend22

Just wanted to write up a quick trip report as I visited MK for one day this past Saturday...

I was initially concerned about the crowds on a weekend, but honestly I didn't find it to be too bad. I think as many people have mentioned previously, it is VERY important to have a plan. I drove to the park and got to the toll booths at around 8:05. There was only a very small line of cars so I was parked and walking towards the transport center by 8:15. I immediately got on the monorail and was inside of MK by 8:30. 

My plan revolved around hitting the rides that were most important to me. So I decided to head over to Splash Mountain first. As others have mentioned, it is up to the CMs to decide whether to operate the rides before official park opening. I happened to make a good decision going towards Frontierland because although Splash was not open yet, Big thunder was. So I hopped on that, and was off in about 10 minutes. This turned out to be a good strategy because for some reason, 7DMT was not running this morning which is where most people end up at opening. Then I waited maybe 10 more minutes and splash opened a few minutes before 9. So I hopped on that and was again off in about 10 minutes. Then I headed over to pirates which had no wait, so I was on and off that quickly as well. After that I decided since I was in Adventureland to just hit up Jungle Cruise. This was my first wait of the day, but it still wasn't too bad. I believe the posted wait was around 35 minutes and I waited 25. So just to give you an idea, by 10:30 I had already completed 4 of the bigger rides. 

At this point the waits started getting a little longer, but again, nothing too crazy. My plans then brought me over to Haunted Mansion, which had a posted wait of 45 minutes, but I only waited about 30. Do not let the HM line fool you...it looks really long as the queue takes you through the boat dock, but it is constantly moving and never felt long. I then made my way over to Space mountain which I believe had a 40 minute posted wait and I was off in about 25 minutes (which was only due to getting caught in a cleaning cycle.) After this I decided to try and grab some food via mobile order before the lunch crowds came, which was a really good idea because it got very busy at Pecos Bill's after 12:30. 

The afternoon definitely saw a higher amount of crowds, but again, it was still very manageable compared to previous visits. I hit Small world, Barnstormer, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion (again), Buzz, Tiki Room and Carousel of Progress by 6pm. Since I was only visiting for the one day, I skipped a few of the smaller kiddie rides but those mostly had no waits, so if you have kids, those could have been done as well. 7DMT had been up and down all day due to rain, so at 6 I decided to hop in line with a 60 minute wait. After about 15 minutes I jumped out of the line because I decided for a 30 second ride, that wait wasn't worth it and I'd rather spend my time shopping. So I spend the last hour in the emporium. Again, they control the amount of people let in here via line, so the crowd levels inside were very manageable, dare I even say enjoyable. I also saw all of the cavalcades as I was just walking around the park and I really enjoyed these. Some people would stop and watch but nothing like the old days of parades which I greatly appreciated. Overall, I had a wonderful time, and was happy to hit everything I wanted to.

A few take aways:
I felt very safe the entire day. With the exception of people eating/drinking and a few younger kids, I'd say 95% of people were wearing their masks correctly. Also because it rained on and off most of the day, I didn't hate wearing the mask as much as I was expecting to. In the hot sun however, it would have been tough. 

Wait times in lines are definitely inflated. In my experience the posted waits were roughly about 15 minutes longer than actual wait time.

My food goals were to eat some of the halloween exclusives. I tried the Hades nachos and the Constance wedding cake. Skip the nachos...they weren't bad, but there are far better choices (and they weren't spicy at all!). The wedding cake was delicious! Cake was moist, and the flavors were on point. The white gelee coating was a bit odd texturally, but overall I really loved this!

Everyone followed social distancing pretty well. I did have one issue in the Buzz line where some younger kids kept bumping into me and trying to pass me which was a bit annoying. I don't blame the children, but the parents should have been more diligent in teaching their kids to wait (just my opinion...they had 9 kids so I imagine that would be tough lol). Otherwise, everything was handled very well. There are sanitizer stations everywhere and I saw a lot of people using them. 

I really couldn't believe how many families there were. Although I had a great time as a single adult, I could never imagine bringing my two younger toddlers during this time. So my advice is to weigh the risk vs. reward. Remember that things are different and the experience will be what you make of it. My opinion is that with the lines, masks and certain things closed, I would NOT bring my family now especially with how expensive a ticket is, but that is something that has to be decided by each individual family. If you do go, make a plan, try to stick to it, and you will be fine!


----------



## Befferk

riversend22 said:


> My plan revolved around hitting the rides that were most important to me. So I decided to head over to Splash Mountain first. As others have mentioned, it is up to the CMs to decide whether to operate the rides before official park opening. I happened to make a good decision going towards Frontierland because although Splash was not open yet, Big thunder was. So I hopped on that, and was off in about 10 minutes. This turned out to be a good strategy because for some reason, 7DMT was not running this morning which is where most people end up at opening. Then I waited maybe 10 more minutes and splash opened a few minutes before 9. So I hopped on that and was again off in about 10 minutes. Then I headed over to pirates which had no wait, so I was on and off that quickly as well. After that I decided since I was in Adventureland to just hit up Jungle Cruise. This was my first wait of the day, but it still wasn't too bad. I believe the posted wait was around 35 minutes and I waited 25. So just to give you an idea, by 10:30 I had already completed 4 of the bigger rides.
> 
> At this point the waits started getting a little longer, but again, nothing too crazy. My plans then brought me over to Haunted Mansion, which had a posted wait of 45 minutes, but I only waited about 30. Do not let the HM line fool you...it looks really long as the queue takes you through the boat dock, but it is constantly moving and never felt long. I then made my way over to Space mountain which I believe had a 40 minute posted wait and I was off in about 25 minutes (which was only due to getting caught in a cleaning cycle.) After this I decided to try and grab some food via mobile order before the lunch crowds came, which was a really good idea because it got very busy at Pecos Bill's after 12:30.
> 
> The afternoon definitely saw a higher amount of crowds, but again, it was still very manageable compared to previous visits. I hit Small world, Barnstormer, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion (again), Buzz, Tiki Room and Carousel of Progress by 6pm. Since I was only visiting for the one day, I skipped a few of the smaller kiddie rides but those mostly had no waits, so if you have kids, those could have been done as well. 7DMT had been up and down all day due to rain, so at 6 I decided to hop in line with a 60 minute wait. After about 15 minutes I jumped out of the line because I decided for a 30 second ride, that wait wasn't worth it and I'd rather spend my time shopping. So I spend the last hour in the emporium. Again, they control the amount of people let in here via line, so the crowd levels inside were very manageable, dare I even say enjoyable. I also saw all of the cavalcades as I was just walking around the park and I really enjoyed these. Some people would stop and watch but nothing like the old days of parades which I greatly appreciated. Overall, I had a wonderful time, and was happy to hit everything I wanted to.



Thanks for posting your strategy. It actually sounds exactly what I'm envisioning doing for our trip. Glad to hear it worked out well!


----------



## SuJo

Pens Fan said:


> We were at MK today and while we had a blast the crowds seemed almost like a normal day to us.  Our son estimated that they were 2 to 3 times as large as when he was there the first week of August.  The first hour or so was fantastic.  We walked on Pirates and Splash, waited about 25 minutes for Big Thunder, but from then on it was lines, lines and more lines.  I will say that I was pretty impressed with the how the crowds were managed though.  With the exception of one completely clueless family behind us in the Big Thunder queue most people seemed to be at least trying to do a good job of distancing.  Mask compliance was very high.  We never felt unsafe, but by around 4:00 or so we decided the lines were just too long for the things we still wanted to do and we headed back to the hotel.  That was fine, as we were tired anyway and it was nice to relax a bit before heading out to a wonderful dinner at the Wave.  We'll be back to MK in a few days to hopefully finish up the things we missed today.
> 
> Lines over the weekend at AK and EP were pretty long as well - especially EP (though not as bad as MK was today).  I'm not saying this to discourage anyone from coming.  We are having a great time.  But just be aware that the days of wandering around an empty park all day and walking on rides seem to be ending.  Rope drop is a must, as is tempering your expectations.  I recommend monitoring ride times prior to coming so you will know which rides to hit first thing after rope drop.
> 
> Two other items of note for anyone heading to the MK:
> 
> 1. They are sold out of Madame Leota sippers.  The CM told us they'd been on reorder for two weeks, but haven't come in yet.
> 2.  The spring roll cart was not open as of around 11:00 or so.  I don't know if it ever opened, but it wasn't open at that time.  We'd heard it was open over the weekend and were excited to grab some, but missed out today.  We plan on trying again next Saturday.
> 
> Heading to DHS tomorrow.  Fingers crossed we get a Rise boarding group!!




No Madame Leota sippers NNNNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!


----------



## rj9555

ellbell said:


> Today was a great day at Epcot.  The park was open from 11-7.  We left our room for the skyliner just before 9am.  We got in line all the way back by building 2 in the 50s section at 9am.  We were on the skyliner by 9:30.  At Caribbean beach we were added to the end of the line.  All guests for Epcot and HS got in the same line and it didn't matter that POP guests already waited to get on the skyliner.  At 9:40 we reached the end of the line for the skyliner.  I had heard reports that there were buses to take people to HSat Caribbean beach because of how long the line was but this was not the case today.  At 10:06 reached the point where the HS and epcot line seperated and we were told the Epcot line would start flying at 10:30. At 10:26 they started loading it up.



That seems completely unfair to make people go to the back of the line at CBR who had already waited in line once at Pop. They need to figure out a solution to that.


----------



## scrappinginontario

rj9555 said:


> That seems completely unfair to make people go to the back of the line at CBR who had already waited in line once at Pop. They need to figure out a solution to that.


While I agree it would be much better to have the lines merge at CBR, if there isn't room to do that (honestly don't know as we haven't visited since the Skyliner opened) it's good to know that the Skyliner line moves quite quickly.  Is it right to have to go back to the end of a second line?  I would say, 'No', but hopefully it's not a long delay at CBR due to the speed of loading the Skyliner.

Knowing I will likely need to go to the end of the line at CBR will play into the time that I choose to line up at Pop to ensure I hopefully get to my destination on time.


----------



## laukiph

My family and I are going 10/16-10/19, and are very safety conscientious. Those who have been recently, how have the health precautions seemed to you? Are people wearing their masks for the most part, and are they social distancing? Did you feel safe? Any feedback is appreciated.


----------



## snappy

Knowing I will likely need to go to the end of the line at CBR will play into not choosing to stay at Pop.


----------



## yulilin3

laukiph said:


> My family and I are going 10/16-10/19, and are very safety conscientious. Those who have been recently, how have the health precautions seemed to you? Are people wearing their masks for the most part, and are they social distancing? Did you feel safe? Any feedback is appreciated.


definitely read back the last 5 pages for the most recent reports. I calculate the mask wearing is at about 90 to 95% all the time, meaning people wearing them correctly. I don't count people who have moved to the side to grab a drink or those in queues that are not moving and pull down their masks for a quick drink of water
Social distancing while walking around is easily achieved, other than some bottle necks (Fantasyland, SWGE, TSLand) where you will have to walk close to someone for maybe 3 minutes while you walk through
In queues social distancing is easily achieved by reminding your fellow line people to stay in their markers if they are not paying attention
Can't speak of buses or resorts as I am a local


----------



## JulieBeeRN

We are here right now and have been to MK and HS so far.    The wait times (excluding ROTR and Smugglers) were less than the app, but I feel like the times have always been more guidelines than anything else.

And yes, I did just channel Captain Barbosa....


----------



## emsstacey

Zaccypoo said:


> We're headed to Disney on 10/21 with some friends. We decided to brave COVID and go since the parks had such low wait times... but that's not really the case anymore... Wait times seem to be about where they were before COVID and now there's no fast pass at all. Has anyone been recently and been successful with a strategy? We're in our mid 20's so we mostly are going for the rides and hope to get everything done in each park. We've been multiple times and have a great strategy to get everything done with fast pass, but have no idea how to tackle the wait times without it.



I’m leaving today. We have had a great trip despite the crowds. We were at the bus stop at 6:45 on our animal kingdom morning. On flight of passage by 7:15. The first hour was amazing- almost empty park. We had breakfast at the boardwalk early on our DHS morning, walked to park and were first on MMRR- we got several big rides out of the way in the first hour. It made a huge difference. We napped every day from 12:30-2:00 ish to make up for the early starts.


----------



## NanetteG

laukiph said:


> My family and I are going 10/16-10/19, and are very safety conscientious. Those who have been recently, how have the health precautions seemed to you? Are people wearing their masks for the most part, and are they social distancing? Did you feel safe? Any feedback is appreciated.


From our perspective - yes, we felt very safe and people were wearing their masks.  In fact, I do not recall seeing anyone walking around without a mask properly worn except for around the pool which was permitted.


----------



## melmel

Been here since late Friday night.   Overall we have felt safe in line and walking around.  I agree with the 90-95% number on masks being worn correctly.  The biggest distancing issue in lines we've encountered has been people who aren't keeping their groups together, a family of 4 will take 6-12 feet of space (or more) in a line, which slows everything down and extends the length of the line overall, which when it is in direct sunlight is extra exhausting.  Wait times seem to be correct on big rides (both Pandoras, Mickey and Minnie, 7D, and Smugglers) however everything else has been inflated anywhere from 10-30 mins.  The only real issues we've had were yesterday at HS, between the heat with little to no shade, and all the lines posted at over an hour all day it was very draining.  The crowds seemed high all day even after the magical 2:30 people mention.  We did luck out and get Rise so we decided to cancel our second day at HS (and give someone else a chance), it just wasn't enjoyable enough to deal with the crowds and the even hotter weather again on this trip.


----------



## Ecomommy09

We left Bay Lake Tower at 0755 and made it to temp check at MK at 0807. We were through and at the tapstiles at 0820. We grabbed a stroller and then I hoofed it to 7DMT. We road twice walking through the queue both times.  Next was PP which was another stroll through the queue.  It took about 5 minutes. We road the carousel (crying boy ruined it for me...poor little dude).  Then we walked back to Ariel (5 minute wait) Dumbo (walked through the line) and Barnstormer (Twice).  At that point we had a giant cinnamon roll from Gaston’s.  It was 1020 and then we moved on to Tomorrowland.  Got in line for Astro orbiter which was long (25 min) and hot!   Saw Buzz and Stitch on the stage there!  We hung out in the shade for a while eating cotton candy and drinking water. It was 91F.  I was melting.  

After snack, it was 1215 and we got in line for Winnie. We got off and reached BOG by 1240. They let us go on in.  Lunch was lovely and cool.  The tortellini was yum!   Our waitress was so nice. Shellie!

Next we walked to Haunted Mansion. Celery had never ridden it and was excited.  It was a REALLY long looking line and they said 45 minutes but we were loading in 25. It was mostly just SD. Really kind family in front of us. They were nice to hang out with.  Finally headed for Frontierland. We caught the Mickey and Friends Cavalcade and later the Princess Cavalcade.  We just walked around a bit.  It was hot.  Final ride was Big Thunder which she’d been too short for before!  This was tough.  The line was long, but mostly the guy in front of us was grumpier than my hot 5-yr-old at Disney. He snapped at her for ‘touching’ him.  She might have, I don’t know, but I didn’t see her get close enough and I’m pretty good at monitoring. I apologized and decided to chalk it up to heat.  He should get a misting fan.  That said, we took the other line as soon as we could to get away from him.  She loves the ride, but she was ready to head out. It was hot.  

Of course, there was a lot of shopping mixed in here. We needed a lot of water and I forgot our sunscreen.  Celery is also the slowest eater you’ve ever met. It took 45 min to eat that cinnamon roll and lunch was just her speed. 

I had to carry her back to the hotel.  Now we’re watching Disney Jr. I wish we could have gotten on Splash, but she was too tired.  C’est la vie!  I think it was a great morning for us!   

Tomorrow is AK.  It’ll be less ride focused. More sitting and being cool!


----------



## Ecomommy09




----------



## motherof5

We felt very safe and our already planning another vacation.


----------



## Ecomommy09

Ok...as far as safety, I felt fine.  It got crowded, but we had our masks on as did most people. SD wasn’t perfect, but I made sure we were distanced if we had our masks off. We used up 1.5 bottles of hand sanitizer throughout the day.  We also used their sanitizing stations sometimes.  I sanitized anytime we touched anything. .  Kids were having some issues, but it was super hot.  Bless them.  I had a sweat mustache most of the day. Thankfully, no one can tell!


----------



## Ecomommy09

Now...do I drive or ride the bus to AK tomorrow?   And what time do I leave for either option?  We’re at Bay Lake Tower.  I’m hoping to get Celery on FOP.


----------



## emsstacey

In regards to safety, I felt extremely safe. Anyone complaining about crowds must not remember what fall break had become. Busses have assigned seating areas- very low capacity. Ride queues are all spaced and indoor areas with a lot of switchbacks are not being utilized- that is why the outdoor lines seem so long- that’s the majority of the lines. Yes, DHS is crowded but before there were 3-4 hour waits before- so in comparison- still better. I saw tables being watched and cleaned after every single person left. I have never witnessed the level of cleaning- even saw bus drivers wiping down everything.  Also- 98% of people are wearing masks correctly which is better than I have witnessed anywhere. 

I’m still not sure I would want to bring small children, though. Masks are hot and miserable in the heat and sun. My kids are teens, though... so someone else may very well disagree. I saw lots of families spanking and yelling at their kids. Oops!


----------



## yulilin3

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...ill-reopen-nov-6-at-walt-disney-world-resort/


----------



## disneygirlsng

rj9555 said:


> That seems completely unfair to make people go to the back of the line at CBR who had already waited in line once at Pop. They need to figure out a solution to that.


I'm wondering if the length of line/how many people there are makes a difference. When I was there at the end of August there were separate lines. They sent you to a different line if you were getting off the Pop side. But there may be too many people to have the separate line off to the side now.


----------



## yulilin3

Just got back from DS, live streamed from 4pm to 6pm and the West Side, The Landing was pretty empty, crowds picked up a bit at Marketplace, WoD was fine, no need to wait to go in., room to spread out. The DJ was playing this evening too at the main stage


----------



## ellbell

Today was Magic Kingdom day. It was another great day but there were some hiccups.

We started the day by taking an Uber at 7am to The Wave for breakfast at 7:30.  It was an excellent breakfast but the main reason we booked it was to walk over to Magic Kingdom.  By walking over to MK we were there by 8:21, the buses started showing up at 8:27 and the monorail a few minutes after that.

Because of our earlier arrival we were first in line for splash mountain at 8:40 and they started loading at 8:49.  We were also able to walk on thunder mountain, pirates of the Caribbean and got in line for Jungle cruise by 9:36.  The ETA was 50 minutes and we were on by 10.  Next we walked over to Haunted Mansion.  The ETA for HM was 25 minutes we were on by 10:33.

After HM we took a little break for a drink at Pinocchio Village Haus.  With masks we have found they weren't as bad as we thougt because you get use to having them on and we brought rechargeable electric fans that are total game changers.  You will still need more breaks than normal though.

We then went to It's a Small World and this is where the hiccups started.  MK has many switchbacks in the queue and to account for these the markings on the ground are up to 4 meters apart to male sure you don't stand next to people in the queue.  People didn't pay attention to this.  They only ever cared if the person in front of them was 2 meters away and would ignore the ground markings.  Thankfully this was most prevalent in outdoor queues but it can be concerning. Also while the majority of people were mask compliant there were many more people wearing masks incorrectly than yesterday at epcot.

Back to it's a small world.  At rhis point posted wait times were pretty accurate.  We rode in about 25 minutes and then went to philharmagic and winnie the pooh which was also 25 minutes.

At this point it was 1:30 and we needed another break.  We had a lunch reservation at BOG for 3:15 so didn't want to eat so we headed to storyboom circus to sit in the relaxation station.  I highly recommend.  The tables and places to sit arw well spaced and it's  air conditioned.  We found a spot on the floor up against a wall and sat with masks off for a half hour.  We are use to midday breaks but because of shortened hours won't do it so this was a nice refresher.  

Then we rode dumbo and little mermaid and checked in for lunch which was delicious and we were seated next to John Cena and his family.

We got out of there at about 4 and headed over to space mountain and carousel of progress.  We then decided we were going to shop a bit on main street beforw heading out. The lines to get into the emporium and confectionery were to much to bother with so we headed to the bus to get back to our resort.

We got in a huge line for our resort but the buses were coming one right after the other so it only took about 15 minutes to get one one.  That's about it for today.  Tomorrow is a chill day with a trip to Disney springs amd a sleep in.  I'll probably have far less to report.


----------



## larsonb74

Question, are you able to enter IG before 11am to get to France pavilion for early breakfast currently?


----------



## MomOTwins

larsonb74 said:


> Question, are you able to enter IG before 11am to get to France pavilion for early breakfast currently?


No--Les Halles doesn't open any earlier than the rest of the park.  Crescent lake resort guests are really losing a lot due to the inability to park hop for breakfast/dinner at Epcot and extremely limited QS offerings at those resorts.  We just switched from YC to GF after I honestly couldn't figure out what we would eat at YC!


----------



## hmkenn0

Okay we were at HS today- WHAT a difference- it was HOT and CROWDED! We got to the park about 1 intending to stay until close and do the 2pm drop. Everything was long so we went on TSM it said 15, was probably 10 so we rode twice. We walked to galaxy’s edge and waited for 2pm- I got 109 so yay! We have a DAS so our experience is somewhat different but we had gotten a return for MMRR- so super cute. After that we got a return for rockin roller (posted 50) and waited for TT (posted 35 waited maybe 20), then went on RR. Got another return for TT and did the lightening McQueen show (it was fun even for my 15 year old who has long ago outgrown his car’s OBSESSION). We went and got a return for MFSR and went on Star Tours (posted 20, waited maybe 10). Then we went on MFSR and by then our ROTR was ready and did that with maybe a 15 min walk. (Pretty sure Josh Di’Amaro was right ahead of us on ROTR he was added to our group from a side door for the preshow.) I think virtually everything was working for ROTR, and our second ride was even better than the first (in January). It was 6:55 when we came out so we dashed to Slinky Dog and did it (posted 30, really 10). Now we are eating at sci-fi- overall it was a good day, but if you can’t handle crowds and or heat I’d say a definite NO to HS right now. It was cooler and much emptier after 5pm- but if you’ve never been, now is not the time for a first visit. Without the DAS and a good knowledge of park layout and attractions, I know we would have done like half as much. The lines are at least 60% in the blazing sun- so either wait until it’s cooler or until FP+ opens back up.


----------



## JulieBeeRN

melmel said:


> Been here since late Friday night.   Overall we have felt safe in line and walking around.  I agree with the 90-95% number on masks being worn correctly.  The biggest distancing issue in lines we've encountered has been people who aren't keeping their groups together, a family of 4 will take 6-12 feet of space (or more) in a line, which slows everything down and extends the length of the line overall, which when it is in direct sunlight is extra exhausting.  Wait times seem to be correct on big rides (both Pandoras, Mickey and Minnie, 7D, and Smugglers) however everything else has been inflated anywhere from 10-30 mins.  The only real issues we've had were yesterday at HS, between the heat with little to no shade, and all the lines posted at over an hour all day it was very draining.  The crowds seemed high all day even after the magical 2:30 people mention.  We did luck out and get Rise so we decided to cancel our second day at HS (and give someone else a chance), it just wasn't enjoyable enough to deal with the crowds and the even hotter weather again on this trip.



We were at HS yesterday too and I agree 100% with all of this.   We canceled our second day at HS too.


----------



## HelloTheDrakes

Hollywood Studios 10/6/20

Gondola at:  2nd in line at POP (got there at 7:03 AM to make this happen) 

8:45 got on gondola to CRB

Waited a while: 9:05 AM from CRB to HS- we did go after the first CRB group in line and it seemed like they went back and forth between the two resorts, rather than letting us go through first. They said we needed to wait on HS to tell them when to start. 

In park by 9:15- the line to get in was impressive. Overall, today felt like a “normal” Day and we typically travel in May for our anniversary. I was shocked by the amount of people. I’d say 98% compliance for masks and 90% distance compliance. It’s hard to do in some places where it bottle necks.  I’d say I assume we had an epic day because we planned well and we’re able to get in so early.   I’m grateful to this thread and info...it’s the reason I made the decisions that I did! In fact, we met 2 groups in line who had no idea how to get BG’s for ROTR. This is also why I’m posting with these breakdowns. I want people to be equipped with times. I truly hope this helps. 

Below is a break down of our ride times. Not shown: Droid building reservation at 3:15, dinner at Sci-Fi at 4:25, and Light Saber build at 7:05



RideListed time Time entered Time on ride SmugglersNone 9:259:28TSMM30 mins9:479:56ToT6010:1310:57RNR5511:0511:32Star Tours15, then jumped to 6011:4812:03ROTRBG 3712:4212:50 front of queSmugglers40, then jumped to 801:562:54Slinky605:406:25Star Tours206:356:42MMRR60 6:33 (friend split off)7:17


----------



## pal6860

brockash said:


> I really think it depends, but when we went a cpl weeks ago and staying at Poly; we got a bus around 940 and we could see all the stopped cars as we went through the gates a little before 10.  Having said that they seem to start buses earlier on the weekends, so who knows.




Thanks for the info!  Was this with an 11:00 Epcot opening?  The bus started roughly 80 min prior to park opening?


----------



## Coppercoal

emsstacey said:


> I’m leaving today. We have had a great trip despite the crowds. We were at the bus stop at 6:45 on our animal kingdom morning. On flight of passage by 7:15. The first hour was amazing- almost empty park. We had breakfast at the boardwalk early on our DHS morning, walked to park and were first on MMRR- we got several big rides out of the way in the first hour. It made a huge difference. We napped every day from 12:30-2:00 ish to make up for the early starts.



what time did you arrive at DHS? Thanks!


----------



## MomOTwins

hmkenn0 said:


> Okay we were at HS today- WHAT a difference- it was HOT and CROWDED! We got to the park about 1 intending to stay until close and do the 2pm drop. Everything was long so we went on TSM it said 15, was probably 10 so we rode twice. We walked to galaxy’s edge and waited for 2pm- I got 109 so yay! We have a DAS so our experience is somewhat different but we had gotten a return for MMRR- so super cute. After that we got a return for rockin roller (posted 50) and waited for TT (posted 35 waited maybe 20), then went on RR. Got another return for TT and did the lightening McQueen show (it was fun even for my 15 year old who has long ago outgrown his car’s OBSESSION). We went and got a return for MFSR and went on Star Tours (posted 20, waited maybe 10). Then we went on MFSR and by then our ROTR was ready and did that with maybe a 15 min walk. (Pretty sure Josh Di’Amaro was right ahead of us on ROTR he was added to our group from a side door for the preshow.) I think virtually everything was working for ROTR, and our second ride was even better than the first (in January). It was 6:55 when we came out so we dashed to Slinky Dog and did it (posted 30, really 10). Now we are eating at sci-fi- overall it was a good day, but if you can’t handle crowds and or heat I’d say a definite NO to HS right now. It was cooler and much emptier after 5pm- but if you’ve never been, now is not the time for a first visit. Without the DAS and a good knowledge of park layout and attractions, I know we would have done like half as much. The lines are at least 60% in the blazing sun- so either wait until it’s cooler or until FP+ opens back up.


Thank you for the detailed report. Cool disney celebrity sighting!  I sure with they would make him try getting from a resort to DHS on disney transportation and then tey ti get a BG at 10am so he could see how broken the system is (just my opinion—it’s crummy how many people have their hopes dashed by a slow-to-arrive bus, slow fingers, a glitchy app or old phones—if they let some subset of people reserve a queue spot in advance and the rest do virtual queue on the day it would make the morning so much leas chaotic).


----------



## soniam

HollyMD said:


> Just encountered the worst bus driver ever picking up for AL at BRV. Line was AK and HS. He pulls up, opens sores, waits 2 secs, then starts closing doors to pull off. Someone flagged him down, then the END of the very well labeled line starting rushing on the bus. Was a dang free for all! And there are so many people on the bus, since he didn’t assign seats, that several are STANDING. no social distancing whatsoever.



Yikes! Maybe I should wear my N95 mask on the 2 days that I have to ride the bus. I plan to wear it on the plane and ME. Husband and son show up eventually with the rental car.



emsstacey said:


> I’m leaving today. We have had a great trip despite the crowds. We were at the bus stop at 6:45 on our animal kingdom morning. On flight of passage by 7:15. The first hour was amazing- almost empty park. We had breakfast at the boardwalk early on our DHS morning, walked to park and were first on MMRR- we got several big rides out of the way in the first hour. It made a huge difference. We napped every day from 12:30-2:00 ish to make up for the early starts.



Did AK officially open at 8am that day? Wow! So the park opened about 45 minutes early, even on an earlier opening day?

Walking to DHS is pretty great. We did that in July with a lot of success.


----------



## HollyMD

soniam said:


> Yikes! Maybe I should wear my N95 mask on the 2 days that I have to ride the bus. I plan to wear it on the plane and ME. Husband and son show up eventually with the rental car.


Every other bus we have been on has been great. It was just this particular bus/driver that was such an issue. But a very BIG issue.


----------



## wilkydelts

@ellbell just looking to clarify, you ended up eating next to WWE John Cena at BOG?


----------



## ellbell

wilkydelts said:


> @ellbell just looking to clarify, you ended up eating next to WWE John Cena at BOG?


Yep.  I mean the tables were socially distanced and I'm not a fan so I had to have my 15 year old son confirm but it was definitely him.


----------



## AmishGuy91

ellbell said:


> Today was Magic Kingdom day. It was another great day but there were some hiccups.
> 
> We started the day by taking an Uber at 7am to The Wave for breakfast at 7:30.  It was an excellent breakfast but the main reason we booked it was to walk over to Magic Kingdom.  By walking over to MK we were there by 8:21, the buses started showing up at 8:27 and the monorail a few minutes after that.
> 
> Because of our earlier arrival we were first in line for splash mountain at 8:40 and they started loading at 8:49.  We were also able to walk on thunder mountain, pirates of the Caribbean and got in line for Jungle cruise by 9:36.  The ETA was 50 minutes and we were on by 10.  Next we walked over to Haunted Mansion.  The ETA for HM was 25 minutes we were on by 10:33.
> 
> After HM we took a little break for a drink at Pinocchio Village Haus.  With masks we have found they weren't as bad as we thougt because you get use to having them on and we brought rechargeable electric fans that are total game changers.  You will still need more breaks than normal though.
> 
> We then went to It's a Small World and this is where the hiccups started.  MK has many switchbacks in the queue and to account for these the markings on the ground are up to 4 meters apart to male sure you don't stand next to people in the queue.  People didn't pay attention to this.  They only ever cared if the person in front of them was 2 meters away and would ignore the ground markings.  Thankfully this was most prevalent in outdoor queues but it can be concerning. Also while the majority of people were mask compliant there were many more people wearing masks incorrectly than yesterday at epcot.
> 
> Back to it's a small world.  At rhis point posted wait times were pretty accurate.  We rode in about 25 minutes and then went to philharmagic and winnie the pooh which was also 25 minutes.
> 
> At this point it was 1:30 and we needed another break.  We had a lunch reservation at BOG for 3:15 so didn't want to eat so we headed to storyboom circus to sit in the relaxation station.  I highly recommend.  The tables and places to sit arw well spaced and it's  air conditioned.  We found a spot on the floor up against a wall and sat with masks off for a half hour.  We are use to midday breaks but because of shortened hours won't do it so this was a nice refresher.
> 
> Then we rode dumbo and little mermaid and checked in for lunch which was delicious and we were seated next to John Cena and his family.
> 
> We got out of there at about 4 and headed over to space mountain and carousel of progress.  We then decided we were going to shop a bit on main street beforw heading out. The lines to get into the emporium and confectionery were to much to bother with so we headed to the bus to get back to our resort.
> 
> We got in a huge line for our resort but the buses were coming one right after the other so it only took about 15 minutes to get one one.  That's about it for today.  Tomorrow is a chill day with a trip to Disney springs amd a sleep in.  I'll probably have far less to report.





ellbell said:


> Yep.  I mean the tables were socially distanced and I'm not a fan so I had to have my 15 year old son confirm but it was definitely him.



I thought nobody could see him


----------



## ellbell

AmishGuy91 said:


> I thought nobody could see him


My son said the same thing.  Like I said not a fan so he had to explain the joke lol.


----------



## brockash

pal6860 said:


> Thanks for the info!  Was this with an 11:00 Epcot opening?  The bus started roughly 80 min prior to park opening?


Yes, with the 11am opening, but it was on the weekend.  On the weekdays it seemed to be more of 50ish mins before park opening.


----------



## lmbcdb

Befferk said:


> I did this when I was wondering the same thing - we're staying offsite and wanted to know the cost to get to the Speedway outside of HS (staying at Windsor Hills so about 5~ish miles). It was $16 and some change (note that this is for an Lyft XL, since there will be 4 of us. I did not check Uber).


We hardly ever use these types of services - what is the standard tip? (I’m probably getting off topic, here, sorry!)


----------



## hmkenn0

lmbcdb said:


> We hardly ever use these types of services - what is the standard tip? (I’m probably getting off topic, here, sorry!)


You use an app that links your credit card (or PayPal, which I recommend), at the end of the trip it will pop up with a way to rate the trip in stars and then asks if you want to add a tip, I think the choices are usually $1, $5, and maybe just do your own. I usually tip about 10% or round up, or just do the middle option. While I have only tipped in cash a couple of times (my San Fransisco driver took me on a whole tour of the town so I gave him a $20), they really aren't supposed to take cash, but you can do it.


----------



## jrsharp21

We are in Ft. Myers for two baseball tournaments over 10 days. We have a 2 day break between tournaments so we decided to drive up to WDW today. We had no park reservations so we headed over to Disney Springs. We walked around DS for awhile. Then we took a bus over to Boardwalk and walked around. Had a drink at Hurricane Hanna's at the Yacht Club. Then took the Skyliner for a full round trip. Then took the bus back to DS. Had dinner at T-Rex. Shopped for a little bit longer and then made the drive back to Ft. Myers.

We got to DS around 12:30pm. It was pretty much a ghost town. Lots of free space to move around. You really didn't need to come close to anyone if you didn't want to. The WOD store was pretty empty also. But people I was even remotely near were trying to keep their space from me as I was to them.

The busses had hardly anyone on them. We were the only people on the bus from DS to Boardwalk. On the way back, it was us and two other people. They do have a good layout to keep everyone spaced out on the bus.

The Boardwalk is in a sad state. The last time I stayed at Yacht Club last year, it was full of life, people, performers, etc. Now I was half expecting a tumble weed to blow by. No snack or drink stands are open. The only thing that was open was the little pizza place and the restaurant next door. I saw one family at the restaurant and that's it. It looks like they were just there for the drinks. It was really disappointing.

The pool at Yacht Club was happening. Lots of families enjoying the pool. We stopped and got a drink at Hurricane Hanna's so we could hang out at a table and take our masks off. It was hot today, so that rest was needed.

The Skyliner had hardly anyone getting on it. We actually got off and on 4 times. Twice we were the only ones getting on. The other two times there was one person and then a small family.

The crowds at DS picked up into the evening. My guess is as the parks were getting closer to closing and the sun was going down. Still not really crowded. At dinner time I was able to walk up to T-Rex and get a table for us with no wait. That is even with half the tables at the restaurant not being used to keep people spaced out.

As far as masks go, I would say 98% of the people I saw today were wearing their masks when they should have been and properly. Every now and then you saw someone with it below their nose. But I think people realize Disney isn't playing when it comes to that policy and are following rules. But in the heat today, it was definitely needed to stop and catch a breather every now and then. We would duck behind a closed booth, or somewhere way off where no one was to take our masks off to catch a breath or two and then put them back on.

I have been one that has played this whole virus very conservatively and really stayed away from everyone and places for a long time. Today I felt very comfortable at DS. I never got that uncomfortable feeling that I have at places like Home Depot. If the inside of the parks is the same feel, then I think I would definitely be fine heading into a park for the day.

Also to add, all the CM's were fantastic. Great attitudes from them and you could tell they were smiling behind the masks. It almost felt like they were truly happy for you to be there and for there to actually be guests enjoying WDW.

It was definitely a pick me up that was needed for me and the family. I caught myself while inside WOD just standing and staring at the people walking around, the CM's talking to guests, and just taking it all in. Got kind of choked up. It was one of those moments where all the crap from these year melted away and Disney was there.


----------



## PrincessV

For those who've been recently and/or are going to DHS soon, how much time are you spending in queues _indoors _on MF:SR, MMRR, ROTR, TOT? I have no problem waiting long times outdoors, but really do not want to be indoors longer than about 15 minutes. Is that at all realistic? I know the queues for TOT and MMRR well, but haven't been since SD was added, so I'm not sure how much of the indoor portions of queues are being used. Thanks!


----------



## MomOTwins

PrincessV said:


> For those who've been recently and/or are going to DHS soon, how much time are you spending in queues _indoors _on MF:SR, MMRR, ROTR, TOT? I have no problem waiting long times outdoors, but really do not want to be indoors longer than about 15 minutes. Is that at all realistic? I know the queues for TOT and MMRR well, but haven't been since SD was added, so I'm not sure how much of the indoor portions of queues are being used. Thanks!


Not realistic, sorry.  The only thing they are reducing indoor time on are the pre-shows, which are now skipped at (applies to TOT and MMRR), but we waited more than 15 mins indoors at all those queues--and you'll wait considerably more if you get stuck on a cleaning cycle.  The indoor queues are being fully utilized.


----------



## kittylady1972

PrincessV said:


> For those who've been recently and/or are going to DHS soon, how much time are you spending in queues _indoors _on MF:SR, MMRR, ROTR, TOT? I have no problem waiting long times outdoors, but really do not want to be indoors longer than about 15 minutes. Is that at all realistic? I know the queues for TOT and MMRR well, but haven't been since SD was added, so I'm not sure how much of the indoor portions of queues are being used. Thanks!



*You will definitely spend some time in indoor queues.  At least for TOT you do walk right through the library now from what I recall and follow social distance markers up the ramps to the ride.  MMRR is also a lot of indoor time, but there is plexiglass in the areas where you are doing switchbacks so you aren't breathing on the people next to you...but you are still SD spaced front and back and inside a room.  I would say MF: SR is going to have the LONGEST amount of indoor queue time because that's just how it was designed.  When we went in August, that was probably our longest indoor wait.  For the most part you do seem to be continuously moving, but not always.  For rides like TSM at least I found we almost walked right onto the ride since that entire queue was really indoors.  And of course once you are ON the rides (like ToT, RoTR) you are in a much smaller space with a few people not in your party.*


----------



## Khobbs18

Anyone has experience post-covid with changing party reservations for dining? Hubby did our dining when it opened 60 days out and I just realized he forgot to add our kids for our BOG and Sci Fi Reservations (+2). I know all we can do is ask when we get there aside from checking the app like crazy. Just wondering if anyone has had to do this post-covid yet.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Khobbs18 said:


> Anyone has experience post-covid with changing party reservations for dining? Hubby did our dining when it opened 60 days out and I just realized he forgot to add our kids for our BOG and Sci Fi Reservations (+2). I know all we can do is ask when we get there aside from checking the app like crazy. Just wondering if anyone has had to do this post-covid yet.



Upon mobile check-in lately, we have had the option of adding 1 additional person to our reservation. It says on the check-in screen that we could but we were a party of 3 and they allow us to add 1 (on the screen where you input how many adults/kids/infants are present). I'm doubtful the option to move from a party of 2 (assuming those reservations are just for 2?) to a party of 4 would be there since your table is probably a 2 topper. Since we're a party of 3, we are always at a 4 topper anyways.

Since you have time, you should be able to modify to the right party size. Set up a reservation finder + check often (esp in the day or two before your reservation). They may let you approach the stand once there but they really discourage it.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Anyone have a solid recommendation of what time is the best to line up at your bus stop or skyliner stop to get to the parks early? We're rope drop folks by nature so we'd want to be in that 'first group in' so to speak. Especially at MK and HS. We're staying at the Caribbean Resort hotel. Thanks everyone!


----------



## Pens Fan

We were at DHS yesterday and had a great time.  As it's been widely noted everyone tries to be in the park before 10 to get a Rise BG, so yes there are crowds.  But (for us at least) it all seemed manageable.  After seeing the bus lines for DHS on previous days, we decided to drive.  We left WL a few minutes before 9 and were through the turnstiles by 9:30.  The line of cars to get in the park at first looked daunting, but it moved steadily and security was a breeze with the new scanners.  

Yes, there is large crowd that time of morning, but most people were heading towards MMRR and GE.  We scooted down Sunset and it was not crowded at all.  We decided not to try to get on any rides at that point, not wanting to risk our 10 AM BG try.  In hindsight, that was a mistake as BG's were gone in less than 10 seconds (didn't get one) and by 10:00 wait times were already climbing.  TT and RNRC were only 15 and 20 minutes, but my husband was having back issues, so we decided to head to MFSR which was listed at 20 minutes.  By the time we got there it had increased to 45 and that's about what it took.  TSMM was listed at 35, took about 25.  After that all the headliners had a listed time of 45 minutes or more (MMRR waffled between 75 and 90 most of the day).  But what was interesting was that other than the posted wait times, the park really did not seem that crowded.  There was plenty of space to walk around and we had no issues finding places to sit and space ourselves if we needed a drink or just a break.  We saw several of the character cavalcades - so much fun!

We managed to get BG 89 at the 2 PM chance.  We got in line for MMRR around 2:30 when it was posted at 60 minutes.  It only took about 45 minutes, though.  Totally worth it!!!  By then the park was clearing out, for sure.  My son said it reminded him of how it was when he was there in early August.  We were called for Rise a little after 5 PM (so much fun!), but decided to call it a day after riding as we wanted a chance to go back and shower before our Raglan Road reservation.  

Leaving a little before 6 PM, the wait times were definitely coming down and the walkways were thinning out considerably.   Overall, we had a great day.  I was worried about DHS ahead of time after hearing about the crowds.  While I agree the crowds are there, it's still pretty easy to avoid them if you really want to.  If you find yourself in an uncomfortable position - MOVE.  We had no difficulty finding space for ourselves - even at that crazy pre-10 AM arrival time.  As everyone has already mentioned - arrive early and take advantage of the first hour or so for rides.  If you can't do that - stay late.  The park does clear out in the afternoon.  Make an ADR if you want a TS experience - walk ups were pretty much a no go.  We had just planned on a CS meal anyway and had no issues mobile ordering at Backlot Express and finding a nice table in the shade.  We are going back tomorrow and plan on hanging around the resort until the afternoon before heading over to the park to take advantage of the low late day crowds and ride the few things we missed today.  

Have fun, everyone.  The magic is still there, you just have to adjust your plans a bit from pre-covid times.


----------



## SuJo

Khobbs18 said:


> Anyone has experience post-covid with changing party reservations for dining? Hubby did our dining when it opened 60 days out and I just realized he forgot to add our kids for our BOG and Sci Fi Reservations (+2). I know all we can do is ask when we get there aside from checking the app like crazy. Just wondering if anyone has had to do this post-covid yet.



We did this last year when our daughter decided to join at the last minute (there 4 of us going and she made us 5).  I went to each podium and told them our count was up 1 with my daughter.  They said no problem, it is only a problem when you go beyond 6 people in your party.  Now with online checkin I don't know how that will work.


----------



## coolbrook

Ecomommy09 said:


> At that point we had a giant cinnamon roll from Gaston’s. It was 1020 and then we moved on to Tomorrowland.


I think I read someone say that there was a long line at Gaston's.  Did you have to wait long?  Has anyone else heard of long waits here or if a certain time of day is less busy than others?  This cinnamon roll is our favorite thing to eat at MK and we are looking forward to it in November.  Thank you


----------



## emsstacey

Coppercoal said:


> what time did you arrive at DHS? Thanks!



We were there Monday. Breakfast at Trattoria at 7:30, started walking to DHS at 8:15, arrived by 8:30 and we were probably 30-40 back in line. We got in the left line, went to the left tents and that is where the head lady was who gave the go ahead to move through temp check. That was key to us getting through first.


----------



## HashberryOTG

coolbrook said:


> I think I read someone say that there was a long line at Gaston's.  Did you have to wait long?  Has anyone else heard of long waits here or if a certain time of day is less busy than others?  This cinnamon roll is our favorite thing to eat at MK and we are looking forward to it in November.  Thank you



We were there mid/end of Sept.  Line moves fast.  We waited about 10-15 minutes.  Don't expect to get a table. Everyplace to sit and eat nearby plus inside was full.


----------



## PrincessV

MomOTwins said:


> Not realistic, sorry.  The only thing they are reducing indoor time on are the pre-shows, which are now skipped at (applies to TOT and MMRR), but we waited more than 15 mins indoors at all those queues--and you'll wait considerably more if you get stuck on a cleaning cycle.  The indoor queues are being fully utilized.





kittylady1972 said:


> *You will definitely spend some time in indoor queues.  *


Thank you - this is helpful! I may still keep my DHS reservation: if all I do is enjoy a blue milk and people watch in Batuu, I'll call it good. But I wont' feel any compulsion to arrive early to budget for ride wait times!


----------



## Tammy A

riversend22 said:


> Just wanted to write up a quick trip report as I visited MK for one day this past Saturday...
> 
> I was initially concerned about the crowds on a weekend, but honestly I didn't find it to be too bad. I think as many people have mentioned previously, it is VERY important to have a plan. I drove to the park and got to the toll booths at around 8:05. There was only a very small line of cars so I was parked and walking towards the transport center by 8:15. I immediately got on the monorail and was inside of MK by 8:30.
> 
> My plan revolved around hitting the rides that were most important to me. So I decided to head over to Splash Mountain first. As others have mentioned, it is up to the CMs to decide whether to operate the rides before official park opening. I happened to make a good decision going towards Frontierland because although Splash was not open yet, Big thunder was. So I hopped on that, and was off in about 10 minutes. This turned out to be a good strategy because for some reason, 7DMT was not running this morning which is where most people end up at opening. Then I waited maybe 10 more minutes and splash opened a few minutes before 9. So I hopped on that and was again off in about 10 minutes. Then I headed over to pirates which had no wait, so I was on and off that quickly as well. After that I decided since I was in Adventureland to just hit up Jungle Cruise. This was my first wait of the day, but it still wasn't too bad. I believe the posted wait was around 35 minutes and I waited 25. So just to give you an idea, by 10:30 I had already completed 4 of the bigger rides.
> 
> At this point the waits started getting a little longer, but again, nothing too crazy. My plans then brought me over to Haunted Mansion, which had a posted wait of 45 minutes, but I only waited about 30. Do not let the HM line fool you...it looks really long as the queue takes you through the boat dock, but it is constantly moving and never felt long. I then made my way over to Space mountain which I believe had a 40 minute posted wait and I was off in about 25 minutes (which was only due to getting caught in a cleaning cycle.) After this I decided to try and grab some food via mobile order before the lunch crowds came, which was a really good idea because it got very busy at Pecos Bill's after 12:30.
> 
> The afternoon definitely saw a higher amount of crowds, but again, it was still very manageable compared to previous visits. I hit Small world, Barnstormer, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion (again), Buzz, Tiki Room and Carousel of Progress by 6pm. Since I was only visiting for the one day, I skipped a few of the smaller kiddie rides but those mostly had no waits, so if you have kids, those could have been done as well. 7DMT had been up and down all day due to rain, so at 6 I decided to hop in line with a 60 minute wait. After about 15 minutes I jumped out of the line because I decided for a 30 second ride, that wait wasn't worth it and I'd rather spend my time shopping. So I spend the last hour in the emporium. Again, they control the amount of people let in here via line, so the crowd levels inside were very manageable, dare I even say enjoyable. I also saw all of the cavalcades as I was just walking around the park and I really enjoyed these. Some people would stop and watch but nothing like the old days of parades which I greatly appreciated. Overall, I had a wonderful time, and was happy to hit everything I wanted to.
> 
> A few take aways:
> I felt very safe the entire day. With the exception of people eating/drinking and a few younger kids, I'd say 95% of people were wearing their masks correctly. Also because it rained on and off most of the day, I didn't hate wearing the mask as much as I was expecting to. In the hot sun however, it would have been tough.
> 
> Wait times in lines are definitely inflated. In my experience the posted waits were roughly about 15 minutes longer than actual wait time.
> 
> My food goals were to eat some of the halloween exclusives. I tried the Hades nachos and the Constance wedding cake. Skip the nachos...they weren't bad, but there are far better choices (and they weren't spicy at all!). The wedding cake was delicious! Cake was moist, and the flavors were on point. The white gelee coating was a bit odd texturally, but overall I really loved this!
> 
> Everyone followed social distancing pretty well. I did have one issue in the Buzz line where some younger kids kept bumping into me and trying to pass me which was a bit annoying. I don't blame the children, but the parents should have been more diligent in teaching their kids to wait (just my opinion...they had 9 kids so I imagine that would be tough lol). Otherwise, everything was handled very well. There are sanitizer stations everywhere and I saw a lot of people using them.
> 
> I really couldn't believe how many families there were. Although I had a great time as a single adult, I could never imagine bringing my two younger toddlers during this time. So my advice is to weigh the risk vs. reward. Remember that things are different and the experience will be what you make of it. My opinion is that with the lines, masks and certain things closed, I would NOT bring my family now especially with how expensive a ticket is, but that is something that has to be decided by each individual family. If you do go, make a plan, try to stick to it, and you will be fine!


I really enjoyed your post; very helpful. Thank you!


----------



## hereforthechurros

For those that have been to Epcot recently is there regularly a queue on weekends to enter the pyramid in Mexico? If there a separate entrance if you have an ADR?


----------



## Lizzards

alliecat726 said:


> Hi, sorry about the delayed reply, we were (yet again) out of town from Fri thru today (for a wedding)! So, to get to MK & AK, your choices are the bus or a cab/uber etc. We opted for the bus for both as we really weren't in a huge hurry to rope-drop either park (though, we did end up getting to MK early & rode a few rides before park opening--AK we got there after right around/just after park opening). Interestingly the bus line for AK was longer/had more ppl in it both mornings we were there @ the stop. But the buses came w/in 10 mins for both MK & AK and we were able to get on the first bus so no probs. Took buses back @ night, too. Can feel like a long walk at night from the back of the park to the bus terminals when you're hot & exhausted, so be prepared! Though again, even when it felt like there were a lot of ppl in the PM bus lines, we didn't wait long & got on the first buses that came. So not horrible. We took the Skyliner to Epcot painlessly (but had to bus back to Riv as there was a thunder/lightening/rain storm @ night). HS: after an insane amount of research on uber/car rental/bus/Skyliner etc to get there for the whole BG issue, we decided to walk to CBR from Riv. Mistake. The line from CBR to get on the Skyliner was like 10 times longer than the line for the ppl getting off the Skyliner line from Riv & waiting (in a separate line) @ CBR. We hoofed it from the Riv to CBR early (and were already totally hot & sweating) and then were stuck in the CBR line while we watched groups of ppl sailing in from Riv to CBR and then proceeding right up to the front of that line & onto the Skyliner. So next time, we plan to be the first ppl in line @ the Riv Skyliner line to get to HS faster. This did impact our day as we were on MMRR @ 10am to get our BG for ROTR--we're convinced that had we been in the first group/s on the Riv Skyliner line, we'd have arrived @ HS like 15 mis earlier & been OFF MMRR before 10 (and not waited so long for other rides like Slinky, ToT, RRC, etc)! Hope this helps!!!


This is all super helpful!! Thank you for your reply


----------



## Lizzards

TikiTikiFan said:


> I'm a Disneyland park goer switching over to WDW for the holidays (since we have no reopening date in sight..) and I was wondering if anyone could help answer a few questions for me about their recent park experiences!
> 
> I've been lurking for a few days and I'm reading that weekends tend to be more busier. Is that true for all four parks or the more popular ones like Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom? I think I can finagle things to make our park days only weekdays for the most part but we might have one weekend day too.
> 
> Art of Animation vs. Caribbean Resort- which has a better atmosphere to spend your evenings in? I think we're going to avoid Disney Springs and just stick to the parks so trying to pick which resort we should go with. My son is 10 so he'd love the cartoon themes but I prefer the look of the Caribbean Resort... What do you think? Do the resorts feel really crowded in the evenings right now? Does it really matter? We'd save more money staying at the Art of Animation that I could easily turn into an extra park day..
> 
> Does anyone have a good resource for park strategies right now? I've been following along on this thread but it sounds like we're all just winging it- does that sound about right? But like, what rides do you head towards first? I'm so used to operating on a rope drop strategy I'm having a hard time letting go of that lol!
> 
> Any other tips you want to give me? Thanks everyone!


I am a Disneyland Park goer switching over to WDW for the Thanksgiving holiday week!!!!  I hope you have a magical time.  I miss Disneyland sooooo much and am beyond excited to go to WDW.


----------



## Jaina

Lizzards said:


> I am a Disneyland Park goer switching over to WDW for the Thanksgiving holiday week!!!!  I hope you have a magical time.  I miss Disneyland sooooo much and am beyond excited to go to WDW.


Me too. I'm so tired of wondering when my Disneyland AP is finally going to be useful and so tired of riding the "corona coaster" while we wait for CA's governor to decide he'll allow it. I'm going to WDW in 2.5 weeks, and I'm super excited, even if it is hot and the lines are long... I just needed a little magic to look forward to in my life!


----------



## HashberryOTG

hereforthechurros said:


> For those that have been to Epcot recently is there regularly a queue on weekends to enter the pyramid in Mexico? If there a separate entrance if you have an ADR?



One of the days we were there it had a 60+ minute queue to get into the pyramid.  I don't know about the ADR part tho.  I hope so!


----------



## KellyKane

hereforthechurros said:


> For those that have been to Epcot recently is there regularly a queue on weekends to enter the pyramid in Mexico? If there a separate entrance if you have an ADR?



Yes.  We were there on a Sunday in late September. The line to get into the pyramid was all the way back to Norway.  There is a cast member that directs the end of the line that sent us up to another cast member right at the walkway to the side entrance..if that makes sense.  Once inside, there was a third cast member verifying that we had a lunch reservation.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Woops wrong thread


----------



## wendypooh22

Jaina said:


> Me too. I'm so tired of wondering when my Disneyland AP is finally going to be useful and so tired of riding the "corona coaster" while we wait for CA's governor to decide he'll allow it. I'm going to WDW in 2.5 weeks, and I'm super excited, even if it is hot and the lines are long... I just needed a little magic to look forward to in my life!


I am a DL AP holder as well and waiting for CA to open up is soo frustrating!  I will be leaving for WDW on Monday.  I cannot wait to be in a Disney park!!


----------



## jrsharp21

I lived in California for almost all of my life and was a DL AP holder for many years. Moved to Texas about 7 years ago and became a WDW regular and one time AP. For you DL'ers, you will not be disappointed. There is a whole different feel to the resort, especially if you are staying on property. No having to walk across the street to Harbor and be bombarded with flying whirly birds for sale or people trying to get you to come to Captain Kidd's to eat. You are immersed in your own Disney bubble. It's a great experience. I hope everyone enjoys WDW as much as they do DL.


----------



## ellbell

Nothing much to report today.  As I stated yesterday we were having a lazy day today.  We slept in and headed to the bus for Disney Springs at about 9:50.  We got to DS at about 10:17.  It was early so not a whole lot of people.  Some stores weren't open until 11.  We were able to be socially distanced and most people were mask compliant.  I've heard that it gets crowded their later in the day but morning and early afternoon were very pleasant.

We got back to Pop around 2.  It was very quiet and we relaxed for the rest of the day. Room checks are still being done.  We had a knock on the door around 3 when I was napping.  She asked if she could do a room check amd informed us we couldn't be in the room while she did it.  I said I was napping and she asked when a good time to come back would be.  

Other than that the day was uneventful and very relaxing.  Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios.


----------



## Biggen

hereforthechurros said:
			
		

> For those that have been to Epcot recently is there regularly a queue on weekends to enter the pyramid in Mexico? If there a separate entrance if you have an ADR?


We were just there last weekend.  The was no line outside.  A very small line was inside and you didn't have to have reservations to enter.


----------



## HelloTheDrakes

Went to MK today: 10/7/20

Staying at Pop- At bus by 7:25, first bus at 7:59, us on bus at 8:21

Ate lunch at Pecos Bills, delicious and half of the tables were marked for distancing. Today was pretty hot, so I’d say mask compliance was more like 90%. Lots of noses ans people pulling them down during our long outdoor wait for HM.

Dinner was at Skipper Canteen. Delicious as always and very spaced out. We also had the raspberry swirl dole whip around 2 which was amazing and much needed.

My ridiculous time chart is listed below. We started calling this my Disney Data and my husband and friends have even started helping me keep track of it throughout the day! Hope it helps!


RideListed TimeTime EnteredTime on RideSpace5 min8:488:52Thunder5 min9:089:13Splash5 mins9:189:25Haunted Mansion1010:0610:217DMT45 - jumped to 5510:2611:16Peter Pan2011:2511:52Buzz2012:551:05Carousel51:111:14Mermaid201:401:58Pirates402:363:04HAunted Mansion403:254:00Peter Pan205:325:36Small World20We split -5:405:47Space Mountain40We split- 5:546:15


----------



## hereforthechurros

KellyKane said:


> Yes.  We were there on a Sunday in late September. The line to get into the pyramid was all the way back to Norway.  There is a cast member that directs the end of the line that sent us up to another cast member right at the walkway to the side entrance..if that makes sense.  Once inside, there was a third cast member verifying that we had a lunch reservation.


Great info thank you!


----------



## soniam

emsstacey said:


> We were there Monday. Breakfast at Trattoria at 7:30, started walking to DHS at 8:15, arrived by 8:30 and we were probably 30-40 back in line. We got in the left line, went to the left tents and that is where the head lady was who gave the go ahead to move through temp check. That was key to us getting through first.



This was for a 10am opening, right? Were the buses or Skyliner running? If not, I presume this is just people walking from the Epcot resorts.


----------



## MomOTwins

Khobbs18 said:


> Anyone has experience post-covid with changing party reservations for dining? Hubby did our dining when it opened 60 days out and I just realized he forgot to add our kids for our BOG and Sci Fi Reservations (+2). I know all we can do is ask when we get there aside from checking the app like crazy. Just wondering if anyone has had to do this post-covid yet.


Be our guest may be tricky (I’ve been stalking app since we booked well after 60 day mark) and have not seen any BOG openings, so if they don’t have the right table size available it could be a challenge.  Sci fi should be no problem because they are not sharing cars between parties so I can see why they would object so long as your total party size is 6 or less.


----------



## Pens Fan

We were there this past Friday and Sunday.  We hit Mexico Friday night around 7 or so.  There was no line to actually enter the pyramid.   Once inside the main entrance a CM was asking if you wanted to wait for Cava de Tequila or just enter the pavillion.  If you didn't want to wait for Cava (the line stretched to the top of the ramp that goes down into the pavillion) you could walk straight on in which is what we did.

We walked by Mexico on Sunday around 2 PM and the line to even get inside was outside of the pyramid and down the steps.   So I guess it just depends.


----------



## Shinrai

Jaina said:


> Me too. I'm so tired of wondering when my Disneyland AP is finally going to be useful and so tired of riding the "corona coaster" while we wait for CA's governor to decide he'll allow it. I'm going to WDW in 2.5 weeks, and I'm super excited, even if it is hot and the lines are long... I just needed a little magic to look forward to in my life!



Same. We leave in 2 weeks 2 days!


----------



## brockash

HelloTheDrakes said:


> Went to MK today: 10/7/20
> 
> Staying at Pop- At bus by 7:25, first bus at 7:59, us on bus at 8:21
> 
> Ate lunch at Pecos Bills, delicious and half of the tables were marked for distancing. Today was pretty hot, so I’d say mask compliance was more like 90%. Lots of noses ans people pulling them down during our long outdoor wait for HM.
> 
> Dinner was at Skipper Canteen. Delicious as always and very spaced out. We also had the raspberry swirl dole whip around 2 which was amazing and much needed.
> 
> My ridiculous time chart is listed below. We started calling this my Disney Data and my husband and friends have even started helping me keep track of it throughout the day! Hope it helps!
> 
> 
> RideListed TimeTime EnteredTime on RideSpace5 min8:488:52Thunder5 min9:089:13Splash5 mins9:189:25Haunted Mansion1010:0610:217DMT45 - jumped to 5510:2611:16Peter Pan2011:2511:52Buzz2012:551:05Carousel51:111:14Mermaid201:401:58Pirates402:363:04HAunted Mansion403:254:00Peter Pan205:325:36Small World20We split -5:405:47Space Mountain40We split- 5:546:15


When you say you were at the bus stop at 725, but weren't on the bus until 821... that means being at the bus stop 1.5+ hrs earlier than park open wasn't enough time to get on first bus and they didn't have another one there for over 20 mins this morning?  I just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly; that's rough...thx for all the detailed reports


----------



## figmentfinesse

TikiTikiFan said:


> I'm a Disneyland park goer switching over to WDW for the holidays (since we have no reopening date in sight..) and I was wondering if anyone could help answer a few questions for me about their recent park experiences!
> 
> I've been lurking for a few days and I'm reading that weekends tend to be more busier. Is that true for all four parks or the more popular ones like Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom? I think I can finagle things to make our park days only weekdays for the most part but we might have one weekend day too.
> 
> Art of Animation vs. Caribbean Resort- which has a better atmosphere to spend your evenings in? I think we're going to avoid Disney Springs and just stick to the parks so trying to pick which resort we should go with. My son is 10 so he'd love the cartoon themes but I prefer the look of the Caribbean Resort... What do you think? Do the resorts feel really crowded in the evenings right now? Does it really matter? We'd save more money staying at the Art of Animation that I could easily turn into an extra park day..
> 
> Does anyone have a good resource for park strategies right now? I've been following along on this thread but it sounds like we're all just winging it- does that sound about right? But like, what rides do you head towards first? I'm so used to operating on a rope drop strategy I'm having a hard time letting go of that lol!
> 
> Any other tips you want to give me? Thanks everyone!



I have stayed at both AoA and CBR and CBR definitely wins for nighttime vibe. Plus the hot tub is a big plus for me and the pool is amazing. You’ll also be the skyliner hub and can walk to riveria. You can always take the skyliner to go explore AoA.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

figmentfinesse said:


> You’ll also be the skyliner hub and can walk to riveria



Oh awesome, I forgot about that! Is the Riveria worth checking out? We’re WDW first timers so this is all new to me.


----------



## MomOTwins

brockash said:


> When you say you were at the bus stop at 725, but weren't on the bus until 821... that means being at the bus stop 1.5+ hrs earlier than park open wasn't enough time to get on first bus and they didn't have another one there for over 20 mins this morning?  I just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly; that's rough...thx for all the detailed reports


That sounds right. Buses are every 20 mins and are reduced capacity so not too surprising. Also recall that “park opening” is not really 9am.  They are no longer holding people at rope drop so once the bus gets to the park, you are in and they are running popular rides before park open.

It is like how it used to be at flight of passage where the real opening time was before park open, except now that is true for all MK.  We talked to someone that got in 6 rides at MK before park open!


----------



## figmentfinesse

TikiTikiFan said:


> Oh awesome, I forgot about that! Is the Riveria worth checking out? We’re WDW first timers so this is all new to me. ☺



Absolutely! Their lobby is beautiful, amazing grounds with this fountain with floor to ceiling Tangled and Peter Pan mosaics (worth the walk alone, extra beautiful at night!). We also really loved their quick service, Prima Piatto. The croque monsieur and the tomato bisque knocked my SOCKS off. I’ve heard great things about their bar as well. It was just great to have bonus food options beyond Banana Cabana and centertown market (which has an amazing Mac and cheese kids meal, I’m an adult but dang that Mac and cheese is GOOD!). And it’s easy on the eyes, beautiful with the sunsets.


----------



## auntlynne

TikiTikiFan said:


> Thanks for the tips folks!
> 
> New question: I'm seeing lots of reports of limited food carts/etc. Can you still find the staples like churros and pretzels? I mean, that'd be a given wouldn't it? But then I keep hearing people say there's not many options.



Weekdays seem to have closures (I only did EP on a weekend).  I wanted the mini corn dogs from a stand in Frontierland, as a replacement for closed Casey’s Corner, but it was also closed.

Have a back-up choice for QS food.



laukiph said:


> My family and I are going 10/16-10/19, and are very safety conscientious. Those who have been recently, how have the health precautions seemed to you? Are people wearing their masks for the most part, and are they social distancing? Did you feel safe? Any feedback is appreciated.



Disney has visibly made an effort to provide for and promote social distancing.  Seating on rides is spaced, plexiglass dividers are in place.  Lots of hand sanitizer dispensers.  Mask use is reinforced - although, for the most part, people are compliant.  

Guests are making an effort to follow the spacing in line rides.  

I heard a lot of apologies by those who accidentally got too close.  The few who just didn’t care were obvious, as they were very few.

I visited on dates between Sep 20-30 and will return in early November with my sister who would not go if more than minimal risk.


----------



## HelloTheDrakes

brockash said:


> When you say you were at the bus stop at 725, but weren't on the bus until 821... that means being at the bus stop 1.5+ hrs earlier than park open wasn't enough time to get on first bus and they didn't have another one there for over 20 mins this morning?  I just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly; that's rough...thx for all the detailed reports



Yes and no. There were just THAT many people staying at POP trying to go to MK. They are actually doing a great job having busses come back to back, not every 20 mins.  Only 6 groups can be on a bus at a time. Each group can be up to 4 people.  Even if it is just one person in a “group” it will take up that section for distancing. A driver said that there could be 6 solo people in a row and that would mean that there would only be 6 people on the bus and they would have to leave. We definitely were in the park before open. My time stamps say we were on space at 8:48.  We were able to do all 3 mountain rides before the park was busy and they each jumped to 45+ mins.  Definitely worth the early rise and wait.


----------



## Eastern

Khobbs18 said:


> Anyone has experience post-covid with changing party reservations for dining? Hubby did our dining when it opened 60 days out and I just realized he forgot to add our kids for our BOG and Sci Fi Reservations (+2). I know all we can do is ask when we get there aside from checking the app like crazy. Just wondering if anyone has had to do this post-covid yet.


https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/reservation-finder  Make a free account and set up the finder, it works. Be ready to click on the reservation as soon as you get the text. Minutes count.

I would say for now, you can try for 2 people as well as 4 (booking them at the same time or within 10 minutes of you own ADR) but the Sci Fi one is difficult because they assign you a car and those may be limited.


----------



## lmbcdb

ellbell said:


> Nothing much to report today.  As I stated yesterday we were having a lazy day today.  We slept in and headed to the bus for Disney Springs at about 9:50.  We got to DS at about 10:17.  It was early so not a whole lot of people.  Some stores weren't open until 11.  We were able to be socially distanced and most people were mask compliant.  I've heard that it gets crowded their later in the day but morning and early afternoon were very pleasant.
> 
> We got back to Pop around 2.  It was very quiet and we relaxed for the rest of the day. Room checks are still being done.  We had a knock on the door around 3 when I was napping.  She asked if she could do a room check amd informed us we couldn't be in the room while she did it.  I said I was napping and she asked when a good time to come back would be.
> 
> Other than that the day was uneventful and very relaxing.  Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios.


What’s a “room check”?


----------



## wilkydelts

lmbcdb said:


> What’s a “room check”?



It is safety measures many resorts have put in as a result of the tragedy in Las Vegas. The resort will regularly just spot check rooms to ensure safety.


----------



## lmbcdb

HelloTheDrakes said:


> Went to MK today: 10/7/20
> 
> Staying at Pop- At bus by 7:25, first bus at 7:59, us on bus at 8:21
> 
> Ate lunch at Pecos Bills, delicious and half of the tables were marked for distancing. Today was pretty hot, so I’d say mask compliance was more like 90%. Lots of noses ans people pulling them down during our long outdoor wait for HM.
> 
> Dinner was at Skipper Canteen. Delicious as always and very spaced out. We also had the raspberry swirl dole whip around 2 which was amazing and much needed.
> 
> My ridiculous time chart is listed below. We started calling this my Disney Data and my husband and friends have even started helping me keep track of it throughout the day! Hope it helps!
> 
> 
> RideListed TimeTime EnteredTime on RideSpace5 min8:488:52Thunder5 min9:089:13Splash5 mins9:189:25Haunted Mansion1010:0610:217DMT45 - jumped to 5510:2611:16Peter Pan2011:2511:52Buzz2012:551:05Carousel51:111:14Mermaid201:401:58Pirates402:363:04HAunted Mansion403:254:00Peter Pan205:325:36Small World20We split -5:405:47Space Mountain40We split- 5:546:15


Thank you SO much for doing this! Super helpful!


----------



## DanSchwartz

Looks like dates for transition to X-mas decorations finalized.  Though Very Merry Christmas Event still canceled.


----------



## yulilin3

DanSchwartz said:


> View attachment 530821View attachment 530822
> 
> Looks like dates for transition to X-mas decorations finalized.  Though Very Merry Christmas Event still canceled.


this was announced a month ago 
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/09/walt-disney-world-resort-holidays-start-nov-6/


----------



## april8986

On the plane home now after a 5 night trip.  We had a wonderful time!  We have been to Disney many times.  Stayed at Swan.  Sunday AK, Monday EPCOT, Tuesday HS, Wednesday MK. Overall observations IMO mask compliance about 90%, cast member friendliness 99.9%.  We rope dropped every park.  Buses were no problem.  The only difficulty for us was wearing the masks outside in the heat and not being able to drink water as needed.  We had two episodes in our family of feeling a little dehydrated.  You have to find a spot to stop and drink your water.  We saw a cast member ask a child drinking in line to stop and put on their mask.  We will come back again, probably in colder weather next time.  Would not recommend 1st timers coming right now.


----------



## Silas5

I was wondering if there is still a line for the "no bag" check now or does everyone just go through the scan places? The no bag entry used to save so much time getting into the parks, but if there is no separate line I might as well bring a bag. I'm heading to the parks on Sunday!! I can't wait! Thank you all for your park information since COVID! It is all so helpful.


----------



## Tormania

HelloTheDrakes said:


> Yes and no. There were just THAT many people staying at POP trying to go to MK. They are actually doing a great job having busses come back to back, not every 20 mins.  Only 6 groups can be on a bus at a time. Each group can be up to 4 people.  Even if it is just one person in a “group” it will take up that section for distancing. A driver said that there could be 6 solo people in a row and that would mean that there would only be 6 people on the bus and they would have to leave. We definitely were in the park before open. My time stamps say we were on space at 8:48.  We were able to do all 3 mountain rides before the park was busy and they each jumped to 45+ mins.  Definitely worth the early rise and wait.



Each group is only 4 people??  We will be a party of 10, so is that gonna count for half a bus?  We can all sit together cause we're the same party, we don't have to distance ourselves from each other.  What are they doing for larger groups like us?


----------



## Geomom

Silas5 said:


> I was wondering if there is still a line for the "no bag" check now or does everyone just go through the scan places? The no bag entry used to save so much time getting into the parks, but if there is no separate line I might as well bring a bag. I'm heading to the parks on Sunday!! I can't wait! Thank you all for your park information since COVID! It is all so helpful.


Everyone goes thru the scanners, it goes quickly!  If someone sets it off they're pulled to the side for a physical bag check.  (DH set it off whenever they made him keep the bag of chargers in the backpack....he knew it would...but no, keep everything but umbrellas and metal water bottles in your bag, lol.)


----------



## yulilin3

Tormania said:


> Each group is only 4 people??  We will be a party of 10, so is that gonna count for half a bus?  We can all sit together cause we're the same party, we don't have to distance ourselves from each other.  What are they doing for larger groups like us?


Separating people by groups 
So if you're 10 you will be split up into different sections of 4 and 2
They can't let everyone sit together cause then you would be too close to close party
Fyi they're also separating groups at the frozen theater and once the other shows open i Imagine it'll be the same thing.


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

Cynt said:


> Tussking, Where are all the people you are talking about?


Plus this is outside, which if there is a time for "inadequate social distancing" rather it be outside with people walking by in a blink of an eye.  For me this is a non-issue but everyone is entitled to how the feel and their own perception.  From this pic I say "can't get to Disney fast enough baby"


----------



## Emagine

april8986 said:


> On the plane home now after a 5 night trip.  We had a wonderful time!  We have been to Disney many times.  Stayed at Swan.  Sunday AK, Monday EPCOT, Tuesday HS, Wednesday MK. Overall observations IMO mask compliance about 90%, cast member friendliness 99.9%.  We rope dropped every park.  Buses were no problem.  The only difficulty for us was wearing the masks outside in the heat and not being able to drink water as needed.  We had two episodes in our family of feeling a little dehydrated.  You have to find a spot to stop and drink your water.  We saw a cast member ask a child drinking in line to stop and put on their mask.  We will come back again, probably in colder weather next time.  Would not recommend 1st timers coming right now.




Where do you drink at? I know lines are a no no but for those of us who drink more with medication where should we look to navigate too? Thx


----------



## PanchoX1

yulilin3 said:


> Separating people by groups
> So if you're 10 you will be split up into different sections of 4 and 2
> They can't let everyone sit together cause then you would be too close to close party
> Fyi they're also separating groups at the frozen theater and once the other shows open i Imagine it'll be the same thing.



so a party of 5 will be 3 and two or 4 and 1?


----------



## yulilin3

PanchoX1 said:


> so a party of 5 will be 3 and two or 4 and 1?


Generally the birds driver decides depending on what spots he has left in the bus


----------



## DisneyMom0604

MomOTwins said:


> That sounds right. Buses are every 20 mins and are reduced capacity so not too surprising. Also recall that “park opening” is not really 9am.  They are no longer holding people at rope drop so once the bus gets to the park, you are in and they are running popular rides before park open.
> 
> It is like how it used to be at flight of passage where the real opening time was before park open, except now that is true for all MK.  We talked to someone that got in 6 rides at MK before park open!



What time would you suggest getting to the parks before opening? Anyone have an idea on that?


----------



## underminer

We are staying off property and was wondering if anyone can comment on the current parking situation and what time each park is letting you start parking?   I know parking times are a bit ambiguous right now, but I’m trying to figure out if we are better off self parking or doing Uber to better get there at rope drop and do some of the early ride openings. Thanks!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

I feel like I just keep asking questions, sorry! I'm just so excited that I can't stop planning haha!

Do the parks officially close at the set time? Or can you hop in line for a ride right before closing and stay in line until you ride like before? Do the shops stay open later? 

Are they using virtual queues for popular stores in the parks or is this not really a necessity? We love to get our shopping on so I always set aside some time to do that when we go to Disneyland, I imagine we'll be even worse at WDW.


----------



## AmishGuy91

TikiTikiFan said:


> I feel like I just keep asking questions, sorry! I'm just so excited that I can't stop planning haha!
> 
> Do the parks officially close at the set time? Or can you hop in line for a ride right before closing and stay in line until you ride like before? Do the shops stay open later?
> 
> Are they using virtual queues for popular stores in the parks or is this not really a necessity? We love to get our shopping on so I always set aside some time to do that when we go to Disneyland, I imagine we'll be even worse at WDW.



As long as you are in line before closing time you'll get to ride.  Some stores do stay open. past closing....they generally just allow a line to form and only allow a set number in at a time.


----------



## Cynt

For anyone there now have you taken advantage of the 20% off on meals at Disney Springs restaurants, Monday thru Thursday? Did they automatically give you the discount or did you have to ask for it? Did most items have the discount? Thanks.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...gs-special-dining-offers-for-the-fall-season/


----------



## Akck

underminer said:


> We are staying off property and was wondering if anyone can comment on the current parking situation and what time each park is letting you start parking?   I know parking times are a bit ambiguous right now, but I’m trying to figure out if we are better off self parking or doing Uber to better get there at rope drop and do some of the early ride openings. Thanks!



They’ve been letting vehicles line up about an hour before park opening and letting them through shortly thereafter (5-15 minutes). Uber has its problems too, in that if you get there too early, you’ll be waiting until they open up, likely costing you more.


----------



## vital

wilkydelts said:


> It is safety measures many resorts have put in as a result of the tragedy in Las Vegas. The resort will regularly just spot check rooms to ensure safety.


Do they do this for the DVC rooms also?


----------



## Best Aunt

vital said:


> Do they do this for the DVC rooms also?



Yes.


----------



## PrincessV

Emagine said:


> Where do you drink at? I know lines are a no no but for those of us who drink more with medication where should we look to navigate too? Thx


WDW just wants you to pull over somewhere away from other people to eat or drink while stationary. I had no problem doing that in MK, EP or AK - literally just moved off the walkways to the side of a building, or a bench, or a planter, or a tree, whatever, pulled down my mask, drank my fill, put on mask, and resumed walking.


----------



## Emagine

PrincessV said:


> WDW just wants you to pull over somewhere away from other people to eat or drink while stationary. I had no problem doing that in MK, EP or AK - literally just moved off the walkways to the side of a building, or a bench, or a planter, or a tree, whatever, pulled down my mask, drank my fill, put on mask, and resumed walking.




That is not bad at all and totally manageable. I did not want to be hand slapped doing a no-no but I also pictured it being so strict. TY


----------



## brockash

MomOTwins said:


> That sounds right. Buses are every 20 mins and are reduced capacity so not too surprising. Also recall that “park opening” is not really 9am.  They are no longer holding people at rope drop so once the bus gets to the park, you are in and they are running popular rides before park open.
> 
> It is like how it used to be at flight of passage where the real opening time was before park open, except now that is true for all MK.  We talked to someone that got in 6 rides at MK before park open!


It's pretty surprising to me.  We were just there in Sept. and most times all ppl. were able to get on the bus when it arrived and they also often had a couple buses right after each other to make park opening.  Seems like things are a little different now, then when we were there.  We'll be back next week and hoping that was more of a fluke.


----------



## Geomom

vital said:


> Do they do this for the DVC rooms also?


For DVC, it's part of the daily trash collection.


----------



## Geomom

Emagine said:


> That is not bad at all and totally manageable. I did not want to be hand slapped doing a no-no but I also pictured it being so strict. TY


In the summer we had no issue having a quick sip of water while in line (standing on our social distancing markers) as long as we weren't walking.  (Mask back up quickly.).


----------



## JulieBeeRN

wilkydelts said:


> It is safety measures many resorts have put in as a result of the tragedy in Las Vegas. The resort will regularly just spot check rooms to ensure safety.



Oddly enough, we‘ve been at the GF since Saturday and haven’t had a room check yet.


----------



## brockash

Tormania said:


> Each group is only 4 people??  We will be a party of 10, so is that gonna count for half a bus?  We can all sit together cause we're the same party, we don't have to distance ourselves from each other.  What are they doing for larger groups like us?


When we were there in Sept. we had a party of 11, and many times they would just tell us to go to the back of the bus and then would fill the rest of the sections.


----------



## brockash

JulieBeeRN said:


> Oddly enough, we‘ve been at the GF since Saturday and haven’t had a room check yet.


Have you been in your room the whole time?  Many times you'll never know they were there.  We didn't see them for our whole trip last time either.


----------



## brockash

Geomom said:


> In the summer we had no issue having a quick sip of water while in line (standing on our social distancing markers) as long as we weren't walking.  (Mask back up quickly.).


This was our experience as well....and on lots of vlogs I've seen.


----------



## JulieBeeRN

brockash said:


> Have you been in your room the whole time?  Many times you'll never know they were there.  We didn't see them for our whole trip last time either.



We always keep our Do Not Disturb sign on our door.    In the past, they would call us on our cell phone to schedule a time.    Maybe they aren’t calling anymore?


----------



## jrsharp21

Here is what the seating looks like in the back of the bus. The very back is "Section 6". Your party can sit the entire back row. That is where we sat each time on the bus.


----------



## jrsharp21

One thing I encountered also was that how they directed you to the back was different the two times were rode the bus. The first time we went to the normal entry door near the driver. When he opened the door he told us to go through the red doors (the side doors where wheelchairs and scooters load) and go to the back to section 6.  The second bus, the driver told us to come right on in through the normal entry door and make our way to the back of the bus to section 6.


----------



## scrappinginontario

JulieBeeRN said:


> We always keep our Do Not Disturb sign on our door.    In the past, they would call us on our cell phone to schedule a time.    Maybe they aren’t calling anymore?


The security check is not planned so it's rare to hear of them calling to schedule a time.  I've heard of it happening occasionally but believe the majority of time it's unplanned.


----------



## JulieBeeRN

scrappinginontario said:


> The security check is not planned so it's rare to hear of them calling to schedule a time.  I've heard of it happening occasionally but believe the majority of time it's unplanned.



That’s weird because we’ve been called every time that we’ve stayed since 2017.     My husband and I always thought that a planned security check kinda defeats the purpose......


----------



## Turk February

JulieBeeRN said:


> That’s weird because we’ve been called every time that we’ve stayed since 2017.     My husband and I always thought that a planned security check kinda defeats the purpose......



That's exactly what I thought haha


----------



## Tormania

brockash said:


> When we were there in Sept. we had a party of 11, and many times they would just tell us to go to the back of the bus and then would fill the rest of the sections.



That is our hope, we can all take the back of the bus and still have the "required space" to any other groups on the bus.  We're staying at AKL-Kidani and the two previous times we've stayed there during the same time of year and we never had crowded buses going to the parks anyway so I'm not imagining it should be a problem this time either.


----------



## brockash

Tormania said:


> That is our hope, we can all take the back of the bus and still have the "required space" to any other groups on the bus.  We're staying at AKL-Kidani and the two previous times we've stayed there during the same time of year and we never had crowded buses going to the parks anyway so I'm not imagining it should be a problem this time either.


Funny, we'll be at Kidani for the 1st time next week.  Only 6 of us for this trip though, so we'll see how it all goes.


----------



## Tormania

brockash said:


> Funny, we'll be at Kidani for the 1st time next week.  Only 6 of us for this trip though, so we'll see how it all goes.



It's quiet, which we like.  AND for buses they are exclusive to AKL, but they pick up at Kidani BEFORE Jambo house so first dibs on seating, always a good way to start your mornings to the parks.


----------



## AmishGuy91

brockash said:


> Funny, we'll be at Kidani for the 1st time next week.  Only 6 of us for this trip though, so we'll see how it all goes.



We were at Kidani two weeks ago.   If you wanted to be on the first bus, you need to be there about 80 minutes before the park's official opening (the bus came about 55-60 minutes before opening).  If you were there 65ish minutes early, you likely would not make the first bus.  My experience was primarily with MK and HS buses.


----------



## ten6mom

Geomom said:


> In the summer we had no issue having a quick sip of water while in line (standing on our social distancing markers) as long as we weren't walking.  (Mask back up quickly.).



What do you all think about putting a straw under the mask (if I had a bendy straw)?  Then I could drink without even taking the mask off?

I am not debating one way or the other.  I want to see what people think about this idea and whether it'd be acceptable or not.


----------



## NC State

ten6mom said:


> What do you all think about putting a straw under the mask (if I had a bendy straw)?  Then I could drink without even taking the mask off?
> 
> I am not debating one way or the other.  I want to see what people think about this idea and whether it'd be acceptable or not.


Disney Police may get your "bendy straw".


----------



## april8986

T


Emagine said:


> Where do you drink at? I know lines are a no no but for those of us who drink more with medication where should we look to navigate too? Thx


Sometimes we would find a table and chairs or bench.  Other times we would see signs for “Relaxation Station“ with cast members cleaning and showing you available tables.  There was one at MK at the dessert party location. The locations are on the printed maps.  Relaxation Station Link


----------



## yulilin3

Emagine said:


> Where do you drink at? I know lines are a no no but for those of us who drink more with medication where should we look to navigate too? Thx


Just stepping to the side,  away from people is fine, just take your drink,  put mask back on and continue walking


----------



## brockash

AmishGuy91 said:


> We were at Kidani two weeks ago.   If you wanted to be on the first bus, you need to be there about 80 minutes before the park's official opening (the bus came about 55-60 minutes before opening).  If you were there 65ish minutes early, you likely would not make the first bus.  My experience was primarily with MK and HS buses.


Thank you...that's very helpful


----------



## ellbell

Today was a really great day.  I had been hearing nothing but bad things about Hollywood Studios lately but we did so much and had such a great time.

We started our day at 7am and called an Uber to take us to our 7:30 breakfast at Trattoria al Forno.  They were seating late by a few minutes but we were still out by 8:06.  I won't be eating there again food was mediocre and service wasn't great.

From there we walked to Hollywood Studios and got in one of 2 lines at 8:24.  There was about 7 groups in front of us and the other line was the same.  The line behind us started to get long really quick.  We were moved forward to the temperature check lines at about 8:47 and people were getting off the skyliner at about 9:01.  We were let through at 9:08.  

We walked on Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway at 9:14 and were inline for Slinky Dog Dash at 9:31.  The were running empty trains until 9:39 and we were on at 10:03.  We did not get a boarding pass at 10am for Rise of the Resistance.

We got in line for the Frozen sing along at 10:15 and were out of there at 11 and headed to our 11:10 reservation for Oga's.  After Oga's we went to Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run at 11:50.  The ETA for it when we got in line was 60 but changed to 70.  We were on the ride by 12:37.

We then went to Pizzarizzo for lunch.  It wasn't great but we got to sit until 2pm when the next batch of boarding groups were issued.  We grabbed BG 75 and they were on 56 at this time.

We went and rode star tours as a walk on and it had an ETA of 15 minutes.  Then we still had some time but didn't want to leave thw area because it was close to our group so we watched muppets 3D.  Eta was 35 and we were on in 17 minutes.  Then we went and found a cool place to sit while we waited for our boarding group to be called.  It was definitely worth the wait.  I have been to Hollywood Studios 4 times since Rise has opened and this was my 3rd boarding group but the first time I actually rode.  That ride left my 15 year old speechless.

We then went to finish the rides in Toy Story land.  Aliens had an Eta of 20 minutes we got in line at 4:22 and rode at 4:28 and then walked on Midway Mania.

To finish off the day we walked over to Tower of Terror which had a wait of 35 minutes.  We got in line at 5:10 and rode at 5:29.  We then went to watch Lightening McQueen racing academy to catch the last show of the day. My son was going to ride Rockin Roller Coaster but decided to skip it because his knee was bothering him from a sports injury and he didn't want to stand in line anymore.

We would have been able to do everything in Hollywood Studios today with plenty of breaks.  The posted wait times were often a lot longer than the actual times.  The key is getting there early.

We had an amazing time.  Crowds weren't bad and mask compliance was about 90%.


----------



## Ahabart

We just finished our fourth park for the week.  The big takeaways for us:
 -rope drop is an absolute must if you want to enjoy the more popular rides and avoid long lines.  In our experience, the last hour or two had lesser lines, but still seemed high.
-app times are wonky.  We joined lines with wait times of 15 minutes and waited 30 and we joined lines with wait times of 30 minutes and waited 10.  The best we could do was guess by how long the line looked.  
-we hate split stays on vacation, but are VERY glad we did it this time.  We stayed in walking distance of MK, HS, and EP, but heard horror stories from friends and people we met while here who had horrible waits.  At Swan there were probably 15 families waiting for the AK bus and 4 got on.


----------



## ten6mom

NC State said:


> Disney Police may get your "bendy straw".


I am a WDW noob and I literally have no idea what this is about ... do you mean because a bendy straw would be plastic and they're not doing those?


----------



## hmkenn0

We did EPCOT yesterday- got to the park about 12:30pm and had done every ride except Frozen by 2pm. Only wait at any of the food booths was Canada right before closing. I would HIGHLY recommend Thursday for EPCOT- it was awesome and not at all crowded!!!


----------



## Ecomommy09

ten6mom said:


> I am a WDW noob and I literally have no idea what this is about ... do you mean because a bendy straw would be plastic and they're not doing those?


Correct!  But I have metal reusable bendy straws


----------



## Ecomommy09

AK on Wednesday was a complete flop but that was just my fault. I had forgotten to measure Celery again before leaving, and she was still too short for FOP or EE.  She was super disappointed.  We only rode Nav’i and KRR.  Boring.  We walked the trails and saw many beautiful animals. We ate a cinnamon roll at Starbuck’s for 45 minutes (per previous  report, Celery likes to eat really really slowly). Then, we shopped.  She picked out gifts for her sister and father. She loves to shop.  Scared a man to death with her hyena and then we all laughed.  We had late lunch at Rainforest Cafe which I knew would be bland, but Celery loved the ambience and I had two great Moscow Mules.  After that we gave up and went to swim.  We obviously could have done more, but we were not ambitious enough.


----------



## yulilin3

ten6mom said:


> I am a WDW noob and I literally have no idea what this is about ... do you mean because a bendy straw would be plastic and they're not doing those?





Ecomommy09 said:


> Correct!  But I have metal reusable bendy straws


this might've been the case before the closure but now that they are not physically checking your bag you can bring a plastic straw in without any issues.


----------



## Ecomommy09

Overall, we met so many lovely families that let Celery participate in their day. The family in line with us at HM was a highlight. The Daddy was so funny, kids so sweet, shared their misting fan.  The pool had lovely children we played with. The slides were amazing. I felt mask compliance was adequate.  SD was lacking sometimes, but that’s hard with little kids.  They did so well with masks I wasn’t very worried.  Food was great!  Drinks were delicious!  The airport was awful, though, and I usually have easy flights down.   So that was a surprise.  Now we see if we caught the Corona virus.  .


----------



## MomOTwins

yulilin3 said:


> Separating people by groups
> So if you're 10 you will be split up into different sections of 4 and 2
> They can't let everyone sit together cause then you would be too close to close party
> Fyi they're also separating groups at the frozen theater and once the other shows open i Imagine it'll be the same thing.


We were a group of 5 and we were not split up on the buses—there were two sections on the bus that could seat 5.  So a group of 10 could be split in two groups. We did get split up at theaters though.




Emagine said:


> Where do you drink at? I know lines are a no no but for those of us who drink more with medication where should we look to navigate too? Thx


We would just walk to the side of the walkway away from foot traffic pull down masks briefly and take a sip, then pull them up. The issue with drinking in line is it is often indoors and people would abuse it (eg, hang mask off ear the hole time in line while intermittently sipping a drink).  Nobody minds if you just step aside outdoors and take a quick sip.


----------



## NC State

ten6mom said:


> I am a WDW noob and I literally have no idea what this is about ... do you mean because a bendy straw would be plastic and they're not doing those?


Yes, I'm sorry to break the news.  Disney Parks and Disney Cruise Line no longer uses the plastic straws, they are now recycled paper straws.


----------



## yulilin3

NC State said:


> Yes, I'm sorry to break the news.  Disney Parks and Disney Cruise Line no longer uses the plastic straws, they are now recycled paper straws.


but they are perfectly content to sell you a reusable plastic novelty straw  
Seriously, if anyone brings a plastic straw in you won't have a problem


----------



## elsbit

In Splash Mountain line right now and I have never seen so much mask non-compliance from so many different groups at once! Pretty frustrating when in a slow moving 40 minute line.


----------



## MomOTwins

elsbit said:


> In Splash Mountain line right now and I have never seen so much mask non-compliance from so many different groups at once! Pretty frustrating when in a slow moving 40 minute line.


Annnnnnd so the holiday weekend begins.  Suspect this will be the first of many similar posts in the next three days. Sorry elsbit.  Sounds stressful


----------



## gottalovepluto

elsbit said:


> In Splash Mountain line right now and I have never seen so much mask non-compliance from so many different groups at once! Pretty frustrating when in a slow moving 40 minute line.


I would drop an email to guest relations. That’s on Disney not having enough CMs in the area to enforce their own rules.


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## yulilin3

gottalovepluto said:


> I would drop an email to guest relations. That’s on Disney not having enough CMs in the area to enforce their own rules.


It really depends on the area,  picture the indoor queue of SM and tell me where they could have a cm stationed to check for mask compliance and said cm be adequately social distanced


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## nancy155

yulilin3 said:


> It really depends on the area,  picture the indoor queue of SM and tell me where they could have a cm stationed to check for mask compliance and said cm be adequately social distanced


When I was there in September they had cast members moving through the line area on the fast pass sides.


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## ten6mom

yulilin3 said:


> this might've been the case before the closure but now that they are not physically checking your bag you can bring a plastic straw in without any issues.





NC State said:


> Yes, I'm sorry to break the news.  Disney Parks and Disney Cruise Line no longer uses the plastic straws, they are now recycled paper straws.





yulilin3 said:


> but they are perfectly content to sell you a reusable plastic novelty straw
> Seriously, if anyone brings a plastic straw in you won't have a problem


Thanks all!

I've taken to carrying my own straws lately (in a toothbrush holder in my purse) since I never know when I might not be given one.


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## Naomeri

ten6mom said:


> Thanks all!
> 
> I've taken to carrying my own straws lately (in a toothbrush holder in my purse) since I never know when I might not be given one.


I was wondering about the best way to bring my reusable straw with me!  Thanks!


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## ellbell

Today was our last park day.  We went to Animal Kingdom and we fly home tomorrow.

We got in line for the bus at 6:52 and there was already quite the line.  The first bus showed up at 6:53.  We were quite far back already so knew we wouldn't be on this bus.  The next bus was at 7:06 and 3 buses came at once.  We also did not get on these.  We managed to get on a bus at 7:11.  

There was wait to get in the park and when we got in we headed left while everyone else headed right to Pandora.  We stopped for a quick breakfast and got to Dinosaur a few minutes before 8.  We walked on and were given the option to ride a second time without getting off but chose not to.  We then walked to expedition everest and walked on.  Then did Kali River 3 times in a row without getting off.

At 9:04 we got in line for Kilamanjaro Safari and got on at 9:14. After this we went to Pandora.  We chose not to ride Navi river because we think it's beautiful but not worth waiting for and the wait for it is just to long right now.  We did get in line for Flight of passage at 10:05 and the ETA was 60 minutes.  We got on at 10:56.

At this point we stopped for a break and tried to figure out what we should do next.  My son's knee injury is still bothering him so the trails weren't appealing.  We decided to go watch It's Tough to Be a Bug and the only wait was for the show that was on to end.  Without the other shows there are limited things to do in Animal Kingdom to fill a day now so we didn't stay much longer.  

I did notice that there were less people wearing masks properly (maybe due to the extra humidity in AK) the cast did remind people often though.  Overall the day was slightly disappointing because of a mixture of physical ability and lack of things to do.  Even finding a place to eat is difficult in AK right now.

We did have a great trip though.


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## soniam

@ellbell Is some of the water turned off/lessened still on Kali? I am considering riding it in November. I've never been on it, because I hate water rides and getting wet. Husband and son didn't get wet at all in July. I stayed back and held stuff.


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## ellbell

soniam said:


> @ellbell Is some of the water turned off/lessened still on Kali? I am considering riding it in November. I've never been on it, because I hate water rides and getting wet. Husband and son didn't get wet at all in July. I stayed back and held stuff.


I got wet but not all the water features are on.  My son who was with me was damp but not as wet as I was.  I got more wet on Splash Mountain.


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## fabfemmeboy

ten6mom said:


> What do you all think about putting a straw under the mask (if I had a bendy straw)?  Then I could drink without even taking the mask off?
> 
> I am not debating one way or the other.  I want to see what people think about this idea and whether it'd be acceptable or not.



To me that's fine, preferable even to the taking down the mask to drink assuming you sanitize your hands after you've messed with your mask.  The way I see it, if you have your mask still covering your nose/mouth, then when you breathe between sips those droplets aren't escaping - or certainly not as many of them are.  There are some masks out there that even have a sealed place to slip a straw into (forming a seal around the straw), then seals closed again, but I don't know if Disney would consider those inappropriate as having a "hole" in it even though no air or droplets can escape.  I'll probably be taking a couple on my trip this winter, along with regular masks to be on the safe side, and we'll see what happens.

BTW Disney doesn't care if you _have_ a disposable plastic straw at any park except at AK, they just don't give them out anymore.  And you can get a variety of reusable bendy straws, both metal and silicone, pretty cheap on Amazon and carry them with you.  I prefer the silicone because they're easier to maneuver to my mouth without having to worry about the angle so much, but they are a bit thicker/bigger around than the metal ones.


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## MomOTwins

ellbell said:


> I got wet but not all the water features are on.  My son who was with me was damp but not as wet as I was.  I got more wet on Splash Mountain.


They are not doing the thing where people on the bridge can spray you--that one used to be a big drencher if you wound up in the path of getting sprayed.  But you'll still get splashed just from the boat going down the rapids.


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## underminer

I know that listed vs actual opening times are a bit of a moving target right now but.... can any of you that have been there recently, comment on the “actual” time that the gates opened at each park? We plan to Uber rope drop each day and I just want to get an idea of how early to get to each park to be near the front of the line. Thanks!!


----------



## emsstacey

soniam said:


> This was for a 10am opening, right? Were the buses or Skyliner running? If not, I presume this is just people walking from the Epcot resorts.



Yes, 10am opening. Only walkers except there was one couple who got dropped off closer to 9 and they tried to cut to the front of the line. I thought we were going to end up iin a brawl!!!


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## Sydney2977

Good morning! Thank you to everyone who was posting on here prior to our trip! We went to WDW Sept. 13-20, and work has been super hectic since my return, so I'm just now getting on the DisBoards again!

I have started a trip report mainly to share our experiences with things since the WDW re-opening. If anyone would like to read along or has any questions feel free to check it out. It's titled "Retirement Means I'm Going to Disney! The COVID Edition."

https://www.disboards.com/threads/retirement-means-im-going-to-disney-the-covid-edition.3815436/


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## lmbcdb

What are the current Mousekeeping services? I remember someone mentioning that they didn’t come very often and offer limited services. (I always make tip envelopes for each day)


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## The Expert

lmbcdb said:


> What are the current Mousekeeping services? I remember someone mentioning that they didn’t come very often and offer limited services. (I always make tip envelopes for each day)



We were there this last week and at DVC they check the room daily and remove trash and recycling. Every third day they replaced towels. I'm not sure if this differs for cash reservations or non DVC resorts.


----------



## blrem

emsstacey said:


> I’m leaving today. We have had a great trip despite the crowds. We were at the bus stop at 6:45 on our animal kingdom morning. On flight of passage by 7:15. The first hour was amazing- almost empty park. We had breakfast at the boardwalk early on our DHS morning, walked to park and were first on MMRR- we got several big rides out of the way in the first hour. It made a huge difference. We napped every day from 12:30-2:00 ish to make up for the early starts.


Where did you get breakfast at Boardwalk?  We are there next week staying at Yatch Club and want to grab a hot breakfast sandwich somewhere before taking the walk to HS.  What's open for this type of quick serve?  Can we eat it on the walk or is the "stand still if eating/drinking" rule enforced on the walkways to the parks as well as inside the parks?  Thank you!


----------



## vital

The Expert said:


> We were there this last week and at DVC they check the room daily and remove trash and recycling. Every third day they replaced towels. I'm not sure if this differs for cash reservations or non DVC resorts.



Do they have paper/plastic products in the DVC rooms or real plates, cups, utensils? Trying to prepare for my December trip. Yeah, I know it's a month or so away, but I need to do something for the boredom. LOL


----------



## Best Aunt

vital said:


> Do they have paper/plastic products in the DVC rooms or real plates, cups, utensils? Trying to prepare for my December trip. Yeah, I know it's a month or so away, but I need to do something for the boredom. LOL



studio or larger?


----------



## monkeydawn

blrem said:


> Where did you get breakfast at Boardwalk?  We are there next week staying at Yatch Club and want to grab a hot breakfast sandwich somewhere before taking the walk to HS.  What's open for this type of quick serve?  Can we eat it on the walk or is the "stand still if eating/drinking" rule enforced on the walkways to the parks as well as inside the parks?  Thank you!


Enforced or not if you know the overall tone Disney wants is only stationary eating, why would you do it?  Plan for extra time.


----------



## brockash

blrem said:


> Where did you get breakfast at Boardwalk?  We are there next week staying at Yatch Club and want to grab a hot breakfast sandwich somewhere before taking the walk to HS.  What's open for this type of quick serve?  Can we eat it on the walk or is the "stand still if eating/drinking" rule enforced on the walkways to the parks as well as inside the parks?  Thank you!


In Sept. we saw lots of ppl eating/drinking while walking on the paths around the boardwalk... almost always it's VERY easy to socially distance there.


----------



## scrappinginontario

brockash said:


> In Sept. we saw lots of ppl eating/drinking while walking on the paths around the boardwalk... almost always it's VERY easy to socially distance there.


Seeing it doesn’t make it right.  We’re not supposed to be walking and eating right drinking  anywhere on Disney property right now.  Easy to follow.


----------



## HikingFam

vital said:


> Do they have paper/plastic products in the DVC rooms or real plates, cups, utensils? Trying to prepare for my December trip. Yeah, I know it's a month or so away, but I need to do something for the boredom. LOL


Riviera studio had paper/plastic last week.


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## blrem

brockash said:


> In Sept. we saw lots of ppl eating/drinking while walking on the paths around the boardwalk... almost always it's VERY easy to socially distance there.


Ty!


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

Posted on Disney Food Blog...
Today, we spotted a NEW mask-related sign in Magic Kingdom. This sign specifically notes that *“Guests not properly wearing an approved mask will be asked to leave.”*

About Time!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

P'colaBeachBum said:


> Posted on Disney Food Blog...
> Today, we spotted a NEW mask-related sign in Magic Kingdom. This sign specifically notes that *“Guests not properly wearing an approved mask will be asked to leave.”*
> View attachment 531435
> About Time!


It will be interesting to see if the sign alone is enough deterrent for people not complying with mask policy. 

Another interesting observation... note the wording: they will be "asked" to leave.  Will it be a "request?"  What if someone turns down the request?


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## katyringo

I am following touring plans today on Instagram as well as a few others. We go in 9 days!  And the wait times do seem to be really exaggerated on the app. One example of test track at 105mins but they only waited 30.


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## P'colaBeachBum

Grumpy by Birth said:


> It will be interesting to see if the sign alone is enough deterrent for people not complying with mask policy.
> 
> Another interesting observation... note the wording: they will be "asked" to leave.  Will it be a "request?"  What if someone turns down the request?


I would not want to test it. Security has escorted people out for not complying with the "request".


----------



## CinderellaDream

Yesterday was our Hollywood Studios day. We are staying at Yacht Club and walked over at 8:15. About 8:45 they started walking the two separate lines to the temperature scanning tents. We got lucky and were first in line at one of the tents at 8:50. Our temperatures were taken at 9:14 and we were the second family scanned in for the day. 

We went straight to MMRR and walked on to the first train of the day. We then went to MFSR and waited just a few minutes before boarding and finishing the ride by 9:42. We grabbed a few waters and waited for 10:00 when we got BG 5 for ROTR. They did not start calling any boarding groups until around 10:30. While waiting for our BG to be called we got in the 50 minute line for TSMM but only waited 20 minutes. 

We returned for our ROTR BG at 11:05 and after the ride killed some time until our Oga’s reservation. Controversial opinion but it was just okay, not great. I’m glad we did it but probably won’t go back. While there we mobile ordered from Backlot Express - the Cuban sandwich was great! On the way to pick it up we stopped at Star Tours where the wait time was 25 minutes but we were on and off the ride in 18 minutes. 

Back to the resort for swimming for a couple of hours and a No Way Jose from the Beaches & Cream takeout window. Then we decided to get cleaned up and go back to HS. We got in line for RNRC with a wait time of 45 minutes but were on and off the ride in less than 40. Last we headed to SDD with a 60 minute wait but were on and off in 27 minutes. By then it was 7:02 and we walked back to YC and mobile ordered pizza from the pizza window at Boardwalk. 

Summary Thoughts - it seems crowded but the parking lot looked really empty. The lines look CRAZY long but it is mostly due to the social distancing and the actual wait times are not that bad. I loved not feeling crowded while in line. Mask compliance was pretty good but (like anything else) if you are looking for noncompliance you are going to notice it more. 

I am so glad we came and we are having a wonderful time but I definitely would not recommend coming right now to a first timer. I miss all the shows and miss the night time spectaculars even more! Those are what makes Disney so special to me and I can’t wait for them to return.


----------



## wilbret

The “feels like” temp hit 101 today. It was so freaking hot. The kids were happy to leave by 4pm to hit the pool... hittin’ it again tomorrow...


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

P'colaBeachBum said:


> I would not want to test it. Security has escorted people out for not complying with the "request".


I don't intend to.  We'll be wearing our masks properly at all times it's required.  Just curious to see if those being escorted out will become more prevalent and more public to serve as a greater deterrent for others.


----------



## soniam

blrem said:


> Where did you get breakfast at Boardwalk?  We are there next week staying at Yatch Club and want to grab a hot breakfast sandwich somewhere before taking the walk to HS.  What's open for this type of quick serve?  Can we eat it on the walk or is the "stand still if eating/drinking" rule enforced on the walkways to the parks as well as inside the parks?  Thank you!



Boardwalk Bakery has breakfast stuff. The menu online looks correct. They have mobile ordering too. There are benches and grassy areas on the Boardwalk that you use. You could also stand off to the side near the water on the actual Boardwalk.



vital said:


> Do they have paper/plastic products in the DVC rooms or real plates, cups, utensils? Trying to prepare for my December trip. Yeah, I know it's a month or so away, but I need to do something for the boredom. LOL



Studio = paper/disposable
1 bed+ = not disposable


----------



## wilbret

Line to get into World of Disney around your elbow to get to your...front door.


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## Amy11401

wilbret said:


> The “feels like” temp hit 101 today. It was so freaking hot. The kids were happy to leave by 4pm to hit the pool... hittin’ it again tomorrow...


We were there 2 years ago in mid October and those were the feels like temperatures for almost the entire week we were there.


----------



## blrem

soniam said:


> Boardwalk Bakery has breakfast stuff. The menu online looks correct. They have mobile ordering too. There are benches and grassy areas on the Boardwalk that you use. You could also stand off to the side near the water on the actual Boardwalk.
> 
> 
> 
> Studio = paper/disposable
> 1 bed+ = not disposable


Thanks so much - that sounds like a perfect idea and a great way to start the day!  We've never stayed in the Crescent Lake area so appreciate the tips!


----------



## blrem

CinderellaDream said:


> Yesterday was our Hollywood Studios day. We are staying at Yacht Club and walked over at 8:15. About 8:45 they started walking the two separate lines to the temperature scanning tents. We got lucky and were first in line at one of the tents at 8:50. Our temperatures were taken at 9:14 and we were the second family scanned in for the day.
> 
> We went straight to MMRR and walked on to the first train of the day. We then went to MFSR and waited just a few minutes before boarding and finishing the ride by 9:42. We grabbed a few waters and waited for 10:00 when we got BG 5 for ROTR. They did not start calling any boarding groups until around 10:30. While waiting for our BG to be called we got in the 50 minute line for TSMM but only waited 20 minutes.
> 
> We returned for our ROTR BG at 11:05 and after the ride killed some time until our Oga’s reservation. Controversial opinion but it was just okay, not great. I’m glad we did it but probably won’t go back. While there we mobile ordered from Backlot Express - the Cuban sandwich was great! On the way to pick it up we stopped at Star Tours where the wait time was 25 minutes but we were on and off the ride in 18 minutes.
> 
> Back to the resort for swimming for a couple of hours and a No Way Jose from the Beaches & Cream takeout window. Then we decided to get cleaned up and go back to HS. We got in line for RNRC with a wait time of 45 minutes but were on and off the ride in less than 40. Last we headed to SDD with a 60 minute wait but were on and off in 27 minutes. By then it was 7:02 and we walked back to YC and mobile ordered pizza from the pizza window at Boardwalk.
> 
> Summary Thoughts - it seems crowded but the parking lot looked really empty. The lines look CRAZY long but it is mostly due to the social distancing and the actual wait times are not that bad. I loved not feeling crowded while in line. Mask compliance was pretty good but (like anything else) if you are looking for noncompliance you are going to notice it more.
> 
> I am so glad we came and we are having a wonderful time but I definitely would not recommend coming right now to a first timer. I miss all the shows and miss the night time spectaculars even more! Those are what makes Disney so special to me and I can’t wait for them to return.


Excellent information - TY!


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## emsstacey

We ate at Trattoria- not qs, so can’t help there, but you can always check the app to see what is available and open.


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## MickeyBalloons

Just went past Disney Holiday Services and the enormous Christmas trees were in pieces waiting to be moved to the parks!


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## Jules123

emsstacey said:


> We ate at Trattoria- not qs, so can’t help there, but you can always check the app to see what is available and open.


I just got a reservation for Trattoria for 7:30 am on our HS Day. Hoping we can have your same experience. What time did you start your walk to HS?


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## emsstacey

Around 8:15. I hope you have the same luck we did! It was such a delicious breakfast and magical morning!


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## hmkenn0

Okay, so we are home from our 7 night 8-day trip. I LOVE Disney, was a Guest Relations and Tomorrowland attractions CM and have never had a bad Disney vacation, including this one. However, I have to be honest and say that I would not recommend going right now. It isn't that I felt unsafe (although I do think they could do more), but it just isn't as magical right now. My family has been 100s of times as well as to Disneyland Paris and Disneyland, and while we of course enjoyed this we also have been on everything tons of times and know we will be back. To be specific, I would stay away from Magic Kingdom (we did it Friday 10/9) and Hollywood Studios (we did it Tuesday 10/6).  The size of these two parks is considerably smaller than the other two and you can definitely feel it as you move from place to place. The wait times you are seeing online for these two parks are accurate, and I would say that in general, after reading all of these posts and other sources, all of the wait times you are seeing are becoming more and more accurate. You feel more of that "herding" now than is typical as you stand in lines on the walkways and outside and just move from one line to the next. With FP I can grab 3 and usually pick up 2-3 more during the day- at Epcot, HS, AK that would just about give us everything we want to ride and free us up to hang out. There are some definite pros to no FP- the lines move again- no more stand and stop- and you can do a more orderly visit without as much park crossing (that lovely jog from Kilamjaro Safaris to Dinosaur back to FoP KILLS me lol!). But, overall, I just did not enjoy it as much. I have to admit, I am surprising myself writing this, I really thought I would never criticize "my" mouse, but it just is awkward. 
As for safety- I would say there was a 90+% mask compliance and people did try to follow the markings. But, Disney did this wrong. Basically, they just measured every 6 feet and slapped down a strip. But, we had a party of 6, we can't all stand on that little strip so we stretched back to the strip behind us, and, of course, the next group was standing right there. And, if there was a party in front of us more than 2, they stretched back toward us. So I would say in most lines we were never more than 2-3 feet from other people. Plus Disney didn't make sure that the group in the row next to us, as the switchbacks happened, didn't also stretch out to being right next to us. I NEVER felt this at Universal in June they planned every line out perfectly, didn't attempt to add weird dividers, and made sure switchback standing next to each other didn't happen. Disney needs to go in and remove basically every other line. Yes, I know this is going to put more lines in the sun and outside, and that does suck. But when you are in line for 60-90+ minutes (as many of the waits were at HS and MK- and yes, they really were that long), right smack next to other people, the virus can spread even with masks. We are all hot and sweaty and moving those masks up and down all the time and every time you do that you expose yourself and others. Another thing Disney needs to do is give everyone a squirt of sanitizer before every boarding. While my family did this before and after, when you pull down on those lap bars, you have no idea what germs are on it. At Universal, I felt very safe knowing EVERY person got sanitizer on their hands right before they stepped on board. It didn't increase wait times and was super easy. This would also eliminate the need for "cleaning cycles". Also, at Universal, at every moving walkway, there was a person standing there with sanitizer and a rag constantly whipping down the handrails, I NEVER once saw this on any Disney moving walkway and didn't see it as much elsewhere as I did at Universal either. 
I have no idea what Disney is doing with park capacity but I can tell you when all the lines are 50-90 minutes for E-rides and you still have that many people out and about walking around you have too many. I feel literally TERRIBLE saying this as so many of my friends just got laid off, but I'm sorry it just isn't good. While I don't think any of us will get the coronavirus from this (we were very consistent with well-filtered masks, distancing, hand washing, sanitizer, etc.), there is just an "ick" factor you can't help but feel when walking around with everyone wearing masks. It's like you can't get away from what is going on because it is constantly in your face. It just hurts the magic when you feel so herded and you feel too enclosed in the corona world. We will go back again when this is over. I WOULD consider going back to Universal during the virus but not Disney. 
Again, this hurts my heart and soul in a way I am surprised about. I have always felt a traitor to Disney visiting any other park, and have never felt the magic quite like I do at Disney, but they let me down on this one.


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

Just got back from a week in Orlando. Our main purpose was to house hunt, but we did end up going to 2 parks.

I'm going to write a more detailed write up below, if you just want the highlights skip to the bottom.

On Mon Oct 5 we went to Epcot. We were looking at houses in the morning, so we didn't get to the park until around 2:30. We decided to ride the Skyliner. There was no wait and we had the car to ourselves.

There was no line at International Gateway for temp check or security. Security is soooo nice now with the scanners. So fast and easy.

Epcot actually seemed pretty crowded with people on the walkways. We had a pretty decent time getting on attractions, though. The first thing we did was walk to America to have lunch at Regal Eagle since we'd never been.

We mobile ordered on our way over. The boyfriend and I shared the brisket sandwich and the mac n cheese. It was pretty good. We've lived in both Austin and KC (top BBQ towns), but even with the great BBQ we've had we still thought the brisket was good.

After eating we just made out way around World Showcase. We saw a couple character parades, which were actually pretty nice. We skipped Frozen because the line was a bit over an hour and it looked AWFUL to be standing out in the sun with a mask. We did get to see Anna and Elsa parade past their ride line, which was fun. Lots of little fan girls.

We wanted to go inside Mexico, and had about a 10 minute wait to get inside. Which was actually fine, we finally had some time to look at all the exhibits in the entryway.

Once inside we had about a 5 minute wait for the ride, it spilled out into the pavilion only because of social distancing in the line. Honestly, I'm all about the social distancing if it keeps people from standing on top of me. The only bad thing is when the lines spills outside into the hot sun. I'd probably just bring an umbrella for shade next time.

We sat in the front row of the boat and one other party of 2 sat in the back row.

After Mexico we walked by Test Track. The line said 25 minutes but we decided to bypass. We only had about 3.5 hours left until closing and we had other priorities. We cut through the temporary Mouse Gears.

We walked on Spaceship Earth (my fav ride). We walked on a seemingly abandoned Nemo. Then we spent some time in the aquarium looking at the manatees. It all seemed to be open except the shark play area.

Next up was the Land Pavilion. We waited 5 minutes for Living with the Land. The area where you go through the barn had no sound and it was actually kind of eerie.

Soarin had a 20 minute wait which was exactly correct. I think it would have been close to a walk on, but they load the ride so slowly. We actually were on C row 1, but they had us stand out in the main hallway and only come inside when everyone else was loaded.

I was sad they weren't selling the small plants outside the ride.

The Land pavilion was so bizarre, it was almost completely empty. Sunshine Seasons is always so crowded it was weird.

We wanted to do the American Adventure, but realized we were running out of time so walked onto Figment instead.

We were headed to our last minute dining reservation at Hacienda de San Angel. We had a bit of time to kill so stopped in the festival center and got a few drinks. I had the frozen smore which was delicious. We also got to listen a piano player. Our friend said she usually played in Rose and Crown and she was really good. She ended her set with 'We go on' from Illuminations.

We had just enough time to make it to our dinner reservation. We all really enjoyed our dinners. That food was excellent and I highly recommend. We'd made our reservation for 10 minutes before park close, so we walked out slowly with few other people around. We rode back out on the Skyliner.

It was a pretty successful day, we did every ride we wanted save the American Adventure show, and we were only there for a little under 5 hours. Making a dinner reservation at park close is def a good way to extend the early nights.

Tuesday October 6 we once again spent the morning house hunting. We arrived at MK parking lot at 1:25 and didn't get into the park until 1:55. It takes a little bit to arrive at the monorail when there are no trams. if you're not parked near the front.

We took the monorail and were able to walk right on and it left shortly after. We had our own car.

MK was def more crowded then Epcot the day before. The walkways were pretty crowded. This was a more discouraging day then the previous. Most of the lines were showing as 30+. We waited for Tiki Room first and it took forever because they clean in between shows and we just missed one.

All in all, we had about 4 hours in the park. It was def hotter Tuesday and the sun was in full view. I believe the temps were low 90s. We were dying with our masks. I had no idea my face could sweat that much. I'm sure if you live in Florida you get used to it, but we were def more uncomfortable in our masks in MK on Tue than Epcot on Mon. I think it's def direct sunlight though, it was pretty cloudy on Mon.

We did end up seeing 3 character pop up parades. I liked those a lot better than I thought I would. I also enjoyed how they played Boo To You with the Fab 5 characters in costume.

We were able to do: Tiki Room, HM (almost an hour wait), Peter Pan (20 minute wait), fries and drinks at Cosmic Ray's to visit Sunny Eclipse, COP (just had to wait one rotation), POTC (30 minute wait), then we just made it in line for Splash with 3 minutes to spare for park close.

We then went to the Wave for a last minute dinner reservation.

*Some random observations:*

We love character meets, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed what they had. The pop up parades were fun, and we also saw the Country Bears on the roof of their attraction, Chip and Dale on a roof of Fronteirland, and Jack Sparrow on his stage. At Epcot we also saw Pooh running around with a butterfly net (adorable).

Those masks were brutal in the direct sun. Like I said earlier, no idea my face could sweat so much. We were ok when the sun was behind clouds, but yeah, just brutal for us.

I felt very safe on Disney property. However, I think they need to keep both social distancing and masks going until a vaccine is provided. We did see the occasional person not wearing their masks properly, which was ok because they stayed back 6 feet in lines. I feel like having both measures is needed so one is a backup. If they remove the 6 feet social distancing, then all of a sudden it's a much bigger deal that people aren't wearing masks properly. I can see fights starting real quick in this scenario.

The days of empty parks are gone. Epcot and MK were both super busy on a non holiday Mon and Tues. I'm sure if maybe you go really early at opening you might have a good hour or two. But that was not the situation we were in. We had a better day at Epcot because we were able to get on more attractions faster. MK was pretty bad with lines, everything seemed at a minimum of half an hour. POTC and HM were closer to 45 minutes.

The only resort transportation we used were the Skyliner and the Monorail and we felt very safe on both.

Anyone have any questions that I might be able to help with?


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## melmel

We are back now, it definitely feels like they've increased capacity. We did Saturday to Saturday, yesterday in MK seemed much more crowded than it had on Sunday.  Lines were running longer and walkways were much more crowded.   There really weren't many empty areas to get away in adventureland.  Pirates started at the gift shop and ran all the way to Splash and back to Jungle (all in direct sun), it stated 60 but wasn't really moving much, so we ended up giving up on it.  Yesterday was also the first time we encountered sharing monorail cars, before that it was like skyliner with only one party per car even at closing.  But now it's one family per side, you're probably still 6 feet apart but it felt a little less comfortable.

I also noticed later in the week as the heat got more oppressive proper mask wearing decinded.  Lots more nose popping, chin supports, and not making kids wear them at all.  When CMs noticed they were quick with reminders and enforcement, however they can't watch everyone.  It was still probably 80-85% proper wearing, and I still overall felt safe.

On Thursday I was considering trying to bring the kids down next month while it was still slow,  but yesterday sealed not going again until things are back to "normal".  Less magic with less people is fine but less magic with more people isn't worth paying full price.


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## momimouse27

We just returned from our trip on 10/3, and I thought I'd give a few thoughts on our experiences, and what we did and didn't like.  Hope this helps someone else.

Parks-We only had one day during the weekend at a park.  Our first park day was Epcot on a Sunday.  We later went back to Epcot on a Thursday.  It was noticeably busier on Sunday.  Lines were still fairly quick even on a Sunday, but the F&W had the WS slammed.  On Thursday, it was so slow there that we walked on to Soarin' multiple times with no wait. It was great.  DHS was busy, as we expected it would be.  The day we went(9/28) it poured rain, but we enjoyed our visit anyway.  My son and I waited 45 minutes(posted time was 90) in the pouring rain for MMRR and it was so worth it!!    We were in the park at opening and able to snag  ROTR boarding group #17 and we were in line by 11:30.  Later my husband got on Smuggler's Run alone, waited 20 minutes and piloted the Falcon on his own.  He said it was awesome!  AK was so slow that everything was either 15-20 minute wait or walk on, even FOP.  MK....oh, boy.  MK is not open long enough.  We have been so many times that missing a few rides isn't a big deal.  But we've always been able to just go back to what we missed and ride again.  We arrived at MK at about 10:00.  We are not morning people, and so that's good for us.  The lines were really not so bad, they look awful but move quickly and since they're spread out they just look terrible.  The longest lines we had were in were HM and POTC.  But closing at 6pm really sucked.  I felt like I wasn't able to just enjoy being in MK, because we were trying to ride what we could.  And my favorite time in MK is night time, it's so beautiful and I really missed that.  We visited on a Wednesday.

Resort-We stayed in a 2 br AKL Kidani.  It was awesome!  I'm sure we missed some ambience with many of the cast members from Africa gone, but this was our first visit, so couldn't gauge that.  Pool was great, not very crowded, and very good spacing as far as distancing is concerned.  We would for sure stay here again.

Disney Springs-We were there on a Saturday, our first night.  There was very little social distancing.  But, I saw very few people who weren't properly wearing a mask.  The stores were better, just because they were controlling how many people were in at one time.  We went back on Wednesday after MK closed and it was much much slower.  Also went on Tuesday afternoon, and it was very slow.  We walked into every store, including WOD, with no wait.

Food: I'll list where we ate and my thoughts.  We sat down at TS alot in the parks, because the places we chose had foods that my son would eat.  We only had to mobile order once, and that was at Cosmic Ray's.  It worked fine, but it took a while to figure out how to do it...we had a few glitches.

*Terralina's*-  It was fine.  Food was pretty good, service was awesome. 
*Via Napoli* lunch-It was good.  Service was great as usual, and we had pizza.  Overpriced(well, it is Disney) but it was very good.
*Sci Fi Dine in*-We always enjoy it .  Honestly, we felt a little bit rushed here.  I get they need people to move along, but if I'm paying that much for a burger and fries,
then I'm going to take my time and enjoy  it. 
*Edison-*We went there after DHS for dinner.  The service was very good, but I thought the food was overpriced for what it was.  Out of everywhere we ate, their menu was easily the most
limited.  Very, very limited and expensive.  I think I would go back, but only after the restrictions are lifted.  Not having the entertainment just made it fall flat. 
*Planet Hollywood-*One of our best meals this trip.  Food was great, service was outstanding, and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. 
*Homecomin'*- Our other best meal of the trip.  The food here is fantastic!  The service was also very good.  We took home some of our food and put it in the fridge to eat later, because
there is so much.  Awesome in every way.
*Garden Grill*-Food was great as usual.  Disappointed to hear that they had gotten rid of their fryer, so no more fries or nuggets, which I counted on.  Thankfully, my usually picky son
actually loved the turkey and macaroni.  We visited on the day after the 28,000 layoff news from Disney, and you could feel it.  Our waiter was worried, he had been there many years and he was concerned about the future of Disney in general.  I feel terrible for all the CM's especially those who have been there so long.

Final Note-I never felt unsafe at Disney.  I will say I'm not overly paranoid about Coronavirus, although I am cautious.  Trying to look at it from the other side, though, I think it was a very safe environment. I would put mask compliance at about 90%.   If you need a place to unwind, take off the mask and rest, the two very best relaxation stations are easily SW Launch Bay at HS and Akershus in Norway at Epcot.  Loved the character cavalcades and I would say weekdays are so much better than weekends....go during weekdays!!  Edited to add...suprisingly, my mask only bothered me a few times, mostly in the hottest part of the day.  When it was raining or cloudy, I forgot about it.  The Pomchies mask...awesome!  Easily the best one I've used.


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## soniam

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> Those masks were brutal in the direct sun. Like I said earlier, no idea my face could sweat so much. We were ok when the sun was behind clouds, but yeah, just brutal for us.



It is amazing how much your face can sweat. I learned very early that I didn't need any face lotion with the mask. I agree about the masks and social distancing; we need both. Glad you liked the characters. I wasn't sure how you would like it see how big you guys are on characters. We actually really enjoyed it too. It felt more like when I was a kid or Disneyland. Plus, it was actually pretty easy to see most of the time without having to be right next to other people. Although, that was July. Glad you made it to the parks. I wasn't sure if you would get a chance.


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## nkereina

Has anyone tried to book or change a park pass reservation during their trip while staying onsite? I’m curious what availability looks like for onsite guests on short notice, especially for DHS. I see availability is booked for DHS for offsite this week.


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## The Expert

vital said:


> Do they have paper/plastic products in the DVC rooms or real plates, cups, utensils? Trying to prepare for my December trip. Yeah, I know it's a month or so away, but I need to do something for the boredom. LOL



If you're in a studio, you'll have disposable items. One bedroom and larger have real dishes, glasses and cookware. The same as pre-Covid.


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## sara_s

Has anyone ventured to DS on non-weekends? Wondering if we can hop over there for an early lunch one day on a Monday without feeling like it's dodgy with non mask-wearers. I know they put up signs warning about getting kicked out for not complying, but not sure if they're actually enforcing it.


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## mickeyfanachey1999

We were at WDW for a short fall break trip last week.  Here is some data regarding posted/actual wait times:
Saturday 10-3 at DAK we arrived just after 8:30
FOP 75/76
NRJ 50/42
KS 25/WO
EE 45/17
Dinosaur 45/26
Dinosaur again 50/23
TTBAB 15/6
FOP 60/58
Sunday 10-4 at MK we arrived just after 1:00
JK 40/20
POTC 50/32
BTMRR 45/32
HM 55/31
7DMT 55/37
POOH 5/4
7DMT 45/36
Monday 10-5 at DHS we arrived at 9:15
MMRR 105/79
TSMM 40/27
SDD 80/55 
AS2 30/23
A couple of notes about lines:
FOP the line started just short of FOTLK.  
POTC the line started in Frontierland, went past POTC almost to JK and then came back around.
MMRR the line was forming near Sunset BLVD at opening and by the time they had it snaked around the way they wanted to they announced that no one else could enter the queue as there was no more space to queue up.
While we waited for MMRR the line for SDD reached the animation courtyard entrance.
BTMRR the line started by Big Al's snack cart.
The line lengths were intimidating to look at but all were shorted than posted.


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## MomOTwins

nkereina said:


> Has anyone tried to book or change a park pass reservation during their trip while staying onsite? I’m curious what availability looks like for onsite guests on short notice, especially for DHS. I see availability is booked for DHS for offsite this week.


DHS is fully booked this week across all three buckets--WDW resort guests, offsite ticketholders, and APs.  Always possible they would drop more availability but no guarantees.


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## Zaccypoo

How early have people been getting to HS for rope drop? Before the closure we got there 2 hours early and it was pretty packed already.  We want to be one of the first in the parks to take as much advantage of that first hour as possible.


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## djmeredith

Went to AK this morning. Scheduled open at 7:00 am. We got there about 7:15. Walked straight through temp and security. FOP posted 65 so we headed straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris and got there only to find out it wasn’t open until 8:00. I noticed it didn’t have a wait time showing but I didn’t think anything of it, oh well.

Went back to Pandora because Navi RJ was posted 25. By the time we got there it was posted at 35 but took us 20, line constantly moving. Headed to Everest which was posted about 35 but took 20. Got right back in line with wait posted 30 but we basically walked straight through the line the second time. Headed to Kali which was posted 10. Walk on except they stopped right as we got there for cleaning. We waited about 10 mins or less. Got one good splash but not soaked. Walked through the Jungle Trek. We then headed back to KS which was posted 40. It took 20 in a steady moving line. Did Gorilla Falls and saw the baby who was very active as were the other females. By this time it was almost 11:00 so we decided to leave and get lunch, swim and then head back. Currently sitting at the pool relaxing while the kids play.

Social Distancing is basically non existent except in the lines where people were respectful of the markers. People aren’t being rude, it’s just busy. Masks weren’t as bad as I thought but we left before it got really hot. The fans in the line helped a lot. But It’s a nice break being massless outside by the pool! Headed back to AK in a bit to finish up what we missed.


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## Shellyred8

blrem said:


> Where did you get breakfast at Boardwalk?  We are there next week staying at Yatch Club and want to grab a hot breakfast sandwich somewhere before taking the walk to HS.  What's open for this type of quick serve?  Can we eat it on the walk or is the "stand still if eating/drinking" rule enforced on the walkways to the parks as well as inside the parks?  Thank you!


Yacht Club's Market Place is open and they have hot breakfast sandwiches.


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## Spazz2k

Just back from another quick weekend.  2 nights at CBR and 1 night at Wilderness Cabin...I know strange combo, but we decided to stay an extra night on Saturday.  Just a few random things and thoughts....

CBR actually did not seem too busy this time, both wife and I thought the pool was rather quiet for a Friday and Saturday.

Took our godson over to the Boardwalk via the Skyliner on Friday morning and walked over to show him the clown pool...only I forgot the slide is being redone, so he didn't get to see it.  The pool was empty...and the noise from the refurb was pretty loud....that would drive me crazy.  Walked around to swan and back up past Yacht and Beach and back on Skyliner.

Friday night we went over to Disney Springs for dinner, Lego store and some shopping....1st time we have seen surface parking open...so gladly did that.  I don't think many people know it is open, as the parking lot was empty on the way in as well as when we left...was very easy and for us.

Saturday we started at the side pool in the preferred section at CBR, then over to the main pool...pretty quiet.  My godson who is 4 found something in the pool....I told the lifeguard...they had to close the pool...think #2.  So pool closed for about 40 mins or so.

Saturday around 1:00 we switched to the cabins....Wow we haven't seen the Wilderness Campgrounds that busy in forever....the place was packed.  The quiet pool was even packed to the max which you hardly ever see....the cabin loops were packed also.  Lot of people everywhere...main pool was also busy.

No parks, but lots and lots of pool time with the little guy....which is always a great time.


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## MomOTwins

Zaccypoo said:


> How early have people been getting to HS for rope drop? Before the closure we got there 2 hours early and it was pretty packed already.  We want to be one of the first in the parks to take as much advantage of that first hour as possible.


You can't get to rope drop that early any more.  They will line up cars and then start letting them into the parking lot around an hour before opening.  Skyliner and resort buses also do not start more than 1hr/1hr 15 mins before depending on crowd levels and where you are coming from.  They are trying to avoid a crush of people standing around at rope drop like before, but it does create a bit of a mad rush to get in!


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## CinderellaDream

Yesterday was our MK day. We are staying at the YC and at 6:45 we got a cab from there to CR. By 7:10 we were in line for the temperature scanning tent on the walkway from the CR and were scanned at 7:25.  We were sent to the far left station to scan our magic bands and after fast-walking (not running) and two quick photo ops in front of the castle and carousel we were in the queue for SDMT at 7:40. The official open time for the park was 8:00. 

There was a slight snafu with the SDMT queue where the first few groups of guests insisted a cast member told them to line up outside of the actual queue and not on the distance markers on the ground. By the time a cast member came and corrected them the line was all bunched up at the entrance and there was little to no social distancing going on. Thankfully we were close enough to the front that when they opened the queue we were able to file in quickly. By 7:50 we were off the ride.  

Space Mountain was a walk on at 7:59 and after riding we left to go straight to BTMRR. The wait time said 15 minutes but they were only running one side until right before we boarded so we ended up waiting 20 minutes. 

Next we walked on to POTC which showed a 5 minute wait time. At 8:58 we got in a 35 minute line for Jungle Cruise and actually waited 30 minutes. After that we walked to Haunted Mansion. At 9:45 the stated wait time was 40 minutes and the line looked awful but the wait was only 20 minutes. 

By now we were ready for a snack but every snack cart that was open had a long line. We really wanted a cake pop from Big Top Souvenirs but it was closed and as we later learned none of the other shops had cake pops either.  We settled for a pretzel and churro from the snack cart by Dumbo and decided to eat in the relaxation station where Pete’s Silly Slideshow characters normally meet. I highly recommend this station. The air conditioning was amazing!!

At 10:50 we entered the 25 minute line for Dumbo but waited less than 5. We left there and went to Under the Sea where the posted time was 35 but we waited 20. 
At 11:25 we went back over to Barnstormer because the 30 minute posted wait time went down to 15 which is what we actually waited. By then we were all hot and ready for our lunch reservation at Kona. 

While at Kona it started to rain so we took a cab back to YC to rest for a couple of hours. By 4:15 we were at the bus stop and waited about 10 minutes for a bus. I thought the way seating was done on the buses was about as good as could be given the circumstances.  They give each group a number and direct them to their seats.

Once inside the park we stopped to watch three of the character cavalcades as they passed - Jack Skellington, Mickey & the gang in Halloween attire and then a group of villains led by Gaston on horseback. We were not really hungry but had a reservation at The Plaza so we just ordered fries and milkshakes.

At 6:07 we got in the posted 25 minute line for Tomorrowland Speedway but actually waited less than 5. From there we went to the Mad Tea Party which said a 10 minute wait but was a walk on. At 6:25 we got in line for the Carousel which showed a 25 minute wait but we actually waited 30. I really wanted to bail on this line but it was a request of our youngest daughter so we stuck it out. 

At 7:05 we got in a 30 minute line for Astro Orbiter and actually waited 20. Next was Buzz Light Year with a posted 10 minute wait but was actually a walk on. At 7:48 we got in line for our last ride of the day, IASW, which had a posted wait time of 10 minutes but was less than 5. 

Summary Thoughts if you are still with me - I worried that masks would be the worst part of this trip but it was the heat that was a killer! I heard the real feel was over 100 degrees but I didn’t confirm. No doubt the heat made the masks worse but I feel like with cooler temps the masks would not have been bad at all. We preferred the disposable ones over cloth. 

As I said after our HS day I am so glad we came but would not recommend a visit to first timers right now. Also, if I had known how hot it would be during our October visit I would have come back in July when lines were shorter! 

I am already looking forward to returning next year!


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## djmeredith

MomOTwins said:


> You can't get to rope drop that early any more.  They will line up cars and then start letting them into the parking lot around an hour before opening.  Skyliner and resort buses also do not start more than 1hr/1hr 15 mins before depending on crowd levels and where you are coming from.  They are trying to avoid a crush of people standing around at rope drop like before, but it does create a bit of a mad rush to get in!


You are correct that you cannot get there 2 hours early by car. However, many people are reporting getting there around 8:00 a.m. (2 hours before posted open) by walking from Boardwalk or taking the Uber to the Speedway by Boardwalk.


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## MomOTwins

djmeredith said:


> You are correct that you cannot get there 2 hours early by car. However, many people are reporting getting there around 8:00 a.m. (2 hours before posted open) by walking from Boardwalk or taking the Uber to the Speedway by Boardwalk.


Wow, weird-they are holding MK guests at the Contemporary walkway so shocked they wouldn’t do the same for boardwalk.  Seems like a weird thing for them to allow


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## scrappinginontario

MomOTwins said:


> Wow, weird-they are holding MK guests at the Contemporary walkway so shocked they wouldn’t do the same for boardwalk.  Seems like a weird thing for them to allow


There is a temperature and security check on the walkway from Contemporary to MK.  There isn’t anything like  that  in place on the Boardwalk path so guests can walk to the temp and security checks and get stopped there.  Same thing, just one is closer to the park entrance than the other is.


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## ten6mom

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask so please redirect me if necessary:

Are the security areas and "how to get in" very different at each park?  I am a backpack person and I'm sure I'll have an umbrella too... along with a couple substantial external battery packs for the phone.

I just don't want to hold up any of  the lines too much.


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## yulilin3

ten6mom said:


> Not sure if this is the correct place to ask so please redirect me if necessary:
> 
> Are the security areas and "how to get in" very different at each park?  I am a backpack person and I'm sure I'll have an umbrella too... along with a couple substantial external battery packs for the phone.
> 
> I just don't want to hold up any of  the lines too much.


To my personal experience the only park different,  where you have to place metal objects in bin,  is mk. The others you walk with the meal objects in your hand,  so regardless just have them out
Now i haven't been through the mk bag check in weeks so I'm not sure If this has changed


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## nkereina

What's the current advice for taking the Skyliner to DHS? We'll be coming from CBR. The recent reports I've seen say that if DHS has a 10am opening, Skyliner will start running around 9ish, so its advisable to be at the Skyliner queue around 7:30 to ensure you're at the front of the line. Just curious where this would put us in line at DHS and if people think this is reasonable to get into DHS fairly quickly?


----------



## lynch34

nkereina said:


> What's the current advice for taking the Skyliner to DHS? We'll be coming from CBR. The recent reports I've seen say that if DHS has a 10am opening, Skyliner will start running around 9ish, so its advisable to be at the Skyliner queue around 7:30 to ensure you're at the front of the line. Just curious where this would put us in line at DHS and if people think this is reasonable to get into DHS fairly quickly?



This sounds kind of crazy.  You are avoiding waiting in lines by starting the process hours before needed.  Obviously, you have to be there before 9 but I've never understood the folks who get to the park so early to "beat the lines" in order to not wait 60 minutes for a ride but to wait 15.  You are still waiting - its just not in the ride queue.  And don't get me wrong - I do rope drop everytime but the most you push things back - it seems crazier.


----------



## nkereina

lynch34 said:


> This sounds kind of crazy.  You are avoiding waiting in lines by starting the process hours before needed.  Obviously, you have to be there before 9 but I've never understood the folks who get to the park so early to "beat the lines" in order to not wait 60 minutes for a ride but to wait 15.  You are still waiting - its just not in the ride queue.  And don't get me wrong - I do rope drop everytime but the most you push things back - it seems crazier.


The point isn't to avoid lines, but rather to be at the front of the Skyliner line when they open the queue to be on one of the first gondolas to DHS. This then puts you ahead of all the incoming Skyliner arrivals in the entry line to DHS. The parks have been opening well before posted opening times, so getting into DHS early allows you to rope drop MMRR and be in the park prior to 10am, which is required to obtain a RotR boarding group. If you arrive later, the line can stretch down the parking lot so there's no guarantee of being scanned in prior to 10am. Reports I have seen on other threads seem to suggest this (or a similar) timeline, so just trying to see if others here agree.


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## yulilin3

lynch34 said:


> This sounds kind of crazy.  You are avoiding waiting in lines by starting the process hours before needed.  Obviously, you have to be there before 9 but I've never understood the folks who get to the park so early to "beat the lines" in order to not wait 60 minutes for a ride but to wait 15.  You are still waiting - its just not in the ride queue.  And don't get me wrong - I do rope drop everytime but the most you push things back - it seems crazier.


the point is to not use precious park time
So by waiting an hour for the skyliner to open it puts yu inside thee park and out of MMRR (for example) in 15 minutes park time
The alternative is to get in line at the skyliner for 15 minutes and arrive at DHS later and wait 60 for MMRR, using more park time
Also the temps are a HUGE difference, there's a different feel waiting at 7am than at 9 or 10 am


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## Ahabart

nkereina said:


> What's the current advice for taking the Skyliner to DHS? We'll be coming from CBR. The recent reports I've seen say that if DHS has a 10am opening, Skyliner will start running around 9ish, so its advisable to be at the Skyliner queue around 7:30 to ensure you're at the front of the line. Just curious where this would put us in line at DHS and if people think this is reasonable to get into DHS fairly quickly?



We did not stay at a Skyliner resort last week, but have three groups of friends who did, all at Pop though. Those first in line were at the Skyliner at 6:45 for an 9am park opening.  The friends who arrived at 8 waited over an hour and didn't make it in the park until 9:30 where lengthy lines had already formed. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who stayed at CBR.


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## lmbcdb

Best.travel.day.EVER.

Flew Southwest yesterday out of Dallas nonstop to Orlando. Landed at 4:15, got our luggage from Terminal A luggage claim, then walked up and over to terminal B and straight on to a Magical Express bus. That’s a long walk with 2 pieces of luggage. Bus left 5 minutes after we got on it.
Room was ready when we got to Pop - and we got all our requests! Top floor, 60s building, lake view, corner room.

Room was spotless with no issues.

Had dinner at 5:00 - mobile order burgers from Everything Pop. Decent, fresh burgers and really good fries. No one in there at that time - probably still at the parks.

After dinner we rode the Skyliner to Caribbean  Beach and back. (For fun - we hadn’t ridden it before.)  Nice ride - sun was going down and a nice breeze coming through the vents.

We then picked up a small Garden Grocer order (I have to have cold creamer in my coffee!) and went to bed early.

Off to EPCOT today!

View from our room:


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## Eastern

CinderellaDream said:


> Yesterday was our MK day. We are staying at the YC and at 6:45 we got a cab from there to CR.


When you say, 'got a cab', do you mean Lyft or Uber? Wondering how available they are early in the morning.


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## katyringo

6 days! Keep sharing!


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## angelsil

Recently back from a 5-night trip. Writing my experiences since reading these helped me. We're an adult couple with no kids. We don't like lines or crowds and were masters of the FastPass and travel in the off-season in the before times.

Friday (Oct 2) - Disney Springs - Got into our room at Pop! around 7pm. Had received the text with the room number around 3pm and it was easy to just park and go. The guard at the gate also confirmed our room, so if we had missed the text no biggie. Quick bus to Disney Springs, which wasn't as crowded as feared. Reservation at City Works. Good service. Good food. Lots of windows open to keep the airflow up. Felt pretty safe, but that 10pm close time is a killer for night owls like us. On a normal Friday night we would have closed down Raglan Road or Edison. Instead, we went back to the resort and opened a bottle of wine in our room.

Saturday (Oct 3) - Animal Kingdom - We're not rope drop people, so we got there around 11am. Walked on the Safari. Saw the wait times for the other rides and decided to just enjoy the animals. There was an hour wait at Nomad's, but worth it. Bar seating is again available. Reservation for lunch at Yak & Yeti went well, though I felt the food wasn't as good as usual. This would be a theme for the week. Mask and safety wise it was a good day. Most people following the rules and other than Pandora there was plenty of space to spread out. Dinner at Disney Springs was disappointing. We had reservations at Enzo's Hideaway - a favorite - and our server was quite unhappy. She was clear that she didn't usually serve there and that she knew nothing about the menu, which was itself quite limited, with many of the usual drinks gone. When we asked if a favorite drink was available, she wouldn't even ask the bartender and snapped at us "it's not on the menu because we probably don't have the ingredients". Not a vacation killer, but still not the usual pixie dust. We didn't linger and finished the night at Wine Bar George where service was exceptional as always.

Sunday - Tuesday (Oct 4-6) - Epcot - Food and Wine is our reason for a yearly fall stay for the past many, many years. It's definitely not the same this year, but we knew that going in. The first day we made the mistake of trying to catch the Skyliner to Epcot early (for us) and were stuck in a nearly hour-long line at CBR. Most of the people seemed to be headed to HS, so this was a complete waste of time. Crowds weren't bad early (for Sunday), but by 3pm or so it was crowded enough to feel a bit unsafe and we headed out. Day 2 we took an Uber to the park after seeing how long the line already was at Pop! Day 3 we just waited until noon or so and the line wasn't awful.

I was happy to enjoy Tutto Gusto and very pleased it (and Weinkeller) were open. You have to enter Tutto Gusto from Tutto Italia and I don't think a lot of people knew it was even open. From a safety point, I felt the weekdays at F&W were fine with minimal nose peekers or chin-on-mask folks. Even on the weekend, the usual rowdy crowds weren't that prevalent. CMs were roaming with reminders to socially distance and wear your mask. The park has plenty of space to spread out and honestly the smaller amount of booths made it pretty easy to hit all the kiosks we wanted in only partial days. Had dinner the last night at Rose & Crown and got to enjoy the park to ourselves on the way out. The Skyliner at night was cool.

Wednesday (Oct 7) - Magic Kingdom - The worst. The absolute worst park experience we had all week. As usual we arrived well after opening, around 10am. It was a zoo, even on a Wednesday, with so many people not wearing their masks properly or at all. The reduced number of places to eat meant lines and crowds for the places open and those lines, and the long lines for rides, meant crowding in the paths. It was extremely hard to socially distance and many folks weren't even trying. We waited 45 minutes for Haunted Mansion wedged between a family that had their masks off eating and drinking the whole time and a family that constantly edged up just behind us, ignoring all distance markings. Lots of CMs, but they didn't seem to be enforcing the rules much that we saw. Not a criticism, but an observation that made us feel far less safe. Ended up back at the resort ordering Uber Eats after only a few hours.

TL;DR - I wouldn't do this trip again. Food and Wine was our main driver and it's understandably quite different with no demonstrations or tastings, and maybe half the usual booths. The lack of FastPass and limited offerings didn't make this trip a good value and at points we didn't feel safe. Thus we spent a lot more time in our room and at the resort than we usually would have. We'll return when it's safe to do so and more things are open.


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## lovethattink

I’m at MK today. It feels busier, but that could be the blazing sun affecting my perception. Because wait times are comparable to last week here. Noticing that more people have brought in outside food to eat. We brought snacks and water.


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## Broncho52

yulilin3 said:


> the point is to not use precious park time
> So by waiting an hour for the skyliner to open it puts yu inside thee park and out of MMRR (for example) in 15 minutes park time
> The alternative is to get in line at the skyliner for 15 minutes and arrive at DHS later and wait 60 for MMRR, using more park time
> Also the temps are a HUGE difference, there's a different feel waiting at 7am than at 9 or 10 am


Does the whole party need to wait in the skyliner line?  Since they are doing one party per gondola, can one person get in line at 7:30 and have the rest join.  That wouldn’t slow down the line since all would be in the same gondola.


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## yulilin3

Broncho52 said:


> Does the whole party need to wait in the skyliner line?  Since they are doing one party per gondola, can one person get in line at 7:30 and have the rest join.  That wouldn’t slow down the line since all would be in the same gondola.


I have no issues with that.


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## PrincessV

Apologies - I've done a terrible job of paying attention to reports on cavalcade timing. I can see in MDE the Boo to You one runs 10:45a-4:45p - any tips for knowing when it's likely to show up in that time period?


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## JayDeeUSC

We are planning on going to the Magic Kingdom next week (week of Oct 18th). Has anyone been this month who can give me an honest opinion of how the crowds and lines/wait times were (esp. with social distancing* in place)? Thank you so much.

*i know DeSantis opened FL. Not sure if WDW is still following Covid protocol, but would love to know how the crowds have been month so far regardless.


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## MomOTwins

Ahabart said:


> We did not stay at a Skyliner resort last week, but have three groups of friends who did, all at Pop though. Those first in line were at the Skyliner at 6:45 for an 9am park opening.  The friends who arrived at 8 waited over an hour and didn't make it in the park until 9:30 where lengthy lines had already formed. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who stayed at CBR.


We rode the skyliner twice to HS and frankly, all the wait is really before the skyliner starts--once it starts the line moves at a super fast clip.  We were at Riviera, the first time we walked to Caribbean really early--were only about 15 people back in line, but ugh that loooooong wait in the sun was awful.  We did get in the park decently early and were able to ride MMRR before 10am.  But next time we said screw it, showed up at the Riviera skyliner at 9:10, and even with having to transfer at CBR were in the park before 10am.  So if your goal is just to get in by 10am, I wouldn't bother waiting ages in the hot sun. If your priority is getting in early to do rides before everyone else (which is valid--the first time we were able to ride MMRR before boarding group time), then you do have to wait early.  And if coming from Pop it does sound like the lines are much worse than Riviera/CBR.  But in the August sun it was totally not worth it to us.


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## lovethattink

PrincessV said:


> Apologies - I've done a terrible job of paying attention to reports on cavalcade timing. I can see in MDE the Boo to You one runs 10:45a-4:45p - any tips for knowing when it's likely to show up in that time period?



We caught it around 10:50 near the fire station today. Last week we saw it by the train station. This week, it didn’t go the long way around. It hugged the Emporium instead.


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## yulilin3

PrincessV said:


> Apologies - I've done a terrible job of paying attention to reports on cavalcade timing. I can see in MDE the Boo to You one runs 10:45a-4:45p - any tips for knowing when it's likely to show up in that time period?


It usually runs about once an hour with a midday break


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## scrappinginontario

Broncho52 said:


> Does the whole party need to wait in the skyliner line?  Since they are doing one party per gondola, can one person get in line at 7:30 and have the rest join.  That wouldn’t slow down the line since all would be in the same gondola.


Since they are loading only 1 party per gondola, I have heard of many doing this.


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## Ahabart

scrappinginontario said:


> Since they are loading only 1 party per gondola, I have heard of many doing this.


Agreed.  Two of the 3 families that we know had the dads take one for the team while everyone else slept in later.


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## GBRforWDW

With all the skyliner talk from Pop, it looks like AoA is getting set to actually open on Nov 1, so that's going to double the skyliner line in the mornings.  Obviously, this is "speculation" until the doors open, but definitely something to keep in mind for those with November and later trips.


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## runjulesrun

GBRforWDW said:


> With all the skyliner talk from Pop, it looks like AoA is getting set to actually open on Nov 1, so that's going to double the skyliner line in the mornings.  Obviously, this is "speculation" until the doors open, but definitely something to keep in mind for those with November and later trips.


We have an early November trip and are staying at AoA. I have already rented a car for this trip to get us to HS. When we were there in late July, we got in line for the Skyliner at POP at 8:20am. We didn't swipe into HS until 9:58 and the only reason we made it was a lucky choice of lines at temp checks and security. That was without CB being open. Add AoA into the mix also and there is no way I am interested in getting into line for the Skyliner that early. I was there in mid Sept and drove to HS. We left POP at 8:45am and were in the park by 9:20am.


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## vamassey1

We got back Sunday night from a quick weekend trip. Originally booked this in May in hopes of attending our first Halloween Party. Once the party was cancelled we chose to keep it.  We flew in Thursday, Oct 8th and spent the afternoon in DHS. Tried for the 2 pm ROTR but did not get it. We only did a few rides due to long line. The heat was really bad and had to take breaks after each thing we did. I didn't feel that it was too crowded and mask were good. Friday we did MK but didn't make rope drop due to some costume fun. Yes we did dress and had lots of fun with that. Again it was a very hot day and the crowds were more in the MK. It was just my 2 daughter and I. My oldest daughter came for Labor Day weekend and felt the parks were more crowded. Splash went down during the day so we ended up waiting for well over an hour getting off right before 8 pm closing, running over to BTM to ride which was a walk on. Lots of mask issues this day while in lines and no social distancing. We walked out after close and finally saw the crowds lessen. Saturday we went to Epcot for Food & Wine. Big mistake. World Showcase was a mad house. Lots of mask issues and not social distancing due to crowds. We did not spend any time in Future World so I'm sure it was much better. We did see a large security force out and about. We left around 4:45 for our dinner @ Beaches and Cream. No issues while we were there. My youngest daughter and I went to DS from there, while oldest daughter went back into Epcot to take bus back to AKV. She ended up waiting for over an hour for a bus. She missed getting on the first bus, the line stopped at her. Another bus did not come for over an hour. The line for AKV stretched past the bathrooms at the entrance in the rain and lightning. Yes I did complain to Disney about this already. She stated a lady in the line was telling everyone to get on the MDE chat to let them know. My daughter took pictures of the busses coming from other resorts several time but nothing for AKV. Youngest daughter and I found DS not too bad when we first got there, but after 8 it got more crowded and lots of mask issues too. Again there was a large police/security force present. On Sunday we went to AK, we didn't make rope drop again due to the night before it being announced the park would open at 7 instead of 8. This ended up being the best day as far as crowds and mask compliance was good. 

Overall we did enjoy ourselves but I won't be going back until after the heat is better and until Disney does something about the lines. They need FP back. The lines are very long. I'm not ok with paying full price for  limited selections, long lines and not safe situations in the parks. I felt ok at the resort but was not happy with limited food choices at the parks and the resort.


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## teach22180

It's my turn! It's been a fun 24 hours, and I want to share three items with you all. 1st I was very impressed with the airport and the magical express experience. My plane landed at 6:00 p.m. and I was in my room at Pop at 7:15. The luggage was waiting for me and the bus departed quickly. Plus Pop was the 1st stop. Jet blue did not seat anyone next to me and did that throughout the entire plane unless they were part of your family.

2nd the morning bus lines at pop are really crazy. I love pop and stay here frequently, But I do think at this time it might be worth it to stay someplace with a smaller number of people. I got in to line at 7:35 and was on a bus at 8:35. There were many busses there but it just takes some time to load them. Lesson learned and I will be eating my breakfast in line for the rest of my trip, both for bus or skyliner. I understand that they are trying to slow people getting to the parks but they just can't move that many people so fast.

And my 3rd comment is that yes the lines are long but they do move much more steadily than they used to in the fast pass days. I was in line for 7 dwarves at 9:10 this morning and on the ride by 935. And that line stretched back to Gaston's tavern.
I really appreciated all of the tips from people and one and to share some early thoughts. I'


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## scrappinginontario

GBRforWDW said:


> With all the skyliner talk from Pop, it looks like AoA is getting set to actually open on Nov 1, so that's going to double the skyliner line in the mornings.  Obviously, this is "speculation" until the doors open, but definitely something to keep in mind for those with November and later trips.


 opening AoA will increase lines for sure but AoA has about 900 less rooms than Pop so it won’t quite double the length of the line.


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## CinderellaDream

Eastern said:


> When you say, 'got a cab', do you mean Lyft or Uber? Wondering how available they are early in the morning.



It was a Mears yellow taxi cab.  We tried Lyft and Uber but no one was nearby that early so I asked a cast member to help and he called the taxi that was waiting out in the parking lot.


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## armerida

scrappinginontario said:


> opening AoA will increase lines for sure but AoA has about 900 less rooms than Pop so it won’t quite double the length of the line.


Can’t wait for AoA to open! We love it there - best cast members and love those cozy cones at the Cars pool!


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## Fitzwoman27

CinderellaDream said:


> It was a Mears yellow taxi cab.  We tried Lyft and Uber but no one was nearby that early so I asked a cast member to help and he called the taxi that was waiting out in the parking lot.


What do taxis and Ubers run in cost to the parks? Ball park


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## Broncho52

scrappinginontario said:


> opening AoA will increase lines for sure but AoA has about 900 less rooms than Pop so it won’t quite double the length of the line.


Hopefully maybe they will start to run busses with these resorts opening.


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## lmbcdb

Great day at EPCOT!

Left our room at Pop at 10:20. Short line to get on the Skyliner at Pop, super long when we had to get off at CBR and get back in line. Tapped the turnstiles at the International Gateway at 11:10. No lines to get in the gates.

Our plan was to eat lunch by walking around the World Showcase eating things we had already picked out ahead of time  This worked out well - the France/Japan/Morocco area was deserted. Finally saw people when we walked by the Frozen ride. (90 min, no thank you..Done the ride before, and no kids this trip)

We had:
Pork Sliders in Hawaii (yum)
guacamole with mango and pumpkin seeds in Mexico (double yum) and Fiesta margaritas
International showcase- charcuterie board (disappointing), Buffalo chicken Mac n cheese, (my husband said it was good) and nitro chocolate cake pops with crumbled Twix (super yum, big enough to split)

After we ate we headed towards rides (about 2:30).

Test Track posted 40 actual 12
3  caballeros posted 30 actual 10
Soarin posted 30 actual 12
Living w/Land posted 10 actual 3
Spaceship Earth posted  15 actual  20
Nemo walked on

The lines for the food booths weren’t long either - 5 minutes in Mexico and Hawaii, no waits in the International Showcase.

We spent more time in line for the Skyliner today than all the rides combined.

We had a 6:20 Teppan Edo reservation, so we walked to the Skyliner 50 minutes after park close. We still had to wait 30 minutes to get on the Skyliner at the International Gateway.  So, 50 minutes both coming and going.

Never felt crowded or unsafe. Great mask compliance- I think I only saw 5 noses all day.

It was definitely a little warm in the afternoon - I brought an umbrella like someone suggested, and it helped immensely. 

By the way, the best A/C in EPCOT is in the tea shop in England.


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## chicagodisfan

We just got back from a 6 night stay from Tuesday 10/6 - Monday 10/12, so a couple days before the holiday weekend and then the weekend itself. We are DVC and stayed at Saratoga Springs for the first time. It was the only resort with availability when we rescheduled our spring break trip but then we decided to keep it because we had read that it was nicely spread out with outside entrances so we thought it would be great for social distancing. We did get a rental car which is something we never do for our on-property stays but I’m really glad we did this time. Everyone was so helpful with their trip reports in the weeks before we went! Here are our experiences:

Tuesday, October 6 - Our flight arrived around 6:00 pm and MCO was a ghost town! Seriously, there were maybe a dozen people there! I wished O‘Hare was like that in Chicago but alas it felt busy and our United flight was full. Mask compliance on the flight was good. We had on both face masks and face shields and were the only ones on our flight to have both besides the attendants but I didn’t mind. We got our rental car and received our room notification while on the flight and learned that we had been upgraded to a preferred room in Congress Park! This was our first time at the resort and such a nice treat! We went straight to our room, dropped off our bags and walked to Disney Springs for dinner at Blaze pizza, which was excellent. Disney Springs was easy to navigate and while there were people there I wouldn‘t say it was crowded. The restaurant was pretty full so we opted to eat outside at a nice table by the water.

Wednesday, October 7 - Magic Kingdom. We aimed to get to the parking gate by 8:15 am but there are 5 of us and we ended up getting there at 8:25 am. Not bad, but not being used to driving we forgot to add in the time for parking, temperature check, security, and the ride from the TTC. A nice cast member tipped us off that if we were willing to break down our stroller, the bus was the way to go so we headed that way and waited less than 5 minutes when there was a substantial line forming for the ferry and monorail. We still made it in by around 8:50 am. We went straight to 7 Dwarfs Mine Train which was posting a 60 minute wait. We got Rider Swap for that as my youngest doesn’t like roller coasters. For those curious about how Rider Swap is working now, it goes right on your band and two others and is effective from after the posted wait time through the end of the day. I thought this way was ideal because then you don’t have to wait around the ride area with the little one for that one hour window to appear. You are only allowed to have one Rider Swap on your Magic Band at a time still. They actually waited about 45 minutes during which time DD and I did Peter Pan, Under the Sea and Haunted Mansion. All were walk on except for Haunted Mansion which was at a standstill for about 10 minutes when we got there and might have been at the tail end of a cleaning cycle. I thought mask compliance was excellent that day! I only saw maybe 2 noses all day and everyone kept their distance. We had lunch at Pecos Bills which was packed. Many thanks for the tip to mobile order early in the day and select a later arrival window! We made a late reservation at 5:55 pm for Skipper‘s Canteen for a 6:00pm close. It was our first indoor dining experience of this whole time and we felt good about the spacing of tables especially with being one of the last reservations and people starting to clear out. We did get the impression that they wanted us to move us along though, but they weren’t overly pushy and we enjoyed our meal.

Thursday, October 7 - Epcot. We specifically picked Epcot for a non-weekend day and I’m really glad we did after reading others’ trip reports. We were in the park by 10:30 am for an 11:00 am open and went straight to Soarin’ which was essentially a walk on. ( Wait was mostly the time it took to get through the queue.) Next to Spaceship Earth which looked long but was at most 15 minutes and then did Seas and Imagination which were both the time it took to walk through the queue but did have posted wait times of around 30 minutes each. Test Track was down so we headed to World Showcase. At that point, there was a line just to get in the Mexico pavilion apart from the ride. That took about 15 minutes with another 10-15 minute wait for the ride inside. I had read horror stories about an hour long wait to get inside the pavilion itself so we considered ourselves lucky! As an aside, the Smoky mango margarita at the festival booth is delicious! We decided that we wanted to do the Remy Scavenger Hunt and I backtracked to the Festival tent to buy the maps. With the AP/DVC discount it was a great deal and all my kids (even my teenager) had a blast looking for him! And we liked the prizes too. We tried to eat around the booths for lunch but it was hard with the heat and all the walking. I finally sat everyone down in the relaxation station at Akershus, which was a total lifesaver, and delivered food to them from as many close by booths as I could. Dinner was supposed to be at Spice Road Table, more about that below. Again, mask compliance was excellent and there was plenty of room to walk around everyone.

Friday, October 9 - Hollywood Studios. This was the start of the holiday weekend but the Studios was filled each day of our trip so I don’t really think that made much difference. We drove and were at the parking gates by 9:15 and at the tapstiles by 9:40 am. I was beyond impressed by how organized the entry procedure is for that many people all trying to enter at the same time. There was a line for temperature screening and the whole thing with security and tap stiles took minutes! My husband had the stroller and that maybe added another minute or two to our time. It was really a well oiled machine. We headed to MMRR first but by that point the line was posted at 105 minutes and they had already closed it for social distancing purposes.   I had read so many reports about HS being awful and I had really low expectations for our day, but it actually was pretty great. The only disappointment was that we didn’t get a boarding group for ROTR at 10 or 2 and that really bummed out my sons and husband. But thankfully we had been right when it opened in December and got to ride it then (twice for the boys with rider swap). I think we might have had some technical difficulty because we were able to hit join, pick our party and then it just spun and spun before gettting the “something went wrong” message repeatedly. My husband and I were in two different sections of the park and the same thing happened to both of us. I was at Smuggler’s Run with my sons and we were able to walk on to that afterwards, then do TSMM with a 15-20 minute wait ( posted 50). The wait times were weirdly inconsistent that day. We waited at least half an hour for the Muppets (!) when the posted wait was 19 (Touring Plans had it at 24) and then later in the day Star Tours was posted at 60 with Touring Plans having it at 12. I thought there was no way TP could be that far off and we took a chance and they were right and it was right at 13. We went back to MMRR later in the afternoon with a posted 60 minute wait and it was about that. The line wasn’t bad at all though. It was almost all outside and there was a rain shower that cooled everything off while we were there. We could even see one of the calvacades in the distance. We loved the ride and I came back with my daughter at 6:45 pm for a 7:00 pm close while my husband and sons went to Slinky Dog. It took 38 minutes from start of line until we were off and they were done before us! This was the first day I saw any mask non-compliance. There was a nice young couple behind us at TSMM that I started chatting with and then noticed that his mask was only covering his mouth. A lot of that line is inside so I started edging back to my distancing marker then. And both times at MMRR we had families behind us in line that ate a full meal of snacks while waiting - pretzels, beer, popcorn you name it. That was all during the outside portion of the line so we really weren’t all that bothered by it. Just mentioning in case that might bother anyone. I have to say that with the park being at capacity and with decent lines, it was still remarkably easy to get around. I never felt that the walkways were crowded. Actually, sometimes they were down right empty!

Saturday, October 10 - Animal Kingdom. We closed out the pool at Saratoga Friday night and didn‘t even try to get there for opening at 8:00:am. We got there closer to 11:00 am and the Pandora rides already had significant waits so we headed to the Safari which had a posted wait of 50 minutes with an actual wait of 30 and would have been shorter but the trucks had a technical problem that paused the line for 10 minutes. We split up a bit and everyone ended up doing everything they wanted to do - both animal trails, both Pandora rides, Kali, Everest, bird show. We ordered our mobile order for Santu‘li Canteen at 12:15 with the earliest window being 12:45 pm. That was fine because we were on the animal trail at the time but when we got there and hit the “I’m here” button it took them over half an hour to make our food. There were literally people everywhere. The park was rated a 6 on Touring Plans that day for the holiday weekend and that was the first time we had felt it. When I asked a CM about it they told me that they had paused making orders because the was nowhere for people to sit. So that part wasn’t ideal but our meal was delicious and worth the wait. We didn’t feel unsafe really, it was just impossible to find somewhere to go as there were people standing everywhere. We finally waited in the Pandora store in the a/c and opted to eat outside in the shade when our food was finally ready.

Sunday, October 11 - Magic Kingdom. We went back to the Magic Kingdom and between the holiday weekend and the longer hours, I was expecting it to be awful and instead it was great. We found out that morning that they moved up the opening time to 8 am but we were already planning on being there at 8:15 am for a 9:00 am opening and it was too late to move that up so that it what we did. We went to Splash this time and got in the line at 8:45 am and even with the park being open for 45 minutes already we only waited 13 minutes. Then we did BTMRR and Pirates each with about a 20 minute wait. We were hoping to make it to Tom Sawyer‘s Island when the afternoon lines built but it was closed all day for work on the river which was disappointing. Instead my kids played several rounds of Sorcerers from Frontierland and Liberty Square which allowed us to see all the calvacades that we had missed which was great fun!

Monday, October 12 - Epcot. Our flight left at 4:30 pm and we needed to pack and check out so we only had about 3 hours at Epcot. But in that time we did Soarin, Test Track, Spaceship Earth and had lunch so we were happy. Soarin was posted 50 at 11:15 am when we got in line and climbed to 90 right after. We waited 40. When we went back to Seasons for lunch at 2 pm it was down to 20 minutes. Test Track was posted 65 at noon, we waited 40 and that is with a cleaning cycle. Spaceship Earth was posted 35 and was a walk on. We timed it and it was literally 3 minutes. 

Here are some of our overall thoughts that I hope will help with planning:

Dining - This was the biggest challenge of the trip. We love Disney dining and feel like it’s an attraction in itself. With limited offerings, dinner reservations are imperative if you want to make sure you eat in the parks. With shortened hours we tried to make reservations at park closing but that didn’t really work out well for us. At Skipper’s Canteen we felt a bit rushed. At Spice Road our reservation was for 20 minutes before close and after ordering, receiving our appetizer and waiting an hour they told us and another family that were seated after us that the kitchen had closed 10 minutes before we were seated and had never filled our order. I’m not exactly sure how that happened especially when we had received an appetizer but the manager clearly felt horrible and did all she could to make it right. They threw just about every cold appetizer plate they still had at us that they could and comped our drinks and app but we still ended up having to get something for our kids at the resort quick service at 9 pm. Thankfully it didn’t close until 10. We had a 5:15 pm reservation at Yak n Yeti for a 6 pm close at AK and got stuck on the safari. My husband was able to check us in but they told him that the kitchen closed at 5:30 pm so I had to check the menu and text him our order from the ride and then come rushing in worrying the whole time we wouldn’t have anywhere to eat. As far as safety, we felt good at all the restaurants. In addition to those mentioned, we ate at Sci Fi and Be Our Guest. There was a couple at the next car but down a row at Sci Fi. The tables were very spaced out at Be Our Guest. Spice Road we asked to be seated outside and Yak and Yeti there were only three tables dining besides us and we were all spread out.

Photopass - I’ve seen people asking whether Photopass is worth it with masks and I would say definitely yes! We saw more photographers than we’ve seen on any trip and they were bringing it! Multiple poses and almost every one had a Magic Shot with tons of Halloween themed ones! So fun! We got pictures from several places that we never had before and so many fun Magic Shots. Most were great and did them on their own but a few I asked nicely if they had them and if they did they would do one.

Calvacades - We loved them! I just wished we knew when they were coming (which I know would defeat the purpose). We were able to see them all in the MK, mostly because my kids were playing Sorcerers in Frontierland and Liberty Square. They must do the princess one more often because we saw that 5 times over 2 days! We only saw one at Epcot which was very short and we were in World Showcase all afternoon. Never saw Anna and Elsa which was a bummer. We just saw one at the Studios and none at Animal Kingdom, although we weren’t trying too hard at either because we only had one day at each.

Lines/social distancing/mask compliance - Overall we thought this was very good. There were a few instances where I felt uncomfortable. The line for Mickey’s Philharmagic is a mess. There weren’t enough markings outside so everyone was all scrunched up and once inside when it’s clear you’ve missed the seating for the show, everyone sat down and a bunch of masks came off. Same at Test Track while inside during the cleaning cycle. I thought we must have bad luck to have groups near us that took off masks both times but then I looked around and could see at least 5 groups throughout the line that had done the same. Ironically, I feel like inside during a stationary waiting time is when you need masks the most. I was able to side eye the people closest to us into partial compliance. As an FYI Small World’s line is almost all outside and scorching. I would try to do that when it’s not the middle of the day. In contrast, Splash’s line is mostly shaded and wasn’t bad at all.

Overall, we had a great trip. I’m glad we went and since we used DVC points and got APs for the first time last year, it wasn’t a huge expense. However, I’m not sure I would go right now if we had to pay for tickets. The 6 pm close feels really early. The 8 pm close felt like we had more park time but definitely shorter than we are used to. We did swim after the parks closed one night and played mini golf another and both were a lot of fun. I really missed the liveliness of the World Showcase and Animal Kingdom. It feels very different without the cast members and entertainment. In any event, we’ll be back in March for one more trip with our AP’s and hopefully a few more things will be open.


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## soup23

Got back from quick weekend trip with two park days. We did MK on Saturday the 10th and DHS on Sunday the 11th. I agree with much of the sentiment here that MK is a chore currently. This starts with the long bus line at POP. We arrived at the bus area about 7:45 ( 75 minutes before opening) but was not on a bus until about 8:20. We got into MK by 8:50 and that led to SDMT being at a 70 minute wait. We were able to do Pooh, Peter Pan and Small World without much problem but then got in a 15 minute wait for the Carousel and ended up waiting over 40 minutes. This plateaued things as now we were pushing 11:00 AM and had long waits for everything attributed by the 25 minute wait for Under the Sea. After lunch the long waits continued with 15-30 minutes for Buzz, Dumbo, Barnstormer and Speedway. With it pushing 4:00 now and the heat blistering down, we got lucky with Jungle Cruise only being 25 minutes. We then finished the night with HM and Pirates both at about 45 minutes a piece. Overall, a rough day and we left the park at 6:30 taking no breaks minus lunch and riding none of the three mountains and SDMT.

Hollywood Studios was much better even with the waits. Luck of course runs into that. I took a peak at the Skyliner line at 7;30 and it was already backed up to the 50"s building  at POP. We decided to drive and timed it well where we arrived at the gate at 8:50. We were one of the first 200 cars in and was in Slinky Line by  9:20. We were off SLinky by 9:40 and did TSMM and AS2 before the Rise drop at 10. We scored boarding group 6 and was immediately called for RISE. Rise was done and then we watched the Frozen show. That set us up nicely for lunch at 12:00 at Backlot Express. After lunch we were able to do Star Tours (20 minutes), Tower (30 minutes), TSMM (20 minutes) and Runaway Railway (50 minutes on 70 minutes posted wait). That put the clock at 5:00 and me and my oldest then did TSMM a 3rd time, Smugglers Run (15 minute wait), Slinky (45 minute wait) and Runaway right at 6:55 (ended up waiting about 25 minutes). I know a lot hinged on getting the great boarding group but it did feel like 50 minutes for the new attraction in Runaway Railway was more "acceptable" than 50 minutes for Pirates at around the same time.

Some more stray thoughts:

1. Service is always subjective but I did feel like we had more "misses" this trip than is usual at Disney. Due to a death in the family, I had to fly down on Friday while my family drove. This caused me to make a last minute DME reservation on the Thursday before. We didn't have our magic bands yet and I got a lot of pushback from the DME attendee when I arrived even after I explained the situation to them. I also understand that the ride operators inside the parks are dealing with more stress with compliance and line configuration but there was certainly less fond waves goodbye and less interaction while boarding/unloading that differentiate Disney in the past. In addition, the practices at the quick service location were widely inconsistent. Pinnochio's wouldn't let me get an extra water cup without an active order but Backlot Express drink station was a free for all where you just asked what drink you wanted. That isn't to say we didn't also receive excellent service in some areas. The Skyliner cast members were great and engaging throughout. The bell hop services did an excellent job of transporting our luggage into our room when my wife and children arrived and we also had a helpful member for management at RIse that assisted our travelling companions when they had a glitch on their phone obtaining a boarding group. So overall things were fine if just a bit too uneven.

2. Lunch at MK is tough without Crystal Palace and Columbia Harbor being open. You really see how the capacity of two restaurants being closed can throw things off throughout the park as the line outside of Pinocchio was a crowded mess of being watching their mobile order timer. Again at DHS, with nearly everything being open now that Commissary was back, we were into Backlot Express within five minutes of hitting the "im Here" button.

Overall, we had an enjoyable trip and travelling with some first timers, they had a great time too and are ready to plan again so that is a win. I kept thinking to myself if this was my first trip, I don't know if it would have made the same impact as I kept telling my wife it felt like 70% Disney. That is enough for me to fill up my tank for the next trip.


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## MomOTwins

Kind of shocked at the report of in-park restaurants closing kitchens and refusing to serve guests with reservations near the park close time. When I was a waitress in college, if you made it to the host stand 1 minute before closing time, you were fed (this happened more often than you would think).  How can they let you reserve a table for a time they are not serving food?


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## Eastern

Fitzwoman27 said:


> What do taxis and Ubers run in cost to the parks? Ball park


Haven't used to parks but we've used resort to resort and Lyft ran about $10-12 (plus tip)  Everything is pretty close together so it shouldn't be bad. Now if you had to wait for a park to open I don't know how that would work in terms of cost. You can put your trip in a cost estimator online. I would do it duing the time of day you plan on going.

The problem with Lyft/Uber is that if you are calling in really early or during peak times the wait for a ride can be longer than expected.


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## yulilin3

MomOTwins said:


> Kind of shocked at the report of in-park restaurants closing kitchens and refusing to serve guests with reservations near the park close time. When I was a waitress in college, if you made it to the host stand 1 minute before closing time, you were fed (this happened more often than you would think).  How can they let you reserve a table for a time they are not serving food?


that sounds like a fluke and not the norm as no one else ahs reported that happening to them, not here or on other blogs


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## nkereina

Can someone outline (or point me to a post) the current temperature screening and bag check process? Are these two separate checkpoints? I think I read that they are not checking bags, but rather, you walk through a metal detector with your bag? We'll be visiting for the first time in two weeks, so just would like to understand the lay of the land. Thanks!


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## yulilin3

nkereina said:


> Can someone outline (or point me to a post) the current temperature screening and bag check process? Are these two separate checkpoints? I think I read that they are not checking bags, but rather, you walk through a metal detector with your bag? We'll be visiting for the first time in two weeks, so just would like to understand the lay of the land. Thanks!


temp screen first
bag check at DHS and AK is through scanner, you carry everything in your bag and hold in your hands any metal objects (umbrellas, phone chargers, gimbals, metal water bottles or sunglass cases
MK and Epcot carry everything in bag and metal objects put in bucket
both styles are walk through so no waiting at all, IF the metal detector goes off they escort you to a separate table where they check your bag manually


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## kittylady1972

nkereina said:


> Can someone outline (or point me to a post) the current temperature screening and bag check process? Are these two separate checkpoints? I think I read that they are not checking bags, but rather, you walk through a metal detector with your bag? We'll be visiting for the first time in two weeks, so just would like to understand the lay of the land. Thanks!



They are different stops but generally somewhat of a similar line flow depending on the park.  You will always have to walk through the temperature check tent first, generally several lines for that, they go pretty quickly.  After that, you get to the bag check line and as long as you don't have any large metallic objects (umbrellas, metal water bottles, sunscreen spray bottles) you can keep your bags with you and walk right through.  If you have those objects, you will have to take them out before going through.  It flows very welll for the most part!


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## CinderellaDream

Fitzwoman27 said:


> What do taxis and Ubers run in cost to the parks? Ball park


From YC to CR the cost was about $18 including tip.


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## djmeredith

We are at DHS and we were the first family in the park! We could’ve walked on MMRR but the kids insisted we do MFSR first so we are second in line for it to start at 9:30.

We walked over from Dolphin and arrived at the “holding area” around 8:00 am. There were already about 5 or 6 families waiting. There are 2 lines, you def want to be in the LEFT and stay to the far left when they walk you to temp screening. They led us to temp screening around 8:45 and then held us there until about 9:00. When they started temp screening, cars were yet arriving and I don’t think people were arriving by Skyliner yet even.


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## Moliphino

yulilin3 said:


> temp screen first
> bag check at DHS and AK is through scanner, you carry everything in your bag and hold in your hands any metal objects (umbrellas, phone chargers, gimbals, metal water bottles or sunglass cases
> MK and Epcot carry everything in bag and metal objects put in bucket
> both styles are walk through so no waiting at all, IF the metal detector goes off they escort you to a separate table where they check your bag manually



At Epcot International Gateway entrance security is the same as at DHS and AK. Just walk through, no buckets.


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## AmishGuy91

djmeredith said:


> We are at DHS and we were the first family in the park! We could’ve walked on MMRR but the kids insisted we do MFSR first so we are second in line for it to start at 9:30.
> 
> We walked over from Dolphin and arrived at the “holding area” around 8:00 am. There were already about 5 or 6 families waiting. There are 2 lines, you def want to be in the LEFT and stay to the far left when they walk you to temp screening. They led us to temp screening around 8:45 and then held us there until about 9:00. When they started temp screening, cars were yet arriving and I don’t think people were arriving by Skyliner yet even.



For future reference, we were on the 6th car or so of MMRR, then went to MFSR which was still a walk-on and we were done 12 minutes before 10am.


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## lovethattink

Yesterday was the first time we spent a full day at a park. DS brought a friend on a comp ticket we were given for a tv show we did at MK in January. The TTC was super busy. Long lines for the ferry, monorail, and bus to MK. We chose monorail and waited a little over 20 minutes. They had many monorails on the track so the line moved quickly.

There were plenty of taps stiles open and we walked right up to one without any wait.

We ate breakfast at home and decided on lunch at 3pm. So glad we did that. Cosmic Rays and Pecos Bills were super crowded around noon, outside the restaurants with people making or waiting for orders. Cosmic Rays had people lined out to the speedway waiting on their orders.

One in our party had multiple food allergies. I asked a cm if I could order online or if I needed to order in person. Cm asked a manager who said to go inside. And that the entrance for in person order was on the opposite side of the building. So he escorted us inside, filled out a yellow ticket and had us stand in a line at the register.

Waiting for that register is inconvenient and time consuming. Only 1 side of the register is open. It’s definitely beneficial and time saving to order on the app if you can.

We did zig zag touring. Looking at the app and going to attractions with lower wait times. Walked 8 miles.

After 3pm, there were more attractions with shorter waits. We decided next time we go to MK we’re going after 3pm. Got much more done those last 3 hours and crowds seemed to thin out a bit.


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## armerida

AmishGuy91 said:


> For future reference, we were on the 6th car or so of MMRR, then went to MFSR which was still a walk-on and we were done 12 minutes before 10am.


How recently was this? We had similar luck in August, walked over from Swan, but it seems more people are getting there early now and crowds are bigger?


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## AmishGuy91

armerida said:


> How recently was this? We had similar luck in August, walked over from Swan, but it seems more people are getting there early now and crowds are bigger?





armerida said:


> How recently was this? We had similar luck in August, walked over from Swan, but it seems more people are getting there early now and crowds are bigger?



Sat Sept 26.  On Sept 22, we did MMRR then SDD and the timeline was about the same.


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## djmeredith

AmishGuy91 said:


> For future reference, we were on the 6th car or so of MMRR, then went to MFSR which was still a walk-on and we were done 12 minutes before 10am.


Yes, I knew that and tried to tell the kids (3 teens) that but they were having none of it. So I chose not to pick that battle.
We rode MFSR twice as walk on and then got BG 4!


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## only hope

scrappinginontario said:


> opening AoA will increase lines for sure but AoA has about 900 less rooms than Pop so it won’t quite double the length of the line.



AoA is mostly suites though.


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## scrappinginontario

only hope said:


> AoA is mostly suites though.


Yes, but only 1 party is boarding a single gondola so whether a party is 1 person or 8, they will normally all fit in a gondola together.  In most cases, all people staying in the same suite will be loaded into a single gondola.


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## chicagodisfan

MomOTwins said:


> Kind of shocked at the report of in-park restaurants closing kitchens and refusing to serve guests with reservations near the park close time. When I was a waitress in college, if you made it to the host stand 1 minute before closing time, you were fed (this happened more often than you would think).  How can they let you reserve a table for a time they are not serving food?



That was us and we were really surprised too! I think there was a miscommunication with the kitchen or something was amiss the night that we were there. Our reservation was at 6:35 pm for a 7:00 pm close. My husband checked us in as I was getting the Remy prizes with the kids. We got there and were seated at 6:45 pm. When the manager came over to tell us the news, she first said that it might have been because we were late to our reservation which I took issue with because it was only 10 minutes and 15 minutes before closing. The other family was seated at least 10 minutes after us so I don’t think that could’ve been it. Our server came over later to apologize and said that wasn’t it and it shouldn’t have happened. We got the impression that the kitchen isn’t there but maybe over at Marrekesh and that created part of the issue?! They had earlier told us that they couldn’t serve us our Brie appetizer because they ran out of bread but then 5 minutes later out it came with a French baguette so maybe there was just something off that night there. I’m not saying this to trash the restaurant in any way! Like I said they were beyond apologetic and in addition to comping our drinks and app, they gave us about 6 containers filled with cold appetizers, one of desserts, ice cream for the kids, a bottle of wine and a split of champagne from France! My vegetarian teenage son was thrilled! It was just my younger kids I still needed to feed. It almost became humorous as they dropped more and more to go containers on our table and the table of the family next to us. It was impossible to be upset when they were trying so hard to make it right. I mention it just as a potential pitfall of an end of the day reservation even if it is a one-off. 

Yak and Yeti was completely our fault and they still took our full order from my husband (delivered via text), served us all our food and everything was great. I just know in the past that we’ve been stuck on a ride or Disney transportation and showed up a little late and been accommodated without a problem or maybe with just a short wait. But in these new times I think arriving at or near your reservation time is imperative especially if eating at the end of the day with an early park closure. 

Skippers Canteen we literally had the last reservation of the night 5 minutes before park close and it was no issue at all, besides us feeling like we needed to finish up (but that’s on us).


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## brockash

Yesterday mine train and splash were down at opening at MK and today at Epcot at least TT is down...pretty frustrating.  I'll do more detailed report once we get back but it's definitely more crowded than when we were here over LD.  Waiting for lines in the sun is NOT fun...we waited an hr  Philarmagic yesterday.   Glad were here but I think our next trip will be a resort only stay. 

We waited 50 mins at park opening (got in line at 1045) for frozen, 5 min wait mexico boat ride and now at soarin which looks to b at least an hr wait as we started in the exitish area...never done that before....it's definitely crowded.


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## NashvilleMama

Eastern said:


> The problem with Lyft/Uber is that if you are calling in really early or during peak times the wait for a ride can be longer than expected.



A quick way to avoid this, at least in the mornings is to schedule your Lyft ride the night before. It allows you to pick a window and reserve it, and we've never had a problem with them showing up right on time that way.


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## jimbostacks

Hey Team...thanks for the feedback on earlier visits, just completed a weekend at Copper Creek/Wilderness Lodge.  Will make my points in bullets

 - Flying - Southwest to MCO very well managed and controlled with open middle seats, American Airline back was brutal- as if Covid never happened except for masks, packed flight, and herding on and off plane...I am not too concerned about Covid - but definitely made me "pause" and think WTH?
 - Copper Creek was great, Geyser Point great, Roaring Fork mobile ordering easy and convenient, pools pretty empty on Sunday..just overall good experience, but definitely empty and missed some of the noise.
- HS Saturday - took uber over to Boardwalk at 8'ish and walked over on path, arrived at about 8:40'ish, Line forming and glad we arrived early as the busses, skyline, and eventually cars were allowed to come in - line was very long.  They let us in at 9:10 and went to MMRR and was off ride by 9:30am and headed to Rock and Roll and was off that ride by 9:50am.  
- Everyone right before 10am were huddled on their phones and we were lucky and received a Boarding group number 51 - which came too about 3:30pm.
 - We loved both Star Wars rides, longest wait of day was Slinky Dog before closing for 55 minutes.  Rode everything, and used Muppets, Walt Disney movie for breaks, and glad the Frozen sing along was back open as wife loves that show.
- We found the lines no less accurate than before....Smugglers run was less than advertised, and Slinky was longer.
- Enjoyed the Baseline Tap House for pretzel and beer, we did Prime Time 50's (old favorite), it was good, just felt "eerie" with the masks, and minimum amount of people and bar closed - too quiet.
- Other...this was my first time wearing a mask for a long amount of time, and I definitely had mask fatigue - bless those who have been doing all day every day!  I thought mask adherence was good...maybe 95%.... in the long lines there are always a couple of people eating and doing their own thing...just avoid them if that bothers you.  CM's were asking for people to wear mask correctly, only place that was tough were the winding long lines.
- Busses and Skyliner were good and felt safe and no issues.

All in all good, but too short of a trip...kind of a  sample run for our Christmas trip.


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## Elle23

jimbostacks said:


> Hey Team...thanks for the feedback on earlier visits, just completed a weekend at Copper Creek/Wilderness Lodge.  Will make my points in bullets
> 
> - Flying - Southwest to MCO very well managed and controlled with open middle seats, American Airline back was brutal- as if Covid never happened except for masks, packed flight, and herding on and off plane...I am not too concerned about Covid - but definitely made me "pause" and think WTH?
> - Copper Creek was great, Geyser Point great, Roaring Fork mobile ordering easy and convenient, pools pretty empty on Sunday..just overall good experience, but definitely empty and missed some of the noise.
> - HS Saturday - took uber over to Boardwalk at 8'ish and walked over on path, arrived at about 8:40'ish, Line forming and glad we arrived early as the busses, skyline, and eventually cars were allowed to come in - line was very long.  They let us in at 9:10 and went to MMRR and was off ride by 9:30am and headed to Rock and Roll and was off that ride by 9:50am.
> - Everyone right before 10am were huddled on their phones and we were lucky and received a Boarding group number 51 - which came too about 3:30pm.
> - We loved both Star Wars rides, longest wait of day was Slinky Dog before closing for 55 minutes.  Rode everything, and used Muppets, Walt Disney movie for breaks, and glad the Frozen sing along was back open as wife loves that show.
> - We found the lines no less accurate than before....Smugglers run was less than advertised, and Slinky was longer.
> - Enjoyed the Baseline Tap House for pretzel and beer, we did Prime Time 50's (old favorite), it was good, just felt "eerie" with the masks, and minimum amount of people and bar closed - too quiet.
> - Other...this was my first time wearing a mask for a long amount of time, and I definitely had mask fatigue - bless those who have been doing all day every day!  I thought mask adherence was good...maybe 95%.... in the long lines there are always a couple of people eating and doing their own thing...just avoid them if that bothers you.  CM's were asking for people to wear mask correctly, only place that was tough were the winding long lines.
> - Busses and Skyliner were good and felt safe and no issues.
> 
> All in all good, but too short of a trip...kind of a  sample run for our Christmas trip.



Did you need a breakfast reservation to Uber to the Boardwalk? Or is it separate from the hotel?


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## dachsie

Elle23 said:


> Did you need a breakfast reservation to Uber to the Boardwalk? Or is it separate from the hotel?


You will need a reservation but you can get the Uber to drop you at the Speedway next door


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## summerlvr

djmeredith said:


> We are at DHS and we were the first family in the park! We could’ve walked on MMRR but the kids insisted we do MFSR first so we are second in line for it to start at 9:30.
> 
> We walked over from Dolphin and arrived at the “holding area” around 8:00 am. There were already about 5 or 6 families waiting. There are 2 lines, you def want to be in the LEFT and stay to the far left when they walk you to temp screening. They led us to temp screening around 8:45 and then held us there until about 9:00. When they started temp screening, cars were yet arriving and I don’t think people were arriving by Skyliner yet even.


How long did it take you to walk from Dolphin if you don't mind me asking? Will be there next month. Thanks!


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## armerida

summerlvr said:


> How long did it take you to walk from Dolphin if you don't mind me asking? Will be there next month. Thanks!


Should take you around 20 minutes. Took us just over 15 from Swan, and Dolphin is just a little bit further.


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## summerlvr

armerida said:


> Should take you around 20 minutes. Took us just over 15 from Swan, and Dolphin is just a little bit further.





armerida said:


> Should take you around 20 minutes. Took us just over 15 from Swan, and Dolphin is just a little bit further.


Thank you!


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## teach22180

I have a few thoughts from today at AK. 1st I wanted to mention that they are handling strollers different at the safari because I have not seen that mentioned here. There's a stroller parking area in the main part of Africa so the cast members don't have to touch them. At rope drop they were loading the cars only every other row But at 3 o'clock in the afternoon they were loading every row. 
The waits were incorrect. Everest said 45 and was 15. Dino said 30 and was also 15. FOP said 45 and was every minute of it. That queue is tight and I almost left in the middle because no one was distancing and the group in front had poor mask wearing. But we started moving again and I stuck it out. I always fp, so enjoyed seeing the queue.


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## djmeredith

summerlvr said:


> How long did it take you to walk from Dolphin if you don't mind me asking? Will be there next month. Thanks!


Glad to answer! I am very thankful for all the tips I got here so I’m happy to pay it forward. I forgot to time it but I would estimate It took about 15ish minutes at a quick pace.


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## Alpengeist04

A quick rundown from today at DHS...
I arrived at 1:10pm, left 7:55pm.  I was able to get BP 122 at 2:00pm.

Star Tours- Posted 30 mins/waited 20 mins
Alien Swirl- Posted 30 mins/waited 25 mins with cleaning
Toy Story- Posted 35 mins/waited 20 mins
Tower of Terror-Posted 45 mins/waited 35 mins
R n’ RC-Posted 55 mins/waited 45 mins with cleaning
Millennium Falcon-Posted 55 mins/waited 35 mins
Slinky Dog- Posted 60 mins/waited 45 mins with cleaning
RotR- boarding pass 122/ BP called at 6:58pm, headed out of the park at 7:55pm.

Micky&Minnie- Posted 60-90 mins all afternoon/ did not ride, not enough time.

I have been to DHS 4 times since Sept 1st.  All 4 times arriving in the PM, twice on a Tuesday and twice on a Wednesday.  I have been able to get a BP and ride 3 out of 4 times.  The magic number for me seems to be 40.  Every time the boarding number was above 40 by 2pm, I have gotten a BP.  The one time I didn’t was when they were only on BP 26 at 2pm.

Edit:While I’m not thrilled about some of the increased wait times on the popular rides over at DHS, I do have to give major props to the cast members there.  Especially at RotR, where they really kicked butt tonight making sure everyone with a boarding pass was able to ride even after 7pm.  I can’t thank them enough.


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## Elle23

dachsie said:


> You will need a reservation but you can get the Uber to drop you at the Speedway next door



Thanks!


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## lmbcdb

We had a very successful day at Hollywood Studios. The only reason for this is this thread and the Disboards.

Park opening time - 10:00.

We called a Lyft at 8:15, it arrived at 8:30 and took us to the Speedway near the Boardwalk. I went in and got a Coke and we walked over to the park. Got in line at 9:00, probably 100 people back

Line started moving at 9:05 for temp screening. Moved VERY quickly, no line at a far right turnstile, tapped in and went straight to MMRR. We were in line at 9:15. Already snaking around the plaza. 25 minute wait, constantly moving.

We then headed to Galaxy’s Edge, all the way back to the Falcon. It was 9:55, so we stood outside the entrance to MFSR. Turned off location settings, we both tried for a group and got group 40. (Got called at 12:30.)

Literally walked on MFSR. When we got off the wait was 60 minutes.

At this point we walked around taking pictures ang going in shops. There was a 20 min wait for the marketplace, and only 1 person could go in a shop at a time.

We had lunch  and dinner at Docking Bay 7. The atmosphere was great - food was so-so. (My husband ordered better at dinner - said the pot roast was good)

Our boarding group was called for ROTR at 12:30. I had not read/watched anything about the ride (on purpose) and I was absolutely floored. We could’ve gone back to the room at that point and I would’ve been happy.

We then went to Star Tours - posted 30, waited 15. We hadn’t seen the scenes with the new characters from the recent movies, so that was nice.

Went back to Galaxy’s Edge for our 2:00 Oga’s reservation. Nice break, good drinks and food.

We then went down to RnR and ToT.
ToT - posted 50, waited 25.
RnR - posted 50, waited 34.
Two of my favorite rides, so I didn’t mind waiting. However, the sun was definitely a beat down out in the street. I took an umbrella like someone suggested, and it helped immensely. (Temp was 87, feels like 93)

We went back to Docking Bay 7 for dinner because we wanted a/c. Few choices for dinner.

We then went to the relaxation station in GE and collapsed for 30 minutes.

I had scheduled us a 6:50 droid appointment on purpose so we could see GE at night and get some pictures without people.

So totally worth it - check out the awesome pictures I got.





 Skyliner was only a 15 min wait back to Pop..for all the great advice, everyone!


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## bigrooster81

Incredible Photos! ^^^


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## emily nicole

lmbcdb said:


> We called a Lyft at 8:15, it arrived at 8:30 and took us to the Speedway near the Boardwalk. I went in and got a Coke and we walked over to the park. Got in line at 9:00, probably 100 people back



Thanks for sharing your strategy! We're booked at Pop for this December and think we'll try this on our DHS day. Is it pretty easy to figure out where to go from the Speedway? No crossing busy roads or anything like that?


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## emsstacey

We had our Lyft scheduled days before and had to cancel due to 3 different drivers missing the turn to Pop.  I ended up using Uber.  I would be prepared and have both.  It was a mess but we still got to Boardwalk in plenty of time for breakfast.  Also, FYI, the guard did not ask anything about a reservation, the uber driver simply showed his credentials and we were let through.


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## Befferk

emily nicole said:


> Thanks for sharing your strategy! We're booked at Pop for this December and think we'll try this on our DHS day. Is it pretty easy to figure out where to go from the Speedway? No crossing busy roads or anything like that?



If you zoom in on Google maps, you can actually see the trail. It goes under the bridge..


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## AmishGuy91

Befferk said:


> If you zoom in on Google maps, you can actually see the trail. It goes under the bridge..



I had Uber drop me off right at the intersection where "Blvd" is in Epcot Resorts Blvd.  Saves a couple of minutes from being dropped off at Speedway


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## crazy_for_the_dis

Waiting at MCO for my flight home.  Good trip, but I think I will wait for FP to come back before returning.  We were thinking March, but that will be the deciding factor. The heat was bad.  Some key points:

HS day was great.  Took an Uber from Riviera to Speedway at 7:45.  Walked from there, and there were maybe 50 -75 people in front of us, I. Two lines.  They let us up to the temp gates around 8:45.  Since the 2 lines broke up to the various tents, we were the 3rd group by our tent.  We were all the way to the right, which worked out for us.  They started the temps around 9:14.  We went straight to MMRT which they had running, and we were the second or third train of the day!  We could have gone to slinky dog which would have been the right choice, but we were too scared to miss the 10 am boarding group try, so we walked on Toy Story mania, got off at 9:53, and got boarding group 7 in the outdoor exit area for that ride on a bench.  Could not have scripted a better morning.  Had 2 reservations for Oga’s. One in the morning one in the afternoon and both times were great reprieves from the heat.  Drinks were great.  Would 100% plan it this way again.  Built a droid and did Savi’s.  In the afternoon, RnR was long, longer than posted, and TOT was brutal in the heat.  Saw (and heard groups sitting next to me) plan abuses of the DAS.  This is another reason we won’t be going back until FP are back.  Without having FP as an option, let’s just say people are getting creative in ways to make their days manageable.   Overall our day here was great though.   

Lunch at BOG at MK was great.  Hope they keep it this way.  Reservations were completely full as we tried moving ours up and couldn’t so the price and choices aren’t deterring anyone.  With tip and wine, was close to a $300 lunch for 3 people but very worth it.

AK had the worst mask compliance.  In line for EE, one family had a teen that did not wear a mask the entire time.  She pretended to be drinking the whole 40 minutes.  She was reminded once by CM which she put it up they took it down and complaining what I can’t have a drink?  They were not stationary, and at one point she backtracked in line without her mask to try to get other members of their party to cut in line but they didn’t.  We were on the same ride, and she wore it to get on the ride as soon as it started, she took off her mask the entire ride, actually had it on her hand up in the air.  Girl was roughly 13 or 14.  The rest of the family also snacked, actually eating and drinking,  the entire line, but attempted to raise their masks at least halfway up when done.  Was the worst experience we saw with masks the whole trip.  Was our first time since Pandora opened, which was ok, but I could take-or leave AK, not my favorite park.  But lunch at Yak and Yeti was amazing, and would come to this park just for that alone.

Again, had a great time and never felt unsafe, and am not scared of covid in any way.  But like to see people complying with rule.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

I've been doing a lot of thinking about RD on our first DHS day (two scheduled).  Galaxy's Edge is the biggest reason for our visit.  Even though it might mean having to wait longer for MMRR and/or SDD if we wait until later to do those, I've been thinking about taking an approach I've often used in other parks in the past, "zig when they zag."

By that I mean: let the hoards head to MMRR and SDD and we go directly to SWGE.  If feasible, I'd like to work our way through SWGE at a relatively leisurely pace (even if that means some others are moving ahead of us) to enjoy the scenery on our way to MF:SR and then shop, etc. there while waiting for a BG.

So my question is: are lots of people going directly to MF:SR in the morning (I keep reading reports of walk-on or less than 30 minute waits)?

I'm hoping by prioritizing SWGE on our first day there, we can then do MMRR and SDD at RD when we go back on our second DHS day (still trying for another ROTR BG of course).  Even if we skip MMRR and SDD altogether on the first day, we have another opportunity to ride them.

From most accounts, the majority of the crowd seems to be going to MMRR and SDD first because of how long those lines get later in the day.  So I'm hopeful that means fewer people in SWGE at RD?  Anyone done this recently who can report if it's a good strategy?

Thanks!

ETA: Perhaps a less enjoyable approach, but we could also move expeditiously to MF:SR and ride that and THEN take our time looking around SWGE.  I was just hoping to "experience" the journey and be able to take in the sights a bit on the way there, instead of just hurrying past everything.


----------



## kdonnel

Grumpy by Birth said:


> I've been doing a lot of thinking about RD on our first DHS day (two scheduled).  Galaxy's Edge is the biggest reason for our visit.  Even though it might mean having to wait longer for MMRR and/or SDD if we wait until later to do those, I've been thinking about taking an approach I've often used in other parks in the past, "zig when they zag."
> 
> By that I mean: let the hoards head to MMRR and SDD and we go directly to SWGE.  If feasible, I'd like to work our way through SWGE at a relatively leisurely pace (even if that means some others are moving ahead of us) to enjoy the scenery on our way to MF:SR and then shop, etc. there while waiting for a BG.
> 
> So my question is: are lots of people going directly to MF:SR in the morning (I keep reading reports of walk-on or less than 30 minute waits)?
> 
> I'm hoping by prioritizing SWGE on our first day there, we can then do MMRR and SDD at RD when we go back on our second DHS day (still trying for another ROTR BG of course).  Even if we skip MMRR and SDD altogether on the first day, we have another opportunity to ride them.
> 
> From most accounts, the majority of the crowd seems to be going to MMRR and SDD first because of how long those lines get later in the day.  So I'm hopeful that means fewer people in SWGE at RD?  Anyone done this recently who can report if it's a good strategy?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> ETA: Perhaps a less enjoyable approach, but we could also move expeditiously to MF:SR and ride that and THEN take our time looking around SWGE.  I was just hoping to "experience" the journey and be able to take in the sights a bit on the way there, instead of just hurrying past everything.


Unless things have changed dramatically since I was there Labor Day weekend, and I don't think they have, you should feel free do do the park in what ever order you want.

We went straight to SWGE at RD.   We also didn't manage to get a boarding group until the 2pm give away.  Had we managed to get one at the 10am slot we would have ridden every ride at HS once before 2:30pm.  Instead we had to stick around to 6pm ish when our boarding group was called.  During that time we rode many rides again and again and also took a 1 hour break to ride the skyliner.


----------



## Befferk

kdonnel said:


> Had we managed to get one at the 10am slot we would have ridden every ride at HS once before 2:30pm.



Can you share your strategy for being able to do all the rides by 2:30pm on a holiday weekend? We're going between Christmas and New Years and am looking for a good  holiday strategy


----------



## kdonnel

Befferk said:


> Can you share your strategy for being able to do all the rides by 2:30pm on a holiday weekend? We're going between Christmas and New Years and am looking for a good  holiday strategy


On our Hollywood Studios day we went to ride Smugglers Run first.  Then from that point just went to the next physically closest ride.  No strategy required.  If there was a line we stood there.  We paid no attention to trying to pick the next ride based on shortest posted wait time.

We did the same for Magic Kingdom that same weekend.  We went to Pirates of the Caribbean first and then worked our way around the park from left to right just going to the next physically closest ride. 

In both days we walked so much less then we have ever walked on a Disney trip.  We typically push 30k to 40k steps a day.  Both days were in the 16k step range.  In the past our next ride was always dictated by our fast pass.  So we were always walking from one side of the park to the other side and back and forth.  With no fast passes dictating what was next we just went to what was closest and saved a ton of steps.


----------



## tinkattitude!

Grumpy by Birth said:


> I've been doing a lot of thinking about RD on our first DHS day (two scheduled).  Galaxy's Edge is the biggest reason for our visit.  Even though it might mean having to wait longer for MMRR and/or SDD if we wait until later to do those, I've been thinking about taking an approach I've often used in other parks in the past, "zig when they zag."
> 
> By that I mean: let the hoards head to MMRR and SDD and we go directly to SWGE.  If feasible, I'd like to work our way through SWGE at a relatively leisurely pace (even if that means some others are moving ahead of us) to enjoy the scenery on our way to MF:SR and then shop, etc. there while waiting for a BG.
> 
> So my question is: are lots of people going directly to MF:SR in the morning (I keep reading reports of walk-on or less than 30 minute waits)?
> 
> I'm hoping by prioritizing SWGE on our first day there, we can then do MMRR and SDD at RD when we go back on our second DHS day (still trying for another ROTR BG of course).  Even if we skip MMRR and SDD altogether on the first day, we have another opportunity to ride them.
> 
> From most accounts, the majority of the crowd seems to be going to MMRR and SDD first because of how long those lines get later in the day.  So I'm hopeful that means fewer people in SWGE at RD?  Anyone done this recently who can report if it's a good strategy?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> ETA: Perhaps a less enjoyable approach, but we could also move expeditiously to MF:SR and ride that and THEN take our time looking around SWGE.  I was just hoping to "experience" the journey and be able to take in the sights a bit on the way there, instead of just hurrying past everything.



We were at WDW 9/28 - 10/2 - we did HS the first day we were there (a Monday) - we went right to GE.  We walked at a pretty brisk pace, but then once there took our time, there were very few people there, we walked around took a bunch of photos with no body in them (yay!) and then went to Smuggler's Run.  We walked right on.  We got out in time to try for a boarding group for ROTR and failed LOL!  So we walked around a bit and were able to do the shops with a minimal wait.  Then we did the rest of the things.  SDD we had about an hour wait, that was with a cleaning stop in it.   We got a 2 PM boarding group that we were able to ride at about 4 PM.   We didn't do MMRR the first day because we ended up getting rained out.  It was already pouring buckets when we did ROTR, but we didn't want to miss that so we got soaked.

We went back later in the week (Thursday).  And for that we hit MMRR first, maybe waited 15 minutes.  Got off did Virtual Queue and ended up with boarding group 6 that day.  So headed right to GE.  Did Rise and then Smuggler's Run and at that point still it was only a 20 minute queue.  We had an Oga's ressie at 1 PM so we stuck around Toy Story Land, and did Mania and Saucers and then went back for our ressies.  After Oga's we went back to SDD, and waited only about 45 minutes.  But when we left Oga's the line for Smuggler's Run was about 75 minutes.

So essentially what we noticed the week we were there, in all the parks, but especially HS - is that the line queues really ebb & flow.  If it's a really long line and you don't want to wait, chances are it will be shorter at a later time in the day.  Just kind of keep your eyes on it and you can make decisions that way.


----------



## Shinrai

kdonnel said:


> On our Hollywood Studios day we went to ride Smugglers Run first.  Then from that point just went to the next physically closest ride.  No strategy required.  If there was a line we stood there.  We paid no attention to trying to pick the next ride based on shortest posted wait time.
> 
> We did the same for Magic Kingdom that same weekend.  We went to Pirates of the Caribbean first and then worked our way around the park from left to right just going to the next physically closest ride.
> 
> In both days we walked so much less then we have ever walked on a Disney trip.  We typically push 30k to 40k steps a day.  Both days were in the 16k step range.  In the past our next ride was always dictated by our fast pass.  So we were always walking from one side of the park to the other side and back and forth.  With no fast passes dictating what was next we just went to what was closest and saved a ton of steps.



This is just... so simple and so brilliant.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

kdonnel said:


> On our Hollywood Studios day we went to ride Smugglers Run first.  Then from that point just went to the next physically closest ride.  No strategy required.  If there was a line we stood there.  We paid no attention to trying to pick the next ride based on shortest posted wait time.
> 
> We did the same for Magic Kingdom that same weekend.  We went to Pirates of the Caribbean first and then worked our way around the park from left to right just going to the next physically closest ride.
> 
> In both days we walked so much less then we have ever walked on a Disney trip.  We typically push 30k to 40k steps a day.  Both days were in the 16k step range.  In the past our next ride was always dictated by our fast pass.  So we were always walking from one side of the park to the other side and back and forth.  With no fast passes dictating what was next we just went to what was closest and saved a ton of steps.





Shinrai said:


> This is just... so simple and so brilliant.


----------



## Befferk

AmishGuy91 said:


> I had Uber drop me off right at the intersection where "Blvd" is in Epcot Resorts Blvd.  Saves a couple of minutes from being dropped off at Speedway



Thanks, I was thinking of that but didn't know if they were allowed to just drop people off at an intersection.


----------



## yulilin3

kdonnel said:


> On our Hollywood Studios day we went to ride Smugglers Run first.  Then from that point just went to the next physically closest ride.  No strategy required.  If there was a line we stood there.  We paid no attention to trying to pick the next ride based on shortest posted wait time.
> 
> We did the same for Magic Kingdom that same weekend.  We went to Pirates of the Caribbean first and then worked our way around the park from left to right just going to the next physically closest ride.
> 
> In both days we walked so much less then we have ever walked on a Disney trip.  We typically push 30k to 40k steps a day.  Both days were in the 16k step range.  In the past our next ride was always dictated by our fast pass.  So we were always walking from one side of the park to the other side and back and forth.  With no fast passes dictating what was next we just went to what was closest and saved a ton of steps.


This reminded me,  when my ex husband used to work at backlot tour.  A guest approached him at the end of the night,  very upset because they couldn't make it into backlot tour because the attraction used to close about an hour before park closing
My ex apologized and explained it was posted on the times guide
The guest said they tried to do everything in order ands just couldn't make it
By order they meant they went literally with the map and did the attraction numbered 1 then 2 and so forth... by the time they got to whatever number backlot was it was too late
My ex explained they didn't need to go in numerical order
 i laughed so hard ay that story


----------



## Cynt

Grumpy by Birth said:


> I've been doing a lot of thinking about RD on our first DHS day (two scheduled).  Galaxy's Edge is the biggest reason for our visit.  Even though it might mean having to wait longer for MMRR and/or SDD if we wait until later to do those*, I've been thinking about taking an approach I've often used in other parks in the past, "zig when they zag."*
> By that I mean:* let the hoards head to MMRR and SDD and we go directly to SWGE.  *If feasible, I'd like to work our way through SWGE at a relatively leisurely pace (even if that means some others are moving ahead of us) to enjoy the scenery on our way to MF:SR and then shop, etc. there while waiting for a BG.





kdonnel said:


> *We went straight to SWGE at RD.*   We also didn't manage to get a boarding group until the 2pm give away.  Had we managed to get one at the 10am slot we would have ridden every ride at HS once before 2:30pm.  Instead we had to stick around to 6pm ish when our boarding group was called.  During that time we rode many rides again and again and also took a 1 hour break to ride the skyliner.





kdonnel said:


> *On our Hollywood Studios day we went to ride Smugglers Run first. * Then from that point just went to the next physically closest ride.  No strategy required.  If there was a line we stood there.  We paid no attention to trying to pick the next ride based on shortest posted wait time.





tinkattitude! said:


> We were at WDW 9/28 - 10/2 - we did HS the first day we were there (a Monday) - *we went right to GE.*  We walked at a pretty brisk pace, but then once there took our time,* there were very few people there, we walked around took a bunch of photos with no body in them (yay!) and then went to Smuggler's Run.  We walked right on.*  We got out in time to try for a boarding group for ROTR and failed LOL!  So we walked around a bit and were able to do the shops with a minimal wait.  Then we did the rest of the things.




Ssshhhhhh don't tell everyone my secret. This is exactly what I plan to do.  We're big thrill seeking rollercoaster people so MMR and SDD don't appeal to us. We would rather wait in line for RnR. But DH is a Star Wars fan so we're headed to GE first. It's our first time to DHS to experience GE. So we plan to put in the time at RD.  We do have a second day at DHS scheduled just in case we don't get a BP on our 1st day.


----------



## Leigh L

Cynt said:


> Ssshhhhhh don't tell everyone my secret. This is exactly what I plan to do.  We're big thrill seeking rollercoaster people so MMR and SDD don't appeal to us. We would rather wait in line for RnR. But DH is a Star Wars fan so we're headed to GE first. It's our first time to DHS to experience GE. So we plan to put in the time at RD.  We do have a second day at DHS scheduled just in case we don't get a BP on our 1st day.


Sounds like a great plan to me 
We went in August when it wasn't as crowded, but this was our strategy too. I think we got in the park around 9:20-9:30 and went straight to GE, it was SO quiet back there since everyone went to TS land and MMRR. We decided not to do MFSR just yet but soak in the atmosphere (we had ridden a couple of times back in January but the land was far from empty then). I just love the ambient noise. We took some pics in the land when it was empty, had a relaxing breakfast, and was all set for 10 a.m. to get a BG sitting at a table with hardly anyone around.  Then we strolled over to TSL as I love the sound transition between the lands, I feel it's done so well.


----------



## lmbcdb

emily nicole said:


> Thanks for sharing your strategy! We're booked at Pop for this December and think we'll try this on our DHS day. Is it pretty easy to figure out where to go from the Speedway? No crossing busy roads or anything like that?


Yes, it was easy, especially if you ask Google Maps for walking directions, which is what we did...and after you leave the Speedway, you can see the walkway where people are already walking over.
The one road you have to cross is easy and has a big median in the middle.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Leigh L said:


> Sounds like a great plan to me
> We went in August when it wasn't as crowded, but this was our strategy too. I think we got in the park around 9:20-9:30 and went straight to GE, it was SO quiet back there since everyone went to TS land and MMRR. We decided not to do MFSR just yet but soak in the atmosphere (we had ridden a couple of times back in January but the land was far from empty then). I just love the ambient noise. We took some pics in the land when it was empty, had a relaxing breakfast, and was all set for 10 a.m. to get a BG sitting at a table with hardly anyone around.  Then we strolled over to TSL as I love the sound transition between the lands, I feel it's done so well.


That’s really incredible regarding Galaxies Edge before rope drop.  Remember the pictures right before the shut down when people were starting to worry about the closeness of others, yet the street leading to GE was packed in tight full of people?  Interesting how that is no longer the case.


----------



## crazy_for_the_dis

kdonnel said:


> Unless things have changed dramatically since I was there Labor Day weekend, and I don't think they have, you should feel free do do the park in what ever order you want.
> 
> We went straight to SWGE at RD.   We also didn't manage to get a boarding group until the 2pm give away.  Had we managed to get one at the 10am slot we would have ridden every ride at HS once before 2:30pm.  Instead we had to stick around to 6pm ish when our boarding group was called.  During that time we rode many rides again and again and also took a 1 hour break to ride the skyliner.


That would not have been possible this week at all.  We were there from rope drop to close, and had a really good first hour, but still didn’t get on everything.  And no way could have went on anything more than once.  But that is adding in oga’s, savi’s, lunch, etc.


----------



## katyringo

lmbcdb said:


> We had a very successful day at Hollywood Studios. The only reason for this is this thread and the Disboards.
> 
> Park opening time - 10:00.
> 
> We called a Lyft at 8:15, it arrived at 8:30 and took us to the Speedway near the Boardwalk. I went in and got a Coke and we walked over to the park. Got in line at 9:00, probably 100 people back
> 
> Line started moving at 9:05 for temp screening. Moved VERY quickly, no line at a far right turnstile, tapped in and went straight to MMRR. We were in line at 9:15. Already snaking around the plaza. 25 minute wait, constantly moving.
> 
> We then headed to Galaxy’s Edge, all the way back to the Falcon. It was 9:55, so we stood outside the entrance to MFSR. Turned off location settings, we both tried for a group and got group 40. (Got called at 12:30.)
> 
> Literally walked on MFSR. When we got off the wait was 60 minutes.
> 
> At this point we walked around taking pictures ang going in shops. There was a 20 min wait for the marketplace, and only 1 person could go in a shop at a time.
> 
> We had lunch  and dinner at Docking Bay 7. The atmosphere was great - food was so-so. (My husband ordered better at dinner - said the pot roast was good)
> 
> Our boarding group was called for ROTR at 12:30. I had not read/watched anything about the ride (on purpose) and I was absolutely floored. We could’ve gone back to the room at that point and I would’ve been happy.
> 
> We then went to Star Tours - posted 30, waited 15. We hadn’t seen the scenes with the new characters from the recent movies, so that was nice.
> 
> Went back to Galaxy’s Edge for our 2:00 Oga’s reservation. Nice break, good drinks and food.
> 
> We then went down to RnR and ToT.
> ToT - posted 50, waited 25.
> RnR - posted 50, waited 34.
> Two of my favorite rides, so I didn’t mind waiting. However, the sun was definitely a beat down out in the street. I took an umbrella like someone suggested, and it helped immensely. (Temp was 87, feels like 93)
> 
> We went back to Docking Bay 7 for dinner because we wanted a/c. Few choices for dinner.
> 
> We then went to the relaxation station in GE and collapsed for 30 minutes.
> 
> I had scheduled us a 6:50 droid appointment on purpose so we could see GE at night and get some pictures without people.
> 
> So totally worth it - check out the awesome pictures I got.
> 
> View attachment 532418
> 
> View attachment 532419
> 
> View attachment 532420 Skyliner was only a 15 min wait back to Pop..for all the great advice, everyone!


 
ahhhhh! We have an Ogas for park closing and I am so glad I have kept it!


----------



## Coppercoal

Has anyone had any success as a resort guest changing their Hollywood Studios park reservation day at guest relations if the day you want to switch to shows as unavailable?


----------



## djmeredith

Grumpy by Birth said:


> I've been doing a lot of thinking about RD on our first DHS day (two scheduled).  Galaxy's Edge is the biggest reason for our visit.  Even though it might mean having to wait longer for MMRR and/or SDD if we wait until later to do those, I've been thinking about taking an approach I've often used in other parks in the past, "zig when they zag."
> 
> By that I mean: let the hoards head to MMRR and SDD and we go directly to SWGE.  If feasible, I'd like to work our way through SWGE at a relatively leisurely pace (even if that means some others are moving ahead of us) to enjoy the scenery on our way to MF:SR and then shop, etc. there while waiting for a BG.
> 
> So my question is: are lots of people going directly to MF:SR in the morning (I keep reading reports of walk-on or less than 30 minute waits)?
> 
> I'm hoping by prioritizing SWGE on our first day there, we can then do MMRR and SDD at RD when we go back on our second DHS day (still trying for another ROTR BG of course).  Even if we skip MMRR and SDD altogether on the first day, we have another opportunity to ride them.
> 
> From most accounts, the majority of the crowd seems to be going to MMRR and SDD first because of how long those lines get later in the day.  So I'm hopeful that means fewer people in SWGE at RD?  *Anyone done this recently who can report if it's a good strategy?*
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> ETA: Perhaps a less enjoyable approach, but we could also move expeditiously to MF:SR and ride that and THEN take our time looking around SWGE.  I was just hoping to "experience" the journey and be able to take in the sights a bit on the way there, instead of just hurrying past everything.


It is a good strategy. We were the first family through the gate on Wed. and went straight to SWGE. We rushed straight to MFSR and were the second party in line. We had to wait until they started operating at 9:30, but then we were able to walk right on again for a second ride. So I think you have time to walk through and enjoy a little bit before you get in line. However, when we came out the second time it was 9:56 and there were a lot of people standing around the entrance/exit area waiting to try for a BG. As soon as that was over, there was a mad dash to the entrance and we watched the line grow really long as we walked away. We also walked on again at the end of the day around 6:30 when posted wait time was still 40 minutes.


kdonnel said:


> *Unless things have changed dramatically since I was there Labor Day weekend*, and I don't think they have, you should feel free do do the park in what ever order you want.
> 
> We went straight to SWGE at RD.   We also didn't manage to get a boarding group until the 2pm give away.  Had we managed to get one at the 10am slot we would have ridden every ride at HS once before 2:30pm.  Instead we had to stick around to 6pm ish when our boarding group was called.  During that time we rode many rides again and again and also took a 1 hour break to ride the skyliner.


It appears things have changed drastically since Labor Day. Reading reports on here since then and experiencing the wait times at all 4 parks this week for myself, the crowds and wait times have increased significantly since then. It would be very difficult with the current crowd levels to do everything at DHS unless you are there most of the day. The wait times did not decrease much until the last 1.5 of the day. The days of people leaving in droves after the 2:00 BG time appear to be over. We did RD to close on Wed. and we did not get to do MMRR, Lightning McQueen or Frozen Sing Along (didn't want to do Frozen anyway).   We could have jumped in line for MMRR right before 7:00, but my teens were too tired so we left.


----------



## fabfemmeboy

Coppercoal said:


> Has anyone had any success as a resort guest changing their Hollywood Studios park reservation day at guest relations if the day you want to switch to shows as unavailable?


Not that I've seen or heard of.  I've seen a couple people who tried to change their days when there was no availability for the target park showing, and someone else snatched up their old reservation while they were trying, so they were effectively locked out both days.  I've seen a few others who were frustrated that they couldn't get a day at DHS during their brief trip and who said they were calling GS to try to get it 'fixed' but never came back to cheer their victory on the boards.  And honestly, I don't know why they would grant a person's request to switch to an unavailable day.  If they did that for one person, they would have to do it for hundreds, especially at DHS which is most likely to show as unavailable.  The only way I could see that working would be if you were to, for example, find someone who had your target day and wanted your available day, then see if a CM could do the switch at the same time to make sure no one else swooped in and took one of the days while it was in-process.  But otherwise...no, not really.


----------



## DisneyOma

lmbcdb said:


> Yes, it was easy, especially if you ask Google Maps for walking directions, which is what we did...and after you leave the Speedway, you can see the walkway where people are already walking over.
> The one road you have to cross is easy and has a big median in the middle.



Was there a crosswalk there, or are you just jaywalking?


----------



## lmbcdb

DisneyOma said:


> Was there a crosswalk there, or are you just jaywalking?


There is not a crosswalk.


----------



## Turk February

Good morning! We have returned from our quick 5 day trip (and our first time staying off property in about 10 years!). We hadn't planned to visit WDW this year, but $25 flights on Jetblue changed our minds and we needed to get away after 7 months of working and schooling from home.

We went to MK on Saturday October 10, and DHS on Monday October 12. The other days we just relaxed, went to the pool, DS, and did work/school from the hotel. It was by far our least packed WDW trip ever. 

To start, some background on us: We are WDW vets and super planners, and came from NYC where masks and social distancing have been a part of life for about 6 months now. We understand the dangers of COVID but also consider ourselves to be logical and think you're able to live life to an extent while still being careful and safe by taking the proper precautions. 

Like others have said countless times, I think the most important thing to keep in mind right now is to manage your expectations and forget experiencing anything close to July/August crowds. Those are over. Understand the new reality and work with it.

*MASKS & SOCIAL DISTANCING *
I'd rate compliance at a strong 95%. Social distancing in some parts of the parks and DS is now completely impossible and not even feasible. This didn't really bother me, as I am not one to think that quickly passing by someone less than 6 feet away while wearing a mask will be the death of me. But if this is an issue you're concerned about, it might be time to either recalibrate your expectations or rethink your trip altogether. There are plenty of areas of the parks where this is not the case, but places like Fantasyland, Adventureland, Toy Story Land and SWGE are packed on busy days in the morning and afternoon. 

I will say this - we noticed a lot of quick sips of water while waiting in lines. This did not bother us and we were guilty of it too. It was disgustingly hot out (real feels of 100). It is important to stay hydrated. If a quick pull down of a mask for a sip of water from someone 6 feet away in line is going to bother you, be aware that it is going to happen. It was by no means a constant thing, but we noticed it enough and again, it never bothered us.

People seem to be really good at social distancing in ride lines. It can be difficult if you have a large party since the markers are spaced out every 6 feet and a group of 6 can't squeeze together in a 4-foot wide space. So we were understanding if people weren't exactly on their markers and only twice did we have to say something to people who were literally almost on top of us. My wife joked that she needed a stick like Cartman to keep people away.

But the big takeaway for me is it's all about perception. I have read so many people on here saying that mask compliance is horrible at the parks...we just didn't see that. I was actually impressed.

*CROWDS*
Again - perception and personal comfort. Even though capacity is capped at 25% (and I have seen some internal numbers that support this), it does feel like more because of all the stores and restaurants closed, the extended lines, and the reduced ride capacity. I noticed at both MK and DHS that people really start to leave around 4. It never felt like a zoo to me, or overwhelming. It was busy in places, but it's been that way for a month now. I can't think of a single time I felt uncomfortable. If I had to put a number on in, I'd say both of our park days "felt" like 5s.

*MK DAY (SATURDAY OCT 10)*
I am a planner, and the parks are busy enough now that a good plan is necessary on weekends and busy days. Rope Drop is essential. According to TP, this was the busiest MK day since reopening. 

We took an Uber from the Wyndham to Contemporary so we could walk and beat the bus/car crowds. I placed a mobile order with Contempo Cafe but the gate guard just let us in without question (YMMV). When we arrived at temp check at 8:10, it was already open and busses were already arriving. I got worried that we were way behind already and that they had started running things even earlier because of the holiday crowds. We got right through temp check, security and tapstiles very quickly and were in front of the castle by 8:20.  

Here's the rundown of our day:

Arrived at SDMT at 8:24 and were on by 8:40
BTTM had a posted 15 minute wait when we got there at 8:55, which was accurate
We had planned to ride Splash next, but it was not operating yet
Moved over to Pirates, which was a 9 minute wait (posted 5)
Splash was still down, and so was Haunted Mansion so we walked over to Space
At 9:45, Space was posting a 60 minute wait. We were on in 36
Our daughter then really wanted to ride Speedway, so we waited 15 minutes for that (posted 25)
While we were in line for Speedway, Splash began operating around 10:45 so we decided to go there next, knowing that the line would only get worse 
Splash was posting a 60 minute wait as we walked over, and changed to 90 right after we got in line. We waited exactly 60 minutes for it

At that point, it was 12:20 and we needed a break. One of the big differences right now with masks and heat is that breaks (IMO) are necessary. You don't realize how much you walk and drink and eat until you can't. In fact, I carried that stupid breakfast sandwich order from Contempo Cafe with me until after SDMT because at no point did I want to stop and eat it and lose valuable morning time in the park haha. After SDMT, my wife basically forced me to just stop and take 5 minutes to eat. 

We did a little shopping and then made one of the best decisions: took the monorail to get lunch at The Wave!

I highly recommend going to the Wave for lunch for 2 reasons: number one, it's indoors and you get a nice break in the AC for an hour or so. Secondly, it's comparable in price to a good QS meal inside the park and for better food. I had "budgeted" about $60 for our MK park lunch and it was just about that for The Wave. I was very happy with this decision and reservations for The Wave are plentiful even on the same day.

We walked back over to MK, refreshed and ready to keep going.
13 minute wait for Pooh (posted 20)
40 minute wait for Pan (posted 40) but I am pretty sure we hit our only cleaning cycle during this wait because we were stopped for a good 15 minutes 
17 minute wait for Buzz (posted 30)
30 minute Starbucks break (this was around 4p and we sat and watched hoards of people leaving the parks at this point)
5 minute wait for Tea Party (posted 10)
5 minute wait for Dumbo (posted 5)
10 minute wait for Barnstormer (posted 15)
10 minute wait for Mermaid (posted 25)
24 minute wait for Haunted Mansion (posted 40)

At the end of the day, we were able to hit everything on our list except Small World. Breaks are essential in the heat with masks on. Save the majority of Fantasyland for later in the day. Rope drop and knock out 2-3 big rides early and then try to stay 1 step ahead of the crowds. We had an excellent day and capped it with a great dinner at Skipper Canteen in the butterfly booth!

*DHS DAY (MONDAY OCTOBER 12)*
We took an Uber to the Speedway and walked to DHS. We arrived at the makeshift lines at 8:22 and there were about 30 people ahead of us divided into 2 lines. 

As others have said, take the line to the left. They have more temp check stations on the left and you'll get through quicker once they start moving people over.

We were moved over to temp check at about 8:45 and were held there until exactly 9. By this time, there were at least 300 people behind us. I'm glad we arrived so early. We were 2nd in line at one of the temp check tents and through that, security and the tapstiles by 9:02.

We arrived at MMRR at 9:04 and were 6th in line!!!  We were SO excited and happy with our decision to arrive so early. They began operating the ride really early and we were on at 9:16. Very cute and well done! The more I think about it, the more I love it. When we walked outside, the line was absolutely insane and all day my daughter couldn't get over how quick we rode it compared to the current lines. It's great to have a little one that is 100% down with planning and maximizing time like we are. 

We decided to head over to Slinky and got in line at 9:25, with an announced wait of 60 minutes. They began operating at 9:30 and the actual wait was 50 minutes.

During our Slinky wait, the moment of truth arrived. What I had been planning and practicing for for 3 weeks. Everyone in view had their phones out by 9:55 just waiting. 10:00 hits...Boarding Group 4!!!! My hands would not stop shaking for 5 minutes. We were so happy.  All that practice paid off!

BG4 was called at 10:11 and we walked over and got in line at 10:30. We were off the ride by 11. No spoilers, but it was incredible. 

At that point, we had been "going" since 8:30 waiting in lines and decided to take a break from 11 until 12:30. We did some shopping and went to the Launch Bay relaxation station, which was great. We actually used it twice that day and both times almost no one was inside. Highly recommended. 

Waited 20 minutes for Star Tours at 12:35 (posted 35 minutes)
Waited 15 minutes for TSMM (posted 30)
Ate lunch at Docking Bay 7 from 1:50-2:30
MFSR was posted at 45 and that was about right. We got to Hondo after 38 minutes
15 minute wait for Saucers (posted 20)

At this point, it was 4:00 and my wife had a Savi's appointment at 5:05. We contemplated RnRC but didn't want to chance it since you are asked to check in 15 minutes early, so we decided to take another break and go to some stores.

We checked into Savi's and they were running behind. They were very firm about not letting all of us (me, wife, 11-yr-old daughter) in together. I understood and didn't fight it, but we had to try and ask. I had done it last year, so my wife took our daughter in with her. 

After she was finished at 5:45, we walked on to Muppets. It had been years since we had done this and a lot of the jokes now really landed with our daughter since she's older. 

We had wanted to ride RnRC and kept pushing it because of the wait and this ended up being my one big miscalculation. Since merch hold at the front of the park is closed, RnRC is really the only ride that you can't safely bring a lightsaber on. We did not want to do rider switch with our daughter because she wasn't excited to ride it to begin with. So we skipped it. No big deal, we've done it 100 times. But in hindsight I should have thought about the lightsaber issue earlier and gone to ride before the Savi's reservation.

We finished up with one more ride on MFSR. It was a posted 45 minute wait at 6:30 and took us 34 to get to Hondo.  Then we took some photos with the new lightsaber and went to our dinner at 50s Prime Time.

*THINGS I MISSED*
1. Seeing CMs smile, and smiling back
2. Character meets (although it was a nice change this trip to not worry about them, and be able to get more done)
3. Photopass and taking photos in general. We took a few here and there but with masks on it just felt...weird. This was definitely our least photographed trip.
4. Nighttime at the parks

*FINAL THOUGHTS*
Overall, we had a really good time and I'm glad we came. That said, I would NOT recommend anyone go right now for their first time. While the magic is still there, it's noticeably muted. You can tell some CMs are miserable, but overall they were great. We only had a handful of interactions that left a lot to be desired. 

I did not miss staying on property as much as I thought I would! We loved the 5 minute walk to DS and just took Ubers anywhere else we needed to go. Once (if) social distancing is over and busses can be filled again, I'm sure we'll stay back on property but it all sounds like too much of a wait/hassle at the moment.

Thanks to everyone in the last month or so who has made posts like this and informed others like me who were planning. These really help. Without this group, I never would have known about getting dropped off at Speedway, or being able to practice getting a ROTR BG from home, or a dozen other things that are different now. This is a great community and I hope this post helped someone like so many helped me!


----------



## djmeredith

Just finished all 4 parks in 4 days. I've shared a few other specific bits of info already so I'll share my thoughts on overall experience here. The parks feel very crowded. As others have said, there are simply not enough activities open to spread the crowds so even at 25% (according to Chapek) it feels very crowded. The lines in the heat and masks are brutal at times. We took umbrellas which helped. Social distancing has been literally IMPOSSIBLE for the vast majority of the time spent walking around the parks and Disney Springs. Passing people outdoors that close doesn't bother me, but it might some. Most people do observe the line markers, but definitely not all. You can expect at least one family to creep up on you in a line during your time here. Mask compliance has been very high. There have been a few obnoxious people who are clearly trying to ignore the rule but the vast majority are complying. People are going to drink water and even sometimes eat in line (we did it as well but never completely removing our masks). The lines are long and hot and it is not realistic to expect people to wait in hour+ lines in the sun without drinking water.

Due to the reduced ride capacity and lack of open shows, characters, restaurants etc. rope drop is essential if you want to accomplish a lot. We are "commando" style visitors and even doing RD and going commando have not allowed us to accomplish everything with the limited capacity. The first 1.5 hrs each day have been critical to us accomplishing most everything we wanted to do. Sitting down in a restaurant (QS or TS) for a break each day has also been a much needed break. Mobile order QS meals well before you want to pick it up to avoid a long wait. Crowds have NOT dwindled in the afternoons this week as people have reported previously. I'm thinking that is because 1) it hasn't rained and 2) most of the people here this week are fall breakers (not locals/frequent visitors) so they are trying to get their money's worth (like us). The wait times at MK dropped slightly during the last hour yesterday, but not much before that. 45 minutes for HM in the blazing sun was not fun! However, we also accomplished Peter Pan, BTMRR and Splash within the first 1.5 hrs. You will have to be prepared to wait in at least 2 or 3 long lines if you want to do it all. If it is your first time at Magic Kingdom, you may want to consider doing it over 2 days so you don’t feel rushed.

We still have a second day scheduled at DHS tomorrow, which I booked just in case we didn't get a BG on our first day. Overall, we are glad we came but would not recommend it for first time visitors and will not be back until Disney finds a way to disperse crowds better and masks are not required. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be glad to help. We could not have accomplished what we did if I had not had all the great tips from this site.

ETA:  I understand there is only so much Disney can do right now about ride capacity, but they should have increased the hours during these busy fall break weeks. They knew we were coming. Extending by even 1 hour in the evening would have made for a much more enjoyably paced trip.


----------



## CarolynFH

DisneyOma said:


> Was there a crosswalk there, or are you just jaywalking?





lmbcdb said:


> There is not a crosswalk.


But there is a traffic light (not a pedestrian light, I don't think) at the corner, so you can cross with the light (as opposed to crossing the street farther down toward the Boardwalk entrance, where there's no light and no crosswalk either).  And there's a sidewalk on both sides of the intersection, so you're not jaywalking if you cross at the corner.


----------



## NC State

My question is for the ones that has returned. I keep reading where people feel that "the parks feel very crowded".  I just wanted to know if anyone is letting Disney know how your trip felt when you visited? If it felt crowded now, I can image how it will feel come the Christmas holidays.


----------



## underminer

I must admit these reports of crowds and wait times are a bit discouraging.  Does it seem like these are “fall break” crowds and it may get a little better in early November (when we are going) or will it just get progressively worse until the holidays are over?


----------



## Befferk

Turk February said:


> We took an Uber from the Wyndham to Contemporary so we could walk and beat the bus/car crowds. I placed a mobile order with Contempo Cafe but the gate guard just let us in without question (YMMV).



Thank you for such a detailed report! Amazing information. A few questions for you on your Contempo breakfast. I'm thinking of doing the same thing to be able to grab breakfast on the fly and be efficient that morning. How much time would you say it took you from arriving at the Contemporary to leaving (so how long to get to the Contempo, pick up your food, and be back on your way)? What method did you use to get from Contemporary to MK? Bus, Monorail, boat (sorry if I missed that part)?


----------



## Befferk

NC State said:


> My question is for the ones that has returned. I keep reading where people feel that "the parks feel very crowded".  I just wanted to know if anyone is letting Disney know how your trip felt when you visited? If it felt crowded now, I can image how it will feel come the Christmas holidays.



I hope EVERYONE is giving them feedback about their trip, good and bad.


----------



## katyringo

Turk February said:


> Good morning! We have returned from our quick 5 day trip (and our first time staying off property in about 10 years!). We hadn't planned to visit WDW this year, but $25 flights on Jetblue changed our minds and we needed to get away after 7 months of working and schooling from home.
> 
> We went to MK on Saturday October 10, and DHS on Monday October 12. The other days we just relaxed, went to the pool, DS, and did work/school from the hotel. It was by far our least packed WDW trip ever.
> 
> To start, some background on us: We are WDW vets and super planners, and came from NYC where masks and social distancing have been a part of life for about 6 months now. We understand the dangers of COVID but also consider ourselves to be logical and think you're able to live life to an extent while still being careful and safe by taking the proper precautions.
> 
> Like others have said countless times, I think the most important thing to keep in mind right now is to manage your expectations and forget experiencing anything close to July/August crowds. Those are over. Understand the new reality and work with it.
> 
> *MASKS & SOCIAL DISTANCING *
> I'd rate compliance at a strong 95%. Social distancing in some parts of the parks and DS is now completely impossible and not even feasible. This didn't really bother me, as I am not one to think that quickly passing by someone less than 6 feet away while wearing a mask will be the death of me. But if this is an issue you're concerned about, it might be time to either recalibrate your expectations or rethink your trip altogether. There are plenty of areas of the parks where this is not the case, but places like Fantasyland, Adventureland, Toy Story Land and SWGE are packed on busy days in the morning and afternoon.
> 
> I will say this - we noticed a lot of quick sips of water while waiting in lines. This did not bother us and we were guilty of it too. It was disgustingly hot out (real feels of 100). It is important to stay hydrated. If a quick pull down of a mask for a sip of water from someone 6 feet away in line is going to bother you, be aware that it is going to happen. It was by no means a constant thing, but we noticed it enough and again, it never bothered us.
> 
> People seem to be really good at social distancing in ride lines. It can be difficult if you have a large party since the markers are spaced out every 6 feet and a group of 6 can't squeeze together in a 4-foot wide space. So we were understanding if people weren't exactly on their markers and only twice did we have to say something to people who were literally almost on top of us. My wife joked that she needed a stick like Cartman to keep people away.
> 
> But the big takeaway for me is it's all about perception. I have read so many people on here saying that mask compliance is horrible at the parks...we just didn't see that. I was actually impressed.
> 
> *CROWDS*
> Again - perception and personal comfort. Even though capacity is capped at 25% (and I have seen some internal numbers that support this), it does feel like more because of all the stores and restaurants closed, the extended lines, and the reduced ride capacity. I noticed at both MK and DHS that people really start to leave around 4. It never felt like a zoo to me, or overwhelming. It was busy in places, but it's been that way for a month now. I can't think of a single time I felt uncomfortable. If I had to put a number on in, I'd say both of our park days "felt" like 5s.
> 
> *MK DAY (SATURDAY OCT 10)*
> I am a planner, and the parks are busy enough now that a good plan is necessary on weekends and busy days. Rope Drop is essential. According to TP, this was the busiest MK day since reopening.
> 
> We took an Uber from the Wyndham to Contemporary so we could walk and beat the bus/car crowds. I placed a mobile order with Contempo Cafe but the gate guard just let us in without question (YMMV). When we arrived at temp check at 8:10, it was already open and busses were already arriving. I got worried that we were way behind already and that they had started running things even earlier because of the holiday crowds. We got right through temp check, security and tapstiles very quickly and were in front of the castle by 8:20.
> 
> Here's the rundown of our day:
> 
> Arrived at SDMT at 8:24 and were on by 8:40
> BTTM had a posted 15 minute wait when we got there at 8:55, which was accurate
> We had planned to ride Splash next, but it was not operating yet
> Moved over to Pirates, which was a 9 minute wait (posted 5)
> Splash was still down, and so was Haunted Mansion so we walked over to Space
> At 9:45, Space was posting a 60 minute wait. We were on in 36
> Our daughter then really wanted to ride Speedway, so we waited 15 minutes for that (posted 25)
> While we were in line for Speedway, Splash began operating around 10:45 so we decided to go there next, knowing that the line would only get worse
> Splash was posting a 60 minute wait as we walked over, and changed to 90 right after we got in line. We waited exactly 60 minutes for it
> 
> At that point, it was 12:20 and we needed a break. One of the big differences right now with masks and heat is that breaks (IMO) are necessary. You don't realize how much you walk and drink and eat until you can't. In fact, I carried that stupid breakfast sandwich order from Contempo Cafe with me until after SDMT because at no point did I want to stop and eat it and lose valuable morning time in the park haha. After SDMT, my wife basically forced me to just stop and take 5 minutes to eat.
> 
> We did a little shopping and then made one of the best decisions: took the monorail to get lunch at The Wave!
> 
> I highly recommend going to the Wave for lunch for 2 reasons: number one, it's indoors and you get a nice break in the AC for an hour or so. Secondly, it's comparable in price to a good QS meal inside the park and for better food. I had "budgeted" about $60 for our MK park lunch and it was just about that for The Wave. I was very happy with this decision and reservations for The Wave are plentiful even on the same day.
> 
> We walked back over to MK, refreshed and ready to keep going.
> 13 minute wait for Pooh (posted 20)
> 40 minute wait for Pan (posted 40) but I am pretty sure we hit our only cleaning cycle during this wait because we were stopped for a good 15 minutes
> 17 minute wait for Buzz (posted 30)
> 30 minute Starbucks break (this was around 4p and we sat and watched hoards of people leaving the parks at this point)
> 5 minute wait for Tea Party (posted 10)
> 5 minute wait for Dumbo (posted 5)
> 10 minute wait for Barnstormer (posted 15)
> 10 minute wait for Mermaid (posted 25)
> 24 minute wait for Haunted Mansion (posted 40)
> 
> At the end of the day, we were able to hit everything on our list except Small World. Breaks are essential in the heat with masks on. Save the majority of Fantasyland for later in the day. Rope drop and knock out 2-3 big rides early and then try to stay 1 step ahead of the crowds. We had an excellent day and capped it with a great dinner at Skipper Canteen in the butterfly booth!
> 
> *DHS DAY (MONDAY OCTOBER 12)*
> We took an Uber to the Speedway and walked to DHS. We arrived at the makeshift lines at 8:22 and there were about 30 people ahead of us divided into 2 lines.
> 
> As others have said, take the line to the left. They have more temp check stations on the left and you'll get through quicker once they start moving people over.
> 
> We were moved over to temp check at about 8:45 and were held there until exactly 9. By this time, there were at least 300 people behind us. I'm glad we arrived so early. We were 2nd in line at one of the temp check tents and through that, security and the tapstiles by 9:02.
> 
> We arrived at MMRR at 9:04 and were 6th in line!!!  We were SO excited and happy with our decision to arrive so early. They began operating the ride really early and we were on at 9:16. Very cute and well done! The more I think about it, the more I love it. When we walked outside, the line was absolutely insane and all day my daughter couldn't get over how quick we rode it compared to the current lines. It's great to have a little one that is 100% down with planning and maximizing time like we are.
> 
> We decided to head over to Slinky and got in line at 9:25, with an announced wait of 60 minutes. They began operating at 9:30 and the actual wait was 50 minutes.
> 
> During our Slinky wait, the moment of truth arrived. What I had been planning and practicing for for 3 weeks. Everyone in view had their phones out by 9:55 just waiting. 10:00 hits...Boarding Group 4!!!! My hands would not stop shaking for 5 minutes. We were so happy.  All that practice paid off!
> 
> BG4 was called at 10:11 and we walked over and got in line at 10:30. We were off the ride by 11. No spoilers, but it was incredible.
> 
> At that point, we had been "going" since 8:30 waiting in lines and decided to take a break from 11 until 12:30. We did some shopping and went to the Launch Bay relaxation station, which was great. We actually used it twice that day and both times almost no one was inside. Highly recommended.
> 
> Waited 20 minutes for Star Tours at 12:35 (posted 35 minutes)
> Waited 15 minutes for TSMM (posted 30)
> Ate lunch at Docking Bay 7 from 1:50-2:30
> MFSR was posted at 45 and that was about right. We got to Hondo after 38 minutes
> 15 minute wait for Saucers (posted 20)
> 
> At this point, it was 4:00 and my wife had a Savi's appointment at 5:05. We contemplated RnRC but didn't want to chance it since you are asked to check in 15 minutes early, so we decided to take another break and go to some stores.
> 
> We checked into Savi's and they were running behind. They were very firm about not letting all of us (me, wife, 11-yr-old daughter) in together. I understood and didn't fight it, but we had to try and ask. I had done it last year, so my wife took our daughter in with her.
> 
> After she was finished at 5:45, we walked on to Muppets. It had been years since we had done this and a lot of the jokes now really landed with our daughter since she's older.
> 
> We had wanted to ride RnRC and kept pushing it because of the wait and this ended up being my one big miscalculation. Since merch hold at the front of the park is closed, RnRC is really the only ride that you can't safely bring a lightsaber on. We did not want to do rider switch with our daughter because she wasn't excited to ride it to begin with. So we skipped it. No big deal, we've done it 100 times. But in hindsight I should have thought about the lightsaber issue earlier and gone to ride before the Savi's reservation.
> 
> We finished up with one more ride on MFSR. It was a posted 45 minute wait at 6:30 and took us 34 to get to Hondo.  Then we took some photos with the new lightsaber and went to our dinner at 50s Prime Time.
> 
> *THINGS I MISSED*
> 1. Seeing CMs smile, and smiling back
> 2. Character meets (although it was a nice change this trip to not worry about them, and be able to get more done)
> 3. Photopass and taking photos in general. We took a few here and there but with masks on it just felt...weird. This was definitely our least photographed trip.
> 4. Nighttime at the parks
> 
> *FINAL THOUGHTS*
> Overall, we had a really good time and I'm glad we came. That said, I would NOT recommend anyone go right now for their first time. While the magic is still there, it's noticeably muted. You can tell some CMs are miserable, but overall they were great. We only had a handful of interactions that left a lot to be desired.
> 
> I did not miss staying on property as much as I thought I would! We loved the 5 minute walk to DS and just took Ubers anywhere else we needed to go. Once (if) social distancing is over and busses can be filled again, I'm sure we'll stay back on property but it all sounds like too much of a wait/hassle at the moment.
> 
> Thanks to everyone in the last month or so who has made posts like this and informed others like me who were planning. These really help. Without this group, I never would have known about getting dropped off at Speedway, or being able to practice getting a ROTR BG from home, or a dozen other things that are different now. This is a great community and I hope this post helped someone like so many helped me!



this is spectacular and I’m gonna print it off. 4 days and we will be there! Did you use a touring plan to decide what order to do things in MK?


----------



## Turk February

Befferk said:


> Thank you for such a detailed report! Amazing information. A few questions for you on your Contempo breakfast. I'm thinking of doing the same thing to be able to grab breakfast on the fly and be efficient that morning. How much time would you say it took you from arriving at the Contemporary to leaving (so how long to get to the Contempo, pick up your food, and be back on your way)? What method did you use to get from Contemporary to MK? Bus, Monorail, boat (sorry if I missed that part)?



Ok so I hit 'prepare order' in the app when we left Wyndham because it's about a 8-10 minute drive but I waited a good 10 minutes after arriving for my order to be ready and that's only because I asked again and it just happened to be sitting there. I think they forgot to hit 'finished' on their end to let me know it was ready. 

BUT

If your order is ready when you get there, it's 2 quick escalator rides up to Contempo from the lobby, pick your order up, 2 quick rides down, and then you're outside. It could take all of 5 minutes if it times out right. The walk to temp check and security from the Contemporary walkway is about 5 minutes and then you just walk to the tapstiles at MK and you're in!

I called my wife when we left Contempo at 8:05, we were at temp check at 8:10, and in front of the castle at 8:21.


----------



## Turk February

katyringo said:


> this is spectacular and I’m gonna print it off. 4 days and we will be there! Did you use a touring plan to decide what order to do things in MK?



No touring plan, just kept checking wait times and making adjustments. Years of trips come in handy and reading other people's reports as well. 
If things had been operating the way I was hoping, we would have done Splash right after BTMR and before Pirates. We wanted to get Pirates done early because the ride capacity is so drastically low because of social distancing. So since Splash was down we did Pirates and then figured we'd knock out Space. You have to be comfortable knowing you'll have at least 1 and maybe 2 long waits at some point during the day if you want to ride all the E ticket rides. I think the 2 most important things are to have a plan for rope drop and which rides you want to do early, and then save almost all of Fantasyland for later in the day when wait times are super low.


----------



## lorileahb

Turk February said:


> Ok so I hit 'prepare order' in the app when we left Wyndham because it's about a 8-10 minute drive but I waited a good 10 minutes after arriving for my order to be ready and that's only because I asked again and it just happened to be sitting there. I think they forgot to hit 'finished' on their end to let me know it was ready.
> 
> BUT
> 
> If your order is ready when you get there, it's 2 quick escalator rides up to Contempo from the lobby, pick your order up, 2 quick rides down, and then you're outside. It could take all of 5 minutes if it times out right. The walk to temp check and security from the Contemporary walkway is about 5 minutes and then you just walk to the tapstiles at MK and you're in!
> 
> I called my wife when we left Contempo at 8:05, we were at temp check at 8:10, and in front of the castle at 8:21.



This is awesome. I was thinking I had to have a reservation at the wave and that would’ve made us take away too much time. A mobile order at Contempo is a fantastic idea! It may change, but right now park opening is 9 AM for us. Will try to pick up our order at 7:30.


----------



## Turk February

lorileahb said:


> This is awesome. I was thinking I had to have a reservation at the wave and that would’ve made us take away too much time. A mobile order at Contempo is a fantastic idea! It may change, but right now park opening is 9 AM for us. Will try to pick up our order at 7:30.



They open at 7:30 so as close to that as possible is a good idea. It'll give you a chance to eat what you order instead of carry it around the park for an hour like I did . Also just FYI - the gate guard did NOT ask to see any proof we had business there when Uber dropped us off so ultimately we did not need the mobile order but it's good to do it anyway because they could easily turn you away if you don't have a resort or dining reservation/order.


----------



## Kae

Turk February said:


> Ok so I hit 'prepare order' in the app when we left Wyndham because it's about a 8-10 minute drive but I waited a good 10 minutes after arriving for my order to be ready and that's only because I asked again and it just happened to be sitting there. I think they forgot to hit 'finished' on their end to let me know it was ready.
> 
> BUT
> 
> If your order is ready when you get there, it's 2 quick escalator rides up to Contempo from the lobby, pick your order up, 2 quick rides down, and then you're outside. It could take all of 5 minutes if it times out right. The walk to temp check and security from the Contemporary walkway is about 5 minutes and then you just walk to the tapstiles at MK and you're in!
> 
> I called my wife when we left Contempo at 8:05, we were at temp check at 8:10, and in front of the castle at 8:21.


Your "report" is awesome.Can I ask which Wyndam you stayed at?


----------



## Turk February

Kae said:


> Your "report" is awesome.Can I ask which Wyndam you stayed at?



Thank you! We stayed at Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs Resort Area. They have regular rooms in the tower and "Garden" rooms, which I guess technically operate as 2 different hotels when booking, but the Garden rooms are cheaper (doors lead outside while the tower rooms are inside) but you get the same amenities, pool, etc. Plus they changed the resort fee from $24 to $16/night because of COVID so that was nice. We loved the super super quick walk to Springs!


----------



## Kae

Turk February said:


> Thank you! We stayed at Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs Resort Area. They have regular rooms in the tower and "Garden" rooms, which I guess technically operate as 2 different hotels when booking, but the Garden rooms are cheaper (doors lead outside while the tower rooms are inside) but you get the same amenities, pool, etc. Plus they changed the resort fee from $24 to $16/night because of COVID so that was nice. We loved the super super quick walk to Springs!


I got this one for our first night thru Priceline. The Best Western at DS was always are first night go to Place but they aren't open.


----------



## lorileahb

Turk February said:


> They open at 7:30 so as close to that as possible is a good idea. It'll give you a chance to eat what you order instead of carry it around the park for an hour like I did . Also just FYI - the gate guard did NOT ask to see any proof we had business there when Uber dropped us off so ultimately we did not need the mobile order but it's good to do it anyway because they could easily turn you away if you don't have a resort or dining reservation/order.



Thanks so much. We definitely want to try to beat the crowds, but also want to stay within Disney’s guidelines. For us, hopefully it’s chilly and I can treat my Littles to hot chocolate…


----------



## djmeredith

underminer said:


> I must admit these reports of crowds and wait times are a bit discouraging.  Does it seem like these are “fall break” crowds and it may get a little better in early November (when we are going) or will it just get progressively worse until the holidays are over?


I think the official school fall break crowds will be over but I personally predict crowds will remain fairly steady for the rest of the year because of pent up demand with people rescheduling cancelled trips. Many kids are able to do school remotely so many people don’t have to “pull kids out of school” to go to Disney. Also, keep in mind that this week is very crowded but the parks still have availability so weeks that are fully booked for park passes later this year will be even busier.


----------



## Befferk

Turk February said:


> Ok so I hit 'prepare order' in the app when we left Wyndham because it's about a 8-10 minute drive but I waited a good 10 minutes after arriving for my order to be ready and that's only because I asked again and it just happened to be sitting there. I think they forgot to hit 'finished' on their end to let me know it was ready.
> 
> BUT
> 
> If your order is ready when you get there, it's 2 quick escalator rides up to Contempo from the lobby, pick your order up, 2 quick rides down, and then you're outside. It could take all of 5 minutes if it times out right. The walk to temp check and security from the Contemporary walkway is about 5 minutes and then you just walk to the tapstiles at MK and you're in!
> 
> I called my wife when we left Contempo at 8:05, we were at temp check at 8:10, and in front of the castle at 8:21.



Thank you! And ah yes, I forgot that the Contemporary was THAT close to MK


----------



## Befferk

Turk February said:


> They open at 7:30 so as close to that as possible is a good idea.



With mobile ordering in the mornings, how far before opening can you place the order? For instance, if they open at 7:30, do you have to wait until 7:30 to place the order, or does the app allow you to place it say like a half hour or hour prior?


----------



## PrincessV

How is ABC Commissary working now? I haven't been in forever but now they have some food that sounds good! Is it true counter serve, where I pick up my own food? I'll only eat outdoors, so trying to figure out if that's an option.


----------



## yulilin3

PrincessV said:


> How is ABC Commissary working now? I haven't been in forever but now they have some food that sounds good! Is it true counter serve, where I pick up my own food? I'll only eat outdoors, so trying to figure out if that's an option.


Im going Tuesday and eating there cause the options are way better now. They do have a large outdoor sitting sra you can use


----------



## Turk February

PrincessV said:


> How is ABC Commissary working now? I haven't been in forever but now they have some food that sounds good! Is it true counter serve, where I pick up my own food? I'll only eat outdoors, so trying to figure out if that's an option.



When we were there on Monday they had CMs stationed outside to check your mobile order information before you went inside to get your food. They had plenty of outdoor seating.


----------



## Cynt

For those there now, Is it cool in the mornings and evenings? We're in TX and right now and temps around 60s once sun goes down and in the morning. Warms up to 80s during the day.


----------



## lmbcdb

*Magic Kingdom *
Thursday & Friday, 10/15 & 16
We decided to do Adventure/Frontierland 1st day, the Fantasy/Tomorrowland the 2nd to cut down on the walking.

*Thursday*
Park open - 9:00
8:10 - got in line for bus at Pop Century.
9:10 - tapped turnstiles, no lines at temp screen, security or turnstiles. It was just a HUGE line at Pop.

PoC - walk on
Splash - posted 30, actual 20
BTMRR - posted 30, actual 20
Aladdin - posted 10, actual 10
Ordered lunch at 9:30 for 11:05 pickup at Pecos Bills. Waited 5 minutes for food.
Haunted Mansion - posted 30, actual 35
Hall of Presidents - 24 min wait (1 show) all inside the lobby with a/c
Dole Whip Float - took to relaxation station. So hot it melted a lot on the way there!
Country Bears - 8 minute wait

left the park at 5 - it was HOT and we wanted to beat the crowds back to the bus. (Park close was 6)

*Friday*
Decided to leave earlier, as 7DMT was already at 90 min when we arrived yesterday.

7:50 - arrived at Pop bus stop, busses already ruining, 100 people in line. (9:00 open) Luckily they had busses as far as the eye could see waiting to take us.
Hit turnstiles at 8:20, no lines at temp screens, security or turnstiles. Got to end of queue for 7DMT at 8:33. It was all the way back past Dumbo to Ariel’s Grotto. Posted wait time was 45, 90 by the time we entered the queue. Actual was 35.

Peter Pan - posted 20, actual 15
Space Mountain - posted 55, actual 55. (Pre ordered lunch from Cosmic Ray’s)
Picked up lunch at Cosmic Ray’s - 5 min wait, plenty of places to sit inside.
Carousel of Progress - posted 10, actual 13
Dumbo posted 15, actual 13
Barnstormer - posted 30, actual 20
Little Mermaid - posted 45, actual 25
Pooh - posted 20, actual 13
Sleepy Hollow for funnel cake - 15 minutes

At this point, it’s 3 pm with an 8 pm close. It is HOT. The only 2 things left on our list are Small World and Buzz. They were both at 55 minutes. We decided to skip them and go back to the resort. (We’ve done them both multiple times, and they weren’t worth the wait to us.)

*Takeaways from Magic Kingdom:*

All the queues end up in the main walkways. (because you are 6 feet from the people in front and behind you)  This is very visually intimidating. In my mind, I knew the lines were long because of physical distancing, but your eyes try to trick you and make you think the wait is longer. And that the park is “more crowded”.
With all the lines  out in the sun, if it’s the least bit hot, an umbrella is necessary for shade.
Even though there was a line to get into the Emporium, where they were keeping track of the number inside, the crowd inside felt like a late June level 8.
I like the calvalcades. Took up less time. (No waiting, it just happened)
With the masks, it was hard to tell the if the CMs were happy. I used to feed off their smiles.  It was also hard to hear them.
Relaxation stations - never crowded. Best one was Pete’s Silly Sideshow - awesome a/c.
I love the castle’s new paint job. 
I won’t be going back until Fastpasses do. I think it was in their plan to help convince me to pay for them. It worked. 
Walkways seemed more littered than normal. The number of CMs I spotted with broom/dustpan was low
Pecos  Bill’s was good! First time we had eaten there.
A Dole Whip float when it’s hot out is nectar from heaven.
The sky is still extra blue. I think they put something in the air.


----------



## brockash

djmeredith said:


> Just finished all 4 parks in 4 days. I've shared a few other specific bits of info already so I'll share my thoughts on overall experience here. The parks feel very crowded. As others have said, there are simply not enough activities open to spread the crowds so even at 25% (according to Chapek) it feels very crowded. The lines in the heat and masks are brutal at times. We took umbrellas which helped. Social distancing has been literally IMPOSSIBLE for the vast majority of the time spent walking around the parks and Disney Springs. Passing people outdoors that close doesn't bother me, but it might some. Most people do observe the line markers, but definitely not all. You can expect at least one family to creep up on you in a line during your time here. Mask compliance has been very high. There have been a few obnoxious people who are clearly trying to ignore the rule but the vast majority are complying. People are going to drink water and even sometimes eat in line (we did it as well but never completely removing our masks). The lines are long and hot and it is not realistic to expect people to wait in hour+ lines in the sun without drinking water.
> 
> Due to the reduced ride capacity and lack of open shows, characters, restaurants etc. rope drop is essential if you want to accomplish a lot. We are "commando" style visitors and even doing RD and going commando have not allowed us to accomplish everything with the limited capacity. The first 1.5 hrs each day have been critical to us accomplishing most everything we wanted to do. Sitting down in a restaurant (QS or TS) for a break each day has also been a much needed break. Mobile order QS meals well before you want to pick it up to avoid a long wait. Crowds have NOT dwindled in the afternoons this week as people have reported previously. I'm thinking that is because 1) it hasn't rained and 2) most of the people here this week are fall breakers (not locals/frequent visitors) so they are trying to get their money's worth (like us). The wait times at MK dropped slightly during the last hour yesterday, but not much before that. 45 minutes for HM in the blazing sun was not fun! However, we also accomplished Peter Pan, BTMRR and Splash within the first 1.5 hrs. You will have to be prepared to wait in at least 2 or 3 long lines if you want to do it all. If it is your first time at Magic Kingdom, you may want to consider doing it over 2 days so you don’t feel rushed.
> 
> We still have a second day scheduled at DHS tomorrow, which I booked just in case we didn't get a BG on our first day. Overall, we are glad we came but would not recommend it for first time visitors and will not be back until Disney finds a way to disperse crowds better and masks are not required. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be glad to help. We could not have accomplished what we did if I had not had all the great tips from this site.
> 
> ETA:  I understand there is only so much Disney can do right now about ride capacity, but they should have increased the hours during these busy fall break weeks. They knew we were coming. Extending by even 1 hour in the evening would have made for a much more enjoyably paced trip.


We've been here all week as well and you pretty much summed it all up well.  Rope drop...and not actual rope but an hr prior is essential.  We stayed at AKL and the buses just DO NOT get you to the park early enough.  We were always at the bus stop 1.75 hrs prior to park open because the bus lines build fast and by about 1.5 hrs prior you're not going to be guaranteed a spot on the first bus.  Today we ubered to CR and walked over and while we still weren't early enough (poor planning on my part) it was WAY  better than every other day we've had just because we weren't arriving 30 mins after the park really opened.  

I will also 2nd that long lines in the blazing hot sun is absolutely brutal and proper mask wearing just doesn't happen.  - I don't think it's realistic and while some were better than others, we ourselves had to take sips of water and even ate in a cpl lines...it is just rough; especially for ppl. who are just not used to having to wait much in lines, let alone in the sun.  At the end of the day besidesa ride or 2 first thing pre park open and sometimes a cpl at the very end of the day; you're going to be waiting at least 30 mins for basically everything.  We had some that were more line 20, but those were far and in between.  Most were more like 35-45 mins. and we waited often at least 55 mins plus.  This was a huge change for ppl like us who used to have a good touring; utilized fastpasses and often went during slower times.  In my opinion it's just not possible right now.  I also really disliked that the parks were really only openedduring the hottest part of the day.  This may end up being a good thing for colder months though.


----------



## brockash

Cynt said:


> For those there now, Is it cool in the mornings and evenings? We're in TX and right now and temps around 60s once sun goes down and in the morning. Warms up to 80s during the day.


Not this week.  Def would not be wearing anything more than tshirt/shorts...except for air conditioned restaurants.


----------



## brockash

NC State said:


> My question is for the ones that has returned. I keep reading where people feel that "the parks feel very crowded".  I just wanted to know if anyone is letting Disney know how your trip felt when you visited? If it felt crowded now, I can image how it will feel come the Christmas holidays.


If they send me a survey; I'll definitely complete it honestly; however I highly doubt Ill go seeking them out to give them my thoughts, but that's just my personality.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

How are the uber/lyft drivers when it comes to mask wearing? I heard some reports it wasn’t great but seems like a lot of folks here used them so thought you could share your thoughts. I keep going back and forth on whether I’m going to use rideshare in the mornings. Are the busses really that bad? Reading all this makes me a bit nervous!


----------



## dachsie

I made an AD r at Trattoria al Forno for breakfast on my DHS day. ifi drove mt car to Boardwalk, could I keep it there for a while?


----------



## Turk February

TikiTikiFan said:


> How are the uber/lyft drivers when it comes to mask wearing? I heard some reports it wasn’t great but seems like a lot of folks here used them so thought you could share your thoughts. I keep going back and forth on whether I’m going to use rideshare in the mornings. Are the busses really that bad? Reading all this makes me a bit nervous!



We used Uber/Lyft many times last week and driver mask compliance was 100%.


----------



## lovethattink

dachsie said:


> I made an AD r at Trattoria al Forno for breakfast on my DHS day. ifi drove mt car to Boardwalk, could I keep it there for a while?



I think they are still using the 2 hour rule for parking at resorts for dining.


----------



## OB1

Thanks for sharing. Great report, and will be helpful on our upcoming trip


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## scrappinginontario

dachsie said:


> I made an AD r at Trattoria al Forno for breakfast on my DHS day. ifi drove mt car to Boardwalk, could I keep it there for a while?


2 hours is my understanding.


----------



## FinallyFL

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


----------



## disneyseniors

I haven't been to WDW during this pandemic yet, but we were lucky to go right before it struck.  We were there from 2/27 to 3/4.
But I am not reporting on our trip.   I just spoke to a good friend and fellow disney lover, and she and her family just got back from WDW about a week ago.  She stated it was alot of fun, but the masks were not.  She stated that the lines were 20 minutes on average and moved quickly.  No problems with mask compliance.  They got to ride all that they wanted to except for ROTR at HS, but they are not Star Wars people so it didn't bother them.  They thought the area was amazing though.  They raved over MMRR; said it was the cutest ride, and alot of fun to boot  They are DVC and stayed a split stay at Poly and GF.   They absolutely loved the character cavalcades, as seems to be the consensus on here.
They only ordered QS and never had problems with that either.  She said they would definitely go back with disney like this.  She also said the crowds were low, but that is a subjective statement, as someone else might complain about how busy it was??   But, to them, crowds were very manageable and low.  They usually visited during high crowds times before the pandemic, so maybe that's why.
All in all, they had an absolutely wonderful time and would return.  Oh, they really liked Not having FP, as the lines always moved quickly without a major wait.  She did say FOP was about an hour, but they didn't mind waiting to ride it.
Just thought a positive report on everything but the masks would be nice to hear!
We are still not convinced to go at this time.  We enjoy the rides, but love the shows, and other attractions, love to eat when and where we want.  If we just wanted to do alot of rides, then we would go now.  We also don't tolerate the heat very well and come from a very cold climate.


----------



## mirandag819

Went to Animal Kingdom today...if I knew this morning Everest would be down all day I wouldn’t have wasted our last park ticket there...really missing park hopping right now!


----------



## Albertan mom

So in a nutshell, what is different about a 'Covid'-Disney vacation now? I have read through many things but I want the quick version.

-Must wear masks at all time except when eating (and must be stationary)
-Temperature checks at park entrances? If its high, you are denied entrance?
-No hopping, one park a day that you must prebook?
-Longer lines because of spacing
-One party per gondola because of spacing
-No fastpasses
-Limited restaurant availability and shorter hours, and must prebook at TS?
-No fireworks or castle shows
-No parades or shows like Nemo, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King etc
-Limited amount of tours available
-Still looks like long wait times at rides
-Limited housekeeping
-Pools are still open?

Please correct me if I am wrong about any of the above or let me know if I missed any. 
Just deciding if it is worth coming from Canada, paying the huge exchange rate and then having to quarantine for 2 weeks when we get back to Canada!
Thanks!


----------



## EMHDad

I know this sounds crazy, but if a person who is experienced in the current realities of Disney wants to help me plan my trip I would very much appreciate it. If not, no worries.  A little background.

We have not been to Disney since 1/14. (7 years!) Since then A LOT changed. Planned a trip for 6/20. Took a look while, but learned the ins and outs to plan the best trip possible. Cancelled. Now, we are going in January 2021. I have a touringplans subscription, but they do not seem to have any touringplans without FP. I also do not completely trust their predictions (because of all the unpredictability. This is my dd6 first time at Disney and it will probably be our last Disney trip for many years. I am trying to be as prepared as possible to enable the best experience possible (while being firmly flexible). Anyone interested in helping my map my days out? I understand there is a higher possiblity of change and flux these days, but also trying to begin to prepare. 

There are 5 of us. myself, dw, ds14, ds11, dd6.
We arrive in Orlando on 1/9 and get a local hotel close to Disney.
1/10 - MK , Check into the Cabins.
1/11 - AK
1/12 - HS or EP (HS is reserved. Might switch the parks)
1/13 - Day off Parks
1/14 - EP or HS (EP is currently Reserved)
1/15 - MK
1/16 - Leave the Cabins.


----------



## icc2515

lines,  you forgot to standing in lines.  This looks and feels like New Years or Christmas crowds.  Its crazy here.  We arrived at the Magic Kingdom 9:30 in the morning and it's now 3:30 and we've only gone three rides Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain plus an hour waiting for our lunch after the mobile order.  Disney Springs close to capacity last night. Forget about rope drop the parks open so late that everybody's up and raring to go.


----------



## philharmagic fan

Respectfully, it may not be as bad as icc2515 suggests (disclaimer - we went on to MK on a Friday and cast members told us that Saturdays are much more crowded). We entered at about 8:45 and walked on Pirates, waited 12 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain, and 20-30 minutes for most of the Fantasyland rides (Mine Train posted 40 and we skipped it). Waited 3 minutes for ice cream at Storybook Treats at 11:10am.  We had a late lunch reservation at Tony's and were seated 5 minutes after our reservation time. Left the park after lunch (around 2:15) so can't comment on late afternoon.


----------



## icc2515

I can tell you I am here now.  It feels a lot like New Years with the lines and crowds. 1 hour to mobile or lunch at MK. Got here at 9:30, its now 3:30 and have ridden 7 Dwarfs. splash, and BTM.  So I would add insane lines.  Disney Springs closed to capacity last nite. Oh and its hot with most of the lines in direct sun. We usually go in the summer and leave by 2 to go to the water park and have finished almost everything we want to do by then.


----------



## snappy

Some modes of transportation aren’t available or operating hours are reduced. Friendship boats are not running. I think that not all of the monorail routes are operating. Lack of park hopping eliminates going to one park and then finishing off the day with a meal at Epcot. I also imagine that ride capacity has been reduced.


----------



## rwdavis2

With lower capacity the are not running rides at full capacity,  for example, run one track at space mtn and not two.


----------



## Rockbro

I would suggest that it is not worth coming if you are paying a huge exchange rate and having to quarantine. You will not be getting the full experience. Possibly wait until next year.


----------



## revdon64

snappy said:


> Some modes of transportation aren’t available or operating hours are reduced. Friendship boats are not running. I think that not all of the monorail routes are operating. Lack of park hopping eliminates going to one park and then finishing off the day with a meal at Epcot. I also imagine that ride capacity has been reduced.


Yes, the EPCOT monorail is not running.


----------



## Turk February

philharmagic fan said:


> Respectfully, it may not be as bad as icc2515 suggests (disclaimer - we went on to MK on a Friday and cast members told us that Saturdays are much more crowded). We entered at about 8:45 and walked on Pirates, waited 12 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain, and 20-30 minutes for most of the Fantasyland rides (Mine Train posted 40 and we skipped it). Waited 3 minutes for ice cream at Storybook Treats at 11:10am.  We had a late lunch reservation at Tony's and were seated 5 minutes after our reservation time. Left the park after lunch (around 2:15) so can't comment on late afternoon.



Respectfully, I agree with you. I was there a week ago and it does not look or feel like Christmas crowds, which I have experienced. If you only did 3 rides in 6 hours, you're doing something wrong. We did 6 rides from 9:30-3:30 on what TP said was the busiest MK day since reopening (Sat 10/10) and that included a lunch break from 12:30-3.

I guess if each ride was an actual 90 minute wait then it's possible, but you should save those for the last few hours of the park instead of mid-day. Sorry to hear icc is having such a bad day there.


----------



## kimberwee

icc2515 said:


> lines,  you forgot to standing in lines.  This looks and feels like New Years or Christmas crowds.  Its crazy here.  We arrived at the Magic Kingdom 9:30 in the morning and it's now 3:30 and we've only gone three rides Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain plus an hour waiting for our lunch after the mobile order.  Disney Springs close to capacity last night. Forget about rope drop the parks open so late that everybody's up and raring to go.


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


----------



## GBRforWDW

EMHDad said:


> I know this sounds crazy, but if a person who is experienced in the current realities of Disney wants to help me plan my trip I would very much appreciate it. If not, no worries.  A little background.
> 
> We have not been to Disney since 1/14. (7 years!) Since then A LOT changed. Planned a trip for 6/20. Took a look while, but learned the ins and outs to plan the best trip possible. Cancelled. Now, we are going in January 2021. I have a touringplans subscription, but they do not seem to have any touringplans without FP. I also do not completely trust their predictions (because of all the unpredictability. This is my dd6 first time at Disney and it will probably be our last Disney trip for many years. I am trying to be as prepared as possible to enable the best experience possible (while being firmly flexible). Anyone interested in helping my map my days out? I understand there is a higher possiblity of change and flux these days, but also trying to begin to prepare.
> 
> There are 5 of us. myself, dw, ds14, ds11, dd6.
> We arrive in Orlando on 1/9 and get a local hotel close to Disney.
> 1/10 - MK , Check into the Cabins.
> 1/11 - AK
> 1/12 - HS or EP (HS is reserved. Might switch the parks)
> 1/13 - Day off Parks
> 1/14 - EP or HS (EP is currently Reserved)
> 1/15 - MK
> 1/16 - Leave the Cabins.


We might be in AK same day. We'll be staying 1/7-1/13. I have a DD6 as well.  It'll be her second time at a couple of the parks, first time at the others.  I'd suggest checking out disneytouristblog.com. Tom Bricker, the author, is in a couple parks every week and constantly updates their 1 day plans with current info.  However, I believe, or hope, that early January is far different from nov/dec crowd levels.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

mirandag819 said:


> Went to Animal Kingdom today...if I knew this morning Everest would be down all day I wouldn’t have wasted our last park ticket there...really missing park hopping right now!


I noticed in MDE it was down all day as well. That does stink. Why was it down all day? Any talk about why?


----------



## teach22180

For those of you who haven't been here yet, let me share a little line example. Today at 10 (2 hours after official open) I got into a line listed as 45 minutes for the safari. It started on the bridge, went down to the lion king theater and snaked through that line, wound around that area (waved at FOP people as the lines almost met) and went back up into Africa. They have added a section to the regular line too. However we moved almost constantly and was on the ride in 25 minutes. It's crazy. The lines look so long, but they really aren't.


----------



## teach22180

DisneyNDecember said:


> I noticed in MDE it was down all day as well. That does stink. Why was it down all day? Any talk about why?


There was a push alert after you arrived saying it wouldn't open today. No reason just that they are working on it.


----------



## icc2515

rwdavis2 said:


> With lower capacity the are not running rides at full capacity,  for example, run one track at space mtn and not two.



They are running both sides of Space Mtn, but only 1 group per train.


----------



## dachsie

EMHDad said:


> I know this sounds crazy, but if a person who is experienced in the current realities of Disney wants to help me plan my trip I would very much appreciate it. If not, no worries.  A little background.
> 
> We have not been to Disney since 1/14. (7 years!) Since then A LOT changed. Planned a trip for 6/20. Took a look while, but learned the ins and outs to plan the best trip possible. Cancelled. Now, we are going in January 2021. I have a touringplans subscription, but they do not seem to have any touringplans without FP. I also do not completely trust their predictions (because of all the unpredictability. This is my dd6 first time at Disney and it will probably be our last Disney trip for many years. I am trying to be as prepared as possible to enable the best experience possible (while being firmly flexible). Anyone interested in helping my map my days out? I understand there is a higher possiblity of change and flux these days, but also trying to begin to prepare.
> 
> There are 5 of us. myself, dw, ds14, ds11, dd6.
> We arrive in Orlando on 1/9 and get a local hotel close to Disney.
> 1/10 - MK , Check into the Cabins.
> 1/11 - AK
> 1/12 - HS or EP (HS is reserved. Might switch the parks)
> 1/13 - Day off Parks
> 1/14 - EP or HS (EP is currently Reserved)
> 1/15 - MK
> 1/16 - Leave the Cabins.


I think what you have is good.  I would keep HS and EP how you have them


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## Broncho52

kimberwee said:


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


So is renting a car the best way to go?


----------



## crazy_for_the_dis

Broncho52 said:


> So is renting a car the best way to go?


Ubering and walking is the best for HS, Epcot and MK, or staying at BC, YC, or Boardwalk for HS and Epcot.  Although Epcot is not a big draw at this time,


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## kimberwee

Broncho52 said:


> So is renting a car the best way to go?


I would figure out a way to get close enough to walk over early


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## MrsBooch

I tried picking through the reports of recent stays and I tried the search function but no luck so I have to ask:

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

I've never done a split stay before - pre or post covid.

Thanks


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## katyringo

So for magic kingdom where do we have an Uber drop us off at?


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## crazy_for_the_dis

Most are going to the contemporary.


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## Akck

MrsBooch said:


> I tried picking through the reports of recent stays and I tried the search function but no luck so I have to ask:
> 
> I have a split stay coming up from WL to Riviera - are they transferring luggage still? If so - are they taking it from Bell Services in WL to my ROOM in Riviera or Bell Services in Riviera.
> 
> I've never done a split stay before - pre or post covid.
> 
> Thanks



Yes, they will transfer your luggage.


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## krsb09

We're here now and are leaving tomorrow, so I thought I'd give my report.  It's going to be super long, and I hope it helps some of you!  We arrived last Saturday and spent 3 days off-site, just to decompress before hitting the parks.  We went to Disney Springs on Sunday for a couple hours at around noon, but other than that didn't venture within the bubble at all.  We moved to the Contemporary on Tuesday for 5 days in the parks.  We rented a car and were really glad we didn't turn it in when we moved to our onsite portion of our trip like we usually do.  I was impressed with mask compliance, and most people did their best to stay distanced and obey the rules.  Those that didn't were really obvious and obnoxious.  As some background, we're out of state former annual passholders who let our passes expire during the closure.  We typically would visit 2ish times a year for a week or more, so not much is new for us.  We've been super cautious with COVID concerns, but not too terribly worried about outdoor, limited contact.  The current iteration of the MDE app is awful.  Just awful.  It crashes and doesn't load properly most of the time, and with QS restaurants requiring mobile ordering, it's not a fun experience.

Tuesday: We dropped our luggage off at Contemporary and drove over to Epcot at about 9:50 for an 11:00 open.  We arrived at the parking gates a little after 10 and had to wait about 5 minutes for them to start letting cars through.  We were 5 or 6 cars back in line.  Once we parked, we headed straight to Test Track.  Waited about 10 minutes for them to start the ride up, but once they did, it was a walk on.  After we were done, the line was posted as a 70 minute wait.  We then wandered around World Showcase snacking and exploring for most of the day.  My 7 year old did the Remy's Hide and Squeak, which was so so fun.  We hit Soarin, Living with the Land, and Nemo on our way back out, and all 3 were a walk on as well.  This was definitely our best day of the week and we had a blast.

Wednesday: Hollywood Studios.  I mobile ordered breakfast for us at Boardwalk Bakery, and we had no issues parking there and picking that up at around 8:15.  HS was at at 10:00 opening, and we walked over from Boardwalk at around 8:35.  The walkway the whole way there was filled with people also walking.  We arrived at around 8:50, and there were a couple hundred people there already.  Once they let us all go, they split us all into multiple temperature tent lines.  We headed to the far left and ended up being the 7th or so group in line at our tent.  While we were walking up to our tent, we did hear a CM tell a couple 20something women that they couldn't wear lace masks.  They tried to argue but were denied entry even into the tents.  We were held until a bit after 9, then we went straight to MMRR.  We were at the first marker right outside the entry door, and were on and off the ride by 9:35.  We went straight to Slinky after that, and ended up having to wait about 50 minutes.  I was able to snag boarding group 8 for Rise (no one around me in line got a boarding group.  I felt awful for them.), and we headed that way after.  Rode that, and my husband had to head back to grab the car and go to the hotel for conference calls.  My daughter and I took at break at that point and rode the skyliner to Riviera for lunch.  So good!  After, we headed back for our reservation to build a droid, then went back to the hotel for a mid-day break.  It was hot Hot HOT this week, with temps in the 90s, high humidity, and most lines in the sun.  We returned in the evening and rode Smuggler's Run, Midway Mania, and Saucers with 25ish minute waits.  Not too bad at all.  Posted times were correct all day.

Thursday: Magic Kingdom.  This was when we first began to feel how rough things are with all of the closures, spacing in lines and limited capacity on rides, no fastpasses, and lack of food options.  We walked over from Contemporary at around 8, and once we were through all the checkpoints, we walked right on to Mine Train.  After that we headed to Peter Pan, also a walk on, then to Big Thunder Mountain, which was about a 10 minute wait.  Our plan was to go to Splash next, but it was down for the first couple hours of the morning.  Instead we did Jungle Cruise and waited for 20 minutes or so, then Pirates, with a 15 minute wait.  After that, our day went off the rails.  My daughter's favorite ride has always been small world, so we got in line for that in the blazing sun.  The line wrapped back and forth all the way through the area where stroller parking was in front of the Rapunzel bathrooms before it entered the building.  35 minutes of that, about 25 of which was in the sun.  It was SO hot and miserable and it was so crowded.  People were shoulder to shoulder walking through the chokepoints between Peter Pan and small world, etc.  It felt like Christmas week.  Just looking at the app, everything had a minimum wait of 30 minutes, including things like the carousel.  Splash was at 90, which we really had wanted to do.  We decided to try the "quick" rides like Dumbo, Barnstormer, and Teacups, but by the time we got there, they had all soared to 20-30 minutes as well and we just couldn't tolerate standing in the sun any longer.  We're used to grabbing mid-day fastpasses for those types of rides, so waiting at all for them isn't going to happen.  After scouring half the park to find an open cart that actually had Mickey pretzels, we were frustrated and annoyed and went back to the hotel to spend the rest of the day at the pool.

Friday: Animal Kingdom, my daughter's favorite park.  She requested we spend 2 days here.  She loves Wilderness Explorers and FoP, so those are our focus.  We got a bit of a late start, and pulled into the parking lot at about 7:35 for an 8:00 opening.  We went right to FoP, and although the line looked daunting, it moved constantly and only took us about a half hour.  Our starting point was all the way down by Festival of the Lion King.  We grabbed breakfast and coffee next, and watched a few of the cavalcades as they went by.  Next we did the Safari: with a 25 minute posted time, we only waited about 10 minutes.  We saw tons of animals and had a great guide.  My husband had to head out again at this point for work, so my daughter and I grabbed lunch at Satuli and went through all of the Wilderness Explorer points in Africa, Pandora, Discovery Island, and Dinoland.  We rode Triceratops Spin and did some shopping while hanging out in Dino, then hopped on a bus back to the hotel at around 3.  

Saturday, today: Animal Kingdom again, total nightmare.  This was by far our hardest day with the crowds.  AVOID WEEKENDS.  We got up much earlier this morning and made it through the AK parking gates at about 7:10.  We were parked in the second row filled.  Even still, by the time we got to FoP this morning, we were way way farther back in line, and they clearly didn't start loading people until closer to 8.  We sat and sat and didn't move until almost 8, and had to wait over an hour in line.  By the time we were done, the wait was at 135 minutes, barely a half hour after official opening time.  We had planned to hit Navi after because the wait was only about 25 minutes yesterday after we rode FoP, but it had already hit an hour at that point today.  Instead we repeated our breakfast and coffee from yesterday, then finished off the Wilderness Explorer book in Asia and Rafiki's Planet Watch.  Everest was down all day, which made Asia a ghost town.  We had a really enjoyable morning exploring there.  Rafiki's wasn't as fun.  They're only seating 3 parties per car on the train, which means if you have 3 parties of 1 person, they'll only load 3 people on a car that should fit probably 30 or so.  We had to wait for 5 trains.  5.  Even at Christmas it wasn't that bad.  My daughter really wanted to try the animated experience, and I thought that by getting in line for the train at 11:45, that would give us plenty of time for the 12:15 show.  Nope.  We explored and got the WE badges, then headed out.  Wait times were crazy for everything at this point.  I tried to mobile order lunch for the 3 of us at Satuli again, and the app crashed on me twice in the middle of ordering.  Every time it did that I'd lose my time slot, so I went from "Now", to a half hour later, to 45 minutes later.  I finally got our order placed, and we headed to Pandora with about 15 minutes to wait.  We had planned on finding a spot in the shade to kick back and rest before we could hit the "we are here" button, but once there, there literally was no place anywhere in Pandora to go, whether in the sun or the shade.  The area not taken by the ride queues were just absolutely filled with people.  The CM at Satuli was telling people to "step aside" to wait for their orders, but there was no place to step aside to.  It was totally overwhelming and not an even remotely fun experience, so I canceled my order, we left the park, got McDonalds on our way back, and went back to the hotel.

I hate that our last day had to end on such a sour note.  The beginning of our trip mid-week was really nice.  I couldn't wait to get back here, but now that the itch is scratched, we likely won't come back again until things change drastically.  There are too many things still closed, not having Fastpasses is miserable, and there's nowhere for people to go other than to stand in line the entire day.  For first timers, this isn't going to be an experience that they'll want to return to, and for those of us that have been here oodles of times, we can feel what's missing.  I'll be interested to see what changes Disney makes.


----------



## scrappinginontario

kimberwee said:


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



I don’t stress if the people in front of me don’t always keep up with the line, especially if they’re having fun while waiting.  The gap is only 10’ to more line.  If close to boarding it’s one thing but until then I just see it as a treat when they notice and it feels like we move further.  It’s all perception and attitude.  I did the same in stores at home yesterday.  I’ll take a gap over someone too close behind 100% of the time!!

Many are reporting rope drop can be done from the resorts, just arrive at the transportation a minimum of 90 mins before park opening.  Longer for Skyliner resorts to get to DHS.


----------



## Turk February

icc2515 said:


> They are running both sides of Space Mtn, but only 1 group per train.



We had another group in our ship last week (3 of us, empty seat, group of 2) and they were running both sides.


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## cindyfan

Reading so many posts regarding lines and crowds.... and then attractions going down, etc. 
Disney really needs to bring back park hopping!!!!  Seriously... it should be such an easy fix!!!  Keep the reservation system, then once you used (entered) your first reservation (park) then see what else is available!!  And "reserve" a second!  It would work just like the additional fast pass system! 
The biggest thing that is keeping us from going back right now is "NO park hopping"!

And bring back Fast Passes!!!  Don't care how!  if its the old paper ones or if you have to be in the park.... however they do it... they need to do it!! 

Come on Disney!!!!  Get with it here!!


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## lorileahb

It's interesting to read the good and bad that get posted - from weekends to weekdays.  No doubt frustrating for Disney and us guests - kind of a no-win situation with COVID and trying to recover a theme park business in the midst of it all.  We love Disney and are really looking forward to our November trip, come what may.  So appreciative of all of these posts so we can temper our expectations - and really decide on the few things that are must dos for us each day... have booked a few table service meals for lunchtimes for in-park breaks and to avoid having to find seating in crowded spaces with a QS meal like we typically do.  Sounds like rope drop with uber/lyft in the a.m. for Epcot (Boardwalk) and MK (contemp cafe) - walking over to get us there an hour before opening.  MK - probably go back mid-day for a break or go take the boat to Wilderness Lodge to see Christmas decorations, and come back when the sun isn't as brutal. AK is on a Sunday... uber/lyft to park, and definitely temper our expectations from what it sounds like - did get a table-service lunch at Rainforest (hoping to luck into Yak & Yeti as a swap) to avoid QS service seating challenges.  Fingers crossed, and will be checking back here often to adjust our approach... once we are there, just going to enjoy... we go periodically, so don't have to do everything - more just try to hit our favorites early... then just avoid the top-tier 60+ min waits for the rest of the time.   Good luck to everyone going... and thank you so much for keeping these posts coming!!!


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## monkeydawn

cindyfan said:


> Reading so many posts regarding lines and crowds.... and then attractions going down, etc.
> Disney really needs to bring back park hopping!!!!  Seriously... it should be such an easy fix!!!  Keep the reservation system, then once you used (entered) your first reservation (park) then see what else is available!!  And "reserve" a second!  It would work just like the additional fast pass system!



So what if no other park is available for that second reservation?  Will you get a refund for the Park Hopping ability?  If you force people to check out of a current park in order to check into a second for the day, what happens if after checking out from Park #1, there are no other parks with openings?  And then Park #1 fills up again and you cant even continue your day in any park?

Given the current reservation system wont even allow you to switch days without canceling and rebooking, Id have a hard time trusting that they could get park hopping with limits implemented correctly in a way that doesnt mean some people get locked out completely, especially at busy times.


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## trishadono

kimberwee said:


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


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

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


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## ColoradoMom12

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


----------



## brockash

FinallyFL said:


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


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


----------



## LizzyDragon

ColoradoMom12 said:


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



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


----------



## Befferk

LizzyDragon said:


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



This makes more sense than making groups split up.


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## melmel

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

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


----------



## ColoradoMom12

Befferk said:


> This makes more sense than making groups split up.


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


----------



## Tess

ColoradoMom12 said:


> We returned Thursday from 5 nights at Disney (10/10 thru 10/15). It was our first time since March, when we unintentionally ended up there for the official park closing. Fortunately we went into this trip knowing it would be nothing like our previous ones. This is a long post, but hopefully it’s helpful information.
> 
> My daughter and I both underestimated how problematic mask-wearing would be for us. We are diligent mask wearers; she wears one many hours a day while she’s at school and for gymnastics, and I wear a mask during most of the day and while I’m riding my bike. Our issue was the combination of heat and especially humidity. We live at very high altitude (6800 feet, which is more than a mile, above sea level). It gets hot here in the summer, but there is zero humidity so no amount of mask wearing at home could have prepared us for this experience. We both found we needed to take frequent mask breaks at the relaxation stations. We tried very hard to wear our masks in lines without removing them to drink water. It just wasn’t possible for either of us with so many of the lines outside in the direct sun. Our first day my daughter almost fainted in line for Frozen Ever After. After that, we pulled our masks down for quick drinks of water in lines as needed.
> 
> Typically at Disney we draw the line at anything with more than a 20 minute wait and try to use FastPass as much as possible (we had never been through the standby queue for many of the headliners). This trip we had to revisit what we considered our maximum limit for waits. We decided anything more than an hour was out of the question, especially with so many of the lines outside in the direct sun.
> 
> Unfortunately our rope-drop plans backfired on us twice. The first time was Tuesday at MK. The plan was to rope drop Splash and then head to BTMRR. When we arrived, Splash was down. We waited around for a while (a mistake) and then decided to jump into the line for BTMRR while we waited. By the time we were done, there was a really long line for Splash. The posted wait time was 40 minutes. We waited 55. After that we headed to IASW and waited almost 45 minutes in the sweltering heat. The line wrapped around outside to the stroller parking by the restrooms. After that, we decided to go back to our resort and swim. The heat/humidity plus mask situation was too much, and we were frustrated with the lines. The following day at MK was much more successful for us. The longest line we waited in was at rope drop for SDMT, and we only waited 35 minutes. We headed to Space after that and the wait was about the same.
> 
> The other time our rope drop plans backfired was at DHS. We were going to rope drop MMR. We were one of the first 20 cars in line for the parking lot. The line began moving around 9:15 (10:00 park opening). By the time we made it to MMR (9:35), we were told the queue was at capacity. Apparently to rope drop this one, staying at a resort within walking distance (or maybe the Skyliner is better) is necessary. Either that or they need to let people into the parking lot sooner. We headed over to Slinky Dog and were in line by 9:40. They began letting people onto the ride shortly thereafter. We aren’t huge Star Wars fans (aren’t interested in anything more than walking around the land for now) but felt happy for the family ahead of us when they got a boarding group at 10:00! It was at this time that the excitement ended, though, because Slinky Dog went down. We (again) made the mistake of waiting around in the line hoping it would be up and running shortly. My daughter went to ride the Aliens. I was kicked out of the line for Slinky Dog (CMs told those of still waiting that they didn’t know when the ride would be back up, and they essentially didn’t want us waiting around for it), and I went over to wait for my daughter who was just exiting from the Aliens. We needed a mask break at this point. At 11:00 we decided to get in line for MMR. The posted wait time was 90 minutes, but we really wanted to do it. We waited an hour and 20 minutes, which we ended up deciding was worth it. It was our first time experiencing MMR. We had fastpass for it the day that the parks closed in March and were sad we missed out then. So while this was a longer wait that we were willing to do for other things, we felt it was worth it for this one.
> 
> There were a lot of people during our trip, and lines stretched into the walkways, which made it seem more crowded than it probably actually was. We are diligent mask wearers and for the most part felt other people were as well. There were a few instances of non-masking wearing. Twice we got on rides and the family ahead of us decided to take off their masks— Living with the Land and Small World. We saw a few people walking around the parks eating and more than a few people with noses sticking out of their masks. There were many other people in lines who did what we did and pulled their masks down briefly for a sip of water. I saw a few people eating in lines, but thankfully we were distanced enough that I didn’t feel unsafe. The outside lines were less of a concern for me than waiting inside. For the most part, we felt like people were respectful of distancing in lines. On one occasion, the family behind us kept standing so close to us that I thought they wanted to join us. I was uncomfortable with it and finally asked them if they would like to switch places with us in the line. The answer was no, and they were more careful after that. In my opinion, Disney needs to re-think the “wait here” tape for large parties. It might help if they asked groups larger than 6 to split up and wait on two lines. I found when there was a large group in front of us, they ended up pretty close to our “wait here” tape. In these instances, I tried to leave some extra space between our parties. I explained to the family behind us what I was doing and offered them the chance to switch places with us (only one group took me up on the offer). By about our third day, I began paying attention as we were getting into line how many were in the group at the end of the queue. If it was a large group, we waited to the side for a smaller group (never waited more than about two minutes). Overall I felt comfortable with the Covid precautions that are in place and felt other people, for the most part, were respectful of wearing masks and distancing.
> 
> For the most part, we found that while the lines were long, they moved almost continuously (stopping entirely only for a cleaning cycle). Some of the lines looked frighteningly long (SDMT began at Ariel’s Grotto), but they actually weren’t such a long wait. We didn’t accomplish everything we usually do, but we weren’t expecting to. We weren’t really affected by the limited dining options (other than at our resort), but I had made ADRs for lunch every day. It’s not something I usually do, but I figured at the very least, we would need a break from our masks.
> 
> *My final opinion is that park hours either need to be extended into the evening (when at least there isn’t any direct sun) or fastpass needs to be brought back in some way or another. We found it very difficult to wait in the direct sun during the hottest hours of the day while wearing masks. I also did not enjoy feeling like we needed to be at the parks for rope-drop every day in order to avoid long lines for the big attractions later in the day (our strategy was to rope drop one, head directly to a second, and pick a third for which we were willing to wait up to an hour). We’re morning people and have no problem getting up in order to make it to the park by 7 (which was when Animal Kingdom opened the day we were there), but it is exhausting to feel the need to do this every single day. Our preference is to start our morning in a more relaxed way. I felt like the only way we could accomplish things was to be there for rope drop every day. We have another trip planned at Thanksgiving and are re-thinking our strategy and what’s most important to us.*



Enjoyed your thoughts.

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

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

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

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


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## CarolynFH

MrsBooch said:


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


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


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## skatalite

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

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

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


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## nkereina

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


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## scrappinginontario

skatalite said:


> Not gonna lie, with the perceived "increase" in crowds and, more importantly, longer attraction lines, I'm growing concerned for our upcoming trip.
> 
> We will be in the WDW bubble Nov. 27 through Dec. 6. There will be 6 of us, including my 3- and 4-year-old daughters and also my parents, both of whom will use mobility scooters.
> 
> Does anyone have any information on how Disney is managing these longer lines for individuals in scooters?


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

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

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


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## Turk February

nkereina said:


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



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


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## skatalite

scrappinginontario said:


> I’m not aware of any changes.  Have your parents been to Disney in scooters before?  Both my parents use scooters when we travel to Disney.
> 
> Some rides they go through the regular line then just transfer when we get to the ride.  Other times they will use an alternate entrance (small world, Splash).  These entrances are marked.  Occasionally your parent will need to transfer to a Disney provided wheelchair if needed (Peter Pan) and you will push them through the regular line.
> 
> If anyone is aware of changes with how guests in scooters are experiencing attractions, please correct my answer.  TIA!



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

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


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## scrappinginontario

skatalite said:


> This is all great information. Our last visit, 2017, only my dad was in a scooter but he didn't get on any rides. This time he's gotta get on some because his granddaughters asked him to  This will be my mom's first time with a scooter.
> 
> Both my parents can stand and walk on their own, and normal activities like grocery shopping don't bother them. But prolonged walking and waiting definitely will pose serious discomfort for them.


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


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## skatalite

scrappinginontario said:


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



Yep! Describing my folks to a T.

Thanks again for all your information!


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## Silas5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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## tuckymom

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

Thank you for the information!


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## My3SonsSTX

skatalite said:


> This is all great information. Our last visit, 2017, only my dad was in a scooter but he didn't get on any rides. This time he's gotta get on some because his granddaughters asked him to  This will be my mom's first time with a scooter.
> 
> Both my parents can stand and walk on their own, and normal activities like grocery shopping don't bother them. But prolonged walking and waiting definitely will pose serious discomfort for them.




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


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## brockash

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Any specific questions I'm happy to answer.


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## seashell7290

Tips/suggestions to make your trip better:
-plan meals out with ADRs or mobile order in the parks. You can always adjust your time for the mobile order. There is not a lot of same day ADRs to be had. 
-look at options for meal delivery now. You can put your Disney address in the app (Grubhub/DoorDash...) to see options that your family would like and read reviews. Cheaper than room service! 
-Put all of your backpack contents in a clear bag. Makes the screening easier. MK does require you to take the stuff out and put it in a bin
-Don’t forget to hydrate! Can be easy to forget with strict mask wearing
-Rope drop will work for 1 maybe 2 rides but the crush of people makes lines build quick. Typically I saw lines shrinking around 1-2 but sometimes not. Got in line for dinosaur within 1 hour to park close and still waited 20ish mins. 
-don’t worry about catching the calvacades. They are frequent! If you hear louder music, it is coming!
-after park close Ogas reservation was awesome! Didn’t have to utilize park time and we were able to relax and have 3 drinks. Loved it! 
-wear costumes if you can! My husband and I dressed up the last few hours of magic kingdom and the crowd/CM interaction was cool  
-Try and keep an open mind about the lines. They do move quick. It can be a time to play games like Heads up or go over your favorite moments. 
-Quiet pools have extended hours. Some 24 hours
-A day in Disney is better than a day at work/school!


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## djmeredith

Spent Oct 11-18 at the Dolphin, doing all 4 parks with a second day at DHS. I've shared some park specific info already, but wanted to check back in and give my overall thoughts now that I'm home. I planned this trip to celebrate a milestone birthday I have coming up in a few weeks and this was the only time I could go before next June because of kids' school schedule. This might be the last trip I have with all 3 of my nephews so I am very glad we went and we did have fun. However, there were parts of it that were just miserable and we did not get to do everything we wanted to do in the parks.

Having to be at the parks an hour (or more) before posted open, and waiting in long lines in the sun in masks is exhausting. 4 parks in 4 days is always tough, but it was really rough under current conditions. I highly recommend planning rest days in between park days. If your goal is to do everything, you will be waiting in lines. A lot. And you still will likely not get to do everything in MK or DHS unless you plan a second day. One day was enough for Epcot and AK. Most of the lines do move at a steady pace unless you hit a cleaning cycle, but you still spend a lot of time overall waiting in lines. If you are a frequent Disney visitor and are happy doing a few of your favorite rides and then hanging out at the resort or elsewhere, you will have a great trip. However, this is definitely not the time for first time visitors or for those who are expecting to see/do it all.

The fact Disney did not extend the hours during these fall break weekdays was a huge fail on their part. They knew exactly how many people were going to be there and they simply chose to save money rather than offer a longer day. Even 1 more hour in the evenings would have made a huge difference in being able to accomplish most everything a visitor would want to do. The short days and waits for most attractions resulted in a less enjoyable experience. Overall, I would not recommend going right now unless you are regulars who are okay not riding everything, or have no other choice due to your family's scheduling issues. Again, we did have fun. One of our goals was Galaxy's Edge and we loved it; got boarding groups both days for ROTR and walked on MFSR 3 times. However, I would not recommend spending the money on the lesser experience Disney is offering at full ticket price if you are an infrequent visitor. If you are on the fence at all about your trip, you will likely have a similar feeling.


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## ELT

Went to Disney Springs tonight ... very crowded but not unbearable. We did wait 15 min to get into LEGO store.  Rain came but we had a reservation at Terralina.  Bad service which I wasn’t excepting. Pizza was good but never got bread and they forgot my salad.  its Epcot day tomorrow. Wish me luck


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## katyringo

Alright reading these reports I’ve changed my plans a bit.

for HS we will Uber to boardwalk and get a mobile order for boardwalk bakery and then walk over

for MK same thing but with the contemporary.

we are arriving late to Epcot anyway..

what about AK? What is walking distance there that Uber could drop us off?


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## lorileahb

katyringo said:


> Alright reading these reports I’ve changed my plans a bit.
> 
> for HS we will Uber to boardwalk and get a mobile order for boardwalk bakery and then walk over
> 
> for MK same thing but with the contemporary.
> 
> we are arriving late to Epcot anyway..
> 
> what about AK? What is walking distance there that Uber could drop us off?



For AK, I hope someone has a better answer, but I don't think there is another easy drop off... I think it has a really long entry/drive... and, unlike Epcot, I don't believe there is a resort that has a walkway over (Epcot International Gateway from Boardwalk and/or Beach Resort).


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## VandVsmama

brockash said:


> We just returned late last night...trip 10/12-10/17.  I'm going to try to do a bit of a trip report.  I'm going to share pros and cons so if you're not a fan of hearing about the cons; pls skip.  Personally I find it helpful, but I know others don't like to hear it.
> 
> Flew SW - awesome as usual; loved empty middle seats and it's going to be rough when my crew has to go back to regular traveling lol.  We landed at MCO a little early - yay... went and retrieved our luggage - def. miss not having to worry about that.
> 
> Got to ME line, not a bad line to checkin but longer than we've had in the past - they only had 1person working the checkin area.  We were directed to AKL line and waited about 10 mins to board.  Once we boarded we waited about 10 mins and left.  We were 4th stop which I wasn't a fan of, but it was fine.  We arrived, but room wasn't ready so we dropped our luggage off - very friendly bell services.  We had a reservation at Beaches n cream so we quickly caught a bus to dhs and used skyliner to get to lunch.  It was all smooth and lunch was great with great service.  We then walked around a quiet boardwalk a bit and then headed back to resort because room was ready and we were going to meet my sister and her kids.  Bell services quickly brought our luggage and was very polite....room was awesome - it was a 2 bedroom and very much like the 2 bedrooms we've stayed at at blt.  Location was awesome as well.
> 
> AKL - Kidani village - Background we had originally booked ASSp, was moved/upgraded to AoA family suite and then eventually moved to AKL 2 bedroom.  I really didn't have much interest in staying at AKL, but certainly wasn't going to pass up a 2 bedroom.  It was an awesome upgrade and we were very grateful for it, however I'm going to be honest about our feelings of the resort.  I also knew that we probably wouldn't ever pay to stay there because if we're paying delux prices we'd be choosing YC or CR, Poly etc.  It was definitely nice to try something new, the animals were awesome and loved the room.  Having said that we hated how far the resort was to everything other than AK and the no cs option was a real bummer- like honestly I'm not sure why they would open a resort without opening some kind of counter service place.  I also felt the resort was just not big enough for the anount of ppl staying there.  It was hard to find seats at the pool, there was often a line for the gift shop and place to fill your mug...the ppl. working the drink station/gift shop were not the nicest.  It seemed impossible to get to the parks within the first 20 mins of parks opening, which basically meant you didn't make the real rope drop and you weren't getting on rides with a short wait.  We finally gave in on Fri and ubered to CR to walk to MK.  This worked out better, although it would have been better if we would have done it earlier - my fault as it was a last min decision.
> 
> Parks:  By far the longest waits we've experienced since I was a kid and used to go during spring break.  We've gone many many times in the last 15 years, but usually in late Aug./early Sept.  We've also been a handful of times in May, June, July and late Sept.  We have never waited in the kind of lines we waited in this past week.  For ppl. who go often and only ride/see a handful of attractions and just take in the parks; this probably isn't such a big deal or for those who have only done Disney during really busy times and only a few times, again this probably won't be as much of a shock to the system, but for those who feel they use a good touring plan, utilized fastpasses, expect to hit every ride etc., this is a very different time.  As much as I've tried to tour in a more slow going, relaxed mode, at heart I'm still a commando so this was an odd trip for sure.  I'll be honest part of the reason we go back to Disney so often is because we know how to do it to our liking and enjoyment...it's a big part of what makes Disney enjoyable while other theme parks feels more like a chore to me to do for my kids.  We are not used to waiting much more than 20 mins for anything and often have a 5-10 min. wait for rides, and that was just not possible this past week.  Everything was at least 25-35 mins and many an hr+... in the hot blazing sun.  There were just many periods of time that just weren't enjoyable.  I will say for the most part, Disney seemed to be trying, running both sides of attractions etc., but it is what it is and I'm not sure what they could do to fix it at this point, other than open the rest of the shows/ppl mover etc...but I have no idea how they're going to increase capacity even with those things being open.  On Fri. they completely blocked off the normal route to splash - you had to use yhe little river bypass area as they had blocked off the entire section in front of splash for the line...I had never seen that before.
> 
> I will say on our first mk day splash and mins train were both down at opening and Test track was down for quite a while on our epcot day as well and these things certainly didn't help.  There were a handful of rides we never got to this trip which has never happened in the past.  We actually went into the shops in the afternoon a couple times which we usually never do.
> 
> Bus service was really not bad, except for the fact that you had to be out at the bus stop no later than 1.5 hrs prior to park open to make it on the first bus.  And buses from AKL can't get to the parks (other than AK) for the real park opening time if yhey don't start running them until 50-60 mins. before listed park opening,.  I do feel this was more of an AKL issue though as we didn't seem to have that problem in Sept when we stayed at Polynesian.
> 
> Return magical express never showed up.  We had a 430 pickup and were out there st 405...no bus.  We watched this same thing happen on our arrival day to another party.  They ended up calling them a shuttle.  We talked to a me driver who was dropping off guests and he was awesome (Alvin) and actually called in our stuff and he ended up taking us to the airport.  As I was boarding the me bus; I could hear the dispatcher telling him he's glad he called znd asked if he could also stop by boardwalk as there were a number of ppl waiting there as well for a never arriving me bus.  Over the trip to the airport we often heard the dispatcher asking if anyone was near this resort or that resort because ppl needed picked up so I'm not sure what the issue is righr now with that.
> 
> Walmart delivery...wow what a nightmare.  We won't use them again.  We got a text at 405 saying our order was out and they'd b there by 416.  We went out to the outside lobby area and waited, and waited and waited.  Finally I start calling/chatting with them at 5 and all they could tell me was the driver got lost and returned the order.  Driver never called,even though we asked them to when they were on their way...after lots of back and forth we confirmed the address for the 3rd tome- all was correct and they sent a new driver. At 6, we got a text from a driver saying they arrived and asking what apartment we were at....WTH???? Apparently doordash gps's the addresses and somehow it waa coming up at an apartment complex...at least this person called, but it was 630 before we got our order which messed up our plans this night.
> 
> Overall we're glad we went, but decided after the 2nd park day that our next trip would be resort only, which we've never done. We also decided to cancel an upcoming trip, just because we don't feel the cost is worth it right now.   Definitely not saying we won't be back soon...we will most likely be back in March and plan to do parks again next Sept., but it just really wasn't that enjoyable this time all things considered.  Still glad we went because we're crazy Disney ppl and had some nice times, but the lines and the heat were a lot.
> 
> We had pretty good success with food, but we knew to strategically order ahead of time and hit the I'm here button when you were getting ready to head there, not when you're there.  I won't stay at a Disney resort with an open counter service place again though either.
> 
> Any specific questions I'm happy to answer.



THANK YOU for all of this information!  We stayed at AKL Jambo House 2 years ago for 1 night and while we loved it, my DH thought it was "too far away" from everything else.  With no quick service open, that makes the food options very limited and frustrating for sure, I imagine!

Re: your ME trip back to the airport - what a nightmare!  Sounds like ME needs to get its act together.  Maybe we will plan on using Uber or Lyft back to the airport for our trip in January.


----------



## lovethattink

I’m still sold on arriving late afternoon to a park. We went to Epcot today. Arrived around 4:30pm.

Journey into Imagination:
Posted time 40 minutes, actual 10 minutes

Living with the land:
Posted time 5 min, actual 5 minutes

Soarin’
Posted time 40 min, actual time 10 minutes

Test Track shut down while we were on it due to inclement weather, but we were able to finish our ride.


----------



## ELT

Best resort to get dropped off with Lyft to walk to Epcot In the am?


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## CarolynFH

ELT said:


> Best resort to get dropped off with Lyft to walk to Epcot In the am?


Beach Club is the closest. You’ll enter through International Gateway.


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## krsb09

lovethattink said:


> I’m still sold on arriving late afternoon to a park. We went to Epcot today. Arrived around 4:30pm.
> 
> Journey into Imagination:
> Posted time 40 minutes, actual 10 minutes
> 
> Living with the land:
> Posted time 5 min, actual 5 minutes
> 
> Soarin’
> Posted time 40 min, actual time 10 minutes
> 
> Test Track shut down while we were on it due to inclement weather, but we were able to finish our ride.



Yeah, but if you're paying $130/day, that's a heck of a lot for 4 hours on a late closing day.


----------



## lorileahb

ELT said:


> Best resort to get dropped off with Lyft to walk to Epcot In the am?



Boardwalk and Beach Club are pretty much the same distance to the International Gateway - both also have table service and quick service if you wanted to arrange to get a bite to eat when you are dropped off.  Quick service restaurants - you can do a mobile order in advance and just grab it to go.


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## Jhoyer5150

Just back from week long Universal/WDW trip - Stayed at the Swan from 10/14-today.   Did DHS 10/14 and 10/18, MK 10/15, Epcot 10/16.  Agree with some of the above posters.  The lines moved but some were consistently high, and I agree with the aforementioned post that it was a bit disappointing Disney did not extend the fall break hours - even by 1 or 2 hrs in the evening.  

I think for those going it is critical to be AT the park one hour prior to official opening time.  Today we rope dropped M&M RR and were out by 9:18am, then rode Tower of Terror 2x by 9:52am (official open was 10am!).  That made the rest of the day palatable.

Similarly MK day we got an Uber to Contemporary (I had a Wave breakfast reservation as an excuse but was never asked about it - and I actually did change the res to lunch and ate a nice meal there).  We walked all the way to Big Thunder and rode it 2x before 8:50.  Unfortunately Splash was down or I would have walked on that as well.   

Some rides had consistent waits (M&M was 60-70 min all day both days, Slinky 50-60, Frozen 60, Splash 45 probably being the worst.  DHS is the toughest park to do simply due to the top heavy lineup and not a lot else eating crowds.  I'm a ride guy so it didn't bother me too much, but you did miss the character greets, the shows, the entertainment, fireworks/parades....just less *energy* at parks since everyone was in a line/riding.  Also pre-shows were cut out of Tower, RNR Coaster, MMRR, and other rides to their detriment.  

Nevertheless, with hour-before-open rope dropping, and end of day efficiency, you can do everything you want to in a day.  We had a lot of fun.  Agreed that ADRs and mobile ordering is way to go - don't show up at some place and ask about food.  Breaks midday were nice given the heat - we went back to Swan from Epcot and DHS and had indoor lengthy lunches either in park or at a resort.  

Uber to Contemporary is the play for MK, and we used feet for Epcot and DHS.  Swan busses to Springs were iffy so we took a Disney bus back to Boardwalk and hoofed it.  I think staying at a park with walking was crucial given lack of some of the transportation right now.  Riviera/Caribbean are viable due to Skyliner, the Epcot resorts have a lot going for them as well.  Poly lobby was all closed up and looked a mess tbh.


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## Alpengeist04

lovethattink said:


> I’m still sold on arriving late afternoon to a park. We went to Epcot today. Arrived around 4:30pm.



I’ve done the DHS PM arrival 4 times in the last 6 weeks with pretty good success.  I would arrive between 1:00-1:30pm, ride Star Tours and Alien Swirl, then try for a BP at 2pm.  Two weeks ago I was even able to complete the ride challenge.  ...getting on Micky&Minnie, Slinky Dog, Smuggler Run, RotR, Star Tours, Alien Swirl, Toy Story, TOT, and Rn’RC before leaving.  

It’s much harder to do now though. Last Wednesday I was able to ride everything but Mickey&Minnie, while luckily getting my boarding pass to RotR called at 6:58pm.


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## Best Aunt

lorileahb said:


> Boardwalk and Beach Club are pretty much the same distance to the International Gateway - both also have table service and quick service if you wanted to arrange to get a bite to eat when you are dropped off.  Quick service restaurants - you can do a mobile order in advance and just grab it to go.



The question was this: "Best resort to get dropped off with Lyft to walk to Epcot In the am?"

Not sure how well it would work if Beach Club ever prohibits people who aren't staying there from arriving in a motor vehicle unless they have an ADR or a mobile order.  (Not saying that they would, just pondering it.) 

The quick service restaurant is Beach Club Marketplace - can you mobile order there?  I haven't read about it starting there. 

Cape May Cafe is a buffet restaurant which has not reopened since the pandemic started. 

Beaches & Cream table service restaurant is a hard ADR to get, and it is not open for breakfast. 

Martha's Vineyard Lounge doesn't take ADRs, as far as I know. I don't know what their hours are.

Hurricane Hannah's is out by the pool; I don't know if it takes mobile order and I don't think it is open for breakfast.

I realize that people staying at Beach Club Villas can walk over to Yacht Club to eat.  This is not a "where are you going to eat if you are staying at BCV" post.  This is a "can you use restaurants as a reason to go to BC in the morning if you need a reason" post.

Yacht Club has the Market at Ale and Compass quick service restaurant, which I believe does take mobile order.  It has Ale & Compass table service restaurant, which does take ADRs.

On the other hand, the Boardwalk Bakery does take mobile order, from what I have read.


----------



## scrappinginontario

*TIP re gift cards:*

If paying for mobile ordering using gift cards, enter numbers in a note.  When ready to use copy and paste into MDE app to save keying it in each time.


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## Angie_Ohio

My son and I traveled Oct. 8 - 11.  We rescheduled from Aug.  We are frequent park visitors from Ohio.  We used our points to stay at Riviera.  Had breakfast (used Uber) at Ale and Compass booked 7:50am but we were seated about 10 minutes early.  Walked to HS and arrived an hour early.  
We were let in to wait in line for a ride by 9:15.  Rode M&MRR.  We went right to TOT and got boarding group 40 for ROTR.  Our day was pretty good. We were able to ride everything we wanted plus eat at Prime Time. It was a lot of standing though.  Our legs were done by about 4:30 standing for drinks in Olga's. 
Magic Kingdom day Saturday was pretty good as well but we apparently are not used to so much standing.  I didn't realize how much having 3 FPs can change how your whole body feels.  Looong line for Splash.  
Epcot Sunday was the worst.  We took the Skyliner from Riviera but there was an issue and it stopped running for about 30 minutes.  We didn't arrive at International Gateway until after 11.  We only wanted to ride Soarin' since we had an afternoon flight home.  Walked all the way there for posted 100 minute wait.  Skipped and rode Spaceship Earth.  40 minute wait.  I was disappointed about Soarin' but the F&WF food was great.  Lobster roll and carrot cake in American Adventure yum!  
Many people not following mask guidelines today (mostly men wearing the mask below the nose).  
It has taken several days for my feet and legs to recover.  I am not a sedentary person.  I Crossfit 3x a week and teach K so I'm on my feet most of the time.  This trip kicked my buns.


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## nkereina

seashell7290 said:


> MK does require you to take the stuff out and put it in a bin


What do you mean by this? I plan on carrying a small cross body bag with just sanitizer, phone, wallet, sunglasses. Will just my phone need to be put in a bin?



katyringo said:


> for MK same thing but with the contemporary.





ELT said:


> Best resort to get dropped off with Lyft to walk to Epcot In the am?


Its my understanding you'll need an ADR to get dropped off by Lyft/Uber at either of these resorts. This is why Uber/Lyft has been dropping off at TTC for MK. If you're able to get an ADR at an Epcot area resort, Beach Club or Boardwalk would be closest.


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## nkereina

For those who stayed somewhere other than a value resort, what is the queue situation at the bus depots? We're staying at CBR and have no issue getting to the bus depot early to catch the MK or AK bus, but I know pre-Covid there were no formal queues and it was always a bit of a free-for-all with people crowding when a bus pulled up and few people respecting who was there first. Is this being managed at the bus depots at the resorts or is it important to stand right where the bus doors typically open (and then just step back if the bus you don't want pulls up first)?


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## kimberwee

scrappinginontario said:


> I don’t stress if the people in front of me don’t always keep up with the line, especially if they’re having fun while waiting.  The gap is only 10’ to more line.  If close to boarding it’s one thing but until then I just see it as a treat when they notice and it feels like we move further.  It’s all perception and attitude.  I did the same in stores at home yesterday.  I’ll take a gap over someone too close behind 100% of the time!!
> 
> Many are reporting rope drop can be done from the resorts, just arrive at the transportation a minimum of 90 mins before park opening.  Longer for Skyliner resorts to get to DHS.


I understand what you are saying, however, if people paid attention and moved efficiently through, the wait times wouldn’t build to what they are. In lines as long as they were this week and with the heat/humidity, it matters 

And despite our efforts, at the GF we found that buses weren’t running until 45 min before park opening and at the 45 min mark there would be multiple buses for 1 park , so the theory of 90 min did not hold true for us this week.

For those planning trips, it’s important to hear that the advice given on these boards may not always work out and if rope drop is important, they may need to consider alternatives.  A good plan would be to hit bus stop at resort, but if bus doesn’t show up by x time, call for Uber to drop you at a walking point


----------



## kimberwee

nkereina said:


> For those who stayed somewhere other than a value resort, what is the queue situation at the bus depots? We're staying at CBR and have no issue getting to the bus depot early to catch the MK or AK bus, but I know pre-Covid there were no formal queues and it was always a bit of a free-for-all with people crowding when a bus pulled up and few people respecting who was there first. Is this being managed at the bus depots at the resorts or is it important to stand right where the bus doors typically open (and then just step back if the bus you don't want pulls up first)?



its a formal queue and people were being very respectful of line positions at GF last week...there was typically a cast member on hand to help direct the early morning “rope drop” riders as well


----------



## ELT

If I just Uber directly to Epcot what time can we be dropped off? Not sure what time they open for parking etc..thank you !


----------



## BK2014

kimberwee said:


> I understand what you are saying, however, if people paid attention and moved efficiently through, the wait times wouldn’t build to what they are. In lines as long as they were this week and with the heat/humidity, it matters



As the previous poster stated, people not moving efficiently in lines really only affects wait times if it is near the immediate front of the queue and actually slows down the boarding process.  Beyond that, any gaps caused by people not paying attention to the line moving in front of them are not causing any delays because in almost all circumstances the people will start moving only to catch up to the line ahead of them.  So while it may cause the actual line to be longer than it should, it really wouldn't affect total wait times.


----------



## kimberwee

BK2014 said:


> As the previous poster stated, people not moving efficiently in lines really only affects wait times if it is near the immediate front of the queue and actually slows down the boarding process.  Beyond that, any gaps caused by people not paying attention to the line moving in front of them are not causing any delays because in almost all circumstances the people will start moving only to catch up to the line ahead of them.  So while it may cause the actual line to be longer than it should, it really wouldn't affect total wait times.



Based on my experience with this last week, the gaps were happening throughout. On PoC it was so bad that people were passing groups and walking around them. At one point a group of 7 got passed twice and spent a good chunk of time trying to figure out where they felt they were.  Then there was another incident where a woman lost her companion completely only to discover that she was up all the way by boat assignments

Again, I am just relaying what I experienced.


----------



## lorileahb

Best Aunt said:


> The question was this: "Best resort to get dropped off with Lyft to walk to Epcot In the am?"
> 
> Not sure how well it would work if Beach Club ever prohibits people who aren't staying there from arriving in a motor vehicle unless they have an ADR or a mobile order.  (Not saying that they would, just pondering it.)
> 
> The quick service restaurant is Beach Club Marketplace - can you mobile order there?  I haven't read about it starting there.
> 
> Cape May Cafe is a buffet restaurant which has not reopened since the pandemic started.
> 
> Beaches & Cream table service restaurant is a hard ADR to get, and it is not open for breakfast.
> 
> Martha's Vineyard Lounge doesn't take ADRs, as far as I know. I don't know what their hours are.
> 
> Hurricane Hannah's is out by the pool; I don't know if it takes mobile order and I don't think it is open for breakfast.
> 
> I realize that people staying at Beach Club Villas can walk over to Yacht Club to eat.  This is not a "where are you going to eat if you are staying at BCV" post.  This is a "can you use restaurants as a reason to go to BC in the morning if you need a reason" post.
> 
> Yacht Club has the Market at Ale and Compass quick service restaurant, which I believe does take mobile order.  It has Ale & Compass table service restaurant, which does take ADRs.
> 
> On the other hand, the Boardwalk Bakery does take mobile order, from what I have read.



Thank for all of the details!!!  I think we are going to mobile order Boardwalk Bakery to avoid any issues getting into the resort.  Then walk over. .


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## Shinrai

lorileahb said:


> Boardwalk and Beach Club are pretty much the same distance to the International Gateway - both also have table service and quick service if you wanted to arrange to get a bite to eat when you are dropped off.  Quick service restaurants - you can do a mobile order in advance and just grab it to go.



How far is the walk from these?


----------



## mydisneyanytime

We just returned Saturday night.  We had a great time.  I was concerned from some of the reviews that I had seen but our experience was great!!  We ate table service each day (1 meal) and felt safe each time.  In Sci-Fi the cars were close together as always but they were only seating certain ones.  In other places the tables had been removed.  

It was very hot and the mask did not help this.  We spent a lot of time on the side eating or drinking which took time.  However, this made us slow down and just enjoy the time there!!  We found the ride times to be shorter the first weekend and Columbus Day than the following Thursday and Friday.  The end of the week was much busier and more crowded.  Our first Sunday we were at Animal Kingdom and the lines (early) were about 5 minutes for Everest.  On Thursday the wait was 35 minutes and I think it was probably more as the line wrapped around to Dinoland.  It was the same for the other rides.  We actually gave up on Animal Kingdom on Thursday after lunch and headed to Disney Springs.  Disney Springs was not crowded since all of the parks were still open.

The wait for the bus went quickly and they had a ton of busses to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.  Even though they are only loading so many we still got on relatively quickly.  We were two mobility devices and always were able to ride together since we were in the same party.

Mobile ordering was fine except for at Pop.  It was just crowded and there was a lot of waiting.  

I may not stay at Pop again unless they have busses going to Epcot and DHS. The skyliner is fine except the crowds and lines for it are very very long and you are waiting in the sun.  

The cast members were working extremely hard to make sure that masks were worn and that social distancing was kept.  There was not nearly as much discussions with the cast members as they were busy with other things this trip.  I did see them cleaning several times but not after each ride.  I wasn't too worried as there is hand sanitizer everywhere so we just washed our hands and sanitized.

The calvacades were fun and we enjoyed them even more than the parades as they were quick.  We even saw Pooh in Epcot chasing butterflies beside Imagination back on the grass!!  

I was worried without fastpasses it would be a mess.  It really wasn't as the lines were moving so quickly.  We used my son's DAS for several rides which helped our ride times.  We got a boarding group for Rise and were able to ride Runaway Railway!

We saw most people moving to the side to eat and drink but not everyone but the cast members were quick to remind them.  Mask compliance was very high and I was really surprised.  We did see a few people with them off but that wasn't the norm.  

Overall, I would go back in a heartbeat.  The magic is still there.  We took our time and really tried to soak in the atmosphere.  I took a ton of pictures of the castle which I don't normally do just because it was so nice to be back.

I am trying to figure out another time to get away for the weekend soon.  I doubt it would happen but I wouldn't hesitate.  Was is different?  Yes.  But it was still awesome and magical.


----------



## Grumpy92

mydisneyanytime said:


> We just returned Saturday night.  We had a great time.  I was concerned from some of the reviews that I had seen but our experience was great!!  We ate table service each day (1 meal) and felt safe each time.  In Sci-Fi the cars were close together as always but they were only seating certain ones.  In other places the tables had been removed.
> 
> It was very hot and the mask did not help this.  We spent a lot of time on the side eating or drinking which took time.  However, this made us slow down and just enjoy the time there!!  We found the ride times to be shorter the first weekend and Columbus Day than the following Thursday and Friday.  The end of the week was much busier and more crowded.  Our first Sunday we were at Animal Kingdom and the lines (early) were about 5 minutes for Everest.  On Thursday the wait was 35 minutes and I think it was probably more as the line wrapped around to Dinoland.  It was the same for the other rides.  We actually gave up on Animal Kingdom on Thursday after lunch and headed to Disney Springs.  Disney Springs was not crowded since all of the parks were still open.
> 
> The wait for the bus went quickly and they had a ton of busses to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.  Even though they are only loading so many we still got on relatively quickly.  We were two mobility devices and always were able to ride together since we were in the same party.
> 
> Mobile ordering was fine except for at Pop.  It was just crowded and there was a lot of waiting.
> 
> I may not stay at Pop again unless they have busses going to Epcot and DHS. The skyliner is fine except the crowds and lines for it are very very long and you are waiting in the sun.
> 
> The cast members were working extremely hard to make sure that masks were worn and that social distancing was kept.  There was not nearly as much discussions with the cast members as they were busy with other things this trip.  I did see them cleaning several times but not after each ride.  I wasn't too worried as there is hand sanitizer everywhere so we just washed our hands and sanitized.
> 
> The calvacades were fun and we enjoyed them even more than the parades as they were quick.  We even saw Pooh in Epcot chasing butterflies beside Imagination back on the grass!!
> 
> I was worried without fastpasses it would be a mess.  It really wasn't as the lines were moving so quickly.  We used my son's DAS for several rides which helped our ride times.  We got a boarding group for Rise and were able to ride Runaway Railway!
> 
> We saw most people moving to the side to eat and drink but not everyone but the cast members were quick to remind them.  Mask compliance was very high and I was really surprised.  We did see a few people with them off but that wasn't the norm.
> 
> Overall, I would go back in a heartbeat.  The magic is still there.  We took our time and really tried to soak in the atmosphere.  I took a ton of pictures of the castle which I don't normally do just because it was so nice to be back.
> 
> I am trying to figure out another time to get away for the weekend soon.  I doubt it would happen but I wouldn't hesitate.  Was is different?  Yes.  But it was still awesome and magical.


Was it difficult to get the DAS pass? We have a member of our family who recently had knee surgery and were thinking about getting it.  We dont think she will be able to stand in the lengthy lines.  But willing to wait her turn if she can sit.


----------



## lorileahb

Shinrai said:


> How far is the walk from these?



0.3 miles - pretty short


----------



## mfly

Grumpy92 said:


> Was it difficult to get the DAS pass? We have a member of our family who recently had knee surgery and were thinking about getting it.  We dont think she will be able to stand in the lengthy lines.  But willing to wait her turn if she can sit.


I’d recommend you check out the disABILITIES section of Disboards for more information on the DAS. 

In short (to save you the trip over there), Disney states that the DAS is not for mobility issues. They recommend that you use other methods to cope with that, including a mobility device (renting a wheelchair or ECV).

As (nearly) all lines are wheelchair accessible, there isn’t a need for individuals using mobility devices to bypass the line due to their device.

If you have needs that go beyond mobility (e.g. cognitive disability), then the DAS may be an option for your group. Ultimately, it’s up to the CM at Guest Services to decide whether the individual should be issued a DAS or not.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Grumpy92 said:


> Was it difficult to get the DAS pass? We have a member of our family who recently had knee surgery and were thinking about getting it.  We dont think she will be able to stand in the lengthy lines.  But willing to wait her turn if she can sit.


Have you considered renting a scooter?   This would allow her to sit through the lines.  We used one after my mom's hip surgery (and each trip since) and it was amazing!  She was able to enjoy her trip much more fully.  DAS is not intended for mobility issues.


----------



## lovethattink

Grumpy92 said:


> Was it difficult to get the DAS pass? We have a member of our family who recently had knee surgery and were thinking about getting it.  We dont think she will be able to stand in the lengthy lines.  But willing to wait her turn if she can sit.



DAS isn’t for mobility issues. Most likely a wheelchair will be recommended.



mfly said:


> I’d recommend you check out the disABILITIES section of Disboards for more information on the DAS.
> 
> In short (to save you the trip over there), Disney states that the DAS is not for mobility issues. They recommend that you use other methods to cope with that, including a mobility device (renting a wheelchair or ECV).
> 
> As (nearly) all lines are wheelchair accessible, there isn’t a need for individuals using mobility devices to bypass the line due to their device.
> 
> If you have needs that go beyond mobility (e.g. cognitive disability), then the DAS may be an option for your group. Ultimately, it’s up to the CM at Guest Services to decide whether the individual should be issued a DAS or not.



This, I second checking out the DISability forum.


----------



## only hope

nkereina said:


> What do you mean by this? I plan on carrying a small cross body bag with just sanitizer, phone, wallet, sunglasses. Will just my phone need to be put in a bin?



MK still has the old metal detectors. So everything metal has to come out of your pockets and bag and go on the table. I recommend putting that stuff in a plastic bag and holding it open for the cm so that it doesn’t touch the bin and cm doesn’t touch the stuff.


----------



## Tormania

krsb09 said:


> Yeah, but if you're paying $130/day, that's a heck of a lot for 4 hours on a late closing day.



I'm thinking that these are locals with APs doing this.  For those of us that only go to WDW once every 2-4 YEARS then it's will always be rope drop to park close everyday for us.


----------



## djmeredith

ELT said:


> Best resort to get dropped off with Lyft to walk to Epcot In the am?


You can also get dropped off at Swan or Dolphin without any meal ressie and walk over to the IG. Not much farther then the Disney hotels which may stop you at the guard gate.


----------



## tstein12

ELT said:


> Best resort to get dropped off with Lyft to walk to Epcot In the am?


If you don't have a dining reservation or mobile order, I would suggest the Swan for drop off since they don't require you to be a guest or have a dining reservation. The walk to International Gateway is not bad, just walk from Swan through the Boardwalk to Epcot.


----------



## Disneymom1126

We are going in November and have modified expectations. It was supposed to be a 40th birthday trip with friends on rented DVC points, but with COVID no friends want to go anymore and I was stuck with the rental and don't want to lose the money, so my DD and I are going to drive down. This is the first time I will have a car on property as I don't want to use bus transportation. I'm looking for advice on what time to drive to the parks for rope drop.

Park open the week we are there is:
EP (11 a.m.)
MK (9 a.m.) (curious also here what time the ferry/monorail from TTC will start)
AK (8 a.m.)
HS (10 a.m.) (I know best advice is uber/lyft to resort close enough to walk, but not interested in doing that)

We'll be staying at AKL. Thanks in advance


----------



## Hieraxx

As someone who got spoiled by BWV walk to DHS this past december, can we , as guests this November at copper creek w/ our own car, park at BWV w/o any sort of meal reservation (?)


----------



## scrappinginontario

djmeredith said:


> You can also get dropped off at Swan or Dolphin without any meal ressie and walk over to the IG. Not much farther then the Disney hotels which may stop you at the guard gate.





tstein12 said:


> If you don't have a dining reservation or mobile order, I would suggest the Swan for drop off since they don't require you to be a guest or have a dining reservation. The walk to International Gateway is not bad, just walk from Swan through the Boardwalk to Epcot.


 Something else to keep an eye on if getting dropped off at the Swan is that the Friendship boats were spotted testing yesterday.  When they’re up and running the boats leave Swan and Dolphin and head directly you DHS without any other stops.


----------



## PanchoX1

Befferk said:


> With mobile ordering in the mornings, how far before opening can you place the order? For instance, if they open at 7:30, do you have to wait until 7:30 to place the order, or does the app allow you to place it say like a half hour or hour prior?


wondering this myself.


----------



## CarolynFH

scrappinginontario said:


> Something else to keep an eye on if getting dropped off at the Swan is that the Friendship boats were spotted testing yesterday.  When they’re up and running the boats leave Swan and Dolphin and head directly you DHS without any other stops.


That assumes S/D use the boats. After switching from Disney to Mears buses they may not use any Disney transportation. The boats could sail right past that dock.


----------



## FinallyFL

Hieraxx said:


> As someone who got spoiled by BWV walk to DHS this past december, can we , as guests this November at copper creek w/ our own car, park at BWV w/o any sort of meal reservation (?)


No.


----------



## disney16

Thanks to all for your sharing your recent experiences!  Anyone out there who stayed recently at CR/BLT?  We will be there in early December and I'm curious about your experience with Disney transportation.  Obviously we have the option of walking over to MK but what about reliability of buses to the other three parks?  How early are they running prior to posted park opening?


----------



## bigrooster81

disney16 said:


> Thanks to all for your sharing your recent experiences!  Anyone out there who stayed recently at CR/BLT?  We will be there in early December and I'm curious about your experience with Disney transportation.  Obviously we have the option of walking over to MK but what about reliability of buses to the other three parks?  How early are they running prior to posted park opening?



im at the BLT as we speak. It’s been pretty good.

bus to Disney Springs on Sat evening was a 5 min wait and same on way back.

took it to DHS this morning. Got there 9:15 and three buses turn up and got on the first and got to DHS at 9:45. No issues at all.

On way back there was about a 15 minute wait. Maybe in part to its been hammering down today.


----------



## monica9

What has changed?

What is better?

what is worse? 

What change is there that you were pleasantly surprised did not effect your vacation?


----------



## yulilin3

monica9 said:


> What has changed?
> 
> What is better?
> 
> what is worse?
> 
> What change is there that you were pleasantly surprised did not effect your vacation?


Merged you to the just back thread.  People with recent experiences will be able to answer


----------



## monica9

yulilin3 said:


> Merged you to the just back thread.  People with recent experiences will be able to answer


to my own thread


----------



## EMHDad

Transportation question...

we are staying at the cabins In Jan (10-16). We have a car and can drive to the parks. Trying to plan he best way possible.

Thinking about HS and Epcot specifically. from everything I am reading by the time they open up the parking lot and cars can come in, the other modes of transportation are beating the drivers to the ticket and security gate. Meaning, no matter how early I want to get there to be ahead of the crowds, if I drive it might be for nothing. I am seeing the major ride jump to well over an hour in under the first minute. My hope is to not spend The first hour of my party day waiting in line.

One suggestion I have been hearing is to Uber from the resort (mine is fort wilderness) to somewhere close to Hollywood studios and Epcot, and then walk. The walkers are seeming to have the time advantage of lining up first. Is this correct? If so can someone help me outline how to do this? Where should we Uber to? Any details we need to be ready for, plan for? Any thoughts?

I am happing spending $30 if that can give me a jump start on the day.


----------



## yulilin3

monica9 said:


> to my own thread


Lol, well there you go.  You get all those answers here


----------



## Turk February

EMHDad said:


> Transportation question...
> 
> we are staying at the cabins In Jan (10-16). We have a car and can drive to the parks. Trying to plan he best way possible.
> 
> Thinking about HS and Epcot specifically. from everything I am reading by the time they open up the parking lot and cars can come in, the other modes of transportation are beating the drivers to the ticket and security gate. Meaning, no matter how early I want to get there to be ahead of the crowds, if I drive it might be for nothing. I am seeing the major ride jump to well over an hour in under the first minute. My hope is to not spend The first hour of my party day waiting in line.
> 
> One suggestion I have been hearing is to Uber from the resort (mine is fort wilderness) to somewhere close to Hollywood studios and Epcot, and then walk. The walkers are seeming to have the time advantage of lining up first. Is this correct? If so can someone help me outline how to do this? Where should we Uber to? Any details we need to be ready for, plan for? Any thoughts?
> 
> I am happing spending $30 if that can give me a jump start on the day.



This is correct. You can Uber to the Speedway gas station, the Boardwalk, or the Swan and take the walking path to DHS. It will get you into line before busses, skyway or driving on your own. For a 10a opening last week, we were dropped off at Speedway around 8, bought some waters, and walked over. We were in line at 8:22, held there until 8:45 when we were moved to temp check. Held there until exactly 9, and in the park and 6th in line for MMRR at 9:04.  If you are looking to rope drop it is 100% the best plan. By the time we were moved to temp check there were 300+ people behind us.


----------



## EMHDad

Turk February said:


> This is correct. You can Uber to the Speedway gas station, the Boardwalk, or the Swan and take the walking path to DHS. It will get you into line before busses, skyway or driving on your own. For a 10a opening last week, we were dropped off at Speedway around 8, bought some waters, and walked over. We were in line at 8:22, held there until 8:45 when we were moved to temp check. Held there until exactly 9, and in the park and 6th in line for MMRR at 9:04.  If you are looking to rope drop it is 100% the best plan. By the time we were moved to temp check there were 300+ people behind us.



we have 3 kids, ds13,ds11, dd6. What is the walk like to get from the speedway to the walkway itself? Is it safe For walking with kids?


----------



## brockash

nkereina said:


> For those who stayed somewhere other than a value resort, what is the queue situation at the bus depots? We're staying at CBR and have no issue getting to the bus depot early to catch the MK or AK bus, but I know pre-Covid there were no formal queues and it was always a bit of a free-for-all with people crowding when a bus pulled up and few people respecting who was there first. Is this being managed at the bus depots at the resorts or is it important to stand right where the bus doors typically open (and then just step back if the bus you don't want pulls up first)?


Still no ques... for the most part ppl are pretty good about letting those who got there first go first, but it does get very crowded and can be a bit confusing.


----------



## yulilin3

EMHDad said:


> we have 3 kids, ds13,ds11, dd6. What is the walk like to get from the speedway to the walkway itself? Is it safe For walking with kids?


I recommend going on Google map,  input the speedway and then select the streetview so you can see for yourself,  it's well lit and paved


----------



## js

Reading these posts has me making a decision to Uber/Lyft from SSR to Epcot and AK next month. I want to be standing waiting to get in 70-80 minutes prior to opening.  

Does Uber/Lyft drop us right off in the parking area of above parks? We are six adults and no problems with walking.

Thanks.


----------



## ELT

Anyone know what time they let cars into magic kingdom in the morning?


----------



## morganms22

ELT said:


> Anyone know what time they let cars into magic kingdom in the morning?



We left Beach Club Villas at 8:01 this morning. We were in line to park at Magic Kingdom around 8:10. They started letting people drive to park about 8:15. They split the lanes, because they were painting in the two middle lanes of the gate entrance. This really slowed things down and the right lanes were extremely slow while the left lanes seem to go pretty fast. After parking and temp/security checks we on the monorail at 8:57. We got in the park just after 9.


----------



## Cloudless Nights

I'm a little late to the game - going next week and have all my park reservations/ADRs, etc., but haven't been on this forum in a while. What time would you recommend getting to each park in the morning to be at the front of the pack - especially since it seems like a while before opening according to posts above? Have some attractions been operating consistently before park opening (I saw TT was at Epcot most days)? I'll be staying at Poly Villas and Boardwalk Villas.


----------



## ELT

we took a Lyft (staying offsite) and were in line to enter Epcot at 10:10. They let us in at 10:15.  We were dropped off went through security and temp checks and entrance all with no wait.  We made a beeline straight to TT and walked through and were not far from the front of the line. the ride stared around 10:45.  We were off in five min.  We had a great day Even with the rain.  Rode TT and Soaring twice.


----------



## FinallyFL

Cloudless Nights said:


> I'm a little late to the game - going next week and have all my park reservations/ADRs, etc., but haven't been on this forum in a while. What time would you recommend getting to each park in the morning to be at the front of the pack - especially since it seems like a while before opening according to posts above? Have some attractions been operating consistently before park opening (I saw TT was at Epcot most days)? I'll be staying at Poly Villas and Boardwalk Villas.


For HS and Epcot I'd start walking from the Boardwalk Villas 70 minutes before park opening. If your group are slow walkers maybe a little earlier.


----------



## disneygirlsng

js said:


> Reading these posts has me making a decision to Uber/Lyft from SSR to Epcot and AK next month. I want to be standing waiting to get in 70-80 minutes prior to opening.
> 
> Does Uber/Lyft drop us right off in the parking area of above parks? We are six adults and no problems with walking.
> 
> Thanks.


Parking lots don't open until at least an hour before the parks open. Some reports have been even later than that, closer to 45 minutes prior, especially at those 2 parks. So you will likely not be able to be able to be standing outside the parks that early.


----------



## Turk February

EMHDad said:


> we have 3 kids, ds13,ds11, dd6. What is the walk like to get from the speedway to the walkway itself? Is it safe For walking with kids?



If you get dropped off at Speedway, you have to cross the street once to get to to the walking path, which at that time of morning is pretty safe with the lack of cars. In total its about 15 minutes and not dangerous at all.


----------



## nkereina

brockash said:


> Still no ques... for the most part ppl are pretty good about letting those who got there first go first, but it does get very crowded and can be a bit confusing.


What resort were you at? A poster up-thread reported there were formal queues at Grand Floridian, which I think was not something they had pre-Covid.


----------



## yulilin3

ELT said:


> Anyone know what time they let cars into magic kingdom in the morning?


You can start lining up at 8, they let you in at 8:15


----------



## EMHDad

I know a lot can change between now and Jan, but let’s assume it’s similar for now. If I were to Uber to the speedway and walk to DHS/Uber to swan and walk to Epcot, and I wanted to be like one of the first at HS, what time should I be at HS? 8:30? 8:00? Earlier? I don’t mind waiting, just unsure when is best.

my understanding is that the park is opening up to let people in at9am and cars aren’t even getting past the parking terminal until 915am which is a major disadvantage, (I am not sure what time the buses and skyline start.)


----------



## Turk February

EMHDad said:


> I know a lot can change between now and Jan, but let’s assume it’s similar for now. If I were to Uber to the speedway and walk to DHS/Uber to swan and walk to Epcot, and I wanted to be like one of the first at HS, what time should I be at HS? 8:30? 8:00? Earlier? I don’t mind waiting, just unsure when is best.
> 
> my understanding is that the park is opening up to let people in at9am and cars aren’t even getting past the parking terminal until 915am which is a major disadvantage, (I am not sure what time the buses and skyline start.)



I arrived at DHS at 8:22 last week for a 10a opening and there were about 30 people in front of me. When we walked to temp check, I was in the left line (left is better because there's more tents on that side) and we were the 2nd group at one of the tents. I think 8:30 should be fine *if* things stay the same.


----------



## Cynt

Today is my 3rd day in the parks. Sunday AK, Monday EP, and today MK. Just a few thoughts. It seems like normal September crowds. 20/25 minutes or less wait in lines but the lines are moving constantly. So it doesn't seem like 20 minutes. Rope drop popular lines and it will be a walk on. Walking thru the queue is 15+ minutes of your wait so really its a walk on. The only time your stop and waiting 10 minutes is if you hit a cleaning cycle. I think we have hit 1 cleaning cycle.


----------



## lorileahb

Cynt said:


> Today is my 3rd day in the parks. Sunday AK, Monday EP, and today MK. Just a few thoughts. It seems like normal September crowds. 20/25 minutes or less wait in lines but the lines are moving constantly. So it doesn't seem like 20 minutes. Rope drop popular lines and it will be a walk on. Walking thru the queue is 15+ minutes of your wait so really its a walk on. The only time your stop and waiting 10 minutes is if you hit a cleaning cycle. I think we have hit 1 cleaning cycle.



I've noticed all of the crowd calendars show a bit of a crowd lull right now... with it starting to pick back up with Halloween.  Enjoy!!!


----------



## Cynt

A few more thoughts. Not only are The queues spaced apart but if there's 5 zig zags they're only using 2 zig zags. So I'm at jungle cruise, they're using 3 of 7 zig zags = 35 people. Normally 7 ZZ = 140+ people. So the lines are really deceiving and usually takes half of the posted time.


----------



## pooch

Ok been reading here for weeks.  DGS and I are heading down 11/8 - 11/14 with all park days on weekdays.  I have never in 19 trips, ever hit rope drop.  Like never even tried.  DGS is an early riser and I'm good with that.  My plan is get ready at our own pace be it fast or slow on any given day.  Get breakfast at the Pop Food Court (do we mobile order there too?).  Get in line for the bus & get on when its our turn.  Do whatever rides we can and leave when we're done.  Hopefully warm enough to swim a little in the evening.  I need a trip to my happy place and I am just not gonna stress about when to be where and how early can I get there.


----------



## brockash

nkereina said:


> What resort were you at? A poster up-thread reported there were formal queues at Grand Floridian, which I think was not something they had pre-Covid.


In Sept. we stayed at Polynesian and last week AKL -Kidani Village.  Neither had formal ques.


----------



## brockash

pooch said:


> Ok been reading here for weeks.  DGS and I are heading down 11/8 - 11/14 with all park days on weekdays.  I have never in 19 trips, ever hit rope drop.  Like never even tried.  DGS is an early riser and I'm good with that.  My plan is get ready at our own pace be it fast or slow on any given day.  Get breakfast at the Pop Food Court (do we mobile order there too?).  Get in line for the bus & get on when its our turn.  Do whatever rides we can and leave when we're done.  Hopefully warm enough to swim a little in the evening.  I need a trip to my happy place and I am just not gonna stress about when to be where and how early can I get there.


Yes, you mobile order from Pop as well.


----------



## Disneymom1126

yulilin3 said:


> You can start lining up at 8, they let you in at 8:15



Is this similar at the other parks as well (about an hour before park open)? Seems like a disadvantage....but I'm trying to avoid bus transportation.   I'm most concerned with HS and know that the advice there is to Lyft to one of the areas that is walkable to the park, but really don't want to do that. Are people from bus transportation getting there earlier than people who drive on their own because of when lots open?


----------



## scrappinginontario

pooch said:


> Ok been reading here for weeks.  DGS and I are heading down 11/8 - 11/14 with all park days on weekdays.  I have never in 19 trips, ever hit rope drop.  Like never even tried.  DGS is an early riser and I'm good with that.  My plan is get ready at our own pace be it fast or slow on any given day.  Get breakfast at the Pop Food Court (do we mobile order there too?).  Get in line for the bus & get on when its our turn.  Do whatever rides we can and leave when we're done.  Hopefully warm enough to swim a little in the evening.  I need a trip to my happy place and I am just not gonna stress about when to be where and how early can I get there.


I understand wanting the slower, more relaxed trip.  Just a heads up that mobile ordering at Pop can take quite a while during busier times so you will want to be prepared for that.  Still hoping they can figure out a way to correct this.


----------



## pooch

scrappinginontario said:


> I understand wanting the slower, more relaxed trip.  Just a heads up that mobile ordering at Pop can take quite a while during busier times so you will want to be prepared for that.  Still hoping they can figure out a way to correct this.


Hoping all the rope droppers will be gone by the time we order!!


----------



## yulilin3

Disneymom1126 said:


> Is this similar at the other parks as well (about an hour before park open)? Seems like a disadvantage....but I'm trying to avoid bus transportation.   I'm most concerned with HS and know that the advice there is to Lyft to one of the areas that is walkable to the park, but really don't want to do that. Are people from bus transportation getting there earlier than people who drive on their own because of when lots open?


Dhs about 75 minutes before park opening,  epcot and ak about 45 minutes


----------



## Khobbs18

Does anyone know why they changes RS protocols? We were there last week and I had to wait in line with my 2 infants until we reached the normal line entrance before I could get scanned to swap out with my husband later. Really sucked having 2 littles in the heat for a good 45 minutes for FOP before I could leave the line.


----------



## wilkydelts

Khobbs18 said:


> Does anyone know why they changes RS protocols? We were there last week and I had to wait in line with my 2 infants until we reached the normal line entrance before I could get scanned to swap out with my husband later. Really sucked having 2 littles in the heat for a good 45 minutes for FOP before I could leave the line.



Just walk up an join your group as the get to the entrance. That is what we plan to do. In fact with the current circumstances and how they load ride vehicles (based on party no numbers) I see no problem telling the people behind you that you are holding the spot for your whole family and they will join you when it is closer. They will probably prefer less people around them as long as they can.


----------



## FinallyFL

I walked to MK from BLT this morning. I left at 7:50 and ended waiting at the stoplights until shortly after 8am. After exiting security, everyone was held on the pathway until right before the turnstiles were opened at 8:30. MK's official opening time today was 9am. Prior to being let into the park, I did not see any boats, buses or monorails unload. I assume some people walking from BLT and the Contemporary had to wait until 8:30 to get through security since the path is only wide enough for one party.


----------



## Surr

Disneymom1126 said:


> Is this similar at the other parks as well (about an hour before park open)? Seems like a disadvantage....but I'm trying to avoid bus transportation.   I'm most concerned with HS and know that the advice there is to Lyft to one of the areas that is walkable to the park, but really don't want to do that. Are people from bus transportation getting there earlier than people who drive on their own because of when lots open?


Yes.  We walked there from the Swan last Friday to DHS.  We were in line for temp checks at 8:24am with a few hundered people in front of us.  A few people were arriving by bus and skyliner at that time.  We went through the temperature screen around 9 AM and were immediately admitted into the park.  We rode MMRR and RnR before the 10 am opening, and got boarding group two.


----------



## Cynt

I was at my fav park 2day, MK. It's 555pm and we're waiting in the bus line. We rode everything but Haunted Mansion. We were too lazy to go back to that side of the park after we grabbed a dole whip and shopped down Main Street. 

We left OKW about 9am. No need to rope drop for us because this is our lazy day and whatever we don't ride we'll ride it Friday. We'll guess what we rode everything but HM. We began at BTM and made our way around MK. 1155am lunch at Liberty Tavern. Really missed the food courts and Casey's hot dogs to grab a salty snack to tide us over until lunch. Lunch was great. 

Headed to 7DMT, 55 min line. TP had it at 41 minutes. It began to down pour. We poncho'd up and stood about 2 minutes and bailed to Under the sea. Afterward we got back in line for 7DMT. 55 min posted but it was already 1/3 less of a line. We were in it about 41 minutes. 

A must mention again these lines are moving constantly. These are Sept lines but better because there are not any FP stopping the lines. Yes the lines snake all through the park. But I'm quite pleased with how Disney has managed these queues and how they are moving. I feel like I'm back home at my 6 Flags on a week day walking thru the 15 minute queue. 

I've gotten more done in 3 days than I usually get done in 5 days. No strategy is being used besides rope drop FOP and do BTM 1st. No strategy at all at EP. 

Monday was Ep. EP made me sad. TOO MUCH CONSTRUCTION!  We won't be back until they're finished. All you see in FW is blue walls. 65% of the WS is closed. But thank goodness Werthers caramel popcorn was open or I would have been hot mad! This was our rain day and we poncho'd up for most of the day. We got washed out about 4ish. Hard to enjoy F&W when you're poncho'd up and rain is getting in your $15 adult beverage.


----------



## Naomeri

Cynt said:


> I was at my fav park 2day, MK. It's 555pm and we're waiting in the bus line. We rode everything but Haunted Mansion. We were too lazy to go back to that side of the park after we grabbed a dole whip and shopped down Main Street.
> 
> We left OKW about 9am. No need to rope drop for us because this is our lazy day and whatever we don't ride we'll ride it Friday. We'll guess what we rode everything but HM. We began at BTM and made our way around MK. 1155am lunch at Liberty Tavern. Really missed the food courts and Casey's hot dogs to grab a salty snack to tide us over until lunch. Lunch was great.
> 
> Headed to 7DMT, 55 min line. TP had it at 41 minutes. It began to down pour. We poncho'd up and stood about 2 minutes and bailed to Under the sea. Afterward we got back in line for 7DMT. 55 min posted but it was already 1/3 less of a line. We were in it about 41 minutes.
> 
> A must mention again these lines are moving constantly. These are Sept lines but better because there are not any FP stopping the lines. Yes the lines snake all through the park. But I'm quite pleased with how Disney has managed these queues and how they are moving. I feel like I'm back home at my 6 Flags on a week day walking thru the 15 minute queue.
> 
> I've gotten more done in 3 days than I usually get done in 5 days. No strategy is being used besides rope drop FOP and do BTM 1st. No strategy at all at EP.
> 
> Monday was Ep. EP made me sad. TOO MUCH CONSTRUCTION!  We won't be back until they're finished. All you see in FW is blue walls. 65% of the WS is closed. But thank goodness Werthers caramel popcorn was open or I would have been hot mad! This was our rain day and we poncho'd up for most of the day. We got washed out about 4ish. Hard to enjoy F&W when you're poncho'd up and rain is getting in your $15 adult beverage.


Your report makes me very happy, since next week looks about like this week, crowd-wise.


----------



## Cynt

I'm back at the room chilling and watching Jason Bourne. We're still full from lunch so dinner will probably be whatever leftovers we scrounge up from the fridge. 

To back track a little bit, we started our vacation on Saturday, 10/17. We're here thru 10/24. We arrived via plane and caught the MDE to our dvc. We had 715pm dinner ressies at Ragland roads. Food excellent! Thx everyone for suggestion making dinner and or lunch ressies. I 2nd that suggestion. Make a ressie every day for brfst, lunch or dinner. Making TS lunch and dinner ressies was too much food for us. So I've canceled most of the two a day ressies to just one. Its been hard to find brfst in the parks. We're going to try brfst at our resort in the morning. 

Sunday was AK. We were at the 1st bus stop at OKW, peninsular at 630am. Bus came about 645 am. We arrived at AK about 705am. 717am they were holding everyone at the entrance line. Shortly thereafter they let us enter. 

Commercial break. Why did my DH want to get out of rd line and go get a snack at the ak entrance? SMH! He knows we don't do anything until after we RD the 1st ride.  Yes this made us the stragglers at rd and I didn't get to ride fop but once. Smh! 

We entered line at 732am and it was a walk on. We walked thru the queue straight to the ride It was crazy. We waited 4 hrs in 2017 to ride fop. 802am we were at the concession place at the exit of fop getting biscuit sandwiches and French toast sticks. Only place at a park that we have found a real breakfast sandwich. Or any kind of QS breakfast for that matter. 

We were going to get in line again for fop but that line had snaked back to lion king. Omg! All I could do was laugh. I remember that trek 3 yrs ago without social distancing. They probably had a 70 to 80 minute wait.

We continued around AK riding every ride. Walking thru queues and getting on rides. Most rides less than 20 minutes. Like I mentioned up thread walking thru the queue is the wait. All the queues are double the length due to social distancing. Disney has done a phenomenal job creating these extended queues so we all can safely social distance. Keep this in mind when you see the snaking line. Don't be intimidated. If the line says 50 min its probably 30. If it says 30 its probably 15. All ur doing is walking thru the queue. EE was snaked back to Nemo. 50 something minutes posted. We were riding in less than 30 minutes. Don't be intimidated by the lines. They are constantly moving. 

If you are not a planner, hate FP, usually just arrive whenever to the parks, go with the flow, never make ressies but eat whenever whatever BOOK UR DISNEY VACAY right now. You will love flying by the seat of your pants and being able to actually ride all the attractions without a 120 minute wait.

If you are a planner, love fp, loath standing in 20 minute lines, loath waiting for anything, have mastered fp STAY HOME.  Covid Disney will frustrate you. 

If you're a newbie, this is a tough one. If you have littles aged 3 to 7 come on. You won't know what ur missing and plenty of rides for your littles to enjoy with very little waits. 

Commercial break. I still miss Minnie and Mickeys house. I don't know if I'll ever get over them removing them. . 

Ok as I think of more I'll post back. We are having a great time! Yes we would book again and yes we are glad we came.

O their are a ton of families at the parks. I don't blame them one bit. It is an excellent time to come with ur fam.


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## Cynt

Let's talk about covid, the pandemic. If you're OCD and or a germaphob stay at home. Disney will drive you insane. Why? Disney does not employ the 100s of 1000s of your closest Disney friends who are also tired of being home and want to visit their happy place. As hard as your Disney friends try, it's still Disney and we lose it when we see the castle, tree of life, that dole whip, Dumbo, etc. and we simply forget to social distance. We forget to put on our mask after we dive into our dole whip. I had about 4 or 5 bites of my dole whip b4 it dawned on me to get somewhere and sit down and enjoy my dole whip. I was licking and slurping my dole whip float b4 I made it to the magic carpets. I just went on auto pilot once they handed it to me. I didn't mean to offend anyone but once I came back to my right mind I adhered to the mask policy.

90% of the time I see folks in noncompliance they have simply forgot. I did too. No harm. No foul. 

So if you expect 100% compliance stay home. If you expect cast members to be the mask police and babysit every patron, stay home. If you're a reasonable person and know its the 80/20 rule come on and enjoy yourself. 80% will follow the rules to the letter with a few slip ups, but 20% will be defiant no matter what it is. They will never follow any rules.

I constantly saw Disney cleaning, reminding folks to mask up correctly, and reminding us to social distance. They did it verbally over intercoms and visually with pics and words. They did 1000% better than Walmart and my local mall. 

If you have been staying at home in your house the past 7 months, stay at home. You're not ready to visit Disney. Disney should not be your 1st place to visit. All the people will freak you out, regardless of mask and social distancing. 

I felt safe and thought they did an excellent job. Kudos to them. They have hand sanitizer everywhere, before you enter a ride and afterwards. I didn't even need to use my stash. If your hands are dirty, its on you.


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## katyringo

Howdy folks. This thread has been so helpful so I am hoping to give back. We arrived today and so I will try and share our experience today. Keep in mind I’m a Disneyland vet and so some things I share might be something that has always been that way.

we flew southwest from Omaha with a connection in St. Louis. It went so smoothly. It was comfortable. It was great.

we landed about 1245 in Orlando, got our bags and went to the magical express. There was a bit of a line at magical express but not bad. After the initial checkin at magical express there was a second checkin. A lady there showed us a chart of the bud, showed us where to seat on the char and told us what bus number. They had a sign saying expected wait for DME up to 45mins.

so for time line we landed at 1245, took MDE to pop century, which was its first stop, while on the bus I made a Mobil order for everything pop for my hubby who was hungry, we picked up his food, got to our room and then on the skyliner and walked into Epcot at 2:57.

I had ordered groceries from Walmart for delivery and that was a bit of a mess. While on MDE I get a text message from a door dash driver that he has arrived. I stated I gave permission in the Walmart app for them to leave with front desk. Well pop told door dash he couldn’t leave it with him. I had no idea Walmart was out sourcing their grocery delivery or I would not have ordered through them. I had no cash on me to tip the door dash driver because Walmart employees here who delivery can’t accept it.  It was a mess.

I Love the direct to your room check in. So smooth! 

anyway we took the skyliner to Epcot. No wait at all for skyline in the afternoon.

once in Epcot we headed to the world showcase pavilion. Lines were short in there. We got lobster Mac and cheese, Buffalo Mac and cheese and a nitro cake pop. All really good. Couldn’t finish the cake pop.. so sweet! Felt the lines in there were really well organized and having the menus posted at the line entry is so smart.

we then made a plan to hit attractions. By then it was 330 and we had dinner reservations at 6:55 so we had 3.5 hours. We were able to accomplish soarin, spaceship earth, test track, and frozen. All the things we wanted to! Soarin and spaceship were walk on. I was using the Disney app but also the touring plans app. Touring plans deff more accurate. Test track was posted 35 and I think we waited that because we got caught in a cleaning cycle. Frozen was posted 60 and the line stretched all the way to China. But we waited about 45.
What people say is true. The lines move continuously unless in a cleaning cycle. It goes fast.

I’m so glad we changed our plans to do Epcot on arrival day. I can see on a weekend it’s probably worse, and needing a full day,  but today a Tuesday 4 hours was enough for us! We don’t drink so that’s part of it too. 

our dinner reservation was for 655 (park close) at teppan Edo. It was SO GOOD. They have dividers at the tables. You still dine with another party but the divider there. We enjoyed our conversation with the folks sharing our table. The cook was engaging and fun and the food was amazingly good. Like.. best food I’ve had in a Disney park good. I really like the QR code menus. So handy. Leaving dinner was perfect. If you can get the park closing reservations so you can see the park at dark it’s worth it.

we took the skyliner back to the hotel.Now I realized that my ears were a bit sore. I headed to everythjng pop to see if they sold ear savers. They dont. Will look at universal tomorrow. I brought lots of different kids of mask with different elastic and loops so I’m not too worried.

as far as social distancing and masks... mask compliance is super high. Compared to back home it’s down right exceptional. People in Epcot today were doing amazing at following the ground markings. I do think if your overly worried about it, however, you should probably not go.

it’s been a great day!


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## Jennx36

Just returned from a 4 day trip.  We arrived via plane and joined our family at SSR on Thursday.  We booked a preferred two bedroom villa for 4 adults and 2 children, and the kind cast member at check-in changed the location of our room to be closer to Disney Springs as we had a couple of dining reservations there.  We hung out at the pool, did Rain Forest Cafe at DS for dinner and went to MK the next day.  From Congress Park, it only took a few minutes for a bus to arrive, and we pulled up at MK about 22 minutes later.  We missed rope drop, and at 9:30 am, the lines were already 45+ minutes for most of the popular rides.  Unfortunately, the wait times were accurate.  We wanted to do Peter Pan's Flight, but wait times for that were about 60 minutes, so we settled on Small World.  The wait time was 45 minutes, and it took about 50 minutes.  The entrance is being refurbished or refreshed, and we spent the first 15 to 20 minutes outside in the sun.  Next was Winnie the Pooh, and the wait time for that was just about 30 minutes.  Got on in about 25 minutes, this line seemed to move much more quickly.  By this time, it was around 11:30 am, and people were getting hungry.  Mobile order in MK was a little chaotic.  We picked a timeframe for Pecos Bill and then placed the order.  Once in our time frame, we checked it to let the restaurant know to start preparing our order.  It took about 35 minutes from the time we checked in to the time our food was ready to pick up.  You can't wait in the restaurant, and cast members were standing at the entrance to make sure people entering were only those whose mobile orders were ready for pick up.  This was super tough as it was a little past noon at this point and the group was hot and hangry (temps were in the high 80's)! Finally the food was ready, but half the group decided to take their food to go and eat it while standing in line for another ride.  My group decided to stay and enjoyed a descent meal with air conditioning inside Pecos Bill.  I would have preferred Columbia Harbour House, but it was closed.  Next was PotC.  The wait was accurate at 45 minutes.  I mobile ordered ice cream from Aloha Isle.  It took a while, but the Kakamora Float was delicious!! Next was Carousel of Progress, a little less than the posted 20 minute wait, and a much needed break from the heat.  After that was Dumbo.  Posted wait time was 10 minutes, but it took about 20 as they stopped the ride to spray everything down and then run the ride with no one on board.  Next was the Little Mermaid, an accurate 35 minute wait.  We had dinner reservations at Be Our Guest.  The Beast makes an appearance with a quick wave and a bow.  We saw him about three times through the course of the dinner.  To end the night, we got a quick picture from the photo pass photographer in front of Cinderella castle, masks and all to capture the moment!  We then made our way to the exit.  I thought I would stop in at the Confectionary to pick up a candy apple, but the line was long, and people were tired!!  Next day was Animal Kingdom.  Our group got a late start.  It did not take long for the bus to arrive at the resort, and we walked into the park around 10:30.  Wait times were about 45+ minutes.  FoP was at a 105 minute wait, and Navi River Journey was a 90 minute wait.  Dinoland USA was kind of sad. With many of the attractions closed (Primeval Whirl, The Bone Yard, no Chip and Dale dance party), it was kind of a ghost town.  We walked onto Triceratops Spin.  Dinosaur was a 50 minute wait, so we skipped that and did It's a Bugs Life, about a 20 minute wait.  Then we got in line for Kilimanjaro Safari.  The line stretched all the way behind Tusker House, but it moved quickly, probably just 35 minute wait.  Based on our experience with mobile order at MK, we picked a timeframe for mobile order for Flame Tree BBQ.  We checked in as the Safari ended, and within about 5 minutes, our food was ready for pick up.  We were still on the safari truck and had to wait about 5 minutes to exit.  Then we raced across the park to Flame Tree, but it said our order was not picked up and our credit card would be refunded.  We checked with a cast member, and our order was promptly remade and ready for pick up in about 5 minutes (they forgot my cupcake, but this was probably for the best).  We enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch near the water and got to see boats drive by with characters and drummers.  We decided to wait in the 70 minute line for Navi River Journey.  While my group waited in line, I picked up drinks for us at Pongu Pongu.  They will only allow one person to pick up two alcoholic drinks, so instead of two beers and a Night Blossom with rum, I got two beers and a regular Night Blossom (still delicious!).  We called it a day after Navi River Journey and headed back to the room.  My children stayed at the resort with family while my husband and I enjoyed a date night at California Grill and then shopping at Disney Springs.  I don't know why, but my husband and I left our magic bands and planned on using our phones to unlock the door.  We couldn't get either of our phones to work, so we had to wake up his mother to let us in!  The next morning, we packed up and got brunch at Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'.  It was delicious, and the portions were huge! Overall, this was a great trip!  We have had better experiences at MK for sure, but the ability to combine a Disney trip with seeing other family members (10 of us total) made it special for us.

Take aways:
If we hadn't been able to combine this trip with seeing our family, I don't think this trip would have been worth the cost.  The crowds and wait times have increased since initial reopening.  The cost of the rooms and the tickets are the same even though there are no fast passes, no park hopping, several restaurants are closed, and experiences are cancelled or altered (fireworks, character meet and greets).  Most of the time, wearing a mask was a non-issue for myself, my 5 year-old, and my 3 year-old.  I can't speak for the rest of my family.  Many people commented that the wait times decreased in the afternoon and evening.  This was not the case for a Friday afternoon/evening at MK.  I think the best way to enjoy a trip under the current circumstances is to set your expectations low and pack your patience.  It is a different experience, and right now may not be the best time to visit if you are expecting to capture the same magic that you experienced on previous trips. 

Forget social distancing at MK, it's not going to happen.  Too many people and not enough cast members to enforce it.  However, mask compliance was actually pretty good from what I observed.  Asking guests to stand still while eating or drinking was largely ignored in the two parks we visited and at Disney Springs.  Social distancing at Animal Kingdom was much better in most places.

Be prepared to wait in line for almost everything as they are capping the number of people inside shops and stores.  However, don't let the length of the line fool you, they actually seem to move pretty quickly.  The line for World of Disney at Disney Springs looked really long, but we were inside the store in about 7 minutes on a Saturday night around 8:30 pm.  None of the other stores had lines to get in at this time from what I observed.

The Saratoga Springs Resort is beautiful!  The newly refurbished two bedroom villa suited our group perfectly (4 adults, 2 children).  The bus transportation was not an issue for us at all.  We did not have to wait long for a bus to pick us up from the resort or from the parks.  We were never turned away from boarding a bus due to the bus reaching capacity.  The walk to Disney Springs from Congress Park was easy and pleasant.  I also could easily walk from Congress Park to Artist's Palate for a quick bite. 

California Grill (loved the grouper), Be Our Guest (loved the lamb chops), and Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' (loved the hallelujah biscuit)  were all wonderful!  Portions at all three of these restaurants are generous, so come hungry or split a meal (not sure if you can split a meal at Be Our Guest).

My preferred way to experience MK is paying extra for early morning magic or staying club level and paying extra for three additional fast passes.  Not being able to do either of these kind of puts a damper on the experience as I was left feeling like the value of the experience did not equal the cost of the park admission ticket.  Thankfully being able to spend time with extended family made up for the difference.  It seems like Disney could still offer early morning magic as it is a separate, ticketed event, and they could maintain low crowd levels for social distancing.

Probably more detail than needed, but I hope this helps for someone planning or about to experience a trip in the near future.


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## morganms22

We left Beach Club Villas at 8:30 this morning for Hollywood Studios. They started letting people in a little before 9. We arrived about 8:50 and we were in the park at 9:00. We went straight to MMRR and waited about 20 minutes to take off on the ride. We then waited about 10 minutes to ride TSM and tried to get a boarding group for ROTR. I wasn’t able to at 10, but we did manage to get a back up group at 2. We were 112 and they made it to 113 for the day. All of the popular rides had long waits around the time the park was actually scheduled to open.


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## Betty Rohrer

katyringo said:


> Howdy folks. This thread has been so helpful so I am hoping to give back. We arrived today and so I will try and share our experience today. Keep in mind I’m a Disneyland vet and so some things I share might be something that has always been that way.
> 
> we flew southwest from Omaha with a connection in St. Louis. It went so smoothly. It was comfortable. It was great.
> 
> we landed about 1245 in Orlando, got our bags and went to the magical express. There was a bit of a line at magical express but not bad. After the initial checkin at magical express there was a second checkin. A lady there showed us a chart of the bud, showed us where to seat on the char and told us what bus number. They had a sign saying expected wait for DME up to 45mins.
> 
> so for time line we landed at 1245, took MDE to pop century, which was its first stop, while on the bus I made a Mobil order for everything pop for my hubby who was hungry, we picked up his food, got to our room and then on the skyliner and walked into Epcot at 2:57.
> 
> I had ordered groceries from Walmart for delivery and that was a bit of a mess. While on MDE I get a text message from a door dash driver that he has arrived. I stated I gave permission in the Walmart app for them to leave with front desk. Well pop told door dash he couldn’t leave it with him. I had no idea Walmart was out sourcing their grocery delivery or I would not have ordered through them. I had no cash on me to tip the door dash driver because Walmart employees here who delivery can’t accept it.  It was a mess.
> 
> I Love the direct to your room check in. So smooth!
> 
> anyway we took the skyliner to Epcot. No wait at all for skyline in the afternoon.
> 
> once in Epcot we headed to the world showcase pavilion. Lines were short in there. We got lobster Mac and cheese, Buffalo Mac and cheese and a nitro cake pop. All really good. Couldn’t finish the cake pop.. so sweet! Felt the lines in there were really well organized and having the menus posted at the line entry is so smart.
> 
> we then made a plan to hit attractions. By then it was 330 and we had dinner reservations at 6:55 so we had 3.5 hours. We were able to accomplish soarin, spaceship earth, test track, and frozen. All the things we wanted to! Soarin and spaceship were walk on. I was using the Disney app but also the touring plans app. Touring plans deff more accurate. Test track was posted 35 and I think we waited that because we got caught in a cleaning cycle. Frozen was posted 60 and the line stretched all the way to China. But we waited about 45.
> What people say is true. The lines move continuously unless in a cleaning cycle. It goes fast.
> 
> I’m so glad we changed our plans to do Epcot on arrival day. I can see on a weekend it’s probably worse, and needing a full day,  but today a Tuesday 4 hours was enough for us! We don’t drink so that’s part of it too.
> 
> our dinner reservation was for 655 (park close) at teppan Edo. It was SO GOOD. They have dividers at the tables. You still dine with another party but the divider there. We enjoyed our conversation with the folks sharing our table. The cook was engaging and fun and the food was amazingly good. Like.. best food I’ve had in a Disney park good. I really like the QR code menus. So handy. Leaving dinner was perfect. If you can get the park closing reservations so you can see the park at dark it’s worth it.
> 
> we took the skyliner back to the hotel.Now I realized that my ears were a bit sore. I headed to everythjng pop to see if they sold ear savers. They dont. Will look at universal tomorrow. I brought lots of different kids of mask with different elastic and loops so I’m not too worried.
> 
> as far as social distancing and masks... mask compliance is super high. Compared to back home it’s down right exceptional. People in Epcot today were doing amazing at following the ground markings. I do think if your overly worried about it, however, you should probably not go.
> 
> it’s been a great day!


I have a problem with the elastic as I react to the elastic. might try one you can tie


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## katherine52478

Just arrived today for a week stay. We are at the Dolphin which has a super smooth check-in. Took a Lyft to the Poly which was a bit challenging at drop off due to the construction. Had drinks and apps at Tambu Lounge and then dinner at Kona Cafe. It was soooo quiet at Poly and just had a different feel than usual. It actually made me quite sad! We got Dole Whip downstairs and then headed to the Boardwalk which was where it got really depressing. So much was closed and what was opened was very busy. There are no stands/games/activities open. Only places open that we could see were Trattoria and Abracadabar which had a line out the door. Headed to Beach Club and Yacht Club to see a huge line waiting outside Beaches and Cream for both the restaurant and ice cream window. The Ale and Compass restaurant was fully booked and every table was taken at the lounge. These are usually our “hidden gems” so we moved on to the Dolphin lobby where we were able to get seats at the bar at Phins and then a booth at Blue Zoo. Having just been here in February, it was disheartening to see how COVID has impacted these resorts and restaurants. The staff has been wonderful. Upbeat and helpful, even when they are unsure of where they may be moved next.

Tomorrow is one of our Epcot days. We are prepared for lines at the rides but are wondering if it is even worth it. The masks are painful to wear in this heat and for the length of time between meals. We are sooo happy to be here but may need to adjust expectations!


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## katyringo

katherine52478 said:


> Just arrived today for a week stay. We are at the Dolphin which has a super smooth check-in. Took a Lyft to the Poly which was a bit challenging at drop off due to the construction. Had drinks and apps at Tambu Lounge and then dinner at Kona Cafe. It was soooo quiet at Poly and just had a different feel than usual. It actually made me quite sad! We got Dole Whip downstairs and then headed to the Boardwalk which was where it got really depressing. So much was closed and what was opened was very busy. There are no stands/games/activities open. Only places open that we could see were Trattoria and Abracadabar which had a line out the door. Headed to Beach Club and Yacht Club to see a huge line waiting outside Beaches and Cream for both the restaurant and ice cream window. The Ale and Compass restaurant was fully booked and every table was taken at the lounge. These are usually our “hidden gems” so we moved on to the Dolphin lobby where we were able to get seats at the bar at Phins and then a booth at Blue Zoo. Having just been here in February, it was disheartening to see how COVID has impacted these resorts and restaurants. The staff has been wonderful. Upbeat and helpful, even when they are unsure of where they may be moved next.
> 
> Tomorrow is one of our Epcot days. We are prepared for lines at the rides but are wondering if it is even worth it. The masks are painful to wear in this heat and for the length of time between meals. We are sooo happy to be here but may need to adjust expectations!



you can see my report above yours but we didn’t get to Epcot yesterday until 3pm and had a blast! I think your expectations compared to your feb trip are probably different.


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## nkereina

What's the reason Disney is over-inflating posted wait times? Is it to allow ample time for the periodic cleaning that takes place? Is it to discourage people from going? Is it a form of guest satisfaction where people are happy when their wait was only half the time it said it would be? I know in the past, it was an assumed tactic to keep posted times for popular rides higher near closing to discourage people from riding at that time. But the posted times in the current environment generally seem over-inflated all day every day, so just trying to gather what the purpose is. The social distancing and queue limitations aren't really related to the actual waits, since its the same number of people regardless.


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## yulilin3

nkereina said:


> What's the reason Disney is over-inflating posted wait times? Is it to allow ample time for the periodic cleaning that takes place? Is it to discourage people from going? Is it a form of guest satisfaction where people are happy when their wait was only half the time it said it would be? I know in the past, it was an assumed tactic to keep posted times for popular rides higher near closing to discourage people from riding at that time. But the posted times in the current environment generally seem over-inflated all day every day, so just trying to gather what the purpose is. The social distancing and queue limitations aren't really related to the actual waits, since its the same number of people regardless.


Mostly because walt times are harder to predict with limited ride capacity dependent on group size and not individual people
For example,  IASW now is loading basically 2 groups of people,  one in front and one in back BUT if im a solo traveler a take a whole row where 3 or 4 people can sit,  so it's harder to predict
Disney isn't over inflating wait times on purpose, it's just harder to know


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## Jennx36

nkereina said:


> What's the reason Disney is over-inflating posted wait times? Is it to allow ample time for the periodic cleaning that takes place? Is it to discourage people from going? Is it a form of guest satisfaction where people are happy when their wait was only half the time it said it would be? I know in the past, it was an assumed tactic to keep posted times for popular rides higher near closing to discourage people from riding at that time. But the posted times in the current environment generally seem over-inflated all day every day, so just trying to gather what the purpose is. The social distancing and queue limitations aren't really related to the actual waits, since its the same number of people regardless.


I didn't think the wait times were over-inflated.  Most of the wait times were accurate give or take 5 minutes from my experience last week.


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## lovethattink

nkereina said:


> What's the reason Disney is over-inflating posted wait times? Is it to allow ample time for the periodic cleaning that takes place? Is it to discourage people from going? Is it a form of guest satisfaction where people are happy when their wait was only half the time it said it would be? I know in the past, it was an assumed tactic to keep posted times for popular rides higher near closing to discourage people from riding at that time. But the posted times in the current environment generally seem over-inflated all day every day, so just trying to gather what the purpose is. The social distancing and queue limitations aren't really related to the actual waits, since its the same number of people regardless.



If you hit a cleaning cycle, that adds time to your wait. And makes the wait as it time close to the posted time.


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## Tess

Jennx36 said:


> I didn't think the wait times were over-inflated.  Most of the wait times were accurate give or take 5 minutes from my experience last week.



Ditto! We were there for 10 days and returned on 10/16/20.  We found the wait times to be nearly spot on + or - 5 mins.


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## only hope

pooch said:


> Ok been reading here for weeks.  DGS and I are heading down 11/8 - 11/14 with all park days on weekdays.  I have never in 19 trips, ever hit rope drop.  Like never even tried.  DGS is an early riser and I'm good with that.  My plan is get ready at our own pace be it fast or slow on any given day.  Get breakfast at the Pop Food Court (do we mobile order there too?).  Get in line for the bus & get on when its our turn.  Do whatever rides we can and leave when we're done.  Hopefully warm enough to swim a little in the evening.  I need a trip to my happy place and I am just not gonna stress about when to be where and how early can I get there.



If you’re from a place that gets winter, you’ll be fine swimming next month. If you’re from a warm climate, it’ll probably be fine- unless a cold front comes through it’ll likely be in the 80’s during the day.


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## jenmsmith

Jennx36 said:


> I didn't think the wait times were over-inflated.  Most of the wait times were accurate give or take 5 minutes from my experience last week.


That was our experience last week as well. In fact, several actual waits for us were longer than the posted wait.


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## pooch

From beautiful Connecticut!  But it has not been cold here yet.  I'm still in capris & flip flops!!!


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## stinkpickle

I imagine they've been making adjustments to their wait times calculations lately.


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## stinkpickle

Jennx36 said:


> Just returned from a 4 day trip.  We arrived via plane and joined our family at SSR on Thursday.  We booked a preferred two bedroom villa for 4 adults and 2 children, and the kind cast member at check-in changed the location of our room to be closer to Disney Springs as we had a couple of dining reservations there.  We hung out at the pool, did Rain Forest Cafe at DS for dinner and went to MK the next day.  From Congress Park, it only took a few minutes for a bus to arrive, and we pulled up at MK about 22 minutes later.  We missed rope drop, and at 9:30 am, the lines were already 45+ minutes for most of the popular rides.  Unfortunately, the wait times were accurate.  We wanted to do Peter Pan's Flight, but wait times for that were about 60 minutes, so we settled on Small World.  The wait time was 45 minutes, and it took about 50 minutes.  The entrance is being refurbished or refreshed, and we spent the first 15 to 20 minutes outside in the sun.  Next was Winnie the Pooh, and the wait time for that was just about 30 minutes.  Got on in about 25 minutes, this line seemed to move much more quickly.  By this time, it was around 11:30 am, and people were getting hungry.  Mobile order in MK was a little chaotic.  We picked a timeframe for Pecos Bill and then placed the order.  Once in our time frame, we checked it to let the restaurant know to start preparing our order.  It took about 35 minutes from the time we checked in to the time our food was ready to pick up.  You can't wait in the restaurant, and cast members were standing at the entrance to make sure people entering were only those whose mobile orders were ready for pick up.  This was super tough as it was a little past noon at this point and the group was hot and hangry (temps were in the high 80's)! Finally the food was ready, but half the group decided to take their food to go and eat it while standing in line for another ride.  My group decided to stay and enjoyed a descent meal with air conditioning inside Pecos Bill.  I would have preferred Columbia Harbour House, but it was closed.  Next was PotC.  The wait was accurate at 45 minutes.  I mobile ordered ice cream from Aloha Isle.  It took a while, but the Kakamora Float was delicious!! Next was Carousel of Progress, a little less than the posted 20 minute wait, and a much needed break from the heat.  After that was Dumbo.  Posted wait time was 10 minutes, but it took about 20 as they stopped the ride to spray everything down and then run the ride with no one on board.  Next was the Little Mermaid, an accurate 35 minute wait.  We had dinner reservations at Be Our Guest.  The Beast makes an appearance with a quick wave and a bow.  We saw him about three times through the course of the dinner.  To end the night, we got a quick picture from the photo pass photographer in front of Cinderella castle, masks and all to capture the moment!  We then made our way to the exit.  I thought I would stop in at the Confectionary to pick up a candy apple, but the line was long, and people were tired!!  Next day was Animal Kingdom.  Our group got a late start.  It did not take long for the bus to arrive at the resort, and we walked into the park around 10:30.  Wait times were about 45+ minutes.  FoP was at a 105 minute wait, and Navi River Journey was a 90 minute wait.  Dinoland USA was kind of sad. With many of the attractions closed (Primeval Whirl, The Bone Yard, no Chip and Dale dance party), it was kind of a ghost town.  We walked onto Triceratops Spin.  Dinosaur was a 50 minute wait, so we skipped that and did It's a Bugs Life, about a 20 minute wait.  Then we got in line for Kilimanjaro Safari.  The line stretched all the way behind Tusker House, but it moved quickly, probably just 35 minute wait.  Based on our experience with mobile order at MK, we picked a timeframe for mobile order for Flame Tree BBQ.  We checked in as the Safari ended, and within about 5 minutes, our food was ready for pick up.  We were still on the safari truck and had to wait about 5 minutes to exit.  Then we raced across the park to Flame Tree, but it said our order was not picked up and our credit card would be refunded.  We checked with a cast member, and our order was promptly remade and ready for pick up in about 5 minutes (they forgot my cupcake, but this was probably for the best).  We enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch near the water and got to see boats drive by with characters and drummers.  We decided to wait in the 70 minute line for Navi River Journey.  While my group waited in line, I picked up drinks for us at Pongu Pongu.  They will only allow one person to pick up two alcoholic drinks, so instead of two beers and a Night Blossom with rum, I got two beers and a regular Night Blossom (still delicious!).  We called it a day after Navi River Journey and headed back to the room.  My children stayed at the resort with family while my husband and I enjoyed a date night at California Grill and then shopping at Disney Springs.  I don't know why, but my husband and I left our magic bands and planned on using our phones to unlock the door.  We couldn't get either of our phones to work, so we had to wake up his mother to let us in!  The next morning, we packed up and got brunch at Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'.  It was delicious, and the portions were huge! Overall, this was a great trip!  We have had better experiences at MK for sure, but the ability to combine a Disney trip with seeing other family members (10 of us total) made it special for us.
> 
> Take aways:
> If we hadn't been able to combine this trip with seeing our family, I don't think this trip would have been worth the cost.  The crowds and wait times have increased since initial reopening.  The cost of the rooms and the tickets are the same even though there are no fast passes, no park hopping, several restaurants are closed, and experiences are cancelled or altered (fireworks, character meet and greets).  Most of the time, wearing a mask was a non-issue for myself, my 5 year-old, and my 3 year-old.  I can't speak for the rest of my family.  Many people commented that the wait times decreased in the afternoon and evening.  This was not the case for a Friday afternoon/evening at MK.  I think the best way to enjoy a trip under the current circumstances is to set your expectations low and pack your patience.  It is a different experience, and right now may not be the best time to visit if you are expecting to capture the same magic that you experienced on previous trips.
> 
> Forget social distancing at MK, it's not going to happen.  Too many people and not enough cast members to enforce it.  However, mask compliance was actually pretty good from what I observed.  Asking guests to stand still while eating or drinking was largely ignored in the two parks we visited and at Disney Springs.  Social distancing at Animal Kingdom was much better in most places.
> 
> Be prepared to wait in line for almost everything as they are capping the number of people inside shops and stores.  However, don't let the length of the line fool you, they actually seem to move pretty quickly.  The line for World of Disney at Disney Springs looked really long, but we were inside the store in about 7 minutes on a Saturday night around 8:30 pm.  None of the other stores had lines to get in at this time from what I observed.
> 
> The Saratoga Springs Resort is beautiful!  The newly refurbished two bedroom villa suited our group perfectly (4 adults, 2 children).  The bus transportation was not an issue for us at all.  We did not have to wait long for a bus to pick us up from the resort or from the parks.  We were never turned away from boarding a bus due to the bus reaching capacity.  The walk to Disney Springs from Congress Park was easy and pleasant.  I also could easily walk from Congress Park to Artist's Palate for a quick bite.
> 
> California Grill (loved the grouper), Be Our Guest (loved the lamb chops), and Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' (loved the hallelujah biscuit)  were all wonderful!  Portions at all three of these restaurants are generous, so come hungry or split a meal (not sure if you can split a meal at Be Our Guest).
> 
> My preferred way to experience MK is paying extra for early morning magic or staying club level and paying extra for three additional fast passes.  Not being able to do either of these kind of puts a damper on the experience as I was left feeling like the value of the experience did not equal the cost of the park admission ticket.  Thankfully being able to spend time with extended family made up for the difference.  It seems like Disney could still offer early morning magic as it is a separate, ticketed event, and they could maintain low crowd levels for social distancing.
> 
> Probably more detail than needed, but I hope this helps for someone planning or about to experience a trip in the near future.


That sounds pretty close to what I expect.  We're staying preferred at SSR next week, but I think we will Uber rope drops instead of risking it with the buses.


----------



## aml1676

Just back last night from a stay at Kidani Village 10/12-10/20. Overall, this was an amazing trip - I haven't been to WDW in 35 years and this was my daughter's first visit. I know many people said this is not the time for first-timers and I vehemently disagree, provided expectations are managed appropriately. I knew going in that we wouldn't get character meet and greets, parades, etc. and was not the least bit disappointed. We'll be happy to catch those things on future trips.

We had 5 park days in all, and generally I thought mask compliance was around 90%. Social distancing was okay - not once did I feel uncomfortable about the proximity of other people. We live in central Indiana and it felt pretty similar to what we experience when we go to Target. Our only weekend park day was on Sunday at AK and it wasn't crowded at all; MK on Tuesday and HS on Wednesday were probably the heaviest crowds we encountered. We are most definitely not rope-drop people, so we didn't experience waits or crowding on transportation at all, and no lines to enter the parks. We did stay until close each day, and still didn't ride a full bus back to the resort, ever. Ride lines for us seemed inflated by about 10-15 minutes for most of the week; we only waited the full posted time on our first MK day (also one of the heaviest crowd days for us) and at HS.

We had the best time, and can't wait to go back. If I could make it happen while crowd levels are like this I totally would... I agree that as crowds increase they will really need to bring back FP in some form or fashion. Kidani Village was awesome - it wasn't my first choice, but we were moved there when our original trip fell through in March. I was worried about being so far from everything, but transportation to the parks was extremely reasonable for us. The pool wasn't too busy. Sanaa was soooo good, but the Maji pool bar left a bit to be desired. Just not many options - lunch the day we ate there ended up being Mickey pretzels. We had good dining experiences overall, including mobile order. I know others have had issues with it, but there are only 2 of us so it worked really well. I can't think of anything I'd do differently for this trip - I had a rough plan for what I wanted to do each day, and we mostly stuck to it, but it was nice to have some flexibility and not have to rush around trying to make FP times and ADRs.


----------



## Kimpossible1

Went to Epcot for a few hours, it was as crowded as a normal day pre-covid.  The line for Frozen Ever After snaked out Norway and over to China to outside the quick service restaurant in China and it was posted a 60 minute wait.  The Friendship boats were training CM's.  We just went to walk a little, did the loop and left.


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## rockpiece

They are letting way too many people into HS, it was ridiculous today. They need to do something ASAP.


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## NC State

rockpiece said:


> They are letting way too many people into HS, it was ridiculous today. They need to do something ASAP.


I hope everyone lets WDW management know!


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## Zaccypoo

Just finished our HS day today. We took an uber to boardwalk around 7:00 and were at HS by 7:15 ish.  Third group in line for the day. We waited until about 8:45 when they moved us to temp checks. There were probably 300+ people behind us at that point. We waited at temp check until about 9:00 and then they let us scan into the park and go through bag check. We booked it to MMRR right away and got on the second train of the day at 9:10 ish. We were off of MMRR by 9:15 ish and headed towards sunset boulevard. When we got to Tower of Terror it was a walk on. Off by 9:30. We then went to RR which we waited about 5-10 minutes. Off by 9:45. We then headed towards GE to be ready for MFSR. Got boarding group 11 for Rise and hopped right into MFSR. Waited about 25 minutes and were off by 10:30. Knocked out 4 of the biggest rides within 2 hours. 

We then chilled out for a while. Rode Star Tours which was posted 45 but waited about 15, rode TSM which was posted 30 minutes and waited about 20. Got in line for muppets with a 30 min wait and waited about 45. It was our longest wait of the day. 

By around 2 we were able to hop on rides again with shorter wait times. We hopped in line for Tower of Terror with a posted 30 minute wait and waited about 25. Rode TSM 4 times in a row with about a 10 minute wait each time. It was posted at 30. Rode Swirling Saucers in about 5 which was posted at 25. 

By that point we were tired and just wanted to chill. We hung out until around 6:45 and hopped in line for Slinky Dog. Wait was posted 50 minutes and we waited about 30 minutes. Headed to skyliner to get back to Pop and waited about 15 minutes. 

Overall it was amazing. The park seemed crowded, but the first two hours were crucial for us getting to knock so many things out without waits. We rode everything in the park, some more than once, and our longest wait all day was around 45 minutes. 

MK tomorrow and we plan on ubering to contemporary to walk over for rope drop. Does anyone know if they're starting rides early at MK like they are at HS??

ps. shoutout to the disboards for the tips on how to do HS in the morning. It was amazing and couldn't have done it so well without reading this thread!!!!


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## Befferk

Zaccypoo said:


> Just finished our HS day today. We took an uber to boardwalk around 7:00 and were at HS by 7:15 ish.  Third group in line for the day. We waited until about 8:45 when they moved us to temp checks. There were probably 300+ people behind us at that point. We waited at temp check until about 9:00 and then they let us scan into the park and go through bag check. We booked it to MMRR right away and got on the second train of the day at 9:10 ish. We were off of MMRR by 9:15 ish and headed towards sunset boulevard. When we got to Tower of Terror it was a walk on. Off by 9:30. We then went to RR which we waited about 5-10 minutes. Off by 9:45. We then headed towards GE to be ready for MFSR. Got boarding group 11 for Rise and hopped right into MFSR. Waited about 25 minutes and were off by 10:30. Knocked out 4 of the biggest rides within 2 hours.
> 
> We then chilled out for a while. Rode Star Tours which was posted 45 but waited about 15, rode TSM which was posted 30 minutes and waited about 20. Got in line for muppets with a 30 min wait and waited about 45. It was our longest wait of the day.
> 
> By around 2 we were able to hop on rides again with shorter wait times. We hopped in line for Tower of Terror with a posted 30 minute wait and waited about 25. Rode TSM 4 times in a row with about a 10 minute wait each time. It was posted at 30. Rode Swirling Saucers in about 5 which was posted at 25.
> 
> By that point we were tired and just wanted to chill. We hung out until around 6:45 and hopped in line for Slinky Dog. Wait was posted 50 minutes and we waited about 30 minutes. Headed to skyliner to get back to Pop and waited about 15 minutes.
> 
> Overall it was amazing. The park seemed crowded, but the first two hours were crucial for us getting to knock so many things out without waits. We rode everything in the park, some more than once, and our longest wait all day was around 45 minutes.
> 
> MK tomorrow and we plan on ubering to contemporary to walk over for rope drop. Does anyone know if they're starting rides early at MK like they are at HS??
> 
> ps. shoutout to the disboards for the tips on how to do HS in the morning. It was amazing and couldn't have done it so well without reading this thread!!!!



Thanks for the report! I saw someone post on FB today saying that they had been there like 4 hours and only got on two rides - and I'm like how is that even possible??? (they were complaining about how ridiculous it all was). Thanks for a more realistic perspective.

Also for Ubering to the Contemporary, do you plan on placing a mobile order to be let in?


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## Zaccypoo

Befferk said:


> Thanks for the report! I saw someone post on FB today saying that they had been there like 4 hours and only got on two rides - and I'm like how is that even possible??? (they were complaining about how ridiculous it all was). Thanks for a more realistic perspective.
> 
> Also for Ubering to the Contemporary, do you plan on placing a mobile order to be let in?


We were going to mobile order for boardwalk and they let us in without checking for one. Do you need to mobile order to get into the resort?


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## pooch

So you waited for an hour and a half + to get into DHS?


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## Zaccypoo

Yes but we saved over 3 hours worth of wait times in the park. We were able to get MMRR, Tower of terror, and Rockn Rollercoaster before the park even officially opened. I'd rather wait outside the park for a while than spend park hours in lines.


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## lorileahb

Zaccypoo said:


> Yes but we saved over 3 hours worth of wait times in the park. We were able to get MMRR, Tower of terror, and Rockn Rollercoaster before the park even officially opened. I'd rather wait outside the park for a while than spend park hours in lines.



Especially when it is cooler in the mornings v. waiting in the afternoons in the blazing sun. Glad you had fun!


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## Befferk

Zaccypoo said:


> We were going to mobile order for boardwalk and they let us in without checking for one. Do you need to mobile order to get into the resort?



Reports have been hit or miss, with some people being checked. Appears to depend on who's working.


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## TikiTikiFan

Is the exit to Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror pretty simple to wait at if you’re waiting for someone to get off? My 10 year old wants to ride both of these (I’m a wuss so I’ll sit them out!) in the morning so the plan is to go right over there at opening so he can ride both right away. Looks like that’s the best time for those right now wait time wise? Will it be easy enough for me to wait in line with him but decline to ride and wait at the exit? He rides Incredicoaster and Guardians at DLR by himself all the time but he likes me to wait in line with him and then I just hang by the exit until he’s done.


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## djmeredith

rockpiece said:


> They are letting way too many people into HS, it was ridiculous today. They need to do something ASAP.


DHS was busy last week (Wed and Sat) but I felt MK was worse as far as feeling crowded and the wait times. MK was crowded and the lines were long and in the sun. If we had not arrived before official opening and accomplished a few things early, it would have been a truly miserable day of wait times in the sun. I truly feel bad for the people who have trips planned for the upcoming holidays. If Disney couldn't handle last week's fall break crowds, how are they going to handle the even larger holiday crowds?


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## runjulesrun

TikiTikiFan said:


> Is the exit to Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror pretty simple to wait at if you’re waiting for someone to get off? My 10 year old wants to ride both of these (I’m a wuss so I’ll sit them out!) in the morning so the plan is to go right over there at opening so he can ride both right away. Looks like that’s the best time for those right now wait time wise? Will it be easy enough for me to wait in line with him but decline to ride and wait at the exit? He rides Incredicoaster and Guardians at DLR by himself all the time but he likes me to wait in line with him and then I just hang by the exit until he’s done.


Yep, easy for both of them. Like you said, wait in line with him and let the cast member know when you get to the boarding area.


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## djmeredith

Befferk said:


> Thanks for the report! I saw someone post on FB today saying that they had been there like 4 hours and only got on two rides - and *I'm like how is that even possible???* (they were complaining about how ridiculous it all was). Thanks for a more realistic perspective.
> 
> Also for Ubering to the Contemporary, do you plan on placing a mobile order to be let in?


It is absolutely possible and I would argue that person's version is the more realistic perspective of most visitors these days. Unless you read tips like the ones found here, you would be in for a very bad day at DHS right now. If you do not arrive an hour prior to posted opening, it is likely you will be waiting in long lines all day and even not accomplish everything. The vast majority of people going to Disney are not reading boards like these and arrive at posted opening when most lines are already 45+ minutes.


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## Befferk

djmeredith said:


> It is absolutely possible and I would argue that person's version is the more realistic perspective of most visitors these days. Unless you read tips like the ones found here, you would be in for a very bad day at DHS right now. If you do not arrive an hour prior to posted opening, it is likely you will be waiting in long lines all day and even not accomplish everything. The vast majority of people going to Disney are not reading boards like these and arrive at posted opening when most lines are already 45+ minutes.



Good point. I forget about the fact that we (DisBoarders) are small in number relative to the number of people visiting. So glad for these boards!


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## katyringo

Day 2 was great!

we went to universal studios and I posted my report on the universal thread. We took an Uber from pop and it worked great.
On the Disney side of things we went to springs this evening. Bus from pop was super smooth except the driver filled in seats. I don’t think he was suppose to but he did.  Arrived at Disney springs. It’s busy there.  Very long line for workd of Disney, however it moved super fast. Had earl of sandwich which was very good.  Really no complaints about Disney springs. It’s busy there but not overwhelmingly so.

the biggest thing for me was transportation back. The pop century bus line was very long. However they sent lots of buses and even though the line was very long we didn’t wait very long.

once back at pop and I went to the shop. They DO have disposable masks for sale there. I got some as those are hubbys preferred masks.

tomorrow is Hollywood studios!


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## scrappinginontario

Befferk said:


> Thanks for the report! I saw someone post on FB today saying that they had been there like 4 hours and only got on two rides - and I'm like how is that even possible??? (they were complaining about how ridiculous it all was). Thanks for a more realistic perspective.
> 
> Also for Ubering to the Contemporary, do you plan on placing a mobile order to be let in?


 Just like any other time visiting Disney, it’s time again to have a plan in place before you begin.

I remember helping a friend make a plan for her family’s March Break trip probably 10 years ago.  On their MK day her brother and his family decided to go rogue and do it their own way.  When they got together at the end of the day, he and his family were grumbling as they’d only gone on 4 rides whereas my friend and her family had done 14!!

Same Park. Exact same hours. 4 in each party. The main difference in their experiences was having a plan vs no plan. 
Today it’s different with online wait times etc but Going in with some sort of plan (even if it’s start here and go clockwise or, check wait times) a plan is a huge help!  And, flexibility to change that plan as needed.


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## brockash

djmeredith said:


> It is absolutely possible and I would argue that person's version is the more realistic perspective of most visitors these days. Unless you read tips like the ones found here, you would be in for a very bad day at DHS right now. If you do not arrive an hour prior to posted opening, it is likely you will be waiting in long lines all day and even not accomplish everything. The vast majority of people going to Disney are not reading boards like these and arrive at posted opening when most lines are already 45+ minutes.


I agree.  The pp had a remarkable day...but definitely not the norm or what most, especially those not on the disboards, would call realistic.  For starters they paid for an uber to take them to a resort within walking distance of the park...3 hrs before posted opening.  I'm happy for the pp, but we're pretty experienced guests and were there last week and had a VERY different experience.


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## YayforMickey

djmeredith said:


> I truly feel bad for the people who have trips planned for the upcoming holidays. If Disney couldn't handle last week's fall break crowds, how are they going to handle the even larger holiday crowds?


I am one of those people. Our park days are Dec 18-23. I've never been at such a high-demand time before. I'm learning everything I can so that I can be as prepared as possible. But I've told my family to expect to stand in a lot of lines. I hope we can still have a good time.


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## DeterminedOne

What restaurants are folks mobile ordering from at Boardwalk? I have 7:50 ADR at Trattorio on a Saturday when the park opens at 10. Debating on whether to cancel if I can do mobile order instead. A 7:50 ADR won’t put me ahead of the crowd, but back and forth on whether that even matters this trip. Back in March I Ubered to HS really early. (Before sunrise.) Still never got a BG and it took 7 hours to do 4 rides. That’s with a FP for MMRR...
 I just don’t know if it’s worth the hustle and bustle. Sounds nicer at times just to enjoy breakfast and a casual stroll to HS. As long as I’m there by 10 to try for BG is what I’m thinking ...


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## FinallyFL

Zaccypoo said:


> MK tomorrow and we plan on ubering to contemporary to walk over for rope drop. Does anyone know if they're starting rides early at MK like they are at HS??


I was at MK on Tuesday morning and they opened the park 30 mins early. 7DMT was running and a walk-on first thing; however, I was one of the first to enter the park and walk fast. I managed to ride 7DMT twice before the official 9am opening.


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## Hezzy04

I’m apparently failing at the search option today because I know this has been answered....I’m sorry 

What time have all the parks actually been opening lately? I believe Hollywood Studios is posted as 10 but has been opening at 9: is that correct? What about the others?


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## FinallyFL

MK is posted at 9 and is opening at 8:30.


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## pooch

Given that DHS is my very least favorite park and getting a BG is a crap shoot, I am seriously consider dropping a day on our passes and using DD’s comps to spend the day at Universal instead.  DHS is just becoming too stressful for me.


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## BBH

Zaccypoo said:


> Yes but we saved over 3 hours worth of wait times in the park. We were able to get MMRR, Tower of terror, and Rockn Rollercoaster before the park even officially opened. I'd rather wait outside the park for a while than spend park hours in lines.


I was also at Hollywood Studios yesterday. I walked over from the Boardwalk and got in line at 8:52, and I was in line for MMRR by 9:09 and got on the ride at 9:37.


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## bad91922

I read here and follow bloggers and look up park info constantly leading up to our trip. I know y’all are saying you have to have a plan but I have wry young kids that will only be interested in MMRR and Slinky for the most part. Everything else will just be bonus. How do you plan a HS day without waking at the crack of Dawn for pre RD rides and still have a good day because my babies wouldn’t do well getting in line at 730 or be able to make it all day in the park and we have reserve for lunch currently and I have a late reservation at Beaches that I’m trying to find an earlier seating.


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## Cynt

Wednesday was DHS. BLOT! We should have skipped it. Pack your patience, snacks, extra $$ for snacks and drinks. This was our 1st time to see Star Wars. I'm NOT a SW person so after riding the 3 rides they were ok. I liked MF better than RoR. DH enjoyed it but he liked MF better too.

Let's start with the bus ride from okw to dhs. We were in line at 830am at the 1st bus stop. We were the 4th family. The 1st family with a scooter arrived a 8am. 840 the lines growing. 850 the line is down the sidewalk. 9am the line is almost to the bridge. 9am the  bus arrives. Claps of joy and frustration ensues. We pack out our bus covid style. As we're leaving 3 more dhs busses arrive.

We arrive at dhs at 930. We walk thru temp check, scan and tap in. Its 938. We walk towards GE to ride SWT. They held the line until 948. We're off SWT by 956. Tons of people line the street. We post up and wait for the count down. DH, who practiced once, gets us BG34. Mission accomplished. We head to MF 50 minute posted wait time. We wait 35 minutes. TSM 40 minutes posted. We wait 10 minutes. All the head liner rides now at 60+ minutes.

We head to the gondolas for lunch at the Riviera. No lines and we love the convenience of the gondolas. Really wish they would use these to connect to more resorts and Disney springs. While everyone else was looking for lunch spots in DHS we had a nice leisurely lunch at Primos piattos. Loved the chicken sandwich. Their tomato soup is better than the tomato soup at Edison.

Headed back to DHS to finish our day and with full bellies we were ready to WAIT 60 minutes per ride. We hit a few rides and then our DG34 was called at 2pm. We were underwhelmed. We get it but way too much hype for this ride. We rode a few more rides and left the park.

DHS definitely needs more attractions and definitely shows to thin out the crowds. If we had done DHS on our 1st park day I would have been so discouraged. We canceled our 2nd DHS day and we're headed back to AK Thursday.


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## katyringo

Y’all.  We took an Uber from pop at 7 to boardwalk bakery. Got our food and then walked to HS. It’s 7:40 and we are very first in line. Say whhhhaaaaat.


----------



## dachsie

DeterminedOne said:


> What restaurants are folks mobile ordering from at Boardwalk? I have 7:50 ADR at Trattorio on a Saturday when the park opens at 10. Debating on whether to cancel if I can do mobile order instead. A 7:50 ADR won’t put me ahead of the crowd, but back and forth on whether that even matters this trip. Back in March I Ubered to HS really early. (Before sunrise.) Still never got a BG and it took 7 hours to do 4 rides. That’s with a FP for MMRR...
> I just don’t know if it’s worth the hustle and bustle. Sounds nicer at times just to enjoy breakfast and a casual stroll to HS. As long as I’m there by 10 to try for BG is what I’m thinking ...


I had a 7:35 ADR there and decided to switch it to a 7:10 at Ale & Compass for that very reason.  You can do mobile order at Boardwalk Bakery tho


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## lorileahb

DeterminedOne said:


> What restaurants are folks mobile ordering from at Boardwalk? I have 7:50 ADR at Trattorio on a Saturday when the park opens at 10. Debating on whether to cancel if I can do mobile order instead. A 7:50 ADR won’t put me ahead of the crowd, but back and forth on whether that even matters this trip. Back in March I Ubered to HS really early. (Before sunrise.) Still never got a BG and it took 7 hours to do 4 rides. That’s with a FP for MMRR...
> I just don’t know if it’s worth the hustle and bustle. Sounds nicer at times just to enjoy breakfast and a casual stroll to HS. As long as I’m there by 10 to try for BG is what I’m thinking ...


We are going to mobile order from boardwalk bakery.


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## yulilin3

bad91922 said:


> I read here and follow bloggers and look up park info constantly leading up to our trip. I know y’all are saying you have to have a plan but I have wry young kids that will only be interested in MMRR and Slinky for the most part. Everything else will just be bonus. How do you plan a HS day without waking at the crack of Dawn for pre RD rides and still have a good day because my babies wouldn’t do well getting in line at 730 or be able to make it all day in the park and we have reserve for lunch currently and I have a late reservation at Beaches that I’m trying to find an earlier seating.


Under the current conditions rope drop is the best if not only way to not make long lines,  If your family can't dgo that maybe skip the park this trip or plan on coming another time


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## Avery&Todd

We were there from 10/12-17, stayed at BLT for the first time and DH and I had the best time! I must thank this Board for all the great tips and tricks – I think that DH was actually impressed with my above average planning that we actually pulled off!

Most notably was HS – I booked a 7:30am breakfast at Trattoria, which was delicious, out the door before 8:30 and walked to HS (this was a Wednesday) – in line outside by 8:45, walked to the health screening lines by 9am and inside by 9:15!  Walked quickly to M&M and was off there by 9:35ish – it was great!

We then popped over to Slinky and here is where it got tricky…JUST AS we got to the load area, it was 10am….I asked nicely if we could skip our load and they said yes, put us to the side and we got boarding group #32 for RISE!!

We then did Saucers, Toy Story x 2 – that line would show 45-50 wait and was never more than 20 min

Rise at 12noon and then by the time we were off, it was time for our 12:45 @ 50s PT!

On our 2nd MK day we were out the door by 8am, and walking into MK by 8:15 – managed to ride Mine Train, Peter Pan, Pooh, Jungle Cruise by 9am and then walked on to Pirates, and then did Splash and Big Thunder by 10am – it was a great and very productive morning!!

We go back in Dec for DS’s late-but-not-never HS graduation trip and I’m ready! I made some adjustments to our plan based on what worked/didn’t work for us on this last trip and I can’t wait to see the Christmas decorations – this was our first time to see fall and Christmas decorations!

Then we’re back again in late February to take my cousin who hasn’t been – I can’t wait to go with a “newbie” and show her all the fabulous things!!

I would say, that if this is your first time, you might wait – there are obvious things missing, like characters and parades and fireworks, but this wasn’t our first, or last trip and we had a blast!


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## yulilin3

Ive said this on several threads now but if you're getting an adr or mobile order for the sole purpose of being able to be dropped off and not really interested in the food,  being dropped off and walking from the speedway station is your closest bet


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## dachsie

I am wondering something about the DHS crowding.  When they figure 25% capacity, they must not take into account the areas of the park that are closed.  If they took out those areas, then numbers would go down.  With that park being as small as it is, I think they should have taken that into account.


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## bastraker

Kimpossible1 said:


> Went to Epcot for a few hours, it was as crowded as a normal day pre-covid.  The line for Frozen Ever After snaked out Norway and over to China to outside the quick service restaurant in China and it was posted a 60 minute wait.  The Friendship boats were training CM's.  We just went to walk a little, did the loop and left.


We were in that line at Epcot around 2pm. The wait did say 60 minutes, but only waited 40 - so not too bad. 

We also went right to Soarin right after that. The posted wait said 30 minutes - we walked right on. It was great! I thought the crowds were light. It seemed most people were waiting in lines.


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## katyringo

yulilin3 said:


> Ive said this on several threads now but if you're getting an adr or mobile order for the sole purpose of being able to be dropped off and not really interested in the food,  being dropped off and walking from the speedway station is your closest bet


 We wanted to food but yes.


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## katyringo

Someone asked how early you can mobile order. I made our mobile order for boardwalk bakery for 7am opening at about 6am this morning. And just now waiting to get into DHS I made our mobile order for ronto roasters for noon.


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## lorileahb

yulilin3 said:


> Ive said this on several threads now but if you're getting an adr or mobile order for the sole purpose of being able to be dropped off and not really interested in the food,  being dropped off and walking from the speedway station is your closest bet



We are actually saving HS for when we have our whole family so we are using Boardwalk Bakery for Epct - just to have a little more relaxed entry.  Plus, we've never seen Boardwalk - hoping they'll have a few Christmas decorations, too!


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## Disneyfan754321

pooch said:


> Given that DHS is my very least favorite park and getting a BG is a crap shoot, I am seriously consider dropping a day on our passes and using DD’s comps to spend the day at Universal instead.  DHS is just becoming too stressful for me.


After a very stressful day at MK ( sunday)  our Monday plans were HS. It was my boys favorite.
I decided at the last minute to drop HS because I could not deal with all the people again. MK was crazy and it was not to capacity like HS is everyday.
We went to AK.. and after watching ride times we loved our choice


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## Disneyfan754321

katyringo said:


> Someone asked how early you can mobile order. I made our mobile order for boardwalk bakery for 7am opening at about 6am this morning. And just now waiting to get into DHS I made our mobile order for ronto roasters for noon.


I ordered  lunch at the landing pad  while in line at a ride. when I got over there I could not check I have arrived because they were closed and  opened in 3 mins. The CM manually checked me in  and a few mins later they told me I could go in to  #6 my food was ready


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## katyringo

At 825 we are in the front of the line about to be moved closer to temp screening. This is like behind us. Again it’s 825 for an offical 10am opening. And for some reason disboards always loads my pictures sideways


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## bakenatj

katyringo said:


> At 825 we are in the front of the line about to be moved closer to temp screening. This is like behind us. Again it’s 825 for an offical 10am opening. And for some reason disboards always loads my pictures sideways


Oh boy, I won't be doing that. That's crazy.


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## HikingFam

bad91922 said:


> I read here and follow bloggers and look up park info constantly leading up to our trip. I know y’all are saying you have to have a plan but I have wry young kids that will only be interested in MMRR and Slinky for the most part. Everything else will just be bonus. How do you plan a HS day without waking at the crack of Dawn for pre RD rides and still have a good day because my babies wouldn’t do well getting in line at 730 or be able to make it all day in the park and we have reserve for lunch currently and I have a late reservation at Beaches that I’m trying to find an earlier seating.


We also have young kids, so no Uber to the gas station for us. Assuming you’ll have a car, be in line for parking by 9:00. We lucked out and got there right as they started allowing cars to line up at 8:50something (vs loop around), so we were maybe 30 cars back. They will open the parking lot around 9:15. Don’t dawdle - speed walk your way through temp check, entry and straight to MMRR. Then straight to Slinky. Watch the clock for 10 to make sure you can try for a BG. Hit Aliens and Mania. Then the rest of the day is just a “bonus” We actually went back to the hotel at that point and swam until our BG was called, because lines were too long for us. When we returned around 2:00, wait times were more reasonable (but still longer than we were willing to wait for MMRR and Slinky).


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## nkereina

HikingFam said:


> We actually went back to the hotel at that point and swam until our BG was called


How long do you have to get back when your BG is called? I'm guessing you drove back since you had a car?


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## scrappinginontario

dachsie said:


> I am wondering something about the DHS crowding.  When they figure 25% capacity, they must not take into account the areas of the park that are closed.  If they took out those areas, then numbers would go down.  With that park being as small as it is, I think they should have taken that into account.


The other thing to consider is that DHS has a smaller footprint and less attractions currently open.  25% of capacity have a much greater space to spread out in in AK and Epcot and even the MK.  DHS is just smaller by nature which to me always makes it feel more congested.


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## scrappinginontario

nkereina said:


> How long do you have to get back when your BG is called? I'm guessing you drove back since you had a car?


1 hour


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## Justrose

dachsie said:


> I had a 7:35 ADR there and decided to switch it to a 7:10 at Ale & Compass for that very reason.  You can do mobile order at Boardwalk Bakery tho


You can walk to HS from YC?  Hmm... I also have a 7:35 at Trattoria and thought I would have enough time, but maybe I will reconsider...


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## HikingFam

nkereina said:


> How long do you have to get back when your BG is called? I'm guessing you drove back since you had a car?


It used to be 2 hours, but I’m pretty sure it was 1 hour this time. You can see when they are getting closer to your group, so we went back shortly before our group was called and walked in the park right before they called our group (we were 53). We had driven that morning but were checking into Riviera that day, so when we returned to HS in the afternoon we took the Skyliner. But driving would have worked, too.


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## nkereina

Generally speaking, have Slinky Dog or Smugglers Run wait times been higher during the day? We are hoping to ride MMRR prior to 10am next week, and then trying to decide our next move from there. We have a 10:15 Oga's reservation (only time I could get), so my time before that will be limited. I thought it would make more sense to do Smugglers Run due to proximity, but if it would be doable to knock out Slinky Dog and make it to the ADR on time, then I would prefer to do that. I don't mind waiting 45-60 minutes in a queue later on in the day, but anything longer than that we'd likely pass on.


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## katyringo

So it’s 909 and we are first in line for Mickey Minnie runway railway. However.. they have folks outside of the ride with signs for ALL rides stating “you can get in line but it won’t start operating until 10am” so idk the early rides may be done with. We shall see.


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## Cynt

Delete post


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## HikingFam

katyringo said:


> So it’s 909 and we are first in line for Mickey Minnie runway railway. However.. they have folks outside of the ride with signs for ALL rides stating “you can get in line but it won’t start operating until 10am” so idk the early rides may be done with. We shall see.


Oh wow! Let us know how that goes. That would be a game changer, for sure.


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## Grumpy by Birth

Here now.

Crowds... Maybe not helpful to say, but whether or not it seems crowded this week probably depends on your comfort level and/or how risk averse you are.  Most of the time, we felt there was PLENTY of room to remain far enough away from others.  But in a few choke points, we felt crowded and unable to stay as far away.  But we were moving and only took about one minute to get past the logjam.

Wait times... overall good.  I did notice high wait times on many attractions on MDE at various times throughout the day, but we just kept checking and went when times dropped (with a few exceptions).

Monday, Oct 19th - Animal Kingdom

At rope drop, we went on other rides first before Pandora.
Safari: 15 minutes posted - walk-on.
Everest: 20 minutes posted - waited 16 minutes (glad we did this early, it was down the rest of the day).
Dinosaur: 25 minutes posted (jumped to 45 right after we got in line) - waited 25 minutes.
TTBAB: 15 minutes posted - walk-on to the "lobby" and just had to wait about 10 minutes for the next show to start.
Picked up mobile order lunch at Satuli Canteen around 12:30 (waited maybe 5 minutes after clicking "I'm here").

It started raining pretty heavily, but fortunately we were sitting under the covered area eating.  It let up to a sprinkle by the time we finished eating.

Flight of Passage: 80 minutes posted (decided to chance it taking less and it looked like some people got out of line because of the earlier monsoon) - we waited 55 minutes and didn't mind... always rode it with FP before and we really enjoyed seeing the rest of the queue.  It didn't seem like an hour to us because we entertained ourselves in line.

Gorilla Trail: not crowded at all, got a great view of the whole family (including baby) sitting right next to the glass because it was raining lightly again.

When we exited the trail (around 4pm) the monsoon started again and we got soaked.  Navi was posted as 35 minutes, but we opted to leave early instead of standing in the rain.  We also skipped the Tiger trail because of the rain, but we'll be back at AK on Saturday.

Heading out for a relaxing resort day now, but will provide a summary of Tuesday (DHS) and Wednesday (EPCOT) when I have some more time tonight.


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## SuJo

Here now, surprised the railway not opening til 10?


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## Grumpy by Birth

katyringo said:


> So it’s 909 and we are first in line for Mickey Minnie runway railway. However.. they have folks outside of the ride with signs for ALL rides stating “you can get in line but it won’t start operating until 10am” so idk the early rides may be done with. We shall see.


More details to come, but just a quick comment... we rode Millennium Falcon before 10 am on Tuesday (walk-on), then got a ROTR BG (BG 9) at 10am and rode MF again at 10:05 (20 minute wait) before getting called for ROTR.

We'll be at DHS again on Sunday.  It'll be interesting to see how things change because we were considering Slinky at RD that day.


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## katyringo

Grumpy by Birth said:


> More details to come, but just a quick comment... we rode Millennium Falcon before 10 am on Tuesday (walk-on), then got a ROTR BG (BG 9) at 10am and rode MF again at 10:05 (20 minute wait) before getting called for ROTR.


 Yeah up until 10 all the reports I read said similar things but they are being pretty direct today that nothing will start operating until 10am. I asked at mickeys “are other rides operating early” and they said “all rides intend to start at 10am”


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## SuJo

So we are in line for r
ilway and they have stopped people from getting in line saying the queue is full


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## katyringo

930. We are still first in line for railway. If other rides are starting early I’m gonna be annoyed lol! Guess I could be at work..


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## SuJo

Are any rides running early this morning at DHS?


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## DeterminedOne

yulilin3 said:


> Ive said this on several threads now but if you're getting an adr or mobile order for the sole purpose of being able to be dropped off and not really interested in the food,  being dropped off and walking from the speedway station is your closest bet


That would be me. I will be solo and the thought of being dropped off at a gas station give me anxiety. (Have to manage my triggers.) Great suggestion though. Thank you. 
I never have time to walk the Boardwalk, and I bet it’s absolutely beautiful at 7AM. Just checked out the selection at Boardwalk Bakery. I didn’t know they had breakfast sandwiches. Canceling my Trattoria ADR.


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## yulilin3

DeterminedOne said:


> That would be me. I will be solo and the thought of being dropped off at a gas station give me anxiety. (Have to manage my triggers.) Great suggestion though. Thank you.
> I never have time to walk the Boardwalk, and I bet it’s absolutely beautiful at 7AM. Just checked out the selection at Boardwalk Bakery. I didn’t know they had breakfast sandwiches. Canceling my Trattoria ADR.


why does it give you anxiety?


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## jenmsmith

We did a split stay at BLT (Oct. 11-15) and Yacht Club (Oct. 15-19) during the "fall break" busy week. Many people have already given informative trip reports. But I was very much helped by this thread before we went, so I want to share a few things to pay it forward.

This probably has the most applicability for people who will be there during some busier times, as reports from this present week seem to show a bit of the weekday slowdown that has been the "norm" since reopening. With our week, the weekdays seemed as busy or as close to busy as the weekends, as the hours on the weekdays were not extended. As has been reported here, the fall break crowds didn't clear out of the parks like the - what I'm assuming have been more local crowds - do. So to ride a couple of headliners without much wait, you must rope drop. 

We did a split stay for a few reasons:
1. to have access to a variety of pools since a major focus of this trip was to spend time at the resort/pools as our local pools were closed this summer
2. to have access to a variety of dining, as with limited offerings at the open restaurants and with not all dining areas open, it can get boring quickly when eating at the resort for many days
3. to have the ability to walk to parks
I highly recommend doing this if it fits your schedule/plans. We did each park one day.  AK and MK when we were at BLT and Epcot and DHS when we were at Yacht Club. We also built in two resort days and one day my DH took our 17-year-old aerospace fan to Kennedy Space Center.

We traveled with myself, DH, two teenage DSs and a 2-year-old DD. We are frequent visitors, and usually AP holders. We chose Disney for this trip because we were ready to escape for a bit and felt Disney's safety precautions were more consistent than the other places we researched. Reading reports before we went, I knew we'd need to be strategic and manage expectations. That was definitely the case. We had our son's choose their must-do attractions/activities in each park and we made those the priority. We rope dropped every park - driving to AK by 8:30 on a 9 am open; walking to MK at 7:50 on a 9 am open (allowed into the park at 8:30); walking to Epcot just after opening; walking to DHS (leaving the room at Yacht Club at 8 a.m., was about 50 people back at 8:20 a.m., the line quickly grew to hundreds of people behind us before being moved to the temp tents at 8:50 a.m. let into the park and able to ride rides about 9:10 a.m.). Especially at MK and DHS that was essential to being able to experience a couple of attractions without long waits. The lines grew quickly after.

We did take mid-day breaks even with the shorter hours. It was in the 90s most days, and with so much out in the sun, we needed to recharge and let the toddler actually nap. With the short hours, that did cut into our park time, but it was essential. Staying at resorts close to the park helped. It was frustrating that Disney did not pivot and extend the hours during the week. That will be feedback I share with them, and hopefully something they will correct for the upcoming busy weeks. Cooler weather will help for that touring, too, of course.

Overall, I am glad we went. We went with the expectations that this would be different and strategically planned our meals and our days. If my sole reason was to go to the parks and do as much as possible, especially with a toddler or young child, I'm not sure this is the best time to go.

I'd be happy to answer any specific questions. I hope you all have magical trips.


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## Nanceliz319

yulilin3 said:


> Ive said this on several threads now but if you're getting an adr or mobile order for the sole purpose of being able to be dropped off and not really interested in the food,  being dropped off and walking from the speedway station is your closest bet



Question, as we would be good with either board walk bakery or grabbing something at the speedway.  Which is closer walking distance to HS? One of our party has mobility issues. We plan to use Uber mainly for this park day.
As others have said, thank you so much to all of you sharing your experience!


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## dachsie

Justrose said:


> You can walk to HS from YC?  Hmm... I also have a 7:35 at Trattoria and thought I would have enough time, but maybe I will reconsider...


Yes - you cross the footbridge to the edge of the boardwalk and catch the trail to DHS there


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## katyringo

We were on railway at 9:52 and I got us boarding group 20 as we were exiting the ride.  I felt like I would have enjoyed railway more if I had not been thinking about boarding group. However it was super cute and fun. Maybe we will try and ride it again.


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## djmeredith

dachsie said:


> I am wondering something about the DHS crowding.  When they figure 25% capacity, they must not take into account the areas of the park that are closed.  If they took out those areas, then numbers would go down.  With that park being as small as it is, I think they should have taken that into account.


They clearly did not factor in the closed and reduced capacity of attractions into any of the parks. It's just most obvious at DHS because it's smallest and has fewer attractions to begin with.



Nanceliz319 said:


> Question, as we would be good with either board walk bakery or grabbing something at the speedway.  Which is closer walking distance to HS? One of our party has mobility issues. We plan to use Uber mainly for this park day.
> As others have said, thank you so much to all of you sharing your experience!


Don't forget, you can also get dropped off at the Swan and walk over on the official paved sidewalk that runs along Boardwalk. The Swan does not have a security check point out front so anyone can get dropped off there with no questions. It's a 10-15 minute walk. No need to mobile order anything as a pretense for getting dropped off needed.


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## yulilin3

Nanceliz319 said:


> Question, as we would be good with either board walk bakery or grabbing something at the speedway.  Which is closer walking distance to HS? One of our party has mobility issues. We plan to use Uber mainly for this park day.
> As others have said, thank you so much to all of you sharing your experience!


Gas station to right under the overpass 6 min walk, you can use street view (little yellow guy) to see the path
https://goo.gl/maps/8iXGhUYT5TrJr3HfABoardwalk bakery to right under the overpass 8 min walk
https://goo.gl/maps/RWxEk73MVBdjFQBU9


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## djmeredith

nkereina said:


> Generally speaking, have Slinky Dog or Smugglers Run wait times been higher during the day? We are hoping to ride MMRR prior to 10am next week, and then trying to decide our next move from there. We have a 10:15 Oga's reservation (only time I could get), so my time before that will be limited. I thought it would make more sense to do Smugglers Run due to proximity, but if it would be doable to knock out Slinky Dog and make it to the ADR on time, then I would prefer to do that. I don't mind waiting 45-60 minutes in a queue later on in the day, but anything longer than that we'd likely pass on.


Last week, Slinky remained consistently longer than MFSR. We walked on MFSR twice before 10:00 and again about an hour before close. Our second day, MFSR was about a 30 minute wait at the end of the day, so it varies. However, Slinky was never a walk on or under 30 minutes after opening. I would recommend arriving as early as possible and doing Slinky and then doing MFSR right after that or late in the day depending on the actual line (not posted wait times).


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## yulilin3

here's a screenshot of the path, you go down (right) that will put you right under the overpass


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## grumpy28

We are driving home at the moment. Arrived on Sat. 10/17. Had a GREAT time and am so glad we went and didn't listen to some people who said how bad it was. Reading some people's experiences made me doubt going but we needed a Vaca and some Disney. Went with the attitude that we would do as much as we could and just be happy to be there. I am a FP pro so I was worried about doing standby. I shouldn't have worried....

We usually go 2-4 times a year. So we are ok if we have to skip certain things. We have 2 elementary age kids and a teen. 

I am a germaphobe and have been super anxious about covid, but I felt completely safe at disney and even the rest stops driving down. Mask compliancy was probably greater than 95%. Even at  Disney springs which we went to 3 nights in a row. CM did not call out most people who were not complying. Mostly a few noses or people walking and drinking.

Mobile ordering is NOT required. Just tell them u are paying with cash and they let u in. Much easier! Tried to mobile order our first night at POP and it didn't work, manager said paying with GC has not been working so just tell them u need to pay with cash or GC in person. Also u can't make substitutions on App. We paid  in person the rest of the trip with no issues.

Sun 10/18 was MK day. Had a 715 Chef Mickey's and it was awesome! We love CM and eat every trip. Love watching the monorail and food is great. They bring as much as u want. Great start to our MK day. Walked to MK. Security and temp check were a breeze. Arrived to an empty adventureland at 830 planning to hit pirates. It was not running yet. Went to HM. Not running yet. Walked on PP. Was off by 845, got in line for HM, waited 15 mins b/c they didn't start til 9. Walked on. Then did SWorld walk on, pooh walk on, LM walk on, dumbo walk on and barnstormer (10-15 min wait). Took a 20 minutes popcorn/snack break at the circus relaxation station. The place is great and empty and cool AC. Left there and saw the line for LM was now by big top. Ha! Suckers. Haha. Rope dropping for the win! Went to frontierland to pin store and saw 2 mini parades. U can hear the music so u know they are coming. Waited for the next show of country bears. Grabbed some pecos. Walked to main street for some shopping. Saw the pooh trolley and princess parade again. Grabbed a Sbux (wait was typical). Took it over to the tomorrow land relax stat. Saw some mini parades from there (Jack and villains). Waited 10 mins for carpets. 40 mins for pirates (posted 45). Went to ride buzz. Waited 20 (posted 25). Could have done more but decided we were done. Obviously we didn't do any of the "big" rides but we did what was important to our family. Could have done a short Big Thunder before we left but we were tired.

Masks didn't bother us like I thought they might. Sounds crazy but seeing everyone else in masks it felt almost normal. MK still felt magical. It was clean. CMs were friendly and helpful. Great day! Now onto HS.....


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## armerida

katyringo said:


> We were on railway at 9:52 and I got us boarding group 20 as we were exiting the ride.  I felt like I would have enjoyed railway more if I had not been thinking about boarding group. However it was super cute and fun. Maybe we will try and ride it again.


Wow so they are starting much later now than previously. Is anyone else there today, and if so, do you know if any other ride started closer to 10:00 as well?


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## grumpy28

Mon 10/19 was HS day. We drove and had to turn around once b/c we were too early. Hurried to MMRR but the line was already closed due to capacity! What?! We were so early. Ok, change of plans....Went to TSM. Walk on. Rode Aliens walk on. Rode again 10 min wait. (We love that ride!). Tried for a boarding pass. Failed.  Hurried out of TSL cause it was a zoo. SDD line was near LM. Ugh. We go often so we already new we were skipping that ride and SW land cause we have already done it before, except resistance. Got in line for MMRR. Wait said 90 mins. Waited 75 mins. Life saver tip....they let u take your stroller with u in the line to the entrance, so kids were happy with my phone and some snacks. It would have been hard otherwise. Tip: grab some sodas or snacks, makes the line much more bearable. We are spoiled and not used to waiting so long but we really wanted to ride this. It was def worth the wait! Went to backlot for lunch. Then star tours (15 min wait). Then Mickey shorts. Cute! Saw some car parades. Did some shopping. Done. Again, none of the big rides, but we did what worked for our family. Oh and I forgot to try for a 2 pm boarding pass. Oops. Oh well.next trip! Next up, epcot!


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## dachsie

katyringo said:


> 930. We are still first in line for railway. If other rides are starting early I’m gonna be annoyed lol! Guess I could be at work..


That's insane that they want to have the rides build up even worse that usual just to be sticklers about when to start.  That's a Covid spread waiting to happen if in an indoor queue


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## katyringo

Does anyone know if there has been photo pass at the falcon? Was just there about 1030 and no photographers. Kinda bummed as we have paid for memory maker and not really seeing mag photographers


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## grumpy28

Tues 10/20, Epcot. Drove and had to drive around once. Timing is hard! Went to soarin (10 mins), walked on living land, walked on figment, walked on nemo, waited 15 mins for SEarth (posted 25). Went to the pin store. Tip: do this early in the day b/c when we left there was a long line to enter. But this OCD planner had already hit it up early in the day b/c she knew people would hit it on their way out. score for OCD planners! Headed to mexico. Stopped at food booth and mexico quick Serv for some shareable nachos. yum! Not everyone was abiding by the "don't sit here" table markings. CMs didn't enforce. Boo, entitled people. Saw Anna drive by. Waited 10 mins to get into the pyramid. Saw Mickey and friends drive by while in line. Waited maybe 5-10 mins for Donald ride. Walked around stopping at regal eagle (yum!) And a few booths. Did the BatB sing along. I was nervous about this but everyone I saw kept their masks on and no one was singing loudly. It was cute and a nice addition. Kids ran around the UK maze and it was completely empty back there! Nice little break. Did a couple of kid cots. Got a much needed Icy drink and went to mousegears. Could have done TT with a 30 min wait but decided to skip. Final day AK....


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## grumpy28

Wed 10/21 AK. Rope dropped FoP. There was a delay with the ride. Waited 15 mins, then took my littlest to Navi while others waited for FoP. We finished at the same time. Probably a 25 min wait. Took some pics, ate at quick Serv(they open at 1030). We were first there. Went to safari.wait said 40, waited 15. Did some WExplorer badges throughout the day. Kali was a walk on. EE line said 25 but was all the way near nemo show and didn't seem to be moving much. No thanks. Saw Mickey and friends on boat from bridge. Did dinosaur , 5 mins wait, did triceratops walk on. Played some carnival games. Shopped. Looked at some animals. Got an icy drink. Did the required tree of life pics (no line/wait).


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## PanchoX1

NC State said:


> I hope everyone lets WDW management know!


would it make a difference?


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## grumpy28

Would I do this trip again? YES! Would I recommend it? Yes, as long as u realize u probably won't ride everything and u will likely have to do some waiting. Rope dropping is still the way to go! Prioritize ur rides. Be flexible and have a back up plan. You will be around people, but lines are spaced far and walking by people is pretty quick. Most people are compliant and don't want to be near u either!   We saw people use all the purell stations which are great and didn't dry out our hands as much as regular purell. I never once saw anyone use the hand washing stations around the park. We did the pool twice at night. First time it was a little crowded, but we stayed in our corner. Second night we had a half of the pool to ourselves. Both time were about 5pm or so. Now onto planning our next trip!


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## yulilin3

katyringo said:


> Does anyone know if there has been photo pass at the falcon? Was just there about 1030 and no photographers. Kinda bummed as we have paid for memory maker and not really seeing mag photographers


There's usually one at the platform close to the entrance of DB7


PanchoX1 said:


> would it make a difference?


It has,  even if it doesn't,  it's still locked into their files wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com


----------



## DeterminedOne

yulilin3 said:


> why does it give you anxiety?


I suffer from an anxiety disorder. Don’t always do well with unfamiliar places. Being solo will certainly heighten it. Doesn’t help that I’ve watched too many horror/terror movies over the years. When I read the suggestion my mind immediately went to the movie ‘The Vanishing’ where a woman goes missing from a gas station. Started thinking how my husband would have to fly to WDW to help search for me and how it would probably take a long time for him to realize I was missing. Totally irrational, I know. LOL! As soon as my mind went down that negative path I immediately decided it’s not a good idea for me. And I know I could just as easily come up missing from the resort, Or Uber ride,  but my mind has never taken me down that route.


----------



## yulilin3

DeterminedOne said:


> I suffer from an anxiety disorder. Don’t always do well with unfamiliar places. Being solo will certainly heighten it. Doesn’t help that I’ve watched too many horror/terror movies over the years. When I read the suggestion my mind immediately went to the movie ‘The Vanishing’ where a woman goes missing from a gas station. Started thinking how my husband would have to fly to WDW to help search for me and how it would probably take a long time for him to realize I was missing. Totally irrational, I know. LOL! As soon as my mind went down that negative path I immediately decided it’s not a good idea for me. And I know I could just as easily come up missing from the resort, Or Uber ride,  but my mind has never taken me down that route.


I see. Well the only thing i can tell you is that its as safe as any other walkway in Disney


----------



## HikingFam

Super interesting that HS may not be starting rides early anymore. It does seem that will just add to the build up of crowds. I will say that I was annoyed during our last trip at how everything opened earlier than was posted. If you weren’t on these boards, you would show up at 10 thinking you were right on time, but in reality you are at least an hour behind. But I’m also not a fan of letting people in and making them stand in line for an hour before rides start (AK did this, but the other parks didn’t).


----------



## bad91922

Zaccypoo said:


> Just finished our HS day today. We took an uber to boardwalk around 7:00 and were at HS by 7:15 ish.  Third group in line for the day. We waited until about 8:45 when they moved us to temp checks. There were probably 300+ people behind us at that point. We waited at temp check until about 9:00 and then they let us scan into the park and go through bag check. We booked it to MMRR right away and got on the second train of the day at 9:10 ish. We were off of MMRR by 9:15 ish and headed towards sunset boulevard. When we got to Tower of Terror it was a walk on. Off by 9:30. We then went to RR which we waited about 5-10 minutes. Off by 9:45. We then headed towards GE to be ready for MFSR. Got boarding group 11 for Rise and hopped right into MFSR. Waited about 25 minutes and were off by 10:30. Knocked out 4 of the biggest rides within 2 hours.
> 
> We then chilled out for a while. Rode Star Tours which was posted 45 but waited about 15, rode TSM which was posted 30 minutes and waited about 20. Got in line for muppets with a 30 min wait and waited about 45. It was our longest wait of the day.
> 
> By around 2 we were able to hop on rides again with shorter wait times. We hopped in line for Tower of Terror with a posted 30 minute wait and waited about 25. Rode TSM 4 times in a row with about a 10 minute wait each time. It was posted at 30. Rode Swirling Saucers in about 5 which was posted at 25.
> 
> By that point we were tired and just wanted to chill. We hung out until around 6:45 and hopped in line for Slinky Dog. Wait was posted 50 minutes and we waited about 30 minutes. Headed to skyliner to get back to Pop and waited about 15 minutes.
> 
> Overall it was amazing. The park seemed crowded, but the first two hours were crucial for us getting to knock so many things out without waits. We rode everything in the park, some more than once, and our longest wait all day was around 45 minutes.
> 
> MK tomorrow and we plan on ubering to contemporary to walk over for rope drop. Does anyone know if they're starting rides early at MK like they are at HS??
> 
> ps. shoutout to the disboards for the tips on how to do HS in the morning. It was amazing and couldn't have done it so well without reading this thread!!!!



Did you pick up your mobile order or just place it to get dropped off? Curious on timing but just saw another post today saying they aren’t opening lines early any longer do this strategymight be out


----------



## PanchoX1

not operating rides prior to ten seems like a social distancing nightmare. Especially since you have to be there before 10 to have a BG shot. Hopefully it's an experiment and they will realize the increased risk in certain lines. Probably fine to do in a outdoor line.


----------



## disneyseniors

TikiTikiFan said:


> Is the exit to Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror pretty simple to wait at if you’re waiting for someone to get off? My 10 year old wants to ride both of these (I’m a wuss so I’ll sit them out!) in the morning so the plan is to go right over there at opening so he can ride both right away. Looks like that’s the best time for those right now wait time wise? Will it be easy enough for me to wait in line with him but decline to ride and wait at the exit? He rides Incredicoaster and Guardians at DLR by himself all the time but he likes me to wait in line with him and then I just hang by the exit until he’s done.



There are a couple of benches where the ride enters the gift shop at the RRC, right near where they exit the ride car.  I found it by accident and it was comfortable to wait for my husband.  There is also a tv monitor which is fun to watch
I also had to sit on the walls by the entrance to the RRC area once, and it was fine. 
As far as at TOT, I sat on the walls or benches outside of the ride when I couldn't ride.   I usually ride TOT, as it is alot of fun!  Hope this helps.


----------



## bakenatj

HikingFam said:


> Super interesting that HS is not starting rides early anymore. It does seem that will just add to the build up of crowds. I will say that I was annoyed during our last trip at how everything opened earlier than was posted. If you weren’t on these boards, you would show up at 10 thinking you were right on time, but in reality you are at least an hour behind. But I’m also not a fan of letting people in and making them stand in line for an hour before rides start (AK did this, but the other parks didn’t).


Just my own thoughts, but it makes better sense to open at your official time than some mysterious time. Managing the expectations of guests is HUGE, and you don't want to tick off a vast majority of your guest who shows up at official opening only to find out that people have been on rides for the past 30-45 minutes. That is a PR nightmare in my opinion.


----------



## yulilin3

HikingFam said:


> Super interesting that HS is not starting rides early anymore. It does seem that will just add to the build up of crowds. I will say that I was annoyed during our last trip at how everything opened earlier than was posted. If you weren’t on these boards, you would show up at 10 thinking you were right on time, but in reality you are at least an hour behind. But I’m also not a fan of letting people in and making them stand in line for an hour before rides start (AK did this, but the other parks didn’t).


Where did i miss that they're not opening rides early anymore?


----------



## Befferk

bakenatj said:


> Just my own thoughts, but it makes better sense to open at your official time than some mysterious time. Managing the expectations of guests is HUGE, and you don't want to tick off a vast majority of your guest who shows up at official opening only to find out that people have been on rides for the past 30-45 minutes. That is a PR nightmare in my opinion.



I believe though that they've been doing it to try to spread people out more than having everyone there at a very specific time and gradually let them in as they arrive. Yes, some people don't know about it, but that's what helps spread people out more.


----------



## lorileahb

Befferk said:


> I believe though that they've been doing it to try to spread people out more than having everyone there at a very specific time and gradually let them in as they arrive. Yes, some people don't know about it, but that's what helps spread people out more.



And it can benefits AP holders / frequent visitors / people staying on site when the other benefits for those things are quite a bit less right now.


----------



## Befferk

yulilin3 said:


> Where did i miss that they're not opening rides early anymore?



Somewhere in the last few pages in this thread, someone is posting that they are there this morning and the CMs were standing outside the rides with signs that said rides would not start until 10am.


----------



## brockash

katyringo said:


> 930. We are still first in line for railway. If other rides are starting early I’m gonna be annoyed lol! Guess I could be at work..


Did they end up starting it before 10?  In Sept. we were 2nd in line for Test Track and they had a few CM's repeat over and over that we could get in line and that they'll move the line inside at some point, but that the ride wouldn't start until 11.  We were off the ride by 10:50, so obviously they still started it before 11.  It's so hard to judge or get accurate information from Disney.


----------



## yulilin3

Befferk said:


> Somewhere in the last few pages in this thread, someone is posting that they are there this morning and the CMs were standing outside the rides with signs that said rides would not start until 10am.


So today? I wouldn't say that they completely changed the procedures until we get reports in the next couple of days


----------



## LSUfan4444

bakenatj said:


> Just my own thoughts, but it makes better sense to open at your official time than some mysterious time. Managing the expectations of guests is HUGE, and you don't want to tick off a vast majority of your guest who shows up at official opening only to find out that people have been on rides for the past 30-45 minutes. That is a PR nightmare in my opinion.



Their stuck in the middle of trying to remain as safe as possible, trying to look like they are remaining as safe as possible and trying to maximize the guest experience. If they let everyone know what time they will open it will no doubt increase capacity at the gates for people who want to be in "early" so by just doing it randomly it will spread some of that out.

My $.02 is that I think too many guests get caught up in the experience of other guests and base their own success off of that. From what, where and when to eat, the BEST fireworks spot, the shortest wait times, the most FP+, the BEST photopass, etc and I think it creates alot of undue pressure constantly trying to compare their experience to others.


----------



## Befferk

yulilin3 said:


> So today? I wouldn't say that they completely changed the procedures until we get reports in the next couple of days



Exactly. They might be testing it to see how it affects crowds, or just trying to mix things up again so people don't expect things at a certain time all the time (again, to help spread people out). My theory anyway, lol.


----------



## bakenatj

LSUfan4444 said:


> Their stuck in the middle of trying to remain as safe as possible, trying to look like they are remaining as safe as possible and trying to maximize the guest experience. If they let everyone know what time they will open it will no doubt increase capacity at the gates for people who want to be in "early" so by just doing it randomly it will spread some of that out.
> 
> My $.02 is that I think too many guests get caught up in the experience of other guests and base their own success off of that. From what, where and when to eat, the BEST fireworks spot, the shortest wait times, the most FP+, the BEST photopass, etc and I think it creates alot of undue pressure constantly trying to compare their experience to others.


Agree completely on expectations. I would think there are ways to control crowd flow at points of entry, but maybe the $$ don't make sense to allocate to that. People are stir crazy and want to get back to normal life, and Disney is a big part of that. Glad I'm not a higher-up at Disney Parks


----------



## LSUfan4444

bakenatj said:


> I would think there are ways to control crowd flow at points of entry, but maybe the $$ don't make sense to allocate to that


----------



## HikingFam

yulilin3 said:


> Where did i miss that they're not opening rides early anymore?


My apologies, will edit my post to clarify.


----------



## PanchoX1

bakenatj said:


> Just my own thoughts, but it makes better sense to open at your official time than some mysterious time. Managing the expectations of guests is HUGE, and you don't want to tick off a vast majority of your guest who shows up at official opening only to find out that people have been on rides for the past 30-45 minutes. That is a PR nightmare in my opinion.


Having an outbreak traced to the resort/parks would be a much bigger PR nightmare.


----------



## yulilin3

HikingFam said:


> My apologies, will edit my post to clarify.


It's alright,  i just thought it was announced somewhere


----------



## bakenatj

PanchoX1 said:


> Having an outbreak traced to the resort/parks would be a much bigger PR nightmare.


I wonder about this to be completely honest. The size of crowds at the parks now leads me to believe that it's almost impossible. We want to get back so bad that we've allowed ourselves to think it's okay. I am assuming that they have people doing risk analysis and doing their best to limit risk, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking it's a bubble.  Just to clarify, this doesn't stop me from going, I personally feel fine in crowds, doesn't bother me at all.


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## Disneybuckeye

Rnrc started at 9:15 this morning. We were the first people in the first car


----------



## Sarahslay

Might be the wrong place for it, but thought I'd ask since there is a high concentration of recent visitors here: My youngest DD needs the DAS pass when we go in December, does anyone know if they have changed where you sign up for it in MK (that's always our first park)?


----------



## YayforMickey

Since RnR started at 9:15, but MMRR started closer to 10:00 (according to reports today), this really changes up my plans. I'll be watching closely for the next few days.


----------



## HikingFam

Sarahslay said:


> Might be the wrong place for it, but thought I'd ask since there is a high concentration of recent visitors here: My youngest DD needs the DAS pass when we go in December, does anyone know if they have changed where you sign up for it in MK (that's always our first park)?


We did not see the “blue umbrellas” in MK (only in HS and once in Epcot). We were there at the end of September. We got the DAS in City Hall and used it like normal (sans the amazing blue umbrellas).


----------



## dachsie

Disneybuckeye said:


> Rnrc started at 9:15 this morning. We were the first people in the first car


Maybe MMRR was having some issues this morn


----------



## lynch34

The hours will be expanding in Magic Kingdom in November (going to 8 pm).  Do folks think that is due to Disney increasing capacity?


----------



## Sarahslay

HikingFam said:


> We did not see the “blue umbrellas” in MK (only in HS and once in Epcot). We were there at the end of September. We got the DAS in City Hall and used it like normal (sans the amazing blue umbrellas).


I've never gone to the blue umbrellas, we always go to City Hall, just didn't know if they had changed it. Thanks!


----------



## KingSpeedy

Looking around, it seems the rides that opened delayed are MMRR (9:45), Frozen (10:45), Soarin (11:00), and Splash (9:00). Other rides are confirmed to have started much earlier, so it could just be regular maintenance that hung them up.


----------



## GBRforWDW

lynch34 said:


> The hours will be expanding in Magic Kingdom in November (going to 8 pm).  Do folks think that is due to Disney increasing capacity?


I think it has more to do with allowing people time to enjoy the Christmas and Holiday decorations after dark.


----------



## Jenwdwfan

Does anyone know if it is possible to take Uber/Lyft to one if the resorts on the Skyway line?  I was hoping to check out Riviera and Caribbean Beach before heading to DHS.  I wasn't sure if that would be allowed.  I did try searching this thread, but just keep finding advice about Boardwalk and Swan. 
Thank you in advance


----------



## disneygirlsng

Jenwdwfan said:


> Does anyone know if it is possible to take Uber/Lyft to one if the resorts on the Skyway line?  I was hoping to check out Riviera and Caribbean Beach before heading to DHS.  I wasn't sure if that would be allowed.  I did try searching this thread, but just keep finding advice about Boardwalk and Swan.
> Thank you in advance


You can, the same thing still applies with having a reservation or mobile order to get in though. Some guards may let you in without it, but it would be better to have something. But I would not do that if you are trying to get to HS for rope drop.


----------



## SuJo

dachsie said:


> Maybe MMRR was having some issues this morn


They didn’t say there was any problem just said they weren’t starting till 10.  They stopped letting people get in line so we weren’t over crowded.  Told people to come back at noon because this line would take a while to get through but I could have sworn once we started moving I could see people getting in line.  They really tried to keep people from congregating around the ride line.  We got in line at 9:15, line started moving around 9:50 and we got on the ride around 10:15.


----------



## katyringo

I’ll share more about today but our expirence at HS of getting here very early just to sit for an hour at railway, but then being able to complete all the headlines rides in the park plus cantina and meals and a few calvacades has me debating skipping the morning rush to MK in the morning. We canceled our second HS day, moved our half AK day to a full day and now have 1.5 days for MK. Debating avoiding the whole morning rush tomorrow and just arriving to MK “late” thoughts? Our only priority there is mine train and calvacades. everything else will be extra fun.  And we are willing to wait in line.  They move quickly.  Would we be totally screwing ourselves to skip rope drop at MK?


----------



## MaleficentRN

armerida said:


> Wow so they are starting much later now than previously. Is anyone else there today, and if so, do you know if any other ride started closer to 10:00 as well?


I was there yesterday. We were in line for MMRR at 9:06 and on the ride at 9:40. On Tuesday we were in line for SSD at 9:10 and on the ride at 9:35.  We were far from being first in line for rides. When we got in line for the park entrance it was close to being at the walkway from the buses.


----------



## hlrubin507

Jennx36 said:


> Just returned from a 4 day trip.  We arrived via plane and joined our family at SSR on Thursday.  We booked a preferred two bedroom villa for 4 adults and 2 children, and the kind cast member at check-in changed the location of our room to be closer to Disney Springs as we had a couple of dining reservations there.  We hung out at the pool, did Rain Forest Cafe at DS for dinner and went to MK the next day.  From Congress Park, it only took a few minutes for a bus to arrive, and we pulled up at MK about 22 minutes later.  We missed rope drop, and at 9:30 am, the lines were already 45+ minutes for most of the popular rides.  Unfortunately, the wait times were accurate.  We wanted to do Peter Pan's Flight, but wait times for that were about 60 minutes, so we settled on Small World.  The wait time was 45 minutes, and it took about 50 minutes.  The entrance is being refurbished or refreshed, and we spent the first 15 to 20 minutes outside in the sun.  Next was Winnie the Pooh, and the wait time for that was just about 30 minutes.  Got on in about 25 minutes, this line seemed to move much more quickly.  By this time, it was around 11:30 am, and people were getting hungry.  Mobile order in MK was a little chaotic.  We picked a timeframe for Pecos Bill and then placed the order.  Once in our time frame, we checked it to let the restaurant know to start preparing our order.  It took about 35 minutes from the time we checked in to the time our food was ready to pick up.  You can't wait in the restaurant, and cast members were standing at the entrance to make sure people entering were only those whose mobile orders were ready for pick up.  This was super tough as it was a little past noon at this point and the group was hot and hangry (temps were in the high 80's)! Finally the food was ready, but half the group decided to take their food to go and eat it while standing in line for another ride.  My group decided to stay and enjoyed a descent meal with air conditioning inside Pecos Bill.  I would have preferred Columbia Harbour House, but it was closed.  Next was PotC.  The wait was accurate at 45 minutes.  I mobile ordered ice cream from Aloha Isle.  It took a while, but the Kakamora Float was delicious!! Next was Carousel of Progress, a little less than the posted 20 minute wait, and a much needed break from the heat.  After that was Dumbo.  Posted wait time was 10 minutes, but it took about 20 as they stopped the ride to spray everything down and then run the ride with no one on board.  Next was the Little Mermaid, an accurate 35 minute wait.  We had dinner reservations at Be Our Guest.  The Beast makes an appearance with a quick wave and a bow.  We saw him about three times through the course of the dinner.  To end the night, we got a quick picture from the photo pass photographer in front of Cinderella castle, masks and all to capture the moment!  We then made our way to the exit.  I thought I would stop in at the Confectionary to pick up a candy apple, but the line was long, and people were tired!!  Next day was Animal Kingdom.  Our group got a late start.  It did not take long for the bus to arrive at the resort, and we walked into the park around 10:30.  Wait times were about 45+ minutes.  FoP was at a 105 minute wait, and Navi River Journey was a 90 minute wait.  Dinoland USA was kind of sad. With many of the attractions closed (Primeval Whirl, The Bone Yard, no Chip and Dale dance party), it was kind of a ghost town.  We walked onto Triceratops Spin.  Dinosaur was a 50 minute wait, so we skipped that and did It's a Bugs Life, about a 20 minute wait.  Then we got in line for Kilimanjaro Safari.  The line stretched all the way behind Tusker House, but it moved quickly, probably just 35 minute wait.  Based on our experience with mobile order at MK, we picked a timeframe for mobile order for Flame Tree BBQ.  We checked in as the Safari ended, and within about 5 minutes, our food was ready for pick up.  We were still on the safari truck and had to wait about 5 minutes to exit.  Then we raced across the park to Flame Tree, but it said our order was not picked up and our credit card would be refunded.  We checked with a cast member, and our order was promptly remade and ready for pick up in about 5 minutes (they forgot my cupcake, but this was probably for the best).  We enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch near the water and got to see boats drive by with characters and drummers.  We decided to wait in the 70 minute line for Navi River Journey.  While my group waited in line, I picked up drinks for us at Pongu Pongu.  They will only allow one person to pick up two alcoholic drinks, so instead of two beers and a Night Blossom with rum, I got two beers and a regular Night Blossom (still delicious!).  We called it a day after Navi River Journey and headed back to the room.  My children stayed at the resort with family while my husband and I enjoyed a date night at California Grill and then shopping at Disney Springs.  I don't know why, but my husband and I left our magic bands and planned on using our phones to unlock the door.  We couldn't get either of our phones to work, so we had to wake up his mother to let us in!  The next morning, we packed up and got brunch at Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'.  It was delicious, and the portions were huge! Overall, this was a great trip!  We have had better experiences at MK for sure, but the ability to combine a Disney trip with seeing other family members (10 of us total) made it special for us.
> 
> Take aways:
> If we hadn't been able to combine this trip with seeing our family, I don't think this trip would have been worth the cost.  The crowds and wait times have increased since initial reopening.  The cost of the rooms and the tickets are the same even though there are no fast passes, no park hopping, several restaurants are closed, and experiences are cancelled or altered (fireworks, character meet and greets).  Most of the time, wearing a mask was a non-issue for myself, my 5 year-old, and my 3 year-old.  I can't speak for the rest of my family.  Many people commented that the wait times decreased in the afternoon and evening.  This was not the case for a Friday afternoon/evening at MK.  I think the best way to enjoy a trip under the current circumstances is to set your expectations low and pack your patience.  It is a different experience, and right now may not be the best time to visit if you are expecting to capture the same magic that you experienced on previous trips.
> 
> Forget social distancing at MK, it's not going to happen.  Too many people and not enough cast members to enforce it.  However, mask compliance was actually pretty good from what I observed.  Asking guests to stand still while eating or drinking was largely ignored in the two parks we visited and at Disney Springs.  Social distancing at Animal Kingdom was much better in most places.
> 
> Be prepared to wait in line for almost everything as they are capping the number of people inside shops and stores.  However, don't let the length of the line fool you, they actually seem to move pretty quickly.  The line for World of Disney at Disney Springs looked really long, but we were inside the store in about 7 minutes on a Saturday night around 8:30 pm.  None of the other stores had lines to get in at this time from what I observed.
> 
> The Saratoga Springs Resort is beautiful!  The newly refurbished two bedroom villa suited our group perfectly (4 adults, 2 children).  The bus transportation was not an issue for us at all.  We did not have to wait long for a bus to pick us up from the resort or from the parks.  We were never turned away from boarding a bus due to the bus reaching capacity.  The walk to Disney Springs from Congress Park was easy and pleasant.  I also could easily walk from Congress Park to Artist's Palate for a quick bite.
> 
> California Grill (loved the grouper), Be Our Guest (loved the lamb chops), and Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' (loved the hallelujah biscuit)  were all wonderful!  Portions at all three of these restaurants are generous, so come hungry or split a meal (not sure if you can split a meal at Be Our Guest).
> 
> My preferred way to experience MK is paying extra for early morning magic or staying club level and paying extra for three additional fast passes.  Not being able to do either of these kind of puts a damper on the experience as I was left feeling like the value of the experience did not equal the cost of the park admission ticket.  Thankfully being able to spend time with extended family made up for the difference.  It seems like Disney could still offer early morning magic as it is a separate, ticketed event, and they could maintain low crowd levels for social distancing.
> 
> Probably more detail than needed, but I hope this helps for someone planning or about to experience a trip in the near future.


Great report!  I also loved EMM and Club and really relied on that in recent trips to make the crowds bearable.  I am headed there in early December and I have to say, standing in line is going to be a new experience for MY kids, although back when Epcot opened in 1982 and I was there during the holiday week when the closed the parks for capacity, I waited in line for 2-4 hours PER ATTRACTION and no smartphones or videos to keep me (then 12 years old) busy while there with my dad.  I will be sure to continually remind them of the hardships of my Disney youth should they think to complain   Really, great perspective/post.  Thanks!


----------



## armerida

MaleficentRN said:


> I was there yesterday. We were in line for MMRR at 9:06 and on the ride at 9:40. On Tuesday we were in line for SSD at 9:10 and on the ride at 9:35.  We were far from being first in line for rides. When we got in line for the park entrance it was close to being at the walkway from the buses.


Thanks for the info. What time did you arrive at the park?


----------



## djmeredith

katyringo said:


> I’ll share more about today but our expirence at HS of getting here very early just to sit for an hour at railway, but then being able to complete all the headlines rides in the park plus cantina and meals and a few calvacades has me debating skipping the morning rush to MK in the morning. We canceled our second HS day, moved our half AK day to a full day and now have 1.5 days for MK. Debating avoiding the whole morning rush tomorrow and just arriving to MK “late” thoughts? Our only priority there is mine train and calvacades. everything else will be extra fun.  And we are willing to wait in line.  They move quickly.  Would we be totally screwing ourselves to skip rope drop at MK?


As long as you don't mind waiting a little while for Mine Train, your plan to arrive later should be fine. You'll still be able to do some other rides and catch some calvacades.


----------



## djmeredith

Jenwdwfan said:


> Does anyone know if it is possible to take Uber/Lyft to one if the resorts on the Skyway line?  I was hoping to check out Riviera and Caribbean Beach before heading to DHS.  I wasn't sure if that would be allowed.  I did try searching this thread, but just keep finding advice about Boardwalk and Swan.
> Thank you in advance


We wanted to check out the Skyliner just for fun so we took a break during the middle of our DHS days and rode it. One day we rode the entire route, getting on and off as required. It was a nice break from the heat and crowds of DHS. You could also take a break from Epcot and ride it from there to wherever you want and back.


----------



## vital

DeterminedOne said:


> I suffer from an anxiety disorder. Don’t always do well with unfamiliar places. Being solo will certainly heighten it. Doesn’t help that I’ve watched too many horror/terror movies over the years. When I read the suggestion my mind immediately went to the movie ‘The Vanishing’ where a woman goes missing from a gas station. Started thinking how my husband would have to fly to WDW to help search for me and how it would probably take a long time for him to realize I was missing. Totally irrational, I know. LOL! As soon as my mind went down that negative path I immediately decided it’s not a good idea for me. And I know I could just as easily come up missing from the resort, Or Uber ride,  but my mind has never taken me down that route.



I so feel this!! When are you going? You are more than welcome to walk over with me49, my DH48 and DS21 from Boardwalk! We are staying there for my 50th Birthday!


----------



## katyringo

Alright HS day.

as you know we took an Uber to boardwalk. We grabbed a breakfast at boardwalk bakery and walked over to HS. We started walking about 715 and at around 730 we were very first in line. At 830 they moved us to temperature and right around 9 into the park. We went straight for MMRR and the slight bummer was they didn’t operate it until 952. However we were very first in line. I still consider this a win because it saved us from the long line of riding it later. It’s wait time never dropped. We literally got off the ride right at boarding group time. We stood off to the side, used hubbys phone to count down the seconds, used our own data, and got boarding group 20! So we decided to head to galexys edge. Looked around and then got in line for smugglers. The wait for smugglers took longer than the posted wait time. About half way through our boarding group got called and we were worried we were going to miss it. We got there with about 10 mins to spare. Being a group of 2 smugglers left a lot to be desired but rise made the whole thing worth it. We then headed to slinky where we waited about 45 mins. We grabbed some food with mobile order. So the whole mobile ordering thing threw me off.See they have everyone mobile order now. So in order for it to be an advantage now, you need to think ahead and order ahead and click prepare now when you are starting to walk that way. We got it down. We used it for ronto roasters, docking bay 7 abs rosie’s. After slinky dog it was about 1:30-2pm. We went to rocking roller coaster and waiting maybe 30 mins. We then went to tower of terror. This was our longest and worse wait of the day. The wait jumped to 80mins while we were in line and it moved slow. Turns out they were not able to operate the ride on one side or something. It took a long time. It was about 5pm when we got done with it. The last attractions we did was muppets. Then we headed back to galexys edge to look around and explore before our cantina reservation at 655. Worth it to see galexy edge in the dark! And that was a wrap for the day.

we had a second day booked here but changed it. It was a good day and we got all the rides in, but Disney really needs to figure something out for this park if they every want to follow guidelines and add more guests. We had a good time and enjoyed ourselves and I would do it again, but it’s crunched for sure and the situation in the morning was frustrating with trying to balance getting on a ride and the boarding group time.

mask compliance was good and I actively saw cast members correcting people. People seem to be following the social distance markers really well.

tomorrow is magic kingdom and I think we are going to take a different approach and just avoid the morning rush.


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## Cinerama261

P'colaBeachBum said:


> Posted on Disney Food Blog...
> Today, we spotted a NEW mask-related sign in Magic Kingdom. This sign specifically notes that *“Guests not properly wearing an approved mask will be asked to leave.”*
> View attachment 531435
> About Time!



What about young children like two years old? Are they asking them to leave if they won't wear a mask?


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## Naomeri

Cinerama261 said:


> What about young children like two years old? Are they asking them to leave if they won't wear a mask?


Every guest 2 and up needs to wear an approved mask.  If someone has little ones who won’t wear masks, now is not the time for them to visit WDW


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## katyringo

Cinerama261 said:


> What about young children like two years old? Are they asking them to leave if they won't wear a mask?


 Disney’s offical policy is anyone 2 years and older must wear a face mask at all times unless actively eating and drinking while being stationary. So yes they will ask the group to leave. They have changed the wording on their website to state “if guests cannot comply with mask policy they are asked to reschedule their vacation” they also repeat in the parks multiple times a day “if you cannot comply you will be asked to leave” and “please make sure your face covering is over your mouth and nose”


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## wilkydelts

Day 1: EPCOT 

Will continue to update as we travel. I didn’t look for mask compliance or really care about it. Not something I am concerned about while being in Disney. These reports are just the facts good or bad so you definitely don’t have to worry about my spin or interpretation.

Went with plan from Disney Tourist Blog

Arrived to parking toll at 10:18 they opened by 10:20. Was hoping to be there by 10:10 was about cars deep each lane

Kids and I went to Test Track said 30 was 22, rope dropped it ride running by 10:40. Listed as 85 when we exited. Saved wife/+2 child swap for later

Frozen said 70 was 37, line started just left of archway in China by store wall heading back to Frozen

Three Caballeros was walk on

Ordered Regal Eagle BBQ at 12:43 finished eating and cleaning up to catch American Experience at 2

Walked around and drank in World Showcase

Walk on Beauty and Beast Sing a long- 9 minutes to next show 

Headed back to Future World at 3:45

Saw Pooh right outside of Figment Ride

Wife and kids did Soarin’ said 20 was 15

Land said 10 was walk on, they filled every row

Watched Awesome Planet

Seas with Nemo said 10 walk, long empty winding queue.. Walked around Seas exhibit

Figment said 15 was walk on

Spaceship Earth said 15 was walk on

Tried to do pin trading at Pin Traders and was told their are no pin boards in EPCOT not very happy about that

Finished with Test Track Rider Swap from this morning 

Left at close

Overall felt we had a great day may of pushed the kids a bit hard so we are thinking about how to slow down a bit more


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## TexanInTheMidwest

I drove in on Saturday for a somewhat solo / girls trip. I  am leaving this coming Monday. I am staying off property at a resort on I-Drive. In past trips, we've stayed at either the Contemporary or CL at the Grand Floridian. But with the reduced hours, no fireworks, no EMM, etc. I just couldn't justify the cost. AND I found a room at the Sheraton Vistiana for $104 a night that gave me a larger room, kitchen, and washer/dryer.  I am an AP

*On Sunday, *I arrived at AK around 7 for an 8 AM opening. Parking opened around 7:30. I chose to do preferred parking to have a better parking spot and save some walking energy for the park (I've had an arthritis flair up of late). I stopped for a photo at the tree of life and was heading towards Safari by 7:55.

I did Safari, Everest, Jungle Trek, Kali Rapids, Dinosaur, and Tough to Be a Bug by 10:15 and went to Nomad lounge where I decided to sit and rest and wait til they opened. They opened at 11 AM and I was 1st in line (by the time they opened the line was at least 10 parties deep). I had lunch (sliders, a cocktail, and churros) while I relaxed and watched the barges go by.

After lunch, walked the Gorilla trail (and see the baby gorilla) and then left for the day. FOP was set at 120 minutes and it was HOT and significantly more crowded. Since I'd driven 14+ hours the day before, I was ready to leave. E and Significantly more crowded.... I headed back to the hotel around 2 or so.

Now, if I was staying on property, I probably would have gone back to AK for a bit. But I was just worn out from the drive in the day before to get back in the car after taking off my shoes and cooling down. AND if I could park hop, I would have gone to MK or Epcot for the afternoon.


*On Monday,* I met local friends for breakfast at GF Cafe which was lovely. Unfortunately, they were running late so we didn't make it to MK until close to 10 AM. And WOW. Pirates was already 60 minutes at that point. We did HM after about a 30 minute wait - the line snaked through Liberty Belle Que, but it moved SO fast. Then we did Teacups, Pooh, and Mickey's Philharmonic all with basically constantly moving lines. After watching one of the Cavalcades (Jack & Sally), we left around 12:45 (friends had to go to work).

A storm was heading in so I had lunch at *Gasparilla* at the GF (the guards said it was OK for us to stay parked at GF for the day). I was planning on heading back into MK but the weather showed storms all afternoon so headed back to the hotel again.

Again, if I was staying on property (we usually stay at GF or Contemporary), I would have chanced going back...

*On Tuesday,* I met up with other friend's who had come in from CA. We went to HS first thing. We tapped in right at 9:55 (so close). but I was able to snag a Boarding Group for Rise (53). There were a total of 7 of us meeting at HS that morning. A Guest Services person was able to add everyone into my Boarding group. Note that 3 of us tried to get boarding groups and I was the only one that succeeded.

Now, I don't know if they will keep this up, but because of Social Distancing ROTR is only boarding one party per car - so me alone - or all 7 of us - was still a single group (each ROTR vehicle seats 8 total). And he was kind enough to put us together though we aren't all connected on MDE. Also, the CM joked and asked if I KNEW these people and we laughed but he was dead serious. Evidently people have PAID others to join a group a strangers.

The rest of our day I won't report on as one of my friends is a Club member so it isn't a good representation of wait times. I will note that we were evacuated of of RNR ;-) We did do Mobile Order at ABC commissary and it was pretty quick and also really good. I had the pork tacos and would happily get them again.

We were called on Rise right around 2 PM and when we came out, the park was mostly empty as once the 2nd boarding group opportunity had passed, a lot of people left. We left around 2:30 and again, I could have gone back, but....

*On Wednesday, *we went to MK. We were there by park open and it was significantly less crowded than Monday and the crowds stayed much lighter until we left around 2 PM. Lines seemed to be manageable though some of them SEEMED long. After time to rest and shower, we headed back to property and had dinner at Shula's which was excellent.

*Today we rested most of the day..*..though we headed to AK late in the afternoon for lunch at Yak & Yeti. The crowds weren't too bad at this point. The boys were able to ride EE a few times while we ate. The line was posted at 30 minutes but moved a bit more quickly and they got off and got right back in line ;-)

We are planning on Epcot tomorrow and probably no parks on Saturday (No Park Passes for AP last I checked) and another meet up on Sunday.


*Some observations:*

Getting there early is critical. The crowds build within a hour of park opening at MK and AK.

If ROTR is important to you, then you must get there early.  Note that we didn't get there super early and still got a boarding group. I walked into the park as far as the Brown Derby before it was time to try. The park REALLY clears out after 2 PM.

Wednesday was MUCH better crowd wise than Monday in MK.

Though I miss staying on property, I still don't think the cost is justified based on the reduction in what you get. My entire stay for 9 nights is right at $1,000. And thanks to a full sized fridge, stove top, washer/dryer, etc, I have had coffee, breakfast and some dinners in my room.  Driving here meant I had a car without having to rent one. NOTHING on property came close to that total cost on property.

I probably would NOT stay on property with DH til Club Level opens again. And I probably wouldn't stay on property for a solo trip unless prices come way down or some incentives are returned.

The Park passes are tough off property, though. As an AP, I could make 3 days of passes which meant that I've had to book the next pass late in the evening. Even if you've left the park, your pass doesn't expire until all the parks are closed for the day. That's a bit of a pain. AND, too, here I am towards the end of the trip and there are no park passes for AP at any parks on Saturday (the last time I looked).

Also, I had trips booked for both December with my daughter at the Contemporary and in January at the GF with DH. I immediately booked park passes for those trips. When I cancelled them, the park passes didn't auto cancel. HOWEVER, when my 1st park pass expired on this trip, I was unable to book a 3rd...that's because I still has park passes out there. I had to go in and cancel them one by one before I could make a park pass for Wednesday.

PACK YOUR PATIENCE.  and please, please, PLEASE be nice to every CM you come in contact with.

I've felt safe most of this trip. Mask compliance is around 95%. People aren't always kind and patient, however, I find that you get what you put out attitude wise. Unhappy people are going to be unhappy and complain. Do your best to ignore them and not BE them.

I did pack handwipes but the only things I've wiped down is the spinning wheel on Teacups and a table for lunch, I haven't pulled them out. And while it's GREAT to have sanitizer at the entrance and exit of every ride, after the 4th or 5th blast of hand sanitizer, you need to WASH  your hands.

Masks are tough in the heat. However, combining a disposable mask with a mask chain were helpful.

I would come back for a solo trip or trips with friends who Disney often. However, I know DH wouldn't enjoy a trip here nor would I suggest it to anyone as a 1st trip (or even a a 2nd trip if there isn't strong memories of time at WDW).

I don't think they can add much more capacity and keep social distancing until they open more shows and places to eat to spread the crowds out.

I hope the Cavalcades last. They are super fun and  a way to see the characters.  I would love to see some "rare" cavalcades in the future after Halloween is over.

I hope this is helpful.


----------



## lovethattink

Sarahslay said:


> Might be the wrong place for it, but thought I'd ask since there is a high concentration of recent visitors here: My youngest DD needs the DAS pass when we go in December, does anyone know if they have changed where you sign up for it in MK (that's always our first park)?



They are now doing it at Chamber of Commerce beside City Hall.


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## Sarahslay

lovethattink said:


> They are now doing it at Chamber of Commerce beside City Hall.
> 
> View attachment 534144


Awesome, thanks! I actually feel like they kept switching it back and forth over the last couple of trips, it's like every other time I'm at one or the other.


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## lovethattink

Sarahslay said:


> Awesome, thanks! I actually feel like they kept switching it back and forth over the last couple of trips, it's like every other time I'm at one or the other.



This photo was was last week. The week before that, it was at City Hall.


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## DeterminedOne

vital said:


> I so feel this!! When are you going? You are more than welcome to walk over with me49, my DH48 and DS21 from Boardwalk! We are staying there for my 50th Birthday!


OMG! This is so sweet. I’m going to HS 11/7. How exciting to be celebrating your 50th at WDW? That makes me feel so happy inside.


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## monkeydawn

grumpy28 said:


> Not everyone was abiding by the "don't sit here" table markings. CMs didn't enforce. Boo, entitled people.





grumpy28 said:


> Life saver tip....they let u take your stroller with u in the line to the entrance, so kids were happy with my phone and some snacks. It would have been hard otherwise. Tip: grab some sodas or snacks, makes the line much more bearable.



Im going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you didnt actually know and werent being entitled yourself but snacking in line is not currently permitted.  Its one thing to quickly take a sip when you are standing in line for an hour plus in the heat and sun, its another to actively recommend people take their masks off to snack during the line to make the wait less boring.


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## Cynt

katyringo said:


> I’ll share more about today but our expirence at HS of getting here very early just to sit for an hour at railway, but then being able to complete all the headlines rides in the park plus cantina and meals and a few calvacades has me debating skipping the morning rush to MK in the morning. We canceled our second HS day, moved our half AK day to a full day and now have 1.5 days for MK. Debating avoiding the whole morning rush tomorrow and just arriving to MK “late” thoughts? Our only priority there is mine train and calvacades. everything else will be extra fun.  And we are willing to wait in line.  They move quickly.  Would we be totally screwing ourselves to skip rope drop at MK?



This is exactly what we're doing today. This is our 2nd MK day. We did everything Tuesday so today we're going about 3pm. Our goal is to take it all in, to shop, get dole whips, watch calvacades and see the castle lit up in the dark since they close at 8pm.


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## katyringo

Cynt said:


> This is exactly what we're doing today. This is our 2nd MK day. We did everything Tuesday so today we're going about 3pm. Our goal is to take it all in, to shop, get dole whips, watch calvacades and see the castle lit up in the dark since they close at 8pm.



well apparently we can’t sleep in at disney, but we are testing out the bus situation at pop. We got in the MK bus line at 7am. Park opens at 9. We are about the 15th group in line. Its 730 now. No bud yet. Not expecting it until 8ish..


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## katyringo

katyringo said:


> well apparently we can’t sleep in at disney, but we are testing out the bus situation at pop. We got in the MK bus line at 7am. Park opens at 9. We are about the 15th group in line. Its 730 now. No bud yet. Not expecting it until 8ish..



update: loading on bus and on our way to MK at 745. I’ll share how our MK day goes tonight.


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## katyringo

The buses beat the cars today. On the bus to MK we passed the car line and they weren’t letting folks in yet. We took bus from pop and were in the park by 8:10. First in line for Starbucks. Got the new make a wish cup. Took pictures. Ate a muffin. Now in line for mine train with an estimated 30 min wait and its 845 with an offical park opening of 9am.  We didn’t even try to be early today but it’s working out! Okay that’s enough for me going to enjoy the park!


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## bastraker

monkeydawn said:


> Im going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you didnt actually know and werent being entitled yourself but snacking in line is not currently permitted.  Its one thing to quickly take a sip when you are standing in line for an hour plus in the heat and sun, its another to actively recommend people take their masks off to snack during the line to make the wait less boring.


I was at HS yesterday and in line for MMRR. Lots of people were eating and drinking in that line. The CM was out there and she told people that as long as they were standing on their marker space - it was ok to do that.


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## slyster

With super long lines due to social distancing, are there signs indicating what a line is for further back?  For example, do I need to walk up towards a ride entrance and follow that line back or will there be something telling me towards the back of the line, what the line is for?  I hope that makes sense LOL


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## jenmsmith

slyster said:


> With super long lines due to social distancing, are there signs indicating what a line is for further back?  For example, do I need to walk up towards a ride entrance and follow that line back or will there be something telling me towards the back of the line, what the line is for?  I hope that makes sense LOL


There is usually a CM with a sign at the end of the line with the attraction symbol/name and wait time.


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## HikingFam

slyster said:


> With super long lines due to social distancing, are there signs indicating what a line is for further back?  For example, do I need to walk up towards a ride entrance and follow that line back or will there be something telling me towards the back of the line, what the line is for?  I hope that makes sense LOL


There is usually someone holding a sign at the end of the line.


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## Alpengeist04

^There is usually a CM with a sign at the back of the line with an estimated wait time.


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## Best Aunt

bastraker said:


> I was at HS yesterday and in line for MMRR. Lots of people were eating and drinking in that line. The CM was out there and she told people that as long as they were standing on their marker space - it was ok to do that.



I would be interested in hearing whether other CMs say the same thing (about whether it is okay to eat and drink while waiting in line for an attraction), or if that was one CM giving bad information.


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## lorileahb

I was trying to think of something small we could bring with us to give to CMs as we see them in the parks.  Really want them to know we appreciate them - maybe a small token of some kind... but I'm drawing a complete blank.  Thoughts?


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## bastraker

Best Aunt said:


> I would be interested in hearing whether other CMs say the same thing (about whether it is okay to eat and drink while waiting in line for an attraction), or if that was one CM giving bad information.


At Epcot on Wednesday - we saw the same while we were in line for Frozen.


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## bakenatj

lorileahb said:


> I was trying to think of something small we could bring with us to give to CMs as we see them in the parks.  Really want them to know we appreciate them - maybe a small toke of some kind... but I'm drawing a complete blank.  Thoughts?


I don't believe they are allowed to accept monetary gifts. A card, or thank you note, I've even heard snacks they can accept.


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## pooch

Although a very nice idea, not sure it would be easy for them to carry something around with them during their shift.  Can you imagine if several people did this?


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## Joeboo25

lorileahb said:


> Really want them to know we appreciate them - maybe a small toke of some kind



You can try giving them a toke in California, but it's still illegal in Florida.


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## bakenatj

pooch said:


> Although a very nice idea, not sure it would be easy for them to carry something around with them during their shift.  Can you imagine if several people did this?


Agreed, I think just being kind and pleasant, and thanking them is best.


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## lorileahb

Joeboo25 said:


> You can try giving them a toke in California, but it's still illegal in Florida.


LOL - gotta correct that!!!


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## Moliphino

Naomeri said:


> Every guest 2 and up needs to wear an approved mask.  If someone has little ones who won’t wear masks, now is not the time for them to visit WDW



This. The CMs will ask/remind nicely the first time, but they do need to put it on or leave.

We saw a mom struggling to get her little boy to wear his mask in the line for Peter Pan. The CM was trying to be as nice as possible, but still firm about the need to wear a mask. I think the little boy actually responded better to the CM telling them he needed to wear it than to his mom. But that's pretty normal for kids - more likely to try to push boundaries with parents than anyone else.


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## shoreward

lorileahb said:


> I was trying to think of something small we could bring with us to give to CMs as we see them in the parks.  Really want them to know we appreciate them - maybe a small toke of some kind... but I'm drawing a complete blank.  Thoughts?


Truly appreciated is a message sent to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com.

Note the CM’s name, where you encountered them, where they are from (info from their name tag), where and why they impressed you and how they helped with your guest experience.

Your comments will be noted by their manager/supervisor and be added to their employee file.  These comments are really appreciated by CMs.


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## Kimpossible1

Best Aunt said:


> I would be interested in hearing whether other CMs say the same thing (about whether it is okay to eat and drink while waiting in line for an attraction), or if that was one CM giving bad information.



It was not "just one CM giving bad information"  You may shift your mask up to your nose and take a quick drink but taking your mask totally off in a line, especially to eat and drink is not acceptable.  Please don't say it was just a bad CM, that is the rule at WDW at this time.


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## Kimpossible1

To acknowledge a CM, you can also post on Twitter with the #castcompliment.  They will get a certificate, and be as specific as possible and if you don't remember the name, try to remember what they looked like, or the time.  They post them backstage for others to see that the recognition they received.  Also make sure it is #castcompliment or # cast compliment....not #cast complaint (LOL!!)


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## pooch

Kimpossible1 said:


> It was not "just one CM giving bad information"  You may shift your mask up to your nose and take a quick drink but taking your mask totally off in a line, especially to eat and drink is not acceptable.  Please don't say it was just a bad CM, that is the rule at WDW at this time.


I think the poster was referring to the CM who said they COULD eat and drink in line.


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## kimberwee

monkeydawn said:


> Im going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you didnt actually know and werent being entitled yourself but snacking in line is not currently permitted.  Its one thing to quickly take a sip when you are standing in line for an hour plus in the heat and sun, its another to actively recommend people take their masks off to snack during the line to make the wait less boring.



Is this posted somewhere? We were there last week and there was MAJOR snacking by TONS of people in lines. CM's were watching and I never encountered anyone being told they can't. I don't remember seeing signs stating that it was against the rules either. This was especially the case in the long MMRR line at DHS


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## lovethattink

slyster said:


> With super long lines due to social distancing, are there signs indicating what a line is for further back?  For example, do I need to walk up towards a ride entrance and follow that line back or will there be something telling me towards the back of the line, what the line is for?  I hope that makes sense LOL



Yes, usually there is a cm with a sign at the end of the line. However, we got into a line hoping it was pirates, with no cm at the end. Some people thought they were in line for Jungle Cruise. But it ended up being Potc.


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## Eastern

I've seen Uber advice for DHS, but what is the Uber advice for MK? Where should you get dropped off, and at what time?


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## disneygirlsng

Best Aunt said:


> I would be interested in hearing whether other CMs say the same thing (about whether it is okay to eat and drink while waiting in line for an attraction), or if that was one CM giving bad information.


I had asked a couple CMs when I was there at the end of August. They all said that as long as you are stationary and distanced, you can take a quick sip or bite of a snack. That is following the rules they have set and I don't see any issues at all with that. Eating throughout the line with your mask continuously down would not be allowed.


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## grumpy28

monkeydawn said:


> Im going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you didnt actually know and werent being entitled yourself but snacking in line is not currently permitted.  Its one thing to quickly take a sip when you are standing in line for an hour plus in the heat and sun, its another to actively recommend people take their masks off to snack during the line to make the wait less boring.



Hmm, so a diabetic (yes, one of our party) or a hungry child eating a granola bar or quick snack while in line for an hour and stationary (cleaning cycles don't move) is not permitted? Pretty sure you are wrong.


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## monkeydawn

bastraker said:


> I was at HS yesterday and in line for MMRR. Lots of people were eating and drinking in that line. The CM was out there and she told people that as long as they were standing on their marker space - it was ok to do that.



Thats certainly contradictory to what people were being told at first.  



kimberwee said:


> Is this posted somewhere? We were there last week and there was MAJOR snacking by TONS of people in lines. CM's were watching and I never encountered anyone being told they can't. I don't remember seeing signs stating that it was against the rules either. This was especially the case in the long MMRR line at DHS



I just did a quick look on Disneys site and couldnt find any references to eating/ masks other than in restaurants.  This is not comprehensive of their policy because we know that they dont want you walking and eating, they want you off to the side and stationary.  So I couldnt find anything in writing on line.

I know people were being told in the beginning not to do this.  The thought was that you are only temporarily on that 6 foot marker and you were in a line that could move at any second (not at your discretion like if you pull off into an area outside to eat) thereby forcing random strangers into your unmasked air.  

I suppose in theory if you are in an outside portion of the line (without partitions) and it is the beginning of a cleaning cycle you could scarf a protein bar or something quick with minimal potential damage being done to the parties following.  But to have your mask down just to be snacking to help kids alleviate boredom is something that seems like a bad tip to be giving out.

Just because people are doing it and just because the CMs arent saying anything doesnt necessarily make it ok.  Weve seen reports of CMs not saying anything to unmasked/ nose peekers too bbut we know that isnt ok per the rules.

I do really appreciate the reports of people letting us know just how common this behavior is though.  Its probably one of the riskier actions (far more than just walking past a nose peeker out on the paths) so thank you and the PP very much for this information as I thought it was still being actively discouraged by CMs.


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## monkeydawn

grumpy28 said:


> Hmm, so a diabetic (yes, one of our party) or a hungry child eating a granola bar or quick snack while in line for an hour and stationary (cleaning cycles don't move) is not permitted? Pretty sure you are wrong.


See my previous reply where I address this exact situation, which is not at all what you were advocating with your "tip".


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## P'colaBeachBum

Cinerama261 said:


> What about young children like two years old? Are they asking them to leave if they won't wear a mask?





RaySharpton said:


> WDW added to their park mask rule, Can't wear a mask...reschedule your visit!
> 
> 
> View attachment 532654


----------



## KrazeeK120

grumpy28 said:


> Hmm, so a diabetic (yes, one of our party) or a hungry child eating a granola bar or quick snack while in line for an hour and stationary (cleaning cycles don't move) is not permitted? Pretty sure you are wrong.



If a diabetic was literally going to crash without eating something, I would be forgiving of that situation.

For the general population (including kids), there is no NEED to consume food while in a line.


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## lorileahb

Eastern said:


> I've seen Uber advice for DHS, but what is the Uber advice for MK? Where should you get dropped off, and at what time?


We are going to mobile order something to go/quick from Contempo café at the contemporary resort and then walk over from there. Hopefully it will be chilly enough for a hot chocolate!


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## tcherjen

I’m at Pop right now.
Today was our EPCOT day. I got up early, so I could post what time the lines are starting. MK and AK both had people lining up at 6:45.
We go to MK tomorrow, so I will post back on our experience.
The skyline to HS and EPCOT was empty at that time.
We got in line at 9 and it was long but moved quickly.
We got to the transfer station and were held there for EPCOT till 9:50.
We got into Epcot at 10:05. Walked into WS and headed to Soaring.
Frozen was a crazy line, will attempt to ride it tonight.
They held us at Soaring till 11 am for the ride.
Overall the day was pleasant so far at Epcot


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## PrincessV

I posted in the News section thread, but I'll add it here and expand a bit...

I spent 2 nights , 2.5 days at WDW this week. Stayed at the newly reopened CSR, drove to WDW (I'm local-ish) and to the parks.

*CSR:*
Was... okay. Not stellar. My shower had either a trickle of hot water, or full force cold - no in between. I was only there 2 nights and discovered this while showering before bed night 1, and I didn't want workers coming in, so I just dealt with it and reported it when I checked out.

The lack of dining options was difficult and would have been VERY difficult for a longer stay. I'm allergic to shellfish and don't eat meat, which narrows down menus to start, and I won't eat indoors, narrowing it further, so having the main QS place closed wasn't great. I made a point of eating lunch in the parks each day, bfast from home in my room, and had one dinner at Three Bridges - it was delicious, but a little more people-y than I'd have liked. They weren't seating every table, but the tables immediately next to me were seated, so the empty ones next to them were pretty useless. I was still 4' away and we all kept our masks on when not eating, so I'm not terribly worried... but I don't think I'd do it again. I saw a notice in MDE that Three Bridges will soon start offering to-go orders, which will help.

*Tuesday, Oct. 20, EP:*
Arrived around 12pm and went straight for F&W food, starting in Canada and going counter-clockwise all the way around WS
No F&W booth line was longer than 3 or 4 people and took minutes to go through. The lines tended to look closer to "normal" weekday lines due to social distancing.
There were pockets of congested walkways, and pockets of nearly empty walkways and no obvious rhyme or reason for either. At any time I could move a bit to give myself 6' from anyone, but in some spots it took more work. Not always easy to find a place to sit and eat, especially in shade, but pretty easy to find standing tables.

Hit FW around 3:30pm: SE, Seas, Journey were all walk on (posted 5mins), Soarin' about 8 minutes (posted10).

Back to WS around 5-6pm: much emptier all around - more open space in general and more open tables. PLENTY of room for everyone.

Visible presence of CMs watching for mask adherence. I never heard any reprimands, but I also never saw any flagrant rule-breaking, only the rare nose out, but far away from other people, or someone taking a mask break outside of designated areas and not actively eating or drinking, but still away from others. I heard the constant reminders over the loudspeakers.

*Wednesday, Oct. 21, MK:*
Arrived around 10:45am and immediately caught "Boo to You Lite" cavalcade on Main St: plenty of open room to watch - nobody within 10 or more feet of me.
5 min "waits" (really just walking through the queues) for Barnstormer, Dumbo, UTS. None were utilizing all of their dedicated queues, let alone extra. Walkways felt more "crowded" than in late Aug., but nowhere near normal crowded: ample room to spread out.

A little before 12pm mobile ordered from Pinocchio's - hit "I am here" on way to restroom and order was ready by the time I finished washing my hands. Plenty of outdoor tables open and still open when I left about 45 minutes later.

Walked through Fantasyland to Splash - it definitely gets tight between Pan and Small World and no way to remain 6' from every person while going through, but it was truly only close for the few seconds it took to get through. It spread out and opened up again at HM.

Splash around 1:15pm was posted 45 mins, queue was using most of its dedicated outdoor queue - actual wait was about 25 mins, moving almost the entire time. Circled back to Pooh, where the queue ran all the way to Cheshire Cafe and posted wait was 30 mins - actual wait was a little over 15, moving continually. HM next: queue used all of the dedicated outdoor queue, except the graveyard area, plus a big out-and-back on the Riverboat ramps, posted wait was 35 mins: actual wait was just about 35, but only because I hit a cleaning cycle just before entering the building and was stuck there for 10 minutes. Final ride was POTC with posted wait of 45 mins, actual wait around 25, moving the entire time.

I caught 2 more cavalcades in the afternoon, with plenty of room to spread out for both. Overall, between about 2-5pm walkways felt busier than in late Aug, but still had plenty of room to maintain distance - it just took  a little more work on my part. Mask compliance was very good - I saw very few issues and lots of CMs watching. Heard the announcements over loudspeakers all day. It was harder this trip to find spots to pull over at least 6' from others to eat a snack or drink water, but not impossible at all - BUT almost every time I did find a good spot, within minutes someone would come and sit/stand right next to me! I'd have 20' of open space on either side, but they'd come up within inches of where I was. Each time, I just moved myself out of the situation, but it was bizarre.

*Thursday, Oct. 22, DHS:*

Oh my. I get it now. This was my first time back at DHS since pre-COVID and it felt a LOT like Thanksgiving week last year.

Arrived by car at 9am and traffic was backed up, but moved quickly: I was parked and into the park by 9:30am. A LOT of people walking in - it wasn't easy to maintain distance. Upon entering, Hollywood Bl was VERY congested, but I went left into the Echo Lake area and it was nearly empty. I was in GE by 9:45 and found a shaded spot well away from everyone to wait - GE wasn't empty, but it wasn't very populated either: it felt a lot like the end of opening day, when the place had mostly emptied out.

Got a ROTR BG and got in line for MF:SR at 10:15am: queue extended to the far end of the Falcon, posted wait of 35 when I got in and actual wait was 25. ROTR BG called just before 11am and I got in queue at 11: moved continuously and was around 15 mins before the action starts.

Mobile ordered a blue milk and circled back... GE was PACKED. Like, busier than the day we went during Thanksgiving week. Impossible to maintain 6' while walking, and difficult to find any spot to stop 6' from others. I walked back to the entrance path from grand Ave. and had more room there to stop and sip.

Mobile ordered lunch from ABC and it was ready in 5 minutes - 12pm. All outdoor tables were taken, mostly by people using them for a mask break, not actively eating or drinking (no food on the table.) No enforcement over there. I took my tray to a planter and balanced there to eat, but a kind CM saw a table open and held it while waving me over - that was appreciated! Commissary Lane was just busy, busy, busy. 

I left the park after lunch because it was time to go home, but would have left because it was too crowded for my comfort, pandemic or otherwise. Had I stayed the night, I'd have tried returning later in the day. I have no idea how things were in other areas of the park, but TP had expected wait times of 60-90 mins for everything at 1pm.

Mask compliance was very good; no major issues in general. But overall I felt like WDW had just kind of given up on DHS. I used several restrooms that had none of the signage saying to wash hands for 20 seconds like in the other parks. I assume the reminders were playing on the loudspeakers, but I never heard them over the din of the crowds. I saw a few CMs in queues watching Guests, but very few out and about, and like I said above, lots of people taking mask breaks not in Relaxation Zones and no CMs saying anything. I do not blame the CMs at all, but management needs to get on it at DHS. CMs seemed surprised that I didn't want to eat indoors. I kept trying to distance myself form other Guests and they just kept getting too close outside of the marked queues - I felt like the lack of enforcement overall led to Guests not bothering to do their part.

In general, everything was more "busy" feeling than in late Aug., as expected, but wait times at MK and EP were no different.


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## katyringo

It is Busy in MK today. I’m a seasoned Disney person and even I am struggling. Taking a hotel break. Still had a great morning but afternoon does not feel awesome.


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## Befferk

tcherjen said:


> MK and AK both had people lining up at 6:45.



They let people line up at MK at 6:45am for a 9am opening?

ETA: Or do you mean for the buses?


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## lorileahb

tcherjen said:


> I’m at Pop right now.
> Today was our EPCOT day. I got up early, so I could post what time the lines are starting. MK and AK both had people lining up at 6:45.
> We go to MK tomorrow, so I will post back on our experience.
> The skyline to HS and EPCOT was empty at that time.
> We got in line at 9 and it was long but moved quickly.
> We got to the transfer station and were held there for EPCOT till 9:50.
> We got into Epcot at 10:05. Walked into WS and headed to Soaring.
> Frozen was a crazy line, will attempt to ride it tonight.
> They held us at Soaring till 11 am for the ride.
> Overall the day was pleasant so far at Epcot



Thanks.  Just a quick question... 645 both MK and AK had people lining up... where was the line... for the buses at Pop? Parking lot?  Or, lined up outside the park.  Appreciate it!!!!


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## katyringo

Alright we are on a hotel break which we felt we could do since MK is open until 8pm and we have a BOG reservation at 755pm.

we lined up for busses from pop at 7am and were in the park by 8:06. Offical opening was 9am. We had Starbucks, got the new blue cup, took some pictures and off mine train by 9am. Then we did a few fantasy land rides, and space mountain. Caught some calvacades and characters on Main Street. Had some food at pecco bills and got in an estimated 60 min line for big thunder. It was having technical difficulties and it kept repeating that the wait time may increase. We were off in 60 minutes, but then the whole ride shut down. This is where things started getting rough. All the wait times soared by 130. And wait times for everything. For food, shows, even for the relaxation station. We headed back to Main Street caught another calvacades, took an ice cream break, and shopped a bit. Wait times still very high. Even using touring plans times they are high and the lines are past where they stop placing markers down. So we decided to come back to the hotel. Hoping things calm down a bit for the evening.
That being said... I expected this. Watching the reports leading to our trip I was prepared. We have our priorities and we did them first. I just think it’s important folks know you are no longer going to an empty park. You need to have a plan. You need to set priorities and you need to have realistic expectations.


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## kristenbrandt

Just back from an amazing 10/10 (yes, there were things we missed but given the givens, it was awesome) trip for us.  Probably our 17th or 18th trip in 17 years, so we have a lot of favorites, "must do's", nostalgic park preferences, etc.  This thread was particularly helpful in educating ourselves as to what to expect on a Disney trip impacted by covid restrictions and making the decision to go (or not) given the new regulations, limitations, procedures, physical distancing, wait times, limited park hours/dining/entertainment options, etc.

I am sure it's a matter of perspective, but masks, physical distancing, cleanliness, capacity limits everywhere (stores, parks, dining), newly implemented routines, non-negotiable guest and employee policies, CM enforcement, and even guest compliance generally met or exceeded our expectations. As many have reported, we felt more risk just getting there. Multiple wonderful meals, pool time, family time, a few Disney "firsts", favorite old standbys, figuring out our new touring preferences in the age of covid, and some priceless memories with the boys, 17 and 15.  It's not for everyone but it was awesome for us.


We stayed (new to us) at the Riviera Resort Wednesday-Wednesday.  First time not at the Poly and we loved it, not having expected to enjoy any resort as much as the Poly.  Have already booked our next (hopeful) trip at the Riviera.
Having only one weekend within the trip was fine.  Weekends are busier in the parks and without FP, you "feel" that slight uptick.  DS was not busy on Saturday mid-morning to 1pm and golf was a good choice for the dudes that morning.  Nice break from RDing in the middle of the trip.
We RDed all parks except Epcot (thank you, fellow posters, for the accurate info that helped us make that call) and did not miss it.  
We got RotR BGs 4/4 attempts, three being at 10am, once at 2pm (again, different thread, but helpful posts!).  The attraction is amazing.  Do not miss.
RD is pretty important to us so we can enjoy a few attractions/headliners before the parks get too busy to be fun.  That Saturday morning tee time (a first for them at Disney - great experience, they'll be back) was a good break, but....they said they'd be too tired to go to a park afterwards and pool/DS would be plenty.  Surprise, surprise.  After three fantastic park days, they decided a late entry to HS was in order after golf/lunch!  
RD at HS, MK, AK (by bus, on foot, by rental car...no skyliner RD)
2pm entry at HS twice (Wednesday and Saturday)
Shortened park hours did not significantly detract from the experience, though we did feel an hour or two at each would have been better and is a reasonable guest expectation given how efficiently parks were operating overall.
ADRs are important to us with capacity limits, even if we're not quite what/how we'll feel later.  I booked 60 days out and continued checking/modifying throughout the planning process and the trip.  We fully realized the value/flexibility of CL breakfasts and evening service to us...we'd never needed so many ADRs.  Happily found the balance between free/pool time and quality evening ADRs that were not stressful to attend in terms of timing/travel/location.
Being flexible and thankful changes everything.  After months of lockdown, no flexibility, so many cancellations and disappointments, professional set backs/financial concerns, family health issues, and two cancellations of this trip, it all felt like a bonus.  Yes, a bonus we were paying for, but it was amazing.  We let go of some "we always..." and embraced all the new, firsts for us and were thankful for every day of the trip.

There is certainly a lot "missing" in terms of Disney's full array of offerings, evening entertainment, fireworks, shows, certain dining options, dessert parties, "extras", character meets, Club level, etc...however, on our arrival day and every day after, we never felt we were missing so much that the trip wasn't "worth it" to us.  Though worth/value is relative to each person's perspective, our experience did not feel like we were engaging in risky behavior by being there and in fact, we had one of our top two or three WDW trips ever.  We enjoyed the fun of figuring out new touring preferences and found a lot of pixie dust along the way.


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## MaleficentRN

armerida said:


> Thanks for the info. What time did you arrive at the park?


We got in line about 8:45. Here are some pictures I took shorty after. One is behind us and the other is a third line to the left of the entrance where they were directing people arrive in cars and ride shares.


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## kristenbrandt

MaleficentRN said:


> We got in line about 9:45. Here are some pictures I took shorty after. One is behind us and the other is a third line to the left of the entrance where they were directing people arrive in cars and ride shares. View attachment 534280View attachment 534281View attachment 534281


Last week we walked from Boardwalk to HS, arriving between 8:05-8:20a three different occasions (Thursday, Sunday, and this past Wednesday).  Highly recommend.  We were among the first 30-50 people in the first two lines (extending outward from the skyliner area toward the bus depot).  Those two lines were eventually moved forward to the white temperature tents around 8:45a, forming multiple lines to the left and right.  Never saw people getting off the skyliner before 9am and did not see cars being allowed into the lot until that time as well.  Walked through the queue to ride MMRR once, tried SDD once and dipped (don't recommend that for RD), walked on RnR/ToT combo twice with plenty of time to spare for sitting with a snack to try for RotR BGs at 10a.


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## MaleficentRN

Eastern said:


> I've seen Uber advice for DHS, but what is the Uber advice for MK? Where should you get dropped off, and at what time?



On Sunday, we were dropped off at CR at 8:30. By the time we walked over to the park, they had let people in and the line for 7DMT was snaked all around the corner past Storybook Circus.


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## MaleficentRN

kristenbrandt said:


> Last week we walked from Boardwalk to HS, arriving between 8:05-8:20a three different occasions (Thursday, Sunday, and this past Wednesday).  Highly recommend.  We were among the first 30-50 people in the first two lines (extending outward from the skyliner area toward the bus depot).  Those two lines were eventually moved forward to the white temperature tents around 8:45a, forming multiple lines to the left and right.  Never saw people getting off the skyliner before 9am and did not see cars being allowed into the lot until that time as well.  Walked through the queue to ride MMRR once, tried SDD once and dipped (don't recommend that for RD), walked on RnR/ToT combo twice with plenty of time to spare for sitting to get a snack and RotR BG at 10.


On Wednesday I saw people getting off Skyliner just before 9. They opened parking gate at 9 on the dot. Line started moving at 9:02


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## MaleficentRN

katyringo said:


> It is Busy in MK today. I’m a seasoned Disney person and even I am struggling. Taking a hotel break. Still had a great morning but afternoon does not feel awesome.


Agreed. I'm a rope drop gal and can get everything I done I want by noon normally. Sunday at MK was a bummer for me. I have never waited more than 30 minutes for any ride before this past week. Took a breather at the hotel and came back and it was still too much for me.


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## kristenbrandt

MaleficentRN said:


> On Wednesday I saw people getting off Skyliner just before 9. They opened parking gate at 9 on the dot. Line started moving at 9:02


We were turned away at the parking plaza at 7:45am and told not to come back until 8:45.  I doubted that was going to work for us, knowing we had been having temps taken at 9am previous days, on and off multiple rides by 9:45.  I'm not sure at what point they allow cars to start parking/waiting for gates to open at HS.  It was our departure day and we needed to gas up the rental anyway, so we did that, placed a mobile order at Boardwalk Bakery, and parked there.  We took Lyft to BW the other two times.

Related - we pulled up to MK parking plaza at 7:55a (last Friday, 9am open) and it was bumper to bumper.  Cars started moving at 8am.  By the time we parked, walked, and monorailed over, we were well behind friends who Lyfted to CR and walked.  They rode Space once and waited at the exit for us to ride, then we hooked up.  They also reported line for 7D was lengthy/no go at RD.

Took the first bus from Riviera to AK on Monday and opposite was true - parking plaza was full but had clearly been moving vehicles through already when our bus passed by around 8:35.  Parking lot/entrance/security/tapstyles were FULL of people at 8:40.


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## tcherjen

lorileahb said:


> Thanks.  Just a quick question... 645 both MK and AK had people lining up... where was the line... for the buses at Pop? Parking lot?  Or, lined up outside the park.  Appreciate it!!!!


They were for buses


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## tcherjen

Befferk said:


> They let people line up at MK at 6:45am for a 9am opening?
> 
> ETA: Or do you mean for the buses?


Bus


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## tcherjen

lorileahb said:


> Thanks.  Just a quick question... 645 both MK and AK had people lining up... where was the line... for the buses at Pop? Parking lot?  Or, lined up outside the park.  Appreciate it!!!!


Buses at Pop.


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## wilkydelts

I will post more later but I am in Magic Kingdom today and have had very little issues. Longest wait was 40 for pirates. Everything is shorter than posted. I have many opposing feelings to those talking about MK crowds and difficulties today

You can tell more traffic picked up about 3:30 probably more AP people


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## Jaina

Finishing up a day in Hollywood Studios today (in about an hour). I feel like the crowds have been a little lighter than what I’ve seen or heard the last few weekends. We have been on everything (a couple things twice) except Mickey and Minnie’s (currently in a 60 min line for it) and Millennium Falcon, which we will probably/maybe ride. We walked over from the Speedway early this morning (8:20 ish) and even had to exchange our UT tickets at the booths and only waited 5-10 for Slinky starting out. It has been hot and sticky some (we’re from AZ) but overcast and breezy off and on, which has been great.


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## brockash

Best Aunt said:


> I would be interested in hearing whether other CMs say the same thing (about whether it is okay to eat and drink while waiting in line for an attraction), or if that was one CM giving bad information.


I'll say we were there last week and saw lots of ppl eating in the lines...like on some lines it was literally towards 40% ish of the ppl in outside lines (really didn't see it much once we were indoors, but there were tons in the outdoor lines.)  Lots of cms were around or passes them and didn't say anything, so I don't think Disney thinks it's not allowed or ok.  Lots of ppl eating popcorn, dole whips, ice cream bars, snacks from home...some whole meals (because yes lines were that long)... no one ever said anything.


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## wilkydelts

While walking by 7DMT CM announced on mega phone you may eat in line just please cover your face when it is time to move and keep up


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## brockash

Kimpossible1 said:


> It was not "just one CM giving bad information"  You may shift your mask up to your nose and take a quick drink but taking your mask totally off in a line, especially to eat and drink is not acceptable.  Please don't say it was just a bad CM, that is the rule at WDW at this time.


I think reality is important to discuss as well.  For example Disney says MK doesn't open til 9...reality is if you show up at 9; you're about 45 mins- an hr behind actual opening.  

If the rule is no eating in lines; the reality is it happened constantly last week in front of many many cms last week without a word being said.


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## teach22180

Last week I ubered to Boardwalk,  Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge for breakfasts. The Uber driver just said dropping off for breakfast each time and was let in with no problem.


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## brockash

KrazeeK120 said:


> If a diabetic was literally going to crash without eating something, I would be forgiving of that situation.
> 
> For the general population (including kids), there is no NEED to consume food while in a line.


Lol...well thank goodness YOU would be forgiving...I highly doubt anyone cares about 1 guests personal forgiveness.  This thread is not about someones opinion...it's about actual accounts.  There are numerous reports at this point that state eating in the outdoor lines was pretty common recently and CMs didn't say it wasn't allowed...end of discussion. 

It doesn't matter what your or my opinion is on it.  Just like someone coming on here saying they don't feel like it's right to have their 3 year old have to wear a mask...it does matter what their opinion is, what matters is what Disney's doing...last week I saw many cms ask how old small children were and reminding children to wear their mask the right way...end of the report.  That's what's currently happening...there's no need to discuss ones opinion on the subject, just first hand experiences.


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## Momtomouselover

We heard a CM tell a family they were not supposed to be eating in line. They had to have on a mask unless stationary. It was a  family with meals and not a quick snack or popcorn and then mask back on situation so maybe that had something to do with it. Our trip was early October.  

I don’t recall the exact wording but I believe the frequent announcements say to please maintain wearing a mask unless distanced and stationary or or something like that.


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## djmeredith

Momtomouselover said:


> We heard a CM tell a family they were not supposed to be eating in line. They had to have on a mask unless stationary. It was a  family with meals and not a quick snack or popcorn and then mask back on situation so maybe that had something to do with it. Our trip was early October.
> 
> I don’t recall the exact wording but I believe the frequent announcements say to please maintain wearing a mask unless distanced and stationary or or something like that.


If their masks were off completely, that was probably what made the difference. We ate and drank while in line and walking around (when no one else was near) last week because we literally did not have time to sit and take a break every time we needed a sip or snack. And we saw many others doing the same with no CMs ever saying anything. I also suspect Disney's expectations on this rule are adapting to the realities of the situation as crowds and wait times increase.


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## p44nmun

Eastern said:


> I've seen Uber advice for DHS, but what is the Uber advice for MK? Where should you get dropped off, and at what time?


Let’s say we mobile order something for  breakfast at Contemporary. Anyone know how long they might let you park there? Not looking to cheat the system or anything like that, just wondering.


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## Heather07438

Thanks for the first hand accounts.  I was wondering how the snacking/drinking would work out on our trip.  In the past, some park areas are very hard to find a table or a place to sit (looking at you Woody's Lunchbox and Festival Booths).  It makes sense that outside lines with good spacing that stagnate would permit snacking in place as there isn't much risk.  Indoor lines with maskless sneezers is another story lol.  


p44nmun said:


> Let’s say we mobile order something for  breakfast at Contemporary. Anyone know how long they might let you park there? Not looking to cheat the system or anything like that, just wondering.


3 hours is the limit for Day Guests, which is what WDW considers people who visit a resort to shop/dine.


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## AnneK

p44nmun said:


> Let’s say we mobile order something for  breakfast at Contemporary. Anyone know how long they might let you park there? Not looking to cheat the system or anything like that, just wondering.



You can park there for a max of 3 hours with a dining reservation.


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## tcherjen

lorileahb said:


> Thanks.  Just a quick question... 645 both MK and AK had people lining up... where was the line... for the buses at Pop? Parking lot?  Or, lined up outside the park.  Appreciate it!!!!


They were lined up where the buses pull in.
Decided tomorrow on our MK day sleeping in and going later


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## katyringo

Alright our evening back at magical kingdom was much better. Got in line for the bus at pop around 4 and was back in MK by 430. Lines still kinda long but we just went with it. Jumped into Winnie the Pooh line went quick. Jumped into Peter Pan. Line went quick. Jumped into mermaid.. line went quick. Got popcorn no line. Jumped into a 60min mine train line because it’s now my new favorite. Waited 40. Then went to buzz- 10mins- posted was 20.stopped and took nighttime castle pictures. Now we are at our 7:55 be our guest reservation. The food is good and I LOVE the theming  here!! Huge beauty and the beast fan so it’s right up my interests. Very happy with outlets decision to take an afternoon break and come back.  I dunno what but we have had the best food on this trip. Like the best Disney  food we have ever had. Maybe we are just easy to please Small town folks.. but this mean at BOG is amazingly good.


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## katyringo

I’ll second that we heard the new announcement today about eating in lines. It stated “if you eat and drink please only do so on the green wait here markings”


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## kristenbrandt

We never saw that much eating or drinking in lines last week, Wednesday-Wednesday.  Towards the end of the evenings (after 5) we'd see "more" snacking out of backpacks, etc., but the timing on that makes sense and it was never a lot of people (like one family in a 40 minute standby wait at SR).

I feel like I didn't go to the parks to try to figure out how to subvert the new guidelines and extensive discussion on this topic is trending that direction.  We heard multiple CMs say throughout the week that if you wanted to drink or eat, you needed to be stationary.  I'm sure it's like groundhog day for them to keep repeating the same thing and I got the message.  It wasn't nebulous, undefined, or varied park to park.  I don't get the focus on issue that here.

We didn't see a lot of people trying to skirt the guideline, but we tried not to be in the parks during the hottest/longest waits parts of the day and maybe that's when people are more likely to lower masks in an area not really designed for that.  Taking a "to go" drink at DS was common/encouraged by mobile taps/bars and people were walking around with both non and alcoholic beverages day and night.  Most people tended to take a sip, replace the mask and move on.  I think that's within the spirit of reasonable behavior and not trying to bend the mask requirement.


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## spicedparrot

So...some should come, but others are not.  I’ve been to WDW too many times to count, Disneyland as well.   I also spend lots of time reading the posts on this Board.   Just finishing up my first post-pandemic trip so thought I’d post this for those of you thinking about whether or not to cancel or wait.  Some will disagree of course, but trying to post information that will help others decide.  I would find it a very reasonable decision if many delayed their trip if it was a “first visit” - this isn’t the same experience as was in the past (but maybe they are okay with it).  

Attractions: If you are an avid planner (using Fastpass+, etc.) they are going to be longer than what you are used to.  You either accept that fact are come at another time. Do not expect regularly short lines (with some exceptions).  Some 3rd party touring plan providers seem to work fairly well.   On the otherhand, it forces you to take the parks at a different, less fernetic pace - that might be a net positive.  A bit like stepping back into the theme park strategies of the mid-90’s. 

Entertainment:  Its much less than the past.  I personally like the spotenaity of the calvacades but that’s about all their really is.   The absence of shows and other types of professional entertainment is noticable.   Personally, for me, doing attractions without street performers, other minor shows, etc. etc. was a bit like eating an entree with no seasoning.

Shopping:  One thing I didn’t see mentioned in here previously is the frequent lines to access shopping- sometimes long lines.   In fact the wait to enter the World of Disney store in Disney Springs can be very long, especially in the evenings.   You also can’t ship your items back to your room so be prepared to carry them with you or buy in the park at the end of your day.

Health checks/Security: These seemed manageable and unintrusive.  The new security measures are actually less imposing than before.    Lots of advice on here on how to manage backups (and whether to walk, drive, etc.).   Personally, for MK, if you can walk in that’s ideal.   

VIP Tours: Tried this 1 day.  Worth the price just for the flexiliby it gives to go park to park and navigate many issues.   So expensive, but if you can afford it, the incremental difference from the rest of the park experience is notable.  Its a different experience than in the past - but presents a different type of value.  

Disney Springs: See above about World of Disney Store.  But, on weekends - oh my.   Parking issues, capacity issues, odd dining experiences.  Might want to think about the value of this “experience” on your itenerary. 

Extras: Missed more than I thought all the “extras” - dessert parties, special tours, special events.   Again, their absence is more noticable than I would have anticipated.  

Nightime:  This was the biggest miss.   For some areas, like Pandora, the lack of a nightime expereience is a very material issue.   For others, its might be more impactful than you might expect.    Disney World at night is special, particularly with nightime shows.  Their absence and the early park closings are notable. 

Parkhopping:  On the one hand, as mentioned above, makes for a less fernetic visit.  On the otherhand, it does make the evenings less of an “event”

Preshows:  The missing pre-shows for many rides impacts the story.  If you have ridden in the past, no bid deal.  If you are new to the ride - it does diminish the experience.  

Masks/Distancing:  Honestly, based upon what I read here previously I was surprised.  I personally thought there was LOTS of complliance with both.  In fact, I’m not sure I saw 1 person violating the mask rules.  Sometimes there are some misses in lines on social distancing, but most often its just because of a distraction. In stores, and well Disney Springs, expect pre-pandemic closeness with other people.  Distancing just isn’t possible.   If you are concerned about COVID-19 or high-risk, this probably isn’t the right time for you to go to a theme park.  

Well, my two cents.  Again, just putting out some unvarnished thoughts out there for those doing research.   For some (particularly frequent visitors) I can see how some time in the parks is still preferable to none at all (I’m in this camp).  However, others should carefully consider how things are different and either wait, or manage their expectations.   

Hope this is helpful.  Also, keep in mind this was just one person’s experience over several days in October.  Your mileage may vary but its one additional data point.


----------



## Jaina

Does anyone who has been recently know how early a Lyft driver is allowed to drop us off at the transit center for Magic Kingdom?


----------



## katyringo

kristenbrandt said:


> We never saw that much eating or drinking in lines last week, Wednesday-Wednesday.  Towards the end of the evenings (after 5) we'd see "more" snacking out of backpacks, etc., but the timing on that makes sense and it was never a lot of people (like one family in a 40 minute standby wait at SR).
> 
> I feel like I didn't go to the parks to try to figure out how to subvert the new guidelines and extensive discussion on this topic is trending that direction.  We heard multiple CMs say throughout the week that if you wanted to drink or eat, you needed to be stationary.  I'm sure it's like groundhog day for them to keep repeating the same thing and I got the message.  It wasn't nebulous, undefined, or varied park to park.  I don't get the focus on issue that here.
> 
> We didn't see a lot of people trying to skirt the guideline, but we tried not to be in the parks during the hottest/longest waits parts of the day and maybe that's when people are more likely to lower masks in an area not really designed for that.  Taking a "to go" drink at DS was common/encouraged by mobile taps/bars and people were walking around with both non and alcoholic beverages day and night.  Most people tended to take a sip, replace the mask and move on.  I think that's within the spirit of reasonable behavior and not trying to bend the mask requirement.


The only time today I got frustrated with the eating and drinking thing was when I had my Peter Pan float actively melting in my hand while trying to make it back to where my husband was sitting. I lifted my mask for a moment to lick it so it would stop melting all over me and at that exact moment a CM asked me to put my mask on until I was stationary. I was a little flusters but obliged.


----------



## wilkydelts

Day 2: 10/23 Magic Kingdom- 9a-8p 

Arrived to parking toll at 8:02 was about 8 deep all lanes

Got through temp and security fast
Was on first bus to MK I forgot wallet in van and left family to proceed I sprinted back to car- really hot and sweaty- caught back up to them at castle

Walked to 7DMT lined said 60 minutes and wrapped all the way back towards Gaston’s- we detoured to Peter Pan

Peter Pan was walk on

Headed to BTMR said 30 was 28, wife and kids got in line. I got child swap +2 and went to look for dropped baby lovie (no luck)

I then got in long Splash line 9:15 line moving good but people finally on logs at 9:25. I realized I could double dip this long line until family caught up to me and do child swap again. Had to step aside at entrance so many people past us and queue filled up all the way. Worst feeling ever! Wait says 45 (started right at entrance sign) was 20.

Headed straight to BTMR for my child swap

Wife was doing snacks and Aladdin carpets 

Wife came back and did her rider swap for Splash

When she got off we Traded pins at Splash Mountain photo shop when got off at 11:00

Went to Haunted Mansion said 45 was 43 (hit a cleaning cycle because we totally stopped moving)

Headed to Silly Sideshow for A/C and packed lunch at 12:20

I stayed with youngest in Silly Sideshow and they went to Barnstormer in rain. Said 25 was 17

Went to Dumbo said 15 was 6

Went to Little Mermaid said 35 was 26 (hit a cleaning cycle again)

Went to Winnie the Pooh said 25 was 20

Went to Pirates said 60 was 41

Headed to our 4:20 Skipper dinner 5 minutes late. Finished eating and out at 5:40

Went to Buzz said 30 was 23

Went to Teacups said 10 was 4

Went to Philarmagic took 27, I am guessing we waited through 1.5 shows. Left it at 7:25. 

Split from wife who took two to Space Mountain, I went with infant and one to Small World. I was off Small World at 7:52

Tried to meet back at 7DMT just before close. Hoping for Wife to take infant and I rode with others. Unfortunately we made it  to the entrance of ride before they got back and we had to get out of line. 
Space Mountain took way longer than the expected.


----------



## kristenbrandt

Super agree.  That’s annoying and truly a case of soccer’s most worthless phrase, “unlucky”.

To your point, I took a call from the insurance company of the kid who rear ended my car two days before our flight to WDW as we exited GE last week. Probably should have let that go to vm, but it was “important”. I slightly moved my mask to be able to accept the phone call and was quickly trying to move off to the side, near an empty walk way/landscaping area (away from people other than my fam) and the kids said a CM was saying something to me. I was focused on accepting the call and getting to a spot I could fully engage, so totally missed getting chastised, but like you, felt getting called out wasn’t _that_ necessary.

We weren’t trying to figure out how to tour a park with minimal masking. But I’m not a 20 year old CM with covid specific job training. As a 47 yo mom of two, my situational awareness/teen boy police/BS meter is probably better suited to working at WDW now more than ever  but I obliged as well.  Rules are what they  currently are.

I hope the rest of your trip is awesome.  And not unlucky.


----------



## paradesintherain

So, I've been reading this thread religiously, but I'm still kinda confused about my scenario. 

I booked an Oga's Cantina ADR at 7:55, thinking it was 5 minutes before close, which I've read is a lot of fun because you get to walk out in an empty Galaxy's Edge. However, the park actually closes at 7 that night, so it's 55 minutes AFTER close. Has anyone done this, or is it some sort of error?


----------



## katyringo

paradesintherain said:


> So, I've been reading this thread religiously, but I'm still kinda confused about my scenario.
> 
> I booked an Oga's Cantina ADR at 7:55, thinking it was 5 minutes before close, which I've read is a lot of fun because you get to walk out in an empty Galaxy's Edge. However, the park actually closes at 7 that night, so it's 55 minutes AFTER close. Has anyone done this, or is it some sort of error?


It’s fine. Go to galexys edge and hang out and chill until it’s some for your ADR


----------



## katyringo

Got in bus line for AK from pop at 6am. First in line. Bus came around 650. We are about 10th in line for FOP.  Feeling good about today! They are holding the line. The ride hasn’t started yet.


----------



## Eastern

wilkydelts said:


> Headed to BTMR said 30 was 28, wife and kids got in line. I got child swap +2 and went to look for dropped baby lovie (no luck)



I know this is an important item. My advice is to call and ask if the lost and found is operating. I have had very good luck with getting things returned; they have a great system in normal times.

Too late now but for next time: stop in later at the ride and ask about the item. And on your way out, stop at main guest services to inquire in case someone picked it up and dropped it off on their way out. After that it goes to main lost and found.

I lost a magic band in Dumbo and when I went back to ask the ride operator they had it. Son lost sunglasses on a rollercoaster, stopped by main GS on way out of MK, they were there, couldn't believe it, etc. I have returned many 'low value' items to GS so definitely check.

My guess is that no guests will be picking up items currently so items will be even more likely to be picked up by a CM and sent to the appropriate area.


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## katyringo

Alright. Like I said we lined up for bus to AK from pop at 6am. We’re some of the first people in AK. Rode FOP around 745, rode Navi river as a walk on right after, got Starbucks and a cinnamon roll. Sat and ate. Just rode Everest and we are in line for Everest again as it’s a short wait and we really enjoyed it! Park hasn’t been open an hour yet and we have already accomplished everything on our must do list here! Will head to the safari after this. We plan to head to Disney springs this afternoon and evening.


----------



## sbbwdw

katyringo said:


> Alright. Like I said we lined up for bus to AK from pop at 6am. We’re some of the first people in AK. Rode FOP around 745, rode Navi river as a walk on right after, got Starbucks and a cinnamon roll. Sat and ate. Just rode Everest and we are in line for Everest again as it’s a short wait and we really enjoyed it! Park hasn’t been open an hour yet and we have already accomplished everything on our must do list here! Will head to the safari after this. We plan to head to Disney springs this afternoon and evening.


What time did they actually let you in AK?  Was there a big back up of people waiting to get in?  Going next Sat.  Thanks!


----------



## DisneyNDecember

teach22180 said:


> Last week I ubered to Boardwalk,  Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge for breakfasts. The Uber driver just said dropping off for breakfast each time and was let in with no problem.


Is wilderness lodge boats still going to and from magic kingdom?


----------



## vital

DeterminedOne said:


> OMG! This is so sweet. I’m going to HS 11/7. How exciting to be celebrating your 50th at WDW? That makes me feel so happy inside.


We'll be there in December so we'll miss you. I think you'd be fine walking that path alone and feel like a rockstar when you finished! There's usually a lot of people along those paths so you wouldn't be totally alone.


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## yulilin3

bakenatj said:


> I don't believe they are allowed to accept monetary gifts. A card, or thank you note, I've even heard snacks they can accept.


There's a guest that visits almost daily,  he's in a scooter with gallon ziploc bags of candy and just drives around handing them out to cm. They look forward to it


----------



## yulilin3

Kimpossible1 said:


> To acknowledge a CM, you can also post on Twitter with the #castcompliment.  They will get a certificate, and be as specific as possible and if you don't remember the name, try to remember what they looked like, or the time.  They post them backstage for others to see that the recognition they received.  Also make sure it is #castcompliment or # cast compliment....not #cast complaint (LOL!!)


The page is not being staffed right now  so this won't make it to the cm


----------



## FinallyFL

sbbwdw said:


> What time did they actually let you in AK?  Was there a big back up of people waiting to get in?  Going next Sat.  Thanks!


I drove to AK this morning and they opened the parking lot around 7:10am. I was about 10 cars back and by the time I had parked and walked to the entrance it was open. There wasn't a backup at security or the turnstiles so I assume the entrance had been open for awhile. I was in line at EE by 7:30. They waited to start running EE until 7:55 but I was able to ride it 4 times before 8:30. For most of my wait time there were only 4 groups in line so it was understandable to wait until the official open time to start running the ride.


----------



## disneygirlsng

Yea, so it sounds like it's not any different than it was in August in regards to eating/drinking in line.

On your marker, stationary, and distanced from others (as the announcements say, stationary and distanced) = ok to take mask off for a quick sip/bite or two.
Moving while in line = not ok.


----------



## katyringo

sbbwdw said:


> What time did they actually let you in AK?  Was there a big back up of people waiting to get in?  Going next Sat.  Thanks!


 
maybe 720-730?


----------



## SuJo

DisneyNDecember said:


> Is wilderness lodge boats still going to and from magic kingdom?


Yes, just rode it today


----------



## SuJo

Social distancing at MK today not good


----------



## fbb

wilkydelts said:


> I will post more later but I am in Magic Kingdom today and have had very little issues. Longest wait was 40 for pirates. Everything is shorter than posted. I have many opposing feelings to those talking about MK crowds and difficulties today
> 
> You can tell more traffic picked up about 3:30 probably more AP people



Similar experience yesterday. Everything up until about 5:30pm was slightly shorter than the posted wait, and after 5:30pm each ride was at the posted wait or slightly longer.


----------



## bastraker

We went to HS this morning from the beach club.  We walked and left around 745am. We were the 4th group in line for temp check. 

Walked right through security and into the park by 9am. We went straight to MMRR. We were on the second train. Walked to toy story and walked on that. Then walked on aliens. 

After that we walked to Starbucks. By that time it was 940am! Great start to our morning!


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## SuJo

Lots of noses out, lots of walking and eating, not following the distances when waiting in line, it is really crowded, if this is 25% I would be shocked to see it at 100% and I’ve been here during Easter week.


----------



## EMHDad

I know it is wrong for offsite guests to park at a resort and walk to the park. Not asking about that. Here’s my question... we are staying at YC. Are we able to drive to CR. Order and have breakfast. Then walk over to MK. We are staying on property and would be using one parking lot over another for the day. Or would Disney take action against us (ie towing). I don’t want to have to bus to MK and then walk to CR, and not sure if buses will be going in time. Only other option is Uber.


----------



## scrappinginontario

EMHDad said:


> I know it is wrong for offsite guests to park at a resort and walk to the park. Not asking about that. Here’s my question... we are staying at YC. Are we able to drive to CR. Order and have breakfast. Then walk over to MK. We are staying on property and would be using one parking lot over another for the day. Or would Disney take action against us (ie towing). I don’t want to have to bus to MK and then walk to CR, and not sure if buses will be going in time. Only other option is Uber.


 This is not allowed.  

Can you imagine how difficult it would be for CR guests to find parking if many did this?  Pop Century alone has almost 3,000 guest rooms!

Parking at a resort with an ADR is limited to 3 hours for a very good reason.


----------



## dachsie

bastraker said:


> We went to HS this morning from the beach club.  We walked and left around 745am. We were the 4th group in line for temp check.
> 
> Walked right through security and into the park by 9am. We went straight to MMRR. We were on the second train. Walked to toy story and walked on that. Then walked on aliens.
> 
> After that we walked to Starbucks. By that time it was 940am! Great start to our morning!


What time did they start MMRR?


----------



## scrappinginontario

dachsie said:


> What time did they start MMRR?


Just a heads up that they appear to open the rides at different times each day so what happened today is no indication of what may happen tomorrow or the day after.


----------



## Disneybuckeye

SuJo said:


> Lots of noses out, lots of walking and eating, not following the distances when waiting in line, it is really crowded, if this is 25% I would be shocked to see it at 100% and I’ve been here during Easter week.



We just returned home this morning after an 8 day stay. I saw two noses our entire trip and minimal eating and walking.  I agree some people did not always stop on the lines correctly, but I never felt like other parties were on top of us.

Social distancing while walking does not happen very often, but it did not bother me as we passed by very quickly.

If you have concerns about the above I would encourage you to not visit at this time.


----------



## katyringo

Can we talk abo merchandise. So as a Disneyland vet it’s possible this is always how it has been, but it’s the same merchandise everywhere we go. I’m not sure this is a Covid thing or a WDW thing. At Disneyland there are deff some merch only available in certain places in the park. A CM told me that many of their suppliers are still furloughed and so they don’t see much new merch. I visited Disney springs on Wednesday night and looked around. I’m glad I did that because then through all the parks this week I’ve been able to walk away and wait until we visited springs to buy. But it got a bit old seeing the same exact stuff everywhere... again not sure if this is a Covid thing or not. The new make a wish stuff is all over the parks. I got the cup.


----------



## Surr

Disneybuckeye said:


> We just returned home this morning after an 8 day stay. I saw two noses our entire trip and minimal eating and walking.  I agree some people did not always stop on the lines correctly, but I never felt like other parties were on top of us.
> 
> Social distancing while walking does not happen very often, but it did not bother me as we passed by very quickly.
> 
> If you have concerns about the above I would encourage you to not visit at this time.



We just returned, last Sunday, from a 9-day stay.  We saw way more than two noses a day.  We saw cast members telling several people a day to put their masks on properly, or gesturing for them to pull them over their nose.  I do agree that walking around and eating/drinking isn't a big problem, but we did see it frequently.   We also experienced a number of people crowding in behind us in line, completely ignoring social distancing.   My guess is if you aren't looking for it, you don't see it.  

When occupancy limits were being enforced in shops, we didn't have much of a problem with distancing, but there were a few occasions where it was not enforced and was a bit crowded for comfort.  

That said, I do believe the parks are at 25% capacity.  All you have to do is look at most open areas, these would typically be very crowded with people.  The wait times are as long as they are is because they have limited capacity.  Also, it is due to the closures of many attractions (shows), restaurants, and shops.


----------



## SuJo

Disneybuckeye said:


> We just returned home this morning after an 8 day stay. I saw two noses our entire trip and minimal eating and walking.  I agree some people did not always stop on the lines correctly, but I never felt like other parties were on top of us.
> 
> Social distancing while walking does not happen very often, but it did not bother me as we passed by very quickly.
> 
> If you have concerns about the above I would encourage you to not visit at this time.


We have been here all week and this was the first time I felt uncomfortable. For most of the week everyone was doing a great job, we felt good at all 4 parks,  But today at MK not sure why but things were just not done well.  We got in line for haunted mansion and the group behind us kept coming up to us, when we were doing the switchbacks groups ahead were not distancing so groups stood right next to each other.   We left after 2 hours because we just didn’t feel comfortable.  All the other days were great.


----------



## katyringo

Saturday night in Disney springs certainly brings the crowds. Social distancing pretty much not a thing and the worst mask compliance we’ve seen in our 5 days here. 2-3 People flat out not wearing them as they walk around. We would still come but if something like that would really bother you I would avoid the weekend.  We were able to get a walk in table at paddlefish around 4pm. Long line for world of Disney right in the sun but it moves fast.

I think after 5 days here’s what I have to say about masks and social distancing.

forget about social distancing. The only place it’s really being followed is the ride lines. Personally I think they need to do away with the social distancing markers and such. I know this thread isn’t to debate Covid protocols. I can just say that the new “rules” being followed is that to be exposed you need to be exposed for 15 minutes or longer without face masks. No one is social distancing outside the lines. We line the street for the calvacades, shop next to each other, take every inch of available seating throughout the park. It’s just not happening. It doesn’t bother me one bit but if it will bother you best not go.

other then tonight in Disney springs mask compliance has been very high.


----------



## bastraker

dachsie said:


> What time did they start MMRR?


Right at 9am.


----------



## wilkydelts

Day 3: 10/24 Hollywood Studios

At tolls by 8:45 about 9 deep at all tolls. Opened tolls at 8:58

In line for MMRR by 9:20. Line started moving almost immediately. Off at 9:57, scored BG 23!

Headed to Toy Story Mania said 30 was walk on through long winding queue 

Headed to Alien SS said 30 was 16

Went to RNRC said 60 was 37, my wife and one kid went first I child swapped it and then got in ToT line said 55 was 35. 

Got called for RISE at 12:00 had to finish RNRC child swap first and saved ToT child swap for later

Entered RISE 12:35 off 1:12. Wife than did her swap for RISE

Had 50s Primetime lunch at 1:40 seated 1:50

After lunch got in line for Disney Jr 3:30 show at 3:15.. just made the cut for capacity

Went to SDD said 60 was 46, had to child swap it and did our swap back to back

After I was done with child swap I met up with wife and returned a kid to her for Frozen Sing-a-long for 5:30 showing. I went with my son to use our ToT child swap from earlier

They did Frozen. Son and I went to Star Tours said 20 was 10. Then walked around Batuu and waited for them for Smugglers Run. MFSR said 40 was 45, wife than swapped out. That was the last thing for the day!


----------



## scrappinginontario

bastraker said:


> Right at 9am.


9am (if the park opened at 10) or 10am?  Not saying it didn’t happen but I haven’t heard of it starting that early.


----------



## BK2014

What time are they letting people into Epcot when the park is scheduled to open at 11:00 a.m.? International Gateway vs parking lot?


----------



## bastraker

scrappinginontario said:


> 9am (if the park opened at 10) or 10am?  Not saying it didn’t happen but I haven’t heard of it starting that early.


We were the 4th family in line for temp check. Straight through security and immediately to the ride. The temp scan was at 9am so maybe 905am on the ride. They did not hold us at all. We were on the second train.


----------



## teach22180

DisneyNDecember said:


> Is wilderness lodge boats still going to and from magic kingdom?


Yes I took the boat after breakfast.


----------



## tkouri

tcherjen said:


> I’m at Pop right now.
> Today was our EPCOT day. I got up early, so I could post what time the lines are starting. MK and AK both had people lining up at 6:45.
> We go to MK tomorrow, so I will post back on our experience.
> The skyline to HS and EPCOT was empty at that time.
> We got in line at 9 and it was long but moved quickly.
> We got to the transfer station and were held there for EPCOT till 9:50.
> We got into Epcot at 10:05. Walked into WS and headed to Soaring.
> Frozen was a crazy line, will attempt to ride it tonight.
> They held us at Soaring till 11 am for the ride.
> Overall the day was pleasant so far at Epcot


When you are allowed in to Epcot before 11, was anything open in World Showcase?


----------



## cyclonemama

bastraker said:


> We were the 4th family in line for temp check. Straight through security and immediately to the ride. The temp scan was at 9am so maybe 905am on the ride. They did not hold us at all. We were on the second train.



This is true.  We were there too.


----------



## tcherjen

tkouri said:


> When you are allowed in to Epcot before 11, was anything open in World Showcase?


Yea allowed to enter. Nothing was open. We were able to go to the ride we wanted and wait.
We went to Soarin and waited like 6th in line for park opening to ride.


----------



## bad91922

wilkydelts said:


> Day 3: 10/24 Hollywood Studios
> 
> At tolls by 8:45 about 9 deep at all tolls. Opened tolls at 8:58
> 
> In line for MMRR by 9:20. Line started moving almost immediately. Off at 9:57, scored BG 23!
> 
> Headed to Toy Story Mania said 30 was walk on through long winding queue
> 
> Headed to Alien SS said 30 was 16
> 
> Went to RNRC said 60 was 37, my wife and one kid went first I child swapped it and then got in ToT line said 55 was 35.
> 
> Got called for RISE at 12:00 had to finish RNRC child swap first and saved ToT child swap for later
> 
> Entered RISE 12:35 off 1:12. Wife than did her swap for RISE
> 
> Had 50s Primetime lunch at 1:40 seated 1:50
> 
> After lunch got in line for Disney Jr 3:30 show at 3:15.. just made the cut for capacity
> 
> Went to SDD said 60 was 46, had to child swap it and did our swap back to back
> 
> After I was done with child swap I met up with wife and returned a kid to her for Frozen Sing-a-long for 5:30 showing. I went with my son to use our ToT child swap from earlier
> 
> They did Frozen. Son and I went to Star Tours said 20 was 10. Then walked around Batuu and waited for them for Smugglers Run. MFSR said 40 was 45, wife than swapped out. That was the last thing for the day!


Sounds like a great day with timing and multiple kids!


----------



## katyringo

This will probably be my last post unless something crazy happens today. We are heading to MK this morning and then have to be back around 1 for MDE back to the airport.  But I wanted to show the bud line today. On Friday we arrived at 7 am magic kingdom bus line and we’re about 15 folks back but made the first bus. This morning we left our room a little earlier because we needed to drop luggage. At 645 we are still about 10 groups back.  So just know that by 7am today, Sunday, you wouldn’t catch the first bus. However they send bud after bus after bus.. so this is the line by 7am for a MK 9 am opening from pop.


----------



## RedK

I just came back from a trip 10/18-10/23 staying at Carribean Beach Resort.

I flew down on Southwest, 75/175 seats filled per the flight attendant. After research and thought, I chose to sit in the back of the plane,4 rows from the back. I figured that would be the emptiest section, and if anyone wasn't wearing a mask and coughed, their germs would go forward, so I would have low exposure potential. I didn't want to be in the very last row in case of people standing and waiting for the lavatory. I ended up with my entire row empty except for me, and empty rows in front of me and behind me. Since I was going to have to wait for my checked bags anyway, this seating made me feel safer.

I arrived at the resort about noon and my room was not ready, so I checked my luggage and went to AK, arriving about 1. I did Kali x2 listed 30 minutes, 15 minutes wait. Then I did the Safari, and ITTBAB. I ubered to DS. There was a long line to get into World of Disney but it went quick, then dinner at Jaleo. OMG Jaleo. It was so amazing, and is now a must-do for any future trips. There was a bus waiting when I got to the circle, so a quick trip back to get my luggage and check into my room. Bell Services said that CR usually has 12-14 FT bell services staff and 6-7 PT. Only 4-5 FT staff were brought back to Bell Services. That says a lot about the number of people at the resort.

Day 2 at MK. I made the mistake of trying the Mickey Waffles at Centertown Market QS. They are as awful as others have said. I honestly didn't think it was possible to make them that bad. At least the eggs and sausage were good. I arrived at MK about 11:30. Shopped then had lunch at Liberty Tavern, which was terrific. Did HM (listed 40 waited 20) Then BTMR x2 listed 40 but walkon as it had started to rain. HM listed 40 waited 15. So strange not to see the Liberty Bell waiting for riders. Peter Pan listed 40 waited 25. Got a a drink at Cosmic Rays and relaxed for an hour while it rained buckets. About 5 pm I walked on Astro Orbiter, then got in line for 7DMT listed 60 waited 30. I left the park about 6:20 and there was a bus waiting.

Day 3 HS. I ubered to Yacht Club for an early reservation at Ale+Compass. Uber dropped me off at the Convention Center, and there are no signs there about how to get to the resort, so I wandered around lost for a few minutes. Great food at A+C. Headed towards HS about 8 - that walk seemed endless. Lots of joggers out. It's amazing to me that someone can walk so much at WDW and still have energy to jog. There were about 200 people in front of me by the time I reached HS, and by the time they let people go to the temperature booths, there were about 800 behind me. Stay left as there are twice as many temp check stations on the left. I went right to SWGE - only 5 others went with me, so we had the whole things to ourselves. I was the first on on Falcon, and I have to admit, I nearly cried when I jumped her to lightspeed #geek. I walked on a second time, then walked on TSMM all before 9 am. I was able to get BG 61, but no one else near me got a BG. I went back to the resort for lunch and some pool time. I made the tragic mistake of having the fish tacos at Centretown Market. Learn from my mistake. Don't eat them. They were so incredibly awful I still can't believe they tried to pass them off as food. I headed back to HS about 1:30. BG 61 called at 2:45. ROTR was every bit as amazing as people say. Did AS listed 15 waited 5, Star Tours listed 20 waited 10, Got a rontoroast at Docking Bay 7 (yummy!) and called it a day. I would have liked to do more rides but everythign else was listed at 85 minutes or more, which I figured was probably at least an hour's wait, and I simply wouldn't wait that long.

Day 4 Epcot. had a bowl of cereal in the courtyard outside of my room, then headed to Epcot. Walked on Soarin x 2, Land 2 x, then got the Pulled Pork at the Hawaii booth. headed to Figment where there was a 10 minute line. A line at Figment!at12:30 on a Wednesday - Crazy! Headed to SE listed 20 waited 40. They didn't take a picture of my face and put it on Future Me. Grabbed the corned beef nachos and steak chimichurri at Flavors of Fire (yum!) then headed into the World Showcase. Lines at Mexico and Frozen were hideously long so I skipped them. I got a glass of wine at Tutto Gusto. The trains weren't running by Germany. At that point my SIL texted me asked me to buy a bunch of presents for her family, and Epcot didn't have what they wanted. I headed to DS for a quick shopping trip, then back to my resort. I tried to Doordash dinner, but while the app showed multiple restaurants as available, when I tried to order I got a message saying I was outside their delivery area. I tried Roayl Indian, Carrabas, Millers Ale House, 360 American bistro, and Chilis. Literally could not find a Doordash restaurant that would deliver to CR. i call the front desk who couldn't help. I then tried Uber Eats, and was able to order successfully from Millers Ale House - the same restaurant that said i was outside of delivery range for Doordash. It made me wonder if the real problem was trying to order via Doordash. This was not a good day. So much is walled off or closed at Epcot, and lines were very very long in the afternoon. Then not being able to get dinner. I thought seriously about cutting my trip short and leaving a day early.

Day 5 MK got to the bus stop at 7:30 and there were 5 family in front of me. Only one family could get on the first bus, but a second one showed up by 8:10 and I was at the park by 8:30. Walked on BTMR as Splash wasn't running yet, then got in line for Splash about 8:45. it started promptly at 9 and had a fun ride. Then Pirates (listed 30 10 minute wait), HM (Listed 30, waited 10), Mermaids (listed 20 waited 20), Carousel (listed 35 waited 20), Space Ranger (listed 40 waited 30). Carousel of Progress (waited 10) Had lunch at Pecos Bill's - the carnitas was a lot better than I thought it would be. Visited the Hall of Presidents., did some shopping. I walked over to Rivera and got the cheese and charcuterie platters from the Petit Cafe. I took them back to CBR, grabbed a glass of wine, and had a simple dinner in the gardens at Cay Carribean where I could hear the pool music. This ended up being a great day, and I'm glad I didn't go home early after all.

Day 6 AK and home. Got bell services to pick up my luggage about 6:30. Got to the bus stop at 7:30 and in the park by 7:40. Got the end of the FOP line by 7:55 and was off the ride at 8:31. Headed straight to Navi and off it at 9:30. Walked on Kali x 2, then Safari listed 20 waited 10. Lunch at Satuli canteen. Have you noticed how many dishes have the same slaw on it? It was on the fish tacos, the rontoroast, the carnitas bowl, and now on the chicken bowl at Satuli. Food services must make that stuff in a vat. Everest was down, so no roller coaster for me.  I shopped for a bit, then headed to the bus at noon. I spent an hour at the pool (showers are closed, but you can rinse off at the outdoor shower by the hot tub), and headed back to the airport on the Tragical Express. 85/143 seats filled on the flight home. Soooo tired.

As someone who generally goes to the park once per year, I will not return for a long time. On day 1, you are just glad to be there, and you think the lines are manageable. On Day 2 you see how few places there are to eat, and that dinner is a real problem. The best option is Disney Springs, and frankly, after a day at the park, I don't always want to bother with that. By day 3, you see how much is closed - food carts, rides, shops, character meets - and you realize how much is missing from the Normal. Full Price isn't worth it. By day 4, you are just so tired of lines. Lines for the bus to get to a line for the temperature check to get to a line for security to get to a line to magic band into the park to get to line after line after line for rides or food. The experiences are fun, but a ride is 2 minutes and you spend 20 in line. If you are local where this is normal because you didn't have fast pass, you'll be ok. But as an occasional visitor, it got old fast.

Like many people, I've had a really terrible year, and it was nice to have something to plan for and look forward to. It was nice to walk so much that I was too tired to worry or grieve. But if this is your first time? Or you only go once a year? or you are paying full price? I'm not sure I would recommend it. I think WDW is best right now for people who go frequently enough at a low enough cost like locals or APs that the value will still be there for the cost.


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## Brett Wyman

I know Disney Springs has been in bad shape, mask usage wise, since day one.  But does anyone have experience with Disney Springs early morning on weekdays? We will be doing a mid-December resort only stay at Saratoga Springs and would love to walk over to DS, but only if it's safe to do so. We are fine with early morning since we have littles that rise early anyway.


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## LSUfan4444

Brett Wyman said:


> only if it's safe to do so



There's no evidence that Disney Springs is unsafe at any time but obviously there will be less people there anytime the parks are open. They don't open until 10am so not sure what you consider "early morning".


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## Brett Wyman

LSUfan4444 said:


> There's no evidence that Disney Springs is unsafe at any time but obviously there will be less people there anytime the parks are open. They don't open until 10am so not sure what you consider "early morning".



The unsafe part is debatable sure. But the very low mask usage is not. We don't want to be around large crowds ignoring the rules.

We are looking for feedback from someone who's as actually been there on a weekday morning to see what thats like.


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## LSUfan4444

I've been there at 10 am when it opened...there are less people, more distanced. Not sure what other info you are looking for.


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## Brett Wyman

LSUfan4444 said:


> I've been there at 10 am when it opened...there are less people, more distanced. Not sure what other info you are looking for.



That sounds promising.


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## LSUfan4444

I guess it depends on why you would be going. If you just want to shop and look around, just like the parks, opening will offer some of the lowest crowds of the day.


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## lovethattink

Brett Wyman said:


> I know Disney Springs has been in bad shape, mask usage wise, since day one.  But does anyone have experience with Disney Springs early morning on weekdays? We will be doing a mid-December resort only stay at Saratoga Springs and would love to walk over to DS, but only if it's safe to do so. We are fine with early morning since we have littles that rise early anyway.



My DIL works at Disney Springs. We met her a few times at opening and felt much safer then. One day we met her after work and it was much harder to social distance. I thought mask wearing compliance was pretty good each time we’ve been there.

WoD was walk in those mornings we were there at opening. But the evening we met her, we waited in a huge line to enter the store. So we’ll only go first thing anymore.


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## FinallyFL

I walked to the TTC from the Poly at 7:55 this morning. They opened the temp tents at 8:05 just as I saw people emerging from the parking lot walkway. I took the first monorail running on the non-resort loop and it left around 8:10. When I arrived that there was no backup on the walkway from BLT or at the turnstiles. 7DMT started running shortly after I got in line, probably around 8:30. After 7DMT, I rode BTMR twice, POC and JC by 9:45; all were basically walk-ons.


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## katyringo

Alright one more thing about our trip since this mornings. First off we were on the first bus from pop and in the park by 815 and off mine train by 820-830. On and off space by 850ish, done with haunted mansion by 910is and pirates by 930ish. And that was it for us as we accomplished everything we had hoped to for the entire trip. We got a comfy in the shade spot on Main Street with some Gaston cinnamon rolls and watched the calvacades.   When I went to sleepy hollow, however around 11 things got dicy. I really wanted the pumpkin Mickey waffle sundae or I would have Mobil ordered somewhere. Very long line directly in the sun there. If this is a must for you, try to get there when they open or wait until late in the day.  I think Disney needs to open more food options in all the parks.


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## disneyseniors

katyringo said:


> Alright one more thing about our trip since this mornings. First off we were on the first bus from pop and in the park by 815 and off mine train by 820-830. On and off space by 850ish, done with haunted mansion by 910is and pirates by 930ish. And that was it for us as we accomplished everything we had hoped to for the entire trip. We got a comfy in the shade spot on Main Street with some Gaston cinnamon rolls and watched the calvacades.   When I went to sleepy hollow, however around 11 things got dicy. I really wanted the pumpkin Mickey waffle sundae or I would have Mobil ordered somewhere. Very long line directly in the sun there. If this is a must for you, try to get there when they open or wait until late in the day.  I think Disney needs to open more food options in all the parks.



Thanks for your daily trip reports.  They were very informative and I agree with alot of what you have to say about the masks, etc.   Sounds like a good trip all in all.  It's still not "right" for us at this time.  Not due to masks, but due to less experiences for the same money.  So we will wait til it is normal again.
If disney springs is not run by disney, can't they open up completely as all of Florida seems to be?  Or are they controlled by disney?   I'm just curious about the arrangement with WDW and DS.  Thanks


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## soniam

katyringo said:


> Alright one more thing about our trip since this mornings. First off we were on the first bus from pop and in the park by 815 and off mine train by 820-830. On and off space by 850ish, done with haunted mansion by 910is and pirates by 930ish. And that was it for us as we accomplished everything we had hoped to for the entire trip. We got a comfy in the shade spot on Main Street with some Gaston cinnamon rolls and watched the calvacades.   When I went to sleepy hollow, however around 11 things got dicy. I really wanted the pumpkin Mickey waffle sundae or I would have Mobil ordered somewhere. Very long line directly in the sun there. If this is a must for you, try to get there when they open or wait until late in the day.  I think Disney needs to open more food options in all the parks.



MK is the worst for food right now. I realized that there's hardly any QS for breakfast. Really only Starbuck's and Gaston's cinnamon roll, unless you consider chicken & waffles or funnel cake breakfast food.


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## lovethattink

disneyseniors said:


> Thanks for your daily trip reports.  They were very informative and I agree with alot of what you have to say about the masks, etc.   Sounds like a good trip all in all.  It's still not "right" for us at this time.  Not due to masks, but due to less experiences for the same money.  So we will wait til it is normal again.
> If disney springs is not run by disney, can't they open up completely as all of Florida seems to be?  Or are they controlled by disney?   I'm just curious about the arrangement with WDW and DS.  Thanks



Their limits are set by Disney. For example, T-Rex and Rainforest Cafe are owned by Landry’s but Disney sets capacity for them.


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## makewi

My wife, sister and mother and I are all staying in a Copper Creek cabin for a 3 day weekend.  Attendance at Wilderness Lodge seems pretty light.  Pool chairs were probably a little leas than half occupied, and there is a good amount of space between swimmers.  Whispering Canyon is spacing roughly every other table.  Geyser Point pool bar is about the same.  We are only getting carry out, mobile orders, from Roaring Fork which is not crowded.  Orders have been ready in less than 20 minutes.  The lodge has plenty of open spaces for sitting if you are so inclined.

For a resort only vacation I have been pleased with crowd levels, even on a Saturday.


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## SugarSweetLee

katyringo said:


> Can we talk abo merchandise. So as a Disneyland vet it’s possible this is always how it has been, but it’s the same merchandise everywhere we go. I’m not sure this is a Covid thing or a WDW thing. At Disneyland there are deff some merch only available in certain places in the park. A CM told me that many of their suppliers are still furloughed and so they don’t see much new merch. I visited Disney springs on Wednesday night and looked around. I’m glad I did that because then through all the parks this week I’ve been able to walk away and wait until we visited springs to buy. But it got a bit old seeing the same exact stuff everywhere... again not sure if this is a Covid thing or not. The new make a wish stuff is all over the parks. I got the cup.



I think it's been heading that way for a while. I noticed in our trips the last couple of years that very few shops had special/unique items that you couldn't find to buy at another location.


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## katyringo

soniam said:


> MK is the worst for food right now. I realized that there's hardly any QS for breakfast. Really only Starbuck's and Gaston's cinnamon roll, unless you consider chicken & waffles or funnel cake breakfast food.


Not even because sleepy hollow doesn’t open until 11.  Gastons and Starbucks are really it until 1030-11..


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## dachsie

katyringo said:


> Not even because sleepy hollow doesn’t open until 11.  Gastons and Starbucks are really it until 1030-11..


So that is confusing. There is a breakfast menu til 11 and the website says they open at 9 but you are saying they aren’t opening til 11.  I was counting on the Nutella waffle.


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## scrappinginontario

soniam said:


> MK is the worst for food right now. I realized that there's hardly any QS for breakfast. Really only Starbuck's and Gaston's cinnamon roll, unless you consider chicken & waffles or funnel cake breakfast food.


IMHO MK has always been rough finding food for breakfast.


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## lynch34

scrappinginontario said:


> IMHO MK has always been rough finding food for breakfast.



Agreed and it’s not a great food spot regardless of meal.


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## yulilin3

soniam said:


> MK is the worst for food right now. I realized that there's hardly any QS for breakfast. Really only Starbuck's and Gaston's cinnamon roll, unless you consider chicken & waffles or funnel cake breakfast food.


At sleepy hollow they have the nutella and fruit waffle,  i consider that excellent breakfast,  lunch , dinner,  snack food ;D


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## DeterminedOne

@RedK - What all did you have at Jaleo? I have an ADR there soon. Although, I just saw a pic of crab legs and thought about changing to my fave - Paddlefish. I'm not going to, though. Been wanting to try Jaleo for a while. Do you know if they still serve the paella? I don't see it on the menu.


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## katyringo

dachsie said:


> So that is confusing. There is a breakfast menu til 11 and the website says they open at 9 but you are saying they aren’t opening til 11.  I was counting on the Nutella waffle.



maybe I’m wrong but the app states it doesn’t open until 11.


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## Sarahslay

yulilin3 said:


> At sleepy hollow they have the nutella and fruit waffle,  i consider that excellent breakfast,  lunch , dinner,  snack food ;D





dachsie said:


> So that is confusing. There is a breakfast menu til 11 and the website says they open at 9 but you are saying they aren’t opening til 11.  I was counting on the Nutella waffle.


They've taken the nutella waffle off the menu, unfortunately, so no chance of getting that. You can get a funnel cake, hand dipped corn dog or sweet and spicy chicken waffle. Unfortunately none of those are breakfast foods in my book.


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## Sarahslay

katyringo said:


> maybe I’m wrong but the app states it doesn’t open until 11.


The website says 9 but the app says 11, it's really confusing, but they have removed all the breakfast items so I do think the latter is true


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## HikingFam

Sarahslay said:


> The website says 9 but the app says 11, it's really confusing, but they have removed all the breakfast items so I do think the latter is true


People have reported that the nutella waffle is still available in the morning, just not after 11:00?  None of it makes sense...


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## Sarahslay

HikingFam said:


> People have reported that the nutella waffle is still available in the morning, just not after 11:00?  None of it makes sense...


I have a friend who just got back from a trip with her girls and wasn't able to get it, it's what she was really looking forward to. I don't know, I just know what I heard from her and news from DFB.


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## Disneytrippin'

Has everyone forgotten Churros? I find that the breakfast of champions.


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## dachsie

Sarahslay said:


> The website says 9 but the app says 11, it's really confusing, but they have removed all the breakfast items so I do think the latter is true


No - DFB posted the picture of the Breakfast menu that has the Nutella waffle, mickey waffle with powdered sugar and funnel cake as breakfast items

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020...alloween-and-an-update-on-the-nutella-waffle/


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## Silas5

When I was there on 10/13 I was able to order the nutella and fruit waffle. I honestly don't remember what time of day it was.


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## MinnieMSue

Disneytrippin' said:


> Has everyone forgotten Churros? I find that the breakfast of champions.




our March trip is going to be churro themed. My daughter is obsessed with them (and I of course enjoy them too). We are going to try to find as many churros (different varieties of them) as we can in the parks. (Not hit every regular churro stand in every park but prob a lot of them lol)


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## Fitzwoman27

Disneytrippin' said:


> Has everyone forgotten Churros? I find that the breakfast of champions.


Our trip is nov15-22, that’s all my 20something son is talking about...


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## katyringo

Sarahslay said:


> They've taken the nutella waffle off the menu, unfortunately, so no chance of getting that. You can get a funnel cake, hand dipped corn dog or sweet and spicy chicken waffle. Unfortunately none of those are breakfast foods in my book.



they had the Nutella waffle today. It’s not listed on the app but you could order it. Same with the pumpkin sundae- not listed in the app but you can order it.


----------



## wilkydelts

Day 4: 10/25 Animal Kingdom 8a-6p

Arrived at toll booths at 7:10. Shocked to find out that they were already letting people through!!!

Straight into Pandora to FOP in line at 7:35 and line started moving immediately. No clear posted time. Wife took kids and I did swap. Took them 50 to totally through and off.

Went to Navi River next to stay ahead of lines plus whole family can ride. Navi said 30 was 22

Back to FOP with my swap +2 headed over to Everest at 9:35.

Everest said 35 was 20. Wife child swapped it. Then we did stand by again to save whole family worth of child swaps for later. Second Everest said 45 was 30. While waiting we saw several cavalcades. AK is by far easiest to randomly see them compared to other parks.

Went to Tough to Be a Bug said 20 was 16

Head to Yak and Yeti reservation at 11:45 seated almost immediately. Finished and out at 12:50

Looked at Monkeys for a moment than went to 1:30 UP! Birds show at 1:10 and got seated in theater which is nice because it is shaded over headed.

Watched a guy argue with CMs over the bottom strap untie mainly because he refused to correct when asked.

Did Jungle Trek then back to Everest for our two sets of child swaps finished both those by 3:00 (second swap got caught in cleaning cycle)

Went to Gorilla Falls and saw the baby and other animals. Next stopped at Safari (3:38) said 15 was 8. They were loading every row. Very hot due to installed dividers, much less air flow.

Got some Dole Whips in Africa.

Went to Navi River for one last family ride at 5:05 said 50 was 45, FOP was listed at 55 so it was a tough swallow but we wanted to do one last thing all together and my youngest daughter has an unexplainable fascination with the movie Avatar and she was going nuts first Navi River trip.

That wraps up our trip we were supposed to do 5 days and end with MK tomorrow and fly home late. Between melt downs, exhaustion, and just being sweaty and gross we know it is not feasible to board a plane after a park day. Lucky we have this option due to Covid unexpiring tickets and we can save day 5 for later.

That wraps up my just the facts non biased trip reports. When I get time in the next day I will type my overall thoughts and opinions for how it is here.


----------



## Tracey868

wilkydelts said:


> Day 4: 10/25 Animal Kingdom 8a-6p
> 
> Arrived at toll booths at 7:10. Shocked to find out that they were already letting people through!!!
> 
> Straight into Pandora to FOP in line at 7:35 and line started moving immediately. No clear posted time. Wife took kids and I did swap. Took them 50 to totally through and off.
> 
> Went to Navi River next to stay ahead of lines plus whole family can ride. Navi said 30 was 22
> 
> Back to FOP with my swap +2 headed over to Everest at 9:35.
> 
> Everest said 35 was 20. Wife child swapped it. Then we did stand by again to save whole family worth of child swaps for later. Second Everest said 45 was 30. While waiting we saw several cavalcades. AK is by far easiest to randomly see them compared to other parks.
> 
> Went to Tough to Be a Bug said 20 was 16
> 
> Head to Yak and Yeti reservation at 11:45 seated almost immediately. Finished and out at 12:50
> 
> Looked at Monkeys for a moment than went to 1:30 UP! Birds show at 1:10 and got seated in theater which is nice because it is shaded over headed.
> 
> Watched a guy argue with CMs over the bottom strap untie mainly because he refused to correct when asked.
> 
> Did Jungle Trek then back to Everest for our two sets of child swaps finished both those by 3:00 (second swap got caught in cleaning cycle)
> 
> Went to Gorilla Falls and saw the baby and other animals. Next stopped at Safari (3:38) said 15 was 8. They were loading every row. Very hot due to installed dividers, much less air flow.
> 
> Got some Dole Whips in Africa.
> 
> Went to Navi River for one last family ride at 5:05 said 50 was 45, FOP was listed at 55 so it was a tough swallow but we wanted to do one last thing all together and my youngest daughter has an unexplainable fascination with the movie Avatar and she was going nuts for Navi River trip.
> 
> That wraps up our trip we were supposed to do 5 days and end with MK tomorrow and fly home late. Between melt downs, exhaustion, and just being sweaty and gross we know it is not feasible to board a plane after a park day. Lucky we have this option due to Covid unexpiring tickets and we can save day 5 for later.
> 
> That wraps up my just the facts non biased trip reports. When I get time in the next day I will type my overall thoughts and opinions for how it is here.




May I asked how you got to turnstiles so early?? Did you drive, take a bus,  Etc???   I will be there next Sunday and this sounds like the plan for me!!!!


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## ten6mom

Not really sure where to ask this...

Do the Starbucks locations (both inside each theme park and any outside the park entrance(s) have a full Starbucks menu?  We like to get the sous vide bacon egg bites as a super fast but not super carby breakfast, and otherwise aren't breakfast people but need a little something to start our days.  We would be happy with those for breakfast if we could get them but don't want to count on them if the Starbucks don't do a full "regular store" menu.

Thank you!


----------



## soniam

scrappinginontario said:


> IMHO MK has always been rough finding food for breakfast.



We used to get a chocolate croissant at Gaston's or a the cat tail at Cheshire Cafe. Those and maybe some stuff at Starbuck's is all our son will eat. Unfortunately, Gaston's doesn't seem to the the croissant, and Cheshire Cafe isn't open. Cosmic Ray's has the cat tail, but they don't open until 10:30. So, it's just gotten even worse.



yulilin3 said:


> At sleepy hollow they have the nutella and fruit waffle,  i consider that excellent breakfast,  lunch , dinner,  snack food ;D



That's what I was counting on, until I heard the rumors about it's removal and didn't see it on the menu on the web anymore.



HikingFam said:


> People have reported that the nutella waffle is still available in the morning, just not after 11:00?  None of it makes sense...



Oh, I hope so.



Disneytrippin' said:


> Has everyone forgotten Churros? I find that the breakfast of champions.



In July, we couldn't find a single churro cart in MK. I am not a huge fan of WDW churros; I prefer DLR ones. Our son likes any churro. I didn't realize that the carts were open now. Where have you seen one? Thanks


----------



## katyringo

I bel


ten6mom said:


> Not really sure where to ask this...
> 
> Do the Starbucks locations (both inside each theme park and any outside the park entrance(s) have a full Starbucks menu?  We like to get the sous vide bacon egg bites as a super fast but not super carby breakfast, and otherwise aren't breakfast people but need a little something to start our days.  We would be happy with those for breakfast if we could get them but don't want to count on them if the Starbucks don't do a full "regular store" menu.
> 
> Thank you!



Yes they do plus some other items like a Mickey cinnamon roll. I’m not sure about the egg bites specifically but they had all the other Starbucks breakfast items. We got drinks and food there in magic kingdom and Animal Kingdom.


----------



## M&M's

soniam said:


> In July, we couldn't find a single churro cart in MK. I am not a huge fan of WDW churros; I prefer DLR ones. Our son likes any churro. I didn't realize that the carts were open now. Where have you seen one? Thanks



I know of one in the hub on the way to Liberty Square. I don't know where else they may be right now.


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## TikiTikiFan

So churros carts are a thing there? I’ve heard some folks says churros aren’t as big of a deal at WDW like they are at DL so that makes me so happy to hear! Do they do holiday flavors too?


----------



## cyclonemama

Got a couple questions for everyone:

1.  How early have the first Disney buses to AK been picking up from the resorts? Also, has there been a lineup waiting to get on and how early?

2.  Is it possible to rack up multiple child swaps to use for later? We used to do this all the time pre-COVID, but tried our first day yesterday at HS and they wouldnt even let us get a second one until we used our 1st one from a previous ride.  However I see a previous poster on here just say they racked up multiple ones at AK.  What is the deal?


----------



## soniam

TikiTikiFan said:


> So churros carts are a thing there? I’ve heard some folks says churros aren’t as big of a deal at WDW like they are at DL so that makes me so happy to hear! Do they do holiday flavors too?



They only have 1 flavor: original. They aren't the same recipe, and they are smaller. I don't think the ones at WDW are nearly as good as the ones at DLR. Often the ones at DLR are warm; whereas, we always get cold, and sometimes hard, ones at WDW.


----------



## Elle23

Fitzwoman27 said:


> Our trip is nov15-22, that’s all my 20something son is talking about...



Those are our exact dates! Maybe we will meet up at a churro stand!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

soniam said:


> They only have 1 flavor: original. They aren't the same recipe, and they are smaller. I don't think the ones at WDW are nearly as good as the ones at DLR. Often the ones at DLR are warm; whereas, we always get cold, and sometimes hard, ones at WDW.



Oh, such sadness but glad to be prepared. I will greatly miss the sugarplum holiday ones this year. I’ll have to find another treat to enjoy instead.


----------



## wilkydelts

Tracey868 said:


> May I asked how you got to turnstiles so early?? Did you drive, take a bus,  Etc???   I will be there next Sunday and this sounds like the plan for me!!!!



This will be one of the points in my wrap up. If you can, drive drive drive! It was worth $25 a day to have total control of my own destiny.


----------



## dreamer17555

What is the best way to get to Epcot in the AM to be at the park as early as possible? Drive\Main Entrance or Uber\Mobile Order Boardwalk to International Gateway? With a noon opening what time should we plan on being outside the gates?


----------



## brockash

M&M's said:


> I know of one in the hub on the way to Liberty Square. I don't know where else they may be right now.


They were also selling them at the cart in frontierland across from pecos bill lsst week - it was not opened during our Sept trip though.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

Grumpy by Birth said:


> Here now.
> 
> Crowds... Maybe not helpful to say, but whether or not it seems crowded this week probably depends on your comfort level and/or how risk averse you are.  Most of the time, we felt there was PLENTY of room to remain far enough away from others.  But in a few choke points, we felt crowded and unable to stay as far away.  But we were moving and only took about one minute to get past the logjam.
> 
> Wait times... overall good.  I did notice high wait times on many attractions on MDE at various times throughout the day, but we just kept checking and went when times dropped (with a few exceptions).
> 
> Monday, Oct 19th - Animal Kingdom
> 
> At rope drop, we went on other rides first before Pandora.
> Safari: 15 minutes posted - walk-on.
> Everest: 20 minutes posted - waited 16 minutes (glad we did this early, it was down the rest of the day).
> Dinosaur: 25 minutes posted (jumped to 45 right after we got in line) - waited 25 minutes.
> TTBAB: 15 minutes posted - walk-on to the "lobby" and just had to wait about 10 minutes for the next show to start.
> Picked up mobile order lunch at Satuli Canteen around 12:30 (waited maybe 5 minutes after clicking "I'm here").
> 
> It started raining pretty heavily, but fortunately we were sitting under the covered area eating.  It let up to a sprinkle by the time we finished eating.
> 
> Flight of Passage: 80 minutes posted (decided to chance it taking less and it looked like some people got out of line because of the earlier monsoon) - we waited 55 minutes and didn't mind... always rode it with FP before and we really enjoyed seeing the rest of the queue.  It didn't seem like an hour to us because we entertained ourselves in line.
> 
> Gorilla Trail: not crowded at all, got a great view of the whole family (including baby) sitting right next to the glass because it was raining lightly again.
> 
> When we exited the trail (around 4pm) the monsoon started again and we got soaked.  Navi was posted as 35 minutes, but we opted to leave early instead of standing in the rain.  We also skipped the Tiger trail because of the rain, but we'll be back at AK on Saturday.
> 
> Heading out for a relaxing resort day now, but will provide a summary of Tuesday (DHS) and Wednesday (EPCOT) when I have some more time tonight.


Here's how the rest of our week went:

Tuesday, October 20th - DHS
MF:SR at RD - 10 minutes posted, walk on
Got BG 9 for ROTR (called around 11 am)
MF:SR - 25 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
TSMM - 30 minutes posted, waited 10 minutes
Swirling Saucers - 30 minutes posted, waited 7 minutes
Tower of Terror - 45 minutes posted, waited 25 minutes
Lightning McQueen Racing Academy - 15 minutes posted, walk on
MMRR - 90 minutes posted, waited 50 minutes
RnRC - 45 minutes posted, waited 30 minutes
Star Tours - 35 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes

Wednesday, October 21st - EPCOT
Soarin' - 65 minutes posted, waited 30 minutes
Food & Wine - short waits (1-4 people in line) at all food booths
Mission Space Orange - 20 minutes posted, waited 5 minutes
Mission Space Green - 10 minutes posted, walk on
Spaceship Earth - 15 minutes posted, walk on
Test Track went down a little while before we got there and remained down the rest of the day, so we missed out on riding this time.

Friday, October 23rd - Magic Kingdom
By the time we got to 7DMT at RD, the line was already posted as 65 minutes.
Plan B: Haunted Mansion - walk on
Pirates - 15 minutes posted, walk on
Jungle Cruise - 30 minutes posted.  They gave us a return time for ECV, so we had a Dole Whip and came back in 30 minutes... might have taken less time if we were standing in line, but we got to relax and have a Dole Whip during that 30 minutes.  We could have done Magic Carpets as a walk-on while we waited, but opted not to.
Splash Mountain - 45 minutes posted, waited 45 minutes
Space Mountain - 50 minutes posted, waited 30 minutes
7DMT (take two in the afternoon) - 65 minutes posted, waited 60 minutes
BTMRR was posted at 60 minutes and we needed to leave sooner than that to freshen up for dinner reservations at DS, so skipped it.

Saturday, October 24th - Animal Kingdom
FOP at RD - 35 minutes posted, waited 30 minutes
NRJ - 25 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
Safari - 15 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
Everest - 45 minutes posted, waited 25 minutes
We spent time on the Gorilla and Tiger trails, as well as Conservation Station
Departed around 2 pm to relax at the resort the rest of the afternoon

Sunday, October 25th - DHS
MF:SR at RD - 10 minutes posted, walk on
MF:SR - 15 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes (should have played it safe and waited to get back in line until after BGs at 10 am, but was overconfident that we'd either be off the ride by then or still waiting.  Got BG 18 from INSIDE the cockpit of the MF!)
TSMM - 30 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
ROTR BG called around noon
Tower of Terror - 35 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
Slinky Dog - 50 minutes posted, 35 minutes
Saucers - 5 minutes posted, walk on
MF:SR - 25 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes

Overall, a great trip despite heat (did someone forget to tell Florida it's October?), masks, some crowded areas and a few long lines, but no worse than we are used to.


----------



## lorileahb

Grumpy by Birth said:


> Here's how the rest of our week went:
> 
> Tuesday, October 20th - DHS
> MF:SR at RD - 10 minutes posted, walk on
> Got BG 9 for ROTR (called around 11 am)
> MF:SR - 25 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
> TSMM - 30 minutes posted, waited 10 minutes
> Swirling Saucers - 30 minutes posted, waited 7 minutes
> Tower of Terror - 45 minutes posted, waited 25 minutes
> Lightning McQueen Racing Academy - 15 minutes posted, walk on
> MMRR - 90 minutes posted, waited 50 minutes
> RnRC - 45 minutes posted, waited 30 minutes
> Star Tours - 35 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
> 
> Wednesday, October 21st - EPCOT
> Soarin' - 65 minutes posted, waited 30 minutes
> Food & Wine - short waits (1-4 people in line) at all food booths
> Mission Space Orange - 20 minutes posted, waited 5 minutes
> Mission Space Green - 10 minutes posted, walk on
> Spaceship Earth - 15 minutes posted, walk on
> Test Track went down a little while before we got there and remained down the rest of the day, so we missed out on riding this time.
> 
> Friday, October 23rd - Magic Kingdom
> By the time we got to 7DMT at RD, the line was already posted as 65 minutes.
> Plan B: Haunted Mansion - walk on
> Pirates - 15 minutes posted, walk on
> Jungle Cruise - 30 minutes posted.  They gave us a return time for ECV, so we had a Dole Whip and came back in 30 minutes... might have taken less time if we were standing in line, but we got to relax and have a Dole Whip during that 30 minutes.  We could have done Magic Carpets as a walk-on while we waited, but opted not to.
> Splash Mountain - 45 minutes posted, waited 45 minutes
> Space Mountain - 50 minutes posted, waited 30 minutes
> 7DMT (take two in the afternoon) - 65 minutes posted, waited 60 minutes
> BTMRR was posted at 60 minutes and we needed to leave sooner than that to freshen up for dinner reservations at DS, so skipped it.
> 
> Saturday, October 24th - Animal Kingdom
> FOP at RD - 35 minutes posted, waited 30 minutes
> NRJ - 25 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
> Safari - 15 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
> Everest - 45 minutes posted, waited 25 minutes
> We spent time on the Gorilla and Tiger trails, as well as Conservation Station
> Departed around 2 pm to relax at the resort the rest of the afternoon
> 
> Sunday, October 25th - DHS
> MF:SR at RD - 10 minutes posted, walk on
> MF:SR - 15 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes (should have played it safe and waited to get back in line until after BGs at 10 am, but was overconfident that we'd either be off the ride by then or still waiting.  Got BG 18 from INSIDE the cockpit of the MF!)
> TSMM - 30 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
> ROTR BG called around noon
> Tower of Terror - 35 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
> Slinky Dog - 50 minutes posted, 35 minutes
> Saucers - 5 minutes posted, walk on
> MF:SR - 25 minutes posted, waited 15 minutes
> 
> Overall, a great trip despite heat (did someone forget to tell Florida it's October?), masks, some crowded areas and a few long lines, but no worse than we are used to.



How early did you get to the parks each day?  So glad you all had a great trip.


----------



## ten6mom

Driving questions:

We are flying in... never been to Florida before and staying for 7 nights November 17- 24.  Considering the issues with transportation to/from some areas, we might consider renting a car.

If we rent, I know we will have to pay a daily rate at Caribbean Beach.  Will we ALSO have to pay a separate parking charge for any park(s) if we drive there?


----------



## Broncho52

ten6mom said:


> Driving questions:
> 
> We are flying in... never been to Florida before and staying for 7 nights November 17- 24.  Considering the issues with transportation to/from some areas, we might consider renting a car.
> 
> If we rent, I know we will have to pay a daily rate at Caribbean Beach.  Will we ALSO have to pay a separate parking charge for any park(s) if we drive there?


No


----------



## Beachmom0317

I’ve been following along and trying to sum up all the details I’ve read about rope dropping magic kingdom. We will have a car and will be staying on property at boulder ridge so we could use the boats. But from what I am understanding: is the best way to get to magic kingdom as early as possible to walk from the contemporary? If park opening is at 9 it sounds like the boats at wilderness lodge start around 8:20?


----------



## Beachmom0317

FinallyFL said:


> I walked to the TTC from the Poly at 7:55 this morning. They opened the temp tents at 8:05 just as I saw people emerging from the parking lot walkway. I took the first monorail running on the non-resort loop and it left around 8:10. When I arrived that there was no backup on the walkway from BLT or at the turnstiles. 7DMT started running shortly after I got in line, probably around 8:30. After 7DMT, I rode BTMR twice, POC and JC by 9:45; all were basically walk-ons.


What was the official opening time for MK? 9am?


----------



## dolewhipdreams

I have a somewhat specific (and kind of gross) situation that I'm looking for some feedback on - hopefully from someone who has had this experience since the parks reopened.

I wear Invisalign and am supposed to brush my teeth after eating before I put the trays back in. I know masks need to stay on in the bathroom so I'm wondering if there's been anyone else in this group who has gone and found a good way to brush their teeth while obeying the rules and staying safe. I'm kind of thinking I could find a lonely corner outside somewhere and just use a spare cup and water to brush them quickly while staying away from others. Just curious if there's a better option that I just haven't thought of.

_Note (because I feel like I need it?): My first priority is respecting the cast members and other guests at WDW by following the rules and guidelines. If I can't find a way to clean my teeth and still follow the rules, then I'll just deal with dirty teeth (oral health be darned)._


----------



## LizzyDragon

DeterminedOne said:


> @RedK - What all did you have at Jaleo? I have an ADR there soon. Although, I just saw a pic of crab legs and thought about changing to my fave - Paddlefish. I'm not going to, though. Been wanting to try Jaleo for a while. Do you know if they still serve the paella? I don't see it on the menu.


The paella is still being offered. The flavor of paella changes each day. I usually do various small plates when I go- it's a tapas place. Some of my favorite items include the chorizo and the hams.


----------



## Turk February

Beachmom0317 said:


> I’ve been following along and trying to sum up all the details I’ve read about rope dropping magic kingdom. We will have a car and will be staying on property at boulder ridge so we could use the boats. But from what I am understanding: is the best way to get to magic kingdom as early as possible to walk from the contemporary? If park opening is at 9 it sounds like the boats at wilderness lodge start around 8:20?



Yes. Right now the best way to be at MK as early as possible is to walk from Contemporary.


----------



## LizzyDragon

dolewhipdreams said:


> I wear Invisalign and am supposed to brush my teeth after eating before I put the trays back in. I know masks need to stay on in the bathroom so I'm wondering if there's been anyone else in this group who has gone and found a good way to brush their teeth while obeying the rules and staying safe. I'm kind of thinking I could find a lonely corner outside somewhere and just use a spare cup and water to brush them quickly while staying away from others. Just curious if there's a better option that I just haven't thought of.


I'd just brush your teeth in the bathroom. Pick the sink farthest from the entrance. You're brushing your teeth, so I doubt CMs/guests would say anything.


----------



## FinallyFL

Beachmom0317 said:


> What was the official opening time for MK? 9am?


Yes, 9am


----------



## dachsie

ten6mom said:


> Driving questions:
> 
> We are flying in... never been to Florida before and staying for 7 nights November 17- 24.  Considering the issues with transportation to/from some areas, we might consider renting a car.
> 
> If we rent, I know we will have to pay a daily rate at Caribbean Beach.  Will we ALSO have to pay a separate parking charge for any park(s) if we drive there?


it would be more economical to Uber each day to parks


----------



## scrappinginontario

Beachmom0317 said:


> I’ve been following along and trying to sum up all the details I’ve read about rope dropping magic kingdom. We will have a car and will be staying on property at boulder ridge so we could use the boats. But from what I am understanding: is the best way to get to magic kingdom as early as possible to walk from the contemporary? If park opening is at 9 it sounds like the boats at wilderness lodge start around 8:20?


The challenge is you need to get from Bolder Ridge to the Contemporary so would need to take an Uber/Lyft and pre-order breakfast as well.  Some guards do not ask for a reservation confirmation but some do so you may not be allowed to be dropped off without one.


----------



## RedFive

Beachmom0317 said:


> What was the official opening time for MK? 9am?


9am was official, but the parks and queues were filling up, what seemed was, well prior to 9am. (From my experience last week)


----------



## julietsstars

Grumpy by Birth said:


> Here's how the rest of our week went:.....


We were the week before you and it was awful! We had one walk on and that was for The Land. Everything else was 45+. Mansion was absolutely the worst. Shoulder to shoulder in MK in most places. The crowd at night for closing was body to body in front of the castle.


----------



## Kaarup

dolewhipdreams said:


> I have a somewhat specific (and kind of gross) situation that I'm looking for some feedback on - hopefully from someone who has had this experience since the parks reopened.
> 
> I wear Invisalign and am supposed to brush my teeth after eating before I put the trays back in. I know masks need to stay on in the bathroom so I'm wondering if there's been anyone else in this group who has gone and found a good way to brush their teeth while obeying the rules and staying safe. I'm kind of thinking I could find a lonely corner outside somewhere and just use a spare cup and water to brush them quickly while staying away from others. Just curious if there's a better option that I just haven't thought of.
> 
> _Note (because I feel like I need it?): My first priority is respecting the cast members and other guests at WDW by following the rules and guidelines. If I can't find a way to clean my teeth and still follow the rules, then I'll just deal with dirty teeth (oral health be darned)._


Don't most bathrooms have a companion option, where you would be the only one in the room?


----------



## Sarahslay

dachsie said:


> No - DFB posted the picture of the Breakfast menu that has the Nutella waffle, mickey waffle with powdered sugar and funnel cake as breakfast items
> 
> https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020...alloween-and-an-update-on-the-nutella-waffle/


I remember now it was Allears that had said about it leaving. But, I texted my friend who was just there and asked her about it, this is her reply to me this morning: 

"We went all three magic kingdom days to try and get one for the girls to share, every day between 10 & 10:30. Each day we were told they were no longer serving them. I didn't know if that meant they were off the menu or what, could be that they were just done serving for the day. I don't know. One of the girls lost her band....ok, I lost her band.....and we had to go to the guest relations office thing, and I asked them about it. I was told it was a supply chain issue and they can't guarantee that they will serve them that day which si why it's not on the menu. The lady told me they usually have it, but once they're gone they're gone. I don't know, my girls were really sad about it. You might have better luck when you go"

So that's what I know, they just got back a couple of days ago, so I guess if you want one get there early.


----------



## LSUfan4444

wilkydelts said:


> *Arrived at toll booths at 7:10*. Shocked to find out that they were already letting people through!!!
> 
> *Straight into Pandora to FOP in line at 7:35* and line started moving immediately. No clear posted time. Wife took kids and I did swap. Took them 50 to totally through and off.



25 minutes to get from the parking toll booth, to park, walk to the entrance, go through security, enter the park and walk to Pandora?


----------



## Zaccypoo

scrappinginontario said:


> The challenge is you need to get from Bolder Ridge to the Contemporary so would need to take an Uber/Lyft and pre-order breakfast as well.  Some guards do not ask for a reservation confirmation but some do so you may not be allowed to be dropped off without one.


When we took an Uber to Contemporary for MK last week, and they checked our mobile order for breakfast at the gate. Once we got in the gate though, we were able to just cancel without having to go pick up the breakfast. Saw other people doing this as well.


----------



## smelton521

oops


----------



## Best Aunt

Beachmom0317 said:


> I’ve been following along and trying to sum up all the details I’ve read about rope dropping magic kingdom. We will have a car and will be staying on property at boulder ridge so we could use the boats. But from what I am understanding: is the best way to get to magic kingdom as early as possible to walk from the contemporary? If park opening is at 9 it sounds like the boats at wilderness lodge start around 8:20?



if you decide to use Disney transportation: pre-COVID the bus between Wilderness Lodge and MK arrived more frequently and was a shorter ride than the boat.  Not sure how things are with the social distancing/capacity rules.


----------



## katyringo

So those posting that the best idea is to walk from the contemporary to MK to be the earliest..

our bus from pop beat the walked both days we went to MK. We passed them being held at temperature checks and we passed the cars still being held at the gate. The first bus from pop picked us up at 745. We were first through turnstiles both mornings and 2nd and 4th in line for mine train. For animal kingdom the bus picked us up about 6:50 and we again were some of the very first folks at the turnstiles and were 10th in line for FOP.   I absolutely agree that walking from a resort is the best bet for HS and Epcot if your on a skyliner resort, but being on the first bus from pop beat all others for MK and AK.


----------



## lorileahb

katyringo said:


> So those posting that the best idea is to walk from the contemporary to MK to be the earliest..
> 
> our bus from pop beat the walked both days we went to MK. We passed them being held at temperature checks and we passed the cars still being held at the gate. The first bus from pop picked us up at 745. We were first through turnstiles both mornings and 2nd and 4th in line for mine train. For animal kingdom the bus picked us up about 6:50 and we again were some of the very first folks at the turnstiles and were 10th in line for FOP.   I absolutely agree that walking from a resort is the best bet for HS and Epcot if your on a skyliner resort, but being on the first bus from pop beat all others for MK and AK.



The question becomes, what time did you need to be in line to get on that first, 745 am bus from POP?


----------



## Heather07438

katyringo said:


> So those posting that the best idea is to walk from the contemporary to MK to be the earliest..
> 
> our bus from pop beat the walked both days we went to MK. We passed them being held at temperature checks and we passed the cars still being held at the gate. The first bus from pop picked us up at 745. We were first through turnstiles both mornings and 2nd and 4th in line for mine train. For animal kingdom the bus picked us up about 6:50 and we again were some of the very first folks at the turnstiles and were 10th in line for FOP.   I absolutely agree that walking from a resort is the best bet for HS and Epcot if your on a skyliner resort, but being on the first bus from pop beat all others for MK and AK.



That has to be frustrating for guests at Contemporary.


----------



## lorileahb

Heather07438 said:


> That has to be frustrating for guests at Contemporary.



It seems like this changes every day.  Sometimes buses through first, sometimes walkers through first.  Just to avoid getting into a bus line 1-2 hours early, we are just going to mobile order at Contemporary and enjoy our walk over.


----------



## Heather07438

Kaarup said:


> Don't most bathrooms have a companion option, where you would be the only one in the room?


Oh yeah, that's a good option.

And many of the regular restrooms have the larger wheelchair accessible stall that has a sink inside, usually the last stall.


----------



## katyringo

lorileahb said:


> The question becomes, what time did you need to be in line to get on that first, 745 am bus from POP?


 
7am.


----------



## RedK

@DeterminedOne 

i did the Magical Dining menu, which was 5 courses for $35 (an incredible deal). https://www.jaleo.com/location/jaleo-disney-springs/menu/

I did the pan con tomate (liked), the patatas bravas (ok), espinacas ala Catalana (loved, adored, could not stop eating, and I don't usually like sauted spinach) and the sausage and white beans (great!), flan for desert (creamy, orangy, caramelly goodness)

Unfortunately the magical dining has only one type of paella (chicken and mushrooms) and I don't like mushrooms, so I skipped that.


----------



## dachsie

Sarahslay said:


> I remember now it was Allears that had said about it leaving. But, I texted my friend who was just there and asked her about it, this is her reply to me this morning:
> 
> "We went all three magic kingdom days to try and get one for the girls to share, every day between 10 & 10:30. Each day we were told they were no longer serving them. I didn't know if that meant they were off the menu or what, could be that they were just done serving for the day. I don't know. One of the girls lost her band....ok, I lost her band.....and we had to go to the guest relations office thing, and I asked them about it. I was told it was a supply chain issue and they can't guarantee that they will serve them that day which si why it's not on the menu. The lady told me they usually have it, but once they're gone they're gone. I don't know, my girls were really sad about it. You might have better luck when you go"
> 
> So that's what I know, they just got back a couple of days ago, so I guess if you want one get there early.



So how can they run out of waffle mix?  LOL


----------



## monkeydawn

dolewhipdreams said:


> I have a somewhat specific (and kind of gross) situation that I'm looking for some feedback on - hopefully from someone who has had this experience since the parks reopened.
> 
> I wear Invisalign and am supposed to brush my teeth after eating before I put the trays back in. I know masks need to stay on in the bathroom so I'm wondering if there's been anyone else in this group who has gone and found a good way to brush their teeth while obeying the rules and staying safe. I'm kind of thinking I could find a lonely corner outside somewhere and just use a spare cup and water to brush them quickly while staying away from others. Just curious if there's a better option that I just haven't thought of.
> 
> _Note (because I feel like I need it?): My first priority is respecting the cast members and other guests at WDW by following the rules and guidelines. If I can't find a way to clean my teeth and still follow the rules, then I'll just deal with dirty teeth (oral health be darned)._





Heather07438 said:


> Oh yeah, that's a good option.
> 
> And many of the regular restrooms have the larger wheelchair accessible stall that has a sink inside, usually the last stall.



Ditto the Family/ Companion bathroom or the handicap stall option.


----------



## Sarahslay

dachsie said:


> So how can they run out of waffle mix?  LOL


It's not necessarily the waffle mix. There is a strawberry shortage due to climate changes (too much and too little rain in areas where berries are grown). A local restaurant here has taken things with strawberries off their menu, as did the local Steak n' Shake, and our grocery store has a sign stating the shortage (and what's there doesn't look good). They do still have the chicken waffle so it's obviously not the waffles.


----------



## PrincessV

wilkydelts said:


> While walking by 7DMT CM announced on mega phone you may eat in line just please cover your face when it is time to move and keep up





katyringo said:


> I’ll second that we heard the new announcement today about eating in lines. It stated “if you eat and drink please only do so on the green wait here markings”





disneygirlsng said:


> On your marker, stationary, and distanced from others (as the announcements say, stationary and distanced) = ok to take mask off for a quick sip/bite or two.
> Moving while in line = not ok.


Just to be clear for anyone planning a trip, my experience with parks on weekdays has been that I spent VERY little time standing still in any queue. In nearly every case, I was walking continually, or was stopped at a point or two for less than 30 seconds at a time; I wouldn't have had time to get my mask off to eat or drink before moving again. I would not be counting on eating in lines on slower days. (The one exception was HM, where I was in one spot for 10 minutes for a cleaning cycle - the rest of my 35 min wait was constantly moving.)


----------



## teach22180

cyclonemama said:


> Got a couple questions for everyone:
> 
> 1.  How early have the first Disney buses to AK been picking up from the resorts? Also, has there been a lineup waiting to get on and how early?
> 
> 2.  Is it possible to rack up multiple child swaps to use for later? We used to do this all the time pre-COVID, but tried our first day yesterday at HS and they wouldnt even let us get a second one until we used our 1st one from a previous ride.  However I see a previous poster on here just say they racked up multiple ones at AK.  What is the deal?


I can't help you with number 2, but I did take buses to AK from Pop twice last week. With a 9 am opening, they said the MK bus would leave at 815 and AK at 820. I found I needed to be at both lines close to 7 in order to be in the first set of buses. They do send multiple buses in a row. I was there before posted opening, but there had been people entering since 830. I wanted the safari, and it didn't start until 9 but I was near the front of the line.


----------



## brockash

katyringo said:


> So those posting that the best idea is to walk from the contemporary to MK to be the earliest..
> 
> our bus from pop beat the walked both days we went to MK. We passed them being held at temperature checks and we passed the cars still being held at the gate. The first bus from pop picked us up at 745. We were first through turnstiles both mornings and 2nd and 4th in line for mine train. For animal kingdom the bus picked us up about 6:50 and we again were some of the very first folks at the turnstiles and were 10th in line for FOP.   I absolutely agree that walking from a resort is the best bet for HS and Epcot if your on a skyliner resort, but being on the first bus from pop beat all others for MK and AK.


I think the issue with this is you're relying on Disney's schedule/mindgames lol.  We def. had a couple times that we beat cars during our Sept. trip, but we also had times that we didn't and then this past trip at AKL; we never beat anyone.  I would say walking from CR would be more consistent of getting in earlish,  but it's def. nice when it all works out on the bus.  Unfortunately in all of the scenarios we're at the mercy of Disney's decisions on that given day.


----------



## wilkydelts

LSUfan4444 said:


> 25 minutes to get from the parking toll booth, to park, walk to the entrance, go through security, enter the park and walk to Pandora?



I am unsure what you are asking?


----------



## LSUfan4444

I am asking if I read your post correctly? It took you 25 minutes to get from the parking toll booths, to park your car, walk to the gates, go through security, enter the park and walk to Pandora? That seems incredibly fast to me so I either am misunderstanding or I was curious how you did it so fast.  A 15-20 minute difference in arrival at DAK could be the difference between starting our day with FoP or saving it until park close.


----------



## michellej47

dachsie said:


> it would be more economical to Uber each day to parks



Where is the best place to be dropped off if you Uber?  I know about the Speedway for DHS, but what about everywhere else.  Is there a good location to be dropped to be able to get in a bit earlier?


----------



## lorileahb

michellej47 said:


> Where is the best place to be dropped off if you Uber?  I know about the Speedway for DHS, but what about everywhere else.  Is there a good location to be dropped to be able to get in a bit earlier?



Uber to Contemporary Resort for MK - to keep within Disney guidelines/protocol, have a mobile order placed at Contempo Cafe (or an ADR at one of their restaurants) - otherwise, the guards won't always let you through.   Boardwalk (or maybe Beach Club) for Epcot, again mobile order to Boardwalk Bakery or ADR at resort restaurant.  Animal Kingdom - there is no other place to be dropped by Uber other than Animal Kingdom drop off - nothing within walking distance; park has a long drive.


----------



## TestingH2O

dachsie said:


> it would be more economical to Uber each day to parks


This is the math I have found too.  AK is the only park I'm "worried" about.


----------



## lorileahb

TestingH2O said:


> This is the math I have found too.  AK is the only park I'm "worried" about.



From what I've read, I think we are going to Uber with goal to arrive at AK an hour before park opening - so 7 am for 8 am park opening.  Unless the winds shift and they are no longer letting people in the park early.


----------



## smelton521

Has anyone recently returned from staying at Polynesian DVC? To get into MK as early as possible, would taking an Uber to Contemporary be our best plan or is there a way to walk there from Poly? Or is the monorail running early enough from TTC now (Edit to add that I realize monorail stop at Poly is closing. I’m referring to using the one at TTC which is near the DVC buildings at Poly)?  We will be there the 1st week of December. We have never stayed at any of the monorail resorts so I have no idea how far apart they are, if there are walkways between them, etc. Just trying to figure out how to get into MK as early as possible after reading all of the recent trip reports, especially if the monorail will not be running early enough. Thanks!


----------



## yulilin3

smelton521 said:


> Has anyone recently returned from staying at Polynesian DVC? To get into MK as early as possible, would taking an Uber to Contemporary be our best plan or is there a way to walk there from Poly? Or is the monorail running early enough from TTC now?  We will be there the 1st week of December. We have never stayed at any of the monorail resorts so I have no idea how far apart they are, if there are walkways between them, etc. Just trying to figure out how to get into MK as early as possible after reading all of the recent trip reports, especially if the monorail will not be running early enough. Thanks!


The monorail stop at the poly will go off line November 2nd so you're only choice is bus , boat or uber ro contemporary


----------



## smelton521

yulilin3 said:


> The monorail stop at the poly will go off line November 2nd so you're only choice is bus , boat or uber ro contemporary


Yes but I was told the monorail at TTC will continue to run and that it is actually closer to the DVC buildings than the monorail stop at Poly’s main lobby.  So that is the one I was thinking we would be using, unless they have changed things and will be closing that stop as well.


----------



## yulilin3

smelton521 said:


> Yes but I was told the monorail at TTC will continue to run and that it is actually closer to the DVC buildings than the monorail stop at Poly’s main lobby.  So that is the one I was thinking we would be using, unless they have changed things and will be closing that stop as well.


yes you can walk to the ttc and get the monorail there, sorry I forgot about that one. You'll have one stop at GF then MK, I would do bus tbh, they will probably have several running the route


----------



## Tracey868

wilkydelts said:


> This will be one of the points in my wrap up. If you can, drive drive drive! It was worth $25 a day to have total control of my own destiny.



We aren't getting a car. But I have no problem using Uber.


----------



## LSUfan4444

smelton521 said:


> Yes but I was told the monorail at TTC will continue to run and that it is actually closer to the DVC buildings than the monorail stop at Poly’s main lobby.  So that is the one I was thinking we would be using, unless they have changed things and will be closing that stop as well.


Our last stay in Pago Pago we never caught the monorail from Poly, we walked to the TTC every time.


----------



## brockash

smelton521 said:


> Has anyone recently returned from staying at Polynesian DVC? To get into MK as early as possible, would taking an Uber to Contemporary be our best plan or is there a way to walk there from Poly? Or is the monorail running early enough from TTC now (Edit to add that I realize monorail stop at Poly is closing. I’m referring to using the one at TTC which is near the DVC buildings at Poly)?  We will be there the 1st week of December. We have never stayed at any of the monorail resorts so I have no idea how far apart they are, if there are walkways between them, etc. Just trying to figure out how to get into MK as early as possible after reading all of the recent trip reports, especially if the monorail will not be running early enough. Thanks!


When we were there in Sept.; we actually chose to walk to the TTC and then take the express monorail to MK.  The reason we did this was because there were reports and signs at the Polynesian that the monorail won't stop at MK until 8:30, so we walked over to the TTC at 8, the first day they had already started letting people in, the second day we had to wait until 8:15 and then were on the first express monorail over to MK.  If you're wanting to walk from CR (we considered that as well) then no need to pay for an uber, walk to monorail and take the resort monorail to CR.  - It starts a 7am.


----------



## smelton521

brockash said:


> When we were there in Sept.; we actually chose to walk to the TTC and then take the express monorail to MK.  The reason we did this was because there were reports and signs at the Polynesian that the monorail won't stop at MK until 8:30, so we walked over to the TTC at 8, the first day they had already started letting people in, the second day we had to wait until 8:15 and then were on the first express monorail over to MK.  If you're wanting to walk from CR (we considered that as well) then no need to pay for an uber, walk to monorail and take the resort monorail to CR.  - It starts a 7am.


What is the Express Monorail? Does that mean it doesn’t stop at GF? Was there a long line at TTC to get on the train?


----------



## brockash

smelton521 said:


> What is the Express Monorail? Does that mean it doesn’t stop at GF? Was there a long line at TTC to get on the train?


That's the monorail that goes only to the MK/TTC.  When we were there the first day we had maybe a 5 min. wait, and the 2nd day we got on the first one of the day (however we were also the first people at that particular temp. check as we had to wait about 15 mins. for them to open.


----------



## katyringo

brockash said:


> I think the issue with this is you're relying on Disney's schedule/mindgames lol.  We def. had a couple times that we beat cars during our Sept. trip, but we also had times that we didn't and then this past trip at AKL; we never beat anyone.  I would say walking from CR would be more consistent of getting in earlish,  but it's def. nice when it all works out on the bus.  Unfortunately in all of the scenarios we're at the mercy of Disney's decisions on that given day.


 I don’t disagree. We weren’t trying to be first in the park, but we’re trying to be early. We didn’t want to Uber so we just tried to grab the first bus and we’re just extra lucky this trip.


----------



## js

smelton521 said:


> Has anyone recently returned from staying at Polynesian DVC? To get into MK as early as possible, would taking an Uber to Contemporary be our best plan or is there a way to walk there from Poly? Or is the monorail running early enough from TTC now (Edit to add that I realize monorail stop at Poly is closing. I’m referring to using the one at TTC which is near the DVC buildings at Poly)?  We will be there the 1st week of December. We have never stayed at any of the monorail resorts so I have no idea how far apart they are, if there are walkways between them, etc. Just trying to figure out how to get into MK as early as possible after reading all of the recent trip reports, especially if the monorail will not be running early enough. Thanks!



If the walkway from GF to MK is open, I would walk to GF and then to the MK. I would do this if I was at Poly and will do in the future.

Good luck.


----------



## smelton521

FinallyFL said:


> I walked to the TTC from the Poly at 7:55 this morning. They opened the temp tents at 8:05 just as I saw people emerging from the parking lot walkway. I took the first monorail running on the non-resort loop and it left around 8:10. When I arrived that there was no backup on the walkway from BLT or at the turnstiles. 7DMT started running shortly after I got in line, probably around 8:30. After 7DMT, I rode BTMR twice, POC and JC by 9:45; all were basically walk-ons.


We are staying at Poly for the first time in Dec and have only been to WDW once, so I’m trying to better understand their system to know what to do to go to MK early. Are the temperature checks at TTC or after you get off the monorail at MK or both?  Were the trains from TTC to Contemporary and Grand Floridian running earlier than the train to MK?


----------



## Choirmom

Just returned yesterday from 8 nights (4 BLT and 4 AKL). For reference, we are mid 50's marrieds who were celebrating 30 years of marriage. We are from WA state and had this trip planned for a couple of years. Rented DVC for this trip back in January, before COVID became a huge problem. This was our second trip to WDW (we went in 2015 for our 25th anniversary). I usually go to DL once a year.

We had planned 2 days each at MK, HS and EPCOT and 1 day at AK. This is not how it ended up though. We ended up spending 3 days at MK and 1 day each at HS, EPCOT and AK. 

We thought mask and distance compliance was really good. Aside from a a few choke points, it was really easy to distance while walking through the parks. It was nice walking down Main Street with no crowding! The character cavalcades were great! They seemed to be happening every 15 to 20 minutes in MK. The lines (which appeared extremely long) moved continuously.

We were able to ride most everything we wanted in one day. Our first MK day was on Sunday the 18th. We were in line at the Contemporary sidewalk early. Once we got into the park we rode 7DMT. I don't remember wait times or the order, but we rode JC, POTC, BTM, HM, Splash, Buzz, CoP, Hall of Presidents, and PP. We skipped Space Mountain because it hurts my husband's back. We also had lunch at Skippers Canteen. The park hours were 9 to 8 and we took a break in the afternoon for a nap.

We went to HS on Monday. We did not get ROTR boarding group either time. We wanted to ride, but it wasn't a huge deal that we didn't. We rode MFSR, TSMM (twice), MMRR (so cute), Muppets and Star Tours. MFSR gave DH a bit of motion sickness, so we stayed away from the roller coasters and I don't like drops so we didn't go on ToT, but I'm pretty sure we would have had time to do at least one or two of these had we chosen to.  We also walked through One Man's Dream and watched the film, shopped a bit and had dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby. 

Tuesday we were back at MK. We slept in a bit and hit the park. We had some fun playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, watched the Country Bears, rode Buzz, walked through Swiss Family Treehouse and had lunch at Liberty Tree. 

Wednesday we were at EPCOT. We arrived at park opening and rode Soarin' (twice), Test Track (twice), SE, Nemo (and took our time at the aquarium), Living with the Land and Journey into Imagination. We then went to check out Food and Wine. I have Celiacs Disease and 5 years ago, nearly every booth had a gluten free option. Not the case this time, which was extremely disappointing. We roamed the countries and had dinner at Le Cellier.

We had planned on returning to HS on Thursday, but decided that the only reason for going would be to try for a boarding group. Since there are no guarantees, and we didn't feel that this park warranted another day, we changed our plans and went back to MK. We repeated a few rides and had lunch at Liberty Tree again (this was DH's favorite restaurant of the trip).

Friday was AK. We arrived at opening and rode FOP. Loved it. We then did KS, had lunch, rode Dinosaur, walked the trails and did KS again. EE was down most of the day and when it went back up, the wait times were long. We went back to AKL and had dinner at Sanaa.

Since our original plan was to go to EPCOT and eat our way around, due to the lack of gluten free options, we decided to skip the park and visit Disney Springs. We did some shopping, had lunch at Morimoto Asia, returned to AKL, swam, wandered the hotel and packed.

Like most everyone here, I would not recommend going right now for first timers. There was really a lack of things to do and the masks became very uncomfortable in the heat and humidity.  One thing I would recommend: we normally visit the parks with no bags, just our phones, magic bands and a gift card. On our second day, we decided to take a backpack because we wanted to take an umbrella and ponchos. We took extra water and some snacks. This gave us a reason to sit down and take down our masks to have a drink and a snack. We always found a place to sit away from everyone, and as long as you are stationary, this is not a problem.

All in all, it was really nice just to get away for a week. We had a great time and will probably return once the mask requirement is gone.


----------



## brockash

smelton521 said:


> We are staying at Poly for the first time in Dec and have only been to WDW once, so I’m trying to better understand their system to know what to do to go to MK early. Are the temperature checks at TTC or after you get off the monorail at MK or both?  Were the trains from TTC to Contemporary and Grand Floridian running earlier than the train to MK?


Temp checks r before you'd get on monorail at ttc.  Yes resort monorail starts at 7am goes ttc, grand (polys closed), mk (not til 830), contemporary, ttc.  The 1 downfall of taking monorail to contemporary and walking over is you'd have to do temp and security twice.


----------



## soniam

Sarahslay said:


> It's not necessarily the waffle mix. There is a strawberry shortage due to climate changes (too much and too little rain in areas where berries are grown). A local restaurant here has taken things with strawberries off their menu, as did the local Steak n' Shake, and our grocery store has a sign stating the shortage (and what's there doesn't look good). They do still have the chicken waffle so it's obviously not the waffles.



That's a bummer. I don't need the darn strawberries. I would be fine with the fruit they have, if any, and Nutella. The spicy chicken and waffles just doesn't look appetizing and doesn't seem breakfasty to me, at least vacation breakfast.


----------



## lilmc

dolewhipdreams said:


> I wear Invisalign and am supposed to brush my teeth after eating before I put the trays back in.



I’m on kid #2 with Invisalign and we snack a lot and frequently while in the parks plus sugary drinks like a Night Blossom and such. I told my daughter just to leave them out while at the parks. Not ideal, I know, but really it’s only for a few days, she still wore them at night, and even with frequent hand washing, I didn’t want her hands in her mouth at restaurants or outside a food cart or mask down, brushing teeth in a public restroom, etc.


----------



## lilmc

duplicate post


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

lorileahb said:


> How early did you get to the parks each day?  So glad you all had a great trip.



Monday, Animal Kingdom - Drove.  Arrived at toll booth at 7:15 for 8:00 am RD.  There were a fair number of people already ahead of us and in the park as we made our way through temp check/security.  But we were headed to the Safari first, not Pandora, so we didn't stress.

Tuesday, DHS - Drove.  Arrived at the entrance at 8:30 for 10:00 am RD and they were still turning people around.  We made one loop and got back around 9:45 and they were allowing cars to queue at the toll booths.  We were about 8-10 cars back.

Wednesday, EPCOT - Took bus.  We were a little late getting out of the room and it took a little while for the bus to arrive, so we made it to EPCOT at about 11:15 am.  Line for Soarin' was a little more than we would have liked, but not terrible.

Friday, Magic Kingdom - Took bus.  Arrived at the bus stop a little before 8 am for a 9 am RD.  The bus got us to MK by 8:30 am.  A little too late to beat the crowds to 7DMT, but had short waits on Adventureland and Frontierland rides in the morning.

Saturday, Animal Kingdom - Took bus.  Arrived at bus stop at 7 am for 8 am RD.  We weren't at the head of the pack going to Pandora, but arrived early enough for pretty short waits for both FoP and NRJ.

Sunday, DHS - Drove.  Arrived at 8:45 am for 10:00 am RD.  The cones were still out but they were getting ready to take them up and had started allowing cars to queue instead of turning them around.  We were about 10 cars back, but when they removed the cones and the lanes spread out to the toll booths, we ended being only 3 cars back.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Based on reading everyone’s experiences with the bus, the earliest it will arrive at the resorts is an hour before park opening? But you should be in line an hour before that to be on the first few busses? 

So for example, if Animal Kingdom opens at 8AM, we should line up at 6AM at the bus stop?


----------



## maryj11

We are going mid November this year. I know we want to be at HS early to ride MMRR and get a boarding group. Is it necessary to get to the other parks before rope drop? Do lines stay high until closing at Epcot, AK, and MK? Just wanted to know what everyone thinks who has already been there.


----------



## HikingFam

maryj11 said:


> We are going mid November this year. I know we want to be at HS early to ride MMRR and get a boarding group. Is it necessary to get to the other parks before rope drop? Do lines stay high until closing at Epcot, AK, and MK? Just wanted to know what everyone thinks who has already been there.


We found lines got shorter in the last hour or so that parks were open, but the absolute best time crowd-wise was pre-opening and the first hour or so.  If you don't want to wait 60+ for a headliner like FOP or 7DMT, then you need to be in the front of the line first thing in the morning.  At least that was our experience.


----------



## katyringo

maryj11 said:


> We are going mid November this year. I know we want to be at HS early to ride MMRR and get a boarding group. Is it necessary to get to the other parks before rope drop? Do lines stay high until closing at Epcot, AK, and MK? Just wanted to know what everyone thinks who has already been there.



i don’t think it’s necessary at Epcot if going on a weekday. We didn’t arrive until 3pm and did everything.
For AK- flight of passage and Navi river get long waits they never died down. By rope dropping them before offical park opening we knocked them out without long waits.
For MK- if mine train is a priority. It never dropped below a 60min wait while we were there. We did it both mornings before official park opening.

so it depends on what rides you want to do and if you mind longer waits. We rode mine train again later in the day and did the wait. The lines do move and we played a game on our phone.


----------



## maryj11

HikingFam said:


> We found lines got shorter in the last hour or so that parks were open, but the absolute best time crowd-wise was pre-opening and the first hour or so.  If you don't want to wait 60+ for a headliner like FOP or 7DMT, then you need to be in the front of the line first thing in the morning.  At least that was our experience.


Thank you. We can do without 7DMT, but FOP is a must.


----------



## erinch

This is exactly what I did. Dumped the family, and arrived at about 7:15, when they opened parking. With  drop off I beat the parking lot crows. Walked in to FoP, then rode Navi, and then walked in to FoP again. I then went to Everest and rode as walk-ion 3 times. Could have been more. Fabulous.


lorileahb said:


> From what I've read, I think we are going to Uber with goal to arrive at AK an hour before park opening - so 7 am for 8 am park opening.  Unless the winds shift and they are no longer letting people in the park early.


----------



## brockash

TikiTikiFan said:


> Based on reading everyone’s experiences with the bus, the earliest it will arrive at the resorts is an hour before park opening? But you should be in line an hour before that to be on the first few busses?
> 
> So for example, if Animal Kingdom opens at 8AM, we should line up at 6AM at the bus stop?


I'd say you should be out there 1.75 hrs before official park open...now I also feel that if it's the weekend or Disney feels like it lol...they sometimes start buses earlier than hr prior and then there's times that it's more like 45-50 mins earlier than park open...it really is pretty inconsistent.


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## lasob

Just spent 2 days at WDW over the weekend,staying at Old Key West. We stopped for a couple of nights on a car trip from our home in Texas to our place in South Florida.

This was our second car trip since March so we have seen quite a bit of different protocols for Covid. We visited family outside Chicago in late August.

I think the compliance of safety practices at WDW is astonishing. Granted we were only there for 2 days, but we saw few noses, many people safe distances away, etc. We spent Sat at Epcot and even with sizable crowds in the World Showcase for food and wine, we really felt that everyone seemed to take the situation seriously. Posted times were high for all the rides we went on( SE posted 25 on the ride in 12, Soarin posted 45 on in 22). Ate at Boat House, Wolfgang Pucks and Olivia's at OLW and again almost everyone was following the rules.

In many of the states we have driven through, we found hardly any compliance in gas stations and restaurants. Signs on doors about requiring masks, and then literally no one, not even employees were masked.

Needless to say WDW was a nice haven where we felt very safe.


----------



## Minnie84

Just wondering what the most current situation is.......if we are at MK and want to go to Poly or GF for a quick service lunch, what is the best way to get there?  Does the ferry run from MK to TTC and then we can walk to Capt. Cooks at Poly? Is this even allowed now if we have a mobile order? Are the boats running from MK directly to GF Dock? Or would it be best to take the monorail to GF? Trying to finalize plans.....18 more days until we escape "winter" that has already arrived in Canada.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

brockash said:


> I'd say you should be out there 1.75 hrs before official park open...now I also feel that if it's the weekend or Disney feels like it lol...they sometimes start buses earlier than hr prior and then there's times that it's more like 45-50 mins earlier than park open...it really is pretty inconsistent.



Thank you! This helps gives me an ide of how to prepare. I think we might rely mainly on uber. What’s the earliest they’ll let uber drop you off at the parks- an hour before? I don’t want to be awkwardly stuck in the uber waiting.  I know about the drop off and walk ideas but some days I might just want to save my energy.


----------



## Future_WorldPhonencian

Thanks everyone for these awesome reports! Correct me if im wrong but I am getting the sense that if you are committed to lining up extra early 1hr ppo at the bus stops that is the way to go if you are trying to beat crowds... what about midday and end of day transport? We will have our car with us in november and are morning folks but our kids are little and will need afternoon breaks, we might drive in the afternoon/ evening if waiting for a bus is a super long proposition.


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## yulilin3

TikiTikiFan said:


> Thank you! This helps gives me an ide of how to prepare. I think we might rely mainly on uber. What’s the earliest they’ll let uber drop you off at the parks- an hour before? I don’t want to be awkwardly stuck in the uber waiting.  I know about the drop off and walk ideas but some days I might just want to save my energy.


With uber they have to line up with all the cars at epcot,  ak and dhs. Dhs parking lot opens about an hour prior to parks,  the other 2 about 45 befor.  Mk has a completely separate location to drop off at ttc so no need to line up with the parking cars,  you will have to wait at the temp check tent


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## nkereina

We were at DHS yesterday. Stepped off the Skyliner around 9:20, no line whatsoever to enter the park, got in the queue at MMRR right away and it had a 45 minute posted time. It was 10am exactly as we were stepping into the ride car (I know because I was getting a boarding group while stepping into the ride vehicle lol). They must have started operating the ride fairly early, contrary to some of the 10am reports I’ve seen.


----------



## Skippyboo

nkereina said:


> We were at DHS yesterday. Stepped off the Skyliner around 9:20, no line whatsoever to enter the park, got in the queue at MMRR right away and it had a 45 minute posted time. It was 10am exactly as we were stepping into the ride car (I know because I was getting a boarding group while stepping into the ride vehicle lol). They must have started operating the ride fairly early, contrary to some of the 10am reports I’ve seen.


. I was in line for SDD preopening. It started running with people at 940.


----------



## nkereina

Is it better to take an Uber or the bus to AK? We will be coming from CBR. I’m leaning towards Uber, but will we get stuck in traffic for the parking lot? And is it correct that the parking lot opens about 45 mins before the states park opening time?


----------



## KM82

We arrived yesterday a little before 3:30.  Our room was ready and we unpacked our stuff and went to our dinner reservation (Beaches & Cream @ 4:50).  From there, we walked to Epcot, which was open for another 1.5 hrs.  We walked to TT and waited maybe 15 minutes to ride.  Then we walked toward Norway and saw that the line for FEA was just to the edge of Akershus.  We were on and off in about 20 minutes with time to spare to head to Germany for some Karamell-Küche treats to take back to the room.  We are headed to Epcot again today, but now we don't feel the need to rush to TT or FEA like we thought we would.  

For the most part, in that short time span, we saw really good mask compliance.  There was a lady behind us in line for FEA that kept getting way too close, but she decided to leave before the line went into the building, so it wasn't an issue for long.  Other than that, most people seemed to really be respecting space and masks were above noses (that we saw, at least).


----------



## dachsie

There is a gremlin in me that is thinking if someone starts crowding me in line I might just have to stretch my arms behind me and "accidentally" bump them.


----------



## Elle23

dachsie said:


> There is a gremlin in me that is thinking if someone starts crowding me in line I might just have to stretch my arms behind me and "accidentally" bump them.



Just start coughing violently. That will make them scatter!


----------



## LizzyDragon

LSUfan4444 said:


> I am asking if I read your post correctly? It took you 25 minutes to get from the parking toll booths, to park your car, walk to the gates, go through security, enter the park and walk to Pandora? That seems incredibly fast to me so I either am misunderstanding or I was curious how you did it so fast.  A 15-20 minute difference in arrival at DAK could be the difference between starting our day with FoP or saving it until park close.


Like the other poster, I've also been able to get from the parking booth to Pandora in about 25 minutes (give or take 5 depending on where in the lot I park). The parking lot is the smallest of the four parks, and I haven't encountered any waits yet at temp check/security at various times of day. Pandora is also not all the way to the back of the park. It's doable if you walk quickly.

I've also had similar experiences with Epcot- from booth to inside the park in 20-25 minutes. DHS is like this if you're going in after park open (so the Rise crowd is cleared out). MK is more like 35-45 minutes due to transfer times at TTC (and I can't speak to park opening crowds as I usually don't go that early).


----------



## tstein12

nkereina said:


> Is it better to take an Uber or the bus to AK? We will be coming from CBR. I’m leaning towards Uber, but will we get stuck in traffic for the parking lot? And is it correct that the parking lot opens about 45 mins before the states park opening time?


Uber will have to wait in line with rest of cars to get into park - no special car lines for Uber/Lyft


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## scrappinginontario

dachsie said:


> There is a gremlin in me that is thinking if someone starts crowding me in line I might just have to stretch my arms behind me and "accidentally" bump them.


When we were in a store last weekend a lady was on her phone and was getting too close for our comfort.  The next time the line moved I stepped but left my second leg behind me so that she saw it looking down at her phone.  She quickly looked up and apologized saying she wasn't meaning to crowd us.  that was all and it worked perfectly.


----------



## wilkydelts

If you want my just facts break down of each park for Thursday-Sunday park trip with two adults and children ages 8, 7, 4, 1, you can look in my profile for previous posts about each park.

Overall thoughts:

Masks are hard. I wear a mask almost all day everyday weekday for work but that did not prepare me for wearing a mask in heat and humidity while walking that much. The Disney speed walk almost suffocated me.

Drive drive drive!!! If you can afford both the rental and parking it was comforting to control as much as I could. Many people have posted getting in line for buses/skylines 60-90 minutes early. Doing that with four kids under 8 one of the which was an infant was just not an option for me.

I highly recommend Touring Plans line app it is crowd sourced in real time and was almost spot on all week it really let us know if we should stop in a line. 

Almost every line wait was shorter than listed. Only a handful were within a couple minutes. Only Space Mountain at the end of this the night was longer than expected and it was way off. 

Even with shorter hours you can accomplish almost everything. (Standby only is not that bad but if you knew how to play the FP+ game I understand your views.) But the following exceptions apply:
1. Doing headliners more than once is not realistic unless you are dedicating a lot of time to them.
2. You have to super early rope drop. It is essentially unadvertised extra hours.
3. You can’t leave for midday breaks and must stay to till close.
4. Child swap is much more tedious than before since everything is standby only. It adds about 15-20 minutes each swap for the other to go through.

If shows (like Muppets, Frozen) are a priority you need to go earlier with limited seating they can build long waits for something you used to just wing

Lower capacity and no FP+ actually helps the shorter trip people because you would of been hard pressed to get a headliner at Hollywood Studios or FOP at Animal Kingdom. Now you can do it if you want to wait for it. 

I have never taken an umbrella to Disney before mainly to carry less and generally large crowds. Glad we did it this time. I recommend it to shelter from the sun when needed.

If you can afford it, I highly recommend at least one table service meal a day some from 12-4 depending park hours. It gets you a break during high times and it helps avoid some of the chaos of quick service right now. 

Read up on Boarding Groups, security screening, morning procedures. Every step cuts time and helps you in the morning.

Mask compliance is not something I cared about or really intentionally looked for. There will be people who cheat, don’t comply, fight over it, eat and walk, eat in line. Disney does their best to make it safe but they can’t police everything. If someone not complying bothers you than Disney is not the place for you because you will experience it. 

It appears they are finally opening more snack carts because I did not have the issues others were having locating snacks. Many food vendors still closed. 

Not having people climbing on you in queues is amazing. I know that can’t last but it is liberating.

My park experience may not be yours Disney is changing rapidly and crowd levels are unpredictable. I would go back soon if I wanted. If things remain status quo or only increase 5-10% Thanksgiving and Christmas people should be fine but no one knows exactly how things will progress.


----------



## wilkydelts

LSUfan4444 said:


> I am asking if I read your post correctly? It took you 25 minutes to get from the parking toll booths, to park your car, walk to the gates, go through security, enter the park and walk to Pandora? That seems incredibly fast to me so I either am misunderstanding or I was curious how you did it so fast.  A 15-20 minute difference in arrival at DAK could be the difference between starting our day with FoP or saving it until park close.



Yes that is what it took to roll through the tolls and get to the bridge between Pandora and Africa where the line started. We were 3rd row from the front and towards the park side so saved some extra steps there. We had all our bags organized and ready to breeze through security. One kid on back, one in stroller, two walking. Since it was open there were no lines at temp, security, or ticketing. Just were ready and walked quickly.


----------



## nkereina

tstein12 said:


> Uber will have to wait in line with rest of cars to get into park - no special car lines for Uber/Lyft


Would you suggest taking the bus? Is the car line pretty long?


----------



## lorileahb

erinch said:


> This is exactly what I did. Dumped the family, and arrived at about 7:15, when they opened parking. With  drop off I beat the parking lot crows. Walked in to FoP, then rode Navi, and then walked in to FoP again. I then went to Everest and rode as walk-ion 3 times. Could have been more. Fabulous.



Thanks!  We only have until 12 at AK before we eat at Yak & Yeti and head home... our hope is to hit FOP, Navi, Everest, Dinosaur and Kali.  We can always do one after lunch if the waits aren't too long.


----------



## LSUfan4444

nkereina said:


> Would you suggest taking the bus? Is the car line pretty long?


Ive read conflicting reports. One popular blogger (last week) said Disney busses are better than driving to DAK but it's better to drive to MK (which I thought surprising because of the TTC transfer).

I think ultimately, luck is a big part of it and you just can't control it. If you drive you need to be there early but no so early they turn you around. If you take the bus you likely need to be at the bus stop 90 minutes before advertised park opening to ensure you're on the first bus of the day but then you just need to hope a bus arrives as scheduled and your driver isn't caught in the bathroom for ten minutes rather than coming to get you.

Driving gives you more "control" and should save you time but you need to get lucky when planning your arrival so be patient but deliberate with your plans. DAK opens at 8am the parking tolls should open sometime around 7/7:15 am so you can be risky and shoot to get there early but rick you'll be turned around OR wake up and get to the bus stop super early.


----------



## disneyseniors

soniam said:


> That's a bummer. I don't need the darn strawberries. I would be fine with the fruit they have, if any, and Nutella. The spicy chicken and waffles just doesn't look appetizing and doesn't seem breakfasty to me, at least vacation breakfast.



I wonder what part of the country she is at?   We don't have a strawberry shortage at all???   Never have had one all summer and fall.  I live in Mn.,  which is not the strawberry capitol of the world, LOL.


----------



## teach22180

nkereina said:


> Would you suggest taking the bus? Is the car line pretty long?


I will tell you I flew over the car toll booths twice last week in the first 20 skyliner gondolas, and they were not letting any cars in. I did have to line up by 715 for that. Only one member of your family needs to be there early, as it is easy to join them in either bus or gondola lines. Since it's one family per gondola or set of seats, you aren't really hurting the people behind. So, if you are on one of the first buses, you will beat the cars. If not, probably better to drive. I think what drives us all crazy is that there is no guarantee whatever you choose.


----------



## LSUfan4444

teach22180 said:


> I think what drives us all crazy is that there is no guarantee whatever you choose.




Yeah, no doubt....the decision of getitng up much earlier and standing at a bus or gondola stop isn't really reducing the wait time you're just shifting it from when the park is open to before it opens but in the end you're still waiting the same (if not longer) and you have to wake up earlier.


----------



## scrappinginontario

I find it interesting that there is a lot of talk of people lining up at 7am-ish for the Skyliner at Pop but I haven't heard the same for CBR.  What time is the Skyliner line starting at CBR for those who wish to obtain a RotR BG?


----------



## LSUfan4444

scrappinginontario said:


> What time is the Skyliner line starting at CBR for those who wish to obtain a RotR BG?



9 am. but I am not sure what time that line starts forming


----------



## VandVsmama

dachsie said:


> There is a gremlin in me that is thinking if someone starts crowding me in line I might just have to stretch my arms behind me and "accidentally" bump them.



Part of me secretly wants to stand super duper close to them, like inches from his/her face.  Just stand there 4" from the person and not say anything.  And then observe how they react.

And then when they say something like "Hey, what are you doing?" I'd get to reply something like, "Oh, you don't like it when people stand too close to you? That's what you've been doing to us the entire time in this line. Keep your cooties to yourself!"


----------



## lorileahb

COVID aside, I'm looking forward to the additional spacing.  I've never enjoyed people I don't know sharing my row or table almost anywhere.


----------



## LSUfan4444

On my first ever trip to New York (2000) I was out to dinner with a friend and went to the bathroom. When I came back and they had two strangers at my table...I'm from the south and pretty jovial and was like WTH who are these (two) guys, lets chat it up! One guy was older and although I never asked the other guy looked like his son or nephew...

Anyway, after over an hour of telling stories, laughing, having a great time, doing shots, eating wayyyy too much food the older guy picked up the entire bill. While we asked what they did for a living and they said they were in the film industry, that didnt seem weird because my cousin who we were visiting was also in the film industry and so was almost everyone we met that was friends with her.

Anyway, we enjoyed our dinner with Spider-Man Director Sam Raimi and lead actor Tobey Maguire without even knowing who it was at the time


----------



## Fitzwoman27

Is there a separate line for handicapp parking ?


----------



## nancy155

Fitzwoman27 said:


> Is there a separate line for handicapp parking ?


No same line to toll booths, then after you get through those you go to the right and follow the blue line to the handicap parking area.


----------



## Goofy2015

What time do the buses start picking up people for MK? When do you usually arrive with a MK bus? This is leaving from the Boardwalk. 

We are also considering taking an Uber to the Contemporary, which we typically do. However, I am not sure of their ability of dropping off guests without a reservation. Or is some form of reservation or mobile order needed. 

Also, on a similar note, am I able to uber around from resort to resort. That is what we have done in the past. However, with COVID, I am not sure if they are not allowing that. This is what we do for dining and visiting other resort lounges.

Thanks!


----------



## pooch

I am hoping EVERYONE uses Uber!  I really think it’s the best way to get to the parks.  Oh and there will be more room in the busses for me and DGS!


----------



## djmeredith

Goofy2015 said:


> What time do the buses start picking up people for MK? When do you usually arrive with a MK bus? This is leaving from the Boardwalk.
> 
> We are also considering taking an Uber to the Contemporary, which we typically do. However, I am not sure of their ability of dropping off guests without a reservation. Or is some form of reservation or mobile order needed.
> 
> Also, on a similar note, am I able to uber around from resort to resort. That is what we have done in the past. However, with COVID, I am not sure if they are not allowing that. This is what we do for dining and visiting other resort lounges.
> 
> Thanks!


Officially, they are only letting people into other resort parking lots if they have a restaurant reservation (or in some cases a mobile order pick up). However, some have reported that enforcement of that policy is spotty.


----------



## nkereina

teach22180 said:


> I will tell you I flew over the car toll booths twice last week in the first 20 skyliner gondolas, and they were not letting any cars in. I did have to line up by 715 for that. Only one member of your family needs to be there early, as it is easy to join them in either bus or gondola lines. Since it's one family per gondola or set of seats, you aren't really hurting the people behind. So, if you are on one of the first buses, you will beat the cars. If not, probably better to drive. I think what drives us all crazy is that there is no guarantee whatever you choose.


Thanks for the info, but I’m trying to get to AK! Any thoughts on whether is better to bus or Uber there?



scrappinginontario said:


> I find it interesting that there is a lot of talk of people lining up at 7am-ish for the Skyliner at Pop but I haven't heard the same for CBR.  What time is the Skyliner line starting at CBR for those who wish to obtain a RotR BG?


We did this yesterday from CBR. I got in the Skyliner line at 8:07am and there were maybe 50 families ahead of me. The gates were closed so the line started just past the Joffrey’s stand, and I was in line around the corner right by the bus depot. They brought us up to the platform around 8:45 and started the gondolas maybe a minute or two before 9am. We were exiting the Skyliner at 9:18 and had no wait at all to get into the park. Ended up with boarding group 11!

ETA: People coming from Pop and Riviera were sent to the back of the DHS line at CBR. Not sure what time those lines start running, but I would say they are at a disadvantage because the line at CBR was quite long by the time they started running it.


----------



## pooch

Is getting to Epcot by skyline from pop as difficult as it appears to be to DHS?


----------



## DCLMP

pooch said:


> Is getting to Epcot by skyline from pop as difficult as it appears to be to DHS?


No, not at all. You will have to change Skyliners at Caribbean beach, but it's fast and easy.


----------



## Naomeri

Magic Kingdom Day
Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Today was my first park day, after arriving yesterday and going to Disney Springs for dinner.  I’m staying solo at Pop Century, and relying completely on Disney transportation during my stay.

After waking up at 7:15, I ordered my lunch at Cosmic Ray’s in order to lock in my desired lunchtime. I got a slow start actually gettin gout the door, and didn’t arrive at the Magic Kingdom bus line until 7:50.  The line snaked all around, but Pop had cast members directing traffic and everyone did pretty well following distancing and staying in the right pat of the snake.  The first bus arrived at 8:05 and it was a double.  More buses followed right behind it and continued arriving constantly.  I got on a bus at 8:20 and it left at 8:24.  We arrived at MK at 8:40; there was no wait for temp check and I was done with that 2 minutes after arrival.  Made it through security and tapstiles by 8:45, and in line for Pirates at 8:58 (I stopped for a couple pics/selfies with the pretty new castle)

PotC had a delayed start and the line didn’t start moving until 9:08, and I was on at 9:18.  Next up was BTMM at 9:29, which had a posted wait of 25 minutes.  I was on the ride at 9:47, moving almost constantly through the queue.  By the time I got off, the line stretched onto the bridge.  Haunted Mansion had a posted wait of 20 minutes, and I walked on in 10 (never stopped moving for more than 2 seconds through the queue, so I consider that walking on).

I didn’t do much in Fantasyland because it’s not really my thing, but I felt like sitting for a bit, so I headed for Philharmagic.  I walked right in as far as the auditorium doors, where I did end up waiting the posted 10 minutes until 10:25 because of a cleaning cycle.  I almost did 7DMT, but it was posted at 45 minutes, and I had mobile order for Cosmic Ray’s from 11-11:30 and I didn’t want to miss or delay it if the wait time ended up being accurate.

Instead, I headed for Space Mountain and it’s posted 25 minute wait.  I arrived at 10:47, and was on the ride at 11:05.  They were running both sides of the ride today and I got sent to the left.  After I got off, as I walking through the exit queue, I hit “I’m here” for my lunch order at 11:08.  My food was ready at         11:    12, which is right when I arrived.  I got a seat inside and felt very safe taking off my mask for my first public indoor meal since the 2nd week of March.

I hung out and ate my very tasty bacon cheeseburger and fries, and then headed over to Buzz Lightyear.  It was posted as 15 minutes at 11:43, and I was in my ride vehicle at 11:55 (I scored 29,800 because I’m terrible at things that require hand-eye coordination )  After Buzz, I walked to Carousel of Progress at noon with just a couple minute wait to get in.  By this time, I needed a resort cooldown, so I started walking toward the exit, stopping for a Purple Cauldron popcorn bucket in the Hub, and caught the Winnie the Pooh and friends cavalcade.  On the way out, I decided I wanted cinnamon roll for tomorrow morning, so I hit the bakery, which delayed me long enough to see a second cavalcade (Goofy and Max dance party?)

The bus to Pop arrived at 1:04, exactly the same time I did, but we had to sit around for about 15 minutes because of a driver switch and to fill more seats (I thought I was going to have a private ride for a while).  The Hippy Dippy pool was not at all crowded and felt wonderful after my park morning.  It started to sprinkle a bit, and looked like it was heading towards a proper rain, so I headed back to my room to wait it out.

About 4, I was ready to head back to MK to see if I could knock out all 3 Mountains in the short time left in the park hours.  I hit the bus stop at 4:08 and a bus was waiting, and we left Pop at 4:14.  I walked through the MK tapstiles for the 2nd time today at 4:34 and followed the Main Street Philharmagic band down Main Street (which makes walking really easy because everyone steps to the edge of the sidewalk to watch and you can just buzz right by).

Space Mountain was posted as 10 minutes at 4:42 and it takes that long just to walk through the 8 billion miles of queue winding around in there.  I got sent to the right this time and got on at 4:52.  Headed for the other side of the park and the rest of the Mountains.  BTMM was down when I got there, so I hit Splash, which was posted as 30 minutes at 5:10.  I was on the ride at 5:15 and my face got very wet when we hit the Briar Patch  but the rest of me stayed reasonably dry.  BTTM was up and running at 5:32 with a posted 35 minute wait.  I was on at 5:58, and completed my “3-Mountains-in-Less-than-2-Hours” challenge.  Hit the Pop bus stop at 615, constant buses coming, and I was sitting in a seat at 6:28.

TL;DR: rides times are mostly close/somewhat shorter than posted, pre-planning lunch is super helpful, I walked a lot (18,536 steps/7.57 miles, according to my AppleWatch) but stood around very little, which makes my feet and knees much happier.  Oh, and my mask didn’t particularly annoy me, and mostly everyone else was good about it.

PS: I apologize to every single person who was ahead of me in a line today, I haven’t broken myself of the Disney conditioning to fill all available space and I frequently found myself creeping forward more than I ought to have.  I shall endeavor to do better at HS tomorrow


----------



## imjen

Naomeri said:


> Magic Kingdom Day
> Tuesday, October 27, 2020
> 
> Today was my first park day, after arriving yesterday and going to Disney Springs for dinner.  I’m staying solo at Pop Century, and relying completely on Disney transportation during my stay.
> 
> After waking up at 7:15, I ordered my lunch at Cosmic Ray’s in order to lock in my desired lunchtime. I got a slow start actually gettin gout the door, and didn’t arrive at the Magic Kingdom bus line until 7:50.  The line snaked all around, but Pop had cast members directing traffic and everyone did pretty well following distancing and staying in the right pat of the snake.  The first bus arrived at 8:05 and it was a double.  More buses followed right behind it and continued arriving constantly.  I got on a bus at 8:20 and it left at 8:24.  We arrived at MK at 8:40; there was no wait for temp check and I was done with that 2 minutes after arrival.  Made it through security and tapstiles by 8:45, and in line for Pirates at 8:58 (I stopped for a couple pics/selfies with the pretty new castle)
> 
> PotC had a delayed start and the line didn’t start moving until 9:08, and I was on at 9:18.  Next up was BTMM at 9:29, which had a posted wait of 25 minutes.  I was on the ride at 9:47, moving almost constantly through the queue.  By the time I got off, the line stretched onto the bridge.  Haunted Mansion had a posted wait of 20 minutes, and I walked on in 10 (never stopped moving for more than 2 seconds through the queue, so I consider that walking on).
> 
> I didn’t do much in Fantasyland because it’s not really my thing, but I felt like sitting for a bit, so I headed for Philharmagic.  I walked right in as far as the auditorium doors, where I did end up waiting the posted 10 minutes until 10:25 because of a cleaning cycle.  I almost did 7DMT, but it was posted at 45 minutes, and I had mobile order for Cosmic Ray’s from 11-11:30 and I didn’t want to miss or delay it if the wait time ended up being accurate.
> 
> Instead, I headed for Space Mountain and it’s posted 25 minute wait.  I arrived at 10:47, and was on the ride at 11:05.  They were running both sides of the ride today and I got sent to the left.  After I got off, as I walking through the exit queue, I hit “I’m here” for my lunch order at 11:08.  My food was ready at         11:    12, which is right when I arrived.  I got a seat inside and felt very safe taking off my mask for my first public indoor meal since the 2nd week of March.
> 
> I hung out and ate my very tasty bacon cheeseburger and fries, and then headed over to Buzz Lightyear.  It was posted as 15 minutes at 11:43, and I was in my ride vehicle at 11:55 (I scored 29,800 because I’m terrible at things that require hand-eye coordination )  After Buzz, I walked to Carousel of Progress at noon with just a couple minute wait to get in.  By this time, I needed a resort cooldown, so I started walking toward the exit, stopping for a Purple Cauldron popcorn bucket in the Hub, and caught the Winnie the Pooh and friends cavalcade.  On the way out, I decided I wanted cinnamon roll for tomorrow morning, so I hit the bakery, which delayed me long enough to see a second cavalcade (Goofy and Max dance party?)
> 
> The bus to Pop arrived at 1:04, exactly the same time I did, but we had to sit around for about 15 minutes because of a driver switch and to fill more seats (I thought I was going to have a private ride for a while).  The Hippy Dippy pool was not at all crowded and felt wonderful after my park morning.  It started to sprinkle a bit, and looked like it was heading towards a proper rain, so I headed back to my room to wait it out.
> 
> About 4, I was ready to head back to MK to see if I could knock out all 3 Mountains in the short time left in the park hours.  I hit the bus stop at 4:08 and a bus was waiting, and we left Pop at 4:14.  I walked through the MK tapstiles for the 2nd time today at 4:34 and followed the Main Street Philharmagic band down Main Street (which makes walking really easy because everyone steps to the edge of the sidewalk to watch and you can just buzz right by).
> 
> Space Mountain was posted as 10 minutes at 4:42 and it takes that long just to walk through the 8 billion miles of queue winding around in there.  I got sent to the right this time and got on at 4:52.  Headed for the other side of the park and the rest of the Mountains.  BTMM was down when I got there, so I hit Splash, which was posted as 30 minutes at 5:10.  I was on the ride at 5:15 and my face got very wet when we hit the Briar Patch  but the rest of me stayed reasonably dry.  BTTM was up and running at 5:32 with a posted 35 minute wait.  I was on at 5:58, and completed my “3-Mountains-in-Less-than-2-Hours” challenge.  Hit the Pop bus stop at 615, constant buses coming, and I was sitting in a seat at 6:28.
> 
> TL;DR: rides times are mostly close/somewhat shorter than posted, pre-planning lunch is super helpful, I walked a lot (18,536 steps/7.57 miles, according to my AppleWatch) but stood around very little, which makes my feet and knees much happier.  Oh, and my mask didn’t particularly annoy me, and mostly everyone else was good about it.
> 
> PS: I apologize to every single person who was ahead of me in a line today, I haven’t broken myself of the Disney conditioning to fill all available space and I frequently found myself creeping forward more than I ought to have.  I shall endeavor to do better at HS tomorrow


Sounds like a fantastic day with really good wait times. 

Does Splash Mountain typically get you very wet? I'm a DL vet and sometimes wear a poncho on Splash Mtn at DL because I've walked away quite soaked before. How fast do you usually dry off in Florida?


----------



## Naomeri

imjen said:


> Sounds like a fantastic day with really good wait times.
> 
> Does Splash Mountain typically get you very wet? I'm a DL vet and sometimes wear a poncho on Splash Mtn at DL because I've walked away quite soaked before. How fast do you usually dry off in Florida?


It really was a good day.   I actually hadn’t been on Splash in YEARS, it was down for refurbs the last 2 trips.  I was prepared to get soaked, and that’s why it was supposed to be the last ride of the day.  I stuffed a ziploc in my pocket for my phone during Splash, and left my bag at the resort since I was only going for a couple hours.

I saw a woman getting out of a boat who looked absolutely soaked, but who knows if that was from the afternoon rain, or multiple rides, since it was basically a walk-on.  The minor splashes of water on my clothes dried in less than 30 minutes, and my pixie-short hair dried in less than 10.


----------



## dachsie

imjen said:


> Sounds like a fantastic day with really good wait times.
> 
> Does Splash Mountain typically get you very wet? I'm a DL vet and sometimes wear a poncho on Splash Mtn at DL because I've walked away quite soaked before. How fast do you usually dry off in Florida?


One day I got a nice soaking from Splash.  When the log came down the mountain it sprayed all the way over the the one I was in that was heading in the opposite direction.  And I chose the last seat so I wouldn't get wet.


----------



## nancy155

dachsie said:


> One day I got a nice soaking from Splash.  When the log came down the mountain it sprayed all the way over the the one I was in that was heading in the opposite direction.  And I chose the last seat so I wouldn't get wet.


I have always chosen the next to last seat and have stayed relatively dry. Now at Disneyland I got totally soaked throughout the ride. I don’t think it matters where you sit!


----------



## Elle23

nancy155 said:


> I have always chosen the next to last seat and have stayed relatively dry. Now at Disneyland I got totally soaked throughout the ride. I don’t think it matters where you sit!



Splash Mountain is my favorite ride, but I won’t ride it at DL because I got a absolutely drenched on it a few years ago. They seriously need to turn the water level down!!


----------



## LSUfan4444

nkereina said:


> Any thoughts on whether is better to bus or Uber there?




The most recent report I saw (from a popular blogger I saw and trust) said bus but I have now read two reports on here that said that managed to get from the toll booth to pandora in 25 minutes which seems quick to me.

I think ultimately, which ever method you decide, if you arrive and realize you are not one of the first 200-300 people inside the park, do not fo FoP first. Skip it and do it later because you can do it with a 60 min wait anytime throughout the day so don't waste your morning standing in a line you can stand in any other time...use that time to do Navi, Safari, Everest and Dinosaur instead.

if you do arrive and realize you are one of the first couple hundred in the park, then yes....go knock out FoP


----------



## disneygirlsng

LSUfan4444 said:


> The most recent report I saw (from a popular blogger I saw and trust) said bus but I have now read two reports on here that said that managed to get from the toll booth to pandora in 25 minutes which seems quick to me.
> 
> I think ultimately, which ever method you decide, if you arrive and realize you are not one of the first 200-300 people inside the park, do not fo FoP first. Skip it and do it later because you can do it with a 60 min wait anytime throughout the day so don't waste your morning standing in a line you can stand in any other time...use that time to do Navi, Safari, Everest and Dinosaur instead.
> 
> if you do arrive and realize you are one of the first couple hundred in the park, then yes....go knock out FoP


It was just over 20 minutes for me to get to Pandora, I was glad I had drove there as buses hadn't arrived yet while I was walking in to the park. But that wasn't super recent, so not sure how much it's changed. It really seems like the timing of toll booths opening and buses arriving changes every day, which doesn't really help with planning.


----------



## jlovesee

I know the official listed time is 9 am but I have read other places that people have gotten in early and actually ridden a few rides prior to the posted open time. I’m staying at BLT so I can walk over anytime. Thanks!

jennifer


----------



## yulilin3

jlovesee said:


> I know the official listed time is 9 am but I have read other places that people have gotten in early and actually ridden a few rides prior to the posted open time. I’m staying at BLT so I can walk over anytime. Thanks!
> 
> jennifer


You can read recent reports here
Usually around 8:20 to 8:30


----------



## dboughner

Does anyone know, can I take the resort monorail over to the contemporary before 8am without a reservation? Or do I need to leave a mobile order to be able to do that? We'll be staying at the Poly but wanted to meet up with the rest of our group staying at the contemporary to walk to my together.


----------



## WEDWDW

pooch said:


> Is getting to Epcot by skyline from pop as difficult as it appears to be to DHS?


For Epcot Park Opening there can be a substantial line at CBR Station before the Gondolas start running to Epcot for the day.


----------



## Sarahslay

disneyseniors said:


> I wonder what part of the country she is at?   We don't have a strawberry shortage at all???   Never have had one all summer and fall.  I live in Mn.,  which is not the strawberry capitol of the world, LOL.


My friend and I live in Georgia, we get our strawberries from the same areas Florida does. Just a note, they took all things with berries off the menu at the waffle stand at F&W in Epcot this week too. We do have strawberries, but they don't look great and are not as plentiful. I can get them from Costco, but do I want to eat them looking the way they have been? Absolutely not.


----------



## Leigh L

Sarahslay said:


> My friend and I live in Georgia, we get our strawberries from the same areas Florida does. Just a note, they took all things with berries off the menu at the waffle stand at F&W in Epcot this week too. We do have strawberries, but they don't look great and are not as plentiful. I can get them from Costco, but do I want to eat them looking the way they have been? Absolutely not.


Any berry fruit we've bought here (Northern Virginia) for the past month have tasted sour. We stopped buying them for now.

Edit: Sorry mods, didn't mean to go too far OT since I'm not near FL


----------



## brockash

dboughner said:


> Does anyone know, can I take the resort monorail over to the contemporary before 8am without a reservation? Or do I need to leave a mobile order to be able to do that? We'll be staying at the Poly but wanted to meet up with the rest of our group staying at the contemporary to walk to my together.


Yes you can...no mobile order needed.


----------



## Sarahslay

Leigh L said:


> Any berry fruit we've bought here (Northern Virginia) for the past month have tasted sour. We stopped buying them for now.
> 
> Edit: Sorry mods, didn't mean to go too far OT since I'm not near FL


Yep, what there is isn't good quality right now, so I'm sure that factors in to things. I keep seeing stuff taken off of menus and most of it has stuff like this that is just not in high supply. We all just gotta remember supply chain isn't what it once was, I keep trying to tell myself this anyway as I go back to places I went to in August on my next trip that have had some menu shake ups recently.


----------



## scrappinginontario

pooch said:


> Is getting to Epcot by skyline from pop as difficult as it appears to be to DHS?





DCLMP said:


> No, not at all. You will have to change Skyliners at Caribbean beach, but it's fast and easy.


The same challenge can happen going from Pop to Epcot so you will want to leave ample time.  A guest reported on the Pop thread yesterday that the boarded the Skyliner at Pop at 10:05, arrived at CBR and were instructed to go down the ramp and join the end of the CBR Epcot line.  At 10:30 they were still in line waiting to board at CBR.

Just want people to know that a wait to board the Epcot Skyliner may happen at CBR so you will want to leave time for that.


----------



## LSUfan4444

disneygirlsng said:


> It really seems like the timing of toll booths opening and buses arriving changes every day,



100%

Both strategies need a little luck to be successful but the one thing that can be controlled is how early you get to the bus stop. If you drive you might beat the busses, you might not, but you need to get to the toll booths early enough to be one of the first ones in but not too early that they will turn you around.

I think the key now is to plan for being the first or the thousandth person in the park and having a plan for both because the approach should not be the same and right now you won't know which one you will be until you actually arrive.


----------



## Day-Day

pooch said:


> Is getting to Epcot by skyline from pop as difficult as it appears to be to DHS?


It depends on what time you plan to go.  It is worse if you are planning to get to EPCOT early.  Wait in line with mostly folks that are going to DHS at POP then wait in line at the Caribbean Beach station and wait for the skyliner operations to EPCOT to begin.


----------



## imjen

Elle23 said:


> Splash Mountain is my favorite ride, but I won’t ride it at DL because I got a absolutely drenched on it a few years ago. They seriously need to turn the water level down!!


It's one of my favs too but I didn't ride it last time I was at DL in Feb. bc it wasn't a very hot day and I didn't want to get soaked. I really want to ride it a couple times at MK. We have 2 MK days. Is the best time to ride in the morning or are the lines in the afternoon typically not too bad? We're there on a Wednesday and Friday.

On a similar note, is Kali RR similar to Grizzly RR at DCA? Do you get really wet?


----------



## only hope

imjen said:


> Sounds like a fantastic day with really good wait times.
> 
> Does Splash Mountain typically get you very wet? I'm a DL vet and sometimes wear a poncho on Splash Mtn at DL because I've walked away quite soaked before. How fast do you usually dry off in Florida?



Normally it’s a crapshoot; some people get soaked and some sprinkled. When I rode last month, many water features had been turned off, including the cannon that hits boats after the drop as you drift back by the drop. I’ve seen reports of others saying the same thing. 



imjen said:


> It's one of my favs too but I didn't ride it last time I was at DL in Feb. bc it wasn't a very hot day and I didn't want to get soaked. I really want to ride it a couple times at MK. We have 2 MK days. Is the best time to ride in the morning or are the lines in the afternoon typically not too bad? We're there on a Wednesday and Friday.



Splash is always busy now, probably due to the announced retheme and reduced capacity. Rope dropping is best but risky as it often isn’t ready to go when the park opens. Currently it’s only 25 though. Watch wait times on the app during the week or so preceding your trip to get an idea of what to expect.


----------



## Beer Me

imjen said:


> It's one of my favs too but I didn't ride it last time I was at DL in Feb. bc it wasn't a very hot day and I didn't want to get soaked. I really want to ride it a couple times at MK. We have 2 MK days. Is the best time to ride in the morning or are the lines in the afternoon typically not too bad? We're there on a Wednesday and Friday.
> 
> On a similar note, is Kali RR similar to Grizzly RR at DCA? Do you get really wet?



I haven’t been to DCA but on Kali RR it’s common to get significantly wet with a possibility of getting completely soaked.


----------



## My3SonsSTX

Alrighty, here is my trip report. I didn't take my laptop with me and wasn't going to try to do a daily on my phone. Hopefully, this is informative for some of you.

Our trip was from 22-27 Oct with the 4-day military "park hopper (RIP)" tickets. I had my 5 y/o DS and senior DM with me (I'm the DD). Overall, we have a good trip and the parks were plenty of fun, plenty of good experiences, but I will say I wish I would have waited until mid-Nov. My initial expectation was more Halloween theming (scarce at best) and cooler weather to cope with wearing masks. It was rather warm, and while wearing the masks wasn't super-duper awful it was ok.

We flew into MCO, and if anyone can correct me if I'm wrong but our last trip in 2016 we found the Magical Express really easily with some CM help. Signage seemed to be better then, as well. This go around, it was a bit of a struggle. So, I'm not sure if anything in MCO changed or if Disney pulled any CM's from helping wayward travelers. Regardless, when we got to CBR we were dropped at Old Port Royale as expected. I kind of lucked out as I had ordered groceries through Walmart beforehand, the driver was waiting on us, was super nice, and actually gave us a ride to Jamaica.  Immediately, I was thinking "such magic."

*Day One at MK*: I had booked an ECV for my mom, inadvertently somehow it was delivered to Beach Club (I really think this happened when I called to talk to someone at ScooterBug the week prior who accidentally changed it because there's just no way I could've made this mistake...laugh), so we took the bus from OPR to MK. ScooterBug changed the delivery of the ECV up for me to Contemporary, so we could swing over there later to pick that up. Minor hiccup, no big deal. We ended up just messing around for a bit at MK before picking up the ECV. My mom is 72 with a bad hip, so I didn't want to push it for her. Naturally, as much as I wanted to get to every park before rope drop this never happened during our visit (keep that in mind). We had an early lunch at Contempo Cafe (great place to cool off, a short ride on the monorail--no problems), then headed back to MK. Security/temp check is just fine, easy to get through. I didn't get a DAS for my mom initially because I've read on this very site mobility issues are not considered worthy of a DAS by Disney, so that misinformation must get dispelled because it's not true. Regardless, we got through most lines just fine at MK. They were usually shorter than advertised, and if a CM happened to spot my mom on her rollerskate they would point us to the ACA entrance anyway. Sometimes that happened, sometimes it didn't. The chokepoints around Small World and Peter Pan are a bit annoying. They're working on the facade of Small World so there is even less distance between both ride fronts/lines, which it was already a packed area. If you don't want to be on top of one another going through there, just take the long way around. People are pretty good about keeping their distance overall, but as people do, they don't always pay attention to those around them as they're fixated on what's in front of them. I will say, mom's ECV was a decent deterrent of parting the waves.

We stayed until it was dark. Got some great photos of the castle and Main Street (sorry, but iPhone 11 Pro cam is superior!). There were a few rides I wanted to ride that we just couldn't get to, that was kind of frustrating but it is what it is. Don't expect to ride everything right now with shortened hours unless you get there during "magic hour" and stay until the end. It's hard enough during full park hours, right now with shortened hours (why?) I just can't see it for nearly anyone yet alone anyone with small children. You HAVE to take breaks from mask face.

I found all CM's to be really wonderful throughout this entire trip, barring the occasional CM telling my little guy to pull up his mask the moment we were stepping off a ride. Only one time I lost my patience on that, and feel bad about that, but it was after waiting in a very long line... MTF on that.

*Day Two at Epcot:  *Total. Waste. Of. Time. Ok, maybe not entirely but I made a great mistake here. I didn't realize the Fall Food & Wine Fest had been extended nor was so freaking popular with locals. The park was PACKED. Not only just packed, but packed with drunk adults who were acting like I did in my early 20s when I had no cares. Being around that with a child and your mom was just no bueno.
We took Skyliner to Epcot that morning Oh, no we didn't. We had to take the bus from the SL station by CBR because.... wait for it... SL to Epcot was down. (I have an entire rant on this on my podcast which I'll link but be forewarned, I'm an Army retiree so it's a little brash My crazy podcast) When you've been waiting to ride SL since you learned it was being planned, and you get your little child excited about it, it's just like the Griswold's at Wally World. I wasn't upset, just disappointed. Disney Parks did a solid immediately having bus service arrive to transport people (superb!) but they would fail hard on this for HS transportation. We waited over a good hour to ride Frozen Forever and ever and ever and ever. I'm glad that at least in that area, there is a lot of shade. I wouldn't wait that long twice, but even my son and I are big Frozen fans (we did get a pic with Elsa at her meeting point which was really cool, I did ask her hand in marriage but she didn't hear me through my mask) so I didn't want to miss this. That was by the afternoon. In the morning, we got on stuff rather quickly. Not much waiting for the simple rides upfront in the park. We even had a Pooh interaction by Figment that was really neat.

Overall with Epcot, we could've skipped it and done a second day of MK but everything is clearer in hindsight. If you go, do a weekday visit to avoid the festival crowds. On one hand, if a lot of people are there just to buy overpriced food and beer they're congregating in the world tour area so that should free up rides up front...should.

*Day Three at AK:*  I really love Animal Kingdom, I do I do I do. Again though, I think we could've given AK a pass on this Sunday and just planned on two days at HS. However, I wanted my son to experience all that makes AK so lovable and it was pretty good. Lion King is still shut down for some bizarre reason and I say that because It's Tough to Be A Bug is open. What's the difference here? They social distance the audience inside a space, why can you not do this at the Lion King? This is one of those little checkmarks that go in my regret section. That show is amazing, and I knew it wasn't running but none the less it's really disappointing. We actually arrived by bus to this park right before rope drop, small miracle, and headed straight for our Safari adventure where we basically walked right on. This is always fun, though, I recommend going a little later when the sun isn't blinding while trying to see those lions stretch out and about (we did get to see all three, so awesome). Nothing took away from this experience as it was business as usual, which was about how it was for most of the park until... Na'vi River Journey. "Jason, why didn't you go straight there at park opening?" Argh, I don't know! We had to get it in before leaving, it was a 65 minute wait according to the MDE app and it was AT LEAST that long. My friend that lives in Orlando who regularly goes said he's never waited more than 15 min for that ride. So, ***? I can understand FoP being a long wait but NRJ? Maybe from cleaning the boats a lot? Plus, this queue when that long is nearly entirely in the sun. My son fell asleep on my shoulders eventually. This was the ride where I snapped at a CM as we got out of the boat for telling my son to pull up his mask. I wasn't mean, I just replied, "he's very healthy, calm down." LOL... I felt bad immediately and before we walked out entirely, I went back to her and apologized. But seriously, you wait over an hour for a six-minute ride... let parents correct the healthiest bodies in the park, CM. The people to truly worry about are super spreader adults walking around with masks pulled under their chins not caring and touching everything. Again though, this rarely happened and 99.9% of the time it did I reminded him to pull the mask up. It's harder to find decent fitting masks for little heads. (this is really long, right? Sorry, I'm a writer.)

As we left AK, I told my mom we could've skipped that one too but she said she enjoyed it still and I know my son did. I would've preferred two days at the best parks anyway.

*Day four at HS:  *Hooray! We're going to get to the park early, get on that virtual queue for ROTR, and have a ball! Easy peasy, baby! Bahahahahaha! Wrong, peasant! You WILL ride the Skyliner and you WILL like it! This was the nightmare everyone has been discussing and it's absolutely true. We were headed to HS on a Monday morning, you'd just imagine the crowd would be a little lighter. However, with Pop and AoA, plus CBR being pushed to this station and zero bus service to HS from this area--it's just ridiculous. I cannot for the life of me understand their logic on this one. Ride by TTC and you'll see nearly 100 buses just sitting. Is it a driver issue? I'm not sure but this issue right here really pushes me to not stay at an Epcot area resort because I sure as heck am not dealing with this twice.

Now, with every problem pointed out one should provide a solution. So, here is mine:  use Lyft or Uber for your HS day if you're at one of these resorts. We did not because my mom's ECV. I didn't see an ACA-friendly ride option using either Lyft or Uber. I was probably missing something to find that option but had I found it, you bet your *** I would have taken that car. We waited nearly an hour to get on the SL which put us at the park a bit after 10. I wasn't a happy person about this at all, my son was already in tired mode by the time we got there, and we were close to implosion. We had to take a moment to gather ourselves before heading in, which upon entry (and finally grabbing a DAS thankfully) the magic sprinkled on our sweaty little heads returning happiness to our troop. From then on, the day was great! I'm very happy I scheduled HS on our last day because overall, our trip ended on a good note. Had I done Epcot or AK last, it would've just been a meh ending. If you can use a DAS, do so. I have no shame in doing the happy dance about passing on a 105 minute wait for MMRR. That's just stupid and unavoidable if you can't sprint to the ride before rope drop. I'm curious what the wait time was before pandemia set in.

Galaxy's Edge is the best damn theming in all the world over. From interactions with Kylo and stormtroopers (we had sugar skull Dark Side of the Force shirts on Get them here... ) trying to recruit my son, to being yelled at by Rey for being against the Resistance (love her), building a BB droid (wish we would've done the R2), GE is just awesome. I could spend an entire day there. This is a preference, of course, but I think a good one.

Are there some disappointments? Absolutely. But I think whether it's normal time or not you'll always stuble upon some frustrations. Overall, there isn't a place I would rather be than WDW. I do wish we would've waited until mid-Nov to go for the holiday theming but no real regrets. I am turning around and planning for our 2021 50th anny trip now. WDW is gonna get your money, I just want 100% in return for it. Time will tell.

Again, sorry for it being so long but writing is second nature for me. I'll probably even add to this as I think about more. Please ask me any questions you'd like. Also, I'll be working on a couple of short video clips to toss on to my personal YT channel which I'll link back at some time.


----------



## Lumpy1106

imjen said:


> It's one of my favs too but I didn't ride it last time I was at DL in Feb. bc it wasn't a very hot day and I didn't want to get soaked. I really want to ride it a couple times at MK. We have 2 MK days. Is the best time to ride in the morning or are the lines in the afternoon typically not too bad? We're there on a Wednesday and Friday.
> 
> On a similar note, is Kali RR similar to Grizzly RR at DCA? Do you get really wet?


We stayed pretty dry on our trip in Aug.  You really only get wet on the drop, so then it's really only the people in that one seat.  All the squirty water features were off (I think due to Covid).  IMHO - temper your expectations - Grizzly RR is a MUCH better ride.


----------



## dboughner

brockash said:


> Yes you can...no mobile order needed.


Thanks!


----------



## teach22180

nkereina said:


> Thanks for the info, but I’m trying to get to AK! Any thoughts on whether is better to bus or Uber there?
> 
> 
> ETA: People coming from Pop and Riviera were sent to the back of the DHS line at CBR. Not sure what time those lines start running, but I would say they are at a disadvantage because the line at CBR was quite long by the time they started running it.


The first 10 gondolas from pop are not sent to the back of the line. That's why I got in line by 715. I know that happens later. Youll make it by 10 but not in time to ride MMRR first. We left CBR around 845 and were at HS before they started temp screening at 9. Only people in front of us were some of the first buses and walkers. No cars allowed in, including uber's, before gondolas started arriving. 

About AK, if you are in one of the first buses, you will beat the ubers. Otherwise uber.


----------



## disneyseniors

Sarahslay said:


> My friend and I live in Georgia, we get our strawberries from the same areas Florida does. Just a note, they took all things with berries off the menu at the waffle stand at F&W in Epcot this week too. We do have strawberries, but they don't look great and are not as plentiful. I can get them from Costco, but do I want to eat them looking the way they have been? Absolutely not.



That's really weird!   Up here in northern Mn., we get lovely juicy, sweet strawberries right now?  Go figure?


----------



## only hope

My3SonsSTX said:


> Alrighty, here is my trip report. I didn't take my laptop with me and wasn't going to try to do a daily on my phone. Hopefully, this is informative for some of you.
> 
> Our trip was from 22-27 Oct with the 4-day military "park hopper (RIP)" tickets. I had my 5 y/o DS and senior DM with me (I'm the DD). Overall, we have a good trip and the parks were plenty of fun, plenty of good experiences, but I will say I wish I would have waited until mid-Nov. My initial expectation was more Halloween theming (scarce at best) and cooler weather to cope with wearing masks. It was rather warm, and while wearing the masks wasn't super-duper awful it was ok.
> 
> We flew into MCO, and if anyone can correct me if I'm wrong but our last trip in 2016 we found the Magical Express really easily with some CM help. Signage seemed to be better then, as well. This go around, it was a bit of a struggle. So, I'm not sure if anything in MCO changed or if Disney pulled any CM's from helping wayward travelers. Regardless, when we got to CBR we were dropped at Old Port Royale as expected. I kind of lucked out as I had ordered groceries through Walmart beforehand, the driver was waiting on us, was super nice, and actually gave us a ride to Jamaica.  Immediately, I was thinking "such magic."
> 
> *Day One at MK*: I had booked an ECV for my mom, inadvertently somehow it was delivered to Beach Club (I really think this happened when I called to talk to someone at ScooterBug the week prior who accidentally changed it because there's just no way I could've made this mistake...laugh), so we took the bus from OPR to MK. ScooterBug changed the delivery of the ECV up for me to Contemporary, so we could swing over there later to pick that up. Minor hiccup, no big deal. We ended up just messing around for a bit at MK before picking up the ECV. My mom is 72 with a bad hip, so I didn't want to push it for her. Naturally, as much as I wanted to get to every park before rope drop this never happened during our visit (keep that in mind). We had an early lunch at Contempo Cafe (great place to cool off, a short ride on the monorail--no problems), then headed back to MK. Security/temp check is just fine, easy to get through. I didn't get a DAS for my mom initially because I've read on this very site mobility issues are not considered worthy of a DAS by Disney, so that misinformation must get dispelled because it's not true. Regardless, we got through most lines just fine at MK. They were usually shorter than advertised, and if a CM happened to spot my mom on her rollerskate they would point us to the ACA entrance anyway. Sometimes that happened, sometimes it didn't. The chokepoints around Small World and Peter Pan are a bit annoying. They're working on the facade of Small World so there is even less distance between both ride fronts/lines, which it was already a packed area. If you don't want to be on top of one another going through there, just take the long way around. People are pretty good about keeping their distance overall, but as people do, they don't always pay attention to those around them as they're fixated on what's in front of them. I will say, mom's ECV was a decent deterrent of parting the waves.
> 
> We stayed until it was dark. Got some great photos of the castle and Main Street (sorry, but iPhone 11 Pro cam is superior!). There were a few rides I wanted to ride that we just couldn't get to, that was kind of frustrating but it is what it is. Don't expect to ride everything right now with shortened hours unless you get there during "magic hour" and stay until the end. It's hard enough during full park hours, right now with shortened hours (why?) I just can't see it for nearly anyone yet alone anyone with small children. You HAVE to take breaks from mask face.
> 
> I found all CM's to be really wonderful throughout this entire trip, barring the occasional CM telling my little guy to pull up his mask the moment we were stepping off a ride. Only one time I lost my patience on that, and feel bad about that, but it was after waiting in a very long line... MTF on that.
> 
> *Day Two at Epcot:  *Total. Waste. Of. Time. Ok, maybe not entirely but I made a great mistake here. I didn't realize the Fall Food & Wine Fest had been extended nor was so freaking popular with locals. The park was PACKED. Not only just packed, but packed with drunk adults who were acting like I did in my early 20s when I had no cares. Being around that with a child and your mom was just no bueno.
> We took Skyliner to Epcot that morning Oh, no we didn't. We had to take the bus from the SL station by CBR because.... wait for it... SL to Epcot was down. (I have an entire rant on this on my podcast which I'll link but be forewarned, I'm an Army retiree so it's a little brash My crazy podcast) When you've been waiting to ride SL since you learned it was being planned, and you get your little child excited about it, it's just like the Griswold's at Wally World. I wasn't upset, just disappointed. Disney Parks did a solid immediately having bus service arrive to transport people (superb!) but they would fail hard on this for HS transportation. We waited over a good hour to ride Frozen Forever and ever and ever and ever. I'm glad that at least in that area, there is a lot of shade. I wouldn't wait that long twice, but even my son and I are big Frozen fans (we did get a pic with Elsa at her meeting point which was really cool, I did ask her hand in marriage but she didn't hear me through my mask) so I didn't want to miss this. That was by the afternoon. In the morning, we got on stuff rather quickly. Not much waiting for the simple rides upfront in the park. We even had a Pooh interaction by Figment that was really neat.
> 
> Overall with Epcot, we could've skipped it and done a second day of MK but everything is clearer in hindsight. If you go, do a weekday visit to avoid the festival crowds. On one hand, if a lot of people are there just to buy overpriced food and beer they're congregating in the world tour area so that should free up rides up front...should.
> 
> *Day Three at AK:*  I really love Animal Kingdom, I do I do I do. Again though, I think we could've given AK a pass on this Sunday and just planned on two days at HS. However, I wanted my son to experience all that makes AK so lovable and it was pretty good. Lion King is still shut down for some bizarre reason and I say that because It's Tough to Be A Bug is open. What's the difference here? They social distance the audience inside a space, why can you not do this at the Lion King? This is one of those little checkmarks that go in my regret section. That show is amazing, and I knew it wasn't running but none the less it's really disappointing. We actually arrived by bus to this park right before rope drop, small miracle, and headed straight for our Safari adventure where we basically walked right on. This is always fun, though, I recommend going a little later when the sun isn't blinding while trying to see those lions stretch out and about (we did get to see all three, so awesome). Nothing took away from this experience as it was business as usual, which was about how it was for most of the park until... Na'vi River Journey. "Jason, why didn't you go straight there at park opening?" Argh, I don't know! We had to get it in before leaving, it was a 65 minute wait according to the MDE app and it was AT LEAST that long. My friend that lives in Orlando who regularly goes said he's never waited more than 15 min for that ride. So, ***? I can understand FoP being a long wait but NRJ? Maybe from cleaning the boats a lot? Plus, this queue when that long is nearly entirely in the sun. My son fell asleep on my shoulders eventually. This was the ride where I snapped at a CM as we got out of the boat for telling my son to pull up his mask. I wasn't mean, I just replied, "he's very healthy, calm down." LOL... I felt bad immediately and before we walked out entirely, I went back to her and apologized. But seriously, you wait over an hour for a six-minute ride... let parents correct the healthiest bodies in the park, CM. The people to truly worry about are super spreader adults walking around with masks pulled under their chins not caring and touching everything. Again though, this rarely happened and 99.9% of the time it did I reminded him to pull the mask up. It's harder to find decent fitting masks for little heads. (this is really long, right? Sorry, I'm a writer.)
> 
> As we left AK, I told my mom we could've skipped that one too but she said she enjoyed it still and I know my son did. I would've preferred two days at the best parks anyway.
> 
> *Day four at HS:  *Hooray! We're going to get to the park early, get on that virtual queue for ROTR, and have a ball! Easy peasy, baby! Bahahahahaha! Wrong, peasant! You WILL ride the Skyliner and you WILL like it! This was the nightmare everyone has been discussing and it's absolutely true. We were headed to HS on a Monday morning, you'd just imagine the crowd would be a little lighter. However, with Pop and AoA, plus CBR being pushed to this station and zero bus service to HS from this area--it's just ridiculous. I cannot for the life of me understand their logic on this one. Ride by TTC and you'll see nearly 100 buses just sitting. Is it a driver issue? I'm not sure but this issue right here really pushes me to not stay at an Epcot area resort because I sure as heck am not dealing with this twice.
> 
> Now, with every problem pointed out one should provide a solution. So, here is mine:  use Lyft or Uber for your HS day if you're at one of these resorts. We did not because my mom's ECV. I didn't see an ACA-friendly ride option using either Lyft or Uber. I was probably missing something to find that option but had I found it, you bet your *** I would have taken that car. We waited nearly an hour to get on the SL which put us at the park a bit after 10. I wasn't a happy person about this at all, my son was already in tired mode by the time we got there, and we were close to implosion. We had to take a moment to gather ourselves before heading in, which upon entry (and finally grabbing a DAS thankfully) the magic sprinkled on our sweaty little heads returning happiness to our troop. From then on, the day was great! I'm very happy I scheduled HS on our last day because overall, our trip ended on a good note. Had I done Epcot or AK last, it would've just been a meh ending. If you can use a DAS, do so. I have no shame in doing the happy dance about passing on a 105 minute wait for MMRR. That's just stupid and unavoidable if you can't sprint to the ride before rope drop. I'm curious what the wait time was before pandemia set in.
> 
> Galaxy's Edge is the best damn theming in all the world over. From interactions with Kylo and stormtroopers (we had sugar skull Dark Side of the Force shirts on Get them here... ) trying to recruit my son, to being yelled at by Rey for being against the Resistance (love her), building a BB droid (wish we would've done the R2), GE is just awesome. I could spend an entire day there. This is a preference, of course, but I think a good one.
> 
> Are there some disappointments? Absolutely. But I think whether it's normal time or not you'll always stuble upon some frustrations. Overall, there isn't a place I would rather be than WDW. I do wish we would've waited until mid-Nov to go for the holiday theming but no real regrets. I am turning around and planning for our 2021 50th anny trip now. WDW is gonna get your money, I just want 100% in return for it. Time will tell.
> 
> Again, sorry for it being so long but writing is second nature for me. I'll probably even add to this as I think about more. Please ask me any questions you'd like. Also, I'll be working on a couple of short video clips to toss on to my personal YT channel which I'll link back at some time.



Being discussed elsewhere, but nearly every Equity actor has now been laid off, including the Festival of the Lion King actors. It’s not coming back any time soon. The actors would be closer than six feet, which is different from It’s a Bugs Life. Anyways, further discussion on News Board if you want to get into it.


----------



## lorileahb

only hope said:


> Being discussed elsewhere, but nearly every Equity actor has now been laid off, including the Festival of the Lion King actors. It’s not coming back any time soon. The actors would be closer than six feet, which is different from It’s a Bugs Life. Anyways, further discussion on News Board if you want to get into it.



Similar to Broadway in New York remaining closed.


----------



## Broncho52

wilkydelts said:


> If you want my just facts break down of each park for Thursday-Sunday park trip with two adults and children ages 8, 7, 4, 1, you can look in my profile for previous posts about each park.
> 
> Overall thoughts:
> 
> Masks are hard. I wear a mask almost all day everyday weekday for work but that did not prepare me for wearing a mask in heat and humidity while walking that much. The Disney speed walk almost suffocated me.
> 
> Drive drive drive!!! If you can afford both the rental and parking it was comforting to control as much as I could. Many people have posted getting in line for buses/skylines 60-90 minutes early. Doing that with four kids under 8 one of the which was an infant was just not an option for me.
> 
> I highly recommend Touring Plans line app it is crowd sourced in real time and was almost spot on all week it really let us know if we should stop in a line.
> 
> Almost every line wait was shorter than listed. Only a handful were within a couple minutes. Only Space Mountain at the end of this the night was longer than expected and it was way off.
> 
> Even with shorter hours you can accomplish almost everything. (Standby only is not that bad but if you knew how to play the FP+ game I understand your views.) But the following exceptions apply:
> 1. Doing headliners more than once is not realistic unless you are dedicating a lot of time to them.
> 2. You have to super early rope drop. It is essentially unadvertised extra hours.
> 3. You can’t leave for midday breaks and must stay to till close.
> 4. Child swap is much more tedious than before since everything is standby only. It adds about 15-20 minutes each swap for the other to go through.
> 
> If shows (like Muppets, Frozen) are a priority you need to go earlier with limited seating they can build long waits for something you used to just wing
> 
> Lower capacity and no FP+ actually helps the shorter trip people because you would of been hard pressed to get a headliner at Hollywood Studios or FOP at Animal Kingdom. Now you can do it if you want to wait for it.
> 
> I have never taken an umbrella to Disney before mainly to carry less and generally large crowds. Glad we did it this time. I recommend it to shelter from the sun when needed.
> 
> If you can afford it, I highly recommend at least one table service meal a day some from 12-4 depending park hours. It gets you a break during high times and it helps avoid some of the chaos of quick service right now.
> 
> Read up on Boarding Groups, security screening, morning procedures. Every step cuts time and helps you in the morning.
> 
> Mask compliance is not something I cared about or really intentionally looked for. There will be people who cheat, don’t comply, fight over it, eat and walk, eat in line. Disney does their best to make it safe but they can’t police everything. If someone not complying bothers you than Disney is not the place for you because you will experience it.
> 
> It appears they are finally opening more snack carts because I did not have the issues others were having locating snacks. Many food vendors still closed.
> 
> Not having people climbing on you in queues is amazing. I know that can’t last but it is liberating.
> 
> My park experience may not be yours Disney is changing rapidly and crowd levels are unpredictable. I would go back soon if I wanted. If things remain status quo or only increase 5-10% Thanksgiving and Christmas people should be fine but no one knows exactly how things will progress.


 Why is child swap longer?  Don’t they still go through the fastpass line?


----------



## disneygirlsng

Broncho52 said:


> Why is child swap longer?  Don’t they still go through the fastpass line?


The 2nd group/person that rides does, but the 1st riders have to wait standby as you usually would if you didn't have a FP for that ride.


----------



## yulilin3

only hope said:


> Being discussed elsewhere, but nearly every Equity actor has now been laid off, including the Festival of the Lion King actors. It’s not coming back any time soon. The actors would be closer than six feet, which is different from It’s a Bugs Life. Anyways, further discussion on News Board if you want to get into it.


just want to clarify that the layoff of almost all equity has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with cutting cost. Before the parks reopen all the live shows were in the process of reblocking their shows so everyone would be distanced, then the union/Disney dispute happened and that was halted. This is being discussed in the operational thread but wanted to make sure everyone understood why it happened


----------



## Victoria3

My3SonsSTX said:


> *Day Three at AK:*  I really love Animal Kingdom, I do I do I do. Again though, I think we could've given AK a pass on this Sunday and just planned on two days at HS. However, I wanted my son to experience all that makes AK so lovable and it was pretty good. Lion King is still shut down for some bizarre reason and I say that because It's Tough to Be A Bug is open. What's the difference here? They social distance the audience inside a space, why can you not do this at the Lion King? This is one of those little checkmarks that go in my regret section. That show is amazing, and I knew it wasn't running but none the less it's really disappointing. We actually arrived by bus to this park right before rope drop, small miracle, and headed straight for our Safari adventure where we basically walked right on. This is always fun, though, I recommend going a little later when the sun isn't blinding while trying to see those lions stretch out and about (we did get to see all three, so awesome). Nothing took away from this experience as it was business as usual, which was about how it was for most of the park until... Na'vi River Journey. "Jason, why didn't you go straight there at park opening?" Argh, I don't know! We had to get it in before leaving, it was a 65 minute wait according to the MDE app and it was AT LEAST that long. My friend that lives in Orlando who regularly goes said he's never waited more than 15 min for that ride. So, ***? I can understand FoP being a long wait but NRJ? Maybe from cleaning the boats a lot? Plus, this queue when that long is nearly entirely in the sun. My son fell asleep on my shoulders eventually. *This was the ride where I snapped at a CM as we got out of the boat for telling my son to pull up his mask. I wasn't mean, I just replied, "he's very healthy, calm down." LOL... I felt bad immediately and before we walked out entirely, I went back to her and apologized. But seriously, you wait over an hour for a six-minute ride... let parents correct the healthiest bodies in the park, CM. The people to truly worry about are super spreader adults walking around with masks pulled under their chins not caring and touching everything. Again though, this rarely happened and 99.9% of the time it did I reminded him to pull the mask up. It's harder to find decent fitting masks for little heads. (this is really long, right? Sorry, I'm a writer.)*



I'm glad you apologized. We all have our moments but she was just doing her job. A lot of parents don't correct their children's behavior.


----------



## wilkydelts

Broncho52 said:


> Why is child swap longer?  Don’t they still go through the fastpass line?



It is longer because with standby only the first part of the swap waits in line the whole time when previously you may of had FP+. Child swap still uses the FP+ line but when you add up getting in line, walking the queue, possibly waiting some time in the queue, the ride time, and then getting back to your group- it adds up. When you have that 15-20min per child swap a day you designate 1-2 hours of time redoing rides instead of just moving on to the next.


----------



## Erica Ladd

I know it’s been posted but do you have to cross the street from speedway? We’ve always stayed at BWI but never went to the speedway and for the life of me with all the maps and pics posted I still can’t visualize it in my head!!!



yulilin3 said:


> I see. Well the only thing i can tell you is that its as safe as any other walkway in Disney


----------



## Befferk

Erica Ladd said:


> I know it’s been posted but do you have to cross the street from speedway? We’ve always stayed at BWI but never went to the speedway and for the life of me with all the maps and pics posted I still can’t visualize it in my head!!!



On the map where it shows you crossing Buena Vista Dr, you are actually walking on a path UNDER the bridge, so not across that street.


----------



## Disneyfan754321

dolewhipdreams said:


> I have a somewhat specific (and kind of gross) situation that I'm looking for some feedback on - hopefully from someone who has had this experience since the parks reopened.
> 
> I wear Invisalign and am supposed to brush my teeth after eating before I put the trays back in. I know masks need to stay on in the bathroom so I'm wondering if there's been anyone else in this group who has gone and found a good way to brush their teeth while obeying the rules and staying safe. I'm kind of thinking I could find a lonely corner outside somewhere and just use a spare cup and water to brush them quickly while staying away from others. Just curious if there's a better option that I just haven't thought of.
> 
> _Note (because I feel like I need it?): My first priority is respecting the cast members and other guests at WDW by following the rules and guidelines. If I can't find a way to clean my teeth and still follow the rules, then I'll just deal with dirty teeth (oral health be darned)._


The family bathrooms are  a good option.. they are a single bathroom.


----------



## Disneymom1126

Grumpy by Birth said:


> Tuesday, DHS - Drove.  Arrived at the entrance at 8:30 for 10:00 am RD and they were still turning people around.  We made one loop and got back around 9:45 and they were allowing cars to queue at the toll booths.  We were about 8-10 cars back.
> 
> 
> Sunday, DHS - Drove.  Arrived at 8:45 am for 10:00 am RD.  The cones were still out but they were getting ready to take them up and had started allowing cars to queue instead of turning them around.  We were about 10 cars back, but when they removed the cones and the lanes spread out to the toll booths, we ended being only 3 cars back.



We are planning to drive to DHS, so this was super helpful. Where did this put you compared to those who arrived using other transportation as it relates to getting into the park? Thanks!


----------



## yulilin3

Erica Ladd said:


> I know it’s been posted but do you have to cross the street from speedway? We’ve always stayed at BWI but never went to the speedway and for the life of me with all the maps and pics posted I still can’t visualize it in my head!!!


I took a video of the walk the other day


----------



## scrappinginontario

yulilin3 said:


> I took a video of the walk the other day


This is a great help!!  Thank you @yulilin3 !!


----------



## imjen

yulilin3 said:


> I took a video of the walk the other day


Thank you! This is very helpful. Question for you...I guess there's two ways to get there from Speedway? Someone mentioned crossing Buena Vista further down under a bridge but this way has you crossing Buena Vista directly across from the Speedway. Is traffic usually pretty light and it's ok to not use a cross walk I guess? Is there a sidewalk on the Speedway side?


----------



## imjen

double post.


----------



## yulilin3

imjen said:


> Thank you! This is very helpful. Question for you...I guess there's two ways to get there from Speedway? Someone mentioned crossing Buena Vista further down under a bridge but this way has you crossing Buena Vista directly across from the Speedway. Is traffic usually pretty light and it's ok to not use a cross walk I guess? Is there a sidewalk on the Speedway side?


You never cross Buena vista,  you cross epcot resort Blvd
There's no sidewalk on the speedway side


----------



## scrappinginontario

imjen said:


> Thank you! This is very helpful. Question for you...I guess there's two ways to get there from Speedway? Someone mentioned crossing Buena Vista further down under a bridge but this way has you crossing Buena Vista directly across from the Speedway. Is traffic usually pretty light and it's ok to not use a cross walk I guess? Is there a sidewalk on the Speedway side?


It's totally up to you but the change just announced today may negate the necessity to walk from Speedway at all.

Thanks for your video @yulilin3.  We'll choose to believe you were the tipping point for them to make the change!! 

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...7ryXvTmggl3yCohATvdlR8MaY62X-wRcRmA8-nPZMuU_c


----------



## yulilin3

scrappinginontario said:


> It's totally up to you but the change just announced today may negate the necessity to walk from Speedway at all.
> 
> Thanks for your video @yulilin3.  We'll choose to believe you were the tipping point for them to make the change!!
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...7ryXvTmggl3yCohATvdlR8MaY62X-wRcRmA8-nPZMuU_c


Lol, right,  there's no need now unless you still want to rope drop mmrr


----------



## PanchoX1

scrappinginontario said:


> It's totally up to you but the change just announced today may negate the necessity to walk from Speedway at all.
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...7ryXvTmggl3yCohATvdlR8MaY62X-wRcRmA8-nPZMuU_c



so.... you still have to try for a BG on the app, you just don't have to be in the park by 10 anymore, right? and it goes live at 7AM now? Am I understanding this right?


----------



## yulilin3

PanchoX1 said:


> so.... you still have to try for a BG on the app, you just don't have to be in the park by 10 anymore, right? and it goes live at 7AM now? Am I understanding this right?


Yes,  you still need to have a park reservation,  but if you don't get one and still want to try at 2pm you have to be inside the park for that point


----------



## auntlynne

This is nearly what I‘be been hoping for.  That would be knowing ahead of time whether I had a BG.  But I’m happy with knowing before I go out for the day.

And double the parties per vehicle is great, too.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

yulilin3 said:


> Lol, right,  there's no need now unless you still want to rope drop mmrr



My kid is all about that Skyliner ‘ride’  so this is good news for me- the idea of Ubering and walking was being met with much resistance. We still want to head right to MMRR- I imagine even with Skyliner we would still be ahead of the game if we line up early enough at the hotel?


----------



## Wood Nymph

We are here now and plan to go to MK tomorrow morning. The park opening time is 9 am but have they been letting people in earlier than that?


----------



## yulilin3

Wood Nymph said:


> We are here now and plan to go to MK tomorrow morning. The park opening time is 9 am but have they been letting people in earlier than that?


Yes,  i was there this morning,  arrived by car,  the toll plaza opened at 8:10, i was the third car parked,  was inside mk at 8:25


----------



## Wood Nymph

yulilin3 said:


> Yes,  i was there this morning,  arrived by car,  the toll plaza opened at 8:10, i was the third car parked,  was inside mk at 8:25


 Thanks.
Do they start running any of the rides early?


----------



## yulilin3

Wood Nymph said:


> Thanks.
> Do they start running any of the rides early?


Yes they do,  not guaranteed but they do


----------



## disney16

I can't remember where I read it...possibly on these boards...that Disney was testing other distanced character appearances (beyond cavalcades) in Epcot.  I know that Pooh, Joy, Alice and Mary Poppins have all been out.  Have there been others?


----------



## imjen

TikiTikiFan said:


> My kid is all about that Skyliner ‘ride’  so this is good news for me- the idea of Ubering and walking was being met with much resistance. We still want to head right to MMRR- I imagine even with Skyliner we would still be ahead of the game if we line up early enough at the hotel?


I am hoping to hear from some next week whether most people are getting to skyliner a bit later. I would prefer taking skyliner as well but don't want to get into HS with a long MMRR line already formed. We will be at HS on the 7th so won't have many days to read reports about how the change has affected things.

Does the MMRR line get shorter at the end of the day? What is it typically?


----------



## grossmansr

Just in time for my HS day on Nov 5. Here's hoping!


----------



## dachsie

disney16 said:


> I can't remember where I read it...possibly on these boards...that Disney was testing other distanced character appearances (beyond cavalcades) in Epcot.  I know that Pooh, Joy, Alice and Mary Poppins have all been out.  Have there been others?


Anna and Elsa are meeting in Epcot


----------



## js

yulilin3 said:


> I took a video of the walk the other day



Wow, this is fabulous! Thank you! I made my Mears ressies today since we are six adults so Uber wont work since I want all of us to be together.

Anyway, I have a question. I am walking from Speedway since I want to get to Epcot early and be among the first waiting for temperature check.
Would it be best for me to just walk straight after crossing the street and go right through BW and then walk through the resort onto the actual BW and walk to Epcot?

We will be ar Epcot on Wednesday, November 11, which is Veteran’s Day. 

I have Mears picking us up at SSR at 8:30 am. Is that enough time? This was very helpful. Thank you again!


----------



## crystal1313

yulilin3 said:


> I took a video of the walk the other day


We watched this!! Thank you SO much!!


----------



## pooch

We will also be at Epcot on the 11th!!  And particular reason you want to get there first?  I am looking forward to a relaxed morning and a ride on the skyliner.


----------



## yulilin3

js said:


> Wow, this is fabulous! Thank you! I made my Mears ressies today since we are six adults so Uber wont work since I want all of us to be together.
> 
> Anyway, I have a question. I am walking from Speedway since I want to get to Epcot early and be among the first waiting for temperature check.
> Would it be best for me to just walk straight after crossing the street and go right through BW and then walk through the resort onto the actual BW and walk to Epcot?
> 
> We will be ar Epcot on Wednesday, November 11, which is Veteran’s Day.
> 
> I have Mears picking us up at SSR at 8:30 am. Is that enough time? This was very helpful. Thank you again!


Yes you can walk straight into boardwalk but instead of walking past the security gate take a right after crossing the street and enter where the buses come and go, there's a walkway.


----------



## bad91922

10/29 HS report. Crowds definitely thinned out in the afternoon. We were in by 945, in line for slinky, got BG 21. We left Riviera via skyliner around 905. I would have Ubered but my husband misunderstood what I was saying. We were able to do SDD, Aliens twice, TSMania (said 45, we were off the ride in 17) and the line did get way shorter at the end of the day. Rode Rise, ate lunch, rode Tower (said 25 minutes, more like 35/40, I stayed with the baby, they hit a cleaning cycle about 5 cars before them). Rode Rise for rider swap, MFalcon (husband didn’t like but I found out he let the kids be the pilots so...). We headed out of the park around 415 but then stopped because we saw a cavalcade and then let the kids shop. I messed up because I thought the park was open until 8. We wanted to go back to ride MMRR and SDD one more time , which would have been possible but when I double checked, it closed at 7 and we finished dinner at 625 at Beaches and Cream. My mistake but we have 3 small kids. I could have planned that dinner better and we would have finished everything we wanted but I was excited for BNC but definitely not worth leaving HS when the crowds had died down. Lesson learned. All in all we had a great day. Masks were hot


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Disneyfan754321 said:


> The family bathrooms are  a good option.. they are a single bathroom.


they are listed as handicapped bathrooms and the wait can be longer than normal bathroom depending on person in front of you


----------



## Disneyfan754321

Betty Rohrer said:


> they are listed as handicapped bathrooms and the wait can be longer than normal bathroom depending on person in front of you


We never had a wait for one.. at least not at MK or AK.  (Last week)


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Disneyfan754321 said:


> We never had a wait for one.. at least not at MK or AK.  (Last week)


i have to use sometimes and have had to wait at both of parks you mention so it does happen. granted not since closure but it is still worth mentioned. one time I was taking longer than family with young child wanted and they kept banging on door complaining esp when child didnt make the wait


----------



## disneyseniors

js said:


> Wow, this is fabulous! Thank you! I made my Mears ressies today since we are six adults so Uber wont work since I want all of us to be together.
> 
> Anyway, I have a question. I am walking from Speedway since I want to get to Epcot early and be among the first waiting for temperature check.
> Would it be best for me to just walk straight after crossing the street and go right through BW and then walk through the resort onto the actual BW and walk to Epcot?
> 
> We will be ar Epcot on Wednesday, November 11, which is Veteran’s Day.
> 
> I have Mears picking us up at SSR at 8:30 am. Is that enough time? This was very helpful. Thank you again!



I would make sure that Mears IS going to pick you up.   I would verify it again.
Why?   Because we had an important pickup that was scheduled the night before at concierge.   The time came and went and we were NOt picked up!   So, we hailed a cab which was waiting, and got to where we were going late.
I learned my lesson with Mears, and never again.  No phone call saying they would be late or not at all, just a no show.  So if this is very important to your group, you might want to call once or twice to verify pick up.


----------



## js

yulilin3 said:


> Yes you can walk straight into boardwalk but instead of walking past the security gate take a right after crossing the street and enter where the buses come and go, there's a walkway.



Thank you. So, I am going to  the street and walk past the Bordwalk sign and keep going right until I see another entrance?

Thank you.


----------



## js

disneyseniors said:


> I would make sure that Mears IS going to pick you up.   I would verify it again.
> Why?   Because we had an important pickup that was scheduled the night before at concierge.   The time came and went and we were NOt picked up!   So, we hailed a cab which was waiting, and got to where we were going late.
> I learned my lesson with Mears, and never again.  No phone call saying they would be late or not at all, just a no show.  So if this is very important to your group, you might want to call once or twice to verify pick up.



Thank you. Their website said they would confirm with me the day prior but if they dont, I will call and call again in the morning of Epcot and day of dinner.

Also, did they charge you?  I gave my credit card and the invoices (three) all have the information and payments. Did you get charged for the no show?


----------



## ColoradoMom!!

I have used the search, but we may try to Uber next Tuesday to MK from Universal.  Wasn't in the original plan, I just can't handle not getting some Disney!

So - Uber will drop us off at TTC, correct? But what is confusing is what time are they allowed to do so?  I am not so sure about trying to get passed security at Contemporary to use the walk way is a good idea.


----------



## ColoradoMom12

ColoradoMom!! said:


> I have used the search, but we may try to Uber next Tuesday to MK from Universal.  Wasn't in the original plan, I just can't handle not getting some Disney!
> 
> So - Uber will drop us off at TTC, correct? But what is confusing is what time are they allowed to do so?  I am not so sure about trying to get passed security at Contemporary to use the walk way is a good idea.


Hi from another mom in Colorado!  

When we were there two weeks ago, the TTC parking lot (which I assume is where Uber drops off) was open about 45 minutes prior to MK opening. We arrived at 8:05 both days we were at MK (9:00 park opening), and one of the days they were letting people into the parking lot shortly thereafter. The second time it was 8:16 when the line started moving.


----------



## yulilin3

js said:


> Thank you. So, I am going to  the street and walk past the Bordwalk sign and keep going right until I see another entrance?
> 
> Thank you.


Yes,  if you're familiar with boardwalk is where the buses come out, by the convention center,  pull up Google maps and satellite view and you'll see it


----------



## js

yulilin3 said:


> Yes,  if you're familiar with boardwalk is where the buses come out, by the convention center,  pull up Google maps and satellite view and you'll see it



Thank you. I am fairly familiar with the BW areaside of the BW not so much the front but I will walk past the sign and I am sure I will then see the street for the bus. I really appreciate the video and all the help and really enjoy reading your posts in the DVC area. Thanks again.


----------



## soniam

Betty Rohrer said:


> i have to use sometimes and have had to wait at both of parks you mention so it does happen. granted not since closure but it is still worth mentioned. one time I was taking longer than family with young child wanted and they kept banging on door complaining esp when child didnt make the wait



That's completely unacceptable for someone to be bothering a person in the family/handicap bathroom. I have had to use the bathroom in a port-o-potty when tipsy at a concert or tried to use the bathroom when wearing a wet bathing suit, Halloween costume, or several layers of winter clothing, like skiing, or with luggage. It's really difficult. I can't even imagine how hard it is to use the restroom when in a wheelchair or with accessibility issues. Also, sometimes people that those rooms don't have good bodily control. That family could have just used a stall. That's what we did with our son, and I have seen families cram into a stall with a mom and 2 or 3 kids when necessary. I don't mind families using the separate room, but they really need to be reserved for people that need the space and privacy, even potentially for getting out of clothing or garments to even use the bathroom. I don't even use the accessible stall in a regular bathroom if other stalls are available.


----------



## lacy1101

yulilin3 said:


> Yes,  i was there this morning,  arrived by car,  the toll plaza opened at 8:10, i was the third car parked,  was inside mk at 8:25



Do you mind to give a little more detail?  We will be coming from AofA and I have my own car.  I assume you're referring to the toll plaza at TTC?  I've actually never driven to the parks before so I'm a little unfamiliar with all of this lol.  Once parked at TTC, we get on the monorail to the MK, correct?  Thanks!


----------



## dachsie

lacy1101 said:


> Do you mind to give a little more detail?  We will be coming from AofA and I have my own car.  I assume you're referring to the toll plaza at TTC?  I've actually never driven to the parks before so I'm a little unfamiliar with all of this lol.  Once parked at TTC, we get on the monorail to the MK, correct?  Thanks!


either the monorail or the ferry boat will get you to MK from the TTC


----------



## scrappinginontario

lacy1101 said:


> Do you mind to give a little more detail?  We will be coming from AofA and I have my own car.  I assume you're referring to the toll plaza at TTC?  I've actually never driven to the parks before so I'm a little unfamiliar with all of this lol.  Once parked at TTC, we get on the monorail to the MK, correct?  Thanks!





dachsie said:


> either the monorail or the ferry boat will get you to MK from the TTC


 Plus they often have buses running from the TTC in the morning and I have read of many being successful using this option too.


----------



## lacy1101

scrappinginontario said:


> Plus they often have buses running from the TTC in the morning and I have read of many being successful using this option too.



It's just so confusing right now and hard to know the best approach.  I just read one post from Thursday last week where the poster got to the bus stop at Pop at 7:50am, was on a bus to MK by 8:20am and was at the tapstiles by 8:45am.  If my experience were to be anything like this, I'd opt for the bus.  It's those other posts that suggest getting in line for the bus 2 hours PPO that make me think I should drive to TTC, but then I get confused on what time I should get there in order to make rope drop.  Like I said, I've never driven to the parks before so don't know the lay of the land at TTC well enough to be confident in that approach.  What would you do?


----------



## scrappinginontario

lacy1101 said:


> It's just so confusing right now and hard to know the best approach.  I just read one post from Thursday last week where the poster got to the bus stop at Pop at 7:50am, was on a bus to MK by 8:20am and was at the tapstiles by 8:45am.  If my experience were to be anything like this, I'd opt for the bus.  It's those other posts that suggest getting in line for the bus 2 hours PPO that make me think I should drive to TTC, but then I get confused on what time I should get there in order to make rope drop.  Like I said, I've never driven to the parks before so don't know the lay of the land at TTC well enough to be confident in that approach.  What would you do?


 Since you’ve asked, if it were me I would take the bus from AoA.  We have stayed at Pop more than 30 times and the buses have never failed us.

I think the key to rope dropping is your willingness to arrive early either at the bus stop (if it were me, 90 mins before park opening) or driving to the TTC.  I really don’t think there is an easy way to sleep as late as possible and still rope drop without stress.  I’d rather wait in a line 90 mins before rope drop and knock out numerous attractions at RD than wait and have a short line at the resort but then spend longer times in line waiting in attraction lines.

My comment in my first post is referring to the option of driving to the TTC and taking a bus from the TTC to MK.  That is also an option I’ve heard works well right now.

our motto for Disney trips is to arrive at the parks as early as we can.  We can always sleep after our trip!


----------



## ctl

nkereina said:


> Thanks for the info, but I’m trying to get to AK! Any thoughts on whether is better to bus or Uber there?
> 
> 
> We did this yesterday from CBR. I got in the Skyliner line at 8:07am and there were maybe 50 families ahead of me. The gates were closed so the line started just past the Joffrey’s stand, and I was in line around the corner right by the bus depot. They brought us up to the platform around 8:45 and started the gondolas maybe a minute or two before 9am. We were exiting the Skyliner at 9:18 and had no wait at all to get into the park. Ended up with boarding group 11!
> 
> ETA: People coming from Pop and Riviera were sent to the back of the DHS line at CBR. Not sure what time those lines start running, but I would say they are at a disadvantage because the line at CBR was quite long by the time they started running it.


Does anyone know if Uber is allowed on WDW right now?  And on the skyliner ...
Gee, why don't they all start at the same time?


----------



## ckmommy

scrappinginontario said:


> Plus they often have buses running from the TTC in the morning and I have read of many being successful using this option too.


Are they running the buses from the TTC now?  We are going rope drop MK next week Sunday and are trying to decide which mode of transportation from the TTC is the fastest.  I have heard it is the buses.  Which makes since--many people would want the iconic monorail.  Looking for advice on this.


----------



## Wood Nymph

We returned home last night (Oct 30th) from our stay at the Yacht Club. We took Southwest Airlines out of Chicago Midway on Sunday morning, Oct 25th. Midway was empty and everyone wore masks. Orlando airport was also empty, including the Magical Express area in the airport. Our bus was half full and we were the second stop, after Pop Century.

In short, our experience at WDW felt very safe. We noticed that mask compliance was excellent for the most part, especially at our resort. We also noticed that when people were eating and drinking with masks off they tended to be stationary and sitting. But we mostly left the parks by noon because it was so very hot while we were there. So that reduced our exposure.

In general, the parks had low crowds. For example, we went to Epcot on Thursday when park hours were 11am to 7pm and we have never seen it that empty. There were 17 people in the American Experience 11:45am show, for example. We went back in the park around 4pm and Soarin', Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth and Test Track were all walk ons. When we were there Sunday afternoon and evening, it was a lot more crowded.

What I missed most from the pre-Covid days was seeing people's faces, talking to strangers, and feeling free to interact with the people around us. Instead, it was as if people were dangerous and you had to stay away from them. You couldn't see people's smiles. 

Bottom line for us was that Disney did a very good job at minimizing risks from Covid. But success relied on people volunteering to comply with the rules. We got lucky and had a great experience. But we also were very careful, too. We haven't decided if we will be back again during the Covid restrictions. We have annual passes that expire in May, so we can wait awhile.


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## yulilin3

lacy1101 said:


> Do you mind to give a little more detail?  We will be coming from AofA and I have my own car.  I assume you're referring to the toll plaza at TTC?  I've actually never driven to the parks before so I'm a little unfamiliar with all of this lol.  Once parked at TTC, we get on the monorail to the MK, correct?  Thanks!


So they will hold you at the tpll plaza until around 8:10-8:15, basically 45 minutes befor park official opening
That day they opened at 8:10am i had been waiting at the toll plaza  since 8am, i was first in my lane,  they opened up and i was 3rd car parked,  walked to the temp check and bag check at ttc and headed to the ferry,  that day they were offering all 3 alternatives,  ferry, monorail or bus. 
Got to mk 8:25 park was open , i walked around m.s. usa for a while before heading to PP and Pooh which were walk on


----------



## KM82

Does anyone know if turkey legs are available in MK right now?  We have tried looking but come up short so far. Thanks!


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## Future_WorldPhonencian

Really appreciate the reports! Has anyone had experience with 7am AK or 8 MK openings since covid? we were planning on bussing but then they expanded hours and we will have a car so i think we might as well drive now, Im assuming car toll booths will open 45mins early but I dont see them running rides much earlier than posted openings right?


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## KM82

KM82 said:


> Does anyone know if turkey legs are available in MK right now?  We have tried looking but come up short so far. Thanks!


Found them at Liberty Market if anyone else ends up looking!


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## disneyseniors

js said:


> Thank you. Their website said they would confirm with me the day prior but if they dont, I will call and call again in the morning of Epcot and day of dinner.
> 
> Also, did they charge you?  I gave my credit card and the invoices (three) all have the information and payments. Did you get charged for the no show?



No thank goodness, we didn't get charged, but it was irritating to just not show when the concierge person made the reservation the night before.   Lots of others on here have had no problem with them, but we are one and done.
Have a great trip


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## lorileahb

Well - the open time for AK just popped up as 7 AM for our scheduled day in a couple of weeks.  I've always gone during the off season and roped dropped... never participated in a 7 a.m. official open time... Any tips?  We are staying at POP - will we really need to get in a bus line at 530 a.m.?  Seriously rethinking our strategy.  Also considering UBER, but would they really open the park 30 or 40 mins early if the official time is 7 a.m.?


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## Tess

lorileahb said:


> Well - the open time for AK just popped up as 7 AM for our scheduled day in a couple of weeks.  I've always gone during the off season and roped dropped... never participated in a 7 a.m. official open time... Any tips?  We are staying at POP - will we really need to get in a bus line at 530 a.m.?  Seriously rethinking our strategy.  Also considering UBER, but would they really open the park 30 or 40 mins early if the official time is 7 a.m.?



Depends on the crowd size at the gate.  At least that is what we have found with the social distancing measures.  You need to weigh that against how many people will actually want to make a 7:00 a.m. rope drop.


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## TikiTikiFan

lorileahb said:


> Well - the open time for AK just popped up as 7 AM for our scheduled day in a couple of weeks.  I've always gone during the off season and roped dropped... never participated in a 7 a.m. official open time... Any tips?  We are staying at POP - will we really need to get in a bus line at 530 a.m.?  Seriously rethinking our strategy.  Also considering UBER, but would they really open the park 30 or 40 mins early if the official time is 7 a.m.?



Same with us too. What time will the buses start running for an early open like that?


----------



## lorileahb

TikiTikiFan said:


> Same with us too. What time will the buses start running for an early open like that?



I have no idea, but I kind of wish it hadn’t opened an hour earlier… LOL. Hoping somebody has some great advice otherwise will just pick how early we want to get up.


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## Tess

TikiTikiFan said:


> Same with us too. What time will the buses start running for an early open like that?



It should be one hour before opening, then again, when we were there a couple of weeks ago, we were in the queue for a bus to AK at 7:15 thinking we would have an 8:00 a.m. bus for the 9:00 a.m. opening.  In fact, an administrative type came out to the bus queue to let everyone know the buses would begin at 8:00 a.m.  At that point the queues for MK and AK were from the bus stop to the entrance of the lobby.

Guess what--the bus didn't arrive until 8:20 a.m. and we were behind the crowds all day including all the folks who were queued behind us but opted for Uber instead.  We were at BC and our kids at YC--we met them at YC thinking with the shared situation that we would have a better chance of getting the first bus.  We got the first bus, but as I said--we were behind the crowds who drove, Ubered and other resorts that actually had buses at 8:00 or earlier.  That said, our first visit to AK that week went off without a hitch--caught the first bus at BC and we were in the parks before the crowds including those who drove and/or Ubered. 

It just depends on how Disney dispatches the buses.  I feel that they rotate bus deployment to lessen the crush at opening.  Just our bad luck on day 2 that YC and BC weren't the first buses sent and arriving at AK.

With regard to how I know we were behind the Uber crowd--while in the FoP queue, we saw folks who Ubered from YC in the line way ahead of us.  They were distinctively dressed and we took note as we watched family after family opting out of the YC queue when it was apparent our buses were not arriving before 8:00 a.m.  Luck of the draw.


----------



## nkereina

ctl said:


> Does anyone know if Uber is allowed on WDW right now?  And on the skyliner ...
> Gee, why don't they all start at the same time?


Yes, we used Uber/Lyft multiple times this past week. The thing is that you have to know what time the parking lots open so you can be dropped off by Uber. MK has a separate drop off at TTC, but for the rest of the parks, Uber has to enter the lot with all the other cars and traffic waiting to get in. You also can’t get dropped off at a nearby resort to walk over unless you have an ADR or mobile dining order.



KM82 said:


> Does anyone know if turkey legs are available in MK right now?  We have tried looking but come up short so far. Thanks!


I wasn’t looking for them at MK, but the America pavilion at Epcot definitely has them.


----------



## nkereina

teach22180 said:


> The first 10 gondolas from pop are not sent to the back of the line. That's why I got in line by 715. I know that happens later. Youll make it by 10 but not in time to ride MMRR first. We left CBR around 845 and were at HS before they started temp screening at 9. Only people in front of us were some of the first buses and walkers. No cars allowed in, including uber's, before gondolas started arriving.


We were at CBR, but got in the Skyliner line for DHS around 8:10 both days. On the first day, they started running right around 9 and we were in the park by 9:20. We did MMRR and were just stepping into the ride car at 10am when boarding groups came up. On the second day, they started running the Skyliner around 8:50, we were held at the DHS entrance until about 9:10, and we were able to do Slinky Dog, Aliens, and Smugglers Run before 10am with 5 minutes to spare. So, we found 8:05-8:10 to be the ideal time to line up at the Skyliner at CBR.


----------



## js

disneyseniors said:


> No thank goodness, we didn't get charged, but it was irritating to just not show when the concierge person made the reservation the night before.   Lots of others on here have had no problem with them, but we are one and done.
> Have a great trip



Yikes! Thank you. I wasn’t aware that lots of others on here have problems with them too.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

So since we don’t really know what AK will do with an early 7AM opening (is this a normal time? seems like a magic hour time to me) does getting an uber around 6AM sound like a good plan if we want to make rope drop?


----------



## gamecock

We are staying at CBR next week for a trip that's been postponed at least 3 times due to health reasons (stupid cancer) and covid.  We plan on taking Skyliner to DHS and Epcot (we did this in January with no issues) and prefer this seeing as we will be the only family in a gondala.  We are debating how to make pre RD for AK and MK?  We will have our car and would prefer to avoid the buses if at all possible given my cancer treatments.  I say all this to ask the following questions.
1.  Does the parking at AK and MK open at the same time as the drop offs for Uber/ lyft?
2.  Do the buses still get to AK prior to when the parking lots open? thus being disadvantaged by driving instead of taking bus?
3.  Is bus or driving quicker for getting to front gate of MK?  Or is Uber to CR still the best option ( I would like to avoid this if possible).
4.  Has anyone riding buses felt uncomfortable with the social distancing etc. while on the bus?

Thank you in advance, and i am sorry if these questions have been previously asked.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

gamecock said:


> We are staying at CBR next week for a trip that's been postponed at least 3 times due to health reasons (stupid cancer) and covid.  We plan on taking Skyliner to DHS and Epcot (we did this in January with no issues) and prefer this seeing as we will be the only family in a gondala.  We are debating how to make pre RD for AK and MK?  We will have our car and would prefer to avoid the buses if at all possible given my cancer treatments.  I say all this to ask the following questions.
> 1.  Does the parking at AK and MK open at the same time as the drop offs for Uber/ lyft?
> 2.  Do the buses still get to AK prior to when the parking lots open? thus being disadvantaged by driving instead of taking bus?
> 3.  Is bus or driving quicker for getting to front gate of MK?  Or is Uber to CR still the best option ( I would like to avoid this if possible).
> 4.  Has anyone riding buses felt uncomfortable with the social distancing etc. while on the bus?
> 
> Thank you in advance, and i am sorry if these questions have been previously asked.


remember at MK if you drive you will still have to take transportation to the gate you can not walk there. from what I have read you can bus, monorail or ferry and that includes Uber, if you use CR plan on making order at CS to pick up as you might not be let in without from what I have read


----------



## bad91922

Animal Kingdom (10/30) opened at 8, we arrive a few minutes after 9. Husband got a phone call so we didn’t even go through the gates until after 915. Headed straight to FOP, had to do a rider swap. Personally the ride makes me nauseous and my husband didn’t care to ride it again so that expired. I had brought the two smaller kids to do triceratops spin x2, didn’t have to get off. Followed by A Bugs Life. I was going to do NRJ with them but the line grew as we set up rider swap and I wasn’t about to wait in line for 40 ( per the sign) by myself. Hindsight, maybe I should have. I figured we’d ride it with my husband and and DD but never went back to that area. 
Did Dinosaur x 2, Everest (got a rider swap but didn’t use), Safari, Bugs Life, ate mobile order and decided to call it quits at 130. 
Seriously wish we would have done a second day at HS instead of AK. There’s a lot missing from AK and my son is just over 40 inches and not to the 44 mark yet so not riding Everest was hard for him. So there wasn’t many rides for him to do and he likes roller coasters. 
we did come to the hotel and rest, swim and dinner at the hotel, so that worked out good to have an afternoon break.


----------



## kittylady1972

Since I so enjoy reading these updates, here is mine from today (Sat 10/31) at AK.

Arrived around 10:30am...met up wtih the rest of our party who had arrived around 9:30am and went to EE where they waiting about 20 minutes for that.

Our party of 7 headed to FoP, got in line around 10:45am showed a 50 minute wait...line move continuously (we were not lined up even to the bridge on the way to Lion King) and were were on in close to 45 minutes.  After that, grabbed lunch at Satuli around noon.  From there to EE, showed I think 30 minutes and I believe we waited about 20.  Next we headed to the Safari (after a short break for ice cream bars) and at about 2pm it was a walk-on.  Left that and walked the Gorilla Trail, then hopped the train over to Rafiki to do the 4pm Animation Experience there...so great.  Left there for dinner at 5:30pm at Tiffins, leaving he restaurant around 7pm to an empty park that closed at 6pm.


----------



## bad91922

Saturday Halloween at MK 
745, Chef Mickey’s. Walked in to MK at park opening (9am)
Big Thunder Mt. (twice with Rider Swap)
while waiting, I realized we were about half an hour ahead of “the crowd”. The crowd seemed to chase us all day and by chance, we mostly stayed ahead of them or worked around them. Again, 3 small kids, I’m surprised our day went so well. But I’ve been reading here and have touring plans membership. 
Splash Mt. (got RS, didn’t use)
Walked to Fantasyland, saw Goofy parade on way
Took about 12 minutes to go through Little Mermaid cue 
Walk on Dumbo
Husband got in line for snack with baby
10 minute wait Barnstormer (found out to ride solo kid must be 7 yo,  6y +10.75 months doesnt cut it. 
Had to get out of line to return a kid to husband. 
we all snacked. 
barnstormer with kid 1, then kid 2. 
1200 lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.Watched Mickey parade on walk to table since we were in the next door area. 
Swiss Family Tree House
Walked to Tomorrowland, saw Princess parade on way
Buzz, wait said 30 minutes, walked through a long cue and was about 15 minutes
Met Buzz
Astro Orbiter (about 10 minute wait)
Tomorrowland Speedway x 2 (you don’t have to rider swap, they out a flag on your car and when you come back around, they let the kids switch so the other can drive) 
Snack, ice creams, floats
Space Mountain (45 posted, waited every bit of it, if not +5, It was a good long wait) 
Pooh (posted 20, actual 10)
Mad Tea party  
Break (we had rented a locker and went back to change kids into Halloween costumes, took about an hour to get back to business again) 
(I missed the villain parade, husband and son dressed as Capt Hook got to see it while in costume so he was happy!) 
Headed back to Fantasyland
Saw Jack and Sally float (their parade is a little lame, not much to it) when we reached the castle
Carousel, then dinner at Beast castle 
Dinner took a while but worth it because it put the kids in great moods 
In the last hour, finished up Peter Pans Flight and Seven Dwarfs Mine Trainx 2 (I believe posted was 40/45, we were off with 3 minutes to spare and clocked in our bands for the second ride right at 858.
Took the ferry to WL, nice not ha big to fold stroller
a full day.  We stayed busy. I just finished switching the clothes over and going tobed at 1157. Ready for my home bed tomorrow evening. Such fun, but busy.
We never got a full family photo. We don’t like the masks and can’t remove for photo pass and never could ask anyone to take, with or without masks, it feels weird to ask someone to hold your property. We needed a volunteer  and never came across one.


----------



## mcomber7

kittylady1972 said:


> Since I so enjoy reading these updates, here is mine from today (Sat 10/31) at AK.
> 
> Arrived around 10:30am...met up wtih the rest of our party who had arrived around 9:30am and went to EE where they waiting about 20 minutes for that.
> 
> Our party of 7 headed to FoP, got in line around 10:45am showed a 50 minute wait...line move continuously (we were not lined up even to the bridge on the way to Lion King) and were were on in close to 45 minutes.  After that, grabbed lunch at Satuli around noon.  From there to EE, showed I think 30 minutes and I believe we waited about 20.  Next we headed to the Safari (after a short break for ice cream bars) and at about 2pm it was a walk-on.  Left that and walked the Gorilla Trail, then hopped the train over to Rafiki to do the 4pm Animation Experience there...so great.  Left there for dinner at 5:30pm at Tiffins, leaving he restaurant around 7pm to an empty park that closed at 6pm.


What is the Animation experience?


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

mcomber7 said:


> What is the Animation experience?


Drawing class... animator teaches you how to draw a Disney character.


----------



## GC&S

We just got back from a 4 - 1/2 day trip (10/27 - 10/31).   We stayed at CB.   Tues was Epcot (arrival day so half day), Wed was HS, Thurs was AK and Fri and Sat were MK days.  We were only at MK until noon on Sat due to Magical Express time .   

I will say if you are freaked out about not social distancing then don't go to Disney.  There isn't any.   Definitely don't go to Disney Springs .    Mask compliance was pretty good but we seldom saw CM's telling people to put their mask over their nose.  Doesn't mean they weren't, we just rarely saw it.  Many people walking around eating and drinking.  Several people in line not wearing masks.   At Thunder Mountain 3 people had masks under their chin, walked past the CM and she said nothing.  We did see a CM tell a mom in front of us at HS to pull up her mask while she was on her cell phone but the minute the CM walked away, she pulled it back down.  Also saw a lot of shields which we thought weren't allowed.    But for the most park people wore their masks correctly.   We did our best to stay out of the way of big crowds and for the most part felt very safe.  

I was concerned about wearing masks in the heat (it was in the 90s 2 days we were there).  But it was fine.   I wear a mask at work most of the day but not in the heat.   

I REALLY hope they keep the line markers.  It was sooooo nice not having people breathing down your neck in line.  I have always hated when people crowd you in line - like that will make the line  move faster.   The lines seemed much more calmer and orderly.  

I will write more about our park days - HS day (awesome)  AK day (not so awesome but still fun).

I had many reservations about going on this trip but we had a great time.   I felt safer at Disney then I do in my community.   We are planning to go back in January.


----------



## NC State

Betty Rohrer said:


> remember at MK if you drive you will still have to take transportation to the gate you can not walk there. from what I have read you can bus, monorail or ferry and that includes Uber, if you use CR plan on making order at CS to pick up as you might not be let in without from what I have read


Also, we had a 6:10 pm reservations at Be Our Guest when we left it was 7:25 pm. No monorail or ferry. We had to go the buses and wait for them to take us to the Transportation & Ticket area for our car.  What a surprise.


----------



## ColoradoMom12

GC&S said:


> I REALLY hope they keep the line markers. It was sooooo nice not having people breathing down your neck in line. I have always hated when people crowd you in line - like that will make the line move faster. The lines seemed much more calmer and orderly.


“Please fill in all of the available space.” It was SO nice when we were there last month to not  hear that line at all! I hate being elbow-to-elbow with a bunch of strangers. Some of the lines used to give me claustrophobia. I really like the distancing markers!


----------



## Sarahslay

Trying to plan for our Thanksgiving week Cali Grill ADR and transportation. We don't do Uber, especially right now (being in the car with a stranger is a no go for us), we will have a car but want to have drinks at dinner since we're sans kids this trip. Now that park hours have been extended to 9pm, and we have a 7:40 ADR, so you think we can still get back over to MK and catch a bus back to YC? Will they close the walk way going back at park close so more people can't come back? I feel like I'm making myself more anxious than I need to about this lol, just really don't want to get stuck at CR even if there are buses still running at MK. (or do we just hop on the monorail? decisions decisions)


----------



## JoelB

Just back from our 10/24-10/31 trip. My girlfriend and I stayed at Jambo House, which you can read about in my post in the AKL thread. We had a wonderful time, but I think anyone's experience will be highly dependent on both things you can control (expectations, pandemic concerns/comfort level, touring style, preparation) and things you cannot (crowd levels, weather, bus timing, luck).

Like everyone else, we became increasingly concerned as crowds seemed to steadily increase starting with Labor Day weekend. To make matters worse, the weather forecast gradually changed from almost ideal (upper 70s/low 80s feels-like temps) to "we should have just gone in July" (upper 90s feels-like). Thankfully, wait times ended up being lower than anticipated, and the heat and humidity was manageable with a combination of rope dropping, afternoon breaks, and some smart (but basic) touring.

As someone who became pretty good at working the FP+ system, but also experienced WDW before paper FPs even existed, I absolutely loved the retro standby-only system. Waits feel half as long and one-tenth as annoying as FP+ standby lines of "walk five steps and then stand around for a few minutes while a hundred people walk past in the FP line." Yes, you really need to rope drop to get the most out of your day, but we did that before anyway. If you can't/won't RD, I would highly recommend against going.

The distanced queues were great (particularly in the heat) but occasionally confusing. Sometimes people (including you) will mess up and go past the marker they should have stopped at. People are generally understanding about little "mistakes" as long as you're respectful about it and not just following right behind the party in front of you constantly. Just think of it as a bizarre little game we all get to play while waiting for the ride.

We had fairly good luck at avoiding ride-cleaning cycles, but on Friday evening we had a bizarre experience in the Splash queue with two cleaning stoppages roughly 30 minutes apart. No idea what the deal was with that.

Masks were not as much of an issue as I expected. I personally found the masks to be less annoying in the borderline oppressive heat than in an air-conditioned building. Outdoors, the air all around you is hot. Indoors, your hot breath is an aggravating contrast to the cool air blowing on you.

The current, shorter park hours make things challenging when it comes to taking an afternoon break. In the olden times, you could comfortably take a four hour afternoon break and then head back in the evening for five hours or more at the park (or even a different park!). Obviously this isn't possible right now, so you just have to choose the best set of trade-offs for your family. We gutted it out on our only Epcot day and first MK day, but took breaks of various lengths every other day depending on crowds, heat, and what else we still wanted to accomplish.

The biggest negative for me was the missing live entertainment, shows, and fireworks. You really could feel that some of the magic was missing, and I fear that it'll be a long time until much of it returns.

Disney Springs in the evening (even on a Wednesday) summed up in two words: just don't. I don't even think COVID is real (kidding!) but even I felt uncomfortable there.

We won't be going back until the world (and the World) returns to something vaguely resembling real life, but I'm glad we went this time for what was (I hope) a once-in-a-lifetime experience.


----------



## dachsie

Sarahslay said:


> Trying to plan for our Thanksgiving week Cali Grill ADR and transportation. We don't do Uber, especially right now (being in the car with a stranger is a no go for us), we will have a car but want to have drinks at dinner since we're sans kids this trip. Now that park hours have been extended to 9pm, and we have a 7:40 ADR, so you think we can still get back over to MK and catch a bus back to YC? Will they close the walk way going back at park close so more people can't come back? I feel like I'm making myself more anxious than I need to about this lol, just really don't want to get stuck at CR even if there are buses still running at MK. (or do we just hop on the monorail? decisions decisions)


Depends on what time the park closes but I wouldn't count on it.  Its either Uber or bus to DS and bus to YC


----------



## Sarahslay

dachsie said:


> Depends on what time the park closes but I wouldn't count on it.  Its either Uber or bus to DS and bus to YC


Well, official park close is 9 which I'm sure is about the time we'll be done eating. Then it will take a while to empty the park so I would expect buses for at least an hour after park close to account for folks in line and at late ADRs. I just always feel going to DS and then back to a resort is not a fun or time efficient way to get around in the best of times (which this time is not, I'm not going to DS Thanksgiving week for anything, you can't pay me)


----------



## disneyseniors

js said:


> Yikes! Thank you. I wasn’t aware that lots of others on here have problems with them too.



I think you misread my comment.  There are many others on here who have had NO problems with them and support them.  I think we might be in the minority.


----------



## nkereina

TikiTikiFan said:


> So since we don’t really know what AK will do with an early 7AM opening (is this a normal time? seems like a magic hour time to me) does getting an uber around 6AM sound like a good plan if we want to make rope drop?


I would say yes. AK had a 9am opening when we were there last week. We were told the parking lot would open around 8-8:15am. To be safe, we called the Uber around 8:15 to avoid getting stuck in any parking lot traffic if the lot wasn't open yet. There was a tiny bit of traffic waiting to get to the drop off spot, but we were in the line for the temperature check by 8:30. We got into the park with no wait and went straight to FOP and the line was backed up to a bridge in an area of Pandora I didn't even know existed, but it moved continuously and we waited maybe 30 minutes with a 45 minute posted time. Very acceptable to us.



gamecock said:


> 1. Does the parking at AK and MK open at the same time as the drop offs for Uber/ lyft?


At AK, the parking lot has to be open in order for Uber/Lyft to get to the drop off spot, so yes. At TTC, there is a separate drop-off area from the parking lot to MK. I'm not sure whether they open at the same time, but we got to the drop-off spot at TTC about 45 minutes before the posted park opening and had no wait at all. There were maybe 50 people there when we were able to be let in for the temp checks.



gamecock said:


> 3. Is bus or driving quicker for getting to front gate of MK? Or is Uber to CR still the best option ( I would like to avoid this if possible).


If you drive, you will go through temp checks at TTC and then have to take monorail, ferry, or a bus to MK. If you bus, you will be dropped off right at the gate. However, we were told the buses start running at 8:30. We were already at TTC in line by 8:30, and were let in for temp checks by 8:40. We also saw many bus drivers leaving the TTC building to start their shift at 8:30, so I think that time is pretty accurate. So, while the overall travel logistics are easier by taking the bus, you will get into the park earlier by driving or Ubering to TTC. 

Currently, you would not be able to enter CR by Uber/car unless you have an ADR or mobile food order there. Some people do mobile orders at Contempo Cafe solely to avoid TTC, but I don't think that's necessary. The TTC process was quick and easy for us. I also noticed a big line on the sidewalk coming from CR while we were on the monorail.



gamecock said:


> 4. Has anyone riding buses felt uncomfortable with the social distancing etc. while on the bus?


We did not feel uncomfortable with social distancing, but we did not attempt to take the bus at park opening when it would have been full. We only rode it on the way back from MK, AK, and Disney Springs and it was not full at those times. There are full length solid dividers between each party on the seats, so depending on how many in your party, you may have empty seats within your assigned section as well - it was just DH and I so if we were sat in a row of 3, we kept the seat open that was adjacent to another party. You will likely have people across from you too, if that's a concern.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

JoelB said:


> Disney Springs in the evening (even on a Wednesday) summed up in two words: just don't.



I’ve seen lots of reports like this about Disney Springs. i’m debating skipping it at this point. We’re Disneyland folks and have done the Downtown Disney thing a ton of times. So my son has seen the Lego store, we’ve done the big theme restaurants before, been in World of Disney and Disney Home, etc. So would we really be missing much if we skipped it? My main worry is just having to wait in long lines to shop- does that seem to be the usual experience? Or are the crowds more felt in the walkways and the concern is lack of social distancing? 

We arrive on a Friday and my thought was to go that evening (I love the Disney home store!) but maybe we’d be better off just enjoying the pool at our resort...


----------



## GC&S

TikiTikiFan said:


> I’ve seen lots of reports like this about Disney Springs. i’m debating skipping it at this point. We’re Disneyland folks and have done the Downtown Disney thing a ton of times. So my son has seen the Lego store, we’ve done the big theme restaurants before, been in World of Disney and Disney Home, etc. So would we really be missing much if we skipped it? My main worry is just having to wait in long lines to shop- does that seem to be the usual experience? Or are the crowds more felt in the walkways and the concern is lack of social distancing?
> 
> We arrive on a Friday and my thought was to go that evening (I love the Disney home store!) but maybe we’d be better off just enjoying the pool at our resort...


We made the mistake of going to DS on our AK day since we were back to the resort by 6 and had nothing to do.   What a mess.  To get into the World of Disney you either had to stand in line or  get in their virtual line.  We did the latter and waited about 25 min.  The in person line was estimate to be an hour.  They eventually took down the scanning code as the virtual line was full.   Once we got it it was a mad house.   The line to check out was about 45 minutes.   And people were not pleasant in line.    The Christmas store had a huge line to get in.  We didn't even try.   

Just walking around was hard.   Soooooo many people because there's not much else to do at night.   Then of course it started raining which for whatever reason freaks people out and everyone ran for the buses.  So there's a huge crowd now trying to get home.  I really wished we would have skipped it.   But my dd did get her 2020 pins (b1g1f) and two others pins all with 30% off PH discount so she paid $20 for 4 pins.  So it was kind of a win.


----------



## dachsie

TikiTikiFan said:


> I’ve seen lots of reports like this about Disney Springs. i’m debating skipping it at this point. We’re Disneyland folks and have done the Downtown Disney thing a ton of times. So my son has seen the Lego store, we’ve done the big theme restaurants before, been in World of Disney and Disney Home, etc. So would we really be missing much if we skipped it? My main worry is just having to wait in long lines to shop- does that seem to be the usual experience? Or are the crowds more felt in the walkways and the concern is lack of social distancing?
> 
> We arrive on a Friday and my thought was to go that evening (I love the Disney home store!) but maybe we’d be better off just enjoying the pool at our resort...


Friday would probably be pretty crowded.  You would do better on a weeknight


----------



## JoelB

TikiTikiFan said:


> I’ve seen lots of reports like this about Disney Springs. i’m debating skipping it at this point. We’re Disneyland folks and have done the Downtown Disney thing a ton of times. So my son has seen the Lego store, we’ve done the big theme restaurants before, been in World of Disney and Disney Home, etc. So would we really be missing much if we skipped it? My main worry is just having to wait in long lines to shop- does that seem to be the usual experience? Or are the crowds more felt in the walkways and the concern is lack of social distancing?
> 
> We arrive on a Friday and my thought was to go that evening (I love the Disney home store!) but maybe we’d be better off just enjoying the pool at our resort...


We primarily went to Springs for a Raglan Road reservation after a day at AK, and dining is the only reason I can justify going there in the evening under the current conditions.

We were going to check out World of Disney, but after walking around almost the entire building to find the single entrance, saw the huge line and decided we didn't need to check it out that bad. We did go into Ghirardelli, where we waited less than a minute, but I didn't pay much attention to the lines for other shops. The crowds of people walking around was enough for us to know we didn't want to be there any longer than necessary, though.

I can only imagine what Friday evenings are like.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Thanks for the tips everyone, I think we’d have a more enjoyable time hanging out by the pool and resort Friday night instead of Disney Springs.

Can you get most of the Disney merchandise inside the parks that’s sold there?


----------



## soniam

JoelB said:


> We primarily went to Springs for a Raglan Road reservation after a day at AK, and dining is the only reason I can justify going there in the evening under the current conditions.
> 
> We were going to check out World of Disney, but after walking around almost the entire building to find the single entrance, saw the huge line and decided we didn't need to check it out that bad. We did go into Ghirardelli, where we waited less than a minute, but I didn't pay much attention to the lines for other shops. The crowds of people walking around was enough for us to know we didn't want to be there any longer than necessary, though.
> 
> I can only imagine what Friday evenings are like.



Did you notice if they were doing the custom mixes of the different flavors of chocolate, the ones where you fill a bag or box? Thanks


----------



## WEDWDW

TikiTikiFan said:


> I’ve seen lots of reports like this about Disney Springs. i’m debating skipping it at this point. We’re Disneyland folks and have done the Downtown Disney thing a ton of times. So my son has seen the Lego store, we’ve done the big theme restaurants before, been in World of Disney and Disney Home, etc. So would we really be missing much if we skipped it? My main worry is just having to wait in long lines to shop- does that seem to be the usual experience? Or are the crowds more felt in the walkways and the concern is lack of social distancing?
> 
> We arrive on a Friday and my thought was to go that evening (I love the Disney home store!) but maybe we’d be better off just enjoying the pool at our resort...


We used Disney Springs for our Live Music fix since there isn't much entertainment in the Parks right now.

We went straight from the bus to a socially distanced table outside in the Courtyard at House of Blues and enjoyed a wonderful meal while enjoying a wonderful Band.

So in our particular usage of Disney Springs we felt extremely safe,but probably would not have felt as safe in other areas of the Springs.


----------



## ten6mom

I'm not really sure where to post this but I feel sure someone will know.

I see there is a (German?) caramel corn stand or shop in Epcot somewhere.  Can someone just tell me- do they make the caramel corn there (i.e. pour caramel over the popcorn they've just popped) or is it premade (presumably elsewhere) and already bagged up?

I prefer the freshly made caramel corn available at California Adventure and my husband prefers the prebagged found at all the other stands in the DLR so I am trying to decide if we want to seek out the Epcot caramel corn.

Thank you!


----------



## dachsie

ten6mom said:


> I'm not really sure where to post this but I feel sure someone will know.
> 
> I see there is a (German?) caramel corn stand or shop in Epcot somewhere.  Can someone just tell me- do they make the caramel corn there (i.e. pour caramel over the popcorn they've just popped) or is it premade (presumably elsewhere) and already bagged up?
> 
> I prefer the freshly made caramel corn available at California Adventure and my husband prefers the prebagged found at all the other stands in the DLR so I am trying to decide if we want to seek out the Epcot caramel corn.
> 
> Thank you!


Yes Karamel Kuche makes it fresh there and bags it and it is sooooo good!


----------



## hlrubin507

Lots of recent comments on DS feeling overcrowded -- anyone been on a Sunday afternoon?  I made a Boathouse lunch reservation for our arrival day (2pm).  Has anyone visited recently who could say whether a weekend afternoon was super busy/crazy?


----------



## scrappinginontario

ten6mom said:


> I'm not really sure where to post this but I feel sure someone will know.
> 
> I see there is a (German?) caramel corn stand or shop in Epcot somewhere.  Can someone just tell me- do they make the caramel corn there (i.e. pour caramel over the popcorn they've just popped) or is it premade (presumably elsewhere) and already bagged up?
> 
> I prefer the freshly made caramel corn available at California Adventure and my husband prefers the prebagged found at all the other stands in the DLR so I am trying to decide if we want to seek out the Epcot caramel corn.
> 
> Thank you!


Yes!  In the German pavilion they make fresh carmel corn and it is DELICIOUS!!!  You will find it beside the cashier in white bags at the Karamell-Kuche store.

I can't count the number of bags we buy to enjoy during our trip plus bring home although it will not stay as fresh as when it's first made.


----------



## ten6mom

dachsie said:


> Yes Karamel Kuche makes it fresh there and bags it and it is sooooo good!





scrappinginontario said:


> Yes!  In the German pavilion they make fresh carmel corn and it is DELICIOUS!!!  You will find it beside the cashier in white bags at the Karamell-Kuche store.
> 
> I can't count the number of bags we buy to enjoy during our trip plus bring home although it will not stay as fresh as when it's first made.



oh YUM!  Thanks so much !  (of course I was hoping it was freshly made!).   I'll eat mine there and then my husband can eat his later!


----------



## dachsie

ten6mom said:


> oh YUM!  Thanks so much !  (of course I was hoping it was freshly made!).   I'll eat mine there and then my husband can eat his later!


Or you can sneak and eat his too.


----------



## nancy155

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes!  In the German pavilion they make fresh carmel corn and it is DELICIOUS!!!  You will find it beside the cashier in white bags at the Karamell-Kuche store.
> 
> I can't count the number of bags we buy to enjoy during our trip plus bring home although it will not stay as fresh as when it's first made.


I do the same. I take a gallon zip lock and put the caramel corn in that I plan to take home.


----------



## ten6mom

nancy155 said:


> I do the same. I take a gallon zip lock and put the caramel corn in that I plant to take home.


**adding "gallon zip lock" to my packing list**


----------



## JoelB

soniam said:


> Did you notice if they were doing the custom mixes of the different flavors of chocolate, the ones where you fill a bag or box? Thanks


Sorry, I didn't notice. We were only in there for my girlfriend to find a gift for her mom.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

They do sell TWO gallon ziploc bags...  just sayin'.


----------



## Aimeedyan

hlrubin507 said:


> Lots of recent comments on DS feeling overcrowded -- anyone been on a Sunday afternoon?  I made a Boathouse lunch reservation for our arrival day (2pm).  Has anyone visited recently who could say whether a weekend afternoon was super busy/crazy?



I went on a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago - got there around 1pm, I guess? It was busy but not crowded like in the evening IMO. The line to get into WoD was 35 minutes (or so the CM announcing said - I didn't wait) and I waited behind 2 parties to get into the toy store (took less than 2 minutes).


----------



## rsa25628

I followed this thread religiously to plan for our Oct 18-24 trip. The advice here is invaluable! I won’t rehash every detail but thought I would share how things were at the beginning of each day. 

Our park days were Monday-Friday, we stayed at CBR and we were a party of 3 (2 adults and an almost 3 yo)

-Monday was our Epcot day. We got in line for the skyliner around 9:45 and the line was pretty long, but we were in our gondola by 10:25. There wasn’t really any line when we got to Epcot, however for some reason our magic bands weren’t showing us as checked in to our resort and therefore weren’t working so we had to go to guest services to get that handled, which took forever. Once we were done and made a beeline for Frozen Ever After it was 11:00 by the time we got in line. We were on the ride in about 45 minutes but the time passed quickly. 
-Tuesday was Magic Kingdom. We got in the bus line around 7:50 and were inside the park by 8:30. We didn’t have anything we felt we had to rush to so we rode Buzz Lightyear, Tomorrowland speedway (3 times in a row), and the Teacups (4 times) by 9:30. We did some other stuff in fantasy land and then were hungry so had a snack at Gaston’s and by the time we were done there it was 11 and things were getting more crowded. 
-Wednesday was Animal Kingdom. AK was opening at 9 that day and we got in the bus line at 8. We were very lucky and jumped ahead in line because the last spots on the bus were for a party of 3 and everyone ahead of us in line had more than that. We were on the bus by 8:20 and went right to FoP when we got in the park. I didn’t keep track of timing but my husband was in line before they opened the ride and we were both off of it (rider swap) by 10:00. There was a 120 minute wait time posted when I got off of the ride so I considered it a success.
-Thursday was DHS. We were in line for the skyliner by 8:30 and were in the park by 9:15. We went right to MMRR and this was the day that they didn’t open the ride until right before 10 so we did miss out on the pre-opening benefit of DHS but the wait time for that ride was crazy for the rest of the day and we really wanted to ride it so I’m glad we got it done first thing. It was also nice to be settled in line somewhere at 10 (and we successfully got a BG) but I know that’s not a concern anymore.
-Friday we went back to MK. In line for the bus around 8, in the park by 8:30. We walked on to Peter Pan and then rode the carousel several times as walk ons. It was definitely more crowded on this day versus earlier in the week.

I just wanted to share the above to show that we didn’t have to leave crazy early to get a jump start on the crowds. We also were able to do everything we wanted at each park and other than Frozen Ever After, FoP, and MMRR we never waited more than about 30 minutes, 45 max, just by keeping an eye on wait times.

Overall I felt it was definitely worth it to go and I’d do it again in a heartbeat!


----------



## pooch

Grumpy by Birth said:


> Drawing class... animator teaches you how to draw a Disney character.


DD and I would do this every trip when it was at DHS!  Is there a schedule of times somewhere?  Do you have to sign up in advance?  Sounds like it’s over at Conservation Station?


----------



## AnnaS

We were there 10/20-10/27/2020.  We were on the fence until about 6 weeks prior.  Read many trip reports and saw lot's of pictures too.

Just some random thoughts -

JetBlue - Airport empty (it was early) went right through TSA.  We were given snack in a ziplock bag and wipes in a sealed packet before boarding

JetBlue - coming home - airport empty, went straight through TSA again.  We were given snacks the "usual way" and sanitizers again before boarding.

Magical Express - we did not wait more than 5 minutes.  No one sat in front of us, behind us or across from us.

Mobile ordering - many places - mostly the parks - want you to really use mobile ordering.  You can't go inside and sit beforehand until your order is ready.

Resort - we did not mobile order even though we could

Very impressed with all the measures they have taken.

There are hand sanitizer dispensers before entering and when exiting every ride (from what I noticed)

Also hand sanitizers in all shops - many have one entrance for entering and different one for exiting
Pool areas have sanitizing dispensers by the towels

There are makeshift sinks through the parks if you don't want to run into the restroom every minute

The "stand here" signs on the ground are everywhere for every ride.  The row to your right and left have markings further apart so they are not standing/waiting next to you.  When this cannot be done, there are plexiglass or plastic dividers up.

You are in your own car or there are more than two rows behind you/in front of you empty.  The safari and the Land ride have plastic wall in between the rows.  Some rides - like Haunted Mansion - they skip a car, etc.  Just to give an idea.  When you get off the ride, if you move along (sometime hard to do if you want to use hand sanitizer), the people behind you won't be on your back.

We only took the busses - we never waited more than 5 minutes - most of the time the bus was there or came right after we go to the stop and many times it was just DH and I or one or two other family/couple/group.  They also have dividers up.  The bus driver might tell you the number to sit in.  Some don't because you have the whole bus to yourselves.

Skyliner  - you have your own
Elevator sign - go in with just your group (BCV) -

There are signs everywhere and PA announcements constantly to wear your mask and cover your nose and mouth.

There is always someone here and there who is not covering up their nose.  Only twice we saw a CM tell a guest to cover up.  This could have been done more.  Once or twice we saw a family take off their mask while waiting in line on a ride (inside where no one could see them).  We just stayed back further/skipped 6 feet.  We did this also when the group in front of us was more than two.  Hard to stay away 6 feet so we would skip a "wait here" sign the one after - making it 8-10 feet.

Many people either forget, get distracted, are on their phone and come right behind you.  If you turn around and look at the ground behind you, we found they quickly got the hint.  Only once my DH and I commented that they don't get it, see it and not paying attention.  We said it nicely, they picked up on it and followed the rest of the way.  I am not there to start an argument with anyone.  I would have let them just pass us if they did not stop doing that.

One of the restaurants - Paddlefish - gave us a small paper bag to put our mask in - this was a nice touch and the only place that did this out of the three TS restaurants we dined in.

We saw constant cleaning/wiping of benches, railings, seats, tables, etc.  We saw some tables with signs - not in use for your safety, etc.  We also saw signs everywhere including pool areas - do not move tables or chairs they have been placed 6 feet apart for your safety, etc.

They do count people entering a store.  The only shops that had a long line outside that we saw and experienced was the Leggo store and the World of Disney shop at DS.

DS - much more relaxed and crowded. A little harder to keep your distance depending on the time/day.

You are not allowed to sit at the bar at the resorts but is allowed at DS.

Weekends are definitely busier.

Of course things might change today, tomorrow, next week.  They are trying and have put a lot of thought into it.  I think the CMs could be enforcing a tiny bit more but overall, we were very impressed and happy we went.  We really needed it to survive the winter indoors.

It's long and I am sure I will think of something else once I post


----------



## Lsdolphin

For those who have used Uber/Lyft to go to parks/resorts do you feel safe doing so?


----------



## tlmadden73

So .. for those who have gone .. are the bus waits as crazy as expected? If we drive, should we just take our own car to the parks? 

What about the Skyliner? How long of waits is that for RopeDrop to DHS or Epcot?

How are waits for things like the monorail and boat at the TTC? 

Just curious how I should plan a trip in January (AoA).  I may drive to the farther away parks (MK/AK) .. besides the kids have never experienced going on the boat. 

Only holding a few parties per bus makes sense, but seems like it will just be horribly long waits for buses unless they have them lined up ready to go at each resort.


----------



## scrappinginontario

tlmadden73 said:


> So .. for those who have gone
> 
> What about the Skyliner? How long of waits is that for RopeDrop to DHS?


This is all going to change tomorrow with the changes to how BGs are obtained so current information isn’t very relevant.


----------



## tkouri

scrappinginontario said:


> This is all going to change tomorrow with the changes to how BGs are obtained so current information isn’t very relevant.


What does BG stand for? TIA


----------



## Alpengeist04

^Boarding Group


----------



## tlmadden73

scrappinginontario said:


> This is all going to change tomorrow with the changes to how BGs are obtained so current information isn’t very relevant.


You think it will greatly change the demand to get to DHS at RD?  *shrug* .. If it was me .. I'd still want to get to DHS earlier than Rope Drop just to rush to get on MMRR, MFSR or SDD before the lines get long.  The BG change just gives people the relaxing freedom of not having to worry about being on your phone right at 10:00 AM while inside the park trying to do something else.

So .. sure .. some people now may not worry about getting to DHS early, but at the same time with 3 other very new and very popular rides, the park will still be in high demand to get there as early as possible.


----------



## scrappinginontario

tlmadden73 said:


> You think it will greatly change the demand to get to DHS at RD?  *shrug* .. If it was me .. I'd still want to get to DHS earlier than Rope Drop just to rush to get on MMRR, MFSR or SDD before the lines get long.  The BG change just gives people the relaxing freedom of not having to worry about being on your phone right at 10:00 AM while inside the park trying to do something else.
> 
> So .. sure .. some people now may not worry about getting to DHS early, but at the same time with 3 other very new and very popular rides, the park will still be in high demand to get there as early as possible.


While I don't disagree, I now thing DHS RD will look more like the rest of the parks.  People will have the best of intentions to be there early but if they're a bit later, no big loss.  Right now that isn't the case as you have to be tapped into the park to get a boarding group.  Yes, there will still be people wanting to be there for park opening but I don't think we'll see the crush of people or, people lining up 3 hours before rope drop at the Skyliner.  Right now the line for the Skyliner is hundreds and hundreds of people long 2 hours before DHS opens!  Personally I don't think the demand will be as high to be in line that early starting tomorrow but I guess only time will tell.  We'll have to wait for reports from people who are staying at Pop and AoA to find out what the lines for Skyliner are like.


----------



## tlmadden73

scrappinginontario said:


> While I don't disagree, I now thing DHS RD will look more like the rest of the parks.  People will have the best of intentions to be there early but if they're a bit later, no big loss.  Right now that isn't the case as you have to be tapped into the park to get a boarding group.  Yes, there will still be people wanting to be there for park opening but I don't think we'll see the crush of people or, people lining up 3 hours before rope drop at the Skyliner.  Right now the line for the Skyliner is hundreds and hundreds of people long 2 hours before DHS opens!  Personally I don't think the demand will be as high to be in line that early starting tomorrow but I guess only time will tell.  We'll have to wait for reports from people who are staying at Pop and AoA to find out what the lines for Skyliner are like.


Wow .. perhaps you are right .. I didn't realize it was that bad. 

!!!!! the line was hundreds of people long 2 hours before DHS opens??  And that was just for Pop Century guests? Yikes. I assume though .. it goes a lot quicker than say waiting for the bus since it is constantly loading. 

Is the Skyliner running not at capacity modified due to social distancing? Or just not starting early enough? 

My main "fear" of going during this mess is less about wearing masks and closed attractions, but more about the trip being "disrupted" by long waits for transportation (which normally is a huge plus for staying onsite).


----------



## Moliphino

tlmadden73 said:


> Wow .. perhaps you are right .. I didn't realize it was that bad.
> 
> !!!!! the line was hundreds of people long 2 hours before DHS opens??  And that was just for Pop Century guests? Yikes. I assume though .. it goes a lot quicker than say waiting for the bus since it is constantly loading.
> 
> Is the Skyliner running not at capacity modified due to social distancing? Or just not starting early enough?
> 
> My main "fear" of going during this mess is less about wearing masks and closed attractions, but more about the trip being "disrupted" by long waits for transportation (which normally is a huge plus for staying onsite).



The Skyliner only starts running about an hour before park opening. So people were lining up an hour+ before it even started running.


----------



## Avery&Todd

Lsdolphin said:


> For those who have used Uber/Lyft to go to parks/resorts do you feel safe doing so?


We took a Lyft from BLT to BW for a 7:30am ADR at Trattoria and it was great and the driver and us wore masks - was totally safe for us!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

tlmadden73 said:


> So .. for those who have gone .. are the bus waits as crazy as expected? If we drive, should we just take our own car to the parks?



We drove and only used our car some of the time to ensure we arrived early (especially for DHS).

Sun - DS - bus
Mon - AK - drove
Tues - DHS - drove
Wed - EP - bus
Thurs - visited RIV - drove to DHS and took skyliner to RIV
Fri - MK - bus
Sat - AK - bus
Sun - DHS - drove

We had good success using the bus, but did not rely on it to make RD at DHS.  Too much at stake getting there early for a BG.  

Of course, that will now change.  If you've already got a BG from your resort at 7 am, taking the bus, skyliner, etc. won't have the same pressure.  If you're a little late, the line for MMRR might be longer, but you won't have missed out on a ROTR BG.


----------



## tlmadden73

Grumpy by Birth said:


> We drove and only used our car some of the time to ensure we arrived early (especially for DHS).
> 
> Sun - DS - bus
> Mon - AK - drove
> Tues - DHS - drove
> Wed - EP - bus
> Thurs - visited RIV - drove to DHS and took skyliner to RIV
> Fri - MK - bus
> Sat - AK - bus
> Sun - DHS - drove
> 
> We had good success using the bus, but did not rely on it to make RD at DHS.  Too much at stake getting there early for a BG.
> 
> Of course, that will now change.  If you've already got a BG from your resort at 7 am, taking the bus, skyliner, etc. won't have the same pressure.  If you're a little late, the line for MMRR might be longer, but you won't have missed out on a ROTR BG.


Thanks .. the main reason I wanted to stay at AoA .. was the "fun" of the skyliner, and the "pressure" of getting to DHS on time will be less for sure thanks to the new BG change. Still may drive .. (figure the WDW roads are less crowded with less people "in" the resort). 

Just figure that if there is a long wait for a bus, the kids are less "antsy" waiting in line for a bus compared to just driving ..and walking. Even though it may take the same amount of time to get there .. there is less waiting in a line to start the day where they'll have to wait in a line a lot  (especially without FP)

Another question -- what's the "window" for a BG? Like if you got into a long line for SDD, MMRR, or MFSR . would you have to get out of that line to make your Boarding Group time?


----------



## MomOTwins

Lsdolphin said:


> For those who have used Uber/Lyft to go to parks/resorts do you feel safe doing so?


We did it three times and it was a mixed bag.  Twice we had uneventful rides with masked drivers.  The third time, our driver pulled his mask below his chin the whole ride, talked a bunch with his mask off while driving (and coughed a few times, ick), and didn't keep his distance (e.g., he insisted on folding the middle-row seat to let the kids out the back row when I said I'd do it), which put him in a position to be right up next to the kids.  I guess it's like anything else--some people aren't really mindful and you won't know until you are in the car and it's too late.  Made me feel uncomfortable with taking the risk again so we didn't use lyft/uber again.



tlmadden73 said:


> So .. for those who have gone .. are the bus waits as crazy as expected? If we drive, should we just take our own car to the parks?
> 
> What about the Skyliner? How long of waits is that for RopeDrop to DHS or Epcot?
> 
> How are waits for things like the monorail and boat at the TTC?
> 
> Just curious how I should plan a trip in January (AoA).  I may drive to the farther away parks (MK/AK) .. besides the kids have never experienced going on the boat.
> 
> Only holding a few parties per bus makes sense, but seems like it will just be horribly long waits for buses unless they have them lined up ready to go at each resort.


I think it makes a big difference what resort you are on and what time you are going.  Deluxe hotels have fewer rooms and seem to be running at lower occupancy at the moment (at GF, we were told it was only 30% occupied) and I think that makes a big differences for bus waits--we never had bad waits to or from the parks.  But I noticed when leaving the parks at peak times that our bus stop always had a MUCH shorter line than the mods and values; again I think just because the number of people was so different. I remember this one time at Epcot about an hour after closing, the line for Pop was almost all the way back to the park exit gate in the rain (i.e., hundreds, maybe even over a thousand people long), whereas I was literally the only person on the bus for Riviera.  I even asked my bus driver if we could give a ride to some of the Pop people, but it was against rules.  However, when we left for midday breaks (i.e., not peak times) all the lines were small-to-nonexistent at all the bus stops.


----------



## SugarSweetLee

tlmadden73 said:


> Is the Skyliner running not at capacity modified due to social distancing? Or just not starting early enough?



They are basically loading one party per gondola (a few reported exceptions), so it's at reduced capacity.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

MomOTwins said:


> I think it *makes a big difference what resort* you are on and what time you are going.  Deluxe hotels have fewer rooms and seem to be running at lower occupancy at the moment (at GF, we were told it was only 30% occupied) and I think that makes a big differences for bus waits--we never had bad waits to or from the parks.  But I noticed when leaving the parks at peak times that our bus stop always had a MUCH shorter line than the mods and values; again I think just because the number of people was so different. I remember this one time at Epcot about an hour after closing, the line for Pop was almost all the way back to the park exit gate in the rain (i.e., hundreds, maybe even over a thousand people long), whereas I was literally the only person on the bus for Riviera.  I even asked my bus driver if we could give a ride to some of the Pop people, but it was against rules.  However, when we left for midday breaks (i.e., not peak times) all the lines were small-to-nonexistent at all the bus stops.


This is a factor.  We were at Animal Kingdom (Jambo House) where only the 5th floor DVC villas were occupied (and probably not 100% of those).  So we usually had only 1 or 2 other families on the bus with us.  The only wait was for the bus to get there and that was usually a pretty short wait.


----------



## SugarSweetLee

tlmadden73 said:


> Another question -- what's the "window" for a BG? Like if you got into a long line for SDD, MMRR, or MFSR . would you have to get out of that line to make your Boarding Group time?



Right now it's a 1 hour window. Remains to be seen if that will change at all with the new process starting tomorrow...


----------



## Cliffside

Tried to read entire thread...sorry if this has been answered before.

We got DD a couple nights at BCV for her 21st birthday. Not sure what time to tell her to get to Epcot if she wants to ride Test Track first thing. Any advice for those who have been to Epcot recently as to what time they are letting people through the turnstiles at International Gateway and what time they are starting to run attractions?


----------



## teach22180

pooch said:


> DD and I would do this every trip when it was at DHS!  Is there a schedule of times somewhere?  Do you have to sign up in advance?  Sounds like it’s over at Conservation Station?


There is a schedule on the entertainment part of mde. It is inside the conservation station, so allow enough time for the train and a possible line due to limits on the train.


----------



## Tess

Cliffside said:


> Tried to read entire thread...sorry if this has been answered before.
> 
> We got DD a couple nights at BCV for her 21st birthday. Not sure what time to tell her to get to Epcot if she wants to ride Test Track first thing. Any advice for those who have been to Epcot recently as to what time they are letting people through the turnstiles at International Gateway and what time they are starting to run attractions?



Depends on your opening time for Epcot and the day of week.  We were there from 10/7-16/20 and went to EPCOT on 4 different days.  Our arrival time (11:00 a.m. opening) was 9:45 - 10:00 a.m.  Three of the four days that placed us near the front of the queue waiting for screening and bag check.  On the 4th day (a Friday) the queue was all the way over the bridge between BC and BWI.  Granted it moved quickly BUT being that far back would not place you in a good location to hit up the rides without a lengthy wait.  Our experiences found that they began screening around 10:15 a.m. and we were on our way through the tapstiles by 10:30 a.m. give or take 5 minutes and depending upon the crowd size.  On the Friday, however, it opened closer to 10:00 a.m. and, again, guessing that was due to the huge queue.

Our strategy for rides worked every 3 of the 4 days we were there and we did not wait to ride.  In fact, we were first in the queue and on TT but then it was also our first evacuation--the ride went down just as we went into the second "test".  Evac was interesting and we were given a FP which we used that night.  Two other days we rope dropped Soarin' and, again, in the first group to ride.

What I have found interesting this trip is that the International Gateway people are getting to the rides before those coming in the front.  Since we didn't enter from the front--I have no idea why those guests were not arriving at the rides more quickly than the International Gate folks and I have to guess that they were not admitted as early as the IG entrance.


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## nkereina

Just back from a great week at CBR last week! I put my thoughts on CBR in the CBR FAQ thread, and posted my dining thoughts on the Dining forum. I’ll keep this post to my park experiences.

First, one thing I mentioned on the dining forum is that you’re at a disadvantage if you don’t have a current smart phone. By current, I mean one that can download current software to ensure an up-to-date MDE. We used our smart phones to check into TS meals, scan QR codes to view all menus, mobile order, check wait times, obtain ROTR boarding group, check status of said boarding group, check our room balance. We relied on the app more than we ever have on prior trips.

Second, we saw many people checking with TS restaurants while we were waiting to see if they were taking walk-ups. None were.

Third, something I guess I didn’t consider and didn’t really see mentioned is that ride queues are mostly **outside**. It seems they are trying to use as little of the indoor queue space as they can, so the queues have been extended outdoors quite a bit into makeshift roped off areas. This allows for additional social distancing as well as making the majority of your wait outdoors rather than indoors, which many find to be safer. BUT this does mean you will be waiting in the direct sunlight or in the pouring rain, potentially. We saw a lot of people with umbrellas just for shade when it wasn’t raining. I was a sweaty mess with no reprieve in the queue since I was still outside. It wasn’t until we got closer to the indoor entrances that there were fans or some kind of shade covering. The weather this week is much more tolerable, but something to consider that we didn’t adequately prepare for.

*Epcot:*

Got to the Skyliner around 10am. Made it to the IG entrance by 10:15 and had no wait whatsoever. We walked briskly to Test Track and there was a posted 75 minute wait, which had jumped up from 45 minutes while we were in line. Our actual wait at that time was closer to 35 minutes, and we were off the ride right around 11am, which was official park opening.
After Test Track, DH did Mission Space. He got in line with a posted 10 minute wait, but ended up waiting closer to 25 minutes. He had a whole car to himself which he enjoyed.
Had lunch at Regal Eagle which was great, not crowded at all.
At some point mid-afternoon, we did Soarin with a 40 minute wait. We would have waited about 20 minutes, but hit a cleaning cycle right before boarding.
We did Frozen Ever After right before park closing. Posted 75 minute wait, was really more of a 25 minute wait.
Figment, Living with the Land, and Nemo all had about a 10 minute wait. Not sure what posted time was. Spaceship Earth was about a 15 minute wait with a 30 minute posted time.
Noticed that the app wait times were often slightly longer than the posted times at the ride. Not sure if it was coincidence and I just caught the time adjustment when we got to the queue, or if that’s intentional.
Had dinner at Teppan Edo – great meal, not sure if the experience was watered down because it was our first time there. They tables are still communal but they had plastic dividers up to separate us from the party next to us.
This was a Sunday so Epcot was open until 9pm. We left the park on the Skyliner around 3:30pm and came back around 6:30pm for our dinner ADR. This was the only park where we were able to take a midday break because of the extended hours.
*Magic Kingdom:*

I struggled trying to decide if we should take the bus from CBR or Uber. Posted park opening was 9am and I knew the park would be opening around 8:15-8:30.
Got to the Jamaica bus stop at CBR at 7:25. Already two other families waiting. Bus signs said buses start running at 8:30. One of the other families told us the first bus the day prior arrived right at 8:30. By 7:50, there was at least 6 other families waiting at the bus stop with us. Not know who was going where and how people would be with respecting who was there first (there are not formal queues at the bus stop), we decided to abort and call an Uber.
Uber was there within minutes and we were dropped off at the TTC ride share drop off by 8:20am. There were maybe 30 people in line ahead of us at that point.
Around 8:30, they let us move through the temperature scanners. About 80 people in total in line at TTC. We made our way to the monorail and were on the first monorail of the day. The ferry was also running, and we were told buses would be running from TTC to MK but they hadn’t started yet. We were walking into MK by 8:40.
We made our way back to Frontierland hoping to ride Splash yet. It wasn’t open yet, so we did BTMRR. When we got off, Splash was still down, but a small queue started forming so we got in line. Waited about 15 minutes, and it finally opened.
Space was about a 15 minute wait all day which blew my mind. We waited no longer than 10 minutes. Mine Train was down in the morning as well, but it was about a 45 minute wait all day which I thought was manageable.
All other rides we did that day, our actual wait was 25 minutes or less. The longest wait we had was Pirates, around 30 minutes.
Great lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern!
Took the bus back to the resort around 3pm and there was room to spare on it.
*Animal Kingdom:*

We made the decision to Uber to AK rather than do the bus depot dance again. Called the Uber at 8:15 because I didn’t want to run the risk of the parking lot not being open. We got there about 8:40, waited in a line at temp check, and were on our way to Pandora by 8:53. FOP had a 45 minute posted wait, we waited about 25 minutes.
Safari was essentially walk-on. Everest wait was less than 10 minutes in the afternoon Dinosaur had about a 15 minute actual wait in the afternoon.
Animal trails had socially distanced queues formed, particularly in the gorilla area which was not very active. This was done to prevent people from congregating too closely or for too long. If you enjoy hanging out and watching the gorillas for a while like we do, it was not happening on this trip.
Great lunch at Yak & Yeti! Lots of specials not on the menu. Reservations or a Landry’s priority seating card were a must.
Left AK around 3pm on the bus, got the last seat on it!
*DHS:*
We did two DHS days.
Day One:

Got to the Skyliner at 8:07am. The gates just past the Joffrey’s stand were still closed and the line was backed up to the Skyliner bus depot. They brought us up to the platform around 8:30am and started running the Skyliner right at 9am. We got into the gondola at 9:14am, and were walking into DHS by 9:25ish. We made our way to MMRR which had a 45 minute posted wait. Our actual wait was about 30 minutes, and I know this to be true because I was obtaining a ROTR boarding group as I was putting my left leg into the ride vehicle!
Got boarding group 11 for ROTR, estimated 75 minute wait for it to be called.
Made our way to Oga’s Cantina for 10:15 reservation. Really nice to be in there and see the whole place without being elbow to elbow with others.
While in Oga’s, they called our boarding group – it was about 10:30am.
Wait times were considerably longer than the other parks – 30ish minutes actual wait times for RnRC and TOT, 25 mins for Star Tours, 25 mins for TSMM. Skipped Aliens, Slinky Dog, Smugglers Run and Muppets due to timing.
Left for the day around 4pm. Took the Skyliner back to the area around 7pm for a Beaches & Cream reservation. Skyliner was closed when we were done, so we took an Uber back.
Day Two:

Got to the Skyliner about 8:10am. The line was a little further back this time, just past the bus depot.
Brought up to the platform around 8:30, started running the Skyliner at 8:45. Had a wait at the temp checks when we arrived, but were in the park by 9:05.
Went straight to Slinky Dog and had a 15 minute wait, then to Aliens which was walk-on, then to Smuggler’s Run with a 15 minute wait. We were walking out of Smugglers at 9:55 so we stood to the side to obtain a ROTR boarding group. Got group 15 this time.
Did Muppets at 10am – I recommend doing it early because it consistently had a 35-45+ minute wait later in the day due to social distancing.
We only wanted to do a half day at DHS so after our boarding group was called (about 11am), we just grabbed lunch at Backlot Express and then went back to CBR for a swim. It was HOT last week!
Would have liked to ride TOT or RnRC again, but posted waits were too long (45+ minutes).
*Disney Springs:*

Went three times since there wasn’t much else to do in the evenings. Took Ubers there each time to avoid bus roulette, and took the bus back when it didn’t matter how long we had to wait. 2 of the 3 times, we got on the next bus that pulled up. Once we didn’t fit and had to wait about 25 minutes for a second bus.
Disney Springs is very noticeably busier in the evenings than it ever has been. DHS and Disney Springs were the two most crowded places we went.
Got a Ghiradelli sundae but there is very limited seating. Had to sit on a bench near Goofy’s. The current set up and crowds would not be conducive to a family with small kids trying to enjoy ice cream.
I was not prepared for the massive line to just get into the World of Disney store. You walk all the way down a sidewalk, it loops around, and they bring you in a back door for crowd control. It took about 15 minutes to get through the one time we did it. The second time we did it, we were at Disney Springs around 3pm and the line hadn’t formed yet and we were able to go in the normal entrance. Disney Springs in general was considerably less crowded when we were there around 3pm as well.
I know some people think it’s a glorified mall, but there’s some great dining options and unique shopping. We do all our souvenir shopping there so we’re not spending park time in the stores. We also enjoy stopping at the different bars for a drink. LOVED the outdoor bar at Splitsville with the live music – the duo we saw was great.
Overall, we had a great trip. I would not recommend the current environment to first timers or those who can only go once every few years – it was not the same experience. We’re glad we went, as people who usually visit annually. Some of the experiences were unique in a positive way (i.e. getting to have your own ride vehicle on most rides), and other experiences weren’t that great (waiting in the sun, limited menus). I don’t think its necessary at all to avoid the Skyliner  in the morning to DHS if you’re staying at CBR, and would highly suggest Uber or driving your own car to any park you’d otherwise have to bus to – at least in the morning.

Happy to answer any questions!


----------



## lacy1101

scrappinginontario said:


> Since you’ve asked, if it were me I would take the bus from AoA.  We have stayed at Pop more than 30 times and the buses have never failed us.
> 
> I think the key to rope dropping is your willingness to arrive early either at the bus stop (if it were me, 90 mins before park opening) or driving to the TTC.  I really don’t think there is an easy way to sleep as late as possible and still rope drop without stress.  I’d rather wait in a line 90 mins before rope drop and knock out numerous attractions at RD than wait and have a short line at the resort but then spend longer times in line waiting in attraction lines.
> 
> My comment in my first post is referring to the option of driving to the TTC and taking a bus from the TTC to MK.  That is also an option I’ve heard works well right now.
> 
> our motto for Disney trips is to arrive at the parks as early as we can.  We can always sleep after our trip!



Oh, I totally agree . . . I'm a rope dropper all the way lol!  I'm more curious about the best way to accomplish that given the current situation.  I think, honestly, DD and I would prefer to take the bus.  That's where my comfort zone lies as far as getting around.  And getting in line at 7:30 a.m. doesn't sound all that bad anyway.  Thanks for your advice!


----------



## MickeyMouseCD524

Not sure if this is the right place to ask. We’re here now and was wondering if there’s a survey we’re going to get regarding the mask policy or if there’s somewhere to leave feedback? I’m fine wearing the mask and all but I have seen and overheard some inappropriate comments from cast members to guests.


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## nancy155

MickeyMouseCD524 said:


> Not sure if this is the right place to ask. We’re here now and was wondering if there’s a survey we’re going to get regarding the mask policy or if there’s somewhere to leave feedback? I’m fine wearing the mask and all but I have seen and overheard some inappropriate comments from cast members to guests.


I believe the best way is to go to guest services for that. I did receive a survey afterwards but not on the policies.


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## Lumpy1106

MickeyMouseCD524 said:


> Not sure if this is the right place to ask. We’re here now and was wondering if there’s a survey we’re going to get regarding the mask policy or if there’s somewhere to leave feedback? I’m fine wearing the mask and all but I have seen and overheard some inappropriate comments from cast members to guests.


If you want to comment on the CM comments, OK, but if you are wanting to debate the mask policy, I wouldn't.  That's just part of the experience right now.


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## MickeyMouseCD524

nancy155 said:


> I believe the best way is to go to guest services for that. I did receive a survey afterwards but not on the policies.


Thank you! I'll write them an email when I get home then.



Lumpy1106 said:


> If you want to comment on the CM comments, OK, but if you are wanting to debate the mask policy, I wouldn't.  That's just part of the experience right now.


Like I said I'm fine wearing a mask. But I watched a CM go up to a small child and tell him he was "responsible for people dying" because his mask slipped below his nose while he was running around and playing with his sister on the grass outside our resort. Wether you're for masks or not I think that's completely inappropriate to say, just tell him to pull his mask up, and I've caught a couple of other abrasive/rude comments CMs have said to guests regarding masks.


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## PanchoX1

MickeyMouseCD524 said:


> Thank you! I'll write them an email when I get home then.
> 
> I watched a CM go up to a small child and tell him he was "responsible for people dying" because his mask slipped below his nose while he was running around and playing with his sister on the grass outside our resort. I think that's completely inappropriate to say, just tell him to pull his mask up, and I've caught a couple of other abrasive/rude comments CMs have said to guests regarding masks.



If that was my child, I would demand the CM's name and report that incident immediately. Glad to know this is happening. I'll keep and eye and ear out for it.


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## MickeyMouseCD524

PanchoX1 said:


> If that was my child, I would demand the CM's name and report that incident immediately. Glad to know this is happening. I'll keep and eye and ear out for it.



It wasn't my child so I didn't want to get involved, but I'm pretty sure the mother of the little boy gave the CM an earful. And I've heard a couple other things that CMs have said to guests that have not been very nice.


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## Sydnerella

MickeyMouseCD524 said:


> Like I said I'm fine wearing a mask. *But I watched a CM go up to a small child and tell him he was "responsible for people dying" because his mask slipped below his nose* while he was running around and playing with his sister on the grass outside our resort. Wether you're for masks or not I think that's completely inappropriate to say, just tell him to pull his mask up, and I've caught a couple of other abrasive/rude comments CMs have said to guests regarding masks.



Really?!?!  That is ridiculous. I am finding this pretty difficult to believe any CM would say something so blatant to a child. No matter how frustrated they were with telling the umpteenth person that hour that they need to abide by the rules....  Sorry but I am calling BS on that one. 

Let's leave the intentionally inflammatory stuff out of the chat about recent reports and stick to facts.


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## abent

So I am learning everything as fast as I can for a “first time” trip, and am curious about “park opening times” and what time we should try to arrive? Are they open before the stated hours? Would you suggest an hour earlier than posted time? 
So much to try to prepare for!!!


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## lynch34

Sydnerella said:


> Really?!?!  That is ridiculous. I am finding this pretty difficult to believe any CM would say something so blatant to a child. No matter how frustrated they were with telling the umpteenth person that hour that they need to abide by the rules....  Sorry but I am calling BS on that one.
> 
> Let's leave the intentionally inflammatory stuff out of the chat about recent reports and stick to facts.



You said what I wanted to.

NO WAY did this happen.


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## VandVsmama

MickeyMouseCD524 said:


> Thank you! I'll write them an email when I get home then.
> 
> 
> Like I said I'm fine wearing a mask. But I watched a CM go up to a small child and tell him he was "responsible for people dying" because his mask slipped below his nose while he was running around and playing with his sister on the grass outside our resort. Wether you're for masks or not I think that's completely inappropriate to say, just tell him to pull his mask up, and I've caught a couple of other abrasive/rude comments CMs have said to guests regarding masks.



I'd definitely go to City Hall or Guest Services to complain about that.  Be specific...which park at what time and where in the park were you when you heard the CM say that.


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## lorileahb

A bunch of dining for next week just opened up - CRT, BOG, California Grill, Toppolino's, Beaches and Cream... in case anyone needed to add an ADR to their park/resort days.


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## nkereina

abent said:


> So I am learning everything as fast as I can for a “first time” trip, and am curious about “park opening times” and what time we should try to arrive? Are they open before the stated hours? Would you suggest an hour earlier than posted time?
> So much to try to prepare for!!!


This is the trickiest part right now. Very generally speaking, the parks are opening anywhere from 30-45 minutes ahead of their posted opening times. But, what time you can arrive is capped by what time the bus/Skyliner starts running or what time the parking lot opens, unless you happen to be at a resort where you can walk to the park. Where are you staying? Its probably easier to suggest times depending on what mode of transportation you're taking.

However, the only park where it was important we arrived in advance of opening last week was DHS and that was to ensure we were scanned in by 10am in order to obtain a ROTR boarding group. Now that the boarding group procedure is changing, I don't think it's all that important to be at any park before the gates open. If we were going in the near future, I'd shoot to get to the park 15-30 minutes prior to the stated park opening, because that should ensure the parking lot is open (for drop off if arriving by open) and the gates are open too. It might mean we wait 15-20 minutes longer than others for our first ride of the day, but its still faster than trying to go mid-morning or mid-afternoon.


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## MomOTwins

lynch34 said:


> You said what I wanted to.
> 
> NO WAY did this happen.


Yeah. I agree.  Either this was not a CM and just an altercation between guests or the CM said something different that was misheard (eg “responsible for trying” or maybe even they said dying but in an appropriate way in response to a difficult parent who was arguing with them, like “this is serious and people are dying so we all have to our part”).  



Tess said:


> Depends on your opening time for Epcot and the day of week.  We were there from 10/7-16/20 and went to EPCOT on 4 different days.  Our arrival time (11:00 a.m. opening) was 9:45 - 10:00 a.m.  Three of the four days that placed us near the front of the queue waiting for screening and bag check.  On the 4th day (a Friday) the queue was all the way over the bridge between BC and BWI.  Granted it moved quickly BUT being that far back would not place you in a good location to hit up the rides without a lengthy wait.  Our experiences found that they began screening around 10:15 a.m. and we were on our way through the tapstiles by 10:30 a.m. give or take 5 minutes and depending upon the crowd size.  On the Friday, however, it opened closer to 10:00 a.m. and, again, guessing that was due to the huge queue.
> 
> Our strategy for rides worked every 3 of the 4 days we were there and we did not wait to ride.  In fact, we were first in the queue and on TT but then it was also our first evacuation--the ride went down just as we went into the second "test".  Evac was interesting and we were given a FP which we used that night.  Two other days we rope dropped Soarin' and, again, in the first group to ride.
> 
> What I have found interesting this trip is that the International Gateway people are getting to the rides before those coming in the front.  Since we didn't enter from the front--I have no idea why those guests were not arriving at the rides more quickly than the International Gate folks and I have to guess that they were not admitted as early as the IG entrance.



I think the reason is that buses are arriving later and there are 20 min waits between buses, slowing arrivals at the front of the parks.


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## tstein12

lorileahb said:


> A bunch of dining for next week just opened up - CRT, BOG, California Grill, Toppolino's, Beaches and Cream... in case anyone needed to add an ADR to their park/resort days.


I also noticed reservations available for Hollywood & Vine, Chef Mickey's, etc.  

I wonder if they are increasing capacity at restaurants...while I don't mind eating indoors, I don't want to be in a full restaurant.


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## Cliffside

I was seeing a lot of availability before...now there is not one restaurant at Epcot for lunch on Thursday..hoping it’s a glitch
Now I got reservations are currently not available with Lady and the Tramp
“sorry for the paws”


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## lorileahb

Cliffside said:


> I was seeing a lot of availability before...now there is not one restaurant at Epcot for lunch on Thursday..hoping it’s a glitch
> Now I got reservations are currently not available with Lady and the Tramp
> “sorry for the paws”



I wonder if the system may be down right now... everything I search for shows no ADRs... I wonder if the early morning release of so many ADRs everywhere was the glitch and they just shut the system down to address it.


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## yulilin3

lorileahb said:


> I wonder if the system may be down right now... everything I search for shows no ADRs... I wonder if the early morning release of so many ADRs everywhere was the glitch and they just shut the system down to address it.


Exactly what's happening.  Hopefully they'll honor those reservations that were made


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## TikiTikiFan

lorileahb said:


> I wonder if the system may be down right now... everything I search for shows no ADRs... I wonder if the early morning release of so many ADRs everywhere was the glitch and they just shut the system down to address it.



And now I'm a pile of worry waiting to see if I get to keep the ADRs I made, in three cases I had already had a dining reservation but just picked a better time. I'm going to be so mad if I lose all of that. Unless they'd grant me my original dining reservations back which would be fine...


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## Leigh L

TikiTikiFan said:


> And now I'm a pile of worry waiting to see if I get to keep the ADRs I made, in three cases I had already had a dining reservation but just picked a better time. I'm going to be so mad if I lose all of that. Unless they'd grant me my original dining reservations back which would be fine...


Same...in one case I modified from 3 to 2 people and the other I moved an Oga 6:55 p.m. to a 7:15 p.m. I almost changed our H&V to a new time (and modify it down to 2 people and now glad I didn't!)


----------



## Befferk

TikiTikiFan said:


> And now I'm a pile of worry waiting to see if I get to keep the ADRs I made, in three cases I had already had a dining reservation but just picked a better time. I'm going to be so mad if I lose all of that. Unless they'd grant me my original dining reservations back which would be fine...



Yup, I'm just sick over this. Same as you, I did have some ADRs made, but gave them up for these better ones.


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## TikiTikiFan

Leigh L said:


> Same...in one case I modified from 3 to 2 people and the other I moved an Oga 6:55 p.m. to a 7:15 p.m. I almost changed our H&V to a new time (and modify it down to 2 people and now glad I didn't!)



I'm most worried about H&V... that's one of the one I switched to a different time and that'd be a lot harder to replace than some of the other ones. And more heartbreaking, we love character dining and even if things are different now... it's one of the things were looking forward so much... Did anyone bother calling them to see what was going on? I debated but not sure what that phone wait looks like.


----------



## Befferk

TikiTikiFan said:


> I'm most worried about H&V... that's one of the one I switched to a different time and that'd be a lot harder to replace than some of the other ones. And more heartbreaking, we love character dining and even if things are different now... it's one of the things were looking forward so much... Did anyone bother calling them to see what was going on? I debated but not sure what that phone wait looks like.



Someone in another thread called about 15 min ago and said 2.5 hour hold time. I can't call from work, otherwise I'd gladly sit on hold to try to get an answer to what's going on, and what they're going to do about it.


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## TikiTikiFan

Befferk said:


> Someone in another thread called about 15 min ago and said 2.5 hour hold time. I can't call from work, otherwise I'd gladly sit on hold to try to get an answer to what's going on, and what they're going to do about it.



I'll take one for the team, I work from home right now so not a problem to call. It didn't tell me an estimated hold time so I guess it'll be a surprise as to what it will be....! I'll report back when I talk to someone. It'll drive me nuts to sit around waiting all day to see if I gave up all my ADRs for no good reason so I gotta know for my own sanity.


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## Befferk

TikiTikiFan said:


> I'll take one for the team, I work from home right now so not a problem to call. It didn't tell me an estimated hold time so I guess it'll be a surprise as to what it will be....! I'll report back when I talk to someone. It'll drive me nuts to sit around waiting all day to see if I gave up all my ADRs for no good reason so I gotta know for my own sanity.



You're the best!!


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## EinHoden

Something is glitching.  I just tried to cancel and ADR that we won't be using and it told me to try again later.


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## nancy155

TikiTikiFan said:


> I'll take one for the team, I work from home right now so not a problem to call. It didn't tell me an estimated hold time so I guess it'll be a surprise as to what it will be....! I'll report back when I talk to someone. It'll drive me nuts to sit around waiting all day to see if I gave up all my ADRs for no good reason so I gotta know for my own sanity.


Thank you . Hope we all get to keep our reservations.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Okay just got off the phone! The CM I talked to didn’t think the extra dining reservations released was a glitch- the system itself just went down and is currently being worked on. I asked specifically about the possibility of reservations being cancelled and she put me on hold to ask a supervisor and she came back on and told me not to worry, that as long as I have the confirmation email and the dining reservation is also showing up in the app then I’m good to go. She did recommend taking screenshots if for some reason you don’t have an email. She recommend if I have any issues to call back. But overall, she was confident that I should not worry. She also mentioned she did a few reservations over the phone before the system went down for those newly released times. 

So looks like they likely increased restaurant capacity and that’s why we saw so many additional dining reservations released.


----------



## yulilin3

TikiTikiFan said:


> Okay just got off the phone! The CM I talked to didn’t think the extra dining reservations released was a glitch- the system itself just went down and is currently being worked on. I asked specifically about the possibility of reservations being cancelled and she put me on hold to ask a supervisor and she came back on and told me not to worry, that as long as I have the confirmation email and the dining reservation is also showing up in the app then I’m good to go. She did recommend taking screenshots if for some reason you don’t have an email. She recommend if I have any issues to call back. But overall, she was confident that I should not worry. She also mentioned she did a few reservations over the phone before the system went down for those newly released times.
> 
> So looks like they likely increased restaurant capacity and that’s why we saw so many additional dining reservations released.


Or they were holding off on spots and released them this morning


----------



## TikiTikiFan

yulilin3 said:


> Or they were holding off on spots and released them this morning



I’m hoping this is the case. While I’m excited to have more ADRs for places I didn’t have before (looking at you Sci-Fi!).. I also wouldn’t be jazzed about being in a restaurant at full capacity either.


----------



## nancy155

TikiTikiFan said:


> Okay just got off the phone! The CM I talked to didn’t think the extra dining reservations released was a glitch- the system itself just went down and is currently being worked on. I asked specifically about the possibility of reservations being cancelled and she put me on hold to ask a supervisor and she came back on and told me not to worry, that as long as I have the confirmation email and the dining reservation is also showing up in the app then I’m good to go. She did recommend taking screenshots if for some reason you don’t have an email. She recommend if I have any issues to call back. But overall, she was confident that I should not worry. She also mentioned she did a few reservations over the phone before the system went down for those newly released times.
> 
> So looks like they likely increased restaurant capacity and that’s why we saw so many additional dining reservations released.


Thank you for coming back and reporting.


----------



## Befferk

TikiTikiFan said:


> Okay just got off the phone! The CM I talked to didn’t think the extra dining reservations released was a glitch- the system itself just went down and is currently being worked on. I asked specifically about the possibility of reservations being cancelled and she put me on hold to ask a supervisor and she came back on and told me not to worry, that as long as I have the confirmation email and the dining reservation is also showing up in the app then I’m good to go. She did recommend taking screenshots if for some reason you don’t have an email. She recommend if I have any issues to call back. But overall, she was confident that I should not worry. She also mentioned she did a few reservations over the phone before the system went down for those newly released times.
> 
> So looks like they likely increased restaurant capacity and that’s why we saw so many additional dining reservations released.



You're amazing, thank you! (And I'm glad you didn't have to wait 2 1/2 hours on hold!)


----------



## Leigh L

TikiTikiFan said:


> Okay just got off the phone! The CM I talked to didn’t think the extra dining reservations released was a glitch- the system itself just went down and is currently being worked on. I asked specifically about the possibility of reservations being cancelled and she put me on hold to ask a supervisor and she came back on and told me not to worry, that as long as I have the confirmation email and the dining reservation is also showing up in the app then I’m good to go. She did recommend taking screenshots if for some reason you don’t have an email. She recommend if I have any issues to call back. But overall, she was confident that I should not worry. She also mentioned she did a few reservations over the phone before the system went down for those newly released times.
> 
> So looks like they likely increased restaurant capacity and that’s why we saw so many additional dining reservations released.


Thank you for calling and giving us an update


----------



## lorileahb

Thank you for waiting - helps get a little more info!

Found the statement on a fairly reputable site for WDW news.  Said that Disney is evaluating all of the reservations this morning that were made during the "technical issue" (said Disney did not increase restaurant capacity, that a technical issue made too many ADRs available) - to see if they can accommodate them within the reduced capacity levels.  No additional info right now on any questions that may come along with that.  With long hold times on the phone, I'm trying to be patient and be ok with whatever the outcome (hoping, at a minimum - they can restore my original ADRs that I canceled to get some of the awesome ones that popped up this morning).  Most importantly, will follow up on the refund for CRT ADR I canceled to get a better time (no longer appears on My Plans, but I never got the e-mail cancelation). Good luck to whoever else is in this boat!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

lorileahb said:


> I'm trying to be patient and be ok with whatever the outcome (hoping, at a minimum - they can restore my original ADRs that I canceled to get some of the awesome ones that popped up this morning). Most importantly, will follow up on the refund for CRT ADR I canceled to get a better time (no longer appears on My Plans, but I never got the e-mail cancelation). Good luck to whoever else is in this boat!



I saw someone else post this too on another thread- what a bummer. But I’m with you, I’m not going to panic yet but I am definitely planning to push to get my original ADRs back if things get cancelled. I didn’t receive cancellation emails either but my old reservations also don’t show up in My Plans.

If anyone gets any cancellation notices of their new dining plans, please post them!


----------



## nancy155

I only added one and I truly hope they are able to accommodate me as I have been stalking this one for quite some time, but if not it won’t be the end of the world.  I will be sad though.


----------



## Befferk

I would like to see the supposed statement that Disney released on this (according to the article).


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Befferk said:


> I would like to see the supposed statement that Disney released on this (according to the article).



Agreed, I searched and came up with nothing.


----------



## lorileahb

Befferk said:


> I would like to see the supposed statement that Disney released on this (according to the article).



I don't think we can post links here - I read it on one of the few sites that consistently post Disney facts, not rumors.  Time will definitely tell, though.  And, the ADR system has been down since this morning.


----------



## yulilin3

Befferk said:


> I would like to see the supposed statement that Disney released on this (according to the article).


the statement is on the HUB (internal CM site) and can't be linked directly


----------



## Lsdolphin

I just hope everything doesn’t just disappear


----------



## Befferk

yulilin3 said:


> the statement is on the HUB (internal CM site) and can't be linked directly



Thank you for clarifying that.


----------



## Lsdolphin

I can’t believe this!!! Most of what I did this morning was just to change times on my existing reservations...I just made a new reservation for Topolinos!!! I hope I don’t lose everything
I actually did have a bad feeling about this this morning and wondered if it could possibly be a glitch!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Site is back up- I was able to go in and make another reservation


----------



## Lsdolphin

I just keep checking to see if my ADRs are still there...I’m really hoping that they won’t start disappearing like what happened when they stopped the dining plan...


----------



## mfly

We were at the parks in mid-October. I’m not going to report our entire experience, as I feel other people have conveyed that already. I just wanted to comment on two things:

1) We are not rope-drop people. Never have managed to make it to the parks before they opened. After reading reports here, we got to the gates of MK ~45 minutes before announced park open. I can’t stress how much it was worth it. I can’t imagine what our day would have looked like without it (we felt that we did everything we wanted to, and we took a 4 hour break mid-day to go back to the Poly and enjoy the pool). Non-rope-drop people: getting there early IS worth it right now!

2) Unpopular opinion around here, but we love Liberty Tree Tavern. We had a lunch reservation there, which we were excited about. When we arrived, we were told that we were being seated next door at the Diamond Horseshoe, but we’d receive the same meal/service as we would have at LTT. We were frustrated, as we enjoy the theming of LTT (I know, I know, unpopular opinion),  and I would have appreciated some heads-up in advance since we had a reservation.  

I asked if we could wait for a table inside LTT - they said we could, but they didn’t know how long it would take and guessed it may be “up to an hour.” Obviously we didn’t want to wait that long, so we just went with the overflow seating at Diamond Horseshoe. It felt like eating at a quick service. In retrospect, I wish I would have pushed harder. 

Also - for the first time ever - I left LTT hungry! It was so strange. The portions that were brought out for the four of us were less than what we normally get when there are just two of us. I hate food waste, so I’d prefer they do things this way and then add more of what you want, but we were never asked if we wanted more of anything (if this were our first time there, I wouldn’t have known I could have more). After our plates and the serving plates had been empty for some time (20+ minutes), our server came by and tried to clear them. I stopped him and asked him for more of certain dishes, which they brought small portions of. Again, in retrospect, I should have said something, but we’d been there for so long at that point we just wanted to go. 

Just wanted to share that as I haven’t seen it shared anywhere else, and I would have liked to have known it may be a possibility before we went!

I do have all of our actual wait times vs. posted wait times if anyone’s interested, but like most that are posted, the trend is basically: actual wait times are generally less than posted wait times (unless you’re in line during a cleaning cycle).


----------



## tex1989

We just got home on Sunday, last day in the parks was Friday as we drove from Texas. We were in the parks from Sunday October 25 through Friday October 30 and this is our opinion of the trip:

1. It was very much like a mid 90's trip in that there were no FP's and pretty much if you wanted to ride a ride, you got in line an waited.  This was not a bad thing in that virtually every ride was a much shorter wait than posted.  Our longest wait for any ride was 30 minutes with the exception of Runaway Railroad and Slinky Dog.  We got to ride RotR twice. Tuesday we got Group 66 at the 2:00 window and rode at 4:30 and Thursday got Group 33 at the 10:00 window.

2. Frustration was the number of shops and food stands closed.  The live shows were also not operating so it was pretty much ride the rides.  It made the fact that the parks had reduced hours a non issue because after a full day of standing lines and riding rides, we were ready to leave.

3. The bus was no issue the two times we took it.  We stayed at Pop and both days to MK there were multiple ones there and going the wait was like 5 minutes tops.  Our one day to Epcot was a mess. 1 1/2 hours on the Skyliner to get to the park.  Fortunately we only had day planned at Epcot.  We drove to AK once and Studios 2 days.  We were in the parks every day before posted opening times except Epcot because of the Skyliner.

4. Wearing a mask was not terrible and there are constant reminders that you have to wear them at all times with the exception of being stationary and eating or drinking. Also there are a lot of CM's holding signs that say you have to keep your mask on while taking pictures.  The Photopass folks would not take your picture without a mask and you could not be served food, drink, or merchandise if you did not have one on.  We did see people stopped at the gate and told that their mask was not "approved".  These were people wearing the neck gators.  One guy was told that he was not wearing an approved mask and switched from one gator to another and was stopped again.  We left before we got to see the outcome of that one.

5. Going through temp screening security and ticketing was so much faster with this system that it was very nice. 

6. All food ordering from QS places was through the app and they would not let you in till your app said your food was ready.  There were very few exceptions to this rule.  We did notice also a lot of activity at the resort at night because it was the only thing to do other than Disney Springs.  We went to DS once in the afternoon on our AK day with no issue and on the way out of town on Saturday 10/31.  We tried to drive over Friday night but the garages were full and it had reached capacity so we could not go.

7. We ate at Rose and Crown, Yak and Yeti, Trattoria on the Boardwalk and Be Our Guest and all the meals were great.

8. Maybe because our last trip in late March was cancelled, or maybe because the one before that in February when we got sick and came home early were not good, but this was one of the best trips we have had in a long time.  It was very enjoyable.

It was great to be back and we really enjoyed driving and having a vehicle there but I can honestly say for my wife and I it was our best trip in a long time!


----------



## Cynt

mfly said:


> 2) Unpopular opinion around here, but we love Liberty Tree Tavern. We had a lunch reservation there, which we were excited about. When we arrived, we were told that we were being seated next door at the Diamond Horseshoe, but we’d receive the same meal/service as we would have at LTT. We were frustrated, as we enjoy the theming of LTT (I know, I know, unpopular opinion),  and I would have appreciated some heads-up in advance since we had a reservation.
> 
> I asked if we could wait for a table inside LTT - they said we could, but they didn’t know how long it would take and guessed it may be “up to an hour.” Obviously we didn’t want to wait that long, so we just went with the overflow seating at Diamond Horseshoe. It felt like eating at a quick service. In retrospect, I wish I would have pushed harder.
> 
> Also - for the first time ever - I left LTT hungry! It was so strange. The portions that were brought out for the four of us were less than what we normally get when there are just two of us. I hate food waste, so I’d prefer they do things this way and then add more of what you want, but we were never asked if we wanted more of anything (if this were our first time there, I wouldn’t have known I could have more). After our plates and the serving plates had been empty for some time (20+ minutes), our server came by and tried to clear them. I stopped him and asked him for more of certain dishes, which they brought small portions of. Again, in retrospect, I should have said something, but we’d been there for so long at that point we just wanted to go.



I'm sorry about your LTT experience. We enjoyed LTT.  Thanks to recommendations on here we booked a TS for lunch at MK.  It was our first time there and at first it took our waiter a minute to assist us but when he did, our waiter piled the food on us. It was just DH and I.  The waiter started with salad.  He could have kept that, we skipped breakfast and was ready to chow down.  Next, a platter of all the meats and stuffing arrived. It was way more than husband or I could eat but we ate most of it.  I enjoyed the roast beef and husband liked the turkey and pork. They also served plenty of the side dishes. We asked for seconds of the mashed potatoes and green beans. We were stuffed. And then he brought out the cookie thing w/ ice cream on top. OMG!! We devoured it even though we were bursting at the seams. 

We waddled around the park a couple of hours after lunch, did a little shopping and hit the bus back to OKW where in our room we took a nice long nap.  We didn't eat anything else the rest of the day. O I HAD to get a dole whip before I left the park.


----------



## KM82

Cynt said:


> I'm sorry about your LTT experience. We enjoyed LTT.  Thanks to recommendations on here we booked a TS for lunch at MK.  It was our first time there and at first it took our waiter a minute to assist us but when he did, our waiter piled the food on us. It was just DH and I.  The waiter started with salad.  He could have kept that, we skipped breakfast and was ready to chow down.  Next, a platter of all the meats and stuffing arrived. It was way more than husband or I could eat but we ate most of it.  I enjoyed the roast beef and husband liked the turkey and pork. They also served plenty of the side dishes. We asked for seconds of the mashed potatoes and green beans. We were stuffed. And then he brought out the cookie thing w/ ice cream on top. OMG!! We devoured it even though we were bursting at the seams.
> 
> We waddled around the park a couple of hours after lunch, did a little shopping and hit the bus back to OKW where in our room we took a nice long nap.  We didn't eat anything else the rest of the day. O I HAD to get a dole whip before I left the park.



This was us after dinner there tonight!  Soooo full!  Then we made the mistake of getting our pictures in front of the castle.  .  We not only felt full, but we looked  full too!


----------



## lorileahb

KM82 said:


> This was us after dinner there tonight!  Soooo full!  Then we made the mistake of getting our pictures in front of the castle.  .  We not only felt full, but we looked  full too!



I plan on looking full next week!!!


----------



## nancy155

lorileahb said:


> I plan on looking full next week!!!


Me too!  In two weeks tho!


----------



## scrappinginontario

tlmadden73 said:


> Wow .. perhaps you are right .. I didn't realize it was that bad.
> 
> !!!!! the line was hundreds of people long 2 hours before DHS opens??  And that was just for Pop Century guests? Yikes. I assume though .. it goes a lot quicker than say waiting for the bus since it is constantly loading.
> 
> Is the Skyliner running not at capacity modified due to social distancing? Or just not starting early enough?
> 
> My main "fear" of going during this mess is less about wearing masks and closed attractions, but more about the trip being "disrupted" by long waits for transportation (which normally is a huge plus for staying onsite).





tlmadden73 said:


> Thanks .. the main reason I wanted to stay at AoA .. was the "fun" of the skyliner, and the "pressure" of getting to DHS on time will be less for sure thanks to the new BG change. Still may drive .. (figure the WDW roads are less crowded with less people "in" the resort).
> 
> Just figure that if there is a long wait for a bus, the kids are less "antsy" waiting in line for a bus compared to just driving ..and walking. Even though it may take the same amount of time to get there .. there is less waiting in a line to start the day where they'll have to wait in a line a lot  (especially without FP)
> 
> Another question -- what's the "window" for a BG? Like if you got into a long line for SDD, MMRR, or MFSR . would you have to get out of that line to make your Boarding Group time?


  The challenge that was/is happening with the Skyliner and Pop is that guests have to line up at Pop to get on the Skyliner there and then unless you're in the first 10ish cabins for the day, when you arrive at CBR you are sent down the ramp and join the back of the line of those from CBR who are waiting to ride.  I'll be honest and say i can't understand why they can't do 1 Pop, 1 CBR, 1 Pop, etc. at the CBR station since guests there have already waited in line but possibly it's a problem with crowding at the CBR station? 


lacy1101 said:


> Oh, I totally agree . . . I'm a rope dropper all the way lol!  I'm more curious about the best way to accomplish that given the current situation.  I think, honestly, DD and I would prefer to take the bus.  That's where my comfort zone lies as far as getting around.  And getting in line at 7:30 a.m. doesn't sound all that bad anyway.  Thanks for your advice!


I haven't been back to WDW since all of the most recent changes but I heard Monday that Art of Animation is running buses from their resort to DHS and Epcot.  If this is the case and you're staying at either AoA or Pop, there is an option for you to take a bus if you wish.


----------



## tlmadden73

scrappinginontario said:


> The challenge that was/is happening with the Skyliner and Pop is that guests have to line up at Pop to get on the Skyliner there and then unless you're in the first 10ish cabins or the day, when you arrive at CBR you are sent down the ramp and join the back of the line of those from CBR who are waiting to ride.  I'll be honest and say i can't understand why they can't do 1 Pop, 1 CBR, 1 Pop, etc. at the CBR station since guests there have already waited in line but possibly it's a problem with crowding at the CBR station?
> I haven't been back to WDW since all of the most recent changes but I heard Monday that Art of Animation is running buses from their resort to DHS and Epcot.  If this is the case and you're staying at either AoA or Pop, there is an option for you to take a bus if you wish.


You have to get off the skyliner and get to the end of the line at CBR? That seems a pretty awful system .. but .. I guess the ultimate question is .. is it quicker than taking a bus or driving. Still sounds like it may since things are constantly moving.  

Maybe we just take the Skyliner "for fun" on our off days rather than try and use it as the main transportation mode to get to DHS.


----------



## tex1989

We took the Skyliner to Epcot on our one day planned for Epcot and it took us 90 minutes to get there.  Stood in line for it at Pop and then when you get to CBR they heard you into a line to wait for the next segment of your journey and they did not segregate the lines, so if you were going to Epcot or Studios you waited in the same line and only split when you got close to loading so it would have been 90 minutes for us to either one.  That was the only time we took the Skyliner during our 6 days in the park and drove or took a bus the rest of the time.  Two day in MK (bus), two days at Studios (drove) one day at AK (drove) and one day at Epcot (Skyliner from hell!)

We were there last week


----------



## tkouri

With no park hopping, do they allow yo to enter a park, leave, and go back to same park?


----------



## tstein12

tkouri said:


> With no park hopping, do they allow yo to enter a park, leave, and go back to same park?


Yes


----------



## scrappinginontario

tkouri said:


> With no park hopping, do they allow yo to enter a park, leave, and go back to same park?


Yes


----------



## mickey0930

For those that just returned...What happens at the parks when it becomes dark.  I know no fireworks/parades etc. But are there light shows, music etc?


----------



## nkereina

tlmadden73 said:


> You have to get off the skyliner and get to the end of the line at CBR? That seems a pretty awful system .. but .. I guess the ultimate question is .. is it quicker than taking a bus or driving. Still sounds like it may since things are constantly moving.


I think that only depends on how far back you are in the line at CBR. If we were staying at Pop or AOA, I would have taken an Uber to DHS around 8:30ish. By then, the parking lot should be opening and you don't have to hassle with parking.



mickey0930 said:


> For those that just returned...What happens at the parks when it becomes dark.  I know no fireworks/parades etc. But are there light shows, music etc?


We were there last week, before daylight savings, and the only park that was open after dark was Epcot. The hours were extended to 9pm being a Sunday. Otherwise, AK closes at 5pm and MK closes at 6pm. It was barely dark at 7pm when DHS was closing. I know darkness will come earlier as we approach winter, but based on our Epcot experience after dark, there is nothing different than the daytime. No different music and no new light shows or anything like that. Also, since park hours are short, leaving for mid-day breaks is not optimal. Its better to rope drop and stay all day, leaving when you're done. This makes for late afternoon/early evening close to park closing a pretty quiet time, so there isn't a reason to do anything special at that time of day. We left Epcot at 9pm last Sunday and it was a complete ghost town, there were points walking through the World Showcase where we were the only ones within sight.


----------



## KittyKitty

tlmadden73 said:


> guess the ultimate question is .. is it quicker than taking a bus or driving


Does Pop have buses to Epcot/Studios?

Touring plans tried something different going from Pop to Studios. Took a bus to AK, then took a bus to closest resort(Boardwalk). And walked to Studios. The time was shorter.


----------



## SugarSweetLee

KittyKitty said:


> Does Pop have buses to Epcot/Studios?


Only if the Skyliner isn't running for some reason (like weather/lightning).


----------



## lovethattink

KittyKitty said:


> Does Pop have buses to Epcot/Studios?



No. Only during thunderstorms.


----------



## nkereina

KittyKitty said:


> Does Pop have buses to Epcot/Studios?
> 
> Touring plans tried something different going from Pop to Studios. Took a bus to MK, then took a bus to closest resort(Boardwalk). And walked to Studios. The time was shorter.


I can't watch the video right now, but I'm interested to check this out. How long did they wait for a bus to the Boardwalk from MK at park opening? I can't imagine buses are frequently running from a park to a resort at opening, unless Boardwalk is more frequent so people can get to Trattoria al Forno?

Last week, the buses to MK started running around 8:30am. People lined up at the bus depots over an hour early to ensure they were on the first one. If someone were using MK as a transfer point to Boardwalk, they'd also want to be on the first bus which would still require getting to the bus stop early. By the time they get to MK, wait for a bus to Boardwalk, and walk to DHS, I think it would be pushing 9:30 or later. I'm sure there's instances where this would be faster or when the Skyliner would be faster - there's a lot of variables. Its a wash to me, so I'd rather take the easiest or more convenient route from my resort, which would be Skyliner for Pop.


----------



## KittyKitty

nkereina said:


> I can't imagine buses are frequently running from a park to a resort at opening, unless Boardwalk is more frequent so people can get to Trattoria al Forno?



I guessing the bus is going to MK, and then going back to resort to pick up the next group of guests. The route would be Pop/MK, MK/Boardwalk, and then walk to Studios. The video shows it was quicker than the Skyliner.

Tho with getting 10am Boarding passes online for RotR at 7am online, it might not be a factor.

The challenge on Skyliner on Pop, is there is a transfer to Studios/Epcot, and and you converge with 2nd line , Caribbean Transfer, making the time longer.


----------



## disneygirlsng

scrappinginontario said:


> The challenge that was/is happening with the Skyliner and Pop is that guests have to line up at Pop to get on the Skyliner there and then unless you're in the first 10ish cabins for the day, when you arrive at CBR you are sent down the ramp and join the back of the line of those from CBR who are waiting to ride.  I'll be honest and say i can't understand why they can't do 1 Pop, 1 CBR, 1 Pop, etc. at the CBR station since guests there have already waited in line but possibly it's a problem with crowding at the CBR station?
> I haven't been back to WDW since all of the most recent changes but I heard Monday that Art of Animation is running buses from their resort to DHS and Epcot.  If this is the case and you're staying at either AoA or Pop, there is an option for you to take a bus if you wish.


In August they had separate lines at CBR for those coming from Pop and Riviera and they would take 5 or so parties from each line at a time. So they have done that, could definitely just be a numbers/capacity issue now.


----------



## michellej47

KittyKitty said:


> Does Pop have buses to Epcot/Studios?
> 
> Touring plans tried something different going from Pop to Studios. Took a bus to MK, then took a bus to closest resort(Boardwalk). And walked to Studios. The time was shorter.




So I guess, theoretically, I could do this from anywhere, right?  I'm staying at OKW.  Could I take the bus to AK, which opens at 8am and then hop a bus from AK to Boardwalk?  Would the buses back to the resorts already be running?


----------



## tex1989

nkereina said:


> I think that only depends on how far back you are in the line at CBR. If we were staying at Pop or AOA, I would have taken an Uber to DHS around 8:30ish. By then, the parking lot should be opening and you don't have to hassle with parking.
> 
> 
> Last week when we were there on one of our Studio days we drove and they were not letting people into the parking lot till 9:00 am.  We were all held at the booth where you pay to park.


----------



## nkereina

KittyKitty said:


> I guessing the bus is going to MK, and then going back to resort to pick up the next group of guests. The route would be Pop/MK, MK/Boardwalk, and then walk to Studios. The video shows it was quicker than the Skyliner.
> 
> Tho with getting 10am Boarding passes online for RotR at 7am online, it might not be a factor.
> 
> The challenge on Skyliner on Pop, is there is a transfer to Studios/Epcot, and and you converge with 2nd line , Caribbean Transfer, making the time longer.
> View attachment 536586


We were there last week so I'm very familiar with the buses and Skyliner routes. I just watched the TP video on my phone, and he actually transferred at AK, but I don't think it makes a difference really. In "normal" times, the buses dropping off would not be the same ones picking up at that hour, so I think if that is the case in the current environment, then this procedure makes sense for now. I'd also add that the video is from September, so I'm not sure what efficiencies may have happened since then that could help. I agree that the new ROTR boarding group process may help. I agree with the guy in the video that the best bet is still to Uber.



michellej47 said:


> So I guess, theoretically, I could do this from anywhere, right?  I'm staying at OKW.  Could I take the bus to AK, which opens at 8am and then hop a bus from AK to Boardwalk?  Would the buses back to the resorts already be running?


In the video, which is from September, it seems he was able to jump on a bus that was dropping guests off in order to get back to Boardwalk. I don't believe this is how buses operated pre-Covid, but if it is operating that way now, then yes - the scenario you pose would work.


----------



## stitch'sgirl

Does anyone know if the boats from the Swan/Dolphin are running yet?


----------



## CJK

Yes they are!


----------



## scrappinginontario

KittyKitty said:


> Does Pop have buses to Epcot/Studios?
> 
> Touring plans tried something different going from Pop to Studios. Took a bus to MK, then took a bus to closest resort(Boardwalk). And walked to Studios. The time was shorter.


This video really surprised me at how much faster it was to take a bus to AK, then a bus to Boardwalk and then walking to DHS!


----------



## teach22180

tlmadden73 said:


> You have to get off the skyliner and get to the end of the line at CBR? That seems a pretty awful system .. but .. I guess the ultimate question is .. is it quicker than taking a bus or driving. Still sounds like it may since things are constantly moving.
> 
> Maybe we just take the Skyliner "for fun" on our off days rather than try and use it as the main transportation mode to get to DHS.


I think they have to send pop people to the end of the line because there's only room for a 10 family line at the station. I still think that you will make it to Hollywood studios by opening but you won't be there early. If you want to ride a big ride early you should drive if you're not at the beginning of the skyliner line.


----------



## dachsie

stitch'sgirl said:


> Does anyone know if the boats from the Swan/Dolphin are running yet?





CJK said:


> Yes they are!


What time do the boats start?


----------



## CJK

dachsie said:


> What time do the boats start?


Subject to change of course, but initial reports said that boats run to Epcot 30 minutes before open and to DHS 1hr before open.


----------



## WendiDarling

Lots of talk about Skyliner at rope drop, but how about at park close?  We'll be at Boardwalk in 2 weeks and wondering about Skyliner crowds going from DHS to Boardwalk at 7pm? I know crowds usually die down in the evening (maybe). I know we can walk and will be doing this in the morning, but really wanted to experience the Skyliner if possible.


----------



## PanchoX1

WendiDarling said:


> Lots of talk about Skyliner at rope drop, but how about at park close?  We'll be at Boardwalk in 2 weeks and wondering about Skyliner crowds going from DHS to Boardwalk at 7pm? I know crowds usually die down in the evening (maybe). I know we can walk and will be doing this in the morning, but really wanted to experience the Skyliner if possible.



This is our plan. Still haven't decided on the way we're getting to HS but def planning on taking the Skyliner back at the end of the day.


----------



## Moliphino

tex1989 said:


> We took the Skyliner to Epcot on our one day planned for Epcot and it took us 90 minutes to get there.  Stood in line for it at Pop and then when you get to CBR they heard you into a line to wait for the next segment of your journey and they did not segregate the lines, so if you were going to Epcot or Studios you waited in the same line and only split when you got close to loading so it would have been 90 minutes for us to either one.  That was the only time we took the Skyliner during our 6 days in the park and drove or took a bus the rest of the time.  Two day in MK (bus), two days at Studios (drove) one day at AK (drove) and one day at Epcot (Skyliner from hell!)
> 
> We were there last week



How far was that line backed up at CBR? Even when it wound all through the Skyliner bus stop it only took up about 20-25 minutes to board.


----------



## tex1989

Moliphino said:


> How far was that line backed up at CBR? Even when it wound all through the Skyliner bus stop it only took up about 20-25 minutes to board.


The day we did it it was a plus 30 minute wait to get on the Skyliner at PoP and then another 45 minutes to get through the line at CBR.  The other thing I would mention was that we were in line at PoP for at least 15 minutes before the Skyliner even started operating. When we got to finally board at PoP they were only putting people on every third car and when we asked why they said because the transfer station line at CBR was so long.  We were told we would wait much longer there than we had at PoP


----------



## KittyKitty

michellej47 said:


> Would the buses back to the resorts already be running?


I would think so, especially if they are picking up guests from Boardwalk resort to go to AK.


----------



## scrappinginontario

michellej47 said:


> Would the buses back to the resorts already be running?


The video posted on the previous page was filmed by Touring Plans recently.  It shows a guest leaving Pop around 8:23, going to AK where he walked to bus stop 18 and took a bus to the Boardwalk.  He got off the bus and walked to DHS, arriving outside the Skyliner station at 9:00am so 37 mins for:  Pop > AK > BW > walk to DHS.

Buses are definitely running from the parks to the resorts early in the morning.


----------



## nkereina

WendiDarling said:


> Lots of talk about Skyliner at rope drop, but how about at park close?  We'll be at Boardwalk in 2 weeks and wondering about Skyliner crowds going from DHS to Boardwalk at 7pm? I know crowds usually die down in the evening (maybe). I know we can walk and will be doing this in the morning, but really wanted to experience the Skyliner if possible.


Evenings are not an issue. Crowds are significantly less at night, people are trickling out at all different times. We didn't experience any big mass exit like we'd normally see after evening entertainment, since there isn't a big night time show. We had no Skyliner wait at park closing, and even if there is a wait, the line is continuously moving.


----------



## yulilin3

I cannot stress the importance of rope dropping right now. I was at DHS this morning, arrived by car at the toll plaza at 8:55am, they opened the lot at 9am, parked and walked to temp check where they held us until 9:15am, they opened up and everyone went to line up where they wanted to go, MMRR wasn't on my list today but I could've gotten in line and been very close to the start of it, I went to SWGE where MFSR was at 20 minutes, the line was basically still contained inside the building until around 10:10am, my BG was called at 10:15am so I rode RotR and after went to check and MFSR was at 45 minutes, the line now down towards TSLand. Seriously so much can be done in that first hour of parks being opened


----------



## dolewhipdreams

mickey0930 said:


> For those that just returned...What happens at the parks when it becomes dark.  I know no fireworks/parades etc. But are there light shows, music etc?


The castle gets lit up (normal night time lights, not the Christmas lights as have already been announced won't be returning this year) but that's about it.


----------



## dolewhipdreams

Just got back last night from a trip 10/27-11/3. 

Most of what I experienced echos the same as PPs, so I don't have much to add. One thing I want to mention is that I was surprised by how many of the Christmas decorations got put up, especially since they kind of skimped on Halloween. I thought Christmas would follow suit so I was joyfully surprised to see the Christmas tree, wreaths, garland, etc all up on Main Street (plus Jingle Cruise!) when I returned to the Magic Kingdom after Halloween. If you're a fan of Christmas at the MK, you'll really enjoy it.

They also had a few more random cavalcades. One I saw was just Tinkerbell on a float, and another was the Mickey celebration float with a few dancers (these were after the Halloween cavalcades were done for the season). I was only in the MK a few hours so there may be more options, but they're definitely a fun addition and it's so nice to see performers in the parks.

Oh! Also the Dapper Dans rode the trolley around Main Street. Not sure if that's something they were doing during Halloween but I only ever saw the Cadaver Dans stationary.


----------



## True Romance

Checking into AofA on Sunday for a 6 night stay. Family of 5 traveling with a family of 4 staying who is at POP. What is the verdict on getting 9 people onto the busses in a timely manner? Were the busses added back to HS and Epcot from both POP and A of A?  Not sure if I should shell out the money to pay for a rental car if the busses are bearable.


----------



## yulilin3

True Romance said:


> Checking into AofA on Sunday for a 6 night stay. Family of 5 traveling with a family of 4 staying who is at POP. What is the verdict on getting 9 people onto the busses in a timely manner? Were the busses added back to HS and Epcot from both POP and A of A?  Not sure if I should shell out the money to pay for a rental car if the busses are bearable.


Buses to epcot and dhs are only available at AoA not pop


----------



## Shellbells

Here now- We arrived about 6 pm and went straight to our room at CBR in Casitas. We saw very few people but we haven't been in the tower yet.
We took the bus to Disney Springs and ate at Paddlefish. Tables socially distanced. 
Disney Springs was pretty busy. I'm surprised how many people are here right now since it's a Wednesday. I didn't notice many mask issues..a few noses here and there but nothing that bothered us.
Tomorrow is AK day


----------



## ColoradoMom!!

dolewhipdreams said:


> The castle gets lit up (normal night time lights, not the Christmas lights as have already been announced won't be returning this year) but that's about it.



Looks like we lucked out, there are some Christmas lights!
Tonight, Nov 4, exiting around 6:15


----------



## disneygirlsng

ColoradoMom!! said:


> Looks like we lucked out, there are some Christmas lights!
> Tonight, Nov 4, exiting around 6:15
> View attachment 536678


I believe they were referring to the castle Christmas lights, which won't be on this year.


----------



## Sydnerella

Hi! Glad it’s off to a good start, so fun to be on the front end of vacation! Did you travel by plane? Magical Express or car?  We are concerned about the airport time and interested in any tips anyone has to make that part feel/be more comfortable and safe. Thanks!


Shellbells said:


> Here now- We arrived about 6 pm and went straight to our room at CBR in Casitas. We saw very few people but we haven't been in the tower yet.
> We took the bus to Disney Springs and ate at Paddlefish. Tables socially distanced.
> Disney Springs was pretty busy. I'm surprised how many people are here right now since it's a Wednesday. I didn't notice many mask issues..a few noses here and there but nothing that bothered us.
> Tomorrow is AK day


----------



## nkereina

Shellbells said:


> Disney Springs was pretty busy. I'm surprised how many people are here right now since it's a Wednesday.


We went to Disney Springs Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights last week and it was packed each night. I think its probably like that every night of the week now, rather than just weekends, since the parks are closing so early and there's no evening entertainment.


----------



## ColoradoMom!!

disneygirlsng said:


> I believe they were referring to the castle Christmas lights, which won't be on this year.


Oops  Sorry!!


----------



## SheSingsAlong

In line right now at CBR skyliner station. They have a TON of busses and are offering to let people jump out of the skyliner line and take a bus to HS. Is this new?


----------



## scrappinginontario

SheSingsAlong said:


> In line right now at CBR skyliner station. They have a TON of busses and are offering to let people jump out of the skyliner line and take a bus to HS. Is this new?


They offer those sometimes.  It's been reported by those who took the bus that they arrived much earlier than they would have if they stayed in line for the Skyliner.  If you're close to the bus and don't mind missing the Skyliner I'd hop on one of those.


----------



## Jules123

Today is going to be a great day! Arrived at CBR last night. Got boarding group 33. Lyft picked us up at 7:05 this morning for a 7:30 Trattoria reservation. Left to walk over to HS at approximately 8:40. We are probably 30 people back from the temp tents waiting to get in.


----------



## Shellbells

Sydnerella said:


> Hi! Glad it’s off to a good start, so fun to be on the front end of vacation! Did you travel by plane? Magical Express or car?  We are concerned about the airport time and interested in any tips anyone has to make that part feel/be more comfortable and safe. Thanks!


We flew from Las Vegas. Landed around 3:55, got to Magical express at 4:10, stopped at AoA, then Pop and got to CSR at 5:20, the bus then went to AKL.
We had reservations at Paddlefish at 6:45 and got to DS about 6:15 or so.
No problems at all. Other than not enjoying Paddlefish very much, lol.


----------



## TarraLee

Anyone recently golf at Disney?  Are golfers wearing masks on the course?  Thanks for any info anyone has!


----------



## True Romance

Are the busses from AoA running frequently to all parks?


----------



## yulilin3

True Romance said:


> Are the busses from AoA running frequently to all parks?


about every 20 minutes


----------



## HokieRaven5

SheSingsAlong said:


> In line right now at CBR skyliner station. They have a TON of busses and are offering to let people jump out of the skyliner line and take a bus to HS. Is this new?



Did you stay in the Skyliner line and how long did it take you to get through and into DHS from there? Also what time did they start operating it?


----------



## lacy1101

scrappinginontario said:


> I haven't been back to WDW since all of the most recent changes but I heard Monday that Art of Animation is running buses from their resort to DHS and Epcot.  If this is the case and you're staying at either AoA or Pop, there is an option for you to take a bus if you wish.



We are staying at AofA, but only plan on going to MK . . .


----------



## TikiTikiFan

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020...SH_1shnnzIPdlTeNvDhffwbaFrPCecABNSF9x4iBVT-W0
“reservations made due to the glitch will be automatically canceled. Affected guests will receive a $25 digital Disney gift cardfor the inconvenience.”

Bad news..... has anyone had cancellations?


----------



## Leigh L

TikiTikiFan said:


> https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020...SH_1shnnzIPdlTeNvDhffwbaFrPCecABNSF9x4iBVT-W0
> “reservations made due to the glitch will be automatically canceled. Affected guests will receive a $25 digital Disney gift cardfor the inconvenience.”
> 
> Bad news..... has anyone had cancellations?


Just checked mine, they are still there.
I'm hopeful as mine are both this weekend and I only shifted by 5 minutes on one, 20 minutes on the other. Both of them reduced from 3 and 4 people to 2 people.

Then again, Disney IT, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did a total sweep :/


----------



## lynch34

Are folks pushing the trips out or are they opening more availability?

The majority of November was green (Hollywood Studios) on the availability calendar for the longest time.  Now the only days that are green are the 6th, 8th, 14th, 26th, 29th and 30th.  Dramatically different than what was there.


----------



## lorileahb

Leigh L said:


> Just checked mine, they are still there.
> I'm hopeful as mine are both this weekend and I only shifted by 5 minutes on one, 20 minutes on the other. Both of them reduced from 3 and 4 people to 2 people.
> 
> Then again, Disney IT, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did a total sweep :/



Mine are still there for now... I dropped one CRT for a better time - hope that, at least, they can re-instate the old one.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Mine are still there too... I dropped my original Minnie dining for a better time so I’m going to be so upset if that one gets cancelled because it’ll be much harder to replace. I just don’t see how they can reinstate the old reservations if there isn’t availability to do so. Ugh.

The other two I changed times on were Beaches and Cream & Napoli so not the end of the world... but still won’t be happy. Fingers crossed everyone.


----------



## Mr. Drauer

TarraLee said:


> Anyone recently golf at Disney?  Are golfers wearing masks on the course?  Thanks for any info anyone has!


no.  in the golf shops, and around the cart staging areas, but not on the course.


----------



## Newbie500

My original ADRs are still in place.  I'm too scared to try to modify them.


----------



## Shellyred8

Sydnerella said:


> Hi! Glad it’s off to a good start, so fun to be on the front end of vacation! Did you travel by plane? Magical Express or car?  We are concerned about the airport time and interested in any tips anyone has to make that part feel/be more comfortable and safe. Thanks!


We have flown from MSP -> MCO, and back, twice in past couple of months.  Both airports were drastically less busy than normal, so it is pretty easy to find seating away from people.  If your gate is fuller than you feel comfortable with, there is usually a gate or two or three near by that is empty or pretty empty where you can find seating away from others.


----------



## disneyseniors

Shellyred8 said:


> We have flown from MSP -> MCO, and back, twice in past couple of months.  Both airports were drastically less busy than normal, so it is pretty easy to find seating away from people.  If your gate is fuller than you feel comfortable with, there is usually a gate or two or three near by that is empty or pretty empty where you can find seating away from others.



That's where we fly out of   Usually we fly Delta.  Thanks for your trip reporting!


----------



## allmousedup

Just came back from 4 days, 10/31-11/3 (1 day for each park) and since I gained so much information from this thread figured i would throw out a few thoughts. Overall a great stay for us, though I will second the sentiment that it isn't the right time for a first/only visit or for anyone who is real nervous about exposure.  Disney handles it well but if you haven't been interacting with others the shock of having so many folks around is going to be disturbing.  There were some exposed noses (I didn't look for them) and a few folks drinking/eating continuously but in general people knew the rules and followed them.

First for the person asking about golfers - we were at SOG so saw many groups - no one was wearing on the course.  

Rope dropping was a lifesaver, that first 30 minutes of having the park open before official opening allowed so many more rides.  It took some creativity to get there early (like the Uber to the Speedway for HS) but it was worth it.

We planned sit down lunches (or lunches requiring a gondola or other travel) for each day just to suck up time and to see other areas.  The lines were incredible mid-day so having another activity at that time was a real help.

Sit down dinners were also a great way to end the day.  A couple of them we got times after the park closed so it was so nice to walk out with no crowds.

Overall - if you are ok with the mid day lines and can keep your wits about you it is a great time to visit.  It is clear there are smaller overall crowds than normal - just more people in line at any given time...


----------



## Naomeri

This report is a bit later than I’d planned to post, but I didn’t get it typed up until today.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Hollywood Studios Day

I left my room in Pop building 6 at 7:40 am, and was in line for the Skyliner at 7:44.  It looked like there was about 20 parties ahead of me.  While I was waiting, I preordered my lunch at Rosie’s Cafe for 11:15-11:45.  By 8:15, the end of the line curved out of sight along the lake and around the end of building 4.  They opened the gates to the station at 8:31 and started loading people at 8:34.  I was sitting in a gondola at 8:38 and arrived at the CBR station at 8:41.  The CMs directed us down the ramp to stand in line near the coffee stand, and the line went back up the ramp, down the other side, and back up into the station.  At 9:02, I was in a gondola on my way to HS, and passed through the tapstiles at 9:12.

I hit the line for MMRR at 9:14 and a minute later it started moving as they let people into the actual queue.  I’m not sure what the expected wait was at that point, but I was on the ride at 9:42.  It was my first time and I thought it was super cute and I would definitely be willing to wait in line to ride it again.  Since there was a refreshment stand right at the exit, I decided to grab a Coke and a shady table in Commissary Lane to wait for 10 am and boarding groups.  I had 4 bars on Verizon, if anyone is curious.  The time came and...I got BG10!!

Now that I had my RotR ride secured, it was time to get moving.  Since I knew it wouldn’t be too long before my group was called, I didn’t want to join a long line for anything, or move too far from Galaxy’s Edge.  I chose sitting in A/C and hit up Muppetvision 3D, since I missed it on my January trip.  BG10 was called at 10:30 while I was in the show, so I headed to straight there afterward.  I was in the RotR queue at 10:45 and progressed through at a steady pace.  Finally got on the ride and...it went down at 11:15.  We (I and the other party in my vehicle) finally got collected by a CM at about 11:30 and we traversed the backstage hallways to receive our returns.

Because of the evac delay, I had to hurry to catch my lunch window (and because I was starving).  I hit the “I’m Here” button at 11:38 when I was just about there, and the food was ready at 11:40, and the foot long hotdog was really good.  Since I was right there, I decided it was time for my first ever ride on ToT, and I got in line at 12:07, with a posted wait time of 35 minutes.  I hit a cleaning cycle, but thankfully, it was after I had made it into the inside part of the queue.  The wait was still a little less than posted and I was on at 12:36.  I had fun and I will be adding it to my regular ride lineup for future visits.

It was time for a resort break, so I headed for the Skyliner and was back at Pop at 1:03 pm.  Hippy Dippy pool was once again not crowded and very refreshing.  I hung out there for a while, then in my room for a while.  I headed back to HS later in the afternoon, getting on the Skyliner with no wait at 4:01, and walking through the tapstiles at 4:12.  Went straight to RotR for my return and got right on without walking through the whole queue again.  Next was MF:SR at 4:54 with a posted wait of 20 minutes (it actually took 26) and I finally got to pilot the Falcon, and mostly didn’t crash it !!

I wandered around Galaxy’s Edge for a bit, then headed to TSL for TSMM.  It was posted 15, but was a walk-on.  I almost walked on a second time, but didn’t feel like going through the whole winding queue again.  I had a 7:15 Sci-Fi reservation so I decided to hit MMRR one more time, since the posted wait was 60 minutes and the exit put me right on the route to dinner.  I waited about 45 minutes, and had just made it into the building, when the ride went down due to technical difficulties at 6:50.  I hung out for a little while, until about 7:05, when I decided that I wasn’t going to be able to make my ressie even if the ride started up at that point, so I bailed and headed to dinner.

I checked in and was seated in my very own car almost immediately, and had a very good dinner.  I walked out of a mostly empty park at about 8:15 and headed back to Pop.

TL;DR: good day at HS, I did all the rides I wanted to do on this slower, more relaxed trip


----------



## ctl

Naomeri said:


> This report is a bit later than I’d planned to post, but I didn’t get it typed up until today.
> 
> Wednesday, October 28, 2020
> Hollywood Studios Day
> 
> I left my room in Pop building 6 at 7:40 am, and was in line for the Skyliner at 7:44.  It looked like there was about 20 parties ahead of me.  While I was waiting, I preordered my lunch at Rosie’s Cafe for 11:15-11:45.  By 8:15, the end of the line curved out of sight along the lake and around the end of building 4.  They opened the gates to the station at 8:31 and started loading people at 8:34.  I was sitting in a gondola at 8:38 and arrived at the CBR station at 8:41.  The CMs directed us down the ramp to stand in line near the coffee stand, and the line went back up the ramp, down the other side, and back up into the station.  At 9:02, I was in a gondola on my way to HS, and passed through the tapstiles at 9:12.
> 
> I hit the line for MMRR at 9:14 and a minute later it started moving as they let people into the actual queue.  I’m not sure what the expected wait was at that point, but I was on the ride at 9:42.  It was my first time and I thought it was super cute and I would definitely be willing to wait in line to ride it again.  Since there was a refreshment stand right at the exit, I decided to grab a Coke and a shady table in Commissary Lane to wait for 10 am and boarding groups.  I had 4 bars on Verizon, if anyone is curious.  The time came and...I got BG10!!
> 
> Now that I had my RotR ride secured, it was time to get moving.  Since I knew it wouldn’t be too long before my group was called, I didn’t want to join a long line for anything, or move too far from Galaxy’s Edge.  I chose sitting in A/C and hit up Muppetvision 3D, since I missed it on my January trip.  BG10 was called at 10:30 while I was in the show, so I headed to straight there afterward.  I was in the RotR queue at 10:45 and progressed through at a steady pace.  Finally got on the ride and...it went down at 11:15.  We (I and the other party in my vehicle) finally got collected by a CM at about 11:30 and we traversed the backstage hallways to receive our returns.
> 
> Because of the evac delay, I had to hurry to catch my lunch window (and because I was starving).  I hit the “I’m Here” button at 11:38 when I was just about there, and the food was ready at 11:40, and the foot long hotdog was really good.  Since I was right there, I decided it was time for my first ever ride on ToT, and I got in line at 12:07, with a posted wait time of 35 minutes.  I hit a cleaning cycle, but thankfully, it was after I had made it into the inside part of the queue.  The wait was still a little less than posted and I was on at 12:36.  I had fun and I will be adding it to my regular ride lineup for future visits.
> 
> It was time for a resort break, so I headed for the Skyliner and was back at Pop at 1:03 pm.  Hippy Dippy pool was once again not crowded and very refreshing.  I hung out there for a while, then in my room for a while.  I headed back to HS later in the afternoon, getting on the Skyliner with no wait at 4:01, and walking through the tapstiles at 4:12.  Went straight to RotR for my return and got right on without walking through the whole queue again.  Next was MF:SR at 4:54 with a posted wait of 20 minutes (it actually took 26) and I finally got to pilot the Falcon, and mostly didn’t crash it !!
> 
> I wandered around Galaxy’s Edge for a bit, then headed to TSL for TSMM.  It was posted 15, but was a walk-on.  I almost walked on a second time, but didn’t feel like going through the whole winding queue again.  I had a 7:15 Sci-Fi reservation so I decided to hit MMRR one more time, since the posted wait was 60 minutes and the exit put me right on the route to dinner.  I waited about 45 minutes, and had just made it into the building, when the ride went down due to technical difficulties at 6:50.  I hung out for a little while, until about 7:05, when I decided that I wasn’t going to be able to make my ressie even if the ride started up at that point, so I bailed and headed to dinner.
> 
> I checked in and was seated in my very own car almost immediately, and had a very good dinner.  I walked out of a mostly empty park at about 8:15 and headed back to Pop.
> 
> TL;DR: good day at HS, I did all the rides I wanted to do on this slower, more relaxed trip


Did you eat at any other sit down restaurants than Sci-Fi? If so, did you feel that there was adequate distancing between yourself and other diners?


----------



## Naomeri

ctl said:


> Did you eat at any other sit down restaurants than Sci-Fi? If so, did you feel that there was adequate distancing between yourself and other diners?


I also ate inside at Cosmic Ray’s in MK and Restaurantosaurus at AK and felt well-distanced from everyone at all places.  They have tables clearly marked as unavailable and I didn’t see anyone disobeying that, and I saw CMs waiting around to immediately clean the tables as soon as they were vacated.  At Sci-Fi, the cars on either side of mine were occupied, but they were more than 6 feet away, and since all the cars face the screen, all the diners do too, and no one was likely to breathe in my direction (not that I was actually nervous about people breathing in my direction )


----------



## eksmama01

We may be oddball, but other than wishing everything was open we love being here with social distancing. We had no more than 30 minute waits all day at MK today. Enjoyed not being packed in like sardines and the lines move quickly.  Very high mask compliance, only a few entitled families.

Chef Mickey's very spaced, but sllllloooow service. And PSA: please don't talk SO freaking loud at your table. Even if I agree with your politics, I didn't come here to hear you. 

LTT was great in all aspects.

 Resort monorail super fast so we skipped walking from BLT.

Bands played and caught a mini parade so still had ambiance.  Most negative thing at MK is the deceiving HM line in the blazing sun.  I cried in the Hall of Presidents given everything this week (no political statement).


----------



## cindianne320

I haven't done any indoor dining here at home in MN, but did Yak and Yeti, ABC Commissary, Docking Bay 7, Oga's, LTT, Cosmic Ray's, Topolino's, Beaches and Cream and PizzeRizzo, and felt safe and distanced in all locations!


----------



## smelton521

Leigh L said:


> Just checked mine, they are still there.
> I'm hopeful as mine are both this weekend and I only shifted by 5 minutes on one, 20 minutes on the other. Both of them reduced from 3 and 4 people to 2 people.
> 
> Then again, Disney IT, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did a total sweep :/





TikiTikiFan said:


> Mine are still there too... I dropped my original Minnie dining for a better time so I’m going to be so upset if that one gets cancelled because it’ll be much harder to replace. I just don’t see how they can reinstate the old reservations if there isn’t availability to do so. Ugh.
> 
> The other two I changed times on were Beaches and Cream & Napoli so not the end of the world... but still won’t be happy. Fingers crossed everyone.





lorileahb said:


> Mine are still there for now... I dropped one CRT for a better time - hope that, at least, they can re-instate the old one.



I waited on hold for 2 hours this afternoon and when I talked to a CM, she apologized and was sympathetic but said that they are not able to re-instate ADRs that were canceled after booking new ones due to the glitch on Tuesday. So people like me, who did book some hard-to-get ADRs 60 days out but then was able to get better times on Tuesday and canceled those original ADRs, are 100% out of luck if/when the new ADR gets canceled. She also said they are NOT doing a clean sweep and canceling every new ADR made during the glitch. She said they are looking at every restaurant and if it is over capacity, they are canceling reservations added on Tuesday during the glitch timeframe. She said all we can do is keep checking the app and website to see if anything opens up and to feel free to call to see if a CM can help secure any reservations for us.


----------



## lorileahb

smelton521 said:


> I waited on hold for 2 hours this afternoon and when I talked to a CM, she apologized and was sympathetic but said that they are not able to re-instate ADRs that were canceled after booking new ones due to the glitch on Tuesday. So people like me, who did book some hard-to-get ADRs 60 days out but then was able to get better times on Tuesday and canceled those original ADRs, are 100% out of luck if/when the new ADR gets canceled. She also said they are NOT doing a clean sweep and canceling every new ADR made during the glitch. She said they are looking at every restaurant and if it is over capacity, they are canceling reservations added on Tuesday during the glitch timeframe. She said all we can do is keep checking the app and website to see if anything opens up and to feel free to call to see if a CM can help secure any reservations for us.



Thank you so much. For those of us traveling this coming week did they say when the cancellations would start showing up? So we know?


----------



## smelton521

lorileahb said:


> Thank you so much. For those of us traveling this coming week did they say when the cancellations would start showing up? So we know?


I asked but she wasn’t sure. She thought tonight and tomorrow.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

smelton521 said:


> I waited on hold for 2 hours this afternoon and when I talked to a CM, she apologized and was sympathetic but said that they are not able to re-instate ADRs that were canceled after booking new ones due to the glitch on Tuesday. So people like me, who did book some hard-to-get ADRs 60 days out but then was able to get better times on Tuesday and canceled those original ADRs, are 100% out of luck if/when the new ADR gets canceled. She also said they are NOT doing a clean sweep and canceling every new ADR made during the glitch. She said they are looking at every restaurant and if it is over capacity, they are canceling reservations added on Tuesday during the glitch timeframe. She said all we can do is keep checking the app and website to see if anything opens up and to feel free to call to see if a CM can help secure any reservations for us.



Ughhhhhhh! Thank you for calling! 

I guess we just keep waiting and watching... did she say if we’d get an email it was canceled or will it just disappear? Will folks actually get that $25 gift card?


----------



## smelton521

TikiTikiFan said:


> Ughhhhhhh! Thank you for calling!
> 
> I guess we just keep waiting and watching... did she say if we’d get an email it was canceled or will it just disappear? Will folks actually get that $25 gift card?



She did say that we will get a $25 gift card and her tone definitely acknowledged that she knew it wasn't going to compensate for the trouble the glitch has caused.  She said she assumed we would get an email about the cancelation and it would show up in MDE.


----------



## goodeats

I’m here now and I’m having great luck with lines and crowds. I kind of love the no FPs! I had bought a 6 day ticket, but I’m debating saving two of the days for a future trip now. Not sure that buys me anything though. 

We’ll see if I’m able to do all my “must dos” at HS tomorrow.


----------



## Carolnole

I had the opposite experience. Waited about 10 minutes on hold today, and cm said if my ADR’s are still there, they aren’t going anywhere. She said only new reservations are being cancelled, not modified ones. On Tuesday, I went in and changed my existing reservations to different times. Hopefully they stay put.


----------



## teach22180

goodeats said:


> I’m here now and I’m having great luck with lines and crowds. I kind of love the no FPs! I had bought a 6 day ticket, but I’m debating saving two of the days for a future trip now. Not sure that buys me anything though.
> 
> We’ll see if I’m able to do all my “must dos” at HS tomorrow.


Clearly I chose the wrong week because the wait times look so much better this week! Lol. I hope you are enjoying it.


----------



## SugarSweetLee

goodeats said:


> I’m here now and I’m having great luck with lines and crowds. I kind of love the no FPs! I had bought a 6 day ticket, but I’m debating saving two of the days for a future trip now. Not sure that buys me anything though.
> 
> We’ll see if I’m able to do all my “must dos” at HS tomorrow.


Can you save days? I thought unused days expired in a certain number of days from the first use of the ticket (14 maybe?)


----------



## imjen

We went to MK Wednesday and had a great day. Longest line we stood in was 30 min. Here's my notes:

At Pop, we got in the bus line at 7:20 am. About 18 parties back. We got on the 3rd bus and left at 8:10. 

We were through the turnstiles about 8:35. Mine Train was practically a walk on, about 5-7 min in line. We did Peter Pan next, which was a walk on. Then BTMRR about 10 min, snack break, and BTMRR repeat about 15 min. Splash Mtn was closed for a few hrs. We went to Pirates, then Jingle Cruise and lunch at Pecos Bills -Super yummy! Splash Mtn around 1:15 pm was about 20 min, Country Bears about 3 min wait, Haunted Mansion about 20 min wait. Took a short break then did Buzz, about 10 min wait, Carousel of Progress with minimal wait and ended with Mine Train around 4:30, which was a 30 min wait (posted 45 min).


----------



## imjen

Today we went to Animal Kingdom. Here's my notes:

We were the last ones on the 1st bus from Pop. Ready to go at 8:15 but told we have to wait 5 min, until 8:20 until we can leave. Arrived at 8:36.
In line for FOP at 8:50. Off at 9:28.
Navi was 45 min so skipped for now.
Could not use faster path near Satu'li Canteen to Africa so had to back track to path that's near Navi to leave Pandora.
At 9:47, we got in line for Safari. About 20 min wait.
Next we did Rafiki's Planet Watch train, then the Gorilla Trail 11:55.
Lunch at Flame Tree - delicious!
Bird Show
Jungle Trek Trail
Everest closed :-(
3:25 pm in line for Navi River Journey (posted at 50 min, then 45 min.) 39 min wait
4:24 in line for Everest. Posted at 45 min but only a 15 min wait.
Bus line to Pop longest by far. Waited about 27 min for our bus.


----------



## ctl

Naomeri said:


> I also ate inside at Cosmic Ray’s in MK and Restaurantosaurus at AK and felt well-distanced from everyone at all places.  They have tables clearly marked as unavailable and I didn’t see anyone disobeying that, and I saw CMs waiting around to immediately clean the tables as soon as they were vacated.  At Sci-Fi, the cars on either side of mine were occupied, but they were more than 6 feet away, and since all the cars face the screen, all the diners do too, and no one was likely to breathe in my direction (not that I was actually nervous about people breathing in my direction )


Thanks


----------



## PolyAddict

Have not been following along this year but have a question, does park availability change while you are there? If I book a last minute trip like a few weeks out and Hollywood is not available does that fluctuate at all?


----------



## scrappinginontario

PolyAddict said:


> Have not been following along this year but have a question, does park availability change while you are there? If I book a last minute trip like a few weeks out and Hollywood is not available does that fluctuate at all?


Yes, it does fluctuate and probably now more than ever.  

People are booking additional days at DHS as a back-up plan.  

If they don't get a RotR boarding group one day they switch up their plans and go to another park.  

Similarly, if they have extra DHS days booked and are successful for a BG early in their trip, they release those days later in their trip and book other parks.


----------



## SheSingsAlong

HokieRaven5 said:


> Did you stay in the Skyliner line and how long did it take you to get through and into DHS from there? Also what time did they start operating it?


This was actually our EP day and we were VERY early based on some advice we got which turned out to be unnecessary. We arrived at CBR by 8:39 and were in line for EP (they don't split the line until the very end) by 8:50. I suppose ditching the skyliner and taking the bus to HS would have given a person a few minutes advantage, and that can make a big difference with certain rides.


----------



## SheSingsAlong

Just returned from 3 days at WDW. Myself, DH, and DD (age 4) stayed at Pop 11/2 - 11/5 and went to MK, HS, and EP. DH and I grew up going to Cedar Point. We are used to long lines that constantly move. We also don't mind going hard in the parks and crashing at the end of the day. We did not miss the parades, fireworks, and other frills missing from Disney. The cavalcades were wonderful surprises during our stay. We are ride junkies predominantly and enjoy strategizing to stay ahead of the crowds. We did find the food situation frustrating at times (constantly having to plan ahead and mobile order, looking for seating, etc.)
MK - Tues 11/3
1st bus for Pop came at 8:15, Arrived MK approx 8:30. Basically no line at temp and security checks.
Power walked to Seven Dwarfs, already running, waited maybe 15 minutes? Walking the whole time, standing once or twice. Headed to Peter Pan, waited maybe 10 minutes. Over to Haunted Mansion, no wait. Missed the stretching room :-( Waits at Splash and Big Thunder were still fairly low on Lines App so we decided to risk it and take DD to the height check. Splash: just barely tall enough! I wooped for joy! Waited about 20 minutes. She wasn't scarred by the 50 foot drop so Big Thunder next, roughly 15 min wait. By then it was about 10:30 and we were ready for a break and a snack. Westward Ho corn dog nuggets and a mobile ordered Dole Whip split among the 3 of us. Perfect amount of food to carry us to lunch. We found a shade umbrella up against the wall outside the Tiki Room to sit and eat. A cast member came by and checked that all 3 of us were eating since we had masks off. Casually strolled back to Circus Circus for Barnstormer (8 min wait) and Dumbo (5 minute wait). Strolled to the front of the park and left for 12:45 Whispering Canyon res. Waited far too long for the boat (nearly 30 minutes).  Amazing lunch and much needed rest in the AC. Headed back to MK at 2pm raring to go. Buzz Light-year (15, maybe 20 minute wait). Looked forlornly at the People Mover track (one of my favorite rides). PoTC felt like a loooong wait - I thinks Lines App said 25 minute wait and we definitely waited every minute of it. Got lucky though because as we were on the ride they initiated a cleaning cycle, so we avoided that delay by mere minutes. DD wanted BTMRR again and that time we waited 20-25 min. We crossed the hub back to Winnie the Pooh (15 minutes). We had thought to hang around fantasy land riding things and jump on line for SDMT right at 6, but DD liked Splash and BTMM so much, she asked if we could do one of them again. At 5:25 we power walked back to Splash because Lines App said it was down to a 25 min wait. Real wait was more like 15min, if that. We got off the ride with plenty of time to walk over to BTMM for our final ride of the day! Shopping and milling around then until our 6:40pm Be Our Guest res. Expensive, but a nice way to end the night. We walked out to a deserted park apart from 2 other families.
HS - Wed, 11/4
I don't think everyone is aware of the change to boarding group reservations. I selected "join queue" at 7am and got boarding group 48. Never practiced and never sought out tips and tricks for doing it right. Hadn't intended to do Rise on this trip, but since MK confirmed DD is 40" I though why not? Transportation from POP to HS is fraught with uncertainty and anxiety. I figured Rope Drop was still important because we wanted to ride MMRR and SDD, hopefully twice. We checked the skyliner at 7:10. 3 groups in line and the gondolas were already running through their test paces. We grabbed our breakfast from the food court and decided to eat it in line for the skyliner. We were 5 groups back at that point. Someone mentioned the skyliner started boarding at 8:30 a previous day. We worried about the line at CBR which we would have to join. They did indeed load us and send is off to CBR at 8:30. At CBR, we disembarked and we're directed immediately to the short HS queue - for some reason they were allowing us to bypass the longer line of CBR guests? So I guess my recommendation would be to get in line at POP/AoA as early as possible. A few cars behind us they started directing those folks to the end of the CBR guest line. We arrived at HS to lines being held at temp check. We were maybe 15-20 groups back. At 9:15 on the dot, they let us go through. Security was different from MK. Strollers were being checked separately. I walked through with our bag, but DH got stuck behind a family with a stroller who weren't prepared at ALL. I had husband's phone so I dithered about whether I should race to MMRR and secure a spot but worried he wouldn't find me. Eventually I did dash off. I had lost some ground, but I managed to pull ahead of a LOT of people by power walking on the sidewalk. Ultimately we were reunited in line and waited about 15 minutes for MMRR and then ran to SDD (45 min wait). I used the Lines App all day to help us pick our next ride. Muppets Show was next (12 min wait), then Star Tours (12 min wait). I had mobile ordered lunch in line for SDD and after Star Tours our pickup window was just about to close. I tapped "I'm Here" and we headed to get our food. We anticipated our Boarding group would be called within the hour so we took our time with lunch, relaxing in the AC. Then we left for Rise. I didn't expect we would wait so long, but that queue is very winding. I think we waited 20 min, possibly 25. Excellent ride, and I'm sure it's even better without COVID restrictions. DD really enjoyed it. Next up TSMM (15 min wait) and AS2 (12 min wait). Then Frozen Ever After (eh, it was okay. I thought DD would enjoy it more but we were way off to one side in the very front, so she couldn't see everything). I dropped DH's phone in the theater and when we realized it later, the CM supervisor/manager had it waiting to see if anyone returned quickly before sending it off to the main lost and found. Relieved! Snack time: you definitely want the Wookie Cookie from Backlot Express. We washed it down with Blue Milk (DH and I really liked it, DD did not). We had done every ride and show we wanted and it was just past 5pm. With 2 hours left, we got popcorn and soda, set DD up with cartoons on a tablet in her stroller and waited an hour for MMRR again. The line moved constantly and was fully shaded since the sun was setting. You can keep your stroller until you are about to enter the building (and at that point your wait is down to 15-20 minutes). First ride we were in the first car, second ride we were in the last car. Really fun to see the differences in view from those 2 seats. SDD was reportedly a 49 min wait on Lines. I had promised DD we would try to do SDD at night when the lights are on, so we toughed it out. That line is a harder wait because you have to ditch your stroller once you enter the proper queue (which is about a 30min wait from that point). DH and I traded off holding DD and keeping her occupied. We sat in the first 2 seats both times we rode SDD. DD loved it at night and said it was her favorite ride of the day. We enjoyed a circuitous route on the skyliner to pick up dinner in the Epcot resort area (and to time the trip back to POP from there) and then headed to POP, utterly exhausted, but happy.
EP and travel day Thurs 11/5
I don't think the skyliner from POP is a good way to get to EP. We got in line right before 8:30 upon recommendation of some some folks we met the day before. They said the line to connect at CBR would be VERY long, but traveling that early we would make it to EP by 10:30. The line at CBR turned out to be very short because there were a ton of busses there for HS. We were there stupid early (8:50). Skyliner to EP started at 10:20, but we were clearly not early to EP. We ran to Test Track and waited about 25 minutes. Should have gone straight to Soarin' then, but I screwed up and thought we could work our way around to it. Spaceship Earth said 5 min, but then quickly adjusted to 20 min after we got in line and that was our real wait time. Seas w/ Nemo was a walk on. It was noon and Soarin' was listed as a 45 min wait on Lines App. DH really wanted to ride it, so we stuck it out. At least the line was indoors with AC as it was getting hot! A cleaning cycle was performed right before we boarded - I think we waited the full 45 min. We were seated in the center section and it was great! We all loved it! We got a snack in Canada, picked up sandwiches and pastries to eat at the airport from Le Halle, and exited to the skyliner at 2:30.
We never felt unsafe, mask compliance was above 95%. I wasn't concerned about social distancing when walking around. Standing in lines social distancing was generally good. We would frequently talk to DD about ensuring we gave our line neighbors space and I think that helped tip people off that we cared and they paid better attention to not encroaching us. I saw plenty of lines where people were all bunched up on each other, but we always ensured our own safe space. While standing still in line, taking a bite of food or a drink of water with mask off was permitted. (Popcorn is an excellent park snack because you can slip a piece into your mouth under your mask so you can snack while on the move.
Disney is SO MUCH BETTER when not being crammed against 100,000 strangers. I loved having our own space on transportation and in lines. I loved that the parks did not feel bursting to the gills with people. I honestly did not miss Fast Pass (with the current capacity limits I'm not sure it's necessary). Limited menus and restaurants was probably our biggest complaint. I am happy to answer any questions  Can't wait to go back!


----------



## tussking

Spent the entire day @ The Magic Kingdom. It was DEAD. Today was the least amount of people I have EVER witnessed at the Magic Kingdom. What a wonderful day it was!


----------



## Moliphino

eksmama01 said:


> Bands played and caught a mini parade so still had ambiance.  Most negative thing at MK is the deceiving HM line in the blazing sun.  I cried in the Hall of Presidents given everything this week (no political statement).



Did you hit a cleaning cycle on HM? We rode it multiple times and the line moved great most of the time, but hit a cleaning cycle once and it stopped dead for what felt like forever.


----------



## eksmama01

Moliphino said:


> Did you hit a cleaning cycle on HM? We rode it multiple times and the line moved great most of the time, but hit a cleaning cycle once and it stopped dead for what felt like forever.



Probably! We got put of line because we had dining reservations and got worried it would be too long.


----------



## stinkpickle

eksmama01 said:


> Probably! We got put of line because we had dining reservations and got worried it would be too long.


We ran into a cleaning cycle on HM last week, and the queue came to a halt.


----------



## Shellbells

I'm at HS right now and it's crazy busy. Lines are insane. Even the line for blue and green milk was about 10 groups deep.
My DH and DS are on there way here after playing golf this morning. I tried to talk them into going to a different park without me but DH said no. I'm hoping it gets better after 2. 
We have reservations here again tomorrow but I think we're going to switch it to another park.


----------



## maryj11

Has anyone been to MK on Sunday over the past 2 weeks? I have searched back a few pages, but didn’t see any reviews.
How crowded is it on Sunday?


----------



## yulilin3

MK this morning for the holiday cavalcades, didn't really venture into the park as I was there just to live stream the cavalcades on my yt channel. A nice, constant stream of people entering, although MS wasn't super packed other than under the tree, it was busy, the cavalcades were amazing, also for anyone here now or coming soon, the Muppets are making random appearances in Liberty Square, no dialogue at all, just them popping up, tinkering with some christmas lights and popping back down. Going back this evening to live stream the projections on the castle at 6pm


----------



## Shellyred8

disneyseniors said:


> That's where we fly out of   Usually we fly Delta.  Thanks for your trip reporting!


We usually fly Sun Country, so we leave out of Terminal 2.


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

Carolnole said:


> I had the opposite experience. Waited about 10 minutes on hold today, and cm said if my ADR’s are still there, they aren’t going anywhere. She said only new reservations are being cancelled, not modified ones. On Tuesday, I went in and changed my existing reservations to different times. Hopefully they stay put.


I only modified mine by 15 mins and went in to MDE to view them today and they were gone.  Luckily I was able to get similar times today.


----------



## eksmama01

maryj11 said:


> Has anyone been to MK on Sunday over the past 2 weeks? I have searched back a few pages, but didn’t see any reviews.
> How crowded is it on Sunday?



I will be there this Sunday unless you needed to know prior.


----------



## maryj11

eksmama01 said:


> I will be there this Sunday unless you needed to know prior.


Oh good! Report back and let me know . We will be there the 15th.


----------



## Shellbells

All 6 of the modifications and/or new ADRs I made during the glitch were cancelled. Because of this we had no ADRs for today and have no ADRs for tomorrow either. Both days are at HS.


----------



## melissa723

TikiTikiFan said:


> https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020...SH_1shnnzIPdlTeNvDhffwbaFrPCecABNSF9x4iBVT-W0
> “reservations made due to the glitch will be automatically canceled. Affected guests will receive a $25 digital Disney gift cardfor the inconvenience.”
> 
> Bad news..... has anyone had cancellations?



I got the email today. I'm so mad at myself because all I did was adjust our ADR at Olivia's by 15 minutes, and they cancelled me. I made the original ADR at my 60 day mark and now it's gone because I couldn't just leave it the way it was.


----------



## Shellbells

Update, so they didn't initially send me the emails saying our ADRS were cancelled. I sent a chat through the app and they told me since I was in the park to go to guest services.
I didn't expect them to be able to do anything and very nicely explained that i had booked Sci-fi at 60 days and then modified it, and then it was cancelled. 
They amazingly were able to get us into Sci-fi 20 minutes later!
My DS was so happy and excited to be there. 
It hasn't been a good day at HS for me or DH but DS is still having fun and that's all that matters.


----------



## maryj11

Oh my reservation have not been cancelled yet. I only made 2 during the glitch.
Maybe they haven’t gotten to our dates yet . Are they going in order to soonest to latest?


----------



## maryj11

LeeLee'sMom said:


> I only modified mine by 15 mins and went in to MDE to view them today and they were gone.  Luckily I was able to get similar times today.


When is your trip? I wonder if they are working on soonest to latest because mine have not been cancelled.


----------



## michellej47

Finally got my email and two gift cards.


----------



## lovethattink

maryj11 said:


> Has anyone been to MK on Sunday over the past 2 weeks? I have searched back a few pages, but didn’t see any reviews.
> How crowded is it on Sunday?



I was there Sunday. It was very busy. Met friends there. They arrived for rope drop and got so much done the first hour. My family arrived in the afternoon. It was very crowded by the time we got there. Most waits were around 50 minutes until it started raining. Then it was very short lines.


----------



## eksmama01

Today was our AK day. Got there about 9 with 8 am opening. 30 minute waits for Navi and FoP, posted as 40 and 50. Walk on for Safari.  We did a few other things and left about 1.  Crowds and waits not bad at all!


----------



## smelton521

yulilin3 said:


> MK this morning for the holiday cavalcades, didn't really venture into the park as I was there just to live stream the cavalcades on my yt channel. A nice, constant stream of people entering, although MS wasn't super packed other than under the tree, it was busy, the cavalcades were amazing, also for anyone here now or coming soon, the Muppets are making random appearances in Liberty Square, no dialogue at all, just them popping up, tinkering with some christmas lights and popping back down. Going back this evening to live stream the projections on the castle at 6pm



I watched some YouTube videos of the cavalcades today and was curious if they all followed within a few minutes of one another, kind of like a stretched out parade?  The person who posted looked like they were in the same spot at the same time of day for each video.  Or were they more spread out throughout the day and had nothing to do with occurring near each other?  

Also, I saw a video of characters waving from a balcony - I think it was the train station maybe?  It was Mickey, Minnie, and it looked like maybe Wendy and Gepetto and some others.  Does this only happen once per day when the park opens or does it happen periodically throughout the day?  I also saw a second video of princesses dressed in their holiday outfits waving from a balcony and wasn't sure if this was the same time and place?  We are taking our youngest for her first trip and she is 6, so I'm trying to take note of all of the opportunities to see characters since we can't do meet and greets.


----------



## Befferk

disneyseniors said:


> That's where we fly out of   Usually we fly Delta.  Thanks for your trip reporting!



We fly out of MSP too and always fly Delta  Good to hear reports about the airports.


----------



## Alpengeist04

DAK was great this morning.  The least crowded I’ve seen it in some time.  I arrived at the parking booths at 7:05am and they started letting in about 5 minutes later.  I was at FOP by 7:30am...

FOP-walk-on.  I was off by 7:50am and the wait was still only 25 minutes by that time.
Navi River Journey-walk-on.  I was off by 8:05.
I headed over to the Kilimanjaro Safari next-walk-on.  I was off before 8:45am.
I went to Expedition Everest next-walk-on every time but once. That was a 5 minute wait.  I ended up riding 6 times in less than 55 minutes.
Then Dinosaur-walk-on.

It was probably the first time I have ever been able to do this much with everything being a walk-on.  Obviously getting there very early and staying ahead of the crowds really helped, even with riding EE 6 times.  So I basically got in 10 rides from 7:30-10:05am and then headed out.  By 10am the lines were getting a little longer but still not bad especially when comparing it to any day at DHS.


----------



## tuckymom

Just got back from a 7 night stay at CBR.  It was wonderful!  

A few of my recommendations for food (we had 6 adults and a 3 year old) : 

We went to breakfast at the GF Cafe.  Never been before but got reservations at 7:40 to hopefully skip the parking lot mess at MK.  The breakfast was AMAZING.  Everyone in my party loved it.  Great food, great service, beautiful setting while also feeling comfortable.  Great food.  Cheap by Disney standards.  It was great.  5 minutes after leaving the restaurant, we were on a monorail.  

Cinderella's Royal Table:   Been there before and was never impressed with the food.  The salmon was amazing!   In fact all the entrees were great!  My dad is a fish snob and he was blown away by the fish.  

Hollywood & Vine:  Yuck.  Still not great food at all except the desserts were wonderful.  But, we legit got to see Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto about 8 times in an hour. Mickey we saw about 3 times.  

Whispering Canyon:  YUM!  We'd never been there before but the pork skillet was delish and getting to sample any other food we want was amazing.  Bottomless milkshakes and tons of drink specials not on the online menu was also a bonus!

Beaches and Cream, Chefs de France,  and Le Cellier were still awesome.  

I'll post a longer summary later but I know there are some who are having to redo dining!


----------



## maryj11

lovethattink said:


> I was there Sunday. It was very busy. Met friends there. They arrived for rope drop and got so much done the first hour. My family arrived in the afternoon. It was very crowded by the time we got there. Most waits were around 50 minutes until it started raining. Then it was very short lines.


Ugh doesn’t sound good. Oh well have a mid weekday at MK and hope it’s less crowded.


----------



## yulilin3

smelton521 said:


> I watched some YouTube videos of the cavalcades today and was curious if they all followed within a few minutes of one another, kind of like a stretched out parade?  The person who posted looked like they were in the same spot at the same time of day for each video.  Or were they more spread out throughout the day and had nothing to do with occurring near each other?
> 
> Also, I saw a video of characters waving from a balcony - I think it was the train station maybe?  It was Mickey, Minnie, and it looked like maybe Wendy and Gepetto and some others.  Does this only happen once per day when the park opens or does it happen periodically throughout the day?  I also saw a second video of princesses dressed in their holiday outfits waving from a balcony and wasn't sure if this was the same time and place?  We are taking our youngest for her first trip and she is 6, so I'm trying to take note of all of the opportunities to see characters since we can't do meet and greets.


The cavalcades come through about 10 minutes in between.  The characters on the train station come out first thing in ther morning and then through out the day,  same for the princesses. There's ni schedule for any of them.  They do so before sundown


----------



## Leigh L

yulilin3 said:


> MK this morning for the holiday cavalcades, didn't really venture into the park as I was there just to live stream the cavalcades on my yt channel. A nice, constant stream of people entering, although MS wasn't super packed other than under the tree, it was busy, the cavalcades were amazing, also for anyone here now or coming soon, the Muppets are making random appearances in Liberty Square, no dialogue at all, just them popping up, tinkering with some christmas lights and popping back down. Going back this evening to live stream the projections on the castle at 6pm


OMG, so amazing. I hope they keep them forever! We watched all of them today and some two or three times. 

Saw muppets too. Sam and Fozzie were playing with jingle bells when we happened upon them. A few people started a chant that spread through the crowd of "we want the frog" and "Kermit" and that wish was granted


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## TikiTikiFan

Struggling to replace dining I lost during the glitch (lots or modifications meant it was all cancelled)- I notice when I change my party size more times open up.. Like for example were a party of 2 and when I change it to 6 there’s more times- what happens if you show up with only two? Or can you modify it back to two after you make it? Grasping at straws haha.


----------



## Leigh L

Some random thoughts from MK today - 
Definitely agree with all the advice to start early in the day, hands down the best time. We're at CSR and went to the bus stop full knowing at 7:15 was way early. Several people arrived within 10 minutes of us. But bus came at 7:45 and we were on the first one.  We were in the park and up at Peter Pan by 8:15 (that ride started 8:30).

At MK mask compliance excellent, but there are those who will try to skate the rules. A CM by the castle walked up to a couple at least twice as they were trying to figure out how to get a castle pic without a mask. CM was firm about it. But you could just tell they were going to try again once she walked away. The woman started in on the "I'm drinking" charade. CM wasn't having it. 

I did hear at least one outdoor "no eating or drinking in line" announcement - that was at 7DMT.

Crowds compared to pre-COVID are low, but not August's low crowds. I saw upthread about expectations if you haven't been around crowds. Definitely agree there too. Disney handles it well but MK is definitely not a ghost town. We did several rides by 11 a.m. and then DD had enough and renewed her DAS. Our DAS wait times averaged 40-60 minutes all afternoon (she cant ride many headliners), so these were Pirates, Jungle Cruise, HM, and Splash. Pooh and Small World was a 30 minute return time. 

There is still plenty of room (IMO) to spread out even when in crowds. We walked out the castle as the projections were going on and it almost looked like old times in from of the castle. But once we got down there, it was not too bad.

Calvades there was not necessarily social distancing and in some places not at all. We were OK with that since room to move and they are so short anyway.

(Apologies for fragmented sentences, hard to type when not on my laptop )


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## Buzz2014

Anyone been to Ragland road lately.. I know there is still entertainment there but would I miss anything if going at 745p vs an earlier time like 6:15? My friend informed me that Dancers come out several times but I didn’t know if any one time was different.. we have never been and not sure if it’s worth leaving park early especially if I can push it til later and not miss anything.  TIA


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## tuckymom

Observations about Caribbean Beach Resort:   The playground for the kids opened mid-week. YAY!  The big pool was great and there was plenty of room in the pool and seating during 3 different trips at different times.   CM working at the Marketplace were awesome.   The place is so big, you could walk for minutes or hang out in a hammock for 5-10 minutes without seeing anyone.  Everyone had their masks unless WAY away from 6 feet away from everyone else on walking paths.  It felt amazing to sit out on the beach and just watch the water and the sky liner.  We had 3 rooms right beside each other (yay) and were basically put at a corner of the building so nobody ever passed by us.  There always seemed to be opened seating outside at the Marketplace to eat.  Also the pool bar was wonderful.

Wait times at the Parks:
Epcot (on Saturday):  Soarin was listed as a 40 minute wait.  Took about 35 but they cleaned the ride right before we got on.  Had that not happened, much closer to 25.  Living with the Land, Nemo, Spaceship Earth were all listed as 15 and were walk ons.  Frozen Ever After listed at a 60 minute wait.  Really took about 40 but it was the last day before closing for a week.   There were virtually no waits for any booths at Food and Wine. 

Magic Kingdom (Sunday):  Got on monorail at 8:35.  In the parks at 8:45.   The characters being at the train station was beautiful and such a great way to start off the day.  Christmas decorations were up and it was just magical.  No photographers were out yet.  Space Mtn was walk on.  Did rider swap twice (everyone rode 2 times) before 9.  The toddler and non-riders did Buzz Lightyear (twice) and the Astro-Orbiter.  Did teacups walk on.   Haunted Mansion listed as 30, was about 15.  POTC listed as 30, was about 20.  Big Thunder rider swap but line was listed as 40, done in 20.   Toddler saw all 3 cavalcades in an hour outside Pecos Bill area and in between Country Bear Jamboree shows.   Aladdin was walk on the whole day.   Left park about 1:30. Came back to park about 5.  Headed to Peter Pan and Small World.  Both listed as 20 minutes.  PP was 20 due to cleaning, SW was about 10.  Then ate dinner at CRT.  Spent tons of time looking at decorations.

HS (Monday):  Left in car about 8:45.  Was in parking lot at 9:10.  Line from skyliner was INSANE.  In line for Slinky Dog by 9:30.  60 minute listed.  Got RofR and 2 minutes later on the ride (so about 35 minute wait).  Toy Story Mania listed as 30.  Probably 20.  Did Swirling Saucier about 3 times in a row (toddler loved it).   Had 28 boarding group, so got on about 11:15 but did rider swap.   We just looked around GE while we waited.  Toddler and some adults headed back on the skyliner.  Rest of adults rode R&R and Tower of Terror.  Both lines listed as 45 and that was accurate.  Everyone returned to HS for dinner.  After dinner, toddler rode SS about 12 times in a row with various adults.  Got on Millennium Falcon (rider switch).  Ride listed as 30 minute wait.  Closer to 20.   Saw all the calvacades multiple times. 

AK (Tuesday):  Park opened at 9.  We were in the park about 8:40.  Parking was AWFUL.  Only time that we drove where it was clear far too few people directing traffic (2) and long wait to get parked (15-20 minutes).   Headed straight to Safari.  Walk on.  Immediately got on Expedition Everest line but immediately it broke down and line shut down.  Rode dumbo dinosaurs about 10 times with toddler, walk on.  4 adults headed to Flight of Passage.  60 minutes listed.  Was off the ride in 40.    Rest headed to Kali River Rapids.   30 minutes listed.  There was a "break down" for about 5 minutes but line still took only about 20.  Kali was later a walk on when listed at 20.   EE reopened.  Walk on and rider switch (awesome) but we got lucky due to timing issues.  Did both walking treks and social distancing was followed.  Left park by 1:30 even with eating lunch and shopping.  Boats with characters going the whole time!

Epcot (Wednesday):  Some adults arrived about 3 and road Soarin twice as walk on, was listed as 20 minutes.  Living with the Land, walk on, listed as 15.  Test Track listed as 40, closer to 25.   After dinner 6:30-8) Mexico Ride was walk on and they let my toddler just stay on the ride with the adults after dinner. Spaceship Earth and Nemo were also walk on.  Both days at Epcot we didn't get there til mid-afternoon but none of us saw any calvacades.  

Magic Kingdom (Thursday):   Arrived at parking lot at 8:00.  Didn't seem to open parking lot until about 8:10.  Was in the park by 8:30.   Immediately got in line for Mine Train.  45 minutes listed.  Was on the ride at 9.  Dumbo, Barnstormer, Ariel were all walk-ons but had 10-15 minutes listed for all.  Tea Cups were walk on as well.  Carousel took about 10 minutes.  BUT BOY that was always a long line.  Was consistently a 30 minute line both days there and it really was 30 minutes.   Philharmagic was walk on.  Splash Mtn was listed as 20 nearly all day.  We all rode twice with rider swap.  Line was 20 minutes.  Jungle Cruise listed as 30, took about 25.   Rode tea cups, racecars, Ariel again and all walk ons.  Left by 1:00.  Also saw all 3 calvacades and the Pooh train car just as we were walking.


----------



## LovesBelle

TikiTikiFan said:


> Struggling to replace dining I lost during the glitch (lots or modifications meant it was all cancelled)- I notice when I change my party size more times open up.. Like for example were a party of 2 and when I change it to 6 there’s more times- what happens if you show up with only two? Or can you modify it back to two after you make it? Grasping at straws haha.


You can reserve a bigger party and then just show up with two and it is fine. It is a smart solution!


----------



## sepalma23

Alpengeist04 said:


> DAK was great this morning.  The least crowded I’ve seen it in some time.  I arrived at the parking booths at 7:05am and they started letting in about 5 minutes later.  I was at FOP by 7:30am...
> 
> FOP-walk-on.  I was off by 7:50am and the wait was still only 25 minutes by that time.
> Navi River Journey-walk-on.  I was off by 8:05.
> I headed over to the Kilimanjaro Safari next-walk-on.  I was off before 8:45am.
> I went to Expedition Everest next-walk-on every time but once. That was a 5 minute wait.  I ended up riding 6 times in less than 55 minutes.
> Then Dinosaur-walk-on.
> 
> It was probably the first time I have ever been able to do this much with everything being a walk-on.  Obviously getting there very early and staying ahead of the crowds really helped, even with riding EE 6 times.  So I basically got in 10 rides from 7:30-10:05am and then headed out.  By 10am the lines were getting a little longer but still not bad especially when comparing it to any day at DHS.


Wow so with an 8:00 am park opening, rides start operating earlier like 7:30??!!  We are planning to go to AK tomorrow and I definitely wanted to be there for 8:00, but now I see that we should try for earlier!  Although I have college kids with me and so damn hard getting their butts up in the morning


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## sepalma23

Wanted to comment on our visit to HS yesterday. Wow lines were VERY long. Waited about 70 minutes for Falcon, but the longest was for TOT. It had been down for most of the day and I noticed it back up around 2:30. We waited over 90 minutes for that. Seemed like forever with most of the line being outside and looping back towards Fantasmic. Rockin took about 60 minutes. We pretty much walked on Toy Story Mania. Didn’t ride the Slinky one or the Mickey railway. Waits just too long. Did have a BG for Rise though and that was very exciting. My 24 yr old son is a huge Star Wars fan and it exceeded his expectations!!!  Absolutely loved it!!


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## dachsie

sepalma23 said:


> Wow so with an 8:00 am park opening, rides start operating earlier like 7:30??!!  We are planning to go to AK tomorrow and I definitely wanted to be there for 8:00, but now I see that we should try for earlier!  Although I have college kids with me and so damn hard getting their butts up in the morning


They are old enough to get there on their own - leave their butts behind.  LOL


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## DisneyOma

cabanafrau said:


> Right between houses in a suburban setting?  Glad I'm not the neighbor.





tuckymom said:


> Just got back from a 7 night stay at CBR.  It was wonderful!
> 
> A few of my recommendations for food (we had 6 adults and a 3 year old) :
> 
> We went to breakfast at the GF Cafe.  Never been before but got reservations at 7:40 to hopefully skip the parking lot mess at MK.  The breakfast was AMAZING.  Everyone in my party loved it.  Great food, great service, beautiful setting while also feeling comfortable.  Great food.  Cheap by Disney standards.  It was great.  5 minutes after leaving the restaurant, we were on a monorail.
> 
> Cinderella's Royal Table:   Been there before and was never impressed with the food.  The salmon was amazing!   In fact all the entrees were great!  My dad is a fish snob and he was blown away by the fish.
> 
> Hollywood & Vine:  Yuck.  Still not great food at all except the desserts were wonderful.  But, we legit got to see Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto about 8 times in an hour. Mickey we saw about 3 times.
> 
> Whispering Canyon:  YUM!  We'd never been there before but the pork skillet was delish and getting to sample any other food we want was amazing.  Bottomless milkshakes and tons of drink specials not on the online menu was also a bonus!
> 
> Beaches and Cream, Chefs de France,  and Le Cellier were still awesome.
> 
> I'll post a longer summary later but I know there are some who are having to redo dining!



You left your car at GF all day? They didn't ticket it or tow it?


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## scrappinginontario

DisneyOma said:


> You left your car at GF all day? They didn't ticket it or tow it?


if they did it’s a miss on Disney’s part and something that is not allowed.  Parking with any dining is limited to 2 hours.

It is unfair to GF guests if people use a dining reservation as an opportunity to park closer to the park as they take up parking spots designed for guests staying at the GF Resort.


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## tuckymom

^^We actually called the GF and asked them a few weeks ahead if we could park and head to the park and asked about it and they said it was fine.   There were also a TON of parking spaces around us.  Good grief people....please quit acting like a federal crime was committed or someone anyone else's experience was lessened.  It wasn't.   I actually got the idea from this board when someone said they were allowed to do at the Contemporary.

We did not stay there all-day.  We came back around 1 and then later parked at the TTC.


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## TikiTikiFan

If Disney Springs hits capacity, will a dining reservation ensure you get in? I wonder how busy it will get in the evenings with the holiday offerings. I originally said we’d do a midday break to check out but now that I read about the holiday decor they have we’ll brave the evening masses to see it. Our best logistical evening to go is a Friday which I know will be busy but I wonder how much day of the week matters now with the decor up?


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## Sydnerella

Shellyred8 said:


> We usually fly Sun Country, so we leave out of Terminal 2.



Hi! How was the Sun Country flight as far as safety precautions went? We fly for Thanksgiving week. Our flight departs at 7am on a Friday and returns at 2 on Sunday after.

How was Terminal 2? We will plan to hit Starbucks 



Shellbells said:


> All 6 of the modifications and/or new ADRs I made during the glitch were cancelled. Because of this we had no ADRs for today and have no ADRs for tomorrow either. Both days are at HS.



Oh No!!! Man, this sucks! I’m so sorry! I changed a Homecomin brunch reservation by 20 minutes so I’m concerned about losing that now after seeing this and similar reports! That’s very frustrating! I hope you are enjoying yourselves-your tips are of high value to us! We have been off and on debating canceling this trip due to safety concerns in the airports, flights, Disney queues, restaurants and our general comfort.


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## eksmama01

We didn't plan it, but we ended up being literally the first people in at EPCOT today. Bus left GF at 9:40 at Soarin by 10:15. Waiting to board.


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## gottalovepluto

TikiTikiFan said:


> If Disney Springs hits capacity, will a dining reservation ensure you get in? I wonder how busy it will get in the evenings with the holiday offerings. I originally said we’d do a midday break to check out but now that I read about the holiday decor they have we’ll brave the evening masses to see it. Our best logistical evening to go is a Friday which I know will be busy but I wonder how much day of the week matters now with the decor up?


No. If DS is at capacity they will not allow you in because you have an ADR.


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## Brittney Cornwell

How much earlier do they open the parks then the stated open time? We want to be able to rope drop to get most out of our days.


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## TikiTikiFan

gottalovepluto said:


> No. If DS is at capacity they will not allow you in because you have an ADR.



That’s unfortunate, they shouldn’t charge you then for no showing if it’s not your fault you can’t get to the restaurant. For those who have been recently, is DS hitting capacity regularly? Is there a general rule of thumb on what time to arrive to get in? DS sounds busy but I don’t often seem folks talking about it hitting capacity on here.


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## disneygirlsng

TikiTikiFan said:


> That’s unfortunate, they shouldn’t charge you then for no showing if it’s not your fault you can’t get to the restaurant. For those who have been recently, is DS hitting capacity regularly? Is there a general rule of thumb on what time to arrive to get in? DS sounds busy but I don’t often seem folks talking about it hitting capacity on here.


They have not been charging people who haven't been able to get in due to capacity. I don't believe it hits capacity very often, more likely on weekends and around holidays.


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## Naomeri

Sydnerella said:


> Hi! How was the Sun Country flight as far as safety precautions went? We fly for Thanksgiving week. Our flight departs at 7am on a Friday and returns at 2 on Sunday after.
> 
> How was Terminal 2? We will plan to hit Starbucks


Not the OP, but I just flew Sun Country to Disney last week.  They’re enforcing masking, and neither of my flights was full, but they are not blocking the middle seat, so you might end up with a stranger next to you (I didn’t either flight, but it’s possible).  The Starbucks at Terminal 2 was open.  The airports on both ends were pretty deserted, but I had a Monday noon flight and a Friday 9:30pm flight on a non-holiday week, so YMMV on that


----------



## gottalovepluto

SheSingsAlong said:


> Just returned from 3 days at WDW. Myself, DH, and DD (age 4) stayed at Pop 11/2 - 11/5 and went to MK, HS, and EP. DH and I grew up going to Cedar Point. We are used to long lines that constantly move. We also don't mind going hard in the parks and crashing at the end of the day. We did not miss the parades, fireworks, and other frills missing from Disney. The cavalcades were wonderful surprises during our stay. We are ride junkies predominantly and enjoy strategizing to stay ahead of the crowds. We did find the food situation frustrating at times (constantly having to plan ahead and mobile order, looking for seating, etc.)
> MK - Tues 11/3
> 1st bus for Pop came at 8:15, Arrived MK approx 8:30. Basically no line at temp and security checks.
> Power walked to Seven Dwarfs, already running, waited maybe 15 minutes? Walking the whole time, standing once or twice. Headed to Peter Pan, waited maybe 10 minutes. Over to Haunted Mansion, no wait. Missed the stretching room :-( Waits at Splash and Big Thunder were still fairly low on Lines App so we decided to risk it and take DD to the height check. Splash: just barely tall enough! I wooped for joy! Waited about 20 minutes. She wasn't scarred by the 50 foot drop so Big Thunder next, roughly 15 min wait. By then it was about 10:30 and we were ready for a break and a snack. Westward Ho corn dog nuggets and a mobile ordered Dole Whip split among the 3 of us. Perfect amount of food to carry us to lunch. We found a shade umbrella up against the wall outside the Tiki Room to sit and eat. A cast member came by and checked that all 3 of us were eating since we had masks off. Casually strolled back to Circus Circus for Barnstormer (8 min wait) and Dumbo (5 minute wait). Strolled to the front of the park and left for 12:45 Whispering Canyon res. Waited far too long for the boat (nearly 30 minutes).  Amazing lunch and much needed rest in the AC. Headed back to MK at 2pm raring to go. Buzz Light-year (15, maybe 20 minute wait). Looked forlornly at the People Mover track (one of my favorite rides). PoTC felt like a loooong wait - I thinks Lines App said 25 minute wait and we definitely waited every minute of it. Got lucky though because as we were on the ride they initiated a cleaning cycle, so we avoided that delay by mere minutes. DD wanted BTMRR again and that time we waited 20-25 min. We crossed the hub back to Winnie the Pooh (15 minutes). We had thought to hang around fantasy land riding things and jump on line for SDMT right at 6, but DD liked Splash and BTMM so much, she asked if we could do one of them again. At 5:25 we power walked back to Splash because Lines App said it was down to a 25 min wait. Real wait was more like 15min, if that. We got off the ride with plenty of time to walk over to BTMM for our final ride of the day! Shopping and milling around then until our 6:40pm Be Our Guest res. Expensive, but a nice way to end the night. We walked out to a deserted park apart from 2 other families.
> HS - Wed, 11/4
> I don't think everyone is aware of the change to boarding group reservations. I selected "join queue" at 7am and got boarding group 48. Never practiced and never sought out tips and tricks for doing it right. Hadn't intended to do Rise on this trip, but since MK confirmed DD is 40" I though why not? Transportation from POP to HS is fraught with uncertainty and anxiety. I figured Rope Drop was still important because we wanted to ride MMRR and SDD, hopefully twice. We checked the skyliner at 7:10. 3 groups in line and the gondolas were already running through their test paces. We grabbed our breakfast from the food court and decided to eat it in line for the skyliner. We were 5 groups back at that point. Someone mentioned the skyliner started boarding at 8:30 a previous day. We worried about the line at CBR which we would have to join. They did indeed load us and send is off to CBR at 8:30. At CBR, we disembarked and we're directed immediately to the short HS queue - for some reason they were allowing us to bypass the longer line of CBR guests? So I guess my recommendation would be to get in line at POP/AoA as early as possible. A few cars behind us they started directing those folks to the end of the CBR guest line. We arrived at HS to lines being held at temp check. We were maybe 15-20 groups back. At 9:15 on the dot, they let us go through. Security was different from MK. Strollers were being checked separately. I walked through with our bag, but DH got stuck behind a family with a stroller who weren't prepared at ALL. I had husband's phone so I dithered about whether I should race to MMRR and secure a spot but worried he wouldn't find me. Eventually I did dash off. I had lost some ground, but I managed to pull ahead of a LOT of people by power walking on the sidewalk. Ultimately we were reunited in line and waited about 15 minutes for MMRR and then ran to SDD (45 min wait). I used the Lines App all day to help us pick our next ride. Muppets Show was next (12 min wait), then Star Tours (12 min wait). I had mobile ordered lunch in line for SDD and after Star Tours our pickup window was just about to close. I tapped "I'm Here" and we headed to get our food. We anticipated our Boarding group would be called within the hour so we took our time with lunch, relaxing in the AC. Then we left for Rise. I didn't expect we would wait so long, but that queue is very winding. I think we waited 20 min, possibly 25. Excellent ride, and I'm sure it's even better without COVID restrictions. DD really enjoyed it. Next up TSMM (15 min wait) and AS2 (12 min wait). Then Frozen Ever After (eh, it was okay. I thought DD would enjoy it more but we were way off to one side in the very front, so she couldn't see everything). I dropped DH's phone in the theater and when we realized it later, the CM supervisor/manager had it waiting to see if anyone returned quickly before sending it off to the main lost and found. Relieved! Snack time: you definitely want the Wookie Cookie from Backlot Express. We washed it down with Blue Milk (DH and I really liked it, DD did not). We had done every ride and show we wanted and it was just past 5pm. With 2 hours left, we got popcorn and soda, set DD up with cartoons on a tablet in her stroller and waited an hour for MMRR again. The line moved constantly and was fully shaded since the sun was setting. You can keep your stroller until you are about to enter the building (and at that point your wait is down to 15-20 minutes). First ride we were in the first car, second ride we were in the last car. Really fun to see the differences in view from those 2 seats. SDD was reportedly a 49 min wait on Lines. I had promised DD we would try to do SDD at night when the lights are on, so we toughed it out. That line is a harder wait because you have to ditch your stroller once you enter the proper queue (which is about a 30min wait from that point). DH and I traded off holding DD and keeping her occupied. We sat in the first 2 seats both times we rode SDD. DD loved it at night and said it was her favorite ride of the day. We enjoyed a circuitous route on the skyliner to pick up dinner in the Epcot resort area (and to time the trip back to POP from there) and then headed to POP, utterly exhausted, but happy.
> EP and travel day Thurs 11/5
> I don't think the skyliner from POP is a good way to get to EP. We got in line right before 8:30 upon recommendation of some some folks we met the day before. They said the line to connect at CBR would be VERY long, but traveling that early we would make it to EP by 10:30. The line at CBR turned out to be very short because there were a ton of busses there for HS. We were there stupid early (8:50). Skyliner to EP started at 10:20, but we were clearly not early to EP. We ran to Test Track and waited about 25 minutes. Should have gone straight to Soarin' then, but I screwed up and thought we could work our way around to it. Spaceship Earth said 5 min, but then quickly adjusted to 20 min after we got in line and that was our real wait time. Seas w/ Nemo was a walk on. It was noon and Soarin' was listed as a 45 min wait on Lines App. DH really wanted to ride it, so we stuck it out. At least the line was indoors with AC as it was getting hot! A cleaning cycle was performed right before we boarded - I think we waited the full 45 min. We were seated in the center section and it was great! We all loved it! We got a snack in Canada, picked up sandwiches and pastries to eat at the airport from Le Halle, and exited to the skyliner at 2:30.
> We never felt unsafe, mask compliance was above 95%. I wasn't concerned about social distancing when walking around. Standing in lines social distancing was generally good. We would frequently talk to DD about ensuring we gave our line neighbors space and I think that helped tip people off that we cared and they paid better attention to not encroaching us. I saw plenty of lines where people were all bunched up on each other, but we always ensured our own safe space. While standing still in line, taking a bite of food or a drink of water with mask off was permitted. (Popcorn is an excellent park snack because you can slip a piece into your mouth under your mask so you can snack while on the move.
> Disney is SO MUCH BETTER when not being crammed against 100,000 strangers. I loved having our own space on transportation and in lines. I loved that the parks did not feel bursting to the gills with people. I honestly did not miss Fast Pass (with the current capacity limits I'm not sure it's necessary). Limited menus and restaurants was probably our biggest complaint. I am happy to answer any questions  Can't wait to go back!


I’m intrigued about this short DHS line at CBR for transfers. The reports of waiting at your resort for the Skyliner only to get in the back of the line at CBR were so sad, glad to see Disney remedying that and trying to balance out the waits for all the resorts.


----------



## disneygirlsng

gottalovepluto said:


> I’m intrigued about this short DHS line at CBR for transfers. The reports of waiting at your resort for the Skyliner only to get in the back of the line at CBR were so sad, glad to see Disney remedying that and trying to balance out the waits for all the resorts.


They were doing that in August, I'm not sure why they seemed to have stopped doing that for a while. My guess was there were too many people, but not sure.


----------



## SheSingsAlong

gottalovepluto said:


> I’m intrigued about this short DHS line at CBR for transfers. The reports of waiting at your resort for the Skyliner only to get in the back of the line at CBR were so sad, glad to see Disney remedying that and trying to balance out the waits for all the resorts.


Only the first 10-15 gondolas coming from POP were ushered directly into the DHS line. After that, those coming from POP were directed to the end of the line of CBR guests. DH guessed that Disney was attempting to recognize that those at the very front of the pack from POP had likely already been waiting 1.5 hours for the skyliner and so it's kind of cruel to force them to the back of the CBR line. It's just a guess though.


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## BridgetR3

Skyliner definitely seems like it went from being the best new way to travel to being a nightmare.


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## Aimeedyan

tuckymom said:


> ^^We actually called the GF and asked them a few weeks ahead if we could park and head to the park and asked about it and they said it was fine.   There were also a TON of parking spaces around us.  Good grief people....please quit acting like a federal crime was committed or someone anyone else's experience was lessened.  It wasn't.   I actually got the idea from this board when someone said they were allowed to do at the Contemporary.
> 
> We did not stay there all-day.  We came back around 1 and then later parked at the TTC.



Parking at resorts always seems to tick people on the Dis off but reality is that it's 100% up to the parking lot security guard and no one else. We eat on property all the time (semi-local) and NOT ONCE has a time been mentioned to us when dining. Some people on the Dis are adamant the limit is 3 hours while others say 2 hours but none of them are parking security guards actually making those decisions.  

Right now, parking is plenty at the hotels - I've never seen the lots so empty (plus at some hotels, you don't park where hotel guests park anyways - you are not competing with them).

Ask the guard. If he says it's okay, it's okay. No one is getting towed or ticketed and the fear mongering on the Dis is a tad over the top.

Glad you had a wonderful trip!


----------



## WendiDarling

Question - if we walk over from BWV to DHS (we are staying there) at 8am, are one of the first people in, can we possibly do MMRR, Slinky Dog, TSM, Alien Saucers prior to 11am? In a perfect world, lol? What's everyone else's timing been?  This is, of course, if we get a BG and it doesn't get called in that time!  We want to eat lunch at 11am and are trying to time how many rides we can do before that.  If we need to, we're happy to leave off Saucers.  So it would be MMRR, Slinky Dog, and TSM in that case.  Possible?


----------



## underminer

So we lost our Oga’s reservation for next week thanks to the glitch this week.  Anybody had any luck with getting in via the “walk-up list?”  We are pretty bummed because that was the one experience we really wanted to do.


----------



## teach22180

SheSingsAlong said:


> Only the first 10-15 gondolas coming from POP were ushered directly into the DHS line. After that, those coming from POP were directed to the end of the line of CBR guests. DH guessed that Disney was attempting to recognize that those at the very front of the pack from POP had likely already been waiting 1.5 hours for the skyliner and so it's kind of cruel to force them to the back of the CBR line. It's just a guess though.


And I think it's because there's a short double line. There's just no space for a Pop line other than that. I was in the first 10 groups twice, but it did require getting to the skyliner 90 minutes before it started.


----------



## Lsdolphin

TikiTikiFan said:


> If Disney Springs hits capacity, will a dining reservation ensure you get in? I wonder how busy it will get in the evenings with the holiday offerings. I originally said we’d do a midday break to check out but now that I read about the holiday decor they have we’ll brave the evening masses to see it. Our best logistical evening to go is a Friday which I know will be busy but I wonder how much day of the week matters now with the decor up?




No an ADR will not guarantee you entry to DS if it has reached capacity.


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## tuckymom

We drove over last week and were parked by 9:10.  In line for Slinky Dog at 9:30.   Got on the ride about 10:05.  Toy Story Mania done about 10:35-10:40.  Multiple Alien Swirling Saucers by 11:00.  Then went to the Disney Jr. Dance Party at 11:15 (I think).  Then RotR.  

MMR had a consistent line of 60-70 minutes.   While eating dinner, we overheard the next table say they waited over an hour and half due to cleaning.  Its gonna be hard to squeeze that and SDD in but it may be possible.


----------



## goodeats

I should have expected it, but Epcot is a zoo today. Even by pre-Covid standards. I was shocked by the number of people in the pub.


----------



## Brittney Cornwell

What time do I need to arrive at the parks to have time to rope drop? Do they open any earlier then the stated opening times?


----------



## goodeats

At Epcot and HS there was no rope drop. HS let people in at 9:15 and at least MMRR was taking guests right away. At Epcot I got in around 10:15 (not sure when they opened) and TT held us until 10:30. 

I got to MK and AK around opening and not too much earlier.


----------



## Shellbells

Sydnerella said:


> Hi! How was the Sun Country flight as far as safety precautions went? We fly for Thanksgiving week. Our flight departs at 7am on a Friday and returns at 2 on Sunday after.
> 
> How was Terminal 2? We will plan to hit Starbucks
> 
> 
> 
> Oh No!!! Man, this sucks! I’m so sorry! I changed a Homecomin brunch reservation by 20 minutes so I’m concerned about losing that now after seeing this and similar reports! That’s very frustrating! I hope you are enjoying yourselves-your tips are of high value to us! We have been off and on debating canceling this trip due to safety concerns in the airports, flights, Disney queues, restaurants and our general comfort.


Aww, thank you. It wasn't the best situation but it worked out ok. I've been able to find a few other ADRs to fill in the gaps. We got 150 in gift cards and that was nice.
So far, even with the large crowds today and yesterday at HS we've felt safe. For the most part people are socially distancing in lines. The one thing we are having trouble with is wearing the masks. I don't know how people did it during the really hot months. My face is constantly sweaty under the mask. Overall we're enjoying ourselves and we're glad we came but until fastpasses and shows are back and masks are over, I'd rather not come back. My husband thinks we should come back in February.


----------



## eksmama01

goodeats said:


> I should have expected it, but Epcot is a zoo today. Even by pre-Covid standards. I was shocked by the number of people in the pub.



I have never seen that many people in line for a margarita in my life!  I've been to F&W multiple times in the past, but it was definitely a zoo like you said!  And this was early in the day LOL



goodeats said:


> At Epcot and HS there was no rope drop. HS let people in at 9:15 and at least MMRR was taking guests right away. At Epcot I got in around 10:15 (not sure when they opened) and TT held us until 10:30.
> 
> I got to MK and AK around opening and not too much earlier.



We were the very first resort bus family in line for temp checks and getting in this morning.  They opened for bus resort guests at 10:05 AM sharp for temp check and security and 10:10ish for actual entry.  They said parking lot would open at 10:30.  Official posted opening was 11 AM.  Got to Soarin' shortly after 10, but they said it would be almost 11 before they boarded....however, we were done with it and the Land by 11.


----------



## dachsie

WendiDarling said:


> Question - if we walk over from BWV to DHS (we are staying there) at 8am, are one of the first people in, can we possibly do MMRR, Slinky Dog, TSM, Alien Saucers prior to 11am? In a perfect world, lol? What's everyone else's timing been?  This is, of course, if we get a BG and it doesn't get called in that time!  We want to eat lunch at 11am and are trying to time how many rides we can do before that.  If we need to, we're happy to leave off Saucers.  So it would be MMRR, Slinky Dog, and TSM in that case.  Possible?


You could probably get 3 of the 4.  You will need to choose SDD or MMRR but doubtful you could do both before 11 with the other rides.  But you could catch it on a good day and get them all in.  I would get there super early and get in line for MMRR, then you could see how SDD looked when you get out.  if super long then do the other two rides


----------



## armerida

WendiDarling said:


> Question - if we walk over from BWV to DHS (we are staying there) at 8am, are one of the first people in, can we possibly do MMRR, Slinky Dog, TSM, Alien Saucers prior to 11am? In a perfect world, lol? What's everyone else's timing been?  This is, of course, if we get a BG and it doesn't get called in that time!  We want to eat lunch at 11am and are trying to time how many rides we can do before that.  If we need to, we're happy to leave off Saucers.  So it would be MMRR, Slinky Dog, and TSM in that case.  Possible?


Yes, we just did a similar itinerary. Left Swan at 8, arrived HS 8:15. Led to temp check at 8:45, through security at 9:00. We went right to MMRR and it was a walk on since we were at the front of the pack. (Just has to wait a little bit for them to start the ride since it was so early) Then did SDD 10 minute wait, moving the whole time. Off that around 9:45 and we walked through Toy Story Land to Galaxy’s Edge. Got in line for MFSR - everyone was waiting around outside for the 10:00 boarding group. We got group 8 from inside the queue. It was a walk on and we were off at 10:10. When we walked by TSM and AS2 there was little to no wait, so you should be good with that early arrival. You can get a lot done in the first 2-ish hours before waits get crazy.


----------



## SheSingsAlong

WendiDarling said:


> Question - if we walk over from BWV to DHS (we are staying there) at 8am, are one of the first people in, can we possibly do MMRR, Slinky Dog, TSM, Alien Saucers prior to 11am? In a perfect world, lol? What's everyone else's timing been?  This is, of course, if we get a BG and it doesn't get called in that time!  We want to eat lunch at 11am and are trying to time how many rides we can do before that.  If we need to, we're happy to leave off Saucers.  So it would be MMRR, Slinky Dog, and TSM in that case.  Possible?


IF you are the front of the pack at temp check where they hold the line until 9:15, and IF you can make it through security with no delays, you can power walk to MMRR and walk on it (any "wait time" is just how long it takes to walk through the queue). Once off, if you immediately dash over to SDD you should get through the line and off the ride around 10:30 (+ or - 15 minutes). Will you have time to do TSMM and be off the ride by 11am? I feel doubtful about that. But 2 headliner rides in 1.5 hours isn't bad at DHS.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

I managed to snag a 7:55PM reservation for Sci Fi next week. HS closes at 7PM that day, is this another glitch or has this been common to get dining times after park close?


----------



## Shellbells

I'm at Disney Springs right now. Had an amazing breakfast at Homecomin. Now we're walking around. Walked right into the Co-OP. Was turned away at World of Disney. They said the line is closed and to come back in 15 or 20 minutes. Guess I'll save some money then.
Heading to Goofys now.
Lots of people but everyone is wearing masks. It's hard to get pictures of the trees because people are sitting in front of them.


----------



## eksmama01

TikiTikiFan said:


> I managed to snag a 7:55PM reservation for Sci Fi next week. HS closes at 7PM that day, is this another glitch or has this been common to get dining times after park close?



Yes, they have them after hours.


----------



## smelton521

We will have our car but if we want to go to DS, are we more likely to get in on a busy night if we take Disney transportation from Poly? Do buses run from Poly to DS?


----------



## yulilin3

smelton521 said:


> We will have our car but if we want to go to DS, are we more likely to get in on a busy night if we take Disney transportation from Poly? Do buses run from Poly to DS?


There are buses from the resorts to DS,  I'm assuming if DS is closed ro capacity they won't run and the parking garages will be closed so i don't think it'll matter but i have no fist hand experience on the resort side of things


----------



## scrappinginontario

How often is DS reaching capacity?


----------



## WendiDarling

TikiTikiFan said:


> I managed to snag a 7:55PM reservation for Sci Fi next week. HS closes at 7PM that day, is this another glitch or has this been common to get dining times after park close?


Lol, I'm the same as you.  I got a Beaches and Cream for 8 people Thanksgiving week and I was like "uh-oh.  Too good to be true??" we are gun shy now.


----------



## eksmama01

Someone had asked how Sundays are for MK. Today was blah for us.  We have been spoiled by the weekdays so today felt really busy.  The queues seemed discombobulated even though posted times were only 30-40 minutes usually. The Pirates queue started waaaaayyyyy farther from the main entrance than it did Thursday and people just seemed confused. So many instances of groups of people stopping in main flow and no social distancing.

On a good note the mini parades were nice. We are headed back to MK in a little while for BOG. Also going tomorrow for CRT and to hopefully have short waits.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

With the extended queues all over, there are a lot of locations where a CM is "directing traffic" to allow people to cross the street and then send some more people in the ride queue across.  

I kept walking up to where I thought a line ended and then had to apologize profusely for accidentally cutting (and, of course, heading to where the line actually ended) once I realized that it was just a "break" in the queue.  I had to reprogram myself to look for the CM holding the sign.  On one occasion, I thought I was about to get in line at the end, only to discover that there was what seemed like another mile of people lined up on the other side of the "crosswalk." 

I was embarrassed enough as it was so, thankfully, I realized my mistake almost instantly each time and didn't have to be told by someone else that I was cutting.


----------



## eksmama01

This evening at MK is much nicer! Even in the sprinkles!

ETA: day was saved! Got done at BOG at 8 with 9 Park close. Rode Peter Pan HM Splash and Pirates in an hour. Fantastic night!


----------



## tuckymom

We did that for 2 different restaurants during our stay last week (October 30-November 6).  Then they released new hours which extended the park hours.  So who knows!


----------



## MeeskaMooska13

tuckymom said:


> We drove over last week and were parked by 9:10.  In line for Slinky Dog at 9:30.   Got on the ride about 10:05.  Toy Story Mania done about 10:35-10:40.  Multiple Alien Swirling Saucers by 11:00.  Then went to the Disney Jr. Dance Party at 11:15 (I think).  Then RotR.
> 
> MMR had a consistent line of 60-70 minutes.   While eating dinner, we overheard the next table say they waited over an hour and half due to cleaning.  Its gonna be hard to squeeze that and SDD in but it may be possible.


Do you remember what time you arrived at the parking toll booth?


----------



## tuckymom

MeeskaMooska13 said:


> Do you remember what time you arrived at the parking toll booth?



Pulled out of our parking space at CBR at exactly 8:45.   

Got to the toll booth area about 8:50.  As we approached the entrance, we were basically in stand still traffic for only a moment before (I assume) they allowed the cars to drive up to the tool booth and wait. Waited there and they let the car start entering a minute or two before 9:00.


----------



## ColoradoMom12

tuckymom said:


> Pulled out of our parking space at CBR at exactly 8:45.
> 
> Got to the toll booth area about 8:50.  As we approached the entrance, we were basically in stand still traffic for only a moment before (I assume) they allowed the cars to drive up to the tool booth and wait. Waited there and they let the car start entering a minute or two before 9:00.


This is encouraging to read. When we were there last month, we weren’t let into the parking lot/past the toll booth until 9:15. I felt like this put us a serious disadvantage. We were among the first 15-20 cars into the parking lot and hurried to the temperature screening tent, but we were already way behind the big crowd. We rushed to MMR and learned the queue was at capacity!

We’re heading back at Thanksgiving, and I’m trying to come up with a different plan so that we aren't at the disadvantage that we were driving last time. We’re staying for 5 nights at CCV, and I actually decided to book a night in the middle of our stay at YC. I don’t know that I’m going to go with it, but it would give us the huge advantage of being able to walk to HS and arrive early, and we would be able to swim at our favorite Disney pool for two days (the previous day we’re at Epcot, and it will be nice not to have to deal with the parking lot there...last month I lost the rental car in the parking lot!! My first experience driving at Disney   ).


----------



## MeeskaMooska13

tuckymom said:


> Pulled out of our parking space at CBR at exactly 8:45.
> 
> Got to the toll booth area about 8:50.  As we approached the entrance, we were basically in stand still traffic for only a moment before (I assume) they allowed the cars to drive up to the tool booth and wait. Waited there and they let the car start entering a minute or two before 9:00.


Thank you!


----------



## Leigh L

Posted some of this in the big thread on the Rumors board but wanted to put here too with a little more detail.

Was at DHS yesterday and on the first bus from our resort (CSR), but we were held at temp check (and a fair amount of people in front of us). Once that opened up, we got through very quickly and DD and I waited maybe 20 minutes for MMRR. DD didn't want to ride MFSR and waited by Rise while I walked over to get on that line just before official park open. I was off by around 10:25 and it had jumped up to a 45 min. wait (it was listed as 5 when I got on line, but I waited slightly longer).

It looks they started boarding Rise prior to park opening, but not sure how early. We were group 11 and was called just prior to 10; we had until 10:50 to get there. Rise looked to have a great day yesterday.

After RoTR (awesome! and appeared everything was working), we put in a mobile order at Backlot Express to try some of the Christmas treats (breakfast lol) and it was at Backlot's 11 a.m. opening when we picked up our order. Then we did Star Tours, Frozen, watched calvacades, wandered around, did the Visa magic shot over at Launch Bay and had lunch at H&V at 2:30.

Wait times weren't bad. DD used her DAS three times in total yesterday (two MMRR once afternoon - once at night, and once for Star Tours.) Standby wasn't long starting in the afternoon.  We went back to Star Tours (walk on), then also walked on to Aliens and Midway. Did not ride ToT or RnR since DD can't do those rides (or Slinky). While DD was doing MMRR at night I went on Slinky with a posted 40 minute wait around 5:45 pm, I waited 15 maybe? I got off Slinky at about the same time DD was off MMRR.

We stayed until after park close with a 7:15 Oga's reservation but they let us in about 6:55.  I saw them take one walk up. It was only one person though, it looked like the CM was going to say no to walk up request until he asked "how many?" I overheard the single party tell the rest of his group he'd catch up with them. So they may or may not be taking smaller groups walk ups depending on capacity at the time.

Overall, DHS felt less busy than it did in mid-August. Not sure if it was a fluke or the BG process has people canceling if they don't get one or if the threat of the rain had to do with it? Maybe a combination of all three.

It did start raining late in the day and that seemed to clear the park out.

Edited to add: The one ride that did seem 60+ minutes all day was MMRR.


----------



## nkereina

TikiTikiFan said:


> I managed to snag a 7:55PM reservation for Sci Fi next week. HS closes at 7PM that day, is this another glitch or has this been common to get dining times after park close?


I've not seen any ADRs that late after park closing, and I believe transportation only runs for 90 minutes after park closing anyhow. I would think its either a glitch, or possibly indicative of DHS extending park hours. What day of the week is it? I know some park hours have been extended on weekend days, and they were extended over Columbus Day which is a busier time. With this week being Veterans Day, perhaps there will be some hours extended. 



Shellbells said:


> I'm at Disney Springs right now. Had an amazing breakfast at Homecomin. Now we're walking around. Walked right into the Co-OP. Was turned away at World of Disney. They said the line is closed and to come back in 15 or 20 minutes. Guess I'll save some money then.
> Heading to Goofys now.
> Lots of people but everyone is wearing masks. It's hard to get pictures of the trees because people are sitting in front of them.


I'm surprised they turned you away at World of Disney! When we were there two weeks ago, they had people lining up down the back sidewalk when the number of people increased so that they could keep better tabs on the number entering and exiting.

We were disappointed by Goofy's. No custom rice krispie treats and very few snacks in the case. The pre-packaged rice krispie treats were boring.



scrappinginontario said:


> How often is DS reaching capacity?


Are they monitoring DS capacity with it being outdoors? I know individual stores are, but there were points when the walkways at DS felt busy. I'm not sure whether anyone counted us in as we were going through the temperature check, but I know for certain that no one counted us out when we exited to go to the buses down by AMC. So if they are monitoring it somehow, I'm not sure its effective.


----------



## yulilin3

nkereina said:


> I've not seen any ADRs that late after park closing, and I believe transportation only runs for 90 minutes after park closing anyhow. I would think its either a glitch, or possibly indicative of DHS extending park hours. What day of the week is it? I know some park hours have been extended on weekend days, and they were extended over Columbus Day which is a busier time. With this week being Veterans Day, perhaps there will be some hours extended.
> 
> 
> I'm surprised they turned you away at World of Disney! When we were there two weeks ago, they had people lining up down the back sidewalk when the number of people increased so that they could keep better tabs on the number entering and exiting.
> 
> We were disappointed by Goofy's. No custom rice krispie treats and very few snacks in the case. The pre-packaged rice krispie treats were boring.
> 
> 
> Are they monitoring DS capacity with it being outdoors? I know individual stores are, but there were points when the walkways at DS felt busy. I'm not sure whether anyone counted us in as we were going through the temperature check, but I know for certain that no one counted us out when we exited to go to the buses down by AMC. So if they are monitoring it somehow, I'm not sure its effective.


Park transportation continues until the very last guest is out, they sometimes use one bus for several resorts late after closing so that's no issue, as far as DS there has been weekends when the garages have closed for capacity, since you have to park in one of those to go in that is one way of controlling, not sure if resort buses stop taking people in though


----------



## scrappinginontario

nkereina said:


> Are they monitoring DS capacity with it being outdoors? I know individual stores are, but there were points when the walkways at DS felt busy. I'm not sure whether anyone counted us in as we were going through the temperature check, but I know for certain that no one counted us out when we exited to go to the buses down by AMC. So if they are monitoring it somehow, I'm not sure its effective.



I don’t know either as this is new to me too.  I’ve just read a few people asking here, ‘If DS reaches capacity...’ and wondered if this is possibly one of the many new things that might be happening right now?


----------



## nkereina

yulilin3 said:


> Park transportation continues until the very last guest is out, they sometimes use one bus for several resorts late after closing so that's no issue, as far as DS there has been weekends when the garages have closed for capacity, since you have to park in one of those to go in that is one way of controlling, not sure if resort buses stop taking people in though


I know the Skyliner runs until 90 minutes after park closing, or at least it did when we were there two weeks ago. Are you saying they offer bus service for people at Skyliner resorts if they are leaving the park after the Skyliner is closed?

I've heard of DS garages closing to capacity too, but it doesn't seem to me that correlates to regulation of the number of people actually in Disney Springs since there are a few entry points currently and multiple modes of transportation. If they counted us in when we arrived at the rideshare drop-off entry point (the temp check tent near Earl of Sandwich), then I'm not sure what the purpose would have been because there was no one counting us out when we left near the AMC theater to get to the buses. Seems like it would be near impossible to keep an accurate count unless they had funneled exit points like they do entry points with people keeping tabs (similar to how they do at stores).


----------



## yulilin3

nkereina said:


> I know the Skyliner runs until 90 minutes after park closing, or at least it did when we were there two weeks ago. Are you saying they offer bus service for people at Skyliner resorts if they are leaving the park after the Skyliner is closed?
> 
> I've heard of DS garages closing to capacity too, but it doesn't seem to me that correlates to regulation of the number of people actually in Disney Springs since there are a few entry points currently and multiple modes of transportation. If they counted us in when we arrived at the rideshare drop-off entry point (the temp check tent near Earl of Sandwich), then I'm not sure what the purpose would have been because there was no one counting us out when we left near the AMC theater to get to the buses. Seems like it would be near impossible to keep an accurate count unless they had funneled exit points like they do entry points with people keeping tabs (similar to how they do at stores).


I don't think they count people but I do know the close the garages and entry points via individual car, again not sure what they do for resort guests arriving via bus
As for Skyliner resorts I am not sure they provide a bus after the skyliner closes since the only 2 resorts impossible to get to are CBR and RR, they might just have a bus for them 2, all the other ones you can walk or bus. But I do know for a fact that they will have transportation for everyone until the last guest leaves


----------



## BridgetR3

Does anyone know how they are handling scooters at the Skyliner when coming from Pop?  Do they wait in the line at CBR as well or do they go to the scooter entrance onto the Skyliner?


----------



## yulilin3

BridgetR3 said:


> Does anyone know how they are handling scooters at the Skyliner when coming from Pop?  Do they wait in the line at CBR as well or do they go to the scooter entrance onto the Skyliner?


everyone waits goes through the regular lines, they were built to fit scooters so no separate entrance


----------



## TikiTikiFan

nkereina said:


> I've not seen any ADRs that late after park closing, and I believe transportation only runs for 90 minutes after park closing anyhow. I would think its either a glitch, or possibly indicative of DHS extending park hours. What day of the week is it? I know some park hours have been extended on weekend days, and they were extended over Columbus Day which is a busier time. With this week being Veterans Day, perhaps there will be some hours extended.



It’s on a Saturday and right now the park closes at 7PM.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

We cancelled our first family trip to Disney bc of Covid, it should have been in September for our son’s 7th birthday. Back in April, I moved it to April 2021 bc i thought a year out should be time enough for some normalcy. But 6 months have passed and things are still the same. And as annoying as it might be, we’re becoming adjusted to “covid life”, wearing masks and working around things being limited. I very much feel ready for a family vacation, and my insistence that I wouldn’t travel to Disney with mask-wearing, no fireworks, and no character meets is fading. So what is it like there now? Will it still be magical for my 7 year old? Will he at least see characters like Buzz & Woody & Star Wars characters? Should we just go & not postpone again if things havnt changed? Do you think its worth it to go if he wont have character interactions? I understand this is very subjective of course, Im looking for different view points. Thanks!


----------



## yulilin3

DisneyJColeMom said:


> We cancelled our first family trip to Disney bc of Covid, it should have been in September for our son’s 7th birthday. Back in April, I moved it to April 2021 bc i thought a year out should be time enough for some normalcy. But 6 months have passed and things are still the same. And as annoying as it might be, we’re becoming adjusted to “covid life”, wearing masks and working around things being limited. I very much feel ready for a family vacation, and my insistence that I wouldn’t travel to Disney with mask-wearing, no fireworks, and no character meets is fading. So what is it like there now? Will it still be magical for my 7 year old? Will he at least see characters like Buzz & Woody & Star Wars characters? Should we just go & not postpone again if things havnt changed?


Merged you to the thread with just back reports
As far as the characters you mentioned you can see the Pixar ones in the dhs cavalcade and sw characters at Galaxy's edge,  no regular meet and greet are available.  Make sure to check on mde and filter to entertainment and attractions to see what's being offered


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

yulilin3 said:


> Merged you to the thread with just back reports
> As far as the characters you mentioned you can see the Pixar ones in the dhs cavalcade and sw characters at Galaxy's edge,  no regular meet and greet are available.  Make sure to check on mde and filter to entertainment and attractions to see what's being offered


Thanks!


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

Leigh L said:


> Then we did Star Tours, Frozen, watched calvacades, wandered around, did the Visa magic shot over at Launch Bay and had lunch at H&V at 2:30.


Whats the Visa magic shot? Isnt this the pic with chewbacca or darth or kylo? I wanted very much to do this bc i have the disney visa card, but thought they dont do meeting characters now?


----------



## yulilin3

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Whats the Visa magic shot? Isnt this the pic with chewbacca or darth or kylo? I wanted very much to do this bc i have the disney visa card, but thought they dont do meeting characters now?


They don't,  you go into launch bay and get the backdrop pic and then they magically add the character in

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/e...sa-cardmember-star-wars-character-experience/


----------



## MuddyWaters

Hi All - This is my first post, though I have been lurking for a while. I'm looking for a little advice for a trip we have planned for December 18-23. (Please let me know if this isn't the right thread) Originally, we had a April 2020 trip planned that got canned due to COVID. As it currently stands, we have reservations with another family (4 adults, 2 kids ages 9 and 12) at Yacht Club, we have park reservations, and got good dining reservations. 4 of the 6 of us have never been to Disney. My son and I have. We are really struggling if we should reschedule again, mostly because of fears it won't be as magical as it otherwise might be due to COVID, especially for the first timers and because of the expected Christmas crowds (waits, plus safety fears). Does anyone have advice on how to best make the decision on whether to go or reschedule again?


----------



## grossmansr

Just got back from a short trip, 11/4 - 11/8, to celebrate DS turning 5. We only went to DHS and MK. We mostly took it easy and tried to enjoy the atmosphere. I definitely like the social distancing aspect of the parks. The lines feel much less claustrophobic and the walkways aren't as crowded as usual. Still, there are a lot more people than I would have expected, if not for this forum.

We are not rope droppers, but I was able to snag BG 33 from the comfort of my bed on Thursday Nov 5. We got to DHS around 11:30 am and took our time getting a stroller and walking around. We waiting in the SDD line for about 45 min for a posted 70 min wait. Then we did AS2, which was maybe a 15 min wait (thank goodness as this ride was my least favorite and reminded me or a bad carnival ride).

 We went to SWGE next and as not much of a Star Wars fan I was honestly blown away by the land. They did an amazing job creating it. I kept checking the BG times, as it was almost 2 already and they were still on BG 28-30. My Dad was having trouble breathing in his mask because he has a heart condition and some cardiovascular issues (he's in his 70s) so he had to sit down and breathe in the relaxation station. This was when I really started getting annoyed with the masks. This may not be the place for debate, but let me just say that Covid is not the only thing that people die from. He's going to the doctor for a stress test this week and I'm worried for him. But I digress. 

We went to grab a snack at Ronto Roasters and enjoyed the fresh air. The food... not so much. Maybe I had higher hopes? Finally it was time to ride RoTR at around 2:30 and let me tell you.... it was perfect! We got through without a hitch and it was every bit as amazing as I could have hoped. It literally was worth all the hassle and made the entire vacation. 

Mama Melrose was next. It was fine but nothing to write home about. We just missed the 4:30 showing of the Frozen sing along but that was my fault for not paying closer attention to the time. Instead, we stood in line for almost the full 90 minutes for MMRR, suffocating through our masks. Dad gave up and pulled his down under his nose. We laughed that we should make a drinking game out of it. Every time a cast member told him to pull his mask up we could all do shots. Not really, obviously, but I said that to make him feel better. The rest of us kept them on properly of course, but you all really need to have sympathy for people with health conditions. Anyway, just as I was thinking maybe I made a mistake with MMRR, we made it though the line. And it was a hit! Ages 5-75 and all in between agreed it was so much fun! We wanted to ride again but eff that line. 

So we scooted back to SWGE, without Dad, who needed to sit in the relaxation station again to breathe, so DS could build a droid for his birthday. Of course we had to build one for DD9 too. It was such a cute experience. Like build a bear for robots. The sun was setting over SWGE and the whole land transformed before our very eyes in the darkness. I wanted to linger but by this time it was creeping towards 7 and the park would be closing soon. The kids wanted to ride TSMM so we ran back and met Dad so we could get a final ride in. It was basically walk on at this point, which was great. 

Afterwards we strolled through the park and enjoyed the atmosphere, which is the best at night. All in all, we didn't get a lot "done", but we did almost everything we wanted to and really enjoyed ourselves. We also learned that we needed a wheelchair for poor Dad, who about nearly passed out multiple times. A wheelchair greatly improved his MK day experience, even though he hated to admit that he needed it.


----------



## grossmansr

MK day, coming soon...


----------



## yulilin3

MuddyWaters said:


> Hi All - This is my first post, though I have been lurking for a while. I'm looking for a little advice for a trip we have planned for December 18-23. (Please let me know if this isn't the right thread) Originally, we had a April 2020 trip planned that got canned due to COVID. As it currently stands, we have reservations with another family (4 adults, 2 kids ages 9 and 12) at Yacht Club, we have park reservations, and got good dining reservations. 4 of the 6 of us have never been to Disney. My son and I have. We are really struggling if we should reschedule again, mostly because of fears it won't be as magical as it otherwise might be due to COVID, especially for the first timers and because of the expected Christmas crowds (waits, plus safety fears). Does anyone have advice on how to best make the decision on whether to go or reschedule again?


Basically weigh the pros and cons
For many, pros would be the Disney atmosphere in general,  favorite attractions and dining offers
Cons can be lack of nighttime shows,  lack of character meet and greet and entertainment
For some they might feel masks to be a big deterrent and for others it's not a big deal. 
Only you and your group can decide if it's worth it just have realistic expectations


----------



## MuddyWaters

Thank you! Are there any accurate crowd calendars out there that factor in the COVID situation?


----------



## scrappinginontario

grossmansr said:


> A wheelchair greatly improved his MK day experience, even though he hated to admit that he needed it.


I was going to recommend a scooter for your next trip (preferrably post masks) so that your dad can more fully enjoy his trip.  My dad has heart issues so we rent a scooter for him and it makes all the difference!


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

grossmansr said:


> Just got back from a short trip, 11/4 - 11/8, to celebrate DS turning 5. We only went to DHS and MK. We mostly took it easy and tried to enjoy the atmosphere. I definitely like the social distancing aspect of the parks. The lines feel much less claustrophobic and the walkways aren't as crowded as usual. Still, there are a lot more people than I would have expected, if not for this forum.
> 
> We are not rope droppers, but I was able to snag BG 33 from the comfort of my bed on Thursday Nov 5. We got to DHS around 11:30 am and took our time getting a stroller and walking around. We waiting in the SDD line for about 45 min for a posted 70 min wait. Then we did AS2, which was maybe a 15 min wait (thank goodness as this ride was my least favorite and reminded me or a bad carnival ride).
> 
> We went to SWGE next and as not much of a Star Wars fan I was honestly blown away by the land. They did an amazing job creating it. I kept checking the BG times, as it was almost 2 already and they were still on BG 28-30. My Dad was having trouble breathing in his mask because he has a heart condition and some cardiovascular issues (he's in his 70s) so he had to sit down and breathe in the relaxation station. This was when I really started getting annoyed with the masks. This may not be the place for debate, but let me just say that Covid is not the only thing that people die from. He's going to the doctor for a stress test this week and I'm worried for him. But I digress.
> 
> We went to grab a snack at Ronto Roasters and enjoyed the fresh air. The food... not so much. Maybe I had higher hopes? Finally it was time to ride RoTR at around 2:30 and let me tell you.... it was perfect! We got through without a hitch and it was every bit as amazing as I could have hoped. It literally was worth all the hassle and made the entire vacation.
> 
> Mama Melrose was next. It was fine but nothing to write home about. We just missed the 4:30 showing of the Frozen sing along but that was my fault for not paying closer attention to the time. Instead, we stood in line for almost the full 90 minutes for MMRR, suffocating through our masks. Dad gave up and pulled his down under his nose. We laughed that we should make a drinking game out of it. Every time a cast member told him to pull his mask up we could all do shots. Not really, obviously, but I said that to make him feel better. The rest of us kept them on properly of course, but you all really need to have sympathy for people with health conditions. Anyway, just as I was thinking maybe I made a mistake with MMRR, we made it though the line. And it was a hit! Ages 5-75 and all in between agreed it was so much fun! We wanted to ride again but eff that line.
> 
> So we scooted back to SWGE, without Dad, who needed to sit in the relaxation station again to breathe, so DS could build a droid for his birthday. Of course we had to build one for DD9 too. It was such a cute experience. Like build a bear for robots. The sun was setting over SWGE and the whole land transformed before our very eyes in the darkness. I wanted to linger but by this time it was creeping towards 7 and the park would be closing soon. The kids wanted to ride TSMM so we ran back and met Dad so we could get a final ride in. It was basically walk on at this point, which was great.
> 
> Afterwards we strolled through the park and enjoyed the atmosphere, which is the best at night. All in all, we didn't get a lot "done", but we did almost everything we wanted to and really enjoyed ourselves. We also learned that we needed a wheelchair for poor Dad, who about nearly passed out multiple times. A wheelchair greatly improved his MK day experience, even though he hated to admit that he needed it.


Did you see any characters around Toy Story Land & SWGE?


----------



## sabrecmc

We flew down Saturday morning for an overnight stay at Riviera just to spend the weekend at Galaxy's Edge. Had a fantastic time.  We were able to ride everything over the 2 day visit, including RotR, which lives up to the hype.  Overall, we had a great visit. The covid protocols were being enforced and most people seemed to be respectful.  I was glad to see that.  The new material for the Disney masks is way better and a lot cooler and more breathable.  

We have a trip booked for June, and there were three things that gave me pause about the new protocols (note: I support the protocols and think Disney seemed to be doing a great job, these just made me think of summer): 1) no eating or drinking in line or while walking around. Some of those lines were long and I admit that I missed being able to just grab a snack or drink and walk around with it;  2) the long lines outside the main queue areas and often positioned in the sun. In summer, that would be particularly miserable to stand in; and 3) No shows (except Muppets), and we didn't do indoor restaurants, which meant very little sitting time.  I didn't appreciate how much I needed those breaks where I got to sit down for decent amounts of time.  Having a 1.5 hour dinner or sitting for 45 minutes at Indiana Jones really gives my legs a chance to recover.  

These aren't dealbreakers, but it does give me some things to think about for the summer trip. With the news of the potential vaccine success, I'm wondering if it will make more sense to delay a bit longer before we go back for the big trip.   Like I said, we had a great mini-trip.  I'm so glad we went.  It was wonderful to be back.  Just a few things that I want to give consideration to as we look towards summer.


----------



## yulilin3

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Did you see any characters around Toy Story Land & SWGE?


There are no characters at TSLand, you can only see them in the cavalcade.  At SWGE you can see Rey, Vi Moradi, Chewbacca,  First order troopers and Kylo Ren


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

Not sure what to call them but are there still “intro rooms” to rides? That space where sometimes they give you some background story or info, like the room that stretches in Haunted Mansion, or is there something like that in Flight of Passage too?


----------



## Sarahslay

sabrecmc said:


> We flew down Saturday morning for an overnight stay at Riviera just to spend the weekend at Galaxy's Edge. Had a fantastic time.  We were able to ride everything over the 2 day visit, including RotR, which lives up to the hype.  Overall, we had a great visit. The covid protocols were being enforced and most people seemed to be respectful.  I was glad to see that.  The new material for the Disney masks is way better and a lot cooler and more breathable.
> 
> We have a trip booked for June, and there were three things that gave me pause about the new protocols (note: I support the protocols and think Disney seemed to be doing a great job, these just made me think of summer): 1) no eating or drinking in line or while walking around. Some of those lines were long and I admit that I missed being able to just grab a snack or drink and walk around with it;  2) the long lines outside the main queue areas and often positioned in the sun. In summer, that would be particularly miserable to stand in; and 3) No shows (except Muppets), and we didn't do indoor restaurants, which meant very little sitting time.  I didn't appreciate how much I needed those breaks where I got to sit down for decent amounts of time.  Having a 1.5 hour dinner or sitting for 45 minutes at Indiana Jones really gives my legs a chance to recover.
> 
> These aren't dealbreakers, but it does give me some things to think about for the summer trip. With the news of the potential vaccine success, I'm wondering if it will make more sense to delay a bit longer before we go back for the big trip.   Like I said, we had a great mini-trip.  I'm so glad we went.  It was wonderful to be back.  Just a few things that I want to give consideration to as we look towards summer.


I went in August, with a feels like temp of 104 most days, and didn’t drink water in line and was fine. My main tip for this is to regularly just pull off to the side while walking around to take a drink, or find a place to sit at a relaxation station (or even just a bench) and drink more than a sip. I did this after getting off of MFSR (with a pretty long wait outside midday), and it was fine. This was obviously well before the no eating or drinking in line stuff, but I didn’t feel comfortable drinking in line so I didn’t. I did take advantage of snacks in relaxation stations though, they were super helpful for tired legs.


----------



## olecow

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Not sure what to call them but are there still “intro rooms” to rides? That space where sometimes they give you some background story or info, like the room that stretches in Haunted Mansion, or is there something like that in Flight of Passage too?



You don't congregate in any of the waiting rooms.  Your spaced 6 feet apart in line right up to the ride.  For Haunted Mansion you just walk right through the "stretchy" room to the ride.


----------



## yulilin3

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Not sure what to call them but are there still “intro rooms” to rides? That space where sometimes they give you some background story or info, like the room that stretches in Haunted Mansion, or is there something like that in Flight of Passage too?


that's called "pre show" FOP has a shrunken pre show now, HM you walk through, Dinosaur I believe you walk through, RnRC you walk through, basically most pre shows are not operating now


----------



## underminer

We are coming in Wednesday from AZ. How’s the rain in the park today?  Looks like it’s going to be a wet week


----------



## SheSingsAlong

DisneyJColeMom said:


> We cancelled our first family trip to Disney bc of Covid, it should have been in September for our son’s 7th birthday. Back in April, I moved it to April 2021 bc i thought a year out should be time enough for some normalcy. But 6 months have passed and things are still the same. And as annoying as it might be, we’re becoming adjusted to “covid life”, wearing masks and working around things being limited. I very much feel ready for a family vacation, and my insistence that I wouldn’t travel to Disney with mask-wearing, no fireworks, and no character meets is fading. So what is it like there now? Will it still be magical for my 7 year old? Will he at least see characters like Buzz & Woody & Star Wars characters? Should we just go & not postpone again if things havnt changed? Do you think its worth it to go if he wont have character interactions? I understand this is very subjective of course, Im looking for different view points. Thanks!


Just got back from a family trip - my daughter is 4. She had an AMAZING time. The character cavalcades were perfect for her short attention span :-D To a child, everything about Disney is magical. Masks honestly weren't a big issue. The CMs are all lovely. And it's so great being at Disney without feeling you are sardines in a can - so much personal space! I would not go in the heat of summer in masks, but I would for sure go in April.


----------



## etapi

yulilin3 said:


> that's called "pre show" FOP has a shrunken pre show now, HM you walk through, Dinosaur I believe you walk through, RnRC you walk through, basically most pre shows are not operating now


At FOP, we skipped the pre-show videos entirely one time and were held at the final video the second time. Dinosaur should be walk-through, but both times I rode recently it turned into a "sit through" when the ride broke down.  

I think the only fully intact pre-show holding rooms are at ROTR and Soarin'. Maybe Mission Space and Star Tours also?


----------



## Shellyred8

Sydnerella said:


> Hi! How was the Sun Country flight as far as safety precautions went? We fly for Thanksgiving week. Our flight departs at 7am on a Friday and returns at 2 on Sunday after.
> 
> How was Terminal 2? We will plan to hit Starbucks
> 
> The planes were the cleanest that I've ever seen them!  Everyone was wearing masks.  The one downside is that they are selling the middle seats.  One of our flights was probably 90% full, so that was a little uncomfortable.  We had the exit row and no one was in the middle seat, so that made me feel a little better.  Not all of the shops/food places are open, at least not for the early morning flights.  Subway and Caribou Coffee were open.  The Starbucks and the quick-serve food place right beside them weren't open when we were there.  Not sure if they are open now or not.


----------



## yulilin3

etapi said:


> At FOP, we skipped the pre-show videos entirely one time and were held at the final video the second time. Dinosaur should be walk-through, but both times I rode recently it turned into a "sit through" when the ride broke down.
> 
> I think the only fully intact pre-show holding rooms are at ROTR and Soarin'. Maybe Mission Space and Star Tours also?


Star tours i wouldn't call a pre show,  same as soarin, it's just the safety spiel


----------



## etapi

yulilin3 said:


> Star tours i wouldn't call a pre show,  same as soarin, it's just the safety spiel


True, but that Patrick Warburton safety spiel is still the best part of Soarin'.


----------



## yulilin3

etapi said:


> True, but that Patrick Warburton safety spiel is still the best part of Soarin'.


100% agree,  especially after the redo


----------



## BridgetR3

yulilin3 said:


> everyone waits goes through the regular lines, they were built to fit scooters so no separate entrance



I understand for most normal ride that this is how it would work but last trip for the Skyliner, DH had to ride in a special scooter cabin that would actually stop so that he could get on.  I guess I was wondering if the lines distinguished between the types of cabins on the Skyliner needed.  For example, are there separate lines for the regular skyliner cabins and the ones that stop completely?


----------



## yulilin3

BridgetR3 said:


> I understand for most normal ride that this is how it would work but last trip for the Skyliner, DH had to ride in a special scooter cabin that would actually stop so that he could get on.  I guess I was wondering if the lines distinguished between the types of cabins on the Skyliner needed.  For example, are there separate lines for the regular skyliner cabins and the ones that stop completely?


I know of the stationary cabin,  trying to remember if there's a separate queue for that one,  I've seen scooters drive into the moving ones and they have been in the regular queue.  Im sure there's video out there of it,


----------



## Shellyred8

BridgetR3 said:


> I understand for most normal ride that this is how it would work but last trip for the Skyliner, DH had to ride in a special scooter cabin that would actually stop so that he could get on.  I guess I was wondering if the lines distinguished between the types of cabins on the Skyliner needed.  For example, are there separate lines for the regular skyliner cabins and the ones that stop completely?



At all of the Skyliner stops, except Riviera, there is a separate boarding line for those in scooters/wheelchairs.  They have a separate boarding area for them where the cabins can actually stop without disrupting the rest of the line.  To the best of my knowledge, all of the skyliner cabins are the same.  They all have the ability to lift up the seats so a scooter/wheelchair can fit in them.


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

maryj11 said:


> When is your trip? I wonder if they are working on soonest to latest because mine have not been cancelled.


November 24-29th.
Did get two gift cards so I am happy and was able to make new reservations relatively close to the times...so win/win


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

etapi said:


> True, but that Patrick Warburton safety spiel is still the best part of Soarin'.



 



Shellyred8 said:


> At all of the Skyliner stops, except Riviera, there is a separate boarding line for those in scooters/wheelchairs.  They have a separate boarding area for them where the cabins can actually stop without disrupting the rest of the line.  To the best of my knowledge, all of the skyliner cabins are the same.  They all have the ability to lift up the seats so a scooter/wheelchair can fit in them.



We noticed that the skyliner cabins brought into the ECV boarding "spur" all had a Mickey Head decal on the window.  I'm not sure if that's only because those are the ones with wheel chocks in them or if perhaps there was a little wider aisle between the seats to accommodate the ECV?


----------



## ColoradoMom12

sabrecmc said:


> We flew down Saturday morning for an overnight stay at Riviera just to spend the weekend at Galaxy's Edge. Had a fantastic time.  We were able to ride everything over the 2 day visit, including RotR, which lives up to the hype.  Overall, we had a great visit. The covid protocols were being enforced and most people seemed to be respectful.  I was glad to see that.  The new material for the Disney masks is way better and a lot cooler and more breathable.
> 
> We have a trip booked for June, and there were three things that gave me pause about the new protocols (note: I support the protocols and think Disney seemed to be doing a great job, these just made me think of summer): 1) no eating or drinking in line or while walking around. Some of those lines were long and I admit that I missed being able to just grab a snack or drink and walk around with it;  2) the long lines outside the main queue areas and often positioned in the sun. In summer, that would be particularly miserable to stand in; and 3) No shows (except Muppets), and we didn't do indoor restaurants, which meant very little sitting time.  I didn't appreciate how much I needed those breaks where I got to sit down for decent amounts of time.  Having a 1.5 hour dinner or sitting for 45 minutes at Indiana Jones really gives my legs a chance to recover.
> 
> These aren't dealbreakers, but it does give me some things to think about for the summer trip. With the news of the potential vaccine success, I'm wondering if it will make more sense to delay a bit longer before we go back for the big trip.   Like I said, we had a great mini-trip.  I'm so glad we went.  It was wonderful to be back.  Just a few things that I want to give consideration to as we look towards summer.


The way the they’ve set up distancing for the lines with much outside in the direct sun is brutal. We’re from “the high country” in Colorado. Humidity is hardly a word in our vocabulary! No amount of mask wearing at home (and both my daughter and I wear masks most of the day) could have prepared us for mask-wearing in a humidity in a line that’s outside in direct sun. We were there the week of Columbus Day and some of the lines were really, really long (we waited 90 minutes for MMR). Our first day we tried not to drink water in line, and my daughter almost fainted while we were waiting for FEA. After that we made sure we were well hydrated before getting into a line and pulled our masks down quickly as needed for sips of water while in lines. We’re headed back for Thanksgiving, and I’m hoping for some cooler temperatures or cloudy days. Even some rain is preferable to standing out there in 90 degree directly sunlight heat plus humidity! I wish park hours could be extended into the evening when direct sunlight isn’t an issue. That or bring back fast pass!


----------



## HikingFam

Grumpy by Birth said:


> View attachment 537359 View attachment 537360
> 
> 
> 
> We noticed that the skyliner cabins brought into the ECV boarding "spur" all had a Mickey Head decal on the window.  I'm not sure if that's only because those are the ones with wheel chocks in them or if perhaps there was a little wider aisle between the seats to accommodate the ECV?



Same here. I also wondered if another difference could be some indicator from below in case of emergency evacuation? They seem the same (physically) as the other cabins otherwise, including the need to give the doors an extra push open to squeeze through.


----------



## michellej47

ColoradoMom12 said:


> The way the they’ve set up distancing for the lines with much outside in the direct sun is brutal. We’re from “the high country” in Colorado. Humidity is hardly a word in our vocabulary! No amount of mask wearing at home (and both my daughter and I wear masks most of the day) could have prepared us for mask-wearing in a humidity in a line that’s outside in direct sun. We were there the week of Columbus Day and some of the lines were really, really long (we waited 90 minutes for MMR). Our first day we tried not to drink water in line, and my daughter almost fainted while we were waiting for FEA. After that we made sure we were well hydrated before getting into a line and pulled our masks down quickly as needed for sips of water while in lines. We’re headed back for Thanksgiving, and I’m hoping for some cooler temperatures or cloudy days. Even some rain is preferable to standing out there in 90 degree directly sunlight heat plus humidity! I wish park hours could be extended into the evening when direct sunlight isn’t an issue. That or bring back fast pass!




I'm pretty sure  CMs won't say much about a quick sip and replacing your mask.  I'm assuming the point of the no eating and drinking in line is to stop the people who were using it as an excuse to keep their masks off.


----------



## scrappinginontario

michellej47 said:


> I'm pretty sure  CMs won't say much about a quick sip and replacing your mask.  I'm assuming the point of the no eating and drinking in line is to stop the people who were using it as an excuse to keep their masks off.


You may take a quick sip while stationary in a line that is outside.  As soon as you pass the entrance there are signs that eating and drinking are not permitted.  This changed around a week ago.


----------



## sabrecmc

scrappinginontario said:


> You may take a quick sip while stationary in a line that is outside.  As soon as you pass the entrance there are signs that eating and drinking are not permitted.  This changed around a week ago.



Yes, we were told specifically when we entered the regular line that you could not eat or drink.  In the outside overflow lines, they seemed to let you take a sip or bite if you immediately replaced your mask, but that was not true at all times (for example, in the MRR line this past Saturday, the CM told people they had to leave the line if they were eating their cotton candy...maybe they were taking too many bites or something, I don't know...and people with blue milk had to get out of line for Millenium Falcon).


----------



## Moliphino

BridgetR3 said:


> I understand for most normal ride that this is how it would work but last trip for the Skyliner, DH had to ride in a special scooter cabin that would actually stop so that he could get on.  I guess I was wondering if the lines distinguished between the types of cabins on the Skyliner needed.  For example, are there separate lines for the regular skyliner cabins and the ones that stop completely?



If the lines are very long you'll probably need to wait in the main line until the separation point for the handicap loading area. The split is usually pretty close to the loading area.


----------



## goodeats

scrappinginontario said:


> You may take a quick sip while stationary in a line that is outside.  As soon as you pass the entrance there are signs that eating and drinking are not permitted.  This changed around a week ago.



You can still have water inside in a queue. At Epcot one of the attractions’ spiels (maybe TT) specifically says “no eating or drinking inside the queue besides water”. Of course this was during FW festival and they might have been concerned about dehydration!


----------



## yulilin3

I know a lot of people are resistant to the rules and resenting ther CM enforcing them,  if people in general would not abuse rules put in place this wouldn't be necessary. 
Common sense says that if masks are required you shouldn't take them off for long periods of time,  then people started snapping pics everywhere or snacking and drinking constantly and this brought up the need for stronger wording and enforcement,  i can tell you this stronger enforcement is purely for the safety of guest and CM, there's nothing management wouldn't want more than to be flexible but people are still visiting knowing they have the virus,  being selfish,  so just abide by the guidelines


----------



## scrappinginontario

goodeats said:


> You can still have water inside in a queue. At Epcot one of the attractions’ spiels (maybe TT) specifically says “no eating or drinking inside the queue besides water”. Of course this was during FW festival and they might have been concerned about dehydration!


Was that since the change that was implemented a week ago?


----------



## ColoradoMom12

scrappinginontario said:


> You may take a quick sip while stationary in a line that is outside.  As soon as you pass the entrance there are signs that eating and drinking are not permitted.  This changed around a week ago.


Thanks, I wasn't aware of this change. It's no problem for us to not drink water inside (or even outside where there's shade). It's standing outside for long amounts of time in direct sun that is really brutal. The only way we (especially my daughter) can tolerate it is by staying well hydrated throughout the wait. Next time we might try bringing along an umbrella to create some shade as well.


----------



## Akck

ColoradoMom12 said:


> Thanks, I wasn't aware of this change. It's no problem for us to not drink water inside (or even outside where there's shade). It's standing outside for long amounts of time in direct sun that is really brutal. The only way we (especially my daughter) can tolerate it is by staying well hydrated throughout the wait. Next time we might try bringing along an umbrella to create some shade as well.



We specifically bought a sunscreen umbrella for our September trip and used it off & on while in the lines. It worked well in the rain too. Well worth it And we’ll be bringing it for our December trip.


----------



## dachsie

Leigh L said:


> Posted some of this in the big thread on the Rumors board but wanted to put here too with a little more detail.
> 
> Was at DHS yesterday and on the first bus from our resort (CSR), but we were held at temp check (and a fair amount of people in front of us). Once that opened up, we got through very quickly and DD and I waited maybe 20 minutes for MMRR. DD didn't want to ride MFSR and waited by Rise while I walked over to get on that line just before official park open. I was off by around 10:25 and it had jumped up to a 45 min. wait (it was listed as 5 when I got on line, but I waited slightly longer).
> 
> It looks they started boarding Rise prior to park opening, but not sure how early. We were group 11 and was called just prior to 10; we had until 10:50 to get there. Rise looked to have a great day yesterday.
> 
> After RoTR (awesome! and appeared everything was working), we put in a mobile order at Backlot Express to try some of the Christmas treats (breakfast lol) and it was at Backlot's 11 a.m. opening when we picked up our order. Then we did Star Tours, Frozen, watched calvacades, wandered around, did the Visa magic shot over at Launch Bay and had lunch at H&V at 2:30.
> 
> Wait times weren't bad. DD used her DAS three times in total yesterday (two MMRR once afternoon - once at night, and once for Star Tours.) Standby wasn't long starting in the afternoon.  We went back to Star Tours (walk on), then also walked on to Aliens and Midway. Did not ride ToT or RnR since DD can't do those rides (or Slinky). While DD was doing MMRR at night I went on Slinky with a posted 40 minute wait around 5:45 pm, I waited 15 maybe? I got off Slinky at about the same time DD was off MMRR.
> 
> We stayed until after park close with a 7:15 Oga's reservation but they let us in about 6:55.  I saw them take one walk up. It was only one person though, it looked like the CM was going to say no to walk up request until he asked "how many?" I overheard the single party tell the rest of his group he'd catch up with them. So they may or may not be taking smaller groups walk ups depending on capacity at the time.
> 
> Overall, DHS felt less busy than it did in mid-August. Not sure if it was a fluke or the BG process has people canceling if they don't get one or if the threat of the rain had to do with it? Maybe a combination of all three.
> 
> It did start raining late in the day and that seemed to clear the park out.
> 
> Edited to add: The one ride that did seem 60+ minutes all day was MMRR.


What is the Disney Visa Magic shot?


----------



## yulilin3

dachsie said:


> What is the Disney Visa Magic shot?


https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/epcot/visa-card-character-experience/https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/e...sa-cardmember-star-wars-character-experience/


----------



## goodeats

scrappinginontario said:


> Was that since the change that was implemented a week ago?



Yes. The change happened while I was here. On Wed I took a beer into FOP queue no issues and then on Thursday the signage and spiels changed. The TT spiel was on Saturday.

I’ve had to force myself to stay hydrated. It’s a lot more difficult in the mask, but the CMs are not going to stop you from sipping water as long as your mask goes back on.


----------



## donnishobson

yulilin3 said:


> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/epcot/visa-card-character-experience/https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/e...sa-cardmember-star-wars-character-experience/


Does this require a reservation?


----------



## dachsie

yulilin3 said:


> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/epcot/visa-card-character-experience/https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/e...sa-cardmember-star-wars-character-experience/


I meant what characters do they put in the one at HS?  I guess I should have been more specific


----------



## TikiTikiFan

dachsie said:


> I meant what characters do they put in the one at HS?  I guess I should have been more specific



I was wondering this too. And for Epcot too, what characters are photoshopped in?


----------



## grossmansr

Our MK day was Friday Nov 6. We're not early risers and we planned on closing the park down so we didn't get there until around noon. It was nice being practically the only ones arriving. Main Street was decorated for Christmas and I was in heaven. I've never seen the Christmas decorations before because we always go in the spring or summer. It was also nice to have such low crowds on Main Street. We got a wheelchair (not a scooter because they ran out) and took our time taking pictures and strolling. A character cavalcade came by and really set the mood. 

IASM was first ride on the bucket list because it's the kiddos favorite. The bottleneck area between Peter Pan and IASW is probably the most crowded in the whole park. It was almost like old times. We went to get in the brutal 60 minute line in the sun and were directed to the wheelchair line instead! What a lifesaver! We waited about 15 minutes inside the building which was such a relief. 

After that we headed towards Splash Mountain (my all time fav) and stopped to get some Mickey Bars in Liberty Square. We saw another cavalcade and the kids were thrilled. We decided to see if we could land spur of the moment reservations for an LTT late lunch, and sure enough we were told to come back in 90 minutes, which was perfect. We had time to get in the long and miserable Splash Mountain line which was every bit of the posted 60 min wait time. Thank the good Lord for the wheelchair. Both my parents were real troopers, though I could tell they were uncomfortable, Dad especially. The kids were nervous to ride because of the big drop, but it ended up being the favorite ride of the day, and I'm glad we did it. 

LTT late lunch/early dinner time! This is one of our all time fav Disney restaurants and it did not disappoint. Everything was as expected and they even brought picky DS chicken tenders and fries. Some people understandably hate to "waste" park time on long meals but we always like to sit and relax in the late afternoon to gather our strength for the evening. Especially with kids and grandparents, a leisurely schedule is a must for us. 

Right before sunset we finished up and tackled the Tree House, my Dad's favorite attraction. The kids were ready to burn through some energy, so this was a great way for them to do this. Dad moved slowly, so we finished first and rode the Magic Carpet Ride twice, while the sun set in the background. It was pure Disney magic!

Now that the sun had set and there was a nice breeze to the air, we all felt much better and were ready to roll. Literally. DS hopped on Grampy's lap on the wheelchair and we rolled on back to Fantasyland. We knocked out Peter Pan (20 min wait), Pooh (15 min wait), and Mermaid (walk-on). Kids begged to ride the Carousel and I agreed, against my better judgement. This was the longest Fantasyland line, for arguably the worst return on investment. Whoever and however they are loading this ride is a complete disaster. There is no need to skip two rows of horses. But whatever. Kids were happy so it's all good. 

It was coming up on 8 now and I was getting antsy because I had more on my bucket list. Namely, Buzz and Dumbo, which required quite a bit more walking. Grateful for the wheelchair, we rolled on to complete the mission plus a walk-on Barnstormer ride with 15 minutes to spare till park close. I wanted to do SDMT, because, of course! But I got outvoted for, can you believe, Mickey's Philharmagic?! Even the CM at the front of this attraction couldn't believe it. He was like, "Um, this is probably the last thing you'll do tonight, ok?" But it was ok, because we NEEDED to sit down. 

So here comes the best part of the whole night. The CASTLE. I kid you not, we stayed and watched the beautiful light projections until they closed the park down. We were among the last to leave. DS fell asleep on my Mom, who had taken her much deserved turn in the stroller, and I took DD into the gift store for some shopping. We took a few strolls up and down Main Street and soaked in the atmosphere. It's my favorite part about Disney, after all. There's no place on earth like it. Then we said goodbye until next time and took the boat ride back to the real world.


----------



## Akck

TikiTikiFan said:


> I was wondering this too. And for Epcot too, what characters are photoshopped in?



I don’t know about HS, but at Epcot, we had Mickey and Goofy in ours.


----------



## robinb

Shellyred8 said:


> At all of the Skyliner stops, except Riviera, there is a separate boarding line for those in scooters/wheelchairs.  They have a separate boarding area for them where the cabins can actually stop without disrupting the rest of the line.  To the best of my knowledge, all of the skyliner cabins are the same.  They all have the ability to lift up the seats so a scooter/wheelchair can fit in them.


I used a scooter on my last trip. I waited in a separate line and they pulled a cabin offline for me so I could take my time entering. Then, once we were inside and ready, they merged my cabin in with the others. I don’t remember waiting for a special cabin.


----------



## Lizgistix

I was at WDW Nov 2nd-5th, staying at CCV in a deluxe studio.

The resort was fantastic. Geyser Point is great. Roaring Fork was decent for breakfast. The ribeye at Whispering Canyon was the best steak I've had in a very long time. Loved this resort very much! new favorite. First time staying at Copper Creek and I really liked it. The deluxe studio was just the right size. The room had a 12-cup coffee maker!! 

Hollywood Studios was a lot of fun. Was able to get a boarding group at 7am for Rise. (I was in group 25). MMRR was super cute and a lot of fun! Smuggler's Run is awful if you're buy yourself. Spoiler: I was by myself. Muppets 3D was still funny and cute as I remember. Tower of Terror was fantastic as always. I tried the ronto wrap and don't understand what the hype was about. Also I'm team Green Milk at the milk stand. 
Fired up the Play Disney Parks app and spent some time playing with it in Galaxy's Edge hoping to raise my reputation with the First Order. Ended up having higher reputation with the Scoundrels. Guess I'm a smuggler now.   

Magic Kingdom was awesome. Wait times were not bad at all. Rode Buzz 3-4 times. Reached a personal best of 800,000. Yay me! Also rode BTMRR twice, HM, Peter Pan, Philharmagic, Splash. Ate lunch at BOG (blah) and had a late snack at Pecos Bill (tacos!)

Met a bunch of really nice DVC people while staying at Wilderness Lodge. Talked to several great cast members and lifeguards. All the staff were just fantastic, really. Had a really awesome vacation and I'm sure being by myself had nothing to do with it. 

Despite all the layoffs, I saw a number of "Earning My Ears" ribbons....

So yeah, ask away! I can also give tips on how to push/pull an ECV into your resort room by yourself with no additional help. I brought a door stop to hold the door open but it was no match for that door.


----------



## monkeydawn

scrappinginontario said:


> You may take a quick sip while stationary in a line that is outside.  As soon as you pass the entrance there are signs that eating and drinking are not permitted.  This changed around a week ago.



Im confused.  Do you menat that signs were installed about a week ago forbidding eating and drinking in line?  If so, that is great nesw!


----------



## yulilin3

donnishobson said:


> Does this require a reservation?


No you just show your Disney Visa card



dachsie said:


> I meant what characters do they put in the one at HS?  I guess I should have been more specific





TikiTikiFan said:


> I was wondering this too. And for Epcot too, what characters are photoshopped in?


DHS it's Kylo or Vader at Epcot it can be any of the fab five,  usually 2 of them


----------



## yulilin3

monkeydawn said:


> Im confused.  Do you menat that signs were installed about a week ago forbidding eating and drinking in line?  If so, that is great nesw!


Yes and there's new audio safety spiel inside the queues as well


----------



## yulilin3

Just a reminder that this is not the place to be argumentative about other people's behaviour just to share your experience if you are at Disney and to ask a question to those who have just been there


----------



## Leigh L

yulilin3 said:


> No you just show your Disney Visa card
> DHS it's Kylo or Vader at Epcot it can be any of the fab five,  usually 2 of them


Our photos popped up yesterday, they were different this time. One with Stormtroopers and one with K-2SO from Rogue One


----------



## nkereina

sabrecmc said:


> 2) the long lines outside the main queue areas and often positioned in the sun. In summer, that would be particularly miserable to stand in;





ColoradoMom12 said:


> The way the they’ve set up distancing for the lines with much outside in the direct sun is brutal. We’re from “the high country” in Colorado. Humidity is hardly a word in our vocabulary! No amount of mask wearing at home (and both my daughter and I wear masks most of the day) could have prepared us for mask-wearing in a humidity in a line that’s outside in direct sun. We were there the week of Columbus Day and some of the lines were really, really long (we waited 90 minutes for MMR). Our first day we tried not to drink water in line, and my daughter almost fainted while we were waiting for FEA. After that we made sure we were well hydrated before getting into a line and pulled our masks down quickly as needed for sips of water while in lines. We’re headed back for Thanksgiving, and I’m hoping for some cooler temperatures or cloudy days. Even some rain is preferable to standing out there in 90 degree directly sunlight heat plus humidity! I wish park hours could be extended into the evening when direct sunlight isn’t an issue. That or bring back fast pass!





Akck said:


> We specifically bought a sunscreen umbrella for our September trip and used it off & on while in the lines. It worked well in the rain too. Well worth it And we’ll be bringing it for our December trip.


The queues outside was something I guess I didn't read about or take notice of before our trip, so it was something that we weren't prepared for. I understand the need is there in order to ensure extra long queues for social distancing and to keep people outdoors to limit the amount of time spent waiting indoors. But I definitely agree that some of the queues in the direct sun were brutal. We were there the last week of October, before the time change, so we had virtually no park time at dusk or after dark when there likely would have been reprieve. I imagine the waits in the rain suck too. We saw a few people with umbrellas and lots of people with those personal fans that go around your neck. I think the outdoor wait for Runaway Railway was the worst - we hightailed it from the Skyliner station all the way back there, breaking a sweat in the process, and then had to wait on the pavement in the direct sun for about 45 minutes. Whew.

Because of the queue situation, DH and I agreed that we will either plan to go back in Jan/Feb or Nov/Dec next year to hopefully encounter cooler temperatures.


----------



## yulilin3

Leigh L said:


> Our photos popped up yesterday, they were different this time. One with Stormtroopers and one with K-2SO from Rogue One


OMG that's cool, the regular Disney Visa meet is usually with Vader or Kylo, I would love K2SO


----------



## monkeydawn

yulilin3 said:


> Just a reminder that this is not the place to be argumentative about other people's behaviour just to share your experience if you are at Disney and to ask a question to those who have just been there



Im sorry about that but bragging about mocking CMs that are just doing their jobs and then asking for sympathy triggered me.  I at least tried to make my reply civil...any points for that?  

To keep on topic, thanks for the info about the signage and announcements about eating and drinking in line.  I guess this settles the debate from a couple of weeks ago about if its sanctioned by Disney.  I very much appreciate this clarification by Disney but still would like to hear reports about how this is shaking out in practice.  We have three weeks in December and we are watching closely to see if a DW vacation is in the cards for us (so I am not just here to nit pick, as much as it may seem it).  

To clarify, I am mostly fine with people pulling masks down for quick sips although I guess Id like to hear about that too because there is that one cumulative study about exposure that is worrisome to me.  Not to debate but just so I can do my own risk assessment.


----------



## MsThumper

nkereina said:


> The queues outside was something I guess I didn't read about or take notice of before our trip, so it was something that we weren't prepared for. I understand the need is there in order to ensure extra long queues for social distancing and to keep people outdoors to limit the amount of time spent waiting indoors. But I definitely agree that some of the queues in the direct sun were brutal. We were there the last week of October, before the time change, so we had virtually no park time at dusk or after dark when there likely would have been reprieve. I imagine the waits in the rain suck too. We saw a few people with umbrellas and lots of people with those personal fans that go around your neck. I think the outdoor wait for Runaway Railway was the worst - we hightailed it from the Skyliner station all the way back there, breaking a sweat in the process, and then had to wait on the pavement in the direct sun for about 45 minutes. Whew.
> 
> Because of the queue situation, DH and I agreed that we will either plan to go back in Jan/Feb or Nov/Dec next year to hopefully encounter cooler temperatures.



We were there the same week.  We are Floridians and we will not stand in queues in the direct sun.  We also found the masks oppressive.  And please, before anybody makes any remarks, *YES*, we knew what the restrictions were before we went.  We wanted to give it a try, but it is not for us.  Glad the tickets were heavily discounted, but my heart aches for all the layoffs. *Disney is doing a fantastic job trying to keep everybody safe. *We have reservations for February and hope the situation will improve but if not we will be cancelling.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

grossmansr said:


> We took a few strolls up and down Main Street and soaked in the atmosphere. It's my favorite part about Disney, after all. There's no place on earth like it.



Love this, the whole reason I justified this trip right now is just for that magical feeling of Disney after such a bad year. Right now we have two MK days but if we manage to get on ROTR on our first HS I might just switch to three MK days instead of two at HS so we can just spend a day enjoying the atmosphere. 

I’m not sure HS has that same magical feeling right now? Everything I keep reading is how crowded it is- has that improved since they switched the ROTR time in the morning? Or is it still feeling pretty hectic?


----------



## yulilin3

TikiTikiFan said:


> Love this, the whole reason I justified this trip right now is just for that magical feeling of Disney after such a bad year. Right now we have two MK days but if we manage to get on ROTR on our first HS I might just switch to three MK days instead of two at HS so we can just spend a day enjoying the atmosphere.
> 
> I’m not sure HS has that same magical feeling right now? Everything I keep reading is how crowded it is- has that improved since they switched the ROTR time in the morning? Or is it still feeling pretty hectic?


The park will always feel the most crowded cause of its size and the lack of shows,  it's my favorite park and the holiday atmosphere is great with the music playing and all the decorations but i don't go for the rides,  i just love the atmosphere


----------



## eksmama01

We decided to cut our stay short and leaving a day early.  We were not charged for tonight.  On the flip side, we added a day to our ticket and going to EPCOT before we start home. More pixie dust at the resort shop this morning where we were given a huge discount just because.  So today has been a $900 extra in our pocket day. LOL.

We had a nice trip.  Not fantastic, not bad, just a pleasant trip.  We rode everything we wanted with little to 30 minute waits, ate at CRT, BOG, CM, etc. And there were openings everywhere else for the most part had we wanted.

Never waited for buses or monorail.

CMs were great with exception being the CM at the MK ticket office at the front of the park.

Mask compliance was generally good with the exceptions being the same folks you deal with in every day life's annoyances  Although I had to be told when leaving a restaurant since I completely forgot.

If I had a do-over, we would still come, but i would not want to come as a first timer. I've been coming for 45 years so it was ok not to feel the full magic.

Decorations at MK are beautiful and we love the overlay on the castle.

Best wishes to everyone planning!


----------



## maryj11

Lizgistix said:


> I was at WDW Nov 2nd-5th, staying at CCV in a deluxe studio.
> 
> The resort was fantastic. Geyser Point is great. Roaring Fork was decent for breakfast. The ribeye at Whispering Canyon was the best steak I've had in a very long time. Loved this resort very much! new favorite. First time staying at Copper Creek and I really liked it. The deluxe studio was just the right size. The room had a 12-cup coffee maker!!
> 
> Hollywood Studios was a lot of fun. Was able to get a boarding group at 7am for Rise. (I was in group 25). MMRR was super cute and a lot of fun! Smuggler's Run is awful if you're buy yourself. Spoiler: I was by myself. Muppets 3D was still funny and cute as I remember. Tower of Terror was fantastic as always. I tried the ronto wrap and don't understand what the hype was about. Also I'm team Green Milk at the milk stand.
> Fired up the Play Disney Parks app and spent some time playing with it in Galaxy's Edge hoping to raise my reputation with the First Order. Ended up having higher reputation with the Scoundrels. Guess I'm a smuggler now.
> 
> Magic Kingdom was awesome. Wait times were not bad at all. Rode Buzz 3-4 times. Reached a personal best of 800,000. Yay me! Also rode BTMRR twice, HM, Peter Pan, Philharmagic, Splash. Ate lunch at BOG (blah) and had a late snack at Pecos Bill (tacos!)
> 
> Met a bunch of really nice DVC people while staying at Wilderness Lodge. Talked to several great cast members and lifeguards. All the staff were just fantastic, really. Had a really awesome vacation and I'm sure being by myself had nothing to do with it.
> 
> Despite all the layoffs, I saw a number of "Earning My Ears" ribbons....
> 
> So yeah, ask away! I can also give tips on how to push/pull an ECV into your resort room by yourself with no additional help. I brought a door stop to hold the door open but it was no match for that door.


What time did you get on Rise with boarding group 25?


----------



## scrappinginontario

maryj11 said:


> What time did you get on Rise with boarding group 25?


It can change day to day but today at 11:15, BG 25 was recently called.


----------



## michellej47

nkereina said:


> The queues outside was something I guess I didn't read about or take notice of before our trip, so it was something that we weren't prepared for. I understand the need is there in order to ensure extra long queues for social distancing and to keep people outdoors to limit the amount of time spent waiting indoors. But I definitely agree that some of the queues in the direct sun were brutal. We were there the last week of October, before the time change, so we had virtually no park time at dusk or after dark when there likely would have been reprieve. I imagine the waits in the rain suck too. We saw a few people with umbrellas and lots of people with those personal fans that go around your neck. I think the outdoor wait for Runaway Railway was the worst - we hightailed it from the Skyliner station all the way back there, breaking a sweat in the process, and then had to wait on the pavement in the direct sun for about 45 minutes. Whew.
> 
> Because of the queue situation, DH and I agreed that we will either plan to go back in Jan/Feb or Nov/Dec next year to hopefully encounter cooler temperatures.




I have a pretty bad aversion to being in the sun (meaning I burn badly within minutes, even with sunscreen).  Wondering if we should pack a small umbrella for me to use for outdoor queues?!?!?


----------



## eksmama01

michellej47 said:


> I have a pretty bad aversion to being in the sun (meaning I burn badly within minutes, even with sunscreen).  Wondering if we should pack a small umbrella for me to use for outdoor queues?!?!?


Yes! It can be brutal and lots are outdoors now.


----------



## Lizgistix

maryj11 said:


> What time did you get on Rise with boarding group 25?



It was around noon-ish, I believe.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

robinb said:


> I used a scooter on my last trip. I waited in a separate line and they pulled a cabin offline for me so I could take my time entering. Then, once we were inside and ready, they merged my cabin in with the others. I don’t remember waiting for a special cabin.


Presumably, when you're boarding from that separate loading area, only ECV compatible cabins would be diverted into that spur, so you wouldn't wait for one because all of the cabins there can hold an ECV.

But when boarding from the station without a separate spur (I can't recall which one), we had to wait for a cabin and it always had a Mickey head decal on the window.  Again, I assume that not every cabin has the wheel chocks in them, so they may be identical except for that.  But I can't say for sure because we didn't ride one without an ECV to compare if the space between the seats was wider or not.

If so, the exterior is likely the same and the bench seats are just a few inches shorter on both sides to make a slightly bigger "aisle."


----------



## disney16

eksmama01 said:


> We decided to cut our stay short and leaving a day early.  We were not charged for tonight.  On the flip side, we added a day to our ticket and going to EPCOT before we start home. More pixie dust at the resort shop this morning where we were given a huge discount just because.  So today has been a $900 extra in our pocket day. LOL.
> 
> We had a nice trip.  Not fantastic, not bad, just a pleasant trip.  We rode everything we wanted with little to 30 minute waits, ate at CRT, BOG, CM, etc. And there were openings everywhere else for the most part had we wanted.
> 
> Never waited for buses or monorail.
> 
> CMs were great with exception being the CM at the MK ticket office at the front of the park.
> 
> Mask compliance was generally good with the exceptions being the same folks you deal with in every day life's annoyances  Although I had to be told when leaving a restaurant since I completely forgot.
> 
> If I had a do-over, we would still come, but i would not want to come as a first timer. I've been coming for 45 years so it was ok not to feel the full magic.
> 
> Decorations at MK are beautiful and we love the overlay on the castle.
> 
> Best wishes to everyone planning!



You mentioned that you added a day to your ticket.  How many days was your original park pass?  We rented DVC points back in January 2020 and held off on buying park passes until closer to our December 2020 visit.  We planned for 8-day passes but when ticket sales resumed this summer, max for 2020 is 7-day.  I'm going to try to add the extra day when we get there (assuming there are park reservations available) but concerned that it won't be possible because max tickets are 7-days.  Wondered about your situation.  Safe travels home and thanks for sharing your experience.


----------



## eksmama01

disney16 said:


> You mentioned that you added a day to your ticket.  How many days was your original park pass?  We rented DVC points back in January 2020 and held off on buying park passes until closer to our December 2020 visit.  We planned for 8-day passes but when ticket sales resumed this summer, max for 2020 is 7-day.  I'm going to try to add the extra day when we get there (assuming there are park reservations available) but concerned that it won't be possible because max tickets are 7-days.  Wondered about your situation.  Safe travels home and thanks for sharing your experience.



We went from 5 to 6 so still under the max. She made a point to say when I first walked up she may not be able, but as soon as I said we had 5 day tickets, she said no problem.


----------



## pluto377

Just arrived today. Our flight from ny was 30 minutes early so that was great. No issues with baggage or car rental. We went straight to ds. We ate at trex (checked in 20 minutes early and seated right away.) No line at world of Disney or ghiradelli. Overall ds seemed empty. This was from about 1-4pm. At akl now waiting for my grocery text from Walmart. We’ll go pick up and grab some dinner while we’re out. MK tomorrow!


----------



## Disneymom1126

We arrived at Disney late Sunday night and today was our first park day (had to work Monday for meetings and teach a class). I found this thread so helpful leading up to our trip, so I want to report on our time in hopes of helping others. I apologize for the length...I tend to be a bit overly wordy! We drove from PA, but stopped at a friend's in Virginia overnight to break up the trip a bit. Smooth sailing with the exception of South Carolina when we hit 95 and sat in stopped/slow traffic for about 10 miles (which took about 45 minutes)....once we hit GA and it was 3 lanes we were good again. They really need to expand 95 to at least 3 lanes in SC, but I digress...

Sunday and Monday were pretty uneventful. We were staying at Bay Lake Tower, went straight to the room to check in and then used mobile order for breakfast, lunch and dinner on Monday from Contempo Cafe (I would have loved to go somewhere, but really did have to work all day - anyone who needs to work, Wifi was good enough in the room to run both my daughter's school work and my meetings at the same time). Mask compliance was really good. I only saw someone without a mask once and that was on the bridge between BLT and the Contemporary Resort and they were taking pictures with MK in the background. 

Today (Tuesday) we went to Epcot. We checked out of BLT and left to drive to Epcot at 9:55. When we arrived at the parking booth it was 10:05 and we were about 5 cars back in line (all available lines were about that long). They opened the parking lot and let us through at 10:10 a.m. We were parked, through security, and in line for test track at 10:25 (what a maze to get back there with all the walls up right now!). The ride wasn't running yet, but we continuously walked until we got to the room where you would typically design your car at which point we were stopped until the ride started operating. They started operating the ride at 10:40 and we were off the ride at about 10:50. From there we went to Spaceship Earth (not sure how long the posted wait was, but we waited about 10 minutes). We then headed to Soarin (which turned out to be a good decision because there was a heavy rain while we were in there). Wait was posted as 45 minutes and we waited 30. After that we went to Living with the Land which was posted as 35 minutes, but we waited less than 10 in a continuously moving line. After that we had gotten our room text for AKL and had planned to take an afternoon break, so we left and got lunch while my daughter did some school work at AKL. We had reservations for Teppan Edo (so good!) for 4:30 so we headed back for those. Checked out World Showcase for a bit and then came back to the hotel. We could have ridden anything in future world again as a walk on except for Test Track (30 minute posted) at 6 pm. Frozen was still a posted 60 minutes and the line was back to China when we walked past so we decided not to wait. My daughter was tired and we are doing HS tomorrow early so just taking it easy tonight.

Overall observations from today - there was 100% mask and distancing compliance when we were in line for rides. Outside of that, I really only saw people sitting and eating with masks off - I didn't even see anyone walking and eating/drinking while we were there. We are super cautious because my 75 year old mother lives with us and haven't been anywhere since the initial COVID lock downs and I felt safe/comfortable with everything Disney has put in place. Having said that, I am a pro-mask person and wouldn't come if there weren't mask requirements, but the heat and humidity zapped us more quickly than it usually would without the masks. I also think it's a bit unusually hot/humid for November based on past trips. Thankfully there was a breeze today. 

Tomorrow we are headed to Hollywood Studios - we plan to try for a boarding group at 7 a.m. and still rope drop by driving to the park. Our rope drop plan is to head to MMRR and then to ToT and RNR depending on boarding group info. I'll keep track of how things go and report back tomorrow night.


----------



## Leigh L

yulilin3 said:


> OMG that's cool, the regular Disney Visa meet is usually with Vader or Kylo, I would love K2SO


They came out really good! I was worried when they didn't show up and was so happy when they did. (I was honestly expecting Vader).


----------



## yulilin3

Leigh L said:


> They came out really good! I was worried when they didn't show up and was so happy when they did. (I was honestly expecting Vader).


That's a nice surprise


----------



## Buzz2014

Anyone there now know what refill mug is being sold.. we are going next week and not sure if it’s worth to buy one since we have last years buzz with the neon top and Halloween one..I would like a different one this time around maybe a Christmas one.


----------



## dachsie

Buzz2014 said:


> Anyone there now know what refill mug is being sold.. we are going next week and not sure if it’s worth to buy one since we have last years buzz with the neon top and Halloween one..I would like a different one this time around maybe a Christmas one.


I have seen reports of Christmas ones being available.


----------



## yulilin3

dachsie said:


> I have seen reports of Christmas ones being available.


Maybe it was @rteetz that said they're the same ones from last year?


----------



## rteetz

yulilin3 said:


> Maybe it was @rteetz that said they're the same ones from last year?


They are available. I didn’t get a close look at the design though to notice if they are different.


----------



## tussking

Back @ EPCOT this afternoon and evening. Nice and quiet. One day left on my 4-day pass have reservations for HS tomorrow. Hoping to get a boarding time for RISE at 7 am. Must admit mask compliance is excellent.


----------



## 3darlings

We went to HS today.  We drove hoping to get to RD.  Didn't happen and I don' t think it is possible by driving at the moment.  We got there at 8:45 and they were just beginning to let cars go into the payment lanes.  We were the 2nd car in our lane.  Everyone was kept in their lanes until between 9:05-9:10 when they began letting cars in.  Once through the booth, we had to follow two cop cars going about 10 mph.  Anyway, by the time we parked, it was 9:20.  And the we had a long walk because they started parking cars at the furthest end of the lanes.  So finally we made it in around 9:30.  By that point MMRT was a zoo.  So we headed to RNR and we had the limo to ourselves.  Unfortunately TOT was down which was really a bummer.  It really is a catch-22 when you drive.  We did sign up for the virtual queue at 7 and got group 19.

The masks were pretty difficult in the high humidity (95% at one point).  We went to Universal in August with masks, and they seemed way more difficult on this trip.  Maybe it was the time we spent waiting in long lines outside.  Very good compliance with the masks.  Disney is doing a good handling g COVID.


----------



## dolewhipdreams

Buzz2014 said:


> Anyone there now know what refill mug is being sold.. we are going next week and not sure if it’s worth to buy one since we have last years buzz with the neon top and Halloween one..I would like a different one this time around maybe a Christmas one.


I bought the Christmas one when I was at the Poly a couple weeks ago. I'll try to remember to get a pic when I get home but the cup itself is mostly white and has a scene done in the new Mickey short animation style with Mickey and friends on a sleigh. The lid is red.


----------



## Tormania

yulilin3 said:


> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/epcot/visa-card-character-experience/https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/e...sa-cardmember-star-wars-character-experience/



These aren't actually happening right now are they?  We've done these in the past but with no M&G going on I assumed that these too were down for the moment.


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## dachsie

Tormania said:


> These aren't actually happening right now are they?  We've done these in the past but with no M&G going on I assumed that these too were down for the moment.


You get the picture and they will photoshop the characters in it


----------



## Erzengel

Was there last week.

It was different but I had a blast. 

Stayed at OKW using family's DVC points.

Finally brought our 100 years Magic Light Up pins that came out in 2001 that we got on Ebay.  They still worked in Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World.  Didn't work on anything in Epcot (took it on Spaceship Earth).

Magic Kingdom - Had to do Splash Mountain one more time, before they changed it.  First time I did Jungle Cruise with a Holiday theme.
Epcot - I love the Food and Wine Festival but this felt like more of a shopping day then an attraction day.  Did Soarin, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space and Test Track.  Frozen was done for the entire visit.  Can't wait for them to get Ratatouille and GOTG.   Although, the Flavors of Fire had the best food as well as Hawaii with the Spam hash.
Hollywood Studios - First time at Galaxy's Edge and it showed with my excitement.   Signed up for ROTR and were in Group 16.   Ate at Olga's, did Smuggler's Run, built a lightsaber at Savi's.  Loved every aspect of Galaxy Edge.  Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Train was new for us and we were pleasantly surprised.  I think we did every ride in the park.   We rarely get pictures done professionally at the park, but had the idea to have ours taken in front of the Falcon, but as night fell, realized, I could probably get it taken with a lightsaber and they accommodated.   I can't say that, it's my favorite picture in Disney as we have our wedding pictures there but it's up there.  If this was available years ago, we'd either had to spend more to get pictures taken at HS or have to remove Epcot from our wedding picture locations.
Animal Kingdom -  Has pretty much turned into how many times can we ride Flight of Passage and the answer this time was twice.  Still one of our favorites.

They checked our temperature when we entered, the masks didn't really bother us.  However  with the reduced attendance and shorter hours, you really need to get there at rope drop especially for HS if you want to do everything.


----------



## Disneymom1126

Quick notes on HS so far today:

1. Left AKL at 8:20 and it ended up being too early. We tried to pull on shoulder and put on our 4-ways, but police had everyone keep moving so we ended up having to circle twice before being able to line up. After the second circle we got back to the entrance at about 8:48/8:49 and they were allowing people to line up. We ended up about 5 cars back in our row and I would say there were probably about 40 cars there initially, which quickly grew to many more before theythe opened the lot. Tip for everyone - for whatever reason nobody went up the far left side, but they open all the toll booths at the same time. If the far left is open head that direction and don't question it. They opened all the toll booths at 9:05 and we were parked, through security and in line for MMRR at 9:20. There were a ton of people there at rope drop between the various types of transportation arriving, but it dispersed pretty quickly as people went their separate ways int he park. We were probably a few hundred people back, but had ridden MMRR before 10:00. When we got off, posted wait time was 105 minutes.

From MMRR, we went to TSMM. Posted wait was 15 minutes, but we basically just walked the cue. Our boarding group got called while we were in there but we stayed and rode as we had enough time. When we got off that it was up to a 45 minute wait. After that we headed to rise and got there about 5 minutes before the end of our boarding group (we were in the first group and it got called at 9:40 so we had till 10:40). Then we had lunch at Pizzerizzo which I ordered while in line for Rise. We're now taking a break for my daughter to do some school work and because after we ate lunch all the lines were super long.  We'll head back about 2:00 and I'll let you know how that goes.

Rope drop, even not being at the very front of the lines, put us a good 20 minutes "ahead" of the crowds this morning. It is definitely essential as at lunch posted waits were 45 minutes at the least (Star Tours, Alien Swirling Saucers, Racing Academy) and 70-110 minutes for everything else. Mind you, I realize the reports of waits being actually less than that and I'll report back later on what our actual waits are for these rides when we return to the park!

The only thing we have definitely planned for later is a reservation to make a droid at 6:45 - everything else we're going to play by ear (which is crazy disney speak for me, but also a little liberating lol).


----------



## BK2014

We were at Magic Kingdom this morning.  It was overcast, hot, sticky and a little drizzly.  We drove and got to the toll plaza about 8:05.  About 10 cars back.  Line starting moving about 8:10 or so.  Into MK and straight to Jingle Cruise. They didn't open the ride until right about 9:00am.  On and off by 9:13.  Then Pirates was a walk on.  Then Haunted Mansion was a walk-on.  Went to Gaston's Tavern for a brew and cinnamon roll.  By the time we got done eating it was shortly after 10am and lines for everything appeared to be long.  Haunted Mansion line was now stretching well towards the Liberty Tree Tavern.

After Gaston's, we found some seats outside near the Frontier Trading Post to watch a couple of the Christmas Cavalcades.

Luckily, that is all we had wanted to accomplish this morning, because we were done with the heat and humidity and left about 11:00am.  All lines appeared really long and Main Street was pretty crowded at that point.


----------



## yulilin3

Tormania said:


> These aren't actually happening right now are they?  We've done these in the past but with no M&G going on I assumed that these too were down for the moment.


They're virtual


----------



## francie57

We were there last Tuesday through Sunday and a had a great time.  Mask wearing was great at Epcot, Studios and Animal. At Magic there were a lot of men with their noses out and most could care less when told to pull up their mask.  

We were at Boardwalk for our stay.  We got to Studios on Wednesday at 8:30. There was probably 20 people already there.  We were walked to temp check just about 9. They let us in at 9:10. We went to MMRR and we were on the ride but 9:20. We then were able to do Slinky and a Toy Story before 10. At 7 we got boarding group 24.  We got called at 11:40 for boarding.  We were able to do Rise and still make our 12:45 Brown Derby.

On Thursday we were in line at the buses at 7:30 to go to MK. We got on the bus well before 8 and were at the park by 8:10 and through temp and bags by 8:20. 

On Saturday we were in line for the bus at 6:30 for Animal.  The bus came at 6:40 and we were at AK and at the temp check by 7.  There were literally 4 of us there. We were let in at 7:05 and were the first ones walked on to FOP.  We were able to do Flights twice and Navi River well before the official 8 opening.  

We never felt uncomfortable at any of the parks.  We did ask the people behind us to please stay on their lines on 2 occasions. We actually loved the spaced out lines much better than being shoulder to shoulder.  Wait times were always about half of what the sign said except for the one time we caught a cleaning cycle.  All CMs were very friendly while we were there.  

Will definitely be going back.


----------



## Erica Ladd

francie57 said:


> We were there last Tuesday through Sunday and a had a great time.  Mask wearing was great at Epcot, Studios and Animal. At Magic there were a lot of men with their noses out and most could care less when told to pull up their mask.
> 
> We were at Boardwalk for our stay.  We got to Studios on Wednesday at 8:30. There was probably 20 people already there.  We were walked to temp check just about 9. They let us in at 9:10. We went to MMRR and we were on the ride but 9:20. We then were able to do Slinky and a Toy Story before 10. At 7 we got boarding group 24.  We got called at 11:40 for boarding.  We were able to do Rise and still make our 12:45 Brown Derby.
> 
> On Thursday we were in line at the buses at 7:30 to go to MK. We got on the bus well before 8 and were at the park by 8:10 and through temp and bags by 8:20.
> 
> On Saturday we were in line for the bus at 6:30 for Animal.  The bus came at 6:40 and we were at AK and at the temp check by 7.  There were literally 4 of us there. We were let in at 7:05 and were the first ones walked on to FOP.  We were able to do Flights twice and Navi River well before the official 8 opening.
> 
> We never felt uncomfortable at any of the parks.  We did ask the people behind us to please stay on their lines on 2 occasions. We actually loved the spaced out lines much better than being shoulder to shoulder.  Wait times were always about half of what the sign said except for the one time we caught a cleaning cycle.  All CMs were very friendly while we were there.
> 
> Will definitely be going back.




Did they have separate lines for each park for the buses at BWI? We haven’t been since last year and waiting for buses was always a big jumble of people


----------



## francie57

Basically everyone waiting the day we went to Magic was waiting for that bus.  They have the area marked off with markers that say “please stand here” every 6 feet so every party was on a marker.  There were 2 groups for Animal that loaded onto a bus before we did.  Basically the bus drivers are telling you where to sit since there are 10 areas marked with numbers and they tell you where to sit.  Worked great every time we took a bus.


----------



## yulilin3

Epcot morning/early afternoon. I thought the forecast might keep people away but it's been the most "alive" I've seen Epcot since reopening, although there were crowds at the food booths never waited more than 5  min, FEA and TT queues were long, FEA was going into the gift shop in China


----------



## Disneyhappy

My thoughts after ear visiting MK on Friday and Saturday with adult DS and girlfriend. Stayed at the Poly.We are DVC members and have been visiting WDW multiple times a year for 20 years,
- Get to MK early.  Lines are long. Some were slightly less than posted times but our waits were all between 45 and 60 minutes during the day.
-Stay late. After 7 pm, lines were shorter although SM and BTMR still had posted 40 minute wait times. Peter Pan was 25 minutes and Buzz Lightyear at the end of the night was almost walk on.
-Parks appear more crowded because of social distancing required long outside longs. Also, there are no shows and less inside seating for dining.
- Loved, loved, lovedthe pop up mini parades and castle holiday lights,

Between the lines and masks in the hot weather, we decided we will not be returning until masks are gone and FPs return.


----------



## DL1WDW2

I tried to watch the holiday lights when they first started last night and it didn’t seem to do anything except an occasional shimmer or something The design didnt change and I waited but gave up & left. Does it get better? How long does it last? 
All the decorations on Main Street & Cavalcades made my heart fill with joy. 
I waited over hour for Muppets to decorate windows with light show near Hall of Presidents but Nothing...
So happy I visited for day!


----------



## Aimeedyan

DL1WDW2 said:


> I tried to watch the holiday lights when they first started last night and it didn’t seem to do anything except an occasional shimmer or something The design didnt change and I waited but gave up & left. Does it get better? How long does it last?



There are 4 designs and they change every 15 minutes - so you'd have to stand there an hour to see them all. It does it until park close (or maybe even after?)

I think their intention was to do something that you could see while navigating the park but not draw a big crowd at any one point.


----------



## Lizgistix

francie57 said:


> We did ask the people behind us to please stay on their lines on 2 occasions.



I did a more passive-aggressive approach where I would look back towards them and look down at where they were standing.


----------



## Disneymom1126

Last part of our HS day. We got back to HS at about 2:30 and went straight to Tower of Terror. Posted wait was 70 minutes and we waited just shy of an hour. We did hit a cleaning cycle. From there went to Rock-N-Roller Coaster. Posted wait was 60 minutes and we waited 45...also hit a cleaning cycle there. We saw that the wait for Smugglers Run was the shortest we had seen it all day so headed there next (35 minutes). We waited the full 35 minutes. After that we were in our window for our mobile order at Docking Bay 7 so we went and ate. Had an hour before droid depot and slinky was posted at an hour so we took the chance and got in line. We waited 45 minutes for Slinky. Headed to droid depot at 6:45 and then when we got out park was closed. 

Overall observations - we saw almost 100% mask and distancing compliance again. I didn't feel like HS was overly crowded, just that everybody was in line for the rides with nothing else to do. The areas that weren't being used for ride lines people were super sparse.

Even with our afternoon break we did every ride except for Alien Swirling Saucers and Start Tours. We could have fit Alien Swirling Saucers in right before droid depot - it was a walk on at that time of night. We also could have likely fit Star Tours in at some point during the day if we really wanted to. 

One the one hand, we rode everything. On the other hand it felt like a whole lot of standing in lines to ride a 2-3 minute ride and then do it all again without anything else really in between. I also don't think we could have ridden any of our favorites a second time which was something we often could accomplish with FP+. All in all a good day, we had a good time.


----------



## disney16

Aimeedyan said:


> There are 4 designs and they change every 15 minutes - so you'd have to stand there an hour to see them all. It does it until park close (or maybe even after?)
> 
> I think their intention was to do something that you could see while navigating the park but not draw a big crowd at any one point.



Do the castle projections (and ToT in DHS) start as soon as the sunsets?


----------



## yulilin3

DL1WDW2 said:


> I tried to watch the holiday lights when they first started last night and it didn’t seem to do anything except an occasional shimmer or something The design didnt change and I waited but gave up & left. Does it get better? How long does it last?
> All the decorations on Main Street & Cavalcades made my heart fill with joy.
> I waited over hour for Muppets to decorate windows with light show near Hall of Presidents but Nothing...
> So happy I visited for day!


Just a little bit of patience gets you this,  i loved the reactions to each change

__
		http://instagr.am/p/CHSg5UChZbr/



disney16 said:


> Do the castle projections (and ToT in DHS) start as soon as the sunsets?


On Friday they started around 6:10


----------



## Leigh L

I had to laugh on Sunday. All day with all the distance markers, mask signage, CMs ensuring rules were followed, etc. We get to Muppets, everyone masked up and sitting correctly on our socially distanced dots. The automated announcement then tells us to move forward and fill up all available original  space 

At least with Muppets it sort of fits in...lol.

Edited to change *not original, available


----------



## ColoradoMom12

Lizgistix said:


> I did a more passive-aggressive approach where I would look back towards them and look down at where they were standing.


I think my approach probably qualifies as passive aggressive also, lol. I said to the parents of a family crowding very close to us that we wouldn't mind letting them go ahead of us. I was considering asking them if they were planing on joining us, but my daughter said I shouldn't do that.


----------



## tussking

Spent the entire day in HS. I spoke to many cast members they all claimed it was one of the busiest days since they re-opened. A fun day overall but it was packed. I felt like it was pre-pandemic.


----------



## bennifer

Lizgistix said:


> I did a more passive-aggressive approach where I would look back towards them and look down at where they were standing.



I was the passive aggressive one, too! Also, when a man in AK pulled down his mask to burp very loudly when we were standing in line, I may or may not have said something about it very passive aggressively.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Is Disney still charging parking fees at the resorts?


----------



## TikiTikiFan

We arrive tomorrow, I am so excited! I just have a few more last minute questions that occurred to me when I was packing this morning. Thank you all for the help- this thread has been a godsend, we're Disneyland pros but new to WDW so it was definitely a learning curve getting this all planned in a hurry.

1. Can you mobile order in advance? For example, can I create my mobile orders at 8AM but pick a later afternoon time and claim it then? I would think that would cut down on any QS crazy right? 

2. How early should you call your Uber to arrive at the TTC for Magic Kingdom? We don't feel like walking from one of the nearby hotels so I'm thinking we'll just Uber and go from there. Is the monorail or ferry faster to getting in from that point?


----------



## Naomeri

TikiTikiFan said:


> We arrive tomorrow, I am so excited! I just have a few more last minute questions that occurred to me when I was packing this morning. Thank you all for the help- this thread has been a godsend, we're Disneyland pros but new to WDW so it was definitely a learning curve getting this all planned in a hurry.
> 
> 1. Can you mobile order in advance? For example, can I create my mobile orders at 8AM but pick a later afternoon time and claim it then? I would think that would cut down on any QS crazy right?
> 
> 2. How early should you call your Uber to arrive at the TTC for Magic Kingdom? We don't feel like walking from one of the nearby hotels so I'm thinking we'll just Uber and go from there. Is the monorail or ferry faster to getting in from that point?


Can’t answer #2, but you can definitely do #1.  I did this for Cosmic Ray’s and Rosie’s Cafe and it worked extremely well, less than 5 minutes wait to get my food after I hit the “I’m Here” button


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Is Disney still charging parking fees at the resorts?


Yes


----------



## JFox

bennifer said:


> I was the passive aggressive one, too! Also, when a man in AK pulled down his mask to burp very loudly when we were standing in line, I may or may not have said something about it very passive aggressively.



I honestly don't know if I would be able to hide a reaction verbal or non verbal if I encountered any of these situations.


----------



## francie57

Lizgistix said:


> I did a more passive-aggressive approach where I would look back towards them and look down at where they were standing.


We tried that first but they just ignored us and just kept getting closer to us.  That is when we said something to them. We were very nice and they moved back without a problem.


----------



## JFox

Note to self: pick up extra vomit bag from the airplane and fart spray for park bag.


----------



## pluto377

We’ve spent the last two days at mk. Wednesday was brutal weather. We left akl about 8:10 and we’re in the park just before 9. We did splash first. Maybe a 15 minute wait but it felt really long. Next was btmrr. About a 30 minute wait (posted 45). This was a rough one for my 4yo because it was so much walking and he got annoyed with the start stop. Next we did hm which was about 10 minutes but again a long walk. These lines were really hard on my little guy because even though the time wasn’t that long it was so much more walking than we usually do through the fp lines. We managed to also fit it carpets and pirates before 12:30 lunch at skipper canteen. Pirates was also a rough line and I was glad to get in the ac for lunch. After lunch we did tiki room and CoP. By then ds was over it so we left. Main Street was dead at 3:30. Really nice. Mask compliance was good  

Today our timing in the am was the same. So much rain this morning. My shoes were squishy all day and my feet are a wreck from being wet. We were able to ride everything in fantasyland except sdmt by noon.And also buzz and Pooh twice. Everything was basically walk on. It was great. I was able to move my Pinocchio village mobile order a bit earlier since we were done faster than expected. I was rather disappointed with the fact that we got cold food. I have major anxiety about food poisoning and this set me off. After lunch we did philharmagic which was the longest wait of the day. Probably 15 minutes. I love having space in that preshow room. We left after that and got caught in another downpour in the parking lot.

HS tomorrow. Here’s hoping we get an rotr bg. When we were here in feb I missed out bc I was in the room sick on our hs day.


----------



## Disneymom1126

Spent today at MK. We decided to sleep in and not rope drop and it turned out to be a good decision for us because it rained most of the morning. I will say today was the first day we didn't rope drop and we rode everything we wanted to and could of rode the ones we skipped easily if we had wanted to. Wait times were pretty accurate, for most we waited about 10 minutes less than what was posted. The lines do look crazy long but it really is because of the distancing so don't worry about that. There were a number of things that were basically walk-ons for us....speedway, dumbo, tea cups, barnstormer, haunted mansion. We also hit space mountain at a lucky time and it was a 15 minute wait which was basically just walking the cue. I can't remember a time where I could walk through the HUB at mid day and count so few people around. I never felt like anything was crowded today, but there were times when people could have stayed more distanced and didn't. Mostly when there are no markers people have to be conscious of how close they are getting to others and they don't always do that.

Overall observations for today- compared to HS and EP, there was definitely a different level of compliance (less) at MK with the masks and social distancing. I would still say compliance was at like 95+% but it was more noticeable today. Noses, fully removing mask in line, creeping up on people on the distancing markers, crowding when walking, etc. It was really humid today with the rain. We ate at Pecos Bills for lunch and it was the first time I felt uncomfortable on the trip because though the tables were distanced apart, there was a lot of people and while we had masks off eating, people were walking past table pretty regularly - not really any way to avoid that, but just wanted to share as people are making meal plans. I can't imagine the other QS places are any better because of the number of food options. We had a reservation at Skipper Canteen for dinner and the food was great as was the distancing.


----------



## soniam

ColoradoMom12 said:


> I think my approach probably qualifies as passive aggressive also, lol. I said to the parents of a family crowding very close to us that we wouldn't mind letting them go ahead of us. I was considering asking them if they were planing on joining us, but my daughter said I shouldn't do that.



I actually heard someone ask a woman this in Julyin the 7DMT queue. We thought the woman and her older son were part of the group in front of us, she was so close. It looked suspicious, so we left a spot for her just in case. Someone from the group in front of her asked if she wanted to join their group, because she was practically in the middle of them. She seemed completely oblivious but did back off after that. I may or may not have fake coughed on people who get too close to me


----------



## Akck

soniam said:


> I actually heard someone ask a woman this in Julyin the 7DMT queue. We thought the woman and her older son were part of the group in front of us, she was so close. It looked suspicious, so we left a spot for her just in case. Someone from the group in front of her asked if she wanted to join their group, because she was practically in the middle of them. She seemed completely oblivious but did back off after that. I may or may not have fake coughed on people who get too close to me



Good idea! Next time I may turn around and start coughing, plus reach up like I’m about to take my mask off to continue coughing.


----------



## soniam

Akck said:


> Good idea! Next time I may turn around and start coughing, plus reach up like I’m about to take my mask off to continue coughing.



I have also thought about mentioning that I'm from Texas which has some of the highest rates in the country, but that may be a moot point being in Florida.


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## lorileahb

Staying at Pop - Epcot today.  Lots of rain this morning so we slept in (super hard for this rope dropper!).  Took the skyliner over to the International Gateway about 1:30 p.m. - no line; magical.  Got a late lunch reservation at Beaches & Cream (yum!!!! though, sill have Mickey Pants Sundae as a to do... too full for dessert!).  Walked over to the International Gateway - UK and Canada (first time for the Canada 360 - now one of my favorites!).  Orange wine slushies for the grown ups and on to Future World - pretty much walk on for Soarin', Living on the Land, Nemo, Spaceship Earth and Mission Space - Waited maybe 25 mins for Test Track (line always moving, not bad).  By this time, Frozen wait stayed over 50 mins (even on Touring Plans app) so we skipped it. Kids a little too tired for the trip around the showcase... claimed a bench in China; picked up Italy flatbread and a Germany soft pretzel and some sodas.  Headed back to skyliner - stopped to walk through Mexico (one of my favorite showcase countries) and enjoyed the ambience and walk-on boat ride.  One last pit stop to pick up the Nitrogen Cake Pops with Twix (between Canada and UK) - worth it!  Masks weren't bad as temps stayed low.  Very short wait for skyliner right around close/9 p.m. - maybe 5 mins.  Enjoyed the trip back to Pop.  Headed to MK in the morning - gotta go to sleep... back at the rope dropping thing (probably uber/lyft to Contempo for mobile order and walk over to MK... we shall see).  Hope everyone had a great day.


----------



## pluto377

Waiting to park at hs. Third car in our lane and a cast member just held up a sign that we still have 10 minutes to wait. Left akl at 7:50. Got boarding group 38. Going to be a good day!


----------



## yulilin3

pluto377 said:


> Waiting to park at hs. Third car in our lane and a cast member just held up a sign that we still have 10 minutes to wait. Left akl at 7:50. Got boarding group 38. Going to be a good day!


Have so much fun,  mtfbwy


----------



## dachsie

soniam said:


> I have also thought about mentioning that I'm from Texas which has some of the highest rates in the country, but that may be a moot point being in Florida.


I am tempted to tell them I have worked for the last 10 months in a medical center and have managed to avoid Covid and am finally getting a vacation and I don't want to contract it while I am there.


----------



## figmentfinesse

TikiTikiFan said:


> We arrive tomorrow, I am so excited! I just have a few more last minute questions that occurred to me when I was packing this morning. Thank you all for the help- this thread has been a godsend, we're Disneyland pros but new to WDW so it was definitely a learning curve getting this all planned in a hurry.
> 
> 1. Can you mobile order in advance? For example, can I create my mobile orders at 8AM but pick a later afternoon time and claim it then? I would think that would cut down on any QS crazy right?
> 
> 2. How early should you call your Uber to arrive at the TTC for Magic Kingdom? We don't feel like walking from one of the nearby hotels so I'm thinking we'll just Uber and go from there. Is the monorail or ferry faster to getting in from that point?



I am so happy for you! I've been following your story from over on the DL forum. Have the MOST magical trip


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## Disneymom1126

Animal Kingdom this morning for a 7am open...whew!

we arrived at parking at about 6:35 and it was already open and while we didn’t have to wait at the toll there were a lot of cars in front of us to park - probably about 60 cars or so. We were through temp screen, security, etc. and arrived at the Pandora line right at 7am. It looked like a long line but we only waited maybe 15 minutes and we walked continuously through the cue. The wait was a posted 30 minutes when we got off and my guess is that was pretty accurate. We walked in safari and then Everest twice after that. We could have continued to ride Everest but decided we were going to do some shopping, come back to the room, and then head back to the park this afternoon. There were many, many people coming in as we were leaving which was at about 9:20. Asia and Africa were ghost towns while we were back that way. While initially I was worried that there were a lot more people than I expected at 7, once we got in the park it became clear that wasn’t the case. We could have easily walked on everything between 7 and 9 with the exception of Na’vi and FoP. When we left Na’vi was a 45 min wait and FoP was a 30 minute wait.
If you can swing getting up early enough 7am open is worth it. We are going to have lunch, probably take a little nap, and then head back around 3:00.


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## lovethattink

Disneymom1126 said:


> Animal Kingdom this morning for a 7am open...whew!
> 
> we arrived at parking at about 6:35 and it was already open and while we didn’t have to wait at the toll there were a lot of cars in front of us to park - probably about 60 cars or so. We were through temp screen, security, etc. and arrived at the Pandora line right at 7am. It looked like a long line but we only waited maybe 15 minutes and we walked continuously through the cue. The wait was a posted 30 minutes when we got off and my guess is that was pretty accurate. We walked in safari and then Everest twice after that. We could have continued to ride Everest but decided we were going to do some shopping, come back to the room, and then head back to the park this afternoon. There were many, many people coming in as we were leaving which was at about 9:20. Asia and Africa were ghost towns while we were back that way. While initially I was worried that there were a lot more people than I expected at 7, once we got in the park it became clear that wasn’t the case. We could have easily walked on everything between 7 and 9 with the exception of Na’vi and FoP. When we left Na’vi was a 45 min wait and FoP was a 30 minute wait.
> If you can swing getting up early enough 7am open is worth it. We are going to have lunch, probably take a little nap, and then head back around 3:00.



We’re heading to AK near closing. Haven’t seen Pandora at night in a long time! Wonder how crowds will be then? As an AP, I find that I like the last few hours there parks are open best.


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## WendiDarling

pluto377 said:


> Waiting to park at hs. Third car in our lane and a cast member just held up a sign that we still have 10 minutes to wait. Left akl at 7:50. Got boarding group 38. Going to be a good day!



Have fun!  Any tips on gettng a BG?  from pluto377 or anyone who's done the 7am thing, really.  We'll be there a week from today. I've been "practicing" at 7am.  seems like they are gone sooo fast.  I have 9 in my party - is everyone's name already pre-selected that has a park pass for the day? Or do i have to click on everyone.


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## PirateSnowmen

WendiDarling said:


> Have fun!  Any tips on gettng a BG?  from pluto377 or anyone who's done the 7am thing, really.  We'll be there a week from today. I've been "practicing" at 7am.  seems like they are gone sooo fast.  I have 9 in my party - is everyone's name already pre-selected that has a park pass for the day? Or do i have to click on everyone.



I just returned from my trip. Went to DHS this past Tuesday 11/10. I had never practiced getting a boarding group and had no issues. I just hit "join" right at 7am. There were only 2 of us going and we were both pre-selected. Actually, something glitched and some random person was also selected in my group. Literally no idea who they were, so I de-selected them. Still got boarding group 45, which was called around 12:35pm that day. Good luck!


----------



## francie57

Disneymom1126 said:


> Spent today at MK. We decided to sleep in and not rope drop and it turned out to be a good decision for us because it rained most of the morning. I will say today was the first day we didn't rope drop and we rode everything we wanted to and could of rode the ones we skipped easily if we had wanted to. Wait times were pretty accurate, for most we waited about 10 minutes less than what was posted. The lines do look crazy long but it really is because of the distancing so don't worry about that. There were a number of things that were basically walk-ons for us....speedway, dumbo, tea cups, barnstormer, haunted mansion. We also hit space mountain at a lucky time and it was a 15 minute wait which was basically just walking the cue. I can't remember a time where I could walk through the HUB at mid day and count so few people around. I never felt like anything was crowded today, but there were times when people could have stayed more distanced and didn't. Mostly when there are no markers people have to be conscious of how close they are getting to others and they don't always do that.
> 
> Overall observations for today- compared to HS and EP, there was definitely a different level of compliance (less) at MK with the masks and social distancing. I would still say compliance was at like 95+% but it was more noticeable today. Noses, fully removing mask in line, creeping up on people on the distancing markers, crowding when walking, etc. It was really humid today with the rain. We ate at Pecos Bills for lunch and it was the first time I felt uncomfortable on the trip because though the tables were distanced apart, there was a lot of people and while we had masks off eating, people were walking past table pretty regularly - not really any way to avoid that, but just wanted to share as people are making meal plans. I can't imagine the other QS places are any better because of the number of food options. We had a reservation at Skipper Canteen for dinner and the food was great as was the distancing.


Pinocchio was really good for distance seating.  We got a table outside and the 3 tables around us were not in use.  We also did Pecos and sat outside over toward Pirates and the tables there were nicely spaced out.  Skipper has done a great job with distancing.


----------



## francie57

WendiDarling said:


> Have fun!  Any tips on gettng a BG?  from pluto377 or anyone who's done the 7am thing, really.  We'll be there a week from today. I've been "practicing" at 7am.  seems like they are gone sooo fast.  I have 9 in my party - is everyone's name already pre-selected that has a park pass for the day? Or do i have to click on everyone.


Our names were already in there.  We were there last week and tried to get a boarding group on the second day of the 7 time slot.  We got boarding group 24. From what I have seen think everyone now knows to try at 7 and they go fast. Good luck. I had the app open and as soon as 7 clicked I hit the join button.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

soniam said:


> I may or may not have fake coughed on people who get too close to me


But even "fake" coughing on someone is still spreading your COVID on them.  You should be thrown in jail for that!  And it's unethical to even be at Disney anyway.    



The acceptable solution to people crowding you is to fart pixie dust on them (how's that for a "blast" from the past?).


----------



## dachsie

francie57 said:


> Our names were already in there.  We were there last week and tried to get a boarding group on the second day of the 7 time slot.  We got boarding group 24. From what I have seen think everyone now knows to try at 7 and they go fast. Good luck. I had the app open and as soon as 7 clicked I hit the join button.


So how have the morning crowds been at HS since the 7am virtual queue thing started?  Did it ease the park opening at all?


----------



## PirateSnowmen

dachsie said:


> So how have the morning crowds been at HS since the 7am virtual queue thing started?  Did it ease the park opening at all?



I never experienced HS before the 7am virtual queue, but from what I experienced this past week when we went, I would say it didn't ease crowds by too much. We managed to get towards the front of the crowd entering the park. We went straight to MMRR and were on the ride within 10-15 minutes of entering the park. By the time we got off the ride (9:35am or so), they had closed the line to MMRR because it hit capacity. It also didn't help that Slinky and ToT didn't open unitl closer to 10am that morning.

Again, I hadn't been to HS when they were doing the 10am RotR virtual queue, so I don't really have a frame of refrence. But to us it felt pretty crowded all day long.


----------



## Tgoody

Just got back on Wednesday from a 7 day stay at Bay Lake Tower. Thank you all for the tips and info posted here. It made for an enjoyable trip.
We only had to take an Uber twice. Once to get to HS early for breakfast at Boardwalk Bakery and then another time when a DS bus never showed up after 30mins of waiting to take us to a dining reservation.

We went to the following parks on these days:
11/4 Wednesday Hollywood Studios - missed 2pm boarding group by 3 mins trying to get through bag check.
11/5 Thursday AK - rode FoP twice, both under 45mins actual wait with a 60-70min posted time. Lunch at Yak and Yeti was meh.
11/6 Friday Epcot - Frozen was open a day early after refurbs. Rode everything with minimal waits. After 6pm the park got crowded and the alcohol was flowing.
11/7 Saturday MK - rode SDMT at park open with a 40min actual wait 70min posted. Dinner at California Grill was amazingggggg.
11/8 Sunday HS - uber to BW Bakery. Straight to MMRR 45min wait 105 posted. BG13 was called when we got off MMRR. Rode SDD with 60min wait after RR. Dinner at Hollywood and Vine was great.
11/9 Monday MK - rainy morning did a few things and looked around before going back to room for nap. Came back into park before Be Our Guest dinner and rode SDMT at park close with 20min wait.
11/10 Tuesday DS - Shopped and ate at DS. Fonterina Cocina was a disappointment for dinner. 
11/11 Wednesday Tragical Express pickup at 4:30am was rough.

Overall mask compliance was better than expected. Only heard a cast member have to get on to someone 2-3 times. Few noses hear and there as well as people in line that got too close.

Going back in January will be interested to see how different it is.


----------



## Debbie Jean

dachsie said:


> So how have the morning crowds been at HS since the 7am virtual queue thing started?  Did it ease the park opening at all?


Absolutely! I was here in January and the RotR booking routine was insane. With SW land having newly opened, morning crowds were insane. People got here early and there just weren’t a lot of places to go. Biggest crowd I saw today was MMRR.


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## Hieraxx

Very busy HS today. Mis posted rise issues


----------



## swelch1976

Hi everyone. I joined 13 years ago, but am still "earning my ears". However, this community has been so helpful in helping me plan my recent trip (11/6-11/11), that I wanted to give a report to (maybe) help others. I'll do this in a few posts, but I'll start with some overall thoughts on my trip:

- I was incredibly impressed with how Disney is taking precautions for COVID-19. I would say mask compliance was well above 95%. I witnessed a couple folks being warned that their drinking in line was grounds for being removed from the park. However, the policing of masks never took away from the magic (for me). The hand sanitizing stations were EVERYWHERE - we used them before and after every ride. And I would say that people respected the social distance markers well above 90% of the time... i only had to give "the look" to a few groups behind us.

- I can see why many posters have said that this is not a great time for first-timers - nighttime spectaculars, shows, and character meet-and-greets not operating, and many shops closed certainly takes something away. But, for a Disney World vet (I've been 10 times in the last 12 years), i LOVED it. It was one of my favorite trips I've taken.

- Getting to the parks as EARLY as your mode of transportation allows is the KEY to a great day. We rented a car, and still used Uber/Lyft twice in 4 park days to make sure we were among the first to enter the parks.

- Some of the lines were long - but without FASTPASS+ and with the social distance markers, the lines are constantly moving. Even the handful of 45 minute+ lines we experienced were not unbearable. In fact, the long (distance, not necessarily time) queues allowed me to enjoy some queue / land Disney details that I've never been able to enjoy. CAVEAT - WE WERE FORTUNATE THAT TROPICAL STORM ETA WAS THREATENING CENTRAL FLORIDA AND HELPED LEAD TO LOWER CROWDS ON OUR SUNDAY, MONDAY, AND TUESDAY PARK DAYS. (at the same time, the weather was overcast and breezy, but only had a few downpours).

This trip was just me and my 10-year old DD. My DW and little DS stayed home this trip.

We got in Friday night and went to bed worrying / anxious about whether we'd score BG for ROTR the next morning... Saturday at DHS is next!


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## Disneymom1126

lovethattink said:


> We’re heading to AK near closing. Haven’t seen Pandora at night in a long time! Wonder how crowds will be then? As an AP, I find that I like the last few hours there parks are open best.


I can let you know! We are heading back for a Yak and Yeti reservation at 5 and plan to ride a few things before we leave.


----------



## soniam

Grumpy by Birth said:


> But even "fake" coughing on someone is still spreading your COVID on them.  You should be thrown in jail for that!  And it's unethical to even be at Disney anyway.
> 
> View attachment 538189
> 
> The acceptable solution to people crowding you is to fart pixie dust on them (how's that for a "blast" from the past?).



I had my mask covering my chin Isn’t that enough?


----------



## pluto377

Hieraxx said:


> Very busy HS today. Mis posted rise issues


 
it must really depend on your timing. I didn’t find hs crowded today.

We got bg 38. Was on the app at exactly 7. Had read to just keep tapping join without reading and also to be on data not WiFi. 

We got to the parking lanes at 8:00 and they let us in at 8:10. Parking was easy as was temp check and security. I realized in the temp tent that I had forgotten ds’s mb in the room. So a quick stop and guest services and off to slinky. Not sure how long the slinky wait was but we were off by 8:45. 

Went to mmrr next. Posted was 90, actual 60. So glad they let you keep the stroller for the outside part of the line! And also nice that a cm parked it for me bc my party is just me and ds (4). When we came out the line was significantly shorter.

Circled back to tsm. Posted 40, actual 20. They let you keep the stroller here too but despite 3 cast members standing at the entrance to the parking area no one helped me. So I got out of line and when we got back in the gentleman behind me was rather more rude than was necessary. I get that he thought I was cutting but he could have been nice about it first.

Saucers next, posted 50(!), actual 30. It was close to our bg number now so we headed over there, but the 15 minutes turned into 30. We just killed time until we got called. The relaxation station in swge is nice. Ride was amazing! Ds is pretty much exactly 40 inches and they checked him 3 times. I was so stressed we wouldn’t get on.

Lunch at mama Melrose. Distancing was good. Food was blah. What’s with chocolate gelato not being an option for the kid dessert? Waitress seemed really put out when I said ds wouldn’t eat vanilla.

Headed back toward entrance taking pics and catching two calvacades. Ds wanted to ride the skyliner so we took it to AoA and played on the playground there and took pics with the Cars. Then rode to Epcot and back and finally back to the car.

heading to ak tomorrow and then home in the evening. Will be interesting to see how this 7am open goes. No way we will be there that early.


----------



## JFox

PirateSnowmen said:


> I just returned from my trip. Went to DHS this past Tuesday 11/10. I had never practiced getting a boarding group and had no issues. I just hit "join" right at 7am. There were only 2 of us going and we were both pre-selected. Actually, something glitched and some random person was also selected in my group. Literally no idea who they were, so I de-selected them. Still got boarding group 45, which was called around 12:35pm that day. Good luck!



Is the area/location to join a BG on property only?  We have a MGM PR on our arrival day and will be there mid-day.  Can I join before even leaving home?


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## yulilin3

JFox said:


> Is the area/location to join a BG on property only?  We have a MGM PR on our arrival day and will be there mid-day.  Can I join before even leaving home?


The 7am cam be from whether as lonf as you have a park reservation and can get ro the park within the hour provided once your bg gets called


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## TikiTikiFan

Last night we went to Disney Springs and boy, it was a madhouse. It got worse after 7PM (likely due to the parks closing and it being a Friday) and felt no different than pre-pandemic times. I did have a few people bump right into me (what’s the deal folks lol!) so that doesn’t say much about the physical distancing. Mask compliance was okay, l saw lots of people take them off for photos though in crowded walkways, etc. People in line queues hit or miss with giving you space. 

That being said, I felt that most of the time we had space to weave around people without getting too close. The stores were managed with lines so they never felt too overwhelming besides World of Disney. The line to get in World of Disney moved so fast I wondered if they were just using it to slow down the incoming groups of people- it never stopped moving.

I would avoid evenings if you can, we expected it to be crowded but not that crowded. It didn’t bother us too much because I think we had our ‘crowd band aid’ after months of working from home ripped off in the Denver airport which was a total zoo.

I’m a Disneyland vet and I loved Disney Springs, the World of Disney store is so huge! Big hit for us, we might come back another night. Lots of fun holiday touches everywhere like the themed xmas trees and cms dressed as nutcrackers on stilts, ice skaters, etc. We walked in right when it was doing the snow soap and it made for a fun first impression.


----------



## supergirl04

I don’t know if this is the right place to post but we are going thanksgiving week. I am so nervous about crowds. Especially now that is has been stated and not just speculated that capacity has increased.


----------



## Beachmom0317

Playground is open at SSR


----------



## coolbrook

Just back Thursday from a 4 night trip staying at the Poly.  We did AK, EP, and MKx2. We skipped HS because our CM daughter was blocked out.  Overall it was a lovely, relaxing trip.  We especially liked the boat rides to and from MK from the Poly, spending more time relaxing over meals and talking with our daughter, watching the characters go by, and only averaged 4 attractions a day. The DVC lounge at Epcot and the festival center with the piano player were nice too.


----------



## princess jasmine 76

supergirl04 said:


> I don’t know if this is the right place to post but we are going thanksgiving week. I am so nervous about crowds. Especially now that is has been stated and not just speculated that capacity has increased.



Us too, we leave in 6 days and stay through Thanksgiving weekend


----------



## scrappinginontario

princess jasmine 76 said:


> Us too, we leave in 6 days and stay through Thanksgiving weekend


 If crowds are that concerning, now is the time to take a good look at your comfort level. Parks have already increased capacity.  If this is not comfortable to you then possibly rescheduling your trip until later will give you the breathing space you need.  Thanksgiving is notoriously busy at Disney and within the new guidelines, this year will be no different.  I would ask myself if I will be comfortable if the parks are as busy as they are allowed to be?  You are paying a lot of money if you’re thinking you’ll spend your time overwhelmed and frightened and possibly leaving the parks if you feel they’re too crowded for your comfort level.


----------



## bennifer

supergirl04 said:


> I don’t know if this is the right place to post but we are going thanksgiving week. I am so nervous about crowds. Especially now that is has been stated and not just speculated that capacity has increased.



I was there last week/weekend. I thought I was crazy to go because I’ve spent the last 8 months being very cautious. I made a plan with my friends who I went with that if anyone felt uncomfortable with the crowds in any area, restaurant or queue, we would leave. The only time I felt uneasy was when we were walking towards the hub in MK in the evening. I’m not sure what they were expecting? Fireworks and lightshows are canceled! They were projecting 4 different things on the castle. Once people realized that was all that was happening, most of the crowd dispersed. There are even lines to get into the shops, so it wasn’t wall to wall people. I have no idea what the capacity was when I was at any of the parks, but knowing that we had a backup plan helped me. It actually helped me so much that I’m debating taking my family down the week between Christmas and New Years!


----------



## hakunamoscato91

Has anyone at the parks now or recently noticed if they have Christmas magic bands out? I waited as long as I could for them to show up in the resort magic bands and have been watching shop Disney since. They still have Halloween, NBA bands, everything but Christmas!


----------



## hereforthechurros

hakunamoscato91 said:


> Has anyone at the parks now or recently noticed if they have Christmas magic bands out? I waited as long as I could for them to show up in the resort magic bands and have been watching shop Disney since. They still have Halloween, NBA bands, everything but Christmas!


I was shocked not to see any with the Christmas rollout on shopDisney. Is it normal for them to be this late?


----------



## swelch1976

OK - 1st park day - Saturday, 11/7 - DHS

I'm a bit of a scheduling nerd, so I'll post our wait times for rides and such, if it's helpful for anybody.

So, we got RotR BGs at 7am. We had two devices - an Iphone 12 Pro and an older IPad Air, and used Pop Century Wifi not LTE with Location Services OFF. Got Boarding Group 2!

We decided to take a Lyft to Disney's Boardwalk Resort and had a mobile order at Boardwalk Bakery ready (they did check at the gate). We arrived at 7:20, and started walking to DHS at 7:40.

We were the first guests to arrive at 7:56AM, and were held at the bollards where the bus drop-off meets the Skyliner Station - just past the new Restroom building.

At 8:45AM, they walked us to the temperature check tents and held us there.

At 9:10AM, they started temp checks and we were through security and in the park at 9:12AM (my extra battery pack for my iphone set off the new security scanners and we were pulled aside for an old-fashioned bag check.)

We were in line for MMRR at 9:14AM, which was operating immediately, and waited 4 mins to board. Back out in front at 9:24AM. From there:
- Slinky Dog Dash 9:29 (15 min wait) - 9:46 done
- MF:SR 9:50 (20 min. wait) - 10:18 done
- RotR (they called our BG 2 at 9:30AM for what it's worth) (15 min to preshow) - 10:53 done
- Lunch / explore Galaxy's Edge / Beer at Baseline (30 min line to get a beer BTW) 10:57 - 1:16PM
- RnR Coaster 1:26 PM (50 min. wait) - 2:20 done
- Alien Swirling Saucers 2:42 (17 min. wait) - 3:03 done
- Slinky Dog Dash 3:07 (67  min. wait) - 4:16 done
- TSMania 4:18 (7 min. wait) - 4:35 done
- Dinner in Galaxy's Edge and Beer at Baseline 4:42 - 5:38
- Tower of Terror 5:45 (38 min. wait) - 6:30 done
- MMRR 6:42 (48 min. wait) - 7:36 done
- Oga's Cantina (7:40 reservation)

We made the Skyliner back to Pop Century at 8:20 - and were at Pop Century at 8:30.

A few long lines on what seemed to be a busier day according to TouringPlans historical crowd calendar, but we got so much done! Knocking out four big rides before lunch led to us feeling like we could absorb a few long lines in the afternoon.

MK on Sunday next...


----------



## Disneymom1126

lovethattink said:


> We’re heading to AK near closing. Haven’t seen Pandora at night in a long time! Wonder how crowds will be then? As an AP, I find that I like the last few hours there parks are open best.



sorry for the delay - was tired last night and hit the road to drive home early today. Pandora was busy right up till close. We got in line for Na’vi river at 5:35 with a 65 minute wait and waited 45 minutes. When we got off we had enough time to get in line for FoP which was posted as 75 minutes and based on where the line was I would estimate was 50-60 minute wait.


----------



## hakunamoscato91

hereforthechurros said:


> I was shocked not to see any with the Christmas rollout on shopDisney. Is it normal for them to be this late?



I feel like it isn’t, but I can’t remember when they came out last year. But it’s odd they’d have Halloween magic bands and not Christmas.


----------



## Hieraxx

Has anyone attended an AK early 7am opening today or yesterday ? Interested to know what time the lot opens for cars.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Somebody reported here I believe if you read back over the past few pages.


----------



## Carol_

Beachmom0317 said:


> Playground is open at SSR


YAY!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Carla1183

swelch1976 said:


> We decided to take a Lyft to Disney's Boardwalk Resort and had a mobile order at Boardwalk Bakery ready (they did check at the gate). We arrived at 7:20, and started walking to DHS at 7:40.



Is this a pretty reliable option to be allowed in? We have a reservation at trattoria for 735 for 10a opening at HS but I think wed rather mobile order QS if thats an option!


----------



## Disneymom1126

hakunamoscato91 said:


> Has anyone at the parks now or recently noticed if they have Christmas magic bands out? I waited as long as I could for them to show up in the resort magic bands and have been watching shop Disney since. They still have Halloween, NBA bands, everything but Christmas!



I saw Christmas magic bands out. I saw at a store in the contemporary a d at the emporium. Just look in the areas that have all the Christmas stuff in any of the parks



Hieraxx said:


> Has anyone attended an AK early 7am opening today or yesterday ? Interested to know what time the lot opens for cars.



I posted back a bit on this, but we didn’t try to get there right when they opened. We were at AK at 6:40 and they were already open and I would say we were 100 cars back (didn’t have to wait at all to go through the toll booth, but waited in a line to park). My experience at the other parks was 45 minutes before park open they let people start lining up at toll booth. Exception was HS which was at 8:45 for a 10am open. If you get there no earlier than 6:15 you should be good for AK


----------



## jnncooke

We are staying at Animal Kingdom Kidani for first half of Thanksgiving week. We will have a car. I’m trying to figure out which parks we should drive to, which to Uber to, and which to take the bus. We will be doing rope drop each morning. Any advice??


----------



## swelch1976

Carla1183 said:


> Is this a pretty reliable option to be allowed in? We have a reservation at trattoria for 735 for 10a opening at HS but I think wed rather mobile order QS if thats an option!


It worked for us. We did the same thing at the Contemporary Resort at Contempo Cafe the next day. The person at the gate did a bit of an eye roll, but let us in there too.


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## Buzz2014

Checked into poly for one night, it is absolutely dead.. leisure pool empty day and night.lava pool was nice maybe 10-15 groups of people most of last night. Got capt cooks and only able to step inside with mobile order, I was surprised they didn’t even allow to pick up a small milk for the kids in the am. Glad I was only there for a day / one night. This was my first dvc trip and it took over 24 hrs to hear “ welcome home”. I got the beach club and marketplace was completely different they allowed people in to shop like usual. I understand the rest of the resort is not closed like the poly is.. but the staff was totally different.


----------



## Best Aunt

Buzz2014 said:


> Checked into poly for one night, it is absolutely dead.. leisure pool empty day and night.lava pool was nice maybe 10-15 groups of people most of last night. Got capt cooks and only able to step inside with mobile order, I was surprised they didn’t even allow to pick up a small milk for the kids in the am. Glad I was only there for a day / one night. This was my first dvc trip and it took over 24 hrs to hear “ welcome home”. I got the beach club and marketplace was completely different they allowed people in to shop like usual. I understand the rest of the resort is not closed like the poly is.. but the staff was totally different.



Beach Club Villas is open, but Beach Club regular hotel is still closed.  (Yacht Club is open.)


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## Debbie Jean

Buzz2014 said:


> Checked into poly for one night, it is absolutely dead.. leisure pool empty day and night.lava pool was nice maybe 10-15 groups of people most of last night. Got capt cooks and only able to step inside with mobile order, I was surprised they didn’t even allow to pick up a small milk for the kids in the am. Glad I was only there for a day / one night. This was my first dvc trip and it took over 24 hrs to hear “ welcome home”. I got the beach club and marketplace was completely different they allowed people in to shop like usual. I understand the rest of the resort is not closed like the poly is.. but the staff was totally different.


BC Marketplace is in an actual store, though. Captain Cooks is just a QS so not surprised the two are different.


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## Disneylovingmomof2

Are people taking Ubers to boardwalk because you can’t Uber to HS anymore? Or is it because an Uber won’t drop you off at the park earlier than 10?


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## yulilin3

Disneylovingmomof2 said:


> Are people taking Ubers to boardwalk because you can’t Uber to HS anymore? Or is it because an Uber won’t drop you off at the park earlier than 10?


Uber has to take the same route as regular cars so they have to wait at the toll plaza with everyone else until it opens, people are choosing being dropped off at the epcot resorts or the gas station early and then walking over and waiting


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## swelch1976

Disneylovingmomof2 said:


> Are people taking Ubers to boardwalk because you can’t Uber to HS anymore? Or is it because an Uber won’t drop you off at the park earlier than 10?


You can Uber to HS still, but you will be waiting at the parking toll plaza until they let cars in, which is later than when the “walkers” from the Boardwalk arrive at park entrance. Probably a difference of dozens of families already in front of the arriving cars.


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## swelch1976

jnncooke said:


> We are staying at Animal Kingdom Kidani for first half of Thanksgiving week. We will have a car. I’m trying to figure out which parks we should drive to, which to Uber to, and which to take the bus. We will be doing rope drop each morning. Any advice??


I think you should Uber to Boardwalk/YC/BC for HS, Uber to Contemporary Resort for walk to MK, and I think you can drive or bus to the others. I think buses get you to AK a bit earlier than cars.


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## princess jasmine 76

scrappinginontario said:


> If crowds are that concerning, now is the time to take a good look at your comfort level. Parks have already increased capacity.  If this is not comfortable to you then possibly rescheduling your trip until later will give you the breathing space you need.  Thanksgiving is notoriously busy at Disney and within the new guidelines, this year will be no different.  I would ask myself if I will be comfortable if the parks are as busy as they are allowed to be?  You are paying a lot of money if you’re thinking you’ll spend your time overwhelmed and frightened and possibly leaving the parks if you feel they’re too crowded for your comfort level.



Thanks much for the reply. I appreciate it. We're Thanksgiving week DW vets for more than a decade and have even travelled during Christmas through New Years, so I'm confident of our ability to manage and tour accordingly. But seeing Disney during this Thanksgiving week will be one for the record books for sure and I am curious to see how the parks look at 35% capacity without fast pass during this notoriously busy time!


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## Kimpossible1

Buzz2014 said:


> Checked into poly for one night, it is absolutely dead.. leisure pool empty day and night.lava pool was nice maybe 10-15 groups of people most of last night. Got capt cooks and only able to step inside with mobile order, I was surprised they didn’t even allow to pick up a small milk for the kids in the am. Glad I was only there for a day / one night. This was my first dvc trip and it took over 24 hrs to hear “ welcome home”. I got the beach club and marketplace was completely different they allowed people in to shop like usual. I understand the rest of the resort is not closed like the poly is.. but the staff was totally different.



The "staff"??  
Most of the Cast Members right now are working long hours and 6 days, please be kind to them.  They are upset that many of their friends who were part-time or casual were laid off and they are dealing with new people from other areas.  Their world has changed quite a bit recently and many of the CM's are in roles they never imagined or may not have wanted to be in, so it may take awhile for Disney to get back to normal.


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## stardust190

Just curious for people who have gone down to Disney World - do any of you regret going? If so why? Did you get sick after? Lack of activities in the parks? 

We have a trip scheduled in early December. We have read a lot about the safety of flying and how good Disney is being about COVID in the parks. Still with the increase in cases across the country we are debating canceling our trip. We have been cautious during the pandemic - not gathering with others and wearing masks. We know that going to the parks is risker than what we have been doing. We are fairly comfortable taking the risk as we are healthy and will self isolate upon our return so not to spread to others should we get sick. We are just curious what people who have gone - particularly if you are traveling from out of state - feel about having made the decision to go.


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## LSUfan4444

stardust190 said:


> Just curious for people who have gone down to Disney World - do any of you regret going? If so why? Did you get sick after? Lack of activities in the parks?
> 
> We have a trip scheduled in early December. We have read a lot about the safety of flying and how good Disney is being about COVID in the parks. Still with the increase in cases across the country we are debating canceling our trip. We have been cautious during the pandemic - not gathering with others and wearing masks. We know that going to the parks is risker than what we have been doing. We are fairly comfortable taking the risk as we are healthy and will self isolate upon our return so not to spread to others should we get sick. We are just curious what people who have gone - particularly if you are traveling from out of state - feel about having made the decision to go.


Not one bit. Right now, the "safety measures" being taken at a Disney theme park are more strict than your average grocery store or gas station. There have been no real reports of super spreader events being traced back to WDW but I do understand that this is a virus, it's going to spread and any situation I am in with people who potentially has the virus puts me at risk to get it myself but I have chosen to go before, havent regretted it and leave again on Thursday for a ten day trip.


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## pluto377

jnncooke said:


> We are staying at Animal Kingdom Kidani for first half of Thanksgiving week. We will have a car. I’m trying to figure out which parks we should drive to, which to Uber to, and which to take the bus. We will be doing rope drop each morning. Any advice??



Personally I would drive to all of them.  That's what we did this past few days.  I like to get to parks for rope drop, but I'm not a fanatic if I miss by a few minutes.  We had no issues getting there on time driving this week.




stardust190 said:


> Just curious for people who have gone down to Disney World - do any of you regret going? If so why? Did you get sick after? Lack of activities in the parks?
> 
> We have a trip scheduled in early December. We have read a lot about the safety of flying and how good Disney is being about COVID in the parks. Still with the increase in cases across the country we are debating canceling our trip. We have been cautious during the pandemic - not gathering with others and wearing masks. We know that going to the parks is risker than what we have been doing. We are fairly comfortable taking the risk as we are healthy and will self isolate upon our return so not to spread to others should we get sick. We are just curious what people who have gone - particularly if you are traveling from out of state - feel about having made the decision to go.



I just got back so I can't answer about getting sick yet, but I absolutely do not regret going.  I had an amazing trip and really like some of the new changes.  I thought there was plenty to do and see and I liked being able to go a little slower and see some of the queues that I rarely, if ever, walk through.  My only "complaint" is the lack of food options.  Even that was just a minor inconvenience at times.  We are from NY and flew down.  We've been fairly cautious since March, but my kids are back in school full-time and I'm back at work in the office.  So I felt like, yes, it's a bit of a risk, but it was one I felt comfortable taking.


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## 2xcited2sleep

stardust190 said:


> Just curious for people who have gone down to Disney World - do any of you regret going? If so why? Did you get sick after? Lack of activities in the parks?



I live within driving distance so can't speak to weighing potential risk of air travel.  But, like you, have been extremely cautious at home in "real" life.   Recently spent a week on property (11/2-8) and have no regrets.  Overall, as mentioned above, I felt like Disney is more controlled an environment than the average store. But there will be some in non-compliance - due to innocent forgetfulness, ignorance, or being a jerk.  I was encouraged that Cast Members were enforcing the mask rules (saw it several times) and felt like, in general, I was able to steer clear of such folks.  There were some areas that were bottlenecks and difficult to distance but they were brief.  There were only 3 situations where I was very uncomfortable. Saturday night in EPCOT (specifically World Showcase) was far too crowded for my comfort level. There seemed to be a lot of large groups drinking around the world and it was just hard in general to distance.  Disney Springs I will not be hurrying back to - seemed to me like much lower mask compliance and I didn't see any enforcement.  And Teppan Edo (also EPCOT) with just a small, thin plastic divider between parties at the same table (seating 8) was out of my comfort zone - despite what I'm sure is enhanced ventilation given the cook tops.  Definitely not a lot to do at night but I am an early to bed / early rise kind of person.  Loved the cavalcades and distanced character appearances - the spontaneous nature of these really added some magic.


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## Disney's Fan

stardust190 said:


> Just curious for people who have gone down to Disney World - do any of you regret going? If so why? Did you get sick after? Lack of activities in the parks?
> 
> We have a trip scheduled in early December. We have read a lot about the safety of flying and how good Disney is being about COVID in the parks. Still with the increase in cases across the country we are debating canceling our trip. We have been cautious during the pandemic - not gathering with others and wearing masks. We know that going to the parks is risker than what we have been doing. We are fairly comfortable taking the risk as we are healthy and will self isolate upon our return so not to spread to others should we get sick. We are just curious what people who have gone - particularly if you are traveling from out of state - feel about having made the decision to go.


We went over Halloween weekend flying from Texas. None of us became sick, and we felt like the procedures in place at Disney World were very thorough. We chose Table service meals so we wouldn’t be in crowds at meal times or having to fight for a table. We did quick service at our hotel where we could take it back to our room to eat. On our last day, we did eat a very early lunch at cosmic rays, and felt safe doing that. The amount of hand sanitizing stations around, masks and social distancing all were well done. We are cautious at home but not overly concerned about Covid, so we felt fine going and safer than some places in our large city. (One of our sons chose not to go because he felt uncomfortable going during a pandemic.) The airports were crowded and not as well-managed as Disney World, but I still felt like we could minimize our chances of being exposed by hand washing, masks and social distancing on our part. On the plane, we felt like they did a good job of managing risks as best they could.  I am actually very glad that we were able to go and experience the park during this time. After hearing about our experience, our son who chose not to go in October decided that he would go with us in December. I hope that helps you some!


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## Naomeri

stardust190 said:


> Just curious for people who have gone down to Disney World - do any of you regret going? If so why? Did you get sick after? Lack of activities in the parks?
> 
> We have a trip scheduled in early December. We have read a lot about the safety of flying and how good Disney is being about COVID in the parks. Still with the increase in cases across the country we are debating canceling our trip. We have been cautious during the pandemic - not gathering with others and wearing masks. We know that going to the parks is risker than what we have been doing. We are fairly comfortable taking the risk as we are healthy and will self isolate upon our return so not to spread to others should we get sick. We are just curious what people who have gone - particularly if you are traveling from out of state - feel about having made the decision to go.


I travelled solo from Minneapolis to WDW October 26-30 and I had a wonderful time, even with a little less to do in the parks.  I was able to isolate from my family when I got home, since we live on different floors of the same house, and I work from home.  It’s now been more than 2 weeks and I’m perfectly healthy, and I’d go back in a heartbeat if I had money and PTO.  I felt safer in WDW than I did in my local craft store the other day.


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## soniam

stardust190 said:


> Just curious for people who have gone down to Disney World - do any of you regret going? If so why? Did you get sick after? Lack of activities in the parks?
> 
> We have a trip scheduled in early December. We have read a lot about the safety of flying and how good Disney is being about COVID in the parks. Still with the increase in cases across the country we are debating canceling our trip. We have been cautious during the pandemic - not gathering with others and wearing masks. We know that going to the parks is risker than what we have been doing. We are fairly comfortable taking the risk as we are healthy and will self isolate upon our return so not to spread to others should we get sick. We are just curious what people who have gone - particularly if you are traveling from out of state - feel about having made the decision to go.



We drove from Texas in July and didn't regret the trip. We are going again the end of this week/Thanksgiving week. We have to fly this time, which isn't ideal. We ate in TS restaurants at least once a day in July and were glad due to the break it provided. So, we didn't regret the first trip, and I don't think we will regret this trip. We did not get covid during the first trip, nor have we had it otherwise. We didn't feel stuff was reduced that much, but we aren't big M&G or show people, except night time shows. We drove to the parks on the first trip and will mostly do this again. Both of these trips though are for non-refundable DVC rentals, so that does play into it a bit. I would have probably canceled otherwise. We are all working/schooling from home and don't have contact with high risk individuals. We haven't been eating in restaurants at home and have been doing mostly curbside shopping. We have gotten hair cuts and been to the movies twice. We will self-quarantine for 14 days when we return. It's a tough choice. I definitely had doubts in July, and with cases even worse now and crowds even higher at WDW, I have more concerns about this trip. However, I am currently packing and don't see us cancelling.


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## peteykirch

I just got back from a week down at WDW, and it was a mixed bag, but still enjoyable.

Disney needs to do a better job explaining how the queue markers work, and they need to limit it to 2 people per marker. There weren't enough CMs throughout the lines, one at the beginning and one at the end, with bedlam running wild in between.

Parties of 4+ using the queue markers made things a mess. People were standing in between markers instead of standing on the markers. A group of 4 adults would pretty much take up all the space between 2 markers. We would routinely have to stay 1 marker behind in lines because we aren't going to stand 6 inches behind someone.

The queue for Flight of Passage was a mess because there were 2 parts where the line intersected with a pathway. There was no CM at that intersection so people were jumping in line after everyone else was in the line that went back out of the land to the one bridge you enter the land through. Luckily I was able to find one CM and get a family of 4 kicked out of the line.

We found any ride with a reported time of 15 minutes or less were pretty much walk ons.

The only line that had a pretty accurate time was Flight of Passage we got in line with a 45 minute wait, we ended up waiting 40, it would've been less had people paid attention in line and people didn't stop walking to have an Instagram photoshoot.

I'm still trying to figure out how Pirates was routinely having a 50+ minute wait, meanwhile Peter Pan was 25-30 minutes, hell the Speedway didn't have a wait longer than 15 minutes for the days we spent at MK.

Way too many people eating and drinking while not stationary in the park. Way too many people eating and drinking in the queues. I would understand this if it was 100 degrees with 80% humidity, but last week topped out at like 80 with nice breezes and low to average humidity so you can't blame the weather. 

Honestly I feel bad for the CMs because they are fighting a losing battle. For what they make it's not worth it for them to confront guests who will berate them even though it is the guests who aren't following rules/guidelines. I didn't see a single guest get removed from the park, however I did see one guest have a complete melt down trying to get into Epcot via IG because they had a dining reservation but not a park reservation. We also saw a family of 3 get turned away at TTC for wearing neck gaiters which was a nice sight.

We got 2 boarding groups for Rise on our 2 Studios days BG 3 and 8. I can't complain about the process, it seemed easy enough, we made both reservations from our bed at the Boardwalk.

I really hope don't they bring back Fireworks any time soon, on our last MK night the hub was a petri dish of people on top of each other to view the Projections.

We would go back, but would change up our touring a bit. We would only do 1 Studios day since we have no interest in ToT or Rockin Roller Coaster, so that just leaves Star Tours, Muppets, ***, Midway Mania, Slinky Dog, and Smugglers. We waited 35 minutes for MMRR at the end of our 2nd Studios day, it was alright, but it wasn't something we'd dedicate more than 15 minutes to. It's an absolute joke they got rid of the Great Movie Ride and replace it with MMRR. They easily could've kept GMR and put MMRR at a different location in the park. It's a mockery that they can add new rides to Disneyland without removing something, but at WDW with our blessing of size we have to swap 1 ride for another. Smugglers is decent but honestly I'd rather just ride Star Tours because that ride at least has the potential to be different every time.

I think we only stumbled upon maybe 2 hand sanitizer stations that were empty, but we always had hand sanitizer and wipes on our person so it wasn't something major to worry about.

Overall it was a good trip. If you got to the parks early, left in the midday and came back at night you could get a lot done in a very short time.

I do wish they could figure out park hopping. Would be nice if you could go to Studios in the morning, and then pick say Epcot in the evening if there was an available reservation, then your Studios reservation would become available for someone else.


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## nurseberta

pluto377 said:


> Personally I would drive to all of them.  That's what we did this past few days.  I like to get to parks for rope drop, but I'm not a fanatic if I miss by a few minutes.  We had no issues getting there on time driving this week.
> 
> is there any benefit to rope dropping now that the park is secured with reservations?


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## pluto377

it’s still much less crowded in the morning with shorter lines. But it really depends on your group. If I was solo I would have slept in. My ds is always up early though and gets tired quickly so rope drop was best for us.


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## Debbie Jean

Family groups present a real problem waiting in the queues, keeping to anything resembling the space markers. I had one bunch just having a hoot of a time lost in their own world behind me at dumbo. Honestly, I kept moving as far away as I could and turning around until one idiot actually bumped into me. Grown woman, actually was giggling saying “oops, sorry, I’m used to crowding up in the line”. I was furious, pointed and almost shouted “your line’s back there!”  Have to say she didn’t get near me after that. 

Honestly if little kids can do it, what’s wrong with the adults... all it takes is a little mindfulness and consideration!


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## Bmlors

Quick post for anyone interested in timings at AK with a 7am opening. We got on a bus this morning from Riviera at 6:15am. Quick ride to AK and walked through temp and security at 6:30ish. Park was open so we walked to FOP and literally walked on. Was off the ride by 7:05 and immediately got back in line to ride it again. Line by then was posted at 40 min, but actually was closer to 20. Was off by 8am. Great day when you can ride FOP twice before 8am!

We leisured around our favorites from there as crowds swelled at Pandora. Got coffee, did Everest twice, Safari, Gorilla trail, shopping, 10:30 ‘lunch’ at Sa’tuii and drinks/churros at Nomad lounge (5 min walk-up wait as we put our name in at 11 when it opened). Today was hot for us and we hit everything we wanted, so after a bit more shopping we left for the day. Six hours of park time and back to the Riviera by 1pm.


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## swelch1976

Day 2 at the parks... Sunday, 11/8 at MK

But first... A few details I want to expound upon from my last post:
- at the new security scanners, they tell you to keep umbrellas held out in front of you as you walk through with your other bags, but at MK they told us to also take out all large electronics. My DD had a camera in the backpack, and we thought that was the issue as we kept getting pulled aside for bag inspections, but then realized the third time this happened that it was the battery pack, as I mentioned. On the fourth try we held umbrellas, camera, AND battery pack out and we were through without issue!
- I should mention that it was my DD on the old iPad Air that scored our BG for RotR. We started from the "Check Status" / "My Queues" screen as the clock hit 7:00.

MK is where we started to experience greatly exaggerated wait times. As someone above mentioned, 10mins posted times were essentially walk-ons. And it seemed like the super-headliners were inflated by 20-50%.

We took a Lyft to the Contemporary Resort, and again had a mobile order at Contempo Cafe ready. The person at the security booth asked to scan my magic band, told me that I did not have a Dining Reservation, and then after showing her our mobile order, she reluctantly let us through. We arrived at 7:10, and left the Contemporary at 7:37.

We arrived at the temperature / security tent, which is located a couple-hundred feet past the intersection with World Drive, at 7:42. There were about 7 groups ahead of us.

At 7:56AM, they began to let us through - it took us three minutes (in part because of my battery pack in the backpack...). 

They held us again until 8:01AM right where the security lines from the buses are located. Not sure exactly why. We entered the park at 8:04AM.

- We started at 7DMT 8:10AM (7 min. wait) - 8:20 done
Nothing else in Fantasyland was open until almost 9am, nor Haunted Mansion, nor Splash Mountain. So we went to the only thing we knew was operating - BTMR
- BTMR 8:28 (5 min wait) - 8:38 done
- BTMR 8:38 (8 min wait) - 8:51 done
- Peter Pan 8:58 (5 min. wait) - 9:07 done
- Buzz 9:13 (3 min wait) - 9:21 done
- Winnie the Pooh 9:25 (4 min wait) - 9:33 done
- it's a small world 9:37 (7 min wait) 10 min posted - 10:00 done
- Haunted Mansion 10:04 (9 min wait) 10 min posted - 10:22 done
- Mickey's Philharmagic 10:26 (21 min wait) - 11:00 done
- LUNCH at Pecos Bill along with a couple Cavalcades - 11:07 - 11:52. (Chicken Rice bowls were really good actually!)
- Splash Mountain 11:54 (16 min wait) 35 min posted - 12:26PM done
- Splash Mountain 12:27 (27 min wait) 55 min posted - 1:09 done
- PotC 1:17 (40 min wait) 50 min posted - 2:05 done
- Magic Carpets 2:26 (12 min wait) 10 min posted - 2:41 done
- Jingle Cruise 2:42 (39 min wait) 50 min posted - 3:32 done
- Swiss Family Treehouse 3:34 (no wait) - 3:40 done
- Hall of Pres 3:46 (14 min wait) - 4:25 done
- Dinner and shopping 4:26 - 5:20
- Space Mountain 5:20 (22 min wait) 30 min posted - 5:51 done
- Shopping and cavalcades and castle projection 5:51 - 6:36
- Barnstormer 6:36 (3 min wait) 5 min posted - 6:42 done
- Dumbo 6:43 (2 min wait) 5 min posted - 6:48 done
- Space Mountain 6:55 (13 min wait) 20 min posted - 7:15 done
- Splash Mountain 7:43 (3 min wait) 10 min posted - 8:04 done
- BTMR 8:05 (7 min wait) 10 min posted - 8:18 done
- 7DMT 8:31 (20 min wait) 25 min posted - 8:55 done

Exited the park at 9:07 and walked right on a bus to Pop Century. Back in our room at 9:35. We got an INCREDIBLE amount done on this Sunday. Again, the threat of a tropical storm may have affected attendance, but just a little wind and clouds today.

Next is our Epcot day - the weather was not as good...


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## ColoradoMom12

peteykirch said:


> Disney needs to do a better job explaining how the queue markers work, and they need to limit it to 2 people per marker. There weren't enough CMs throughout the lines, one at the beginning and one at the end, with bedlam running wild in between.


I couldn’t agree more. I feel like they need to have a maximum number that can wait on one line and not allow groups of 6 or 10 or whatever into a queue on one “wait here” line. When we were there last month, we paid careful attention to the size of the group getting into line ahead of us. If it was a large group, we stepped to the side and waited for a smaller party before jumping in line. Only once did we have an experience where we thought we were in line behind a party of three only to discover three more family members joined them later. I left extra space between us because there was no way I wanted to “fill in all of the available space” and stand elbow-to-elbow with this family ahead of us.




swelch1976 said:


> We started at 7DMT 8:10AM (7 min. wait) - 8:20 done
> Nothing else in Fantasyland was open until almost 9am, nor Haunted Mansion, nor Splash Mountain. So we went to the only thing we knew was operating - BTMR


What was the official park opening time on this day??


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## yulilin3

Disney,  universal,  sea world can explain how the markers work until they're blue in the face,  some guests are just oblivious,  we joke that some guests check their brains at home as soon add the check into property.  I have,  so many time,  respectfully reminded people where their marker is,  or if i see a large group in front of me i just leave an extra space between them and myself


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## peteykirch

yulilin3 said:


> Disney,  universal,  sea world can explain how the markers work until they're blue in the face,  some guests are just oblivious,  we joke that some guests check their brains at home as soon add the check into property.  I have,  so many time,  respectfully reminded people where their marker is,  or if i see a large group in front of me i just leave an extra space between them and myself



I understand that and have done it myself, but it shouldn't be up to the guests to police other guests.

Honestly they should've just brought back furloughed CMs to police lines like every 30 feet or so.


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## AndreaA

peteykirch said:


> I understand that and have done it myself, but it shouldn't be up to the guests to police other guests.
> 
> Honestly they should've just brought back furloughed CMs to police lines like every 30 feet or so.



I would assume that it’s up to the person following a larger party to put a space between them.  I wouldn’t expect a party of 6 to stretch out over three spots - they want to be together and talk to each other and that’s fine, as long as there’s enough space after the last of them, I don’t see a problem.  And again, the person responsible for ensuring that there is enough space after the person in front of you is YOU.


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## Debbie Jean

AndreaA said:


> I would assume that it’s up to the person following a larger party to put a space between them.  I wouldn’t expect a party of 6 to stretch out over three spots - they want to be together and talk to each other and that’s fine, as long as there’s enough space after the last of them, I don’t see a problem.  And again, the person responsible for ensuring that there is enough space after the person in front of you is YOU.


 
But that doesn’t work if the group is behind you, something you can’t always know ahead of time  or avoid


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## swelch1976

ColoradoMom12 said:


> I couldn’t agree more. I feel like they need to have a maximum number that can wait on one line and not allow groups of 6 or 10 or whatever into a queue on one “wait here” line. When we were there last month, we paid careful attention to the size of the group getting into line ahead of us. If it was a large group, we stepped to the side and waited for a smaller party before jumping in line. Only once did we have an experience where we thought we were in line behind a party of three only to discover three more family members joined them later. I left extra space between us because there was no way I wanted to “fill in all of the available space” and stand elbow-to-elbow with this family ahead of us.
> 
> 
> 
> What was the official park opening time on this day??


9am. Should have mentioned that.


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## WendiDarling

I appreciate the feedback on large parties.  We are a large party of 9 leaving in 4 days.  So, what do you suggest I mention to the girls?  I'm the mom traveling with my daughters and friends (3 20-year-olds, 2 19-year-olds, a 16, 14, and 12 year old.)  I know they will be "oblivious" and very interested in chatting with each other and taking pictures.  But I want to sit them down and talk to them in advance about what they should/should not do in line.  Please help.  Thank you. Should we try and divide up so we only walk 3x3x3 in queues? So our distancing is spread out a bit and we don't impinge on people around us?


----------



## peteykirch

AndreaA said:


> I would assume that it’s up to the person following a larger party to put a space between them.  I wouldn’t expect a party of 6 to stretch out over three spots - they want to be together and talk to each other and that’s fine, as long as there’s enough space after the last of them, I don’t see a problem.  And again, the person responsible for ensuring that there is enough space after the person in front of you is YOU.



I understand that, but it doesn't work when the party behind you is oblivious to things. We've had our heels run into quite a bit waiting in lines our trip last week. If you get people who over run their marker and then come into your space, and the party ahead of you aren't standing on the proper spots you kind of have nowhere to go.

Fine maybe 2 people per sticker is a bit extreme, but 3 and 3 could work.

Plus you all will get to ride together one you get to the loading part of the ride when the first group says the x number behind me are in my party.

Point is, it's been nearly 4 months since Disney reopened, they should have this down to a tighter operation. 

I will say Animal Kingdom is the one park that they need to go through the queues and reapply social distancing markers. A lot were in pretty bad shape through the queues.


----------



## Elle23

We were at HS today. Mask compliance wasn’t great, probably because it was so hot. As soon as people were outside of the view of CMs the masks came down.

We actually witnessed a man walking by us pull down his mask to sneeze and then pull it back up! And no, he did not cover his mouth! We couldn’t believe it and pray he wasn’t infectious. We could actually see the spray come from his mouth. 

It didn’t seem overly crowded today (We were there for around 4 hours in the afternoon). We rode ToT, which was a posted 40 minute wait (we waited about 35), Toy Story Mania (posted wait 15 minutes but was walk on), and Alien Swirling Saucers (posted 20; we just waited a few minutes).


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## only hope

AndreaA said:


> I would assume that it’s up to the person following a larger party to put a space between them.  I wouldn’t expect a party of 6 to stretch out over three spots - they want to be together and talk to each other and that’s fine, as long as there’s enough space after the last of them, I don’t see a problem.  And again, the person responsible for ensuring that there is enough space after the person in front of you is YOU.





WendiDarling said:


> I appreciate the feedback on large parties.  We are a large party of 9 leaving in 4 days.  So, what do you suggest I mention to the girls?  I'm the mom traveling with my daughters and friends (3 20-year-olds, 2 19-year-olds, a 16, 14, and 12 year old.)  I know they will be "oblivious" and very interested in chatting with each other and taking pictures.  But I want to sit them down and talk to them in advance about what they should/should not do in line.  Please help.  Thank you. Should we try and divide up so we only walk 3x3x3 in queues? So our distancing is spread out a bit and we don't impinge on people around us?




Even if the people behind a large group leave an extra marker to ensure six feet in front, it is still a problem for people who adjacent to the large group diagonally/sideways because of the closeness of the markers. I would break the group up into 3’s to ensure that other parties and you are still distanced sideways/diagonally. When you get to the end, you can regather for rides like Pirates where you all ride together or rearrange into two’s for rides like Haunted Mansion.


----------



## dachsie

WendiDarling said:


> I appreciate the feedback on large parties.  We are a large party of 9 leaving in 4 days.  So, what do you suggest I mention to the girls?  I'm the mom traveling with my daughters and friends (3 20-year-olds, 2 19-year-olds, a 16, 14, and 12 year old.)  I know they will be "oblivious" and very interested in chatting with each other and taking pictures.  But I want to sit them down and talk to them in advance about what they should/should not do in line.  Please help.  Thank you. Should we try and divide up so we only walk 3x3x3 in queues? So our distancing is spread out a bit and we don't impinge on people around us?


if I were you, I would plan to take up two spaces.  Don't go beyond the first or behind the second and just fill in between.  There is no way a group your size can stay near one marker.  If you do that, you will be just fine.  Mistakes happen, so dont sweat it.


----------



## Desiree1972

This thread has been extremely helpful.  I have a couple of lingering questions.
For the first part of our stay we are staying at BLT - what is the best way to get to Epcot from there?  Is the monorail running from TTC to EPCOT - if so, will I have to get off at TTC go down the ramp and then up another one to wait in another line?

And- which restaurants have outdoor seatings?  Feel free to share as many as you'd like as we are visiting all parks and plan on checking out decorations at the resorts.

Thanks!


----------



## soniam

Elle23 said:


> We actually witnessed a man walking by us pull down his mask to sneeze and then pull it back up! And no, he did not cover his mouth! We couldn’t believe it and pray he wasn’t infectious. We could actually see the spray come from his mouth.



Our 14 year old did this. I was mortified. He was actually mortified once he realized what happened. People around us were staring at us like the worst parents in the world. I made sure people could hear me correct him. I think for him it was just a subconscious effort to cover his nose with his hand. He was not infected though; it was allergies.


----------



## marsh0013

I was part of a group of 6, 4 adults and 2 children. I was very conscious of the fact that all of us could not fit on one marker. We were 2 family units, so we mostly split up 2 adults and 2 kids on the first marker and 2 adults on the next marker. My husband and I were the second group of 2 adults.

I had a very unnerving experience in the FOP line. There was another large group behind us, not really sure how many they were. But the woman at the front of this group was literally on top of me, with more right behind her. I asked them to please move back and stay on the next marker, but the woman yelled at me and told me to keep up with my party. I tried explaining that as a party of 6, we took up more space than one marker and to please give me space but she would not let up. I basically shut down at that point and just tried to pretend she wasn’t there. I stopped looking behind me, but their group kept talking loudly about how I needed to keep up with my group. Can’t control other people, and people will be inconsiderate jerks.

I also agree that people don’t realize that when there are switchbacks, even if it looks like more than 6 ft to the next marker, you need to stand where it says because otherwise you’re too close to the next switchback lane spot. But people think they know better.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Desiree1972 said:


> This thread has been extremely helpful.  I have a couple of lingering questions.
> For the first part of our stay we are staying at BLT - what is the best way to get to Epcot from there?  Is the monorail running from TTC to EPCOT - if so, will I have to get off at TTC go down the ramp and then up another one to wait in another line?
> 
> And- which restaurants have outdoor seatings?  Feel free to share as many as you'd like as we are visiting all parks and plan on checking out decorations at the resorts.
> 
> Thanks!


Not sure about restaurants but the Epcot monorail is not running.  I’m sure there will be a bus running from BLT to Epcot.


----------



## swelch1976

Desiree1972 said:


> This thread has been extremely helpful.  I have a couple of lingering questions.
> For the first part of our stay we are staying at BLT - what is the best way to get to Epcot from there?  Is the monorail running from TTC to EPCOT - if so, will I have to get off at TTC go down the ramp and then up another one to wait in another line?
> 
> And- which restaurants have outdoor seatings?  Feel free to share as many as you'd like as we are visiting all parks and plan on checking out decorations at the resorts.
> 
> Thanks!


You won't be able to check out the resorts unless you have a dining reservation there, or have a mobile order at their quick service/food court.  Otherwise, they are not allowing visitors to resorts.


----------



## Future_WorldPhonencian

We just got back from a quick 2 day, 3 night trip. With our 3 little kiddos. We were very impressed with the safety and measures the Disney took. We stayed at SSR and focused mainly on family rides that we could all ride skipping the headliners. Our 3 biggest takeaways.
1. If you are staying at SSR and want to use the busses, stay at the grandstand or the Carousel areas. it is the absolutely ideal situation because they are the first 2 stops. Because the resort is so spread out, there were never more than 3-4 groups waiting at the stop even for the first bus of the day. We loved the distanced buses. Not once were we left off for lack of space, and they came very frequently (we were always the first stop and every bus followed the same pattern) It was so nice not to hear  "If you can see the floor there is room for more"

2. The QS situation at Magic Kingdom is not good. We were able to get a Skipper Canteen Reservation for dinner and I was glad we did. Disney is limiting the number of people who can mobile order in a time period based on the number of tables they can safely make available. MK has always been a madhouse for QS meals and with several places still closed and tables not in use, its even worse. Go back to your hotel for a meal or visit a monorail resort. Get a TS ressie if you can. We had 6-10 Feet of space distance from other groups at all of our sit down meals.

3. Disney Springs is the most Popular Area of the Resort RIght Now. They are now temp screening and funneling all guests in through just a few entrances. We had to take the long way around to walk to Disney Springs from our resort via Congress park not the path that crosses the golf course near the main building (it was blocked off) we nearly missed a dinner reservation but we made it. If you go to the Springs, go early. We got an early dinner reservation around 4:30 and were very comfortable walking around. By 7PM on a Thursday we could see and feel the crowds increasing. Eat lunch or an early dinner and enjoy the ambiance on your way out. We arent big shoppers but there were lines to get in most stores when we left at 7:30.

Overall it was so nice to get away just for a few days. It was the perfect trip for our family right now and we got to focus on new experiences that we didn't usually do because other things weren't available. My advice is enjoy the things that you haven't done rather than gripe about what isn't happening. We got to stroll through a fairly empty MK/ AK at night and take in the lights, music and pop up characters  rather than fighting crowds for parades shows. It was nice! (still miss the old shows and fireworks) and I am sure they will come back one day.


----------



## CarolynFH

Desiree1972 said:


> This thread has been extremely helpful.  I have a couple of lingering questions.
> For the first part of our stay we are staying at BLT - what is the best way to get to Epcot from there?  Is the monorail running from TTC to EPCOT - if so, will I have to get off at TTC go down the ramp and then up another one to wait in another line?
> 
> And- which restaurants have outdoor seatings?  Feel free to share as many as you'd like as we are visiting all parks and plan on checking out decorations at the resorts.
> 
> Thanks!





swelch1976 said:


> You won't be able to check out the resorts unless you have a dining reservation there, or have a mobile order at their quick service/food court.  Otherwise, they are not allowing visitors to resorts.


Visitors arriving via Disney transportation or walking from parks are welcome to visit other resorts. People arriving via private car, and sometimes via rideshare, aren’t always being admitted to the parking areas.


----------



## teach22180

Desiree1972 said:


> This thread has been extremely helpful.  I have a couple of lingering questions.
> 
> And- which restaurants have outdoor seatings?  Feel free to share as many as you'd like as we are visiting all parks and plan on checking out decorations at the resorts.
> 
> Thanks!


At Epcot I ate outdoors at Rose and Crown and Spice Road Table. There are many outdoor patios at Disney Springs. I ate outdoors at Homecomin'. wanted to be outdoors at the other 3 parks, but they didn't have outdoors at TS except for Tony's at MK. I can't eat there.


----------



## yulilin3

peteykirch said:


> I understand that and have done it myself, but it shouldn't be up to the guests to police other guests.
> 
> Honestly they should've just brought back furloughed CMs to police lines like every 30 feet or so.


Completely impractical to bring back cm to police,  i can tell you the people that will abide by the rules will do  it ir without anyone telling them to 
and people who won't will not do it with a cm standing right in front of them telling them what to do
I can guarantee this by personal experience


----------



## ColoradoMom12

For the posters who have had a bad experience with the party behind crowding (and anyone concerned about it), here’s what I did. A family of 6 was behind us. They were crowding so close I sarcastically told my daughter I was just going to invite them to join us. I kept glancing over my shoulder and looking at the line where they should have been and shaking my head. The parents seemed not to be paying much attention to what their kids were doing or maybe they just didn’t care. I was really uncomfortable with the crowding and finally turned around and suggested to the parents that we would switch places with them in line. They declined but were much more contentious of what their kids were doing and asking them to keep behind the line. If they had continued crowding us, I would have stepped to the side when the line moved up and said “please, I would feel more comfortable if your family would go ahead of us.” And then I wouldn’t move until they decided to just go around us. Not sure what I would do if they then argued or refused, lol...I don’t have plan for that and hope I won’t need one! We’ll be back next week.


----------



## soniam

marsh0013 said:


> I was part of a group of 6, 4 adults and 2 children. I was very conscious of the fact that all of us could not fit on one marker. We were 2 family units, so we mostly split up 2 adults and 2 kids on the first marker and 2 adults on the next marker. My husband and I were the second group of 2 adults.
> 
> I had a very unnerving experience in the FOP line. There was another large group behind us, not really sure how many they were. But the woman at the front of this group was literally on top of me, with more right behind her. I asked them to please move back and stay on the next marker, but the woman yelled at me and told me to keep up with my party. I tried explaining that as a party of 6, we took up more space than one marker and to please give me space but she would not let up. I basically shut down at that point and just tried to pretend she wasn’t there. I stopped looking behind me, but their group kept talking loudly about how I needed to keep up with my group. Can’t control other people, and people will be inconsiderate jerks.
> 
> I also agree that people don’t realize that when there are switchbacks, even if it looks like more than 6 ft to the next marker, you need to stand where it says because otherwise you’re too close to the next switchback lane spot. But people think they know better.



That's pretty rude of them. Sorry you had to put up with this nonsense. This is why we can't have nice things, because there are people who aren't nice. It's probably best for large groups to just take up what space they need and let the group behind adjust. Those people probably would have been crowding you anyway


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## Raemama

Anyone have any experience with DAS right now?


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## guynhawaii

swelch1976 said:


> 9am. Should have mentioned that.


Aloha,

For whatever reason(s), the WDW website stated a 8 AM opening with 9 PM closing this Sunday (15 Nov).


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## lorileahb

Back home after a magical trip this week!  Arrived at Pop late on Wednesday.  Had never stayed at Pop (usually Port Orleans Riverside loyal)... rooms were a little small, but clean - nice.  Resort a little big... long walk to our room with all of our luggage.  After that - basic, but nice resort.  Enjoyed the larger-than-life theming throughout the resort.  Hippy Dippy pool was fun for Disney fans... Guess Who, Name that Tune, other fun Disney games.  Mask compliance good at resort - though we enjoyed pool time with them off!  Super long, so not for the faint of heart... LOL

Thursday at Epcot - already posted.

Friday at Magic Kingdom - took an early Lyft to Contemporary (645 am).  Picked up a mobile order to go at Contempo Cafe (chocolate croissant we put in our bag); picked it up right about 7/7:05 a.m.  Walked over to Magic Kingdom... about 5th or 6th in line for temperature checks.  They held us for a few minutes, then over to entrance... we were walking in about the same time the folks from the buses were walking in.  Headed straight to SDMT - walked straight through queue and got on. Over to BTM - walk on, over to Splash Mountain - 5-10 min wait, on to Pirates - walk on, Aladdin Carpets - walk on, Haunted Mansion - walk on, It's a Small World - 10 min (moving the whole time), Teacups - walk on, Tomorrowland Speedway - 10 mins (moving whole time)... then our first real wait... Buzz Lightyear, probably about 20 mins (moving the whole time).  Crowds were significantly more noticeable at this point. Browsed a few of the stores on Main Street on our way to Tony's for lunch.  Ran into the big cavalcade - able to sit right up front on the curb - Mickey & Minnie on Christmas float, Pooh & friends, Mary Poppins, Donald & Daisy, Pluto and more.  I loved being able to see all the characters!  Have seen mixed reviews on Tony's, but we LOVED it.  Lady and the Tramp are some of my favorites - right up there with Pooh, Eeyore and friends.  Ambiance was great - was able to see a few character cavalcades through the windows, and we enjoyed the food (spaghetti & meatballs, Chicken Parm., fried mozzarella, etc.  Headed back to resort for a rest.  Back to MK via bus late afternoon... On the way to knock out Space Mountain, ran into the Santa cavalcade right in front of the castle - pretty perfect!  After a 20-min wait for Space Mountain, on to our much awaited surprise meal for the kids at Cinderella's Royal Table.  It was amazing just to be in the castle, and to see Cinderella.  The food was good - between all of us, we had almost everything.  Surprisingly, the chicken was the favorite main dish - so good (beef tenderloin was also good, but we all agreed chicken was the best)!  And the Jaqs and Gus de-constructed cheesecake the best dessert!  One snafu when they tried to charge me for an additional two people (had already pre-paid for 5 - that's the only way to get the reservation) even though we only had our five people.  The finance lady came out - she wasn't budging at first - and she could only "find" the reservation I had previously for 3, that I had cancelled the previous day when I picked up the reservation for all five of us - I didn't have the cancelation e-mails on my phone, but I did show her the reservation for five I had still active in myDisney app - they ended up not charging for two more people (a lot of money at CRT!!!), but I felt very uneasy that maybe I wouldn't be getting my refund from the reservation I had canceled the day before.  I asked for a direct phone number in case it didn't settle out right (not the wait 2-4 hour dining line number), and she gave me a card with a business office number on it.  I feel bad, because I really try to go with the flow - if you have ever been to CRT, you know how much money we are talking, and that REALLY stressed me out.  I wish I had handled it better - but she was so adamant about how I hadn't paid for the extra two people (and I had the confirmation e-mail on my computer back at the room - AND the cancelation for the other reservation) - I got pretty frustrated.  I sent the husband on with the kids and joined them after the CRT finance lady and I came to a resolution.  So, long story short - if you go to CRT, make sure the billing is correct and you have access to your reservation confirmations/cancelations on your phone.  On to Peter Pan - 15 min wait (always moving), Haunted Mansion - walk on, Swiss Family Treehouse, Dole Whip Break, Ariel - walk on, grabbed Mickey pretzels, Dumbo - walk on, and a 10-min wait for the Carousel at close.  We missed out on the Confectionary... we were going to go on the way out, but there was a line of maybe 10-15 people outside the store and we were pretty tired. Overall - almost a perfect day, except for the CRT snafu (fingers still crossed on this one) and missing the Confectionary.  Bus ride back to Pop, long line - but it went fast, they had bus after bus pull in.

Saturday - resort day.  Mobile ordered Mickey Waffles; ate in our room - ours were good. Went to see Christmas Decorations... Took bus to Magic Kingdom, rode monorail to Grand Floridian and back to Magic Kingdom; boat to Wilderness Lodge - a fairly long wait for this boat (15-20 mins) - mobile order at Roaring Fork (they were short staffed - took forever, but the food was good - plenty of outside tables in the shade to enjoy it) - our favorite Christmas atmosphere.  Boat back to Magic Kingdom (only a short wait, 5-10 mins) and bus back to Pop.  And, finally, POOL!  Perfect weather; enjoyed the games - CMs were upbeat and fun.  Mobile ordered the pizza dinner (pizza/breadsticks/salad for 4) and back to room.  Enjoyed movies, packed and loaded up car.

Sunday - Animal Kingdom and head home.  Early morning - up and out at 545 a.m. - drove to AK since we were headed home straight from the park.  In line at parking lot 6 a.m.  One of first cars - they held us for awhile (until 6:30 a.m.).  Buses and Ubers/Lyfts beat us in (they got dropped off, we had to walk from parking spot) - but didn't matter.  Straight to FOP - walked straight through queue (no stopping), on to Navi River Journey - 10 min wait (very little stopping).  The bridge from Pandora to Africa is closed because it is the FOP line, so we had to backtrack and take Discovery Island then on to Africa... Kil. Safari - 10-15 min line then the Safari.  I opted out due to a bad back... trekked back to Pandora (via Discovery Island again) to get Night Blossom / Pongu Lumpia... carried the treats back to Kil. Safari exit (also picking up a Simba pretzel).  Family joined me ,and we quickly enjoyed the snack at a table.  On to Expedition Everest - saw a drum/music show on a boat on the water on the way (fun!) - EE longest wait of maybe 20-25 mins.  Not too bad; mostly shaded and quite a few fans.  On to Dinosaur - walk on and Triceratops Spin - walk on.  Pretty hot at this point.  Let the girls do a little shopping on Discovery Island - then It's Tough to Be a Bug - 15-20 min wait; not bad - shaded and was able to see all of the amazing animals on The Tree of Life.  Surprised - we really enjoyed the show (had heard mixed reviews).  On to Kali River Rapids- 10-15 min wait.  At this point, was 11:45 a.m. - headed to front of the park to our 12 p.m. Rainforest Cafe reservation - perfect break/rest before the long drive home.  On the way, saw a boat with Timon and Rafiki.  The heat made this day a little more tiring, but overall, a great end to our trip.

Masks were bothersome, but not a deal breaker.  We saw really good compliance throughout the park - and just stayed away from anyone not keeping theirs up.  All of the restaurants we ate at (Beaches and Cream, Tony's, Cinderella Royal Table, Rainforest Cafe) had good table spacing - we felt comfortable and safe - and enjoyed the break in mask wearing as we ate at our tables.

Would we go again? Absolutely!  Missed the shows (especially Festival of the Lion King and fireworks), but we felt safe and were happy with the whole trip.  Never waiting more than 20 mins for a ride (except maybe a few mins more for Exp. Everest/EE), and the only "big" one we missed at the parks we visited (MK, AK, Epcot) was Frozen Ever After.  We also consider the skyline a favorite ride.

Go - enjoy - can't wait to read about your trips!


----------



## Bullseye

only hope said:


> *Even if the people behind a large group leave an extra marker to ensure six feet in front, it is still a problem for people who adjacent to the large group diagonally/sideways because of the closeness of the markers.* I would break the group up into 3’s to ensure that other parties and you are still distanced sideways/diagonally. When you get to the end, you can regather for rides like Pirates where you all ride together or rearrange into two’s for rides like Haunted Mansion.


 I agree, in front and behind was mostly manageable, but sometimes the adjacent line is right next to you. Good idea to split up into three's! Much more personal space in line.


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## dachsie

swelch1976 said:


> You won't be able to check out the resorts unless you have a dining reservation there, or have a mobile order at their quick service/food court.  Otherwise, they are not allowing visitors to resorts.


You can use Disney transportation to visit the resorts


----------



## JFox

Elle23 said:


> We actually witnessed a man walking by us pull down his mask to sneeze and then pull it back up! And no, he did not cover his mouth! We couldn’t believe it and pray he wasn’t infectious. We could actually see the spray come from his mouth.



My allergy to People and germophobe nature have been training me my whole life to keep my distance.  That and the fact that people are gross!


----------



## lorileahb

dachsie said:


> You can use Disney transportation to visit the resorts



That's what we did - bus to Magic Kingdom, then monorail and boats... worked pretty well.


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## ScubaCat

Raemama said:


> Anyone have any experience with DAS right now?


Used it in September. It's the same as it was before the shutdown.


----------



## Desiree1972

CarolynFH said:


> Visitors arriving via Disney transportation or walking from parks are welcome to visit other resorts. People arriving via private car, and sometimes via rideshare, aren’t always being admitted to the parking areas.



excellent - we want to see holiday decorations at night and have a split stay of BLT and BW so that will give us a handful of resorts.
thanks


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## Buzz2014

Kimpossible1 said:


> The "staff"??
> Most of the Cast Members right now are working long hours and 6 days, please be kind to them.  They are upset that many of their friends who were part-time or casual were laid off and they are dealing with new people from other areas.  Their world has changed quite a bit recently and many of the CM's are in roles they never imagined or may not have wanted to be in, so it may take awhile for Disney to get back to normal.



Staff yes sry I meant CMs we have interacted with have been super nice and we briefly talk to the ones that have answered questions etc.. just thought it was weird not to hear the cheery welcome home ( we have always heard in past when renting ) is all I meant by that.

Dropped off my friends today at akl drove to the gate no hello/greeting no words at all..the CM literally took the band from my hand ( I was handing it to him) tapped it super hard on the reader thing they hold and still said absolutely nothing.. then the gate bar opened and we drove in.. it was the strangest interaction to date, we thought perhaps they were in a new role so I get what you were saying.. my friend thought they probably did not speak English but I thought all CMs spoke some English.. anyway it was odd. And although resort is closed the tree is huge in lobby decorated for Christmas, people were in lobby nice to see some normal, pool had same size crowd as poly, my perception of a “dead resort” may have been due to the no lobby factor.


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## peteykirch

yulilin3 said:


> Completely impractical to bring back cm to police,  i can tell you the people that will abide by the rules will do  it ir without anyone telling them to
> and people who won't will not do it with a cm standing right in front of them telling them what to do
> I can guarantee this by personal experience



Then Disney needs to honor their word and legitimately kick out people who fail to follow the guidelines.


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## yulilin3

peteykirch said:


> Then Disney needs to honor their word and legitimately kick out people who fail to follow the guidelines.


And they have been doing that.  It's impossible to have a cm follow a person around all day.  You tell them to put their masks back on,  they do and walk away and then they pull it back down.


----------



## ryanpatricksmom

ScubaCat said:


> Used it in September. It's the same as it was before the shutdown.


It is *sort of*. We are here now and aside from EPCOT where I did see a couple of the guest services umbrellas, it's nearly impossible to find anyone to schedule a return time unless going to the attraction itself.  I was told yesterday in AK that the blue shirts now roam about, but I never saw one.  It definitely is harder on the more mobile member of the party (me in our case).  Zig-zagging across the parks for return times is a lot of running around.


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## Leigh L

Raemama said:


> Anyone have any experience with DAS right now?


Yes, it pretty much works the same as it always has. Just apply (or renew) it when you arrive at the park.
You'll go in through the FP queue most of the time (but a few rides will take you a slightly different route).


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## TikiTikiFan

Quick question: does anyone know if there’s a store in MK that might sell shorts? I made the mistake of wearing jean shorts and I’m over it with the heat.


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## yulilin3

TikiTikiFan said:


> Quick question: does anyone know if there’s a store in MK that might sell shorts? I made the mistake of wearing jean shorts and I’m over it with the heat.


Go to any gift shop and ask,  they can search the merch they have all around property


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## Debbie Jean

TikiTikiFan said:


> Quick question: does anyone know if there’s a store in MK that might sell shorts? I made the mistake of wearing jean shorts and I’m over it with the heat.


Emporium will probably have something... though temps are supposed to drop the next few days.


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## Beachmom0317

Wanted to share that this morning I made an operator error after Topolinos thinking we could ride the skyliner after. We’re staying at Saratoga, so I thought after our 9:30am breakfast at Topolinos we’d ride skyliner real quick than head back to resort. The sky liner from Riviera to CBR was fine but upon arrival I noticed SO many people at the CBR station waiting in line. I was like UH OH. So we continued on to AoA, walked around Lion King structure cause my kids love those than headed back to Riviera. AoA to CBR was fine but when you change lines you have to start at beginning of line so to get to Riviera from CBR the line was 30min in the sun. I wasn’t thinking that people trying to get to Epcot for 11am opening would obvi cause long lines. We made do but def wasn’t the quick ride I envisioned. I have mixed feelings now about staying at a skyline heavy resort and having to depend on it.


----------



## Shellyred8

stardust190 said:


> Just curious for people who have gone down to Disney World - do any of you regret going? If so why? Did you get sick after? Lack of activities in the parks?
> 
> We have a trip scheduled in early December. We have read a lot about the safety of flying and how good Disney is being about COVID in the parks. Still with the increase in cases across the country we are debating canceling our trip. We have been cautious during the pandemic - not gathering with others and wearing masks. We know that going to the parks is risker than what we have been doing. We are fairly comfortable taking the risk as we are healthy and will self isolate upon our return so not to spread to others should we get sick. We are just curious what people who have gone - particularly if you are traveling from out of state - feel about having made the decision to go.


We have been down there twice since re-opening, from MN.  Once in August and once in October.  I'm very glad we went and, in hind-sight, I would not change our plans.  August was HOT, so the masks got annoying after a while.  But we dealt with it.  The weather in October was much better, so the masks weren't as big of an issue.  The biggest challenge in August was the limited food options at the quick serves.  We didn't have any ADR's for the August trip.  For the October trip, we did a couple of table service restaurants and I'm glad we did.  We spaced them out throughout the trip, so just about the time we were getting sick of the quick serves, we would have a nice table service meal.  Also in October, a few more food places were open, so that added a bit more variety.  

We flew out of Terminal 2 in MSP (the small terminal) and it was very easy to social distance there.  It looked like only about half of the gates were going, so if our gate was full we could've easily moved to another gate to wait.  MCO wasn't too bad on the trips back.  Less mask compliance than MSP, but similar situation where there were quite a few empty gates around ours, so we went and sat at a different gate to wait.  We flew Sun Country, and they are not blocking the middle seats.  We had the exit row though, so there was no one between DH and I.  The planes were cleaner than I've ever seen them, but I still wiped down my seat area.  The planes in August were actually quite full.  The planes in October were not nearly as full.  Mask compliance on the planes was very good.

We are planning another trip for early December too.  Again, we got the Exit row and hope for no one between us. 

I felt safer on most of the trip than I do at most shopping places around here.


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

princess jasmine 76 said:


> Us too, we leave in 6 days and stay through Thanksgiving weekend


Us too...maybe a little busier but I am trying to look at it as; it will never be as busy as it normally is pre-pandemic Thanksgiving week...right???


----------



## peteykirch

yulilin3 said:


> And they have been doing that.  It's impossible to have a cm follow a person around all day.  You tell them to put their masks back on,  they do and walk away and then they pull it back down.



I don't know what authority CMs have, but if they tell someone put their mask up, they do walk away and then 5 feet later pull it down. Then they need to either remind them one more time or call security and have them escorted off premises.


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

swelch1976 said:


> You won't be able to check out the resorts unless you have a dining reservation there, or have a mobile order at their quick service/food court.  Otherwise, they are not allowing visitors to resorts.


That is not true unless you are driving or taking an uber to another resort.  If you are taking a monorail, boat or bus you can visit another resort.


----------



## lovethattink

Raemama said:


> Anyone have any experience with DAS right now?



Yes. There are several threads over on the disability board.


----------



## yulilin3

peteykirch said:


> I don't know what authority CMs have, but if they tell someone put their mask up, they do walk away and then 5 feet later pull it down. Then they need to either remind them one more time or call security and have them escorted off premises.


Like i said people have been removed from the parks,  but it's impossible to police everyone, the cm have tasks that that need to perform,  be out in custodial ire attractions or f&b, they can't follow people around


----------



## swelch1976

LeeLee'sMom said:


> That is not true unless you are driving or taking an uber to another resort.  If you are taking a monorail, boat or bus you can visit another resort.


Yes, I was incorrect / narrowly focused on driving. Thanks for the correction.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

We’re at Magic Kingdom today and it’s the first day we’ve felt really uncomfortable. Walkways are packed and seen way worse mask compliance here than other parks. Had one lady practically in my back pocket in line and asked her nicely if she could stay back on her sticker. She did, after retorting ‘if you’re so scared just stay home then.’ If we weren’t at Disney I woulda thrown down (kidding kidding)- I took the high road and just ignored it. Overall, not feeling the magic here quite as much but its prolly just bc the long lines and heat are exhausting. We’re so used to MaxPass at Disneyland and never waiting so think we need to toughen up our spoiled tushes.

We have a second day here so think we’ll try again and be more prepared now that I see the flow of the park with wait times.


----------



## PrincessV

stardust190 said:


> Just curious for people who have gone down to Disney World - do any of you regret going? If so why? Did you get sick after? Lack of activities in the parks?



I'm replying directly to stardust's questions, but this is really for anyone planning a trip and feeling unsure...

I've been back to WDW twice since it reopened, late Aug and late Oct., 3 park days each trip, and I have another 3-day visit coming up in Dec. I have no regrets at all, BUT I also caution the majority of potential visitors to really think it through. I'm in a somewhat high-risk category and live with someone who is very high-risk: I am quite risk averse when it comes to COVID. I don't socialize in person at all, only go out to get groceries, wear a mask 100% of the time when I'm around other people, live in a county with a mask mandate, and maintain at least 6' of distance outside of the few seconds it might take to pass someone on a sidewalk or in a grocery aisle. Just to give a feel for where I'm coming from.

At WDW...
I'm semi-local, so no air travel; there is no way I'd get on a plane.
I'll only visit on weekdays because weekends are too crowded for my comfort.
I didn't and won't use WDW transportation, other than the open-air ferry from TTC to MK: I drove to all parks.
I didn't and won't eat indoors, nor will I eat at the designated outdoor area if I can't be comfortably far enough from others eating. A time or two, I took my food to a bench well away from others to eat.
I didn't and won't do anything indoors where I'll be stationary for a prolonged period - so no shows.
I avoided any stores that were too people-y for my comfort.
I had a personal policy that I'd leave any situation that didn't feel comfortable, and did just that a few times.

And I had a wonderful time! No, I did not get sick. I'm looking forward to going back soon with my son, and we'll follow all of the same rules. I think the important thing for folks thinking about a visit is that you carefully consider 1. your own tolerance for risk - what will you be okay with and what is a no-go?, 2. the realities of what's out of your control - attractions/restaurants closed that are must-dos? can you work around other people not following rules or will that be too distracting? will you be okay doing less and/or having fewer hours in which to do it?, and 3. your personal Rules of Engagement - think ahead about what you will or won't be comfortable doing, and make a plan for how to manage that. Accept long before you arrive that this is not normal times and it will not be a normal WDW experience, no matter what your personal risk tolerance may be.


----------



## ColoradoMom12

peteykirch said:


> Then Disney needs to honor their word and legitimately kick out people who fail to follow the guidelines.


When we were there last month, the family ahead of us on IASW and also LWTL pulled their masks off as soon as they were on the ride. At least on Living with the Land, there’s the plastic-y barrier between rows. I know Disney can see what guests are doing on these rides. Once we were on LWTL with a woman who was running her hands through the sand in the greenhouse...there was an announcement made, and when we got off the ride, a CM was there to greet her. Another time a few years ago, a family allowed their kids to stand up on Dumbo (what?!?!). The ride was stopped immediately, and the family was escorted away, idk if it was out of the park, but they were escorted away from the ride. Obviously Disney knows what people are doing on rides, and I’m kind of surprised they aren’t doing anything about people who remove masks on rides. At least in lines it’s within my control. I can choose to leave extra space, ask the party behind me to go ahead of me, or leave the line if I feel unsafe. Those options don’t exist on a ride. Yes, I am knowingly taking a risk in choosing to visit Disney World. However, I have chosen to take this risk based on information and safety requirements that Disney has presented to me— that mask non-compliance will result in guests being asked to leave the park. I haven’t seen it. Will I still visit next week? Yes. It is just irritating to me that Disney obviously knows what guests are doing on rides and chooses to ignore mask non-compliance. Touching the sand isn’t allowed but removing your mask is?


----------



## jnncooke

Thanks for all the advice! Just to clarify..if I want to take a Uber to Boardwalk, I will need some type of counter service order?


----------



## dachsie

jnncooke said:


> Thanks for all the advice! Just to clarify..if I want to take a Uber to Boardwalk, I will need some type of counter service order?


 Yes or you can uber to the Speedway next to the Boardwalk Inn and not have to worry about ordering


----------



## Donnask8pro

swelch1976 said:


> I think you should Uber to Boardwalk/YC/BC for HS, Uber to Contemporary Resort for walk to MK, and I think you can drive or bus to the others. I think buses get you to AK a bit earlier than cars.


Would you now how much is an Uber approx from Lake Buena vista area? TYSM


----------



## Donnask8pro

dachsie said:


> Yes or you can uber to the Speedway next to the Boardwalk Inn and not have to worry about ordering


Is that the gas station? Thanks


----------



## yulilin3

Donnask8pro said:


> Is that the gas station? Thanks


Yes


----------



## jnncooke

yulilin3 said:


> Yes


Do you know address? I looked and there are several on Disney property. I wasn’t sure Uber driver would know which one if I just said speedway next to boardwalk?


----------



## yulilin3

jnncooke said:


> Do you know address? I looked and there are several on Disney property. I wasn’t sure Uber driver would know which one if I just said speedway next to boardwalk?


300 E Buena vista  dr


----------



## jnncooke

yulilin3 said:


> 300 E Buena vista  dr


You are so helpful! Thank you!!


----------



## swelch1976

Donnask8pro said:


> Would you now how much is an Uber approx from Lake Buena vista area? TYSM


A LYFT at 7:00AM on a Sunday from Pop Century to Contemporary cost $12.33. But I think, like Uber, they adjust pricing based on demand.

LYFT from Saturday to Boardwalk on Saturday morning was $7.85


----------



## lynch34

I’m here currently on a 7 day, 8 night trip at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Day one was HS. We got Rise Boarding Group 11. The underrated aspect of getting a boarding trip is the phone. My wife has an 11 pro and she had never practiced before but it’s so fast - I truly believe that matters a lot.  The move is to stand in line at MMRR later and go onto Slinky and then Smugglers Run. We did that and that allowed for a great day.  We got so much in.

Today was MK.  Wait times are usually overstated 25-30% except for SDMT, which we found accurate.

Mask compliance is legitimately amazing. Even when it was an opportunity to sneak a break away from CMs - I just didn’t see it.


----------



## yulilin3

Just back from DS arrived at 4pm and walked right into WoD, the crowds didn't look bad at all,  i was looking for the gingerbread Mickey pillow for a viewer but they didn't have it,  so started the stream around 4:45, walked the entire DS looking for the trees,  saw the snow roller skaters and toy soldiers on stilts along with a lot of live entertainment all around,  very cool to see it as close to normal as before.  Then went over to WoD at around 6:45 and there was a line,  that moved steadily but it was about a 10 minute line.


----------



## swelch1976

Third Park Day: EPCOT Monday 11/9.

I know weekdays at EPCOT have been light, but I think Tropical Storm ETA affected crowds even more. We did have a few downpours, but largely was threatening skies and wind.

We arrived at the toll plaza at 9:58AM (11:00AM park open), and were told we shouldn't come back before 10:30... . Truth is we were two minutes early... after we circled around, we were back at 10:06, and there were 6-7 cars lined up in all lanes. At 10:13, they let us through the toll plaza, and we were at the temperature screening tent at 10:21. Four minutes later (darn battery pack in the backpack!) we were in the park.

Test Track was not operating at park open because of the impending rain. We went straight to Frozen Ever After, and arrived at 10:36. The ride started at 10:40, and we waited 11 minutes, and were off the ride at 10:58.

We went to Mexico and rode Grand Fiesta Tour without a wait, and then spent the afternoon walking around World Showcase and eating at the festival booths. 

After that:

- SEAS with Nemo and Friend 4:51 (5 min wait) 5 min posted - 5:04 done and then SEAS exhibits
- Spaceship Earth 5:19 (3 min wait) 10 min posted - 5:39 done
- Journey into the Imagination 5:45 (2 min wait) 5 min posted - 5:56 done
- MORE FESTIVAL BOOTHS (La Fin Du Monde from the Canada Popcorn Cart isn't on the online menu, but is still there!)
- Livin' with the Land 6:47 (0 min wait) 10 min posted - 7:06 done
- Soarin' 7:07 (10 min wait) 20 min posted - 7:27 done
- Test Track 7:38 (21 min wait) *65 min posted* - 8:07 done
- Margarita break at La Choza...
- Test Track 8:33 (18 min wait) 35 min posted - 8:59 done

We left the park at 9:11 at drove back to Pop Century - back in the room at 9:31.

Wrapping up the trip with Animal Kingdom next...


----------



## underminer

We just got back from our first trip to WDW in 14 years Nov. 12-15. We are from AZ and usually hit DL once every year or so. These boards have been so helpful that I figure it’s my turn to share some of our experiences in hopes that it may help someone else.  Unfortunately, 10 hours of flight delays cut our time for EPCOT in half but we had full days in the other 3 parks. 
Day 1 MK (Thursday)
We arrived just before park opening via Monorail to a rainy morning at MK. We figured the mine train was already busy so we headed back to BTMRR for 2 quick trips. Unfortunately Splash was down so we hit Pirates (walk on) and JC (20 min).   We walked on HM and then hit SM (15 min). About that time Splash reopened so we trekked through a nice downpour to get even more wet. Lunch at Pecos Bills was a nice yummy break. The rest of the day we hit FL rides and shows which were all enjoyable. 
Biggest surprise: Space Mountain I had always consider inferior to the DL version but we loved it and did it several times. So strange that it was a walk on mostly all day while other E tickets had much bigger lines. 
Biggest Disappointment:  I knew Pirates was shorter but wow...a very “light” version of the one at DL with such a tiny drop. Still love it though
Other thoughts:  Didn’t realize how much I missed such nostalgic classics as Carousel of Progress and Country Bears. I hope they never get rid of them!  MK has so much more to offer as far as rides and shows than the other parks right now that it feels like you get much more bang for the buck!  AK report next!


----------



## ten6mom

yulilin3 said:


> Just back from DS arrived at 4pm and walked right into WoD, the crowds didn't look bad at all,  i was looking for the gingerbread Mickey pillow for a viewer but they didn't have it,  so started the stream around 4:45, walked the entire DS looking for the trees,  saw the snow roller skaters and toy soldiers on stilts along with a lot of live entertainment all around,  very cool to see it as close to normal as before.  Then went over to WoD at around 6:45 and there was a line,  that moved steadily but it was about a 10 minute line.


Uggghh you're making me sad that we probably won't have time for Disney Springs!  I didn't plan at all for it for this, our first ever WDW trip!  

Maybe we will feel up to it  after our first DHS day since the park closes fairly early...  sounds fun and so much bigger than DTD!


----------



## Best Aunt

Donnask8pro said:


> Would you now how much is an Uber approx from Lake Buena vista area? TYSM



You can open the Uber app at home.  Tell it where you want to be picked up, and where you want to be dropped off.  You will be able to see the pricing.  Note that if your phone has location services turned on, the app will assume that you want to be picked up wherever you are, so be sure to tell it the address where you would want to be picked up.

Or go to RideGuru.com


----------



## Donnask8pro

Best Aunt said:


> You can open the Uber app at home.  Tell it where you want to be picked up, and where you want to be dropped off.  You will be able to see the pricing.  Note that if your phone has location services turned on, the app will assume that you want to be picked up wherever you are, so be sure to tell it the address where you would want to be picked up.
> 
> Or go to RideGuru.com


TY! Im not an uber user although I do have the app just in case. Looking now!


----------



## Donnask8pro

swelch1976 said:


> We arrived at the toll plaza at 9:58AM (11:00AM park open), and were told we shouldn't come back before 10:30... . Truth is we were two minutes early... after we circled around, we were back at 10:06, and there were 6-7 cars lined up in all lanes. At 10:13, they let us through the toll plaza, and we were at the temperature screening tent at 10:21. Four minutes later (darn battery pack in the backpack!) we were in the park.


SO you did drive to Epcot? How about MK TTC? We will have a car but game planning on Uber after reading some of the posts. TYIA

Edited: I was able to find MK post about croissants. lol


----------



## swelch1976

Donnask8pro said:


> SO you did drive to Epcot? How about MK TTC? We will have a car but game planning on Uber after reading some of the posts. TYIA


We Uber'd to Contemporary for our MK day because I heard that it just takes too long to get around the lagoon and be one of the first in the park.


----------



## cindianne320

The worst mask compliance I saw was at Carousel of Progress- there were 2 families- one mom/dad/teenager and a couple, and they kept taking their masks off outside, and then as soon as they saw a CM, pulled them up. As soon as we were seated in the theater, they pulled their masks completely off. As far as I know, no one stopped them when we got out...


----------



## disneyseniors

Shellyred8 said:


> We have been down there twice since re-opening, from MN.  Once in August and once in October.  I'm very glad we went and, in hind-sight, I would not change our plans.  August was HOT, so the masks got annoying after a while.  But we dealt with it.  The weather in October was much better, so the masks weren't as big of an issue.  The biggest challenge in August was the limited food options at the quick serves.  We didn't have any ADR's for the August trip.  For the October trip, we did a couple of table service restaurants and I'm glad we did.  We spaced them out throughout the trip, so just about the time we were getting sick of the quick serves, we would have a nice table service meal.  Also in October, a few more food places were open, so that added a bit more variety.
> 
> We flew out of Terminal 2 in MSP (the small terminal) and it was very easy to social distance there.  It looked like only about half of the gates were going, so if our gate was full we could've easily moved to another gate to wait.  MCO wasn't too bad on the trips back.  Less mask compliance than MSP, but similar situation where there were quite a few empty gates around ours, so we went and sat at a different gate to wait.  We flew Sun Country, and they are not blocking the middle seats.  We had the exit row though, so there was no one between DH and I.  The planes were cleaner than I've ever seen them, but I still wiped down my seat area.  The planes in August were actually quite full.  The planes in October were not nearly as full.  Mask compliance on the planes was very good.
> 
> We are planning another trip for early December too.  Again, we got the Exit row and hope for no one between us.
> 
> I felt safer on most of the trip than I do at most shopping places around here.



We are from Mn too, but have not gone back to disney world yet.   Sun Country is offering deals at $39.00.  Is this what you did?  Is this both ways to Florida.  I have see these ads alot and they look too good to be true, so just asking if you knew about this?  We always fly Delta, so I am curious if there really are good deals out there?  Thanks so much


----------



## disneyseniors

yulilin3 said:


> Just back from DS arrived at 4pm and walked right into WoD, the crowds didn't look bad at all,  i was looking for the gingerbread Mickey pillow for a viewer but they didn't have it,  so started the stream around 4:45, walked the entire DS looking for the trees,  saw the snow roller skaters and toy soldiers on stilts along with a lot of live entertainment all around,  very cool to see it as close to normal as before.  Then went over to WoD at around 6:45 and there was a line,  that moved steadily but it was about a 10 minute line.



Oh Yulilin3, you truely are living the life!!!!  I envy you being able to go to WDW alot, and love your reports/videos.  I live in N. Minnesota, so we have the exact opposite of your weather, LOL.  
What we do have???   Kids and Grandkids, so I can only dream the disney dream.


----------



## Naomeri

disneyseniors said:


> We are from Mn too, but have not gone back to disney world yet.   Sun Country is offering deals at $39.00.  Is this what you did?  Is this both ways to Florida.  I have see these ads alot and they look too good to be true, so just asking if you knew about this?  We always fly Delta, so I am curious if there really are good deals out there?  Thanks so much


Not the OP, but I flew Sun Country Oct 26 and 30 to WDW and the deals are real, except that the $39 each way doesn’t factor in the cost of baggage ($30 for a checked bag each way, or $30 for an overhead carry-on each way) plus the cost of choosing your seat ahead of time ($8-15 each way).  All things combined made my flight cost about $150 round-trip from MSP to MCO, which is still cheaper than Delta, but It would’ve been nice to have known ahead of time exactly how much the extras are.  I believe SouthWest now has at least 1 direct flight from MSP to MCO per day, so you might check their prices to see if the total costs would be any better.


----------



## yulilin3

disneyseniors said:


> Oh Yulilin3, you truely are living the life!!!!  I envy you being able to go to WDW alot, and love your reports/videos.  I live in N. Minnesota, so we have the exact opposite of your weather, LOL.
> What we do have???   Kids and Grandkids, so I can only dream the disney dream.


I feel truly blessed,  and it brings me joy to be able to share it with everyone watching


----------



## ECUDrummer

Just put a deposit down on a trip from 2/28-3/6 as a christmas surprise.  I know all about the reservation system for park entry but does anyone know if the park traffic calendars like those on Undercover Tourist are accurate during the COVID era?  I know we'll want to spend 3 days in MK and 2 in HS, just not sure which days we should be in each park (or if I'm even posting in the correct thread).


----------



## swelch1976

ECUDrummer said:


> Just put a deposit down on a trip from 2/28-3/6 as a christmas surprise.  I know all about the reservation system for park entry but does anyone know if the park traffic calendars like those on Undercover Tourist are accurate during the COVID era?  I know we'll want to spend 3 days in MK and 2 in HS, just not sure which days we should be in each park (or if I'm even posting in the correct thread).


I like touringplans.com, but I'm not sure how accurate their park crowd levels are in this pandemic. Another site (can't ever remember which ones we can reference) says - and i think correctly - that if you are going to a park on a Saturday, you might as well choose Hollywood Studios... because it's very crowded every day, and Saturday isn;t much different. Epcot is a park I would recommend on a weekday. The weekend seems to bring out more of the drink-around-the-world crowd.


----------



## Beachmom0317

Went to MK today. From 8:30-2 we did:  Peter Pan twice, Tea Cups twice, Carousel, Winnie the Pooh, Tomorrowland speedway, seven dwarfs mine train, Aladdin twice, country bear jamboree, Swiss family tree house and Ariel. I honestly didn’t feel like we were rushing around either. MK is def not like before except crowd wise- except when you are at rapunzle bathrooms- that area is a hot mess lol just wanted to share my experience today! I was nervous cause I had heard of people with long lines. Longest line was SDMT at Iike 10am which was 45 minutes (was posted 55). It was at 75 at 9am so we waited for it to go down. I miss the character M&G and the big festival of fantasy parade, and castle welcome show. The cavalcades are cute though and we come every year so we’re regulars


----------



## ECUDrummer

swelch1976 said:


> I like touringplans.com, but I'm not sure how accurate their park crowd levels are in this pandemic. Another site (can't ever remember which ones we can reference) says - and i think correctly - that if you are going to a park on a Saturday, you might as well choose Hollywood Studios... because it's very crowded every day, and Saturday isn;t much different. Epcot is a park I would recommend on a weekday. The weekend seems to bring out more of the drink-around-the-world crowd.


Great, thanks!


----------



## stephanie3430

If you are able to ride MMRR early before official park opening, do you know if Rock n Roller coaster and Tower of Terror often open early too?  Or is Slinky a safer option before 10am?  I wasn’t sure if there was a way to see on the app...thank you!


----------



## GBRforWDW

stephanie3430 said:


> If you are able to ride MMRR early before official park opening, do you know if Rock n Roller coaster and Tower of Terror often open early too?  Or is Slinky a safer option before 10am?  I wasn’t sure if there was a way to see on the app...thank you!


The app doesn't display wait times until official park opening.  All rides vary each day with when they actually start running, but unless you're one of the very first to ride MMRR in the morning and they start it fairly quickly after you get there, Slinky dog will probably be pretty long.  I'm not sure if RnR or ToT open early, but they'd probably be better choices if you're looking for the shortest line after MMRR.


----------



## scrappinginontario

yulilin3 said:


> I feel truly blessed,  and it brings me joy to be able to share it with everyone watching


And we greatly appreciate what you share of your times in the parks and expertise here!!


----------



## stephanie3430

Thank you!


----------



## Spencer Wright

ColoradoMom12 said:


> When we were there last month, the family ahead of us on IASW and also LWTL pulled their masks off as soon as they were on the ride. At least on Living with the Land, there’s the plastic-y barrier between rows. I know Disney can see what guests are doing on these rides. Once we were on LWTL with a woman who was running her hands through the sand in the greenhouse...there was an announcement made, and when we got off the ride, a CM was there to greet her. Another time a few years ago, a family allowed their kids to stand up on Dumbo (what?!?!). The ride was stopped immediately, and the family was escorted away, idk if it was out of the park, but they were escorted away from the ride. Obviously Disney knows what people are doing on rides, and I’m kind of surprised they aren’t doing anything about people who remove masks on rides. At least in lines it’s within my control. I can choose to leave extra space, ask the party behind me to go ahead of me, or leave the line if I feel unsafe. Those options don’t exist on a ride. Yes, I am knowingly taking a risk in choosing to visit Disney World. However, I have chosen to take this risk based on information and safety requirements that Disney has presented to me— that mask non-compliance will result in guests being asked to leave the park. I haven’t seen it. Will I still visit next week? Yes. It is just irritating to me that Disney obviously knows what guests are doing on rides and chooses to ignore mask non-compliance. Touching the sand isn’t allowed but removing your mask is?



I have seen them enforce mask wearing on some attractions.  During FOP an announcement had to be made. And on Land a CM working in the greenhouse said something to a guest.

I think as more people go, enforcement will become increasingly difficult.

haha standing on Dumbo


----------



## Spencer Wright

marsh0013 said:


> I was part of a group of 6, 4 adults and 2 children. I was very conscious of the fact that all of us could not fit on one marker. We were 2 family units, so we mostly split up 2 adults and 2 kids on the first marker and 2 adults on the next marker. My husband and I were the second group of 2 adults.
> 
> I had a very unnerving experience in the FOP line. There was another large group behind us, not really sure how many they were. But the woman at the front of this group was literally on top of me, with more right behind her. I asked them to please move back and stay on the next marker, but the woman yelled at me and told me to keep up with my party. I tried explaining that as a party of 6, we took up more space than one marker and to please give me space but she would not let up. I basically shut down at that point and just tried to pretend she wasn’t there. I stopped looking behind me, but their group kept talking loudly about how I needed to keep up with my group. Can’t control other people, and people will be inconsiderate jerks.
> 
> I also agree that people don’t realize that when there are switchbacks, even if it looks like more than 6 ft to the next marker, you need to stand where it says because otherwise you’re too close to the next switchback lane spot. But people think they know better.



To piggyback off of your post... while I think WDW has done an excellent job communicating rules, they need to communicate the fact that each marker is only meant for four people much much better.

It creates a lot of confusion and makes it difficult to social distance as large groups cannot fit on one marker.

hopefully they will make this much more well known than they have.


----------



## Dshelly2004

Was at DW Nov. 5-11 and we had a great time.  I felt pretty safe with all that Disney was doing.  All the closed shops, restaurants and attractions/events made it feel kinda weird.  Finding a place to eat was difficult for someone who likes to not over plan that aspect.  I think wait lines were longer cuz people didn't have other things to pull them away.  I missed the things that I could just chill out at and rest.

We did the memory maker and overall it was a good deal, but we had to work hard at times to find photographers.  And many that we found weren't over excited from what I could see.  

We absolutely loved the skyliner.  Staying at AoA and BCV we really got to experience it.  We didn't rely on it for rope drop so it was pretty much walk on.  The night views are incredible and a way to see the parks in a whole new light.  I definitely feel like this is now a step above the beloved monorail.  

I do think the crowds were down but for many of the attractions the waits were up.  I think the long lines for some of the attractions like FOP were hard for people to understand.  Many didn't get that it was queing closer to Africa and this was terrible at night.  Not enough cast members at key points to help lines move and not let people cut in line.  

Overall good trip to Disney World but it will go down as the most unusual.  I look forward to it returning to the no mask everything open time again.  I guess our next trip will be in a couple years...


----------



## PirateSnowmen

stephanie3430 said:


> If you are able to ride MMRR early before official park opening, do you know if Rock n Roller coaster and Tower of Terror often open early too?  Or is Slinky a safer option before 10am?  I wasn’t sure if there was a way to see on the app...thank you!



The app doesn't display wait times until the park is officially open. There's no guarantee which rides will be open early. I was there last Tuesday and Slinky & ToT didn't open until after 10am. Everything else was open. It just depends on how quickly the CM's can get the rides up & running.


----------



## yulilin3

Ak was pretty empty this evening,  arrived at 3pm, saw all the cavalcades and walked on safari.
2020 merch is now 70% off


----------



## underminer

Day 2:  Animal Kingdom Friday 11/13

This was our unanimous favorite day and favorite park of the trip. Having a 7am start was great and allowed us to knock out the Pandora rides quickly. Flight Passage was just as amazing as we had heard and I was pleasantly surprised by Navi river journey as well. We then headed to Everest and quickly noticed that there was hardly anyone in that side of the park. It was bizarre but amazing riding our favorite coaster as many times as we wanted.  After 3-4 times (7 for the day) we decided to check out some other stuff. Dinosaur, Kali River and Safaris were all walk-ons. This was what we hoped for when we planned this trip in August. It did get progressively busier through the day but other than FoP, most of the attractions were short waits. Had a great lunch at Yak and Yeti and then hit animal trails and repeated rides the rest of the day. Such a beautiful park!!
Biggest surprise:  I had heard a lot of negative about Navi river and if I had to wait 60 min or more I might feel differently but to me it was just like the imagineers created a beautiful painting that we got to ride through and appreciate their talents. 
Biggest disappointment: I get what they were trying to do with Dinoland but it is a smudge on an otherwise perfect park. It looks cheap and feels so out of place. Dinosaur ride is just a poor copy of Indy in DL. It’s too dark and half the dinos don’t move. They can find a better theme for a little kid area and make it more cohesive to the rest of the park. Heck, just change Dino to Indy and it would be much better. 
Other thoughts: It may not be as exciting, but the Safari and walking trails are the real heart of this park and so well themed and cool. 
Next:  Hollywood studios!


----------



## Spencer Wright

underminer said:


> Day 2:  Animal Kingdom Friday 11/13
> 
> This was our unanimous favorite day and favorite park of the trip. Having a 7am start was great and allowed us to knock out the Pandora rides quickly. Flight Passage was just as amazing as we had heard and I was pleasantly surprised by Navi river journey as well. We then headed to Everest and quickly noticed that there was hardly anyone in that side of the park. It was bizarre but amazing riding our favorite coaster as many times as we wanted.  After 3-4 times (7 for the day) we decided to check out some other stuff. Dinosaur, Kali River and Safaris were all walk-ons. This was what we hoped for when we planned this trip in August. It did get progressively busier through the day but other than FoP, most of the attractions were short waits. Had a great lunch at Yak and Yeti and then hit animal trails and repeated rides the rest of the day. Such a beautiful park!!
> Biggest surprise:  I had heard a lot of negative about Navi river and if I had to wait 60 min or more I might feel differently but to me it was just like the imagineers created a beautiful painting that we got to ride through and appreciate their talents.
> Biggest disappointment: I get what they were trying to do with Dinoland but it is a smudge on an otherwise perfect park. It looks cheap and feels so out of place. Dinosaur ride is just a poor copy of Indy in DL. It’s too dark and half the dinos don’t move. They can find a better theme for a little kid area and make it more cohesive to the rest of the park. Heck, just change Dino to Indy and it would be much better.
> Other thoughts: It may not be as exciting, but the Safari and walking trails are the real heart of this park and so well themed and cool.
> Next:  Hollywood studios!



I am so glad you enjoyed Navi! It is one of my favorites!


----------



## ktate82

yulilin3 said:


> Just back from DS arrived at 4pm and walked right into WoD, the crowds didn't look bad at all,  i was looking for the gingerbread Mickey pillow for a viewer but they didn't have it,  so started the stream around 4:45, walked the entire DS looking for the trees,  saw the snow roller skaters and toy soldiers on stilts along with a lot of live entertainment all around,  very cool to see it as close to normal as before.  Then went over to WoD at around 6:45 and there was a line,  that moved steadily but it was about a 10 minute line.



What time do they start the DS tree walkthrough and such?  We had planned to go early afternoon and skip evening crowds, but I wan to make sure we see the festivities.


----------



## yulilin3

ktate82 said:


> What time do they start the DS tree walkthrough and such?  We had planned to go early afternoon and skip evening crowds, but I wan to make sure we see the festivities.


The tree trail is not a trail this year,  they scattered the trees all around DS. You can pick up a map at some stores but i just walked and came up on them.  Obviously to see them lit you have to go in the evening, not sure if it's snoaps all day either,  but it was sniaping at west side and town center around 6:30


----------



## scrappinginontario

If you have kiddos there are stickers with the maps that they can add.  It helps  to keep it interesting for them and there is a button you can get at the end.  We enjoy all the scavenger type hunts Disney offers, even the easy one like this where things aren’t really hidden.


----------



## MEC004

scrappinginontario said:


> If you have kiddos there are stickers with the maps that they can add.  It helps  to keep it interesting for them and there is a button you can get at the end.  We enjoy all the scavenger type hunts Disney offers, even the easy one like this where things aren’t really hidden.


Where do you get the map?


----------



## scrappinginontario

MEC004 said:


> Where do you get the map?


 This post should help.  
https://disneycruiselineblog.com/2020/11/disney-springs-christmas-tree-stroll-2020/


----------



## dachsie

Not many trees over in the marketplace.  That kind of surprises me.


----------



## lynch34

My crew went to Epcot today.

Rope dropped Test Track after lot opened at 10:17 am. Actual wait was 12 minutes. After that - we did Soarin and it was basically walk on. They are not allowing for row requests but we got the top row anyway. 

We went around and ate at the various countries. China was probably the highlight with a chicken dumpling and a beef bao bun. I liked the hummus fries in Morocco but my family was mixed.

After about 2 - there were basically no issues doing whatever you want with almost no wait (outside of Frozen). It was actually stunning to see how empty the park was. 

Figment broke down when we were on it so we have a Fastpass tomorrow for any experience except the main headliners. We are headed to Hollywood Studios so Smugglers Run, Rise, Slinky Dog and MMRR are excluded. My kids want to do Tower of Terror so that’ll probably be the play.

Overall a super day with unreal weather. It did get a bit chilly 6 pm on. We left at 7:15 after trying a S’mores Whoopie Pie near Test Track. It wasn’t bad but also wasn’t good.


----------



## only hope

dachsie said:


> Not many trees over in the marketplace.  That kind of surprises me.



I figured that’s because they don’t want to increase foot traffic over there.


----------



## DL1WDW2

The most Central place to get the Tree Stroll Game would be center Guest Services. Otherwise the other location is at very end of DS near the old Disney Bus Stop location by the Disney Xmas Store.
It is very nice map and stickers that match the Tree theme! Fun for adults & children... thru Dec 30th! And some discounts offered for DS businesses including Earl Chicken Guy and 20% at Alex&Ani Store., for example


----------



## Best Aunt

DL1WDW2 said:


> The most Central place to get the Tree Stroll Game would be center Guest Services. Otherwise the other location is at very end of DS near the old Disney Bus Stop location by the Disney Xmas Store.
> It is very nice map and stickers that match the Tree theme! Fun for adults & children... thru Dec 30th! And some discounts offered for DS businesses including Earl Chicken Guy and 20% at Alex&Ani Store., for example



So if you want to get the map with stickers, which shows where the Christmas trees are in Disney Springs, is it free?


----------



## yulilin3

Best Aunt said:


> So if you want to get the map with stickers, which shows where the Christmas trees are in Disney Springs, is it free?


Yes i believe it is


----------



## scrappinginontario

Best Aunt said:


> So if you want to get the map with stickers, which shows where the Christmas trees are in Disney Springs, is it free?


Yes, it is free.


----------



## becca_twin

For those of you who have been fairly recently, what is the current situation with Splash Mountain merchandise?  Do they still have the B'rer Bear, Rabbit, etc plushes?


----------



## yulilin3

becca_twin said:


> For those of you who have been fairly recently, what is the current situation with Splash Mountain merchandise?  Do they still have the B'rer Bear, Rabbit, etc plushes?


Nope, not for months now


----------



## nkereina

becca_twin said:


> For those of you who have been fairly recently, what is the current situation with Splash Mountain merchandise?  Do they still have the B'rer Bear, Rabbit, etc plushes?


Nothing. The store when you exit the ride is half empty with generic merch you can find anywhere else in the park, and the Briar Patch store is closed.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

We were told at CBR that the Skyliner to Epcot won’t even start running until 1030- it opens at 11. Is this true? Should we go get in line anyways or Uber? We want to get there for rope drop. The cast member told us to come back later.


----------



## yulilin3

TikiTikiFan said:


> We were told at CBR that the Skyliner to Epcot won’t even start running until 1030- it opens at 11. Is this true? Should we go get in line anyways or Uber? We want to get there for rope drop. The cast member told us to come back later.


10:30 to Epcot is correct. If you're toward the front of the pack you would get to Epcot IG at around 10:40, not bad as Epcot's parking lot has been opening around 10:30ish


----------



## TikiTikiFan

yulilin3 said:


> 10:30 to Epcot is correct. If you're toward the front of the pack you would get to Epcot IG at around 10:40, not bad as Epcot's parking lot has been opening around 10:30ish



Okay cool, thanks for the quick response! I think the late opening threw off my internal Disney clock. “It’s past 8AM, why am I not in line for something?!”


----------



## yulilin3

TikiTikiFan said:


> Okay cool, thanks for the quick response! I think the late opening threw off my internal Disney clock. “It’s past 8AM, why am I not in line for something?!”


Totally understand this,  i went to epcot for rope drop ther other day and saw people getting in line for the food kiosks,  and im like,  why would they want that food for breakfast? Umm it's 11:30, technically lunch time. 
Disney has trained us well


----------



## BridgetR3

So is it across the board usually slower in future world in the evenings right now, even on weekends?  I know that the land and Figment used to close at 7 p.m.  but now show open until park close.  Are they really open all evening?  Has the line been longer at night for the Christmas Living with the Land?  Thanks for the help!


----------



## yulilin3

BridgetR3 said:


> So is it across the board usually slower in future world in the evenings right now, even on weekends?  I know that the land and Figment used to close at 7 p.m.  but now show open until park close.  Are they really open all evening?  Has the line been longer at night for the Christmas Living with the Land?  Thanks for the help!


I would keep track of wait times from home,  easy thing to do


----------



## nkereina

TikiTikiFan said:


> We were told at CBR that the Skyliner to Epcot won’t even start running until 1030- it opens at 11. Is this true? Should we go get in line anyways or Uber? We want to get there for rope drop. The cast member told us to come back later.


10:30 is the posted opening time, but we walked up around 10:20 about two weeks ago and it was already running. So I imagine its like the DHS line where there's a chance it might start running 10-15+ minutes earlier if they're able to. We were at the International Gateway by 10:30 with no wait to get in, and went straight to Test Track and had about a 30 minute wait, so not sure what time the park actually opened.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

nkereina said:


> 10:30 is the posted opening time, but we walked up around 10:20 about two weeks ago and it was already running. So I imagine its like the DHS line where there's a chance it might start running 10-15+ minutes earlier if they're able to. We were at the International Gateway by 10:30 with no wait to get in, and went straight to Test Track and had about a 30 minute wait, so not sure what time the park actually opened.



They started running it at 10:10 so I’m glad we got in line anyways! Got to the line for Frozen now at about 1030 and it was already by China, CM said about a 40 minute wait (when it starts running) from where we are because they won’t start running it until 11AM. Which is kinda lame because the line is gigantic! I’m too lazy to dash to go to TT so I’m going to stay put. But if I would have done things differently, I would have gone there first and done Frozen at close. I’m not sure how so many people beat us here when we were in the first group of ten people on the skyliner.

ETA: they did start running it so take what CMs say with a grain of salt! I’m glad we didn’t bail. But if you’re not waaaay in the front, save Frozen for later.


----------



## Tess

TikiTikiFan said:


> They started running it at 10:10 so I’m glad we got in line anyways! Got to the line for Frozen now at about 1030 and it was already by China, CM said about a 40 minute wait (when it starts running) from where we are because they won’t start running it until 11AM. Which is kinda lame because the line is gigantic! I’m too lazy to dash to go to TT so I’m going to stay put. But if I would have done things differently, I would have gone there first and done Frozen at close. I’m not sure how so many people beat us here when we were in the first group of ten people on the skyliner.
> 
> ETA: they did start running it so take what CMs say with a grain of salt! I’m glad we didn’t bail. But if you’re not waaaay in the front, save Frozen for later.




You were that far back because Disney more than likely, based upon our experience in October, actually began temp screening and opened the IG at 10:15 a.m. or so.  We were first on TT the first day we rope dropped and no one had even entered the front of the park yet.  We entered the IG queue at 9:45 a.m. or so.  Our last day we didn't enter that queue until 10:20 or so and the queue was all the way over the bridge that leads to BWI. If you didn't wait at IG, that would be because those who were there early were already through the gate and waiting for their first attraction.  

Running to TT may not have gotten you much either--it also doesn't begin until closer to 11:00.  One of the days we rope dropped and were first, it began about 10 minutes prior and the queue outside was up to an hour or more at that point.


----------



## linzjane88

I was going to post in here but then I started typing and it because a dissertation so  I gave it it's own home but here is my 'just back' trip report

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.3818606/


----------



## Shellyred8

disneyseniors said:


> We are from Mn too, but have not gone back to disney world yet.   Sun Country is offering deals at $39.00.  Is this what you did?  Is this both ways to Florida.  I have see these ads alot and they look too good to be true, so just asking if you knew about this?  We always fly Delta, so I am curious if there really are good deals out there?  Thanks so much


Yep, we got in on a couple of those deals!!  It was awesome!!!


----------



## nkereina

TikiTikiFan said:


> But if I would have done things differently, I would have gone there first and done Frozen at close.


We did Test Track at open, around 10:30, and waited about 30-35 minutes. We did Frozen at close and it was a posted 75 minute wait and we waited probably about 30 minutes. Seems like its a flip of the coin as to which strategy is better. Glad you got on quickly once it started moving!


----------



## melissa723

For those of you at Epcot, are all of the stores in WS open yet? We were thinking of going there tomorrow instead of making it a resort day, but wanted to see what was open first.


----------



## GBRforWDW

melissa723 said:


> For those of you at Epcot, are all of the stores in WS open yet? We were thinking of going there tomorrow instead of making it a resort day, but wanted to see what was open first.


If you go into the MDE app, go to the Map, change the drop down to Shops and filter to Epcot, then click Show List, the shops open are at the top and the closed shops are at the bottom.


----------



## melissa723

GBRforWDW said:


> If you go into the MDE app, go to the Map, change the drop down to Shops and filter to Epcot, then click Show List, the shops open are at the top and the closed shops are at the bottom.



You think I would’ve known to do this. Thank you!!


----------



## underminer

Hollywood Studios Day 3 Saturday (11/14)

This was the day I have stressed about the most since we planned this trip. This was also the day that these boards proved to be the most helpful for. We started the morning successfully by snagging BG 3 for Rise! No WiFi just Verizon on two phones. We then took a Lyft to Boardwalk Bakery at 7:30 for a pleasant breakfast before walking to Studios just as they opened the left temp check tent. So we were there at about 8am second in line for the screening. At about 8:30 they let us in and we were on the first train for MMRR. Wow! Such an amazing new ride! We thought it was such a cool use of the trackless ride system. We then hustled directly over to Slinky for a 10 min wait and then Smugglers Run which was a walk on. We then went for our BG to Rise. Unfortunately a lot of the preshow was down so though what we did was cool, we feel like we didn’t get the complete experience ☹ We were still feeling good at this point for having done 4 headliners in the first 60-90 min of park opening.
Next we headed to RnR and ToT and we started to feel how busy the park was getting. Both were solid 50 min waits. After doing those we headed back to GE for lunch and checking out the area. As things got progressively busier we noticed that Star Tours and TSMM both had pretty fast lines despite posting 30 min waits so we just had fun doing them repeatedly for the next couple of hours. Not sure why those two were so much less busy but we weren’t complaining!
We finished the day with Muppets and a few other attractions and then Savi’s workshop which was very cool. Sci-fi for dinner and then we were done!
Biggest surprise:  MMRR was the surprise hit and doing TSMM 5x with barely any wait was also a treat.
Biggest disappointment: Not getting the full Rise experience kind of stunk but what we did was still amazing.
Other thoughts:  Our morning plan went like clockwork thanks to all of you!  So nice to get so much done at rope drop!!
Epcot next!


----------



## Carla1183

underminer said:


> Hollywood Studios Day 3 Saturday (11/14)
> 
> This was the day I have stressed about the most since we planned this trip. This was also the day that these boards proved to be the most helpful for. We started the morning successfully by snagging BG 3 for Rise! No WiFi just Verizon on two phones. We then took a Lyft to Boardwalk Bakery at 7:30 for a pleasant breakfast before walking to Studios just as they opened the left temp check tent. So we were there at about 8am second in line for the screening. At about 8:30 they let us in and we were on the first train for MMRR. Wow! Such an amazing new ride! We thought it was such a cool use of the trackless ride system. We then hustled directly over to Slinky for a 10 min wait and then Smugglers Run which was a walk on. We then went for our BG to Rise. Unfortunately a lot of the preshow was down so though what we did was cool, we feel like we didn’t get the complete experience ☹ We were still feeling good at this point for having done 4 headliners in the first 60-90 min of park opening.
> Next we headed to RnR and ToT and we started to feel how busy the park was getting. Both were solid 50 min waits. After doing those we headed back to GE for lunch and checking out the area. As things got progressively busier we noticed that Star Tours and TSMM both had pretty fast lines despite posting 30 min waits so we just had fun doing them repeatedly for the next couple of hours. Not sure why those two were so much less busy but we weren’t complaining!
> We finished the day with Muppets and a few other attractions and then Savi’s workshop which was very cool. Sci-fi for dinner and then we were done!
> Biggest surprise:  MMRR was the surprise hit and doing TSMM 5x with barely any wait was also a treat.
> Biggest disappointment: Not getting the full Rise experience kind of stunk but what we did was still amazing.
> Other thoughts:  Our morning plan went like clockwork thanks to all of you!  So nice to get so much done at rope drop!!
> Epcot next!



Did it open at 9 or 10 officially? Your morning is my ideal timeline so I'm taking notes!


----------



## underminer

9am which was great


----------



## yulilin3

Just back from DHS, did MMRR in honor of the mice birthday of course,  got in line at 6:20pm, posted time was 25 min it was actually a 10 min wait.  Plexiglass a little reflective but not obstructive


----------



## lynch34

DHS day

Boarding Group 6 - again I think it comes down to the phone. My wife got in and I think that’s the key.

One thing I wanted to say about today was the legit garbage that is Docking Bay 7. I have 5 to feed if I count myself and the food that was provided was offensive. My kids aren’t even big eaters but it was insane how small the macaroni and cheese that was under the crispy chicken was. I ordered the pot roast and it had barely any potatoes.  I never complain about anything usually but that was ridiculous. It’s a total skip.


----------



## Lilsia

TikiTikiFan said:


> We’re at Magic Kingdom today and it’s the first day we’ve felt really uncomfortable. Walkways are packed and seen way worse mask compliance here than other parks. Had one lady practically in my back pocket in line and asked her nicely if she could stay back on her sticker. She did, after retorting ‘if you’re so scared just stay home then.’ If we weren’t at Disney I woulda thrown down (kidding kidding)- I took the high road and just ignored it. Overall, not feeling the magic here quite as much but its prolly just bc the long lines and heat are exhausting. We’re so used to MaxPass at Disneyland and never waiting so think we need to toughen up our spoiled tushes.
> 
> We have a second day here so think we’ll try again and be more prepared now that I see the flow of the park with wait times.



I think that I would have replied with something like, "I'm not scared, you just smell really bad". LOL


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Epcot wait times were way less than posted all day. Soarin’ said 40 minutes and it was a walk on. Test Track said 35 and was also walk on. Same with Mission Space which also killed me and I will never do it again haha.  

We loved Epcot, especially Frozen. Bummer to see so many shops in the World Showcase closed though. Found the aquarium to feel claustrophobic but most places like that usually are with people crowding windows. My son is -obsessed- with aquariums so we spent an hour in there so he could find every kind of fish and ask the CM shark expert questions for 20 minutes.  He loved Epcot, I know some people say kids will be bored but mine loved it all.


----------



## disneygirlsng

lynch34 said:


> DHS day
> 
> Boarding Group 6 - again I think it comes down to the phone. My wife got in and I think that’s the key.
> 
> One thing I wanted to say about today was the legit garbage that is Docking Bay 7. I have 5 to feed if I count myself and the food that was provided was offensive. My kids aren’t even big eaters but it was insane how small the macaroni and cheese that was under the crispy chicken was. I ordered the pot roast and it had barely any potatoes.  I never complain about anything usually but that was ridiculous. It’s a total skip.


Interesting. That is by far my favorite QS restaurant at WDW.


----------



## Beachmom0317

Went to Epcot yesterday. We got in line to park around 10:10 and we’re in the park at 10:20. Nothing was open to ride but I had read that previous poster was able to ride FEA at 10:40 so we leisurely walked to Norway and go in line. At 10:45 they let us ride. We went right to Mexico after. I’m happy we did this first because as we leisurely walked around world showcase (walked by Mexico twice) we saw that around lunch there was a line to enter the Mexican pavilion and also a long line for Mexico booth. Frozen line was also 65 minutes. 

We encountered no other significant lines during rest of day at food booths or to enter pavilions. We walked on Nemo and Spaceship earth on our way out around 3:30. My kids loved the aquarium. Some shops in world showcase were closed. We saw the Elsa and Ana cavalcade and the one with Goofy, Pluto, Minnie and Mickey. They weren’t anything special, we had just been to MK the day before and loved those. I missed seeing the characters out for M&G, the international performers, etc.


----------



## cindyfan

Just an observation here.... .
I appreciate those that are trying to share their experiences and give opinions etc of the parks and days.
But seriously.... why are you taking so much time to give such extreme details on the day?  Such as actual times for each and every ride, etc. ..... *Just enjoy your day!!!!*  Don't worry about all these details.... we get it....
Seriously.... a quick... "hey guys... not busy and wait times under 15 min"!  
Then enjoy yourself without thinking about us.  



swelch1976 said:


> Third Park Day: EPCOT Monday 11/9.
> 
> We arrived at the toll plaza at *9:58AM* (11:00AM park open), and were told we shouldn't come back before 10:30... . Truth is we were two minutes early... after we circled around, we were back at *10:06*, and there were 6-7 cars lined up in all lanes. At 10:13, they let us through the toll plaza, and we were at the temperature screening tent at 10:21. *Four minutes later* (darn battery pack in the backpack!) we were in the park.
> 
> Test Track was not operating at park open because of the impending rain. We went straight to Frozen Ever After, and arrived at *10:36. The ride started at 10:40, and we waited 11 minutes, and were off the ride at 10:58.*
> ...
> 
> - SEAS with Nemo and Friend *4:51* (5 min wait) 5 min posted - *5:04 done* and then SEAS exhibits
> - Spaceship Earth 5:19 (3 min wait) 10 min posted - *5:39* done
> - Journey into the Imagination *5:45 (2 min wait) 5 min posted - 5:56 done*
> ............. and so on.......


----------



## KittyKitty

cindyfan said:


> But seriously.... why are you taking so much time to give such extreme details on the day?


I love  the details. Got a trip coming up, and always enjoy how other guests are doing at the parks. I'm a planner so don't see it as extreme.


----------



## scrappinginontario

cindyfan said:


> Just an observation here.... .
> I appreciate those that are trying to share their experiences and give opinions etc of the parks and days.
> But seriously.... why are you taking so much time to give such extreme details on the day?  Such as actual times for each and every ride, etc. ..... *Just enjoy your day!!!!*  Don't worry about all these details.... we get it....
> Seriously.... a quick... "hey guys... not busy and wait times under 15 min"!
> Then enjoy yourself without thinking about us.


Also, while some may appreciate all the details, I find it I look at a post and it goes into too many details I tend to skim right by those and look for the 'what worked' and 'what wasn't the best' areas.  While minute by minute details can be helpful, they really don't reflect what may happen the day before or the day after.  Disney's crowds are very fluid so tips about what worked at rope drop and closing can be very helpful, the middle stuff changes each day.


----------



## Tormania

cindyfan said:


> Just an observation here.... .
> I appreciate those that are trying to share their experiences and give opinions etc of the parks and days.
> But seriously.... why are you taking so much time to give such extreme details on the day?  Such as actual times for each and every ride, etc. ..... *Just enjoy your day!!!!*  Don't worry about all these details.... we get it....
> Seriously.... a quick... "hey guys... not busy and wait times under 15 min"!
> Then enjoy yourself without thinking about us.



I have to imagine that some folks just really enjoy providing such detailed feedback.  In my work I am the same way, on vacation at WDW however, I don't even bother to check these boards once I've left the house on my trip.  LOL!!!


----------



## Elle23

I just wanted to update on masks since we have experienced a few more days. After our first day at HS, mask compliance has been MUCH better. I haven’t really seen any issues at all (MK, Epcot, and another day at HS). 

Well....except for me. 
I somehow managed to make it all the way from the Diamond Horseshoe to the line at Haunted Mansion without a mask before the CM said something.  I just plain forgot to put it on after dinner! Thankfully the CM was on the ball and said something. So embarrassing!


----------



## Lilsia

lynch34 said:


> DHS day
> 
> Boarding Group 6 - again I think it comes down to the phone. My wife got in and I think that’s the key.
> 
> One thing I wanted to say about today was the legit garbage that is Docking Bay 7. I have 5 to feed if I count myself and the food that was provided was offensive. My kids aren’t even big eaters but it was insane how small the macaroni and cheese that was under the crispy chicken was. I ordered the pot roast and it had barely any potatoes.  I never complain about anything usually but that was ridiculous. It’s a total skip.



That is very surprising. Their portion sizes are usually big enough for 2 of us to share. I would have definitely said something and probably tweeted it since that is what they seem to respond to now.


----------



## swelch1976

I hear what some of you are saying. It seemed like the detailed posts were being appreciated/liked by other scheduling-nerds like myself. But, totally get how it's not for everyone. I keep track of these things for me and future planning (which has served me well over the years), and figured I'd just share for those who would appreciate it.


----------



## MrsBooch

Can anyone tell me how they felt in MCO in general - are they distancing in the train thingy?


----------



## olecow

MrsBooch said:


> Can anyone tell me how they felt in MCO in general - are they distancing in the train thingy?



We were there at the end of October and there was a LOT less people in the airport than we've ever seen.  On our trip back out for our return flight we were the only people in our car, granted it was a Sunday afternoon at 4:30PM.  When we arrived there were more people but it wasn't hard to distance and you're only on there with them for a minute or two.  Plus everyone was wearing masks.  It didn't bother us.  Also, the line to get through security on a Sunday afternoon was the shortest I've ever seen.  We were through in under 15 minutes from the time we entered the line to the time we were at our gate.


----------



## Naomeri

MrsBooch said:


> Can anyone tell me how they felt in MCO in general - are they distancing in the train thingy?


MCO seemed pretty deserted to me in the last week of October.  No one is enforcing distancing in the tram, but there’s signage to remind people to distance, and I didn’t have any trouble staying away from people.


----------



## Day-Day

scrappinginontario said:


> Also, while some may appreciate all the details, I find it I look at a post and it goes into too many details I tend to skim right by those and look for the 'what worked' and 'what wasn't the best' areas.  While minute by minute details can be helpful, they really don't reflect what may happen the day before or the day after.  Disney's crowds are very fluid so tips about what worked at rope drop and closing can be very helpful, the middle stuff changes each day.



The long, detailed posts that I really have to skip over are the ones with no paragraph or line breaks.


----------



## Lilsia

MrsBooch said:


> Can anyone tell me how they felt in MCO in general - are they distancing in the train thingy?



When I went last month, there were not enough people to come even close to filling those. There were 2 other people besides me on the train. Not in my car, but the whole train. I had the car to myself. TSA was a breeze and I had the line to myself.


----------



## Leigh L

MrsBooch said:


> Can anyone tell me how they felt in MCO in general - are they distancing in the train thingy?


Not when we were there 2 weeks ago for arrival, pretty much everyone jumped in. We opted to wait the 4 minutes for the next train which was far less crowded.

Departing wasn't an issue at all since people are not arriving all at once, was pretty spaced out.

Edited to add: My United flight was 100% full, so a lot of people, and it looked like a flight from another gate area arrived at the same time (a Thursday evening about 8 p.m.)


----------



## teach22180

Elle23 said:


> I just wanted to update on masks since we have experienced a few more days. After our first day at HS, mask compliance has been MUCH better. I haven’t really seen any issues at all (MK, Epcot, and another day at HS).
> 
> Well....except for me.
> I somehow managed to make it all the way from the Diamond Horseshoe to the line at Haunted Mansion without a mask before the CM said something.  I just plain forgot to put it on after dinner! Thankfully the CM was on the ball and said something. So embarrassing!


If it makes you feel better, I forgot to put my mask on after eating at Rose and Crown. I got all the way to the bathrooms across the pathway and realized it. I was mortified and apologized to random ladies in the bathroom. Lol.


----------



## Best Aunt

Day-Day said:


> The long, detailed posts that I really have to skip over are the ones with no paragraph or line breaks.



Exactly!!!!!  They're too hard on my eyes.  I don't even try to read them.


----------



## yulilin3

A full page almost entirely devoted to asking people for less detail, 
Please,  let's just keep sharing our reports back in whatever manner you would wish
If you don't want to read,  long,  detailed reports just skip them. 
Time to move on


----------



## Shellyred8

Lilsia said:


> I think that I would have replied with something like, "I'm not scared, you just smell really bad". LOL


I can never come up with good come-backs right on the spot!  I'm gonna have to try to have a few pre-planned so I can have them ready if needed.  LOL!!!


----------



## Shellyred8

Elle23 said:


> I just wanted to update on masks since we have experienced a few more days. After our first day at HS, mask compliance has been MUCH better. I haven’t really seen any issues at all (MK, Epcot, and another day at HS).
> 
> Well....except for me.
> I somehow managed to make it all the way from the Diamond Horseshoe to the line at Haunted Mansion without a mask before the CM said something.  I just plain forgot to put it on after dinner! Thankfully the CM was on the ball and said something. So embarrassing!


I had a similar situation the last time we were there.  I had to dash out from our room at the BWV down to the Screen Door store before they closed.  I got down to the store and was looking for what I needed and realized that I had forgotten to put my mask on!!!!  I didn't even have it with me in my pocket, so I pulled my shirt up over my face, got what I needed and hustled back to the room!


----------



## dachsie

swelch1976 said:


> I hear what some of you are saying. It seemed like the detailed posts were being appreciated/liked by other scheduling-nerds like myself. But, totally get how it's not for everyone. I keep track of these things for me and future planning (which has served me well over the years), and figured I'd just share for those who would appreciate it.


They are much appreciated, so thank you.  People can always skip a post they don't want to read.


----------



## Lilsia

Shellyred8 said:


> I can never come up with good come-backs right on the spot!  I'm gonna have to try to have a few pre-planned so I can have them ready if needed.  LOL!!!



My problem is that I need to hold myself back. I used to take people's crap treatment of me and it made me miserable. Now I stand up for myself. What's funny is that people who defend themselves are the ones that are called rude while the original jerk gets off for their behavior. But I sleep much better for having stood up for myself then I ever did allowing myself to be talked to like that.


----------



## ColoradoMom12

MrsBooch said:


> Can anyone tell me how they felt in MCO in general - are they distancing in the train thingy?


I had the same experience as others in October. MCO was as deserted as I’ve ever seen it (excluding a time we had a delayed flight arrive at 4am). No difficulty for us in October distancing on the airport train at MCO. The train at my home airport (DEN) is another story. People pack themselves onto that thing in a “fill In all the available space” kind of way. Covid hasn’t changed this, unfortunately, and the train ride is longer than it is at MCO because it goes to all three concourses. There are signs and recorded announcements asking people to distance, but it doesn’t happen. I felt much better about MCO than DEN.


----------



## underminer

Epcot Day 4 (11/15)

Sorry about my “block paragraph” reports...didn’t realize they were so hard on the eyes.

We only had about 5 hours at Epcot due to our airline mess in Wednesday, so we tried to make the most of it. Unfortunately, it was our least successful day at the parks. Between weekend crowds and construction walls, our experience there was just OK.

We got there early and went straight to Test Track where we waited about 20 minutes before they announced that they didn’t know when they would be able to open. We then hustled to Frozen which was already an 80 min wait so we bailed and finally got to Soarin which was only 20 minutes.

Quick lunch at Sunshine Seasons and then hit Land ride and Nemo ride. Both were ok but forgettable. By this time TT was open and we waited 50 but it was fun and worth the wait. Then did Spaceship Earth and Mission Space both about 20 minutes and enjoyable. By then we only had about 45 min to walk around the World Showcase and eat a few pastries before heading to the airport.

Biggest surprise: We all really liked Mission Space and thought it was a very cool experience.
Biggest disappointment:  Not getting to do much of anything in World Showcase really stunk but we didn’t have much of a choice.
Other thoughts:  I don’t think we will return to Epcot until all the renovations are done and the new rides open. Just felt kind of old and not as “magical” as the other parks

Overall we had a great quick little trip and can’t wait to return (hopefully it won’t take another 14 years to return.


----------



## Amunet

Anyone know if drinking fountains are operable? We usually bring our reusable water canteens and fill them while at the parks.


----------



## yulilin3

Amunet said:


> Anyone know if drinking fountains are operable? We usually bring our reusable water canteens and fill them while at the parks.


They're available


----------



## JoJoGirl

Elle23 said:


> I just wanted to update on masks since we have experienced a few more days. After our first day at HS, mask compliance has been MUCH better. I haven’t really seen any issues at all (MK, Epcot, and another day at HS).
> 
> Well....except for me.
> I somehow managed to make it all the way from the Diamond Horseshoe to the line at Haunted Mansion without a mask before the CM said something.  I just plain forgot to put it on after dinner! Thankfully the CM was on the ball and said something. So embarrassing!



I’ve been here since Monday, and I’d say mask compliance is excellent — even better than in September.  The new announcements seem to be making a difference.  

It’s so easy to forget especially when you are fatigued from a long day.  I had a metal slip tonight going to pick up my mobile order at the Boardwalk Bakery.  I made it from my room to the BW lobby, where a CM reminded me.     It was totally inadvertent, she was very nice about it and I thanked her.  I wonder how many people they have to remind in a day.


----------



## Amunet

yulilin3 said:


> They're available


Thank you so much! That is a big relief


----------



## MrsBooch

underminer said:


> Epcot Day 4 (11/15)
> 
> Sorry about my “block paragraph” reports...didn’t realize they were so hard on the eyes.
> 
> We only had about 5 hours at Epcot due to our airline mess in Wednesday, so we tried to make the most of it. Unfortunately, it was our least successful day at the parks. Between weekend crowds and construction walls, our experience there was just OK.
> 
> We got there early and went straight to Test Track where we waited about 20 minutes before they announced that they didn’t know when they would be able to open. We then hustled to Frozen which was already an 80 min wait so we bailed and finally got to Soarin which was only 20 minutes.
> 
> Quick lunch at Sunshine Seasons and then hit Land ride and Nemo ride. Both were ok but forgettable. By this time TT was open and we waited 50 but it was fun and worth the wait. Then did Spaceship Earth and Mission Space both about 20 minutes and enjoyable. By then we only had about 45 min to walk around the World Showcase and eat a few pastries before heading to the airport.
> 
> Biggest surprise: We all really liked Mission Space and thought it was a very cool experience.
> Biggest disappointment:  Not getting to do much of anything in World Showcase really stunk but we didn’t have much of a choice.
> Other thoughts:  I don’t think we will return to Epcot until all the renovations are done and the new rides open. Just felt kind of old and not as “magical” as the other parks☹
> 
> Overall we had a great quick little trip and can’t wait to return (hopefully it won’t take another 14 years to return.



I think I see where you went wrong here - I don't see that you rode Figment and well...obviously...

it's the best ride in Epcot. 

Maybe next time....


----------



## Pixiedustaway07

I have really appreciated the information on this thread for planning our current trip so I wanted to chime in. We were at Universal Studios for 3 days this week and had a blast, and now we are on day 3 of 5 at Disney. It’s honestly been an amazing trip! Sure, the weather is perfect this week so the masks are hardly a bother (I can see how they would be awful in the summer heat), and we are used to Fast Passing literally every ride possible so the lines are a bit different, yet very tolerable with our 11 and 7 year old . We have done everything we set out to do and have really enjoyed “rejoining society” for a bit. It’s been laid back not having to plan every minute and instead just riding the next ride closest to our current location. We fly down every year so we were on the fence about spending the same amount of money for “less,” but it’s been worth every penny. If you are concerned about your personal health risks and you are going to spend your trip policing everyone else’s noses and masks and worrying yourself to death, this is not the time for you to come (honestly I haven’t noticed anyone intentionally violating the policies). But if you’re ready, and you really need your Disney fix like me,  It’s a great time!


----------



## AllieBoo

Tess said:


> You were that far back because Disney more than likely, based upon our experience in October, actually began temp screening and opened the IG at 10:15 a.m. or so.  We were first on TT the first day we rope dropped and no one had even entered the front of the park yet.  We entered the IG queue at 9:45 a.m. or so.  Our last day we didn't enter that queue until 10:20 or so and the queue was all the way over the bridge that leads to BWI. If you didn't wait at IG, that would be because those who were there early were already through the gate and waiting for their first attraction.
> 
> Running to TT may not have gotten you much either--it also doesn't begin until closer to 11:00.  One of the days we rope dropped and were first, it began about 10 minutes prior and the queue outside was up to an hour or more at that point.


 
Yes, we were at Epcot on Monday, Nov 16th and they started temp checks at the IG about 10:15. We went straight to Frozen and were 3rd group in line; on the ride at 10:35. From there, we headed straight to TT, in line at 10:50, off by 11:15.  Next, Soarin, in line at 11:40, off by 12:10.


----------



## LSUfan4444

Staying off-site near Disney Springs. 10am opening today at HS. Ordered Uber at 7:30, picked up at 7:33, dropped off at Speedway at 7:41 and was first in line at Hollywood Studios (held at Skyliner) at 7:57. 

As of this post, 8:06, there are only two other families in line.


----------



## sarobison

Here now, completed day 4 of 7 today having done all 4 parks. It’s my Dad’s 60th birthday trip so it’s been more about him which has forced me to slow down lol. Our group the first three days was myself, DW, Dad (60) and his DW and my DS (4). Today DS (18) and DS (17) flew in and joined us. Dad and his DW are leaving tomorrow morning and the rest of us are here til Monday 11/23.

We did Epcot Monday and, unfortunately, it was a bit of a letdown. The construction through the spine really just gets in the way and the walls definitely make it clear you are in a construction zone. We arrived about 12:30 after flying in that morning. Meandered a bit and did Soarin. It was basically a walk-on about 1:15 or so. Also managed to get in Frozen, Test Track, Mission Space, Nemo and a quick walk around World Showcase before leaving about 7 for dinner off-property. Mask compliance was great, even for DS (4)! Overall Epcot felt fairly empty except for the lines to get onto Frozen and Test Track (and the Mexico Pavilion but we didn’t go in).

Tuesday was MK, didn’t do any rope drop craziness, but did Lyft to contemporary to walk over about 30 minutes before the official opening. The park was of course open already. Rode Pooh while Dad waited in the line SDMT line that wasn’t yet moving. Then SDMT and followed up with essentially every ride except HM, Jungle Cruise, Small World, and Hall of Presidents. Lunch at Pecos Bill and caught one of the “parades” after. Had some down time to sit and enjoy lights and castle after dark while DS slept before leaving about 7 for dinner. MK was definitely more crowded, saw very few mask-rule breakers and was constantly reminded to not eat in the queue...but it finally felt like Disney with the atmosphere (and crowds...) etc. Chased a few parades to catch them but if you one in Frontierland there’s plenty of time to slip through Adventureland to catch it at the hub. However all of the ones we saw followed that route EXCEPT for the last Santa which did the route in reverse (starting Main St).

Wednesday was AK and it’s clear the shows are missing. We typically can’t get everything in here in a day but today was different...we probably could have done the park in 5-6 hours and been fine. Avatar at open (we arrived via off-property hotel bus 30 minutes before open) was a 40+ minute trudge from Pandora to Harambe and back. Other than that we didn’t wait in many lines of consequence (skipped Navi because I’ll only do that again as a walk on). DW’s rode Everest 3x. Again mask compliance was great, the few I saw were embarrassed more than anything about forgetting when a CM politely reminded them. Also got stuck on Dinosaur so we got FP’s for anything other than Avatar/Navi but the park was so uncrowded we stopped at guest services and they swapped it to Hollywood for us the next day with much more restrictions (we ended up choosing Star Tours because it’s one of the DW’s favorites).

Okay I’m done lol. Next time I’ll add our Hollywood day (I got a boarding group!) (but Dad didn’t).


----------



## Akck

sarobison said:


> Okay I’m done lol. Next time I’ll add our Hollywood day (I got a boarding group!) (but Dad didn’t).



Try talking to a guest relations CM. They may be able to add him to your group since you’ll take up one vehicle anyway.


----------



## smelton521

Is Frozen at Epcot pretty much a long wait all day or is there generally a time of day when the wait is not as long? Is it usually longest at rope drop because everyone goes there first and would it be better to wait to ride it?  That is main priority at Epcot for our Frozen-obsessed 6 year old in addition to trying to see the Anna and Elsa cavalcade.


----------



## wisconsinmom

I’ll be at MK tomorrow.  We are staying at BLT.  What time has the temp check been opening if we walk over?  We’d like to maximize our time!


----------



## swelch1976

wisconsinmom said:


> I’ll be at MK tomorrow.  We are staying at BLT.  What time has the temp check been opening if we walk over?  We’d like to maximize our time!


I was there on Sunday, 11/8, and with a 9AM opening, they let the walk-over crowd start temp checks at 7:56AM. We arrived there at 7:42AM and were 7-8 families back.


----------



## JulieBeeRN

swelch1976 said:


> You won't be able to check out the resorts unless you have a dining reservation there, or have a mobile order at their quick service/food court.  Otherwise, they are not allowing visitors to resorts.



Is the no visitor to resorts policy new?    We stayed at the GF in October and went to Poly several times.


----------



## Lsdolphin

JulieBeeRN said:


> Is the no visitor to resorts policy new?    We stayed at the GF in October and went to Poly several times.



If you go to another resort via boat, bus, Or monorail It’s no problem. Just difficult to drive to another resort as they will usually stop cars from entering unless your a guest or have an ADR or mobile order...


----------



## swelch1976

JulieBeeRN said:


> Is the no visitor to resorts policy new?    We stayed at the GF in October and went to Poly several times.


I was corrected a couple of posts later. Lsdolphin is correct.


----------



## AllieBoo

smelton521 said:


> Is Frozen at Epcot pretty much a long wait all day or is there generally a time of day when the wait is not as long? Is it usually longest at rope drop because everyone goes there first and would it be better to wait to ride it?  That is main priority at Epcot for our Frozen-obsessed 6 year old in addition to trying to see the Anna and Elsa cavalcade.


It’s a long wait all day. We were there on Monday, and it did not drop until close to closing when it went to 35 min.  We were staying at the Swan, so we walked over to the IG about 9:45 am (official open was 11:00). They started temp checks at 10:15 and we went straight to Frozen. We were third group in line and were off the ride by10:35. If you can get to the IGthat early, that’s the best way to ride it without having to wait in line.


----------



## Chris Ehlers




----------



## hlrubin507

Does anyone here have recent reports on what time the parking lots are opening at the various parks?  Is it still about 45 min prior to park opening?  Would love anyone's recent experience with this.  I know it can also change day to day.  I am thinking of turning up about an hour prior and if not yet open to line up, pulling over until they are open?


----------



## swelch1976

OK - Last day in the parks for us - AK on Tuesday, 11/10. 

SCHEDULE DETAIL WARNING - this trip report will have way too detailed time information... read at your own risk!

We drove to the parking lot, and arrived at the Toll Plaza at 7:58 and were about 3 cars back in line. They let us through at 8:14, but then held us again at the end of the long driveway right at the beginning of the parking lot until 8:26. We could see many many buses arriving and dropping off folks while we waited. We parked and quickly walked to the temp tents - arriving at 8:32, and were in the park at 8:34. 

We had made the decision to NOT rope drop FoP, because it was immediately posting a 45 minute line, and waits later in the day seem to be far less on weekdays - and this proved to be true. So, we set off to essentially walk-on 4-5 rides to start our day, and do multiple FoP rides later in the afternoon. So, here we go... 

- Na'vi River Journey 8:40 (3 min to walk through the queue) - 8:50 done
- Kilimanjaro Safaris 8:57 (11 min wait as it opened at 9am) - 9:32 done (animals were super active)
- EE 9:41 (5 min wait) 10 min posted - 9:51 done
- EE 9:52 (2 min wait) 15 min posted - 9:59 done
- Dinosaur 10:12 (10 min wait) 5 min posted - 10:28 done (somehow this ride still scares me! My 10 year old DD laughs at me)
- TriceraTop Spin 10:31 (4 min wait) 5 min posted - 10:39 done
- it's tough to be a bug! 10:43 (8 min wait) - 11:02 done 
- lunch at Flame Tree
- FoP 11:46 (30 min wait) 45 min posted - 12:26 done
- Tree of Life Gardens / Gorilla Falls Trail
- Kali River Rapids 2:23 (9 min wait) 10 min posted - 2:42 done
- Maharajah Jungle Trek and Winged Encounters
- EE 3:25 (12 min wait) 30 min posted - 3:41 done
- FoP 4:11 (28 min wait) 25 min posted - 4:49 done
- FoP 4:49 (28 min wait) 25 min posted - 5:30 done

We reached the exit at 5:42, and were back at the hotel at 6:00. 

I then took my daughter to California Grill for a birthday dinner! On our departure day, on 11/11, we did breakfast at Topolino's Terrace - which was GREAT - even with the socially distant characters, hit up Winter Summerland for minigolf, and DS before going to the airport.

We had an AMAZING trip - as I mentioned, I missed the nighttime spectaculars, but it still felt like "Disney" to us.


----------



## AllieBoo

LSUfan4444 said:


> Staying off-site near Disney Springs. 10am opening today at HS. Ordered Uber at 7:30, picked up at 7:33, dropped off at Speedway at 7:41 and was first in line at Hollywood Studios (held at Skyliner) at 7:57.
> 
> As of this post, 8:06, there are only two other families in line.


Wow, that is really early. What time did they let you in? We were there on Tuesday, walked from Swan and got to park about 9:05. We were probably 10-15 groups back. They started temp checks about 9:10/9:15 and we were on MMRR by 9:20.


----------



## Hieraxx

Just back  - 9 Days , 3 Gold AP Holders, 3 LoS 7 day passes. 5 nights CCV, 3 Nights BCV. 2 50+ adults , 4 20+ adults
Last Trip was Dec '19 pre-covid, 5am walks to DHS for Rise for BG's

Random thoughts
* X-mas decor In full swing at parks, and at CCV lobby. BCV decorated this past W or R night (Nov 19/20)
* Skyliner stopped , a lot, compared with last Dec on Epcot to Riv line
* Hotel lobbies were Ghost towns , this past-pre x-giving week. Never saw a soul in CCV hallway (6th floor).BCV seemed busier.
* Pool spacing was fine.
* Since Drivers, walkers, disney transportation "all" have "equal" access to hours, Early risers will be required to maximize the Big rides w/o lines
* We arrived anywhere from 45 to 30 mins prior to park opening , at AK/DHS and got in as temp screening began.
* Mine Train was the biggest pain to avoid Line, as it just doesn't have the capacity to incur the surges. FoP early we had no waits twice. Mine was insta-45+ wait.
* Boats were limited from WL/CCV , although once we had a private trip at 7:15 for 8am open.
* Mobile Order for QS food is 100% a Keeper IMO. No chaos while ordering, tables available by design (arrival windows), big plus IMO
* Few sit down meals we had were great, and a pleasure since we have not been inside a restaurant since early March (Mass) (jungle skipper, Liberty, beaches, SciFi, Yak) no 2-Table service credit meals this trip. (Flying closed  )
* Mask wearers were great, for the most part. Few non-magic moments with young kids seen, 3 families seen as mask abusers, despite being spoken to by CM's - in line for Splash and FoP, and space.All 3 at night.
* Noted those families pics at both splash and space, and saw no masks for the pics.
* Several shops are closed, it was noticeable. Son wanted Soccer jersey from UK, all closed, but had success at Disney springs
* 6 foot separation for the most part achievable. Some oblivious folks in lines, kids fine, adults ... please obey space during this time (!)
* 6 Foot separation - IMO - for Lines should be used going forward. Even pre-covid trips I would like to not have folks "joining" our group.
* Rise broke down, alot 1st DHS day. Screens pre-show not working, guns not firing, 1 Integ. room non-functional. Rode 3 times. Better in Dec '19 pre Covid.

Overall all I'd say I very much appreciated the break from current the current news cycle, as I'm sure everyone else is as well. Was nice to have Expedition or Kali as my problem of the day, for a week.
Kudos to disney for trying their best to enforce Covid restrictions.

Negatives are everyone else's concerns I'm sure. Park hopping missed (night time forays into Epcot from Beach club), Missed Illuminations - but we missed that in Dec '19 as well.
Heard Harmonious barges may be installed soon for water and/or projection effects at night . Loved Castle and Tower projections. Saw one Tree of Life Proj "show" that was cute but
not as well defined. Night time shows were missed. FP - would love a new system , more akin to MaxPass or old Paper scheme.

Now to go get a Covid test and pray that the next time we go (fall 2022), things are better for everyone on the planet in general.


----------



## princesslover

swelch1976 said:


> OK - Last day in the parks for us - AK on Tuesday, 11/10.
> 
> SCHEDULE DETAIL WARNING - this trip report will have way too detailed time information... read at your own risk!
> 
> We drove to the parking lot, and arrived at the Toll Plaza at 7:58 and were about 3 cars back in line. They let us through at 8:14, but then held us again at the end of the long driveway right at the beginning of the parking lot until 8:26. We could see many many buses arriving and dropping off folks while we waited. We parked and quickly walked to the temp tents - arriving at 8:32, and were in the park at 8:34.
> 
> We had made the decision to NOT rope drop FoP, because it was immediately posting a 45 minute line, and waits later in the day seem to be far less on weekdays - and this proved to be true. So, we set off to essentially walk-on 4-5 rides to start our day, and do multiple FoP rides later in the afternoon. So, here we go...
> 
> - Na'vi River Journey 8:40 (3 min to walk through the queue) - 8:50 done
> - Kilimanjaro Safaris 8:57 (11 min wait as it opened at 9am) - 9:32 done (animals were super active)
> - EE 9:41 (5 min wait) 10 min posted - 9:51 done
> - EE 9:52 (2 min wait) 15 min posted - 9:59 done
> - Dinosaur 10:12 (10 min wait) 5 min posted - 10:28 done (somehow this ride still scares me! My 10 year old DD laughs at me)
> - TriceraTop Spin 10:31 (4 min wait) 5 min posted - 10:39 done
> - it's tough to be a bug! 10:43 (8 min wait) - 11:02 done
> - lunch at Flame Tree
> - FoP 11:46 (30 min wait) 45 min posted - 12:26 done
> - Tree of Life Gardens / Gorilla Falls Trail
> - Kali River Rapids 2:23 (9 min wait) 10 min posted - 2:42 done
> - Maharajah Jungle Trek and Winged Encounters
> - EE 3:25 (12 min wait) 30 min posted - 3:41 done
> - FoP 4:11 (28 min wait) 25 min posted - 4:49 done
> - FoP 4:49 (28 min wait) 25 min posted - 5:30 done
> 
> We reached the exit at 5:42, and were back at the hotel at 6:00.
> 
> I then took my daughter to California Grill for a birthday dinner! On our departure day, on 11/11, we did breakfast at Topolino's Terrace - which was GREAT - even with the socially distant characters, hit up Winter Summerland for minigolf, and DS before going to the airport.
> 
> We had an AMAZING trip - as I mentioned, I missed the nighttime spectaculars, but it still felt like "Disney" to us.



Thanks for sharing!!   In your experience does it make sense to avoid rope dropping FoP and do it later when crowds disperse?  I’m seeing a lot of people do it later in the day with minimal waits.
[/QUOTE]


----------



## JoJoGirl

Heading home from a great 5-night stay at WDW.  Sitting here at MCO and am seeing the worst mask compliance in my two trips.  Probably my bad luck, but in the next row is a whole family who is either maskless or wearing them below their noses or on their chins.  Near to them is another man who has not had a mask on since he arrived.  Maybe they all have already had Covid, I don’t know.  But I am definitely glad to have my KN95  mask and eye protection today.


----------



## swelch1976

princesslover said:


> Thanks for sharing!!   In your experience does it make sense to avoid rope dropping FoP and do it later when crowds disperse?  I’m seeing a lot of people do it later in the day with minimal waits.


[/QUOTE]
I think on weekdays it certainly makes sense. The longest waits seem to be right away, and we virtually walked on every ride in the meantime. I’m not sure about weekends though.


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## TikiTikiFan

Just returned home yesterday and we had a wonderful time. Thank you to everyone for all the great tips- they definitely came in handy.

Here’s some quick takeaways that might help others coming soon:

Line times were often overinflated and if they weren’t, they were accurate. Don’t let how long they look fool you- it’s just because everyone is so distanced.
Personally, we thought the food was pretty ‘meh’ and survived the last two days with no dining reservations just fine. Never experienced long waits for QS or carts. I’m sure things are better when everything else is open. Noticed the lack of options the most in MK.
Magic Kingdom seemed to be the most overwhelming in terms of bottle necks and poor mask compliance. Monday is just as busy as a weekend- our day on Thursday was so easy with minimal crowds compared to the Monday.
Getting there early is key- I followed everyone’s tips on here to arrive early and they worked!
For us Disneyland folks, don’t even try the churros. Yuck. I was quite offended. 
I found ourselves much more exhausted than usual. We did about the same amount of walking as we usually do when I looked at my steps- maybe it was the longer periods standing? The masks in the humidity? I wasn’t prepared to feel so wiped out everyday.
If you stay in the park all day, take your relaxing time break by the cavalcade routes. We did this in AK and Mk and saw them all!
The magic is still there, the masks and distancing become second nature after awhile. 
Hope everyone has a safe trip! We came back home to our county going into a strict lockdown with panic hoarding galore (we are quarantining regardless but still) so I’m thankful we went. Next few weeks look like they’re going to be stressful.


----------



## Leigh L

JoJoGirl said:


> Heading home from a great 5-night stay at WDW.  Sitting here at MCO and am seeing the worst mask compliance in my two trips.  Probably my bad luck, but in the next row is a whole family who is either maskless or wearing them below their noses or on their chins.  Near to them is another man who has not had a mask on since he arrived.  Maybe they all have already had Covid, I don’t know.  But I am definitely glad to have my KN95  mask and eye protection today.


I saw a lot of noncompliance at MCO on my recent trip back (mid-day flight) when sitting at the gate for my flight. Definitely the worst on the entire trip.

Glad you had a great trip, safe travels home!


----------



## AllieBoo

We got back last night from a 5 night stay.  We had a great time, and really enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations.   The first few nights we were at the Swan and were able to walk to Epcot and HS. At Epcot, we got to the IG close to 10:00 am (for 11:00 opening) and were let in about 10:15, we went straight to Frozen and were 3rd in line, off by 10:35.  At HS, we got there a little after 9:00 am (10:00 opening) and were let in about 9:15;  went straight to MMRR, no wait except the time it took to walk the queue, and were off by 9:30, then went straight to slinky and waited about 30 min. HS was the most crowded feeling park for us.

MK was the best park for us as far as wait times. We did two days there and did not do rope drop either day.  We were at the Contemporary, so we just walked over whenever we got ready.  Posted wait times were usually a good bit longer than what we actually waited. Big Thunder, posted wait was 45 min, and we only waited the time it took us to get through the queue (which is long), Splash posted 25 min, but only about 5. The only rides we found to have pretty accurate times were 7DMT, Pirates and sometimes Space mountain (which was usually only 15 min). We did every ride we wanted to multiple times both days and really enjoyed seeing the cavalcades and Christmas decorations. 

I was a little nervous about going, but it ended up being one of our best trips ever.


----------



## BruinsDad

Here at Epcot today.  I'm an out of Towner so I've been going off of what I've seen online, but it feels very busy. Mask compliance is great but it's difficult to distance a lot of times.  We got off FEA about 1045 and spent about 40 minutes waiting in line for test track. Then mission space (a very underrated ride if you ask my kids) and started walking to Teppan Edo for our 12:40 lunch.  Having a great time, but it's definitely busy here in Epcot.


----------



## yulilin3

Everyone,  remember it's a holiday week, all the parks will definitely be busier than what you've seen online and what's been reported here.


----------



## ColoradoMom12

JoJoGirl said:


> Heading home from a great 5-night stay at WDW.  Sitting here at MCO and am seeing the worst mask compliance in my two trips.  Probably my bad luck, but in the next row is a whole family who is either maskless or wearing them below their noses or on their chins.  Near to them is another man who has not had a mask on since he arrived.  Maybe they all have already had Covid, I don’t know.  But I am definitely glad to have my KN95  mask and eye protection today.


We arrived at MCO today and observed the same. A lot of people without masks at all, including an entire family at the rental car counter (not just waiting in line, actually at the counter).


----------



## only hope

hlrubin507 said:


> Does anyone here have recent reports on what time the parking lots are opening at the various parks?  Is it still about 45 min prior to park opening?  Would love anyone's recent experience with this.  I know it can also change day to day.  I am thinking of turning up about an hour prior and if not yet open to line up, pulling over until they are open?



Roughly, yes. We were there a few days last week. You won't be able to pull over though. Police make you keep going.


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## YayforMickey

TikiTikiFan said:


> Personally, we thought the food was pretty ‘meh’ and survived the last two days with no dining reservations just fine. Never experienced long waits for QS or carts. I’m sure things are better when everything else is open. Noticed the lack of options the most in MK.
> For us Disneyland folks, don’t even try the churros. Yuck. I was quite offended.


I told you to stay away from those churros!  And I agree that the food at WDW is very forgettable compared to Disneyland. Glad you had a good trip overall. We are supposed to leave in a few weeks, and I am worried that our trip won't happen (again).


----------



## TikiTikiFan

YayforMickey said:


> I told you to stay away from those churros!  And I agree that the food at WDW is very forgettable compared to Disneyland. Glad you had a good trip overall. We are supposed to leave in a few weeks, and I am worried that our trip won't happen (again).



We finally saw them and we just had to try. The instant they were in my hand I knew something was horribly wrong!  They just let them rot in those pans!


----------



## only hope

Trip report

edit: For context, I’m a local (about an hour away) with an ap. I’ve been back three separate trips since the reopen for 3-5 days each time- Aug, Sept, and last week. Normally I visit one day at a time about two times a month aside from the summer, with two-three overnight trips a year; but due to my newly busy schedule I’ve only had time to go during my vacation time off of work.

MK 11/12- hurricane was on its way out.

JC posted 30 actual 19. Line filled entire queue. Distancing fine on our boat; other boats had too many large parties and people were not six feet apart.

Pirates posted 20 actual 21. Line started to left of entrance. Distancing fine.

BTMR posted 25 1207 changed to 35 few mn later actual 22. Distancing fine.

Splash 1237 posted 25 actual 18. Mom can’t sit in the same row as me anymore due to needing to stretch her leg out; cm had no issue letting us sit in separate rows. Had our own boat.

Pooh posted 20 152 large group
8ppl? stepped to side. Actual 15. Line was to water fountain. One party per pot.

HM posted 15 221 actual walk on. We didn’t realize it til we were already on but every vehicle is loaded, so distancing is not six feet the entire ride. In September one empty was left between parties.

Little Mermaid posted 20 announced cleaning as got in line 3:00. actual 16. We had an empty wheelchair accessible clam in front of us. They were loading every clam, which again puts you within six feet of people and was not the practice in September. We went to guest services to politely complain at that point and left as I was so upset at the lack of distance on _two _attractions.


AK 11/13

Safari posted 30 1134 actual 20. Queue was wrapped around to the tour info booth and went through an extended portion once past the entrance that I had never seen before.   No distancing- every row was being loaded. There’s plastic with gaps between the rows. When we got to the cm who assigns rows, we politely told her we did not want to be in a row near anyone else. She cheerfully assigned us to the last row and no one was placed in front of us.

Long line (ten minutes) to see gorillas and they were rushing people. Only got to stand there two mn. CM said to take a pic and step over to next marker; but our first marker was halfway down due to the place emptying right before we went in.

Very few people respected distancing on the trails. It wasn’t very pleasant as we had to keep moving when people invaded our space.

HS 11/14

MMRR 830 posted 60 actual 35. One party per car that day- most of the cars didn’t have plexiglass. That has now changed.


ToT 917 posted 25 cm sign 30 actual 20. Line was past Joffreys. CM did not tell a party of two in the front to sit all the way to the left to ensure adequate distance from the party on the right. Front to back was fine, and we were distanced well from the party of two on our left.


TSM 9:52 posted 30 actual 14. Queue was halfway back to the entrance of the land.


ST posted 35 10:22 actual 15. Line filled outside queue. When we went in, I left a section of seats between us and the next party to maintain distance. Turns out the cm had other ideas as unknown to me he had put another group in line behind us. I should have stepped off and asked to ride the next time at a safe distance. Mom just moved over and I followed; had a split second to make a choice and made the wrong one. Last time I will do that.


Muppets posted 20mn 10:48 actual 12. Line was outside. Got to see the cute posters outside for the first time. Distancing was fine.


Rise in line 1215. Line was nearly to
Muppets. Reached check in at 1222 off at 1243 but preshows broken; aside from a second boarding group check we did not stop walking until we reached a certain very large room. I asked the cm assigning spots if it was one party per vehicle. He asked if I knew about the barriers; I said I did but that’s not a substitute for distancing. He had us move back from our spot to wait for the next cycle so we would be distanced. It was an interesting conversation as we were both trying to stay in character. 

There were too many people at every park. It was extremely difficult to stay distanced most of the time walking around. Safety has declined a lot since we went in September. People following the calvacades acted like there was no pandemic and walked right next to each other

Ironically, some of the queues seem to be set up better now- or maybe we just got lucky and were near fewer large parties. Anyways, the first section of the MMRR queue was fine this time; last time we were frequently within six feet of someone laterally despite our efforts to leave a gap when needed and stand as far to the side as possible. Big Thunder didn’t have people on both sides of the dreaded plexiglass in the very first part of the queue at the top.

We only went to three QS locations. DB7 we ate outside, which was surprisingly nearly empty. Seats were not assigned, so we were able to pick a table that had us very far from anyone else if anyone else showed up. They’ve put plexiglass up between booths and removed the unavailable signs. No one was sitting back to back when we were there.

A great place to chill at AK is the stands for Rivers of Life. Hardly anyone was there. Nice place to watch the character boats- one goes by every five mn or so. It’s the starting and ending point so you see everyone twice.


----------



## NJlauren

Did MK today, we knew it would be crowded, and not walk on type day.  But overall we really thought the crowds weren’t horrible.

We got into MK right around 9, maybe a few minutes before, me and DD6 did space twice, while my husband and DD2 did Pooh, Carousel, and Peter Pan.

Then we met up did haunted mansion, Peter Pan, and did lunch at cosmic rays, then we did Buzz.

It was about 12:30 now and was when it started to feel crowded.  We headed to pirates and about 10 minutes into the line I got DH to agree to a break. 

Took a break and nap, and got back to the park around 445, did some photo pass pictures quick shopping and then dinner at the plaza, after the plaza we did pirates, country bear and small world.  We could have easily done another ride or two time wise but decided to head out, it was about 8. 

We caught multiple cavalcades and really enjoyed them.  Overall we felt for about 6 park hours with two meals we did plenty. 

Spots feel crowded from the lines being outside, but the mid day break avoided worst lines, and crowds.


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## HikingFam

Will someone please remind me of the best rope drop strategy for Epcot currently? I know to be in line to park at 10-10:15, but when we were there in September we got in line for Soarin and had to wait until 11 for them to start the ride. Is there anything we can do that starts before 11?


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## smelton521

Looking for pandemic packing tips from anyone just back. We leave in a week and are driving. I have the usual big general Disney packing lists I’ve found online but wondering if there are things you all found useful or wish you had brought for “pandemic Disney?” There will be five of us with 3 kids ages 6, 10 and 12.


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## yulilin3

HikingFam said:


> Will someone please remind me of the best rope drop strategy for Epcot currently? I know to be in line to park at 10-10:15, but when we were there in September we got in line for Soarin and had to wait until 11 for them to start the ride. Is there anything we can do that starts before 11?


Nothing is supposed to open before official park opening,  that's an operational decision made daily by reach attraction team.  Sometimes FEA opens earlier but nothing is guaranteed,  I would say go to your priority attraction first


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## Best Aunt

smelton521 said:


> Looking for pandemic packing tips from anyone just back. We leave in a week and are driving. I have the usual big general Disney packing lists I’ve found online but wondering if there are things you all found useful or wish you had brought for “pandemic Disney?” There will be five of us with 3 kids ages 6, 10 and 12.



If it were me, I would be thinking about what my family would do with their masks while eating.  If you plan to swim, you should wear the mask until you get to a lounge chair - what are you going to do with the masks when you take them off after you sit down, or go in the pool?  Put them on a napkin?  On a lanyard?  In a paper bag?  In a ziploc bag?  Just toss them in your park bag?

If family members have masks which look identical, are you labeling them somehow?  (I use a Sharpie to put a small dot on my fabric masks - not to identify them, but so that I can quickly tell the top from the bottom when I take them off and put them back on.)

I personally like to keep my hand sanitizer in a ziploc bag.  I'm afraid that I won't close the cap tight, and it will get all over everything in my tote bag.


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## only hope

smelton521 said:


> Looking for pandemic packing tips from anyone just back. We leave in a week and are driving. I have the usual big general Disney packing lists I’ve found online but wondering if there are things you all found useful or wish you had brought for “pandemic Disney?” There will be five of us with 3 kids ages 6, 10 and 12.



Same as usual really, except masks and everything to do with them, and sanitizing supplies. If you don't normally pack many snacks/meals you may want to reconsider that. Many places are closed, and locations without mobile order can have a long wait. Places with mobile order frequently do not have any time slots available right away, so you have to plan ahead of time.


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## HikingFam

If you like chewing gum to avoid smelling your mask breath, pack it! No gum sold on Disney property, even at the Speedway (verified 5 minutes ago lol).


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## lovethattink

smelton521 said:


> Looking for pandemic packing tips from anyone just back. We leave in a week and are driving. I have the usual big general Disney packing lists I’ve found online but wondering if there are things you all found useful or wish you had brought for “pandemic Disney?” There will be five of us with 3 kids ages 6, 10 and 12.



I don’t know how long your drive is, but we drove to Ohio and back to Florida twice since the pandemic started. Finding restrooms was an issue. Many restaurants were drive thru and sit downs were carry out.

We stopped at a McDonald’s in Georgia that had only drive thru and had to search for a place that had a public restroom. So we ended up stopping at travel plazas with fast food and restrooms. 

2nd trip, I packed a cooler bag with food and we pulled over at rest areas.

In the car we had a spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol. We spayed the bottoms of our shoes with alcohol before getting in the car. Got plenty of stares, but we felt safer. Also used it on my purse since I hung it on restroom doors.

Packed several bags to use for garbage and threw them in garbage cans when we got gas or stopped at rest stops.

Kept hand sanitizer readily available.

We stayed at Pop in August. I packed Chlorox wipes for handles and surfaces at the room. But I packed them pre-pandemic too.

Things I packed that I’m glad I did, ketchup, mustard, and Mayo. Knife, fork, and spoons, paper towels, zip lock bags and paper plates. We ate in the room instead of the food court. They gave us like one pack of ketchup, no plates for the large pizza. And it would have been a pain to walk back to food court to ask for those things.

Snacks that don’t require refrigeration or won’t melt in heat. If you don’t pre-order your food and time for counter service, you could be waiting a long time. We packed Krispie Treats to hold us over til our food was ready.

I’ve discovered that 3pm is a great time to eat at the parks.


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## BridgetR3

Rough morning at Epcot. We were in the park at 10:07 and walked to test track. My kids were about 5 families back from the front when they announced that the ride was closed due to technical errors.  So we walked over to frozen.  It is now at 10:58 and we just received word from a cast member hollering through the line that frozen is not working either.


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## HikingFam

BridgetR3 said:


> Rough morning at Epcot. We were in the park at 10:07 and walked to test track. My kids were about 5 families back from the front when they announced that the ride was closed due to technical errors.  So we walked over to frozen.  It is now at 10:58 and we just received word from a cast member hollering through the line that frozen is not working either.


We are here also. Everything feels very crowded, I guess because 2 headliners are down.


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## Buzz2014

Just got back 2 days ago.. we were there from 11/13-11/19 mask compliance was great, I literally only saw 2 people with noses out but everyone has masks on. Social distance non existent tho.. we walked into the the park in Monday in a crowd of ppl and it was not even ripe drop I had purposely waited 2 hours but I guess everyone had the same idea.. on wed we entered the park at noon and it was a big difference. We shared the bus with 2 other ppl, no one at line anywhere to get in, and areas were pretty spaced out all rides were walk on or 20 min wait with exception of mine train splash and.. carousel? Not sure why but that had a long wait most of day. I was more disappointed than I thought I would be due to missing characters. I had no clue that’s where I would be missing the magic. Decorations were nice and I was excited to try holiday treats.. however Food lines were what appeared the an hour long. Shopping at emporium did not happen, it was a 40 min wait at closing and on another day at just 5p it was an hour wait.
It was a little more manageable at


smelton521 said:


> Looking for pandemic packing tips from anyone just back. We leave in a week and are driving. I have the usual big general Disney packing lists I’ve found online but wondering if there are things you all found useful or wish you had brought for “pandemic Disney?” There will be five of us with 3 kids ages 6, 10 and 12.


We drove too.. I would recommend wipes and your own Lysol spray.. we had 4 adults and 2 kids in our minivan, one kids feet rested on the cooler so I constantly wiped the bottom of shoes. The other kids feet constantly touched where cup holders were so I wiped their shoes too. Spray was for their shoes entereing the car wipes were for when they kept moving from mats to where I described above, they could have also gone without shoes but my son has special needs and required wearing his shoes to avoid taking longer to put them back on with inserts etc. 
I lysoled the upholstery in our room, I know Disney has done a great job cleaning rooms but I also know people put luggage and bags on top of areas after having them all over the floors. Sometimes people see a room and request a change, I highly doubt that room is recleaned as long as all looks untouched.  ( I still cleaned the usual light switches cabinet handles door knobs locks faucets but I did this prepandemic too) 

I also used Clorox wipes when we sat to eat, CMs are doing A great job cleaning tables etc but I don’t see anyone clean chairs at restaurant like sides where people constantly hold to scoot closer to table. Outside tables are not cleaned between seatings either, I know they are cleaning every now and then but it’s impossible to clean between groups. And if you are particular about hand sanitizer I would carry small bottles, ( especially for hands on stuff like buzz or smugglers run ) they have plenty of contactless ones after you get off a ride but some were out and some were the sticky kind. In bathrooms remember there are maybe 4 paper towel dispensers per 2 rows of sinks, maybe 16 sinks ? I’m not sure.. but grabbing paper towels after washing my hands became very frustrating with no social distancing and ppl basically standing shoulder to shoulder no one getting out of anyone’s way ( moms with kids, groups staying together, people looking for each other etc) it was easier to air dry.

We also had small ziploc bags for keeping new masks and placing masks down while eating( if outside they blow away from tables so I would bring extra masks too)
We were there 6 days got back 3 nights ago and mask compliance was great so that was nice to see. We were able to ride everything and repeat rides too.. but the magic was not fully there when seeing the holiday snack lines wrap around buildings or seeing a 40 min line just to browse at emporium. My son missed the characters more than I thought he would., I think I did too. We went with little expectations and it def was a very different trip. We did get to try a bunch of new restaurants and stayed at a new resort for us due to split stay. Our friends resort hopped 3 times and loved that part of it.  All in all if you want to ride everything this is a great time but that is probably all you may be able to do. I saw 1 character “ non parade” and that is all on one day. It was the Christmas themed 2 floats with princesses.. I know ppl say cavalcades are constant but that was not what we encountered. If we didn’t have expiring points I would not have gone. If staying off site and or driving to the park  I would recommend going another time.. the parking and ttc ferry/ monorail is very crowded no social distancing at all just the usual lines to get in. We did rope drop as well as 90 min after park opened and crowds were all the same.. only time it was effortless was when we entered a park at noon after arriving via bus from our resort.


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## Lsdolphin

Does anyone know if it’s ok to take a aerosol can of Lysol spray in checked luggage via SWA?


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## DL1WDW2

In general the answer is No but doing online search for your answer  outlines many other important factors to consider. Glad I searched and now I know
Sorry not being snotty I am glad you asked too! Good question....


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## DL1WDW2

yulilin3 said:


> Everyone,  remember it's a holiday week, all the parks will definitely be busier than what you've seen online and what's been reported here.


I think today is last Epcot Festival Day. Forgot what it is called...


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## Lsdolphin

Lsdolphin said:


> Does anyone know if it’s ok to take a aerosol can of Lysol spray in checked luggage via SWA?




Ok going to answer my own question after doing further research...(google) 
“Disinfectant sprays” are banned from planes


----------



## swelch1976

HikingFam said:


> Will someone please remind me of the best rope drop strategy for Epcot currently? I know to be in line to park at 10-10:15, but when we were there in September we got in line for Soarin and had to wait until 11 for them to start the ride. Is there anything we can do that starts before 11?


Frozen opened at 10:45 when we were there on 11/9. Test Track sometimes does, but is less reliably open, from what I’ve been hearing.


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## DL1WDW2

In response to what to pack  P aper towels, small trash bags from grocery for trash!
I normally bring a small fan to circulate air. Extra ziploc bags All sizes
The QS at resorts Has been irritating enough to make me bring survival food and snacks and a small cooler on wheels. I use extra large ziploc bags to fill ice from vending machines and bring a bag to fit in the ice bucket in room . Bag , then bottle water or soft drink , then fill with ice from vendor...
I suggest you slowly wander thru the grocery store to look for this type of trip planningbeyond peanut butter& jelly...


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## DL1WDW2

Lsdolphin said:


> Ok going to answer my own question after doing further research...(google)
> “Disinfectant sprays” are banned from planes


I was probably searching at same time.... Haha


----------



## Befferk

Lsdolphin said:


> Does anyone know if it’s ok to take a aerosol can of Lysol spray in checked luggage via SWA?



I pack a aerosol hairspray all the time in my checked luggage.

ETA, I see you found your answer. I had no idea they would classify disinfectant differently than any other aerosol spray. Anyone know why?


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## kdonnel

Spent the 21st at Hollywood Studios.

We are staying at Pop Century. Got to the Skyliner at 8:30 and walked into Hollywood right at 9am.

We rode everything once just before 4pm. Took an hour or so break to ride the Skyliner to Epcot and took the boat from Boardwalk back to Hollywood.

At that point we rode Smugglers Run and Toy Story two more times before walking out at exactly 7pm.

So a little less efficient then our trip over Labor Day but not by much.

Still so much fewer people then Thanksgivings past.


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## cp1116

Here today at Magic Kingdom and it’s very crowded. Not seeing the same mask compliance as the past few days. I would say over in frontier land mask compliance would probably be around 65-70%. Cast members are not enforcing.


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## Donnask8pro

Befferk said:


> I pack a aerosol hairspray all the time in my checked luggage.
> 
> ETA, I see you found your answer. I had no idea they would classify disinfectant differently than any other aerosol spray. Anyone know why?


I was also questioning this. I fly easily 10x a year and always pack hairspray. Apparently toiletries are different  I did ask Mr. Google


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## kdonnel

At the AK today the 22nd. Rode everything before 2:30.  Planning to reride what we want now. We have dinner reservations at 6pm at Ravello at the Four Seasons. Not sure we will hang around at the AK until then.


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## HikingFam

Today at Epcot, much much more crowded than the days we were there in September and October, which I guess is to be expected. We hit a few rides first thing (the few that were open) then ate our way around the park and left around 1. Although all the walkways and outdoor areas appeared very crowded, lines for food weren’t bad except Mexico. Thinking we will stick with our plan of just doing the parks for a few hours each morning this week. Mask compliance was about the same as September, but I did hear a lot of coughs today.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Donnask8pro said:


> I was also questioning this. I fly easily 10x a year and always pack hairspray. Apparently toiletries are different  I did ask Mr. Google



I checked with google and “she” said aerosol sprays that touch your skin/hair are considered toiletries and are allowed...paints, thinners, disinfectant sprays....are banned


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Lsdolphin said:


> Does anyone know if it’s ok to take a aerosol can of Lysol spray in checked luggage via SWA?


just watch where you spray when in parks, not your room, as some people are allergic. for me if you sprayed a lap bar at a ride if I was on next spot I would be needing EMTs by time your lap bar was fasten and I would have no way to escape


----------



## Salf777

Was there from 11/08 - 11/12. 
Drove up with friends and we received our room numbers on the drive up. Arrived at the Grand Floridan hotel and staff was all there and willing to help. We only had carry one so we took our own bags. Room clean and fresh plastic over tv remote, plastic and paper cups for coffee. Dropped our stuff and hopped on a bus to Epcot. Bus pulled up in like 2 minutes and virtually empty. Epcot being so big never felt crowded except for a few tight spots here and there. Test Track posted 35 minutes on and off the ride in 25. Soaring also posted 35 minutes basically a walk on until we got to boarding area and had to wait for the next flight. Some lines in the countries Mexico Pavillion and Frozen ever after stated close to an hour all day so we never actually tried those. Great days a lot of construction but still it’s Epcot and so much fun. Dinner at Chefs De France which I will say was a little off, maybe because the usual waiters weren’t there it seemed like the wait staff wasn’t as familiar with everything. Don’t get me wrong they were wonderful and helpful just felt a little off. Place was packed (tables distant of course) and the cast members said they were so happy to be back to work and busy and doing well!

Back to hotel to Enchanted Rose for a drink and it was great beautiful lounge and just looking at all the detail is fun

Next day animal kingdom. Again a bus, no wait early in the morning bus right there when we got to bus stop. Walked in new security is amazing walked over to safari and on in 5. Over to Everest basically a walk on. We arrived at the park early and they let people in early and attractions were running obviously to avoid the crowds at rope drop. If you can get to a park early they were lett us in and we were able to knock out a few major attractions before official opening time. Hit everything basically and then went to Nomad Lounge for a drink and some snacks. Great food, great atmosphere to sit and take a break! Flight of Passage listed at 45 minutes and the line looked sooooooo long. It went really fast and our wait time was about 30 minutes and totally worth it my first time on. Dinner at iL Mulino in the Swan food was very good.

Magic Kingdom took the monorail and was there pre open and went right to Pirates which was a walk on. Walked over to Peter Pan walk on, then over to Big Thunder 5 minutes and Splash about 5 minutes. After that was official park opening and lines got longer but never to bad! We did basically everything. Lunch at Cinderellas Royal Table. Service was outstanding. 

Let me interject that my wife has a food allergy and we had one extra person with us. All our reservations were for 4 people and we showed up with 5. Every restaurant the chef came out and gave her options of what to eat. Every place accommodating the extra person! I believe the service in Disney has been stepped up to another level simply amazing.
Ok so now dinner at Be Our Guest! Waiter was awesome. Just wanted to take care of us got us ”special coffees” his special blend he said. Just great.  Rode everything we wanted and in the evening walked the stores and saw the castle holiday projections. Perfect end to perfect day.
Last day Hollywood Studios. We were lucky enough to get ROTR boarding. Again arrived early got in early Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaser down in 40 minutes. Hit a few others and went over to ROTR while the ladies didn’t want to go so they sat at the Tap House and had a beer flight and pretzel which they said was excellent. ROTR was just amazing another level attraction. off To Disney Springs and Boathouse for dinner which was excellent 

Conclusion, Disney feels the safest it’s been (felt safer there then local supermarket), cleanest it’s ever been. yes at times there were crowds but it’s still less than normal and while there may be less shows and all in my opinion its Being well handled and yes you may wait on a line but it’s nothing compared to peak times pre corona. Plus we felt very relaxed with one park a day took our time (although excited park hopping coming back)and just enjoyed everything without planning where to go next. Enjoyed every park and leisurely walking and where normally if something had a long line we said we’ll pass now we just get on and wait and those long lines aren’t really that long.

Cast Members are just outstanding! Happy to be working and going that extra mile. Always a hello, always a helping hand. Parks and hotels are clean, clean, clean! Hotel didn’t have housekeeping every day but we didn’t care. If we needed coffee or towels we called and it was there in 5 minutes. Loved the characters out and about and the cavalcade‘s. It’s almost better just walking along and looking up and seeing Chip and Dale on a balcony somewhere or Poo chasing butterflies!

it’s different but it’s good. Just my humble opinion


----------



## Lsdolphin

Betty Rohrer said:


> just watch where you spray when in parks, not your room, as some people are allergic. for me if you sprayed a lap bar at a ride if I was on next spot I would be needing EMTs by time your lap bar was fasten and I would have no way to escape



Was only planning to spray in room, would feel pretty stupid walking parks with a can of Lysol!


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## Betty Rohrer

Lsdolphin said:


> Was only planning to spray in room, would feel pretty stupid walking parks with a can of Lysol!


I have read where people wanted to do this is parks and yes I am that allergic to spray Lysol and I react that quick. the ones I read planned to carry in backpack and take out as they needed. right now I wont fly because of this. this happened years ago but ended up causing a plane to be very delayed at the gate causing the one who sprayed yo miss her connecting flight. causing her allergy child to be on plane longer than planned. she wanted me put off as soon as I was having trouble breathing yelled at FAs as they had to wait for EMTs to arrive and say either I could fly or they remove me. can you see why I worry when I see this mentioned


----------



## cp1116

Just walked past a young couple snorting lines on the drawbridge walkway connecting liberty square to frontier land. Security walking that way. There really is a definite need for more cast members out and and about.


----------



## WEDWDW

cp1116 said:


> Just walked past a young couple snorting lines on the drawbridge walkway connecting liberty square to frontier land. Security walking that way. There really is a definite need for more cast members out and and about.


Sounds like some Nose Peepers!lol


----------



## NashvilleMama

Betty Rohrer said:


> just watch where you spray when in parks, not your room, as some people are allergic. for me if you sprayed a lap bar at a ride if I was on next spot I would be needing EMTs by time your lap bar was fasten and I would have no way to escape


THIS! I'm like this too and I have a really hard time with even commercial cleaning agents in some hotels. I cannot fathom getting on a ride right after someone sprayed (vs. wiped) it down.


----------



## VandVsmama

Lsdolphin said:


> Was only planning to spray in room, would feel pretty stupid walking parks with a can of Lysol!



You could achieve the same by just bringing Clorox wipes.


----------



## Lsdolphin

VandVsmama said:


> You could achieve the same by just bringing Clorox wipes.


 I’m coming with my 89 yr old mother...I would like to do both disinfectant wipes and an overall spray of room...but not willing to bring something on a plane that’s banned...


----------



## NJlauren

smelton521 said:


> Looking for pandemic packing tips from anyone just back. We leave in a week and are driving. I have the usual big general Disney packing lists I’ve found online but wondering if there are things you all found useful or wish you had brought for “pandemic Disney?” There will be five of us with 3 kids ages 6, 10 and 12.



Extra masks, we have a mix of reusable and disposable, and change them out.  We also have mask chains to let them hang around your neck, my daughter and I like them, for quick stops, so we don’t need to figure out what to do with the mask. 

Have fun!


----------



## VandVsmama

Lsdolphin said:


> I’m coming with my 89 yr old mother...I would like to do both disinfectant wipes and an overall spray of room...but not willing to bring something on a plane that’s banned...



Maybe have it shipped to the hotel before your arrival?


----------



## NJlauren

Did HS today, was over all a great day, the morning was a bit rough slinky didn’t open till after 10, and Minnie and Mickey Rail went down in the morning as well.

We had secured boarding group 76. 

Here is what we got done, we go there shortly before 10, me and DD2 headed for Railway, and DH and DD6 head to tower of terror.  Railway was a 90 minute wait so we headed to toy story land the line for slinky was insane (DD2 is to short anyway).  We went to TSMM and were off by 1030, then did aliens, DH and DD6 were off tower of terror by 1040 and saw some cavalcades and headed to meet us, they jumped on the TSMM and we all did that again.  We were off that at 1130.

We ordered lunch at back lot, and took a little bit of a break, it was hot and lines were all pretty long, and the girls were already a bit tired and hot.

Around 1245 we decided to split up again, DH and DD2 did Disney Junior, me and DD6 did rocking rollercoaster.  We met up after and headed to Minnie and Mickey run away railway, which was about 35 minute wait and not to bad.  Our boarding group got called right around 245, we split up and did rider swap.  Me and DD6 went first and had a short wait but not to bad, we were off a bit before 330.  Then while DH and DD6 did Rise me and DD2 did muppets.  After Muppets we decided to head out.  We did have a dinner reservation but decided the kids probably would do really well with it.

Overall we think the day went really well, it was a bit annoying how our boarding group fell, since ideally we would have taken a break 1-3/4 but then we would have missed the boarding group.  

The park was really crowded, but it feels more crowded because of how the lines are setting up, the only thing I really would have wanted to didn’t get to do was slinky, but was fine skipping it.

Tomorrow is AK, but planning for only a half day.


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## yulilin3

cp1116 said:


> Just walked past a young couple snorting lines on the drawbridge walkway connecting liberty square to frontier land. Security walking that way. There really is a definite need for more cast members out and and about.


no matter how many CM are out there these sort of things, and worse, happen every day. Oh the stories I've heard from my CM friends and family


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## BridgetR3

Well after our crazy morning in Epcot lines with breakdowns, we decided to just skip rides in the morning and do the countries.  We had a great time eating around the world and then began riding again at Figment.  Our luck reared its ugly head one more time as we had to be escorted off of figment when it broke down mid ride.  However the rest of the evening was nice. We never did make it back to frozen but we were able to do everything else.


----------



## p44nmun

I really enjoy reading about everyone’s trip reports. Sounds like things are getting a bit crowded at times though versus early fall trips and now I’m getting “nervous “ for Xmas week. Hopefully it’ll stay at 35% capacity and won’t be much different


----------



## BridgetR3

p44nmun said:


> I really enjoy reading about everyone’s trip reports. Sounds like things are getting a bit crowded at times though versus early fall trips and now I’m getting “nervous “ for Xmas week. Hopefully it’ll stay at 35% capacity and won’t be much different


We are used to thanksgiving week and honestly are LOVING the crowds!!! It really is manageable even without fast passes!  Yesterday at Epcot for us would have happened with or without crowds since it was ride issues.


----------



## p44nmun

BridgetR3 said:


> We are used to thanksgiving week and honestly are LOVING the crowds!!! It really is manageable even without fast passes!  Yesterday at Epcot for us would have happened with or without crowds since it was ride issues.


That makes me feel reassured! I’m really looking forward to going!


----------



## MagicalMawMaw

We just got back yesterday & our trip was great. 

I was worried that lines would be too long without fast pass but the longest line we ever waited in was 25 minutes. 

We stayed at Art of Animation little mermaid room. Requested king upper floor & got both.  I love that resort.

Thursday we did Epcot. We had arrived at Our resort at 2 that morning after a late flight in but with a 11  opening it was still possible to get there before opening.

AoA has buses also going to Epcot also, not just the Skyliner. However, we wanted to ride the Skyliner.

 Important note here! The AoA Skyliner moves at a Snail pace. About every 10 minutes or so they let one group go on. We were just 4 groups back & in line at least 45 minutes.  The POP line moves continuously. So if I was doing that again I would cross the bridge & get in the line on the POP side to board. Reason for this is POP has no buses while AoA has buses to those parks. 

Still even with the slow boarding of the Skyliner we arrived too early at the transfer station for the Epcot Skyliner to be running ( it starts at 10) so we walked from there to Epcot. I enjoyed the slower start to the morning as it was a gorgeous morning & perfect weather for a stroll. We arrived at the back entrance about 5 minutes before they opened the park. Perfect timing. 

We went straight to frozen and rode it before the park was officially open. Then to Soaring as a walk on. We rode everything we wanted all day & repeated Soaring. No waits at all. The park felt very empty to me compared to the usual Disney.

We tried Biergarten for our first time & loved it. The entertainment was great & the food great too. I especially loved the salads & desserts & their iced tea was delicious.

San Angel Inn was great as usual & even better without so many tables in there!

Friday was MK. It opened at 9 so we were at the bus stop at 7:20. On the first bus to the park. Our bus had to wait at the parking lot about 10 minutes before they could enter as they were too early. We were the first group into the park.

Before officially open we did Seven dwarfs mine train , Peter Pan, runaway mountain, PoC. We rode everything we wanted to and found wait times were posted longer than they were. Buzz was our longest wait that afternoon at 25 minutes. Most rides were very short wait times and the lines moved fast. 

Cinderella castle at lunch was great & Cinderella came out 2 times to wave during our meal.

We saw the little short parades 4 or 5 times during the day too.

Saturday our last day was AK . It opened at 8. We were at the bus stop by 6:30 . Were the first people at the bus stop. The bus was there before 7 . We were at the park and in the park 45 minutes before officially open. Was the first bus there & the very first in the park. 

We rode FoP 2 times before park opening. The line was already at 45 minutes after we finished our 2nd time. We did Safari & other rides & the very cute bird show before lunch at Yak & Yeti. 

After lunch we wandered down trails and saw it’s a bug. We finished all we wanted to do about 3 & went back to our resort. Without lion king & Nemo we covered that park faster than usual. Love AK!

Last thing was DS for supper at Jaleo. DS does feel crowded! Lots of people there! Supper at Jaleo was Awesome. A perfect ending to our trip.

We had a 4 am pick up Sunday morning for our flights out & that went smooth too.

Biggest suggestion for a great trip: get up Early! Be at the park at least 45 minutes before they open. This way you can ride everything without waits. 

That’s my long lengthy trip report. It was lots of fun. I did miss fireworks & character meals & shows. But it was still a great trip & Disney is trying hard in this strange world we are living in at the moment.


----------



## Donnask8pro

We are going week before Christmas.. Question. I was told Philharmagic and Muppets were closed. Is that not correct? Is there a list somewhere showing whats open due to Covid? TYSM


----------



## dachsie

Donnask8pro said:


> We are going week before Christmas.. Question. I was told Philharmagic and Muppets were closed. Is that not correct? Is there a list somewhere showing whats open due to Covid? TYSM


Both of these are open


----------



## MagicalMawMaw

Donnask8pro said:


> We are going week before Christmas.. Question. I was told Philharmagic and Muppets were closed. Is that not correct? Is there a list somewhere showing whats open due to Covid? TYSM



Philharmagic is open


----------



## PrincessV

smelton521 said:


> Looking for pandemic packing tips from anyone just back. We leave in a week and are driving. I have the usual big general Disney packing lists I’ve found online but wondering if there are things you all found useful or wish you had brought for “pandemic Disney?” There will be five of us with 3 kids ages 6, 10 and 12.


I've always brought disinfecting wipes to wipe touch points in hotel rooms, so no change there for me, but might be something new to others. Bring more masks than you think you'll need per person - my COVID trips have been in very hot weather, so it may be different in cooler times, but I wanted to change my mask about every 3-4 hours. I bring extra clean masks to the parks in a ziploc bag, and I bring a small paper bag in which to put used masks until I get back to the room and can put the masks in my dirty laundry. (Of course, if using disposable masks, you can just toss them when done.) I have a small carabiner on my park back on which to hook a mask if I'm just taking it off to eat or drink - I prefer that to pulling it under my chin or hanging off a lanyard, but YMMV. I'd say test out different approaches at home so each person has a plan before getting to WDW. I BYO hand sanitizer, just to have it when I want it. That's really it - I didn't find I needed anything extra beyond masks and mask accessories.


----------



## Debbie Jean

dachsie said:


> Both of these are open


I love the shows 

Frozen sing-a-long, one of my favorites, is also open. Waits are longer because the theaters have adjusted seating into groups of 4 with social distancing between.


----------



## yulilin3

Donnask8pro said:


> We are going week before Christmas.. Question. I was told Philharmagic and Muppets were closed. Is that not correct? Is there a list somewhere showing whats open due to Covid? TYSM


Go to MDE filter by park and then by attractions and you'll see what's open


----------



## Donnask8pro

yulilin3 said:


> Go to MDE filter by park and then by attractions and you'll see what's open


Im sorry. MDE? I assume app but    sorry again


----------



## yulilin3

Donnask8pro said:


> Im sorry. MDE? I assume app but    sorry again


Yes,  My Disney Experience.  You can also find it on the WDW website


----------



## lovethattink

Donnask8pro said:


> We are going week before Christmas.. Question. I was told Philharmagic and Muppets were closed. Is that not correct? Is there a list somewhere showing whats open due to Covid? TYSM



MDE is the app you would have made fast passes on prior to re-opening.

The theatre seats are set up for groups of 4. If you have more than 4 you’ll need to split up. Usually there are 3 empty seats between the groups of 4.

Mickey and Minnie’s Vacation Fun and One Man’s Dream are the other theatres that are open.


----------



## yulilin3

lovethattink said:


> MDE is the app you would have made fast passes on prior to re-opening.
> 
> The theatre seats are set up for groups of 4. If you have more than 4 you’ll need to split up. Usually there are 3 empty seats between the groups of 4.
> 
> Mickey and Minnie’s Vacation Fun and One Man’s Dream are the other theatres that are open.


And a lot more


----------



## Donnask8pro

GOT IT!!! TYSM


----------



## Shellyred8

swelch1976 said:


> OK - Last day in the parks for us - AK on Tuesday, 11/10.
> 
> SCHEDULE DETAIL WARNING - this trip report will have way too detailed time information... read at your own risk!
> 
> We drove to the parking lot, and arrived at the Toll Plaza at 7:58 and were about 3 cars back in line. They let us through at 8:14, but then held us again at the end of the long driveway right at the beginning of the parking lot until 8:26. We could see many many buses arriving and dropping off folks while we waited. We parked and quickly walked to the temp tents - arriving at 8:32, and were in the park at 8:34.
> 
> We had made the decision to NOT rope drop FoP, because it was immediately posting a 45 minute line, and waits later in the day seem to be far less on weekdays - and this proved to be true. So, we set off to essentially walk-on 4-5 rides to start our day, and do multiple FoP rides later in the afternoon. So, here we go...
> 
> - Na'vi River Journey 8:40 (3 min to walk through the queue) - 8:50 done
> - Kilimanjaro Safaris 8:57 (11 min wait as it opened at 9am) - 9:32 done (animals were super active)
> - EE 9:41 (5 min wait) 10 min posted - 9:51 done
> - EE 9:52 (2 min wait) 15 min posted - 9:59 done
> - Dinosaur 10:12 (10 min wait) 5 min posted - 10:28 done (somehow this ride still scares me! My 10 year old DD laughs at me)
> - TriceraTop Spin 10:31 (4 min wait) 5 min posted - 10:39 done
> - it's tough to be a bug! 10:43 (8 min wait) - 11:02 done
> - lunch at Flame Tree
> - FoP 11:46 (30 min wait) 45 min posted - 12:26 done
> - Tree of Life Gardens / Gorilla Falls Trail
> - Kali River Rapids 2:23 (9 min wait) 10 min posted - 2:42 done
> - Maharajah Jungle Trek and Winged Encounters
> - EE 3:25 (12 min wait) 30 min posted - 3:41 done
> - FoP 4:11 (28 min wait) 25 min posted - 4:49 done
> - FoP 4:49 (28 min wait) 25 min posted - 5:30 done
> 
> We reached the exit at 5:42, and were back at the hotel at 6:00.
> 
> I then took my daughter to California Grill for a birthday dinner! On our departure day, on 11/11, we did breakfast at Topolino's Terrace - which was GREAT - even with the socially distant characters, hit up Winter Summerland for minigolf, and DS before going to the airport.
> 
> We had an AMAZING trip - as I mentioned, I missed the nighttime spectaculars, but it still felt like "Disney" to us.


At FOP, were they letting you re-ride through the short-cut queue?  Or did you have to go out and walk all the way through the entire queue again?


----------



## NJlauren

Did AK this morning and frankly found it to be the hardest of the 3 parks for us to manage so far.

We arrived around 8, a bit later then I would have liked, but that’s fine.

We headed right to Everest as we were hoping FoP wait would go down.  We did rider swap on Everest and headed to the safari, with a posted 40 minute wait, but was closer to 30, we were off the safari a bit before 10, we broke apart again DD6 and DH did the animation experience (which she LOVED).  While DD2 and I did Tricera tops spin, she loved it so we did it twice.  Then we walked around for some animals.  It was really crowded. Not sure why but felt like the lines were everywhere, then we stopped at Harambe Market and waited for DD6 and DH.  

FoP was still over 2 hour so we decided to call it a morning, ordered take out from Sanaa to go, and headed out.  

I found AK to feel more crowded even then MK on Saturday!


----------



## swelch1976

Shellyred8 said:


> At FOP, were they letting you re-ride through the short-cut queue?  Or did you have to go out and walk all the way through the entire queue again?


We had to walk through the entire queue again. Continuous walking until we were in the “cave” part of the queue though.


----------



## lovethattink

yulilin3 said:


> And a lot more



 Of course!


----------



## only hope

Shellyred8 said:


> At FOP, were they letting you re-ride through the short-cut queue?  Or did you have to go out and walk all the way through the entire queue again?



Those days are gone I think. It’s a lot busier than it was in July and Aug when there were reports of that.


----------



## guynhawaii

Aloha,

Several tidbits to chew on. 
Preliminaries.  Toured MK on Sat (21 Nov) and Mon.  DHS on Sun (22 Nov).  Family of four.  DW, DS and a pair of teenagers.  Staying at CR.
C19.  WDW has exerted great efforts.  Can count one one hand to date people not complying.  Overall, everyone is doing a great job.
Crowds.  I believe the 35% capacity.  The times are high because of the required spacing on rides, transportation, etc...
Guest Relations vs. fellow forum members.  Info on this Board more reliable than Guest Relations CM.  Asked Guest Relations at DS what rides open early at the parks.  Told very sternly that none of the rides open prior to official park opening.  I kindly responded "according the various blogs and boards, some rides open 30-45 minutes prior to official park opening".  I was strongly rebuked.  I'm glad I ignored him and trusted y'all.
Official waiting times.  MK on Saturday, posted times were significantly inflated.  50' would actually be 35'.  However, DHS on Sunday the posted times were either on the mark or slightly less than actual times. 
MK strategy.  Both Saturday and Monday, the park opened around 8:15, 45 minutes prior to official opening of 9 AM.  Walked to MK from CR.  Resort Monorail doesn't start until about 35' prior to official park opening and buses don't start until one hour prior to park opening.  However, not all of the rides were open at 9:15.  Open rides included but not limited to 7DMT and PP.  Saturday and Monday, Splash didn't open until 10 AM.  Saturday was even later.  BTMRR opened about 8:30 Saturday and 8:45 Monday. 
DHS strategy.  The kids and I did R&RC twice and ToT by 10 AM.  Park opened about 9:15 (official park opening of 10).  We zigged when everyone zagged to MMRR.  Son was able to snag a BG 12 while laying in bed at CR at 7 AM.  Walked right on ROTR about 10:10.  Crowds zoomed up FAST.  Stood 90+ minutes in line for SR (thinking it would be closer to 60 but we were wrong).  Times decreased in the afternoon.  MMRR was down to 35' when we entered the line and it was about 35'.  Accomplished all of the rides except for SDD. 
Lessons learn.  Take extra masks.  DD lost hers and mine broke.  Don't be like me and forget to put your mask back on after finishing your meal.  For MK, enjoy Fantasyland and perhaps Space Mountain before the official park opening.  Delay heading to Frontierland until after official park opening.  Splash and BTMRR don't start until close to or at official park opening.
Mobile ordering.  For CS, first select your items and order your food and time of pick-up.  Secondly, notify the restaurant you are present.  Third notification for them to start your meal.  I didn't know about the third step.  Found out the hard way. 
MK vs. Disneyland.  Disneyland offers so many more rides including Matterhorn and Indy.  Plus New Orleans Square.  Food and park are better for us.  Teenagers are already bored of MK after two days in the park with one more scheduled (Tuesday).
DHS advance arrival.  Recommend drop off at Boardwalk or the Boardwalk hotels.  Requires counter service meal order or dine in to gain access.  Or, I've been told go to Swan and Dolphin and walk in.  Tried the drop off at the Speedway gas station.  Not good.  No sidewalk or cross walk towards DHS.  DW and teenagers didn't like the idea of walking across the grass and jay walking across the street at the Speedway intersection. 

Good luck!


----------



## Cynt

smelton521 said:


> Looking for pandemic packing tips from anyone just back. We leave in a week and are driving. I have the usual big general Disney packing lists I’ve found online but wondering if there are things you all found useful or wish you had brought for “pandemic Disney?” There will be five of us with 3 kids ages 6, 10 and 12.



I 2nd pack extra masks.  I have a love hate relationship with mask. I brought paper and several different cloth masks made out of different material. Best decision I made. Some days I had to switch to paper because for some reason I just couldn't breath in the cloth masks. Some days the cloth mask were fine. Some days I started out in paper and ended in cloth.  We went in October and the weather was great, 70s and a day or two low 80s and an occasional rain shower.  I kept 2 - 3 extra masks in my sling pack for DH and I. He was fine in his mask all day.


----------



## Amunet

MagicalMawMaw said:


> We stayed at Art of Animation little mermaid room. Requested king upper floor & got both.  I love that resort.


May I ask how you requested? I would like to request a king as well


----------



## MagicalMawMaw

Amunet said:


> May I ask how you requested? I would like to request a king as well


Online you are able to make 2 requests. Choices there were : king, higher floor or nearer transportation.
Go to your experience & you do it there. I think in the check in part.


----------



## sullivan.kscott

Flew in Saturday. MCO is markedly more busy than it was in August, but we found it to be pleasantly alive while not being overwhelming. DFW, where we had a 1.5 hour layover, was worse for traffic. But I think that was to be expected. American Airlines was hit or miss; their regional partner SkyWest has always been great for customer service out of Billings no matter the partner airline.
Checked in to AoA at about 1830. Direct to room was great!  We’ve used the service before, since 2018, so it was really a breeze. DW and I just wanted to relax at the end of the day, but the boys pushed for the pool. They had plenty of airplane energy stored up, so we let them go for it. Big Blue Pool is truly amazing, and I don’t think they even noticed the lack of a slide from mod+.  Landscape of Flavors pizza meal for a family was large and a decent value, but our pizza was served a little on the overdone side. Probably won’t do that one again, but the mobile order process was a breeze.


----------



## VeeHam

We are currently here now. I found everyone’s reports so helpful so I wanted to post our experience. 
We arrived yesterday at Pop. Room was ready at 2:30 and we received a text. No issues getting into the room. Room looked clean but I did wipe everything down with Lysol. We had a 6:10 ressie at Sanaa. Checked in about 30 minutes early and were seated right away. Food was incredible. That bread (naan) plate and dipping sauces was amazing. Services was great as well.

Today 11/23 we went to DHS. We woke up a few minutes to 7 and my DH was able to score BG 22. I was very excited. We all 4 tried. We have apple XR and 11’s. I was not on WiFi but he was. 
We had a Lyft driver take us to the Speedway by DHS and walked over. It was very quick. We were about 30 people back in our line for the temp check. They started checking temps at 9:11 AM. We quickly walked to MMRR and walked into the ride. It was very cute. 
We then walked onto alien swirling saucers and onto TSM.We then decided to stop at Ronto Roasters for breakfast at 10:25. We all had the oatmeal and most enjoyed it. We ordered the food and it was ready within 2-3 minutes.
 We saw Rei and Chewy and then our BG was called. We enjoyed ROR. Then we road Star Tours. DH got a little sick on ST so we sat down outside Brown Derby and rested. Our lunch ressie at Brown Derby wasn’t until 1:10 but I walked up to the booth and asked if I could check in early and they said yes. We checked in about 30 minutes early and were called within 5 minutes. Food was good. Then we took the sky liner back to Pop and napped for an hour or two.
We then headed back to DHS about 4:30. We got in line for Smugglers Run. It was listed as 50 minutes but waited about 25. Ride was fun. We rode alien saucers again and the kids decided they were hungry and wanted to go back to Pop. We walked around looking at the beautiful Christmas lights and took pictures. Saw a calvacade as we were leaving. 
We ordered from Pop food court on the way back. It took about 15 minutes to get it.
The crowds were moderately heavy today. Some places were very crowded and distancing wasn’t possible. Tomorrow we go to DAK. I’ll update tomorrow with how it went. Happy to answer any questions.


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## ambula603

I've decided rope drop is the new fast pass. If you do that, you might get to ride 2 or 3 rides with manageable waits. Otherwise, you are in for a long haul. We don't hate it (most are constantly moving and I like seeing queues I've never seen) but it has been a mental adjustment! We have left mid-day to go back to the resort (some days we return, others we haven't) and that has helped!

That being said, we have enjoyed EVERY meal we have had in and out of the parks. Felt safe and distanced and the food tastes better when we are able to sit for a bit without a mask!

Back to Epcot today for us!  Thus far it has been a great trip, despite all the things that are different.  We love being in the Disney Bubble!


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## Marc A.

VeeHam said:


> We are currently here now. I found everyone’s reports so helpful so I wanted to post our experience.
> We arrived yesterday at Pop. Room was ready at 2:30 and we received a text. No issues getting into the room. Room looked clean but I did wipe everything down with Lysol. We had a 6:10 ressie at Sanaa. Checked in about 30 minutes early and were seated right away. Food was incredible. That bread (naan) plate and dipping sauces was amazing. Services was great as well.
> 
> Today 11/23 we went to DHS. We woke up a few minutes to 7 and my DH was able to score BG 22. I was very excited. We all 4 tried. We have apple XR and 11’s. I was not on WiFi but he was.
> We had a Lyft driver take us to the Speedway by DHS and walked over. It was very quick. We were about 30 people back in our line for the temp check. They started checking temps at 9:11 AM. We quickly walked to MMRR and walked into the ride. It was very cute.
> We then walked onto alien swirling saucers and onto TSM.We then decided to stop at Ronto Roasters for breakfast at 10:25. We all had the oatmeal and most enjoyed it. We ordered the food and it was ready within 2-3 minutes.
> We saw Rei and Chewy and then our BG was called. We enjoyed ROR. Then we road Star Tours. DH got a little sick on ST so we sat down outside Brown Derby and rested. Our lunch ressie at Brown Derby wasn’t until 1:10 but I walked up to the booth and asked if I could check in early and they said yes. We checked in about 30 minutes early and were called within 5 minutes. Food was good. Then we took the sky liner back to Pop and napped for an hour or two.
> We then headed back to DHS about 4:30. We got in line for Smugglers Run. It was listed as 50 minutes but waited about 25. Ride was fun. We rode alien saucers again and the kids decided they were hungry and wanted to go back to Pop. We walked around looking at the beautiful Christmas lights and took pictures. Saw a calvacade as we were leaving.
> We ordered from Pop food court on the way back. It took about 15 minutes to get it.
> The crowds were moderately heavy today. Some places were very crowded and distancing wasn’t possible. Tomorrow we go to DAK. I’ll update tomorrow with how it went. Happy to answer any questions.


Thanks for the report.  Curious, how crowded, spread out was Sanaa?


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## ejdmomma

VeeHam said:


> We had a Lyft driver take us to the Speedway by DHS and walked over. It was very quick. We were about 30 people back in our line for the temp check. They started checking temps at 9:11 AM.



What time did you have the lyft pick you up from Pop?


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## 3DisMunchkins

VeeHam said:


> We had a Lyft driver take us to the Speedway by DHS and walked over. It was very quick. We were about 30 people back in our line for the temp check. They started checking temps at 9:11 AM.



Is using an Uber/Lyft to the Speedway better than bus or skyliner?  I'm reading that buses don't start until 45min prior to opening...seems like that might make rope drop difficult??


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## HikingFam

We did HS today, and I vastly prefer the new BG process. It was really nice to know what BG we had before trekking to the park. We were 18 so made sure to be there before open. After we finished ROTR, we thought we’d take the Skyliner to an early lunch at Riviera. What we didn’t think about was the Epcot opening time of 11. When we arrived at the CB station at 11:15, the line was still snaked all the way around the station. We ended up walking to Riviera rather than stand out in the sun in line, but it’s a bummer that the Skyliner backs up like that. 

We had early dinner in Disney Springs tonight- yikes. Much worse than September in terms of crowds and, especially, non-maskers. Boathouse had tons of empty tables and was delightful, but we weren’t able to do anything after that because every place we tried to go had a long line to get in (even at 5:00- WOD, Erin McKenna’s, Ghirardelli). It felt a bit like mass chaos with lines snaking everywhere and people trying to cut (both knowingly and unknowingly). It’s a shame, because DS is usually a highlight for us. Oh also, the snow was a hit with my kids, but people were really crowding in that area, so kind of an odd time to be doing it.


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## AllieBoo

3DisMunchkins said:


> Is using an Uber/Lyft to the Speedway better than bus or skyliner?  I'm reading that buses don't start until 45min prior to opening...seems like that might make rope drop difficult??


Yes, it is.  Ideally, you want to be there about an hour before park open, since they have been letting people in about 45 min before official opening.


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## WendiDarling

We are here now.  Have done 2 HS days. Friday Nov 20th we mobile ordered Boardwalk Bakery and walked over.  Lovely.  We were there by 8:15am and hung out in line (second in line) and ate our breakfast and enjoyed the morning. Today we bussed over from OKW.  Not as lovely.  Not terrible, but definitely not the start to the day we wanted. Bus came at exactly 9am.  We stopped at one stop before the bus was full (but that was good for us so we could go straight to DHS at that point - OKW bus stops are numerous...) 

We got BG 5 on Friday, BG 23 today. Party of 9. Had at least 3-5 people trying at 7am.  One day we got it on a iphone 11.  Another day on a XR. Having multiple people trying is key! 

We did Thurs 19th - MK
Fri 20th - DHS
Sat 21st - AK
Sun 22 - EP
Mon 23 - MK
Tues 24 - DHS

Tomorrow is AK, then home on Thursday.  The first 3 days were great crowds, but I feel the Thanksgiving crowds hit on Sunday at Epcot. But if you adjust your expectations that lines are just inevitable right now, it's not too bad. Social distancing is hit and miss.  We had terrible distancing at Dinosaur Saturday and Slinky Dog today. If you don't want people closer than 6 feet away, it's really not the time to come to Disney, imho. There are going to be times when you are closer to people than you may be comfortable with.


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## jmoak

Hello, we are arriving this Saturday for a 7 day stay off site. We will be driving to the parks.  It appears at most parks that they open the parking lots around 1 hour prior to opening? Is that accurate from what I think I've seen?

How does the arrival and the monorail and boats work at MK?  Should we plan to arrive 1 hour prior to opening at the transportation center at MK?  When does the monorail and boats start running?  

Thanks so much for the help!

jmoak


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## Pavy

It seems like Space Mountains line where you are in the tunnel would be a place without much ventilation. How are people finding that portion of the line? Even with social distancing, that portion of the queue seems like it wouldn't be a great place to stand around for a long time with people who might have Covid. Are the lines typically moving enough where you aren't in there for long?


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## yulilin3

jmoak said:


> Hello, we are arriving this Saturday for a 7 day stay off site. We will be driving to the parks.  It appears at most parks that they open the parking lots around 1 hour prior to opening? Is that accurate from what I think I've seen?
> 
> How does the arrival and the monorail and boats work at MK?  Should we plan to arrive 1 hour prior to opening at the transportation center at MK?  When does the monorail and boats start running?
> 
> Thanks so much for the help!
> 
> jmoak


Monorail and ferry start running as soon as temp check and bag check open,  which is about 45 min prior to official park owning,  parking lot opens about 45 to 50 min prior so i would be in line for that an hour before official park opening


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## kdonnel

Pavy said:


> It seems like Space Mountains line where you are in the tunnel would be a place without much ventilation. How are people finding that portion of the line? Even with social distancing, that portion of the queue seems like it wouldn't be a great place to stand around for a long time with people who might have Covid. Are the lines typically moving enough where you aren't in there for long?


Each time we rode it, we went through that portion as fast as we could walk.

Then the line would queue back and forth closer to boarding.


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## NJlauren

Did Epcot yesterday, the morning (11am) felt crowded!

We arrived around 1045, but DD2 was not having it and took us till 1130 to get to the frozen ride.  Luckily DH and DD6 had gone in and were pretty much at the front of the outside line by now.  

We rode Frozen, and Gran Fiesta with minimal wait, got some
Margaritas, walked up did mission space green, test track was down all morning and had opened just as we got off mission space, so DH and DD6 did that instead of the rider swap for mission space, they still waited  about 35 minutes but pretty good. I waited for two people to get into mouse gears, not going to lie, I kinda like the limited people in the large stores! 

We then did living with the land, and Nemo both with little to no wait.  Then headed to dinner at Via Napoli, which was amazing and spaced out really well inside.  The walk out of the park around 540 felt so long and awkward with all the construction. 

I headed back with a girlfriend around 8 and the park was dead!  Frozen was still an hour wait, but otherwise it was empty around world showcase and was so nice to walk and check things out.

Also I should note I have overall found the estimated waits in touring plans to be very accurate.


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## kdonnel

Spent the 24th at MK. We arrived just before 9am and had to wait about 5 minutes for Jingle Cruise to open. Then on to Pirates and on around the park. In the end we rode everything except Tiki and Country Bears. 

We ate counter service at Pecos Bill and had no problem finding an table. Dinner was at Cinderella’s Royal Table. It was our first time there. Food was OK, ambiance was nice. Not something we plan to do again. Food was much better and cheaper at Ravello at the Four Seasons. 

Most rides were walk on, with a 10 minute long continuously moving queue. The mountains were all 30 minute waits despite the more then double posted wait times. The only ride with an accurate wait time was 7 Dwarfs. We waited the entire 105 minutes.

I was here on Labor Day and felt the crowds were just a bit more with lines maybe 5 minutes longer on average.

Really enjoyed the greatly reduced crowds again.

Capped the night off by walking over to the Contemporary and watching the SpaceX launch from the pier.


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## Justrose

Pavy said:


> It seems like Space Mountains line where you are in the tunnel would be a place without much ventilation. How are people finding that portion of the line? Even with social distancing, that portion of the queue seems like it wouldn't be a great place to stand around for a long time with people who might have Covid. Are the lines typically moving enough where you aren't in there for long?



I was there last week and rode Space.  The advertised wait was 15 min, IIRC.  I did have to wait briefly in the tunnel, but it was short.


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## Pavy

kdonnel said:


> Each time we rode it, we went through that portion as fast as we could walk.
> 
> Then the line would queue back and forth closer to boarding.


 Thanks for the response.  So you don't have to stand in line in the tunnel? Do they hold you outside and then have you walk through it to the queue at the station before loading?


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## melissa723

Pavy said:


> Thanks for the response.  So you don't have to stand in line in the tunnel? Do they hold you outside and then have you walk through it to the queue at the station before loading?



We were there on Friday, and yes, this pretty much what they are doing. The posted wait time for us was 30 min, and it looped around outside a bit before we entered the building. Once inside, we walked at a very fast pace up to where you actually board the vehicles before looping again a bit in the queue up there. Also, we were off the ride in about 20 min, so don't let the size of the line outside fool you.


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## kdonnel

Pavy said:


> Thanks for the response.  So you don't have to stand in line in the tunnel? Do they hold you outside and then have you walk through it to the queue at the station before loading?


It wasn’t that they held the line. It just moved very fast at that point. As fast as you wanted to walk as long as you remain behind those walking in front of you.

Moved slower outside weaving and then slower again once past the tunnel weaving at the top.


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## Raemama

Thanks to all who are posting their experiences. I‘ve been reading that there are lines to get into the Mexico pyramid in EPCOT. So does this mean if you have an ADR at San Angel Inn, you need to factor in waiting in line before your reservation?


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## PrincessV

Pavy said:


> It seems like Space Mountains line where you are in the tunnel would be a place without much ventilation. How are people finding that portion of the line? Even with social distancing, that portion of the queue seems like it wouldn't be a great place to stand around for a long time with people who might have Covid. Are the lines typically moving enough where you aren't in there for long?


The thing to remember is that with no FP in play, Standby is almost constantly moving; in COVID times, I've never stood in one spot in line more than a minute or two, other than when I hit a cleaning cycle waiting for HM, and I was outdoors for that. So even in what seem like pretty confined indoor spots, you're moving through, not standing in place.


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## NashvilleMama

PrincessV said:


> The thing to remember is that with no FP in play, Standby is almost constantly moving; in COVID times, I've never stood in one spot in line more than a minute or two, other than when I hit a cleaning cycle waiting for HM, and I was outdoors for that. So even in what seem like pretty confined indoor spots, you're moving through, not standing in place.


That was our experience EXCEPT for in AK at FOP. We stood still waiting a loooooooot in the long outside lines. Sometimes it would pick up and move briskly but we were sitting down even for periods of time during our 90-minute wait (never. again.)


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## PaladinButters

Raemama said:


> Thanks to all who are posting their experiences. I‘ve been reading that there are lines to get into the Mexico pyramid in EPCOT. So does this mean if you have an ADR at San Angel Inn, you need to factor in waiting in line before your reservation?



Was there last week and a cast member told a family near us that they had to wait in that same line even with reservations.


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## ambula603

Raemama said:


> Thanks to all who are posting their experiences. I‘ve been reading that there are lines to get into the Mexico pyramid in EPCOT. So does this mean if you have an ADR at San Angel Inn, you need to factor in waiting in line before your reservation?


We ate there last night (amazing- I got the tostada and soup, highly recommend!) and they had a separate line for us around the back of the pyramid. We got there exactly at our reservation time. A cast member that was telling people where to go and told us to find another cast member around the corner. From there a CM walked us in to the host eat station. It was a bit wild inside with people, so I worried about social distancing. We waited a bit for a table but ultimately had the best seat overlooking the ride! Such a great night!


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## Simplythemeparks

Amunet said:


> Anyone know if drinking fountains are operable? We usually bring our reusable water canteens and fill them while at the parks.


Yes they are still operable.


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## Simplythemeparks

PaladinButters said:


> Was there last w2eek and a cast member told a family near us that they had to wait in that same line even with reservations.



I went to San Angels yesterday and what you do is about 15 minutes before your reservation you go to the green umbrella in front to the right of the Mexican Pavilion and you tell them you have a reservation and show them the reservation and another employee will come up from the side and bring you up the right side of the Pavilion into the Mexico Pavilion pass the line.


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## henry72

We have had pretty good luck with early morning crowds. Sunday (22nd) we did MK. On bus from Kidani village a little after 8. In by 8:30 or so. We rode, Pirates (walk on) and then BTMRR (posted 15, but was 10). By the time we got out, Splash was open/running with 30 minute wait listed though it was more like 20.  So by the time the park had been officially open by 30 minutes, we had done 3 rides.

Monday was HS. We got BG 12. Got to park on 2nd bus at about 8:20.By the time we got done with temp checks, security and walked over, there already was a 60 minute wait for SDD. So we went to GE. We walked on the falcon ride. When we got off, our BG was called. No lines at RotR.(It was awesome). Went to Star Tours with a 10 minute wait. So by the time the park had been officially open for 45 mins, we had done all 3 Star Wars rides.

today was Epcot. We got there at 10:25 and by the time we got to TT, it showed 70 minutes but we got in line anyway. It was about 40. We then went to Soarin and it too listed 70 minutes and it was closer to 40 - but there was a 15-20 minute line to even enter the Land. (Later, after lunch. Mission Space showed 35 but we were on in 10 fir the green side - orange listed at 45)


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## Simplythemeparks

so I'm going to Epcot twice in the last week. I went yesterday which was Tuesday November 24th and I went last Tuesday November 17th. Both times I got there after about noon when the park opens at 11. I have an annual pass so I have free parking but we were in creation 40 and creation 42 both times so we were pretty close to the front. Now yesterday the 24th was a lot busier and way more crowded. The times and lines were pretty crazy yesterday the 24th. But we had decided we wanted to do World Showcase during the day because we wanted to see it during the day because on the 17th we did not get over to World Showcase until nighttime. We got to do all the fun things in the world showcase before coming over and doing future world. I definitely suggest coming later because at night after like 6 yesterday we could do everything with maybe a 10-minute way other than test track and Frozen which were at like 40 minutes to 60 Minute wait and we're probably less than what was posted. But during the day the lines were insane and they were everywhere. There was a line to get into the land that was pretty crazy and there was even a 50 minute wait for journey to imagination during the day. After about 6 p.m. it was 5 to 10 minutes. They are doing the changeover for the holiday festival so a lot of the booths are closed with the new signage for the holiday festival. Here is my biggest complaint about yesterday it was extremely hard to figure out where the lines were for things. Or for instance we went into the China Pavilion to watch the video and when we came out in order to go into the store there was a line that kind of jet it off to the left. Well people that were exiting the show instead of going into the line like they're supposed to do they were trying to walk directly in to the shop or just stand there but not the end of the actual line. There wasn't really any signage directing people on what to do and the person that was calling directing people on what to do and the person that was calling people into the shop was inside the shop they weren't outside directing people. I wish they had a sign out that said something along the lines if you're waiting to get into the whatever the name is of the shop weight in this line and had an arrow pointing to where you're actually supposed to wait. I also kind of wish they may be color coded the lines on the ground. This way they can say if you're standing on I don't know a green wait here line then that line is for Frozen or stand on the pink ones to stand on the pink ones to get into the land Pavilion or like the Seas which is close to the land Pavilion if it had a different color than the because a lot of people we're getting very congested in that area and had no idea what to do. My advice is to go later in the day.


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## NJlauren

Took it easy today, crowds have picked up for the holiday, but we had a great day anyway.

Got to AK 730 and went right to FoP line said 105 minutes.  I didn’t love that me and DD2 had to wait on most of line to get rider swap.  But whatever, after getting rider swap we went on search of a donut, with none insight we walked all the way to Asia where we found one, then DH and DD6 meet us at about 90 minutes after we originally got online.  Then we had breakfast at yak and yeti, surprisingly this was really good.  Then we split up again and did riders swap for FoP wile DH and DD2 did triceratop spin twice. 

Then we headed out for a pool break and nap.  We headed to Disney Springs for dinner, and to be honest I was worried we wouldn’t find parking, or it would all be full.  I was also a bit worried about mask compliance.  But we had no issues with parking and felt mask compliance was pretty decent, not as great as the parks but pretty good.  

As we were leaving the crowds we’re growing, but it wasn’t horrible.  Overall a pretty good day, ready for the crowds and busy day tomorrow!


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## yulilin3

spent 2 hours at MK yesterday from 12:30 to 2:30, I was streaming, noo plans to go on rides just live stream how the park looked on a sold out day (all the tiers were unavailable)
I cannot stress enough the importance of:
Real expectations. Know that the queues will look long and spill out of areas where you never seen queues before. Know that it will feel crowded because there are no shows or M&G to swallow large groups of people up
Rope Drop and staying until closing, the 1st best and second best time to visit and tour
Master Mobile Order. First of all try and eat at off times, early/late lunch, early dinner. In the morning pick your eating time frame and restaurant and place order and then when it's your time just hit "I'm here" you'll be far ahead from those that place orders right at the moment. Yesterday I walked past Pecos Bill, again prime lunchtime and it was awful, so many people just hanging out waiting for their orders

All in all I knew it would feel crowded being that it was all sold out but aside from a few choke points the walkways remained manageable, Adventureland's relaxation station had a queue to go in but Tomorrowland was wide open, remember people tend to start on the right of MK and make their way around.

Pick 3 rides that are priority, do those at rope drop and the rest will be icing on the cake, don't overplan

What I experienced yesterday is what I'm expecting for Christmas and New Years week so it's definitely less people but still feels a bit crowded so keep that in mind


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## NJlauren

yulilin3 said:


> spent 2 hours at MK yesterday from 12:30 to 2:30, I was streaming, noo plans to go on rides just live stream how the park looked on a sold out day (all the tiers were unavailable)
> I cannot stress enough the importance of:
> Real expectations. Know that the queues will look long and spill out of areas where you never seen queues before. Know that it will feel crowded because there are no shows or M&G to swallow large groups of people up
> Rope Drop and staying until closing, the 1st best and second best time to visit and tour
> Master Mobile Order. First of all try and eat at off times, early/late lunch, early dinner. In the morning pick your eating time frame and restaurant and place order and then when it's your time just hit "I'm here" you'll be far ahead from those that place orders right at the moment. Yesterday I walked past Pecos Bill, again prime lunchtime and it was awful, so many people just hanging out waiting for their orders
> 
> All in all I knew it would feel crowded being that it was all sold out but aside from a few choke points the walkways remained manageable, Adventureland's relaxation station had a queue to go in but Tomorrowland was wide open, remember people tend to start on the right of MK and make their way around.
> 
> Pick 3 rides that are priority, do those at rope drop and the rest will be icing on the cake, don't overplan
> 
> What I experienced yesterday is what I'm expecting for Christmas and New Years week so it's definitely less people but still feels a bit crowded so keep that in mind



Heading there today, and while not rope dropping this is our general plan, hoping to start to empty a bit around 5/6


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## LSUfan4444

NJlauren said:


> Heading there today, and while not rope dripping this is our general plan, hoping to start to empty a bit around 5/6


It has been starting to empty a bit earlier than that. We've either been arriving before advertised opening or after lunch and for the most part, the evenings have been much more pleasant. We've definitely seen the absolute best standby times for the first hour or two but after that, it's pretty consistent, spread out and constant across the board. We waited 80 minutes for FoP one day this week with an 11:20am arrival BUT we slept in and rather than waking up at 6 something, we gained a few hours to our day in the morning and it only cost us about 40 minutes extra in line so it was a fair trade off.

With no park hopping and so many people arriving early, many many people just can't handle 10-12 hours in a theme park with kids.


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## WendiDarling

Going home today.  Some of our best ideas on this trip:

Use afternoon "break" time to do Disney Springs.  Yesterday we rope dropped AK (8am open), left about 11:00 for lunch at DS (it was very manageable crowds), then back to AK around 3:30pm to finish out the night (8pm close). We didn't have to brave DS at night and we didn't have to stay in a crowded park all afternoon. Win win.

Sit down lunch and mobile order dinner. Kept us out of the crowds a bit in the afternoon and provided a much needed sit-down mask break. Plus we never had to sacrifice "end of the night" lines in order to try to make a reservation.  That last hour or so is a good time to do rides with a bit (hopefully) lower crowds.

We rented points at BWV for our DHS day.  Lots of distressed points right now make it a good value. Especially during the weekdays in standard view.  Then we could park and walk over worry free. And we got to experience the skyliner on the way back from the park. Which I'm not sure we would have done otherwise. And we got to stay at the Boardwalk, which was lovely!

This one is kind of silly, but "stand in a line".  Anytime there was a line and I wasn't doing anything, I stood in it.  While others in my party were getting starbucks, going to the restroom, taking pictures, I stood in line.  Cut down on waiting time b/c they could just join me when they were ready. And most lines move fast. I kind of got made fun of b/c I would just stand in random lines, lol.  But there was usually something I wanted to do/eat at the front of it!


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## Befferk

WendiDarling said:


> While others in my party were getting starbucks, going to the restroom, taking pictures, I stood in line.  Cut down on waiting time b/c they could just join me when they were ready.



Legit question, because I would gladly do the same for the rest of my family, do people seem to mind if you do this? Stand in line and then have the others come up and join you?


----------



## skeeter31

Befferk said:


> Legit question, because I would gladly do the same for the rest of my family, do people seem to mind if you do this? Stand in line and then have the others come up and join you?


It’s never looked upon happily. I know we normally get upset if we’re in line and the single person, or couple in front of us, all of a sudden turns into a party of 10. But I think it was worse pre-COVID when that larger group would  have held you up even more due to the FP+ line. Plus, it was worse when that joining group would have to do the “Excuse Me Sneak” down the queue line to join their party. Much easier at this time when they can just walk up to their party because the line is in a walkway. But overall probably still frowned upon by other guests.


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## yulilin3

Befferk said:


> Legit question, because I would gladly do the same for the rest of my family, do people seem to mind if you do this? Stand in line and then have the others come up and join you?


I don't mind if it's a long line,  the entire group shows up first and then i see people leave and come back. 
I get slightly irritated if one person gets in line and then the rest of the group shows up later
Either instance i don't let it ruin my day


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## MEC004

Honestly we might do where one stays in line and the other takes our son who has autism to walk around. We are getting the DAS,  but kids can’t wait for too long.


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## WEDWDW

One place where Place Holding is not a problem at all is for Skyliner as it only allows one "Group" per Gondola in Covid World.


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## Debbie Jean

MEC004 said:


> Honestly we might do where one stays in line and the other takes our son who has autism to walk around. We are getting the DAS,  but kids can’t wait for too long.


Not what the previous poster meant.

It was specifically suggested as a tip for maximizing her groups park time. Many find this offensive so be prepared for some negative feedback if you choose to do this.


----------



## Disbug

I don't mind if the ride loads one party per vehicle, no harm done. But you have to admit it is rude to line jump... wouldn't we all rather be chilling, shopping, grabbing a bite to eat... rather than waiting in a line? (Of course we excuse the parent who leaves to take a kid to the potty!) Just park your stroller and keep your group together to get in line. That way you offend no one. It is also crazy to be standing in line for the water taxi back to your hotel thinking you just might make this boat.... but 6 people who "know the group" ahead of you jump in line with them instead of the end of the line 20 people back. But funnier still, is when you take your party and jump ahead of them and they ask you what you are doing? Uhm, the same thing you just did?


----------



## yulilin3

lets please stay on topic and not turn this into a full out discussion on for and against the practice.


----------



## MEC004

Debbie Jean said:


> Not what the previous poster meant.
> 
> It was specifically suggested as a tip for maximizing her groups park time. Many find this offensive so be prepared for some negative feedback if you choose to do this.



It seems like the same thing. How could avoiding a meltdown be different than someone getting a drink? Also, why would it be offensive? Really curious here.


----------



## Day-Day

WEDWDW said:


> One place where Place Holding is not a problem at all is for Skyliner as it only allows one "Group" per Gondola in Covid World.


Yes and the same for many rides in which a single rider or a "small" group would take up the same designated space.  Some folks in line may not realize it but there are many cases when a few can be added and it will not affect the wait times of those in line.

I don't know what others were thinking when we visited in October but I had the feeling that folks understood this and weren't bothered.  If someone were to raise a stink I would explain that it doesn't have an effect on their wait time.  I'm not going to save a space when it would impact the wait time of others but I'm not going to worry about what they think when saving a space in which it does not impact them.


----------



## Debbie Jean

MEC004 said:


> It seems like the same thing. How could avoiding a meltdown be different than someone getting a drink? Also, why would it be offensive? Really curious here.



I see going to Starbucks, taking pictures which are included as different from avoiding a meltdown which was not the reason the strategy was suggested in any event.

If you do it why shouldn’t everyone else?  A line with 1 person turns into 8 people. Now multiple that by dozens of others doing exactly the same thing. I’ve seen it... try MMRR for example. You get on what looks like a reasonable line that’s moving and suddenly you have masses of people ahead of you and you aren’t going anywhere.

People will continue to do it and people will continue to find it offensive. If you want to ride and there’s a standby line, wait on line like everyone else. YMMV


----------



## yulilin3

Again, please stay on topic, this is one of those things that go down an ugly rabbit hole.


----------



## lovethattink

MEC004 said:


> Honestly we might do where one stays in line and the other takes our son who has autism to walk around. We are getting the DAS,  but kids can’t wait for too long.



I don’t know how old your son is, but we took my son 16 and his friend 21 to MK for the day. Both are on the spectrum. Being 6 feet apart from people really helps! My son’s friend is in constant motion and having the distance, he had room to pace. His friend is very expressive with his hands and arms, he’s about 6 feet tall, and usually we have to remind him to be careful he doesn’t wack anyone. 6 feet apart in queue made it much easier. They only needed the DAS twice the whole day. And people kept their distance from us and seemed very understanding for the most part.


----------



## MEC004

lovethattink said:


> I don’t know how old your son is, but we took my son 16 and his friend 21 to MK for the day. Both are on the spectrum. Being 6 feet apart from people really helps! My son’s friend is in constant motion and having the distance, he had room to pace. His friend is very expressive with his hands and arms, he’s about 6 feet tall, and usually we have to remind him to be careful he doesn’t wack anyone. 6 feet apart in queue made it much easier. They only needed the DAS twice the whole day. And people kept their distance from us and seemed very understanding for the most part.



That is awesome to hear! This is our first vacation in two years. Last was a Disney Cruise and it went well. Only a couple of meltdown moments. In part he was cruise famous for the trip for being on stage during the first show. He was hilarious and everyone knew his name. He feeds off of that (atypical).  

He uses his strategies really well and I don’t see it as being a problem you never know though. He had one the other day because he was excited over the new ice machine  Fingers crossed he loves the rides! We’ve been watching all the behind the scenes to get him prepped. Hopefully we won’t have to use the DAS.


----------



## WendiDarling

I stayed aware of the situation. If it looked like the people behind us minded at all, I suggested they go ahead. That was always met kindly. Once you enter the ride Q the cast member asked if all your party was together and we always were by that point.


----------



## sullivan.kscott

PaladinButters said:


> Was there last week and a cast member told a family near us that they had to wait in that same line even with reservations.


Ate on San Angel Inn on Tuesday this week. They’re using the back entrance of the pavilion, Norway side, as an ADR “fast pass line” for lack of a better term. We still had to wait behind a few families with ADRs, but it was like three families ahead of us instead of the probably 25 minute wait out front. Near the front is a CM under a green umbrella that directed us where to go.
I’ll also add that it was the perfect time to see the pavilion and enjoy Three Caballeros,  as once you’re in the pavilion, you’re in.


----------



## Spencer Wright

only hope said:


> Those days are gone I think. It’s a lot busier than it was in July and Aug when there were reports of that.



yes! In august they basically let us in back through whatwas the fast pass line.    But the wait times were 5-10 minutes.  Sadly I think those days are over.


----------



## lovethattink

MEC004 said:


> That is awesome to hear! This is our first vacation in two years. Last was a Disney Cruise and it went well. Only a couple of meltdown moments. In part he was cruise famous for the trip for being on stage during the first show. He was hilarious and everyone knew his name. He feeds off of that (atypical).
> 
> He uses his strategies really well and I don’t see it as being a problem you never know though. He had one the other day because he was excited over the new ice machine  Fingers crossed he loves the rides! We’ve been watching all the behind the scenes to get him prepped. Hopefully we won’t have to use the DAS.



Aww, glad he had that experience!

My son feeds off it too. He’s an actor with an agent, imdb and everything!

He’s come a long way with all the early intervention we were able to get him.


----------



## guynhawaii

Aloha,

Family and I enjoyed a magnificent morning and early afternoon at AK.  Thought I would share with you our Touring Plan.  
Roosting at CR.
At bus stop by 6:30.  Bus arrived and departed for AK approximately 6:50.  
Arrived at AK approximately 7:05.  Screening, security and park entrance all open.  Official opening was 8 AM.  
Was at the front of the FOP wave and rode the wave throughout the park.  Walked on FOP and NR.  Strolled to Safaris ride and basically walked on there too.
EE was closed.  Had a AM snack and went to Dinosaurs.  Five minute wait.  Then Tough to be a Bug...10 minute wait.  Followed by walking on KRR.  Got wet.  
Toured the park including the MJT.  Toured the east part of the park waiting for EE to open.  Noticed they were running dummy loads. Got in line.  EE opened around noon.  Our last ride before lunch.  Walked straight aboard. 

AK was a perfect Thanksgiving AM.  Vastly superior to our RD AM the previous day at DHS (another thread).  

From all accounts, apparently the best transportation to AK for the unofficial RD is the bus.

Good luck!


----------



## Spencer Wright

Sounds like it was a fantastic day!


----------



## lovethattink

We went to DHS today for the last 3 hours the park was open, since I couldn’t get a boarding group at 7am for RotR. 

The park was not nearly as crowded as I expected. Compared to Thanksgiving Days or the past, it was fairly empty. I don’t know how it was earlier in the day.

And once the sun went down, the temperature was perfect. It was fun to see the holiday version of the Frozen Singalong and the projection on ToT!


----------



## DisneyandBeerLover

I just went to the parks Nov 14-24! I had a blast! As we were there my state was getting shut down again, so it was nice to be able to do something as we would be coming home to quarantine #2. Although it was bittersweet knowing that I wouldn't technically have a job to come back to.

Anyway, we stayed 10 nights at Pop Century. Let's talk about that first. We were in a preferred room and man was it close to the lobby, about one of the closest rooms you could get to the food court, it was 6112 if anyone is curious. We enjoyed the fact that buses we coming SO frequently that we only waited for the bus to load, leave, and another bus to pull up into its spot, and so on. Sometimes we'd have to wait for the second bus because we had a scooter but the bus was always there, it was just waiting for a spot to pull in to. I only experienced ONE time of my 10 night trip where we actually had to wait for a bus and that was from Epcot to Polynesian. I really hated how there was mousekeeping just two days during our entire trip, but we're the type that like our room cleaned every day. We wish there was an option, we'd even pay extra... we really hated that.

Not specifically related to Pop Century but next is the Skyliner! We love the Skyliner! Especially with the scooter, it's so easy to load. But I never remember it taking so long in the mornings before. We went to Epcot two days with 11am opening, and we'd leave around 9:30am because both times it took us a little over an hour to get to Epcot via Skyliner. I think this is 100% related to the fact that Epcot opens at 11 now. We usually like to go to Epcot right at opening, which usually isn't an issue but because it opens at 11, everyone is up and going by then so it's extra crowded at the time.

Some positives of the times that I like is that some attractions that normally have long waits, aren't crazy long. Peter Pan's Flight and Haunted Mansion for example. I also enjoy actually seeing the queue because we're normally the type to get many many many (20+) FPs in a day. I've never seen the main queue to Peter Pan or Mine Train before. Speaking of the queue, its really nice to not be crowded in with a buuuuunch of people, or to be constantly told to move closer to the people in front of you. Some people just get TOO close. Same thing with shows and shops. Sometimes you can't move in shops because they're so crowded. And back to the buses, it's nice to not have someones butt in your face on the bus, or the other way around. And I really enjoy the cavalcades, I hope these stick around.

Now for the negatives... we miss park hopping most of all, but I know that's coming back so I'm going to move on. Pin trading is really lack luster rn, it's one board or a handful of boards in the parks and some resorts have nothing. I know this isn't a big deal for most, but it's something we really enjoy. We were also very underwhelmed by the food choices both in actual restaurants that were open and what the open restaurants were offering. If a restaurant was open, it usually didn't have the thing we loved about it. The dumbed down menus meant we either eat the same thing every day, or get creative about what we ate. I mentioned it earlier, but we're spoiled in getting many FPs in a day, so seeing a 60 wait for Pirates meant that we didn't go on it. We didn't go on a few rides because of this. Same goes for shops. A lot of time, there's not a line outside of a store, but sometimes there is, and sometimes it's VERY long. We skipped going to shops a lot because of this. We also had a lot of issues with mobile ordering in that our apps wouldn't work a lot so that was frustrating. CMs are kinda pushy about it but when you're hungry and your app isn't working, it's about the most angering thing that can happen at a park.

I think the thing that got to me most however, was peoples inability to distance in queues, or anywhere really. They'd ignore the queue markers and just stand wherever they want. Or they'd stand 6 feet from the people in front of them, clueless to the fact that there's not a marker there because it's not 6 feet from other parts of the queue. Or we're all spaced out until it's time to see a cavalcade or leave a theater show, just forget the 6 feet rule if it's convenient for you! 

Side note, I started not feeling great on the 23rd but I also started... uhhh... you know... so I just thought it was that and I didn't think much of it. But now I have a cough. I'm getting tested tomorrow but I swear I'm going to blame the people who stood too close to me if my test is positive. Because I tried to be sooo careful and if I got it I'm going to be annoyed but not surprised honestly. The crowd levels were insane because there were SO MANY PEOPLE. And I know it's 35%, but it's also 35% when some experiences aren't going, and queues are pushed into the "streets" and mobile ordering crowds are insane. It was hard to stay 6 feet from anyone toward the end of the trip. 

We're supposed to go in April, and we're planning on staying at the Yacht Club. If things aren't different even if park hopping is back, we're probably going to cancel. There's just too much negative that for us that far outweighs the positive.


----------



## jkips

Good to know it was open at 7:05.   We are going back on Saturday and want to be there at the very start!   Thanks!


----------



## NJlauren

Thanksgiving day at MK!

I had a fabulous day, we did breakfast, and relaxed and headed over around 1245, in the park around 130.  DH and DD6 went to do splash while I wrangled DD2.  Unfortunately the only bad spot of the day after waiting 30 the ride went down.  They jumped on haunted mansion line, we wrapped up the carousel and met the at haunted mansion.  Then we headed to our 3pm liberty tree tavern!  They were running a bit behind, but not horrible.  Food was fabulous as always.

After LTT we split up again and did big thunder, then country bears which was so nice and cool, it was hot!  Then they waited for splash again!  Probably about an hour, me and DD2 did pooh, dumbo x3, and under the sea x2.  They let us stay on dumbo once and cut via exit to reride under the sea!   Then we all met and did pirates, then we did space and buzz. 

I thought the crowds were comparable to Saturday, I did think the heat made a few more people lazy with masks, which bothered me, it sucks I get it, but if I can get my 2 year old to wear a mask you can wear one too. 

Last day today with some pool and Epcot time!  

Happy thanksgiving everyone (a day late)


----------



## armerida

DisneyandBeerLover said:


> I just went to the parks Nov 14-24! I had a blast! As we were there my state was getting shut down again, so it was nice to be able to do something as we would be coming home to quarantine #2. Although it was bittersweet knowing that I wouldn't technically have a job to come back to.
> 
> Anyway, we stayed 10 nights at Pop Century. Let's talk about that first. We were in a preferred room and man was it close to the lobby, about one of the closest rooms you could get to the food court, it was 6112 if anyone is curious. We enjoyed the fact that buses we coming SO frequently that we only waited for the bus to load, leave, and another bus to pull up into its spot, and so on. Sometimes we'd have to wait for the second bus because we had a scooter but the bus was always there, it was just waiting for a spot to pull in to. I only experienced ONE time of my 10 night trip where we actually had to wait for a bus and that was from Epcot to Polynesian. I really hated how there was mousekeeping just two days during our entire trip, but we're the type that like our room cleaned every day. We wish there was an option, we'd even pay extra... we really hated that.
> 
> Not specifically related to Pop Century but next is the Skyliner! We love the Skyliner! Especially with the scooter, it's so easy to load. But I never remember it taking so long in the mornings before. We went to Epcot two days with 11am opening, and we'd leave around 9:30am because both times it took us a little over an hour to get to Epcot via Skyliner. I think this is 100% related to the fact that Epcot opens at 11 now. We usually like to go to Epcot right at opening, which usually isn't an issue but because it opens at 11, everyone is up and going by then so it's extra crowded at the time.
> 
> Some positives of the times that I like is that some attractions that normally have long waits, aren't crazy long. Peter Pan's Flight and Haunted Mansion for example. I also enjoy actually seeing the queue because we're normally the type to get many many many (20+) FPs in a day. I've never seen the main queue to Peter Pan or Mine Train before. Speaking of the queue, its really nice to not be crowded in with a buuuuunch of people, or to be constantly told to move closer to the people in front of you. Some people just get TOO close. Same thing with shows and shops. Sometimes you can't move in shops because they're so crowded. And back to the buses, it's nice to not have someones butt in your face on the bus, or the other way around. And I really enjoy the cavalcades, I hope these stick around.
> 
> Now for the negatives... we miss park hopping most of all, but I know that's coming back so I'm going to move on. Pin trading is really lack luster rn, it's one board or a handful of boards in the parks and some resorts have nothing. I know this isn't a big deal for most, but it's something we really enjoy. We were also very underwhelmed by the food choices both in actual restaurants that were open and what the open restaurants were offering. If a restaurant was open, it usually didn't have the thing we loved about it. The dumbed down menus meant we either eat the same thing every day, or get creative about what we ate. I mentioned it earlier, but we're spoiled in getting many FPs in a day, so seeing a 60 wait for Pirates meant that we didn't go on it. We didn't go on a few rides because of this. Same goes for shops. A lot of time, there's not a line outside of a store, but sometimes there is, and sometimes it's VERY long. We skipped going to shops a lot because of this. We also had a lot of issues with mobile ordering in that our apps wouldn't work a lot so that was frustrating. CMs are kinda pushy about it but when you're hungry and your app isn't working, it's about the most angering thing that can happen at a park.
> 
> I think the thing that got to me most however, was peoples inability to distance in queues, or anywhere really. They'd ignore the queue markers and just stand wherever they want. Or they'd stand 6 feet from the people in front of them, clueless to the fact that there's not a marker there because it's not 6 feet from other parts of the queue. Or we're all spaced out until it's time to see a cavalcade or leave a theater show, just forget the 6 feet rule if it's convenient for you!
> 
> Side note, I started not feeling great on the 23rd but I also started... uhhh... you know... so I just thought it was that and I didn't think much of it. But now I have a cough. I'm getting tested tomorrow but I swear I'm going to blame the people who stood too close to me if my test is positive. Because I tried to be sooo careful and if I got it I'm going to be annoyed but not surprised honestly. The crowd levels were insane because there were SO MANY PEOPLE. And I know it's 35%, but it's also 35% when some experiences aren't going, and queues are pushed into the "streets" and mobile ordering crowds are insane. It was hard to stay 6 feet from anyone toward the end of the trip.
> 
> We're supposed to go in April, and we're planning on staying at the Yacht Club. If things aren't different even if park hopping is back, we're probably going to cancel. There's just too much negative that for us that far outweighs the positive.


Oh no! I hope your test comes back negative! Keep us posted, sending positive vibes


----------



## yeheyprincex2

lovethattink said:


> I don’t know how long your drive is, but we drove to Ohio and back to Florida twice since the pandemic started. Finding restrooms was an issue. Many restaurants were drive thru and sit downs were carry out.
> 
> We stopped at a McDonald’s in Georgia that had only drive thru and had to search for a place that had a public restroom. So we ended up stopping at travel plazas with fast food and restrooms.
> 
> 2nd trip, I packed a cooler bag with food and we pulled over at rest areas.
> 
> In the car we had a spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol. We spayed the bottoms of our shoes with alcohol before getting in the car. Got plenty of stares, but we felt safer. Also used it on my purse since I hung it on restroom doors.
> 
> Packed several bags to use for garbage and threw them in garbage cans when we got gas or stopped at rest stops.
> 
> Kept hand sanitizer readily available.
> 
> We stayed at Pop in August. I packed Chlorox wipes for handles and surfaces at the room. But I packed them pre-pandemic too.
> 
> Things I packed that I’m glad I did, ketchup, mustard, and Mayo. Knife, fork, and spoons, paper towels, zip lock bags and paper plates. We ate in the room instead of the food court. They gave us like one pack of ketchup, no plates for the large pizza. And it would have been a pain to walk back to food court to ask for those things.
> 
> Snacks that don’t require refrigeration or won’t melt in heat. If you don’t pre-order your food and time for counter service, you could be waiting a long time. We packed Krispie Treats to hold us over til our food was ready.
> 
> I’ve discovered that 3pm is a great time to eat at the parks.


This is a great tip for everyday life right now Ive been packing forks and spoons napkins in my car since June,


----------



## disneyseniors

DisneyandBeerLover said:


> I just went to the parks Nov 14-24! I had a blast! As we were there my state was getting shut down again, so it was nice to be able to do something as we would be coming home to quarantine #2. Although it was bittersweet knowing that I wouldn't technically have a job to come back to.
> 
> Anyway, we stayed 10 nights at Pop Century. Let's talk about that first. We were in a preferred room and man was it close to the lobby, about one of the closest rooms you could get to the food court, it was 6112 if anyone is curious. We enjoyed the fact that buses we coming SO frequently that we only waited for the bus to load, leave, and another bus to pull up into its spot, and so on. Sometimes we'd have to wait for the second bus because we had a scooter but the bus was always there, it was just waiting for a spot to pull in to. I only experienced ONE time of my 10 night trip where we actually had to wait for a bus and that was from Epcot to Polynesian. I really hated how there was mousekeeping just two days during our entire trip, but we're the type that like our room cleaned every day. We wish there was an option, we'd even pay extra... we really hated that.
> 
> Not specifically related to Pop Century but next is the Skyliner! We love the Skyliner! Especially with the scooter, it's so easy to load. But I never remember it taking so long in the mornings before. We went to Epcot two days with 11am opening, and we'd leave around 9:30am because both times it took us a little over an hour to get to Epcot via Skyliner. I think this is 100% related to the fact that Epcot opens at 11 now. We usually like to go to Epcot right at opening, which usually isn't an issue but because it opens at 11, everyone is up and going by then so it's extra crowded at the time.
> 
> Some positives of the times that I like is that some attractions that normally have long waits, aren't crazy long. Peter Pan's Flight and Haunted Mansion for example. I also enjoy actually seeing the queue because we're normally the type to get many many many (20+) FPs in a day. I've never seen the main queue to Peter Pan or Mine Train before. Speaking of the queue, its really nice to not be crowded in with a buuuuunch of people, or to be constantly told to move closer to the people in front of you. Some people just get TOO close. Same thing with shows and shops. Sometimes you can't move in shops because they're so crowded. And back to the buses, it's nice to not have someones butt in your face on the bus, or the other way around. And I really enjoy the cavalcades, I hope these stick around.
> 
> Now for the negatives... we miss park hopping most of all, but I know that's coming back so I'm going to move on. Pin trading is really lack luster rn, it's one board or a handful of boards in the parks and some resorts have nothing. I know this isn't a big deal for most, but it's something we really enjoy. We were also very underwhelmed by the food choices both in actual restaurants that were open and what the open restaurants were offering. If a restaurant was open, it usually didn't have the thing we loved about it. The dumbed down menus meant we either eat the same thing every day, or get creative about what we ate. I mentioned it earlier, but we're spoiled in getting many FPs in a day, so seeing a 60 wait for Pirates meant that we didn't go on it. We didn't go on a few rides because of this. Same goes for shops. A lot of time, there's not a line outside of a store, but sometimes there is, and sometimes it's VERY long. We skipped going to shops a lot because of this. We also had a lot of issues with mobile ordering in that our apps wouldn't work a lot so that was frustrating. CMs are kinda pushy about it but when you're hungry and your app isn't working, it's about the most angering thing that can happen at a park.
> 
> I think the thing that got to me most however, was peoples inability to distance in queues, or anywhere really. They'd ignore the queue markers and just stand wherever they want. Or they'd stand 6 feet from the people in front of them, clueless to the fact that there's not a marker there because it's not 6 feet from other parts of the queue. Or we're all spaced out until it's time to see a cavalcade or leave a theater show, just forget the 6 feet rule if it's convenient for you!
> 
> Side note, I started not feeling great on the 23rd but I also started... uhhh... you know... so I just thought it was that and I didn't think much of it. But now I have a cough. I'm getting tested tomorrow but I swear I'm going to blame the people who stood too close to me if my test is positive. Because I tried to be sooo careful and if I got it I'm going to be annoyed but not surprised honestly. The crowd levels were insane because there were SO MANY PEOPLE. And I know it's 35%, but it's also 35% when some experiences aren't going, and queues are pushed into the "streets" and mobile ordering crowds are insane. It was hard to stay 6 feet from anyone toward the end of the trip.
> 
> We're supposed to go in April, and we're planning on staying at the Yacht Club. If things aren't different even if park hopping is back, we're probably going to cancel. There's just too much negative that for us that far outweighs the positive.


 Thanks for your honest report.  I hope you just have a cough and all is well.
I wondered exactly what you meant by the CM's being pushy if you had trouble with your order app?  
Did you have to go inside and order, or???   
Just wondering because we don't have a smart phone and would have to confront the CM's when trying to order inside? 
thanks.


----------



## only hope

disneyseniors said:


> Thanks for your honest report.  I hope you just have a cough and all is well.
> I wondered exactly what you meant by the CM's being pushy if you had trouble with your order app?
> Did you have to go inside and order, or???
> Just wondering because we don't have a smart phone and would have to confront the CM's when trying to order inside?
> thanks.



If you do have a smart phone, cm’s are extremely reluctant to let you go in and order. People have reported 5mn conversations about it w/o distancing with cm if mo wasn’t working or something, which is ridiculous because it doesn’t take that long (usually) to order inside and you can stand back until it’s time to pay.


----------



## marcar12

Can anyone confirm if there were low-level fireworks in MK again last night?


----------



## lovethattink

disneyseniors said:


> Thanks for your honest report.  I hope you just have a cough and all is well.
> I wondered exactly what you meant by the CM's being pushy if you had trouble with your order app?
> Did you have to go inside and order, or???
> Just wondering because we don't have a smart phone and would have to confront the CM's when trying to order inside?
> thanks.



We had to go inside to order food when someone in our party was allergic to meat and meat by products. Ordering inside isn’t fun. There was one register open at Cosmic Rays, with one side of the register opened. The queue wasn’t long. We were 5th in line. But we waited about 30 minutes in line to order. And this was at 3pm. There were plenty of tables available at that time though.


----------



## NJlauren

marcar12 said:


> Can anyone confirm if there were low-level fireworks in MK again last night?



It was one firework blast around the castle when they change the projection.  I saw it twice staff said it’s at every change, but I can not confirm that.


----------



## guynhawaii

Aloha,

DHS was a train wreck for my family on Wednesday (25 Nov) despite our best attempt and effort.
Departed CR via Uber at 8 AM for Boardwalk Bakery.  Started hiking towards DHS and arrived at 8:30 AM.  There were SIX health screening sites.  Two to the far right and four to the far left.  We were first line at number six to the far left.  Health Screening, Security and the park all opened at 9:15 AM.  Official park opening was 10 AM.  Went straight to MMRR and walked on as the second family in line.  Really enjoyed the ride.  Walked past TSM which as a walk on and got in line for SDD at 9:40.  Line for SDD was 30'.  
IT son had previously snagged a ROTR BG 10 which window closed at 10:40.  We were afraid of missing our window so we walked on ROTR.  Got in line at SR which lasted 35'.  By 11:30 AM all of the remaining waiting times were north of 50'.  We surrendered and went to lunch at DS (House of Blues) and back to CR for rest.  Returned to DHS at 5 PM with a park closing of 8 PM.  Watched Walt Disney's bio movie, TSM twice, SR and closed out with TOT.  TSM was about 10' wait each, SR 30' and TOT about 20'.
IMHO, DHS is too much concrete and not enough shade or water.  Hotter than AK.  Due to C19, too few rides to soak up the crowds.  We were blessed to enjoy ROTR.  Don't know what we could have done differently to improve our touring plan.  Just not enough rides to soak up the crowd resulting in long waits for everyone by 10:30 AM.
Good luck!


----------



## scrappinginontario

It sounds like in spite of the current state of the world, many are still choosing to visit Disney.  I respect that for those who make that choice.

But, if people are not comfortable with crowds I would recommend reconsidering trips between now and early January.  Thanksgiving (and anticipating December/Christmas) crowds will be/feel substantial given the necessity to socially distance people.

I guess I’m just surprised by the number of people reporting here they’re surprised at how many people are at WDW considering it’s Thanksgiving week.  I was totally expecting crowds to be the highest they‘ve been since they closed in March.


----------



## NJlauren

Final day!  

Afternoon yesterday at Epcot!  Was crowded for sure, was also hot. We had 3 goals for the day, Olaf scavenger hunt, see a princess cavalcade, and ride Soarin.  

We arrived around 2ish did Nemo, and then headed to world showcase, we did the Olaf scavenger hunt starting at Canada, and working our way around to Mexico.   It worked out pretty perfect timing wise as we ended it Mexico around 345, we had a 350 dinner. Everyone was really hot, and the crowds around world showcase felt busy, it was the first day of the holiday festival, and you could tell.

Lots more live entertainment going on this day compared to our other day in Epcot which was really nice to see.

We waited for dinner and rode Gran Fiesta as dinner was running behind.  Shopped a bit and it felt nice to be in the AC.  Dinner was good, then we split up, DD6 and DH went to do Soarin and DD2 and I did Gran Fiesta 4 times!  The let us go in the exit for the last ride.  We then met up and did my rider swap for Soarin.

We grabbed ice cream and headed to the car.

Today felt the most crowded of our trip, but still not horrible.  All 4 parks were sold out today, but since most people seemed to be snacking in Epcot it felt crowded, but we still enjoyed it.

We did not see a Princess Cavalcade, not sure if they didn’t do it because of crowds or if we just got unlucky.


----------



## NJlauren

I did daily recaps but wanted to do a quick over view.

-Crowds were there and what I expected, but lines mostly moved quick, a few walk ways are issues, but you move on and don’t linger there and its not to bad
-Mask compliance was good, not perfect but good, I had a few times were I thought people were taking advantage keeping it below their nose etc, but over all minimal issues
-Masks only had slight issues getting the 2 year old to keep it on all the time, but overall we all said it wasn’t to bad.  We had a mix of disposables and reusables.  The disposables are a bit better in the heat, you can toss them when they get gross and seem a bit less suffocating.  
-I only felt uncomfortable 1 time with physical distancing and I said something, they weren't happy with me, but they were a large group, 8 or 10 and we were 2 and they legit were on my line with me.  They moved after that. 
-Good amount of hand sanitizer around (on ride lines, in shops, and end of ride lines), a few were empty, but overall were available and we used them often, even thought I had my own as well. 
-The magic is there it’s just different.  A few CMs letting us stay on rides or cutting thought the exit, it was amazing
-Yes things are closed, and lots of CMs lost their jobs, but overall their are a ton of CMs and most seem really happy to be there and are doing a lot to make the magic happen. 
-A good amount of live music in Epcot on Friday after thanksgiving which was really nice to see. 
- I felt good about going and was happy I made this call, lots of people in my life think I am insane, and that’s ok, but my family feels so emotional happy from this trip, and for me my kids needed something positive and a change for a few days.

If you're worried about crowds, or physically distancing, I might say go in Jan or Feb as someone noted above, the sold out days are busy.  If your really worried I would wait till you feel more comfortable.  I think the next 2 weeks will be a bit slower, then it will pick up again.

I am sad to leave for many reasons but so happy we came.

Stay safe everyone and have a great holiday season!


----------



## smelton521

Hello! We check in to Poly today!!!! Our first park day is MK tomorrow and it will definitely be our most crowded day. What is the best plan to get into the park as early as possible? Would we be able to get in earlier if we Uber to Contemporary and walk or should we just plan on using the monorail at TTC?


----------



## MainMom

NJlauren said:


> I did daily recaps but wanted to do a quick over view.
> 
> -Crowds were there and what I expected, but lines mostly moved quick, a few walk ways are issues, but you move on and don’t linger there and it not to bad
> -Mask compliance was good, not perfect but good, I had a few times were I thought people were taking advantage keeping it below their nose etc, but over all minimal issues
> -Masks only had slight issues getting the 2 year old to keep it on all the time, but overall we all said it wasn’t to bad.  We had a mix of disposables and reusables.  The disposables are a bit better in the heat, you can toss them when they get gross and seem a bit less suffocating.
> -I only felt uncomfortable 1 time with physical distancing and I said something, they weren't happy with me, but they were a large group, 8 or 10 and we were 2 and they legit were on my line with me.  They moved after that.
> -Good amount of hand sanitizer around (on ride lines, in shops, and end of ride lines), a few were empty, but overall were available and we used them often, even thought I had my own as well.
> -The magic is there it’s just different.  A few CMs letting us stay on rides or curing thought the exit, it was amazing
> -Yes things are closed, and lots of CMs lost their jobs, but overall their are a ton of CMs and most seem really happy to be there and are doing a lot to make the magic happen.
> -A good amount of live music in Epcot on Friday after thanksgiving which was really nice to see.
> - I felt good about going and was happy I made this call, lots of people in my life think I am insane, and that’s ok, but my family feels so emotional happy from this trip, and for me my kids needed something positive and a change for a few days.
> 
> If you're worried about crowds, or physically distancing, I might say go in Jan or Feb as someone noted above, the sold out days are busy.  If your really worried I would wait till you feel more comfortable.  I think the next 2 weeks will be a bit slower, then it will pick up again.
> 
> I am sad to leave for many reasons but so happy we came.
> 
> Stay safe everyone and have a great holiday season!


I’m happy to read that about your kids feeling emotionally happy from your trip. We are heading down mid January for 2 weeks off property (first time, usually stay on property.) My kids really need this break and I think a change of scenery will be good for them even though they will still have virtual school. My daughter has requested 10 day park tickets and I’m buying them for her. I’m going to let her get her fill. 
Thanks for the reports!


----------



## cyndiella

Erzengel said:


> Was there last week.
> 
> It was different but I had a blast.
> 
> Finally brought our 100 years Magic Light Up pins that came out in 2001 that we got on Ebay.  They still worked in Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World.  Didn't work on anything in Epcot (took it on Spaceship Earth).


I was very interested in your thoughts on the 100 years of magic lighted pins!  We have a set of 4 that we will bring to the parks in January 2021.  Did you bring yours to Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios?  Anything else you can tell me about your experience with the pins in the parks?  We really know very little about them... cause we got ours on Ebay as well.  We got new batteries for them so we're ready!!  Thanks


----------



## SarahC97

scrappinginontario said:


> It sounds like in spite of the current state of the world, many are still choosing to visit Disney.  I respect that for those who make that choice.
> 
> But, if people are not comfortable with crowds I would recommend reconsidering trips between now and early January.  Thanksgiving (and anticipating December/Christmas) crowds will be/feel substantial given the necessity to socially distance people.
> 
> I guess I’m just surprised by the number of people reporting here they’re surprised at how many people are at WDW considering it’s Thanksgiving week.  I was totally expecting crowds to be the highest they‘ve been since they closed in March.


We just got back and while I expected crowds we were a bit appalled by the amount of people Disney deems acceptable right now. It was literally impossible to physically distance from people. We ended up bailing on the parks a few times because of the inability to stay distant or choose alternate routes to help you stay distant. It's honestly frightening that these are the crowds Disney wants to achieve. It's not safe. Everyone has a different threshold, of course, but it wasn't simply that it was crowded this week. They didn't have enough CMs for crowd control and they had so many people packed in that it felt like pre-pandemic times in many ways.


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## NJlauren

MainMom said:


> I’m happy to read that about your kids feeling emotionally happy from your trip. We are heading down mid January for 2 weeks off property (first time, usually stay on property.) My kids really need this break and I think a change of scenery will be good for them even though they will still have virtual school. My daughter has requested 10 day park tickets and I’m buying them for her. I’m going to let her get her fill.
> Thanks for the reports!



We were offsite too, and usually stay onsite, but it was so nice with reduced hours to be able to put the kids to bed and have some wine, or sit by the pool.  MK is a a bit annoying to drive to but all others were easy, and even with late arrivals never had to park far!

I hope you have a fabulous trip and you all get a much needed break!  It was so worth it for us. We all feel so refreshed, except for my feet!


----------



## NJlauren

Sorry I wanted to add one thing to my update above, mobile order was fabulous, I loved it on my last few trips but it was even better this time!  Make sure to take advantage!

And of course any specific questions just ask!


----------



## NJlauren

smelton521 said:


> Hello! We check in to Poly today!!!! Our first park day is MK tomorrow and it will definitely be our most crowded day. What is the best plan to get into the park as early as possible? Would we be able to get in earlier if we Uber to Contemporary and walk or should we just plan on using the monorail at TTC?


I think you can walk from poly via new walk way at the Grand.


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## scrappinginontario

NJlauren said:


> I think you can walk from poly via new walk way at the Grand.


Yes, you can but it's quite a hike.  About 25 minutes is my understanding.


----------



## NJlauren

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, you can but it's quite a hike.  About 25 minutes is my understanding.


But that’s the way to get there the earliest, not necessarily the most relaxing haha


----------



## princesslover

SarahC97 said:


> We just got back and while I expected crowds we were a bit appalled by the amount of people Disney deems acceptable right now. It was literally impossible to physically distance from people. We ended up bailing on the parks a few times because of the inability to stay distant or choose alternate routes to help you stay distant. It's honestly frightening that these are the crowds Disney wants to achieve. It's not safe. Everyone has a different threshold, of course, but it wasn't simply that it was crowded this week. They didn't have enough CMs for crowd control and they had so many people packed in that it felt like pre-pandemic times in many ways.



Thank you for sharing.  This is very disturbing.  We are scheduled to be there the week after Christmas.  Right now, no park is sold out and it is during a blockout period for AP's.  But I am nervous.   There is no way to predict what the crowds will be like.

To those saying, "It's the holidays, it's going to be busy, don't go if you are uncomfortable."    Yes, It's the holidays, I am planning to go assuming that it will be busy.   But I think most of us are hoping for some sort of control over the crowds.  After all, isn't that the point of things they are putting in place like capacity limits and blockout dates?   Is it wrong to hope that I won’t be shoulder to shoulder with people while there?


----------



## NJlauren

princesslover said:


> Thank you for sharing.  This is very disturbing.  We are scheduled to be there the week after Christmas.  Right now, no park is sold out and it is during a blockout period for AP's.  But I am nervous.   There is no way to predict what the crowds will be like.
> 
> To those saying, "It's the holidays, it's going to be busy, don't go if you are uncomfortable."    Yes, It's the holidays, I am planning to go assuming that it will be busy.   But I think most of us are hoping for some sort of control over the crowds.  After all, isn't that the point of things they are putting in place like capacity limits and blockout dates?   Is it wrong to hope that I won’t be shoulder to shoulder with people while there?



I just got back as well, and we felt distancing was possible in most spots.  Honestly it’s hard, but there are spaces to go and be completely alone.  We had a lot of success finding spots in world showcase and even Hollywood studios, however walking it can be hard, it’s the flow of crowds, sometimes I’m alone other times tons of people.  I don’t really think that’s Disney’s fault.  I felt there was a good amount of crowd control, and reminding people, but it’s hard.  People tend to all want to go the same ride, same food, etc. those things are harder to distance on, and some people don’t care.


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## yulilin3

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, you can but it's quite a hike.  About 25 minutes is my understanding.


It's about the same time as walking from epcot to dhs, the long way


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## scrappinginontario

NJlauren said:


> But that’s the way to get there the earliest, not necessarily the most relaxing haha


From Poly another possibly quicker option with more relaxing  might be to walk to TTC and take a bus to MK.  I've heard the bus from TTC is currently the fastest route to MK.  

Just another option...


----------



## lovethattink

princesslover said:


> Thank you for sharing.  This is very disturbing.  We are scheduled to be there the week after Christmas.  Right now, no park is sold out and it is during a blockout period for AP's.  But I am nervous.   There is no way to predict what the crowds will be like.
> 
> To those saying, "It's the holidays, it's going to be busy, don't go if you are uncomfortable."    Yes, It's the holidays, I am planning to go assuming that it will be busy.   But I think most of us are hoping for some sort of control over the crowds.  After all, isn't that the point of things they are putting in place like capacity limits and blockout dates?   Is it wrong to hope that I won’t be shoulder to shoulder with people while there?



Disney has done a great job with social distancing in queue and attractions.

On walkways, you’re on your own to social distance. It’s possible to social distance on the walkways. Avoid areas that typically bottleneck. Eat at off times. But you have to do the work, zigging instead of zagging, speeding up or slowing down, etc.


----------



## bare necessities

Yesterday was our first day of trip. MK was wayy too full and heard more than one person comment that there was no way this was only 35% capacity. Almost impossible to social distance until the last 1 1/2 hours of the night. Way more people flagrantly disobeying the rules about masks and no cast member doing a thing about it. Even when pointed out had cast member just shrug shoulders. Sad to see. Had such a great time in August and almost everyone knew how to follow the rules.


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## WEDWDW

bare necessities said:


> Yesterday was our first day of trip. MK was wayy too full and heard more than one person comment that there was no way this was only 35% capacity. Almost impossible to social distance until the last 1 1/2 hours of the night. Way more people flagrantly disobeying the rules about masks and no cast member doing a thing about it. Even when pointed out had cast member just shrug shoulders. Sad to see. Had such a great time in August and almost everyone knew how to follow the rules.


I think this will become more and more the "norm" unfortunately as the Vaccine news has really got people prematurely ready to call "game over".


----------



## Victoria3

smelton521 said:


> Hello! We check in to Poly today!!!! Our first park day is MK tomorrow and it will definitely be our most crowded day. What is the best plan to get into the park as early as possible? Would we be able to get in earlier if we Uber to Contemporary and walk or should we just plan on using the monorail at TTC?



I would walk from the Poly to MK.


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## LiteBrite

guynhawaii said:


> Aloha,
> 
> DHS was a train wreck for my family on Wednesday (25 Nov) despite our best attempt and effort.
> Departed CR via Uber at 8 AM for Boardwalk Bakery.  Started hiking towards DHS and arrived at 8:30 AM.  There were SIX health screening sites.  Two to the far right and four to the far left.  We were first line at number six to the far left.  Health Screening, Security and the park all opened at 9:15 AM.  Official park opening was 10 AM.  Went straight to MMRR and walked on as the second family in line.  Really enjoyed the ride.  Walked past TSM which as a walk on and got in line for SDD at 9:40.  Line for SDD was 30'.
> IT son had previously snagged a ROTR BG 10 which window closed at 10:40.  We were afraid of missing our window so we walked on ROTR.  Got in line at SR which lasted 35'.  By 11:30 AM all of the remaining waiting times were north of 50'.  We surrendered and went to lunch at DS (House of Blues) and back to CR for rest.  Returned to DHS at 5 PM with a park closing of 8 PM.  Watched Walt Disney's bio movie, TSM twice, SR and closed out with TOT.  TSM was about 10' wait each, SR 30' and TOT about 20'.
> IMHO, DHS is too much concrete and not enough shade or water.  Hotter than AK.  Due to C19, too few rides to soak up the crowds.  We were blessed to enjoy ROTR.  Don't know what we could have done differently to improve our touring plan.  Just not enough rides to soak up the crowd resulting in long waits for everyone by 10:30 AM.
> Good luck!



Thanks for your report!

I'm a little confused though, why this day was a train wreck for you.  If I'm reading it correctly, you experienced 6 attractions, repeated two of them, and never waited more than 35 minutes.  You had a nice lunch at Disney Springs and a rest at your resort - that sounds like a really successful day to me, especially during a holiday week!


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## glocon

LiteBrite said:


> Thanks for your report!
> 
> I'm a little confused though, why this day was a train wreck for you.  If I'm reading it correctly, you experienced 6 attractions, repeated two of them, and never waited more than 35 minutes.  You had a nice lunch at Disney Springs and a rest at your resort - that sounds like a really successful day to me, especially during a holiday week!


I was wondering also, read it a couple of times to see if I missed something. The only other things I would have wanted to do is RNR and SDD at night. But everyone has different ideas of what is ideal for them, maybe he thought he could get more done? Sounds like a fun day to me .


----------



## Sophie's Mom

I'm ready for FP+ to return.  We have been to Disney so many times we find ourselves not wanting to wait in any lines longer than 20 minutes. FP+ spoiled us in that regard!


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## mlggator22

bare necessities said:


> Yesterday was our first day of trip. MK was wayy too full and heard more than one person comment that there was no way this was only 35% capacity. Almost impossible to social distance until the last 1 1/2 hours of the night. Way more people flagrantly disobeying the rules about masks and no cast member doing a thing about it. Even when pointed out had cast member just shrug shoulders. Sad to see. Had such a great time in August and almost everyone knew how to follow the rules.


I just got back on Wednesday from our trip. We were at MK on Monday. I would agree that MK was very crowded. In the pinch areas, it was difficult to socially distance. We definitely tried to eat a little off the normal times to avoid the lunch crowds which were really awful. That said, mask compliance was really, really good on the day we were there. I would agree that it doesn't feel like 35%. It seemed a little closer to 50%, but I don't know the numbers that is considered capacity nor the numbers of people that were let in. 
I did feel from my trip that Disney is pushing the boundaries of safety with the spikes that are going on. But still, I enjoyed my vacation and felt overall that I was safe. So far I am symptom free since returning.


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## jenmcc21

I have been reading this post in preparation for our upcoming trip and it has been so helpful.  We planned on taking an Uber to the Contemporary about 7:15 to pick up a mobile order at Contempo Cafe on our MK day.  Park hours have been extended and we now have an 8:00am opening instead of 9:00am.  Would this strategy still be beneficial since Contempo Cafe doesn't open until 7:00am?


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## YayforMickey

jenmcc21 said:


> I have been reading this post in preparation for our upcoming trip and it has been so helpful.  We planned on taking an Uber to the Contemporary about 7:15 to pick up a mobile order at Contempo Cafe on our MK day.  Park hours have been extended and we now have an 8:00am opening instead of 9:00am.  Would this strategy still be beneficial since Contempo Cafe doesn't open until 7:00am?


I also really want to hear advice about this. We were planning the same thing.


----------



## Erzengel

cyndiella said:


> I was very interested in your thoughts on the 100 years of magic lighted pins!  We have a set of 4 that we will bring to the parks in January 2021.  Did you bring yours to Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios?  Anything else you can tell me about your experience with the pins in the parks?  We really know very little about them... cause we got ours on Ebay as well.  We got new batteries for them so we're ready!!  Thanks


I really feel that Magic Kingdom is the best place for them.  Pirates, Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World.  

I didn't try it in Hollywood Studios as almost all the rides are either new or refurbished since 2001.  You might want to try it on Tower of Terror and Aerosmith.  

Epcot, you can try it on Test Track, Frozen (maybe some of the stuff was held over from Malestrom).  

Animal Kingdom we were going to try it on Dinosaur but we didn't get a chance to go on the attraction.


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## scjm222

Hi!  My dd and I went 11/21 and returned on 11/26. We went in knowing lines would be long. Outside of the lines, mask compliance was almost 100%. Inside the lines was another story. In almost every line that we were in that was over 30 minutes, we got stuck behind people that didn’t think masks were necessary.  I’m not sure how this could be improved but will send in feedback so Disney is aware. 
Sadly, despite being super careful before and during our trip, I did test positive today but dd is negative.


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## HikingFam

scjm222 said:


> Hi!  My dd and I went 11/21 and returned on 11/26. We went in knowing lines would be long. Outside of the lines, mask compliance was almost 100%. Inside the lines was another story. In almost every line that we were in that was over 30 minutes, we got stuck behind people that didn’t think masks were necessary.  I’m not sure how this could be improved but will send in feedback so Disney is aware.
> Sadly, despite being super careful before and during our trip, I did test positive today but dd is negative.


I’m so sorry you tested positive. May I ask if you have symptoms or tested out of caution? We just got back today and feel fine, but now I’m wondering if we should test.


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## scjm222

HikingFam said:


> I’m so sorry you tested positive. May I ask if you have symptoms or tested out of caution? We just got back today and feel fine, but now I’m wondering if we should test.


We tested out of caution...no symptoms other than being a little tired, which I thought was from the 100k steps we did!


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## vital

Just out of curiosity, did you fly or drive to WDW?


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## scjm222

vital said:


> Just out of curiosity, did you fly or drive to WDW?


We flew from Houston via Southwest on a direct flight.


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## vital

scjm222 said:


> We flew from Houston via Southwest on a direct flight.



I hope you feel better soon!!


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## MEC004

scjm222 said:


> We flew from Houston via Southwest on a direct flight.



I hope you feel better! We are flying the same trip as you next week. We’ve been distancing so we don’t catch it beforehand. You might have caught it beforehand though. It takes 4-5 days before symptoms start. DH was like maybe we should cancel.


----------



## Aimeedyan

We just returned from another staycation over Thanksgiving (Wednesday-today), staying at SSR.

I expected the worse but felt like the parks were a normal weekend, just with masks. Didn't feel like a Thanksgiving crowd but was definitely not low like a pre-COVID September day.

You have to duck and weave through nearly all of MK, World Showcase, and Disney Springs and there are times when it's impossible to be 6 feet away from another party. We just moved through the pack of people as quickly as possible. Masks were pretty good.

I thought Epcot, especially, felt normal with the added entertainment, booths, holiday decor. The booth lines were the longest I've ever seen them for the holiday festival. I think that's also where they sent all the photopass people; they seemed to be everywhere!

The new walkway from GF is AWESOME and such a great addition. I would walk that 1000x over before dealing with ferrys, buses, and monorails to TTC.

SSR was very busy; we stayed there last month and that felt like a ghost town in comparison. The pool was uncomfortably crowded mid-day and I was a tad surprised they didn't close to capacity.


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## Aela

scjm222 said:


> We flew from Houston via Southwest on a direct flight.



I live in a Houston Suburb, and did you test before you left? I’m fairly sure that half the people in my town are running around positive and just not testing.   Too many maskless house parties.  Houston is a huge Petri dish right now.  You easily could have been positive before you left.


----------



## Ngwira

scjm222 said:


> Hi!  My dd and I went 11/21 and returned on 11/26. We went in knowing lines would be long. Outside of the lines, mask compliance was almost 100%. Inside the lines was another story. In almost every line that we were in that was over 30 minutes, we got stuck behind people that didn’t think masks were necessary.  I’m not sure how this could be improved but will send in feedback so Disney is aware.
> Sadly, despite being super careful before and during our trip, I did test positive today but dd is negative.


Did you dine indoors at WDW?


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## yulilin3

Lara please stay focused on just back reports of WDW, thank you


----------



## scjm222

MEC004 said:


> I hope you feel better! We are flying the same trip as you next week. We’ve been distancing so we don’t catch it beforehand. You might have caught it beforehand though. It takes 4-5 days before symptoms start. DH was like maybe we should cancel.


Thanks!  It’s hard to say as I was also distancing before our trip, but you never know.


----------



## scjm222

Aela said:


> I live in a Houston Suburb, and did you test before you left? I’m fairly sure that half the people in my town are running around positive and just not testing.   Too many maskless house parties.  Houston is a huge Petri dish right now.  You easily could have been positive before you left.


Agreed!  We are in Pearland and I see the same thing happening. I didn’t test prior to our trip but I purposefully didn’t do anything the week before.


----------



## scjm222

Ngwira said:


> Did you dine indoors at WDW?


Just once, we either ate outside or got food to take to our room.


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## michellej47

Returned last night from our 6 days at Disney World.  Part 1!

11/21 - Arrival and HS
Flew into MCO, grabbed luggage, and waited about 20 minutes for Magical Express.  We were the first stop.  Dropped our luggage at bell services at OKW and immediately hopped a bus to Hollywood Studios.  We got in the park around 1:15pm.  Waited about 40 minutes for MMRR.  I will say, we didn't love it.  It was cute, but we didn't do it again on our return visit.  After we got off, it was 2pm and I was able to snag boarding group 84 for ROTR.  Had a decent lunch at Backlot Express and got a little Pixie Dust in the form of a free dessert.  Rode tons of rides (I was amazed by how un-crowded I thought the park was considering it was a Saturday).  Longest wait was SDD which was about 45 minutes.  Got on ROTR just before 6pm.  By then we had ridden everything except ToT and RnR, but we were exhausted as we had to be up at 4am for our early flight.  We could have stayed in the park until 7 and finished it all, but we knew we were coming back a second day so we headed back to the resort (room ready text came around 5:30pm).  Had dinner at Goods Foods to Go at OKW.  Kids swam for a very short time.  Loved our room at OKW (Deluxe Studio).  

11/22 - Animal Kingdom
We had intended to be in the park prior to opening to get on FOP, but that didn't happen.  We were in by about 8:30am, though, and FOP was already a 90 minute wait, so we decided to hold off and went straight to Everest, which was a walk on.  Also walked on to Safari and Dinosaur.  Had lunch at Flame Tree BBQ (my favorite).  Our cashier (we have a food allergy in our party and ordered inside and not mobile) recommended we sit by the water, which we did, and it was awesome.  Sitting here let us see all of the boat "parades" while we ate.  After, we just enjoyed the rest of the park.  Was able to ride FOP later in the day for about a 50 minute wait, but well worth it.  It was my first ride, as the last time we went, FOP had just opened a month prior and I couldn't snag a FP (and I wasn't about to wait 3 hours for a ride).  By about 4:30, we had done everything in the park, but we had a 6:30 reservation at Rainforest Cafe, so we rode a couple of rides again.  Had a good dinner and the chef was awesome with my son's allergies.  We didn't go back into the park after dinner since we were tired and just headed back to the resort. 

Part 2 coming next!


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## michellej47

Part 2

11/23 - Magic Kingdom
Again, intended to be at the park at opening, but we just couldn't make it.  We got in about 30 minutes after opening.  Waited for 7DMT for about 45 minutes.  Splash about 40 minutes.  Everything else was 30 minutes or less.  Today was also our first day dealing with someone who just would not obey the distancing markers.  My husband finally had to say something to him because he was right on top of us.  We had lunch at Pecos Bill and had no trouble finding a table.  Wait times were not bad at all with the exception of Jingle Cruise. We waited over an hour and cannot figure out why.  And then our driver wasn't as good as what I'm used to, so it turned out not to be worth it.  Dinner was at the Plaza.  It was amazing and they did such an amazing job with my son's allergies. It was his favorite meal the entire trip!  We were able to ride everything except for 3 small rides, which we could have done but again, decided to leave the park about an hour before it closed. 

11/24 - Back to Hollywood
Since we only had two rides that we had to do, we weren't in such a hurry to get in the park at opening.  I got up at 6:55 and was able to snag boarding group 24.  We to to the park about 10:30.  The boys did RnR while my daughter and I did the Frozen Singalong.  By then, our Boarding Group was called, so we rode Rise again.  This time, however, the ride broke down while we were in the transport.  We were stuck in there only for a few minutes before we were "rescued".  It was cool because we got to see the "backstage" of the ride (and it was funny that they told us NOT to use our phones while we were being moved.  We were able to continue on with the ride.  I was glad we had ridden it on our first day because if not, I would have been a bit irked that we missed out on most of the transport part.  None of us was offered another ride or anything, which kind of surprised me.  Rode every single ride again a 2nd time except for MMRR as we just didn't feel waiting in a 40 minute line was worth it.  We had lunch at PizzaRizzo and then a 7:30 after park reservation at Sci Fi.  My husband and I enjoyed it.  The kids (11 and 14) liked sitting in the car but they thought the movies were cheesy.  After dinner, we decided to head to Disney Springs.  Kids wanted to to the Skyliner, so we took that to CBR and then a bus to DS.  We went to World of Disney and then left as there were way too many people.   We aren't overly scared about the virus and even we were a bit uncomfortable with the crowds. 

Part 3 next.


----------



## michellej47

Part 3

11/25 - Back to Magic Kingdom
Nothing super eventful happened this day.  We rode every ride except for Jingle Cruise (my kids weren't having it after the previous experience) and 7DMT (it's just too short to be worth the 75 minute wait it stayed at all day).  We had lunch at Pinocchio's and found a table pretty easily.  Wait times were a bit shorter today than Monday.  By around 6pm, we were physically done and headed back to the resort.  Grabbed dinner again at Goods and the kids swam while I did some laundry (we needed some clean masks).  

11/26 - Thanksgiving and Epcot
I did make sure we were in the park before opening.  Bus actually was running early and we were picked up and at the gate before 10am.  We were in the park shortly after 10 and went straight to Frozen.  Waited about 25 minutes.  Then headed to TT.  Should have been about a 20 minute wait, but the ride "temporarily stopped loading" for about 20 minutes.  They kept saying "we aren't closed and you are welcome to wait in line" so we did.  Then headed over to the Land and had lunch at Sunshine.  No trouble finding a table.  Rode Living with the Land as a walk on then did Soarin for a 45 minute wait.  Walked the countries a bit until about 5:30.  Left to head to Whispering Canyon Cafe for our Thanksgiving dinner.  Food was good, service was not.  We barely saw our waiter.  We had hoped to be out of there by 8pm so that we could head back to Epcot and finish up what we had not done yet.  But by the time were were done, we didn't get back to the park until 9pm and only had an hour.  Luckily, the few things we hadn't done yet were walk ons, so we were able to get it all done. 

11/27 - Return home
Had an 8am reservation at Olivia's.  Again, the food was excellent but the service wasn't great.  I will say they had the best grits I have ever had.  ME picked us up at 11am for a 2:25 return flight.  Got home a bit after 7pm last night.  

Part 4 - overall thoughts up next


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## michellej47

Part 4 - Overall thoughts

We had an excellent trip.  I definitely would recommend first timers waiting until things are a bit more normal.  The one thing I learned is that crowd size is in the eye of the beholder.  There were people in a FB planning group I belong to that were in the same park as I was complaining about how crowded it was.  I really didn't find it overly crowded the entire week, especially considering that it was a holiday week.  We usually go in the Summer or during a long President's or MLK weekend, so to me, the crowds were not terrible at all.  The weather was perfect until the last two days when it got hot.  Wearing masks 12+ hours a day was tough but doable, though the backs of my ears still hurt!

Photopass was not worth it for me, sadly.  It wasn't the masks that bothered me, but the lack of pictures I got. I didn't expect to get the 300-400 pics I normally get, but I am still disappointed in what I did get.  Several of our ride photos never showed up, and we were in boats/cars by ourselves in all of the ones I am missing and I know we were all compliant with masks.  I did report them so hopefully they will find them.  But my biggest disappointment was the lack of photographers.  It was tough to find them.  We had a very rude guy in Animal Kingdom at Pandora, and the pictures are terrible.  He cut our heads off in half of them.  But we did get some good pictures, so at least there is that!

The cavalcades were great and we enjoyed the opportunity to see the characters.  With the exception of rude photographer I mentioned above, all CMs were so nice and you could tell they are trying their best to make things magical.  

Mask compliance was excellent with a few exceptions.  Distancing was also good for the most part.  All in all, we really enjoyed our trip and I'm glad we went!


----------



## chilly2336

We just returned from a trip that went from 11/22-11/27.  It was a last minute trip that we started planning on 11/17 and I must say it was one of the best and most relaxing trips to WDW that we have ever experienced.  We were able to get park reservations for all four parks and it was great not having to worry about FP+.  It made the days in the parks completely spontaneous and we were able to ride everything that we wanted.  Completely agree with michellej47 that if you decide to visit, do not let the length of the lines deter you from riding.  Almost without exception every posted wait time was shorter than wait time that was posted and some by significant amounts.  The lines do extend quite a way out of the normal queue but do not be discouraged...they move rapidly.  We were able to ride attractions multiple times in the same day that in the pre-COVID world we never would have been able to do. 

If you are contemplating a trip to WDW and you are not overly fearful of being close to people for short periods of time then I would encourage you to go.  You will be near people on walkways, queue lines, etc...there is no getting around that and that is why I think if you prefer to be overly cautious this is not the time for a visit.  We felt completely safe and Disney is doing everything they can do to operate their theme parks and hotels in a safe manner.  

Being in the Disney bubble and away from "real world issues" did my entire family a world of good and the lack of required planning to visit all major attractions was a definite plus.  We haven't had this much fun in many months and to hear my family laugh and enjoy themselves was worth every penny.  So thankful that we were able to go.


----------



## cyndiella

Erzengel said:


> I really feel that Magic Kingdom is the best place for them.  Pirates, Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World.
> 
> I didn't try it in Hollywood Studios as almost all the rides are either new or refurbished since 2001.  You might want to try it on Tower of Terror and Aerosmith.
> 
> Epcot, you can try it on Test Track, Frozen (maybe some of the stuff was held over from Malestrom).
> 
> Animal Kingdom we were going to try it on Dinosaur but we didn't get a chance to go on the attraction.


Thanks, we will definently  try your suggestions.. One more question: do you HAVE TO be ON the ride? or in the que line? for the lights to blink?  can you stand just outside of the ride? (for example if the ride goes down during the day and we cannot ride it)  Thanks again.


----------



## cyndiella

michellej47 said:


> Part 4 - Overall thoughts
> 
> Photopass was not worth it for me, sadly....  But my biggest disappointment was the lack of photographers.  It was tough to find them.


Sadly, we found this to be true in October as well.. There were 6 of the around the hub but hardly any anywhere else.  I asked and was led to believe that Photographers  were also laid off.  Sad.   Please correct me if needed but I thought Photopass was sub-contracted (like the Magical Express drivers) and are not Disney employees....  ANYONE?????  ??


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## LSUfan4444

Sophie's Mom said:


> I'm ready for FP+ to return.  We have been to Disney so many times we find ourselves not wanting to wait in any lines longer than 20 minutes. FP+ spoiled us in that regard!


I couldnt disagree more, but I know I am in the minority. This was the best experience we have had in the theme parks in years. I miss park hopping for sure but only twice in a 9 day trip did we wait more than 35 minutes for anything and it was for Mine Train and Flight of Passage and both during peak hours so we didnt mind.

Not having any FP to keep me in a park longer than I wanted to be, not having to know two months out what time I wanted to be in the park and what area of the park, etc...it was so much easier for us knowing the crowds would be spread out more and unless we were truly one of the first people in the park or got in line just before closing, we could truly arrive and tour on what was most convenient on that day.


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## Lsdolphin

scjm222 said:


> We tested out of caution...no symptoms other than being a little tired, which I thought was from the 100k steps we did!



Hoping although you tested positive and obviously will need to quarantine that you don’t have any further symptoms!


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## Aela

scjm222 said:


> Agreed!  We are in Pearland and I see the same thing happening. I didn’t test prior to our trip but I purposefully didn’t do anything the week before.



We’re in Friendswood and it really is full of stupid people doing idiotic things.  It’s like the ladies here think the virus dies when it hits our city line


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## Lsdolphin

I’m wondering how large a number of guests are testing positive for COVID after returning from Disney...I’m still going and planning to be very cautious...if I’m in a line with people who pull down their masks  I will definitely say something Or get out of the line.  Re-thinking some our ADRs as well...
...I know it’s unrealistic to think for a minute that COVID is not a danger in the parks as it is everywhere else!


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## MEC004

Aela said:


> We’re in Friendswood and it really is full of stupid people doing idiotic things.  It’s like the ladies here think the virus dies when it hits our city line


Same with Cinco Ranch & Fulshear.  I hope we all have safe trips. I am excited though even if a little leery. We leave on Tuesday.


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## Lsdolphin

MEC004 said:


> Same with Cinco Ranch & Fulshear.  I hope we all have safe trips. I am excited though even if a little leery. We leave on Tuesday.



Yes, we leave on Tues as well 12/2-9 at GDT...wishing everyone safe travels!


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## Sydnerella

scjm222 said:


> We tested out of caution...no symptoms other than being a little tired, which I thought was from the 100k steps we did!


I’m so very sorry to hear that! I hope you are feeling well and are a asymptomatic  I had a test two days before departure just to confirm I wasn’t positive but asymptomatic and my family was not likely either since we have been distance learning and working from home for months together.

Leaving from MCO now sadly... My post trip test is tomorrow... and the rest of family will test Tuesday and Wednesday. We also planned to do it as a precaution post trip. Twice. And quarantine. I hope you do not get badly ill.


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## disneyseniors

LSUfan4444 said:


> I couldnt disagree more, but I know I am in the minority. This was the best experience we have had in the theme parks in years. I miss park hopping for sure but only twice in a 9 day trip did we wait more than 35 minutes for anything and it was for Mine Train and Flight of Passage and both during peak hours so we didnt mind.
> 
> Not having any FP to keep me in a park longer than I wanted to be, not having to know two months out what time I wanted to be in the park and what area of the park, etc...it was so much easier for us knowing the crowds would be spread out more and unless we were truly one of the first people in the park or got in line just before closing, we could truly arrive and tour on what was most convenient on that day.



I'm with you, LSUfan!  It is so freeing to just go ride what you want when you want.  Everyone is on an even playing field without fast pass.  Honestly, with fast pass, we usually only rode the 3 we had due to the lack of them and the extra long waits that are caused by the FP.  I wish they would do away with FP when this is all over.  
Before covid and before FP's, we waited in lines which moved all the time.  We got to see the queus and the little things along the way that "make" the ride, and got to talk with others.   I personally liked it much better without FP's.
I think you are not alone in this, and I think many others will see this as preferrable after this experience.  Fingers crossed!


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## only hope

Lsdolphin said:


> I’m wondering how large a number of guests are testing positive for COVID after returning from Disney...I’m still going and planning to be very cautious...if I’m in a line with people who pull down their masks  I will definitely say something Or get out of the line.  Re-thinking some our ADRs as well...
> ...I know it’s unrealistic to think for a minute that COVID is not a danger in the parks as it is everywhere else!



Guests can remove masks in line while stationary and distanced to take a quick sip of water or pop something to eat in their mouth, if they’re in the extended portion of the line. Once you enter the normal part of the line (where the normal entrance is with standby and fp signs above the walkway), masks are to be on the entire time. There’s trashcans at the entrances with signs and overhead announcements.

Keep an eye on Orange and Osceola county covid numbers as your trip nears to get an idea of community spread in the area. If you want to be cautious and lower your chance of getting covid as much as possible, patio dining is your friend.  I wish more ts in the parks had it. QS nearly everything does.


----------



## Desiree1972

Would love to know if there are any dining experiences that have outdoor seating at any of the parks or resorts that you recommend.  Looking for a meal or two that *aren't counter service* - but we aren't willing to eat indoors.  thanks!


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## NJlauren

Desiree1972 said:


> Would love to know if there are any dining experiences that have outdoor seating at any of the parks or resorts that you recommend.  Looking for a meal or two that *aren't counter service* - but we aren't willing to eat indoors.  thanks!



I am sure there are more, but house of blues had outside seating, and Via Napoli in Epcot, but it was limited so no guarantee you’ll be seated there. It I am sure you can request it.

ETA I noticed a lot of outside seating at Disney springs but don’t recall which restaurants, I would check open table they sometimes have an outside seating option when making a reservation. 

Pretty sure homecoming has outside too


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## Sarahslay

So my DH and I just got back from our first kid free trip over thanksgiving week. I won't give a daily report but will leave everyone with my final thoughts and feelings. We stayed at YC which proved to be very nice with walking to Epcot and HS, were able to get in to both parks early and get on a ton of rides before lines got long, then take a really nice break. My DH had never stayed at an Epcot area resort, and hates spending money on deluxe resorts, but he said they were well worth the money (I have stayed at YC and BWI several times and have loved it every time, pre and post covid). Rope drop, for the love of all things Disney, rope drop. Seriously, it's worth it at every park. We were finishing all the rides we wanted to ride and leaving the park when the crowds and lines were growing and others were just entering the park. We had a glorious time and only waited in line at maybe 5 or 6 rides all week, longest wait was for 7DMT on thanksgiving day at an hour (posted 70 minutes) and the rest were around 30 minutes with all posting much longer waits. We felt safe at every single TS we ate at, aside from Le Cellier (but that wasn't covid related, just don't order the mussles appetizer! I'm begging you.....), I still haven't eaten at a restaurant outside of Disney since March and have zero issues eating at WDW. Mask compliance was REALLY good during the day, but at night (and especially at Epcot) it starts getting much worse along with distancing. If that's something that bugs you then I would suggest hitting the parks early in the day and then saving the evenings for a movie in your room, a relaxing resort dinner, or pool time. 

We did have to remove ourself from two situations, and both were made right by CMs. One gentleman thought it would be good to put a big wad of chewing tobacco in his mouth, and leave his mask off while he spit like a camel everywhere, while we were in line for Dinosaur. We walked out past a CM who had just seen us and she seemed surprised to see us walking away, we told her what happened and she went to find them, came back and got us, and walked us to the building and let us in the FP line. Those folks were still in line when we exited, but he had his mask on. The other time was on Living with the Land when the lady in front of us decided to drink water with her mask down the entire ride, reach out of the boat and touch stuff, and naturally had a CM waiting for her when the ride ended. I couldn't get off the boat fast enough. They let us ride again on a boat alone, but that situation wasn't fun. Epcot at night right now in WS just isn't fun at night in general, I'd probably enjoy DS more at this point. Overall, we had a great time, and will be doing it again with the kids Christmas week with a lot more knowledge of knowing what we're comfortable with and how we want to tour the parks, it's all in doing what makes you feel the most comfortable and safe to have the best vacation.


----------



## Sarahslay

Also, we did have instances on thanksgiving day in that long wait at 7DMT where people were eating and drinking heavily past the "no food and drink beyond this point" sign. The CM at the front did not care and was stopping no one. I took pictures of some pretty bad offenders and sent an email with them voicing my displeasure, thankfully that was the only thing in the whole trip that really boiled my blood. Why on earth have a rule if the CMs aren't going to enforce it? (I did see many more handling the rule properly in other parks though, most were good)


----------



## scjm222

Sarahslay said:


> Also, we did have instances on thanksgiving day in that long wait at 7DMT where people were eating and drinking heavily past the "no food and drink beyond this point" sign. The CM at the front did not care and was stopping no one. I took pictures of some pretty bad offenders and sent an email with them voicing my displeasure, thankfully that was the only thing in the whole trip that really boiled my blood. Why on earth have a rule if the CMs aren't going to enforce it? (I did see many more handling the rule properly in other parks though, most were good)





Sarahslay said:


> So my DH and I just got back from our first kid free trip over thanksgiving week. I won't give a daily report but will leave everyone with my final thoughts and feelings. We stayed at YC which proved to be very nice with walking to Epcot and HS, were able to get in to both parks early and get on a ton of rides before lines got long, then take a really nice break. My DH had never stayed at an Epcot area resort, and hates spending money on deluxe resorts, but he said they were well worth the money (I have stayed at YC and BWI several times and have loved it every time, pre and post covid). Rope drop, for the love of all things Disney, rope drop. Seriously, it's worth it at every park. We were finishing all the rides we wanted to ride and leaving the park when the crowds and lines were growing and others were just entering the park. We had a glorious time and only waited in line at maybe 5 or 6 rides all week, longest wait was for 7DMT on thanksgiving day at an hour (posted 70 minutes) and the rest were around 30 minutes with all posting much longer waits. We felt safe at every single TS we ate at, aside from Le Cellier (but that wasn't covid related, just don't order the mussles appetizer! I'm begging you.....), I still haven't eaten at a restaurant outside of Disney since March and have zero issues eating at WDW. Mask compliance was REALLY good during the day, but at night (and especially at Epcot) it starts getting much worse along with distancing. If that's something that bugs you then I would suggest hitting the parks early in the day and then saving the evenings for a movie in your room, a relaxing resort dinner, or pool time.
> 
> We did have to remove ourself from two situations, and both were made right by CMs. One gentleman thought it would be good to put a big wad of chewing tobacco in his mouth, and leave his mask off while he spit like a camel everywhere, while we were in line for Dinosaur. We walked out past a CM who had just seen us and she seemed surprised to see us walking away, we told her what happened and she went to find them, came back and got us, and walked us to the building and let us in the FP line. Those folks were still in line when we exited, but he had his mask on. The other time was on Living with the Land when the lady in front of us decided to drink water with her mask down the entire ride, reach out of the boat and touch stuff, and naturally had a CM waiting for her when the ride ended. I couldn't get off the boat fast enough. They let us ride again on a boat alone, but that situation wasn't fun. Epcot at night right now in WS just isn't fun at night in general, I'd probably enjoy DS more at this point. Overall, we had a great time, and will be doing it again with the kids Christmas week with a lot more knowledge of knowing what we're comfortable with and how we want to tour the parks, it's all in doing what makes you feel the most comfortable and safe to have the best vacation.


THIS!  We, too, had experiences similar to your Living with the land experience where we were beyond a point of return of telling someone to put their mask on or get out of line.


----------



## Sarahslay

Desiree1972 said:


> Would love to know if there are any dining experiences that have outdoor seating at any of the parks or resorts that you recommend.  Looking for a meal or two that *aren't counter service* - but we aren't willing to eat indoors.  thanks!


The only places I can think of in the parks is Spice Road table and that is closing in about another week (re-opening TBD I suppose), and Rose & Crown; aside from Nomad Lounge which is attached to Tiffins I can't think of anything else. Of course a lot of QS have outdoor dining, but TS is a whole different story.


----------



## Aela

Sarahslay said:


> The only places I can think of in the parks is Spice Road table and that is closing in about another week (re-opening TBD I suppose), and Rose & Crown; aside from Nomad Lounge which is attached to Tiffins I can't think of anything else. Of course a lot of QS have outdoor dining, but TS is a whole different story.



I wish spice road table wasn’t closing over the holidays.    

We have reservations at Tony’s town square.  Hoping for outdoor dining there.


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## karmacats

Desiree1972 said:


> Would love to know if there are any dining experiences that have outdoor seating at any of the parks or resorts that you recommend.  Looking for a meal or two that *aren't counter service* - but we aren't willing to eat indoors.  thanks!



The only outdoor full service i can think of are Tonys in MK and Rose and Crown in Epcot. The epcot italy restaurants have outdoor areas but haven't always been allowing seating there lately. Nomad lounge in AK has small plates but enough you may be able to make a meal of.  I think you're out of luck at HS. 

At resorts, coronado has 3 bridges and wilderness lodge has geyser point, but to get to either you'd need to take a bus (or a boat to WL); if you are not comfortable eating inside, idk how you feel about that.  (I just cancelled all my indoor dining for next week, and we are driving so we don't have to take busses, so i would totally understand not wanting to get on a bus.)

There are quite a few disney springs table service restaurants with outdoor seating. If you reserve through open table rather than disney you can include a note that you plan to sit outside. I'd recommend jaleo - not the cheapest, but the food is incredible.


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## CLE2WDW07

This may have already been asked and I apologize if this is the wrong thread, but what is currently the best time to get in line for a bus to the Magic Kingdom from Pop if we want to make the “unofficial” rope drop? The park opens at 9 tomorrow. Thank you in advance!


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## only hope

Desiree1972 said:


> Would love to know if there are any dining experiences that have outdoor seating at any of the parks or resorts that you recommend.  Looking for a meal or two that *aren't counter service* - but we aren't willing to eat indoors.  thanks!



AK:
Nomad lounge (attached to Tiffins)

MK:
Tonys

HS:
Brown Derby Lounge. Food menu not available as of July


Epcot:
Rose and Crown
Spice Road- closing soon
Tutto Italia
Via Napoli- patio not open in July
La Hacienda de San Angel


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## ambula603

We just returned from our trip Nov 20-27.  Like so many others have said, it is all about your perspective and your own comfort zone.  We had a WONDERFUL trip.  We smiled, laughed, relaxed and ATE SO MUCH GOOD FOOD.  We did have a few bad apples around us on occasion, but we are surrounded by tons more here at home so it was actually an improvement.

The masks didn't bother us because the weather was amazing (70s and 80s) but I couldn't do it if it were any hotter.  We took fabric masks and changed out to black disposable that I bought online midday.  I am sad that we have no great photos without them, but it is what it is.  A memory!

We stayed at BWV and it is by far my favorite resort now.  I loved the ease of transportation to Epcot and HS and we especially loved the relaxing Skyliner rides! (edited to add: didn't know we couldn't remove masks, sorry.)  Loved the Friendship boats, glad they were back in service.  We also had several busses to ourselves or with just a few others which was a nice surprise. 

Rope Drop.  It is your best option if you want to ride more rides.  Then leave midday when it is most crowded.  Go back at night and enjoy the ambiance and some near-empty park areas.

Every single restaurant was amazing and I am already sad to be cooking and eating at home forevermore. 

Plan some things you don't normally do - for us, we tried Horseback Riding at Fort Wilderness.  So relaxing!  We also ate at some other resorts so we could explore their lobby areas (using Disney transportation to get there). 

We plan to stay home for 2 weeks as we virtual school (aside from my husband who has an office to himself and wears a mask religiously) but so far no symptoms or sickness! 

Finally, find the magic.  It is there!  I saw so many friendly CM (despite not being able to see their smiles, I could feel it) and other people that were just happy to be in the Disney Bubble.  Sure...you can spot the rule breakers and be panicked the entire time, or you can try to find the goodness all around you!


----------



## guynhawaii

LiteBrite said:


> Thanks for your report!
> 
> I'm a little confused though, why this day was a train wreck for you.  If I'm reading it correctly, you experienced 6 attractions, repeated two of them, and never waited more than 35 minutes.  You had a nice lunch at Disney Springs and a rest at your resort - that sounds like a really successful day to me, especially during a holiday week!


Aloha,

Understand.  Everything is relative.  My family and I are use to attending DLR which IMHO is greatly more efficient in ride quantities and time to relax and enjoy the parks.  DLR allows us to say on property and enjoy EMH and Fastpass Plus.  We can enjoy six rides (DCA or DL) by the official opening time, another three by the end of the first hour and basically knockout the park by lunch.  CA is generally cooler and less humid than FL.  So...comparing DHS to DL or DCA, all things considered, relatively speaking, we hit the wall at DHS and left the park by 11:30 tired and exhausted with less than eight rides.  I hope I am making sense.


----------



## Sarahslay

Aela said:


> I wish spice road table wasn’t closing over the holidays.
> 
> We have reservations at Tony’s town square.  Hoping for outdoor dining there.


I didn’t see anyone sitting outside while I was there, could have just been coincidence


----------



## Sarahslay

ambula603 said:


> We just returned from our trip Nov 20-27.  Like so many others have said, it is all about your perspective and your own comfort zone.  We had a WONDERFUL trip.  We smiled, laughed, relaxed and ATE SO MUCH GOOD FOOD.  We did have a few bad apples around us on occasion, but we are surrounded by tons more here at home so it was actually an improvement.
> 
> The masks didn't bother us because the weather was amazing (70s and 80s) but I couldn't do it if it were any hotter.  We took fabric masks and changed out to black disposable that I bought online midday.  I am sad that we have no great photos without them, but it is what it is.  A memory!
> 
> We stayed at BWV and it is by far my favorite resort now.  I loved the ease of transportation to Epcot and HS and we especially loved the relaxing, mask-free Skyliner rides!  Loved the Friendship boats, glad they were back in service.  We also had several busses to ourselves or with just a few others, which was a nice surprise.
> 
> Rope Drop.  It is your best option if you want to ride more rides.  Then leave midday when it is most crowded.  Go back at night and enjoy the ambiance and some near-empty park areas.
> 
> Every single restaurant was amazing and I am already sad to be cooking and eating at home forevermore.
> 
> Plan some things you don't normally do - for us, we tried Horseback Riding at Fort Wilderness.  So relaxing!  We also ate at some other resorts so we could explore their lobby areas (using Disney transportation to get there).
> 
> We plan to stay home for 2 weeks as we virtual school (aside from my husband who has an office to himself and wears a mask religiously) but so far no symptoms or sickness!
> 
> Finally, find the magic.  It is there!  I saw so many friendly CM (despite not being able to see their smiles, I could feel it) and other people that were just happy to be in the Disney Bubble.  Sure...you can spot the rule breakers and be panicked the entire time, or you can try to find the goodness all around you!


I didn’t think we were supposed to/allowed to take masks off on the skyliner . We had a great week too, even with the few bad apples (which only dampened things for a moment), and even with my food poisoning on the first night we had a great time. Probably the most relaxing trip we’ve ever taken.

edit to add: I only felt panicked twice, which is way better than I thought I would be (I did go in August but it was less crowded so I didn’t know how I would feel). I do think people are allowed to feel a bit panicked, kinda lets you know you should probably get out of that particular situation. My two were not great and I felt much better getting out, and had great CM encounters because of them. CMs were great all around aside from maybe 2 we ran in to, I wrote that off as holiday stress.


----------



## Aela

It would definitely make sense to leave the masks on when in the Skyliner.   They don’t exactly air them out really well between riders.  No way I am taking my mask off.  It will only give a touch of safety if the previous person took theirs off, but it is at least better then nothing.


----------



## jemtx

Desiree1972 said:


> Would love to know if there are any dining experiences that have outdoor seating at any of the parks or resorts that you recommend.  Looking for a meal or two that *aren't counter service* - but we aren't willing to eat indoors.  thanks!


Tony’s in MK has a porch/patio out front.


----------



## only hope

Yeah, masks are supposed to stay on when on the Skyliner. If someone has covid and takes their mask off, the next people to ride it are being exposed...and probably the people after that...


----------



## ambula603

I honestly had no idea about the rule concerning masks during the skyliner ride, so whoops if we broke that rule!  We did keep them on when the doors opened up and the CMs were standing there (and obviously in the station getting on and off).


----------



## dachsie

Need advice. Tomorrow is my AK day and the rain is supposed to hit right at opening then taper off around 10:30. Should I delayngetting there or go ahead on poncho and try to hit as much as I can?


----------



## Amunet

CLE2WDW07 said:


> This may have already been asked and I apologize if this is the wrong thread, but what is currently the best time to get in line for a bus to the Magic Kingdom from Pop if we want to make the “unofficial” rope drop? The park opens at 9 tomorrow. Thank you in advance!


I hoped someone would have answered you by now because I have the exact same question (also going to MK tomorrow but coming from AoA). I read an earlier post about someone being at the bus by 7:30ish and were the first bus from the resort. We are going to aim for 7:45-ish in the hopes that most people will wait out the rain before going.



dachsie said:


> Need advice. Tomorrow is my AK day and the rain is supposed to hit right at opening then taper off around 10:30. Should I delayngetting there or go ahead on poncho and try to hit as much as I can?


I imagine many people will chose to wait for the rain to taper off. So, get your feet soggy and ride rides with less people or keep feet dry and ride rides with whatever the crowds will be? Only you and your feet can decide.


----------



## VandVsmama

guynhawaii said:


> Aloha,
> 
> Understand.  Everything is relative.  My family and I are use to attending DLR which IMHO is greatly more efficient in ride quantities and time to relax and enjoy the parks.  DLR allows us to say on property and enjoy EMH and Fastpass Plus.  We can enjoy six rides (DCA or DL) by the official opening time, another three by the end of the first hour and basically knockout the park by lunch.  CA is generally cooler and less humid than FL.  So...comparing DHS to DL or DCA, all things considered, relatively speaking, we hit the wall at DHS and left the park by 11:30 tired and exhausted with less than eight rides.  I hope I am making sense.



We are DL veterans, too.  We love DL.  However, going to WDW and expecting a DL experience is kind of like ordering a club sandwich but getting frustrated that you didn't get a pastrami on rye.  Both sandwiches are great...they taste great, they satisfy your hunger, etc.  They're similar, but different.  One can appreciate each for its own unique qualities.  Same applies to WDW vs DL.


----------



## Eeyore daily

We're here now and have only gone to AK and MK but it was my understanding Disney was being more strict with social distancing and masks in queues which is why I was feeling more comfortable coming.  Definitely has not been the case!  In the line for FOP and this family kept practically stopping on top of my boyfriend and no CM said anything (and this happened multiple times later).  Same at MK, where capacity needs to go back down.  So many chokeholds and nowhere to go. Shopping at the end of the night is a nightmare so I wouldn't recommend it in the slightest.  On the bus coming back from MK to Jambo House this unmasked person got on the bus at Kidani and the bus driver didn't say anything so enforcement is still lacking.    

Hoping that since the Thanksgiving holiday is now over the parks will be emptier for the rest of the week but who knows.


----------



## justreading

"...we especially loved the relaxing, *mask-free Skyliner rides!*  "

*THIS! *


----------



## scrappinginontario

Eeyore daily said:


> We're here now and have only gone to AK and MK but it was my understanding Disney was being more strict with social distancing and masks in queues which is why I was feeling more comfortable coming.  Definitely has not been the case!  In the line for FOP and this family kept practically stopping on top of my boyfriend and no CM said anything (and this happened multiple times later).  Same at MK, where capacity needs to go back down.  So many chokeholds and nowhere to go. Shopping at the end of the night is a nightmare so I wouldn't recommend it in the slightest.  On the bus coming back from MK to Jambo House this unmasked person got on the bus at Kidani and the bus driver didn't say anything so enforcement is still lacking.
> 
> Hoping that since the Thanksgiving holiday is now over the parks will be emptier for the rest of the week but who knows.


Sorry you've had these negative experiences.  My understanding is that CMs are addressing guests not adhering to mask compliance.  (That bus driver should have addressed the person boarding without a mask) but, social distancing is not their responsibility to monitor.


----------



## Erzengel

cyndiella said:


> Thanks, we will definently  try your suggestions.. One more question: do you HAVE TO be ON the ride? or in the que line? for the lights to blink?  can you stand just outside of the ride? (for example if the ride goes down during the day and we cannot ride it)  Thanks again.


No they turn on during specific moments on the ride.   Both my wife and I had one and they went on almost at the same time.


----------



## lovethattink

Eeyore daily said:


> We're here now and have only gone to AK and MK but it was my understanding Disney was being more strict with social distancing and masks in queues which is why I was feeling more comfortable coming.  Definitely has not been the case!  In the line for FOP and this family kept practically stopping on top of my boyfriend and no CM said anything (and this happened multiple times later).  Same at MK, where capacity needs to go back down.  So many chokeholds and nowhere to go. Shopping at the end of the night is a nightmare so I wouldn't recommend it in the slightest.  On the bus coming back from MK to Jambo House this unmasked person got on the bus at Kidani and the bus driver didn't say anything so enforcement is still lacking.
> 
> Hoping that since the Thanksgiving holiday is now over the parks will be emptier for the rest of the week but who knows.



There’s always someone that doesn’t social distance in queue. We’ve found it works to let them in front of you. Then you can control how close you get to them.


----------



## Eeyore daily

lovethattink said:


> There’s always someone that doesn’t social distance in queue. We’ve found it works to let them in front of you. Then you can control how close you get to them.


Yes we’ve started doing that.


----------



## only hope

Yeah, distancing is up to the guest. CM don’t know who belongs together. I give people about one minute with several backwards glances before I politely ask them to leave six feet. I check frequently to make sure there is space behind us.


----------



## WendiDarling

lovethattink said:


> There’s always someone that doesn’t social distance in queue. We’ve found it works to let them in front of you. Then you can control how close you get to them.





Eeyore daily said:


> Yes we’ve started doing that.



This.  It worked for us last week.  It's the least confrontational way to keep yourself safe.  We witnessed an almost-fight in Karamel-Kuche over social distancing.  Not worth it, to me.  I just said something like "Looks like you're in a hurry, would you like to go ahead of us?"  Works for me for Christmas shopping too


----------



## Marc A.

only hope said:


> AK:
> Nomad lounge (attached to Tiffins)
> 
> MK:
> Tonys
> 
> HS:
> Brown Derby Lounge. Food menu not available as of July
> 
> 
> Epcot:
> Rose and Crown
> Spice Road- closing soon
> Tutto Italia
> Via Napoli- patio not open in July
> La Hacienda de San Angel


I have no idea why VN does not open their patio???


----------



## LiteBrite

guynhawaii said:


> Aloha,
> 
> Understand.  Everything is relative.  My family and I are use to attending DLR which IMHO is greatly more efficient in ride quantities and time to relax and enjoy the parks.  DLR allows us to say on property and enjoy EMH and Fastpass Plus.  We can enjoy six rides (DCA or DL) by the official opening time, another three by the end of the first hour and basically knockout the park by lunch.  CA is generally cooler and less humid than FL.  So...comparing DHS to DL or DCA, all things considered, relatively speaking, we hit the wall at DHS and left the park by 11:30 tired and exhausted with less than eight rides.  I hope I am making sense.



Yes, thank you, that does make sense.  If you're accustomed to the cooler/dryer California climate Florida can be a shock any time of the year.  Also, experiencing that climate change wearing masks must add to that feeling a lot.  Totally get it.


----------



## NJlauren

Marc A. said:


> I have no idea why VN does not open their patio???


It was open on Tuesday,


----------



## Lsdolphin

Desiree1972 said:


> Would love to know if there are any dining experiences that have outdoor seating at any of the parks or resorts that you recommend.  Looking for a meal or two that *aren't counter service* - but we aren't willing to eat indoors.  thanks!



Disney Springs:

Homecoming
Blaze Pizza
Earl of Sandwich
polite Pig
Terralina
Ragland Road (I think or tables might be for the QS that’s beside them}


----------



## yulilin3

Lsdolphin said:


> Disney Springs:
> 
> Homecoming
> Blaze Pizza
> Earl of Sandwich
> polite Pig
> Terralina
> Ragland Road (I think or tables might be for the QS that’s beside them}


Clarify that blaze and earl are not table services
There's outdoor dining for Ragland
And to add
Brown Derby
House of Blues
Splitsville
Rose and Crown


----------



## StageTek

I, too, experienced people behind me in lines not staying six feet back. The polite reminder and backward glance didn't work. Like lovethattink and WendiDarling I just let them go in front of me.


----------



## wdwrule

We got back from a recent trip 11/20-11/25 (rescheduled from 7/20). Went back and forth on whether we should go or not but so, so glad we went!  I’m a ‘glass is half full’ kinda gal and I definitely saw many positives considering the situation. First and foremost, my first teary eyed moment was at arrival in the Pop food court... huge group of CMs dancing and clapping to Christmas music!!!  One of my biggest take-aways from the trip was the genuine happiness, politeness and care that the CMs were showing.

Our trip was also a success thanks to @yulilin3 and many others on this board for recommendations such as the walk from Speedway, the testing site, ‘rope drop’ strategies, RotR, etc etc. This assistance helped us to navigate such things as mobile ordering and minimal wait times. I did miss park hopping but know that’s coming back soon. I also missed FP and getting additional FPs. HOWEVER, I found my nose wasn’t always in my phone searching for those FPs which allowed me to take in all the details of the cue lines etc in the parks. I embraced the slower pace and appreciated the park’s artwork, landscape and architecture.   

There was the occasional mask below the nose or people creeping up on us in the cue but it was very infrequent. There was an incident where we did not receive our PoC picture from memory maker because of another party with their masks not fully on. The park photographers were awesome though and seemed to get extra creative this year. First time in Galaxy’s Edge and holy cow... amazing!!!  Anyways thanks again everyone for all the assistance and tips!  For those debating on visiting I think it all comes down to personal preference and comfort level.


----------



## Desiree1972

Thank you for all of the replies.  I made a reservation for Rose and Crown!  I am happy to have one sit down dinner al fresco secured.

We will be entering through the IG and plan on rope dropping - is there only one route to get to Frozen or are both sides of the route open? If so which way is quicker - clockwise or counter clockwise?

RD at MK as well - in your experience which rides have not been open pre official opening?  The girls have a couple of rides they are interested in and would rather head toward *more* of a for sure thing.

Has anyone done the 45 minute horseback riding trail at FW? will 14 yo enjoy it?

Thank you!


----------



## wdwrule

Desiree1972 said:


> RD at MK as well - in your experience which rides have not been open pre official opening?  The girls have a couple of rides they are interested in and would rather head toward *more* of a for sure thing.


For us last week, the only two rides open at MK before official opening were 7DMT and PP. However that might change day by day, not sure.


----------



## WEDWDW

Desiree1972 said:


> Would love to know if there are any dining experiences that have outdoor seating at any of the parks or resorts that you recommend.  Looking for a meal or two that *aren't counter service* - but we aren't willing to eat indoors.  thanks!


Disney Springs/House of Blues/Courtyard

Great food PLUS some Kickin' Bands!


----------



## michellej47

scrappinginontario said:


> Sorry you've had these negative experiences.  My understanding is that CMs are addressing guests not adhering to mask compliance.  (That bus driver should have addressed the person boarding without a mask) but, social distancing is not their responsibility to monitor.



I saw a TON of enforcement on my trip last week. CMs were doing a great job of reminding people to stay apart, cover their nose, etc.  In fact, we got held up on Soarin because a teenager kept sliding his mask off.  A CM finally came up to him and said, in a nice/nasty sort of way, if you slide it down again, a security guard will be waiting to escort you out of the park when the ride is over.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Amunet said:


> I hoped someone would have answered you by now because I have the exact same question (also going to MK tomorrow but coming from AoA). I read an earlier post about someone being at the bus by 7:30ish and were the first bus from the resort. We are going to aim for 7:45-ish in the hopes that most people will wait out the rain before going.
> 
> 
> I imagine many people will chose to wait for the rain to taper off. So, get your feet soggy and ride rides with less people or keep feet dry and ride rides with whatever the crowds will be? Only you and your feet can decide.



From Caribbean Beach Resort we got in line for bus around 7:15AM and there was only one family ahead of us. By 8AM the line was stretched all through the resort. Two families tried to cut in line when the buses arrived but there was a common consensus from all of us waiting to not let that fly. CBR had queue markings by the Magic Kingdom bus stop which definitely helped keep some organization. We also waited at the bus stop that’s second in line for the buses arriving. We (my son and I) were the only family to fit on aside from the group in front of us and the rest in line had to wait for another to come. So take into account the order of the bus stops- we purposely walked to that one to be one of the first stops. We were riding Jingle Cruise by 9:10AM.


----------



## fabfemmeboy

Here now and a brief report on our first few days.  We're staying at CSR (a new-to-us resort), in Casitas, 11/28-12/9.

Background: We're from the Bay Area, California.  We've been on more-or-less lockdown since March, religious maskwearers, and haven't eaten indoors since sometime in January.  My partner is a full-time college student with all classes online, and I've been about 95% remote-work for months.  My partner in particular has been very nervous about this trip and the risk of virus transmission.  Oh, and I use an electric wheelchair and have a DAS pass.

11/27: Flying SFO to MSP to MCO
-We flew Delta, which has left all middle seats empty through next spring.  The flights were much emptier than that - I'd say about 1/4 full and 1/3 full, respectively.
-SFO was practically a ghost town, which was lovely but kind of eerie.  Everyone spread out in the gate area which was nice.
-MSP was a disaster as far as precautions go.  No distancing whatsoever - and no _place _to distance.  4 flights all sharing one cramped gate area, a lot of chin-guards and nose-peekers instead of properly-worn masks, and a whole bunch of people had to wolf down dinners onboard while people were boarding because there wasn't enough time during any layovers.
-On both flights, people were awful at distancing when it came time to get off the plane.
-We stayed overnight at the MCO Hyatt (inside the airport) which was very convenient and comfortable. 

11/28:  Arrival
-We got right on DME and waited about 5-10 minutes to depart.  Everyone was spaced out/staggered, CMs were helpful, etc.
-Deboarding at CSR was a mess.  The driver supervised everyone getting off the bus.  We all had to stand around, and no one was 6 feet apart.  Then he began pulling suitcases from the bottom, one by one, so each person left their cluster, got one bag, and went back to the cluster.  The clusters inched further and further forward so there was no distancing at all, and when people had all their bags they had to walk through the folks waiting. 
-Our room wasn't ready until 4, which was a bummer.  We explored the resort in the meantime.  Got lunch over by the main pool, which was at capacity and well-monitored.  I was pleasantly surprised by the level of mask etiquette - no one forgetting as they left the pool area, etc.

11/29: EPCOT
-The bus situation at CSR, like a lot of resorts, could really use some help.  There are no lines for separate destinations, no signs, nothing, so everyone just kind of meanders and then rushes when their bus arrives.  We've previously stayed at Pop, so this is new to us.
-Arrived at 10:30 for 11:00 opening.  The crowds were extremely light and easy to get around.  This was a day in which all parks were sold out for APs and most parks were sold out for non-APs, so I was a little worried.
-It's the first weekend of Festival of Holidays, so obviously there were a lot of locals coming to drink around the world. Most people weren't a problem, and the tipsy morons were mostly easy to avoid.
-That said, I was surprised based on what I had read that there weren't any CMs around to help with mask enforcement.  I don't think I saw a single CM in World Showcase except those working stands.  It felt like they had given up on trying to patrol/enforce distance and mask-wearing at all, or like they had gotten rid of everyone whose job that would be.  It was never for long enough that I felt _unsafe_, but only because we could move away from them.
-Still a good day overall.  Not as horrible as I feared the crowds might be.  We ate way too many desserts. The beef bourguignon at Yukon was amazing.

11/30: DHS
-I had no intention to rope-drop and planned to go whenever our BG was likely to be called.  We got BG5, so we went over fairly early but not nearly the first ones in the park.  We arrived at 9:30 for 10:00 official opening.  MMRR was already full, SDD was 70 minutes. 
-This park has more choke-points than most and is really just designed in a way that would make any level of crowd feel more oppressive. 
-I think I only saw one person having a mask issue all day; otherwise, everyone seemed to be wearing it properly, parents were encouraging their kids, etc.  No one seemed to be trying to sneak it off on rides, even ones like Star Tours which was a concern of mine.
-I really wish they'd made the stand-here markers more like 10 feet apart, because no party larger than 2 fits right on the line.  It means we're not 6 feet apart, but more like 3 when all is said and done.
-They started running/boarding ROTR at about 10:45.  In the first 2 hours in the park, we rode TSM (posted 30, actual about 10), AS2 (posted 20, actual 15), and SDD (posted 70 with a DAS), then ROTR.  We'd only been on TSM before, so it was a whole morning of new experiences! 
-Stopped for lunch at Backlot, saw a Pixar cavalcade, and rode Star Tours a couple times.  It was unfortunately exactly the same even though I had read that it was back to being randomized.
-Then some shopping and back to the hotel for school work and work-work.


----------



## lovethattink

At MK now. This is the most people I’ve seen in the park since reopening. The pathways are very crowded. Impossible to social distance. But it’s mostly quickly passing people. Not sustained time. Queues are easy to maintain social distancing.


----------



## EinHoden

Just back (sort-of), from Universal/Disney trip, travelled home on Thanksgiving.  Couple of quick observances:
-Universal Parks (11/21-11/22) were more crowded than expected, Harry Potter areas in both parks were shoulder to shoulder.  We had rooms booked at Royal Pacific to get the Express Passes which made it enjoyable for us.  Pretty much every ride was virtually a walk-on.  
- Overall Disney Parks seemed pretty light on crowds.  What we discovered were the rides lines were still long because everything else is shut down (shows, M&Gs, etc).  So 35% capacity, but much less to keep everyone busy with non-ride entertainment.  
- Pool at AK Kindani  was pretty empty, no more than 10-15 other people both evenings we went down.


----------



## chilly2336

Space Mountain was open early two days last week.


----------



## CLE2WDW07

Thank you everyone for their tips and experiences! I’ve been following along and today was our first day in the parks - Magic Kingdom.

We got in line at Pop for the bus at 7 AM and were on the first bus around 8:10 AM.

We were in the park by 8:30 and took a few pictures in the hub and rode Mine Train with less than a five minute wait!

We rode 15 rides between rope drop and 3:15 PM with very minimal waits. The most we waited all day was 35 minutes for Space Mountain and got lucky with a 5 minute wait for Splash Mountain (caught it right after its delayed open).

We’re back at Pop resting and onto Animal Kingdom tomorrow!


----------



## WEDWDW

CLE2WDW07 said:


> Thank you everyone for their tips and experiences! I’ve been following along and today was our first day in the parks - Magic Kingdom.
> 
> We got in line at Pop for the bus at 7 AM and were on the first bus around 8:10 AM.
> 
> We were in the park by 8:30 and took a few pictures in the hub and rode Mine Train with less than a five minute wait!
> 
> We rode 15 rides between rope drop and 3:15 PM with very minimal waits. The most we waited all day was 35 minutes for Space Mountain and got lucky with a 5 minute wait for Splash Mountain (caught it right after its delayed open).
> 
> We’re back at Pop resting and onto Animal Kingdom tomorrow!


Awesome you POPstars!


----------



## Amy11401

ambula603 said:


> I honestly had no idea about the rule concerning masks during the skyliner ride, so whoops if we broke that rule!  We did keep them on when the doors opened up and the CMs were standing there (and obviously in the station getting on and off).


If people don't know this is a rule, they should have signs in the skyliner cabins reminding people that they have to keep masks on.


----------



## dachsie

Thought I would share my experience so far.
Arrived Saturday and started my day at DS while waiting for my room at GDT. Lots of people around but most were doing well with masks. Mine was a sweaty mess so I know others were having that problem too. Did the virtual queue for World of Disney - totally recommend that. There is one QR sign by Once upon a Toy and I forget where the other one was but it was somewhere in the vicinity of WBG cause I saw it when I was leaving that area. Left to go to my resort around 3:30ish. Was planning to go to pool but was tired and just hung out in room. Later went to Three Bridges for dinner and walked by pool and decided to go in hot tub for a while.  Some teenager came and sat right next to me so I turned my back to her. 

Sunday was brunch at WBG then Epcot. The day before I received a text from them confirming my reservation and they asked if I wanted to be inside or outside and I told them outside so that was really nice. HAd their smoked salmon appetizer with side of eggs. Excellent as was the mimosa.  Got to Epcot around noon. Rode Spaceship Earth first. Said 35 min and took 12. Then went to Mousegears to buy the Donald Xmas gift card with pin  Then headed to WS. Bought the Olaf scavenger hunt and started that on my way to my Beaches and cream ADR I made to get the No Way Jose. Still couldn’t finish it. Lol  Did the BatB singalong, more scavenger hunt, mariachi Cobra and Voices of Liberty, ate a few things - Le Chaim was my favorite so far. Finished the scavenger hunt and got my cup then headed to the VISA picture spot, short film theater, Figment, Soarin and LwtL at night. That was worth it with all the Xmas lights. Then I decided I was tired and need to go to my new resort OKW.

Today was AK day. Did not start out great. Got to bus stop about 7:10 at the hospitality house and left at 8:10 to go drive myself because a bus never showed up. I guess its the last stop so the buses get full and they don’t send buses to every stop. I was ticked because I wanted to ride FoP. I got there and rented a scooter cause my feet were hurting too bad to walk much so then went to FoP. It wasn’t bad. It moved continuously and I think I was only in line 30 mins. Then went to get breakfast and headed to Safari. After that I did the gorilla Falls trail and  then the bird show. then went to the MT trail and got to Flame tree for my mobile order at 12:20. Sat down by river in hopes to see the flotillas. At one point I stood up to read a pic and this chick turn and walks towards me and says oh you don’t have a mask on and you are too close to me. I said, yea, I’m eating. Really?  Don’t sit in an eating area if you don’t want to be near people without masks and don’t walk towards me. Geez! Anyway, then I went to The Bug show and then went to Navi. Then went again to FoP which was about 20 mins. Did a little shopping and headed back to resort. I wanted to change clothes for Topolinos. Great dinner there - get the ricotta! Then went to Publix for a few things and am back chilling in room.

Overall, I haven’t been uncomfortable..people seem to be respectful of spacing and masks. I called bell services to get luggage and ran to car to get my other stuff and he came really quick. I had forgotten mask in room. Luckily I had the box of masks in one of the bags I had and quickly put one on.  I felt bad. That’s when I forget it - when going to my car. Not used to doing that I guess

headed to HS tomorrow. Praying for the BG.


----------



## only hope

fabfemmeboy said:


> Here now and a brief report on our first few days.  We're staying at CSR (a new-to-us resort), in Casitas, 11/28-12/9.
> 
> Background: We're from the Bay Area, California.  We've been on more-or-less lockdown since March, religious maskwearers, and haven't eaten indoors since sometime in January.  My partner is a full-time college student with all classes online, and I've been about 95% remote-work for months.  My partner in particular has been very nervous about this trip and the risk of virus transmission.  Oh, and I use an electric wheelchair and have a DAS pass.
> 
> 11/27: Flying SFO to MSP to MCO
> -We flew Delta, which has left all middle seats empty through next spring.  The flights were much emptier than that - I'd say about 1/4 full and 1/3 full, respectively.
> -SFO was practically a ghost town, which was lovely but kind of eerie.  Everyone spread out in the gate area which was nice.
> -MSP was a disaster as far as precautions go.  No distancing whatsoever - and no _place _to distance.  4 flights all sharing one cramped gate area, a lot of chin-guards and nose-peekers instead of properly-worn masks, and a whole bunch of people had to wolf down dinners onboard while people were boarding because there wasn't enough time during any layovers.
> -On both flights, people were awful at distancing when it came time to get off the plane.
> -We stayed overnight at the MCO Hyatt (inside the airport) which was very convenient and comfortable.
> 
> 11/28:  Arrival
> -We got right on DME and waited about 5-10 minutes to depart.  Everyone was spaced out/staggered, CMs were helpful, etc.
> -Deboarding at CSR was a mess.  The driver supervised everyone getting off the bus.  We all had to stand around, and no one was 6 feet apart.  Then he began pulling suitcases from the bottom, one by one, so each person left their cluster, got one bag, and went back to the cluster.  The clusters inched further and further forward so there was no distancing at all, and when people had all their bags they had to walk through the folks waiting.
> -Our room wasn't ready until 4, which was a bummer.  We explored the resort in the meantime.  Got lunch over by the main pool, which was at capacity and well-monitored.  I was pleasantly surprised by the level of mask etiquette - no one forgetting as they left the pool area, etc.
> 
> 11/29: EPCOT
> -The bus situation at CSR, like a lot of resorts, could really use some help.  There are no lines for separate destinations, no signs, nothing, so everyone just kind of meanders and then rushes when their bus arrives.  We've previously stayed at Pop, so this is new to us.
> -Arrived at 10:30 for 11:00 opening.  The crowds were extremely light and easy to get around.  This was a day in which all parks were sold out for APs and most parks were sold out for non-APs, so I was a little worried.
> -It's the first weekend of Festival of Holidays, so obviously there were a lot of locals coming to drink around the world. Most people weren't a problem, and the tipsy morons were mostly easy to avoid.
> -That said, I was surprised based on what I had read that there weren't any CMs around to help with mask enforcement.  I don't think I saw a single CM in World Showcase except those working stands.  It felt like they had given up on trying to patrol/enforce distance and mask-wearing at all, or like they had gotten rid of everyone whose job that would be.  It was never for long enough that I felt _unsafe_, but only because we could move away from them.
> -Still a good day overall.  Not as horrible as I feared the crowds might be.  We ate way too many desserts. The beef bourguignon at Yukon was amazing.
> 
> 11/30: DHS
> -I had no intention to rope-drop and planned to go whenever our BG was likely to be called.  We got BG5, so we went over fairly early but not nearly the first ones in the park.  We arrived at 9:30 for 10:00 official opening.  MMRR was already full, SDD was 70 minutes.
> -This park has more choke-points than most and is really just designed in a way that would make any level of crowd feel more oppressive.
> -I think I only saw one person having a mask issue all day; otherwise, everyone seemed to be wearing it properly, parents were encouraging their kids, etc.  No one seemed to be trying to sneak it off on rides, even ones like Star Tours which was a concern of mine.
> -I really wish they'd made the stand-here markers more like 10 feet apart, because no party larger than 2 fits right on the line.  It means we're not 6 feet apart, but more like 3 when all is said and done.
> -They started running/boarding ROTR at about 10:45.  In the first 2 hours in the park, we rode TSM (posted 30, actual about 10), AS2 (posted 20, actual 15), and SDD (posted 70 with a DAS), then ROTR.  We'd only been on TSM before, so it was a whole morning of new experiences!
> -Stopped for lunch at Backlot, saw a Pixar cavalcade, and rode Star Tours a couple times.  It was unfortunately exactly the same even though I had read that it was back to being randomized.
> -Then some shopping and back to the hotel for school work and work-work.



You had really bad luck on Star Tours, it is randomized right now. Once I rode back to back, happened to be sent to the same gate both times. Had the same exact sequence, right down to the hologram message. Friendly cm let me go through the fp line to go somewhere d




Amy11401 said:


> If people don't know this is a rule, they should have signs in the skyliner cabins reminding people that they have to keep masks on.



We were shocked there aren’t any signs or reminders from cm. Both should be in place.


----------



## Tpr430

Holy smokes! This thread should be named the COVID Violations thread!
I love all the useful information but would rather not read about everyone complaining about the lack of social distancing and proper or improper mask wearing. 
 Perhaps a seperate thread????


----------



## yulilin3

Tpr430 said:


> Holy smokes! This thread should be named the COVID Violations thread!
> I love all the useful information but would rather not read about everyone complaining about the lack of social distancing and proper or improper mask wearing.
> Perhaps a seperate thread????


The thread is for people to Express how they feel when visiting the parks now and sharing their experiences,  everyone has different tolerance levels and all opinions are personal and welcomed


----------



## caylene44

Are there still no bag lines right now? I’m used to not bringing a bag to save time at security but not sure if they’re still doing this at the moment. If they aren’t, might as well bring a bag!


----------



## Akck

caylene44 said:


> Are there still no bag lines right now? I’m used to not bringing a bag to save time at security but not sure if they’re still doing this at the moment. If they aren’t, might as well bring a bag!



Currently, everyone goes through the same lines, leaving backpacks on, only holding out umbrellas at arms length. If you set off the detector, you go to another line for bag inspection. Strollers, wheelchairs, etc., bypass the detector and get visually inspected.


----------



## NC State

dachsie said:


> I stood up to read a pic and this chick turn and walks towards me and says oh you don’t have a mask on and you are too close to me. I said, yea, I’m eating. Really?  Don’t sit in an eating area if you don’t want to be near people without masks and don’t walk towards me.


I love this and you are a Doxie lover!


----------



## nkereina

guynhawaii said:


> Aloha,
> 
> Understand.  Everything is relative.  My family and I are use to attending DLR which IMHO is greatly more efficient in ride quantities and time to relax and enjoy the parks.  DLR allows us to say on property and enjoy EMH and Fastpass Plus.  We can enjoy six rides (DCA or DL) by the official opening time, another three by the end of the first hour and basically knockout the park by lunch.  CA is generally cooler and less humid than FL.  So...comparing DHS to DL or DCA, all things considered, relatively speaking, we hit the wall at DHS and left the park by 11:30 tired and exhausted with less than eight rides.  I hope I am making sense.


You have to remember that WDW property is the size of the city of San Francisco, which is drastically different than DL property. WDW has EMH and Fast Pass in "normal times", so its unfortunate you had to miss out on that because that does enhance the experience and allow one to get more rides done in a day. I'm not sure whether this is your first WDW trip, but I have posted a few times that now is not the optimal time for first timers to visit WDW because you're getting a diminished experience. I hope the rest of your trip is enjoyable if you're still there!



Desiree1972 said:


> Would love to know if there are any dining experiences that have outdoor seating at any of the parks or resorts that you recommend.  Looking for a meal or two that *aren't counter service* - but we aren't willing to eat indoors.  thanks!


I think PPs have most of the outdoor TS options covered, but one I don't think I've seen mentioned is City Works at Disney Springs. They have a decently sized outdoor patio and the restaurant was maybe a quarter full during prime dinner hour on a busy day at DS when we were there about a month ago. We were able to make a last minute Open Table reservation with our choice of times.


----------



## JulieBeeRN

We are here right now at OKW and have seen mask compliance at about 99%.    It certainly helps being at OKW because it’s so spread out.    We move to the Contemporary today, so I might have a different opinion then.


----------



## yulilin3

JulieBeeRN said:


> We are here right now at OKW and have seen mask compliance at about 99%.    It certainly helps being at OKW because it’s so spread out.    We move to the Contemporary today, so I might have a different opinion then.


the temps will help with mask compliance


----------



## JulieBeeRN

We went to AK yesterday and felt like we were the only ones there.   Walked right in to every ride.    The weather was perfect and the animals were out; it was one of our best days ever.


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

For those who bus to AK. What time do you need to be at bus pick up to make the early RD? 
We will be at YC, and depending on how our BG goes for HS Tuesday, we may change our park day Wed to AK. AK opens at 8am. I am thinking 1st bus is 7am then-? Does that mean 6 am line up?


----------



## figmentfinesse

Desiree1972 said:


> Would love to know if there are any dining experiences that have outdoor seating at any of the parks or resorts that you recommend.  Looking for a meal or two that *aren't counter service* - but we aren't willing to eat indoors.  thanks!



Wine Bar George is pretty amazing and has a balcony I felt very safe on. I am trying Boathouse this next time, apparently they have a lot of seating on the water.


----------



## dachsie

On MMRR and it just shut down. We are right at exit so I did get to see it. But I have a question. Does it pause for a bit at Daisy before you start dancing?  It was a really long pause


----------



## Tess

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> For those who bus to AK. What time do you need to be at bus pick up to make the early RD?
> We will be at YC, and depending on how our BG goes for HS Tuesday, we may change our park day Wed to AK. AK opens at 8am. I am thinking 1st bus is 7am then-? Does that mean 6 am line up?



When we were there in October, we queued for the first bus 1.5 hours prior to park opening (9:00 a.m.) on this occasion BUT the park actually opened at 8:00 a.m. ish.  The bus at YC was scheduled to arrive at 8:00 a.m. but did not arrive until 8:20 a.m. ish.  We were technically on the first YC bus but unfortunately other resorts were on their first bus of the morning and were already in the park and queued for FoP and the other attractions by the time we cleared security and screening.  Based upon the size of the humongous crowd when we arrived, a good many resorts had their "first bus" held until after 8:00 a.m. even though AK actually opened at 8:00 a.m. or so.  We also noted that when we arrived that the parking gates were open and the queue to enter the lot was also extremely large.  Our FoP wait was 120 minutes when we hit the queue prior to 9:00 a.m.  We were not happy campers nor were all the folks who were at YC that morning.  I lost count of those who bailed the queue and Ubered/Lyfted to AK that morning.  

The MK queue was similar and when we were finally on our way--MK had still not arrived.

While you may be queued and on the first bus, the first bus may not be one of the first to arrive.  Be prepared to change your ride strategy.


----------



## yulilin3

dachsie said:


> On MMRR and it just shut down. We are right at exit so I did get to see it. But I have a question. Does it pause for a bit at Daisy before you start dancing?  It was a really long pause


no, the ride should be fluid. After they added the plexiglass I have noticed it stopping in some sections, I was stopped at the end scene for about 2 to 3 minutes


----------



## figmentfinesse

dachsie said:


> On MMRR and it just shut down. We are right at exit so I did get to see it. But I have a question. Does it pause for a bit at Daisy before you start dancing?  It was a really long pause



I experienced a few minute long stop in that room right in August.


----------



## hertamaniac

dachsie said:


> On MMRR and it just shut down. We are right at exit so I did get to see it. But I have a question. Does it pause for a bit at Daisy before you start dancing?  It was a really long pause





Spoiler: MMRR Daisy



She waits until all 4 cars are in the room before starting the waltz.


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

Tess said:


> When we were there in October, we queued for the first bus 1.5 hours prior to park opening (9:00 a.m.) on this occasion BUT the park actually opened at 8:00 a.m. ish.  The bus at YC was scheduled to arrive at 8:00 a.m. but did not arrive until 8:20 a.m. ish.  We were technically on the first YC bus but unfortunately other resorts were on their first bus of the morning and were already in the park and queued for FoP and the other attractions by the time we cleared security and screening.  Based upon the size of the humongous crowd when we arrived, a good many resorts had their "first bus" held until after 8:00 a.m. even though AK actually opened at 8:00 a.m. or so.  We also noted that when we arrived that the parking gates were open and the queue to enter the lot was also extremely large.  Our FoP wait was 120 minutes when we hit the queue prior to 9:00 a.m.  We were not happy campers nor were all the folks who were at YC that morning.  I lost count of those who bailed the queue and Ubered/Lyfted to AK that morning.
> 
> The MK queue was similar and when we were finally on our way--MK had still not arrived.
> 
> While you may be queued and on the first bus, the first bus may not be one of the first to arrive.  Be prepared to change your ride strategy.


Thanks. That is disappointing. Maybe we skip AK this trip.


----------



## dachsie

hertamaniac said:


> Spoiler: MMRR Daisy
> 
> 
> 
> She waits until all 4 cars are in the room before starting the waltz.


Oh we were all there. It was awkward


----------



## yulilin3

dachsie said:


> Oh we were all there. It was awkward


Yeah,  it's just stopping now,  i think they just have extra cars on the track and it takes time to unload and load


----------



## dachsie

Well, I am having a banner day so far. Now SDd went down. Am in line and pretty close to front so not getting out. That’s 2 rides down for me this am. Hopefully it won’t be a third


----------



## boop0524

Amazing day at MK 11/30. First time being here for the holidays and it was so beautiful. We got a bit of a later start than we hoped and didn’t get to the park until 9. Luckily the am rain worked in our favor. The first three rides were walk ons, barely a wait for Big Thunder. Everyone’s trip plans were super helpful to me in planning, so passing  it on! 

Space Mountain
Carousel of Progress 
Haunted Mansion
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 
Quick snack: Mickey pretzel and Let it Snow taco. I found this delightful but also really enjoy gingerbread 
Enchanted Tiki Room 
1 pm: chai tea float (yum!), Orange bird Christmas, probably the best of the three treats we tried 
Left park from 2-4. Everything was pretty long waits when we got back so we mostly shopped and did a few rides that had shorter waits 
Barnstormer 
Dumbo
Teacups 
Under the Sea
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (50 mins we sucked it up) 
Cinderella’s Royal Table at 7:55 pm!


----------



## winnieofpooh

boop0524 said:


> Amazing day at MK 11/30. First time being here for the holidays and it was so beautiful. We got a bit of a later start than we hoped and didn’t get to the park until 9. Luckily the am rain worked in our favor. The first three rides were walk ons, barely a wait for Big Thunder. Everyone’s trip plans were super helpful to me in planning, so passing  it on!
> 
> Space Mountain
> Carousel of Progress
> Haunted Mansion
> Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
> Quick snack: Mickey pretzel and Let it Snow taco. I found this delightful but also really enjoy gingerbread
> Enchanted Tiki Room
> 1 pm: chai tea float (yum!), Orange bird Christmas, probably the best of the three treats we tried
> Left park from 2-4. Everything was pretty long waits when we got back so we mostly shopped and did a few rides that had shorter waits
> Barnstormer
> Dumbo
> Teacups
> Under the Sea
> Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (50 mins we sucked it up)
> Cinderella’s Royal Table at 7:55 pm!



How have the crowds been? Mostly concerned about being able to social distance when not in the queues.


----------



## Mom2Stitch

With all of the discussions on uber/lyft and early morning bus issues I guess I'm confused as to how we should approach rope drop for our trip starting Friday. We are old pros at WDW and have never had an issue getting to rd on time with the bus system, so is it just that the bus can't hold as many people now with the restrictions? 

We normally RD, take a break and then return in the evening. Since hours have been added we will be trying this strategy for this trip as well, but only if we can make it there on time in the mornings.


----------



## jmoak

We were there yesterday at AK as well and felt the same way. It was dead!!   At Epcot today and first in line for TT. Hoping that it will be slow here today as well.


----------



## disney16

We are looking forward to seeing the cavalcades but I’ve seen video and photos of many characters out greeting visitors in MK at the railroad station and Crystal Palace patio, particularly in the morning.  Is this usually at official park opening or are they out earlier?  We plan to try to get there a bit before official opening to try and get in a few attractions, if available.


----------



## boop0524

winnieofpooh said:


> How have the crowds been? Mostly concerned about being able to social distance when not in the queues.



It was busier than our trip in mid-August, but we had no issues or concerns. People were generally respectful of distance out of queue, honestly can’t think of any issues there. We had one in line issue but corrected it quickly no problem. I didn’t know what to expect crowd-wise, but thought it was overall lower than I anticipated. It was definitely lighter in the morning due to the rain, I would say in the late afternoon and evening most rides had anywhere from a 30-50 minute wait. The less popular ones were quick 5-15 minutes. Not sure if that helps at all.


----------



## teach22180

Tess said:


> When we were there in October, we queued for the first bus 1.5 hours prior to park opening (9:00 a.m.) on this occasion BUT the park actually opened at 8:00 a.m. ish.  The bus at YC was scheduled to arrive at 8:00 a.m. but did not arrive until 8:20 a.m. ish.  We were technically on the first YC bus but unfortunately other resorts were on their first bus of the morning and were already in the park and queued for FoP and the other attractions by the time we cleared security and screening.  Based upon the size of the humongous crowd when we arrived, a good many resorts had their "first bus" held until after 8:00 a.m. even though AK actually opened at 8:00 a.m. or so.  We also noted that when we arrived that the parking gates were open and the queue to enter the lot was also extremely large.  Our FoP wait was 120 minutes when we hit the queue prior to 9:00 a.m.  We were not happy campers nor were all the folks who were at YC that morning.  I lost count of those who bailed the queue and Ubered/Lyfted to AK that morning.
> 
> The MK queue was similar and when we were finally on our way--MK had still not arrived.
> 
> While you may be queued and on the first bus, the first bus may not be one of the first to arrive.  Be prepared to change your ride strategy.


I would say folks, try to be there an hour before official opening, but unless you can walk or drive, please don't stress yourself out over opening. You can do everything right and still not be front of a line. I used to always be there early, but in October I just had to "let it go". Lol sorry. Disney does not want an opening crowd and works hard to stagger the people arriving. Being at the pop skyliner at 7 got me consistantly in the front of that line at HS, but that was the only park I felt I could control.


----------



## yulilin3

disney16 said:


> We are looking forward to seeing the cavalcades but I’ve seen video and photos of many characters out greeting visitors in MK at the railroad station and Crystal Place patio, particularly in the morning.  Is this usually at official park opening or are they out earlier?  We plan to try to get there a bit before official opening to try and get in a few attractions, if available.


Thr characters are at the train station through out the day,  definitely in the morning,  about 15 min before official park opening and then 15 min before park close as a "kiss goodnight"


----------



## Sarahslay

yulilin3 said:


> Clarify that blaze and earl are not table services
> There's outdoor dining for Ragland
> And to add
> Brown Derby
> House of Blues
> Splitsville
> Rose and Crown


Brown Derby does not have their outdoor dining available for eating, it is only for those getting drinks at the outside bar (not currently serving food out there, which makes me sad)


----------



## yulilin3

Sarahslay said:


> Brown Derby does not have their outdoor dining available for eating, it is only for those getting drinks at the outside bar (not currently serving food out there, which makes me sad)


Thanks for that clarification


----------



## Sarahslay

Mom2Stitch said:


> With all of the discussions on uber/lyft and early morning bus issues I guess I'm confused as to how we should approach rope drop for our trip starting Friday. We are old pros at WDW and have never had an issue getting to rd on time with the bus system, so is it just that the bus can't hold as many people now with the restrictions?
> 
> We normally RD, take a break and then return in the evening. Since hours have been added we will be trying this strategy for this trip as well, but only if we can make it there on time in the mornings.


We had to ride the bus to AK & MK from YC and never had any issues being there before park open. Never did feel the need to get an Uber or Lyft, and never killed ourselves to get there early. We just woke up as we always did and took our time getting ready (mind you, kids weren't on this trip). We did the RD, break, return at night and it was easy. We got everything done, and this especially held true at AK where we actually had time to kill before our ADR. We ended up just finding a bench and chilling for an hour before dinner because we had already ridden every ride (some multiple times), seen all the animals, watched the bird show, and were just like "well.....what to do until 6?" . There were always more than one bus full (covid full) when going to MK, and another bus always came quickly and we were on our way, both times being in the park by 8:20 for a 9 open.


----------



## sullivan.kscott

Flew home 11/29.  Our layover in DFW was the first time in these past 8 months I've truly felt uncomfortable with a crowd, and I'm in a hospital every day.

A few quick thoughts, as we aren't the "win Disney" types to rope drop and try to do it all anymore.

-Some idea of a plan is still important. In August we could just wing it and still have a successful day.  At least for the holiday season, those days are over.  We tried to hand over the reigns to our DS 12&10 for our first two park days, but that devolved quickly into finding the worst possible lines.  DW and I had enough by the end of our MK day around 2pm.  We took a quick pool break and recovered expectations and some light planning for the rest of the week.  Even a general idea of what land to be in for which hours helped immensely for our style.
-With the extended hours from the original reopening period, take advantage of a few hours for an afternoon break.  We were scared that the shorter hours would make it impossible to do much in the parks and have pool time, but we were oh so wrong.  We tended to arrive a little before posted opening time (except our AK day where we didn't show up to the park until 3pm), leave after lunch for a few hours, then close or come close to closing the park.  It was heavenly.
-Mobile order has improved greatly with time.  I love the arrival window functionality, and the improved item editing functions.  Our family really hopes it expands to even the smaller offerings like Gaston's or Friar's Nook by the time we come back.
-Please, can we have the bus loading system stick around?  Even after we get back to standing room only bus loading, the few extra minutes it takes was so much more orderly.  Skyliner was heavenly. Didn't use boats or monorail.
-Entertainment is missed, for sure.  The holiday offerings were nice, but street entertainers and stage shows should come back soon after those are gone, imo.  There was a little girl playing with a drum outside of Dawa Bar while we were in line for KS, and a little tear of excitement formed until I remembered they (performers) were gone.
-If there was anything outside of entertainment that we missed, it would be resort package delivery.  Carrying shopping bags around gets a little tiring after a while.  ME luggage yellow tags can come a little later (but please God come back for airline check-in at a minimum), but please Disney brass, recall whatever staffing you need to make package delivery happen ASAP.  I'd even accept a time window for when to return a la mobile ordering if that's what we need to maintain distancing.

Overall, the trip was amazing.  It was nice to have the parks feel alive again, even if a little different.


----------



## Mom2Stitch

Sarahslay said:


> We had to ride the bus to AK & MK from YC and never had any issues being there before park open. Never did feel the need to get an Uber or Lyft, and never killed ourselves to get there early. We just woke up as we always did and took our time getting ready (mind you, kids weren't on this trip). We did the RD, break, return at night and it was easy. We got everything done, and this especially held true at AK where we actually had time to kill before our ADR. We ended up just finding a bench and chilling for an hour before dinner because we had already ridden every ride (some multiple times), seen all the animals, watched the bird show, and were just like "well.....what to do until 6?" . There were always more than one bus full (covid full) when going to MK, and another bus always came quickly and we were on our way, both times being in the park by 8:20 for a 9 open.



Thank you for easing my mind. We will do what we've always done and not worry about it, lol


----------



## Eeyore daily

dachsie said:


> Well, I am having a banner day so far. Now SDd went down. Am in line and pretty close to front so not getting out. That’s 2 rides down for me this am. Hopefully it won’t be a third


That happened to us. We rope dropped SDD and it went down right as we were about to board. Now we’re in line for Rise but that’s down too! Not a great day for rides but oh well.


----------



## ejdmomma

I just wanted to share our experience with the queues and maintaining our distance.  We were at the parks last week over Thanksgiving and experienced "at capacity" parks.  For the most part, we didn't have any issues maintaining appropriate spacing except for in the lines.  We are a party of 5 - two adults, two teens that are adult sized and our 10 year old.  The 5 of us did not fit on one line...obviously.  If we had two on the line and rest behind those two, we were almost to the line marker behind us.  After a couple of rides with the party behind us on the line immediate behind, we started to spread out and take up two lines. This worked well for us for the rest of the trip.  I don't know if anyone has any better suggestions, just wanted to share!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> For those who bus to AK. What time do you need to be at bus pick up to make the early RD?
> We will be at YC, and depending on how our BG goes for HS Tuesday, we may change our park day Wed to AK. AK opens at 8am. I am thinking 1st bus is 7am then-? Does that mean 6 am line up?



We had a 7AM AK opening and we lined up right at 6AM. The bus picked us up at at 6:15AM and there was only three groups on the bus on the way there! Walked into the park by 6:40AM and we were done with both Pandora rides by 7:15AM.

I’d say if you’re not in that first herd going to FOP to do it later. When we left Pandora to head to Expedition, the wait was at 90 mins. We rode Expedition three times in a row with hardly a wait. Same with Dinosaur, rode twice- the CMs even let us stay in the car because no one else was in line. So many people all go right to Pandora every other area is empty in the morning!


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

TikiTikiFan said:


> We had a 7AM AK opening and we lined up right at 6AM. The bus picked us up at at 6:15AM and there was only three groups on the bus on the way there! Walked into the park by 6:40AM and we were done with both Pandora rides by 7:15AM.
> 
> I’d say if you’re not in that first herd going to FOP to do it later. When we left Pandora to head to Expedition, the wait was at 90 mins. We rode Expedition three times in a row with hardly a wait. Same with Dinosaur, rode twice- the CMs even let us stay in the car because no one else was in line. So many people all go right to Pandora every other area is empty in the morning!


EE is really DS8's priority. 
Thank you for your response. Gives me a bit more hope.


----------



## ryanpatricksmom

dachsie said:


> On MMRR and it just shut down. We are right at exit so I did get to see it. But I have a question. Does it pause for a bit at Daisy before you start dancing?  It was a really long pause


It must be a "sticking point", pun intended.  It's gone down at that exact moment a few times for us.


----------



## Mrspeaks

CLE2WDW07 said:


> Thank you everyone for their tips and experiences! I’ve been following along and today was our first day in the parks - Magic Kingdom.
> 
> We got in line at Pop for the bus at 7 AM and were on the first bus around 8:10 AM.
> 
> We were in the park by 8:30 and took a few pictures in the hub and rode Mine Train with less than a five minute wait!
> 
> We rode 15 rides between rope drop and 3:15 PM with very minimal waits. The most we waited all day was 35 minutes for Space Mountain and got lucky with a 5 minute wait for Splash Mountain (caught it right after its delayed open).
> 
> We’re back at Pop resting and onto Animal Kingdom tomorrow!


I have not been following the bus situation until recently because we are considering a last minute trip.
Knowing people are needing to line up an hour early for buses, what is the Uber/Lyft utilization like now? I’m sure it depends on your comfort level of being in a car with someone else.


----------



## CLE2WDW07

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> For those who bus to AK. What time do you need to be at bus pick up to make the early RD?
> We will be at YC, and depending on how our BG goes for HS Tuesday, we may change our park day Wed to AK. AK opens at 8am. I am thinking 1st bus is 7am then-? Does that mean 6 am line up?


We went to AK today and were lined up for the first bus at Pop at 7:15 AM and picked up around 8:20 (park officially opened at 9). We were one of the first groups in and walked onto FOP and were off by 9 AM. Rode River Journey with about a five minute wait right after that.

We rode all of the major attractions today and were done around 1!


----------



## MEC004

Akck said:


> Currently, everyone goes through the same lines, leaving backpacks on, only holding out umbrellas at arms length. If you set off the detector, you go to another line for bag inspection. Strollers, wheelchairs, etc., bypass the detector and get visually inspected.



Today going through Epcot my backpack went off. The security guard said that eyeglass cases set them off every time. Who knew?!


----------



## yulilin3

MEC004 said:


> Today going through Epcot my backpack went off. The security guard said that eyeglass cases set them off every time. Who knew?!


I believe @soniam had the same issue


----------



## wdwrule

MEC004 said:


> Today going through Epcot my backpack went off. The security guard said that eyeglass cases set them off every time. Who knew?!


Same thing happened to me last week. I thought I was so prepared with phone, battery pack and umbrella held out at arm’s length. So surprised too to find out it was sunglasses case which they said was covered in metal.


----------



## cp1116

ejdmomma said:


> I just wanted to share our experience with the queues and maintaining our distance.  We were at the parks last week over Thanksgiving and experienced "at capacity" parks.  For the most part, we didn't have any issues maintaining appropriate spacing except for in the lines.  We are a party of 5 - two adults, two teens that are adult sized and our 10 year old.  The 5 of us did not fit on one line...obviously.  If we had two on the line and rest behind those two, we were almost to the line marker behind us.  After a couple of rides with the party behind us on the line immediate behind, we started to spread out and take up two lines. This worked well for us for the rest of the trip.  I don't know if anyone has any better suggestions, just wanted to share!



This technique worked really well for our party of 6— 3 to a line.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

sullivan.kscott said:


> Flew home 11/29.  Our layover in DFW was the first time in these past 8 months I've truly felt uncomfortable with a crowd, and I'm in a hospital every day.
> 
> A few quick thoughts, as we aren't the "win Disney" types to rope drop and try to do it all anymore.
> 
> -Some idea of a plan is still important. In August we could just wing it and still have a successful day.  At least for the holiday season, those days are over.  We tried to hand over the reigns to our DS 12&10 for our first two park days, but that devolved quickly into finding the worst possible lines.  DW and I had enough by the end of our MK day around 2pm.  We took a quick pool break and recovered expectations and some light planning for the rest of the week.  Even a general idea of what land to be in for which hours helped immensely for our style.
> -With the extended hours from the original reopening period, take advantage of a few hours for an afternoon break.  We were scared that the shorter hours would make it impossible to do much in the parks and have pool time, but we were oh so wrong.  We tended to arrive a little before posted opening time (except our AK day where we didn't show up to the park until 3pm), leave after lunch for a few hours, then close or come close to closing the park.  It was heavenly.
> -Mobile order has improved greatly with time.  I love the arrival window functionality, and the improved item editing functions.  Our family really hopes it expands to even the smaller offerings like Gaston's or Friar's Nook by the time we come back.
> -Please, can we have the bus loading system stick around?  Even after we get back to standing room only bus loading, the few extra minutes it takes was so much more orderly.  Skyliner was heavenly. Didn't use boats or monorail.
> -Entertainment is missed, for sure.  The holiday offerings were nice, but street entertainers and stage shows should come back soon after those are gone, imo.  There was a little girl playing with a drum outside of Dawa Bar while we were in line for KS, and a little tear of excitement formed until I remembered they (performers) were gone.
> -If there was anything outside of entertainment that we missed, it would be resort package delivery.  Carrying shopping bags around gets a little tiring after a while.  ME luggage yellow tags can come a little later (but please God come back for airline check-in at a minimum), but please Disney brass, recall whatever staffing you need to make package delivery happen ASAP.  I'd even accept a time window for when to return a la mobile ordering if that's what we need to maintain distancing.
> 
> Overall, the trip was amazing.  It was nice to have the parks feel alive again, even if a little different.



Don’t they still have lockers in the parks?
You could put your purchases in a locker and get them out before you leave the park , so you don’t have to carry all your bags during the day.


----------



## Befferk

DisneyNDecember said:


> Don’t they still have lockers in the parks?
> You could put your purchases in a locker and get them out before you leave the park , so you don’t have to carry all your bags during the day.



I know they aren't doing resort package delivery, but are they also not doing it where you can send purchases to the front of the park either?


----------



## yulilin3

Befferk said:


> I know they aren't doing resort package delivery, but are they also not doing it where you can send purchases to the front of the park either?


They're not,  only thing available is shipping home


----------



## Befferk

yulilin3 said:


> They're not,  only thing available is shipping home



Good to know, thanks!


----------



## dachsie

Had a good time today at HS despite the ride issues. Started out my morning with breakfast at A&C and walked to HS. Got there about 8:20 with about 5 families ahead of me. Waited for quite a while and the CM said 10 more mins so ran to restroom. Well, as I was coming back they started moving so ran quickly to get back in line. Then they lined us up at the screening tents at about 8:45.  2 mins later people started off loading from Skyliner. They held us there for quite a while - they started filling the second tent line which was all the way to the buses before they started letting us back. I felt like we lost the advantage of arriving early. 

Headed straight to MMRR. Walked all the way in and didn’t stop until I was at gate 6 to board so I guess it worked out. Was really cute and was all the way thru and almost to the platform and it went down.  They gave us a multiple experience FP that I planned to use for SDD at night. Then headed to SDD and it went down but was in the last turn before the split lines so stayed put and they got it running shortly thereafter. SDD had lots of problems today - went down multiple times.  

Next I headed to Batuu to look around. Lines were really long for everything so though it was a good time to look around. Then went to Muppets with a 10 min wait. When I got out it was at 30 so that worked out.  Then went to pick up my Ronto wrap for lunch. After that I went to the Mickey short film and then headed to Hollywood blvd for snack and to wait for the Mickey cavalcade. After that headed back to TSL for TSMM and AS2.

Then I got in line for MFSR which was posted at 50 min.  I got right up to the entrance and they called my boarding group. The CM recommended I go to Rise so I bailed. That was a long line. Finally got off that at 5:05. It was really cool tho and I enjoyed it. I needed to check in for my ADR so didn’t have time for anything so decided to go find a bench over by Backlot to see if any cavalcades would show up. Lucked out and the Pixar one came by. Then checked in for MM and went over there. By this time I was convinced SDD would not be running as it had been down for almost 2 hours. But I asked my server to rush my food so I could get back out there to ride MFSR. 

Finished about 6:10 and SDD was still down.  So I went to MFSR and used my FP and went straight in. That was fun. I only did 53% damage flying by myself.  LOL. CM said that was pretty good.   Decided to walk to TSL to take some night pics.  App still said SDD was down but when I got there it had started running so got in line. At 6:45 it went down again. Gave it 5 mins and decided to bail. Took some pics and headed out. Just as I got to the Market, I heard it running again but I was ok with it.  Considered jumping inline for MMRR again but decided to go take more pics and look at the projections on the Hollywood Tower and headed to the bus.

I got to do everything I wanted today with the exception of SDD at night but apparently that ride doesn’t like the cold.     Tomorrow I have CM for breakfast and then MK.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> EE is really DS8's priority.
> Thank you for your response. Gives me a bit more hope.



Oh you’ll get on it no problem! It was great- I was terrified but surprised at how much I loved it. I was just as terrified every time after but still loved it.  We laughed so hard every time, it was a highlight of the trip for us- just to laugh so much after the stress of this year. 

We did FOP a second time at the end of the night, got in line right before the park closed. I’m glad we did because you really get to enjoy Pandora at night while in the queue. Highly recommend that route if you don’t get on in the morning. Seeing Pandora at night was on my to-do list anyways.


----------



## disneylover102

Are there a lot of water bottle refill stations? When exactly are you allowed to drink from a water bottle and lower your mask?


----------



## CLE2WDW07

disneylover102 said:


> Are there a lot of water bottle refill stations? When exactly are you allowed to drink from a water bottle and lower your mask?



I am unsure of the number of water bottle refill stations in each park (I think 1-2 at most).

I believe that officially, you are not supposed to eat and drink in line. However, it appears that isn’t enforced in the outdoor extended portions of ques and *only* enforced once you reach the “no eating/drinking beyond this point” sign (which is typically near the rides entrance).

We do not eat and drink in any portion of any line but from my experiences that’s what it appears to look like.


----------



## Best Aunt

DisneyNDecember said:


> Don’t they still have lockers in the parks?
> You could put your purchases in a locker and get them out before you leave the park , so you don’t have to carry all your bags during the day.



I don't know if the lockers are open these days - not something I've noticed anyone post about.

Assuming they are open, they are always near the park entrance.  It might not be convenient to walk all the way back to the park entrance to put something in the lockers, then walk back further into the park to resume your touring.


----------



## scrappinginontario

disneylover102 said:


> Are there a lot of water bottle refill stations? When exactly are you allowed to drink from a water bottle and lower your mask?


 You may eat or drink (outside of line portion poster answered above) when you move to the side, become stationary then take a quick sip and immediately replace your mask between sips.


----------



## WEDWDW

wdwrule said:


> Same thing happened to me last week. I thought I was so prepared with phone, battery pack and umbrella held out at arm’s length. So surprised too to find out it was sunglasses case which they said was covered in metal.


I never could figure out what to do.

I would start pulling things out of my pockets to hold out at "arm's length" and the Guards would tell me not to hold anything out, just to come on through and of course the things in my pockets would set the machine off and off I would go to the table for extra screening!lol


----------



## yulilin3

Best Aunt said:


> I don't know if the lockers are open these days - not something I've noticed anyone post about.
> 
> Assuming they are open, they are always near the park entrance.  It might not be convenient to walk all the way back to the park entrance to put something in the lockers, then walk back further into the park to resume your touring.


Lockers are operational at all parks


----------



## yulilin3

WEDWDW said:


> I never could figure out what to do.
> 
> I would start pulling things out of my pockets to hold out at "arm's length" and the Guards would tell me not to hold anything out, just to come on through and of course the things in my pockets would set the machine off and off I would go to the table for extra screening!lol


Things that trigger the metal detector are metal water bottles,  metal eye glasses cases,  umbrellas,  battery packs and gimbals


----------



## Sarahslay

ejdmomma said:


> I just wanted to share our experience with the queues and maintaining our distance.  We were at the parks last week over Thanksgiving and experienced "at capacity" parks.  For the most part, we didn't have any issues maintaining appropriate spacing except for in the lines.  We are a party of 5 - two adults, two teens that are adult sized and our 10 year old.  The 5 of us did not fit on one line...obviously.  If we had two on the line and rest behind those two, we were almost to the line marker behind us.  After a couple of rides with the party behind us on the line immediate behind, we started to spread out and take up two lines. This worked well for us for the rest of the trip.  I don't know if anyone has any better suggestions, just wanted to share!


We were there during the same time and noticed lots of families taking this method, which is smart! There just isn't enough room between the markings for more than like 3 people (who stand right on top of each other) and still allowing for distance from the party behind. We always gave people their space, but I do know there are just some people who don't pay attention (and a few who don't care) who will cram up right on top of you so taking extra space is always smart. DH and I noticed several families where one parent would hold back and stand a good bit further away from the rest of their family to keep other parties from crowding them. I always felt bad for that one person, but I suppose it could work for some. My DH has already said he'll probably take that method when we go back with our kids over Christmas week (I personally like the spread out method better).


----------



## Julie Amber

We’re here at the Boardwalk right now. Official opening time for the park is 9 am. It’s 8:35 am and busing for Magic Kingdom buses haven’t started running yet. We’re pretty frustrated. We wanted to be IN the park by 8:15 am. So just letting you guys know that the buses have started to come MUCH later. Even for official opening time at 9 am, that’s ridiculous


----------



## Sarahslay

yulilin3 said:


> Things that trigger the metal detector are metal water bottles,  metal eye glasses cases,  umbrellas,  battery packs and gimbals


Also, the purse I took to dinner at CG had a large-ish metal decal/name plate on the front and it set it off one our way back to MK after dinner. Security looked at it and showed me on the screen where it just highlighted the metal tag on front, they let me go without searching my bag because they said that happens often. It did not set it off when going through MK security going to dinner, but I think I'll refrain from taking a purse with something like that on it in the future.


----------



## yulilin3

Julie Amber said:


> We’re here at the Boardwalk right now. Official opening time for the park is 9 am. It’s 8:35 am and busing for Magic Kingdom buses haven’t started running yet. We’re pretty frustrated. We wanted to be IN the park by 8:15 am. So just letting you guys know that the buses have started to come MUCH later. Even for official opening time at 9 am, that’s ridiculous


Same report from someone at AoA, maybe their trying to move the true opening back to 9am? Still usually buses start at the latest 45 minutes before park opening


----------



## yulilin3

Sarahslay said:


> Also, the purse I took to dinner at CG had a large-ish metal decal/name plate on the front and it set it off one our way back to MK after dinner. Security looked at it and showed me on the screen where it just highlighted the metal tag on front, they let me go without searching my bag because they said that happens often. It did not set it off when going through MK security going to dinner, but I think I'll refrain from taking a purse with something like that on it in the future.


Yeah,  metal


----------



## TikiTikiFan

yulilin3 said:


> Same report from someone at AoA, maybe their trying to move the true opening back to 9am? Still usually buses start at the latest 45 minutes before park opening



This happened to us on our MK day the week before thanksgiving. The bus didn’t show up to CBR until about 8:45AM for a 9AM opening.


----------



## Julie Amber

Update, the first bus of the day finally came at 8:45 am for an official park opening at 9 am. For a deluxe resort, that seems pretty Non- Deluxe. We were not pleased to say the least. If we didn’t have a group of 15 people, we would have called an Uber. But just know that the transportation people told us that they are no longer running an hour before the park opens.


----------



## Sarahslay

yulilin3 said:


> Yeah,  metal


Yeah, I just didn't think that A: it was real metal lol, and B: was enough to set off the detector because they always just say to take out the big battery packs and umbrellas. Just something to remember when people are headed to the parks.


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## cruiseconvert

Julie Amber and other folks who are there this week, thank you for all updates today and this week on how early the buses are running and how early people are being let into the parks! If they are dialing back to actual posted openings, that works for me...but sudden changes in times are incredibly frustrating.


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## SG131

yulilin3 said:


> Things that trigger the metal detector are metal water bottles,  metal eye glasses cases,  umbrellas,  battery packs and gimbals


Also Ipad minis


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## Live4travel

I am annual passholder and back from EPCOT World Showcase yesterday. I have not been to Disney since Feb. but am not overly anxious about Covid and am usually out and about. We always loved Disney around the holidays. However, this time we really felt Disney has lost its magic. The holiday decorations were surprisingly sparse and underwhelming. The constant announcements about Covid were annoying and interfered with getting in the holiday mood. It felt soulless not being able to see joy in people's faces. We really missed the usual entertainment in all the countries and international cast members. We only saw one calvalcade of 4 characters that lasted 30 seconds. Voices of Liberty performed holiday songs at designated times in the American theatre and were very talented as usual, but they had a sparse audience. There was no holiday excitement in the air. There was an excellent variety of food in the kiosks and the biggest line was for  L'Chaim. The showcase building had a nice tabletop gingerbread display of Washington DC buildings ---very cute but not a huge wow . Did not see any holiday decorations outside Yacht and Beach Club. The Yacht Club did have a big tree and garland in the lobby but it was eerily quiet there and had none of the usual staff greeting people. World Showcase was not very busy during the day. Walked right on the skyliner one way but had to wait in line about 15 minutes for the return loop. You cannot see one holiday decoration on the entire loop. Disney has handled Covid protocols very well but almost to the point like you feel like you are in a hospital ward. If you are a first timer to Disney I would suggest waiting because it is a shell of its former self. We decided will we not return or renew our passes until things get back to more normal.


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## abs1978

Thanks to all that have been sharing their experiences in this thread.  It helped immensely with our planning and we had a great trip.  I thought I would share an overview of our trip and what worked and what didn't.

We were there from November 24th-December.  There were many, many moments leading up to the trip where we thought we would cancel but we ultimately went and had a great time.  Originally we were staying at the Beach Club.  This of course didn't open and we got our first taste of pixie dust before we left.  They moved us to the Grand Floridian and we got a theme park view for only $200 more (total).  Totally spoiled us and I will have a hard time accepting anything else ever, lol.  We ended up spending the most time at Magic Kingdom so we were happy to have such easy access!

Overall thoughts of each park:
Epcot:  Meh.  We LOVE Epcot but it was so hard to get around right now and mask compliance here was pretty iffy.  We did enjoy the holiday touches on Living with the Land but otherwise we didn't spend much time here.  We ended up switching our second Epcot day to MK instead because we just weren't feeling it.   DD doesn't like Frozen and there is only so many times you can ride Soarin. We had dinner at Garden Grill and it was awkward.  It was hard to interact with the characters from so far away and the food was underwhelming.  

HS:  This was the park that required the most planning and it definitely payed off.  We rented a car and I highly recommend this if you can.  On both of our HS days we had breakfast at an Epcot resort (Boardwalk and Yacht Club) and then would walk over the HS around 8:30.  Both days we were lined up at 8:45 and on our first day we were one of the first families in the park at 9:15.  We were able to ride Mickey and Minnie and Slinky all before park opening.  We quickly did the rest of Toy Story Land after that and wandered over to Star Wars Land after.  We didn't get a Rise boarding pass this day so we did Millennium Falcon instead.  Posted wait time was 40 minutes but it was more like 20.  By this was time it was 11 and getting very busy so we called it quits and went to swim at the resort.  Came back for dinner and then rode Mickey two more times with a 10 minute wait as well as Millennium Falcon.  I didn't expect much from this ride based on reviews but we all enjoyed it and thought it was fun!  On the second HS day (Saturday) our plans didn't work as well.  We still got in line by 8:45 but this time they lined us all up in one tent area and then opened the second one much later (but before unofficial opening) for the Skyliner/buses so there wasn't much advantage to getting their super early.  We still walked right on to Mickey but but had a much longer wait for Slinky.  We did snag a Rise boarding group this day though so we hung out awhile and rode TSM a few times.  Then we headed to Hollywood and Vine for lunch was delicious and the characters were fun!  DD is 10 but still loves characters so I was glad she had this opportunity.  After that we rode Rise and headed back to the hotel by 1.  Super, duper crowded and this was the day I felt most uncomfortable with the crowds.

AK:   We spent one morning here.   It was crowded, hot, and not very fun.  We did the Safari with a 40 minute posted wait but it wasn't really that long.  Pandora was busy so we skipped it.  We did mobile order at Flame Tree and then sat by the water to watch the Characters.  That was fun!  After that we just went to the hotel to swim.  Dinner that night was California Grill and it was the best meal all trip.  Highly recommend the potstickers.  SO good.

MK:  We ended up spending 4 full days here.  This is the park that taught me that FP really is not necessary.  Other than the big rides nothing was every more than a 20-30 minute wait.  Our last Thanksgiving trip rides like Peter Pan and Barnstormer all had an hour or two wait.  This time it was never more than 30 minutes and we did so many rides.  We would get there around 8:30 and walk on to a big ride and then spend the rest of the morning doing really just whatever we wanted until lunch.  We would come back after dinner and continue riding rides until getting in line for a big ride right at closing.  This worked well and we were probably getting 10-15 rides in a day with minimal waits.  Our last Thanksgiving trip we were lucky to get 5-6.  IMO not having FP really is a good thing and I welcome a revamp of it later on.  It was so nice riding Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion more than once a trip this time with very little wait.  This was the park where we had to ask people the most to keep space but they did every time.  Our only issue was on Barnstormer where a CM had her mask off and was coughing while directing people where to go.  It was very cringe worthy.  Still it was a 2 second interaction.

Resorts:  I was surprised to not get a full room cleaning the whole time we were there.  It didn't bother us and I get it but I was just surprised.  They did come by every day to clean out trash and provide fresh towels though.  The pools were great!  Never very crowded and easy to find space.  We stayed at the GF but spent a ton of time at The Contemporary as well.  We would do The Wave for breakfast a lot and then walk over to the MK.  I just want to give this resort a quick shout out for being so incredibly friendly.  Even though we weren't staying there the CM's at the front desk always said hi and service at both The Wave and California Grill was incredible.  Even a guy that was cleaning stopped us one day and we had a nice chat.  He thanked us for wearing masks while taking pictures and said it is getting harder and harder to enforce so he really appreciated us following the rules.  I would definitely consider staying here next time just because the overall atmosphere was so dang friendly.  GF was great, too, but we really just hung out at the pool or our balcony so we didn't have as much CM interaction.

Restaurants:  Service was great most everywhere.  The Wave, California Grill, Hollywood and Vine, and Narcoose's were all stand outs.  Whispering Canyon for breakfast as well.  Trattoria and Garden Grill were the worst.  I really felt the lack of dining options since we were there so long.   This was especially true at breakfast.  Mobile ordering worked fantastically.  The tip of ordering when you get to the park worked every single time.  

Overall:  I am glad we went.  It was SO nice to get away and turn things off for a bit.  There was still a lot of Disney magic.  I don't think I will go back until things are a bit more normal but I don't regret going.  It is getting a bit crowded but not as bad as I feared.  I wish they hadn't increased capacity.  You do feel it, especially in the afternoons.  Still everyone was pretty polite and followed the rules.  Some issues here and there but nothing truly terrible.  I'm happy to answer any questions.


----------



## jenmsmith

Sarahslay said:


> Yeah, I just didn't think that A: it was real metal lol, and B: was enough to set off the detector because they always just say to take out the big battery packs and umbrellas. Just something to remember when people are headed to the parks.


Yes. My park bag is a small Disney Dooney and Burke and the metal clasps set off the detector every time. Next trip I'll leave that one at home.


----------



## RichieTruxillo

Are unused park reservations placed back in the pool for availability the day of or late in the day before a park visit date?  I am trying to time when I need to be ready to make additional park reservations past our initial 3 during an upcoming offsite AP trip.


----------



## yulilin3

RichieTruxillo said:


> Are unused park reservations placed back in the pool for availability the day of or late in the day before a park visit date?  I am trying to time when I need to be ready to make additional park reservations past our initial 3 during an upcoming offsite AP trip.


you can make additional reservations after the last park closes for the day, usually Epcot at 9pm or 10pm
So lets say today is you use a reservation from your 3 day limit. Tonight at 9pm, when Epcot closes, you can meke an additional day reservation.
As far as unused park reservations Disney holds your spot for the entire day so that doesn't happen, for example I have an MK reservation for today but not going until 5pm this evening, my spot will be held until park closing, so there's no such thing as no show spots going back into the bucket


----------



## scrappinginontario

Julie Amber said:


> Update, the first bus of the day finally came at 8:45 am for an official park opening at 9 am. For a deluxe resort, that seems pretty Non- Deluxe. We were not pleased to say the least. If we didn’t have a group of 15 people, we would have called an Uber. But just know that the transportation people told us that they are no longer running an hour before the park opens.


Deluxe resort does not mean you get better transportation.  Sorry!  The bus transportation at the values is great and very well organized.


----------



## SG131

We were down from Nov 15-23.  I went back and forth about canceling the trip, but we had canceled once and we had DVC points to use so we went for it.  I know I'm a little late, but I thought I'd add my thoughts.  Overall, masks were great other than my SW flight attendant on the flight home and Epcot at the end of the night on Friday.  MK and HS were the clear stars of the trip.  They still both have plenty of options to keep you busy.  The cavelcades are great, especially at MK.  They happened very frequently.  

Epcot and AK were a bit disappointing.  Both are missing a lot without those performers.  AK we had the best luck seeing the flottillas by eating at flame tree at a table by the water.  In Epcot, we just didn't see a single cavalcade in the one and a half days we were there.  Either we just have horrible timing or they weren't frequent enough.  I had just been down in Feb, so I was at Epcot since the closure of the middle, but I still found myself a little unsure of how to navigate at times.

As far as food goes, as others have said we were VERY impressed with Hollywood & Vine.  We also loved CRT.  Cinderella came out for a decent amount of time during our meal and we sat up top which initially I was disappointed with since the tables by the window have the best views, but we were very close to Cinderella, so my 3 yr old was able to talk to her pretty easily where others were not.  I was disappointed in BOG.  I haven't had dinner there since it changed to a signature dining experience, but when I went ages ago had been very impressed.  The french onion soup that I had loved was bland and the rest of the meal was just ok.  The beast came out for a very short time.  He was constantly moving around and it is so dark in there that you need the flash on your camera.  Needless to say I wasn't able to get any clear pictures of him.  

Mobile ordering was great, but takes longer than it used to to get your food since everyone is using it.  I used to wait until I was close to the restaurant to have them start preparing, but now I would definitely suggest hitting the button when you start walking to the restaurant instead of when you're close.  We did have one issue with food at HS on Saturday before thanksgiving.  It was around 5.30, the park closed at 7, but we couldn't get a mobile order slot for either Backlot or ABC for the rest of the evening.  They were full.  After refreshing the app for about 5 minutes, we were able to add ourselves to the walk up list for Mama Melrose and got in there since we didn't want to go to Rosie's.

LTT continues to be excellent, the sat us in the Diamond Horseshoe which was a nice change of scenery since that isn't usually or restaurant list.  Sci Fi continues to be mediocre, and beaches continues to be perfect.  Chef Mickey's had just recently gotten POG juice, so that made my morning when we ate there!  We also used the ear for each others fb to order a custom birthday cake during the trip, and it was incredible.


----------



## RichieTruxillo

Thanks @yulilin3.  I will plan to be ready every evening at park closing to book the next rolling reservation.    I hope they roll unused reservations equally to open up additional reservation slots if available to get one of those coveted Hollywood Studios reservations!


----------



## vital

Julie Amber said:


> We’re here at the Boardwalk right now. Official opening time for the park is 9 am. It’s 8:35 am and busing for Magic Kingdom buses haven’t started running yet. We’re pretty frustrated. We wanted to be IN the park by 8:15 am. So just letting you guys know that the buses have started to come MUCH later. Even for official opening time at 9 am, that’s ridiculous


Yikes! I was just about to post and ask this exact question as we arrive on the 13th. I guess I'll be driving to MK! What time did the bus come?


----------



## scrappinginontario

vital said:


> Yikes! I was just about to post and ask this exact question as we arrive on the 13th. I guess I'll be driving to MK! What time did the bus come?


Be sure to keep an eye out here because IF they are trying to push opening closer to actual time, they may open the parking lots and transportation from TTC later too.

Did anyone go to MK from the TTC at rope drop this morning?  What time did parking lots/monorail/ferry start today?

TIA


----------



## Donnask8pro

abs1978 said:


> We rented a car and I highly recommend this if you can.


Where did you park rental car, at HS? Wasn't there a car line up to get in? Thats what I had heard


----------



## boop0524

Donnask8pro said:


> Where did you park rental car, at HS? Wasn't there a car line up to get in? Thats what I had heard



We went to HS today and arrived by 9:10 or so and there was a car line. Wasn’t a long wait before they opened, we were in the park and to SDD by 9:30


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## Donnask8pro

boop0524 said:


> We went to HS today and arrived by 9:10 or so and there was a car line. Wasn’t a long wait before they opened, we were in the park and to SDD by 9:30



TY! Did you drive to EP also? Time you got in line of cars? THX!


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## boop0524

Today was HS with an early morning start. Got to the park about 9:10, in line for first ride by 9:30  

SDD - no wait and this stayed consistently long all day. Highly recommend if you want to do it
Star Tours
Smugglers Run

Lines were getting long at this point, which we found frustrating most of the day (45-60 mins). So we opted for some shopping and the holiday treats. These were a bit disappointing...the frozen hot chocolate we really disliked. The sugar cookie and Olaf cupcake were both good but nothing extra special other than the cute Olaf. The whoopie pie is huge and we have yet to try it, but looks pretty good!

Alien
MMRR - long wait, we had nothing else to do
Rise — we waited in the queue line after our group was called for at least 40 minutes. Is that usual? We were queued all the way to Muppets 

Overall the day was nice and more laid back than MK, but definitely missing FP here and the lack of entertainment


----------



## Raemama

TikiTikiFan said:


> We had a 7AM AK opening and we lined up right at 6AM. The bus picked us up at at 6:15AM...


In what resort were you staying? I’m going to be at OKW and am confused as to how to best deal with the bus situation. Thanks!


----------



## boop0524

Donnask8pro said:


> TY! Did you drive to EP also? Time you got in line of cars? THX!



No Epcot this trip, sorry!


----------



## dachsie

I had a hard day at MK today. I put on my walking boot because my tendinitis was acting up so I think lugging that around contributed highly. I went to breakfast at CM - way too much food. Between that and it being so cold this morning I just decided to ride monorail over so no 7DMT for me.  Instead I headed to Tomorrowland. Rode Buzz then Space.  Rode the speedway for the first time. One and done for me. Only rode it because I never have before. Then headed to Fantasyland. Rode all but 7DMT and PP by 11:45. Was considering PP but it had jumped to 40 mins so decided to eat at Sleepy Hollow. While there and eating the Mickey, princesses and Santa came by. went to restroom and the orchestra went by but I caught them again a little later.

The wait times were higher than I thought they would be and pirates and PP went down. Rode carpets and got the Orange bird snack and decided I would head to Main Street to look around. On the way I saw Rabbit, piglet and Eeyore at CP. shopped at Emporium then went to confectionery but again a line and I didn’t need anything so left. Snapped a few pics and Mickey and friends were at train station. Then I decided to leave. I was tired. Came back to resort, washed a load of clothes and drove to the Wave for dinner. After dinner I rode the monorail to see the castle and then went back to room.  Am really tired. Going back to MK on Friday so hopefully I will feel better. Tomorrow is EP again


----------



## dachsie

Raemama said:


> In what resort were you staying? I’m going to be at OKW and am confused as to how to best deal with the bus situation. Thanks!


I am at OKW. You need to catch bus at Penninsular road if you want to catch a bus. They start there and fill up and don’t show up at other stops. It was quite frustrating the other morning so I ended up driving to AK an hour after I got to the bus stop


----------



## Alpengeist04

boop0524 said:


> Today was HS with an early morning start. Got to the park about 9:10, in line for first ride by 9:30
> 
> SDD - no wait and this stayed consistently long all day. Highly recommend if you want to do it
> Star Tours
> Smugglers Run



It does amaze me sometimes which rides people will wait in long lines for, just because it’s Disney.  Yes, I’m talking about SDD.  Put this ride in Six Flags, Busch or even Universal and it’s probably 1/3 the wait.


----------



## PurpleHaze

I've been following along best I can ahead of my trip next week. So Im staying at POP and will not have my own car or have a rental so its Disney transportation for me. I want to get the best head start at the parks and lets see if I have this right based on the most recent info here. I'll only be visiting EPCOT on the arrival day, so no chance for an early start and will take the skyliner. 

For HS, I take an Uber to the Speedway and walk over. Similar approach to MK by taking an Uber to the Contemporary. Question though, do I need a breakfast reservation? Lastly, on my AK day taking a Disney bus is really the best option. Im basing this on the idea that taking an Uber there would still be subject to waiting til the parking lot opens, where the busses can go on to the park drop off.

Does all that sound right? What did I miss?


----------



## Desiree1972

.  Mobile ordering worked fantastically.  The tip of ordering when you get to the park worked every single time. 


[/QUOTE]
thanks for sharing your experiences - will you please elaborate on this? thanks


----------



## CarolynFH

Desiree1972 said:


> .  Mobile ordering worked fantastically.  The tip of ordering when you get to the park worked every single time.


thanks for sharing your experiences - will you please elaborate on this? thanks
[/QUOTE]
I’m not the person you quoted, but I think they did what we did - picked the QS and time we wanted and submitted our order right after we entered the park. That way we had our choice of times and just had to click Prepare My Order when the time came. By the time we got to the QS we had a very short wait to pick up our food.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Desiree1972 said:


> .  Mobile ordering worked fantastically.  The tip of ordering when you get to the park worked every single time.


thanks for sharing your experiences - will you please elaborate on this? thanks
[/QUOTE] It’s recommended you order earlier in the day.  The restaurant won’t actually prepare your meal until you click ‘I’m here’ but ordering early allows you to secure a time long before you’re ready to eat.

The restaurants are only able to fulfil a certain number of requests during each time slot so if you wait until you are hungry to try and place your order you may find that the next available time slot is 60 or 90 mins away or in some cases, if it’s later in the day, all reservation times for the remainder of the day may be filled so you would need to find a different place to order from.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Raemama said:


> In what resort were you staying? I’m going to be at OKW and am confused as to how to best deal with the bus situation. Thanks!



I was at Caribbean Beach Resort. One morning we ubered to the transportation center about 7:30 and they held us at the temp tents until about 8:30 or so- we were first in line but by 8:30 the line had grown a lot. That might be the way to go right now.


----------



## mikebb

vital said:


> Yikes! I was just about to post and ask this exact question as we arrive on the 13th. I guess I'll be driving to MK! What time did the bus come?



Hopefully was an anomaly for the PP. We did a quick trip this past weekend to CSR, and took the bus to MK on Saturday. Walked over to the bus stop around 8am (9am park opening), caught the bus around 8:05 and were walking up Main Street by 8:30.


----------



## Akck

We‘ve been here since Sunday and have been able to walk-on several rides at each park opening. We’re here with our 4 y.o. granddaughter, so  our plans are somewhat dictated by her (her parents came too). At MK, on Monday, we did the Jingle Cruise, Magic Carpets (twice), and Pirates all walk-on at park opening. Under the Sea was also a walk-on near park close. At AK, on Tuesday, we got there early enough to do FOP with in 20 minutes, but her parents needed to buy some warmer clothing since it was so cold and we ended up waiting 45 minutes as a big crowd crossed the bridge as they finished their purchase. After that, we were able to walk-on Kilimanjaro Safaris. We had driven to both parks for the opening, but had took bus transportation to return.

On Wednesday, we drove to HS, even though we’re staying at Riviera Resort. We got to the park just after 9 and they opened up around 9:10. I like to note the Skyliner didn’t start running until we were driving to our parking spot, so I wonder if they vary which mode of transportation they let start first. We were able to walk-on both MMRR (only wait was for the ride to start), and TSMM. We had gotten BG 45 that morning, so that dictated our plans somewhat. Just before our group was called, the ride broke down. Granddaughter and her parents, had a Oga’s reservation at 1 so they headed there and granddaughter loved it. We then rode Alien Saucers with a 12 minute wait (posted 20). Our BG was called, so we headed there after. While in line, ROTR broke down again for another 30 minute wait and we thought they might empty the queue, but they got it running again and it was amazing. We were about an hour late for our droid reservation, but they will accommodate you if you’re stuck on a ride (Oga’s would’ve too).

Today is our Epcot day, so we get to make a late start. Hopefully, it will be more relaxing, but we can always relax once we are back home.


----------



## Donnask8pro

Just to clarify, they let cars into transportation center at what time for a 8am MK opening? thx


----------



## abs1978

CarolynFH said:


> thanks for sharing your experiences - will you please elaborate on this? thanks


I’m not the person you quoted, but I think they did what we did - picked the QS and time we wanted and submitted our order right after we entered the park. That way we had our choice of times and just had to click Prepare My Order when the time came. By the time we got to the QS we had a very short wait to pick up our food.
[/QUOTE]
 Yes this is exactly what we did.  Really as long as we submitted our order before 10:30 we were fine.  We also ate before noon most days.  We did mobile order at Flame Tree, Cosmic Rays, and Contempo Cafe.  I really enjoyed the fact that you couldn't enter seating area until your food was ready.  It made it SO easy to find a place to sit.


----------



## Akck

Donnask8pro said:


> Just to clarify, they let cars into transportation center at what time for a 8am MK opening? thx



I believe they let you line up a hour before park opening and start letting cars in 5-15 minutes later.


----------



## Carla1183

Those of you there right now with this cold snap, are you needing just a sweatshirt/pants? or jacket/gloves/hat? we're packing all the things bc we're just not sure!! We leave Saturday.


----------



## yulilin3

Carla1183 said:


> Those of you there right now with this cold snap, are you needing just a sweatshirt/pants? or jacket/gloves/hat? we're packing all the things bc we're just not sure!! We leave Saturday.


I was at MK last night,  people were buying the sweatshirts and hoodies in droves at the emporium,  i enjoy thre cold so was comfortable with jeans,  long sleeve shirt and hoodie,  no gloves,  but did see lots of people with gloves and hats.


----------



## Donnask8pro

Akck said:


> I believe they let you line up a hour before park opening and start letting cars in 5-15 minutes later.


TY! I know I have read several places they are opening parks earlier than posted. Is that still accurate? Although I will be there early since only 3 days in parks.


----------



## yulilin3

Donnask8pro said:


> TY! I know I have read several places they are opening parks earlier than posted. Is that still accurate? Although I will be there early since only 3 days in parks.


yes, the parks are opening up to 45 min before official time


----------



## dachsie

I think something has changed. They won’t let us on Skyliner to Epcot til 11:30, maybe 11:15


----------



## Mom2Stitch

UGH, back to being confused about the transportation! Almost every park for our trip starting tomorrow has changed their opening hours, and now seeing reports that buses are not running early.  I'm not all that enthused about using uber or lyft.


----------



## yulilin3

dachsie said:


> I think something has changed. They won’t let us on Skyliner to Epcot til 11:30, maybe 11:15


just checked, it loos like 
Mon-Thur skyliner to Epcot starts at 11:30am
Fri-Sun starts at 10am


----------



## dachsie

dachsie said:


> I think something has changed. They won’t let us on Skyliner to Epcot til 11:30, maybe 11:15


Ok I made a mobile order at the Boardwalk bakery and they let me on. Everyone started doing that and then cancelling the order when on board


----------



## jade1

We bounced around a lot last week.

Stayed at Riviera, BCV, VWL and BWV.

Highlight (other than 80 and sunny every day) was BWV to DHS, first in the park and first on M&M Train, then SDD, RNR and TSM before the park officially opened.

Also enjoyed each locations workout club (as ours are shut down in MN).

Had them all to myself every time, and they were all just scan in with no attendant.


----------



## yulilin3

Mom2Stitch said:


> UGH, back to being confused about the transportation! Almost every park for our trip starting tomorrow has changed their opening hours, and now seeing reports that buses are not running early.  I'm not all that enthused about using uber or lyft.


the situation right now is very fluid and things that happened yesterday might not happen today in terms of general operations. I know it's hard to plan this way but Disney is making operational decisions almost on a daily basis, that's why when people ask if attractions will open before official opening time I always say it is based on the operations team that morning for that attraction
The last few days seem to be looking like they are tightning up the transportations schedule


----------



## Donnask8pro

yulilin3 said:


> yes, the parks are opening up to 45 min before official time


Awesome! Question you may answer to. We are using the rest of our 3 day hoppers from 10D non Expiring. Any way of recouping lost hopper park money since no hopping now? TYIA


----------



## yulilin3

Donnask8pro said:


> Awesome! Question you may answer to. We are using the rest of our 3 day hoppers from 10D non Expiring. Any way of recouping lost hopper park money since no hopping now? TYIA


you can ask ticket questions on the ticket sticky, I have an AP so not sure about the refund, I seem to recall people getting refunded but def ask in the sticky


----------



## yulilin3

Just checked on the HUB and bus transportation wording still says approx 45 minutes prior to park official opening


----------



## Mom2Stitch

yulilin3 said:


> the situation right now is very fluid and things that happened yesterday might not happen today in terms of general operations. I know it's hard to plan this way but Disney is making operational decisions almost on a daily basis, that's why when people ask if attractions will open before official opening time I always say it is based on the operations team that morning for that attraction
> The last few days seem to be looking like they are tightning up the transportations schedule



I was wondering if they just hadn't caught up with new park hours? DHS will be opening at 9 next week, so if we are doing the bus I'm guessing we will head to the bus stop at 7:30 to line up. We are at GDT and know that Casitas is the first stop so we will be walking over there. I wish that they would send multiple buses to resorts with multiple stops for park opening, but guess that's never going to happen, especially right now.


----------



## Mom2Stitch

yulilin3 said:


> Just checked on the HUB and bus transportation wording still says approx 45 minutes prior to park official opening



Well that kinda stinks, parks can open 45 minutes early, transportation will be starting at the same time. Advantage to uber/lyft for sure I guess.lol


----------



## yulilin3

Mom2Stitch said:


> Well that kinda stinks, parks can open 45 minutes early, transportation will be starting at the same time. Advantage to uber/lyft for sure I guess.lol


And again I say,  this is thre official time for buses,  just like the parks,  depending iiib many things they might start earlier,  and again I say,  I know it's really hard to plan this way 
Disney is walking a tight line between operating in an efficient way not only for guests but budget wise


----------



## jade1

Mom2Stitch said:


> Well that kinda stinks, parks can open 45 minutes early, transportation will be starting at the same time. Advantage to uber/lyft for sure I guess.lol



Advantage-walking from a resort (when possible).

The parking is held/backed up until about 45 min before park opening.

So we were let into DHS right at that time when cars starting to get let into the lot.

I am sure we had MMRR and SDD done before the first car parked could even enter the park.

And likely after RNR as well.


Prob similar at MK. 7DMT, PPan, BTMRR and Splash before cars-IF staying at BLT/POLY/GF anyway.

AK-prob no way to pick an obvious "best" choice.

EPCOT-walking to IG will get you first in line, but still competing with the Front gate.

EPCOT-front gate is another crap shoot on best method for FOTL/RD.


----------



## yulilin3

*Adjusted park hours for Magic Kingdom Park:*


*6, 11-13, 18-19: *8 a.m.-9 p.m.
*7-10, 14-17: *8 a.m.-8 p.m.
*Adjusted park hours for Disney’s Hollywood Studios:*


*6-19: *9 a.m.-7 p.m.
*Adjusted park hours for Disney’s Animal Kingdom:*


*4-6, 11-13, 18-19: *8 a.m.-8 p.m.
*7-10, 14-17: *8 a.m.-5 p.m.


----------



## Mom2Stitch

yulilin3 said:


> And again I say,  this is thre official time for buses,  just like the parks,  depending iiib many things they might start earlier,  and again I say,  I know it's really hard to plan this way
> Disney is walking a tight line between operating in an efficient way not only for guests but budget wise



Thank you, I appreciate the information you share with all of us.


----------



## yulilin3

Mom2Stitch said:


> Thank you, I appreciate the information you share with all of us.


I sometimes read back my comments and I can see they could come off as snarky, I just wanted to let everyone know it's not snark, it seriously is just trying for all of you coming to know how crazy the day to day operation decisions are, and that we, as guests, need to not only be on our toes and flexible in planning, we also need to be patient with all front of line CM, it is not the fault of the bus driver, or attractions CM or food and beverage to have these decisions change what seems to be on the fly


----------



## Marc A.

jade1 said:


> We bounced around a lot last week.
> 
> Stayed at Riviera, BCV, VWL and BWV.
> 
> Highlight (other than 80 and sunny every day) was BWV to DHS, first in the park and first on M&M Train, then SDD, RNR and TSM before the park officially opened.
> 
> Also enjoyed each locations workout club (as ours are shut down in MN).
> 
> Had them all to myself every time, and they were all just scan in with no attendant.


What time did you arrive at HS please??


----------



## DMLAINI

Has anyone been able to use giftcards to pay for their mobile orders?   I heard it was to be added to MDE as an option.


----------



## abs1978

yulilin3 said:


> I sometimes read back my comments and I can see they could come off as snarky, I just wanted to let everyone know it's not snark, it seriously is just trying for all of you coming to know how crazy the day to day operation decisions are, and that we, as guests, need to not only be on our toes and flexible in planning, we also need to be patient with all front of line CM, it is not the fault of the bus driver, or attractions CM or food and beverage to have these decisions change what seems to be on the fly



Absolutely not.  Your advice in the last few months has been invaluable.  All of the information you share is very appreciated.  Thank you so much.  I believe a lot of the reason why our trip was so enjoyable was specifically because some of your advice.


----------



## scjm222

scjm222 said:


> Hi!  My dd and I went 11/21 and returned on 11/26. We went in knowing lines would be long. Outside of the lines, mask compliance was almost 100%. Inside the lines was another story. In almost every line that we were in that was over 30 minutes, we got stuck behind people that didn’t think masks were necessary.  I’m not sure how this could be improved but will send in feedback so Disney is aware.
> Sadly, despite being super careful before and during our trip, I did test positive today but dd is negative.


Hi all!
I wanted to do a follow up on my post. I, as required, reported my positive test to my employer. My employer is hosting testing facilities and the crisis management team encouraged me to come and get retested as some of the drug store rapid tests aren’t as accurate as the PCR lab tests. I went in on Monday to retest and got the good news that I do NOT have COVID 
It is certainly a magical day in my house!!


----------



## disneyseniors

dachsie said:


> I had a hard day at MK today. I put on my walking boot because my tendinitis was acting up so I think lugging that around contributed highly. I went to breakfast at CM - way too much food. Between that and it being so cold this morning I just decided to ride monorail over so no 7DMT for me.  Instead I headed to Tomorrowland. Rode Buzz then Space.  Rode the speedway for the first time. One and done for me. Only rode it because I never have before. Then headed to Fantasyland. Rode all but 7DMT and PP by 11:45. Was considering PP but it had jumped to 40 mins so decided to eat at Sleepy Hollow. While there and eating the Mickey, princesses and Santa came by. went to restroom and the orchestra went by but I caught them again a little later.
> 
> The wait times were higher than I thought they would be and pirates and PP went down. Rode carpets and got the Orange bird snack and decided I would head to Main Street to look around. On the way I saw Rabbit, piglet and Eeyore at CP. shopped at Emporium then went to confectionery but again a line and I didn’t need anything so left. Snapped a few pics and Mickey and friends were at train station. Then I decided to leave. I was tired. Came back to resort, washed a load of clothes and drove to the Wave for dinner. After dinner I rode the monorail to see the castle and then went back to room.  Am really tired. Going back to MK on Friday so hopefully I will feel better. Tomorrow is EP again



Dachsie, I hope your foot is better?  I have bouts of plantar fasciitis and know what you are going through.  I get steroid shots in my foot before going to disney and that has helped.  I also use the park ECV's when needed.  It can really be a bummer.  I admire you for going to WDW alone; never been brave enough to try it.


----------



## jade1

Marc A. said:


> What time did you arrive at HS please??




10AM Opening.

Left BWV at 8:20.

Arrived at 8:30.

Which was first in 1 of 2 lines.

Held at Skyliner until 8:45.

Walked us to temp screening at 9.

Let us temp screen at 9:15 and enter.


----------



## jade1

FYI ToT was to be the 4th attraction at 9:50 but could see it wasn't open yet, long line and no screams.

Went back to TSM instead.

Unless things change-I would not walk directly to ToT at 9:15.


----------



## Naomeri

DMLAINI said:


> Has anyone been able to use giftcards to pay for their mobile orders?   I heard it was to be added to MDE as an option.


Yes, you can pay for mobile orders with gift cards.  But you can’t add the gift card to MDE permanently, you have to enter the card number each time.  I suggest putting it in the notes app on your phone so you can just copy and paste, it worked well for me in October.


----------



## jade1

yulilin3 said:


> I was at MK last night,  people were buying the sweatshirts and hoodies in droves at the emporium,  i enjoy thre cold so was comfortable with jeans,  long sleeve shirt and hoodie,  no gloves,  but did see lots of people with gloves and hats.



I wonder how many bought the 70% off (and I think other discounts applied as well) 2020 jacket. Those were everywhere for sale last week.


----------



## yulilin3

jade1 said:


> I wonder how many bought the 70% off (and I think other discounts applied as well) 2020 jacket. Those were everywhere for sale last week.


there were none left . I actually bought the white 2020 hoodie the other day at DHS, was with my CM daughter so on top of the 70% my DD got the 50% CM discount, the hoodie was $7 , can't beat that


----------



## yulilin3

abs1978 said:


> Absolutely not.  Your advice in the last few months has been invaluable.  All of the information you share is very appreciated.  Thank you so much.  I believe a lot of the reason why our trip was so enjoyable was specifically because some of your advice.


that's very sweet of you to say. Sometimes I'm very busy and reply very quickly in ly usual form of taalking and then hours later when I get a chance to read back I feel I come out as cross or annoyed.


----------



## dachsie

yulilin3 said:


> *Adjusted park hours for Magic Kingdom Park:*
> 
> 
> *6, 11-13, 18-19: *8 a.m.-9 p.m.
> *7-10, 14-17: *8 a.m.-8 p.m.
> *Adjusted park hours for Disney’s Hollywood Studios:*
> 
> 
> *6-19: *9 a.m.-7 p.m.
> *Adjusted park hours for Disney’s Animal Kingdom:*
> 
> 
> *4-6, 11-13, 18-19: *8 a.m.-8 p.m.
> *7-10, 14-17: *8 a.m.-5 p.m.


They should have had these hours for this week. I feel like the reduced times this week have it more crowded than I was expecting.


----------



## dachsie

DMLAINI said:


> Has anyone been able to use giftcards to pay for their mobile orders?   I heard it was to be added to MDE as an option.


Yes I have done it several times. It just asks if you want to add a card


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

I cannot for the life of me find what time the mini parades start/stop at MK this weekend. I know they don't list times, but I thought @yulilin3 said you could find at least the stop/start times on MDE. Am I imagining? 
With the new 8am opening, will they start an hour earlier?


----------



## dachsie

disneyseniors said:


> Dachsie, I hope your foot is better?  I have bouts of plantar fasciitis and know what you are going through.  I get steroid shots in my foot before going to disney and that has helped.  I also use the park ECV's when needed.  It can really be a bummer.  I admire you for going to WDW alone; never been brave enough to try it.


Thanks. I rented an ECV today at Epcot so am doing ok. Will try walking regular tomorrow at MK


----------



## yulilin3

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> I cannot for the life of me find what time the mini parades start/stop at MK this weekend. I know they don't list times, but I thought @yulilin3 said you could find at least the stop/start times on MDE. Am I imagining?
> With the new 8am opening, will they start an hour earlier?


This is for today on mde. Go to entertainment
remember there are some days when Goofy's is dark (tuesdays and wednesdays)


----------



## Mrspeaks

So I am late to planning and so confused! Lol. So I had thought we would rent a car to be in control of when we leave in the mornings, but it doesn’t seem like driving gives you any advantage. Uber and walking maybe the best option? We are staying at AOA.


----------



## yulilin3

Mrspeaks said:


> So I am late to planning and so confused! Lol. So I had thought we would rent a car to be in control of when we leave in the mornings, but it doesn’t seem like driving gives you any advantage. Uber and walking maybe the best option? We are staying at AOA.


Uber and walking gives you an advantage only for MK. For DHS you have to walk to the park, Uber uses the same car lanes as everyone else
Basically if driving you could be about 15 minutes behind people who walked to these 2 parks


----------



## TerryLea

DMLAINI said:


> Has anyone been able to use giftcards to pay for their mobile orders?   I heard it was to be added to MDE as an option.


We were able to use them in November, but we could only use one gift card per mobile order. I had several, smaller amount gift cards, so we used those for souvenirs and other purchases.


----------



## jade1

yulilin3 said:


> Uber and walking gives you an advantage only for MK.



What? I disagree. Walking was a huge advantage for DHS. Probably for IG / EPCOT as well-we just never did that since it was 11AM opening.

Or do you mean in combo? Uber there then walk.


----------



## yulilin3

jade1 said:


> What? I disagree. Walking was a huge advantage for DHS. Probably for IG / EPCOT as well-we just never did that since it was 11AM opening.


But you can't uber to dhs for an advantage, uber has to line yo with all the other cars.  Walking to dhs gives you an advantage


----------



## jade1

yulilin3 said:


> But you can't uber to dhs for an advantage, uber has to line yo with all the other cars.  Walking to dhs gives you an advantage



Yes 100%. 

I just read "Uber and* walking gives you an advantage only for MK*."


----------



## jade1

yulilin3 said:


> But you can't uber to dhs for an advantage, uber has to line yo with all the other cars.  Walking to dhs gives you an advantage



Does Uber drop you off at MK? That would help a lot. I assumed it was to TTC.


----------



## spunkyinkc

First day will be on Sunday, with an 8am opening, what time can you get through the drive in gate to park at TTC?  Do they keep you stopped/backed up at the pay booth or are you allowed to park and then line up at the boat or monorail?  Was thinking of trying to be there by 6:30.  Is that to early or to late?


----------



## yulilin3

jade1 said:


> Does Uber drop you off at MK? That would help a lot. I assumed it was to TTC.


Ttc, you'l be in front of everyone parking their cars,  behind people walking from the resorts


----------



## yulilin3

spunkyinkc said:


> First day will be on Sunday, with an 8am opening, what time can you get through the drive in gate to park at TTC?  Do they keep you stopped/backed up at the pay booth or are you allowed to park and then line up at the boat or monorail?  Was thinking of trying to be there by 6:30.  Is that to early or to late?


Parking toll opens about 45 minutes before park opening.  They won't allow you to line up there until an hour before


----------



## spunkyinkc

If the timing is off and you happen to show up a little more than that hour target, what do they make you do?  It's been awhile since we've driven into the TTC but I thought it was basically like a funnel with no exits.  Just worried we will get redirected and not know where we will end up.


----------



## yulilin3

spunkyinkc said:


> If the timing is off and you happen to show up a little more than that hour target, what do they make you do?  It's been awhile since we've driven into the TTC but I thought it was basically like a funnel with no exits.  Just worried we will get redirected and not know where we will end up.


You go through the toll booth,  they have it blocked off ahead and you must exit towards the gas station (check Google maps for a visual) there's OC sheriff on hand in case some get combative


----------



## armerida

scjm222 said:


> Hi all!
> I wanted to do a follow up on my post. I, as required, reported my positive test to my employer. My employer is hosting testing facilities and the crisis management team encouraged me to come and get retested as some of the drug store rapid tests aren’t as accurate as the PCR lab tests. I went in on Monday to retest and got the good news that I do NOT have COVID
> It is certainly a magical day in my house!!


That’s great news! Glad you are well and Covid-free!


----------



## jade1

yulilin3 said:


> Ttc, you'l be in front of everyone parking their cars,  behind people walking from the resorts



Yes that makes sense.

Based on what we saw last week, IMO for somebody really interested in the earliest entry would be.

In order best to least.

1) Any EPCOT Resorts walking to DHS.

2) Any MK Loop Resorts walking to MK.

3) Any EPCOT Resorts walking to EPCOT.

After that it gets hit or miss.

Kinda feel like any Bus that happens to come early to a resort for any given park.

4) Earliest buses to AK.

5) Earliest buses to DHS or MK or EPCOT.

6) Uber to MK.

7) Uber to DHS.

8) Uber to AK.

9 Uber to EPCOT.

10) Driving to AK.

11) Driving to DHS.

12) Driving to EPCOT.

13) Driving to MK.

14) Skyliner to DHS.

15) Skyliner to EPCOT.


----------



## jade1

Skyliner would jump into the top 4 if they would just start them earlier than what we saw.

I also think there may have been some issues last week, seemed down a lot.


----------



## only hope

RichieTruxillo said:


> Are unused park reservations placed back in the pool for availability the day of or late in the day before a park visit date?  I am trying to time when I need to be ready to make additional park reservations past our initial 3 during an upcoming offsite AP trip.



Not unused, but cancelled ones are. Several times I’ve gotten reservations for a date with no availability. Just have to refresh at the right time.


----------



## Disneylovingmomof2

How is MK on the sold out days? I just checked and I have an MK day when it’s at capacity. Wondering if I need to switch.


----------



## disneylover102

Has anyone done Space or Splash or Thunder around rope drop and/or park closing recently? Those are the ones that I’ve gotta do at least 3 times in a full day in order to be successful, and I’m really wondering which I should do first and last. I would think Splash would be shorter at park closing, but right now at 7:42, just before MK closes, it says it’s 40 minutes, but I wonder if that’s true. (I’m going January 6-16)


----------



## boop0524

Went to AK today with a 9 am opening. We got there at 8:05 and waited in the car line. They let us through at 8:20 but we waited in another car line to park until 8:30. We had time to do one ride (FOP) before official opening.


----------



## disneylover102

So do they start operating rides around 8:30 (with a 9:00 opening) then?


----------



## boop0524

disneylover102 said:


> So do they start operating rides around 8:30 (with a 9:00 opening) then?



It’s so hard to say! We thought we’d be able to get in sooner based on other trip reports but it seems like maybe things have changed


----------



## yulilin3

disneylover102 said:


> So do they start operating rides around 8:30 (with a 9:00 opening) then?


Some attractions have been opening prior to park opening but that can change daily


----------



## hereforthechurros

yulilin3 said:


> I sometimes read back my comments and I can see they could come off as snarky, I just wanted to let everyone know it's not snark, it seriously is just trying for all of you coming to know how crazy the day to day operation decisions are, and that we, as guests, need to not only be on our toes and flexible in planning, we also need to be patient with all front of line CM, it is not the fault of the bus driver, or attractions CM or food and beverage to have these decisions change what seems to be on the fly


I appreciate your insight x100 and know you know more than most but to Disney I would ask - how is that okay? To leave the guest holding the bag in terms of planning in a place where planning has ruled for years? Tickets aren’t discounted. Many hotels aren’t. How is expecting people to pay full price yet deal with things being limited and changing daily okay? It doesn’t seem like much if any of for the benefit of the guest.


----------



## PirateSnowmen

disneylover102 said:


> Has anyone done Space or Splash or Thunder around rope drop and/or park closing recently? Those are the ones that I’ve gotta do at least 3 times in a full day in order to be successful, and I’m really wondering which I should do first and last. I would think Splash would be shorter at park closing, but right now at 7:42, just before MK closes, it says it’s 40 minutes, but I wonder if that’s true. (I’m going January 6-16)



I went the second week in November. We got to MK around 8:40 (9am official opening) & went straight to Frontierland. Splash wasn't open yet, so we went to Thunder & waited maybe 5 minutes (if I remember correctly they were only loading one side of the attraction at that time of the morning). We backtracked & walked on Pirates. By then Splash was open & we waited less than 5 minutes. We did Space at noon & waited just a touch over 15 minutes (posted wait was 35 min). We did Space again just before 3pm and again waited about 15 minutes (posted 25 min). We did Splash & Thunder again an hour before park close and walked on Splash (posted 35 min) and waited less than 10 minutes for Thunder (posted 20 min).

That day we managed to do pretty much every single attraction at least once, so I would say riding those three at least 3 times will be doable.


----------



## yulilin3

hereforthechurros said:


> I appreciate your insight x100 and know you know more than most but to Disney I would ask - how is that okay? To leave the guest holding the bag in terms of planning in a place where planning has ruled for years? Tickets aren’t discounted. Many hotels aren’t. How is expecting people to pay full price yet deal with things being limited and changing daily okay? It doesn’t seem like much if any of for the benefit of the guest.


Not okay in normal situations
But
If you as the guest,  knowing about this,  decides to come now, you know the current situation, you know it's all fluid and things can change
You accept the risk in the current climate
If none of that is okay with you then you can rethink your plans


----------



## hereforthechurros

yulilin3 said:


> Not okay in normal situations
> But
> If you as the guest,  knowing about this,  decides to come now, you know the current situation, you know it's all fluid and things can change
> You accept the risk in the current climate
> If none of that is okay with you then you can rethink your plans


Not sure I buy that argument. Telling someone that there’s no fireworks so don’t come if you demand fireworks is totally okay. But telling people to be ready for a guessing game each day - while paying full price - is not okay. To stay safest we need to be able to plan accordingly for dining and transportation and it feels like wdw is just focused on pinching pennies.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Can anyone weigh in on boat transportation from Epcot resorts to Epcot and HS? How has it been? Long lines, distanced, are they running somewhat on time? Feels like I haven’t seen much.


----------



## dachsie

jade1 said:


> Skyliner would jump into the top 4 if they would just start them earlier than what we saw.
> 
> I also think there may have been some issues last week, seemed down a lot.


I see no advantage for Pop and AOA with the skyliner. Am seriously considering changing my pop reservation next fall. Skyliner was a disaster this morning for EP. I took a joy ride from Riviera to pop and they almost wouldn’t let me get back to Riviera. Then they wouldn’t let us go to Ep before 11:15-11:30


----------



## fabfemmeboy

disneylover102 said:


> Has anyone done Space or Splash or Thunder around rope drop and/or park closing recently? Those are the ones that I’ve gotta do at least 3 times in a full day in order to be successful, and I’m really wondering which I should do first and last. I would think Splash would be shorter at park closing, but right now at 7:42, just before MK closes, it says it’s 40 minutes, but I wonder if that’s true. (I’m going January 6-16)



We were there on Wednesday, and Thunder is my go-to/must-do ride.  Around close, Splash was basically a ghost-town and Thunder had been consistently at/around 30 minutes for at least the last 1-2 hours of the park day.  Note: it was also the coldest day so far this year on Wednesday, which accounted for a lower-than-usual line at Splash.


----------



## boop0524

disneylover102 said:


> Has anyone done Space or Splash or Thunder around rope drop and/or park closing recently? Those are the ones that I’ve gotta do at least 3 times in a full day in order to be successful, and I’m really wondering which I should do first and last. I would think Splash would be shorter at park closing, but right now at 7:42, just before MK closes, it says it’s 40 minutes, but I wonder if that’s true. (I’m going January 6-16)



On Monday we rope dropped Space and went to Thunder third. This worked really well for us as we walked on to Space and had a minimal wait at Thunder. We didn’t do Splash so can’t advise on that sorry


----------



## teach22180

jade1 said:


> Yes that makes sense.
> 
> Based on what we saw last week, IMO for somebody really interested in the earliest entry would be.
> 
> In order best to least.
> 
> 1) Any EPCOT Resorts walking to DHS.
> 
> 2) Any MK Loop Resorts walking to MK.
> 
> 3) Any EPCOT Resorts walking to EPCOT.
> 
> After that it gets hit or miss.
> 
> Kinda feel like any Bus that happens to come early to a resort for any given park.
> 
> 4) Earliest buses to AK.
> 
> 5) Earliest buses to DHS or MK or EPCOT.
> 
> 6) Uber to MK.
> 
> 7) Uber to DHS.
> 
> 8) Uber to AK.
> 
> 9 Uber to EPCOT.
> 
> 10) Driving to AK.
> 
> 11) Driving to DHS.
> 
> 12) Driving to EPCOT.
> 
> 13) Driving to MK.
> 
> 14) Skyliner to DHS.
> 
> 15) Skyliner to EPCOT.


Just want to mention that in October I was close to the front of the line at DHS after riding the skyliner. So there just is not a perfect plan. Just do your best and relax and enjoy. The earlier you get into lines for any Disney transportation, the better. There are also boats too.


----------



## jade1

teach22180 said:


> Just want to mention that in October I was close to the front of the line at DHS after riding the skyliner.



See that's what it should be IMO. Just start the thing sooner-I think they will eventually.
Although the early EPCOT Resort walkers will always beat the skyliner. But should be a close 2nd.



teach22180 said:


> So there just is not a perfect plan. Just do your best and relax and enjoy. The earlier you get into lines for any Disney transportation, the better.



Agreed. Although the least chance of any obstacles are walking IMO.



teach22180 said:


> There are also boats too.



Yea boats at EPCOT resorts will never beat early bird walkers to EPCOT or DHS. But indeed are another option good point.

Same at MK Loop resorts.

However, WL and Campgrounds boats might leave before buses-so that could help there.


----------



## Akck

Epcot was Thursday for us. We lined up at 11 am at the Riviera station and they started loading shortly after. It looked like the first groups were filling every gondola as it appeared they weren’t loading from the Caribbean station. That changed as we neared the ramp as the Caribbean station appeared to be loading, leaving every 2nd or 3rd gondola open. We were in the park well before 11:30.

Our original plan was to go to Frozen first thing, but we stopped to get the Olaf scavenger hunt first. As we made our way around world showcase, our granddaughter said she was hungry. I checked MDE and the wait was listed at 90 minutes. There was no way a hungry little girl was going to last that long. So we opted to have lunch at the Regal Eagle. Timing smiled on us as we finished eating and the wait time dropped to 40 minutes (actual closer to 25). We then did the Grand Fiesta Tour (5 minutes), Spaceship Earth (25 minutes) the , The Seas (walk-on), Living with the Land (walk-on), and Soarin’ (10 minutes).


----------



## disneylover102

So apparently the lynx bus 303 goes to Hollywood Studios twice a day, with one of the times at 7:25 AM (leaving Disney Springs at 7:05). I’m wondering if it’s worth it to just do that and not have to worry about the whole hassle with not being able to drive in, having to rely on the resort buses, etc. Even though I’d be really early, I’d for sure be one of the first people there and definitely be there when the rides start running. When do they start running anyway?


----------



## dachsie

Yesterday was EP for me. I had breakfast at Topolinos and then was told Skyliner would start til 11:15. I and several others did mobile orders at Boardwalk bakery so they would let us on early. Canceled the order after I got on. Lined up for temp screens and they started that around 11. Held us at the gate til about 11:20. I rented an ECV and headed to Frozen. I thought sure I would be waiting with all the people who walked past me but essentially walked on. When I got off the line was headed towards China. Then headed to Mexico for the boat ride. Off by 11:45. Then went around WS. Went to Reflections of China, ate at some booths, shopped, went to American Experience show, shopped more. Picked up my cookie for the cookie stroll, saw the new Canada film then headed to the VISA picture spot.

After that went to Soarin, and saw Joy on the way. Got out of Soarin and went to see Awesome Planet. Left about 6:30 to head to ADR at la Hacienda and saw Pooh. After dinner was headed to the Seas and my ECV battery started dying fast. Found some CMs who called for me and they brought me a new on. Considered TT but had too many packages to deal with so opted to head to the Seas. Then turned in the ECV and headed to buses. 

I would recommend if you want to ride Frozen, get to the EP gates early and head straight there. At one point the line was 95 mins. That’s insane. And I see no advantage to being at a Skyliner resort if you want to get there early. Am considering switching from Pop next fall


----------



## teach22180

dachsie said:


> Yesterday was EP for me. I had breakfast at Topolinos and then was told Skyliner would start til 11:15. I and several others did mobile orders at Boardwalk bakery so they would let us on early. Canceled the order after I got on. Lined up for temp screens and they started that around 11. Held us at the gate til about 11:20. I rented an ECV and headed to Frozen. I thought sure I would be waiting with all the people who walked past me but essentially walked on. When I got off the line was headed towards China. Then headed to Mexico for the boat ride. Off by 11:45. Then went around WS. Went to Reflections of China, ate at some booths, shopped, went to American Experience show, shopped more. Picked up my cookie for the cookie stroll, saw the new Canada film then headed to the VISA picture spot.
> 
> After that went to Soarin, and saw Joy on the way. Got out of Soarin and went to see Awesome Planet. Left about 6:30 to head to ADR at la Hacienda and saw Pooh. After dinner was headed to the Seas and my ECV battery started dying fast. Found some CMs who called for me and they brought me a new on. Considered TT but had too many packages to deal with so opted to head to the Seas. Then turned in the ECV and headed to buses.
> 
> I would recommend if you want to ride Frozen, get to the EP gates early and head straight there. At one point the line was 95 mins. That’s insane. And I see no advantage to being at a Skyliner resort if you want to get there early. Am considering switching from Pop next fall


Sorry a bit off topic, but I was looking for a real life example of someone who rented a scooter at the IG entrance.  Is that where you got yours? I had an injury last trip and thought I might need one at Epcot next trip. Thanks!


----------



## MEC004

We are here now. Wednesday was MK and Thursday was HS. I have to say the bus situation at CBR wasn’t great and we missed rope drop. My cousin, who is a CM, arrived only five minutes after we did at 9 o’clock. We were however able to walk right on to Haunted Mansion. So it was a win in our books. It didn’t ruin the day because we are going back on Saturday.

Wednesday MK:
We arrived in park around 9 and were able to walk on Haunted Mansion. Afterwards we went to the carousel and while I was on there DH and my cousin made a game plan. Before our 1:30 reservation at Be Our Guest we were able to ride: Under the Sea, Barnstormer, Dumbo, Tea Cups, Buzz Lightyear, Tomorrowland Speedway, and Carousel of Progress.

Be Our Guest was amazing! I was
in awe the entire time. After we ate we got a return time for SDMT (DS has a DAS) and was able to do Hall of Presidents and watch several parades go by. We then went to SDMT and then got a return time for Peter Pan. That let us go to Country Bear Jamboree and we got to see Santa while waiting.

After riding Peter Pan we did a return time for Small World. We walked around a bit and explored. My DS was getting tired so we took a break and rested. After Small World we went to get a return time for Pirates and went and waited for the Tiki Tiki room. Tiki Tiki was so much fun, but DS was starting to get tired. It was 6 o’clock by then. We went to Pirates then made our way to the castle. We stayed for one projection change which was awesome!

We caught the bus back to CBR and were at the resort by 7:30. It was a great day!!!


----------



## Handykapper

Thanks for the Twitter info. Love this


----------



## Live4travel

hereforthechurros said:


> Can anyone weigh in on boat transportation from Epcot resorts to Epcot and HS? How has it been? Long lines, distanced, are they running somewhat on time? Feels like I haven’t seen much.


We took the boat from EPCOT to Yacht Club mid-afternoon earlier this week. Even though they are only filling every other row of seats it was not completely full so there was no wait. The boats seem to be running regularly and there is a plastic partition attached to back of seats that is around 2 feet high. It was ironic because the cast member on the boat kept repeating an announcement to keep 6 feet from others yet there were 5-6 cast members huddled together at the front of the boat (it looked like one of them was being trained.). They also encouraged everyone to use the sanitizer at the dock before boarding.


----------



## jade1

disneylover102 said:


> So apparently the lynx bus 303 goes to Hollywood Studios twice a day, with one of the times at 7:25 AM (leaving Disney Springs at 7:05). I’m wondering if it’s worth it to just do that and not have to worry about the whole hassle with not being able to drive in, having to rely on the resort buses, etc. Even though I’d be really early, I’d for sure be one of the first people there and definitely be there when the rides start running. When do they start running anyway?



I'm not to sure about this. But we only did the RD at DHS one day last week.

I can guarantee that no buses had arrived at DHS that early last week that day anyway.

As a matter of fact, the only people in line at all were from the EPCOT Resorts all the way up until close to 9AM (for a 10AM opening).

If there had been a 7:05 DS bus there would have been people in line ahead of us all. And nobody came from the bus stop while we were there that I saw.

However, with a 10AM opening-maybe nobody got off the bus just because it was too early?

On a more typical 8AM or maybe even 9AM-this is a bus that is indeed used those days?


----------



## KrazeeK120

disneylover102 said:


> So apparently the lynx bus 303 goes to Hollywood Studios twice a day, with one of the times at 7:25 AM (leaving Disney Springs at 7:05). I’m wondering if it’s worth it to just do that and not have to worry about the whole hassle with not being able to drive in, having to rely on the resort buses, etc. Even though I’d be really early, I’d for sure be one of the first people there and definitely be there when the rides start running. When do they start running anyway?



How would you get to Disney Springs?


----------



## chilly2336

If I could make a suggestion to folks who are contemplating a trip to WDW....

We were there Thanksgiving week.  We decided to go on this trip just the week before so we started from scratch exactly 5 days prior to boarding our flight.  We stayed at Holiday Inn - Disney Springs (first time at a non-Disney hotel) because the rate was 1/3 of the cost of a Disney hotel.  We either used the hotel shuttle or walked to DS or Saratoga to board a Disney bus.  We had no meal reservations as it was too late to book anything and obviously no Fastpasses.  The only thing we had to do, because we were required to do so, was book park reservations.  Once we booked the hotel we were able to get reservations for every park we wanted - visited all 4 and MK twice.  We did not rope drop for the first time ever and got to each park right around opening and stayed until close each night.  By far, on this last minute trip we rode more than we have ridden since they did away with the paper FP's and it wasn't even close.  We even left MK to have lunch at The Wave and still got everything done that we wanted.  It was easily the most relaxing trip ever because the only thing that was planned was the park we were visiting.

My suggestion would be, unless you have to have your entire day planned, to take it as it comes.  We did whatever we felt like doing whenever we felt like doing it.  We rode so many rides, ate so much food, and enjoyed being together as a family during this crazy time in the world.  Wandering aimlessly through the parks was completely foreign to us as Disney hasn't allowed that in quite a number of years but it was very welcomed once we started experiencing it and it made for a very enjoyable trip.


----------



## disneylover102

KrazeeK120 said:


> How would you get to Disney Springs?


Route 50 bus


----------



## disneylover102

jade1 said:


> I'm not to sure about this. But we only did the RD at DHS one day last week.
> 
> I can guarantee that no buses had arrived at DHS that early last week that day anyway.
> 
> As a matter of fact, the only people in line at all were from the EPCOT Resorts all the way up until close to 9AM (for a 10AM opening).
> 
> If there had been a 7:05 DS bus there would have been people in line ahead of us all. And nobody came from the bus stop while we were there that I saw.
> 
> However, with a 10AM opening-maybe nobody got off the bus just because it was too early?
> 
> On a more typical 8AM or maybe even 9AM-this is a bus that is indeed used those days?



Yes, it’s used every day. I think a lot of people don’t know about it (I only know because I wondered if there was a non-Disney bus that goes to HS, the boardwalk, etc). It looks like it drops you off at the cast bus stop and you can walk from there to the HS entrance. I’ll attach a screenshot with landmarks (like the bus stop, park entrance, etc) for reference


----------



## dozermusic

dachsie said:


> Yesterday was EP for me. I had breakfast at Topolinos and then was told Skyliner would start til 11:15. I and several others did mobile orders at Boardwalk bakery so they would let us on early. Canceled the order after I got on. Lined up for temp screens and they started that around 11. Held us at the gate til about 11:20.



Could someone elaborate for me please? My plan was to take the Skyliner from Pop to HS around 9-10AM and walk over to Epcot for a 12PM opening.
I thought the Skyliner doesn’t operate to Epcot until closer to park opening and I didn’t want to deal with long lines at CBR.

I don’t mind grabbing some snacks from the bakery. So could I instead mobile order and use the Skyliner to get to Epcot around 10AM and save some walking?
Also, if this plan is okay, can my girlfriend wait in line at IG while I grab the food? Or would I not be able to get up to wherever she is as more people arrive?


----------



## Kimg88

chilly2336 said:


> If I could make a suggestion to folks who are contemplating a trip to WDW....
> 
> We were there Thanksgiving week.  We decided to go on this trip just the week before so we started from scratch exactly 5 days prior to boarding our flight.  We stayed at Holiday Inn - Disney Springs (first time at a non-Disney hotel) because the rate was 1/3 of the cost of a Disney hotel.  We either used the hotel shuttle or walked to DS or Saratoga to board a Disney bus.  We had no meal reservations as it was too late to book anything and obviously no Fastpasses.  The only thing we had to do, because we were required to do so, was book park reservations.  Once we booked the hotel we were able to get reservations for every park we wanted - visited all 4 and MK twice.  We did not rope drop for the first time ever and got to each park right around opening and stayed until close each night.  By far, on this last minute trip we rode more than we have ridden since they did away with the paper FP's and it wasn't even close.  We even left MK to have lunch at The Wave and still got everything done that we wanted.  It was easily the most relaxing trip ever because the only thing that was planned was the park we were visiting.
> 
> My suggestion would be, unless you have to have your entire day planned, to take it as it comes.  We did whatever we felt like doing whenever we felt like doing it.  We rode so many rides, ate so much food, and enjoyed being together as a family during this crazy time in the world.  Wandering aimlessly through the parks was completely foreign to us as Disney hasn't allowed that in quite a number of years but it was very welcomed once we started experiencing it and it made for a very enjoyable trip.


As much as I will miss fastpass+, I do like not having to book every experience 180 days out. The only real stress is getting on ROTR...the rest I am going to try to take as they come.  I am a planner, though, so it's been a bit weird.


----------



## disneylover102

Kimg88 said:


> As much as I will miss fastpass+, I do like not having to book every experience 180 days out. The only real stress is getting on ROTR...the rest I am going to try to take as they come.  I am a planner, though, so it's been a bit weird.


I’m with you there! It’s so weird that I planned this Disney trip just 40 days in advance, and the idea of just getting in line for whichever ride has the shortest line instead of refreshing the app constantly for FP+ is just something I haven’t quite been able to process yet, LOL


----------



## Desiree1972

Question - are they still giving you resort parking passes to place on your dashboard?
DVC staying at BLT and BWV
thanks


----------



## CarolynFH

Desiree1972 said:


> Question - are they still giving you resort parking passes to place on your dashboard?
> DVC staying at BLT and BWV
> thanks


No, when you first arrive you'll check in with the guard at the gate, who will want to see your ID.  After that, you'll use your MB (or room key card) to enter the parking lot.


----------



## cjlong88

This thread is so helpful. We have a trip schedule for February 4-7. THANK YOU to those of you posting your reports. It will be interesting to see how PH will change the way people tour the parks. We added it to our ticket and hoping it was worth the extra cost.


----------



## dachsie

dozermusic said:


> Could someone elaborate for me please? My plan was to take the Skyliner from Pop to HS around 9-10AM and walk over to Epcot for a 12PM opening.
> I thought the Skyliner doesn’t operate to Epcot until closer to park opening and I didn’t want to deal with long lines at CBR.
> 
> I don’t mind grabbing some snacks from the bakery. So could I instead mobile order and use the Skyliner to get to Epcot around 10AM and save some walking?
> Also, if this plan is okay, can my girlfriend wait in line at IG while I grab the food? Or would I not be able to get up to wherever she is as more people arrive?


I would stick with your original plan. Who knows how long they will allow it


----------



## jade1

disneylover102 said:


> Yes, it’s used every day. I think a lot of people don’t know about it (I only know because I wondered if there was a non-Disney bus that goes to HS, the boardwalk, etc). It looks like it drops you off at the cast bus stop and you can walk from there to the HS entrance. I’ll attach a screenshot with landmarks (like the bus stop, park entrance, etc) for reference



Interesting. Nobody used it last week.

They must run to all the parks correct?


----------



## jade1

disneylover102 said:


> Route 50 bus



Or Uber correct?


----------



## disneylover102

jade1 said:


> Interesting. Nobody used it last week.
> 
> They must run to all the parks correct?


Yes. Route 50 includes Disney Springs and the TTC. Route 56 doesn't go to Disney Springs, but it does go to the TTC (my Airbnb is close to a bus stop on this route). Both those routes run frequently throughout the day from very early to very late. Route 301 stops at Disney Springs and stops at the Epcot cast entrance and ends at Animal Kingdom. Route 303 also stops at Disney Springs and goes to Hollywood Studios. I'm not exactly sure where it drops people off though. Both those routes (301 and 303) only run once or twice a day, and the one that would be beneficial for rope drop leaves Disney Springs at 7:05 AM. They also stop at a few Disney resorts! (I think a couple other routes stop at more resorts)

Bus passes are $2 per ride or $16 for a 7-day unlimited pass, which I've already bought. I got all this info from this website: https://www.golynx.com/maps-schedules/routes-schedules.stml (google maps is also helpful with the bus feature)

I've never heard of anyone using public transportation to get to the parks, but I've figured this all out from the lynx website, and I'm going to try it out on my January trip and I can post in this thread how it goes.


----------



## disneylover102

jade1 said:


> Or Uber correct?


Yes, I'm sure you can also get an Uber there.


----------



## Skywalker3

We were there the week of Thanksgiving. had a wonderful trip. Tried to do as much rope dropping as usual, but also realized about halfway through the week, that it was WAY better to go back in the evenings....about 2-3 hours before closing. Wait times on the app were completely overstated for everything we went on. Like Test track said 60mins at 8:30PM , and it was an 18 min wait. we are still rope droppers, and do benefit from getting there as early as possible, riding several things, but we adjusted a bit to do rope drop, go back to resort/rest/pool/whatever, then back to parks at nights. Also mobile ordering for food was mostly good. I'd recommend still eating at off times. like we had no problems with ordering/eating at like 10:30/11:00 AM for lunch, etc. We had been been in Oct, and were already familiar with masks, line spacing, etc. I loved all the short character cavalcades. They are so fun! Enjoy them much better than parades.


----------



## jade1

Skywalker3 said:


> We were there the week of Thanksgiving. had a wonderful trip. Tried to do as much rope dropping as usual, but also realized about halfway through the week, that it was WAY better to go back in the evenings....about 2-3 hours before closing. Wait times on the app were completely overstated for everything we went on. Like Test track said 60mins at 8:30PM , and it was an 18 min wait. we are still rope droppers, and do benefit from getting there as early as possible, riding several things, but we adjusted a bit to do rope drop, go back to resort/rest/pool/whatever, then back to parks at nights. Also mobile ordering for food was mostly good. I'd recommend still eating at off times. like we had no problems with ordering/eating at like 10:30/11:00 AM for lunch, etc. WE had been been in Oct, and was already familiar with masks, line spacing, etc. I loved all the short character cavalcades. They are so fun! Enjoy them much better than parades.



I'm hoping they add after 4 hopping, would be nice to go to a different park for the evening.

Although that new incentive might build up evening crowds a bit, and therefore actual wait times through closing.


----------



## dachsie

Yesterday I went back to MK. I got the rest of the rides except 7DMT, PP and CoP. I could have done CoP later but didn’t want to. The others I just didn’t want to stand in lines anymore. I was done with them.   I left about 2 to go to Geyser point for lunch and then back to my room to rest and wash clothes and pack. I waited over an hour in the hub area around lunchtime for some cavalcade and none came by so I gave up. As I was leaving, Goofy et al were at the train station. That was the one I had not seen yet.

Came back about 5:30 just as the Dapper Dans were finishing up. Found a spot to sit on Main Street to seeif the Goofy cavalcade would come by as it’s last time was 5:45 and sure enough it came so I did finally see it and it was lit up so that was even better. Then found a seat in Hub to wait for the lights on castle. Did mobile order for Pinocchio VH and then finished watching the rest of the castle lights. Headed out after that around 8:10 or so. I could have gone to CoP during that as it was back open but elected to just rest in Hub which I enjoyed.

Overall it was a great trip. Some transportation issues I will email about when I get home but so glad I came


----------



## Befferk

jade1 said:


> I'm hoping they add after 4 hopping, would be nice to go to a different park for the evening.
> 
> Although that new incentive might build up evening crowds a bit, and therefore actual wait times through closing.



As of 1/1, you will be able to hop after 2pm.


----------



## Stefne

hereforthechurros said:


> Can anyone weigh in on boat transportation from Epcot resorts to Epcot and HS? How has it been? Long lines, distanced, are they running somewhat on time? Feels like I haven’t seen much.


We walked from Yacht Club to Epcot on the days we went so I cannot speak for the boat to that park in the morning, but when we came back to the resort in the evening we were always able to get on the first boat that came and the line was never backed up behind us.

We went to Hollywood Studios on two separate days.  On the first one we walked over and arrived about 8:45.  We had not been since the Mickey and Minnie ride opened and really wanted to be some of the first in line so we could be among the first on.  We were directed to a tent to line up and were probably about 20 groups back at our tent.  We were let through around 9:15 and headed to the ride which was down after all the effort .  We waited anyway and the ride began loading around 9:55.

By the time our second Hollywood day arrived later in the trip, we were tired and we had already gotten to do most everything we wanted to do on our first day anyway, so we decided to take the boat this time.  We arrived to HS around 9:15 right as they were beginning to let people begin temp checks.  On this particular day, they had a tent set up for us entering from the boats so we got right through with no wait and were better off that day than the day we walked it since we were first through the tent. 

We took the boats back from HS both days and got on the first boat that came both times. 

They were filling all rows of seats on the boats when we rode everytime,  but it was restricted to two people per seat, as they did not want anyone sitting on the aisle.



jade1 said:


> Yea boats at EPCOT resorts will never beat early bird walkers to EPCOT or DHS.


See my comment above.  I do not know if it is slways so, but on the day we took the boat to HS, we had our own temp check tent set up and since we were on the first boat that arrived, we ended up getting through quicker than the day we walked over and arrived a half hour earlier.


----------



## Desiree1972

Thanks again for all of your responses!  Any decorated resorts that are a must see during this season?  And any live music playing at the resorts?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Desiree1972 said:


> Thanks again for all of your responses!  Any decorated resorts that are a must see during this season?  And any live music playing at the resorts?


We love seeing the giant tree at the Grand Floridian and the piano player returned yesterday.


----------



## Desiree1972

scrappinginontario said:


> We love seeing the giant tree at the Grand Floridian and the piano player returned yesterday.


hooray for a piano player!  thanks


----------



## Skywalker3

Desiree1972 said:


> Thanks again for all of your responses!  Any decorated resorts that are a must see during this season?  And any live music playing at the resorts?



My daughter and I did some resort hopping to look at decorations. We were staying at BWV, so started there, then went to Wilderness Lodge. That was so pretty,and I'd never seen it at CHristmas...really hadn't been there in many years. Then took some pictures at Contemporary, Poly, and Grand Floridian. GF was beautiful too. Back to BCV, which had a good tree, and then BwV again. Favorites were WL, GF, and BWV. Took awhile to get around everywhere, but we had fun.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

Looks like Expedition Everest has been down most of the day today in the MDE app at AK. Anyone there know what is going on with the ride?


----------



## disneylover102

Some random questions: 
1. Where exactly is security at the TTC (last time I went was in 2016 and that’s when it was just at the MK after you got off the monorail)? When do they typically start? 
2. When do the monorail and ferry to MK typically start running? 
3. Can you walk from the TTC to the Polynesian without having to go through security?


----------



## disneylover102

DisneyNDecember said:


> Looks like Expedition Everest has been down most of the day today in the MDE app at AK. Anyone there know what is going on with the ride?


I was wondering that too! It looks like today wasn’t too great for rides... EE was down all day and ROTR only got through about 20 or 25 BGs!


----------



## boop0524

Our trip has ended, but it was wonderful and such a needed magical escape. Wanted to add that we, probably like everyone else, spent a lot of off time at Disney Springs. It was really one of the only other places outside the parks we felt they cared and were taking great precautions. Plus it was festive, there’s lots of good food and shopping. Our highlights were The Polite Pig and Boathouse. I also nerded out meeting Chef Amanda from The Ganachary. The weekdays and lunchtime were best and when we had the easiest time shopping, especially at the Disney store.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

boop0524 said:


> Our trip has ended, but it was wonderful and such a needed magical escape. Wanted to add that we, probably like everyone else, spent a lot of off time at Disney Springs. It was really one of the only other places outside the parks we felt they cared and were taking great precautions. Plus it was festive, there’s lots of good food and shopping. Our highlights were The Polite Pig and Boathouse. I also nerded out meeting Chef Amanda from The Ganachary. The weekdays and lunchtime were best and when we had the easiest time shopping, especially at the Disney store.



I don’t get why they can do the snow at Disney Springs and not at DHS or MK?


----------



## boop0524

DisneyNDecember said:


> I don’t get why they can do the snow at Disney Springs and not at DHS or MK?



We saw snow at HS but it was minimal. None at MK


----------



## jsmla

Here’s a TR I did on my visit to DHS yesterday morning with times and pix.  I am avoiding indoor dining, longer queues, long indoor attractions (like RotR) and shows.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/my-morning-at-dhs-live-ish.3819782/


----------



## monkeydawn

hereforthechurros said:


> Not sure I buy that argument. Telling someone that there’s no fireworks so don’t come if you demand fireworks is totally okay. But telling people to be ready for a guessing game each day - while paying full price - is not okay. *To stay safest we need to be able to plan *accordingly for dining and transportation and it feels like wdw is just focused on pinching pennies.



I'd argue the exact opposite is true.  An unwavering schedule means more people lining up.  By keeping everyone guessing it does disperse the crowds a bit.  Its the same reasoning for the surprise cavalcades verses the regular parades.  I believe Disney even said as much in the very beginning.


----------



## DMLAINI

Transportation sounds crazy.   Can we Uber to The Contemporary if we have a mobile order,  pick it up,  & walk to MK?


----------



## yulilin3

DMLAINI said:


> Transportation sounds crazy.   Can we Uber to The Contemporary if we have a mobile order,  pick it up,  & walk to MK?


Some have reported this has worked


----------



## What-r-ya Goofy?

[Q


Skywalker3 said:


> My daughter and I did some resort hopping to look at decorations. We were staying at BWV, so started there, then went to Wilderness Lodge. That was so pretty,and I'd never seen it at CHristmas...really hadn't been there in many years. Then took some pictures at Contemporary, Poly, and Grand Floridian. GF was beautiful too. Back to BCV, which had a good tree, and then BwV again. Favorites were WL, GF, and BWV. Took awhile to get around everywhere, but we had fun.


Have they eased up on resort hopping restrictions during the holidays?


----------



## princesslover

boop0524 said:


> Our trip has ended, but it was wonderful and such a needed magical escape. Wanted to add that we, probably like everyone else, spent a lot of off time at Disney Springs. It was really one of the only other places outside the parks we felt they cared and were taking great precautions. Plus it was festive, there’s lots of good food and shopping. Our highlights were The Polite Pig and Boathouse. I also nerded out meeting Chef Amanda from The Ganachary. The weekdays and lunchtime were best and when we had the easiest time shopping, especially at the Disney store.



Thank you for sharing but I have to admit this surprises me. Most other groups I am part of has said DS is a madhouse and to avoid.  We had planned on skipping entirely.  Perhaps weekends should be avoided?  I would like to get a clearer picture of this.


----------



## princesslover

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. This thread is super helpful.

what is the consensus on the necessity of RD for Epcot?  We are planning RDing MK, Ak, and DHS but have been considering a more laid back approach to Epcot just to have some days we aren’t rushing. Maybe even having a nice breakfast at a resort before heading over?   Would this be a disaster? FWIW we don’t ride Frozen (a one and done for us) but do enjoy TT and Soarin. Thanks for any input. Ya’ll are great!!


----------



## Victoria3

princesslover said:


> Thank you for sharing but I have to admit this surprises me. Most other groups I am part of has said DS is a madhouse and to avoid.  We had planned on skipping entirely.  Perhaps weekends should be avoided?  I would like to get a clearer picture of this.


I enjoy visiting Disney Springs during the week. It's the weekends I avoid at all cost.


----------



## Skywalker3

What-r-ya Goofy? said:


> [Q
> 
> Have they eased up on resort hopping restrictions during the holidays?



I guess so. We only used Disney transportation to get around. Bus, boat, monorail, walking. I think they still won't let you just drive to various resorts. We took bus from BWV to AK (the MK bus was full) bus from AK to WL, boat from WL to MK. monorail to Contemporary, monorail to TTC, walk to Poly, walk to GF, walk on new walkway to MK, (rather hot! but we were also wearing our Christmas sweaters,)  bus to BC. walk back to BWV. it was a long morning/early afternoon. but fun. boat ride from WL was the best. 
The only time I thought someone might ask, was when we walked into GF. greeters were out, I think wanting to check us in? They didn't stop us though. None of the resort lobbies were very busy.


----------



## samantha3590

DMLAINI said:


> Transportation sounds crazy.   Can we Uber to The Contemporary if we have a mobile order,  pick it up,  & walk to MK?


This is what I’m planning to do next week for MK! It’s an 8 am opening and I want to RD so I don’t want to take a chance!


----------



## DisneyNDecember

disneylover102 said:


> I was wondering that too! It looks like today wasn’t too great for rides... EE was down all day and ROTR only got through about 20 or 25 BGs!


Expedition Everest still shows closed this morning on the app.
I sure hope they get the problem resolved, it showed down on the MDE app almost all day yesterday.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

boop0524 said:


> We saw snow at HS but it was minimal. None at MK



it is soap, if it does not cause groups of people at DHS or Disney Springs, turn on the machines at Magic Kingdom.


----------



## FinallyFL

Deleted


----------



## FinallyFL

princesslover said:


> Thank you all for sharing your experiences. This thread is super helpful.
> 
> what is the consensus on the necessity of RD for Epcot?  We are planning RDing MK, Ak, and DHS but have been considering a more laid back approach to Epcot just to have some days we aren’t rushing. Maybe even having a nice breakfast at a resort before heading over?   Would this be a disaster? FWIW we don’t ride Frozen (a one and done for us) but do enjoy TT and Soarin. Thanks for any input. Ya’ll are great!!


Until Christmas week, Epcot opens at noon during the week and 11am on the weekends so it's already a pretty late start wrt to the other parks.


----------



## What-r-ya Goofy?

Skywalker3 said:


> I guess so. We only used Disney transportation to get around. Bus, boat, monorail, walking. I think they still won't let you just drive to various resorts. We took bus from BWV to AK (the MK bus was full) bus from AK to WL, boat from WL to MK. monorail to Contemporary, monorail to TTC, walk to Poly, walk to GF, walk on new walkway to MK, (rather hot! but we were also wearing our Christmas sweaters,)  bus to BC. walk back to BWV. it was a long morning/early afternoon. but fun. boat ride from WL was the best.
> The only time I thought someone might ask, was when we walked into GF. greeters were out, I think wanting to check us in? They didn't stop us though. None of the resort lobbies were very busy.


Nice workaround!

I remember doing a park to resort transfer like that a few years ago. We went to the MK early one morning with the intent of catching a resort bus to wherever we were going. We waited at the bus stop for a while before the bus coordinator came over to ask where we were going? Apparently they don't get a lot of guests leaving the MK that early in the morning. They were very nice in accommodating us. I think we had a bus to ourselves for the ride!


----------



## disneylover102

DisneyNDecember said:


> Expedition Everest still shows closed this morning on the app.
> I sure hope they get the problem resolved, it showed down on the MDE app almost all day yesterday.


Don’t worry, who needs EE when TriceraTop spin only has a 15 minute wait?


----------



## disneygirlsng

What-r-ya Goofy? said:


> [Q
> 
> Have they eased up on resort hopping restrictions during the holidays?


Resort hopping restrictions are the same as they have been since the parks reopened. If you take Disney transportation you can go wherever you want. If you are driving/Ubering you should have some kind of reservation/mobile order.


----------



## scrappinginontario

What-r-ya Goofy? said:


> [Q
> 
> Have they eased up on resort hopping restrictions during the holidays?


If you use Disney transportation you can freely move between resorts.  Driving is another story as you will be required to have a reservation.


----------



## YayforMickey

I don't understand how Hollywood Studios was so much more crowded yesterday when they are at capacity pretty much every day. Seems like it should always be the same crowd level unless Disney is not keeping their 35% cap in place. I am very nervous about my trip in a week and a half.


----------



## disneylover102

YayforMickey said:


> I don't understand how Hollywood Studios was so much more crowded yesterday when they are at capacity pretty much every day. Seems like it should always be the same crowd level unless Disney is not keeping their 35% cap in place. I am very nervous about my trip in a week and a half.


Where did you hear it was more crowded yesterday?


----------



## mom2rtk

YayforMickey said:


> I don't understand how Hollywood Studios was so much more crowded yesterday when they are at capacity pretty much every day. Seems like it should always be the same crowd level unless Disney is not keeping their 35% cap in place. I am very nervous about my trip in a week and a half.


Didn’t they have a lot of trouble with the rise of the resistance yesterday? Maybe it was just more people circulating instead of being in a line.


----------



## Skywalker3

One of our HS days week before last, RnRC was down all day. Seemed to make ToT a LOT longer. Since Rise was down almost all day, maybe more people just hanging around doing other stuff??? If I'd had  BG probably would've stayed in HS waiting...and waiting. I feel so sorry for all the folks who couldn't get on after the excitement of getting a BG. We missed riding RnRC, but that's not the same as missing RotR. Also, we had good luck much later in the evening for rides. about an hour before closing, walked right onto MMRR. Earlier I'd waited about 30 mins in the sun for my other ride. THat still wasn't as long as the posted wait, but it was hot. Better for that one in the evening. Also Star Tours was walk on (posted 25 mins,)


----------



## YayforMickey

disneylover102 said:


> Where did you hear it was more crowded yesterday?


In a few different threads. People who have been coming often said that yesterday was the first time they felt unsafe. This thread has the most information about it that I've seen: Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus (under Disney Rumors and News).



mom2rtk said:


> Didn’t they have a lot of trouble with the rise of the resistance yesterday? Maybe it was just more people circulating instead of being in a line.


That makes sense. I hope they can get it working better soon.


----------



## disneylover102

YayforMickey said:


> In a few different threads. People who have been coming often said that yesterday was the first time they felt unsafe.
> 
> 
> That makes sense. I hope they can get it working better soon.


It seems to be fine today


----------



## WEDWDW

Victoria3 said:


> I enjoy visiting Disney Springs during the week. It's the weekends I avoid at all cost.


Definitely,the Springs was closed due to Capacity last night.


----------



## Delilah1310

Can someone tell about the current in-park bag policy? Or point me to a link?
I am trying to determine if there are any restrictions about what I can bring in or how it needs to be carried.

I can't see to find anything but I am perhaps not using the best search terms?
thanking in advance!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Delilah1310 said:


> Can someone tell about the current in-park bag policy? Or point me to a link?
> I am trying to determine if there are any restrictions about what I can bring in or how it needs to be carried.
> 
> I can't see to find anything but I am perhaps not using the best search terms?
> thanking in advance!


Can you please clarify what you mean by  'restrictions of what you can bring or how it needs to be carried?'  Not really sure what you're asking.

Items that are prohibited in Disney parks has not changed.


----------



## Delilah1310

scrappinginontario said:


> Can you please clarify what you mean by  'restrictions of what you can bring or how it needs to be carried?'  Not really sure what you're asking.
> 
> Items that are prohibited in Disney parks has not changed.



Thanks  - sorry I was not clear. 
Restrictions about the bag itself more so than the items it carries.
Specifically -

 can you still carry a backpack?
does it need to be clear, like some sporting events?
do they inspect the bag differently at security so they aren't touching it?
do I need to remove some of the contents of bag for security and if so, what kind of contents? should those be bagged differently?
Thanks!


----------



## hereforthechurros

monkeydawn said:


> I'd argue the exact opposite is true.  An unwavering schedule means more people lining up.  By keeping everyone guessing it does disperse the crowds a bit.  Its the same reasoning for the surprise cavalcades verses the regular parades.  I believe Disney even said as much in the very beginning.


Do you believe that’s their strategy? Wouldn’t people be lined up for rope drop regardless of what Disney decides to do with transportation that day? I would think running transport later (10:30 am for Epcot instead of 10 am) is just asking for crowding.


----------



## Cindy70

samantha3590 said:


> This is what I’m planning to do next week for MK! It’s an 8 am opening and I want to RD so I don’t want to take a chance!


I’m hoping to do the same.  I had a Wave ADR, but that doesn’t help me anymore with the 8am start.  When will you place your order?  Do you know how early we can access the mobile order page?  Thanks for any insight you may have!


----------



## HiStitch626

Nothing new - no alcohol or loose ice.  No wagons.


Property Rules, Policies & Regulations | Walt Disney World Resort (go.com)


----------



## yulilin3

YayforMickey said:


> I don't understand how Hollywood Studios was so much more crowded yesterday when they are at capacity pretty much every day. Seems like it should always be the same crowd level unless Disney is not keeping their 35% cap in place. I am very nervous about my trip in a week and a half.


DHS is not at capacity everyday


----------



## Naomeri

Delilah1310 said:


> Thanks  - sorry I was not clear.
> Restrictions about the bag itself more so than the items it carries.
> Specifically -
> 
> can you still carry a backpack?
> does it need to be clear, like some sporting events?
> do they inspect the bag differently at security so they aren't touching it?
> do I need to remove some of the contents of bag for security and if so, what kind of contents? should those be bagged differently?
> Thanks!


Nothing has changed about the kind of bag you can bring.  Now you just walk through a scanner with your bag on.  The only things you have to take out are umbrellas, metal water bottles or sunglasses cases, battery packs.  No need to bag them different, they just need to see them while you walk through.  It’s SO much faster than it used to be!


----------



## teach22180

hereforthechurros said:


> Do you believe that’s their strategy? Wouldn’t people be lined up for rope drop regardless of what Disney decides to do with transportation that day? I would think running transport later (10:30 am for Epcot instead of 10 am) is just asking for crowding.


They stagger everything so the parks are open when the parking lots open and the Disney transportation drops you off. The only line will be for any walkers. It's to keep us safe, but it's frustrating if you like to know you're first.


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

Apologize if already reported, but today at MK RD, lined us up in queues outside of ride queue. And at BTMMR, atleast, didn't let us into ride queue until 7:55.
SDMT was a lonnnnggg line, also outside of ride queue, hence the BTMRR for us. 
As we passed PP CM was telling everyone 8AM opening.
This was at 7:30ish.
As always, YMMV.


----------



## disneylover102

Well, idk what was up with EE, but it’s back up... at a 120 minute wait.


----------



## Slakk

It seems like the parks are way more crowded this weekend then Thanksgiving.  We are headed there on Friday and I have been checking wait times and this weekend at least on the app looked INSANE.  I am glad we will be there mostly during the week but the ride wait times look like normal at the moment.  I assume it is because they are only partial capacity but wowza


----------



## boop0524

princesslover said:


> Thank you for sharing but I have to admit this surprises me. Most other groups I am part of has said DS is a madhouse and to avoid.  We had planned on skipping entirely.  Perhaps weekends should be avoided?  I would like to get a clearer picture of this.



Hmm maybe a matter of timing. We went after Thanksgiving and before the big holiday rush. Also went mostly during the week and day hours. We did not find it a madhouse at all


----------



## samantha3590

Cindy70 said:


> I’m hoping to do the same.  I had a Wave ADR, but that doesn’t help me anymore with the 8am start.  When will you place your order?  Do you know how early we can access the mobile order page?  Thanks for any insight you may have!


It looks like Contempo Cafe opens at 7 am so I plan to do a mobile order on my way over in the Uber hopefully around 7-715ish and then walk from there!


----------



## Cindy70

samantha3590 said:


> It looks like Contempo Cafe opens at 7 am so I plan to do a mobile order on my way over in the Uber hopefully around 7-715ish and then walk from there!


Great, thanks!


----------



## JulieBeeRN

We’ve been here since Nov 28th and yesterday “felt” the busiest.    That being said, we did walk onto the Haunted Mansion twice without waiting.


----------



## pangyal

So...now that they have extended the hours for the next little while, what is the general thinking about whether they will “unofficially” open an hour before those times? We are heading to DHS tomorrow and it’s posted as a 9am opening, but I’m really struggling with what time to plan on getting there.


----------



## Carla1183

Ak today, such a great day! 
We drove and arrived at parking at 715 right as light turned green. Some cars in front of us but not a ton. Went straight to FOP and walked right through to the ride without stopping (and having only fast passed it we were tempted to stop!). We did both FOP and Navi by 830, and Navi was our longest line of the day at 30 mins. 

Everest was down 3p yesterday until 1ish today, so afternoon Everest rates were nuts 70-120 mins. We waited until 7ish and wait time went down to 30 posted and only about 15 actual. 

We did every single thing in the park except kali (hate being wet) and ended up doing FOP twice bc we hopped back in line at closing (and only waited around 10 mins!) 

Mobile order worked really well, we ordered an hour or 2 before when in line for rides. Plenty of seating at flame tree and satuli. 

Africa area around harambe was a little bananas in afternoon but otherwise distancing not bad, and we found we didn't need the relaxation areas bc we'd grab a snack and sit down at a table for ice cream or beer and use that break. 

Love the Christmas tree light up popcorn bucket! 

My one tip was that mask tape from Amazon was a life saver! Kept my glasses from fogging and put on my son so I didn't have to keep popping his over his nose. It does make your mask kind of suck into your mouth as you breathe but if you can get used to it its so nice to have your mask held firm in place. 

Mk tomorrow...holler if you have questions!


----------



## iupui1299

We did HS today. Got boarding group 71 from hotel room (data).....Speedtested the entire room and stood in the best spot lol. Left Kidani village around 8:00. Nobody on bus to HS. Got right through temp check and easily into HS at around 8:22.  Walked straight to Slinky Dog and once the ride started waited about 15 mins. Had a great day.....rode MFSR, MMRR, Rise of the Resistance, TT, RR, TSM (twice), Saucers, Muppets, Slinky (twice), Star Tours and ended the day at Sci-Fi. There were plenty of people there for sure but didn’t seem terrible. Lines looked long but moved quickly. We rode everything we wanted and I even did Savvis Lightsaber Experience. Mobile order works perfectly!  Used that for a Morning Ronto Wrap and some frozen hot chocolate at ABC.  Awesome day!


----------



## monkeydawn

hereforthechurros said:


> Do you believe that’s their strategy? Wouldn’t people be lined up for rope drop regardless of what Disney decides to do with transportation that day? I would think running transport later (10:30 am for Epcot instead of 10 am) is just asking for crowding.


I dont want to delve too far in theoreticals since this is an actuals thread but, yes, I believe its very possible that Disney is staggering transportation starts, park openings and ride start times in an unpredictable fashion in light of the fact that I recall Disney stating that one of the safety aspects they were implementing was the smaller, unpredictable cavalcades to prevent crowding.  To bring it back around to actual experiences, unpredictable staggering is certainly what people are experiencing and what should be planned on.  No guarantees right now, if thats a deal breaker then perhaps Disney isnt the right vacation right now (not directly aimed at you hereforthechurros, to anyone that cant deal with that level of uncertainty).


----------



## jsmla

Magic Kingdom Sunday 12/6

Hours were 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.  I headed down to the Pop bus stop 6:30ish and was the third party in the queue.  Ten minutes later the normal queue area was full and beginning to straggle down the sidewalk.  A mega-bus pulled up at 6:44 and everyone got on.









I was in the line for temperature screening by 7:05.  At 7:10 we were allowed through temp screen and security but were held outside the gate until 7:15.








TBC


----------



## jsmla

Magic Kingdom Sunday 12/6 (continued)




I was in line for Mine Train at 7:22.  We were held in the outside queue until the ride began operation at 7:30.  I was on the second train of the day.


Peter Pan was up and running at 7:40 and was a walk-on.






Big Thunder was next.  It hadn‘t opened yet at 7:52, the line was held outside until 7:57.  Both tracks were running and it was basically a walk on.



At 8:15 Haunted Mansion was showing a 10 minute wait but there was no line at all.  I was on and off by 8:23.



8:30 a.m.
Winnie the Pooh was a walk on as were Buzz Lightyear and AstroOrbiter.








9:00 a.m.
Took a break at the tables across from The Plaza and watched the Dapper Dans Christmas caroling from the horse trolley.





No wait for Little Mermaid at 9:20. 



By 9:30 I’d done everything I’d planned on doing.  When I was planning this trip I did so with the understanding that I’d only be in the parks a couple of hours at a time.  Due to COVID I’m avoiding longer lines (especially the indoor variety), long indoor rides (things like RotR) and shows.  Still, I finished up in the MK even earlier than I was expecting.


----------



## eva

We were at WDW Nov 28 to Dec 5. We had a great time and found the lines very manageable. Love the new scanners at the entrances. Just walked on through with no issues. Some days the parks were very deserted. We didn’t do any rope drops and found waits for rides were never an issue. AK last Monday was a ghost town. We rode FOP three times, never waiting more than 20 minutes. Epcot on Tuesday we walked on to every ride, except Frozen. MK and HS seemed more crowded when walking around. But we still never waited more than 30 minutes for a ride. By Friday the crowds were picking up a bit. But wait times were still pretty good. All wait times but one were very inflated. FOP said 45 minutes and we waited 17. Most of the rides were like that. They would have wait times listed between 45 and 60 minutes, but take only 15 or 20.


----------



## hlrubin507

princesslover said:


> Thank you for sharing but I have to admit this surprises me. Most other groups I am part of has said DS is a madhouse and to avoid.  We had planned on skipping entirely.  Perhaps weekends should be avoided?  I would like to get a clearer picture of this.


I was at DS yesterday (Sunday 12/6).  We got there about 1:15pm, had a 2pm reservation for the Boathouse.  In the afternoon it was busy but not crazy.  By the time we left at 6pm it was a MADHOUSE.  Impossible to physically distance.  I think the evenings must be the busiest.  Mask compliance was good, but I did not see a single CM out and about enforcing anything.  They seemed to all be tied up managing the queue at World of Disney.  The World of Disney store was fine in terms of spacing of people.  They opened up a virtual queue at 2pm and I got a text when we were allowed to go in.  When we arrived at DS at 1:15 there was a loooong line and no VQ.  We got about 3 trees into the Christmas Tree stroll and had to leave, it was just too busy for my personal comfort zone (which is pretty liberal).


----------



## hereforthechurros

monkeydawn said:


> I dont want to delve too far in theoreticals since this is an actuals thread but, yes, I believe its very possible that Disney is staggering transportation starts, park openings and ride start times in an unpredictable fashion in light of the fact that I recall Disney stating that one of the safety aspects they were implementing was the smaller, unpredictable cavalcades to prevent crowding.  To bring it back around to actual experiences, unpredictable staggering is certainly what people are experiencing and what should be planned on.  No guarantees right now, if thats a deal breaker then perhaps Disney isnt the right vacation right now (not directly aimed at you hereforthechurros, to anyone that cant deal with that level of uncertainty).


Staggered openings are completely strategic and I respect/like that. It's the different transport times each day that I am not quite understanding, if it's purposeful. If I want to make MK rope drop, I'm going to head to the bus station early regardless of what time things are actually running that day. So if you expect a bus at 8 am for a 9 am opening, but the bus doesn't show up until 8:30 am, you're risking crowding at the bus stop from the large group of people trying to make rope drop that typically expect a bus one hour before park opening. Not saying how dare WDW not be perfect right now, but if they're creating confusion via unpredictable transportation schedules is that because it saves them money in transportation costs, or for safety purposes?

In a time where Disney is hurting for guests, especially on-site guests that would use park transportation, not sure the "don't like it, don't come" helps anyone.


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## kelscross

We arrived early Sat 12/5. MK before noon. It had crowds but we would just move away from people and kept our own distance. When I say crowds nothing like pre-Covid but much more than early re-opening. Never felt unsafe. Honestly if you think it’s going to be empty and not pass people when waking through the parks makes you feel unsafe then it won’t work for you. The cavalcades are cute and hard to distance we just stepped back. Lines in MK people didn’t follow directions and would be all up on you so I did have to say something to people nicely time to time. Wait times were less than posted. Example space mountain had 55 mins we were on and off little over 30. Transport worked out fine from Pop. A few noses peeking out here and there and people still walked around eating CMS said nothing but again I just stepped away.

EPCOT yesterday was BUSY but again we kept our own distance. Ride lines people seem to follow directions better. Honestly disappointed in EPCOT. I knew several things not operating in the countries but disappointed in the lack of decor and holiday feel. Again lines less than posted except Frozen. 100 mins we skipped it not a must do for us.

HS today we got BG 30 from resort. Rope dropped and had MMRR, all of toy story done before 10am. Came back to eat and rest and about to head out again.


----------



## Tormania

eva said:


> We were at WDW Nov 28 to Dec 5. We had a great time and found the lines very manageable. Love the new scanners at the entrances. Just walked on through with no issues. Some days the parks were very deserted. We didn’t do any rope drops and found waits for rides were never an issue. AK last Monday was a ghost town. We rode FOP three times, never waiting more than 20 minutes. Epcot on Tuesday we walked on to every ride, except Frozen. MK and HS seemed more crowded when walking around. But we still never waited more than 30 minutes for a ride. By Friday the crowds were picking up a bit. But wait times were still pretty good. All wait times but one were very inflated. FOP said 45 minutes and we waited 17. Most of the rides were like that. They would have wait times listed between 45 and 60 minutes, but take only 15 or 20.



We were at WDW the exact same time frame as you and didn't have quite as short lines as you experienced but I agree that the crowds were manageable and I don't feel like we waited an excessive amount for any particular attraction.  We could have been more strict with our touring plan to really maximize rides but we were a large group of 10 spanning 3 generations so that wasn't a necessity and over all our days we did pretty much all we wanted, although I once again failed to stop by Hall of Presidents and the kids in our group (age 7-14) didn't want to bother with the Barn Stormer, but otherwise rode everything else in all the parks for the most part.  We also found posted wait times to be inflated most of the time but a few times they were closer to accurate.


----------



## dachsie

disneygirlsng said:


> Resort hopping restrictions are the same as they have been since the parks reopened. If you take Disney transportation you can go wherever you want. If you are driving/Ubering you should have some kind of reservation/mobile order.





scrappinginontario said:


> If you use Disney transportation you can freely move between resorts.  Driving is another story as you will be required to have a reservation.


Unless its the skyliner in the mornings - they won't let you hop past CBR without a valid reason


----------



## HiStitch626

Please elaborate.  We were planning on going to Epcot and thought we would have breakfast at Riviera. But because there is no bus to Epcot at that hour we were going to take the bus to the studios and then take the Skyliner to Riviera. Are you saying that we cannot do that in the morning?


----------



## DL1WDW2

Sounds very confusing.


----------



## dachsie

HiStitch626 said:


> Please elaborate.  We were planning on going to Epcot and thought we would have breakfast at Riviera. But because there is no bus to Epcot at that hour we were going to take the bus to the studios and then take the Skyliner to Riviera. Are you saying that we cannot do that in the morning?


If you have an ADR you will be allowed thru.  I had an ADR at topolino's and the DVC folks told me I should take a ride on skyliner to Pop and back.  Since I had the time I did.  When I got back to CBR, they stopped me and didnt want to let me back there.  I told them my car was at Riviera because I had an ADR at Topolinos and had to show them the ADR on my phone.  Then he said - it was at 8:30 and I said yea but my CAR is there so they finally let me back on


----------



## jenniferahardin87

samantha3590 said:


> This is what I’m planning to do next week for MK! It’s an 8 am opening and I want to RD so I don’t want to take a chance!


Can I uber to Contemporary if i am staying off-site? is a mobile order still needed? Thanks!


----------



## Aimeedyan

jenniferahardin87 said:


> Can I uber to Contemporary if i am staying off-site? is a mobile order still needed? Thanks!



It's just going to depend on the guard at the time. We have never had an issue dropping people off, stopping there to shop, etc without a reservation or mobile order but others have had issues. 

Since Uber is displayed in the car, I think it's pretty obvious you aren't actually parking there but they may ask why you want to be there.

To be proactive, I might place a mobile order to show the guard and then it's up to you whether you want to actually grab food there or cancel it after you're dropped off.


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## Carla1183

Mk today, ill admit it felt packed to me! I was prepared for it to from research but still felt like a huge crush of people compared to our visit a couple of years ago. I think just without characters or shows to eat people almost all 35% are standing in the streets and its a LOT. 

We pulled up at the parking gates at 705, were pet in at 715, parked, monorail, in park around 730 or 740? Went to SDMT and posted wait was 45 mins. We knew it wouldn't be shorter all day so we did it anyway and it was more like 20 or 25 minutes. 

We did some things that all showed 5 minute waits after that but were actually more like 15. Its funny we found things with very short wait posted were always longer. Things with very long waits posted were usually shorter than posted. Not sure if thats Disney purposely trying to drive crowds to certain things or from people reacting to what is reported and causing the difference. 

It rained around 11, but didn't seem to shorten the lines any. From probably 10-5 or so almost everything was over 20 minutes, with anything 'big' being 50+. 

But I will say, we still had an awesome day! Open to close and we got in SDMT, all of Tomorrowland (space mountain twice!), splash, btmr, teacups, barnstormer, haunted mansion, pooh, tree house, magic carpets, tiki room, small world, and lunch at LTT. 

My one note is do not plan to hit emporium on way out. We popped over there at 6 and the line was wrapped all the way past crystal palace.  
Wish we'd gone earlier in day, hope they have some of the Disney babies at epcot or HS bc my son is going to be so sad if we missed our chance when they were everywhere at AK!


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## disneylover102

I know Disney Springs doesn't "officially" open until 10, but can you still walk around even when the stores aren't open?


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## monkeydawn

hereforthechurros said:


> Staggered openings are completely strategic and I respect/like that. It's the different transport times each day that I am not quite understanding, if it's purposeful. If I want to make MK rope drop,* I'm going to head to the bus station early regardless of what time things are actually running that day. *So if you expect a bus at 8 am for a 9 am opening, but the bus doesn't show up until 8:30 am, you're risking crowding at the bus stop from the large group of people trying to make rope drop that typically expect a bus one hour before park opening. Not saying how dare WDW not be perfect right now, but if they're creating confusion via unpredictable transportation schedules is that because it saves them money in transportation costs, or for safety purposes?
> 
> In a time where Disney is hurting for guests, especially on-site guests that would use park transportation, not sure the "don't like it, don't come" helps anyone.



And yet we see there are other guests that will choose other modes of transportation because the bus schedule is unpredictable.  Beyond that we've seen in this thread that there will be guests that change their mode of transportation after choosing the busses when they dont show up by a certain time.  Its not perfect but Disney has been clear that they dont want crowding.  Keeping things unpredictable is a way to help mitigate crowding.  

The point of this whole thread is to report how things are right now and to help people decide if they can deal with what is going on.  Like it or not, believe that it is by design or not, it *is* what is going on right now.  So it helps the people that have come to this thread looking for what kinds of things might be deal breakers.


----------



## yulilin3

disneylover102 said:


> I know Disney Springs doesn't "officially" open until 10, but can you still walk around even when the stores aren't open?


Not until security and scanners open,  there's no set times when that happens


----------



## shu24

We enjoyed our 7 day trip. Cast members at Pop Century were wonderful. Even the mousekeeping staff which I have complained of not being very magical before were friendly and welcoming. We actually liked the line markers vs. being crowded together in lines. Loved mobile ordering as well.  We had a great skipper for Jingle Cruise and a great safari driver as well.

Cast members in the parks were lacking typical Disney magic though. It made us sad for those that might have been first time visitors. From a miserable CM at the MK bakery who was downright nasty to shoppers (I complained to a manager, if Disney is cutting jobs then they should let him go first) to bus drivers that didn't respond to 'Good Morning" or even "Thank you"- just not the same WDW right now.  I noticed a LOT of 'earning my ears' ribbons on name tags so it must be a shift from full time CMs to part time by Disney since we know they are cutting jobs. There was a CM that was giving 2 new CMs orientation in Star Wars gift shops in the middle of the day which was holding up the lines even further- such a dumb management decision.  I overheard a cast member tell a guest that they couldn't throw trash away in a garbage can he was standing in front of (he was managing a gift shop line) and that she would have to find another??? 

On the part of guests- I think I was the only person that gave my Magical Express drivers tips. My luggage was close to the last to be pulled both times that I traveled and so I watched most of the other passengers. I thought that was sort of terrible. I used Bell Services twice and I seemed to be the only one tipping there, too.


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## jsmla

Park Opening at Epcot

Monday, December 7
12:00 p.m. official opening

I left my room at Pop at 9:50 and walked over to the Skyliner heading to Epcot via DHS.  This isn’t something I’d do under ordinary circumstances but I really, really, really want to ride Soarin’ and I’m concerned about avoiding a long, indoor queue.  Soarin’ and Flight of Passage are the only two things that I’m willing to be inside for that long for but, even as a walk-on, they come close to violating my self imposed time restrictions.  As far as COVID goes, I’m fine with a longish but solitary walk out in the open; standing around while stationary, indoors and near(ish) a bunch of strangers, breathing in their used air, not so much.  The Skyliner service to DHS began hours before Epcot and I hoped to catch it during a lull after the opening rush, walk over to Epcot and be one of the first in line there.

There were no lines at either Pop or Caribbean Beach.  It was a quick trip to DHS, and a lonely walk over to Epcot.  By 10:30 I was in line for the Epcot temperature screening.  There was probably 30 or so people ahead of me.






At 10:45 we were moved into the covered queue at the Friendship dock.  Temp screening began at 10:52 but we were held outside the gate until 11:05 just as the first Skyliner riders arrived.  It was chilly with misty rain, not ideal standing around weather.  







It was a solitary walk over to The Land.  Outside CMs were warning people that the attractions wouldn’t open until 12:00.  I didn’t listen and wished I had.





I ended up waiting 20 minutes which is waaay beyond my self-imposed time limit for an indoor line.  It seemed like every time I was ready to bail we’d move forward and I would think, “This is it!”  We started in the area with the benches near the exit, where the old FastPass machines used to be.  We waited here about 5 minutes then moved into the corridor where we waited for 15.  Everyone near me was great with compliance but I was uncomfortable.  I try to limit my time in line (especially an inside, stationary line) to less than ten minutes.





The posted wait was 5 minutes when I exited, I should have waited outside, lesson learned.


At noon the waits for things like Spaceship Earth and Nemo were minimal but I’d had enough of line angst and headed to the World Showcase.

Except for the area around Norway WS was very quiet.  I stopped and watched the Voices of Liberty Christmas show.  I sat near the back and there was, literally, no one within 50 feet of me.  The whole area was pretty empty but it was still kind of cold and grey out.  I sat outside the Rose and Crown and had a beer.  Santa Claus rolled by.






The plan was to stroll around the WS sampling the food festival goodies but I was pretty disappointed in the selection.  It was also continuing chilly and damp and after an hour or so I gave up and headed back to Pop.


----------



## Raemama

samantha3590 said:


> This is what I’m planning to do next week for MK! It’s an 8 am opening and I want to RD so I don’t want to take a chance!


Would love to know how this goes for you. Thanks!


----------



## Orion Nebula

Going through the more recent posts it seems so hit and miss. I am wondering if the hits are happening more during the week than not? I think what bothers me the most is we are at the traditionally lesser crowded time. So I wonder how things will be going forward.


----------



## JulieBeeRN

Carla1183 said:


> My one note is do not plan to hit emporium on way out. We popped over there at 6 and the line was wrapped all the way past crystal palace.
> Wish we'd gone earlier in day, hope they have some of the Disney babies at epcot or HS bc my son is going to be so sad if we missed our chance when they were everywhere at AK!




Agreed!   I would say that typically from 5p - close, there were long lines for the emporium and the bakery.    Best time to shop (for us) was late morning/early afternoon.     I will queue for a lot of stuff, but not for shopping.


----------



## yulilin3

shu24 said:


> We enjoyed our 7 day trip. Cast members at Pop Century were wonderful. Even the mousekeeping staff which I have complained of not being very magical before were friendly and welcoming. We actually liked the line markers vs. being crowded together in lines. Loved mobile ordering as well.  We had a great skipper for Jingle Cruise and a great safari driver as well.
> 
> Cast members in the parks were lacking typical Disney magic though. It made us sad for those that might have been first time visitors. From a miserable CM at the MK bakery who was downright nasty to shoppers (I complained to a manager, if Disney is cutting jobs then they should let him go first) to bus drivers that didn't respond to 'Good Morning" or even "Thank you"- just not the same WDW right now.  I noticed a LOT of 'earning my ears' ribbons on name tags so it must be a shift from full time CMs to part time by Disney since we know they are cutting jobs. There was a CM that was giving 2 new CMs orientation in Star Wars gift shops in the middle of the day which was holding up the lines even further- such a dumb management decision.  I overheard a cast member tell a guest that they couldn't throw trash away in a garbage can he was standing in front of (he was managing a gift shop line) and that she would have to find another???
> 
> On the part of guests- I think I was the only person that gave my Magical Express drivers tips. My luggage was close to the last to be pulled both times that I traveled and so I watched most of the other passengers. I thought that was sort of terrible. I used Bell Services twice and I seemed to be the only one tipping there, too.


earning your ears ribbons are being work now by CM that have been with the company but had to relocate to other areas to continue working not brand new CMs
Training has to be done on the job to get the actual experience, they can't train with no guests around


----------



## doombuggy

shu24 said:


> Cast members in the parks were lacking typical Disney magic though. It made us sad for those that might have been first time visitors. From a miserable CM at the MK bakery who was downright nasty to shoppers (I complained to a manager, if Disney is cutting jobs then they should let him go first) to bus drivers that didn't respond to 'Good Morning" or even "Thank you"- just not the same WDW right now.  I noticed a LOT of 'earning my ears' ribbons on name tags so it must be a shift from full time CMs to part time by Disney since we know they are cutting jobs. There was a CM that was giving 2 new CMs orientation in Star Wars gift shops in the middle of the day which was holding up the lines even further- such a dumb management decision.  I overheard a cast member tell a guest that they couldn't throw trash away in a garbage can he was standing in front of (he was managing a gift shop line) and that she would have to find another???



As the previous poster indicated, CMs have been shifted around - for example, so Airport CMs were at Disney Springs until last week when they went back to their location to open it. If you were reassigned to a merchandise role and you didn't previously work merchandise, you have to be trained on the register system(s), etc, hence the ribbons. 

You are incorrect with regards to your comment about "so it must be a shift from full time CMs to part time.." Merchandise was gutted and the people who lost their jobs WERE part time.  F/T were not cut.
Those of us who are part time are just as dedicated.


----------



## Kimpossible1

shu24 said:


> Cast members in the parks were lacking typical Disney magic though. It made us sad for those that might have been first time visitors. From a miserable CM at the MK bakery who was downright nasty to shoppers (I complained to a manager, if Disney is cutting jobs then they should let him go first) to bus drivers that didn't respond to 'Good Morning" or even "Thank you"- just not the same WDW right now.  I noticed a LOT of 'earning my ears' ribbons on name tags so it must be a shift from full time CMs to part time by Disney since we know they are cutting jobs. There was a CM that was giving 2 new CMs orientation in Star Wars gift shops in the middle of the day which was holding up the lines even further- such a dumb management decision.  I overheard a cast member tell a guest that they couldn't throw trash away in a garbage can he was standing in front of (he was managing a gift shop line) and that she would have to find another???
> 
> On the part of guests- I think I was the only person that gave my Magical Express drivers tips. My luggage was close to the last to be pulled both times that I traveled and so I watched most of the other passengers. I thought that was sort of terrible. I used Bell Services twice and I seemed to be the only one tipping there, too.



I would have hoped that by reading these boards that people would understand that CM's are facing a really hard time right now.  Most have been transferred to different roles they never even thought about performing, some are working 10-12 hour shifts 6 days a week and almost all of the part-time CM's in merchandise have been laid off to make room for the full-time CM's that needed to be transferred into those roles.  As stated before, there are no FT CM's going to PT positions, and again those FT people never imagined themselves in many of the roles so please be patient with them.  I am a PT CM that was laid off but it makes me sad and angry to hear that people are not being kind and compassionate to the CM's.  They need all the support we can give them right now.


----------



## Kimpossible1

doombuggy said:


> As the previous poster indicated, CMs have been shifted around - for example, so Airport CMs were at Disney Springs until last week when they went back to their location to open it. If you were reassigned to a merchandise role and you didn't previously work merchandise, you have to be trained on the register system(s), etc, hence the ribbons.
> 
> You are incorrect with regards to your comment about "so it must be a shift from full time CMs to part time.." Merchandise was gutted and the people who lost their jobs WERE part time.  F/T were not cut.
> Those of us who are part time are just as dedicated.



I agree completely!!


----------



## yulilin3

Kimpossible1 said:


> I would have hoped that by reading these boards that people would understand that CM's are facing a really hard time right now.  Most have been transferred to different roles they never even thought about performing, some are working 10-12 hour shifts 6 days a week and almost all of the part-time CM's in merchandise have been laid off to make room for the full-time CM's that needed to be transferred into those roles.  As stated before, there are no FT CM's going to PT positions, and again those FT people never imagined themselves in many of the roles so please be patient with them.  I am a PT CM that was laid off but it makes me sad and angry to hear that people are not being kind and compassionate to the CM's.  They need all the support we can give them right now.


a complete sense of entitlement on some guests that just because they are at Disney everything needs to go their way and if it doesn't it's all unfair and Disney's management and CM fault.


----------



## mrsap

yulilin3 said:


> a complete sense of entitlement on some guests that just because they are at Disney everything needs to go their way and if it doesn't it's all unfair and Disney's management and CM fault.



Funny- a large group was in front of us when waiting for our friends to arrive so we could go on RotR together. The CM asked the group what their boarding group number was and if it was called. They said they didn’t have one, but they wanted to ride on it since they have not been on it yet. The CM politely explained that they need a BG to ride. A woman in the group said it’s not fair and demanded to speak to someone. The CM walked away to get another CM to help. When he walked away, she smiled at her group, and waved over a bunch of other people that were sitting on the side. I guess she assumed he was going to let them in. The second cast member came over and again, politely explained that you must have a boarding group to ride the ride. He told them that they had a second chance at 2 o’clock to try to get one. She was not having it and still pushed to get on the ride, but the cast members stood their ground.


----------



## Stefne

Carla1183 said:


> My one note is do not plan to hit emporium on way out. We popped over there at 6 and the line was wrapped all the way past crystal palace.
> Wish we'd gone earlier in day, hope they have some of the Disney babies at epcot or HS bc my son is going to be so sad if we missed our chance when they were everywhere at AK!


We saw a similar line for the Emporium during Thanksgiving week and decided to brave it.  The line moved surprisingly fast and we were in the store within 10 minutes .


----------



## yulilin3

mrsap said:


> Funny- a large group was in front of us when waiting for our friends to arrive so we could go on RotR together. The CM asked the group what their boarding group number was and if it was called. They said they didn’t have one, but they wanted to ride on it since they have not been on it yet. The CM politely explained that they need a BG to ride. A woman in the group said it’s not fair and demanded to speak to someone. The CM walked away to get another CM to help. When he walked away, she smiled at her group, and waved over a bunch of other people that were sitting on the side. I guess she assumed he was going to let them in. The second cast member came over and again, politely explained that you must have a boarding group to ride the ride. He told them that they had a second chance at 2 o’clock to try to get one. She was not having it and still pushed to get on the ride, but the cast members stood their ground.


My DD that works both GE attractions has stories for days.  It's sad that the cm go into work not expecting but knowing they'll get yelled at


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## meclark3

We just got home from a 6 day stay (November 29 - December 4) in a 2Br at SSR. We were in Grandstand section which was great for getting on a bus and also for returning to our room, but made for long trips in the mornings. Additionally, the Disney Springs walkway closest to Grandstand was closed. I didn't know this until we were about to cross the bridge which made us late for an ADR one night. Even though we knew that some things would be unavailable during our trip, it was a little disappointing that one of the main perks of SSR wasn't accessible. 

Nov.29 - Arrival Day
Left home at 6:20am to drop off our pup at camp. We had very light traffic for a holiday weekend. The drive down was great, arrived at SSR around noon. We had an ADR for T-Rex at 1pm, so we parked at Congress Park and walked over. We checked in at 12:30pm and were seated right away. The kids loved the dinosaurs! We wandered around for a bit and shopped while waiting for our room to be ready. We started walking back toward SSR at 3:30pm and got the notification that our room was ready while walking. We went straight to the room and unpacked then relaxed until a 6:35 ADR at Kona Cafe. We drove to the Polynesian since the monorail isn't running there. Dinner was lovely.

Nov. 30 - Animal Kingdom
Amazing day! We walked up to the bus stop right as a bus was pulling in. Made it through temp check and security without a wait and walked right into the park. It rained a little at park opening which I think contributed to minimal waits all day. Crowds were heading toward Pandora, as usual, so we decided to work the opposite direction. We walked onto Dinosaur, EE (4 times), Safari, FOP with a posted 45 minute wait + rider swap. We saved the trails and planet watch for the afternoon. This ended up being a great strategy. FOP had around a 45 minute wait all day but the other rides were basically walk-ons until around lunch time. We finished everything we wanted to do by 4pm and went back to the hotel to relax before dinner. We had a 7pm ADR at STK. The grandparents took the kids back so DH and I could wander a bit and have a drink at City Works.

Dec. 1 - Hollywood Studios
Set an alarm for 6:50 am to get ready for a ROTR boarding group. We were successful and got boarding group 62 for 5 guests. We got out the door a little later than I had hoped, but still arrived at the bus stop at the same time as the HS bus. We decided to bypass MMRR to hit SDD first but the line was already 70 min. Finished Toy Story Land- checked SDD again and the ride was down indefinitely, then went to MMRR with a posted 60 min wait. It was about 45. The rest of the day was pretty crowded with long wait times. We had a Droid Depot appointment at 1:25pm for DS and DH. It was very quick. We headed back toward RnR and Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy where the group split to do those rides. At this point we were just killing time until our boarding group got called (which didn't happen until around 5pm). We rider swapped for ROTR, got out of the park by 6:15 and caught an Uber to Disney Springs for a 7:00pm ADR at Paddlefish.

Dec. 2 - Epcot
Park didn't open until noon, so the DH and FIL set off for a round of golf at the LBV course. MIL and myself had breakfast in the room with DS5 and DS2. My oldest was able to call into his Zoom class morning session and did some school work while the rest of us relaxed after a few early mornings. At 10:45am, we headed over to the bus to Epcot. We rope dropped Frozen with a posted 45min wait (actual 25 min). Mexico pavilion next for the 3 Caballeros and margaritas! The guys were due to meet us, so we walked toward Spaceship Earth. Hit The Seas, then Soarin (Rider Swaps took DS2 on Living with the Land). Time to see World Showcase. We stopped around the world to see England, Italy, Germany, and Mexico since DS5 is studying the holidays in those countries for school. DS2 fell asleep around Italy, so FIL/MIL took him back to SSR so that DH and I could have some one on one time with DS5. We hit Test Track (posted 45m/accurate) and Mission Space (walk-on). Our longest wait of the day was for the bus back to SSR. We missed the bus that was at the station when we arrived at 7:30pm and waited over an hour for the same bus to return for our pickup. We weren't sure of the Uber pickup location relative to the bus stop or else we'd have left.

Dec. 3 - Magic Kingdom
Rope drop again (after 4 days we are worn out). MIL and FIL opted to sleep in, so our family headed to MK bright and early. DS5 asked to go on BTMR first, so we went that direction and walked right on + rider swap, followed by Pirates with no wait. From there we went to Fantasyland and got through most of the rides with minimal waits. DS2 rode his first ever rollercoaster with the Barnstormer. After Dumbo, we went to the Little Mermaid. 7DMT was wrapped completely around the ride, so we skipped it. I was hoping that DS2 might be tall enough to ride this year but couldn't justify the wait. By then it was time to meet the grandparents at Tony's Town Square for an ADR at 12:50pm. Lunch was wonderful and we got a few drinks which was a bonus for MK. After lunch we did Buzz Lightyear and then grandparents, DH, and DS5 went to do Space Mountain. We had time for one last ride and the kids chose Tomorrowland Speedway. We went back to the room to relax again before a last ADR at City Works.

Dec. 4 - Departure Day
The guys had a farewell tee time at the Palm. MIL, the kids and I slept in and played in the morning. At 11am, we drove to the Carriage House to do a little last minute shopping and wait for the guys to finish golfing before heading out for home.

We had a lovely trip and I'm so glad we decided to take this time together as a family.


----------



## Marc A.

iupui1299 said:


> We did HS today. Got boarding group 71 from hotel room (data).....Speedtested the entire room and stood in the best spot lol. Left Kidani village around 8:00. Nobody on bus to HS. Got right through temp check and easily into HS at around 8:22.  Walked straight to Slinky Dog and once the ride started waited about 15 mins. Had a great day.....rode MFSR, MMRR, Rise of the Resistance, TT, RR, TSM (twice), Saucers, Muppets, Slinky (twice), Star Tours and ended the day at Sci-Fi. There were plenty of people there for sure but didn’t seem terrible. Lines looked long but moved quickly. We rode everything we wanted and I even did Savvis Lightsaber Experience. Mobile order works perfectly!  Used that for a Morning Ronto Wrap and some frozen hot chocolate at ABC.  Awesome day!


park opened at 9 I am guessing?


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## iupui1299

Marc A. said:


> park opened at 9 I am guessing?


Yep!


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## shu24

yulilin3 said:


> earning your ears ribbons are being work now by CM that have been with the company but had to relocate to other areas to continue working not brand new CMs
> Training has to be done on the job to get the actual experience, they can't train with no guests around


They were not interacting with guests at all. It was clearly the first day orientation where she was showing them locations of items. DHS opened at 10am that day, surely orientation could have happened before opening. From what we saw, the new CMs will be working across all of the StarWars gift shops because she took them into each one, they wandered around while she pointed items out and then moved on to the next gift shop.


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## shu24

Kimpossible1 said:


> I would have hoped that by reading these boards that people would understand that CM's are facing a really hard time right now.  Most have been transferred to different roles they never even thought about performing, some are working 10-12 hour shifts 6 days a week and almost all of the part-time CM's in merchandise have been laid off to make room for the full-time CM's that needed to be transferred into those roles.  As stated before, there are no FT CM's going to PT positions, and again those FT people never imagined themselves in many of the roles so please be patient with them.  I am a PT CM that was laid off but it makes me sad and angry to hear that people are not being kind and compassionate to the CM's.  They need all the support we can give them right now.


I work in customer service and some of the behavior that I saw from CMs was pretty terrible. When someone thanks you, you respond. When someone greets you, you respond. There is no excuse to not be polite. The CM in the bakery yelled at a group of 3 older people which were in scooters. He told them that only one person could approach the bakery case and that the others should 'wait outside'.  I was behind them and his exact wording to me was that I was "to wait on that line until I tell you that you can move from it". I had not attempted to move when he barked this order to me.  Layoffs are not an excuse for rudeness. Giving someone support is one thing, using Covid/layoffs as an excuse to permit rudeness is another.  Most people are facing a really hard time right now, I lost hours at work but I don't take that out on my customers. As a customer service manager, I don't permit my employees to either.


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## yulilin3

shu24 said:


> They were not interacting with guests at all. It was clearly the first day orientation where she was showing them locations of items. DHS opened at 10am that day, surely orientation could have happened before opening. From what we saw, the new CMs will be working across all of the StarWars gift shops because she took them into each one, they wandered around while she pointed items out and then moved on to the next gift shop.


There are no new cm just new to that position.  This is how they train


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## yulilin3

shu24 said:


> I work in customer service and some of the behavior that I saw from CMs was pretty terrible. When someone thanks you, you respond. When someone greets you, you respond. There is no excuse to not be polite. The CM in the bakery yelled at a group of 3 older people which were in scooters. He told them that only one person could approach the bakery case and that the others should 'wait outside'.  I was behind them and his exact wording to me was that I was "to wait on that line until I tell you that you can move from it". I had not attempted to move when he barked this order to me.  Layoffs are not an excuse for rudeness. Giving someone support is one thing, using Covid/layoffs as an excuse to permit rudeness is another.  Most people are facing a really hard time right now, I lost hours at work but I don't take that out on my customers. As a customer service manager, I don't permit my employees to either.


Ok let's move along and to on topic for this thread


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## shu24

yulilin3 said:


> Ok let's move along and to on topic for this thread


If the topic is recent trips, I think that is on topic. WDW lost some magic in the parks, that was my experience from my trip from last week.  Don't expect CMs to be very magical.


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## yulilin3

shu24 said:


> If the topic is recent trips, I think that is on topic. WDW lost some magic in the parks, that was my experience from my trip from last week.  Don't expect CMs to be very magical.


If you read back you'll see most people reporting the cm are more magical than ever.  If you had a bad experience it's truly not the norm from what's been reported


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## Tormania

We just got back from a long visit, did Universal 11/25-11/27 and then switched to Kidani Village that Friday night for our 8 night stay at WDW, coming home on 12/5.  We are a two family party, 3 in our family, 7 in our friends’ family spanning 3 generations, for a grand total of 10 people.

Rather than a day by day breakdown I’ll just give a quick overview of our trip.  I didn’t think crowds were all that bad honestly.  Lines looks long due to all the physical distancing orders but they moved pretty well and didn’t feel too burdensome for us.  Mobile ordering for CS was OK.  In some ways it was nice, but I would have been fine just walking up and ordering at those places.  The CS places that did not have mobile ordering were my preferred method to get food over mobile ordering.  Using the app to check-in for table service was also used, but since we were a large group with split ADRs we had to speak with CMs at each and every ADR in order to explain our situation and they were all able to accommodate our large group to be able to sit together.  That was very nice, but not something that could have been done without actually talking to a CM rather than doing it all mobile.

Got a little chilly a couple days but the 2020 dated merch was 70% off so we scored some 2020 WDW zip-up hoodies for less than $20/each.  WOOHOO!!

Was unable to get a ROTR BG on our first day at HS (11/30) and were panicked that we weren’t gonna be able to do it on our 2nd day (12/2).  Had to read all sorts of tricks to try again and luckily our friends scored BG 66 at 7am on our 2nd day and despite a couple breakdowns we were able to ride around 6pm that day!  PHEW!!!  There HAS to be a better way to manage allowing folks to ride ROTR, the BGs were gone within just a couple seconds both days we tried at 7am, that is just ridiculous.  Luckily for us we won’t be back for another 3-4 years or longer so hopefully by then things will be different.

A few comparisons between UO and WDW for our trip.  UO manages groups at theater shows MUCH better than WDW.  At WDW you are forced into 4 person groups with benches taped off as off limits.  At UO they dynamically adjust based on your group size which I think is a much smarter way to do it.  Was very happy with Express Passes at UO, made most of our rides less than 15 min waits and many times almost walk-ons.  Still not sure why WDW won’t use FP+ again.  Obviously could go back and forth park-to-park at UO, no problem.  I know that PH is coming back to WDW in Jan but again, another plus for UO and a negative for WDW IMHO.  UO also had a full fireworks and water fountain show at Studios, again why can’t WDW do this?  Some of the thickest crowds at MK were in the HUB at night, people just standing around starring at the projections on the Castle, waiting for it to change over and over again.  Not sure a crowd for fireworks would have been any better so start to shows back up already.  But the projections on the Castle were very nice, we really liked them!!

All in all we had a great trip.  I never felt unsafe, but I’m the kind of person that hasn’t felt unsafe since the whole pandemic started so take that for what it’s worth.  Wearing a mask all day for 11+ days was no fun, but it was manageable, sure glad the majority of our trip was temps in the 70s and lower, can’t fathom doing that in 90+ degree heat.


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## Epcot242

meclark3 said:


> We rider swapped for ROTR, got out of the park by 6:15 and caught an Uber to Disney Springs



We haven't done an Uber from the parks ever (only from our resort). Is it complicated/difficult to navigate? We'll likely use it for the same reason you did: to get to DS.


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## meclark3

Not at all! There are signs for the ride share areas outside of the gates and that is where the Uber/Lyft will meet you. We put in our end location (paddlefish) and they dropped us off at the side entrance for Disney springs (near Rainforest Cafe side). As far as I know this is the only ride share drop off location currently due to temp checks.


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## hlrubin507

RD report for driving to MK today, 8am opening:  Super easy.
Arrived at toll plaza at 6:53, were 3 cars back
7:05 cars started entering
7:08 we rolled through (in a slow line) and parked at the front.\
7:15 were through security and temp (no line)
7:17 arrived at monorail at TTC
7:21 monorail departed TTC
7:30 monorail arrived at MK
7:40 in line for 7DMT, posted 35 min wait, was a 25 min wait
8:08am, off 7DMT and on with our day.
I needn't have fretted, really.  The park was fairly empty for that first part of the day and the early arrival saved me some time in line at 7DMT but that is really it.  Could just have easily done 7DMT at night, last hour of park opening was a 45 minute posted wait so only 10 minutes more than at 7:40am.
Friends, no need to stress.  Just arrive at the toll plaza about 65-70 minutes prior to park opening and it will all work out.
Had a fantastic day!


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## hlrubin507

Report on today at MK (Tuesday 12/8)....

It was magical.  Really, really great.  We arrived well before 8am park opening and left at about 12:30, took the monorail for lunch at the Grand Floridian which was top notch.  SO much better food than most places available in the park, and very civilized and relaxing (and they have prosecco, just sayin').  Left from GF for our (VERY large and relative to Disney, inexpensive) offsite rental home, took a lovely nap, and returned about 5:30pm, stayed through park closing at 8pm.  We did SO MUCH.  A few more rides to tick off on MK day 2 but for a relatively relaxed pace, we did a LOT with no FP.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Gone are the days of it taking hours to leave the park.  We closed at HM which had been down for quite a while but came back up in the last 30 minutes of park opening hours.  We exited the park and I groaned at the line for the monorail to the TTC.  That line took 10 minutes!  Whaaat?!?  I have paid large sums of money to stay at the Contemporary to avoid thithe 1-our leaving exodus, but now?  Hmm.  Not sure it's worth the $$$ right now (although I do not dispute the convenience of the monorail resorts to the MK).  

SO happy to have returned to see the castle and holiday lights at night.  Amazing.

In that last part of the night, we rode PP with 22 min wait (posted 45), Pooh with 8 min wait (posted 20), Mermaid was walk-on (posted 15), Dumbo walk-on and we rode twice without getting off (posted 5) and we rode twice without getting off, and HM was walk-on (also managed to fit in QS dinner at Cosmic Rays).

One complaint?  Getting food is not easy.  Sleepy Hollow and Westward Ho had loooooong lines for SNACKS and seriously, I cannot afford to spend 15-20 min in line to grab a snack.  Also, there is about nothing to eat in the park before the Lunching Pad opens at 10:00, so be prepared.  I am not one to stand in a line in the first hour of park opening (e.g at the Main Street bakery) so I was glad I had my coffee before I arrived.  We mobile ordered in advance and it worked out fine for actual QS meals.  Also, sitting down to snack or dine stationary and socially distant takes time.  I found myself very thirsty and hungry due to my reluctance to stop before lunch 

So happy we came.  This is one set of family memories no one will EVER forget -- Disney in a pandemic!  

Day 2 of 6 is tomorrow!


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## Carla1183

We did epcot yesterday. 
Breakfast before at WCC at 9. Waiters still have their cheek but warned us no ketchup shenanigans. He did make it rain straws on us and lots of cute jokes about how bad service is in this place. Breakfast skillets were good! 

Arrived at epcot at 1055, they made us drive the u turns until 11. But at 1105 they started letting us pay to park. Walking into park about 11:15, straight back to frozen, line was already outside but we were off the ride by 11:55 so couldn't have been more than 15 or 20 minutes. 
Then we went to test track, posted 75 nd we decided to wait, actual wait was 50 mins. 
Spaceship earth posted 20, took 11. 
Nemo, living with land, figment were walk on. 
Soarin was posted 30 minutes, TP app said 20, it was a walkon to the point where they assign rows. We rode in afternoon and again around 730pm, same thing. I think a little bit its luck since it loads so many all at once! 

Then took our time wandering to find olafs in WS (theyre really easy!), dinner at via napoli. It was good! 

WS was fairly congested with people back around Germany, but not too bad otherwise. We found epcot probably the least crowded of our trip so far. HS coming up today!! 

I do have to give it up for disney with a kid with a food allergy. He doesnt eat most dairy,, but servers take time to ask me whats ok and whats not, are super kind to him. At AYCTE places they bring him his own plates of food, via napoli even had vegan cheese.


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## PurpleHaze

Ok everyone if you're coming to DHS today come on.  

I followed everyone's advice. Got up got a boarding group from the lobby at Pop Century. Called uber at 7, dropped off at speedway by 7:15. Walked to the park and I was the only person around. Left and walked around a bit came back a little after 7:30 to be the third person in line. A few more groups are starting to show up.


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## OB1

here now - 12/9 is our last day. It has been relatively busy for attractions, but fairly easy to move around. Mask compliance has been excellent, hardly any infractions. We have felt very safe. Staying AKL in the DVC, and nobody is here. Maybe 60 cars in the parking lot. That is hard to get used to

SUNDAY - DAY 1 - Studios. We took Uber to the Speedway at 7:25 and walked over. Held before the temperature tents until 7:55, then held at the tents until 8:15. WE were let in, and into the park. Straight to Minnie/Mickey Railroad where all cast said opening at 9:00. They let us on around 8:40, and we were on the 2nd train out. Went to Slinky, but it was already 70 minutes. We were hoping to double up, but instead walked onto Toy Story Mania, then did the Falcon with about a 15 minute wait. Everything was very busy after. All 3 by 9:40, so that was good. After this, everything was really backed up with long waits. WE did just a few more things after a quick breakfast. 
OH - tried both times right on time for Rise of the Resistance with no luck. UGGGHHH Really wanted that one. 

EPCOT day 2 on Monday, and surprisingly busy. We arrive at 11:30 for the noon opening, and Frozen was backed up to China already. Skipped and did Soarin instead with a 20 minute wait. Food booths were not too backed up, but its a slow time at EPCOT without the holiday story tellers and entertainment. Voices of Liberty are a must see in the American Gardens.

AK - day 3. Arrived about 7:45 with an 8:00 opening. Right to Flights of Passage with a 20 minute wait. Good to see the full que experience. It is chilly today, so animals were out and moving. Safari was way backed up, but moved fast and we were  on in about 15 minutes. Never seen 4 cheetahs up and moving, but the painted dogs were not moving. Jumped to Disney Springs for lunch, and it was moderately busy.
Went this night to Give Kids the World to see the lights. WOW - it is more than the Osborne lights as far as the amount of builders lighted. While it is not more spectacular, it was special. WE also got to see the house that Disunplugged sponsored. WELL DONE PETE and the crew. It was cold, but we stay about 1 1/2 hrs. Once you visit, you want to help them even more. What a great place. 

Last day today is MK. 

To this point, we have felt very safe. Nearly 100% are very respectful of each other. Tough to mask up all day since neither of us have needed to wear them at our work, but we have managed well. Being a bit cooler probably helped. Excited for our last day.


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## Carla1183

PurpleHaze said:


> Ok everyone if you're coming to DHS today come on.
> 
> I followed everyone's advice. Got up got a boarding group from the lobby at Pop Century. Called uber at 7, dropped off at speedway by 7:15. Walked to the park and I was the only person around. Left and walked around a bit came back a little after 7:30 to be the third person in line. A few more groups are starting to show up.


We had to have been right by you! Family of 4 with 2 kids in stroller and we were 4th group to walk up waiting to be let back. 

We got BG 3 from our hotel, called uber, got to boardwalk about 715, grabbed coffee and croissant we mobile ordered, walked over. Worked perfectly! Lyft XL was minivan and could easily fit 5 of us and double stroller.


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## KittyKitty

If you are going for the 1st time, you will have a great time.  Don't bother reading this.

It had been a year since I've been back, and was looking forward to this  Nov/Dec trip.

I just cancelled my trip for March.

Why?.....
I missed the variety of foods to eat. Tho I discovered cream cheese stuffed pretzel at Launching Pad.  yum!
I missed Fast passes! 60+ minutes lines for Mine train, Frozen in Epcot, Flight of Passage, Mickey's RR. Sometimes you could get a shorter line if you went before park opening.  Tho my friends made the waiting in lines fun.
I felt the underlying concern of Covid in my mind the whole trip. With numbers going up, friends and family warnings, concerned about being too close to another guest, me being over 70, I worried. I'm in quarantine now, so far so good.
I missed the attractions that were closed. It seemed that once you did the rides, there was not much else to do.
I loved the the castle's projection, but so did a lot of guests. Again, worry of Covid was in my head.
I loved the mini parades.
Disney did a great job of keeping me healthy.

Why did I cancel March 2021. I don't think Covid will be gone by then.

I do have a trip for Nov. 2021.


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## Minnie368

Heading to WDW this weekend. What restaurants should we Uber to for breakfast if we want to then walk to MK and DHS to get there earlier than if we drove and parked?  Not looking for table service- just something quick so we have no problem being dropped off with Uber. I’m thinking the Contemporary for MK but can you walk from there or do you have to take the monorail?  And is Boardwalk Bakery the best option for DHS or is there something better?


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## disneylover102

Minnie368 said:


> Heading to WDW this weekend. What restaurants should we Uber to for breakfast if we want to then walk to MK and DHS to get there earlier than if we drove and parked?  Not looking for table service- just something quick so we have no problem being dropped off with Uber. I’m thinking the Contemporary for MK but can you walk from there or do you have to take the monorail?  And is Boardwalk Bakery the best option for DHS or is there something better?


You can walk to MK from the Contemporary or the Grand Floridian or you can technically walk from the TTC now that there’s a walkway from the GF (but if you’re doing Uber anyway just get dropped off at either of those resorts)


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## scrappinginontario

disneylover102 said:


> You can walk to MK from the Contemporary or the Grand Floridian or you can technically walk from the TTC now that there’s a walkway from the GF (but if you’re doing Uber anyway just get dropped off at either of those resorts)


Any of these 3 work but the Contemporary is your shortest walk.


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## Kimg88

For DHS, I am going to rideshare to the Speedway and walk to DHS from there.  For MK, the contemporary is best.  I am going to also try this route. We are staying at Shades of Green, so should be a short ride to Contemporary from there. I think for AK and EP I am just going to use Shades transport since opening won't be as seriously affected those days, but I still plan on arriving early.


----------



## Carla1183

Minnie368 said:


> Heading to WDW this weekend. What restaurants should we Uber to for breakfast if we want to then walk to MK and DHS to get there earlier than if we drove and parked?  Not looking for table service- just something quick so we have no problem being dropped off with Uber. I’m thinking the Contemporary for MK but can you walk from there or do you have to take the monorail?  And is Boardwalk Bakery the best option for DHS or is there something better?



We did this from Boardwalk Bakery yesterday and it was perfect!
Mobile ordered breakfast when we woke up for 7-730 window.
Got our rise BG at 7, then called Lyft XL (5 people plus double stroller), he was at Wyndham Bonnet Creek in 5 mins. Got to boardwalk at 7:15, grabbed croissants and coffee, started walking to DHS at 7:30 (could have moved even faster if we rushed).
Got to DHS about 745, they held us until about 8 to walk to temp checks, then held at temp checks until 815. If we hadn't had a stroller to be checked we'd have been 3rd person in park.

We walked onto MMRR, but line at slinky was 45 mins when we finished that.


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## FinallyFL

Minnie368 said:


> Heading to WDW this weekend. What restaurants should we Uber to for breakfast if we want to then walk to MK and DHS to get there earlier than if we drove and parked?


Do not attempt to skip the breakfast order and unload before the gate at the Contemporary. This morning there was an Orange County Sheriff vehicle in the area and they forced people to get back in their vehicle after blasting an announcement about it not  being an unloading zone. I had the bad luck to be walking in front of the Sheriff's truck when they made the announcement .


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## Carol_

Thursday am... 10:53 AK FOP 90 min
Not too crowded.
Wilderness Explorer stations well staffed. I’m loaded down with stickers.


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## CLE2WDW07

Hello! I wanted to thank everyone on this board for their tips and discussions - they all helped us have a great trip November 29th through December 7th! I wrote a trip report and it can be found *here* if anyone is interested in reading it (this can be removed if it is not allowed). We hope to be back at Disney World soon!


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## DisneyNDecember

Are there any buses from the parks to Disney Springs yet?
Or do you have to Uber there from the parks if you decide not to go back to your Disney hotel for a bus to Disney Springs?
We are flying out tomorrow for our vacation. We have not been back in 7 years, and lots of great tips.


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## livbeatles

Kimg88 said:


> For DHS, I am going to rideshare to the Speedway and walk to DHS from there.  For MK, the contemporary is best.  I am going to also try this route. We are staying at Shades of Green, so should be a short ride to Contemporary from there. I think for AK and EP I am just going to use Shades transport since opening won't be as seriously affected those days, but I still plan on arriving early.



FYI, Shades of Green shares buses for HS and AK (or at they still were last week), though it will drop off AK first. There have been times where they've run two buses though if the first one gets full (I only personally experienced that once in 2017, but did see two SOG buses at HS last week (we had taken a rideshare) shortly before the park opened. We also did the walk from Shades of Green to the MK using the new GF path (although we did take a wrong turn within the GF grounds the first time we tried that....).


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## OB1

Last day of the 4 day trip - WED 12/9 to the MK. Amazingly, this day was much less crowded. We met a friend and his family, and they were at the MK the day before. The Confectionary was backed up 25 people deep, the Emporium was backed up to the castle area. On this day, it was basically walk right into both at noon. Rides were busy, but not too bad, and the crowds were easy to navigate through. HOWEVER, this was the first time I saw someone blatantly disregard wearing their mask. It was at the chin, and a cast member asked them to pull it up. They just kept walking and drinking. Besides a few noses peeking out, it was really high compliance. 

The temps were way down into the 30s to start the day, but it was still comfortable by 9:30, and after noon some of us went to short sleeves. 

Final report is to say we survived wearing a mask all day. It was not too difficult, but it did get old since neither of us has a job that puts us into the situation to wear a mask on a regular basis. We felt safe the entire trip and would return again, but we are looking forward to no mask, and some of the safety additions being removed and the area returning back to what we know (and will it ever happen).


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## CarolynFH

DisneyNDecember said:


> Are there any buses from the parks to Disney Springs yet?
> Or do you have to Uber there from the parks if you decide not to go back to your Disney hotel for a bus to Disney Springs?
> We are flying out tomorrow for our vacation. We have not been back in 7 years, and lots of great tips.


So far as I know, the parks to DS buses haven't started up again yet.  But no need to go back to your Disney hotel specifically - just travel to the nearest Disney hotel (walk to CR from MK, walk or boat to BWV/YC/BC from Epcot/DHS, take whichever resort bus comes first at AK) and catch the DS bus from there.  Of course you can Uber if you want, as well.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

CarolynFH said:


> So far as I know, the parks to DS buses haven't started up again yet.  But no need to go back to your Disney hotel specifically - just travel to the nearest Disney hotel (walk to CR from MK, walk or boat to BWV/YC/BC from Epcot/DHS, take whichever resort bus comes first at AK) and catch the DS bus from there.  Of course you can Uber if you want, as well.


Great idea. I did not even think about that.


----------



## wp4lf189

white chocolate holiday pretzels anyone seen them on property I’m here now and can’t find them


----------



## Lindersj

Everyone has talked about Ubering to Boardwalk (bakery order) and walking to DHS for early entry - what about doing the same to enter the back gate for Epcot?


----------



## yulilin3

Lindersj said:


> Everyone has talked about Ubering to Boardwalk (bakery order) and walking to DHS for early entry - what about doing the same to enter the back gate for Epcot?


It would be the same way, or you can go to BC


----------



## cmrabet

wilkydelts said:


> This will be one of the points in my wrap up. If you can, drive drive drive! It was worth $25 a day to have total control of my own destiny.



We are going to MK December 28 and 29, we are driving from Virginia so we will have a car. We want to be early in the morning for rope drop, with the parking trams not operational, do you think the standard parking will be enough to be close to TTC? I think $45 for the preferred parking is too much (especially when we are visiting Epcot and HDS the rest of the week), which is why I'm also considering the hotel's shuttle instead of driving.

Thanks.


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

Quick report from my trip Dec 5-10.
We had a pretty successful trip. Cooler temps were welcomed after our August trip. 
Just DH, DS8 and I. We RD'd parks, and that first hour (including the earlier openings) was the must.
DHS on Tuesday didn't open MMRR as early as usual. Opened at 8:30. Slinky also didn't start running until 8:50, so we skipped it. We did TSMM, MF, and then the magic shots with the fighters and baby Yoda, then BG.
I went back Thursday by myself, and did Slinky 1st, walked straight on, did TSMM walk on, and then went to MMRR, posted 40, but made it to last divider row in 20, but then it broke down. Got a FP. Did ST, Frozen singalong at 9:30, and then MMRR was up so used my FP.
I did have BG 17, but it didn't start running until when I had to leave. (Got my push while waiting for boat back to YC) 
But as you can see, YMMV daily. 
Also, Tuesday they had us lined up back before the exit of the skyliner, so people coming off skyliner got a jump before us walkers.
Thursday they took us to temp tents prior to the skyliner people arriving. That had me one of the first 20 walking down towards MMRR. 
Wed we did AK. Bus from YC. We went to the bus stop at 6:30, only ones there.  Bus came about 5-10 minutes before 7. Walked straight in to AK, and to FOP. Stopped about 10 people in front of us at entrance, waited a minute, and then we walked right on, after short preshow. Did Safari, which didn't open until 7:55. Got the male lion roaring, his breath fogging in the cool air.  EE, about 5 min wait, walk on at Dino.

If you don't mind pics with masks, and have a Disney Visa, I recommend the photo spot at Epcot. They had no one there, and our photographer gave us our own private photo shoot, lol. He took 18 pics in different fun poses. Here is the character magic shot:


----------



## Stefne

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> Quick report from my trip Dec 5-10.
> We had a pretty successful trip. Cooler temps were welcomed after our August trip.
> Just DH, DS8 and I. We RD'd parks, and that first hour (including the earlier openings) was the must.
> DHS on Tuesday didn't open MMRR as early as usual. Opened at 8:30. Slinky also didn't start running until 8:50, so we skipped it. We did TSMM, MF, and then the magic shots with the fighters and baby Yoda, then BG.
> I went back Thursday by myself, and did Slinky 1st, walked straight on, did TSMM walk on, and then went to MMRR, posted 40, but made it to last divider row in 20, but then it broke down. Got a FP. Did ST, Frozen singalong at 9:30, and then MMRR was up so used my FP.
> I did have BG 17, but it didn't start running until when I had to leave. (Got my push while waiting for boat back to YC)
> But as you can see, YMMV daily.
> Also, Tuesday they had us lined up back before the exit of the skyliner, so people coming off skyliner got a jump before us walkers.
> Thursday they took us to temp tents prior to the skyliner people arriving. That had me one of the first 20 walking down towards MMRR.
> Wed we did AK. Bus from YC. We went to the bus stop at 6:30, only ones there.  Bus came about 5-10 minutes before 7. Walked straight in to AK, and to FOP. Stopped about 10 people in front of us at entrance, waited a minute, and then we walked right on, after short preshow. Did Safari, which didn't open until 7:55. Got the male lion roaring, his breath fogging in the cool air.  EE, about 5 min wait, walk on at Dino.
> 
> If you don't mind pics with masks, and have a Disney Visa, I recommend the photo spot at Epcot. They had no one there, and our photographer gave us our own private photo shoot, lol. He took 18 pics in different fun poses. Here is the character magic shot:
> View attachment 543286


The photo is so cute!  I can't believe I completely forgot to take advantage of this during our trip .


----------



## Carol_

Today at Disney Springs


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

I wont post all 18 pics, obviously, but here is just one of the fun poses.


I was also surprised the magic shots for baby Yoda and the fighters were together, plus he took about 4 other pics. 
If you have a memory maker, and masks are not an issue, they are doing a great job with pics.
We had some at MK as well, most of those were just poses in front of castle, with projections, or daytime . I didn't look for magic shots there.

We also ate at 2 TS meals a day. No issues at all. 
Went to DS for lunch Wed, >>oh pp asked about getting to DS from park. We went from AK. We walked down a bus lane, and saw POP bus pull up so we jumped in the line. It worked out well bcuz the DS bus line was right next to the drop off at POP. Got in that line, bus arrived 2 minutes later. 
We attempted WOD shopping prior to lunch, the checkout lines were wrapped around inside the store. Went back after we ate, and the line was half as long so I went for it. 

Mask wearing, IMO, was close to 100%. Didn't see anyone,,, wait, saw 1 man walking and drinking at Epcot. That was it tho. 

Anyway, the magic is still there, if you go in relaxed and just go with it as is. But, Mickey had me at "Hiya folks" many many years ago, so   ...


----------



## Carol_

We ate off property for breakfast this am and service was the old Disney-style AMAZING. To the degree that I had to ask if a former cast member was serving us, and of course, Yes, They were.


----------



## CarolynFH

Stefne said:


> The photo is so cute!  I can't believe I completely forgot to take advantage of this during our trip .


I’m afraid I’ll forget too - so I made a note on my calendar and emailed that post to DD so she’ll remind me!


----------



## CarolynFH

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> If you have a memory maker, and masks are not an issue, they are doing a great job with pics.


My feeling is that masks are one of the memorable aspects of 2020 trips, like it or not.  So we’re going to make the most of it!  Thanks for reminding me about the Disney Visa photo opportunity.  It will be wonderful for our family trip!


----------



## cjlong88

CarolynFH said:


> My feeling is that masks are one of the memorable aspects of 2020 trips, like it or not.  So we’re going to make the most of it!  Thanks for reminding me about the Disney Visa photo opportunity.  It will be wonderful for our family trip!



I love this perspective. We can either choose to get upset about the masks "ruining" our photos or we can see it as a way to document the incredibly strange times at WDW right now. Many years from now people will see their mask photos and go, "Oh man, do you remember when...?!"


----------



## Moliphino

DisneyNDecember said:


> Great idea. I did not even think about that.



Or take a bus to Saratoga Springs and walk to DS. Get off at the Congress Park bus stop.


----------



## Funfire240

CarolynFH said:


> My feeling is that masks are one of the memorable aspects of 2020 trips, like it or not.  So we’re going to make the most of it!  Thanks for reminding me about the Disney Visa photo opportunity.  It will be wonderful for our family trip!


This is how we chose to look at it. We still did every photo opportunity. I figured it's just part of the trip this year and shows how the trip went.  Definitely one for the books! (Now that goes to say I don't think I will be framing any of these pictures - but then you never know...)


----------



## Poohbear538

Carol_ said:


> Today at Disney Springs
> View attachment 543296


I was there too.  It was nice and calm this morning.


----------



## dachsie

Stefne said:


> The photo is so cute!  I can't believe I completely forgot to take advantage of this during our trip .



I just realized the ones I took last Thrusday are not in my photopass.  What is the email to contact them about the pics missing?


----------



## Stefne

dachsie said:


> I just realized the ones I took last Thrusday are not in my photopass.  What is the email to contact them about the pics missing?


I'm not sure, but it is a good question.  I seem to have a missing mine train pic as well.  Since my two kids would have been the only ones in the photo, I know it can't be a mask problem.  The video itself is there, just not the pics.


----------



## shellbelle

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> Quick report from my trip Dec 5-10.
> We had a pretty successful trip. Cooler temps were welcomed after our August trip.
> Just DH, DS8 and I. We RD'd parks, and that first hour (including the earlier openings) was the must.
> DHS on Tuesday didn't open MMRR as early as usual. Opened at 8:30. Slinky also didn't start running until 8:50, so we skipped it. We did TSMM, MF, and then the magic shots with the fighters and baby Yoda, then BG.
> I went back Thursday by myself, and did Slinky 1st, walked straight on, did TSMM walk on, and then went to MMRR, posted 40, but made it to last divider row in 20, but then it broke down. Got a FP. Did ST, Frozen singalong at 9:30, and then MMRR was up so used my FP.
> I did have BG 17, but it didn't start running until when I had to leave. (Got my push while waiting for boat back to YC)
> But as you can see, YMMV daily.
> Also, Tuesday they had us lined up back before the exit of the skyliner, so people coming off skyliner got a jump before us walkers.
> Thursday they took us to temp tents prior to the skyliner people arriving. That had me one of the first 20 walking down towards MMRR.
> Wed we did AK. Bus from YC. We went to the bus stop at 6:30, only ones there.  Bus came about 5-10 minutes before 7. Walked straight in to AK, and to FOP. Stopped about 10 people in front of us at entrance, waited a minute, and then we walked right on, after short preshow. Did Safari, which didn't open until 7:55. Got the male lion roaring, his breath fogging in the cool air.  EE, about 5 min wait, walk on at Dino.
> 
> If you don't mind pics with masks, and have a Disney Visa, I recommend the photo spot at Epcot. They had no one there, and our photographer gave us our own private photo shoot, lol. He took 18 pics in different fun poses. Here is the character magic shot:
> View attachment 543286


Where is the Disney Visa photo op and now?


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

shellbelle said:


> Where is the Disney Visa photo op and now?



It is over by Pixar film/Journey into Imagination. Little building to the back left.


----------



## CarolynFH

dachsie said:


> I just realized the ones I took last Thrusday are not in my photopass.  What is the email to contact them about the pics missing?





Stefne said:


> I'm not sure, but it is a good question.  I seem to have a missing mine train pic as well.  Since my two kids would have been the only ones in the photo, I know it can't be a mask problem.  The video itself is there, just not the pics.


I've always just used the link to the form that's in the PhotoPass website - but I just looked for it, and it's sooo hard to find that here it is: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/photopass/contact-us/.  I don't know whether you'll have to sign in first.  And if you want to log in to your account first, do that and then scroll down to the bottom and click on "Need help with Disney PhotoPass Service? Please check out our frequently asked questions" then click on the question "What should I do if photos are missing?"


----------



## nick262

Hello All, I am so excited we leave in a week for a quick trip. Two questions that I have not seen answers too:

1. For the Disney Visa photos in HS and EP do I have to pay for the photo pass or memory maker or can I download them at no cost?

2. Is there anywhere that has gingerbread cookies? This is one of the main items I am so missing from DL this year.

TIA for your help.


----------



## HiStitch626

1.  The Disney Visa photos are free.  I think there is a period of time that if you don't get them they disappear. 

2.  One of the cookie stroll cookies this year is gingerbread.


----------



## samantha3590

I think we had the PERFECT Hollywood studios day today. We got to the park right at 8 (took Uber to boardwalk bakery and walked.) Temp screens started at 815. By 9 am we were done with Slinky and the falcon. I got 13 for ROR boarding group and was done with that by 945. TOT, Rock n roller coaster x2. Rock n roller coaster was only a 15 minute wait at 1100??! Baseline tap house for a beer break then Toy story mania and Alien ride both with about a 10 min wait. Ogas reservation at 145 which was so fun! We then did Star Tours which is so disappointing compared to the new stuff haha. Mickey and Minnie ride was a 26 minute wait at 330. We then had a Savis reservation at 5 and my husband loved building the light saber. One more ride on Slinky (18 min wait) and Toy story mania (walk on) at about 6 and we called it a night!! Seriously the perfect day, perfect weather, and low crowds! What Disney dreams are made of!


----------



## Stefne

CarolynFH said:


> I've always just used the link to the form that's in the PhotoPass website - but I just looked for it, and it's sooo hard to find that here it is: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/photopass/contact-us/.  I don't know whether you'll have to sign in first.  And if you want to log in to your account first, do that and then scroll down to the bottom and click on "Need help with Disney PhotoPass Service? Please check out our frequently asked questions" then click on the question "What should I do if photos are missing?"


Many thanks !


----------



## lordog

Do they still have package pickup delivery to our Disney resort?


----------



## lovethattink

lordog said:


> Do they still have package pickup delivery to our Disney resort?



No. May ship package home.


----------



## ashnicole

Just got back from a week long trip to WDW! We did all four parks and loved our time there! I was very happy with how our days worked out without FP+. There was hardly any planning, other than knowing what parks we wanted to do each day, which made for a much more relaxing trip. We got to do most everything we wanted, even without rope dropping. We found the middle of the days to be the most crowded, which is to be expected.
I know everyone has different comfort levels, but we felt completely safe at WDW! There were only a couple of times in lines where I felt people were too close. One time in the Dumbo line there were some kids in front of us (maybe 7 or 8?) without parents, who were practically on top of the family in front of them and then another time there was a family behind us who was standing way in front of their line. Both were kindly asked to move and it worked for the most part. Cast members also reminded people to stand behind the line if they saw it. 
I was nervous about ME back to MCO because of past reports, but our driver gave clear instructions on how to load and everyone listened.
The skyliner lines at park closing were pretty much non-existent on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday nights. 
The wait times were over estimated for the most part. Most wait times were posted at 40+, but we rarely waited even close to that except for small world and ToT. I believe FEA was posted at 90 or 100 minutes, the cast member told us it would be almost 2 hours, but we only waited 40 mins (it was a little past the entrance to the China Pavilion). Some waits were posted at 20-40 near closing but we walked right on.


----------



## run217

PurpleHaze said:


> Ok everyone if you're coming to DHS today come on.
> 
> I followed everyone's advice. Got up got a boarding group from the lobby at Pop Century. Called uber at 7, dropped off at speedway by 7:15. Walked to the park and I was the only person around. Left and walked around a bit came back a little after 7:30 to be the third person in line. A few more groups are starting to show up.


Tell me more about this getting a boarding group from the lobby at Pop business. Is the idea that WiFi is better there?


----------



## GBRforWDW

Don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention this yet, but noticed a day or two ago that there is now a Shop in Store option when you click the + at the bottom of the MDX app. Right now, it’s only available at Mouse Gear and Everything Pop. Sounds like a better way to shop with no one crowding at the check out line.


----------



## dachsie

nick262 said:


> Hello All, I am so excited we leave in a week for a quick trip. Two questions that I have not seen answers too:
> 
> 1. For the Disney Visa photos in HS and EP do I have to pay for the photo pass or memory maker or can I download them at no cost?
> 
> 2. Is there anywhere that has gingerbread cookies? This is one of the main items I am so missing from DL this year.
> 
> TIA for your help.


1.  No cost to download
2.  There are gingerbread cookies everywhere.  The bakeries have them as Mickey with icing for the ears.  But be sure to go to Karamel Kuche in Germany and get the salted caramel gingerbread cookie sandwich - OMG is it good!


----------



## PurpleHaze

run217 said:


> Tell me more about this getting a boarding group from the lobby at Pop business. Is the idea that WiFi is better there?



Actually my choice for being in the lobby at 7am was random. It had more to do with getting a cup of coffee than anything. Of course the food court opened at 7 so the coffee took a backsat.

For the record, I did not use the WiFi but instead used the data on my phone. I did go into the app settings and turned off the location settings. The idea being I didn't want the app takinguo even a second looking for my location. At that point it was just a matter of watching the clock and hitting "Join" as soon as the clock on my phone turned to 7. Also honestly since i was a party of 1, I didn't worry about looking at who was in my party or anything it was just tapping buttons as soon as i saw them.


----------



## Sara W

I have a question for everyone using data with MDE. Every time I’ve tried to use data at the parks rather than WiFi the app won’t connect, I get a pop up telling me I need to connect to WiFi. What am I doing wrong?


----------



## Best Aunt

Sara W said:


> I have a question for everyone using data with MDE. Every time I’ve tried to use data at the parks rather than WiFi the app won’t connect, I get a pop up telling me I need to connect to WiFi. What am I doing wrong?



in the settings on your phone, under Cellular, is there a list of  apps?  And next to the Disney World app, does it show that cellular is on?  If it is set to Off, you can’t access the app using data, so use the toggle thing to switch to On.  This is not specific to the MDE app.  It’s a phone settings thing, not a MDE thing.


----------



## cyndiella

dachsie said:


> Ok I made a mobile order at the Boardwalk bakery and they let me on. Everyone started doing that and then cancelling the order when on board


I have a Boardwalk breakfast ADR at 10 am on a Sunday in January... What at my chances to riding the Skyliner from POP to IG that day?  I think I should ask the CM at the CB skyliner station maybe a day or two before.  Otherwise, Uber over..   
I cannot be the first person with this situation... ADR before skyliner to Epcot is running, can I???


----------



## dachsie

cyndiella said:


> I have a Boardwalk breakfast ADR at 10 am on a Sunday in January... What at my chances to riding the Skyliner from POP to IG that day?  I think I should ask the CM at the CB skyliner station maybe a day or two before.  Otherwise, Uber over..
> I cannot be the first person with this situation... ADR before skyliner to Epcot is running, can I???


You would definitely be able to get to HS to walk to boardwalk but not sure about the other - they have to test it before they put people on and depends on when EP opens as to when they start that.  I would ask as you said


----------



## yulilin3

cyndiella said:


> I have a Boardwalk breakfast ADR at 10 am on a Sunday in January... What at my chances to riding the Skyliner from POP to IG that day?  I think I should ask the CM at the CB skyliner station maybe a day or two before.  Otherwise, Uber over..
> I cannot be the first person with this situation... ADR before skyliner to Epcot is running, can I???


People have reported showing you have an adr and they allow it.  Definitely ask ahead of time


----------



## jsmla

cyndiella said:


> I have a Boardwalk breakfast ADR at 10 am on a Sunday in January... What at my chances to riding the Skyliner from POP to IG that day?  I think I should ask the CM at the CB skyliner station maybe a day or two before.  Otherwise, Uber over..
> I cannot be the first person with this situation... ADR before skyliner to Epcot is running, can I???




I was at Pop and didn’t trust the Skyliner to get me to DHS as early as I’d like so I booked breakfast ADR at Trattoria al Forno on my DHS day.  The plan was to drive over but the prediction was for temperatures in the low 40s.  I’m avoiding indoor dining right now so I cancelled.  I did a bit of research and it looked like a bus from AoA would be my best free option.  I wanted to be on that first bus (also avoiding long indoor queues for the attractions) so I got to the AoA bus stops at 6:45.

It was coooooold at the bus stop and a nice, warm MK bus pulled up just as I arrived so I hopped on and rode it to the MK.  From there I caught a bus to the Yacht Club.  The BW and Y&B stops are next to each other so the plan was to take whichever came first.  The YC bus was sitting at the stop and I was the only passenger.

I walked over to DHS and was near the front of temp screening by 7:45.  It wasn’t how I’d planned it but it worked!


----------



## Sara W

Best Aunt said:


> in the settings on your phone, under Cellular, is there a list of  apps?  And next to the Disney World app, does it show that cellular is on?  If it is set to Off, you can’t access the app using data, so use the toggle thing to switch to On.  This is not specific to the MDE app.  It’s a phone settings thing, not a MDE thing.


Thanks, I’ll check that. I definitely use my apps on cellular, to the point I had to get unlimited data


----------



## cyndiella

PurpleHaze said:


> Actually my choice for being in the lobby at 7am was random. It had more to do with getting a cup of coffee than anything. Of course the food court opened at 7 so the coffee took a backsat.
> 
> For the record, I did not use the WiFi but instead used the data on my phone. I did go into the app settings and turned off the location settings. The idea being I didn't want the app takinguo even a second looking for my location. At that point it was just a matter of watching the clock and hitting "Join" as soon as the clock on my phone turned to 7. Also honestly since i was a party of 1, I didn't worry about looking at who was in my party or anything it was just tapping buttons as soon as i saw them.


For kicks and giggles I went to time.gov for the exact time... compared my phone's time with the exact time and learned my phone was 2.6 SECONDS off!!  who knew!!  Check your phones!  2.6 seconds could mean the difference between getting a BG or not!


----------



## Flamingeaux

cyndiella said:


> For kicks and giggles I went to time.gov for the exact time... compared my phone's time with the exact time and learned my phone was 2.6 SECONDS off!!  who knew!!  Check your phones!  2.6 seconds could mean the difference between getting a BG or not!



I use a second phone and have that site open.


----------



## Fangorn

cyndiella said:


> For kicks and giggles I went to time.gov for the exact time... compared my phone's time with the exact time and learned my phone was 2.6 SECONDS off!!  who knew!!  Check your phones!  2.6 seconds could mean the difference between getting a BG or not!



It could, but that's assuming Disney's servers are synched to official time. If your phone is off (normal), that means your carrier's server clock is off. There's no guarantee that Disney's server is synched to official time. 

Steve


----------



## Sarahslay

cyndiella said:


> I have a Boardwalk breakfast ADR at 10 am on a Sunday in January... What at my chances to riding the Skyliner from POP to IG that day?  I think I should ask the CM at the CB skyliner station maybe a day or two before.  Otherwise, Uber over..
> I cannot be the first person with this situation... ADR before skyliner to Epcot is running, can I???


Since HS opens earlier I would just hop the skyliner to there and walk, it's really not much further than IG (and I HATE the hill coming from IG to the resorts)


----------



## karmacats

GBRforWDW said:


> Don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention this yet, but noticed a day or two ago that there is now a Shop in Store option when you click the + at the bottom of the MDX app. Right now, it’s only available at Mouse Gear and Everything Pop. Sounds like a better way to shop with no one crowding at the check out line.
> View attachment 543440



Tried this at mouse gear last week and it worked great. Heads up, if you want to use a disney visa discount you can't get the discount using the app and have to go to a register, but the app will take other discounts such as AP.


----------



## GBRforWDW

karmacats said:


> Tried this at mouse gear last week and it worked great. Heads up, if you want to use a disney visa discount you can't get the discount using the app and have to go to a register, but the app will take other discounts such as AP.


Thanks for the tip.  I do have a Disney visa, so I’ll just do normal check out.  good to know


----------



## cyndiella

jsmla said:


> I was at Pop and didn’t trust the Skyliner to get me to DHS as early as I’d like so I booked breakfast ADR at Trattoria al Forno on my DHS day.  The plan was to drive over but the prediction was for temperatures in the low 40s.  I’m avoiding indoor dining right now so I cancelled.  I did a bit of research and it looked like a bus from AoA would be my best free option.  I wanted to be on that first bus (also avoiding long indoor queues for the attractions) so I got to the AoA bus stops at 6:45.


What??  are you hinting that AoA buses come earlier than POP buses???  Is that all buses--MK, AK??  That would be super great!  Let me know if you had more bus to parks experiences like this!


----------



## cyndiella

Sarahslay said:


> Since HS opens earlier I would just hop the skyliner to there and walk, it's really not much further than IG (and I HATE the hill coming from IG to the resorts)


yep, this will be "Plan b or c"  lol


----------



## yulilin3

cyndiella said:


> What??  are you hinting that AoA buses come earlier than POP buses???  Is that all buses--MK, AK??  That would be super great!  Let me know if you had more bus to parks experiences like this!


there are no buses to Epcot or DHS from Pop


----------



## cyndiella

Fangorn said:


> It could, but that's assuming Disney's servers are synched to official time. If your phone is off (normal), that means your carrier's server clock is off. There's no guarantee that Disney's server is synched to official time.
> 
> Steve


I know, right!?  What to do...what to do....?


----------



## cyndiella

yulilin3 said:


> there are no buses to Epcot or DHS from Pop


That I knew from our Oct 2020 visit...  but I was wondering if MK or AK buses were more frequent or come earlier than POP buses to those 2 parks.  Also, wouldn't there be HS and Ep buses IF the skyliner was down, like for weather reasons?  Do they run when it's really windy, for example?


----------



## Carla1183

cyndiella said:


> I know, right!?  What to do...what to do....?


We were there last week and used world clock on an iPad while I was on the app on my phone. Hit the first page Join at 6:59:59, immediately hit join join without stopping to read anything, got group 3.


----------



## scrappinginontario

cyndiella said:


> That I knew from our Oct 2020 visit...  but I was wondering if MK or AK buses were more frequent or come earlier than POP buses to those 2 parks.  Also, wouldn't there be HS and Ep buses IF the skyliner was down, like for weather reasons?  Do they run when it's really windy, for example?


Buses from Pop and AoA to MK and AK are the same.  Some days the first bus might leave from Pop, other days from AoA.  

Buses run from Pop to/from DHS/Epcot when the Skyliner is down.


----------



## fabfemmeboy

Just returned from a 12-day trip to the World, our first in 5 years.  I posted in a bit more detail about our first couple days many pages back, but I'll sum up here.  For context, we're 2 healthy-ish 30-somethings from California.  We haven't eaten indoors since before March, we wear masks religiously, we cancelled our family vacation back in August because it wouldn't be safe, and while we were gone they announced a second lockdown of our area.  

*The Good*
-Festival of Holidays and all the seasonal snacks were a big hit with us.  Even in its reduced form, there are still plenty of things to try.
-Wait times were pretty reasonable (see below for a caveat)
-People did seem to be trying their best to abide by the rules.  There were certainly people who didn't seem to be able to pay attention to anything outside of themselves/their party, but for the most part people were genuinely trying.
-We didn't have problems with mobile ordering, though outside the restaurants became a gauntlet of trying to get through everyone else who was waiting for their food.  
-We missed park-hopping a little, but instead we did 2 days at each park and just went slower, which was kind of nice.  And the lack of planning/racing around made for a much more relaxing vacation.
-Overall we had a really good time.

*The Bad*
-Drunk people cannot socially-distance.  This was a big issue at EPCOT.
-Airports are very much a reflection of the state in which they are located.  SFO was great - empty, distanced, quiet.  MSP was a nightmare of epic proportions.  
-The "stand here" lines are too close together.  No party of more than 2 can fit on the line, so the group winds up filling most of the six-feet section.  At Universal, the lines were closer to 10 feet apart, which helped account for the space that people took up.
-I did not see CMs correcting people who were wearing masks incorrectly.  My partner said he saw one do it once.  There were a lot of nose-peekers and a handful of forgetful folks, and no one was addressing it.  I was surprised because people on here had reported that CMs were doing that - I'm not sure if they're just burned out or afraid of starting a fight or there are just too few of them now to add that job duty.  
-The parks are not built for the kind of distance that is required.  The number of choke-points are really ridiculous, especially for how recently many sections were built and therefore how large of crowds they should have expected.  DHS was the worst - not only SWGE, which we expected, but TSL as well.  Even without a pandemic, the walkways are just too narrow for the crowds.
-People still instinctively crowd together when there's any kind of 'spectacle.'  Cavalcades - people hear the music and cram together at the front of the sidewalk.  Lit-up castle - people stand in crowds to watch it...not change for 15 minutes.  Why, people?!

*The Unexpected*
-Rise BG.  I was thrilled to not need to race over into the throng and expected we would get something mid-afternoon and wander over when crowds were lower.  Instead we got BG5 and BG6 on our two days!  Whoops?
-I love the cavalcades.  Except that you can't predict when they'll be so you can easily get stuck behind them.  Like 4 times in one afternoon at MK.  
-The number of lines that are inaccessible really shocked me.  I use a tiny electric wheelchair and am used to some accessibility issues at DL because it was built in the 50s.  Plenty of rides at DL make you enter through the exit or come back at a different time because it predates the ADA by some 30-40 years.  But at WDW, which is much newer, and in particular parks/areas that postdate the ADA, it's really ridiculous.  We couldn't take advantage of inflated line times because we were given return-times at almost every ride.  On one hand, it was nice to wait outside the line; on the other, waiting 60 minutes for something you know is only a 30-minute wait is annoying - and mostly infuriating because it shouldn't be inaccessible after all this time.  And don't even get me started on Pirates.
-I had seen people talking about how the mask makes them tired faster; in the heat I can see that, but it was pleasantly cool when we went.  However, we were wiped out much faster than usual.  I don't think it was the mask itself, I think it was the energy being expended to try to figure out how to avoid people and being constantly vigilant.  The mental energy it took to try to be as careful as possible and worrying all the time left us more drained than we expected.

Overall, I'm glad we went.  I desperately needed to get out of the house, and within the Disney Bubble I felt relatively safe.  However, we won't be going back until after the pandemic - not because of Disney itself, not because of what was "missing," but because the journey to get to Florida was so exhausting and stress-inducing.  When/if DL reopens, we'll almost certainly go there because we can drive.


----------



## hereforthechurros

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> Quick report from my trip Dec 5-10.
> We had a pretty successful trip. Cooler temps were welcomed after our August trip.
> Just DH, DS8 and I. We RD'd parks, and that first hour (including the earlier openings) was the must.
> DHS on Tuesday didn't open MMRR as early as usual. Opened at 8:30. Slinky also didn't start running until 8:50, so we skipped it. We did TSMM, MF, and then the magic shots with the fighters and baby Yoda, then BG.
> I went back Thursday by myself, and did Slinky 1st, walked straight on, did TSMM walk on, and then went to MMRR, posted 40, but made it to last divider row in 20, but then it broke down. Got a FP. Did ST, Frozen singalong at 9:30, and then MMRR was up so used my FP.
> I did have BG 17, but it didn't start running until when I had to leave. (Got my push while waiting for boat back to YC)
> But as you can see, YMMV daily.
> Also, Tuesday they had us lined up back before the exit of the skyliner, so people coming off skyliner got a jump before us walkers.
> Thursday they took us to temp tents prior to the skyliner people arriving. That had me one of the first 20 walking down towards MMRR.
> Wed we did AK. Bus from YC. We went to the bus stop at 6:30, only ones there.  Bus came about 5-10 minutes before 7. Walked straight in to AK, and to FOP. Stopped about 10 people in front of us at entrance, waited a minute, and then we walked right on, after short preshow. Did Safari, which didn't open until 7:55. Got the male lion roaring, his breath fogging in the cool air.  EE, about 5 min wait, walk on at Dino.
> 
> If you don't mind pics with masks, and have a Disney Visa, I recommend the photo spot at Epcot. They had no one there, and our photographer gave us our own private photo shoot, lol. He took 18 pics in different fun poses. Here is the character magic shot:
> View attachment 543286


Cute shot! Where is this in Epcot? We have a visa but rarely remember to do the character pictures!


----------



## yulilin3

hereforthechurros said:


> Cute shot! Where is this in Epcot? We have a visa but rarely remember to do the character pictures!


Behind figment  by the dancing fountains


----------



## jsmla

cyndiella said:


> What??  are you hinting that AoA buses come earlier than POP buses???  Is that all buses--MK, AK??  That would be super great!  Let me know if you had more bus to parks experiences like this!



Not that so much as that there is no bus between Pop and DHS.  Pop only has the Skyliner and the timing is such that, no matter how early you are for the Skyliner at the Pop station, you’ll probably be behind a whole lot of people from Caribbean Beach and, perhaps, Riviera at the transfer point to DHS.  When I stayed at Caribbean Beach in September every morning the line for DHS extended down the ramp and out onto the sidewalk long before the Pop people ever arrived.  That was before AoA opened.

I’m avoiding longer indoor queues (like Runaway Railway and Tower of Terror) as much as possible which meant arriving at the front of the opening crowd.  If it weren’t for COVID I would have just taken my chances with the Skyliner.  I chose to skip Rise of the Resistance altogether.  It’s just too indoorsy for me right now.

My original intention was to take a bus from AoA to DHS but it was cold, like really, really chilly with a nasty little biting wind. I saw a MK bus pull up and jumped on thinking I’d rather sit on a warm bus and transfer to another warm bus than wait at the chilly AoA stop for more a direct trip.  If it had been 60 instead of 40 degrees out I probably would have just waited for the direct DHS bus from AoA.  The convoluted route I ended up taking actually got me there significantly earlier than the Skyliner or any of the buses.

All of that said, I was on the first bus out from Pop once to AK and twice to MK  and the AoA bus beat us every time.  Pop did look like it was always second.  If staying at AoA I wouldn’t hesitate to use their buses for park open.

In my experience this week (and I was paying attention) was that, aside from walk ups, first arrivals were the AoA buses at MK (3X) with Pop right behind, and the first people off the Skyliner at DHS (2 X) Walk ups seemed to be first at both parks.

I caught the earliest AK bus from Pop and was one of the first into the park, I’m pretty sure it was the second bus to arrive that morning.

Long way to say that, if my experience this past week is anything to go by, bus service from Pop works well if you can be there early enough to be on the first one out.


----------



## jsmla

Regarding CMs and the policing of masks-we were there over Thanksgiving week with our 2 3/4 year old granddaughter.  We fully support and tried our hardest to adhere to the mask rules.  DGD really did do her two year old best but this was all very new for her. The thing is, she is a thumb sucker and was seated in a stroller in front of me, completely out of my view.  (PawPaw was useless in this situation, he takes his role as the fun grandparent very seriously.)   Rules were occasionally forgotten (she’s two), masks were lowered, and thumbs sucked, all unintentionally done on my part.

We were asked many time to have DGD fix her mask.  We never minded and some of the CMs were very sweet with it, but they definitely did ask. You may not see them do anything at the moment you’re  noticing a slip-up but I’d bet it won’t be long.


----------



## wdwrule

yulilin3 said:


> Behind figment  by the dancing fountains


We totally missed that spot bummer!  We did get the visa spot at Star Wars Launch Bay at HS with storm troopers etc though.


----------



## hlrubin507

Today did second day at MK, did not try to arrive as early as possible but made it in before park opening.

Parked car @ TTC at 7:24am (8am opening)
7:34 was in line for monorail
7:40 departed on monorail
7:45am arrived at MK monorail station
7:48am through the tap stiles.

Walked on to:  Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear (2x), Pirates, Haunted Mansion,  and did BTMR with about a 15-minute wait between Buzz and Pirates.  Stopped for Sleepy Hollow snack goodness about 9:30am (line took almost 15 min) and after that time, the wait times were about what they would be for the rest of the day.  Since we had done 7DMT on our first day, we did not stress out about being through the tapstiles as early as humanly possible, which was a good call on day 5 of Disney.

We had a nice partial day at the MK -- did the Tiki Room, Aladdin, Carousel of Progress, Mad Tea Party, Pooh, shopped, and left about 1pm for lunch at the Wave, then shopped in the Contemporary and headed back to our rental.  It was nice to have a relaxing afternoon/nap and quiet evening at "home" on our second MK day.

Food and cocktails at the Wave were REALLY good.  Service was so-so.  Value for the price paid was quite high for Disney standards.  

The park does feel pretty crowded in the public thoroughfares and some of the lines are exceedingly long.  That said, many lines move quickly and it is refreshing to not be looking at my phone all day worrying about my schedule of FP's.

Lovely day!


----------



## MEC004

Carla1183 said:


> We were there last week and used world clock on an iPad while I was on the app on my phone. Hit the first page Join at 6:59:59, immediately hit join join without stopping to read anything, got group 3.


 One phone on world clock and the other on the app. Clicked join right at 7 and was in boarding group 12. It didn’t matter though since the ride was down until 12. We were able to board around 12:45ish.


----------



## cyndiella

Carla1183 said:


> We were there last week and used world clock on an iPad while I was on the app on my phone. Hit the first page Join at 6:59:59, immediately hit join join without stopping to read anything, got group 3.


wooow!!


----------



## cyndiella

jsmla said:


> Not that so much as that there is no bus between Pop and DHS.  Pop only has the Skyliner and the timing is such that, no matter how early you are for the Skyliner at the Pop station, you’ll probably be behind a whole lot of people from Caribbean Beach and, perhaps, Riviera at the transfer point to DHS.  When I stayed at Caribbean Beach in September every morning the line for DHS extended down the ramp and out onto the sidewalk long before the Pop people ever arrived.  That was before AoA opened.
> 
> I’m avoiding longer indoor queues (like Runaway Railway and Tower of Terror) as much as possible which meant arriving at the front of the opening crowd.  If it weren’t for COVID I would have just taken my chances with the Skyliner.  I chose to skip Rise of the Resistance altogether.  It’s just too indoorsy for me right now.
> 
> My original intention was to take a bus from AoA to DHS but it was cold, like really, really chilly with a nasty little biting wind. I saw a MK bus pull up and jumped on thinking I’d rather sit on a warm bus and transfer to another warm bus than wait at the chilly AoA stop for more a direct trip.  If it had been 60 instead of 40 degrees out I probably would have just waited for the direct DHS bus from AoA.  The convoluted route I ended up taking actually got me there significantly earlier than the Skyliner or any of the buses.
> 
> All of that said, I was on the first bus out from Pop once to AK and twice to MK  and the AoA bus beat us every time.  Pop did look like it was always second.  If staying at AoA I wouldn’t hesitate to use their buses for park open.
> 
> In my experience this week (and I was paying attention) was that, aside from walk ups, first arrivals were the AoA buses at MK (3X) with Pop right behind, and the first people off the Skyliner at DHS (2 X) Walk ups seemed to be first at both parks.
> 
> I caught the earliest AK bus from Pop and was one of the first into the park, I’m pretty sure it was the first bus to arrive that morning.
> 
> Long way to say that, if my experience this past week is anything to go by, bus service from Pop works well if you can be there early enough to be on the first one out.


great information!  thanks!


----------



## Betty Rohrer

fabfemmeboy said:


> Just returned from a 12-day trip to the World, our first in 5 years.  I posted in a bit more detail about our first couple days many pages back, but I'll sum up here.  For context, we're 2 healthy-ish 30-somethings from California.  We haven't eaten indoors since before March, we wear masks religiously, we cancelled our family vacation back in August because it wouldn't be safe, and while we were gone they announced a second lockdown of our area.
> 
> *The Good*
> -Festival of Holidays and all the seasonal snacks were a big hit with us.  Even in its reduced form, there are still plenty of things to try.
> -Wait times were pretty reasonable (see below for a caveat)
> -People did seem to be trying their best to abide by the rules.  There were certainly people who didn't seem to be able to pay attention to anything outside of themselves/their party, but for the most part people were genuinely trying.
> -We didn't have problems with mobile ordering, though outside the restaurants became a gauntlet of trying to get through everyone else who was waiting for their food.
> -We missed park-hopping a little, but instead we did 2 days at each park and just went slower, which was kind of nice.  And the lack of planning/racing around made for a much more relaxing vacation.
> -Overall we had a really good time.
> 
> *The Bad*
> -Drunk people cannot socially-distance.  This was a big issue at EPCOT.
> -Airports are very much a reflection of the state in which they are located.  SFO was great - empty, distanced, quiet.  MSP was a nightmare of epic proportions.
> -The "stand here" lines are too close together.  No party of more than 2 can fit on the line, so the group winds up filling most of the six-feet section.  At Universal, the lines were closer to 10 feet apart, which helped account for the space that people took up.
> -I did not see CMs correcting people who were wearing masks incorrectly.  My partner said he saw one do it once.  There were a lot of nose-peekers and a handful of forgetful folks, and no one was addressing it.  I was surprised because people on here had reported that CMs were doing that - I'm not sure if they're just burned out or afraid of starting a fight or there are just too few of them now to add that job duty.
> -The parks are not built for the kind of distance that is required.  The number of choke-points are really ridiculous, especially for how recently many sections were built and therefore how large of crowds they should have expected.  DHS was the worst - not only SWGE, which we expected, but TSL as well.  Even without a pandemic, the walkways are just too narrow for the crowds.
> -People still instinctively crowd together when there's any kind of 'spectacle.'  Cavalcades - people hear the music and cram together at the front of the sidewalk.  Lit-up castle - people stand in crowds to watch it...not change for 15 minutes.  Why, people?!
> 
> *The Unexpected*
> -Rise BG.  I was thrilled to not need to race over into the throng and expected we would get something mid-afternoon and wander over when crowds were lower.  Instead we got BG5 and BG6 on our two days!  Whoops?
> -I love the cavalcades.  Except that you can't predict when they'll be so you can easily get stuck behind them.  Like 4 times in one afternoon at MK.
> -The number of lines that are inaccessible really shocked me.  I use a tiny electric wheelchair and am used to some accessibility issues at DL because it was built in the 50s.  Plenty of rides at DL make you enter through the exit or come back at a different time because it predates the ADA by some 30-40 years.  But at WDW, which is much newer, and in particular parks/areas that postdate the ADA, it's really ridiculous.  We couldn't take advantage of inflated line times because we were given return-times at almost every ride.  On one hand, it was nice to wait outside the line; on the other, waiting 60 minutes for something you know is only a 30-minute wait is annoying - and mostly infuriating because it shouldn't be inaccessible after all this time.  And don't even get me started on Pirates.
> -I had seen people talking about how the mask makes them tired faster; in the heat I can see that, but it was pleasantly cool when we went.  However, we were wiped out much faster than usual.  I don't think it was the mask itself, I think it was the energy being expended to try to figure out how to avoid people and being constantly vigilant.  The mental energy it took to try to be as careful as possible and worrying all the time left us more drained than we expected.
> 
> Overall, I'm glad we went.  I desperately needed to get out of the house, and within the Disney Bubble I felt relatively safe.  However, we won't be going back until after the pandemic - not because of Disney itself, not because of what was "missing," but because the journey to get to Florida was so exhausting and stress-inducing.  When/if DL reopens, we'll almost certainly go there because we can drive.


Pirates exit is in a different building how do you want them to get your chair to the exit? if I remember correctly that is not the same at DL. been years since I lived in Cal


----------



## Telcogirl

Here now and thumbing through the TV....where is Stacey?


----------



## Akck

Now that we’re back home after 7 nights in the Disney bubble, 3 nights at Universal and 9 nights before that in Houston, I thought I’d provide a summary of our trip. This whole trip started over a year ago as we made plans to visit with our granddaughter (parents included), for her first WDW trip in January 2021. Well, the first big change was to move the trip to December in order to catch all the holiday activities. Reservations were made Jan/Feb 2020 for early December and we were set.

Then COVID happened. We considered canceling as the experience wouldn’t be the same. In the end, we and her parents decided to go since they’ve been isolating themselves for months. So we spent Thanksgiving with them and helped them move (another story), prior to the trip.

The flight in was fine as middle seats were empty. The original plan was to take ME, use Disney transportation and Uber/Lyft as needed. With COVID, we ended up renting a car and we’re spoiled with being able drive off property including GKTW Night of a Million Lights, which we loved. We stayed at the Riviera Resort in 2 standard studios, which we thoroughly enjoyed, especially the skyliner.

For the most part, we were able to go on all the rides we wanted except some water rides (too cold to walk around wet). Many of them were walk-ons or near walk-ons, including MMRR at park open (reported earlier in this thread). While some had long lines, we had very few pauses in them. Crowd size at times, felt the same as when we were here in Oct 2019, with some areas almost being empty.

Meal planning was somewhat difficult as QS limited menus got old relatively quickly. To increase your meal choices, you need to have some ADRs. I was able to get several, including character meals for the granddaughter. We also drove to some off site restaurants. For the most part, tables were well spaced apart and we felt comfortable in both indoor and outdoor tables. We felt uncomfortable at one restaurant that was at 100% capacity. They had placed barriers between all tables, but it felt odd compared to the others we ate at. The character meals were well worth it. We saw many genuine smiles on our granddaughter as each character distantly interacted with her.

While many have mentioned that they felt safe at WDW, there’s always that chance you can be infected. Is that morning sore throat COVID or is it AC induced? Is that runny nose and cough COVID or is it just a cold? I would say that if you have safe practices at home, you can have safe practices at Disney. In our state, you can quarantine for 14 days or get tested. We tested negative, so you can be safe in your travels.


----------



## fabfemmeboy

Betty Rohrer said:


> Pirates exit is in a different building how do you want them to get your chair to the exit? if I remember correctly that is not the same at DL. been years since I lived in Cal



So here's the weird thing with Pirates at WDW: You can bring personal wheelchairs into the queue...but only if they have no electric mechanisms at all.  So a fully-manual chair, you can bring all the way to where you get onto the boat and they will have waiting for you when you exit (because the ride is like 10 minutes long).  Anything with electricity at all, you cannot bring into the building.  A couple months ago someone with a manual chair with power assist was told they couldn't bring it in, then were told they could but only if they didn't turn the electronics on at all while in line.  So that's not a timing issue.  I was told it was a water issue, but since I can take the whole chair onto IASW and Frozen (where we got much more wet!) that seems strange.  Also the CM said thought she remembered something from training about it being about insufficient elevators, which I assume is to get the chair from one building to the other, but again - manual chairs can be used even if they can't fold up, and many electric chairs or manual chairs with electric drives fold up as small as a regular chair so it's not a size issue, plus they have as good of a turning radius as the smallest manual chair.  It's just a very strange policy that no one seems to be able to explain why it is what it is and why the lines were drawn in the way that they were.

The other weird thing is that, until a few months ago, they had the same policy with FOP, then...stopped suddenly and now just have chairs in the room where you exit.  (I assume because people complained that a) loved-ones had to push a manual chair up a rather steep ramp and b) the ride was built 35 years after the ADA passed when every 4th person at WDW uses a scooter, why can it only be traversed in a manual chair?)


----------



## Betty Rohrer

fabfemmeboy said:


> So here's the weird thing with Pirates at WDW: You can bring personal wheelchairs into the queue...but only if they have no electric mechanisms at all.  So a fully-manual chair, you can bring all the way to where you get onto the boat and they will have waiting for you when you exit (because the ride is like 10 minutes long).  Anything with electricity at all, you cannot bring into the building.  A couple months ago someone with a manual chair with power assist was told they couldn't bring it in, then were told they could but only if they didn't turn the electronics on at all while in line.  So that's not a timing issue.  I was told it was a water issue, but since I can take the whole chair onto IASW and Frozen (where we got much more wet!) that seems strange.  Also the CM said thought she remembered something from training about it being about insufficient elevators, which I assume is to get the chair from one building to the other, but again - manual chairs can be used even if they can't fold up, and many electric chairs or manual chairs with electric drives fold up as small as a regular chair so it's not a size issue, plus they have as good of a turning radius as the smallest manual chair.  It's just a very strange policy that no one seems to be able to explain why it is what it is and why the lines were drawn in the way that they were.
> 
> The other weird thing is that, until a few months ago, they had the same policy with FOP, then...stopped suddenly and now just have chairs in the room where you exit.  (I assume because people complained that a) loved-ones had to push a manual chair up a rather steep ramp and b) the ride was built 35 years after the ADA passed when every 4th person at WDW uses a scooter, why can it only be traversed in a manual chair?)


just  guessing but I am thinking it is because they take up stairs folded not elevator and afraid of damaging some of electrics. just a guess


----------



## wdwrule

Telcogirl said:


> Here now and thumbing through the TV....where is Stacey?


Unfortunately I believe gone because of the current times we’re in ... for now. I searched and searched when I was there recently and no luck. A channel titled Disney’s Must Do’s but had a different program on that channel.


----------



## briternik

I have used these boards so much over that last many years to do my trip planning.  It was more beneficial this year than ever before.  We just returned from our weeklong stay.  I think it is much, much more crowded than I expected.  If you are at all leary, I don’t think you will feel comfortable.  My party of six all  quarantined before going. We all got Covid tested and we drove.  The adults work from home and we haven’t been to a restaurant since March.  We have been very cautious.  Once we got to Disney, all bets were off. 

We arrived at Boardwalk Villas around 3.  Our room wasn’t ready until 5:30. We usually stay at BLT, but decided it was more important to walk to Epcot and HS than walking to MK. We arrived each day about an hour before opening times. This worked out well for the first 2 or 3 rides. After that, there were long lines for everything.  We are very savvy fastpassers, so waiting 40 minutes to see Mickey’s Philharmagic isn’t our idea of fun.  If we saw a 20 minute wait time  on a ride, and headed straight to that attraction, it was 40 minutes by the time we got there. I had read many reports that the wait time was shorter than stated, but I didn’t find that to be the case.  It was usually spot on. 

Magic Kingdom was, by far, the worst place to try to get a meal or a snack.  The Starbucks line was never less than 30 minutes long, and oftentimes up to an hour.  This was no matter the time of day.  There is no off-peak time. Sleepy Hollow was the same. It was just unbelievable. We had booked 1 ADR per day and were so thankful we did.  Usually, the night before you can get reservations that other people cancel last minute.  That didn’t happen for us even once this trip.  We made sure to make our counter service reservation way before we wanted it, due to the advice given on this board.  That was certainly helpful. 

The social distancing whilst in line was fine. I didn’t really feel uncomfortable.   However, when you went to get off of a ride, everyone clustered together. No separation at all.  The same with the cavalcades.  When the music started, everyone rushed to the front.  At Magic Kingdom, there was always a bottleneck between Peter Pan and Small World.  When the castle projections started at night, the crowds didn’t look much different than when we had Happily Ever After.

The park I felt most comfortable in was Epcot.  There was so much more room to spread out.  HS and AK were congested in spots.  We got boarding group 30 for ROTR and were called about 10:45.  It broke down right during the final scene, so we got to ride it again when it came back up.  Great ride!  Magic Kingdom didn’t seem any less crowded than when I have gone in past Christmas’s or during Spring Break. 

All in all, we had a great time.  I love seeing Disney at Christmas.  I think if I had 20/20 hindsight, though, I would wait until things were more back to normal.  I’m going to wait 5 days and take a Covid test.  I think it will be a miracle if one of us didn’t get it.  Here’s hoping though……. 

I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.


----------



## popeyeohoh

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Finally some action on the resort TV.
> 
> View attachment 508579


----------



## FredQc

fabfemmeboy said:


> -Airports are very much a reflection of the state in which they are located. SFO was great - empty, distanced, quiet. MSP was a nightmare of epic proportions.



How would you qualify MCO?

Thank you for this great report.


----------



## FredQc

Akck said:


> We felt uncomfortable at one restaurant that was at 100% capacity. They had placed barriers between all tables, but it felt odd compared to the others we ate at.



Was it a WDW restaurant and, if yes, which one?

Thank you for your post.


----------



## Befferk

fabfemmeboy said:


> MSP was a nightmare of epic proportions.



Can you expand on this? We are flying out of MSP on Christmas Day.


----------



## cjlong88

fabfemmeboy said:


> Airports are very much a reflection of the state in which they are located.  SFO was great - empty, distanced, quiet.  MSP was a nightmare of epic proportions.



I had the complete opposite experience. We departed from MSP and it was a ghost town and the people I did see were adhering to all safety protocols (mask wearing, social distancing, etc) the entire time. I think it wholly depends on day and time you are at the airport. I heard MCO was terrible before traveling to WDW and when we landed it was also completely empty.

Do I doubt that MSP was crazy when you connected there? Not at all. But I think every airport is going to experience both extremes at some point. What each person experiences is going to vary.


----------



## crazycatlady

I got so much information from this thread before we left for our trip that I want to give back and relate our experiences.

Friday, Dec 4th: AK - We got to the Jamaica bus stop at 6:15am for 8am open and were the only ones there. Two more families arrived around 6:30am before the first bus came at 6:45. Bus only went to Jamaica and Aruba before heading to AK. We walked directly through temp check and security with no line. I snapped a picture of the tree outside the park at 6:10 on our way to the tapstiles where we were held until about 6:20 (we were about 3rd group in our line). Walked right to FOP with about a 5 to 10 minute wait. After that we rode Navi with no wait, Dino with no wait , Everest with about a 5 minute wait and safari with a 10 minute wait. I snapped a picture of a giraffe at 8:09am.

Saturday, Dec 5th: DHS - Took an Uber to Speedway at 7:45am for 10am open. Walked briskly to DHS and were about 5th family there. Were walked to temp check around 8:45 and held there until about 9:10 before being let into the park. We were on the first train at MMRR, then went directly to Slinky and waited about 20 to 25 minutes. After that we went to Smugglers Run for about a 15 minute wait. By the time we did those three rides, it was around 11am and the wait times were higher than we wanted to wait and the crowds were higher than we liked, so we left around 11am. We came back in the evening and walked on Aliens and only waited for about 15 minutes for MMRR.

Sunday, Dec 6th: MK - Took an Uber to CR at 6:15am for an 8am open, held at temp check until around 6:50 am and let through the tapstiles around 7:15am. Walked to Big Thunder and was really disappointed to learn that neither BT nor SpM would be opening early, nor would they let us line up that early. We were going to walk back to Fantasyland, but decided that we would already be way behind the 8-ball, so we just stayed by BT. Luckily, all the people coming up after us just started a line behind us, so when they finally let us into the que at around 7:40, we were still first in line. They let us onto the ride about 7:50. Walked onto Pirates, had about a 15 minute wait for JC, walked on HM, had about a 15 minute wait for SW and walked onto the Speedway around 10:15. By 1pm the park was too crowded for our comfort so we left and came back in the evening. Waits decreased dramatically around 7 pm and walked on or waited small waits for a bunch of rides.

Monday, Dec 7th: Epcot - Took skyliner to DHS, took boat to BC, and then walked to IG. Were about 6 groups back at 10am for 12pm open. They let us in around 11:15 and we fast walked to Norway. We went to the left out of the tapstiles (towards Canada) but the bulk of the crowd went to the right. We were the first to make it to Norway and were the first on Frozen. We stayed in WS and waited until after 3:30 to go to FW and had short waits for all the rides except TT, which we skipped until after dinner and then waited around 25 minutes for (which is still pretty good).

Tuesday, Dec 8th: AK - Did the same as above, but bus was 15 minutes later went to all stops at CBR, so missed RD, but still only waited around 20 minutes for FOP, walked on Navi and had small waits at other rides.

Wednesday, Dec 9th: MK - Decided to take bus this time so was on bus stop by 6:15am for 8am open and driver was to MK by 6:45. The guard at the gate wouldn't let our bus park because it was too early, so we had to wait until 7am to park. We were immediately let through temp check and held at tapstiles until around 7:15. We learned from last time and went to Mine Train which was open so rode that and then walked on to PP and then on to BTRR. Much less crowded day, but the evening was more crowded than on Sunday.

Thursday, Dec 10th: Epcot - Same as above with same results

Friday, Dec 11th: DHS - DH got BG 1. We decided to take skyliner this time and were first in line at station at 7:00am for 9am open. We were let on the skyliner at 7:45 and then led to temp check behind all the walkers, so were about 10 groups back in our line and behind about 35 or 40 groups back in total. After about 15 minutes in line they started letting the people off the skyliner into a brand new line at a different tent, which we thought was pretty unfair. I feel like if you are going to have a separate line for the skyliners, than the first people off the skyliner should get to line up there and not have the people who are there 20 minutes later get to be first in line. Anyway, we rode MMRR, RNR, and TOT before heading to ROTR at 9:15. Waits were small all morning and we rode ST with 10 min wait and RNR with 15 minute wait after. We came back in the evening and waits continued to be reasonable for all rides. We rode MMRR two more times at park close with little to no wait.

Sorry this is so long but we used multiple transportation methods so wanted to give you all that info.  The best tip I have it to get to RD early and go immediately to one of the big headliners because the other rides may not be open, stay until the waits or crowds are out of your comfort zone and then leave. Come back in the evening because the waits are way shorter. 

I will answer any questions you may have.


----------



## Telcogirl

wdwrule said:


> Unfortunately I believe gone because of the current times we’re in ... for now. I searched and searched when I was there recently and no luck. A channel titled Disney’s Must Do’s but had a different program on that channel.



I know!   The Disney Must Do channel had regular programs on.     I needed a little Stacey to normalize this Disney trip.


----------



## kondjott

Just wrapped up a 4 day trip and wanted to share our experiences to help others planning and (maybe more importantly) setting expectations.

For context, my wife and I were traveling with our 4 kids and her parents, and we stayed in connecting rooms at Pop Century.

Operations: Was really impressed with how quickly they moved everyone through the lines for the temp screening, security, monorail, and ticket entrance. Was probably the fastest I've ever gotten from parking lot to walking into the park at any of the parks (but especially MK). The lines were well spaced out, with minimal times waiting inside, and you can tell they've really thought through how they're handling things operationally. Mask guidelines were well enforced, and I only saw a handful of people the whole time who weren't complying with the rules.

Crowds: Lines were not bad at all for the first couple hours, but things got noticeably more crowded starting around 10:30. After that point, very few things had less than a 30 minute posted wait, though we found that most actual waits were closer to half the posted time. Parks definitely felt crowded though, especially at bottlenecks and in front of the castle at night. That said, the Hub was nowhere near as crowded as it is during normal times. Anyone that says otherwise has never tried to navigate a double stroller through there right after a fireworks show or parade.

Characters: Character interactions were handled about as well as could be right now. The cavalcades were great, and seeing other characters "wandering" at a distance was always a nice surprise.

I think Disney is doing a tremendous job with the hand they've been dealt, but it's definitely not the same. Just go in with realistic expectations, and don't expect super low wait times or empty areas of the park, and you'll have a much better time.


----------



## Befferk

crazycatlady said:


> Took an Uber to CR at 6:15am for an 8am open


Did you have a mobile order?


----------



## Greektina

Hello Everyone, 

We have a trip scheduled from 12/18 to 12/25, two adults and three teens.  We have been very cautious with regards to COVID, ie haven't eaten in a restaurant since March, kids doing school from home, wearing masks, etc.  We are hopeful for a fun yet safe trip, coming from Wisconsin.  We are DVC members, staying at AKL Kidani and BWV, renting a car.   We are planning on dining outdoors for almost all of our meals.  We have been to Disney many times, so we don't have to do everything, but just want to get the good Disney feels!  We have never been here at Christmas time.  

The information posted here has been very helpful as I have been planning our trip, thank you!  I have a few more questions for anyone that might have advice for me. 

To those of you who have been to Savi's workshop, did you feel that the spacing among guests was safe?  

Any strong recommendations for outdoor dining?  We have ADR at Olivia's and Trattoria al Forno, hoping for outdoor seating.  Is it difficult to get an outdoor seat at Nomad Lounge, or Primo Piatti?  

We have ADR at California Grill and Kona Cafe.  For those of you who have been here during the pandemic, is the seating between separate parties a good distance?  

Thank you in advance!


----------



## KrazeeK120

briternik said:


> I’m going to wait 5 days and take a Covid test.  I think it will be a miracle if one of us didn’t get it.



Just curious, what makes you say that?


----------



## crazycatlady

Befferk said:


> Did you have a mobile order?


We had a mobile order and the guard made me show it on my phone before we were let into the parking lot.


----------



## briternik

KrazeeK120 said:


> Just curious, what makes you say that?


Because of the number of times we got trapped in the bottlenecks and when exiting rides.  I felt safe entering the rides, but not when exiting.  The hub was very crowded.  Also, when a cavalcade came, people just crowded in.   There were several times that the hand sanitizer stations were empty.  We had our own, but there were times when I was trying to get to it, my mask would slip and I would have to adjust it before I could sanitize.  After being so cautious all of these months, I just feel a bit nervous.


----------



## MissMagnolia

crazycatlady said:


> I got so much information from this thread before we left for our trip that I want to give back and relate our experiences.
> 
> Friday, Dec 4th: AK - We got to the Jamaica bus stop at 6:15am for 8am open and were the only ones there. Two more families arrived around 6:30am before the first bus came at 6:45. Bus only went to Jamaica and Aruba before heading to AK. We walked directly through temp check and security with no line. I snapped a picture of the tree outside the park at 6:10 on our way to the tapstiles where we were held until about 6:20 (we were about 3rd group in our line). Walked right to FOP with about a 5 to 10 minute wait. After that we rode Navi with no wait, Dino with no wait , Everest with about a 5 minute wait and safari with a 10 minute wait. I snapped a picture of a giraffe at 8:09am.
> 
> Saturday, Dec 5th: DHS - Took an Uber to Speedway at 7:45am for 10am open. Walked briskly to DHS and were about 5th family there. Were walked to temp check around 8:45 and held there until about 9:10 before being let into the park. We were on the first train at MMRR, then went directly to Slinky and waited about 20 to 25 minutes. After that we went to Smugglers Run for about a 15 minute wait. By the time we did those three rides, it was around 11am and the wait times were higher than we wanted to wait and the crowds were higher than we liked, so we left around 11am. We came back in the evening and walked on Aliens and only waited for about 15 minutes for MMRR.
> 
> Sunday, Dec 6th: MK - Took an Uber to CR at 6:15am for an 8am open, held at temp check until around 6:50 am and let through the tapstiles around 7:15am. Walked to Big Thunder and was really disappointed to learn that neither BT nor SpM would be opening early, nor would they let us line up that early. We were going to walk back to Fantasyland, but decided that we would already be way behind the 8-ball, so we just stayed by BT. Luckily, all the people coming up after us just started a line behind us, so when they finally let us into the que at around 7:40, we were still first in line. They let us onto the ride about 7:50. Walked onto Pirates, had about a 15 minute wait for JC, walked on HM, had about a 15 minute wait for SW and walked onto the Speedway around 10:15. By 1pm the park was too crowded for our comfort so we left and came back in the evening. Waits decreased dramatically around 7 pm and walked on or waited small waits for a bunch of rides.
> 
> Monday, Dec 7th: Epcot - Took skyliner to DHS, took boat to BC, and then walked to IG. Were about 6 groups back at 10am for 12pm open. They let us in around 11:15 and we fast walked to Norway. We went to the left out of the tapstiles (towards Canada) but the bulk of the crowd went to the right. We were the first to make it to Norway and were the first on Frozen. We stayed in WS and waited until after 3:30 to go to FW and had short waits for all the rides except TT, which we skipped until after dinner and then waited around 25 minutes for (which is still pretty good).
> 
> Tuesday, Dec 8th: AK - Did the same as above, but bus was 15 minutes later went to all stops at CBR, so missed RD, but still only waited around 20 minutes for FOP, walked on Navi and had small waits at other rides.
> 
> Wednesday, Dec 9th: MK - Decided to take bus this time so was on bus stop by 6:15am for 8am open and driver was to MK by 6:45. The guard at the gate wouldn't let our bus park because it was too early, so we had to wait until 7am to park. We were immediately let through temp check and held at tapstiles until around 7:15. We learned from last time and went to Mine Train which was open so rode that and then walked on to PP and then on to BTRR. Much less crowded day, but the evening was more crowded than on Sunday.
> 
> Thursday, Dec 10th: Epcot - Same as above with same results
> 
> Friday, Dec 11th: DHS - DH got BG 1. We decided to take skyliner this time and were first in line at station at 7:00am for 9am open. We were let on the skyliner at 7:45 and then led to temp check behind all the walkers, so were about 10 groups back in our line and behind about 35 or 40 groups back in total. After about 15 minutes in line they started letting the people off the skyliner into a brand new line at a different tent, which we thought was pretty unfair. I feel like if you are going to have a separate line for the skyliners, than the first people off the skyliner should get to line up there and not have the people who are there 20 minutes later get to be first in line. Anyway, we rode MMRR, RNR, and TOT before heading to ROTR at 9:15. Waits were small all morning and we rode ST with 10 min wait and RNR with 15 minute wait after. We came back in the evening and waits continued to be reasonable for all rides. We rode MMRR two more times at park close with little to no wait.
> 
> Sorry this is so long but we used multiple transportation methods so wanted to give you all that info.  The best tip I have it to get to RD early and go immediately to one of the big headliners because the other rides may not be open, stay until the waits or crowds are out of your comfort zone and then leave. Come back in the evening because the waits are way shorter.
> 
> I will answer any questions you may have.


When you went left to Canada through the IG, did you continue around the lake and through the Mexico side to get to Frozen? Seems like that would take longer in my brain (probably why everyone else went right!)


----------



## crazycatlady

MissMagnolia said:


> When you went left to Canada through the IG, did you continue around the lake and through the Mexico side to get to Frozen? Seems like that would take longer in my brain (probably why everyone else went right!)


Yes, we did this both days and were first in line for Frozen both times. We are 50 years old and walked briskly but did not run, although we saw people going to the right running and we still beat them. Not by a lot, but definitely by a couple of minutes.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

MissMagnolia said:


> When you went left to Canada through the IG, did you continue around the lake and through the Mexico side to get to Frozen? Seems like that would take longer in my brain (probably why everyone else went right!)


I think it's a little faster but not by much.
If you look at the map IG and Norway are both on the lower half of the circle.


----------



## princesslover

briternik said:


> Because of the number of times we got trapped in the bottlenecks and when exiting rides.  I felt safe entering the rides, but not when exiting.  The hub was very crowded.  Also, when a cavalcade came, people just crowded in.   There were several times that the hand sanitizer stations were empty.  We had our own, but there were times when I was trying to get to it, my mask would slip and I would have to adjust it before I could sanitize.  After being so cautious all of these months, I just feel a bit nervous.


I am not an epidemiologist by any means, but from what I have heard and read, your risk of getting the virus through brief (less than 10-15 min) contact with an individual is pretty low.  Waking through a crowded outdoor area (where everyone is masked) briefly does not seem necessarily high risk.  Nothing is 100% safe of course.  I am so sorry you are feeling anxious though.  That anxiety is understandable during these times we are in, Disney trip or not.

From following along here, my assumption going in is that we should anticipate being in bottlenecked areas from time to time.  Disney can only do so much to control things outside of lines for attractions.


----------



## princesslover

briternik said:


> Because of the number of times we got trapped in the bottlenecks and when exiting rides.  I felt safe entering the rides, but not when exiting.  The hub was very crowded.  Also, when a cavalcade came, people just crowded in.   There were several times that the hand sanitizer stations were empty.  We had our own, but there were times when I was trying to get to it, my mask would slip and I would have to adjust it before I could sanitize.  After being so cautious all of these months, I just feel a bit nervous.


I am not an epidemiologist by any means, but from what I have heard and read. your risk of getting the virus through brief (less than 10-15 min) contact with an individual is pretty low.  Waking through a crowded outdoor area (where everyone is masked) briefly does not seem necessarily high risk.  Nothing is 100% safe of course.  I am so sorry you are feeling anxious though.  That anxiety is understandable during these times we are in, Disney trip or not.

From following along here, my assumption going in is that we should anticipate being in bottlenecked areas from time to time.  Disney can only do so much to control things outside of lines for attractions.


----------



## disneycasey2020

Do they still have the test seats out to try right now? There are a few rides I’m nervous about fitting in and am really hoping to try before I wait in line. But I do understand those would be high touch points.


----------



## crazycatlady

I also forgot to mention that we saw a lot of over-inflated wait times, especially in the last hour or so before closing. We walked on Soarin that showed a 35 minute wait, waited about 25 minutes for TT that showed a 50 minute wait, walked on the Land with a posted 20 minute wait and there were many more.


----------



## RanDIZ

crazycatlady said:


> Yes, we did this both days and were first in line for Frozen both times. We are 50 years old and walked briskly but did not run, although we saw people going to the right running and we still beat them. Not by a lot, but definitely by a couple of minutes.



I did the same thing this past Tuesday and was first on Frozen. After leaving Frozen, headed to Test Track and waited 10 min tops! The park was still pretty empty.


----------



## dachsie

briternik said:


> Because of the number of times we got trapped in the bottlenecks and when exiting rides.  I felt safe entering the rides, but not when exiting.  The hub was very crowded.  Also, when a cavalcade came, people just crowded in.   There were several times that the hand sanitizer stations were empty.  We had our own, but there were times when I was trying to get to it, my mask would slip and I would have to adjust it before I could sanitize.  After being so cautious all of these months, I just feel a bit nervous.


You have more of a chance of getting Covid at your local grocery store than you do at Disney.  They have done a great job.  You have to be close in the vicinity of someone with Covid for 15 mins to get it from them.  Most of the time you are outside which even lowers the chance.  Wash your hands and wear your masks and you are fine.


----------



## Befferk

crazycatlady said:


> We had a mobile order and the guard made me show it on my phone before we were let into the parking lot.


What time was your mobile order for?


----------



## only hope

princesslover said:


> I am not an epidemiologist by any means, but from what I have heard and read. your risk of getting the virus through brief (less than 10-15 min) contact with an individual is pretty low.  Waking through a crowded outdoor area (where everyone is masked) briefly does not seem necessarily high risk.  Nothing is 100% safe of course.  I am so sorry you are feeling anxious though.  That anxiety is understandable during these times we are in, Disney trip or not.
> 
> From following along here, my assumption going in is that we should anticipate being in bottlenecked areas from time to time.  Disney can only do so much to control things outside of lines for attractions.





dachsie said:


> You have more of a chance of getting Covid at your local grocery store than you do at Disney.  They have done a great job.  You have to be close in the vicinity of someone with Covid for 15 mins to get it from them.  Most of the time you are outside which even lowers the chance.  Wash your hands and wear your masks and you are fine.



About a month ago, new research was released showing you only need 15mn exposure over 24 hours. It doesn’t have to be all at once.

Went to Epcot last Saturday. Mask compliance was pretty good. Did witness CM ignore people walking and eating, though I also saw it corrected.

CM accomdated our request to not be front to back with another party on Livin with the Land. Nemo we skipped a car between us and party in front of us but the group behind us took the car adjacent to ours. There were empty cars all over the place so this was very frustrating and made us anxious. Why did those people even _want_ to be that close to us? We’re in a pandemic people, stay away please!

The singers inside Worldplace do not wear masks, and it is way too loud. Also, since food is served, there are tons of people without masks on. We didn’t stay long since those are unsafe conditions. I don’t understand why Disney opened up a bunch of food booths inside (again) and why the entertainment wasn’t held outside or at least somewhere without a bunch of unmasked people.

Shows at the America theater were spaced well. Singers are sans mask, so not exactly safe but better than Joyful as at least its outside. We sat on a bench all the way at the back, behind the wheelchair access benches- that’s the way to go if you want to maximize your distance. We were allowed to stay between shows. After we watched a second Voices performance they did make an announcement to clear the theater, I think because the next scheduled show wasn’t for awhile.

Jammitors play in Canada. Benches have been replaced by circles to stand on, which was an awful decision. Benches make it easier to keep people six feet apart. The circles are literally about six feet apart, so groups with more than two people were not six feet apart. After all the standing spaces were filled by the cm, they didn’t say anything to people who edged in between groups at the back and made up their own non-distanced spots. We watched from across the street on a bench for a few mn as I anticipated it getting too crowded, but after the standing space filled people were walking by within inches of us constantly so we ended up leaving.

There were too many people let in. It was extremely difficult to maintain six foot distance in every direction while walking around the showcase.


----------



## boop0524

Greektina said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> We have a trip scheduled from 12/18 to 12/25, two adults and three teens.  We have been very cautious with regards to COVID, ie haven't eaten in a restaurant since March, kids doing school from home, wearing masks, etc.  We are hopeful for a fun yet safe trip, coming from Wisconsin.  We are DVC members, staying at AKL Kidani and BWV, renting a car.   We are planning on dining outdoors for almost all of our meals.  We have been to Disney many times, so we don't have to do everything, but just want to get the good Disney feels!  We have never been here at Christmas time.
> 
> The information posted here has been very helpful as I have been planning our trip, thank you!  I have a few more questions for anyone that might have advice for me.
> 
> To those of you who have been to Savi's workshop, did you feel that the spacing among guests was safe?
> 
> Any strong recommendations for outdoor dining?  We have ADR at Olivia's and Trattoria al Forno, hoping for outdoor seating.  Is it difficult to get an outdoor seat at Nomad Lounge, or Primo Piatti?
> 
> We have ADR at California Grill and Kona Cafe.  For those of you who have been here during the pandemic, is the seating between separate parties a good distance?
> 
> Thank you in advance!



Kona on 11.30 was my first indoor dining experience  since March! Felt incredibly safe. The tables were spaced out very well. 

We found most outdoor dining through QS or Disney Springs


----------



## Telcogirl

Greektina said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> We have a trip scheduled from 12/18 to 12/25, two adults and three teens.  We have been very cautious with regards to COVID, ie haven't eaten in a restaurant since March, kids doing school from home, wearing masks, etc.  We are hopeful for a fun yet safe trip, coming from Wisconsin.  We are DVC members, staying at AKL Kidani and BWV, renting a car.   We are planning on dining outdoors for almost all of our meals.  We have been to Disney many times, so we don't have to do everything, but just want to get the good Disney feels!  We have never been here at Christmas time.
> 
> The information posted here has been very helpful as I have been planning our trip, thank you!  I have a few more questions for anyone that might have advice for me.
> 
> To those of you who have been to Savi's workshop, did you feel that the spacing among guests was safe?
> 
> Any strong recommendations for outdoor dining?  We have ADR at Olivia's and Trattoria al Forno, hoping for outdoor seating.  Is it difficult to get an outdoor seat at Nomad Lounge, or Primo Piatti?
> 
> We have ADR at California Grill and Kona Cafe.  For those of you who have been here during the pandemic, is the seating between separate parties a good distance?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


We had breakfast at Kona yesterday,    Felt very safe.    The Poly is otherwise closed right now, so it is eerily quiet in there.    They do a temperature check on you upon arrival and the tables are distanced appropriately.   Enjoy!


----------



## armerida

Greektina said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> We have a trip scheduled from 12/18 to 12/25, two adults and three teens.  We have been very cautious with regards to COVID, ie haven't eaten in a restaurant since March, kids doing school from home, wearing masks, etc.  We are hopeful for a fun yet safe trip, coming from Wisconsin.  We are DVC members, staying at AKL Kidani and BWV, renting a car.   We are planning on dining outdoors for almost all of our meals.  We have been to Disney many times, so we don't have to do everything, but just want to get the good Disney feels!  We have never been here at Christmas time.
> 
> The information posted here has been very helpful as I have been planning our trip, thank you!  I have a few more questions for anyone that might have advice for me.
> 
> To those of you who have been to Savi's workshop, did you feel that the spacing among guests was safe?
> 
> Any strong recommendations for outdoor dining?  We have ADR at Olivia's and Trattoria al Forno, hoping for outdoor seating.  Is it difficult to get an outdoor seat at Nomad Lounge, or Primo Piatti?
> 
> We have ADR at California Grill and Kona Cafe.  For those of you who have been here during the pandemic, is the seating between separate parties a good distance?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


We also don’t do indoor dining at home, and found that basically every restaurant at Disney Springs has outdoor seating. We ate at Raglan Road, Wine Bar George, the Boarhouse, and STK but saw patio seating at paddlefish, Morimoto, the Edison, Frontera, Delixe burger, Cityworks, polite pig, etc. 

My recommendation for Nomad lounge would be to get there early when they open, as a wait builds quickly. They have a waitlist you can join if you miss the first wave of seating.

If Trattoria al Forno isn’t seating outdoors (they weren’t when we last visited, perhaps due to staffing), you can order off their menu at Abracadabar  next door and sit outside.

We dined at CA grill (one of only a few indoor meals) and the tables were well spaced. The high ceilings and open space also felt good. We did keep our masks on when we weren’t actively eating/drinking.


----------



## OB1

Greektina said:


> Any strong recommendations for outdoor dining?  We have ADR at Olivia's and Trattoria al Forno, hoping for outdoor seating.  Is it difficult to get an outdoor seat at Nomad Lounge, or Primo Piatti?
> 
> Thank you in advance!



We took the skyliner from DHS to Primo at the Riviera. We wanted to check out the resort, and try Primo. There are tables outside and seating all around, so no worries. We both got the grilled chicken sandwich and it was fantastic. It had great bread, and the fries were really good. Wife got the side salad, and it was a decent salad. We will return


----------



## WorldOfPooh

armerida said:


> We also don’t do indoor dining at home, and found that basically every restaurant at Disney Springs has outdoor seating. We ate at Raglan Road, Wine Bar George, the Boarhouse, and STK but saw patio seating at paddlefish, Morimoto, the Edison, Frontera, Delixe burger, Cityworks, polite pig, etc.
> 
> My recommendation for Nomad lounge would be to get there early when they open, as a wait builds quickly. They have a waitlist you can join if you miss the first wave of seating.
> 
> If Trattoria al Forno isn’t seating outdoors (they weren’t when we last visited, perhaps due to staffing), you can order off their menu at Abracadabar  next door and sit outside.
> 
> We dined at CA grill (one of only a few indoor meals) and the tables were well spaced. The high ceilings and open space also felt good. We did keep our masks on when we weren’t actively eating/drinking.


Boarhouse!

I love Boar and roast pork belly


----------



## Funfire240

I honestly don't remember if I posted in this thread or not but we were there Thanksgiving week. I felt safe but at times did feel the bottleneck or some people not paying attention in lines. Overall wasn't bad. We ate at Rainforest Cafe (AK), BOG, Rose & Crown, 50's PT, and CRT. Those 5 equal the times I have been in restaurants since March here at home. I enjoyed the tables being spaced out and not bumping into anyone for sure! We flew from Detroit to Orlando and also used a private Mears transfer for a day at Seaworld.  I can say we have confirmation of no COVID infections. The ironic part - while I was gone, someone came into our office and infected some of the attorneys and staff, one being the attorney I work with, so I dodged it there as I worked from home even when I returned .


----------



## hlrubin507

Just in case anyone wants the lay of the land for driving to DHS for RD...

On our first DHS day, we walked from the Boardwalk.

For our second day, 9am opening on a Sunday, we arrived at the toll booth at 7:55am and were the 3rd car back.
They let cars in starting at 8:05am.

We were through the tapstiles at 8:15am.

We were definitely a little ways back in the crowd as there were many Skyliner people who were in before us drivers, but, I have to say, I don't think it made that big a difference.  We didn't have to stand around waiting for the temperature tents to open, we breezed right through.

As with walking in on a previous day, we did 2 popular rides (SDD and MFSR) with little wait and then all the wait times were about what they were for the rest of the day.

We did open to close and TOT was the only nightmare situation, with a 91 minute wait at the end of the night.  They were only running 2 elevators and the wait was really long all day long.  We tried waiting until the last hour and got in line at 6:15pm but the capacity was just two low and it took the full 90-minute posted wait time.

We were able to do every single attraction other than Lightning McQueen and Disney Jr., including riding SDD 3 times, TSM 4 times, and MMRR 2 times.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

hlrubin507 said:


> Just in case anyone wants the lay of the land for driving to DHS for RD...
> 
> On our first DHS day, we walked from the Boardwalk.
> 
> For our second day, 9am opening on a Sunday, we arrived at the toll booth at 7:55am and were the 3rd car back.
> They let cars in starting at 8:05am.
> 
> We were through the tapstiles at 8:15am.
> 
> We were definitely a little ways back in the crowd as there were many Skyliner people who were in before us drivers, but, I have to say, I don't think it made that big a difference.  We didn't have to stand around waiting for the temperature tents to open, we breezed right through.
> 
> As with walking in on a previous day, we did 2 popular rides (SDD and MFSR) with little wait and then all the wait times were about what they were for the rest of the day.
> 
> We did open to close and TOT was the only nightmare situation, with a 91 minute wait at the end of the night.  They were only running 2 elevators and the wait was really long all day long.  We tried waiting until the last hour and got in line at 6:15pm but the capacity was just two low and it took the full 90-minute posted wait time.
> 
> We were able to do every single attraction other than Lightning McQueen and Disney Jr., including riding SDD 3 times, TSM 4 times, and MMRR 2 times.



Is the Pizza restaurant open?


----------



## Shellyred8

fabfemmeboy said:


> *The Bad*
> -Drunk people cannot socially-distance. This was a big issue at EPCOT.
> -Airports are very much a reflection of the state in which they are located. SFO was great - empty, distanced, quiet. MSP was a nightmare of epic proportions.


Did you go through Terminal 1 at MSP?  I've only been at Terminal 2 since this all started, and things have been really good there.


----------



## parasail_of_congress

dachsie said:


> You have more of a chance of getting Covid at your local grocery store than you do at Disney.  They have done a great job.  You have to be close in the vicinity of someone with Covid for 15 mins to get it from them.  Most of the time you are outside which even lowers the chance.  Wash your hands and wear your masks and you are fine.



This is factually inaccurate, unless you are the type of person who goes to the grocery that doesn't require masks for multiple days at roughly 10 hours at a time.


----------



## nkereina

parasail_of_congress said:


> This is factually inaccurate, unless you are the type of person who goes to the grocery that doesn't require masks for multiple days at roughly 10 hours at a time.


Your post and the one you quoted cannot be based on fact. Both are opinion, based on perceived probability. The poster you quoted feels there is a higher probability of catching Covid at the grocery store than at Disney. I tend to agree. During our October trip, there was were very few instances during our 7 day stay where I was within 6' of a stranger without a physical barrier present. Not in ride vehicles, not in queues, not on buses, not in restaurants. I was occasionally within 6' of others when walking outdoors in the walkways. At the grocery, I do wear a mask as I did at Disney, but I'm indoors and within 6' of others with no physical barrier for the entire 60+ minutes I'm shopping. There are people reaching around me, standing next to me. Never had that experience on our WDW trip.


----------



## parasail_of_congress

nkereina said:


> Your post and the one you quoted cannot be based on fact. Both are opinion, based on perceived probability. The poster you quoted feels there is a higher probability of catching Covid at the grocery store than at Disney. I tend to agree. During our October trip, there was were very few instances during our 7 day stay where I was within 6' of a stranger without a physical barrier present. Not in ride vehicles, not in queues, not on buses, not in restaurants. I was occasionally within 6' of others when walking outdoors in the walkways. At the grocery, I do wear a mask as I did at Disney, but I'm indoors and within 6' of others with no physical barrier for the entire 60+ minutes I'm shopping. There are people reaching around me, standing next to me. Never had that experience on our WDW trip.



Right, part of my comment is just stating that "feeling safer" in one situation or the other doesn't necessarily make one always safer in one or the other. Results vary depending on the situation. You were at Disney in October, so it was less crowded. Maybe your grocery store is more crowded than others, etc.

The second point of my comment is to stress the amount of time people spend at both places. If you're at the grocery store for 60 minutes, how many people can you realistically come in contact with versus somewhere that you are staying for 40-60 hours?

I do believe Disney in general is doing a great job at keeping people safe there, but comparing with a grocery trip is apples and oranges (pun intended).


----------



## nkereina

parasail_of_congress said:


> Right, part of my comment is just stating that "feeling safer" in one situation or the other doesn't necessarily make one always safer in one or the other. Results vary depending on the situation. You were at Disney in October, so it was less crowded. Maybe your grocery store is more crowded than others, etc.
> 
> The second point of my comment is to stress the amount of time people spend at both places. If you're at the grocery store for 60 minutes, how many people can you realistically come in contact with versus somewhere that you are staying for 40-60 hours?
> 
> I do believe Disney in general is doing a great job at keeping people safe there, but comparing with a grocery trip is apples and oranges (pun intended).


Fair enough. The emphasis of my point was just that I am frequently within close proximity of others when visiting "essential" stores at home, but at Disney, I can count on one hand the amount of times I was in close proximity of others. I think some people have a fear or a preconceived notion that Disney World = crowds and you'll be in the middle of a cesspool of Covid air by going there now, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. We have a high risk tolerance when it comes to the current environment, so I was prepared to be in close proximity of others, but that was not the case at all to my surprise.


----------



## Shellyred8

Just got back from an 8 night trip.  Here are a few observations from this trip:
1. It's annoying that some places that have mobile order have their allergy options on the mobile order system, but others do not.
2. Sleepy Hallow stops selling the Fruit and Nutella waffle at 11am.  At least on the days we were there they did.  
3. The first two hours at MK are pretty awesome!!! We never started with Seven Dwarfs, as that line got long really fast.  We always saved this for the last ride of the day.  Most of the other rides were either walk on or just a 5-10 minute wait during the first hour and the second hour the waits bumped up to about 15 minutes (which was still pretty good!).  After the first two hours, the crowds increased noticeably and the wait times jumped quickly.  This was the only park that we rope-dropped, so I can't speak to the other parks.   
4. I discovered the Gluten Free Chicken nuggets this trip.  I was really quite surprised with how good they were!
5. While there are Christmas decorations up, it's not nearly as much as in years past (which I totally get).  This comment is about setting expectations for people going to see the Christmas decorations.    
6. We saw a few CM's telling people to fix their masks, but not nearly as many as in previous trips.  
7. Being the pooper-scooper probably isn't the most glamourous job, but it's made even worse when the pile lands in the trolley tracks!


----------



## ntmec

Shellyred8 said:


> Did you go through Terminal 1 at MSP?  I've only been at Terminal 2 since this all started, and things have been really good there.



I'm wondering if perhaps OP didn't mean MCO instead of MSP?  This is based on his comment that airports are a reflection of the State in which they are located... MN is pretty strict at this point... FL isn't.


----------



## yulilin3

WorldOfPooh said:


> Is the Pizza restaurant open?


Pizzerizzo? Yes Catalina Eddies? No


----------



## PrincessV

"Just" back - a few days later, really. Dec. 8-11 trip, all weekdays, with my 18yo son. A little different perspective from the usual around here, as we do not rope drop, and we're semi-locals who've been regular WDW visitors for decades, so we are not the "do it all" types.

I have an AP, but my son's expired in April and didn't renew, so I bought him the special low-price FL 3-day ticket.

Stayed at SSR in a studio. Drove to WDW and drove to the parks. Weather was COLD by Florida standards, warming up by our last day.

My personal WDW COVID rules: no indoor dining; no shows; no standing in place anywhere we felt too close to other people, indoors or out; no enclosed, shared transportation (buses, monorail, Skyliner).

*Arrival at SSR*
Of concern was the security guard when I arrived at our resort. I donned a mask and held my ID way out my window for him to see... and he proceeded to take my ID in his own hand, then LEANED THROUGH MY WINDOW INTO MY CAR to chat! He had on both a mask and face shield, but still - totally unnecessary and not at all in keeping with safety protocols. I'd love to say I told him to back up, but I was so taken aback, I was speechless, and then it was over and I was driving away. Wowsa.

We first went to SSR upon arrival and ate lunch at Artist's Pallet around 12:30pm. Mobile ordered from the car and hit "I'm here" walking toward the building: order was ready a couple minutes after we got up there and we ate at an outside table. It was very quiet - few people eating there at that time.

*Tues. Dec. 8: EPCOT - open 12-9p*
We made it over to EP around 3pm and started a slow, counter-clockwise stroll around WS... it was BUSY. Much busier than I experienced in late Aug. or late Oct. It maybe wasn't _impossible_ to stay 6' away from everyone while walking, but it was very, very difficult. We didn't bother: there were enough stretches where we had adequate space that we just quick-walked through the spots that didn't. I didn't feel unsafe, but it wasn't as quiet and relaxed as my previous COVID visits. Lines for food booths were not long at all: maybe 2-5 parties ahead of us, tops. And it was easy to find tables/benches/ planting walls/ etc. to pull off and eat away from people. Caught Frozen, Mickey et al, & Santa cavalcades.

We got over to FW around 4:30 and did some rides. It was EMPTY over there - blissfully so! Lots and lots of open space everywhere. Soarin' was our longest "wait": we walked right up to the loading area, so our only waiting was the usual pre-ride video thing. Nemo was a walk-on, and the aquarium was nearly empty: it was soooo nice to have ample space - and QUIETNESS! - in which to watch the fish! SE was a walk-on.

Back to WS, where it emptied out some after about 6pm. Mitsukoshi in Japan wasn't as crazy as usual, but had plenty of shoppers. World Showplace was uncomfortably  PACKED near the entry, but thinned out the further in you went. It was very cold, we'd done all we cared to and eaten all we wanted, so we headed out around 8:30.

*Wed. Dec. 9, MK - open 8a-8p*
I drove to the TTC around 12pm and we took the ferry to MK. Plenty of space for everyone to spread out.

Main St. wasn't busy at all at that time; lots of open space. I place a mobile order for the next time slot (about 25 minutes away) at Cosmic Ray's.


We immediately caught the Main St. Philharmonic/wooden soldiers cavalcade, which was the #1 thing I wanted to experience that day! I snapped a few more pics, an my son humored my desire for a lousy PP shot at the castle, then I hit "I'm here" on my MO and we wandered over to Cosmic Ray's.

It definitely felt busier in the rest of the park than it did on Main St.; just a lot more bodies everywhere. But we had no trouble finding an outdoor table at which to eat.

Rides after lunch, going counter-clockwise around the park. 
Wait times weren’t any worse than I experienced in Oct, and not much longer than Aug: we rode Space Mtn (15mins), Pooh (15mins), Under the Sea (8mins), Haunted Mansion (10mins), Big Thunder (28mins). Posted wait times were HUGELY inflated - Big Thunder was posted as 70. It was very, very hard to social distance while walking around. Basically impossible in sections. In short doses that doesn’t bother me, but I felt like it was all adding up to too much, honestly.
Lines for rides & food were fine: we felt safest in line, by a lot. And finding spots to eat or drink was easy, too.

We decided to start heading to the exit around 6:30 because my son had had enough. Sadly, he never got to experience the truly quiet days of reopening, which I think he'd have much preferred. What we saw as we came out of the castle was really alarming...
 

The entire area in front of the castle was PACKED with people. Now, we were able to walk around the perimeter with some space to social distance, but it was frankly unnerving to see soooo many people in one large space, completely stationary. IMO the castle projections are a mistake, as they are absolutely drawing large crowds. Main St itself wasn't too bad and we exited quickly. MK was by far the least safe I've felt during the pandemic - and this was an unsoldout weekday. I don't know if I'll try MK again until I can be vaccinated.

*Thurs., Dec. 10, AK - open 8a-5p*
I drove to AK around 11:30am. I immediately went to place a MO for Satul'i when we got in, and got the next time period, about 20 minutes off. We thought we'd stroll through Pandora until my window opened... and it was PACKED. Very, very busy. And not thanks to ride queues: just a lot of people everywhere. Too many people, IMO. Over at Satul'i, I could see empty tables outside, but crowds of folks waiting around for their orders. I hit "I'm here" as soon as my window opened, and we found an empty spot to sit on a planter... but a minute later, a family sat down _right next to me_ and took off their masks.. So we moved down to the walkway to Africa to wait - it was emptier there. Order took about 15 mins and we were able to find an outdoor table at which to eat it, but the whole Pandora experience was concerning.

Fortunately, the rest of AK was wonderful! Very low crowds, no problems social distancing at all, and lots of relaxed animal viewing. Wait times were excellent: we rode Safari (20mins), Everest (5mins), and Dinosaur (10mins) - all between 2pm-4pm. 

*COVID stuff*
Mask compliance was pretty good, on average. Some nose-peepers, some eating-while-walkers, some maskless-outside-of-relaxation-zones, but not a lot.

I thought it would be more comfortable wearing a mask in the cold, and was I ever wrong! I was perfectly comfortable masked-up in 100*, but I was really uncomfortable in 45*. Even when it warmed up to 65*, it felt cool and clammy, and kept fogging up my sunglasses. Hi, I'm the Floridian who'd rather wait to go back when it's hot again while wearing a mask.

After 3 days, I was really sick of thinking about our next meal. MO is nice, but also a PITA.

I'm more pleased with the plexiglass installations in queues and on rides that I thought I'd be. They really don't hinder my experience at all, and I do feel a bit safer.


----------



## hlrubin507

Pizza Rizzo was open.  Most if not all restaurants in DHS were open.  A lot of the carts were closed so it was not super easy (as in, instantaneous) to get snacks depending on where you were, but it was not an issue for us.


----------



## Sarahslay

Greektina said:


> Hello Everyone,
> 
> We have a trip scheduled from 12/18 to 12/25, two adults and three teens.  We have been very cautious with regards to COVID, ie haven't eaten in a restaurant since March, kids doing school from home, wearing masks, etc.  We are hopeful for a fun yet safe trip, coming from Wisconsin.  We are DVC members, staying at AKL Kidani and BWV, renting a car.   We are planning on dining outdoors for almost all of our meals.  We have been to Disney many times, so we don't have to do everything, but just want to get the good Disney feels!  We have never been here at Christmas time.
> 
> The information posted here has been very helpful as I have been planning our trip, thank you!  I have a few more questions for anyone that might have advice for me.
> 
> To those of you who have been to Savi's workshop, did you feel that the spacing among guests was safe?
> 
> Any strong recommendations for outdoor dining?  We have ADR at Olivia's and Trattoria al Forno, hoping for outdoor seating.  Is it difficult to get an outdoor seat at Nomad Lounge, or Primo Piatti?
> 
> We have ADR at California Grill and Kona Cafe.  For those of you who have been here during the pandemic, is the seating between separate parties a good distance?
> 
> Thank you in advance!


I can only answer a very small portion of your questions, but my husband and I ate at Cali Grill 2 weeks ago and spacing was more than adequate. We had a table next to a window near the door to go out to the observation deck (which no one was going out on to because no fire works I guess), and we could have gotten up and danced next to our table without coming close to anyone. They have obviously removed tables and blocked off ones they can't to give perfect spacing, and that's what I experienced in all of the TS restaurants (we ate at 1-2 every day of an 8 day trip, every single one was well spaced and at reduced capacity, no worries). So while I haven't been to Kona, if all the other places we ate at are an indication then you should be more than fine. We have been super careful too, so I completely understand your worries! We will also be back from Dec. 19-27, and after our Thanksgiving trip I don't have half as many anxieties as I did before that trip.


----------



## Heather07438

MissMagnolia said:


> When you went left to Canada through the IG, did you continue around the lake and through the Mexico side to get to Frozen? Seems like that would take longer in my brain (probably why everyone else went right!)





crazycatlady said:


> Yes, we did this both days and were first in line for Frozen both times. We are 50 years old and walked briskly but did not run, although we saw people going to the right running and we still beat them. Not by a lot, but definitely by a couple of minutes.





WorldOfPooh said:


> I think it's a little faster but not by much.
> If you look at the map IG and Norway are both on the lower half of the circle.


Thank you for that tip crazycat 
You're correct!  Going left is not only shorter (.5 miles vs .7 miles) but alot faster (10 minutes vs 14 minutes).


More clearly we see this after comparing the 2 routes to China.
China intuitively _feels_ like it might be best going right tho even _that_ is quicker when going left.

China is the same .6 miles either way but going left is 2 minutes quicker, likely due to the grading and swerving on the right.
Measure from where the 2 paths branch apart... the distance to Frozen/Norway is much shorter from the left.

That's a huge difference at rope drop!  Thanks again


----------



## Lilias

Big thanks to everyone's tips about rope drop!! We are NOT rope drop people, but I made my husband get up at 7 AM today (dude normally wakes up around noon, lol) to get to DHS around 8:15.  We got so much done (SDD, MFSR, ROTR, and MMRR all done by noon), but crowds got thiccc around lunch time, so we left. We came back around 5:00 for my Savi's appointment, where I got real emotional lol. Such a wonderful experience, worth every penny. <3

Mask compliance was great today, which was a welcome change after being at Universal this weekend where I'd say compliance was around 75% and the TMs didn't seem to mind   we were so stressed out from constant vigilance the we almost cancelled our Disney trip this week out of sheer exhaustion! 

Epcot tomorrow!~


----------



## caylene44

Heather07438 said:


> Thank you for that tip crazycat
> You're correct!  Going left is not only shorter (.5 miles vs .7 miles) but alot faster (10 minutes vs 14 minutes).
> 
> View attachment 543925
> More clearly we see this after comparing the 2 routes to China.
> China intuitively _feels_ like it might be best going right tho even _that_ is quicker when going left.
> View attachment 543926
> China is the same .6 miles either way but going left is 2 minutes quicker, likely due to the grading and swerving on the right.
> Measure from where the 2 paths branch apart... the distance to Frozen/Norway is much shorter from the left.
> 
> That's a huge difference at rope drop!  Thanks again


You are my hero! Lol. We’re staying at BWV (our first time at an Epcot area hotel) and I’ve been stressing over which way to FEA is the best from IG. Left it is!


----------



## crazycatlady

Befferk said:


> What time was your mobile order for?


I made the mobile order for 7am but cancelled it once I got past the guard shack. We had every intention of using it but I decided that I didn't want the frozen hot cocoa when it was so chilly out. I was going to get a cappuccino from the lobby instead, but they weren't open yet.


----------



## WEDWDW

Add Columbia Harbour House being used as extended queue for Pan to your list of sights you thought you would never see at WDW!


----------



## Telcogirl

ntmec said:


> I'm wondering if perhaps OP didn't mean MCO instead of MSP?  This is based on his comment that airports are a reflection of the State in which they are located... MN is pretty strict at this point... FL isn't.




Just left MCO and was not impressed.    The TSA is all about moving the lines and they are not even paying attention to the signs telling passengers to stay 6 feet apart.   It was pretty disheartening.    But I am not a fan of TSA at that airport from the ‘Great Before’ .  So while it was disturbing to me, it wasn’t surprising.


----------



## Ngwira

We fly out on Friday. Wednesday we’re expected to get 12 inches of snow so this is a welcome pivot to 70s in Florida.


----------



## Marc A.

Lilias said:


> Big thanks to everyone's tips about rope drop!! We are NOT rope drop people, but I made my husband get up at 7 AM today (dude normally wakes up around noon, lol) to get to DHS around 8:15.  We got so much done (SDD, MFSR, ROTR, and MMRR all done by noon), but crowds got thiccc around lunch time, so we left. We came back around 5:00 for my Savi's appointment, where I got real emotional lol. Such a wonderful experience, worth every penny. <3
> 
> Mask compliance was great today, which was a welcome change after being at Universal this weekend where I'd say compliance was around 75% and the TMs didn't seem to mind   we were so stressed out from constant vigilance the we almost cancelled our Disney trip this week out of sheer exhaustion!
> 
> Epcot tomorrow!~


How was the park after 5? How were the lines??


----------



## Lilias

Marc A. said:


> How was the park after 5? How were the lines??


The waits seemed much better for the non-headliners (Star Tours was at an hour around noon and then a respectable 20 minutes when we came back later, haha), but there didn't seem to be too many changes in the app from like 4-5:30.  The headliners didn't really change all that much after rope drop.  MMRR hung around 40-50 minutes most of the day, which was cool.

After that I had my lightsaber appt and dinner at docking bay 7, so I stopped watching it!

I literally could not get into any of the SWGE shops, though (lines seemed team long)... Luckily we have a second DHS day on Friday so I can make that a priority...


----------



## yulilin3

Lilias said:


> The waits seemed much better for the non-headliners (Star Tours was at an hour around noon and then a respectable 20 minutes when we came back later, haha), but there didn't seem to be too many changes in the app from like 4-5:30.  The headliners didn't really change all that much after rope drop.  MMRR hung around 40-50 minutes most of the day, which was cool.
> 
> After that I had my lightsaber appt and dinner at docking bay 7, so I stopped watching it!
> 
> I literally could not get into any of the SWGE shops, though (lines seemed team long)... Luckily we have a second DHS day on Friday so I can make that a priority...


Just letting you know that the merch found in the swge stores, aside from Dok', can be found at Disney spring and most at  keystone clothier at dhs


----------



## Lilias

yulilin3 said:


> Just letting you know that the merch found in the swge stores, aside from Dok', can be found at Disney spring and most at  keystone clothier at dhs


Mostly I've never been, so I wanted to check out the theming  but it's good to know I can find the stuff elsewhere if I can't make it work.

I need Christmas Porg!!


----------



## yulilin3

Lilias said:


> Mostly I've never been, so I wanted to check out the theming  but it's good to know I can find the stuff elsewhere if I can't make it work.
> 
> I need Christmas Porg!!


The Christmas porg is everywhere really.  I actually don't think it'll be in Batuu


----------



## Lilias

yulilin3 said:


> The Christmas porg is everywhere really.  I actually don't think it'll be in Batuu


He wasn't in Keystone, either  My quest continues!


----------



## What-r-ya Goofy?

DHS yesterday; 9am opening, they let us in at 8:15. Brief hold at SDD. It looked like MRR was loading with a steady stream of people entering the ride building. Most posted wait times were way off all day. RR posted 50 minute wait. We were on in 20 minutes. We had maybe a 10 minute wait for Smugglers Run. That was at about 8:30 am. Overall, crowds were very manageable with everyone practicing SD for the most part. Weather is beautiful this time of the year. Never been in early December before.


----------



## Ngwira

How does the mobile order work? Do you select a time as soon as you enter the park? And then click I’m here when you are ready to eat?


----------



## Lilias

Ngwira said:


> How does the mobile order work? Do you select a time as soon as you enter the park? And then click I’m here when you are ready to eat?


Yep! We used it twice yesterday and it was pretty easy.  I made our dinner order while we were having our hotel break in the afternoon.  It still takes like 10-15 minutes after you hit the "I'm here!" button, so keep that in mind


----------



## yulilin3

Ngwira said:


> How does the mobile order work? Do you select a time as soon as you enter the park? And then click I’m here when you are ready to eat?


And if you don't pick your time early in the day by the time you want to eat you might have to walt for the next window to open.  So better to reserve your time early


----------



## Unvoiced_Apollo

I found out the hard way that Table Service to Go is not the same as Mobile Order.  We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for our visit.  I had seen the Sanaa To Go options.  We took a side trip to Universal.  We were there until close (6:00PM for IoA).  There were plenty of windows availble between 7 & 9 for Sanaa.  By the time we got back there were 0.  

Turns out those slots are limited.  Makes sense & probably account for the open tables that would be full if the restaurant were operating at full capacity.  So we ended up waiting until 9 and ordered bread service & samosas for a nice carby dinner .


----------



## juju

We were there for 10 days at the end of October, it was very hot for us (high 80s and humid, we are from Seattle and not used to that heat) and wearing the masks all day was very uncomfortable.  Although we said not again, we are looking at another trip beginning of February to get another trip in on our annual pass.  With the potential for lower temps would it be more comfortable?  Not sure about the weather/temp patterns.


----------



## GBRforWDW

juju said:


> We were there for 10 days at the end of October, it was very hot for us (high 80s and humid, we are from Seattle and not used to that heat) and wearing the masks all day was very uncomfortable.  Although we said not again, we are looking at another trip beginning of February to get another trip in on our annual pass.  With the potential for lower temps would it be more comfortable?  Not sure about the weather/temp patterns.


I've been using the accuweather 30 day forecast for Orlando, looks like they have projected temps through mid February, mostly 60s and 70s for highs. 

https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/orlando/32801/daily-weather-forecast/328169


----------



## Betty Rohrer

juju said:


> We were there for 10 days at the end of October, it was very hot for us (high 80s and humid, we are from Seattle and not used to that heat) and wearing the masks all day was very uncomfortable.  Although we said not again, we are looking at another trip beginning of February to get another trip in on our annual pass.  With the potential for lower temps would it be more comfortable?  Not sure about the weather/temp patterns.


read  somewhere someone said they minded the masks more in the colder weather because the mask felt cold and damp compared to the heat of earlier trips. dont know if that would apply to you


----------



## PrincessV

juju said:


> We were there for 10 days at the end of October, it was very hot for us (high 80s and humid, we are from Seattle and not used to that heat) and wearing the masks all day was very uncomfortable.  Although we said not again, we are looking at another trip beginning of February to get another trip in on our annual pass.  With the potential for lower temps would it be more comfortable?  Not sure about the weather/temp patterns.





Betty Rohrer said:


> read  somewhere someone said they minded the masks more in the colder weather because the mask felt cold and damp compared to the heat of earlier trips. dont know if that would apply to you


Yep, that's me. I genuinely was not even aware of my cotton (Vera Bradley) masks in the heat of Aug., or even slightly cooler Oct., but I absolutely HATED wearing them last week when it was cold. The worst day was a high of 58 and a low of 45: the humidity plus my breath kept the mask a bit damp, but the air was cold enough to also make it chilled, and I was just really, really aware of it the whole time I was wearing it. The few times I was indoors for a few minutes, it felt better. I swapped out for a fresh one every couple hours, but it only felt good for a few minutes. But full disclosure: I'm a Floridian of 30 years and struggle to be warm, in general, in that weather, so the added chill of the mask was unwelcome.


----------



## Poohbear538

juju said:


> We were there for 10 days at the end of October, it was very hot for us (high 80s and humid, we are from Seattle and not used to that heat) and wearing the masks all day was very uncomfortable.  Although we said not again, we are looking at another trip beginning of February to get another trip in on our annual pass.  With the potential for lower temps would it be more comfortable?  Not sure about the weather/temp patterns.






PrincessV said:


> Yep, that's me. I genuinely was not even aware of my cotton (Vera Bradley) masks in the heat of Aug., or even slightly cooler Oct., but I absolutely HATED wearing them last week when it was cold. The worst day was a high of 58 and a low of 45: the humidity plus my breath kept the mask a bit damp, but the air was cold enough to also make it chilled, and I was just really, really aware of it the whole time I was wearing it. The few times I was indoors for a few minutes, it felt better. I swapped out for a fresh one every couple hours, but it only felt good for a few minutes. But full disclosure: I'm a Floridian of 30 years and struggle to be warm, in general, in that weather, so the added chill of the mask was unwelcome.



And from the opposite side, my hubby and I cannot deal with the masks in the heat. They are miserable and we have tried all different types. But we went for a day in November and then 3 days last week and they were manageable. The coldest days were the best for us, and like PrincessV, we are long time Florida resident, 40+ years. It is just really personal preference.


----------



## Newbie500

GBRforWDW said:


> I've been using the accuweather 30 day forecast for Orlando, looks like they have projected temps through mid February, mostly 60s and 70s for highs.
> 
> https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/orlando/32801/daily-weather-forecast/328169



Would the rope drop temps for those days be 40s and 50s?


----------



## Mr. Drauer

Newbie500 said:


> Would the rope drop temps for those days be 40s and 50s?


anywhere between 30 and 72.  Your just guessing if you think anyone can predict the weather in Florida in winter.  72 hours out is about the best you can hope for.  Even when they forecast cold fronts to come, there are many variables that affect the timing.  Best rule of thumb:  the next night after a front comes through is the coldest night/morning.  prepare with layers so that you can adjust as the day warms / cools.


----------



## yulilin3

Lilias said:


> He wasn't in Keystone, either  My quest continues!


Not sure if you're still at dhs the Christmas porg is at Mickey's of Hollywood, and discounted too


----------



## Lilias

yulilin3 said:


> Not sure if you're still at dhs the Christmas porg is at Mickey's of Hollywood, and discounted too


Thanks, we're going back on Friday! The porg will be mine, oh yes.


----------



## ajrwdwgirl

Telcogirl said:


> Just left MCO and was not impressed.    The TSA is all about moving the lines and they are not even paying attention to the signs telling passengers to stay 6 feet apart.   It was pretty disheartening.    But I am not a fan of TSA at that airport from the ‘Great Before’ .  So while it was disturbing to me, it wasn’t surprising.



The TSA at MCO was really disappointing when I flew out of there after Thanksgiving.  I have a medical device on me that can't go through the scanners (although metal detector is fine).  I told them about it and that I needed either the metal detector or a pat down and they choose pat down.  That was fine but they were really rude about it, the guy I talked to made some sort of comment about it and yelled to another guy that a pat down was needed. The other guy rolled his eyes and said, "Geez another one!".  Then the first guy I talked to made me stand in a spot to wait that blocked the flow of other travelers and in the meantime while I waited they had four people go through the metal detector.  Luckily I didn't have to worry about my bag because my husband could get it for me.  The lady that did the pat down was marginally nicer but overall I was made to feel like I was doing something wrong and I was inconveniencing them.  The security area wasn't busy at all.  I was really bothered by it, especially since the TSA in Minneapolis had been really nice about it and they were more busy at the time than Orlando had been.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

Heather07438 said:


> Thank you for that tip crazycat
> You're correct!  Going left is not only shorter (.5 miles vs .7 miles) but alot faster (10 minutes vs 14 minutes).
> 
> View attachment 543925
> More clearly we see this after comparing the 2 routes to China.
> China intuitively _feels_ like it might be best going right tho even _that_ is quicker when going left.
> View attachment 543926
> China is the same .6 miles either way but going left is 2 minutes quicker, likely due to the grading and swerving on the right.
> Measure from where the 2 paths branch apart... the distance to Frozen/Norway is much shorter from the left.
> 
> That's a huge difference at rope drop!  Thanks again



Plus IG - England - Canada you are going down hill so that saves time and fatigue.

I think going over the bridge to France is uphill and then it levels off till after Germany.  And there are alot of bothersome little shops, stage theaters and obstacles along the lake while you can cut pretty close to the lake on the Mexico route.


----------



## Donnask8pro

so we were first into Epcot today, staying at Swan and walked over. Went to the left up and over to go to Frozen. We were the 2nd people in line. Raced to TT immediately after and got right in. Masks were 98%. Always some who just refused to follow rules. It did get busy at some points but we just moved around closer spots. Back to hotel to chill'axe and went back around 6:30. TT posted hour and was 45 min, Spaceship Earth posted 20 and was 10. 
Biggest problem I had is the lack of Christmas decorations. I was kinda shocked and very saddened by this. Anyone know whats up w that? Shame..Is this the only park that is so sparse?


----------



## Mando80

Not a local but I go to Disney parks often.  Wait times for nearly every ride are inflated and much shorter than the actual wait Here’s my 2 cents on a recent trip last week dec 7 (mon) to dec 12 (sat):

Arrived Monday, went to Epcot for the last few hours it was open. Test track and Soarin were walkons despite displayed wait times of 30 mins. Nemo was also a walk on, park was empty.

Tuesday: AK wasn’t very busy and very easy to social distance due to the size of the walkways and lower capacity. Never waited for more than 15 minutes for a ride other than flight of passage which showed 45 minute wait time but was closer to 25 min.

Wednesday: MK and social distancing is out the window. So much bottle necking in many areas. The walkways are jam packed. Wait times are still inflated and nothing is too long except for surprisingly it’s a small world. Even Peter Pan standby time i never saw go above 30 minutes. Disney has a ton of protocols in place to keep people social on all the rides and the lines for the rides but it’s a free for all outside of that. If you are worried about social distancing this park isn’t for you. Other than AK I don’t think anyone with social distancing concerns should be going to these other parks.

Thurs: Hollywood Studios-walked into the park approx 15 min before scheduled opening (though it seems to have opened about 30 minutes prior to scheduled opening) was able to ride mickey and. Minnie with a 20 min wait. Tower of terror was by far the longest wait I had all week, posted 45 to 60 minutes all day and I ended up waiting about 80 minutes since it went down to half load capacity while I was on line. Toy story land was great very little to no wait times for toy story mania all day. Even slinky dog always looked longer with posted wait times of 45 minutes but I was able to get on it multiple times during the day waiting no longer than 20 minutes. Social distancing again was poor anywhere outside of the queues and rides themselves. Was able to snag rise of the resistance boarding group 50 at 7am from 

Friday: Epcot-world showcase had so much bottle necking, very poor social distancing. Future world wasn’t bad but the whole middle area being blocked off made it a major hassle to walk around in the area. Soarin and living with the land were walkons. For the food festival there are as usual very limited places to eat and felt even more limited with covid restrictions.

Saturday: return to HS. Didn’t notice it considerably busy than it was on Thursday.Same issues with bottle necks and social distancing. Ride times still fantastic (again tower of terror seemed to have the longest standby times and never went down in time). Was able to snag another ride on rise of the resistance 7am grab again.

overall: Disney is doing literally everything possible to keep people socially distanced on the rides and ride queues. It’s the human element of relying on people to follow those rules where the breakdown seems to occur. I saw adults trying to keep their children entertained on line by dancing and “racing” in the lines with them bumping into other people on the lines. I observed this a few times as well as people not understanding how lines on the floor that say “please wait here” work. Mask compliance was fantastic I would say almost 100%. Ride waiting times are about half of what the standby times show. If this is your first ever trip I would say wait until it’s a bit more normal, but if you’re a Disney vet and aren’t concerned with social distancing it’s definitely still a great time with lower than normal wait times to get on almost every ride.


----------



## yulilin3

Donnask8pro said:


> so we were first into Epcot today, staying at Swan and walked over. Went to the left up and over to go to Frozen. We were the 2nd people in line. Raced to TT immediately after and got right in. Masks were 98%. Always some who just refused to follow rules. It did get busy at some points but we just moved around closer spots. Back to hotel to chill'axe and went back around 6:30. TT posted hour and was 45 min, Spaceship Earth posted 20 and was 10.
> Biggest problem I had is the lack of Christmas decorations. I was kinda shocked and very saddened by this. Anyone know whats up w that? Shame..Is this the only park that is so sparse?


Epcot basically only decorates WS. All the decorations are there from years past only thing missing are the storytellers


----------



## thndrmatt

Data point: MK on Wed 12/16, arrived bus stop at Jambo 6:42, bus arrived 6:43, left 6:45 with us and one other family, no one else at the stop. Probably first bus? It skipped Kidani went straight to MK, got off at 7:01, into temp check line which was held closed. Walkers from contemporary were also held, parking lot cars were also held when we went by at 6:55. 7:17 so far and temp check still not open, but the lines of both the walkers and those getting off buses are quite large stretching back towards Bay Lake.

edit: we were off seven dwarfs at 7:34, walked on to Peter Pan, Pirates, and Splash, first line we’re actually having to wait in is Thunder at 8:40 (park official open was 8:00)


----------



## WorldOfPooh

Hotel prices are starting to come up.  The Fri-Saturday prices have gone up alot in the last couple days.

I think this weekend will be madness


----------



## yulilin3

WorldOfPooh said:


> Hotel prices are starting to come up.  The Fri-Saturday prices have gone up alot in the last couple days.
> 
> I think this weekend will be madness


yeah the next 2 weeks are called hell week in the industry, the busiest time of the year


----------



## EEPETEZ

Today’s our last day and we have had an amazing time!  While Disney has done an amazing job and I felt safe-I don’t know that I would come if this was my once in a lifetime trip or even a once every few years trip.  I felt comfortable navigating things, but we come here all the time.  We are not  Florida residents, so we fly here and stay on Disney property.  I think if I lived near Disney-no issues visiting-but a “big” trip-I would wait.   While things are great-several logistics are a bit more complicated (food, transportation, no park hopping, no shows or entertainment, shorter park hours, no fastpass).  We loved our trip and are more than thrilled that we came, but I would not want this to be my big trip.


----------



## armerida

Donnask8pro said:


> so we were first into Epcot today, staying at Swan and walked over. Went to the left up and over to go to Frozen. We were the 2nd people in line. Raced to TT immediately after and got right in. Masks were 98%. Always some who just refused to follow rules. It did get busy at some points but we just moved around closer spots. Back to hotel to chill'axe and went back around 6:30. TT posted hour and was 45 min, Spaceship Earth posted 20 and was 10.
> Biggest problem I had is the lack of Christmas decorations. I was kinda shocked and very saddened by this. Anyone know whats up w that? Shame..Is this the only park that is so sparse?


Wow that’s great! What time did you leave Swan/what time did they start running the rides?


----------



## lovethattink

Yesterday was the most crowded I’ve seen DHS since reopening. But attraction wait times were about what they have been.


----------



## cjlong88

Has anyone rope dropped ToT and RnRC and can speak on the wait times first thing in the morning?


----------



## neurosx1983

We are about to arrive on Friday for a week- excited especially to escape the horrible winter northeast weather. I’m noticing that a lot of hard to get dining is opening up next week for places like Cali grill and CRT. Do you guys think a lot of people are cancelling all of a sudden?


----------



## Minnie368

Sorry if this question has already been asked and answered a bunch of times but we’re here now and you know how hard it is to find time to read back. My question is tomorrow MK opens at 8am. What time will I be able to get in to park?  And then how long to allow getting to the gate?  Will both ferry and monorail be running?


----------



## cruiseconvert

We rope dropped Runaway Railway, then road RnRC twice in a row with no wait. Went next to ToT, which was 30 minutes by then.


----------



## yulilin3

Minnie368 said:


> Sorry if this question has already been asked and answered a bunch of times but we’re here now and you know how hard it is to find time to read back. My question is tomorrow MK opens at 8am. What time will I be able to get in to park?  And then how long to allow getting to the gate?  Will both ferry and monorail be running?


Parking lot opens about an hour before and park opens shortly after.  Both are running  also buses might be running as well from the ttc to mk


----------



## teach22180

I arrived this morning from magical express around 11:45 and took the skyliner over to the  Carribean beach station. There was a huge line and I would not have made it before opening. So I rode the skyliner to Hollywood studios and then took the boat to app caught and arrived there around 12:45. It was a fun trip rather than standing in line and I did not my being late. I just wanted to share the data  with you all.


----------



## Stefne

cjlong88 said:


> Has anyone rope dropped ToT and RnRC and can speak on the wait times first thing in the morning?


We started at TOT on our second HS day.  For a 10 AM open, it began running around 9:30.  We were in the 2nd elevator and went over to RnRC once we were done.  We rode with about a 10 minute wait, but by the time we got off the ride, the line was backed up to the end of Hollywood Blvd.


----------



## Befferk

Donnask8pro said:


> so we were first into Epcot today, staying at Swan and walked over.



What time did you get into line at the park entrance (and was it a Noon opening yesterday)?


----------



## run217

Just returned from a quick trip, 12/12-12/15. This thread was immensely helpful! So I want to share my experience in case it helps someone else. Just me and DH.

Arrival day - Saturday, 12/12 - Flight landed at 9:10 am, made it to Pop via ME at about 10:15. Got the text that our room was ready the SECOND the bus pulled up. We did not rush to the parks and instead did mobile order for brunch at the resort, and walked around. Plenty of outdoor seating outside Classic Hall. This was the first time we've ever been to Pop so we enjoyed taking in the sights. The resort didn't feel crowded at all. Took the bus to MK around 4:30 - the MK buses were sitting there waiting every time we needed one. Plenty of plexiglass and the emergency exit on the roof was popped for extra ventilation. Rode Astro Orbiters first - the only ride where the actual wait was longer than posted. We waited about 55 minutes for what was posted at 35. After that, Space (40 min), Haunted Mansion (10 min), and Pirates (25 min). We left at about 8 for an 8:40 reservation at Cali Grill - amazing as always. We then took a Lyft back to Pop. Overall, we were pleased with crowds for a Saturday night when all parks were sold out.

Sunday, 12/13 - MK - We decided not to rope drop and rolled in about 9:30. Met local friends and stopped for a photo op at the Walt statue - almost no one there. Then rode Ariel and did lunch at Pecos Bill's...delicious, but crowded. Hopped in line for Pirates, Jingle Cruise, both about 30 minute waits. Stopped for a Dole Whip - this is when it started to feel pretty crowded. Social distancing was bad near the flying carpets. Made a stop at the baby center and then made our way to Carousel of Progress, surprised to find a 15-20 minute wait for that. After that, Small World - 25 min wait. There is a big covering over the facade right now, and same at the train station in front of the park. Finally, a minimal wait at Dumbo and friends departed about 5:30 pm. Mobile ordered the holiday spicy chicken sandwich at Cosmic Ray's - delicious. Then we made our way to Mine Train and waited only about 40 minutes. After that, waited about 20 minutes for Peter Pan and headed up front to queue into the Emporium. Only waited about 10 minutes, even though it wrapped around to Crystal Palace. Again, a bus was waiting with almost no one on it.

Monday, 12/14 - HS - By far our favorite day. Got on the app using Disney wifi around 6:55 and constantly refreshed from about 6:57 to 7:00 and scored BG 3 for Rise! I debated ridesharing to Speedway or Boardwalk, but I'm glad we didn't. Hopped on the Skyway about 7:45 even though I wanted to be there a bit earlier. Arrived at CB to find a decent line, but it moved quickly and we were lined up at HS just shortly after 8. They let us in at 8:15 and we walked onto MMRR, followed by Slinky Dog with maybe a 20 min wait. Then it was time for Rise and perusing shops in GE. Did a couple of other rides and then spent most of the afternoon at DS with super light crowds. Returned to HS at about 5 and rode everything in Toy Story Land as well as MMRR again, then headed to an Oga's reservation. I highly recommend a post-park close Oga's res if possible - we were not rushed at all contrary to some reports. Had 2 drinks each and loved the atmosphere! Then walked out to an empty park. Grabbed a cocktail at Petals and chilled by the Hippy Dippy pool, and mobile ordered a pizza for the room. Great ending to a great night!

Tuesday, 12/15 - Dropped bags off at 7:30 up front (no on-site airline check-in right now). Rope-dropped HS again with the same schedule as yesterday. Tried to rope drop ToT, but it was down  rode a few other things, but honestly felt we did everything we wanted to do Monday, so we headed for DS again and shopped and ate until it was time to get on the ME.

Overall: Precautions by Disney were great, but you can't control everyone all the time. A guy pulled down his mask and sneezed in the enclosed portion of Peter Pan queue - we were horrified. Still, for us, this was a much-needed change of scenery and the holiday decor at HS was outstanding. Also, the Skyliner is a GAME-CHANGER, especially during Covid. Having our own cabin every ride was amazing and relaxing.


----------



## pahoben

Mando80 said:


> Not a local but I go to Disney parks often.  Wait times for nearly every ride are inflated and much shorter than the actual wait Here’s my 2 cents on a recent trip last week dec 7 (mon) to dec 12 (sat):
> 
> Arrived Monday, went to Epcot for the last few hours it was open. Test track and Soarin were walkons despite displayed wait times of 30 mins. Nemo was also a walk on, park was empty.
> 
> Tuesday: AK wasn’t very busy and very easy to social distance due to the size of the walkways and lower capacity. Never waited for more than 15 minutes for a ride other than flight of passage which showed 45 minute wait time but was closer to 25 min.
> 
> Wednesday: MK and social distancing is out the window. So much bottle necking in many areas. The walkways are jam packed. Wait times are still inflated and nothing is too long except for surprisingly it’s a small world. Even Peter Pan standby time i never saw go above 30 minutes. Disney has a ton of protocols in place to keep people social on all the rides and the lines for the rides but it’s a free for all outside of that. If you are worried about social distancing this park isn’t for you. Other than AK I don’t think anyone with social distancing concerns should be going to these other parks.
> 
> Thurs: Hollywood Studios-walked into the park approx 15 min before scheduled opening (though it seems to have opened about 30 minutes prior to scheduled opening) was able to ride mickey and. Minnie with a 20 min wait. Tower of terror was by far the longest wait I had all week, posted 45 to 60 minutes all day and I ended up waiting about 80 minutes since it went down to half load capacity while I was on line. Toy story land was great very little to no wait times for toy story mania all day. Even slinky dog always looked longer with posted wait times of 45 minutes but I was able to get on it multiple times during the day waiting no longer than 20 minutes. Social distancing again was poor anywhere outside of the queues and rides themselves. Was able to snag rise of the resistance boarding group 50 at 7am from
> 
> Friday: Epcot-world showcase had so much bottle necking, very poor social distancing. Future world wasn’t bad but the whole middle area being blocked off made it a major hassle to walk around in the area. Soarin and living with the land were walkons. For the food festival there are as usual very limited places to eat and felt even more limited with covid restrictions.
> 
> Saturday: return to HS. Didn’t notice it considerably busy than it was on Thursday.Same issues with bottle necks and social distancing. Ride times still fantastic (again tower of terror seemed to have the longest standby times and never went down in time). Was able to snag another ride on rise of the resistance 7am grab again.
> 
> overall: Disney is doing literally everything possible to keep people socially distanced on the rides and ride queues. It’s the human element of relying on people to follow those rules where the breakdown seems to occur. I saw adults trying to keep their children entertained on line by dancing and “racing” in the lines with them bumping into other people on the lines. I observed this a few times as well as people not understanding how lines on the floor that say “please wait here” work. Mask compliance was fantastic I would say almost 100%. Ride waiting times are about half of what the standby times show. If this is your first ever trip I would say wait until it’s a bit more normal, but if you’re a Disney vet and aren’t concerned with social distancing it’s definitely still a great time with lower than normal wait times to get on almost every ride.


“Wait times are still inflated and nothing is too long except for surprisingly it’s a small world.”

Not surprising at all that the best attraction in the history of mankind, It’s a Small World, had a long wait.  Thank you for mentioning it because it kicked off the Small World song in my brain that will be on continuous loop for a glorious few days.


----------



## Donnask8pro

Befferk said:


> What time did you get into line at the park entrance (and was it a Noon opening yesterday)?


We walked over around 10:30 IG for a noon opening. We got in line temp check around 10:45. They opened temp maybe 15 min later. They then held us at official gate until maybe 11-11:15'ish?


----------



## Goofy Adpi

Does anyone know if you can park at the Magic Kingdom/TTC on a day you don't have a park pass?  We will be staying on property and wanted to tour the monorail resorts. We'll have a car and would rather drive than take the bus (if at all possible).  Thank you so much, this board has been so helpful in planning for our upcoming trip!


----------



## yulilin3

Goofy Adpi said:


> Does anyone know if you can park at the Magic Kingdom/TTC on a day you don't have a park pass?  We will be staying on property and wanted to tour the monorail resorts. We'll have a car and would rather drive than take the bus (if at all possible).  Thank you so much, this board has been so helpful in planning for our upcoming trip!


As long as you have parking privileges (ap, staying on site) or are willing to pay for parking yes you can


----------



## Akck

Goofy Adpi said:


> Does anyone know if you can park at the Magic Kingdom/TTC on a day you don't have a park pass?  We will be staying on property and wanted to tour the monorail resorts. We'll have a car and would rather drive than take the bus (if at all possible).  Thank you so much, this board has been so helpful in planning for our upcoming trip!



They will ask if you have a park pass and maybe it shows after they scan your MB. I have no idea what they do if you don’t, but I’ve seen lines at the ticket booths and some must not have park passes.


----------



## MomOTwins

neurosx1983 said:


> We are about to arrive on Friday for a week- excited especially to escape the horrible winter northeast weather. I’m noticing that a lot of hard to get dining is opening up next week for places like Cali grill and CRT. Do you guys think a lot of people are cancelling all of a sudden?


No.  That always happens about a week before a trip--what you are seeing are the hoarders dropping the extra reservations they don't need as they get closer to finalizing their plans.  I've planned many a last-minute Disney trip in pre-Covid times and always was able to book everything I wanted in the week leading up to the trip.


----------



## yulilin3

Akck said:


> They will ask if you have a park pass and maybe it shows after they scan your MB. I have no idea what they do if you don’t, but I’ve seen lines at the ticket booths and some must not have park passes.


It doesn't show when they scan at the toll booth.  Ive parked at the parks without a reservation to use the skyliner


----------



## Lilias

Quick note to anyone who declined housekeeping:  you need to put the occupied tag on your door unless you want to be barged in on by the housekeeping you declined!

ETA: I thought the inspections I had read about on here were random, but apparently bring barged in on is going to be a daily thing here


----------



## Orion Nebula

So you declined the service, didn't stick the tag up and they barged in anyhow? What were they going to do... I have gotten the inspections before. But it's making me wonder if they didn't know and were going to clean LOL.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Security inspections happen daily regardless of occupied tag being on the door.


----------



## disneygirlsng

yulilin3 said:


> It doesn't show when they scan at the toll booth.  Ive parked at the parks without a reservation to use the skyliner


Just a random note that probably doesn't mean anything. I know it's been a while, but when I went in August, the day I drove to AK the lady at the toll booth asked if I had a park reservation for that day after scanning my band. I said yes, she then said "oh yes, it typically pops up right away after we scan your band that you have a park reservation, yours just took a little longer than normal". Not that I think that would stop anybody from being able to park without a park reservation, just at some point it seems it did show that you had a pass after scanning at the toll booth.


----------



## Orion Nebula

Has anyone been the first week of March before? We are kind of stuck now that we can't move our flights a third time, but it seems like most people here have been having a good "enough" time. I only ask because I have never been there that time of year and not sure if there were any bonus's to it.


----------



## yulilin3

Orion Nebula said:


> Has anyone been the first week of March before? We are kind of stuck now that we can't move our flights a third time, but it seems like most people here have been having a good "enough" time. I only ask because I have never been there that time of year and not sure if there were any bonus's to it.


F&G festival is opening March 3rd


----------



## Best Aunt

Orion Nebula said:


> Has anyone been the first week of March before? We are kind of stuck now that we can't move our flights a third time, but it seems like most people here have been having a good "enough" time. I only ask because I have never been there that time of year and not sure if there were any bonus's to it.



March is my favorite time of year to go to Orlando.  Not too hot, not too cold, not too rainy.  I just make sure I'm not there at Easter time, when the crowds increase.


----------



## ECUDrummer

Orion Nebula said:


> Has anyone been the first week of March before? We are kind of stuck now that we can't move our flights a third time, but it seems like most people here have been having a good "enough" time. I only ask because I have never been there that time of year and not sure if there were any bonus's to it.


Growing up, we'd go in February (my dad is a big racing fan and he'd find a way to sneak away for a day to Daytona for the NASCAR festivities).  We're booked to go late Feb/early March in 2021 and it seems like a good time - no holidays, not during spring break.  As someone said before, F&G festival starts on 3/3.


----------



## Orion Nebula

yulilin3 said:


> F&G festival is opening March 3rd



Is that when you can get the Orange Bird stuff people freak out over? I wasn't sure if it was the only time of year merch is available.


----------



## yulilin3

Orion Nebula said:


> Is that when you can get the Orange Bird stuff people freak out over? I wasn't sure if it was the only time of year merch is available.


There is some orange bird merch out now but yeah usually  more during f&g


----------



## WorldOfPooh

Goofy Adpi said:


> Does anyone know if you can park at the Magic Kingdom/TTC on a day you don't have a park pass?  We will be staying on property and wanted to tour the monorail resorts. We'll have a car and would rather drive than take the bus (if at all possible).  Thank you so much, this board has been so helpful in planning for our upcoming trip!



I think the only thing you can do is park at Disney Springs and take the Lynx Bus to Disney TTC.
But that would cost 4 dollar round trip per person so you might just be better off paying for parking at MK/TTC


----------



## WorldOfPooh

Goofy Adpi said:


> Does anyone know if you can park at the Magic Kingdom/TTC on a day you don't have a park pass?  We will be staying on property and wanted to tour the monorail resorts. We'll have a car and would rather drive than take the bus (if at all possible).  Thank you so much, this board has been so helpful in planning for our upcoming trip!


You could make a restaurant appointment at Poly and park there for a couple hours if you just want to do monorails. Other than that you would have to take some kind of bus to get to the front of Epcot or MK resorts


----------



## dachsie

PrincessV said:


> Yep, that's me. I genuinely was not even aware of my cotton (Vera Bradley) masks in the heat of Aug., or even slightly cooler Oct., but I absolutely HATED wearing them last week when it was cold. The worst day was a high of 58 and a low of 45: the humidity plus my breath kept the mask a bit damp, but the air was cold enough to also make it chilled, and I was just really, really aware of it the whole time I was wearing it. The few times I was indoors for a few minutes, it felt better. I swapped out for a fresh one every couple hours, but it only felt good for a few minutes. But full disclosure: I'm a Floridian of 30 years and struggle to be warm, in general, in that weather, so the added chill of the mask was unwelcome.


I think it may be the type of mask you wear.  I had the medical type 2 masks and when it was warm, I was a sweaty mess with them.  But the days it was colder, I barely noticed them


----------



## MissMagnolia

This was the headline of a recent article: *Disney World has reportedly stopped spacing out parkgoers on some of its most popular rides*

The rides they mentioned were Rockin Roller Coaster, Slinky Dog, and Everest. Have you noticed this?


----------



## yulilin3

MissMagnolia said:


> This was the headline of a recent article: *Disney World has reportedly stopped spacing out parkgoers on some of its most popular rides*
> 
> The rides they mentioned were Rockin Roller Coaster, Slinky Dog, and Everest. Have you noticed this?


Yes this has been reported by several people. 
Merged to the just back thread


----------



## Befferk

For those in the parks today, how did the temps feel? What did you wear today? Prepping for cooler temps for our trip end of next week.


----------



## YayforMickey

We were at Epcot yesterday, and it was cold. We are from Utah, and we left a snowstorm to get here. We wore winter coats and gloves during the early morning and evening. In the middle of the day, we wore jackets.
With the AP blockouts and the cold, Epcot was blissfully empty. Almost creepy in future world after 7:00. We’ll see how DHS is today, but it’s warmer so far. Just jackets.


----------



## chaboyd

Befferk said:


> For those in the parks today, how did the temps feel? What did you wear today? Prepping for cooler temps for our trip end of next week.



We were at HS.  Definitely seemed a little less crowded than Monday was for the morning hours and evening hours, as I think a lot of people didn't want to brave the cold for long hours.  I wore 4 layers, a camisole, long sleeve t, short sleeve t, and a cardigan over that that I could take off.  I was a little chilly, but not unbearable.  A sweatshirt might have been a better choice, but I wanted wear my R2D2, short sleeve shirt--fashion over comfort.  

I also was wearing black and that really helped soak up the sun and help keep me warmer too, so darker colors are a plus if it is cold and sunny.

If you are able to get ANY indoor reservations for lunch, do it.  I was so glad we had Sci Fi.  I was feeling bad for the families trying to eat their lunch in the breeze outside.  That did not look fun.


----------



## Befferk

chaboyd said:


> We were at HS.  Definitely seemed a little less crowded than Monday was for the morning hours and evening hours, as I think a lot of people didn't want to brave the cold for long hours.  I wore 4 layers, a camisole, long sleeve t, short sleeve t, and a cardigan over that that I could take off.  I was a little chilly, but not unbearable.  A sweatshirt might have been a better choice, but I wanted wear my R2D2, short sleeve shirt--fashion over comfort.
> 
> I also was wearing black and that really helped soak up the sun and help keep me warmer too, so darker colors are a plus if it is cold and sunny.
> 
> If you are able to get ANY indoor reservations for lunch, do it.  I was so glad we had Sci Fi.  I was feeling bad for the families trying to eat their lunch in the breeze outside.  That did not look fun.



Thanks! Was it better mid day for you (like after lunch)?


----------



## chaboyd

Befferk said:


> Thanks! Was it better mid day for you (like after lunch)?


Yes, I would say 2-4 was very nice, but chilly otherwise with the breeze.


----------



## yulilin3

chaboyd said:


> Yes, I would say 2-4 was very nice, but chilly otherwise with the breeze.


the breeze is the real problem. I was working all day yesterday at Sea World, from 10am to 11pm. Had shorts (cause was too lazy to go to costuming for pants) a shirt and jacket, 2 pairs of socks cause I use compression ones for the long days, these are thin so I wear thicker ones on top. Didn't really feel cold until when the sun set and it became breeze for like an hour, then it settled down and I was fine again


----------



## Befferk

yulilin3 said:


> the breeze is the real problem. I was working all day yesterday at Sea World, from 10am to 11pm. Had shorts (cause was too lazy to go to costuming for pants) a shirt and jacket, 2 pairs of socks cause I use compression ones for the long days, these are thin so I wear thicker ones on top. Didn't really feel cold until when the sun set and it became breeze for like an hour, then it settled down and I was fine again


This is very helpful thank you. I'm panicking right now because even though we're coming from Wisconsin, I'm always cold, and I'm really psyching myself out thinking that no one is going to have a good time because they're going to be too cold.


----------



## yulilin3

Befferk said:


> This is very helpful thank you. I'm panicking right now because even though we're coming from Wisconsin, I'm always cold, and I'm really psyching myself out thinking that no one is going to have a good time because they're going to be too cold.


It's not that cold  layers will be your best friends


----------



## kalista

yulilin3 said:


> Yes this has been reported by several people.
> Merged to the just back thread




Daughter has been there all week at RD and says they ARE spacing lines.


----------



## yulilin3

kalista said:


> Daughter has been there all week at RD and says they ARE spacing lines.


They are spacing lines but some have reported seeing people seated in all vehicles on SDD and RnRC. We don't know if these people are members of same party or if they are actually filling all vehicles


----------



## Aela

Honestly I suspect they are members of the same party.  Specifically because it sounds like people SOMETIMES SEE full cars.   Not that they are reporting being sat with someone in an adjacent car that they don’t know.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

Befferk said:


> For those in the parks today, how did the temps feel? What did you wear today? Prepping for cooler temps for our trip end of next week.


Yesterday was cold (Friday). You needed layers. Today it's around 68-70 and nice.


----------



## Befferk

yulilin3 said:


> It's not that cold  layers will be your best friends


Thank you. It's nice to hear from a local because I'm sure you guys have a lower tolerance to the cold than us northerners. It's very damp and 33 degrees here right now.


----------



## etapi

When I rode SSD last weekend, every row was occupied. I don’t know if ride operators routinely sit different families in the same vehicles, but I do know I sat in the last vehicle about a yard behind a vehicle with two couples who were not together in line. I even got a copy of their PhotoPass as a memento.


----------



## Heather07438

Befferk said:


> This is very helpful thank you. I'm panicking right now because even though we're coming from Wisconsin, I'm always cold, and I'm really psyching myself out thinking that no one is going to have a good time because they're going to be too cold.


We find early mornings and evenings are often chilly especially when we’re tired. Layers work great. 

I bring a light jacket & scarf that roll up small and don’t add much weight to a backpack. Thin dollar store gloves help too for holding drinks or phone in those nippy hours. 
DH and DS bring hoodies and all 3 of us can fit everything in a small backpack for the warm afternoon.


----------



## disneyseniors

Orion Nebula said:


> Has anyone been the first week of March before? We are kind of stuck now that we can't move our flights a third time, but it seems like most people here have been having a good "enough" time. I only ask because I have never been there that time of year and not sure if there were any bonus's to it.



My husband and I usually go to WDW the last 2 days of February and the first whole week of March.  We love that time of year.  The weather is usually good (we are from the north and don't need 80 degree weather, anything over 60 is great) LOL!   But, now, all bets are off as far as what to expect.    Anyway, it is lovely time to visit.


----------



## disneyseniors

Orion Nebula said:


> Has anyone been the first week of March before? We are kind of stuck now that we can't move our flights a third time, but it seems like most people here have been having a good "enough" time. I only ask because I have never been there that time of year and not sure if there were any bonus's to it.



We always visit the first week of March, and love the weather.  The crowds are usually okay too.
However, now all bets are off as to what this next March will bring.  It is a nice time of year to visit, if you don't want alot of heat.  We are from Mn. so anything over 60 is nice and hot to us, LOL>

SORRY about the repeat   ,  The first one didn't show up so I repeated some of it, darn technology


----------



## Bruggok

Starting first day today (Dec 19 Sat) at Epcot. Had breakfast at Ale & Compass; good service, well distanced indoor tables, but my wife & kid both got soggy Mickey waffles. My Eggs Benedict was really good though.

We did Frozen, Test Track, and Mission Space but alas my kid ran out of energy/willpower(?) so we had to go back for nap. Both TT and Frozen line looked scarily long but moved quickly so we didn’t feel tired/annoyed. Mission:Space wait time appeared 40m in MDE but if you ride green side it was only 5m, so something to consider. In TT line we saw perfect mask compliance probably due to pre-lunch. In Frozen line around lunch time several people in front of us ate for a good while with mask totally pulled down in broad daylight of Chinese pavilion and weren’t stopped by CM. We kept extra distance, faced away, and just accepted it as whatever.

EP as a whole were less crowded than I expected, probably as others said due to gold/silver AP blocked out now. It felt even less crowded apples to apples vs last year at this time (on weekend 1 wk before Christmas). Many places to sit and eat/drink legally. No line at restrooms. A short line to enter Mexico pyramid and the lakeside Mexican QS, but none of the “lines everywhere even at gift shops” that others reported in the past. Maybe we will see massive lines at MK or HS in a couple days. Will report back.

All in all glad to be back at WDW. The most dangerous part of my last 24h was in a fully packed SW flight with only 2 middle seat left. With exception of those “eaters” in line today and a few nose exposed maskers yesterday at MCO, I feel very safe here on property. Perfect non-hot short sleeve weather during the day and a light jacket at night.


----------



## p44nmun

Bruggok said:


> All in all glad to be back at WDW. The most dangerous part of my last 24h was in a fully packed SW flight with only 2 middle seat left.


Oh no! We fly SW on Wednesday to Orlando. This is actually one of my biggest (only) concerns


----------



## nicole88s

Aela said:


> Honestly I suspect they are members of the same party.  Specifically because it sounds like people SOMETIMES SEE full cars.   Not that they are reporting being sat with someone in an adjacent car that they don’t know.



I just got back yesterday. It was just my daughter and myself. They seated every row of Slinky, EE and RnRC. There are other people in our photos.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

I am finding it difficult to breath with the mask on (for 8 hours or however long) and the mask hurts my nose after a while. These things make me want to go back to the hotel so I can take my mask off even though I may not be tired.


----------



## yulilin3

WorldOfPooh said:


> I am finding it difficult to breath with the mask on (for 8 hours or however long) and the mask hurts my nose after a while. These things make me want to go back to the hotel so I can take my mask off even though I may not be tired.


Have you tried using the blue ones?  That's the only one i can wear.  I work 8 to 14 hour shifts  at Sea World,  outdoors and i really sometimes forget im even wearing one


----------



## WorldOfPooh

yulilin3 said:


> Have you tried using the blue ones?  That's the only one i can wear.  I work 8 to 14 hour shifts  at Sea World,  outdoors and i really sometimes forget im even wearing one



Mine is cloth. And after about 5 hours it felt hard to breath in and I just wanted to take it off.

I have worn the blue ones and those are much lighter feeling.


----------



## Befferk

WorldOfPooh said:


> Mine is cloth. And after about 5 hours it felt hard to breath in and I just wanted to take it off.
> 
> I have worn the blue ones and those are much lighter feeling.



Can you take more breaks? Utilize the relaxation stations more often. Take water/snack breaks (off to the side/distanced/sitting or standing still).


----------



## WEDWDW

Befferk said:


> Can you take more breaks? Utilize the relaxation stations more often. Take water/snack breaks (off to the side/distanced/sitting or standing still).


Definitely agree-we used the Relaxation Stations every day and LOVED it!

Akershus was really awesome-GREAT atmosphere and "Private" Restrooms!


----------



## armerida

Bruggok said:


> Starting first day today (Dec 19 Sat) at Epcot. Had breakfast at Ale & Compass; good service, well distanced indoor tables, but my wife & kid both got soggy Mickey waffles. My Eggs Benedict was really good though.
> 
> We did Frozen, Test Track, and Mission Space but alas my kid ran out of energy/willpower(?) so we had to go back for nap. Both TT and Frozen line looked scarily long but moved quickly so we didn’t feel tired/annoyed. Mission:Space wait time appeared 40m in MDE but if you ride green side it was only 5m, so something to consider. In TT line we saw perfect mask compliance probably due to pre-lunch. In Frozen line around lunch time several people in front of us ate for a good while with mask totally pulled down in broad daylight of Chinese pavilion and weren’t stopped by CM. We kept extra distance, faced away, and just accepted it as whatever.
> 
> EP as a whole were less crowded than I expected, probably as others said due to gold/silver AP blocked out now. It felt even less crowded apples to apples vs last year at this time (on weekend 1 wk before Christmas). Many places to sit and eat/drink legally. No line at restrooms. A short line to enter Mexico pyramid and the lakeside Mexican QS, but none of the “lines everywhere even at gift shops” that others reported in the past. Maybe we will see massive lines at MK or HS in a couple days. Will report back.
> 
> All in all glad to be back at WDW. The most dangerous part of my last 24h was in a fully packed SW flight with only 2 middle seat left. With exception of those “eaters” in line today and a few nose exposed maskers yesterday at MCO, I feel very safe here on property. Perfect non-hot short sleeve weather during the day and a light jacket at night.


Oh no! We’re flying SW next week, I was thinking they unblocked the middle seats on January 1! Just double checked and it was December 1, ugh! No way will I be comfortable with a stranger joining my husband and me in such close proximity...


----------



## eeyoreandtink

WorldOfPooh said:


> I am finding it difficult to breath with the mask on (for 8 hours or however long) and the mask hurts my nose after a while. These things make me want to go back to the hotel so I can take my mask off even though I may not be tired.


I have major issues with masks. I have anxiety, and the first time I tried to wear a traditional cloth mask in the grocery store I had a full blown panic attack because I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The blue ones aren’t much better for me. What ultimately worked was from a brand called pomchies. They are a single layer of stretchy swimsuit material, and are a godsend for me. I can teach all day in one and do fine. They are a little pricey, but well worth it. My DD dances and they are wearing masks at all times. She can dance in these and not feel like she is dying.


----------



## FinallyFL

eeyoreandtink said:


> I have major issues with masks. I have anxiety, and the first time I tried to wear a traditional cloth mask in the grocery store I had a full blown panic attack because I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The blue ones aren’t much better for me. What ultimately worked was from a brand called pomchies. They are a single layer of stretchy swimsuit material, and are a godsend for me. I can teach all day in one and do fine. They are a little pricey, but well worth it. My DD dances and they are wearing masks at all times. She can dance in these and not feel like she is dying.


I believe DIsney requires 2 layers for a mask to be acceptable.


----------



## Mia22

WorldOfPooh said:


> I am finding it difficult to breath with the mask on (for 8 hours or however long) and the mask hurts my nose after a while. These things make me want to go back to the hotel so I can take my mask off even though I may not be tired.



Try switching out different kinds throughout the day. Moisture buildup can make them uncomfortable & more difficult to breathe freely.


----------



## YayforMickey

We were at EPCOT on Friday, DHS on Saturday. We are taking a no-park relaxation day today (have a Homecomin' brunch in a little while), and our bodies are happy to rest!

EPCOT on Friday, Dec 18:

We were in the first twenty or so people let in at around 10:15, and we walked on Frozen. The water-splattered plexiglass dividers were not good on this ride. It was hard to see sometimes, and ride photos showed the top of the plexiglass right at eye level. Because of masks, that meant that you really couldn't see our faces at all in the photo. Just mask and hair. Then we went to Test Track, which was down. But we got on after a short wait, and we had both rides done by 11:15.

No line to get into Mexico, so we walked on Gran Fiesta. We started the cookie stroll and enjoyed other treats around the World Showcase. We arrived in Italy at 1:00, but our Via Napoli reservation wasn't until 2:00. They happily got us a table (indoors-- didn't see anyone eating outside) right away. We had a great lunch. After a chilly morning, it was finally starting to warm up a bit. We saw a couple of cavalcades while we were walking along, and we saw Mariachi Cobre and Voices of Liberty. Walkways were frequently empty-- no lines for anything.

We rode Skyliner for fun to Hollywood Studios and back (we had never been on it). It took almost an hour from about 4:00-5:00. No lines. Then we finished the cookie stroll and headed into Future World as it was getting dark.

I'm glad we didn't spend daylight hours here, because it's just a mess of construction walls. It was starting to get very cold, and we all had winter coats and gloves on. We are from Utah, and it was snowing when we left, so we are used to cold, and this was cold. We walked on Figment and Living with the Land (loved the addition of the Christmas lights-- plastic curtain dividers weren't as bad as I expected). Then we had to wait about 10-15 minutes for Soarin. We were sad that we couldn't request the middle, and we ended up on the far right, so the buildings were extremely curved.

We had a nice dinner at Sunshine Seasons, but it was so empty that it was creepy. As we walked toward The Seas, we noticed how unlit the pathways are. Then we walked on to Nemo, and probably 90% of the clam shells were empty. We looked at the aquariums for a while. Very few people anywhere. We got to Spaceship Earth around 8:00, walked on, of course. There was no need to stay until closing time, so we headed out to get some sleep.

Overall, lots of photo pass photographers, and we got our ride photos from both rides. We ended up with over fifty photos for the day. Wait times were extremely overinflated, as we didn't have to wait for almost anything. Our favorite cookies in the cookie stroll were the crinkle and linger cookies. The pre-packaged completer cookie was the worst one.

Hollywood Studios on Saturday, Dec 19:

Woke up early, four of us tried for boarding groups, and I was fastest. I got group 8. We walked from Speedway to DHS, and we were about the fifth group back. When it was time to move to line up at the temperature tents, people started arriving from the Skyliner, and they were allowed to go ahead of us, which I had heard was common, but it was still annoying. As soon we we got our temperature checked, we were allowed to go through the security and the tapstiles and straight inside. My daughter and I were each stopped to have our bags checked, which was weird because we had the same items in them as we did in Epcot, and they didn't stop us there. Anyway, we walked quickly to Slinky, arrived at 8:20, and we were on the ride by 8:25 (wait time said 10 mins). They were loading people in every row.

We walked to Tower of Terror, walked on (wait time said 13 mins), and then Rock n Rollercoaster, which took about five minutes (wait time said 20 mins). By now it was opening time, 9:00. We were supposed to board Rise of the Resistance by 9:40, so we headed to Galaxy's Edge. Crowds were pouring in, and this was the first time we saw people unable to distance. We walked right on to RotR. My daughter and I have ridden a few times at Disneyland, but my husband and two other kids were riding for the first time, so we let them take the front and enjoy it without plexiglass. I definitely liked it better without the plexiglass, but it wasn't as distracting as I thought be behind it. The ride was firing on all cylinders, and it was fabulous.

We were done with Slinky, ToT, RnR, and RotR by 9:40. We decided to check out the marketplace before there were long lines to enter. Then we got some blue milk and got our photos taken at Millennium Falcon.

By now it was getting quite crowded, so we went to Muppets and had to wait about ten minutes to get in the theater. We always love to see this show (we come to WDW every four years or so) because we miss it at Disneyland. We got in line for Star Tours at 11:15, and it took twenty minutes to get on (wait time said 50 mins).

We showed up on time for our 11:55 reservation at Sci Fi, and they brought us right in. We loved having empty cars around us. It was our third time eating there, and it was the best experience and food we have had so far.

We decided to check out Lightning McQueen Racing Academy next, since it had a short wait time, and we had never seen it before. I don't recommend it for families without young children. My youngest is eleven, and we all felt like it was geared at younger kids. But it was nice to sit and rest.

MMRR had a 40 min wait time, so we decided to do it. It actually took about thirty minutes. We enjoyed the ride, but my kids said they wished there were fewer screens. I thought it was a good mix of screens/practical stuff.

My husband and son decided to leave to the hotel for a nap. My daughters and I sat at a table near MMRR, watched cavalcades go by, and ate some holiday treats. I like cavalcades better than parades. I love that no one has to camp out or dodge huge crowds for parades This park was very fun and full of Christmas cheer, music, decorations, lights.

We decided to rest even more, so we went to watch Vacation Fun, and we almost fell asleep in the soft seats. It was a nice mashup of the new(ish) Mickey shorts. Then we decided that we were going to brave a huge line because we wanted to ride ToT again, and the boys wouldn't be back to join us for almost an hour and a half. Well, the wait time said 75 mins, and it took every minute of that time. It was pretty painful. But the ride is always worth it. We miss it so much since it became Guardians at DCA (although we also love Guardians). ToT in Florida is just one of the best rides there is.

We met up with my husband and son, and we headed to Toy Story Land, which looked beautiful all lit up. The wait time for Midway Mania said 20 mins, and we waited 10. Then we got in line for AS2, but the ride was down, so we left. We made an order for Docking Bay 7, ate inside (the outside tables are very few because of distancing), and noticed that the music/sound in there is extremely loud. We had to yell to each other all through dinner. We didn't think the Ronto Wraps were as good as Disneyland's, but that could have been a weird fluke. They were pretty dry. The other food (tip yip, garden spread) was all good.

We walked on AS2, and then we decided to ride Slinky one more time before closing. Wait time said 50 mins, but it took 20. The park was closed, but we had 7:30 reservations at Oga's, so we started to walk in that direction. Cast members were blocking the path to Galaxy's Edge. I had to show them my reservation, and they agreed to let us through, but a CM had to escort us, which was interesting. She was very nice. We got right into Oga's, and we had a great time finishing the night. I think we were getting a bit giddy from exhaustion.

Overall, a great but crowded day at DHS. Much warmer than Friday at EPCOT. We wore light jackets, but we had them off in the afternoon when it felt very warm. We saw lots of photo pass photographers, and we ended up with just under fifty photos. We got our RnR and ToT ride photos from the morning, but we still don't have the ToT photos from afternoon or either of our Slinky photos.

I hope some of this info helps! We are doing MK tomorrow.

ETA: We got all of our ToT photos and our evening Slinky photo, but we never got the morning Slinky photo even though it was only the four of us, and and we all had our masks on. I might send in a request if it never shows up, but it's not a huge deal. It probably looks exactly like the evening one, since you can see our expressions. Hahaha.


----------



## Mia22

Thanks for the report!


----------



## KrazeeK120

FinallyFL said:


> I believe DIsney requires 2 layers for a mask to be acceptable.



Yes, Disney’s website indicates that masks must be 2 layers. (I’m guessing the reason is that single layer masks are not effective. You might as well not be wearing a mask unless it’s double layer.)


----------



## armerida

YayforMickey said:


> We were at EPCOT on Friday, DHS on Saturday. We are taking a no-park relaxation day today (have a Homecomin' brunch in a little while), and our bodies are happy to rest!
> 
> EPCOT on Friday, Dec 18:
> 
> We were in the first twenty or so people let in at around 10:15, and we walked on Frozen. The water-splattered plexiglass dividers were not good on this ride. It was hard to see sometimes, and ride photos showed the top of the plexiglass right at eye level. Because of masks, that meant that you really couldn't see our faces at all in the photo. Just mask and hair. Then we went to Test Track, which was down. But we got on after a short wait, and we had both rides done by 11:15.
> 
> No line to get into Mexico, so we walked on Gran Fiesta. We started the cookie stroll and enjoyed other treats around the World Showcase. We arrived in Italy at 1:00, but our Via Napoli reservation wasn't until 2:00. They happily got us a table (indoors-- didn't see anyone eating outside) right away. We had a great lunch. After a chilly morning, it was finally starting to warm up a bit. We saw a couple of cavalcades while we were walking along, and we saw Mariachi Cobre and Voices of Liberty. Walkways were frequently empty-- no lines for anything.
> 
> We rode Skyliner for fun to Hollywood Studios and back (we had never been on it). It took almost an hour from about 4:00-5:00. No lines. Then we finished the cookie stroll and headed into Future World as it was getting dark.
> 
> I'm glad we didn't spend daylight hours here, because it's just a mess of construction walls. It was starting to get very cold, and we all had winter coats and gloves on. We are from Utah, and it was snowing when we left, so we are used to cold, and this was cold. We walked on Figment and Living with the Land (loved the addition of the Christmas lights-- plastic curtain dividers weren't as bad as I expected). Then we had to wait about 10-15 minutes for Soarin. We were sad that we couldn't request the middle, and we ended up on the far right, so the buildings were extremely curved.
> 
> We had a nice dinner at Sunshine Seasons, but it was so empty that it was creepy. As we walked toward The Seas, we noticed how unlit the pathways are. Then we walked on to Nemo, and probably 90% of the clam shells were empty. We looked at the aquariums for a while. Very few people anywhere. We got to Spaceship Earth around 8:00, walked on, of course. There was no need to stay until closing time, so we headed out to get some sleep.
> 
> Overall, lots of photo pass photographers, and we got our ride photos from both rides. We ended up with over fifty photos for the day. Wait times were extremely overinflated, as we didn't have to wait for almost anything. Our favorite cookies in the cookie stroll were the crinkle and linger cookies. The pre-packaged completer cookie was the worst one.
> 
> Hollywood Studios on Saturday, Dec 19:
> 
> Woke up early, four of us tried for boarding groups, and I was fastest. I got group 8. We walked from Speedway to DHS, and we were about the fifth group back. When it was time to move to line up at the temperature tents, people started arriving from the Skyliner, and they were allowed to go ahead of us, which I had heard was common, but it was still annoying. As soon we we got our temperature checked, we were allowed to go through the security and the tapstiles and straight inside. My daughter and I were each stopped to have our bags checked, which was weird because we had the same items in them as we did in Epcot, and they didn't stop us there. Anyway, we walked quickly to Slinky, arrived at 8:20, and we were on the ride by 8:25 (wait time said 10 mins). They were loading people in every row.
> 
> We walked to Tower of Terror, walked on (wait time said 13 mins), and then Rock n Rollercoaster, which took about five minutes (wait time said 20 mins). By now it was opening time, 9:00. We were supposed to board Rise of the Resistance by 9:40, so we headed to Galaxy's Edge. Crowds were pouring in, and this was the first time we saw people unable to distance. We walked right on to RotR. My daughter and I have ridden a few times at Disneyland, but my husband and two other kids were riding for the first time, so we let them take the front and enjoy it without plexiglass. I definitely liked it better without the plexiglass, but it wasn't as distracting as I thought be behind it. The ride was firing on all cylinders, and it was fabulous.
> 
> We were done with Slinky, ToT, RnR, and RotR by 9:40. We decided to check out the marketplace before there were long lines to enter. Then we got some blue milk and got our photos taken at Millennium Falcon.
> 
> By now it was getting quite crowded, so we went to Muppets and had to wait about ten minutes to get in the theater. We always love to see this show (we come to WDW every four years or so) because we miss it at Disneyland. We got in line for Star Tours at 11:15, and it took twenty minutes to get on (wait time said 50 mins).
> 
> We showed up on time for our 11:55 reservation at Sci Fi, and they brought us right in. We loved having empty cars around us. It was our third time eating there, and it was the best experience and food we have had so far.
> 
> We decided to check out Lightning McQueen Racing Academy next, since it had a short wait time, and we had never seen it before. I don't recommend it for families without young children. My youngest is eleven, and we all felt like it was geared at younger kids. But it was nice to sit and rest.
> 
> MMRR had a 40 min wait time, so we decided to do it. It actually took about thirty minutes. We enjoyed the ride, but my kids said they wished there were fewer screens. I thought it was a good mix of screens/practical stuff.
> 
> My husband and son decided to leave to the hotel for a nap. My daughters and I sat at a table near MMRR, watched cavalcades go by, and ate some holiday treats. I like cavalcades better than parades. I love that no one has to camp out or dodge huge crowds for parades This park was very fun and full of Christmas cheer, music, decorations, lights.
> 
> We decided to rest even more, so we went to watch Vacation Fun, and we almost fell asleep in the soft seats. It was a nice mashup of the new(ish) Mickey shorts. Then we decided that we were going to brave a huge line because we wanted to ride ToT again, and the boys wouldn't be back to join us for almost an hour and a half. Well, the wait time said 75 mins, and it took every minute of that time. It was pretty painful. But the ride is always worth it. We miss it so much since it became Guardians at DCA (although we also love Guardians). ToT in Florida is just one of the best rides there is.
> 
> We met up with my husband and son, and we headed to Toy Story Land, which looked beautiful all lit up. The wait time for Midway Mania said 20 mins, and we waited 10. Then we got in line for AS2, but the ride was down, so we left. We made an order for Docking Bay 7, ate inside (the outside tables are very few because of distancing), and noticed that the music/sound in there is extremely loud. We had to yell to each other all through dinner. We didn't think the Ronto Wraps were as good as Disneyland's, but that could have been a weird fluke. They were pretty dry. The other food (tip yip, garden spread) was all good.
> 
> We walked on AS2, and then we decided to ride Slinky one more time before closing. Wait time said 50 mins, but it took 20. The park was closed, but we had 7:30 reservations at Oga's, so we started to walk in that direction. Cast members were blocking the path to Galaxy's Edge. I had to show them my reservation, and they agreed to let us through, but a CM had to escort us, which was interesting. She was very nice. We got right into Oga's, and we had a great time finishing the night. I think we were getting a bit giddy from exhaustion.
> 
> Overall, a great but crowded day at DHS. Much warmer than Friday at EPCOT. We wore light jackets, but we had them off in the afternoon when it felt very warm. We saw lots of photo pass photographers, and we ended up with just under fifty photos. We got our RnR and ToT ride photos from the morning, but we still don't have the ToT photos from afternoon or either of our Slinky photos.
> 
> I hope some of this info helps! We are doing MK tomorrow.


Great report! Could I inquire what time you arrived at Speedway/what time you arrived at Hollywood Studios?


----------



## shoreward

armerida said:


> Oh no! We’re flying SW next week, I was thinking they unblocked the middle seats on January 1! Just double checked and it was December 1, ugh! No way will I be comfortable with a stranger joining my husband and me in such close proximity...


Southwest has been sending email messages to customers booked on flights with middle seats unblocked.  They are offering to let you know how booked your flight is and allow a change to a flight with a lighter load.  Certain terms and restrictions apply to changes.  You are not allowed to make any change online, yourself.  You must call Southwest to ask them to check the current number of customers booked on your flights and request a change, if your flights are full or almost full.  Obviously, the more people on your flights, the less chance there will be of open middle seats.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

shoreward said:


> Southwest has been sending email messages to customers booked on flights with middle seats unblocked.  They are offering to let you know how booked your flight is and allow a change to a flight with a lighter load.  Certain terms and restrictions apply to changes.  You are not allowed to make any change online, yourself.  You must call Southwest to ask them to check the current number of customers booked on your flights and request a change, if your flights are full or almost full.  Obviously, the more people on your flights, the less chance there will be of open middle seats.



My flight into Orlando seemed normal (crowded and packed).


----------



## dachsie

eeyoreandtink said:


> I have major issues with masks. I have anxiety, and the first time I tried to wear a traditional cloth mask in the grocery store I had a full blown panic attack because I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The blue ones aren’t much better for me. What ultimately worked was from a brand called pomchies. They are a single layer of stretchy swimsuit material, and are a godsend for me. I can teach all day in one and do fine. They are a little pricey, but well worth it. My DD dances and they are wearing masks at all times. She can dance in these and not feel like she is dying.


I hope they all go away by summer.  I got my vaccine on Friday.  I am ready to be done with Covid.


----------



## armerida

shoreward said:


> Southwest has been sending email messages to customers booked on flights with middle seats unblocked.  They are offering to let you know how booked your flight is and allow a change to a flight with a lighter load.  Certain terms and restrictions apply to changes.  You are not allowed to make any change online, yourself.  You must call Southwest to ask them to check the current number of customers booked on your flights and request a change, if your flights are full or almost full.  Obviously, the more people on your flights, the less chance there will be of open middle seats.


Thanks, just got the email. I’ll give them a call and see if there’s a less full flight.


----------



## YayforMickey

armerida said:


> Great report! Could I inquire what time you arrived at Speedway/what time you arrived at Hollywood Studios?


Sure. We got to Speedway just a minute or two before 7:30, and we got to the first holding area at 7:40. They took our temperature at 8:05, so we were walking inside by 8:10. I took some photos so that I'd know what time everything happened.


----------



## EEPETEZ

yulilin3 said:


> They are spacing lines but some have reported seeing people seated in all vehicles on SDD and RnRC. We don't know if these people are members of same party or if they are actually filling all vehicles


I was there last week and the all of the lines were spaced, but they loaded every car on Everest-can’t speak to the other rides as we skipped them


----------



## eeyoreandtink

dachsie said:


> I hope they all go away by summer.  I got my vaccine on Friday.  I am ready to be done with Covid.


Highly doubtful they will be gone by summer. Late spring to early summer is when the expect to START general public vaccinations.


----------



## eeyoreandtink

FinallyFL said:


> I believe DIsney requires 2 layers for a mask to be acceptable.


It’s not in the requirements anywhere, at least not that I can find.


----------



## Befferk

eeyoreandtink said:


> It’s not in the requirements anywhere, at least not that I can find.


https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/#drawer-card-faceCoverings
*Face Coverings*

Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) and Cast Members. Please bring your own face coverings and wear them at all times, except when dining or swimming. You may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking, but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing.

 All face coverings (whether disposable or reusable) must:

*Be made with at least 2 layers of breathable material*
Fully cover the nose and mouth and secure under the chin
Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
Be secured with ties or ear loops and allow the Guest to remain hands-free
At this time, based on guidance from health authorities, neck gaiters, open-chin triangle bandanas and face coverings containing valves, mesh material or holes of any kind are not acceptable face coverings.
Costume masks are also not considered appropriate and are prohibited from being worn, in alignment with our existing rules.
The use of face coverings is not a substitute for physical distancing.


----------



## eeyoreandtink

Befferk said:


> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/#drawer-card-faceCoverings
> *Face Coverings*
> 
> Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) and Cast Members. Please bring your own face coverings and wear them at all times, except when dining or swimming. You may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking, but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing.
> 
> All face coverings (whether disposable or reusable) must:
> 
> *Be made with at least 2 layers of breathable material*
> Fully cover the nose and mouth and secure under the chin
> Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
> Be secured with ties or ear loops and allow the Guest to remain hands-free
> At this time, based on guidance from health authorities, neck gaiters, open-chin triangle bandanas and face coverings containing valves, mesh material or holes of any kind are not acceptable face coverings.
> Costume masks are also not considered appropriate and are prohibited from being worn, in alignment with our existing rules.
> The use of face coverings is not a substitute for physical distancing.


I don’t know what I am going to do then. I haven’t found a dual layer mask I can wear. I specifically bought these because, due to the tight weave of the fabric, they are actually BETTER than a dual layer of cotton at stopping particles.


----------



## KrazeeK120

eeyoreandtink said:


> I don’t know what I am going to do then. I haven’t found a dual layer mask I can wear. I specifically bought these because, due to the tight weave of the fabric, they are actually BETTER than a dual layer of cotton at stopping particles.



I think the general advice for people who are unwilling or unable to meet the requirements is to postpone your trip.

ETA: I recently bought face masks from BOCO and I really like them. They’re very lightweight and comfortable.


----------



## p44nmun

eeyoreandtink said:


> I don’t know what I am going to do then. I haven’t found a dual layer mask I can wear. I specifically bought these because, due to the tight weave of the fabric, they are actually BETTER than a dual layer of cotton at stopping particles.


Have you tried the masks from Athleta? I have to wear one all day at work, and those are wonderful. Honestly I forget I have one on. Very breathable, 2 layers, fit well. Just throwing out another option to try.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Crowds at Epcot today were a dream. No crowding or long lines in the WS for the most part but enough to still feel lively. We saw both the Santa and Minnie/Mickey cavalcades. Ate everything we wanted at the holiday booths and Completed the Olaf Scavenger hunt. Mobile order at sunshine seasons was easy and super fresh. Lines for rides were long so admittedly we avoided most of those. We did hit Soarin which was posted as 25 but took 45. Figment was a walk on. Gran Fiesta was about a 30 minute wait between pyramid queue and ride queue. 

CM we spoke to today said they expect crowds to pick up Wednesday and stay heavier through New Years so we’ll see.


----------



## heggy

dachsie said:


> I am ready to be done with Covid.


You, me, and about 330 million other folks in the US.
Since our Disney Cruise was cancel, my family are visiting Disney World the first week of the new year.
Enjoy reading the reports of the wait times being less then the reported times in the MDE app.


----------



## monkeydawn

eeyoreandtink said:


> I don’t know what I am going to do then. I haven’t found a dual layer mask I can wear. I specifically bought these because, due to the tight weave of the fabric, *they are actually BETTER than a dual layer of cotton at stopping particles.*



If this is true, I would suggest that your issue is psychological.  If it were me, I'd seriously look at the source of the info, if it were the company selling it then I would be hesitant to believe it.  I see no good reason that you should be able to breathe better through one tightly knit layer rather than two looser layers.    If its an independent testing body that concluded this, then I'd go back to the issue being psychological.  

Please note I am not calling you crazy, my mind and body are closely linked and I can easily psych myself out to the point of having physical manifestations (severe white coat syndrome with respect to blood pressure here) without even realizing I am doing it.  I have to really try to be zen in some situations.

As a way to salvage your trip, do you have a way of calming yourself...a mantra, a scent, an activity?  In hopes that you can "train" yourself to be more accepting of the two layer masks.


----------



## Belle5

We are just back (8 of us) from 7 days in the parks and we had a GREAT time! Temp check and xray is so much more efficient and quick than the old bag check lines. 

Sat=DHS (RotR, Smuggler's twice, Mickey's Runaway Train, loved GE).

Sun=DAK(FoP two/three times depending on who had rider swap), safari outstanding, Yak and Yeti wonderful).

Mon=DHS (RotR, Smuggler's, more food from Docking Bay which was pretty good)

Tue=MK (adult kids and their littles got there early and rode 6 things before we arrived with high school and college sons who like to sleep)...Got in two rides (Pirates and ??) before lunch, dinner at Skipper's was AWESOME! Some evening rides like BTMR, and 7 Dwarfs...Soaked up the GORGEOUS atmosphere until  close. Took tons of pics. It was so beautiful and festive we didn't even care much about rides! I think we missed FP+ the most at this park!  Calvacades MUST stay! They are amazing!

Wed=EP (Soarin' a couple times, Frozen,  calvacades, new movie in France (do this only with kids), new movie in Canada (one-timer...we were a little disappointed), lunch at Spice Road Table (awesome)

Thu=DHS (RotR, Smugglers, Star Tours twice, Oga's for 8 (lots of fun), three times in DHS never made it to ToT or RR. Loved the peppermint holiday milkshake from Scoops near ToT! The projections on ToT for the holidays is super disappointing, IMO. Like ugly... Great Christmas atmosphere on Hollywood Blvd. Dinner was at Edison's in DS.  We froze because of the open air feeling on the second floor.  Good food and atmosphere.

Fri=Epcot for us (older crowd) split up with younger family who wanted to go back to MK.  Epcot was so fantastic to end our trip with! Soarin', movie in China and just soaking up the WS! Calvacades were wonderful with Santa, Mickey and Frozen Characters! Biergarten was our favorite meal of the trip! Love, love, love the family style replacement of the buffet! The holiday music from the stage performers was FANTASTIC! What a way to end our trip!!

Final thoughts: food and beverages can be hard to come by if you are not on top of your mobile ordering.  We mobile ordered Roaring Forks to see the WL all decked out for the holidays (only good thing was the soft round ginger cookies...just order those if you want to see the lodge).  We mobile ordered Captain Cooks for lunch one day and that was AMAZING...get the Thai Meatballs! We also ordered breakfast one day from the Boardwalk Bakery and really enjoyed that...the Boardwalk is always beautiful decorated for Christmas! We mobile ordered some snacks at Gasparilla's and found the GF to be sadly lacking in holiday vibe and in a terrible need of an update (and a return of the orchestra)! Just skip that one! We had breakfast almost daily in a park at the Starbucks.  Wish we would have done that in MK instead of having the famed cinnamon rolls at Gaston's! Blah! Favorite item was still the Mickey head cinnamon roll at AK Starbucks! Disney Springs shopping at night...expect a longgggg wait to just get into the Disney stores! We gave up two different nights! Actually, many of the best shops in the parks also had very long waits just to get in (30 min to an hour).  No thanks! Not worth my time! Yes, we would have loved nighttime spectaculars but our expectations were adjusted and there was a lot of festive atmosphere to fill the void at night (but we won't return until those are back up and running)! This was a very freeing vacation.  Loved the spontaneity of deciding what to do as we went along! Canceled all of our ADRs except Oga's, Yak, and Skipper's! Even with a party of 8 we just rolled with what was available when we were hungry and mobile ordered at a resort if nothing appealed to us! Great mask compliance, for the most part! Yes, there were exceptions! We do not regret going in any way! Great job, Disney! You made vacationing during a pandemic very enjoyable! We were so impressed!


----------



## SugarSweetLee

Belle5 said:


> Wed=EP (Soarin' a couple times, Frozen,  calvacades, *new movie in France (do this only with kids)*, new movie in Canada (one-timer...we were a little disappointed), lunch at Spice Road Table (awesome)



Do you mean the BatB sing-along?


----------



## kristenabelle

Got back a few weeks ago and wanted to say - Mobile Ordering at dine-in restaurants is AMAZING. I got Kona Cafe to eat back at my Poly room and Ale & Compass when I was staying at BWV (little walk to pick it up, but worked out so well). I didn't eat indoors this trip, so getting good quality food and eating it back in my room was awesome. Highly recommend it for anyone going!


----------



## tink2424

eeyoreandtink said:


> I don’t know what I am going to do then. I haven’t found a dual layer mask I can wear. I specifically bought these because, due to the tight weave of the fabric, they are actually BETTER than a dual layer of cotton at stopping particles.



I didn't see them looking closely at masks when I was there in Late Sept/Early October and my mask was only 1 layer and they didn't say anything to me.  I would be prepared with a back-up just in case but you will probably be fine with the masks you already have...


----------



## Befferk

tink2424 said:


> I didn't see them looking closely at masks when I was there in Late Sept/Early October and my mask was only 1 layer and they didn't say anything to me.  I would be prepared with a back-up just in case but you will probably be fine with the masks you already have...


Let's be honest, they are NOT going to ask you to take off your mask to inspect it.


----------



## KrazeeK120

Befferk said:


> Let's be honest, they are NOT going to ask you to take off your mask to inspect it.



I agree.

However, everyone should be wearing a double layer mask simply as a courtesy to those around them. The reason for the rule is for safety.


----------



## disneyseniors

eeyoreandtink said:


> I don’t know what I am going to do then. I haven’t found a dual layer mask I can wear. I specifically bought these because, due to the tight weave of the fabric, they are actually BETTER than a dual layer of cotton at stopping particles.



I don't know if I've ever heard of anyone being stopped to check if your mask has 2 layers or not?
I think Disney is just happy to have guests wearing masks.


----------



## yulilin3

ok lets please move away from the mask topic and go back to the just back reports


----------



## ExtraMagic

Just back! We had a perfect short trip. Three nights at Saratoga Springs. We skipped the parks but loved spending a lot of time at Disney Springs! Here are some notes that may help others in the next week or two:

At Disney Springs, Santa drives past on a pontoon boat starting early in the afternoon all the way through the evening (we had a great Santa view from our room). 
The Christmas Tree Stroll scavenger hunt was really fun -- more fun than the Christmas Tree Trail of the past, in my opinion!
We made a reservation for mini golf and walked right up at our “tee time.” They did a nice job generously spacing parties and keeping the equipment clean.
We ate like kings (kings who don’t want to eat inside right now) and got takeout from Polite Pig, Morimoto Street Food, and Blaze Pizza. 
I thought the food at Saratoga Springs was delicious! I had the Saratoga Salad the last night we were there and will absolutely recreate it at home.


----------



## princesslover

Belle5 said:


> We are just back (8 of us) from 7 days in the parks and we had a GREAT time! Temp check and xray is so much more efficient and quick than the old bag check lines.
> 
> Sat=DHS (RotR, Smuggler's twice, Mickey's Runaway Train, loved GE).
> 
> Sun=DAK(FoP two/three times depending on who had rider swap), safari outstanding, Yak and Yeti wonderful).
> 
> Mon=DHS (RotR, Smuggler's, more food from Docking Bay which was pretty good)
> 
> Tue=MK (adult kids and their littles got there early and rode 6 things before we arrived with high school and college sons who like to sleep)...Got in two rides (Pirates and ??) before lunch, dinner at Skipper's was AWESOME! Some evening rides like BTMR, and 7 Dwarfs...Soaked up the GORGEOUS atmosphere until  close. Took tons of pics. It was so beautiful and festive we didn't even care much about rides! I think we missed FP+ the most at this park!  Calvacades MUST stay! They are amazing!
> 
> Wed=EP (Soarin' a couple times, Frozen,  calvacades, new movie in France (do this only with kids), new movie in Canada (one-timer...we were a little disappointed), lunch at Spice Road Table (awesome)
> 
> Thu=DHS (RotR, Smugglers, Star Tours twice, Oga's for 8 (lots of fun), three times in DHS never made it to ToT or RR. Loved the peppermint holiday milkshake from Scoops near ToT! The projections on ToT for the holidays is super disappointing, IMO. Like ugly... Great Christmas atmosphere on Hollywood Blvd. Dinner was at Edison's in DS.  We froze because of the open air feeling on the second floor.  Good food and atmosphere.
> 
> Fri=Epcot for us (older crowd) split up with younger family who wanted to go back to MK.  Epcot was so fantastic to end our trip with! Soarin', movie in China and just soaking up the WS! Calvacades were wonderful with Santa, Mickey and Frozen Characters! Biergarten was our favorite meal of the trip! Love, love, love the family style replacement of the buffet! The holiday music from the stage performers was FANTASTIC! What a way to end our trip!!
> 
> Final thoughts: food and beverages can be hard to come by if you are not on top of your mobile ordering.  We mobile ordered Roaring Forks to see the WL all decked out for the holidays (only good thing was the soft round ginger cookies...just order those if you want to see the lodge).  We mobile ordered Captain Cooks for lunch one day and that was AMAZING...get the Thai Meatballs! We also ordered breakfast one day from the Boardwalk Bakery and really enjoyed that...the Boardwalk is always beautiful decorated for Christmas! We mobile ordered some snacks at Gasparilla's and found the GF to be sadly lacking in holiday vibe and in a terrible need of an update (and a return of the orchestra)! Just skip that one! We had breakfast almost daily in a park at the Starbucks.  Wish we would have done that in MK instead of having the famed cinnamon rolls at Gaston's! Blah! Favorite item was still the Mickey head cinnamon roll at AK Starbucks! Disney Springs shopping at night...expect a longgggg wait to just get into the Disney stores! We gave up two different nights! Actually, many of the best shops in the parks also had very long waits just to get in (30 min to an hour).  No thanks! Not worth my time! Yes, we would have loved nighttime spectaculars but our expectations were adjusted and there was a lot of festive atmosphere to fill the void at night (but we won't return until those are back up and running)! This was a very freeing vacation.  Loved the spontaneity of deciding what to do as we went along! Canceled all of our ADRs except Oga's, Yak, and Skipper's! Even with a party of 8 we just rolled with what was available when we were hungry and mobile ordered at a resort if nothing appealed to us! Great mask compliance, for the most part! Yes, there were exceptions! We do not regret going in any way! Great job, Disney! You made vacationing during a pandemic very enjoyable! We were so impressed!



Thanks for the report!  Does Starbucks do mobile ordering?


----------



## Belle5

princesslover said:


> Thanks for the report!  Does Starbucks do mobile ordering?


Not that we found!


----------



## hereforthechurros

MK today is the complete opposite from yesterday’s blissful Epcot experience. We were here on this same Monday of Christmas week last year and last year was far more manageable. We left right after lunch to hang at the hotel. This park today was in no way comfortable. Hopefully it will be better this evening.


----------



## hereforthechurros

princesslover said:


> Thanks for the report!  Does Starbucks do mobile ordering?


Sadly no which is crazy. Right now after you order, if you make it through the insanely long line, you must stand at the register until a circle to wait for food becomes available. There are only three circles so there’s a lot of just standing around at the register. Seems like an awful system. I’d love to see them fully convert to mobile order and have all resources handling that vs. the mile long line and sloooow ordering system they have now.


----------



## gatzsd

We just arrived today. The line for the magical express was over an hour wait. We decided to do an Uber instead of waiting which was around $60 and was full of cigarette smoke. Hoping the rest of the service is an improvement and we have a great trip


----------



## Alynw

Just wanted to share my recent experience and say how pleasantly surprised I was at how low the crowds were. I was at HS 18th and I couldn't believe how low the crowd was. We got there at 11am and Runaway Railroad was literally only 30 min wait, rock n roll was 30 min, tower of terror 30 min and slinky dog was 45 min. Only ride that had any real wait was MF at 100 min according to posted time and 90 min according to cast member holding end of line sign but thats to be expected as anyone that didn't get a rise pass is def going to ride falcon. Overall the place was empty compared to normal. I was at AK 20th and rode both pandora rides at 40 min wait each, everest was 15 min, safari was walk on and toward the end of the night, evert was walk on, dinosaur was walk on, pandora was 15 min, there were times it felt like we were only ones in the park, literally would be walking and not see 1 person but again this was at 630pm and park closed at 7pm but even during the day it was just almost empty, didn't even come close to comparing to normal crowds. Also, with all the covid and limited attractions/shows/fireworks. It didn't feel like we were missing anything or not getting our money worth, the Disney magic is still there alive and well.


----------



## nixpartyoffive

Day 1 at Hollywood Studios. Husband scored BG 9 at our hotel (Marriott Sabal Palms, on data). Arrived at HS at 8:00, waited for parking to open... we were in by 8:10. Parked and through temp/bag check by 8:21. Went directly to MMRMT and in line by 8:24. At around 8:50 they announced the ride was down. RotR was boarding groups 1-10, so we left. Walked on to Rise at 9:00. Walked around GE, shopped and took some pictures. Smugglers Run was 75 minutes by this point so went on to Toy Story. SD waited 50 (posted 70), Midway Mania 25 (posted 50), Alien Swirl 25. We mobile ordered from Woodys Lunchbox while in line for Slinky... had a 12:40 pickup and it worked perfect. After lunch and rest, went back to MMRMT at 1:30. Ride broke down again around 2, but we stayed in line and were boarding by 2:26. Posted time when we first entered the line was 60. Husband and kids all went to ride TOT and Rockin RC. I’ve been shopping and have seen the Santa and Pixar cavalcades while waiting. Park is busy, but mask compliance is great. Social distancing is good except for some choke points. CM are all very friendly. We’ve only seen a few Photo Pass photographers and have stopped at 4. Tonight we have Sci Fi ADR at 7:45 and Savi’s at 9:05. So we will probably be going back to GE next as my kids want to shop and do more there.


----------



## GPC0321

Day One. We got to BWV about 8:45 or so this morning. We had DME to ourselves from MCO. Dropped bags with bell services and went to Boardwalk Bakery. Mobile Ordered our resort mugs and breakfast...had it in a couple of minutes. We ate outside. It was a little brisk, but we were dressed for it and the food was tasty. Walked to Epcot afterward and went straight to Soarin'. This was just a bit before 10am and we weren't alone in heading to Soarin, but we basically walked straight to where we were put into rows and waiting for the pre-ride video and then were in and enjoying the ride very soon after. Afterward we walked to Nemo and that was total walk-on. Looked at the critters for a couple of minutes and headed to Spaceship Earth. The line was intimidating but it basically kept moving almost nonstop. We headed back into World Showcase and got lunch at the Holiday Kitchen in Mexico. Went and watched the China movie, then strolled around and stopped because it was almost time for a Voices of Liberty performance. I had time, so ran and picked up some chocolate crinkle cookies from the American Holiday Kitchen and made it back to Mom in time to enjoy the show (and cookies). We got a text that our room was ready, so decided to head to the resort to rest up for tonight. We're chilling in the room now. The room is lovely, we've got a great view of the pool and Tower of Terror. We're heading back over to Epcot soon to enjoy some things at the Holiday Kitchens and do some shopping.

We haven't felt at all unsafe here. Mask compliance is darn near 100%. I have seen a cast member asking someone with a nose peeking out to pull his mask up. People are pretty aware and respectful about social distancing. Certainly there are times when walking (especially exiting attractions) when you're not very distanced, but it's short-lived.

Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios. We're going to get there early to do M&MRR. I'll try for a ROTR boarding pass early, but if we don't get one, no biggie. I expect bigger crowds than the Epcot ones today. We'll see!

Happy to be here! (Oh...the Chocolate Crinkle Cookie is good!)


----------



## WorldOfPooh

gatzsd said:


> We just arrived today. The line for the magical express was over an hour wait. We decided to do an Uber instead of waiting which was around $60 and was full of cigarette smoke. Hoping the rest of the service is an improvement and we have a great trip



How can it be over an hour?

I've never had to wait more than 15 minutes for the bus to arrive.


----------



## scrappinginontario

WorldOfPooh said:


> How can it be over an hour?
> 
> I've never had to wait more than 15 minutes for the bus to arrive.


The week of Christmas it can be that busy for sure.  Many are arriving and buses are limited in the number of people they can transport.

We were there in September one year and had to wait almost an hour between the wait in line (we were backed up half way down the rental car area and then once bands were checked our resort line was almost full.)  From there we had to wait for a bus to load an another arrive and all of this was pre-COVID so when buses will filling to their maximum.


----------



## Belle5

SugarSweetLee said:


> Do you mean the BatB sing-along?



Yes, that's what I mean! My college age son didn't realize it was a kids attraction and assumed it would be like Impressions de France.


----------



## vital

Got home yesterday after a Dec 13-21 birthday trip. I turned 50 on Saturday so we spent it at Epcot. Those of you who were there may have seen me in my "It's my 50th Birthday" shirt . 

We went to each park 2 days except AK which we did one day. All in all it was a fantastic trip. It was very cold one day/night, but we brought clothes for that so it was fine.

Mask compliance was better than I anticipated, but then I wasn't looking for rule breakers. We are a family of 1 ED RN (me) 1 FireMedic (DH) and 1 fire fighter (DS) so our tolerance is probably higher than people who aren't in the medical/first responder field. A few times we saw CM's running towards people who were taking pictures with masks off, but people quickly complied. That was the only time we really noticed masks off besides eating/drinking to the side.

We definitely noticed an increase in crowds Sunday the 20th at MK. We left to go eat at Whispering Canyon at noon and did not return due to the rain and increase in crowds. People were pouring in and it wasn't the fear of Covid that made us not go back, it was the fear of the long lines for rides. LOL At the beginning of the week, wait times were half of what was posted, but by the end of the week the wait times were increasing.

Here are my tips:

Rope drop, rope drop, rope drop
Mobile order
Hit the "must do" rides first then the rest is gravy
We did one thing in each park that we'd never done before since we were able to take advantage of the low crowds.
Take the lines for what they're worth. Enjoy the time with family. 
If you are the tiniest bit afraid of crowds I would wait. There are choke points, but you're not in them for long.
The parks opened about 45 minutes before posted time and the closing announcement wasn't until an hour after posted closing time.

We stayed at BWV and I absolutely love that place. You can't beat the location and being able to go to the bakery, pizza window and walk over to the Yacht and Beach Clubs for other dining options is fantastic. 

Would we do it again? Absolutely.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

scrappinginontario said:


> The week of Christmas it can be that busy for sure.  Many are arriving and buses are limited in the number of people they can transport.
> 
> We were there in September one year and had to wait almost an hour between the wait in line (we were backed up half way down the rental car area and then once bands were checked our resort line was almost full.)  From there we had to wait for a bus to load an another arrive and all of this was pre-COVID so when buses will filling to their maximum.



If that's the case then the Lynx bus may actually be faster.  It probably 90 minutes from MCO to Disney or Universal.


----------



## gatzsd

WorldOfPooh said:


> How can it be over an hour?
> 
> I've never had to wait more than 15 minutes for the bus to arrive.


There was a huge line and no buses.


----------



## gatzsd

at mk now and definitely large crowds. By 7:45 am before the park opened the line for 7 dwarves mine train was 105 minutes! Both splash and big thunder are also currently closed


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## WorldOfPooh

gatzsd said:


> at mk now and definitely large crowds. By 7:45 am before the park opened the line for 7 dwarves mine train was 105 minutes! Both splash and big thunder are also currently closed


wow, that's too bad.  And no park hopping and no railroad train so you're stuck at MK for the day.
Is Carousel of Progress at least open?
Might be a day to just go to Tom Sawyer's island and relax in the chairs near Aunt Polly's lemonade stand.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

WorldOfPooh said:


> wow, that's too bad.  And no park hopping and no railroad train so you're stuck at MK for the day.
> Is Carousel of Progress at least open?
> Might be a day to just go to Tom Sawyer's island and relax in the chairs near Aunt Polly's lemonade stand.


last I read Tom Sawyer is closed as river drained


----------



## Forevermarypoppins

gatzsd said:


> We just arrived today. The line for the magical express was over an hour wait. We decided to do an Uber instead of waiting which was around $60 and was full of cigarette smoke. Hoping the rest of the service is an improvement and we have a great trip


What time of the day were you waiting? Just curious?


----------



## DisneyOma

Yikes, waiting in line with strangers, even if you are 6 feet apart, for more than 15 minutes would make me very nervous., never mind being in a show building. Good luck everyone and hope you stay safe.


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## figmentfinesse

Betty Rohrer said:


> last I read Tom Sawyer is closed as river drained



It is closed until March! I just discovered it in August so I will be sad to miss it in Jan.


----------



## WorldOfPooh

figmentfinesse said:


> It is closed until March! I just discovered it in August so I will be sad to miss it in Jan.



So no Tom Sawyer and No Disney Railroad.
Looks like I'll continue to pass up MK for a while.


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## yulilin3

It is the busiest time of year,  these are expected wait times


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## Alynw

I am totally baffled about the crowds here. From all the previous comments and my past xmas experiences, I was expecting these extreme wait times. I knew crowd level would be down but never thought the parks would be empty. I have never experienced such low wait times in all my past 10 yr or so of coming here during xmas. Most every ride so far has been under 30min with most average 15 min. MF was the longest and TT after that but even those are well under normal for this week. I def stand corrected in my original opinion that wait times would still be high due to social distancing because that is most def not the case. For anyone choosing not to go during this week because your worried about wait times, I recommend u go. I literally waited 5 min to ride Spaceship Earth during prime time. Good luck and Merry Xmas

Ps..Frozen was 15min during prime hours


----------



## p44nmun

Alynw said:


> I am totally baffled about the crowds here. From all the previous comments and my past xmas experiences, I was expecting these extreme wait times. I knew crowd level would be down but never thought the parks would be empty. I have never experienced such low wait times in all my past 10 yr or so of coming here during xmas. Most every ride so far has been under 30min with most average 15 min. MF was the longest and TT after that but even those are well under normal for this week. I def stand corrected in my original opinion that wait times would still be high due to social distancing because that is most def not the case. For anyone choosing not to go during this week because your worried about wait times, I recommend u go. I literally waited 5 min to ride Spaceship Earth during prime time. Good luck and Merry Xmas
> 
> Ps..Frozen was 15min during prime hours


Your post made my day!!! We are leaving tomorrow and staying for a week and I have been so concerned about long long lines, waiting forever to get into stores or get food and then someone posted magical express was an hour wait yesterday and I told my husband I was about to cancel the trip. (Although I’m sure I’d never). But your post just made me super excited and although I am ready to “go with the flow” I feel so much better now.


----------



## Bruggok

Update: Did AK Dec 20 Sunday - relatively low wait lines and good crowd mask compliance. Did HS Dec 21 Monday - obviously busier than EP AK on Dec 19 and 20, but still ok. MMRR surprisingly peaked after rope drop at 75m then rest of day 45-60m. Visitors spread out among various “lower tier” ride lines instead of focused in tier 1 FastPass rides.

Today Dec 22 did MK. Out of the 4 parks in the past 4 days, my family felt MK had the most mask/“wait at this line” non-compliant guests. Other 3 parks always had people sneaking a snack or drink under their mask with an occasional mask off eat-in-line person. I get that and don’t expect perfect enforcement. However in MK today at small world a family kept pulling mask down under their mouth, not even to eat/drink, while waiting in line a few spots ahead of me. They’d pull mask back up to walk by CM. When we pointed out the offenders to a CM, she said she has to see it herself, but it was obvious she chose not to look even when we told her. We had so many mask under nose people walk/stand close to us and people getting up right behind us in line, that by lunchtime we were done dodging people in MK. We left to go back to resort. Maybe this evening will be better. Strange that guests can be so good at standing at the 6’ spots in line at EP/AK/HS, but were so bad at MK.


----------



## gatzsd

Forevermarypoppins said:


> What time of the day were you waiting? Just curious?


About 2 pm.  We did have a reservation but the sign posted at check in said 60 min.  I talked to people toward the front of the line to find out how long they had been waiting and they were at 45 min.  They said the sign used to say 45 min wait and they changed it to 60 min.  It was worth it to us to pay for the Uber and not do that wait after traveling.


----------



## gatzsd

Glad to hear Epcot is low wait times we are headed there tomorrow- definitely not the case at MK, about half the rides are about an hour wait time.  I was just thinking they would be less because its supposed to be limited capacity and no fast passes.  Splash and thunder mountain back up and running though so that’s good news.  Mask compliance seems to be good - lines for the most part have social distancing markers but that’s not always the case usually closer as you enter the boarding area.  The weather is great which makes waiting outside pleasant.


----------



## Mrspeaks

YayforMickey said:


> Sure. We got to Speedway just a minute or two before 7:30, and we got to the first holding area at 7:40. They took our temperature at 8:05, so we were walking inside by 8:10. I took some photos so that I'd know what time everything happened.


Would a walk from the Disney resorts also be held? Not sure if they filter into the same walkway.


----------



## tstein12

Mrspeaks said:


> Would a walk from the Disney resorts also be held? Not sure if they filter into the same walkway.


Yes, since the resorts use the same walkway...


----------



## Alynw

Just rode Soarin, 30 .in posted wait, 10 min only, crazy to me. U can not go by posted times or how long the lines look.


----------



## Donnask8pro

Got back Sun from 7 days, we originally had 3 days planned for Disney and 3 days US/IOA. We hit US first day then next day EP. I was surprised how much better US is handling social distancing. We never did a another Dis park after EP. Spent the rest of our time at US/IOA as they were definitely more on top of it. I should add I have a handicapped son at home and just needed to get a break, didn't want to chance bringing anything home either.


----------



## wdwrule

Just FYI in case anyone uses photo pass and had a similar experience... last month we were on PoC and noticed a party in front of boat weren’t wearing masks correctly. Of course at the end of the trip I still didn’t see that pic of us show up on our account. I emailed about this missing photo about a week ago figuring it was worth a shot. Today someone from Disney Photopass called and explained that a party in front weren’t wearing masks correctly but we were... she said if it was ok with us they’d crop them out of the photo and give us the pic. It turned out really nicely!  So apparently that’s what they’re doing now... zooming in and cropping the pic and still letting you have it which is great!  Worth a shot after all if you end up missing a pic due to another party not following the rules.


----------



## ckb_nc

I was there 12/13 to 12/18

Stayed at BWV - the resort was quite empty.

Monday 12/14 - MK - we arrived later and found it to be not hard to get around. Hardest place for congestion was right by Small World. 

Tuesday 12/15 - HS - rope dropped and it was great. longest wait was either ToT or SM. Lines were really long looking but moved well. The only social distancing challenge was in Rise line - too many blind corners. We rode TSMania 3 x with no waits at all

Wednesday 12/16 - AK - Pandora was pretty hard to get around but even thing else was pretty easy. Everest was walk on and was Kali. Safari was pretty much walk on too. We waited 40 minutes Flight of Passage.

Thursday 12/17 - MK - Rope drop again.  Rope drop is your absolute friend. Get there at least 45 minutes before opening to the gate. We rode Pan with no wait, Space with no wait and Buzz 2X no wait. Longest wait was Mine Train which was a 50 minutes

Friday 12/18 - Gold pass block dates started and the crowd changes. HS - longer lines and bigger crowds. First time I saw anyone not following mask protocol all week. ToT was an hour - and RbR was 40 minutes. Galaxy's Edge was a challenge. And the longest wait for Mania all week at maybe 20 minutes


----------



## marinejjh

Bruggok said:


> Update: Did AK Dec 20 Sunday - relatively low wait lines and good crowd mask compliance. Did HS Dec 21 Monday - obviously busier than EP AK on Dec 19 and 20, but still ok. MMRR surprisingly peaked after rope drop at 75m then rest of day 45-60m. Visitors spread out among various “lower tier” ride lines instead of focused in tier 1 FastPass rides.
> 
> Today Dec 22 did MK. Out of the 4 parks in the past 4 days, my family felt MK had the most mask/“wait at this line” non-compliant guests. Other 3 parks always had people sneaking a snack or drink under their mask with an occasional mask off eat-in-line person. I get that and don’t expect perfect enforcement. However in MK today at small world a family kept pulling mask down under their mouth, not even to eat/drink, while waiting in line a few spots ahead of me. They’d pull mask back up to walk by CM. When we pointed out the offenders to a CM, she said she has to see it herself, but it was obvious she chose not to look even when we told her. We had so many mask under nose people walk/stand close to us and people getting up right behind us in line, that by lunchtime we were done dodging people in MK. We left to go back to resort. Maybe this evening will be better. Strange that guests can be so good at standing at the 6’ spots in line at EP/AK/HS, but were so bad at MK.


Why do grown people tell on other's? I've always said during this whole pandemic to worry about you and let me worry about me. We are going  soon and my kids know about the mask policy and when and where we can eat/drink, but if I had people telling on people around me, they would surely get some great responses.


----------



## eeyoreandtink

marinejjh said:


> Why do grown people tell on other's? I've always said during this whole pandemic to worry about you and let me worry about me. We are going  soon and my kids know about the mask policy and when and where we can eat/drink, but if I had people telling on people around me, they would surely get some great responses.


Because in this case what others choose to do risks the health and safety of those around them. Mask are designed to keep your germs in, not to keep others germs out. If what you do doesn’t harm me, I could care less, but in this case others noncompliance with the rules literally risks the lives of those in their vicinity .


----------



## mlayton14

marinejjh said:


> Why do grown people tell on other's? I've always said during this whole pandemic to worry about you and let me worry about me. We are going  soon and my kids know about the mask policy and when and where we can eat/drink, but if I had people telling on people around me, they would surely get some great responses.



I am shocked by this post , are you still in high school ? Follow the rules or stay home


----------



## marinejjh

mlayton14 said:


> I am shocked by this post , are you still in high school ? Follow the rules or stay home


I definitely agree with following the rules or stay home. I just can't stand when adults find it necessary to taddle like kids on other grown adults. Sorry but worry about yourselves. Also if you are social distancing and masks really work then we wouldn't have the case numbers we currently have. Sorry, just my opinion and its Disney's responsibility to enforce the mask mandate, not the public in the park.


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## RabFlmom

marinejjh said:


> Why do grown people tell on other's? I've always said during this whole pandemic to worry about you and let me worry about me. We are going  soon and my kids know about the mask policy and when and where we can eat/drink, but if I had people telling on people around me, they would surely get some great responses.



I can answer that.....because there is a pandemic out there. Because when you decided to buy that ticket or stay in that hotel during a pandemic you agreed to live by the rules.  It is to protect the CMs and other guests. I can tell you that if  you are coming for Christmas,  there is a huge number of CMs that will be working the parks with 1 job and 1 job only.....make sure your nose and chin is inside that mask at all times required. If you can't accept that,  than do not go! As a parent of a CM we want our family members who have to work to be as safe as possible. Guests  getting angry and refusing or doing anything to another  guest or CM- like you threatened in your comment- will do you nothing but get you escorted off property-that means even out of hotels.  It has been done. Even though the state is at 100% per the governor you are on private property. 

In case it has not been reported on news stations other than our local stations.....a man who flew out of Orlando  to go home to California after his trip  collapsed with covid symptoms and  died on a plane before they diverted to New Orleans.  A man and several passengers and crew members did CPR etc on the plane but he did not survive. The man who did  the CPR has experienced symptoms but got a negative the day after the flight and  is getting retested.  The airlines and CDC did not call any of them to report the death as covid or ask them to get tested or quarantined till after he called them. CDC had not yet contacted him last night.  Passengers on the plane to California had not been contacted.  So best to follow the CDC guidelines.


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## yulilin3

Please get back on topic of posting just back experiences.


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## disneycasey2020

We did MK on Sunday. We were held at Splash Mountain until a couple minutes before park open. We were able to do Splash, Pirates, and Jingle Cruise in less than an hour. Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion were short waits as well after. We did some shopping and saw all the cavalcades before left around noon because the crowds were really picking up. We came back around 5 and had short waits for Little Mermaid, Buzz, and the Carousel of Progress. 7DMT was posted as a 50 min wait so we got in line about an hour before closing and were on the ride in about 20 min. Overall, it wasn’t too bad as far as amount of people but we skipped the middle portion of the day.

AK on Monday. We got all of the rides done buy 10 or 11. Sat in the amphitheater and watched the boats. Again, we noticed the crowds pick up about 10 or 11 (except pandora which was always pretty packed). We left early afternoon.

HS yesterday was.....wow. We walked on Tower of Terror and RnR before heading to RoR for our BG 5. After that it was packed.

We have Epcot today then another HS day and MK day!

Overall I’ve seen like 95% mask compliance. I’ve seen many Cast Members ask guests to pull their masks up. My one issue has been lines. Many people haven’t been sticking to their stand here spot especially when the places are spread out bc of switchbacks. People just keep walking and stop where they think is six feet instead of staying on the marker. I haven’t really seen any cast members in line to correct this, which isn’t a complaint, just an observation.


----------



## cristen72

Can anyone report on the availability of buses at GF?   Are they starting early enough to get to the parks before posted opening times?


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## yulilin3

Again please let's get back on topic.  Warning points will be given for those that continue the off topic argument


----------



## HiStitch626

Back from a week at the parks, three nights at YC and then shifted to Saratoga. We had asked for a refurbished studio but were given one in the Grandstand area. This ended up being excellent as the Grandstand is the first bus stop. There were times during the week where some people were not able to get on buses due to limiting passengers.  Especially if you are traveling with more than four people, either staying in the Grandstand or going to that bus stop if you’re trying to rope drop is a good idea.  Buses all got going early and we never had an issue getting to the park in time for rope drop. Did two days at Epcot and had a resort day while at YC and then one day each at MK, AK, and the Studios plus a  Disney Springs day from Saratoga.  We felt the parks really got more crowded after Saturday the 19th, but that was not a surprise as the holiday week began. We made no ADR’s at Epcot, but enjoyed many of the festival booths. Germany was hands-down our favorite, the fondue dish there is really really terrific. Enjoyed Ronto roasters, Sci-Fi and Oga's at the Studios. As always the food at Sci-Fi was mediocre, but the atmosphere is fun. We had breakfast at Ronto roasters and thought both of the wrap options were really good.  Oga's was fun but probably not a must do for us in the future. Magic Kingdom day we left for lunch at the Wave and it was well worth the time away from the park to both relax and enjoy an excellent meal. Bacon and eggs is back on the menu, including at lunch.  Animal Kingdom day we took our lunch break at Sanaa, which was outstanding, and enjoyed an evening stop at Nomad lounge, where the churros were particularly fresh and tasty. There were occasionally moments where the parks felt too crowded to us, so we would step to the side and find a bench to sit for a little while until things cleared up, or walked more quickly through an area to get to spaces that were more open. Utilizing rope drop and staying until closing meant we didn’t wait for too many things. Had excellent timing at the studios because we got boarding group 16. So we went right to the Star Wars area, rode Smugglers and then it was our time for Rise, both were amazing.  We would’ve like to explore more of the shops and things, but the spaces are small and distancing lead to long waits as they were only letting one party into each shop at a time. Our Disney springs day included lunch at Homecomin and dinner at Wine Bar George.  Homecomin was excellent as always.  It was our first experience at Wine Bar George, and we probably won’t go back. It was fine. But there are too many other good options in Disney Springs now for fine. I’m not sure we went in to every store, but we tried. It was really fun to spend the whole day there. Felt very relaxed and pretty distanced throughout the day, but did feel less comfortable as we went into the evening and we left about 7 PM. We were very careful all week with mask wearing and handwashing and sanitizing. Had our Covid test this morning and are hoping they come back negative. It’s definitely a challenging time to travel to Disney, but we had a really enjoyable week after a tough year.


----------



## Tarilyn

Here this week.
MK long lines and lots is people on Monday. Didn’t do most of the rides and left at 8:00pm. Jingle Cruise was 90 minute wait. Most masks were worn correctly except for the few who needed reminding. Announcements made In park of no eating and drinking in line.
AK yesterday... 100 minute wait for Avatar. 120 minute wait for N’avi River Journey. Did most things but not all and left at 4:00pm.
Disney Springs was crowds like before Covid. Very uncomfortable tonight


----------



## hereforthechurros

Yeah I’m not at all impressed with crowd control this week. Usually for christmas it’s all systems go with things staffed and running full bore. This feels like typical holiday crowds but so much less resources/options/places to go. Expecting long lines around the holidays is one thing, but without FP to at least guarantee a few rides it feels very much like a crapshoot. We’ve been to WDW roughly 15 times in the past 3.5 years so we aren’t exactly novices, but this week has us feeling very lost and like we’re missing out on so much.


----------



## Alynw

I'll be heading to MK this afternoon so I'd be curious to know the crowd level if anyone is there at noon. U can find a long wait time anywhere if thats what ur looking for, people watch wait times and crowds will flock to a low wait time and it can go from 30 to 90 in minutes but if u wait an hour it could go back to 30. 60-90 min is a low to normal wait time for xmas and not bad at all for this time of year and if u get in line u might be surprised to find out its only 45. U can't compare xmas times to off season times or even other holiday times, xmas is a different beast and if u compare xmas to xmas, this year doesn't even compare to previous years. Normal xmas times are 90 min for small world, haunted, pirates, 120 jungle cruise, 180 pan, 180 space, 210 7 dwarfs, so ill take that 60 all day long at xmas.


----------



## JJB123

The crowd level at MK very much felt like it was way above the 35% capacity level.


----------



## Alynw

Here now at MK and I cant believe how low the crowd is and low wait times, unbelievable how empty it feels. The crowd and wait times are maybe a 1/4 of what they should be for xmas, I am loving this. Ive been coming here at xmas for 12 years now, 16 days every year at xmas and new year and this years crowds and wait times are not even in the same ball park. There are obvious areas of the park where crowds tend to gather or bottle neck where you could take a snapshot in time and say parks are over crowded but that is def not the case, if ur looking for it u can find it but if ur a xmas veteran, then u know these crowds and wait times are a gift. I would gladly pay even more for my ticket to get this same crowd and wait times during xmas. To all us normal xmas time vets that are used to 90-180 average, enjoy these 30-60 min gifts. Have fun and Merry Christmas.


----------



## Alynw

Space mnt posted 60 min and literally took 25 min


----------



## JJB123

We were at MK and waited over 90 minutes for a few rides. In addition, several rides don’t contain the whole experience. 
Our last time in MK was in Feb 2020 and have decided to not go back until FP are up and running.


----------



## JJB123

We waited 70 minutes for SM yesterday at 2pm


----------



## MomOTwins

cristen72 said:


> Can anyone report on the availability of buses at GF?   Are they starting early enough to get to the parks before posted opening times?



When we were there in October, they were definitely leaving early enough to get you to the parks before official park open (first bus departed about 75-65 mins before official park open time), but NOT early enough to beat the parking lot and gondola crowd for HS and Epcot.  If I were doing it over, I'd book a very early breakfast at a Crescent lake resort (or just get dropped off by uber at the Swolphin) and then walk to HS/Epcot.


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## GPC0321

We're on day four. Did Epcot Monday, Studios Tuesday, AK yesterday, and back to Epcot today. So far, the only place we've felt uncomfortably crowded was a brief visit to Disney Springs last night. Nope. Waaaay too many people. I went to Vera Bradley and got a new purse, we tried to go to WoD but there was a heck of a line and we were tired. 

We haven't done anything but try to be at the parks early enough to ride a couple of things. We did Soarin' Monday and it was basically walk-on. Did MMRR on Tuesday and had about a 20 minute wait (got there about an hour after park opening maybe?). We basically walked onto Kilimanjaro at AK yesterday when we got there (and we got there about two and a half hours after park opening). Today we got into Epcot about twenty minutes before official park opening and trekked around to Norway where we literally walked onto FEA (posted wait was 5 min). Went to Soarin after and it was a 10 minute posted wait, but basically was walk on. 

We've only had one ADR, which was Yak & Yeti yesterday. Food was delicious and service was fantastic. We've either done holiday kitchen  in Epcot or mobile order for everything else including Docking Bay 7 at GE which was very tasty. We've never waited very long for our meals and have found places to sit and enjoy our food. 

All-in-all, the one thing we do notice is that COVID does take a little bit of the enjoyment away because you do have to be aware of distancing and masks and just the overall risk that is inherent right now. Usually at WDW we love the "carefree" feeling that comes with being in the bubble away from the real world. But the real world has infiltrated the bubble thanks to the virus, and it's noticeable. We've felt safe and that Disney is doing everything they can, but it still takes a bit of the fun away. 

Tomorrow we're doing Magic Kingdom for Christmas Day. No ADRs, so we'll be mobile ordering and trying to ride as many of our faves as we can. Hoping to catch all of the cavalcades. So far we've seen the Pixar character cavalcade in HS twice. We saw Santa, the drummers, and some of the characters yesterday at AK on the boats. We saw Santa Monday at Epcot and today we saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy at Epcot. 

I will say that we miss hopping a lot. Those who come after January 1st are lucky to have that option for the afternoons. Still, for WDW veterans who have realistic expectations and don't mind following guidelines during a pandemic, there is fun to be had here!


----------



## DisneyMommy77

AK was empty today! Arrived around 1pm and waited 3 minutes for Flight of Passage. 25 minutes was the posted time. Everest was 5 minutes and Dinosaur was the longest at 15 minutes. This is our 4th year in a row at AK on Christmas Eve and it was so nice today! 
Nice warm weather too!

HS has definitely felt the busiest. We have gone twice within the last week. We waited 60 minutes for Tower of Terror a couple times even when arriving at opening. It was our 3rd ride of the day and got busy pretty quick.


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## Bruggok

DisneyMommy77 said:


> AK was empty today! Arrived around 1pm and waited 3 minutes for Flight of Passage. 25 minutes was the posted time. Everest was 5 minutes and Dinosaur was the longest at 15 minutes.



Was 3 minutes from you entering FOP line to reaching the FastPass checkpoint, or to climbing on simulated ik’ran and putting on 3D glasses? Walking from FastPass line to actual ride can take 10+ min including watching the video sequence in ready room. In contrast, post-covid 6’ distanced FOP line moving nearly continuously from Africa/Pandora border to FastPass checkpoint I timed at only 15 minutes.


----------



## DisneyMommy77

Bruggok said:


> Was 3 minutes from you entering FOP line to reaching the FastPass checkpoint, or to climbing on simulated ik’ran and putting on 3D glasses? Walking from FastPass line to actual ride can take 10+ min including watching the video sequence in ready room. In contrast, distances FOP line moving nearly continuously from Africa/Pandora border to FastPass checkpoint I timed at only 15 minutes.


I timed 3 minutes from where the standby entrance started to where we walked into the room  to watch the video. Maybe we walk fast, but we walked the whole time and only paused for maybe 20 seconds before walking into the room to watch the video. Basically, there was no wait.

I should add that today they were seating people right next to each other on the ride. When we went last week it seemed like there was an empty seat next to me. Today I had a lady right next to me and my husband had someone next to him as well. Certainly not 6 feet apart.


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## Alynw

Haunted is literally walk on and re-ride several times with no wait at all. That is just crazy


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## hereforthechurros

Epcot was empty today too. Frozen line never left Norway. No waits for food or Soarin or the pyramid. Thinking no local APs hurts Epcot the most.


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## yulilin3

For those here now
All main pools (pools with lifeguards) will have modified hours due to temps for tomorrow and Saturday

Resort Feature Pools - 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. 
Resort Leisure Pools - 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. 
Resort Spas/Hot Tubs - 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.


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## kristenbrandt

vital said:


> Got home yesterday after a Dec 13-21 birthday trip. I turned 50 on Saturday so we spent it at Epcot. Those of you who were there may have seen me in my "It's my 50th Birthday" shirt .
> 
> We went to each park 2 days except AK which we did one day. All in all it was a fantastic trip. It was very cold one day/night, but we brought clothes for that so it was fine.
> 
> Mask compliance was better than I anticipated, but then I wasn't looking for rule breakers. We are a family of 1 ED RN (me) 1 FireMedic (DH) and 1 fire fighter (DS) so our tolerance is probably higher than people who aren't in the medical/first responder field. A few times we saw CM's running towards people who were taking pictures with masks off, but people quickly complied. That was the only time we really noticed masks off besides eating/drinking to the side.
> 
> We definitely noticed an increase in crowds Sunday the 20th at MK. We left to go eat at Whispering Canyon at noon and did not return due to the rain and increase in crowds. People were pouring in and it wasn't the fear of Covid that made us not go back, it was the fear of the long lines for rides. LOL At the beginning of the week, wait times were half of what was posted, but by the end of the week the wait times were increasing.
> 
> Here are my tips:
> 
> Rope drop, rope drop, rope drop
> Mobile order
> Hit the "must do" rides first then the rest is gravy
> We did one thing in each park that we'd never done before since we were able to take advantage of the low crowds.
> Take the lines for what they're worth. Enjoy the time with family.
> If you are the tiniest bit afraid of crowds I would wait. There are choke points, but you're not in them for long.
> The parks opened about 45 minutes before posted time and the closing announcement wasn't until an hour after posted closing time.
> 
> We stayed at BWV and I absolutely love that place. You can't beat the location and being able to go to the bakery, pizza window and walk over to the Yacht and Beach Clubs for other dining options is fantastic.
> 
> Would we do it again? Absolutely.


Agree with your tips and summary 100% as our thoughts/experiences from mid-October mirror same.  DH is OMFS taking call in ED at local hospital, operating and seeing patients daily, emergencies only during the lockdown.  Masks/distancing/cleanliness met/exceeded our expectations.  As a die-hard RD/FP family, you have to adjust expectations and embrace line time with the fam - and after a lockdown at home, what can you complain about in line at RnR?
Headed down for our 25th anniversary next week and feeling grateful we can...thankful the parks are open, visitors comply, Disney works hard to keep numbers low enough to remain a destination.  With realistic expectations (ditto advice to not go for the trip of a lifetime) it’s a lovely break from reality.  Merry Christmas y’all!


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## DisneyMommy77

Magic Kingdom was very manageable today on Christmas day! Space Mountain had a posted 50 min. wait, but it was only 20. Little busier to us than earlier this week, but sure can't complain about being in Magic Kingdom on Christmas!!
It was a great day!!
We really enjoyed our Christmas lunch at Crystal Palace. Better than I was expecting!


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## Adrian P

DisneyMommy77 said:


> Magic Kingdom was very manageable today on Christmas day! Space Mountain had a posted 50 min. wait, but it was only 20. Little busier to us than earlier this week, but sure can't complain about being in Magic Kingdom on Christmas!!
> It was a great day!!
> We really enjoyed our Christmas lunch at Crystal Palace. Better than I was expecting!


Completely agree!  We arrived at MK at 9:30 and we’re able to ride 11 rides and lunch after Pecos Bill’s. Completely manageable for Christmas Day!


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## 4Spen

We arrived today. Staying off site tonight and checking into Shades of Green tomorrow. We attempted to go to Disney Springs around 5:30 but it was closed and at capacity. Traffic around DS was really bad. Decided to go to Coronado Springs and have dinner at Three Bridges. Parking there was super easy and hassle free. The restaurant walk up list was only a 5 minute wait. It was cold (open air seating) but they had heaters so it was manageable. After dinner thought we’d go get dessert but hit roadblocks trying to enter and park at the Boardwalk and the Riviera. Tried again to go to DS which now showed open but traffic was still horrible and the line of cars trying to get in was crazy. After sitting in that mess for a while, we decided to come back to our hotel and rest since we are getting up early tomorrow. Hopefully when the weekend is over DS will be easier to enter. I guess we will see.


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## morganms22

We started our day at Topolino’s this morning and then headed to Magic Kingdom around 11:00AM. Magic Kingdom provided the perfect Christmas morning atmosphere! We watched all the cavalcades (1 1/2 year old in tow) and then headed to ride the carousel. Posted wait time was 30 minutes, we waited about 15 minutes. We rode Dumbo as well and that was about the same. Picked up our Christmas Tree cupcake and Christmas Tree popcorn bucket on Main Street. Around 4:00PM we left and went to eat at Kona Cafe. We returned around 7:00PM. I have to say...even with the “crowds” I felt really comfortable in the earlier part of the day. It seemed way more packed to me in the evening. We were here in October as well and this was the first time I felt a little uneasy.  We waited about 25 minutes for Small World, took photos in front of the Castle, and headed out a little after 9:00PM. I was pretty satisfied with our day and felt like it might have been the only time we will ever have the opportunity to visit MK on Christmas Day without wall to wall people. We will be back at MK on Monday.


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## scrappinginontario

I was surprised the parks did not reach capacity yesterday, at least that I saw.  Traditionally MK reaches it early in the day.


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## scrappinginontario

4Spen said:


> We arrived today. Staying off site tonight and checking into Shades of Green tomorrow. We attempted to go to Disney Springs around 5:30 but it was closed and at capacity. Traffic around DS was really bad. Decided to go to Coronado Springs and have dinner at Three Bridges. Parking there was super easy and hassle free. The restaurant walk up list was only a 5 minute wait. It was cold (open air seating) but they had heaters so it was manageable. After dinner thought we’d go get dessert but hit roadblocks trying to enter and park at the Boardwalk and the Riviera. Tried again to go to DS which now showed open but traffic was still horrible and the line of cars trying to get in was crazy. After sitting in that mess for a while, we decided to come back to our hotel and rest since we are getting up early tomorrow. Hopefully when the weekend is over DS will be easier to enter. I guess we will see.


DS is busiest on the weekends so with yesterday being a Friday and Christmas Day, I believe what you experienced is quite common right now.


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## CarolynFH

scrappinginontario said:


> I was surprised the parks did not reach capacity yesterday, at least that I saw.  Traditionally MK reaches it early in the day.


Well, I wonder whether they would still put out the same “at capacity“ notice when they reach their current limit, which is 35% of normal Christmas Day capacity!


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## Befferk

4Spen said:


> We arrived today. Staying off site tonight and checking into Shades of Green tomorrow. We attempted to go to Disney Springs around 5:30 but it was closed and at capacity. Traffic around DS was really bad. Decided to go to Coronado Springs and have dinner at Three Bridges. Parking there was super easy and hassle free. The restaurant walk up list was only a 5 minute wait. It was cold (open air seating) but they had heaters so it was manageable. After dinner thought we’d go get dessert but hit roadblocks trying to enter and park at the Boardwalk and the Riviera. Tried again to go to DS which now showed open but traffic was still horrible and the line of cars trying to get in was crazy. After sitting in that mess for a while, we decided to come back to our hotel and rest since we are getting up early tomorrow. Hopefully when the weekend is over DS will be easier to enter. I guess we will see.


We went to Disney Springs last night at 5:15pm . Sign said it was at capacity, but surface parking was open and only took us 15 min to get into DS.  We spent a few hours there. However social distancing was not possible for the most part. Definitely insane.


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## CarolynFH

scrappinginontario said:


> I was surprised the parks did not reach capacity yesterday, at least that I saw.  Traditionally MK reaches it early in the day.


Just passed the MK parking lot entrance on our way to the CR for lunch, and given the back up it looks like a very busy day for the MK!


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## hereforthechurros

While Monday at MK and Wednesday at HS were a mess, Christmas (Friday) at MK was a dream. Low waits, low crowds, cold but manageable. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen ride lines that low even in a normal day. It felt like we had the park to ourselves. Such a great day. HS today is chill too. Just goes to show it’s all anecdotal and one day can be so different from the next. 

Starbucks has been the longest wait in every park (except Epcot) so I can say that consistently that’s one line to avoid. It’s not just long, it moves at a glacial pace.


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## DLmama

We flew home on Christmas Eve after spending 4 days in the parks, 1 park per day. Since we live in northern CA, we usually go to Disneyland around this time. That wasn't an option this year, so we decided to head to WDW for our 2nd time ever, 1st during Christmas. We had a great trip and are glad we went. 

Sunday 12/20 - HS:  DH got BG 53 and we were in line for the Skyliner at Pop at 7:30 for a 9am opening. We saw the line of cars waiting to get in. Got in line for temp screen and had our best interaction with a security CM. He was so genuinely happy and friendly, a perfect start to our day. We got in and went straight to MMRR, almost no wait. Cute ride! We went to SDD after and they didn't start running it until 8:45ish. We were glad we didn't go there first. We rode the swirling saucers (just like Mater!), shopped a bit, lunch at 50's PT, RotR, RNRC, ST and left in the early afternoon to go back to Pop to swim. Had dinner at Trattoria al Forno, which ended up being our absolute favorite meal of the trip. We had the best server and food was delicious! This was the one meal I wasn't sure we'd keep, so I was surprised it was such a standout.

Monday 12/21 - EP: We got in line for Skyliner around 8:45 for a 10am opening. Line looked crazy long, but moved fast. We did have to go to the end of the line at CB, but didn't take too long. Got to Epcot around 9:40 and went straight to FEA. Waited about 10 min. This is my favorite ride, so cute! It felt like all we did was eat this day between the FOH booths, late lunch at Teppan Edo and the cookie stroll. Longest wait was TT at 40 min. This is the only park we closed down and missed the Figment ride and the Seas, just ran out of time. DS12 LOVED MS, he rode it multiple times. 

Tuesday 12/22 - AK: We decided sleep was more important than rope drop after our long Epcot day. Got to the bus around 9 and went straight to the Safari. Posted wait was 30, line looked intimidating, but we were on in 15. We knew we'd have a long wait for FOP, so we went there and toughed it out. Posted 90, we waited closer to 60. Never did Na'vi since it was posted at 105-120 most of the day. Lunch was supposed to be at DS, but canceled our reservation at Raglan Road because we didn't want to leave the park after getting a late start. I'd made the reservation through OpenTable and just called the restaurant directly to cancel, no fees charged. We are lunch at Satuli, which was fantastic. Rode EE, walked the animal trails, and saw the bird show. Had dinner reservations at Sanaa, so took the bus there and watched animals on the savanna for awhile. Took an uber back to Pop, so quick and easy. 

Wednesday 12/23 - MK: We were up early and at the bus stop at 6:45 for an 8am opening. Went straight to SDMT, almost a walk on. Did PP, HM, BTMRR, & Pirates in the 1st hour. Definitely felt the crowds this day and lines were 30+ min all day. Splash was down most of the morning and we never did ride it since we weren't willing to wait 60+ for it. Once the line was short enough, the sun was down and it was too cold for a water ride. Had lunch at LTT, quickly became a favorite that we'll do again. Cavalcades are awesome and I hope they stick around. 

We had a late afternoon flight out, so had breakfast at Whispering Canyon. Wilderness Lodge is now on our short list of where to stay next time. It's such a beautiful resort!

Sorry it's so long, but I wanted to share our experience since these boards were so helpful in my planning. We aren't super nervous about covid, but are cautious and do our best to follow the guidelines. If you're nervous about it, now probably isn't the best time. There were crowds, but Disney is doing a good job correcting mask behavior and having hand sanitizer readily available. This might be the healthiest we come back from a trip.


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## hereforthechurros

CarolynFH said:


> Just passed the MK parking lot entrance on our way to the CR for lunch, and given the back up it looks like a very busy day for the MK!


Wait times are low so far and it’s been open three hours. Really wondering if the cold is keeping people away.


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## p44nmun

MK was a dream yesterday. Got in line for bus at 6:30, third family in line. Bus came at around 6:40. Temp check and on seven dwarfs by 7:30 at latest I think. Did seven dwarfs twice, SM 3 times, railroad twice, splash twice in a row (brrrr), and everything else once w exception of jungle cruise (40 mins everytime we looked).
Low crowds short waits. Very cold! But wonderful Xmas day. Thank you to whoever initially said “an hour and a half “ before opening get to the bus. It was great advice!!!!


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## CarolynFH

FYI for tomorrow morning, if you’re planning to walk from the Epcot resorts or gas station to the parks, DD was running the loop from BWV starting around 6:40 AM and noticed signs stating the walkway to the parks was closed. She ran on and had almost reached her turnaround point near the DHS temperature tents when a security guard came running and told her to leave because the walkway was not open until 8:00. The signs were near the BWV tennis courts and just beyond the ESPN Club. DD crossed the bridge from BWV towards Epcot but turned left to run past Y&B, so no one came out to her there.


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## WEDWDW

CarolynFH said:


> FYI for tomorrow morning, if you’re planning to walk from the Epcot resorts or gas station to the parks, DD was running the loop from BWV starting around 6:40 AM and noticed signs stating the walkway to the parks was closed. She ran on and had almost reached her turnaround point near the DHS temperature tents when a security guard came running and told her to leave because the walkway was not open until 8:00. The signs were near the BWV tennis courts and just beyond the ESPN Club. DD crossed the bridge from BWV towards Epcot but turned left to run past Y&B, so no one came out to her there.


Interesting.


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## Befferk

Here now. Arrived yesterday at 3pm. Did Disney Springs last night. Had 7pm ressies at Boathouse. Got there around 5:10pm, both parking garages were full, sign said DS was at capacity. But we saw cars pouring into the surface parking so we followed. Got parked and looooonnng winding line to get to temp checks. But we were in by 5:35 or so. Was definitely packed. And cold. Walked around til our res time and then left after (too cold).

Today was AK, 7am opening. We drove and arrived around 6:20-6:25. Held for about 10 minutes then parked. Walked quickly to FoP and basically walked on. Then Navi, also walk on. Everest next, kids did it 2x. Then wandered around and did everything else except Kali, too chilly. Done by 11:30 (and we really took our time). Not too many animals out. Now back at condo for a rest after a long travel day yesterday. Son's girlfriend's first time to Disney ever (she's 18). She gave today a 7 out of 10 (only deducted 3 points for being so cold ). Literally felt like we had the park to ourselves the first 3 or so hours.


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## Befferk

CarolynFH said:


> FYI for tomorrow morning, if you’re planning to walk from the Epcot resorts or gas station to the parks, DD was running the loop from BWV starting around 6:40 AM and noticed signs stating the walkway to the parks was closed. She ran on and had almost reached her turnaround point near the DHS temperature tents when a security guard came running and told her to leave because the walkway was not open until 8:00. The signs were near the BWV tennis courts and just beyond the ESPN Club. DD crossed the bridge from BWV towards Epcot but turned left to run past Y&B, so no one came out to her there.



Interesting. We planned on Ubering to Speedway tomorrow morning. I feel like even if we were held, we could still beat the people driving, or no??


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## WEDWDW

Befferk said:


> Interesting. We planned on Ubering to Speedway tomorrow morning. I feel like even if we were held, we could still beat the people driving, or no??


Just a "guess",but it "sounds" like they are trying to eliminate the "Uber advanatge" and make the Guests arriving early along Lake Hollywood wait and "merge" in with everybody else when they arrive.


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## Befferk

WEDWDW said:


> Just a "guess",but it "sounds" like they are trying to eliminate the "Uber advanatge" and make the Guests arriving early along Lake Hollywood wait and "merge" in with everybody else when they arrive.


But it's not just Uber people. It's also their own onsite guests walking. Hmmm....


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## GPC0321

One last update...just got back from our five nights over Christmas (21-26). Yesterday was MK, and as others have reported, it was a pretty nice day! Cold, but we were sure glad we chose it for Christmas Day! It was so festive. I think the most crowded place in the park was the Emporium, but it was still doable. 

My takeaways from this trip: 

1. Don't be intimidated by lines that stretch a loooooonnnnggg waaaaay. In our experience, they move almost constantly, so it's like a very slow stroll to the ride. 

2. Mobile Ordering is a game-changer. I'm glad that's a permanent feature and not just a COVID thing. I'd never used it before and it made QS meals a breeze. 

3. Bathrooms were very clean. Like, I noticed it. 

4. Hand sanitizer galore in the parks, but the dispensers do run out, so we were glad we had our own with us on occasion after exiting attractions. 

5. Mask compliance was excellent and most people (there are always exceptions) did their best to distance when possible.

6. Overall, I'm glad we went, but this was the first Disney trip where I was actually looking forward to going home. Not that we didn't have fun, but as I said in an earlier post, COVID infiltrates the "bubble" enough that it wasn't quite the carefree escape that we're used to. Still, it was fun!


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## CarolynFH

Befferk said:


> Interesting. We planned on Ubering to Speedway tomorrow morning. I feel like even if we were held, we could still beat the people driving, or no??





WEDWDW said:


> Just a "guess",but it "sounds" like they are trying to eliminate the "Uber advanatge" and make the Guests arriving early along Lake Hollywood wait and "merge" in with everybody else when they arrive.





Befferk said:


> But it's not just Uber people. It's also their own onsite guests walking. Hmmm....


DH thinks they’re trying to reduce the number of people who congregate outside the temp tents before opening. Of course, if that’s the reason, now they’ll congregate at the sign, or wherever a CM is stationed to enforce the walkway closure. BTW DD didn’t notice whether there was a sign on the sidewalk coming from the Speedway gas station.


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## YayforMickey

Been home for a couple of days, and I finally have time to write about the rest of our trip. I wrote about our first two days (12/18 in a very cold and empty EPCOT and 12/19 in a busy but manageable DHS) in a lot of detail a few pages back.

MK, Monday, 12/21

We got a mobile order at the Contempo Cafe and got through security no problem. We arrived at the line for temperature/security at 7:10. We were through the tapstiles by 7:18. 7 Dwarfs took about five minutes, then a walk-on for Peter Pan, We walked on to BTMRR, then rode it again with a short wait (we were sad that we got the front the first time, so we did it again hoping for the back, and it worked). Then we rode Pirates, Jingle Cruise (they need to get this back at Disneyland for next year!), Splash, Haunted Mansion, Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Pooh, and Hall of Presidents before our lunch. Lines were all very short and easy. It was a fabulous morning.

When we checked in at Liberty Tree Tavern, they tried to put us in Diamond Horseshoe, which I expected. I asked if we could wait for the LTT dining room. So we waited about a half hour. It wasn't bad because we had front row views of all the cavalcades that went by. LTT was far better than expectations, and we had the best lunch there. Wonderful experience.

We did some shopping, got a bunch of photo pass pictures taken, saw the Dapper Dans at Town Square, and then took the boat to Wilderness Lodge to relax. We loved the atmosphere there. We looked around, saw the geyser, sat in the comfy chairs, and just chilled for an hour. When we were waiting for the boat to go back to MK, Geyser Point Bar and Grill had crazy sirens going on for a long time. It looked like there were firefighters there, but we weren't sure what was happening.

Back at MK, we climbed the Treehouse, enjoyed Dole Whips and then the Tiki Room (sad that we couldn't eat them inside), rode the tea cups, and then the Speedway. The lines for most rides were very long, but we were never in the areas where the worst crowds were. We relaxed and watched the castle projections from the Tomorrowland Terrace relaxation station, got more PhotoPass pictures, and then left. It was a great day.

AK, Tuesday, 12/22

We were held at the parking toll booth until 6:25, and then we were guided into a parking spot as far from the entrance as we could imagine. It was a very long hurried walk from the car to FoP. Pandora was so beautiful and amazing that we didn't mind walking through the land (bioluminescence in the morning before sunrise made it so we didn't have to see it in the evening) and the very long queue. We loved the ride. Last time we were at WDW was the month before Pandora opened, so we were glad to finally experience it. We hopped right on River Journey, and a little over halfway through, the ride stopped. We were stuck for about 20-25 minutes. We ended up watching and listening to the Shaman for a very long time, and although that ride is pretty, I wonder if we will ever go on it again. Haha. We were happy to get a multiple experience FP (for anything but FoP, of course).

We walked on Everest, had a five minute wait for Dinosaur (it's incredible how bad that ride is compared to Indiana Jones), and then had a short wait for Everest again. Our family believes that Dinoland needs to be completely revamped. We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

We walked through the Maharaja Jungle Trek, saw a couple of tigers and some bats. Then we enjoyed doing some pin trading. We headed over to Safari, and the wait time said 50 minutes. We knew it probably wouldn't take quite that long, but we didn't want to chance it, so we used our FP, and it was awesome.

We had a mobile order lunch at Satu'li Canteen, but when we arrived to get our food, there was a women screaming and swearing at her husband. There were no other guests in the pickup area. One CM had to approach them and ask them to leave. It was a bit shocking. Other than that, it was a good lunch. It was weird to have the drink station after getting the food. The CMs were roped off, filling the sodas for the guests, and it was just a strange setup. Food was good.

We decided to take the Wildlife Express to do the animation class, but there was a long line for the train. When we finally got there, we were a few minutes too late to get into the class, and I was sad. I really love to do the animation class at DCA. There was an hour and a half until the next class, and we weren't going to wait for that. Interestingly, there was an opening behind the class where you could stand and watch, and my husband gave me his iPad on the ProCreate app, and I was able to draw one of my favorite characters (Heimlich) along with the class. I had to rush to catch up, but my picture turned out great. After we rode the Wildlife Express back, we had done everything we wanted to do, and we headed out of the park around 1:30.

MK, Wednesday, 12/23

Second day at MK, and last park day before flying home on Christmas Eve. We decided to drive to the TTC this time (we were the third car back at the parking toll booth), and it put us far behind the crowd that walks in from the Contemporary. At the same time that we got through the tapstiles on Monday, we were beginning to board the first ferry on Wednesday. We weren't too worried because we weren't planning to do 7 Dwarfs again. This time we went straight to walk on Space Mountain (really miss the music on this compared to Disneyland's Space Mountain) and walk on Buzz (this is horrible compared to Disneyland's Buzz). Splash hadn't opened yet, and by the time we got to BTMRR, the line had ballooned. It took us almost twenty minutes to get on, but we were happy to wait because we got the back. Then we walked on to Pirates, walked on to HM, and waited almost twenty-five minutes for Small World. The names at the goodbye scene weren't working. After that, Pooh was only about ten minutes. We wanted to ride the Carrousel, but the line was always way too long because of the distancing. We decided to ride something we've never done before because most lines were too long. We did Aladdin's Magic Carpets (ten minute wait). We enjoyed it more than most spinner rides because it tilts. The minute we got off, I saw that Splash was finally open for the day. We ran there, and we waited about twenty minutes. We tried to really relish it because we knew that it could be our last time. Who knows when Disneyland will ever open, and whether Splash will come back before they start changing it to PatF.

Our morning of rides went well, but it was clearly becoming extremely crowded. We headed to Main St, watched calvacades and Dapper Dans, and then we left on the monorail to our lunch at The Wave. This was our only lunch disappointment. It was lacking in atmosphere, felt almost empty, and the service was weird and slow. Our food was meh (chicken sandwiches, reuben, and hamburger), and the water didn't seem filtered, so it had that swampy smell and taste. We didn't drink more than a sip or two. We were glad we went to the Contemporary, though, because we were able to rest on the couches on the second floor for an hour or so before heading back on the monorail.

Back at MK, we shopped for souvenirs, did some pin trading, and went on Carousel of Progress. Then we mobile ordered some dole whips and took them to the hub grass to watch the castle projections begin. We got tons of photo pass pictures (there were photographers right by our spot on the grass who usually had no line of people) and enjoyed the beautiful evening. It was crowded in the middle of the hub and right in front of the castle, but on the grass closer to Crystal Palace, it was almost empty. We had a wonderful evening just being there, and then we left to get back to the hotel and pack up for our early morning flight.

Overall, it was a great trip that I would do again. I asked my husband and kids what they missed the most: character meets, fireworks, or fastpass. They all said it was none of those things. The only thing they wish was different was wearing masks. Masks weren't terrible, but they were kind of a pain. I am suprised and happy that the other changes did not ruin the magic of our trip. We only waited in long lines a few times in five park days-- Tower of Terror (75 mins on our 2nd ride), MMRR (almost 30 mins), and Slinky (almost 30 mins on our 2nd ride at park closing). Part of that is because we hit the big stuff at rope drop, but part of it is that things moved along in the lines-- even the ones that looked really long.

ETA: We got every ride photo from the whole trip except the first Slinky ride (we got the photo from the second ride). We ended up with around 250 photos. Some are really great. I know the masks look weird, but it's a memory we will always have.


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## spleuchan

CarolynFH said:


> DH thinks they’re trying to reduce the number of people who congregate outside the temp tents before opening. Of course, if that’s the reason, now they’ll congregate at the sign, or wherever a CM is stationed to enforce the walkway closure. BTW DD didn’t notice whether there was a sign on the sidewalk coming from the Speedway gas station.


They had a walkway closed sign between the contemporary and MK this morning around 7:00. We ignored it and walked up to a line of people going through the temperature checkpoint. Went through that and security and was one of the first in line at the gates (they let contemporary people in line just before the bus/parking people).


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## teach22180

I'm not technically just back yet cause I'm sitting in MCO waiting on a delayed plane. But today I saw a vehicle in small world with plexiglass. Must be testing it out.


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## Tarilyn

Really lucked out with ROR. I tried for it at 6:59 and faltered for a second seeing my whole family wasn’t included. A second too late and didn’t get morning tickets. 
So my sister-in-law called to have them added to my account. Checking later, my whole account was wiped out of all family members. So we went to guest services. One CM had me do various updates on my phone and nothing worked. The supervisor tried to help and it was now 12:55pm and we knew were going to be out of luck. Another CM came up, realized the problem, called someone and it was all reinstalled. When I pulled up my account to see that it worked, he had given us a ROR pass for group 91. I didn’t even know they could do that. To say the least, it made our day!


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## spleuchan

We just finished a really great vacation from Sunday to today. Crowds seemed about the same as off peak times, but they seemed staffed to the max, kind of like the good ole days, so waits were low. [I was really disappointed with our last trip in 2019 summer because although crowds weren’t too bad, staffing was minimal so there were long waits (for example they were only running space mountain at 25% which caused 60 minute waited right after opening).]. CMs seemed so much friendlier this time also.  Wait times were less than posted. 

Sunday - Arrived at CR at 7 something in the morning. Room wasn’t ready and headed to MK. Did BTMRR a couple time and splash. Then jingle cruise and pirates. Afterwards space mountain and buzz. All with short waits. Ate lunch at the Tomorrowland terrace (serving food from Columbia Harbor house). Went back to the hotel for a break and back to MK. Rode more stuff with longer waits, but not too bad. Ate at Tony’s which was ok/good depending on the family member. 

Monday - AK -  Arrived a little after rope drop and went to FOP. Waited about an hour. Didn’t do Navi, but did other rides (sometimes multiple times) with minimal waits.  We really liked the drawing class at RPW (were disappointed when they took that away from HS). Ate dinner at Yak and Yeti which we all really enjoyed.

Tuesday - HS - Tried to get Rise of the Resistance, logged on exactly at 7:00, but was my first time doing it and made the mistake of actually reading the screens and received an error and didn’t get it. At 1:00 tried again, didn’t read a thing and clicked stuff as fast as I could and got a boarding group. So don’t read, just click!  Anyways, arrived slightly after rope drop, rode pretty much all the rides.  Ate at Mama Melroses.  Some liked, others not as much 

Wed - Epcot - Arrived right before rope drop.This park seemed EMPTY.  Wait times were soooo low. Ate at via Napoli (love their pizza).

Thursday - Christmas Eve at MK. Wife and daughter slept in and me and DS rope dropped (huge advantage coming from CR). Was one of first for 7 Dwarves then BTMRR a couple times, splash, Space Mountain, Buzz, then looked at my watch: 9:03. After that lines were a little longer, but not bad at all (and amazing for Christmas Eve). Ate at Liberty Tree Tavern. Kids loved the Mac and cheese and us adults liked the rest.

Friday - HS - Similar to Thursday, except got Rise of the Resistance on the first shot with a boarding group of 13, which was actually earlier than I would have preferred, but happy to have got it on Christmas. Lunch at Sci Fi, which is the one restaurant we have done every trip. A little cold, but not too bad.

Saturday - MK - Rope dropped MK (see my earlier post about walkway from CR to MK). COLD!! One of first on 7 dwarves, part way through the ride when it broke down. Had to wait for CMs to come and let us out. First thing CM said was no pictures allowed. Let us out and said they put a fast pass for anything but Peter Pan on our magic bands. When we tried to use it later in the day for 7 dwarves it wasn’t on our magic bands, but luckily the CM let us in the fast pass lane anyways. Left a little before noon on our way home. Would have probably stayed a couple more hours if it were warmer.

Really happy that this trip felt like ones 5 to 10 years ago with low wait times. Rope dropping is huge as waits are super low the first two hours (unlike our summer 2019 trip that it really didn’t seem to be any advantage). Did miss fast passes (although low wait times made up for it) and also missed park hopping.  Also missed Fantasmic  This was our first time at CR and like the MK rope drop advantage, but overall much prefer the Epcot resorts (BW, BC, and YC).  We had never gone over Christmas before because of crowds and wait times, so this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that did not disappoint.


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## 4Spen

We did HS today. Got there 45 minutes before opening and walked straight through temp check and security and into the park. We rode Smugglers Run, RotR and Toy Story Mania. Left for lunch at DS (Polite Pig-soooo good). Wanted to go to Gideon’s but there was a line to get into the line so we passed. Rested for about 2 hours and then went back to HS. Rode Toy Story Mania, Slinky Dog and MMRR. Longest wait was 15 minutes. Probably could have done more rides but weren’t in the mood. Had dinner at Docking Bay 7. (Pretty good) Ended the evening with Starbucks on Hollywood Blvd. Overall it was a good day. Pretty cold but we were prepared. From a crowd perspective, it’s definitely much better than pre-Covid Christmas trips. (We’ve gone almost every year for 10 years now) Mask compliance is good. There are some people that try to buck the rules but that’s to be expected. People were obeying spacing in lines almost always. We go to AK tomorrow.


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## Befferk

4Spen said:


> We did HS today. Got there 45 minutes before opening and walked straight through temp check and security and into the park. We rode Smugglers Run, RotR and Toy Story Mania. Left for lunch at DS (Polite Pig-soooo good). Wanted to go to Gideon’s but there was a line to get into the line so we passed. Rested for about 2 hours and then went back to HS. Rode Toy Story Mania, Slinky Dog and MMRR. Longest wait was 15 minutes. Probably could have done more rides but weren’t in the mood. Had dinner at Docking Bay 7. (Pretty good) Ended the evening with Starbucks on Hollywood Blvd. Overall it was a good day. Pretty cold but we were prepared. From a crowd perspective, it’s definitely much better than pre-Covid Christmas trips. (We’ve gone almost every year for 10 years now) Mask compliance is good. There are some people that try to buck the rules but that’s to be expected. People were obeying spacing in lines almost always. We go to AK tomorrow.


What was your mode of transportation to get there?


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## 4Spen

Befferk said:


> What was your mode of transportation to get there?


We took the Shades of Green bus to HS. Took the Skyliner to the Riviera. Planned to hop on a DS bus there but they weren’t running one that we could tell so got an Uber from there. Left DS on a GF bus. (Wanted to check out decor and the new walkway-and this is walkable to SOG)  The evening was the SOG buses.


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## scrappinginontario

4Spen said:


> We took the Shades of Green bus to HS. Took the Skyliner to the Riviera. Planned to hop on a DS bus there but they weren’t running one that we could tell so got an Uber from there. Left DS on a GF bus. (Wanted to check out decor and the new walkway-and this is walkable to SOG)  The evening was the SOG buses.



Buses are not currently running from the parks to Disney Springs.


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## Befferk

We successfullly Ubered to Speedway and walked into HS this morning no problem. About 8 groups back at temp check, about 7:45 got in temp check line, then walked onto MMRR, then RnRC when they let us through.


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## DisneyMommy77

Befferk said:


> We successfullly Ubered to Speedway and walked into HS this morning no problem. About 8 groups back at temp check, about 7:45 got in temp check line, then walked onto MMRR, then RnRC when they let us through.


How are the HS crowds today? We have reservations, but chose to sleep in. Deciding if we want to come this afternoon.


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## Befferk

Very heavy, long waits.


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## cristen72

Anyone currently at the Grand Floridian?  Interested in knowing what time the monorail starts and what time the buses start.


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## CampbellzSoup

Let’s hope it gets to the point where at least photopass you can take your masks off I HATE photos with a mask but I understand


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## Minnie368

Got back from an 8 day trip last week. Just wanted to echo a tip I had read a while back that if you’re looking for a decent place to take some mask free pictures with the castle in the background one spot is the relaxation zone at Tomorrowland Terrace where it’s totally cool to take your mask off. We got some great pictures one night. Also at the tables with the yellow umbrellas outside the Plaza restaurant. We had our Starbucks pastries and drinks at one of the back tables and got some really nice pictures during our snack where it’s permissible to remove your mask while eating/drinking and stationary.


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## Befferk

Does MFSR start running before official opening at HS?


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## trirae

Home after a lovely week. Used this thread extensively in preparation so I figured I'd give my summary as well.

Set Up. We drove and stayed offsite at my timeshare. Only ate inside one day (Christmas) and that was an offsite restaurant. Otherwise, mobile orders or offsite outdoor restaurants. 

Overall, we were not disappointed, but that isn't to say there weren't times we were uncomfortable. We had a good time and generally a nice weather break and an opportunity to get away from reality. My notes:

Agree that mask wearing is generally good. I’ve only seen a few abusers. “It’s okay to take your mask off while sitting.” Um, no not really. Some noses out, etc. But overall no real complaints.
Mobile ordering is generally worthwhile, but especially the first time the instructions could be clearer in order to know what to do once you get to the site. Overall, though, we appreciated it.
Lines. I say meh on social distancing here. Up until the last day, I would have said it was 75% people being sheep and 25% Disney fail on some line spacing, but honestly, it might fall a bit more on Disney here. For example, when the queues narrow inside, the lines need to be way more than 6’ apart because people are walking single file. Most people can’t seem to follow the idea when there’s a big gap to allow for 6’ spacing to the side not just the front and back and they tend to fill. That could be marked or identified better, I think. Some people in lines are clueless. We had a couple who were actual jerks. One couple cut in the middle of the line and proceeded to crowd the folks in front of them and weren’t wearing masks. Another family we had to ask to watch the lines because they were right up on us. I think most of it is just automatic response. We’re used to just moving when other people move without thinking. Also they could use a recording to remind people about distancing in lines. 
Open spaces. Often little social distancing, but that bothers me less because we’re moving quickly. I’ve always hated when people just stop in the middle of a walkway but now, it’s really problematic, creating bunching.
Disney Springs. Gross. I say avoid. We were entirely uncomfortable and would not return until post-pandemic.
Wait times, etc. We’ve kind of enjoying arriving at parks with no plan. It’s not typical for us at all, but it’s been relaxed. I miss fast passes, but enjoy the freedom. Line waits were pretty true to posted time at MK and HS on our first two days. Maybe like 10 minute shorter. Waits at AK and  Epcot were probably ½ posted time in most cases. Seems to be a crapshoot on that, so we just always assumed the worst and were happy with surprises. But overall, we expected to wait so never felt bothered by it. In fact, it gave us a chance to see the details we'd never seen in lines since we'd always had fast passes. 
We love AK but it seems the most limited right now. Easily a 1/2 day. 
So surprised and delighted by how quiet Epcot was for Christmas Eve. Fully expected long food lines and crowding in International Showcase but wow, just a lovely night with plenty of social distancing. Only saw a Santa cavalcade the whole day though.
My DD1 (19) is VERY forgiving of service workers, and even she noticed a difference in the CMs from the first day. Our final observation is that it seems mostly centered on ride CM's who are obviously dealing with unusual situations. We don't envy them or discredit them, but we noticed less Disney tone, and it felt a little less magical. Had plenty of happy CM's throughout the parks in other areas. 
Some highlights: we saw Molly from a popular blog site on day one which was like a HUGE wish for my 14-year-old DD who watches her every morning. Can't tell you how often we said, "Molly suggested ..." during our trip. 

We saw JoJo Siwa while in line for ToT. Girls were disappointed it was Covid time and they couldn't rush and greet her. 

Got to ride SDD for the first time since we've never been able to get FP's and the lines were too long, but we got there before opening and only had a 30 min wait. 

Great family time and a chance to feel normal despite some discomfort. Enjoyed many of the changes including not feeling so bunched up in lines. I tend to follow the philosophy that first timers may miss out on more than veterans. I'll probably wait a bit to go back, but don't regret the experience.


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## dachsie

scrappinginontario said:


> I was surprised the parks did not reach capacity yesterday, at least that I saw.  Traditionally MK reaches it early in the day.


I suspect there is no need for capacity signs since everyone there had to make a reservation.  It may have been at capacity depending on their reservation system


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## DL1WDW2

Befferk said:


> Does MFSR start running before official opening at HS?


 This morning entered at Open and went straight to MFSR and got inside the building to wait and wait... It was chilly, so glad to be inside but started to suspect they were not going to officially start until the 9 am open . Finally opened about 8:45 ish... 
Felt like I made a rookie mistake because Slinky Dog was all the way back to Ariel and M&MRR had long lines too. We did not get the R of the Resistance at 7 am from hotel but did get it at 1:00. The lines ran smoothly and very efficient so maybe Rise is working finally cause they slammed us through and back at resort by 5:30! 
Successful first day for visiting family from Texas . We ate at Mama Melrose .I always order minestrone soup& Caesar salad to keep it simple. Others ordered fresh salmon , spaghetti. 
Love the basket of rolls. Lots of families relaxing with their meals. No pressure from waitstaff. They seemed happy to have guests.
Hope others give it a try.


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## scrappinginontario

dachsie said:


> I suspect there is no need for capacity signs since everyone there had to make a reservation.  It may have been at capacity depending on their reservation system


Except we’ve often seen capacity signs in December so it would have been normal to see them if parks were at capacity.


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## 4Spen

We did AK today. Arrived around 10. My brother and his wife arrived much earlier (6:45) and were able to ride FOP, Safari and Navi with no wait. My daughter and I waited about 30 minutes for Safari and 70 for FOP. (Much later in the day) I agree with the poster above about mobile ordering. Our first day we didn’t realize you had to reserve a time and plan ahead. We foolishly thought you walked up and just ordered on your phone and waited. Once we figured it out we were fine. I will say the crowds seemed much worse at AK. Probably how the park is designed but who knows. Mask compliance was a bit more iffy today. Many people walking around eating and drinking. Many people eating and drinking in lines. A few times the mask rule offenders were approached by a CM but a lot went unnoticed. (A lot of people and seems like less CMs)  I think the thing I miss most is hopping. This evening we would have went over and had dinner at EP but instead just came back to our hotel and ate here. (SOG) We’re having fun but I wouldn’t recommend this current Disney experience to anyone going for a 1st time or at all nervous about Covid. Yes, they have good rules in place but there are a lot of people here. Also, wearing a mask all day and walking 20-30K steps is pretty exhausting. Thankful it’s not hot this week. I couldn’t do this in the heat.


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## HikingFam

Maybe it was the cold weather this morning, but today at MK was noticeably less crowded than our trip over Thanksgiving week. I was pleasantly surprised.


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## CampbellzSoup

4Spen said:


> We did AK today. Arrived around 10. My brother and his wife arrived much earlier (6:45) and were able to ride FOP, Safari and Navi with no wait. My daughter and I waited about 30 minutes for Safari and 70 for FOP. (Much later in the day) I agree with the poster above about mobile ordering. Our first day we didn’t realize you had to reserve a time and plan ahead. We foolishly thought you walked up and just ordered on your phone and waited. Once we figured it out we were fine. I will say the crowds seemed much worse at AK. Probably how the park is designed but who knows. Mask compliance was a bit more iffy today. Many people walking around eating and drinking. Many people eating and drinking in lines. A few times the mask rule offenders were approached by a CM but a lot went unnoticed. (A lot of people and seems like less CMs)  I think the thing I miss most is hopping. This evening we would have went over and had dinner at EP but instead just came back to our hotel and ate here. (SOG) We’re having fun but I wouldn’t recommend this current Disney experience to anyone going for a 1st time or at all nervous about Covid. Yes, they have good rules in place but there are a lot of people here. Also, wearing a mask all day and walking 20-30K steps is pretty exhausting. Thankful it’s not hot this week. I couldn’t do this in the heat.



amen in the scorching heat no way I could do the mask and hustle and take care of the baby comfortably.


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## WEDWDW

When Hopping comes back,do you HAVE to physically enter your "assigned Park" before going to another Park after 2:00 PM?

For example,if you slept late or just ended up hanging around the Pool that Morning could you go straight to any Park after 2:00 PM?


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## Leigh L

WEDWDW said:


> When Hopping comes back,do you HAVE to physically enter your "assigned Park" before going to another Park after 2:00 PM?
> 
> For example,if you slept late or just ended up hanging around the Pool that Morning could you go straight to any Park after 2:00 PM?


You do have to go to your first reservation https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/park-hopper/

"With the updated Park Hopper experience, Guests must make a Disney Park Pass reservation for the first park they plan to visit AND enter that first park prior to visiting another. At this time, a park reservation is not required after the first park, however, reservation requirements are subject to change."


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## Heather07438

WEDWDW said:


> When Hopping comes back,do you HAVE to physically enter your "assigned Park" before going to another Park after 2:00 PM?
> 
> For example,if you slept late or just ended up hanging around the Pool that Morning could you go straight to any Park after 2:00 PM?


Like PP said, you have to check in to your Reserved Park first before hopping to a different park.

But I imagine in your example, you'd have the option to change your original Park Reservation to whatever's still available.


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## lynzi2004

For those driving in, has anyone been successful at getting on 7DMT with a minimal wait? We used the busses from Pop and made it great and was able to ride it twice, but I’m helping some friends plan and they will be offsite with a larger group (no easy Uber to contemporary option) and will be driving in. Park opens at 8am so thinking if they get to the toll booths about 6:45 and take either monorail or bus and go to 7DMT first, their wait should be 1/2 hour is hopefully? This would be on Sunday, Jan 3.


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## kristenbrandt

Leigh L said:


> You do have to go to your first reservation https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/park-hopper/
> 
> "With the updated Park Hopper experience, Guests must make a Disney Park Pass reservation for the first park they plan to visit AND enter that first park prior to visiting another. At this time, a park reservation is not required after the first park, however, reservation requirements are subject to change."



This is my understanding also, just based on the information available online at present.  Has anyone there now inquired with Guest Services or a Conceirge about purchasing hoppers on January 1 to be used same day? Our TA looked into it and we can’t add them remotely bc our trip begins before January 1.  If a reservation begins on or after that date, PHs can be added in advance.  TIA!


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## nixpartyoffive

lynzi2004 said:


> For those driving in, has anyone been successful at getting on 7DMT with a minimal wait? We used the busses from Pop and made it great and was able to ride it twice, but I’m helping some friends plan and they will be offsite with a larger group (no easy Uber to contemporary option) and will be driving in. Park opens at 8am so thinking if they get to the toll booths about 6:45 and take either monorail or bus and go to 7DMT first, their wait should be 1/2 hour is hopefully? This would be on Sunday, Jan 3.



Yes, we drove yesterday (12/27). We were first in line at the toll booth at 6:40. They let cars in at 7:00. We were on the monorail by 7:20 and in line at 7DMT by 7:33. We boarded the ride at 7:56. We also got in line at 9:50 (park closed at 10) and were done by 10:30. Posted time was 50 minutes.


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## lynzi2004

nixpartyoffive said:


> Yes, we drove yesterday (12/27). We were first in line at the toll booth at 6:40. They let cars in at 7:00. We were on the monorail by 7:20 and in line at 7DMT by 7:33. We boarded the ride at 7:56. We also got in line at 9:50 (park closed at 10) and were done by 10:30. Posted time was 50 minutes.




Perfect! Thank you!


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## DISnewjersey

I am still shocked how low the actual wait times are for rides, especially considering it's Christmas Week. Posted wait times are almost always higher than actual wait times (a few times it's been accurate). 99% of people are following the mask rules. I've heard CMs call out people who are not wearing them properly. The majority of people in queues are keeping distance from the parties around them. A few people were starting to get a bit close but I haven't had to tell anyone off yet....yet. 

Disney Springs, on the other hand, was crazy packed. I don't think we're going back there in the evenings.


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## Chisoxcollector

According to the Disney website, the World Showcase opens at 10am this week.  Have the food booths been open at 10am?


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## corn princess

DISnewjersey said:


> I am still shocked how low the actual wait times are for rides, especially considering it's Christmas Week. Posted wait times are almost always higher than actual wait times (a few times it's been accurate). 99% of people are following the mask rules. I've heard CMs call out people who are not wearing them properly. The majority of people in queues are keeping distance from the parties around them. A few people were starting to get a bit close but I haven't had to tell anyone off yet....yet.
> 
> Disney Springs, on the other hand, was crazy packed. I don't think we're going back there in the evenings.


I agree! We were at MK yesterday and the longest wait we had was 40 min for SDMT! Most things were 10 min! In fact to my youngest daughters joy, she was able to do dumbo 3 times!


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## cooperams

Just got back from a 6 day, split-stay.  To reinforce a few things that I learned on the thread, and a few random thoughts:
-mobile order is great.  We ordered while we were in line for a ride, and then hit “we are here” after we got off the ride.  The food was ready as we walked over to the counter.  
-loved not being asked to “fill all available spaces” as you wait for an attraction.
-loved that the buses only run with a few families in them.
-the projections on the castle and ToT were awesome.
-practicing virtual queue for Rise helped.  We went 3 days and got groups, 2,5,and 43.  Group 43 is actually ideal because you can ride the attractions with lower wait times and do Rise around noon when the park gets busy.
-studio lines were very long after Christmas.  Most attractions were 45-60min+ by mid morning on 12/27 and 12/28.
-when we stayed at the Poly, we tried walking to MK along the new path by GF.  We made a wrong turn somewhere in the GF complex and wound up at the boat launch.  The boat was there and the captain was glad to take us to MK even though we’re were the only family in the boat.  The best is that we were in a better spot at rope drop than we would have been if we walked.  
-mask compliance was an A.  A few people with masks below noses.  I did witness a few CMs correct people.


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## ksueboo

trirae said:


> Overall, we were not disappointed, but that isn't to say there weren't times we were uncomfortable. We had a good time and generally a nice weather break and an opportunity to get away from reality. Some highlights: we saw Molly from a popular blog site on day one which was like a HUGE wish for my 14-year-old DD who watches her every morning. Can't tell you how often we said, "Molly suggested ..." during our trip.



Haha, I often say “My friend Molly did this or that today”, “Look at what my friend Molly did!”, “My friend Molly is so funny”  You really feel like you get to know them from their blogs. Glad you got to see her, I would be pretty excited too!


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## morganms22

Leaving this afternoon...here are some of thoughts on our trip. I already wrote about MK on Christmas Day so I will skip that.

The parks are substantially busier than when we went in October. Of course, it’s the busiest week of the year, but definitely starting to feel more like normal Disney. The crowd had a little different feel this time and I saw a lot of people wearing Disneyland gear. It seemed as though a lot of Californians are coming down to Florida.

Disney Springs was a nightmare and I should have known better than to go there on a Sunday night between Christmas and New Years. Wall to wall people...we will not make that mistake again.

Most all of the posted waits are more than the actual wait times. The exceptions for us were space mountain and mine train. Overall, everything was manageable and definitely not anywhere near as long as they would be during this week normally.

99% of the holiday merchandise was already gone by the time we arrived on Christmas Eve. In years past, this was not the case. It seems like they ordered less this year given the uncertainty with Covid. Hopefully, there will be more next year. I saw several people asking about items that had been sold out of for weeks.

We had ADRs at Garden Grille, Whispering Canyon, Topolino’s, Tony’s Town Square, and the Boathouse. Topolino’s was the best meal we had and it was the best meal last time (in October) as well. Garden Grille was the worst. All of our servers were great. The tables at the Boathouse (although we ate outside) were really close together.

We stayed at the Swan and it was our first time staying in a “non-Disney” hotel. Long time Disney hotel advocate here... I really liked it! The coffee bar was great, still can walk to two parks, access to the hotels along the Boardwalk, etc. Yes, it wasn’t as “Disney like”, but it honestly did not bother me like I thought it would. I mean we were able to get it at a steal on a Priceline express deal. It was well worth it.

Overall, it felt a lot more “normal” than our October trip. However, there was a lot less social distancing and some procedures seemed a little more relaxed (such as making people social distance around parades). The amount of people just didn’t allow for them to be quite as strict about everything. As I’m sure everyone is, I’m looking forward to the days of not having to wear the masks to the parks and being able to watch fireworks again! In the mean time, the we will continue to abide by all the rules in place.


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## Amy M

ksueboo said:


> Haha, I often say “My friend Molly did this or that today”, “Look at what my friend Molly did!”, “My friend Molly is so funny”  You really feel like you get to know them from their blogs. Glad you got to see her, I would be pretty excited too!


My family loves Molly too!  We just watched 2 of her videos last night.


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## ksw5261

Hi all, not sure if this is the place for this question so my apologies ahead of time if not. How do we expect crowds to look after New Years? Beginning of January is usually a lull in crowds after the holidays, and I haven't seen park reservations hit the 35% capacity yet in some cases. Do we think things could go back to more 'empty' lines we saw in the fall before holiday season?


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## 4Spen

We did EP yesterday and HS (again) today. EP had the worst mask offenders. And it was usually people drinking alcohol. I get it. It stinks to have to pull over to drink or eat but those are the rules. People are almost always eating or drinking in lines, especially the longer ones that snake all through HS. I don’t mind really as long as the people are distancing and doing it quickly. It’s hard to stand that long without a drink of water or something. Our biggest disappointment was dinner at Biergarten. The options they give you now aren’t worth the price, IMO. We visited DS for the first time today. We went early and had lunch at Blaze Pizza. Not very crowded and with all this Covid crowd control and protocol you’re always able to find a table. Tried to visit Gideon’s but the wait list to get in line was 2 1/2 hours and we didn’t want to wait around that long. We have 2 more days and while I hate for vaca to end I won’t miss wearing a mask almost constantly. I need a break.


----------



## scrappinginontario

4Spen said:


> We did EP yesterday and HS (again) today. EP had the worst mask offenders. And it was usually people drinking alcohol. I get it. It stinks to have to pull over to drink or eat but those are the rules. People are almost always eating or drinking in lines, especially the longer ones that snake all through HS. I don’t mind really as long as the people are distancing and doing it quickly. It’s hard to stand that long without a drink of water or something. Our biggest disappointment was dinner at Biergarten. The options they give you now aren’t worth the price, IMO. We visited DS for the first time today. We went early and had lunch at Blaze Pizza. Not very crowded and with all this Covid crowd control and protocol you’re always able to find a table. Tried to visit Gideon’s but the wait list to get in line was 2 1/2 hours and we didn’t want to wait around that long. We have 2 more days and while I hate for vaca to end I won’t miss wearing a mask almost constantly. I need a break.


I'm guessing you're aware but possibly not.  People are allowed to eat and drink in lines while they are outside and before the main queue sign you walk under.  They are only supposed to do so while stopped but quickly grabbing a sip of a drink or a bite of something to eat is allowed at those times.  Once you pass the official entrance to the ride all eating and drinking in line is supposed to stop.


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## corn princess

I know it's been said before but let me reiterate, If you're st all concerned or a little apprehensive about crowds, skip disney springs at night! We went tonight and it was crazy busy! People everywhere and very hard to social distance while walking around!

AK seemed a little busy especially compared to magic kingdom yesterday but compared to a normal holiday week, it was VERY manageable! We got to the parking lot by 640, in the park by 655. Headed to FOP and waited 80 min. Went to navi river and waited 30 min. Next up was the safari. It was posted as 60 min wait but we really only waited maybe 30. We did gorilla falls, tricera top spin and headed home by noon! While it was definitely busy, it was still a very good day!


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## Lsdolphin

Does anyone know if the sky liner opens at the Riviera in time to make rope drop at HS?


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## Spikester

I was there over the weekend,  I did 2 days at Epcot, and some time at DS.  It was very quiet on Christmas Day in Epcot.  Sat was a bit busier.  I stayed at the SWAN, and so weird to see the restaurants closed on the boardwalk.  
I went to DS springs early on Christmas Day, and lucked into a short line at Gideon's.  It was before they opened, and it was about 20 mins once they opened.  I went back on Sunday and got there around 1015am, and the line was in front of Morimoto's.  It was about 45 minutes total.  I think the line is so long because the employees are so friendly and chatty.  

I did lunch at HOB and then walked around for a couple hours, and hit a couple restaurants and bars.  I felt it was crowded, but mostly everyone was very good at masks.


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## CampbellzSoup

corn princess said:


> I know it's been said before but let me reiterate, If you're st all concerned or a little apprehensive about crowds, skip disney springs at night! We went tonight and it was crazy busy! People everywhere and very hard to social distance while walking around!
> 
> AK seemed a little busy especially compared to magic kingdom yesterday but compared to a normal holiday week, it was VERY manageable! We got to the parking lot by 640, in the park by 655. Headed to FOP and waited 80 min. Went to navi river and waited 30 min. Next up was the safari. It was posted as 60 min wait but we really only waited maybe 30. We did gorilla falls, tricera top spin and headed home by noon! While it was definitely busy, it was still a very good day!



Good to hear!


----------



## p44nmun

Is there a specific link or place on the Disney website where you can go to tell them about a positive experience with a cast member? I thought someone said there was, but I can’t find it.


----------



## Flamingeaux

Amy M said:


> My family loves Molly too!  We just watched 2 of her videos last night.


Another big Molly fan!!  Love watching her videos while I walk on the treadmill every morning.


----------



## Rustysmom

corn princess said:


> I know it's been said before but let me reiterate, If you're st all concerned or a little apprehensive about crowds, skip disney springs at night! We went tonight and it was crazy busy! People everywhere and very hard to social distance while walking around!



Ugh, I agree. We went to Raglan Road during the week and Springs was a madhouse. No social distancing at all. My son has autism and was getting severe anxiety. We never go to Springs so I didn't know any better.


----------



## Shellyred8

4Spen said:


> We did EP yesterday and HS (again) today. EP had the worst mask offenders. And it was usually people drinking alcohol. I get it. It stinks to have to pull over to drink or eat but those are the rules. People are almost always eating or drinking in lines, especially the longer ones that snake all through HS. I don’t mind really as long as the people are distancing and doing it quickly. It’s hard to stand that long without a drink of water or something. Our biggest disappointment was dinner at Biergarten. The options they give you now aren’t worth the price, IMO. We visited DS for the first time today. We went early and had lunch at Blaze Pizza. Not very crowded and with all this Covid crowd control and protocol you’re always able to find a table. Tried to visit Gideon’s but the wait list to get in line was 2 1/2 hours and we didn’t want to wait around that long. We have 2 more days and while I hate for vaca to end* I won’t miss wearing a mask almost constantly. I need a break.*


While I'm at Disney I will follow their rules and wear a mask when and where required.  But I agree that it does get old.  I found myself looking forward to going back to the room just so I could take my mask off and roam about the room freely.


----------



## Shellyred8

corn princess said:


> I know it's been said before but let me reiterate, If you're st all concerned or a little apprehensive about crowds, skip disney springs at night! We went tonight and it was crazy busy! People everywhere and very hard to social distance while walking around!
> 
> AK seemed a little busy especially compared to magic kingdom yesterday but compared to a normal holiday week, it was VERY manageable! We got to the parking lot by 640, in the park by 655. Headed to FOP and waited 80 min. Went to navi river and waited 30 min. Next up was the safari. It was posted as 60 min wait but we really only waited maybe 30. We did gorilla falls, tricera top spin and headed home by noon! While it was definitely busy, it was still a very good day!


I totally agree with this DS sentiment.  We actually found that by about 2pm it was busier than we were comfortable with.  If you really want to go to DS, it's best to go between 10am - 2pm and go on a week-day, not a weekend.  The weekends got busier earlier during our trip.


----------



## SugarSweetLee

How are people feeling now that rides like FOP/SR are loading with no distancing?


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## PrincessV

SugarSweetLee said:


> How are people feeling now that rides like FOP are loading with no gaps?


I won't ride them now. FOP and MF:SR are out for me. If they do the same to Soarin', that'll be out, too. I'm okay with every seat on the rollercoasters, since we're moving so fast... but will admit I'd be really concerned if the coaster went down and we were stuck there for more than a couple minutes with every row seated.


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## SugarSweetLee

PrincessV said:


> I won't ride them now. FOP and MF:SR are out for me. If they do the same to Soarin', that'll be out, too. I'm okay with every seat on the rollercoasters, since we're moving so fast... but will admit I'd be really concerned if the coaster went down and we were stuck there for more than a couple minutes with every row seated.



Yeah, we're set to go pretty soon but I'm concerned about this new change. I wonder if once crowds get lower from (I presume) the holiday highs if they'll go back to what they did before. Seems unlikely though.

I wonder if you can request a SR pod by yourselves?


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## corn princess

Yesterday we did Hollywood Studios...rope drop is your friend! We were in the parking lot by 8:15, in the park and heading to Star Wars Land by 9. We headed to Millennium Falcon first and waited 25 min! By the time we got off, the wait was 50 min! Then we headed to Toy Story land and did Alien swirling saucers with a 15 min wait, Toy Story mania with a 30 min wait, and Slinky dog with an hour wait! By 11:30 we had accomplished a lot! We ran home, took a break and headed back at 330? Was able to do MMRR with only a 30 min wait, Muppets, and then back to slinky dog with a 40 min wait! It was but everyone had their masks on and there was good spacinf in line! But again rope drop is your friend for sure!


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## yulilin3

SugarSweetLee said:


> Yeah, we're set to go pretty soon but I'm concerned about this new change. I wonder if once crowds get lower from (I presume) the holiday highs if they'll go back to what they did before. Seems unlikely though.
> 
> I wonder if you can request a SR pod by yourselves?


You can request a pod to yourself


----------



## Aela

FoP was not every seat.  We rode it on Thursday (24th) and they were putting empty seats between groups?


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## yulilin3

Aela said:


> FoP was not every seat.  We rode it on Thursday (24th) and they were putting empty seats between groups?


They started loading every seat a couple of days ago


----------



## SugarSweetLee

yulilin3 said:


> You can request a pod to yourself


Thank you!!


Aela said:


> FoP was not every seat.  We rode it on Thursday (24th) and they were putting empty seats between groups?


I think it's been a VERY recent change (within the past day or two): https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/disney-vacations/disney-world-social-distancing-rides


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## teach22180

SugarSweetLee said:


> Yeah, we're set to go pretty soon but I'm concerned about this new change. I wonder if once crowds get lower from (I presume) the holiday highs if they'll go back to what they did before. Seems unlikely though.
> 
> I wonder if you can request a SR pod by yourselves?


At the safari when the line was short, they loaded every other row since they could.


----------



## 4Spen

Shellyred8 said:


> While I'm at Disney I will follow their rules and wear a mask when and where required.  But I agree that it does get old. * I found myself looking forward to going back to the room just so I could take my mask off *and roam about the room freely.


Yes! We are in our room now for that reason. It’s warmer today than it’s been the whole trip and I couldn’t take the mask anymore. My 19 yr old son has even been getting headaches from wearing it all day and night. It’s been rough. Still having a good time but won’t be back until things are more normal.

As for FOP, we rode a few days ago and were seated with another family, no space.


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## disneycasey2020

On MFSR on the 24th they asked if we were okay going with the two people in front of us and I said no. We started walking onto the actual ride and all of the sudden there was another couple behind us. There was plexiglass in the pod and I’m sure just a miscommunication with the cast member so I didn’t say anything.  I’m not a very assertive person (conflict gives me anxiety) so it’s on me that I didn’t say anything, but you probably will have to stand your ground maybe more than once.

Same thing in lines where it was a switch back so line markers are spaced out different, a lot of people paid zero attention and just kept what they thought was six feet between them and the next party, putting them sometimes right next to other people in a different part of the line. I never said anything, bc possibility for conflict, so I know that’s on me. But definitely uncomfortable at times as far as my comfort level but that was probably less than 30% of the time. We still had a magnificent time.


----------



## Aela

We did MF on the 23rd and the 26th and they never asked us about people with us.  There are three of us, and they sent a single rider in with us on the 26th.   I wasn’t super happy about it.


----------



## cjlong88

yulilin3 said:


> You can request a pod to yourself


Is this something you need to be proactive about? Or does do the CMs always ask before placing families together?


----------



## StarGirl11

Here now. MK is surprisingly decent. Especially after seeing and hearing about crowds elsewhere. Had more of a crowd when going through Citywalk earlier to get my Universal pass for tomorrow. Though it didn’t look too bad at Islands itself,  

MK on NYE has always been a bucket list item for me. And while this may not have been how I pictured it. This probably is the least miserable way to ring it in considering how normally the park it is.

Also thanks for the DS heads up. I had heard it was crowded but didn’t realize how bad it was. Ugh and I just had fallen back in love with it. Always next year or next summer maybe


----------



## shmom

Went to AK today. Did rope drop headed to Pandora then over to EE. Boys did it 6 times in about 45 minutes. It was moving at a very fast pace. Then headed to Safari - every row filled but plexiglass. Shorter wait than posted. After lunch things were gridlock. Everything was about a 50 minute wait and it took every minute. Social distancing which was pretty good in the morning seemed to fall apart after one. People were likely tired and lines weren't moving fast. Even the dumb Dinosaur ride was an hour wait. Boys were able to do another 2 rides on EE which went really fast. That ride just seems to know how to get people in and out! 
The biggest annoyance of the day, we were first in line at the entrance in our car. Paid $50 for preferred parking but no one told us to put hazards on. It was pitch dark and before we knew it they sent us to regular parking. Then she said "well, you will need to leave the park and come back in".  We were so annoyed as we had been the first in! Anyway, my husband found a way to cut back without going all the way out but by that time we lost any lead on people. For the record, the first in for the regular parkers were put in the back of the park. Crazy long walk. The logical thing to do is have one adult drop off spouse/kids and then go park. That is the way to get a lead on the entire mass of people and busses coming in. I did get a refund on the difference between regular and preferred. But still made for a bad start of the day.


----------



## DISnewjersey

Aela said:


> We did MF on the 23rd and the 26th and they never asked us about people with us.  There are three of us, and they sent a single rider in with us on the 26th.   I wasn’t super happy about it.


We were on MF on the 28th and they gave us (2 people) our own pod. We didn’t request it but was pleasantly surprised.


----------



## yulilin3

cjlong88 said:


> Is this something you need to be proactive about? Or does do the CMs always ask before placing families together?


Ask when you're asked how many


----------



## teawar

trirae said:


> Home after a lovely week. Used this thread extensively in preparation so I figured I'd give my summary as well.
> 
> Set Up. We drove and stayed offsite at my timeshare. Only ate inside one day (Christmas) and that was an offsite restaurant. Otherwise, mobile orders or offsite outdoor restaurants.
> 
> Overall, we were not disappointed, but that isn't to say there weren't times we were uncomfortable. We had a good time and generally a nice weather break and an opportunity to get away from reality. My notes:
> 
> Agree that mask wearing is generally good. I’ve only seen a few abusers. “It’s okay to take your mask off while sitting.” Um, no not really. Some noses out, etc. But overall no real complaints.
> Mobile ordering is generally worthwhile, but especially the first time the instructions could be clearer in order to know what to do once you get to the site. Overall, though, we appreciated it.
> Lines. I say meh on social distancing here. Up until the last day, I would have said it was 75% people being sheep and 25% Disney fail on some line spacing, but honestly, it might fall a bit more on Disney here. For example, when the queues narrow inside, the lines need to be way more than 6’ apart because people are walking single file. Most people can’t seem to follow the idea when there’s a big gap to allow for 6’ spacing to the side not just the front and back and they tend to fill. That could be marked or identified better, I think. Some people in lines are clueless. We had a couple who were actual jerks. One couple cut in the middle of the line and proceeded to crowd the folks in front of them and weren’t wearing masks. Another family we had to ask to watch the lines because they were right up on us. I think most of it is just automatic response. We’re used to just moving when other people move without thinking. Also they could use a recording to remind people about distancing in lines.
> Open spaces. Often little social distancing, but that bothers me less because we’re moving quickly. I’ve always hated when people just stop in the middle of a walkway but now, it’s really problematic, creating bunching.
> Disney Springs. Gross. I say avoid. We were entirely uncomfortable and would not return until post-pandemic.
> Wait times, etc. We’ve kind of enjoying arriving at parks with no plan. It’s not typical for us at all, but it’s been relaxed. I miss fast passes, but enjoy the freedom. Line waits were pretty true to posted time at MK and HS on our first two days. Maybe like 10 minute shorter. Waits at AK and  Epcot were probably ½ posted time in most cases. Seems to be a crapshoot on that, so we just always assumed the worst and were happy with surprises. But overall, we expected to wait so never felt bothered by it. In fact, it gave us a chance to see the details we'd never seen in lines since we'd always had fast passes.
> We love AK but it seems the most limited right now. Easily a 1/2 day.
> So surprised and delighted by how quiet Epcot was for Christmas Eve. Fully expected long food lines and crowding in International Showcase but wow, just a lovely night with plenty of social distancing. Only saw a Santa cavalcade the whole day though.
> My DD1 (19) is VERY forgiving of service workers, and even she noticed a difference in the CMs from the first day. Our final observation is that it seems mostly centered on ride CM's who are obviously dealing with unusual situations. We don't envy them or discredit them, but we noticed less Disney tone, and it felt a little less magical. Had plenty of happy CM's throughout the parks in other areas.
> Some highlights: we saw Molly from a popular blog site on day one which was like a HUGE wish for my 14-year-old DD who watches her every morning. Can't tell you how often we said, "Molly suggested ..." during our trip.
> 
> We saw JoJo Siwa while in line for ToT. Girls were disappointed it was Covid time and they couldn't rush and greet her.
> 
> Got to ride SDD for the first time since we've never been able to get FP's and the lines were too long, but we got there before opening and only had a 30 min wait.
> 
> Great family time and a chance to feel normal despite some discomfort. Enjoyed many of the changes including not feeling so bunched up in lines. I tend to follow the philosophy that first timers may miss out on more than veterans. I'll probably wait a bit to go back, but don't regret the experience.


We  also saw Jojo when we were at EPCOT on Saturday the 19th. She was coming off of the Frozen ride with her mom/entourage and a VIP tour guide.


----------



## 4Spen

We are headed home after spending 6 nights at Disney. We had a good time but probably won’t return until a few things are different, namely no mask requirement. I am by no means a anti-masker, just can’t do that many days almost constantly wearing one. It was especially bad the last 2 days because it was warmer. I could not do a mask in the Florida summer heat. I feel for the CMs during this time. Wearing a mask AND plastic face shield all day has to be miserable. 

Mask compliance in parks is pretty good, if you ask me. Yes, you’ll encounter nose peeking and blatant violators but for the amount of people there I would say it’s overall really good. People were mostly aware of keeping distance. In a crowd this size, though, you will be next to someone not in your party at some point. IMO, if you aren’t comfortable with that do not visit now.

We were able to ride mostly everything we wanted. Our longest wait was FOP at 70 minutes. Not bad for the week after Christmas. We missed visiting the Boardwalk. We wished DS was more easily accessible but it’s a pandemic so what can you do. Food was mostly good. We usually do one sit down per day and that just didn’t happen this time. The spicy chicken sandwich at Cosmic Rays was good and Polite Pig in DS was excellent. If you like BBQ, I would highly recommend.

We’ve been traveling to Disney almost twice annually since 2000.  Until some things in Epcot are finished (Future World is all walls) and life is more normal (no mask etc) we probably won’t return. Not saying that in any way to discourage anyone from going, just saying this current environment isn’t for us.


----------



## yulilin3

I tweaked the title of the thread to make sure people continue to post just back experiences including park hopping. No new thread will be open for hopping so please share your experiences and questions about hopping here


----------



## stitchfan18

Can someone who has been recently tell me how child swap works right now? Do we need to get the swap and then send the first set of riders to the end of the extended queue, or wait as a group in the extended queue and get the swap once we reach the typical ride entrance?


----------



## yulilin3

stitchfan18 said:


> Can someone who has been recently tell me how child swap works right now? Do we need to get the swap and then send the first set of riders to the end of the extended queue, or wait as a group in the extended queue and get the swap once we reach the typical ride entrance?


Go to the cm to the side of the attraction.  You'll get all mb scanned, first group goes through the regular queue when they come out the second group  scans through the fps queue.  The second group includes the swaper and 3 extra people i believe


----------



## tjlamphere

Will be at WDW in a few weeks.  My DW and I are APs.

I saw the park hours, but noticed Park Hop after 2 PM.

Does that mean that, if I have a Ressie for MK, I can hop over to Epcot after 2 PM????


----------



## yulilin3

tjlamphere said:


> Will be at WDW in a few weeks.  My DW and I are APs.
> 
> I saw the park hours, but noticed Park Hop after 2 PM.
> 
> Does that mean that, if I have a Ressie for MK, I can hop over to Epcot after 2 PM????


Yes Disney announced this in early December
You have to go to your reserved park first and then if there's availability you'll be able to hop to another park (if your ticket includes hopping) after 2pm. Check mde for hopping times since they might change. You do not need a reservation for your second hop
I merged you to this thread since you'll be able to read just back reports here


----------



## RedSonya

I have park reservations for the last 10 days of January.  I'm assuming that if I park hop after 2pm and then decide to go back to the first park I reserved that will still be permitted?


----------



## lovethattink

RedSonya said:


> I have park reservations for the last 10 days of January.  I'm assuming that if I park hop after 2pm and then decide to go back to the first park I reserved that will still be permitted?



ETA:
Looks like it depends on park availability based on reports today.


----------



## dachsie

So I just read an article on DFB that they were able to hop to all 4 parks after initially going to MK.


----------



## scrappinginontario

dachsie said:


> So I just read an article on DFB that they were able to hop to all 4 parks after initially going to MK.


in less than an hour??  They moved fast!!

Interesting that it appears you can go to more than 2 parks in a day as I don’t think that’s how most anticipated it would happen.


----------



## CarolynFH

scrappinginontario said:


> in less than an hour??  They moved fast!!
> 
> Interesting that it appears you can go to more than 2 parks in a day as I don’t think that’s how most anticipated it would happen.


Yes, they certainly did move fast!  

I'm sure there will be a few guests who hop to more than one park a day, but I think they'll be in the minority, especially with reduced park hours.


----------



## dachsie

scrappinginontario said:


> in less than an hour??  They moved fast!!
> 
> Interesting that it appears you can go to more than 2 parks in a day as I don’t think that’s how most anticipated it would happen.


Went to HS then EP then AK - I suspect they went in and right back out.


----------



## YayforMickey

shmom said:


> The biggest annoyance of the day, we were first in line at the entrance in our car. Paid $50 for preferred parking but no one told us to put hazards on. It was pitch dark and before we knew it they sent us to regular parking. Then she said "well, you will need to leave the park and come back in".  We were so annoyed as we had been the first in! Anyway, my husband found a way to cut back without going all the way out but by that time we lost any lead on people. For the record, the first in for the regular parkers were put in the back of the park. Crazy long walk. The logical thing to do is have one adult drop off spouse/kids and then go park. That is the way to get a lead on the entire mass of people and busses coming in. I did get a refund on the difference between regular and preferred. But still made for a bad start of the day.


The parking situation when you are first in line is a joke. That was one of my biggest complaints from my family's trip last week. The walk from where they made us park to Flight of Passage was SO FAR. I'm sorry you paid for preferred. We didn't, but we were still frustrated.


----------



## SugarSweetLee

Interestingly, I read a report on hopping today from one of the big WDW news/blogs that said, "Keep in mind, once you leave your first park, you may not be guaranteed access back in again if it reaches capacity."

I am assuming that only applies IF you scan into another park (and not just going back to your room or whatever), but it doesn't give any more details to be sure...


----------



## KNovacovschi

scrappinginontario said:


> in less than an hour??  They moved fast!!
> 
> Interesting that it appears you can go to more than 2 parks in a day as I don’t think that’s how most anticipated it would happen.



Most likely just testing the system, especially since they announced initially that you could only hop to one park.


----------



## Disneylovingmomof2

MomOTwins said:


> When we were there in October, they were definitely leaving early enough to get you to the parks before official park open (first bus departed about 75-65 mins before official park open time), but NOT early enough to beat the parking lot and gondola crowd for HS and Epcot.  If I were doing it over, I'd book a very early breakfast at a Crescent lake resort (or just get dropped off by uber at the Swolphin) and then walk to HS/Epcot.


I haven’t finished every post after this yet so not sure if anyone else has responded but I actually had a great experience with GF buses in Dec. I was planning on Ubering to Boardwalk on our HS day but we weren’t up early enough for that and ended up getting on the bus an hour before the park opened. We were in line for a ride 20 minutes before official opening. We rode everything, did our BG, had a sit down lunch, went to Oga’s and hit a bunch of shops. I was nervous about not being on the move two hours before park opening and thought that the bus line an hour before HS was scheduled to open would be a huge wait but it worked out perfectly. I’d use the bus again in a heartbeat.


----------



## corn princess

We are heading home today we had a wonderful time the last 5 days! I really enjoyed the freedom that came with not having fast passes. I'd you rope drop, we found we were still able to do just about all the headliners with minimal waits.  I also think it's important to go in with the expectations that there will be low waits for everything or they it will be like it used to be.  It was definitely still magical but just slightly different! We missed the shows and meet and greets for sure and can't wait till they come back. The couple character meals we did and the calvacades we sae helped fill the void a bit so that my girls could see the characters up close but it's not quite the same!   However we all had a great time and it still felt like home! However, if I had never been before or if I were only planning on going once, I think I would be waiting a bit longer before going back as to get the full experience!


----------



## stitchfan18

We checked in yesterday for our 10 night trip, so I’ll try to post a little bit about our experiences at a time when I get the chance.

Yesterday we went to AK, which I saw was at capacity as we drove into the parking lot. We did not attempt to rope drop and arrived to the parking lot around 7:50 (8 AM opening.) From arrival to the parking line to our first ride was about  35 minutes. Our oldest is tall enough this trip for EE so that was our first stop to child swap with DH. It was posted 10 minutes, but DH texted they were next in line by the time I arrived to take the younger kids to triceratops spin, a walk on at that time of day. The line was posted at 20 when we went back to use our swap passes. We walked on  Kali River Rapids, which was posted as 10 minutes, then walked through the Maharajah Jungle Trek. By then it was 9:45 and waits for everything we’re starting to creep up on the app. Kilimanjaro was posted as 45, we waited 25.  Stroller parking is no longer near the boarding area, it’s outside the main entrance, so just something to be aware of if you have a stroller and think you are keeping it until you are almost to the boarding area. It was nice to have at the beginning of the line since the line started at Festival of the Lion King. That’s something I probably would have known if I spent more time researching before our trip. We mobile ordered lunch while we were in line to catch the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. We waited probably 15 minutes for a train due to the greatly reduced capacity. On our return we were able to get on the 2nd train that arrived after we got in line. We underestimated the time we would spend there, and missed our mobile order window, so we had to reschedule, and ended up waiting about 20 minutes for our new window at Satuli Canteen. We decided to head to our resort to swim after lunch since both rides in Pandora were 90-120 minute posted waits, and we just weren’t interested in seeing if those were accurate or not. Pandora was very busy with no space to really social distance, but it was a ghost town once we got out of Pandora on our way out of the park. We ended up rescheduling our 2nd AK day this trip to add another MK day. We felt it was a half day park, without all the shows right now, and since we didn’t add hoppers to our tickets, we’ll wait until FP return for the rides in Pandora.

We’re heading to MK today, so I’ll try to hop on and report how our day is later on!


----------



## SugarSweetLee

Gray and slightly drizzly day at MK (Sunday Jan 3)

Got to MK bus stop at Coronado Springs at 7:25, picked up at 7:28, dropped-off at 7:40, full in park by 7:46.

Made an error and walked to SDMT first, which so did everyone else...the posted wait was 40 min and the line wrapped past teacups, so we scooted.
Went to Space Mtn, posted 5 min but was a walk on. 
Then to BTMR, posted 10, also a walk on.
Next up Splash, posted 25 min wait at 8:33,  on ride at 8:42.
Pirates posted 10 min wait at 9:01, on ride at 9:06.
Jungle cruise listed 15 min wait at 9:18, on ride at 9:34.
HM posted 10 min at 9:48, on ride at 9:52.
SDMT was most accurate...posted 50 min at the front entrance, but the line wrapped all the way around the side to the back by The Little Mermaid, where the CM had a sign saying 65 minutes. We got in line at 10:07 and were on ride at 10:58.

Most lines looking longer at this point and we had a lunch res, so decided just to visit a few shops until then.


----------



## Mzpalmtree

We just got back from a great 8 night trip to Universal Studios and WDW last night. This was a long trip for us as we are usually long weekenders that go around our daughter's school schedule several times a year. We have gone to WDW for the past three years just after New Years so we are familiar with that time frame, but we have never been for NYE. We started the first three days at Universal Studios. We haven't been there in quite some time, but we had tickets from a cancelled trip earlier this year that we needed to use. We stayed at the Portofino and it was very nice. Our first park day was Sunday, Dec 27 and it was so good. We rode Hagrid's four times using the virtual line and could have done more, but we wanted to do other things. The next two days got increasingly busier and even though we were able to obtain virtual line spots for Hagrid's on Monday, Dec 28 we opted not to ride and gave them up because it was so backed up due to being down in the morning. We did ride it one more time on Tuesday before we went to WDW. Overall we had a great time at Universal, but were VERY happy that we had express passes as the lines were quite long. The mask compliance there was much better than I had heard it was and I appreciated that they had TM giving you hand sanitizer at each ride and that they had TM abundantly scattered throughout the park reminding people to wear their mask properly. We ate at Jake's, Mythos, and twice at Cowfish. All were great. On Dec 29 we headed to WDW. We did a weird split of three different resorts at WDW as this trip was kind of pieced together. We did the first night at Contemporary, then two at Villa Grand Floridian, and two at Beach Club Villas. We have been to WDW twice since the re-opening so we were familiar with the changes. All the resorts were great and we were happy to get early room assignments for all of them so the split stay was not at all difficult. We even got a call on our BCV check in day to make sure that we were willing to give up our room request for an earlier room assignment which was a very nice touch. We ate dinner at Narcoossee's, Cali Grill, lunch at Yak & Yeti and Sci-Fi, and breakfast at Ale & Compass and Topolino's. They were all great! Spacing at the tables was good, online check in for ADRs is easy and WONDERFUL. We also went to a few lounges: Enchanted Rose, Nomad, Baseline, Tambu, Oga's and Ale & Compass--really can't beat those lounges for great food and drinks without an ADR. The lounges were also well spaced. We had one park day at each park and rope dropped each day. AK was first and was seamless. We drove our own car and arrived about an hour and 15 mins early. We had to make a couple of loops, but were allowed into the parking lot around an hour early. We were then allowed to line up for parking and were let in about 15 mins later. Walked right on to FOP. They put us on right next to other parties as has been recently reported. The people we were placed with were great and kept their masks on so we were ok with the experience, but in past trips we have had people take them off on that ride when there was spacing so we said we would not be riding that again as it felt like Russian Roulette. We rode Navi, EE, Dinosaur, and the Safari (so many animals out!!!) and were pretty much done by our Y&Y ADR at 11:40 am. On our MK day (NYE), we walked to MK along the GF walkway. We left about 1 hr and 15 mins before park opening and there was no one else on the path. We saw a family of deer. It was great! When we got to the end of the walkway there was one other couple there. Others started to arrive after that. We were held for a few minutes and then let through. We went directly to 7DMT and walked on. Crowds did not seem bad and we rode a lot of rides before going back to the resort for a rest. We had dinner at Cali Grill that night where they gave us party hats. Dinner was great! Went back to MK after and the crowds were now a bit heavier than I would like but far lighter than our typical post NYE trips and mostly just thick in the choke points. We rode a few more rides and then went back to our resort about an hour and a half before park close. We walked back along the GF walkway and saw more deer! The next day we went to HS. We woke up early, took our stuff to our car so we could move to BCV. Scored boarding group 3 for Rise from our car in the VGF parking lot. We parked our car at BCV and walked to HS. We arrived a little over an hour before park opening and lined up for security. They were already running the skyliner when we arrived. We rope dropped MMRR as my son had not yet rode it. Less people appeared to be rope dropping it than our previous trips and instead heading to TSL, MFSR, and TOT/RnR. The plexiglass on this ride was not that bad. We rode twice and experienced it once with and once without. We would obviously prefer without, but it really wasn't too bad. We rode everything we wanted except SDD and RnR. RnR broke the day we went and did not re open on the rest of our trip. We were bummed about it as it's our favorite WDW coaster. We took an mid day break and headed back to HS that evening for our Oga's ADR. It was great as usual. The CM we had (Fam) was amazing--one of the best we encountered. The next day we did Epcot and it was terrible. We have not done Epcot since the re-opening and I really don't think we will do it again until things are more back to normal. We lined up at the IG entrance a little over an hour before park opening. The line was not long but steadily grew. We were let in probably 45 mins before park opening and headed toward TT. Got in line for TT and were told it was going to be a slight delay and would open closer to park opening (about 30 mins). Stayed in line. They were testing vehicles. We made it into the building and were told it would be a 5 min wait. This was now after park opening and we had been in line for around 45-50 mins. After we waited about an hour and 10 mins we noticed that the ride was marked as offline on the app (had previously been online) and they made an announcement a few mins later that it would be a prolonged closure. We were pretty upset because we wasted our rope drop and we felt they could have better informed the people in line and let them have the chance to get out without giving the people who just arrived a further advantage by letting them know the ride was down first. Plus we were pretty much trapped in the queue since we were so far in the building. We had to excuse our way out. We headed to Frozen and the line was long. Waited in it anyway and were appalled by all the eating and drinking in line. I know they are allowed to do that (according to a customer experience CM we spoke to) in outdoor queues but it really was excessive. We also overhead some people behind us that were saying that they got a fastpass for TT (same line we just left and were only ahead of them by a little bit in the Frozen queue) but we were not offered one which made us a little salty. When we finally got to the loading area of Frozen we got the third row on the ride vehicle and it was HORRIBLE. I will absolutely not go on that ride again until the plexiglass is removed. Looking through two layers of plexiglass with dried water all over it was miserable but the worst part was that there is absolutely no airflow with the plexiglass in front of and behind you. We sat four adult sized people in a the row, tightly packed with stagnant air and poor visibility. Our spirits were pretty low at that point. We gave up for lunch/dinner ADR and called it a day at Epcot pretty early and decided to park hop. All parks were way more crowded that day so we changed our plan from riding a ride at every park to riding a ride or getting a snack. At HS the lines were all long and after chasing them around a bit and finding them all to be longer than indicated on the MDE app we just got a drink and a pretzel from Baseline. Next we went to AK and rode KS and split cheeseburger pods at Satuli and had a drink at Nomad. We got on the Nomad waitlist on the bus over from HS. AK was less crowded than HS but still more crowded than the first day we had gone. Next we took the bus to MK. We rode Haunted Mansion and caught the eggroll cart right before they closed then walked around trying to find something to do as well as searching for a Big Al wishable for my daughter. We couldn't find a ride that had a short enough line for us or Big Al so we took a bus and hopped back to Epcot for the last 30 mins and managed to get on Soarin. Park hopping with the bus to bus transportation was super easy and really saved the day for us! We loved the trip other than our bad morning in Epcot. Rope drop and flexibility as always are your friend. The only other thing I would mention is that hand sanitizer machines were not as plentiful and sometimes empty compared to previous trips, so it was helpful to bring your own. Sorry for the book! Happy to answer questions.


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## stitchfan18

We did MK yesterday, which I expected to be busy since it was a Sunday of a holiday weekend. The morning wasn’t too bad. We didn’t even get into the park until around 8:30 and we’re able to do BTMR and Splash with about a 15 minute wait each. Both expected wait times were posted at double that. It was drizzly and light raining most of the morning, so I’m not sure if that changed how our morning would have gone. We also rode HM an Peter Pan with wait time that were also about half the posted time. We did an early and thought about jumping in the 7DMT line, but when we walked around and couldn’t see the end of the line, we ended up doing Dumbo and The Little
mermaid ride instead, both walk ons posted as 10 minute waits. We headed to Tomorrowland around 1:00 and that’s when things started to feel really crowded. The way the extended queues snake through that area make it hard to navigate. DH took our oldest on Space Mountain while I took the others on the Rockets. That line was on the app being a 15 minute wait, but was actually 45 . We did a few other attractions with shorter lines, but by 4:00 the kids were getting cranky and hungry so we called it a day. We are planning a couple more days at MK this trip, so hopefully the crowds will be more manageable on a weekday and we can figure out a better plan. We are fairly good refreshers for FPs typically, so waiting in line for rides that we typically walk on to was a new experience & we really missed FP at MK.

Today was our first Epcot day. We transferred to the BWV this morning, so we parked and walked over from the resort. We were in line for opening at 9:45 at the IG and I counted 8 other groups ahead of us. We were let through for temps and security screening at 10:05. I forgot to look at the time, but we were held up before the ticket scanners until 10:15ish. We went straight to FEA and were first in line when they opened at 10:30. We made it to TT at 10:47. Posted wait time was 70 minutes when we got in line, but bumped up to 85 while we were still outside. We waited 38 minutes. We mobile ordered lunch at Regal Eagle around 11:45, which was super empty then. We did the Grand Fiesta Tour before hitting the rest of the attractions in Future World. We had dinner at Garden Grill, which the kids loved! We’ve been managing to miss all the cavalcades, so they were happy to see some characters. We stumbled upon the Disney Visa photo spot and got a bunch of cool photo pass pictures. I thought we were just getting a picture with a character animation added, but we had 3 different areas we were posed with Epcotish backgrounds, definitely a cool thing that was free for us! We went back to the resort after this since we are saving the WS for our next Epcot day.


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## Turk February

So what's the preferred DHS rope drop plan now? We are headed back down in 2 weeks.

In October when we went, we walked from Boardwalk and did MMRR right away before getting in line for SDD (which already had an accurate 60 minute wait).

Now I'm seeing MMRR with lower early morning wait times (30ish minutes) vs longer waits for MFSR and SDD. But I also know that those rides don't necessarily open before park opening as early and often as MMRR.

Would the better plan be to hit one of those 2 rides first and save MMRR for later now that capacity has increased?


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## ars0525

Sunday (1/3/21) park reservation for HS & driving ourselves. Dreary looking cooler weather & rain expected so we packed clothes for it.

Got to the parking lot entrance at 7:50am for a 9am park opening. I was probably about 5th car back at that point & all lanes were filling up with cars. Sitting there we saw buses pulling in & the Skyliner running (sometimes slow & it did stop). I think they started moving the car line by 8:15, we were parked in 1st row, walked into park (temp check & security was 1 steady moving line). Started to head for SDD, but went to MMRR since it was running & I saw no line outside. We got in line at 8:27 & were seated on ride at 8:34. Then headed for SDD which the standby line was where Andy is & it said 45 minutes. I think that was more like 35 & line kept moving. At this point it was starting to drizzle & we headed for TSMM to wait undercover we hoped. That standby line was way over by the original entrance. But these lines really do keep moving (or at least they were that morning)! I saw the Alien ride was walk on or very short wait during all this but we skipped it. Then onto Star Wars. The line for that was wrapped around where they bring out Chewy & Ren to wave at people, but it was raining at this point & I didn't see any characters come out. Sign said 70 minutes when we joined at 10:20, but this one was actually a bit longer. We were done before 11:45 so we stopped to eat our lunch. Then RnR was closed & ToT said I think 60 minute wait. We hung out til 1pm to try for a BG which we were lucky (got BG 110) & estimated a 145 minute call back (that's a nice feature they have added I noticed).

Now we tried the park hopping. Took the boat over to Epcot. Nobody checked our MBs if we had hoppers or for park availability (other people said on the buses they do that?). Got off the boat, went thru temp & security check & in the park we went. Easy peasy. I figured about 3pm to head back on the boat to HS. The MDE app did update estimated times when I checked there to see what BG was happening. We were just about pulling up to the dock at HS when my MDE notification dinged it was time for our BG. Back thru temp & security at HS & off to RotR we went.

We had a good day. Lines kept moving even if they appeared really long. Both parks had people but not overwhelming. I am not sure how much the blah weather affected it as I think people are getting more like oh well put on a rain coat & deal with it (it seems 5 years ago the rain would start & people would disappear lol).


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## CarolynFH

ars0525 said:


> Took the boat over to Epcot. Nobody checked our MBs if we had hoppers or for park availability (other people said on the buses they do that?).


Might be because so many Epcot area resort guests use those boats as well, for transport back to their resorts. CMs were only checking for PH tickets on the park to park buses, not the park to resort buses, right?


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## Makmak

Anyone at AK, us Mr. Kamal open? Or are they just doing weekends?


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## scrappinginontario

Makmak said:


> Anyone at AK, us Mr. Kamal open? Or are they just doing weekends?


According to MDE it is open today.


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## ckb_nc

Turk February said:


> So what's the preferred DHS rope drop plan now? We are headed back down in 2 weeks.
> 
> In October when we went, we walked from Boardwalk and did MMRR right away before getting in line for SDD (which already had an accurate 60 minute wait).
> 
> Now I'm seeing MMRR with lower early morning wait times (30ish minutes) vs longer waits for MFSR and SDD. But I also know that those rides don't necessarily open before park opening as early and often as MMRR.
> 
> Would the better plan be to hit one of those 2 rides first and save MMRR for later now that capacity has increased?



SDD - we walked past MMRR to that and had maybe a 10 minute wait. Feels like everyone stops at MMRR these days


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## stitchfan18

2nd day at MK this trip today. It’s definitely the most frustrating park as an avid FP refresher. We didn’t make it into the park until 8:40ish, so I’m hoping if we can rope drop our final MK day that we will be able to get more done. We went to SDMT 1st, posted wait at 8:55 was 75 on the app, 50 on the entrance sign - we waited 40. We did a few other rides before lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace. We sat in the lower seating section right by the water, and had a nice view of the castle while we ate, I was able to get a few pictures of the kids from the table with the castle, so that was an added bonus to our meal! We ended up leaving shortly after lunch because all the wait times on the app were pushing, if not over, an hour and we needed a break. We relaxed at our resort until 4, then headed back hoping for shorter waits. From 4:30 to 7:50 we were able to ride the Magic Carpets, see Tiki Room, eat dinner @ Pecos Bills, ride Jungle Cruise and Pirates. We probably could have done one more ride if the kids had a little more energy, but decided to call it a night when we got off Pirates at 7:50. I had really hoped to accomplish more in the last couple hours, but crowds didn’t really thin until at least 7:00. I’m not sure there really is a good plan to accomplish all or most of MK in a day right now. Hopefully rope dropping will help us get more done on our 3rd MK day.

Mask compliance on our first 4 park days has been pretty good. DD accidentally had her mask get stuck inside her sweatshirt when she was putting it on, and since she was in the stroller, we didn’t realize it until probably 5 minutes later when we got to the next attraction. I was shocked no one said a word to us. She was of course worried she was going to get asked to leave because of the announcements they play now. I had definitely expected more cast members around giving mask reminders. Maybe they are more focused on people removing them for pictures or moving and eating. I will say, we walked through the area near Aloha Isle several times and that area is just plain scary with everyone packed in like sardines eating dole whips while elbow to elbow with other groups. I’m of sure if the benches aren’t marked for social distancing or if people just don’t pay attention. I would definitely plan take your dole whip on a bit of a walk before eating it.

We did use the buses tonight for the first time this trip since MK parking is a hassle. We lucked out with short waits both ways and were able to get on the first bus that arrived each time. The line for BW wasn’t too long at park close, but I saw them push several buses through the pop century stop while we waited, the line there was quite long, but seemed to move steadily.


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## disneyfan150

ars0525 said:


> I am not sure how much the blah weather affected it as I think people are getting more like oh well put on a rain coat & deal with it (it seems 5 years ago the rain would start & people would disappear lol).


I had the same feeling last summer - especially at HS.


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## TikiTikiFan

stitchfan18 said:


> I will say, we walked through the area near Aloha Isle several times and that area is just plain scary with everyone packed in like sardines eating dole whips while elbow to elbow with other groups. I’m of sure if the benches aren’t marked for social distancing or if people just don’t pay attention. I would definitely plan take your dole whip on a bit of a walk before eating it.



I noticed that too on my trip. Even pre-covid, I wouldn’t want someone practically dripping their dole whip on me- it’s crazy over there. 
We walked ours over near Big Thunder- lots of space to just chill out and eat it. That whole area is just a bit bottleneck, I tried to avoid it in the afternoons once we realized that.


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## ars0525

CarolynFH said:


> Might be because so many Epcot area resort guests use those boats as well, for transport back to their resorts. CMs were only checking for PH tickets on the park to park buses, not the park to resort buses, right?



We did not ride the buses at all Sunday so I can't comment on what happens there.
They did ask us when we got on the boat where we were going, but didn't ask or mention anything about having the right tickets.


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## armerida

Turk February said:


> So what's the preferred DHS rope drop plan now? We are headed back down in 2 weeks.
> 
> In October when we went, we walked from Boardwalk and did MMRR right away before getting in line for SDD (which already had an accurate 60 minute wait).
> 
> Now I'm seeing MMRR with lower early morning wait times (30ish minutes) vs longer waits for MFSR and SDD. But I also know that those rides don't necessarily open before park opening as early and often as MMRR.
> 
> Would the better plan be to hit one of those 2 rides first and save MMRR for later now that capacity has increased?


It’s tough to say right now. I can give you our experiences from 3 days at HS over the holiday break. We walked from the Swan and arrived around 7:40 each morning so we were at the very front of the pack going into temp/security. The first day, we walked onto MMRR, then hit SDD with a 5 minute wait, then got to MFSR, which wasn’t running yet and waited about 10 minutes. So I wouldn’t go there first. The next time, we did MMRR, ToT, RnR all walk-on. But waits build very quickly at ToT since it has low capacity, so if that’s a priority, hit it early and don’t be afraid of the line if it goes back by Fantasmic, should still only be 20 minutes. Our third day, MMRR walk on again, SDD 10 minutes, then ToT 15 minutes, followed by another ride on MMRR with ~25 minute wait.

We also went back 2 nights and rode SDD with very little wait and MMRR 5xin a row pretty much walk-on, so that could work too. ToT and MFSR seem to have the longest waits throughout the day that don’t really drop off much. We saved MFSR for last one night and still waited a decent amount, around 30 minutes.


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## Splat10

Mzpalmtree said:


> We just got back from a great 8 night trip to Universal Studios and WDW last night. This was a long trip for us as we are usually long weekenders that go around our daughter's school schedule several times a year. We have gone to WDW for the past three years just after New Years so we are familiar with that time frame, but...


Thanks for posting what I'm sure was a great trip report.  Please please don't take this negatively, but can you please add some line breaks and spacing.  Trying to read this made my head hurt only because of the formatting.


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## Catvondita

My husband and I were supposed to go May 2020 and of course we cancelled. It was honestly really sad for us because it was supposed to be our first trip together with our daughter who was born back in 2019. We didn't go when I was pregnant so it's been a while for us and we are itching to go back. However we are both taking this pandemic pretty seriously and we are wrestling with going or not. We keep booking and pushing back our trip. We are now booked for May 1-7 of this year but are still mentally preparing to cancel if we aren't comfortable. 

My question is for people who still very concerned about Covid, when will you feel comfortable enough to go, or if you were very concerned but still decided to go what made you decide that you were okay with going? (Sidenote I did ask that first question in someone elses thread but I wanted to expand on it. Sorry for the redundancy). Also, a new question I have is if you went what other precautions or hacks did you take? 

My husband works in a hospital so he will be getting the vaccine sometime this week. My daughter and I will probably not be vaccinated yet. I do think Disney is taking awesome steps to ensure guests safety although I am finding some things I'm not as comfortable with such as raising capacity or seating strangers next to each other on rides instead of doing social distancing. I'm prepared to leave the parks early if I find them too crowded, or to speak up when I see someone who isn't wearing a mask or mask isn't covering their nose. I'm okay with washing my hands all the time and I honestly love wearing masks (weird I know) but I'm sure that may be harder when its hot and humid. So yeah. I'm conflicted. Just wondering everyone else's thought process and what makes them decide it is or isn't worth the risk.

Thanks for reading my messy thread


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## Splat10

ckb_nc said:


> SDD - we walked past MMRR to that and had maybe a 10 minute wait. Feels like everyone stops at MMRR these days


I'm pretty sure i can't link to it but there is a great three part post from easy wdw about touring HS with the MMRR capacity increases.  Basically, if you can get into MMRR with very minimal wait do it then hit SDD and MFSR, otherwise skip MMRR as it's wait times drop significantly towards the end of the day.


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## sponica

Right now I'm required to quarantine for 2 weeks by my employer if I leave the state, so even if I felt comfortable traveling (which I don't) I wouldn't go.  I'd have your husband keep tabs on his employer's policies.  I work for a hospital and they are not lifting the quarantine requirements, even if you have received a vaccine.

I won't be going until the end of 2021 at the earliest due to the fact I have a child under 2 and need a larger percentage of the population vaccinated.


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## brockash

Catvondita said:


> My husband and I were supposed to go May 2020 and of course we cancelled. It was honestly really sad for us because it was supposed to be our first trip together with our daughter who was born back in 2019. We didn't go when I was pregnant so it's been a while for us and we are itching to go back. However we are both taking this pandemic pretty seriously and we are wrestling with going or not. We keep booking and pushing back our trip. We are now booked for May 1-7 of this year but are still mentally preparing to cancel if we aren't comfortable.
> 
> My question is for people who still very concerned about Covid, when will you feel comfortable enough to go, or if you were very concerned but still decided to go what made you decide that you were okay with going? (Sidenote I did ask that first question in someone elses thread but I wanted to expand on it. Sorry for the redundancy). Also, a new question I have is if you went what other precautions or hacks did you take?
> 
> My husband works in a hospital so he will be getting the vaccine sometime this week. My daughter and I will probably not be vaccinated yet. I do think Disney is taking awesome steps to ensure guests safety although I am finding some things I'm not as comfortable with such as raising capacity or seating strangers next to each other on rides instead of doing social distancing. I'm prepared to leave the parks early if I find them too crowded, or to speak up when I see someone who isn't wearing a mask or mask isn't covering their nose. I'm okay with washing my hands all the time and I honestly love wearing masks (weird I know) but I'm sure that may be harder when its hot and humid. So yeah. I'm conflicted. Just wondering everyone else's thought process and what makes them decide it is or isn't worth the risk.
> 
> Thanks for reading my messy thread




Do you or your daughter have any conditions that would make you more at risk?  If not...it seems you're both pretty healthy, younger people and that you would be careful to try to make sure you all were always masked up and not touching extra things or being around unmasked ppl. ect., so I wouldn't be hesitant about going to WDW.  

I'd say we're pretty middle of the pendulum as far as Covid concerns...I have some family that's more concerned and some that are less.  Ironically, my Dad and step-mom who are the most covid-conscious of the family just tested positive right after Christmas.  Luckily, even at their ages and my dad's pre-existing conditions, they seemed to have  had a pretty mild case.  

We're big mask wearers and I wouldn't feel comfortable being around strangers that weren't masked and we had no concerns flying to and going to WDW this past Sept. and again in Oct.  

I will say, if you feel like your anxiety will get the best of you, you know yourself best, then I wouldn't go and I'd wait, not because of Covid, but because I'd want to make sure I was able to enjoy my trip.  

We relied on Disney transportation, however I would say that's 1 easy thing that you all could do different that would take away a good amount of stranger interaction (closer quarters, for a longer period of time etc.)  

Good luck in whatever you decide.


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## fla4fun

I have been three times since they reopened and feel they are doing a good job.  I have a trip booked for later this month, and I would be lying if I said that I am not concerned due to holiday Covid spikes. There were a couple times on my trips where the crowds got higher than I felt comfortable with, and I went back to the resort. However, at this time I am still planning to go.  I found out a couple weeks before Christmas that my company is closing for good the middle of February, so with having to get a new job I may not have another opportunity to go for a year or two.

Everyone has to make the decision based on their own comfort level and restrictions where they live.  There isn’t a right or wrong answer, just what is right or wrong for your circumstances.


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## Catvondita

brockash said:


> Do you or your daughter have any conditions that would make you more at risk?  If not...it seems you're both pretty healthy, younger people and that you would be careful to try to make sure you all were always masked up and not touching extra things or being around unmasked ppl. ect., so I wouldn't be hesitant about going to WDW.
> 
> I'd say we're pretty middle of the pendulum as far as Covid concerns...I have some family that's more concerned and some that are less.  Ironically, my Dad and step-mom who are the most covid-conscious of the family just tested positive right after Christmas.  Luckily, even at their ages and my dad's pre-existing conditions, they seemed to have  had a pretty mild case.
> 
> We're big mask wearers and I wouldn't feel comfortable being around strangers that weren't masked and we had no concerns flying to and going to WDW this past Sept. and again in Oct.
> 
> I will say, if you feel like your anxiety will get the best of you, you know yourself best, then I wouldn't go and I'd wait, not because of Covid, but because I'd want to make sure I was able to enjoy my trip.
> 
> We relied on Disney transportation, however I would say that's 1 easy thing that you all could do different that would take away a good amount of stranger interaction (closer quarters, for a longer period of time etc.)
> 
> Good luck in whatever you decide.


Thank you!

I mean we don't have any conditions that we know of but I guess were just worried about ever possibly being that 1% of healthy people who do get it really bad. If we go I think we def would rent a car instead.


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## triplemcl

We are headed to WDW Saturday, first day in the park is Sunday. I’m wondering how accurate the wait times listed on the app are...thought I heard somewhere that they’re somewhat inflated and are less than the posted time.

We were Disney regulars for years, but switched to Universal for a while because my kids are HP nuts. It’s been 3 years since we’ve been to WDW and we’re all super excited. I feel lost though...so much  has changed since we were last there.


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## 5Tulips

We are pretty cautious and follow covid protocols.  I am more likely to go to Disney than allow play dates/sleepovers right now.  We can keep to our bubble on vacation.  Drive our own car, stay in a hotel (or cabin) with outdoor corridors, eat takeout or outdoors.  I’m not sure we would venture into the parks yet as I’d have to manage ride expectations. But we are definitely contemplating a resort only stay.  Get our Disney fix within our limits.  It sounds like walking around Disney will be better than our grocery store at home.


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## yulilin3

triplemcl said:


> We are headed to WDW Saturday, first day in the park is Sunday. I’m wondering how accurate the wait times listed on the app are...thought I heard somewhere that they’re somewhat inflated and are less than the posted time.
> 
> We were Disney regulars for years, but switched to Universal for a while because my kids are HP nuts. It’s been 3 years since we’ve been to WDW and we’re all super excited. I feel lost though...so much  has changed since we were last there.


merged you to the thread where you can read recent reports
For the most part they are accurate or slightly exagerated


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## Cactus girl

Just got back from a quick trip 1/3-1/6.  We added Park Hopping at the last minute.  It was super easy.  I did it through the app.  PHing could not have been easier.  On Sunday, we started at MK and rode everything we wanted.  Wait times were often very inflated.  TMRR was posted at 45 and we waited about 16 minutes.  SM was posted at 65 and we waited 45.  The lines moved so fast that it never seemed that you waited very long.  We then PHed over the AK.  We were in our own car that day and had no issues with parking at the second park.  We rode EE (35 min wait posted, actual wait 12 minutes), the Safari and then FOP twice.  For FOP, they aren't doing the body scans so you don't have a specific avatar that you link up with.  It was fine without that.  After that park closed, we went to our hotel (Swan) and took the boat to Epcot.  They had the plexiglass installed so you could have two people per row.  They did not allow standing on the boat.  Waits were pretty much non-existent on a Sunday night in Epcot (walk-on for Soaring at 8:20).  

We started the next day at HS.  We did get a ROR time during the 7am drop.  However, RR was down for the entire day so that made the lines pretty long for everything in the park.  I don't think we waited less than 30 minutes for anything and the posted times were pretty dead on to what we actually waited.  I must say, I LOVE ROR with the new Covid protocols.  I'm a little on the short side, and since they assign you colored circles to stand on for each part, you actually can see everything.  There are times on that ride that I've felt a little claustrophobic in the past.  Not this time.  In fact, my DD asked if they had made certain rooms larger.  No, it just wasn't crowded and was pretty amazing.  We did MilFal and they were still doing just one party per pod.  Each of us finally got to be the pilots.  Super fun.  They did have plexiglass set up do you could have a group of 4 and then a group of 2.  Later in the day we went to Epcot and it was lovely.  DD was a little sad they you can't do the peals in Japan right now and TT seemed super odd.  You can't create your own vehicles.  They have pre-assigned ones that you use during the "test," but you aren't really sure which vehicle they are testing.  It just seemed a bit off.  I'm not sure I would wait for it if it was more than a 30 min wait.  

The next few days were just more of the same.  It was cool while we were there so masks weren't an issue.  I don't think we ever saw someone without a mask--except on the boardwalk and the path to HS.  At one point we were walking from HS to the Swan.  We were the only people on the path so we lowered our masks.  A lifeguard walked out on the Boardwalk property, saw us and told us to put our masks back on.  She had to be 60 yards from us and was the only person we could see.  We did put them back on.  I went running on a few mornings.  I did have a mask that I would raise/lower if I approached anyone on the paths.  There were six other runners I encountered.  Five had no masks and one did.   

We are going back in May and it will be interesting to compare the experiences.


----------



## brockash

triplemcl said:


> We are headed to WDW Saturday, first day in the park is Sunday. I’m wondering how accurate the wait times listed on the app are...thought I heard somewhere that they’re somewhat inflated and are less than the posted time.
> 
> We were Disney regulars for years, but switched to Universal for a while because my kids are HP nuts. It’s been 3 years since we’ve been to WDW and we’re all super excited. I feel lost though...so much  has changed since we were last there.


When we were there it really just depended...I'd say usually they were overinflated, but some were spot on and some were under the actual.


----------



## Raemama

Hi folks! Heading there on Monday for a five night trip. I’m confused about something—must you have an ADR to visit the Grand Floridian if you’re not staying there? Or will a mobile order for Gasparilla Grill suffice? I’d like to take the boat or monorail from MK. Thanks in advance for your help. 

I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences for the benefit of others. I’ll be sure to share upon our return.


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## wdwrule

@Raemama You can use any form of Disney transportation to visit resorts and do not need any kind of ADRs (if using Disney transportation). We enjoyed doing this around Thanksgiving to check out some of the resorts’ Christmas trees and shop, etc.


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## Raemama

wdwrule said:


> @Raemama You can use any form of Disney transportation to visit resorts and do not need any kind of ADRs (if using Disney transportation).


Well, that changes everything. Thank you!


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## Makmak

Hi All, you’ve been so helpful in our planning I just wanted to share today’s MK short version: mobile ordered at Contemporary and got hassled by the guard a little when I ubered over to pick it up. Walked over after picking up order, they held us near the ticket scan after temp/security until 7:25 then let us in. Rode SDMT, PPF, and space mountain before 8:00, and waited no longer than ten minutes for: Speedway, buzz, mermaid, haunted mansion, BTM, splash, all done by 11:00 when we had LTT res, after lunch we rode JC posted 45/actual 15, played sorcerers and shopped then hit haunted mansion again (walk on) and pirates which was longest wait at 20 minutes. I’d say rope drop is essential and even before 10/11 we didn’t have much of a crowd.


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## GBRforWDW

Has anyone gone to adventureland or frontierland at rope drop?   I know things can change day to day, but I'm wondering if any of those rides are operating prior to official park opening.


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## ksw5261

Turk February said:


> So what's the preferred DHS rope drop plan now? We are headed back down in 2 weeks.
> 
> In October when we went, we walked from Boardwalk and did MMRR right away before getting in line for SDD (which already had an accurate 60 minute wait).
> 
> Now I'm seeing MMRR with lower early morning wait times (30ish minutes) vs longer waits for MFSR and SDD. But I also know that those rides don't necessarily open before park opening as early and often as MMRR.
> 
> Would the better plan be to hit one of those 2 rides first and save MMRR for later now that capacity has increased?





Catvondita said:


> My husband and I were supposed to go May 2020 and of course we cancelled. It was honestly really sad for us because it was supposed to be our first trip together with our daughter who was born back in 2019. We didn't go when I was pregnant so it's been a while for us and we are itching to go back. However we are both taking this pandemic pretty seriously and we are wrestling with going or not. We keep booking and pushing back our trip. We are now booked for May 1-7 of this year but are still mentally preparing to cancel if we aren't comfortable.
> 
> My question is for people who still very concerned about Covid, when will you feel comfortable enough to go, or if you were very concerned but still decided to go what made you decide that you were okay with going? (Sidenote I did ask that first question in someone elses thread but I wanted to expand on it. Sorry for the redundancy). Also, a new question I have is if you went what other precautions or hacks did you take?
> 
> My husband works in a hospital so he will be getting the vaccine sometime this week. My daughter and I will probably not be vaccinated yet. I do think Disney is taking awesome steps to ensure guests safety although I am finding some things I'm not as comfortable with such as raising capacity or seating strangers next to each other on rides instead of doing social distancing. I'm prepared to leave the parks early if I find them too crowded, or to speak up when I see someone who isn't wearing a mask or mask isn't covering their nose. I'm okay with washing my hands all the time and I honestly love wearing masks (weird I know) but I'm sure that may be harder when its hot and humid. So yeah. I'm conflicted. Just wondering everyone else's thought process and what makes them decide it is or isn't worth the risk.
> 
> Thanks for reading my messy thread


My boyfriend and I booked a last minute trip for this January (here now!) and our deciding factor was the affordability plus lower crowds. I know that there is a lot of back and forth on wether or not it is worth it right now, but I would say that it is 100%. This year I have only left my house to go to the grocery store, maybe see one or two friends here and there and only ever outside. I didn't even eat at any restaurants!


triplemcl said:


> We are headed to WDW Saturday, first day in the park is Sunday. I’m wondering how accurate the wait times listed on the app are...thought I heard somewhere that they’re somewhat inflated and are less than the posted time.
> 
> We were Disney regulars for years, but switched to Universal for a while because my kids are HP nuts. It’s been 3 years since we’ve been to WDW and we’re all super excited. I feel lost though...so much  has changed since we were last there.


Here now, and I would say I have never waited longer than a posted time. Most waits are about 20% less than posted I would say, with some rides being very exaggerated at the beginning/end of day!


----------



## Jackie H.

We just returned home yesterday. Our trip was 1/1 - 1/5 in the parks. We stayed at Boardwalk Villas and utilized park hoping.

First the good:
Boardwalk Villas was great. We got there and had been given a free upgrade to a 1 bedroom, when we reserved a studio. The staff was wonderful, everything was very clean. The pool was back open, although we did not utilize it by choice (we just aren't swimmers). We declined housekeeping, but they came once a day and took out the garbage telling us they are required by law to check the room once a day anyway. Every other day they brought new towels and coffee but they didn't do anything else. 

Boats and buses were very frequent. It seemed as we walked up they arrived. We waited 10 minutes once for a MK bus but that is all. If you are wondering you wait for the bus driver to assign you a seat and there are plexiglass dividers and empty seats between groups - no standing. Of course you can walk to DHS and Epcot, which we did the 1st day, but were too tired to do thereafter. We rode the entire route of the Skylinner just to experience it and enjoyed that a great deal. 

It is important to know that every park actually opened before the stated opening time and we rode rides before the stated opening time. We were there early and rode every popular ride as a walk on except Seven Dwarves Mine Train which we waited 20 mins. We went to MK 2 days early and divided the popular rides in two. Seven / Space one day; BTMRR / Splash / Peter Pan / HM the next. 

We got a boarding group to R of the R for the first day we tried using the methods described here. It is very definitely worth trying for! Wow. Still got to DHS at rope drop and rode everything else in Toy Story and Star Wars within a couple of hours but when we left that area the waits were listed as around 2 hours for everything. We followed this for AK and had the same experience. 

We would use our park hopping for Epcot and go to Soarin, TT near the end of the day with little to no wait - rode Soarin twice that way (on two different days). We hit Frozen at opening our first day and walked right on. NO LINE AT ALL. We never got in the Mexico ride however. It would list the ride on the app as a 10 minute wait but the wait to get in the building was really long so the app is misleading. 

Cast members were vigilant in making guests wear their masks correctly. And stand in line 6 feet apart - if they saw them not honoring the distancing rules. One family got right up behind me in MK starbucks. I didn't say anything to anyone, I was just trying to ease away from them, but they were were asked to move back and when they refused, they were made to leave. And hand sanitizer is everywhere.

Temp checks is easy and quick as is the security, just take anything metal out of your bag and hold it out so they can see it as you pass through the sensors. I have a metal hip replacement and it didn't slow me down going through. 

Now the issues:
There are not enough food locations open for the number of people there. You should be prepared for the lack of food availability and take your own or be ready to stand in long lines for food. Yes they have mobile ordering but there are not that many places that offer it meaning you should order a long time ahead of when you want it. Like order lunch 2 hours ahead of time, then wait upwards of 20 - 30 minutes after you indicate you are there, or maybe eat lunch at a really early time or middle of the afternoon (but then you need to prepare for how you get a snack to tide you over). Yes, you can make ADRs but the menus are very limited, as are the spaces. And a lot of the wait in line type places are not open. So the ones that are are very, very busy. And boy do these cast members look overworked. In the Boardwalk area there was next to nothing open as far as eating. One morning at MK the line for the Joffrey's near the Space Mtn entrance extended to the Speedway. This was 1/4 and MK still had availability that day.  

Don't take this as me complaining, take this as a warning to be ready - take snacks, plan ahead. If you want coffee mid morning, you are going to wait a really long time for it. Your best bet for coffee in the parks is mid afternoon. Or if you pass a place that is offering something you want and the line is short, consider yourself the winner of the lottery and grab it!


----------



## Orion Nebula

I have been following every trip report rabidly for the past year due to having to re-book three times now. It "seems" that more people are reporting better enforcement's on their protocols more recently.  I have however seen some nightmare reports sprinkled in so I have to wonder if a lot of the "sparkling" ones are a bit clouded OR if some people expected too much. I am sure I am not alone in devouring everything here, anyone else have a take on it? I am staying hopeful that things will feel _mostly_ safe. My trip is at the end of Feb and SW won't work with me so I am "stuck" at this point.


----------



## Jackie H.

What we found was cast members called out to anyone not wearing a mask or walking while eating or drinking - no matter what that cast members job was, if they were selling merch or directing people to a line - to wear their mask or pull it up over their nose. If they did not comply they stopped them. They even kindly reminded children and their parents. I cannot claim that no one got away with it, but it was the exception not the rule.

The rule is people are supposed to be stationary (not necessarily sitting down), distanced from others, eating or drinking, and not in an attraction line. For the overwhelming majority of time that is what we saw. Yes there were some people that broke those rules in some way. But we did not see whole sale rule breaking. And we saw and heard cast members enforcing the rules regularly.

Oh and I can say for the first time in 18 trips to WDW I was not touched, bumped, or run over by a stranger.


----------



## BoatDriver

Jackie H. said:


> There are not enough food locations open for the number of people there. You should be prepared for the lack of food availability and take your own or be ready to stand in long lines for food. Yes they have mobile ordering but there are not that many places that offer it meaning you should order a long time ahead of when you want it. Like order lunch 2 hours ahead of time, then wait upwards of 20 - 30 minutes after you indicate you are there, or maybe eat lunch at a really early time or middle of the afternoon (but then you need to prepare for how you get a snack to tide you over). Yes, you can make ADRs but the menus are very limited, as are the spaces. And a lot of the wait in line type places are not open. So the ones that are are very, very busy.



This one thing may well irritate me more than anything else.

Disney can make the argument that they don't need as many rides or as many seats. They can make the argument that shows can't be held within the public's comfort zone as it regards safety and spacing. They can even make the argument that they don't need as many resorts or longer park hours. 

But there is CLEARLY a need for more dining availability. Every single trip report I see mentions the long lines, long waits and lack of availability for dining. 

I don't want to pack a damn lunch, or order food two hours ahead of time just to fight for a table in one of the limited locations. I'm on vacation.

For goodness sake, just open up some more dining! This is nothing more than pinching pennies.


----------



## Orion Nebula

Jackie H. said:


> What we found was cast members called out to anyone not wearing a mask or walking while eating or drinking - no matter what that cast members job was, if they were selling merch or directing people to a line - to wear their mask or pull it up over their nose. If they did not comply they stopped them. They even kindly reminded children and their parents. I cannot claim that no one got away with it, but it was the exception not the rule.
> 
> The rule is people are supposed to be stationary (not necessarily sitting down), distanced from others, eating or drinking, and not in an attraction line. For the overwhelming majority of time that is what we saw. Yes there were some people that broke those rules in some way. But we did not see whole sale rule breaking. And we saw and heard cast members enforcing the rules regularly.
> 
> Oh and I can say for the first time in 18 trips to WDW I was not touched, bumped, or run over by a stranger.



That is really great to hear. And the very fact that I won't have my ankles smashed by a stroller or scooter is a cherry on top!


----------



## tlmadden73

I appreciate the reports here ... I am happy for the people who are choosing to go and having good times. But, for me, with two weeks before my trips and while I am interested in the reports of "short lines" .. not crowded .. etc.  I am tempted to cancel again. I made this booking back in June when I thought things would be MUCH more back to normal by now. 

I am not afraid of the virus or catching it in public places (I've gone to plenty of semi-local tourist locations (that are open) these past few months and will continue to go to more). 

It is more about value to me and I am more afraid that I will be disappointed that my "happy place" will just constantly remind me of this crappy virus .. and things like everyone wearing a mask, plexiglass barriers, lack of pre-shows, lack of M&Gs, closed attractions, lack of dining options (or waiting in long lines for dining) will just make me upset that things are not heading back to "normal" (yet) and it won't feel like a "vacation". If I was planning on going with just my wife -- sure .. but going with the young kids (one of which (4yo) I am not even sure will wear a mask hours on end) .. I just don't think that will be a "fun" environment.  I don't want to be harassed if my 4yo refuses to wear a mask .. nor do I want to have to leave the parks or fight with her if she continues to resist.

One of my main issues is how the year is looking .. . I was planning on activating an annual pass for the trip .. and I don't feel that January 2021 to January 2022 isn't the year to do that and plan multiple trips.  Maybe a Summer or Fall 2021 would be better time to activate it. 

So .. with the announcements of similar discounts for Spring .. I may delay the trip again by another few months and go when I feel I am getting the value and the vacation I TRULY want with my money. Disney (and the virus itself) is not where I was hoping it to be when I booked the trip 6 months ago.
So despite the prospect of going during a cheaper time and SUPER low crowds, I may delay until more "normal"

With the flexible cancellation policy, I may just wait until a few days before to make the final decision.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

tlmadden73 said:


> I don't want to be harassed if my 4yo refuses to wear a mask .. nor do I want to have to leave the parks or fight with her if she continues to resist.



If your kiddo won’t wear a mask then I would absolutely reschedule because you will be asked to leave.


----------



## corn princess

tlmadden73 said:


> If I was planning on going with just my wife -- sure .. but going with the young kids (one of which (4yo) I am not even sure will wear a mask hours on end) .. I just don't think that will be a "fun" environment.  I don't want to be harassed if my 4yo refuses to wear a mask .. nor do I want to have to leave the parks or fight with her if she continues to resist.


If your 4 year old won't wear a mask I would absolutely cancel.  I saw them asking for ages of kids in strollers the entire trip and if they were older than 2, they made them put a mask on.  HOwever, if the mask just slides down or is off all they'll do is ask him/her to pull it up and go on their way.  I will say we practiced with my 5 year old and she did such a good job wearing it.


----------



## tlmadden73

TikiTikiFan said:


> If your kiddo won’t wear a mask then I would absolutely reschedule because you will be asked to leave.


I think she could do it .. she probably would surprise us as she may be distracted enough to not care. Some days she wears them without complaint. It's just not like we've had an opportunity to "practice" wearing them for hours on end (maybe 30-60 minutes tops)

I don't want her (or our) memory of a WDW trip to be soured because she had to be reprimanded by a poor CM just doing their job. But hey . maybe someone ELSE telling her (rather than her parents) may get her to comply without complaint? It's one thing that home schooling has taught us .. kids will let you know what they DON'T want to do with force something they would easily do without complaint if being asked by a teacher!


----------



## ckb_nc

Cactus girl said:


> Just got back from a quick trip 1/3-1/6.  We added Park Hopping at the last minute.  It was super easy.  I did it through the app.  PHing could not have been easier.  On Sunday, we started at MK and rode everything we wanted.  Wait times were often very inflated.  TMRR was posted at 45 and we waited about 16 minutes.  SM was posted at 65 and we waited 45.  The lines moved so fast that it never seemed that you waited very long.  We then PHed over the AK.  We were in our own car that day and had no issues with parking at the second park.  We rode EE (35 min wait posted, actual wait 12 minutes), the Safari and then FOP twice.  For FOP, they aren't doing the body scans so you don't have a specific avatar that you link up with.  It was fine without that.  After that park closed, we went to our hotel (Swan) and took the boat to Epcot.  They had the plexiglass installed so you could have two people per row.  They did not allow standing on the boat.  Waits were pretty much non-existent on a Sunday night in Epcot (walk-on for Soaring at 8:20).
> 
> We started the next day at HS.  We did get a ROR time during the 7am drop.  However, RR was down for the entire day so that made the lines pretty long for everything in the park.  I don't think we waited less than 30 minutes for anything and the posted times were pretty dead on to what we actually waited.  I must say, I LOVE ROR with the new Covid protocols.  I'm a little on the short side, and since they assign you colored circles to stand on for each part, you actually can see everything.  There are times on that ride that I've felt a little claustrophobic in the past.  Not this time.  In fact, my DD asked if they had made certain rooms larger.  No, it just wasn't crowded and was pretty amazing.  We did MilFal and they were still doing just one party per pod.  Each of us finally got to be the pilots.  Super fun.  They did have plexiglass set up do you could have a group of 4 and then a group of 2.  Later in the day we went to Epcot and it was lovely.  DD was a little sad they you can't do the peals in Japan right now and TT seemed super odd.  You can't create your own vehicles.  They have pre-assigned ones that you use during the "test," but you aren't really sure which vehicle they are testing.  It just seemed a bit off.  I'm not sure I would wait for it if it was more than a 30 min wait.
> 
> The next few days were just more of the same.  It was cool while we were there so masks weren't an issue.  I don't think we ever saw someone without a mask--except on the boardwalk and the path to HS.  At one point we were walking from HS to the Swan.  We were the only people on the path so we lowered our masks.  A lifeguard walked out on the Boardwalk property, saw us and told us to put our masks back on.  She had to be 60 yards from us and was the only person we could see.  We did put them back on.  I went running on a few mornings.  I did have a mask that I would raise/lower if I approached anyone on the paths.  There were six other runners I encountered.  Five had no masks and one did.
> 
> We are going back in May and it will be interesting to compare the experiences.



I ran one day with a mask on - I never wear a mask exercising outdoors ever but it felt like the right thing to do. I hated it.


----------



## ckb_nc

Orion Nebula said:


> I have been following every trip report rabidly for the past year due to having to re-book three times now. It "seems" that more people are reporting better enforcement's on their protocols more recently.  I have however seen some nightmare reports sprinkled in so I have to wonder if a lot of the "sparkling" ones are a bit clouded OR if some people expected too much. I am sure I am not alone in devouring everything here, anyone else have a take on it? I am staying hopeful that things will feel _mostly_ safe. My trip is at the end of Feb and SW won't work with me so I am "stuck" at this point.



It is all about perspective - I felt really safe at WDW. Like glad we went but also lowered my expectations. That said, you can do so much if you get up early.  Like insane amounts of attractions.

We did not order food in the parks one time - partly because we love to explore and frankly we wanted a break mid-day. 

I had a  couple of exceptions. 

1) The walkway from Fantasyland past Peter Pan to HM is always a nightmare and I just avoided if I could by midday. But this is true every trip.

2) The only other time in the parks as the entrance into Galaxy's Edge by Muppets. Felt like rope drop but it was like noon.

DS - yeah that is a different story


----------



## Orion Nebula

ckb_nc said:


> It is all about perspective - I felt really safe at WDW. Like glad we went but also lowered my expectations. That said, you can do so much if you get up early.  Like insane amounts of attractions.
> 
> We did not order food in the parks one time - partly because we love to explore and frankly we wanted a break mid-day.
> 
> I had a  couple of exceptions.
> 
> 1) The walkway from Fantasyland past Peter Pan to HM is always a nightmare and I just avoided if I could by midday. But this is true every trip.
> 
> 2) The only other time in the parks as the entrance into Galaxy's Edge by Muppets. Felt like rope drop but it was like noon.
> 
> DS - yeah that is a different story



Ya our expectations are already low, luckily we do go often so this won't be our first step into WDW. I am going to note 1 & 2 and keep it in mind. One question, why do you think the parks were so empty at opening? I figured it might be worse due to the shorter hours. Oh and when was your trip?


----------



## MomOTwins

tlmadden73 said:


> I think she could do it .. she probably would surprise us as she may be distracted enough to not care. Some days she wears them without complaint. It's just not like we've had an opportunity to "practice" wearing them for hours on end (maybe 30-60 minutes tops)
> 
> I don't want her (or our) memory of a WDW trip to be soured because she had to be reprimanded by a poor CM just doing their job. But hey . maybe someone ELSE telling her (rather than her parents) may get her to comply without complaint? It's one thing that home schooling has taught us .. kids will let you know what they DON'T want to do with force something they would easily do without complaint if being asked by a teacher!


Anecdotally, the parents who seem to have no trouble with kids wearing masks are the ones who, rather than framing is as "having to" wear a mask, framing it as "getting to" wear a "special" mask that "lets" them go to disney world, with lots of positive reinforcement on how great the mask looks and how glad we are to have the mask so we can go on rides.  We let our four year old pick out his masks last year from the disney store and he would wake up in the morning so excited to wear his Elsa mask--wearing it while watching tv the hotel room while we got ready before we left the room.   We did something similar with magic bands when he was younger--he used to fuss and pull it off, but when we ordered him a special one with a character before the trip and kept showing it to him and talking about how it was his "ticket to disney world" he loved it.

One time he did get a bit hot/cranky at the park and pulled it off and instead of telling him to put it back on we stepped aside and started pointing out everyone else's fun masks--"look at everyone wearing their masks--he has a mickey mask! wow, that girl has an elsa mask just like you".  He put it on himself.   



Orion Nebula said:


> Ya our expectations are already low, luckily we do go often so this won't be our first step into WDW. I am going to note 1 & 2 and keep it in mind. One question, why do you think the parks were so empty at opening? I figured it might be worse due to the shorter hours. Oh and when was your trip?


My personal theory, FWIW, is that most people don't realize the parks are opening well before their posted opening time so wait to show up until at or after the official opening time.  That and, anecdotally, a lot of people I talked to were Florida APs living an hour or so away who have to build in time in the morning to drive in, unlike resort guests who can wake up and be at the parks in no time.

It was definitely worse at Epcot though, given how late it has been opening.  Lines were actually worst in the first couple of hours and got much better in the afternoon/evening.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Question: with hopping back, what is Epcot like at night? Are people heading over in the PM hours after other parks close/to eat dinner? Is it crowded, or doable/pleasant?


----------



## Raemama

MomOTwins said:


> ... "getting to" wear a "special" mask that "lets" them go to disney world, with lots of positive reinforcement on how great the mask looks and how glad we are to have the mask so we can go on rides.


I like this. I’m going to try it on myself!


----------



## shoegal9

butterscotchcollins said:


> Question: with hopping back, what is Epcot like at night? Are people heading over in the PM hours after other parks close/to eat dinner? Is it crowded, or doable/pleasant?



I was at EPCOT Sunday night and left at park close. It didn't seem overly crowded to me. We were able to walk up and get drinks without a wait...even the Mexico Pavilion line was pretty short. That being said, it was a week without a festival. So, come tomorrow and Festival of the Arts that could change.


----------



## Orion Nebula

tlmadden73 said:


> With the flexible cancellation policy, I may just wait until a few days before to make the final decision.



Man it sucks for me, I am stuck due to plane tickets. My wife and I ONLY are on the fence due to it. I would like to thank Southwest for "helping" out in these times by the way (joking). It sounds REALLY weird, but due to going so much this trip almost sounds a bit special in a _surreal_ way. Such as someday I will be able to look back and say I got to experience "post apocalyptic" Disney, complete with a photo album without faces. lol


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

tlmadden73 said:


> I appreciate the reports here ... I am happy for the people who are choosing to go and having good times. But, for me, with two weeks before my trips and while I am interested in the reports of "short lines" .. not crowded .. etc.  I am tempted to cancel again. I made this booking back in June when I thought things would be MUCH more back to normal by now.
> 
> I am not afraid of the virus or catching it in public places (I've gone to plenty of semi-local tourist locations (that are open) these past few months and will continue to go to more).
> 
> It is more about value to me and I am more afraid that I will be disappointed that my "happy place" will just constantly remind me of this crappy virus .. and things like everyone wearing a mask, plexiglass barriers, lack of pre-shows, lack of M&Gs, closed attractions, lack of dining options (or waiting in long lines for dining) will just make me upset that things are not heading back to "normal" (yet) and it won't feel like a "vacation". If I was planning on going with just my wife -- sure .. but going with the young kids (one of which (4yo) I am not even sure will wear a mask hours on end) .. I just don't think that will be a "fun" environment.  I don't want to be harassed if my 4yo refuses to wear a mask .. nor do I want to have to leave the parks or fight with her if she continues to resist.
> 
> One of my main issues is how the year is looking .. . I was planning on activating an annual pass for the trip .. and I don't feel that January 2021 to January 2022 isn't the year to do that and plan multiple trips.  Maybe a Summer or Fall 2021 would be better time to activate it.
> 
> So .. with the announcements of similar discounts for Spring .. I may delay the trip again by another few months and go when I feel I am getting the value and the vacation I TRULY want with my money. Disney (and the virus itself) is not where I was hoping it to be when I booked the trip 6 months ago.
> So despite the prospect of going during a cheaper time and SUPER low crowds, I may delay until more "normal"
> 
> With the flexible cancellation policy, I may just wait until a few days before to make the final decision.


Having just gone over Thanksgiving week, I do think your plan to reschedule is probably best.  Nothing to do with lack of "precautions and safety measures" more to do with lack of things a 4 y.o. would love.  We definitely enjoyed our vacation but it just felt *"different".  *It was definitely needed "mentally" and was wonderful to see all of the holiday decorations but for "me" a lot of the Disney vibe was  missing, some of it due to lack of characters, parades, fireworks, food etc but some of it was due to constantly trying to make sure we are being safe and not forgetting to mask up when getting up a from a table to go the restroom (found I did this multiple times..ugh), sanitizing etc.  If you don't mind waiting to go, I think the experience will be much better a bit later on in 2021 for a 4 y.o.  Good luck in whichever you decide to do, I know it's a tough decision..


----------



## tlmadden73

Orion Nebula said:


> Man it sucks for me, I am stuck due to plane tickets. My wife and I ONLY are on the fence due to it. I would like to thank Southwest for "helping" out in these times by the way (joking). It sounds REALLY weird, but due to going so much this trip almost sounds a bit special in a _surreal_ way. Such as someday I will be able to look back and say I got to experience "post apocalyptic" Disney, complete with a photo album without faces. lol


Ya .. the only reason I considered even going is because I can (and always) drive (9 hours away).



LeeLee'sMom said:


> Having just gone over Thanksgiving week, I do think your plan to reschedule is probably best.  Nothing to do with lack of "precautions and safety measures" more to do with lack of things a 4 y.o. would love.  We definitely enjoyed our vacation but it just felt *"different".  *


That is partially it too. My sister in-law went and she said the toughest part was wearing a mask (and remembering to be constantly aware of it) and having to tell their 3 yo "Sorry .. you can't meet that princess today" a lot. 

I want to go because it is the perfect "Princess" time for my daughter (she last went when she was 2 and 3/4 .. so a bit too young. But no M&Gs, not even any princess character meals.  But I think I still have another year of that "Princess" time. 

She is the one we have the AP for .. so I don't want to "waste" her ticket going at a time it may feel "different" and during a time I may not want to go again before December 2021 if things don't go more normal.


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

tlmadden73 said:


> Ya .. the only reason I considered even going is because I can (and always) drive (9 hours away).
> 
> 
> That is partially it too. My sister in-law went and she said the toughest part was wearing a mask (and remembering to be constantly aware of it) and having to tell their 3 yo "Sorry .. you can't meet that princess today" a lot.
> 
> I want to go because it is the perfect "Princess" time for my daughter (she last went when she was 2 and 3/4 .. so a bit too young. But no M&Gs, not even any princess character meals.  But I think I still have another year of that "Princess" time.
> 
> She is the one we have the AP for .. so I don't want to "waste" her ticket going at a time it may feel "different" and during a time I may not want to go again before December 2021 if things don't go more normal.


Exactly, I think you still have another good year or so for the perfect Princess time  I too am hoping to go back later in 2021 but holding out a bit to see if we can get some more Disney magic back to the parks...we will see.


----------



## Orion Nebula

tlmadden73 said:


> That is partially it too. My sister in-law went and she said the toughest part was wearing a mask (and remembering to be constantly aware of it)



It's just a part of life here (have one on now at work), and we have to wear them inside stores. The only time I don't have one on is at home. I would honestly say it's starting to feel "weird" when I don't wear one.


----------



## TravelandLeisure

I would wait if I were in your shoes. When my daughter was that age, she loved meet and greets, parades, and character meals even more than the rides. She also had a blast going to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and getting all dolled up before eating dinner with Cinderella. It’s sad that none of these experiences are currently available—it just doesn’t feel like Disney to me.

Our last trip was December 2019, and we probably won’t return until at least 2022. I want everything back to normal so that my youngest can have the same, great experience her sister did.


----------



## tlmadden73

TravelandLeisure said:


> I would wait if I were in your shoes. When my daughter was that age, she loved meet and greets, parades, and character meals even more than the rides. She also had a blast going to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and getting all dolled up before eating dinner with Cinderella. It’s sad that none of these experiences are currently available—it just doesn’t feel like Disney to me.
> 
> Our last trip was December 2019, and we probably won’t return until at least 2022. I want everything back to normal so that my youngest can have the same, great experience her sister did.


That is a good perspective. I remember her cousin (now 9) loved the Bibbidi experience 5 years ago .. I wouldn't want my daughter to miss out on that or "waste" a trip where we can't do that (because Daddy wants an escape ... LOL). Take the money I would spend on this trip and save it for a special experience when they are available again.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

tlmadden73 said:


> I appreciate the reports here ... I am happy for the people who are choosing to go and having good times. But, for me, with two weeks before my trips and while I am interested in the reports of "short lines" .. not crowded .. etc.  I am tempted to cancel again. I made this booking back in June when I thought things would be MUCH more back to normal by now.
> 
> I am not afraid of the virus or catching it in public places (I've gone to plenty of semi-local tourist locations (that are open) these past few months and will continue to go to more).
> 
> It is more about value to me and I am more afraid that I will be disappointed that my "happy place" will just constantly remind me of this crappy virus .. and things like everyone wearing a mask, plexiglass barriers, lack of pre-shows, lack of M&Gs, closed attractions, lack of dining options (or waiting in long lines for dining) will just make me upset that things are not heading back to "normal" (yet) and it won't feel like a "vacation". If I was planning on going with just my wife -- sure .. but going with the young kids (one of which (4yo) I am not even sure will wear a mask hours on end) .. I just don't think that will be a "fun" environment.  I don't want to be harassed if my 4yo refuses to wear a mask .. nor do I want to have to leave the parks or fight with her if she continues to resist.
> 
> One of my main issues is how the year is looking .. . I was planning on activating an annual pass for the trip .. and I don't feel that January 2021 to January 2022 isn't the year to do that and plan multiple trips.  Maybe a Summer or Fall 2021 would be better time to activate it.
> 
> So .. with the announcements of similar discounts for Spring .. I may delay the trip again by another few months and go when I feel I am getting the value and the vacation I TRULY want with my money. Disney (and the virus itself) is not where I was hoping it to be when I booked the trip 6 months ago.
> So despite the prospect of going during a cheaper time and SUPER low crowds, I may delay until more "normal"
> 
> With the flexible cancellation policy, I may just wait until a few days before to make the final decision.


how has our 4 year old done at the local spots? around here anyone over 2 must wear a mask at most spots. from what I am hearing sounds like you might cancel and go later in the year


----------



## EEPETEZ

Catvondita said:


> My husband and I were supposed to go May 2020 and of course we cancelled. It was honestly really sad for us because it was supposed to be our first trip together with our daughter who was born back in 2019. We didn't go when I was pregnant so it's been a while for us and we are itching to go back. However we are both taking this pandemic pretty seriously and we are wrestling with going or not. We keep booking and pushing back our trip. We are now booked for May 1-7 of this year but are still mentally preparing to cancel if we aren't comfortable.
> 
> My question is for people who still very concerned about Covid, when will you feel comfortable enough to go, or if you were very concerned but still decided to go what made you decide that you were okay with going? (Sidenote I did ask that first question in someone elses thread but I wanted to expand on it. Sorry for the redundancy). Also, a new question I have is if you went what other precautions or hacks did you take?
> 
> My husband works in a hospital so he will be getting the vaccine sometime this week. My daughter and I will probably not be vaccinated yet. I do think Disney is taking awesome steps to ensure guests safety although I am finding some things I'm not as comfortable with such as raising capacity or seating strangers next to each other on rides instead of doing social distancing. I'm prepared to leave the parks early if I find them too crowded, or to speak up when I see someone who isn't wearing a mask or mask isn't covering their nose. I'm okay with washing my hands all the time and I honestly love wearing masks (weird I know) but I'm sure that may be harder when its hot and humid. So yeah. I'm conflicted. Just wondering everyone else's thought process and what makes them decide it is or isn't worth the risk.
> 
> Thanks for reading my messy thread


We went for 5 days the week of Dec 10th.  We are extremely careful about COVID as my husband is in the hospital as well.  I honestly just wanted to see the Christmas Decorations and I was ok not doing anything else if it felt unsafe-but here is the thing-it didn’t.  I saw 100% mask compliance and procedures were really good.  Now this was right before they increased ride capacity-so I’m not sure how I feel about that, but the way things were when were there were great.  We did do things like only rode rides until about 11am everyday, tried to have our mobile order ready right as restaurants opened (we were normally the first people in), avoided choke points (like tangled bathroom walkway, etc) and found other things to do when the parks were most crowded in the afternoons.  We had an awesome time.  I was shocked at how well procedures were thought out.


----------



## MomOTwins

tlmadden73 said:


> But no M&Gs, not even any princess character meals.


Cinderella does appear at CRT, just fyi.


----------



## stitchfan18

We did HS today, we walked over from the BW and arrived a little before 8:00. The Skyliner must have just started running because we saw people getting off, but the line at security wasn’t too long yet. Didn’t see any resort buses or cars in the parking lot at that time. We went through temp check and security around 8:10 and went straight in the park. We decided to do TSL first instead of MMRR like the majority of others. We arrived at SDD at 8:25 and waited for the ride to start running just after 8:30. We had a maybe 5 minute wait after the ride started running for the day. We were able to do Alien Swirling Saucers & TSMM all before 9:00. We headed to GE at 9:00 to ride Smugglers Run. I believe the posted wait was around 45 minutes, but we waited closer to 30. We are a party of 7, and we split up 4 & 3 with no other groups added to either of our pods. Since MMRR was closed, we headed to Starbucks after Smugglers Run. Line at 10 was 30 minutes long, we started on the last social distance marker on the street for Starbucks. Jumped in line for MMRR after that, posted time was 60 minutes, we waited around 35.
We have done well with mobile ordering this trip, and have been able to order during busy times and get our food fairly quickly. Woody’s lunchbox was the only place at HS that had a super delayed return window. We ordered from backlot express around 11:30 and had our food within 20 minutes.
Our BG for RotR was called while we were eating, so we headed back to GE after lunch. Less than 30 minutes from entering then queue to completion. Waits for everything we’re long at this point, so we went to RnRC & TOT to do child swaps. RnRC was posted as 50, we waited less than 30. TOT was posted 70, we waited at least 90, but one side of elevators went down part way through the line causing the wait time to jump up. Since SDD and MMRR were both down, My parents tried to take the kids to the 4:30 Frozen sing along about 25 minutes before the show began, but the show was already full. I think they also attempted the Disney Jr show, but that was also full. We managed to catch MMRR running again before 5:00 and jumped in line. Posted 55 minutes, actually about 30 again. Headed to TSL while my dad and DH went back for their TOT child swap, Alien Swirling Saucers was posted as 15 minutes, we walked straight on.

Dinner options were less plentiful for mobile ordering, especially for those with food allergies, so we took the friendship boat over to YC/BC for dinner.

Overall, HS turned out to be a great day! After a disappointing MK day Tuesday, we needed a decent park day to make this trip seem worth what we paid. We have another HS day this trip to catch the shows we missed today.


----------



## GBRforWDW

stitchfan18 said:


> We went through temp check and security around 8:10 and went straight in the park. We decided to do TSL first instead of MMRR like the majority of others. .


Sorry, wanted to clarify, were more going to MMRR or TSL?  Heading in the morning and thinking we go TSL first.


----------



## ckb_nc

Orion Nebula said:


> Ya our expectations are already low, luckily we do go often so this won't be our first step into WDW. I am going to note 1 & 2 and keep it in mind. One question, why do you think the parks were so empty at opening? I figured it might be worse due to the shorter hours. Oh and when was your trip?



we went mid December - the 14th to the 18th.Look getting to the front gate as the sun is rising is never easy. Heck we did it 3 out if 5 days and were adults who knew better.


----------



## Orion Nebula

ckb_nc said:


> we went mid December - the 14th to the 18th.Look getting to the front gate as the sun is rising is never easy. Heck we did it 3 out if 5 days and were adults who knew better.



What do you mean by "look getting to the front gate as the sun is rising"?


----------



## NashvilleMama

Orion Nebula said:


> What do you mean by "look getting to the front gate as the sun is rising"?


I think they mean that getting up that early is low on the fun scale.


----------



## stitchfan18

GBRforWDW said:


> Sorry, wanted to clarify, were more going to MMRR or TSL?  Heading in the morning and thinking we go TSL first.


Sorry I didn’t see this last night, but for others who may be wondering, most people seem to head to MMRR, TSL is pretty quiet for the first 10-15 minutes. The posted wait time for SDD was 30 minutes once we go off.


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## stitchfan18

We went to Epcot today, which is also the first day of Festival of the Arts! Crowds were noticeably heavier than our first Epcot day on Monday, but still manageable. We were at IG by 9:45, and the line back there grew much quicker than it did on Monday. They let a group of us through the temp check and security around 10:00, then held us before the ticket scanners until 10:10. We decided to head straight for TT this morning, which ended up being a good choice since FEA was down all day long. We got to the line for TT at 10:22, and the CM at the entrance said the ride wouldn’t be starting until closer to 11:00. The line started to move at 10:29, and we made it on at 10:39. We just wandered without much of a plan the rest of the day, which was nice. Ride times were short In future world, and we rode everything up there by late afternoon. It was breezy and chilly, and with the festival starting today, WS was very busy, so we left after dinner. 

One thing to note about festival merch - I was looking for the figment spirit jersey, but all the shops had long lines to get inside. I happened to stumble upon a festival merchandise booth in the WS, and there was no line, so I was able to easily grab one there. The booth I stopped at had tervis water bottles, a hat, a short sleeve shirt, spirit jersey, coffee mug and a paint palette shaped plate. Maybe not all the merch that other stores might have, but I was only interested in the spirit jersey, so it saved me some time waiting in lines at the stores! We passed a least one more booth like that, so just something to be aware of if lines are long at the stores.

We haven’t really done social distant character interactions out in the park this trip, so when we stumbled upon Anna, it felt very chaotic. I don’t understand why they don’t try to make it slightly more organized with some kind of line over there. Once you get up to the front, you are completing for attention from Anna with the other people on dots at the front as well. For quiet or shy kids, it’s definitely not ideal. We preferred the one character meal at GG we did where our kids had their turn with the characters as they came around.

We decided to switch our last MK day to Epcot this trip since we haven’t had luck with a MK touring plan, and have enjoyed both our Epcot days so much more. We do love MK, so hopefully by next January things will be back to normal.


----------



## GBRforWDW

stitchfan18 said:


> Sorry I didn’t see this last night, but for others who may be wondering, most people seem to head to MMRR, TSL is pretty quiet for the first 10-15 minutes. The posted wait time for SDD was 30 minutes once we go off.


All good, when we arrived this morning, MMRR had no line outside so we went for it and kept walking all the way to the ride with minimal wait.  We then headed to TSL and were able to do all 3 rides there before 10, sdd had more stops, but TSM and AS2 were near walk ons.  We also had boarding group 27 for RotR and were called about the time we were going to head to Galaxies Edge, so that worked out really well for us.  

Enjoy the rest of your trip.


----------



## grannyminnie

Going the last week of January (FINALLY!) and we want to be sure to do MMRR first thing on our HS day.  Can someone who has been lately remind me what time we need to be at the entrance?  We will be driving over from the CR.  (I'm willing to go by bus but the rest of the family wants to drive)


----------



## GBRforWDW

grannyminnie said:


> Going the last week of January (FINALLY!) and we want to be sure to do MMRR first thing on our HS day.  Can someone who has been lately remind me what time we need to be at the entrance?  We will be driving over from the CR.  (I'm willing to go by bus but the rest of the family wants to drive)


Yep, was there yesterday and drove from AoA. We left the parking lot around 745 and it's just a short drive, maybe 5 minutes tops.  We were 4th in line where security held us back from getting to the toll booths.  They let us proceed to toll booth at 755, but we were then held there another 15-20 minutes.  

Once in the parking lot, we realized it doesn't pay to be first because they send you all the way down the first parking row.  You may have saw my post above, but here's what we were able to do in the morning by 11am:



GBRforWDW said:


> All good, when we arrived this morning, MMRR had no line outside so we went for it and kept walking all the way to the ride with minimal wait.  We then headed to TSL and were able to do all 3 rides there before 10, sdd had more stops, but TSM and AS2 were near walk ons.  We also had boarding group 27 for RotR and were called about the time we were going to head to Galaxies Edge, so that worked out really well for us.
> 
> Enjoy the rest of your trip.


This included a couple food snack stops and photopass stop.  After our RotR ride, we went to droid depot to complete our droid builds early, then it was nearly time for lunch so we hung out til out ADR table was ready.  

Good luck on your day!


----------



## armerida

grannyminnie said:


> Going the last week of January (FINALLY!) and we want to be sure to do MMRR first thing on our HS day.  Can someone who has been lately remind me what time we need to be at the entrance?  We will be driving over from the CR.  (I'm willing to go by bus but the rest of the family wants to drive)


Over the holiday week, they were letting us into HS at 8:05 for a 9:00 opening. We walked from the  Swan and arrived by 7:45 to be at the front of the line for temp and security check.  MMRR was our first stop and was running by 8:15. We did this successfully on 3 separate park days. Good luck!


----------



## Flamingeaux

Any word on TTA re-opening today??


----------



## yulilin3

Flamingeaux said:


> Any word on TTA re-opening today??


No the refurb got extended through the end of the month


----------



## ckb_nc

NashvilleMama said:


> I think they mean that getting up that early is low on the fun scale.


 Dragging me, my wife, 3 kids out of bed, through breakfast and to a park by say 7:15 is hard work. 

Seriously, I have done the whole commando style WDW trips (yes, plural) - more recently NO. My long suffering Disney wife had a favorite day last time - the one where the 3 of us hit the parks and she stayed on the beach behind BLT all day.


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## ksw5261

Just got back from a 5 night trip 1/3-1/8 and it was great! Stayed at AoA for the first time and had a really great experience there. Rode the Skyliner to HS and Epcot, bussed to Magic Kingdom (didn't do AK), and always made it into the parks before official opening time (and we had never even attempted rope drop before!) As long as you are okay with wearing a mask, I actually found Disney to be really enjoyable right now. People were usually very good about keeping 6 feet in lines, and relaxation stations were good for taking breaks to eat when wait times got long in the middle of the day. I will say, I think getting into the parks early is what made this trip worth it. Little to no lines, and by the time crowds started coming in, we already did almost everything we wanted to! Perfect time to stop for a snack/lunch. We didn't park hop, but our friends who did said it was well worth it, as dining can be hard to come by at dinner time, so they would hop to wherever they could get a reservation that day! Overall it is a different experience, but what isn't this year.


----------



## Jjlandc

Just returned from a 5-night trip with my 11 year old, 1/3-1/8. I thought I had lowered my expectations, but I guess they weren't low enough. There were a few good things but overall, the magic wasn't there for us.

The Good-

We stayed at Pop. The transportation was plentiful enough, keeping in mind it seemed very light on capacity at the resort and parks. Buses came often and loaded with social distancing in mind. The Skyliner was convenient, although the day we went to Epcot, getting off at Caribbean beach and standing in a huge line of 90% Hollywood studios people was annoying. They could really do something better there. Skyliner back from parks was convenient and fast, but we did not leave at peak times.

Disney Springs-unexpectedly we went here 3 times in 5 days. We didn't find it too crowded at all, again, crowds are lower now than over the holidays. We were able to sit outside at every restaurant we ate at and even if they didn't have reservations available in the app, they seated us right away- we ate at The Boathouse twice and it seemed to have the least availability on the app for reservations. Standing in lines to get in some of the stores deterred us from shopping in many places, but they were doing what they felt necessary.

Ride wait times, for the most part, are over-exaggerated in the app. Some rides, like Star Tours listed 40 mins, it was 10 mins. Most were a third of their advertised times, some half, with the exception of TOT which was actually longer and sits at 70-80 mins at almost all times. 

Covid rule compliance was fairly strong and if you're worried about covid, they are enforcing their rules even if they are doing some things that are inconsistent.

The weather- not controlled by anything, but that was the best part of the week- we're from PA and I could get used to winters like that!

The Bad-

Christmas decorations and music still everywhere and maybe for some, you like that. But I felt it was like someone forgot to take the stuff down- like that song- "I leave my Christmas lights up all year long..." I don't want to hear Hark the Herald Angels Sing two weeks after Christmas- that's just me. I'm fine with it before, but take it down and turn it off already.

Lines so long on rides that they make you wait outside of the traditional park. This completely ruins the Disney experience IMO because those aren't the things you are supposed to see- the scaffold holding up the makings of GE at HS. We waited outside normally closed gates in line for the MFSE and snaked through an area full of trailers and backs of buildings not intended to be seen. They attempted to hide some of it with shrubs- fail. This was the case for many rides at HS. Also lines so long you were in different lands- like you're all the way in Frontierland waiting in a line for POTC or all the way outside of the park though normally closed barriers near where the old entrance to TSM was in line for TSM. Just finding the end of some lines was ridiculous.

Some rides rode every seat, others spaced them ridiculously far apart only adding to the wait times which would probably have been nearly nothing in many cases. It makes no logical sense why you only fill the first and last row of POTC but fill every row in other rides like RNR. Filling rows 1-3-5 of POC would still be distanced sufficiently.

Loss of in-line experiences was a real bummer for me. That is the magic of many rides. Everything from personalizing your experience (like in TT) to telling the story or setting up the experience that goes along with the ride (like in TOT) was removed or diminished. I felt like I was waiting in line at your typical amusement park except that those are often 'rides of thrill'- that is what you're waiting for- not so at Disney- your wait is often part of the ride experience.

So many things are closed- I'm not talking rides or shows (thankful for the bird show at AK still!)- lack of shows was a real loss for us but we knew that going in- I'm talking shuddered food places from restaurants to food stands and carts. Epcot looked like it was only half open and while you can use the app to order ahead- that is only at a few places per park. The order-ahead worked fine for us but the limited choices and long lines for simple things because so much else was closed was both frustrating and ridiculous if the plan is not to have people crowded together.

Epcot was a waste IMO. The construction and walls erected not only ruins the whole look and feel, but they're also a pain to walk around. I felt Disney did a better job of concealing the pain of expansion in the past, maybe it's just harder to do when it's right in the middle of everything. The lack of almost anything happening in each of the countries made it pointless, I guess the Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Arts this week could help, but it was a major disappointment.

We finished each park by midday every day- hence the reason we made it to Disney Springs so many times. There was just nothing left to do, nothing interesting to check out as so many things that you would normally do- shows, character M&Gs or parades- weren't happening and there was nothing to wait around for at the end- like fireworks or laser shows- maybe we missed something because we left. We saw the same mini parades (HS, MK) or characters on boats (AK) over and over and over-it was boring. AK dino area was a ghost town. Over half of the games shuddered and of course no boneyard or play area open, primeval whirl shut down for good, it was just sad looking. 

In the end, we were glad we got 5 days of good weather but couldn't wait to leave to rid ourselves of constant masking and line markers and sights of closed and shut down places- a mirror of the current state of the outside world we were hoping we could escape for a little bit in small ways with the magic of Disney that just wasn't there for us this time.


----------



## disneyseniors

ksw5261 said:


> Just got back from a 5 night trip 1/3-1/8 and it was great! Stayed at AoA for the first time and had a really great experience there. Rode the Skyliner to HS and Epcot, bussed to Magic Kingdom (didn't do AK), and always made it into the parks before official opening time (and we had never even attempted rope drop before!) As long as you are okay with wearing a mask, I actually found Disney to be really enjoyable right now. People were usually very good about keeping 6 feet in lines, and relaxation stations were good for taking breaks to eat when wait times got long in the middle of the day. I will say, I think getting into the parks early is what made this trip worth it. Little to no lines, and by the time crowds started coming in, we already did almost everything we wanted to! Perfect time to stop for a snack/lunch. We didn't park hop, but our friends who did said it was well worth it, as dining can be hard to come by at dinner time, so they would hop to wherever they could get a reservation that day! Overall it is a different experience, but what isn't this year.



Thank you for that report.   I am on the fence about going to disney at this time, but we Really need to get away!
We are show people and love to enjoy those while at disney.  We do the rides too, but wonder if missing the shows would be a deal breaker?


----------



## Amy M

Jjlandc said:


> Just returned from a 5-night trip with my 11 year old, 1/3-1/8. I thought I had lowered my expectations, but I guess they weren't low enough. There were a few good things but overall, the magic wasn't there for us.
> 
> The Good-
> 
> We stayed at Pop. The transportation was plentiful enough, keeping in mind it seemed very light on capacity at the resort and parks. Buses came often and loaded with social distancing in mind. The Skyliner was convenient, although the day we went to Epcot, getting off at Caribbean beach and standing in a huge line of 90% Hollywood studios people was annoying. They could really do something better there. Skyliner back from parks was convenient and fast, but we did not leave at peak times.
> 
> Disney Springs-unexpectedly we went here 3 times in 5 days. We didn't find it too crowded at all, again, crowds are lower now than over the holidays. We were able to sit outside at every restaurant we ate at and even if they didn't have reservations available in the app, they seated us right away- we ate at The Boathouse twice and it seemed to have the least availability on the app for reservations. Standing in lines to get in some of the stores deterred us from shopping in many places, but they were doing what they felt necessary.
> 
> Ride wait times, for the most part, are over-exaggerated in the app. Some rides, like Star Tours listed 40 mins, it was 10 mins. Most were a third of their advertised times, some half, with the exception of TOT which was actually longer and sits at 70-80 mins at almost all times.
> 
> Covid rule compliance was fairly strong and if you're worried about covid, they are enforcing their rules even if they are doing some things that are inconsistent.
> 
> The weather- not controlled by anything, but that was the best part of the week- we're from PA and I could get used to winters like that!
> 
> The Bad-
> 
> Christmas decorations and music still everywhere and maybe for some, you like that. But I felt it was like someone forgot to take the stuff down- like that song- "I leave my Christmas lights up all year long..." I don't want to hear Hark the Herald Angels Sing two weeks after Christmas- that's just me. I'm fine with it before, but take it down and turn it off already.
> 
> Lines so long on rides that they make you wait outside of the traditional park. This completely ruins the Disney experience IMO because those aren't the things you are supposed to see- the scaffold holding up the makings of GE at HS. We waited outside normally closed gates in line for the MFSE and snaked through an area full of trailers and backs of buildings not intended to be seen. They attempted to hide some of it with shrubs- fail. This was the case for many rides at HS. Also lines so long you were in different lands- like you're all the way in Frontierland waiting in a line for POTC or all the way outside of the park though normally closed barriers near where the old entrance to TSM was in line for TSM. Just finding the end of some lines was ridiculous.
> 
> Some rides rode every seat, others spaced them ridiculously far apart only adding to the wait times which would probably have been nearly nothing in many cases. It makes no logical sense why you only fill the first and last row of POTC but fill every row in other rides like RNR. Filling rows 1-3-5 of POC would still be distanced sufficiently.
> 
> Loss of in-line experiences was a real bummer for me. That is the magic of many rides. Everything from personalizing your experience (like in TT) to telling the story or setting up the experience that goes along with the ride (like in TOT) was removed or diminished. I felt like I was waiting in line at your typical amusement park except that those are often 'rides of thrill'- that is what you're waiting for- not so at Disney- your wait is often part of the ride experience.
> 
> So many things are closed- I'm not talking rides or shows (thankful for the bird show at AK still!)- lack of shows was a real loss for us but we knew that going in- I'm talking shuddered food places from restaurants to food stands and carts. Epcot looked like it was only half open and while you can use the app to order ahead- that is only at a few places per park. The order-ahead worked fine for us but the limited choices and long lines for simple things because so much else was closed was both frustrating and ridiculous if the plan is not to have people crowded together.
> 
> Epcot was a waste IMO. The construction and walls erected not only ruins the whole look and feel, but they're also a pain to walk around. I felt Disney did a better job of concealing the pain of expansion in the past, maybe it's just harder to do when it's right in the middle of everything. The lack of almost anything happening in each of the countries made it pointless, I guess the Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Arts this week could help, but it was a major disappointment.
> 
> We finished each park by midday every day- hence the reason we made it to Disney Springs so many times. There was just nothing left to do, nothing interesting to check out as so many things that you would normally do- shows, character M&Gs or parades- weren't happening and there was nothing to wait around for at the end- like fireworks or laser shows- maybe we missed something because we left. We saw the same mini parades (HS, MK) or characters on boats (AK) over and over and over-it was boring. AK dino area was a ghost town. Over half of the games shuddered and of course no boneyard or play area open, primeval whirl shut down for good, it was just sad looking.
> 
> In the end, we were glad we got 5 days of good weather but couldn't wait to leave to rid ourselves of constant masking and line markers and sights of closed and shut down places- a mirror of the current state of the outside world we were hoping we could escape for a little bit in small ways with the magic of Disney that just wasn't there for us this time.


Thank you for sharing your experience.  We have been to Disney annually since 2014.  We didn’t go in 2020.  I have a trip booked for July (moved from July 2020), but we are really on the fence.  I really don’t want to be in a mask my entire vacation and experience all of the “bad” from your post, but I really want to get back to my happy place so badly.  I wish I had a crystal ball and could see what WDW will be like in the summer.  I am currently researching beach vacations as a backup, but it just doesn’t excite me.  Ugh!  This situation doesn’t work well with my type A planning personally!


----------



## tinkerhon

Jjlandc said:


> Just returned from a 5-night trip with my 11 year old, 1/3-1/8. I thought I had lowered my expectations, but I guess they weren't low enough. There were a few good things but overall, the magic wasn't there for us.
> 
> The Good-
> 
> We stayed at Pop. The transportation was plentiful enough, keeping in mind it seemed very light on capacity at the resort and parks. Buses came often and loaded with social distancing in mind. The Skyliner was convenient, although the day we went to Epcot, getting off at Caribbean beach and standing in a huge line of 90% Hollywood studios people was annoying. They could really do something better there. Skyliner back from parks was convenient and fast, but we did not leave at peak times.
> 
> Disney Springs-unexpectedly we went here 3 times in 5 days. We didn't find it too crowded at all, again, crowds are lower now than over the holidays. We were able to sit outside at every restaurant we ate at and even if they didn't have reservations available in the app, they seated us right away- we ate at The Boathouse twice and it seemed to have the least availability on the app for reservations. Standing in lines to get in some of the stores deterred us from shopping in many places, but they were doing what they felt necessary.
> 
> Ride wait times, for the most part, are over-exaggerated in the app. Some rides, like Star Tours listed 40 mins, it was 10 mins. Most were a third of their advertised times, some half, with the exception of TOT which was actually longer and sits at 70-80 mins at almost all times.
> 
> Covid rule compliance was fairly strong and if you're worried about covid, they are enforcing their rules even if they are doing some things that are inconsistent.
> 
> The weather- not controlled by anything, but that was the best part of the week- we're from PA and I could get used to winters like that!
> 
> The Bad-
> 
> Christmas decorations and music still everywhere and maybe for some, you like that. But I felt it was like someone forgot to take the stuff down- like that song- "I leave my Christmas lights up all year long..." I don't want to hear Hark the Herald Angels Sing two weeks after Christmas- that's just me. I'm fine with it before, but take it down and turn it off already.
> 
> Lines so long on rides that they make you wait outside of the traditional park. This completely ruins the Disney experience IMO because those aren't the things you are supposed to see- the scaffold holding up the makings of GE at HS. We waited outside normally closed gates in line for the MFSE and snaked through an area full of trailers and backs of buildings not intended to be seen. They attempted to hide some of it with shrubs- fail. This was the case for many rides at HS. Also lines so long you were in different lands- like you're all the way in Frontierland waiting in a line for POTC or all the way outside of the park though normally closed barriers near where the old entrance to TSM was in line for TSM. Just finding the end of some lines was ridiculous.
> 
> Some rides rode every seat, others spaced them ridiculously far apart only adding to the wait times which would probably have been nearly nothing in many cases. It makes no logical sense why you only fill the first and last row of POTC but fill every row in other rides like RNR. Filling rows 1-3-5 of POC would still be distanced sufficiently.
> 
> Loss of in-line experiences was a real bummer for me. That is the magic of many rides. Everything from personalizing your experience (like in TT) to telling the story or setting up the experience that goes along with the ride (like in TOT) was removed or diminished. I felt like I was waiting in line at your typical amusement park except that those are often 'rides of thrill'- that is what you're waiting for- not so at Disney- your wait is often part of the ride experience.
> 
> So many things are closed- I'm not talking rides or shows (thankful for the bird show at AK still!)- lack of shows was a real loss for us but we knew that going in- I'm talking shuddered food places from restaurants to food stands and carts. Epcot looked like it was only half open and while you can use the app to order ahead- that is only at a few places per park. The order-ahead worked fine for us but the limited choices and long lines for simple things because so much else was closed was both frustrating and ridiculous if the plan is not to have people crowded together.
> 
> Epcot was a waste IMO. The construction and walls erected not only ruins the whole look and feel, but they're also a pain to walk around. I felt Disney did a better job of concealing the pain of expansion in the past, maybe it's just harder to do when it's right in the middle of everything. The lack of almost anything happening in each of the countries made it pointless, I guess the Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Arts this week could help, but it was a major disappointment.
> 
> We finished each park by midday every day- hence the reason we made it to Disney Springs so many times. There was just nothing left to do, nothing interesting to check out as so many things that you would normally do- shows, character M&Gs or parades- weren't happening and there was nothing to wait around for at the end- like fireworks or laser shows- maybe we missed something because we left. We saw the same mini parades (HS, MK) or characters on boats (AK) over and over and over-it was boring. AK dino area was a ghost town. Over half of the games shuddered and of course no boneyard or play area open, primeval whirl shut down for good, it was just sad looking.
> 
> In the end, we were glad we got 5 days of good weather but couldn't wait to leave to rid ourselves of constant masking and line markers and sights of closed and shut down places- a mirror of the current state of the outside world we were hoping we could escape for a little bit in small ways with the magic of Disney that just wasn't there for us this time.



Thanks so much for sharing !! This is why we cancelled our July 20 trip, and will probably wait to see what 2022 has in store


----------



## WEDWDW

Jjlandc said:


> Just returned from a 5-night trip with my 11 year old, 1/3-1/8. I thought I had lowered my expectations, but I guess they weren't low enough. There were a few good things but overall, the magic wasn't there for us.
> 
> The Good-
> 
> We stayed at Pop. The transportation was plentiful enough, keeping in mind it seemed very light on capacity at the resort and parks. Buses came often and loaded with social distancing in mind. The Skyliner was convenient, although the day we went to Epcot, getting off at Caribbean beach and standing in a huge line of 90% Hollywood studios people was annoying. They could really do something better there. Skyliner back from parks was convenient and fast, but we did not leave at peak times.
> 
> Disney Springs-unexpectedly we went here 3 times in 5 days. We didn't find it too crowded at all, again, crowds are lower now than over the holidays. We were able to sit outside at every restaurant we ate at and even if they didn't have reservations available in the app, they seated us right away- we ate at The Boathouse twice and it seemed to have the least availability on the app for reservations. Standing in lines to get in some of the stores deterred us from shopping in many places, but they were doing what they felt necessary.
> 
> Ride wait times, for the most part, are over-exaggerated in the app. Some rides, like Star Tours listed 40 mins, it was 10 mins. Most were a third of their advertised times, some half, with the exception of TOT which was actually longer and sits at 70-80 mins at almost all times.
> 
> Covid rule compliance was fairly strong and if you're worried about covid, they are enforcing their rules even if they are doing some things that are inconsistent.
> 
> The weather- not controlled by anything, but that was the best part of the week- we're from PA and I could get used to winters like that!
> 
> The Bad-
> 
> Christmas decorations and music still everywhere and maybe for some, you like that. But I felt it was like someone forgot to take the stuff down- like that song- "I leave my Christmas lights up all year long..." I don't want to hear Hark the Herald Angels Sing two weeks after Christmas- that's just me. I'm fine with it before, but take it down and turn it off already.
> 
> Lines so long on rides that they make you wait outside of the traditional park. This completely ruins the Disney experience IMO because those aren't the things you are supposed to see- the scaffold holding up the makings of GE at HS. We waited outside normally closed gates in line for the MFSE and snaked through an area full of trailers and backs of buildings not intended to be seen. They attempted to hide some of it with shrubs- fail. This was the case for many rides at HS. Also lines so long you were in different lands- like you're all the way in Frontierland waiting in a line for POTC or all the way outside of the park though normally closed barriers near where the old entrance to TSM was in line for TSM. Just finding the end of some lines was ridiculous.
> 
> Some rides rode every seat, others spaced them ridiculously far apart only adding to the wait times which would probably have been nearly nothing in many cases. It makes no logical sense why you only fill the first and last row of POTC but fill every row in other rides like RNR. Filling rows 1-3-5 of POC would still be distanced sufficiently.
> 
> Loss of in-line experiences was a real bummer for me. That is the magic of many rides. Everything from personalizing your experience (like in TT) to telling the story or setting up the experience that goes along with the ride (like in TOT) was removed or diminished. I felt like I was waiting in line at your typical amusement park except that those are often 'rides of thrill'- that is what you're waiting for- not so at Disney- your wait is often part of the ride experience.
> 
> So many things are closed- I'm not talking rides or shows (thankful for the bird show at AK still!)- lack of shows was a real loss for us but we knew that going in- I'm talking shuddered food places from restaurants to food stands and carts. Epcot looked like it was only half open and while you can use the app to order ahead- that is only at a few places per park. The order-ahead worked fine for us but the limited choices and long lines for simple things because so much else was closed was both frustrating and ridiculous if the plan is not to have people crowded together.
> 
> Epcot was a waste IMO. The construction and walls erected not only ruins the whole look and feel, but they're also a pain to walk around. I felt Disney did a better job of concealing the pain of expansion in the past, maybe it's just harder to do when it's right in the middle of everything. The lack of almost anything happening in each of the countries made it pointless, I guess the Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Arts this week could help, but it was a major disappointment.
> 
> We finished each park by midday every day- hence the reason we made it to Disney Springs so many times. There was just nothing left to do, nothing interesting to check out as so many things that you would normally do- shows, character M&Gs or parades- weren't happening and there was nothing to wait around for at the end- like fireworks or laser shows- maybe we missed something because we left. We saw the same mini parades (HS, MK) or characters on boats (AK) over and over and over-it was boring. AK dino area was a ghost town. Over half of the games shuddered and of course no boneyard or play area open, primeval whirl shut down for good, it was just sad looking.
> 
> In the end, we were glad we got 5 days of good weather but couldn't wait to leave to rid ourselves of constant masking and line markers and sights of closed and shut down places- a mirror of the current state of the outside world we were hoping we could escape for a little bit in small ways with the magic of Disney that just wasn't there for us this time.


We went in September and had a BLAST and are going again next week BUT we tell everyone that Covid WDW is ONLY for the HARDEST of the HARDCORE WDW Fans who need their "WDW Fix" and DEFINITELY not for First-timers.


----------



## TravelandLeisure

Jjlandc said:


> Just returned from a 5-night trip with my 11 year old, 1/3-1/8. I thought I had lowered my expectations, but I guess they weren't low enough. There were a few good things but overall, the magic wasn't there for us.
> 
> The Good-
> 
> We stayed at Pop. The transportation was plentiful enough, keeping in mind it seemed very light on capacity at the resort and parks. Buses came often and loaded with social distancing in mind. The Skyliner was convenient, although the day we went to Epcot, getting off at Caribbean beach and standing in a huge line of 90% Hollywood studios people was annoying. They could really do something better there. Skyliner back from parks was convenient and fast, but we did not leave at peak times.
> 
> Disney Springs-unexpectedly we went here 3 times in 5 days. We didn't find it too crowded at all, again, crowds are lower now than over the holidays. We were able to sit outside at every restaurant we ate at and even if they didn't have reservations available in the app, they seated us right away- we ate at The Boathouse twice and it seemed to have the least availability on the app for reservations. Standing in lines to get in some of the stores deterred us from shopping in many places, but they were doing what they felt necessary.
> 
> Ride wait times, for the most part, are over-exaggerated in the app. Some rides, like Star Tours listed 40 mins, it was 10 mins. Most were a third of their advertised times, some half, with the exception of TOT which was actually longer and sits at 70-80 mins at almost all times.
> 
> Covid rule compliance was fairly strong and if you're worried about covid, they are enforcing their rules even if they are doing some things that are inconsistent.
> 
> The weather- not controlled by anything, but that was the best part of the week- we're from PA and I could get used to winters like that!
> 
> The Bad-
> 
> Christmas decorations and music still everywhere and maybe for some, you like that. But I felt it was like someone forgot to take the stuff down- like that song- "I leave my Christmas lights up all year long..." I don't want to hear Hark the Herald Angels Sing two weeks after Christmas- that's just me. I'm fine with it before, but take it down and turn it off already.
> 
> Lines so long on rides that they make you wait outside of the traditional park. This completely ruins the Disney experience IMO because those aren't the things you are supposed to see- the scaffold holding up the makings of GE at HS. We waited outside normally closed gates in line for the MFSE and snaked through an area full of trailers and backs of buildings not intended to be seen. They attempted to hide some of it with shrubs- fail. This was the case for many rides at HS. Also lines so long you were in different lands- like you're all the way in Frontierland waiting in a line for POTC or all the way outside of the park though normally closed barriers near where the old entrance to TSM was in line for TSM. Just finding the end of some lines was ridiculous.
> 
> Some rides rode every seat, others spaced them ridiculously far apart only adding to the wait times which would probably have been nearly nothing in many cases. It makes no logical sense why you only fill the first and last row of POTC but fill every row in other rides like RNR. Filling rows 1-3-5 of POC would still be distanced sufficiently.
> 
> Loss of in-line experiences was a real bummer for me. That is the magic of many rides. Everything from personalizing your experience (like in TT) to telling the story or setting up the experience that goes along with the ride (like in TOT) was removed or diminished. I felt like I was waiting in line at your typical amusement park except that those are often 'rides of thrill'- that is what you're waiting for- not so at Disney- your wait is often part of the ride experience.
> 
> So many things are closed- I'm not talking rides or shows (thankful for the bird show at AK still!)- lack of shows was a real loss for us but we knew that going in- I'm talking shuddered food places from restaurants to food stands and carts. Epcot looked like it was only half open and while you can use the app to order ahead- that is only at a few places per park. The order-ahead worked fine for us but the limited choices and long lines for simple things because so much else was closed was both frustrating and ridiculous if the plan is not to have people crowded together.
> 
> Epcot was a waste IMO. The construction and walls erected not only ruins the whole look and feel, but they're also a pain to walk around. I felt Disney did a better job of concealing the pain of expansion in the past, maybe it's just harder to do when it's right in the middle of everything. The lack of almost anything happening in each of the countries made it pointless, I guess the Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Arts this week could help, but it was a major disappointment.
> 
> We finished each park by midday every day- hence the reason we made it to Disney Springs so many times. There was just nothing left to do, nothing interesting to check out as so many things that you would normally do- shows, character M&Gs or parades- weren't happening and there was nothing to wait around for at the end- like fireworks or laser shows- maybe we missed something because we left. We saw the same mini parades (HS, MK) or characters on boats (AK) over and over and over-it was boring. AK dino area was a ghost town. Over half of the games shuddered and of course no boneyard or play area open, primeval whirl shut down for good, it was just sad looking.
> 
> In the end, we were glad we got 5 days of good weather but couldn't wait to leave to rid ourselves of constant masking and line markers and sights of closed and shut down places- a mirror of the current state of the outside world we were hoping we could escape for a little bit in small ways with the magic of Disney that just wasn't there for us this time.



Thanks for sharing your experience. This is exactly why we are choosing to wait until 2022 at the earliest. I am just not comfortable paying full price (which is NOT cheap, by any means) for such a watered down park experience. We are instead doing Discovery Cove, Sea World, Busch, and Aquatica this summer for a fraction of what we normally pay for Disney.


----------



## TravelandLeisure

WEDWDW said:


> We went in September and had a BLAST and are going again next week BUT we tell everyone that Covid WDW is ONLY for the HARDEST of the HARDCORE WDW Fans who need their "WDW Fix" and DEFINITELY not for First-timers.



I’m definitely not a first timer and do consider myself a huge WDW fan, however I have my limits on what I feel is an acceptable value and experience for the price charged. Sadly, it’s just nowhere near worth it to me at this time.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Jjlandc said:


> Epcot looked like it was only half open and while you can use the app to order ahead- that is only at a few places per park. The order-ahead worked fine for us but the limited choices and long lines for simple things because so much else was closed was both frustrating and ridiculous if the plan is not to have people crowded together.



I agree about Epcot. So many closed shops, dining, and experiences. We were WDW first timers (DL vets tho) in November and even though I had nothing to compare it to the park felt incomplete.  

However, my son LOVED Epcot and barely noticed it. Eyes through the mind of a kid and all that. He said it was one of his favorite days. 

I really hope they do open up more dining and shops soon in general. They’re slowly increasing capacity so let’s get some other things open too then.


----------



## ksw5261

disneyseniors said:


> Thank you for that report.   I am on the fence about going to disney at this time, but we Really need to get away!
> We are show people and love to enjoy those while at disney.  We do the rides too, but wonder if missing the shows would be a deal breaker?


I'm not a big show person, so I didn't miss these much. However, we did see parades/cavalcades very frequently and it was nice to see when walking through the park! I'm not sure if these have a schedule where you could plan to see them, but they were especially frequent at Magic Kingdom. Best of luck with your planning!


----------



## disneygirlsng

WEDWDW said:


> We went in September and had a BLAST and are going again next week BUT we tell everyone that Covid WDW is ONLY for the HARDEST of the HARDCORE WDW Fans who need their "WDW Fix" and DEFINITELY not for First-timers.


I also feel like it depends on how you normally do the parks. My trip in August was about 95% a completely normal trip for me. So it was absolutely worth it. I would easily go again now if I could take the time off work.


----------



## Amy M

TravelandLeisure said:


> I’m definitely not a first timer and do consider myself a huge WDW fan, however I have my limits on what I feel is an acceptable value and experience for the price charged. Sadly, it’s just nowhere near worth it to me at this time.


I agree 100%!!!


----------



## stitchfan18

We had a great day at HS today! I’m assuming a lot of local pass holders book HS on the weekends and take their time showing up, or only actually come if they can snag a RoTR BG. We accomplished a lot more in the first couple hours than we did on Thursday. We walked over from the BW right before 8, and were sent over to the left set of temp check tents. You really want to be at the left set of tents because they have at least 3 security scanners once you pass through, and the right set of temp check tents, closest to Disney transportation, only has 1 if I remember correctly from Thursday. We were through our temp screening and security check much faster today because we didn’t get held up going through security. We were through the entrance by 8:10, and headed straight to TSL. SDD was already running, so we managed 4 rides in about 20 minutes. We are a family of 5, and our kids are 6,5 & 3, so I wasn’t sure how SDD would work out for us with 3 kids under 7. Our 6 year old rode by herself right in front of me each time without any problems. No one asked her about her age, and she’s pretty average size.
We rode the other 2 TSL rides once before heading to MMRR right after 9:00. We waited about 30 minutes. We rode MMRR 2 more times around 5:00, and waited about 20-25 minutes those times. 
We did all the shows today, and had no problems getting seats, we arrived 15-20 minutes before each show.

HS and Epcot feel the most normal for us and our typical touring style, but being there early is so important without FP right now. We wouldn’t have been able to do everything we did today if we had to wait in longer lines in TSL.

We are still planning 2 more days at Epcot, but from the time we’ve spent in the parks, I’d definitely consider another trip soon just to go to Epcot and HS. I doubt we’ll be back to MK without FP, and AK needs more to open before we’d go back without park hoppers.

We definitely still feel the magic, but our younger kids have needed an escape and are just soaking up all the Disney magic they can. Seeing the happiness on their faces makes this trip worthwhile for us, even with all the current changes.


----------



## ajc1991

Do the temperature check lines take long?


----------



## ksw5261

ajc1991 said:


> Do the temperature check lines take long?


I went everyday and arrived just before official park opening and they didn't take long at all! I'm not sure how this varies during different parts of the day.


----------



## Leight19

butterscotchcollins said:


> Question: with hopping back, what is Epcot like at night? Are people heading over in the PM hours after other parks close/to eat dinner? Is it crowded, or doable/pleasant?


I saw this question and was interested in answer (I go to Wdw for 14days with 10 day park hopper tomorrow) but didn’t see response. What I can say is I have been stalking wait times on app at Epcot and even with ph it appears to have similar if not shorter ride waits in evening vs morning. This is limited info so far and I don’t see whose in line for booths but thought I’d share. I’ll update next week after I experience first hand.


----------



## GBRforWDW

stitchfan18 said:


> We had a great day at HS today! I’m assuming a lot of local pass holders book HS on the weekends and take their time showing up, or only actually come if they can snag a RoTR BG. We accomplished a lot more in the first couple hours than we did on Thursday. We walked over from the BW right before 8, and were sent over to the left set of temp check tents. You really want to be at the left set of tents because they have at least 3 security scanners once you pass through, and the right set of temp check tents, closest to Disney transportation, only has 1 if I remember correctly from Thursday. We were through our temp screening and security check much faster today because we didn’t get held up going through security. We were through the entrance by 8:10, and headed straight to TSL. SDD was already running, so we managed 4 rides in about 20 minutes. We are a family of 5, and our kids are 6,5 & 3, so I wasn’t sure how SDD would work out for us with 3 kids under 7. Our 6 year old rode by herself right in front of me each time without any problems. No one asked her about her age, and she’s pretty average size.
> We rode the other 2 TSL rides once before heading to MMRR right after 9:00. We waited about 30 minutes. We rode MMRR 2 more times around 5:00, and waited about 20-25 minutes those times.
> We did all the shows today, and had no problems getting seats, we arrived 15-20 minutes before each show.
> 
> HS and Epcot feel the most normal for us and our typical touring style, but being there early is so important without FP right now. We wouldn’t have been able to do everything we did today if we had to wait in longer lines in TSL.
> 
> We are still planning 2 more days at Epcot, but from the time we’ve spent in the parks, I’d definitely consider another trip soon just to go to Epcot and HS. I doubt we’ll be back to MK without FP, and AK needs more to open before we’d go back without park hoppers.
> 
> We definitely still feel the magic, but our younger kids have needed an escape and are just soaking up all the Disney magic they can. Seeing the happiness on their faces makes this trip worthwhile for us, even with all the current changes.


Sounds like a great day!  

My 6yo freaked out on slinky yesterday.  She had wanted to ride it for 2+ years, our last trip when she was 4, she wasn’t quite tall enough and the ride line was too long to try to see if she squeezed in the limit, so was a total bummer when she hated it. Glad your kids did great!


----------



## ksw5261

Leight19 said:


> I saw this question and was interested in answer (I go to Wdw for 14days with 10 day park hopper tomorrow) but didn’t see response. What I can say is I have been stalking wait times on app at Epcot and even with ph it appears to have similar if not shorter ride waits in evening vs morning. This is limited info so far and I don’t see whose in line for booths but thought I’d share. I’ll update next week after I experience first hand.


From my experience this past week, Epcot at night was pretty empty. It seemed that people were more likely to show up earlier in the day, check all their boxes, then park hop to another park! We pretty much walked on to Soarin at 8, and the posted wait for TT around 8 was half of what it was all morning!


----------



## GBRforWDW

Leight19 said:


> I saw this question and was interested in answer (I go to Wdw for 14days with 10 day park hopper tomorrow) but didn’t see response. What I can say is I have been stalking wait times on app at Epcot and even with ph it appears to have similar if not shorter ride waits in evening vs morning. This is limited info so far and I don’t see whose in line for booths but thought I’d share. I’ll update next week after I experience first hand.


Was at Epcot tonight, Saturday, and while there were what seemed like a bunch of people, it didn’t feel crowded.  Temp was down to 50 before we left the park, so cool weather may have kept some away.  Ride wait times were between 5-15 minutes for everything but soarin, test track and mission space.  We didn’t plan to ride those so I didn’t keep close track on those waits, but saw 45-70 minutes during the day.  Frozen was a 10-20 minutes most of the morning then 30 or more after that the rest of the day. 

I honestly didn’t see long waits for most festival lines.  I didn’t get in too many, but the ones I saw were about 20-30 people or groups deep.


----------



## Beachmom0317

LeeLee'sMom said:


> Having just gone over Thanksgiving week, I do think your plan to reschedule is probably best.  Nothing to do with lack of "precautions and safety measures" more to do with lack of things a 4 y.o. would love.  We definitely enjoyed our vacation but it just felt *"different".  *It was definitely needed "mentally" and was wonderful to see all of the holiday decorations but for "me" a lot of the Disney vibe was  missing, some of it due to lack of characters, parades, fireworks, food etc but some of it was due to constantly trying to make sure we are being safe and not forgetting to mask up when getting up a from a table to go the restroom (found I did this multiple times..ugh), sanitizing etc.  If you don't mind waiting to go, I think the experience will be much better a bit later on in 2021 for a 4 y.o.  Good luck in whichever you decide to do, I know it's a tough decision..


This was completely my experience back in November with my 4 and 6 year old. We’re not planning on coming back until spring 2022 the earliest. My littles love meet and greets, parades and fireworks so we really missed those. I have to say I was very impressed by Disney’s safety measures and didn’t feel unsafe at all.


----------



## stitchfan18

butterscotchcollins said:


> Question: with hopping back, what is Epcot like at night? Are people heading over in the PM hours after other parks close/to eat dinner? Is it crowded, or doable/pleasant?


On Friday with Festival of the Arts, the WS area was busy, but FW was very quiet.


----------



## Maribeth71

Is Magic Kingdom continuing castle projections after the holidays?


----------



## yulilin3

Maribeth71 said:


> Is Magic Kingdom continuing castle projections after the holidays?


no


----------



## EEPETEZ

WEDWDW said:


> We went in September and had a BLAST and are going again next week BUT we tell everyone that Covid WDW is ONLY for the HARDEST of the HARDCORE WDW Fans who need their "WDW Fix" and DEFINITELY not for First-timers.


I would completely 2nd this.  We adore Disney and have been many many times-so our trip in December was great.  I would not go if this was my 1st time, once in a lifetime or even the once every few years big trip.


----------



## armerida

WEDWDW said:


> We went in September and had a BLAST and are going again next week BUT we tell everyone that Covid WDW is ONLY for the HARDEST of the HARDCORE WDW Fans who need their "WDW Fix" and DEFINITELY not for First-timers.


Our family (bro and sis in law and 4 kiddos) joined us for their first ever trip in August and it was amazing! They had such a great time despite the limited offerings. I think the low wait times/empty parks played a huge role in the experience. I’m so glad they rescheduled that trip (it was originally going to be this February but they moved it up), since the parks are so much busier now. My husband and I still had a magical Christmas trip, but it’s definitely not a ghost town anymore like the summer.


----------



## KrazeeK120

GBRforWDW said:


> Sounds like a great day!
> 
> My 6yo freaked out on slinky yesterday.  She had wanted to ride it for 2+ years, our last trip when she was 4, she wasn’t quite tall enough and the ride line was too long to try to see if she squeezed in the limit, so was a total bummer when she hated it. Glad your kids did great!



Awww!!! It is a bummer when kids don’t like a ride that they’re so excited to try. My son was just shy of 3 when he rode SDD the first time. I honestly didn’t think he would like it, but I figure I’ll always let him try any ride. He hated it, of course. (And we repeated this procedure on 7DMT the next day.) He’s 5 now and still mentions not liking those rides. We are planning to return in 2022. He’ll be 6.5, so I hope I can convince him to give them another shot!

I hope the rest of your trip goes well!!


----------



## scrappinginontario

The same happened with my DD when she was 4 1/2.  She was old enough to ride Expedition Everest.  She’d looked forward to it but then hated it.  Talked to her later and found out she thought she was going fall out!  One we talked and I explained it was impossible she was good to try it again and loved it the following trip.


----------



## LuvDaisy&Minnie

Going end of the month and want to make sure I'm up to date on HS rope drop. We will be at Caribbean Beach. A while back, I was seeing that Uber to Speedway and walking was the best, but now I don't see much mention of that. Is the skyliner now a reliable way to get to HS rope drop? Park opens at 9am on our trip. I was also considering going to go to Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast and walking, but I am a little concerned about the timing. I feel like I need to be at the resort and not in transit at 7am to try for boarding group, and I'm not sure that leaving at 7:15ish is early enough to go to Boardwalk Bakery, grab food, and walk to HS. We need to be there a little before 8 to be one of the first, right? Or is that not necessary? So, currently what's the best option for a 9am opening from Caribbean Beach?


----------



## Jjlandc

LuvDaisy&Minnie said:


> Going end of the month and want to make sure I'm up to date on HS rope drop. We will be at Caribbean Beach. A while back, I was seeing that Uber to Speedway and walking was the best, but now I don't see much mention of that. Is the skyliner now a reliable way to get to HS rope drop? Park opens at 9am on our trip. I was also considering going to go to Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast and walking, but I am a little concerned about the timing. I feel like I need to be at the resort and not in transit at 7am to try for boarding group, and I'm not sure that leaving at 7:15ish is early enough to go to Boardwalk Bakery, grab food, and walk to HS. We need to be there a little before 8 to be one of the first, right? Or is that not necessary? So, currently what's the best option for a 9am opening from Caribbean Beach?



Not sure about being the first. We were there plenty early enough and there was very light crowd traffic at that hour. We went last week. We stayed at Pop and used the bus from AoA as the Skyliner was backed up at Caribbean Beach another morning we went there early so we figured the bus would be better. We got in line for the bus at around 7:40 and were on the bus from AOA just after 8 am. We were walking into the park by 8:25 and we were on RoTR (boarding group 7) at 8:47. All of that being said, you could take the Skyliner to AoA and take the bus to HS or just get in line at the Skyliner shortly after 7 after getting your RoTR BG. The Skyliner will start running gondola's over around 8 am.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Jjlandc said:


> Not sure about being the first. We were there plenty early enough and there was very light crowd traffic at that hour. We went last week. We stayed at Pop and used the bus from AoA as the Skyliner was backed up at Caribbean Beach another morning we went there early so we figured the bus would be better. We got in line for the bus at around 7:40 and were on the bus from AOA just after 8 am. We were walking into the park by 8:25 and we were on RoTR (boarding group 7) at 8:47. All of that being said, you could take the Skyliner to AoA and take the bus to HS or just get in line at the Skyliner shortly after 7 after getting your RoTR BG. The Skyliner will start running gondola's over around 8 am.


I haven’t taken the Skyliner yet but something you mentioned raised a question.  Are there 3 different lines at CBR for each of the 3 different routes?


----------



## DisneyOma

Jjlandc said:


> Not sure about being the first. We were there plenty early enough and there was very light crowd traffic at that hour. We went last week. We stayed at Pop and used the bus from AoA as the Skyliner was backed up at Caribbean Beach another morning we went there early so we figured the bus would be better. We got in line for the bus at around 7:40 and were on the bus from AOA just after 8 am. We were walking into the park by 8:25 and we were on RoTR (boarding group 7) at 8:47. All of that being said, you could take the Skyliner to AoA and take the bus to HS or just get in line at the Skyliner shortly after 7 after getting your RoTR BG. The Skyliner will start running gondola's over around 8 am.



AoA is running buses to HS but Pop is not, is that what you are saying?


----------



## CarolynFH

scrappinginontario said:


> I haven’t taken the Skyliner yet but something you mentioned raised a question.  Are there 3 different lines at CBR for each of the 3 different routes?


Yep. The CBR station is like a T - the middle line goes to DHS and the two other lines go to Pop/AoA on one side and Epcot on the other side. The lines don’t connect - there’s a large central area between them. But it’s easy to figure out which line goes where - signage is good.


----------



## disneygirlsng

DisneyOma said:


> AoA is running buses to HS but Pop is not, is that what you are saying?


That has been the case since AoA reopened.


----------



## Jjlandc

scrappinginontario said:


> I haven’t taken the Skyliner yet but something you mentioned raised a question.  Are there 3 different lines at CBR for each of the 3 different routes?


Yes, there are 3 different lines at the CB station- one to HS, one to AoA/Pop and one to Riviera/Epcot. There is a line from AoA/Pop to Caribbean Beach- you must get off here. There is a line from Caribbean Beach to HS and to the Riviera. There is a line from the Riviera to Epcot but if you are traveling from Caribbean Beach to Epcot, via Riviera, you do not get off and just move through.
So traveling from Caribbean Beach to HS or Epcot - there is no getting off, but from AoA/Pop you must get off at CB. From Riviera to Epcot- it's direct. From Riviera to HS you must get off at CB.


----------



## MissBritt

Has anyone driven in before park opening in the last few days? How early are they letting cars in?


----------



## Jjlandc

scrappinginontario said:


> I haven’t taken the Skyliner yet but something you mentioned raised a question.  Are there 3 different lines at CBR for each of the 3 different routes?


No buses from Pop to HS, only skyliner. But AoA has buses to HS, we found the transfer station at CB to be crowded at peak times in the am to get to HS.


----------



## GBRforWDW

MissBritt said:


> Has anyone driven in before park opening in the last few days? How early are they letting cars in?



heres my report from Friday:




GBRforWDW said:


> Yep, was there yesterday and drove from AoA. We left the parking lot around 745 and it's just a short drive, maybe 5 minutes tops.  We were 4th in line where security held us back from getting to the toll booths.  They let us proceed to toll booth at 755, but we were then held there another 15-20 minutes.
> 
> Once in the parking lot, we realized it doesn't pay to be first because they send you all the way down the first parking row.  You may have saw my post above, but here's what we were able to do in the morning by 11am:
> 
> 
> This included a couple food snack stops and photopass stop.  After our RotR ride, we went to droid depot to complete our droid builds early, then it was nearly time for lunch so we hung out til out ADR table was ready.
> 
> Good luck on your day!


----------



## scrappinginontario

CarolynFH said:


> Yep. The CBR station is like a T - the middle line goes to DHS and the two other lines go to Pop/AoA on one side and Epcot on the other side. The lines don’t connect - there’s a large central area between them. But it’s easy to figure out which line goes where - signage is good.





Jjlandc said:


> Yes, there are 3 different lines at the CB station- one to HS, one to AoA/Pop and one to Riviera/Epcot. There is a line from AoA/Pop to Caribbean Beach- you must get off here. There is a line from Caribbean Beach to HS and to the Riviera. There is a line from the Riviera to Epcot but if you are traveling from Caribbean Beach to Epcot, via Riviera, you do not get off and just move through.
> So traveling from Caribbean Beach to HS or Epcot - there is no getting off, but from AoA/Pop you must get off at CB. From Riviera to Epcot- it's direct. From Riviera to HS you must get off at CB.



Yes that part I understand.  I’m well aware how the Skyliner itself works with 3 separate lines.

To clarify my question better, Are there 3 different lines for people to physically line up in at CBR?  E.g. When a person staying at CBR arrives at the Skyliner station, do they choose to line up in either an Epcot line or a DHS line or a Pop/AoA line or, is there 1 line of people that splits closer to loading the Skyliner?  I’m thinking about this being early in the morning when I’ve heard of lines being extensive and stretching down the ramp.


----------



## CarolynFH

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes that part I understand.  I’m well aware how the Skyliner itself works with 3 separate lines.
> 
> To clarify my question better, Are there 3 different lines for people to physically line up in at CBR?  E.g. When a person staying at CBR arrives at the Skyliner station, do they choose to line up in either an Epcot line or a DHS line or a Pop/AoA line or, is there 1 line of people that splits closer to loading the Skyliner?  I’m thinking about this being early in the morning when I’ve heard of lines being extensive and stretching down the ramp.


Oops, sorry, I misunderstood - and I can’t help because I don’t know! OTOH, I remember reading about those lines, but I think they might have been for early DHS opening when Epcot wasn’t going to open for some time later. Hopefully someone with recent experience will answer soon!


----------



## Jjlandc

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes that part I understand.  I’m well aware how the Skyliner itself works with 3 separate lines.
> 
> To clarify my question better, Are there 3 different lines for people to physically line up in at CBR?  E.g. When a person staying at CBR arrives at the Skyliner station, do they choose to line up in either an Epcot line or a DHS line or a Pop/AoA line or, is there 1 line of people that splits closer to loading the Skyliner?  I’m thinking about this being early in the morning when I’ve heard of lines being extensive and stretching down the ramp.



There is one huge line (wrapping all around-see photo- during HS opening time) and then they send you to your respective line. We didn’t ride it at peak time later in the day. Every time we got off at non peak times we just proceeded to our respective line directly.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Jjlandc said:


> There is one huge line (wrapping all around-see photo- during HS opening time) and then they send you to your respective line. We didn’t ride it at peak time later in the day. Every time we got off at non peak times we just proceeded to our respective line directly.


Thank you!!!  This was the information I was looking for.

Earlier it was recommended that a guest line up for the Skyliner at CBR, take it to AoA and then take a bus from AoA to DHS.   Before discouraging this advice I wanted to ensure I understood how the Skyliner guest line-up worked.

Another option for CBR guests may be to look for buses at the Skyliner station that are going to DHS.  I have heard it's not uncommon for them to offer bus service from the Skyliner station to DHS at park opening.  Not guaranteed but sometimes another option.


----------



## GBRforWDW

scrappinginontario said:


> Thank you!!!  This was the information I was looking for.
> 
> Earlier it was recommended that a guest line up for the Skyliner at CBR, take it to AoA and then take a bus from AoA to DHS.   Before discouraging this advice I wanted to ensure I understood how the Skyliner guest line-up worked.
> 
> Another option for CBR guests may be to look for buses at the Skyliner station that are going to DHS.  I have heard it's not uncommon for them to offer bus service from the Skyliner station to DHS at park opening.  Not guaranteed but sometimes another option.


If the cbr guest is staying close enough to the Riviera station, they could potentially take that into the main cbr station and when they get off, tell the CMs they want to go to AoA, they'll probably be directed straight there.  I'm not sure that's the most effective strategy for getting to DHS though.  

I didn't use skyliner or bus to get to DHS in the morning, but I did for epcot and at the time, the line was still contained within the station with the majority going to epcot for it's opening, so new arrivals from the CBR resorts were asked immediately where they were going and DHS and AoA travelers were directed to their short lines. 

My experience this past Friday was driving in.  The AoA skyliner was already running when we left the parking lot, not sure what time it started.  We arrived at DHS just before 750 and waited at 2 different places for 20 minutes before finally being allowed into the parking lot.  The skyliner was running the entire time I was waiting to get in the parking lot, so no idea how many skyliner people got in ahead of us.  However, we were still able to do mmrr, all 3 TSL rides, RotR and droid depot in the morning while also grabbing various snacks and photos and restroom breaks. 

I say all this to say that if someone is trying to get to the park at unofficial opening, at this time, they should be able to get in no problem no matter how they travel to DHS and get their priority to do list accomplished before lunch. I never went to the AoA bus stop to get to a park, so not sure how bad the lines are for that, but with socially distanced buses, I wouldn't suggest sending people from other resorts to AoA to ride the bus, unless they're at Pop.  Seems like a bigger time kill to me, honestly.  I'm guessing transportation has improved in the morning s now that RotR bgs aren't obtained in park.


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## EMHDad

We just finished our first WDW day today and went to Animal Kingdom. First, even with shorter hours, it just did not feel like a full day park. We left before 3pm after doing everything we wanted. Still, on the bright side, the crowds seemed reasonable and it was a great experience for us. Below is some of the schedule of the day. We wanted a good start so we got up early. We left our offsite hotel and got to the YC at 6:30am. We did not even go inside. We parked and went to the bus stop.

Animal Kingdom was 8am-6pm. Expected bus at 7am.
Bus arrived at 6:40am. We were the only ones on the bus.
Bus arrived at Animal Kingdom and we walked straight into the park. I kept expecting a rope line stopping us and. Toning. We went straight to FOP. They allowed people to line up but ride was not running. We ended up standing in front of the life size Avatar for about 10 minutes. 

FOP - line started at 7:30am and we were done with the ride at 7:49am
Navi River Ride - Entered line at 7:55am. Off ride at 8:04am.
Kilaminjao Safari - Entered line at 8:17am. One truck at 8:20am & off at 8:43am.
Everest - Entered line at 8:59am. One ride at 9:04am. Off at 9:07am.
Everest #2 - Re-entered ride at 9:10am. On ride at 9:17am. Off at 9:30am.

***Unusual Moment of the day. At end of Everest #2 my ds11 got stuck in seat. The lap bar would not come up. It stayed locked in. Nothing worked and they had to call maintenance. After watching them use a drill to unscrew a piece and pull an inside lever, my son was freed.  the delay was only like 10 minutes. Still, they decided to call over to FOP and got us a FP to FOP and gave another FP to any ride in park.Yaye!

FOP #2 - Entered line at 10:04am. Entered Preston at 10:11 Andover ride at 10:22am.
TriteratopSpin - Entered line at 10:52am and off ride at 11:00am.
At lunch at Dino Restaurant and it took under 5 min to get food.
Entered FP line of Dinosaur at 11:39am and got on ride at 11:47am.
Rafiki Planet Watch - Entered line at 12:31Pm and on train at 12:46pm
We left the area at 2:00pm and was back on the train at 2:15pm
It’s tough being a bug - Entered line at 2:45 and waited 10 min right outside theatre.
lifted park shortly after 3pm and got on bus.

Except for. The beginning, we strolled everywhere. We stopped at every kids station to do the activity for the book. We stopped at every photographer. Also, if you have Photopass, you must do Super Zoom! It is so awesome!

We went back to YC and had Bell Service unload our bags and we went to the room.
*Second hiccup of the day with a final silver lining.
First, magic bands didn’t work. Phone didn’t work. Had to go to lobby. Got it fixed and went back to one. We were Not happy with room. It had two beds and a table instead of a couch. We are a family of 5. I called and got a call back in 5minutes and got a new room.
Paid for a standard view room. We we’re giving a garden view room that didn’t work, and ended up with a water view room. 
we got a treat at 4:30pm and then rode every skyline from 5:15pm-6:45pm. Watched the sun set and turn to darkness why riding, 
Picked up dinner at Beach Club marketplace and took back to room. Kids asleep by 9am,.

MK is tomorrow!


----------



## BreitCnJ

LuvDaisy&Minnie said:


> Going end of the month and want to make sure I'm up to date on HS rope drop. We will be at Caribbean Beach. A while back, I was seeing that Uber to Speedway and walking was the best, but now I don't see much mention of that. Is the skyliner now a reliable way to get to HS rope drop? Park opens at 9am on our trip. I was also considering going to go to Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast and walking, but I am a little concerned about the timing. I feel like I need to be at the resort and not in transit at 7am to try for boarding group, and I'm not sure that leaving at 7:15ish is early enough to go to Boardwalk Bakery, grab food, and walk to HS. We need to be there a little before 8 to be one of the first, right? Or is that not necessary? So, currently what's the best option for a 9am opening from Caribbean Beach?



We visited in December, the weekend before Christmas - 3 of us (myself, wife, and 15 yr old daughter). We stayed at Boardwalk and walked to HS, so I can’t provide much insight on your CB transportation options. But, we did opt to go to HS before official posted open time, which was 9:00 on the Friday before Christmas. We woke up and secured a RotR BP at 7:00 from our room. Once that was secured we began to get ready, walked to HS and walked through the gate about 8:15. I‘m not sure exactly what time they began letting people in, but we walked through the Temp check, security, and turnstiles with only 2-3 people in front of us at any of those points. We rode MMRR, SDD, TSMM, and RnRC in that order before 9:30. The ride lines grew quickly after the official open time. 

In our experience, I would say that although we didn’t officially rope drop, going early before posted park open was still very useful. It’s what we usually do, so it wasn’t a big deal for us. I had similar questions about the necessity or benefit in the current environment, but my adult nephew went in early November and still recommended it. We had similar experiences at the other parks on the trip, benefitting from early arrival. It was the weekend before Christmas, so the crowds and the open/close times were different. They have also begun filling more seats on some of the rides since then and have introduced park hopping lite. 

One thing that didnt really register with us before we arrived on this trip was the broad implementation and requirement to use mobile order. I would recommend you take a few minutes and get familiar with that process before you go. You are forced to use it at the parks for fast/quick service locations. They won’t even let you in the building (ABC Commissary, Pecos Bills, Rondos Roasters, etc) unless you have already ordered on your phone and can show them that you have received a notice on your phone that your food is ready. After we did it once or twice, we found it quite useful too.

Have fun on your trip.


----------



## Jjlandc

Prior to them allowing gondalas to leave CB for HS, you can go to AoA/Pop by asking the CM up front. The line builds up for HS but there were those who were going up and getting on the AoA/Pop gondalas. Not sure if they were staying there or not, but they were going through.


----------



## yulilin3

BreitCnJ said:


> We visited in December, the weekend before Christmas - 3 of us (myself, wife, and 15 yr old daughter). We stayed at Boardwalk and walked to HS, so I can’t provide much insight on your CB transportation options. But, we did opt to go to HS before official posted open time, which was 9:00 on the Friday before Christmas. We woke up and secured a RotR BP at 7:00 from our room. Once that was secured we began to get ready, walked to HS and walked through the gate about 8:15. I‘m not sure exactly what time they began letting people in, but we walked through the Temp check, security, and turnstiles with only 2-3 people in front of us at any of those points. We rode MMRR, SDD, TSMM, and RnRC in that order before 9:30. The ride lines grew quickly after the official open time.
> 
> In our experience, I would say that although we didn’t officially rope drop, going early before posted park open was still very useful. It’s what we usually do, so it wasn’t a big deal for us. I had similar questions about the necessity or benefit in the current environment, but my adult nephew went in early November and still recommended it. We had similar experiences at the other parks on the trip, benefitting from early arrival. It was the weekend before Christmas, so the crowds and the open/close times were different. They have also begun filling more seats on some of the rides since then and have introduced park hopping lite.
> 
> One thing that didnt really register with us before we arrived on this trip was the broad implementation and requirement to use mobile order. I would recommend you take a few minutes and get familiar with that process before you go. You are forced to use it at the parks for fast/quick service locations. They won’t even let you in the building (ABC Commissary, Pecos Bills, Rondos Roasters, etc) unless you have already ordered on your phone and can show them that you have received a notice on your phone that your food is ready. After we did it once or twice, we found it quite useful too.
> 
> Have fun on your trip.


You're not forced to use MO. It is strongly encouraged but you can order at the podium if you wish.


----------



## MissBritt

Here now. Drove in to MK. 8:10 and parking lot is not yet open. Park opening is 9. Easily 100 cars when I pulled up at 8 on the dot.


----------



## BreitCnJ

Interesting, the cast members we encountered only directed us to MO and didn’t offer up any alternatives. Either way, once we gained a little experience with the app and the process, it was smooth sailing.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

Hello DISers!  We haven't been to WDW since the pandemic began and didn't think we were going until 2022 but we have now planned a quick trip Feb 27-Mar 3 and I'm a bit lost.  Is there an easy place to find what the current opening times and best rope drop procedures are now?  (My old go-to website doesn't seem to be updated.)  I know rope drop isn't rope drop as I remember it and since we only have 4 1/2 park days, I want to maximize our time.  I think I have a handle on RotR boarding groups and park reservations but I need some guidance on when to arrive and when they actually start letting guests in.  Thanks in advance for the direction!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

yulilin3 said:


> You're not forced to use MO. It is strongly encouraged but you can order at the podium if you wish.


Mobile order still doesn’t work with Disney GCs, is that correct?


----------



## yulilin3

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Mobile order still doesn’t work with Disney GCs, is that correct?


it does. I used it the other day at AK, like last week


----------



## yulilin3

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Hello DISers!  We haven't been to WDW since the pandemic began and didn't think we were going until 2022 but we have now planned a quick trip Feb 27-Mar 3 and I'm a bit lost.  Is there an easy place to find what the current opening times and best rope drop procedures are now?  (My old go-to website doesn't seem to be updated.)  I know rope drop isn't rope drop as I remember it and since we only have 4 1/2 park days, I want to maximize our time.  I think I have a handle on RotR boarding groups and park reservations but I need some guidance on when to arrive and when they actually start letting guests in.  Thanks in advance for the direction!


read the last couple of pages for recent reports


----------



## yulilin3

BreitCnJ said:


> Interesting, the cast members we encountered only directed us to MO and didn’t offer up any alternatives. Either way, once we gained a little experience with the app and the process, it was smooth sailing.


they won't offer any additional way, they are strongly pushing MO, but if you tell them you want to order at the podium they will let you
Obviously MO is much more efficient as you can pic your eating time early and then just click "I'm here" when it's time to eat


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

yulilin3 said:


> it does. I used it the other day at AK, like last week


Thank you!  I had apparently missed that update during “the dark times” when I wasn’t keeping up with WDW news .  Good move by them to add that functionality.


----------



## Tbiafore

MissBritt said:


> Here now. Drove in to MK. 8:10 and parking lot is not yet open. Park opening is 9. Easily 100 cars when I pulled up at 8 on the dot.



Oh my! So you are waiting in line an hour early before Parking even opens? And its that busy already? Wow! Now I don't know if I want to go back to using the bus and cancel my car reservation....

Scratch that, I misread your original message wrong.


----------



## yulilin3

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Thank you!  I had apparently missed that update during “the dark times” when I wasn’t keeping up with WDW news .  Good move by them to add that functionality.


so if you go to MO, pick whatever time and item, when you go to pay click
+add a card
then you'll pick between
Disney gift card or disney dinning card
and
Disney rewards redemption card


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

yulilin3 said:


> so if you go to MO, pick whatever time and item, when you go to pay click
> +add a card
> then you'll pick between
> Disney gift card or disney dinning card
> and
> Disney rewards redemption cardView attachment 549448


Thanks for sharing the details.  I was abandoning the idea of paying with gift cards on our next trip since MO is so highly encouraged.  This is good news (even though I am late to the party, haha!)


----------



## scrappinginontario

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Thank you!  I had apparently missed that update during “the dark times” when I wasn’t keeping up with WDW news .  Good move by them to add that functionality.


A recommendation others have had is to record your gift card numbers in notes so that you can copy and paste them into the app when you need to use them.  More efficient than keying the number each time you want to use a gift card.


----------



## Leigh L

scrappinginontario said:


> A recommendation others have had is to record your gift card numbers in notes so that you can copy and paste them into the app when you need to use them.  More efficient than keying the number each time you want to use a gift card.


Great idea!! Thanks


----------



## disneylover102

I haven’t been checking this thread for a few weeks, but I’ve been here since Wednesday and will be here until Saturday. A few weeks ago I mentioned I would be taking lynx buses to get to the parks. So here’s been my experience so far with that and park hopping the last few days.

Wednesday, January 6:
We woke up at our Airbnb close to Universal and missed the bus to the lynx 50 stop near SeaWorld, so we got a Lyft there (cheaper than getting a Lyft to Disney). We then took bus 50 to the TTC. We were very early, so we were planning on walking to the Magic Kingdom (walking to the Polynesian and the GF and then from there to MK) to beat the people from the TTC getting on the monorail/ferry, but the TTC guest area wasn’t open yet, so they wouldn’t let us walk to the Polynesian from the TTC, so we had to wait for them to open (around 7:30), and we got on the monorail to the MK. We got on the first monorail and Space Mountain was running when we got in at 7:45. We park hopped to AK around 3. A bus to AK showed up right as we got to the bus stop (btw when I talk about park hopping, I’m not talking about lynx, but the normal Disney buses), and it departed a few minutes later. We park hopped to Epcot around 7. A bus showed up right as we got to the bus stop, and it left a couple minutes later. We didn’t get a lynx bus to our hotel that night, as we had to get a Lyft to our Airbnb we had by Universal to pick up our luggage and then another Lyft to our hotel close to Disney to check in.

Thursday, January 7:
We were very tired and wanted a little extra sleep, so we got a Lyft to the speedway station by the boardwalk and walked from there to HS. It required a little jaywalking, so I don’t recommend. We got into the park and to the Millennium Falcon about 8:40, and it was already running and we waited about 20 minutes. We park hopped to AK about 3. The bus was already there, and it left pretty much right after we got on. I think it was waiting for any guests to show up. We park hopped to MK around 6:30. The bus was pretty quick there too. After MK closed at 8, my sister and I split up so I could get to Epcot before it closed at 9 and so she could get some food at the store before it closed. So I’ll share our separate experiences

My sister’s: got off Splash Mountain a couple minutes after 8, rushed to the monorail, barely made 8:27 bus (which was late) to get to our hotel. She had just enough time to get what we needed at the store before it closed at 10, as the bus takes half an hour to get to our hotel (Red Carpet Inn).

Mine: I got off Splash Mountain a couple minutes after 8. I rushed to the bus stop, where there was already a bus to Epcot waiting. There were a few people on that bus, which left a few minutes later. By the time I got off the bus and into Epcot and in line for Test Track, it was about 8:40. I waited about half an hour for it, then I rushed to the bus stop with a bus to the Polynesian. The bus arrived just as I got there, but there were enough people waiting that I didn’t get on the bus. The next one came probably 10 minutes later. I had about 8 minutes to walk from the Polynesian to the TTC bus area. There was a sign going into the main TTC area that said “do not enter,” but I couldn’t see another way and there wasn’t anyone watching that area, so I hesitantly rushed through there to the bus, and I was about a minute early. More on the do not enter area later. It was about a half hour before the bus got to my hotel. Keep in mind if you’re using lynx buses that, unless your stop is a MAIN stop (TTC, Disney Springs, a park, etc), you have to request a stop, so make sure to watch your location on google maps to know when to request a stop!

Friday, January 8:
We got on the 6:50 bus to the TTC. There’s wifi on the bus, but don’t rely on it to get a ROTR boarding group! When it’s there and working, it’s fast, but the MDE app logged me out and I couldn’t log back in on the bus. My phone doesn’t have data. Fortunately, my sister does have data, and we got group 71, so it was fine and we did get called, but basically, don’t be on the bus at 7! Anyway, we got to the TTC about 7:20, and the TTC was open. We walked to the Polynesian and there was basically nobody waiting for a Disney bus to HS. The first one came a little before 8, and we got to HS a few minutes after 8 and a lot of people were going in. We were going to do TOT first, but at about 8:15, TOT wasn’t running, but RNRC was, so we did that and waited about 10 minutes. When we got off, TOT was running and we waited about 25 minutes. We were at HS open to close and then waited 10-15 minutes for the skyliner to Caribbean Beach and then walked on to the one to Epcot, so all those people were heading back to their hotels, NOT Epcot. 
We got to Epcot and to Soarin’ around 8:15. We got off and rushed to Test Track. It was broken down so we went on Mission Space green, getting in line right at park closing. We made it on the next bus to the Polynesian, and we had about 5 minutes to get on the next lynx 56 bus. We again entered the do not enter area of the TTC (since I wasn’t sure if that sign was even supposed to be there and I didn’t see another way), and a security officer told us to walk along the side of the gates by the TTC to get to the bus stop next time. We sprinted and made it on the bus. Btw, bus 56 runs every half hour, so if we had missed it, we just would’ve gotten a half hour less of sleep. 



Saturday, January 9. 

I missed the first 2 buses because the crosswalk was being naughty. I got on the 6:50 bus, which got to the TTC about 7:20. Security wasn’t open yet, but it was within a couple minutes. I got on the 2nd monorail, and I got to Space Mountain about 7:45 and it was running. I walked on and then did it again with a very short wait. Then it broke down literally the rest of the day, so I’m glad I did it first! My sister slept in quite a bit and was able to just catch the bus (which runs every half hour) when it was convenient for her. We were at MK all day when it closed at 8. Epcot closed at 9, so when we got off Thunder Mountain Railroad just after 8, we rushed to the MK bus area and barely missed the bus to Epcot that was there. It was about 7-10 minutes until the next one arrived. By the time we got into the park and to Test Track, it was about 8:45. We waited about 35 minutes and got on the next bus to the Polynesian. We could’ve sprinted to make the next bus from the TTC, but we didn’t want to. We figured out how to get to the bus stop the right way, which is by walking along the gates by the temp screening tents, walking past the tram loading areas, walking under the bridge (or whatever that is) as if going to parking, but then go on the walkway from the front of parking to the TTC bus area. We were about 25 minutes early for the bus. 



I’m at HS right now and I had quite the bus adventure this morning, but I’ll share my day as a whole later. 



Sorry this was long, but I figure some people may want to hear my experience taking the bus so they can decide if it’s worth it. Having a car is definitely nicer but if you’re on a budget trip and staying off site, it’s a no brainer to save hundreds by not renting a car or parking. Basically, if your hotel is on US 192 and east of Disney, there’ll be a bus 56 stop for you.


----------



## EpcotNerd

Park Hopping Question... if you're driving from park to park can you enter the parking lot of your second park before 2:00?   What exactly has to wait until 2:00, tapping the turnstiles to get in?


----------



## scrappinginontario

EpcotNerd said:


> Park Hopping Question... if you're driving from park to park can you enter the parking lot of your second park before 2:00?   What exactly has to wait until 2:00, tapping the turnstiles to get in?



Yes you can as I don't believe you have to prove you have a park pass at the time of entering a parking lot, only entering a park.


----------



## EpcotNerd

MissBritt said:


> Here now. Drove in to MK. 8:10 and parking lot is not yet open. Park opening is 9. Easily 100 cars when I pulled up at 8 on the dot.


What time did they wind up opening?  Did you enter MK before park opening?


----------



## disneylover102

Ok, so here’s today’s report:



Basically all 4 days so far we had been to Disney, rides were already running when we got in early, so I wanted to get there extra early. I took bus 56 to the TTC at 5:50-6:16 AM and bus 50 to Disney Springs at 6:20-6:35 AM. I walked around and found a spot outside Disney Springs to get wifi. At 7, I got boarding group 14 for ROTR. Then I hurried to bus 303, which was supposed to leave at 7:05 but left early, and I barely made it. It got to HS about 7:25. It stopped at the CM entrance, and there’s a walkway to the park entrance from there. I was the only park guest on the bus, and I don’t think they expect anyone to be coming to the park from the CM entrance, so they were pretty confused when I was waiting outside the temperature screening tent (which had nobody in it btw) and told me to go wait at the normal place they hold people, which (I think) is over by the skyliner. Several minutes after 8 is when they started letting people in, and I got to TOT about 8:10 and walked on... twice! Then I did it again with about a 15 minute wait, then 30. It’s very clear that me getting there just that half hour earlier got me on 2-3 more rides on TOT. A little after 2, we park hopped to Epcot via skyliner. It was almost a walk-on both at HS and at Caribbean Beach. We got into a bus to the Polynesian pretty quick after Epcot closed, but then we had to wait about 20 minutes for the bus from the TTC to our hotel. 



Main takeaway from today: getting to HS more than an hour before official opening = at least a couple extra rides.


----------



## MissBritt

EpcotNerd said:


> What time did they wind up opening?  Did you enter MK before park opening?


 
Cars started moving at 815 and we were in the gate at 9. Monorail was not running at the time and I have no idea how early the park allowed entry because we happened to hit is just the way we did.


----------



## disneylover102

On Wednesday and Saturday last week when official park opening was at 8, the monorails started a little after 7:30 and the park was open for entry by 7:45 (idk when it started though)


----------



## MissBritt

Just back. Did MK with a 4 y/o. As above, parking opened at 815, monorail was not running at that time, we were in gate at 9. Walked on to Pooh, then got in line for Mine Train. App said 75m, the CM scrolled her sign to 65 the second we got in line, and we were in a seat in 45 on the nose. Walked on to Dumbo and Barnstormer and Dumbo again. Lots of waits under 5 minutes. Pirates wait was a bit shorter than expected, 25 or 30 vs the posted 40. Astro Orbiter was just shy of the 40m posted. Saw Captain Jack on his platform multiple times, Buzz on his once. No wait for food at Cosmic Ray's or Pecos Bill's or Aloha Isle (did not preorder on app). Long line in confectionery an hour prior to close. Monorail loading to TTC was super efficient around 640.


----------



## stitchfan18

We’re checking out tomorrow after 11 nights. We spent yesterday & today at Epcot & it was pretty quiet there both days. We arrived between 9:45-10:00 each of our Epcot days (walking from the BW) and this was the latest day that they opened the ticket scanners (around 10:20ish today.) They also held off opening TT until about 10:40. The cars were running, but the announcement they made said they were waiting until closer to the park opening time of 11 to begin allowing guests to ride. I noticed they took down a lot of the ropes for the extended queues since yesterday, and most rides didn’t make you loop through the extended part of the regular queues either.

I’ve tried to keep up with daily park reports during our trip, so these are just some final things to be aware of in no particular order:
-Getting to the parks early can make or break your day. We ended up spending 6 of our 9 park days at HS and Epcot simply because we could walk to those parks from the BWV and were there when they opened. We couldn’t manage to get to AK or MK early enough the days we were there to beat the crowds. We drove to MK & AK, so maybe we would have done better using the buses, but after our 2nd MK day we decided to stick with the parks that we were having a better time with and switched our park passes.
-stroller parking seems to change almost daily, and most stroller parking isn’t where it used to be pre-covid since the queues are now super stretched out. Be prepared to ask a CM or hunt around for the correct place to park.
-Wait times are almost always posted as longer than they really are, sometimes the CM at the end can give a better estimated time.
-The plexiglass dividers on rides weren’t as bad as I expected. 
-Mobile ordering worked out really well for us overall. One time the app was apparently having issues and never notified us that our order was ready. DH finally asked after we had waited half an hour and the CM at the door saw on their iPad that our order had been marked as ‘not picked up.’ They sent us right in and had a new tray of food ready quickly. If your order seems to be taking a lot longer than normal, definitely check the status with the CM at the door just to verify nothing funky is going on with the app.
- For a family that works from home and home schools, so we are rarely out in public to wear masks at home much, we didn’t have any issues with wearing masks all day during our trip. The weather was mild which helped a lot for sure. Our kids had no issues, and we lucked out with bringing masks that worked well for long term wear (kids & I had disposables and DH had a couple fabric masks.) I admittedly lost sleep worrying about how mask wearing would go and shouldn’t have.
- Buy souvenirs during the week if you can, especially those without the price on the tag. The doll my daughter bought yesterday, and didn’t even open yet, was $3 cheaper today  Also light up toys and bubble wands are on sale right now, I’m not sure if there is an end date, but they were either $10 or $15 depending on their original price. And princess dresses were BOGO, which I think might have started today. 
-Mask enforcement wasn’t quite as intense as I expected. I saw quite a few noses and many walking snackers. Occasionally we saw a CM make a comment, but no one was jumping out of the shadows and correcting people as quickly as I had expected from reports on this thread. We didn’t hang around people who weren’t wearing their mask properly, so I’m sure they fixed it themselves or were eventually corrected by a CM.
-I packed a lot of hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, Lysol spray, etc and hardly used it. The parks had sanitizer everywhere and our room felt very clean.

Overall, we felt the precautions in place were well thought out and we felt comfortable being around others in this setting. We missed the nighttime shows and characters,  but we know we’ll be back. I was supposed to run over marathon weekend, and I’m glad we decided to still make the trip. I would have considered upgrading our tickets to AP’s if they were selling them so we could come in the summer or fall again. We definitely plan to be back next January!


----------



## MissBritt

stitchfan18 said:


> - Buy souvenirs during the week if you can, especially those without the price on the tag. The doll my daughter bought yesterday, and didn’t even open yet, was $3 cheaper today  Also light up toys and bubble wands are on sale right now, I’m not sure if there is an end date, but they were either $10 or $15 depending on their original price. And princess dresses were BOGO, which I think might have started today.
> -Mask enforcement wasn’t quite as intense as I expected. I saw quite a few noses and many walking snackers. Occasionally we saw a CM make a comment, but no one was jumping out of the shadows and correcting people as quickly as I had expected from reports on this thread. We didn’t hang around people who weren’t wearing their mask properly, so I’m sure they fixed it themselves or were eventually corrected by a CM.



In regards to these points... we got the nice light up, clanging sound pirate swords today and the CM said he has just marked them down to $10. I also saw some heavily reduced ornaments. 

Masks... I saw a couple tiny kids with them hanging a bit low and no one said anything but I also saw a 5 or 6 year old with hers on her chin and the CM practically chased the dad, telling him to make her pull her mask up over the nose. This was MK, today only.


----------



## stitchfan18

MissBritt said:


> In regards to these points... we got the nice light up, clanging sound pirate swords today and the CM said he has just marked them down to $10. I also saw some heavily reduced ornaments.
> 
> Masks... I saw a couple tiny kids with them hanging a bit low and no one said anything but I also saw a 5 or 6 year old with hers on her chin and the CM practically chased the dad, telling him to make her pull her mask up over the nose. This was MK, today only.


I didn’t see the ornaments, but we weren’t particularly looking at those. I did buy a couple Christmas shirts for the kids that were 70% off! There are definitely more merchandise sales than I’ve seen Disney offer in the past!

Most of the kids we saw with their masks hanging low seemed to be due to ill fitting masks, but we most were in strollers and no one was correcting them. We saw lots of strollers draped with blankets or jackets, I’m assuming to camouflage a child inside without a mask on. Main Street seemed to be the most heavily enforced location for masks, there were CMs with mask reminder signs lining the street.


----------



## MomOTwins

stitchfan18 said:


> We saw lots of strollers draped with blankets or jackets, I’m assuming to camouflage a child inside without a mask on.


Not sure that would be my first assumption.  When ours were little, we would do that when they were napping to create a darker/quieter nap zone and also used stroller covers on chilly days to keep them warmer.


----------



## stitchfan18

MomOTwins said:


> Not sure that would be my first assumption.  When ours were little, we would do that when they were napping to create a darker/quieter nap zone and also used stroller covers on chilly days to keep them warmer.


We definitely do that too, so maybe! I was more referring to strollers with bigger kids legs sticking out and could see the cover moving, so not kids actually napping, but maybe that was the goal and the kids weren’t on board  I never saw a CM ask a kid in a stroller to fix a mask issue, so even if they weren’t covered all the way, It didn’t seem like anything was said. We accidentally went half way around WS with our toddler still wearing his mask as a chin strap after a drink break because we were distracted mobile ordering lunch and he was facing forward in the stroller. I was shocked when we noticed that a CM hadn’t pointed it out to us during our walk.


----------



## MomOTwins

stitchfan18 said:


> We definitely do that too, so maybe! I was more referring to strollers with bigger kids legs sticking out and could see the cover moving, so not kids actually napping, but maybe that was the goal and the kids weren’t on board  I never saw a CM ask a kid in a stroller to fix a mask issue, so even if they weren’t covered all the way, It didn’t seem like anything was said. We accidentally went half way around WS with our toddler still wearing his mask as a chin strap after a drink break because we were distracted mobile ordering lunch and he was facing forward in the stroller. I was shocked when we noticed that a CM hadn’t pointed it out to us during our walk.


Always possible.  Though if they really were older kids seems less likely they would be having trouble with masks (every school here requires masks all day).

I do feel bad for CMs as enforcement is such a mess. We definitely saw CMs or guests try to tell other guests to pull up a mask and were treated badly in response, so I wonder if some of them are just getting worn down and aren't up to it any more.  It may also be they are "picking their battles" to only enforce when someone is not outdoors and keeping a safe distance from staff or other guests.  

I definitely would appreciate if CMs were to say something if my youngest accidentally left his mask down--but others are definitely less receptive.  We heard a lot of people on our trip voice the sentiment "if people are so scared they shouldn't come."  Very irritating.


----------



## stitchfan18

MomOTwins said:


> Always possible.  Though if they really were older kids seems less likely they would be having trouble with masks (every school here requires masks all day).
> 
> I do feel bad for CMs as enforcement is such a mess. We definitely saw CMs or guests try to tell other guests to pull up a mask and were treated badly in response, so I wonder if some of them are just getting worn down and aren't up to it any more.  It may also be they are "picking their battles" to only enforce when someone is not outdoors and keeping a safe distance from staff or other guests.
> 
> I definitely would appreciate if CMs were to say something if my youngest accidentally left his mask down--but others are definitely less receptive.  We heard a lot of people on our trip voice the sentiment "if people are so scared they shouldn't come."  Very irritating.


I agree that CMs are probably getting tired of the battles with some on wearing masks properly. I can’t think of a time I saw a CM go out of their way to approach a guest with a mask correction. Most of the correction I saw were people passing by a CM with their mask down snacking or on incorrectly.


----------



## scrappinginontario

A friend was there 2 weeks ago and the teen behind them (who also bumped into them more than once) was asked by the same CM to fix their mask 3 different times.  Sadly that was as far as it went.  I wish a more senior CM/security would have removed the person from the line as he'd fix his mask then the moment the CM left he'd pull it back down again.  The parent was totally ignoring the entire situation and said nothing to her son.


----------



## Raemama

Here right now (week of January 11) with my son for his first time ever trip to WDW. Let me say up front that he has autism and bipolar disorder and everyone in our family was very worried about us going on this trip in that regard. However, I had a very strong motherly instinct about what this trip might do for him. And for someone who suffers from not understanding social/facial cues, I have to say that WDW is a perfect time right now to go. The masks are actually making it easier for him as he doesn’t have try so hard to figure out what how he’s supposed to respond to others’ facial gestures! Staying away from people is also very very helpful for my son. 

Yes, I miss the parades and fanfare of the nighttime spectaculars, all the interactions with characters, and watching performers. But we would have had to steer clear from most of these activities on this special trip. The magic is definitely definitely still here for my son, and for me as I see how much he’s enjoying himself. Like, really smiling (I can tell in his eyes!), being more confident (he went into a store...by....himself!! And he asked a cast member a question!!) and expressing happiness in his own special way. 

We are using a car, and we seemed to have a little oops yesterday as we missed the real Rope Drop window in MK because we drove. I think we should have taken the bus. But driving is better for us as we have more freedom to leave or just go sit in the car if we need to. Mobile order is—wow—very easy as long as you get that window early on. Cast members seem truly happy to be making the magic happen. Epcot is hard to deal with and confusing in FW, but can’t be helped right now. 

I’ve only seen one non-compliant person regarding masks... it was an elderly gentleman who was using the phone and obviously the party on the other end couldn’t understand him with his mask on or something. A couple of CMs went over to him, but I didn’t stick around long enough to see what happened next. Other than that, everyone was masking it up. 

Like someone else said, I took a lot of hand sani with me, but didn’t need to. Disney has us covered (see what I did there? Haha). I think the better thing to do is to bring a large batch of disposable masks. I can’t wear the fabric ones personally without blinding myself from fogging my glasses. Regardless, I need to change my mask frequently to feel comfortable.


----------



## Goldilocks07

I'm going to WDW tomorrow, Friday we are in EPCOT.  It's showing an 11am opening.  What time do they actually let you in the park, and are there any rides open at that time?
Same with MK.  We are going Saturday.  I keep reading that people are allowed into the park prior to opening times listed- but HOW EARLY?  We want to get in as soon as possible.

Thanks!


----------



## yulilin3

Goldilocks07 said:


> I'm going to WDW tomorrow, Friday we are in EPCOT.  It's showing an 11am opening.  What time do they actually let you in the park, and are there any rides open at that time?
> Same with MK.  We are going Saturday.  I keep reading that people are allowed into the park prior to opening times listed- but HOW EARLY?  We want to get in as soon as possible.
> 
> Thanks!


merged you to the just back thread because opening times have been all over the place. But generally they open about 45 min before official time, with the parking lots opening anywhere from an hour to 45 minutes before official time


----------



## Naomeri

Raemama said:


> I can’t wear the fabric ones personally without blinding myself from fogging my glasses.


Look for anti-fog stuff such as this:

It worked wonders for me on my October trip, it even stopped them fogging up when walking from AC into 90+ heat.

Glad the trip worked so well for your son!!


----------



## Goldilocks07

*I'm not referring to the new 30 min MH starting at the end of the month- I keep reading that people are entering the parks before opening hours.  Can you tell me what time to get there?  EPCOT calls for an 11 am opening, how early can we walk in?  And are rides open or is it like before, where you can just stroll through?  AK calls for an 8am opening, and read of guests walking in before 7:30.

*side note I posted something like this earlier and can't find it. And I even looked for it under my profile/posts.  Apologies if this is a repeat.


----------



## yulilin3

Goldilocks07 said:


> *I'm not referring to the new 30 min MH starting at the end of the month- I keep reading that people are entering the parks before opening hours.  Can you tell me what time to get there?  EPCOT calls for an 11 am opening, how early can we walk in?  And are rides open or is it like before, where you can just stroll through?  AK calls for an 8am opening, and read of guests walking in before 7:30.
> 
> *side note I posted something like this earlier and can't find it. And I even looked for it under my profile/posts.  Apologies if this is a repeat.


Merged you again.  Check the answer above


----------



## slindzy

Has anyone park hopped since re-allowing? 
1. Are they really making people wait until 2:00 PM or permitting in a little earlier than 2:00?
2. Anyone not been able to get into another park at 2:00 due to full capacity?
3. How have the park entrance lines been at  2:00 entry?


----------



## stitchfan18

Goldilocks07 said:


> *I'm not referring to the new 30 min MH starting at the end of the month- I keep reading that people are entering the parks before opening hours.  Can you tell me what time to get there?  EPCOT calls for an 11 am opening, how early can we walk in?  And are rides open or is it like before, where you can just stroll through?  AK calls for an 8am opening, and read of guests walking in before 7:30.
> 
> *side note I posted something like this earlier and can't find it. And I even looked for it under my profile/posts.  Apologies if this is a repeat.


We just got back and rope dropped 4 days at Epcot, the gates opened for us between 10:10-10:20 each day. Usually rides were starting by 10:30-10:40 (we did Frozen the first day & Test Track the other 3.) CMs will probably tell you when you get in the queue that the rides won't start until closer to official park opening at 11, but they all started early. We came in through the IG, so I don't know how the parking lot opening and front turnstiles worked, but we always met people walking in from the front, so the timelines seemed to be synced between the 2 entrances.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Goldilocks07 said:


> *I'm not referring to the new 30 min MH starting at the end of the month- I keep reading that people are entering the parks before opening hours.  Can you tell me what time to get there?  EPCOT calls for an 11 am opening, how early can we walk in?  And are rides open or is it like before, where you can just stroll through?  AK calls for an 8am opening, and read of guests walking in before 7:30.
> 
> *side note I posted something like this earlier and can't find it. And I even looked for it under my profile/posts.  Apologies if this is a repeat.





stitchfan18 said:


> We just got back and rope dropped 4 days at Epcot, the gates opened for us between 10:10-10:20 each day. Usually rides were starting by 10:30-10:40 (we did Frozen the first day & Test Track the other 3.) CMs will probably tell you when you get in the queue that the rides won't start until closer to official park opening at 11, but they all started early. We came in through the IG, so I don't know how the parking lot opening and front turnstiles worked, but we always met people walking in from the front, so the timelines seemed to be synced between the 2 entrances.


For perspective, we were at Epcot festival of the arts Day 2 and didn’t make it in until about 1115.  We took our time getting to Frozen Ever After, probably got to the ride at 1145 and the line was still only 10-15 minute wait.  Doesn’t mean every day will be the same, but does seem like FEA stays slow for awhile after open.


----------



## cindianne320

Naomeri said:


> Look for anti-fog stuff such as this:
> 
> It worked wonders for me on my October trip, it even stopped them fogging up when walking from AC into 90+ heat.
> 
> Glad the trip worked so well for your son!!



Thank you for this- my son wears glasses and has stopped wearing them at school, because of the mask fog. We are headed to WDW in April, and this will be a game changer!


----------



## Wood Nymph

slindzy said:


> Has anyone park hopped since re-allowing?
> 1. Are they really making people wait until 2:00 PM or permitting in a little earlier than 2:00?
> 2. Anyone not been able to get into another park at 2:00 due to full capacity?
> 3. How have the park entrance lines been at  2:00 entry?



We were there last week and park-hopped three times - twice to Epcot and once to HS. We didn't have any trouble getting into the parks.

What we did have trouble with was trying to change our park reservation. On Wednesday we tried to change our Friday park reservation from HS to MK and all the reservations were gone for that day. We couldn't change our park reservation two days out.


----------



## Lizgistix

I'm here at Boulder Ridge from yesterday until Saturday.
Don't ask me about my room, I can see why they are getting a refurb next year.
Don't ask about my scooter rental. I'll be on my 3rd one in 2 days once it's delivered.
Don't ask about the paltry amount of nut butter I received with my chicken and waffles breakfast. 
Don't ask me about how I had to schedule a telehealth doctor visit today and about half way through the video call I got notice my boarding group was called for Rise of the Resistance. I'm still at the resort, btw. 
But the people are really nice!


----------



## slindzy

Wood Nymph said:


> We were there last week and park-hopped three times - twice to Epcot and once to HS. We didn't have any trouble getting into the parks.
> 
> What we did have trouble with was trying to change our park reservation. On Wednesday we tried to change our Friday park reservation from HS to MK and all the reservations were gone for that day. We couldn't change our park reservation two days out.


Thank you! When you park hopped, was it after 2:00? Do you know if they were actually making people wait until 2:00? Just trying to figure out if they are letting people in a little before 2:00 or are they being strict on the 2:00?


----------



## kabbie

Lizgistix said:


> I'm here at Boulder Ridge from yesterday until Saturday.
> Don't ask me about my room, I can see why they are getting a refurb next year.
> Don't ask about my scooter rental. I'll be on my 3rd one in 2 days once it's delivered.
> Don't ask about the paltry amount of nut butter I received with my chicken and waffles breakfast.
> Don't ask me about how I had to schedule a telehealth doctor visit today and about half way through the video call I got notice my boarding group was called for Rise of the Resistance. I'm still at the resort, btw.
> But the people are really nice!



What scooter company do you use?


----------



## MainMom

Was anyone in AK today? My DD was looking at wait times around 2:30 EST and it said FOP was 5 minutes! Was this correct? We leave on Sunday and the wait times today seemed pretty low overall.


----------



## yulilin3

MainMom said:


> Was anyone in AK today? My DD was looking at wait times around 2:30 EST and it said FOP was 5 minutes! Was this correct? We leave on Sunday and the wait times today seemed pretty low overall.


Its low season right now.  The wait times are accurate


----------



## disneylover102

Here’s bus/park hopping/rope drop experience Tuesday and Wednesday:

Tuesday, January 12:
We took bus 56 to the TTC and bus 50 to Disney Springs. We walked to Saratoga Springs and got a bus about 7:40 to AK that got us there at 8, right when the park opened. We walked onto Na’vi and then waited about a half hour for FOP. But we should’ve just waited, because it was very short later in the day and we did it 5 times, always with a 10-20 minute wait. Around 3, I park hopped to MK. There was a bus right there that left right after I got on the bus. After MK closed at 7, we rushed to the MK bus stop and got a bus to Epcot after a few minutes. We got there about 7:35. We thought we’d have time for both Mission Space and Test Track since MS was a walk-on the day before, but we did have to wait a few minutes for the preshow room to open up, so we just did that and then got on the bus to the Polynesian and then bus 56 to Walmart and then our hotel.

Wednesday, January 13:
We got on the 5:50 bus 56 to the TTC and then the 6:20 bus 50 to Disney Springs. Just before bus 303 to HS arrived at DS, we got BG 5 for ROTR on my sister’s phone, and I was glad because I don’t have data and that stop doesn’t have wifi. You can walk a little ways off to get wifi, but then you may have to run to catch the bus. Again, the 303 bus got us to HS at 7:30 ish and then when HS actually opened at 8:10 we walked on to TOT twice and then had a very short wait the 3rd time. TOT has been having very long waits compared to the other rides while we’ve been here so those walk-ons while most people couldn’t be there yet are so precious. We spent most of the day at HS, but we left around 6:30 (with park close at 7) to avoid crowds at the skyliner (we waited a while for it last week after park closing. It’s mostly people going back to their hotels, not those going to Epcot). We got into Epcot around 7 and did Test Track. We would’ve been able to do something else too (or TT again) but it closed for 20 minutes because of the rain. We got off right after park close, so we made it on the bus to the Polynesian and the 8:58 bus from the TTC to our hotel.


----------



## disneylover102

MainMom said:


> Was anyone in AK today? My DD was looking at wait times around 2:30 EST and it said FOP was 5 minutes! Was this correct? We leave on Sunday and the wait times today seemed pretty low overall.


I was until about 2! We did FOP 8 times!!!! Actually, they were letting people get in the FP+ queue after riding, so we got to skip the slight line there was!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

disneylover102 said:


> Here’s bus/park hopping/rope drop experience Tuesday and Wednesday:
> 
> Tuesday, January 12:
> We took bus 56 to the TTC and bus 50 to Disney Springs. We walked to Saratoga Springs and got a bus about 7:40 to AK that got us there at 8, right when the park opened. We walked onto Na’vi and then waited about a half hour for FOP. But we should’ve just waited, because it was very short later in the day and we did it 5 times, always with a 10-20 minute wait. Around 3, I park hopped to MK. There was a bus right there that left right after I got on the bus. After MK closed at 7, we rushed to the MK bus stop and got a bus to Epcot after a few minutes. We got there about 7:35. We thought we’d have time for both Mission Space and Test Track since MS was a walk-on the day before, but we did have to wait a few minutes for the preshow room to open up, so we just did that and then got on the bus to the Polynesian and then bus 56 to Walmart and then our hotel.
> 
> Wednesday, January 13:
> We got on the 5:50 bus 56 to the TTC and then the 6:20 bus 50 to Disney Springs. Just before bus 303 to HS arrived at DS, we got BG 5 for ROTR on my sister’s phone, and I was glad because I don’t have data and that stop doesn’t have wifi. You can walk a little ways off to get wifi, but then you may have to run to catch the bus. Again, the 303 bus got us to HS at 7:30 ish and then when HS actually opened at 8:10 we walked on to TOT twice and then had a very short wait the 3rd time. TOT has been having very long waits compared to the other rides while we’ve been here so those walk-ons while most people couldn’t be there yet are so precious. We spent most of the day at HS, but we left around 6:30 (with park close at 7) to avoid crowds at the skyliner (we waited a while for it last week after park closing. It’s mostly people going back to their hotels, not those going to Epcot). We got into Epcot around 7 and did Test Track. We would’ve been able to do something else too (or TT again) but it closed for 20 minutes because of the rain. We got off right after park close, so we made it on the bus to the Polynesian and the 8:58 bus from the TTC to our hotel.


Perhaps I'm missing some context (I just jumped into this thread in the past few days) but what is the reason for all of these buses and transfers - is it to save on parking or is it to get to the parks earlier than those who are driving somehow?  What hotel are you staying at?  Thanks - just wanted to understand what benefit it is providing.


----------



## eeyoreandtink

Goldilocks07 said:


> *I'm not referring to the new 30 min MH starting at the end of the month.



do we know for sure they 30 min early entry is starting at the end of the month? I haven’t been able to find a start date.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

eeyoreandtink said:


> do we know for sure they 30 min early entry is starting at the end of the month? I haven’t been able to find a start date.


30 min early entry is not starting at the end of this month. This was announced as a “later this year” benefit - No specific timeline was given.


----------



## eeyoreandtink

SouthFayetteFan said:


> 30 min early entry is not starting at the end of this month. This was a “later this year” benefit.  No timeline was given.


Ok, that what I thought.


----------



## disneylover102

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Perhaps I'm missing some context (I just jumped into this thread in the past few days) but what is the reason for all of these buses and transfers - is it to save on parking or is it to get to the parks earlier than those who are driving somehow?  What hotel are you staying at?  Thanks - just wanted to understand what benefit it is providing.


I apologize for being confusing. It’s hard to explain all the bus stuff 

It’s both to save money renting a car and parking AND to get there before those driving. We’re staying at the Red Carpet Inn in Kissimmee. Any hotel or Airbnb along bus line 50 or 56 is fine (there’s a lot more on line 56).

Bus 56 goes to the TTC. Obviously that’s great for days you start at MK. To get to the other parks, you have to either take a lynx bus from Disney Springs to that park (only runs once a day at 7 AM) or get a bus from a Disney resort to that park (obviously a lot easier). It’s really easy to walk to the Polynesian from the TTC, but the problem is that they won’t let you use the walkway until after the TTC “opens,” which has generally been half an hour before MK opens. That obviously doesn’t work for a 9 opening at MK with an 8 opening at AK. So what you can do is take bus 50 from the TTC to Disney Springs and walk to the Saratoga Springs Resort from there, or if you go early enough, you can get a bus to HS or AK (only at 7 AM). Bus 301 goes to AK and gets there at about 7:40 and bus 303 gets to HS about 7:30, which is before any of the buses from the Disney resorts get there and cars are let in.

So the benefits are saving hundreds of dollars and possibly getting there before most people. It works great except for AK, which tends to open the earliest. Obviously having to catch a specific bus can be stressful and tedious though!


----------



## disneylover102

And here’s my park hopping/bus experience today: 

We took the 6:23 bus 56 to the TTC and the 7:00 bus 50 to Disney Springs. We walked to Saratoga Springs and waited 21 minutes for a bus . We got to AK about 8:20 and got in line for Dinosaur at 8:30. That was later than we hoped, but it’s just fine because in 6 hours at AK we did Dinosaur twice and Everest and FOP 8 times each!!! We park hopped to MK around 2:30, and there was a bus already there that left a minute or two after we got on. What was unique about this time was that it didn’t say “Magic Kingdom” on the front, but it said “training” instead and the bus was a different color. Not that it mattered though. We spent a few hours in MK and after it closed we hurried to the MK bus stop. There was a bus to Epcot just leaving (that we weren’t on), but another bus there came literally right after we got in line for that bus. We got to Epcot a little after 7:30 and got in line for Test Track before park closing at 8. When we got off and got to the buses, the one to the Polynesian was just leaving, but another one came a minute later. We got to the Polynesian just in time to rush to the TTC and make it on the 8:57 bus 56 to our hotel.


----------



## Lizgistix

kabbie said:


> What scooter company do you use?



Scooterbug. I think it was just bad luck this time because I've rented from them before and haven't had any problems. They are really quick to handle things. They say in 2 hours but I've had ECVs delivered in less time than that.


----------



## StarGirl11

slindzy said:


> Has anyone park hopped since re-allowing?
> 1. Are they really making people wait until 2:00 PM or permitting in a little earlier than 2:00?
> 2. Anyone not been able to get into another park at 2:00 due to full capacity?
> 3. How have the park entrance lines been at  2:00 entry?



Hopped three times in one day (DHS -> Epcot -> DHS -> Epcot) with no problem.

1. I didn't ever get there early enough before 2:00 to say for sure. But judging by the backed up line when I got off the Skyliner for Epcot one day it was definitely being held until 2.

2.  Didn't experience it.

3. Only did one 2:00 hop. It was backed up towards the bridge. But it wasn't winding so it wasn't horrible. Think I was in by about 2:05/2:10.


----------



## Wood Nymph

slindzy said:


> Thank you! When you park hopped, was it after 2:00? Do you know if they were actually making people wait until 2:00? Just trying to figure out if they are letting people in a little before 2:00 or are they being strict on the 2:00?


I think the earliest we parked hopped was around 3:30pm.


----------



## disneylover102

slindzy said:


> Has anyone park hopped since re-allowing?
> 1. Are they really making people wait until 2:00 PM or permitting in a little earlier than 2:00?
> 2. Anyone not been able to get into another park at 2:00 due to full capacity?
> 3. How have the park entrance lines been at  2:00 entry?


The earliest I’ve park hopped has been around 2:30 or 3 (I’ve park hopped at least once every day since the 6th, except for I wasn’t at Disney on the 10th). We’ve never had any trouble with capacity. It doesn’t seem like a ton of people are park hopping. We haven’t ever park hopped to HS, as it’s better to just start there in order to be eligible for a ROTR boarding group. But we’ve hopped to MK and AK a lot and Epcot every day (since it closes later) and capacity hasn’t ever been mentioned.


----------



## blistex

My biggest question is how crowded is it actually? I keep hearing it's not that crowded, it's easy to stay apart from people, but then I see pictures in trip reports from December that look pretty crowded, uncomfortably so for my family. We would be there President's Day week which is often nearly as crowded as the week before Christmas so I'm concerned. As a specific example, one person took a picture just upon arriving in MK with a view up Main Street, and it looked as crowded as any regular day at Disney just with masks. Is that unusual right now or is that about what we should expect if we decide to go?


----------



## Orion Nebula

blistex said:


> My biggest question is how crowded is it actually? I keep hearing it's not that crowded, it's easy to stay apart from people, but then I see pictures in trip reports from December that look pretty crowded, uncomfortably so for my family. We would be there President's Day week which is often nearly as crowded as the week before Christmas so I'm concerned. As a specific example, one person took a picture just upon arriving in MK with a view up Main Street, and it looked as crowded as any regular day at Disney just with masks. Is that unusual right now or is that about what we should expect if we decide to go?



I have been rabidly going through every trip report for the past few months, both here and other places. And it has been SO hit and miss, if I had to guess though it seems 1/2 of the people thought it was great, then the rest were split between "we had a OK time but..." and "it was horrible". Like you I went through a bunch of pictures and came across the same result. Some showed nearly empty streets, others looked like any other time. I did however start to correlate some of them with certain times. For instance as expected weekends were always more crowded. And the scattering of ups and downs were more prevalent during the holidays. Then obviously the "empty" streets shots were from like Tuesday & Wednesdays.

So my conclusion has been try and schedule ALL of my park days Monday (unless holiday) through Thursday but I am only going for a week. And I am for sure avoid DS on the weekend.


----------



## jsmla

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Perhaps I'm missing some context (I just jumped into this thread in the past few days) but what is the reason for all of these buses and transfers - is it to save on parking or is it to get to the parks earlier than those who are driving somehow?  What hotel are you staying at?  Thanks - just wanted to understand what benefit it is providing.


I use Lynx when staying offsite even though I have my personal car and free parking with my AP.  That way I can have a drink or two in the evenings.


----------



## bennifer

blistex said:


> My biggest question is how crowded is it actually? I keep hearing it's not that crowded, it's easy to stay apart from people, but then I see pictures in trip reports from December that look pretty crowded, uncomfortably so for my family. We would be there President's Day week which is often nearly as crowded as the week before Christmas so I'm concerned. As a specific example, one person took a picture just upon arriving in MK with a view up Main Street, and it looked as crowded as any regular day at Disney just with masks. Is that unusual right now or is that about what we should expect if we decide to go?



I was at WDW in Nov and then from 1/6 to 1/13. There are definitely some areas inside the parks where I felt almost uncomfortable. My advice is to avoid MK and HS (especially HS) on the weekend and WS in Epcot on Fri and Sat evenings during a festival. Main St in MK often looks crowded but unless it’s rope drop, 2:00 when people can park hop or the end of the day when everyone is leaving, it’s not bad. There will always be the people who don’t give you the 6ft of space, but I choose to believe that they’ve forgotten and not that they’re jerks.  (and it doesn’t happen frequently) There are many walkways that get crowded, IMO, too, like the area between IASW and PP. Another thing to remember is the lines look crazy long and they look like people are just gathered in a lump. The lines are long because everyone is six feet apart. Once you’re in the line, you realize that it’s not as bad as you thought!

Oh, and DS on a weekend is not the best place for people who are worried about social distancing and masks.


----------



## Sarahslay

blistex said:


> My biggest question is how crowded is it actually? I keep hearing it's not that crowded, it's easy to stay apart from people, but then I see pictures in trip reports from December that look pretty crowded, uncomfortably so for my family. We would be there President's Day week which is often nearly as crowded as the week before Christmas so I'm concerned. As a specific example, one person took a picture just upon arriving in MK with a view up Main Street, and it looked as crowded as any regular day at Disney just with masks. Is that unusual right now or is that about what we should expect if we decide to go?


I was there Christmas and thanksgiving week, and I highly discourage taking pictures from certain vantage points as a sign of what it’s like in the parks. Are there some crowded areas? Yes. But you are not in that area for long unless you choose to be (I didn’t choose to be) and then it’s perfectly fine. Mainstreet was never crowded for us, even at Christmas it was glorious. However, if you question it at all, don’t go. I wouldn’t want you to be like “they said it wasn’t crowded but look at this!!” And have a miserably uncomfortable trip with your family because what you are comfortable with isn’t what someone else is comfortable with. We are highly cautious at home and felt fine at the parks, I don’t even go in the grocery store anymore because I get uncomfortable, but I will happily go to the parks. We’ve eaten inside at sit down restaurants in the parks but have yet to do that in every day life. If we feel uncomfortable we leave that situation and find something that’s better suited for us. But you may only be comfortable with extremely low crowds like they had at opening and as there are currently, but who’s to say how those crowds will be next month. I’ll be there the weekend before Presidents’ Day for a short trip and have no worries, but that’s just me.


----------



## MainMom

disneylover102 said:


> I was until about 2! We did FOP 8 times!!!! Actually, they were letting people get in the FP+ queue after riding, so we got to skip the slight line there was!


That’s awesome! I hope we have similar luck!


----------



## disneylover102

blistex said:


> My biggest question is how crowded is it actually? I keep hearing it's not that crowded, it's easy to stay apart from people, but then I see pictures in trip reports from December that look pretty crowded, uncomfortably so for my family. We would be there President's Day week which is often nearly as crowded as the week before Christmas so I'm concerned. As a specific example, one person took a picture just upon arriving in MK with a view up Main Street, and it looked as crowded as any regular day at Disney just with masks. Is that unusual right now or is that about what we should expect if we decide to go?


I’ve been in the Orlando parks since January 2 and I’ve seen a lot of variety. On January 2 when we went to Universal, it was SUPER congested in Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and any virtual queue entrance. January 4 and 5 at Universal were much better, especially since virtual queues weren’t being used for the rides we cared about, but it was still a bit congested in the Harry Potter areas. Once we started going to Disney on the 6th, it was noticeably much more safe. We didn’t feel like it was even really congested at first. Since then, there have been a few spots of congestion. This includes ride exits, especially those with lots of people on the ride (Soarin’, Star Tours, Flight of Passage, Everest, Rock n Roller Coaster, etc). Also Galaxy’s Edge definitely has some congestion. And there’s definitely congestion if you leave a park right as it closes (this has been especially problematic at MK and HS, but AK and Epcot haven’t been too bad). Also specific areas in Adventureland and Fantasyland have been congested. Those are the spots I’ve noticed issues, but honestly it feels pretty safe otherwise. Weekends are definitely more crowded. Basically, if you think you will never ever be within 6 feet of someone, you’re sadly mistaken. But any time you are, it’s very brief.


----------



## jimim

MomOTwins said:


> Always possible.  Though if they really were older kids seems less likely they would be having trouble with masks (every school here requires masks all day).
> 
> I do feel bad for CMs as enforcement is such a mess. We definitely saw CMs or guests try to tell other guests to pull up a mask and were treated badly in response, so I wonder if some of them are just getting worn down and aren't up to it any more.  It may also be they are "picking their battles" to only enforce when someone is not outdoors and keeping a safe distance from staff or other guests.
> 
> I definitely would appreciate if CMs were to say something if my youngest accidentally left his mask down--but others are definitely less receptive.  We heard a lot of people on our trip voice the sentiment "if people are so scared they shouldn't come."  Very irritating.


and if they don't want to wear a mask properly they shouldn't come


----------



## Orion Nebula

MomOTwins said:


> We heard a lot of people on our trip voice the sentiment "if people are so scared they shouldn't come."  Very irritating.



That really irritates me. On one had of course we are accepting the risks but we are accepting them because of the safety protocols.  I would've never taken the risks if masks, distancing and so on were not being required. People are obnoxious.


----------



## MomOTwins

jimim said:


> and if they don't want to wear a mask properly they shouldn't come





Orion Nebula said:


> That really irritates me. On one had of course we are accepting the risks but we are accepting them because of the safety protocols.  I would've never taken the risks if masks, distancing and so on were not being required. People are obnoxious.



Oh totally, I am 100% in agreement. For example, clothing is required at WDW too and you don't see people stripping down till they are nude in the middle of a ride queue or on the monorail, saying "if people are so prudish, they shouldn't come." 

I was only conveying that those people do come to WDW and that is their attitude with respect to masks (as they had no hesitation in expressing to me when I'd ask them to pull up/put on their masks), so odds are at some point on your trip you are going to be stuck next to them in a ride queue, ride vehicle, or transportation. And it sucks.


----------



## Imaginette

Question for anyone that is there or just back - was park hopping a challenge?  We have AP's, plan is to go to a scheduled park in the AM, and then Park Hop to Epcot (primarily) or another park after 2pm.  The blurb from MDE is below, but I would love to know if it was something that is a no-brainer, or a big-pain currently (non-holiday, January visit)

_*



			With the updated Park Hopper experience, Guests must make a Disney Park Pass reservation for the first park they plan to visit AND enter that first park prior to visiting another. At this time, a park reservation is not required after the first park, however, reservation requirements are subject to change.
		
Click to expand...

*_
Thank you!
~ Imaginette ~


----------



## scrappinginontario

Imaginette said:


> Question for anyone that is there or just back - was park hopping a challenge?  We have AP's, plan is to go to a scheduled park in the AM, and then Park Hop to Epcot (primarily) or another park after 2pm.  The blurb from MDE is below, but I would love to know if it was something that is a no-brainer, or a big-pain currently (non-holiday, January visit)
> 
> 
> Thank you!
> ~ Imaginette ~


Many have reported about PH here and on other threads and I have not heard a single person say that they could not get into any park they wished after 2pm once they have visited their original park.


----------



## Imaginette

scrappinginontario said:


> ... I have not heard a single person say that they could not get into any park they wished after 2pm once they have visited their original park.



Yay!  Great news indeed!


----------



## Akck

blistex said:


> My biggest question is how crowded is it actually? I keep hearing it's not that crowded, it's easy to stay apart from people, but then I see pictures in trip reports from December that look pretty crowded, uncomfortably so for my family. We would be there President's Day week which is often nearly as crowded as the week before Christmas so I'm concerned. As a specific example, one person took a picture just upon arriving in MK with a view up Main Street, and it looked as crowded as any regular day at Disney just with masks. Is that unusual right now or is that about what we should expect if we decide to go?



One thing to remember about photos, they are 2D, not 3D. There is little depth perception and you can’t tell if people are 2’ apart or 10’ apart. Yes, there are bottleneck areas, but that’s why you wear a mask and contact time is very short. The only thing that irritated me was when groups stopped in a bottleneck area, causing you and others to walk around them, getting even closer together.


----------



## LalaLane

For early morning Magic Kingdom, I saw for a little bit that it was not always a guarantee that you could get into the contemporary with a reservation but everything I’ve read since December seems OK, has anybody been turned away for having a quick service order or actual reservation around rope drop times at Contemporary?


----------



## Aimeedyan

LalaLane said:


> For early morning Magic Kingdom, I saw for a little bit that it was not always a guarantee that you could get into the contemporary with a reservation but everything I’ve read since December seems OK, has anybody been turned away for having a quick service order or actual reservation around rope drop times at Contemporary?



Never had a problem, or heard anyone with a problem. We did (again) just as recently as 2 days ago.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

LalaLane said:


> For early morning Magic Kingdom, I saw for a little bit that it was not always a guarantee that you could get into the contemporary with a reservation but everything I’ve read since December seems OK, has anybody been turned away for having a quick service order or actual reservation around rope drop times at Contemporary?



I saw something on The DIS Instagram stories where someone had placed a mobile order at Art of Animation but was turned away at the gate and refused entry to pick up their order. They said eventually, it was refunded.  I don't know if they wrote it up as an article or posted anywhere here. I would hate to count on it and then get turned away - but each resort operates differently....


----------



## Naomeri

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> I saw something on The DIS Instagram stories where someone had placed a mobile order at Art of Animation but was turned away at the gate and refused entry to pick up their order. They said eventually, it was refunded.  I don't know if they wrote it up as an article or posted anywhere here. I would hate to count on it and then get turned away - but each resort operates differently....


They did write it up: 
https://www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney...ut-mobile-order-at-disney-resort-restaurants/


----------



## LalaLane

Aimeedyan said:


> Never had a problem, or heard anyone with a problem. We did (again) just as recently as 2 days ago.


Did you have a Res or just quick serve?


----------



## LalaLane

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> I saw something on The DIS Instagram stories where someone had placed a mobile order at Art of Animation but was turned away at the gate and refused entry to pick up their order. They said eventually, it was refunded.  I don't know if they wrote it up as an article or posted anywhere here. I would hate to count on it and then get turned away - but each resort operates differently....


I thought so and I’ve read reports in this thread I remember when people had to really convince the guard hardcore. I don’t mind ordering AND paying/eating (I know some cancel the order)


----------



## scrappinginontario

And my thoughts (nothing to support this) is that they may be more strict is that some may place a mobile order at AoA to ride the Skyliner and avoid paying $25 to park at DHS or Epcot.  I can understand them being cautious.


----------



## Aimeedyan

LalaLane said:


> Did you have a Res or just quick serve?



On Wednesday it was mobile order, but we eat at The Wave (and Chef Mickey's before they added back characters...) often too. I've even parked and ran into their gift shop before without issues, but YMMV on that.


----------



## blistex

Thank you for this reply, and everyone else, it is helpful! I am, I confess, still pretty torn about it. It's partly a comfort thing and partly just wondering if the vibe is really going to be conducive to relaxing and enjoying ourselves on vacation if we and many around us are on high alert all the time. Adults have gotten the vaccine but of course the kids (5 and 7) have not so there is still some level of risk. I suspect I could enjoy myself just fine. Husband is another matter, if it was Christmas-like crowds for sure, I'd just cancel because he'd bug out at that level. But if there is sufficient space to be had, I think our family would have a perfectly lovely vacation just hopping around various outdoor festival booths at Epcot, riding the Skyliner, taking in the little beach area by Beach/Yacht Club, and otherwise just going on rides that feel comfortable line-or-environment-wise, since we do go every year. It's just so hard to 1)gauge the real crowd level from photos and 2)of course, guess what the crowd level will end up being on the actual days we're there. Thanks for letting me do some hand-wringing about this here and get some real-life experience feedback, because in my regular life everyone is equally divided between "you're crazy to even consider it" and "of course you should go and not worry at all" and we fall pretty solidly in the middle.


----------



## jlstwinmommy

We are here now. Drove down instead of flying to mitigate some risk. Today was a Disney Springs day for us. We check into BLT tomorrow and headed to MK. I’ve been back and forth about this trip for the last month.
History:  we were supposed to come in August and stay in a 2BR with my sisters family and my parents were going to stay at GF. GF wasn’t open so we all bumped the trip to January figuring it would have to be better by then (who knew). My parents cancelled due to being older and a higher risk, but sister and I decided to go as we have points expiring in May. Switched from a 2BR to 2 studios to distance a little since we are from different states. 

Disney Springs wasn’t too bad. Only store we went in with a line was LEGO store and that was just a couple people with less than a 5 min wait.
Mask compliance has been better than expected - even on the drive down. So far I have not felt at any more risk than I would at our home area. Hopefully it stays that way.


----------



## scrappinginontario

blistex said:


> Thank you for this reply, and everyone else, it is helpful! I am, I confess, still pretty torn about it. It's partly a comfort thing and partly just wondering if the vibe is really going to be conducive to relaxing and enjoying ourselves on vacation if we and many around us are on high alert all the time. Adults have gotten the vaccine but of course the kids (5 and 7) have not so there is still some level of risk. I suspect I could enjoy myself just fine. Husband is another matter, if it was Christmas-like crowds for sure, I'd just cancel because he'd bug out at that level. But if there is sufficient space to be had, I think our family would have a perfectly lovely vacation just hopping around various outdoor festival booths at Epcot, riding the Skyliner, taking in the little beach area by Beach/Yacht Club, and otherwise just going on rides that feel comfortable line-or-environment-wise, since we do go every year. It's just so hard to 1)gauge the real crowd level from photos and 2)of course, guess what the crowd level will end up being on the actual days we're there. Thanks for letting me do some hand-wringing about this here and get some real-life experience feedback, because in my regular life everyone is equally divided between "you're crazy to even consider it" and "of course you should go and not worry at all" and we fall pretty solidly in the middle.


If you are concerned about feeling comfortable at Disney, you may wish to try some things around home to judge your reactions. 

 If you’d asked me a week ago if I’d feel comfortable at Disney I’d have said yes!  Then, we went to a local ice cream parlour and while in line a family came in and everyone began wandering to look at different things in the small store we were in.  I found myself aware of where each of them were and moving trying to keep away from them.  All were masked and nobody did anything ‘wrong’ it was just a lightbulb moment for me that I wasn’t as ready as I thought I was.

Another way you might wish to test your preparedness it travel by local transit for a day.  Are you comfortable being around others in a situation where you cannot ‘leave’ if you suddenly feel uncomfortable?

I’m not saying that Disney isn’t doing a great job and I am so happy for those who are able to go!  For me,  I just realized I’m not quite there yet and I’m glad I found out now, rather than when I was planning a Disney trip in the near future..


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## Lizgistix

01/15/21 - I started my day at Magic Kingdom. I got there late, around 11-ish and the crowds were CRAZY. So many people. I rode Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder. Played one round/villain of Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom (fun!). Had lunch at Skipper Canteen, and then I left. The park was too crowded for my liking. I think I got back to Wilderness Lodge around 3p-ish. Around 3:45p I headed to Animal Kingdom. 

Yes I know they close at 5.
I got there right around 4.

I picked up the Wilderness Explorers Handbook for a future visit. I rode Expedition Everest and Navi River Journey. Did a little bit of shopping and then headed back to the Lodge for dinner at Geyser Point only to find out they too were busy and quoted me a 50 minute wait. 

I usually do a Monday-Thursday trip but this time because of work I had to reschedule it to Wednesday-Saturday and blah. I'll stick with my early week trips, thanks.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Lizgistix said:


> 01/15/21 - I started my day at Magic Kingdom. I got there late, around 11-ish and the crowds were CRAZY. So many people. I rode Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder. Played one round/villain of Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom (fun!). Had lunch at Skipper Canteen, and then I left. The park was too crowded for my liking. I think I got back to Wilderness Lodge around 3p-ish. Around 3:45p I headed to Animal Kingdom.
> 
> Yes I know they close at 5.
> I got there right around 4.
> 
> I picked up the Wilderness Explorers Handbook for a future visit. I rode Expedition Everest and Navi River Journey. Did a little bit of shopping and then headed back to the Lodge for dinner at Geyser Point only to find out they too were busy and quoted me a 50 minute wait.
> 
> I usually do a Monday-Thursday trip but this time because of work I had to reschedule it to Wednesday-Saturday and blah. I'll stick with my early week trips, thanks.


MLK Jr weekend to boot unfortunately...


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## Mzpalmtree

Lizgistix said:


> headed back to the Lodge for dinner at Geyser Point only to find out they too were busy and quoted me a 50 minute wait.


I wonder how long the wait is usually during the weekday evenings? We were there on Dec 30 which was a week day but during a holiday week and walked from GF to MK and took the boat to WL from there and were told the wait was well over an hour. It was frustrating to not know that before we played planes, trains, and automobiles to get there. There were also many people waiting outside of Roaring Fork which had me puzzled over how a resort that is half closed with three dining places could be so crowded.


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## dr&momto2boys

Can someone please point me to up-to-date touring strategies particularly for rope drop?
Most DHS advice is pre 7am boarding group change. Advice from easyWDW still mentions FP+ and the paid touringplans service seems to be way off base. 
I've been trying to pull together when to wait for transportation (1hr and 15min prior to park opening for bus?) We actually changed hotel plans a couple days ago so we could optimize walking to DHS and MK more often from our hotels (hopping.)
Please show me as much current advice as possible. We leave in 6 days and I've never felt so unprepared!


----------



## yulilin3

dr&momto2boys said:


> Can someone please point me to up-to-date touring strategies particularly for rope drop?
> Most DHS advice is pre 7am boarding group change. Advice from easyWDW still mentions FP+ and the paid touringplans service seems to be way off base.
> I've been trying to pull together when to wait for transportation (1hr and 15min prior to park opening for bus?) We actually changed hotel plans a couple days ago so we could optimize walking to DHS and MK more often from our hotels (hopping.)
> Please show me as much current advice as possible. We leave in 6 days and I've never felt so unprepared!


Merged you . Read back a couple of pages four just back reports


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## scrappinginontario

dr&momto2boys said:


> Can someone please point me to up-to-date touring strategies particularly for rope drop?
> Most DHS advice is pre 7am boarding group change. Advice from easyWDW still mentions FP+ and the paid touringplans service seems to be way off base.
> I've been trying to pull together when to wait for transportation (1hr and 15min prior to park opening for bus?) We actually changed hotel plans a couple days ago so we could optimize walking to DHS and MK more often from our hotels (hopping.)
> Please show me as much current advice as possible. We leave in 6 days and I've never felt so unprepared!


current recommendations for rope drop seem to be arrive at transportation at your resort 90 mins before official opening time.  Transportation won’t be running yet but will secure your place in line.  Trans seems to start 60-45 mins before official opening time and park will probably be open when you arrive with a few rides running. No guarantee though and which rides open may vary.

There are no hard and fast rules right now, flexibility is key.


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## dr&momto2boys

scrappinginontario said:


> current recommendations for rope drop seem to be arrive at transportation at your resort 90 mins before official opening time.  Transportation won’t be running yet but will secure your place in line.  Trans seems to start 60-45 mins before official opening time and park will probably be open when you arrive with a few rides running. No guarantee though and which rides open may vary.
> 
> There are no hard and fast rules right now, flexibility is key.


Thank you!

With transportation starting late, is there a way we can get from Riviera Resort to Boardwalk for an 8:55 breakfast? Will Skyliner go toward Epcot that early? There are 7 of us, so it would mean 2 car services if not.


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## NashvilleMama

scrappinginontario said:


> current recommendations for rope drop seem to be arrive at transportation at your resort 90 mins before official opening time.  Transportation won’t be running yet but will secure your place in line.  Trans seems to start 60-45 mins before official opening time and park will probably be open when you arrive with a few rides running.


Does this include the Skyliner? If DHS opens at 9am, has the Skyliner been opening around 7:30 or have there been reports that we should be there earlier than that (coming from POP)? I haven't seen any super recent ones that I can find and don't want to prod the 10 year old out of bed any earlier than probably necessary but know it's also just not super predictable at this point.


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## PCFriar80

NashvilleMama said:


> Does this include the Skyliner? If DHS opens at 9am, has the Skyliner been opening around 7:30 or have there been reports that we should be there earlier than that (coming from POP)? I haven't seen any super recent ones that I can find and don't want to prod the 10 year old out of bed any earlier than probably necessary but know it's also just not super predictable at this point.


The Skyliner began at 8:00 AM from IG for a 9:00 HS opening when we were there last week.  I assume the same is true for POP.


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## MomOTwins

dr&momto2boys said:


> Thank you!
> 
> With transportation starting late, is there a way we can get from Riviera Resort to Boardwalk for an 8:55 breakfast? Will Skyliner go toward Epcot that early? There are 7 of us, so it would mean 2 car services if not.


On a day when HS opens 9am or earlier, you might be able to take skyliner to HS and then friendship boats or walk to boardwalk.  On a 10am open for HS, no.


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## scrappinginontario

NashvilleMama said:


> Does this include the Skyliner? If DHS opens at 9am, has the Skyliner been opening around 7:30 or have there been reports that we should be there earlier than that (coming from POP)? I haven't seen any super recent ones that I can find and don't want to prod the 10 year old out of bed any earlier than probably necessary but know it's also just not super predictable at this point.


 My response recommends arriving at transportation 90 mins before park opening but that transportation will NOT be running at that time.  It won't start until 45-60 mins before park opening but if you wait and arrive when the transportation opens you will probably be met with a substantial line of people who arrived and waited before the transportation started.


PCFriar80 said:


> The Skyliner began at 8:00 AM from IG for a 9:00 HS opening when we were there last week.  I assume the same is true for POP.


 Yes.


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## CapnJacksGirl

I need some advice about park reservations.  If our #1 priority is getting a boarding pass for ROTR, should I reserve us for HS every day of our trip until we (hopefully) get lucky and change as necessary?  Or is that considered bad form?  I don't want to be THAT person that clogs up the system for others.  We are going Sat Feb 27 through Wed Mar 3 and I feel like crowds won't be awful since we are between President's Week and "normal" spring break time.  I am betting HS will be the most likely to not have availability if I wait until closer to that time to make changes.  Anyone have any thoughts or advice?


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## PCFriar80

CapnJacksGirl said:


> I need some advice about park reservations.  If our #1 priority is getting a boarding pass for ROTR, should I reserve us for HS every day of our trip until we (hopefully) get lucky and change as necessary?  Or is that considered bad form?  I don't want to be THAT person that clogs up the system for others.  We are going Sat Feb 27 through Wed Mar 3 and I feel like crowds won't be awful since we are between President's Week and "normal" spring break time.  I am betting HS will be the most likely to not have availability if I wait until closer to that time to make changes.  Anyone have any thoughts or advice?


I don't consider that bad form, I view it as a strategy!  We did this for the most part during our December trip and it worked fine for us.  If we didn't get a BG I would simply cancel HS and pick another park.  Simply cancel your current day plans and reserve another park.  The only risk you run is if the "new" park is at capacity but this is rare and especially not likely during the timeframe you are going.  Good luck!


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## Toad_Passenger

Saw some reports that crowds were back up again. Is this just a temporary MLK weekend thing?
We arrive 2 weeks from today for the 1st week of February and were really hoping things would be "relatively" empty, but I'm starting to get nervous again. Not going to do anything that makes us uncomfortable, but also don't want that to be 95% of the parks!


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## EEPETEZ

BreitCnJ said:


> Interesting, the cast members we encountered only directed us to MO and didn’t offer up any alternatives. Either way, once we gained a little experience with the app and the process, it was smooth sailing.


1) Mobile order is super easy-Love it!
2) the cast members we encountered would help  those that were having any issues.  
Totally recommend mobile order!


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## yulilin3

Toad_Passenger said:


> Saw some reports that crowds were back up again. Is this just a temporary MLK weekend thing?
> We arrive 2 weeks from today for the 1st week of February and were really hoping things would be "relatively" empty, but I'm starting to get nervous again. Not going to do anything that makes us uncomfortable, but also don't want that to be 95% of the parks!


Can you give an example of what makes you uncomfortable.  "Crowded" is subjective so opinions will differ from person to person


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## MinnieMSue

Are they still doing the approx every 2 hour cleaning cycles?  Got caught up in line for a few in September and some were pretty bad - looking at you Space mountain and Test Track!


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## MomOTwins

yulilin3 said:


> Can you give an example of what makes you uncomfortable.  "Crowded" is subjective so opinions will differ from person to person


Exactly.  I think the days of empty parks from early summer 2020 are over.  Remember, when the parks first reopened, park pass capacity was half of what it is now, and many people were still under state quarantine orders that prevented florida travel. I also expect early 2020 to have a decent amount of guests given anecdotally how many people were waiting for a return of park hoppers, or need to use expiring DVC points.  And as more people get vaccinated (or get the virus and recover with antibodies) they may be comfortable going now when they weren’t before.

Holiday weekends always have a spike.  Early February is going to be much better than President’s week.  But I wouldn’t expect a ghost town either, and anyone going to Disney world in the foreseeable future should expect at least moderate waits for most rides and times when they cannot social distance comfortably at choke points like main street and adventureland.


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## SL6827

So does anyone have any reports of what time HS has opening their gates up and was SDD running when they did open?


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## PCFriar80

SL6827 said:


> So does anyone have any reports of what time HS has opening their gates up and was SDD running when they did open?


I do. We were there Saturday [1/9], Monday [1/11], and Tuesday [1/12].  We walked from BCV, left at 7:50 arrived at 8:10, temp check, security and MB scan and were in at 8:15.  We headed to MMRR on Saturday and were on by 8:40.   We headed over to SDD and waited 20 minutes.  We did not get a BG on Saturday.  Monday we got BG18.  We left the same time and hit SDD around 8:30.  Tuesday we got BG 18 again, entered the same time, SDD was down.  We did TSMM, headed to TOT and did MMRR around 9:30 before our BG was called.  When we came out of TSMM around 8:45, SDD was still down but people were lining up.  

Sorry for the long play-by-play but to answer your question, for a 9:00 HS opening gates were open by 8:10.


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## SL6827

PCFriar80 said:


> I do. We were there Saturday [1/9], Monday [1/11], and Tuesday [1/12].  We walked from BCV, left at 7:50 arrived at 8:10, temp check, security and MB scan and were in at 8:15.  We headed to MMRR on Saturday and were on by 8:40.   We headed over to SDD and waited 20 minutes.  We did not get a BG on Saturday.  Monday we got BG18.  We left the same time and hit SDD around 8:30.  Tuesday we got BG 18 again, entered the same time, SDD was down.  We did TSMM, headed to TOT and did MMRR around 9:30 before our BG was called.  When we came out of TSMM around 8:45, SDD was still down but people were lining up.
> 
> Sorry for the long play-by-play but to answer your question, for a 9:00 HS opening gates were open by 8:10.


Thanks.  I will not have the stress of Star Wars on me as I care not for it, but I really want to enjoy TSL.


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## Lizgistix

Mzpalmtree said:


> I wonder how long the wait is usually during the weekday evenings?



The times I've been, there's usually no wait. Friday evening was the exception but usually there's some availability any time I've gone.


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## sethschroeder

Boardwalk BWV had 
AK bus 45 mins prior to opening
MK bus 1:15 prior to opening


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## GBRforWDW

SL6827 said:


> Thanks.  I will not have the stress of Star Wars on me as I care not for it, but I really want to enjoy TSL.


TSL was great early morning and last hour of the night when we were there.  Our early morning, last Friday, 1/8, we drove and were there when they started letting cars into the parking lot.  We went to MMRR as people were heading straight into the building, we walked all the way to the ride boarding section.  When we were done, we went to slinky dog and had maybe a 15-20 minute wait. Toy story mania and alien swirling saucer were both near walk ons. We did all that plus grab snack and some photopass pictures by 10am. Later in the day when we walked by MMRR, the line was snaking all over the courtyard, maybe 1pm. 

When we did TSL last hour on Sunday 1/10, we were able to do TSM and AS2 twice and would have had time to get in SDD line to ride at end of night if we wanted to. We ended up doing MMRR instead.


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## sethschroeder

Rope Drop (45 mins early) and done by 10am (9am open) with:

7DMT, Peter Pan, BTMRR, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion

Done for the day at MK, lunch at CCV then Epcot later today.


----------



## MinnieS11

Hi y’all. Any ideas on where I should place the parks on each day? I’m also doing two days in universal. I’m guessing I should put MK and HS on a weekday. What about Epcot? I think there’s a festival around the time I’m going (April 13). Will putting Epcot and AK on a weekend be horrible? I’m going Tuesday-Sunday.


----------



## MomOTwins

MinnieS11 said:


> Hi y’all. Any ideas on where I should place the parks on each day? I’m also doing two days in universal. I’m guessing I should put MK and HS on a weekday. What about Epcot? I think there’s a festival around the time I’m going (April 13). Will putting Epcot and AK on a weekend be horrible? I’m going Tuesday-Sunday.


You should do MK and EP on weekdays.  They are both significantly more crowded over the weekend (locals flock to EP on the weekend for the festivals).   HS on weekend is not much different than weekdays because it is packed every day.  AK will be more crowded on the weekend but not as bad as the others—I think it is just a less desirable park these days with so its live shows closed


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## armerida

sethschroeder said:


> Rope Drop (45 mins early) and done by 10am (9am open) with:
> 
> 7DMT, Peter Pan, BTMRR, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion
> 
> Done for the day at MK, lunch at CCV then Epcot later today.


Wow! Great day - was that the order you did the rides? Did you take Disney transport?


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## sethschroeder

armerida said:


> Wow! Great day - was that the order you did the rides? Did you take Disney transport?



BWV Bus arrived 1:15 before opening (first bus)

Started with 7DMT then Peter, BTMM, Jungle, Pirates, Haunted

We really just played it by ear being as it was so early. If we had went the other way we would have hit Space, Pooh, Dumbo, Barnstormer in that order after Dwarves likely. 

Space was for sure the 2nd ride to hit though as crowds spiked more quickly when park opening happened.


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## Ohiostatefan606

Staying at CBR over President’s day weekend.  Comparing to MLK weekend is as close as it gets.
1. What time are buses running to MK and AK in the morning? We like to make Rope Drop.
2. Crowds at Epcot on the weekend (S/S) given Festival of the Arts.
3. Skyliner lines to HS in the morning.
We were at CBR last year over MLK, so I have some info, but it’s all pre-coved rules.  Thanks for any info/insights!


----------



## sethschroeder

How early does AKV let uber/lyft in for drop offs?


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## SouthFayetteFan

sethschroeder said:


> BWV Bus arrived 1:15 before opening (first bus)
> 
> Started with 7DMT then Peter, BTMM, Jungle, Pirates, Haunted
> 
> We really just played it by ear being as it was so early. If we had went the other way we would have hit Space, Pooh, Dumbo, Barnstormer in that order after Dwarves likely.
> 
> Space was for sure the 2nd ride to hit though as crowds spiked more quickly when park opening happened.


Did everybody who wanted to board that first bus get on it?  I have wondered how many people are willing to hit a bus stop 75-90 mins before opening.


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## cjlong88

So right now I have HS planned for Friday February 5th with plans to hop to Epcot later. We have AK planned for Saturday February 6th with plans to hop to any of the other three parks depending on what we want to do.

I've seen posts suggesting that HS is crowded no matter what day we visit. If that is the case, would it be better for us to switch HS to Saturday and AK to Friday so it gives us a chance at lower crowds at AK?


----------



## sethschroeder

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Did everybody who wanted to board that first bus get on it?  I have wondered how many people are willing to hit a bus stops 75-90 mins before opening.



Animal kingdom had 3 families and Magic Kingdom had 2 Families

Be aware though that is Boarswalk where it's dedicated busses and a smaller resort vs others.


----------



## only hope

cjlong88 said:


> So right now I have HS planned for Friday February 5th with plans to hop to Epcot later. We have AK planned for Saturday February 6th with plans to hop to any of the other three parks depending on what we want to do.
> 
> I've seen posts suggesting that HS is crowded no matter what day we visit. If that is the case, would it be better for us to switch HS to Saturday and AK to Friday so it gives us a chance at lower crowds at AK?



Yep. HS is slightly more busy on weekends but the difference at the other parks is much more noticeable. Sometimes HS is less busy the last hour or two, so perhaps hopping to HS after AK would work too, to ride a few things. Watch wait times for a few days throughout the day to get an idea of the patterns.


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## sethschroeder

I see lots of incorrect information but there is 11 groups on busses now. They range in size so could go quicker.

Also some people deserve to be shot out of a cannon for cutting line be prepared for it just get there earlier to avoid the aggravation.


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## GBRforWDW

Decided might be time for a full trip report from our recent trip.  Apologies for the length.

1/7 - flew Omaha to Atlanta to Orlando and got in around 6pm. Airports were fairly busy, both planes nearly full, with middle seats empty on Delta still.  We rented a car as I wanted to cut out some potential transportation contact points. My daughter had no idea where we were until she saw the sign welcoming us to Walt Disney World!  Lol, was a fun surprise for her. 

We stayed at AoA for 4 nights, so first night we ate at Landscape of Flavors.  We mobile ordered, then said we were here when we started walking.  Food was ready by the time we got there.

1/8 was my 40th birthday.  I was up early and dying with anticipation for 7am boarding group drop.  Fortunately even with jittery fingers, I was able to get BG27.  We mobile ordered breakfast from landscape again before driving to DHS.  We got in line between 745-750.  We were 4th car back from security, then when security let us go up to toll gate, around 755, we were second in line.  Toll let us through around 815.  I should also mention I did see skyliner running on our way back to our room from breakfast and was already running to DHS when we got in line with the car.  I'm not sure if people were riding or not.

We quickly went through temp checks, security and scanned magic bands with hardly any wait.  I was indecisive going in if we should do MMRR or sdd first, but when we got up to MMRR, people were walking straight into the building, so we followed and walked all the way to line boarding area. After we went to TSL and rode all 3 rides.  Sdd had about a 15 minute wait with the rest near walk ons.  We also had time for snacks, restrooms, and photopass pix.  We got all that done by 10am. Our boarding group was called at 1015 and we headed to Galaxies Edge for the first time.  I was very impressed.  So amazing to see in person.  We saw storm troopers, kylo ren, Chewy and others hanging out. When we got off RotR, we went to Droid Depot.  I had a reservation for 1145, but they let us in at 1115.  I was glad they did as we had to wait in lines a bit before building.  I built an R series droid and my daughter, well mostly my wife , built bb8.  They went standard bb8 colors while I did a red with white and black trim r2d2.  Hehe.  We then did the Millennium Falcon photopass with our droids.  We then checked in for our SciFi lunch 20 minutes early and waited about 10 minutes before we had a table ready.  Was decent lunch, I mainly did the reservation to ensure we had a table to eat lunch.  After lunch we did the Disney Visa photopass.  They dropped in some storm troopers and another character.  We then went back to our room for a break.  We had dinner reservations at Hollywood and Vine at park closing time.  We tried to convince our daughter to do more rides, but she wasn't having it, didn't even want the frozen musical, so we did the Mickey shorts theater and Muppets before walking around GE at night.  H&V dinner was really good and we loved the character interactions.  We did several character dinners and they were all great.  Sure they don't come right to your table, but they come close enough and are very easy to get pix of, though not always with.

1/9 was our Epcot day.  I was slightly nervous about Epcot on a weekend, but it really wasn't too bad.  I think chilly weather kept people away, though there were some bigger crowds in the afternoon. We took skyliner from AoA and waited in line maybe 40 minutes between the AoA station and CBR station, though mostly at CBR.  Ended up inside the park after 11, and did a slow walk to Frozen Ever After, which was still at a 10 minute wait at 1145. After that, we mobile ordered from Regal Eagle.  I heard great reviews, but personally I wasn't impressed with their food.  Sorry to all that like it.  Lol. Maybe I need to try something else next time.  We watched an animation experience show while we are.  They were drawing Goofy. After we walked towards UK/Canada pavilions, saw Alice in wonderland come out, then she was upstaged by a Mickey/Minnie cavalcade. We went to the showplace and saw some live art entertainers then went to pop eats, I had to get a Pop't Art cookie. Lol.  It was good, not spectacular.  Wasn't very sweet, most of the sweetness comes from the strawberry filling.  We went to the figment area and did the Disney Visa photopass.  They took a lot of pics, but only one that included added in characters with Goofy and Mickey, then watched the short film festival.  As we headed over to ride Figment, we saw Pooh playing around in the grassy area between figment and the land.  He ended up leaving the area near Figment, so we went and got a little closer to say hi and get pix. Then Chip and Dale came outside, so said hi to them.  We then did figment and living with the land before our Garden Grill ADR.  Unfortunately the rotation mechanism broke just before our trip, so we were stuck in place.  Mickey and friends came around 3 times during our meal.  They come up behind your table and have some fun.  I played fetch with Pluto. Lol. He was funny.  After dinner, we rode Nemo and spaceship earth then began a slow walk out of the park, but stopped by Germany for some delicious Caramel popcorn.  I bought 3 bags so I could munch on some when I got back to work.  My wife laughed at me for spending 20 bucks on popcorn but it's pretty good stuff.  All the rides we did had a 15 minute wait or less.  In fact,we probably waited in line for the skyliner at the end of the night longer than we waited for the rides combined, though we didn't do Soarin, test track or mission space, which all had the longest waits.  The CBR station did not have any wait a after we got there though.  

1/10 was beach day!   I had a park reservation to DHS and tried for another Boarding Group, but the screen moved down when I was on the second join screen, so it took me to the ride details page and I missed out.  We drove towards Cocoa Beach at 11, got there a little after 12, had a turkey leg at the food stand, and we played on the beach.  It was mid 60s, so wasn't too bad.  Several people were out surfing, but we stayed mostly on the sand, lol.  We got back to our hotel around 4 and hung out a bit, going to DHS at 5, did some shopping, then rode MMRR once and TSM and AS2 both twice before 7.  Could have gotten in line for SDD had we wanted, but my daughter got freaked out by the speed so chose not to this time. 

1/11 Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge day.  We packed up the entire hotel room in the morning and headed to AK. We stopped at McDs for breakfast and ate in the parking lot, just so we weren't having to deal with finding a place to sit and eat.  When we got in, we went to Pandora, 10 minute wait for Navi where my daughter and I went and 35 for FoP where my wife went.  We then went over to Africa and rode Kilimanjaro Safari, then started on what became our day - Wilderness Explorers!  Lol.  My daughter really loved spotting the WE stations and learning about the wild.  We did the trail by KS, then rode the train to Rafikis, where we did the animation experience - drew crush and squirt from Nemo.  I actually did an ok job, for always being terrible at drawing.  We then did lunch at Flametree, which, in my opinion had way better bbq than Regal Eagle, again sorry to Regal fans and Sam Eagle.  We did the super zoom photopass, and I just got those photos in my account today, only took a week, lol.  Those were the only pics I didn't get in a reasonable time, so was wondering if because it happened after our AoA check out time and before we checked into AKL, that it had an issue adding to our account, just a theory tho. We left at 3 to check into AKL.  We had a Jambo DVC studio booked.  They upgraded us to a 1 bdrm and let me just say, it was spectacular.  My wife loved getting spoiled by that extra room.  My daughter, after throwing long fits about leaving the little mermaid room, quickly fell in love with all the wildlife right outside our balcony doors.  It was a truly amazing experience and I look forward to going back.  I originally booked this last February with the intention of a post birthday cruise stay where we just relaxed, but once the pandemic began getting worse in America, I knew that wasn't going to happen,so I booked the WDW stay in June when they became available.  So to go back and stay without wanting to also rush off to a park would be fun.  We had an ADR for Sanaa this night as well.  We got dressed up all fancy and headed over, there's no dress code, my wife and daughter just wanted a fancy dinner.  I chose this one since it wasn't in a park, lol.  Sanaa is really good food.  Definitely get a reservation here if you can.  It was after dark when we ate, but I'd recommend daylight and request a seat near the windows to experience the wildlife if possible. 

1/12 MK day...sort of.  My wife was parked out and she wanted our daughter to get some homework done.  Yeah right, that was like herding cats then giving them a bath... Lol.  5 hours to do 4 pages of first grade math.  Yuck.  So we went to MK at 2pm.  Rode Buzz Light-years ride, then my wife wanted to leave.  Convinced her to ride dumbo, tea cups and Winnie the Pooh with us, grabbed a snack, I had been wanting the Peter Pan float, so finally tried that and it was so good.  We then went back to the room and waited til 6 to hop aboard a bus back to MK for our BoG ADR.  We ended up arriving right at 7pm, so had to explain to every cast member that we had an ADR. Was kinda funny being the only ones headed in while everyone else was heading out.  The food at BoG was amazing.  Such good food.  Every time I checked into a restaurant, I marked it was my birthday, but this was the first place that actually did something extra, they made a special plate of the gray stuff in the shape of Mickey and let me just say, it's delicious!   Lol.  Was our first time at BoG so first time I got to try the official gray stuff.  It was so good, I ate the Mickey shaped gray stuff and the chip cup filled with it.  If only I could get a truck load delivered to my house!  Got some great mostly empty pix of the park when we were done.  When we headed to the buses, they told us which one to get on.  We were the only ones on it, but the driver took off right away!

1/13 heading home.  I booked an early ADR for a Topolinos grand finale.  I originally had it for 730 due to 11 am flight, but as Delta kept trying to push us up earlier, I kept pushing back, so we ended up with a 1pm flight and moved the ADR back to 9, which was good, it gave the family some sleep in time, plus extra time to pack.  We got to RR right about the time of our ADR, so I checked in as we were heading in and as we got on the elevator, got the table ready notification.  The food here was probably the best of the vacation, and it was just breakfast!  The food is so full of Flavor and just amazing.  Was worth it just for the food, but we also got to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy!  Those characters in their artist outfits were really fun to see.  We were able to get lots of great pix with these characters.  Definitely a place worth going to again.  Was a great last hurrah to a fun week. 

The airports on this day, Wednesday, mid day, were very empty.   The lines to check bags were short.  The security signs showed a 5-10 minute wait at TSA, but we were able to go straight to the x-ray machines, putting our stuff in the bins, etc, so in and out quickly.  The tram to our gate had 3 cars and 4 total parties got into the 3 cars.  Our flight, however, was pretty full going to Detroit 50 rows with middle seats open.  The detroit airport was very empty.  We were off getting food when they started boarding our flight and we were the last ones on a half full plane.  This one had 18 rows and was just quiet the whole way.  Our home airport was also nearly empty when we arrived. 

Overall, we did several mobile orders, those were almost always ready if we said we were there while walking to the restaurant.  We also did 7 ADRs - 4 were character meals.  You can check in up to 20 minutes early.  Most of the time, our table was ready within 10 minutes of us checking in.  They were all fairly socially distanced, I'd say the exception being SciFi, that seemed a little close.  I felt comfortable with them all, though I wasn't overly concerned about seeing others mask compliance or distanced for the most part, but my wife made sure I gave others space.  The markers in ride queues were nice when we did have to stop, but so many rides were near walk ons for us the markers didn't matter much.  I was nearly ran over by a scooter though.  I was oblivious to it, someone pointed it out to me.  I was trying to show my daughter a gingerbread Mickey ears hat someone was wearing and didn't notice the crash right next to me.  Poor lady ran into a moveable souvenirs rack inside one of the DHS stores.  I didn't check on her as others had already went to help. I would just say, make sure you know how to operate those things before going into small spaces.  I'm sure it was just a slip of a button or something.  Even without long lines, there's still plenty of people inside the parks and other areas, and there are definitely bottle necks in places.  If you feel uncomfortable getting stuck near others, it's probably best to stay away a few more months.  Hopefully not much longer though as the vaccine ramps up.  WDW might be more comfortable for some people after they've been vaccinated.  To anyone going soon, hope you have a great time.

ETA: One thing I forgot to mention, I mailed my droids home from the AoA resort store.  We took the droids with us from DHS and played with them a bit in our rooms. Then Sunday, I took them to the shop.  Was $17 to ship 2 droids.  The droids were delivered to our house on Friday. In case anyone is interested in not carrying it all over the place, especially the airport.


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## Ohiostatefan606

GBRforWDW said:


> * After lunch we did the Disney Visa photopass.  They dropped in some storm troopers and another character. * We then went back to our room for a break.  We had dinner reservations at Hollywood and Vine at park closing time.  We tried to convince our daughter to do more rides, but she wasn't having it, didn't even want the frozen musical, so we did the Mickey shorts theater and Muppets before walking around GE at night.  H&V dinner was really good and we loved the character interactions.  We did several character dinners and they were all great.  Sure they don't come right to your table, but they come close enough and are very easy to get pix of, though not always with.


 Oh my goodness, it sounded like a wonderful trip, happy belated birthday 

I am so glad I read all the details.  I am wondering about the Disney Visa photopass.  I had assumed it was a no-go since there aren't any other character spots.  Was it real characters?  I mean for me, Storm troopers ARE a character!   Now I wonder about the Visa spot at Epcot.


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## JFox

Peeps!  I keep hearing FastPass being mentioned by guests. Not asking what it is but where to go to check in.  I heard it first at AK then today at EPCOT.


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## yulilin3

Ohiostatefan606 said:


> Oh my goodness, it sounded like a wonderful trip, happy belated birthday
> 
> I am so glad I read all the details.  I am wondering about the Disney Visa photopass.  I had assumed it was a no-go since there aren't any other character spots.  Was it real characters?  I mean for me, Storm troopers ARE a character!   Now I wonder about the Visa spot at Epcot.


They're virtually put in.  Both visa spots are open


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## CarolynFH

Ohiostatefan606 said:


> Oh my goodness, it sounded like a wonderful trip, happy belated birthday
> 
> I am so glad I read all the details.  I am wondering about the Disney Visa photopass.  I had assumed it was a no-go since there aren't any other character spots.  Was it real characters?  I mean for me, Storm troopers ARE a character!   Now I wonder about the Visa spot at Epcot.


No, the Disney Visa shoot at DHS drops the characters in digitally. We had shots with stormtroopers and other shots with the droid from Rogue One (forgot his name).


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## yulilin3

JFox said:


> Peeps!  I keep hearing FastPass being mentioned by guests. Not asking what it is but where to go to check in.  I heard it first at AK then today at EPCOT.


People get a fp if they're using DAS, rider swap, guest recovery, club 33


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## GBRforWDW

Ohiostatefan606 said:


> Oh my goodness, it sounded like a wonderful trip, happy belated birthday
> 
> I am so glad I read all the details.  I am wondering about the Disney Visa photopass.  I had assumed it was a no-go since there aren't any other character spots.  Was it real characters?  I mean for me, Storm troopers ARE a character!   Now I wonder about the Visa spot at Epcot.


Others have answered, but yes, still a cool experience.  We didn't get to pick the characters they added, but I'm sure if you ask nicely, they'll be sure to get some storm troopers for you!  Also, if you're building a droid or lightsaber, definitely do that before going to the photo spot, makes it better.


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## chicagoshannon

where is the Visa spot at DHS?


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## yulilin3

chicagoshannon said:


> where is the Visa spot at DHS?


Launch bay


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## keke5656

yulilin3 said:


> People get a fp if they're using DAS, rider swap, guest recovery, club 33


They don't get a fast pass, they get a return time and sometimes enter through the fast pass line. Its like waiting in a 'virtual line' vs physical.


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## GBRforWDW

chicagoshannon said:


> where is the Visa spot at DHS?


When we walked into the launch bay open air hallway right under the launch bay sign, there were 2 employees at a desk.  I just said, where do we go for the Disney Visa photopass and they said right here!   Make sure you have the card on you though otherwise they may not do the pictures.


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## TexanInTheMidwest

We did the photo pass in Epcot in October and had a blast - and making the cast members laugh and have fun made it all the more fun for us. SO, if you have a VISA, pop in for the laughs!


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## yulilin3

keke5656 said:


> They don't get a fast pass, they get a return time and sometimes enter through the fast pass line. Its like waiting in a 'virtual line' vs physical.


I know but people see them going through the fp and think it's a fp. I was just answering the question in the simplest terms possible


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## keke5656

yulilin3 said:


> I know but people see them going through the fp and think it's a fp. I was just answering the question in the simplest terms possible


It is confusing!


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## keke5656

Does anyone know if Lyft/uber is still having the front seat empty? If so we would have to upgrade every time to a bigger car.


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## mnmhouston

Heading out mid-February.  I have a couple of questions, 1. What entertainment is still being offered i.e. parades, fireworks, etc.? 2. I read somewhere that hours sometimes get extended based on crowd levels.  How often does this happen and how likely is it at Epcot and Magic Kingdom?


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## maryj11

PCFriar80 said:


> I do. We were there Saturday [1/9], Monday [1/11], and Tuesday [1/12].  We walked from BCV, left at 7:50 arrived at 8:10, temp check, security and MB scan and were in at 8:15.  We headed to MMRR on Saturday and were on by 8:40.   We headed over to SDD and waited 20 minutes.  We did not get a BG on Saturday.  Monday we got BG18.  We left the same time and hit SDD around 8:30.  Tuesday we got BG 18 again, entered the same time, SDD was down.  We did TSMM, headed to TOT and did MMRR around 9:30 before our BG was called.  When we came out of TSMM around 8:45, SDD was still down but people were lining up.
> 
> Sorry for the long play-by-play but to answer your question, for a 9:00 HS opening gates were open by 8:10.


I’m debating on which day to make park reservations and have a question. Did you notice if any of the days you went to HS were less crowded or did they all seem the same?


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## GBRforWDW

mnmhouston said:


> Heading out mid-February.  I have a couple of questions, 1. What entertainment is still being offered i.e. parades, fireworks, etc.? 2. I read somewhere that hours sometimes get extended based on crowd levels.  How often does this happen and how likely is it at Epcot and Magic Kingdom?


 Instead of parades, they have character cavalcades throughout the day.  It's basically 1 or 2 cars with a few different characters.  Each park has something different.  No fireworks at the end of the night, but several rides have animated fireworks, not the same as Cinderella castle, but, If can still be fun if you allow it. Shows right now are limited to DHS.  They have the Frozen sing along and Disney Junior dance party and that's about it.


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## yulilin3

mnmhouston said:


> Heading out mid-February.  I have a couple of questions, 1. What entertainment is still being offered i.e. parades, fireworks, etc.? 2. I read somewhere that hours sometimes get extended based on crowd levels.  How often does this happen and how likely is it at Epcot and Magic Kingdom?


Go on mde and you can filter by park and entertainment/ attraction to see what's operating. 
As far as hours they've been changing up to 3 weeks prior.  It could or couldn't happen for your trip


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## GBRforWDW

maryj11 said:


> I’m debating on which day to make park reservations and have a question. Did you notice if any of the days you went to HS were less crowded or did they all seem the same?


Most will say choose a weekend day to go to DHS because the weekend crowds versus week day crowds are a lot different in the other parks, whereas if DHS has a difference, it's minimal.  That being said, first two hours and last couple hours at DHS on Friday and Sunday when we went were still very light on crowds.


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## sethschroeder

keke5656 said:


> Does anyone know if Lyft/uber is still having the front seat empty? If so we would have to upgrade every time to a bigger car.



I would say go based on capacity in app everyone should have a seat belt. No clue about front seats.


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## maryj11

GBRforWDW said:


> Most will say choose a weekend day to go to DHS because the weekend crowds versus week day crowds are a lot different in the other parks, whereas if DHS has a difference, it's minimal.  That being said, first two hours and last couple hours at DHS on Friday and Sunday when we went were still very light on crowds.


Thank you! I’m thinking about reserving a Friday.


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## PCFriar80

maryj11 said:


> I’m debating on which day to make park reservations and have a question. Did you notice if any of the days you went to HS were less crowded or did they all seem the same?


We went Saturday, 1/9, Monday, 1/11 and Tuesday 1/12.  Saturday was the most crowded I think for obvious reasons especially in Galaxys Edge.  However we were able to do MMRR, SDD, and TSMM within 90 minutes.  We arrived around 8:15 on Saturday and got right on MMRR.  We didn't get a BG for that morning but I think that was more of a tactical technical error for which means we tried versus crowd levels.  We made our technical adjustments for Monday and Tuesday and both days got BG18 for ROTR.  Both Monday and Tuesday were better crowd wise in all parts of the park.  Just for the record I used my iPad with BCV in room WiFi to get the BG18 on both days.


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## MainMom

Epcot Monday 1/18: We are staying off site for the first time and driving to the parks. Today was our first park day (10 park days total.) Party is myself, my 2 teenagers & my parents.

Arrived about 10:03 & we were about 6ish cars back. Waited maybe 7 minutes before they started letting us in. My Dad was driving and went in the wrong lane so we were in preferred, 3 rows back all the way on the end. Breezed through temp check, bag check (my loungefly backpack did not set off the detector like I had read it could), and waited 3 minutes before they started letting us in. Stopped and took some pics, and headed towards Nemo which wasn’t open so we went to Soarin’. If I remember correctly we were standing in line around 10:30 and only waited a few minutes before they started boarding guests.

Our first flight had technical difficulties (1/3 of the screen was blue on the left) so they moved us to new concourses for a second ride. Yay! I thought the scents were really noticeable this time. After Soarin’ we did LWTL and then Nemo. Both waits were as long as it took to walk the queues. Future World did not feel crowded to us. My dad kept saying how nice it as.

By that time it was 11:50 and we were hungry. Minimal line for La Cantina and I MUCH prefer the social distance spacing for this restaurant. I always felt so crowded in there while ordering. We actually went and ate inside. It was so nice because no one else was in there! We then rode 3 Caballeros (15 minute wait) and Frozen (said 25 maybe waited 15.)

World Showcase definitely felt more crowded. Not normal crowded, but busy due to the festival. 6ft social distancing was not possible, but we could keep some space if we just slowed down a bit.

I personally only saw a couple of people with their masks down who were not eating or drinking. No one like that in line. One guy did take his mask off right at the front of Epcot to take a pic and the cast member told him to put his mask on. He said “Even for pictures?”  Everyone around us maintained the 6ft  space while in line and stayed on their markers. Overall we did not feel uncomfortable.

We left about 3:30 after shopping in Mousegears and riding Spaceship Earth. I have to say it was so nice not being attached to my phone or worrying about the time & if we had to be somewhere. Everything was leisurely for us & my daughter even commented how I got to look around and enjoy since I wasn’t herding 13 people around. 

Tomorrow is Magic Kingdom.


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## maryj11

PCFriar80 said:


> We went Saturday, 1/9, Monday, 1/11 and Tuesday 1/12.  Saturday was the most crowded I think for obvious reasons especially in Galaxys Edge.  However we were able to do MMRR, SDD, and TSMM within 90 minutes.  We arrived around 8:15 on Saturday and got right on MMRR.  We didn't get a BG for that morning but I think that was more of a tactical technical error for which means we tried versus crowd levels.  We made our technical adjustments for Monday and Tuesday and both days got BG18 for ROTR.  Both Monday and Tuesday were better crowd wise in all parts of the park.  Just for the record I used my iPad with BCV in room WiFi to get the BG18 on both days.


Thanks for the info. We are only going to HS one day so I will only have 1 shot at getting a boarding group.


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## hereforthechurros

keke5656 said:


> Does anyone know if Lyft/uber is still having the front seat empty? If so we would have to upgrade every time to a bigger car.


On our trip over Christmas a driver they offered the front seat to us a couple times. Not sure what the company policy is but seems some driver’s don’t care.


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## mamamelody2

Went to HS today.  Got boarding group 41 from POP Century.  Stepped outside of room because phones don't work well inside.  I planned to Uber to Speedway then walk, but my son wanted to do the Skyliner.  I thought the line would be crazy, but we got in line about 7:25 and were perhaps 6 parties back.  Started running 7:30.  Very little line at Caribbean Beach where Skyliner was not yet running.  Waited about 10 minutes and it started running at 7:45.  Got to HS and were held in line for temp check.  Started letting people in at 8.  We went straight to MMRR.  They did not start running it right away.  Started at 8:20, we were in 2nd train.  Headed to Slinky, waited about 10 minutes.  Next to Tower of Terror, waited about 10 minutes.  Next to Rock N Roller Coaster, waited about 10 minutes.  Once we got off, it was 9:40.  Wow, what a great start!  Every line was so much longer once we got off the ride.

But anyway--you can definitely get to HS and be at the front of the back by using the Skyliner!


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## maryj11

mamamelody2 said:


> Went to HS today.  Got boarding group 41 from POP Century.  Stepped outside of room because phones don't work well inside.  I planned to Uber to Speedway then walk, but my son wanted to do the Skyliner.  I thought the line would be crazy, but we got in line about 7:25 and were perhaps 6 parties back.  Started running 7:30.  Very little line at Caribbean Beach where Skyliner was not yet running.  Waited about 10 minutes and it started running at 7:45.  Got to HS and were held in line for temp check.  Started letting people in at 8.  We went straight to MMRR.  They did not start running it right away.  Started at 8:20, we were in 2nd train.  Headed to Slinky, waited about 10 minutes.  Next to Tower of Terror, waited about 10 minutes.  Next to Rock N Roller Coaster, waited about 10 minutes.  Once we got off, it was 9:40.  Wow, what a great start!  Every line was so much longer once we got off the ride.
> 
> But anyway--you can definitely get to HS and be at the front of the back by using the Skyliner!


Wow that was a good morning!


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## NashvilleMama

mamamelody2 said:


> Went to HS today.  Got boarding group 41 from POP Century.  Stepped outside of room because phones don't work well inside.  I planned to Uber to Speedway then walk, but my son wanted to do the Skyliner.  I thought the line would be crazy, but we got in line about 7:25 and were perhaps 6 parties back.  Started running 7:30.  Very little line at Caribbean Beach where Skyliner was not yet running.  Waited about 10 minutes and it started running at 7:45.  Got to HS and were held in line for temp check.  Started letting people in at 8.  We went straight to MMRR.  They did not start running it right away.  Started at 8:20, we were in 2nd train.  Headed to Slinky, waited about 10 minutes.  Next to Tower of Terror, waited about 10 minutes.  Next to Rock N Roller Coaster, waited about 10 minutes.  Once we got off, it was 9:40.  Wow, what a great start!  Every line was so much longer once we got off the ride.
> 
> But anyway--you can definitely get to HS and be at the front of the back by using the Skyliner!


 This is so great to hear, thank you! Staying at POP in about 10 days and the Skyliner to DHS timing is really the only thing "worrying" me at the moment. Appreciate all the detailed info!


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## scrappinginontario

NashvilleMama said:


> This is so great to hear, thank you! Staying at POP in about 10 days and the Skyliner to DHS timing is really the only thing "worrying" me at the moment. Appreciate all the detailed info!


 I think the key is arriving at the Skyliner early enough in case there is a line.  Now that BGs are dropping at 7am the Skyliner line at Pop is much more reasonable.


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## jlstwinmommy

We’ve done 3 park days so far.
1/16: MK - parked at BLT (where we are staying) and walked to MK. Got there about 8:30am and walked into the park. Went straight to thunder mountain, then haunted mansion (pirates was down for part on the morning), Peter Pan, little mermaid. By then it was 10:30 and kids wanted chicken and waffles. I wish they had mobile order as that line was long. Took us about 30 min or so to order.

we did a couple more rides and then hopped to Epcot as MK was getting pretty busy. Mostly wandered countries and sampled food booths for dinner.

1/17 HS - we got BG 85. We drove to the park and did MMRR and smugglers run. First time to Star Wars so spent some time just soaking up the atmosphere there. Then headed to ToT which was posted at 70 min, but we waited about 45 min.BG was called a little after 1. That is an amazing ride. We hopped to Epcot again for dinner.
1/18 AK - we were a little later than planned getting to the park, but got there about 7:45. Went straight to FoP which was about 45 min wait. Everything else looked long, but only had about 5-10 min waits.
I like no FP as it makes our days a bit more flexible. Most people have done well with masks. Had one family  that wanted to follow right behind un on ToT which included a teen with improper mask wearing. CM called them out on both which alleviated the issue. We did see one guy arguing with Epcot security about having to wear a mask but security told him he couldn’t enter the park without one. We walked by and didn’t see the end of the discussion.


----------



## famgel

Ty for reports leaving 2/6 and a little anxious about flight from jfk and wdw but the reports r def making me feel better!


----------



## sethschroeder

Slinky Dog just went down clearing out the line.

Update: extended down time electronics issues


----------



## sethschroeder

Now Aliens is down as well. 

Bad morning for Toy Story. Guess Andy took all the batteries with him to college.


----------



## GBRforWDW

sethschroeder said:


> Now Aliens is down as well.
> 
> Bad morning for Toy Story. Guess Andy took all the batteries with him to college.


What a terrible kid!  JK jk.  Hope things get back up and running.  Looking at the app, it appears they already are.  Have a fun day.


----------



## sethschroeder

Yup back up and running skipping it today since it's a line outside of TSL already when we checked back.


----------



## GBRforWDW

sethschroeder said:


> Yup back up and running skipping it today since it's a line outside of TSL already when we checked back.


Yeah I'm sure, haha.  Might be better after 6 tonight, unless you're park hopping.


----------



## sethschroeder

GBRforWDW said:


> Yeah I'm sure, haha.  Might be better after 6 tonight, unless you're park hopping.



Yup out of the resort and hitting Epcot later. 

Will hit it some night or morning this week.


----------



## sethschroeder

No wait for Mexico Pavilion today


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Can anybody report on any special Popcorn Buckets that are available around WDW right now?  Hoping to bring home an Alien or Millennium Falcon if either are still for sale to join our Sulley from a few years ago!


----------



## sethschroeder

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Can anybody report on any special Popcorn Buckets that are available around WDW right now?  Hoping to bring home an Alien or Millennium Falcon if either are still for sale to join our Sulley from a few years ago!



Where do you find them can take a gander.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

sethschroeder said:


> Where do you find them can take a gander.



So after making that comment, I did a little searching on the DIS and twitter.

I actually found this thread:

Current popcorn bucket design | The DIS Disney Discussion Forums - DISboards.com

Looks like all of these are available:  Mickey & Minnie B&W Steamboat Willie (MK), Yellow Balloon (MK), Alien (DHS), Millennium Falcon (DHS) and Simba (AK).  I also sourced another DP of this on Twitter, so I just needed to be a little resourceful, lol!

Thanks for your willingness to check it out.  If you happen to see how much they're charging for Aliens and Falcon that interests me as well haha!


----------



## MainMom

Magic Kingdom Tuesday 1/19:
Arrived at entrance a couple of minutes before 8am. We were several cars back and they did not start letting us through until about 8:15-8:20. Short wait at temp check then right though bag check. We took the monorail which has plastic partitions dividing each seat into 2 sections. We are a party of 5. On the way to MK we were put into 2 sections (3/2) with 2 other groups and the way back to TTC 3 sections (2/2/1) no one else in the with us.
We were in line for 7Dwarves at 8:50 with a 5 minute wait (took 40.) When then rode Pooh (15), Peter Pan (20), HM (said 10 we walked straight through the queue), BTMRR (45 took 35.)
By then it was close to our mobile order time (which we placed while in line for 7Dwarves) so went went over to cosmic rays for lunch.
We rode Buzz & Space which both were about 10 minutes shorter than posted. Then TIKi Room (no wait) and Pirates. Pirates was posted at 25 and were at 25 minutes before we even entered the actual building.
We grabbed a Mickey Pretzel in Frontierland & Funnel cakes at Sleepy Hollow and had a nice rest at the tables behind Ye Old Christmas Shop. This location was excellent for a break. We even saw a couple of Cavalcades go by.
After some shopping we left MK around 3:45. I have to say it did not feel that busy in the walkways. Sure there were congested areas around Adventureland and the Speedway, but I took several pictures throughout the day of pretty much open space. As we were leaving I noticed the whole area between Main Street and the train station was so empty! I really was amazed.
Again today we saw good mask compliance and line distancing. I will say some of the lines are trickey with the angles and the spacing to keep 6ft. I do think most people tired to keep the distance. Overall, another great and mostly leisurely day.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

MainMom said:


> After some shopping we left MK around 3:45. I have to say it did not feel that busy in the walkways. Sure there were congested areas around Adventureland and the Speedway, but I took several pictures throughout the day of pretty much open space. As we were leaving I noticed the whole area between Main Street and the train station was so empty! I really was amazed.



Mid-day is really prime for Castle pictures - from my observations there is basically no one in the Hub and there's better lighting than first thing AM too. Just try not to stare into the sun XD


----------



## grannyminnie

Are those arriving at HS by car at a disadvantage for getting thru the tapstiles before actual park opening time?


----------



## sethschroeder

grannyminnie said:


> Are those arriving at HS by car at a disadvantage for getting thru the tapstiles before actual park opening time?



It's not about park opening time. By park opening if you are walking there or skyliner you could have been through 3-4 rides easily. 

Was through RR, TT, and MM by park opening yesterday. Would have been through Slinky by a little after park opening if it didn't go down. 

All the parks are opening fairly early.


----------



## Akck

grannyminnie said:


> Are those arriving at HS by car at a disadvantage for getting thru the tapstiles before actual park opening time?



When we were there in early December, the skyliner was stopped as we drove to our parking spot. It started up as we parked. We were almost able to walk-on MMRR, pausing for the ride to start and short pauses as they filled cars. I think people who walked from the BW area were first, but we were a close second or third. While you may be only able to do one major ride by driving, you can still do many of the secondary rides with very little wait for the first hour or two.


----------



## sethschroeder

Akck said:


> When we were there in early December, the skyliner was stopped as we drove to our parking spot. It started up as we parked. We were almost able to walk-on MMRR, pausing for the ride to start and short pauses as they filled cars. I think people who walked from the BW area were first, but we were a close second or third. While you may be only able to do one major ride by driving, you can still do many of the secondary rides with very little wait for the first hour or two.



At this point it is different though it seems. Busses are arriving by the early opening cars are still being held.


----------



## sethschroeder

Pooh and Splash both down to start out the morning. Make sure to pay attention to ride closures on the app.


----------



## Orion Nebula

MainMom said:


> Magic Kingdom Tuesday 1/19:
> Arrived at entrance a couple of minutes before 8am. We were several cars back and they did not start letting us through until about 8:15-8:20. Short wait at temp check then right though bag check. We took the monorail which has plastic partitions dividing each seat into 2 sections. We are a party of 5. On the way to MK we were put into 2 sections (3/2) with 2 other groups and the way back to TTC 3 sections (2/2/1) no one else in the with us.
> We were in line for 7Dwarves at 8:50 with a 5 minute wait (took 40.) When then rode Pooh (15), Peter Pan (20), HM (said 10 we walked straight through the queue), BTMRR (45 took 35.)
> By then it was close to our mobile order time (which we placed while in line for 7Dwarves) so went went over to cosmic rays for lunch.
> We rode Buzz & Space which both were about 10 minutes shorter than posted. Then TIKi Room (no wait) and Pirates. Pirates was posted at 25 and were at 25 minutes before we even entered the actual building.
> We grabbed a Mickey Pretzel in Frontierland & Funnel cakes at Sleepy Hollow and had a nice rest at the tables behind Ye Old Christmas Shop. This location was excellent for a break. We even saw a couple of Cavalcades go by.
> After some shopping we left MK around 3:45. I have to say it did not feel that busy in the walkways. Sure there were congested areas around Adventureland and the Speedway, but I took several pictures throughout the day of pretty much open space. As we were leaving I noticed the whole area between Main Street and the train station was so empty! I really was amazed.
> Again today we saw good mask compliance and line distancing. I will say some of the lines are trickey with the angles and the spacing to keep 6ft. I do think most people tired to keep the distance. Overall, another great and mostly leisurely day.



I am going to assume the erratic wait times were due to pausing for cleanings? If so I guess it's not a horrible thing. How were people respecting distancing in line?


----------



## sethschroeder

Orion Nebula said:


> How were people respecting distancing in line?



All good our entire time so far zero issues.


----------



## sethschroeder

Slinky and RR both temporarily closed again today in the morning.


----------



## Orion Nebula

sethschroeder said:


> Slinky and RR both temporarily closed again today in the morning.



Geez that seems to be a common thing now. Has anyone ever guessed as to why?


----------



## Duck143

I haven't read all of these reports, but have read a bunch.  I am wondering if adding PH option to tickets is worth it for a trip in May (not around the holiday) and if anyone has wanted to hop to a park and couldn't due to capacity issues.   We have had AP's, and hoped to multiple parks in one day, but I don't want to spend the money and be disappointed if we can't get in.


----------



## Olaf Myfrenzargay

I added Park Hopper Plus for a late March trip.  Fully expect to get hosed one way or the other but need to have the option.

one thing I passed on this year was Memory Maker.


----------



## sethschroeder

Duck143 said:


> I am wondering if adding PH option to tickets is worth it



Dont think a single person has been turned away, even during the start of it.

It's been great for us. Staying at BWV we just do Epcot in the evenings so no need to even go there in the morning. We also make sure to rope Drop, get through a bunch of rides, then relax mid day.

Personally like it a lot.


----------



## Duck143

sethschroeder said:


> Dont think a single person has been turned away, even during the start of it.
> 
> It's been great for us. Staying at BWV we just do Epcot in the evenings so no need to even go there in the morning. We also make sure to rope Drop, get through a bunch of rides, then relax mid day.
> 
> Personally like it a lot.


I can't imagine a trip without park hopping.  It has been a huge part of the way we enjoy Disney.  Thank you for your experience update!!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Duck143 said:


> but I don't want to spend the money and be disappointed if we can't get in.


I have not read a single report of anyone wanting to hop and there not being availability.


----------



## jlstwinmommy

Duck143 said:


> I haven't read all of these reports, but have read a bunch.  I am wondering if adding PH option to tickets is worth it for a trip in May (not around the holiday) and if anyone has wanted to hop to a park and couldn't due to capacity issues.   We have had AP's, and hoped to multiple parks in one day, but I don't want to spend the money and be disappointed if we can't get in.


We’ve been here since Saturday. Added PH when we got here. I love being able to hop over to Epcot to either snack at the food booths or eat dinner. It’s worked out great for us. We haven’t had an issue being turned away at any park. FYI - we have been using our own car to get to the parks since we drove though we have taken the skyline from HS to EP.


----------



## armerida

sethschroeder said:


> It's not about park opening time. By park opening if you are walking there or skyliner you could have been through 3-4 rides easily.
> 
> Was through RR, TT, and MM by park opening yesterday. Would have been through Slinky by a little after park opening if it didn't go down.
> 
> All the parks are opening fairly early.


That’s great! Are they still letting people in around 8:05-8:10 like over the holidays? Was that the order you did those rides? If so, what time did RnR start running? We haven’t started with the Sunset Blvd rides recently, hit MMRR first and then SDD before heading over there last time. Now that there’s plexi up on MMRR, seems like we could push it back later...


----------



## sethschroeder

armerida said:


> If so, what time did RnR start running?



At park open. It was 45 mins early if I remember correctly. 

One day we did MMRR and Star Wars the other day RR/TT/Midway (slinky was down). 

Starting at RR was the way we liked it since you got that done and worked towards the back. Would have worked if Slinky wasn't down as it was probably a 20 min wait when we got back there but they shut it down right as we walked up.


----------



## Cotta

Is Hollywood Studios the only park opening early (rides running)? And if the other parks are opening, at what time?


----------



## SL6827

What is up with Slinky going down?  What issue does the puppy have?


----------



## xjillianpaige

Hi!

I'm going to WDW for one day on Monday 2/8 with my cousin. She's meeting me there (I'll be driving from the SW coast and her from the NE coast, we each have about a 2 hour drive). Since this is a one day trip, what is the ideal time to arrive at the TTC so I can maximize my day? I've never driven to the parks - I've always stayed on site.


----------



## jlstwinmommy

Cotta said:


> Is Hollywood Studios the only park opening early (rides running)? And if the other parks are opening, at what time?



All the parks seem to open about 30 min before published opening time. We went to MK yesterday. Walked from BLT. They opened the ticket scans at 8:30am. We did mine train, space mountain, buzz, pirates, big thunder, haunted mansion all by 10:30am.


----------



## GBRforWDW

xjillianpaige said:


> Hi!
> 
> I'm going to WDW for one day on Monday 2/8 with my cousin. She's meeting me there (I'll be driving from the SW coast and her from the NE coast, we each have about a 2 hour drive). Since this is a one day trip, what is the ideal time to arrive at the TTC so I can maximize my day? I've never driven to the parks - I've always stayed on site.


I'm assuming you're going to Magic Kingdom, since you're heading to TTC.  I believe they're letting cars in around 810, I would get there as close to that time if possible.  

One thing id be interested in, will the super bowl mvp be going to Disney world this year?  If so, SB is on the 7th, so beware of that possibility.


----------



## MainMom

Orion Nebula said:


> I am going to assume the erratic wait times were due to pausing for cleanings? If so I guess it's not a horrible thing. How were people respecting distancing in line?



People were great at Epcot and MK in the lines. Yesterday at AK we had our first issues in the Navii line. The first was a group of 10, Mom & 9 teenagers. They kept getting right up to my parents. I told them to go ahead of us and to stay behind their lines...they didn’t. Unfortunately after them was a mom and her young kids. They were eating in line and then kept crowding. Then there were the 20 year olds who got into the outside part of the queue with beer to drink.When they got to the CM at the entrance shetold Them to throw out the beer or get out of the line. They got out of the line.

If you are at all nervous about lines I do not recommend the Navii line. There are several places with large gaps that are there to keep the distance. We were the only ones not filling in the space. This I understood more as it is habit to just fill in the space. I’m sure most don’t think about the angles. We won’t be getting on this ride again unless we can just walk through the queue.

Otherwise it was a great day! Everything else was walk on.


----------



## MainMom

Animal Kingdom Wednesday 1/20: The park hours today were 8-5. We made the decision to sleep in and get to the park between 10-11. We arrived around 10, breezed right through the parking booths, and were directed to Peacock lot. My first observation was that it was so empty.

We went right though temp check and bag screening, scanned our bands and were in! FOP was a 15 minute wait which was essentially walking through the queue with a couple of short stops. We had never been in the queue as we always have had FP. On our way out we were offered a second ride. My kids and I decided to ride again and we went straight through the FP line. It was a short wait. On our first ride the screen was very blurry (all 5 of us noticed.) It was much better the second ride. They were filling all seats so you are right next to people with no distancing. We were offered a third ride, but chose not to do it.

After FOP we placed our mobile order for Satuli then we got in line for Navii which was a 30 minute wait (we had about 45 before our order window started.) This is where we had our first issues with people not distancing in line. See my post above for the issues.

It was our first time eating at Satuli and we all really enjoyed it! After lunch we went to Safari which was a 10 minute walk the queue. Lowell was our driver and he was the best driver we have ever had. Lots of animals were out mid day & it was an excellent Safari.

We walked the Gorilla Trails and then took the train to Rafiki’s. In all of our trips my kids had never been there.  While there we got to see them performing a surgery on a turtle who had an egg stuck and then watch them close up the shell with bolts or screws and wire. It was quite interesting and my daughter who is studying to become a vet loved it. Then we did the 2:30 Animation Experience where we drew Scar. I like that they have the guidelines on the paper now as I’m a terrible artist who can’t even draw a circle. 

After Animation we took the train back and grabbed a few treats which we ate in the Harambe Market. There we maybe 2 other families in the whole area. Again, the walkways here were so empty.

As we left the park we stopped in some stores and then headed out. I think at this time it was about 4pm. It was another nice, leisurely day. Except for those people in the Navii line we didn’t see any rule breakers, but we just weren’t around a lot of people either. 

Oh, the weather has been excellent. We are from WI and are loving this. Much better than 8 and snow back home. 

Today is a day off and then tomorrow (Friday) my Mom, daughter and I are headed to HS


----------



## yulilin3

MainMom said:


> Animal Kingdom Wednesday 1/20: The park hours today were 8-5. We made the decision to sleep in and get to the park between 10-11. We arrived around 10, breezed right through the parking booths, and were directed to Peacock lot. My first observation was that it was so empty.
> 
> We went right though temp check and bag screening, scanned our bands and were in! FOP was a 15 minute wait which was essentially walking through the queue with a couple of short stops. We had never been in the queue as we always have had FP. On our way out we were offered a second ride. My kids and I decided to ride again and we went straight through the FP line. It was a short wait. On our first ride the screen was very blurry (all 5 of us noticed.) It was much better the second ride. They were filling all seats so you are right next to people with no distancing. We were offered a third ride, but chose not to do it.
> 
> After FOP we placed our mobile order for Satuli then we got in line for Navii which was a 30 minute wait (we had about 45 before our order window started.) This is where we had our first issues with people not distancing in line. See my post above for the issues.
> 
> It was our first time eating at Satuli and we all really enjoyed it! After lunch we went to Safari which was a 10 minute walk the queue. Lowell was our driver and he was the best driver we have ever had. Lots of animals were out mid day & it was an excellent Safari.
> 
> We walked the Gorilla Trails and then took the train to Rafiki’s. In all of our trips my kids had never been there.  While there we got to see them performing a surgery on a turtle who had an egg stuck and then watch them close up the shell with bolts or screws and wire. It was quite interesting and my daughter who is studying to become a vet loved it. Then we did the 2:30 Animation Experience where we drew Scar. I like that they have the guidelines on the paper now as I’m a terrible artist who can’t even draw a circle.
> 
> After Animation we took the train back and grabbed a few treats which we ate in the Harambe Market. There we maybe 2 other families in the whole area. Again, the walkways here were so empty.
> 
> As we left the park we stopped in some stores and then headed out. I think at this time it was about 4pm. It was another nice, leisurely day. Except for those people in the Navii line we didn’t see any rule breakers, but we just weren’t around a lot of people either.
> 
> Oh, the weather has been excellent. We are from WI and are loving this. Much better than 8 and snow back home.
> 
> Today is a day off and then tomorrow (Friday) my Mom, daughter and I are headed to HS


Lowell is a friend of mine, I'll make sure to show him your post  he used to work at GMR, he loved playing Mugsy


----------



## Orion Nebula

MainMom said:


> People were great at Epcot and MK in the lines. Yesterday at AK we had our first issues in the Navii line. The first was a group of 10, Mom & 9 teenagers. They kept getting right up to my parents. I told them to go ahead of us and to stay behind their lines...they didn’t. Unfortunately after them was a mom and her young kids. They were eating in line and then kept crowding. Then there were the 20 year olds who got into the outside part of the queue with beer to drink.When they got to the CM at the entrance shetold Them to throw out the beer or get out of the line. They got out of the line.
> 
> If you are at all nervous about lines I do not recommend the Navii line. There are several places with large gaps that are there to keep the distance. We were the only ones not filling in the space. This I understood more as it is habit to just fill in the space. I’m sure most don’t think about the angles. We won’t be getting on this ride again unless we can just walk through the queue.
> 
> Otherwise it was a great day! Everything else was walk on.



How annoying... it's always the entitled that are causing issues. At least I guess a CS confronted the beer drinkers. As far as your other comment about FOP being blurry, was it the last time you went? I didn't notice it during my last trip but I wonder what's going on? Maybe the constant scrubbing on the glasses?


----------



## MainMom

Orion Nebula said:


> How annoying... it's always the entitled that are causing issues. At least I guess a CS confronted the beer drinkers. As far as your other comment about FOP being blurry, was it the last time you went? I didn't notice it during my last trip but I wonder what's going on? Maybe the constant scrubbing on the glasses?


Our last trip was June 2019. Our first ride was blurry, the second was fine.


----------



## MainMom

yulilin3 said:


> Lowell is a friend of mine, I'll make sure to show him your post  he used to work at GMR, gre loved plating Mugsy



We were on the Safari that had the “first lion sighting in 5 safari’s”. IDK if he will remember but we were sitting right behind him. He truly was great. My 19 year old daughter said “I actually learned something new!”


----------



## Turk February

We just got back from a quick 5 day trip, our second in 3 months thanks to cheap flights. Only did 2 park days and one of them we had Club 33 perks so I will not break down that day since it won't represent an accurate portrayal. 

DHS Monday 1/18 (MLK Day)

We arrived at DHS at 7:45 after walking over from Speedway. There were only 6 families in front of us, which was way different than October when we arrived around the same time before opening and there were at least 40 groups ahead of us.

They walked us over to temp check about 3 minutes after getting there, and we noticed the skyliner started dropping people off around 7:50 (a friend who met up with us said they were running from Pop at 7:30 and began running from CBR at 7:45)

Temp check tents opened at 8:06.

We were 2nd in line for MMRR at 8:10 and they began running at 8:19
8:30 - SDD (posted wait 20; actual wait 13)
8:56 - MFSR (posted wait 30; actual 14)
Then we went over to ROTR, Boarding Group 8
Took a break for Starbucks 
10:52 - RNRC (posted wait 55; actual 22)
11:34 - TSMM (posted wait 45; actual 24)
Break for lunch and shopping
1:25 - Oga's (finally got to sit at the bar!)
2:23 - RNRC (posted 45; actual 37)
3:17 - MMRR (posted 45; actual 27)
Break for snacks
4:17 - Star Tours (posted 25; actual 15)
4:49 - MFSR (posted 35; actual 19)

After that we had a Savi's appointment and dinner so that was it for rides.

A few takeaways - far less busy than our October trip, even with the expected MLK weekend bump. The cooler weather made masks so much more bearable than in the October heat. They didn't even bother us this time. Compliance was excellent from other guests.  We usually go to WDW once a year or even once every 2 years nowadays and while all the magic isn't there, I still think it's a great time to go to WDW. If we can afford it, we'll go back before the summer heat but I will not return in the hot weather while masks are still mandatory. The difference between comfort in January vs. October was night and day.


----------



## dez1978

Turk February said:


> We just got back from a quick 5 day trip, our second in 3 months thanks to cheap flights. Only did 2 park days and one of them we had Club 33 perks so I will not break down that day since it won't represent an accurate portrayal.
> 
> DHS Monday 1/18 (MLK Day)
> 
> We arrived at DHS at 7:45 after walking over from Speedway. There were only 6 families in front of us, which was way different than October when we arrived around the same time before opening and there were at least 40 groups ahead of us.
> 
> They walked us over to temp check about 3 minutes after getting there, and we noticed the skyliner started dropping people off around 7:50 (a friend who met up with us said they were running from Pop at 7:30 and began running from CBR at 7:45)
> 
> Temp check tents opened at 8:06.
> 
> We were 2nd in line for MMRR at 8:10 and they began running at 8:19
> 8:30 - SDD (posted wait 20; actual wait 13)
> 8:56 - MFSR (posted wait 30; actual 14)
> Then we went over to ROTR, Boarding Group 8
> Took a break for Starbucks
> 10:52 - RNRC (posted wait 55; actual 22)
> 11:34 - TSMM (posted wait 45; actual 24)
> Break for lunch and shopping
> 1:25 - Oga's (finally got to sit at the bar!)
> 2:23 - RNRC (posted 45; actual 37)
> 3:17 - MMRR (posted 45; actual 27)
> Break for snacks
> 4:17 - Star Tours (posted 25; actual 15)
> 4:49 - MFSR (posted 35; actual 19)
> 
> After that we had a Savi's appointment and dinner so that was it for rides.
> 
> A few takeaways - far less busy than our October trip, even with the expected MLK weekend bump. The cooler weather made masks so much more bearable than in the October heat. They didn't even bother us this time. Compliance was excellent from other guests.  We usually go to WDW once a year or even once every 2 years nowadays and while all the magic isn't there, I still think it's a great time to go to WDW. If we can afford it, we'll go back before the summer heat but I will not return in the hot weather while masks are still mandatory. The difference between comfort in January vs. October was night and day.


But now I need to know about the Club 33 perks lol..


----------



## Orion Nebula

Turk February said:


> A few takeaways - far less busy than our October trip, even with the expected MLK weekend bump. The cooler weather made masks so much more bearable than in the October heat. They didn't even bother us this time. Compliance was excellent from other guests.  We usually go to WDW once a year or even once every 2 years nowadays and while all the magic isn't there, I still think it's a great time to go to WDW. If we can afford it, we'll go back before the summer heat but I will not return in the hot weather while masks are still mandatory. The difference between comfort in January vs. October was night and day.



Thank you for the detailed report!


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

Turk February said:


> We arrived at DHS at 7:45 after walking over from Speedway.



Can you tell me a bit more about walking from Speedway?  I think that may be our plan and I find only a comment here and there, one of which involved "sketchy jaywalking," so if you could elaborate, I'd appreciate it!  I assume that would be better or at least a shorter distance than getting dropped off at Boardwalk.


----------



## yulilin3

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Can you tell me a bit more about walking from Speedway?  I think that may be our plan and I find only a comment here and there, one of which involved "sketchy jaywalking," so if you could elaborate, I'd appreciate it!  I assume that would be better or at least a shorter distance than getting dropped off at Boardwalk.


I made a video last year to help people with this


----------



## GBRforWDW

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Can you tell me a bit more about walking from Speedway?  I think that may be our plan and I find only a comment here and there, one of which involved "sketchy jaywalking," so if you could elaborate, I'd appreciate it!  I assume that would be better or at least a shorter distance than getting dropped off at Boardwalk.


I wouldn't recommend this if you have options other than a Disney bus(if it's that or Uber, Uber is better). 

With boarding groups at 7, it's not nearly as competitive as before.  We drove and we're in after walkers and early skyliners.  Still walked on MMRR and did all 3 Toy Story rides as near walk ons, sdd maybe 15 minute wait.


----------



## Turk February

dez1978 said:


> But now I need to know about the Club 33 perks lol..



Haha basically just the ability to hop before 2 and the use of their regular allotment of anytime fastpasses.


----------



## MomOTwins

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Can you tell me a bit more about walking from Speedway?  I think that may be our plan and I find only a comment here and there, one of which involved "sketchy jaywalking," so if you could elaborate, I'd appreciate it!  I assume that would be better or at least a shorter distance than getting dropped off at Boardwalk.


Cars/rideshares are not allowed in to Boardwalk without a dining reservation at present, which is why more people have been using the Speedway lately.  You could also get dropped off at the Swan/Dolphin.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

MomOTwins said:


> Cars/rideshares are not allowed in to Boardwalk without a dining reservation at present, which is why more people have been using the Speedway lately.  You could also get dropped off at the Swan/Dolphin.



Good to know!  Would I want to plan for Swan/Dolphin drop off for our Epcot day then?  What about for MK....can we get dropped off at Contemporary or is that also restricted?  I am guessing there isn’t really a place to be dropped off for AK.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

yulilin3 said:


> I made a video last year to help people with this



Very helpful, thank you!!


----------



## jessrose18

we got dropped off at speedway in october.  took a few minutes to get our bearings but it was easy and worth it, first in line that day.


----------



## PrincessV

Any recent experiences with evenings in DHS - say the last 2-3 hours it's open? Mostly wondering about overall crowd levels and wait times for MMRR, SDD, TOT.


----------



## GBRforWDW

PrincessV said:


> Any recent experiences with evenings in DHS - say the last 2-3 hours it's open? Mostly wondering about overall crowd levels and wait times for MMRR, SDD, TOT.


I was there on Sunday the 10th for the last 2 hours.  We spent 1 hour in the shops, then an hour riding mmrr once and tsm and as2 twice each.  If everyone in your party is on board, at this time, you should be able to easily accomplish all the rides you want in the last 2 hours.    

chilly weather after dark and park hopping to Epcot has helped lower evening hours.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

PrincessV said:


> Any recent experiences with evenings in DHS - say the last 2-3 hours it's open? Mostly wondering about overall crowd levels and wait times for MMRR, SDD, TOT.


FWIW: Here is my look at wait times from last Thursday (compiling in advance of my visit to the park on 1/28).  I'm also compiling some info today.


----------



## TinkSassy

If you Uber to the parks can you be dropped off at Contemporary or is that a COVID no--no now?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Just a heads up for those that are there now or arriving soon, yesterday the 1:00 BG's for RotR were open for 1 hour and 15 minutes and today they were open for 1 hour and 45 minutes!!  MUCH better than 2-3 seconds!

I haven't heard of anyone who hopped to DHS trying for a BG but I would be curious since they've been available the past 2 days past the 2:00 PH time.

I understand it says you must have a park reservation and have scanned into the park to try for a 1pm BG but hey, this situation is new in the past 2 days and what can it hurt to try?  The answer will probably be 'no'...but it could be 'yes' as this has never happened before!!


----------



## FinallyFL

TinkSassy said:


> If you Uber to the parks can you be dropped off at Contemporary or is that a COVID no--no now?


You may need a mobile order to get past the guard. Dropping off before the guard shack is not allowed.


----------



## TinkSassy

FinallyFL said:


> You may need a mobile order to get past the guard. Dropping off before the guard shack is not allowed.


Good to know. Thanks!


----------



## xjillianpaige

GBRforWDW said:


> I'm assuming you're going to Magic Kingdom, since you're heading to TTC.  I believe they're letting cars in around 810, I would get there as close to that time if possible.
> 
> One thing id be interested in, will the super bowl mvp be going to Disney world this year?  If so, SB is on the 7th, so beware of that possibility.


Hi!

Thanks! Yes, the plan is MK and a potential park hop to Epcot, depending on how our cousin & I are feeling and what we get done. I'll plan to get there nice and early. 

Also thanks for the heads up about the Super Bowl thing. I'll have to look into it. Either way, the 8th is the only day going works for us because she's a college student and doesn't have class Mondays.


----------



## GBRforWDW

xjillianpaige said:


> Hi!
> 
> Thanks! Yes, the plan is MK and a potential park hop to Epcot, depending on how our cousin & I are feeling and what we get done. I'll plan to get there nice and early.
> 
> Also thanks for the heads up about the Super Bowl thing. I'll have to look into it. Either way, the 8th is the only day going works for us because she's a college student and doesn't have class Mondays.


Yeah I have no idea if they'll do much for super bowl winner this year as in the past it was a parade down main street.  Maybe a cavalcade with Mickey? Lol. Can't imagine it'd make the park any busier that day anyway.

But yeah going to MK for a day will be fun. Enjoy!


----------



## MomOTwins

FinallyFL said:


> You may need a mobile order to get past the guard. Dropping off before the guard shack is not allowed.


Some people on these boards have reported they were allowed in to a resort with proof of a mobile order.  Others have reported being turned away and having to jump through hoops to get a refund on their mobile order.  Officially, you need to have an ADR for a TS restaurant to be allowed on a Disney hotel property by car (whether uber/lyft or your own car).

Note: those wishing to have a QS meal at Contemporary or any monorail resort can uber to TTC and take the monorail to Contemporary.  There is no restriction on using Disney transportation to access resorts.  Just cars.  Not relevant to the pp's question since they wanted to get to contemporary for quick access to MK rather than a meal, but I note this just in case other people reading this do want a quick service meal there.


----------



## SL6827

Where exactly does the Uber driver drop you off when at the TTC?


----------



## Leigh L

PrincessV said:


> Any recent experiences with evenings in DHS - say the last 2-3 hours it's open? Mostly wondering about overall crowd levels and wait times for MMRR, SDD, TOT.


Last night we were at DHS. Left Sci-Fi at 5 p.m. Rode Star Tours, Slinky, Midway Mania, and could have done 1 more ride had we planned better. We had walked over from TSL to HM thinking the wait time there was inflated but it wasn't so we walked back to TSL.  I think we would have had better luck jumping on MMRR instead and then doing Slinky.

At 5 pm Star Tours was walk on. Midway was maybe 10 to 15 minutes, Slinky about 30ish minutes (we got off around 7 pm.)

If memory serves, MMRR was around 30 minutes in that time frame.


----------



## Chisoxcollector

Does anybody know if The Emporium is open when they starting letting people in to MK or do they wait until the official park opening time to open the store?


----------



## Lsdolphin

GBRforWDW said:


> Yeah I have no idea if they'll do much for super bowl winner this year as in the past it was a parade down main street.  Maybe a cavalcade with Mickey? Lol. Can't imagine it'd make the park any busier that day anyway.
> 
> But yeah going to MK for a day will be fun. Enjoy!



Actually in the past they have had the MVP and maybe another player sitting in an open car or float with Mickey and a small marching band just come down Main Street...no big parade just a calvacade around 1-2ish in the afternoon.


----------



## yulilin3

for those here this weekend into next week
Skyliner operational closures for maintenance

*Jan. 24:* Disney’s Pop Century/Art of Animation Resorts line unavailable
*Jan. 26:* Disney’s Hollywood Studios line unavailable
*Jan. 28:* EPCOT International Gateway line unavailable


----------



## yulilin3

Chisoxcollector said:


> Does anybody know if The Emporium is open when they starting letting people in to MK or do they wait until the official park opening time to open the store?


i's opened early and then stays open an hour pas closing


----------



## GBRforWDW

Lsdolphin said:


> Actually in the past they have had the MVP and maybe another player sitting in an open car or float with Mickey and a small marching band just come down Main Street...no big parade just a calvacade around 1-2ish in the afternoon.


So maybe something similar minus the band this year?


yulilin3 said:


> for those here this weekend into next week
> Skyliner operational closures for maintenance
> 
> *Jan. 24:* Disney’s Pop Century/Art of Animation Resorts line unavailable
> *Jan. 26:* Disney’s Hollywood Studios line unavailable
> *Jan. 28:* EPCOT International Gateway line unavailable


wow, good to know.  I’m sharing this post with the January group.


----------



## KGolf31

MomOTwins said:


> Cars/rideshares are not allowed in to Boardwalk without a dining reservation at present, which is why more people have been using the Speedway lately.  You could also get dropped off at the Swan/Dolphin.



Can a car/rideshare enter Boardwalk to pickup a guest staying on property? Planning on taking DME from Orlando to BWV and then getting a Lyft/Uber to rental car location since it's significantly cheaper than Orlando International


----------



## sethschroeder

BWV Bus for MK:

Sun - 1hr 15min early
Tue - 45min early
Fri - 1hr 20min early

I am not sure if a bus was just missed on Tuesday or if they simply start busses earlier for MK on weekends


----------



## Lsdolphin

KGolf31 said:


> Can a car/rideshare enter Boardwalk to pickup a guest staying on property? Planning on taking DME from Orlando to BWV and then getting a Lyft/Uber to rental car location since it's significantly cheaper than Orlando International



Last time I rented a car they sent a shuttle from the car rental over to resort to pick me up.


----------



## sethschroeder

Haunted Mansion not opening until actual opening time.

BTMM also not open early. Normally 830 open time. 

Splash they are having issues expecting a delayed opening.


----------



## Rarity

KGolf31 said:


> Can a car/rideshare enter Boardwalk to pickup a guest staying on property? Planning on taking DME from Orlando to BWV and then getting a Lyft/Uber to rental car location since it's significantly cheaper than Orlando International



Yes, rideshares can enter without issue to pick up a guest. My sister and I used Uber several times during our Jan. 6-11 trip. This worked even when we were picked up from resorts where we were just having dinner.


----------



## sethschroeder

They are refilling the water for the Riverboat


----------



## Eldritch

I took my daughter to WDW back in September and the trip left a lot to be desired.  On Tuesday I watched a Geeks and Gamers youtube video showing them walk around HS and there were literally no lines.  It made me wonder if I should consider a very quick trip down there to do what we couldn't and leave with better memories.  For those down there now or recently returning, how are the lines?  Thank you.


----------



## NashvilleMama

Eldritch said:


> I took my daughter to WDW back in September and the trip left a lot to be desired.  On Tuesday I watched a Geeks and Gamers youtube video showing them walk around HS and there were literally no lines.  It made me wonder if I should consider a very quick trip down there to do what we couldn't and leave with better memories.  For those down there now or recently returning, how are the lines?  Thank you.


My friends are there now and have been in the parks the past 3 days. It sounds like basically walking on rides, all day, every park - maybe 20 mins wait at most. Granted, these are weekdays so the weekend will likely be worse....but going midweek right now sounds really amazing.


----------



## SL6827

Eldritch said:


> I took my daughter to WDW back in September and the trip left a lot to be desired.  On Tuesday I watched a Geeks and Gamers youtube video showing them walk around HS and there were literally no lines.  It made me wonder if I should consider a very quick trip down there to do what we couldn't and leave with better memories.  For those down there now or recently returning, how are the lines?  Thank you.


Doing just this next week.  I am not expecting to have no lines at HS, but I think I will get a lot done.


----------



## NashvilleMama

SL6827 said:


> Doing just this next week.  I am not expecting to have no lines at HS, but I think I will get a lot done.


I've been watching HS waits on the app throughout yesterday and today as we're there next Friday, and they look *really* good. My friend said a posted 40 min SDD wait only took 12 mins.


----------



## cjlong88

NashvilleMama said:


> I've been watching HS waits on the app throughout yesterday and today as we're there next Friday, and they look *really* good. My friend said a posted 40 min SDD wait only took 12 mins.



I hope it stays this way for the next two weeks. I'll be there in 13 days and would love to experience the current wait times I'm seeing on MDE


----------



## Toad_Passenger

cjlong88 said:


> I hope it stays this way for the next two weeks. I'll be there in 13 days and would love to experience the current wait times I'm seeing on MDE



I think they may stay fairly low until, at least, President's Day. Of course that's also me wishcasting since I arrive next Sunday 1/31


----------



## jlstwinmommy

We have been here since last Saturday. The weekend was heavier, but since Monday crowds have been non-existant. We’ve waited maybe 20 min or less for most things. We have gotten to each park near unofficial open.
Yesterday we went to AK and rode FoP 3 times with a 10 minute wait, in the middle of the day. Also rode Everest 3 times just walking through the lines.
We spent yesterday afternoon at HS and waited 10 min for Mickey’s runaway train at 6pm.
Today we were in MK and have waited under 20 min for most rides. We hopped to Epcot around 2:30 and rode soarin with a 10 min wait. We have also done Nemo and imagination. The countries have been a bit busier but we are on our last day and mostly shopping and watching some of the movies we haven’t seen.
All in all, it’s been fantastic. I wish it was always like this.


----------



## closetmickey

sethschroeder said:


> Pooh and Splash both down to start out the morning. Make sure to pay attention to ride closures on the app.


Does the app show rides that are down or wait times before the oficial park opening time?


----------



## closetmickey

I see lots of reports of mobile ordering at CR to be able to walk to MK.  Would being dropped at GF for a mobiel order work just as well if we were to pick up food there and then take the monorail?  Is this allowed and how much longer might it take than walking from the CR?


----------



## sethschroeder

closetmickey said:


> Does the app show rides that are down or wait times before the oficial park opening time?



Go to attractions on the app and it will say temporarily closed. 

Prior to park opening though can possibly be tricky.


----------



## MainMom

Hollywood Studios Friday 1/22: Today was my mom, daughter and I. The guys stayed home because my son had virtual school. DD and I were up for ROTR boarding passes and she managed to get 63.

We arrived at the parking booths at 8:00 exactly and were maybe 6 cars back. They started moving the line at 8:03. We parked in the very first row of Mickey lots about halfway down the row. It was an excellent spot. We breezed through temp and bag check, scanned our bands and were in the park.

MRR was walk on. By 9:20 we had ridden MRR, Slinky, Saucers, and TSMM. All were walk on. Grabbed pastries from the Joffrey cart outside of Toy Story Land and took a break to eat. TOT was down at that point so we decided to do TSMM again which was still walk on.

TOT was back up with a 50 minute wait so we went to get in line. By the time we got there is was 60 minutes. This was around 10:05am. The actual
wait was 45 minutes. While we were in line we mobile ordered Backlot Express. We had time to kill after ToT so we did some shopping and just wandered around a bit.

We ate and then decided to head of to Star Wars land as we had never been. Honestly, it looked cool, but since none of us are fans we really didn’t know what we were looking at except storm troopers.  It was crowded so we left and found some shaded quiet benches back by Mama Melrose and just hung out there until our boarding pass was ready. Our group was called about 12:35 and we were in on the ride around 1:00. We did know enough about Star Wars to  really enjoy ROTR and will try to get boarding passes again. After ROTR we grabbed some treats from Starbucks, & shopped on the way out. I think we left around 2ish.

Arriving early was key to our successful day today. We definitely could have ridden MRR or Slinky a second time right after the first with minimal wait. We just chose not too. And we probably would have left the park after lunch (the lines were longish and we didn’t feel like standing in them) if not for out boarding pass.
Once again, mask and social distancing compliance in lines was great, but we hardly stood any lines.


----------



## MainMom

Eldritch said:


> I took my daughter to WDW back in September and the trip left a lot to be desired.  On Tuesday I watched a Geeks and Gamers youtube video showing them walk around HS and there were literally no lines.  It made me wonder if I should consider a very quick trip down there to do what we couldn't and leave with better memories.  For those down there now or recently returning, how are the lines?  Thank you.



We were at HS today. I just posted about our day above this post.


----------



## MainMom

closetmickey said:


> Does the app show rides that are down or wait times before the oficial park opening time?



No wait times.


----------



## keke5656

For those of you lurking that are traveling in the next two weeks (like me!) dining reservation at MK for the 7th just opened for 7:55pm. You can arrive up to 15 mins late and close out the park! We never could do this before covid and I am so looking forward to it!!


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

closetmickey said:


> I see lots of reports of mobile ordering at CR to be able to walk to MK.  Would being dropped at GF for a mobiel order work just as well if we were to pick up food there and then take the monorail?  Is this allowed and how much longer might it take than walking from the CR?


I was thinking of doing the same thing but I've also seen enough reports of people being turned away from resort gates, even with mobile orders placed, that I'm not chancing it.  

As for your question, I don't have a definitive answer about the monorail but I would expect walking would be faster.


----------



## 2xcited2sleep

MainMom said:


> It was our first time eating at Satuli and we all really enjoyed it! After lunch we went to Safari which was a 10 minute walk the queue. *Lowell was our driver and he was the best driver we have ever had.* Lots of animals were out mid day & it was an excellent Safari.





yulilin3 said:


> Lowell is a friend of mine, I'll make sure to show him your post  he used to work at GMR, he loved playing Mugsy


Lowell was our driver in early November and we felt the same ... best driver EVER!!  Truly fantastic.  We're hoping to get him again when we return next month.  I wonder if they've ever had anyone request a driver.


----------



## yulilin3

2xcited2sleep said:


> Lowell was our driver in early November and we felt the same ... best driver EVER!!  Truly fantastic.  We're hoping to get him again when we return next month.  I wonder if they've ever had anyone request a driver.


Yes you can ask if a certain person is driving and if they are you can wait for them


----------



## 2xcited2sleep

yulilin3 said:


> Yes you can ask if a certain person is driving and if they are you can wait for them


Oooh! Thank you!  We will definitely do that.  He was really that good.  Please do let him know that he has more fans out there (not in a creepy way that he should be concerned about )


----------



## WEDWDW

We have found one thing here at WDW COMPLETELY unaffected by Covid-19.

*EPCOT SUNSET!

*


----------



## mawuponastar

We arrived in WDW on Friday and it's been a very surreal experience. We usually come in January's, but even compared to those crowds, it feels like there's so few people in the parks. On Friday, we started at DHS around 2:30pm and rode almost every ride except RoR, ToT, and RRC, with many rides being a walk on. I think the only ride that wasn't was SDD, and it had a listed wait time of 40 mins but actual wait time was 20 mins. Park hopped to Epcot at night and walked onto FEA.

On Saturday, we arrived around 7:45am for a 8am open via bus from Swan. Went to Pandora first and FOP was about a 20 mins wait, and Navi River took the full listed ~35 mins. Safari was a walk on, and so was EE each of the three times we rode it throughout the day. We did FOP again which took around 25 mins midday. We waited a little bit for Dinosaur, but wait time was 40 mins and the line was moving very slowly due to some mechanical issues, so we hopped out of line to ride EE again instead. Navi River almost always had the longest wait in the park, around 40 mins, with Dinosaur close behind, especially after 2pm park hopping hours. Hopped to Epcot again via resort bus (didn't check magic band to confirm PH), and waited in line for Soarin, which was listed at 45 mins but took around 25 min. Living with the Land was a walk on. 

Today, we got BG1 for RoR from the hotel room and arrived at DHS around 8:45am via boat for a 9am opening. ToT, RRC, and Star Tours were walk ons. Took it slow since we had been on most rides on Friday. RoR was down first thing in the morning, and when we entered the queue once it was back up, it broke down again, so we were given FP to return. Came back up around 11:30am, so we rode at noon and left DHS.

I'm the planner of the group and actually really enjoy planning FP's and dining reservations, so this has been very different experience, but it's been more relaxing and much easier to "be in the moment" as I'm not worrying about what's coming next. We're staying at the Swan, and having park hoppers for the first time has been fantastic, as there's less pressure to do everything in the parks per day. Never thought I'd say it, but I'm kinda enjoying no FP's, but recognize that this is only because the crowds are so low!

As for safety, everyone will feel different, but we've found mask compliance to be pretty good, although we do see noses peeking out and people walking and eating here and there. It's harder to avoid being around people when walking around, but they're brief. Also love the distances in the queue and people not being in your personal space, but I know those won't last forever!


----------



## Gehrig1B

mawuponastar said:


> Never thought I'd say it, but I'm kinda enjoying no FP's, but recognize that this is only because the crowds are so low!


Exactly... We were there several days around NYE and were longing for FP+.  Under normal circumstances, we can get 10+ fast passes in a day and rarely, if ever, get in a standby line of over 20 minutes.  Very different experience earlier in the month without them.


----------



## JFox

Random thoughts from our trip,

January 14-22
Split stay AK Jambo/Bay Lake Tower

AK Jambo - we loved the resort but didn't spend enough time here.  Shortly before arrival I considered switching to Kindiani because there were no food options at Jambo.  We ended up keeping our original reservation because we figured there would be less guest traffic.

Our room was 5583 and waaaaaay down at the end of the building.  It was a long walk after a day at the parks.

There was a grab and go option at Mara from 7:30am-11:30am.   Light bakery items and beverages.  We did have dinner at Sanaa.

Bay Lake Tower - loved everything about this resort.  My husband is now interested in adding points here.  I have mixed feelings about the theme park/parking lot view.  Next time we will probably book a lake view.

Monorail resort bus line/Gold line.  We used this one night after dinner at Kona.  Happened upon another couple who was also trying to get back to the Contemporary.  They were instructed to take the bus to Disney Springs and then get on a Contemporary bus.  Sure enough, the resort bus pulled up and we were all on our way.

Safety procedures - I was pleased with the line markings and hand sanitizer stations.  The weakest link in all of this was the user.  Some guests didn't know if they should be on, behind, in front of the line.  Also I think that the CM should emphasize to split your groups between two lines so not to crowd guests in front/behind you.

Mobile ordering - we had never used this before and are now converts.  I did notice that for some orders I was not able to customize or buy a la cart items.  I didn't press the issue and ordered as is.

Park to park transportation was not available the first part of our stay and then suddenly appeared.

Masks - on our arrival ME bus another guest was not permitted to board with proper mask.  She swore that she was not made aware of the requirement.  They gave her a disposable mask.  Guest adherence was good and I the few infractions I saw were quickly corrected. 

Crowds - what crowds?  After Monday the crowds vanished.  We experienced short waits, walk on rides and didn't feel rushed.

Bus transportation - gone are the days of packed sardines and surrendering your seat for another.  

The only issue we had was at EPCOT Park closing.   There was a full que line to get back to BLT.  I had just remarked that we had not seen any scooters on a bus.  It was at that moment a parade pulled up.   There were 6 scooters in a row and took multiple busses to load.  The driver would load the scooter and their guests and then pull from the que line.  There were a number of vocal groups in the que line who were not happy with the loading process especially since they had already been in line. 

Disney Springs - too crowded for me.  We had drinks and left. 

Overall it was a good trip, one of the best.  We will be returning with our littles for Spring Break.


----------



## TinkSassy

I'm going the first week of March - starting in the parks on Sunday Feb 28.  I have one park each day and not planning on hopping with the early close times.  I'm trying to decide the best days to go to what park.  I do rope drop and expect the crowds to be up but not bad yet as most Spring breaks start the next week.  I do want to go to DS for Wine Bar George one evening (thinking this would be good on AK day as they close at 5).  Flower and Garden starts on my last day March 3 - not set on being there for the festival would rather have lower crowds.  Any suggestions?


----------



## GBRforWDW

TinkSassy said:


> I'm going the first week of March - starting in the parks on Sunday Feb 28.  I have one park each day and not planning on hopping with the early close times.  I'm trying to decide the best days to go to what park.  I do rope drop and expect the crowds to be up but not bad yet as most Spring breaks start the next week.  I do want to go to DS for Wine Bar George one evening (thinking this would be good on AK day as they close at 5).  Flower and Garden starts on my last day March 3 - not set on being there for the festival would rather have lower crowds.  Any suggestions?


Personally, since you don't want f&g, Id go 
Sun - DHS
Mon - Epcot
Tues - AK
We'd - MK

Mainly because hs will be near same crowds every day while the rest are less crowded during the week.


----------



## Chris Ehlers

2xcited2sleep said:


> Lowell was our driver in early November and we felt the same ... best driver EVER!!  Truly fantastic.  We're hoping to get him again when we return next month.  I wonder if they've ever had anyone request a driver.


Our Last two trips we had the worst drivers we have ever had!  Our last trip over Thanksgiving, our driver actually hit the curbs on multiple times causing a few people to get a few bumps.  Then she stopped the truck and radioed that she thought she had a flat tire and they sent out another truck to look and if so, to transfer us.   but the other driver said the tire was fine and that she should be a more careful operator.


----------



## pascalspal

Hello everyone!

Has anyone been recently that has tried to do a mobile order at the contemporary in the AM? My husband has never been to disney so I want to show him the contemporary (where we will stay next trip) but also want to take him to get some mickey waffles!

I know some people say it depends on the employee in the guard shack if they will let you in with a mobile order or not, which is fine. Just want to see if anyone recently had an experience where they got turned away. Just want to see what my chances are to show him a bit of the resort and get his first mickey waffles!

Thanks!


----------



## glocon

pascalspal said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> Has anyone been recently that has tried to do a mobile order at the contemporary in the AM? My husband has never been to disney so I want to show him the contemporary (where we will stay next trip) but also want to take him to get some mickey waffles!
> 
> I know some people say it depends on the employee in the guard shack if they will let you in with a mobile order or not, which is fine. Just want to see if anyone recently had an experience where they got turned away. Just want to see what my chances are to show him a bit of the resort and get his first mickey waffles!
> 
> Thanks!


If you want to be sure to get in to the CR, take wdw transportation and don’t drive yourselves. Anyone can get in with Disney transportation... that might be your best bet!


----------



## Aimeedyan

pascalspal said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> Has anyone been recently that has tried to do a mobile order at the contemporary in the AM? My husband has never been to disney so I want to show him the contemporary (where we will stay next trip) but also want to take him to get some mickey waffles!
> 
> I know some people say it depends on the employee in the guard shack if they will let you in with a mobile order or not, which is fine. Just want to see if anyone recently had an experience where they got turned away. Just want to see what my chances are to show him a bit of the resort and get his first mickey waffles!
> 
> Thanks!



We did about 2.5 weeks ago without issue.


----------



## jlundeen

Lizgistix said:


> I'm here at Boulder Ridge from yesterday until Saturday.
> Don't ask me about my room, I can see why they are getting a refurb next year.
> Don't ask about my scooter rental. I'll be on my 3rd one in 2 days once it's delivered.
> Don't ask about the paltry amount of nut butter I received with my chicken and waffles breakfast.
> Don't ask me about how I had to schedule a telehealth doctor visit today and about half way through the video call I got notice my boarding group was called for Rise of the Resistance. I'm still at the resort, btw.
> But the people are really nice!


I'm sorry you have had such a frustrating vacation.  If you wouldn't mind, could you tell me about your scooter?  We have 2 reserved from Scooterbug for our April trip and if there are issues with them, I'd like to know ahead of time what to look out for.


----------



## Cotta

Here now. Went to HS yesterday. Got boarding pass at 7 for 80. Arrived in car right at 8 started letting in around 8:05. Right through tapstiles. Went to slinky dog was basically a walk on. Railway walk on. Tower of terror was maybe 15 min wait. RNR was a five minute wait. When we got off that it was about 9. Rode star tours, (walk on) watched muppets, rode MF with a 25 min wait. ROTR was down most of the morning. We had a res for Mama Melrose at 11:30 and it came back on line around then. Rode tsm and saucers after that. Our boarding group got called around 3:10. Rode and left the park. Great day!! I felt like it was somewhat crowded but low waits for everything.


----------



## Lizgistix

jlundeen said:


> I'm sorry you have had such a frustrating vacation.  If you wouldn't mind, could you tell me about your scooter?  We have 2 reserved from Scooterbug for our April trip and if there are issues with them, I'd like to know ahead of time what to look out for.



Well, last time I reserved a Resort Plus and loved it. It had a lot of pep to it and I could zip around the parks quickly. This last time, I reserved the same type of scooter and whenever it would run, it sounded like the wheel was rubbing against something, so I thought maybe I had overloaded it and should switch to a Resort Plus XL. So I paid to upgrade to the XL and noticed when I put it in reverse....it wouldn't reverse. If I stepped out of it, it would go backwards but with me sitting in it, it was having trouble going backwards. Now this scooter can handle up to 400lbs, so it should have been able to move backwards with someone sitting in it. I called about it and 2 hours later another scooter was dropped off. This one just didn't seem to have the zip and pep like the Resort Plus did. It got me around, but not as quickly as I would have liked. At the end of the day, the battery was about into the red zone.

I'm going to try again in March because I really like the convenience of picking up and dropping off at Bell Services instead of having to wait on someone.


----------



## bellerino

Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I have not seen anyone talking about going on the “Smuggler’s Run” ride at Hollywood Studios.  Is it not running right now?
Thank you so much!


----------



## yulilin3

bellerino said:


> Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I have not seen anyone talking about going on the “Smuggler’s Run” ride at Hollywood Studios.  Is it not running right now?
> Thank you so much!


It's running


----------



## JFox

bellerino said:


> Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I have not seen anyone talking about going on the “Smuggler’s Run” ride at Hollywood Studios.  Is it not running right now?
> Thank you so much!


Walked on 3 times last week.  There were 2 of us and we were rode alone each time.


----------



## DMLAINI

So the crowds at HS are pretty much the same during the week as they are on weekends?  I was planning HS for a Thurs. But I'm considering moving it to a Sun.  We're coming in late April


----------



## only hope

Referenced on the pane your post is on but by a different name. Some people call it MF, Millennium Falcon, or just Falcon. Also SR. And MFSR. Lots of choices.


----------



## VandVsmama

We are here now.  Checked in on Sat 1/23. Headed home Thurs 1/28. Walked onto Peter Pan on Sun morning. BTMRR opened just before 9. Wait times have all been less than the posted length.

mask compliance is almost 100%. Have seen maybe 1 or 2 nose peekers each day. Larger groups don’t have room to all stand on the “stand here” lines but that’s easy to deal with because you just leave more room between you and them.

bus drivers assign you a number to sit on. That works well. There’s plexiglass partitions between the sections on the resort buses.

After 2 pm, HS cleared out yesterday. TSM was a walk on and Millennium Falcon wait time went from 50 to 30 min, but real wait was probably 15.

There are queues to get into the shops inGalaxys Edge but they were not long yesterday. And yes, I paid $6 for a thermal detonator Coke just so I could bring the bottle home. 

Didn’t listen to everyone’s HS arrival advice because DH wanted to ride the Skyliner and ended up in a really long line at the CB transfer point. The line was always moving though. We got into HS at 9:03 and got in the MMRR line at 9:08. 20 min posted wait and at 9:21, we were in the bldg. I don’t like the animation style but DH and I both enjoyed this attraction. It’s very well done.


----------



## cjlong88

VandVsmama said:


> bus drivers assign you a number to sit on. That works well. There’s plexiglass partitions between the sections on the resort buses.



What was the longest you waited for a bus coming back to Pop from the parks?


----------



## scrappinginontario

cjlong88 said:


> What was the longest you waited for a bus coming back to Pop from the parks?


Probably 40 mins at Epcot one afternoon but that was an anomaly as we've taken a bus from there over a hundred times.  

Today the buses may be stretched a little more thin too with the DHS leg of the Skyliner closed.  More buses are needed to get guests back and forth from their resorts to DHS.

Thursday a similar situation may arise when the Epcot line of the Skyliner is down for maintenance.


----------



## cjlong88

scrappinginontario said:


> Probably 40 mins at Epcot one afternoon but that was an anomaly as we've taken a bus from there over a hundred times.  Today the buses may be stretched a little more thin too with the DHS leg of the Skyliner closed.  More buses are needed to get guests back and forth from their resorts to DHS.


Thank you! We will be taking buses to AK and MK from YC in early February. Typically we have a car and drive ourselves to the parks so I'm a bit nervous about taking buses, specifically with lines being too long or having to wait for the next bus for a long time. Usually I wouldn't mind, but with fewer parties loading buses to adhere to social distancing it had me wondering. Thank you, again!


----------



## GBRforWDW

cjlong88 said:


> Thank you! We will be taking buses to AK and MK from YC in early February. Typically we have a car and drive ourselves to the parks so I'm a bit nervous about taking buses, specifically with lines being too long or having to wait for the next bus for a long time. Usually I wouldn't mind, but with fewer parties loading buses to adhere to social distancing it had me wondering. Thank you, again!


If you grab an end of night / after close ADR at MK, the buses are really easy to navigate as there are more buses than people, they just put you on a bus and off it goes to your resort!


----------



## Orion Nebula

DMLAINI said:


> So the crowds at HS are pretty much the same during the week as they are on weekends?  I was planning HS for a Thurs. But I'm considering moving it to a Sun.  We're coming in late April



Since no one answered yet from what I have read around here the weekdays have been a lot better overall. I would make as many park days during the week as possible. And since you have an important goal with HS as do most I would go Tuesday through Thursday.


----------



## scrappinginontario

cjlong88 said:


> Thank you! We will be taking buses to AK and MK from YC in early February. Typically we have a car and drive ourselves to the parks so I'm a bit nervous about taking buses, specifically with lines being too long or having to wait for the next bus for a long time. Usually I wouldn't mind, but with fewer parties loading buses to adhere to social distancing it had me wondering. Thank you, again!


 You will have no problems with the buses.  We've used them exclusively for years with very few delays.  Our last visit was pre-Skyliner.  Excited to use that next time!


GBRforWDW said:


> If you grab an end of night / after close ADR at MK, the buses are really easy to navigate as there are more buses than people, they just put you on a bus and off it goes to your resort!


I agree!  Open/close the buses run frequently.  Historically our bus waits that have been a bit longer have been when we're going to/from a park mid-day although normally it still falls into the '20 min' time-frame set out by WDW.


----------



## becauseimnew

Do we know if we’ll be able to use GCs for mobile orders?


----------



## scrappinginontario

becauseimnew said:


> Do we know if we’ll be able to use GCs for mobile orders?


Gift cards have been working with mobile orders for a while now.

As a time saver, you may wish to write your GC number in a Note on your phone so that when you need to use it you can just copy and paste rather than retype it each time.


----------



## Naomeri

becauseimnew said:


> Do we know if we’ll be able to use GCs for mobile orders?


You can use them for mobile orders, but you can’t save them in the app like a credit card.  For ease of use, enter the GC # in your phone’s note app so you can just copy and paste for each order.  Saw that tip on these boards before my October trip and it worked great.


----------



## becauseimnew

scrappinginontario said:


> Gift cards have been working with mobile orders for a while now.
> 
> As a time saver, you may wish to write your GC number in a Note on your phone so that when you need to use it you can just copy and paste rather than retype it each time.





Naomeri said:


> You can use them for mobile orders, but you can’t save them in the app like a credit card.  For ease of use, enter the GC # in your phone’s note app so you can just copy and paste for each order.  Saw that tip on these boards before my October trip and it worked great.


Thank you! I didn't realize that was an option now, and thanks for the good tips. I'll continue buying GCs.


----------



## RSGroup

We like to be there when the park opens, and I am trying to nail down our transportation plans for our February trip, but I have seen a lot of conflicting information on when the parks have been opening (as in, are they opening earlier than the scheduled times), and, if you are choosing between bus transportation or Uber which is a better option at which park?  Does it vary everyday, or is each park fairly consistent?


----------



## caskar

I am here right now and I am impressed how well Disney has it set up for COVID. Mask wearing is being followed. It is nice to be in line without Disney herding everyone into an area whether a bus, monorail, que line, etc. And NOT hearing the phrase "fill in all available space" any more.  Guests have been more patient and seem more civil. Wait times are short if at all. Disney Springs seems alive with many venues with live entertainment.


----------



## JFox

Last week we got on the resort bus 45 mins-1 hour prior to posted park opening.  Every time we got to a park it was already open.


----------



## Orion Nebula

caskar said:


> I am here right now and I am impressed how well Disney has it set up for COVID. Mask wearing is being followed. It is nice to be in line without Disney herding everyone into an area whether a bus, monorail, que line, etc. And NOT hearing the phrase "fill in all available space" any more.  Guests have been more patient and seem more civil. Wait times are short if at all. Disney Springs seems alive with many venues with live entertainment.



That is so great to hear, 30 day countdown now and you covered most of my concerns.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

BW bus experience this morning.  We got to the stop at 7:30am.  First bus didn’t arrive until 8:10; line was almost back to the boardwalk lobby (distanced of course). I’d say only half of the people got on the first bus.  And we are on our way to MK as I type.  We used the time at the stop to look at some pictures, and complete our mobile lunch order.  Glad we got there early!


----------



## Cotta

Went to Epcot yesterday. Arrived 10:15 they were already letting in cars. Parked breezed through turnstiles and walked directly to test track. Walked inside and was stopped around 10:40. Announced they were going to start closer to 11. Waited five minutes and line started to move. Took about ten minutes to reach front of line. Rode and then took bathroom break. Headed to frozen which was a walk on. Back tracked to Mexico which was a walk on. Ate and shopped ourselves around the world. Favorite was the Beef Wellington at Artist Table. Worst was Sea Butterfly in China. Couldn’t finish it although it was beautiful. In Morocco we took the boat back. We will finish other side another day! Too much food! On the way out we rode Imagination and Soarin which were both walk ons even though soarin was 15 min posted.


----------



## Toad_Passenger

Cotta said:


> Went to Epcot yesterday. Arrived 10:15 they were already letting in cars. Parked breezed through turnstiles and walked directly to test track. Walked inside and was stopped around 10:40. Announced they were going to start closer to 11. Waited five minutes and line started to move. Took about ten minutes to reach front of line. Rode and then took bathroom break. Headed to frozen which was a walk on. Back tracked to Mexico which was a walk on. Ate and shopped ourselves around the world. Favorite was the Beef Wellington at Artist Table. Worst was Sea Butterfly in China. Couldn’t finish it although it was beautiful. In Morocco we took the boat back. We will finish other side another day! Too much food! On the way out we rode Imagination and Soarin which were both walk ons even though soarin was 15 min posted.



Boy do I hope these experiences hold on for next week while we're there. I'm the only one in my group hesitant about going, but if it next week ends up being like this week sounds, then my worries may be for nothing.


----------



## Raemama

scrappinginontario said:


> Gift cards have been working with mobile orders for a while now.
> 
> As a time saver, you may wish to write your GC number in a Note on your phone so that when you need to use it you can just copy and paste rather than retype it each time.


This is what I did for every single Mobile Order meal/snack purchase. Just put it on a note (iOS) and then grabbed it when I needed it. Easy peasy.


----------



## PrincessV

Just back from 2 nights/3 days - Jan. 24-26 (Sun-Tue)...

VERY low crowds. Not quite as low as August, but close.
I am not a RDer, and I really wasn't there for rides, particularly, but I did a few.

Sun 1/24 DHS & EP:
Arrived about noon - walked from BCV to DHS and MO'd DB7 on the way. Hit "I'm Here" as I approached GE and it was ready by the time I finished washing my hands. Plenty of outdoor seating, but really not physically distanced: I sat at the little bar outside and people sat at the table right behind me, 2-3' away. It was breezy and blowing away from me, so I was okay with it, but surprised to not see more distancing between available seating.

Rode MMRR: waited 25 minutes, posted wait showed 40.
Rode TSM: waited 12 minutes, posted said 25.

Hopped to EP around 4:30pm: only wanted to see the new section of France, which I did. Did not feel crowded at all.

Mon 1/25 EP:
Walked from BCV at 11am, left about 5pm.

Only there for the Festival of the Arts - no crowds, plenty of room for everyone to space out. No lines to get into art tents, no lines for food booths. Waited behind one other party at L'Artisan des Glaces. Looong wait to pay at Mitsukoshi, only because the system was down and only one register open to take cash payments. Physical distancing went out the window as the line built up.

ETA: forgot rides...

Rode Nemo: walk-on, posted 10 minute wait
Rode Frozen: waited 7 minutes, posted 15. The plexiglass is every bit as bad as others have said! I'm not a big fan of the ride, so I didn't really care, but yeah - it's pretty bad.

Tue 1/26 AK:
Arrived by car about 10am, left at 1pm.

Rode Safari: 10 minute wait, posted was 15.

MO'd Restaurantosaurus - was ready 5 minutes after hitting "I'm here."

Masks: really excellent compliance all around in the parks. Much less so out of them. Walking to DHS I passed about 20 people - half weren't wearing masks at all. Leaving AK, woman walking ahead of me wore her mask on her elbow while smoking a cigarette. Indoors at BCV/BC mask compliance was excellent, but less so outdoors. It seems some folks don't bother following the rules when there are no CMs policing an area. I'll admit that while sitting alone - literally: the only person out there - on the beach, I took mine off.

Distancing: pretty good all over. As always, best where there are markers, worst where there are not. But with such low attendance, it was very easy to keep my distance from others everywhere except in line in Mitsukoshi.


----------



## fairestoneofall

We went the first week of January. AH, HS and MK were all opened early. They didn't necessarily start all of the attractions early, but you were not held anywhere in the park (in our experience). We did not visit Epcot in the morning.

For HS, my youngest had a reservation at Droid Depot for 30 minutes prior to park opening. My older kids rode MFSR prior to park opening. And our boarding group (13) was called 17 minutes prior to official opening.


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## sethschroeder

It's always early. Be at the bus 1hr 15mins early for the first bus (might not get there until 45mins prior to opening).

Park will normally open 45 mins early or there abouts.

Bus is highly likely to get you there sooner because busses will be dropping off before the parking lot even opens.


----------



## DenCl

Can anyone share how early before stated Park Openings do the Parking Lots open?


----------



## gregorykicks

Typically they've been letting you line up an hour before and they start letting you through 45 min before. 

If you get there earlier than an hour before they are making cars turn around.


----------



## to be tink

Does anyone know if Epcot has been opening early?


----------



## Gehrig1B

Lots open same time parks are allowing entry.  We walked To DHS the other day and were going through temp. tents as we saw the first cars arriving. This was about 45 minutes prior to scheduled opening.


----------



## Gehrig1B

to be tink said:


> Does anyone know if Epcot has been opening early?


Yes, EPCOT is opening prior to scheduled time.  These early openings are to avoid large numbers of people congregating at the gates at park opening time...


----------



## yulilin3

merged a couple of threads that were asking about opening times
Please take some time and read back a couple of pages for recent reports, that's the best way to know


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

*Magic Kingdom 1/27 (WEDNESDAY) report:*

Boardwalk bus stop at 7:35 - while waiting we placed our mobile order for lunch

No bus until 8:10 - everybody in line did not fit on the first bus so being early still worked out for us.

Entered park at 8:30 and did rides in this order (all waits were accurate or slightly exaggerated and nothing over 10 ):

7DMT
Peter Pan
Splash Mt (BTMRR was temp closed at 9am)
BTMRR
Pirates
Magic Carpets
Jungle Cruise
Swiss Family Treehouse
11:00 - lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace. Sat in lower level seating and were able to get maskless castle pictures as a regular (inside tip) 

Resumed rides focusing on things 15 mins or less

Little Mermaid
Dumbo
Pooh
Speedway
Space Mtn
CoP
Buzz
2:00 - Dole Whip

Country bears
Haunted mansion
Barnstormer
it’s a small world (this was a mistake, 20 mins posted; 35 min actual - should’ve waited until after dinner)
4:15 - main st. shopping break
4:45 - dinner at the Plaza with ice cream for dessert since Ice Cream is closed 

The rest of our evening didn’t go well; splash went down right as we got in line. 5 min wait for BTMRR; hurried to Space - posted 10 but was backed up outside the entrance so skipped Briefly stood in 40 min line for 7DMT but opted to prioritize sleep and headed for a bus instead. Girls are going to sleep now for our early DHS day tomorrow.

The only things we missed I believe were Astro, Philharmagic and Tiki room.  Easily could’ve accomplished those but we are back Friday and none of those repeat experiences for us so we’ll do them once then and repeat a bunch of the above.


----------



## sethschroeder

SouthFayetteFan said:


> BW bus experience this morning.  We got to the stop at 7:30am.  First bus didn’t arrive until 8:10; line was almost back to the boardwalk lobby (distanced of course). I’d say only half of the people got on the first bus.  And we are on our way to MK as I type.  We used the time at the stop to look at some pictures, and complete our mobile lunch order.  Glad we got there early!



The MK from BW arrives roughly 45-50 mins early week days and 1hr 15mins weekends from what I noticed. 

For MK I think you want to be there by 1hr 30mins early no matter what and either the bus comes in 15 mins or it comes in like 45 mins but you for sure get a seat.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

A few random observations:

1) I have ALWAYS had the theory that we don’t “waste steps” chasing shorter lines.  Just hit ‘em in order - that felt even more true now.  Had we rode iasw/barnstormer in opposite order or done Space after dinner we’d have rode more things today.  I lost my mind on my strategy around 4pm for some reason. I’m blaming it on the masks  

2) place your mobile order early and you’ll get your pick of a time slot. We chose early to avoid any rush or backup. 

3) MK on a middle of the week day is so awesome.  Saturday scares me based on the wait times I’ve seen and the markers setup all over the park for long lines lol.

4) we caught very few character cavalcades.  We just weren’t in the right area for them sadly.  We just spent very little time around the hub and Main st.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

sethschroeder said:


> The MK from BW arrives roughly 45-50 mins early week days and 1hr 15mins weekends from what I noticed.
> 
> For MK I think you want to be there by 1hr 30mins early no matter what and either the bus comes in 15 mins or it comes in like 45 mins but you for sure get a seat.


How about the one at YC? LOL!!


----------



## sethschroeder

SouthFayetteFan said:


> How about the one at YC? LOL!!



I would think it's the same but unfortunately can't comment. BW has dedicated bus lines now and doesn't share. 

I will say plenty of busses arrived around that time so based on the quantity of busses arriving have to think YC/BC was in there.


----------



## magicwdw

Going to MK next Wednesday 2/3.  If park opens at 9am, does Main Street sill open an hour earlier? Also, I know some of the parks open for rides a bit earlier.  Can I assume MK and the different lands do not open until 9am these days?  Thanks


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

A 7:40 arrival at DHS from the gets you this view:



Looking forward to putting this beauty to good use:


----------



## cjlong88

SouthFayetteFan said:


> A 7:40 arrival at DHS from the gets you this view:
> 
> View attachment 552667
> 
> Looking forward to putting this beauty to good use:
> View attachment 552669



How did you get to the parks this morning?


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

cjlong88 said:


> How did you get to the parks this morning?


My feet, lol.  We’re at the Swan.


----------



## GBRforWDW

SouthFayetteFan said:


> My feet, lol.  We’re at the Swan.



Congrats on group 1, have a great day!


----------



## minmin27

I posted this on the Wilderness Lodge thread by accident. So reposting here. 

My still-here but going home today  report. We arrived on Saturday and did a split stay with three nights at CBR and two at WL. The first 3 days we focused on Epcot and HS using the skyliner. We were at MK the last two days from WL. We did hop to AK on Sunday afternoon. I kind of regret buying hoppers since we only used them that one time. But otherwise, we wouldn't have seen AK.


My son (10) and I came this same time last year. I was a little worried about the trip this year. But the magic is still here for us. Cast members are so kind and helpful. We did miss pin trading with them. One plus from the changes for us... My son has always been afraid of meeting the characters. This time, knowing they can't come up to him, he's really enjoyed waving at them and seeing them.


Like others, I really have enjoyed the line spacing. You don't feel like someone is on top of you or in your space all the time like before. We made a game out of how far would we walk in the line before we had to stop and go to the nearest marker. (kind of like musical chairs) It helped make the line waits more fun. Speaking of waits, the lines have been wonderful for us. One of the longest wait we had was for Astro Orbiter (seriously!) and that's because of only one group at a time on the elevator. We rode FOP on Sunday afternoon around 3:15 with a 23 minute wait.


I have lots more I could share but I'll stop.  For anyone on the fence, take the trip! We've made the best memories and have felt welcome!


----------



## yulilin3

magicwdw said:


> Going to MK next Wednesday 2/3.  If park opens at 9am, does Main Street sill open an hour earlier? Also, I know some of the parks open for rides a bit earlier.  Can I assume MK and the different lands do not open until 9am these days?  Thanks


merged you to the just back thread cause you'll get more up to date info here
Basically all parks are opening before official time. As far as attractions those decisions are made every morning on when each are opening but for the most part they will also open before official time
Take time and read back a couple of pages worth of reports
Main Sreet opens as soon as the park opens as well


----------



## yulilin3

Just an FYI of my decision to merge some threads here
Disney is making operational changes on an almost day to day basis. Park opening and attraction opening times are not set in stone which is why I recommend people just reading back maybe 3 pages to see what they are doing, in terms of opening, more recently.
No need to read back more than a couple of pages cause that info is outdated, Opening a new thread won't really help other than to add another thread to the front page


----------



## Kalea

We spent last week at the parks and had a wonderful time. I spent a lot of time reading this thread and really appreciate everyone who took the time to write down their experiences. I'm not sure that I have a lot of value to add, but... 

- We have been very Covid cautious (as in, we have not eaten indoors at a restaurant since March) and we felt safe at the parks. Mask compliance was easily 98% or better, and I didn't really notice many occasions with people intentionally breaking rules. Social distancing was not as great, but nothing felt problematic. It's just easy for a family of 4 or 5 or 7 to really spread out between markers and so we had to be mindful of that - both for ourselves and the families ahead of us in line. 

- Obviously mid-January is not high season, but waits were very, very manageable throughout the week. On Wednesday (1/20) at AK, we could have ridden FOP as many times as we wanted, but we stopped after 2x. Sometimes the queues appeared long, but everything moved quickly. Our longest wait was 40 minutes for Rise of the Resistance. As other people have mentioned, a 30-minute queue was often 10 or 15 in reality. Most 15-minute queues seem to be effectively walk-on. 

- We tried and failed to get into the parks early. We showed up every day by ~30-40 mins before opening, but the parks were already full of people. And that was okay, we still rode everything we wanted to with minimal waits. 

- Mobile order worked fabulously. This was an area where I felt really prepared thanks to this thread. We just always ordered in line about 30 minutes before we wanted to head to a restaurant. No issues whatsoever. 

- As a family, we felt this was one of our best Disney trips. My kids are older now (turned 16 and 11 on this trip) and so they don't want to meet characters or have character meals. We missed a couple favorite restaurants, but none of the missing elements really impacted any of us negatively. 

I worried a lot about this trip and almost called it off last minute. But I'm SO glad we went. Thanks again to everyone who posted on this thread and all the others. Hearing everyones experiences helped calm my nerves and all the updated info was great with planning tweaks (who would have thought so many things had changed since 2018?!).


----------



## Tasmen

Kalea said:


> I worried a lot about this trip and almost called it off last minute. But I'm SO glad we went. Thanks again to everyone who posted on this thread and all the others. Hearing everyones experiences helped calm my nerves and all the updated info was great with planning tweaks (who would have thought so many things had changed since 2018?!).



You just described me there.  Worried about the trip and potentially was going to cancel.  Your review on top of other posts in this thread have calmed my frazzled nerves and made me pull the trigger and get the airfare today.  We are locked and loaded and ready to hit WDW in April.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

*Hollywood Studios 1/28 Report:*

Staying at the Swan; grabbed RotR BG1 at 7am; left the room at 7:20; we were the first people at DHS; stopped to use the bathroom and got in line by security guard at 7:40. We placed our mobile order for Pizzerizzo for an 11-11:30 window while waiting.

We were moved forward to temp tents around 7:50; lines building behind us. Skyliner started dropping guests off shortly thereafter, unsure about buses and drivers. At some point shortly after 8:15 we were let into the park.

Here’s what we did:

MMRR - first car
SDD - minimal wait
TSMM - walk on
Alien Saucers - walk on (got off at 9:15)
MFSR - 10 min wait
For some reason we never got the push notification that our BG was called (but it was called at 8:40 apparently).  We got over there at 9:45 just after our window expired but from what I know they don’t really care if you’re a little late.

RotR (minimal wait - line was backed up a lot more when we got off)
Muppet Vision 3D (barely snuck into the next show - this was around 10:30)
Star Tours
11:15 lunch at Pizzerizzo

Frozen Singalong 12:30 show (got in line around 12:10 with ample space still left)
shopping time!
At this point we went back to the room for a nap.  Most lines were 30 mins or more but during the nap we easily could’ve hit ToT, & RnRC.  We returned to the park at 4:00 and watched Lightning McQueen (waited in line for one showing)

4:45 dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby which was awesome!

MMRR (got in line at 5:40)
Alien Saucers
SDD
TSMM
We missed one more ride on SDD by 2 minutes.  It was 7:01 when we got back out to main TSL and they were turning people away at the bridge.  Grabbed a friendship back to the Swan and that’s our day!

Super low crowds definitely contributed to our amazing day!  But hopefully this lineup gives folks a sense of what is possible.


----------



## GBRforWDW

SouthFayetteFan said:


> *Hollywood Studios 1/28 Report:*
> 
> Staying at the Swan; grabbed RotR BG1 at 7am; left the room at 7:20; we were the first people at DHS; stopped to use the bathroom and got in line by security guard at 7:40. We placed our mobile order for Pizzerizzo for an 11-11:30 window while waiting.
> 
> We were moved forward to temp tents around 7:50; lines building behind us. Skyliner started dropping guests off shortly thereafter, unsure about buses and drivers. At some point shortly after 8:15 we were let into the park.
> 
> Here’s what we did:
> 
> MMRR - first car
> SDD - minimal wait
> TSMM - walk on
> Alien Saucers - walk on (got off at 9:15)
> MFSR - 10 min wait
> For some reason we never got the push notification that our BG was called (but it was called at 8:40 apparently).  We got over there at 9:45 just after our window expired but from what I know they don’t really care if you’re a little late.
> 
> RotR (minimal wait - line was backed up a lot more when we got off)
> Muppet Vision 3D (barely snuck into the next show - this was around 10:30)
> Star Tours
> 11:15 lunch at Pizzerizzo
> 
> Frozen Singalong 12:30 show (got in line around 12:10 with ample space still left)
> shopping time!
> At this point we went back to the room for a nap.  Most lines were 30 mins or more but during the nap we easily could’ve hit ToT, & RnRC.  We returned to the park at 4:00 and watched Lightning McQueen (waited in line for one showing)
> 
> 4:45 dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby which was awesome!
> 
> MMRR (got in line at 5:40)
> Alien Saucers
> SDD
> TSMM
> We missed one more ride on SDD by 2 minutes.  It was 7:01 when we got back out to main TSL and they were turning people away at the bridge.  Grabbed a friendship back to the Swan and that’s our day!
> 
> Super low crowds definitely contributed to our amazing day!  But hopefully this lineup gives folks a sense of what is possible.


That’s awesome, glad you had a great day.  

It’s crazy how many rides you can do in a day right now.  That was my favorite part about HS  this last trip.


----------



## NashvilleMama

Got here today, landed, rental car, straight to MK and we were inside the park at 1:45pm.

Went straight to space and rode it twice in 20 minutes. That’s total time.  SO CRAZY.It was all walking time on and off the ride. Pretty much walked on most everything we wanted to ride before park close. Have never seen Peter Pan posted at 10 minutes mid afternoon! Took pictures to document as
I’m sure I’ll never witness that again.

longest wait was 15 mins for splash, moving fast though. Didn’t do 7DMT which was posted at 35-40 all day but we just aren’t huge fans (an EMH blitz a few years back gave us our fill for maybe life) so didn’t test out actual time.

mask compliance is pretty much 100%. Way, way lower crowds than when we came in mid-Sept. Social distancing in lines is still hit or miss but asking someone to give space or go in front of us worked the two times we had creepers.

Very impressed with Pop reno, haven’t ever stayed here before (usually go moderate) but it’s not crowded and rooms are great. Couldn’t pass up the deal and glad we gave it a shot.

DHS/Epcot tomorrow!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

The Boardwalk bus came at 7:45 today... oh yea!!!


----------



## WEDWDW

SouthFayetteFan said:


> The Boardwalk bus came at 7:45 today... oh yea!!!
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 552849



*"I'M WALKING RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE OF MAIN STREET USA!"*


----------



## GBRforWDW

SouthFayetteFan said:


> The Boardwalk bus came at 7:45 today... oh yea!!!
> 
> View attachment 552848
> 
> View attachment 552849


Always a beautiful majestic site seeing the castle.  Enjoy MK day!


----------



## VandVsmama

Just got back home late last night from going to WDW 1/23-1/28.  Some general observations first from my point of view:


Mask compliance is near 100%. Hardly saw ANYBODY with noses peeking out.  Maybe 1 or 2 people per day tops.
Generally speaking, guests are doing a good job of paying attention to the markers on the ground of where to stand.  There were a couple of clueless people here and there who weren't paying attention.  It's easy to avoid those people.  Just leave more room between you and them.
Larger groups of people (5+) are unable to all get close to the 'STAND HERE' marker.  As a result, they take up most of the space between their marker and the one behind them.. Deal with this by leaving more space between you and them.
Mask compliance & rule following was way better at WDW than back home in AZ and in our neck of the woods, mask compliance is pretty high.
If you don't agree w/mask wearing, don't go to WDW right now.  They WILL ask you to leave if you refuse to wear one.  There were PA announcements throughout the day at each park about it.
All of the CMs were outstanding.  Just really great attitudes, wonderful customer service, A+ job.
If you want photos without masks on, then don't come.  OR you can choose to just embrace it and take some selfies with you and your crew in your masks and then laugh about it 20 years from now when you say to yourselves, "Remember the time when we went to WDW and had to wear masks the entire time?"
I really liked the online check in process and how we didn't have to go to the front desk.  Also liked the voice message from front desk on our arrival in the room.
DH got super bored of eating the same thing for breakfast each morning. He's trying to stick to low carb and the same omelettes at Everything Pop's food court got old after 3 days in a row.
Day-specific commentary coming up!


----------



## sethschroeder

SouthFayetteFan said:


> The Boardwalk bus came at 7:45 today... oh yea!!!



Seems to continue to back up my observation of:

1hr 15min prior for weekends 
45min prior for week days

Enjoy the day!


----------



## VandVsmama

*Saturday 1/23 notes & commentary:*

Hardly anybody waiting at DME at the Orlando airport.  We waited about 5 min before getting on a bus to Pop.  The bus stopped at AoA, Pop, and CB.  AoA was first, Pop second.  Driver told us which row to sit in. Left airport at 3:45 pm, got to AoA at 4:10 and Pop about 5-7 min after that.
Placed mobile order for dinner to Primo Piatto while on MDE bus. DH grumbled, but I told him to just trust me on this because thanks to Dis Boards, I know what to do.  LOL.
Once at Pop, went straight to our room.  Dumped bags and got settled in a little.
5:08 - arrived at Riviera via Skyliner to eat at Primo Piatto.  No line for Skyliner at Pop.  5 min line when switching to Epcot line.  Food at Primo Piatto was excellent.  Hardly anybody in the restaurant, easy to socially distance from others.  We bought refillable mugs and definitely got our money's worth on that.
After dinner, went to Epcot. Went on Frozen with posted 20 min wait, but was really 10 min.
Looked at a LOT of art in the art booths.  That was really cool and fun.  Ate 2nd dinner at a lot of food booths.  Epcot wasn't busy, but some sections felt more congested than others - really only in front of Mexico pavilion and the UK pavilion.  Lots of people milling around in UK pavilion.  Other than that, VERY easy to stay away from people.
Long line at end of night to take Skyliner out of Epcot, but line moved quickly.


----------



## VandVsmama

*Sunday 1/24 MK & AK notes:*

woke up super early, too excited to sleep! 6:45 - placed mobile order for breakfast. $22 for omelete & Mickey waffle platter at Pop food court.
planned on being in line for MK bus at 7:30 am. Totally missed that.  By time we got to MK bus stop, there wasn't a line, though, and a bus pulled up just as we got there.  Nice!
Despite missing the 1st bus, we got into the park before official park opening.  Went on Peter Pan at 8:30 am when they first started operating the ride.  Went next to HM, but that wasn't opening until 9.  Heard from this thread that BTMRR and/or Splash Mtn might open before 9, so went there next.  
8:52 - got in line for BTMRR
9:36 - was done with BTMRR and Splash Mtn.
Then went on POTC, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo.
11:50 - took snack break in Fantasyland. Got a Mickey pretzel and some almonds. Then shopped for a hat for DH.  Walked onto Carousel of Progress after that.
12:45 - shopped a bit in Emporium, then left MK at 1.  Took boat to Wilderness Lodge and put our name in at Geyser Point.
2:00 - got seated at Geyser Point. Enjoyed a cocktail. I had the salmon. DH had the bison burger (which was really good!).  Done with lunch at 3.  Then I browsed in WL gift shop while DH relaxed in a big chair in the lobby.  WL was super quiet. I took photos of a bunch of stuff in the lobby.  Would love to stay there some day.
I took a nap in the lobby in 1 of the big tall red chairs that are off to one side. Then we decided to go to AK.
3:44 - sat down at bus stop at WL for AK. 3:49 - bus arrived. We were only ones on the bus. Got to AK at 4:05.
DH needed coffee, so we stopped at Starbucks in AK for that.  
4:50 - got in FOP queue.  At 5:01 - about to get on ride. Off of FOP at 5:15. Bathroom break after that. Decided to try for Expedition Everest, but DH chickened out and I didn't want to go on a ride without him that day, so we opted for Dinosaur instead.
5:50 - got in Dinosaur queue. 6:10 - off of ride.  Did a slow and tired walk to buses.
Had reservation at CR at 7:30 for The Wave. Waited about 20 min for bus to CR.
7:10 - checked in at The Wave for dinner. Ryan was our server. He was amazing.  Such good service, knew the menu really well. You can tell that he loves his job. The food was excellent. Really glad we ate here. The Wave was busy, but all socially distanced and we were not close to anyone at all the entire time.
After dinner, shopped in the 2 CR gift shops. Got some pins for me, DH, and the kids because it's kind of our tradition to get 1 pin on each trip to commemorate that trip.  I bought one that says "Join the resistance."  DH got a Mr Toad's wild ride pin (because we NEVER see Mr Toad pins and it was so funny seeing one at WDW when that ride hasn't existed at WDW for many years now).  Got ODD a baby Yoda pin and YDD a Jungle Cruise one.
After dinner, thought of taking bus to DS and then bus to Pop, but DH wasn't in the mood so we got a Lyft straight from CR to Pop.  
Once we got back to Pop, we basically crashed and went to bed. Next day was a HS day, so needed to be up early to try for a ROTR boarding group!
Overall at MK, low crowds. Didn't see any cavalcades, but we just managed to miss them a lot.  This day felt very relaxed, not rushed. Very easy to change plans and adjust on the fly. Felt a lot like how we do things on our Disneyland trips. Sunday was an awesome day. Weather was high of about 68, but I was sweating the entire time because we're from AZ and neither of us are used to the humidity.  I used my hand held folding fan all day.  By comparison, some other people were bundled up in winter parkas.  It was funny!


----------



## VandVsmama

*Mon 1/24 HS & DS notes:*

Cell signal in room at Pop Century in Bldg 1 near central bldg was lousy (1 bar on LTE). Went outside to get better cell signal. Got ROTR BG 21 with 2 bars on LTE. Turned off wifi, bluetooth, and Location Services.  Placed breakfast mobile order after that for pick up window of 7:15-7:45.
Weather forecast was high of 82. Very humid in morning, drier later in day. Sweaty all day. DH wore shorts.
8:30 - got on Skyliner.  8:56 - on HS Skyliner line after long line at CB station.  In park at 9:03.
9:08 - in line for MMRR.  20 min posted wait.  9:21 - almost in building.  9:40 - off ride and done with quick bathroom stop.
9:45 - in line for Star Tours. 9:49 - about to get on ride.
10:03 - off of Star Tours and our ROTR boarding group was called, so we went on that next.  Totally amazing experience.  Best and most immersive attraction we've ever been on.  It was like being IN the movie.  Felt a little emotional in one part, but I won't say which one so as to not spoil it for anybody who hasn't been on it yet.
Lots of people in Galaxy's Edge, but still easy to socially distance.  Lots of people exploring and roaming around like we were.  Got some thermal detonator Coke's and saved the bottles to bring home.  14 yr old ODD said this morning, "So you brought home trash?"  HAHAHA!  Explored the Resistance merchandise huts/booths (I don't know what you call them).  Lots of cool stuff for sale there.
Mobile ordered lunch at Docking Bay 7.  Ate around 11:30, I think?  This worked out well.  The CMs in Docking Bay 7 will seat you based on how many people in your party, so you don't have to hunt around for a table.  I liked that.  After eating our meals, I wanted to try the Docking Bay 7 dessert, so we mobile ordered that...and the pick up window was for 30 min later. DH asked a CM about it...the CM had the order prepared right then since we were already seated.  That was cool.  Docking Bay 7 was so much fun. Sounded like ships were taking off and landing the entire time.
After that, did some more exploring around Galaxy's Edge. There's a queue to get into the marketplace with those 5-ish stalls.  Then there's a queue to get into each of those.  They basically only allow 1 party/group in each 'store/stall' at a time.  You can kill time by using the datapad part on the Play Disney Parks app...you can hack various doors and stuff around there.  It's fun.
Also got a blue milk with rum.  That was good. I'd get that again.  Took a million photos.  The Play Disney Parks app can be used to make the ships (even the Millennium Falcon) to make different sounds/noises.  It's really cool.
Also went into Dok Ondar's Den of Antiquities.  That shop is really cool.  Didn't buy anything in there, just browsed. Lots of people buying special lightsaber hilts.  There's a queue to get in, didn't have to wait long.
Even the bathrooms in Galaxy's Edge are space-y.
2:40 - got in line for Millennium Falcon. Posted wait was 30 min, but we really waited about 15.  Before 2 pm, the line was a solid 45-50 min from about 11 am - 2 pm.  Then it dropped to 30 min when we got in line.  When we got off the Falcon, the wait was 15 min and Galaxy's Edge was a ghost town.  What I think happened was that all the people who didn't get a ROTR BG at the 1:00 distribution left HS to go to another park.  So if you want to bypass ROTR, you can go on probably every ride in HS between 2 pm and 7 pm park close.
3:49 - we were out of HS and on Skyliner to Pop.  Took nap, rested, showered, watched TV.
7:20 - left room to go to DS.  7:41 - arrived at DS.  Shopped at World of Disney, Star Wars shop, Under Armour (DH & I bickered over a water bottle), TrenD (bought ODD a Pandora charm).  Had salad and sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich. Not many people eating there. Plenty of outdoor seating if you don't want to eat indoors.
Stay away from Ghiradelli at DS.  There were mobs of people hanging around there waiting for their orders.  Not much social distancing.  Just get a hot fudge sundae in the parks instead.  We were fine with walking THROUGH that area. Didn't want to stand there and wait with the rest of humanity for an ice cream.
got back to Pop a few min before 10 pm. Hit the hay and went to bed!  Walked 8.71 miles this day.
Galaxy's Edge was amazing.  Really amazing.  Couldn't stop saying "Oh my gosh" and "Oh wow" the entire time.  For your first time on ROTR, do yourself a favor and don't video it.  Just experience it.  Be IN the moment.  Go ahead and take photos in the queue and all that, but don't have your nose in your video camera or phone the entire time.  Live in the moment.  It's really an incredible thing.


----------



## RunWI1265

Here now - Arrived yesterday around noon. Waited an hour for MDE  Cast members weren’t sure why it was taking so long and were very apologetic. Non-traditional MDE wrapped busses were being used (in addition to the norm) so that’s kind of a bummer. Doing a split stay with the front end being at BWV. Stopped at Epcot while waiting for our room to be ready. Waits were very low. Crowds have picked up since our visit in September but nothing like pre-covid days.

Left BWV just after 7:30a this morning to walk to HS. Held at security until around 7:45 before being moved up to temp tents. Let us through at 8:15 exactly. Skyliner guests had arrived at this point but no cars yet. Our days are toddler directed so we spent the morning in TSL. SDD, TSM x2 and AS Saucers + breakfast at Woodys Lunchbox. Headed to Lightening McQueen at 10am, did a quick shopping stop and was back at the hotel for lunch and naps by 11:25. We have BG #78. Hoping I don’t have to cut the toddler nap short  was able to grab the group despite accidentally hitting the at-at picture which brought me to the ride description page. I was able to quickly hit back and confirm.

edit to add: Haven’t seen AK open talked  about much. Same strategy regarding first bus....one hour before park open? Or 1:15?Saturday park visit.


----------



## NashvilleMama

Friday DHS morning - these details helped me so much so sharing for others: 


BG 6 from Pop room on Disney WiFi. 
7:35 got in skyliner line which started letting people in at 7:45. Arrived HS 8:10. 
Temp check 8:15. Looked back and saw they were just starting to let cars in so definitely had a big jump on drivers. 

8:22 MMRR line / on ride 8:28 (so cute!! Loved it! Plexi in back row wasn’t an issue)
8:40 SDD line, moves fast. 
9:00 Aliens line / off by 9:04
Smugglers 9:08 in line / 9:15 loading (mainly queue walking time)
Had a pretzel snack stop, did Muppets, then 
10:16 called BG. Was off by 11. 
15 min line for RNRC (normal to me, had heard of a slow launcher but nope!)
then left park for Beaches and Cream 12:30 ADR via Skyliner.

mask compliance definitely not as great here compared to MK. LOTS of walking and snacking/drinking including in lines and never saw a CM correct anyone. 

GREAT morning thanks to all the tips here!


----------



## TinkSassy

Security experience right now - I know we have the temp check and then some sort of bag check.  I would like to pack my bag so that I can go as quickly as possible and hopefully not have security digging through my bag in the time of COVID.  If there are items that need to be pulled out I will put them in a see through zip lock - what are they?  Assuming phone, battery pack - what else have you found needs to come out?


----------



## VandVsmama

TinkSassy said:


> Security experience right now - I know we have the temp check and then some sort of bag check.  I would like to pack my bag so that I can go as quickly as possible and hopefully not have security digging through my bag in the time of COVID.  If there are items that need to be pulled out I will put them in a see through zip lock - what are they?  Assuming phone, battery pack - what else have you found needs to come out?



Phone did not have to come out, but battery pack and umbrella do.  Hold those out in one hand in front of you as you walk through.  Everything else can stay in purse/backpack/bag.


----------



## Evita_W

How hard has it been lately to get on the buses? Do you end up having to wait for multiple or is everyone able to get on the first one that comes? How far apart do they run these days?


----------



## Mal6586

TinkSassy said:


> Security experience right now - I know we have the temp check and then some sort of bag check.  I would like to pack my bag so that I can go as quickly as possible and hopefully not have security digging through my bag in the time of COVID.  If there are items that need to be pulled out I will put them in a see through zip lock - what are they?  Assuming phone, battery pack - what else have you found needs to come out?





VandVsmama said:


> Phone did not have to come out, but battery pack and umbrella do.  Hold those out in one hand in front of you as you walk through.  Everything else can stay in purse/backpack/bag.


Also metal water bottles if you carry one.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Magic Kingdom on a Friday afternoon... not so great.  Wait times/crowds were rough but my plan was to do a MK resort shopping tour so we stuck with that.  Heading back to the park around 4pm.


----------



## jsmla

Kalea said:


> We spent last week at the parks and had a wonderful time. I spent a lot of time reading this thread and really appreciate everyone who took the time to write down their experiences. I'm not sure that I have a lot of value to add, but...
> 
> - We have been very Covid cautious (as in, we have not eaten indoors at a restaurant since March) and we felt safe at the parks. Mask compliance was easily 98% or better, and I didn't really notice many occasions with people intentionally breaking rules. Social distancing was not as great, but nothing felt problematic. It's just easy for a family of 4 or 5 or 7 to really spread out between markers and so we had to be mindful of that - both for ourselves and the families ahead of us in line.
> 
> - Obviously mid-January is not high season, but waits were very, very manageable throughout the week. On Wednesday (1/20) at AK, we could have ridden FOP as many times as we wanted, but we stopped after 2x. Sometimes the queues appeared long, but everything moved quickly. Our longest wait was 40 minutes for Rise of the Resistance. As other people have mentioned, a 30-minute queue was often 10 or 15 in reality. Most 15-minute queues seem to be effectively walk-on.
> 
> - We tried and failed to get into the parks early. We showed up every day by ~30-40 mins before opening, but the parks were already full of people. And that was okay, we still rode everything we wanted to with minimal waits.
> 
> - Mobile order worked fabulously. This was an area where I felt really prepared thanks to this thread. We just always ordered in line about 30 minutes before we wanted to head to a restaurant. No issues whatsoever.
> 
> - As a family, we felt this was one of our best Disney trips. My kids are older now (turned 16 and 11 on this trip) and so they don't want to meet characters or have character meals. We missed a couple favorite restaurants, but none of the missing elements really impacted any of us negatively.
> 
> I worried a lot about this trip and almost called it off last minute. But I'm SO glad we went. Thanks again to everyone who posted on this thread and all the others. Hearing everyones experiences helped calm my nerves and all the updated info was great with planning tweaks (who would have thought so many things had changed since 2018?!).


Were they still filling every seat on Flight of Passsge?


----------



## VandVsmama

*Tues 1/26 Epcot notes:*

slept in a lot this day, sore & tired from day before at HS & DS.
12:00 - left Pop on Skyliner. No line. Transferred at CB station and no line there either.
Browsed a lot in Japan department store. Enjoyed that a lot. Watched the marimba music group at American pavilion.  Window shopped at a lot of art booths.  Looked through a Star Wars art booth near the American pavilion and spotted some things we liked, decided to pick something out there after lunch.
1:00 - lunch at Biergarten, first time here.  LOVED this.  VERY relaxing. SO much fun.  DEFINITELY will be going back.  Am going to go here again this summer when we return w/the kids. Leisurely lunch and we were not rushed.  Server was great.  
2:35 - done w/luch. Epcot in world showcase now had way more people, was not the ghost town it was at 1:00.  Still plenty of room for social distancing.
3:20 - saw Voices of Liberty perform at American Pavilion. They were wonderful.  Bathroom break, then purchased a Star Wars print to bring home.
3:50 - took friendship boat from Morocco to Future World.
4:40 - got in line for Soarin' w/15 min posted wait. I think it was more like 7-8 min wait. DH &  I were amused by the 80s shopping mall feel of the Land pavilion building.  Did not feel very Disney to us, but keep in mind that we're Disneyland people, this was DH's 1st time at Epcot and only my 2nd, so we didn't have the same reference point that a lot of other people do.
5:32 - 10 min wait posted for Spaceship Earth, but this was a walk on.  Saw some middle-aged guy and his elderly mom headed to Spaceship Earth with a dog in a dog stroller.  What. The. Heck? That was weird. LOL.  DH kept calling Spaceship Earth "the silver ball ride."  Haha!  All of Future World was a ghost town.
6:00 - got in line for Test Track. 30 min posted wait time, but was really 15-20 min.  We were in a car by ourselves.
After that, thought about going on the Mars ride, but decided to skip for now. DH wanted fish & chips for dinner, so we walked to the UK pavilion for that. Thought the park closed at 7, but it really closed at 8.  The fish & chips are good there!  More people in that part of world showplace compared to earlier in the afternoon, but still manageable and definitely way fewer people than on Saturday evening.  There was 1 group of 4-5 wild, loud, and very drunk young women hooting and hollering like you-know-what's.  I think that one of them had just gotten engaged?  They were being totally lame.
After fish & chips, we got on the Skyliner to go back to Pop.  No wait at the Epcot Skyliner station. I mobile ordered a rice krispie treat from the Pop food court. Spent the rest of the evening being boring fuddie duddies laying in bed and watching TV.  LOL.


----------



## VandVsmama

jsmla said:


> Were they still filling every seat on Flight of Passsge?



When we went on FOP this past Sunday, no.  They were not filling every seat.


----------



## scrappinginontario

RunWI1265 said:


> edit to add: Haven’t seen AK open talked  about much. Same strategy regarding first bus....one hour before park open? Or 1:15?Saturday park visit.


If being on first bus is important it's recommended to arrive at bus stop 75-90 mins before park opening.


Evita_W said:


> How hard has it been lately to get on the buses? Do you end up having to wait for multiple or is everyone able to get on the first one that comes? How far apart do they run these days?


It depends on the time of day.  Before park opening a lot of people are travelling to the parks.  The closer to park opening you arrive at the stop, the longer the lines will be.  

No, not everyone is able to get on the first bus.  May take many buses to get everyone there but they come frequently at park opening.


----------



## Orion Nebula

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Magic Kingdom on a Friday afternoon... not so great.  Wait times/crowds were rough but my plan was to do a MK resort shopping tour so we stuck with that.  Heading back to the park around 4pm.



I don't see too many people posting about waits & crowds being rough. Most seem to be going on about how posted wait times are inflated etc. How were the days prior to Friday? I am curious if Friday's line up much like Sat & Sun crowd wise.


----------



## VandVsmama

*Wed 1/27 HS & MK notes:*

made DH get up earlier this day because I didn't want to end up in the super long Skyliner transfer line to HS at the CB station like we ended up in on Monday morning.  DH was quite grumpy about this.  Lots of grumbling about me being a task master on a vacation day making him get up early.  I told him to just trust me on this because it would be worth it.  And I was right.
7:00 - got BG 72 for ROTR. Estimated time to board was 1:00, which was about accurate. Did same thing as on Monday morning just before 7 am.
7:45 - got on Skyliner from Pop/AOA station.  No line at Pop/AOA station, Skyliner already running at that location.  VERY foggy this morning. Foggy enough that we couldn't see out the Skyliner windows. High supposed to be 83. DH still very grumpy, didn't want to get up.
7:50 - got to CB station. HS line not running yet. But line for HS not very long yet. By time Skyliner to HS DID start up, the line extended quite a ways towards CB.
8:10 - got to HS. Cars still being held at the HS toll plaza at this time, so we beat all of the cars.  Something to be aware of if you're debating between getting Uber/Lyft to the Speedway gas station and walking OR driving yourself OR using Uber/Lyft directly to HS.
8:14 - held at temp screening tents, not open yet.  Temp screening began 1 or 2 min later and went quickly.  From there, we walked straight onto MMRR.  We both liked MMRR. Very well done attraction, even though we both hate the new Mickey Mouse animation style.
8:35 - off of MMRR.
8:46 - walking through SDD line. DH skipped this attraction, looked too fast for him. 20 min posted wait time but really about 7-8 min.
9:00 - off of SDD.  Walked onto Alien Swirling Saucers next.  That's a lot of fun. Same system as Mater's Junkyard Jamboree at DCA. Right after that, we went on TSM, which was also a walk on.
9:40 - finished with ride #1 on Millennium Falcon as engineers.  DH wanted to be a gunner, so we got straight back inline again.  Wait time posted was 20 min for the 2nd ride, but was half of that.  Wait time for the 1st ride was 10 min posted, but felt like 5 min.  I beat DH at being a gunner!  Lots of fun both times. We went on MFSR a total of 3 times in the 2 HS days and got to try out all 3 positions.  All of them were fun. Didn't feel like the plexiglass hindered or interfered with the ride experience at all.  To be honest, I hardly noticed the plexiglass.
10:10 - done with ride #2 on MFSR. Submitted mobile order at Docking Bay 7 for 12-12:30 time slot.
Went to Muppets 3D next. Posted 10 min wait and it felt about that long.  We enjoyed this attraction a lot.
Snack & bathroom break next - nuts we brought from home & water.  Right after we finished at Muppets 3D, posted wait time for Star Tours jumped to 40 min, which was discouraging.  By the time we were done with snack and bathroom, wait time dropped to 15 min for Star Tours, but Muppets 3D went up to 30 min.  It seemed like we were JUST ahead of all of the crowds all morning.
11:28 - in line for Star Tours. 15 min posted wait time. 11:32 - about to get in the ride vehicle/simulator.  Bathroom break after that because we were very sweaty on this day and drank a lot of fluids.
11:48 - walked into the Mickey shorts theater with no wait.  Hate this animation style, but it was an air conditioned place to sit for 15 min.  After that, went back to Galaxy's Edge to have lunch.  Hung out for an hour in Docking Bay 7.  DH had the vegetarian dish again like he'd had on Monday (tasted good!). I switched from the pot roast to spicy pork ribs.  I preferred the pot roast.
1:17 - our ROTR BG was called, so walked towards ROTR entrance. Stopped at Resistance merchandise stalls and bought more souvenirs to bring home for ourselves, our kids, and friends.  DH & I bickered over whether or not the new Star Wars movies are lame or cool (he thinks they're lame and, of course, he is wrong).
1:35 - got in ROTR queue.  2:05 - off of ride. 2:15 - walked out of HS.  Trudged back to Skyliner. VERY tired and sweaty.  What can I say...I'm a delicate desert flower.
2:38 - back in room at Pop. Rest, TV, nap.
4:45 - on bus to MK.  No wait to get on bus. Bus pulled up right as we were walking up to the bus stop.  Wait times all pretty low at MK this evening.  Peter Pan at 20 min, BTMRR and Splash posted at 25.
5:20 - had corn dogs at Sleepy Hollow. DH got ibuprofen for headache. Headache likely caused by his mask. Should have purchased ear savers/ear extenders before our trip. There's nowhere on Disney property to buy those, by the way.  Park VERY quiet this evening.  CMs at Sleepy Hollow were great.  We'll do a hard pass on future corn dogs at MK.  They're way better at the Little Red Wagon at Disneyland. Craig from the Dis Unplugged videos/podcasts is totally correct on this one.
During the hour before park close - HM, IASW, Peter Pan, Speedway, Buzz all 5 min posted wait times.  We went on HM, IASW, Peter Pan, Dumbo, and Buzz.  Then left MK.
Took bus to Riviera so DH could have 2nd dinner at Primo Piatto.  I had tomato soup & gelato. The tomato soup there is REALLY REALLY good.  DH had tomato soup and bacon cheeseburger.  DH complained about how come the quality of the QS food at Primo Piatto is so much better than the food court at Pop Century.  Um...duh, DH, Riviera is basically a deluxe resort. It's like going to McDonald's and wondering why they don't make gourmet hamburgers.  LOL.  He even asked a Primo Piatto CM about it.  That was embarrassing.  I told DH to be like Elsa, let it go, and just enjoy his food.  I'm sure that made for some good stories back in the kitchen amongst the CM staff.  Haha!
After that, took Skyliner from Riviera back to Pop.  Got back to Pop at 8:15 pm.  Walked total of 9.46 miles on this day.  Pretty tired, but a good tired.   Took showers, watched TV in the room, called my sister to get a status report on how things were going back home with the kids (all was well), checked weather reports for the next day since we'd be changing planes in Chicago.


----------



## VandVsmama

*Last and final park day...

Thursday 1/28 MK & departure day:*

Made DH get up again. He grumbled. Asked what we're doing today.  HAHA, dear husband, we are going home today.  AND we are going to MK this morning.  "Why are we going to MK when we're leaving today" he asked.  Well, honey, because our plane leaves at 5:30 pm so we can eek out a little more park time before we go.  
DH looked at Primo Piatto's breakfast menu the night before and wanted to try breakfast there, so our original plan was to pack up, store our luggage with Bell Services, and then take the Skyliner to Primo Piatto for breakfast, followed by a bus from Riviera to MK.  BUT....
the Skyliner line to Epcot was closed on Thursday for software updates.  So we decided to skip breakfast entirely.  Neither of us were really hungry yet anyway.  We finished getting dressed, packed up our stuff, DH triple checked the room since I have a habit of always leaving something behind, and we stored our bags with Bell Services. Then went to the MK bus stop.  There was a line, but it wasn't bad. This was at 8:40.
8:55 - got on a bus to MK.  2 MK buses arrived at same time. While on bus, made a snap decision to check whether any Skipper Canteen ADRs might be available in the 11-12 time frame.  Lucked out with one at 11:50 and grabbed it.  During non-COVID times, this is probably unheard of.
Went on HM (walk on), BTMRR (probably 7-8 min wait), Splash Mtn (walk on).  VERY brisk morning.  Temp was 56 when we went on Splash Mtn.  Laughed our fool heads off on that ride.  So much fun. Didn't get too wet. DH decided he now likes Splash Mtn and BTMRR (HOORAY!). We both thought that BTMRR at MK is a tad slower than at Disneyland.
Then went to Tomorrowland for pretzel and coffee.  Sleepy Hollow had a BIG long line of guests waiting to order.  We were pressed for time, so didn't want to spend a good 30 min in total for ordering and drinking coffee.  Total weather change compared to Wednesday.  On Wednesday, we were sweating.  But on Thursday, you needed long pants and a sweatshirt at least.  Definitely was a good example of what everybody on Dis Boards says about January trips to WDW...pack for all kinds of weather.  It's like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get!
11:24 - went on Mad Tea Party. DH thought of doing Space Mtn instead, but that was at 11:15 and we wouldn't have enough time to make it to the Skipper Canteen ADR on time and we didn't want to feel rushed.  It was really nice to be able to fly by the seat of our pants on this trip.
11:40 - checked in for Skipper Canteen ADR.  Got seated promptly at 11:50.  Never eaten here before. Hostess was hilarious, told Jungle Cruise-y jokes.  Ordered the blue corn cachapas appetizer, char siu pork (DH had chicken pad thai and declared it not spicy), and Kungaloosh cake for dessert. YDD loves Jungle Cruise, so we will definitely go here again for our summer trip in early June.  She's going to love this TS restaurant.
1:00 - done w/lunch. Took quick photos at castle and on Main Street (not with PP photographer though). Stopped at confectionery for 2 rice krispie treats.
1:07 - got on bus to Pop.  Got back to resort around 1:30. Bathroom break, checked at front desk to make sure we were properly checked out, bought some of the bath gel to bring home since it smells like vacation, and then we ooh'd and ah'd at some of the 1980s and 1990s memory boxes in the lobby.  Then got our bags from Bell Services and waited for MDE.
2:05 - MDE supposed to pick us up.  It was late.
2:15-2:20 - MDE arrived.  Showed print out to driver, he said to sit wherever we liked but skip rows for social distancing...different than when getting on MDE at airport (where they assign you a row). Driver was very professional.  
3:06 - by now, at Orlando airport. Checked luggage at Southwest Airlines.  Flight supposed to leave at 5:30 pm.  Airport was a ghost town.  FP wait time (haha) for TSA was 6-10 minutes.  When we were at WDW in June 2018, TSA check point wait was 45 min!
Plane left on time.  Flight from Orlando to Chicago was about 1/3 full.  SW terminal in Chicago-Midway was like Grand Central Station.  Nobody social distancing, people everywhere, lots of announcements to social distance, but there wasn't room to do that.  Not really much point at that point, though, since in a few minutes we were all literally going to be piled in line sardines in a tin can. LOL!.  Flight from Chicago to Phoenix was totally full.  This is probably because Southwest, like many airlines, has cancelled many flights, so there's a smaller # of routes between some airports.  DH & I kept our masks on the entire time, didn't even eat or drink anything on that flight, didn't use the bathroom either.  Flight was uneventful.  We took showers when we got home so we could get the airport cooties off.    
It was an awesome trip.  We REALLY REALLY liked no FPs in combination with the manageable ride wait times.  It was a very flexible trip.  Very easy to change your plans on the fly and not have it ruin your day.  It's much easier to do this when you get to the parks EARLY.  If you wait until 10-11 am to get there, then you are basically moving with the pack the whole rest of the day.  DH had moments of theme park fatigue, but using my Disneyland strategies helped here in that department (i.e., park all morning, then escape for a couple to a few hours, then back in evening)...lather, rinse, repeat.

I think that in the future, we will avoid Epcot on a weekend evening when a festival is going on.  The loud, drunk Instagram-obsessed picture-posing crews got on our nerves.  SO much posing for social media 'worthy' photos with margaritas in hand, or doing complicated moves to do stupid stuff like make a heart with your and a family member's or friend's body parts (arms & legs).  Some of it was comical to watch, but at the same time, it reminded me a bit of a cheesy beach carnival and I hate that sort of vibe.

We are going back in early June!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Orion Nebula said:


> I don't see too many people posting about waits & crowds being rough. Most seem to be going on about how posted wait times are inflated etc. How were the days prior to Friday? I am curious if Friday's line up much like Sat & Sun crowd wise.


I posted my full writeup on Wednesday evening about our visit to MK that day in case you didn’t read that.  I’d say today was substantially busier than other weekdays but not at the same level as a Saturday.


----------



## GBRforWDW

VandVsmama said:


> *Last and final park day...
> 
> Thursday 1/28 MK & departure day:*
> 
> Made DH get up again. He grumbled. Asked what we're doing today.  HAHA, dear husband, we are going home today.  AND we are going to MK this morning.  "Why are we going to MK when we're leaving today" he asked.  Well, honey, because our plane leaves at 5:30 pm so we can eek out a little more park time before we go.





Lol, your husband sounds like my wife.  Hello, We're at Disney!  We're doing Disney things!   Lol

Sounds like you had a pretty great trip though.  Glad you made it home safely.


----------



## VandVsmama

Oh...by the way...the Pop Century gift shop, Emporium on Main Street, and some other shops now have plastic  folding fans for sale.  $10 a pop.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

VandVsmama said:


> *Last and final park day...
> 
> Thursday 1/28 MK & departure day:*
> 
> Made DH get up again. He grumbled. Asked what we're doing today.  HAHA, dear husband, we are going home today.  AND we are going to MK this morning.  "Why are we going to MK when we're leaving today" he asked.  Well, honey, because our plane leaves at 5:30 pm so we can eek out a little more park time before we go.
> DH looked at Primo Piatto's breakfast menu the night before and wanted to try breakfast there, so our original plan was to pack up, store our luggage with Bell Services, and then take the Skyliner to Primo Piatto for breakfast, followed by a bus from Riviera to MK.  BUT....
> the Skyliner line to Epcot was closed on Thursday for software updates.  So we decided to skip breakfast entirely.  Neither of us were really hungry yet anyway.  We finished getting dressed, packed up our stuff, DH triple checked the room since I have a habit of always leaving something behind, and we stored our bags with Bell Services. Then went to the MK bus stop.  There was a line, but it wasn't bad. This was at 8:40.
> 8:55 - got on a bus to MK.  2 MK buses arrived at same time. While on bus, made a snap decision to check whether any Skipper Canteen ADRs might be available in the 11-12 time frame.  Lucked out with one at 11:50 and grabbed it.  During non-COVID times, this is probably unheard of.
> Went on HM (walk on), BTMRR (probably 7-8 min wait), Splash Mtn (walk on).  VERY brisk morning.  Temp was 56 when we went on Splash Mtn.  Laughed our fool heads off on that ride.  So much fun. Didn't get too wet. DH decided he now likes Splash Mtn and BTMRR (HOORAY!). We both thought that BTMRR at MK is a tad slower than at Disneyland.
> Then went to Tomorrowland for pretzel and coffee.  Sleepy Hollow had a BIG long line of guests waiting to order.  We were pressed for time, so didn't want to spend a good 30 min in total for ordering and drinking coffee.  Total weather change compared to Wednesday.  On Wednesday, we were sweating.  But on Thursday, you needed long pants and a sweatshirt at least.  Definitely was a good example of what everybody on Dis Boards says about January trips to WDW...pack for all kinds of weather.  It's like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get!
> 11:24 - went on Mad Tea Party. DH thought of doing Space Mtn instead, but that was at 11:15 and we wouldn't have enough time to make it to the Skipper Canteen ADR on time and we didn't want to feel rushed.  It was really nice to be able to fly by the seat of our pants on this trip.
> 11:40 - checked in for Skipper Canteen ADR.  Got seated promptly at 11:50.  Never eaten here before. Hostess was hilarious, told Jungle Cruise-y jokes.  Ordered the blue corn cachapas appetizer, char siu pork (DH had chicken pad thai and declared it not spicy), and Kungaloosh cake for dessert. YDD loves Jungle Cruise, so we will definitely go here again for our summer trip in early June.  She's going to love this TS restaurant.
> 1:00 - done w/lunch. Took quick photos at castle and on Main Street (not with PP photographer though). Stopped at confectionery for 2 rice krispie treats.
> 1:07 - got on bus to Pop.  Got back to resort around 1:30. Bathroom break, checked at front desk to make sure we were properly checked out, bought some of the bath gel to bring home since it smells like vacation, and then we ooh'd and ah'd at some of the 1980s and 1990s memory boxes in the lobby.  Then got our bags from Bell Services and waited for MDE.
> 2:05 - MDE supposed to pick us up.  It was late.
> 2:15-2:20 - MDE arrived.  Showed print out to driver, he said to sit wherever we liked but skip rows for social distancing...different than when getting on MDE at airport (where they assign you a row). Driver was very professional.
> 3:06 - by now, at Orlando airport. Checked luggage at Southwest Airlines.  Flight supposed to leave at 5:30 pm.  Airport was a ghost town.  FP wait time (haha) for TSA was 6-10 minutes.  When we were at WDW in June 2018, TSA check point wait was 45 min!
> Plane left on time.  Flight from Orlando to Chicago was about 1/3 full.  SW terminal in Chicago-Midway was like Grand Central Station.  Nobody social distancing, people everywhere, lots of announcements to social distance, but there wasn't room to do that.  Not really much point at that point, though, since in a few minutes we were all literally going to be piled in line sardines in a tin can. LOL!.  Flight from Chicago to Phoenix was totally full.  This is probably because Southwest, like many airlines, has cancelled many flights, so there's a smaller # of routes between some airports.  DH & I kept our masks on the entire time, didn't even eat or drink anything on that flight, didn't use the bathroom either.  Flight was uneventful.  We took showers when we got home so we could get the airport cooties off.
> It was an awesome trip.  We REALLY REALLY liked no FPs in combination with the manageable ride wait times.  It was a very flexible trip.  Very easy to change your plans on the fly and not have it ruin your day.  It's much easier to do this when you get to the parks EARLY.  If you wait until 10-11 am to get there, then you are basically moving with the pack the whole rest of the day.  DH had moments of theme park fatigue, but using my Disneyland strategies helped here in that department (i.e., park all morning, then escape for a couple to a few hours, then back in evening)...lather, rinse, repeat.
> 
> I think that in the future, we will avoid Epcot on a weekend evening when a festival is going on.  The loud, drunk Instagram-obsessed picture-posing crews got on our nerves.  SO much posing for social media 'worthy' photos with margaritas in hand, or doing complicated moves to do stupid stuff like make a heart with your and a family member's or friend's body parts (arms & legs).  Some of it was comical to watch, but at the same time, it reminded me a bit of a cheesy beach carnival and I hate that sort of vibe.
> 
> We are going back in early June!



thank you so much for your detailed reports!  I enjoyed them thoroughly and appreciate all the information.  Glad you had such a wonderful time!


----------



## jsmla

VandVsmama said:


> When we went on FOP this past Sunday, no.  They were not filling every seat.


Thanks!  I’m planning to try tomorrow!


----------



## scrappinginontario

jsmla said:


> Thanks!  I’m planning to try tomorrow!


There are times that they are filling every seat, just so you can make a choice that works for you depending on your comfort level.  Sometimes they leave space and sometimes they fill every seat.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

*Magic Kingdom 1/29 (FRIDAY) report:*

Boardwalk bus stop at 7:40 - while waiting we placed our mobile order for lunch

Bus pulls up at 7:45 which is 30 minutes earlier than Wednesday. 

Arrived around 8:00 and were slowly moved in stages to temp check, security, and then tapstiles. We were at the front of one of the tapstiles.  Headed directly to 7DMT at 8:15 but they didn’t start running until 8:30.

Did rides in this order:

7DMT
Peter Pan
Splash Mt (BTMRR was down for much of the AM)
Pirates
Magic Carpets
Enchanted Tiki room
Mickey’s Philharmagic
11:15 - lunch at Cosmic Rays

We did not like the wait times we were seeing after lunch - it was WAY busier than Wednesday when many things were basically a walk-on.  No problem because we had planned for this and did a resort shopping tour.  CR, then Poly and a Dole Whip, GF, then we rode the monorail all the way around the loop (yes past GF a 2nd time lol) and then on to MK where we re-entered around 3:15.

Tea Cups
Dumbo
Space Mountain
Pooh
4:45 - Dinner at Tony’s

At this point it was 5:45 and we wanted to try for 4 more rides.

Little Mermaid (walk on)
Splash Mountain (posted 25, actual 10)
BTMRR (posted 35, actual 25)
We got off of BTMRR at 7:03 so we missed our last ride on iasw - guess I should’ve eaten the Alfredo faster 

All in all, the early start worked great again.  Crowds were much higher on Fri vs Wed - not in an “unsafe” fashion.  Just in a “I don’t want to wait that long fashion.  Our resort tour break was restful and quiet and I’d recommend it!  Hope this info is helpful to some!


----------



## RunWI1265

SouthFayetteFan said:


> We did not like the wait times we were seeing after lunch - it was WAY busier than Wednesday when many things were basically a walk-on.



We were going to hop over to MK in the afternoon but decided to stay at HS after we saw the wait times. Sounds like you had a great plan - we also love getting there early and taking advantage of the short lines.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Here now but had an unfortunate incident on bus this morning when ECV fell over while bus was moving. Luckily I was not injured other than bruised shoulder and 2 gentlemen very quickly picked the ECV up off the floor of the bus. It was a scary experience and I wasn’t looking forward to having to return back to resort via bus.  Planning to try just using a cane tomorrow and limiting time spent in park.  The bus driver did ask me for my name and phone number and I did think someone would call me but never heard from anyone.
Plenty of open space in parks but some ride lines seemed long due social distancing. PP line was backed up and wound around and through the Columbia Harbor House before 10:00 am.  POC was a 35 min wait at 10:10.


----------



## CarolynFH

Lsdolphin said:


> Here now but had an unfortunate incident on bus this morning when ECV fell over while bus was moving. Luckily I was not injured other than bruised shoulder and 2 gentlemen very quickly picked the ECV up off the floor of the bus. It was a scary experience and I wasn’t looking forward to having to return back to resort via bus.  Planning to try just using a cane tomorrow and limiting time spent in park.  The bus driver did ask me for my name and phone number and I did think someone would call me but never heard from anyone.
> Plenty of open space in parks but some ride lines seemed long due social distancing. PP line was backed up and wound around and through the Columbia Harbor House before 10:00 am.  POC was a 35 min wait at 10:10.


You should report the bus incident ASAP. You could email wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. Your ECV should have been secured so it couldn’t fall over! I’m not sure I’d trust the bus driver to report it if no one has called you yet.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

SouthFayetteFan said:


> *Magic Kingdom 1/29 (FRIDAY) report:*
> 
> Boardwalk bus stop at 7:40 - while waiting we placed our mobile order for lunch
> 
> Bus pulls up at 7:45 which is 30 minutes earlier than Wednesday.
> 
> Arrived around 8:00 and were slowly moved in stages to temp check, security, and then tapstiles. We were at the front of one of the tapstiles.  Headed directly to 7DMT at 8:15 but they didn’t start running until 8:30.
> 
> Did rides in this order:
> 
> 7DMT
> Peter Pan
> Splash Mt (BTMRR was down for much of the AM)
> Pirates
> Magic Carpets
> Enchanted Tiki room
> Mickey’s Philharmagic
> 11:15 - lunch at Cosmic Rays
> 
> We did not like the wait times we were seeing after lunch - it was WAY busier than Wednesday when many things were basically a walk-on.  No problem because we had planned for this and did a resort shopping tour.  CR, then Poly and a Dole Whip, GF, then we rode the monorail all the way around the loop (yes past GF a 2nd time lol) and then on to MK where we re-entered around 3:15.
> 
> Tea Cups
> Dumbo
> Space Mountain
> Pooh
> 4:45 - Dinner at Tony’s
> 
> At this point it was 5:45 and we wanted to try for 4 more rides.
> 
> Little Mermaid (walk on)
> Splash Mountain (posted 25, actual 10)
> BTMRR (posted 35, actual 25)
> We got off of BTMRR at 7:03 so we missed our last ride on iasw - guess I should’ve eaten the Alfredo faster
> 
> All in all, the early start worked great again.  Crowds were much higher on Fri vs Wed - not in an “unsafe” fashion.  Just in a “I don’t want to wait that long fashion.  Our resort tour break was restful and quiet and I’d recommend it!  Hope this info is helpful to some!


Looking back thru the pics of the day and realized I totally forgot that we fit in Space Mountain too I the afternoon!  So I fixed it


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Here now but had an unfortunate incident on bus this morning when ECV fell over while bus was moving. Luckily I was not injured other than bruised shoulder and 2 gentlemen very quickly picked the ECV up off the floor of the bus. It was a scary experience and I wasn’t looking forward to having to return back to resort via bus.  Planning to try just using a cane tomorrow and limiting time spent in park.  The bus driver did ask me for my name and phone number and I did think someone would call me but never heard from anyone.
> Plenty of open space in parks but some ride lines seemed long due social distancing. PP line was backed up and wound around and through the Columbia Harbor House before 10:00 am.  POC was a 35 min wait at 10:10.





CarolynFH said:


> You should report the bus incident ASAP. You could email wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. Your ECV should have been secured so it couldn’t fall over! I’m not sure I’d trust the bus driver to report it if no one has called you yet.


Wow !!!  I totally agree with reporting it as suggested above just to be on the safe side.  My parents each use scooters and those things are locked down tight!! I’m so sorry this happened to you but it should not have happened.  I’m sure it’s unnerving but you should be okay after this.  I would report it though as they need to know!!


----------



## Kalea

VandVsmama said:


> When we went on FOP this past Sunday, no.  They were not filling every seat.


On Wednesday, 1/20, no they weren't filling every seat. In fact, our family of 4 was totally alone in the room? pod? whatever it is. 
On Saturday, 1/23 , lines were a little longer in the morning. We waited maybe 30 mins to ride? And they filled every seat.


----------



## LyFam

Silly question, but I can't find the answer. I've never been when the parks close so early.  Our trip is week of Feb 15.  If the parks close at 5, are you kicked out of restaurants at 5? or whatever time the parks close?


----------



## GBRforWDW

LyFam said:


> Silly question, but I can't find the answer. I've never been when the parks close so early.  Our trip is week of Feb 15.  If the parks close at 5, are you kicked out of restaurants at 5? or whatever time the parks close?


They usually give you an hour or so to clear the park, So you can finish eating at a quick service location or do last minute shopping.  Exceptions are for Table Service restaurants.  Some offer reservations up to an hour after park close,so you could be in the park 2+ hours after park close.


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## SouthFayetteFan

*Animal Kingdom SATURDAY 1/30 Report:*

We got to the BW bus stop at 6:50 and a bus almost immediately pulled up! We placed our mobile order for Satu’li Canteen while in transit.

We arrived to the park and were 3rd in line behind a tapstile.   I believe they let us in at 7:15:

Flight of Passage (we were on the first ride of the day)
Navi River (walked on at 7:45)
Everest THREE times, walked on each time (feels like we could’ve kept going for an hour though).  At this point it was 8:30
Safari - walked on although it is a LONG walk haha
Gorilla Falls trail (and we had to wait in line for it!)
Did a little shopping
Dumbosaurus (aka triceratop spin) around 10:20am at this point
10:45 - early lunch @ Satu’li Canteen

Wildlife express - longest wait of the day! 25 mins!!
12:15 Animation Class (man we could do that on repeat all day - so fun! We drew Dumbo)
Wildlife Express back - not as bad, maybe 10 min wait
Popcorn break as we barely missed out on 1:30 Bird show due to capacity
Maharajah Jungle trek
2:30 Bird show (arrived at 2:05 to ensure we got in)
Everest - posted 25 waited 15
A little more shopping to waste time
4:00 pm dinner @ Rainforest Cafe which was selected as a fave restaurant by the girls.  It was ok - better than in the past actually.

Now we are headed back to the Epcot resort area for dessert at Beaches and Cream.  Crowds were very busy at times today but we had a great plan.  I’m very glad we switched AK and MK days.  I think AK can be a perfect Saturday park with a super early arrival since there’s much less to do.  I looked at MK wait times today and 

This will be my last update.  Headed home tomorrow afternoon.

EDIT: I should add that wait times for Pandora rides seemed to hit 45-70 mins and stay there after 9am or so.  We never ventured back to try a 2nd ride.


----------



## scrappinginontario

SouthFayetteFan said:


> *Animal Kingdom SATURDAY 1/30 Report:*
> 
> We got to the BW bus stop at 6:50 and a bus almost immediately pulled up! We placed our mobile order for Satu’li Canteen while in transit.
> 
> We arrived to the park and were 3rd in line behind a tapstile.   I believe they let us in at 7:15:
> 
> Flight of Passage (we were on the first ride of the day)
> Navi River (walked on at 7:45)
> Everest THREE times, walked on each time (feels like we could’ve kept going for an hour though).  At this point it was 8:30
> Safari - walked on although it is a LONG walk haha
> Gorilla Falls trail (and we had to wait in line for it!)
> Did a little shopping
> Dumbosaurus (aka triceratop spin) around 10:20am at this point
> 10:45 - early lunch @ Satu’li Canteen
> 
> Wildlife express - longest wait of the day! 25 mins!!
> 12:15 Animation Class (man we could do that on repeat all day - so fun! We drew Dumbo)
> Wildlife Express back - not as bad, maybe 10 min wait
> Popcorn break as we barely missed out on 1:30 Bird show due to capacity
> Maharajah Jungle trek
> 2:30 Bird show (arrived at 2:05 to ensure we got in)
> Everest - posted 25 waited 15
> A little more shopping to waste time
> 4:00 pm dinner @ Rainforest Cafe which was selected as a fave restaurant by the girls.  It was ok - better than in the past actually.
> 
> Now we are headed back to the Epcot resort area for dessert at Beaches and Cream.  Crowds were very busy at times today but we had a great plan.  I’m very glad we switched AK and MK days.  I think AK can be a perfect Saturday park with a super early arrival since there’s much less to do.  I looked at MK wait times today and
> 
> This will be my last update.  Headed home tomorrow afternoon.


Safe travels home.  Thank you for all your reports.


----------



## jjpdjr

Is animation class at AK the same thing that used to be at HS


----------



## eeyoreandtink

scrappinginontario said:


> Wow !!!  I totally agree with reporting it as suggested above just to be on the safe side.  My parents each use scooters and those things are locked down tight!! I’m so sorry this happened to you but it should not have happened.  I’m sure it’s unnerving but you should be okay after this.  I would report it though as they need to know!!


ECVs can and do flip over on buses, even when everything is done exactly right. Sometimes it cannot be prevented. This is why they ask you to transfer to a seat. I NEVER sit on mine on a moving bus.


----------



## CarolynFH

eeyoreandtink said:


> ECVs can and do flip over on buses, even when everything is done exactly right. Sometimes it cannot be prevented. This is why they ask you to transfer to a seat. I NEVER sit on mine on a moving bus.


Thanks - I obviously had unrealistic confidence in the restraints. I do hope that @Lsdolphin incident was reported.


----------



## scrappinginontario

eeyoreandtink said:


> ECVs can and do flip over on buses, even when everything is done exactly right. Sometimes it cannot be prevented. This is why they ask you to transfer to a seat. I NEVER sit on mine on a moving bus.


This is surprising as I have been on hundreds and hundreds of Disney buses, many of those with ECVs.  I find it difficult to believe this happens often as the rider is seat belted into the bus which means there is an additional higher security point. (We travel with 2 ECVs in our travel party.)  It could happen but is not normal.  Too many people would be hurt (potentially quite badly when a 250lb ECV falls on them)  as normally (non-COVID times) most buses are filled to capacity including people standing directly beside the ECVs.  

I still stand beside my point that an ECV that falls over in a moving bus should be reported.

Curious, has anyone else ever been on a Disney bus when an ECV fell over when the bus was moving?


----------



## Evita_W

eeyoreandtink said:


> ECVs can and do flip over on buses, even when everything is done exactly right. Sometimes it cannot be prevented. This is why they ask you to transfer to a seat. I NEVER sit on mine on a moving bus.


Actually it shouldn't tip over if properly secured. That being said if something does go wrong it is much safe to transfer, a friend of ours didn't transfer at the Toy Story lot at Disneyland and her scooter topped over because it wasn't properly secured by the driver and broke her thigh bone. Obviously Disney retrained all of the drivers and now strongly.encourages transferring.


----------



## LoveToDisney

scrappinginontario said:


> Curious, has anyone else ever been on a Disney bus when an ECV fell over when the bus was moving?


I have been on a bus when an EVC started to fall over during a turn. My DH and another passenger sprung up and helped them stop from going completely over. It was a large ECV and had someone on it. 
I use a smaller ECV and ALWAYS hold onto the folded up seats next to me when on the bus as we go around a turn and keep my right foot on the ground just to be sure.


----------



## Megsmachine

We are staying off property.  How early are they letting people park at DHS these days?


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## yulilin3

Megsmachine said:


> We are staying off property.  How early are they letting people park at DHS these days?


About an hour before


----------



## yulilin3

Let's please move along from the ecv incident and back on topic


----------



## eeyoreandtink

Evita_W said:


> Actually it shouldn't tip over if properly secured. That being said if something does go wrong it is much safe to transfer, a friend of ours didn't transfer at the Toy Story lot at Disneyland and her scooter topped over because it wasn't properly secured by the driver and broke her thigh bone. Obviously Disney retrained all of the drivers and now strongly.encourages transferring.


Take a look at the disabilities board. You will see many discussions about this. It can and does happen, even with a properly secured ECV. Things happen on the road where a driver has to react quickly, sometimes turning more sharply than he would like, et. you are correct, the safest thing is to transfer, as you can tip even when properly secured.


----------



## SL6827

Ok, here is my report for the day of 01/28/20 at the MK.

We did the Wave for an early breakfast and got out off there by 8:05.  The breakfast was OK, but the ability to walk to the MK afterwards was priceless.  And I will tell you, the guard was checking with us on us having a breakfast reservation upon entering with an Uber ride.  But do the Wave for breakfast at 7:30, pay when you get your food and get out of there by 8:10.

We got in line outside the MK with mostly I assume Contemporary hotel guest.  There was maybe 15 people ahead of us.  They let us through the gates, got in line at the turnstiles and at 8:30 we were let in.   It was unreal.  We headed straight to SDMT.  Got in two rides before the bigger crowds hit (for that ride).  But everywhere else, no crowds harldy.  It was 2005-2008 all over again.  No crowds at all.  It was awesome, but really sad, as to the reason why.

We stayed from 8:30-12 and then took a break back at AoA then back at the MK from 4-7pm.  We rode
BTMR- 5 times, SDMT- 2 times, SpM- 2 times ( but it was a walk on ALL day long) could have rode it 20 times if we wanted.


The ability to get up EARLY and get out, getting to walk to the entrance was a key factor in us getting on SDMT twice before the long lines for it started.  I can not stress that enough.  It was like the morning we PAID for Early Morning Magic, but for free.


----------



## NashvilleMama

*Saturday 1/30 - AK/MK hopping:  *

Morning at AK...slow start getting up and going, so didn't arrive until about 9:30am (8am park opening day). FOP was already posted at 45 mins so we did Dinosaur which was basically walk-on. Rode Everest twice in a row - do NOT be put off by a long line there, it was stretched almost to Dinoland but moved rapidly and was 10-15 mins max each time.

If you want to do FOP without a wait, early morning arrival is key. Otherwise we didn't find crowd levels to be an issue for anything else, although Dinosaur and Safari did creep up into the 40/50 ranges at some point on the app. Only waited 20 mins for Nomad Lounge lunch.

We drove our rental car to AK, and arriving that "late" in the day meant we were REALLY far away and had a hike. We felt it walking back to our car when leaving around 1:30pm and wish they had a handful of trams running just for the outer sections. It takes a lot to wear me out but I was struggling. We like the flexibility of driving ourselves but I'm giving up on that.

Back to resort for a rest and swim (FL weather was heavenly!!).

Took bus to MK around 3:30pm to avoid parking lot walking. 
Definitely way more crowded than Thursday afternoon, but still wasn't bad. Splash wait posted 45 and took 15 mins.
If you can't get there in the morning, pre-park closing hours still have upsides. We walked on Space twice in a row around 6pm. The hub and Main Street weren't bad at all.
Left at 7:30pm (8pm park closing) to try and get a jump on some of the bus crowds but no such luck, still waited 30 mins due to the lines. Way better on our feet though than hiking out to the parking lots!

We had been stung by REALLY long mobile ordering wait times at Pop the previous 2 nights (20-35 mins), so this time I hit "I'm here" when we were just pulling out of MK on the bus. It dinged that it was ready just after we passed through the Pop gates - perfect timing!


----------



## Day-Day

deleted...


----------



## NashvilleMama

also deleted


----------



## DVCkidsMOM

Anyone with bus experience from Beach Club for park openings?  They (used to?) share busses with Yacht Club.  Pre-covid we were often bypassed by busses that filled up at Yacht Club making park opening from Beach Club more difficult.  Is this still true, or is park opening from BC working well?  I'll hike to YC or BW if needed, but hope it's not necessary.


----------



## BrokeMack

We were there all week (1/23-1/30). 

Stayed at the Yacht Club. Location was great, Stormalong Bay was great. Quick service option was disappointing (both the available options and the quality). AKL is still our favorite deluxe I think. 

Parks were mostly good. 
World Showcase got a little noisy after about 5pm when the drinking crowd showed up. Nothing major, just way more crowded than earlier in the day and pretty congested in Mexico and France.
DHS and AK were the winners last week. We opened up DHS 3 times and got ROTR groups 14, 29, & 9 using Yacht Club wi-fi (better ping than T-Mobile in the room). MMRR was a walk on at park open. We waited about 25 for SDD with a posted 50. FOP was also about half the posted wait and Everest was walk on all week long.
MK was more crowded than I expected. Mask compliance and social distancing were the worst here. Lots of creative mask folding or just outright non-compliance. Also lots of parents buried in their cellphones not watching their kids. I shot some lady a "you gonna do something about him?" look after the third time her 12ish YO kid threw a water bottle about 15 feet and she just mean-mugged me. We made it work, but the afternoon break was a necessity. 
We had our best meals at MK (surprisingly). LTT was really good. The toffee cake was the best thing I ate all week. Skipper's was great as usual. If you can get a post-closing BOG, grab it. Totally worth the money. Our table time was 55 minutes after park close. I've never seen the hub and main street deserted before and it was the highlight of the trip (and on our final night too).

Temp checks were starting right at 45 minutes prior at all parks, but MK didn't have much open in Fantasyland or Adventureland. Granted, the day we got there the earliest both Pirates and BTMRR were broken until after official opening (BTMRR didn't open until after noon on Friday). However, we met a really nice CM in front of Pirates (Billy) and ended up being the first people to ride that day, which was really cool.


----------



## BrokeMack

DVCkidsMOM said:


> Anyone with bus experience from Beach Club for park openings?  They (used to?) share busses with Yacht Club.  Pre-covid we were often bypassed by busses that filled up at Yacht Club making park opening from Beach Club more difficult.  Is this still true, or is park opening from BC working well?  I'll hike to YC or BW if needed, but hope it's not necessary.



We were at Yacht Club last week. Separate buses for rope drop, shared later.


----------



## dr&momto2boys

First AK bus from Contemporary arrived about 7:05 this morning. Got to AK at 7:20 but held on bus they say until 7:30. While line of buses doing the same.


----------



## Chris Ehlers

jjpdjr said:


> Is animation class at AK the same thing that used to be at HS


Its very similar, but you draw on lap desks.  Def worth it! we do it every trip.  sometimes more then once.


----------



## yulilin3

jjpdjr said:


> Is animation class at AK the same thing that used to be at HS


a couple of differences
They teach more complicated characters (very rare you get a Mickey or Minnie) and because of this they give you a paper with the guidelines already on them
They also talk a lot more about the animal you are drawing, in terms of real life


----------



## SeanWM48

just returned from a week at Fort Wilderness in a cabin with my girlfriend (her first time going). i'll try and keep it short

-we were both very impressed with the virus protocols. far better than anything we've seen around our hometown or even at the airport/on the plane. Disney did all they could reasonably be expected to do IMO.
-Disney Springs is money. i had more fun walking around there and eating at various great restaurants than at Epcot (!).
-Epcot feels shot at the moment. no live entertainment. lots of construction. just felt flat to me especially in comparison with the fantastic Galaxy's Edge. we bailed at 2 with a hopper.

-campground is wonderful, I've been there a few times, still has all the charm. prices on the golf carts are nuts but it's worth it.
-top restaurants we attended: Morimoto (wow), Wine Bar George, Jock Lindsey (drinks and quick snacks like the pretzel)

wait times were fine. 15-20 minutes all week except for Mickey and Minnie's train and Tower of Terror. Walk-ons for stuff like Haunted Mansion and even Flights of Passage. All the content around Avatar, Star Wars, and Toy Story was new to me so this was a real adventure for both of us despite me doing Disney in the past.

overall a real positive experience. I'd do this again. Mask stuff was worth the limited crowds and short wait times. "Social distance" has its perks like having your own personal space on rides like Pirates where you're in a boat.

I could go on and on but yeah. Great time.


----------



## Orion Nebula

BrokeMack said:


> Also lots of parents buried in their cellphones not watching their kids. I shot some lady a "you gonna do something about him?" look after the third time her 12ish YO kid threw a water bottle about 15 feet and she just mean-mugged me.



Wow... not only is that obnoxious but being that this kid was around 12 makes it even worse. Although by his mothers reaction it's fairly telling.


----------



## Sarahslay

SeanWM48 said:


> just returned from a week at Fort Wilderness in a cabin with my girlfriend (her first time going). i'll try and keep it short
> 
> -we were both very impressed with the virus protocols. far better than anything we've seen around our hometown or even at the airport/on the plane. Disney did all they could reasonably be expected to do IMO.
> -Disney Springs is money. i had more fun walking around there and eating at various great restaurants than at Epcot (!).
> -Epcot feels shot at the moment. no live entertainment. lots of construction. just felt flat to me especially in comparison with the fantastic Galaxy's Edge. we bailed at 2 with a hopper.
> 
> -campground is wonderful, I've been there a few times, still has all the charm. prices on the golf carts are nuts but it's worth it.
> -top restaurants we attended: Morimoto (wow), Wine Bar George, Jock Lindsey (drinks and quick snacks like the pretzel)
> 
> wait times were fine. 15-20 minutes all week except for Mickey and Minnie's train and Tower of Terror. Walk-ons for stuff like Haunted Mansion and even Flights of Passage. All the content around Avatar, Star Wars, and Toy Story was new to me so this was a real adventure for both of us despite me doing Disney in the past.
> 
> overall a real positive experience. I'd do this again. Mask stuff was worth the limited crowds and short wait times. "Social distance" has its perks like having your own personal space on rides like Pirates where you're in a boat.
> 
> I could go on and on but yeah. Great time.


I just want to add, for anyone going, there IS live entertainment at Epcot. We took a break on our last two trips to watch Voices of Liberty, Mariache Cobra (back to back at the theater in the America pavilion), and watched the Jammitors in Canada on more than one occassion. So, it's there, and is the only park with entertainment like that at the moment, it just might not be everyones cup of tea or you could miss it if you aren't paying attention or in the right place at the right time.


----------



## NashvilleMama

PSA on the hand sanitizer stations around the parks - I can't even count the number of times this past weekend when we heard people try them and mutter "they're empty" and walk away, only for us to walk up and find them working fine. They take a full beat to start working...like 1-2 seconds. So you can't just swipe your hand under them and get some, you have to wait a second. Patience is key.


----------



## Sarahslay

NashvilleMama said:


> PSA on the hand sanitizer stations around the parks - I can't even count the number of times this past weekend when we heard people try them and mutter "they're empty" and walk away, only for us to walk up and find them working fine. They take a full beat to start working...like 1-2 seconds. So you can't just swipe your hand under them and get some, you have to wait a second. Patience is key.


and that is why there is always a clump of sanitizer under them, because people stick their hand under for a hot half second and walk away....and then the sanitizer flows and there is no hand there to catch it.


----------



## SeanWM48

Sarahslay said:


> I just want to add, for anyone going, there IS live entertainment at Epcot. We took a break on our last two trips to watch Voices of Liberty, Mariache Cobra (back to back at the theater in the America pavilion), and watched the Jammitors in Canada on more than one occassion. So, it's there, and is the only park with entertainment like that at the moment, it just might not be everyones cup of tea or you could miss it if you aren't paying attention or in the right place at the right time.


i suppose i timed my walk poorly. to me the place fell flat compared to what you get at all the other parks and Springs. especially adding in the construction in the first half of the park. 

i've done epcot when it's jumping and alive. it can be great. but walking through china/germany etc with nothing happening is a drag (IMO). i would suggest to others to just do a second day at MK/AK/HS, or spend a day in Springs sampling food and drinks for a more worthwhile experience. just my $.02


----------



## yulilin3

SeanWM48 said:


> i suppose i timed my walk poorly. to me the place fell flat compared to what you get at all the other parks and Springs. especially adding in the construction in the first half of the park.
> 
> i've done epcot when it's jumping and alive. it can be great. but walking through china/germany etc with nothing happening is a drag (IMO). i would suggest to others to just do a second day at MK/AK/HS, or spend a day in Springs sampling food and drinks for a more worthwhile experience. just my $.02


From everything WDW has to offer right now  Disney Springs is the most "back to normal" in terms of feel.  Love walking and seeing and hearing so much live entertainment.
I agree with you that epcot seems like a mess right now


----------



## SeanWM48

yulilin3 said:


> From everything WDW has to offer right now  Disney Springs is the most "back to normal" in terms of feel.  Love walking and seeing and hearing so much live entertainment.
> I agree with you that epcot seems like a mess right now


Springs was great. with the parks closing early we were at springs almost every night and i have no complaints about that. we even did the air balloon ride for $20.


----------



## Mzpalmtree

Sarahslay said:


> and that is why there is always a clump of sanitizer under them, because people stick their hand under for a hot half second and walk away....and then the sanitizer flows and there is no hand there to catch it.


I think (at least from my experience anyway) that “hot half second” duration of patience stems from not wanting a line or crowd to build behind you while waiting for the sanitizer to flow. I noticed this quite a bit when we were there over NYE. The machines are actually quite slow to dispense and if every person waited I feel that there would be a large back up into the ride exit in many cases plus exiting is a place that I feel was a social distancing weakness. Grateful for the protocols and availability of the sanitizer but due to this we started to use our own.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

yulilin3 said:


> From everything WDW has to offer right now  Disney Springs is the most "back to normal" in terms of feel.  Love walking and seeing and hearing so much live entertainment.
> I agree with you that epcot seems like a mess right now


We did Epcot on the first day of our trip and it almost had me regretting even going... It was so weird.  Luckily dinner at Le Cellier plus MK the next day put my head back on straight, and our trip was excellent in many ways.


----------



## GBRforWDW

NashvilleMama said:


> PSA on the hand sanitizer stations around the parks - I can't even count the number of times this past weekend when we heard people try them and mutter "they're empty" and walk away, only for us to walk up and find them working fine. They take a full beat to start working...like 1-2 seconds. So you can't just swipe your hand under them and get some, you have to wait a second. Patience is key.





Mzpalmtree said:


> I think (at least from my experience anyway) that “hot half second” duration of patience stems from not wanting a line or crowd to build behind you while waiting for the sanitizer to flow. I noticed this quite a bit when we were there over NYE. The machines are actually quite slow to dispense and if every person waited I feel that there would be a large back up into the ride exit in many cases plus exiting is a place that I feel was a social distancing weakness. Grateful for the protocols and availability of the sanitizer but due to this we started to use our own.


There's also a blinking light that comes on after someone gets sanitizer, so if you put your hand under while the light is blinking, the machine doesn't recognize your hand is there, once the machine is ready.  My wife and daughter were constantly doing that.  Lol


----------



## jjpdjr

Hmm, my 13 yo actually just said to me the other day he was excited for Epcot for our early April trip

where in the past he always hated Epcot
Guess he’s old enough now to appreciate it

but hearing some of these posts, I’m wondering if we should skip it and just do two days at HS


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

jjpdjr said:


> Hmm, my 13 yo actually just said to me the other day he was excited for Epcot for our early April trip
> 
> where in the past he always hated Epcot
> Guess he’s old enough now to appreciate it
> 
> but hearing some of these posts, I’m wondering if we should skip it and just do two days at HS


FWIW, we did Epcot on our arrival day (a Tuesday).  We headed for Epcot a little after 2pm after park hopping had opened up for the day.  We walked from Swan to Epcot, checked out the new France bathrooms, then to FEA, then to Spaceship Earth and then to Nemo before grabbing dinner.  FEA was a long wait and the wait time was understated.  We hit SE during a cleaning cycle so we stood near the ramp up for a long time; then we walked on Nemo and then headed to Le Cellier.

So our first 4 hours at Disney consisted of walking over 2 miles and riding 3 things.  And we had just walked in to pandemic Disney with no characters, limited entertainment, and masks everywhere.  After dinner we walked on LwtL and then did Soarin where the wait time also seemed inflated (maybe a cleaning cycle issue again?).  We skipped Test Track because it still said 45 minutes wait and we honestly were just over all the walking at this point.  So our day was 5 hours, 5 rides, 4+ miles of walking and a GREAT dinner. 

I would imagine that people who have done Epcot at rope drop, had much better experiences.  I think Epcot can still be very enjoyable if you set your expectations accordingly.  We probably did it about as badly as we could...but there really was no other way to do that park on our trip.  We weren't going to devote an entire day to it with only 5 park days (really 4 1/2) to begin with.

I think the next day at MK we had rode 7 things in the first 2 hours by comparison though.


----------



## only hope

SeanWM48 said:


> i suppose i timed my walk poorly. to me the place fell flat compared to what you get at all the other parks and Springs. especially adding in the construction in the first half of the park.
> 
> i've done epcot when it's jumping and alive. it can be great. but walking through china/germany etc with nothing happening is a drag (IMO). i would suggest to others to just do a second day at MK/AK/HS, or spend a day in Springs sampling food and drinks for a more worthwhile experience. just my $.02



The entertainment is only in America, Canada, and inside the festival showplace or whatever it’s called. So even though there’s multiple groups, it’s not spread out across nearly the entire world showcase like usual, giving energy to multiple pavilions.

Epcot also has quite a few characters, relatively speaking- Alice and Mary Poppins rotate in the U.K., Pooh and Joy rotate in front of Imagination, seen reports of Elsa/Anna on a balcony or something in Norway, plus the calvacades.


----------



## GBRforWDW

only hope said:


> The entertainment is only in America, Canada, and inside the festival showplace or whatever it’s called. So even though there’s multiple groups, it’s not spread out across nearly the entire world showcase like usual, giving energy to multiple pavilions.
> 
> Epcot also has quite a few characters, relatively speaking- Alice and Mary Poppins rotate in the U.K., Pooh and Joy rotate in front of Imagination, seen reports of Elsa/Anna on a balcony or something in Norway, plus the calvacades.


We also saw Chip and Dale in front of imagination.


----------



## Sarahslay

Mzpalmtree said:


> I think (at least from my experience anyway) that “hot half second” duration of patience stems from not wanting a line or crowd to build behind you while waiting for the sanitizer to flow. I noticed this quite a bit when we were there over NYE. The machines are actually quite slow to dispense and if every person waited I feel that there would be a large back up into the ride exit in many cases plus exiting is a place that I feel was a social distancing weakness. Grateful for the protocols and availability of the sanitizer but due to this we started to use our own.


Oh, I know, I’ve been several times since opening I just was making a comment of how this is normal. BUT also seeing some of the people there doing the “it’s empty!” When it’s not can lead to word of mouth getting out that Disney doesn’t even fill the dispensers. I take my own because I hate that sanitizer, but I have used it on occasion, and know they’re slow to react. Glad it’s there for people who don’t have their own though, people just need to put on their patient pants with them.


----------



## Victoria3

SeanWM48 said:


> i suppose i timed my walk poorly. to me the place fell flat compared to what you get at all the other parks and Springs. especially adding in the construction in the first half of the park.
> 
> i've done epcot when it's jumping and alive. it can be great. but walking through china/germany etc with nothing happening is a drag (IMO). i would suggest to others to just do a second day at MK/AK/HS, or spend a day in Springs sampling food and drinks for a more worthwhile experience. just my $.02


The showtimes are in the MDE app.


----------



## gatorlisa

NashvilleMama said:


> mask compliance definitely not as great here compared to MK. LOTS of walking and snacking/drinking including in lines and never saw a CM correct anyone.


It's so interesting to me how different our perceptions can be. We did HS and Epcot on Thursday, MK on Friday. I found mask compliance to be lower at MK than the Thursday parks. So many masks below noses, people walking and eating/drinking, and people taking their masks off to talk on the phone. But at HS and Epcot I noticed very little of any of that. And I was looking for it pretty equally both days. To be clear, I'm not suggesting you are wrong, I just find it really interesting how differently people can perceive things.



SouthFayetteFan said:


> Magic Kingdom on a Friday afternoon... not so great. Wait times/crowds were rough but my plan was to do a MK resort shopping tour so we stuck with that. Heading back to the park around 4pm.





Orion Nebula said:


> I don't see too many people posting about waits & crowds being rough. Most seem to be going on about how posted wait times are inflated etc. How were the days prior to Friday?


We started our day Friday at MK. It started off great. We were on the first ferry over and it was probably less than 15% full. Walking through Frontierland it was like nobody was there. We got so much done in the first couple of hours. But after lunch, things went downhill. Thunder Mountain was down for long stretches all day long and then SDMT went down for an extended period of time. Two major rides down will have an impact. We saw based on wait times that AK looked much more pleasant, so we hopped over there, getting there at like 3:00 and riding FoP with less than 25 minute waits each time. Decided to just call it a day early after that. So glad park hopping has returned.


----------



## NashvilleMama

jjpdjr said:


> Hmm, my 13 yo actually just said to me the other day he was excited for Epcot for our early April trip
> 
> where in the past he always hated Epcot
> Guess he’s old enough now to appreciate it
> 
> but hearing some of these posts, I’m wondering if we should skip it and just do two days at HS


I would still go if he's excited about it. I was there Friday with my almost-11 year old and she loved it...granted we only did a half day and it was definitely enough. But Test Track, Soarin, Spaceship Earth (twice),  Living on the Land (also twice. I don't know why but it's her favorite.), Nemo / manatee watching, and Figment weirdness were great for her.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Interested in how other's thoughts may line up with this:  What do you feel each park misses the most currently of things that Disney is not offering?  Which park do you think feels least normal and most normal.  I think it would be interesting to see people's observations and how our thoughts line up, or differ.

*Epcot:  *Characters - For us it most missed Characters.  I also think others will cite impromptu entertainment, but that's not typically why we go there.  *Epcot also felt the "least normal" to us* BUT all of the construction walls certainly contributed to that.

*Animal Kingdom: *Shows - No FotLK and Nemo was a big blow!  Between getting there early to ensure we got a seat, the show's length, and then leaving the theaters, I'd say this was over 21/2 hours of our day that was not occupied.  We also missed characters here as well but shows were our #1.

*Magic Kingdom:* Night-time Entertainment - Seeing the hub mostly empty as the sun went down was just odd.  We always would pick a day and grab "our spot" for fireworks 3 hours in advance, then I'd take the girls to ride something, my wife would take them to meet a character, we'd grab some ice cream, then some popcorn and enjoy waiting for HEA.  Magic Kingdom also missed characters and we missed the ability to grab a snack and walk and eat (we snacked VERY little this trip as a result).  But HEA (and in a broader category sense "Night-time Entertainment") was our #1.

*Hollywood Studios: *Fastpass - I'll say this because we simply don't do standby lines.  And when crowd levels rose in the afternoon, we just cut out for a break and I never did RnRC or ToT.  I just didn't want to deal with the lines.  Since we don't all ride those rides, it was easier to not do them than split up. With a FP in hand it meant they were a very brief distraction in the past from our day.  AND my wife would take one or both of the girls to see a character while I did that... and of course that wasn't an option this time.  Honestly, *Hollywood Studios felt the "most normal" to us* though.  We enjoyed our day there.  I could easily have said it missed characters, or night-time entertainment, or snacks most.  But I'll go with Fastpass just to say something different than the other parks.

This thread was VERY helpful leading up to our trip and I hope that people continue to contribute great info here.  I won't weigh in on the whole "how safe is Disney" debate because unless our views are 100% aligned my assessment pretty much means nothing to anybody else.  But I do love the aspect of understanding how the parks are best toured currently, and how missing elements detract from the experience, it helped us to set our expectations realistically and make the best of Pandemic Disney.


----------



## mdsouth

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Interested in how other's thoughts may line up with this:  What do you feel each park misses the most currently of things that Disney is not offering?  Which park do you think feels least normal and most normal.  I think it would be interesting to see people's observations and how our thoughts line up, or differ.
> 
> This thread was VERY helpful leading up to our trip and I hope that people continue to contribute great info here.  I won't weigh in on the whole "how safe is Disney" debate because unless our views are 100% aligned my assessment pretty much means nothing to anybody else.  But I do love the aspect of understanding how the parks are best toured currently, and how missing elements detract from the experience, it helped us to set our expectations realistically and make the best of Pandemic Disney.



Thank you for sharing your experience.  I am considering a trip this summer, I had to postpone my June 2020 one and have not been there since 2014.  I really was looking forward to my trip last summer and then we cancelled it due to Covid.  So, I really want to go back but am unsure if I should just wait another year or not.  If you can believe it, I have never seen the Lion King show in AK and we really want to see it.  It was closed one time and the other time, we just missed it, not knowing about it ahead of time and how to plan for it.  My daughter's school did the Lion King Jr. musical and she was in it so that is something we really wanted to do.  I was also wanting to go when the new Remy ride is open since that is her favorite movie.  But it has been delayed.  I wonder if it will be open in the summer?  
Anyway, I appreciate reading about everyone's experiences as I try to figure out if this summer is the best time for us to go or not.


----------



## PrincessV

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Interested in how other's thoughts may line up with this:  What do you feel each park misses the most currently of things that Disney is not offering?  Which park do you think feels least normal and most normal.  I think it would be interesting to see people's observations and how our thoughts line up, or differ.


For me, it's really not park-specific. I'm not into shows or characters, so I'm not missing them. I won't ride anything with a tight, confined space right now, so not having FOP, ST, M:S in my AK, DHS and EP days is abnormal. Not having FPs and not needing a touring plan is abnormal compared to recent years, but feels just like it used to before the advent of FP: no FP actually feels more "normal" to me than the years of FP did - that's at every park. Not PHing until recently felt weird. The biggest abnormality for me has been the early nights: I'm used to heading to parks later in the day and doing dinners and evenings in the parks. Now, I'm doing late mornings and afternoons.


----------



## jenmsmith

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Interested in how other's thoughts may line up with this:  What do you feel each park misses the most currently of things that Disney is not offering?  Which park do you think feels least normal and most normal.  I think it would be interesting to see people's observations and how our thoughts line up, or differ.
> 
> *Epcot:  *Characters - For us it most missed Characters.  I also think others will cite impromptu entertainment, but that's not typically why we go there.  *Epcot also felt the "least normal" to us* BUT all of the construction walls certainly contributed to that.
> 
> *Animal Kingdom: *Shows - No FotLK and Nemo was a big blow!  Between getting their early to ensure we got a seat, the show's length, and then leaving the theaters, I'd say this was over 21/2 hours of our day that was not occupied.  We also missed characters here as well but shows were our #1.
> 
> *Magic Kingdom:* Night-time Entertainment - Seeing the hub mostly empty as the sun went down was just odd.  We always would pick a day and grab "our spot" for fireworks 3 hours in advance, then I'd take the girls to ride something, my wife would take them to meet a character, we'd grab some ice cream, then some popcorn and enjoy waiting for HEA.  Magic Kingdom also missed characters and we missed the ability to grab a snack and walk and eat (we snacked VERY little this trip as a result).  But HEA (and in a broader category sense "Night-time Entertainment") was our #1.
> 
> *Hollywood Studios: *Fastpass - I'll say this because we simply don't do standby lines.  And when crowd levels rose in the afternoon, we just cut out for a break and I never did RnRC or ToT.  I just didn't want to deal with the lines.  Since we don't all ride those rides, it was easier to not do them than split up. With a FP in hand it meant they were a very brief distraction in the past from our day.  AND my wife would take one or both of the girls to see a character while I did that... and of course that wasn't an option this time.  Honestly, *Hollywood Studios felt the "most normal" to us* though.  We enjoyed our day there.  I could easily have said it missed characters, or night-time entertainment, or snacks most.  But I'll go with Fastpass just to say something different than the other parks.
> 
> This thread was VERY helpful leading up to our trip and I hope that people continue to contribute great info here.  I won't weigh in on the whole "how safe is Disney" debate because unless our views are 100% aligned my assessment pretty much means nothing to anybody else.  But I do love the aspect of understanding how the parks are best toured currently, and how missing elements detract from the experience, it helped us to set our expectations realistically and make the best of Pandemic Disney.


I missed the shows and later nights and entertainment. But I also really missed the international cast members. I still loved Epcot and we went multiple days on our trip (we were adults only and enjoy Festival of the Arts). It was jarring, though, to be in the world showcase and have very little authentic interaction with cast members of that country. I hope it’s safe to bring the International Cast Member program back soon.


----------



## sethschroeder

jjpdjr said:


> Hmm, my 13 yo actually just said to me the other day he was excited for Epcot for our early April trip
> 
> where in the past he always hated Epcot
> Guess he’s old enough now to appreciate it
> 
> but hearing some of these posts, I’m wondering if we should skip it and just do two days at HS



Epcot is the most full experience out of every park at WDW right now imo.

People like to complain about Epcot because there is construction but basically the only thing closed is some shops that are gone forever because they are redoing the hub area.

I would say Epcot is best done with a Park Hopper in the afternoon/evening simply because its easier to get through rides with lower waits even in the evening.



SeanWM48 said:


> adding in the construction in the first half of the park.



Except its not half the park its basically the central hub where none of the attractions or entertainment was anyways unless you sat and watched the fountain in the past. The actual areas of Epcot are all open and even the entrance is all unveiled now.


----------



## sethschroeder

NashvilleMama said:


> Living on the Land (also twice. I don't know why but it's her favorite.)



Because its the best ride 

Since they removed Maelstrom its Living with the Land #1 and Figment #2.



jenmsmith said:


> But I also really missed the international cast members.



I would say this is the biggest missing piece of Epcot right now. Hope they can return in 2022 but don't expect them back this year.


----------



## sethschroeder

My biggest suggestion to anyone planning on going soon is get to the bus stop early, get on the first bus of the day, blow through the big rides on your list, and then relax the remainder of the day.


----------



## SeanWM48

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Interested in how other's thoughts may line up with this:  What do you feel each park misses the most currently of things that Disney is not offering?  Which park do you think feels least normal and most normal.  I think it would be interesting to see people's observations and how our thoughts line up, or differ.



*Epcot: * I know I've been rebutted a couple times above but I found the construction to be an issue and felt the lack of entertainment/authenticity in the countries. I've been to Epcot and liked it in the past and once things rebound I'd give it another shot don't get me wrong. Going there after seeing HS and all the new additions, Epcot just felt burnt out and kinda quiet and not on par. Just being honest here.

*Animal Kingdom: *Agreed on shows although we replaced the time spent on Fest of LK doing other things I'd never done before. Example I'd never sat and watched the live bird show (outdoor theater) and it was fantastic. This would actually be my pick for most 'normal'

*Magic Kingdom: *Night time entertainment 100% agreed. Lack of parades I was fine with and the smaller spontaneous ones were cool. I missed the late night energy MK had in the past. 

*Hollywood Studios: *Fast Pass is a good pick although my rebuttal would be that the lines for some of the newer rides are entertaining enough where 30-40 minutes (which was as long as they got for us this week) doesn't feel as bad as it used to. Example the que around the Millennium Falcon for Smuggler's. Felt same about the Pandora lines at AK; the land is interesting enough where you don't mind spending 20 minutes in line.


----------



## gatorlisa

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Interested in how other's thoughts may line up with this:  What do you feel each park misses the most currently of things that Disney is not offering?  Which park do you think feels least normal and most normal.  I think it would be interesting to see people's observations and how our thoughts line up, or differ.



Epcot: for us, not a lot is missing other than just the annoyance of all the construction. I guess if I had to pick something I'd say TT single rider. But we are mostly Future World people and in the past would begin a day at Epcot with FPs at whatever park we hopped to in the afternoon, so not a lot is different. But, I can see for those who are big into the World Showcase, festivals, interacting with international CMs, it is going to feel significantly lacking.

MK: Fastpasses, longer hours, and to a lesser degree, characters. Horrible to many, I know, but we don't really do the fireworks so I don't even really notice if they don't happen. I do still miss the Main Street Electrical Parade so very much, but that was gone long before COVID.

HS: Shows! I know it's 30 years old, but I still love the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. But beyond that, the Indy show and Beauty and the Beast are also people eaters, taking a fair bit of load off of the rides. More than anything else, that's what this park is missing in my opinion. It's also missing the streetmosphere (or however you spell that...the street performers on Sunset). There's nothing to pause for as you make your way to ToT or RnR. I haven't found the lack of FP to be an issue here. No issues riding Mickey and Minnie or Slinky Dog. We just got back and in our 3 days at HS found wait times to be anywhere from 30-50% lower than posted for all but Tower of Terror (which is pretty accurate with what was posted).

AK: Haven't spent a ton of time at this park and it's my least favorite park anyway. I think it's tough not having Festival of the Lion King and Nemo playing. Other than that, I haven't noticed a whole lot of difference.


----------



## disneygirlsng

The only two things that I regularly do that were not available on my trip in August were FotLK and HEA. FPs were not needed at that time as everything was a walk on, so that trip felt very normal for me.


----------



## Pixie Dust x3

We just returned from four days in the parks January 27-30, 2021. We are Californians who love Disneyland but had never been to Disneyworld. We went to celebrate my daughter's 21st birthday, and I read this thread regularly to prepare. I can say that from the Magical Express to the Yacht Club to the parks, we were impressed with Disney's planning around Covid and the mask compliance. Distancing was mostly good, but there were pinch points and a few attractions that felt a little tight. Since we had never been we weren't comparing it to a typical, robust park day -- we were just happy to be there! It did feel plenty crowded to me (though not overly so) and we remarked often that we didn't know if we would enjoy the parks at full capacity or with a lot of heat and humidity. We had mostly pleasant weather so wearing masks all day did not feel burdensome. It was very strange to eat indoors but we appreciated the distancing that was enforced. It was surprisingly liberating not to be tied to FP! We found that the wait for nearly every ride was less (sometimes half) of what was posted -- FoP said 45 minutes, was 25, etc.
Favorites:  Drinking around the world at Epcot, Animal Kingdom (especially Pandora), RotR, RnRC, EE, Cinderella's castle, Be Our Guest (and exiting the park more than an hour after closing and having Main Street to ourselves for a moment)
Meh:  MK (sorry, we kept comparing to our og love, Disneyland), TT, merchandise at the Emporium.


----------



## SL6827

Report for 1/29- Hollywood Studios

We used the Speedway drop off point on this day and it worked wonderfully.  We were in the first say 15-20 people in line.  We got up and out the door early.  Got an Uber to drop us off there around 7:40. Got some food there and started our walk.  We were let in around 8:15 I think.  Got two rides in on SDD before the big lines hit for it.  Rode the other new ride there, not a fan though.  We did not care about SWLand at all so no report there.  

We ate at Woodys Lunch Box around 11:15.  Wasn't that great, but it was cute.  We did do MMRR around 12:30.   The wait time posted was 45 minutes.  I timed it out to 30 minutes.  HS was crowded as I expected but we got in our TSL time and the ride on MMRR.  We left around 1:30 on the Skyliner.  Very good day and glad we started out very early with the Speedway drop off.


----------



## dr&momto2boys

SL6827 said:


> Report for 1/29- Hollywood Studios
> 
> We used the Speedway drop off point on this day and it worked wonderfully.  We were in the first say 15-20 people in line.  We got up and out the door early.  Got an Uber to drop us off there around 7:40. Got some food there and started our walk.  We were let in around 8:15 I think.  Got two rides in on SDD before the big lines hit for it.  Rode the other new ride there, not a fan though.  We did not care about SWLand at all so no report there.
> 
> We ate at Woodys Lunch Box around 11:15.  Wasn't that great, but it was cute.  We did do MMRR around 12:30.   The wait time posted was 45 minutes.  I timed it out to 30 minutes.  HS was crowded as I expected but we got in our TSL time and the ride on MMRR.  We left around 1:30 on the Skyliner.  Very good day and glad we started out very early with the Speedway drop off.



Is it possible to uber to Swan/Dolphin or is Speedway closer?


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

dr&momto2boys said:


> Is it possible to uber to Swan/Dolphin or is Speedway closer?


I’ve been wondering why Swan hasn’t been floated more here.  Would they even think twice about somebody getting dropped off by an Uber to meet a friend?


----------



## SL6827

dr&momto2boys said:


> Is it possible to uber to Swan/Dolphin or is Speedway closer?


I don't think they will let you into the Swan/Dolphin. I think the Speedway is closer.


----------



## Aimeedyan

SL6827 said:


> I don't think they will let you into the Swan/Dolphin. I think the Speedway is closer.



Swan does not have a gate or guard. You just drive up to the main entrance. Their parking is separate and IS gated.

Anyone can be dropped off there without any issue at all. I don't know why more people don't utilize it (except it would probably be a longer walk...).


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

SL6827 said:


> I don't think they will let you into the Swan/Dolphin. I think the Speedway is closer.


FWIW: There is no guard shack at the Swan and if you walk on the opposite side of the canal and then across the bridge at Buena Vista Dr, the Swan and Speedway are identical distances.  I'm not saying it's a better plan... just sharing the facts as I know them.


----------



## SL6827

Aimeedyan said:


> Swan does not have a gate or guard. You just drive up to the main entrance. Their parking is separate and IS gated.
> 
> Anyone can be dropped off there without any issue at all. I don't know why more people don't utilize it (except it would probably be a longer walk...).


Oh, didn't know that.  Interesting then.


----------



## BrokeMack

If you've got hoppers its worth it to head over to Epcot once. You could hit all the rides before dinner then eat somewhere in WS with time to spare. Generally TT was on a 40ish minute wait and everything else was walk on. Without hoppers it definitely isn't worth it.


----------



## Victoria3

dr&momto2boys said:


> Is it possible to uber to Swan/Dolphin or is Speedway closer?





SouthFayetteFan said:


> I’ve been wondering why Swan hasn’t been floated more here.  Would they even think twice about somebody getting dropped off by an Uber to meet a friend?



Ubers can drop people off at Swan & Dolphin no problem. 

Don't have to worry about jaywalking from the Speedway.


----------



## Sarahslay

jjpdjr said:


> Hmm, my 13 yo actually just said to me the other day he was excited for Epcot for our early April trip
> 
> where in the past he always hated Epcot
> Guess he’s old enough now to appreciate it
> 
> but hearing some of these posts, I’m wondering if we should skip it and just do two days at HS


I have a 12 (almost 13 year old), and a 9 (almost 10 year old), and they love Epcot. I am taking each of them for 3 day trips for their birthdays and didn't make any park reservations for Epcot since I plan to hop there. My oldest got really, really worried and was like "when are we going to Epcot?! I don't see Epcot!" and I had to put her mind at ease that we would go at 2 once hopping starts. She was seriously concerned, and we are staying at YC by her request to have easy access to it. We were just there at Christmas and they really enjoyed themselves even with all the construction and less entertainment. Epcot really isn't even some adults idea of a good time, so throw in all the stuff going on there and it becomes their nightmare, I understand how it can lead to some bad trip reports in those cases. Since you can hop you can always go in the evening after HS (it is rarely if ever at capacity so never an issue hopping), or if you aren't feeling it by the afternoon hop over to HS.


----------



## yulilin3

maybe because speedway is slightly closer?


SouthFayetteFan said:


> I’ve been wondering why Swan hasn’t been floated more here.  Would they even think twice about somebody getting dropped off by an Uber to meet a friend?


----------



## DLo

In early December , I took Lyft to the swan - no problem.


----------



## armerida

Could someone who has been recently please advise - we want to dine at the bar at Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian. We always prefer to sit at the bar there (Sergio is the best bartender ever!), and pre-covid had no issues getting in. Will the guard let us into the resort without proof of an ADR? If I show my tables in wonderland card, would that work? We’d be Ubering over...I’ve read conflicting info about getting into resorts for dining. Thanks!


----------



## cjlong88

jjpdjr said:


> Hmm, my 13 yo actually just said to me the other day he was excited for Epcot for our early April trip
> 
> where in the past he always hated Epcot
> Guess he’s old enough now to appreciate it
> 
> but hearing some of these posts, I’m wondering if we should skip it and just do two days at HS



I think everyone's Epcot experience depends on what they are trying to accomplish at the park. If you are going to only ride the attractions and stay within Future World, I can see why people might be disappointed. Lots of construction walls, Test Track doesn't have the build-your-car part of the queue, etc. Fewer attractions might mean longer waits on a busy day.

If you plan to spend a good chunk of your day exploring World Showcase, then I think it's very easy to enjoy yourself. We could spend all day at Epcot eating and drinking in WS, exploring the festival offerings, and check out all of the amazing shops and details of each country. I think it very much depends on what you plan to do when you visit.


----------



## BaymaxForever

Victoria3 said:


> Ubers can drop people off at Swan & Dolphin no problem.
> 
> Don't have to worry about jaywalking from the Speedway.


Can’t you just follow path down to where it meets up from the resorts and head over to HS that way? You don’t have to jaywalk, right?


----------



## Lsdolphin

Where can I find a list of DS stores that will recognize the AP 30% discount that begins today?


----------



## yulilin3

Lsdolphin said:


> Where can I find a list of DS stores that will recognize the AP 30% discount that begins today?


basically all Disney owned stores (with exceptions of certain items)
if you go on this page, filter to DS all Disney owned stores that say 20% are now 30%
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/p...benefits-and-discounts/merchandise-discounts/


----------



## scrappinginontario

Victoria3 said:


> Ubers can drop people off at Swan & Dolphin no problem.
> 
> Don't have to worry about jaywalking from the Speedway.





BaymaxForever said:


> Can’t you just follow path down to where it meets up from the resorts and head over to HS that way? You don’t have to jaywalk, right?


From the video @yulilin3 shared, it appears you cross over a road but since it is at an intersection it's not technically jaywalking.  There isn't a light but it's legal to cross at an intersection.  (At least where I live).


----------



## VandVsmama

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Interested in how other's thoughts may line up with this:  What do you feel each park misses the most currently of things that Disney is not offering?  Which park do you think feels least normal and most normal.  I think it would be interesting to see people's observations and how our thoughts line up, or differ.



*Disclaimer*: Most of the time, we go to Disneyland because it's closer. Before last week's trip, I've only been to WDW twice (and one of those times was when only MK was there). DH's only been once. Neither of us had been to HS before and this was DH's 1st time at Epcot.  So consider all of that when reading my reply. 

*Magic Kingdom:*
We really wanted to go to Tom Sawyer's Island, ride the river boat, go on the People Mover, and see Country Bear Jamboree.  All of those were closed. But that's ok because we're going again in early June. Maybe all of that will be operating by then.  Did not miss the fireworks and the sea of humanity that it brings.  It's really quite lovely and charming standing in front of the castle in MK when there's hardly any people there. We've lucked out on this in the past a couple of times (usually really late at night) at both MK and Disneyland...it's pretty special!  I do wish that MK would run its Main Street vehicles and that when they DO run them, they operate them all morning.

*Epcot:*
Re: characters - it's cool how Joy and Winnie the Pooh show up in that grassy area near that horrible Figment ride. Joy & Winnie the Pooh interacting with guests felt a lot like how all of our character interactions at Disneyland have been in the past - organic, natural, not scripted, and spontaneous.  Generally speaking, I don't care much for character meet & greets at WDW from our previous trip a couple of years ago...waiting for 45 min for a 1 minute encounter and it's a quick photo and then buh bye.  So the fact that there's none of the 'traditional' character meet & greets right now at any of the parks...that doesn't bother me one bit.

We enjoyed Epcot. The parts of Future World with all of the construction walls were a bit 'meh' but that's only temporary and it's not going to last forever. We loved being able to blaze through almost everything in Future World in a short amount of time.

Did NOT care for the choke point of people in front of the Mexico pavilion.  Did NOT care for a couple of groups of very intoxicated people on Saturday evening, 1/23, at Epcot. But I knew that was a possibility going in what with the weekend "let's drink around the world" folks.

*AK:*
Only spent a couple of hours in this part on last week's trip, so I don't have any "I miss ___" to report here.

*HS:*
Didn't miss the shows because we didn't care about nor were we interested in any of the HS shows that were there pre-COVID.  HS felt the most like DCA's Buena Vista Street.  Since it was our 1st time, we didn't really know what we were missing.

*Gift shops:*
It felt like a lot of the gift shops had the same stuff everywhere.  The Emporium on Main Street in MK was disappointing in terms of merchandise. I think that the 2021 stuff is, overall, really ugly and screams early 90s in terms of overall style (bleh!).   Although I did find a People Mover toy there that I was looking for.  The selection on t-shirts were just 'bleh' and it felt like every shop everywhere had the exact same selection of t-shirts.  I didn't care for that.  Everything in the World of Disney store was a transplant of what was in the Emporium, so that was a waste of time going to DS just for that.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

VandVsmama said:


> *Disclaimer*: Most of the time, we go to Disneyland because it's closer. Before last week's trip, I've only been to WDW twice (and one of those times was when only MK was there). DH's only been once. Neither of us had been to HS before and this was DH's 1st time at Epcot. So consider all of that when reading my reply.
> 
> *Magic Kingdom:*
> We really wanted to go to Tom Sawyer's Island, ride the river boat, go on the People Mover, and see Country Bear Jamboree.  All of those were closed. But that's ok because we're going again in early June. Maybe all of that will be operating by then.  Did not miss the fireworks and the sea of humanity that it brings.  It's really quite lovely and charming standing in front of the castle in MK when there's hardly any people there. We've lucked out on this in the past a couple of times (usually really late at night) at both MK and Disneyland...it's pretty special!  I do wish that MK would run its Main Street vehicles and that when they DO run them, they operate them all morning.
> 
> *Epcot:*
> Re: characters - it's cool how Joy and Winnie the Pooh show up in that grassy area near that horrible Figment ride. Joy & Winnie the Pooh interacting with guests felt a lot like how all of our character interactions at Disneyland have been in the past - organic, natural, not scripted, and spontaneous.  Generally speaking, I don't care much for character meet & greets at WDW from our previous trip a couple of years ago...waiting for 45 min for a 1 minute encounter and it's a quick photo and then buh bye.  So the fact that there's none of the 'traditional' character meet & greets right now at any of the parks...that doesn't bother me one bit.
> 
> We enjoyed Epcot. The parts of Future World with all of the construction walls were a bit 'meh' but that's only temporary and it's not going to last forever. We loved being able to blaze through almost everything in Future World in a short amount of time.
> 
> Did NOT care for the choke point of people in front of the Mexico pavilion.  Did NOT care for a couple of groups of very intoxicated people on Saturday evening, 1/23, at Epcot. But I knew that was a possibility going in what with the weekend "let's drink around the world" folks.
> 
> *AK:*
> Only spent a couple of hours in this part on last week's trip, so I don't have any "I miss ___" to report here.
> 
> *HS:*
> Didn't miss the shows because we didn't care about nor were we interested in any of the HS shows that were there pre-COVID.  HS felt the most like DCA's Buena Vista Street.  Since it was our 1st time, we didn't really know what we were missing.
> 
> *Gift shops:*
> It felt like a lot of the gift shops had the same stuff everywhere.  The Emporium on Main Street in MK was disappointing in terms of merchandise. I think that the 2021 stuff is, overall, really ugly and screams early 90s in terms of overall style (bleh!).   Although I did find a People Mover toy there that I was looking for.  The selection on t-shirts were just 'bleh' and it felt like every shop everywhere had the exact same selection of t-shirts.  I didn't care for that.  Everything in the World of Disney store was a transplant of what was in the Emporium, so that was a waste of time going to DS just for that.


When was Country Bear's closed?  I think it was open both days when we were there last week and we enjoyed a "Full House" show by COVID standards on Wednesday afternoon.

I didn't even think about the lack of the vehicles on Main Street - but there was a certain buzz missing in the Main St. area and I'd bet the vehicles was a part of that for us!


----------



## yulilin3

SouthFayetteFan said:


> When was Country Bear's closed?  I think it was open both days when we were there last week and we enjoyed a "Full House" show by COVID standards on Wednesday afternoon.
> 
> I didn't even think about the lack of the vehicles on Main Street - but there was a certain buzz missing in the Main St. area and I'd bet the vehicles was a part of that for us!


Country bears has been operating since reopening. Liberty Belle and Tom Sawyer opens Friday


----------



## VandVsmama

yulilin3 said:


> Country bears has been operating since reopening. Liberty Belle and Tom Sawyer opens Friday



Every time we walked over to it, it was closed and it wasn't showing up as being open on the app because I kept checking on our MK days!  We were there Sunday 1/24 and Thurs morning 1/28.


----------



## yulilin3

VandVsmama said:


> Every time we walked over to it, it was closed and it wasn't showing up as being open on the app because I kept checking on our MK days!  We were there Sunday 1/24 and Thurs morning 1/28.


Was it before 11am?


----------



## VandVsmama

yulilin3 said:


> Was it before 11am?



yes.


----------



## yulilin3

VandVsmama said:


> yes.


That's it.  It opens at 11


----------



## MomOTwins

armerida said:


> Could someone who has been recently please advise - we want to dine at the bar at Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian. We always prefer to sit at the bar there (Sergio is the best bartender ever!), and pre-covid had no issues getting in. Will the guard let us into the resort without proof of an ADR? If I show my tables in wonderland card, would that work? We’d be Ubering over...I’ve read conflicting info about getting into resorts for dining. Thanks!


I wouldn't count on it--we were staying at GF last fall and they were very strict at the gate about only letting in hotel guests (they scanned our magic band) or guests with ADRs.  We saw them turning back people in cars at the gate several times.  It is true at all hotels now but I think especially with the proximity to MK they don't want people using it as a shortcut to the parks.

Of course, you could always go to TTC and take the monorail to GF.

But I will say, not sure that with the limited seating walking up to the bar is an option.  They are seating the tables up near the bar for people with ADRs (that's where we were placed) and then spacing out bar guests to leave 6 feet between them and the people at tables. The result was there seemed to be only 3 or 4 people who could sit at the bar at a time.

Enchanted Rose seemed to have a lot more bar seating available.  That's where we went when we wanted a drink and a quick bite.


----------



## Leigh L

SouthFayetteFan said:


> I didn't even think about the lack of the vehicles on Main Street - but there was a certain buzz missing in the Main St. area and I'd bet the vehicles was a part of that for us!


We went to MK, I think it was MLK day, and about 8:30 walking in. There was no music, no CMs along Main Street or anything. It wasn't until we hit Tomorrowland that music popped on. Eeriest thing. We arrived even earlier the following Saturday and everything was normal that day.


----------



## yulilin3

Lsdolphin said:


> Where can I find a list of DS stores that will recognize the AP 30% discount that begins today?


They updated the site with some more info

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/passholder-program/specials/?&CMP={{campaign.name}}{{adset.name}}|{{ad.name}}&dclid=CPHQy_LSy-4CFWvoKAUdLYIP_A


----------



## TNickell27

Victoria3 said:


> Ubers can drop people off at Swan & Dolphin no problem.
> 
> Don't have to worry about jaywalking from the Speedway.




how long is the walk from Swan to DHS? What time would we need to get dropped off there to be in line for early entry? thinking about doing this on thursday!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

TNickell27 said:


> how long is the walk from Swan to DHS? What time would we need to get dropped off there to be in line for early entry? thinking about doing this on thursday!


If you're dropped at the Swan you can take the pathway on the opposite side of the canal and then cross the bridge at Buena Vista Dr.  GoogleMaps will say a 15 minute walk to the park entrance, but I think most people walk a little faster than that (especially with the morning excitement!)


----------



## armerida

MomOTwins said:


> I wouldn't count on it--we were staying at GF last fall and they were very strict at the gate about only letting in hotel guests (they scanned our magic band) or guests with ADRs.  We saw them turning back people in cars at the gate several times.  It is true at all hotels now but I think especially with the proximity to MK they don't want people using it as a shortcut to the parks.
> 
> Of course, you could always go to TTC and take the monorail to GF.
> 
> But I will say, not sure that with the limited seating walking up to the bar is an option.  They are seating the tables up near the bar for people with ADRs (that's where we were placed) and then spacing out bar guests to leave 6 feet between them and the people at tables. The result was there seemed to be only 3 or 4 people who could sit at the bar at a time.
> 
> Enchanted Rose seemed to have a lot more bar seating available.  That's where we went when we wanted a drink and a quick bite.


Thanks for the info, that’s what I worried about. I’ll set up an ADR finder and if we can’t get one, will do the TTC/monorail approach, thanks for the suggestion!


----------



## armerida

SouthFayetteFan said:


> If you're dropped at the Swan you can take the pathway on the opposite side of the canal and then cross the bridge at Buena Vista Dr.  GoogleMaps will say a 15 minute walk to the park entrance, but I think most people walk a little faster than that (especially with the morning excitement!)
> 
> View attachment 553854


Ooh! How did I not realize there was a path on the Swan side?! We always walk towards the boardwalk to get the path, but that looks quicker. Do you exit out the front and then head over by the buses to pick it up?


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

armerida said:


> Ooh! How did I not realize there was a path on the Swan side?! We always walk towards the boardwalk to get the path, but that looks quicker. Do you exit out the front and then head over by the buses to pick it up?


I haven't personally walked it because our stairs spit us out by the BW bridge so we just went that way.  But I had researched it before the trip - you do pick up this path past the bus shelter, right by the parking lot.

IF you have an Uber dropping you off, perhaps you can even get them to just stop by the path and drop you right there.... Honestly I have no idea how Uber works (yes I've NEVER been in an Uber) so can they do that?  Haha!


----------



## Sbunit81

Hi everyone, could use some advise from people who've recently been to the resort.  My family and I just put together a very spur of the moment trip to Orlando for the week of President's week (15-20th).  instead of staying at Disney we have decided to change things up and stay at Universal (mainly because we are waiting for Disney to "return to as close to normal" as possible before we invest into Disney prices).  I plan on visiting Disney on two separate days however:

Day One (a Wednesday): Planning to take the boys early morning to Animal Kingdom to get on Flight of Passage, Everest, Dinosaur and the Safari rid.  Hoping to finish all this before 2pm in hopes of hopping over to the Magic Kingdom and getting them on the Mine Train.  In regards to the Magic Kingdom our sole goal is to get on the Mine train, anything else is gravy.  Is it possible to accomplish our goals in Animal Kingdom by 2pm if not sooner?  How long can I realistically expect to wait on line for the Mine train on A Wednesday afternoon (It is what it is with the wait, just trying to gauge what to expect)?

Day Two (A Friday): Praying to get an early boarding pass for Rise and spending the day at Hollywood Studios.  What are the general wait times for Slinky dog and Millennium Falcon? If we manage to finish by midday and decide to hop over to Epcot to get on TT, what's the general wait for TT?  In regards to dining at Epcot, are walk-ins accommodated (with a wait of course) or is it strictly reservations only these days? 

I have been to Disney several times in the past and I would consider myself a very seasoned veteran, However I feel totally lost with this trip and have no idea what to expect or how to maneuver/strategize my two days there.  I have a 4 year old (turning 5 tomorrow!) and a 7 year old and we were suppose to go for a week long stay this past December but because of Covid we canceled that trip as we don't think our expectations would be met.  This spur of the moment trip is with the sole goal of having our now 5 year old experience all these major rides/attractions before he starts to grow out of his innocent imagination (his brother was able to get on almost all these rides already).  Otherwise, we probably wouldn't even be coming to Disney until it is functioning closer to pre-pandemic times.  So, the stress factor is even higher than usual now because I want my 5 year old to experience Disney from a 5 year old's perspective before it's too late (if that makes sense).  Thanks


----------



## NashvilleMama

Sbunit81 said:


> Hi everyone, could use some advise from people who've recently been to the resort.  My family and I just put together a very spur of the moment trip to Orlando for the week of President's week (15-20th).  instead of staying at Disney we have decided to change things up and stay at Universal (mainly because we are waiting for Disney to "return to as close to normal" as possible before we invest into Disney prices).  I plan on visiting Disney on two separate days however:
> 
> Day One (a Wednesday): Planning to take the boys early morning to Animal Kingdom to get on Flight of Passage, Everest, Dinosaur and the Safari rid.  Hoping to finish all this before 2pm in hopes of hopping over to the Magic Kingdom and getting them on the Mine Train.  In regards to the Magic Kingdom our sole goal is to get on the Mine train, anything else is gravy.  Is it possible to accomplish our goals in Animal Kingdom by 2pm if not sooner?  How long can I realistically expect to wait on line for the Mine train on A Wednesday afternoon (It is what it is with the wait, just trying to gauge what to expect)?
> 
> Day Two (A Friday): Praying to get an early boarding pass for Rise and spending the day at Hollywood Studios.  What are the general wait times for Slinky dog and Millennium Falcon? If we manage to finish by midday and decide to hop over to Epcot to get on TT, what's the general wait for TT?  In regards to dining at Epcot, are walk-ins accommodated (with a wait of course) or is it strictly reservations only these days?
> 
> I have been to Disney several times in the past and I would consider myself a very seasoned veteran, However I feel totally lost with this trip and have no idea what to expect or how to maneuver/strategize my two days there.  I have a 4 year old (turning 5 tomorrow!) and a 7 year old and we were suppose to go for a week long stay this past December but because of Covid we canceled that trip as we don't think our expectations would be met.  This spur of the moment trip is with the sole goal of having our now 5 year old experience all these major rides/attractions before he starts to grow out of his innocent imagination (his brother was able to get on almost all these rides already).  Otherwise, we probably wouldn't even be coming to Disney until it is functioning closer to pre-pandemic times.  So, the stress factor is even higher than usual now because I want my 5 year old to experience Disney from a 5 year old's perspective before it's too late (if that makes sense).  Thanks


I'd go back a few pages on this thread and read a bunch of the recent reports. Your key factor will be getting there as early as possible, with the parks generally opening 45 mins - 1 hour before the official park opening time. You can knock out a lot in those first few hours!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Sbunit81 said:


> Thanks


So you are visiting during what will likely be a BUSY week.  So recent experiences and wait times might not be as relevant since that week is the collision of Valentine's Day, President's Day and Mardi Gras.

I think that if you arrive prior to park opening at Animal Kingdom (I'd want to be there 30-45+ minutes before the posted opening time), then you'll have no problem accomplishing all of that WELL before 2pm.  If you show up at 7am and the park opens "officially" at 8; You might have it all done by 9am to be honest and could even mix in Everest or some other rides.  On this past Sat we showed up to the park before 7:15 am and proceeded to do FoP, Navi River, Everest 3x, and Safari by 9:15am.  Had we showed up at 8:30 instead, I think it would've taken us almost 5 hours to accomplish that exact same list of rides.

I'd say 7DMT is going to be somewhere between a 45-75 minute wait but that's just my guess. 

On your DHS day, again, if you're able to arrive SUPER early, you'll find that you can probably ride SDD and MFSR before the park even officially opens.  If you hop to Epcot you'll probably be looking at 45-70 mins posted for test track then.

If you are NOT planning to arrive early then throw all my advice out the window, haha!  It's a different park if you walk in 30 minutes after official opening vs. 30-45 minutes prior to official opening.


----------



## BrokeMack

Sbunit81 said:


> Hi everyone, could use some advise from people who've recently been to the resort.  My family and I just put together a very spur of the moment trip to Orlando for the week of President's week (15-20th).  instead of staying at Disney we have decided to change things up and stay at Universal (mainly because we are waiting for Disney to "return to as close to normal" as possible before we invest into Disney prices).  I plan on visiting Disney on two separate days however:
> 
> Day One (a Wednesday): Planning to take the boys early morning to Animal Kingdom to get on Flight of Passage, Everest, Dinosaur and the Safari rid.  Hoping to finish all this before 2pm in hopes of hopping over to the Magic Kingdom and getting them on the Mine Train.  In regards to the Magic Kingdom our sole goal is to get on the Mine train, anything else is gravy.  Is it possible to accomplish our goals in Animal Kingdom by 2pm if not sooner?  How long can I realistically expect to wait on line for the Mine train on A Wednesday afternoon (It is what it is with the wait, just trying to gauge what to expect)?
> 
> Day Two (A Friday): Praying to get an early boarding pass for Rise and spending the day at Hollywood Studios.  What are the general wait times for Slinky dog and Millennium Falcon? If we manage to finish by midday and decide to hop over to Epcot to get on TT, what's the general wait for TT?  In regards to dining at Epcot, are walk-ins accommodated (with a wait of course) or is it strictly reservations only these days?
> 
> I have been to Disney several times in the past and I would consider myself a very seasoned veteran, However I feel totally lost with this trip and have no idea what to expect or how to maneuver/strategize my two days there.  I have a 4 year old (turning 5 tomorrow!) and a 7 year old and we were suppose to go for a week long stay this past December but because of Covid we canceled that trip as we don't think our expectations would be met.  This spur of the moment trip is with the sole goal of having our now 5 year old experience all these major rides/attractions before he starts to grow out of his innocent imagination (his brother was able to get on almost all these rides already).  Otherwise, we probably wouldn't even be coming to Disney until it is functioning closer to pre-pandemic times.  So, the stress factor is even higher than usual now because I want my 5 year old to experience Disney from a 5 year old's perspective before it's too late (if that makes sense).  Thanks


I'd do MK then hop to AK. Uber to Contemporary then walk to MK before 8:15. You'll have the shortest wait for 7DMT that way. Wait times at AK were short all last week. You should be able to do what you want in just 3 hours.


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

I've got a few trip report updates.

*Sunday January 31 *Magic Kingdom

MK opened at 9 but we wanted to be there before 9 for the usual early opening.

7:41: We arrived at the gates to the parking lot. We were the third car back in our lane.



8:01: They started to let cars into the lot.

8:17: on a ferry. Booked an 11-11:30 return time for Cosmic Ray's.



8:32: walking into MK.

We went to Mine Train first but the line was already wrapping around the side of the attraction. We're not huge fans of the ride so we decided to head to Peter Pan.

8:44: walked onto Peter Pan.

8:54: Took the bypass to Adventureland and walked onto Jungle Cruise.







9:15: walked onto POTC.



9:32: walked onto HM

9:55: first wait of the day, waited roughly 10 minutes for IASW





10:20: few minute wait for next Philharmagic

10:47: about a 5 minute wait for LM



11:01: went to Barnstormer area to check out Tron construction



11:05: checked into Cosmic Ray's for our mobile order. Really enjoyed the chicken sandwich, ate outside.

11:45: watched Buzz Lightyear on the stage for a bit

11:55: waited one cycle for COP

Looked in the Emporium for a little but it was incredibly crowded.

12:28: listened to the Dapper Dans for the end of their set.



12:36: walking onto a waiting ferry boat.

Thoughts:

-if you want to stay as far from crowds as possible take the ferry boats from the TTC. Each trip there was a boat waiting and the boats were very empty, it was easy to stay away from other people.

-much easier to get a mobile order wait time of your choice in the morning first thing.

-getting to the parks an hour before opening is really worth it. We got a ton done in 3.5 hours: Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, POTC, HM, IASW, Philharmagic, LM, COP and lunch.

-I was a bit sad we didn't see more characters, but we just weren't on the cavalcade route most of the day (near Splash in Frontier, past HM and then onto Main Street). 

-weather was amazing on Sunday. Just right in mid to upper 70s.


----------



## GBRforWDW

SouthFayetteFan said:


> If you're dropped at the Swan you can take the pathway on the opposite side of the canal and then cross the bridge at Buena Vista Dr.  GoogleMaps will say a 15 minute walk to the park entrance, but I think most people walk a little faster than that (especially with the morning excitement!)
> 
> View attachment 553854





armerida said:


> Ooh! How did I not realize there was a path on the Swan side?! We always walk towards the boardwalk to get the path, but that looks quicker. Do you exit out the front and then head over by the buses to pick it up?


I believe this route makes you go along the road with no sidewalk/very narrow sidewalk.  



On fayetteville's picture, this is looking towards where the 15 minute walk white box is showing.  Too me, it looks dangerous, so take this route at your own risk. I definitely would go the longer way if you have strollers or scooters.

ETA: nevermind, see yulilins reply to me.


----------



## yulilin3

GBRforWDW said:


> I believe this route makes you go along the road with no sidewalk/very narrow sidewalk.
> 
> View attachment 553893
> 
> On fayetteville's picture, this is looking towards where the 15 minute walk white box is showing.  Too me, it looks dangerous, so take this route at your own risk. I definitely would go the longer way if you have strollers or scooters.


it's  not dangerous or that narrow at all. 3 people could walk side by side on that stretch and that stretch is only about 1 min of the walk


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

*Monday February 1 Animal* *Kingdom and Epcot*

AK: 8-5
Epcot: 11-8

I pushed to be at AK for the early 7 am opening but I was overruled.

9:03: pulling into the AK parking lot, got row Unicorn R. Short walk to gates.

9:38: seated on Flight of Passage. It was only about a 10 minute wait, just took a while to walk over there from the park entrance.

10:08: Safari after maybe a 9 minute wait. We were in the back and geez was it bumpy. It was a pretty good safari, lots of giraffes and the lions were roaring and up and about.





10:43: 10 minute wait to do the African walking trail.







11:14: Everest walk on

11:27: Nomad Lounge for lunch. No wait but we did get there as they opened. Delicious as usual. We also got to see the water cavalcades go by. As we ate we saw Mickey/Minnie/Pluto, the drummers, Donald/Daisy/Launchpad and Goofy/Chip/Dale.



12:41: back to Flight of Passage, this was even more of a walk on than last time, barely anyone in front of us.



1:08: in line for Rivers of Light. This took exactly 45 minutes, advertised wait was 40. They are only doing one group per boat.



Saw the kangaroos for the first time ever in front of the tree.



Stopped at Restaurantausaurus for cups of water.

2:09: Dinosaur maybe a 5 minute wait.



2:30: Out of the park and headed for the car/Epcot.

Thoughts:

-AK was by far the worst park for people minding their COVID manners. Lots of people in our space in queues. Could have just been a coincidence but time after time we got all the groups who wanted to be 'extra friendly'.

-We could have done a lot more if we'd been there a bit earlier. A couple times we could have walked right back on but one in our party is not great with Everest so we only did it once. Could have easily done it multiple times by just walking the queue again.

-So in 5 hours we did: FOP x 2, ROL, Safari, Everest, Gorilla Falls trail, Dinosaur, Nomad Lounge.

-ROL had, by far, the worst line we saw. Try to hit that one early if it's a must do.

-We also wanted to do the animation class but we forgot. It's also a pain because you have to take the train back to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

-Last note: the temperature started out real nice in the mid 60s. Around noon it just started to take a nosedive. We were glad to get back to the car around 2:30 to collect our extra winter clothing.


----------



## GBRforWDW

yulilin3 said:


> it's  not dangerous or that narrow at all. 3 people could walk side by side on that stretch and that stretch is only about 1 min of the walk


Thanks for clarifying, I was just going off what I could see in that pic.


----------



## Leigh L

NashvilleMama said:


> I'd go back a few pages on this thread and read a bunch of the recent reports. Your key factor will be getting there as early as possible, with the parks generally opening 45 mins - 1 hour before the official park opening time. You can knock out a lot in those first few hours!


This! Definitely plan to be there early, we found that the key to getting everything - and then some - done.


----------



## OKWFan88

Is the spring roll cart still not open in MK? If not, is there anywhere else to get the cheeseburger roll things?


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

*Monday February 1 Animal* *Kingdom and Epcot*

AK: 8-5
Epcot: 11-8

We had left AK around 2:30 and were on our way to hop to Epcot.

They were letting cars fill in the closer spots and we got a really great, close spot.

3:05: walking into Epcot getting my first of 100 pictures of Spaceship Earth. I actually expected the fountain pylons to be bigger than they are.

3:10: walked straight onto Spaceship Earth with no wait.

3:35: stopped to do some painting on the festival canvas.

Walked onto Awesome Planet with 1 minute before next showtime. Hadn't seen it before, was a cute little show but don't think I'll need to see it anytime in the near future. Nice sit down break, though. Also nice to get out of the very chilly temps.

4: walked onto Living With the Land. I love that attraction but it hurts me to think it would never get approved nowadays. Can you imagine someone pitching an attraction that is going to go through a couple different landscapes and then float through some greenhouses to show people innovative ways in which produce can be grown?!?! Nope nope nope.

4:20: walked onto Soarin.



4:42: watched Chip and Dale play around for a few minutes.

4:53: walked into the festival of the arts center.



In our group we had had Remy's Ratatouille, Charcuterie and the Lemon Blood Orange Tart. I am now obsessed with the Lemon Blood Orange tart. Soooo good and the flavors worked really well with each other.





Next we just spent some very chilly time looking at art, perusing the food booths and taking pictures inserting ourselves into the famous works of art.

We stopped at the Vibrante & Vivido Food Studio. I had the Blue Corn Pupusa which was good, but not outstanding.



5:50: watched the Voices of Liberty set which was fantastic but seriously cold at this point. The wind was biting.




Spent some time looking at the new Jazz exhibit in America to warm up. It's a nice little exhibit but nothing spectacular, it's nice they did something but you probably could have....I dunno....jazzed it up a bit more?

6:23: waited 7 minutes for Frozen. The park was really, really empty. Probably due to the freezing temps.

6:42: walked onto Gran Fiesta Tour. Enjoyed it so much we walked right back on. Too bad the band at the end fell a bit flat.



I had one art piece picked out from all our browsing and I went back to grab it:



7:30: we all got one last food booth item and met up at the Epcot preview center. There are plenty of tables with chairs in there and it was mostly empty. I got the tomato soup and bacon grilled cheese from the Pop Arts booth. It was soooooooo good. Especially in the cold weather.

The park closed at 8 so we hightailed it to Spaceship Earth for one last ride.

7:57:  made it onto Spaceship Earth walk on.



It was time to walk quickly back to the car. It was so cold but I think that's why the park was so empty and we got a lot done. Most likely would have eaten/drank a lot more if it had been warmer.



Can't wait to go back and do the parks again! Hopefully soon


----------



## Leigh L

OKWFan88 said:


> Is the spring roll cart still not open in MK? If not, is there anywhere else to get the cheeseburger roll things?


It was not open MLK week the few times we checked


----------



## NashvilleMama

Leigh L said:


> It was not open MLK week the few times we checked


It wasn't open on Thursday or Saturday this past weekend either.


----------



## MomOTwins

Sbunit81 said:


> Hi everyone, could use some advise from people who've recently been to the resort.  My family and I just put together a very spur of the moment trip to Orlando for the week of President's week (15-20th).  instead of staying at Disney we have decided to change things up and stay at Universal (mainly because we are waiting for Disney to "return to as close to normal" as possible before we invest into Disney prices).  I plan on visiting Disney on two separate days however:
> 
> Day One (a Wednesday): Planning to take the boys early morning to Animal Kingdom to get on Flight of Passage, Everest, Dinosaur and the Safari rid.  Hoping to finish all this before 2pm in hopes of hopping over to the Magic Kingdom and getting them on the Mine Train.  In regards to the Magic Kingdom our sole goal is to get on the Mine train, anything else is gravy.  Is it possible to accomplish our goals in Animal Kingdom by 2pm if not sooner?  How long can I realistically expect to wait on line for the Mine train on A Wednesday afternoon (It is what it is with the wait, just trying to gauge what to expect)?
> 
> Day Two (A Friday): Praying to get an early boarding pass for Rise and spending the day at Hollywood Studios.  What are the general wait times for Slinky dog and Millennium Falcon? If we manage to finish by midday and decide to hop over to Epcot to get on TT, what's the general wait for TT?  In regards to dining at Epcot, are walk-ins accommodated (with a wait of course) or is it strictly reservations only these days?
> 
> I have been to Disney several times in the past and I would consider myself a very seasoned veteran, However I feel totally lost with this trip and have no idea what to expect or how to maneuver/strategize my two days there.  I have a 4 year old (turning 5 tomorrow!) and a 7 year old and we were suppose to go for a week long stay this past December but because of Covid we canceled that trip as we don't think our expectations would be met.  This spur of the moment trip is with the sole goal of having our now 5 year old experience all these major rides/attractions before he starts to grow out of his innocent imagination (his brother was able to get on almost all these rides already).  Otherwise, we probably wouldn't even be coming to Disney until it is functioning closer to pre-pandemic times.  So, the stress factor is even higher than usual now because I want my 5 year old to experience Disney from a 5 year old's perspective before it's too late (if that makes sense).  Thanks


I think all bets are off for President's day week given how much they've extended park hours (indicating high anticipated crowds) and the park pass availability calendar already filling up on several days that week, even though the capacity limit is now double (or more) what it was last summer.  

My biggest concern would be the possibility that they would close off hopping if parks are at capacity (particularly seems a risk for MK -- Epcot can absorb more people).  It hasn't happened yet, but hopping has only been in place since January, and there has not been a real test yet of capacity since it is low season.  And Disney has always said that hopping is not guaranteed and subject to capacity at the 2nd park.  To be safe, I'd suggest you start your day at your two favorite parks so you can be sure that you'll get in.

But assuming that hopping is allowed, and that AK and HS are your priorities, then yes, I think your plan is doable, but you do need to plan to arrive an hour before the park open time.  You may want to do FOP, Safari, Everest and Dinosaur in that order, since FOP is close to Safari and Everest/Dino are at the opposite end of the park.

Afternoon wait times for mine train were 60-120 minutes on our October trip, and that was not a holiday week, and was (supposedly) before they raised park capacity.  I think you should assume at least an hour wait President's day/Mardi Gras week.  Regardless, if that is really the only thing you want to do, you can do it (assuming there is not a temporary closure for a thunderstorm or other ride downtime--but that's more common inn the summer months than in February).  

For Hollywood Studios, SDD and MFSR before 2pm should be plenty doable if you arrive early. I think the biggest issue will be the boarding group for Rise.  If you get a low-numbered boarding group that makes it easier, but still not a guarantee because the ride sometimes is glitchy and has downtime.  For example, we were over the moon when we got BG 2, but then the ride started running late, went down while we were in the queue and we were escorted out and given a return fastpass, and then we we came back around an hour later as soon as it was back up and running, we ended up spending 90 minutes in the queue and on the ride because the line was backed up and there were downtime issues again.  So basically all we were able to do that morning was ride slinky, see muppets, and waste the rest of the morning to the ROTR ordeal.


----------



## Sbunit81

SouthFayetteFan said:


> So you are visiting during what will likely be a BUSY week.  So recent experiences and wait times might not be as relevant since that week is the collision of Valentine's Day, President's Day and Mardi Gras.
> 
> I think that if you arrive prior to park opening at Animal Kingdom (I'd want to be there 30-45+ minutes before the posted opening time), then you'll have no problem accomplishing all of that WELL before 2pm.  If you show up at 7am and the park opens "officially" at 8; You might have it all done by 9am to be honest and could even mix in Everest or some other rides.  On this past Sat we showed up to the park before 7:15 am and proceeded to do FoP, Navi River, Everest 3x, and Safari by 9:15am.  Had we showed up at 8:30 instead, I think it would've taken us almost 5 hours to accomplish that exact same list of rides.
> 
> I'd say 7DMT is going to be somewhere between a 45-75 minute wait but that's just my guess.
> 
> On your DHS day, again, if you're able to arrive SUPER early, you'll find that you can probably ride SDD and MFSR before the park even officially opens.  If you hop to Epcot you'll probably be looking at 45-70 mins posted for test track then.
> 
> If you are NOT planning to arrive early then throw all my advice out the window, haha!  It's a different park if you walk in 30 minutes after official opening vs. 30-45 minutes prior to official opening.




Thanks so much for the great advice.  I had no idea that we can get inside the park well before official park opening hours.  I will certainly be taking this as the core of my strategy


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Sbunit81 said:


> Thanks so much for the great advice.  I had no idea that we can get inside the park well before official park opening hours.  I will certainly be taking this as the core of my strategy


With the way Disney is managing rope drop now, being there early is even more beneficial than it used to be (if you can believe that!)

You definitely want to take the time and read through 20+ pages of this thread.  You'll likely see a number of "boots on the ground" reports for how morning's actually progressed.  For example, I did a write-up of our rope drop experiences at MK 2x last week and DHS and AK each once including the time we entered the park and the exact order we accomplished the various attractions.  Many others have done the same!


----------



## BaymaxForever

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> 6:42: walked onto Gran Fiesta Tour. Enjoyed it so much we walked right back on. Too bad the band at the end fell a bit flat.



ba da dum...tsss!


----------



## Sbunit81

MomOTwins said:


> I think all bets are off for President's day week given how much they've extended park hours (indicating high anticipated crowds) and the park pass availability calendar already filling up on several days that week, even though the capacity limit is now double (or more) what it was last summer.
> 
> My biggest concern would be the possibility that they would close off hopping if parks are at capacity (particularly seems a risk for MK -- Epcot can absorb more people).  It hasn't happened yet, but hopping has only been in place since January, and there has not been a real test yet of capacity since it is low season.  And Disney has always said that hopping is not guaranteed and subject to capacity at the 2nd park.  To be safe, I'd suggest you start your day at your two favorite parks so you can be sure that you'll get in.
> 
> But assuming that hopping is allowed, and that AK and HS are your priorities, then yes, I think your plan is doable, but you do need to plan to arrive an hour before the park open time.  You may want to do FOP, Safari, Everest and Dinosaur in that order, since FOP is close to Safari and Everest/Dino are at the opposite end of the park.
> 
> Afternoon wait times for mine train were 60-120 minutes on our October trip, and that was not a holiday week, and was (supposedly) before they raised park capacity.  I think you should assume at least an hour wait President's day/Mardi Gras week.  Regardless, if that is really the only thing you want to do, you can do it (assuming there is not a temporary closure for a thunderstorm or other ride downtime--but that's more common inn the summer months than in February).
> 
> For Hollywood Studios, SDD and MFSR before 2pm should be plenty doable if you arrive early. I think the biggest issue will be the boarding group for Rise.  If you get a low-numbered boarding group that makes it easier, but still not a guarantee because the ride sometimes is glitchy and has downtime.  For example, we were over the moon when we got BG 2, but then the ride started running late, went down while we were in the queue and we were escorted out and given a return fastpass, and then we we came back around an hour later as soon as it was back up and running, we ended up spending 90 minutes in the queue and on the ride because the line was backed up and there were downtime issues again.  So basically all we were able to do that morning was ride slinky, see muppets, and waste the rest of the morning to the ROTR ordeal.



Thanks for the super thorough response.  There's no question I've been pondering this whole President's week dilemma and I did notice that not all parks are available that week (well, specifically only Hollywood Studios isn't available Monday-thursday, everything else is open).  I'm hoping going super early before official park opening mitigates this risk to an extent.  I'm also hoping that the majority of the crowds will be there the preceding weekend into Tuesday/wednesday and hopefully disperse by then.  I am hopeful because Friday (my Hollywood Studios day) has full availability and when we go on Wednesday if there are still crowds I'm banking that most people won't prioritize animal kingdom on their itineraries.  But I'm hopeful that the current Covid situation Kees people away.


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

BaymaxForever said:


> ba da dum...tsss!



My favorite ride is the Jungle Cruise.

Enough said.


----------



## Lsdolphin

yulilin3 said:


> basically all Disney owned stores (with exceptions of certain items)
> if you go on this page, filter to DS all Disney owned stores that say 20% are now 30%
> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/p...benefits-and-discounts/merchandise-discounts/



Thank you!


----------



## MomOTwins

Sbunit81 said:


> Thanks for the super thorough response.  There's no question I've been pondering this whole President's week dilemma and I did notice that not all parks are available that week (well, specifically only Hollywood Studios isn't available Monday-thursday, everything else is open).  I'm hoping going super early before official park opening mitigates this risk to an extent.  I'm also hoping that the majority of the crowds will be there the preceding weekend into Tuesday/wednesday and hopefully disperse by then.  I am hopeful because Friday (my Hollywood Studios day) has full availability and when we go on Wednesday if there are still crowds I'm banking that most people won't prioritize animal kingdom on their itineraries.  But I'm hopeful that the current Covid situation Kees people away.


I think you are right that Animal Kingdom is less of a priority for most people these days.  There is just not as much to do there these days without the stage shows especially for those who have small kids and can't do all of the height-restricted rides, and it closes early so that makes it less attractive if you don't have hoppers.  We skipped it on a 3-day trip we did last October.


----------



## eeyoreandtink

MomOTwins said:


> I think all bets are off for President's day week given how much they've extended park hours (indicating high anticipated crowds) and the park pass availability calendar already filling up on several days that week, even though the capacity limit is now double (or more) what it was last summer.


I am just not sure what to expect for Presidents’ Day week. Park availability for resort guests is gone for HS almost the whole week, but with the exception of Friday and Saturday hotel availability for the week is wide open. The capacity right now is capped at 35%, as opposed to the previous 25% so definitely not double, more like 1/3 more.


----------



## MomOTwins

eeyoreandtink said:


> I am just not sure what to expect for Presidents’ Day week. Park availability for resort guests is gone for HS almost the whole week, but with the exception of Friday and Saturday hotel availability for the week is wide open. The capacity right now is capped at 35%, as opposed to the previous 25% so definitely not double, more like 1/3 more.


I read it is at 40% now.


----------



## hereforthechurros

armerida said:


> Could someone who has been recently please advise - we want to dine at the bar at Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian. We always prefer to sit at the bar there (Sergio is the best bartender ever!), and pre-covid had no issues getting in. Will the guard let us into the resort without proof of an ADR? If I show my tables in wonderland card, would that work? We’d be Ubering over...I’ve read conflicting info about getting into resorts for dining. Thanks!


What about making an ADR and then asking to be seated at the bar when you check in?

We’ve ubered to resorts a few times since reopening and they did indeed check the ADR for entry. I had to show them confirmation my phone.

You could always Uber to TTC and walk or monorail to GF.


----------



## PCFriar80

MomOTwins said:


> I read it is at 40% now.


It’s still 35%.  When they increased it from 25% to 35% it was a 40% increase, not an increase to 40%.


----------



## loswest

Aimeedyan said:


> Swan does not have a gate or guard. You just drive up to the main entrance. Their parking is separate and IS gated.
> 
> Anyone can be dropped off there without any issue at all. I don't know why more people don't utilize it (except it would probably be a longer walk...).



We're thinking about driving and parking at the Swan when we go to HS for our late Feb./early March trip.  From what I've read non-guests can park there and just pay the non-guest fee.  It sounds like there's a gate for the parking lot but not a guard, is that right?  Any reasons we should consider Ubering instead?  We'd prefer to drive because we'll already have a rental and an Uber would mean paying for two trips because there are 7 of us. For cost and convenience, driving ourselves and parking at the Swan seems like the best option for us to Rope Drop HS.


----------



## Sbunit81

eeyoreandtink said:


> I am just not sure what to expect for Presidents’ Day week. Park availability for resort guests is gone for HS almost the whole week, but with the exception of Friday and Saturday hotel availability for the week is wide open. The capacity right now is capped at 35%, as opposed to the previous 25% so definitely not double, more like 1/3 more.



I just checked the theme park availability.  As of yesterday all parks were available except for Hollywood Studios which was capped out Sunday through Thursday the week of presidents day.  However, when I just checked now there is availability for Hollywood Studios from Tuesday on (only Sunday and Monday unavailable).  I'm cautiously suspicious because of the current circumstances President's week may not be so busy after all.


----------



## keke5656

Sbunit81 said:


> I just checked the theme park availability.  As of yesterday all parks were available except for Hollywood Studios which was capped out Sunday through Thursday the week of presidents day.  However, when I just checked now there is availability for Hollywood Studios from Tuesday on (only Sunday and Monday unavailable).  I'm cautiously suspicious because of the current circumstances President's week may not be so busy after all.



I saw this as well! Why would they appear full and then open up though? Unless they are releasing more capacity or just opening spots?? I would think increasing capacity without warning people who are very crowd-cautious would be a bad choice in these times.


----------



## cjlong88

keke5656 said:


> I saw this as well! Why would they appear full and then open up though? Unless they are releasing more capacity or just opening spots?? I would think increasing capacity without warning people who are very crowd-cautious would be a bad choice in these times.



From what I've read in previous posts, they are likely just moving park pass availability from one group that had a lot of availability to another group that had limited availability, with those groups being Annual Passholders, Disney Resort Guests, and guests with Theme Park Tickets only.

So the total number of park passes would not change, just how many are allocated to each group. If there aren't a lot of people staying at Disney resorts and booking passes on specific days, Disney can simply move park passes away from that group and into another, such as AP's.

Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken!


----------



## disneygirlsng

cjlong88 said:


> From what I've read in previous posts, they are likely just moving park pass availability from one group that had a lot of availability to another group that had limited availability, with those groups being Annual Passholders, Disney Resort Guests, and guests with Theme Park Tickets only.
> 
> So the total number of park passes would not change, just how many are allocated to each group. If there aren't a lot of people staying at Disney resorts and booking passes on specific days, Disney can simply move park passes away from that group and into another, such as AP's.
> 
> Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken!


This plus also speculation of them releasing park reservations of those who cancelled. I wouldn't worry about more spots opening up.


----------



## yulilin3

cjlong88 said:


> From what I've read in previous posts, they are likely just moving park pass availability from one group that had a lot of availability to another group that had limited availability, with those groups being Annual Passholders, Disney Resort Guests, and guests with Theme Park Tickets only.
> 
> So the total number of park passes would not change, just how many are allocated to each group. If there aren't a lot of people staying at Disney resorts and booking passes on specific days, Disney can simply move park passes away from that group and into another, such as AP's.
> 
> Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken!


You're correct


----------



## Sbunit

Sorry if this has been asked before but this is quite a large thread to follow.  For those who have traveled from NY state, Do the quarantine rules apply for children as well (I'm assuming they do)?  My wife and I are both essential workers so I believe we are exempt from the quarantine rules according to what I read on the state website.  So do I have to get my 5 year old and 7 old tested prior to departure upon return to NY to get exempt from the quarantine?  Any clarification/experiences would be greatly appreciated, all this new info is overwhelming


----------



## Orion Nebula

PCFriar80 said:


> It’s still 35%.  When they increased it from 25% to 35% it was a 40% increase, not an increase to 40%.



I am wondering when the next increase will be. Did they give a heads up on a date previously, or did one day people wake up and find out their trips next week had raised capacity? I am going the first week of March and really hoping they don't raise it higher by then.


----------



## yulilin3

Orion Nebula said:


> I am wondering when the next increase will be. Did they give a heads up on a date previously, or did one day people wake up and find out their trips next week had raised capacity? I am going the first week of March and really hoping they don't raise it higher by then.


Chapek just mentioned in an interview that it had increased, he did not say when it did. So it could be done without telling anyone.


----------



## Orion Nebula

yulilin3 said:


> Chapek just mentioned in an interview that it had increased, he did not say when it did. So it could be done without telling anyone.



Ugh, I have 25 days to go and the capacity limit is part of what makes me feel better. I really hope they don't decide to jack it up by then..


----------



## PCFriar80

yulilin3 said:


> Chapek just mentioned in an interview that it had increased, he did not say when it did. So it could be done without telling anyone.


Chapek made the comments during the last earnings call on 11/12.  Disney reports 1Q Earnings on 2/11 so would expect some update, either status quo or plans for park capacity increases to come then.


----------



## Cotta

Just back and wanted to review my last couple days and give my final thoughts. 

1/28- Thursday - MK Day 

Intended on being at the gate when they opened (driving rental) but we had a couple snafus which put us there about 15 minutes late... doesn't seem like much but those 15 min are critical right now. It wasn't that big of a deal for us as we didn't have any must do's at MK. We got to the ferry about 8:30 and we were walking down main street at 8:50. Went directly back to 7DMT and it was already a 50 min wait. So we threw plans out the window and decided to have a completely unplanned day. We started with Pooh since we were already right there. It was a walk on. PP next also a walk on it was about 9:15. HM was a very quick walk on with no room open . It was a pretty brisk morning so we decided against Splash and I think BTMR was around 40 by now. So we decided we wanted some breakfast and headed to Sleepy Hollow for a waffle. The line was outside the queue so we bailed and headed for Pirates. It was a walk on and after we headed back to Sleepy Hollow and there was no line at all?! Worked perfect and the nutella waffle was amazing. After this we headed to Tommorrowland. Took pictures at the hub and purple wall on the way. Next we decided to do Space Mountain. Posted a 10 min wait but by the time we got back to the ride it was 20. We did have a wait but I don't think it was longer than 15 minutes. We mobile ordered Cheshire cat tails in line and picked those up after the ride. Not sure why exactly but I didn't think these were as good as they were at Cheshire Cafe. It was cold and I think that was the problem. Still good just not the same. Anyway we headed to Barnstormer next mostly to check out Tron. Posted a 10 minute wait when we got in line and then switched to 20 but I don't think we waited even 5, the line was much longer when we left but I think the ride is maybe 30 seconds?! We felt MK times were rarely dependable and usually inflated. It is hard for them to track with cleaning time I suppose. Next we got a Mickey Pretzel! Today was definitely a day of snacks! Next we hit Ariel which was posted at some crazy wait time of 40 minutes?! I knew it couldn't be true although the line was outside the queue which I have never seen! and we waited maybe five minutes for a cleaning and then it was basically a walk on. It was around noon by now and wait times were creeping up so we headed to Carousel of Progress which is an all time fav of mine! We mobile ordered at Tommorrowland Terrace so we could get some maskless castle pics which worked out perfectly! We weren't too hungry from all the snacks so we ordered a Chicken/Shrimp combo to share and we still couldn't finish it! So much food. Oh forgot we snuck in a ride on Buzz while we waited for our food to be ready. After this we headed to Main Street for some shopping and grabbed some Starbucks (no wait!!)  on our way out. Left the park about 1:30 to go back to our hotel and rest for awhile as we had a 7:00 reservation at Skipper Canteen and knew we wouldn't make it all day. Came back around 5 to most people leaving the park. We headed back to 7DMT and the line was basically in the same place we had seen it all day with a 40 min wait but it was really the only thing we wanted to ride so we queued up. It was definitely the longest wait we had all trip but it was an actual wait of 25 min. Such a fun cute ride though. We still had plenty of time till our reservation so we hit BTMR which had a 40 min time posted but it was a walk on. This was 45 min till close. We could have easily rode again on any other ride at this point probably but we were tired and we opted for another snack! Yep right before dinner we grabbed a Kakamora float at Aloha Isle! This was really good and I can see this being really refreshing if it was hot! By this time we headed to Skipper Canteen which was a first for me and it was the highlight of the trip. Wow did not think theme park food could ever be this good! I am kicking myself for not trying it sooner and I can't wait to go back! Got some really great shots of the castle and the empty park. Magic Kingdom felt crowded at times and definitely has more bottle necks and crowded areas as opposed to the other parks. I was really impressed with the way everyone respected the rules however. MK wait times were kind of all over the place but since they weren't ever really long I don't think that was an issue. It could become a problem as the parks get more crowded though. We almost skipped MK because there wasn't anything we really had to do but I am so glad we went especially for that dinner at Skipper Canteen if nothing else!!


----------



## wdw&sonny

Wondering if there is a quick reference to all things closed,  unavailable, not offered etc. currently due to Covid?
If not, wondering if anyone could start a 'sticky' with a list of all these differences, then update it as things reopen or return to normal?


----------



## cjlong88

What time in the evening does the skyliner stop operating nowadays?


----------



## TinkSassy

Orion Nebula said:


> Ugh, I have 25 days to go and the capacity limit is part of what makes me feel better. I really hope they don't decide to jack it up by then..


I'm thinking it will be left alone as they are recommending reducing capacity at the restaurants in Orlando and locking things back down a bit.  Hoping that is the case - because I am 24 days out myself and the capacity limits are one of the reasons I feel ok going.


----------



## blrem

Cotta said:


> Just back and wanted to review my last couple days and give my final thoughts.
> 
> 1/28- Thursday - MK Day
> 
> Intended on being at the gate when they opened (driving rental) but we had a couple snafus which put us there about 15 minutes late... doesn't seem like much but those 15 min are critical right now. It wasn't that big of a deal for us as we didn't have any must do's at MK. We got to the ferry about 8:30 and we were walking down main street at 8:50. Went directly back to 7DMT and it was already a 50 min wait. So we threw plans out the window and decided to have a completely unplanned day. We started with Pooh since we were already right there. It was a walk on. PP next also a walk on it was about 9:15. HM was a very quick walk on with no room open . It was a pretty brisk morning so we decided against Splash and I think BTMR was around 40 by now. So we decided we wanted some breakfast and headed to Sleepy Hollow for a waffle. The line was outside the queue so we bailed and headed for Pirates. It was a walk on and after we headed back to Sleepy Hollow and there was no line at all?! Worked perfect and the nutella waffle was amazing. After this we headed to Tommorrowland. Took pictures at the hub and purple wall on the way. Next we decided to do Space Mountain. Posted a 10 min wait but by the time we got back to the ride it was 20. We did have a wait but I don't think it was longer than 15 minutes. We mobile ordered Cheshire cat tails in line and picked those up after the ride. Not sure why exactly but I didn't think these were as good as they were at Cheshire Cafe. It was cold and I think that was the problem. Still good just not the same. Anyway we headed to Barnstormer next mostly to check out Tron. Posted a 10 minute wait when we got in line and then switched to 20 but I don't think we waited even 5, the line was much longer when we left but I think the ride is maybe 30 seconds?! We felt MK times were rarely dependable and usually inflated. It is hard for them to track with cleaning time I suppose. Next we got a Mickey Pretzel! Today was definitely a day of snacks! Next we hit Ariel which was posted at some crazy wait time of 40 minutes?! I knew it couldn't be true although the line was outside the queue which I have never seen! and we waited maybe five minutes for a cleaning and then it was basically a walk on. It was around noon by now and wait times were creeping up so we headed to Carousel of Progress which is an all time fav of mine! We mobile ordered at Tommorrowland Terrace so we could get some maskless castle pics which worked out perfectly! We weren't too hungry from all the snacks so we ordered a Chicken/Shrimp combo to share and we still couldn't finish it! So much food. Oh forgot we snuck in a ride on Buzz while we waited for our food to be ready. After this we headed to Main Street for some shopping and grabbed some Starbucks (no wait!!)  on our way out. Left the park about 1:30 to go back to our hotel and rest for awhile as we had a 7:00 reservation at Skipper Canteen and knew we wouldn't make it all day. Came back around 5 to most people leaving the park. We headed back to 7DMT and the line was basically in the same place we had seen it all day with a 40 min wait but it was really the only thing we wanted to ride so we queued up. It was definitely the longest wait we had all trip but it was an actual wait of 25 min. Such a fun cute ride though. We still had plenty of time till our reservation so we hit BTMR which had a 40 min time posted but it was a walk on. This was 45 min till close. We could have easily rode again on any other ride at this point probably but we were tired and we opted for another snack! Yep right before dinner we grabbed a Kakamora float at Aloha Isle! This was really good and I can see this being really refreshing if it was hot! By this time we headed to Skipper Canteen which was a first for me and it was the highlight of the trip. Wow did not think theme park food could ever be this good! I am kicking myself for not trying it sooner and I can't wait to go back! Got some really great shots of the castle and the empty park. Magic Kingdom felt crowded at times and definitely has more bottle necks and crowded areas as opposed to the other parks. I was really impressed with the way everyone respected the rules however. MK wait times were kind of all over the place but since they weren't ever really long I don't think that was an issue. It could become a problem as the parks get more crowded though. We almost skipped MK because there wasn't anything we really had to do but I am so glad we went especially for that dinner at Skipper Canteen if nothing else!!


What did you order at Skipper Canteen? I keep wanting to try it but menu is limited and we usually aren't "adventurous" in menu items.  The desserts sound wonderful though - did you try any?


----------



## yulilin3

No real good place to post this since there's no merchandise forum but yesterday at DHS I saw the 2021 graduation ears


----------



## yulilin3

cjlong88 said:


> What time in the evening does the skyliner stop operating nowadays?


current hours
Disney’s Hollywood Studios 8 a.m.–8:30 p.m. 
Disney’s Pop Century/Art of Animation Resorts 8 a.m.–9:30 p.m. 
EPCOT International Gateway One way flight to Caribbean Beach until 10 a.m.  8 am.- 9:30 pm.


----------



## osufeth24

TinkSassy said:


> I'm thinking it will be left alone as they are recommending reducing capacity at the restaurants in Orlando and locking things back down a bit.  Hoping that is the case - because I am 24 days out myself and the capacity limits are one of the reasons I feel ok going.



Where are you hearing that?  I live in Orlando, and I have heard zero talk of that.


----------



## yulilin3

osufeth24 said:


> Where are you hearing that?  I live in Orlando, and I have heard zero talk of that.


new administration along with the CDC is recommending locking down indoor dining again, but nothing has been set in stone


----------



## osufeth24

oh ya, thought they were talking about it from local gov't.  Not going to happen though, unless it comes from the state gov't..and well.....


----------



## OKWFan88

Last time I was in Disney was in July and there were no cake pops anywhere, I tried all the bakeries in the parks and went to Disney Springs and nothing... Has anyone noticed any recently being sold? I leave in two days and I am in severe withdrawal from no cake pops.


----------



## Orion Nebula

blrem said:


> What did you order at Skipper Canteen?



The last time we went my wife got  "Tastes like Chicken" Because it is!", and we both thought it was _really_ good.


----------



## BrokeMack

blrem said:


> What did you order at Skipper Canteen? I keep wanting to try it but menu is limited and we usually aren't "adventurous" in menu items.  The desserts sound wonderful though - did you try any?


We ate there last week. The char siu pork was really good. They're also serving Pao de queijo from the Brazil booth at food and wine as an app. My wife got the tofu curry thing. She said it was okay. Either Kungaloosh (the beer or the desert) is really good.


----------



## BrokeMack

OKWFan88 said:


> Last time I was in Disney was in July and there were no cake pops anywhere, I tried all the bakeries in the parks and went to Disney Springs and nothing... Has anyone noticed any recently being sold? I leave in two days and I am in severe withdrawal from no cake pops.


They serve one in the Kakamora Dole Whip at Sunshine Tree, but it was gross. And in the kid's desert trio at BoG.


----------



## yulilin3

blrem said:


> What did you order at Skipper Canteen? I keep wanting to try it but menu is limited and we usually aren't "adventurous" in menu items.  The desserts sound wonderful though - did you try any?


Ive had the orinoco cachapas ( I'm from Venezuela so these were a nice taste from my country), the pork and the coconut bar.  All delicious


----------



## MomOTwins

yulilin3 said:


> Ive had the orinoco cachapas ( I'm from Venezuela so these were a nice taste from my country), the pork and the coconut bar.  All delicious


The cachapas are really good--I once got that and the falafel and made a dinner of appetizers.  Also really enjoyed the char sui pork.

They used to have a dish that they called mac and cheese but it was really pastitsio (Mediterranean dish of pasta, bechemel and meat sauce--I grew up in the middle east and we had this at least once a week as a kid: awesome).  They also used to a whole a fried fish with the head on that my kids thought was awesome when I ordered it.  I mention only because presumably at some point they will expand the menu back again from the current limited offerings and those were both pretty good too.

I will have to try to coconut bar. I got the kungaloosh because I love bananas but it was just okay (cake was a bit dry).


----------



## Cotta

1/29 - Friday - Epcot

We had already been to Epcot once this trip and didn't have any pressing needs so we planned to take this day pretty slow and easy. With an opening time of 11 it was easy to take our time getting up and around and off to the park. We are early risers though so we were up and ready around 10. So we made a last second decision to mobile order breakfast at Primo Piatto and stop off at Riviera on our way to the park. Wow what a great breakfast! We ordered the Mickey waffles and Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. We also ordered the Chocolate croissant and banana bread to have later. The croissant was disappointing, no chocolate inside just drizzled on top. But the banana bread was amazing. Huge chunks of chocolate throughout! We toured around Riviera which is an absolutely beautiful resort. Then we headed off to Epcot. We ended up entering the park right around 11 and skipped Spaceship Earth as there was a bit of a wait. We headed for the Seas, said hi to Nemo and all our fishy friends! Then we hit The Land. We watched the Amazing Planet which was nicely done. We intended to do Living with the Land but it was down so we opted to do Soarin. It was a 20 min wait posted and that was about what it was. When we came out LWTL was back up but the line was long so we decided to skip it. We walked around looking at the art for awhile and then headed into WS it was about 1pm. We hit many of the food booths. Our favorites today were the Passion Fruit Mousse at Vibrante & Vivido and the Pistachio Cake at Painters Palate. Food so pretty it is hard to eat... until you taste it! We also did the Beauty and the Beast Sing-a-long in France and we hit Spaceship Earth on our way out. We left the park around 4. We had a reservation at 7:30 at Paddlefish in Disney Springs. We visited the Springs three times on this trip and being a friday night the crowd seemed to have quadrupled. I couldn't believe how busy it was! We had a wonderful dinner with amazing service though!


----------



## Cotta

blrem said:


> What did you order at Skipper Canteen? I keep wanting to try it but menu is limited and we usually aren't "adventurous" in menu items.  The desserts sound wonderful though - did you try any?


I had the Corvina (Fish of the Day) and my daughter had the Taste's like Chicken because it is! I am an "adventurous" eater but my family is not which is why we haven't tried this place before but my daughter really liked the Chicken. It's basically a piece of fried chicken with rice. The sauce was on the side mostly. The desserts were amazing. I had the Kungaloosh and she got the coconut bar. Both were delicious and very nicely presented. You could always go and just order the dessert!!


----------



## Cotta

OKWFan88 said:


> Last time I was in Disney was in July and there were no cake pops anywhere, I tried all the bakeries in the parks and went to Disney Springs and nothing... Has anyone noticed any recently being sold? I leave in two days and I am in severe withdrawal from no cake pops.


We had one in the Kakamora Float at Aloha Isle and thought it was really good. But aside from that we didn't see any where else that I can recall.


----------



## fairestoneofall

TinkSassy said:


> Security experience right now - I know we have the temp check and then some sort of bag check.  I would like to pack my bag so that I can go as quickly as possible and hopefully not have security digging through my bag in the time of COVID.  If there are items that need to be pulled out I will put them in a see through zip lock - what are they?  Assuming phone, battery pack - what else have you found needs to come out?



I had a Yeti water bottle and a camera. I had to go through bag check every day. Because so few people have to go through bag check, it wasn't that big of a deal.


----------



## cjlong88

Landed at MCO at 8:20 pm. We were off the plane quickly and on the Magical Express by 8:47 pm. We departed around 8:52 pm. Excellent timing!

Physical distancing is great on the bus. We got lucky and was seated in Row 2. We are here! We are excited to celebrate and enjoy our honeymoon!


----------



## kengquist

cjlong88 said:


> Landed at MCO at 8:20 pm. We were off the plane quickly and on the Magical Express by 8:47 pm. We departed around 8:52 pm. Excellent timing!
> 
> Physical distancing is great on the bus. We got lucky and was seated in Row 2. We are here! We are excited to celebrate and enjoy our honeymoon!


Congrats!! Hope you have a wonderful trip


----------



## DL1WDW2

Happy Honeymoon wishes.


----------



## DL1WDW2

fairestoneofall said:


> I had a Yeti water bottle and a camera. I had to go through bag check every day. Because so few people have to go through bag check, it wasn't that big of a deal.


 I’m usually never ever pulled to the side but recently I forgot I had 2 small hand wipe packets in my pocket. They are those small foil lined wipes And security happened to mention it was showing in my pockets but it seemed obvious I had nothing in my pocket until later when I happened to reach into my pocket and discover those wipes. So I guess the foil created his comment. Live and learn...


----------



## cjlong88

Arrived at the YC bus stop at 7am. We were second in line. Bus arrived at 7:15 and we were at AK at 7:35. Everyone heading towards Pandora. We chose to start at Everest. It’s 7:50 am and the attraction hasn’t opened to guests yet.

EDIT: EE opens right at park open.


----------



## Poohbear538

cjlong88 said:


> Landed at MCO at 8:20 pm. We were off the plane quickly and on the Magical Express by 8:47 pm. We departed around 8:52 pm. Excellent timing!
> 
> Physical distancing is great on the bus. We got lucky and was seated in Row 2. We are here! We are excited to celebrate and enjoy our honeymoon!


Congratulations! Have an awesome time


----------



## heazer

OKWFan88 said:


> Last time I was in Disney was in July and there were no cake pops anywhere, I tried all the bakeries in the parks and went to Disney Springs and nothing... Has anyone noticed any recently being sold? I leave in two days and I am in severe withdrawal from no cake pops.



Not sure if you're looking for a cake pop from a Disney food spot, but I've never noticed them having them anywhere in the parks other than at the Starbucks locations inside the parks and at Disney Springs.


----------



## OKWFan88

heazer said:


> Not sure if you're looking for a cake pop from a Disney food spot, but I've never noticed them having them anywhere in the parks other than at the Starbucks locations inside the parks and at Disney Springs.


Thanks, I have gotten the cake pops from the Confectionary in MK and at Goofy's Candy Store in Disney Springs, but they didn't have any in July 2020. They said it had to do with the pandemic and having trouble getting certain foods/ingredients... Wasn't sure if that got resolved. Oh well, I arrive tomorrow and will take a look.


----------



## glocon

OKWFan88 said:


> Thanks, I have gotten the cake pops from the Confectionary in MK and at Goofy's Candy Store in Disney Springs, but they didn't have any in July 2020. They said it had to do with the pandemic and having trouble getting certain foods/ingredients... Wasn't sure if that got resolved. Oh well, I arrive tomorrow and will take a look.


Creature Comforts at AK used to have cake pops, not sure if they still do though.


----------



## yulilin3

At mk now.  Did the liberty Belle, saw cm working on thew Indian village, it looks like repaint. 
Tom Sawyer opened at 11am. No change but the barrell bridge is still missing and the fort was closed for continued refurb


----------



## yulilin3

Placed mobile order for previous bill this morning to secure the 12 to 12:30 window.  The order took 15 minutes to be ready.  It is very busy right now


----------



## PamNC

My mom and I went 1/25 - 1/29 - stayed at The Swan. LOVED being at the Epcot Resort area again. I used to stay at the Beach Club a lot back when it didn't cost your first born and I didn't realize how much I missed the area. Loved walking around Crescent Lake and having a waterfront dining experience at Boardwalk Bakery in the morning. So special ! We did MK, Epcot and AK - only had 3 days in parks, 2 days were for travel because we drove down from NC. MK crowds were very low in the mornings but picked up by early to mid afternoon, especially in and around Fantasyland. The line at Splash said 50 minutes, but I counted and it was only 20. Pirates said 25 and it was spot on. Great weather - low 80's. Epcot - same thing very low crowds but it got busier in World Showcase in the afternoons, still not bad at all though for a festival. Epcot was scheduled to open at 11 but we got in at 10:30. Soarin had a 5 minute wait, and everything in Future World was basically a walk on. I loved the Festival of the Arts, it was my first time. Animal Kingdom ... very low crowds. Got there about 10 and FOP wait was posted 25 minutes, it was more like 15. Skipped River Journey because the line was insane. 5 minute wait at the safari. 10 at Everest. Just easy peeezy. The CM's were wonderful all the way around! It was a good trip. now, I am suffering the post-Disney blues.


----------



## cjlong88

Day 1: AK/Epcot/HS

AK was fantastic in the morning. We rode in our own train on Expedition Everest and our own vehicle in Dinosaur. When walking from EE to Dinosaur we didn’t see a single person. It was crazy. Flight of Passage was posted at 30 but we waited only 20. We did the animation experience and loved it. I finally saw It’s Tough to Be a Bug...so many crying children. 

We got back to Yacht Club and took a nap before stopping by Epcot. We did a couple of the food booths and completed the Figment painting scavenger hunt. This is a tough park with social distancing and mask compliance when it’s busy. Too many people and not enough spots to appropriately social distance while eating and drinking. Too many individuals walking and consuming food and beverage. We found China and Canada to be much quieter and enjoyed sitting in there to eat something.

Saw some low waits at HS and decided to ride the skyliner over to HS and did MFSR and MMRR before heading back. Both attractions we a 20 minute wait. This will make rope dropping HS tomorrow so much easier. Stopped by Riveria and picked up a mobile order at Primo Piatto on the way back. It was fine, not amazing. But I would try it again for sure.

Tomorrow we will rope drop HS to ride RnRC, ToT and hopefully get a BG for RotR. From there we might go back to Epcot or decide to head over to MK.

Side note: we absolutely adore Yacht Club. We both agreed we would stay here again in a heartbeat. The location, the room, the amenities, that lobby scent, the pool, the view of the Boardwalk. It’s incredible!


----------



## auntlynne

TinkSassy said:


> Security experience right now - I know we have the temp check and then some sort of bag check.  I would like to pack my bag so that I can go as quickly as possible and hopefully not have security digging through my bag in the time of COVID.  If there are items that need to be pulled out I will put them in a see through zip lock - what are they?  Assuming phone, battery pack - what else have you found needs to come out?



Was at parks in September and November.  Security so much easier than old days.  Only things needed to come out of bag were metal water bottles and sunglass cases.  Depending on which park, phone held over head while walking through metal detector.  I think at least one park may have been just walk through.  They were encouraging folks to keep moving.

Gone was the day of every bag Being examined.

And no more turnstiles in or out.


----------



## blrem

Cotta said:


> I had the Corvina (Fish of the Day) and my daughter had the Taste's like Chicken because it is! I am an "adventurous" eater but my family is not which is why we haven't tried this place before but my daughter really liked the Chicken. It's basically a piece of fried chicken with rice. The sauce was on the side mostly. The desserts were amazing. I had the Kungaloosh and she got the coconut bar. Both were delicious and very nicely presented. You could always go and just order the dessert!!


I am channeling your daughter's palate - the chicken is what I was thinking about and that coconut bar......oh yah, gotta try it!   Thanks for making this decision easy for me!


----------



## blrem

yulilin3 said:


> Ive had the orinoco cachapas ( I'm from Venezuela so these were a nice taste from my country), the pork and the coconut bar.  All delicious


Second endorsement for that coconut bar - now I can't wait! Ty!


----------



## blrem

yulilin3 said:


> current hours
> Disney’s Hollywood Studios 8 a.m.–8:30 p.m.
> Disney’s Pop Century/Art of Animation Resorts 8 a.m.–9:30 p.m.
> EPCOT International Gateway One way flight to Caribbean Beach until 10 a.m.  8 am.- 9:30 pm.


Thanks for your most thorough reply - we are staying in the Crescent Lake area this month and have a 9AM breakfast ressie at Riviera before Epcot opening - was wondering if we could get the skyliner over from IG since the Epcot doesn't open until 11AM - which you answered as well. Many thanks for all your great posts - I see your name often and you are always most helpful!


----------



## blrem

PamNC said:


> My mom and I went 1/25 - 1/29 - stayed at The Swan. LOVED being at the Epcot Resort area again. I used to stay at the Beach Club a lot back when it didn't cost your first born and I didn't realize how much I missed the area. Loved walking around Crescent Lake and having a waterfront dining experience at Boardwalk Bakery in the morning. So special ! We did MK, Epcot and AK - only had 3 days in parks, 2 days were for travel because we drove down from NC. MK crowds were very low in the mornings but picked up by early to mid afternoon, especially in and around Fantasyland. The line at Splash said 50 minutes, but I counted and it was only 20. Pirates said 25 and it was spot on. Great weather - low 80's. Epcot - same thing very low crowds but it got busier in World Showcase in the afternoons, still not bad at all though for a festival. Epcot was scheduled to open at 11 but we got in at 10:30. Soarin had a 5 minute wait, and everything in Future World was basically a walk on. I loved the Festival of the Arts, it was my first time. Animal Kingdom ... very low crowds. Got there about 10 and FOP wait was posted 25 minutes, it was more like 15. Skipped River Journey because the line was insane. 5 minute wait at the safari. 10 at Everest. Just easy peeezy. The CM's were wonderful all the way around! It was a good trip. now, I am suffering the post-Disney blues.


Great report - thanks for the details!  Staying at Crescent Lake and I'm now going to make it a point to have breakfast at Boardwalk Bakery as well - had been thinking about it but your comments helped solidify the plans!


----------



## GBRforWDW

cjlong88 said:


> Day 1: AK/Epcot/HS
> 
> AK was fantastic in the morning. We rode in our own train on Expedition Everest and our own vehicle in Dinosaur. When walking from EE to Dinosaur we didn’t see a single person. It was crazy. Flight of Passage was posted at 30 but we waited only 20. We did the animation experience and loved it. I finally saw It’s Tough to Be a Bug...so many crying children.
> 
> We got back to Yacht Club and took a nap before stopping by Epcot. We did a couple of the food booths and completed the Figment painting scavenger hunt. This is a tough park with social distancing and mask compliance when it’s busy. Too many people and not enough spots to appropriately social distance while eating and drinking. Too many individuals walking and consuming food and beverage. We found China and Canada to be much quieter and enjoyed sitting in there to eat something.
> 
> Saw some low waits at HS and decided to ride the skyliner over to HS and did MFSR and MMRR before heading back. Both attractions we a 20 minute wait. This will make rope dropping HS tomorrow so much easier. Stopped by Riveria and picked up a mobile order at Primo Piatto on the way back. It was fine, not amazing. But I would try it again for sure.
> 
> Tomorrow we will rope drop HS to ride RnRC, ToT and hopefully get a BG for RotR. From there we might go back to Epcot or decide to head over to MK.
> 
> Side note: we absolutely adore Yacht Club. We both agreed we would stay here again in a heartbeat. The location, the room, the amenities, that lobby scent, the pool, the view of the Boardwalk. It’s incredible!


Sounds like you had a pretty awesome day with all the park hopping.  Mtfbwy getting the boarding group this morning.


----------



## OKWFan88

Drove 9 hours and arrived early this morning. I couldn't sleep so I woke up at midnight and just decided to not wait till 4am to leave. So, immediately went to Disney Springs and parked in Orange garage as my sole goal was to get Gideon's cookies. I got thru temp and security really quickly, not a very long line with that. I walked to Gideon's and the line was past Morimito. I got in line and found out that they don't do the queue unless it's going to be an hour or longer wait. Well It took 45 min to get me to the front but I got me some cookies and very unique inside. Very cool. Fav cookies were the Cookies and Cream and the Coffee Crumb Cake. SO GOOD. They are huge and if you like the taste of cookie dough then this will be perfect for you. After I left there, I headed over to Goofy's candy shop and no cake pops  Then checked into Saratoga Springs and got pixie dusted to a 2 bedroom preferred section when there is only two of us. lol. Then headed on a bus over to MK about 11AM, only took 10 min for a bus to come by and then had to go to guest relations to activate my AP. The line was LONG, but it moved quickly and it only looked long because of social distancing. Within 10 minutes my AP was activated and I was inside MK. It was insanely busy. What I mean by that was the sheer amount of people on Main St. I went in July 2020 and this was significantly busier and hard to social distance, but once you got past that, then there was more areas to social distance. I didn't go on any rides as again my sole goal was to see if the Confectionary had cake pops lol. You sense a theme here? Anyway they didn't due to the pandemic and their kitchen is closed so they can't make them. Blah. I walked around and did my first mobile order. I am in love with mobile ordering, so easy and quick. Ate the pulled pork sandwich at the Lunching Pad (only open on weekends) and it was good. Also got a MIckey Pretzel but it was cold.  Will try to get another one tomorrow in the morning. Going back to Disney Springs tonight to have dinner and then HS tomorrow.


----------



## DisneyJade

cjlong88 said:


> Day 1: AK/Epcot/HS
> 
> AK was fantastic in the morning. We rode in our own train on Expedition Everest and our own vehicle in Dinosaur. When walking from EE to Dinosaur we didn’t see a single person. It was crazy. Flight of Passage was posted at 30 but we waited only 20. We did the animation experience and loved it. I finally saw It’s Tough to Be a Bug...so many crying children.



Those would definitely be my kids on ITTBAB, which is why we are NOT doing it. LOL.


----------



## cjlong88

Day 2: HS/MK

Grabbed breakfast at Ale & Compass. Amazing! We used mobile order and ate on the beach before walking to HS. We were in the park by 8:30 am and headed straight for ToT.

As soon as we got to the hotel part of the queue, we were stopped and told it was down. There were only two other parties and all of us looked confused because we could hear the ride still working as elevators reached the top and would drop. We slowly made our way out, the other parties leaving ahead of us. Just as we were about to exit the queue they said it was a false alarm, so we walked back up the queue, but because no one else was with us we got the entire elevator to ourselves. It was AMAZING. We walked onto RnRC, TSM, and had a short wait at MFSR before heading back to Yacht Club. Boarding Group for RotR was called at 12:20 so we walked back, rode it, then took a boat back to the resort to hang out and relax.

Took a bus to MK at 4:00. Rode Space Mountain and HM without a wait. Grabbed a reusable bag and walked over to Enchanted Rose Lounge. The brisket sliders...WOW! I could eat an entire plate of them by myself. The food and cocktails were great. The bill came and we both winced a little. Oops! But we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We are heading back to Yacht Club now. We have a late night reservation at Beaches & Cream. We have had a wonderful trip. We will relax at the resort a bit tomorrow and then we take the DME at 11am.

Yacht Club might be our new favorite resort. The vibe suits us perfectly, and walkability to two parks  is pretty amazing. The refurbished lobby and rooms look beautiful. It’s quiet and spacious. The view of the boardwalk at night is spectacular. Can’t wait to stay there again!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

cjlong88 said:


> Day 2: HS/MK
> 
> Grabbed breakfast at Ale & Compass. Amazing! We used mobile order and ate on the beach before walking to HS. We were in the park by 8:30 am and headed straight for ToT.
> 
> As soon as we got to the hotel part of the queue, we were stopped and told it was down. There were only two other parties and all of us looked confused because we could hear the ride still working as elevators reached the top and would drop. We slowly made our way out, the other parties leaving ahead of us. Just as we were about to exit the queue they said it was a false alarm, so we walked back up the queue, but because no one else was with us we got the entire elevator to ourselves. It was AMAZING. We walked onto RnRC, TSM, and had a short wait at MFSR before heading back to Yacht Club. Boarding Group for RotR was called at 12:20 so we walked back, rode it, then took a boat back to the resort to hang out and relax.
> 
> Took a bus to MK at 4:00. Rode Space Mountain and HM without a wait. Grabbed a reusable bag and walked over to Enchanted Rose Lounge. The brisket sliders...WOW! I could eat an entire plate of them by myself. The food and cocktails were great. The bill came and we both winced a little. Oops! But we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
> 
> We are heading back to Yacht Club now. We have a late night reservation at Beaches & Cream. We have had a wonderful trip. We will relax at the resort a bit tomorrow and then we take the DME at 11am.
> 
> Yacht Club might be our new favorite resort. The vibe suits us perfectly, and walkability to two parks  is pretty amazing. The refurbished lobby and rooms look beautiful. It’s quiet and spacious. The view of the boardwalk at night is spectacular. Can’t wait to stay there again!


Yacht Club is our fave too!  It's funny, the Boardwalk is fun... but the Yacht Club to me seems better because you get the awesome view OF the BW at night - especially if you get a water view room!


----------



## cjlong88

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Yacht Club is our fave too!  It's funny, the Boardwalk is fun... but the Yacht Club to me seems better because you get the awesome view OF the BW at night - especially if you get a water view room!



We said the exact same thing as we were walking around the boardwalk today!


----------



## Wood Nymph

OKWFan88 said:


> Then checked into Saratoga Springs and got pixie dusted to a 2 bedroom preferred section when there is only two of us. lol. Then headed on a bus over to MK about 11AM, only took 10 min for a bus to come by and then had to go to guest relations to activate my AP. The line was LONG, but it moved quickly and it only looked long because of social distancing. Within 10 minutes my AP was activated and I was inside MK. It was insanely busy.


That's a very nice upgrade.  We were at MK last Saturday and it was very busy that day, too.


----------



## only hope

HS today. Tapped in just after 8:30. Walked right up to the temp screening. Walked onto Smugglers Run twice, not placed with strangers. It was _so _empty. Star Tours next- a walk on also. Asked to be distanced from others. CM was hesitant giving me the spiel about plexiglass, then when I explained I'm not comfortable with that he gave me a different row number. I was the first one there; only two other small groups ended up on the flight, so we were very well spaced anyways.

Next was MMRR, posted 30mn wait, actual 25. However, the CM refused to allow me to socially distance from other groups. Insisted the plexiglass made it safe and said unfortunately they were unable to make accommodations. I was very upset and politely complained at guest services, who didn't seem to care; promised to pass it along but did not make an official recording of it like has been done for all my previous compliments/complaints. I wish they had been upfront about their plan to eliminate safe distancing on rides and in queues _before_ the deadline to cancel annual passes was past. I will certainly not be renewing and probably will never go back. Same with Universal.

BG called for Rise and inquired outside about being able to distance on the ride; CM said it shouldn't be a problem. People were literally next to each other in the 



Spoiler



briefing room with plexiglass in between; luckily our spot was by the door and we weren't next to others, or I would've asked to skip it. Same for the transport, some groups were literally  next to each other but our spot was not. We purposefully hung back and were the second to last group to exit the stormtrooper room. I asked the FO officer to be distanced and was ignored; maybe he didn't hear me? Asked the next one and was ignored again, but because we had hung back it was only us and the one group we had left behind, so both our groups rode in our own transport.



At this point BSO was quite crowded and it was difficult to distance. Ate at DB7 outside, not many people out there. The tables at the far left against the rail are literally adjacent with tables on the other side of the wall. Someone didn't think that through. 

TSM posted 30, actual 20. Line was halfway down the entrance to TSL, to the gate on the left. They don't distance here either, groups are placed back to back but since mom needs the accessible vehicle it is not an issue for us.

The park was pretty empty until about 10:00. I think the rain chance kept people away. Later it was difficult to dodge people no matter where you were. We left just after 2 since it was too crowded and we had done everything we wanted to except Muppets and ToT.

Mask compliance was shockingly high, highest I've seen. Saw very few noses and only a few people eating/drinking while walking. I heard CM correcting a few people. However, far more people are not bothering to even try to keep distanced while walking. Too many people also don't pay attention to the markers and end up side by side with people as a result. Some cm's got really close to us while talking too, backed up when I could. Worst one was MFSR, plenty of room for them to stand back while explaining the ride but they get right next to you...

The Disney Visa photo op CM was really bored I think, didn't even look to make sure I had a card. They don't tell you what characters you're getting. We got stormtroopers and K-2SO, I should've figured the second one out when were told to look up. We then wandered around what I think was the relaxation area on the left- tons of beautiful painting replicas there, at least half by Ralph MacQuarrie. No one was relaxing so we took our time appreciating the art. The famous C3PO painting is there. Somehow we never walked that way to see the paintings in the years since Launch Bay was launched.

Asked about pin trading- def at Crossroads and MMRR shop, we went to those; I think he also said near RnR and one of the main stores.

Updated my iphone to newest software last night and today had issues with the MDE app and Play Disney app. Mobile ordered on MDE but when wanted to click I'm here it said MO was down; logged in on my mom's phone and it worked. Play Disney didn't recognize that I'm in the park (location and blutooth on for that app) and it worked on my mom's phone. She has not updated to the latest version. I was really glad the Play Disney app is account based and not device!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

only hope said:


> HS today. Tapped in just after 8:30. Walked right up to the temp screening. Walked onto Smugglers Run twice, not placed with strangers. It was _so _empty. Star Tours next- a walk on also. Asked to be distanced from others. CM was hesitant giving me the spiel about plexiglass, then when I explained I'm not comfortable with that he gave me a different row number. I was the first one there; only two other small groups ended up on the flight, so we were very well spaced anyways.
> 
> Next was MMRR, posted 30mn wait, actual 25. However, the CM refused to allow me to socially distance from other groups. Insisted the plexiglass made it safe and said unfortunately they were unable to make accommodations. I was very upset and politely complained at guest services, who didn't seem to care; promised to pass it along but did not make an official recording of it like has been done for all my previous compliments/complaints. I wish they had been upfront about their plan to eliminate safe distancing on rides and in queues _before_ the deadline to cancel annual passes was past. I will certainly not be renewing and probably will never go back. Same with Universal.
> 
> BG called for Rise and inquired outside about being able to distance on the ride; CM said it shouldn't be a problem. People were literally next to each other in the
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> briefing room with plexiglass in between; luckily our spot was by the door and we weren't next to others, or I would've asked to skip it. Same for the transport, some groups were literally  next to each other but our spot was not. We purposefully hung back and were the second to last group to exit the stormtrooper room. I asked the FO officer to be distanced and was ignored; maybe he didn't hear me? Asked the next one and was ignored again, but because we had hung back it was only us and the one group we had left behind, so both our groups rode in our own transport.
> 
> 
> 
> At this point BSO was quite crowded and it was difficult to distance. Ate at DB7 outside, not many people out there. The tables at the far left against the rail are literally adjacent with tables on the other side of the wall. Someone didn't think that through.
> 
> TSM posted 30, actual 20. Line was halfway down the entrance to TSL, to the gate on the left. They don't distance here either, groups are placed back to back but since mom needs the accessible vehicle it is not an issue for us.
> 
> The park was pretty empty until about 10:00. I think the rain chance kept people away. Later it was difficult to dodge people no matter where you were. We left just after 2 since it was too crowded and we had done everything we wanted to except Muppets and ToT.
> 
> Mask compliance was shockingly high, highest I've seen. Saw very few noses and only a few people eating/drinking while walking. I heard CM correcting a few people. However, far more people are not bothering to even try to keep distanced while walking. Too many people also don't pay attention to the markers and end up side by side with people as a result. Some cm's got really close to us while talking too, backed up when I could. Worst one was MFSR, plenty of room for them to stand back while explaining the ride but they get right next to you...
> 
> The Disney Visa photo op CM was really bored I think, didn't even look to make sure I had a card. They don't tell you what characters you're getting. We got stormtroopers and K-2SO, I should've figured the second one out when were told to look up. We then wandered around what I think was the relaxation area on the left- tons of beautiful painting replicas there, at least half by Ralph MacQuarrie. No one was relaxing so we took our time appreciating the art. The famous C3PO painting is there. Somehow we never walked that way to see the paintings in the years since Launch Bay was launched.
> 
> Asked about pin trading- def at Crossroads and MMRR shop, we went to those; I think he also said near RnR and one of the main stores.
> 
> Updated my iphone to newest software last night and today had issues with the MDE app and Play Disney app. Mobile ordered on MDE but when wanted to click I'm here it said MO was down; logged in on my mom's phone and it worked. Play Disney didn't recognize that I'm in the park (location and blutooth on for that app) and it worked on my mom's phone. She has not updated to the latest version. I was really glad the Play Disney app is account based and not device!


If you think that being back to back on TSMM poses a COVID risk I’d say that WDW parks are probably not the place for you right now.  I think WDW is doing everything they can right now to balance ride capacity and distancing in a safe manner.  We felt safe at all times on our trip the last week of January - and the only times that we even faced something that some people may have considered an issue was as a result of other guests’ idiocy, NOT Disney’s procedures.

I’m also not sure what you want guest services to do... can you imagine if every guest requested special treatment on each ride?  Those wait times would be 3-4x what they are.  It’s just not feasible.  At the end of the day it comes down to Sustained Close Contact, right?  And Disney (IMO) has done everything they can to help people avoid that!


----------



## only hope

When they first reopened, _every _ride and queue was distanced. They should not have deviated from that. Capacity should not have been increased- that’s when they made these changes. The only reason I kept my pass was _because _distancing was in place everywhere and I’m local, so pre-covid Disney was a normal part of my life. Went 15+ times a year. With the new more contagious strains starting to spread, it’s even more important to keep people apart. The website still states that physical distancing is in place even though it’s not in some places- I’m just asking to follow what is on their website and to keep the distance all the studies say we should.


----------



## Aimeedyan

To be fair, they have changed some of their safety procedures as time has gone by and IMO best practices have not changed that much.

For instance, I've not seen a single "cleaning cycle" in a couple of months. I can't even remember the last time I saw one and we hit them ALL THE TIME back in the fall. Maybe they do them but not as frequently? Or did they quietly go away?

Now, I'm not concerned about surface transmission but it's a change from the beginning.

They used to space out parties on things like HM, Buzz, Nemo, LM, etc. Not anymore. It helps with capacity, no doubt, but you are quite close to those parties at some points and it's esp troublesome when the group next to you promptly lowers their mask when the ride begins or when the ride stops for a long while.

I think the crowds in WS on the weekends has been downright irresponsible, personally, especially in World Showplace where the vast majority are unmasked and it was shoulder to shoulder at points.

All that to say - we are AP's, semi-local, and go a lot. I have noticed lots of changes since July and we pivot when we're faced with those changes we aren't comfortable with. I do think Disney has been a bit sly in not sharing "safety" changes when they made them... but as long as people continue to come, I guess they figure it's okay.

We all have different levels of comfort and it doesn't mean the person that's more cautious should just stay locked inside until this whole thing is over. I think we CAN do "life" safely and it's important that potential guests know what situations have changed so they can make their own decision in their park plans (esp helpful to know in advance that CM's may refuse to accommodate you when you ask about spacing so you aren't caught off guard since that is often suggested).


----------



## scrappinginontario

only hope said:


> When they first reopened, _every _ride and queue was distanced. They should not have deviated from that. Capacity should not have been increased- that’s when they made these changes. The only reason I kept my pass was _because _distancing was in place everywhere and I’m local, so pre-covid Disney was a normal part of my life. Went 15+ times a year. With the new more contagious strains starting to spread, it’s even more important to keep people apart. The website still states that physical distancing is in place even though it’s not in some places- I’m just asking to follow what is on their website and to keep the distance all the studies say we should.


Its been widely shared here what capacity is like and what social distancing is/is not happening right now.  Disney is doing a great job of keeping people as safe as they can.  Each person needs to decide if they’re comfortable going with rides set up as they are right now.  It’s unfair to go and ask Disney to do something special for those who are more comfortable with things differently.

As much as I love Disney and feel they’re doing a great job, I wouldn’t feel comfortable thus I stay home.  Even if I has an AP,  I wouldn’t go.  Each person must decide what their comfort level is and if they should go now.


----------



## Malestrom Troll

If you feel Disney should reduce capacity to what it was when they first opened, then local AP would not be able to get park passes. There are more resort guests right now then what the capacity of the parks were in July and August.


----------



## MomOTwins

Disney was always clear that they expected capacity to go up as time goes on.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Aimeedyan said:


> To be fair, they have changed some of their safety procedures as time has gone by and IMO best practices have not changed that much.
> 
> For instance, I've not seen a single "cleaning cycle" in a couple of months. I can't even remember the last time I saw one and we hit them ALL THE TIME back in the fall. Maybe they do them but not as frequently? Or did they quietly go away?
> 
> Now, I'm not concerned about surface transmission but it's a change from the beginning.
> 
> They used to space out parties on things like HM, Buzz, Nemo, LM, etc. Not anymore. It helps with capacity, no doubt, but you are quite close to those parties at some points and it's esp troublesome when the group next to you promptly lowers their mask when the ride begins or when the ride stops for a long while.
> 
> I think the crowds in WS on the weekends has been downright irresponsible, personally, especially in World Showplace where the vast majority are unmasked and it was shoulder to shoulder at points.
> 
> All that to say - we are AP's, semi-local, and go a lot. I have noticed lots of changes since July and we pivot when we're faced with those changes we aren't comfortable with. I do think Disney has been a bit sly in not sharing "safety" changes when they made them... but as long as people continue to come, I guess they figure it's okay.
> 
> We all have different levels of comfort and it doesn't mean the person that's more cautious should just stay locked inside until this whole thing is over. I think we CAN do "life" safely and it's important that potential guests know what situations have changed so they can make their own decision in their park plans (esp helpful to know in advance that CM's may refuse to accommodate you when you ask about spacing so you aren't caught off guard since that is often suggested).


I think it's unrealistic to expect that things won't change over time as the virus situation changes, as Disney comes up with new ways to balance safety and capacity, and as the comfort level of the general population changes.  In an ideal world they would make formal announcements in advance of when and specifically what the changes will be, but that would be a PR and a logistical nightmare.  I feel that anyone traveling during a pandemic should be prepared for last minute changes that may or may not effect your comfort level.  I also think it's unreasonable to expect that every guest feeling uncomfortable should be given special treatment.


----------



## Just654

I am sure this had been answered before. But are most Disney World Parks opening parking lots about an hour before park open? Then letting in about 45-30mins before actual open time? I know rides may or may not be running.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

*Was "Here Now"... Not really "Just Back" anymore... a ONE WEEK later update!  *I hope this helps some folks as they decide _should we go now_:

One of the most common things I see on this thread and in other places on the DIS is concern over "IS THE MAGIC THERE RIGHT NOW".  I must admit that in the months leading up to our late January trip (basically starting in July of 2020 up until we boarded the plane on Jan 26th) I was torn and conflicted about whether the WDW I was about to visit could live up to my lofty expectations.

Over our roughly 11 annual Jan/Feb visits (and 18 trips overall) to WDW we had honed in our specific preferences while also continually increasing our budget to meet our preferences.  In the past three years we had settled in as a Deluxe Only, Split-Stay family with an 8-day largely commando-style touring plan.  (I'm not saying this to impress you, just to note how we typically approach WDW - and of course those of you familiar with me on the I Love CC threads know that these trips end up costing us nothing).  Basically I point that out to say that we have high expectations of a Disney World trip.

That said - here was my list of things I was concerned about leading up to the trip:

No Character Meet & Greets - we meet A TON of characters I'd say 30-40 a trip.
Lack of FastPass and having to deal with standby lines - we leveraged refresh strategies to rarely hit a standby line of over 10 mins.
Restrictions on Snacking - i.e. I can't just grab a Starbucks or a Churro and enjoy it along the way
Missing night-time entertainment (HEA, Fantasmic, and Star Wars Galactic Spectacular) - not only would we see each of these shows, we'd often stake out a spot well in advance for our preferred seat and then grab some snacks - they were a HUGE part of our evenings.
No Shows (BatB, Indy, LM, FotLK, Nemo) - we saw every one of them, every trip
General Lack of Atmosphere - seemingly felt on Main Street, in DHS, and especially in World Showcase
Constant Reminders of the Pandemic (plexiglass in lines, announcements breaking in over the themed music, masks EVERYWHERE)
Ride modifications (missing pre-shows, added plexi-glass, inability to request a certain seat, and other elements adjusted)
First off, I don't want to sugar coat things... all of these elements had an effect on our trip.  It was certainly not the WDW that we had come to know and love.  And in some ways, we missed many of the elements during our 6 days in Orlando.  But I'll tell you what... *one week later, none of those bullet points resonate with me!*

All I have in my head right now are happy memories!  I'm riding that post-Disney trip high that I always get!  At dinner each night this past week our family said "one week ago today we were doing XXXXX" just like we always do after a WDW trip.  Even now as I type this, I have a smile on my face thinking about that ride on Splash Mountain, the humor at the Frozen show in DHS, the Steak I had at Le Cellier, and a bunch of other happy thoughts!

All of those missing elements, those concerns, could've easily forced me to cancel this trip.  But one week later, I am VERY GLAD that I did not.  I'll also say that we're blessed that this trip cost us nothing due to my penchant for leveraging credit card rewards. Had this been a once in five years trip, perhaps we wouldn't have gone.

I am by no means suggesting that any person reading this is the same as me, and so maybe you won't feel that way one week later... but that is a LONG list, and a valid list, and for us, none of it mattered once we got to our happy place.

*TL;DR:* *One Week Later... I'm really glad we went!*


----------



## kengquist

SouthFayetteFan said:


> *Was "Here Now"... Not really "Just Back" anymore... a ONE WEEK later update!  *I hope this helps some folks as they decide _should we go now_:
> 
> One of the most common things I see on this thread and in other places on the DIS is concern over "IS THE MAGIC THERE RIGHT NOW".  I must admit that in the months leading up to our late January trip (basically starting in July of 2020 up until we boarded the plane on Jan 26th) I was torn and conflicted about whether the WDW I was about to visit could live up to my lofty expectations.
> 
> Over our roughly 11 annual Jan/Feb visits (and 18 trips overall) to WDW we had honed in our specific preferences while also continually increasing our budget to meet our preferences.  In the past three years we had settled in as a Deluxe Only, Split-Stay family with an 8-day largely commando-style touring plan.  (I'm not saying this to impress you, just to note how we typically approach WDW - and of course those of you familiar with me on the I Love CC threads know that these trips end up costing us nothing).  Basically I point that out to say that we have high expectations of a Disney World trip.
> 
> That said - here was my list of things I was concerned about leading up to the trip:
> 
> No Character Meet & Greets - we meet A TON of characters I'd say 30-40 a trip.
> Lack of FastPass and having to deal with standby lines - we leveraged refresh strategies to rarely hit a standby line of over 10 mins.
> Restrictions on Snacking - i.e. I can't just grab a Starbucks or a Churro and enjoy it along the way
> Missing night-time entertainment (HEA, Fantasmic, and Star Wars Galactic Spectacular) - not only would we see each of these shows, we'd often stake out a spot well in advance for our preferred seat and then grab some snacks - they were a HUGE part of our evenings.
> No Shows (BatB, Indy, LM, FotLK, Nemo) - we saw every one of them, every trip
> General Lack of Atmosphere - seemingly felt on Main Street, in DHS, and especially in World Showcase
> Constant Reminders of the Pandemic (plexiglass in lines, announcements breaking in over the themed music, masks EVERYWHERE)
> Ride modifications (missing pre-shows, added plexi-glass, inability to request a certain seat, and other elements adjusted)
> First off, I don't want to sugar coat things... all of these elements had an effect on our trip.  It was certainly not the WDW that we had come to know and love.  And in some ways, we missed many of the elements during our 6 days in Orlando.  But I'll tell you what... *one week later, none of those bullet points resonate with me!*
> 
> All I have in my head right now are happy memories!  I'm riding that post-Disney trip high that I always get!  At dinner each night this past week our family said "one week ago today we were doing XXXXX" just like we always do after a WDW trip.  Even now as I type this, I have a smile on my face thinking about that ride on Splash Mountain, the humor at the Frozen show in DHS, the Steak I had at Le Cellier, and a bunch of other happy thoughts!
> 
> All of those missing elements, those concerns, could've easily forced me to cancel this trip.  But one week later, I am VERY GLAD that I did not.  I'll also say that we're blessed that this trip cost us nothing due to my penchant for leveraging credit card rewards. Had this been a once in five years trip, perhaps we wouldn't have gone.
> 
> I am by no means suggesting that any person reading this is the same as me, and so maybe you won't feel that way one week later... but that is a LONG list, and a valid list, and for us, none of it mattered once we got to our happy place.
> 
> *TL;DR:* *One Week Later... I'm really glad we went!*


So glad you posted this. I think we all have some reservations. But your post makes me less worried.
Please explain the snack situation. What food and drinks are available outside of restaurants? You mentioned not being able to eat or drink when you’re walking. I wasn’t aware of that. I’m just trying to get a feel for what to expect as far as food and drinks.


----------



## GBRforWDW

SouthFayetteFan said:


> *Was "Here Now"... Not really "Just Back" anymore... a ONE WEEK later update!  *I hope this helps some folks as they decide _should we go now_:
> 
> One of the most common things I see on this thread and in other places on the DIS is concern over "IS THE MAGIC THERE RIGHT NOW".  I must admit that in the months leading up to our late January trip (basically starting in July of 2020 up until we boarded the plane on Jan 26th) I was torn and conflicted about whether the WDW I was about to visit could live up to my lofty expectations.
> 
> Over our roughly 11 annual Jan/Feb visits (and 18 trips overall) to WDW we had honed in our specific preferences while also continually increasing our budget to meet our preferences.  In the past three years we had settled in as a Deluxe Only, Split-Stay family with an 8-day largely commando-style touring plan.  (I'm not saying this to impress you, just to note how we typically approach WDW - and of course those of you familiar with me on the I Love CC threads know that these trips end up costing us nothing).  Basically I point that out to say that we have high expectations of a Disney World trip.
> 
> That said - here was my list of things I was concerned about leading up to the trip:
> 
> No Character Meet & Greets - we meet A TON of characters I'd say 30-40 a trip.
> Lack of FastPass and having to deal with standby lines - we leveraged refresh strategies to rarely hit a standby line of over 10 mins.
> Restrictions on Snacking - i.e. I can't just grab a Starbucks or a Churro and enjoy it along the way
> Missing night-time entertainment (HEA, Fantasmic, and Star Wars Galactic Spectacular) - not only would we see each of these shows, we'd often stake out a spot well in advance for our preferred seat and then grab some snacks - they were a HUGE part of our evenings.
> No Shows (BatB, Indy, LM, FotLK, Nemo) - we saw every one of them, every trip
> General Lack of Atmosphere - seemingly felt on Main Street, in DHS, and especially in World Showcase
> Constant Reminders of the Pandemic (plexiglass in lines, announcements breaking in over the themed music, masks EVERYWHERE)
> Ride modifications (missing pre-shows, added plexi-glass, inability to request a certain seat, and other elements adjusted)
> First off, I don't want to sugar coat things... all of these elements had an effect on our trip.  It was certainly not the WDW that we had come to know and love.  And in some ways, we missed many of the elements during our 6 days in Orlando.  But I'll tell you what... *one week later, none of those bullet points resonate with me!*
> 
> All I have in my head right now are happy memories!  I'm riding that post-Disney trip high that I always get!  At dinner each night this past week our family said "one week ago today we were doing XXXXX" just like we always do after a WDW trip.  Even now as I type this, I have a smile on my face thinking about that ride on Splash Mountain, the humor at the Frozen show in DHS, the Steak I had at Le Cellier, and a bunch of other happy thoughts!
> 
> All of those missing elements, those concerns, could've easily forced me to cancel this trip.  But one week later, I am VERY GLAD that I did not.  I'll also say that we're blessed that this trip cost us nothing due to my penchant for leveraging credit card rewards. Had this been a once in five years trip, perhaps we wouldn't have gone.
> 
> I am by no means suggesting that any person reading this is the same as me, and so maybe you won't feel that way one week later... but that is a LONG list, and a valid list, and for us, none of it mattered once we got to our happy place.
> 
> *TL;DR:* *One Week Later... I'm really glad we went!*


Great points!  My 40th birthday was exactly 1 month ago, now ya got me thinking about how on that morning we rode 5 rides in the first 2-3 hours including Rise of the resistance at Hollywood Studios.  About this time we were finishing our droid build and getting ready to eat at Sci Fi.   I wanna go back!!!  

I totally concur though, if you go in with the attitude of seeing what you can do now, rather than focusing on what used to be and what you can’t do, you’ll have a great trip.


----------



## MinnieMSue

SouthFayetteFan said:


> *Was "Here Now"... Not really "Just Back" anymore... a ONE WEEK later update!  *I hope this helps some folks as they decide _should we go now_:
> 
> One of the most common things I see on this thread and in other places on the DIS is concern over "IS THE MAGIC THERE RIGHT NOW".  I must admit that in the months leading up to our late January trip (basically starting in July of 2020 up until we boarded the plane on Jan 26th) I was torn and conflicted about whether the WDW I was about to visit could live up to my lofty expectations.
> 
> Over our roughly 11 annual Jan/Feb visits (and 18 trips overall) to WDW we had honed in our specific preferences while also continually increasing our budget to meet our preferences.  In the past three years we had settled in as a Deluxe Only, Split-Stay family with an 8-day largely commando-style touring plan.  (I'm not saying this to impress you, just to note how we typically approach WDW - and of course those of you familiar with me on the I Love CC threads know that these trips end up costing us nothing).  Basically I point that out to say that we have high expectations of a Disney World trip.
> 
> That said - here was my list of things I was concerned about leading up to the trip:
> 
> No Character Meet & Greets - we meet A TON of characters I'd say 30-40 a trip.
> Lack of FastPass and having to deal with standby lines - we leveraged refresh strategies to rarely hit a standby line of over 10 mins.
> Restrictions on Snacking - i.e. I can't just grab a Starbucks or a Churro and enjoy it along the way
> Missing night-time entertainment (HEA, Fantasmic, and Star Wars Galactic Spectacular) - not only would we see each of these shows, we'd often stake out a spot well in advance for our preferred seat and then grab some snacks - they were a HUGE part of our evenings.
> No Shows (BatB, Indy, LM, FotLK, Nemo) - we saw every one of them, every trip
> General Lack of Atmosphere - seemingly felt on Main Street, in DHS, and especially in World Showcase
> Constant Reminders of the Pandemic (plexiglass in lines, announcements breaking in over the themed music, masks EVERYWHERE)
> Ride modifications (missing pre-shows, added plexi-glass, inability to request a certain seat, and other elements adjusted)
> First off, I don't want to sugar coat things... all of these elements had an effect on our trip.  It was certainly not the WDW that we had come to know and love.  And in some ways, we missed many of the elements during our 6 days in Orlando.  But I'll tell you what... *one week later, none of those bullet points resonate with me!*
> 
> All I have in my head right now are happy memories!  I'm riding that post-Disney trip high that I always get!  At dinner each night this past week our family said "one week ago today we were doing XXXXX" just like we always do after a WDW trip.  Even now as I type this, I have a smile on my face thinking about that ride on Splash Mountain, the humor at the Frozen show in DHS, the Steak I had at Le Cellier, and a bunch of other happy thoughts!
> 
> All of those missing elements, those concerns, could've easily forced me to cancel this trip.  But one week later, I am VERY GLAD that I did not.  I'll also say that we're blessed that this trip cost us nothing due to my penchant for leveraging credit card rewards. Had this been a once in five years trip, perhaps we wouldn't have gone.
> 
> I am by no means suggesting that any person reading this is the same as me, and so maybe you won't feel that way one week later... but that is a LONG list, and a valid list, and for us, none of it mattered once we got to our happy place.
> 
> *TL;DR:* *One Week Later... I'm really glad we went!*



we felt pretty much the same way when we went I. September. No regrets at all. Looking forward to spring break now. Sometimes it is a matter of is your glass half empty or half full. We try really hard to be half full people.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

kengquist said:


> So glad you posted this. I think we all have some reservations. But your post makes me less worried.
> Please explain the snack situation. What food and drinks are available outside of restaurants? You mentioned not being able to eat or drink when you’re walking. I wasn’t aware of that. I’m just trying to get a feel for what to expect as far as food and drinks.


So it's worth noting that Disney's rule (and they announce it every 15-30 mins it seems while you're in the park) is that you can only remove your mask to snack or drink while stationary.  You can't just walk and eat.

For us I think this came down to our personal preference on how we snack.  We rarely will stop and sit down to enjoy a snack.  On a TYPICAL trip, most mornings we would grab Starbucks but then drink them while waiting in a character line.  We would also grab a churro or pretzel and eat them in lines or while waiting for an outdoor show to start.  We also liked to get Ice Cream while sitting in our spot for the fireworks or Fantasmic.  Again, these are all really personal preferences.  We could've easily fit in snacks in the current setup if we wanted to stop and sit down and eat... we just didn't want to lol!

Our snacks on this trip consisted of:
Day 1 Epcot - Nothing;
Day 2 MK - Dole Whip (we grabbed a bench)
Day 3 DHS - Nothing
Day 4 MK - Dole Whip at Poly during our afternoon "get out of the crowds" break.
Day 5 AK - Popcorn which we ate on a bench while waiting for the Bird show to start (we might have taken liberties with the rules on this one

This was pretty atypical for us as normally we'd have had 2-3 snacks a day at each park.  We also grabbed popcorn each day before leaving the parks and my wife and I enjoyed it on the balcony after the kids went to sleep.  We replaced some of these snacks by eating some really great meals and mixing in a dessert or two at those meals.  We also did a Ice Cream only ADR at Beaches And Cream our last night.


----------



## Chris Ehlers

Ok just back from trip 2/4-2/7  and I have to call Disney BS on the the whole social distancing thing.  This has been out 4th trip since reopening.  They are no longer separating guest on FOP you are now riding shoulder to shoulder with other riders unless you request spacing!!!!!!!  but yet if you ride the train to Rafiki's you only get 3 groups per train ride outside  WTH  can some one explain this to me ?????


----------



## kengquist

SouthFayetteFan said:


> So it's worth noting that Disney's rule (and they announce it every 15-30 mins it seems while you're in the park) is that you can only remove your mask to snack or drink while stationary.  You can't just walk and eat.
> 
> For us I think this came down to our personal preference on how we snack.  We rarely will stop and sit down to enjoy a snack.  On a TYPICAL trip, most mornings we would grab Starbucks but then drink them while waiting in a character line.  We would also grab a churro or pretzel and eat them in lines or while waiting for an outdoor show to start.  We also liked to get Ice Cream while sitting in our spot for the fireworks or Fantasmic.  Again, these are all really personal preferences.  We could've easily fit in snacks in the current setup if we wanted to stop and sit down and eat... we just didn't want to lol!
> 
> Our snacks on this trip consisted of:
> Day 1 Epcot - Nothing;
> Day 2 MK - Dole Whip (we grabbed a bench)
> Day 3 DHS - Nothing
> Day 4 MK - Dole Whip at Poly during our afternoon "get out of the crowds" break.
> Day 5 AK - Popcorn which we ate on a bench while waiting for the Bird show to start (we might have taken liberties with the rules on this one
> 
> This was pretty atypical for us as normally we'd have had 2-3 snacks a day at each park.  We also grabbed popcorn each day before leaving the parks and my wife and I enjoyed it on the balcony after the kids went to sleep.  We replaced some of these snacks by eating some really great meals and mixing in a dessert or two at those meals.  We also did a Ice Cream only ADR at Beaches And Cream our last night.


Do you use refillable water bottles?


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Chris Ehlers said:


> Ok just back from trip 2/4-2/7  and i have to call Disney BS on the the whole social distancing thing.  This has been out 4th trip since reopening.  They are no longer separating guest on FOP you are now riding shoulder to shoulder with other riders unless you request spacing!!!!!!!  but yet if you ride the train to Rafiki's you only get 3 groups per train ride outside  ***   can some one explain this to me ?????


My 2 thoughts:

1) The amount of time spent in the chair at FoP is short (5 minutes?) and everybody is still wearing a mask for the duration of the ride.

2) Wildlife Express is a longer duration (10-ish minutes I'd say with load/unload time).  Also, the procedures for the Wildlife Express might be as much about controlling capacity at Rafiki's Planet Watch/Conservation Station as it is about distancing.  They could fit more people on the train, but then where would they go once they got there?  I felt like the day we were there, Rafiki's was basically at capacity with the number of folks hanging out in that area.  And it would've been difficult for them to really stage more people in the load/unload area to efficiently board and turnover trains quickly.

EDIT: I'll add that a lot of people are going on the Wildlife Express to do the Animation Academy too, and when we were there the class we sat in (Drew Dumbo ) was 100% full (distanced appropriately) - I was glad that the train didn't allow more people to get to that area because it could've gotten a little crazy for our liking!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

kengquist said:


> Do you use refillable water bottles?


We stayed at the Swan, they gave us "free" Dasani bottles (I guess that's what our resort fee bought us).  So we just took 2 of those a day.


----------



## NC State

kengquist said:


> Do you use refillable water bottles?


We love the refillable water bottles stations, I just wish I could find a map with them listed. We were there the last week of October and it was 90 degrees everyday.


----------



## pascalspal

kengquist said:


> Do you use refillable water bottles?



I used my refillable bottle this past weekend. It is not always super easy to find refill locations, but I found a few in ride lines. When I was out I typically gabbed a coffee from starbucks to take a break and asked for large ice waters to refill my bottle. Worked out well for me!


----------



## kengquist

SouthFayetteFan said:


> We stayed at the Swan, they gave us "free" Dasani bottles (I guess that's what our resort fee bought us).  So we just took 2 of those a day.


Can you buy bottled water in the parks?


----------



## pascalspal

kengquist said:


> Can you buy bottled water in the parks?



Yes, but if I remember correctly its around $4+ per bottle. You can get free tap water at most food locations usually if you dont want to pay for water each time!


----------



## Chris Ehlers

pascalspal said:


> I used my refillable bottle this past weekend. It is not always super easy to find refill locations, but I found a few in ride lines. When I was out I typically gabbed a coffee from starbucks to take a break and asked for large ice waters to refill my bottle. Worked out well for me!


you can get free glasses of water at any quickservice restaurant


----------



## Toad_Passenger

Will fill in more details later, but just returned from a 1/31-2/6 trip.

Sunday-Friday were some of the best times I have had at WDW over the years. Mask usage was easily 98%+, people followed the spacings to a T, crowds were low enough that our family of 4 was always given our own car/boat/seats (even on FOP we were by ourselves), it was awesome. Saturday 2/6 saw crowds nearly double and ended up being a disaster in MK as the rules seemed to go out the window for guests and CM’s. So glad we got everything done during the week so we could just find a space to chill and stay safe on our last day.


----------



## Cotta

kengquist said:


> So glad you posted this. I think we all have some reservations. But your post makes me less worried.
> Please explain the snack situation. What food and drinks are available outside of restaurants? You mentioned not being able to eat or drink when you’re walking. I wasn’t aware of that. I’m just trying to get a feel for what to expect as far as food and drinks.


I will say one of the things we noticed right away was we did not want to waste time sitting around finishing drinks. My daughter is a starbucks fanatic so that sort of became an issue. We ended up sharing lots of drinks. Also at the Arts Festival I probably would have purchased more drinks to try but didn't want to stand around to drink them. Snacks were never as big of an issue for us as I would normally sit down to eat anyway.


----------



## Orion Nebula

Toad_Passenger said:


> Will fill in more details later, but just returned from a 1/31-2/6 trip.
> 
> Sunday-Friday were some of the best times I have had at WDW over the years. Mask usage was easily 98%+, people followed the spacings to a T, crowds were low enough that our family of 4 was always given our own car/boat/seats (even on FOP we were by ourselves), it was awesome. Saturday 2/6 saw crowds nearly double and ended up being a disaster in MK as the rules seemed to go out the window for guests and CM’s. So glad we got everything done during the week so we could just find a space to chill and stay safe on our last day.



It seems like the weekend crowds have been getting worse and worse. Which makes me wonder if the capacity limits are too high... I mean not enough people should be allowed in to make say mainstreet "normal".


----------



## OhioWDWDuo

SouthFayetteFan said:


> 1) The amount of time spent in the chair at FoP is short (5 minutes?) and everybody is still wearing a mask for the duration of the ride.



True, IF everyone keeps their masks on properly. When we went in September, there was 1 open seat left between my party and another group. Once the ride started, the other group moved their masks down to chin-straps. It was very uncomfortable. If Disney is going to get rid of social distancing, then mask enforcement needs to be important. Once the ride starts, you are stuck and cannot remove yourself from an uncomfortable situation.


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## Chris Ehlers

SouthFayetteFan said:


> My 2 thoughts:
> 
> 1) The amount of time spent in the chair at FoP is short (5 minutes?) and everybody is still wearing a mask for the duration of the ride.
> 
> 2) Wildlife Express is a longer duration (10-ish minutes I'd say with load/unload time).  Also, the procedures for the Wildlife Express might be as much about controlling capacity at Rafiki's Planet Watch/Conservation Station as it is about distancing.  They could fit more people on the train, but then where would they go once they got there?  I felt like the day we were there, Rafiki's was basically at capacity with the number of folks hanging out in that area.  And it would've been difficult for them to really stage more people in the load/unload area to efficiently board and turnover trains quickly.
> 
> EDIT: I'll add that a lot of people are going on the Wildlife Express to do the Animation Academy too, and when we were there the class we sat in (Drew Dumbo ) was 100% full (distanced appropriately) - I was glad that the train didn't allow more people to get to that area because it could've gotten a little crazy for our liking!


The train ride is only 5 min as well and its outside.  and a new train arrives every 5-7 min so im not seeing your point.  they dont just run the train for the Animation Station.


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## Aimeedyan

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I think it's unrealistic to expect that things won't change over time as the virus situation changes, as Disney comes up with new ways to balance safety and capacity, and as the comfort level of the general population changes.  In an ideal world they would make formal announcements in advance of when and specifically what the changes will be, but that would be a PR and a logistical nightmare.  I feel that anyone traveling during a pandemic should be prepared for last minute changes that may or may not effect your comfort level.  I also think it's unreasonable to expect that every guest feeling uncomfortable should be given special treatment.



I agree! Disney is damned if they do, damned if they don't. There are no easy answers here. I do think we should show grace to people who went under the impression that certain things were being done (because the PR campaign promised them initially) OR were encouraged to simply ask the CM to make an accommodation for them (tons of people have posted personal experiences with that being doable) and find those things haven't happened. They would, understandably, come away discouraged. 

I always scratch my head at people who come home and say they feel safer at Disney than at the grocery store at home because that is NOT my experience at ALL and it won't be for many, many people. It's a false sense of security and could be jarring for someone to find themselves in a situation that is not what they expected. It's a reminder to me to be careful in what picture I paint regarding safety in telling others about it.


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## Ellester

Arrived yesterday afternoon. Drove from Georgia, very little traffic on 75 or Turnpike. Travel party includes me, hubby, 4 kids (22, 19, 16, & 12) and my mom who is using a rented scooter. Had dinner at the resort and then went to play Fantasia Golf (mom stayed at resort). They wouldn’t even let our family of 6 together! Kids went first and hubby and I were a hole behind. We played that way but obviously thought it was a bit silly to separate a nuclear family! Fun time, first time we have played mini golf at Disney! We did the “fun”side, we may try to go back later in the week for the “serious” side that is really like a mini-golf course!


Today, Mon 2/8 was AK. We got to our busstop at Old Key West at 6:55am and we all alone at the busstop. Bus arrived at 6:58am and was empty, no one got on at any other stop so we had a private bus. Arrived at AK at 7:20 a supervisor came on the bus to talk to the driver and then told us we couldn’t get off the bus until 7:30? The driver told us that he was confused since he had to be at work at 5:30am and start driving shortly after 6. Then, the busses that arrived after us starting unloading anyway so our driver told us to go ahead and get off. Parking lot was open and people were entering from the lot as we pulled in. Right through temp check and turnstiles and headed to Pandora. Took us 10 minutes to get on FoP, all of that was walking through the queue without stopping. Off at 8:07am, quick bathroom break and then into Navi River Journey queue since it was posted at 20 minutes. Actually took 15. Queue was substantially longer once we got off. Headed to EE and walked on, train wasn’t even full. Hubby and kids rode again with no wait. Tried for the Zoom Photopass picture but it wasn’t open yet. Walked on Triceratop Spin and Dinosaur right after. Wanted a snack so headed to Isle of Java for coffee, pretzels and a Tiger tail. Walked on Safari at 11:03, had to wait for the giraffes to get off the path so longer trip than normal. Very cool to have them so close though! Lunch at Satu’li Canteen. My mom has a pepper allergy so we had to go to the register to order, they were great with it and lunch was delicious! Two kids wanted Dole Whips for dessert so we got those and then headed to the “Feathered Friends in Flight Show”. We all really really enjoyed it. Wanted to ride the train to Conservation Station but it was down for a problem and didn’t come back online by the time we were ready to leave. There was a 15 minute wait for the gorilla trail and we didn’t feel like waiting so we headed back towards Everest. Hubby and kids rode Everest again, no wait and then went right back on without even going through the queue (consensus was the CM thought our 19yo was cute!) Did the zoom Photopass picture then headed back to Pandora since FoP was showing at 15 minute wait. Got in line at 3:02 and on at 3:21, so just over the quoted time. Every seat was full, queue was well distanced, exiting out was not. The stairwell out was packed. We left room in front of us but had people right behind. It was really the only time we felt crowded all day. We had to stop by guest services on the way out to relink our oldest’s tickets with my app so we can try for RotR passes tomorrow. Left the park at 4:00. 


We are glad we got there early and really felt the crowds were super minimal until after lunch and event then they were very manageable. Heading to Disney Springs for dinner at Raglan Road shortly, we’ll see how comfortable we feel over there! Plan is for HS tomorrow.


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## CapnJacksGirl

Ellester said:


> Today, Mon 2/8 was AK. We got to our busstop at Old Key West at 6:55am and we all alone at the busstop. Bus arrived at 6:58am and was empty, no one got on at any other stop so we had a private bus. Arrived at AK at 7:20 a supervisor came on the bus to talk to the driver and then told us we couldn’t get off the bus until 7:30? The driver told us that he was confused since he had to be at work at 5:30am and start driving shortly after 6. Then, the busses that arrived after us starting unloading anyway so our driver told us to go ahead and get off. Parking lot was open and people were entering from the lot as we pulled in.



Thanks for your report!!  

I'll be following you closely since we too will be at OKW in a couple of weeks and I've been wondering how early buses have been working from there.  Sounds like not much difference on early arrival to AK between the bus and what Lyft be.  Do you mind me asking where in OKW you are boarding?  We asked for Peninsular Road, but I realize requests aren't always granted.  

Sounds like you had a great day.....here's to hoping for just as much fun tomorrow!


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## MinnieMSue

Ellester said:


> Arrived yesterday afternoon. Drove from Georgia, very little traffic on 75 or Turnpike. Travel party includes me, hubby, 4 kids (22, 19, 16, & 12) and my mom who is using a rented scooter. Had dinner at the resort and then went to play Fantasia Golf (mom stayed at resort). They wouldn’t even let our family of 6 together! Kids went first and hubby and I were a hole behind. We played that way but obviously thought it was a bit silly to separate a nuclear family! Fun time, first time we have played mini golf at Disney! We did the “fun”side, we may try to go back later in the week for the “serious” side that is really like a mini-golf course!
> 
> 
> Today, Mon 2/8 was AK. We got to our busstop at Old Key West at 6:55am and we all alone at the busstop. Bus arrived at 6:58am and was empty, no one got on at any other stop so we had a private bus. Arrived at AK at 7:20 a supervisor came on the bus to talk to the driver and then told us we couldn’t get off the bus until 7:30? The driver told us that he was confused since he had to be at work at 5:30am and start driving shortly after 6. Then, the busses that arrived after us starting unloading anyway so our driver told us to go ahead and get off. Parking lot was open and people were entering from the lot as we pulled in. Right through temp check and turnstiles and headed to Pandora. Took us 10 minutes to get on FoP, all of that was walking through the queue without stopping. Off at 8:07am, quick bathroom break and then into Navi River Journey queue since it was posted at 20 minutes. Actually took 15. Queue was substantially longer once we got off. Headed to EE and walked on, train wasn’t even full. Hubby and kids rode again with no wait. Tried for the Zoom Photopass picture but it wasn’t open yet. Walked on Triceratop Spin and Dinosaur right after. Wanted a snack so headed to Isle of Java for coffee, pretzels and a Tiger tail. Walked on Safari at 11:03, had to wait for the giraffes to get off the path so longer trip than normal. Very cool to have them so close though! Lunch at Satu’li Canteen. My mom has a pepper allergy so we had to go to the register to order, they were great with it and lunch was delicious! Two kids wanted Dole Whips for dessert so we got those and then headed to the “Feathered Friends in Flight Show”. We all really really enjoyed it. Wanted to ride the train to Conservation Station but it was down for a problem and didn’t come back online by the time we were ready to leave. There was a 15 minute wait for the gorilla trail and we didn’t feel like waiting so we headed back towards Everest. Hubby and kids rode Everest again, no wait and then went right back on without even going through the queue (consensus was the CM thought our 19yo was cute!) Did the zoom Photopass picture then headed back to Pandora since FoP was showing at 15 minute wait. Got in line at 3:02 and on at 3:21, so just over the quoted time. Every seat was full, queue was well distanced, exiting out was not. The stairwell out was packed. We left room in front of us but had people right behind. It was really the only time we felt crowded all day. We had to stop by guest services on the way out to relink our oldest’s tickets with my app so we can try for RotR passes tomorrow. Left the park at 4:00.
> 
> 
> We are glad we got there early and really felt the crowds were super minimal until after lunch and event then they were very manageable. Heading to Disney Springs for dinner at Raglan Road shortly, we’ll see how comfortable we feel over there! Plan is for HS tomorrow.



regarding Fantasia golf it was probably not covid related that they split your family. Most groups have to be smaller sizes or it holds up the whole course behind you at busy mini golf centers.


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## Ellester

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Thanks for your report!!
> 
> I'll be following you closely since we too will be at OKW in a couple of weeks and I've been wondering how early buses have been working from there.  Sounds like not much difference on early arrival to AK between the bus and what Lyft be.  Do you mind me asking where in OKW you are boarding?  We asked for Peninsular Road, but I realize requests aren't always granted.



You‘re welcome! I know I had been following this thread closely coming up to our trip so I’m happy to pass on what I can to the next group!

This is our first time at OKW. We are in Old Turtle Pond. In our 15 years as DVC members I honestly don’t think we have EVER gotten a single request filled before arriving. This time I called when we made our reservation to make a medical request to be sure we could get a first floor unit or have one of the few buildings with an elevator because my mom has the scooter and can’t climb too many steps. So when we got our room assignment, we were on the 3rd floor of a non-elevator building. Sigh. At the front desk they were able to move us to a 1st floor unit. I honestly don’t know what we would have done if they hadn’t been able to move us. We don’t like to take the accessible rooms since she doesn’t need the interior adaptations but we may have to go that route if we stay at OKW again. I know many people have great luck with their requests, but we are not those people. 



MinnieMSue said:


> regarding Fantasia golf it was probably not covid related that they split your family. Most groups have to be smaller sizes or it holds up the whole course behind you at busy mini golf centers.


 Yes, I suppose it could be their standard rule. It was not busy at all. I think there were two other groups on the course when we got their and maybe two more came while we were there? I was very surprised how quiet it was at 7:30 pm on a gorgeous night when the parks closed early.


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## CapnJacksGirl

Ellester said:


> This is our first time at OKW. We are in Old Turtle Pond. In our 15 years as DVC members I honestly don’t think we have EVER gotten a single request filled before arriving. This time I called when we made our reservation to make a medical request to be sure we could get a first floor unit or have one of the few buildings with an elevator because my mom has the scooter and can’t climb too many steps. So when we got our room assignment, we were on the 3rd floor of a non-elevator building. Sigh. At the front desk they were able to move us to a 1st floor unit. I honestly don’t know what we would have done if they hadn’t been able to move us. We don’t like to take the accessible rooms since she doesn’t need the interior adaptations but we may have to go that route if we stay at OKW again. I know many people have great luck with their requests, but we are not those people



I am so sorry that happens to you!  I'm sure they inundated with room requests that everyone thinks they should get, but most of them are preferences.  You have a legitimate need, and those should be honored without question.  I'd like to be on Peninsular Road so I'm close to the first bus stop, but if I don't get that, it's not the end of the world.  I'm so glad they were able to move you to a 1st floor unit. And I hope you continue to have a magical stay!!


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## TinkSassy

kengquist said:


> Can you buy bottled water in the parks?


I usually carry a refillable clipped outside my bag.  This trip I will bring in disposable because they fit better inside my bag and I don't want something I put my mouth on laying in seats and bumping things all day (choices)  I refill when I stop for meals there is free filtered ice water at all QS options - either into my refillable or the disposable just to keep cost down.  As posted earlier water by the bottle is about $4 each - much better snacks and drinks for that money!  (Remember you can bring outside food and beverage in as long as the container is not breakable)


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## OKWFan88

Rope dropped Epcot on Sunday and was able to walk on TT and Soarin. Did the world showcase, enjoyed most of the food. Epcot stayed pretty light thru the middle afternoon. MK on Monday also rope dropped and it got progressively busier and busier as the day went on. We did Space Mtn and Splash and Splash was down but when it came back up that was the longest line for us, We waited just over 45 min. I haven't seen crowds like that since pre-covid, although I know the parks are still having capacity restrictions. Rope dropped HS this morning. Walked on To Mickey's runaway train, RnR and Toy Story Mania and then it became a cluster. Just got back to our resort as the lines were insane. We will go back later this afternoon as we have Oga reservation and maybe crowds would have died down. Not sure why it's so busy since next weekend is the holiday but oh well. Making the best of it. Weather has been beautiful but VERY hot today. Mask compliance is excellent.


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## scrappinginontario

OKWFan88 said:


> Rope dropped Epcot on Sunday and was able to walk on TT and Soarin. Did the world showcase, enjoyed most of the food. Epcot stayed pretty light thru the middle afternoon. MK on Monday also rope dropped and it got progressively busier and busier as the day went on. We did Space Mtn and Splash and Splash was down but when it came back up that was the longest line for us, We waited just over 45 min. I haven't seen crowds like that since pre-covid, although I know the parks are still having capacity restrictions. Rope dropped HS this morning. Walked on To Mickey's runaway train, RnR and Toy Story Mania and then it became a cluster. Just got back to our resort as the lines were insane. We will go back later this afternoon as we have Oga reservation and maybe crowds would have died down. *Not sure why it's so busy since next weekend is the holiday* but oh well. Making the best of it. Weather has been beautiful but VERY hot today. Mask compliance is excellent.


 We often choose to travel the week before a long weekend.  It's less expensive and gives us that holiday either to travel home or, recuperate at home before returning to school/work.  We will be doing that this summer, going to WDW the week before Labour Day so we have the long weekend to prepare for my daughter to go back to school.


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## pascalspal

Recent trip stayed at Beach Club Villas.

Overall wait times were significantly shorter than posted for just about everything except when rides were having technical issues.

2/5 - HS & EP
Got BG 10 for ROTR at 7:00 and got ready to leave the room around 7:30. We walked to HS and were in the temp check line by around 8:00. They opened very early and we were through security and loaded into the MMRR vehicle at 8:20! Went to ToT after and it was having issues.. in total waited about 30 min. Glad we did because it was down for most if not all of the day after we got off. We headed to ROTR only for it to break down right before we were to load. About 45 minutes later it was up and running again. We ate at the Brown Derby around 11:00 and really enjoyed it! Did RRC after lunch - wait time was 35 min but it took just over 15 min. Quick 25 minute wait for Midway Mania after that and then we stopped for a carrot cake cookie and coffee before heading to Epcot on the Skyliner.

We headed straight to Test Track and waited about 30 min with a posted 45 wait. Straight to Soarin with a 15 minute wait. Followed up by Nemo, Spaceship Earth, and Figment as a walk on. Waited about 25 minutes for Frozen Ever After and then went to dinner at Tutto Italia. The calamari was the best we have ever had! Chicken Parm, Spaghetti and Meatballs, & Penne Vodka were all delicious. Finished with a funnel cake and macaron ice cream sandwich.

2/6 - MK & EP
Took a bus from BCV to MK. Supposed to start running 45 min prior to park open (8:15), but the bus came around 7:45. We were at the park, through security and temp check and in line right as they opened the park at 8am! So early. Went left to adventureland and nothing was open - Got in line for BTM and they told us they would open around 9. They opened shortly after 8:30 and we were on the first train of the day. Doubled back to Pirates - walk on. Splash mountain after - walk on. Headed towards Space Mountain and it was about a 10 minute wait, followed that up with Buzz at a 10 minute wait. Went to Pooh and waited around 20 minutes, followed by a walk on at Ariel's. Waited about 15 minutes for Haunted Mansion after that and 30 minutes for Peter Pan. Stopepd for a 12:00 lunch and a dole whip. Rode BTM again - posted 50 minute which took only 22 minutes! After that we were done with everything we wanted to do in MK by 1pm - which is pretty crazy if you ask me. We returned to the hotel for a break and headed to Epcot for a quick service dinner later that evening.

2/7 - AK, HS, & EP
Caught the first bus to AK and was in the park shortly after the gates opened. Went straight to FoP and it was a walk on. Went to Navi River after and waited around 20 minutes. It was storming in the morning (tornado warning) so Everest was down until the storms passed. Went on Safari as a walk on and then headed to Everest when it opened as a walk on. Headed to Dinosaur after and it was a walk on as well. Went to its tough to be a bug and waited about 5 min and caught the 10:30 bird show. Ate at Flame tree and did the tiger and gorilla trails after lunch. We headed back to the rsort around 12:00 as we were done with AK. Took the boat over to HS around 1:45 to park hop. Got another ride in on RRC, Midway and watched muppets. Grabbed some totchos from Woody's lunchbox and then took the Skyliner over to Epcot. Made another loop around the world showcase and grabbed more quick service for dinner. Finished with a red velvet funnel cake and headed back home around 6:30 to finish our trip. 

Super short lines even on weekends compared to normal disney! Transportation was efficient as well. Overall one of the best shorter trips we have had. I felt a little like 3 days was too much for us, but we hit the parks early every day. 33 miles in three days, and even took hotel breaks on two of the days!


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## hereforthechurros

Anyone who has been during rainy days lately - how has it been? Does rain keep AP locals away or not so much? Booked a last minute President's Day trip for some much needed sunshine since my son has Friday off as well, but the weather is looking anything but. Resorts and dining are decently booked up so it leads me to believe we should expect heavy crowds... but wonder if that will change as the weekend approaches. 

Honestly all we cared about about doing was hanging by the pool and checking out Festival of the Arts. With pool weather looking rather bleak we'll be pushed more into the parks (we have APs so not the end of the world) and haven't really planned for that.


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## pascalspal

hereforthechurros said:


> Anyone who has been during rainy days lately - how has it been? Does rain keep AP locals away or not so much? Booked a last minute President's Day trip for some much needed sunshine since my son has Friday off as well, but the weather is looking anything but. Resorts and dining are decently booked up so it leads me to believe we should expect heavy crowds... but wonder if that will change as the weekend approaches.
> 
> Honestly all we cared about about doing was hanging by the pool and checking out Festival of the Arts. With pool weather looking rather bleak we'll be pushed more into the parks (we have APs so not the end of the world) and haven't really planned for that.



Was just there this past weekend. Parks definitely felt crowded walking around, but nothing compared to Disney pre-covid. I think it feels a bit crowded because none of us have been around that many people for quite some time. I felt the ride lines were short or about normal for pre-covid times, but out of everything we did only about two rides took the full posted wait time. I was shocked at how much we were able to get done in the parks compared to our previous trips. 

It rained on Sat afternoon and Sunday morning for us. Sat at MK was a breeze and had such low crowds rope drop-11am. Crowds definitely picked up and made the park feel much more crowded around lunch time. Rain was expected earlier in the morning so I assume it may have kept some AP locals away from early park entry or maybe rope drop is just that important right now. Sat night we were actually under a tornado watch with light sprinkling - Epcot was as crowded as ever even with that weather.

Sunday early morning had severe thunder storms and more tornado watch. Was set to clear up around 9 so we kept our rope drop plan for AK. Got to AK about when the rain subsided and finished every ride/show/trail and had lunch all before 12:00. 

I think moving forward the parks will continue to get a bit more crowded as typically the first week in feb is low season, but genuinely coming from someone who frequented the parks pre-covid our trip was wonderful. Could have finished every ride we wanted to in all four parks in two days. We had three and it felt like we had more downtime than we would have preferred. It was hard to get dining reservations for us as well, but I think thats just because restaurant capacity is so low right now.

President's day weekend will definitely have highwer croowds than we experienced, but after our weekend I dont think it would deter me. If your main goal is festival of the arts, then plan your time for that and then anything else if just a bonus! We enjoyed the warm weather, even if it came with some rain!


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## Ellester

OKWFan88 said:


> Rope dropped Epcot on Sunday and was able to walk on TT and Soarin. Did the world showcase, enjoyed most of the food. Epcot stayed pretty light thru the middle afternoon. MK on Monday also rope dropped and it got progressively busier and busier as the day went on. We did Space Mtn and Splash and Splash was down but when it came back up that was the longest line for us, We waited just over 45 min. I haven't seen crowds like that since pre-covid, although I know the parks are still having capacity restrictions. Rope dropped HS this morning. Walked on To Mickey's runaway train, RnR and Toy Story Mania and then it became a cluster. Just got back to our resort as the lines were insane. We will go back later this afternoon as we have Oga reservation and maybe crowds would have died down. Not sure why it's so busy since next weekend is the holiday but oh well. Making the best of it. Weather has been beautiful but VERY hot today. Mask compliance is excellent.


  Agree, the weather was great today but the masks made 82 feel like 92 to us! We also rope dropped HS today. Got there about 8:25. Walked on MMRR and RnR then rode ToT with the FP’s we got yesterday from Guest Services (for being nice and patient while they figured out the issue with our daughter’s ticket that got removed from my Friends & Family list somehow), the wait was posted at 40 already and we walked by tons of people so I wouldn’t be surprised if that was close to accurate. I scored Boarding Group 11 for RotR and was called at 9:51 so we headed back to Galaxy’s Edge. By the time we got off that at 10:50 the park was jam packed. If you really are concerned about maintaining the 6ft distance, HS is not your park! Pretty much everyone was adhering to proper mask wearing but it was wall to wall people in parts of GS and Toy Story land. We were frustrated through out the day by the stop to eat/drink rule since several times there was literally nowhere even remotely nearby to sit or stand “to the side”.  We got snacks at Joffrey near the old entrance to TSMM and I asked the CM where we could go to eat and he literally said “there really isn’t anywhere close by“. Well, OK then. We ended up walking about 10 minutes and finally found a bench in full sun in Toy Story Land. Crazy! We had an 11:45 at Oga’s and that was fun and the drinks were delicious! Waited 40 minutes for SDD at 1:15ish (posted 50 min) then 30 minutes for TSMM (posted 30, right on the money with this one). Managed to hit RnRC again with a 15 minute wait (posted 20), but it was up to 50 min by the time we got back out! Early dinner at Mama Melrose’s and then did Smuggler’s Run. The wait posted had dropped to 45 min, we actually waited 40 min. So much to see in the queue so it went by quickly. Park had really started to empty out by then, walked on Alien Swirling Saucers at 6:30 then headed back to the resort. Took the two younger kids to the pool for a bit and had an adult beverage before walking back to the room. Another fun, tiring day. Crowds were exponentially higher at HS than they were at AK (which we did expect). Tomorrow we finally make it over to MK.


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## Toad_Passenger

Some quick hits from the first part of our trip last week.
Side note about our own precautions. We all wore KN95 masks with a 2-ply homemade cloth mask over top (fun Disney patterns). At no point did we feel suffocated, or that we were overdoing things. We also hit every sanitizer station we passed, and used our own as well. Sitting for a snack break was a strategy game of finding the table with the most space/fewest people around. All mobile ordering/ADR's were timed before or after the normal meal time rushes - This often meant we were eating lunch around 11:00am on most days, and "Dinner" around 2p-3p.

*Sunday 1/31* – Arrived at WDW around 8:30am and checked in to AoA, room wasn't ready so we headed in to MK.
Took bus to MK – short line and we were able to get on the first bus that came by at 9:15am
MK relatively empty. Mask usage nearly 100%, line spacing compliance nearly 100%
Lunch @ Cosmic Ray’s using Mobile ordering – smooth as silk, had an outdoor table with hardly anyone around
Dinner @ Tony’s Town Square. Requested an outdoor table and were 1 of just 3 parties sitting on the patio. Was a great lunch with the Dapper Dan’s performing 2x, and several cavalcades coming right past us.
Rode nearly everything in the parks that was open with the longest wait time being 19 minutes at PoTC (yes we timed every line), even though everything was posted as 20-30 minutes. The general "subtract 5-10 minute" rule was certainly true all day.

*Monday 2/1* – EPCOT – Took Skyliners over at 10:00am for 11:00am “opening”
Skyliner station at Caribbean Beach had a huge line, but it moved quickly and we boarded within 10-15 minutes.
Entered into World Showcase and it was hard to find any trace of the line from the Skyliners as the park was wide open.
Lunch @ Cantina de San Angel – no mobile ordering, but we were 2nd in line and we sat on the gazebo overlooking the lagoon with only 1 other family at another table far away.
Dinner @ Rose & Crown – Requested an outdoor table and we were 1 of only 2 parties sitting on the backside of the Pub overlooking the lagoon. Very distant and very nice dinner.
Walked on to Soarin' & Living with the Land before the park officially opened. Ended up riding/experiencing everything in the park except SSE, TT, Mission: Space (saving those for our 2nd day at Epcot).
Another day where everything was a walk-on (even Frozen!), or no more than 5-10 minutes. Towards the evening the park did feel a bit more crowded, but not enough to feel unsafe. Picked up a few beers & snacks and found a nice secluded spot in Japan to eat and drink.

*Tuesday 2/2* – Hollywood Studios – COLD, COLD, COLD!!
Woke up to try for RotR at 7:00am but got shutout! Can’t believe we’re still playing the “will we, or won’t we” game for RotR over a year after it opened.
Drove our car over as soon as the lots opened, and we were the 2nd car in line. Breezed through temp checks and the turnstiles and went straight to Mickey & Minnie where we walked right on prior to official opening.
Park didn't feel that crowded but the walkways seemed crowded like they ALWAYS do at DHS.
After we left Muppet-Vision 3D it was 12:55pm, so we sat to try for the 1:00 release of RotR boarding groups and actually scored one.
Lunch @ Sci-Fi – We were one of the 1st reservations for the day, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many cars they were keeping empty between parties. Granted there were only 8 parties seated, at most, during our whole lunch. It was our first indoor dining experience and we felt very safe. Kept our masks on until our meal arrived, and then took them off only while taking bites, and put them back on as soon as we were done with each, individual meal.
Dinner @ AoA Landscapes of Flavor – Mobile ordered while driving back to the resort and took it back to the room to eat.
Rode/experienced everything in the park, minus ToT & Star Tours. Were able to ride Mickey & Minnie, TSM, & Flying Saucers multiple times!
Lines were a bit longer than we experienced at the other parks, but still only took around 20 minutes on average. In the early morning, though, everything was a walk-on.

I'll post more of the trip a bit later when I get a chance.


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## coolbrook

OKWFan88 said:


> Last time I was in Disney was in July and there were no cake pops anywhere, I tried all the bakeries in the parks and went to Disney Springs and nothing... Has anyone noticed any recently being sold? I leave in two days and I am in severe withdrawal from no cake pops.


We got one at the Starbucks in the airport... Not much help I know.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

Ellester said:


> We also rope dropped HS today. Got there about 8:25. Walked on MMRR and RnR then rode ToT



Did you have an easy experience at the OKW bus stop again on this day?


----------



## pascalspal

SarahC97 said:


> This is true. We've never encountered a long line to get past the guard shack at the Contemporary, but we've had a lot of success with the strategy. I guess you could also do Grand Floridian now that you can walk to MK from there as well -- or just take the monorail.





coolbrook said:


> We got one at the Starbucks in the airport... Not much help I know.



I saw some at the starbucks locations in the parks last weekend. I dont recall any in the disney owned stores - though I wasnt actually looking for them. Main street confectionary was just sad - barely had anything last saturday.


----------



## coolbrook

Just back yesterday. Visited all 4 parks. 3rd Covid trip.  AP from Kansas City. My brother got last minute tickets to the Super Bowl and brought me along to babysit his daughter while he and his wife went to the game.  Stayed at Yacht Club.  I have never taken a Disney trip with less than one day's notice before.  What a wonderful surprise!  It's about 9 degrees here in KC.  Here are some of my thoughts from the trip:

The "rules" sandwich board sign as I entered Pooh stated that if you have more than 4 people you should divide your group among two distancing stripes on the ground.  That was the first time I had seen that statement and it is a good idea. 
Watching the cleaning cycle on Magic Carpets was pretty interesting and thorough.  Spray, let sit, hand wipe every seatbelt and buckle, hand wipe spray off seats and buttons/levers.  All hands on deck like a swarm.  I was impressed.
Test track was down, again, when we were at Epcot.  We haven't ridden in at least two years! Ugh
LOVE getting Rise BG from resort!  Makes the morning so much more pleasant. 
We have found mask compliance at airport and on plane much better each trip we have made.
Magical express (Don't leave, we need you!) was quick with enough room to space out.  At least one row between groups.
CM are still actively enforcing mask rules.  Mostly for slipping down noses on little kids.  I saw a CM who was manning the exit gate at MK in the morning jog over to a group in front of the flower planter to tell them to keep their masks on which they had removed for a photo. 
Remembered why I love Yacht Club so much.
Stormalong Bay with its built in foot massage sandy bottom, deep lazy river with tubes to float on, and three hot tubs (with one being for 18 and up one day) is my favorite Disney pool.
Ale and compass never disappoints.  Did two breakfasts and a dinner there.  Dinner wait time was a bit long so they recommended we sit in the lounge and the full menu was available.  That worked out great and they had cartoons on the TV's so my 10 year old niece loved it.
Yacht club is so convenient for folks who don't like to walk more than they have to.  The walks to food, pool, boat, bus, gift shop, and lobby are all short.
At AK we skipped the Gorilla Falls trail because there was a 15 minute wait just to get in there.  They are doing some construction, so it makes the trail more congested. 
The petting animal area was open again, and I love having the animation drawing thing at Rafiki's planet watch.
Now that we learned on these boards to order earlier than you actually want to eat to get a good pick up time, we actually like the mobile order and did it several times.
We ate at Docking Bay 7 for the first time and I really liked it.  The food seemed to be a step above usual quick service fare.
We also ate at La Hacienda de San Angel for the first time at EP.  They put chicken in the vegetarian enchiladas for me and it was one of my favorite meals of the trip.
We did a few more photopass stops than we usually do since my niece was on this trip.  Got cute magic shot photos with a frog and one with balloons by the castle at MK near Sleepy Hollow, and with a banshee in front of FOP.
The character interaction I saw was surprisingly personal and delightful.  Two that I can think of right now were Chip and Dale on a balcony in Frontierland playing with bubbles that a CM on the ground was blowing.  A couple of little boys were playing with them in the bubbles too and laughing at Chip and Dale.  Probably a highlight of that family's day.  Another was the ugly stepsisters outside of Princess Fairytale Hall.  The people who wanted to visit with them stood on green dots around the barrier (maybe flowers or something) and the sisters talked and interacted with each one individually.  Much more that just a wave and blown kisses.  I was impressed, and since they were on the ground level with the guest it felt a lot closer even though they were back from the barriers. 
And finally, after this long rambling post of thoughts, I leave you with one last thought.  I miss daily housekeeping.  Coming back to the room after a long day to a crisply made bed, fresh towels with the dirty ones removed, and all the trash from last nights mobile order dinner on the balcony removed.  I understand why, but I miss it.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

coolbrook said:


> Two that I can think of right now were Chip and Dale on a balcony in Frontierland playing with bubbles that a CM on the ground was blowing. A couple of little boys were playing with them in the bubbles too and laughing at Chip and Dale. Probably a highlight of that family's day.



Anyone else crying now?  Just me?  OK 

Gosh, I miss being at WDW.  17 more days, girl, you can do it!  (Apparently I cry at Chipmunk stories and talk to myself.  #pandemic)


----------



## Raven01

I'm coming soon with DD4, and plan to be on the first bus to the parks (the one time being with a little early riser is a good thing).  Are there any apps/notifications on when busses are coming to resorts?  Or do you just go 1.5 hours prior to park opening to the bus station and wing it?

We'll be at AKL Jambo if that matters.


----------



## pascalspal

Raven01 said:


> I'm coming soon with DD4, and plan to be on the first bus to the parks (the one time being with a little early riser is a good thing).  Are there any apps/notifications on when busses are coming to resorts?  Or do you just go 1.5 hours prior to park opening to the bus station and wing it?
> 
> We'll be at AKL Jambo if that matters.



Front desk will tell you that the first bus will arrive 45 minutes prior to park opening. Our experience was MK bus showed up around 7:45am (1 hr 15 min prior to official park opening) and AK bus showed up around 7:30am (30 min prior to official park opening). So not super consistent but we just showed up around 1h 30min before park opening and were always the first ones waiting and got on the first bus both days. 

Can't speak for AKL but BC/YC had a digital board showing next bus arrival times.. however it seemed to only be useful after the buses started running. We noticed the time popping up for AK buses when we were waiting in line for MK. Doesn't show anything on the MDE app from what I noticed.


----------



## tsme

Have the resorts started back offering room service yet?


----------



## pascalspal

tsme said:


> Have the resorts started back offering room service yet?



Beach Club Villas had a limited room service offering when we were there this past weekend - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I would assume other resorts are operating something similar


----------



## Mzpalmtree

pascalspal said:


> Beach Club Villas had a limited room service offering when we were there this past weekend - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I would assume other resorts are operating something similar


When we were there in Dec/Jan, only YC/BCV and GF/VGF had room service. It is presumed that the reason why those resorts are the only ones to have it is that they brought back the CM to support it for the NBA and elected to keep them on, but I am not 100% sure if that is in fact the reason.


----------



## zeferjen

Mzpalmtree said:


> When we were there in Dec/Jan, only YC/BCV and GF/VGF had room service. It is presumed that the reason why those resorts are the only ones to have it is that they brought back the CM to support it for the NBA and elected to keep them on, but I am not 100% sure if that is in fact the reason.



So no room service right now at Contemporary or BLT?


----------



## Mzpalmtree

zeferjen said:


> So no room service right now at Contemporary or BLT?


There was not when we stayed at CR in Dec/Jan. We actually had a triple split at all of those resorts.


----------



## Andrwh1

Toad_Passenger said:


> *Tuesday 2/2* – Hollywood Studios – COLD, COLD, COLD!!
> Woke up to try for RotR at 7:00am but got shutout! Can’t believe we’re still playing the “will we, or won’t we” game for RotR over a year after it opened.
> Drove our car over as soon as the lots opened, and we were the 2nd car in line. Breezed through temp checks and the turnstiles and went straight to Mickey & Minnie where we walked right on prior to official opening.



Thanks for such a wonderful summary!  When you drove to HS, what time did you drive over and when did the gates open?  We'll be there in a couple weeks staying at Caribbean Beach and trying to decide whether to use the Skyliner or drive to HS.


----------



## Wosmama6

Darn room service at jambo would be amazing but I assume not


----------



## pascalspal

Andrwh1 said:


> Thanks for such a wonderful summary!  When you drove to HS, what time did you drive over and when did the gates open?  We'll be there in a couple weeks staying at Caribbean Beach and trying to decide whether to use the Skyliner or drive to HS.



When we did HS for rope drop, the skyliner was letting people off when the park had not opened yet. The gates to the park opened just before they opened the parking lot so everyone who walked/took the bus/skyliner early got into the park before the parking lot opened. 

Seems like it changes every day though so it might just boil down to luck.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Wosmama6 said:


> Darn room service at jambo would be amazing but I assume not



We stayed a week at Jambo recently and LOVED it but really struggled with the lack of food. Just come prepared.

We ate offsite a lot - thankfully, there is a ton of good options within 1-2 miles from the hotel.

Room service would have been AMAZING.


----------



## Andrwh1

pascalspal said:


> When we did HS for rope drop, the skyliner was letting people off when the park had not opened yet. The gates to the park opened just before they opened the parking lot so everyone who walked/took the bus/skyliner early got into the park before the parking lot opened.
> 
> Seems like it changes every day though so it might just boil down to luck.



I think you're right - we'll just have to choose an option and hope we get lucky that day!  Which is stressful to the planner in me!


----------



## coolbrook

Remember that many resort table service restaurants are offering food to-go as well.  Its basically like mobile ordering on the app.  You do have to get dressed and go to the restaurant and pick it up, so not the same as room service, but it's helpful when there are no reservation times available at the restaurant.  The lounges also usually serve some food.


----------



## Tennor

With Door Dash and Grubhub, this shouldn't be an issue, right?


----------



## VandVsmama

coolbrook said:


> Just back yesterday. Visited all 4 parks. 3rd Covid trip.  AP from Kansas City. My brother got last minute tickets to the Super Bowl and brought me along to babysit his daughter while he and his wife went to the game.  Stayed at Yacht Club.  I have never taken a Disney trip with less than one day's notice before.  What a wonderful surprise!  It's about 9 degrees here in KC.  Here are some of my thoughts from the trip:
> 
> The "rules" sandwich board sign as I entered Pooh stated that if you have more than 4 people you should divide your group among two distancing stripes on the ground.  That was the first time I had seen that statement and it is a good idea.
> Watching the cleaning cycle on Magic Carpets was pretty interesting and thorough.  Spray, let sit, hand wipe every seatbelt and buckle, hand wipe spray off seats and buttons/levers.  All hands on deck like a swarm.  I was impressed.
> Test track was down, again, when we were at Epcot.  We haven't ridden in at least two years! Ugh
> LOVE getting Rise BG from resort!  Makes the morning so much more pleasant.
> We have found mask compliance at airport and on plane much better each trip we have made.
> Magical express (Don't leave, we need you!) was quick with enough room to space out.  At least one row between groups.
> CM are still actively enforcing mask rules.  Mostly for slipping down noses on little kids.  I saw a CM who was manning the exit gate at MK in the morning jog over to a group in front of the flower planter to tell them to keep their masks on which they had removed for a photo.
> Remembered why I love Yacht Club so much.
> Stormalong Bay with its built in foot massage sandy bottom, deep lazy river with tubes to float on, and three hot tubs (with one being for 18 and up one day) is my favorite Disney pool.
> Ale and compass never disappoints.  Did two breakfasts and a dinner there.  Dinner wait time was a bit long so they recommended we sit in the lounge and the full menu was available.  That worked out great and they had cartoons on the TV's so my 10 year old niece loved it.
> Yacht club is so convenient for folks who don't like to walk more than they have to.  The walks to food, pool, boat, bus, gift shop, and lobby are all short.
> At AK we skipped the Gorilla Falls trail because there was a 15 minute wait just to get in there.  They are doing some construction, so it makes the trail more congested.
> The petting animal area was open again, and I love having the animation drawing thing at Rafiki's planet watch.
> Now that we learned on these boards to order earlier than you actually want to eat to get a good pick up time, we actually like the mobile order and did it several times.
> We ate at Docking Bay 7 for the first time and I really liked it.  The food seemed to be a step above usual quick service fare.
> We also ate at La Hacienda de San Angel for the first time at EP.  They put chicken in the vegetarian enchiladas for me and it was one of my favorite meals of the trip.
> We did a few more photopass stops than we usually do since my niece was on this trip.  Got cute magic shot photos with a frog and one with balloons by the castle at MK near Sleepy Hollow, and with a banshee in front of FOP.
> The character interaction I saw was surprisingly personal and delightful.  Two that I can think of right now were Chip and Dale on a balcony in Frontierland playing with bubbles that a CM on the ground was blowing.  A couple of little boys were playing with them in the bubbles too and laughing at Chip and Dale.  Probably a highlight of that family's day.  Another was the ugly stepsisters outside of Princess Fairytale Hall.  The people who wanted to visit with them stood on green dots around the barrier (maybe flowers or something) and the sisters talked and interacted with each one individually.  Much more that just a wave and blown kisses.  I was impressed, and since they were on the ground level with the guest it felt a lot closer even though they were back from the barriers.
> And finally, after this long rambling post of thoughts, I leave you with one last thought.  I miss daily housekeeping.  Coming back to the room after a long day to a crisply made bed, fresh towels with the dirty ones removed, and all the trash from last nights mobile order dinner on the balcony removed.  I understand why, but I miss it.



I totally agree about Docking Bay 7.  We ate there twice!


----------



## melmel

Tennor said:


> With Door Dash and Grubhub, this shouldn't be an issue, right?


We were there the last week of January, and lack of food was our only complaint.  With parks closing early we had a hard time justifying a sit down dinner, which led to scrambling for options. We ended up ordering pizza hut, as the qs at the resort only had mediocre hamburgers and 1 night of that was more than plenty.  This was on top of planning ahead with a suitcase full of snacks and breakfast foods.  Overall really glad we went but food can definitely be a struggle, if you don't want mickey shaped foods for every meal.


----------



## Ds4angels

Hopefully this is the right spot for this.
 Stayed at Pop, we did AK, MK and Epcot.
 The good... Mobile Ordering worked very well. But we had used it on a previous trip, so I think we were ahead of the game there. 
  Buses, they come often at the beginning and end of the day. It's nice to know you will have an actual seat without someone's butt in your face. 
  Many CMs were great, doing their best to bring the magic. 
   Lines were long, but constantly moved, so they went quickly. 
   The bakery in France is still spot on delicious.

The not so good... Lots of people not understanding what those lines on the ground mean (like where have you been for the last 11 months). Epcot was the worst  of the parksfor people not wearing masks as they walked around. 
     Lack of QS, some of our favorite were closed. 
    Quite a few CMs just interacting with each other and not the guests. I don't remember really seeing that before. 
   DS was the worst place for not wearing masks. We saw some guy walking and drinking a beer with his son. CM asked him to out his mask back on. The guys actually drank walking past her and walked into her. I'm hoping she reported him. DH didn't want to confront him incase the guy was drunk. (Still makes me made thinking about it)

Overall a really good trip, different for sure, but still nice to be "in the bubble".


----------



## LiteBrite

Ellester said:


> Did the zoom Photopass picture then headed back to Pandora since FoP was showing at 15 minute wait. Got in line at 3:02 and on at 3:21, so just over the quoted time. Every seat was full, queue was well distanced, exiting out was not. The stairwell out was packed. We left room in front of us but had people right behind. It was really the only time we felt crowded all day.



We felt the same way about Soarin - the queue was orderly and people observed the spacing on the way in, but it was a total free for all on the way out - people shoulder to shoulder all through that long hallway, no way to keep distant.  I think if we do that again, we'll try to wait and be the last people from our theater walking out, so we have some control over it.


----------



## Toad_Passenger

Andrwh1 said:


> Thanks for such a wonderful summary!  When you drove to HS, what time did you drive over and when did the gates open?  We'll be there in a couple weeks staying at Caribbean Beach and trying to decide whether to use the Skyliner or drive to HS.



I don't have my trip notebook with me, but I believe it was a 9am opening, and we got to the lot at around 7:55am. They made the 2 cars in front of us loop back out to the highway, but we slowed waayyy down and they let us start lining up for the lot without having to loop. After the temp check we were in the park by 8:15, or so and everything was open with people spreading out to the various areas of the park. We were walking on Mickey & Minnie by 8:30.

As for the Skyliners, they were running, so we probably would have been able to keep the same schedule either way.


----------



## cjlong88

LiteBrite said:


> We felt the same way about Soarin - the queue was orderly and people observed the spacing on the way in, but it was a total free for all on the way out - people shoulder to shoulder all through that long hallway, no way to keep distant.  I think if we do that again, we'll try to wait and be the last people from our theater walking out, so we have some control over it.



This was something we did all the time. Waiting until everyone else leaves makes exiting a ride so much easier and more comfortable. The only ones that are tough to do this are on rides like Haunted Mansion.


----------



## lovethattink

cjlong88 said:


> This was something we did all the time. Waiting until everyone else leaves makes exiting a ride so much easier and more comfortable. The only ones that are tough to do this are on rides like Haunted Mansion.



That’s what we try to do as well. We step side and let everyone pass since they seem in a hurry and we rarely are.


----------



## RunWI1265

pascalspal said:


> When we did HS for rope drop, the skyliner was letting people off when the park had not opened yet. The gates to the park opened just before they opened the parking lot so everyone who walked/took the bus/skyliner early got into the park before the parking lot opened.
> 
> Seems like it changes every day though so it might just boil down to luck.



This was our experience as well on 1/29 and 1/31. We walked over from BWV. Both days those who arrived on foot and via skyliner were let in before any cars had come into the lot.


----------



## WhitneyMB

We went to Hollywood Studios today 2/11, sharing info in case it’s helpful:
7:20 left BWV where we were staying
7:35 made it to HS by walking & were about 20 people from the front, held far back and up then by tents
8:00 Skyliner people started arriving (no cars let into lots yet)
8:17 started letting us through temp checks—still no people from cars had arrived.


As a side note, we were at the very front, but had to stop at the ticket booth for 5+ minutes to have our annual passes activated while people poured in around us. We still only had a 5 minute wait on Slinky Dog when we got to the front (at 8:30). We walked then directly to TSM and it was walk on. When we were done they asked us if we wanted to ride again. We opted not to and when we got out to street again it was about 8:50 and SDD had a 50 minute wait  We headed to TOT from there, as we figured we’d have better luck with some of the others in the evening.

I appreciate reading everyone’s updates before we came, so thought I’d pass this along in case it helps!


----------



## MomOTwins

WhitneyMB said:


> We went to Hollywood Studios today 2/11, sharing info in case it’s helpful:
> 7:20 left BWV where we were staying
> 7:35 made it to HS by walking & were about 20 people from the front, held far back and up then by tents
> 8:00 Skyliner people started arriving (no cars let into lots yet)
> 8:17 started letting us through temp checks—still no people from cars had arrived.
> 
> 
> As a side note, we were at the very front, but had to stop at the ticket booth for 5+ minutes to have our annual passes activated while people poured in around us. We still only had a 5 minute wait on Slinky Dog when we got to the front (at 8:30). We walked then directly to TSM and it was walk on. When we were done they asked us if we wanted to ride again. We opted not to and when we got out to street again it was about 8:50 and SDD had a 50 minute wait  We headed to TOT from there, as we figured we’d have better luck with some of the others in the evening.
> 
> I appreciate reading everyone’s updates before we came, so thought I’d pass this along in case it helps!


Thanks.  I notice, nobody seems to mention friendship boats.  Are they just so far behind they are not worth it?  We are having an early breakfast at Ale and Compass before park open and was thinking of saving the kids’ energy for walking at the parks by taking the boat to HS.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

MomOTwins said:


> Thanks.  I notice, nobody seems to mention friendship boats.  Are they just so far behind they are not worth it?  We are having an early breakfast at Ale and Compass before park open and was thinking of saving the kids’ energy for walking at the parks by taking the boat to HS.


I don't recall seeing a single friendship boat running early enough to be anywhere near the front of the pack on any day we were there (spend 6 days at the Swan).  The day we were at DHS, NONE had dropped off when we were released into the park.


----------



## jenmsmith

MomOTwins said:


> Thanks.  I notice, nobody seems to mention friendship boats.  Are they just so far behind they are not worth it?  We are having an early breakfast at Ale and Compass before park open and was thinking of saving the kids’ energy for walking at the parks by taking the boat to HS.


It depends on how early you need to be. We arrived about 8:30 for a 9 am opening in late January and the friendship boats were dropping off. We weren’t at the front of the rope drop crowd, of course, but the crowd levels were low enough that we rode MMRR with 10 minute wait, then TSM with no wait and SDD with 20 minute wait before the crowds started to build. (And this is with my parents in tow. My mom is not a fast walker...)


----------



## MomOTwins

jenmsmith said:


> It depends on how early you need to be. We arrived about 8:30 for a 9 am opening in late January and the friendship boats were dropping off. We weren’t at the front of the rope drop crowd, of course, but the crowd levels were low enough that we rode MMRR with 10 minute wait, then TSM with no wait and SDD with 20 minute wait before the crowds started to build. (And this is with my parents in tow. My mom is not a fast walker...)


Thanks!  That’s what I was hoping.  I don’t care about being first at the gate but would be annoying if we were not there until after official open time for example!


----------



## jenmsmith

MomOTwins said:


> Thanks!  That’s what I was hoping.  I don’t care about being first at the gate but would be annoying if we were not there until after official open time for example!


If I had it to do over, I would’ve taken the friendship boats. It’s perhaps slower than walking and of course you don’t have as much control as with walking. But we were staying with at the Boardwalk Villas and even though it wasn’t hard on my husband, myself, or my dad, that walk right at the beginning of the day did affect my mom‘s enjoyment of the park for the first couple of hours till she could rest. I think the friendship boats are a good option.


----------



## GrumpySue

Quick question, we are going in April.  Is everything done by mobile-order ??  We never did this before, were always able to stop and pick up a beer/pretzel/hot dog.  I have not been keeping track of all the changes and feel I will be lost.  And we are WDW pros !!  Help !!


----------



## Naomeri

Snack carts are still walk up (except maybe the milk cart is Galaxy’s Edge?)  But all QS restaurants are mobile order unless you absolutely can’t do it (like if you don’t have a smart phone or need to pay in cash or have an allergy)


----------



## MomOTwins

jenmsmith said:


> If I had it to do over, I would’ve taken the friendship boats. It’s perhaps slower than walking and of course you don’t have as much control as with walking. But we were staying with at the Boardwalk Villas and even though it wasn’t hard on my husband, myself, or my dad, that walk right at the beginning of the day did affect my mom‘s enjoyment of the park for the first couple of hours till she could rest. I think the friendship boats are a good option.


Thanks for the reassurance!  I don't mind walking either, but we have kids just past stroller age and they do get tired and crabby about sore feet if we push them to walk too much, so we generally try to minimize the walking.


----------



## kathi

So what is the best strategy for MK early arrival if you are staying at a resort that is not walking distance?  We will have a rental car and had planned to drive over to the main lot, but now I'm thinking that might not be the best strategy.   Uber?


----------



## scrappinginontario

kathi said:


> So what is the best strategy for MK early arrival if you are staying at a resort that is not walking distance?  We will have a rental car and had planned to drive over to the main lot, but now I'm thinking that might not be the best strategy.   Uber?


Personally I would use a Disney bus from my resort.  I would arrive at the bus stop 90 mins prior to scheduled park opening.

An Uber to Contemporary may not allow you entrance into the resort lot even with a confirmed Quick Service order.  Many have been doing this (and some cancelling once they get inside the resort lot) so they're being pretty strict lately about allowing Uber/Lyft into the Contemporary lot before MK opens.


----------



## Racergirl24

WhitneyMB said:


> We went to Hollywood Studios today 2/11, sharing info in case it’s helpful:
> 7:20 left BWV where we were staying
> 7:35 made it to HS by walking & were about 20 people from the front, held far back and up then by tents
> 8:00 Skyliner people started arriving (no cars let into lots yet)
> 8:17 started letting us through temp checks—still no people from cars had arrived.
> 
> 
> As a side note, we were at the very front, but had to stop at the ticket booth for 5+ minutes to have our annual passes activated while people poured in around us. We still only had a 5 minute wait on Slinky Dog when we got to the front (at 8:30). We walked then directly to TSM and it was walk on. When we were done they asked us if we wanted to ride again. We opted not to and when we got out to street again it was about 8:50 and SDD had a 50 minute wait  We headed to TOT from there, as we figured we’d have better luck with some of the others in the evening.
> 
> I appreciate reading everyone’s updates before we came, so thought I’d pass this along in case it helps!


Does anyone have a strategy for people that are driving? It seems that there is no real way to be at "rope drop" if one drives in from off site. I am willing to park anywhere. Just looking for ideas and/or suggestions. Last time we drove in we walked right in, but I have an ugly feeling about spring break.....


----------



## NC State

Racergirl24 said:


> Does anyone have a strategy for people that are driving? It seems that there is no real way to be at "rope drop" if one drives in from off site. I am willing to park anywhere. Just looking for ideas and/or suggestions. Last time we drove in we walked right in, but I have an ugly feeling about spring break.....


We drove everyday back in Oct. We would arrive at the transportation gates about 30 mins before the park open and we didn't have to wait (maybe 5-10 mins). By the time we parked we walking through with no problem.


----------



## MomOTwins

kathi said:


> So what is the best strategy for MK early arrival if you are staying at a resort that is not walking distance?  We will have a rental car and had planned to drive over to the main lot, but now I'm thinking that might not be the best strategy.   Uber?


Uber is not going to be a ton faster than the rental car since Ubers still have to drop off at the TTC where you'll need to take the monorail or ferry.  Some folks book an early breakfast ADR at GF or Contemporary and uber there, and then walk to the park from the resort, so that is an option. I don't think that is necessary though--unless you want to be there the second the park opens which I know is important to some so if that is the case, that's what I'd recommend.

If you don't need to be front of the pack, bus is really not a bad option.  The bus stop is right outside the MK gates so you don't have to mess with the second layer of transportation like you do with other methods.  The first bus out of any resort will full up though, so do get to the bus stop at least 75 mins prior to park open, or earlier if you are at a large resort.


----------



## kathi

Can you Uber to the MK directly?  Isn't there a cab lane?


----------



## scrappinginontario

kathi said:


> Can you Uber to the MK directly?  Isn't there a cab lane?


No.  Uber drops off at the TTC and can't enter until the TTC is open for cars.


----------



## rockpiece

scrappinginontario said:


> Personally I would use a Disney bus from my resort.  I would arrive at the bus stop 90 mins prior to scheduled park opening.
> 
> An Uber to Contemporary may not allow you entrance into the resort lot even with a confirmed Quick Service order.  Many have been doing this (and some cancelling once they get inside the resort lot) so they're being pretty strict lately about allowing Uber/Lyft into the Contemporary lot before MK opens.


They are denying entrance with a confirmed mobile order now? It honestly depends on what guard you get, some make you show an order and some let you through if you say you have an order.


----------



## scrappinginontario

rockpiece said:


> They are denying entrance with a confirmed mobile order now? It honestly depends on what guard you get, some make you show an order and some let you through if you say you have an order.


This is only based on what I read on another thread today so not personal experience.  Others were supporting that not being granted access with only a mobile order is happening more frequently.


----------



## Aimeedyan

kathi said:


> So what is the best strategy for MK early arrival if you are staying at a resort that is not walking distance?  We will have a rental car and had planned to drive over to the main lot, but now I'm thinking that might not be the best strategy.   Uber?



Honestly, your only options are to park at T&TC (or have Uber drop there), take a resort bus, or mobile order, take an Uber, and have a quick service breakfast at GF or CR so you can walk. The fear mongering over the Uber drop-off with mobile order gets old around here but I suppose nothing in life is guaranteed so you should be prepared to pivot with any best laid plans (for the record - we are on property nearly weekly, and mobile order at a hotel almost every single trip - and so do many in our circle of friends - and no one has had a single issue). You have to have that same flexibility mindset with the resort buses which were terrible when I was staying at Jambo a few weeks ago (we waited 55 minutes for a MK bus!).

That said, taking time to stop and eat and then walking over won't put you that much ahead (if at all!) so unless you're just dying to eat QS breakfast at one of the hotels, T&TC or resort bus is probably just as good if not better.

They are really good at moving people, even in peak times, so I wouldn't worry too much about crowds.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Racergirl24 said:


> Does anyone have a strategy for people that are driving? It seems that there is no real way to be at "rope drop" if one drives in from off site. I am willing to park anywhere. Just looking for ideas and/or suggestions. Last time we drove in we walked right in, but I have an ugly feeling about spring break.....


We drove to Hollywood Studios.  Sure, you’re not in as fast as the walkers or skyliner, but by the time you get in the lot and parked, they’re not lined up anymore, so you flow through temp check and ticket scan fairly quickly.  

we were able to do 5 rides in the first 2-3 hours.  It helped that they were all close to each other, but still, whatever advantage there is to be lined up as a walker rather than just driving your car on in is minimal.  If you want a slight advantage over the other drivers, upgrade to premium, but it’s really not necessary.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

scrappinginontario said:


> This is only based on what I read on another thread today so not personal experience.  Others were supporting that not being granted access with only a mobile order is happening more frequently.


had friends who had to press "here now" in front of guard as they had planned to cancel once thru gate. so they had to decide to stop and pick up or loose the cost of meal. they decided to eat but ended up behind the ferry when they walked over. guard was not going to let thru unless they confirmed CS meal


----------



## GBRforWDW

Betty Rohrer said:


> had friends who had to press "here now" in front of guard as they had planned to cancel once thru gate. so they had to decide to stop and pick up or loose the cost of meal. they decided to eat but ended up behind the ferry when they walked over. guard was not going to let thru unless they confirmed CS meal


That’s kind of smart and fair.


----------



## rockpiece

Betty Rohrer said:


> had friends who had to press "here now" in front of guard as they had planned to cancel once thru gate. so they had to decide to stop and pick up or loose the cost of meal. they decided to eat but ended up behind the ferry when they walked over. guard was not going to let thru unless they confirmed CS meal


Wow thats ridiculous.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Completely Opposite reactions to the same exact comment back-to-back...

This is the most “DIS” thing ever


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Completely Opposite reactions to the same exact comment back-to-back...
> 
> This is the most “DIS” thing ever



Well, people do like to find loopholes.  BUT the rules are the rules. Things are weird with COVID and I totally understand Disney enforcing their policy - which has always been that you get 3 hours parking max at a resort when you have a dining reservation.  This was well in place before this.  If you really want to get to MK early, make a 7:30 AM reservation at the Wave, Eat something quick, and bounce.


----------



## tvsdisney

Y’all it’s beyond busy here! I cannot get over the crowds! Covid rules definitely don’t exist in Disney this weekend! I would have never guessed this was limited capacity...and yes I know it’s a holiday weekend.


----------



## limace

tvsdisney said:


> Y’all it’s beyond busy here! I cannot get over the crowds! Covid rules definitely don’t exist in Disney this weekend! I would have never guessed this was limited capacity...and yes I know it’s a holiday weekend.


Just remember it’s 35% of max capacity not average capacity. The touring plans folks have said, I think, that at average MK day per Covid was 40-45-% capacity, so when you hit 35% and add limited rides/shows and social distancing I bet it seems packed.


----------



## Aimeedyan

tvsdisney said:


> Y’all it’s beyond busy here! I cannot get over the crowds! Covid rules definitely don’t exist in Disney this weekend! I would have never guessed this was limited capacity...and yes I know it’s a holiday weekend.



We were planning to go this weekend and just canceled our park reservations tonight. Heard too many stories about the crowds this weekend (and it's not even Saturday yet!) and decided against it.


----------



## golex

Just got back, will refrain from posting our daily itineraries since they don't differ too much from the other more detailed recent posts in this thread, except to say the crowd levels are definitely quite high and often felt like a typical summer day in the parks. Here is our pre-park opening experiences for reference:

*Resort: Yacht Club*

Mon 2/8 - *Magic Kingdom* - First bus arrived at 8:15am, line was stretched all the way to lobby entrance. Park was already open when we arrived with long lines at temp check and security, arrived on Main Street around 8:40am.
Tues 2/9 - *Epcot* - Lining up at International Gateway temp checks allowed starting at 10:00am, Skyliner offloading started not long after, boat offloading held until park opened at exactly 10:20am.
Weds 2/10 - *Animal Kingdom* - First bus arrived at 7:20am, park had just opened not long before our bus arrived at the park.
Thurs 2/11 - *Hollywood Studios* - Walked over and arrived at 8:15am right when park opened, Skyliner was already offloading and we saw the first boat arrive right as we got there.


----------



## lovethattink

Please remember to follow DIS guidelines.


----------



## tvsdisney

Aimeedyan said:


> We were planning to go this weekend and just canceled our park reservations tonight. Heard too many stories about the crowds this weekend (and it's not even Saturday yet!) and decided against it.



Very very smart! I’m regretting my decision to be here. It wasn’t a wise one


----------



## tvsdisney

limace said:


> Just remember it’s 35% of max capacity not average capacity. The touring plans folks have said, I think, that at average MK day per Covid was 40-45-% capacity, so when you hit 35% and add limited rides/shows and social distancing I bet it seems packed.



No, No I understand that however this is beyond. We are talkingit’s hard to even walk through Epcot with the crowds. No one is staying on the social distancing markers and it looks like an average summer day. Disney should be ashamed to have gone back on their word and let this many people in. It’s truly uncomfortable to be here. If this isn’t a super spreader weekend I’d be amazed.


----------



## dancergirlsmom

Have people been able to park hop this weekend? Specifically to DHS?   I see that most of the parks don't have reservations available so was wondering if park hopping can still happen.  We are going the last week of March and already DHS reservations are gone for resort guests and ticketholders.


----------



## mamaofsix

tvsdisney said:


> No, No I understand that however this is beyond. We are talkingit’s hard to even walk through Epcot with the crowds. No one is staying on the social distancing markers and it looks like an average summer day. Disney should be ashamed to have gone back on their word and let this many people in. It’s truly uncomfortable to be here. If this isn’t a super spreader weekend I’d be amazed.


With reduced hours, half the restaurants closed, construction walls everywhere, almost no shows, and every ride having socially distanced lines - the walkways are going to be as packed as a 100% capacity day if they hit the 35% marker.  The issue is not that Disney is letting in more than the 35% (they aren't), the issue is that they are not opening more things to help absorb that 35%.  You've essentially got tens of thousands of people with basically no where to go _but_ the walkways.

They need to expand the hours to spread out the crowds, bring back the shows and experiences, open the restaurants and bring back the cast members to handle it.


----------



## wilkydelts

I would like to hear from others who are there right now because watching Touringplans wait times all day yesterday (and will today) I do not think it would of been a bad day.


----------



## lluv3971

wilkydelts said:


> I would like to hear from others who are there right now because watching Touringplans wait times all day yesterday (and will today) I do not think it would of been a bad day.


I was thinking the same thing. Not to negate anyone's experience, but the wait times seemed manageable last night (Friday). I say this as someone who is currently 600 miles away from the parks so, I'm interested to hear from others.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Anecdotally, the wait times I see here at 10am on a Saturday look pretty much the same as they were at 10am two weeks ago when were there.  Fri/Sat/Sun are just different than Mon-Thur down there right now.

Perhaps there’s been a slight uptick in crowds for the holiday as WDW may have truly reached their full current capacity this weekend but I’m not sure it’s an appreciable difference vs every other Fri/Sat since Christmas.

(Oh, and they are even offering some very nice extended hours this weekend to help spread things out vs when we were there)

EDIT: 7DMT is at 30 mins and BTMRR is at 5 mins right now... that’s crazy!  Those waits are lower than the dead Wednesday midweek we had!!  What is going on??  

EDIT2: half of MK rides are now closed due to a thunderstorm... me thinks my earlier observation might have been due to some rain


----------



## Raven01

Are Jambo folks having any trouble getting on busses to parks?  Should we walk to Kidani?

I want to be early for MK - plan to be at the bus stop 90 minutes before park open and I don’t know if I should stay at Jambo or walk it to Kidani to ensure I’m on that first bus.  No Uber as I have DD4 and no car seat.


----------



## EyeofDTiger75

Packing up, when I get off work we are leaving what will be the frozen tundra of NW Louisiana to head to WDW for the week. Staying at the Contemporary,


----------



## NashvilleMama

SouthFayetteFan said:


> EDIT: 7DMT is at 30 mins and BTMRR is at 5 mins right now... that’s crazy!  Those waits are lower than the dead Wednesday midweek we had!!  What is going on??
> 
> EDIT2: half of MK rides are now closed due to a thunderstorm... me thinks my earlier observation might have been due to some rain


Yes! I have a relative there right now and it's a torrential downpour!


----------



## wilkydelts

Unless they are all simultaneously cleaning it could be a long day in MK because right now at 10:20a there is so many rides listed as offline.


----------



## rockpiece

wilkydelts said:


> Unless they are all simultaneously cleaning it could be a long day in MK because right now at 10:20a there is so many rides listed as offline.


It’s because it is pouring here.


----------



## dez1978

The windchill here is -18. Torrential down pour sounds nice lol


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

dez1978 said:


> The windchill here is -18. Torrential down pour sounds nice lol



I hear ya!  I would gladly stand in a warm rain!  Air temp here is -10, with wind -24.  Leaving for WDW (skipping and kicking up my heels all the way to the plane) in 14 days!!


----------



## elgerber

dez1978 said:


> The windchill here is -18. Torrential down pour sounds nice lol


That my my actual air temp this morning, I agree LOL.


----------



## Goldilocks07

We are here now in Magic Kingdom. What’s the point of masks this place is PACKED. Lines are crazy long and honestly, really putting a damper on our experience. We are thankful WDW is open, but will be rethinking booking any other trips on weekends until fast pass returns. We are in the HM q right now, almost at the front but line has stopped and pretty sure there is a mechanical issue.
Pirates is 90 min, splash 75. And even if times are actually less than posted, still not worth the wait. Especially since we go to Disney 1-2 times a year.

I’m trying not to be negative here, I don’t mind the masks- but the crowds are out of control and lines are terrible. Thank goodness we are APH and didn’t come fully out of pocket for our tickets.


----------



## francie57

Unfortunately you picked a holiday weekend. Most schools are closed on Monday and some are closed for the week around here.  We were there in Nov. and are returning the beginning of March.  In Nov. the crowds were great and we had a great time.  Hopefully it will get better for you.


----------



## Farro

Ugh!

Although not sure fast pass is the problem or just not enough open to absorb crowds maybe?


----------



## Gentry2004

Thanks for updating. This is my concern for spring break. We have already ruled out MK and DHS. Still debating if we do AK and EP or bag the whole idea.


----------



## Disneylover99

Goldilocks07 said:


> We are here now in Magic Kingdom. *What’s the point of masks this place is PACKED.* Lines are crazy long and honestly, really putting a damper on our experience. We are thankful WDW is open, but will be rethinking booking any other trips on weekends until fast pass returns. We are in the HM q right now, almost at the front but line has stopped and pretty sure there is a mechanical issue.
> Pirates is 90 min, splash 75. And even if times are actually less than posted, still not worth the wait. Especially since we go to Disney 1-2 times a year.
> 
> I’m trying not to be negative here, I don’t mind the masks- but the crowds are out of control and lines are terrible. Thank goodness we are APH and didn’t come fully out of pocket for our tickets.


Be thankful for the masks during super busy times.


----------



## Mango7100

Ugh, that doesnt sound fun. We are thinking of going April 4-11 for our spring break assuming DH is vaccinated by then. We are a family who doesn’t ride anything without FP or rope drop so standing in lines all day for not only rides but food and not having shows is making me think if we should scrap it or just do a resort stay with no parks


----------



## Heather07438

We were in the parks last month for 9 days.  The weekdays were like night/day compared to weekend crowds.  Add in the holiday and yikes!  I think many APs come on the weekends, that makes a noticeable difference.  

Try to visit on weekdays when possible.  Even during busier weeks it helps (going by reports here on the DIS and our own experience).


----------



## wilkydelts

Looking at Touringplans expected ride wait times they are not ideal but they aren’t aweful. I’m sure the weather this morning and forcing people to come late is making MK much worse


----------



## ColoradoMom12

Sorry you are finding it so busy. We were there over Thanksgiving and felt the same. It pushed my comfort (and line-tolerance) level enough that I decided we won’t return for spring break. I think the crowds are particularly bad right now because it’s President’s Day weekend and schools are off for at least Monday and many for the full week. It’s more manageable without FP during less busy times but I still want to see the return of FP sooner, not later.


----------



## Goldilocks07

Mango7100 said:


> Ugh, that doesnt sound fun. We are thinking of going April 4-11 for our spring break assuming DH is vaccinated by then. We are a family who doesn’t ride anything without FP or rope drop so standing in lines all day for not only rides but food and not having shows is making me think if we should scrap it or just do a resort stay with no parks



I’m the same. We are fast pass ninjas. This is brutal.
If you are concerned with Covid (which I’m personally not) don’t come here. Zero social distancing. I posted a crowd pic just now.


----------



## Goldilocks07

Disneylover99 said:


> Be thankful for the masks during super busy times.



well, I’ve already had Covid- and I actually left New York City and moved to the glorious red Florida state to escape the craziness with masks. But that’s for a different thread.

but yeah, if you are concerned with masks/distancing DO NOT come on a weekend.


----------



## CalSea12

I keep saying this is exactly how it will be the middle and end of March... yet I keep getting called crazy...


----------



## OKW Lover

Goldilocks07 said:


> What’s the point of masks this place is PACKED.


Masks are one of the reasons the place can be packed.  Be thankful.


----------



## MikeOhio

Holiday weekends are always busy.


----------



## Gracie&7dorks

I just returned last Sunday from a 2 week solo trip.  Very light crowds, everyone distanced, plenty of hand sanitizers, everyone wore masks....  I felt very safe.  Also, with the exception of the fireworks, I felt there was plenty of surprise entertainment - such as the brass band marching by while at Sleepy Hollow.  Timing is everything!


----------



## JFox

My first rule in planning - avoid holidays.


----------



## ForceofWill

Whats stopping them from using the fast pass scanners to make a virtual que. Scan your band, and your app says come back at this time.  I would do that and return in 2 hours but my kids will NOT stand in a line for 2 hours.


----------



## JakeAZ

It's only going to get worse as we move into Spring Break, summer break for schools and ultimately the 50th in the Fall / Halloween / Christmas.

I hope WDW has a plan or they are going to have a hard time convincing the non-diehards to return.


----------



## MickeyWaffles

Goldilocks07 said:


> well, I’ve already had Covid- and I actually left New York City and *moved to the glorious red Florida state to escape the craziness with masks. *



Well, Disney World is not a place where you can “escape the craziness with masks.” 

And can there be one thread that doesn’t get political? Good grief.


----------



## JakeAZ

Farro said:


> just not enough open to absorb crowds maybe


This probably.  If you cancel everything else, where else are people supposed to go?

But man, moving from one 60+ min line to another, over and over again, sounds awful.  Especially at current prices.


----------



## disneygirlsng

ForceofWill said:


> Whats stopping them from using the fast pass scanners to make a virtual que. Scan your band, and your app says come back at this time.  I would do that and return in 2 hours but my kids will NOT stand in a line for 2 hours.


I don't see how that would be much different than fastpasses in that it would still require a second line. Which is currently not really feasible. 1) Many of the lines wouldn't have proper distancing if the fastpass queues were being used and 2) the already long/extended standby lines would be made even longer, extending even further out into the walkways. And if you (general you) aren't waiting in line for a ride, there really isn't much else to do/places to go right now, therefore crowding the walkways even more. It gets discussed on here just about every week, but fastpasses/virtual queue just isn't really doable until distancing goes down.


----------



## ForceofWill

disneygirlsng said:


> I don't see how that would be much different than fastpasses in that it would still require a second line. Which is currently not really feasible. 1) Many of the lines wouldn't have proper distancing if the fastpass queues were being used and 2) the already long/extended standby lines would be made even longer, extending even further out into the walkways. And if you (general you) aren't waiting in line for a ride, there really isn't much else to do/places to go right now, therefore crowding the walkways even more. It gets discussed on here just about every week, but fastpasses/virtual queue just isn't really doable until distancing goes down.



I meant instead of the line.  Your time to arrive would be adjusted based on where they wanted the end of it, within 15mins or so of the front.  Everyone's in the park already anyway, don't see why it wouldn't work.  The lines run into everything and congest anyway.


----------



## disneygirlsng

MickeyWaffles said:


> Well, Disney World is not a place where you can “escape the craziness of masks.”
> 
> And can there be one thread that doesn’t have some political comment? Good grief.


Thanks for saying what we're probably all thinking haha.


----------



## JakeAZ

ForceofWill said:


> I meant instead of the line.  Your time to arrive would be adjusted based on where they wanted the end of it, within 15mins or so of the front.  Everyone's in the park already anyway, don't see why it wouldn't work.  The lines run into everything and congest anyway.


I think she means, where would you go while waiting for your time?  No shows, less open, etc.  You'd just be walking around the parks, aimlessly.


----------



## wilkydelts

With 4 hours still left at MK according to Touringplans ride time app the majority of rides are 15-40 minutes and that includes Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.

I would really like to hear from others who are there because monitoring it all day I would not call it a day I would be grateful I was able to avoid. Probably not an ideal day but not insanity.


----------



## ForceofWill

JakeAZ said:


> I think she means, where would you go while waiting for your time?  No shows, less open, etc.  You'd just be walking around the parks, aimlessly.



That's totally ok with me.  We enjoy being at the parks but I can't stand being restricted to standing in crazy lines.


----------



## Tink9721

ForceofWill said:


> That's totally ok with me.  We enjoy being at the parks but I can't stand being restricted to standing in crazy lines.



Right, but then all those people from every attraction line are now just standing around the park. The walkways would just be full of all the people who would've been standing in line. That doesn't sound enjoyable to me either.


----------



## MickeyWaffles

ForceofWill said:


> That's totally ok with me.  We enjoy being at the parks but I can't stand being restricted to standing in crazy lines.



Do you realize how many people that would push out to walkways, taking up all the tables and benches, filling up the shops, blocking walkways? Would be a total nightmare. You are really underestimating how many people would be loitering around.


----------



## Tink9721

MickeyWaffles said:


> Do you realize how many people that would push out to walkways, taking up all the tables and benches, filling up the shops, blocking walkways? Would be a total nightmare. You are really underestimating how many people that would be loitering around.



Exactly. A good chunk of the thousands of people in the park at any given time are in lines. If those lines don't exist, all those people have to go somewhere


----------



## JakeAZ

Disney spent years builiding up a a very loyal base of guests.  So loyal, some bought timeshares knowing they will continue to come for many more years, even generations.

If they don't watch themselves, they can flush all that down the toilet.

I am completely aware the cause of this isn't their fault.  But they need to do something to spread out crowds.  

Just being open was cool at the beginning, but all these cost saving measures could end up costing them much more when things are back to "normal".

Let's be honest, if the distancing is non-existent right now, there is no logic in "we can't have shows" because of distancing.  "we can't have shows" is all about saving money.


----------



## disneygirlsng

JakeAZ said:


> Disney spent years builiding up a a very loyal base of guests.  So loyal, some bought timeshares knowing they will continue to come for many more years, even generations.
> 
> If they don't watch themselves, they can flush all that down the toilet.
> 
> I am completely aware the cause of this isn't their fault.  But they need to do something to spread out crowds.
> 
> Just being open was cool at the beginning, but all these cost saving measures could end up costing them much more when things are back to "normal".
> 
> Let's be honest, if the distancing is non-existent right now, there is no logic in "we can't have shows" because of distancing.  "we can't have shows" is all about saving money.


It's more the shows with live actors that have been closed, there are plenty of shows that are and have been open.

I've said it a few times, but my trip that I did last year was pretty much completely normal for me, other than having to wear a mask. If I hadn't started a new job and had more PTO, I'd have been several more times by now and would have easily renewed my AP.

ETA: I'll say that I know that not everyone does the parks like me, but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are similar.


----------



## ColoradoMom12

JakeAZ said:


> I hope WDW has a plan or they are going to have a hard time convincing the non-diehards to return.


I’m a diehard, and Disney is having a hard time convincing even me!   We travel at some of the busiest times of the year, and the lack of FP kind of feels like a dealbreaker unfortunately. We’re passholders, and I am thinking that unless at the very least FP returns in some form, I won’t be renewing. Disney has taken too much away (FP, EMH, resort airline checkin, and now magical express as well). I’m happy to spend my vacation money somewhere I feel like the expense is worth it. Right now that’s not at Disney. But like I said, we’re diehards and will still visit Disney (I don’t think they can convince me to stay away entirely, lol), just not as frequently and not as passholders.


----------



## JakeAZ

ColoradoMom12 said:


> I’m a diehard, and Disney is having a hard time convincing even me!   We travel at some of the busiest times of the year, and the lack of FP kind of feels like a dealbreaker unfortunately. We’re passholders, and I am thinking that unless at the very least FP returns in some form, I won’t be renewing. Disney has taken too much away (FP, EMH, resort airline checkin, and now magical express as well). I’m happy to spend my vacation money somewhere I feel like the expense is worth it. Right now that’s not at Disney. But like I said, we’re diehards and will still visit Disney (I don’t think they can convince me to stay away entirely, lol), just not as frequently and not as passholders.


I'm with you. 

We are not diehards, but we were very excited for our April 2020, 12 person "grandma's 70th" extended family trip.  We've rescheduled for Thanksgiving 2021 (mostly because of expiring airline credits, DVC credits and nobody is getting younger, especially grandma!) and based on the current situation, I have a bad feeling about what we have in store for us.  Hopefully the vaccine rollout catches fire and things get better later this year.  Only time will tell.  But if we get there and it's the same as it is today...count us out for future trips.  My wife and I had also tossed around the idea of looking into purchasing DVC (we are renting points on this trip to check it out), but that is completely off the table now.  Stopping DME killed that for us.  We know nothing is guaranteed, but things like that show just how one sided the Disney relationship really is.


----------



## JakeAZ

disneygirlsng said:


> It's more the shows with live actors that have been closed, there are plenty of shows that are and have been open.


I get that, but what about the nighttime shows?  Those are quintessentially Disney.  Nobody does them better.  A lot of the built in cost of the daily ticket was for viewing nighttime shows.

I get the "we need to space things out" argument.  I'm not opposed.  But, when I hear stories of packed parks with nowhere to go but lines, distancing goes out the door.  Also, this is an amusement park.  I have to believe the majority of people going have accepted things will not be spaced out.  Disney can try, but it's practically impossible.

It just seems like people will eventually catch on.   How long can they use the "we're keeping crowds down" argument to cut costs while at the same time, the crowds are becoming a problem because of the cutting of costs?


----------



## MickeyWaffles

JakeAZ said:


> I get that, but what about the nighttime shows?  Those are quintessentially Disney.  Nobody does them better.  A lot of the built in cost of the daily ticket was for viewing nighttime shows.
> 
> I get the "we need to space things out" argument.  I'm not opposed.  But, when I hear stories of packed parks with nowhere to go but lines, distancing goes out the door.  Also, this is an amusement park.  I have to believe the majority of people going have accepted things will not be spaced out.  Disney can try, but it's practically impossible.
> 
> It just seems like people will eventually catch on.   How long can they use the "we're keeping crowds down" argument to cut costs while at the same time, the crowds are becoming a problem because of the cutting of costs?



Today is the Saturday of a popular holiday weekend. For most of last week there were hardly any lines and all the parks besides MK were practically empty. FOP had a 10 minute line at 2:45pm one day! The parks are not packed with long lines consistently.. HEA is incredibly expensive to run when they aren’t selling enough tickets. Most days they don’t hit the limited capacity. They will wait until transmission is lower (thanks, vaccines!) and more people become comfortable traveling again.

We know nighttime shows will return. Have you seen World Showcase lagoon lately? They’re prepping for Harmonious. Nighttime entertainment will happen.


----------



## wilkydelts

Can we please stay on topic there are plenty of other threads to have this debate... please don’t derail this thread


----------



## JakeAZ

MickeyWaffles said:


> Today is the Saturday of a popular holiday weekend. For most of last week there were hardly any lines and all the parks besides MK were practically empty. FOP had a 10 minute line at 2:45pm one day! The crowds are not packed with long lines consistently.. HEA is incredibly expensive to run when they aren’t selling enough tickets. Most days they don’t hit the limited capacity.
> 
> We know nighttime shows will return. Have you seen World Showcase lagoon lately? They’re prepping for Harmonious.
> 
> Nighttime entertainment will happen.


I get right now it's hit and miss with crowds.

But, spring break is right around the corner.  And that's encompasses a few weeks, not just a holiday weekend.


----------



## MickeyWaffles

JakeAZ said:


> I get right now it's hit and miss with crowds.
> 
> But, spring break is right around the corner.  And that's encompasses a few weeks, not just a holiday weekend.



For sure. Will be interesting to see how busy it is throughout all of March and April, or if the super heavy crowds are more concentrated to Easter.


----------



## JakeAZ

wilkydelts said:


> Can we please stay on topic there are plenty of other threads to have this debate... please don’t derail this thread


What's off topic?

It's a post about heavy crowds.  Discussing the reasons seems appropriate.  No?


----------



## mwhite67

I also speculate that I addition to the holiday weekend Disney may have just increased capacity.  The park reservation availability calendar seemed to move around right before the weekend for this coming week.  I don't think increasing capacity without increasing open attractions and even FP would be a good move on their part.


----------



## MickeyWaffles

mwhite67 said:


> I also speculate that I addition to the holiday weekend Disney may have just increased capacity.  The park reservation availability calendar seemed to move around right before the weekend for this coming week.  I don't think increasing capacity without increasing open attractions and even FP would be a good move on their part.



On Thursday’s investor call, Chapek confirmed they are still operating at 35% and increases will be based on vaccination rates. I don’t think they’d increase it the next day.


----------



## Starport Seven-Five

Those wait times look like our last trip pre-covid.  Amazing how quickly we forget that hour waits were pretty much status quo.


----------



## supersnoop

JakeAZ said:


> But man, moving from one 60+ min line to another, over and over again, sounds awful. Especially at current prices.





Starport Seven-Five said:


> Those wait times look like our last trip pre-covid.  Amazing how quickly we forget that hour waits were pretty much status quo.


I was going to say; isn't that how most people usually experience the parks?  Moving from one regular line to the next.  Even "fast pass ninjas" hop from line to line.


----------



## Missingmypooh

This thread is the exact reason disney has stopped selling APs. They claim that “annual pass holders don’t bring in as much income as ticket holders” 

one day I’m going to have to do an anecdotal survey because, I can’t see how that’s possibly true, unless their comparing a 14
Day European vacationer with the after 4 epcot passes.

most APH get crazy merch, do staycations, multiple visits per year etc. they are the ones with DVC and the first ones back to try new offerings, entertainment and attractions. Before covid I was going 6-10 times a month and purchasing food and items each visit. I know many many locals who do the same. 

But because of crowding, like this thread is emphasizing, APs are limited from being sold.
APH come back crowd after crowd, but many first timers won’t. 

Not trying to hijack this thread, I just find all of this so interesting and I wish I had more data on this topic of crowding, lines and the likelihood of certain guests returning for future trips


----------



## SaintsManiac

I hate to be a broken record but when Presidents Day and Mardi Gras collide it means huge crowds.


----------



## rileyz

SaintsManiac said:


> I hate to be a broken record but when Presidents Day and Mardi Gras collide it means huge crowds.



Even if they are at 35% capacity?  I saw the calendars suddenly open up space for Sunday so I question if they really are at 35% still.


----------



## JakeAZ

supersnoop said:


> I was going to say; isn't that how most people usually experience the parks?  Moving from one regular line to the next.  Even "fast pass ninjas" hop from line to line.


True, but with FP, you could mix in a 20 minute wait every now and then.

You could also find shorter lines during nighttime shows or skip waiting in line to watch a nighttime show.


----------



## PCFriar80

MickeyWaffles said:


> On Thursday’s investor call, Chapek confirmed they are still operating at 35% and increases will be based on vaccination rates. I don’t think they’d increase it the next day.


It was actually the CFO, Christine McCarthy that referenced the 35% park capacity on the investor's call.

*Christine McCarthy* -- _Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer_
OK. Jessica, I'll address your question about capacity at the parks. You're absolutely right that there are days, especially holiday periods, where we have to shut our parks for additional entries. Those tend to be days that the park fills up quickly and we just can't accommodate more people.
But that being said, we are currently operating at 35% of that full capacity. And the teams in the park, especially at Walt Disney World, have really figured out a way to be as efficient as possible in operating the park that allows us to get up to that 35% and still maintain all of the protocols for social distancing, for COVID. I think you'll remember, when we started opening, we started at a level less than 35%............


----------



## MickeyWaffles

PCFriar80 said:


> It was actually the CFO, Christine McCarthy that referenced the 35% park capacity on the investor's call.
> 
> *Christine McCarthy* -- _Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer_
> OK. Jessica, I'll address your question about capacity at the parks. You're absolutely right that there are days, especially holiday periods, where we have to shut our parks for additional entries. Those tend to be days that the park fills up quickly and we just can't accommodate more people.
> But that being said, we are currently operating at 35% of that full capacity. And the teams in the park, especially at Walt Disney World, have really figured out a way to be as efficient as possible in operating the park that allows us to get up to that 35% and still maintain all of the protocols for social distancing, for COVID. I think you'll remember, when we started opening, we started at a level less than 35%............



Thanks for correcting me, I was just  following along on Twitter so saw the statement but thought it was Chapek answering. Oops! At least I got the capacity part right


----------



## mwhite67

MickeyWaffles said:


> On Thursday’s investor call, Chapek confirmed they are still operating at 35% and increases will be based on vaccination rates. I don’t think they’d increase it the next day.


I know.  I wonder if they operate normally at 35% but on holidays they increase?  I just checked out a couple videos on Youtube from today/tonight and the MK looks pretty crowded - more than I've ever seen since Covid.  I think they do a great job (was there in October), but I don't personally believe they stick to their stated cap at times when demand spikes drastically.


----------



## abnihon

mwhite67 said:


> I know.  I wonder if they operate normally at 35% but on holidays they increase?  I just checked out a couple videos on Youtube from today/tonight and the MK looks pretty crowded - more than I've ever seen since Covid.  I think they do a great job (was there in October), but I don't personally believe they stick to their stated cap at times when demand spikes drastically.



I agree that this may be the case.  I also obsessively check the park pass calendar and noticed almost all parks refreshed this weekend or for next week.  Hmmm.


----------



## SaintsManiac

rileyz said:


> Even if they are at 35% capacity?  I saw the calendars suddenly open up space for Sunday so I question if they really are at 35% still.



No idea what it is now, but are we sure they hit max 35% every day? I know people question if they increased it, but I question if they were even hitting that high without holidays.


----------



## Jimmy Mouse

Goldilocks07 said:


> I’m the same. We are fast pass ninjas. This is brutal.
> If you are concerned with Covid (which I’m personally not) don’t come here. Zero social distancing. I posted a crowd pic just now.


I was looking for the pic. where can i see it?


----------



## MATTERHORN

Starport Seven-Five said:


> Those wait times look like our last trip pre-covid.  Amazing how quickly we forget that hour waits were pretty much status quo.



That's what I was thinking! These were all pretty darn normal wait times for years now on weekends and holidays. Not sure where the disconnect is for people?


----------



## MATTERHORN

Was there three times in the last two weeks, it's very easy to avoid crowds and have almost all walk ons. Don't come on weekends or holidays. 
If you aren't able to make that work, that's not Disney's fault. They need people to continue on.

 Seems like everyone crying to have places open with Covid also want them to be empty! That's not how it works if you want them to stay open.


----------



## md1982

President's Day, Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, February Break and its a Saturday. This shouldn't be surprising. This weekend is traditionally one of the busiest of the year.


----------



## Jimmy Mouse

SaintsManiac said:


> No idea what it is now, but are we sure they hit max 35% every day? I know people question if they increased it, but I question if they were even hitting that high without holidays.


Even if they did hit 35%, that's not that bad considering they are running at 35% of max capacity. The parks run at 35-40% in normal times anyway and only get close to or hit capacity around the holidays. The wait times she posted are actually pretty good.


----------



## mamaofsix

disneygirlsng said:


> It's more the shows with live actors that have been closed, there are plenty of shows that are and have been open.
> 
> I've said it a few times, but my trip that I did last year was pretty much completely normal for me, other than having to wear a mask. If I hadn't started a new job and had more PTO, I'd have been several more times by now and would have easily renewed my AP.
> 
> ETA: I'll say that I know that not everyone does the parks like me, but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are similar.


Seems to me there's a lot more closed at MK right now than just shows with live actors.  A few on the list include live actors, but not many:
-People Mover
-Monster's Inc Laugh Floor
-Railroad
-Enchanted Tales with Belle
-Festival of Fantasy Parade
-Hall of Presidents
-Happily Ever After
-Half the Restaurants
-All the Character Meet and Greets.

I mean, it's a lot closed.  Many of these closed attractions, restaurants and experiences absorbed huge amounts of people.  I don't buy the reasoning that Disney can't open more due to cost or safety at this point.  If they can afford those huge CEO salaries, they can afford to open this stuff back up and disperse the crowds.  If it's "safe" to have everyone crammed into walkways because nothing's open, surely it's "safe" to open things back up.


----------



## MomOTwins

elgerber said:


> That my my actual air temp this morning, I agree LOL.


Another midwesterner here. This freeze is nuts! ️


----------



## WhitneyMB

lluv3971 said:


> Not to negate anyone's experience, but the wait times seemed manageable last night (Friday). I say this as someone who is currently 600 miles away from the parks so, I'm interested to hear from others.



We were also at Epcot yesterday.  The morning was great! We jumped on TT as soon as they let us into the park around 10:15, after just 5-10 minutes waiting for the ride to get started. By 10:45 we were walking on to Frozen with NO wait! I couldn’t believe how short the Frozen line was the first hour! We were also able to do Soarin,  LWTL and Figment before lunch at 12:15. Looked at some art and headed out at 1:30pm.

When we came back at 5:30pm, it was MUCH busier. World Showcase was harder to walk around, Frozen line was down to China. It wasn’t really comfortable to be there, although the masking was better than we expected (having heard horror stories) about walking/drinking/eating.

We were at Epcot for MLK day weekend 2020 and it was so wall-to-wall people we literally couldn’t move. It was definitely not like that yesterday, but it also was very busy in the evening . We dealt with it by heading to the front of the park and doing more rides with pretty short waits, then circled back to buy something, and headed out.


----------



## WhitneyMB

dez1978 said:


> The windchill here is -18. Torrential down pour sounds nice lol



Haha! As another midwesterner I appreciate this.  I think today was the first time my family got so wet and cold at Disney, we gave up and headed back the resort early. It rained hard—from about 9-noon—and we were at Animal Kingdom with no cover. We even did the Safari in the thunder and lightening! (were surprised they didn’t stop it).

Having said all that, we ended the day at Disney, which makes it a good day


----------



## gharter

As others have noted, weekends tend to be busier.  A holiday weekend just increases that even more.  I expect Sunday and Monday to be similar.
Would not be surprised to see some of the parks at capacity limits.


----------



## twodogs

I think what throws me off is thinking it’s 35% of a “normal” park day crowd when we visit (usually summer break, school holidays like President’s day, but not “on’ Christmas or New Year’s days).  So when we normally go, the parks have never closed for capacity, so I have no idea what 100% capacity (as they are using to then calculate down to 35% of a park that was closed for capacity pre-COVID) looks like.  So if today is 35% of the park’s *maximum* when they close down MK for New Year’s eve or something, that is actually still a lot of people in the parks compared to what I am used to seeing.  If today’s crowd was really capped at 35% of the normal capacity _for President’s Day weekend_ (when to my memory, MK never has closed to capacity on this weekend), that would be a lot less people than 35% of maximum capacity _of the parks ever_, which is what they are capping it at today.  I hope this makes sense.


----------



## DavidNYC

The times you’ve described are pretty standard holiday weekend times.  60-120 minutes for popular rides is not unusual.


----------



## ttintagel

Yeah, not having everything open is going to have an effect on lines. Before Fastpass, if a line was long you could just go to a minor attraction with a shorter line and come back later. But that really depends on having everything open for people to have somewhere to go.


----------



## Victoria3

Goldilocks07 said:


> We are here now in Magic Kingdom. What’s the point of masks this place is PACKED. Lines are crazy long and honestly, really putting a damper on our experience. We are thankful WDW is open, but will be rethinking booking any other trips on weekends until fast pass returns. We are in the HM q right now, almost at the front but line has stopped and pretty sure there is a mechanical issue.
> Pirates is 90 min, splash 75. And even if times are actually less than posted, still not worth the wait. Especially since we go to Disney 1-2 times a year.
> 
> I’m trying not to be negative here, I don’t mind the masks- but the crowds are out of control and lines are terrible. Thank goodness we are APH and didn’t come fully out of pocket for our tickets.



This is pretty common for a holiday weekend.


----------



## Olaf Myfrenzargay

Crowds suck I know but think of the alternative.  Sitting at home breathing in dirty stale air, and searching NFLX for an hour and a half before you even find anything you might want to watch.


----------



## skuttle

We were at MK yesterday, Saturday Feb 13th. Yes, I know, you’re not supposed to go on a Saturday, but it fit best with our short trip so we went and made the most of it!

We were on and off Space Mountain and Buzz by 830am when park wasn’t officially opening until 9am!

We grabbed breakfast a sleepy hallow right at 9am when it opened. Had planned on Joffreys in tomorrowland but didn’t open until 10am.

Huge thunderstorm rolled in shortly afterwards. We rode BTMR in the pouring rain. Got soaked, but laughed the entire time!

We waited for rain to slack after that because it was so heavy. Really ruined the whole “get lots done early” plan.

Pirates was down all morning, came back up later in day with hour plus waits, then went down again. We never rode it as both times we tried it was down.

Most waits were a bit less than posted. However, we jumped in like for 7DMT around 7pm. Listed time was 75min, hoping it’d be less like the others. Nope. Over 2 hours. Slowest moving line ever. Had we known that; we would have skipped it.

However, after that we did splash with 75min wait that took 20min. Kinda frustrating that the times are so off. Husband and oldest didn’t want to wait 75 min again so chose not to do it, and it took us 20. Sigh.

Dinner  in castle was amazing! We weren’t expecting much after reading such terrible reviews, but it was SO good! We don’t care about characters, just wanted to bring our boys into castle. Yes expensive (family of 5), but we really enjoyed it! Food was great, kids liked being inside the castle. “Worth it” at Disney is all relative. We had an enjoyable, delicious dinner, which is all we were hoping for.

Fantasyland seemed packed all day, as normal. Mask compliance was great. Social distancing not so kich

Hardest  part was trying to find the end of lines.

And I wish wait times were more accurate.

Mobile ordering is the best and I hope it’s here to stay!

We did studios the day before MK, today (sun feb 14) is AK, then back to studios tomorrow (mon feb 15). I’ll try to give reports on those too later.


----------



## skuttle

We were at MK yesterday (sat, feb 13). We expected crowds since a Saturday, but this fit best with our short trip so we decided to make the most of it. Husband is a teacher and oldest a HS senior so we’re always stuck with school holiday trips.

My biggest complaint is the wait times weren't accurate. We got in line for 7DMT with 75min listed, but took over 2 hours. We never would have gotten in line.

After that did splash with 75min listed wait. Some in our party skipped it because didn’t want to wait. Took 20 min. Ugh.

we were on and off space mountain and buzz by 830am when official opening was 9am.


----------



## disneygirlsng

mamaofsix said:


> Seems to me there's a lot more closed at MK right now than just shows with live actors.  A few on the list include live actors, but not many:
> -People Mover
> -Monster's Inc Laugh Floor
> -Railroad
> -Enchanted Tales with Belle
> -Festival of Fantasy Parade
> -Hall of Presidents
> -Happily Ever After
> -Half the Restaurants
> -All the Character Meet and Greets.
> 
> I mean, it's a lot closed.  Many of these closed attractions, restaurants and experiences absorbed huge amounts of people.  I don't buy the reasoning that Disney can't open more due to cost or safety at this point.  If they can afford those huge CEO salaries, they can afford to open this stuff back up and disperse the crowds.  If it's "safe" to have everyone crammed into walkways because nothing's open, surely it's "safe" to open things back up.


Well, 3 of those would be closed right now no matter what for refurbs, one being open until a couple weeks ago. "Half the restaurants" being closed is a bit of a stretch, plenty of places to eat IMO. Not sure what's going on with Monsters, so I'll give you that. HEA is doable, but I could see where they may want to hold off on it for now. And the rest have live people/actors, two of which have been replaced by (more Covid-friendly, though lesser) alternatives.


----------



## mamaofsix

disneygirlsng said:


> Well, 3 of those would be closed right now no matter what for refurbs, one being open until a couple weeks ago. "Half the restaurants" being closed is a bit of a stretch, plenty of places to eat IMO. Not sure what's going on with Monsters, so I'll give you that. HEA is doable, but I could see where they may want to hold off on it for now. And the rest have live people/actors, two of which have been replaced by (more Covid-friendly, though lesser) alternatives.



I see what you're saying but...a quick screenshot of the number of dining experiences alone that are currently closed at MK.  I count 18.   Number listed as available:  20.  Almost exactly half.    As for replacing experiences with more COVID friendly alternatives - the alternatives aren't able to service nearly the same amount of guests.   And a couple of the refurbs wouldn't be closed right now if Disney hadn't laid off so many construction workers.  PeopleMover and the Railroad could have been up and running by now if construction hadn't ground to a halt for so long.  That was my point.  A whole lot of guests with no where to go.   Not trying to start an argument, just looking at the realities of what it's like in the parks right now and what Disney needs to do to solve it.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

WhitneyMB said:


> We were also at Epcot yesterday.  The morning was great! We jumped on TT as soon as they let us into the park around 10:15, after just 5-10 minutes waiting for the ride to get started. By 10:45 we were walking on to Frozen with NO wait! I couldn’t believe how short the Frozen line was the first hour! We were also able to do Soarin,  LWTL and Figment before lunch at 12:15. Looked at some art and headed out at 1:30pm.
> 
> When we came back at 5:30pm, it was MUCH busier. World Showcase was harder to walk around, Frozen line was down to China. It wasn’t really comfortable to be there, although the masking was better than we expected (having heard horror stories) about walking/drinking/eating.
> 
> We were at Epcot for MLK day weekend 2020 and it was so wall-to-wall people we literally couldn’t move. It was definitely not like that yesterday, but it also was very busy in the evening . We dealt with it by heading to the front of the park and doing more rides with pretty short waits, then circled back to buy something, and headed out.



This hits the nail on the head for what I thought about Epcot on my last trip: early in the morning is great but by the time the afternoon rolls around, there are just SO MANY PEOPLE in the World Showcase and there isn't very many places for them to go but to stand in the walkways with their snacks.

Unfortunately, you can't use wait times at most of the attractions in Epcot to reflect how crowded it is in that park.



skuttle said:


> We were at MK yesterday, Saturday Feb 13th. Yes, I know, you’re not supposed to go on a Saturday, but it fit best with our short trip so we went and made the most of it!
> 
> We were on and off Space Mountain and Buzz by 830am when park wasn’t officially opening until 9am!
> 
> We grabbed breakfast a sleepy hallow right at 9am when it opened. Had planned on Joffreys in tomorrowland but didn’t open until 10am.
> 
> Huge thunderstorm rolled in shortly afterwards. We rode BTMR in the pouring rain. Got soaked, but laughed the entire time!
> 
> We waited for rain to slack after that because it was so heavy. Really ruined the whole “get lots done early” plan.
> 
> Pirates was down all morning, came back up later in day with hour plus waits, then went down again. We never rode it as both times we tried it was down.
> 
> Most waits were a bit less than posted. However, we jumped in like for 7DMT around 7pm. Listed time was 75min, hoping it’d be less like the others. Nope. Over 2 hours. Slowest moving line ever. Had we known that; we would have skipped it.
> 
> However, after that we did splash with 75min wait that took 20min. Kinda frustrating that the times are so off. Husband and oldest didn’t want to wait 75 min again so chose not to do it, and it took us 20. Sigh.
> 
> Dinner  in castle was amazing! We weren’t expecting much after reading such terrible reviews, but it was SO good! We don’t care about characters, just wanted to bring our boys into castle. Yes expensive (family of 5), but we really enjoyed it! Food was great, kids liked being inside the castle. “Worth it” at Disney is all relative. We had an enjoyable, delicious dinner, which is all we were hoping for.
> 
> Fantasyland seemed packed all day, as normal. Mask compliance was great. Social distancing not so kich
> 
> Hardest  part was trying to find the end of lines.
> 
> And I wish wait times were more accurate.
> 
> Mobile ordering is the best and I hope it’s here to stay!
> 
> We did studios the day before MK, today (sun feb 14) is AK, then back to studios tomorrow (mon feb 15). I’ll try to give reports on those too later.



I am so glad to hear about your meal in the Castle. I have been stalking reservations for it for my next trip when I saw it was the same price as BOG. I haven't eaten in the castle since 2000 - so on a solo trip, why not?.


----------



## wilbret

Goldilocks07 said:


> We are here now in Magic Kingdom. What’s the point of masks this place is PACKED. Lines are crazy long and honestly, really putting a damper on our experience. We are thankful WDW is open, but will be rethinking booking any other trips on weekends until fast pass returns. We are in the HM q right now, almost at the front but line has stopped and pretty sure there is a mechanical issue.
> Pirates is 90 min, splash 75. And even if times are actually less than posted, still not worth the wait. Especially since we go to Disney 1-2 times a year.
> 
> I’m trying not to be negative here, I don’t mind the masks- but the crowds are out of control and lines are terrible. Thank goodness we are APH and didn’t come fully out of pocket for our tickets.


FYI, it’s a long 4-day weekend for many people. When planning, if possible, check school calendars for school systems in the area and in Georgia.  We would be there this weekend typically, but had other things pop up.


----------



## wdw&sonny

Having read many of these posts, talking about reduced PARK capacities, I just want to remind that the RIDE capacities are also reduced.  Long waits, but fewer people riding per hour.  Fewer people standing in line, than normal.  Fewer attractions, restaurants, shops open = crowded in the spaces that are open.


----------



## MomOTwins

twodogs said:


> I think what throws me off is thinking it’s 35% of a “normal” park day crowd when we visit (usually summer break, school holidays like President’s day, but not “on’ Christmas or New Year’s days).  So when we normally go, the parks have never closed for capacity, so I have no idea what 100% capacity (as they are using to then calculate down to 35% of a park that was closed for capacity pre-COVID) looks like.  So if today is 35% of the park’s *maximum* when they close down MK for New Year’s eve or something, that is actually still a lot of people in the parks compared to what I am used to seeing.  If today’s crowd was really capped at 35% of the normal capacity _for President’s Day weekend_ (when to my memory, MK never has closed to capacity on this weekend), that would be a lot less people than 35% of maximum capacity _of the parks ever_, which is what they are capping it at today.  I hope this makes sense.


It is 35% of the maximum—that is why they use the word capacity rather than attendance.  On a pre-Covid day, MK would typically range from 40-70%.  So yes, a “sold out” park now is basically a regular day, once you factor in reduced ride seating.

Wait times have been unusually low in January and February because it is off season for travel and there are no special events like marathons or cheer to boost attendance like there were in prior years. They were not like that because of the 35% limit—you could easily see that parks were not reaching that threshold because park passes were not selling out.  We were there in October and everything in MK was an hour wait with 35% capacity.



mamaofsix said:


> I see what you're saying but...a quick screenshot of the number of dining experiences alone that are currently closed at MK.  I count 18.   Number listed as available:  20.  Almost exactly half.    As for replacing experiences with more COVID friendly alternatives - the alternatives aren't able to service nearly the same amount of guests.   And a couple of the refurbs wouldn't be closed right now if Disney hadn't laid off so many construction workers.  PeopleMover and the Railroad could have been up and running by now if construction hadn't ground to a halt for so long.  That was my point.  A whole lot of guests with no where to go.   Not trying to start an argument, just looking at the realities of what it's like in the parks right now and what Disney needs to do to solve it.
> 
> View attachment 556278


Most of those are fireworks parties of after hours events, not dining venues—they have no impact on crowds.


----------



## disneygirlsng

mamaofsix said:


> I see what you're saying but...a quick screenshot of the number of dining experiences alone that are currently closed at MK.  I count 18.   Number listed as available:  20.  Almost exactly half.    As for replacing experiences with more COVID friendly alternatives - the alternatives aren't able to service nearly the same amount of guests.   And a couple of the refurbs wouldn't be closed right now if Disney hadn't laid off so many construction workers.  PeopleMover and the Railroad could have been up and running by now if construction hadn't ground to a halt for so long.  That was my point.  A whole lot of guests with no where to go.   Not trying to start an argument, just looking at the realities of what it's like in the parks right now and what Disney needs to do to solve it.
> 
> View attachment 556278


Only 10 of those are actual dining venues. But I get it, just not sure how much can be done about it quite yet.


----------



## mamaofsix

MomOTwins said:


> Most of those are fireworks parties of after hours events, not dining venues—they have no impact on crowds.


?  After hours events and fireworks dining parties absorbed thousands of people a day into those experiences.  I'd say they had an impact on spreading out / reducing crowds just as much as the closed restaurants did.


----------



## loswest

WhitneyMB said:


> We were also at Epcot yesterday.  The morning was great! We jumped on TT as soon as they let us into the park around 10:15, after just 5-10 minutes waiting for the ride to get started. By 10:45 we were walking on to Frozen with NO wait! I couldn’t believe how short the Frozen line was the first hour! We were also able to do Soarin,  LWTL and Figment before lunch at 12:15. Looked at some art and headed out at 1:30pm.
> 
> When we came back at 5:30pm, it was MUCH busier. World Showcase was harder to walk around, Frozen line was down to China. It wasn’t really comfortable to be there, although the masking was better than we expected (having heard horror stories) about walking/drinking/eating.
> 
> We were at Epcot for MLK day weekend 2020 and it was so wall-to-wall people we literally couldn’t move. It was definitely not like that yesterday, but it also was very busy in the evening . We dealt with it by heading to the front of the park and doing more rides with pretty short waits, then circled back to buy something, and headed out.


What transportation did you use to get to the park at opening and which entrance did you go to?  We're trying to figure out how to rope drop Epcot for our last day at the parks and it sounds like you had a great morning despite the holiday weekend.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Any experience with park hopping this weekend?  Since this is the first time we've seen yellow days, just wondering if anyone has tried to hop to a yellow park and been turned away?


----------



## disneygirlsng

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Any experience with park hopping this weekend?  Since this is the first time we've seen yellow days, just wondering if anyone has tried to hop to a yellow park and been turned away?


I saw a post on FB of someone who called the park hopping hotline multiple times yesterday and all parks were always open. Haven't seen any other reports yet, interested if anyone else tried.


----------



## golex

For reference, MK, AK and Epcot ended up being about 30% busier yesterday week over week. No real change at HS since it’s already been running at near capacity.


----------



## ckb_nc

Anyone at MK today - seeing pics where they closed the line for Peter Pan which I can't ever remember being done


----------



## WhitneyMB

loswest said:


> What transportation did you use to get to the park at opening and which entrance did you go to?  We're trying to figure out how to rope drop Epcot for our last day at the parks and it sounds like you had a great morning despite the holiday weekend.



We walked over from Boardwalk Villas and entered at the International Gateway. Just adults and teens in our party.


----------



## WhitneyMB

golex said:


> For reference, MK, AK and Epcot ended up being about 30% busier yesterday week over week. No real change at HS since it’s already been running at near capacity.



The CMs on the ground are confirming this too. At MK today we went to get in a long line for Jungle Cruise and asked the CM at the line marker if it would really be about 50 minutes. He said he “wasn’t sure because we haven’t seen crowds like this since Christmas.” It ended up being about 40.

It’s very busy here at MK today! (as was to be expected)


----------



## emilymad

I am trying to read back some on this thread but where would be the best place to read transportation from Riviera to the parks?  What time does transportation start running and how early should you get in line before that?


----------



## lovethattink

emilymad said:


> I am trying to read back some on this thread but where would be the best place to read transportation from Riviera to the parks?  What time does transportation start running and how early should you get in line before that?



The transportation board would be the best place to read or ask about transportation.
https://www.disboards.com/forums/transportation.16/


----------



## Chris Ehlers

ckb_nc said:


> Anyone at MK today - seeing pics where they closed the line for Peter Pan which I can't ever remember being done


When we were there last weekend PP was closed for most of the day, when it opened the line went all the way back and into Columbia House and up stairs and back out, but that only took 45 min to get on ride


----------



## Sbunit81

Are crowds expected to be sustained during the entire week? Or is this just because of the long weeekend and things are expected to die down a bit come Tuesday? Normally I’d assume this would be a busy week but no idea what to expect this year.  And we are flying down to Orlando tomorrow (decided not to stay at Disney however due to a number of pre-pandemic experiences missing, first time Ever in 15 years of traveling to Orlando for vacation). Will be trying the universal experience instead with a 2 day trips to Disney).


----------



## MomOTwins

mamaofsix said:


> ?  After hours events and fireworks dining parties absorbed thousands of people a day into those experiences.  I'd say they had an impact on spreading out / reducing crowds just as much as the closed restaurants did.


Except the parks are not open in the early mornings (for the dining events like early morning fantasyland) or late evenings most days at the times they used to do fireworks.  Recognize hours are extended the next few days for the holiday weekend, but that is really not the case any more for the most part.  If the parks aren't open, no point in having an event to disperse crowds in the park because there won't be crowds (or anyone at all) in the parks.


----------



## HokieRaven5

mamaofsix said:


> ?  After hours events and fireworks dining parties absorbed thousands of people a day into those experiences.  I'd say they had an impact on spreading out / reducing crowds just as much as the closed restaurants did.



Those are only going to impact crowds 1 hour before whenever HEA would've been scheduled though, which in Pre-COVID operation was scheduled at 8pm with either a 9pm closing during the week and 10pm on the weekends. So really they only absorb crowds for the last 2-3 hours of park operation. Sure they can help, but even in COVID operations the waits are dropping towards the end of park operations so their impact wouldn't be as substantial as you might think.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Sbunit81 said:


> Are crowds expected to be sustained during the entire week? Or is this just because of the long weeekend and things are expected to die down a bit come Tuesday? Normally I’d assume this would be a busy week but no idea what to expect this year.  And we are flying down to Orlando tomorrow (decided not to stay at Disney however due to a number of pre-pandemic experiences missing, first time Ever in 15 years of traveling to Orlando for vacation). Will be trying the universal experience instead with a 2 day trips to Disney).


Nobody really knows as as you pointed out, nobody knows what to expect this year.  Have a great trip!


----------



## BigOHawk

Peter Pan down or just getting a minor facelift and rike is ok? Looked like the scrims were out front...


----------



## MomOTwins

scrappinginontario said:


> Nobody really knows as as you pointed out, nobody knows what to expect this year.  Have a great trip!


Well, Disney knows because they can see park pass data, and apparently they think the whole week will be busy since they extended park hours so much.



BigOHawk said:


> Peter Pan down or just getting a minor facelift and rike is ok? Looked like the scrims were out front...


Work being done on the queue but ride is up and running.


----------



## boop0524

Question for those who've been driving to the parks. We're doing a last minute trip to Epcot and Hollywood Studios here soon. Is it still a good strategy to plan on arriving at the park an hour before posted opening? Worked great for us in December, but not sure if things have changed.


----------



## GBRforWDW

boop0524 said:


> Question for those who've been driving to the parks. We're doing a last minute trip to Epcot and Hollywood Studios here soon. Is it still a good strategy to plan on arriving at the park an hour before posted opening? Worked great for us in December, but not sure if things have changed.


That's still a good strategy.


----------



## mamaofsix

MomOTwins said:


> Except the parks are not open in the early mornings (for the dining events like early morning fantasyland) or late evenings most days at the times they used to do fireworks.  Recognize hours are extended the next few days for the holiday weekend, but that is really not the case any more for the most part.  If the parks aren't open, no point in having an event to disperse crowds in the park because there won't be crowds (or anyone at all) in the parks.


That's kinda exactly my point.  Having those parties and events requires extended hours and results in less crowds during the busier parts of the day...  Again, this requires Disney to bring back more staff, extend it hours, etc., in order to address crowding.


----------



## rockpiece

Lol great start for MK today


----------



## The Druggist

golex said:


> For reference, MK, AK and Epcot ended up being about 30% busier yesterday week over week. No real change at HS since it’s already been running at near capacity.


My interest in piqued. Where do you get these graphs and information?


----------



## Ellester

Wed 2/10 Magic Kingdom, park hours 9-7
OKW Bus stop at 7:30, bus arrived 8:10. Into park at 8:46, SDMT line all the way around to Gaston’s and trains were not running yet so we punted ad headed to Peter Pan and walked on. Over to Space Mountian, posted 15 min, acutally on in 10, most of that walking through the queue. Kids walked on to Astro Orbiters at 9:40. Coffee/snack break at Joffreys. Pooh with a 10 minute wait (posted 15), HM walk on at 10:30, Splash at 10:50, posted 30, on in 20. Popcorn break then got return time for BTMM. Since my mom was in a scooter and couldn’t use the normal queue they gave us a return time. We only had this happen at MK on BTMM, Small World, and Jungle Cruise. Definitely worked to our advantage but won’t be available if you don’t have a wheelchair/scooter user in your riding party.
Lunch at Tony’s (first time there, surprisingly good). Pirates next, posted 35 and on in exactly 35. Got return passes for Jungle Cruise, 20 minutes out. Rode JC, got Kakamora Floats (so good!!!). Hubby and kids back to Space Mountain, mom and I rode Little Mermaid with a 10 minute wait. Middle daughter’s phone fell out of her pocket on Space and was on the floor of the ride car. They wouldn’t let her get back in the car to get it and so began a 20 minute adventure to get her phone back complicated by a shift change. While the big kids were getting her phone, hubby, Natalie and I rode the Speedway at 5:00 with a 5 minute wait. Big girls headed out to walk to Contemporary to catch a bus to Disney Springs to shop before our dinner reservations. The rest of us did Barnstormer and Dumbo, both a walk on.
The girls reported the bus line DS was outrageous so they hopped on a monorail over to the TTC and walked to the Poly to catch a bus. They said they were the only ones on the bus so a good call. Based on their experience, we got on a monorail and planned to head to the GF to catch a bus. Got to the TTC and the monorail went dead. The whole line lost power. Our door was open but it was starting to get hot and since there was no estimate as to when it would be back up, we hopped off and went to the Poly busstop. Trains were stuck in the middle, I’m glad we were at a station! It was 30 minutes or so from the TTC until we got on a bus at the Poly and during that time, no monorails came through so it was a long outage! DS was packed again but we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Jaleo. Had to wait for a second bus before making back to the resort. 
As many have said, the pinch points in Fantastyland and Adventureland make distancing tough. We were frustrated in both DS and MK with the lack of places to actually sit down and eat/drink. So much outdoor space is taken up with the extended/spaced queues that there just isn’t that much “off to the side” space. We made due but it was a constant issue


----------



## Ellester

Thursday, 2/11 

Epcot hours 11-8

 Headed to the busstop at 9:50. We wanted to ride the Skyliner so we took the bus to HS and rode to Epcot from there. We had to use two cars since you can only take 6 people with a scooter (10 without). Had about a 25 minute wait at the CBR station. Into Epcot at 11:15. Rode Soarin with a 15 minute wait, walked onto Living with the Land. Spent the next several hours eating and drinking through the Festival of the Arts. Much more availability to sit to the side here. Rode Spaceship Earth with no wait at 3:00, Test Track with a 20 minute wait (posted 40). More food and drinks. Enjoyed the Relaxation Station in Akershus. Rode FEA at 7:00 with an 8 minute wait. Shopped a bit in Mexico, no wait to get into the pavilion or for the ride. Got a few last minute treats and it started to rain. Was pouring by the time we got to the exit at closing but we waited out the worst of it under the ticketing booths. Waited a few minutes for a bus, back at the resort by 8:50. Distancing and mask use was pretty good all day. Lines at the food booths were minimal until later in the day. All the walls up in Future World were disconcerting and unattractive. So strange to see the skeletons of Innovations behind the walls. With the Festival, it would have been nice to have another day at Epcot.There was more to see and do (and eat!) than I thought there would be with all the closings.


----------



## Br'er Rabbit is the Best

Random question for those who have been recently, is there still an issue getting Splash Mountain merchandise? I remember when they first announced the closure of the ride that people were buying up everything to sell on eBay. I don’t have a trip planned for a while yet but was just curious if the various plushes, mugs, and photo frames are still available for sale.


----------



## Chris Ehlers

Br'er Rabbit is the Best said:


> Random question for those who have been recently, is there still an issue getting Splash Mountain merchandise? I remember when they first announced the closure of the ride that people were buying up everything to sell on eBay. I don’t have a trip planned for a while yet but was just curious if the various plushes, mugs, and photo frames are still available for sale.


There is no SM Merch at all


----------



## rockpiece

Magic Kingdom is a joke today.


----------



## Br'er Rabbit is the Best

Chris Ehlers said:


> There is no SM Merch at all


So when you exit the ride the gift shop is just empty?


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Br'er Rabbit is the Best said:


> So when you exit the ride the gift shop is just empty?



It's all generic Disney World stuff.


----------



## Br'er Rabbit is the Best

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> It's all generic Disney World stuff.


That’s a bummer. I saw they were selling the plushes at Downtown Disney in California in mid-January but I guess that was just to clear out old inventory. Okay, thanks everyone. Guess if I want anything, eBay it is.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Br'er Rabbit is the Best said:


> That’s a bummer. I saw they were selling the plushes at Downtown Disney in California in mid-January but I guess that was just to clear out old inventory. Okay, thanks everyone. Guess if I want anything, eBay it is.



The shopping pirates arrived at MK the day after they announced the change to the theming from Brer Rabbit to Princess and the Frog and wiped them out. One of the bloggers - Disney Food Blog I think - showed people leaving with BAGS AND BAGS of stuff.


----------



## lynzi2004

Yes


----------



## Br'er Rabbit is the Best

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> The shopping pirates arrived at MK the day after they announced the change to the theming from Brer Rabbit to Princess and the Frog and wiped them out. One of the bloggers - Disney Food Blog I think - showed people leaving with BAGS AND BAGS of stuff.


Yeah, I saw those. I saw a blog post about stuff for sale at what I thought was Disney Springs just last month but I was mistaken and it was Downtown Disney. Well, I guess that’s a double bummer for me. Even if I get one last ride in, I can’t get any merchandise to remember it by. As you can probably tell from my username, I’m a little sad by this haha.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

lynzi2004 said:


> Yes


But on the other hand... No?


----------



## GBRforWDW

SouthFayetteFan said:


> But on the other hand... No?


I'm thinking maybe...


----------



## NC State

rockpiece said:


> Magic Kingdom is a joke today.


Can you give us a report on the "joke"?


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

NC State said:


> Can you give us a report on the "joke"?


Joke: Which Disney princess would make the best judge?
Answer. Snow White, because she’s the fairest of them all!


----------



## rockpiece

NC State said:


> Can you give us a report on the "joke"?


60 minute posted wait for both the speedway and Little mermaid when we just walked by. Highest i have seen it since the park reopened. You can’t walk through Fantasyland and there is just people everywhere. Disney was not prepared for this many people today. Luckily we didn’t come here to do any rides and just walk around and get some miles in before catching an early dinner at Tiffins but man I would be upset if this was my only day at the parks. I understand it’s a holiday but this is ridiculous.


----------



## haPevraftr

rockpiece said:


> 60 minute posted wait for both the speedway and Little mermaid when we just walked by. Highest i have seen it since the park reopened. You can’t walk through Fantasyland and there is just people everywhere. Disney was not prepared for this many people today. Luckily we didn’t come here to do any rides and just walk around and get some miles in before catching an early dinner at Tiffins but man I would be upset if this was my only day at the parks. I understand it’s a holiday but this is ridiculous.


There might be some truth in that they weren’t prepared for the crowds.  Lots of people getting flight cancellations and “forced to stay” due to the impending snowstorm. My guess is tomorrow (and maybe even Wednesday) will be the same with people there that weren’t originally planning to be.  We are going over Easter.  Hoping this weekend helps them “work out the kinks” in managing the crowd flow, but I fear that is wishful thinking.


----------



## Leigh L

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> The shopping pirates arrived at MK the day after they announced the change to the theming from Brer Rabbit to Princess and the Frog and wiped them out. One of the bloggers - Disney Food Blog I think - showed people leaving with BAGS AND BAGS of stuff.


That was crazy. DDs and I were watching a live stream back in July and they were showing people sitting on a bench with a large number of bags and others carrying it out. Insane, it was pretty bare.

We were at MK in the 2nd week of August and it was all gone. When we were there a few months later, the shelves were more stocked, but with the generic Disney stuff.


----------



## lynzi2004

SouthFayetteFan said:


> But on the other hand... No?



Bahaha! Whoops! The reply didn’t work the way I meant for it to regarding the empty Splash merchandise! I’m blaming it on 3 kids and a snowstorm that we NEVER usually get


----------



## Chris Ehlers

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> The shopping pirates arrived at MK the day after they announced the change to the theming from Brer Rabbit to Princess and the Frog and wiped them out. One of the bloggers - Disney Food Blog I think - showed people leaving with BAGS AND BAGS of stuff.


this is where it ended up......

https://poshmark.com/listing/Disney...lRjDoZZ4kihkN8gEgTZYXP6MMUD8WydMaAnnqEALw_wcB


----------



## cjlong88

rockpiece said:


> Magic Kingdom is a joke today.


Your post got me curious so I just pulled up MDE to glance at wait times. 100 minutes for PotC.


----------



## rockpiece

haPevraftr said:


> There might be some truth in that they weren’t prepared for the crowds.  Lots of people getting flight cancellations and “forced to stay” due to the impending snowstorm. My guess is tomorrow (and maybe even Wednesday) will be the same with people there that weren’t originally planning to be.  We are going over Easter.  Hoping this weekend helps them “work out the kinks” in managing the crowd flow, but I fear that is wishful thinking.


I didn’t even think of people getting stuck here because of the storm. That could have let a lot people stranded here. Well you can certainly pick a lot worse places to be stranded than Disney.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

My SIL was supposed to leave Fort Myers Beach for Chicago tomorrow and her flight has already been cancelled.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

rockpiece said:


> I didn’t even think of people getting stuck here because of the storm. That could have let a lot people stranded here. Well you can certainly pick a lot worse places to be stranded than Disney.


this happened years ago but my girls baton group was stranded at MCO when their plane home was snowed out. unlike a family group they were stuck at airport as no one had money for 12 rooms. so it is not always fun and games


----------



## Marthasor

haPevraftr said:


> There might be some truth in that they weren’t prepared for the crowds.  Lots of people getting flight cancellations and “forced to stay” due to the impending snowstorm. My guess is tomorrow (and maybe even Wednesday) will be the same with people there that weren’t originally planning to be.  We are going over Easter.  Hoping this weekend helps them “work out the kinks” in managing the crowd flow, but I fear that is wishful thinking.



Except there is a set capacity and you have to have a park reservation, so, one would hope, Disney would prepare to manage the crowd flow they, themselves have set.  Because of the park reservation system, even if people are stuck there, Disney knows exactly how many people are showing up at the park based on the reservations.  If Disney isn't staffing up to handle the reserved park guests, that's on them.  Disney has been in this business long enough to know how many CMs they need on hand to handle the exact number of people who have made reservations for a park on any given day and should expect to reach their set capacity over a holiday weekend.  If it's the case that they set park capacity for 35% and then didn't staff accordingly on a holiday weekend, that's just bad management on their part.


----------



## haPevraftr

I agree that Disney should be planning for the capacity, but I know that many people found out last night that they needed to reschedule today’s flight and might have added a park reservation last night or this morning. Many aren’t able to get out until Thursday now. Watching the crowd levels and Disney’s response over the next few days is something I am interested in hearing about.  Glad people are posting what they see on the ground.  It’s like reporting the wind chill.  The “feels like” is often more accurate.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Seems like this 11 day span (2/11 - 2/21) is going to help revenue tremendously in what will otherwise be a very soft Q2 of Disney's fiscal year. This year was always going to include the February trifecta: Valentine's Day + President's Day + Mardi Gras in a 4 day span. (For reference, the last time this happened was in 2015). Nothing I saw out of the wait times today surprised me - if anything there were encouraging signs with lower waits than are typical for this holiday.

I think it's easy to confuse what it looks like and feels like, vs. what the actual data shows. Here are wait times from President's Day 2020 vs. President's Day 2021 (the blue line is today). The major factors that are different are socially distant lines which take up more space, and lack of FastPass to ensure 3 short waits.



As some have said, people hear 35% capacity and think - _"oh man, Disney will be dead, I want to be there!" _not realizing what 35% really means. What those people really want is Disney at 15-20% of capacity which is what it seems like we're getting on weekdays through much of Jan/Feb (outside of the major holidays).


----------



## skuttle

Disney is actively working on handling the crowds. We were at studios Thursday and again today (Monday). We noticed they changed where certain lines would line up. I assume due to crowds.


----------



## Jedimom

Thanks for the update on Magic Kingdom!  Here now and had planned MK for today but thinking it might be better if we switch to Epcot today and do MK on Thursday. Maybe crowds will die down a bit by then.


----------



## becauseimnew

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Seems like this 11 day span (2/11 - 2/21) is going to help revenue tremendously in what will otherwise be a very soft Q2 of Disney's fiscal year. This year was always going to include the February trifecta: Valentine's Day + President's Day + Mardi Gras in a 4 day span. (For reference, the last time this happened was in 2015). Nothing I saw out of the wait times today surprised me - if anything there were encouraging signs with lower waits than are typical for this holiday.


I hope this means they will start hiring back more CMs.


----------



## #1hoosierfan

Has anybody had problems hopping to your park of choice the past few days?


----------



## Sbunit81

Hey we are planning to hit Hollywood studios tomorrow (hoping to score a boarding group for rise in the morning).  Fully plan to arrive well before opening to capitalize on early entry opportunity.  We are trying to knock out all of the major headliners (of course working around rise boarding time) and based on the look of the weather tomorrow would try to get on as much as possible before possible rain.  What is the first ride we should dart towards once entering the park? I’m guessing to focus on slinky dog, millennium falcon and MMRR.  Can someone advise in what order should I do those three and then I plan to do tsmm and the other “major rides (tower of terror and Star Wars).  Experiences and advise greatly appreciated


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Sbunit81 said:


> Hey we are planning to hit Hollywood studios tomorrow (hoping to score a boarding group for rise in the morning).  Fully plan to arrive well before opening to capitalize on early entry opportunity.  We are trying to knock out all of the major headliners (of course working around rise boarding time) and based on the look of the weather tomorrow would try to get on as much as possible before possible rain.  What is the first ride we should dart towards once entering the park? I’m guessing to focus on slinky dog, millennium falcon and MMRR.  Can someone advise in what order should I do those three and then I plan to do tsmm and the other “major rides (tower of terror and Star Wars).  Experiences and advise greatly appreciated



There's a great discussion about this very thing in this thread - including some live updates from today  https://www.disboards.com/threads/dhs-help-planning-my-day.3826300/


----------



## MomOTwins

Sbunit81 said:


> Hey we are planning to hit Hollywood studios tomorrow (hoping to score a boarding group for rise in the morning).  Fully plan to arrive well before opening to capitalize on early entry opportunity.  We are trying to knock out all of the major headliners (of course working around rise boarding time) and based on the look of the weather tomorrow would try to get on as much as possible before possible rain.  What is the first ride we should dart towards once entering the park? I’m guessing to focus on slinky dog, millennium falcon and MMRR.  Can someone advise in what order should I do those three and then I plan to do tsmm and the other “major rides (tower of terror and Star Wars).  Experiences and advise greatly appreciated


I would suggest slinky and MMRR first since slinky is outdoors and MMRR has a largely outdoor queue, so you’ll want to get those in before it rains.  MFSR is easier to do when it rains as it is largely indoor.


----------



## skuttle

Sbunit81 said:


> Hey we are planning to hit Hollywood studios tomorrow (hoping to score a boarding group for rise in the morning).  Fully plan to arrive well before opening to capitalize on early entry opportunity.  We are trying to knock out all of the major headliners (of course working around rise boarding time) and based on the look of the weather tomorrow would try to get on as much as possible before possible rain.  What is the first ride we should dart towards once entering the park? I’m guessing to focus on slinky dog, millennium falcon and MMRR.  Can someone advise in what order should I do those three and then I plan to do tsmm and the other “major rides (tower of terror and Star Wars).  Experiences and advise greatly appreciated



we did two studios days, Friday Feb. 12 and yesterday, Monday Feb. 15. We for boarding groups both mornings from our room at 7am. Group 79 (called around 2pm) and then 63 (called around 1pm).

First day we entered 30min early and walked on RnR and had minimal wait for ToT. After that, all the major rides were at least an hour posted wait times, but none actually took that long. Park cleared out a lot after the 1pm boarding group try.

second day we got there right at opening. Slinky was already 50min, which we waited in. Park didn’t clear out as much in afternoon, but about 1-2 hours before closing it cleared out a bit.


----------



## ckb_nc

Sbunit81 said:


> Hey we are planning to hit Hollywood studios tomorrow (hoping to score a boarding group for rise in the morning).  Fully plan to arrive well before opening to capitalize on early entry opportunity.  We are trying to knock out all of the major headliners (of course working around rise boarding time) and based on the look of the weather tomorrow would try to get on as much as possible before possible rain.  What is the first ride we should dart towards once entering the park? I’m guessing to focus on slinky dog, millennium falcon and MMRR.  Can someone advise in what order should I do those three and then I plan to do tsmm and the other “major rides (tower of terror and Star Wars).  Experiences and advise greatly appreciated



My suggestion is Slinky or Falcon.  Bypass MMRR for later - everyone stops there as it right in front of you. We did Slinky first (bit chilly actually that early) then Toy Story (2x) - knocked them out before the park officially opened.  Later in the day MMRR wait times were smaller actually than park opening. Seems to be a consistent trend.


----------



## scrappinginontario

#1hoosierfan said:


> Has anybody had problems hopping to your park of choice the past few days?


There has never been a report (that I'm aware of) of anyone unable to hop since it restarted last month.  You should be fine.


----------



## SarahC97

Marthasor said:


> Except there is a set capacity and you have to have a park reservation, so, one would hope, Disney would prepare to manage the crowd flow they, themselves have set.  Because of the park reservation system, even if people are stuck there, Disney knows exactly how many people are showing up at the park based on the reservations.  If Disney isn't staffing up to handle the reserved park guests, that's on them.  Disney has been in this business long enough to know how many CMs they need on hand to handle the exact number of people who have made reservations for a park on any given day and should expect to reach their set capacity over a holiday weekend.  If it's the case that they set park capacity for 35% and then didn't staff accordingly on a holiday weekend, that's just bad management on their part.


There's no question Disney isn't staffing appropriately. They know how many people are going to be in the park but it still seems like they're trying to get by with as few CMs as possible. The poor CMs seem frazzled and overwhelmed. They could do things to make it better, but they're not. My guess is they're just trying to save money on staffing at the cost of *shocked face* guest experience.


----------



## kathi

It's the inability to social distance in some areas of the park that has my husband wanting to cancel our 3/27 trip.  We felt comfortable with the measures Disney was implementing, but it seems that when they are operating at close to 35%, it's just not working.  I hope they make some adjustments before Easter.


----------



## wilkydelts

Disney is functioning within the parameters they have been given. For some people that is no issue for others it is not enough. If you are not ok with people crowding your space or minimum room to move Disney may not be right for you. Disney will do their best but it is on you to be aware because there will be people there who do not care to your levels.


----------



## kathi

wilkydelts said:


> Disney is functioning within the parameters they have been given.



What exactly does that mean?  There is supposed to be at least some degree of social distancing and that was our expectation when we booked the trip.  I'm seeing photos that clearly show that is not the case.


----------



## skeettafic

kathi said:


> It's the inability to social distance in some areas of the park that has my husband wanting to cancel our 3/27 trip.  We felt comfortable with the measures Disney was implementing, but it seems that when they are operating at close to 35%, it's just not working.  I hope they make some adjustments before Easter.


We're considering the same.  On one hand, I don't feel that just walking through a crowd of people who all have masks on is inherently that risky, I worry about what the overall ability to distance in lines, in restaurants, etc when there are that many people there.  I've changed my mind a thousand times about whether to go or cancel in March.


----------



## SeanWM48

kathi said:


> It's the inability to social distance in some areas of the park that has my husband wanting to cancel our 3/27 trip.  We felt comfortable with the measures Disney was implementing, but it seems that when they are operating at close to 35%, it's just not working.  I hope they make some adjustments before Easter.


i'm nobody to tell you what you or your husband should feel comfortable with. for what it's worth my girlfriend is very social-distance conscious and was comfortable the entire trip with an exception at the Be Our Guest restaurant and when we stopped at T-Rex for a drink in Springs. otherwise she found everything very well done for safety and distance.


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## hereforthechurros

Sbunit81 said:


> Hey we are planning to hit Hollywood studios tomorrow (hoping to score a boarding group for rise in the morning).  Fully plan to arrive well before opening to capitalize on early entry opportunity.  We are trying to knock out all of the major headliners (of course working around rise boarding time) and based on the look of the weather tomorrow would try to get on as much as possible before possible rain.  What is the first ride we should dart towards once entering the park? I’m guessing to focus on slinky dog, millennium falcon and MMRR.  Can someone advise in what order should I do those three and then I plan to do tsmm and the other “major rides (tower of terror and Star Wars).  Experiences and advise greatly appreciated


We took the Skyliner, arrived at the park at 8:05 am, and they opened the gates at 8:12 am. This is a significant jump as they hold cars/ride shared until roughly 8:15 am and buses start arriving after that. We did Slinky at 8:27 am. Then MMRR at 8:40 am. We could have easily headed to Smuggler's Run but our son decided he wanted to skip it.

Knowing that, I would do Slinky, Smuggler's Run, then head to the front for MMRR and you could be done with those by 9 am.


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## hereforthechurros

Few things we noticed on this trip...

Sooooo many people with Disneyland gear on seemingly coming to WDW to get their fix. Would love to know what they thought of the parks in their current state.

TS menus seem to be expanding. QS menus, while maybe a touch better than last year, are still limited. Dining was very in-demand this weekend. Little to nothing available for last minute TS and there was a steady stream of people with no options trying to get walk-in availability. No walk up availability anywhere we checked. Even Nomad Lounge which was a five minute wait over Christmas was unavailable all day during our AK visit. Many carts and freestanding food stands were closed despite the large crowds. Mobile order was regularly a 30-45 minute wait window.

Resorts seemed busier than last visit. We stayed at CBR, but also visited Riviera and Polynesian. Even before the visit there were hardly any reservations to be found. This was interesting because I don't believe they're spacing rooms or anything so does that signify a full house? So at CBR for example the pool was packed and the two QS locations were jammed 24/7. So what seemed like a full house but only 1/2 of the dining available.

Spacing wasn't as strict as it has been on the DME to the resorts. Same with attractions. Some were completely spaced, some weren't. Not sure if that's by design or just whoever is loading at the time.

Disney Springs is still the Wild West right now in terms of spacing and safety. We tried for hours to get a reservation elsewhere to avoid going there, but nothing popped up.

I figured Disney would go into coast mode for a while and it seems like they are. Let things pick up, try to profit as much as possible in that time, then start ramping up additional offerings as needed/able.

Like someone else mentioned, the collision of V Day, President's Day and Mardi Gras was known. But WDW not ramping up the staffing and offering when they have hard resort and park attendance numbers is not cool.


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## TISHLOVESDISNEY

#1hoosierfan said:


> Has anybody had problems hopping to your park of choice the past few days?


I called the hotline at different times yesterday and Sunday, and all parks were open for hopping. (Watching for my March trip )


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## hereforthechurros

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> I called the hotline at different times yesterday and Sunday, and all parks were open for hopping. (Watching for my March trip )


Yeah no issues this past weekend despite MK and HS being unavailable on the park reservation calendar.


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## EyeofDTiger75

We were at Magic Kingdom this morning. Early on Crowd wasn’t too bad. Minimal wait for amine Train, and walked in Peter Pan, Small World, and Little Mermaid. Then things got crazy. Line for Mine Train nearly wrapped all around the ride.

Nearly a 30 minute wait to get into Gaston’s Tavern because they only had ONE register of three operating. 

Haunted Mansion line was past the Liberty Bell’s entrance but moved quickly. As well as Tea Cups that wrapped around the bride completely but only waited maybe 20 mins.

crowds may be at 35% but with not princess greetings or restaurants like Chef Mickey’s servings lunch or dinner, crowds are all on the rides.

Now dining is a joke in my opinion. We are staying at the Contemporary and it’s a ghost town on the 4th floor. Chef Mickey’s could still be operating. Also, Crystal Palace is not worth it without the buffet. Way too expensive. It’s all you can eat, but only the entree you order.

don’t get me started on the mobile ordering.

we are going back to MK this evening. Animal Kigdom tomorrow and HS Thursday with a return to MK Friday.

We did Epcot yesterday. At 12pm the line for Frozen was through China and 100 mins.


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## TinkSassy

I’m a rope dropper and looking to avoid common pinch points - MK is my primary concern as I get a little agitated in FL when it is not COVID so my thought is to go there first and knock out my faves - PP, Pooh, SDMT, LM and Philharmagic.  Which of these will open before the park (just based on recent experience- I know there are no guarantees)?  I would normally circle back for Philharmagic (to not waste valuable early morning minutes) and may still as I can get there from the Liberty Square side.  Thinking maybe SDMT, Pooh, PP, HM, BTMRR, Pirates, and then Jungle Cruise.  I will be solo so can move quickly - clear the PP
Walkway and the Adventureland squish early then fill back in with Tiki, Country Bears and Philharmagic?  Then swap sides of the park -
Splash is a no go as I hate getting wet and Space is off the list as it messes
my back up these days (if that helps with suggestions).

**should be a slower week as it is after this holiday and before Spring Breaks start.


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## SarahC97

kathi said:


> What exactly does that mean?  There is supposed to be at least some degree of social distancing and that was our expectation when we booked the trip.  I'm seeing photos that clearly show that is not the case.


Based on my interactions with guest services and letting them know that I did not feel safe with distancing measures in the parks, I think that Disney has had their engineers plot out how many people can be let into the park to maintain a 6-foot distance in theory, but are leaving the practice totally up to the crowds in the park. So, in theory, there's room with available offerings for everyone being let into the park to distance. In practice, not so much. On paper, Disney says everything is fine and dandy.


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## kathi

SarahC97 said:


> Based on my interactions with guest services and letting them know that I did not feel safe with distancing measures in the parks, I think that Disney has had their engineers plot out how many people can be let into the park and maintain a 6-foot distance in theory, but are leaving the practice totally up to the crowds in the park. So, in theory, there's room with available offerings for everyone being let into the park to distance. In practice, not so much. On paper, Disney says everything is fine and dandy.



How often did you find yourself shoulder to shoulder with people?  Can it be avoided?  Tickets are crazy expensive (we usually have APs) and lines are long.  The social distancing thing may be the final straw that makes us cancel (which I really don't want to do).


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## SarahC97

kathi said:


> How often did you find yourself shoulder to shoulder with people?  Can it be avoided?  Tickets are crazy expensive (we usually have APs) and lines are long.  The social distancing thing may be the final straw that makes us cancel (which I really don't want to do).


This is my opinion, but when you go during a busy time like a holiday week, you're going to find yourself very close to people as you try to traverse the parks. We were there at Thanksgiving and we ended up only going on rides that we could use my DAS for and finding a place to hide from people while we waited just so we weren't put in the position to be in a mass of people and feel unsafe. I've been back since when it wasn't as crowded and distancing was pretty easy except for at reliable choke points in the park, which could be avoided if you wanted. I guess it all just depends on what the crowds are like when you're there.


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## Gentry2004

kathi said:


> How often did you find yourself shoulder to shoulder with people?  Can it be avoided?  Tickets are crazy expensive (we usually have APs) and lines are long.  The social distancing thing may be the final straw that makes us cancel (which I really don't want to do).



Following along. We are in the exact same boat, same week, same concerns.


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## ckb_nc

skeettafic said:


> We're considering the same.  On one hand, I don't feel that just walking through a crowd of people who all have masks on is inherently that risky, I worry about what the overall ability to distance in lines, in restaurants, etc when there are that many people there.  I've changed my mind a thousand times about whether to go or cancel in March.



I had 3 places that were concerns in our trip:

1) Fantasyland around Small World/Peter Pan - it is a traffic jam always - so much so that I purposely walked around the castle from Mine Train a couple of times
2) Hollywood Studios - heading into Galaxy's Edge by Star Tours - it was really crowded when we went this way - Galaxy's Edge is just crowded period at times. 
3) AKL - Pandora - not horrible but not great.

Frankly number 1 was the ONLY time I felt like social distancing was impossible. But at the same time masks were never an issue. Disney Springs was far worse than any park for social distancing


----------



## SarahC97

ckb_nc said:


> I had 3 places that were concerns in our trip:
> 
> 1) Fantasyland around Small World/Peter Pan - it is a traffic jam always - so much so that I purposely walked around the castle from Mine Train a couple of times
> 2) Hollywood Studios - heading into Galaxy's Edge by Star Tours - it was really crowded when we went this way - Galaxy's Edge is just crowded period at times.
> 3) AKL - Pandora - not horrible but not great.
> 
> Frankly number 1 was the ONLY time I felt like social distancing was impossible. But at the same time masks were never an issue. Disney Springs was far worse than any park for social distancing


I have felt the same. Even when I went in early January when the park was relatively calm, Galaxy's Edge was very difficult to distance in at many points. The worst places seem to be around the entrance to the rides there, IMO.


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## ckb_nc

SarahC97 said:


> I have felt the same. Even when I went in early January when the park was relatively calm, Galaxy's Edge was very difficult to distance in at many points. The worst places seem to be around the entrance to the rides there, IMO.


Agree on entrances which is why Small World/Peter Pan was so tight.  Heck finding the end of lines becomes a whole new game now - the line for Haunted Mansion was into Frontier Land one day.  

We went in December with lower crowd numbers. Everyone make their own decision, based upon their own risk factors. But I encountered more unmasked people in a convenience store one evening here in NC than I did at WDW in a week.


----------



## SarahC97

ckb_nc said:


> Agree on entrances which is why Small World/Peter Pan was so tight.  Heck finding the end of lines becomes a whole new game now - the line for Haunted Mansion was into Frontier Land one day.
> 
> We went in December with lower crowd numbers. Everyone make their own decision, based upon their own risk factors. But I encountered more unmasked people in a convenience store one evening here in NC than I did at WDW in a week.


Really true about the masks. I've been 6 times since reopening and honestly, the mask compliance seems to get better and better. Maybe it's because the weather is cooler, too, but I do see CMs enforcing the masks and I'm grateful for it.


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## skeettafic

I really appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts!  

We're definitely early birds/rope drop people and our plan is essentially parks an hour prior to opening, do everything we can until it gets too busy for us to be comfortable and then hit the pool.  Maybe back to the parks in the evening based on what park hours get extended.

I keep going back and forth but I really really really want to go. lol


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## BigOHawk

I'll be there early March, should I expect operating hours to hopefully get extended this weekend when it hits two weeks out? Hardly believe MK would close at 6, however I can't complain with limited CM's and staffing.


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## Naomeri

BigOHawk said:


> I'll be there early March, should I expect operating hours to hopefully get extended this weekend when it hits two weeks out? Hardly believe MK would close at 6, however I can't complain with limited CM's and staffing.


The first week of March got extended last Friday (I think it was Friday—the days blend together) so hopefully this week will bring extensions for the second week.


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## Ohiostatefan606

#1hoosierfan said:


> Has anybody had problems hopping to your park of choice the past few days?


We just got back yesterday - 2/15
Thursday 2/11 - Hopped from HS to Epcot @ 5:30 PM
Saturday 2/13 - AK in the morning, pool in the afternoon, headed to Epcot @ 6:00 pm
Sunday 2/14 - HS in the morning, back to resort, headed to MK @ 6:00 pm
No trouble at all hopping.  Buses and lines for Skyliner, is a different topic.


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## blrem

Ellester said:


> Wed 2/10 Magic Kingdom, park hours 9-7
> OKW Bus stop at 7:30, bus arrived 8:10. Into park at 8:46, SDMT line all the way around to Gaston’s and trains were not running yet so we punted ad headed to Peter Pan and walked on. Over to Space Mountian, posted 15 min, acutally on in 10, most of that walking through the queue. Kids walked on to Astro Orbiters at 9:40. Coffee/snack break at Joffreys. Pooh with a 10 minute wait (posted 15), HM walk on at 10:30, Splash at 10:50, posted 30, on in 20. Popcorn break then got return time for BTMM. Since my mom was in a scooter and couldn’t use the normal queue they gave us a return time. We only had this happen at MK on BTMM, Small World, and Jungle Cruise. Definitely worked to our advantage but won’t be available if you don’t have a wheelchair/scooter user in your riding party.
> Lunch at Tony’s (first time there, surprisingly good). Pirates next, posted 35 and on in exactly 35. Got return passes for Jungle Cruise, 20 minutes out. Rode JC, got Kakamora Floats (so good!!!). Hubby and kids back to Space Mountain, mom and I rode Little Mermaid with a 10 minute wait. Middle daughter’s phone fell out of her pocket on Space and was on the floor of the ride car. They wouldn’t let her get back in the car to get it and so began a 20 minute adventure to get her phone back complicated by a shift change. While the big kids were getting her phone, hubby, Natalie and I rode the Speedway at 5:00 with a 5 minute wait. Big girls headed out to walk to Contemporary to catch a bus to Disney Springs to shop before our dinner reservations. The rest of us did Barnstormer and Dumbo, both a walk on.
> The girls reported the bus line DS was outrageous so they hopped on a monorail over to the TTC and walked to the Poly to catch a bus. They said they were the only ones on the bus so a good call. Based on their experience, we got on a monorail and planned to head to the GF to catch a bus. Got to the TTC and the monorail went dead. The whole line lost power. Our door was open but it was starting to get hot and since there was no estimate as to when it would be back up, we hopped off and went to the Poly busstop. Trains were stuck in the middle, I’m glad we were at a station! It was 30 minutes or so from the TTC until we got on a bus at the Poly and during that time, no monorails came through so it was a long outage! DS was packed again but we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Jaleo. Had to wait for a second bus before making back to the resort.
> As many have said, the pinch points in Fantastyland and Adventureland make distancing tough. We were frustrated in both DS and MK with the lack of places to actually sit down and eat/drink. So much outdoor space is taken up with the extended/spaced queues that there just isn’t that much “off to the side” space. We made due but it was a constant issue


Love how you gave park hours right at the top of post - often I read a post about when someone leaves hotel, got bus, got to park, etc. but can't put it in reference since the park hours are unknown - makes it hard to figure out trying to rope drop, for example.  Great account - TY!!!


----------



## kathi

skeettafic said:


> I really appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts!
> 
> We're definitely early birds/rope drop people and our plan is essentially parks an hour prior to opening, do everything we can until it gets too busy for us to be comfortable and then hit the pool.  Maybe back to the parks in the evening based on what park hours get extended.
> 
> I keep going back and forth but I really really really want to go. lol



That is exactly the strategy I was discussing with my daughter an hour ago.  My husband is still dubious. I'll continue to read replies and collect information.  Thanks to everyone who has shared their perspective.  Very helpful.


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## blrem

rockpiece said:


> I didn’t even think of people getting stuck here because of the storm. That could have let a lot people stranded here. Well you can certainly pick a lot worse places to be stranded than Disney.


But still, the park "capacity" remains the same - that is, the number of park pass reservations Disney allows for each park is static - so how could Disney be unprepared for the number of people in MK?  Unless it was after 2pm and it was a case of everyone hopping over there.  Still, they could have put a stop to hopping to MK if it was beyond capacity, no?  This is what's upsetting about Disney right now - they do indeed know how many people are going into each park on any given day - we are forced to tell them through the park ressie system.  So they should know they need MORE attractions open, more restaurants open, more places to divert the very crowds they are allowing to enter that day.  I love Disney but their handling of this and their lack of planning to allow guests to be able to physically distance, have enough to do and to eat without an hour or more wait is concerning - their priorities don't seem to be on the guest experience at this point.


----------



## blrem

Marthasor said:


> Except there is a set capacity and you have to have a park reservation, so, one would hope, Disney would prepare to manage the crowd flow they, themselves have set.  Because of the park reservation system, even if people are stuck there, Disney knows exactly how many people are showing up at the park based on the reservations.  If Disney isn't staffing up to handle the reserved park guests, that's on them.  Disney has been in this business long enough to know how many CMs they need on hand to handle the exact number of people who have made reservations for a park on any given day and should expect to reach their set capacity over a holiday weekend.  If it's the case that they set park capacity for 35% and then didn't staff accordingly on a holiday weekend, that's just bad management on their part.


oops - I just wrote a reply saying almost the exact same thing.  Guess I should read to the end before replying when I'm catching up on a few pages


----------



## Evita_W

blrem said:


> But still, the park "capacity" remains the same - that is, the number of park pass reservations Disney allows for each park is static - so how could Disney be unprepared for the number of people in MK?  Unless it was after 2pm and it was a case of everyone hopping over there.  Still, they could have put a stop to hopping to MK if it was beyond capacity, no?  This is what's upsetting about Disney right now - they do indeed know how many people are going into each park on any given day - we are forced to tell them through the park ressie system.  So they should know they need MORE attractions open, more restaurants open, more places to divert the very crowds they are allowing to enter that day.  I love Disney but their handling of this and their lack of planning to allow guests to be able to physically distance, have enough to do and to eat without an hour or more wait is concerning - their priorities don't seem to be on the guest experience at this point.


Except there is still the ability to make same day reservations, which means Disney could have been prepared for a park where only 10% of the reservations were taken at the point schedules were made, but then the other 25% also showed up, which does show the biggest flaw in the reservation system


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## Ohiostatefan606

Back yesterday from our extended weekend stay at CBR   2/11 - 2/15
I know transportation is always a big question.  So here is the run down from the President's Day / Valentine's Day / Mardi Gras perfect storm of holidays!
*2/11 -* we rented a car (normally we would Uber), felt the Uber was one of our biggest risks we couldn't control.  Arrived at CBR @12:50 pm, room was not ready.  And we knew we couldn't make it to HS for the 1:00 RotR virtual Queue.   Ordered lunch via MDE, waited almost 30 minutes for food to be ready at a non-busy time.  Our room was ready by the time we were done eating.  Moved the car, dropped our stuff in our room Aruba 55.  Took the Riviera Hub over to the main Hub, transferred and then into HS.  Left HS about 5:45, took the Skyliner to Epcot.   When we were ready to leave Epcot it was pouring down rain (I mean buckets and buckets).  Skyliner shut down.  We had to walk from the back of the park to the front, to then stand in an endless line.  Disney is unable to pivot quickly when the weather hits and now every person from CBR, AoA, Pop and Riviera now need to get on a bus.  It took us more than hour to get back to our resort.
*2/12 - MK day *- park was open 9:00 a - 10:00 p - about 7:20 am we went to Riviera mobile ordered coffee from Primo, walked out the Riviera bus stop.  Waited about 20 minutes for the bus to arrive, we were in the park super quick, park was open by the time we arrived about 8:05 am, walked to Space Mountain.  They started the rides about 8:30.  Stayed ALL DAY, walked out to the buses at park closing or just after.  The line for CBR was huge.  We took the Riviera bus.  But we were in Aruba 55, so a super close walk.
*2/13 - AK day* - park was open 8:00 a - 8:00 pm - we used the Aruba bus stop.  We arrived at our bus stop about 7:15.  We waited about 10 minutes for the bus.  We were in the park and in line for FOP by 7:50 am.  Mid-day, took the bus back to CBR. About 5:30 we walked over to the Riviera Skyliner station to head to Epcot.  We were about the 5th grouping back waiting.  It took a while and the line behind us was building quickly.  I joked with the Cast Member that they needed to send more empty cars from the main Hub.  He said the ratio is 1 empty car every 12.  My son was counting, it was about 15 - 17 cars before an empty one arrived.  Epcot closed at 11:00.  We left about 10:30.  The line for the Skyliner was wrapped down towards Boardwalk.  It took about 35 minutes for us to get on the Skyliner.  
*2/14 - HS then MK *- HS opened at 9.  MK closed at 11:00 pm - we walked down to the Skyliner Hub, not the Riviera Station.  We were in line about 7:20 and about the 10th grouping back.  They opened the gates to the Skyliner at 7:30.  They moved some of us up into 2 queue lines right by where the cars would load.  They were controlling the number of CBR people coming in from the line.  The AoA line was running and they moved some of that line into the center of the Hub lines.  None of the AoA line were in the super close queue lines.  They started loading the cars at 7:50 am and we were in line being held outside of the  temperature check tent until 8:15 am.  Once inside we walked to Rockin Roller Coaster.  Left HS about 5:15.  There was a big line for the Skyliner, it was back towards the bus station.  It moved quick.  We were back at CBR by about 5:50.  We had 7:45 dinner reservations at MK, so we were at the Aruba bus station by 6:50 pm.  With me questioning if we would make it.  The posted bus time on the boards and in the apps are not right, so you really don't know when a bus is coming.  Bus arrived about 7:10.  Driver dropped us off right by the temperature check tent.  We didn't have to walk from the actual bus stop.  We were inside and checked in for dinner by 7:30 pm .  We closed down the park, walked out to huge lines at CBR and we took the Riviera bus.  

Generally not huge issues using the buses.  I don't  think any of us think Disney does a great job of sending buses often enough.  Be creative.  If there are 4 of you but only 3 seats, tell the driver one of your kids can sit on your lap the entire time.  There is no standing, no over crowding of buses.  But I think they should be running more frequently especially at the end of the night.  

I know I was anxious about making it to the park opening, generally we did without issue.  AK we got a late start, I didn't set the alarm on my phone correctly.  At least we didn't over sleep on our HS day!


----------



## brockash

Ohiostatefan606 said:


> Back yesterday from our extended weekend stay at CBR   2/11 - 2/15
> I know transportation is always a big question.  So here is the run down from the President's Day / Valentine's Day / Mardi Gras perfect storm of holidays!
> *2/11 -* we rented a car (normally we would Uber), felt the Uber was one of our biggest risks we couldn't control.  Arrived at CBR @12:50 pm, room was not ready.  And we knew we couldn't make it to HS for the 1:00 RotR virtual Queue.   Ordered lunch via MDE, waited almost 30 minutes for food to be ready at a non-busy time.  Our room was ready by the time we were done eating.  Moved the car, dropped our stuff in our room Aruba 55.  Took the Riviera Hub over to the main Hub, transferred and then into HS.  Left HS about 5:45, took the Skyliner to Epcot.   When we were ready to leave Epcot it was pouring down rain (I mean buckets and buckets).  Skyliner shut down.  We had to walk from the back of the park to the front, to then stand in an endless line.  Disney is unable to pivot quickly when the weather hits and now every person from CBR, AoA, Pop and Riviera now need to get on a bus.  It took us more than hour to get back to our resort.
> *2/12 - MK day *- park was open 9:00 a - 10:00 p - about 7:20 am we went to Riviera mobile ordered coffee from Primo, walked out the Riviera bus stop.  Waited about 20 minutes for the bus to arrive, we were in the park super quick, park was open by the time we arrived about 8:05 am, walked to Space Mountain.  They started the rides about 8:30.  Stayed ALL DAY, walked out to the buses at park closing or just after.  The line for CBR was huge.  We took the Riviera bus.  But we were in Aruba 55, so a super close walk.
> *2/13 - AK day* - park was open 8:00 a - 8:00 pm - we used the Aruba bus stop.  We arrived at our bus stop about 7:15.  We waited about 10 minutes for the bus.  We were in the park and in line for FOP by 7:50 am.  Mid-day, took the bus back to CBR. About 5:30 we walked over to the Riviera Skyliner station to head to Epcot.  We were about the 5th grouping back waiting.  It took a while and the line behind us was building quickly.  I joked with the Cast Member that they needed to send more empty cars from the main Hub.  He said the ratio is 1 empty car every 12.  My son was counting, it was about 15 - 17 cars before an empty one arrived.  Epcot closed at 11:00.  We left about 10:30.  The line for the Skyliner was wrapped down towards Boardwalk.  It took about 35 minutes for us to get on the Skyliner.
> *2/14 - HS then MK *- HS opened at 9.  MK closed at 11:00 pm - we walked down to the Skyliner Hub, not the Riviera Station.  We were in line about 7:20 and about the 10th grouping back.  They opened the gates to the Skyliner at 7:30.  They moved some of us up into 2 queue lines right by where the cars would load.  They were controlling the number of CBR people coming in from the line.  The AoA line was running and they moved some of that line into the center of the Hub lines.  None of the AoA line were in the super close queue lines.  They started loading the cars at 7:50 am and we were in line being held outside of the  temperature check tent until 8:15 am.  Once inside we walked to Rockin Roller Coaster.  Left HS about 5:15.  There was a big line for the Skyliner, it was back towards the bus station.  It moved quick.  We were back at CBR by about 5:50.  We had 7:45 dinner reservations at MK, so we were at the Aruba bus station by 6:50 pm.  With me questioning if we would make it.  The posted bus time on the boards and in the apps are not right, so you really don't know when a bus is coming.  Bus arrived about 7:10.  Driver dropped us off right by the temperature check tent.  We didn't have to walk from the actual bus stop.  We were inside and checked in for dinner by 7:30 pm .  We closed down the park, walked out to huge lines at CBR and we took the Riviera bus.
> 
> Generally not huge issues using the buses.  I don't  think any of us think Disney does a great job of sending buses often enough.  Be creative.  If there are 4 of you but only 3 seats, tell the driver one of your kids can sit on your lap the entire time.  There is no standing, no over crowding of buses.  But I think they should be running more frequently especially at the end of the night.
> 
> I know I was anxious about making it to the park opening, generally we did without issue.  AK we got a late start, I didn't set the alarm on my phone correctly.  At least we didn't over sleep on our HS day!


Thx...we're staying at CBR in a few weeks and transportation is my biggest concern... Your post really helped get a good idea of what to expect.


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## hereforthechurros

brockash said:


> Thx...we're staying at CBR in a few weeks and transportation is my biggest concern... Your post really helped get a good idea of what to expect.


Skyliner from CBR is great. Bus to AK was busy most of the day, even hours after park opening there were people still not about to get on at some of the stops. Bus to MK, especially for rope drop, is a complete zoo. After seeing lines of people not move we eventually Ubered to TTC. We had just missed a ferry and it was a good 20 minutes before the other one was there, loaded and moving which derailed plans to hit 7DMT and sort of sent the morning off on a bad note. 

Not sure what better way to go about it although I’m sure there is one. Morning reservation at one of the walkable to MK resorts?


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## hereforthechurros

We took four Ubers this past weekend and each driver said they were amazed by the amount of requests this weekend. They haven’t seen it that busy in a year according to them. One lady said she hasn’t even been to Poly in almost a year and was surprised to see the construction. I’m sure things will die back down but they were excited about more business being back in the area.


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## Ohiostatefan606

Transportation post is above

*Info here: what we accomplished by not sleeping in!  2/11 - 2/14
2/11 - *arrival day, so we didn't get to HS until about 2:40 pm - but we did a lot! TSM, Aliens, Smugglers, Blue Milk break (loved it!), Star Tours, MMRR, then headed to Epcot (open until 8:00), we did Test Track and Frozen.
*2/12 - MK - open 9:00 am - 10:00 pm* - we were in the park by 8:05 am (it was open when we got there!) We walked to Space Mountain and were in line by 8:15 am.  We were about 20 groupings back.  They started the ride about 8:27.   We did walk on to the ride.  We weren't the first of the day, but close.  We looped the ride and got in 3 rides on Space Mountain from 8:27 - 9:04 (my phone pics are time stamped!) We moved to Astro Orbiter, Buzz, Speedway, Tea Cups, Dumbo, Haunted Mansion and then it was time for lunch at the Plaza.  Our reservation was 11:50 am.  We checked in about 11:40 as we walked through the Hub.
*2/13 - AK - open  8:00 am - 8:00 pm* - we were in the park and in line for FOP by 7:50 am.  We were not towards the front of the line, but it was slowly moving.  We were off the ride and walking to Everest by 8:40 am.  Everest wasn't busy, we rode twice.    We decided we need coffee and to eat our granola bars.  Plus rain was coming.  We managed to find covered seating and had to stay put for a while, as massive thunder storms moved through.  Once the rain was mostly done and the lightening was done, we went to the Safari, we stopped in a couple of shops and it was time for lunch at Yak and Yeti.  The storm threw us off our game, but safety and keeping our feet dry was important.
*2/14 - HS - open 9:00 am - 7:00 pm* - Boarding Group 2 for RotR, yes, you read that correctly. Now that we had a BG, my day was much more relaxed! We were in the park by about 8:20. After being held outside the temperature check tents. We were about 20 Groups back. Most people were heading to Slinky / Smugglers or MMRR. We went to Rockin' Roller Coaster. We looped the ride 4 times before a line was actually building outside the queue area. Moved onto TSM, and at this point our BG had been called. We didn't want to risk missing the window, so we headed over. Then Star Tours, another round on TSM. Then we hit the point where we had lunch reservations at SciFi and not quite enough time to ride anything. We took a break and then had lunch.

We had relaxing afternoons of riding each day, but took advantage of the low wait times every morning.


----------



## brockash

hereforthechurros said:


> Skyliner from CBR is great. Bus to AK was busy most of the day, even hours after park opening there were people still not about to get on at some of the stops. Bus to MK, especially for rope drop, is a complete zoo. After seeing lines of people not move we eventually Ubered to TTC. We had just missed a ferry and it was a good 20 minutes before the other one was there, loaded and moving which derailed plans to hit 7DMT and sort of sent the morning off on a bad note.
> 
> Not sure what better way to go about it although I’m sure there is one. Morning reservation at one of the walkable to MK resorts?


That's what I meant to ask...so for buses; do we know what order they come in and stop at at CBR?  Also, if the fill the bus completely at tye 1st/2nd stop, will they send the next bus to the 3rd stop first?  Trying to make early rope drop and the multiple bus stops stresses me out.  Trying to decide if it'd be best to head to the 1st stop (is it like the main stop in front of the lobby) - I'm assuming it's busier, but maybe a bettee chance of getting on the bus or would it be better to wait at the bus stop closest to us (most likely will be Jamaica or Aruba?)


----------



## kathi

Can anyone comment on the outdoor kitchens at Epcot?  When was it sane and when was it just too crowded?  We want to include that in our touring strategies.  I only have one Epcot park reservation and planned to walk over from Boardwalk in the afternoons on most days.


----------



## hereforthechurros

brockash said:


> That's what I meant to ask...so for buses; do we know what order they come in and stop at at CBR?  Also, if the fill the bus completely at tye 1st/2nd stop, will they send the next bus to the 3rd stop first?  Trying to make early rope drop and the multiple bus stops stresses me out.  Trying to decide if it'd be best to head to the 1st stop (is it like the main stop in front of the lobby) - I'm assuming it's busier, but maybe a bettee chance of getting on the bus or would it be better to wait at the bus stop closest to us (most likely will be Jamaica or Aruba?)


In our experience I believe they stop at Martinique first for pick up as the bus arrived empty and waited a while before heading to the next stop. By the time we made it to fourth bus stop it filled up and left people standing. And this was at 10:30 am when AK opened at 8 am. Even well before 8 am there were lines many people deep at every bus stop for MK, which opened at 9 am. Once the bus was full it left and did not continue to the other stops in our experience.


----------



## jenmsmith

kathi said:


> Can anyone comment on the outdoor kitchens at Epcot?  When was it sane and when was it just too crowded?  We want to include that in our touring strategies.  I only have one Epcot park reservation and planned to walk over from Boardwalk in the afternoons on most days.


In our experience, Epcot from 11 am until 2 pm is wonderful. On our late January trip it was the quietest I think I’ve ever seen Epcot. However, after 2 pm, because of park hopping, it can get much, much busier.


----------



## brockash

hereforthechurros said:


> In our experience I believe they stop at Martinique first for pick up as the bus arrived empty and waited a while before heading to the next stop. By the time we made it to fourth bus stop it filled up and left people standing. And this was at 10:30 am when AK opened at 8 am. Even well before 8 am there were lines many people deep at every bus stop for MK, which opened at 9 am. Once the bus was full it left and did not continue to the other stops in our experience.


Thank you!


----------



## Sbunit81

Slinky dog already 70 min wait this morning


----------



## SJSloan

Question about Epcot and the Skyliner. 

We are staying at the Riviera. I know the Skyliner is the most convenient way of getting to Epcot but the website says the Epcot line will not start running until 30 minutes before park open. Has this been everyone's experience? Would it be better for us to drive to Epcot and get there an hour early to take advantage of the low waits if they open early?


----------



## wilkydelts

Sbunit81 said:


> Slinky dog already 70 min wait this morning



it is that way every morning which is why you must be early and one of the first through the gate.

Also Touringplans expects it to only be 40


----------



## Chris Ehlers

wilkydelts said:


> it is that way every morning which is why you must be early and one of the first through the gate.
> 
> Also Touringplans expects it to only be 40


We gave up on Slinky after our August Trip, the line is continually out past the Walt exhibit, plus it is the shortest duration ride in all of Disney World


----------



## BigOHawk

Only way to do Slinky without a huge wait is Rope Drop if you can and for a 9 am. open you'd probably better be there by 8 so you are at the front of the line!


----------



## emilymad

So prioritize Slinky over MMRR?


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

emilymad said:


> So prioritize Slinky over MMRR?


It depends on how close to the front of the pack you are.  We were the first people (literally) to walk into DHS back on our day there and we did MMRR first, then Slinky, TSMM, Aliens, MFSR, and were walking into RotR to use our BG at 10am.  We were likely off of MMRR before most people even made it into the park that morning though...


----------



## sara_s

kathi said:


> How often did you find yourself shoulder to shoulder with people?  Can it be avoided?  Tickets are crazy expensive (we usually have APs) and lines are long.  The social distancing thing may be the final straw that makes us cancel (which I really don't want to do).


I'm an AP who took trips in August and November last year (returning next week).

As a general rule, I avoid weekends as much as possible (especially holiday weekends), but otherwise, I didn't find any issue being able to dodge people and crowds by zig zagging and keeping up a good pace. When it comes to bottlenecks, I just say go-go-go and walk with purpose. Those things will happen, but as someone who is pretty conscious and anxious about social distancing, I felt good while on property. From what I experienced, people are mostly well behaved in the queues, and I always slow roll my way up behind someone just in case they have to stop short. I set the pace. 

I'll be happy to report back while I'm there next week post-President's Day week!


----------



## Andrwh1

sara_s said:


> I'm an AP who took trips in August and November last year (returning next week).
> 
> As a general rule, I avoid weekends as much as possible (especially holiday weekends), but otherwise, I didn't find any issue being able to dodge people and crowds by zig zagging and keeping up a good pace. When it comes to bottlenecks, I just say go-go-go and walk with purpose. Those things will happen, but as someone who is pretty conscious and anxious about social distancing, I felt good while on property. From what I experienced, people are mostly well behaved in the queues, and I always slow roll my way up behind someone just in case they have to stop short. I set the pace.
> 
> I'll be happy to report back while I'm there next week post-President's Day week!


Yes, I’m interested to see how it is next week as we’re supposed to be there in two weeks!


----------



## rockpiece

Anyone know if one of the sides of Tower is down? Has been a triple digit wait pretty much all day and by far the longest in HS.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Br'er Rabbit is the Best said:


> Yeah, I saw those. I saw a blog post about stuff for sale at what I thought was Disney Springs just last month but I was mistaken and it was Downtown Disney. Well, I guess that’s a double bummer for me. Even if I get one last ride in, I can’t get any merchandise to remember it by. As you can probably tell from my username, I’m a little sad by this haha.



I found my son the Brer Bear plush on Mecari for a more reasonable price- $50 with shipping. The best part though is that Mecari 
gives you coupons once you've made your first purchase. I had bought something small (Funko pop) and then they sent me a coupon for $20 off a $50 purchase so then I bought the plush- was only $30 after the coupon which is what they'd cost brand new. 

Still sucks to give money to those jerks but I've found you can get more reasonable prices if you hunt around. 

When we were there in November we looked for any Splash merch but like others said it's long gone.


----------



## Haley R

Anyone been to beaches and cream lately? Are they doing outdoor service at tables? We’re thinking about going in April for our son’s first birthday but we don’t want to eat inside


----------



## rileyz

SJSloan said:


> Question about Epcot and the Skyliner.
> 
> We are staying at the Riviera. I know the Skyliner is the most convenient way of getting to Epcot but the website says the Epcot line will not start running until 30 minutes before park open. Has this been everyone's experience? Would it be better for us to drive to Epcot and get there an hour early to take advantage of the low waits if they open early?



Yup.  Here now and the skyliner lines are also long in morning.


----------



## Leigh L

Haley R said:


> Anyone been to beaches and cream lately? Are they doing outdoor service at tables? We’re thinking about going in April for our son’s first birthday but we don’t want to eat inside


Ate here tonight, it's indoor as far as I can tell. I didn't see any tables set up outside. The outdoors area was filled (spaced out) with people waiting for tables.


----------



## Leigh L

Has anyone taken a bus from POP to MK for rope drop recently? What time should we plan to be at the bus stop?


----------



## Haley R

Leigh L said:


> Ate here tonight, it's indoor as far as I can tell. I didn't see any tables set up outside. The outdoors area was filled (spaced out) with people waiting for tables.


Darn okay thank you. I’m surprised there weren’t any tables outside. I guess we might need to consider eating somewhere else


----------



## hereforthechurros

Haley R said:


> Darn okay thank you. I’m surprised there weren’t any tables outside. I guess we might need to consider eating somewhere else


Over Christmas they were serving the outdoor tables from the restaurant but that was 6+ weeks ago now so it sounds like things may have changed.


----------



## Haley R

hereforthechurros said:


> Over Christmas they were serving the outdoor tables from the restaurant but that was 6+ weeks ago now so it sounds like things may have changed.


Do you have any suggestions for anywhere quick and easy to get food on the boardwalk?


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Leigh L said:


> Ate here tonight, it's indoor as far as I can tell. I didn't see any tables set up outside. The outdoors area was filled (spaced out) with people waiting for tables.


Are you sure?  I know of 3 DPs in the past 4 weeks saying otherwise.  Personally they were serving at the tables 19 days ago when we ate there.  

I believe they specifically closed the walk-up window temporarily to expand to outdoor seating based on the way they had things staged in an area by the (now closed) walk-up window.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Haley R said:


> Do you have any suggestions for anywhere quick and easy to get food on the boardwalk?


Sadly the boardwalk is a ghost town still but Trattoria al Forno has a few outdoor tables and isn’t overly busy. I’m sure you could get in and out quickly. The wood fired pizza there is surprisingly great.


----------



## Haley R

hereforthechurros said:


> Sadly the boardwalk is a ghost town still but Trattoria al Forno has a few outdoor tables and isn’t overly busy. I’m sure you could get in and out quickly. The wood fired pizza there is surprisingly great.


Someone else did mention trattoria to me so I’ll keep that as an option. Thanks!


----------



## RunWI1265

Haley R said:


> Anyone been to beaches and cream lately? Are they doing outdoor service at tables? We’re thinking about going in April for our son’s first birthday but we don’t want to eat inside


We were able to eat outside two-ish weeks ago. There was only 3 round tables though. When we checked in I asked if there was anywhere we could sit outside and they were able to accommodate us by seating us at one of the small two-person tables (it was just me and my toddler) off to the side.

Edit: wanted to add Trattoria does have outdoor seating but it isn't fully open air. They have thicker material type walls enclosing the area with the opening being where you walk in.


----------



## Haley R

RunWI1265 said:


> We were able to eat outside two-ish weeks ago. There was only 3 round tables though. When we checked in I asked if there was anywhere we could sit outside and they were able to accommodate us by seating us at one of the small two-person tables (it was just me and my toddler) off to the side.
> 
> Edit: wanted to add Trattoria does have outdoor seating but it isn't fully open air. They have thicker material type walls enclosing the area with the opening being where you walk in.


What time of day did you go eat there? I’m thinking if we do an off time it should be easier to get a table outside


----------



## RunWI1265

Haley R said:


> What time of day did you go eat there? I’m thinking if we do an off time it should be easier to get a table outside


We had a 1:15 res on a Saturday for B&C. We didn't eat at Trattoria but stayed at BW so walked by the outdoor seating area.


----------



## Haley R

RunWI1265 said:


> We had a 1:15 res on a Saturday for B&C. We didn't eat at Trattoria but stayed at BW so walked by the outdoor seating area.


Okay thanks!


----------



## Leigh L

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Are you sure?  I know of 3 DPs in the past 4 weeks saying otherwise.  Personally they were serving at the tables 19 days ago when we ate there.
> 
> I believe they specifically closed the walk-up window temporarily to expand to outdoor seating based on the way they had things staged in an area by the (now closed) walk-up window.


Ah ok. No, we definitely didn't see anyone eating outdoors (we were there early and waited outside the restaurant about 40 minutes) but maybe it was the weather? It wasn't raining during that time but had been on and off most of the day.
Which tables are the ones they serve at? (This was our first time eating there)



Haley R said:


> Darn okay thank you. I’m surprised there weren’t any tables outside. I guess we might need to consider eating somewhere else


It seems they might be , sorry if I am giving incorrect information 
Yesterday was our first time eating there so it may have just been weather-related? (We would have preferred outdoors for this restaurant)


----------



## Leigh L

RunWI1265 said:


> We were able to eat outside two-ish weeks ago. There was only 3 round tables though. When we checked in I asked if there was anywhere we could sit outside and they were able to accommodate us by seating us at one of the small two-person tables (it was just me and my toddler) off to the side.
> 
> Edit: wanted to add Trattoria does have outdoor seating but it isn't fully open air. They have thicker material type walls enclosing the area with the opening being where you walk in.


So I guess if you ask?
When we got there those smaller tables had people sitting at them waiting to be called. We didn't realize they were being used for dining. There were a lot of us waiting though and I think they were running behind.
Sorry, everyone!


----------



## DisneyMama811

anyone currently at WDW who would be willing to grab and mail me copies of the folded map brochures for each park?

I am in Canada and will gladly pay the postage to you via e-transfer. I know we can see the maps online but my 6 year old is obsessed and would love the real thing


----------



## HollyMD

So I think Disney is definitely adding more capacity secretly. For the week I am going in March, I’ve been watching the availability calendar every day. All three buckets were full for HS everyday of our trip(we already have our ressies). Now suddenly today, ALL THREE buckets show availability every day for HS......


----------



## TestingH2O

HollyMD said:


> So I think Disney is definitely adding more capacity secretly. For the week I am going in March, I’ve been watching the availability calendar every day. All three buckets were full for HS everyday of our trip(we already have our ressies). Now suddenly today, ALL THREE buckets show availability every day for HS......


I'm wondering the same thing.  The beginning of our trip in March, where there is overlap with Orlando Public School spring break, had yellow before, but now it is all green.
ETA - I wonder how much of a margin of error they give themselves on that 35% working on the assumption that some people won't actually show up.


----------



## TinkSassy

DisneyMama811 said:


> anyone currently at WDW who would be willing to grab and mail me copies of the folded map brochures for each park?
> 
> I am in Canada and will gladly pay the postage to you via e-transfer. I know we can see the maps online but my 6 year old is obsessed and would love the real thing


When do you need them by?  I’m going in a week and can pick some up and mail when I return but they would go in post from the US around March 6.  So plan 2-3 weeks for delivery after that.  If that works private message me the address - postage is on me.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

We are thinking about moving our mid-April (Star Wars RunDisney) reservation back to early March. I checked TPs but the crowd calendar that I could see didn't make much sense. They are only predicting 3/4 before Easter? That doesn't sound right considering the crowds on President Day. 

Anyway ... would you guys pick March 2-7th (2 weekend days but earlier in the month) or March 7 to 12 (all weekdays but closer to Spring Breaks)? FYI we are traveling from West Coast so we pretty much lose the first day.


----------



## HokieRaven5

HollyMD said:


> So I think Disney is definitely adding more capacity secretly. For the week I am going in March, I’ve been watching the availability calendar every day. All three buckets were full for HS everyday of our trip(we already have our ressies). Now suddenly today, ALL THREE buckets show availability every day for HS......



The last month or so that I have actually looked the AP bucket has had availability for every day in March. Only the Theme Park Guests/Disney Resort Guests have filled it up


----------



## HollyMD

Even those show all green now.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

HollyMD said:


> So I think Disney is definitely adding more capacity secretly. For the week I am going in March, I’ve been watching the availability calendar every day. All three buckets were full for HS everyday of our trip(we already have our ressies). Now suddenly today, ALL THREE buckets show availability every day for HS......


Could also be people cancelling or them moving availability between categories.  But I agree, it's odd.


----------



## HokieRaven5

HollyMD said:


> Even those show all green now.



But that doesn't necessarily mean they did/didn't add capacity. There are weeks in March where only Platinum and Platinum Plus APs can attend. There are also individuals who book multiple DHS days on their trips and could change their minds and switch what park they go to for those days. There are people who could make the decision that they want to cancel for any number of reasons. Recently there's been a lot of chatter about how crowded Disney was over this weekend, pretty sure that can play an impact on the decision whether or not to attend.

DHS is also one of the smallest maximum capacity parks in WDW at around 21K+/- at the 35% threshold.

Could Disney be adding capacity sure, but there's a lot more that could also be happening.


----------



## Ohiostatefan606

Hard to believe, but a week ago we were walking into CBR to change into shorts!  
Wanted to share a couple of thoughts on surprises / things we missed during our visit.
We visited 2/11 - 2/15 - President's Day / Valentine's Day / Mardi Gras
_Transportation recap is here
Early park visits and ride summary __here_

Shopping - I was not prepared to have to stand in line to get into the shops.  I'm sure I read about it, but didn't remember.  We like to pop in and out and just look.  We weren't able to do this without standing in line.  We came home with just a couple of items from the gift shop at Riviera.  Not that I really "needed" anything, it is just an activity we enjoyed.
Character Meet & Greets - I knew this wasn't happening.  I just flat out miss this part.  It wouldn't stop me from going, but the character visits were always part of our day.
Dining reservations - We had lunch reservations Fri / Sat / Sun.  As our trip got closer,  I added dinner reservations for Sat and Sun.  WOW, so glad I did.  The menus at all the restaurants have reduced options.  The QS mobile ordering options at MK on Friday night were just okay and the food at Cosmic Rays was a step below okay.  As much as I have always liked just "winging" it for dinner.  I think during future trips, dinner reservations will be must.
The lines to get snacks / water / ice cream / popcorn.  It did not seem to matter the time of day, there were always lines to just grab a snack.
Not being able to walk and eat/drink.  I guess I didn't realize how much we stood in line and snacked!  We pack granola bars for breakfast and usually stop at Starbucks for coffee.  But we wanted to ride, ride, ride as the wait times were low, but then we had to stop, find some place to sit to eat our breakfast.  Definitely threw our timing off.
I'm sure everyone has their list of items they miss, or think my list is crazy.  But these are items that impacted our trip.  Not in huge horrible ways, but just things I noticed.


----------



## Castlequeen5

Ohiostatefan606 said:


> Not being able to walk and eat/drink.  I guess I didn't realize how much we stood in line and snacked!  We pack granola bars for breakfast and usually stop at Starbucks for coffee.  But we wanted to ride, ride, ride as the wait times were low, but then we had to stop, find some place to sit to eat our breakfast.  Definitely threw our timing off.


Do you mean is not allowed anymore?  I’m assuming this is because of the mask policy.  Are there only designated places where you can eat/drink?  Where would those places be?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Castlequeen5 said:


> Do you mean is not allowed anymore?  I’m assuming this is because of the mask policy.  Are there only designated places where you can eat/drink?  Where would those places be?


You can eat and drink while not in line, pulled off to the side and stationary.  There is no walking and eating/drinking.  You may also take quick sips of a beverage in the outdoor portion of queues before you pass the official entrance to the ride queue.


----------



## skuttle

Haley R said:


> Anyone been to beaches and cream lately? Are they doing outdoor service at tables? We’re thinking about going in April for our son’s first birthday but we don’t want to eat inside



we ate there feb 11th. No outdoor dining that night, but there was rain off and on.  A few nights later we passed by and they had diners at the outside tables.


----------



## wilkydelts

They now stop people from eating in line? When I was there in October CMs did not say anything.


----------



## Castlequeen5

scrappinginontario said:


> You can eat and drink while not in line, pulled off to the side and stationary.  There is no walking and eating/drinking.  You may also take quick sips of a beverage in the outdoor portion of queues before you pass the official entrance to the ride queue.


Thank you!  This is good to know.  It didn’t even occur to me to consider that even being an issue.  But it makes sense.  I’ll plan accordingly, since we plan to pack snacks and such.


----------



## Ohiostatefan606

Castlequeen5 said:


> Do you mean is not allowed anymore?  I’m assuming this is because of the mask policy.  Are there only designated places where you can eat/drink?  Where would those places be?


You may remove your face covering while eating or drinking but you must be stationary. Link to Disney's page

Basically you are not allowed to eat or drink while in line for rides.  People do, and there were Cast Members that would tell them to stop.  (Not always, but often).


----------



## Castlequeen5

Ohiostatefan606 said:


> You may remove your face covering while eating or drinking but you must be stationary. Link to Disney's page
> 
> Basically you are not allowed to eat or drink while in line for rides.  People do, and there were Cast Members that would tell them to stop.  (Not always, but often).


Thank you!  You’re posts were SUPER helpful!


----------



## DisneyMama811

sent you a message


----------



## HokieRaven5

wilkydelts said:


> They now stop people from eating in line? When I was there in October CMs did not say anything.



Yeah it was right around November that change happened.


----------



## Orion Nebula

HokieRaven5 said:


> Yeah it was right around November that change happened.



I heard from many here that CMs are doing a much better job in regards to enforcement now. Which is somewhat a relief.


----------



## TestingH2O

I couldn't believe that this thread had fallen to page 2, so I'm posting on it to say that I have been reading it daily as we plan for our March trip.  I hope it stays active in the next few weeks.  I promise to contribute after our trip too.


----------



## Gentry2004

Ohiostatefan606 said:


> Hard to believe, but a week ago we were walking into CBR to change into shorts!
> Wanted to share a couple of thoughts on surprises / things we missed during our visit.
> We visited 2/11 - 2/15 - President's Day / Valentine's Day / Mardi Gras
> _Transportation recap is here
> Early park visits and ride summary __here_
> 
> Shopping - I was not prepared to have to stand in line to get into the shops.  I'm sure I read about it, but didn't remember.  We like to pop in and out and just look.  We weren't able to do this without standing in line.  We came home with just a couple of items from the gift shop at Riviera.  Not that I really "needed" anything, it is just an activity we enjoyed.
> Character Meet & Greets - I knew this wasn't happening.  I just flat out miss this part.  It wouldn't stop me from going, but the character visits were always part of our day.
> Dining reservations - We had lunch reservations Fri / Sat / Sun.  As our trip got closer,  I added dinner reservations for Sat and Sun.  WOW, so glad I did.  The menus at all the restaurants have reduced options.  The QS mobile ordering options at MK on Friday night were just okay and the food at Cosmic Rays was a step below okay.  As much as I have always liked just "winging" it for dinner.  I think during future trips, dinner reservations will be must.
> The lines to get snacks / water / ice cream / popcorn.  It did not seem to matter the time of day, there were always lines to just grab a snack.
> Not being able to walk and eat/drink.  I guess I didn't realize how much we stood in line and snacked!  We pack granola bars for breakfast and usually stop at Starbucks for coffee.  *But we wanted to ride, ride, ride as the wait times were low, but then we had to stop, find some place to sit to eat our breakfast. * Definitely threw our timing off.
> I'm sure everyone has their list of items they miss, or think my list is crazy.  But these are items that impacted our trip.  Not in huge horrible ways, but just things I noticed.



This part jumped out at me as good news! I haven't heard many people saying they thought wait times were low.


----------



## Ohiostatefan606

Gentry2004 said:


> This part jumped out at me as good news! I haven't heard many people saying they thought wait times were low.


That is in the morning!  We accomplished a lot by getting up and to the parks prior to the stated opening time.


----------



## dancergirlsmom

Leigh L said:


> Has anyone taken a bus from POP to MK for rope drop recently? What time should we plan to be at the bus stop?



My DD was just there the end of January and was at the bus stop around 7:30.  They were at the park before the official opening and got on 7DMT with a short wait.


----------



## boop0524

We did Epcot today from 10-2 with intentions of mostly enjoying the festival treats. Rope dropped Soarin’ and rode Spaceship Earth just for fun. We remarked how calm and relaxing it was at the park. Hardly anyone was there! It was wonderful. Came back at 6 but left shortly after when the rain wouldn’t let up. Definitely looked like the park hopper crowds had arrived as well. Glad we got to enjoy the morning!

Has anyone had luck getting into Disney Springs before posted opening?


----------



## conandrob240

ckb_nc said:


> I had 3 places that were concerns in our trip:
> 
> 1) Fantasyland around Small World/Peter Pan - it is a traffic jam always - so much so that I purposely walked around the castle from Mine Train a couple of times
> 2) Hollywood Studios - heading into Galaxy's Edge by Star Tours - it was really crowded when we went this way - Galaxy's Edge is just crowded period at times.
> 3) AKL - Pandora - not horrible but not great.
> 
> Frankly number 1 was the ONLY time I felt like social distancing was impossible. But at the same time masks were never an issue. Disney Springs was far worse than any park for social distancing


Add area in front of Tiki room/flying carpets/jungle cruise to your list. With all the strollers parked there and the lines for various things stretching into that already narrow walkway, that area was a nightmare.
I’ll add, there us NO WAY parks are only at 30-35%. We’ve been during many Feb break weeks, 4th of July and NYE and this week felt the most crowded to me- ever! Overall, very unenjoyable.


----------



## armerida

boop0524 said:


> We did Epcot today from 10-2 with intentions of mostly enjoying the festival treats. Rope dropped Soarin’ and rode Spaceship Earth just for fun. We remarked how calm and relaxing it was at the park. Hardly anyone was there! It was wonderful. Came back at 6 but left shortly after when the rain wouldn’t let up. Definitely looked like the park hopper crowds had arrived as well. Glad we got to enjoy the morning!
> 
> Has anyone had luck getting into Disney Springs before posted opening?


So are they opening the Epcot gates a full hour early? What time are rides starting?


----------



## boop0524

armerida said:


> So are they opening the Epcot gates a full hour early? What time are rides starting?



We had no problem getting into Epcot at 10 but they did hold us in line at Soarin until close to 10:40. Granted we had to park, get through the gates etc so it’s not like a full 40 mins you’re in line


----------



## only hope

conandrob240 said:


> Add area in front of Tiki room/flying carpets/jungle cruise to your list. With all the strollers parked there and the lines for various things stretching into that already narrow walkway, that area was a nightmare.
> I’ll add, there us NO WAY parks are only at 30-35%. We’ve been during many Feb break weeks, 4th of July and NYE and this week felt the most crowded to me- ever! Overall, very unenjoyable.View attachment 557756View attachment 557757



They just said on an investor update it is still 35%. But it is 35% with queues stretched out everywhere, reduced restaurant/quick service capacity with many still closed, reduced ride capacity, reduced store capacity with some closed, no meet and greets, and greatly reduced entertainment options. 35% is too high since functional capacity is so reduced. The capacity needs to be low enough for it to be easy to social distance while walking around, aside from a few narrow points (like Small World/Peter Pan) where that just won’t happen. But walking down wide pathways shouldn’t be an issue. People also need to be kept six feet apart on rides and in queues. 25%
seemed to be working.

They need “don’t stand here” markings in queues to block off six feet between groups and clearly identify parts where no one should stand in switcbacks to maintain distance laterally. Distancing was awful the past few days. Few seemed to care about staying right on their marker. We were constantly asking people behind us to keep their distance from us. Walking around was awful too- even in the few areas that weren’t congested, people would walk right behind us! No one tried to distance when exiting rides/shows either. We hung back to let all those people go first as much as we could.

Mask compliance at MK was awful. Tons of people walking and eating/drinking, lots of noses, lots of kids clearly 2-3 years old with no mask, very few CM bothering to say anything.

Mobile order at the pineapple dole whip place took 20mn. They were taking too many orders. People were crowded together waiting for orders. I managed to find a distanced spot to stand in but there wasn’t enough room for everyone to do so. PizzoRizzo was fine; Sautili was crowded waiting for an order. They did at least have a CM with a mic trying to get people to stand to the side distanced.

Well, that’s my last report- pass expires in a few days. Thanks to everyone who has posted here.


----------



## lovethattink

It is at 35% of max capacity. Consumer confidence is up. More people are visiting the parks.

Mask compliance is definitely down. But it’s still pretty high. Everyone is wearing masks, but only about 75% are wearing them correctly.  In past months it was easily 90% with proper compliance.

We were at DHS and rode MMRR. A party of 4 was in front of us separated by the plexiglass. They all took their masks off during the ride for selfies. Otherwise, before the ride, one of those had the mask below the nose. No cm said anything to them.

Overall, we had a great experience. Got lots of exercise and sunshine! Heading there again tomorrow!


----------



## MomOTwins

lovethattink said:


> It is at 35% of max capacity. Consumer confidence is up. More people are visiting the parks.
> 
> Mask compliance is definitely down, but it’s still pretty high. Maybe 75% instead of 90%.
> 
> We were at DHS and rode MMRR. A party of 4 was in front of us separated by the plexiglass. They all took their masks off during the ride for selfies. Otherwise, before the ride, one of those had the mask below the nose. No cm said anything to them.
> 
> Overall, we had a great experience. Got lots of exercise and sunshine! Heading there again tomorrow!


Oh my gosh, 75% is not what I would call very high.  One in four people not wearing masks??? That's unacceptable.


----------



## maryj11

We are going to hate not being able to just walk into a shop . About how long is the wait to get into most shops?


----------



## maryj11

conandrob240 said:


> Add area in front of Tiki room/flying carpets/jungle cruise to your list. With all the strollers parked there and the lines for various things stretching into that already narrow walkway, that area was a nightmare.
> I’ll add, there us NO WAY parks are only at 30-35%. We’ve been during many Feb break weeks, 4th of July and NYE and this week felt the most crowded to me- ever! Overall, very unenjoyable.View attachment 557756View attachment 557757


Definitely not 30 or 35% !


----------



## MomOTwins

maryj11 said:


> We are going to hate not being able to just walk into a shop . About how long is the wait to get into most shops?


This varies so much by shop and time of day.  Emporium in MK always has a line but it moves quick (10-15 mins) because the store is so huge, except can be longer after park closes and everyone comes back to main street to shop.  The longest waits we saw were for the star wars shops since they are so small and can only have a couple of people at a time, and World of Disney in DS on a weekend—both we were quoted over an hour wait so just skipped them.  Not much of a wait if any at most other places.


----------



## wilkydelts

maryj11 said:


> Definitely not 30 or 35% !



And you know that how?


This 35% talk is getting old.

If MK allows 10,000 guests that means 35% would allow up to 3,500 guests

3,500 out of 3,500 is crowded

1,000 out of 3,500 is not crowded

Both are still 35%. Disney is not lying to you


----------



## lovethattink

MomOTwins said:


> Oh my gosh, 75% is not what I would call very high.  One in four people not wearing masks??? That's unacceptable.



Let me correct myself. They were wearing masks, but not properly. Mostly those not wearing it properly had it under their nose. Though some had in under their chins. Several in queue outdoor had it hanging off an ear. It was about 85 degrees that day. Saw a couple people in queue with no mask at all, and again this was an outdoor queue.


----------



## DMLAINI

Does anyone know how early in the morning bell services is currently open?   We have an early breakfast reservation & will need them to hold our luggage around 7:30 am


----------



## skuttle

maryj11 said:


> We are going to hate not being able to just walk into a shop . About how long is the wait to get into most shops?



we were at the parks over presidents weekend, including MK on Saturday. Only time we had to wait was for the shops in galaxy’s edge. Everywhere else we just walked in. This is just for parks. We didn’t bother with Disney springs this trip since we heard it was a mess there!


----------



## maryj11

skuttle said:


> we were at the parks over presidents weekend, including MK on Saturday. Only time we had to wait was for the shops in galaxy’s edge. Everywhere else we just walked in. This is just for parks. We didn’t bother with Disney springs this trip since we heard it was a mess there!


Oh good!


----------



## maryj11

wilkydelts said:


> And you know that how?
> 
> 
> This 35% talk is getting old.
> 
> If MK allows 10,000 guests that means 35% would allow up to 3,500 guests
> 
> 3,500 out of 3,500 is crowded
> 
> 1,000 out of 3,500 is not crowded
> 
> Both are still 35%. Disney is not lying to you


By looking at the photos. We go every year in the summer and it looks more crowded then when we go.
The average daily crowd level at MK in summer is 50,000 to 60,000 people.


----------



## scrappinginontario

DMLAINI said:


> Does anyone know how early in the morning bell services is currently open?   We have an early breakfast reservation & will need them to hold our luggage around 7:30 am


I don’t know what resort you’re staying at but Pop luggage services are open 24 hours a day.  I would guess other resorts are the same/similar.  

Might be best to ask this question on the resorts board, on the thread for the exact resort you’re staying at.  It might even be covered in the first few posts of your resort thread.


----------



## OKW Lover

DMLAINI said:


> Does anyone know how early in the morning bell services is currently open?


Bell services is 24/7


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

maryj11 said:


> By looking at the photos. We go every year in the summer and it looks more crowded then when we go.
> The average daily crowd level at MK in summer is 50,000 to 60,000 people.


As others have said, photos can be deceiving.  The distribution of crowds right now is much different than normal times.  People who would normally be in shows, meeting characters, in restaurants etc are now waiting in ride lines, and those are spilling out into walkways.  I sincerely doubt Disney is lying about capacity numbers.


----------



## maryj11

ENJDisneyFan said:


> As others have said, photos can be deceiving.  The distribution of crowds right now is much different than normal times.  People who would normally be in shows, meeting characters, in restaurants etc are now waiting in ride lines, and those are spilling out into walkways.  I sincerely doubt Disney is lying about capacity numbers.


Yes that is probably true. There is several restaurants and attractions closed.


----------



## hereforthechurros

maryj11 said:


> Definitely not 30 or 35% !


IMO they’re measuring capacity against a new max. They’re using creative engineering to squeeze every drop out of available square footage. So for example if daily max pre-COVID was say, 90k, max may now be 125k. So 35% now is more than 35% then.


----------



## maryj11

hereforthechurros said:


> IMO they’re measuring capacity against a new max. They’re using creative engineering to squeeze every drop out of available square footage. So for example if daily max pre-COVID was say, 90k, max may now be 125k. So 35% now is more than 35% then.


Yeah seems like it. Disney has their ways.


----------



## wilkydelts

hereforthechurros said:


> IMO they’re measuring capacity against a new max. They’re using creative engineering to squeeze every drop out of available square footage. So for example if daily max pre-COVID was say, 90k, max may now be 125k. So 35% now is more than 35% then.



Wow, this may be a new level of rationale to reach the point of your arguement.

Disney is NOT more crowded now than pre-Covid, please stop this nonsense. A subjective belief of the "Feels Like" levels does not equate to actually being more crowded.


----------



## disneygirlsng

wilkydelts said:


> Wow, this may be a new level of rationale to reach the point of your arguement.
> 
> Disney is NOT more crowded now than pre-Covid, please stop this nonsense. A subjective belief of the "Feels Like" levels does not equate to actually being more crowded.


Yea, I'm not quite sure why it's hard to understand why 35% now feels like a normal crowded day pre-Covid.


----------



## nerdboyrockstar

Here now at the Contemporary. Walked over to MK this morning and it were at the park by 8:15am. Park was open and headed straight to Mine Train. 

Almost every single ride this morning had super inflated wait times. Very few were close to actual. 

Mine Train = Posted 40/Actual 20
Space Mountain = Posted 10 / Actual 10
Big Thunder = Posted 40 / Actual 15
Splash Mountain = Posted 5 /Actual 5
Peter Pan = Posted 25 / Actual 12
Mermaid = Posted 15 / Actual 5

Sleepy Hollow for a corn dog and a chicken waffle sandwich was the longest wait we had all day of about 30 minutes. lol 

Walked back to the room at 12 for a break and will go back for dinner. Wait times have definitely shot up since then and the crowds coming in as we were exiting were like


----------



## hereforthechurros

wilkydelts said:


> Wow, this may be a new level of rationale to reach the point of your arguement.
> 
> Disney is NOT more crowded now than pre-Covid, please stop this nonsense. A subjective belief of the "Feels Like" levels does not equate to actually being more crowded.


Huh? I didn’t say they were more crowded now* by any stretch. I’m just saying we don’t know what max they’re weighing 35% against.

Edit: more crowded compared to normal times.


----------



## maryj11

wilkydelts said:


> Wow, this may be a new level of rationale to reach the point of your arguement.
> 
> Disney is NOT more crowded now than pre-Covid, please stop this nonsense. A subjective belief of the "Feels Like" levels does not equate to actually being more crowded.


No one is arguing. Just stating our opinions.


----------



## Toad_Passenger

I think the 35% for MK is somewhere close to 20,000 people allowed. That is still a LOT of people. Add in, as others said that walkways are narrowed due to the space needed for extended queues, and several shops/food places closed, those 20K are put into an increasingly smaller area. This makes it look and feel a lot more crowded than it actually is.

I don't think they are lying about capacity, but the visual perception due to a lot of factors is showing that the 35% capacity is pushing the limits of safety.


----------



## maryj11

Toad_Passenger said:


> I think the 35% for MK is somewhere close to 20,000 people allowed. That is still a LOT of people. Add in, as others said that walkways are narrowed due to the space needed for extended queues, and several shops/food places closed, those 20K are put into an increasingly smaller area. This makes it look and feel a lot more crowded than it actually is.
> 
> I don't think they are lying about capacity, but the visual perception due to a lot of factors is showing that the 35% capacity is pushing the limits of safety.


Yes I agree the capacity needs to be lowered for safety reasons.


----------



## wilkydelts

Toad_Passenger said:


> I don't think they are lying about capacity, but the visual perception due to a lot of factors is showing that the 35% capacity is pushing the limits of safety.



That is an argument one can make. That is why people have to decide what is best for them. Disney is doing the best they can and with in parameters the government/commission agreed upon while still trying to make “some” money.

People who want lower capacity for their own personal preference don’t seem to be concerned whether or not Disney could remain open under those preferred conditions. Answer is: They can’t!


----------



## Gentry2004

While feelings of crowdedness may be subjective, wait times are NOT subjective. Without the option of FP+, people are objectively waiting more during a day at Disney than they would have pre-pandemic. That is not a matter of opinion.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

disneygirlsng said:


> Yea, I'm not quite sure why it's hard to understand why 35% now feels like a normal crowded day pre-Covid.



*Maybe expectations is why it's so hard to understand ? *

35% sounds like so "few" people that folks imagine something akin to an after hours event - rather than 35% of CAPACITY (imagine "Christmas or New Years" crowds).

Then, without taking into account that when the parks are at capacity there are lots places for people to go: shows, dining, character meets, etc.

AND without taking into account that with socially distanced lines - they spill into the walkway PLUS the FP que is not absorbing people. So, in "normal" times the line density is basically "doubled up" with people waiting in both the FP and Standby ques.

THEN you combine the expectations of an empty park and low wait times (like it was in the Summer when it first opened) WITH all the worries around exposure to people you don't live with that the crowd *feels *even MORE crowded that we would have felt it back before COVID.

I'm not trying to be argumentative at all nor diminish anyone's experiences. It's just a lot of how we experience life in general is a combination of our expectations and own personal comfort zone. 

*I've been twice post COVID and am happily going again this next week.  *I still believe that Disney is being true to their word of 35%.

Does that mean that I don't think areas feel crowded to ME? Not at all - the areas near Small World, Aloha Isle, Galaxy's Edge, Pandora, Epcot World Showcase on a weekend evening, and around the entrance of every single QS place at popular meal times does feel crowded. And I try to avoid those areas as much as possible.

I just go into the trip with the expectation that at times when /if I will feel uncomfortable I have an escape plan. I make ADRs, am happy to leave the parks mid-day for a break even if it's to hop over to a nearby resort, or go back to my own resort for the day - which is something I did on my last trip returning to my resort at 4 PM in the afternoon (I am staying off site).

I live a very quiet life - just DH and I in our home, none of our family lives in our state, I've worked from home for 10 years, and DH hasn't been into the office more than 3 times since March 2020. So, being around people is not my norm at all.

*It's going to have to be all risk assessment for each family. *

I know a lot of people are "decision fatigued out" these days because we've been in survival mode for almost a year now. A lot of people that never experienced anxiety or stress with crowds before now have been conditioned that crowds are dangerous. So, a previous comfort in crowds may not exist for every family member.

We hope that a Disney trip helps us feel "normal" and I certainly had moments every single day of each trip that made me feel hopeful or normal when I was at Disney in October and January. 

But I wouldn't tell you that I was 100% comfortable every moment. Then again, life is never 100% comfortable every day in daily life no matter who we are or what we do.

*Forgive me on my soap box. * I've spent the last decade working as a life coach and many of my clients are dealing with anxiety and PTSD they haven't experienced before.... for some, a getaway to somewhere familiar, even with the COVID changes, is a life line. But not, of course, everyone.


----------



## Toad_Passenger

Gentry2004 said:


> While feelings of crowdedness may be subjective, wait times are NOT subjective. Without the option of FP+, people are objectively waiting more during a day at Disney than they would have pre-pandemic. That is not a matter of opinion.



Certainly an argument that can be made when crowds are heavy, but during slow weeks the wait times were really manageable. The week of 1/31-2/7 (when we were down) this was not the case as we waited no more than 19 minutes (yes, we timed them) for any ride, including Mine Train. We rode every ride at least once and rode the headliners multiple times. It was just as efficient as having FP+.


----------



## Gentry2004

Toad_Passenger said:


> Certainly an argument that can be made when crowds are heavy, but during slow weeks the wait times were really manageable. The week of 1/31-2/7 (when we were down) this was not the case as we waited no more than 19 minutes (yes, we timed them) for any ride, including Mine Train. We rode every ride at least once and rode the headliners multiple times. It was just as efficient as having FP+.



That is a good point and I do not disagree. I wish I could change my trip to a slow week.


----------



## maryj11

Gentry2004 said:


> That is a good point and I do not disagree. I wish I could change my trip to a slow week.


I wish we could change our trip to a slower week also. I’m guessing this summer crowds will be similar to Presidents Day week. Hopefully more attractions and restaurants will be open to absorb some of the crowds.


----------



## lovethattink

Let’s get back on topic, please. This thread is about here now and just back. I think we’ve established that 35% is of max capacity and how it feels from person to person may vary. Please continue posting your here now and just back experiences.


----------



## MomOTwins

lovethattink said:


> Let me correct myself. They were wearing masks, but not properly. Mostly those not wearing it properly had it under their nose. Though some had in under their chins. Several in queue outdoor had it hanging off an ear. It was about 85 degrees that day. Saw a couple people in queue with no mask at all, and again this was an outdoor queue.



Actually, I don't think you need to correct yourself.  Dangling a mask below your nose or chin is not wearing a mask, just like standing buck naked at a pool with a swimsuit pulled down around your ankles is not "wearing" a swimsuit at the pool.  People who have a mask in rough proximity to their face but who are not actually wearing it securely over their mouth and nose are releasing as many potentially Covid-infected droplets in the air as someone with no mask at all.

Annnnnd that's my soapbox over.  Still think 75% percent actual mask wearing is just outright atrocious when you consider how many people are in the park at a given time and the Covid infection rates we have in the U.S. at present.


----------



## disneycasey2020

Has anyone tried to park hop and not been able to? I know they say if the park is at capacity you can’t, but has that happened? Like today, there is no capacity initially, so I wonder if people are park hopping today. I called the number and it said all parks open at 2? It didn’t say anything about capacity.


----------



## MomOTwins

disneycasey2020 said:


> Has anyone tried to park hop and not been able to? I know they say if the park is at capacity you can’t, but has that happened? Like today, there is no capacity initially, so I wonder if people are park hopping today. I called the number and it said all parks open at 2? It didn’t say anything about capacity.


To date, none of the parks have been closed to hopping.


----------



## Leigh L

MK 2/18 thurs 

Got to bus stop at POP about 7:20. Line fairly long. First bus was about 7:45. We were on the 4th bus (8:15ish), one of the buses before ours was a double. Huge line behind us. (As a comparison we were in the lobby about 8:30 a.m. on 2/19 and the line for MK was still extremely long at this time too.) If staying at Pop, I recommend planning early if to get one of the earlier busses. (It may be because this was a holiday week though.) CMs directing lines wrapping around and boarding buses - super organized!

No waits for temps, security, and scanning. Arrived maybe 8:30ish? Went to Pirates and it was a walk-on. After that, Frontierland. Splash line was fairly long and didn't appear to be running yet so onto BTMR. About a 20-minute wait. Next was HM - walk on. Wandered into Fantasyland. DD wanted to skip IASW and PP, and when we got to 7DMT, hadn't been running (not sure if it did at park opening, it was probably about 9:45 by now, maybe 10 a.m.) and a long line. CMs said no estimated time it would be running and it was up to you if you wanted to wait. Lots of people did, we moved on. (Side note, so many people eating in this line, didn't appear to be enforced like all other areas we saw all day across 3 parks)

Moved into Tomorrowland. Speedway was posted 20 minutes, waited under 10. Buzz was listed at 40 minutes I think? About a 25-minute wait. Mobil ordered food at Peco Bills after that. Park was starting to get busy, but expected that for President's week.  DD didn't feel like waiting in any lines, so we got something to drink and watched some cavalcades for a bit.

Left at 1:15 to get to the bus stop to DHS. Bus left at 1:28. Got to DHS and scanned in about 1:50. Wait times high. Posted 70-minute wait at slinky, previous experience led me to believe that was wrong (lol) and would be approx 40 min. from where we started. I was the wrong one though, it was just over 60 minutes . Not sure Slinky was running full capacity. DD14 was watching and she was convinced only 3 of the 4 trains were running. (she found a site that said there are 4 total?)

Over to Galaxy's Edge with no plans to ride, DD wanted to play the Datapad game. Did that for an hour and she had a blast with the game and Stormtroopers talking to her. My phone's Bluetooth got wonky after an hour, so went and grabbed some food. Wait times were still fairly high.  

Hopped to Epcot (which was our plan, we just left DHS little earlier. Arrived just before 6 p.m., took some photos as we walked around WS. Frozen was backed all through China. We did some photopass photos. Rode SSE.

Hopped back to MK. Did Buzz and went to Splash. That was a full hour's wait so we got out about 8 p.m. (was hoping to maybe jump to Big Thunder just prior to park close but missed it). Got on bus back to Pop at 8:45.

Hung out at Pop on Friday (2/19) until my family arrived from NY to pick us up to go to the home we'd rented.

I think we're going to do 3 more park days this week. My nieces have never been to WDW, so want to plan around what they might want to do. It'll be interesting to compare the wait times between holiday week and next week. We're in FL until next Saturday.


----------



## Dug720

Leigh L said:


> and when we got to 7DMT, hadn't been running (not sure if it did at park opening, it was probably about 9:45 by now, maybe 10 a.m.) and a long line. CMs said no estimated time it would be running and it was up to you if you wanted to wait. Lots of people did, we moved on.



Interesting. It was late opening on the 17th as well. It's not a must-do for me - more like an "Oh, ok, the wait isn't bad" thing. I was in the park before 9 and figured I'd walk over and see what the wait was. By the time I got halfway around I knew it was a no-go for me, but I was curious to see how long it really went. It was already wrapping into the Enchanted Tales line, and the CMs were saying there was no estimated time of opening. I headed to the carousel, and by the time I was off of that, the ride still was not going and the line was well past Gaston's. By the time I saw a time pop up on MDE, it was 120 minutes.

Curious what's happening at the beginning of the day that it is down for so long without estimated start times.


----------



## Ohiostatefan606

disneycasey2020 said:


> Has anyone tried to park hop and not been able to? I know they say if the park is at capacity you can’t, but has that happened? Like today, there is no capacity initially, so I wonder if people are park hopping today. I called the number and it said all parks open at 2? It didn’t say anything about capacity.



Had no trouble on President's Day weekend .


----------



## aokeefe

Back from my 2/13-2/20 trip. Stayed at Grand Floridian Villas.
We are rope droppers so I really can't stress enough the importance of getting to parks at least 45- hr early to maximize your time for the big rides. We love rope dropping; back to the resort for pool time and then back to another park that night. We went over Thanksgiving and definitely thought it was more crowded this time- which we were prepared for. Some highlights of our mornings:

MK (Sun)- took monorail over and was in park by 8:15ish (open at 9) Went straight to SDMT; waited about 20 minutes.  Only did a few rides then had brunch at Homecomin in DS

AK (Mon)- took 7'ish bus and was in the park by 7:30 (8 am opening). Went straight to FOP- posted 40 minutes but was more like 20. Constantly moving. We had gone to AK the previous night so we could see Pandora at night and did brave the line which was a posted 60 minute and was pretty accurate. Safari was a walk on and then we headed to EE- that is the most deceiving line. It was all the way to Dinoland but it was constantly moving so again about 20 minutes (with a posted 45 min wait). We rode it twice. The longest line was actually to walk thru Gorilla Falls- they only let a few families in at a time. We had lunch at Yak n Yeti and then headed back for pool time.

HS (Tues)- Someone on here recommended taking an Uber to Swan/Dolphin (I can't remember who but thank you! Best advice) We got boarding group 63 (always let the teenager try- must faster fingers than the parents!). We figured we would be called around 12:30. We took an Uber at 7:15 to Swan/Dolphin. Luck was on us bc there was a long line at the temp checks to the left but then as we we were walking they opened up the temp check lines closest to the skyliner so we were one of the first groups in line. Opened up screening at 8:15. We went right to Slinky and TSM- both walk ons. MMR was about a 15 minute wait. Headed to RNRC- probably about 30 minutes. Rise of the Resistance was down so we knew our boarding group was going to get delayed. We did Frozen and Star Tours. By now it was about 11:30. We decided to head back to our villa for lunch/rest (we had sandwiches in our room)and we would head back when groups started to get called. We headed back around 1:30 and went to ToT. Posted wait time was 50 minutes. We decided to brave the line. While waiting the wait time did increase to 80 and I think we did end up waiting that long. It was a lonnnnngggg wait. Our bg was called about 3:30. It took a long time to get through- probably close to an hour.  We then headed over to Epcot to enjoy the food booths.

MK (Wed)- Arrived via monorail by 8:15- went to BTM- was able to ride twice with no wait. Did a few more rides like Space/POC/Winnie the Pooh then headed to brunch at Topolinos.

Epcot (Thurs) Took the monorail around 9:15 to MK and grabbed a bus to the Boardwalk and walked too Epcot. Was in line at International Gate by 10. They let us in about 10:15. Went right to Frozen- walked right on. Then headed to Test Track- that line was long but was moving. Did take about 45 minutes.

HS (Fri). Teenager was able to get BG 12- . Had our same routine, Uber to Swan/Dolphin. They were holding the walk in people before the skyliner. Nobody else in line anywhere. Moved us up to temp checks and let us in at 8:15. Headed right to Slinky, it was down so did TSM. Headed to MMR- that was down too. Headed to ToT and that line was almost as long as Tues afternoon. We waited a bit and then our bg was called; we ditched the line and headed to RoR. RoR moved must faster this time. We headed to RNRC, line was moving pretty quickly but then that went down. 3 major rides down did not make for a fun morning. When TSM is now at a 60 minute wait, we knew we were done for the morning so headed to Disney Springs for cookies at Gideons!  Kids headed back to HS and MK later on while we had a nice dinner at Narcossee.

Like other said, the lines look very long because of spacing but most are moving constantly- particularly Space Mountain- seemed to move the fastest out of all the rides.

Another great trip in the books. Looking forward to returning hopefully without masks in April 2022


----------



## Leigh L

Dug720 said:


> Interesting. It was late opening on the 17th as well. It's not a must-do for me - more like an "Oh, ok, the wait isn't bad" thing. I was in the park before 9 and figured I'd walk over and see what the wait was. By the time I got halfway around I knew it was a no-go for me, but I was curious to see how long it really went. It was already wrapping into the Enchanted Tales line, and the CMs were saying there was no estimated time of opening. I headed to the carousel, and by the time I was off of that, the ride still was not going and the line was well past Gaston's. By the time I saw a time pop up on MDE, it was 120 minutes.
> 
> Curious what's happening at the beginning of the day that it is down for so long without estimated start times.


That is weird. Wonder what's up with that one? Usually, that's the first one going. 

It came online probably in the 10 a.m. hour (I wasn't tracking carefully though, I love the ride but not THAT much!) I remember seeing wait time at 95 minutes whatever time it was I looked.


----------



## Dug720

Leigh L said:


> That is weird. Wonder what's up with that one? Usually, that's the first one going.
> 
> It came online probably in the 10 a.m. hour (I wasn't tracking carefully though, I love the ride but not THAT much!) I remember seeing wait time at 95 minutes whatever time it was I looked.



Yeah. Definitely weird the same thing (or two different things) happened two mornings in a row.


----------



## RunWI1265

Dug720 said:


> Yeah. Definitely weird the same thing (or two different things) happened two mornings in a row.


It was down two mornings in a row when we were there a couple weeks ago. Hated having to make the decision whether to wait or not.


----------



## WhitneyMB

RunWI1265 said:


> It was down two mornings in a row when we were there a couple weeks ago. Hated having to make the decision whether to wait or not.



We got in line at Seven Dwarfs at 8:30 on Monday 2/15 and they told us it “would be opened later”. We and most other people left after the second announcement. I believe it opened at 9:05/10am.


----------



## boop0524

Hollywood Studios 2/20. It was busy, but we were prepared for it since it’s a Saturday. Drove in at 8, they held cars until 8:15. We made a mad dash to Slinky but it was down. They didn’t get it running until 9 so immediately the line went to 70 mins and stayed long all day. We rope dropped Smugglers Run instead then shopped most of the morning. Rise mid day (boarding group 52). Lunch at Brown Derby. Did MMRRR when it dropped to 35 (accurate) and Toy Story Mania at 20 (maybe 15). End of the evening dinner at Mama Melrose and an awesome CM let us walk back through GE after close. Great day! I can’t stress enough that it’s all about managing expectations right now. We knew what to expect and because of that were able to totally enjoy the day


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

wilkydelts said:


> They now stop people from eating in line? When I was there in October CMs did not say anything.


 FINALLY!


----------



## disneygirlsng

ILoveMyDVC said:


> FINALLY!


If you're in the extended/outside portion of the queue, you can eat or drink, you can't once you get to the main/indoor portion of queues. But if you're stationary and distanced, a quick bite or sip shouldn't be a problem.


----------



## scrappinginontario

disneygirlsng said:


> If you're in the extended/outside portion of the queue, you can eat or drink, you can't once you get to the main/indoor portion of queues. But if you're stationary and distanced, a quick bite or sip shouldn't be a problem.


Once inside the main queue (e.g, past the entrance  ‘wait time’ clock for standby where CMs are standing) eating and drinking are not allowed.


----------



## nerdboyrockstar

Went back to MK last night from the Contemporary, this time taking the monorail vs walking. It actually took longer.. about 20 minutes overall vs just walking there but if we have the amenity, we should use it. 

Had dinner at Skipper Canteen. So good. They had a new pork satay skewer as an off-menu appetizer along with the Brazilian cheese bread. Delicious. This is definitely becoming one of my fave restaurants on-property. I'll just wait until they expand the menu again with a couple more options.

Love these later closing times (MK 10pm last night) because wait times really start to drop after 8pm, except for Pirates which was strangely our longest wait of the entire day at 30+ min (posted 50 then dropped to 40 while in line).

They are really distancing on the boat rides so that causes the lines to be longer, plus no plexiglass which is great. I prefer to wait longer than to have an inferior ride experiences and seeing thru some hazy plastic.


----------



## disneygirlsng

scrappinginontario said:


> The last part of your message is not correct. Once inside the main queue (e.g, past the entrance  ‘wait time’ clock for standby where CMs are standing) eating and drinking are not allowed.


That's why the first sentence is there. Isn't that what it says?


----------



## scrappinginontario

disneygirlsng said:


> That's why the first sentence is there. Isn't that what it says?


Sorry, I misunderstood your message to read that it was okay to eat and drink in the indoor queue as long as your stationary and distanced which is no longer allowed.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

nerdboyrockstar said:


> They are really distancing on the boat rides so that causes the lines to be longer, plus no plexiglass which is great. I prefer to wait longer than to have an inferior ride experiences and seeing thru some hazy plastic.


Hazy plastic? Have they put plexiglass on rides?? Please dont tell me that  Is this a lot of rides? How bad is it?


----------



## disneygirlsng

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Hazy plastic? Have they put plexiglass on rides?? Please dont tell me that  Is this a lot of rides? How bad is it?


MMRR, RotR, Frozen, Safari, Jungle Cruise, Smuggler's Run, Living with the Land are a few that have plexiglass. I know there are others. There are a couple others like Tower of Terror and Soarin that have it between, but wouldn't really affect viewing on the ride.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

disneygirlsng said:


> MMRR, RotR, Frozen, Safari, Jungle Cruise, Smuggler's Run, Living with the Land are a few that have plexiglass. I know there are others. There are a couple others like Tower of Terror and Soarin that have it between, but wouldn't really affect viewing on the ride.


Do you feel the plexiglass is no big deal, or does it alter the ride experiences?


----------



## Mzpalmtree

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Do you feel the plexiglass is no big deal, or does it alter the ride experiences?


In our experience it did not alter the ride experience too much other than Frozen. That one is BAAAAAD. I will not ride Frozen again until the plexiglass is removed. It has smears of dried water all over it and if you get stuck in the middle two rows and have a party of 4 the inner two seats are super claustrophobic feeling IMO. I felt like I was having a mild panic attack the whole time I was on it. The other rides were ok. I’d rather not have the plexiglass but given the reason for it, it did not diminish the ride experience too badly—just a little glare on it on MMRR and ROTR.


----------



## NashvilleMama

Mzpalmtree said:


> In our experience it did not alter the ride experience too much other than Frozen. That one is BAAAAAD. I will not ride Frozen again until the plexiglass is removed. It has smears of dried water all over it and if you get stuck in the middle two rows and have a party of 4 the inner two seats are super claustrophobic feeling IMO. I felt like I was having a mild panic attack the whole time I was on it. The other rides were ok. I’d rather not have the plexiglass but given the reason for it, it did not diminish the ride experience too badly—just a little glare on it on MMRR and ROTR.


Living with the Land is also terrible - it's really, really obstructive. We rode a 2nd time and asked to wait for the front of a boat just so my daughter could really experience it. Other than that, none of the plexiglass rides bothered us at all (we didn't ride Frozen though.)


----------



## lovethattink

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Do you feel the plexiglass is no big deal, or does it alter the ride experiences?



It affects your experience if you are taking photos. There’s some glare from lights on the plexiglass.


----------



## limace

lovethattink said:


> It affects your experience if you are taking photos. There’s some glare from lights on the plexiglass.


Ooh maybe it’ll finally stop those folks who insist on taking flash photographs on rides.


----------



## Ecomommy09

Hello!  We will be at MK Wednesday 3/25.  How many times can I hope to ride PP with a reasonable wait right now?  It’s my littles favorite.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

disneygirlsng said:


> If you're in the extended/outside portion of the queue, you can eat or drink, you can't once you get to the main/indoor portion of queues. But if you're stationary and distanced, a quick bite or sip shouldn't be a problem.


Because people *NEED* food that badly?  They just can't wait?  Bless their hearts.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

lovethattink said:


> It affects your experience if you are taking photos. There’s some glare from lights on the plexiglass.



What's awesome is that you purchase far superior phots of the rides!  And, you get to enjoy the attractions AND not take away form the exerience of others with flashes.   Check it out.  You'll have a much better experience at the parks.


----------



## disneygirlsng

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Because people *NEED* food that badly?  They just can't wait?  Bless their hearts.


Some people very well may, thats not my place to judge. But sips of a drink can absolutely be necessary in warmer temps. Doesn't bother me a bit if they are stationary and distanced in the outdoor/extended portion of queues, as the rules state.


----------



## brockash

scrappinginontario said:


> The last part of your message is not correct. Once inside the main queue (e.g, past the entrance  ‘wait time’ clock for standby where CMs are standing) eating and drinking are not allowed.


I'm not sure why you chose to not read that whole post.  The poster clearly lead with once you're in the main part of the line yoy can't.  The poster stated before you get to the main line you can (you're also already socially distanced outside at that point.)  They're not incorrect; they specifically and clearly stated the accurate information 

Eta:  I see where you later posted you misunderstood...I'm still not sure how it wasn't clear in the beginning, but currently what the OP posted are the experiences in the parks at this time.


----------



## NashvilleMama

disneygirlsng said:


> Some people very well may, thats not my place to judge. But sips of a drink can absolutely be necessary in warmer temps. Doesn't bother me a bit if they are stationary and distanced in the outdoor/extended portion of queues, as the rules state.


For us it wasn't that - it's just frustrating to have to sit down and eat somewhere when you know you could be standing in the long lines instead and doing both at the same time. I totally get the rule and 100% support it, but I think a lot of the pushback is the time factor.


----------



## disneygirlsng

NashvilleMama said:


> For us it wasn't that - it's just frustrating to have to sit down and eat somewhere when you know you could be standing in the long lines instead and doing both at the same time. I totally get the rule and 100% support it, but I think a lot of the pushback is the time factor.


Yea I agree. The people who were just continuing to walk and eat their full meal were part of the problem and that I don't agree with. But just stopping and taking a quick bite shouldn't be an issue. But I understand why the rule was changed and agree with at least allowing it outside.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

brockash said:


> I'm not sure why you chose to not read that whole post.  The poster clearly lead with once you're in the main part of the line yoy can't.  The poster stated before you get to the main line you can (you're also already socially distanced outside at that point.)  They're not incorrect; they specifically and clearly stated the accurate information
> 
> Eta:  I see where you later posted you misunderstood...I'm still not sure how it wasn't clear in the beginning, but currently what the OP posted are the experiences in the parks at this time.



Because she doesn't want her or her family to get COVID and the country is still filled with people who don't want to wear masks. There will always be THAT family who have a little box of raisins and need a "sip" (god, I hate that term!  Because America the country of the Super Size everything daintily taking a sip), whipping their masks off for as long as they can get away with it; some for no other reason than to prove a point.  

I'm headed down in a few weeks and I will make a scene e v e r y single time I encounter someone without a mask properly worn and that includes those precious children.  WEAR THE MASK or stay home.


----------



## disneygirlsng

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Becuase she doesn't want her or her family to get COVID and the country is still filled with people who don't want to wear masks. There will always be THAT family who have a little box of raisins and need a "sip" (god, I hate that term!  Because America the country of the Super Size everything daintily taking a sip), whipping their masks off for as long as they can get away with it; some for no other reason than to prove a point.
> 
> I'm headed down in a few weeks and I will make a scene e v e r y single time I encounter someone without a mask properly worn and that includes those precious children.  WEAR THE MASK or stay home.


So even if they are abiding by the rules in place, you will make a scene (because those eating/drinking in the extended queues, with their mask pulled down are following the rules)? I sure hope not.


----------



## brockash

ILoveMyDVC said:


> *Because she doesn't want her or her family to get COVID *and the country is still filled with people who don't want to wear masks. There will always be THAT family who have a little box of raisins and need a "sip" (god, I hate that term!  Because America the country of the Super Size everything daintily taking a sip), whipping their masks off for as long as they can get away with it; some for no other reason than to prove a point.
> 
> I'm headed down in a few weeks and I will make a scene e v e r y single time I encounter someone without a mask properly worn and that includes those precious children.  WEAR THE MASK or stay home.




I'm sorry, are you implying that because she doesn't "want to get Covid" or possibly doesn't agree with the current rules/policies/enforcement that she decided to ignore what the previous poster stated (which was 100% accurate) and mislead ppl. into thinking what they stated was wrong???  I would certainly hope someone wouldn't do that and I would certainly hope that wasn't his/her intention.  It really doesn't matter what our personal opinions are about something...these boards are to give information on the current situation so we all can make our own decisions as to if we want to go now or not.  We don't get to make the rules...we just get and hope to share the accurate info. and experiences to help others. 

Good luck on your trip...sounds like it has the potential of being quite "entertaining" for those around you.  I don't think I'd want to go on vacation if I knew ahead of time that I'd want/"need" to make a scene... yikes.


----------



## scrappinginontario

It's time we move on from the eating/drinking in line conversation please.


----------



## disneygirlsng

scrappinginontario said:


> It's time we move on from the eating/drinking in line conversation please.


It's pretty valid for the current situation and could be helpful for those planning, but whatever.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

scrappinginontario said:


> It's time we move on from the eating/drinking in line conversation please.


Is that a new tag I see by your name???    When did that happen? (If I’ve just been dense/not paying attention my apologies lol)


----------



## Makmak

Those 


SouthFayetteFan said:


> Is that a new tag I see by your name???    When did that happen? (If I’ve just been dense/not paying attention my apologies lol)


Those ARE new tags by the name. It’s also why people are being mean to her for misreading a post, picking on the “new boss.” I hope she gets her delete button going.


----------



## disneygirlsng

Makmak said:


> Those
> 
> Those ARE new tags by the name. It’s also why people are being mean to her for misreading a post, picking on the “new boss.” I hope she gets her delete button going.


Who's being mean? Haven't seen any of that.

Anyway, just booked my hotel for the 50th, can't wait!!


----------



## trstno1

Can anyone report on park hopping on Saturday, 2/20?  I'm wondering if it was still possible to hop to every park even though they had run out of park reservations.


----------



## disneygirlsng

trstno1 said:


> Can anyone report on park hopping on Saturday, 2/20?  I'm wondering if it was still possible to hop to every park even though they had run out of park reservations.


All the reports I've seen and those who were checking the hotline number all stated that hopping was possible to every park.


----------



## brockash

Makmak said:


> Those
> 
> Those ARE new tags by the name. It’s also why people are being mean to her for misreading a post, picking on the “new boss.” I hope she gets her delete button going.


I don't think anyone is "picking" on her.  I also don't think posts have anything to do with her tag...however these boards are to share accurate information.  It is VERY frustrating when someone posts inaccurate and false information no matter the reason.  If someone "misread" a post and then misleads ppl. from that...that's a problem and I hope anyone would try to correct that and reply with the actual facts...that's why we're here.  Don't get me wrong, mistakes happen, I've made many myself, but it's always a good idea to read a post twice before replying, especially if you don't think it's right...it's also always a good that ppl. speak up if/when they see misleading or false info....no matter who the poster is.


----------



## lovethattink

Please, let’s move on and back to here now and just back posts.


----------



## tippity

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Because she doesn't want her or her family to get COVID and the country is still filled with people who don't want to wear masks. There will always be THAT family who have a little box of raisins and need a "sip" (god, I hate that term!  Because America the country of the Super Size everything daintily taking a sip), whipping their masks off for as long as they can get away with it; some for no other reason than to prove a point.
> 
> I'm headed down in a few weeks and I will make a scene e v e r y single time I encounter someone without a mask properly worn and that includes those precious children.  WEAR THE MASK or stay home.


I’ll be in WDW next week, but If I were that fearful of Covid, I‘d stay home.  

From what I’ve read, Florida has no Covid restrictions.   So WDW can make changes to park capacity, masking,  or social distancing at any time.  Please Floridians, let me know if I’ m wrong.


----------



## disneygirlsng

tippity said:


> I’ll be in WDW next week, but If I were that fearful of Covid, I‘d stay home.
> 
> From what I’ve read, Florida has no Covid restrictions.   So WDW can make changes to park capacity, masking,  or social distancing at any time.  Please Floridians, let me know if I’ m wrong.


Orange County requires masks, not sure about capacity though.


----------



## lovethattink

tippity said:


> I’ll be in WDW next week, but If I were that fearful of Covid, I‘d stay home.
> 
> From what I’ve read, Florida has no Covid restrictions.   So WDW can make changes to park capacity, masking,  or social distancing at any time.  Please Floridians, let me know if I’ m wrong.



Restrictions vary from county to county in Florida. For example, Polk County doesn’t have a mask mandate, but Orange County does.


----------



## lovethattink

disneygirlsng said:


> Orange County requires masks, not sure about capacity though.



 100% if can be 6 feet apart; Disney has gone further at restricting stores and restaurants to 50%.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

ILoveMyDVC said:


> I'm headed down in a few weeks and I will make a scene e v e r y single time I encounter someone without a mask properly worn and that includes those precious children. WEAR THE MASK or stay home.


Yikes.  I have a feeling this won’t end well for you.  It’s not your job to parent other people’s children or police other guests.  You should really let the CMs do their jobs.


----------



## AndreaA

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Yikes.  I have a feeling this won’t end well for you.  It’s not your job to parent other people’s children or police other guests.  You should really let the CMs do their jobs.


Yeah, if any stranger spoke to my children, they’d soon be sorry they had.  If someone is that concerned then they should be wearing an N95 mask and another mask on top of it.


----------



## lovethattink

Please let’s not get off topic. And I’m sure Disney would not want guests confronting other guests. And that is not the topic of this thread.


----------



## squirk

Just back.  It was fine, but I don't think I will be going back again until the mask and social distancing mandates are scaled back, FP+ (or whatever succeeds it) is back in place, and a whole lot of the stuff that we missed is online again.

I won't bore anyone with a laundry list of what was missing/changed.  Suffice it to say that no single item was a deal-breaker in itself, but in the aggregate, it was very noticeable for my family.  Of course, the stuff we missed might be things that someone else couldn't care less about, so YMMV.

That's not to say that I fault Disney for the changes they've made in order to get the parks open.  Everything they've done seems reasonable under the circumstances, and to their immense credit, it's clear they are taking guest safety and health very seriously.

All that said, while I know they need to hit a profitability target in order make it "worth their while" to keep the parks open, it nonetheless still felt like I was paying "100%" prices for a "75%" experience. I'll hold off on returning until our (admittedly subjective) price-to-value ratio is a bit less skewed.


----------



## closetmickey

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Because she doesn't want her or her family to get COVID and the country is still filled with people who don't want to wear masks. There will always be THAT family who have a little box of raisins and need a "sip" (god, I hate that term!  Because America the country of the Super Size everything daintily taking a sip), whipping their masks off for as long as they can get away with it; some for no other reason than to prove a point.
> 
> I'm headed down in a few weeks and I will make a scene e v e r y single time I encounter someone without a mask properly worn and that includes those precious children.  WEAR THE MASK or stay home.


Sounds like it may be time to reschedule your trip.


----------



## stink

Just back from Feb 13-20th stay at BCV, one bedroom

I usually do not visit President's week.  I am a Sept, early May, early December,  first week in February  DVC'er, so relatively speaking I am used to much lower crowds.  So this trip was  much more crowded than I have ever experienced.  I do miss fast pass.

We arrived at parks an hour  prior to opening.  We focused on DHS and EPCOT,  no Animal Kingdom this trip and only one day at Magic Kingdom.

From what I saw, YMMV,  nearly all people were wearing masks appropriately.

I did notice more people running at park opening and less cast members telling them not to.   During the off season seems like less people run and when they do the cast members always say something.

Didn't notice too terribly  rude behavior by guests.  In fact except for the runners,  people seemed more polite and much more aware of their surroundings than prior trips.

I miss Fastpass, Yellow Tags for your luggage,  Resort Airline Check In and character meets & the entertainment that has not restarted.

I like having seats assigned on Magical Express and how they are maintaining  storm along bay pool seating, during mid day there seemed to be much shorted wait times for the Friendship Boats.

THE DETAIL
On arrival day, Sat,  the ME line extended all the way down to the rental car booths.  I was tempted to call rideshare, but the line seemed to be moving quickly. It was basically a slow walk from the far end of the now closed car rental booths to the ME counter.  It was longer than usual, but not as bad as it looked.

Unfortunately for us, the line for the BCV , Yacht Club, BWV bus was almost back to the check in, back so far there were no more markers to indicate social distancing.   It did take longer than usual for the buses to arrive,  we were not able to get on the first bus and one of the last groups on the second bus for our resort area. 

I do like the boarding process with assigned seats &  everyone was wearing their masks appropriately.  I do miss the yellow tags and I hate having to shlep my luggage from terminal A to terminal B.  There was no social distancing around the luggage carousels. 

We did online check in and were very happy that we got a text saying our villa was ready as  were on ME.  When we arrived at BCV,  (last resort to drop off ) we didn't even go through the lobby.  We turned left down the sidewalk with our luggage right to the villa.  I requested a room close to the lobby and was happy with the location.  Not perfect but not the crazy hike to one of the end units.

I did notice a chemically like smell when we first entering the villa,  the smell dissipated  when we returned from EPCOT latter that evening.

On Saturday at  EPCOT  it was difficult to maintain social distancing in some bottleneck walkways.  We went to Voices of Liberty show, no problem finding seats, not crowded at all.

Saw the Jammonitors (sp),  I do not like how they removed the benches from in front of the stage in Canada, I can understand it, with COVID, but another area for tired feet to stand and no one was maintaining  social distancing.

Watched the Defying Gravity Show, everyone was seated on the floor and social distanced themselves.  I was impressed especially since it was the exact opposite of the Jammonitors show.

Tried the Ratatoulle which was too salty for me,  Had the grill cheese bacon & tomato soup.  The soup was nearly cold, took it back and they gave us a fresh hot one.   Split  Lobster Poutine and Almond Frangipane  Cake which were delish.
Rode SE, with about a 20 minute wait.  Rode Nemo, looked around the Living Seas.  Rode Living with the land.

It was near park close and soarin still had a 60 minute posted wait time, we got in line and it took about 50 minutes, walked back to BCV through a closed EPCOT park, which was very cool. 

We had great luck with DHS,  Sunday, Tues and Wed,  booked ROT right at 7 am ,  we were able to get boarding Groups 77,76,25  respectively and all the rides we were interested in were open right when they allowed you in the park.

When leaving DHS late morning and returning to DHS for our ROT boarding groups, the Friendship boats were either waiting at the dock or pulling up with less than a 10 minute wait.   However one night we left  DHS at  park closing we decided to walk back as the line for the boats was terribly long.

We did make a mistake one day around 11: 30 ish  we  took the skyliner from DHS  with the intention of going to the international gateway at EPCOT,   We  forgot we had to transfer Skyliners at the Caribbean.   Since EPCOT opened at 11 am, the line for the EPCOT skyliner was ridiculous.  That was one or our  longest waits.  We talked about rideshare from the Caribbean back to BCV and we should have done that.

DHS on Friday and Saturday we did not have great luck. Slinky Dog Dash was down both days, when first let into the park and didn't open until sometime after 9 AM.  On Sat the railroad ride was also down when first let into the park and did not open unitl after 9 AM.  We ended up riding TSM multiple times, we adore that ride.  When the  closed rides opened they already had built 60 plus minutes waits.  So we skipped them.

We park hopped to EPCOT a few afternoons and late evenings around our ROT boarding groups.  We did not ride on test track as the line was always crazy long, even at Park Close.   We rode Frozen at park close with a 30 to 40  minute wait and Mission Space another evening with a 30 minutes wait.

Magic Kingdom Day on Monday (should have picked another day)  was a bust,   7DMT closed at park opening.  Looked at MDE slightly after 9 AM and  Pirates, Splash & Big Thunder were closed. This backed up crowds at the Jungle Cruise and Aladdin Carpets.  Splash opened to 60 minute wait time  sometime before  9:30 AM and much longer  wait  for 7DMT when it finally opened.  I do not know when Pirates or BTTMR actually opened.

The walkways were horrible to navigate, no social distancing  so we left before Noon, probably around 11 30 ish.  We did see Tinkerbell make her rounds on her treasure chest and the Princess waiving form the Railroad Station Platform, which was cool.  We ended up riding, Peter Pan, Buzz Light year, Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets, Tiki Room,  we mobile ordered Ice Cream from Sunshine Terrace right when it opened.

Storm Along Bay was great.  The cast members were cleaning chairs after parties left the area.  From my observation's the cast was very attentive to cleaning..   All the guests at sorm along bay I observed were very polite.

I did observe one cast member speak in a very rude manner to a child and her Mom.  I was kinda shocked.

As I waited for DHS to open at temp check station, I  observed the blue coated temperature takers having a complete gossip session with a Disney Cast member about "stupid guests",  their words,  they were making fun of guests, not for bring rude or bad behavior,  but for being not knowledgeable and asking what amounts to stupid questions from their point of view.    I did report this to guest services on my way out of the park.   My opinion,  If staff want to vent and make fun of guests that pay their salary,  do it in the break room or on your time,  not in front of other guests & families.

Runner Story.

Heading into DHS one morning, a father pushing a stroller following the Mom, were both flat out running, down the main street, they were trailed by a 9 or 10 year boy, who was trying to keep up.  Poor kid,  tripped over a curb and face planted. Thank God he wasn't hurt,  (that is an assumption on my part as he wasn't crying and saw him stand /got right up)  but the parents didn't notice, they kept running.  A cast member in one of the stores observed it and was assisting him as his parents were long gone in the sea of people.  I do not know at what point he was reunited with his parents.


----------



## MDIME

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Because she doesn't want her or her family to get COVID and the country is still filled with people who don't want to wear masks. There will always be THAT family who have a little box of raisins and need a "sip" (god, I hate that term!  Because America the country of the Super Size everything daintily taking a sip), whipping their masks off for as long as they can get away with it; some for no other reason than to prove a point.
> 
> I'm headed down in a few weeks and I will make a scene e v e r y single time I encounter someone without a mask properly worn and that includes those precious children.  WEAR THE MASK or stay home.



Type 1 diabetic here. When I was there last month there were a few times when I had low blood glucose levels while waiting in line. With all of the walking plus eating, glucose levels are much tougher to control while theme parking.  My mask came down, glucose tablets went in — come at me if you wish but beware. Don’t judge, it’s not a good look.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Seeing a report that *mobile order parking* is no more to visit a resort. Could be nothing - it’s been “reported” before, my guess is just another overzealous guard.  Just sharing for the good of those with upcoming trips.  Not sure how this might be applied to the Uber strategy at certain resorts.

EDIT: it was from Touring Plans Instagram stories today.


----------



## Kimg88

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Seeing a report that *mobile order parking* is no more to visit a resort. Could be nothing - it’s been “reported” before, my guess is just another overzealous guard.  Just sharing for the good of those with upcoming trips.  Not sure how this might be applied to the Uber strategy at certain resorts.


Where did you see this report?


----------



## GBRforWDW

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Seeing a report that *mobile order parking* is no more to visit a resort. Could be nothing - it’s been “reported” before, my guess is just another overzealous guard.  Just sharing for the good of those with upcoming trips.  Not sure how this might be applied to the Uber strategy at certain resorts.
> 
> EDIT: it was from Touring Plans Instagram stories today.





Kimg88 said:


> Where did you see this report?


I've seen this reported elsewhere as well.  It's always at the guards discretion.  However, I like the report where the guard required the guest to click the here now button for the mobile order so they had to do what they said they were there for.


----------



## SarahC97

Kimg88 said:


> Where did you see this report?


I saw it reported on Touring Plan's IG.


----------



## onesam319

Four days at Disney World with a wheel chair



Monday, February 15, 2021 Animal Kingdom

As I learned from reading in this forum, we arrived at the parking lot at 7am- one hour prior to opening. Even being in the first rows of standard parking ($25) we still had quite a walk to the temperature check and then on to the gates. (Note: We planned to rent a scooter for my wife because of a bad knee. We saw some wheelchairs in the lot, but did not know what they were for until our second day. These are courtesy wheel chairs with a tall pole sticking up above one of the handles. Use it if you need it!) When we got to the rental location in the park I was sticker-shocked by the cost of an ECV. We were here in November, 2019 and I swear the cost was $60/day. It is now $70/day. My “cheap” kicked in and I rented a wheel chair for $12/day. (I learned on day 3 that I could have got a multi-day discount that knocks the price down to $10/day.)

So our first day was at Animal Kingdom. We went straight to Nav’i River, then to Expedition Everest (two rides), then to Flight of Passage. I was so happy that my wife was able to experience this with me this time! She has lost enough weight to fit in the banshee this year. I rode this again later in the day. To keep it short, we did everything we wanted to do during the day and were even able to do some of our favorites more than once. Most wait times were less than shown in the app. The challenge was finding the end of the lines, especially when pushing a wheel chair! Look for a cast member holding a sign showing the ride name saying “End of Line”. We were very pleased with mobile ordering from the quick service restaurants here. We chose Animal Kingdom for President’s Day because it is the least crowded of the four parks. Breezy, high of 87, lots of shade here. Most challenging day of the four to push a wheel chair.



Tuesday, February 16, 2021 Magic Kingdom

Arrived at Magic Kingdom parking lot one hour before 9am opening. Again a long walk to ticket and transportation center. (Still didn’t know about courtesy wheel chairs.) Looked like a long line for the monorail and a cast member said we had about the same wait to use the ferry, so we walked further to the ferry. At some point during the day, we began to wonder how people were using the fast pass entrance to rides. Finally, a cast member told us about a separate entrance for mobility access to one of the rides and we learned you could get one fast pass at a time for mobility access to many of the rides. This saved me a lot of time and energy when it was available. Just imagine how much time we could have saved had we known this from the beginning! Other groups or individuals with no visible mobility limitations were using the fast pass entrances everywhere, but I have no idea how or why. Still, we did everything we wanted to do during the day and wait times were at estimates or shorter than the times shown on the app. When returning the wheel chair at the end of the day we asked if there was a way to get to our car easier than walking. They told us to use the chair we already had and just leave it in the parking lot. That’s when we learned about the courtesy chairs.



Wednesday, February 17, 2021 Hollywood Studios

This was our Hollywood Studios day. It actually started with some education from Guest Services on Tuesday night. I had a cast member explain exactly how to use the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance. We checked my cell carrier’s coverage map and found the strongest signal area. I didn’t rely on wi-fi, only on my data signal (As a matter of fact, I turned my wi-fi off. My phone often gets confused when there is a nearby wi-fi signal that I am not signed into, and it gets slower than molasses!) I started using the procedure the cast member showed me at 6:59am and got boarding group 74! I was so excited about this that I started reading this forum to see other queue experiences and lost track of time. We didn’t get to the parking lot an hour before park opening and had a considerable wait before getting to the booth. I had 3 priority rides here. We went for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway first. 45 minute wait was just a little shorter than the estimate. Next was Rockin Roller Coaster at 70 minute estimate. I think this one took a little longer. Then Tower of Terror at 70 minutes estimate. TOT was broke down last time we were here and it broke down again today after an hour of waiting. Total wait time was 2 hours plus. I rode these solo. We planned for lunch at Woody’s Lunch Box, but by the time I finished TOT there was no availability for this quick service restaurant for another 2 hours, so we settled for Rosie’s. Not really what we wanted. Our boarding group was called sometime between 1 and 2pm. If you get to ride this, have your camera ready for some good shots during the ride. It is awesome! I had not planned on Slinky Dog Dash, but we had time and I really enjoyed it! (70 minute wait as estimated) We did not do Smuggler’s Run. I don’t do well with extended motion simulators and I didn’t know how a single rider would fit in. I have heard that there are 4 people controlling the ride.



Thursday, February 18, 2021 Epcot

This was our Epcot day. We got to the parking lot too early and had to go around and come back later. We got back before they started letting cars in and were frustrated to be in a line that was not moving, but we were far enough forward that there was no way to change lanes. When we finally got moving they were having computer trouble and our parking was “On Mickey!” Once we got in and picked up our wheel chair we went straight for Test Track (35 minute wait) which we finished by 11:05am- 5 minutes after the posted park opening time! Next was Soarin. There has to be a better way for a wheel chair pusher to get into Soarin! That may have been the hardest push up a hill of all four days! Needless to say, we did everything, including lunch, in The Land before coming out. I was not going to push up that hill again, even for a no wait ride on Soarin. Then we did Spaceship Earth. A cast member informed me to go up the hill to the right of the stand by entrance where there is a handicap entrance. That saved us time again. We like Spaceship Earth, but I miss Walter Cronkite who narrated it on our first ever visit in 1991. Next was Frozen Ever After in Norway. The line was all the way into China, but the wait was about 45 minutes. After that was the boat ride in Mexico. The wait needs to be separated for this. We all had to wait just to get into the pyramid where the shops are. Then you have to wait in another line for the boat ride, even if you did not want to shop. By the time we finished our boat ride in Mexico we had less than 5 minutes to be on time for our dinner reservation in Italy. I learned that there is a 15 minute grace period for reservations, but I practically ran (pushing my wife in the wheel chair) all the way. It was a hot day in the upper 80’s and I was out of breath and sweating profusely, but we made it on time! I would say Epcot was my favorite day, because we were able to do everything we wanted to do and were together on every attraction. My wife doesn’t do roller coasters or drops anymore.



We spent the whole day, opening to closing, inside every park. It was rainy on Hollywood Studios day. Going back to the car when renting either the wheelchair or the scooter is not an option. You can’t take the scooter out of the park and pushing the wheelchair would have been too much work. Parking lot shuttles were not running at any of the parks. Be prepared and take in everything you will need for the day. Hope this helps someone. Have a great time at Disney World!


----------



## RunWI1265

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Seeing a report that *mobile order parking* is no more to visit a resort. Could be nothing - it’s been “reported” before, my guess is just another overzealous guard.  Just sharing for the good of those with upcoming trips.  Not sure how this might be applied to the Uber strategy at certain resorts.
> 
> EDIT: it was from Touring Plans Instagram stories today.


Someone I follow on IG is currently at WDW and her family has mobile ordered twice (ale & compass and the wave) and left their car there for the day while they visited the parks. My understanding is this is not allowed and you have a time limit (parking) for dining reservations but it seems everyone is experiencing different.


----------



## samantha3590

Just returned from our trip Wednesday 2/17-Sunday 2/21 staying at the grand Floridian. We went to Disney for a long weekend two months ago 12/11-13 and the crowds were much much worse this time. Makes me never want to go during a holiday again. I think with more guests came worse compliance with people giving you space. We had several people get right behind us in line and totally not pay attention to the markings where as in December everyone was much more respectful. Mask compliance still seemed overall great.
I think at this point Disney either needs to bring back all the shows or put in fast pass again. There were just way too many people trying to do the same thing. I hate the feeling of waiting in line half the day.
Transportation was also very frustrating. For instance I got to the bus at 7:30 for our Hollywood studios day and the first bus didn’t arrive to the grand until 8:18, putting us at the park at about 8:35. The monorail was down leaving the MK one night. Just frustrating things like that.
We of course still had a great time and I hate to sound whiny. I’ll take standing in line for an attraction over being at work any day


----------



## FCDub

Glad you had a good time!


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Yikes.  I have a feeling this won’t end well for you.  It’s not your job to parent other people’s children or police other guests.  You should really let the CMs do their jobs.


No misunderstanding - I expected the CMs to do their job.  EVERYTIME.


----------



## Ecomommy09

onesam319 said:


> Four days at Disney World with a wheel chair
> At some point during the day, we began to wonder how people were using the fast pass entrance to rides. Finally, a cast member told us about a separate entrance for mobility access to one of the rides and we learned you could get one fast pass at a time for mobility access to many of the rides. This saved me a lot of time and energy when it was available. Just imagine how much time we could have saved had we known this from the beginning! Other groups or individuals with no visible mobility limitations were using the fast pass entrances everywhere, but I have no idea how or why.


When we were there in October, they gave me a recovery fast pass after a mistaken CP cost me 50 minutes.   It was very kind of them, and I wouldn’t have normally asked but it was entirely the CPs fault.


----------



## disneygirlsng

onesam319 said:


> Four days at Disney World with a wheel chair
> 
> 
> 
> Monday, February 15, 2021 Animal Kingdom
> 
> As I learned from reading in this forum, we arrived at the parking lot at 7am- one hour prior to opening. Even being in the first rows of standard parking ($25) we still had quite a walk to the temperature check and then on to the gates. (Note: We planned to rent a scooter for my wife because of a bad knee. We saw some wheelchairs in the lot, but did not know what they were for until our second day. These are courtesy wheel chairs with a tall pole sticking up above one of the handles. Use it if you need it!) When we got to the rental location in the park I was sticker-shocked by the cost of an ECV. We were here in November, 2019 and I swear the cost was $60/day. It is now $70/day. My “cheap” kicked in and I rented a wheel chair for $12/day. (I learned on day 3 that I could have got a multi-day discount that knocks the price down to $10/day.)
> 
> So our first day was at Animal Kingdom. We went straight to Nav’i River, then to Expedition Everest (two rides), then to Flight of Passage. I was so happy that my wife was able to experience this with me this time! She has lost enough weight to fit in the banshee this year. I rode this again later in the day. To keep it short, we did everything we wanted to do during the day and were even able to do some of our favorites more than once. Most wait times were less than shown in the app. The challenge was finding the end of the lines, especially when pushing a wheel chair! Look for a cast member holding a sign showing the ride name saying “End of Line”. We were very pleased with mobile ordering from the quick service restaurants here. We chose Animal Kingdom for President’s Day because it is the least crowded of the four parks. Breezy, high of 87, lots of shade here. Most challenging day of the four to push a wheel chair.
> 
> 
> 
> Tuesday, February 16, 2021 Magic Kingdom
> 
> Arrived at Magic Kingdom parking lot one hour before 9am opening. Again a long walk to ticket and transportation center. (Still didn’t know about courtesy wheel chairs.) Looked like a long line for the monorail and a cast member said we had about the same wait to use the ferry, so we walked further to the ferry. At some point during the day, we began to wonder how people were using the fast pass entrance to rides. Finally, a cast member told us about a separate entrance for mobility access to one of the rides and we learned you could get one fast pass at a time for mobility access to many of the rides. This saved me a lot of time and energy when it was available. Just imagine how much time we could have saved had we known this from the beginning! Other groups or individuals with no visible mobility limitations were using the fast pass entrances everywhere, but I have no idea how or why. Still, we did everything we wanted to do during the day and wait times were at estimates or shorter than the times shown on the app. When returning the wheel chair at the end of the day we asked if there was a way to get to our car easier than walking. They told us to use the chair we already had and just leave it in the parking lot. That’s when we learned about the courtesy chairs.
> 
> 
> 
> Wednesday, February 17, 2021 Hollywood Studios
> 
> This was our Hollywood Studios day. It actually started with some education from Guest Services on Tuesday night. I had a cast member explain exactly how to use the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance. We checked my cell carrier’s coverage map and found the strongest signal area. I didn’t rely on wi-fi, only on my data signal (As a matter of fact, I turned my wi-fi off. My phone often gets confused when there is a nearby wi-fi signal that I am not signed into, and it gets slower than molasses!) I started using the procedure the cast member showed me at 6:59am and got boarding group 74! I was so excited about this that I started reading this forum to see other queue experiences and lost track of time. We didn’t get to the parking lot an hour before park opening and had a considerable wait before getting to the booth. I had 3 priority rides here. We went for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway first. 45 minute wait was just a little shorter than the estimate. Next was Rockin Roller Coaster at 70 minute estimate. I think this one took a little longer. Then Tower of Terror at 70 minutes estimate. TOT was broke down last time we were here and it broke down again today after an hour of waiting. Total wait time was 2 hours plus. I rode these solo. We planned for lunch at Woody’s Lunch Box, but by the time I finished TOT there was no availability for this quick service restaurant for another 2 hours, so we settled for Rosie’s. Not really what we wanted. Our boarding group was called sometime between 1 and 2pm. If you get to ride this, have your camera ready for some good shots during the ride. It is awesome! I had not planned on Slinky Dog Dash, but we had time and I really enjoyed it! (70 minute wait as estimated) We did not do Smuggler’s Run. I don’t do well with extended motion simulators and I didn’t know how a single rider would fit in. I have heard that there are 4 people controlling the ride.
> 
> 
> 
> Thursday, February 18, 2021 Epcot
> 
> This was our Epcot day. We got to the parking lot too early and had to go around and come back later. We got back before they started letting cars in and were frustrated to be in a line that was not moving, but we were far enough forward that there was no way to change lanes. When we finally got moving they were having computer trouble and our parking was “On Mickey!” Once we got in and picked up our wheel chair we went straight for Test Track (35 minute wait) which we finished by 11:05am- 5 minutes after the posted park opening time! Next was Soarin. There has to be a better way for a wheel chair pusher to get into Soarin! That may have been the hardest push up a hill of all four days! Needless to say, we did everything, including lunch, in The Land before coming out. I was not going to push up that hill again, even for a no wait ride on Soarin. Then we did Spaceship Earth. A cast member informed me to go up the hill to the right of the stand by entrance where there is a handicap entrance. That saved us time again. We like Spaceship Earth, but I miss Walter Cronkite who narrated it on our first ever visit in 1991. Next was Frozen Ever After in Norway. The line was all the way into China, but the wait was about 45 minutes. After that was the boat ride in Mexico. The wait needs to be separated for this. We all had to wait just to get into the pyramid where the shops are. Then you have to wait in another line for the boat ride, even if you did not want to shop. By the time we finished our boat ride in Mexico we had less than 5 minutes to be on time for our dinner reservation in Italy. I learned that there is a 15 minute grace period for reservations, but I practically ran (pushing my wife in the wheel chair) all the way. It was a hot day in the upper 80’s and I was out of breath and sweating profusely, but we made it on time! I would say Epcot was my favorite day, because we were able to do everything we wanted to do and were together on every attraction. My wife doesn’t do roller coasters or drops anymore.
> 
> 
> 
> We spent the whole day, opening to closing, inside every park. It was rainy on Hollywood Studios day. Going back to the car when renting either the wheelchair or the scooter is not an option. You can’t take the scooter out of the park and pushing the wheelchair would have been too much work. Parking lot shuttles were not running at any of the parks. Be prepared and take in everything you will need for the day. Hope this helps someone. Have a great time at Disney World!


The FP lane is used by DAS (not usually mobility issues), Club 33, VIP tours, rider swap, and occasional guest recovery FPs are given out.


----------



## MIndy S

We are here now, staying at OKW, and yesterday was our first park day. We spent all day yesterday at HS, from park open to close.

We got BG68 and immediately got ready to go. It was a game day decision to take the bus instead of drive at 8am, and it was probably the wrong decision. We are at the first stop at Peninsular Rd and we missed the first bus, so by the time the second bus did the loop and got to the park, they were already letting cars in. We were still in the gates by 8:45.

The first couple hours were nice, but by 11am it felt pretty crowded. In some places, it is easy to keep distance. In others, like ride and bathroom exits, it just doesn't happen.

We saw very few people non-compliant with masks. We did have an altercation after a woman took her mask off and sneezed a few feet behind us outside Sci-Fi Diner while we were waiting for our table. A cast member saw and said something to the woman, but my husband also made a loud snarky comment (not the right move, btw), and the woman's son got within a foot of his face and got loud. A manager came within a couple seconds to ID the guy, and the family swiftly went towards the MMRR line.  The manager said security would wait outside the line to chat with him, but I don't know what happened to them after that.

Other than that, we had a good day, and look forward to a drama-free day at MK today, hopefully.


----------



## jtw3549

We’re headed into MK too this morning. Hoping for manageable crowds and packing lots of patience.

We arrived late Saturday and did AK yesterday. Still getting used to the crowd differences and how Disney is handling them in COVID, but so far from what I’ve seen it’s top notch and pretty impressive. Buses were our only issue last night from CSR to DS. We found out later a bus broke down that normally services that route. Took a very long time to get to and from DS.


----------



## MIndy S

jtw3549 said:


> Buses were our only issue last night from CSR to DS. We found out later a bus broke down that normally services that route. Took a very long time to get to and from DS.


We waited a while last night for a bus out of HS. On our way back, we saw a backlog of at least 8 buses on one of the main drags here, with the one in the lead getting worked on in the right lane. Probably all related.

Have a magical day at MK!


----------



## jtw3549

MIndy S said:


> We waited a while last night for a bus out of HS. On our way back, we saw a backlog of at least 8 buses on one of the main drags here, with the one in the lead getting worked on in the right lane. Probably all related.
> 
> Have a magical day at MK!


Thank you enjoy your day too!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

ILoveMyDVC said:


> No misunderstanding - I expected the CMs to do their job.  EVERYTIME.


As do I, but they can't be everywhere at all times.  If you see someone not following the rules, go ahead and let a CM know.  But it's never your right to confront another guest, especially a child.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

MIndy S said:


> We are here now, staying at OKW, and yesterday was our first park day. We spent all day yesterday at HS, from park open to close.
> 
> We got BG68 and immediately got ready to go. It was a game day decision to take the bus instead of drive at 8am, and it was probably the wrong decision. We are at the first stop at Peninsular Rd and we missed the first bus, so by the time the second bus did the loop and got to the park, they were already letting cars in. We were still in the gates by 8:45.
> 
> The first couple hours were nice, but by 11am it felt pretty crowded. In some places, it is easy to keep distance. In others, like ride and bathroom exits, it just doesn't happen.
> 
> We saw very few people non-compliant with masks. We did have an altercation after a woman took her mask off and sneezed a few feet behind us outside Sci-Fi Diner while we were waiting for our table. A cast member saw and said something to the woman, but my husband also made a loud snarky comment (not the right move, btw), and the woman's son got within a foot of his face and got loud. A manager came within a couple seconds to ID the guy, and the family swiftly went towards the MMRR line.  The manager said security would wait outside the line to chat with him, but I don't know what happened to them after that.
> 
> Other than that, we had a good day, and look forward to a drama-free day at MK today, hopefully.



We arrive at OKW on Saturday so I'll be excited to read your reviews this week!  I'm especially curious to hear about the arrival times of first buses each day, if you are consistent RDers.  I'm sorry to hear you missed the first one yesterday but encouraged to hear that it had arrived and gone before 8 am.  I hope you have a magical time!!


----------



## MIndy S

CapnJacksGirl said:


> We arrive at OKW on Saturday so I'll be excited to read your reviews this week!  I'm especially curious to hear about the arrival times of first buses each day, if you are consistent RDers.  I'm sorry to hear you missed the first one yesterday but encouraged to hear that it had arrived and gone before 8 am.  I hope you have a magical time!!



We are probably going to drive the rest of the week honestly. I would rather not have to rely on Disney transport. Tried to do it yesterday and it just wasn't for us.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

MIndy S said:


> We are probably going to drive the rest of the week honestly. I would rather not have to rely on Disney transport. Tried to do it yesterday and it just wasn't for us.



We'll be doing rideshare work-arounds to get to the parks early early for a few of our days.  AK will probably be our only day relying on the buses.  I saw reports from before the holiday weeks' chaos that were positive.  I don't expect this week and next to be as wide open as pre-mid-February but I am hopeful that it scales back to a noticeable degree.  Good luck to you!!


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

samantha3590 said:


> I think at this point Disney either needs to bring back all the shows or put in fast pass again. There were just way too many people trying to do the same thing.


From your mouth to Disney’s ears!!!


----------



## Betty Rohrer

onesam319 said:


> Four days at Disney World with a wheel chair
> 
> 
> 
> Monday, February 15, 2021 Animal Kingdom
> 
> As I learned from reading in this forum, we arrived at the parking lot at 7am- one hour prior to opening. Even being in the first rows of standard parking ($25) we still had quite a walk to the temperature check and then on to the gates. (Note: We planned to rent a scooter for my wife because of a bad knee. We saw some wheelchairs in the lot, but did not know what they were for until our second day. These are courtesy wheel chairs with a tall pole sticking up above one of the handles. Use it if you need it!) When we got to the rental location in the park I was sticker-shocked by the cost of an ECV. We were here in November, 2019 and I swear the cost was $60/day. It is now $70/day. My “cheap” kicked in and I rented a wheel chair for $12/day. (I learned on day 3 that I could have got a multi-day discount that knocks the price down to $10/day.)
> 
> So our first day was at Animal Kingdom. We went straight to Nav’i River, then to Expedition Everest (two rides), then to Flight of Passage. I was so happy that my wife was able to experience this with me this time! She has lost enough weight to fit in the banshee this year. I rode this again later in the day. To keep it short, we did everything we wanted to do during the day and were even able to do some of our favorites more than once. Most wait times were less than shown in the app. The challenge was finding the end of the lines, especially when pushing a wheel chair! Look for a cast member holding a sign showing the ride name saying “End of Line”. We were very pleased with mobile ordering from the quick service restaurants here. We chose Animal Kingdom for President’s Day because it is the least crowded of the four parks. Breezy, high of 87, lots of shade here. Most challenging day of the four to push a wheel chair.
> 
> 
> 
> Tuesday, February 16, 2021 Magic Kingdom
> 
> Arrived at Magic Kingdom parking lot one hour before 9am opening. Again a long walk to ticket and transportation center. (Still didn’t know about courtesy wheel chairs.) Looked like a long line for the monorail and a cast member said we had about the same wait to use the ferry, so we walked further to the ferry. At some point during the day, we began to wonder how people were using the fast pass entrance to rides. Finally, a cast member told us about a separate entrance for mobility access to one of the rides and we learned you could get one fast pass at a time for mobility access to many of the rides. This saved me a lot of time and energy when it was available. Just imagine how much time we could have saved had we known this from the beginning! Other groups or individuals with no visible mobility limitations were using the fast pass entrances everywhere, but I have no idea how or why. Still, we did everything we wanted to do during the day and wait times were at estimates or shorter than the times shown on the app. When returning the wheel chair at the end of the day we asked if there was a way to get to our car easier than walking. They told us to use the chair we already had and just leave it in the parking lot. That’s when we learned about the courtesy chairs.
> 
> 
> 
> Wednesday, February 17, 2021 Hollywood Studios
> 
> This was our Hollywood Studios day. It actually started with some education from Guest Services on Tuesday night. I had a cast member explain exactly how to use the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance. We checked my cell carrier’s coverage map and found the strongest signal area. I didn’t rely on wi-fi, only on my data signal (As a matter of fact, I turned my wi-fi off. My phone often gets confused when there is a nearby wi-fi signal that I am not signed into, and it gets slower than molasses!) I started using the procedure the cast member showed me at 6:59am and got boarding group 74! I was so excited about this that I started reading this forum to see other queue experiences and lost track of time. We didn’t get to the parking lot an hour before park opening and had a considerable wait before getting to the booth. I had 3 priority rides here. We went for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway first. 45 minute wait was just a little shorter than the estimate. Next was Rockin Roller Coaster at 70 minute estimate. I think this one took a little longer. Then Tower of Terror at 70 minutes estimate. TOT was broke down last time we were here and it broke down again today after an hour of waiting. Total wait time was 2 hours plus. I rode these solo. We planned for lunch at Woody’s Lunch Box, but by the time I finished TOT there was no availability for this quick service restaurant for another 2 hours, so we settled for Rosie’s. Not really what we wanted. Our boarding group was called sometime between 1 and 2pm. If you get to ride this, have your camera ready for some good shots during the ride. It is awesome! I had not planned on Slinky Dog Dash, but we had time and I really enjoyed it! (70 minute wait as estimated) We did not do Smuggler’s Run. I don’t do well with extended motion simulators and I didn’t know how a single rider would fit in. I have heard that there are 4 people controlling the ride.
> 
> 
> 
> Thursday, February 18, 2021 Epcot
> 
> This was our Epcot day. We got to the parking lot too early and had to go around and come back later. We got back before they started letting cars in and were frustrated to be in a line that was not moving, but we were far enough forward that there was no way to change lanes. When we finally got moving they were having computer trouble and our parking was “On Mickey!” Once we got in and picked up our wheel chair we went straight for Test Track (35 minute wait) which we finished by 11:05am- 5 minutes after the posted park opening time! Next was Soarin. There has to be a better way for a wheel chair pusher to get into Soarin! That may have been the hardest push up a hill of all four days! Needless to say, we did everything, including lunch, in The Land before coming out. I was not going to push up that hill again, even for a no wait ride on Soarin. Then we did Spaceship Earth. A cast member informed me to go up the hill to the right of the stand by entrance where there is a handicap entrance. That saved us time again. We like Spaceship Earth, but I miss Walter Cronkite who narrated it on our first ever visit in 1991. Next was Frozen Ever After in Norway. The line was all the way into China, but the wait was about 45 minutes. After that was the boat ride in Mexico. The wait needs to be separated for this. We all had to wait just to get into the pyramid where the shops are. Then you have to wait in another line for the boat ride, even if you did not want to shop. By the time we finished our boat ride in Mexico we had less than 5 minutes to be on time for our dinner reservation in Italy. I learned that there is a 15 minute grace period for reservations, but I practically ran (pushing my wife in the wheel chair) all the way. It was a hot day in the upper 80’s and I was out of breath and sweating profusely, but we made it on time! I would say Epcot was my favorite day, because we were able to do everything we wanted to do and were together on every attraction. My wife doesn’t do roller coasters or drops anymore.
> 
> 
> 
> We spent the whole day, opening to closing, inside every park. It was rainy on Hollywood Studios day. Going back to the car when renting either the wheelchair or the scooter is not an option. You can’t take the scooter out of the park and pushing the wheelchair would have been too much work. Parking lot shuttles were not running at any of the parks. Be prepared and take in everything you will need for the day. Hope this helps someone. Have a great time at Disney World!


some of the other people in the line could be rider swap people who have someone too small to ride as they use the same line


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

MIndy S said:


> We are probably going to drive the rest of the week honestly. I would rather not have to rely on Disney transport. Tried to do it yesterday and it just wasn't for us.


We will be first-timers in April, staying at Poly. We’re as of this moment not planning on renting a car, we actually were thinking to Uber/Lyft around the whole Disney trip. Is this feasible?


----------



## dez1978

ILoveMyDVC said:


> No misunderstanding - I expected the CMs to do their job.  EVERYTIME.


It would not go well if someone thinks they are going to speak to my children rudely.


----------



## HokieRaven5

samantha3590 said:


> I think at this point Disney either needs to bring back all the shows or put in fast pass again. There were just way too many people trying to do the same thing. I hate the feeling of waiting in line half the day.





DisneyJColeMom said:


> From your mouth to Disney’s ears!!!



To achieve this it would either take an increase in park capacity allowances or an increase in park tickets given the current situation the company is in. The former doesn't really solve the problem, and the latter doesn't exactly promote enthusiasm either.

Edit: As far as FP is concerned it would actually make the crowding in the parks worse as the standby line would move even slower.


----------



## Wosmama6

I'm curious how crowd levels will be this week. Hoping back down from holiday levels. Our trip is March 4-10 and we expect crowds to increase as the week goes on


----------



## hereforthechurros

DisneyJColeMom said:


> We will be first-timers in April, staying at Poly. We’re as of this moment not planning on renting a car, we actually were thinking to Uber/Lyft around the whole Disney trip. Is this feasible?


Not the person you asked but rideshares took a lot longer this visit than in normal times. Normally you'd call one and it would be 3-5 minutes away. It's now, or was for us, regularly 15+. We took four our last trip and a few told us they have been doing airport runs or working away from the parks because of the lack of business. One explained that before he could spend all day driving Disney people around but now it's just a few here and there and since many are going short distances it's hard to find drivers who believe it's worth it. 

Hopefully your experience will be different but we waited almost as long for Uber as for the buses a couple of times.


----------



## Chris Ehlers

GBRforWDW said:


> I've seen this reported elsewhere as well.  It's always at the guards discretion.  However, I like the report where the guard required the guest to click the here now button for the mobile order so they had to do what they said they were there for.


We did mobile order at CT Café and had to press the Im here now button at the gate house it was fine as we were going to eat it anyway.


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## Mr. X

hereforthechurros said:


> Not the person you asked but rideshares took a lot longer this visit than in normal times. Normally you'd call one and it would be 3-5 minutes away. It's now, or was for us, regularly 15+. We took four our last trip and a few told us they have been doing airport runs or working away from the parks because of the lack of business. One explained that before he could spend all day driving Disney people around but now it's just a few here and there and since many are going short distances it's hard to find drivers who believe it's worth it.
> 
> Hopefully your experience will be different but we waited almost as long for Uber as for the buses a couple of times.


Are the buses that bad that you still have to Uber when staying onsite?


----------



## dez1978

If you purchase something in the parks are you able to get it sent to your resort yet?  I know they stopped that for awhile, then brought it back around Christmas. Is having it shipped home still an option?  Though I prefer to have it all sent to the resort and shipped home in one box if possible.


----------



## HiStitch626

We were there just before Christmas and there was no resort delivery, and it has not restarted. They will ship packages home for a fee, but I assume this would need to be done at each individual store.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Chris Ehlers said:


> We did mobile order at CT Café and had to press the Im here now button at the gate house it was fine as we were going to eat it anyway.


This, to me anyway, Is far better than being flat out denied entrance, which I believe is what others are saying Is happening.  Would be terrible to head over expecting to eat and getting turned away with no options.


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## Sarahslay

dez1978 said:


> If you purchase something in the parks are you able to get it sent to your resort yet?  I know they stopped that for awhile, then brought it back around Christmas. Is having it shipped home still an option?  Though I prefer to have it all sent to the resort and shipped home in one box if possible.


Nope, and they didn't bring that back at Christmas either. What you can do though, what they brought back around the holidays, was being able to send it to the front of the park to pick up later/on your way out. You can still have it shipped.


----------



## mamaofsix

HokieRaven5 said:


> To achieve this it would either take an increase in park capacity allowances or an increase in park tickets given the current situation the company is in. The former doesn't really solve the problem, and the latter doesn't exactly promote enthusiasm either.
> 
> Edit: As far as FP is concerned it would actually make the crowding in the parks worse as the standby line would move even slower.


Re:  the current situation the company is in - if Disney can't afford to bring back their shows and open up restaurants without more ticket sales, then why in the world are their executives still receiving such crazy high bonuses?  They don't need more ticket revenue to open more experiences up.  They have the money to start them back up right now. They're choosing not to.


----------



## Leigh L

2.21 Sunday MK

Arrived at toll booth around 7:40, we were maybe 5th in line. Booth opened 8 on the button. Parked and monorail. Did BTMR and POTC before 9. At splash just after 9. Short wait.

Fairly easy until 11 am to navigate the park. Longer lines all day after that. Busiest I've seen but at one point PP, Pirates and HM all down at same time (we were almost to front of HM when they sent everyone away). Little while later all back up and we scooted back over and it was almost a walk on. POTC I think was down several hours though from mid-morning until afternoon.

We stayed until close and only missed a handful of attractions, some by kids' choice. Did have an incident when in a queue at closing. Agree with the no confrontation mentioned above. As soon as we saw a CM we let her what was happening, she got another CM, who got a few more. Didn't stick around to see what happened as we wanted to avoid potential confrontation, from what we could tell they were actively on it.

My two takeaways from yesterday -
If you see something, say something. 
Getting pre-park opening is 110% the way to go. Doing this has always enabled us to get so much done, even on a busy holiday week. I didn't expect to get as much done as we did.

Other takeaway from this morning. If you want to do Rise, don't get distracted at 7 a.m. and make sure all phones trying are logged in. If either of these things happen, you will miss a boarding group lol. (gone in seconds this morning!) We decided to not go to the parks today and will try again during the week.


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## hereforthechurros

Mr. X said:


> Are the buses that bad that you still have to Uber when staying onsite?


Depends really. Caribbean Beach where we stayed most recently is notoriously bad, especially to MK, so we used Uber a few times to get around.


----------



## OKW Lover

mamaofsix said:


> Re: the current situation the company is in - if Disney can't afford to bring back their shows and open up restaurants without more ticket sales, then why in the world are their executives still receiving such crazy high bonuses?


Because it takes real talent to run a huge company in demanding times.  You don't find that talent everywhere.


----------



## HokieRaven5

mamaofsix said:


> Re:  the current situation the company is in - if Disney can't afford to bring back their shows and open up restaurants without more ticket sales, then why in the world are their executives still receiving such crazy high bonuses?  They don't need more ticket revenue to open more experiences up.  They have the money to start them back up right now. They're choosing not to.



Bonuses were canceled for a majority of executives for FY20. FY19 bonuses were received and were the one's that got a lot of the attention in the early days of operation.


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## lovethattink

Please get back on topic of here now or just back.


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## Jaina

Chris Ehlers said:


> We did mobile order at CT Café and had to press the Im here now button at the gate house it was fine as we were going to eat it anyway.



I'm really hoping this is the case when we go in two weeks. We want to check out the Contemporary (because it's awesome) and would like to walk over to the MK after. We were planning to Lyft in with a mobile order at Contempo Cafe, and I have no problem pushing the "I'm here" button for the guard! I will be watching to see if anyone else has experience with this.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

ENJDisneyFan said:


> As do I, but they can't be everywhere at all times.  If you see someone not following the rules, go ahead and let a CM know.  But it's never your right to confront another guest, especially a child.



Exactly and I have no problem calling over a CM - LOUDLY and repetitively.   I'm oh so tired of the snark and the idea that endangering others is an opinion.  I bet the same peple would lose their minds if Disney started handing out free APs to some people but not others randomly inthe park.    The live and let live mindset would fly right out the proverbial window.  Just ask and Yacht or Beach club guest about pool hopping


----------



## wilkydelts

@ILoveMyDVC just let it go!


----------



## Ecomommy09

wilkydelts said:


> @ILoveMyDVC just let it go!


Like really.  We’ve been asked many many times to get over it.


----------



## onesam319

disneygirlsng said:


> The FP lane is used by DAS (not usually mobility issues), Club 33, VIP tours, rider swap, and occasional guest recovery FPs are given out.


What is DAS?


----------



## Twitterpaited

I was there last weekend. A woman in line at Haunted Mansion was wearing her mask below her nose.  The CM told her she needed the mask to cover her nose.  She said she could not breathe.  The CM called over security, who asked the woman if she had a problem with wearing her mask.  She said no.  A few seconds later, she had her mask back down below her nose.  And a few minutes later she had it below her chin to talk on the phone.  So, occasionally CMs will be more insistent, but it really isn’t that effective.


----------



## Ecomommy09

onesam319 said:


> What is DAS?


Disability Access for persons with disabilities that preclude waiting in line (autism, diabetes that is poorly managed, etc).  They get a return time that is approximately the same time as the wait for the real line, but don't have to wait in the actual line (where my daughter would be pinching and scratching and loosing her mind before the 90 minute wait for SDMT was over).  Ha!


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## scrappinginontario

Time to move on from mask discussions please and what guests will/will not do.

Thank you.


----------



## kathi

I think it's important for us to understand how/if Disney is enforcing mask wearing from those who have been there recently.  Clearly we don't need to debate a report.


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## DisneyJColeMom

For those that are just back from Disney, how often did you get to see characters around the parks in those cavalcades? Will my 7 year old be pretty much guaranteed at some point in the day to see characters? Maybe even more than once? Particularly curious about Galaxys Edge, are there Star Wars guys around? Storm troopers saying anything fun or Kylo?


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## ILoveMyDVC

Are the monorails into MK crowded?


----------



## boop0524

DisneyJColeMom said:


> For those that are just back from Disney, how often did you get to see characters around the parks in those cavalcades? Will my 7 year old be pretty much guaranteed at some point in the day to see characters? Maybe even more than once? Particularly curious about Galaxys Edge, are there Star Wars guys around? Storm troopers saying anything fun or Kylo?


 
Mid-day in Galaxy’s Edge on Saturday we saw a lot of Rey/Chewie and Kylo Ren and the Storm Troopers. One Storm Trooper in particular was having a lot of fun with the crowd and we were all having a blast. Rey was also crouched down (from where she was standing) having a sweet conversation with a small child. To be fair, I didn’t see that much personal interaction last time we were there, so I’m not certain if that’s always the case.

There were great cavalcade in both HS and Epcot. HS had a Disney junior and Pixar cavalcade that we caught twice. Epcot had Alice hidden in the gardens of London where you sometimes see Mary Poppins. They have super cute character meets!


----------



## lovethattink

DisneyJColeMom said:


> For those that are just back from Disney, how often did you get to see characters around the parks in those cavalcades? Will my 7 year old be pretty much guaranteed at some point in the day to see characters? Maybe even more than once? Particularly curious about Galaxys Edge, are there Star Wars guys around? Storm troopers saying anything fun or Kylo?



Throughout the day there are characters at Galaxy’s Edge! Chewbacca, Kylo Ren, Stormtroopers, Rey, a rebel that I can’t remember her name.

Last week we went for just a few hours and we saw 2 cavalcades, Pixar characters and Disney Jr characters.


----------



## MomOTwins

DisneyJColeMom said:


> For those that are just back from Disney, how often did you get to see characters around the parks in those cavalcades? Will my 7 year old be pretty much guaranteed at some point in the day to see characters? Maybe even more than once? Particularly curious about Galaxys Edge, are there Star Wars guys around? Storm troopers saying anything fun or Kylo?


 I would say make sure you know the routes characters take and make an effort to keep to those routes if it is important to you.  For example, on our first trip in 2020, we hardly saw any characters.  But in MK, we spent a long time in fantasyland, tomorrowland and adventureland in HS we spent a lot of time in Toy Story land (DS wanted to ride TSMM over and over), and in epcot we spent most of the time in future world so we really weren't on the calvalcade routes much.  We also kept waiting in ride line after ride line and so had less time to just explore like we did before when we had FPs and had downtime between them.  Next trip in 2020, I made more of an effort to do fewer rides and linger on the cavalcade routes and we definitely saw more.  



ILoveMyDVC said:


> Are the monorails into MK crowded?


They only do one party on the seating on each side, but that does mean you'll be facing across from another family, who may or may not feel entitled to take off their masks since no CMs can see them there to enforce it.  That's what happened to us.  So it's not crowded like it used to be with them packing people in standing room only, but pooly designed from a covid safety standpoint.


----------



## DisneyJade

MomOTwins said:


> I would say make sure you know the routes characters take and make an effort to keep to those routes if it is important to you.  For example, on our first trip in 2020, we hardly saw any characters.  But in MK, we spent a long time in fantasyland, tomorrowland and adventureland in HS we spent a lot of time in Toy Story land (DS wanted to ride TSMM over and over), and in epcot we spent most of the time in future world so we really weren't on the calvalcade routes much.  We also kept waiting in ride line after ride line and so had less time to just explore like we did before when we had FPs and had downtime between them.  Next trip in 2020, I made more of an effort to do fewer rides and linger on the cavalcade routes and we definitely saw more.
> 
> 
> They only do one party on the seating on each side, but that does mean you'll be facing across from another family, who may or may not feel entitled to take off their masks since no CMs can see them there to enforce it.  That's what happened to us.  So it's not crowded like it used to be with them packing people in standing room only, but pooly designed from a covid safety standpoint.


Where is the DHS cavalcade route?


----------



## Naomeri

DisneyJColeMom said:


> For those that are just back from Disney, how often did you get to see characters around the parks in those cavalcades? Will my 7 year old be pretty much guaranteed at some point in the day to see characters? Maybe even more than once? Particularly curious about Galaxys Edge, are there Star Wars guys around? Storm troopers saying anything fun or Kylo?


I don’t remember how often, but I can tell you for sure I saw more characters in 4 days in the parks in October 2020 than I did in 7 days in January 2020.  I don’t like hanging around waiting for parades, so these pop-up cavalcades are totally my jam.  Just start looking around if the music suddenly changes/gets louder


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## boop0524

DisneyJade said:


> Where is the DHS cavalcade route?



It starts near the park entrance and goes up Hollywood Boulevard before turning left, in the direction of Star Tours. If you follow their path, there are some backstage gates where they exit.


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## MomOTwins

DisneyJade said:


> Where is the DHS cavalcade route?


Hollywood Blvd


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## MIndy S

DisneyJColeMom said:


> For those that are just back from Disney, how often did you get to see characters around the parks in those cavalcades? Will my 7 year old be pretty much guaranteed at some point in the day to see characters? Maybe even more than once? Particularly curious about Galaxys Edge, are there Star Wars guys around? Storm troopers saying anything fun or Kylo?



We have been to HS and MK so far, from open to close both days, and we haven't seen a cavalcade yet. We did see Kylo Ren and a couple storm troopers in Galaxy's Edge and Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland.


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## MIndy S

kathi said:


> I think it's important for us to understand how/if Disney is enforcing mask wearing from those who have been there recently.  Clearly we don't need to debate a report.



CMs remind people when they see it, but from what I have seen, people that don't want to comply just pull their masks down as soon as the CM isn't looking anymore. We have seen it so many times. 

The guy we were behind in the 7DMT queue did not wear his mask unless a CM was around, and blew snot rockets at one point without a tissue. We kept our mouths shut.


----------



## MIndy S

DisneyJColeMom said:


> We will be first-timers in April, staying at Poly. We’re as of this moment not planning on renting a car, we actually were thinking to Uber/Lyft around the whole Disney trip. Is this feasible?



I am no expert on this. We chose to take the bus to HS, but we should have drove. We chose to drive to MK, but we DEFINITELY should have taken the bus. But in my uneducated opinion, it is probably more practical to use Disney transportation than Uber/Lyft.


----------



## MIndy S

Wosmama6 said:


> I'm curious how crowd levels will be this week. Hoping back down from holiday levels. Our trip is March 4-10 and we expect crowds to increase as the week goes on



Sunday at HS felt busy. Yesterday at MK felt uncomfortably crowded. I was not expecting the crowd levels we saw yesterday. But despite the crowds, we had a blast and were able to ride almost everything we wanted. Our longest wait was either Jungle Cruise or Splash, both were about an hour.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

The cavalcades are adorable and the characters do their best to do some interactions

In MK they follow the parade route - Frontierland over and around down Main Street.  - 



this was from January with Gaston (taken on the bridge) - who as you can see is very "Gaston"

Video: Gaston (plus Alice Float) in January 2021

I also so a very good Donald Duck kindly sidestep a kiddo who ran out and to him in HS. 



And in Epcot (can't remember where I was standing - somewhere between France and America - Goofy acknowledging our group (Pluto blew us kisses)



If anyone wants to see additional photos, let me know.   All of these were from last month.


----------



## DeeBee3

Are the resort pools busy this time of year? Looking  at what it's like to just chill at the resort. Thanks!


----------



## Leigh L

We love these pop ups ( and I hope they continue, at least to some extent.)

Another clue one is coming is you'll see CMs (wearing red) prepping to clear paths a few minutes before music starts. I know in MK if you are in Frontierland where they start, its easy to tell. Also, I haven't figured out the timing but if taking a drink or snack break, sit along that route up to liberty Square and chances are you'll see a couple calvacades 

The rebel spy is Vi 

I hope we get to see Kylo.  Him and pooh bear in Epcot we never see!


----------



## aokeefe

DeeBee3 said:


> Are the resort pools busy this time of year? Looking  at what it's like to just chill at the resort. Thanks!


I can only speak for Grand Floridian since we just came back. We found the main pool to not be busy- plenty of room to spread out. The kid's pool area (with slide) looked busy so we stayed away (we don't have young kids anyways)


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

MIndy S said:


> We have been to HS and MK so far, from open to close both days, and we haven't seen a cavalcade yet. We did see Kylo Ren and a couple storm troopers in Galaxy's Edge and Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland.


Oh man. Buzz is my sons favorite character pretty much ever, so thats nice, but I would have thought we’d see more than just Buzz in MK!!


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

MomOTwins said:


> I would say make sure you know the routes characters take and make an effort to keep to those routes if it is important to you.  For example, on our first trip in 2020, we hardly saw any characters.  But in MK, we spent a long time in fantasyland, tomorrowland and adventureland in HS we spent a lot of time in Toy Story land (DS wanted to ride TSMM over and over), and in epcot we spent most of the time in future world so we really weren't on the calvalcade routes much.  We also kept waiting in ride line after ride line and so had less time to just explore like we did before when we had FPs and had downtime between them.  Next trip in 2020, I made more of an effort to do fewer rides and linger on the cavalcade routes and we definitely saw more.
> 
> 
> They only do one party on the seating on each side, but that does mean you'll be facing across from another family, who may or may not feel entitled to take off their masks since no CMs can see them there to enforce it.  That's what happened to us.  So it's not crowded like it used to be with them packing people in standing room only, but pooly designed from a covid safety standpoint.


Thanks for this!!


----------



## yulilin3

DisneyJColeMom said:


> For those that are just back from Disney, how often did you get to see characters around the parks in those cavalcades? Will my 7 year old be pretty much guaranteed at some point in the day to see characters? Maybe even more than once? Particularly curious about Galaxys Edge, are there Star Wars guys around? Storm troopers saying anything fun or Kylo?


nothing is guaranteed at a Disney parks but if you go to MDE, under entertainment you will see the start to close times for cavalcades, if you go at the first cavalcade time you will see characters. The ones at SWGE are harder cause they don't show a start time


----------



## Ecomommy09

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Oh man. Buzz is my sons favorite character pretty much ever, so thats nice, but I would have thought we’d see more than just Buzz in MK!!


We hung out for a snack near the Astro Orbiter in October and Buzz, Stitch and others were greeting guests from the stage. It was great. We LOVE Stitch!!


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

Ecomommy09 said:


> We hung out for a snack near the Astro Orbiter in October and Buzz, Stitch and others were greeting guests from the stage. It was great. We LOVE Stitch!!


Ahhhh!!! Stitch would be a big deal for us too! Pretty much Buzz, Stitch or Baymax would make my son lose his mind. Anyone see Baymax anywhere?


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Ahhhh!!! Stitch would be a big deal for us too! Pretty much Buzz, Stitch or Baymax would make my son lose his mind. Anyone see Baymax anywhere?



I don't recall anyone mentioning Baymax recently.    He used to have a meet and greet in the Innoventions building at Epcot and I LOVED seeing him there.  Baymax hugs were great!!


----------



## Justrose

CapnJacksGirl said:


> I don't recall anyone mentioning Baymax recently.    He used to have a meet and greet in the Innoventions building at Epcot and I LOVED seeing him there.  Baymax hugs were great!!



He was probably my favorite character to meet.  Loved that meet and greet, too.


----------



## PoshMom

Where is there a list of rides and shows that are currently closed?  I know there has to be one as efficient as this site is.  tia


----------



## scrappinginontario

PoshMom said:


> Where is there a list of rides and shows that are currently closed?  I know there has to be one as efficient as this site is.  tia



This information is available on my MyDisneyExperience app by using the filters.

- open the app
- go to the bottom of the screen and select the icon that looks like an upside down raindrop with a circle in the middle of it
- go to the 'Filters' in the upper left corner and click the park you are interested in then click 'Apply'.  (You don't have to select an individual park or resort but doing so makes the information much easier to understand where it is located rather than one long, alphabetical list)
- in the top centre of the screen, click the 'V' and select either 'Attractions' or 'Entertainment'
- if you select 'Attractions' a list of all the attractions for your selected park will be displayed.  Those that are closed indicate this in red.
- if you select 'Entertainment' look for 'Temporarily Unavailable Entertainment at Walt Disney World Resort' and it will list everything that is closed in the way of Entertainment at every park and resort

Using the app is the best way to find the most current information about what is open and closed as anyone's personal list may soon become out of date as things are changing often these days.

Hope this is helpful.


----------



## PoshMom

scrappinginontario said:


> This information is available on my MyDisneyExperience app by using the filters.
> 
> - open the app
> - go to the bottom of the screen and select the icon that looks like an upside down raindrop with a circle in the middle of it
> - go to the 'Filters' in the upper left corner and click the park you are interested in then click 'Apply'.  (You don't have to select an individual park or resort but doing so makes the information much easier to understand where it is located rather than one long, alphabetical list)
> - in the top centre of the screen, click the 'V' and select either 'Attractions' or 'Entertainment'
> - if you select 'Attractions' a list of all the attractions for your selected park will be displayed.  Those that are closed indicate this in red.
> - if you select 'Entertainment' look for 'Temporarily Unavailable Entertainment at Walt Disney World Resort' and it will list everything that is closed in the way of Entertainment at every park and resort
> 
> Using the app is the best way to find the most current information about what is open and closed as anyone's personal list may soon become out of date as things are changing often these days.
> 
> Hope this is helpful.


Thank you!!  Very helpful!!


----------



## lovethattink

I’m going to DHS today. Got a boarding group that should be called in about 85 minutes. Our two weeks ago visit was not that great. Hoping for a much better experience! DS is planning to go live, probably in Galaxy’s Edge since he’s Star Wars obsessed. If you see us, say hi. Can’t miss him he’s wearing crazy socks he won as a prize.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

Anyone at MK today?  I’d love to hear a report!  We’ll be there next Tuesday so I’m hoping to compare. Are wait times accurate or a bit inflated?  

I have to say, I chuckled to myself at a 60 minute wait for the carousel. People really wait that long for the carousel?  And where does an hour long line even go in that area?


----------



## scrappinginontario

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Anyone at MK today?  I’d love to hear a report!  We’ll be there next Tuesday so I’m hoping to compare. Are wait times accurate or a bit inflated?
> 
> I have to say, I chuckled to myself at a 60 minute wait for the carousel. People really wait that long for the carousel?  And where does an hour long line even go in that area?


Touring Plans is showing 32 mins for carousel.  I find their wait times to be quite accurate.

LOL, just looked and Space Mountain is 21 mins.  I don't think that happens very often that the Carousel is longer than SM!


----------



## Sarahslay

So how bad is DS on a Thursday night usually? The only times I've been to DS since opening was on a weekend and I wasn't a fan, but since DD(12) and I will be arriving early enough to need to grab dinner I thought maybe we would brave DS if it's not as crazy on a Thursday night.


----------



## SarahC97

Sarahslay said:


> So how bad is DS on a Thursday night usually? The only times I've been to DS since opening was on a weekend and I wasn't a fan, but since DD(12) and I will be arriving early enough to need to grab dinner I thought maybe we would brave DS if it's not as crazy on a Thursday night.


It's my experience that the evenings are very crowded regardless of the day, but it's worse not the weekends.


----------



## kenzie212

Thanks so much for posting how to find current open/closures on the MyDisneyExperience app.  We are scheduled to go to Disney in July and I have been searching the internet like crazy trying to find accurate information on what is currently closed.  Our trip is supposed to be a few days in Disney then driving to Miami for a cruise which we are 99.9% sure is not going to happen so thinking of extending our Disney trip a few extra days.  We're just not sure if we should also reschedule Disney for next year when hopefully everything would be open and we can park hop when we want.  Not sure how comfortable it will be walking around in July having to wear mask.  Maybe by July things with COVID will be a little more under control. So many decisions to make


----------



## Leigh L

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Anyone at MK today?  I’d love to hear a report!  We’ll be there next Tuesday so I’m hoping to compare. Are wait times accurate or a bit inflated?
> 
> I have to say, I chuckled to myself at a 60 minute wait for the carousel. People really wait that long for the carousel?  And where does an hour long line even go in that area?


OMG sometimes yes. So odd, lol. 
DD14 was determined to ride it on one of our visits. And it went "down". We weren't sure if it was a cleaning cycle or someone got sick (we heard the latter) but we were there for a long time. It was supposed to be a 30-minute wait. Since we were 2nd in line to get on next, we waited it out and it ended up being at least an hour total.

DD has no desire to ever ride again, lol. We were there last Thursday and Sunday and it had a long wait time anytime we passed by or saw it on the app. I kept joking asking if she wanted to ride it


----------



## Leigh L

scrappinginontario said:


> Touring Plans is showing 32 mins for carousel.  I find their wait times to be quite accurate.
> 
> LOL, just looked and Space Mountain is 21 mins.  I don't think that happens very often that the Carousel is longer than SM!


Space showed 70 the other day, I think my family waited for 45 (and it was wrapped all over Tomorrowland!) 
The second time I forget what the wait time showed, but I went on Carousel of Progress, waited maybe 10 minutes, saw the 20-minute show, and they were getting onto Space as I was arriving at the Space gift shop.


----------



## RSGroup

Just back from a short trip. AK on Sunday, HS yesterday.  Some quick thoughts:  
1.  Rope drop is essential if you want to get the headliners done and don't want to wait 90+. 
2.  I knew the lines were going to be long and they would make it feel more crowded, and still I was  not really prepared for how it was. BRUTAL!  I'm talking a huge line for the Muppets.
3.  The wait times are all over the place.  You really have no idea what the actual wait time is unless you just get in line.
4. CM's were great across the board.
5.  Bus service was hit and miss.
6.  Three Bridges at Coronado Springs is great, and Satuli's Canteen in AK is the best counter service IMO. Raglan Road also great!
7.  The lack of fastpass really makes it a different experience.

We had fun and made the best of it, but we won't return until fastpass is back, social distancing is over, and the mask requirements are gone.  And I can't in good conscience recommend it to others as things are.


----------



## PoshMom

I don't know if this even the appropriate thread to ask this.  So if it isn't, please tell me where to find it.  But does anyone have any idea when the extra magic hrs, especially the night hrs, will return?  That was probably the biggest draw for us to stay on property.  The MK hrs that went from 12-3:30am were some of our favorites.  It would always happen about once a wk during the summer.  Any info about morning or evening hrs returning is greatly appreciated.  And let me say I know about some of the early opening times.  But honestly, after several days of 10 hr days in the parks, early mornings are kind of a hit and miss deal for our family.


----------



## PoshMom

kenzie212 said:


> Thanks so much for posting how to find current open/closures on the MyDisneyExperience app.  We are scheduled to go to Disney in July and I have been searching the internet like crazy trying to find accurate information on what is currently closed.  Our trip is supposed to be a few days in Disney then driving to Miami for a cruise which we are 99.9% sure is not going to happen so thinking of extending our Disney trip a few extra days.  We're just not sure if we should also reschedule Disney for next year when hopefully everything would be open and we can park hop when we want.  Not sure how comfortable it will be walking around in July having to wear mask.  Maybe by July things with COVID will be a little more under control. So many decisions to make



We have been to DW four times in the last several yrs.  We always go in summer.  Even being from TX, we know wearing a mask in the summer heat isn't how we want to spend a DW vacation.  Our plan is to go next summer when hopefully more is close to normal and hopefully no masks.  It's hot enough with no mask, wearing shorts and sitting in the shade.  I can't imagine how hot that would be.  So just thought I would let you know our thoughts on the matter, especially having been to Disney.  And btw this is the best place to ask questions and get quick, accurate information.  Even if you do decide to go, you will have an idea of what works, what doesn't, how to get from one place quickly and easily.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

PoshMom said:


> I don't know if this even the appropriate thread to ask this.  So if it isn't, please tell me where to find it.  But does anyone have any idea when the extra magic hrs, especially the night hrs, will return?  That was probably the biggest draw for us to stay on property.  The MK hrs that went from 12-3:30am were some of our favorites.  It would always happen about once a wk during the summer.  Any info about morning or evening hrs returning is greatly appreciated.  And let me say I know about some of the early opening times.  But honestly, after several days of 10 hr days in the parks, early mornings are kind of a hit and miss deal for our family.


Nothing has been announced in regard to evening hours.  I wouldn't expect those to come back any time soon, if ever.  Disney did announce that 30 minutes of morning hours will be available for resort guests "later this year", but an official start date has not been stated.


----------



## scrappinginontario

PoshMom said:


> I don't know if this even the appropriate thread to ask this.  So if it isn't, please tell me where to find it.  But does anyone have any idea when the extra magic hrs, especially the night hrs, will return?  That was probably the biggest draw for us to stay on property.  The MK hrs that went from 12-3:30am were some of our favorites.  It would always happen about once a wk during the summer.  Any info about morning or evening hrs returning is greatly appreciated.  And let me say I know about some of the early opening times.  But honestly, after several days of 10 hr days in the parks, early mornings are kind of a hit and miss deal for our family.


Morning Extra Magic Hours have been replaced with all parks being open to resort guests only, 30 mins before park opening.  An official start date to this has not been announced other than 'later this year'.


----------



## PoshMom

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Nothing has been announced in regard to evening hours.  I wouldn't expect those to come back any time soon, if ever.  Disney did announce that 30 minutes of morning hours will be available for resort guests "later this year", but an official start date has not been stated.


That makes me so incredibly sad, but thank you for the quick response!  This is what I wish I could tell Disney directly.  And 30 minutes isn't worth it for us.  That's just sad.  I dont know what else to say.


----------



## sara_s

squirk said:


> Just back.  It was fine, but I don't think I will be going back again until the mask and social distancing mandates are scaled back, FP+ (or whatever succeeds it) is back in place, and a whole lot of the stuff that we missed is online again.
> 
> I won't bore anyone with a laundry list of what was missing/changed.  Suffice it to say that no single item was a deal-breaker in itself, but in the aggregate, it was very noticeable for my family.  Of course, the stuff we missed might be things that someone else couldn't care less about, so YMMV.
> 
> That's not to say that I fault Disney for the changes they've made in order to get the parks open.  Everything they've done seems reasonable under the circumstances, and to their immense credit, it's clear they are taking guest safety and health very seriously.
> 
> All that said, while I know they need to hit a profitability target in order make it "worth their while" to keep the parks open, it nonetheless still felt like I was paying "100%" prices for a "75%" experience. I'll hold off on returning until our (admittedly subjective) price-to-value ratio is a bit less skewed.


Couldn’t have said it better myself. We got in yesterday and went right to Epcot around 1pm which wasn’t bad at all. We got to eat at the Festival of the Arts booths as it was the final day. Didn’t do any rides because we didn’t feel like waiting 45 mins for Soarin or TT (which went down at some point).

Today was supposed to be DHS but I struck out at getting a BG and then fell back asleep. By time we woke up I checked the wait times and it was an hour+ for everything except Alien Swirling Saucers - even the Muppets was 30 minutes. Tried switching to MK park reservation and missed the bus by a minute so I got fed up and went to Disney Springs instead. Canceled the park reservation for today. Going to try for an early AK day tomorrow to try and get on some rides.

After having relaxed and good trips in Aug and Nov, I was more let down than I thought I’d be by the return of the crowds. I think I’m fizzled out on the lack of amenities and freedom to hop around without a park reservation (which I know is sticking around) or having to plan down to the minute in order to get the most out of the trip.

Also FWIW, I’m a silver AP who doesn’t have to pack everything in one trip. We’ll be returning with my family in May and will need to be prepared for even more crowds and need to get in the parks early to get on any rides.

Anyone been to AK in the last week - not on a weekend? Is FoP doable at park opening if you get there by 8?


----------



## lovethattink

We had a fun afternoon at DHS today! Mask compliance was excellent. We shopped at Black Spire Outpost for the first time since reopening. They are allowing one family per shopping pod. The queue to get in was long, filling in the whole area where the relaxation station was. It took a long time to get in to shop. They were letting guests take as much time as they needed. We were happy to see that AP get 30% off! We bought a game of Sabacc, an Admiral Thrawn possible wooden toy, and a Jedi belt.


----------



## WawaCoffee

For those who have visited, do the park maps show where the Relaxation Zones are?


----------



## emmabelle

We went to HS today.  Staying at BCV so we walked over and got there around 8:10am.  We were held at the Skyliner entrance for about 5 minutes.  We went straight to MMRR and walked through the queue with no wait.  Headed to Slinky and waited about 18 minutes for that.  Off by 9am, by then the line for it was all the way to the queue for Little Mermaid!  We then headed to RNRC where we waited about 15 minutes.  Once off that it’s line was to the ice cream place.  At that point around 9:30am everything had such long lines that we decided to ride the skyliner to the Riviera for breakfast.  My husband loves the Primo Platto breakfast.  We had a boarding group #56, after eating we went back to HS and hung around until we were called around 12:15pm for our BG.  After that we headed back to our resort.  It was pretty crowded and we had ridden 4 headliners so we were good.


----------



## stink

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Oh man. Buzz is my sons favorite character pretty much ever, so thats nice, but I would have thought we’d see more than just Buzz in MK!!


We saw buzz, Jessie, woody, and green army men percussionists in a cavalcade at Studios on Feb 16th at 5:16 pm.  Buzz rides in a tricked out convertible up Hollywood Bld, than heads towards star tours

Also in the cavalcade were Mr Mrs Incredible, Frozone, who were walking. Edna Mode and Sully rode in themed convertibles.


----------



## Nabas

DisneyJColeMom said:


> We will be first-timers in April, staying at Poly. We’re as of this moment not planning on renting a car, we actually were thinking to Uber/Lyft around the whole Disney trip. Is this feasible?


If you plan to stay within Walt Disney World, then there is little need to Uber/Lyft.

We stayed at the Poly in September.  With the Poly hotel still closed, it was wonderful to be able to get a chair at the pool without a lot of hassle.  (Normally, the pool is crowded.)

The slight disadvantage is that the Poly Monorail stop is closed, meaning you'll have to walk from the Poly DVC to the much more crowded Transportation & Ticket Center to catch the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom.


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## DisneyJColeMom

I def see pros & cons to staying at Poly during construction, and Im watching it as the trip gets closer. As of right now, Im leaning towards keeping it for the reason you stated above, maybe it will be more quiet! Ive never been, so have nothing to compare it to lol! I just cant help wondering if Im being silly spending this kind of money but keeping a reservation at an under-construction hotel.


----------



## aokeefe

sara_s said:


> Couldn’t have said it better myself. We got in yesterday and went right to Epcot around 1pm which wasn’t bad at all. We got to eat at the Festival of the Arts booths as it was the final day. Didn’t do any rides because we didn’t feel like waiting 45 mins for Soarin or TT (which went down at some point).
> 
> Today was supposed to be DHS but I struck out at getting a BG and then fell back asleep. By time we woke up I checked the wait times and it was an hour+ for everything except Alien Swirling Saucers - even the Muppets was 30 minutes. Tried switching to MK park reservation and missed the bus by a minute so I got fed up and went to Disney Springs instead. Canceled the park reservation for today. Going to try for an early AK day tomorrow to try and get on some rides.
> 
> After having relaxed and good trips in Aug and Nov, I was more let down than I thought I’d be by the return of the crowds. I think I’m fizzled out on the lack of amenities and freedom to hop around without a park reservation (which I know is sticking around) or having to plan down to the minute in order to get the most out of the trip.
> 
> Also FWIW, I’m a silver AP who doesn’t have to pack everything in one trip. We’ll be returning with my family in May and will need to be prepared for even more crowds and need to get in the parks early to get on any rides.
> 
> Anyone been to AK in the last week - not on a weekend? Is FoP doable at park opening if you get there by 8?


I went to AK last Monday (President's Day). We arrived around 7:30 (for official 8 am opening). We went right to FOP- line was long but it was constantly moving. Took us about 20 minutes to reach the ride.


----------



## hereforthechurros

emmabelle said:


> We went to HS today.  Staying at BCV so we walked over and got there around 8:10am.  We were held at the Skyliner entrance for about 5 minutes.  We went straight to MMRR and walked through the queue with no wait.  Headed to Slinky and waited about 18 minutes for that.  Off by 9am, by then the line for it was all the way to the queue for Little Mermaid!  We then headed to RNRC where we waited about 15 minutes.  Once off that it’s line was to the ice cream place.  At that point around 9:30am everything had such long lines that we decided to ride the skyliner to the Riviera for breakfast.  My husband loves the Primo Platto breakfast.  We had a boarding group #56, after eating we went back to HS and hung around until we were called around 12:15pm for our BG.  After that we headed back to our resort.  It was pretty crowded and we had ridden 4 headliners so we were good.


It really is crazy how quickly the wait times skyrocket. Before, you at least had 1-2 hours before the crowds and lines really kicked in, now it’s maybe 30-40 minutes. Everyone knows rope drop is a must so they’re all there too.  If you don’t get in before opening and have a solid plan the day can quickly become derailed. I don’t like the pressure of that at all. You’re one missed bus or Skyliner delay or mistake from missing such a crucial window.

Bottom line, I miss FP so much! Hitting 3-4 rides then FPs really stretched out the day and assured more rides. We could also build in meals and give the day some structure. Now, in the mornings we’re too worried about lines piling up to enjoy a snack or breakfast. Just blah.


----------



## scrappinginontario

I’m wondering if the shortened park hours are increasing the rope-drop crowd?  Between people thinking they need to be there early to ‘get a full day in’ and, people able to get to bed earlier, I’m guessing the side effect is higher rope-drop/early morning crowds.  

I know on our pre-Covid trips we could easily rope drop the first few days but that slowly stopped as the trip progressed and we got to bed later  and later.


----------



## only hope

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Oh man. Buzz is my sons favorite character pretty much ever, so thats nice, but I would have thought we’d see more than just Buzz in MK!!



Al appears on a balcony in Frontierland. In the morning at open, the main characters wave from the train station. Sometimes a Cinderella stepsister comes out, I think on a castle balcony? Haven’t seen her myself, just read about it here. Plus the calvacades of course.


----------



## Leigh L

Stepsisters were on the Castle balcony several months ago, but now they come out in the princess meet and greet area near the Carousel.  There is a CM there organizing where to stand for a turn if you want to interact with them. Dd14 and I like to watch, not talk . 

At least 2 of the country bears were out within the last week. Chip and Dale were regularly appearing over the bridge between Frontierland and Adventureland but haven't seen them this week? 

In November, my adult DD and I saw Jiminy Cricket. That was cool. 

Hopefully more characters will pop out in upcoming months, esp if it gets busier with spring break, etc


----------



## stink

From my recent trip experience during school holiday time, shortened park hours  has increased rope drop crowd and increased wait times. Also lack of shows, character meets also increased wait times throughout the day. 

I am interested in how the wait times will be in the “off season” with shortened park hours.

No evening entertainment and early park closing has also impacted the ability to  ride more popular rides with low wait times at or near park closure.

Prior trips we would Rope Drop 3 or 4 days in a 6 to 7 day trip, sleep in balance of the days. Last trip we rope dropped every day except for one.

Prior  trips we always spent one or two evenings  at GF for dinner drinks listening to GF society orchestra, also went to Trader Sam’s, Top of the World Lounge, Yeehaw Bob

 In being “just back” & upon reflection on our vacation experience   we did enjoy the trip, warm Florida weather, Storm along bay, the major & minor thrill rides etc, but the overall experience of shortened park hours, no evening entertainment, no character meets and the absence of some daily or near daily entertainment both at the resorts & parks, has made us start to consider the cost / benefit of Disney Vacation.

Based on our “just back experience” our family has taken, let’s wait & see how our two other trips planned for the “non school vacation times/off season” in 2021 & early 2022 play out.

Hoping our recent trip is not the new normal.


----------



## disneygirlsng

stink said:


> From my recent trip experience during school holiday time, shortened park hours  has increased rope drop crowd and increased wait times. Also lack of shows, character meets also increased wait times throughout the day.
> 
> I am interested in how the wait times will be in the “off season” with shortened park hours.
> 
> No evening entertainment and early park closing has also impacted the ability to  ride more popular rides with low wait times at or near park closure.
> 
> Prior trips we would Rope Drop 3 or 4 days in a 6 to 7 day trip, sleep in balance of the days. Last trip we rope dropped every day except for one.
> 
> Prior  trips we always spent one or two evenings  at GF for dinner drinks listening to GF society orchestra, also went to Trader Sam’s, Top of the World Lounge, Yeehaw Bob
> 
> In being “just back” & upon reflection on our vacation experience   we did enjoy the trip, warm Florida weather, Storm along bay, the major & minor thrill rides etc, but the overall experience of shortened park hours, no evening entertainment, no character meets and the absence of some daily or near daily entertainment both at the resorts & parks, has made us start to consider the cost / benefit of Disney Vacation.
> 
> Based on our “just back experience” our family has taken, let’s wait & see how our two other trips planned for the “non school vacation times/off season” in 2021 & early 2022 play out.
> 
> Hoping our recent trip is not the new normal.


Mid-late January/early February wait times were incredibly low. I saw FOP at 20 minutes mid-afternoon several times. If that's any indication for off-season times.


----------



## jsmla

disneygirlsng said:


> Mid-late January/early February wait times were incredibly low. I saw FOP at 20 minutes mid-afternoon several times. If that's any indication for off-season times.


I was there January 23-31 and can second this.  I was able to walk on many of the headliners.  The only time I saw longer wait times was at the weekends.  DHS was the busiest park by quite a bit.

ETA:  I did leave the park midday most days so can’t speak for the 1:00-4:00 crowds.


----------



## Jaina

Any more reports on being able to mobile order and get into the resorts early in the morning (hoping to do that and walk from the Contemporary to MK)? Also, I've noticed that the People Mover isn't present on the "refurbishments" list, even though it's been closed. Any idea if it will open soon? We're leaving in about a week and a half, and I'm starting to lose hope, haha. No People Mover and no train is sad!


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Jaina said:


> Any more reports on being able to mobile order and get into the resorts early in the morning (hoping to do that and walk from the Contemporary to MK)? Also, I've noticed that the People Mover isn't present on the "refurbishments" list, even though it's been closed. Any idea if it will open soon? We're leaving in about a week and a half, and I'm starting to lose hope, haha. No People Mover and no train is sad!


as of yesterday People Mover is now early April for opening


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Jaina said:


> Also, I've noticed that the People Mover isn't present on the "refurbishments" list, even though it's been closed. Any idea if it will open soon? We're leaving in about a week and a half, and I'm starting to lose hope, haha. No People Mover and no train is sad!


I heard yesterday that the refurb was extended through April 3


----------



## Jaina

Betty Rohrer said:


> as of yesterday People Mover is now early April for opening





ENJDisneyFan said:


> I heard yesterday that the refurb was extended through April 3



Ugh, so sad!! I'm west coast, so I haven't ridden the PeopleMover since my first trip to WDW in 1998. (Though I remember it as a kid at DLR!)  I was really hoping to ride this time! Alas.


----------



## mm824

We just returned from a trip (for what I thought might be an off time) and there is no way I would go back given current restrictions and crowds. It was uncomfortably crowded and I borderline regret renewing my annual pass. EPCOT reminded me of a Sat during F&W; HS, 30 minutes prior to park opening, the line for Slinky Dog was 75 minutes; and MK was great is you accidentally show up 75 minutes prior to opening and wait in line. 

I'm struggling to see how Disney will increase capacity given restrictions, lack of options, "social distancing" and no fast pass.


----------



## MIndy S

We got to Epcot this morning at 9:45 (11am opening) and we were turned away trying to get into the parking lot. They told us to come back at 10:15. We came back at 10 and they were holding cars, we were about 6 cars back at that point. So we just learned the hard way... don't be too early if you are driving. One hour early seems to be a sweet spot.

However, we did get parked and in line at the tapstiles before they started letting people into the park, which was at exactly 10:15.


----------



## Orion Nebula

mm824 said:


> We just returned from a trip (for what I thought might be an off time) and there is no way I would go back given current restrictions and crowds. It was uncomfortably crowded and I borderline regret renewing my annual pass. EPCOT reminded me of a Sat during F&W; HS, 30 minutes prior to park opening, the line for Slinky Dog was 75 minutes; and MK was great is you accidentally show up 75 minutes prior to opening and wait in line.
> 
> I'm struggling to see how Disney will increase capacity given restrictions, lack of options, "social distancing" and no fast pass.



What were your trip dates and did it seem any better during the week?


----------



## rileyz

mm824 said:


> We just returned from a trip (for what I thought might be an off time) and there is no way I would go back given current restrictions and crowds. It was uncomfortably crowded and I borderline regret renewing my annual pass. EPCOT reminded me of a Sat during F&W; HS, 30 minutes prior to park opening, the line for Slinky Dog was 75 minutes; and MK was great is you accidentally show up 75 minutes prior to opening and wait in line.
> 
> I'm struggling to see how Disney will increase capacity given restrictions, lack of options, "social distancing" and no fast pass.



I’m here now and I kind of agree.  If we didn’t have an annual pass and my parents condo to stay at it would not be worth it.  I wouldn’t spend the money on tickets or hotels during this time.  I won’t be back until fast pass is back.


----------



## Orion Nebula

rileyz said:


> I’m here now and I kind of agree.  If we didn’t have an annual pass and my parents condo to stay at it would not be worth it.  I wouldn’t spend the money on tickets or hotels during this time.  I won’t be back until fast pass is back.



Geez... and yet everyone thought the next few weeks would be calmer. I fly in this Saturday and was hoping next week wouldn't be so bad but now...


----------



## DeeBee3

I'm just throwing this out here but my district in NY just announced kids go back full-time in April so maybe it is spurring last minute trips in March? I have no idea. Just a thought.


----------



## Orion Nebula

DeeBee3 said:


> I'm just throwing this out here but my district in NY just announced kids go back full-time in April so maybe it is spurring last minute trips in March? I have no idea. Just a thought.



You would think they would plan around spring break but I guess a lot of parents will take there kids out of school. We do, but it's always to avoid holidays.


----------



## sara_s

We parked at AK at 7:45 and went right to FoP with a 45 minute wait all in (moving most of the time). By time we got off around 8:45, the wait was up to 75 minutes. Jumped on Everest with a 5 min wait. By then all the queues were 35 min+ waits. We walked both animal trails then split. We’ll try MK this afternoon before an early Cali Grill reservation.


----------



## wilkydelts

Does anyone know what the typical timeline for updating/adding park hours has been. I know right now they are increased up to 3/13 I just didnt know if it was every Friday at noon or some specific time that it has been occurring.


----------



## Mr. X

Its 12:03 on Wednesday 2/24. I just checked wait times and everything in MK is under an hour. Avatar is 35m, Everest 4m, Mine Train 55m, Tower of terror 75m, Smugglers Run 55m per the Lines app


----------



## Orion Nebula

Mr. X said:


> Its 12:03 on Wednesday 2/24. I just checked wait times and everything in MK is under an hour. Avatar is 35m, Everest 4m, Mine Train 55m, Tower of terror 75m, Smugglers Run 55m per the Lines app



Are you looking at the official Disney my experience app or another one?


----------



## Ecomommy09

Mr. X said:


> Its 12:03 on Wednesday 2/24. I just checked wait times and everything in MK is under an hour. Avatar is 35m, Everest 4m, Mine Train 55m, Tower of terror 75m, Smugglers Run 55m per the Lines app


I’m doing the same thing. . The WDW app shows much longer waits. This is why I pay for a touring plans subscription.


----------



## Ecomommy09

Orion Nebula said:


> Are you looking at the official Disney my experience app or another one?


They mentioned the Lines App from Touring Plans!


----------



## Orion Nebula

Ecomommy09 said:


> I’m doing the same thing. . The WDW app shows much longer waits. This is why I pay for a touring plans subscription.



Does it seam to be more accurate in RL? I am looking at the official app and things aren't looking that great for a last week of Feb Wednesday.


----------



## Raven01

Ecomommy09 said:


> I’m doing the same thing. . The WDW app shows much longer waits. This is why I pay for a touring plans subscription.



Is this the general consensus?  We are going soon and I'd like accurate wait times.  Is the WDW app accurate, or is the TP plan subscription worth it for that reason?  

I figured TP was out when COVID changed everything, but if they have better data for current wait times I will pony up for the subscription.


----------



## Ecomommy09

Orion Nebula said:


> Does it seam to be more accurate in RL? I am looking at the official app and things aren't looking that great for a last week of Feb Wednesday.


They get actual guests to time their waits.  I’m never successful because when I get to the front I forget to stop the timer, but it does seem to be more accurate, especially right now with Socially Distanced lines.


----------



## Mr. X

Orion Nebula said:


> Are you looking at the official Disney my experience app or another one?


I am using the Lines app. Its worked great for me on all of my trips


----------



## Ecomommy09

I have no dog in the fight, but I feel it’s more accurate.  I understood that Disney, at least in part, was using crowding into the queues as part of their wait equation. Now that the lines are so strung out for SD, it doesn’t seem that accurate on their app. Also, I’ve been told they manipulate data to get people to do what they want (the ages old wait times and closing being much longer than they actually were).  I like the Lines app and the touring plan. I don’t like to stare at my phone all day in the park, but I do have my plan in there and tweak if we do something different.  [Note, it takes my child 45 minutes to eat her cinnamon roll, this is factored in my plan].


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

Mr. X said:


> Its 12:03 on Wednesday 2/24. I just checked wait times and everything in MK is under an hour. Avatar is 35m, Everest 4m, Mine Train 55m, Tower of terror 75m, Smugglers Run 55m per the Lines app



thank you for providing some much needed levity and a different perspective to the discussion.  We arrive on Saturday and are going in with the attitude that we are just happy to be there and will do whatever we are comfortable with and leave the rest for next time.  That said, it starts to feel like the sky is falling at times here and it’s hard to stay positive. I very much appreciate your post.


----------



## mm824

Orion Nebula said:


> What were your trip dates and did it seem any better during the week?



Feb 20-23. I'm told all four parks hit capacity on Saturday, explaining the massive crowds. We went to Epcot on Saturday @ 10:30, AK on Sunday right before opening, waited 45 minutes for Nali River (the posted sign and app said 30 btw) and FOP was already at 80 minutes. There were low crowds coming in, but when we left around 11, it was jam packed.

Monday we went to MK, which was also low crowds the first two hours (until about 9:45), and HS on Tuesday.

We took the Skyliner to HS and waited 45 minutes at the transfer station at 7:55AM ...
The evening prior (Monday) we waited almost an hour (posted time was 40 minutes) @ 7pm (park closes at 8) to ride Soarin.
As we were walking out around 8:10, the line for the Skyliner stretched all the way back to the Yacht Club.

It was just massively .... crowded.


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

Jaina said:


> Any more reports on being able to mobile order and get into the resorts early in the morning (hoping to do that and walk from the Contemporary to MK)? Also, I've noticed that the People Mover isn't present on the "refurbishments" list, even though it's been closed. Any idea if it will open soon? We're leaving in about a week and a half, and I'm starting to lose hope, haha. No People Mover and no train is sad!



Just wanted to say I hope you have a great trip!

I've followed a lot of your DL trip reports over on that forum. 

We haven't done this early morning, but lately we've done a good bit of mobile ordering to resort hop. We just moved to Orlando in January and don't have APs so we've visited the resorts a ton.

Most of the time we'll do dinner. I remember at AOA the security guard wanted us to press the 'we are here' button in front of him. The AKL guard just waved us through without even seeing the phone. The Poly guard also wanted us to press the 'we are here' button but didn't watch us to make sure we did.


----------



## mm824

Ecomommy09 said:


> I have no dog in the fight, but I feel it’s more accurate.  I understood that Disney, at least in part, was using crowding into the queues as part of their wait equation. Now that the lines are so strung out for SD, it doesn’t seem that accurate on their app. Also, I’ve been told they manipulate data to get people to do what they want (the ages old wait times and closing being much longer than they actually were).  I like the Lines app and the touring plan. I don’t like to stare at my phone all day in the park, but I do have my plan in there and tweak if we do something different.  [Note, it takes my child 45 minutes to eat her cinnamon roll, this is factored in my plan].



I'll tell you, not a single ride time was accurate on the app our entire trip - and not for our benefit.  The only ride we "walked onto" were the two rides in MK, on a Monday morning because we just happened to show up early to the park ....


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

Is there a certain weekday that people feel is best to visit Magic Kingdom? I booked my park pass for a Tuesday, but curious what people think. Definitely not a Sunday right?


----------



## SarahC97

mm824 said:


> I'll tell you, not a single ride time was accurate on the app our entire trip - and not for our benefit.  The only ride we "walked onto" were the two rides in MK, on a Monday morning because we just happened to show up 42 minutes early to the park ....


Are you talking about the wait time in the TP app or MDE?


----------



## mm824

SarahC97 said:


> Are you talking about the wait time in the TP app or MDE?



MDE!


----------



## Orion Nebula

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Is there a certain weekday that people feel is best to visit Magic Kingdom? I booked my park pass for a Tuesday, but curious what people think. Definitely not a Sunday right?



I think as expected Tue-Thu are the best park days in general. We made our MK days Tuesday and Thursday via from what others were saying here. But maybe someone else has a different opinion.


----------



## Ecomommy09

Ecomommy09 said:


> I’m.  [Note, it takes my child 45 minutes to eat her cinnamon roll, this is factored in my plan].


Cinnamon Roll MK day.  Just for levity.  She’s awful cute. This was 10/2020


----------



## Shellyred8

mm824 said:


> We just returned from a trip (for what I thought might be an off time) and there is no way I would go back given current restrictions and crowds. It was uncomfortably crowded and I borderline regret renewing my annual pass. EPCOT reminded me of a Sat during F&W; HS, 30 minutes prior to park opening, the line for Slinky Dog was 75 minutes; and MK was great is you accidentally show up 75 minutes prior to opening and wait in line.
> 
> I'm struggling to see how Disney will increase capacity given restrictions, lack of options, "social distancing" and no fast pass.


Were you there the week of Presidents week?  That's when we were there and I was surprised at how crowded it was ALL WEEK LONG.    I was anticipating that Presidents day weekend and maybe one or  two days after would be busier, but it was the entire week.  So, we just took the opportunity to enjoy the nice weather and be glad we weren't home in the sub-zero temps!


----------



## choirfarm

MIndy S said:


> CMs remind people when they see it, but from what I have seen, people that don't want to comply just pull their masks down as soon as the CM isn't looking anymore. We have seen it so many times.
> 
> The guy we were behind in the 7DMT queue did not wear his mask unless a CM was around, and blew snot rockets at one point without a tissue. We kept our mouths shut.


 I would not let it go.  Masks are a matter of life and death. I would be yelling to have the CM come back. I will not die because others are careless


----------



## debdebdebby13

choirfarm said:


> I would not let it go.  Masks are a matter of life and death. I would be yelling to have the CM come back. I will not die because others are careless



If it's literally life and death you don't belong at Disney World during a pandemic, just saying.


----------



## dez1978

mm824 said:


> MDE!


Oh thank goodness (that you are talking about MDE not that you had longer waits) bc I was really banking on the TP app


----------



## choirfarm

nm you wont care


----------



## mm824

dez1978 said:


> Oh thank goodness (that you are talking about MDE not that you had longer waits) bc I was really banking on the TP app



I hope you have better luck with the TP app!


----------



## mm824

Shellyred8 said:


> Were you there the week of Presidents week?  That's when we were there and I was surprised at how crowded it was ALL WEEK LONG.    I was anticipating that Presidents day weekend and maybe one or  two days after would be busier, but it was the entire week.  So, we just took the opportunity to enjoy the nice weather and be glad we weren't home in the sub-zero temps!



We were just there this past weekend (2/20 - 2/23) -


----------



## mm824

debdebdebby13 said:


> If it's literally life and death you don't belong at Disney World during a pandemic, just saying.



To be completely honest with you, given the current crowds, if you have any fear of COVID19, this is probably not the place for you to be.  For us, this felt like every other busy trip we've taken, sans the 6ft tape lines and "mask requirement". CM's can only do so much when you have hundreds of people in line at once ....

Without derailing this conversation, my DH and I are both vaccinated, and commented to ourselves how uncomfortable we felt in many situations. The very vast majority of people were diligent about following the rules; but some people are just going to do what they want to do ...


----------



## rileyz

mm824 said:


> To be completely honest with you, given the current crowds, if you have any fear of COVID19, this is probably not the place for you to be.  For us, this felt like every other busy trip we've taken, sans the 6ft tape lines and "mask requirement". CM's can only do so much when you have hundreds of people in line at once ....
> 
> Without derailing this conversation, my DH and I are both vaccinated, and commented to ourselves how uncomfortable we felt in many situations. The very vast majority of people were diligent about following the rules; but some people are just going to do what they want to do ...


Yes to all of this.  There are bottlenecks in parts of every park, some lines go into walking areas and people come within inches if not come into contact with you.  If you go at opening or leave at closing you will be very close to people.  Getting off the Ferry at MK Monday night was people on top of people, I stepped to the side and let ppl go ahead to avoid crowd.  It’s not an awful experience but it’s compromised and for me, as I said in an earlier post, I wouldn’t be here without an annual pass and free accommodations.


----------



## DisneyByMarriage

My husband and I are/were both in the food service industry and I feel like a lot of the issues people are talking about could be helped by an increase in staffing.  For those that have been there recently, does it seem like the QS and shops aren’t adequately staffed?  We try to go during off season; but what’s going to be hardest for us is not being able to get a Mickey pretzel or popcorn in under 10 minutes!


----------



## Amy M

aokeefe said:


> I can only speak for Grand Floridian since we just came back. We found the main pool to not be busy- plenty of room to spread out. The kid's pool area (with slide) looked busy so we stayed away (we don't have young kids anyways)


Do you still have to wear a mask in the pool area if you aren’t actively swimming in the pool (just sitting in a lounge chair)?


----------



## Naomeri

Amy M said:


> Do you still have to wear a mask in the pool area if you aren’t actively swimming in the pool (just sitting in a lounge chair)?


I didn’t have to wear one at Pop in October while I sat in a lounge chair


----------



## mm824

DisneyByMarriage said:


> My husband and I are/were both in the food service industry and I feel like a lot of the issues people are talking about could be helped by an increase in staffing.  For those that have been there recently, does it seem like the QS and shops aren’t adequately staffed?  We try to go during off season; but what’s going to be hardest for us is not being able to get a Mickey pretzel or popcorn in under 10 minutes!



More staffing and more options. There are not enough food options to cover the current crowd level.


Naomeri said:


> I didn’t have to wear one at Pop in October while I sat in a lounge chair



Same at Yacht/Beach. Pool area is a free for all -


----------



## disneygirlsng

mm824 said:


> Feb 20-23. I'm told all four parks hit capacity on Saturday, explaining the massive crowds. We went to Epcot on Saturday @ 10:30, AK on Sunday right before opening, waited 45 minutes for Nali River (the posted sign and app said 30 btw) and FOP was already at 80 minutes. There were low crowds coming in, but when we left around 11, it was jam packed.
> 
> Monday we went to MK, which was also low crowds the first two hours (until about 9:45), and HS on Tuesday.
> 
> We took the Skyliner to HS and waited 45 minutes at the transfer station at 7:55AM ...
> The evening prior (Monday) we waited almost an hour (posted time was 40 minutes) @ 7pm (park closes at 8) to ride Soarin.
> As we were walking out around 8:10, the line for the Skyliner stretched all the way back to the Yacht Club.
> 
> It was just massively .... crowded.


I think last week/the last 2 weekends were pretty well expected to be insane. Many people have off the whole week, plus it was Mardi Gras with others having off for that. 2 big holidays in one week, big crowds are expected, especially on the weekends.


----------



## mm824

disneygirlsng said:


> I think last week/the last 2 weekends were pretty well expected to be insane. Many people have off the whole week, plus it was Mardi Gras with others having off for that. 2 big holidays in one week, big crowds are expected, especially on the weekends.



I guess I should have researched this more before going. I never fathomed Disney would allow their parks to reach these level of crowds during the Pandemic; I've been proven wrong ....


----------



## Leigh L

wilkydelts said:


> Does anyone know what the typical timeline for updating/adding park hours has been. I know right now they are increased up to 3/13 I just didnt know if it was every Friday at noon or some specific time that it has been occurring.


I just got an email from Touring Plans that Friday's MK (and I think MK and EP for Saturday) hours extended. Usually, it is on Fridays, but this is the 2nd or 3rd time it has happened to us a day or two before our park day.

This is our first year using Touring Plans and it's mostly great. However, the TP morning wait times this week have been way off in our experience (saying they are shorter than they are).  Later in the day, pretty accurate. Except for one day, at 2 p.m. on Thursday, it said Slinky was 32 minutes and MDE said 70. Actual wait was 60 minutes.

(Edit: I meant to quote two posts but lost the other  )


----------



## GBRforWDW

Leigh L said:


> I just got an email from Touring Plans that Friday's MK (and I think MK and EP for Saturday) hours extended. Usually, it is on Fridays, but this is the 2nd or 3rd time it has happened to us a day or two before our park day.
> 
> This is our first year using Touring Plans and it's mostly great. However, the TP morning wait times this week have been way off in our experience (saying they are shorter than they are).  Later in the day, pretty accurate. Except for one day, at 2 p.m. on Thursday, it said Slinky was 32 minutes and MDE said 70. Actual wait was 60 minutes.
> 
> (Edit: I meant to quote two posts but lost the other  )


@wilkydelts Typically, new park hours are released about 2 months out and have kept a mostly consistent rolling pattern of 1 weeks worth at a time.

then, about 2 weeks before the dates, they’ll release updated/extended hours, usually based off park pass reservations and projections.

Both of these are usually on a Friday, but can sometimes happen on Thursday.

Then there’s times leading up to a date that they feel will be even busier than originally thought, so they’ll extend the hours once more, similar to what Leigh mentioned happening in her post, I believe.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Seems like this 11 day span (2/11 - 2/21) is going to help revenue tremendously in what will otherwise be a very soft Q2 of Disney's fiscal year. This year was always going to include the February trifecta: Valentine's Day + President's Day + Mardi Gras in a 4 day span. (For reference, the last time this happened was in 2015). Nothing I saw out of the wait times today surprised me - if anything there were encouraging signs with lower waits than are typical for this holiday.
> 
> I think it's easy to confuse what it looks like and feels like, vs. what the actual data shows. Here are wait times from President's Day 2020 vs. President's Day 2021 (the blue line is today). The major factors that are different are socially distant lines which take up more space, and lack of FastPass to ensure 3 short waits.
> 
> View attachment 556721
> 
> As some have said, people hear 35% capacity and think - _"oh man, Disney will be dead, I want to be there!" _not realizing what 35% really means. What those people really want is Disney at 15-20% of capacity which is what it seems like we're getting on weekdays through much of Jan/Feb (outside of the major holidays).


All these reports of shock at crowds last week... one word my friends: *TRIFECTA*

This week (and then corresponding crowds) has been coming for 6 years.  None of the wait times I’ve seen recently have surprised me.

EDIT:
Here's a quick graph of the wait times from the Wednesday we spent at MK in late Jan, vs. today, vs. last Wednesday ("Trifecta" week).  I'd say this is about what we'd expect to see from one of the slowest weeks of the year vs. a normal week vs. one of the busiest.

You can read my report of Wednesday 1/27 at the MK (to get a sense of what those crowd levels were like) *HERE*.


----------



## Jaina

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> Just wanted to say I hope you have a great trip!
> 
> I've followed a lot of your DL trip reports over on that forum.
> 
> We haven't done this early morning, but lately we've done a good bit of mobile ordering to resort hop. We just moved to Orlando in January and don't have APs so we've visited the resorts a ton.
> 
> Most of the time we'll do dinner. I remember at AOA the security guard wanted us to press the 'we are here' button in front of him. The AKL guard just waved us through without even seeing the phone. The Poly guard also wanted us to press the 'we are here' button but didn't watch us to make sure we did.



Hi! And thanks! I still haven't quite finished my trip report from my October trip to WDW, but it's nearly there! For this trip I'm hoping for a little cooler weather than our late October trip was, and maybe a touch less crowded. That would be fabulous! We're doing 3 days at Universal (since that's what my husband is excited about) and a day each at Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. We'd love to stay like 10 days and do everything, but leaving our 5 kids for 6 nights/days already is pushing it a little as it is!  Do you think you'll get AP's at some point?

I'm hoping we won't have trouble with the mobile order and pushing the "we are here" button, but I what's the best alternative if they won't let us  in? Have the  Lyft driver go drop us at the transit center and grab a bus?


----------



## Brittany Fata

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences it is really helpful. One thing I am trying to gauge is how often you might get stuck in "crowds" or at a chokepoint. I know that it might vary based on each persons experience, but are the interactions generally short (5 mins or less). Are you always in a sea of people regardless off where you are walking in the park, or is it just sometimes? 

I'm not super paranoid, but obviously don't want to be stuck in crowds all day long. Overall, I would say I'm somewhat comfortable being in public. I've done indoor dining, I ride the subway in NY occasionally, gone to retail stores, ride in Ubers, gone to public parks, etc. I've obviously been within 6 feet of people in certain instances while doing these things; however, I don't think any of them are comparable to being in a theme park all day. So I'm just trying to figure out how often/for how long will I be in "crowds."


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

Jaina said:


> Hi! And thanks! I still haven't quite finished my trip report from my October trip to WDW, but it's nearly there! For this trip I'm hoping for a little cooler weather than our late October trip was, and maybe a touch less crowded. That would be fabulous! We're doing 3 days at Universal (since that's what my husband is excited about) and a day each at Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. We'd love to stay like 10 days and do everything, but leaving our 5 kids for 6 nights/days already is pushing it a little as it is!  Do you think you'll get AP's at some point?
> 
> I'm hoping we won't have trouble with the mobile order and pushing the "we are here" button, but I what's the best alternative if they won't let us  in? Have the  Lyft driver go drop us at the transit center and grab a bus?



Sounds like you're going to have a great trip. Lately the weather has been just about as perfect as it can be. Mid to late 70s most days with warm evenings.  So long as it stays the course you'll love it.

We will get APs the first day they go back on sale, that is how eager we are. 

Yeah, I think going to the transit center and take either a bus, monorail or ferry.


----------



## hereforthechurros

disneygirlsng said:


> Mid-late January/early February wait times were incredibly low. I saw FOP at 20 minutes mid-afternoon several times. If that's any indication for off-season times.


Which is great, but when things are crowded you absolutely feel it. And without FP there’s really no navigating around it.

Not that you were saying anything to the contrary but the difference is remarkable right now.


----------



## emilymad

I am here now and this is my recap so far....it is crowded!  I am sure it is not as bad as last week but it is way more crowded then we thought.

We had an ADR in DS Sunday night.  It was full on summer crowded.  We expected it and just went to and from dinner.  You could barely walk it was so crowded.

We had another ADR in DS on Monday night.  When we arrived around 5pm it was pretty empty.  By the time we left dinner around 6pm it was almost as crowded as Sunday.  It was surprising how fast it got crowded.  I am guessing the short park hours is not helping this.

We did HS on Tuesday.  They held us at temperature check until 8:15-8:20am.  We hustled to SDD and rode with almost no wait.  By 10:00am lines were long and people were everywhere.  There was barely any place to walk in the park between the ride lines and people standing to eat/drink etc.  We only stayed until 2pm because we had managed to get a BG.  We hoped to EP around 4pm which was very empty.

Today we did MK in the morning.  We arrived on the bus around 8:30am.  The first hour was great.  After that it escalated quickly.  Things were very crowded but it didn't feel as crowded as HS.  Lunch options are very limited in MK.  We struggled finding something to eat.  We hopped to EP again around 4pm.  Crowds definitely worse today but still manageable.  

My overall thoughts is that mask compliance is good.  We haven't noticed any issues.  However, the keeping distance thing was completely thrown out the window.  Most places it was actually impossible.  It seems a lot of rides are skipping their regular queues in favor of lines out in the walk ways. 

Food feels like a major struggle.  If I had planned this trip further in advance I would have booked 2 ADRs a day.  Mobile order has been a mess and seating impossible.  It is exhausting to be on your feet all day with no break.

We opted for only 2 day PH tickets since we normally have an AP.  I am glad we went to the parks but I wouldn't bother in the future.  We rode way less rides for more hours in the parks as our usual trips.  The wait times are a complete guess.  We waited both longer and shorter than the posted time.  You just get in line and hope for the best.  Until both FP and AP come back we are out.

I think travelers need to be aware that hopes of truly social distancing isn't a reality right now.  Or maybe it is ok for the first hour in the park a day.  This may be true of all travel right now.  Our plane down was a completely full flight and I have a feeling our flight home will be the same.


----------



## emilymad

Brittany Fata said:


> Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences it is really helpful. One thing I am trying to gauge is how often you might get stuck in "crowds" or at a chokepoint. I know that it might vary based on each persons experience, but are the interactions generally short (5 mins or less). Are you always in a sea of people regardless off where you are walking in the park, or is it just sometimes?
> 
> I'm not super paranoid, but obviously don't want to be stuck in crowds all day long. Overall, I would say I'm somewhat comfortable being in public. I've done indoor dining, I ride the subway in NY occasionally, gone to retail stores, ride in Ubers, gone to public parks, etc. I've obviously been within 6 feet of people in certain instances while doing these things; however, I don't think any of them are comparable to being in a theme park all day. So I'm just trying to figure out how often/for how long will I be in "crowds."



It has felt like a sea of people to us. We have been out to eat at home, have gone to stores, etc but this has been nothing like at home.  We were ok with the situation because we somewhat expected it from the reports last week.


----------



## Jaina

Another thought on the Contemporary. If I made a reservation just for myself (my husband doesn’t eat that early even in our own time zone and would rather wander around the amazing hotel and take pictures of the view) would they let us both in?


----------



## Wosmama6

emilymad said:


> I am here now and this is my recap so far....it is crowded!  I am sure it is not as bad as last week but it is way more crowded then we thought.
> 
> We had an ADR in DS Sunday night.  It was full on summer crowded.  We expected it and just went to and from dinner.  You could barely walk it was so crowded.
> 
> We had another ADR in DS on Monday night.  When we arrived around 5pm it was pretty empty.  By the time we left dinner around 6pm it was almost as crowded as Sunday.  It was surprising how fast it got crowded.  I am guessing the short park hours is not helping this.
> 
> We did HS on Tuesday.  They held us at temperature check until 8:15-8:20am.  We hustled to SDD and rode with almost no wait.  By 10:00am lines were long and people were everywhere.  There was barely any place to walk in the park between the ride lines and people standing to eat/drink etc.  We only stayed until 2pm because we had managed to get a BG.  We hoped to EP around 4pm which was very empty.
> 
> Today we did MK in the morning.  We arrived on the bus around 8:30am.  The first hour was great.  After that it escalated quickly.  Things were very crowded but it didn't feel as crowded as HS.  Lunch options are very limited in MK.  We struggled finding something to eat.  We hopped to EP again around 4pm.  Crowds definitely worse today but still manageable.
> 
> My overall thoughts is that mask compliance is good.  We haven't noticed any issues.  However, the keeping distance thing was completely thrown out the window.  Most places it was actually impossible.  It seems a lot of rides are skipping their regular queues in favor of lines out in the walk ways.
> 
> Food feels like a major struggle.  If I had planned this trip further in advance I would have booked 2 ADRs a day.  Mobile order has been a mess and seating impossible.  It is exhausting to be on your feet all day with no break.
> 
> We opted for only 2 day PH tickets since we normally have an AP.  I am glad we went to the parks but I wouldn't bother in the future.  We rode way less rides for more hours in the parks as our usual trips.  The wait times are a complete guess.  We waited both longer and shorter than the posted time.  You just get in line and hope for the best.  Until both FP and AP come back we are out.
> 
> I think travelers need to be aware that hopes of truly social distancing isn't a reality right now.  Or maybe it is ok for the first hour in the park a day.  This may be true of all travel right now.  Our plane down was a completely full flight and I have a feeling our flight home will be the same.


Thanks for sharing. Can I ask how you arrived at rope drop each day? Car, bus, walk?


----------



## Jen75

emilymad said:


> I am here now and this is my recap so far....it is crowded!  I am sure it is not as bad as last week but it is way more crowded then we thought.
> 
> We had an ADR in DS Sunday night.  It was full on summer crowded.  We expected it and just went to and from dinner.  You could barely walk it was so crowded.
> 
> We had another ADR in DS on Monday night.  When we arrived around 5pm it was pretty empty.  By the time we left dinner around 6pm it was almost as crowded as Sunday.  It was surprising how fast it got crowded.  I am guessing the short park hours is not helping this.
> 
> We did HS on Tuesday.  They held us at temperature check until 8:15-8:20am.  We hustled to SDD and rode with almost no wait.  By 10:00am lines were long and people were everywhere.  There was barely any place to walk in the park between the ride lines and people standing to eat/drink etc.  We only stayed until 2pm because we had managed to get a BG.  We hoped to EP around 4pm which was very empty.
> 
> Today we did MK in the morning.  We arrived on the bus around 8:30am.  The first hour was great.  After that it escalated quickly.  Things were very crowded but it didn't feel as crowded as HS.  Lunch options are very limited in MK.  We struggled finding something to eat.  We hopped to EP again around 4pm.  Crowds definitely worse today but still manageable.
> 
> My overall thoughts is that mask compliance is good.  We haven't noticed any issues.  However, the keeping distance thing was completely thrown out the window.  Most places it was actually impossible.  It seems a lot of rides are skipping their regular queues in favor of lines out in the walk ways.
> 
> Food feels like a major struggle.  If I had planned this trip further in advance I would have booked 2 ADRs a day.  Mobile order has been a mess and seating impossible.  It is exhausting to be on your feet all day with no break.
> 
> We opted for only 2 day PH tickets since we normally have an AP.  I am glad we went to the parks but I wouldn't bother in the future.  We rode way less rides for more hours in the parks as our usual trips.  The wait times are a complete guess.  We waited both longer and shorter than the posted time.  You just get in line and hope for the best.  Until both FP and AP come back we are out.
> 
> I think travelers need to be aware that hopes of truly social distancing isn't a reality right now.  Or maybe it is ok for the first hour in the park a day.  This may be true of all travel right now.  Our plane down was a completely full flight and I have a feeling our flight home will be the same.


Hi! I’m here now too and I totally agree with this.  Especially the part about food.  Mobile ordering is a weird mess. I walked around MK for 20 minutes yesterday evening trying to find an on popcorn stand for my kids to hold them over until our Be Our Guest dinner.   There just aren’t as many little snack stands open.  Options feel very limited  and then the queue to even get the food and then trying to find a place to eat, etc.  For me, it felt chaotic and was stressful. I would highly recommend ADR for anyone who wants to make sure they can have a place to sit down a regroup.


----------



## acarsme123

Wow. We were considering an impromptu trip for March but I was worried what the experience would be like compared to what we are used to. Not sure it’s worth the money...


RSGroup said:


> Just back from a short trip. AK on Sunday, HS yesterday.  Some quick thoughts:
> 1.  Rope drop is essential if you want to get the headliners done and don't want to wait 90+.
> 2.  I knew the lines were going to be long and they would make it feel more crowded, and still I was  not really prepared for how it was. BRUTAL!  I'm talking a huge line for the Muppets.
> 3.  The wait times are all over the place.  You really have no idea what the actual wait time is unless you just get in line.
> 4. CM's were great across the board.
> 5.  Bus service was hit and miss.
> 6.  Three Bridges at Coronado Springs is great, and Satuli's Canteen in AK is the best counter service IMO. Raglan Road also great!
> 7.  The lack of fastpass really makes it a different experience.
> 
> We had fun and made the best of it, but we won't return until fastpass is back, social distancing is over, and the mask requirements are gone.  And I can't in good conscience recommend it to others as things are.


----------



## Wosmama6

acarsme123 said:


> Wow. We were considering an impromptu trip for March but I was worried what the experience would be like compared to what we are used to. Not sure it’s worth the money...


I wouldn't. We rented points from an owner and can't get our money back, so we are going, but I am.scaling back our park ambitions big time and adding other fun, like more pool time, gatorland, etc.


----------



## HiStitch626

Jaina said:


> Another thought on the Contemporary. If I made a reservation just for myself (my husband doesn’t eat that early even in our own time zone and would rather wander around the amazing hotel and take pictures of the view) would they let us both in?



Make your reservation for two people. He doesn’t actually have to eat with you if he doesn’t want to, when you check in at the podium you can just say he decided not to eat, and that will be fine.


----------



## acarsme123

yeah after weighing the pros/cons and what people in this thread have said, I think we are going to skip it for spring break.  we may try again for Christmas break.  We have never been at Christmas time and have always wanted to do that anyways.  Hopefully some more restrictions have been lifted by then and more hotel options are back, as well as FastPass.  I saw someone state a few pages back it seemed like they were paying 100% of the money for 75% of the experience.  From everything I'm reading I couldn't agree more...I just can't justify it for such a diminished experience.  Thanks.  



Wosmama6 said:


> I wouldn't. We rented points from an owner and can't get our money back, so we are going, but I am.scaling back our park ambitions big time and adding other fun, like more pool time, gatorland, etc.


----------



## emilymad

Wosmama6 said:


> Thanks for sharing. Can I ask how you arrived at rope drop each day? Car, bus, walk?



We are staying at Riviera so we took the Skyliner to HS.  We got in line around 7:30 and they started running a little before 8am.  We got there before they were letting cars in the parking lot.

We took the bus to MK.  We got to the bus stop around 7:30.  The first bus didn't arrive to about 8:15.  When we drove past the parking lot at the TCC they hadn't let any cars in yet.  The bus was definitely the way to go here.


----------



## emilymad

Wosmama6 said:


> I wouldn't. We rented points from an owner and can't get our money back, so we are going, but I am.scaling back our park ambitions big time and adding other fun, like more pool time, gatorland, etc.



Seconding this!  We are here for a week with only 2 park days.  I thought I would feel sad and miss the parks.  It is actually the opposite.  I don't miss the parks at all.  I am glad we tried the parks but if I was coming again with the information I know now I wouldn't bother with the parks at all.

We have done Blue Spring State Park, Top Golf, lots of pool time, etc and we are having a blast.


----------



## Wosmama6

emilymad said:


> We are staying at Riviera so we took the Skyliner to HS.  We got in line around 7:30 and they started running a little before 8am.  We got there before they were letting cars in the parking lot.
> 
> We took the bus to MK.  We got to the bus stop around 7:30.  The first bus didn't arrive to about 8:15.  When we drove past the parking lot at the TCC they hadn't let any cars in yet.  The bus was definitely the way to go here.


Thanks. We are staying at AKL so we either have bus or car, and I've heard about an even split between the two being the winner. Guess we'll flip a coin.


----------



## Orion Nebula

acarsme123 said:


> I saw someone state a few pages back it seemed like they were paying 100% of the money for 75% of the experience.



Not to knock anyone but that has been _well known_ since re-opening.  Many are coming back and making sure to point out that fact that they were let down (from the lack of events / perks). Which I mean they probably should've known prior to booking.


----------



## kathi

We also were told that the lines were short (30 minutes or less) and Disney was managing proper social distancing.   I was prepared to have fewer things to do, but I expected to not be on top of other people and not to spend the entire day in line riding the things that are open.   We still don't know what to do.  Used 2020 and 2021 DVC points and I don't want to get screwed out of a big chunk of them if we don't go back in this use year.  Need to look into if DVC is being flexible with cancelled bookings.


----------



## PrincessV

Brittany Fata said:


> Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences it is really helpful. One thing I am trying to gauge is how often you might get stuck in "crowds" or at a chokepoint. I know that it might vary based on each persons experience, but are the interactions generally short (5 mins or less). Are you always in a sea of people regardless off where you are walking in the park, or is it just sometimes?


My experiences so far have been 3 days in late Aug (least busy), 3 days in late Oct (2nd-most busy), 3 days in early Dec (most busy), and 3 days in late Jan (2nd least busy) - all weekdays, with the exception of one Sunday at EP in Jan... never once was I stuck in a situation that was so crowded I couldn't be 6' from other people for more than 30 seconds, tops. I simply won't visit during the most crowded holiday periods, and I'm not doing weekends, which helps a LOT to avoid crowds.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Orion Nebula said:


> Not to knock anyone but that has been _well known_ since re-opening.  Many are coming back and making sure to point out that fact that they were let down (from the lack of events / perks). Which I mean they probably should've known prior to booking.


Agreed!


----------



## cdh

Does anyone have input as to why this week has been so crowded?  I understand why February 14 to 21 was crowded, but I don’t understand the crowd levels this week.  Any ideas about what next week will be in terms of crowds?

I’m so disappointed in the situation at Disney.  It seems that there is no way to avoid the crowds.  In the past, if a park was crowded we could get a Minnie van and go back to the resort....or maybe get a Cheshire tail and sit on a bench and watch the crowd....or shop a little in one of the stores.  It seems that now there is a line for absolutely everything and it sounds kinda miserable.  All of the spontaneity of the previous trips is a thing of the past.  There were several times that we walked out of the Contemporary and changed our mind about a park for the day based on the lines for the buses.  We learned to avoid crowds but that seems almost impossible in the parks now.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

So to understand this correctly, its very difficult to just get a snack or shop for souvenirs? Im not Disney experienced, and I have a young kid I was hoping to give him a gift card at the beginning of the trip and tell him he could buy any special fun treat/snack he wants, or if he sees something he loves he can choose for himself. So this will be not easy to do? Is that everyone’s experience?


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

What are peoples thoughts about crowd levels the last week of April?


----------



## cdh

DisneyJColeMom said:


> So to understand this correctly, its very difficult to just get a snack or shop for souvenirs? Im not Disney experienced, and I have a young kid I was hoping to give him a gift card at the beginning of the trip and tell him he could buy any special fun treat/snack he wants, or if he sees something he loves he can choose for himself. So this will be not easy to do? Is that everyone’s experience?



It would have been easy prior to Covid.  It may still be easy for him to pay with a gift card in the shops.  It’s just that there seem to be crowds and long lines to get into the shops.  As far as getting snacks, I have no idea.


----------



## lelew

cdh said:


> Does anyone have input as to why this week has been so crowded?  I understand why February 14 to 21 was crowded, but I don’t understand the crowd levels this week.  Any ideas about what next week will be in terms of crowds?
> 
> I’m so disappointed in the situation at Disney.  It seems that there is no way to avoid the crowds.  In the past, if a park was crowded we could get a Minnie van and go back to the resort....or maybe get a Cheshire tail and sit on a bench and watch the crowd....or shop a little in one of the stores.  It seems that now there is a line for absolutely everything and it sounds kinda miserable.  All of the spontaneity of the previous trips is a thing of the past.  There were several times that we walked out of the Contemporary and changed our mind about a park for the day based on the lines for the buses.  We learned to avoid crowds but that seems almost impossible in the parks now.


My guess is with so many vacation destination still closed or limited such as Disneyland DC, NY ect there is not many places for people to go so most people looking for a getaway are going to Disney Florida and Universal. I have been keeping my eye on crowd levels because I was hoping to come back since my August trip but I am going wait


----------



## scrappinginontario

I think things are busier at Disney as more people are comfortable travelling.  The parks were not reaching capacity for a long time but we really didn't know how much of the capacity was being filled.  Now as more people are ready to travel this equals more people in the parks.


----------



## wilkydelts

cdh said:


> Does anyone have input as to why this week has been so crowded?  I understand why February 14 to 21 was crowded, but I don’t understand the crowd levels this week.  Any ideas about what next week will be in terms of crowds?
> 
> I’m so disappointed in the situation at Disney.  It seems that there is no way to avoid the crowds.  In the past, if a park was crowded we could get a Minnie van and go back to the resort....or maybe get a Cheshire tail and sit on a bench and watch the crowd....or shop a little in one of the stores.  It seems that now there is a line for absolutely everything and it sounds kinda miserable.  All of the spontaneity of the previous trips is a thing of the past.  There were several times that we walked out of the Contemporary and changed our mind about a park for the day based on the lines for the buses.  We learned to avoid crowds but that seems almost impossible in the parks now.



Are you there right now?


----------



## cdh

lelew said:


> My guess is with so many vacation destination still closed or limited such as Disneyland DC, NY ect there is not many places for people to go so most people looking for a getaway are going to Disney Florida and Universal. I have been keeping my eye on crowd levels because I was hoping to come back since my August trip but I am going wait



That‘s a good point.  I hadn’t really thought about it but Disney and Universal may feel safer than other vacation destinations because masks are required.


----------



## DCLMP

cdh said:


> Does anyone have input as to why this week has been so crowded?  I understand why February 14 to 21 was crowded, but I don’t understand the crowd levels this week.  Any ideas about what next week will be in terms of crowds?
> 
> I’m so disappointed in the situation at Disney.  It seems that there is no way to avoid the crowds.  In the past, if a park was crowded we could get a Minnie van and go back to the resort....or maybe get a Cheshire tail and sit on a bench and watch the crowd....or shop a little in one of the stores.  It seems that now there is a line for absolutely everything and it sounds kinda miserable.  All of the spontaneity of the previous trips is a thing of the past.  There were several times that we walked out of the Contemporary and changed our mind about a park for the day based on the lines for the buses.  We learned to avoid crowds but that seems almost impossible in the parks now.


It could just be the Covid numbers going down. This is normally supposed to be a low crowd week. We were there in August and late January during both Covid peaks and didn't experience any crowds. There is also not a lot of options for vacations right now. Cruises are canceled, borders are closed, and it's still too early for national parks in many states. I expect WDW to be packed the rest of the year.


----------



## cdh

wilkydelts said:


> Are you there right now?


No, but I really, really want to go and I keep reading these responses hoping that the crowd levels drop or Disney does something to make it seem less crowded (open more dining options or something like that).  It seems that crowds are moving in the right directions for Disney‘s bottom line but in the wrong direction for those of us who want a relaxing vacation.


----------



## cdh

I don’t know if I’m allowed to ask this question here but.....is Universal more manageable than Disney right now?  I’ve never been and haven’t really ever wanted to go but express passes, more dining options, etc are making me consider going to Universal instead of Disney.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

cdh said:


> No, but I really, really want to go and I keep reading these responses hoping that the crowd levels drop or Disney does something to make it seem less crowded (open more dining options or something like that).  It seems that crowds are moving in the right directions for Disney‘s bottom line but in the wrong direction for those of us who want a relaxing vacation.


I think a big part of it is setting realistic expectations.  If you go right now expecting to have the same kind of trip you've always had, of course you will be disappointed.  We are going for spring break with the plan of riding our favorites (expecting to wait in lines, despite normally having FB), trying restaurants that are new to us, and enjoying more resort time than usual.  I think it will still be a great trip and will give us the opportunity to take things at a slower pace and maybe enjoy some things we normally wouldn't stop to do.  Now I realize we are fortunate enough to go often, so missing some things doesn't really bother us.  I wouldn't recommend anyone taking a "once in a lifetime" trip until things are much closer to normal.


----------



## DCLMP

cdh said:


> I don’t know if I’m allowed to ask this question here but.....is Universal more manageable than Disney right now?  I’ve never been and haven’t really ever wanted to go but express passes, more dining options, etc are making me consider going to Universal instead of Disney.


I would say yes. I've been checking out their deluxe resorts for this Summer and prices are high 400 plus. Sometimes they have good AP discounts or check Costco they have some package deals.


----------



## wilkydelts

cdh said:


> Does anyone have input as to why this week has been so crowded?  I understand why February 14 to 21 was crowded, but I don’t understand the crowd levels this week.  Any ideas about what next week will be in terms of crowds?
> 
> I’m so disappointed in the situation at Disney.  It seems that there is no way to avoid the crowds.  In the past, if a park was crowded we could get a Minnie van and go back to the resort....or maybe get a Cheshire tail and sit on a bench and watch the crowd....or shop a little in one of the stores.  It seems that now there is a line for absolutely everything and it sounds kinda miserable.  All of the spontaneity of the previous trips is a thing of the past.  There were several times that we walked out of the Contemporary and changed our mind about a park for the day based on the lines for the buses.  We learned to avoid crowds but that seems almost impossible in the parks now.




I guess I am confused, if you are not there right now how is the above true. It seems like speculation. If you are just going off wait times MDE has not be accurate for a long time. Touring Plans Line App has made it seem very nice there lately. In fact right now at MK everything is listed under 40 minutes except 7DMT on TP App. I have seen very little worry about crowds and spacing outside of the crazy holiday times and certain weekends.


----------



## DCLMP

What happened to letting resort guests in 30 minutes early? When is that supposed to start?


----------



## HokieRaven5

DCLMP said:


> What happened to letting resort guests in 30 minutes early? When is that supposed to start?



It's part of the 50th anniversary celebration. So as of right now, closer to October.


----------



## cdh

wilkydelts said:


> I guess I am confused, if you are not there right now how is the above true. It seems like speculation. If you are just going off wait times MDE has not be accurate for a long time. Touring Plans Line App has made it seem very nice there lately. In fact right now at MK everything is listed under 40 minutes except 7DMT on TP App. I have seen very little worry about crowds and spacing outside of the crazy holiday times and certain weekends.



I’ve been following threads like this one for months and I’m just repeating what others have said.  Those who are there right now are saying that mobile ordering is a pain, food stands are far more limited than in the past, it’s hard to walk through the park without bumping into people, lines are long and the estimates are often inaccurate, and Minnie Vans have been gone for months.  Believe me, I want to be wrong about all of this.   I can’t begin to explain how much I want to go back “home” for a family vacation.


----------



## scrappinginontario

DCLMP said:


> What happened to letting resort guests in 30 minutes early? When is that supposed to start?


A start date has not officially been announced.


----------



## lelew

wilkydelts said:


> I guess I am confused, if you are not there right now how is the above true. It seems like speculation. If you are just going off wait times MDE has not be accurate for a long time. Touring Plans Line App has made it seem very nice there lately. In fact right now at MK everything is listed under 40 minutes except 7DMT on TP App. I have seen very little worry about crowds and spacing outside of the crazy holiday times and certain weekends.


I am not the original poster But I watch a lot of live YouTube vloggers so I was looking at the crowds based on that


----------



## Ecomommy09

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I think a big part of it is setting realistic expectations.  If you go right now expecting to have the same kind of trip you've always had, of course you will be disappointed.  We are going for spring break with the plan of riding our favorites (expecting to wait in lines, despite normally having FB), trying restaurants that are new to us, and enjoying more resort time than usual.  I think it will still be a great trip and will give us the opportunity to take things at a slower pace and maybe enjoy some things we normally wouldn't stop to do.  Now I realize we are fortunate enough to go often, so missing some things doesn't really bother us.  I wouldn't recommend anyone taking a "once in a lifetime" trip until things are much closer to normal.


We had the best time in October and that’s why we’re going back. I love that it’s simpler than preCovid when you planned so many months in advance. I love going with the flow and heading back to swim and then returning if I want for dinner.
Your suggestion is spot on. You will make what you make of it and with the right attitude it’s still wonderful to be at Disney.  I cried at the Princess Cavalcade. The food situation isn’t that big of a deal thanks to mobile ordering.
And they require masks!  Not many vacation locations are even trying to be safe. I appreciate Disney for that and respect that enforcement is difficult and that everyone deserves grace in these trying times.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

What are the negative experiences with mobile ordering and how can we alleviate it? Is it just a matter of ordering early?


----------



## HokieRaven5

DisneyJColeMom said:


> What are the negative experiences with mobile ordering and how can we alleviate it? Is it just a matter of ordering early?



So my take on it (I didn't view it as a negative) was while I was hopping in line for a ride I'd hop on the MDE app and start an order at a nearby place that offered it. 

Mobile Order is more of a problem in terms of availability within the parks. Right now MK has 4-5 pending what day of the week you go, EP has 2, DHS has 8 locations, and AK has 3. 

When I was at my resort I would just set up my order from my hotel room and tap in when I got close to the dining venue walking over. I stayed at CBR for reference.

I didn't have any extensive waits when I went in November and found Mobile Ordering rather painless.


----------



## wilkydelts

cdh said:


> I’ve been following threads like this one for months and I’m just repeating what others have said.  Those who are there right now are saying that mobile ordering is a pain, food stands are far more limited than in the past, it’s hard to walk through the park without bumping into people, lines are long and the estimates are often inaccurate, and Minnie Vans have been gone for months.  Believe me, I want to be wrong about all of this.   I can’t begin to explain how much I want to go back “home” for a family vacation.



Just don't get caught up in the negativity and complaints. There is a lot of positive experiences but the negative ones seems to be ones reposted over and over because they want to be "heard". Which is causing many to panic and over react.  I went in October it was outstanding, if beginning of April is even close then it will be fine.


----------



## Jen75

DisneyJColeMom said:


> So to understand this correctly, its very difficult to just get a snack or shop for souvenirs? Im not Disney experienced, and I have a young kid I was hoping to give him a gift card at the beginning of the trip and tell him he could buy any special fun treat/snack he wants, or if he sees something he loves he can choose for himself. So this will be not easy to do? Is that everyone’s experience?


Hi, I’m actually at AK right now.  We’ve hit all the parks this week.  My kids were given gift card and quickly used them!  Most of the stores are open and it’s very easy to find souvenirs.   I’ll use my experience getting a Dole Whip as an example....you have to mobile order it (no biggie!), you have to know to click and tell them your ready for them to make it. I missed this the first morning...it takes some getting used to, again, no biggie.  But a lot of people totally missed it and were just standing - not distanced - fussing. Once you click that you are ready you wait in a queue to get in line to get it.  IMO that queue is where people get bunched up and it can be confusing.   It lacks some spontaneity, for sure.   If you are wanting to let them get an ice cream or popcorn you can pretty easily find a cart.


----------



## Jen75

wilkydelts said:


> Just don't get caught up in the negativity and complaints. There is a lot of positive experiences but the negative ones seems to be ones reposted over and over because they want to be "heard". Which is causing many to panic and over react.  I went in October it was outstanding, if beginning of April is even close then it will be fine.


 
If you were at WDW before fast passes (even the old paper ones!) were a thing.  I find it similar to that.  It lacks some structure but also lets you have so much flexibility! And if you aren’t comfortable in a line due to the crowd it’s easy enough to hop out.  But they are doing an amazing job with the lines.  The buzz ride at WDW is zig zagging through the monsters building, for example.  So you never actually stand still and the time passes quickly.

we got to AK around 7:50 this morning and looped  Expedition Everest 8 times.  My husband is currently back on it with a 10 min wait.  He says this is the best thing ever.  My son not so much. Haha.  I think it’s all relative


----------



## Wosmama6

Jen75 said:


> If you were at WDW before fast passes (even the old paper ones!) were a thing.  I find it similar to that.  It lacks some structure but also lets you have so much flexibility! And if you aren’t comfortable in a line due to the crowd it’s easy enough to hop out.  But they are doing an amazing job with the lines.  The buzz ride at WDW is zig zagging through the monsters building, for example.  So you never actually stand still and the time passes quickly.
> 
> we got to AK around 7:50 this morning and looped  Expedition Everest 8 times.  My husband is currently back on it with a 10 min wait.  He says this is the best thing ever.  My son not so much. Haha.  I think it’s all relative


we are SO hoping AK is like this during our trip. we have time planned there on 3/5 and at night on 3/6 since it's open til 8, and if the other parks are crazy we may just end up at AK most evenings. My son rode EE 7x last trip and still talks about it.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

DisneyJColeMom said:


> What are the negative experiences with mobile ordering and how can we alleviate it? Is it just a matter of ordering early?


I can't provide any negative experiences... how about some positive ones??

We placed our mobile order for lunch each morning while waiting at the bus stop or for the park to open.  When our window came, I pressed the I'm Here, Prepare My Order” button about 15 minutes before arriving at the restaurant.  Sometimes our order was ready before we even got to the restaurant, or if anything a short 5 minute wait.  One time we had to sit for 15 minutes even after we got there (Cosmic Ray's) but we just grabbed a bench and enjoyed the sunshine. 

We used this strategy at Tomorrowland Terrace, Pizzerizzo, Cosmic Ray's. and Satuli Canteen.  We had table service meals for dinner each night so no experience using mobile order for dinner BUT I will say that the table service arrival procedure is also better because you can check-in before you get there and our table was always ready right as we arrived at the restaurant.


----------



## SarahC97

SouthFayetteFan said:


> I can't provide any negative experiences... how about some positive ones??
> 
> We placed our mobile order for lunch each morning while waiting at the bus stop or for the park to open.  When our window came, I pressed the I'm Here, Prepare My Order” button about 15 minutes before arriving at the restaurant.  Sometimes our order was ready before we even got to the restaurant, or if anything a short 5 minute wait.  One time we had to sit for 15 minutes even after we got there (Cosmic Ray's) but we just grabbed a bench and enjoyed the sunshine.
> 
> We used this strategy at Tomorrowland Terrace, Pizzerizzo, Cosmic Ray's. and Satuli Canteen.  We had table service meals for dinner each night so no experience using mobile order for dinner BUT I will say that the table service arrival procedure is also better because you can check-in before you get there and our table was always ready right as we arrived at the restaurant.


I agree. I think mobile order is great. We started over our last couple of trips ordering lunch in the morning like you and have had a really easy experience with that strategy. The only complaint I have is that sometimes in some locations, finding a table can be difficult once you've got your food, but I've found eating lunch right when the restaurants open at 11 helps to solve this problem, or eating at other non-peak times. I really like being able to check-in at table service locations online too. Much easier.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

Omgosh thanks to the people that responded so quickly with positive experiences! I was getting nervous there lol


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

RE: Mobile Order

It's possible that on busier days, you might want to hit "here now" even 20-30 minutes before arriving at the restaurant. The day we experienced the wait at Cosmic Ray's was a Friday at MK which was probably the busiest we saw the parks.  And our meal seemed to take a full 30 minutes to be prepared that day. 

I think planning and flexibility is key.  Ordering early should guarantee you the arrival window you want.  And then hitting "I'm Here" early alleviates the frustrating wait outside the restaurant.  We would always hit "Here Now" when getting off (or even boarding) the last attraction before lunch.  Then we'd take our time getting over the restaurant, maybe hit a shop or grab a quick bathroom stop too.

Just mentally be prepared to wait outside the restaurant for 5-15 minutes - if you just accept that it might be part of the process, it eases frustrations.  Also - I reminded myself that sitting outside waiting for my meal was better than standing inside in a line of people waiting to order like the old days!


----------



## Shellyred8

DisneyJColeMom said:


> So to understand this correctly, its very difficult to just get a snack or shop for souvenirs? Im not Disney experienced, and I have a young kid I was hoping to give him a gift card at the beginning of the trip and tell him he could buy any special fun treat/snack he wants, or if he sees something he loves he can choose for himself. So this will be not easy to do? Is that everyone’s experience?


In regards to shopping for souvenirs, I would recommend doing your shopping in the morning or afternoon.  Don't wait until the end of the day to try to do your shopping, as that is when you will almost always encounter extra wait times.  You might occasionally encounter extra wait times at other times during the day, but in my experience those were usually rare.  The end of the day lines were almost guaranteed though.


----------



## Jen75

SouthFayetteFan said:


> RE: Mobile Order
> 
> It's possible that on busier days, you might want to hit "here now" even 20-30 minutes before arriving at the restaurant. The day we experienced the wait at Cosmic Ray's was a Friday at MK which was probably the busiest we saw the parks.  And our meal seemed to take a full 30 minutes to be prepared that day.
> 
> I think planning and flexibility is key.  Ordering early should guarantee you the arrival window you want.  And then hitting "I'm Here" early alleviates the frustrating wait outside the restaurant.  We would always hit "Here Now" when getting off (or even boarding) the last attraction before lunch.  Then we'd take our time getting over the restaurant, maybe hit a shop or grab a quick bathroom stop too.
> 
> Just mentally be prepared to wait outside the restaurant for 5-15 minutes - if you just accept that it might be part of the process, it eases frustrations.  Also - I reminded myself that sitting outside waiting for my meal was better than standing inside in a line of people waiting to order like the old days!


Yes this!!  Definitely hit here now and then hope on another ride and you’ll be good to go!  The table service restaurants we’ve had ADR’s at we’ve been able to check in online and walk over with no wait.


----------



## Shellyred8

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Also - I reminded myself that sitting outside waiting for my meal was better than standing inside in a line of people waiting to order like the old days!


I also reminded myself that waiting outside in the FL sunshine was better than being home in the sub-zero temps!


----------



## HiStitch626

Shellyred8 said:


> In regards to shopping for souvenirs, I would recommend doing your shopping in the morning or afternoon.  Don't wait until the end of the day to try to do your shopping, as that is when you will almost always encounter extra wait times.  You might occasionally encounter extra wait times at other times during the day, but in my experience those were usually rare.  The end of the day lines were almost guaranteed though.



Not here now, but that was our experience in December.  The only merchandise location where we had to wait in line during the day was World of Disney, and they offered a virtual queue.  There were lines at Emporium, MouseGear, etc in the last hour before the parks closed.


----------



## CarolinaGator

lelew said:


> My guess is with so many vacation destination still closed or limited such as Disneyland DC, NY ect there is not many places for people to go so most people looking for a getaway are going to Disney Florida and Universal. I have been keeping my eye on crowd levels because I was hoping to come back since my August trip but I am going wait


I think this is exactly right, at least for us. One of my friends went in October and talked about what a great job Disney was doing with masks and distancing. I kept watching all the blogs etc. and thought it looked like a vacation we could have in a more controlled environment than most other places. Looks like I caught on a little too late and am getting nervous about the building crowds. I might still bail on our planned trip in May. There are no rooms left at our resort for those dates, which makes me wonder if it's going to be slammed. We even purposefully planned it to be a midweek trip with no weekends involved and picked the dates that had the lowest parks ticket prices between then and the summer, hoping that was an indication of expected crowd levels.


----------



## Gearbm95

Really debating canceling my trip for early June. If the crowds are bad now during a historically slow week, then how atrocious are they going to be in June when it's 95 degrees?! I stupidly bought tickets for Orlando Informer Meetup at Univ on 6/4 and there's no refunds, so if I cancel the trip I'll lose my $370 for those tickets.

Why are Disney dragging their fit on getting dining places back open, there's zero reason behind this except cost cutting.


----------



## DL1WDW2

I arrived at AK 10 a.m. only to walk to pick up the AP magnet Orange Bird in Dinoland , of course only Donald Duck  available with no idea of the arrival of the other one. Entry was packed and had to squeeze between groups of people the entire walk. No Trams in parking lot and by 11 a.m. sun was pretty hot walking back to car Total 2 miles from parking lot which was crowded parked in Dinosaur row 33 Only because they are filling up the empty car slots from early this morn, I guess. 
As I exited I noticed lots of families in line to purchase their park tickets and AK sidewalks are packed. How can guests buy a ticket at the AK Park and have a park entry pass ? I think it is very crowded and imagine MK is worse. 
In summary, nobody knows what your experience will be on a daily basis, including Disney apparently.But purchasing tickets at the entry seems like nobody is really counting accurately. So why do they specifically verify at the parking lot toll gate that I have made a daily reservation for park entry ? 
Anyway I am still aggravated with Disney that the Orange Bird was not available.  But not surprised. And still no Tinkerbell in mail .


----------



## Wosmama6

DL1WDW2 said:


> I arrived at AK 10 a.m. only to walk to pick up the AP magnet Orange Bird in Dinoland , of course only Donald Duck  available with no idea of the arrival of the other one. Entry was packed and had to squeeze between groups of people the entire walk. No Trams in parking lot and by 11 a.m. sun was pretty hot walking back to car Total 2 miles from parking lot which was crowded parked in Dinosaur row 33 Only because they are filling up the empty car slots from early this morn, I guess.
> As I exited I noticed lots of families in line to purchase their park tickets and AK sidewalks are packed. How can guests buy a ticket at the AK Park and have a park entry pass ? I think it is very crowded and imagine MK is worse.
> In summary, nobody knows what your experience will be on a daily basis, including Disney apparently.But purchasing tickets at the entry seems like nobody is really counting accurately. So why do they specifically verify at the parking lot toll gate that I have made a daily reservation for park entry ?
> Anyway I am still aggravated with Disney that the Orange Bird was not available.  But not surprised. And still no Tinkerbell in mail .


Is this today?


----------



## Orion Nebula

All these reports are crushing... I will be at the parks this Sunday through Thursday... toss in upper 80s and my regret meter is skyrocketing. We kind of got stuck due to our airfare, but if we weren't so close I might've taken the loss already. Nothing like assuring everyone that A. the weather is nice this time of year and B. the crowds should be manageable due to capacity limits... which is obviously _completely_ false. 

This is going to feel like a typical summer now.


----------



## scrappinginontario

DL1WDW2 said:


> I arrived at AK 10 a.m. only to walk to pick up the AP magnet Orange Bird in Dinoland , of course only Donald Duck  available with no idea of the arrival of the other one. Entry was packed and had to squeeze between groups of people the entire walk. No Trams in parking lot and by 11 a.m. sun was pretty hot walking back to car Total 2 miles from parking lot which was crowded parked in Dinosaur row 33 Only because they are filling up the empty car slots from early this morn, I guess.
> As I exited I noticed lots of families in line to purchase their park tickets and AK sidewalks are packed. *How can guests buy a ticket at the AK Park and have a park entry pass ? *I think it is very crowded and imagine MK is worse.
> In summary, nobody knows what your experience will be on a daily basis, including Disney apparently.But purchasing tickets at the entry seems like nobody is really counting accurately. So why do they specifically verify at the parking lot toll gate that I have made a daily reservation for park entry ?
> Anyway I am still aggravated with Disney that the Orange Bird was not available.  But not surprised. And still no Tinkerbell in mail .


As long as the park is not at capacity, people will purchase tickets at the gate and secure a reservation at that time.  As of right now, the only park showing capacity for today is DHS.


----------



## wilkydelts

Orion Nebula said:


> Nothing like assuring everyone that A. the weather is nice this time of year and B. the crowds should be manageable due to capacity limits... which is obviously _completely_ false.



What is false, is your claim. Disney has a 35% capacity limit. It just may not be what you WANT it to be.


----------



## mm824

emilymad said:


> I think travelers need to be aware that hopes of truly social distancing isn't a reality right now. Or maybe it is ok for the first hour in the park a day. This may be true of all travel right now. Our plane down was a completely full flight and I have a feeling our flight home will be the same.



This. After the first hour or two it was impossible to stay away from other people. When we were there this past weekend/week there were just too many people for not enough space and places to go. At MCO maybe half the guests in our terminal were wearing masks? On our Magical Express ride back to the airport, there were half a dozen people who took off their masks for the duration of the ride ...




wilkydelts said:


> Just don't get caught up in the negativity and complaints. There is a lot of positive experiences but the negative ones seems to be ones reposted over and over because they want to be "heard". Which is causing many to panic and over react.  I went in October it was outstanding, if beginning of April is even close then it will be fine.




Eh, I think it's useful to hear everyone thoughts. "Complaints" help shape expectations.  There were a lot of positives from our trip and I'm a pretty positive person, but I do think the sudden shift in crowd levels is something to be noted.

IMO, It would be useful for those who are unsure of how they feel about the risk/reward to know ahead of time if this is something you are trying to avoid in some capacity. You cannot control other people, even with the best 'guidelines' in place ...


----------



## DCLMP

Orion Nebula said:


> All these reports are crushing... I will be at the parks this Sunday through Thursday... toss in upper 80s and my regret meter is skyrocketing. We kind of got stuck due to our airfare, but if we weren't so close I might've taken the loss already. Nothing like assuring everyone that A. the weather is nice this time of year and B. the crowds should be manageable due to capacity limits... which is obviously _completely_ false.
> 
> This is going to feel like a typical summer now.


80’s in March will be a lot nicer than 80’s in August...the nights should be amazing.


----------



## Wosmama6

Orion Nebula said:


> All these reports are crushing... I will be at the parks this Sunday through Thursday... toss in upper 80s and my regret meter is skyrocketing. We kind of got stuck due to our airfare, but if we weren't so close I might've taken the loss already. Nothing like assuring everyone that A. the weather is nice this time of year and B. the crowds should be manageable due to capacity limits... which is obviously _completely_ false.
> 
> This is going to feel like a typical summer now.


Same. We arrive on the 4th. I think we will hit rope drop and first 2 hours and then get the heck out of the parks. Check evening wait times for a return, maybe.


----------



## Firestarlife

Anyone's perfectly pleasant experience from October or December or even January has lost its relevance, I'm afraid. We all know things were limited but the crowds were great then. The situation is now clearly changing in respect to the crowd levels and wait times for everything you'd want to do, rides, food, and shopping. I'm really nervous about our upcoming trip in April and that's why I'm watching this thread like a hawk.


----------



## kathi

Orion Nebula said:


> All these reports are crushing... I will be at the parks this Sunday through Thursday... toss in upper 80s and my regret meter is skyrocketing. We kind of got stuck due to our airfare, but if we weren't so close I might've taken the loss already. Nothing like assuring everyone that A. the weather is nice this time of year and B. the crowds should be manageable due to capacity limits... which is obviously _completely_ false.
> 
> This is going to feel like a typical summer now.



Please report back - the pros and the cons!  Good luck and I hope you have a good trip.


----------



## wilkydelts

Firestarlife said:


> Anyone's perfectly pleasant experience from October or December or even January has lost its relevance, I'm afraid. We all know things were limited but the crowds were great then. The situation is now clearly changing in respect to the crowd levels and wait times for everything you'd want to do, rides, food, and shopping. I'm really nervous about our upcoming trip in April and that's why I'm watching this thread like a hawk.



I watch the Touring Plans Line App regularly everyday and except holidays and certain weekends the times have not changed much from October when I went. What you are saying is not true.


----------



## MomOTwins

wilkydelts said:


> I watch the Touring Plans Line App regularly everyday and except holidays and certain weekends the times have not changed much from October when I went. What you are saying is not true.


And a couple of days back a poster stated their personal experience that TP app wait times were half of the actual wait.  Which is why this thread is for here now/just back experiences.


----------



## 2vets

I didn't post when I got back after my early Nov trip (Nov 5-8) and wanted to provide some thoughts now.   About me so you know where my head was during the trip, I don't expect people to shut themselves inside and stop everything (or else we'd not have gone to WDW), but I do expect mask compliance and distancing to the extent it's possible. 

I arrived Wed afternoon and departed Sunday evening, stayed at BLT (the kitchen was wonderful for breakfast and the space was fabulous for relaxation and distance).  Wed night, went to DS, arriving around 5 pm - we were able to walk right into WOD, no line, not very crowded yet, so I highly recommend hitting that early (and probably on a weekday).   By the time we finished dinner (walk-up at Homecomin'), DS was far more crowded, and we noticed a number of people not wearing masks properly.  WOD line wrapped all the way around the building. 

Thurs: Epcot - rope dropped TT and then Soarin (walked on both), it was great for the first few hours, but the food lines got long by about 1 or so - they were still shorter than a normal F&W, IMO.  Rode a bunch of other stuff, including Frozen and Soarin' again - lines did seem very long, but they moved fast.  Headed out at 6. 

Fri - DHS - got BG2, took an Uber to the Speedway nearby and walked over to be in line for rope drop - walked onto MMRR, waited 30 min for SDD, walked on TSMM, and then just dealt with lines for the rest of the day.  Mobile ordered lunch, placed the order at 10:45, I think, scheduled it for 11:45, that went smoothly.  It got stupid crowded around 1-2, so we went back to the hotel, then returned for the holiday-themed Hollywood and Vine dinner - The food was meh IMO, but my niece was absolutely delighted   Departed the park after it closed, which was really neat!

Sat - We sprung for a VIP tour - did 22 rides, all headliners (except ROTR, which isn't part of the deal because of the BG requirement) across all 4 parks.  This was obscenely expensive, but given the pandemic and our limited time at WDW, it was so worth it!!!!  I don't anticipate doing it again, but it was fantastic, and I had no regrets, even when I got my credit card bill.  The parks were ridiculous on Saturday.  Epcot in particular was a madhouse and mask compliance was maybe 90% with some overt violators (no masks at all), our tour guide kept trying to ask others to put masks on, and she got some rude responses - one moronic 20-something actually started cursing at her.  !!! 

Sun - MK, rope-dropped, rode everything we wanted (mine train, splash, space, BTMRR, peter pan, buzz, jungle cruise, pirates) by about 12:30.  Mobile ordered from Pecos Bill, our only time eating counter service inside, and it seemed a little crowded to me.  Just as I was finishing my meal, a guy nearby me sneezed - I looked at my sister and said, "I'm out! Meet you in front!"  From there, we wound our way back to the Emporium (no line) shopped a bit, and took off because things were getting really crowded (maybe 1 pm).  I went back to the resort and read in the Contemporary main concourse until it was time to head to the airport.

Thoughts:  as always, planning is required, but it's a bit different than it was in "the before times."
1) Rope drop - it's a must. 
2) Mobile order - do it early. 
3) Epcot - no on Saturday if you're at all concerned about crowds.  Just no.
4) Heading back to the resort during the mid-day crush is still a great idea, just like before.
5) Shops - go early.
6) Masks/crowds - To the extent this could be controlled (there are a few pinch points, but they are more walk-through/walk past places) I thought things were OK.  The vast majority of people are following Disney guidelines and more on occasion- doing everything they can to care for themselves/their families and others.  One time I was uncomfortable with someone's proximity in line, and I asked her very nicely if she minded giving me more space - she was a sweetheart about it.  Another time, there was a guy in front of us in line that was purposely pulling his mask up only when the CM looked our way - when the CM directed us into the same ride boat, I asked if we could wait for the next one and sort of side-eyed the guest in question - the CM knew exactly what was up and put us in the next boat (the guy and his whole family immediately removed masks once the boat started moving - a great call on our part).  In general, it was ok. I felt like my flights (and the airports) were far worse.


It isn't the same as before, but I was happy with our trip in general!  It was wonderful to feel semi-normal for a few days.


----------



## wilkydelts

MomOTwins said:


> And a couple of days back a poster stated their personal experience that TP app wait times were half of the actual wait.  Which is why this thread is for here now/just back experiences.



Aren't we both arguing a positive?


----------



## Orion Nebula

wilkydelts said:


> What is false, is your claim. Disney has a 35% capacity limit. It just may not be what you WANT it to be.



Of course 35% is "true" (according to Disney) but having the parks booked up only to see people buying tickets at the gate is a bit suspect. Unless I am wrong and you don't have to purchase your tickets _at the time_ of reservation (wife set it up). But that isn't really my point, the point is that the 35% was supposed to lower the crowds enough to allow distancing and make the parks safer. But yet people are practically climbing over each other. So the comment about "35%" was a bit tongue in cheek.




DCLMP said:


> 80’s in March will be a lot nicer than 80’s in August...the nights should be amazing.



I heard that the humidity is much lower this time of year. So I am holding out hope that it isn't so bad, the evenings come on quick at least.  



kathi said:


> Please report back - the pros and the cons!  Good luck and I hope you have a good trip.



I will for sure, I am sure it will be fine its just disappointing seeing so many bad reports lately. Not to mention kind of losing that peace of mind of the lighter crowds. I don't think many people expected it to be this crowded right now when they booked.


----------



## DL1WDW2

Wosmama6 said:


> Is this today?


Yes I just want people to know the Orange Bird is not available yet.
The AP magnet is available when park opens until 4(?) and only M-F


Also Hope guests are careful with the walk in the parking lot on the black tar surface Without the trams in operation.
Will somebody explain to me how this is better than the resort bus system? It was hot and mask sweaty and this is just Feb.


----------



## scrappinginontario

The wait times do not indicate how many people are in the park.  Disney was filling the rides at a lower capacity in the fall.  More capacity now plus same wait times indicates more people in the parks.  At least that's how I'm reading it.


----------



## BigOHawk

wilkydelts said:


> I watch the Touring Plans Line App regularly everyday and except holidays and certain weekends the times have not changed much from October when I went. What you are saying is not true.


Where can I find this? Subscription or free?


----------



## BigOHawk

Also, how does one "enter" the park now? I won't have a magicband, do I just pull up MDE on phone or bring a key card from resort? TIA.


----------



## SarahC97

BigOHawk said:


> Where can I find this? Subscription or free?


The lines app is part of the subscription.


----------



## wilkydelts

There is no doubt there are more people there now. Disney has to open more if we all wanted them to stay open. The constant comments that it isn't 35% are just getting old. I expect there to be more people there the week after Easter when I go. I also know ride capacity has improved so that should keep things better balanced. I just think there is too much subjectivity of what people "WANT" because they did hear about emptiness compared to being objective and understanding what it "WILL" be like and that "WILL" be like is not that bad.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

scrappinginontario said:


> The wait times do not indicate how many people are in the park.  Disney was filling the rides at a lower capacity in the fall.  More capacity now plus same wait times indicates more people in the parks.  At least that's how I'm reading it.


To your point, I believe I recently read a report that they're now filling both rows on Test Track.  Previously it was one party per car, now one party per row.  And looking at the wait times from yesterday, it seems that afternoon wait times at TT were down vs. the week we were there (last week of January).  

How things feel, and what the data shows, can often paint two different pictures of the park right now.  Of course, one or the other might be more important to somebody in making their decision to go, or how to approach the parks - but looking at the wait times right now, it seems like things are quite reasonable for the busiest time of day on a Thursday.


----------



## scrappinginontario

BigOHawk said:


> Also, how does one "enter" the park now? I won't have a magicband, do I just pull up MDE on phone or bring a key card from resort? TIA.


If you don't have a MagicBand you will be given a plastic card.  If you have an old MagicBand that is attached to your account, you can still use that.


----------



## PrincessV

cdh said:


> I’ve been following threads like this one for months and I’m just repeating what others have said.  Those who are there right now are saying that mobile ordering is a pain, food stands are far more limited than in the past, it’s hard to walk through the park without bumping into people, lines are long and the estimates are often inaccurate, and Minnie Vans have been gone for months.  Believe me, I want to be wrong about all of this.   I can’t begin to explain how much I want to go back “home” for a family vacation.


Last week was busy due to a holiday, and I would expect that's overflowed some to this week, as well. I've been on this thread multiple times reporting my experiences during slow times as have others - but you'd need to scroll way back to get those.

So here's the thing: 
Any holiday period is going to be busier and feel more crowded than a non-holiday time.
We are rolling out of one of the slowest seasons and into one of the busier seasons: WDW from Feb through July is busier overall than late Aug, Sept, or Jan.
Weekdays are less busy than weekends. Often by a LOT.
The last couple hours parks are open - particularly on weekdays - are often much less crowded overall.

So when you read about crowds and congestion, you have to also consider the time that reporter was visiting.

Out of a total of 12 days spent in parks over 4 trips since Aug., only twice did I feel some crowding was too much for my risk-averse comfort. And in both cases, I was easily able to avoid it, or move past it quickly. I've not once bumped into anyone other than my family member.

Yes, lines are physically long, because they have to have 6' between parties. Long does not necessarily mean a long time to wait, though. The longest attraction wait time I've had was 30 minutes, and that was only because there was a cleaning cycle. 

I drive, so I can't comment on buses, etc.

I've had no issue whatsoever with mobile ordering.

There are things not open that I wish were, and there are attractions I won't do because I'm not comfortable with them, and I won't eat indoors or use WDW transportation, so it is fair to say I am doing less than I would be outside of a pandemic. But I've visited knowing that ahead of time, and went to WDW with realistic expectations. I really think doing that makes all the difference in the experience!

I hope this is helpful!



DisneyJColeMom said:


> What are the negative experiences with mobile ordering and how can we alleviate it? Is it just a matter of ordering early?


I try to order a little early - an hour or so ahead of when I want to eat. Maybe I eat at off times (12pm for lunch, 5-6pm for dinner), but I haven't had a problem yet.


----------



## scrappinginontario

SouthFayetteFan said:


> To your point, I believe I recently read a report that they're now filling both rows on Test Track.  Previously it was one party per car, now one party per row.  And looking at the wait times from yesterday, it seems that afternoon wait times at TT were down vs. the week we were there (last week of January).
> 
> How things feel, and what the data shows, can often paint two different pictures of the park right now.  Of course, one or the other might be more important to somebody in making their decision to go, or how to approach the parks - but looking at the wait times right now, it seems like things are quite reasonable for the busiest time of day on a Thursday.


Yes, I saw a report and pictures yesterday showing that Test Track is now filling both rows.  Still no single riders though is my understanding.  Please correct me if someone is there now and the single rider line is being used.


----------



## RhodyKP

Has anyone stayed at the Poly DVC studios recently? I'm going to WDW the first week in May and I don't expect the Poly will be much more different then than it is now. AFAIK there's no monorail, no boats running, Ohana is closed, Trader Sam's is closed - it just doesn't seem like a robust Poly experience right now.


----------



## Orion Nebula

wilkydelts said:


> There is no doubt there are more people there now. Disney has to open more if we all wanted them to stay open. The constant comments that it isn't 35% are just getting old. I expect there to be more people there the week after Easter when I go. I also know ride capacity has improved so that should keep things better balanced. I just think there is too much subjectivity of what people "WANT" because they did hear about emptiness compared to being objective and understanding what it "WILL" be like and that "WILL" be like is not that bad.



I think the main point I as well as other try to make about the 35% is that it may be too high given what the crowds have looked like recently. It's not so much crying over it, it's more about being somewhat critical. I know when many people booked they did so "thinking" that the capacity limits would make their trips safer. But that of course was based off other people's _earlier_ pandemic experiences. Which means no one got to see what a _35%_ park looked like until recently. And now that we can clearly see what it looks like at max capacity it causing some people concern. This was obviously due to being short sighted, ignorant, whatever. I am just personally a bit let down as I get in on Saturday, but I am just going to hope for the best.


----------



## BigOHawk

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, I saw a report and pictures yesterday showing that Test Track is now filling both rows.  Still no single riders though is my understanding.  Please correct me if someone is there now and the single rider line is being used.


Yep, this should help lines and ride throughput.


----------



## cdh

PrincessV said:


> Last week was busy due to a holiday, and I would expect that's overflowed some to this week, as well. I've been on this thread multiple times reporting my experiences during slow times as have others - but you'd need to scroll way back to get those.
> 
> So here's the thing:
> Any holiday period is going to be busier and feel more crowded than a non-holiday time.
> We are rolling out of one of the slowest seasons and into one of the busier seasons: WDW from Feb through July is busier overall than late Aug, Sept, or Jan.
> Weekdays are less busy than weekends. Often by a LOT.
> The last couple hours parks are open - particularly on weekdays - are often much less crowded overall.
> 
> So when you read about crowds and congestion, you have to also consider the time that reporter was visiting.
> 
> Out of a total of 12 days spent in parks over 4 trips since Aug., only twice did I feel some crowding was too much for my risk-averse comfort. And in both cases, I was easily able to avoid it, or move past it quickly. I've not once bumped into anyone other than my family member.
> 
> Yes, lines are physically long, because they have to have 6' between parties. Long does not necessarily mean a long time to wait, though. The longest attraction wait time I've had was 30 minutes, and that was only because there was a cleaning cycle.
> 
> I drive, so I can't comment on buses, etc.
> 
> I've had no issue whatsoever with mobile ordering.
> 
> There are things not open that I wish were, and there are attractions I won't do because I'm not comfortable with them, and I won't eat indoors or use WDW transportation, so it is fair to say I am doing less than I would be outside of a pandemic. But I've visited knowing that ahead of time, and went to WDW with realistic expectations. I really think doing that makes all the difference in the experience!
> 
> I hope this is helpful!
> 
> 
> I try to order a little early - an hour or so ahead of when I want to eat. Maybe I eat at off times (12pm for lunch, 5-6pm for dinner), but I haven't had a problem yet.



Thank you for the response.  It is definitely helpful.  One thing that I hadn’t really considered when reading comments was the fact that some people live close to Disney and have annual passes.  I think that those things make it a little easier to tolerate the changes due to the pandemic.  We drive twenty hours to go to Disney and 5 nights with 4 day park hoppers costs us just under $5000.  I’ve never really thought too much about the expense before but this time it seems like a lot given that alot of the reports are negative.  When I read some of the reports I can’t help but think “I can stand in line and be frustrated at Walmart for free.

We live within driving distance of Hershey Park.  Sometimes in the summer we drive to the park, look at the parking lot, and turn around before ever going in.....we just always avoided crowds.  We never mind driving to Hershey and turning around because it doesn‘t cost us anything other than a few hours of our time.

I really appreciate everyone who posts their experience at Disney because it helps others manage their expectations.


----------



## MomOTwins

2vets said:


> Sat - We sprung for a VIP tour - did 22 rides, all headliners (except ROTR, which isn't part of the deal because of the BG requirement) across all 4 parks.  This was obscenely expensive, but given the pandemic and our limited time at WDW, it was so worth it!!!!  I don't anticipate doing it again, but it was fantastic, and I had no regrets, even when I got my credit card bill.  The parks were ridiculous on Saturday.  Epcot in particular was a madhouse and mask compliance was maybe 90% with some overt violators (no masks at all), our tour guide kept trying to ask others to put masks on, and she got some rude responses - one moronic 20-something actually started cursing at her.  !!!


Holy cow, it's absolutely nutso that for what you pay for a VIP tour, they don't include ROTR!


----------



## Gearbm95

When we talk weekday crowds vs weekend crowds, is Friday considered a weekend? Trying to figure out which parks to do on Friday if that seems to be the consensus slower day than a Sunday.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

MomOTwins said:


> Holy cow, it's absolutely nutso that for what you pay for a VIP tour, they don't include ROTR!




I have done ROTR on a VIP tour one time. We all had to have our boarding group already (as in the VIP Tour Folks didn't reserve it for us, we were responsible for securing on our own just like everyone else. 

And because tours are usually planned out for the most "bang" for the bucks you're spending, you have to be able to pivot, change your plans, and arrive at DHS within the hour your boarding group is called.

One of the main reasons ROTR is not included in the VIP tour is that if it goes down, you lose valuable tour time. And, since it goes down often enough, that's too big of a risk.

As much as it seems like a let down, it's really a huge waste of time to try and do ROTR during a tour due to all of this.


----------



## Orion Nebula

PrincessV said:


> Last week was busy due to a holiday, and I would expect that's overflowed some to this week, as well. I've been on this thread multiple times reporting my experiences during slow times as have others - but you'd need to scroll way back to get those.
> 
> So here's the thing:
> Any holiday period is going to be busier and feel more crowded than a non-holiday time.
> We are rolling out of one of the slowest seasons and into one of the busier seasons: WDW from Feb through July is busier overall than late Aug, Sept, or Jan.
> Weekdays are less busy than weekends. Often by a LOT.
> The last couple hours parks are open - particularly on weekdays - are often much less crowded overall.
> 
> So when you read about crowds and congestion, you have to also consider the time that reporter was visiting.
> 
> Out of a total of 12 days spent in parks over 4 trips since Aug., only twice did I feel some crowding was too much for my risk-averse comfort. And in both cases, I was easily able to avoid it, or move past it quickly. I've not once bumped into anyone other than my family member.
> 
> Yes, lines are physically long, because they have to have 6' between parties. Long does not necessarily mean a long time to wait, though. The longest attraction wait time I've had was 30 minutes, and that was only because there was a cleaning cycle.
> 
> I drive, so I can't comment on buses, etc.
> 
> I've had no issue whatsoever with mobile ordering.
> 
> There are things not open that I wish were, and there are attractions I won't do because I'm not comfortable with them, and I won't eat indoors or use WDW transportation, so it is fair to say I am doing less than I would be outside of a pandemic. But I've visited knowing that ahead of time, and went to WDW with realistic expectations. I really think doing that makes all the difference in the experience!
> 
> I hope this is helpful!
> 
> 
> I try to order a little early - an hour or so ahead of when I want to eat. Maybe I eat at off times (12pm for lunch, 5-6pm for dinner), but I haven't had a problem yet.



Thanks for this post. I have not only been worried but also trying to figure out why the past week in particular has been so bad. But it makes sense that there could be an overflow situation going on. Due to Presidents day week having notoriously higher crowds. Here's hoping no one wants to go the next two weeks just prior to spring break. lol


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Gearbm95 said:


> When we talk weekday crowds vs weekend crowds, is Friday considered a weekend? Trying to figure out which parks to do on Friday if that seems to be the consensus slower day than a Sunday.


I would consider Friday a "weekend" day when comparing weekday vs weekend crowds.  I also think crowds can build throughout Friday and are less likely to tail off at the end of the day.

On the "SFF 1-5 scale" of crowds across a week with no holidays or anything special going on:

_1 - Tuesday_​_1 - Wednesday_​​_2/3 - Monday (also dependent on weekend travel patterns and weather)_​_2/3 - Thursday (also dependent on weekend travel patterns and weather)_​​_4 - Fri - and building throughout the day_​_4 - Sun - tailing off later in the day_​​_5 - Sat - steady all day_​
And I should also add that these are absolutely relative to the overall crowd levels for that week.  So for example - a late Feb crowd will be higher than a late Jan crowd overall, etc.


----------



## wilkydelts

Orion Nebula said:


> I think the main point I as well as other try to make about the 35% is that it may be too high given what the crowds have looked like recently. It's not so much crying over it, it's more about being somewhat critical. I know when many people booked they did so "thinking" that the capacity limits would make their trips safer. But that of course was based off other people's _earlier_ pandemic experiences. Which means no one got to see what a _35%_ park looked like until recently. And now that we can clearly see what it looks like at max capacity it causing some people concern. This was obviously due to being short sighted, ignorant, whatever. I am just personally a bit let down as I get in on Saturday, but I am just going to hope for the best.



I respect and understand that. That's where Disney has to do what's best for Disney and a family has to do what's best for their family. That may mean some people won't and should not visit now.


----------



## Orion Nebula

SouthFayetteFan said:


> I would consider Friday a "weekend" day when comparing weekday vs weekend crowds.  I also think crowds can build throughout Friday and are less likely to tail off at the end of the day.
> 
> On the "SFF 1-5 scale" of crowds across a week with no holidays or anything special going on:
> 
> _1 - Tuesday_​_1 - Wednesday_​​_2 - Monday_​​_3 - Thursday_​​_4 - Fri - and building throughout the day_​_4 - Sun - tailing off later in the day_​​_5 - Sat - steady all day_​
> And I should also add that these are absolutely relative to the overall crowd levels for that week.  So for example - a late Feb crowd will be higher than a late Jan crowd overall, etc.



Why are Mondays less crowded than Thursdays?


----------



## 2vets

MomOTwins said:


> Holy cow, it's absolutely nutso that for what you pay for a VIP tour, they don't include ROTR!


Yeah, pretty much. But we did absolutely everything else. I sent them a wish list never thinking we’d do it all, but we did plus extra and double rides. It was fabulous.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Orion Nebula said:


> Why are Mondays less crowded than Thursdays?


Somewhat anecdotal - you could argue that they're roughly the same to be honest.  You could even potentially switch them or call them the same roughly.  Perhaps they should be reversed if I think a little more about travel patterns.

Here's a chart of 2 Mondays and 2 Thursdays at the Magic Kingdom in the weeks leading up to the super bowl - the difference is almost negligible I'd say.

EDIT: Made an update based on the feedback/question - thanks!



Per their TOS, adding that graphs have been done at https://www.thrill-data.com/


----------



## Orion Nebula

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Somewhat anecdotal - you could argue that they're roughly the same to be honest.  You could even potentially switch them or call them the same roughly.  Perhaps they should be reversed if I think a little more about travel patterns.
> 
> Here's a chart of 2 Mondays and 2 Thursdays at the Magic Kingdom in the weeks leading up to the super bowl - the difference is almost negligible I'd say.
> 
> View attachment 558918



Thanks for sharing that!


----------



## Mr. X

RhodyKP said:


> Has anyone stayed at the Poly DVC studios recently? I'm going to WDW the first week in May and I don't expect the Poly will be much more different then than it is now. AFAIK there's no monorail, no boats running, Ohana is closed, Trader Sam's is closed - it just doesn't seem like a robust Poly experience right now.


Boats are running


----------



## Mr. X

So what time should I do a mobile order if we want to eat lunch at noon? Same for dinner?


----------



## BigOHawk

Mr. X said:


> So what time should I do a mobile order if we want to eat lunch at noon? Same for dinner?


I've read people 'order' early in the morning, then wait to click 'I'm here' about 15-20 min prior to arriving for food pickup.


----------



## RunWI1265

Mr. X said:


> So what time should I do a mobile order if we want to eat lunch at noon? Same for dinner?



you can go into the MDE app at any restaurant with mobile ordering and see what times they have available for pick ups. That will give you an idea how busy they are. Also, keep in mind some places close earlier than park close. We tried placing an order for woodys lunchbox a little after 415 but there was no spots left + it closed at 5pm with a 7pm park close.


----------



## dez1978

Since we've been talking about the TP app, is there anyone who has used both TP plans AND the KTP ones?  Have you found one to be better than the other?


----------



## Gearbm95

So are the TP wait times not accurate? There’s been people on here saying crowds are unbearable today, but the wait times on the app don’t look bad at all.


----------



## HokieRaven5

Gearbm95 said:


> So are the TP wait times not accurate? There’s been people on here saying crowds are unbearable today, but the wait times on the app don’t look bad at all.



Wait times on apps like TP are estimations based upon historical data, at individual points in time during a day they can be inaccurate. The morning is probably the hardest to gauge on the apps which has been stated previously in this thread.

Towards the end of the afternoon they tend to be a little more accurate.


----------



## emilymad

An additional comment from my report. We usually travel in early May or August/September time frame. This week the parks felt more crowded then when we usually go. Not saying the the wait times are longer but it feels more crowded.  In some areas the lines are filing both sides of a pathway with not much room to walk in between. It felt at times like “safety theater” just because people were not 6’ in front of you but were to the side of you. Is that truly safer? I am not saying that this is Disney’s intention but it is how it felt. There was just no places for people to go. They need shows and dining to open up.


----------



## cdh

What time would you need to get to the bus stop at the Contemporary to make it to rope drop at HS or AK?  Is there an actual known rope drop time?  The website says HS opens at 9.....what time are people actually getting into the park?  What about AK?


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

I would say that Disney is expecting some large Spring Break crowds beginning the week of March 14-20 (probably to the surprise of nobody here).

*Disney World Adds Nearly 100 More Operating Hours for Spring Break (blogmickey.com)*

For those going then and in the weeks after through 4/10- or even 4/17 (as I'd assume more hours extensions are coming), I would continue to follow the best practices that many of us have outlined in this thread including:

Plan to arrive at the parks an hour before their posted opening - be at the bus stop as much as 90 minutes before posted park opening to ensure you're on the first bus.  Regardless of how busy the mid-day will be, with Disney's current "rope drop" procedure, you can have a very successful first 2 hours IF you are among the first to enter the parks.
For early morning touring, consider limiting your walking.  Chasing "short wait times" by walking back and forth across the park or traversing numerous lands might not be in your best interests.  Make sure you know from recent DPs which rides operate before the park opens - some do not and you don't want to waste precious morning time waiting for a ride to open.
You also might factor in "attraction length" when charting your plan.  Rides like Soarin', Splash Mtn, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, iasw, MFSR, FoP, Safari, all take a longer time to experience.  While they might be good "morning" priorities - they might not be your best first priorities due to how much of the "low crowd" window they eat up.  Alternatively, things like 7DMT, PP, BTMRR, SDD, MMRR, Navi, and EE all have a relatively short overall experience time allowing you to move quickly to your next attraction in those precious morning hours.  Basically, have a plan and balance these factors!
For a better mobile order experience, snag your lunch window early (we ordered as early as 7am while waiting for the bus) and hit "I'm Here" as much as 15-30 minutes before you are actually there.  Eating at off times also might improve your experience.
With extended hours again available, consider the afternoon break to escape the heat and the busiest portion of the day (noon-4pm).  Keep in mind that many extended lines are exposed to the sun and could be uncomfortable as temps in Florida get warmer in the next month.
Wait times might show some relief as it gets later in the day BUT reports coming out of President's Day were that at times the relief never came (i.e. wait times remained "high-ish" all the way until park close).  IF your family can't stay late AND make a next day rope drop, it might be in your best interest to prioritize tomorrow's rope drop.
Saturday is almost guaranteed to be the heaviest crowd level day out of any 7 day span.  Personally, I found Animal Kingdom to be a great Saturday park since we arrived early and were able to hit the 4 major rides (Navi, FoP, EE, Safari) before crowds built.  Magic Kingdom is likely your worst bet on a Saturday.  Epcot has a similar Saturday reputation but with far fewer things to do in Epcot, it seems easier to just hit some things and duck out of there too (similar to AK).


----------



## GDubDIS

For what it's worth, Passover and Easter fall at the same time this year and I know many school districts (at least in the northeast) alternate spring break schedules between these two holidays (ex: time spring break with Easter in 2020 and Passover in 2021). I did some quick scanning of school district calendars in the major public districts (New York, LA, Chicago, Houston, etc.) and almost every single one either had the full week leading up to April 4th off or at least the Thursday and Friday before. I'd imagine that's probably going to be a pretty busy week.

I'm tentatively planning on a few days at WDW the week of the 11th, so selfishly I'm hoping the worst of the crowds will be over by then, but it's definitelypossible a good chunk of folks will be doing extended trips at that point.


----------



## scrappinginontario

cdh said:


> What time would you need to get to the bus stop at the Contemporary to make it to rope drop at HS or AK?  Is there an actual known rope drop time?  The website says HS opens at 9.....what time are people actually getting into the park?  What about AK?


The recommendation many use is to arrive at the transportation stop of your resort 90 mins before park opening.  Transportation won't be running then but it gets you closer to the front of the line once it does start running.


----------



## cdh

scrappinginontario said:


> The recommendation many use is to arrive at the transportation stop of your resort 90 mins before park opening.  Transportation won't be running then but it gets you closer to the front of the line once it does start running.


. Thank you


----------



## Mr. X

scrappinginontario said:


> The recommendation many use is to arrive at the transportation stop of your resort 90 mins before park opening.  Transportation won't be running then but it gets you closer to the front of the line once it does start running.


Assuming it also depends on what resort you’re leaving and what resort you are heading too. If I were going to HS from the Polynesian I think my best bet would be to skip bus and get uber to swan/dolphin?

Also, touring plans is estimating a 5 rating for Epcot the week of 5/16 which has me scratching my head a bit. Other parks are 3.


----------



## RhodyKP

SouthFayetteFan said:


> I would say that Disney is expecting some large Spring Break crowds beginning the week of March 14-20 (probably to the surprise of nobody here).
> 
> *Disney World Adds Nearly 100 More Operating Hours for Spring Break (blogmickey.com)*
> 
> For those going then and in the weeks after through 4/10- or even 4/17 (as I'd assume more hours extensions are coming), I would continue to follow the best practices that many of us have outlined in this thread including:
> 
> Plan to arrive at the parks an hour before their posted opening - be at the bus stop as much as 90 minutes before posted park opening to ensure you're on the first bus.  Regardless of how busy the mid-day will be, with Disney's current "rope drop" procedure, you can have a very successful first 2 hours IF you are among the first to enter the parks.
> For early morning touring, consider limiting your walking.  Chasing "short wait times" by walking back and forth across the park or traversing numerous lands might not be in your best interests.  Make sure you know from recent DPs which rides operate before the park opens - some do not and you don't want to waste precious morning time waiting for a ride to open.
> You also might factor in "attraction length" when charting your plan.  Rides like Soarin', Splash Mtn, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, iasw, MFSR, FoP, Safari, all take a longer time to experience.  While they might be good "morning" priorities - they might not be your best first priorities due to how much of the "low crowd" window they eat up.  Alternatively, things like 7DMT, PP, BTMRR, SDD, MMRR, Navi, and EE all have a relatively short overall experience time allowing you to move quickly to your next attraction in those precious morning hours.  Basically, have a plan and balance these factors!
> For a better mobile order experience, snag your lunch window early (we ordered as early as 7am while waiting for the bus) and hit "I'm Here" as much as 15-30 minutes before you are actually there.  Eating at off times also might improve your experience.
> With extended hours again available, consider the afternoon break to escape the heat and the busiest portion of the day (noon-4pm).  Keep in mind that many extended lines are exposed to the sun and could be uncomfortable as temps in Florida get warmer in the next month.
> Wait times might show some relief as it gets later in the day BUT reports coming out of President's Day were that at times the relief never came (i.e. wait times remained "high-ish" all the way until park close).  IF your family can't stay late AND make a next day rope drop, it might be in your best interest to prioritize tomorrow's rope drop.
> Saturday is almost guaranteed to be the heaviest crowd level day out of any 7 day span.  Personally, I found Animal Kingdom to be a great Saturday park since we arrived early and were able to hit the 4 major rides (Navi, FoP, EE, Safari) before crowds built.  Magic Kingdom is likely your worst bet on a Saturday.  Epcot has a similar Saturday reputation but with far fewer things to do in Epcot, it seems easier to just hit some things and duck out of there too (similar to AK).


This is great advice, thanks! I'm unexpectedly in trip planning mode for a 5/1-5/8 trip so it will be interesting to see what changes between now and then. I thought I had heard that lines for boat rides (Jungle Cruise, Pirates, etc.) are some of the longest and that it makes sense to rope drop those. Your thoughts?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Mr. X said:


> Assuming it also depends on what resort you’re leaving and what resort you are heading too. If I were going to HS from the Polynesian I think my best bet would be to skip bus and get uber to swan/dolphin?
> 
> Also, touring plans is estimating a 5 rating for Epcot the week of 5/16 which has me scratching my head a bit. Other parks are 3.


Taking an Uber is personal choice.  Many people find Disney transportation to work just fine to get them to the parks for park opening.  I've never used a paid transportation to take me to a park but many have.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

RhodyKP said:


> This is great advice, thanks! I'm unexpectedly in trip planning mode for a 5/1-5/8 trip so it will be interesting to see what changes between now and then. I thought I had heard that lines for boat rides (Jungle Cruise, Pirates, etc.) are some of the longest and that it makes sense to rope drop those. Your thoughts?


Note the nuance to that advice... I'm not suggesting you don't rope drop them.  Just that they might not be the best use of your first rope drop slot...  If you're among the first into MK on a 9am open (tapstiles actually open at 8:30) and all goes well and you do 7DMT, PP, BTMRR, Pirates, Jungle Cruise in that order you might get them all done by 10:00.

If you did those same attractions in the exact reverse order, you might not get all of that done until 11am.  By factoring total experience time into your thought process you can pick up little pockets of 3-5 minutes, and that can pay an exponential dividend in terms of time early in the morning.

This advice could also potentially argue Test Track before Soarin' (maybe - I don't have firsthand experience on that one post-COVID), SDD (and all of TSL) before MFSR, and even crazy enough possibly Navi before FoP.


----------



## wilkydelts

HokieRaven5 said:


> Wait times on apps like TP are estimations based upon historical data, at individual points in time during a day they can be inaccurate. The morning is probably the hardest to gauge on the apps which has been stated previously in this thread.
> 
> Towards the end of the afternoon they tend to be a little more accurate.



This is partially true. The TP App relies mainly on crowd sourced data. They ask you to start and end a timer for each line you get into. That is why it is so much more accurate.


----------



## dez1978

SouthFayetteFan said:


> I would say that Disney is expecting some large Spring Break crowds beginning the week of March 14-20 (probably to the surprise of nobody here).
> 
> *Disney World Adds Nearly 100 More Operating Hours for Spring Break (blogmickey.com)*
> 
> For those going then and in the weeks after through 4/10- or even 4/17 (as I'd assume more hours extensions are coming), I would continue to follow the best practices that many of us have outlined in this thread including:
> 
> Plan to arrive at the parks an hour before their posted opening - be at the bus stop as much as 90 minutes before posted park opening to ensure you're on the first bus.  Regardless of how busy the mid-day will be, with Disney's current "rope drop" procedure, you can have a very successful first 2 hours IF you are among the first to enter the parks.
> For early morning touring, consider limiting your walking.  Chasing "short wait times" by walking back and forth across the park or traversing numerous lands might not be in your best interests.  Make sure you know from recent DPs which rides operate before the park opens - some do not and you don't want to waste precious morning time waiting for a ride to open.
> You also might factor in "attraction length" when charting your plan.  Rides like Soarin', Splash Mtn, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, iasw, MFSR, FoP, Safari, all take a longer time to experience.  While they might be good "morning" priorities - they might not be your best first priorities due to how much of the "low crowd" window they eat up.  Alternatively, things like 7DMT, PP, BTMRR, SDD, MMRR, Navi, and EE all have a relatively short overall experience time allowing you to move quickly to your next attraction in those precious morning hours.  Basically, have a plan and balance these factors!
> For a better mobile order experience, snag your lunch window early (we ordered as early as 7am while waiting for the bus) and hit "I'm Here" as much as 15-30 minutes before you are actually there.  Eating at off times also might improve your experience.
> With extended hours again available, consider the afternoon break to escape the heat and the busiest portion of the day (noon-4pm).  Keep in mind that many extended lines are exposed to the sun and could be uncomfortable as temps in Florida get warmer in the next month.
> Wait times might show some relief as it gets later in the day BUT reports coming out of President's Day were that at times the relief never came (i.e. wait times remained "high-ish" all the way until park close).  IF your family can't stay late AND make a next day rope drop, it might be in your best interest to prioritize tomorrow's rope drop.
> Saturday is almost guaranteed to be the heaviest crowd level day out of any 7 day span.  Personally, I found Animal Kingdom to be a great Saturday park since we arrived early and were able to hit the 4 major rides (Navi, FoP, EE, Safari) before crowds built.  Magic Kingdom is likely your worst bet on a Saturday.  Epcot has a similar Saturday reputation but with far fewer things to do in Epcot, it seems easier to just hit some things and duck out of there too (similar to AK).


But I don’t want to be at the bus stop at 630 to get to Mk no one in my part (except me) will want to do that.ugh.
Ok, I’m done whining now. I’ll need to figure out a way to be successful later in the day


----------



## Ash1988

I'm here now. I never post much, but I figured I could let everyone know my experience. I've had a good time, but it's much more crowded than I expected. I will say I'm used to September trips, and crowds for past trips have always been really low. I'll start with the positives. The bus situation has been fine. We've waited in some long lines, but they seem to send way more buses than in the past, so it moves quickly. We loved that there is no standing or crowding like past times. It's so nice to always have a seat. Love the skyliner too. We are staying at pop, and it has been great even when lines are long. The mobile food order has been no problem for us. We have never had to wait long for our food and no problem finding a seat. So much easier than waiting in lines. We do normally eat around eleven though before the busiest times. We have eaten at table services places every night. Nice break from the crowds, and we have had really good food everywhere. Disney has definitely done a good job in lines with keeping people six feet apart. Hand sanitizer is everywhere too and mask compliance seems fine to me. The worst part of the trip has been the crowds. I guess we just didn't research enough. I honestly thought it would be busy but not like this. We have stood in more hour long lines than we ever have. We have done a couple of rope drops or should I say getting there before the park even opens, so if you can do that every day that's your best bet. The first couple of hours you can get a good bit done. If you get there at ten for a nine opening like we did one morning you're going to just have to wait on the main rides all day. Don't get me wrong you can find some twenty or thirty minutes waits. But we have waited close to an hour for tower of terror, avatar, splash mountain, Mickey and Minnie ride etc. Just be prepared for that when you come. We've still had a good time though, so you just need to come in with those expectations. Oh and we did get a boarding group for the new star wars ride. It was awesome so that's a plus too.


----------



## Brittany Fata

Ash1988 said:


> I'm here now. I never post much, but I figured I could let everyone know my experience. I've had a good time, but it's much more crowded than I expected. I will say I'm used to September trips, and crowds for past trips have always been really low. I'll start with the positives. The bus situation has been fine. We've waited in some long lines, but they seem to send way more buses than in the past, so it moves quickly. We loved that there is no standing or crowding like past times. It's so nice to always have a seat. Love the skyliner too. We are staying at pop, and it has been great even when lines are long. The mobile food order has been no problem for us. We have never had to wait long for our food and no problem finding a seat. So much easier than waiting in lines. We do normally eat around eleven though before the busiest times. We have eaten at table services places every night. Nice break from the crowds, and we have had really good food everywhere. Disney has definitely done a good job in lines with keeping people six feet apart. Hand sanitizer is everywhere too and mask compliance seems fine to me. The worst part of the trip has been the crowds. I guess we just didn't research enough. I honestly thought it would be busy but not like this. We have stood in more hour long lines than we ever have. We have done a couple of rope drops or should I say getting there before the park even opens, so if you can do that every day that's your best bet. The first couple of hours you can get a good bit done. If you get there at ten for a nine opening like we did one morning you're going to just have to wait on the main rides all day. Don't get me wrong you can find some twenty or thirty minutes waits. But we have waited close to an hour for tower of terror, avatar, splash mountain, Mickey and Minnie ride etc. Just be prepared for that when you come. We've still had a good time though, so you just need to come in with those expectations. Oh and we did get a boarding group for the new star wars ride. It was awesome so that's a plus too.


Thank you for sharing your experience. I was wondering if you can touch more on the crowds. I know you said the 6 feet distance in lines was good, but what about walking around the park? Did you feel that you were constantly standing in crowds of people and couldn't distance from others on walkways, picking up mobile order, etc? 

Or were the crowds mostly related to the wait times you experienced.


----------



## Kaelorian

mm824 said:


> Eh, I think it's useful to hear everyone thoughts. "Complaints" help shape expectations.  There were a lot of positives from our trip and I'm a pretty positive person, but I do think the sudden shift in crowd levels is something to be noted.
> 
> IMO, It would be useful for those who are unsure of how they feel about the risk/reward to know ahead of time if this is something you are trying to avoid in some capacity. You cannot control other people, even with the best 'guidelines' in place ...



This! I want to hear both the positive and negative. It helps shape a complete picture of what to reasonably expect. I can be grateful for the positive and prepared (mentally and strategically) for the negative. This way I won't go in with unrealistic expectations.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

cdh said:


> That‘s a good point.  I hadn’t really thought about it but Disney and Universal may feel safer than other vacation destinations because masks are required.


It could be the end of a lot of use year points for DVC folks, too


----------



## Ash1988

Brittany Fata said:


> Thank you for sharing your experience. I was wondering if you can touch more on the crowds. I know you said the 6 feet distance in lines was good, but what about walking around the park? Did you feel that you were constantly standing in crowds of people and couldn't distance from others on walkways, picking up mobile order, etc?
> 
> Or were the crowds mostly related to the wait times you experienced.


 You could distance okay, but in certain places, it's been hard to stay six feet from people. Fantasyland around small world and Peter pan was awful one day. Certain places in hollywood studios felt packed. It was hard to avoid all together in my opinion. It's not like we were ever just stuck though. We were able to get out of it fairly quickly, but if you want to completely avoid people, now may not be the time to come. In my experience, people do try to get out of your way, but when there's hundreds of people in an area it's hard to avoid all together. I don't want to sound negative though cause overall it's been okay on distancing but there are times we haven't been able to avoid it.


----------



## Kitty & Covs Covs

SouthFayetteFan said:


> I would say that Disney is expecting some large Spring Break crowds beginning the week of March 14-20 (probably to the surprise of nobody here).
> 
> *Disney World Adds Nearly 100 More Operating Hours for Spring Break (blogmickey.com)*



When a park has an opening time at 8am these days do they really open more like 7:15/7:30?


----------



## Kaelorian

Ash1988 said:


> I'm here now. I never post much, but I figured I could let everyone know my experience. I've had a good time, but it's much more crowded than I expected. I will say I'm used to September trips, and crowds for past trips have always been really low. I'll start with the positives. The bus situation has been fine. We've waited in some long lines, but they seem to send way more buses than in the past, so it moves quickly. We loved that there is no standing or crowding like past times. It's so nice to always have a seat. Love the skyliner too. We are staying at pop, and it has been great even when lines are long. The mobile food order has been no problem for us. We have never had to wait long for our food and no problem finding a seat. So much easier than waiting in lines. We do normally eat around eleven though before the busiest times. We have eaten at table services places every night. Nice break from the crowds, and we have had really good food everywhere. Disney has definitely done a good job in lines with keeping people six feet apart. Hand sanitizer is everywhere too and mask compliance seems fine to me. The worst part of the trip has been the crowds. I guess we just didn't research enough. I honestly thought it would be busy but not like this. We have stood in more hour long lines than we ever have. We have done a couple of rope drops or should I say getting there before the park even opens, so if you can do that every day that's your best bet. The first couple of hours you can get a good bit done. If you get there at ten for a nine opening like we did one morning you're going to just have to wait on the main rides all day. Don't get me wrong you can find some twenty or thirty minutes waits. But we have waited close to an hour for tower of terror, avatar, splash mountain, Mickey and Minnie ride etc. Just be prepared for that when you come. We've still had a good time though, so you just need to come in with those expectations. Oh and we did get a boarding group for the new star wars ride. It was awesome so that's a plus too.



I was wondering on if you could share a bit more on the morning transportation from Pop to make rope drop. 
How has the skyliner and bus situation going? Would it be better to skip the skyliner to make it to rope drop?


----------



## Brittany Fata

Ash1988 said:


> You could distance okay, but in certain places, it's been hard to stay six feet from people. Fantasyland around small world and Peter pan was awful one day. Certain places in hollywood studios felt packed. It was hard to avoid all together in my opinion. It's not like we were ever just stuck though. We were able to get out of it fairly quickly, but if you want to completely avoid people, now may not be the time to come. In my experience, people do try to get out of your way, but when there's hundreds of people in an area it's hard to avoid all together. I don't want to sound negative though cause overall it's been okay on distancing but there are times we haven't been able to avoid it.


Thank you, that’s super helpful. I just don’t want to feel “stuck” in crowds all day, so it’s good to know you can at least get out of the busier parts quickly. I’ll keep watching this board though to see how crowds progress closer to my date.


----------



## Ash1988

Kaelorian said:


> I was wondering on if you could share a bit more on the morning transportation from Pop to make rope drop.
> How has the skyliner and bus situation going? Would it be better to skip the skyliner to make it to rope drop?


 We had no problem with Epcot using the skyliner. We went there on Tuesday, but I honestly can't remember what time we left the hotel. I'm thinking it was after nine for the eleven opening. I do remember that we were in the park by 10:15. They let us on in, and we were on soarin around 1030 with no wait. Epcot was the least crowded day we had though. For hollywood studios, we left the hotel at 745 and barely got there before nine. We should have left earlier really. It just takes a while to do two stations in the mornings. It might actually be easier to drive there. And it would probably be quicker to drive over the buses to animal kingdom too; we just prefer not having to drive, but it would just likely save time if we did.


----------



## MIndy S

Today was our last park day. We were in HS on Sunday and today, MK on Monday, AK on Tuesday, and Epcot yesterday. I will agree with many others on most points, but here are my takeaways:

We loved online check in and mobile ordering. It was excellent to order our food from the opposite end of the park and have it ready when we arrived. We ordered Satuli Canteen from Rafiki's Planet Watch. Clicked "I'm Here" when we arrived, waited 5 minutes, then were able to enter, get the food, and sit right down. Easy Peasy. We also used Mobile Ordering at Ronto Roasters, Docking Bay 7, Aloha Isle, the Milk Stand, and Pecos Bills with no quarrels.

Social distancing in queues, dining areas, and shops was as good as can be expected. Disney really couldn't do any better in those areas. There were some rare moments of discomfort, but always due to non-compliance from someone who thinks the lines on the ground are some kind of clown car challenge.

The crowding throughout the walkways and bathrooms are a whole different story. Social distancing was simply non-existent this week in the main areas of all the parks. It was uncomfortably busy.  Someone here asked if there were moments where it was not possible to keep social distance, and I would say that it is rare to have 6 feet of distance unless you are in a queue, dining location, shop, less traveled route, or a bathroom stall, or if it is within the first hour or two of park open.

Lines were pretty long after the first couple hours in the parks. They did not seem to die down anywhere throughout the day, except maybe Epcot. Epcot was pretty slow yesterday, Wednesday. Even though it was slow, though, we had issues with crowding around test track and in multiple walkways in the WS.

Drivers are at a disadvantage getting to every park. I am wondering if that will be how they implement the 30 minute early entry to resort guests. We were turned away at the gate at Epcot yesterday for being 75 minutes early, and we were turned away at HS today and we were only an hour early. We had to drive in circles for a few minutes and try again later. In Epcot, we still made rope drop, but in HS they didn't even let us drive into the parking lot until after 8:15. 

Despite the uncomfortable crowds and long lines, we still had a great time. We waited in many more lines this trip than we did in our past trips with FP+, but we still rode everything we wanted to. It was not the experience we were hoping for, but still enjoyable and magical.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Kaelorian said:


> I was wondering on if you could share a bit more on the morning transportation from Pop to make rope drop.
> How has the skyliner and bus situation going? Would it be better to skip the skyliner to make it to rope drop?


If you go to the Pop thread on the Resorts board I just wrote details about transportation as the same question was asked there.


----------



## DMLAINI

How are the bathrooms?   Long lines?   Do people try to social distance?   Are they clean?


----------



## MIndy S

DMLAINI said:


> How are the bathrooms?   Long lines?   Do people try to social distance?   Are they clean?



No lines, clean and stocked, social distancing is hit or miss. There was commonly some crowding at the entrance and exit.


----------



## Leigh L

PrincessV said:


> My experiences so far have been 3 days in late Aug (least busy), 3 days in late Oct (2nd-most busy), 3 days in early Dec (most busy), and 3 days in late Jan (2nd least busy) - all weekdays, with the exception of one Sunday at EP in Jan... never once was I stuck in a situation that was so crowded I couldn't be 6' from other people for more than 30 seconds, tops. I simply won't visit during the most crowded holiday periods, and *I'm not doing weekends, which helps a LOT to avoid crowds.*


I think that's the key and I'd totally echo this.
We've done August (least busy), early November (still not bad but busier - we avoided weekends), mid-January (still not bad but busier than August and I think we did 1 Saturday but the rest weekdays).

We're here now and mostly staying offsite school/work We did last Thursday and Sunday (President's week) and planned 2 days this week (today and tomorrow is the 2nd day). This was kind of a spur-of-the-moment trip and park days were added as an afterthought. 

Expected Thursday and Sunday of President's week to be busy, but I did not expect DHS to be as busy as it was with wait times today. Although, we did still do the entire park (except Disney Jr, Muppets, and Cars - and we were there open to close) and a couple of rides 2x. But it was busy. We didn't feel unsafe but it definitely is a change now that we didn't see before with wait times.  I saw one guy actively defy a CM tell him to put his mask on and stop eating while walking. He yes'd him and then walked away continuing. I saw that CM get another CM and we decided not to get on the ride they were going because we would have been right behind him. Other than that, people were mostly great about masking up and staying stationary.

MK tomorrow and our last day. Be interesting to see how it compares to President's week.


----------



## Leigh L

dupe post sorry!


----------



## Leigh L

cdh said:


> I don’t know if I’m allowed to ask this question here but.....is Universal more manageable than Disney right now?  I’ve never been and haven’t really ever wanted to go but express passes, more dining options, etc are making me consider going to Universal instead of Disney.


If you decide to do that, go during the week, avoid weekends. That was true even back in August in our experience. We still had 2 days left on our tickets and jumped over in January on a Sunday. We left after a couple of hours as we were not comfortable. 



wilkydelts said:


> I guess I am confused, if you are not there right now how is the above true. It seems like speculation. If you are just going off wait times MDE has not be accurate for a long time. Touring Plans Line App has made it seem very nice there lately. In fact right now at MK everything is listed under 40 minutes except 7DMT on TP App. I have seen very little worry about crowds and spacing outside of the crazy holiday times and certain weekends.


It's definitely busier right now. MK was also extended from closing at 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow which threw me off because they must expect it to be busy. 

TP is great, but we've found their morning times to be drastically off last week (I noticed you posted at 10 a.m., TP was probably off TBH) and this week for the 3 days we've been to a park.  Their Slinky time was way off at 2 p.m. last Thursday, everything else was pretty spot on.


----------



## JoanneAZ

For bus transportation how early does the first bus run? Is it 45 minutes before official park opening or from “early entry” ?


----------



## MomOTwins

JoanneAZ said:


> For bus transportation how early does the first bus run? Is it 45 minutes before official park opening or from “early entry” ?


We really need a sticky on this since it gets asked virtually every 10 posts on this thread.  You can read back and you’ll see, but buses run 60-75 mins before park open.  There is no early access—that is starting later this year.


----------



## maciemouse

We just returned from our trip.  We were in the parks Saturday and Sunday.  I have been to DW four times since they reopened in July.  Yes, this was the busiest it has been in all of my trips.  All parks were sold out for the day.  Boat captain told us leaving Wilderness lodge on our way to MK that it is indeed only open 35% but that is 35% of New Year’s Eve level crowds.  He said that MK can hold 40,000 people at 35%.  We did not do rope drop.  On Saturday at MK we did wait 80 minutes for 7 dwarfs, 50 for space mountain, 45 for thunder mountain, and 60 for splash. Everything else was less.  That evening was much better.  Splash and Thunder were walk ons and space was 20.  I don’t know about 7 dwarfs.  On Sunday we went to AK.  It was also at capacity.  Expedition was 35, 50 for dinosaur, 35 for safari, and 60 for flight of passage.

For the good news....we had a wonderful time!  The weather was great and food was good.  We did wait slightly more this trip in lines but nothing Crazy (besides 7 dwarfs).  I would do again in a heartbeat!  Lines look a lot longer than they are because of distancing.  Mask compliance was great both days.  Characters were out.  Also ate a fantastic supper at chef art’s homecomin.  We got donuts from Everglazed as well.

The only thing that bothered me was when one family member waited in line and then the rest of the family joined in right when they were close to getting on the ride.  They are walking past sooo many people in a tight area.  I am surprised Disney allows this.  This happened on 7 dwarfs.  I had already waited a good 50 minutes and I was finally getting into the actual que.  I looked up and 4 adults jumped in front of me right where the cast member stands to let you into the que.  I told them that the line started 50 minutes back and they said they were catching up to their family.  The cast member let them in.  I watched them squeeze past everyone in line.  They were already coming off the ride by the time I was even inside the building.  They waved at me as they left.   Something similar happened on space as well.


----------



## JoanneAZ

MomOTwins said:


> We really need a sticky on this since it gets asked virtually every 10 posts on this thread.  You can read back and you’ll see, but buses run 60-75 mins before park open.  There is no early access—that is starting later this year.



Thank you and I agree, a sticky would be very helpful.


----------



## scrappinginontario

JoanneAZ said:


> For bus transportation how early does the first bus run? Is it 45 minutes before official park opening or from “early entry” ?


Although buses start running approx 45-60 mins before park opening it’s recommended you arrive at the bus stop approx 90 mins before park opening as by the time buses start running, lines are very long.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Wosmama6 said:


> Same. We arrive on the 4th. I think we will hit rope drop and first 2 hours and then get the heck out of the parks. Check evening wait times for a return, maybe.


We decided to bump up our April trip in the hopes that we would catch a slow period. I'm so bummed to read all these reports. We arrive a few days after you on the 7th. 



HokieRaven5 said:


> Wait times on apps like TP are estimations based upon historical data, at individual points in time during a day they can be inaccurate. The morning is probably the hardest to gauge on the apps which has been stated previously in this thread.


Wish I'd known this before I joined TP a couple days ago for the line estimates  I thought they were supposed to be better than the Disney App? Maybe both are bad, LOL.  



wilkydelts said:


> This is partially true. The TP App relies mainly on crowd sourced data. They ask you to start and end a timer for each line you get into. That is why it is so much more accurate.


Ah, okay. Hope it's more accurate!


----------



## BigOHawk

I wish they would add back into MDE 'MK bus/Epcot bus arriving' in x amount of minutes or turn on the screens at the bus stop so you knew roundabout when the next one was coming.


----------



## MrsBueno

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> We decided to bump up our April trip in the hopes that we would catch a slow period. I'm so bummed to read all these reports. We arrive a few days after you on the 7th.
> 
> 
> Wish I'd known this before I joined TP a couple days ago for the line estimates  I thought they were supposed to be better than the Disney App? Maybe both are bad, LOL.
> 
> 
> Ah, okay. Hope it's more accurate!


For what it’s worth we found them more accurate than Disney today but not perfect.  No complaints but I’d use TP more as a guide to what might be overstated.  Still really useful imho.


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

MrsBueno said:


> For what it’s worth we found them more accurate than Disney today but not perfect.  No complaints but I’d use TP more as a guide to what might be overstated.  Still really useful imho.


Awesome, thank you! I don't feel so bad now, LOL. The only reason I did that subscription was for the wait times!


----------



## HokieRaven5

Yeah I wasn't trying to be in any way disparaging of the Lines app. I use that more often than MDE to get a gauge of wait times as I find them to be more accurate too.


----------



## brockash

maciemouse said:


> We just returned from our trip.  We were in the parks Saturday and Sunday.  I have been to DW four times since they reopened in July.  Yes, this was the busiest it has been in all of my trips.  All parks were sold out for the day.  Boat captain told us leaving Wilderness lodge on our way to MK that it is indeed only open 35% but that is 35% of New Year’s Eve level crowds.  He said that MK can hold 40,000 people at 35%.  We did not do rope drop.  On Saturday at MK we did wait 80 minutes for 7 dwarfs, 50 for space mountain, 45 for thunder mountain, and 60 for splash. Everything else was less.  That evening was much better.  Splash and Thunder were walk ons and space was 20.  I don’t know about 7 dwarfs.  On Sunday we went to AK.  It was also at capacity.  Expedition was 35, 50 for dinosaur, 35 for safari, and 60 for flight of passage.
> 
> For the good news....we had a wonderful time!  The weather was great and food was good.  We did wait slightly more this trip in lines but nothing Crazy (besides 7 dwarfs).  I would do again in a heartbeat!  Lines look a lot longer than they are because of distancing.  Mask compliance was great both days.  Characters were out.  Also ate a fantastic supper at chef art’s homecomin.  We got donuts from Everglazed as well.
> 
> The only thing that bothered me was when one family member waited in line and then the rest of the family joined in right when they were close to getting on the ride.  They are walking past sooo many people in a tight area.  I am surprised Disney allows this.  This happened on 7 dwarfs.  I had already waited a good 50 minutes and I was finally getting into the actual que.  I looked up and 4 adults jumped in front of me right where the cast member stands to let you into the que.  I told them that the line started 50 minutes back and they said they were catching up to their family.  The cast member let them in.  I watched them squeeze past everyone in line.  They were already coming off the ride by the time I was even inside the building.  They waved at me as they left.   Something similar happened on space as well.


Thanks for the report.  I will say when we were there in Oct. my sister and I often sent the kids (ones a teenager and the other 2 are young elementary age) to go sit in the shade somewhere near the front/towards the actual que and then we would wait the 30 mins. in the hot blazing sun, because it was just really rough and unpleasant.  Lines in general were so much worse than we'd ever experienced before and then adding to that they're out in the beating down sun and it was just miserable.  I had never really thought anyone would feel it was unsafe/be annoyed having them join towards the actual que (it wasn't after we were alreadyin the main que though and it looks like you experienced something a little differen,) but it definitely helped us be able to stay in the parks for a reasonable amount of time, because we wouldn't have lasted long otherwise.


----------



## Leigh L

CaliforniaGirl09 said:


> We decided to bump up our April trip in the hopes that we would catch a slow period. I'm so bummed to read all these reports. We arrive a few days after you on the 7th.
> 
> Wish I'd known this before I joined TP a couple days ago for the line estimates  I thought they were supposed to be better than the Disney App? Maybe both are bad, LOL.
> 
> Ah, okay. Hope it's more accurate!


We joined TP this year for the first time also. So far, liking the Lines app. While we've found the morning times are not accurate, my DD noticed at least on one day few people were submitting wait times in the mornings. In the afternoon/evening we're finding more accuracy than MDE. 

(We're trying to be better about remembering to start the timer so more actual wait times are submitted)


----------



## emmabelle

Here now and we’re supposed to go to MK this morning but thinking maybe we should just go to AK.  Not a fan of huge crowds and with MK open until 10pm that might bring everyone in.  I feel as though the crowds have been pretty big all week but we come so often that we don’t need to do everything.  The first hour and last hour are the best for getting things in.  We got TOT, RNRC, TSM and Smugglers done yesterday by 9:50am.  We left after that.  Lol


----------



## scrappinginontario

I’m guessing the lines app in the morning is less accurate because a lot of their data is based on guests entering real-time data and as many have pointed out here, that changes greatly in the morning as the crowds grow. I read here almost daily that someone at park opening has a low wait and by the time they exit the ride the line is exponentially longer.  Based on that, the first times are accurate for them but not for those arriving 15 or 30 mins later.  It takes a bit for the waits to be accurate in the morning as they’re changing at such a fast rate.  I think a lot has to do with how TP is weighting the historical data vs the real time data being submitted that day.


----------



## Leigh L

Our experience so far driving in 

MK toll booths open 8 am,  we've lined up 7:30ish on Sunday and today at 7:45.

DHS yesterday let cars line up just before 8 (like 2 to 4 minutes or had to circle) but the booth itself didn't open until 8:15


----------



## Jen75

Wosmama6 said:


> we are SO hoping AK is like this during our trip. we have time planned there on 3/5 and at night on 3/6 since it's open til 8, and if the other parks are crazy we may just end up at AK most evenings. My son rode EE 7x last trip and still talks about it.


 My hub and  8yr old daughter rode a total of 14 times.  I tapped out at 3.  Because he wasn’t tall enough to ride it on our last trip this ride had been hyped up a lot by his sister before we got here.   My 6yr old son is my nervous one to start with and then he and I ended up in the first row.  When we got to the broken track he just started shaking and when we got off he started crying hysterically.  It was quite the scene.  Throw in big sis telling him it was awesome and be a big boy and get back on I was happy to split up for a while.  Lol


----------



## Wosmama6

Jen75 said:


> My hub and  8yr old daughter rode a total of 14 times.  I tapped out at 3.  Because he wasn’t tall enough to ride it on our last trip this ride had been hyped up a lot by his sister before we got here.   My 6yr old son is my nervous one to start with and then he and I ended up in the first row.  When we got to the broken track he just started shaking and when we got off he started crying hysterically.  It was quite the scene.  Throw in big sis telling him it was awesome and be a big boy and get back on I was happy to split up for a while.  Lol


I tricked my younger brother into riding a roller coaster in Vegas when he was 6. He was mad at the moment but has been a huge fan ever since. I still feel guilty about it though lol


----------



## Orion Nebula

maciemouse said:


> We just returned from our trip.  We were in the parks Saturday and Sunday.  I have been to DW four times since they reopened in July.  Yes, this was the busiest it has been in all of my trips.  All parks were sold out for the day.  Boat captain told us leaving Wilderness lodge on our way to MK that it is indeed only open 35% but that is 35% of New Year’s Eve level crowds.  He said that MK can hold 40,000 people at 35%.  We did not do rope drop.  On Saturday at MK we did wait 80 minutes for 7 dwarfs, 50 for space mountain, 45 for thunder mountain, and 60 for splash. Everything else was less.  That evening was much better.  Splash and Thunder were walk ons and space was 20.  I don’t know about 7 dwarfs.  On Sunday we went to AK.  It was also at capacity.  Expedition was 35, 50 for dinosaur, 35 for safari, and 60 for flight of passage.
> 
> For the good news....we had a wonderful time!  The weather was great and food was good.  We did wait slightly more this trip in lines but nothing Crazy (besides 7 dwarfs).  I would do again in a heartbeat!  Lines look a lot longer than they are because of distancing.  Mask compliance was great both days.  Characters were out.  Also ate a fantastic supper at chef art’s homecomin.  We got donuts from Everglazed as well.
> 
> The only thing that bothered me was when one family member waited in line and then the rest of the family joined in right when they were close to getting on the ride.  They are walking past sooo many people in a tight area.  I am surprised Disney allows this.  This happened on 7 dwarfs.  I had already waited a good 50 minutes and I was finally getting into the actual que.  I looked up and 4 adults jumped in front of me right where the cast member stands to let you into the que.  I told them that the line started 50 minutes back and they said they were catching up to their family.  The cast member let them in.  I watched them squeeze past everyone in line.  They were already coming off the ride by the time I was even inside the building.  They waved at me as they left.   Something similar happened on space as well.



Is it possible to know when the parks sell out of reservations ahead of time? Such as a few days earlier? Obviously you can't do anything about it, but it would be interesting to see. 

Ya that "hold the line" crap gets old and is ALWAYS an issue. Standing in line for so long in the sun while roasting only to see a bunch people push through makes my BP go up. 

"excuse me... excuse me..." ugh

Glad you still had a great trip!


----------



## KSL

Hey all I'm still catching up a few pages but haven't seen much discussed here about pre-pandemic Single Rider lines.  Can anyone who has been recently comment on whether or not they are open?  I am thinking about Test Track, Rockin' Rollercoaster, and Expedition Everest (are there others!?).  Thanks!


----------



## SarahC97

KSL said:


> Hey all I'm still catching up a few pages but haven't seen much discussed here about pre-pandemic Single Rider lines.  Can anyone who has been recently comment on whether or not they are open?  I am thinking about Test Track, Rockin' Rollercoaster, and Expedition Everest (are there others!?).  Thanks!


They are not open. They're using the space from single-rider lines for the extended queues required for physical distancing.


----------



## KSL

SarahC97 said:


> They are not open. They're using the space from single-rider lines for the extended queues required for physical distancing.


Ahhh, ok.  Thank you!


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

MIndy S said:


> Today was our last park day. We were in HS on Sunday and today, MK on Monday, AK on Tuesday, and Epcot yesterday. I will agree with many others on most points, but here are my takeaways:
> 
> We loved online check in and mobile ordering. It was excellent to order our food from the opposite end of the park and have it ready when we arrived. We ordered Satuli Canteen from Rafiki's Planet Watch. Clicked "I'm Here" when we arrived, waited 5 minutes, then were able to enter, get the food, and sit right down. Easy Peasy. We also used Mobile Ordering at Ronto Roasters, Docking Bay 7, Aloha Isle, the Milk Stand, and Pecos Bills with no quarrels.
> 
> Social distancing in queues, dining areas, and shops was as good as can be expected. Disney really couldn't do any better in those areas. There were some rare moments of discomfort, but always due to non-compliance from someone who thinks the lines on the ground are some kind of clown car challenge.
> 
> The crowding throughout the walkways and bathrooms are a whole different story. Social distancing was simply non-existent this week in the main areas of all the parks. It was uncomfortably busy.  Someone here asked if there were moments where it was not possible to keep social distance, and I would say that it is rare to have 6 feet of distance unless you are in a queue, dining location, shop, less traveled route, or a bathroom stall, or if it is within the first hour or two of park open.
> 
> Lines were pretty long after the first couple hours in the parks. They did not seem to die down anywhere throughout the day, except maybe Epcot. Epcot was pretty slow yesterday, Wednesday. Even though it was slow, though, we had issues with crowding around test track and in multiple walkways in the WS.
> 
> Drivers are at a disadvantage getting to every park. I am wondering if that will be how they implement the 30 minute early entry to resort guests. We were turned away at the gate at Epcot yesterday for being 75 minutes early, and we were turned away at HS today and we were only an hour early. We had to drive in circles for a few minutes and try again later. In Epcot, we still made rope drop, but in HS they didn't even let us drive into the parking lot until after 8:15.
> 
> Despite the uncomfortable crowds and long lines, we still had a great time. We waited in many more lines this trip than we did in our past trips with FP+, but we still rode everything we wanted to. It was not the experience we were hoping for, but still enjoyable and magical.





maciemouse said:


> We just returned from our trip.  We were in the parks Saturday and Sunday.  I have been to DW four times since they reopened in July.  Yes, this was the busiest it has been in all of my trips.  All parks were sold out for the day.  Boat captain told us leaving Wilderness lodge on our way to MK that it is indeed only open 35% but that is 35% of New Year’s Eve level crowds.  He said that MK can hold 40,000 people at 35%.  We did not do rope drop.  On Saturday at MK we did wait 80 minutes for 7 dwarfs, 50 for space mountain, 45 for thunder mountain, and 60 for splash. Everything else was less.  That evening was much better.  Splash and Thunder were walk ons and space was 20.  I don’t know about 7 dwarfs.  On Sunday we went to AK.  It was also at capacity.  Expedition was 35, 50 for dinosaur, 35 for safari, and 60 for flight of passage.
> 
> For the good news....we had a wonderful time!  The weather was great and food was good.  We did wait slightly more this trip in lines but nothing Crazy (besides 7 dwarfs).  I would do again in a heartbeat!  Lines look a lot longer than they are because of distancing.  Mask compliance was great both days.  Characters were out.  Also ate a fantastic supper at chef art’s homecomin.  We got donuts from Everglazed as well.
> 
> The only thing that bothered me was when one family member waited in line and then the rest of the family joined in right when they were close to getting on the ride.  They are walking past sooo many people in a tight area.  I am surprised Disney allows this.  This happened on 7 dwarfs.  I had already waited a good 50 minutes and I was finally getting into the actual que.  I looked up and 4 adults jumped in front of me right where the cast member stands to let you into the que.  I told them that the line started 50 minutes back and they said they were catching up to their family.  The cast member let them in.  I watched them squeeze past everyone in line.  They were already coming off the ride by the time I was even inside the building.  They waved at me as they left.   Something similar happened on space as well.



Thanks, Mindy S and maciemouse, for your reports!  I am so happy to see both of you say that you had a great time, even with the challenges.  We are heading down tomorrow morning and your positivity has boosted my packing day so thank you!!!


----------



## SarahC97

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Thanks, Mindy S and maciemouse, for your reports!  I am so happy to see both of you say that you had a great time, even with the challenges.  We are heading down tomorrow morning and your positivity has boosted my packing day so thank you!!!


You know, when it comes down to it, you're at DISNEY! Of course you'll have a good time! Can't wait to hear about your trip.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

SarahC97 said:


> You know, when it comes down to it, you're at DISNEY! Of course you'll have a good time! Can't wait to hear about your trip.



We went to Tampa for Thanksgiving weekend but flew into MCO and spent Thanksgiving afternoon at DS and had dinner at Homecomin'.  I never thought being at DS could be so magical!  That tiny little taste of Disney was a.maz.ing.  My DS15 has talked about it repeatedly since then....how cool it was just to BE THERE.  So this trip is (or was until last night) a surprise for DS15 and DS13.  We talked last night about crowds and long lines and waits they aren't used to and they absolutely care not.  And the funniest part is that they both said "Mom, you're gonna cry aren't you?" and then added that they might too!  And that, my friends, is why I will pay whatever Disney asks of me for as long as those two boys want to continue to go with his old fogey parents.  They go, they soak it all in, and they are KIDS, not surly, hard to please teenagers, for a few days.  Nothing else like it!  

I'll try to report as we go!!  Thanks to everyone for the reports and advice.  So helpful as always!


----------



## gatorlisa

KSL said:


> Hey all I'm still catching up a few pages but haven't seen much discussed here about pre-pandemic Single Rider lines.  Can anyone who has been recently comment on whether or not they are open?  I am thinking about Test Track, Rockin' Rollercoaster, and Expedition Everest (are there others!?).  Thanks!


Single rider lines were used to fill in empty spaces, which puts people from different parties right next to each other. While they have increased capacity of some rides, no longer leaving empty rows, they are still not putting people from different parties right next to each other with no spacing. I would not expect single rider to return until there is no longer a need for social distancing and keeping parties separate.


----------



## emmabelle

Ended up going to MK and of course the lines were long.  We caught the bus from BCV at 7:56am.  We were in the park by 8:25am.  Line just to turn styles was long.  We went to Thunder first and waited until 8:45am for them to open.  When we got off we went to Pirates since we hadn’t done it.  Ran into a family who apparently doesn’t think mask compliance is for them.  They were going to put us on the same boat and I said I wouldn’t ride with them because they haven’t worn masks through the whole line.  The CM said okay I’ll put you on the next boat.  The people behind us said they didn’t want to ride with them either. Lol

From there everything was long so we went to lLittle Mermaid and Dumbo and then got nachos and dole whips and called it a day.  Pool time!


----------



## 2vets

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> I have done ROTR on a VIP tour one time. We all had to have our boarding group already (as in the VIP Tour Folks didn't reserve it for us, we were responsible for securing on our own just like everyone else.
> 
> And because tours are usually planned out for the most "bang" for the bucks you're spending, you have to be able to pivot, change your plans, and arrive at DHS within the hour your boarding group is called.
> 
> One of the main reasons ROTR is not included in the VIP tour is that if it goes down, you lose valuable tour time. And, since it goes down often enough, that's too big of a risk.
> 
> As much as it seems like a let down, it's really a huge waste of time to try and do ROTR during a tour due to all of this.


I agree 100%.  We didn't want to tie ourselves to DHS.  Better to do ROTR on a non-VIP day.  If they allowed VIP tour groups to do it without a BG, then it would make sense, but I don't see that happening soon!


----------



## 2vets

Any thoughts about why things are so crazy now?  President's Day is over, and Spring Break isn't for another couple of weeks.  What gives? Are people trying to take advantage of work/school flexibility anticipating that things will soon go back to normal (normal-ish, I should say)?


----------



## scrappinginontario

2vets said:


> Any thoughts about why things are so crazy now?  President's Day is over, and Spring Break isn't for another couple of weeks.  What gives? Are people trying to take advantage of work/school flexibility anticipating that things will soon go back to normal (normal-ish, I should say)?


People are in the mood to travel and Disney is a place where people feel safer travelling to = more people.


----------



## Wosmama6

2vets said:


> Any thoughts about why things are so crazy now?  President's Day is over, and Spring Break isn't for another couple of weeks.  What gives? Are people trying to take advantage of work/school flexibility anticipating that things will soon go back to normal (normal-ish, I should say)?


this is what i'm wondering. it's making me not feel great about our upcoming dates, which are supposed to be before the big spring break rush... we booked March 4-10 because we at least thought it would be better than the week of the 13th. Oh well


----------



## 2vets

Wosmama6 said:


> this is what i'm wondering. it's making me not feel great about our upcoming dates, which are supposed to be before the big spring break rush... we booked March 4-10 because we at least thought it would be better than the week of the 13th. Oh well


I hear ya!  We researched spring breaks and end of year dates for schools/colleges and selected 4/21-25, which should be in between.  I anticipate a lot of rope drop/back to the hotel to hang by the pool with these reports....

@scrappinginontario, I suspect you're right....  It seems safer (with the irony being obvious in all these reports),  After all, we're all going, amirite?


----------



## Orion Nebula

2vets said:


> I hear ya!  We researched spring breaks and end of year dates for schools/colleges and selected 4/21-25, which should be in between.  I anticipate a lot of rope drop/back to the hotel to hang by the pool with these reports....
> 
> @scrappinginontario, I suspect you're right....  It seems safer (with the irony being obvious in all these repoerts),  After all, we're all going, amirite?



Ya by the looks of the March thread there are a lot of us going.   What a crazy time, I would've never thought back when we re-booked that things would be like they are now. Especially this past week...


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

Leigh L said:


> We joined TP this year for the first time also. So far, liking the Lines app. While we've found the morning times are not accurate, my DD noticed at least on one day few people were submitting wait times in the mornings. In the afternoon/evening we're finding more accuracy than MDE.
> 
> (We're trying to be better about remembering to start the timer so more actual wait times are submitted)


Ah, makes sense. Thanks! 



Wosmama6 said:


> this is what i'm wondering. it's making me not feel great about our upcoming dates, which are supposed to be before the big spring break rush... we booked March 4-10 because we at least thought it would be better than the week of the 13th. Oh well


Right there with you! I moved out dates to March 7-12 to get ahead of the crowds. Looking like a mistake now, but I guess we'll just try to make the best of it.


----------



## wilkydelts

The vast majority of the time if the line is outside the main queue area my kids and wife never wait with me. It is more difficult to ensure social distancing and keep them contained with no formal barriers out there. They always join me as we get close to the main entrance. I see no problem with this. I always inform the people behind me as a curtesy. With most rides being separated for space anyways it doesn’t change peoples wait time.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

2vets said:


> Any thoughts about why things are so crazy now?  President's Day is over, and Spring Break isn't for another couple of weeks.  What gives? Are people trying to take advantage of work/school flexibility anticipating that things will soon go back to normal (normal-ish, I should say)?


I'd say things are pretty much what we'd expect - some Magic Kingdom wait time stats courtesy of thrill-data.com:

*LAST FRIDAY IN FEBRUARY 2021 vs*:
_LAST FRIDAY IN JANUARY 2021: *+46.0%*_
_LAST FRIDAY IN FEBRUARY 2020: *-23.6%*_

*LAST FRIDAY IN FEBRUARY 2020 vs*:
_LAST FRIDAY IN JANUARY 2020: *+48.8%*_

*LAST FRIDAY IN JANUARY 2021 vs*:
_LAST FRIDAY IN JANUARY 2020: *-23.2%*_

So we see that on both the last Friday in Jan and last Friday in February of this year, wait times are down 23% vs. the prior year - this is probably due to a combination of no FP+ (which helps standby lines move faster) plus reduced ride capacity due to social distancing (which hurts some standby lines).

And we see that the last Friday in February wait times increased by 48.8% last year over the last Friday in January last year and so far today they are up 46.0% over the same Friday this year. 

Of course this data could change as the day goes along - they only have about 4 hours of data so far - but I think we are often confusing "FEELS LIKE" with the actual data.  I have a friend there this week who was also there back in late January for a week+ (the same week we were there) and they said it's slightly busier FWIW.  And it probably should be slightly busier because crowd levels the last week of February historically are about 20% higher than the last week of January.


----------



## winterwhite

We are here and just left HS for today.

from end to end it has not been a very magical trip. This morning at HS we were very aggressively approached by a parking attendant who actually yelled at us to the degree that I was apologizing to him and saying “okay, okay!” but he did not relent. If I hadn’t been in the car I would have been really uncomfortable. I didn’t get his name, but it was the one and only time I’ve entered a park and been looking for a manager or someone to talk to.

overall it’s been crowded, and it’s just very difficult to navigate. It’s impossible to tel who is in line for something versus just standing around, lines cross each other (eg smugglers run crosses the entrance to Oga’s and you have to push through the line to get to check in).

I think because people have fewer plans in general and there is very little you can do “on the fly” there is a lot more aimless wandering and groups stopping dead in the middle of a walkway to look at their phones, and there’s little room to go around them, so on the whole it is more difficult to navigate. Similarly, if you do manage to locate the end of a line, you can’t really just decide to pop in and get something to eat or grab a beer and walk around, since everything is packed full and you aren’t permitted to eat and walk anymore.

I mobile ordered at Aloha Isle and got absolutely steamrolled by an elderly couple who basically ran me down to get in front of me at pickup. Then had to stay in that crowded area because as soon as I moved to cut back over towards Frontierland I got accosted by a cast member who said I must be stationary to eat, even though I wasn’t eating anything and my mask was on.

overall - it’s been pretty upsetting and I’m not very hot to come back. We are passholders and if this continues through this year, I won’t be renewing.

that said I prefer the no-fast pass situation and would prefer virtual queues like ROTR or no fast pass at all. Everything else is moving relatively quickly and we are able to ride things that are usually a hot mess like Soarin’ and FEA without issue. I’d like to see this system of show up and wait your turn to stay, because fastpass apparently slows things down beyond significantly.


Disney needs to reopen more things and allow you to walk around with your $12 beer or it’s a no from us from here on out.

In 10 years of trips, I have never, ever been in close proximity to this many people in a WDW park.


----------



## PrincessV

Gearbm95 said:


> When we talk weekday crowds vs weekend crowds, is Friday considered a weekend? Trying to figure out which parks to do on Friday if that seems to be the consensus slower day than a Sunday.


I consider Friday to be a weekend, for all intents and purposes.



Mr. X said:


> So what time should I do a mobile order if we want to eat lunch at noon? Same for dinner?


I've had no problem ordering about an hour ahead of when I want to eat - but that's been on not-busy weekdays. I'd go earlier for busier times.



Gearbm95 said:


> So are the TP wait times not accurate? There’s been people on here saying crowds are unbearable today, but the wait times on the app don’t look bad at all.


I've been using the Lines app since inception and find it to be extraordinarily accurate the majority of time! Every once in a while it's off, but mostly my actual wait times some in within minutes of TP's estimates.



scrappinginontario said:


> People are in the mood to travel and Disney is a place where people feel safer travelling to = more people.


Agreed - I'm west of WDW, on the beaches, and tourism is up a LOT right now. it always is here this time of year, but it definitely feels busier this year compared to last.


----------



## 2vets

SouthFayetteFan said:


> I'd say things are pretty much what we'd expect - some Magic Kingdom wait time stats courtesy of thrill-data.com:
> 
> *LAST FRIDAY IN FEBRUARY 2021 vs*:
> _LAST FRIDAY IN JANUARY 2021: *+46.0%*_
> _LAST FRIDAY IN FEBRUARY 2020: *-23.6%*_
> 
> *LAST FRIDAY IN FEBRUARY 2020 vs*:
> _LAST FRIDAY IN JANUARY 2020: *+48.8%*_
> 
> *LAST FRIDAY IN JANUARY 2021 vs*:
> _LAST FRIDAY IN JANUARY 2020: *-23.2%*_
> 
> So we see that on both the last Friday in Jan and last Friday in February of this year, wait times are down 23% vs. the prior year - this is probably due to a combination of no FP+ (which helps standby lines move faster) plus reduced ride capacity due to social distancing (which hurts some standby lines).
> 
> And we see that the last Friday in February wait times increased by 48.8% last year over the last Friday in January last year and so far today they are up 46.0% over the same Friday this year.
> 
> Of course this data could change as the day goes along - they only have about 4 hours of data so far - but I think we are often confusing "FEELS LIKE" with the actual data.  I have a friend there this week who was also there back in late January for a week+ (the same week we were there) and they said it's slightly busier FWIW.  And it probably should be slightly busier because crowd levels the last week of February historically are about 20% higher than the last week of January.


 Nothing like data to show that it's the use of space playing a big role (which we knew, right?).  I suppose it's just seeing things like the quote above ("In 10 years of trips, I have never, ever been in close proximity to this many people in a WDW park.") that makes it seemsort of frightening.  The reality is that we saw it get very "crowded" in early Nov a few times as well.  I suppose it's all about gauging comfort and taking the initiative to get yourself out of a situation that you aren't enjoying.  I'm going back in April....but I'm still surprised at myself!


----------



## Ecomommy09

2vets said:


> Nothing like data to show that it's the use of space playing a big role (which we knew, right?).  I suppose it's just seeing things like the quote above ("In 10 years of trips, I have never, ever been in close proximity to this many people in a WDW park.") that makes it seemsort of frightening.  The reality is that we saw it get very "crowded" in early Nov a few times as well.  I suppose it's all about gauging comfort and taking the initiative to get yourself out of a situation that you aren't enjoying.  I'm going back in April....but I'm still surprised at myself!


Right!  We went in December of 2019 and it was so crowded in Epcot that I couldn’t walk through the park without my disabled 10-yr-old touching everyone from her wheelchair. I got so fed up I just stopped apologizing. I couldn’t prevent her and if they didn’t want to be touched they were just going to have to try to move. I will be interested to see if it’s that bad in March or if it’s just personal perspective.


----------



## Orion Nebula

PrincessV said:


> I consider Friday to be a weekend, for all intents and purposes.



Ya It's always been pretty crowded on Fridays. Obviously things have been a bit crazy right now anyhow, but I wouldn't go to a park Fri-Sun if I could help it. Although I couldn't help it this trip and will be at AK this Sunday. lol


----------



## dmbgotfan41

My wife & I took a trip back from November 6-14th staying at CBR & wanted to share some observations. I'll make a separate post for each observation. Sorry in advance for this being LONG

This was my first ever trip to WDW & her first since 1994 as a kid. WE BOTH LOVED IT! I think not knowing the park pre-pandemic was a plus for us. Yet, now we are hooked on WDW… it only took once!

1). Rope Drop/Ride Wait Times: Thanks to the awesome advice on this forum, we got creative to take advantage of rope drop.
Sat 11/7 at MK:

 Caught an Uber to Contemporary at 7:00am after mobile ordering for Contemp Cafe. The gate attendant waved through our driver & it wasn't an issue. 
Walked from Contemporary & were let in the park at 8:15 
 Went right to 7DMT waiting 10-15 minutes. 
Walked on PP
10-15 minutes for BTMRR
Were on Splash after 10 minutes but the ride broke down while we were sitting in our log in the station. We were given anytime fast passes to come back which we did after lunch 
15 minutes for Pirates.
Posted 50 minutes for Space & waited 40
We were in the park for two-plus hours and rode the five biggest rides with a FP for a sixth. The rest of the day was decently crowded, but not unbearable:

 30 minutes for HM, 
35 for Jungle Cruise (probably my least favorite of the classics) 
20 for Tiki
25 for Country Bears
15 for Presidents
10 for Tea Cups
20 for VoLM 
walked on Dumbo, 
15 for Pooh, 
35 for Buzz (biggest letdown of the day for me).
Left around 530

Sun 11/8 at Hollywood Studios:

Took an Uber to Boardwalk after mobile ordering from BW Bakery
Driver tried to say we were guests, attendant went to check his list & I showed him my mobile order. Attendant told us to "leave the property once we had our food."
Ate our food (delicious) on the boardwalk (technically off the resort property).
Walked to HS arriving around 7:50AM (we were the 3rd group in line)
More people started coming & a big, rude family stood off to the side instead of getting in the already formed line. Myself & a few others tried to remind them of the line unsuccessfully.
Through Temp checks at 8:30am
15 minutes for MMRR
20 minutes for Slinky (Got BG 1 for ROTR called while in line)
Was a continuous walk through the ROTR queue
Explored Batuu before our Ronto mobile order at 11 I placed while we were waiting outside the gate that morning
The rest of the day definitely had some longer lines & some not so bad. HS was at capacity this day.

Posted 80 for ToT, waited 60
After going to Oga's, waited 35 for MFSR
20 for TSM
Left after a delicious "dinner" at Brown Derby

Mon 11/9 Epcot: 

Got into the park right before 11am opening & headed right to TT. Unfortunately, it was down for a while due to weather & we got out of line right before it started working.
Went to Spaceship Earth & waited 15
Walked on Nemo
Soarin x2 walk on (had a 35 minute wait the first changed to 15 for 2nd)
Walked on Living with the Land
Went back to TT where we waited 35 minutes just beating another storm
Posted 60 for Frozen, waited 30
Left around 6pm

Tues 11/10 AK:

Got to CBR Main Bus Stop at 7:45 & were second group
Waited 30 minutes for bus
Enter AK around 8:30
Went right to FoP waiting 25 minutes
30 for Safari
2x EE at 10 minutes apiece
30 for dinosaur (cleaning cycle)
FoP posted 25, waited 15 after lunch
5 minutes for 2nd Safari
Gorilla Trail was crowded but no wait
Left around 2ish

Drank the World on Wednesday & got to a much less crowded MK later on Thursday (I think we all know why).

Fri 11/13 HS

Woke up at 6:45 & got RoTR group 60ish
My wife noticed at 7:01 HS was opening an hour earlier at 8:00am
We got ready (15 minutes) & power walked to CBR Skyliner from Aruba (10 minutes)
There was almost no wait at the Skyliner station which was very surprising
Arrived to park at just after 8:30 just as they started letting people in
20 minutes for MMRR
35 for Slinky
30 for RnR
45 for ToT
20 for Muppets 3D
15 for RoTR but were stuck on Star Cruiser for 25 minutes when ride broke down
Went back to CBR to relax
Came back to TSM walk on
30 for ToT

I'm one of the most impatient people you will meet & I didn't have an issue once during the whole trip. Of course, I have no basis for comparison. Again, thanks to everyone on this forum for the rope drop advice!

I left off any details of our Food which I'll cover in the next post. Thanks for reading


----------



## MomOTwins

2vets said:


> Nothing like data to show that it's the use of space playing a big role (which we knew, right?).  I suppose it's just seeing things like the quote above ("In 10 years of trips, I have never, ever been in close proximity to this many people in a WDW park.") that makes it seemsort of frightening.  The reality is that we saw it get very "crowded" in early Nov a few times as well.  I suppose it's all about gauging comfort and taking the initiative to get yourself out of a situation that you aren't enjoying.  I'm going back in April....but I'm still surprised at myself!


But you can't really compare wait times from Feb 2020 and compare to Feb 2021 and say there are lower crowds now, because wait times in Feb 2020 were at a time with fastpass.  Hasn't everyone on these boards always said how much fastpass slowed down the standby lines, and how much faster standby queues would be without fastpass? On top of that, without character meals and meet and greets and parades to absorb crowds, all those people are adding to the "it's crowded" feeling.  So it absolutely makes sense that people would say it feels more crowded now, even if standby wait times (on average--which remember, includes ) are the same or lower.  

Would be interested to know what the data showed after a full day, since the prior poster noted the data only included the first four hours of the park open, since wait times in the first hour are much lower than the rest of the day.


----------



## 2vets

MomOTwins said:


> But you can't really compare wait times from Feb 2020 and compare to Feb 2021 and say there are lower crowds now, because wait times in Feb 2020 were at a time with fastpass.  Hasn't everyone on these boards always said how much fastpass slowed down the standby lines, and how much faster standby queues would be without fastpass? On top of that, without character meals and meet and greets and parades to absorb crowds, all those people are adding to the "it's crowded" feeling.  So it absolutely makes sense that people would say it feels more crowded now, even if standby wait times (on average--which remember, includes ) are the same or lower.
> 
> Would be interested to know what the data showed after a full day, since the prior poster noted the data only included the first four hours of the park open, since wait times in the first hour are much lower than the rest of the day.


Agree, but to be fair, the original poster specifically mentioned the absence of FP. Another impact to keep in mind is the lack of certain attractions (e.g. shows) and diminished restaurant space.


----------



## KerryCM

I want to thank everyone who has posted here. It has been eye opening, to say the least! I wasn’t planning on going back until things were better, but my son has promised his kids a trip after my granddaughter’s cheer team opted out of Nationals the end of April. We are going March 25 for a short trip, thanks to my cast discount, I am retired! I am thankful that his job position allowed him to book a VIP tour guide for one of our days. Now the children will get to ride all their favorite rides during that day and Nana will be able to have a relaxing pool day another day during this short 5 day trip.


----------



## Brittany Fata

Okay, so based on reading this thread, I have decided that I am not ready to spend 5 days in the parks, which is what I originally had planned for my March trip. I am thinking of shortening my trip to a 4 night resort stay. My dates will be Monday March 22nd - Friday March 26th. I am thinking of doing a one day park ticket to kind of test the waters and see overall how I feel. 

Based on crowds, is there any park in particular that seems to better at crowds/congested areas? I understand it won't be perfect, but I'm interested in people's opinions. My park day will either be Tuesday or Thursday.


----------



## Akck

Brittany Fata said:


> Okay, so based on reading this thread, I have decided that I am not ready to spend 5 days in the parks, which is what I originally had planned for my March trip. I am thinking of shortening my trip to a 4 night resort stay. My dates will be Monday March 22nd - Friday March 26th. I am thinking of doing a one day park ticket to kind of test the waters and see overall how I feel.
> 
> Based on crowds, is there any park in particular that seems to better at crowds/congested areas? I understand it won't be perfect, but I'm interested in people's opinions. My park day will either be Tuesday or Thursday.



I’d go with Epcot first, then AK for less crowds. The two other parks are likely to be more crowded.


----------



## dhutchin12

Brittany Fata said:


> Okay, so based on reading this thread, I have decided that I am not ready to spend 5 days in the parks, which is what I originally had planned for my March trip. I am thinking of shortening my trip to a 4 night resort stay. My dates will be Monday March 22nd - Friday March 26th. I am thinking of doing a one day park ticket to kind of test the waters and see overall how I feel.
> 
> Based on crowds, is there any park in particular that seems to better at crowds/congested areas? I understand it won't be perfect, but I'm interested in people's opinions. My park day will either be Tuesday or Thursday.


We are here now. I booked 4 days at the parks over 6 days. We originally had: MK, Epcot, HS, MK. After 1 day at the MK, we decided to move the MK day to a second Epcot day. We left MK at 1 pm. We stayed until 8 PM at Epcot. Today was HS. We left at noon. We literally only rode 1 ride. Tower of Terror was 60 minutes before the official opening. It was like that with almost all of the rides.
Epcot was much more pleasant for us and we felt that we had our space there, for the most part.


----------



## parkluvr

I see a lot of posts on the boards about the CDC limiting capacity to certain numbers like 50 percent. It seems to me that somewhere a while back those restrictions were lifted and the capacity numbers were essentially left to the discretion of Disney. The reason I ask is because my wife and I were in the Magic Kingdom this past Saturday, Feb 20th and Epcot Sunday Feb 21st, and the crowds were amazingly large. Saturday, walking through Adventureland and Fantasyland, was essentially people shoulder to shoulder. The crowds in the world showcase on Sunday for the last week of the festival of the arts were even worse. Both of us commented that the amount of people seemed to far exceed what we have experienced in previous years going in June and July. My wife actually commented that around Mexico, it seemed like the most crowded she had ever seen the world showcase. If these numbers were truly anywhere around 50 percent, I think it would be truly scary to experience 75 percent or more during this pandemic.


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## mom2rtk

The CDC doesn't control capacity in Florida. Florida does. And unless I'm mistaken, they're leaving it up to Disney.


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## DCLMP

Brittany Fata said:


> Okay, so based on reading this thread, I have decided that I am not ready to spend 5 days in the parks, which is what I originally had planned for my March trip. I am thinking of shortening my trip to a 4 night resort stay. My dates will be Monday March 22nd - Friday March 26th. I am thinking of doing a one day park ticket to kind of test the waters and see overall how I feel.
> 
> Based on crowds, is there any park in particular that seems to better at crowds/congested areas? I understand it won't be perfect, but I'm interested in people's opinions. My park day will either be Tuesday or Thursday.


I would tell anyone that's worried about congestion and social distancing not to go. I've been twice during this pandemic and I've felt like most of the people that are there are the percentage of the population that isn't really concerned about those things. If wait times are your concern than rope drop is key.


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## Upatnoon

There are no state capacity or COVID rules in Florida. Disney could pack the parks, throw away the plexiglass and remove all social distancing efforts if it wanted.

Orange County and individual cities and counties in Florida have mask mandates, but they do not have enforcement provisions.

Disney is a private business and it sets the "house rules" for its guests to follow. It can ban guests for any reason, such as refusing to wear a mask.

When you go to a store or restaurant in Florida, usually the staff will be wearing masks, but that isn't required by any law. These are safety precautions the businesses are doing.

Florida businesses have different policies. For example, one resort may close the hot tubs for social distancing, while others leave them open. One restaurant will space out customers, while others will pack every table.


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## winterwhite

Just went to change our park pass for tomorrow and everything but Epcot is unavailable for passholders. MK and DHS unavailable for everyone.


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## TikiRob

Someone somewhere shared some interesting info about capacity. Basically, even with the parks at 35%, we are used to seeing them at only 75-80% on the busiest of days (besides the closures on Xmas/NYE/etc). Plus, reduced offerings and dining, socially distanced queues means the sense of more people everywhere.


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## MomOTwins

Brittany Fata said:


> Okay, so based on reading this thread, I have decided that I am not ready to spend 5 days in the parks, which is what I originally had planned for my March trip. I am thinking of shortening my trip to a 4 night resort stay. My dates will be Monday March 22nd - Friday March 26th. I am thinking of doing a one day park ticket to kind of test the waters and see overall how I feel.
> 
> Based on crowds, is there any park in particular that seems to better at crowds/congested areas? I understand it won't be perfect, but I'm interested in people's opinions. My park day will either be Tuesday or Thursday.





Akck said:


> I’d go with Epcot first, then AK for less crowds. The two other parks are likely to be more crowded.


Seconding that Epcot is very pleasant on weekdays. Much more room to spread out than other parks and a lot of it is outdoors (festival eats, music etc.)   Only caveat is if they debut the fireworks show or ratatouille, that could change.


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## wilkydelts

Disney isn’t lying to you.


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## lovethattink

The parks are at 35% of full capacity. Consumer confidence is up from where it’s been. Disney has restaurant capacity at 50%. The rest of Florida my be 100% as long as tables are 6 feet apart.

Since this is a just back experience. I’m merging it to the existing thread.


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## debdebdebby13

2vets said:


> Any thoughts about why things are so crazy now?  President's Day is over, and Spring Break isn't for another couple of weeks.  What gives? Are people trying to take advantage of work/school flexibility anticipating that things will soon go back to normal (normal-ish, I should say)?



This might be old news around here, but I follow this blog and they have a pretty good explanation about why its been crazy.

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/mardi-gras-crowds-disney-world/


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## SouthFayetteFan

debdebdebby13 said:


> This might be old news around here, but I follow this blog and they have a pretty good explanation about why its been crazy.
> 
> https://www.disneytouristblog.com/mardi-gras-crowds-disney-world/


   I know a guy who figured this one out around these parts   




SouthFayetteFan said:


> Seems like this 11 day span (2/11 - 2/21) is going to help revenue tremendously in what will otherwise be a very soft Q2 of Disney's fiscal year. This year was always going to include the February trifecta: Valentine's Day + President's Day + Mardi Gras in a 4 day span. (For reference, the last time this happened was in 2015). Nothing I saw out of the wait times today surprised me - if anything there were encouraging signs with lower waits than are typical for this holiday.
> 
> I think it's easy to confuse what it looks like and feels like, vs. what the actual data shows. Here are wait times from President's Day 2020 vs. President's Day 2021 (the blue line is today). The major factors that are different are socially distant lines which take up more space, and lack of FastPass to ensure 3 short waits.
> 
> View attachment 556721
> 
> As some have said, people hear 35% capacity and think - _"oh man, Disney will be dead, I want to be there!" _not realizing what 35% really means. What those people really want is Disney at 15-20% of capacity which is what it seems like we're getting on weekdays through much of Jan/Feb (outside of the major holidays).





SouthFayetteFan said:


> All these reports of shock at crowds last week... one word my friends: *TRIFECTA*
> 
> This week (and then corresponding crowds) has been coming for 6 years.  None of the wait times I’ve seen recently have surprised me.
> 
> EDIT:
> Here's a quick graph of the wait times from the Wednesday we spent at MK in late Jan, vs. today, vs. last Wednesday ("Trifecta" week).  I'd say this is about what we'd expect to see from one of the slowest weeks of the year vs. a normal week vs. one of the busiest.
> 
> You can read my report of Wednesday 1/27 at the MK (to get a sense of what those crowd levels were like) *HERE*.
> 
> View attachment 558753


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## winterwhite

That explains last week - jury is out on why _this_ week is so busy. There are no holidays, it’s before the spring break period, and by all historical accounts the week after a very busy week is usually a much deeper lull but this week it is not.


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## disneygirlsng

parkluvr said:


> I see a lot of posts on the boards about the CDC limiting capacity to certain numbers like 50 percent. It seems to me that somewhere a while back those restrictions were lifted and the capacity numbers were essentially left to the discretion of Disney. The reason I ask is because my wife and I were in the Magic Kingdom this past Saturday, Feb 20th and Epcot Sunday Feb 21st, and the crowds were amazingly large. Saturday, walking through Adventureland and Fantasyland, was essentially people shoulder to shoulder. The crowds in the world showcase on Sunday for the last week of the festival of the arts were even worse. Both of us commented that the amount of people seemed to far exceed what we have experienced in previous years going in June and July. My wife actually commented that around Mexico, it seemed like the most crowded she had ever seen the world showcase. If these numbers were truly anywhere around 50 percent, I think it would be truly scary to experience 75 percent or more during this pandemic.


Disney is at 35%. But you have to remember that there are still many things that are closed that typically eat a lot of people. The number has nothing to do with CDC at all, Disney decided on the number.


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## loswest

1st half of our trip (staying off-site; Feb. 23-27; staying on-site at Pop Century Feb. 28-Mar. 4)

My thoughts/observations (more detailed reports to follow):

Using the MDE app and the Lines app are helpful in getting an idea about when lines will be long but times can change quickly. When a ride posts lower than usual wait times on popular rides, people flock to those rides and the numbers quickly change. In general, posted times tend to be inflated but don’t count on that.
Both of the parks (HS & AK) felt crowded  in certain areas at different times of the day. Social distancing just isn’t possible 100% of the time. Even with lines on the ground, it is difficult when lines are constantly moving to maintain 6+ from every person at all times, especially for children who struggle who just can’t be expected to pay attention to spacing 100% of the time. We tried to be very conscious of others around us but frequently found ourselves within 6 ft of other people multiple times an hour.  If this makes you uncomfortable this may not be the best time to visit WDW.
Mask compliance was pretty good from what I was seeing but there were definitely people around not wearing masks properly. CMs did talk to people about this but cannot be everywhere at once. For my family, we weren’t bothered by it but if you are you will definitely feel uncomfortable at some point during your visit (likely multiple times) during your visit.
We would usually create mobile orders first thing in the morning after arriving at the park and even changed the time of one order within 15 minutes of when it would have started and never waited very long to get our food.
"Go with the flow" is becoming our mantra for this trip. We can have a plan but there is so much that is unknown or changing from day to day. If we keep our expectations low and focus on staying positive and thinking the best about the people around us, we are a lot happier and enjoy the parks more. Long lines can be great times to make friends (at a distance) and if it's hot at least we're not shivering in the cold at home. We're so glad the parks are open and we are able to take this trip. It's the first time in 13 years that we've taken our family to WDW. We have two teens graduating in 2021 & 2022 and my husband and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year and we felt strongly we needed to take this family vacation. It has been a great escape from all of the stress covid has created. 



Tues. Feb. 23rd (outlet shopping, grocery shopping & prep for the rest of the week)
We arrived late Monday night (10:30pm), got our rental car & got to our airbnb ~11:30pm. We got a minivan from Avis and the lady who helped us was great. Super helpful and friendly.

10:10am Outlet shopping (Disney Character Warehouse)

Tuesday morning we slept in and then headed to the Disney Character Warehouse on Vineland. We arrived ~10:10am and were called back about an hour later. We LOVED the Disney Character Warehouse and all of my kids found great souvenirs to take home.
12:15pm Target souvenir shopping & grocery pickup

We also stopped at Target so they could see the Disney stuff there. We picked up a grocery order I had created late Monday night. We also had a Costco order delivered to my husband (working remotely on our non-park day) while we were gone so we could stock up on our favorite Costco stuff to use for snacks (granola bars, applesauce pouches, fruit snacks, hard boiled eggs) and a couple other grocery items for meals during the week.
5:10pm Sanaa ADR

That night my husband and I had a 5:10pm ADR for Sanaa to celebrate our 20th anniversary this year. The bread service really is as good as people have said!  And the butter chicken was the best we have ever tasted. We asked to be seated where we could watch the animals and said we were willing to wait if needed. It was so fun watching the animals during our meal and our waitress was fantastic! She was great answering the many questions we had and gave great recommendations. Partway through the meal she brought out a new miniature apple turnover, a new recipe the chef had created and at the end of the meal she gave us a complimentary mousse cake with “Happy Anniversary” written on a piece of white chocolate. It was a magical evening!


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## loswest

Wed. Feb. 24th, Hollywood Studios (Day 1)
7am - ROTR boarding group

We left our airbnb at 7am( right after getting BG 1 for ROTR by clicking the join button at 6:59:59 exactly).
7:15am - parked at the Swan Hotel 

Staying offsite, we decided to pay to park at the Swan and walked to Hollywood Studios. Got to the Swan ~7:15 and we were 3rd or 4th in line when we got to HS. I can’t remember what time they took us up to put us in line for temp check but I believe it was ~8:10am. With the reshuffling of lines for temp check we were first in line at one of the temp checks but we had issues with our tickets so it took at least 5-10 minutes to work it out. The CM at the ticket terminals called over another CM to help us and they pulled us aside and manually went through all 7 of our tickets to figure it out. 

Rides:
MSFM (walk on)
ROTR (slow walk on)

When we entered Galaxy’s Edge we asked a CM if we would have time to ride before going to ROTR and they said we should be fine. We were so excited to get a BG for ROTR but having such an early number meant that we missed out on some of the early short lines for other rides. 
MMRR 

Probably posted 50-70 min (can’t remember) but probably took ~30-40 min. 
TOT
Lunch & Blue/Green Milk (Galaxy’s Edge)

We got back together again for lunch and blue & green milk at Galaxy’s Edge. The Ronto Roaster’s were better than we expected and my daughter got another the next day (Wednesday). The milk was good and worth trying once but not worth paying so much to get it again. 
1:30pm Droid appointment (my son)

We were tired and didn’t have a lot of time until my son had a droid appointment (1:30) and my husband and daughter had lightsaber appointments (2:15pm) so we sat down outside of the Droid Depot and rested during the droid appointment.
2:15pm Lightsaber appointments (husband & daughter)
Midway Mania

We split up again during the lightsaber appointments and I took the younger kids to ride Midway Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers.
Alien Swirling Sauces
Snack break

Split group: 
Rock ‘n Roller Coaster (2x)/ Star Tours & MFSR

We regrouped and sat down to eat a snack near Alien Swirling Saucers then split up to ride Rock n Roller Coaster (2 times) while the others rode Star Tours and then MFSR. 
SDD (2x)

We got back together again to ride SDD. After riding once it was almost 7pm and there was just enough time to ride once more before close. Riding SDD in the dark was fantastic!  Much better than during the day.


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## loswest

Thurs. Feb. 25th, Hollywood Studios (Day 2)
7am ROTR BG 

We got BG 57 (clicking just barely after 6:59:59 but still before 7am). We used a countdown clock on our computer and my teenage daughter was the quickest to get the BG both days. 
7:30am parked at the Swan Hotel

We were running a little later this day so we left our airbnb at 7:15am and probably got to the Swan ~7:30am. My husband and son took off running for the park while I walked with the rest. We were ~7-8th in line this morning before they moved us up to the temp check tents. I’m pretty sure they opened up temps and ticketing at ~8:10am again on this day. Our tickets worked great this time so we were probably in the first 20 groups to enter the park.
Rides:
SDD

We did SDD first. It was fun but not as much fun as riding at night with it all lit up. 
MFSM
Rock ‘n Roller Coaster (9am)
TOT 

My daughter and I headed off to ride TOT. We got to the front of the park at 9am and it was getting pretty busy. We hurried over to TOT but the line was at 70 min and Rock ‘n Roller Coaster wasn’t looking very long so we went there instead. When we got off TOT was at 50 min so jumped in line for TOT. 

Midway Mania

We met back at Midway Mania. The line was long and stretched all the way back past the bathrooms behind MMRR so they opened up the backlot gate by the bathrooms but it moved pretty quickly. My daughter was pretty excited they opened this area up because it meant she could take a photo with the Incredibles backdrop while we were in line. 
11:20am Lunch Mobile orders & stuff from home (Woody’s Lunchbox & Ronto Roasters)

We got done just in time to pick up mobile orders from Woody’s Lunchbox and Ronto Roasters. We found a shady area sitting on the ground at the part of Galaxy’s Edge closest to the Toy Story area to rest and eat our lunch. 

12:20pm ROTR (return window for BG 57 11:46-12:46)

Next up was ROTR. Our boarding time for BG 57 was 11:46-12:46 (~15 min earlier than the expected return time they estimated). We used the bathroom after lunch and got in line at 12:20pm. The line moved pretty quickly.  It took longer than our first morning but I think it was only about 20-30 min. from entering the line to getting on the ride. 
Micky & Minnie’s Vacation Fun (animated film) 
Frozen Sing along

Next we tried to get into Frozen but we got there just a little too late. We arrived at 1:15 for the 1:30 show but it was already full. They said to come back at 2pm. We went and watched Micky and Minnie’s Vacation Fun animated film, which was cute and a nice place to rest our feet. We went back to get in line for Frozen at 1:45pm and they said they wouldn’t open the line until 2pm but then opened it at 1:50pm instead. It was probably full again by just after 2pm. So, if you want to do Frozen during the middle of the day, I suggest arrive 5-10 minutes before the hour and hanging out near the gate. When you see people heading over to entry, you’ll know it’s time. If you’re part of the group that makes it into the shaded area inside the building, this is a great place to rest and take a nap. The floor is slanted so it’s pretty easy to lay down and rest your eyes while you wait. 
Star Tours (3x; 1x with entire group & 2x split group)/ Shopping @ Galaxy’s Edge

After Frozen, we went to Star Tours and then split up so part of our family could shop at Galaxy’s Edge. The lines for the shops at Galaxy’s Edge look long but move pretty quickly. The Market can be a little challenging because they only allow one party into each store at a time and they don’t enforce any kind of time limits so if someone wants to browse for a while your wait could be longer. The Tshirt shop in the market tends to be the longest wait. 
~5pm Boat back to Swan

We left the park ~5pm and took the boat back to the Swan rather than walk. I think everyone really enjoyed not having to walk and thought it was just fun to ride the boat. There was still a bit of a walk back to the parking lot but we were glad we had taken the boat.


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## loswest

Fri. Feb. 26 Animal Kingdom (Day 1)
7:15/7:20am Arrive at parking lot entrance

The original plan was to leave at 6:45am but we all struggled to get out the door that early. We left at 7am and they had just started to let cars pay to get into the parks as we drove up to the lines ~7:15/7:20am. There were two lanes on the left side that were not showing green above the guard station but there seemed to be a CM accepting payment and letting cars through so we drove into one of those lanes. This put us two cars back rather than 7-8 cars back in the other lanes. Cars were allowed to drive until they were closer to the parking lots but were kept in two lanes again at the point where the standar & handicapped lanes diverged. They allowed cars through to park at 7:30. 

Rides:
Pandora FOP

We went right through temp checks and ticketing without a line and headed straight to Pandora. It was basically a slow walk on with very little wait. 
Everest (2x)

 After Pandora we headed to Everest and rode it two times walking on both times. 
Dinosaur

Then we rode Dinosaur with a minimal wait. Stopped outside Dinosaur in the shade with seating for a short snack/water break then headed to Everest again. 
Everest

The wait was longer this time but moved pretty quickly and we were only in line ~15-20 minutes.
Kilimanjaro Safaris

We strolled over to Kilimanjaro Safaris looking at the shops along the way. The safari line was pretty long. The posted time was 45 min. but probably only took 20-25 min. Within ~10 min. It was even longer (~60 min, but probably taking 30-35 min. I think)
Gorilla Falls

Then we did the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail and my younger girls got excited to do the Wilderness Explorer Guide. We made sure to do those whenever we saw a guide for the rest of the day.
Lunch - Harambe Market & food from home

We ate lunch at Harambe Market ~11:15am. We got a seat in the shade and felt like this area wasn’t nearly as busy as what we had experienced in HS or what we saw at the area outside Pandora FOP. We were able to eat without feeling rushed to let someone else have a seat. 
Pandora FOP

After lunch we headed back over to Pandora FOP. The end of the line was on the wooden bridge between Africa & Pandora. It was 50 min when we got in line but quickly grew to 70 within a few minutes. We were lucky we arrived when we did.
Tough to be a Bug 

Posted 30 min and probably took close to this
~2:30pm Headed home


We will be in the airbnb until Sunday morning when we’ll be switching to PoP Century. We were originally going to Animal Kingdom tomorrow with Monday & Tuesday at Magic Kingdom and Wednesday at Epcot but decided to mix it up and go to Magic Kingdom on Sunday and Animal Kingdom on Monday. Tomorrow we’re going to take the day to relax and do some more shopping, resting and repacking before transferring to on-site on Sunday. I’ll try to post more in the next few days. I really appreciated the trip reports I read before I arrived and hope our experience can help someone else.


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## MomOTwins

winterwhite said:


> That explains last week - jury is out on why _this_ week is so busy. There are no holidays, it’s before the spring break period, and by all historical accounts the week after a very busy week is usually a much deeper lull but this week it is not.


Three reasons I think:

The Grandma and Grandpa effect.  Lots of people age 65 and up just got vaccines and after being cooped up all year, want to GO somewhere, and see their grandkids too.  International travel is still tricky due to testing requirements, and cruises aren't happening, so WDW with the grandkids is the perfect post-vaccine getaway.
"Best Time of Year" Blogs. Remember how bad January/February 2020 was, and everyone on here was posting long angry rants about how everyone "misled" them by saying February was the "off-season"? Every blog I've read has been declaring late February/early March to the best time to visit in 2021 because it is before the spring break crowds arrive, and typically has better weather.  
Word of mouth.  January and early February were ghost towns.  People who went then chatted to all their friends about how wonderful it was.  Two families in my kids' class are going in March and they both say it's because they talked to so-and-so who went in January and heard it is amazing now with zero crowds.


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## winterwhite

We gave up today and went to go have lunch in Winter Garden. Disney Springs was an absolute madhouse when we arrived at 9:30 to try to get a spot for Gideon’s. Virtual wait was an hour and 20 at that time. We decided to leave and as we were leaving people were absolutely pouring out of the parking garage into the Springs.

we could only get Epcot for today and did it with the hopes to hop to Animal Kingdom but it’s not looking promising.


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## wilkydelts

winterwhite said:


> We gave up today and went to go have lunch in Winter Garden. Disney Springs was an absolute madhouse when we arrived at 9:30 to try to get a spot for Gideon’s. Virtual wait was an hour and 20 at that time. We decided to leave and as we were leaving people were absolutely pouring out of the parking garage into the Springs.
> 
> we could only get Epcot for today and did it with the hopes to hop to Animal Kingdom but it’s not looking promising.



Yes Disney Springs is not being treated the same way as other Disney Properties. As many have said it is the wild west over there.


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## rasclautmangos

I'm at Animal Kingdom now. Idk if it's true or not, but the park at least feels more crowded than it usually does when I go in the early summer. Definitely more crowded than it was in August when I visited last.

You can barely even walk down many of the paths without being super close to anyone on all sides.


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## winterwhite

wilkydelts said:


> Yes Disney Springs is not being treated the same way as other Disney Properties. As many have said it is the wild west over there.


It’s super busy everywhere - but I assume more super busy at Springs today versus other days because parks are unavailable for reservation.

Certainly 10:30 this morning at Springs had the volume of people who were in HS yesterday at the same time. We aren’t even going to attempt a park. Pandemic or no, it’s too many people.


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## Mr. X

TP just lowered the crowd levels for the entire week we are visiting in May


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## Grumpy by Birth

Mr. X said:


> TP just lowered the crowd levels for the entire week we are visiting in May


... and (as I expected) raised them for the entire week we are visiting in March.


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## lovethattink

rasclautmangos said:


> I'm at Animal Kingdom now. Idk if it's true or not, but the park at least feels more crowded than it usually does when I go in the early summer. Definitely more crowded than it was in August when I visited last.
> 
> You can barely even walk down many of the paths without being super close to anyone on all sides.



Current crowds cannot be compared to last summer’s crowds. Consumer confidence is much, much higher now.


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## OhioStateBuckeye

I bought some 4-day resident tickets for my birthday. We got the park hoppers and went to Disney Springs on a weekday last week to give proof of our FL residence so we wouldn't waste time when we went to the parks.

We went yesterday, and will go again on Tue/Wed this upcoming week. We will save our 4th day for some point in the future. I hope people liked my daily timed reports from before and I can post them again.

*Feb 26 Friday
AK 8-5
MK 9-10*

We were awake around 6 and were leaving the house around 6:45 am. Saw a hot air balloon in the distance with the sun rise so took that for a good omen.

7:10: arrived at the AK parking gates

7:15: through the gates

We were then held up in a long line of cars and made to wait until around 7:30 to actually park

7:39: in line for Navi River Journey. It's such a slow loader (one party per boat) that we chose to wait for this before FOP. The attraction took a while to open, I believe they started letting us through right before 8.

8:04: on Navi River Journey. I kept calling it Rivers of Light. It fits.

We were going to do FOP next, but the line doubled all the way to the Festival of the Lion King theater. Decided to wait and headed to Safaris, since we were almost there anyway.

8:37: on Safari. Had maybe a 10 minute wait.

This safari was fantastic, we got to see Baby Ranger (rhinoceros) frolicking and running around. Sorry everyone, sometimes you have to look up some giant mother rhino butts if you wanna see the babies.





8:59: off the Safari and walked onto the Gorilla Falls trail. We'd done this trail a few weeks earlier. The bird house was not open then but is now.



9:15: done with the Gorilla Falls trail and headed to Asia

9:31: got a breakfast bowl from Yak and Yeti counter service and some ice chai lattes and sat in a nice Pagoda seating area. Got to see a couple character boats float past. Amazing how hungry you get when you eat breakfast at 6 am.



10:02: walking onto Maharajah Jungle Trek.

10:27: the monkeys in the temple on the water were putting on a good gymnastics show so we watched them for a bit.



The line for Everest was a bit long so we decided to come back later. We never did get on it.

10:40: Decided to get in line for Dinosaur even though it looked long. Ended up waiting close to half an hour.

11:30: got in line for It's Tough to be a Bug. Had to wait almost 20 minutes and got called rude for asking people behind us to stay back on our markers.

Watched the trainers working with the lemurs for a bit.



12:30: picked up our Satuli food right at 12:30, we had put in a mobile order when we entered the parks. It was good but I was sad that the only Bao buns they had were the cheeseburger ones.

1:02: joined the back of the line for FOP. It was right at the 'entering mo'ara valley' sign. So still long, but nowhere near as long as that morning. We were on the ride around 1:45.

This is the second time we'd been to AK since the pandemic and both times it has been the worst park for having people up in your butts in line. Just stay on your markers, people. Breathing down my neck is not going to get you on the ride any faster. We didn't say anything after getting called out in the Tough to be a Bug queue for our rudeness. Sometimes the struggle is not worth it.

2:15: got seated for the 2:30 bird show. I like it better with the tour guide (never saw it with the Up characters). It's still a fun show and a nice way to have a seated break.



3:08: in line for the Safari again, waited roughly 10 minutes. Was not as good as the first Safari earlier, but we did get to see a bunch of giraffes headed quickly for snack time. Baby Ranger was not out, so he might only come out in the mornings (not sure, just a guess).





3:45: walked up to the Wildlife Express. I really enjoy the animation classes so I wanted to do that. Didn't have to wait long for a train, we were hoping to make the 4 drawing class. We ended up just making it with a few minutes to spare. We got to draw Baby Tuk Tuk from the upcoming Raya and the Last Dragon. Apparently the classes rotate between Baby Tuk Tuk and the 3 monkeys from the movie.

4:30: the drawing class takes about a half hour. The park closed at 5 so we decided to just hang around the petting zoo for a while. Ended up headed to the train at 4:55. Did not have to wait long.

Not our drawing, this was the animator's:



We slowly made our way out and were at the front of the park at 5:20. MK was open until 10 pm so we were going to hop over there. Ended up getting on an almost empty Contemporary bus that was pulling up as we walked by.

5:33: on a Contemporary bus.

5:58: walking onto Main Street.

Summary: Not sure why AK is always the worst park for having people not obey the markers in line. I think everything worked out for us even with some longer waits. We got to do everything we wanted excep Everest. In all, we did: KS 2x, RJ, FOP, Dinosaur, Bird Show, both animal trails, TTBAB, saw most of the animals and did the drawing at Rafiki's. We also had two counter service meals.

I'll finish our MK write up in another post. Hope this post is helpful for some. If nothing else, it forces me to go through my pictures and I pull the time stamps from those.


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## Twitterpaited

DisneyJColeMom said:


> For those that are just back from Disney, how often did you get to see characters around the parks in those cavalcades? Will my 7 year old be pretty much guaranteed at some point in the day to see characters? Maybe even more than once? Particularly curious about Galaxys Edge, are there Star Wars guys around? Storm troopers saying anything fun or Kylo?


If you go earlier in the day, they have calvacades pretty often at MK and Epcot.


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## OhioStateBuckeye

*Feb 26

MK 9-10
Hopping from AK at 5*

5:58: walking onto Main Street



First stop was the Emporium to pick up my magnetic shoulder sitting Orange Bird. Love the Orange Bird.

6:30: mobile order for Cosmic Ray's. Hit the 'we are here' as we were walking over and still had to wait a few minutes.


When we were done eating and went outside it was dark. I don't think anyone can overstate the excitement of being in MK after dark with all the lights on. Very magical.

Our strategy was to do a circle of the parks and ride whatever we wanted/or had a short wait.

7:08: in line for Dumbo. Only a 4 minute wait.

7:21: walk on to Little Mermaid.



Cinderella's carriage is beautifully lit up for pictures.



7:40: Haunted Mansion, near walk on.

8:07: in line for Country Bears. Was kind of odd, as we walked up a CM was holding the door open and let us in. They let in very few parties for each showing and when a showing is full they shut the doors. We saw a few people peering into the windows trying to see what's going on, and a few came in a back exit. 

Was an odd way of letting people in, but maybe someone should have given them some wine to chase their tears?



8:34: in line for Jungle Cruise. This was a very long line but it moved continuously. On at 8:50. I have never been in a boat that went so fast on Jungle Cruise. My theory is that our skipper was off work at 9 and wanted to be sure he didn't stay a single minute over that.

9:06: tried to watch the Tiki Room but it was down. POTC was also down the entire time we were there.





It was at this point the park majorly cleared out. We walked onto the Carpets.



9:25: in line for Peter Pan, waited 10 minutes. 



9:40: Philharmagic, was ushered on by the CM and got in the theater right as the doors were closing.

When we got out it was a few minutes to 10 (close) instead of rushing to another line we made our slow way out. The inside of the castle was open so we were able to walk through.



I was going to grab a cookie at the bakery but the line was out the door so I skipped it. We were at the AK bus line at 10:10. We did have to wait a while, annoyingly enough. It was us about 6 other parties. The Epcot bus had 2 people in line and none of the other stops near us had anyone. Two Epcot buses came right behind the other. Finally the security guard/CM attendant ran out into the street to flag down a Mushu bus to come and get us. We had waited about 15-20 minutes. 

We arrived back at AK and were able to pretty easily find out car (it was just our car and the others from the bus we were on). And we were back home right at 11 pm. Good thing we have today and tomorrow to recover before our next park day. Getting a bit old to do the parks 7 am-10 pm. 

Summary: Was a pretty successful park hop. After we ate, we had about 3 park hours left. We did: Dumbo, LM, HM, CB, JC, Carpets, PP and Philharmagic. We did check out the Splash and BTTR area a few times but it looked like a mess with a lot of people and long lines. 

People were also much more respectful of line markers at MK. 

I hope these play by plays help some people. Next up we have an Epcot day with maybe a park hop to DHS. Then a DHS day and Epcot for the first day of Flower and Garden.

I was so happy MK extended it's hours and stayed open until 10. There is really nothing, nothing like being at the MK after dark.


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## Firestarlife

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> *Feb 26
> 
> MK 9-10
> Hopping from AK at 5*
> 
> 5:58: walking onto Main Street
> 
> View attachment 559459
> 
> First stop was the Emporium to pick up my magnetic shoulder sitting Orange Bird. Love the Orange Bird.
> 
> 6:30: mobile order for Cosmic Ray's. Hit the 'we are here' as we were walking over and still had to wait a few minutes.
> 
> 
> When we were done eating and went outside it was dark. I don't think anyone can overstate the excitement of being in MK after dark with all the lights on. Very magical.
> 
> Our strategy was to do a circle of the parks and ride whatever we wanted/or had a short wait.
> 
> 7:08: in line for Dumbo. Only a 4 minute wait.
> 
> 7:21: walk on to Little Mermaid.
> 
> View attachment 559462
> 
> Cinderella's carriage is beautifully lit up for pictures.
> 
> View attachment 559463
> 
> 7:40: Haunted Mansion, near walk on.
> 
> 8:07: in line for Country Bears. Was kind of odd, as we walked up a CM was holding the door open and let us in. They let in very few parties for each showing and when a showing is full they shut the doors. We saw a few people peering into the windows trying to see what's going on, and a few came in a back exit.
> 
> Was an odd way of letting people in, but maybe someone should have given them some wine to chase their tears?
> 
> View attachment 559464
> 
> 8:34: in line for Jungle Cruise. This was a very long line but it moved continuously. On at 8:50. I have never been in a boat that went so fast on Jungle Cruise. My theory is that our skipper was off work at 9 and wanted to be sure he didn't stay a single minute over that.
> 
> 9:06: tried to watch the Tiki Room but it was down. POTC was also down the entire time we were there.
> 
> View attachment 559465
> 
> View attachment 559466
> 
> It was at this point the park majorly cleared out. We walked onto the Carpets.
> 
> View attachment 559467
> 
> 9:25: in line for Peter Pan, waited 10 minutes.
> 
> View attachment 559468
> 
> 9:40: Philharmagic, was ushered on by the CM and got in the theater right as the doors were closing.
> 
> When we got out it was a few minutes to 10 (close) instead of rushing to another line we made our slow way out. The inside of the castle was open so we were able to walk through.
> 
> View attachment 559469
> 
> I was going to grab a cookie at the bakery but the line was out the door so I skipped it. We were at the AK bus line at 10:10. We did have to wait a while, annoyingly enough. It was us about 6 other parties. The Epcot bus had 2 people in line and none of the other stops near us had anyone. Two Epcot buses came right behind the other. Finally the security guard/CM attendant ran out into the street to flag down a Mushu bus to come and get us. We had waited about 15-20 minutes.
> 
> We arrived back at AK and were able to pretty easily find out car (it was just our car and the others from the bus we were on). And we were back home right at 11 pm. Good thing we have today and tomorrow to recover before our next park day. Getting a bit old to do the parks 7 am-10 pm.
> 
> Summary: Was a pretty successful park hop. After we ate, we had about 3 park hours left. We did: Dumbo, LM, HM, CB, JC, Carpets, PP and Philharmagic. We did check out the Splash and BTTR area a few times but it looked like a mess with a lot of people and long lines.
> 
> People were also much more respectful of line markers at MK.
> 
> I hope these play by plays help some people. Next up we have an Epcot day with maybe a park hop to DHS. Then a DHS day and Epcot for the first day of Flower and Garden.
> 
> I was so happy MK extended it's hours and stayed open until 10. There is really nothing, nothing like being at the MK after dark.
> 
> View attachment 559471



Thank you for the detailed report! These photos are terrific!


----------



## Naomeri

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> *Feb 26
> 
> MK 9-10
> Hopping from AK at 5*
> 
> 5:58: walking onto Main Street
> 
> View attachment 559459
> 
> First stop was the Emporium to pick up my magnetic shoulder sitting Orange Bird. Love the Orange Bird.
> 
> 6:30: mobile order for Cosmic Ray's. Hit the 'we are here' as we were walking over and still had to wait a few minutes.
> 
> 
> When we were done eating and went outside it was dark. I don't think anyone can overstate the excitement of being in MK after dark with all the lights on. Very magical.
> 
> Our strategy was to do a circle of the parks and ride whatever we wanted/or had a short wait.
> 
> 7:08: in line for Dumbo. Only a 4 minute wait.
> 
> 7:21: walk on to Little Mermaid.
> 
> View attachment 559462
> 
> Cinderella's carriage is beautifully lit up for pictures.
> 
> View attachment 559463
> 
> 7:40: Haunted Mansion, near walk on.
> 
> 8:07: in line for Country Bears. Was kind of odd, as we walked up a CM was holding the door open and let us in. They let in very few parties for each showing and when a showing is full they shut the doors. We saw a few people peering into the windows trying to see what's going on, and a few came in a back exit.
> 
> Was an odd way of letting people in, but maybe someone should have given them some wine to chase their tears?
> 
> View attachment 559464
> 
> 8:34: in line for Jungle Cruise. This was a very long line but it moved continuously. On at 8:50. I have never been in a boat that went so fast on Jungle Cruise. My theory is that our skipper was off work at 9 and wanted to be sure he didn't stay a single minute over that.
> 
> 9:06: tried to watch the Tiki Room but it was down. POTC was also down the entire time we were there.
> 
> View attachment 559465
> 
> View attachment 559466
> 
> It was at this point the park majorly cleared out. We walked onto the Carpets.
> 
> View attachment 559467
> 
> 9:25: in line for Peter Pan, waited 10 minutes.
> 
> View attachment 559468
> 
> 9:40: Philharmagic, was ushered on by the CM and got in the theater right as the doors were closing.
> 
> When we got out it was a few minutes to 10 (close) instead of rushing to another line we made our slow way out. The inside of the castle was open so we were able to walk through.
> 
> View attachment 559469
> 
> I was going to grab a cookie at the bakery but the line was out the door so I skipped it. We were at the AK bus line at 10:10. We did have to wait a while, annoyingly enough. It was us about 6 other parties. The Epcot bus had 2 people in line and none of the other stops near us had anyone. Two Epcot buses came right behind the other. Finally the security guard/CM attendant ran out into the street to flag down a Mushu bus to come and get us. We had waited about 15-20 minutes.
> 
> We arrived back at AK and were able to pretty easily find out car (it was just our car and the others from the bus we were on). And we were back home right at 11 pm. Good thing we have today and tomorrow to recover before our next park day. Getting a bit old to do the parks 7 am-10 pm.
> 
> Summary: Was a pretty successful park hop. After we ate, we had about 3 park hours left. We did: Dumbo, LM, HM, CB, JC, Carpets, PP and Philharmagic. We did check out the Splash and BTTR area a few times but it looked like a mess with a lot of people and long lines.
> 
> People were also much more respectful of line markers at MK.
> 
> I hope these play by plays help some people. Next up we have an Epcot day with maybe a park hop to DHS. Then a DHS day and Epcot for the first day of Flower and Garden.
> 
> I was so happy MK extended it's hours and stayed open until 10. There is really nothing, nothing like being at the MK after dark.
> 
> View attachment 559471


Happy to hear that you really did quite a lot on a busy day, thanks for the reports!


----------



## brockash

lovethattink said:


> Current crowds cannot be compared to last summer’s crowds. Consumer confidence is much, much higher now.


I definitely appreciate the comparison as it helps gage what "crowded" is to each person.


----------



## wilkydelts

Based on the TP line app today seems like great days to be in the park especially considering it is a weekend. I can’t believe how great HS wait times are right now

MMRR- 18
SDD- 25


----------



## NC State

Just returned today from a week stay.....IT"S PACKED....we were there in October and there's a BIG difference. You can't social distance with that many people and so little is open.  DISNEY you are NOT doing good on this. It's time to OPEN UP everything.


----------



## Leigh L

MCO seems a lot busier today for both departures and arrivals. Lots of people clearly for theme parks. Mask compliance despite signage and announcements is worst we've seen 

Disney much better with masks!

We did MK yesterday open to close. So great to be in the parks at night!! Crowds dropped significantly too. Earlier yesterday was so crowded. ) not sure how great pics came out but tried to get space and the castle with the moon

Also one with the moat drained


----------



## BelleFan87

SeanWM48 said:


> Springs was great. with the parks closing early we were at springs almost every night and i have no complaints about that. we even did the air balloon ride for $20.


How was the air balloon ride? My hubby was thinking about it but I’m not sure.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

I arrived today and wanted to share a few observances

--The airport was busy. My flight arrived around 9 AM and I had my bag and was in line at Dollar/Thrifty at 9:22 and it was 10:17 by the time I had my car.  In comparison, back in January I was in my car by 9:45 (same flight arrival)
-- I did a Target pick up (the one on Vineland doesn't do pick up on items that need refrigerated but I did get water, etc) and headed to my hotel (I am staying offsite on IDrive) I like to get my bags into my room if at all possible before heading to the parks. I would have loved to be in HS before the 1 PM boarding group drop but just couldn't get settled and changed into cooler clothes to make it. Which was fine as I got up at 3 AM this morning. I had friends in the park today and they got a back-up boarding group (which made it around 6:15ish)
--I did go to HS, chose to do preferred parking as I needed to get some things from my girlfriend before she left to go home and she was parked in the Medical parking.
--I was through temperature check, security, and through the tapstiles by 2 PM.
--I rode Mickey & Minnie (30 minutes wait), Slinky (45 minutes), Swirling Saucers (10 minutes), and Toy Story Mania (30 minutes) and then met my friends for an early light dinner (Brown Derby) (just apps) and then one last time on Mickey & Minnie (Gosh I love that ride)

I left the park around 5:30 as my girlfriend needed to head to the airport (and I needed to grab the bag of stuff she had for me - yay for shampoo, conditioner, and Epsom salts!) I still needed to go to Publix for cream and other refrigerated things. AND I wanted to Skype with DH ;-)

Notes: 

It was hot today and there were a lot of folks. But since I spent most of the day in my own "bubble" if that makes sense. I zigged when others zagged. And I had decided before I stepped into the park to just go with the flow and not let the crowds annoy me. I also made the decision that I was going to go out of my way to be nice to the CM's and had some lovely interactions with CMs today.

I saw a few noses as well and probably about 90% mask compliance. Now, I did see some people taking their masks off for photos in front of the Toy Story entrance. I did flag a passing cast member and told him. I don't want to be a tattletale....but I also know that photos without masks out there on social media think it's OK to not wear them. 

Am I the only one whose WAZE takes them in circles when I leave Hollywood Studios? It's something I learned a couple of trips ago, so rather than follow it, I set Waze to go to MK and then corrected to the Publix by my hotel. I share this mainly because as I passed the MK entrance before turning around to head the right way, I saw a sign that said "No Park Reservations Available" at the MK parking entrance. Not sure if this meant that no one could hop? But just throwing it out there if anyone happened to check.

Overall I am glad I came. I can also tell that my routine this week will likely be hitting the parks early, having lunch, and most likely go back to my hotel. I have a few dinner reservations and am fine with going back to the park for dinner after a little rest. Besides, I always have something work wise to do (I'm self-employed ).


----------



## MomOTwins

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> Am I the only one whose WAZE takes them in circles when I leave Hollywood Studios? It's something I learned a couple of trips ago, so rather than follow it, I set Waze to go to MK and then corrected to the Publix by my hotel. I share this mainly because as I passed the MK entrance before turning around to head the right way, I saw a sign that said "No Park Reservations Available" at the MK parking entrance. Not sure if this meant that no one could hop? But just throwing it out there if anyone happened to check.


No--the park reservation system is not used for hopping.  People have been able to hop on days when park reservations are sold out.  What they mean is just that you can't show up without a park reservation and get in (if park passes are not full, you can get them at guest services or in the app if you haven't gotten them before arriving).

You'd be surprised how many people on a given day show up without reservations and get turned away.  Same as people who show up without masks. People hear disney is open and don't think to look at what they need in order to visit.


----------



## Beamerball

wilkydelts said:


> Based on the TP line app today seems like great days to be in the park especially considering it is a weekend. I can’t believe how great HS wait times are right now
> 
> MMRR- 18
> SDD- 25



we hopped to HS tonight, got there around 5.  Rode smugglers, SDD, Aliens and Toy Story Mania (3x) in 90 minutes.  SDD is the best at night!


----------



## wilkydelts

Beamerball said:


> we hopped to HS tonight, got there around 5.  Rode smugglers, SDD, Aliens and Toy Story Mania (3x) in 90 minutes.  SDD is the best at night!


 
That’s awesome. Congrats!


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

Here now!  Arrived yesterday morning.
Our flight was scheduled to arrive at 9:56 am on Sun Country but it was early. Made a restroom stop and changed into shorts  on the way to baggage claim. Bags came right away and we were off to ME. Our bus was rolling to OKW at 10:24!  

Got our room ready message on the way to OKW (first drop off) but it wasn’t in the area we requested. Went to front desk and they changed it easily but that room wasn’t ready so we dropped our bags and headed to Epcot. Arrived just after noon.

we didn’t stay into the evening so I can’t speak to the later crowds but we found the afternoon to be very manageable. Our longest wait was 36 minutes for Soarin’ which had a posted 50 min. Test Track had a 50 minute posted wait at about 3:30 and the CM was telling everyone an hour. We decided to go anyway and we were through the line and on in 27 min. And the line moved constantly. Everything else was a fairly low wait, 20 or less.

Had lunch at La Cantina which had a decent line at 145. They were telling people that seating was at capacity but there was overflow seating at the Odyssey building. When we got our food, someone had just gotten up from a table by the water so we grabbed that and a CM quickly cleaned it. Food was good and we were back on our way.

WS was definitely more crowded than FW but not unmanageable while we were there. It may have gotten worse later, as we did see a lot of groups of 20-somethings headed that way as we were leaving.

our only real surprise was the Soarin’ line going outside the building. We weren’t expecting that so our Minnesota bodies that thought they were going to be in the AC for a bit were a little warm. Not unmanageable and not a complaint as it moved quickly but definitely a surprise to us to be out in the sun on the asphalt for a third of the wait.

We  are off to HS this morning.  Gotta go roust the troops so they are awake and ready for BG time!  Doubt I will have trouble there. We are a smidge excited!


----------



## GBRforWDW

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Here now!  Arrived yesterday morning.
> Our flight was scheduled to arrive at 9:56 am on Sun Country but it was early. Made a restroom stop and changed into shorts  on the way to baggage claim. Bags came right away and we were off to ME. Our bus was rolling to OKW at 10:24!
> 
> Got our room ready message on the way to OKW (first drop off) but it wasn’t in the area we requested. Went to front desk and they changed it easily but that room wasn’t ready so we dropped our bags and headed to Epcot. Arrived just after noon.
> 
> we didn’t stay into the evening so I can’t speak to the later crowds but we found the afternoon to be very manageable. Our longest wait was 36 minutes for Soarin’ which had a posted 50 min. Test Track had a 50 minute posted wait at about 3:30 and the CM was telling everyone an hour. We decided to go anyway and we were through the line and on in 27 min. And the line moved constantly. Everything else was a fairly low wait, 20 or less.
> 
> Had lunch at La Cantina which had a decent line at 145. They were telling people that seating was at capacity but there was overflow seating at the Odyssey building. When we got our food, someone had just gotten up from a table by the water so we grabbed that and a CM quickly cleaned it. Food was good and we were back on our way.
> 
> WS was definitely more crowded than FW but not unmanageable while we were there. It may have gotten worse later, as we did see a lot of groups of 20-somethings headed that way as we were leaving.
> 
> our only real surprise was the Soarin’ line going outside the building. We weren’t expecting that so our Minnesota bodies that thought they were going to be in the AC for a bit were a little warm. Not unmanageable and not a complaint as it moved quickly but definitely a surprise to us to be out in the sun on the asphalt for a third of the wait.
> 
> We  are off to HS this morning.  Gotta go roust the troops so they are awake and ready for BG time!  Doubt I will have trouble there. We are a smidge excited!


Nice! Glad you made it down, sounds like you had a great first day.  How's boarding group drop go for you?


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

Got b


GBRforWDW said:


> Nice! Glad you made it down, sounds like you had a great first day.  How's boarding group drop go for you?



Boarding group 3!! So stressful though after all the buildup and worry. We got to HS at about 8:10, later than intended after a Lyft snafu, and we are still waiting in the temp check line at 8:15. Beautiful morning! This breeze is fabulous!


----------



## GBRforWDW

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Got b
> 
> 
> Boarding group 3!! So stressful though after all the buildup and worry. We got to HS at about 8:10, later than intended after a Lyft snafu, and we are still waiting in the temp check line at 8:15. Beautiful morning! This breeze is fabulous!


Awesome!  Congrats on the bg.  Enjoy the ride and your day at HS.  It's my favorite park.


----------



## Leigh L

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Got b
> 
> 
> Boarding group 3!! So stressful though after all the buildup and worry. We got to HS at about 8:10, later than intended after a Lyft snafu, and we are still waiting in the temp check line at 8:15. Beautiful morning! This breeze is fabulous!


Have a great day!!


----------



## lovethattink

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Got b
> 
> 
> Boarding group 3!! So stressful though after all the buildup and worry. We got to HS at about 8:10, later than intended after a Lyft snafu, and we are still waiting in the temp check line at 8:15. Beautiful morning! This breeze is fabulous!



Congratulation! Hope you have a great day! Hopefully, Lyft will be today’s only snafu.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

For those into the details, we had four people trying for BG this morning. Two on Disney WiFi, one on data in the room, one on data outside. One of us on Disney wifi got it. We did speed tests this morning and wifi was faster than our Verizon iPhones.


----------



## cdoc29

Just finished an 8 night trip to the World here is some things I learned at the parks

1) It seems way more crowded than it probably is. Several stores are closed in each park, several entertainment venues are closed and those that are open are at reduced capacity, seating in counter service restaurants is spaced out for Covid, the street entertainment is severely limited.and with fewer hours people we be there all day. All this means the fewer people who are in the parks are concentrated to the things that are available, this makes it seem much more crowded

2) Masks, wearing a mask is not difficult but it is more difficult all day at Disney. You will need to plan frequent breaks where you find a quiet spot to take off your mask and drink some water. Be sure to bring your own water bottle. I didn't realize how much snacking and water drinking we did while moving from one spot to another and that is a no-no now in the parks, this will take up more time of your day

3) There are lines to shop, even on less busy days. Not all shopping but typically the ones you (and everyone else) wants to go into. In Galaxy's Edge you will wait in line to get into the shopping area and then inline to get into each individual shop.

4) Mobile Ordering - master this. First thing in the park open your mobile app pick your time slot and order your lunch if you are doing counter service. when you return activate the "you are here prepare my food" it takes about 10 minutes and you are good to go. They only let people into the counter area sit down tables when your food order comes up. The advantage to this is you will be able to get a table with your meal (I hope they keep practice up after covid restrictions are done) in fact at Docking Bay 7 they will show you to your seat.

5) Be prepared for lines, the lines snake everywhere and sometimes spill out into other areas (for example Peter Pan starts in Columbia harbor house in freedom square). You will be in the sun a lot. Wear sunscreen

6) Rope Drop - we got to the turnstiles 30 minutes before park opened everyday and they had already let people in. Slinky Dog at HS, 7DMT at MK and Avatar at AK all had 60+ minute waits 30 minutes before official opening.

7) The cast members are very good about reminding people to wear masks, repeat offenders will be caught. One of the photo pass people who repeatedly asked a couple to put their masks back on who were taking personal photos took their photo's to turn them in when they mouthed off and didn't comply. I saw security escort one group for a person who was refusing to stop when eating or drinking. 

8) If you are at all worried about getting covid this is not the time for you to visit. We had the disease back in December and all have tested positive for anti-bodies, if we didn't I probably wouldn't have gone. While they do a good job of distancing and making people wear masks there are too many opportunities to catch Covid, if this concerns you I would suggest not going.

Those are the major things I wanted to pass along. If you are considering a first trip or a once in a lifetime trip my advice would be to wait. If your Disney Regulars be prepared this will be unlike any trip you've done before. I am glad we went but I think we will wait till pandemic is over and restrictions are lifted before we go again.


----------



## MassJester

Great observations and sharing. Thank you.


----------



## keishashadow

Thank you for your take on your recent trip.  

Many specific points there as to addressing current policies and the enforcement.

A good read for those who are on the fence re visiting right now.


----------



## lovethattink

cdoc29 said:


> Just finished an 8 night trip to the World here is some things I learned at the parks
> 
> 1) It seems way more crowded than it probably is. Several stores are closed in each park, several entertainment venues are closed and those that are open are at reduced capacity, seating in counter service restaurants is spaced out for Covid, the street entertainment is severely limited.and with fewer hours people we be there all day. All this means the fewer people who are in the parks are concentrated to the things that are available, this makes it seem much more crowded
> 
> 2) Masks, wearing a mask is not difficult but it is more difficult all day at Disney. You will need to plan frequent breaks where you find a quiet spot to take off your mask and drink some water. Be sure to bring your own water bottle. I didn't realize how much snacking and water drinking we did while moving from one spot to another and that is a no-no now in the parks, this will take up more time of your day
> 
> 3) There are lines to shop, even on less busy days. Not all shopping but typically the ones you (and everyone else) wants to go into. In Galaxy's Edge you will wait in line to get into the shopping area and then inline to get into each individual shop.
> 
> 4) Mobile Ordering - master this. First thing in the park open your mobile app pick your time slot and order your lunch if you are doing counter service. when you return activate the "you are here prepare my food" it takes about 10 minutes and you are good to go. They only let people into the counter area sit down tables when your food order comes up. The advantage to this is you will be able to get a table with your meal (I hope they keep practice up after covid restrictions are done) in fact at Docking Bay 7 they will show you to your seat.
> 
> 5) Be prepared for lines, the lines snake everywhere and sometimes spill out into other areas (for example Peter Pan starts in Columbia harbor house in freedom square). You will be in the sun a lot. Wear sunscreen
> 
> 6) Rope Drop - we got to the turnstiles 30 minutes before park opened everyday and they had already let people in. Slinky Dog at HS, 7DMT at MK and Avatar at AK all had 60+ minute waits 30 minutes before official opening.
> 
> 7) The cast members are very good about reminding people to wear masks, repeat offenders will be caught. One of the photo pass people who repeatedly asked a couple to put their masks back on who were taking personal photos took their photo's to turn them in when they mouthed off and didn't comply. I saw security escort one group for a person who was refusing to stop when eating or drinking.
> 
> 8) If you are at all worried about getting covid this is not the time for you to visit. We had the disease back in December and all have tested positive for anti-bodies, if we didn't I probably wouldn't have gone. While they do a good job of distancing and making people wear masks there are too many opportunities to catch Covid, if this concerns you I would suggest not going.
> 
> Those are the major things I wanted to pass along. If you are considering a first trip or a once in a lifetime trip my advice would be to wait. If your Disney Regulars be prepared this will be unlike any trip you've done before. I am glad we went but I think we will wait till pandemic is over and restrictions are lifted before we go again.



Merged your thread to the existing Here now, Just Back thread.

Thanks for sharing a very realistic view of the parks. We waited in line almost about hour to shop in Galaxy’s Edge on Tuesday. My son did a live from his Instagram talking about Star Wars stuff while we were waiting to shop. He has the gift of gab.


----------



## maciemouse

wilkydelts said:


> The vast majority of the time if the line is outside the main queue area my kids and wife never wait with me. It is more difficult to ensure social distancing and keep them contained with no formal barriers out there. They always join me as we get close to the main entrance. I see no problem with this. I always inform the people behind me as a curtesy. With most rides being separated for space anyways it doesn’t change peoples wait time.


I have no problem with this either.  Our problem is the ADULTS that are joining another party that is almost on the ride,  our encounter was them passing by everyone once already in the queue and going all the way to the front.


----------



## SeanWM48

BelleFan87 said:


> How was the air balloon ride? My hubby was thinking about it but I’m not sure.


totally worth it. we were there on a sunday night and the wait was probably 30 min or so. they keep everyone spaced out and are taking less people up at a time so the wait is what it is. 

for $20 it was great. i recommend going at sundown. on a trip where $20 feels like $2 sometimes, this was money well spent.


----------



## BelleFan87

cdoc29 said:


> Just finished an 8 night trip to the World here is some things I learned at the parks
> 
> 1) It seems way more crowded than it probably is. Several stores are closed in each park, several entertainment venues are closed and those that are open are at reduced capacity, seating in counter service restaurants is spaced out for Covid, the street entertainment is severely limited.and with fewer hours people we be there all day. All this means the fewer people who are in the parks are concentrated to the things that are available, this makes it seem much more crowded
> 
> 2) Masks, wearing a mask is not difficult but it is more difficult all day at Disney. You will need to plan frequent breaks where you find a quiet spot to take off your mask and drink some water. Be sure to bring your own water bottle. I didn't realize how much snacking and water drinking we did while moving from one spot to another and that is a no-no now in the parks, this will take up more time of your day
> 
> 3) There are lines to shop, even on less busy days. Not all shopping but typically the ones you (and everyone else) wants to go into. In Galaxy's Edge you will wait in line to get into the shopping area and then inline to get into each individual shop.
> 
> 4) Mobile Ordering - master this. First thing in the park open your mobile app pick your time slot and order your lunch if you are doing counter service. when you return activate the "you are here prepare my food" it takes about 10 minutes and you are good to go. They only let people into the counter area sit down tables when your food order comes up. The advantage to this is you will be able to get a table with your meal (I hope they keep practice up after covid restrictions are done) in fact at Docking Bay 7 they will show you to your seat.
> 
> 5) Be prepared for lines, the lines snake everywhere and sometimes spill out into other areas (for example Peter Pan starts in Columbia harbor house in freedom square). You will be in the sun a lot. Wear sunscreen
> 
> 6) Rope Drop - we got to the turnstiles 30 minutes before park opened everyday and they had already let people in. Slinky Dog at HS, 7DMT at MK and Avatar at AK all had 60+ minute waits 30 minutes before official opening.
> 
> 7) The cast members are very good about reminding people to wear masks, repeat offenders will be caught. One of the photo pass people who repeatedly asked a couple to put their masks back on who were taking personal photos took their photo's to turn them in when they mouthed off and didn't comply. I saw security escort one group for a person who was refusing to stop when eating or drinking.
> 
> 8) If you are at all worried about getting covid this is not the time for you to visit. We had the disease back in December and all have tested positive for anti-bodies, if we didn't I probably wouldn't have gone. While they do a good job of distancing and making people wear masks there are too many opportunities to catch Covid, if this concerns you I would suggest not going.
> 
> Those are the major things I wanted to pass along. If you are considering a first trip or a once in a lifetime trip my advice would be to wait. If your Disney Regulars be prepared this will be unlike any trip you've done before. I am glad we went but I think we will wait till pandemic is over and restrictions are lifted before we go again.


Thanks for sharing your tips. Hubby and I are going in March and can’t wait. It’s been a few years but we’re not worried. I won’t however take my young children with me just because of all the craziness. When everything starts to get back to some sort of normalcy then I’ll take my kiddos again.


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## BelleFan87

SeanWM48 said:


> totally worth it. we were there on a sunday night and the wait was probably 30 min or so. they keep everyone spaced out and are taking less people up at a time so the wait is what it is.
> 
> for $20 it was great. i recommend going at sundown. on a trip where $20 feels like $2 sometimes, this was money well spent.


Awesome I’m so happy to hear a positive review. Hubby and I are going for our anniversary and this will be a perfect addition to our trip. Thanks.


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## Jerseyroaddevil

Hi all. First time poster, long-time lurker.  I've gotten many helpful tips from these boards over the years so I'd thought I'd report on our Feb 25 quick visit.  We had rented a house in SW FL for the kids' winter break and drove down from NY.  DS13 asked if we could stop at DHS to see GE on the way back home (he'd never been).  With only about 2 weeks to plan, we were able to get 2 nights at the Yacht Club, DHS park res on the 25th, and Trattoria al Forno for arrival dinner on Feb 24. No Savi's, Droid Depot, Ogas or SciFi ressies were available.  By checking occasionally, I was able to get both my kids Savi's @9:05am and a Mama Melrose dinner @ park close. Never saw Ogas or SciFi become available, and I stopped looking for Droid Depot after we got Savi's.
We arrived at the YC midafternoon on the 24th.  I thought the kids would want to go to SAB but after being in the car they wanted to walk around. So we walked over to Fantasia mini golf and played the Gardens course. Although there were no cast members on the course (just by the entrance), all the groups were respectful about social distancing and hung back until the group ahead cleared out. After golf we went to the Boardwalk. Perused the main shop (no wait) and walked around.  Big River was open and had a lot of outdoor tables set up (seemed pretty full to me). Also a lot of people around the pizza window. Our dinner at Trattoria AF was delicious.  The open kitchen gives the dining room a good energy even with the spaced tables.
The next morning we woke up at 6:45 for the ROTR firedrill.  We didn't practice beforehand but I had read all the tips and told the kids to keep pressing join, join, join and don't stop to read anything. Used time.gov and pressed exactly at 7. DS13 got us BG12. Our room at the YC was at the end near the DHS path (turned out great for us). We left our room at 7:45 and were at DHS a little after 8. Got in line (about 30 feet back from the tent) and they let us in at exactly 8:15. Did SDD then TSMM with no wait. Walked into GE to check into Savi's.  We had to wait about 15 minutes before we got called in.  Both DS13 and DD8 enjoyed the experience although it is definitely a one and done.  Went over to ROTR as soon as we left Savi's and basically walked on.  Awesome ride, highlight of the day.  Then we waited about 45 min for MFSR.  The queue seems to wind around everywhere, even behind the ride in a staging area. We mobile ordered from Docking Bay while waiting and picked up our meal a few minutes after we left the ride. Maybe we were starved by the time we ate, but it didn't seem like a lot of food.  And the cast members were hovering to take our trays after eating when we were still drinking our drinks.
After lunch I walked back to YC to drop off the light sabers (how do people carry them around all day? they are long and heavy), and my kids did Star Tours without me (15 min wait).  We met back up at RNRC (posted 45 min) but DD chickened out so we did ToT instead.  Posted 60 min, took about that long.  DS left the line to bring back drinks because much of the queue is in the full sun. We took sips and pulled our masks up in between. After TT we waited about 45 min for MMRR, again in the full sun.  After that we went to the Muppets (no wait) just to take a break from sun/standing. Then did some of the shops in GE (long wait for Market), rode Saucers (15 min), TSMM again (30 min), and did SDD (40 min) right before closing (it's definitely better at night with the lights on).  Had a nice dinner at Mama Melrose and walked through a relatively empty park just before 8 to catch the last boat back to YC.  Overall a fun day. Although the lines move quickly, don't underestimate the effect of being on your feet all the time and in the sun. We were exhausted and there is no way I could keep up that pace for more than a day or two.


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## rachc986

I can't seem to find a clear answer on this, so wondering if anyone who has been recently has tried this. Can I place a mobile order at Contempo Cafe and Uber to the Contempory from my off site hotel. This way we can grab a quick coffee and then just walk over to MK?

I know if you have a dining reservation they will let you through, but wanted to know if it also worked for a mobile order. Also, where/how are they checking that you have a reason to be getting dropped off at the Contemporary hotel? Is there a spot where they are stopping all cars to check?


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## tstein12

rachc986 said:


> I can't seem to find a clear answer on this, so wondering if anyone who has been recently has tried this. Can I place a mobile order at Contempo Cafe and Uber to the Contempory from my off site hotel. This way we can grab a quick coffee and then just walk over to MK?
> 
> I know if you have a dining reservation they will let you through, but wanted to know if it also worked for a mobile order. Also, where/how are they checking that you have a reason to be getting dropped off at the Contemporary hotel? Is there a spot where they are stopping all cars to check?


In early December when I was there, I took Lyfts to MK and got dropped off at Contemporary. I placed orders both time at Contempo Cafe to be safe, but my drivers were never asked if I had dining orders and/or reservations. This said, I cancelled my orders once I got dropped off and headed over to MK.


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## SarahC97

rachc986 said:


> I can't seem to find a clear answer on this, so wondering if anyone who has been recently has tried this. Can I place a mobile order at Contempo Cafe and Uber to the Contempory from my off site hotel. This way we can grab a quick coffee and then just walk over to MK?
> 
> I know if you have a dining reservation they will let you through, but wanted to know if it also worked for a mobile order. Also, where/how are they checking that you have a reason to be getting dropped off at the Contemporary hotel? Is there a spot where they are stopping all cars to check?


The reports on attempting this have varied. You have to go through a guard station to be let in and people have reported previously that guards have asked to see their mobile order and some even have asked people to press the "Here Now, Prepare My Order" button in front of them. Some people have been let in, some people haven't. But it's also been reported on various Disney websites that Disney is no longer allowing mobile orders at QS to be allowed into Contemporary in particular. Plus, I know someone there right now who said that there was a sign at the Boardwalk Inn guard station that stated you would not be let in unless you had a resort reservation or an ADR at Trattoria, so this may be a policy they're implementing across the property.


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## CapnJacksGirl

rachc986 said:


> I can't seem to find a clear answer on this, so wondering if anyone who has been recently has tried this. Can I place a mobile order at Contempo Cafe and Uber to the Contempory from my off site hotel. This way we can grab a quick coffee and then just walk over to MK?
> 
> I know if you have a dining reservation they will let you through, but wanted to know if it also worked for a mobile order. Also, where/how are they checking that you have a reason to be getting dropped off at the Contemporary hotel? Is there a spot where they are stopping all cars to check?



I had planned to do that on Tuesday when we head to MK but since we got here at noon yesterday, I have talked to three different guests and one Lyft driver who said it was a no-go with a mobile order in the last week, at least in the morning. All said they had to exit and drop off at TTC.  I’m not risking it.


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## rachc986

CapnJacksGirl said:


> I had planned to do that on Tuesday when we head to MK but since we got here at noon yesterday, I have talked to three different guests and one Lyft driver who said it was a no-go with a mobile order in the last week, at least in the morning. All said they had to exit and drop off at TTC.  I’m not risking it.


I just was doing the online chat on the Disney website and asked vaguely if I was allowed to place an mobile order and uber there to pick it up and the response was: "Currently, with the health safety procedures, to be able to go into one of the hotels, you have to be a hotel guest or have a dining reservation at a table service restaurant." So it seems like their official policy is no.

Now knowing that, my new question is how early can I show up in an Uber to MK TTC? Do they stop Uber's from dropping people off before a certain time?


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## disneygirlsng

rachc986 said:


> I just was doing the online chat on the Disney website and asked vaguely if I was allowed to place an mobile order and uber there to pick it up and the response was: "Currently, with the health safety procedures, to be able to go into one of the hotels, you have to be a hotel guest or have a dining reservation at a table service restaurant." So it seems like their official policy is no.
> 
> Now knowing that, my new question is how early can I show up in an Uber to MK TTC? Do they stop Uber's from dropping people off before a certain time?


Yes, drop offs can only happen when the parking lot opens.


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## nerdboyrockstar

Interesting. So I just stayed at the Contemporary and walked to MK early in the morning (8:00am-8:15am) and the park was already open. There was NOBODY else on the walking trail to the park and the park was already open but not empty by any means. I doubt these were all BLT/Contemporary people as we saw a decent flow of people coming from the other temperature screening/security checkpoint for resort guests.

So is it just a crapshoot right now of getting to MK early for its opening? Confused by all the strategies I see here.


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## rachc986

disneygirlsng said:


> Yes, drop offs can only happen when the parking lot opens.


At what time have they been letting cars in?


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## disneygirlsng

rachc986 said:


> At what time have they been letting cars in?


About an hour or so before official opening time.


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## brockash

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Here now!  Arrived yesterday morning.
> Our flight was scheduled to arrive at 9:56 am on Sun Country but it was early. Made a restroom stop and changed into shorts  on the way to baggage claim. Bags came right away and we were off to ME. Our bus was rolling to OKW at 10:24!
> 
> Got our room ready message on the way to OKW (first drop off) but it wasn’t in the area we requested. Went to front desk and they changed it easily but that room wasn’t ready so we dropped our bags and headed to Epcot. Arrived just after noon.
> 
> we didn’t stay into the evening so I can’t speak to the later crowds but we found the afternoon to be very manageable. Our longest wait was 36 minutes for Soarin’ which had a posted 50 min. Test Track had a 50 minute posted wait at about 3:30 and the CM was telling everyone an hour. We decided to go anyway and we were through the line and on in 27 min. And the line moved constantly. Everything else was a fairly low wait, 20 or less.
> 
> Had lunch at La Cantina which had a decent line at 145. They were telling people that seating was at capacity but there was overflow seating at the Odyssey building. When we got our food, someone had just gotten up from a table by the water so we grabbed that and a CM quickly cleaned it. Food was good and we were back on our way.
> 
> WS was definitely more crowded than FW but not unmanageable while we were there. It may have gotten worse later, as we did see a lot of groups of 20-somethings headed that way as we were leaving.
> 
> our only real surprise was the Soarin’ line going outside the building. We weren’t expecting that so our Minnesota bodies that thought they were going to be in the AC for a bit were a little warm. Not unmanageable and not a complaint as it moved quickly but definitely a surprise to us to be out in the sun on the asphalt for a third of the wait.
> 
> We  are off to HS this morning.  Gotta go roust the troops so they are awake and ready for BG time!  Doubt I will have trouble there. We are a smidge excited!


Wow, Soarins line was out of the land building?  I don't think I've ever heard of that before...how long did it take you to get through?  I wonder what was going on with that considering low waits everywhere else...thx for the report!


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## md1982

Just returned from a trip 2/22-226. Coronado Springs, one day in each park. It was a little bit more crowded than I thought it would be, however posts claiming they’ve never seen the walkways this crowded are extreme over exaggerations. Granted I was only in the parks on weekdays. But normal busy zones like galaxy’s edge, fantasyland, etc were all much less crowded than in normal times. My last trip was exactly a year ago and galaxy’s edge was packed, not at all the same this trip.

I never felt wall to wall people on this trip. And mask compliance was excellent.Yes there are moments when you walk past people and are not 6 ft apart, but if I am outside, with masks on, I’m very ok with that. Ask anyone that lives in a city. I live in NYC and it was very similar to walking down the sidewalks here. Or taking the subway. And I felt I always had a place to pull over to avoid people. The only moments I didn’t love were exiting rides. Things could get a bit tight especially on FOP, and others, but you are only next to people for a few moments and almost always with proper masks. If you’re comfortable at a grocery store with full mask compliance you will feel comfortable here!

We only waited to get into a gift shop once, exiting MK. Wait times are highly over estimated. Never waited longer than the posted time. Lines constantly moved which is mice. Had no problems with mobile ordering, or grabbing food. Buses were excellent, loved always having a seat to rest the feet. Mask compliance was excellent and loved that cast members corrected people constantly. Outside I saw a few improper masks under the nose or chin but never once saw someone inside breaking the mask rules. I felt quite comfortable. Will go into more detail day just day in upcoming posts! But just want to say don’t get scared by some fear-mongers. Know your own limits, manage your expectations and plan well.


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## CapnJacksGirl

brockash said:


> Wow, Soarins line was out of the land building?  I don't think I've ever heard of that before...how long did it take you to get through?  I wonder what was going on with that considering low waits everywhere else...thx for the report!



we entered like normal and then went out a side exit door before we started up the ramps. We would around outside for a bit then back in, up the ramp and on like normal. It was so strange. We waited about 35 minutes if I remember correctly. Not awful but warmer than we expected for sure!


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## emmabelle

Back home today.  Overall thoughts were it was crowded but I think that’s because there isn’t as much to do.  We still had fun and because we go so often it really didn’t matter to us.  The weather was so beautiful we actually decided to stay an extra day and went from BCV over to the Dolphin for the night.  The mask compliance over there is a total joke in the outdoor areas.  I was so surprised, coming from MA you can’t basically take a walk around your neighborhood without one.  Lol

i don’t think we’ll update our AP’s. It’s just hard when people don’t follow the rules. Mask compliance is a thing and if you can’t do it then don’t go. I felt I spent too much time focusing on it because I like things to be fair for everyone. Some people just don’t feel the same way, so we’ll wait and see what the fall brings.


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## yaya74

md1982 said:


> Just returned from a trip 2/22-226. Coronado Springs, one day in each park. It was a little bit more crowded than I thought it would be, however posts claiming they’ve never seen the walkways this crowded are extreme over exaggerations. Granted I was only in the parks on weekdays. But normal busy zones like galaxy’s edge, fantasyland, etc were all much less crowded than in normal times. My last trip was exactly a year ago and galaxy’s edge was packed, not at all the same this trip.
> 
> I never felt wall to wall people on this trip. And mask compliance was excellent.Yes there are moments when you walk past people and are not 6 ft apart, but if I am outside, with masks on, I’m very ok with that. Ask anyone that lives in a city. I live in NYC and it was very similar to walking down the sidewalks here. Or taking the subway. And I felt I always had a place to pull over to avoid people. The only moments I didn’t love were exiting rides. Things could get a bit tight especially on FOP, and others, but you are only next to people for a few moments and almost always with proper masks. If you’re comfortable at a grocery store with full mask compliance you will feel comfortable here!
> 
> We only waited to get into a gift shop once, exiting MK. Wait times are highly over estimated. Never waited longer than the posted time. Lines constantly moved which is mice. Had no problems with mobile ordering, or grabbing food. Buses were excellent, loved always having a seat to rest the feet. Mask compliance was excellent and loved that cast members corrected people constantly. Outside I saw a few improper masks under the nose or chin but never once saw someone inside breaking the mask rules. I felt quite comfortable. Will go into more detail day just day in upcoming posts! But just want to say don’t get scared by some fear-mongers. Know your own limits, manage your expectations and plan well.


Thank you for the update! Looking forward to read more about it!


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## bjscheel

Mr. X said:


> TP just lowered the crowd levels for the entire week we are visiting in May



Which week?


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## tsme

We just got back today from a week stay. It was our second time going since corona. We have APs. We found it more crowded than a normal September, but not as crowded as mid Dec or during the marathon in Jan, & most lines were long. Also, unless we were in a line, there was no social distancing. Even in some lines people weren’t adhering to the distancing lines. We watched the HM line from Liberty Tree one day (it was stretched out far pass Liberty riverboat) & were amazed how many people did not stop on their line. They would creep to about 2-3 feet behind the party in front of them. I think people just don’t pay attention. While walking, standing, etc people are next to each other too. It didn’t really bother us, but I’m mentioning because I know others would be bothered & that’s important to know before going.
We ate at table service restaurants & never did mobile ordering. I did find it harder to get reservations than it usually is. I wish Disney would open more restaurants. They are needed. Also the new mask rule didn’t come into play until I think the day we left, if it was sooner, no one said anything to us. Personally I think it’s going to cause more grief for the CMs. I could see potential for servers to lose tips if they are forced to keep telling people to put back on their masks when not eating or drinking at their table, which is sad for them & stress they don’t need.
I did miss all the usual interactions with CMs. Some try but it’s so hard with restrictions & masks. We did meet a wonderful CM in Canada who told us fun, interesting facts about Canada. He was so sweet & friendly. I really believe CMs make Disney.
We spent maybe a few hours a day in the parks & a lot of time relaxing in our room. We’re two adults & go twice a year, so we weren’t upset with that. But about midway thru our trip, DH said we shouldn’t renew our passes. Though by the end of the trip we had already rebooked our next Disney trip, . Disney just pulls us back. I think we might be addicts. Addiction to the mouse is real.


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## emmabelle

tsme said:


> Addiction to the mouse is real.



That’s for sure


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## md1982

Feb. 22- Monday-Arrival and Epcot

Landed around 9:45 am, straight to Magical Express and on the bus in less than 5 minutes. Left about ten minutes later with 2 stops before finally arriving at Coronado at 11:00. Got out room info just as we were pulling in. Room in Ranchos with easy access to two bus stops. Dropped off luggage and straight to bus. 5 minutes later on the bus abs walking into Epcot at 12:00.

I love the new security and ticket entry. Basically walked right through with zero lines. This is a big new plus.

Test Track-30 min wait, 45 posted
Mission Space-Walk On, 30 posted
Snacks and drinks in Mexico (10 minute wait) and China (no waits)
Frozen-25 min, 35 posted
More drinks and snacks around the world. Waits for food and drinks were the shortest I’ve ever had at a festival. Caught Voices of Liberty, wonderful as always! Caught 2 cavalcades. 
Joined wait list for Spice Road Table, called in 10 minutes. Food was fantastic!!! Well spaced tables outside. Loved every minute of this! 
Spaceship Earth-7 min wait
Nemo-Walk On
Figment-Walk On
Living with the Land-Walk On
Soarin-30 min, 45 posted 

Only thing we missed we wanted to do was Gran Fiesta. Tricky with line into pavilion then line for the ride. But given we arrived an hour after park opened I can’t complain. Park was full of life but not too busy for my tastes. Easy to pull aside for a drink or bite. Mask compliance was excellent. Don’t love the plexiglass on Frozen. Probably the worst plexiglass situation but I can live with it. I loved fast passes cause I knew how to work them but I also love everyone on the same playing field and being able to ride Frozen in the afternoon with no planning and 25 min wait. When else does that happen?! Do some rides at opening and save the west side of future world for the evening.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Today was my first full day on this trip and it was an Animal Kingdom morning.

I drove and tried arriving at the parking area around 6:50 but the parking plaza was blocked off and they were forcing us to turn around. After looping around twice, at 7:02 I finally pulled over to the shoulder and waited with other cars.  It was 7:10 before they finally removed the cones and allowed people to pull towards the parking plaza...and it was 7:13 before the guard (slowly) removed all the cones at the gates, not allowing any of the cars to pull forward until he gave them the "OK" to approach the parking agent.

At one point, it kinda felt like a game he was playing...(NO SOUP FOR YOU  )

*IF you are staying on property: take the bus if you are going to AK. *

I did pay for preferred parking and was the 2nd car parked in that section. Yet, by the time I got to temperature check there were quite a few folks already in. I was fully through temperature check and ticketing by 7:35. Most people headed to Pandora. I stopped for a quick photo in front of the Tree of Life and then headed to the Safari. They held us in line until about 7:50 at which time the line was growing - at least 7 families in front of me and 15 to 20 families behind me.

I made it on the 1st Safari as did the family behind me and the rest went to the 2nd (or 3rd) vehicles. 

The safari was delightful - hippos were out, painted dogs, as well as 3 of the juvenile/baby giraffes...best of all is Ranger the baby Rhino is out. He was let out this morning with just his mom and we were not allowed to stop, just go slowly and they asked us to be very quiet as he is getting used to being out and the trucks. He was gallivanting around with a lot of joy.

I was off the Safari at 8:13 and headed to Asia where I did Everest (5 minute wait). I got a breakfast sandwich at Trek Snacks and it was very underwhelming (but I knew I needed some food). The Cast Member was surly and when I asked if there was anything besides the sausage/egg biscuit she said no, turned her back to me, and then said DO YOU WANT IT OR NOT?. I said yes, please and she threw it on the counter, let me swipe a gift card, and walked away without another word. It was very overcooked and I wish I had realized that Yak & Yeti Local Foods was serving as I would have gotten something there.  I walked over near the Jungle Trek to have a few bites (I ate about half - it was kinda hard and over cooked) while I waited for the Jungle Trek to open (which is at 9 AM).

Tigers were out and somewhat active. Birds were having their breakfast. The big bird there is named Alfred.

I did It's Tough to Be a Bug - and since the exit puts you out in Africa, I walked around through Pandora to check the crowds. By this time (9:50), the line for Safari was being wound through the Festival of the Lion King que. FOP was 50 minutes with the line on the bridge almost to Africa, and the Navi River line all the way across the bridge into Discovery Island (didn't see the wait time.  I peeked into some shops and then sat down to wait for The Nomad Lounge to open. A line began forming around 10:30 and by 10:40, it was about 10 deep. By 11 AM, the line was about 20 deep.

After a perfectly lovely time in the Nomad Lounge - a total different experience with Cast Members here - I made my way out of the park and headed to MK.

One note about the crowds: Mask Compliance in AK was about 80%. SO many noses, lots of people wearing the masks around their chins, and I saw dozens of people taking masks off to take photos as well as people trying to drink while walking. Cast Members are calling them out when they see it but they can't be everywhere. I chatted with some folks in line for Nomad Lounge that said the Safari driver stopped  at one point and told a woman that if she didn't put her mask on, he'd have security meet them at the end (they said he called the same woman 3 or 4 times during the Safari)

I arrived in MK around 1:30 and it was too early to hop. I was able to tap in at 1:47. As I was entering, the Princess Cavalcade was making it's way down main street. Main Street wasn't too bad, but once I got into Fantasy Land there were just people everywhere.. A bit better mask compliance than AK but not much - there were lots of noses, folks taking masks off for photos, and some kiddos taking their masks down despite their parents constantly pulling their masks back down.

I did 7 Dwarfs, Little Mermaid, and Peter Pan then left. It was just TOO hot and too crowded for me. Mickey's Philharmonic was a 30 minute wait and the line looped around the building next to it and around the corner.

I did not go into any other area of the parks besides Fantasyland but glanced at the wait times with nothing under 35 minutes (Haunted Mansion) (Well, Flying Carpets was 25).

Headed to the Grand Floridian where I arrived around 3:40. Waited for The Enchanted Rose to open and had a cocktail, chatted with other folks at the bar, and then had some wonderful sliders. (drinks being at 4 but food not til 5)

THAT was the first full day.  I had a very good day but then I know that my idea of a good day may not be the same for others. This was NOT like last October or even last month.

I saw a lot of meltdowns from little kiddos. It was hot, crowded, and most of them are not used to wearing masks. I would NOT recommend now for a 1st time trip right now,  especially if your family has been home and no one is used to wearing masks. Getting used to wearing the masks is tough especially in this heat. If you and your kiddos are used to wearing masks for hours at a time, I still wouldn't recommend this time period for 1st visits. 

THAT said, for folks like me: AP, no need to "do everything", and can happily leave the park when it feels crowded after doing some favorites: go if you need to be in the magic.

This is a different level of folks than was here last month - and while I still believe Disney is keeping to their 35% of capacity, this is 35% of FULL CAPACITY.


----------



## momto2

Jerseyroaddevil said:


> Hi all. First time poster, long-time lurker.  I've gotten many helpful tips from these boards over the years so I'd thought I'd report on our Feb 25 quick visit.  We had rented a house in SW FL for the kids' winter break and drove down from NY.  DS13 asked if we could stop at DHS to see GE on the way back home (he'd never been).  With only about 2 weeks to plan, we were able to get 2 nights at the Yacht Club, DHS park res on the 25th, and Trattoria al Forno for arrival dinner on Feb 24. No Savi's, Droid Depot, Ogas or SciFi ressies were available.  By checking occasionally, I was able to get both my kids Savi's @9:05am and a Mama Melrose dinner @ park close. Never saw Ogas or SciFi become available, and I stopped looking for Droid Depot after we got Savi's.
> We arrived at the YC midafternoon on the 24th.  I thought the kids would want to go to SAB but after being in the car they wanted to walk around. So we walked over to Fantasia mini golf and played the Gardens course. Although there were no cast members on the course (just by the entrance), all the groups were respectful about social distancing and hung back until the group ahead cleared out. After golf we went to the Boardwalk. Perused the main shop (no wait) and walked around.  Big River was open and had a lot of outdoor tables set up (seemed pretty full to me). Also a lot of people around the pizza window. Our dinner at Trattoria AF was delicious.  The open kitchen gives the dining room a good energy even with the spaced tables.
> The next morning we woke up at 6:45 for the ROTR firedrill.  We didn't practice beforehand but I had read all the tips and told the kids to keep pressing join, join, join and don't stop to read anything. Used time.gov and pressed exactly at 7. DS13 got us BG12. Our room at the YC was at the end near the DHS path (turned out great for us). We left our room at 7:45 and were at DHS a little after 8. Got in line (about 30 feet back from the tent) and they let us in at exactly 8:15. Did SDD then TSMM with no wait. Walked into GE to check into Savi's.  We had to wait about 15 minutes before we got called in.  Both DS13 and DD8 enjoyed the experience although it is definitely a one and done.  Went over to ROTR as soon as we left Savi's and basically walked on.  Awesome ride, highlight of the day.  Then we waited about 45 min for MFSR.  The queue seems to wind around everywhere, even behind the ride in a staging area. We mobile ordered from Docking Bay while waiting and picked up our meal a few minutes after we left the ride. Maybe we were starved by the time we ate, but it didn't seem like a lot of food.  And the cast members were hovering to take our trays after eating when we were still drinking our drinks.
> After lunch I walked back to YC to drop off the light sabers (how do people carry them around all day? they are long and heavy), and my kids did Star Tours without me (15 min wait).  We met back up at RNRC (posted 45 min) but DD chickened out so we did ToT instead.  Posted 60 min, took about that long.  DS left the line to bring back drinks because much of the queue is in the full sun. We took sips and pulled our masks up in between. After TT we waited about 45 min for MMRR, again in the full sun.  After that we went to the Muppets (no wait) just to take a break from sun/standing. Then did some of the shops in GE (long wait for Market), rode Saucers (15 min), TSMM again (30 min), and did SDD (40 min) right before closing (it's definitely better at night with the lights on).  Had a nice dinner at Mama Melrose and walked through a relatively empty park just before 8 to catch the last boat back to YC.  Overall a fun day. Although the lines move quickly, don't underestimate the effect of being on your feet all the time and in the sun. We were exhausted and there is no way I could keep up that pace for more than a day or two.


when you said your room at YC was near DHS walk, where was this?    Could you please give me some directions?  I would so appreciate it.  I heard there is a shorter walk through BW?


----------



## brockash

CapnJacksGirl said:


> we entered like normal and then went out a side exit door before we started up the ramps. We would around outside for a bit then back in, up the ramp and on like normal. It was so strange. We waited about 35 minutes if I remember correctly. Not awful but warmer than we expected for sure!


How odd...we were there in Oct. and the wait was 60 mins., but didn't go outside...weird.


----------



## mickey+minnie91

CapnJacksGirl said:


> For those into the details, we had four people trying for BG this morning. Two on Disney WiFi, one on data in the room, one on data outside. One of us on Disney wifi got it. We did speed tests this morning and wifi was faster than our Verizon iPhones.


How do you do a speed test?


----------



## wilkydelts

@TexanInTheMidwest why did you say to take the bus to AK if staying on property? Did you feel like you were that far behind the crowds? If you went straight to Pandora how do you think it would have gone?


----------



## mrsap

mickey+minnie91 said:


> How do you do a speed test?



Go to https://fast.com/ and it will show you your current WiFi speed. Turn off WiFi and run again with LTE on. Just refresh https://fast.com/ once you’ve turned off WiFi and it will give your your LTE speed. Use whichever speed is faster. Good luck!


----------



## scrappinginontario

For those doing the speed tests, do you find it changes greatly closer to 7am when many are online?  I will need to use Disney wifi and can only think many others may too.


----------



## RunWI1265

emmabelle said:


> Back home today.  Overall thoughts were it was crowded but I think that’s because there isn’t as much to do.  We still had fun and because we go so often it really didn’t matter to us.  The weather was so beautiful we actually decided to stay an extra day and went from BCV over to the Dolphin for the night.  The mask compliance over there is a total joke in the outdoor areas.  I was so surprised, coming from MA you can’t basically take a walk around your neighborhood without one.  Lol
> 
> i don’t think we’ll update our AP’s. It’s just hard when people don’t follow the rules. Mask compliance is a thing and if you can’t do it then don’t go. I felt I spent too much time focusing on it because I like things to be fair for everyone. Some people just don’t feel the same way, so we’ll wait and see what the fall brings.



ugh that’s disappointing to hear about mask compliance at the dolphin. We are booked there for May. I’m with you on seeing other people break the rules. It’s frustrating. If I’m able to keep my space it doesn’t do anything but annoy me. And make me wonder what is so hard about keeping a mask on. If I can’t get away, like being stuck on a bus and a family sitting across from us takes off their mask then I get mad.


----------



## Brittany Fata

md1982 said:


> Just returned from a trip 2/22-226. Coronado Springs, one day in each park. It was a little bit more crowded than I thought it would be, however posts claiming they’ve never seen the walkways this crowded are extreme over exaggerations. Granted I was only in the parks on weekdays. But normal busy zones like galaxy’s edge, fantasyland, etc were all much less crowded than in normal times. My last trip was exactly a year ago and galaxy’s edge was packed, not at all the same this trip.
> 
> I never felt wall to wall people on this trip. And mask compliance was excellent.Yes there are moments when you walk past people and are not 6 ft apart, but if I am outside, with masks on, I’m very ok with that. Ask anyone that lives in a city. I live in NYC and it was very similar to walking down the sidewalks here. Or taking the subway. And I felt I always had a place to pull over to avoid people. The only moments I didn’t love were exiting rides. Things could get a bit tight especially on FOP, and others, but you are only next to people for a few moments and almost always with proper masks. If you’re comfortable at a grocery store with full mask compliance you will feel comfortable here!
> 
> We only waited to get into a gift shop once, exiting MK. Wait times are highly over estimated. Never waited longer than the posted time. Lines constantly moved which is mice. Had no problems with mobile ordering, or grabbing food. Buses were excellent, loved always having a seat to rest the feet. Mask compliance was excellent and loved that cast members corrected people constantly. Outside I saw a few improper masks under the nose or chin but never once saw someone inside breaking the mask rules. I felt quite comfortable. Will go into more detail day just day in upcoming posts! But just want to say don’t get scared by some fear-mongers. Know your own limits, manage your expectations and plan well.



Thank you for your report, I also live in NYC so I appreciate your comparison. I have been on the fence, but your report has helped ease some of my concerns.


----------



## Jerseyroaddevil

momto2 said:


> when you said your room at YC was near DHS walk, where was this?    Could you please give me some directions?  I would so appreciate it.  I heard there is a shorter walk through BW?


We were in YC room 3030.  Right near a stairwell that comes out on the side of the building, very close to the bridge to BW and Swan/Dolphin. Once over the bridge you can get on the DHS walking path. The BW would be even closer as you can pick up the path directly next to the BW resort grounds (I could see the BW pool from the path).


----------



## lovethattink

scrappinginontario said:


> For those doing the speed tests, do you find it changes greatly closer to 7am when many are online?  I will need to use Disney wifi and can only think many others may too.



Be sure to use time.gov on another device to be sure you try for a bg at the right time. As soon as I see it say 6:59:59 I click join on my phone.  I used Disney WiFi and got a bg. Like 60’s or 70’s. Using my phones service I was able to get in the early teens.


----------



## GBRforWDW

scrappinginontario said:


> For those doing the speed tests, do you find it changes greatly closer to 7am when many are online?  I will need to use Disney wifi and can only think many others may too.


Yes, I saw big fluctuations when I ran the tests while at Disney.  Good news for you though is that in room WiFi ended up being faster for me just before 7am.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

mickey+minnie91 said:


> How do you do a speed test?



There is a Speedtest app. Very simple once you download it. We checked both data and WiFi with it.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

B E A Utiful day yesterday at HS!  

We were through temp check and tapatiles on to MMRR by 8:30. Did MMRR, MFSR, RotR, AS2, TSMM and were waiting outside Docking Bay 7 when it opened at 11. Awesome lunch!! Did Star Tours after then took a break to take DS’s legacy saber back to the room and take a dip in the pool.

Back at 4 for Oga’s (cool but definitely one and done), then on to MMRR, RnRC, TSMM, SDD, and MFSR. My other DS had a Savi’s reservation for Wednesday but we checked after Oga’s and they put us on the wait list. Got called just before park closing and knocked that out. DS loved carrying his saber out in the dark 

Awesome day there. Crowded but not awful and definitely manageable. No issues with masks and, other than getting through the tapstiles, no issues with distancing. Everyone kept their distance at temp check and then got all over each iother to scan their bands.

Off to AK today!


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

wilkydelts said:


> @TexanInTheMidwest why did you say to take the bus to AK if staying on property? Did you feel like you were that far behind the crowds? If you went straight to Pandora how do you think it would have gone?



I talked to a couple that Ubered  (were second in the line of cars) and they went straight to Pandora and said it was about 20 minutes. So, the first busses probably had about 10-15 (just the walk thru the que)


----------



## WEDWDW

tsme said:


> Though by the end of the trip we had already rebooked our next Disney trip, . Disney just pulls us back. I think we might be addicts. Addiction to the mouse is real.


YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!

We call it DISNEY CRACK!

But we always say that being addicted to DISNEY CRACK is better than being addicted to CRACK CRACK!lol


----------



## emmabelle

RunWI1265 said:


> ugh that’s disappointing to hear about mask compliance at the dolphin. We are booked there for May. I’m with you on seeing other people break the rules. It’s frustrating. If I’m able to keep my space it doesn’t do anything but annoy me. And make me wonder what is so hard about keeping a mask on. If I can’t get away, like being stuck on a bus and a family sitting across from us takes off their mask then I get mad.




Honestly, I couldn't believe how bad the guests were.  The hotel was letting everyone sit at the lobby bar without spacing too. What??  I said to my husband apparently you can do whatever you want at the Dolphin.  The chairs at the pool were all next to each other, even though it said they were supposed to be 6 feet apart.  We just went and sat on the sand part and it was nice there although a little bit of a walk to get wet. haha

I was glad we hadn't spent the week there and it's a shame because I do like the Swan and Dolphin.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

Sitting at the OKW pool after spending the morning at AK.

Got on the first bus at Peninsular Rd at about 6:45 and we were walking into AK at 7:15. We weren’t the first bus to arrive and people from the parking lots were already entering.

Went straight to Pandora for FoP and pretty much walked straight through. Headed for Safari next then to Asia, where my guys rode EE three times in a row, walking right through, while I watched the character barges on the river. So cute but they were cruising across there!

Dinosaur next with no wait then back to FoP, again pretty much walking straight through the looong queue, then over to the Gorilla Trail before lunch at FlameTree at 11. Dang, that chicken is gooooood. Even better than I remember. DSs had no interest in much else so we went back over to FoP. Rode twice more, still pretty much just walking through the queue. The longest posted wait we experienced was 40 minutes and that was at about 10 am. We were through the queue AND the ride in 42. We have found wait times to be fairly inflated almost across the board at all three parks we have visited so far (Ep, HS, AK). 

I had been pretty impressed with mask compliance and distancing on our first two days, but man, that went out the window today. It seemed like people were unnecessarily up on top of each other. Yes, there are pinch points, but people just didn’t seem to be paying attention today anywhere. Africa late morning was insane.  People on attractions had to be told repeatedly how to wear a mask. The CM checking us in at Flame Tree had to stop and go tell a family who were all walking and eating ice cream that they couldn’t do that and the guests wanted to argue with him about it. We have had very good luck the first two days so maybe today was an off day and tomorrow will be better. Fingers crossed.

Letting the kids swim for a bit now then off to DS for the Gideon’s cookies I have been drooling over on Instagram for months.  If you are there later and hear someone singing the hallelujah chorus, it’s likely me. Look for the tall blonde gal with chocolate all over her face like a toddler  That’d be me!


----------



## bizeemom4

emmabelle said:


> Honestly, I couldn't believe how bad the guests were.  The hotel was letting everyone sit at the lobby bar without spacing too. What??  I said to my husband apparently you can do whatever you want at the Dolphin.  The chairs at the pool were all next to each other, even though it said they were supposed to be 6 feet apart.  We just went and sat on the sand part and it was nice there although a little bit of a walk to get wet. haha
> 
> I was glad we hadn't spent the week there and it's a shame because I do like the Swan and Dolphin.



This is really upsetting to read. We are headed to the Dolphin for 7 nights (in 2 weeks) for our first trip post-Covid. We are vaccinated but we both work from home and actively avoid every social experience - even grocery shopping. I think being around unmasked people will really be hard for us to handle.


----------



## dez1978

bizeemom4 said:


> This is really upsetting to read. We are headed there for 7 nights (in 2 weeks) for our first trip post-Covid. We are vaccinated but we both work from home and actively avoid every social experience - even grocery shopping. I think being around unmasked people will really be hard for us to handle.


Please don't take this wrong, bc I am not trying to be mean, but I really don't understand this. Why would you actively avoid everything at home, but plan a trip to Disney? I just feel like if I was so concerned and careful at home, even when it comes to things like grocery shopping, that I wouldn't plan a trip where I'll be in contact with thousands of other people, masks or not. 

Please keep in mind my perspective.  I have not been able to work from home, we don't have grocery pick up/delivery in my town, and my kids have been in school since August, so that probably changes how I look at things and why I am not at all worried about going.


----------



## Kitty & Covs Covs

I am a park-all-day person and really do not like going back to the hotel (much to the frustration of my daughter through the years when she would have loved a pool break), but these reports make me think a super early morning wake up, RD, and aggressive ride plan for the first few hours followed by a mid-day break and then return at night makes sense these days because of the crowds and wait times.  We'll be there March 12-16 when the extended hours make this feasible.   Three hours to ride two rides vs. a crowd break might mean a more enjoyable trip overall? 

For those who are noting reduced wait times in the evening, what is the earliest time you think we could go back after a break and start experiencing lower than peak ride times?


----------



## bizeemom4

dez1978 said:


> Please don't take this wrong, bc I am not trying to be mean, but I really don't understand this. Why would you actively avoid everything at home, but plan a trip to Disney? I just feel like if I was so concerned and careful at home, even when it comes to things like grocery shopping, that I wouldn't plan a trip where I'll be in contact with thousands of other people, masks or not.
> 
> Please keep in mind my perspective.  I have not been able to work from home, we don't have grocery pick up/delivery in my town, and my kids have been in school since August, so that probably changes how I look at things and why I am not at all worried about going.



Valid question - we are just coming up on the end of the 2 weeks after the second vaccine. We feel that with proper safety measures like wearing KN95s at the park and avoiding dining inside, we should be safe to travel. Up to this point, we have not been out because we were not vaccinated and at higher risk.


----------



## seashell7290

Currently staying at Pop and back for a midday break from Hollywood Studios. Wanted to do a quick update for morning opening. Left our room around 7:15 to get in line for the skyliner. There were about 20-30 groups ahead. By 7:30, we were boarded to Carribean Beach. Waited 15 mins to board to HS. Was in line for screening just before 8. They didn’t let in until 8:15ish. Did notice there were two friendship boats that made it to opening. They didn’t have to enter a line behind those already in line for screeners for some reason. Walked on slinky and MF. Getting there early is for sure key.


----------



## Gearbm95

bizeemom4 said:


> Valid question - we are just coming up on the end of the 2 weeks after the second vaccine. We feel that with proper safety measures like wearing KN95s at the park and avoiding dining inside, we should be safe to travel. Up to this point, we have not been out because we were not vaccinated and at higher risk.



If crowds are going to make you feel uncomfortable, unsafe, or upset then, for your own sake, cancel the trip and rebook for 2022.This spring/summer is going to be wild at WDW, and if Ratatouille opens soon it’ll be even worse.


----------



## Mango7100

bizeemom4 said:


> Valid question - we are just coming up on the end of the 2 weeks after the second vaccine. We feel that with proper safety measures like wearing KN95s at the park and avoiding dining inside, we should be safe to travel. Up to this point, we have not been out because we were not vaccinated and at higher risk.


I understand. We are considering a trip in spring because my high risk husband got his first vaccine and will be 3+ weeks out after his second. We have barely done anything for a year other than send our child to school. He does work onsite at his job, but he is usually alone in his office and they are very strict with protocols. We need to do something after this year, and his vaccine status gives us the chance.  However, we may just do a resort stay and only 1 park day at Epcot.


----------



## Chris Ehlers

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Sitting at the OKW pool after spending the morning at AK.
> 
> Got on the first bus at Peninsular Rd at about 6:45 and we were walking into AK at 7:15. We weren’t the first bus to arrive and people from the parking lots were already entering.
> 
> Went straight to Pandora for FoP and pretty much walked straight through. Headed for Safari next then to Asia, where my guys rode EE three times in a row, walking right through, while I watched the character barges on the river. So cute but they were cruising across there!
> 
> Dinosaur next with no wait then back to FoP, again pretty much walking straight through the looong queue, then over to the Gorilla Trail before lunch at FlameTree at 11. Dang, that chicken is gooooood. Even better than I remember. DSs had no interest in much else so we went back over to FoP. Rode twice more, still pretty much just walking through the queue. The longest posted wait we experienced was 40 minutes and that was at about 10 am. We were through the queue AND the ride in 42. We have found wait times to be fairly inflated almost across the board at all three parks we have visited so far (Ep, HS, AK).
> 
> I had been pretty impressed with mask compliance and distancing on our first two days, but man, that went out the window today. It seemed like people were unnecessarily up on top of each other. Yes, there are pinch points, but people just didn’t seem to be paying attention today anywhere. Africa late morning was insane.  People on attractions had to be told repeatedly how to wear a mask. The CM checking us in at Flame Tree had to stop and go tell a family who were all walking and eating ice cream that they couldn’t do that and the guests wanted to argue with him about it. We have had very good luck the first two days so maybe today was an off day and tomorrow will be better. Fingers crossed.
> 
> Letting the kids swim for a bit now then off to DS for the Gideon’s cookies I have been drooling over on Instagram for months.  If you are there later and hear someone singing the hallelujah chorus, it’s likely me. Look for the tall blonde gal with chocolate all over her face like a toddler  That’d be me!


how were they seating you on FOP?  when we were these last month there was no empty Banshees between groups.


----------



## Thomasboys

Kitty & Covs Covs said:


> I am a park-all-day person and really do not like going back to the hotel (much to the frustration of my daughter through the years when she would have loved a pool break), but these reports make me think a super early morning wake up, RD, and aggressive ride plan for the first few hours followed by a mid-day break and then return at night makes sense these days because of the crowds and wait times.  We'll be there March 12-16 when the extended hours make this feasible.   Three hours to ride two rides vs. a crowd break might mean a more enjoyable trip overall?
> 
> For those who are noting reduced wait times in the evening, what is the earliest time you think we could go back after a break and start experiencing lower than peak ride times?



I tracked wait times today for some of our favorite rides and interestingly, the lowest times for FOP, SDMT, TOT, RNRC, and FOP were all at 2:30p today, with the exception of FOP who had a 15 m wait at 4:40p.  It makes me wonder if mid-afternoon is the new RD.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Day 3 is in the books for me and I am settled back in my hotel for the day after grabbing some dinner to take back to the room from Chicken Salad Chick (Yummy! and their portions are so big this will be dinner or lunch for at least 3 meals!)

So, this morning I had a Hollywood Studios Park Reservation. I watched the countdown clock, did all the "right" things, and as I hit "Join" right as it clicked to 7 AM, but MDE glitched and rebooted. I initially planned to just keep my plans and head to HS anyway...but after checking availability, decided to try for a boarding group tomorrow.

I spent about 15 minutes rescheduling what dining I could (as well as changing what I was going to wear). Then I headed to Trattoria al Forno for a breakfast reservation where I had a nice, leisurely breakfast of the steak and eggs. I had an 8:30 reservation and the restaurant was fairly empty when I arrived and when I left their were a few families waiting to be seated. (SO if you need a last minute breakfast reservation try earlier than later).  Also: they were seating outside and as I walked out, every single outside table has folks sitting at it.

I walked to the International Gateway and they were filtering everyone arriving (either walking or by Skyliner) into the que normally used for the Friendship Boats. They let about 10 families in to "prime" the tap stile scanners and I was the first person held back until around 10:05. (The Temperature Check folks were explaining about the "priming the scanners" thing)

I walked towards France and leisurely strolled through world showcase, stopping to take photos of all the topiaries for Flower and Garden. I stopped at Frozen with, of course, several other families. They opened Frozen at 10:35 AM and we basically walked on...and then most of us walked on again. While some families headed back for a 3rd time, I headed on to Mexico and into the pyramid to ride Three Caballeros.

I exited the pyramid at 11:09 AM

I walked up and around to The Sea, did Nemo ( a walk on) and explored the aquariums. I did not go into The Land or Journey into Imagination. The Land was crowded(ish) (stroller parking was filling up) but I didn't walk in to see wait times.  and Figment was showing a 5 minute wait (walk on).

I walked back around into the World Showcase through Mexico again, stopped for another round of Frozen (again, a walk-on) and wandered in and out of shops.  I chatted with the photographer that was stationed in Italy...and waited as the Princesses in the horse drawn carriage went by (Sleeping Beauty, Jasmin, Belle, and Snow White)

Had some ice cream from La Glace and then attended the Beauty and Beast Sing A Long (I had NO clue of the storyline - wasn't a fan). Then I walked  across the bridge and over into the UK. Said hello to Alice who was greeting folks in the Garden while a lady played the piano in the gazebo. 

I wandered in and out of the shops, took more topiary photos, and then was waiting for the Friendship boat back to the Boardwalk by 1:45.

Rather than hop to another park, I elected to come back to the hotel to get some rest (and get some chicken salad instead of a bigger/heavier meal on property. 

*Some notes:* Mask compliance was probably about 98% at Epcot. A couple of noses, a couple of folks walking while drinking. But not many...and I didn't see a single adult taking photos without masks though I did see a couple of littles pulling masks down for photos with their parents encouragement...but then they slipped them back up right away.

I'm sure Epcot will get busier with Flower and Garden beginning on Wednesday. But it was nice and quiet today. AND as I was leaving there were more folks heading in as it was almost time to hop.


----------



## Kitty & Covs Covs

Thomasboys said:


> I tracked wait times today for some of our favorite rides and interestingly, the lowest times for FOP, SDMT, TOT, RNRC, and FOP were all at 2:30p today, with the exception of FOP who had a 15 m wait at 4:40p.  It makes me wonder if mid-afternoon is the new RD.



Ha! Well, there goes that strategy (maybe!).  Everything is so unpredictable right now...a whole newwww worrlldddd.


----------



## Thomasboys

Kitty & Covs Covs said:


> Ha! Well, there goes that strategy (maybe!).  Everything is so unpredictable right now...a whole newwww worrlldddd.



I know!  I'll be watching this thread like a hawk the next 2 weeks.  We will be there 3/19.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Chris Ehlers said:


> how were they seating you on FOP?  when we were these last month there was no empty Banshees between groups.



I did Flight of Passage yesterday and they are filling every single spot.


----------



## dez1978

bizeemom4 said:


> Valid question - we are just coming up on the end of the 2 weeks after the second vaccine. We feel that with proper safety measures like wearing KN95s at the park and avoiding dining inside, we should be safe to travel. Up to this point, we have not been out because we were not vaccinated and at higher risk.


Oh goodness.  I have to wear those KN95 masks at work.  There is no way I could stand wearing those in the heat.


----------



## md1982

Feb. 23-Tuesday-Hollywood Studios

Travel companion and I up and ready to get Boarding Group at 7:00. He tried on WiFi, I tried on Verizon LTE. He got Boarding Group 10! At the bus stop at 7:40. After the third AK bus came in a row, a manager or something in a yellow vest came and talked to the third bus driver and changed it to Studios!!! Off the bus at 8:00 and only about 10 groups deep for temp checks. Started letting people in right at 8:15. Walked briskly to Slinky.

Slinky-Walk On
Toy Story Mania-Walk On 

Wanted to get in ToT next but the line was already 65 minutes! Before park opening! Had been watching trends and know this ride stays right around 60 all day so decided to come back later when most other things were longer too. And our Rise time was already called at 8:40-9:40

Rock-n-Rollercoaster-Walk On
Lightning McQueen-Got in next show after about a 5 min wait. 
Rise of the Resistance-in line 9:30 off the ride at 10:00

Wish our time was a little later to get in another ride or two with short lines but can’t complain. Explored Galaxy’s Edge a bit abs tried Blue Milk for the first time...with rum! Not a huge coconut fan but I actually quite enjoyed it! Then walked over and got a table at 10:45 for lunch at Baseline Taphouse. Friend stayed at table I got in line for 11:00 opening. Line got long and was glad I was there early. Charcuterie board and pretzel were delicious! Loved this!!!

Decided with our bellies full time to bite the bullet and get in line for ToT.

ToT- 60 min wait-posted 65 but jumped up to 80 shortly after we got in line. Longest line of the trip. But I love this attraction so it was worth it!

Caught a cavalcade looked in shops.

Star Tours-20 min wait-35 posted. 
***-25 min wait
Muppets-20 min wait
Millennium Falcon-25 min wait. Were assigned engineers but asked if we could wait to be pilots. They gave us our own pod right away. 
Toy Story Mania-Walk On
Runaway Railroad-30 min wait, wish we had done this twice! I loved it!!!

Hurried over to close the night with another ride on Rock-n-Rollercoaster. Definitely did a bit too much criss crossing the park chasing lines. And we wanted to see Frozen but seemed you had to be there 30 min early and then 30 min show so didn’t want to spend that much time on it. So that was part of our criss crossing checking on that. Mask compliance was excellent. Short wait for the bus back to Coronado. Quick dip in the pool then food and drinks at Dahlia lounge out in the rooftop! My favorite day of the trip!


----------



## brockash

dez1978 said:


> Please don't take this wrong, bc I am not trying to be mean, but I really don't understand this. Why would you actively avoid everything at home, but plan a trip to Disney? I just feel like if I was so concerned and careful at home, even when it comes to things like grocery shopping, that I wouldn't plan a trip where I'll be in contact with thousands of other people, masks or not.
> 
> Please keep in mind my perspective.  I have not been able to work from home, we don't have grocery pick up/delivery in my town, and my kids have been in school since August, so that probably changes how I look at things and why I am not at all worried about going.


And on top of that vaccinated?  Again, please don't take this the wrong way...just very confused.


----------



## bizeemom4

Mango7100 said:


> I understand. We are considering a trip in spring because my high risk husband got his first vaccine and will be 3+ weeks out after his second. We have barely done anything for a year other than send our child to school. He does work onsite at his job, but he is usually alone in his office and they are very strict with protocols. We need to do something after this year, and his vaccine status gives us the chance.  However, we may just do a resort stay and only 1 park day at Epcot.



Wishing you great success with your trip. We have a few resort only days planned and several at Epcot where we can find some space. Hopefully, we will both have an experience that is safe.


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## Raven01

MK today, March 1 (Monday)

9 am park open.  First At the AKL Jambo stop at 725 am.  MK bus at 745,  Held at temp check to 815 and at the park entrance until about 830.  I did not think they were doing that so I was surprised.

Entered and went to SDMT.  It was not yet running.  It started up within 3-4 minutes and there was maybe a 3-4 minute wait once through the queue.

At that point, I had lots of thoughts but nothing close by was open!  Peter Pan, Small World, Haunted Mansion were all closed.  We went to BTMM.  5 minute wait.  Once off, the plan was Splash, but it was not open (and possibly broken down).  It was now 9 am.  We crossed back to Small World, which was just open.  10ish Minute wait.  Peter Pan was then backed up, so we went to the Carousel (20 minute, and the kid picked it so I had no choice ).  We did Ariel (walk on), Dumbo (10), Speedway (10), and Buzz (30).  After a stop for lunch, everything was so crowded we hit the Aladdin carpets (10) and left about 2 pm.

The headliners posted times were 40-60 minutes.  Buzz was posted 40, TP had 17, so the 30 was in the middle.  Haunted Mansion must have had a cleaning cycle because the line was back to like Country Bears - I quit looking for the end - but was posted 25.

Crowd wise, it’s okay.  I’ve seen it worse.  It felt More like a normal trip, tbh.  I generally felt fine,  but it’s busy in bottlenecks.  If you are picturing yourself in a six foot bubble, don’t come.  I had some folks who did not understand the six feet line thing that made me uncomfortable, and I’m COVID Easy going.

Rope Drop and a later return seem to be the way to go To minimize crowds and lines.

Hope this helps!


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## emmabelle

bizeemom4 said:


> This is really upsetting to read. We are headed to the Dolphin for 7 nights (in 2 weeks) for our first trip post-Covid. We are vaccinated but we both work from home and actively avoid every social experience - even grocery shopping. I think being around unmasked people will really be hard for us to handle.



It was just so weird after staying the first 6 nights at BCV and how much better mask compliance was there.

  What was also so annoying at the Swolphin was in order to get food at the pool you had to have a pool chair that had it’s own QR code strapped to it.  Well there wasn’t one empty chair at 1:30pm on Saturday at any of the three pools.  We tried to order from the bartender but he said it would take way too long like an hour.  I think he was kind of overwhelmed making drinks so ordering food wasn’t in his game plan.  So we were already by the Swan’s quiet pool so we went into Java and ordered sandwiches.  They were actually quite good.  Lol

But just because it was busy there last Saturday doesn’t mean it will still be crazy when you go!  Just don’t wait until 1:30pm to try and find pool chairs or bar food.


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## skeletondance

Lurker here - this thread was a huge help in me planning my trip from 2/21 to 2/25, so as a thank-you I figured I'd take some time to share my experience as well!

Some background info: 5 day solo trip with 5 park days, and this was my first time at WDW in almost 14 years (I was in elementary school back then!) So with all the new additions, it was pretty much like visiting for the first time again. Stayed at Pop and park days were EP, HS, AK, MK, EP. I received my second vaccine dose at the beginning of the month - full disclosure, I wouldn't have done this trip had that not been the case. Also double-masked about 80% of the time just in case.

*The good:*
- My #1 goal for this trip was to experience as many attractions as possible, and in that regard it DELIVERED. Even with the shortened park hours, I could count on one hand the attractions I missed out on that I didn't purposely skip! Waits were consistently 25-50% less than what was listed on MDE. My longest wait of the weekend by far was ToT at 70 minutes (which was also my only wait that matched MDE's estimation), and after that was 7DMT at 45 (posted 60). Everything else was 40 minutes or less - including all the headliners at every park.
- In regards to the above, rope drop was essential to make that happen - so glad I learned about this because it is SO worth it! I didn't use any fancy Uber tricks, just showed up to the bus stop/Skyliner 90 minutes before official opening each day, and the only park I wasn't held at the gates within the first few guests for was EP on Thursday (which was fine, as I had already done most of the attractions on Sunday. Soarin' was the only big one I'd missed, which was still an easy walk-on). One of my favorite moments of the whole week was being the first person on PoTC while everyone went to wait in line for the mountains - no one in front of me, a whole boat to myself, and the next boat far behind me... felt like I had the whole ride to myself. Such a cool experience.
- Pairing rope drop with a mid-day resort break was also a fantastic idea - the only park I didn't do this for was MK (so much to do!) Was really nice to escape the crowds for an hour or two, switch to fresh masks, and take a load off of my aching feet for a bit. The Skyliner was especially convenient for this - LOVED IT! Having my own private cabin each time was just icing on the cake.
- Mobile ordering was super easy, and never had to wait more than a minute or two after arriving at the restaurant. The earliest I ordered before a meal was only about an hour, too, so I didn't feel like it was particularly complicated. (I ate almost entirely QS for my trip, with the exception of one ADR at Skipper Canteen. That was a relatively quick in-and-out as I quickly realized I'm not quite ready for indoor dining yet and I still had things to do before closing. Meal was definitely the best I had all week, though!)
- People were really great about sticking to their 6ft markers in the queues. There were only a handful of times where someone was getting a bit too close for comfort, and each time it only took a glance or two behind me for them to realize what I was trying to convey to them. Some apologized, some didn't, but I never had to vocally ask someone to give me space.
- Mask compliance I saw was about 95%, with most of the offenders being noses peeking out. I didn't see too many "chinstrappers" throughout the weekend (although one of them was on CoP with me, ugh.) However...

*The bad:*
- I didn't see as many CMs correcting guests for incorrect mask usage as I expected to. For example, I had groups in front of me for the Skyliner multiple times who weren't covering their noses, and despite being directly in front of a CM, none of them said a word. Was a bit disappointing, but I can also sympathize with the crappy position they're being put in right now. 
- Yup, it's crowded. Or at least feels it. I was one of many here who was lulled into a false sense of security after the low crowds in Jan/early Feb and figured that the week between the "big trifecta" and the start of Spring Break season would be one last sweet spot. Yeah, nope. As I mentioned above, distancing in lines was overall great, but walkways and ride exits were much more of a crapshoot. (This was another great benefit of rope dropping - having a couple hours with ample space to move around and take in the parks without getting caught up in crowds.)
- The shorter hours are definitely a bummer - I read all this talk about EMHs going into the wee hours of the morning and I hate knowing that I missed out on something like that! The earlier closing times were probably better for me at the end of the day because it stopped me from running myself totally ragged, but I wished I could've taken some longer mid-day breaks, seen more of the parks at night, and got to experience even more attractions than I had already. (This is also why I ultimately didn't spend the extra dough on a park hopper ticket, and I think that was the right decision.)
- By FAR the most uncomfortable I felt during my whole trip was waiting for my return flight at MCO. More chinstrappers than I had ever seen in the parks, including one right in front of me in the TSA line, and plenty lounging around - including an actual airport worker. Those 3 hours in there felt like an eternity. 


Phew, that was a novel, sorry! Do I regret going? Not at all. Would I go again during pandemic times? Probably not solo, but if someone else wanted to come along... perhaps.

I've been dying to go back to WDW for years, I'm vaccinated and I had the vacation time I needed to use up by the end of March. And flying solo, being able to eat whatever I wanted and ride whatever I wanted, as much as I wanted, was SO much fun. This was my first adult Disney trip, but it certainly won't be the last.


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## momto2

Jerseyroaddevil said:


> We were in YC room 3030.  Right near a stairwell that comes out on the side of the building, very close to the bridge to BW and Swan/Dolphin. Once over the bridge you can get on the DHS walking path. The BW would be even closer as you can pick up the path directly next to the BW resort grounds (I could see the BW pool from the path).


Did you go through a part of BW or around it?  When you walked toward DHS were you on the right side or left side of the water?  About how long did it take to walk there?  Thanks so much!


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## blrem

GBRforWDW said:


> I've seen this reported elsewhere as well.  It's always at the guards discretion.  However, I like the report where the guard required the guest to click the here now button for the mobile order so they had to do what they said they were there for.


Just back from a Feb 21 - 28th trip. Saw people turned away from Contemporary twice with mobile orders and from Grand Floridian once.  In all 3 cases we had an ADR for a sit down restaurant at those resorts.  They took our name and confirmed we were on the list at that time before letting us in to park.  I also witnessed a rideshare turned away at the contemporary - they were instructed to make a U type turn and exit.  The passengers then disembarked at the stop sign on the way out - so that worked for them and they scrambled towards Magic Kingdom in a hurry.  Finally, we witnessed a car turned away at Riviera - mobile order.  We had an ADR for Topolinos right behind them and after taking our name and seeing it on the list we were allowed entry.  We had planned to mobile order Riviera ourselves the following morning but nixed it after witnessing what happened.  If you want to mobile order and not waste time being disappointed if turned away, you should likely not plan on rideshare or taking your car - only rely on Disney transportation or your feet to get you there.  While I'm sure it does depend on the guard, we seemed to only encounter very strict ones last week.  One final note - these occasions were at "prime time" for rope dropping at Contemporary and Grand Floridian - 7:30am.  Riviera was early evening, which I thought was strange, since I couldn't see an advantage to someone wanting to mobile order and then possibly head into a park at that time - but they definitely were not allowed in to pick up quick serve.


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## Brittany Fata

Mango7100 said:


> I understand. We are considering a trip in spring because my high risk husband got his first vaccine and will be 3+ weeks out after his second. We have barely done anything for a year other than send our child to school. He does work onsite at his job, but he is usually alone in his office and they are very strict with protocols. We need to do something after this year, and his vaccine status gives us the chance.  However, we may just do a resort stay and only 1 park day at Epcot.



I switched my trip to a resort stay and 1 park day at Epcot as well! I would say I’m okay with being out in public and don’t get uncomfortable often, but nothing I’ve done at home is really equivalent to multiple days spent in a theme park. I’m ready to be back at Disney though in some capacity.


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## blrem

MIndy S said:


> We have been to HS and MK so far, from open to close both days, and we haven't seen a cavalcade yet. We did see Kylo Ren and a couple storm troopers in Galaxy's Edge and Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland.


Try eating a lunch or snack at Tony's in MK early afternoon.  That's when the ride longs are longest and it's a good time for a break anyway.  Ask for a table outside.  You should be able to see all the Cavalcades, hear the Dapper Dans perform and likely see Disney princesses or characters interact with guest while standing on the train platform.  All while eating and giving your feet a break.  I read this tip on a blog and it really enhanced our MK day!


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## winterwhite

By the time we left on Sunday, mask compliance had gotten substantially worse and so did the number of unaware people. I got walked into, elbowed, smacked with backpacks etc just as much as I did on any other trip. There were many people in line who would hop on their phones and proceed to walk right up the back of you the entire time in line, because there’s no cast members in the queue. Lots of mask removing and eating going on as well.

In Gaston’s in the room off to the left there was a pair of women who had clearly been at a table a significant amount of time. masks off, chattering away at anyone else who came in the room and sat down. So that new mask rule doesn’t seem to be affecting anyone at all.

overall, now that I’m home - we won’t be back until restrictions are eased and more things are open, and if that trip sucks then we will probably tap out for life. I don’t enjoy it enough to deal with all the BS.


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## yaya74

winterwhite said:


> By the time we left on Sunday, mask compliance had gotten substantially worse and so did the number of unaware people. I got walked into, elbowed, smacked with backpacks etc just as much as I did on any other trip. There were many people in line who would hop on their phones and proceed to walk right up the back of you the entire time in line, because there’s no cast members in the queue. Lots of mask removing and eating going on as well.
> 
> In Gaston’s in the room off to the left there was a pair of women who had clearly been at a table a significant amount of time. masks off, chattering away at anyone else who came in the room and sat down. So that new mask rule doesn’t seem to be affecting anyone at all.
> 
> overall, now that I’m home - we won’t be back until restrictions are eased and more things are open, and if that trip sucks then we will probably tap out for life. I don’t enjoy it enough to deal with all the BS.


Just so frustrated when reading reports like this.....
Why do people choose to be selfish? Pulling down masks when you are not supposed to is like littering and spitting. Kids cann't get vaccinated yet and they do get sick from COVID. If everyone cooperates and follows with the mask-wearing mandate, things can get back to normal a lot sooner! I used to get the comment like "If you don't feel comfortable in the crowd of maskless people, STAY AT HOME."  Disney clearly has stricken the mask rule. So it would be my turn of saying "if you don't want to wear a mask at Disney, YOU NEED TO STAY AWAY FROM DISNEY so those who can follow the rule can enjoy their vacation."


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## TheBacklot

blrem said:


> Saw people turned away from Contemporary twice with mobile orders and from Grand Floridian once....Finally, we witnessed a car turned away at Riviera - mobile order.



All due respect, how do you know they're getting turned away for mobile orders, are you asking the guard when you pull up after they turn around?


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## Tennor

Sitting at the wave restaurant right now.  Took a Lyft ride. The guard at the contemporary gate asked my name to confirm my reservation. 

Now to eat some pancakes and try to be early to the MK


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## blrem

TheBacklot said:


> All due respect, how do you know they're getting turned away for mobile orders, are you asking the guard when you pull up after they turn around?


On two occasions we could hear the dialogue - we had our window down in preparation to talk to the guard ourselves and it was easy to catch enough of the conversation to ascertain the "problem" as they openly showed their phone (in 1 case) and got louder in 2 other cases - they weren't happy about being turned away.  In the case of the Riviera we asked the guard because we wanted to mobile order ourselves the next day.  He said it isn't allowed - you must have an ADR - and he said he just turned the car away in front of us (which we suspected due to what we had already seen at the Contemporary, after watching the car in front of us at the Riviera be turned away).  Again, as everyone keeps saying, YMMV - but the confirmed cases we saw at the Contemporary,  Grand Floridian and Riviera were enough for us to not chance it - we didn't have that kind of time to "punt" if turned away.  We chose to do what we KNEW would work to be allowed in - have an ADR.


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## blrem

Tennor said:


> Sitting at the wave restaurant right now.  Took a Lyft ride. The guard at the contemporary gate asked my name to confirm my reservation.
> 
> Now to eat some pancakes and try to be early to the MK


We had the exact same experience with entry (except we had our own car) and enjoyed the Wave platter on two separate occasions while there - great food!


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## scrappinginontario

blrem said:


> On two occasions we could hear the dialogue - we had our window down in preparation to talk to the guard ourselves and it was easy to catch enough of the conversation to ascertain the "problem" as they openly showed their phone (in 1 case) and got louder in 2 other cases - they weren't happy about being turned away.  In the case of the Riviera we asked the guard because we wanted to mobile order ourselves the next day.  He said it isn't allowed - you must have an ADR - and he said he just turned the car away in front of us (which we suspected due to what we had already seen at the Contemporary, after watching the car in front of us at the Riviera be turned away).  Again, as everyone keeps saying, YMMV - but the confirmed cases we saw at the Contemporary,  Grand Floridian and Riviera were enough for us to not chance it - we didn't have that kind of time to "punt" if turned away.  We chose to do what we KNEW would work to be allowed in - have an ADR.


Thank you for clarifying as I was wondering how you knew for sure too.  It's good to have first hand experiences so that people can make a decision for themselves.  Sounds like making a mobile order and gaining access to a resort is currently not an option at most resorts. 

Thanks for sharing your experiences!


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## Chris Ehlers

scrappinginontario said:


> Thank you for clarifying as I was wondering how you knew for sure too.  It's good to have first hand experiences so that people can make a decision for themselves.  Sounds like making a mobile order and gaining access to a resort is currently not an option at most resorts.
> 
> Thanks for sharing your experiences!


We have done this several times, at the gate we were told to click the button the we were here.   We are DVC and I always have my Blue Card out so I'm not sure if this is why we haven't been turned away


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## dez1978

blrem said:


> Try eating a lunch or snack at Tony's in MK early afternoon.  That's when the ride longs are longest and it's a good time for a break anyway.  Ask for a table outside.  You should be able to see all the Cavalcades, hear the Dapper Dans perform and likely see Disney princesses or characters interact with guest while standing on the train platform.  All while eating and giving your feet a break.  I read this tip on a blog and it really enhanced our MK day!


Good point.  I have 2 times reserved for Tony's on our MK day, one at 1 and one at 4.  I think I will keep the lunch time one for a break and drop the 4 pm one.


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## Jessrobian

blrem said:


> Again, as everyone keeps saying, YMMV - but the confirmed cases we saw at the Contemporary,  Grand Floridian and Riviera were enough for us to not chance it - we didn't have that kind of time to "punt" if turned away.  We chose to do what we KNEW would work to be allowed in - have an ADR.



Hoping to eat at Geyser Point (WL) during our stay, so are you recommending we take a bus to MK then boat/bus to WL instead of trying to drive there? Has anyone encountered strict guards at Wilderness Lodge?


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## Jaina

blrem said:


> On two occasions we could hear the dialogue - we had our window down in preparation to talk to the guard ourselves and it was easy to catch enough of the conversation to ascertain the "problem" as they openly showed their phone (in 1 case) and got louder in 2 other cases - they weren't happy about being turned away.  In the case of the Riviera we asked the guard because we wanted to mobile order ourselves the next day.  He said it isn't allowed - you must have an ADR - and he said he just turned the car away in front of us (which we suspected due to what we had already seen at the Contemporary, after watching the car in front of us at the Riviera be turned away).  Again, as everyone keeps saying, YMMV - but the confirmed cases we saw at the Contemporary,  Grand Floridian and Riviera were enough for us to not chance it - we didn't have that kind of time to "punt" if turned away.  We chose to do what we KNEW would work to be allowed in - have an ADR.



Yes, thanks for your reply! We now have a 7:50 reservation at the Wave our MK morning, which is the earliest I could get. If we can get there early enough to get seated early, we might eat really fast. If not, we might just not show up and eat the $20 cancellation fee. We shall see. I had to not show up, but I feel like they don't give any other options at this point to make sure we're there at opening! On my most recent trip in October, they let us mobile order and pick up, and I enjoyed my breakfast sandwich on our walk!

Also, our weekend (next week!!) is looking a little cool and rainy. (70% chance on Saturday, our HS day and a high of 75) I'm stoked about the cool weather, but have only been to Florida when it's hotter. (July and late October) What do I need to plan clothing wise, coming from Arizona (so similar to our temps, but how humid is it?) Will a light jacket probably suffice, or does it -feel- colder in Florida at the same temperatures as AZ? Does anyone know? Trying to figure out shorts/pants and what kind of jacket to lug around. We have ponchos and umbrellas.


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## blrem

RunWI1265 said:


> ugh that’s disappointing to hear about mask compliance at the dolphin. We are booked there for May. I’m with you on seeing other people break the rules. It’s frustrating. If I’m able to keep my space it doesn’t do anything but annoy me. And make me wonder what is so hard about keeping a mask on. If I can’t get away, like being stuck on a bus and a family sitting across from us takes off their mask then I get mad.


We were at the Dolphin on Sunday, Feb. 21 - Sunday, Feb. 28 and during the week it was a ghost town.  You could social distance easily as there were only a few people at the bar or at tables in the lobby in the evening - almost no one during the day.  Also, not as many restaurants open during the week.  However, there was a BIG change starting Friday, Feb. 26th.  The place filled up - literally.  There was almost no place to park and required going around and around or parking very far away.  Lines in the lobby.  Almost all tables filled.  The bar was packed.  Most people eating and drinking freely throughout lobby and rarely wearing masks at all until they left that area.  Lines for elevators and social distancing was not really happening.  It was a complete change from the wonderful quiet week we had just enjoyed.  All restaurants open and lines of people, pretty much on top of each other.  Based on our experience, I'd avoid the Dolphin on the weekends for now if you are concerned about Covid protocols.


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## blrem

Jessrobian said:


> Hoping to eat at Geyser Point (WL) during our stay, so are you recommending we take a bus to MK then boat/bus to WL instead of trying to drive there? Has anyone encountered strict guards at Wilderness Lodge?


We did not try to go to WL so I can't answer that.  If you do drive and if the guards are strict there too, be prepared with a back-up plan just in case (you could then drive to TTC and take the boat from MK to WL - and maybe others with more WL experience can chime in with better ideas as well).


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## blrem

Jaina said:


> Yes, thanks for your reply! We now have a 7:50 reservation at the Wave our MK morning, which is the earliest I could get. If we can get there early enough to get seated early, we might eat really fast. If not, we might just not show up and eat the $20 cancellation fee. We shall see. I had to not show up, but I feel like they don't give any other options at this point to make sure we're there at opening! On my most recent trip in October, they let us mobile order and pick up, and I enjoyed my breakfast sandwich on our walk!
> 
> Also, our weekend (next week!!) is looking a little cool and rainy. (70% chance on Saturday, our HS day and a high of 75) I'm stoked about the cool weather, but have only been to Florida when it's hotter. (July and late October) What do I need to plan clothing wise, coming from Arizona (so similar to our temps, but how humid is it?) Will a light jacket probably suffice, or does it -feel- colder in Florida at the same temperatures as AZ? Does anyone know? Trying to figure out shorts/pants and what kind of jacket to lug around. We have ponchos and umbrellas.


You can try going to the Wave earlier and you might get seated ahead of time.  One morning our ADR was for 7:40am.  We arrived at 7:20 and were seated along with the 7:30am check-in people.  They were not full (it was during the week so if you go on a weekend that will likely not be the case).  We had picked out what we wanted to order ahead of time.  We told our server we needed to be out asap and gave them our whole order upon first approach.  I also gave them our credit card when the food arrived (in less than 10 minutes!) and asked them to run it so we could leave as soon as we finished eating.  We were out by 8am!  Also, keep checking the Disney website to modify your time - we scored a 7:30am on another occasion (from an 8:10) the night before about 11pm!  People cancel the day or evening before when they decide they are too tired to get up early, etc.  As for weather - imo it always feels cooler on Florida evenings than the temperature would indicate. We had a few nights in the low 70s that we were happy we had sweaters/jackets as there was quite a cool breeze.  You may also want a very small umbrella in your backpack not only for rain, but for sun during long waits in queues - many queues are outdoors and long - that's where sunburn got us until we started using the umbrella for shade.


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## Maribeth71

I have an 8:20 ADR at The Wave and plan to be there about early by 7:30- 7:45- do you think we will be able to order and get to MK by rope drop/park opening?



blrem said:


> On two occasions we could hear the dialogue - we had our window down in preparation to talk to the guard ourselves and it was easy to catch enough of the conversation to ascertain the "problem" as they openly showed their phone (in 1 case) and got louder in 2 other cases - they weren't happy about being turned away.  In the case of the Riviera we asked the guard because we wanted to mobile order ourselves the next day.  He said it isn't allowed - you must have an ADR - and he said he just turned the car away in front of us (which we suspected due to what we had already seen at the Contemporary, after watching the car in front of us at the Riviera be turned away).  Again, as everyone keeps saying, YMMV - but the confirmed cases we saw at the Contemporary,  Grand Floridian and Riviera were enough for us to not chance it - we didn't have that kind of time to "punt" if turned away.  We chose to do what we KNEW would work to be allowed in - have an ADR.


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## blrem

Rope Dropping HS - in October we stayed at YC and walking was THE way to get in quickly before the Skyliner, buses or cars.  By arriving around 8am we were at the front of the pack and used the "stay left" suggestions from this thread to get through temp check quickly and be on the first train for MMRR. That was before the Friendship boats were running (they started just after we left).  But reading blogs since then, it appeared the boats were not running early enough and walking was still the best way to be towards the front of the pack and get through several rides before lines caught up with you.  This past week at the Dolphin we had a very different experience - HS opening at 9am all days we were there.  We took a Friendship boat a few minutes after 8am on a weekday and the boat left immediately - had us there about 8:15am.  The lines at temp check already went from the front of the park WAAAAY back as far as you could see beyond the Skyliner.  The boat drops you off on the side and as we approached I asked a CM standing in front of a temp check tent if we were supposed to try and find the end of the line (I said it nicely in jest, assuming of course that yes, we did need to do that).  NOPE!  He said, "no, just stand here" and pointed to a side marker.  He then opened to rope and let us and the rest of the looooong lines in.  We were the FIRST people through the tents and to go through the turn-styles.  We continued to be the FIRST people down the main street towards MMRR and it was a surreal experience having all the CM saying hello and welcoming us.  We lined up first for MMRR and within a minute they started the ride and led us to row 1!  We thought it was a huge dose of Pixie Dust but....several days later we were running late - I heard 2 boat horns go by (this was a weekend so it seems the boats start earlier on the weekend) about 7:50 and 8am. We got on a boat at 8:10am and this time the HS lines had already opened as we trekked towards the side entrance from the boat drop off again.  I went right to the side markers this time and asked the CM if this is where we stand - he replied yes and indicated to wait there.  He let a couple more people go in from the long skyliner/car/walker line in then signaled us to go through.  We were still way ahead of the "mob" that had assembled and we only waited about 5 minutes for MMRR and then 20 for SD.  I wanted to stay in the Crescent Lake area specifically for walking to HS to take advantage of Rope Dropping.  But now I would suggest taking the boat - enjoying a nice leisurely ride while you pass all the walkers - and look for those social distance lines on the side as you come in toward the temperature checks - those are for people from the boats and you will be at the front of the pack.  Good luck everyone!


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## GDubDIS

blrem said:


> Good point - and on top of that they had a special event on Saturday (A Taste of the Swan Dolphin) that they were giving special hotel rates to participants and it was a sold out event (we attended and really enjoyed it).  So maybe that weekend wasn't typical - but man it was A to Z from the lovely, quiet week we had just experienced there!



I'm considering a Swan stay for a few quick nights from Sunday April 11th to Wednesday April 14th so honestly I hope the weekdays stay quiet! I'm sure we'll be seeing some extended Easter stays, but I'm hoping the majority of the spring break/Easter crowd is gone by then. We'll see!


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## Jerseyroaddevil

momto2 said:


> Did you go through a part of BW or around it?  When you walked toward DHS were you on the right side or left side of the water?  About how long did it take to walk there?  Thanks so much!


If you pull up the map in MDE and focus on the BW resort, you should be able to see the path.  The path runs along the canal located on the left side of BW resort.  It's on the BW side of the canal, not the Swan side, and it is directly next to the water.  The path passes near the luna park pool, the community hall, and the tennis courts (but it doesn't actually go into the BW resort, you're always off to the side). Then you continue on and eventually pass the DHS bus area, the Skyliner station, and then you are at DHS.  About a 15-20 minute walk.


----------



## blrem

Maribeth71 said:


> I have an 8:20 ADR at The Wave and plan to be there about early by 7:30- 7:45- do you think we will be able to order and get to MK by rope drop/park opening?


I don't know - the restaurant would have to have "no shows" I'd assume for that long of a difference.  I'd definitely stalk the dining reservation page on the app the day before and continue until you fall asleep.  I think you have a good chance of scoring an earlier time than 8:20.  The closer you can get to a time before 8am the better your chances of being seated early and getting out.  It's critical you know what you want to order, do it at onset of being greeted, tell the server you want to pay immediately and are in a hurry.  Doing these things resulted in very quick service and being out in time for rope drop on both occasions.  I found they opened MK about 8:10 both times we did this.  BTW if you are taking Disney transportation and ride share you are all set.  But if you are driving your own car like we did, we did not park at the Contemporary for the day.  We ate at the Wave, went to the park for rope drop, then returned to the car about 11am.  There is an unwritten(?) rule (although it was often enforced in previous times) of a 3 hour parking limit when eating at a restaurant if you drive.  In both cases we ate there, did rope drop, then returned to move our car and go back to our resort to rest/swim.  The guards this time did not enforce this parking time limit nor even mention it.  However, I knew this was the expected policy from previous trips and I also know it can be hard to find a good parking spot when staying at that resort (we stayed there last year) so I did not try and abuse the policy.  If staying for the day, I'd suggest rideshare as Disney transportation can be difficult since it won't take you from a resort to another resort.


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## blrem

GDubDIS said:


> I'm considering a Swan stay for a few quick nights from Sunday April 11th to Wednesday April 14th so honestly I hope the weekdays stay quiet! I'm sure we'll be seeing some extended Easter stays, but I'm hoping the majority of the spring break/Easter crowd is gone by then. We'll see!


Please report back after your trip and let us know.  Also, I don't think Swan is a busy as Dolphin in general.  The Swan hotel is smaller and most of the activities and restaurants are in the Dolphin - so the Dolphin lobby is huge and that's where we found it packed on the weekend.  There is also a Swan/Dolphin Resort link on this board in the Resorts Thread where I found great information specific to those resorts - check it out.  I'm going to post some more specific info over there as well.  Enjoy your trip - we loved it there!


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## Maribeth71

blrem said:


> Rope Dropping HS - in October we stayed at YC and walking was THE way to get in quickly before the Skyliner, buses or cars.  By arriving around 8am we were at the front of the pack and used the "stay left" suggestions from this thread to get through temp check quickly and be on the first train for MMRR. That was before the Friendship boats were running (they started just after we left).  But reading blogs since then, it appeared the boats were not running early enough and walking was still the best way to be towards the front of the pack and get through several rides before lines caught up with you.  This past week at the Dolphin we had a very different experience - HS opening at 9am all days we were there.  We took a Friendship boat a few minutes after 8am on a weekday and the boat left immediately - had us there about 8:15am.  The lines at temp check already went from the front of the park WAAAAY back as far as you could see beyond the Skyliner.  The boat drops you off on the side and as we approached I asked a CM standing in front of a temp check tent if we were supposed to try and find the end of the line (I said it nicely in jest, assuming of course that yes, we did need to do that).  NOPE!  He said, "no, just stand here" and pointed to a side marker.  He then opened to rope and let us and the rest of the looooong lines in.  We were the FIRST people through the tents and to go through the turn-styles.  We continued to be the FIRST people down the main street towards MMRR and it was a surreal experience having all the CM saying hello and welcoming us.  We lined up first for MMRR and within a minute they started the ride and led us to row 1!  We thought it was a huge dose of Pixie Dust but....several days later we were running late - I heard 2 boat horns go by (this was a weekend so it seems the boats start earlier on the weekend) about 7:50 and 8am. We got on a boat at 8:10am and this time the HS lines had already opened as we trekked towards the side entrance from the boat drop off again.  I went right to the side markers this time and asked the CM if this is where we stand - he replied yes and indicated to wait there.  He let a couple more people go in from the long skyliner/car/walker line in then signaled us to go through.  We were still way ahead of the "mob" that had assembled and we only waited about 5 minutes for MMRR and then 20 for SD.  I wanted to stay in the Crescent Lake area specifically for walking to HS to take advantage of Rope Dropping.  But now I would suggest taking the boat - enjoying a nice leisurely ride while you pass all the walkers - and look for those social distance lines on the side as you come in toward the temperature checks - those are for people from the boats and you will be at the front of the pack.  Good luck everyone!


Thanks we are staying at Dolphin next week and will definitely use this tip!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Jaina said:


> Yes, thanks for your reply! We now have a 7:50 reservation at the Wave our MK morning, which is the earliest I could get. If we can get there early enough to get seated early, we might eat really fast. If not, we might just not show up and eat the $20 cancellation fee. We shall see. I had to not show up, but I feel like they don't give any other options at this point to make sure we're there at opening! On my most recent trip in October, they let us mobile order and pick up, and I enjoyed my breakfast sandwich on our walk!


Sorry if I missed it, but are you staying offsite?  Or why not just take the bus from your resort and avoid the hassle of the breakfast ADR?


----------



## Jaina

Any idea if you have to show that you’re resort guests to take the boats from the Swan and dolphin? We’ve also thought about just getting dropped off there.


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## blrem

Chris Ehlers said:


> We have done this several times, at the gate we were told to click the button the we were here.   We are DVC and I always have my Blue Card out so I'm not sure if this is why we haven't been turned away


Don't DVC members get a "perk" to be able to park at other Disney Resorts?  I am not DVC but have friends who are and thought I remembered that being the case.  If so, I'd think that may indeed by why you were allowed through.  Although who knows, maybe you had more lenient guards and the ones on duty during the week we were there were more strict.  It's hard to gauge so best advice is to have a back up plan if you try the mobile order route and keep your ears/eyes open to what is going on with other guests before you to get a feel for what is being allowed or enforced during any given time.


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## Jaina

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Sorry if I missed it, but are you staying offsite?  Or why not just take the bus from your resort and avoid the hassle of the breakfast ADR?


No, we’re actually staying by Universal. My husband really struggles with masks some days (anxiety/claustrophobia, though he’s really improved through a lot of work)  and is not sure how he’s going to do at Disney. So we’re just doing two days there. At Universal he can wear a shield if he really needs to after talking to customer service.


----------



## blrem

Jaina said:


> Any idea if you have to show that you’re resort guests to take the boats from the Swan and dolphin? We’ve also thought about just getting dropped off there.


No ID was ever requested nor required.  The boats serve YC/BC, BW and Swan/Dolphin.  But they also serve guests visiting Epcot and HS as they go between the two resorts.  I don't know of any rule stating you must stay at the resort to use the boats.  Off site guests can use them to visit the hotels for a meal or to park hop between EP and HS so I assume anyone can use the boats.


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## KSL

Just a quick note to thank everyone who has been posting their experiences.  It's fun to read these mini trip reports and also gives some great anecdotal advice with things to consider and tips to keep in mind.  THANK YOU!!


----------



## Haley R

We’re staying at the cabins at fort wilderness in May and were hoping to do mobile order at the wave. We were gonna drive our car so I’m not sure what we’ll do now. We have a 10 month old (he’ll be 12 months when we go) and don’t want to eat inside anywhere. I guess we may just end up staying at the fort instead for that meal


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

scrappinginontario said:


> Sounds like making a mobile order and gaining access to a resort is currently not an option at most resorts.


Gaining access by car/ride share.  You can access them if arriving by Disney transportation, although that may require transferring at a park, DS, etc. since there's no "easy" way to go directly from one resort to another.

If someone is using mobile order just to get dropped off closer to a park, using Disney transportation defeats the purpose since you could have taken it directly to the park.  But for some, who actually WANT to eat QS at a specific resort, you can get there.  You just can't drive/park there.

We're planning on eating a QS lunch at Primo Piatto (Riviera) and will use Disney transportation from our resort to a park and then to Riviera to have lunch there.  But we're not trying to make this work on a tight schedule and won't even be IN a park that day.

Mobile orders being more consistently turned away at resorts definitely impacts folks who were looking to have breakfast at a resort near a park and then walk to the park.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Jaina said:


> No, we’re actually staying by Universal. My husband really struggles with masks some days (anxiety/claustrophobia, though he’s really improved through a lot of work)  and is not sure how he’s going to do at Disney. So we’re just doing two days there. At Universal he can wear a shield if he really needs to after talking to customer service.


Ah ok.  Good luck!  It can certainly be stressful getting to rope drop, but so worth the effort when you walk right on to Mine Train


----------



## scrappinginontario

Haley R said:


> We’re staying at the cabins at fort wilderness in May and were hoping to do mobile order at the wave. We were gonna drive our car so I’m not sure what we’ll do now. We have a 10 month old (he’ll be 12 months when we go) and don’t want to eat inside anywhere. I guess we may just end up staying at the fort instead for that meal


Were you hoping to eat at the Wave for their food?  If so, could you take the boat to MK then walk/monorail to CR?  Not sure if you were wanting the food offered at the Wave or hoping for early entrance to MK?

Something else to note for those wanting to dine at a resort, parking is limited to 2 hours.  Not saying you were planning to leave your car at CR @Haley R, just mentioning it for the sake of clarification for all.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Let's move on from the discussion about the recent situation at the Dolphin.  No further discussion about why it might have happened.  Please stick to actual information of what is/is not happening.  Thanks.


----------



## Haley R

scrappinginontario said:


> Were you hoping to eat at the Wave for their food?  If so, could you take the boat to MK then walk/monorail to CR?  Not sure if you were wanting the food offered at the Wave or hoping for early entrance to MK?
> 
> Something else to note for those wanting to dine at a resort, parking is limited to 2 hours.  Not saying you were planning to leave your car at CR @Haley R, just mentioning it for the sake of clarification for all.


We were just planning to go and eat. It’s just for ds to see the contemporary and the food options at the fort aren’t great. We won’t be in the park that day. We haven’t decided if we’re going to the parks at all. I guess we could take the boat to mk and walk. We’ll just have to decide how long it’ll take because with a 12 month old it all revolves around his naps. Do you know how long the walk is from mk?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Haley R said:


> We were just planning to go and eat. It’s just for ds to see the contemporary and the food options at the fort aren’t great. We won’t be in the park that day. We haven’t decided if we’re going to the parks at all. I guess we could take the boat to mk and walk. We’ll just have to decide how long it’ll take because with a 12 month old it all revolves around his naps. Do you know how long the walk is from mk?


It's quite close.  About 12-15 mins walk I believe.  Another option is you can take the monorail from MK to the Contemporary.


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## wilkydelts

@scrappinginontario I am being put on a timer which has to finish before I could post again. Did I do something wrong? That has never happened to me before. I would of tried to PM you directly but I also no longer have a "Start Conversation" button.


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## kathi

deleted post - more restaurant specific.  I'll take it to the other board.


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## scrappinginontario

@wilkydelts, Please send your question to admin@wdwinfo.com.  Thank you.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

Chris Ehlers said:


> how were they seating you on FOP?  when we were these last month there was no empty Banshees between groups.



no empty spaces on the banshees. They did space us out in the preshow rooms but not on the ride itself.


----------



## Haley R

scrappinginontario said:


> It's quite close.  About 12-15 mins walk I believe.  Another option is you can take the monorail from MK to the Contemporary.


Dh doesn’t want to get on the monorail since they aren’t doing one party per car. We don’t want to get stuck with a family that takes their masks off. I guess we may just skip going to the wave.


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## Akck

Haley R said:


> Dh doesn’t want to get on the monorail since they aren’t doing one party per car. We don’t want to get stuck with a family that takes their masks off. I guess we may just skip going to the wave.



You can walk to avoid the monorail. In any case, it’s a short ride, so exposure will be limited.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

scrappinginontario said:


> Thank you for clarifying as I was wondering how you knew for sure too.  It's good to have first hand experiences so that people can make a decision for themselves.  Sounds like making a mobile order and gaining access to a resort is currently not an option at most resorts.
> 
> Thanks for sharing your experiences!



I had a late lunch at GF Cafe on Sunday and the guard checked after turning the car in front of me around (this was around 1:00 PM)

I had breakfast at Trattoria al Forno and the sign at The Boardwalk reads "No Entry Without Reservation at Trattoria al Forno" so it doesn't seem that ordering from The Boardwalk Bakery will work there.


----------



## GoofyDad_4427

Just wanted to shoot a quick Thank You to all the contributors in this thread!  It has undoubtedly been very informative.


----------



## VAtink

blrem said:


> Rope Dropping HS - in October we stayed at YC and walking was THE way to get in quickly before the Skyliner, buses or cars.  By arriving around 8am we were at the front of the pack and used the "stay left" suggestions from this thread to get through temp check quickly and be on the first train for MMRR. That was before the Friendship boats were running (they started just after we left).  But reading blogs since then, it appeared the boats were not running early enough and walking was still the best way to be towards the front of the pack and get through several rides before lines caught up with you.  This past week at the Dolphin we had a very different experience - HS opening at 9am all days we were there.  We took a Friendship boat a few minutes after 8am on a weekday and the boat left immediately - had us there about 8:15am.  The lines at temp check already went from the front of the park WAAAAY back as far as you could see beyond the Skyliner.  The boat drops you off on the side and as we approached I asked a CM standing in front of a temp check tent if we were supposed to try and find the end of the line (I said it nicely in jest, assuming of course that yes, we did need to do that).  NOPE!  He said, "no, just stand here" and pointed to a side marker.  He then opened to rope and let us and the rest of the looooong lines in.  We were the FIRST people through the tents and to go through the turn-styles.  We continued to be the FIRST people down the main street towards MMRR and it was a surreal experience having all the CM saying hello and welcoming us.  We lined up first for MMRR and within a minute they started the ride and led us to row 1!  We thought it was a huge dose of Pixie Dust but....several days later we were running late - I heard 2 boat horns go by (this was a weekend so it seems the boats start earlier on the weekend) about 7:50 and 8am. We got on a boat at 8:10am and this time the HS lines had already opened as we trekked towards the side entrance from the boat drop off again.  I went right to the side markers this time and asked the CM if this is where we stand - he replied yes and indicated to wait there.  He let a couple more people go in from the long skyliner/car/walker line in then signaled us to go through.  We were still way ahead of the "mob" that had assembled and we only waited about 5 minutes for MMRR and then 20 for SD.  I wanted to stay in the Crescent Lake area specifically for walking to HS to take advantage of Rope Dropping.  But now I would suggest taking the boat - enjoying a nice leisurely ride while you pass all the walkers - and look for those social distance lines on the side as you come in toward the temperature checks - those are for people from the boats and you will be at the front of the pack.  Good luck everyone!



Thank you for this information!  I'll be at the YC in April and had planned on walking, but now I think I'll take the boat!


----------



## Pyotr

yaya74 said:


> Just so frustrated when reading reports like this.....
> Why do people choose to be selfish? Pulling down masks when you are not supposed to is like littering and spitting. Kids cann't get vaccinated yet and they do get sick from COVID. If everyone cooperates and follows with the mask-wearing mandate, things can get back to normal a lot sooner! I used to get the comment like "If you don't feel comfortable in the crowd of maskless people, STAY AT HOME."  Disney clearly has stricken the mask rule. So it would be my turn of saying "if you don't want to wear a mask at Disney, YOU NEED TO STAY AWAY FROM DISNEY so those who can follow the rule can enjoy their vacation."



They’re not being selfish. They’re exhausted from a day at a theme park. Most people probably don’t even realize that it’s below their nose.

People are doing their best given the circumstances.  

This kind of divisive, hateful thinking doesn't help anything.


----------



## rileyz

Pyotr said:


> They’re not being selfish. They’re exhausted from a day at a theme park. Most people probably don’t even realize that it’s below their nose.
> 
> People are doing their best given the circumstances.
> 
> This kind of divisive, hateful thinking doesn't help anything.



I saw a family in line at Slinky dog yesterday and three of them (all 10+ in age) had their masks below their nose.  This wasn’t from exhaustion, it was from selfishness.  I’ve been down 3 weeks and it’s not always great wearing the mask but either do it or go elsewhere.   They aren’t doing their best if they aren’t wearing the mask properly.  It’s not rocket science.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Please, report what you are experiencing re: mask wearing but let’s avoid the discussion why things are/are not happening.  Thank you.


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## disneyfan150

Maribeth71 said:


> Thanks we are staying at Dolphin next week and will definitely use this tip!


Please report back. It would be good to know if this tip continues to work.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Today was my first full day at Hollywood Studios.

I got boarding group 71 which was a great beginning to the day. 

I drove to HS and was turned around (at 7:55). Not only was Disney Security there but two Orange County Sheriff's vehicles, including one parked on the right shoulder to keep people from pulling over on the shoulder. After doing the loop de loop, I arrived back and they were allowing cars to line up behind the cones. They held us there until 8:03, allowed us to pull up to the parking booths but held us there until 8:13.

While waiting to get through, I put in a breakfast order at Woody's (kid's breakfast) for pick up at 9:05 to 9:35. I paid the extra $20 for preferred parking and was the 3rd car being parked. They are parking a car in every-other space and after parking about 5 cars, having the next cars park behind them to try and social distance you  as are exiting.

Through temperature check and security quickly and was walking onto Mickey and Minnie's by 8:20. After Mickey and Minnie, I headed to Toy Story Land where I did Toy Story Mania (a walk on)  and Slinky (about 10 minutes) before picking up my breakfast at Woody's around 9:20.  By this time, the lines were growing. Slinky was 50 minutes. I lingered over breakfast and watched folks.

I did Mickey and Minnie once again (35 minutes or so)  then went to the Mickey and Minnie Vacation movie (a Disney Jr Cavalcade came by while we were entering).

Then it was time to check in for my lunch at Prime Time Cafe. I did the digital check-in 10 minutes before my reservation time and got the "table is ready" text at my reservation time. I was seated right away. Had a nice lunch, went to Star Tours, and when I was out of Star Tours, my Boarding Group had been called so it was off to ROTR.

After ROTR, I walked through Toy Story land...and did Toy Story Mania (posted 25 minutes was more like 10) and then began heading to the front of the park...just in time for the rain to being.

I was doubly glad I had done preferred parking with the rain  - with most of the folks waiting under any surface, with my umbrella I was happy to head on to the car.

*Some notes: *AGAIN if you are on property, use Disney Transportation or walk if you are within walking distance. The Skyliner gondolas were arriving the entire time we were sitting waiting  to get beyond the parking booths.

Mask compliance was around 90-95% at HS. a few noses, a few folks walking while eating. They were constantly reminding folks not to eat or drink in line and were having people toss any drink/food before entering the main portion of the que.  

AND they ARE watching. My Star Tours was closed up and suddenly all the lights went back up, they announced that everyone needed to put their masks BACK ON, the guy came in, eyeballed the people in the middle row, double checked the settings and finally started the ride.

*Some advice:  *if you or your kiddos are not used to wearing masks, now may not be a good time to come. It's HOT and even if you're used to masks it can be tough. I saw a few meltdowns, and lots of red-faced, hot kids.

With the MASKS, it's hard to keep hydrated but with the heat you need to do so. I had headaches Sunday and Monday after returning from the parks and realized I'd had less than a bottle of water in addition to beverages I had at meals. Today, I had 2 full bottles of water + more all before 2 PM and no headache tonight. And remember that your kids need to hydrate, too. I know it's tough to pull over and stop but it just leads to feeling cranky....


----------



## Pyotr

rileyz said:


> I saw a family in line at Slinky dog yesterday and three of them (all 10+ in age) had their masks below their nose.  This wasn’t from exhaustion, it was from selfishness.  I’m been down 3 weeks and it’s not always great wearing the mask but either do it or go elsewhere.   They aren’t doing their best if they aren’t wearing the mask properly.  It’s not rocket science.



3 10 year olds not following the rules to a T?

And they’re selfish because of it?

I hate what has become of humanity.

I’ll go elsewhere for my “Just got back” reports.


----------



## brockash

Pyotr said:


> 3 10 year olds not following the rules to a T?
> 
> And they’re selfish because of it?
> 
> I hate what has become of humanity.
> 
> I’ll go elsewhere for my “Just got back” reports.


You can always just hit the ignore button on them as well...that way you can still see the thread without dealing with ppl. who have nothing to add but their opinion.  Nobody cares about anyones opinion on here - not what this thread is for...we're just here to report and look for the facts and info.  It's too bad some ppl. can't do this.


----------



## lovethattink

As posted in the Missions, Guidelines and Moderator Thread.

“It is often good advice if you see a thread or post which your are unhappy with to walk away and give yourself a time out. Alternatively use the report post button which will alert all the moderators and the webmasters to any post, where appropriate action if necessary will be taken. If you add a comment yourself you may also face infractions as per the guidelines.


https://www.disboards.com/threads/mission-guidelines-tpas-moderators.3827330/


----------



## md1982

Feb. 24-Tuesday-Animal Kingdom

While walking to bus stop saw an AK bus there and sprinted! On the bus at 7:20 and through the gates at 7:35. Once again, I love the new security and entry process. So much easier. Took some empty Tree of Life pics on the way to Pandora.

Navi-Walk On
FOP-45 min wait

First time walking through the stand by line so I quite enjoyed the wait. And it constantly moved. Had never seen the full queue. They did leave spaces between riders. Grabbed a breakfast snack and walked through Gorilla Falls. Gorillas were quite active and the birds making nests too! Usually Nemo and Lion King are musts and since the were closed wanted to try new things so we took the train for the first time. Walked right on that a d quite enjoyed the train. Saw the petting zoo and the inside lab exhibits. And walked right back on the train. Loved resting the feet but the walk from the train to Rafikis is not short.

Safari-20 min wait-45 posted. Lions were perfectly placed! Giraffes were very active and close! Babies out. Great safari.

Caught the 11:30 bird show in Asia. Walked in 7 minutes before. Really enjoyed this! Grabbed lunch at yak and yeti and did Maharajah jungle trek. Not much to see on this one. One sleeping tiger. But it’s pretty!

Everest-Walk On but through the full queue. So about 7 minutes. 10 posted.
Tough To Be A Bug-20 minutes from queue entrance to taking out seats. 
Everest-Walk On, 3 min walk, 10 posted. 
Dinosaur-45 min wait, 45 posted. This line felt long. Didn’t think it looked long abs figured it would be shorter but there was an extra outside portion I didn’t realize was there.

Sprinted to see the macaws fly around the tree of life. Don’t miss this it’s so beautiful and cool! 
FOP-40 minute wait, once again seats left open between parties. 
Safari-Walk On ten minutes before park closing. Beautiful safari as the sun was setting.

Great day with two rides on FOP, safari, and Everest! Can’t complain. Although I do miss the shows and Kali. But it was fun to see some new things. Such a great park to explore. And I never felt crowded here, mostly in Pandora with lines crossing, but outside with excellent mask compliance, so it’s good by me.

Grabbed an easy bus back to Coronado, put ourselves on the wait list for Three Bridges, said 2hrs! Took a dip in the pool. One hour later got texted for our table and ran from the pool to change. Had a delicious meal at Three Bridges. Get the corn dip!!! Love this place!


----------



## Raven01

HS today, Tuesday March 2.

At the bus stop at 720 ish, mainly because DD and I are up by 6 am.  For some reason I awaken even earlier on vacation.  Bus didn’t come until 8 am, but I did note the bus times in the app were working some and were accurate.

We hit the long temp check line, where everyone was being held.  I crossed to the other side.  Lines opened, we hoofed it to SDD, my DD’s favorite.  We did one ride as a walk on and another Ride immediately after with a 5 Minute wait.  We went to AS2 and TSMM.  It as about 920 at this point. At that point MMRR was at 40 minutes, and they called my boarding group.

DD has ridden Rise before, but wasn’t having it this time.  I gave up and took a chicken exit, which was through the backstage areas.  I felt so sad at wasting a boarding group when so many others aren’t that lucky!

We went to Frozen with no wait (more her speed), then MMRR (we had a guest recovery FP,  but I think it was posted at 40 minutes or so).  Shopping, lunch, rain, and Disney Junior show.

It is crowded, but doable.  I focus on one headliner that is a must do, and do it at rope drop.  After that, it’s about what DD wants and how long the lines are.  ToT was like 70 posted and I was not interested in even trying that wait.  I would try to go back after 2 pm, but DD crashes then so we are not making it back to the parks after we leave.

We are having a blast.  Flexibility and rope drop are key.  We adjust when lines are just too long for us.  I am DVC now so I know we will be back, and that helps me just let it go.  Though I’ve learned when you are up at 6 am the kid is cranky eating after 12noon


----------



## rileyz

Pyotr said:


> 3 10 year olds not following the rules to a T?
> 
> And they’re selfish because of it?
> 
> I hate what has become of humanity.
> 
> I’ll go elsewhere for my “Just got back” reports.


 Some were teens, I said 10+ because I felt that was an age where the child can cope and follow the rules adequately.  I didn’t ask their exact ages while in line.


----------



## BigOHawk

Raven01 said:


> HS today, Tuesday March 2.
> 
> At the bus stop at 720 ish, mainly because DD and I are up by 6 am.  For some reason I awaken even earlier on vacation.  Bus didn’t come until 8 am, but I did note the bus times in the app were working some and were accurate.
> 
> We hit the long temp check line, where everyone was being held.  I crossed to the other side.  Lines opened, we hoofed it to SDD, my DD’s favorite.  We did one ride as a walk on and another Ride immediately after with a 5 Minute wait.  We went to AS2 and TSMM.  It as about 920 at this point. At that point MMRR was at 40 minutes, and they called my boarding group.
> 
> DD has ridden Rise before, but wasn’t having it this time.  I gave up and took a chicken exit, which was through the backstage areas.  I felt so sad at wasting a boarding group when so many others aren’t that lucky!
> 
> We went to Frozen with no wait (more her speed), then MMRR (we had a guest recovery FP,  but I think it was posted at 40 minutes or so).  Shopping, lunch, rain, and Disney Junior show.
> 
> It is crowded, but doable.  I focus on one headliner that is a must do, and do it at rope drop.  After that, it’s about what DD wants and how long the lines are.  ToT was like 70 posted and I was not interested in even trying that wait.  I would try to go back after 2 pm, but DD crashes then so we are not making it back to the parks after we leave.
> 
> We are having a blast.  Flexibility and rope drop are key.  We adjust when lines are just too long for us.  I am DVC now so I know we will be back, and that helps me just let it go.  Though I’ve learned when you are up at 6 am the kid is cranky eating after 12noon


Wait! Bus times were back in the app? I'll be there this weekend...do tell! I thought they were fully taken away! How about bus times at the resort boards?

Also, they are still doing guest recovery FP? What is that and how does it work?


----------



## BillFromCT

BigOHawk said:


> Wait! Bus times were back in the app? I'll be there this weekend...do tell! I thought they were fully taken away! How about bus times at the resort boards?
> 
> Also, they are still doing guest recovery FP? What is that and how does it work?


I’ve seen bus times on the boards at AKL and Riviera over the past couple of days.  I know the Riviera bus times were showing on the app.


----------



## BigOHawk

BillFromCT said:


> I’ve seen bus times on the boards at AKL and Riviera over the past couple of days.  I know the Riviera bus times were showing on the app.


Ok nice! So maybe slowly but surely some normalcy there is returning, thanks!


----------



## Thomasboys

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> Today was my first full day at Hollywood Studios.
> 
> I got boarding group 71 which was a great beginning to the day.
> 
> I drove to HS and was turned around (at 7:55). Not only was Disney Security there but two Orange County Sheriff's vehicles, including one parked on the right shoulder to keep people from pulling over on the shoulder. After doing the loop de loop, I arrived back and they were allowing cars to line up behind the cones. They held us there until 8:03, allowed us to pull up to the parking booths but held us there until 8:13.
> 
> While waiting to get through, I put in a breakfast order at Woody's (kid's breakfast) for pick up at 9:05 to 9:35. I paid the extra $20 for preferred parking and was the 3rd car being parked. They are parking a car in every-other space and after parking about 5 cars, having the next cars park behind them to try and social distance you  as are exiting.
> 
> Through temperature check and security quickly and was walking onto Mickey and Minnie's by 8:20. After Mickey and Minnie, I headed to Toy Story Land where I did Toy Story Mania (a walk on)  and Slinky (about 10 minutes) before picking up my breakfast at Woody's around 9:20.  By this time, the lines were growing. Slinky was 50 minutes. I lingered over breakfast and watched folks.
> 
> I did Mickey and Minnie once again (35 minutes or so)  then went to the Mickey and Minnie Vacation movie (a Disney Jr Cavalcade came by while we were entering).
> 
> Then it was time to check in for my lunch at Prime Time Cafe. I did the digital check-in 10 minutes before my reservation time and got the "table is ready" text at my reservation time. I was seated right away. Had a nice lunch, went to Star Tours, and when I was out of Star Tours, my Boarding Group had been called so it was off to ROTR.
> 
> After ROTR, I walked through Toy Story land...and did Toy Story Mania (posted 25 minutes was more like 10) and then began heading to the front of the park...just in time for the rain to being.
> 
> I was doubly glad I had done preferred parking with the rain  - with most of the folks waiting under any surface, with my umbrella I was happy to head on to the car.
> 
> *Some notes: *AGAIN if you are on property, use Disney Transportation or walk if you are within walking distance. The Skyliner gondolas were arriving the entire time we were sitting waiting  to get beyond the parking booths.
> 
> Mask compliance was around 90-95% at HS. a few noses, a few folks walking while eating. They were constantly reminding folks not to eat or drink in line and were having people toss any drink/food before entering the main portion of the que.
> 
> AND they ARE watching. My Star Tours was closed up and suddenly all the lights went back up, they announced that everyone needed to put their masks BACK ON, the guy came in, eyeballed the people in the middle row, double checked the settings and finally started the ride.
> 
> *Some advice:  *if you or your kiddos are not used to wearing masks, now may not be a good time to come. It's HOT and even if you're used to masks it can be tough. I saw a few meltdowns, and lots of red-faced, hot kids.
> 
> With the MASKS, it's hard to keep hydrated but with the heat you need to do so. I had headaches Sunday and Monday after returning from the parks and realized I'd had less than a bottle of water in addition to beverages I had at meals. Today, I had 2 full bottles of water + more all before 2 PM and no headache tonight. And remember that your kids need to hydrate, too. I know it's tough to pull over and stop but it just leads to feeling cranky....



Excellent report!  Thank you.  Sounds like you had a great day, and you’ve made me glad we will be using the Skyliner!!


----------



## Thomasboys

BillFromCT said:


> I’ve seen bus times on the boards at AKL and Riviera over the past couple of days.  I know the Riviera bus times were showing on the app.



HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!! Excellent news.


----------



## Raven01

BigOHawk said:


> Wait! Bus times were back in the app? I'll be there this weekend...do tell! I thought they were fully taken away! How about bus times at the resort boards?
> 
> Also, they are still doing guest recovery FP? What is that and how does it work?



Bus times were back in the app, but not always.  At 730 am it only showed MK and HS bus times, but they were right.  I also saw some bus times on the board at one point.

Guest recovery FP might be a term of art I don’t understand - we were given FP by a very kind CM to help with a specific situation.  My point was I was able to use them on MMRR, so did not know how long that line really was.  The CM was not sure the FP would even work on MMRR so I was very grateful we got it and it did!  I know we got FP on a prior trip when Splash went down - they gave everyone in line a FP.


----------



## Disneymomma18

How early are the buses running? I made an ADR at chef mickeys for 7:45 one morning when magic kingdom opens at 9:00. Stupidly I didn’t think that maybe the buses won’t be running that early. We can’t do rideshare bc we have 2 littles that would have to have carseats. Do you think we’ll be able to make it or should I cancel?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Disneymomma18 said:


> How early are the buses running? I made an ADR at chef mickeys for 7:45 one morning when magic kingdom opens at 9:00. Stupidly I didn’t think that maybe the buses won’t be running that early. We can’t do rideshare bc we have 2 littles that would have to have carseats. Do you think we’ll be able to make it or should I cancel?


 Buses currently start running 45-60 mins before park opening so using Disney transportation is this situation will not get you there in time for a 7:45 reservation.  Possibly a slightly later reservation will open?


----------



## Raven01

scrappinginontario said:


> Buses currently start running 45-60 mins before park opening so using Disney transportation is this situation will not get you there in time for a 7:45 reservation.  Possibly a slightly later reservation will open?



I second this.  On our MK Day, the park opened at 9 am and the bus came at 745.  Disney buses will not get you there for a 745 am ADR


----------



## subtchr

Disneymomma18 said:


> How early are the buses running? I made an ADR at chef mickeys for 7:45 one morning when magic kingdom opens at 9:00. Stupidly I didn’t think that maybe the buses won’t be running that early. We can’t do rideshare bc we have 2 littles that would have to have carseats. Do you think we’ll be able to make it or should I cancel?



As the others have said, this will not be possible. Where are you coming from? Just wondering if there might be another option we could suggest.

We are planning a June trip with small grandkids, so I am planning to make a slightly later Topolino’s reservation, so we can use Disney transportation.


----------



## Raven01

FYI - took a bus to HS, then Skyliner to Riviera for Topolinos breakfast.  We had to show our ADR to board the Skyliner.


----------



## gometros

md1982 said:


> First time walking through the stand by line so I quite enjoyed the wait. And it constantly moved. Had never seen the full queue. They did leave spaces between riders. Grabbed a breakfast snack and walked through Gorilla Falls. Gorillas were quite active and the birds making nests too! Usually Nemo and Lion King are musts and since the were closed wanted to try new things so we took the train for the first time. Walked right on that a d quite enjoyed the train. Saw the petting zoo and the inside lab exhibits. And walked right back on the train. Loved resting the feet but the walk from the train to Rafikis is not short.



There's always an upside if you look hard enough. We're going in April. Because of fastpasses, we've often missed a lot of the cool things on teh standby line. Looking forward to experiencing it this trip.


----------



## lovethattink

Last friendly warning. This thread is for here now and just back. It is not to discuss masks or vaccines. This thread is about what is going on at Disney now, not what Disney should or should not be doing. Any suggestions of what Disney should or should not allow, please address to Disney directly, not here. From this point forward, points will be given for going off topic.

For those old timers on the board, I’m sure you remember the years that here now or just back threads weren’t allowed on the theme park boards and were moved to trip reports. I’d really be disappointed if we had to revert back to that.

I find this thread extremely helpful. I don’t want it closed. Please, let’s keep it going!! Let’s stay on topic!

No arguing, no sarcasm. Following the DIS guidelines. If you don’t know what the guidelines or warning point system is, please check out the guideline sticky.


----------



## Mousey0324

deleted...no need to share my experiences.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

Raven01 said:


> We had to show our ADR to board the Skyliner.


That's new.  Could this have been a fluke?  Anyone else encountered this situation?  My previous experience (and as others have reported) was that anyone could ride the skyliner without having to give a reason for going there.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Grumpy by Birth said:


> That's new.  Could this have been a fluke?  Anyone else encountered this situation?  My previous experience (and as others have reported) was that anyone could ride the skyliner without having to give a reason for going there.


I believe this happened as the guest was trying to get to a resort for dining before the Epcot loop was open to take guests towards Epcot from CBR.  The reservation proof was to allow them to access the loop before it was accepting Epcot guests.

The OP was asking about options to get to Riviera for an early dining reservation.

You are quite right that anyone can ride the Skyliner.


----------



## Raven01

scrappinginontario said:


> I believe this happened as the guest was trying to get to a resort for dining before the Epcot loop was open to take guests towards Epcot from CBR.  The reservation proof was to allow them to access the loop before it was accepting Epcot guests.
> 
> The OP was asking about options to get to Riviera for an early dining reservation.
> 
> You are quite right that anyone can ride the Skyliner.



This was about 9 am, so before Epcot opened.


----------



## DCLMP

Grumpy by Birth said:


> That's new.  Could this have been a fluke?  Anyone else encountered this situation?  My previous experience (and as others have reported) was that anyone could ride the skyliner without having to give a reason for going there.


Yes that's really odd. Why in the world would you need a reservation to go from DHS to Riviera.


----------



## scrappinginontario

DCLMP said:


> Yes that's really odd. Why in the world would you need a reservation to go from DHS to Riviera.



The Skyliner loop going from CBR to Epcot does not carry guests to Epcot until closer to park opening.  Guests with an earlier dining reservation need to show proof of this to board the Epcot bound Skyliner at CBR.

Just as the buses don't start running to the parks until 45-60 mins before park opening, the Epcot bound Skyliner does not carry guests (who don't have a dining reservation) to Epcot until 45-60 mins before Epcot opens.


----------



## friendoffigment

how has hopping been going. anyone been denied.  my question is if its a safe bet to make dining reservations that would require hopping.


----------



## scrappinginontario

There has not been a single report of someone being denied hopping.


----------



## wilkydelts

.


----------



## czmom

I am staying at GF next week, but meeting friends at MK who are staying offsite. What is the best way for them to be able to meet us for rope drop? Is the ferry or monorail from TTC faster? Also- what time has MK actually been letting people in? Thank you!


----------



## Gehrig1B

czmom said:


> I am staying at GF next week, but meeting friends at MK who are staying offsite. What is the best way for them to be able to meet us for rope drop? Is the ferry or monorail from TTC faster? Also- what time has MK actually been letting people in? Thank you!



We were dropped at Contemporary 90 minutes prior to park opening. Held first at security on the pathway around 7:55, again along the pathway until about 8:05... We were some of the first to line up at the tapstiles.  When all the tapstiles were filled about 15-20 deep, the park opened.  It was about 8:15.

We walked in just before the buses were allowed to unload, monorail and ferry a few minutes later.

If they try the rideshare to Contemporary method be aware you may be denied entry without some sort of dining reservation.  One morning the Uber driver had to drop us at the World Drive intersection  because we were too early for our ADR at the Wave.

They could always try to meet you at the Grand Floridian, just have the driver give security your name.


----------



## scrappinginontario

czmom said:


> I am staying at GF next week, but meeting friends at MK who are staying offsite. What is the best way for them to be able to meet us for rope drop? Is the ferry or monorail from TTC faster? Also- what time has MK actually been letting people in? Thank you!


Are you both familiar with the MK?  If so, I would recommend finding a common place to meet inside the park.  Possibly in front of the Fire Station as it's not too busy there but close to the entrance?


----------



## czmom

scrappinginontario said:


> Are you both familiar with the MK?  If so, I would recommend finding a common place to meet inside the park.  Possibly in front of the Fire Station as it's not too busy there but close to the entrance?



We can definitely meet inside the park! I just want to be at MK when they unofficially open. Can offsite guests get there that early from the TTC?


----------



## Leigh L

czmom said:


> We can definitely meet inside the park! I just want to be at MK when they unofficially open. Can offsite guests get there that early from the TTC?


We did last week 
Toll booths open at 8 a.m. and you can pretty much walk onto a ferry or monorail once you get there from the parking lot. We lined up at 7:30 one day and 7:40 another. Both days put us close to the front of the line to the booths and we got a few headliners in before official park opening (we didn't go to 7DMT though, that's where everyone seems to go)

I think it's pretty much equal by ferry or monorail if they are there early to park. Monorail did stop for a few minutes for traffic to clear, but the ferry takes a few minutes to fill up (edited to add, we tried both on our MK days).


----------



## wilkydelts

Are they still doing buses from TTC to help keep the crowds flowing to MK?


----------



## ZellyB

We got back on Sunday from a week-long visit with 6 park days.  We stayed at Shades of Green and had our own car.  This was our first time going where I needed to use an ECV due to a serious health condition that limits my stamina and ability to walk.  It was me, my husband, our 17-year old twin daughters and two of their 17-year old friends for a travel group of 6.  The weather was just spectacular.  One day with a very short rain shower but the rest of the time, sunny with upper-70s and low-80s for temps,.  None of us had a problem wearing the masks.  We are all used to wearing them at work and school and the temps weren't high enough to cause any added discomfort.

The parks were a bit more crowded than I was hoping.  Just thought maybe sneaking in between President's Day week and spring breaks might be smaller crowds, but it was actually still pretty busy.  We saw mostly great compliance with masking and multiple times I heard CMs very kindly ask people to pull their masks up over their noses.  While there were a few times we were in some fairly tight crowd spots, they usually cleared quickly as we moved through.  I found using the ECV to be very easy.  We had a trailer on our car and brought our own ECV so we just trailored it in each day.  CMs were so helpful in letting us know how to navigate the lines.  Honestly just a breeze and I appreciate how user-friendly the park is for those with mobility issues.  We did not get a DAS as my only issues are stamina and walking and as long as I could use the scooter I had no problems with going through the regular queue.  I think for 3 rides they sent me through an alternate entrance or gave us a return time (Spaceship Earth, Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion).

We rope-dropped each day and arrived early.  A couple of times we got turned away at the parking gates for being too early, but a quick loop around usually got us back in line on time.  We found the parks were generally already letting people tap in by the time we parked and got to the tapstiles -roughly 30-45 minutes before posted park open.

We had, as expected, short waits in the mornings where we tried to knock out some of the more popular rides.  Lines in the afternoons were typically 45-60 minutes for most of the major attractions.  Crazy how spaced out the lines are now and we typically found most people were conscious of distancing and tried to adhere.  Usually the closer you got to the attraction the more people were likely to get too close, but I never felt like it was dangerously close.  Even though lines were long, the fact that they move pretty constantly helped make it seem not so bad.

We did two DHS days to try and get Rise boarding groups.  I failed on the first morning but we got a standby group at 1 and were in the next to the last group called that day.  We were so excited and the ride was amazing.  On the second day I got boarding group 55, so getting to ride the ride 2 times during our visit felt like a triumph.    We were all in awe of the ride/experience.  We also adored Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Train ride.  Thought it was adorable and so very Disney.

Dining was a bit of a chore on days where we just did QS, but mostly it worked out okay.

I badly missed the fireworks at MK.  One of my absolutely favorite things there, but we made the best of the trip regardless.  I think for people like us who have been several times, it's easier to be satisfied with what is available.  I would hate for this trip to have been my first though.  Too many wonderful magical things that are missing, IMO.  We saw multiple cavalcades in various parks and they were certainly cute and appreciated.  We've never been a big parade family, so these short little snippets were actually perfect for our tastes.

We did go to Disney Springs one night for a few hours and I was anticipating a lot of mask issues there, but honestly mostly we saw people who were being compliant.  We had to wait in a short line to get into World of Disney and another store was at capacity but we decided to move on, but otherwise you could walk into most of the stores.  

We did have a meal at California Grill on our second-to-last night and it was fabulous as always.  The girls loved it as they'd never really been to that fancy of a restaurant before and it just made for a lovely evening being able to look out over the castle.  Overall, we had a great trip.

If I can answer any questions otherwise about our trip, I'd be happy to do so.


----------



## Castlequeen5

ZellyB said:


> Dining was a bit of a chore on days where we just did QS, but mostly it worked out okay.


Why did you consider QS a chore?  Mobile ordering?  Hard to find a table?  We will be doing some quick service on our trip in a few weeks, and I’m trying to get all the tips and advice I can.


----------



## ZellyB

Castlequeen5 said:


> Why did you consider QS a chore?  Mobile ordering?  Hard to find a table?  We will be doing some quick service on our trip in a few weeks, and I’m trying to get all the tips and advice I can.



Mostly it was the lack of options.  Many QS restaurants are still closed so we were stuck choosing some that we might not have chosen normally.  Mobile ordering worked well except one time at ABC Commissary where we couldn't get the order to go through and we had to go to the CMs at the podium.  They did something to fix it but then it got them all confused again when we went to pick up the food.  Ultimately it was fine, but just a bit of a pain.  Seating a couple of times was difficult to find but I think that was more because we were a group of 6.  Again we were always able to find something but it took a bit of patience.  It wasn't anything huge, just some minor inconveniences.  I'd just make sure you know ahead of time which restaurants are open.  One day we waited outside Columbia Harbor House waiting for my kids to join us until we realized the restaurant isn't open and is being used for the Peter Pan queue.  LOL


----------



## Wood Nymph

winterwhite said:


> Just went to change our park pass for tomorrow and everything but Epcot is unavailable for passholders. MK and DHS unavailable for everyone.


Where can I go to check to see if a park reservation is available before trying to make a reservation. I hesitate to cancel one park before knowing if there is availability at the park I want to change to. 

We are here now and I echo everyone else who said that social distancing just doesn’t exist.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Wood Nymph said:


> Where can I go to check to see if a park reservation is available before trying to make a reservation. I hesitate to cancel one park before knowing if there is availability at the park I want to change to.
> 
> We are here now and I echo everyone else who said that social distancing just doesn’t exist.


https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/availability-calendar/


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

I am back in the hotel getting some rest after my morning in MK



I headed to Peter Pan 1st which turned out to be a good choice as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was down all morning (and was still down as of  2 PM when I left - though looks to be up now at 3:20) (Pirates was down from open until around 10:30)

After Peter Pan, I did some photos with photo pass photographers while the park was still mostly empty around those areas. I was able to do the following before 10:40AM: Big Thunder, Splash, Flying Carpets, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Peter Pan again.  I was in line to go to Mickey's Philharmonic at 10:48, got held for another show, and bounced at 11:15 as I had a 11:30 lunch reservation at Tony's and wanted to be early so that I had a better chance of sitting outside.

For lunch, I had a salad, fried mozzarella, a latte, and the chocolate-hazelnut budino. The patio was wonderful - almost too chilly to be honest as the rain cooled things off! The Dapper Dan's sang atop the train station. I saw most of the cavalcades go by - they are doing shorter ones this week with just a single float and/or a character on a horse. Tink has her own cavalcade now. Mickey's float had him, Pluto, Donald, Daisy, and the "Mickey Get Your Ears On" dancers. Minnie was missing today and one of the dancers was standing in her spot. Also missing: Pooh isn't with Rabbit, Eeyore, and Piglet.



*NOTES:* MASK compliance was about 95% and the crowds didn't seem as crowded as the previous days.

AND: If you are a larger family/group traveling together *please, please,  PLEASE make things easier on yourself and the Cast Members by knowing WHO is riding with WHO AND what the seating is on each ride*. I saw families getting up to Peter Pan today not quite clear which kid was riding with mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, etc). And yesterday, they had to STOP Toy Story Mania as a group of 18 had to decide which adult had which of the six or seven kids with them.

(edited)


----------



## sequoia 14

We just got back from a 4 day stay.  I am a long time lurker, but wanted to add our perspective from a trip involving a newly 4 and 6 year old (the trip was celebrating their birthdays).  Weather was beautiful. Our kids are used to mask wearing at school so it didn't seem to bother them. We stayed one night at the Yacht Club and really enjoyed Stormalong Bay.  Staying there allowed us to walk to DHS in the morning and then hop over to Epcot via the Skyliner.  We didn't try for a ROLR boarding group, but otherwise were able to knock off MMRT, Millennium Falcon, Aliens, Toy Story, Muppets, the Lightning McQueen Racing Academy, a character meal at Hollywood & Vine, and the Frozen show by 2. The longest waits were for the shows due to the limited capacity. If you want to see Frozen show make sure you are there 30 minutes prior.  We ended up just missing the first two we tried to see by arriving 10 minutes before and then 15 minutes before. The kids loved riding the Skyliner. We waited 35 minutes for the Frozen ride after hopping and the cast members told us it is usually longer.  Frozen was the only ride where I felt the plexiglass really detracted from the experience.  The girls loved talking to Elsa and Mary Poppins in their respective gardens and also saw the princess parade roll by.  Definitely stop by the World Showcase if your kids like seeing characters. Epcot was pretty crowded, but it was a weekend and we expected it.

We then moved over to the Contemporary that allowed us to walk to the MK. This was huge as it was easier on the kids and allowed us to ride multiple rides (Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan, Pirates, Seven Dwarfs, Big Thunder Railroad) before opening over the course of 2 1/2 days.  There was an 30 minute average wait for the lesser rides and 60+ for the bigger rides after about 1030.  Gaston's Tavern took 25 minutes from entering the line to sitting down at a table.  The waits that stood out to us for being a bit strange were that It's a Small World & the Carousel consistently had a 60+ minute wait until the evening. The Speedway and the Haunted Mansion were the opposite by rarely going over 20 minutes when we checked.  We had to constantly adjust our "plans" according to the wait times and kids temperaments.  We were able to ride everything we wanted though over our multi-day visit.  If we had only had one day though I think we would have been harried and frustrated. The wait times for the most part were pretty accurate in that they were within 10 minutes of the projected time in either direction. The character parades were pretty frequent mid-day and we saw a ton of characters. We even saw Chip & Dale on one of the Tom Sawyer Island boats and it was super cute.

We debated whether or not to bring a stroller and we are really glad we did. The extended queues due to social distancing really added to how much the kids were walking and having the stroller helped them rest between attractions. It also gave them some breaks from the sun as a lot of the queues were in the sun---while that was ok for us as the highs were only in the 80s I'm not sure how the kids would have held up in the summer heat/humidity.

We made sure to have one sit down table service lunch each day and this ended up working great with the combination of air conditioning, a mask break and filling our bellies easily.

The waterslide at the Contemporary pool was the perfect size for our kids' ages.

We did Disney Springs on a Sunday (against my better judgement, but we were meeting family). It was very busy. Gideon's had a 4 hour virtual queue by 2pm and all of the big stores had at least a 20 minute wait to get into the store. Pack your patience if you do DS on a weekend.

My phone app was also wonky throughout our trip and we had to mobile order/check-in to table service dining in person multiple times. Reactions varied, but all the cast members ultimately let us do so.  This did slow us down though on the mobile ordering as we couldn't just walk in to grab the food when we arrived.

95% of park goers wore their masks and tried to social distance in the lines. Just know though that the parks are not anywhere near empty right now and it is inevitable that you will be in close contact with people from time to time while walking around.  I just wanted to throw that out there for those that wouldn't be comfortable with that.

Overall, it wasn't anywhere near the same as a normal visit, but we had a great time as we had researched what was going to be open & went into with an open mind.  A positive to not having fireworks is that the kids were asleep at their normal bedtimes and they are still on their Disney high as I write this.


----------



## jo-jo

Question about masks and eating.   Our last trip in Dec of 2019, we bought PB& J sandwiches and juice boxes in and just sat on a wall somewhere and ate.    Are you still allowed to do that?  I haven't read every post, but haven't seen that mentioned.  

We are still debating over a  family trip that is about 5 weeks from now.  It would be with 6 kids ages 4- 16.


----------



## mkb3

As far as rides for Animal Kingdome we only do Pandora and the Safari.  Is it still best to rope drop or are the lines manageable (around an hour) towards closing?  We would love to sleep in on our AK day like normal as we usually have been lucky to snag FOP Fast Passes on previous visits, then waited in line for the other two without issue.


----------



## lovethattink

jo-jo said:


> Question about masks and eating.   Our last trip in Dec of 2019, we bought PB& J sandwiches and juice boxes in and just sat on a wall somewhere and ate.    Are you still allowed to do that?  I haven't read every post, but haven't seen that mentioned.
> 
> We are still debating over a  family trip that is about 5 weeks from now.  It would be with 6 kids ages 4- 16.



Yes, you may bring in your own food, drinks, snacks.


----------



## jo-jo

lovethattink said:


> Yes, you may bring in your own food, drinks, snacks.



But you can just stop anyway to eat?    Not certain "no mask" zone?


----------



## scrappinginontario

jo-jo said:


> But you can just stop anyway to eat?    Not certain "no mask" zone?


Yes but you must be off to the side and fully stopped to eat or drink.  No sipping or eating while in motion.


----------



## lovethattink

jo-jo said:


> But you can just stop anyway to eat?    Not certain "no mask" zone?



As an example, one of the times we went to MK, we ate packed sandwiches sitting on a bench not far from the store at Splash Mountain in the late morning. Then ate at Cosmic Rays around 3pm when it wasn’t nearly as busy.

Here are 2 links to Disney’s policy. 

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/#drawer-card-faceCoverings
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/dine/[/QUOTE]


----------



## scrappinginontario

mkb3 said:


> As far as rides for Animal Kingdome we only do Pandora and the Safari.  Is it still best to rope drop or are the lines manageable (around an hour) towards closing?  We would love to sleep in on our AK day like normal as we usually have been lucky to snag FOP Fast Passes on previous visits, then waited in line for the other two without issue.


Merged you with this thread as there are a lot of helpful people here who can help you out.


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## ZellyB

When we were at Animal Kingdom last week we got in the FoP line around 3 PM and it had an hour wait.  I'm not sure what Safari was like later in the day as we rode it early.  I don't think FoP ever got above 70 minutes the whole day we were there.


----------



## dmbgotfan41

These posts about the guards at Contemporary turning away people with Contemp Cafe mobile orders is disappointing. We might do what another poster suggested & try to get an ADR at The Wave for 7:30AM but just eat the $20 fee & get QS food.


----------



## SharkBruce

Returning to WDW in a few weeks for the first time during COVID and wondering how difficult and/or challenging it is to pick up a snack or drink around the World Showcase and find a safe place to remove the mask to eat and drink safely during something like Flower and Garden?    I will truly miss the eating and drinking while walking as in years past so wanted to better understand how it is going?  Any tips or lessons learned on this experience would be much appreciated.   

P.S.Any ideas on nice, out of the way spots to get distanced while enjoying a beverage would be helpful.  Prost!


----------



## jenepat

Gehrig1B said:


> One morning the Uber driver had to drop us at the World Drive intersection  because we were too early for our ADR at the Wave.



How early is "too early" for an ADR at the Wave?  We have an 8:05 and an 8:20 ADR (2 different days), and was planning to arrive at CR around 7:15 via Lyft if possible.  (MK opening at 8am on these days)


----------



## Aimeedyan

jenepat said:


> How early is "too early" for an ADR at the Wave?  We have an 8:05 and an 8:20 ADR (2 different days), and was planning to arrive at CR around 7:15 via Lyft if possible.  (MK opening at 8am on these days)



We've never been turned away at the guard stop that early for a reservation BUT I would be prepared to wait until your reservation time, if not longer, to be seated at the Wave. 

We eat there frequently (as recently as last week) and find them notoriously slow to seat. The mobile check in won't let you check in until 15 minutes prior to your reservation time so you'd have to approach the temp taker outside the restaurant to even see if they'll let you check in early. 

It might work out but wanted to warn you that they have been extremely busy here lately and we have yet to be seated "on time."


----------



## DisneyByMarriage

dmbgotfan41 said:


> These posts about the guards at Contemporary turning away people with Contemp Cafe mobile orders is disappointing. We might do what another poster suggested & try to get an ADR at The Wave for 7:30AM but just eat the $20 fee & get QS food.


I have to disagree with you on this one.  To me, it sounds like people are talking about making a reservation so they can get to MK as early as possible by skirting the rules of the designated rideshare drop offs because the TTC lot isn’t opening early enough and/or skirting the two hour time limit on driving (aware that not everyone is leaving their cars all day) so your car is closer.   Nobody goes out of their way to get a mobile order from Contempo Cafe.  They are obviously tracking this phenomena and I think we will start seeing stricter policies on resort parking for those not staying on property, at least during the opening hours.  I get that it’s disappointing, but so far I haven’t seen anyone write about actually being sad they missed out on the food.


----------



## DisneyJade

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> Day 3 is in the books for me and I am settled back in my hotel for the day after grabbing some dinner to take back to the room from Chicken Salad Chick (Yummy! and their portions are so big this will be dinner or lunch for at least 3 meals!)
> 
> So, this morning I had a Hollywood Studios Park Reservation. I watched the countdown clock, did all the "right" things, and as I hit "Join" right as it clicked to 7 AM, but MDE glitched and rebooted. I initially planned to just keep my plans and head to HS anyway...but after checking availability, decided to try for a boarding group tomorrow.


We had a glitch at 7am Monday too! So frustrating, but god to know it wasn’t just me!


----------



## md1982

Feb. 25-Thurs-Magic Kingdom

Up and at ‘em at the Ranchos bus stop at 7:40. Our longest morning wait. On the bus at 8:00. Through MK gates at 8:20, easily walking through. Straight to Mine Train.

Mine Train-25 min wait
Peter Pan-10 min wait
Big Thunder-35 min wait, 40 posted 
Splash-40 min wait, 60 posted 

Was hoping to get through things quicker this morning but it just wasn’t happening. Walkways were empty but lines climbed fast. Took photos in front of empty castle and grabbed buffalo chicken tots at Friars Nook. Yummy. But hard to find seating. Sat on a bench near the new turrets. Almost 12:00.

Mermaid-10 min wait, 30 posted
Space Mountain-30 min wait
Speedway-8 min wait
Pooh-20 min wait
Haunted Mansion-30 min wait, 25 posted. This was the only wait longer than posted but we hit a cleaning cycle abs stopped dead in our tracks in the direct sun for 10 minutes.

Lunch at Skipper Canteen at 2:15. Food was good and atmosphere but we weren’t really hungry unfortunately. Strolled down Main Street, took photos, saw the Dapper Dans.

Buzz-25 min wait
Pirates-30 min wait
Mickeys Philharmagic-20 min wait
Jungle Cruise-15 min wait
Splash-25 min wait, 50 posted

End of day. Shopped in emporium, just had to wait like 5 minutes to get in. Lines were a little longer than I had expected, especially in the early morning. Had hoped to get in one or two more things. Sad to miss Small World but lines stay long for this. But aside from fantasyland and Tomorrowland during lunch walkways were very open. No waits for photo pass. Coasters loading one party per car. Absolutely loved the new castle colors. On a sunny day it just shines and sparkles!!! Mask compliance was excellent. 15 min wait for the bus back to Coronado. More late night food and drinks at Three Bridges. All in all a great day!


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

jenepat said:


> How early is "too early" for an ADR at the Wave?  We have an 8:05 and an 8:20 ADR (2 different days), and was planning to arrive at CR around 7:15 via Lyft if possible.  (MK opening at 8am on these days)



The Wave opens at 7:30 but you can check in around 7:20.  But also, remember, that you'll need to make your way there.  I had a 7:30 this morning at the Grand Floridian and arrived at the guard gate at 7 AM. And I'd rather be early and wait at the restaurant than be rushing from the parking lot.


----------



## only hope

jo-jo said:


> But you can just stop anyway to eat?    Not certain "no mask" zone?



Just have to be mindful of don’t sit here labels and don’t sit on a wall that is within six feet of a bench or table.


----------



## Disneymomma18

scrappinginontario said:


> Buses currently start running 45-60 mins before park opening so using Disney transportation is this situation will not get you there in time for a 7:45 reservation.  Possibly a slightly later reservation will open?


Thank you. I’ll keep trying for a later reservation but I’m thinking it’s not likely


----------



## auntlynne

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> I am back in the hotel getting some rest after my morning in MK
> 
> I had a 7:30 AM reservation for breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe. I arrived at the Grand around 7 AM this morning told the security guard I was there for breakfast. He didn't check to see although I had my pass out for him to scan (VS on Sunday afternoon, I arrived around 1 PM and the guard checked). Also interesting of note: on Sunday afternoon, the guard directed me to park over by  DVC/Spa. This morning's guard motion me to the resort guest parking.
> 
> It was pouring down rain this morning but, after parking, I popped my umbrella and dashed to the entrance of the Grand.. I made my way to the GFC and checked in. I was called right at 7:30, was given a paper menu because the QR Codes weren't working (AND the Disney website showed the menu didn't exist when I looked on my phone)
> 
> I ordered as soon as I was seated (The Grand Breakfast: eggs, bacon, sausage, has browns - served with biscuits). Frankly, it was just ok. my eggs were cooked differently (one over hard, one over medium) and the bacon was kinda limp.  Has browns were the best part.  In the past, I've gotten Steak and Eggs, Pancakes, and Quiche - those were all better choices.
> 
> I was finished with breakfast and climbed the stairs to head to the monorail. Though the rain had stopped, I decided I wasn't up to that much walking before I even got into the day. The guard asked if I was going to the Contemporary for breakfast and I said "No, Magic Kingdom". He hesitated, looked at his watch, and said "OH, it's 8 AM. You can go"
> 
> I boarded monorail yellow (and did not like the social distancing barriers in there. Rather than being split in half, the car was divided into fourths and felt claustrophobic.
> 
> When I exited the monorail, I was the ONLY PERSON there - and a ticket attendant came running over to stop me and asked "How did you get here?" I told him as the monorail was pulling away and he said "OH, I guess they weren't paying attention"  I was alone there being asked to wait, another family got off the next resort monorail.  I was held until about 8:12. About this time, others began arriving from the ferry ,  resort boats, and walkers.
> 
> Those of us waiting were allowed to go to the tap stiles before the folks from the ferry were released over. They directed everyone to the far right  At 8:17 we were allowed to begin filtering through and I was on Main Street by 8:18.
> 
> I headed to Peter Pan 1st which turned out to be a good choice as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was down all morning (and was still down as of  2 PM when I left - though looks to be up now at 3:20) (Pirates was down from open until around 10:30)
> 
> After Peter Pan, I did some photos with photo pass photographers while the park was still mostly empty around those areas. I was able to do the following before 10:40AM: Big Thunder, Splash, Flying Carpets, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Peter Pan again.  I was in line to go to Mickey's Philharmonic at 10:48, got held for another show, and bounced at 11:15 as I had a 11:30 lunch reservation at Tony's and wanted to be early so that I had a better chance of sitting outside.
> 
> For lunch, I had a salad, fried mozzarella, a latte, and the chocolate-hazelnut budino. The patio was wonderful - almost too chilly to be honest as the rain cooled things off! The Dapper Dan's sang atop the train station. I saw most of the cavalcades go by - they are doing shorter ones this week with just a single float and/or a character on a horse. Tink has her own cavalcade now. Mickey's float had him, Pluto, Donald, Daisy, and the "Mickey Get Your Ears On" dancers. Minnie was missing today and one of the dancers was standing in her spot. Also missing: Pooh isn't with Rabbit, Eeyore, and Piglet.
> 
> After a quick peek into the Emporium, I headed back to the Grand Floridian via the resort launch (I love that boat) and then headed back to the hotel.
> 
> I am heading back to Magic Kingdom around 4:30 or 5. I have a 6:45 Cinderella' Castle reservation. And  hopefully to ride 7 Dwarfs as it seems to be up now.
> 
> *NOTES:* MASK compliance was about 95% and the crowds didn't seem as crowded as the previous days.
> 
> AND: If you are a larger family/group traveling together *please, please,  PLEASE make things easier on yourself and the Cast Members by knowing WHO is riding with WHO AND what the seating is on each ride*. I saw families getting up to Peter Pan today not quite clear which kid was riding with mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, etc). And yesterday, they had to STOP Toy Story Mania as a group of 18 had to decide which adult had which of the six or seven kids with them.



Were you not staying at the GF and left your car there after having breakfast, instead of moving it to TTC parking lot?


----------



## scrappinginontario

auntlynne said:


> Were you not staying at the GF and left your car there after having breakfast, instead of moving it to TTC parking lot?


Parking at resorts when dining there is limited to two hours.  Cars may not be left at a resort after dining.


----------



## auntlynne

scrappinginontario said:


> Parking at resorts when dining there is limited to two hours.  Cars may not be left at a resort after dining.



Exactly what I was thinking.  Reading the long post, my takeaway was just that.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

auntlynne said:


> Were you not staying at the GF and left your car there after having breakfast, instead of moving it to TTC parking lot?



Actually, I asked the guard. He said I could stay as long as I retrieved my car by 2 PM.  I know it's not a given and if he'd said no, I would have moved my car before going into MK.  I knew I could easily make his requested deadline as I was planning to leave as soon as I'd had lunch at Tony's (so I was pulling out of the Grand before 1 PM). 

 I'm an Annual Passholder and the guard also knew that I wasn't trying to skip a parking fee.


----------



## Stormtrooper mum

So many things to overthink now!  Going to DHS on sun 14th.  Official opening is 9am.  Thinking rope drop is then probably 8:15-8:30?    Have an 8:25am savis so anyone who knows how I get in for it orrrrr if you think that’s a really bad idea and we will miss out on too many short waits please lmk.   Staying at universal so planning to Uber.  Does the parking lot typically open 90 mins prior to official opening so 7:30?   Is that leaving universal then just after the big boarding group attempt?   Thanks!


----------



## mkb3

Good question so I'm going to piggyback vs starting a new thread.  I was wanting to know the same for MK.  We never rope dropped in the past because we have always been able to get FP for the rides we like.  Was hoping to rope drop MK via ride share, but it seems as if the busses may actually be faster since the Ferry from TTC doesn't start until later.


----------



## DisneyJade

Not sure if this is the right forum, but I didn’t find a forum for shopping and merch. We are in the parks now and looking for “wonderful world of Mickey Mouse” (the new cartoon) merchandise. Any ideas where we might find that? TIA!


----------



## MIndy S

Stormtrooper mum said:


> So many things to overthink now!  Going to DHS on sun 14th.  Official opening is 9am.  Thinking rope drop is then probably 8:15-8:30?    Have an 8:25am savis so anyone who knows how I get in for it orrrrr if you think that’s a really bad idea and we will miss out on too many short waits please lmk.   Staying at universal so planning to Uber.  Does the parking lot typically open 90 mins prior to official opening so 7:30?   Is that leaving universal then just after the big boarding group attempt?   Thanks!



From our experience at DHS last week, the parking lot started lining up cars 60 minutes early and allowing cars in 45 minutes before official park open. Your 8:25 Savi's reservation will be hard to make using Uber, in my opinion.

If you can push your Savi's reservation back to later in the day, I would. Those early hours are pretty nice for riding the big ticket rides.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

My fourth time back since the pandemic and it’s way way more crowded now.  Very happy to see normalcyish returning.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

Got back home late last night after being at WDW since Saturday.  I posted about our EP, first HS, and AK days but kind of spaced posting about MK and our second HS day.  Oops!  So here you go, last two days with some final thoughts at the end.

Tuesday March 2 - MK

We had planned to eat MO breakfast at CR but after talking to a few people that said they weren't allowed to drop off there with rideshares, we just took the bus.  We were on the first bus from OKW and were walking up to the temp checks at about 8:15.  It seemed like people were coming in from every direction, walkers from CR and GF, ferry, monorail, and buses.  Definitely the most congested we had seen a park entry on our trip, but even still, we didn't wait much at all for temp check, right through security, and then we were maybe 10 people deep at the tapstiles.  By the time we got around to SDMT, the line was back even with the entry to Storybook Circus.  Ride wasn't boarding yet but started less than 10 minutes after we got in line and then it was pretty much just continuous movement until we loaded.  Wasn't bad at all. 

From there, we headed to Space which was a walk-on, HM also walk-on, and over to Splash and BTMRR.  That's where the waiting began.  We knew Splash wasn't going to get any better with it being hot so we waited.  I believe it was posted at 45 but we waited maybe 30.  Got off Splash and right into BTMRR line, which snaked up onto the railway platform and back down.  We waited probably 40 minutes total, but that was where we encountered our first real issues with mask noncompliance and not distancing.  One family was eating in line, masks nowhere in sight.  They had nearly a full lunch while we made our way through the railway station.  One of the teenagers kept wiping his mouth with his hand and then wiping that on the railings.    We were glad when we got away from them as we entered the normal section of the BTM queue.  Ended up seeing them a bit later before we got to the ramps....done eating but still no masks and the one kid still rubbing his mouth and nose all the time and then grabbing the railings.  We had been rather conscious of not touching things as much as we would in normal circumstances, but let me tell you, we were cured of touching anything after that whole display!  The other issue was a couple of 20-something guys behind us who were right on top of us.  I mean RIGHT on top of us THE WHOLE TIME.  They seemed oblivious to the whole idea of distancing and minding the line markers on the ground.  By the time we loaded, they were actually acting like they were mad at us for leaving space.  It was insane.

After that whole mess, we had lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus, did a round on the Speedway, and headed back to OKW for a break and swim then came back around 4:30.  When we returned, we did Space again, got Dole Whip and a Nutella fruit waffle then did Jungle Cruise and POTC before closing time.  Overall, I would say this was our least favorite day.  There just seemed to be a lot of people going every which way.  Moving from place to place through the crowds was frustrating in and of itself but add in trying to keep any distance at all between yourself and others, and it was a mess. 

Wednesday March 3 - HS

Yesterday was our final day but our ME wasn't until 5 pm so we headed to HS.  Sprinkling when we left the room to take our bags to bell services at 6:35.  I had forgotten to apply our gift cards to our room charge so we went in and they applied them and reversed that amount from what had been charged to our credit card.  By that time, it was about 6:50 so we sat in the lobby to try for RotR BGs.  I did a speed test again and Disney Wifi was WAY faster than our Verizon iPhones.  WAY faster.  The Wifi rate in our room had been good but the speed in the lobby was even faster still.  DS13 was the winner again, making him 2 for 2 on our BG attempts.  BG3 on Sunday and BG27 yesterday.  Not too shabby!  We headed over to Good's to order breakfast with the rain picking up a little.  A couple of lightning and thunder cracks while we waited and then the bottom dropped out as we ran back to the breezeway to eat our breakfast on a bench.  It let up soon after and was done by the time the first HS bus came around. 

We arrived at HS about about 8:15 (about the same time as we did on Sunday by taking a Lyft to Speedway and walking over).  We had had to wait a couple of minutes on Sunday at temp checks but people were already filing in yesterday.  We hadn't gotten to ToT on Sunday so we went straight there, only to get in line and find out it was down.  Headed to RnRC, also down.  Ran into a guy who was losing his mind about SDD also being down.  With three main attractions down, people were scattering like cockroaches in the light.  Even with all that going on, we walked straight on to MMRR.  A decent line had formed by the time we came out.  Made our way back to MFSR next where we waited only a few minutes, all of that well into the attraction queue.   Waited in a short line to look around in Black Spire Outpost which was rather underwhelming.  A lot of confusion over where people needed to queue up to get into the stalls since they only allow one party in at a time.  Anyhoo, we finished up there, grabbed some blue and green milk to try (blue is infinitely better), then went over to TSMM.  Posted time was 35 but we were in and out in less than 30.  Headed over to RotR when our group got called.  Fairly long line, compared to basically no line for us with BG3 on Sunday.  It gave us time to look around so we were fine with it.  UNTIL we got routed differently than we had on Sunday and skipped a whole section of the preshow!  I won't give any spoilers since I firmly believe you want to experience this attraction cold, but trust me, we were very disappointed.  We simply could not believe that with all the hub bub and preparation that goes on to make sure you get a BG to ride this dang thing, they would send part of the people through a shortened experience.  DSs wanted PizzeRizzo so we grabbed lunch there around noon then headed to ToT.  Posted wait was 55 minutes, but we knew it wouldn't get any shorter before we needed to leave so we got in line.  We joined the line all the way back by the Fantasmic amphitheater.  It looked crazy long but it was not bad at all.  I had looked at the time when we left PizzeRizzo and from there, walking to ToT, and waiting in line, we were entering the lobby in 31 minutes.  Not bad!  We considered getting in line again, but the guys headed to RnRC.  Again, posted time was 50 minutes with the line almost to Anaheim Produce, but they rode and were done in maybe 40.  I sat by the fountain at the end of Sunset Blvd and watched a character cavalcade.  Super cute!  We did a little clean-up shopping (you know, where you run around like chickens trying to get the things the kids saw and now want but didn't get when you were there?) and headed out.

Here are some final thoughts:

Overall we had a fabulous time.  We are generally early risers/RD people anyway so we had no trouble getting up early and making sure we were at the parks as early as was possible.  We felt like that was KEY to getting everything done that we wanted to do, with minimal waiting.  It also gave us a chance to leave during the afternoon if we wanted to head for the pool or do something else later.
Wait times seemed to be inflated across the board, sometimes almost ridiculously so.  I'm sure there is logic somewhere to posting 55 minutes when it is actually 25.  Maybe it drives people to other attractions to spread people out?  My experience was that it created a lot of bottlenecks of people standing en masse at the "end of line here" signs, trying to figure out what to do. 
I feel like Disney was doing a great job with the extended queues to allow for spacing, in most cases.  There were a couple of times where it was confusing and some people seemed to be short-tempered with those trying to figure out where to go.  I didn't see anyone intentionally trying to line jump but more than a few people in line accusing people of doing so.  For the most part, people seemed to be helpful when others were trying to figure it out.  I know we appreciated the efforts to allow distance so we tried to be patient with all of it.
A lot of the subterfuge regarding ways of getting to the parks as early as possible seemed unnecessary once we were there.  I was worried about getting to MK by bus and it was just fine.  That said, we made sure we were absolutely on the first bus available, but I was worried about not being able to get to CR to walk over and it would have been a waste of whatever the rideshare cost us.  We did take a Lyft to HS on Sunday and would have gotten there earlier than we did, except the first Lyft we requested went to the wrong place.  We had to request a second Lyft who got us to Speedway (actually she just dropped us off across from Speedway, right by the Boardwalk entrance) at about the same time we arrived by bus the second day we went there.  $19 for a Lyft XL plus tip and we could have just taken the bus.  Had we gotten there earlier on Sunday, we would have been waiting in line just the same, only we would likely have been first instead of tenth.  That's a negligible difference and not worth the money for me.  Bus service was just fine for us throughout our trip.  We made sure we were headed for the bus stop 80-90 minutes before park opening each day and we were on the first bus.  Worked out great.
Mask compliance was very good overall.  There were always a few people taking their own personal mask break with their noses peeking out a bit.  I felt it was easy to tell the ones that were dropping their mask a tiny bit to get some cool air for a minute and those that were going to wear it under their noses all day.  The people who were not compliant were going to be so no matter who said anything to them.  If a mask was being worn wrong to a degree that a CM needed to point it out, it would go up for a minute and right back down.  Same with eating while moving.  If someone was doing it outright and a CM said something, it wasn't going to change one darn thing.  If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say "I'm from (insert state with no mask mandate) and if I don't wear a mask at home, I'm not wearing it here," I could have bought myself lunch one day.  One CM was trying to explain to a family that they agreed to health statements and requirements when they purchased tickets and entered the parks, but they weren't having it.  We learned very quickly on the first day to move along and outright avoid groups that we saw who were grossly not wearing their masks properly.  It was better for us as a family to alter what we were doing and move away from them, knowing that they don't share the cautious views on maneuvering in a pandemic that we do.  We aren't militant about it, obviously since we chose to go to WDW, but we take as many precautions as we can.  Moving away from the "I'm doing whatever I want" groups falls high on that list.  
Distancing was difficult in maneuvering around the parks.  We were fine at EP on Saturday and HS on Sunday and for the most part yesterday (other than TSL, yikes) but then AK on Monday and MK on Tuesday were not good.  There were more than a few times on those days that the crowds were so tight that I was very anxious, and I'm not one to get that way.  If those days were under the current max capacity, there is no way on God's green earth I would step foot in there on a capacity day.  We also went to DS on Monday evening and would definitely not go back there.  We arrived at about 5 pm, got in the Gideon's virtual queue, and headed to Cookes for dinner.  We did a little shopping, including World of Disney which we basically ran out of because it was horrific in there, and wandered until we could get into Gideon's.  If I hadn't been so excited to try those cookies, we would have left.  It was AWFUL there.  Not a chance I would go back to DS.
Not being able to grab a snack or a drink on our way to another attraction was a bigger deal than I expected.  I guess I didn't even really think about how much we have always done that.  Especially popcorn!  Holy cow, I missed that.  I'm sure we saved some money and some calories on this trip but it took away from the experience more than I expected it to.  It's kind of funny how much some of those Disney snacks become a part of the whole overarching experience. 
We had a great time but there were definitely a lot of things that I miss.  I wouldn't say the magic is gone because there are a lot of CMs there giving their absolute all right now, but it is definitely far less than it usually is.  We aren't stop and watch a parade people, but I like hearing it or catching a glimpse.  I even like seeing the families who gather to watch a parade.  We don't stop for a lot of characters anymore, but I love seeing them as we walk by.  I really (REALLY) missed seeing the excitement on little kids' faces.  There just wasn't a lot of that this time.  All the interactive queues that used to be fun to watch kids using are closed.  There weren't characters around for them to get excited about.  My own kids are older so they don't get into all that stuff much anymore but we all love watching all the little kids at Disney.  It really just wasn't the same.  I'm glad that we went, but it was a wholly different experience from anything we've had in the past.


----------



## Leigh L

Stormtrooper mum said:


> So many things to overthink now!  Going to DHS on sun 14th.  Official opening is 9am.  Thinking rope drop is then probably 8:15-8:30?    Have an 8:25am savis so anyone who knows how I get in for it orrrrr if you think that’s a really bad idea and we will miss out on too many short waits please lmk.   Staying at universal so planning to Uber.  Does the parking lot typically open 90 mins prior to official opening so 7:30?   Is that leaving universal then just after the big boarding group attempt?   Thanks!


Parking lot at DHS opened at 8:15 for us on 2/25. We were able to line up at 7:57.

@mkb3 on two days last week MK toll booths opened up at 8 a.m. exactly. Cars were lining up by 7:30 (we were about 3-5 cars back the day we arrived that early, we arrived at 7:40 the next time and there wasn't much of a difference).


----------



## mfly

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Got back home late last night after being at WDW since Saturday.  I posted about our EP, first HS, and AK days but kind of spaced posting about MK and our second HS day.  Oops!  So here you go, last two days with some final thoughts at the end.
> 
> Tuesday March 2 - MK
> 
> We had planned to eat MO breakfast at CR but after talking to a few people that said they weren't allowed to drop off there with rideshares, we just took the bus.  We were on the first bus from OKW and were walking up to the temp checks at about 8:15.  It seemed like people were coming in from every direction, walkers from CR and GF, ferry, monorail, and buses.  Definitely the most congested we had seen a park entry on our trip, but even still, we didn't wait much at all for temp check, right through security, and then we were maybe 10 people deep at the tapstiles.  By the time we got around to SDMT, the line was back even with the entry to Storybook Circus.  Ride wasn't boarding yet but started less than 10 minutes after we got in line and then it was pretty much just continuous movement until we loaded.  Wasn't bad at all.
> 
> From there, we headed to Space which was a walk-on, HM also walk-on, and over to Splash and BTMRR.  That's where the waiting began.  We knew Splash wasn't going to get any better with it being hot so we waited.  I believe it was posted at 45 but we waited maybe 30.  Got off Splash and right into BTMRR line, which snaked up onto the railway platform and back down.  We waited probably 40 minutes total, but that was where we encountered our first real issues with mask noncompliance and not distancing.  One family was eating in line, masks nowhere in sight.  They had nearly a full lunch while we made our way through the railway station.  One of the teenagers kept wiping his mouth with his hand and then wiping that on the railings.    We were glad when we got away from them as we entered the normal section of the BTM queue.  Ended up seeing them a bit later before we got to the ramps....done eating but still no masks and the one kid still rubbing his mouth and nose all the time and then grabbing the railings.  We had been rather conscious of not touching things as much as we would in normal circumstances, but let me tell you, we were cured of touching anything after that whole display!  The other issue was a couple of 20-something guys behind us who were right on top of us.  I mean RIGHT on top of us THE WHOLE TIME.  They seemed oblivious to the whole idea of distancing and minding the line markers on the ground.  By the time we loaded, they were actually acting like they were mad at us for leaving space.  It was insane.
> 
> After that whole mess, we had lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus, did a round on the Speedway, and headed back to OKW for a break and swim then came back around 4:30.  When we returned, we did Space again, got Dole Whip and a Nutella fruit waffle then did Jungle Cruise and POTC before closing time.  Overall, I would say this was our least favorite day.  There just seemed to be a lot of people going every which way.  Moving from place to place through the crowds was frustrating in and of itself but add in trying to keep any distance at all between yourself and others, and it was a mess.
> 
> Wednesday March 3 - HS
> 
> Yesterday was our final day but our ME wasn't until 5 pm so we headed to HS.  Sprinkling when we left the room to take our bags to bell services at 6:35.  I had forgotten to apply our gift cards to our room charge so we went in and they applied them and reversed that amount from what had been charged to our credit card.  By that time, it was about 6:50 so we sat in the lobby to try for RotR BGs.  I did a speed test again and Disney Wifi was WAY faster than our Verizon iPhones.  WAY faster.  The Wifi rate in our room had been good but the speed in the lobby was even faster still.  DS13 was the winner again, making him 2 for 2 on our BG attempts.  BG3 on Sunday and BG27 yesterday.  Not too shabby!  We headed over to Good's to order breakfast with the rain picking up a little.  A couple of lightning and thunder cracks while we waited and then the bottom dropped out as we ran back to the breezeway to eat our breakfast on a bench.  It let up soon after and was done by the time the first HS bus came around.
> 
> We arrived at HS about about 8:15 (about the same time as we did on Sunday by taking a Lyft to Speedway and walking over).  We had had to wait a couple of minutes on Sunday at temp checks but people were already filing in yesterday.  We hadn't gotten to ToT on Sunday so we went straight there, only to get in line and find out it was down.  Headed to RnRC, also down.  Ran into a guy who was losing his mind about SDD also being down.  With three main attractions down, people were scattering like cockroaches in the light.  Even with all that going on, we walked straight on to MMRR.  A decent line had formed by the time we came out.  Made our way back to MFSR next where we waited only a few minutes, all of that well into the attraction queue.   Waited in a short line to look around in Black Spire Outpost which was rather underwhelming.  A lot of confusion over where people needed to queue up to get into the stalls since they only allow one party in at a time.  Anyhoo, we finished up there, grabbed some blue and green milk to try (blue is infinitely better), then went over to TSMM.  Posted time was 35 but we were in and out in less than 30.  Headed over to RotR when our group got called.  Fairly long line, compared to basically no line for us with BG3 on Sunday.  It gave us time to look around so we were fine with it.  UNTIL we got routed differently than we had on Sunday and skipped a whole section of the preshow!  I won't give any spoilers since I firmly believe you want to experience this attraction cold, but trust me, we were very disappointed.  We simply could not believe that with all the hub bub and preparation that goes on to make sure you get a BG to ride this dang thing, they would send part of the people through a shortened experience.  DSs wanted PizzeRizzo so we grabbed lunch there around noon then headed to ToT.  Posted wait was 55 minutes, but we knew it wouldn't get any shorter before we needed to leave so we got in line.  We joined the line all the way back by the Fantasmic amphitheater.  It looked crazy long but it was not bad at all.  I had looked at the time when we left PizzeRizzo and from there, walking to ToT, and waiting in line, we were entering the lobby in 31 minutes.  Not bad!  We considered getting in line again, but the guys headed to RnRC.  Again, posted time was 50 minutes with the line almost to Anaheim Produce, but they rode and were done in maybe 40.  I sat by the fountain at the end of Sunset Blvd and watched a character cavalcade.  Super cute!  We did a little clean-up shopping (you know, where you run around like chickens trying to get the things the kids saw and now want but didn't get when you were there?) and headed out.
> 
> Here are some final thoughts:
> 
> Overall we had a fabulous time.  We are generally early risers/RD people anyway so we had no trouble getting up early and making sure we were at the parks as early as was possible.  We felt like that was KEY to getting everything done that we wanted to do, with minimal waiting.  It also gave us a chance to leave during the afternoon if we wanted to head for the pool or do something else later.
> Wait times seemed to be inflated across the board, sometimes almost ridiculously so.  I'm sure there is logic somewhere to posting 55 minutes when it is actually 25.  Maybe it drives people to other attractions to spread people out?  My experience was that it created a lot of bottlenecks of people standing en masse at the "end of line here" signs, trying to figure out what to do.
> I feel like Disney was doing a great job with the extended queues to allow for spacing, in most cases.  There were a couple of times where it was confusing and some people seemed to be short-tempered with those trying to figure out where to go.  I didn't see anyone intentionally trying to line jump but more than a few people in line accusing people of doing so.  For the most part, people seemed to be helpful when others were trying to figure it out.  I know we appreciated the efforts to allow distance so we tried to be patient with all of it.
> A lot of the subterfuge regarding ways of getting to the parks as early as possible seemed unnecessary once we were there.  I was worried about getting to MK by bus and it was just fine.  That said, we made sure we were absolutely on the first bus available, but I was worried about not being able to get to CR to walk over and it would have been a waste of whatever the rideshare cost us.  We did take a Lyft to HS on Sunday and would have gotten there earlier than we did, except the first Lyft we requested went to the wrong place.  We had to request a second Lyft who got us to Speedway (actually she just dropped us off across from Speedway, right by the Boardwalk entrance) at about the same time we arrived by bus the second day we went there.  $19 for a Lyft XL plus tip and we could have just taken the bus.  Had we gotten there earlier on Sunday, we would have been waiting in line just the same, only we would likely have been first instead of tenth.  That's a negligible difference and not worth the money for me.  Bus service was just fine for us throughout our trip.  We made sure we were headed for the bus stop 80-90 minutes before park opening each day and we were on the first bus.  Worked out great.
> Mask compliance was very good overall.  There were always a few people taking their own personal mask break with their noses peeking out a bit.  I felt it was easy to tell the ones that were dropping their mask a tiny bit to get some cool air for a minute and those that were going to wear it under their noses all day.  The people who were not compliant were going to be so no matter who said anything to them.  If a mask was being worn wrong to a degree that a CM needed to point it out, it would go up for a minute and right back down.  Same with eating while moving.  If someone was doing it outright and a CM said something, it wasn't going to change one darn thing.  If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say "I'm from (insert state with no mask mandate) and if I don't wear a mask at home, I'm not wearing it here," I could have bought myself lunch one day.  One CM was trying to explain to a family that they agreed to health statements and requirements when they purchased tickets and entered the parks, but they weren't having it.  We learned very quickly on the first day to move along and outright avoid groups that we saw who were grossly not wearing their masks properly.  It was better for us as a family to alter what we were doing and move away from them, knowing that they don't share the cautious views on maneuvering in a pandemic that we do.  We aren't militant about it, obviously since we chose to go to WDW, but we take as many precautions as we can.  Moving away from the "I'm doing whatever I want" groups falls high on that list.
> Distancing was difficult in maneuvering around the parks.  We were fine at EP on Saturday and HS on Sunday and for the most part yesterday (other than TSL, yikes) but then AK on Monday and MK on Tuesday were not good.  There were more than a few times on those days that the crowds were so tight that I was very anxious, and I'm not one to get that way.  If those days were under the current max capacity, there is no way on God's green earth I would step foot in there on a capacity day.  We also went to DS on Monday evening and would definitely not go back there.  We arrived at about 5 pm, got in the Gideon's virtual queue, and headed to Cookes for dinner.  We did a little shopping, including World of Disney which we basically ran out of because it was horrific in there, and wandered until we could get into Gideon's.  If I hadn't been so excited to try those cookies, we would have left.  It was AWFUL there.  Not a chance I would go back to DS.
> Not being able to grab a snack or a drink on our way to another attraction was a bigger deal than I expected.  I guess I didn't even really think about how much we have always done that.  Especially popcorn!  Holy cow, I missed that.  I'm sure we saved some money and some calories on this trip but it took away from the experience more than I expected it to.  It's kind of funny how much some of those Disney snacks become a part of the whole overarching experience.
> We had a great time but there were definitely a lot of things that I miss.  I wouldn't say the magic is gone because there are a lot of CMs there giving their absolute all right now, but it is definitely far less than it usually is.  We aren't stop and watch a parade people, but I like hearing it or catching a glimpse.  I even like seeing the families who gather to watch a parade.  We don't stop for a lot of characters anymore, but I love seeing them as we walk by.  I really (REALLY) missed seeing the excitement on little kids' faces.  There just wasn't a lot of that this time.  All the interactive queues that used to be fun to watch kids using are closed.  There weren't characters around for them to get excited about.  My own kids are older so they don't get into all that stuff much anymore but we all love watching all the little kids at Disney.  It really just wasn't the same.  I'm glad that we went, but it was a wholly different experience from anything we've had in the past.


This was so helpful - especially the early morning arrival comments. Thanks!


----------



## Raven01

AK today, March 4.  Opening at 8 am.

Walked straight onto a waiting bus at 7:07 am.  In and straight to Navi.  There were technical difficulties.  We waited a few minutes, and we’re off at 753.  Then went straight to the Safari and boarded by 807.

After that, we took it easy.  AK desperately needs Dinoland redone because there just aren’t enough rides for young kids.  So many people comment that Navi isn’t worth it - but it is a pretty ride and perfect for young kids.  My DD rode the dinosaur kid dumbo like ride and did Tough to Be A Bug, but didn’t like Bug.  She is tall enough for Dinosaur but we skipped it because she hasn’t liked dark scary rides this trip, and I didn’t want to push it.  Now, the flip side is because there isn’t a ton to do like MK, we went slow.  The monkeys were playing and we sat in a shaded area while she ate a rice crispy treat and watched them.  We did the petting zoo and animal walk.  Our pace was just more relaxed.

To the PP asking if they should move the 825 Savis reservation, I say emphatically YES. That first hour and a half has the lowest waits of the day. I would not waste that time.  Get there early and use the time, or be prepared for 40-60 minute waits.

And as a side note, I’d skip the Castle reservation next time (though DD4 thought it was cool to eat in the castle) and go to Topolinos breakfast instead.  Loved Topolinos, pricey but good food And Characters.

Oh, and I’m COVID easy going, but there’s no social distancing exiting attractions.  Otherwise the safety efforts were awesome.


----------



## Stormtrooper mum

MIndy S said:


> From our experience at DHS last week, the parking lot started lining up cars 60 minutes early and allowing cars in 45 minutes before official park open. Your 8:25 Savi's reservation will be hard to make using Uber, in my opinion.
> If you can push your Savi's reservation back to later in the day, I would. Those early hours are pretty nice for riding the big ticket rides.



Thanks for all the help!  Working out what the touring plan may be if we do it later


----------



## iheartglaciers

SharkBruce said:


> Returning to WDW in a few weeks for the first time during COVID and wondering how difficult and/or challenging it is to pick up a snack or drink around the World Showcase and find a safe place to remove the mask to eat and drink safely during something like Flower and Garden?    I will truly miss the eating and drinking while walking as in years past so wanted to better understand how it is going?  Any tips or lessons learned on this experience would be much appreciated.
> 
> P.S.Any ideas on nice, out of the way spots to get distanced while enjoying a beverage would be helpful.  Prost!



I was at the last day of the Arts Festival (which was a Monday) and didn't think it was hard to find spots in World Showcase with enough distance from others to feel comfotable taking my mask off to eat (and I'm on the conservative side when it comes to that--I barely did anything indoors during my trip). I'd definitely start earlier in the day since it gets more crowded in World Showcase as the day goes on, especially after 2pm when park hopping opens. Occasionally someone would get too close for me to feel comfortable with my mask off and I would just move. 

I generally ate at tables along the walkways (there are plenty of spaced out tables that feel away from people walking), but Morocco and Japan in particular had tucked away tables that were nice options.

Morocco has a few tables in the back where the shops used to be, and Japan has some tables alongside the store that feel somewhat hidden.


----------



## Gearbm95

Has anyone been able to hop prior to 2pm or have they been fairly strict on that?


----------



## angryduck71

CapnJacksGirl said:


> Got back home late last night after being at WDW since Saturday.  I posted about our EP, first HS, and AK days but kind of spaced posting about MK and our second HS day.  Oops!  So here you go, last two days with some final thoughts at the end.
> 
> Tuesday March 2 - MK
> 
> We had planned to eat MO breakfast at CR but after talking to a few people that said they weren't allowed to drop off there with rideshares, we just took the bus.  We were on the first bus from OKW and were walking up to the temp checks at about 8:15.  It seemed like people were coming in from every direction, walkers from CR and GF, ferry, monorail, and buses.  Definitely the most congested we had seen a park entry on our trip, but even still, we didn't wait much at all for temp check, right through security, and then we were maybe 10 people deep at the tapstiles.  By the time we got around to SDMT, the line was back even with the entry to Storybook Circus.  Ride wasn't boarding yet but started less than 10 minutes after we got in line and then it was pretty much just continuous movement until we loaded.  Wasn't bad at all.
> 
> From there, we headed to Space which was a walk-on, HM also walk-on, and over to Splash and BTMRR.  That's where the waiting began.  We knew Splash wasn't going to get any better with it being hot so we waited.  I believe it was posted at 45 but we waited maybe 30.  Got off Splash and right into BTMRR line, which snaked up onto the railway platform and back down.  We waited probably 40 minutes total, but that was where we encountered our first real issues with mask noncompliance and not distancing.  One family was eating in line, masks nowhere in sight.  They had nearly a full lunch while we made our way through the railway station.  One of the teenagers kept wiping his mouth with his hand and then wiping that on the railings.    We were glad when we got away from them as we entered the normal section of the BTM queue.  Ended up seeing them a bit later before we got to the ramps....done eating but still no masks and the one kid still rubbing his mouth and nose all the time and then grabbing the railings.  We had been rather conscious of not touching things as much as we would in normal circumstances, but let me tell you, we were cured of touching anything after that whole display!  The other issue was a couple of 20-something guys behind us who were right on top of us.  I mean RIGHT on top of us THE WHOLE TIME.  They seemed oblivious to the whole idea of distancing and minding the line markers on the ground.  By the time we loaded, they were actually acting like they were mad at us for leaving space.  It was insane.
> 
> After that whole mess, we had lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus, did a round on the Speedway, and headed back to OKW for a break and swim then came back around 4:30.  When we returned, we did Space again, got Dole Whip and a Nutella fruit waffle then did Jungle Cruise and POTC before closing time.  Overall, I would say this was our least favorite day.  There just seemed to be a lot of people going every which way.  Moving from place to place through the crowds was frustrating in and of itself but add in trying to keep any distance at all between yourself and others, and it was a mess.
> 
> Wednesday March 3 - HS
> 
> Yesterday was our final day but our ME wasn't until 5 pm so we headed to HS.  Sprinkling when we left the room to take our bags to bell services at 6:35.  I had forgotten to apply our gift cards to our room charge so we went in and they applied them and reversed that amount from what had been charged to our credit card.  By that time, it was about 6:50 so we sat in the lobby to try for RotR BGs.  I did a speed test again and Disney Wifi was WAY faster than our Verizon iPhones.  WAY faster.  The Wifi rate in our room had been good but the speed in the lobby was even faster still.  DS13 was the winner again, making him 2 for 2 on our BG attempts.  BG3 on Sunday and BG27 yesterday.  Not too shabby!  We headed over to Good's to order breakfast with the rain picking up a little.  A couple of lightning and thunder cracks while we waited and then the bottom dropped out as we ran back to the breezeway to eat our breakfast on a bench.  It let up soon after and was done by the time the first HS bus came around.
> 
> We arrived at HS about about 8:15 (about the same time as we did on Sunday by taking a Lyft to Speedway and walking over).  We had had to wait a couple of minutes on Sunday at temp checks but people were already filing in yesterday.  We hadn't gotten to ToT on Sunday so we went straight there, only to get in line and find out it was down.  Headed to RnRC, also down.  Ran into a guy who was losing his mind about SDD also being down.  With three main attractions down, people were scattering like cockroaches in the light.  Even with all that going on, we walked straight on to MMRR.  A decent line had formed by the time we came out.  Made our way back to MFSR next where we waited only a few minutes, all of that well into the attraction queue.   Waited in a short line to look around in Black Spire Outpost which was rather underwhelming.  A lot of confusion over where people needed to queue up to get into the stalls since they only allow one party in at a time.  Anyhoo, we finished up there, grabbed some blue and green milk to try (blue is infinitely better), then went over to TSMM.  Posted time was 35 but we were in and out in less than 30.  Headed over to RotR when our group got called.  Fairly long line, compared to basically no line for us with BG3 on Sunday.  It gave us time to look around so we were fine with it.  UNTIL we got routed differently than we had on Sunday and skipped a whole section of the preshow!  I won't give any spoilers since I firmly believe you want to experience this attraction cold, but trust me, we were very disappointed.  We simply could not believe that with all the hub bub and preparation that goes on to make sure you get a BG to ride this dang thing, they would send part of the people through a shortened experience.  DSs wanted PizzeRizzo so we grabbed lunch there around noon then headed to ToT.  Posted wait was 55 minutes, but we knew it wouldn't get any shorter before we needed to leave so we got in line.  We joined the line all the way back by the Fantasmic amphitheater.  It looked crazy long but it was not bad at all.  I had looked at the time when we left PizzeRizzo and from there, walking to ToT, and waiting in line, we were entering the lobby in 31 minutes.  Not bad!  We considered getting in line again, but the guys headed to RnRC.  Again, posted time was 50 minutes with the line almost to Anaheim Produce, but they rode and were done in maybe 40.  I sat by the fountain at the end of Sunset Blvd and watched a character cavalcade.  Super cute!  We did a little clean-up shopping (you know, where you run around like chickens trying to get the things the kids saw and now want but didn't get when you were there?) and headed out.
> 
> Here are some final thoughts:
> 
> Overall we had a fabulous time.  We are generally early risers/RD people anyway so we had no trouble getting up early and making sure we were at the parks as early as was possible.  We felt like that was KEY to getting everything done that we wanted to do, with minimal waiting.  It also gave us a chance to leave during the afternoon if we wanted to head for the pool or do something else later.
> Wait times seemed to be inflated across the board, sometimes almost ridiculously so.  I'm sure there is logic somewhere to posting 55 minutes when it is actually 25.  Maybe it drives people to other attractions to spread people out?  My experience was that it created a lot of bottlenecks of people standing en masse at the "end of line here" signs, trying to figure out what to do.
> I feel like Disney was doing a great job with the extended queues to allow for spacing, in most cases.  There were a couple of times where it was confusing and some people seemed to be short-tempered with those trying to figure out where to go.  I didn't see anyone intentionally trying to line jump but more than a few people in line accusing people of doing so.  For the most part, people seemed to be helpful when others were trying to figure it out.  I know we appreciated the efforts to allow distance so we tried to be patient with all of it.
> A lot of the subterfuge regarding ways of getting to the parks as early as possible seemed unnecessary once we were there.  I was worried about getting to MK by bus and it was just fine.  That said, we made sure we were absolutely on the first bus available, but I was worried about not being able to get to CR to walk over and it would have been a waste of whatever the rideshare cost us.  We did take a Lyft to HS on Sunday and would have gotten there earlier than we did, except the first Lyft we requested went to the wrong place.  We had to request a second Lyft who got us to Speedway (actually she just dropped us off across from Speedway, right by the Boardwalk entrance) at about the same time we arrived by bus the second day we went there.  $19 for a Lyft XL plus tip and we could have just taken the bus.  Had we gotten there earlier on Sunday, we would have been waiting in line just the same, only we would likely have been first instead of tenth.  That's a negligible difference and not worth the money for me.  Bus service was just fine for us throughout our trip.  We made sure we were headed for the bus stop 80-90 minutes before park opening each day and we were on the first bus.  Worked out great.
> Mask compliance was very good overall.  There were always a few people taking their own personal mask break with their noses peeking out a bit.  I felt it was easy to tell the ones that were dropping their mask a tiny bit to get some cool air for a minute and those that were going to wear it under their noses all day.  The people who were not compliant were going to be so no matter who said anything to them.  If a mask was being worn wrong to a degree that a CM needed to point it out, it would go up for a minute and right back down.  Same with eating while moving.  If someone was doing it outright and a CM said something, it wasn't going to change one darn thing.  If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say "I'm from (insert state with no mask mandate) and if I don't wear a mask at home, I'm not wearing it here," I could have bought myself lunch one day.  One CM was trying to explain to a family that they agreed to health statements and requirements when they purchased tickets and entered the parks, but they weren't having it.  We learned very quickly on the first day to move along and outright avoid groups that we saw who were grossly not wearing their masks properly.  It was better for us as a family to alter what we were doing and move away from them, knowing that they don't share the cautious views on maneuvering in a pandemic that we do.  We aren't militant about it, obviously since we chose to go to WDW, but we take as many precautions as we can.  Moving away from the "I'm doing whatever I want" groups falls high on that list.
> Distancing was difficult in maneuvering around the parks.  We were fine at EP on Saturday and HS on Sunday and for the most part yesterday (other than TSL, yikes) but then AK on Monday and MK on Tuesday were not good.  There were more than a few times on those days that the crowds were so tight that I was very anxious, and I'm not one to get that way.  If those days were under the current max capacity, there is no way on God's green earth I would step foot in there on a capacity day.  We also went to DS on Monday evening and would definitely not go back there.  We arrived at about 5 pm, got in the Gideon's virtual queue, and headed to Cookes for dinner.  We did a little shopping, including World of Disney which we basically ran out of because it was horrific in there, and wandered until we could get into Gideon's.  If I hadn't been so excited to try those cookies, we would have left.  It was AWFUL there.  Not a chance I would go back to DS.
> Not being able to grab a snack or a drink on our way to another attraction was a bigger deal than I expected.  I guess I didn't even really think about how much we have always done that.  Especially popcorn!  Holy cow, I missed that.  I'm sure we saved some money and some calories on this trip but it took away from the experience more than I expected it to.  It's kind of funny how much some of those Disney snacks become a part of the whole overarching experience.
> We had a great time but there were definitely a lot of things that I miss.  I wouldn't say the magic is gone because there are a lot of CMs there giving their absolute all right now, but it is definitely far less than it usually is.  We aren't stop and watch a parade people, but I like hearing it or catching a glimpse.  I even like seeing the families who gather to watch a parade.  We don't stop for a lot of characters anymore, but I love seeing them as we walk by.  I really (REALLY) missed seeing the excitement on little kids' faces.  There just wasn't a lot of that this time.  All the interactive queues that used to be fun to watch kids using are closed.  There weren't characters around for them to get excited about.  My own kids are older so they don't get into all that stuff much anymore but we all love watching all the little kids at Disney.  It really just wasn't the same.  I'm glad that we went, but it was a wholly different experience from anything we've had in the past.


This was extremely helpful.  Right now, we have been debating MK or not.  You may have pushed me to not.  I will be fully vaccinated by our trip, but my son will not.


----------



## KBL3782

I’m mostly a lurker on this board, but since I found recent trip reports helpful before our trip, I figure I should share our experience.

After reading some reports here, I was concerned about the crowds and wait times but overall am pleasantly surprised with how manageable they were.

We stayed at Rivera, which was wonderful. The service is amazing and it truly is a beautiful resort. Transportation was very easy - Skyliner is of course efficient but we also never encountered a long wait for busses or felt over-crowded on them.

I’m I could go through our trip day, by day, but will say generally that by arriving early to the parks each day (only rope dropped DHS), we were able to accomplish all the headliners as well as everything else we wanted to. I thought we would greatly miss Fast Pass, but truly do not think they are necessary at this point.


----------



## Leigh L

Gearbm95 said:


> Has anyone been able to hop prior to 2pm or have they been fairly strict on that?


Buses come about 1:30 from the parks (we boarded at 1:28 from MK to DHS). Tapped in about 1:50 at DHS on 2/25. Not sure how much/if at all earlier they would have let us tap in.


----------



## DMLAINI

Has anyone been to The Flower & Garden Festival today & can tell me where to get the giftcard you put on your wrist?  Also can you use a giftcard to purchase it (we've got a lot of giftcards to use)?


----------



## dez1978

KBL3782 said:


> I’m mostly a lurker on this board, but since I found recent trip reports helpful before our trip, I figure I should share our experience.
> 
> After reading some reports here, I was concerned about the crowds and wait times but overall am pleasantly surprised with how manageable they were.
> 
> We stayed at Rivera, which was wonderful. The service is amazing and it truly is a beautiful resort. Transportation was very easy - Skyliner is of course efficient but we also never encountered a long wait for busses or felt over-crowded on them.
> 
> I’m I could go through our trip day, by day, but will say generally that by arriving early to the parks each day (only rope dropped DHS), we were able to accomplish all the headliners as well as everything else we wanted to. I thought we would greatly miss Fast Pass, but truly do not think they are necessary at this point.


We are staying at the riviera in a couple weeks. What time did the sky liner start running to Hs?


----------



## KBL3782

dez1978 said:


> We are staying at the riviera in a couple weeks. What time did the sky liner start running to Hs?



They started running right at 7:30 (maybe a few minutes before). There were about 8 groups in front of us and we were in the sky by 7:35 and they had not started running the CBR station when we got there. We were off and at the park by 8.


----------



## brockash

KBL3782 said:


> They started running right at 7:30 (maybe a few minutes before). There were about 8 groups in front of us and we were in the sky by 7:35 and they had not started running the CBR station when we got there. We were off and at the park by 8.


When you got to CBR; you had to get off right to transfer?  If so, how did that work with the CBR line?  Did you have to go to back of line, did they put you all in front of tye CBR ppl ?  Tia!


----------



## Kitty & Covs Covs

Question—we have 7 people in our party.  If we have an ADR for CR or GF for like, 4 or 5, will they count how many are on the ADR against our group and turn some away? We are considering a Trojan horse play to have some non breakfast eaters be able to walk to the park.


----------



## Kitty & Covs Covs

KBL3782 said:


> They started running right at 7:30 (maybe a few minutes before). There were about 8 groups in front of us and we were in the sky by 7:35 and they had not started running the CBR station when we got there. We were off and at the park by 8.



what time did you arrive at the skyliner to get in line that morning?


----------



## KBL3782

brockash said:


> When you got to CBR; you had to get off right to transfer?  If so, how did that work with the CBR line?  Did you have to go to back of line, did they put you all in front of tye CBR ppl ?  Tia!


I couldn’t figure out how they were sorting us, but in true Dis fashion there were definitely some logistics at play. We had to get off but were sent to  a separate line from the CBR people. They were not loading at all when we got in line, but the wait was maybe only 15 minutes. It seemed like they were taking turns letting each group load, but I am not sure. We had to wait about 15-20 minutes for Studios to open.


----------



## KBL3782

Kitty & Covs Covs said:


> what time did you arrive at the skyliner to get in line that morning?



We got in line at 7:25 and they started running maybe 5 minutes later.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Kitty & Covs Covs said:


> Question—we have 7 people in our party.  If we have an ADR for CR or GF for like, 4 or 5, will they count how many are on the ADR against our group and turn some away? We are considering a Trojan horse play to have some non breakfast eaters be able to walk to the park.



No. The guard will just doublecheck the reservation (if they even do that...) and point the driver to the correct parking lot. They try to not even get close enough to the car to see in it, much less count heads. They have declined offers to scan our band here lately, assuming so they don't have to get very close.


----------



## dez1978

KBL3782 said:


> They started running right at 7:30 (maybe a few minutes before). There were about 8 groups in front of us and we were in the sky by 7:35 and they had not started running the CBR station when we got there. We were off and at the park by 8.


9 am opening right?


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

*How to Have a Successful Day at DHS

Tuesday March 2
DHS 9-7*

First of all, this was my birthday. I was super excited to wear my birthday pin. 

6: up and at 'em. Headed for the parks around 6:30ish

6:55: pulled over at Fantastia Mini Golf parking lot so we could both try for a Rise boarding group. We had a friend joining us for the day and he was also trying. I didn't have any fancy countdown clocks, I just started refreshing the page at 6:59. 

And, as Kuzco would say: Boom baby.

What can I say? It was my special day.



7:10: breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass at Yacht Club. Had the eggs benedict special and it was soooo good. We asked for our check when the food arrived and we were out of there at 7:45

7:45: walked to DHS. It was a beautiful morning.

8:05: arrived at DHS and were in line for the temp checks. Maybe about 15 groups back? 

8:15: temp checks started, the line moved quickly past the temp checks, through security and into the gates.

8:22: into line for MMRR. I believe we were on the second train of the day.

8:32: off the ride and onto Toy Story Land

8:39: line for Slinky Dog Dash

8:52: rode SDD

8:57: walked onto Swirling Saucers

9:09: into line for TSMM

9:25: off the ride

We had until 9:50 to make it to Rise. We decided it was a more valuable use of our time to knock out a few rides with short waits and show up to Rise at the end of our boarding time.

9:37: met up with our friend and got in line for ROTR. It was our first time riding.

10:02: off the ride, loved it. Won't say more since we managed to stay mostly spoiler free and I don't want to ruin it for anyone else.

Felt like we had already had a super successful morning. Had a delicious breakfast, already did MMRR, TSMM, SDD, Saucers and ROTR. And the park had only officially been open for an hour.

10:08: mobile ordered a drink from Ronto Roasters so we could sit with our friend who had breakfast there. Watched Chewie interact with the crowd from on top of a building.

10:26: we weren't going to stop into Dok Ondar's because we had just been there the previous night, but our friend wanted to go in. The force was with us because they'd just got Ahsoka's lightsabers in stock overnight! Talk about lucky. I 

10:40: expensive birthday gift to myself in hand, we watched some Stormtroopers and Vi Moradi on top of the same building Chewie had just been on.

We also watched Rey have a very serious conversation from up high with a little girl.




11:10: in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. Fun fact: you have to check your lightsaber blades on that ride. They send you through to the gift shop then back in line. We did get front of the coaster though, so maybe it was worth it.

11:34: rode RR

I wanted to ride TT but it was listed as an 85 minute wait. It was getting very hot at this point so we mobile ordered some drinks at the Backlot Express and had a nice sit down break.

I also have a gap in my pictures here, I think my phone died and I was charging it. All my time stamps are based off pictures I took. After we finished relaxing in Backlot Express we rode Star Tours. I think we had a 15-20 minute wait. We got all the new scenes from Last Skywalker which I was excited about as we'd never seen them.

1:20ish?: got in line for Muppets and had to wait a decently long time.

1:50: in the Muppets theater. They must have got a new digital projector since the last time I saw this show (probably several years). The picture looked super crisp.

2:08: we headed to Sci Fi Dine In. I had a reservation for 2:20. We also had 3 other friends join us at this point (they hopped over). This is my absolute favorite restaurant at Disney. The food isn't bad but I love the ambience. It started to pour right before 2:20, we asked if we could wait inside but were told no. So we huddled under 3 umbrellas and waited it out. I think the rain only lasted 5-10 minutes.

2:32: seated in Sci Fi.



Two of us had birthdays on March 2, and a third had a birthday on March 4. We all 3 got cupcakes at the end of the meal.



4:04: decided to ride MMRR and got pulled out of line the second we entered due to the birthday buttons. Got backdoored onto the ride.

4:30: into line for Smuggler's Run. We had a full 6 person crew and we were going to live it up.



4:54: first ride. We did ok but didn't achieve our objective.

4:56: back in line for Smuggler's. 

I don't have time stamps for this ride, but we were definitely off the ride by 5:45. 

On our second ride we achieved great success: we got Chewie mode and we finally kept all 3 lights on! Which basically means you scored very highly. 

We shopped around in Droid Depot for a bit.

5:56: in line for TSMM

6:32: my time stamps failed again, but we had obviously ridden TSMM at this point and were just boarding SDD.

The sun was setting and we made our way out of Toy Story Land.



We shopped around a bit and took some photopass pictures. Earlier in the day (like 7:15 am), our friend had snagged us all an Oga's for 7 pm for 6 people.



Nothing better than a park reservation right at close on an early closing hour.



6:59: Oga's reservation.

Also, miracle of miracles: we got a booth!!! Getting a booth at Oga's is like finding the Holy Grail. It was interesting seeing the place so empty. This was our first post COVID visit. Looked like the filled all the booths and had a few couples scattered around the bar and only a few standing tables occupied.



7:54: Oga's was not enforcing a two drink minimum. We definitely didn't feel rushed but ended up leaving right before 8 anyway. There were still other groups left when we headed out.

We made our way slowly out of the park and were at the exit at 8:06. Love this pic I took of Sci Fi on the way out.



We took the Skyliner back to Yacht club and had no wait.

All in all, was a pretty spectacular day. I know some of it was luck, but we'd managed to do:

MMRR x2
SDD x 2
Saucers
TSMM x 2
ROTR Boarding Group 1
ST
Muppets
RR
Smugglers x 2

Really the only thing we missed that I wanted to do was TT. It had a very long wait all day. We probably could have done it instead of our second evening visit to Toy Story Land, but those rides were fun anyway and a lot closer to our park close Oga's than TT would have been.

A lot of the lines looked really long, or were marked as long on MDE, but they really weren't that bad. I highly recommend paying for the Touring Lines app, those wait times were much, much more accurate than the ones on MDE.

Hope this helped!


----------



## Naomeri

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> *How to Have a Successful Day at DHS
> 
> Tuesday March 2
> DHS 9-7*
> 
> First of all, this was my birthday. I was super excited to wear my birthday pin.
> 
> 6: up and at 'em. Headed for the parks around 6:30ish
> 
> 6:55: pulled over at Fantastia Mini Golf parking lot so we could both try for a Rise boarding group. We had a friend joining us for the day and he was also trying. I didn't have any fancy countdown clocks, I just started refreshing the page at 6:59.
> 
> And, as Kuzco would say: Boom baby.
> 
> What can I say? It was my special day.
> 
> View attachment 560579
> 
> 7:10: breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass at Yacht Club. Had the eggs benedict special and it was soooo good. We asked for our check when the food arrived and we were out of there at 7:45
> 
> 7:45: walked to DHS. It was a beautiful morning.
> 
> 8:05: arrived at DHS and were in line for the temp checks. Maybe about 15 groups back?
> 
> 8:15: temp checks started, the line moved quickly past the temp checks, through security and into the gates.
> 
> 8:22: into line for MMRR. I believe we were on the second train of the day.
> 
> 8:32: off the ride and onto Toy Story Land
> 
> 8:39: line for Slinky Dog Dash
> 
> 8:52: rode SDD
> 
> 8:57: walked onto Swirling Saucers
> 
> 9:09: into line for TSMM
> 
> 9:25: off the ride
> 
> We had until 9:50 to make it to Rise. We decided it was a more valuable use of our time to knock out a few rides with short waits and show up to Rise at the end of our boarding time.
> 
> 9:37: met up with our friend and got in line for ROTR. It was our first time riding.
> 
> 10:02: off the ride, loved it. Won't say more since we managed to stay mostly spoiler free and I don't want to ruin it for anyone else.
> 
> Felt like we had already had a super successful morning. Had a delicious breakfast, already did MMRR, TSMM, SDD, Saucers and ROTR. And the park had only officially been open for an hour.
> 
> 10:08: mobile ordered a drink from Ronto Roasters so we could sit with our friend who had breakfast there. Watched Chewie interact with the crowd from on top of a building.
> 
> 10:26: we weren't going to stop into Dok Ondar's because we had just been there the previous night, but our friend wanted to go in. The force was with us because they'd just got Ahsoka's lightsabers in stock overnight! Talk about lucky. I
> 
> 10:40: expensive birthday gift to myself in hand, we watched some Stormtroopers and Vi Moradi on top of the same building Chewie had just been on.
> 
> We also watched Rey have a very serious conversation from up high with a little girl.
> 
> View attachment 560583
> 
> 
> 11:10: in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. Fun fact: you have to check your lightsaber blades on that ride. They send you through to the gift shop then back in line. We did get front of the coaster though, so maybe it was worth it.
> 
> 11:34: rode RR
> 
> I wanted to ride TT but it was listed as an 85 minute wait. It was getting very hot at this point so we mobile ordered some drinks at the Backlot Express and had a nice sit down break.
> 
> I also have a gap in my pictures here, I think my phone died and I was charging it. All my time stamps are based off pictures I took. After we finished relaxing in Backlot Express we rode Star Tours. I think we had a 15-20 minute wait. We got all the new scenes from Last Skywalker which I was excited about as we'd never seen them.
> 
> 1:20ish?: got in line for Muppets and had to wait a decently long time.
> 
> 1:50: in the Muppets theater. They must have got a new digital projector since the last time I saw this show (probably several years). The picture looked super crisp.
> 
> 2:08: we headed to Sci Fi Dine In. I had a reservation for 2:20. We also had 3 other friends join us at this point (they hopped over). This is my absolute favorite restaurant at Disney. The food isn't bad but I love the ambience. It started to pour right before 2:20, we asked if we could wait inside but were told no. So we huddled under 3 umbrellas and waited it out. I think the rain only lasted 5-10 minutes.
> 
> 2:32: seated in Sci Fi.
> 
> View attachment 560585
> 
> Two of us had birthdays on March 2, and a third had a birthday on March 4. We all 3 got cupcakes at the end of the meal.
> 
> View attachment 560586
> 
> 4:04: decided to ride MMRR and got pulled out of line the second we entered due to the birthday buttons. Got backdoored onto the ride.
> 
> 4:30: into line for Smuggler's Run. We had a full 6 person crew and we were going to live it up.
> 
> View attachment 560587
> 
> 4:54: first ride. We did ok but didn't achieve our objective.
> 
> 4:56: back in line for Smuggler's.
> 
> I don't have time stamps for this ride, but we were definitely off the ride by 5:45.
> 
> On our second ride we achieved great success: we got Chewie mode and we finally kept all 3 lights on! Which basically means you scored very highly.
> 
> We shopped around in Droid Depot for a bit.
> 
> 5:56: in line for TSMM
> 
> 6:32: my time stamps failed again, but we had obviously ridden TSMM at this point and were just boarding SDD.
> 
> The sun was setting and we made our way out of Toy Story Land.
> 
> View attachment 560588
> 
> We shopped around a bit and took some photopass pictures. Earlier in the day (like 7:15 am), our friend had snagged us all an Oga's for 7 pm for 6 people.
> 
> View attachment 560589
> 
> Nothing better than a park reservation right at close on an early closing hour.
> 
> View attachment 560590
> 
> 6:59: Oga's reservation.
> 
> Also, miracle of miracles: we got a booth!!! Getting a booth at Oga's is like finding the Holy Grail. It was interesting seeing the place so empty. This was our first post COVID visit. Looked like the filled all the booths and had a few couples scattered around the bar and only a few standing tables occupied.
> 
> View attachment 560591
> 
> 7:54: Oga's was not enforcing a two drink minimum. We definitely didn't feel rushed but ended up leaving right before 8 anyway. There were still other groups left when we headed out.
> 
> We made our way slowly out of the park and were at the exit at 8:06. Love this pic I took of Sci Fi on the way out.
> 
> View attachment 560592
> 
> We took the Skyliner back to Yacht club and had no wait.
> 
> All in all, was a pretty spectacular day. I know some of it was luck, but we'd managed to do:
> 
> MMRR x2
> SDD x 2
> Saucers
> TSMM x 2
> ROTR Boarding Group 1
> ST
> Muppets
> RR
> Smugglers x 2
> 
> Really the only thing we missed that I wanted to do was TT. It had a very long wait all day. We probably could have done it instead of our second evening visit to Toy Story Land, but those rides were fun anyway and a lot closer to our park close Oga's than TT would have been.
> 
> A lot of the lines looked really long, or were marked as long on MDE, but they really weren't that bad. I highly recommend paying for the Touring Lines app, those wait times were much, much more accurate than the ones on MDE.
> 
> Hope this helped!


Happy birthday, fellow child of March!  Heading down for my birthday trip on Wednesday, I hope you left some b-day pixie dust behind


----------



## MinnieMSue

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> *How to Have a Successful Day at DHS
> 
> Tuesday March 2
> DHS 9-7*
> 
> First of all, this was my birthday. I was super excited to wear my birthday pin.
> 
> 6: up and at 'em. Headed for the parks around 6:30ish
> 
> 6:55: pulled over at Fantastia Mini Golf parking lot so we could both try for a Rise boarding group. We had a friend joining us for the day and he was also trying. I didn't have any fancy countdown clocks, I just started refreshing the page at 6:59.
> 
> And, as Kuzco would say: Boom baby.
> 
> What can I say? It was my special day.
> 
> View attachment 560579
> 
> 7:10: breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass at Yacht Club. Had the eggs benedict special and it was soooo good. We asked for our check when the food arrived and we were out of there at 7:45
> 
> 7:45: walked to DHS. It was a beautiful morning.
> 
> 8:05: arrived at DHS and were in line for the temp checks. Maybe about 15 groups back?
> 
> 8:15: temp checks started, the line moved quickly past the temp checks, through security and into the gates.
> 
> 8:22: into line for MMRR. I believe we were on the second train of the day.
> 
> 8:32: off the ride and onto Toy Story Land
> 
> 8:39: line for Slinky Dog Dash
> 
> 8:52: rode SDD
> 
> 8:57: walked onto Swirling Saucers
> 
> 9:09: into line for TSMM
> 
> 9:25: off the ride
> 
> We had until 9:50 to make it to Rise. We decided it was a more valuable use of our time to knock out a few rides with short waits and show up to Rise at the end of our boarding time.
> 
> 9:37: met up with our friend and got in line for ROTR. It was our first time riding.
> 
> 10:02: off the ride, loved it. Won't say more since we managed to stay mostly spoiler free and I don't want to ruin it for anyone else.
> 
> Felt like we had already had a super successful morning. Had a delicious breakfast, already did MMRR, TSMM, SDD, Saucers and ROTR. And the park had only officially been open for an hour.
> 
> 10:08: mobile ordered a drink from Ronto Roasters so we could sit with our friend who had breakfast there. Watched Chewie interact with the crowd from on top of a building.
> 
> 10:26: we weren't going to stop into Dok Ondar's because we had just been there the previous night, but our friend wanted to go in. The force was with us because they'd just got Ahsoka's lightsabers in stock overnight! Talk about lucky. I
> 
> 10:40: expensive birthday gift to myself in hand, we watched some Stormtroopers and Vi Moradi on top of the same building Chewie had just been on.
> 
> We also watched Rey have a very serious conversation from up high with a little girl.
> 
> View attachment 560583
> 
> 
> 11:10: in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. Fun fact: you have to check your lightsaber blades on that ride. They send you through to the gift shop then back in line. We did get front of the coaster though, so maybe it was worth it.
> 
> 11:34: rode RR
> 
> I wanted to ride TT but it was listed as an 85 minute wait. It was getting very hot at this point so we mobile ordered some drinks at the Backlot Express and had a nice sit down break.
> 
> I also have a gap in my pictures here, I think my phone died and I was charging it. All my time stamps are based off pictures I took. After we finished relaxing in Backlot Express we rode Star Tours. I think we had a 15-20 minute wait. We got all the new scenes from Last Skywalker which I was excited about as we'd never seen them.
> 
> 1:20ish?: got in line for Muppets and had to wait a decently long time.
> 
> 1:50: in the Muppets theater. They must have got a new digital projector since the last time I saw this show (probably several years). The picture looked super crisp.
> 
> 2:08: we headed to Sci Fi Dine In. I had a reservation for 2:20. We also had 3 other friends join us at this point (they hopped over). This is my absolute favorite restaurant at Disney. The food isn't bad but I love the ambience. It started to pour right before 2:20, we asked if we could wait inside but were told no. So we huddled under 3 umbrellas and waited it out. I think the rain only lasted 5-10 minutes.
> 
> 2:32: seated in Sci Fi.
> 
> View attachment 560585
> 
> Two of us had birthdays on March 2, and a third had a birthday on March 4. We all 3 got cupcakes at the end of the meal.
> 
> View attachment 560586
> 
> 4:04: decided to ride MMRR and got pulled out of line the second we entered due to the birthday buttons. Got backdoored onto the ride.
> 
> 4:30: into line for Smuggler's Run. We had a full 6 person crew and we were going to live it up.
> 
> View attachment 560587
> 
> 4:54: first ride. We did ok but didn't achieve our objective.
> 
> 4:56: back in line for Smuggler's.
> 
> I don't have time stamps for this ride, but we were definitely off the ride by 5:45.
> 
> On our second ride we achieved great success: we got Chewie mode and we finally kept all 3 lights on! Which basically means you scored very highly.
> 
> We shopped around in Droid Depot for a bit.
> 
> 5:56: in line for TSMM
> 
> 6:32: my time stamps failed again, but we had obviously ridden TSMM at this point and were just boarding SDD.
> 
> The sun was setting and we made our way out of Toy Story Land.
> 
> View attachment 560588
> 
> We shopped around a bit and took some photopass pictures. Earlier in the day (like 7:15 am), our friend had snagged us all an Oga's for 7 pm for 6 people.
> 
> View attachment 560589
> 
> Nothing better than a park reservation right at close on an early closing hour.
> 
> View attachment 560590
> 
> 6:59: Oga's reservation.
> 
> Also, miracle of miracles: we got a booth!!! Getting a booth at Oga's is like finding the Holy Grail. It was interesting seeing the place so empty. This was our first post COVID visit. Looked like the filled all the booths and had a few couples scattered around the bar and only a few standing tables occupied.
> 
> View attachment 560591
> 
> 7:54: Oga's was not enforcing a two drink minimum. We definitely didn't feel rushed but ended up leaving right before 8 anyway. There were still other groups left when we headed out.
> 
> We made our way slowly out of the park and were at the exit at 8:06. Love this pic I took of Sci Fi on the way out.
> 
> View attachment 560592
> 
> We took the Skyliner back to Yacht club and had no wait.
> 
> All in all, was a pretty spectacular day. I know some of it was luck, but we'd managed to do:
> 
> MMRR x2
> SDD x 2
> Saucers
> TSMM x 2
> ROTR Boarding Group 1
> ST
> Muppets
> RR
> Smugglers x 2
> 
> Really the only thing we missed that I wanted to do was TT. It had a very long wait all day. We probably could have done it instead of our second evening visit to Toy Story Land, but those rides were fun anyway and a lot closer to our park close Oga's than TT would have been.
> 
> A lot of the lines looked really long, or were marked as long on MDE, but they really weren't that bad. I highly recommend paying for the Touring Lines app, those wait times were much, much more accurate than the ones on MDE.
> 
> Hope this helped!



From another Ohio State Buckeye (employee) -Happy belated birthday!  Also sounds like a wonderful day. In all my disboards reading you are the first to say what you do with the lightsaber on RnR. I haven’t purchased one but I wondered what you did with them. Hope we have almost as good of a day in March when we go!


----------



## KBL3782

dez1978 said:


> 9 am opening right?


Yep!


----------



## trstno1

KBL3782 said:


> I’m mostly a lurker on this board, but since I found recent trip reports helpful before our trip, I figure I should share our experience.
> 
> After reading some reports here, I was concerned about the crowds and wait times but overall am pleasantly surprised with how manageable they were.
> 
> We stayed at Rivera, which was wonderful. The service is amazing and it truly is a beautiful resort. Transportation was very easy - Skyliner is of course efficient but we also never encountered a long wait for busses or felt over-crowded on them.
> 
> I’m I could go through our trip day, by day, but will say generally that by arriving early to the parks each day (only rope dropped DHS), we were able to accomplish all the headliners as well as everything else we wanted to. I thought we would greatly miss Fast Pass, but truly do not think they are necessary at this point.


Can you tell me what time they start running the Skyliner to Epcot.  Also, are the cabins already occupied by those coming from CBR?  Thanks!


----------



## trstno1

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> *How to Have a Successful Day at DHS
> 
> Tuesday March 2
> DHS 9-7*
> 
> First of all, this was my birthday. I was super excited to wear my birthday pin.
> 
> 6: up and at 'em. Headed for the parks around 6:30ish
> 
> 6:55: pulled over at Fantastia Mini Golf parking lot so we could both try for a Rise boarding group. We had a friend joining us for the day and he was also trying. I didn't have any fancy countdown clocks, I just started refreshing the page at 6:59.
> 
> And, as Kuzco would say: Boom baby.
> 
> What can I say? It was my special day.
> 
> View attachment 560579
> 
> 7:10: breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass at Yacht Club. Had the eggs benedict special and it was soooo good. We asked for our check when the food arrived and we were out of there at 7:45
> 
> 7:45: walked to DHS. It was a beautiful morning.
> 
> 8:05: arrived at DHS and were in line for the temp checks. Maybe about 15 groups back?
> 
> 8:15: temp checks started, the line moved quickly past the temp checks, through security and into the gates.
> 
> 8:22: into line for MMRR. I believe we were on the second train of the day.
> 
> 8:32: off the ride and onto Toy Story Land
> 
> 8:39: line for Slinky Dog Dash
> 
> 8:52: rode SDD
> 
> 8:57: walked onto Swirling Saucers
> 
> 9:09: into line for TSMM
> 
> 9:25: off the ride
> 
> We had until 9:50 to make it to Rise. We decided it was a more valuable use of our time to knock out a few rides with short waits and show up to Rise at the end of our boarding time.
> 
> 9:37: met up with our friend and got in line for ROTR. It was our first time riding.
> 
> 10:02: off the ride, loved it. Won't say more since we managed to stay mostly spoiler free and I don't want to ruin it for anyone else.
> 
> Felt like we had already had a super successful morning. Had a delicious breakfast, already did MMRR, TSMM, SDD, Saucers and ROTR. And the park had only officially been open for an hour.
> 
> 10:08: mobile ordered a drink from Ronto Roasters so we could sit with our friend who had breakfast there. Watched Chewie interact with the crowd from on top of a building.
> 
> 10:26: we weren't going to stop into Dok Ondar's because we had just been there the previous night, but our friend wanted to go in. The force was with us because they'd just got Ahsoka's lightsabers in stock overnight! Talk about lucky. I
> 
> 10:40: expensive birthday gift to myself in hand, we watched some Stormtroopers and Vi Moradi on top of the same building Chewie had just been on.
> 
> We also watched Rey have a very serious conversation from up high with a little girl.
> 
> View attachment 560583
> 
> 
> 11:10: in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. Fun fact: you have to check your lightsaber blades on that ride. They send you through to the gift shop then back in line. We did get front of the coaster though, so maybe it was worth it.
> 
> 11:34: rode RR
> 
> I wanted to ride TT but it was listed as an 85 minute wait. It was getting very hot at this point so we mobile ordered some drinks at the Backlot Express and had a nice sit down break.
> 
> I also have a gap in my pictures here, I think my phone died and I was charging it. All my time stamps are based off pictures I took. After we finished relaxing in Backlot Express we rode Star Tours. I think we had a 15-20 minute wait. We got all the new scenes from Last Skywalker which I was excited about as we'd never seen them.
> 
> 1:20ish?: got in line for Muppets and had to wait a decently long time.
> 
> 1:50: in the Muppets theater. They must have got a new digital projector since the last time I saw this show (probably several years). The picture looked super crisp.
> 
> 2:08: we headed to Sci Fi Dine In. I had a reservation for 2:20. We also had 3 other friends join us at this point (they hopped over). This is my absolute favorite restaurant at Disney. The food isn't bad but I love the ambience. It started to pour right before 2:20, we asked if we could wait inside but were told no. So we huddled under 3 umbrellas and waited it out. I think the rain only lasted 5-10 minutes.
> 
> 2:32: seated in Sci Fi.
> 
> View attachment 560585
> 
> Two of us had birthdays on March 2, and a third had a birthday on March 4. We all 3 got cupcakes at the end of the meal.
> 
> View attachment 560586
> 
> 4:04: decided to ride MMRR and got pulled out of line the second we entered due to the birthday buttons. Got backdoored onto the ride.
> 
> 4:30: into line for Smuggler's Run. We had a full 6 person crew and we were going to live it up.
> 
> View attachment 560587
> 
> 4:54: first ride. We did ok but didn't achieve our objective.
> 
> 4:56: back in line for Smuggler's.
> 
> I don't have time stamps for this ride, but we were definitely off the ride by 5:45.
> 
> On our second ride we achieved great success: we got Chewie mode and we finally kept all 3 lights on! Which basically means you scored very highly.
> 
> We shopped around in Droid Depot for a bit.
> 
> 5:56: in line for TSMM
> 
> 6:32: my time stamps failed again, but we had obviously ridden TSMM at this point and were just boarding SDD.
> 
> The sun was setting and we made our way out of Toy Story Land.
> 
> View attachment 560588
> 
> We shopped around a bit and took some photopass pictures. Earlier in the day (like 7:15 am), our friend had snagged us all an Oga's for 7 pm for 6 people.
> 
> View attachment 560589
> 
> Nothing better than a park reservation right at close on an early closing hour.
> 
> View attachment 560590
> 
> 6:59: Oga's reservation.
> 
> Also, miracle of miracles: we got a booth!!! Getting a booth at Oga's is like finding the Holy Grail. It was interesting seeing the place so empty. This was our first post COVID visit. Looked like the filled all the booths and had a few couples scattered around the bar and only a few standing tables occupied.
> 
> View attachment 560591
> 
> 7:54: Oga's was not enforcing a two drink minimum. We definitely didn't feel rushed but ended up leaving right before 8 anyway. There were still other groups left when we headed out.
> 
> We made our way slowly out of the park and were at the exit at 8:06. Love this pic I took of Sci Fi on the way out.
> 
> View attachment 560592
> 
> We took the Skyliner back to Yacht club and had no wait.
> 
> All in all, was a pretty spectacular day. I know some of it was luck, but we'd managed to do:
> 
> MMRR x2
> SDD x 2
> Saucers
> TSMM x 2
> ROTR Boarding Group 1
> ST
> Muppets
> RR
> Smugglers x 2
> 
> Really the only thing we missed that I wanted to do was TT. It had a very long wait all day. We probably could have done it instead of our second evening visit to Toy Story Land, but those rides were fun anyway and a lot closer to our park close Oga's than TT would have been.
> 
> A lot of the lines looked really long, or were marked as long on MDE, but they really weren't that bad. I highly recommend paying for the Touring Lines app, those wait times were much, much more accurate than the ones on MDE.
> 
> Hope this helped!


Did they have the color changing Clone Wars blades or the white Rebels blades?  I'm kinda hoping for the white kyber crystals, and I will be there on 3/14.


----------



## Akck

trstno1 said:


> Can you tell me what time they start running the Skyliner to Epcot.  Also, are the cabins already occupied by those coming from CBR?  Thanks!



From our experience, they start loading about 30-45 minutes before opening. The loading goes fast for about the first 20 gondolas, then about every 3rd gondola when CBR starts loading.


----------



## TheFloatingBear

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> *How to Have a Successful Day at DHS
> 
> Tuesday March 2
> DHS 9-7*
> 
> First of all, this was my birthday. I was super excited to wear my birthday pin.
> 
> 6: up and at 'em. Headed for the parks around 6:30ish
> 
> 6:55: pulled over at Fantastia Mini Golf parking lot so we could both try for a Rise boarding group. We had a friend joining us for the day and he was also trying. I didn't have any fancy countdown clocks, I just started refreshing the page at 6:59.
> 
> And, as Kuzco would say: Boom baby.
> 
> What can I say? It was my special day.
> 
> View attachment 560579
> 
> 7:10: breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass at Yacht Club. Had the eggs benedict special and it was soooo good. We asked for our check when the food arrived and we were out of there at 7:45
> 
> 7:45: walked to DHS. It was a beautiful morning.
> 
> 8:05: arrived at DHS and were in line for the temp checks. Maybe about 15 groups back?
> 
> 8:15: temp checks started, the line moved quickly past the temp checks, through security and into the gates.
> 
> 8:22: into line for MMRR. I believe we were on the second train of the day.
> 
> 8:32: off the ride and onto Toy Story Land
> 
> 8:39: line for Slinky Dog Dash
> 
> 8:52: rode SDD
> 
> 8:57: walked onto Swirling Saucers
> 
> 9:09: into line for TSMM
> 
> 9:25: off the ride
> 
> We had until 9:50 to make it to Rise. We decided it was a more valuable use of our time to knock out a few rides with short waits and show up to Rise at the end of our boarding time.
> 
> 9:37: met up with our friend and got in line for ROTR. It was our first time riding.
> 
> 10:02: off the ride, loved it. Won't say more since we managed to stay mostly spoiler free and I don't want to ruin it for anyone else.
> 
> Felt like we had already had a super successful morning. Had a delicious breakfast, already did MMRR, TSMM, SDD, Saucers and ROTR. And the park had only officially been open for an hour.
> 
> 10:08: mobile ordered a drink from Ronto Roasters so we could sit with our friend who had breakfast there. Watched Chewie interact with the crowd from on top of a building.
> 
> 10:26: we weren't going to stop into Dok Ondar's because we had just been there the previous night, but our friend wanted to go in. The force was with us because they'd just got Ahsoka's lightsabers in stock overnight! Talk about lucky. I
> 
> 10:40: expensive birthday gift to myself in hand, we watched some Stormtroopers and Vi Moradi on top of the same building Chewie had just been on.
> 
> We also watched Rey have a very serious conversation from up high with a little girl.
> 
> View attachment 560583
> 
> 
> 11:10: in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. Fun fact: you have to check your lightsaber blades on that ride. They send you through to the gift shop then back in line. We did get front of the coaster though, so maybe it was worth it.
> 
> 11:34: rode RR
> 
> I wanted to ride TT but it was listed as an 85 minute wait. It was getting very hot at this point so we mobile ordered some drinks at the Backlot Express and had a nice sit down break.
> 
> I also have a gap in my pictures here, I think my phone died and I was charging it. All my time stamps are based off pictures I took. After we finished relaxing in Backlot Express we rode Star Tours. I think we had a 15-20 minute wait. We got all the new scenes from Last Skywalker which I was excited about as we'd never seen them.
> 
> 1:20ish?: got in line for Muppets and had to wait a decently long time.
> 
> 1:50: in the Muppets theater. They must have got a new digital projector since the last time I saw this show (probably several years). The picture looked super crisp.
> 
> 2:08: we headed to Sci Fi Dine In. I had a reservation for 2:20. We also had 3 other friends join us at this point (they hopped over). This is my absolute favorite restaurant at Disney. The food isn't bad but I love the ambience. It started to pour right before 2:20, we asked if we could wait inside but were told no. So we huddled under 3 umbrellas and waited it out. I think the rain only lasted 5-10 minutes.
> 
> 2:32: seated in Sci Fi.
> 
> View attachment 560585
> 
> Two of us had birthdays on March 2, and a third had a birthday on March 4. We all 3 got cupcakes at the end of the meal.
> 
> View attachment 560586
> 
> 4:04: decided to ride MMRR and got pulled out of line the second we entered due to the birthday buttons. Got backdoored onto the ride.
> 
> 4:30: into line for Smuggler's Run. We had a full 6 person crew and we were going to live it up.
> 
> View attachment 560587
> 
> 4:54: first ride. We did ok but didn't achieve our objective.
> 
> 4:56: back in line for Smuggler's.
> 
> I don't have time stamps for this ride, but we were definitely off the ride by 5:45.
> 
> On our second ride we achieved great success: we got Chewie mode and we finally kept all 3 lights on! Which basically means you scored very highly.
> 
> We shopped around in Droid Depot for a bit.
> 
> 5:56: in line for TSMM
> 
> 6:32: my time stamps failed again, but we had obviously ridden TSMM at this point and were just boarding SDD.
> 
> The sun was setting and we made our way out of Toy Story Land.
> 
> View attachment 560588
> 
> We shopped around a bit and took some photopass pictures. Earlier in the day (like 7:15 am), our friend had snagged us all an Oga's for 7 pm for 6 people.
> 
> View attachment 560589
> 
> Nothing better than a park reservation right at close on an early closing hour.
> 
> View attachment 560590
> 
> 6:59: Oga's reservation.
> 
> Also, miracle of miracles: we got a booth!!! Getting a booth at Oga's is like finding the Holy Grail. It was interesting seeing the place so empty. This was our first post COVID visit. Looked like the filled all the booths and had a few couples scattered around the bar and only a few standing tables occupied.
> 
> View attachment 560591
> 
> 7:54: Oga's was not enforcing a two drink minimum. We definitely didn't feel rushed but ended up leaving right before 8 anyway. There were still other groups left when we headed out.
> 
> We made our way slowly out of the park and were at the exit at 8:06. Love this pic I took of Sci Fi on the way out.
> 
> View attachment 560592
> 
> We took the Skyliner back to Yacht club and had no wait.
> 
> All in all, was a pretty spectacular day. I know some of it was luck, but we'd managed to do:
> 
> MMRR x2
> SDD x 2
> Saucers
> TSMM x 2
> ROTR Boarding Group 1
> ST
> Muppets
> RR
> Smugglers x 2
> 
> Really the only thing we missed that I wanted to do was TT. It had a very long wait all day. We probably could have done it instead of our second evening visit to Toy Story Land, but those rides were fun anyway and a lot closer to our park close Oga's than TT would have been.
> 
> A lot of the lines looked really long, or were marked as long on MDE, but they really weren't that bad. I highly recommend paying for the Touring Lines app, those wait times were much, much more accurate than the ones on MDE.
> 
> Hope this helped!



Wow! That was so fun to read! What a truly amazing birthday - birthday cheers to you!


----------



## ThistleMae

KBL3782 said:


> I’m mostly a lurker on this board, but since I found recent trip reports helpful before our trip, I figure I should share our experience.
> 
> After reading some reports here, I was concerned about the crowds and wait times but overall am pleasantly surprised with how manageable they were.
> 
> We stayed at Rivera, which was wonderful. The service is amazing and it truly is a beautiful resort. Transportation was very easy - Skyliner is of course efficient but we also never encountered a long wait for busses or felt over-crowded on them.
> 
> I’m I could go through our trip day, by day, but will say generally that by arriving early to the parks each day (only rope dropped DHS), we were able to accomplish all the headliners as well as everything else we wanted to. I thought we would greatly miss Fast Pass, but truly do not think they are necessary at this point.


Thank you for a different perspective.  After reading many of the more troubling posts about crowds, I've been reconsidering going this fall.  On another thread a poster talked about doing a shorter Disney stay and then doing Universal and Bush gardens to balance out the lack of night EMH's, no shows and no fireworks for the same or higher cost to stay there.  With all the reports of crowding and with fewer places to spread out the guests, it has certainly thinking for sure.


----------



## trstno1

Akck said:


> From our experience, they start loading about 30-45 minutes before opening. The loading goes fast for about the first 20 gondolas, then about every 3rd gondola when CBR starts loading.


Sorry to keep pestering you, but is that 30-45 minutes before 11am or before unofficial opening around 10:15?  Thank you!


----------



## KBL3782

trstno1 said:


> Can you tell me what time they start running the Skyliner to Epcot.  Also, are the cabins already occupied by those coming from CBR?  Thanks!


I am not certain about the Epcot line. We just hopped to Epcot on a couple occasions, so never did try to rope drop. They were up and running by 10:30 yesterday, but I don't know exactly when they opened. Some cabins are occupied, but they just keep them moving along & do not ask them to get out and re-board if coming from CBR.


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

Naomeri said:


> Happy birthday, fellow child of March!  Heading down for my birthday trip on Wednesday, I hope you left some b-day pixie dust behind



Happy future Birthday!

Honestly, this was the first time in the parks on my actual birthday and I was surprised how nice it was just having everyone say Happy Birthday to me. Tons of CMs and a few guests told me Happy Birthday.

It was also kind of amusing for us, once my birthday twin arrived the CM would say happy birthday to whichever of us was first, then in a surprised voice say happy birthday to the next one of us.

Hope your trip is fantastic!



MinnieMSue said:


> From another Ohio State Buckeye (employee) -Happy belated birthday!  Also sounds like a wonderful day. In all my disboards reading you are the first to say what you do with the lightsaber on RnR. I haven’t purchased one but I wondered what you did with them. Hope we have almost as good of a day in March when we go!



O-H! I always thought it would be fun to work for OSU, what do you do if you don't mind me asking?

Yeah it was a surprise to me but it does make sense, the rollercoaster does go upside down. We had the hilts for the lightsabers in a backpack, but were carrying the blade in a box (the box is pretty long). We got pulled aside when we were near the preshow room and told to fill out a little claim check ticket, then go in the FP line, we went to someone at the photopass counter in the gift shop, checked the lightsaber with them and went back the same way. 

I also hope your March trip is wonderful!



trstno1 said:


> Did they have the color changing Clone Wars blades or the white Rebels blades?  I'm kinda hoping for the white kyber crystals, and I will be there on 3/14.



The Rebels lightsabers were what was there. I think it's tricky to find them in stock. We'd just stopped by the night before and they didn't have them. I've heard the Clone Wars sabers came back when the final season was airing and haven't been seen since (not sure if that's 100% true, read it on the internet). I was happy to have the Rebels sabers, that's what I would have picked had I been given a choice. 

I hope they're in stock when you're there! On your DHS day, it might be a good idea to check Dok Ondar's earlier in the morning in case they do have them. 



TheFloatingBear said:


> Wow! That was so fun to read! What a truly amazing birthday - birthday cheers to you!



Thank you!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Just as clarification.  Guests riding the Skyliner from CBR to Epcot do not need to disembark at Riviera.  They may continue through the station.  The Riviera station is the only one where guests may stay on-board and not disembark.  Guests must disembark at the Epcot, Caribbean Beach, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Pop/AoA stations.


----------



## VeronicaZS

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> *How to Have a Successful Day at DHS
> 
> Tuesday March 2
> DHS 9-7*
> 
> First of all, this was my birthday. I was super excited to wear my birthday pin.
> 
> 6: up and at 'em. Headed for the parks around 6:30ish
> 
> 6:55: pulled over at Fantastia Mini Golf parking lot so we could both try for a Rise boarding group. We had a friend joining us for the day and he was also trying. I didn't have any fancy countdown clocks, I just started refreshing the page at 6:59.
> 
> And, as Kuzco would say: Boom baby.
> 
> What can I say? It was my special day.
> 
> View attachment 560579
> 
> 7:10: breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass at Yacht Club. Had the eggs benedict special and it was soooo good. We asked for our check when the food arrived and we were out of there at 7:45
> 
> 7:45: walked to DHS. It was a beautiful morning.
> 
> 8:05: arrived at DHS and were in line for the temp checks. Maybe about 15 groups back?
> 
> 8:15: temp checks started, the line moved quickly past the temp checks, through security and into the gates.
> 
> 8:22: into line for MMRR. I believe we were on the second train of the day.
> 
> 8:32: off the ride and onto Toy Story Land
> 
> 8:39: line for Slinky Dog Dash
> 
> 8:52: rode SDD
> 
> 8:57: walked onto Swirling Saucers
> 
> 9:09: into line for TSMM
> 
> 9:25: off the ride
> 
> We had until 9:50 to make it to Rise. We decided it was a more valuable use of our time to knock out a few rides with short waits and show up to Rise at the end of our boarding time.
> 
> 9:37: met up with our friend and got in line for ROTR. It was our first time riding.
> 
> 10:02: off the ride, loved it. Won't say more since we managed to stay mostly spoiler free and I don't want to ruin it for anyone else.
> 
> Felt like we had already had a super successful morning. Had a delicious breakfast, already did MMRR, TSMM, SDD, Saucers and ROTR. And the park had only officially been open for an hour.
> 
> 10:08: mobile ordered a drink from Ronto Roasters so we could sit with our friend who had breakfast there. Watched Chewie interact with the crowd from on top of a building.
> 
> 10:26: we weren't going to stop into Dok Ondar's because we had just been there the previous night, but our friend wanted to go in. The force was with us because they'd just got Ahsoka's lightsabers in stock overnight! Talk about lucky. I
> 
> 10:40: expensive birthday gift to myself in hand, we watched some Stormtroopers and Vi Moradi on top of the same building Chewie had just been on.
> 
> We also watched Rey have a very serious conversation from up high with a little girl.
> 
> View attachment 560583
> 
> 
> 11:10: in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. Fun fact: you have to check your lightsaber blades on that ride. They send you through to the gift shop then back in line. We did get front of the coaster though, so maybe it was worth it.
> 
> 11:34: rode RR
> 
> I wanted to ride TT but it was listed as an 85 minute wait. It was getting very hot at this point so we mobile ordered some drinks at the Backlot Express and had a nice sit down break.
> 
> I also have a gap in my pictures here, I think my phone died and I was charging it. All my time stamps are based off pictures I took. After we finished relaxing in Backlot Express we rode Star Tours. I think we had a 15-20 minute wait. We got all the new scenes from Last Skywalker which I was excited about as we'd never seen them.
> 
> 1:20ish?: got in line for Muppets and had to wait a decently long time.
> 
> 1:50: in the Muppets theater. They must have got a new digital projector since the last time I saw this show (probably several years). The picture looked super crisp.
> 
> 2:08: we headed to Sci Fi Dine In. I had a reservation for 2:20. We also had 3 other friends join us at this point (they hopped over). This is my absolute favorite restaurant at Disney. The food isn't bad but I love the ambience. It started to pour right before 2:20, we asked if we could wait inside but were told no. So we huddled under 3 umbrellas and waited it out. I think the rain only lasted 5-10 minutes.
> 
> 2:32: seated in Sci Fi.
> 
> View attachment 560585
> 
> Two of us had birthdays on March 2, and a third had a birthday on March 4. We all 3 got cupcakes at the end of the meal.
> 
> View attachment 560586
> 
> 4:04: decided to ride MMRR and got pulled out of line the second we entered due to the birthday buttons. Got backdoored onto the ride.
> 
> 4:30: into line for Smuggler's Run. We had a full 6 person crew and we were going to live it up.
> 
> View attachment 560587
> 
> 4:54: first ride. We did ok but didn't achieve our objective.
> 
> 4:56: back in line for Smuggler's.
> 
> I don't have time stamps for this ride, but we were definitely off the ride by 5:45.
> 
> On our second ride we achieved great success: we got Chewie mode and we finally kept all 3 lights on! Which basically means you scored very highly.
> 
> We shopped around in Droid Depot for a bit.
> 
> 5:56: in line for TSMM
> 
> 6:32: my time stamps failed again, but we had obviously ridden TSMM at this point and were just boarding SDD.
> 
> The sun was setting and we made our way out of Toy Story Land.
> 
> View attachment 560588
> 
> We shopped around a bit and took some photopass pictures. Earlier in the day (like 7:15 am), our friend had snagged us all an Oga's for 7 pm for 6 people.
> 
> View attachment 560589
> 
> Nothing better than a park reservation right at close on an early closing hour.
> 
> View attachment 560590
> 
> 6:59: Oga's reservation.
> 
> Also, miracle of miracles: we got a booth!!! Getting a booth at Oga's is like finding the Holy Grail. It was interesting seeing the place so empty. This was our first post COVID visit. Looked like the filled all the booths and had a few couples scattered around the bar and only a few standing tables occupied.
> 
> View attachment 560591
> 
> 7:54: Oga's was not enforcing a two drink minimum. We definitely didn't feel rushed but ended up leaving right before 8 anyway. There were still other groups left when we headed out.
> 
> We made our way slowly out of the park and were at the exit at 8:06. Love this pic I took of Sci Fi on the way out.
> 
> View attachment 560592
> 
> We took the Skyliner back to Yacht club and had no wait.
> 
> All in all, was a pretty spectacular day. I know some of it was luck, but we'd managed to do:
> 
> MMRR x2
> SDD x 2
> Saucers
> TSMM x 2
> ROTR Boarding Group 1
> ST
> Muppets
> RR
> Smugglers x 2
> 
> Really the only thing we missed that I wanted to do was TT. It had a very long wait all day. We probably could have done it instead of our second evening visit to Toy Story Land, but those rides were fun anyway and a lot closer to our park close Oga's than TT would have been.
> 
> A lot of the lines looked really long, or were marked as long on MDE, but they really weren't that bad. I highly recommend paying for the Touring Lines app, those wait times were much, much more accurate than the ones on MDE.
> 
> Hope this helped!


What an amazing day, happy birthday! 
PS: That cast member playing Rey is spot on. Amazing casting job Disney!


----------



## winterwhite

only hope said:


> Just have to be mindful of don’t sit here labels and don’t sit on a wall that is within six feet of a bench or table.


saw an awful lot of people sitting directly on top of the “for your safety this area is not available” signs...


----------



## Wood Nymph

Gearbm95 said:


> Has anyone been able to hop prior to 2pm or have they been fairly strict on that?



We got to the main gate of Epcot at 1:40pm and they would not let anyone park hop until 1:52 pm. We weren’t the only ones trying to get in early.


DMLAINI said:


> Has anyone been to The Flower & Garden Festival today & can tell me where to get the giftcard you put on your wrist?  Also can you use a giftcard to purchase it (we've got a lot of giftcards to use)?


We saw the wrist gift cards at our resort gift shop but they also have them at the festival shops scattered around Epcot.


----------



## Jaina

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> *How to Have a Successful Day at DHS
> 
> Tuesday March 2
> DHS 9-7*
> 
> First of all, this was my birthday. I was super excited to wear my birthday pin.
> 
> 6: up and at 'em. Headed for the parks around 6:30ish
> 
> 6:55: pulled over at Fantastia Mini Golf parking lot so we could both try for a Rise boarding group. We had a friend joining us for the day and he was also trying. I didn't have any fancy countdown clocks, I just started refreshing the page at 6:59.
> 
> And, as Kuzco would say: Boom baby.
> 
> What can I say? It was my special day.
> 
> View attachment 560579
> 
> 7:10: breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass at Yacht Club. Had the eggs benedict special and it was soooo good. We asked for our check when the food arrived and we were out of there at 7:45
> ...
> 
> Hope this helped!



What a great run down of your day! Thanks for sharing, and I'm so glad you had a great birthday! We will be there tomorrow; I'm hoping the rain will wait until late morning so we can rideshare and walk in, but I'm honestly debating if we should just sleep an extra 20 minutes (2 hour time difference) and Lyft to the entrance. If I was going to do that, does anyone know what time we should get TO Hollywood Studios so we'll be allowed to stay and wait in the line? Is Rideshare the same line as parking at that point? Our other two options are Lyft to the Speedway and walk in (which I did in October) or Lyft to the Swan/Dolphin and take the Friendship boats in. Opinions on which might be our best bet? (We're staying across from Universal)


----------



## Stormtrooper mum

Jaina said:


> What a great run down of your day! Thanks for sharing, and I'm so glad you had a great birthday! We will be there tomorrow; I'm hoping the rain will wait until late morning so we can rideshare and walk in, but I'm honestly debating if we should just sleep an extra 20 minutes (2 hour time difference) and Lyft to the entrance. If I was going to do that, does anyone know what time we should get TO Hollywood Studios so we'll be allowed to stay and wait in the line? Is Rideshare the same line as parking at that point? Our other two options are Lyft to the Speedway and walk in (which I did in October) or Lyft to the Swan/Dolphin and take the Friendship boats in. Opinions on which might be our best bet? (We're staying across from Universal)


Interested in answers for this too so please share any thoughts!   This would be our first time not going to DHS directly so if anyone can share how the friendship boats work etc would love that


----------



## gatorlisa

Since the Epcot monorail line is not running, are there buses running directly from MK to Epcot? Or do you have to monorail/ferry back to TTC and take a bus from there? Looking at hopping for a bit around mid day to see the topiaries and then return to MK for the evening on an upcoming trip, so just trying to figure out how that can be done these days.


----------



## scrappinginontario

gatorlisa said:


> Since the Epcot monorail line is not running, are there buses running directly from MK to Epcot? Or do you have to monorail/ferry back to TTC and take a bus from there? Looking at hopping for a bit around mid day to see the topiaries and then return to MK for the evening on an upcoming trip, so just trying to figure out how that can be done these days.


I'm not sure about the transportation question (I would recommend asking that on the transportation board) but I noticed you wanting to hop 'mid-day' from MK to Epcot.  Just a note that park hopping is not open until 2pm.


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

Jaina said:


> What a great run down of your day! Thanks for sharing, and I'm so glad you had a great birthday! We will be there tomorrow; I'm hoping the rain will wait until late morning so we can rideshare and walk in, but I'm honestly debating if we should just sleep an extra 20 minutes (2 hour time difference) and Lyft to the entrance. If I was going to do that, does anyone know what time we should get TO Hollywood Studios so we'll be allowed to stay and wait in the line? Is Rideshare the same line as parking at that point? Our other two options are Lyft to the Speedway and walk in (which I did in October) or Lyft to the Swan/Dolphin and take the Friendship boats in. Opinions on which might be our best bet? (We're staying across from Universal)



So it seems like you are usually allowed to park at 45 minutes before the park officially opens. So for DHS I believe most cars would be turned away at the parking booth if you arrive much before 8 am. We've arrived at parking booths an hour before park official open and have been allowed to line up and wait.

Around an hour until open, sometimes they will let you pay for parking and then line you up inside the lot and make you wait to park for a bit until about 45 minutes until opening. Sometimes you are held at the paying area until 45 minutes til opening.

If you were dropped off at the Swan/Dolphin I'd probably just walk at that point.


----------



## NC State

gatorlisa said:


> Since the Epcot monorail line is not running, are there buses running directly from MK to Epcot? Or do you have to monorail/ferry back to TTC and take a bus from there? Looking at hopping for a bit around mid day to see the topiaries and then return to MK for the evening on an upcoming trip, so just trying to figure out how that can be done these days.


We were at MK last week. While we were waiting for our bus back to CSR (this was after 4:00 pm); I did see a bus pull in with Epcot at the top. I thought that was weird but I understand why now.


----------



## WawaCoffee

Lots of great info in this thread.

For those who have visited, how comfortable were you dining indoors? There are only 1 or 2 indoor restaurants that are a "must" for me, Garden Grill being one of them. Here in the northeast USA, several restaraunts are ignoring social-distancing/capacity guidelines, and dining indoors comfortably has been a challenge.


----------



## Leigh L

ThistleMae said:


> Thank you for a different perspective.  After reading many of the more troubling posts about crowds, I've been reconsidering going this fall.  On another thread a poster talked about doing a shorter Disney stay and then doing Universal and Bush gardens to balance out the lack of night EMH's, no shows and no fireworks for the same or higher cost to stay there.  With all the reports of crowding and with fewer places to spread out the guests, it has certainly thinking for sure.


About crowds - I highly recommend avoiding Universal on weekends, unless you have Express Pass. We found UO on 2 different occasions (August and mid-January) to be far more crowded than WDW with extended wait times on weekends.


----------



## CapnJacksGirl

WawaCoffee said:


> Lots of great info in this thread.
> 
> For those who have visited, how comfortable were you dining indoors? There are only 1 or 2 indoor restaurants that are a "must" for me, Garden Grill being one of them. Here in the northeast USA, several restaraunts are ignoring social-distancing/capacity guidelines, and dining indoors comfortably has been a challenge.



We had no issues with indoor dining anywhere that we went.  Tables were blocked off to allow space in between parties.  CMs seemed to be conscious of keeping everyone distanced throughout the restaurants.  Restrooms however   That was my big indoor issue throughout our visit.


----------



## angryduck71

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> *How to Have a Successful Day at DHS
> 
> Tuesday March 2
> DHS 9-7*
> 
> First of all, this was my birthday. I was super excited to wear my birthday pin.
> 
> 6: up and at 'em. Headed for the parks around 6:30ish
> 
> 6:55: pulled over at Fantastia Mini Golf parking lot so we could both try for a Rise boarding group. We had a friend joining us for the day and he was also trying. I didn't have any fancy countdown clocks, I just started refreshing the page at 6:59.
> 
> And, as Kuzco would say: Boom baby.
> 
> What can I say? It was my special day.
> 
> View attachment 560579
> 
> 7:10: breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass at Yacht Club. Had the eggs benedict special and it was soooo good. We asked for our check when the food arrived and we were out of there at 7:45
> 
> 7:45: walked to DHS. It was a beautiful morning.
> 
> 8:05: arrived at DHS and were in line for the temp checks. Maybe about 15 groups back?
> 
> 8:15: temp checks started, the line moved quickly past the temp checks, through security and into the gates.
> 
> 8:22: into line for MMRR. I believe we were on the second train of the day.
> 
> 8:32: off the ride and onto Toy Story Land
> 
> 8:39: line for Slinky Dog Dash
> 
> 8:52: rode SDD
> 
> 8:57: walked onto Swirling Saucers
> 
> 9:09: into line for TSMM
> 
> 9:25: off the ride
> 
> We had until 9:50 to make it to Rise. We decided it was a more valuable use of our time to knock out a few rides with short waits and show up to Rise at the end of our boarding time.
> 
> 9:37: met up with our friend and got in line for ROTR. It was our first time riding.
> 
> 10:02: off the ride, loved it. Won't say more since we managed to stay mostly spoiler free and I don't want to ruin it for anyone else.
> 
> Felt like we had already had a super successful morning. Had a delicious breakfast, already did MMRR, TSMM, SDD, Saucers and ROTR. And the park had only officially been open for an hour.
> 
> 10:08: mobile ordered a drink from Ronto Roasters so we could sit with our friend who had breakfast there. Watched Chewie interact with the crowd from on top of a building.
> 
> 10:26: we weren't going to stop into Dok Ondar's because we had just been there the previous night, but our friend wanted to go in. The force was with us because they'd just got Ahsoka's lightsabers in stock overnight! Talk about lucky. I
> 
> 10:40: expensive birthday gift to myself in hand, we watched some Stormtroopers and Vi Moradi on top of the same building Chewie had just been on.
> 
> We also watched Rey have a very serious conversation from up high with a little girl.
> 
> View attachment 560583
> 
> 
> 11:10: in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. Fun fact: you have to check your lightsaber blades on that ride. They send you through to the gift shop then back in line. We did get front of the coaster though, so maybe it was worth it.
> 
> 11:34: rode RR
> 
> I wanted to ride TT but it was listed as an 85 minute wait. It was getting very hot at this point so we mobile ordered some drinks at the Backlot Express and had a nice sit down break.
> 
> I also have a gap in my pictures here, I think my phone died and I was charging it. All my time stamps are based off pictures I took. After we finished relaxing in Backlot Express we rode Star Tours. I think we had a 15-20 minute wait. We got all the new scenes from Last Skywalker which I was excited about as we'd never seen them.
> 
> 1:20ish?: got in line for Muppets and had to wait a decently long time.
> 
> 1:50: in the Muppets theater. They must have got a new digital projector since the last time I saw this show (probably several years). The picture looked super crisp.
> 
> 2:08: we headed to Sci Fi Dine In. I had a reservation for 2:20. We also had 3 other friends join us at this point (they hopped over). This is my absolute favorite restaurant at Disney. The food isn't bad but I love the ambience. It started to pour right before 2:20, we asked if we could wait inside but were told no. So we huddled under 3 umbrellas and waited it out. I think the rain only lasted 5-10 minutes.
> 
> 2:32: seated in Sci Fi.
> 
> View attachment 560585
> 
> Two of us had birthdays on March 2, and a third had a birthday on March 4. We all 3 got cupcakes at the end of the meal.
> 
> View attachment 560586
> 
> 4:04: decided to ride MMRR and got pulled out of line the second we entered due to the birthday buttons. Got backdoored onto the ride.
> 
> 4:30: into line for Smuggler's Run. We had a full 6 person crew and we were going to live it up.
> 
> View attachment 560587
> 
> 4:54: first ride. We did ok but didn't achieve our objective.
> 
> 4:56: back in line for Smuggler's.
> 
> I don't have time stamps for this ride, but we were definitely off the ride by 5:45.
> 
> On our second ride we achieved great success: we got Chewie mode and we finally kept all 3 lights on! Which basically means you scored very highly.
> 
> We shopped around in Droid Depot for a bit.
> 
> 5:56: in line for TSMM
> 
> 6:32: my time stamps failed again, but we had obviously ridden TSMM at this point and were just boarding SDD.
> 
> The sun was setting and we made our way out of Toy Story Land.
> 
> View attachment 560588
> 
> We shopped around a bit and took some photopass pictures. Earlier in the day (like 7:15 am), our friend had snagged us all an Oga's for 7 pm for 6 people.
> 
> View attachment 560589
> 
> Nothing better than a park reservation right at close on an early closing hour.
> 
> View attachment 560590
> 
> 6:59: Oga's reservation.
> 
> Also, miracle of miracles: we got a booth!!! Getting a booth at Oga's is like finding the Holy Grail. It was interesting seeing the place so empty. This was our first post COVID visit. Looked like the filled all the booths and had a few couples scattered around the bar and only a few standing tables occupied.
> 
> View attachment 560591
> 
> 7:54: Oga's was not enforcing a two drink minimum. We definitely didn't feel rushed but ended up leaving right before 8 anyway. There were still other groups left when we headed out.
> 
> We made our way slowly out of the park and were at the exit at 8:06. Love this pic I took of Sci Fi on the way out.
> 
> View attachment 560592
> 
> We took the Skyliner back to Yacht club and had no wait.
> 
> All in all, was a pretty spectacular day. I know some of it was luck, but we'd managed to do:
> 
> MMRR x2
> SDD x 2
> Saucers
> TSMM x 2
> ROTR Boarding Group 1
> ST
> Muppets
> RR
> Smugglers x 2
> 
> Really the only thing we missed that I wanted to do was TT. It had a very long wait all day. We probably could have done it instead of our second evening visit to Toy Story Land, but those rides were fun anyway and a lot closer to our park close Oga's than TT would have been.
> 
> A lot of the lines looked really long, or were marked as long on MDE, but they really weren't that bad. I highly recommend paying for the Touring Lines app, those wait times were much, much more accurate than the ones on MDE.
> 
> Hope this helped!


This was a fantastic birthday!  I'm celebrating my 50th in a few months.  Hope I have your luck -- the Force was certainly with you!


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

WawaCoffee said:


> Lots of great info in this thread.
> 
> For those who have visited, how comfortable were you dining indoors? There are only 1 or 2 indoor restaurants that are a "must" for me, Garden Grill being one of them. Here in the northeast USA, several restaraunts are ignoring social-distancing/capacity guidelines, and dining indoors comfortably has been a challenge.



Inside the Disney parks I felt extremely comfortable. I just ate ate Sci Fi March 2. They weren't seating people in every car, they made sure you weren't right next to another party. They were also only seating one party per car. 

Disney Springs was another matter. I think the restaurants not owned by Disney seemed to be sitting people closer to each other. Specifically I'm thinking of Frontera Cocina. 

I think Disney does a really good job.


----------



## lovethattink

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> Inside the Disney parks I felt extremely comfortable. I just ate ate Sci Fi March 2. They weren't seating people in every car, they made sure you weren't right next to another party. They were also only seating one party per car.
> 
> Disney Springs was another matter. I think the restaurants not owned by Disney seemed to be sitting people closer to each other. Specifically I'm thinking of Frontera Cocina.
> 
> I think Disney does a really good job.



It’s my understanding the partner restaraunts are to follow Disney’s rules.


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

lovethattink said:


> It’s my understanding the partner restaraunts are to follow Disney’s rules.



It might have been personal perception then, but I do remember feeling like the tables were closer at Frontera.


----------



## emilymad

lovethattink said:


> It’s my understanding the partner restaraunts are to follow Disney’s rules.



Last week we didn't think Raglan Road or The Boathouse were following distancing guidelines.  Or maybe it is just with every table full it seems like people are closer than they are.  Homecomin' was also the same but we got lucky with our particular table.


----------



## csmom

WawaCoffee said:


> Lots of great info in this thread.
> 
> For those who have visited, how comfortable were you dining indoors? There are only 1 or 2 indoor restaurants that are a "must" for me, Garden Grill being one of them. Here in the northeast USA, several restaraunts are ignoring social-distancing/capacity guidelines, and dining indoors comfortably has been a challenge.


We had 8 table service meals when we were there 2 weeks ago. The only one we felt had tables close together was the Boathouse.


----------



## Akck

trstno1 said:


> Sorry to keep pestering you, but is that 30-45 minutes before 11am or before unofficial opening around 10:15?  Thank you!



That would be the official opening. We weren’t in the first groups, so we had CBR traffic coming through. Even with that, Epcot wasn’t overly crowded until later that afternoon.


----------



## Naomeri

How long after Epcot close has the skyliner been running?  I have an 8 pm Beaches & Cream res. on March 11, and Epcot closes at 8, and I’d like to be prepared if I’m going to have to bus from BC to DS to Pop afterward, instead of just hopping the Skyliner


----------



## Raven01

I noticed bus  numbers for parks at AK and MK I think, on the board where you are looking for resort bus numbers.  I assumed they were for hopping, as I do not think they were there in September.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Naomeri said:


> How long after Epcot close has the skyliner been running?  I have an 8 pm Beaches & Cream res. on March 11, and Epcot closes at 8, and I’d like to be prepared if I’m going to have to bus from BC to DS to Pop afterward, instead of just hopping the Skyliner


My understanding is that the Skyliner stops running 1 hour after park closing.


----------



## Naomeri

scrappinginontario said:


> My understanding is that the Skyliner stops running 1 hour after park closing.


Thanks.  Now if Epcot would just extend one more hour that night, I’d have nothing to worry about.


----------



## BillFromCT

Returned last night from 6 days in the World.  Three times I saw cast members going beyond to put safety first, and I really appreciated it.
1.  The cast members at Tower of Terror told everyone in line as they crossed the street they would have to be done with their food and beverage when they reached the red umbrella at the main gate.  The cast members at the gate told them to step to the side and finish it, or dump it in the trash.
2.  The cast members at the entrance of Seven Dwarfs asking every group if their whole party was there.  Step to the side if you want to wait for them.  They will not be allowed to catch up after this point.  I wish a lot more attractions would do this.
3.  A supervisor cast member at the hub literally chased after two twenty something “Disney princesses” and told them they had been spoken to about removing their masks by other cast members.  If they were seen removing their masks one more time they would be asked to leave.  I gave her a small clap.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Naomeri said:


> Thanks.  Now if Epcot would just extend one more hour that night, I’d have nothing to worry about.


I was hoping this for you too as Epcot announced extended hours but unfortunately extended the day before and the day after your reservation!


----------



## terri33inne

Naomeri said:


> How long after Epcot close has the skyliner been running?  I have an 8 pm Beaches & Cream res. on March 11, and Epcot closes at 8, and I’d like to be prepared if I’m going to have to bus from BC to DS to Pop afterward, instead of just hopping the Skyliner


We made the mistake last night of thinking Epcot closed at 9... took skyliner from Riviera. Arrived and commented on the line waiting for the skyliner... proceeded to IG to find out it closed at 8. We just wanted to go to that first gift shop so they generously let us in. We were there 20 mins max... we came out & the skyliner line was past the BC pool slide... I don’t know how far it went back as we ducked into the BC lobby & took a cab back to Riviera. It has to be at least a 90 minute wait at that point.


----------



## MinnieMSue

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> O-H! I always thought it would be fun to work for OSU, what do you do if you don't mind me asking?
> 
> Yeah it was a surprise to me but it does make sense, the rollercoaster does go upside down. We had the hilts for the lightsabers in a backpack, but were carrying the blade in a box (the box is pretty long). We got pulled aside when we were near the preshow room and told to fill out a little claim check ticket, then go in the FP line, we went to someone at the photopass counter in the gift shop, checked the lightsaber with them and went back the same way.
> 
> I also hope your March trip is wonderful!



I-O! 
I am a nurse at the medical center. Excited because they released our extended hours today for our week. Can’t wait to get there.


----------



## Naomeri

terri33inne said:


> We made the mistake last night of thinking Epcot closed at 9... took skyliner from Riviera. Arrived and commented on the line waiting for the skyliner... proceeded to IG to find out it closed at 8. We just wanted to go to that first gift shop so they generously let us in. We were there 20 mins max... we came out & the skyliner line was past the BC pool slide... I don’t know how far it went back as we ducked into the BC lobby & took a cab back to Riviera. It has to be at least a 90 minute wait at that point.


Well, I guess that’s something to hope for


----------



## e_yerger

Hi! I’m sure these questions have been asked before, but there is a lot to look through  i’m definitely a veteran, but this is my first time back post-covid. Looking for some advice on how to navigate the parks during these new times!

1. For rope dropping EPCOT or DHS from Pop, does the skyliner start running early enough? Or would you suggest taking an uber/lyft?
2. How early should we arrive at parks in order to rope drop? Before it would be leave resort ~1hr before posted opening? But some reports seem like the “rope drop” happens 1hr before posted opening time. 
3. What time does the skyliner start running between Pop & Riveria (have breakfast @ topolino’s one day)?
4. How late does the skyliner run between EPCOT & Pop? Thinking about going over to EPCOT area resorts to bar hop/dinner some nights. 

TIA!


----------



## closetmickey

Chris Ehlers said:


> how were they seating you on FOP?  when we were these last month there was no empty Banshees between groups.


Last week we had one banshee between our party of 3 and another party of 4


----------



## BillFromCT

terri33inne said:


> We made the mistake last night of thinking Epcot closed at 9... took skyliner from Riviera. Arrived and commented on the line waiting for the skyliner... proceeded to IG to find out it closed at 8. We just wanted to go to that first gift shop so they generously let us in. We were there 20 mins max... we came out & the skyliner line was past the BC pool slide... I don’t know how far it went back as we ducked into the BC lobby & took a cab back to Riviera. It has to be at least a 90 minute wait at that point.


We had a 7:00 Beaches and Cream res the other night.  We made note that even though HS closed at 7:00, the skyliner was running until 9:30.  After dinner we walked over to HS to take the skyliner back to CBR, rather than wait in that very long Epcot line.


----------



## scrappinginontario

e_yerger said:


> Hi! I’m sure these questions have been asked before, but there is a lot to look through  i’m definitely a veteran, but this is my first time back post-covid. Looking for some advice on how to navigate the parks during these new times!
> 
> 1. For rope dropping EPCOT or DHS from Pop, does the skyliner start running early enough? Or would you suggest taking an uber/lyft?
> 2. How early should we arrive at parks in order to rope drop? Before it would be leave resort ~1hr before posted opening? But some reports seem like the “rope drop” happens 1hr before posted opening time.
> 3. What time does the skyliner start running between Pop & Riveria (have breakfast @ topolino’s one day)?
> 4. How late does the skyliner run between EPCOT & Pop? Thinking about going over to EPCOT area resorts to bar hop/dinner some nights.
> 
> TIA!


 I would recommend looking at the Rope Drop thread as the first post  will answer most if your questions.

The Skyliner runs for 1 hour after the last park closes.


----------



## Nabas

terri33inne said:


> We made the mistake last night of thinking Epcot closed at 9... took skyliner from Riviera. Arrived and commented on the line waiting for the skyliner... proceeded to IG to find out it closed at 8. We just wanted to go to that first gift shop so they generously let us in. We were there 20 mins max... we came out & the skyliner line was past the BC pool slide... I don’t know how far it went back as we ducked into the BC lobby & took a cab back to Riviera. It has to be at least a 90 minute wait at that point.


Lines for the Skyliner are horrible for park opening and park closing!  I've learned my lesson, never again!


----------



## Thomasboys

Nabas said:


> Lines for the Skyliner are horrible for park opening and park closing!  I've learned my lesson, never again!



what time did you get to the skyliner, and what time was park opening for that day?  We are staying at CBR in 1.5 weeks and the skyliner will be one of our main forms of transportation.


----------



## terri33inne

Nabas said:


> Lines for the Skyliner are horrible for park opening and park closing!  I've learned my lesson, never again!


Left Hollywood tonight about 15 mins after park closing... line wrapped way around but it moved & we were on a skyliner in under 15 minutes. The line at Epcot last night just did not seem to be moving.


----------



## WEDWDW

Just wanted to reiterate that the long Skyliner lines are a product of Covid World Gondola limitations and will go away when Covid does.


----------



## DMLAINI

Does anyone know if you're now able to use Disney rewards cards to pay for mobile ordering


----------



## GabrielMom

Are the skyliner lines long if you leave an hour before closing?  We are arriving next week for a 10 day CBR stay.  We chose this resort just so we could use skyliner as transportation.   But we will be there during a very busy week.  Wondering if we should change resorts...


----------



## disneygirlsng

closetmickey said:


> Last week we had one banshee between our party of 3 and another party of 4


That probably had some to do with your specific numbers. Since there are 8 seats in each section.


----------



## fivemonkeysplus1

Naomeri said:


> Happy birthday, fellow child of March!  Heading down for my birthday trip on Wednesday, I hope you left some b-day pixie dust behind


Us too. 10-17. Can NOT wait!! Working next week will be torture!!!


----------



## disneyfan150

emilymad said:


> Last week we didn't think Raglan Road or The Boathouse were following distancing guidelines.  Or maybe it is just with every table full it seems like people are closer than they are.  Homecomin' was also the same but we got lucky with our particular table.


I felt the same way about Boathouse and we visited last summer.


----------



## MamaJessie

GabrielMom said:


> Are the skyliner lines long if you leave an hour before closing?  We are arriving next week for a 10 day CBR stay.  We chose this resort just so we could use skyliner as transportation.   But we will be there during a very busy week.  Wondering if we should change resorts...


If I had to choose between waiting for a bus at park close or a skyliner I would definitely pick the skyliner - line keeps moving.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Were at MK today - definitely way more crowded than back in Sept but the waits were still very manageable. I think the longest wait we had in reality was 35-40 mins for Space  (posted 50) because we hit a cleaning cycle. We skipped Splash bc the posted wait was 80 mins but we did BTMRR x2 and 7DMT x2 instead (and HM x3 lol). Even took a “break” to change and have dinner at Sanaa which was phenomenal. We saw giraffes! Thrilling!

Tomorrow is 1 of 2 HS days - alarm is set for 6:55 to get a BG and we plan to be at the GF bus no later than 7:45. Wish us luck!


----------



## closetmickey

MamaJessie said:


> If I had to choose between waiting for a bus at park close or a skyliner I would definitely pick the skyliner - line keeps moving.


Agree. And there is no mystery as to when it will arrive.


----------



## FinallyFL

DMLAINI said:


> Does anyone know if you're now able to use Disney rewards cards to pay for mobile ordering


Yes, but the app won't save the number of your rewards card for future orders. You can save the number in a note app and then cut/paste it into the the WDW app if you don't want to retype it each time.


----------



## DisneyJade

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> *How to Have a Successful Day at DHS
> 
> Tuesday March 2
> DHS 9-7*
> 
> First of all, this was my birthday. I was super excited to wear my birthday pin.
> 
> 6: up and at 'em. Headed for the parks around 6:30ish
> 
> 6:55: pulled over at Fantastia Mini Golf parking lot so we could both try for a Rise boarding group. We had a friend joining us for the day and he was also trying. I didn't have any fancy countdown clocks, I just started refreshing the page at 6:59.
> 
> And, as Kuzco would say: Boom baby.
> 
> What can I say? It was my special day.
> 
> View attachment 560579
> 
> 7:10: breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass at Yacht Club. Had the eggs benedict special and it was soooo good. We asked for our check when the food arrived and we were out of there at 7:45
> 
> 7:45: walked to DHS. It was a beautiful morning.
> 
> 8:05: arrived at DHS and were in line for the temp checks. Maybe about 15 groups back?
> 
> 8:15: temp checks started, the line moved quickly past the temp checks, through security and into the gates.
> 
> 8:22: into line for MMRR. I believe we were on the second train of the day.
> 
> 8:32: off the ride and onto Toy Story Land
> 
> 8:39: line for Slinky Dog Dash
> 
> 8:52: rode SDD
> 
> 8:57: walked onto Swirling Saucers
> 
> 9:09: into line for TSMM
> 
> 9:25: off the ride
> 
> We had until 9:50 to make it to Rise. We decided it was a more valuable use of our time to knock out a few rides with short waits and show up to Rise at the end of our boarding time.
> 
> 9:37: met up with our friend and got in line for ROTR. It was our first time riding.
> 
> 10:02: off the ride, loved it. Won't say more since we managed to stay mostly spoiler free and I don't want to ruin it for anyone else.
> 
> Felt like we had already had a super successful morning. Had a delicious breakfast, already did MMRR, TSMM, SDD, Saucers and ROTR. And the park had only officially been open for an hour.
> 
> 10:08: mobile ordered a drink from Ronto Roasters so we could sit with our friend who had breakfast there. Watched Chewie interact with the crowd from on top of a building.
> 
> 10:26: we weren't going to stop into Dok Ondar's because we had just been there the previous night, but our friend wanted to go in. The force was with us because they'd just got Ahsoka's lightsabers in stock overnight! Talk about lucky. I
> 
> 10:40: expensive birthday gift to myself in hand, we watched some Stormtroopers and Vi Moradi on top of the same building Chewie had just been on.
> 
> We also watched Rey have a very serious conversation from up high with a little girl.
> 
> View attachment 560583
> 
> 
> 11:10: in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. Fun fact: you have to check your lightsaber blades on that ride. They send you through to the gift shop then back in line. We did get front of the coaster though, so maybe it was worth it.
> 
> 11:34: rode RR
> 
> I wanted to ride TT but it was listed as an 85 minute wait. It was getting very hot at this point so we mobile ordered some drinks at the Backlot Express and had a nice sit down break.
> 
> I also have a gap in my pictures here, I think my phone died and I was charging it. All my time stamps are based off pictures I took. After we finished relaxing in Backlot Express we rode Star Tours. I think we had a 15-20 minute wait. We got all the new scenes from Last Skywalker which I was excited about as we'd never seen them.
> 
> 1:20ish?: got in line for Muppets and had to wait a decently long time.
> 
> 1:50: in the Muppets theater. They must have got a new digital projector since the last time I saw this show (probably several years). The picture looked super crisp.
> 
> 2:08: we headed to Sci Fi Dine In. I had a reservation for 2:20. We also had 3 other friends join us at this point (they hopped over). This is my absolute favorite restaurant at Disney. The food isn't bad but I love the ambience. It started to pour right before 2:20, we asked if we could wait inside but were told no. So we huddled under 3 umbrellas and waited it out. I think the rain only lasted 5-10 minutes.
> 
> 2:32: seated in Sci Fi.
> 
> View attachment 560585
> 
> Two of us had birthdays on March 2, and a third had a birthday on March 4. We all 3 got cupcakes at the end of the meal.
> 
> View attachment 560586
> 
> 4:04: decided to ride MMRR and got pulled out of line the second we entered due to the birthday buttons. Got backdoored onto the ride.
> 
> 4:30: into line for Smuggler's Run. We had a full 6 person crew and we were going to live it up.
> 
> View attachment 560587
> 
> 4:54: first ride. We did ok but didn't achieve our objective.
> 
> 4:56: back in line for Smuggler's.
> 
> I don't have time stamps for this ride, but we were definitely off the ride by 5:45.
> 
> On our second ride we achieved great success: we got Chewie mode and we finally kept all 3 lights on! Which basically means you scored very highly.
> 
> We shopped around in Droid Depot for a bit.
> 
> 5:56: in line for TSMM
> 
> 6:32: my time stamps failed again, but we had obviously ridden TSMM at this point and were just boarding SDD.
> 
> The sun was setting and we made our way out of Toy Story Land.
> 
> View attachment 560588
> 
> We shopped around a bit and took some photopass pictures. Earlier in the day (like 7:15 am), our friend had snagged us all an Oga's for 7 pm for 6 people.
> 
> View attachment 560589
> 
> Nothing better than a park reservation right at close on an early closing hour.
> 
> View attachment 560590
> 
> 6:59: Oga's reservation.
> 
> Also, miracle of miracles: we got a booth!!! Getting a booth at Oga's is like finding the Holy Grail. It was interesting seeing the place so empty. This was our first post COVID visit. Looked like the filled all the booths and had a few couples scattered around the bar and only a few standing tables occupied.
> 
> View attachment 560591
> 
> 7:54: Oga's was not enforcing a two drink minimum. We definitely didn't feel rushed but ended up leaving right before 8 anyway. There were still other groups left when we headed out.
> 
> We made our way slowly out of the park and were at the exit at 8:06. Love this pic I took of Sci Fi on the way out.
> 
> View attachment 560592
> 
> We took the Skyliner back to Yacht club and had no wait.
> 
> All in all, was a pretty spectacular day. I know some of it was luck, but we'd managed to do:
> 
> MMRR x2
> SDD x 2
> Saucers
> TSMM x 2
> ROTR Boarding Group 1
> ST
> Muppets
> RR
> Smugglers x 2
> 
> Really the only thing we missed that I wanted to do was TT. It had a very long wait all day. We probably could have done it instead of our second evening visit to Toy Story Land, but those rides were fun anyway and a lot closer to our park close Oga's than TT would have been.
> 
> A lot of the lines looked really long, or were marked as long on MDE, but they really weren't that bad. I highly recommend paying for the Touring Lines app, those wait times were much, much more accurate than the ones on MDE.
> 
> Hope this helped!



wow, what a successful day! You did much better than we did. The day before your visit, we were in line for MMRR at the same time as you but only got one other ride in before 9:00 am (TSMM). The whole day seemed to go like that with us falling farther and farther behind. Glad you had better luck!


----------



## Nabas

GabrielMom said:


> Are the skyliner lines long if you leave an hour before closing?  We are arriving next week for a 10 day CBR stay.  We chose this resort just so we could use skyliner as transportation.   But we will be there during a very busy week.  Wondering if we should change resorts...


For us, the Skyliner lines were short, just about a walk-on, anytime except for openings and closings.

At closing we typically waited about 25 to 30 minutes.

At opening, the line was 45 minutes to 1 hour.

For both, we then ran into lines at the transfer station at CBR.  Since you are staying at CBR, you'll avoid that.

Between all the resorts, there are over 5000 rooms (perhaps 15,000 people) with access to the Skyliner.  Because of COVID, they were letting only one group per gondola.  This makes sense but it also slows down the line.

It's worse when a thunderstorm shuts down the Skyliner, which happened to us once for closing at Epcot.  They sent us to the front of Epcot (which we were later told was a mistake).  Combined, it took nearly 2 hours to get back to the room.

Thunderstorms shut down the Skyliner a couple of other days for us, but this was in the middle of the day.  For both of these, we waited about 5 minutes for a bus.


----------



## TinkSassy

Just returned - I did one park per day from 2/28 - 1/3.  This was a low crowd week by all the calendars.  Between the holiday crowds from President’s Day and the start of Spring Breaks.  

Sunday I went to AK - I had to loop a few times as I was early to park.  Was allowed to line up for parking at 8:05 and they started letting us park at 8:15.  Security was open when we got there and we breezed right through.  FOP was a quick walk on and then I waited 30 minutes to get on Navi River.  From there it was just after 9 and official open so went to Safari and waited 15 minutes the. I did the trails in that area and around to Everest which was about another 15 minutes.  I had put in my lunch at around 10 for a noon return and it was close so headed to Satouli. Stopped and added to the Nomad list on the way.  Was served quickly and enjoyed patio seating then back to Nomad go a drink on the water.  After the break I made another round of Everest Bugs Safari and FOP with the longest line being FOP at 30
Minutes.  Skipped Navi as that showed 75 and from my earlier wait that looked accurate.  Crowds were bad midday but early at ripe drop and after 2 very manageable.

Monday was Epcot and between festivals.  I will preface that I don’t like MS or TT so didn’t factor those in.  I walked to Soarin at 10 but the ride wasn’t open but they let us wait.  I was on the first load at 10:30 and then did Land Nemo and Figment with no waits.  Then headed for the showcase and grabbed a margarita.  Decided I should do Frozen before the crowds got worse - rode 4 times in a row as we could just loop and get back on.  Then went back and rode Donald (caught the cleaning cycle there so had to wait 15 minutes).  The park was very empty and was able to get a walk up table at Via Napoli.  Saw the Voices of Liberty caught the B&tB sing a long and enjoyed the showcase some (it was hot). Then rode Soarin again and SE on my way out.

Tuesday was HS - got BG3 at 7 so Rise was going to happen!  I arrived at the park at 8 and was forced again to circle and was 25 cars back when I returned 10 minutes later.  Was still parked and through the gate by 8:30.  Headed for SDD and waited about 15 minutes then walked on TSMM.  My boarding group expired at 10 so I didn’t chance another ride but headed over to Rise.  The lines were growing so I stopped for a 10 brunch at Ronto with some blue milk in hand.  By the Smugglers was a hour wait and I did that.  Galaxy’s Edge was PACKED at this point so I bailed out for safety.  I went out and did a 20 minute wait for Star Tours and then a break at Indy to lose the mask for a bit as it was hot and many of the lines were uncovered.  I decided to wait for M&M next and that was 40 minutes then down to RnRC which showed 25 but when the rain downpour hit the outdoor line cleared in seconds and with my umbrella was on the ride in under 10 minutes.  Went to my 3pm res at Brown Derby and this was one of my first indoor dining experiences since last March.  I was very comfortable with how the tables were distanced and the wait staff handled safety measures.  I was able to walk on to AS2 TSMM ST and a 20 min wait for MFSR after eating.  I did another 30 min wait for a second run on M&MRR before shopping and heading out.

MK was Wednesday- I had a res at the Wave for breakfast at 7:30 and took an Uber over for that.  I was seated immediately and as I was ready with my order had my food in 10 minutes.  Was able to be walking to MK by 8 (side note I would not try this with kids as you will not make it).  Secuity was not yet open when I got there so held up a few minutes but was to the tapstiles and allowed in by 8:20.  Went straight to SDMT but it was down (and stayed down until 3pm) - so went and rode PP 3 times and then back to Pooh at 9 when it opened and the Small World.  Then walk on to HM and 10 minutes at BTMRR.  Pirates had also been down all morning and that hadn’t changed when I arrived so I rode the carpets got a Dole Whip and watch Country Bears and Tiki.  Then Pirates was open and I waited 30 minutes I went to JC after that as Pirates opening had taken the length off that line and was down to 15 minutes.  Was able to head to Tomorrowland and walk on Buzz,CoP and Speedway - caught Dumbo and LM with minimal waits and a snack at Gaston’s.  SDMT came on line as I was leaving Gaston’s and rode that with a 25 minute wait (side note had I been able to ride first thing I would have walked on to the first train.  Was able to duplicate many rides throughout the day.

Notes - if you are sensitive to crowds this is not your time to go. I do well when everyone keeps their mask on and there are places and times of day even on low days that are crowded and in stores and streets people do not social distance. That being said - I live in a fairly anti-mask area and felt safer at WDW than shopping here. I think your comfort level will be based on what you are used to for compliance in your home area.

Masks are HOT - I found my hair had to be up and I carried face wipes to wash my face frequently due to the sweating.  CMs were allowing for sipping water in line as it was warm - do not plan on a whole coffee or snack as they were stopping that - but to take a sip and remask was allowed to keep everyone hydrated.  Also plan on changing masks 2-3 times a day as that makes it easier as well.  Observation- with kids you need to give them a longer break midday as the meltdowns now include the mask component and saw many have to leave line as the little ones were too hot and tired to deal with the mask anymore. As an adult the days I took a longer break to sit down mask free I did better - so I understood the issues for the littles.


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## CapnJacksGirl

BillFromCT said:


> 2.  The cast members at the entrance of Seven Dwarves asking every group if their whole party was there.  Step to the side if you want to wait for them.  They will not be allowed to catch up after this point.  I wish a lot more attractions would do this.



I saw this a couple of times also!  Definitely on Seven Dwarfs and one other attraction but I can't recall which.  This one got a small clap from me.  IMO, this should be policy across the board.


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## DCLMP

Nabas said:


> Lines for the Skyliner are horrible for park opening and park closing!  I've learned my lesson, never again!


I can imagine. They weren't great back in August when no one was there. Would you stay at Riviera again and take a Lyft or would you stay somewhere else?


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## Nabas

DCLMP said:


> I can imagine. They weren't great back in August when no one was there. Would you stay at Riviera again and take a Lyft or would you stay somewhere else?


During our Rivera stay in September, the Skyliner was fine except during theme park opening and closing.  For opening, we ran into a lot of other Guests who complained about lining up as soon as the Skyliner opened yet still missed DHS opening.

We ran into the same issue when we stayed at the Beach Club in November.


----------



## PharmerJan

Hi all.  This thread was very helpful as I led up to my trip, so Ive decided to log back in and give you my 2 cents.   This was my first pandemic adventure post vaccination and my first return to WDW since October 2019.  

Where: Yacht club
When: 2/26 - 3/3
Who:  2 Disney Adults

Transportation:  We used MDE and relied on disney buses for our trip.  I have no complaints and had great experiences overall.  We found that we did not wait any longer for a bus than we would have pre-pandemic.  We loved knowing we would get a seat at the end of the park day.  Tip: We got in line for MK bus at 7:15a and were on the first bus at about 7:45a.  It appeared that buses were being held at MK entrance when our bus pulled up, but we were shortly ushered into the bus loop.  We were the 3rd group in line at the tapsiles for entry.  We entered the park at 8:15am (for a 9a opening)  It was truly magical!  

Walking to HS/EP:  We walked to HS/EP from YC and found that we were again let into the park 45 minutes before scheduled opening.  That early morning touring was so amazing.  If you are early risers and can make it to the parks on your own two feet, you will be before buses, self park or gondolas arrive.  I just cant recommend this enough!

Food:  We did not have any reservations and found mobile ordering a breeze.  We did not know that most restaurants allow for to-go ordering before arrival.  This was the most magical surprise!  We took to-go orders from Ale&Compas and Trattoria al Forno a couple times and ate by the pool in the evenings.  We even ordered a bottle of wine to go a few times and enjoyed it in our plastic cups poolside.  Downside:  Walk up kiosks in parks had long lines.  (ie- popcorn cart or mickey pretzel stop by Dumbo).  That was kind of a bummer.  

Parks:  Loved that sanitizer stations were plentiful.  Parks felt so empty compared to pre-pandemic levels.  I have no crowd complaints.  Afternoons at MK and HS were busy, and wait times crept towards 60min+ so we took nice afternoon breaks at the pool bar   EP was so empty.  We road Soarin at 1pm with a 5 min wait, and Frozen at 2:30 with a 10 min wait.  (On a Monday).   Many world showcase shops were closed, which was a bummer but understandable.  We enjoyed all our favorite snacks and drinks at EP, so I cant complain.  Evening touring at AK was nothing short of a private experience.  I think we saw 15 other groups in total?  Walked on to Everest, 15 min for FoP and 15 min for the Safari after 3pm.  For some unknown reason Navi was 55min.  We did not wait.  

No FP:  It was lovely to have no agenda, no time constraints and just overall felt very freeing.  I know this wont be the long term normal, and am so happy I had a chance to take this trip to experience the no plan Disney trip.

Merchandise:  We both found merch to be lacking this trip.  I decided that there must be some sourcing issues due to the pandemic.  My pocketbook was happy with this.

Service:  I dont know if we were just so happy to be there, or what, but we had exceptional service everywhere.  I did not encounter one single rude fellow traveler or witness any uncomfortable scenes.  I hope that humans continue this theme well after the pandemic.  It was wonderful!

My bottom line:
Its a pandemic.  Dont travel if you are concerned with travelling in a pandemic.  While capacity was clearly lower than usual, the limited experiences, hours and options definitely put a strain on those things that are available.  You will experience lines, crowding in choke points (Magic Carpets area - Im looking at you!).  The magic is still very much present when you go in with a full heart, happy attitude and a mindset of just being happy to be experiencing WDW again.


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## danceteachermom

loswest said:


> Wed. Feb. 24th, Hollywood Studios (Day 1)
> 7am - ROTR boarding group
> 
> We left our airbnb at 7am( right after getting BG 1 for ROTR by clicking the join button at 6:59:59 exactly).
> 7:15am - parked at the Swan Hotel
> 
> Staying offsite, we decided to pay to park at the Swan and walked to Hollywood Studios. Got to the Swan ~7:15 and we were 3rd or 4th in line when we got to HS. I can’t remember what time they took us up to put us in line for temp check but I believe it was ~8:10am. With the reshuffling of lines for temp check we were first in line at one of the temp checks but we had issues with our tickets so it took at least 5-10 minutes to work it out. The CM at the ticket terminals called over another CM to help us and they pulled us aside and manually went through all 7 of our tickets to figure it out.
> 
> Rides:
> MSFM (walk on)
> ROTR (slow walk on)
> 
> When we entered Galaxy’s Edge we asked a CM if we would have time to ride before going to ROTR and they said we should be fine. We were so excited to get a BG for ROTR but having such an early number meant that we missed out on some of the early short lines for other rides.
> MMRR
> 
> Probably posted 50-70 min (can’t remember) but probably took ~30-40 min.
> TOT
> Lunch & Blue/Green Milk (Galaxy’s Edge)
> 
> We got back together again for lunch and blue & green milk at Galaxy’s Edge. The Ronto Roaster’s were better than we expected and my daughter got another the next day (Wednesday). The milk was good and worth trying once but not worth paying so much to get it again.
> 1:30pm Droid appointment (my son)
> 
> We were tired and didn’t have a lot of time until my son had a droid appointment (1:30) and my husband and daughter had lightsaber appointments (2:15pm) so we sat down outside of the Droid Depot and rested during the droid appointment.
> 2:15pm Lightsaber appointments (husband & daughter)
> Midway Mania
> 
> We split up again during the lightsaber appointments and I took the younger kids to ride Midway Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers.
> Alien Swirling Sauces
> Snack break
> 
> Split group:
> Rock ‘n Roller Coaster (2x)/ Star Tours & MFSR
> 
> We regrouped and sat down to eat a snack near Alien Swirling Saucers then split up to ride Rock n Roller Coaster (2 times) while the others rode Star Tours and then MFSR.
> SDD (2x)
> 
> We got back together again to ride SDD. After riding once it was almost 7pm and there was just enough time to ride once more before close. Riding SDD in the dark was fantastic!  Much better than during the day.


I am curious about the parking at the Swan. We are heading to FL and staying at a home rental offsite and have one day at Hollywood Studios. I would like to explore this option. Would you mind sharing about how much it was to park and if you had any issues leaving your car there all day? Also, years ago I walked a few times from the Yacht Club to Hollywood Studios...can't remember about how long that walk is. An estimate? We have been trying to figure out a way to arrive with resort guests since we heard that cars are not being allowed to park when they unofficially open early. With just one day at the park we would like to take advantage of as much time early in the day as possible. Thank you in advance if you are able to help.


----------



## DCLMP

Nabas said:


> During our Rivera stay in September, the Skyliner was fine except during theme park opening and closing.  For opening, we ran into a lot of other Guests who complained about lining up as soon as the Skyliner opened yet still missed DHS opening.
> 
> We ran into the same issue when we stayed at the Beach Club in November.


We stayed at Riviera in August. We awaited about 20 minutes to connect at CBR. In August there wasn't any reason to be there at opening. Lines were short all day. I can easily see it taking over an hour if all the resorts are full.


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## OhioStateBuckeye

danceteachermom said:


> I am curious about the parking at the Swan. We are heading to FL and staying at a home rental offsite and have one day at Hollywood Studios. I would like to explore this option. Would you mind sharing about how much it was to park and if you had any issues leaving your car there all day? Also, years ago I walked a few times from the Yacht Club to Hollywood Studios...can't remember about how long that walk is. An estimate? We have been trying to figure out a way to arrive with resort guests since we heard that cars are not being allowed to park when they unofficially open early. With just one day at the park we would like to take advantage of as much time early in the day as possible. Thank you in advance if you are able to help.



20 minutes exactly for us to go from Ale & Compass breakfast to DHS temp screening line. We walk reasonably fast.


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## butterscotchcollins

HS this morning: took the bus from GF. Arrived at the almost empty bus stop at 7:45 and hopped on the first bus at 8:07. Got to the park at about 8:20, breezed right through temp check, security, and tapstiles. Waited about 10 mins for SDD, then MFSR x2 as a walk-on. Took a break for a morning Ronto Wrap, then did MMRR (posted 45, waited probably 25-30), TSMM (posted 40, probably closer to 30), got called for our BG (walk on), AS2 (posted 45, actual wait closer to 10) trotted over to ToT and it was our longest wait of the day (posted 60, waited 50). Even RnRC wait wasn’t bad at 35 mins but we were freezing from the wind lol. 

Hoppes over to AK at 4 and rode EE 3x in a row as a walk-on. Now waiting for FoP. Overall a pretty great day


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## auntlynne

danceteachermom said:


> I am curious about the parking at the Swan. We are heading to FL and staying at a home rental offsite and have one day at Hollywood Studios. I would like to explore this option. Would you mind sharing about how much it was to park and if you had any issues leaving your car there all day? Also, years ago I walked a few times from the Yacht Club to Hollywood Studios...can't remember about how long that walk is. An estimate? We have been trying to figure out a way to arrive with resort guests since we heard that cars are not being allowed to park when they unofficially open early. With just one day at the park we would like to take advantage of as much time early in the day as possible. Thank you in advance if you are able to help.



You can And should park in the theme park parking lot.  Just don’t try to arrive before they open the pay booths.  Hotel parking is for hotel guests.  It does open before official start. 

if your friends are staying at a hotel and don’t have a car, perhaps they can give you there name and room number and the parking will be charged to them.  I think it’s more than parking in the Parks lot.


----------



## tanyaandallie

[QUOTE="TinkSassy, post: 62752638, member: 223905"

Sunday I went to AK - I had to loop a few times as I was early to park.  Was allowed to line up for parking at 8:05 and they started letting us park at 8:15.  Security was open when we got there and we breezed right through.  FOP was a quick walk on and then I waited 30 minutes to get on Navi River.  From there it was just after 9 and official open so went to Safari and waited 15 minutes the. I did the trails in that area and around to Everest which was about another 15 minutes.  I had put in my lunch at around 10 for a noon return and it was close so headed to Satouli. Stopped and added to the Nomad list on the way.  Was served quickly and enjoyed patio seating then back to Nomad go a drink on the water.  After the break I made another round of Everest Bugs Safari and FOP with the longest line being FOP at 30
Minutes.  Skipped Navi as that showed 75 and from my earlier wait that looked accurate.  Crowds were bad midday but early at ripe drop and after 2 very manageable.

[/QUOTE]

So 9 am open and they don't even open the parking lot til 815?  But once you got parked the tapstiles were open and they were not holding you?  You just tapped in and went straight to fop??  Trying to figure this out for my sis but I have not been during covid so am reading up!


----------



## Twitterpaited

BelleFan87 said:


> How was the air balloon ride? My hubby was thinking about it but I’m not sure.


I was watching a stream when they went up when it was too windy.  The balloon was at a 45 degree angle.  That has scared me off!


----------



## Twitterpaited

WawaCoffee said:


> Lots of great info in this thread.
> 
> For those who have visited, how comfortable were you dining indoors? There are only 1 or 2 indoor restaurants that are a "must" for me, Garden Grill being one of them. Here in the northeast USA, several restaraunts are ignoring social-distancing/capacity guidelines, and dining indoors comfortably has been a challenge.


I went recently, but I did not eat indoors at all, intentionally.  Eating indoors is a high risk behavior right now.


----------



## Justrose

Question about park hopping: we are going the last week of March when most days one or more parks are full on the reservation calender. Does this mean we automatically will not be able to hop to those parks in the evening?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Justrose said:


> Question about park hopping: we are going the last week of March when most days one or more parks are full on the reservation calender. Does this mean we automatically will not be able to hop to those parks in the evening?



No it does not mean that.  The only reason you could not hop to another park is if that park is at capacity for hopping.

That being said, there has never been a day so far when any park has been closed to hopping even when parks have been extremely busy and at capacity for original reservations. It could happen but so far it hasn’t.


----------



## Joy

3/6/2021 Saturday

Arrival - day plane landed around 11 am. Grabbed rental car, drove to resort, dropped off bags. Drove to T&TC. Monorail to MK.
At MK around 1:30, had lunch then did some rides

We used Touringplans Rides App to pick rides that were recommended to ride now.

Rides:
- 2:02 got inline for Big Thunder (Disney posted wait time 25 minutes) We were on the ride in 3 minutes
- 2:14 in line for Haunted Mansion (Posted wait 20 minutes). On ride 15 minutes
- 2:47 in line for Little Mermaid (posted 25 minutes) On ride in 9 minutes.
- 3:10 in line for Space MT (posted 40 minutes). On ride 15 minutes.

Parks felt crowded. There were so many large groups of people just standing in the walkways or sitting off to the sides. They looked like newbies and didn't seem to have a plan. I don't remember noticing groups like this on visits pre-COVID but I could just be more sensitive to crowds now. 

We are here for 15 days. Working remote the first week then on vacation the second week.


----------



## GBRforWDW

WawaCoffee said:


> Lots of great info in this thread.
> 
> For those who have visited, how comfortable were you dining indoors? There are only 1 or 2 indoor restaurants that are a "must" for me, Garden Grill being one of them. Here in the northeast USA, several restaraunts are ignoring social-distancing/capacity guidelines, and dining indoors comfortably has been a challenge.


Eating indoors is really not much different than doing anything else indoors.  I've been going inside restaurants to eat since our area reopened indoor dining in the summer.  When I went to Disney in January, 2 weeks after Christmas during a time that was supposed to be major hot zone, and it was, our first day in Disney was my birthday and that is, still at this point in time the day with most new infections in a single day in the US, we ate 6 or 7 indoor meals, including Garden Grill, and came away without illness.  However I did come down with the flu mid February, more than a month after getting back when I was still working from home and the only places I went were restaurants 

The thing is though, everyone has their own comfort level.  Everyone has varying degrees of preexisting issues, etc, so you just have to do what works best for you.  If you don't go at home, why go at Disney? If you do go at home, do they temp check you?  Disney at least has that much going for it, as well as good distancing and mask requirements, trying to cut down some spread as much as possible.  Disney has so many indoor restaurants that are nearly full, for pandemic standards, all the time and very few, if any, reports of people contracting covid during or just after a trip.

If you really want indoor dining on your trip but are concerned about contracting the virus, just postpone until you get vaxxed. Should be soon for the majority of adults, so you won't have much longer to wait.


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## butterscotchcollins

Things I’m learning:

-Wait times are still nowhere near pre-covid levels even with crowded parks. Longest actual wait has been ~45 mins

-Lyft/Uber is not actually faster than a Disney Bus because you have to wait 10 minutes before it even arrives 

-Sitting down for both lunch AND dinner at a TS is a waste. Lunch will make you too full for dinner and you’re missing ride time! Pick ONE.

-I’m not as young as I used to be  Opted out of the last hour of park time last night cuz I was so dang tired and could barely wake up this AM. (Sorry Mom and Dad!)


----------



## GBRforWDW

butterscotchcollins said:


> Things I’m learning:
> 
> -Wait times are still nowhere near pre-covid levels even with crowded parks. Longest actual wait has been ~45 mins
> 
> -Lyft/Uber is not actually faster than a Disney Bus because you have to wait 10 minutes before it even arrives
> 
> -Sitting down for both lunch AND dinner at a TS is a waste. Lunch will make you too full for dinner and you’re missing ride time! Pick ONE.
> 
> -I’m not as young as I used to be  Opted out of the last hour of park time last night cuz I was so dang tired and could barely wake up this AM. (Sorry Mom and Dad!)


Haha, it's crazy how much walking you can do right now in the parks! Lol.

The only day I did 2 in park ADRs was first Hollywood Studios day and that was because I knew last time we went, we had trouble finding a place to sit for quick service and I figured it'd be worse in covid times. But we did noon lunch and park close dinner, so plenty of time in between to recover


----------



## DavidNYC

How has it been lately getting into Disney Springs around dinner time?  Heading to S. Florida for a few weeks and considering driving up to Orlando one night (would be a Thursday).
Any recent reports on parking or going through whatever entrance lines they currently have?  
Deciding if it’s worth it or if we’d get there and spend half our night in lines.


----------



## closetmickey

Justrose said:


> Question about park hopping: we are going the last week of March when most days one or more parks are full on the reservation calender. Does this mean we automatically will not be able to hop to those parks in the evening?


And to add a quick note to this...When talking to a front desk castmember at the CR, our park plans for that day came up in conversation and she told me that we would not be able to hop because the park was full for reservations for the day. So you may come across some incorrect information out there.


----------



## mdgineok

Just back from our 2/26-3/2 stay at OKW.  We spent the 3/2-3/6 on the Gulf Coast.  I want to thank everyone for their posts which helped us have a successful trip.   Just a few quick observations, I can post detailed daily reports if people are interested.

As reported here, placing a mobile order early to secure your desired eating time is the best way to get food.  Also eating at off times also helped getting a table inside.

Wait times were generally at or under posted wait times.  We only experienced one wait time that was longer and it was SDMT in the middle of the day and it was just 2 minutes longer than posted.

We drove to AK and HS and were let into the parking lot approximately 45 minutes before park opening.  We bussed to MK and were able to get in the park more than 45 minutes before opening.

I failed to get a ROR boarding group at 7 AM due to me missing the join button, UGH!  We were able to get one at 1:00 by having three people all trying while standing near the Millennium Falcon with WiFi off and relying solely on data (ATT and T-Mobile).  Got BG 97.

Weather was sunny, 80’s all five days we were there. Mask compliance was +95%.  Teens seemed to be the biggest offenders at having noses exposed.  Saw a PP Photographer aggressively confront an uncooperative male about his mask.  The guest deserved to be kicked out, he was out of line, swearing at the CM.

CM’s were terrific other than the one swearing and complaining about another CM on front of a line of guests waiting in the extended queue for RRC.  She went on and on for more than 5 minutes.

Got some pixie dust when I went to the front desk at OKW when we arrived at 12:30 to get a package we shipped to ourselves and the CM assigned us a 2 BR that was ready without me even asking.  He gave me a choice of rooms and we chose 2nd floor, Bldg 41.  This is our 3rd stay in this building and we like the location.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.  Thanks again for all the help.

Mark in MN


----------



## WawaCoffee

mdgineok said:


> Just back from our 2/26-3/2 stay at OKW.



How were the crowds at the OKW main pool, and the resort in general?


----------



## mdgineok

WawaCoffee said:


> How were the crowds at the OKW main pool, and the resort in general?


We had no trouble getting drinks or food at Good's to Go or Gurgling Suitcase with short waits.  We did not eat at Olivia's.  We went to the main pool two days and the Turtle Pond pool the other days.  We always found a table for 4 near the pool and were able to use the hot tubs when we wanted.  We went to the pool early evening/late afternoon and seemed to get there as others were leaving.  We had either eaten earlier or ate dinner poolside.   I did not feel crowded when at HH or the pool areas.


----------



## tjmw2727

closetmickey said:


> And to add a quick note to this...When talking to a front desk castmember at the CR, our park plans for that day came up in conversation and she told me that we would not be able to hop because the park was full for reservations for the day. So you may come across some incorrect information out there.



Sadly that CM is incorrect, friends were able to Park Hop to MK on a day when there were no Park Reservations available.  They know this because their friends were not able to join them last minute as MK was sold out of park reservations and they had not been in a park prior to MK. 

The only real way to know if you can PH to a specific park is to check after 2 and see  

It seems like park hopping and park reservations are separate.


----------



## hes122

Naomeri said:


> How long after Epcot close has the skyliner been running?  I have an 8 pm Beaches & Cream res. on March 11, and Epcot closes at 8, and I’d like to be prepared if I’m going to have to bus from BC to DS to Pop afterward, instead of just hopping the Skyliner


We had a similar situation this week. We showed up to B&C before our reservation time and asked if there was any way we could get seated early. Our ADR was for 9:50 and we showed up around 7:30. They were only able to offer us outside seating but we took it so that we could hop back on the skyliner vs having to uber back to Pop.


----------



## ckb_nc

It will be interesting to go back after COVID. When lines that look long are well actually really long.


----------



## WEDWDW

ckb_nc said:


> It will be interesting to go back after COVID. When lines that look long are well actually really long.


But it could also be deceiving-after seeing Pan lines go through Columbia Harbour House,the "normal,non Social Distanced Pan line" will look SHORT!lol


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

WEDWDW said:


> But it could also be deceiving-after seeing Pan lines go through Columbia Harbour House,the "normal,non Social Distanced Pan line" will look SHORT!lol


It will _look _short, but take an hour.


----------



## csmom

DavidNYC said:


> How has it been lately getting into Disney Springs around dinner time?  Heading to S. Florida for a few weeks and considering driving up to Orlando one night (would be a Thursday).
> Any recent reports on parking or going through whatever entrance lines they currently have?
> Deciding if it’s worth it or if we’d get there and spend half our night in lines.


We were at Disney 2/15 -2/19 (President's Day week). We had dinner reservations in Disney Springs each evening. We parked in the Lime Garage each day, plenty of parking spots available on the top 2 floors. The line for security/temp check went quickly and smoothly - never took us more than a couple minutes to get through, even though Disney Springs itself seemed very crowded each evening.


----------



## bookgirl2632

I have heard that they are letting people into the parks earlier than the posted time.  For those that have been recently, what time were you let into each park?


----------



## DavidNYC

csmom said:


> We were at Disney 2/15 -2/19 (President's Day week). We had dinner reservations in Disney Springs each evening. We parked in the Lime Garage each day, plenty of parking spots available on the top 2 floors. The line for security/temp check went quickly and smoothly - never took us more than a couple minutes to get through, even though Disney Springs itself seemed very crowded each evening.



Thanks - if that's what we hit that'll be fine!!!  I'd suspect late March would be a little lighter as the spring breaks are spread out a bit more (and we've past almost all college breaks and it's not easter week yet).  I mostly wanted to know people have been able to park and have tolerable lines to get in.  Just going to have dinner and wander and eat and get a little bit of Disney until we feel ready to head to the parks again.  (We may try Blizzard Beach on Friday - we have so many old non-expiring hopper tickets with tons of those plusses left on them which we literally won't use up in the next decade so figure even if we go for an hour or two it'll be fine).


----------



## scrappinginontario

bookgirl2632 said:


> I have heard that they are letting people into the parks earlier than the posted time.  For those that have been recently, what time were you let into each park?


Approx. 45 mins before park opening.


----------



## DisneyJade

bookgirl2632 said:


> I have heard that they are letting people into the parks earlier than the posted time.  For those that have been recently, what time were you let into each park?


Last week, we saw parks open 45 minutes early and an hour early. On the days it was an hour early, the rides did not open right away, but you could get in line.


----------



## DisneyJade

I tracked our daily accomplishments, transportation times and ride wait times last week, but it was too much for this thread, I think, so I made a mini trip report, all in one post, with time stamps. Hope it is helpful to someone!


----------



## Stormtrooper mum

DisneyJade said:


> Last week, we saw parks open 45 minutes early and an hour early. On the days it was an hour early, the rides did not open right away, but you could get in line.


Which parks?   Thanks!


----------



## DisneyJade

Stormtrooper mum said:


> Which parks?   Thanks!


45 minutes early at DHS
60 minutes early at AK
45 min early at MK Monday
60 min early at MK Friday 
Not sure about Epcot, because we missed opening. Still got in before 11:00 official time.


----------



## Stormtrooper mum

DisneyJade said:


> 45 minutes early at DHS
> 60 minutes early at AK
> 45 min early at MK Monday
> 60 min early at MK Friday
> Not sure about Epcot, because we missed opening. Still got in before 11:00 official time.



So helpful thank you!


----------



## Wood Nymph

bookgirl2632 said:


> I have heard that they are letting people into the parks earlier than the posted time.  For those that have been recently, what time were you let into each park?


We entered both MK and AK more than 30 minutes early. Some rides were running already but some weren't open yet.


----------



## Orion Nebula

2/27 - 3/5

Thoughts and experiences on our trip;

It's crowded... social distancing in my experience was pretty much impossible even outside of choke points. This held true for all parks with the exception of Epcot _outside_ of the World Showcase. But we went on March 3rd so it made complete sense. As far as "safety" things didn't seem so bad. Sanitizing stations were at the start and end of all attractions, although some were empty. The line markers were MOSTLY followed, either some people were too dumb to know what they were or just didn't care. But with those and some of the dividers it didn't feel totally unsafe when waiting. Masks were mostly being worn correctly, I saw some noses and a few people eating / drinking while on the move. But it was better than I expected. I did hear a few CS's warn people also so that was nice. The buses also seemed decent, the partitioning of families did slow things down but it did make you feel a bit safer. 

I stayed at the Coronado and it was night and day from my first stay. And nothing had anything to do with Covid. CS was heavily lacking, even their "cheerfulness" just wasn't there. The building I stayed at (Cabana's) needed some TLC, the room was suspect on being clean & things were broken. For instance there were dead bugs on the floor. A "nose thing" stuck on the tub and a large wrapper left in the shower shelf. Topped off by the towel hooks just falling off onto the floor (I hammered them back on with a shoe). So did they vacuum the room and clean the shower (doubt it)? Also the ice machine was down, soda machine broken, lights either burned out or missing panels in the hallways. Oh and our fridge broken... Might as well mention the room issue also. We requested two connecting rooms as it would've made it easier with having special needs kids. We didn't get it and instead had a room between the two. We called the desk and politely asked them if we could move. They told us that the room between us was already occupied and could not. If it was in fact occupied it was done so by a ghost family. As the curtains were not closed and the room was empty... we glanced in day after day and no one occupied it. So either the desk person was "confused" or straight lied so they didn't have to deal with it.

First stay at Coronado A+
Second stay - Nope, never again

Park wise outside of being crowded they were fine. On Monday my wife tried as the clocked changed to get a BG and failed. I felt REALLY bad for her as she was dressed up for that day and super excited. But it happens, I mean I didn't expect a March 1st to be so impossible but that's how it's going these days. HOWEVER she did the same thing as the clock struck 1pm and amazingly we got one. And it was kind of neat to hear everyone around us cheering at that very moment. The ride also lived up to the hype.  

One kind of let down was the heat though, Sat - Mon it was upper 80s. I never really was fond of wearing a mask at near 90 degrees. It's also one of the main reasons I wanted to go late Feb / early March. But it fall into the 70s Tue-Fri at least.

Oh and side note... I found it a bit amusing that during cavalcades people packed the sides shoulder to shoulder still. Obviously it isn't like the normal parades but it still was a bit weird. 

We overall minus the Coronado had a good trip and don't regret going though. I would do it all over again if given the choice but I would pick a different resort. I think the entire place now centers around GDT and it gets the most TLC. Another "complaint" which might seem weird to some is that I don't like the original lobby removed from the "main" entrance. They tossed in a bland long hallway to connect them but it makes it feel like they are two different resorts.


----------



## a_ashbiez

We were there last week 2/28-3/6

Lines were long, but move quickly! 7DMT was the only line that seemed to go on forever.
Many attractions with 10-15 minute wait times were actually walk-on... it just took that long to get through the extended and winding queues 

Weather was great - last 2 mornings a little chilly, but that just gave us an excuse to buy Disney sweaters!

Overall.... I felt safer being in Disney than I do running to Target. Mask compliance was great, of course there are always exceptions. My kiddo would make loud comments about it when she spotted it.  But as a whole, I saw less noses than I do at the grocery store.

Mobile ordering was great - way better than standing in lines behind people who don't know what to order.
Eating at table service restaurants felt safest for us. And it had been over a year since eating in a restaurant!

Crowds were okay. The bottlenecks in MK and HS were rough.
Epcot was the worst in WS. We went on the first day of F&G (just how plans worked out) and it was a mess. You couldn't move through the countries near the entrance to Future World. We actually abandoned our plans for the day and went back to the hotel at about 3:30 because it was so crowded and uncomfortable.

But the magic is definitely still there. We encountered so many kind and sweet cast members. They all still acknowledged my daughter's birthday button. And it was just a great break from reality


----------



## TinkSassy

tanyaandallie said:


> [QUOTE="TinkSassy, post: 62752638, member: 223905"
> 
> Sunday I went to AK - I had to loop a few times as I was early to park.  Was allowed to line up for parking at 8:05 and they started letting us park at 8:15.  Security was open when we got there and we breezed right through.  FOP was a quick walk on and then I waited 30 minutes to get on Navi River.  From there it was just after 9 and official open so went to Safari and waited 15 minutes the. I did the trails in that area and around to Everest which was about another 15 minutes.  I had put in my lunch at around 10 for a noon return and it was close so headed to Satouli. Stopped and added to the Nomad list on the way.  Was served quickly and enjoyed patio seating then back to Nomad go a drink on the water.  After the break I made another round of Everest Bugs Safari and FOP with the longest line being FOP at 30
> Minutes.  Skipped Navi as that showed 75 and from my earlier wait that looked accurate.  Crowds were bad midday but early at ripe drop and after 2 very manageable.



So 9 am open and they don't even open the parking lot til 815?  But once you got parked the tapstiles were open and they were not holding you?  You just tapped in and went straight to fop??  Trying to figure this out for my sis but I have not been during covid so am reading up!
[/QUOTE]
Correct - they start letting you line up to park about 1 hour prior to open.  Then about 45 minutes to open they start parking.  Security was always open when we arrived from the parking area and was easy to navigate.  I carry a bag and was asked to keep my phone and umbrella out in front of me and walk through (saw some external chargers being flagged as well).  We were behind the first buses from the resorts at AK but still not a bad crowd.  I walked right on FOP and could have done a second run at about 10 minutes.


----------



## Leigh L

TinkSassy said:


> So 9 am open and they don't even open the parking lot til 815?  But once you got parked the tapstiles were open and they were not holding you?  You just tapped in and went straight to fop??  Trying to figure this out for my sis but I have not been during covid so am reading up!


Correct - they start letting you line up to park about 1 hour prior to open.  Then about 45 minutes to open they start parking.  Security was always open when we arrived from the parking area and was easy to navigate.  I* carry a bag and was asked to keep my phone and umbrella out in front of me and walk through (saw some external chargers being flagged as well). * We were behind the first buses from the resorts at AK but still not a bad crowd.  I walked right on FOP and could have done a second run at about 10 minutes.
[/QUOTE]
Great point! This will definitely help speed through. DD was flagged a number of times for her chargers before we realized what was triggering it. 

Also to mention, if you carry eyeglass cases (I switch my prescription sunglasses on and off a lot while in the parks), this will also result in a bag search. You don't have to open your case but just hold it out as far as you can in front of you as you go through the scanners.


----------



## hes122

I just got back from a 3/3-3/7 split stay between Pop Century & Coronado Springs.

Some of my observations:

Crowds- some areas (WS and FL come to mind) were much worse than others. When they got beyond our comfort levels, we removed ourselves from the situation and moved on to other things.
Mask wearing- only saw a few CMs have to correct guests about it. IMO, it was much worse in the airports than at Disney. Disposable masks are so much more comfortable/breathable for park days than the cloth ones.
Mobile ordering- love it! When we were there last only a few places were participating, so it was great that we could use that option pretty much everywhere.
Bussing- The busses seemed to be coming less often than before but in the grand scheme of things, it's no big deal. We still got to where we were going in plenty of time to do what we wanted.
As someone who has been working from home with some sporadic trips to the office this past year, I was surprised at how much my calves hurt the first few nights.


----------



## houseful of boys

Heading down tomorrow from Ohio. We have a park reservation at AK on Friday and I noticed tonight that they expanded hours again and it’s now opening at 7am. Has anyone had a post Covid experience with an early opening like that and if they still open 45 minutes early? So we should be in line to park by 6am?


----------



## Makmak

houseful of boys said:


> Heading down tomorrow from Ohio. We have a park reservation at AK on Friday and I noticed tonight that they expanded hours again and it’s now opening at 7am. Has anyone had a post Covid experience with an early opening like that and if they still open 45 minutes early? So we should be in line to park by 6am?


Yes on a 7am open  we went at 6 with Lyft, saw guard at cones making ppl circle, I told the driver go really really slow.....we rolled up exactly at 6 and were let in, dropped off and walked through the awesome easy security and into the park with very few people


----------



## CTDisneygal

hes122 said:


> I just got back from a 3/3-3/7 split stay between Pop Century & Coronado Springs.
> 
> As someone who has been working from home with some sporadic trips to the office this past year, I was surprised at how much my calves hurt the first few nights.


I bet. Ive started to pay extra attention to getting steps in (in preparation). My calves hurt and i only added about 5k steps (walking in circles around my pool. lol)


----------



## Naomeri

CTDisneygal said:


> I bet. Ive started to pay extra attention to getting steps in (in preparation). My calves hurt and i only added about 5k steps (walking in circles around my pool. lol)


Have you added any stretching exercises?  On my January 2020 trip, I was nearly crippled because my calf muscles were so tight, but in the 2 months leading up to my October 2020 trip, I started working on stretching out my legs and didn’t have any trouble on my trip (other than blisters, but that’s a different story)


----------



## smallsy

Makmak said:


> Yes on a 7am open  we went at 6 with Lyft, saw guard at cones making ppl circle, I told the driver go really really slow.....we rolled up exactly at 6 and were let in, dropped off and walked through the awesome easy security and into the park with very few people


Did you book your Lyft the night before? I'm hoping our hours will be extended like this because we don't do late nights but love early mornings!


----------



## hes122

CTDisneygal said:


> I bet. Ive started to pay extra attention to getting steps in (in preparation). My calves hurt and i only added about 5k steps (walking in circles around my pool. lol)


In hindsight, I wish I would've done that.


----------



## Makmak

smallsy said:


> Did you book your Lyft the night before? I'm hoping our hours will be extended like this because we don't do late nights but love early mornings!


We booked the Lyft that morning. We have booked night before once and ironically that Lyft was late.


----------



## wilkydelts

houseful of boys said:


> Heading down tomorrow from Ohio. We have a park reservation at AK on Friday and I noticed tonight that they expanded hours again and it’s now opening at 7am. Has anyone had a post Covid experience with an early opening like that and if they still open 45 minutes early? So we should be in line to park by 6am?



That day is super odd now because it doesn't match the trend at all now. It is still 12 hours but 7a-7p not 8a-8p like all the others.


----------



## BarbLynnM

Naomeri said:


> Have you added any stretching exercises?  On my January 2020 trip, I was nearly crippled because my calf muscles were so tight, but in the 2 months leading up to my October 2020 trip, I started working on stretching out my legs and didn’t have any trouble on my trip (other than blisters, but that’s a different story)



Good to see I'm not the only one who trains for Disney. We're going in June, so I've already ramped up on the treadmill.


----------



## Kitty & Covs Covs

BarbLynnM said:


> Good to see I'm not the only one who trains for Disney. We're going in June, so I've already ramped up on the treadmill.


You have to train!! The amount of steps you take in Disney is insane compared to an average day, even with exercise!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Kitty & Covs Covs said:


> You have to train!! The amount of steps you take in Disney is insane compared to an average day, even with exercise!



With the extended park hours we did 25k steps each day Fri/Sat and 30k steps Sun. Arrival day with no parks and Departure day (Epcot) was 16k each. 

A note on Epcot yesterday: I was expecting it to be a bit quieter since it was a Monday but NOPE. Starting at 11:30 lines built for the food booths and we were carded for alcohol (we’re in our mid-30s)  Didn’t have any trouble finding a place to eat though, there was always at least 1 free table or bench in the area. Much better than F&W last Sept and that was with 1/2 the crowds so not sure if they added tables or we just got lucky. We left WS around 2:30 to do some rides before we had to head to the airport. Test Track posted 45 waited 20. Great day with beautiful weather and delicious food!

Now we’re back home  Any specific questions?


----------



## Orion Nebula

Naomeri said:


> Have you added any stretching exercises?  On my January 2020 trip, I was nearly crippled because my calf muscles were so tight, but in the 2 months leading up to my October 2020 trip, I started working on stretching out my legs and didn’t have any trouble on my trip (other than blisters, but that’s a different story)



I always take a wide roll of sports tape and put it on all of the places my feet tend to rub. Not much worse than a blister.


----------



## Thomasboys

BarbLynnM said:


> Good to see I'm not the only one who trains for Disney. We're going in June, so I've already ramped up on the treadmill.



I've upped my step count in preparation for our trip and have been using my standing desk at work a lot more than I usually do.  We have a nine day trip, and I know if I don't get used to being on my feet a LOT, it won't feel great once we are there.


----------



## Orion Nebula

butterscotchcollins said:


> With the extended park hours we did 25k steps each day Fri/Sat and 30k steps Sun. Arrival day with no parks and Departure day (Epcot) was 16k each.
> 
> A note on Epcot yesterday: I was expecting it to be a bit quieter since it was a Monday but NOPE. Starting at 11:30 lines built for the food booths and we were carded for alcohol (we’re in our mid-30s)  Didn’t have any trouble finding a place to eat though, there was always at least 1 free table or bench in the area. Much better than F&W last Sept and that was with 1/2 the crowds so not sure if they added tables or we just got lucky. We left WS around 2:30 to do some rides before we had to head to the airport. Test Track posted 45 waited 20. Great day with beautiful weather and delicious food!
> 
> Now we’re back home  Any specific questions?



I went last week and my top day was at MK which clocked in at 18k steps... what are you guys doing to hit 30k?


----------



## Kitty & Covs Covs

butterscotchcollins said:


> Now we’re back home  Any specific questions?



I'd love to hear more about transportation and timing--especially at RD and at close.  That's our biggest unknown right now--we leave Friday and will be in the parks Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.


----------



## mdgineok

CTDisneygal said:


> I bet. Ive started to pay extra attention to getting steps in (in preparation). My calves hurt and i only added about 5k steps (walking in circles around my pool. lol)



Same, my legs were aching as well. Here are our trip step counts:

Fri, MK (arrival day) -19,413
Sat  AK - 19,195
Sun MK - 26,188
Mon HS - 20,107
Tues AK (Departure day) - 23,187

Mark in MN


----------



## auntlynne

Kitty & Covs Covs said:


> I'd love to hear more about transportation and timing--especially at RD and at close.  That's our biggest unknown right now--we leave Friday and will be in the parks Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.



Which resort? Or off-site? Have car?


----------



## Mzpalmtree

I amp up my step count before our trip as well and have been doing pretty well hitting 12000-15000 consistently at home. Our last trip was over Christmas/NYE and our highest day was just under 38000. It was over first day. We tend to overdo things


----------



## hereforthechurros

Mzpalmtree said:


> I amp up my step count before our trip as well and have been doing pretty well hitting 12000-15000 consistently at home. Our last trip was over Christmas/NYE and our highest day was just under 38000. It was over first day. We tend to overdo things


That’s like, 16+ miles of walking. We’ve done 16 hour days and still only hit half of that. I think the most we ever hit was 10 miles. Hard to trust pedometer accuracy!


----------



## Spaghetti Cat

Orion Nebula said:


> I always take a wide roll of sports tape and put it on all of the places my feet tend to rub. Not much worse than a blister.



"wide roll of sports"!
I remember when they had a "Wide World of Sports" with the thrill of victory and the agony of de-feet.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Spaghetti Cat said:


> "wide roll of sports"!
> I remember when they had a "Wide World of Sports" with the thrill of victory and the agony of de-feet.


That's totally what I read too!


----------



## scrappinginontario

hereforthechurros said:


> That’s like, 16+ miles of walking. We’ve done 16 hour days and still only hit half of that. I think the most we ever hit was 10 miles. Hard to trust pedometer accuracy!


It really depends on how you tour WDW.  We tend to go back and forth in a park a lot so can clock a lot of steps.


----------



## Mzpalmtree

hereforthechurros said:


> That’s like, 16+ miles of walking. We’ve done 16 hour days and still only hit half of that. I think the most we ever hit was 10 miles. Hard to trust pedometer accuracy!


I think it was accurate because my Fitbit and my son’s Apple Watch had similar step counts. The hours were long then and we walked a lot . We also walked to the park and back a few times (staying at GF) and to Poly and back.


----------



## Tasmen

CTDisneygal said:


> I bet. Ive started to pay extra attention to getting steps in (in preparation). My calves hurt and i only added about 5k steps (walking in circles around my pool. lol)



This going from sedentary to "Most Magical place ow my legs" is real.  I've started walking again in prep for the trip next month.


----------



## Leigh L

Mzpalmtree said:


> I think it was accurate because my Fitbit and my son’s Apple Watch had similar step counts. The hours were long then and we walked a lot . We also walked to the park and back a few times (staying at GF) and to Poly and back.


We hit similar steps! Our higher days are usually MK ones.  On our recent trip, on 2/18 we hit 33,996 steps (visiting MK, DHS, EP, and back to MK that day). Our second highest was about 29K I think with no hopping and staying at MK (and offsite house so no resort walking).

DD14 is always complaining my step count is higher by about 2,000 steps (we both use our Samsung phone app). I am about 3-4 inches shorter than she is so I tell her I'm doing more steps because of my little legs lol.


----------



## HockeyMomNH

My record day is just over 60K steps.  I started with the Princess Half Marathon and then did all four parks after. Lol!  My DD insisted that we walk from DHS to EP that day.  I think that she was trying to kill me.


----------



## Naomeri

HockeyMomNH said:


> My record day is just over 60K steps.  I started with the Princess Half Marathon and then did all four parks after. Lol!  My DD insisted that we walk from DHS to EP that day.  I think that she was trying to kill me.


My legs hurt just reading your post


----------



## aljack34

Just got off an hour long wait with tickets.  I was trying to add PH to my tickets for next week.  They are saying you cannot add Park Hoppers to existing tickets IF the parks are at capacity.  Just thought I would let people know in case they were waiting to add Park Hoppers.  If the parks are at capacity, you cannot add the Park Hopper option.  You can also not add a day of tickets if your start date is on a day where the parks are at capacity.  I tried to add another day to the end of the trip where there is availability and it still is not allowed because the previous days I have reserved are at capacity.


----------



## Tasmen

aljack34 said:


> Just got off an hour long wait with tickets.  I was trying to add PH to my tickets for next week.  They are saying you cannot add Park Hoppers to existing tickets IF the parks are at capacity.  Just thought I would let people know in case they were waiting to add Park Hoppers.  If the parks are at capacity, you cannot add the Park Hopper option.  You can also not add a day of tickets if your start date is on a day where the parks are at capacity.  I tried to add another day to the end of the trip where there is availability and it still is not allowed because the previous days I have reserved are at capacity.



Ouch.  I get why they are doing that but still... ouch


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

aljack34 said:


> Just got off an hour long wait with tickets.  I was trying to add PH to my tickets for next week.  They are saying you cannot add Park Hoppers to existing tickets IF the parks are at capacity.  Just thought I would let people know in case they were waiting to add Park Hoppers.  If the parks are at capacity, you cannot add the Park Hopper option.  You can also not add a day of tickets if your start date is on a day where the parks are at capacity.  I tried to add another day to the end of the trip where there is availability and it still is not allowed because the previous days I have reserved are at capacity.


That is interesting, considering the parks being at capacity hasn't stopped anyone from hopping as of yet.


----------



## aljack34

ENJDisneyFan said:


> That is interesting, considering the parks being at capacity hasn't stopped anyone from hopping as of yet.


It appears if you had Park hoppers BEFORE they hit capacity, you are ok.  If you are trying to ADD park hoppers now that they have reached capacity, they are not allowing you to do it.  So you can park hop if you had the park hoppers before it hit capacity. No problem there.  It's adding the park hoppers to your tickets when they are at capacity that they are not allowing.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

aljack34 said:


> It appears if you had Park hoppers BEFORE they hit capacity, you are ok.  If you are trying to ADD park hoppers now that they have reached capacity, they are not allowing you to do it.  So you can park hop if you had the park hoppers before it hit capacity. No problem there.  It's adding the park hoppers to your tickets when they are at capacity that they are not allowing.


Yeah I realize that... still find it interesting.  Disney isn’t normally in the business of turning down money


----------



## aljack34

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Yeah I realize that... still find it interesting.  Disney isn’t normally in the business of turning down money


I am practically begging them to take mine and they don't want it !!!


----------



## happilyeverfirstgrade

aljack34 said:


> I am practically begging them to take mine and they don't want it !!!



I'm so confused.  If there is park availability for the day after your trip why can't you add that and stay an extra day??  THAT is the one that makes NO sense to me. Weird


----------



## aljack34

happilyeverfirstgrade said:


> I'm so confused.  If there is park availability for the day after your trip why can't you add that and stay an extra day??  THAT is the one that makes NO sense to me. Weird


I have 3 days of tickets next week starting the 16th.  I am going the 16, 18, and 19th.  There is no availability at any park for those days anymore.  I tried to add the park hopper to my tickets and they said no.  Then I tried to add another day to my ticket, making it a 4 day ticket, and adding the 20th, which has availability.  They cannot work the system to add that day because they are at capacity on my other three days.  I do  not understand that at all either!


----------



## happilyeverfirstgrade

Yeah that's crazy to me.  You already have reservations for the full days and you want to add a day that has availability so I don't see the problem. Crazy.  Sorry maybe once you get there someone will help and you and add it for you.


----------



## Lizgistix

DMLAINI said:


> Has anyone been to The Flower & Garden Festival today & can tell me where to get the giftcard you put on your wrist?  Also can you use a giftcard to purchase it (we've got a lot of giftcards to use)?



I bought mine at the gift shop at International Gateway. I couldn't use a MagicBand, I had to use the physical credit card that's linked on it. No word about paying for a gift card with a gift card. Minimum amount is $15.


----------



## Lizgistix

I'm here now! I've been here since Monday and leave Thursday. Been staying at the Yacht Club where I was given a club level water view room. 

Too bad the club level lounge isn't open. 

But anyway, Spice Road Table is a hidden gem. Food and service was fabulous. I ate too much at Ale and Compass tonight. The bacon jam with the Parker Rolls wasn't a hit for me. I've been to Epcot briefly and Hollywood Studios. It felt crowded but I only waited 60 minutes tops for anything.


----------



## mickey+minnie91

Tasmen said:


> This going from sedentary to "Most Magical place ow my legs" is real.  I've started walking again in prep for the trip next month.


 SAME. Ive been working from home and havent been walking much. We are going in June and have started increasing my walking to help prepare!


----------



## brockash

Just a bit of a run down of our time so far, as todays our sleep in day with Epcot.

3/9 -DHS

We're at CBR; tried for boarding pass right at 7 - we have terrible reception here both wifi and data (verizon) - we left the room, went in 3 different directions and none of us got in (we've done this 2 other trips at the 10am time with no issues) - there were a few other ppl out and it appeared none of them got in either, so keep that in mind if you're staying at CBR.  - We're in Aruba area.
In line for skyliner at 705 and were the 6th family in line.  - Line quickly grew.  Around 740 they opened the gates and they pulled the first 7 families up into the main line to board.  There we waited until almost 8...at some point Pop ppl started arriving and they pulled the first 10 families or so of them to a parallel line next to us to board.  Right around 8 they started board- alternating between groups right from the start.  As we arrived at DHS, walkers were already there and some buses, but no cars.  We waited about 18 groups back for temp check which started at 815.  
We went straight to Slinky (walk on), ToT- 20 mins., RnR 15 mins. - by now it was a bit after 9 and lines really started to get long.  We did TSM - 35 min wait, AS 25 min wait., Star Tours 25 min wait, got in line for muppets, but after 25 mins and seeing how much further we had, we all looked at each other and said it Muppets why are waiting this long and bailed.  I had put in a mobile order to try the grilled cheese at Woodys and it was finally ready, so we went there and sat at a table, ate, and rested for a while (youngest took a nap in the stroller.)  It was a much needed break as it was realky busy.  We had a 1255 reservation at Scifi, so eventually headed over.  Right before 1, we pulled over and tried again for a boarding pass and got 105.  We ate at scifi, then did MMRR with about a 40 min wait.  We then did Rise with about a 55 min wait.  Then we tried to do frozen but 31 mins prior to next show, the line was spilling out into the outside of the line so we passed.  We did the vacation video thing with a 2 min wait (really not impressed at all, but somewhere to sit for 10 mins, but won't do it again.)  We then went to scoops. found a table and had some ice cream.  My oldest went to go look in shops while my youngest and I went to stand in line for RnR.  Ended up waiting around 40 mins.  We then went to do TOT - posted 65 mins., went to 70 as we were in line, but then back down to 60.  We ended up waiting 111 mins. for this - totally insane.  I have no idea where they came up with there 60-70 min mark, it was nowhere near that.  I'm sure we hit a cleaning cycle at some point as we were in line for close to 2 hrs, but to be off that much???  ToT seems to be pain stakingly slow at all times right now.  Even in the morning it took a while considering where the line started.  For reference, that evening we started back in Fantasmic area and looped around quite a bit back there - the line built fast when we were there in the am as well, as by the time we got done with our first ride (before official park open) the line was already starting back in Fantasmic.  My daughters rode TSM and MMRR in the evening while we were waiting for TOT and still had time to meet us in line.  Close to 8 and we were in the very long line for skyliner - went back into walking path for Epcot.  It moved quickly and we were on skyliner in about 25 mins.

Mon. was AK and MK (I'll do a report on that a lil later.)  Todays Epcot and Thursday is MK.

Takeaways so far;

weather- so much colder and windier than I expected or wanted, but it's getting better lol.

CBR: We stayed before and said we wouldn't be back, but with PO c)osed andctye skyliner, we caved lol.  It's been ok, CMs very nice, skyliner acceess great, but reception is rough and honestly we're getting sick of all thecwalking and again how spread out it is.

Parks: Busy, but seem more manageable than whe, we were here during fall break in Oct.  I think partly due to it not being so crazy hot, partly because transportation has been so much better here as opposed to AKL (getting in parks 45 mins prior as opposed to 20 makes a huge difference,) and the extended hrs have been helpful.

SD and eating in lines:  SD - ehh, we feel like it was better in Oct...more ppl. have not been stopping on their marks behind us this trip.  Eating in lines - honestly no different than Oct., except that every once in a while you'll see a cm say something to someone about it (happened twice that I've seen so far, both were yesterday and neither time did it have any effect.)  One time a lady went to ask the cm at the front of STours where the line startes.  She had a frozen lemonade thing in her hand (wasn't opened though - no idea if it was full/empty etc.)  The cm durected her to the end, but not before telling her that she couldn't eat in line.  The lady just kinda looked at her and said I just asked where the end of the line was and walked off...not sure what happened from there.  The other time was at mmrr...a family was eating ice cream and a cm said something, the dad got out of line and went a spoke to the cm...not sure what was said, it didn't seem rude etc, but then the family went back to eating...just as many others were around them.  I know I'll get flamed on here for saying it, but I don't think there should be an issue with eating in the outside cues.  You're already sd - honestly much more than most who are sitting on the side somewhere and I do feel that it's kinda unreasonable to think ppl. and kids can't eat/drink anything while walkinf around winding outdoor cues for 30-60 mins. and then take more time out of their day to go find a place to sit each time they want to snack/eat.  It is what it is and I know many on hear think those who do are the devil, but just to give the experience of what I saw...I don’t think I saw 1 line yesterday (other than first thing in the am beforw park was opened) where there weren't ppl eating and drinking in outdoor lines.  I never saw it once we were indoors but saw it constantly outdoors.  At the tot lines ppl. were straight walking into the line past 2 cms with masks totally off and bowls of ice cream in their hands...nothing was said.  I'm on the lower mid end in terms of Covid consciousness- wear a mask every day for work and always mask when I'm out and about, don't feel comfortable with super tight spaces, but not hugely concerned.  Honestly I'm not sure how someone whos more covid conscious would hand)e Disney right now as it's just not super distanced anywhere eyc.

I'll be back to report more later..any specific questions I'm happy to answer.


----------



## lnR_Texas

brockash said:


> Just a bit of a run down of our time so far, as todays our sleep in day with Epcot.
> 
> 3/9 -DHS
> 
> We're at CBR; tried for boarding pass right at 7 - we have terrible reception here both wifi and data (verizon) - we left the room, went in 3 different directions and none of us got in (we've done this 2 other trips at the 10am time with no issues) - there were a few other ppl out and it appeared none of them got in either, so keep that in mind if you're staying at CBR.  - We're in Aruba area.
> In line for skyliner at 705 and were the 6th family in line.  - Line quickly grew.  Around 740 they opened the gates and they pulled the first 7 families up into the main line to board.  There we waited until almost 8...at some point Pop ppl started arriving and they pulled the first 10 families or so of them to a parallel line next to us to board.  Right around 8 they started board- alternating between groups right from the start.  As we arrived at DHS, walkers were already there and some buses, but no cars.  We waited about 18 groups back for temp check which started at 815.
> We went straight to Slinky (walk on), ToT- 20 mins., RnR 15 mins. - by now it was a bit after 9 and lines really started to get long.  We did TSM - 35 min wait, AS 25 min wait., Star Tours 25 min wait, got in line for muppets, but after 25 mins and seeing how much further we had, we all looked at each other and said it Muppets why are waiting this long and bailed.  I had put in a mobile order to try the grilled cheese at Woodys and it was finally ready, so we went there and sat at a table, ate, and rested for a while (youngest took a nap in the stroller.)  It was a much needed break as it was realky busy.  We had a 1255 reservation at Scifi, so eventually headed over.  Right before 1, we pulled over and tried again for a boarding pass and got 105.  We ate at scifi, then did MMRR with about a 40 min wait.  We then did Rise with about a 55 min wait.  Then we tried to do frozen but 31 mins prior to next show, the line was spilling out into the outside of the line so we passed.  We did the vacation video thing with a 2 min wait (really not impressed at all, but somewhere to sit for 10 mins, but won't do it again.)  We then went to scoops. found a table and had some ice cream.  My oldest went to go look in shops while my youngest and I went to stand in line for RnR.  Ended up waiting around 40 mins.  We then went to do TOT - posted 65 mins., went to 70 as we were in line, but then back down to 60.  We ended up waiting 111 mins. for this - totally insane.  I have no idea where they came up with there 60-70 min mark, it was nowhere near that.  I'm sure we hit a cleaning cycle at some point as we were in line for close to 2 hrs, but to be off that much???  ToT seems to be pain stakingly slow at all times right now.  Even in the morning it took a while considering where the line started.  For reference, that evening we started back in Fantasmic area and looped around quite a bit back there - the line built fast when we were there in the am as well, as by the time we got done with our first ride (before official park open) the line was already starting back in Fantasmic.  My daughters rode TSM and MMRR in the evening while we were waiting for TOT and still had time to meet us in line.  Close to 8 and we were in the very long line for skyliner - went back into walking path for Epcot.  It moved quickly and we were on skyliner in about 25 mins.
> 
> Mon. was AK and MK (I'll do a report on that a lil later.)  Todays Epcot and Thursday is MK.
> 
> Takeaways so far;
> 
> weather- so much colder and windier than I expected or wanted, but it's getting better lol.
> 
> CBR: We stayed before and said we wouldn't be back, but with PO c)osed andctye skyliner, we caved lol.  It's been ok, CMs very nice, skyliner acceess great, but reception is rough and honestly we're getting sick of all thecwalking and again how spread out it is.
> 
> Parks: Busy, but seem more manageable than whe, we were here during fall break in Oct.  I think partly due to it not being so crazy hot, partly because transportation has been so much better here as opposed to AKL (getting in parks 45 mins prior as opposed to 20 makes a huge difference,) and the extended hrs have been helpful.
> 
> SD and eating in lines:  SD - ehh, we feel like it was better in Oct...more ppl. have not been stopping on their marks behind us this trip.  Eating in lines - honestly no different than Oct., except that every once in a while you'll see a cm say something to someone about it (happened twice that I've seen so far, both were yesterday and neither time did it have any effect.)  One time a lady went to ask the cm at the front of STours where the line startes.  She had a frozen lemonade thing in her hand (wasn't opened though - no idea if it was full/empty etc.)  The cm durected her to the end, but not before telling her that she couldn't eat in line.  The lady just kinda looked at her and said I just asked where the end of the line was and walked off...not sure what happened from there.  The other time was at mmrr...a family was eating ice cream and a cm said something, the dad got out of line and went a spoke to the cm...not sure what was said, it didn't seem rude etc, but then the family went back to eating...just as many others were around them.  I know I'll get flamed on here for saying it, but I don't think there should be an issue with eating in the outside cues.  You're already sd - honestly much more than most who are sitting on the side somewhere and I do feel that it's kinda unreasonable to think ppl. and kids can't eat/drink anything while walkinf around winding outdoor cues for 30-60 mins. and then take more time out of their day to go find a place to sit each time they want to snack/eat.  It is what it is and I know many on hear think those who do are the devil, but just to give the experience of what I saw...I don’t think I saw 1 line yesterday (other than first thing in the am beforw park was opened) where there weren't ppl eating and drinking in outdoor lines.  I never saw it once we were indoors but saw it constantly outdoors.  At the tot lines ppl. were straight walking into the line past 2 cms with masks totally off and bowls of ice cream in their hands...nothing was said.  I'm on the lower mid end in terms of Covid consciousness- wear a mask every day for work and always mask when I'm out and about, don't feel comfortable with super tight spaces, but not hugely concerned.  Honestly I'm not sure how someone whos more covid conscious would hand)e Disney right now as it's just not super distanced anywhere eyc.
> 
> I'll be back to report more later..any specific questions I'm happy to answer.


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


----------



## MomOTwins

aljack34 said:


> It appears if you had Park hoppers BEFORE they hit capacity, you are ok.  If you are trying to ADD park hoppers now that they have reached capacity, they are not allowing you to do it.  So you can park hop if you had the park hoppers before it hit capacity. No problem there.  It's adding the park hoppers to your tickets when they are at capacity that they are not allowing.


They are trying to close the Epcot loophole, where Epcot is the last to sell out so people who have no intention of spending time at Epcot book every day there, tap in, and go to MK or HS and cause overcrowding.  That will still happen to some degree, but it would happen a lot more if hoppers can be added once parks are full.



happilyeverfirstgrade said:


> I'm so confused.  If there is park availability for the day after your trip why can't you add that and stay an extra day??  THAT is the one that makes NO sense to me. Weird


It makes sense, actually, because Disney does not sell an option to add a specific day to a multi-day ticket. You can upgrade a 3 day to a 4 day but you are not adding a day so much as changing you ticket with different terms and usage windows.  A 3 day ticket has a 5 day window.  A 4 day ticket has a 7 day window.  To sell a 4 day ticket, they would need 4 days with park pass reservations in a 7-day window in order for the contract to not be illusory (invalid) which isn’t possible next week.  

You could always buy a 1day ticket for the extra day!that does have park passes, but that would not be very cost effective.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

MomOTwins said:


> They are trying to close the Epcot loophole, where Epcot is the last to sell out so people who have no intention of spending time at Epcot book every day there, tap in, and go to MK or HS and cause overcrowding. That will still happen to some degree, but it would happen a lot more if hoppers can be added once parks are full.


Good point!  I hadn't thought about that.


----------



## nickg420

MomOTwins said:


> They are trying to close the Epcot loophole, where Epcot is the last to sell out so people who have no intention of spending time at Epcot book every day there, tap in, and go to MK or HS and cause overcrowding.  That will still happen to some degree, but it would happen a lot more if hoppers can be added once parks are full.



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


----------



## czmom

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

Tuesday, March 9- MK

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


----------



## wilkydelts

nickg420 said:


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



Because it is the only way to get a different park. Go or do not go to EPCOT (except to tap in) so you can ACTUALLY go to a park. It is a simple choice if you want to go bad enough.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

nickg420 said:


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


The point is finding a way into DHS.  If someone plans a last minute trip and DHS isn’t available, hopping there after 2 is the only way in.


----------



## nickg420

wilkydelts said:


> Because it is the only way to get a different park. Go or do not go to EPCOT (except to tap in) so you can ACTUALLY go to a park. It is a simple choice if you want to go bad enough.


So the heck with anybody who may actually want to go to Epcot at all, as long as you get to do what YOU want to do it doesn't matter....How selfish can people be?



ENJDisneyFan said:


> The point is finding a way into DHS.  If someone plans a last minute trip and DHS isn’t available, hopping there after 2 is the only way in.



That would be why you see park availability before "planning a trip", in fact if you just show up with 0 plans I would suggest that really means you didn't plan at all. There's 0 reason anyone should accept people taking park reservations they aren't even going to use just to "reserve" the ability to PH to their desired park later. 

I mean come on....I can't be the only one that finds that to just be a total ****** move...


----------



## wilkydelts

nickg420 said:


> So the heck with anybody who may actually want to go to Epcot at all, as long as you get to do what YOU want to do it doesn't matter....How selfish can people be?



That is one flawed argument. A person pays for a Park Hopper ticket with intention to park hop. It does not matter how long they visit the first park because if they are leaving regardless.

1 Day Ticket to EPCOT (all day) = 1 Day PH Ticket to EPCOT (leave at 2p) then Choice = 1 Day PH Ticket to EPCOT (tap in) then Choice

That is not effecting anyone else.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

nickg420 said:


> So the heck with anybody who may actually want to go to Epcot at all, as long as you get to do what YOU want to do it doesn't matter....How selfish can people be?
> 
> 
> 
> That would be why you see park availability before "planning a trip", in fact if you just show up with 0 plans I would suggest that really means you didn't plan at all. There's 0 reason anyone should accept people taking park reservations they aren't even going to use just to "reserve" the ability to PH to their desired park later.
> 
> I mean come on....I can't be the only one that finds that to just be a total ****** move...


I wasn’t really arguing for or against it, just explaining why someone would do it.  But I guess if you’re paying for a park hopper I don’t really see the issue with it?  Anyways it’s a moot point because it sounds like Disney isn’t allowing it.


----------



## nickg420

wilkydelts said:


> That is one flawed argument. A person pays for a Park Hopper ticket with intention to park hop. It does not matter how long they visit the first park because if they are leaving regardless.
> 
> 1 Day Ticket to EPCOT (all day) = 1 Day PH Ticket to EPCOT (leave at 2p) then Choice = 1 Day PH Ticket to EPCOT (tap in) then Choice
> 
> That is not effecting anyone else.



But that's not what we are talking about.....

We are specifically talking about people who have 0 interest into actually going to Epcot AT ALL....So yes....They are in effect taking a spot from someone who DOES want to go to Epcot.

That's like saying buying a ticket to a sold out concert to just buy a poster and t-shirt and leaving doesn't effect anyone. Of course it does....You took a spot from someone who actually wanted to be there.


----------



## beesly




----------



## e_yerger

Lizgistix said:


> I'm here now! I've been here since Monday and leave Thursday. Been staying at the Yacht Club where I was given a club level water view room.
> 
> Too bad the club level lounge isn't open.
> 
> But anyway, *Spice Road Table is a hidden gem*. Food and service was fabulous. I ate too much at Ale and Compass tonight. The bacon jam with the Parker Rolls wasn't a hit for me. I've been to Epcot briefly and Hollywood Studios. It felt crowded but I only waited 60 minutes tops for anything.


This restaurant is wait list only right? How was your process eating there?


----------



## lovethattink

Friendly reminder that this thread is to talk about here now, just back. There is a park hopping sticky to discuss park hopping in more depth. If you have a recent experience in park hopping, you are welcome to share your experience here. Remember no arguing, and stick to DIS guidelines.


----------



## Tasmen

mickey+minnie91 said:


> SAME. Ive been working from home and havent been walking much. We are going in June and have started increasing my walking to help prepare!



Shame our bodies don't give us credit for the mousing muscles that got absolutely RIPPED while we were working from home, eh?


----------



## Kitty & Covs Covs

Lizgistix said:


> I bought mine at the gift shop at International Gateway. I couldn't use a MagicBand, I had to use the physical credit card that's linked on it. No word about paying for a gift card with a gift card. Minimum amount is $15.


How does this actually work? Despite having been to Epcot during Flower and Garden before I’ve never tried any of the food.  Do you need a wrist gift card to buy anything? What are the advantages if you don’t? (I think though you can’t charge to a Magic Band, right?)


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Orion Nebula said:


> I went last week and my top day was at MK which clocked in at 18k steps... what are you guys doing to hit 30k?



We walk really fast and did a lot of back and forth around the park, and park hopped! We also took the walking path to MK since we were staying at GF. We like walking! 



Kitty & Covs Covs said:


> I'd love to hear more about transportation and timing--especially at RD and at close.  That's our biggest unknown right now--we leave Friday and will be in the parks Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.



I was a little nervous about this before our trip as well because the buses can be notoriously slow but we had a surprisingly great experience.

Sat/Sun: At the bus stop at 7:45am to catch the bus to DHS (9am park open). Sat bus came at 8:05am, Sun it came at 7:50am. We did not have any issues getting into the park and right in line for a walk-on ride either day (Sat we did SDD with like a 5-minute wait but it was nice to not have to wait in line for temp check or security; Sun SDD was down so we walked all the way around to MFSR and the ride hadn't even started running yet.)
For hopping to other parks we waited max 8 minutes before a bus came.
For close we only took the bus once and waited about 15 mins for a bus back to GF from Epcot - we must've just missed one.
We did use Lyft a few times and it honestly was not any faster than the bus because for whatever reason we had to wait up to 15 mins for our driver to arrive. Save the money unless you have to go from Resort-to-Resort.

Note on the Skyliner: We did not take during peak times but did take to hop from DHS to Epcot on Sunday - total transportation time from park to park with walking and transfers was about 20 mins. Just something to keep in mind if you're planning to use it to hop, I thought it would be a shorter trip.



HockeyMomNH said:


> My record day is just over 60K steps.  I started with the Princess Half Marathon and then did all four parks after. Lol!  My DD insisted that we walk from DHS to EP that day.  I think that she was trying to kill me.



HOW??? Lol after I run a Half I want to lay down and not move for the rest of the day x.x


----------



## scrappinginontario

Kitty & Covs Covs said:


> How does this actually work? Despite having been to Epcot during Flower and Garden before I’ve never tried any of the food.  Do you need a wrist gift card to buy anything? What are the advantages if you don’t? (I think though you can’t charge to a Magic Band, right?)


If you have a MagicBand, yes you may pay with that if it's set up for charging.  Guests may also pay with cash or a credit card.

Some like to put money on a small gift card that attaches to their wrist.



It saves pulling out a credit card/cash each time and some also use it to keep themselves accountable to their food and drink budget.


----------



## happilyeverfirstgrade

MomOTwins said:


> They are trying to close the Epcot loophole, where Epcot is the last to sell out so people who have no intention of spending time at Epcot book every day there, tap in, and go to MK or HS and cause overcrowding.  That will still happen to some degree, but it would happen a lot more if hoppers can be added once parks are full.
> 
> 
> It makes sense, actually, because Disney does not sell an option to add a specific day to a multi-day ticket. You can upgrade a 3 day to a 4 day but you are not adding a day so much as changing you ticket with different terms and usage windows.  A 3 day ticket has a 5 day window.  A 4 day ticket has a 7 day window.  To sell a 4 day ticket, they would need 4 days with park pass reservations in a 7-day window in order for the contract to not be illusory (invalid) which isn’t possible next week.
> 
> You could always buy a 1day ticket for the extra day!that does have park passes, but that would not be very cost effective.


Now explained that way it does make much more sense.  Thank you


----------



## Kitty & Covs Covs

scrappinginontario said:


> If you have a MagicBand, yes you may pay with that if it's set up for charging.  Guests may also pay with cash or a credit card.
> 
> Some like to put money on a small gift card that attaches to their wrist.
> 
> View attachment 561718
> 
> It saves pulling out a credit card/cash each time and some also use it to keep themselves accountable to their food and drink budget.


Ohhh okay.  For some reason I thought you couldn’t pay with a Magic Band and that’s why people got the wrist gift card.  Thanks!


----------



## DMLAINI

I thought Na'vi River Journey got plexiglass & was loading every row.   Am I wrong?   I've been seeing super long waits for it this week.


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

Does anyone know if BTMRR is opening early with the earlier openings? In December when we went, it was not. We'll be there next week, trying to make a plan.


----------



## TestingH2O

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


----------



## butterscotchcollins

DMLAINI said:


> I thought Na'vi River Journey got plexiglass & was loading every row.   Am I wrong?   I've been seeing super long waits for it this week.



Nope, one party per boat and no plexi. It was, in a word, torture - the longest wait we had the entire time we were there.


----------



## Thomasboys

For the longer lines, was it difficult to figure out where they started?  Or do CM make it obvious with signs?





butterscotchcollins said:


> Nope, one party per boat and no plexi. It was, in a word, torture - the longest wait we had the entire time we were there.



I've noticed Navi has crazy wait times lately...it didn't occur to me they were only doing one party per boat.  No wonder the times have been so high!


----------



## Leigh L

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> Does anyone know if BTMRR is opening early with the earlier openings? In December when we went, it was not. We'll be there next week, trying to make a plan.


It was in both January and February. We rope dropped it twice in Feb. Splash has been closer to 9 for us, but we jumped down to Pirates (also iffy day by day) and then backtracked to Splash at 9.


----------



## Disney and the Dude

We got back Monday night from our 3 day trip at Poly!

Our trip actually started Friday night (3/5). We decided to add on an extra "night" and head up after we got off of work on Friday. We stayed at the Homewood Suites (Hilton) near Lake Buena Vista. It wasn't bad at all. They had breakfast included in the price for $127 a night (that's total after taxes and fees). The hotel was newer and the breakfast had some staff set up at different areas to help you get pancakes, eggs, proteins, and grits or oatmeal. It was all you care to eat too so that was nice. I have only 2 small complaints. We used expedia to buy the hotel night and when we checked in -  we went up to the room and it was a 2 Queen bed instead of the King we reserved. This was an easy fix - we called down to the desk and they had us come back down and rekeyed to a new room that was what we wanted. The other complaint was the bathroom was very "90s" and for a newer hotel I was surprised by this. The shower was older and looked like dingy fiberglass. Overall, small issues and it was just a "burner" room so we didn't have to get up so early and drive. We are only a couple hours away after all.

Saturday was check-in day at Poly. We used our points to reserve a Lake view room. I made sure to add 3rd floor requests when I originally made the reservations 6 months ago and put that it's our anniversary. We've only gone to Disney kid-free once before so we were really excited to enjoy a slower-paced and relaxing trip. Unfortunately, the weather was against us for our plans to lay around the pool all day (the high was 63 and post of the weekend stayed around that!! colder at night even. Great weather for the parks though!) so we changed plans and decided to go to the parks instead.  We drove up to Poly, dropped our bags off at Bell Services and they told us our room would be ready in a while - just to wait for the update on MDE. We decided to go to EPCOT for lunch at Via Napoli first. We had just missed the EPCOT bus though - as it pulled away when we walked up. Luckily the DHS bus was behind that - so we jumped on in. From DHS, we took the Skyliner to EPCOT and in through IG. Crowds were VERY heavy at EPCOT on Sunday. We were only able to ride Spaceship Earth and Figment. Soarin was a 80 min wait and Frozen was 90. We did notice this trip, compared to recent others, that wait times posted are definitely WAY more accurate now.


----------



## auntlynne

aljack34 said:


> I have 3 days of tickets next week starting the 16th.  I am going the 16, 18, and 19th.  There is no availability at any park for those days anymore.  I tried to add the park hopper to my tickets and they said no.  Then I tried to add another day to my ticket, making it a 4 day ticket, and adding the 20th, which has availability.  They cannot work the system to add that day because they are at capacity on my other three days.  I do  not understand that at all either!



Here’s what I see as their logic:

They would sell you a single day ticket for the 20th.

The problem with making it a four day is that it would include use for the 17th, too.  Which is sold out.  They will not sell you a ticket that includes usage on sold out days.


----------



## loves to dive

Disney and the Dude said:


> We got back Monday night from our 3 day trip at Poly!
> 
> Our trip actually started Friday night (3/5). We decided to add on an extra "night" and head up after we got off of work on Friday. We stayed at the Homewood Suites (Hilton) near Lake Buena Vista. It wasn't bad at all. They had breakfast included in the price for $127 a night (that's total after taxes and fees). The hotel was newer and the breakfast had some staff set up at different areas to help you get pancakes, eggs, proteins, and grits or oatmeal. It was all you care to eat too so that was nice. I have only 2 small complaints. We used expedia to buy the hotel night and when we checked in -  we went up to the room and it was a 2 Queen bed instead of the King we reserved. This was an easy fix - we called down to the desk and they had us come back down and rekeyed to a new room that was what we wanted. The other complaint was the bathroom was very "90s" and for a newer hotel I was surprised by this. The shower was older and looked like dingy fiberglass. Overall, small issues and it was just a "burner" room so we didn't have to get up so early and drive. We are only a couple hours away after all.
> 
> Saturday was check-in day at Poly. We used our points to reserve a Lake view room. I made sure to add 3rd floor requests when I originally made the reservations 6 months ago and put that it's our anniversary. We've only gone to Disney kid-free once before so we were really excited to enjoy a slower-paced and relaxing trip. Unfortunately, the weather was against us for our plans to lay around the pool all day (the high was 63 and post of the weekend stayed around that!! colder at night even. Great weather for the parks though!) so we changed plans and decided to go to the parks instead.  We drove up to Poly, dropped our bags off at Bell Services and they told us our room would be ready in a while - just to wait for the update on MDE. We decided to go to EPCOT for lunch at Via Napoli first. We had just missed the EPCOT bus though - as it pulled away when we walked up. Luckily the DHS bus was behind that - so we jumped on in. From DHS, we took the Skyliner to EPCOT and in through IG. Crowds were VERY heavy at EPCOT on Sunday. We were only able to ride Spaceship Earth and Figment. Soarin was a 80 min wait and Frozen was 90. We did notice this trip, compared to recent others, that wait times posted are definitely WAY more accurate now.



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


----------



## aljack34

auntlynne said:


> Here’s what I see as their logic:
> 
> They would sell you a single day ticket for the 20th.
> 
> The problem with making it a four day is that it would include use for the 17th, too.  Which is sold out.  They will not sell you a ticket that includes usage on sold out days.


It was a very exhausting transaction but after 8 CM's and 1 manager, they were able to add the park hoppers.  The CM's are not really trained as of  yet for the capacity situations so we had to wait for a call from a manager who was able to override the system.  So adding days and park hoppers are still doable but if the parks are at capacity, be prepared for a lot of jumping threw hoops to get it added.  At least for  now.  Maybe disney will fix this glitch in the system due to this.


----------



## auntlynne

aljack34 said:


> It was a very exhausting transaction but after 8 CM's and 1 manager, they were able to add the park hoppers.  The CM's are not really trained as of  yet for the capacity situations so we had to wait for a call from a manager who was able to override the system.  So adding days and park hoppers are still doable but if the parks are at capacity, be pretended for a lot jumping threw hoops to get it added.  At least for  now.  Maybe disney will fix this glitch in the system due to this.



Did they just upgrade to PHs or did they also add that 4th day?


----------



## aljack34

auntlynne said:


> Did they just upgrade to PHs or did they also add that 4th day?


We just upgraded to PHs. I didn't want to push my luck but I think while talking to the manager, he would have been able to do it.


----------



## auntlynne

Thomasboys said:


> For the longer lines, was it difficult to figure out where they started?  Or do CM make it obvious with signs?...



To me, it’s a challenge.  I head to the normal entrance and then walk the length of the queue to find the “end” or “start” or the line.  Sometimes it would be a shorter trip if approached from a different direction.  I’m looking at you, SDMT.  The only CM with the sign is where you jump into the line.


----------



## ckb_nc

Grumpy by Birth said:


> It will _look _short, but take an hour.



Or longer - yep. Oh that can't too long remember COVID?


----------



## Jen309

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


----------



## MomOTwins

Jen309 said:


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


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


----------



## LovesBelle

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


----------



## ReginaMBK

LovesBelle said:


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


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


----------



## e_yerger

ReginaMBK said:


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


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


----------



## MomOTwins

e_yerger said:


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


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

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


----------



## lovethattink

e_yerger said:


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



Both


----------



## hereforthechurros

nickg420 said:


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


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


----------



## brockash

lnR_Texas said:


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


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


----------



## Thomasboys

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


----------



## WIll C

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

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

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

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

I'll see how AK goes in the morning.


----------



## brockash

TestingH2O said:


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


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


----------



## brockash

Thomasboys said:


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


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


----------



## brockash

Jen309 said:


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


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


----------



## Naomeri

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

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


----------



## ReginaMBK

e_yerger said:


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


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


----------



## Lurkerin

czmom said:


> These reports have helped so much! I thought I’d share our day for those still planning.
> 
> Tuesday, March 9- MK
> 
> We left our room at VGF at 8 and were on the monorail to MK by 8:09. Park had recently opened when we arrived, and we were quickly through the tapstiles. We headed straight to 7DMT and were in line by 8:21. It took a few minutes for the line to move, but once it started we just kept moving. We rode mine train and then went to Peter Pan for a quick 5 min wait. After that, we walked on to small world. Quick rapunzel restroom break/snack break then right on haunted mansion. We made our way to BTMRR and got in line at 9:45, off the ride at 10:05. That’s about when the short lines ended. We went to POTC next, and it took about an hour total for wait time and ride time.
> 
> *One interesting thing we noticed is that on boats (small world, splash, potc) they are only seating 1 or maybe 2 small parties per boat, very spaced out. But on the coasters like mine train and btmrr they fill the cars.
> 
> After potc we sat at a table outside Casey’s to wait for friends. My daughter just finished a volleyball tournament here in Orlando, and was meeting teammates.
> 
> They got in line for Space mtn at noon with a posted 75 min wait, but were off the ride at 12:45. Next, we walked back to btmrr for a 20 min wait to ride. We ordered pecos bill while in line at big thunder, and the food was ready when we got there. Finding a table was tough....but we found one outside.
> 
> The girls really wanted to ride splash mountain next. It has been down all morning, but was running with a posted wait time of 105 min. We got in line at 2:05 and I took a picture of our ride photo at 3:53. Again....only seating 1 party per boat. The line was so long, the girls went and rode btmrr and came back to us still outside in line.
> 
> We got ice cream next and sat by country bears to eat, and watched a couple cavalcades go by. Then we went to haunted mansion for a short wait of maybe 15 min?? Next was small world with close to a 45 min wait. We got off exactly at 6:10 and booked it to skipper canteen for our ADR. First time eating there- yummy and very quick!! We were done by 7:00 and headed back to space mountain. The girls rode twice with 15-20 min waits each time. We took pictures by the castle lit up at 7:50 pm, then said goodbye and walked the sad walk back down Main Street. It was a very quick wait for the monorail, and we were back in our room at vgf by 8:25.
> 
> a FUN but long 12 hour day!! More crowded than expected, but we still did a lot. Happy to answer any questions



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

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

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

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

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


----------



## NashvilleMama

Naomeri said:


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


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


----------



## kathi

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


----------



## Disney and the Dude

loves to dive said:


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


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

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

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

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

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


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## czmom

Lurkerin said:


> We had very similar morning strategies on same day Tuesday 3/9 (which was at capacity).  We have younger kids so spent  more time on the slower rides .
> 
> We walked from CR at 7:45 and they started Scans at 8.  We were probably a little ahead of you in 7DMT and Pan.  Small World had not opened yet when we got off Pan.  We went to BTMR and walked on and then went to POTC as Splash was not open at 8:40.  Missed getting to that ride with the 2 hour down time.  Chalked it up to our luck again.  That ride is always being refurbed our down when we are there.
> 
> We met Grandparents at Buzz and it was 20 minutes.  Then walked to Ariel, Barnstormer, and Dumbo.  Dumbo was longest at 15.  At that point we grabbed some pretzels for a mask break. Headed BTMR again for Grandparents first ride, posted at 40, but we were through in 25.  And then to Carpets at 20. Then it was time for a Dole whip!
> 
> It was a hot afternoon so we waited in the mostly indoor Pan queue for Grand Parents first ride. posted at 50 lasted 40.  Rode the Tea Cups at 10 minutes.  And then pulled the cord on waiting on 7DMT as it was down to 50 minutes around 3pm and some clouds had moved in so it cooled off some.  The queue started around Gaston's Tavern and moved around to the front very quickly.  I would say 15-20 minutes to the front in our experience, plus a 10 minutes down time near 4pm.  Cleaning?  It took us about an hour including the cleaning.
> 
> We grabbed dinner and then rode Haunted Mansion at 15 minutes.  I broke off with the oldest for a Space Mountain Wait of 45 and younger ones rode Ariel, Barnstormer and Dumbo again.  Finished off the night with Aladdin's Carpet and Tiki room (of course).  And a pass through gift shop and confectionary.  Out the Park at 8:45.  We crammed in a lot of magic!



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


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## Disney and the Dude

Jen309 said:


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





brockash said:


> you from one fastpass person to the next. It's just not going to be the same. Like you, we almost never waited more than 20 mins for anything....we just knew how to work the system.


1000000% 

We are big on FP+ in my family and I am all about getting our 3 and then try to add on throughout the day. I can say for a fact - based on the 4 trips we have done over the last few months... It is not really a great time without FP+ if you are big on rides.

If you noticed in the trip report I posted - we rode ONE ride every day. I didn't want to fight the crowds and wait in line all day on our anniversary.... but seriously It's totally not worth it right now and it is just getting worse. It was bearable in November. Now it's just aggravating. 

-End rant


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## czmom

kathi said:


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



go to the right of the castle


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## wilkydelts

@Disney and the Dude What time did you arrive at each park?


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## Lurkerin

czmom said:


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



No more tickets available to be sold  that day...Full to whatever % they are letting in.


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## Disney and the Dude

wilkydelts said:


> @Disney and the Dude What time did you arrive at each park?


EPCOT: 11am through IG  Sat
DAK: 10am-ish                  Sun
DHS: 11:50am                   Mon


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## wilkydelts

Disney and the Dude said:


> EPCOT: 11am through IG  Sat
> DAK: 10am-ish                  Sun
> DHS: 11:50am                   Mon



What time did the parks open that day?


----------



## Disney and the Dude

wilkydelts said:


> What time did the parks open that day?


EPCOT 11am
DAK 8am
DHS 9am


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## Disney and the Dude

Pics!


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## Disney and the Dude




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## Disney and the Dude




----------



## brockash

3/11 MK

We couldn't take the crowds anymore, so we came back for q break hoping they die down tonight.

This morning we arrived at Martinique bus stop at 725 and it was jam packed and growing- like there wasn't enough space and ppl were spilling out onto the parking lot (this was with 0 social distancing happening.)  After about 10 mins. I asked a few ppl where they were heading (hoping to hear AK, but instead all were for MK. We decided to get out if there and hoofed it to Riviera.  There was a line of ppl., but it looked better than what we had left.  A bus pulled up at 750 and we luckily barely made it on.  When we arrived at park; they weren't letting cars in yet, but walkers were going right through and they wete unloading buses.  We were held to tap in for about 3 mins. - Go towards the monorails- lines were shorter.  We we about 8th party back in line and quickly powerwalked to mine train where it was running and boarding woohoo.  This was a lil before 820 when we made it there.  Walked on and then tried for Ppan - not running, Splash - not running, Btm- tech problems said it'll b well after 9 before it opens.  We decided to walk across to Space...waited about 10 mins, then walked onto buzz.  We then waited about 25 mins for ppan and walked onto haunted mansion.  It was 10am and while we had a good, although chaotic start at this point everything had a long line, so we got a waffle at Sleepy Hallow.  My oldest went and rode cars with a 25ish min wait.  We then rode Dumbo and Goofys roller-coaster with about a 20 min wait for each.  This is when we decided we were for sure going bacl forva rest.  We watched COProgress for the 2nd time this trip lol with about an 8 min wait.  I had ordered food from Cosmic Rays and clicked here when on last scene of COP.  The area was packed with ppl and it was hard to get through, but eventually got in and grabbed a table by Sonny.  We then headed out, although popped into the Emporium with no wait.  

We're hoping to at least get Splash, BTM, Pirates and Carpets done tonight aling with our Plaza reservation.


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## yuhas82

Lurkerin said:


> No more tickets available to be sold  that day...Full to whatever % they are letting in.



Per a CM on the resort reservation line yesterday, she stated still capping at 35% of technical capacity. FYI


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## Triple A Mom

WIll C said:


> I'm here now until Friday and crowds are decent sized. We were here in in 2019 both about the same time (Feb/Mar) and the week leading up to, and including, Christmas Day. Christmas was far busier, especially at MK. The previous winter was about the same as it is now. HS being a bit more crowded it seems. Epcot hasn't seemed that bad, even with the festival starting. This is all weekdays, however, not weekend days.
> 
> I'm staying at the Riviera and found my mornings the best at avoiding the crowds.
> 
> Monday at MK, I got on the first bus around 7:45am. We arrived at MK about 8am for a 9am park open. We were very close to the front of the temp checks and they held people for a few minutes. Once they started, shortly after 8am, we moved through the security screening to the taps and waited. I was a few people back from the front. People starting quickly filling in the lines all across the front. We held for a few more minutes and they let the flood in.
> I was probably in the first hundred or so let in and made it to 7DMT in a few minutes. Most people were headed there. I walked on to that. Made my way to Peter Pan and walked on there. Pooh was closed so I went to Haunted Mansion but it was closed as well with a short line waiting for the opening.
> I moved towards Big Thunder but I couldn't hear it running so I diverted to Pirates and walked on to that. Went out from there and did Jungle Cruise after about 10 minutes of a wait. When I got off, it was over 30. I went to Aladdin and spent a few minutes in line for that (it's my wife's favorite).
> After that, I went to Haunted Mansion and it was a near walk on as well. It was now getting towards 10am.
> The line for Peter Pan was now snaking through the Columbia Harbor House and near an hour.
> I headed towards Tomorrowland and happened upon Pooh just opening after being closed for a while. Was 2nd in line and got to ride that.
> At that point, 11am or so, the park had become fairly busy. Everything was a minimum of 30 minutes and climbing for the 2nd tier rides and an hour or more for others. I had other plans for the afternoon, so I had lunch and left.
> 
> Today, for Hollywood Studios, I had much the same morning luck with transit from Riviera. Skyliner to CBR was quick and we were lining up to get the line to HS, which was holding briefly. I got in in about 10 minutes and was crossing the parking entrance road a few minutes before 8am. I could see them holding the cars at the booths as I rode over. I got down and saw the long line waiting for the left side temp checks. As I came down the ramp, they opened the right side tents and I was redirected there towards the front. We waited a few minutes and got sent in right away to the park. I made my way down to get on MMRR while most people heading to Toy Story. They told us it was down but we could wait. I opted for that as I hadn't ridden it yet and was willing to wait (not a roller coaster fanatic, so SDD wasn't a draw). I waited maybe 10 mins but I was first in line and got to experience the ride finally.
> Made my way back out to Toy Story. Rode the other two rides as the SDD queue started to stretch out to Docking Bay and then ate breakfast at Woody's. Heading to MFSR and got in the line for that which was approaching 45 minutes by then but I finally got to pilot so it was worth it.
> I had missed the BG for RotR at 7am and waited around for the 1pm but it glitched out and I didn't get one then either. Not sure if things were slow as BGs were only around 60 or so when that came up and they might not of been handing them out. Wasn't too concerned and went over to Star Tours which was about 30 minutes. At that point, I was done and crowds were heavier. I headed back to the hotel around 2:30pm. Gideon's cookies were calling and I need to get to Disney Springs.
> 
> I'll see how AK goes in the morning.


Hi! We are staying at the Riviera the first week of April nd plan on doing Rope Drops all week. What time did you get to Skyliner and bus stop? I know they start running 45-60 minutes before park opening, but what time did you need to be at the stations to get in line? I keep imagining walking up to the bus station and seeing huge lines and busses and skyliner not even running.

Also, anyone have thoughts on allowing toddlers to snack while we are waiting in line for the busses/skyliner? I'm not familiar with the resort and how those lines work. Toddler would be contained in the stroller, but will we be getting the stink eye if we let her eat her 2nd breakfast (dry cereal) while we wait for the bus/skyliner?

I am super anxious about getting to the parks before opening and an worried about long lines just to get on the bus vs sitting at the bus stop crazy early before transportation even begins.


----------



## brockash

Triple A Mom said:


> Hi! We are staying at the Riviera the first week of April nd plan on doing Rope Drops all week. What time did you get to Skyliner and bus stop? I know they start running 45-60 minutes before park opening, but what time did you need to be at the stations to get in line? I keep imagining walking up to the bus station and seeing huge lines and busses and skyliner not even running.
> 
> Also, anyone have thoughts on allowing toddlers to snack while we are waiting in line for the busses/skyliner? I'm not familiar with the resort and how those lines work. Toddler would be contained in the stroller, but will we be getting the stink eye if we let her eat her 2nd breakfast (dry cereal) while we wait for the bus/skyliner?
> 
> I am super anxious about getting to the parks before opening and an worried about long lines just to get on the bus vs sitting at the bus stop crazy early before transportation even begins.


We're here now....we showed up to skyliner about an hour before the skyliner opened for each park...we weren't first in line, but within the first 6-8 parties.  Most ppl were eating something during their time waiting.  Multiple cms around and no one said anything.  Technically you're stationery, socially distanced and outside so it really shouldn't be an issue, but I'm sure someone will be along to say how dare you.  -Not in real life at actual parks, but on these boards.  In real life most ppl will be.

For buses I'd show up at 715 for a 9am open or 630 for an 8am AK open to ensure getting on first bus.

Wanted to add that if it were me; I'd walk to the CBR station to wait for dhs skyliner - when we went this week; I never saw Riviera ppl., but did see Pop arrive.  For Epcot going to Riviera station should put you ahead of the rest.


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## scrappinginontario

Triple A Mom said:


> Hi! We are staying at the Riviera the first week of April nd plan on doing Rope Drops all week. What time did you get to Skyliner and bus stop? I know they start running 45-60 minutes before park opening, but what time did you need to be at the stations to get in line? I keep imagining walking up to the bus station and seeing huge lines and busses and skyliner not even running.
> 
> Also, anyone have thoughts on allowing toddlers to snack while we are waiting in line for the busses/skyliner? I'm not familiar with the resort and how those lines work. Toddler would be contained in the stroller, but will we be getting the stink eye if we let her eat her 2nd breakfast (dry cereal) while we wait for the bus/skyliner?
> 
> I am super anxious about getting to the parks before opening and an worried about long lines just to get on the bus vs sitting at the bus stop crazy early before transportation even begins.



90 mins before park opening is the recommended time to arrive at transportation to arrive at parks for Rope Drop.


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## Naomeri

First Park Day: Thursday, March 11–Magic Kingdom (9am open)

I’m having a great day so far!
Woke up way earlier than planned thanks to happy, singing birds outside my room at Pop Century.  Mobile ordered lunch at Cosmic Ray’s before I left for an 11-11:30 pick-up.  I got to the bus stop at 7:24, and the line seemed long, but there were only 30-40 parties ahead of me.  The first bus arrived at 7:36, and my bus arrived at 7:48.  Got to MK at 8:06, through the temp screening at 8:08, and tapstiles at 8:12.

I ambled along through Liberty Square to see if Haunted Mansion was running (it wasn’t) then walked to 7DMT.  The line looped around all the way to the entrance to Storybook Circus, and was posted at 30 minutes at 8:27.  The line moved fast and I was on at 8:52.  Walked back to HM and walked on at 9am.  Stopped into Memento Mori and got a birthday button from the awesome CM Cory.

Next up was BTMR, which was down when I arrived, but opened up about 3 minutes later, so I walked on at 9:28.  Since I was there, I got in the Splash line at 9:37, which was posted at 45 minutes.  Got on the ride at 10:18, got well-splashed on the plunge, right in the face, then crossed the park to finish off the MK mountains.  Space was posted 40 minutes at 10:47, but I was on at 11:12.  Hit “I’m Here” on my lunch when I hit the Space gift shop, waited about 5 minutes once I got to Ray’s, ate inside.

Since I’ve got hoppers and 4 more park days left, I decided I’d had enough rides for the day and headed out.  I wanted to go to Disney Springs for Gideon’s before the weekend/spring break crowds arrived this weekend, so I hopped the monorail to CR (because I wanted to ride the monorail, and it was just waiting up there for me).  The DS bus arrived 2 minutes after I got to the bus stop, and I made it to the Gideon’s VQ check-in at 12:50 and began my estimated 2 hr wait.  I spent a whole bunch on money on things I don’t really need (which is half the point of a Disney vacation, right?) and got the return text for Gideon’s 2hrs and 3m later.  Waited in the physical queue for 23 minutes, but it was all in shade, so very comfortable.  Bought 2 cookies for me and 2 cookies to take home to my grandparents and headed out.  Approximately 10 million miles later, I made it to the Pop bus stop at Disney Springs (why must they punish the value resorts by putting their stops as far away as possible? )

Back at the resort, I decided it was pool time and trekked over to the 80s for the Computer Pool because the Hippy Dippy seemed louder and busier than I was in the mood for.  Half hour of swimming and reading in the shade and I went back to the room to rest up before I hop the Skyliner to Beach Club for my birthday dinner (complete with custom Maleficent cake) at Beaches & Cream.

Look at what a nice job Cory did on my birthday button!  He even taped over it to make sure it didn’t smear.


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## DisneyJColeMom

I thought I read on here that (maybe during the holidays?) The castle was having little low level bursts of fireworks or pyrotechnics? Is that still a thing?


----------



## lelew

Naomeri said:


> First Park Day: Thursday, March 11–Magic Kingdom (9am open)
> 
> I’m having a great day so far!
> Woke up way earlier than planned thanks to happy, singing birds outside my room at Pop Century.  Mobile ordered lunch at Cosmic Ray’s before I left for an 11-11:30 pick-up.  I got to the bus stop at 7:24, and the line seemed long, but there were only 30-40 parties ahead of me.  The first bus arrived at 7:36, and my bus arrived at 7:48.  Got to MK at 8:06, through the temp screening at 8:08, and tapstiles at 8:12.
> 
> I ambled along through Liberty Square to see if Haunted Mansion was running (it wasn’t) then walked to 7DMT.  The line looped around all the way to the entrance to Storybook Circus, and was posted at 30 minutes at 8:27.  The line moved fast and I was on at 8:52.  Walked back to HM and walked on at 9am.  Stopped into Memento Mori and got a birthday button from the awesome CM Cory.
> 
> Next up was BTMR, which was down when I arrived, but opened up about 3 minutes later, so I walked on at 9:28.  Since I was there, I got in the Splash line at 9:37, which was posted at 45 minutes.  Got on the ride at 10:18, got well-splashed on the plunge, right in the face, then crossed the park to finish off the MK mountains.  Space was posted 40 minutes at 10:47, but I was on at 11:12.  Hit “I’m Here” on my lunch when I hit the Space gift shop, waited about 5 minutes once I got to Ray’s, ate inside.
> 
> Since I’ve got hoppers and 4 more park days left, I decided I’d had enough rides for the day and headed out.  I wanted to go to Disney Springs for Gideon’s before the weekend/spring break crowds arrived this weekend, so I hopped the monorail to CR (because I wanted to ride the monorail, and it was just waiting up there for me).  The DS bus arrived 2 minutes after I got to the bus stop, and I made it to the Gideon’s VQ check-in at 12:50 and began my estimated 2 hr wait.  I spent a whole bunch on money on things I don’t really need (which is half the point of a Disney vacation, right?) and got the return text for Gideon’s 2hrs and 3m later.  Waited in the physical queue for 23 minutes, but it was all in shade, so very comfortable.  Bought 2 cookies for me and 2 cookies to take home to my grandparents and headed out.  Approximately 10 million miles later, I made it to the Pop bus stop at Disney Springs (why must they punish the value resorts by putting their stops as far away as possible? )
> 
> Back at the resort, I decided it was pool time and trekked over to the 80s for the Computer Pool because the Hippy Dippy seemed louder and busier than I was in the mood for.  Half hour of swimming and reading in the shade and I went back to the room to rest up before I hop the Skyliner to Beach Club for my birthday dinner (complete with custom Maleficent cake) at Beaches & Cream.
> 
> Look at what a nice job Cory did on my birthday button!  He even taped over it to make sure it didn’t smear.
> View attachment 562057


Lol We stayed at Pop in Aug and took the bus back from Disney Springs and thought just my luck last bus stop in that loop.


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## nickg420

DisneyJColeMom said:


> I thought I read on here that (maybe during the holidays?) The castle was having little low level bursts of fireworks or pyrotechnics? Is that still a thing?


Not sure if it's still a thing, but yes during the holidays the castle would change projections every 15 min with a small burst of fireworks. People would crowd up in front of the castle, mostly not socially distanced, like they were expecting HEA to start randomly at any minute....It was quite annoying for anyone just trying to make it through the crowd.


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## samsonjs

I was looking at the wait times this evening before dinner and they didnt look as bad as the last few days. The longest was pirates and splash at 50min, 7dmt was 40 min and most others were 30-15 min. Looked much better than Tuesday! Can anyone confirm?


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## butterscotchcollins

samsonjs said:


> I was looking at the wait times this evening before dinner and they didnt look as bad as the last few days. The longest was pirates and splash at 50min, 7dmt was 40 min and most others were 30-15 min. Looked much better than Tuesday! Can anyone confirm?



Wait times post-dinner when they extended park hours were definitely doable - maybe 25 mins of actual waiting time for the popular rides.


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## scrappinginontario

DisneyJColeMom said:


> I thought I read on here that (maybe during the holidays?) The castle was having little low level bursts of fireworks or pyrotechnics? Is that still a thing?


That was only over Christmas.  No longer happening.


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## Leigh L

DD and I walked from Poly to Shades of Green last month. On our way back to Poly along the SOG sidewalk, we started hearing fireworks. It lasted several minutes with a burst every 10ish-30ish seconds. It was hard to see where it was coming from but was sort of in the direction of MK. Is there somewhere else in that direction where they might have been coming from?

It took us a few minutes to get to the end of the Shades' driveway where we could see better, but by then it had stopped. This would have been on Wed., Feb 17. It was around 7 pm (ish), I'm not sure how long we were at the SOG ticket office but IIRC, it closed at 7 p.m.

We closed out MK two nights the following week and saw/heard nothing like that again.


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## WIll C

Triple A Mom said:


> Hi! We are staying at the Riviera the first week of April nd plan on doing Rope Drops all week. What time did you get to Skyliner and bus stop? I know they start running 45-60 minutes before park opening, but what time did you need to be at the stations to get in line? I keep imagining walking up to the bus station and seeing huge lines and busses and skyliner not even running.
> 
> Also, anyone have thoughts on allowing toddlers to snack while we are waiting in line for the busses/skyliner? I'm not familiar with the resort and how those lines work. Toddler would be contained in the stroller, but will we be getting the stink eye if we let her eat her 2nd breakfast (dry cereal) while we wait for the bus/skyliner?
> 
> I am super anxious about getting to the parks before opening and an worried about long lines just to get on the bus vs sitting at the bus stop crazy early before transportation even begins.


The first MK bus is around 7:45 for a 9am opening. That gets you there just at 8am when they start lining people up and before the boat docks or the parking opens.
I took the AK bus just after 7am and got there just after opening. There is probably an earlier one. I still made it to FoP with about a 30-40 minute wait. Navi was just under an hour after that. I could have hit Safari but I detoured for the AP magnet and then the line got too long for me.

Skyliner for HS opening at 9am runs around 7:30-7:45. They'll let you to CBR and then hold you. Still faster than driving since they hold up the parking until 8am at least.

I never had more than a few people at the bus stop. Not enough to worry about not getting on. I was always about 10-15 minutes early, just in case but we never had a full bus. YMMV with crowds at the resort but I didn't see it. Skyliner backup to Epcot was the worst of anything and the return from Epcot at park close can get very long.

I was very happy with the morning travel here. We seem to be pretty central and not overcrowded.


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## Akck

kathi said:


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



It depends. If you’re truly first to get there, go to the right. If you’re coming off the 1st or 2nd ferry/monorail, you should go left as the line will circle around. We arrived on the 2nd ferry and mistakenly went right. We ended up circling the mountain, ending up near Gaston’s Tavern. That allowed me to get a cinnamon roll (plus extra icing), and  drinks. I then set up near the Speedway and we took turns grabbing a bite as our spot in line neared. Even with the long line, our wait was 40-50 minutes, as the line moved quickly (likely due to the queue opening up, filling the inner queue).


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## brockash

samsonjs said:


> I was looking at the wait times this evening before dinner and they didnt look as bad as the last few days. The longest was pirates and splash at 50min, 7dmt was 40 min and most others were 30-15 min. Looked much better than Tuesday! Can anyone confirm?


They were much better than earlier today, but splash and pirates were still longish.  We did btm around 7 posted 25- actually walkon.  Splash was listed as 50, but was 35...pirates was posted at 40, but we ended up skipping because it was looking like it was probably 30 at least andcthr kids wanted to do space again...it was posted at 25 and was 15.  We also did tea cups, pooh, carpets, and cars all with around 10-15 min wait after dinner tonight.

Unfortunately we ended up waiting an hr for a bus back to mk this afternoon- not due to amount of ppl just a bus never came, so that ate into our return, but still glad we left midday as waits were more reasonable tonight.


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## Lizgistix

Just returned home today from a 3-night stay at Yacht Club. Ate at Spice Road Table twice. Went to Hollywood Studios and ate at PizzeRizzo. Did a few rides and walked around inside Walt: One Man's Dream (recommend). At Animal Kingdom I rode Everest, ate at Satul'i (highly recommend), did Wilderness Explorers (lots of fun) and won 3 plush dinosaurs. (!) Also had a lovely dinner at Ale and Compass. 
Was assigned a club level room on the 5th floor which would be nice but the club lounge isn't open so it's just another floor of rooms for them to use. 
Oh and I finally bought some carmel corn from the shop in Germany.


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## Lizgistix

e_yerger said:


> This restaurant is wait list only right? How was your process eating there?


I walked up to the stand. Asked about their availability. They said "we can seat you right now." I said "okay. Booth, please"


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## juju

We arrived 3/10 and here for a week.  I think the skyliner line at Epcot at closing is the worse.  We waited over 55 mins to get to Pop and were back near the Beach Club entrance walkway.  We usually stay at our DVC home resort BWV and able to walk to Epcot so this was a hard adjustment.  We went to MK yesterday and Pop had the buses one after another going to MK in the morning.  Good thing as the line was long.  We didn’t do much as it was so busy but ate at Sleepy Hollow and I got my citrus swirl.  One attraction only, Carousel of Progress and took a short nap.  Had several photo pass photos taken.  On the way back in the afternoon the bus line was long and the wait was even longer.  That was discouraging.  We noted that park hopping wasn’t restricted so we took the skyliner to DHS around 1 hour before they closed.  We rode my favorite, Toy Story Mania, 3 times quickly and mobile ordered Docking Bay 7 for pickup 5 minutes before park close.  Not crowded at all in there and took our time.  It was still busy when we left and the skyliner was about a 35 minute wait to go back to Pop but better than at Epcot.  Luckily we have been to WDW many times so I think we’re going to just try to relax and take it as easy as we can from now on.   We came down for the snacks anyway!  I feel bad for anyone who didn’t prepare before they came down.


----------



## Kitty & Covs Covs

Jaina said:


> Yes, thanks for your reply! We now have a 7:50 reservation at the Wave our MK morning, which is the earliest I could get. If we can get there early enough to get seated early, we might eat really fast. If not, we might just not show up and eat the $20 cancellation fee. We shall see. I had to not show up, but I feel like they don't give any other options at this point to make sure we're there at opening! On my most recent trip in October, they let us mobile order and pick up, and I enjoyed my breakfast sandwich on our walk!
> 
> Also, our weekend (next week!!) is looking a little cool and rainy. (70% chance on Saturday, our HS day and a high of 75) I'm stoked about the cool weather, but have only been to Florida when it's hotter. (July and late October) What do I need to plan clothing wise, coming from Arizona (so similar to our temps, but how humid is it?) Will a light jacket probably suffice, or does it -feel- colder in Florida at the same temperatures as AZ? Does anyone know? Trying to figure out shorts/pants and what kind of jacket to lug around. We have ponchos and umbrellas.


I can’t tell if you’ve already had your trip or not—how did this work out? We have a 7:45 ADR at the Wave tomorrow morning so we could get past the guard and walk to MK for RD, but it’s only for half our party.  I’m thinking that instead of wasting it, we have half go in and order and get some to go for everyone else.   We would plan to show up for 7:30 seating.


----------



## bdiddy

Where is everyone eating with all the mobile ordering now? Is it hard to find spots? And tables? Also how do you judge how much time you need between ordering and picking up the food. Is it just random, spending where you are ordering from? Does it tell you when you go in to order what the wait will be before you order?( Thinking about if you went to order from one place and it was a long wait so you wanted to try somewhere else).

Sorry for all the questions - we’ve never done mobile ordering before.


----------



## Wosmama6

We just got back form our 6 night stay at AKL Jambo. Wanted to share some reports/reflections since this thread was so helpful to my planning:

Direct SW flight on 3/4 - only 70 people total, vs our return flight on 3/10, which was almost full.

3/5 - AK
Got going about 20 minutes behind schedule, but DH and DS did FOP w 32 min start of line to end of ride, while DD and I walked on to Navi at 745. Then DS and I rode fop and we all headed over to KS for a 10m wait. We all hopped in line at about 920 for wildlife express and just made it onto the first train. We spotted Ranger. DD and DH did affection section, which had a decent line by the time we left at 1045, while DS and I drew Pan, one of the monkey/catfish crosses from Raya. Fun fact: baby tuk tuk is inspired by a pill bug, a pug and a pangolin. I love it.
After the return train ride, next on our list was maharajah. In all of my AK visits, I’ve never done it, and I wanted DD to see the “hiptotmis”. But DS just kept asking when we were riding EE (I tried to give him a lesson on enjoying the moment instead of thinking about what’s coming next, he is his mother’s child, poor thing), and I was starving since I only had 2 bites of lumpia for breakfast, and DH was reaching peak WTFAMIDOINGHEREINAPANDEMIC, so I walked up to y&y 40m early for our res, which I could only get by calling calling restaurant directly and giving them my landry’s #. They said sure, and we were seated by 1135.
Kids had lo mein, DH and I had tuna nachos and he ordered the kobe burger, while I had honey chicken. Honestly those tuna nachos were one of my fave dishes on disney property ever. 
Then, finally, to everest. The line looked crazy long but DH and DS waited 10m max, and the RS for that one is super short. 
Then we high tailed it out. I could’ve stayed all day, but that is not my crew, so back to the room. 
we headed to jambo’s pool around 330. It was not crowded, but not empty, and the weather was perfection. They were doing a poolside craft and had some outdoor movies on the schedule as well.
We got on the road to DS right on time, but the lime garage was full. The orange garage was a lot further away, so we were about 10m late, but it was fine.
DS LOVED T-REX. The food was crap, but I would recommend going just for the atmosphere (if your kids are 10 and under) and maybe splitting an app or dessert. The ribs and chicken were gross, and neither kid ate much of their meals. 
Then DH and DS stood in line for the LEGO store for about 10m.  DD and I snuck into amorette’s, my first time! I grabbed a mickey mousse and a salted caramel eclair.


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## Wosmama6

3/6 - plan was originally Gatorland in AM and AK in pm, but while practicing to get a BG, I actually got one! So we decided not to test our luck, and they had just extended Sunday AK hours to 8p, so we swapped plans around.
Gatorland is the coolest tourist trap ever. So worth a couple of hours. We were there about 2 hours but you could easily spend 4.
Landry’s walk in at rainforest at AK, seated in 10m. The kids loved it, but I make better food in the microwave the day before a grocery run, so…
We relaxed in the room until babysitter came at 3. Perks of having your kid’s teacher’s daughter in Orlando.
Dh, ds and I took a lyft to hs. The place looked absolutely mobbed at 4pm but it was mostly just optics. 3 hours late for BG but no one cared, and we were on the ride in 15. Long line for black spire so we skipped.
On and off tsmm in 10, slinky in 30, and then a 23m wait for rnrr, with a num num cookie on the way. Snagged a sanaa res while in line.
Lyft to kidani 30m early, waited all of that plus 15for our table. The butterscotch dessert was awesome, and DS was super pleased w his dirt dessert.


----------



## WIll C

bdiddy said:


> Where is everyone eating with all the mobile ordering now? Is it hard to find spots? And tables? Also how do you judge how much time you need between ordering and picking up the food. Is it just random, spending where you are ordering from? Does it tell you when you go in to order what the wait will be before you order?( Thinking about if you went to order from one place and it was a long wait so you wanted to try somewhere else).
> 
> Sorry for all the questions - we’ve never done mobile ordering before.


You pick a window for when you want to be there, like 12:30-1pm, and then make your order. When your window opens you can tell it you are there and they will prepare it. That will take some time, depending on the size of your order. Once it tells you it is ready, you can come in and pick it up. 

Tables are hit and miss. Most places I went, I was able to get a table somewhere. Cosmic Rays always had some either inside or out. Smaller places might not have as much room.

You can, and probably should, make your window for when you want to eat and order early. That way, you don't miss out on that eating window as they will fill up so you'll end up waiting a long time if you order right when you get there. Order right as they open and give yourself enough time to finish what you're going to do and get over there. I think you can push your window out if you can't get there in time but I never tried that.


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## Wosmama6

3/7 - HS

Without RD, HS is crazy. We arrived at the toll booths at 8:57, a full hour later than planned. Then, DS wanted to ride tot instead of going to mmrr. So, we waited 35m for that, DD freaked out riding AS2 w DH, and then we used the tot RS, which took about 25m. Scifi adr, which was fun and very cool, then frozen singalong. Get there a half hour early for sure. DD was not looking like she would tolerate a 35m wait for mmrr so we bailed.

That night, we drove to AK around 6 and headed straight for EE. Our first ride was a walk on, and in 5 rides it varied from walk on to about 5m. I only lasted 3 of those rides. That ride at sunset, where you can see the tree on one side and spaceship earth and tot on the other… just amazing all around.
Then, we walked through discovery island to the valley of mo’ara. As we passed the tree, I remarked that I was sad that the awakenings weren’t happening, and then they started up!!!! I was so happy to see them. 
We looked at all the things and then hopped in the fop line at 7:51. Touring plans said a 37m wait (Disney said 60), and that was longer than we wanted but we got in line anyway. We waited 15m.
Also, I realized that I had never actually seen the queue before. I’ve only ridden with fp or rs. Very, very cool to experience.
Then, on the way out, the tree was active again, this time with Jungle Book (maybe my absolute fave, and terribly underrepresented in the parks imo) and Lion King.
I went back toAKL, and DH and DS went to epcot and managed to ride soarin and test track before close (10p)


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## Wosmama6

3/8 - MK, EP

Didn’t get in a hurry this morning, because DD can’t ride MK headliners, so I didn’t think we would need to RD, as DS and DH were headed to legoland. I was wrong. We got on two rides, I was hoping for 4, but she adored the castle and the calvacades and the park in general. 25m for iasw at 930; 15 for pooh afterwards.
11 am lunch at LTT. It was all delicious, and I hadn’t spent much time in liberty Square. I loved it. It’s nice just to appreciate the details. DD was getting grumpy, so our family friend/furloughed cast member babysitter met me at the main gate and took DD back to AKL for a nap.
I headed back to main street and looked at all the things and bought none of them, and then tried for cbj. 20m wait (at 1230p), so I walked to HM… and then turned around and walked right back once I saw the end of the line was actually at cbj. Looked atrocious but was about 20m… I love that ride and it’s nice to do it without kids so you can enjoy instead of reassuring them that it’s not scary, etc.
After HM, I went to cbj. I had just missed the show, so another 20m wait, but I hadn’t done this in a couple decades and wanted to see it. A person in the group behind me ran over to aloha isle for a dole whip since the line was stationary. I told them I was gonna do the same and they held.my spot. Grabbed a kakamora float and ate about a third of it. Yummy.
Cbj is fun, but I prefer the tiki room if we are comparing outdated shows.
After cbj all the wait times and the crushing crowds were bugging me so I decided to hop. A CM gave me some bad info about busses for hopping, so I ended up in the ttc, waiting for a lyft to epcot. - FYI - there ARE park to park busses for hopping, and CMs can be wrong. I saw a lot of ones in training.
Waited 15 for SE at 215p,  waited 25 for soarin and sat in the very middle seat in b1, Saw Mary poppins, a princess calvacade. Dawdled around France some, grabbed ice cream, and hopped on the skyliner to riviera, where I took a lyft back to akl.
Then, we discovered that you could get homecomin delivered on postmates. this was HUGE as it saved us a second trip to DS and worrying with ADRs (we had one, but at a weird time we kept trying to change unsuccessfully). Definitely recommend this.


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## Wosmama6

3/8 - EP 
We had topolino's brunch ADR at 1020, which I highly recommend, and got seated early after checking in right at 10. 25m wait for the skyliner from rr to epcot at around 1045. We had planned to go FEA but the wait was showing 40m on touring plans and 70 on Disney, so we meandered through morocco (almost all shops closed) and japan. By the time we got to FEA, it was down, and stayed down for about an hour. DH and DS went to ride Mission Space, which ruined the rest of their day (I tried to warn them!), and DD and I hovered. In the short wait, she managed to meet Elsa and Anna, see a princess calvacade and enjoy the Frozen topiaries. We went back to check one more time for FEA, and they announced it was opening, so we hopped in line and only waited 8m. It was our first ride, and we loved it. We then walked on to Nemo at around 2 and headed back to to meet DD and DS at the skyliner (no line). We drove back to AKL to rest a bit, and I had tried to talk DS into a 4 park challenge, but AK closed at 5, and by 3:30 he was still queasy from MS, so we ended up skipping AK and doing 3 parks in 1 day. Tapped into HS at 541 for a 7p close and rode MFSR with 25m wait and MMRR with a 25m wait. First time on MMRR, loved it!!!!
Then we hightailed it to MK for a 10p close. We rode Splash w a 25m wait and got in line for BTMR at 956, waited 10m. 

Definitely recommend getting to park an hour before opening, riding as much as you can, THEN enjoying the details/atmosphere for a while, and leaving and coming back 2 hours before close. Our longest wait of the trip was 35m for ToT, but waits were about 20m across the board, which adds up over time (we are used to split FPs with rider switch, memorizing same day drops and basically riding everything with FP).


----------



## Lizgistix

bdiddy said:


> Where is everyone eating with all the mobile ordering now? Is it hard to find spots? And tables?



I ate at Satul'i Canteen in Animal Kingdom and they have cast members outside guarding the entrance and exits. You are only allowed in when your order is ready and only Satul'i customers are allowed to sit in the seating area. 

When you want to place a mobile order, it tells you what the return time is currently. Some are available right now, some were an hour out. I chose accordingly to how soon I wanted to eat.


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## dez1978

WIll C said:


> I'm here now until Friday and crowds are decent sized. We were here in in 2019 both about the same time (Feb/Mar) and the week leading up to, and including, Christmas Day. Christmas was far busier, especially at MK. The previous winter was about the same as it is now. HS being a bit more crowded it seems. Epcot hasn't seemed that bad, even with the festival starting. This is all weekdays, however, not weekend days.
> 
> I'm staying at the Riviera and found my mornings the best at avoiding the crowds.
> 
> Monday at MK, I got on the first bus around 7:45am. We arrived at MK about 8am for a 9am park open. We were very close to the front of the temp checks and they held people for a few minutes. Once they started, shortly after 8am, we moved through the security screening to the taps and waited. I was a few people back from the front. People starting quickly filling in the lines all across the front. We held for a few more minutes and they let the flood in.
> I was probably in the first hundred or so let in and made it to 7DMT in a few minutes. Most people were headed there. I walked on to that. Made my way to Peter Pan and walked on there. Pooh was closed so I went to Haunted Mansion but it was closed as well with a short line waiting for the opening.
> I moved towards Big Thunder but I couldn't hear it running so I diverted to Pirates and walked on to that. Went out from there and did Jungle Cruise after about 10 minutes of a wait. When I got off, it was over 30. I went to Aladdin and spent a few minutes in line for that (it's my wife's favorite).
> After that, I went to Haunted Mansion and it was a near walk on as well. It was now getting towards 10am.
> The line for Peter Pan was now snaking through the Columbia Harbor House and near an hour.
> I headed towards Tomorrowland and happened upon Pooh just opening after being closed for a while. Was 2nd in line and got to ride that.
> At that point, 11am or so, the park had become fairly busy. Everything was a minimum of 30 minutes and climbing for the 2nd tier rides and an hour or more for others. I had other plans for the afternoon, so I had lunch and left.
> 
> Today, for Hollywood Studios, I had much the same morning luck with transit from Riviera. Skyliner to CBR was quick and we were lining up to get the line to HS, which was holding briefly. I got in in about 10 minutes and was crossing the parking entrance road a few minutes before 8am. I could see them holding the cars at the booths as I rode over. I got down and saw the long line waiting for the left side temp checks. As I came down the ramp, they opened the right side tents and I was redirected there towards the front. We waited a few minutes and got sent in right away to the park. I made my way down to get on MMRR while most people heading to Toy Story. They told us it was down but we could wait. I opted for that as I hadn't ridden it yet and was willing to wait (not a roller coaster fanatic, so SDD wasn't a draw). I waited maybe 10 mins but I was first in line and got to experience the ride finally.
> Made my way back out to Toy Story. Rode the other two rides as the SDD queue started to stretch out to Docking Bay and then ate breakfast at Woody's. Heading to MFSR and got in the line for that which was approaching 45 minutes by then but I finally got to pilot so it was worth it.
> I had missed the BG for RotR at 7am and waited around for the 1pm but it glitched out and I didn't get one then either. Not sure if things were slow as BGs were only around 60 or so when that came up and they might not of been handing them out. Wasn't too concerned and went over to Star Tours which was about 30 minutes. At that point, I was done and crowds were heavier. I headed back to the hotel around 2:30pm. Gideon's cookies were calling and I need to get to Disney Springs.
> 
> I'll see how AK goes in the morning.


We are staying at riviera in a week.  What time did you go to the skyliner station to head to HS?


----------



## samsonjs

WIll C said:


> You pick a window for when you want to be there, like 12:30-1pm, and then make your order. When your window opens you can tell it you are there and they will prepare it. That will take some time, depending on the size of your order. Once it tells you it is ready, you can come in and pick it up.
> 
> Tables are hit and miss. Most places I went, I was able to get a table somewhere. Cosmic Rays always had some either inside or out. Smaller places might not have as much room.
> 
> You can, and probably should, make your window for when you want to eat and order early. That way, you don't miss out on that eating window as they will fill up so you'll end up waiting a long time if you order right when you get there. Order right as they open and give yourself enough time to finish what you're going to do and get over there. I think you can push your window out if you can't get there in time but I never tried that.


 So if I know I want to eat at 11am can I order early before they open and pick an 11am window? How much time should I give them to make it? 20min?


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## coolbrook

Wosmama6 said:


> I could’ve stayed all day, but that is not my crew, so back to the room.


That, my friends, is the key to a happy Disney trip.  Know your crew!


----------



## mster425

Thanks so much for these reviews! How did your dd meet Anna and Elsa, do they just randomly pop up in Norway sometimes? We missed them last trip.

Also, your DH being “*** am I doing here in a pandemic” will be me.   



Wosmama6 said:


> 3/8 - EP
> We had topolino's brunch ADR at 1020, which I highly recommend, and got seated early after checking in right at 10. 25m wait for the skyliner from rr to epcot at around 1045. We had planned to go FEA but the wait was showing 40m on touring plans and 70 on Disney, so we meandered through morocco (almost all shops closed) and japan. By the time we got to FEA, it was down, and stayed down for about an hour. DH and DS went to ride Mission Space, which ruined the rest of their day (I tried to warn them!), and DD and I hovered. In the short wait, she managed to meet Elsa and Anna, see a princess calvacade and enjoy the Frozen topiaries. We went back to check one more time for FEA, and they announced it was opening, so we hopped in line and only waited 8m. It was our first ride, and we loved it. We then walked on to Nemo at around 2 and headed back to to meet DD and DS at the skyliner (no line). We drove back to AKL to rest a bit, and I had tried to talk DS into a 4 park challenge, but AK closed at 5, and by 3:30 he was still queasy from MS, so we ended up skipping AK and doing 3 parks in 1 day. Tapped into HS at 541 for a 7p close and rode MFSR with 25m wait and MMRR with a 25m wait. First time on MMRR, loved it!!!!
> Then we hightailed it to MK for a 10p close. We rode Splash w a 25m wait and got in line for BTMR at 956, waited 10m.
> 
> Definitely recommend getting to park an hour before opening, riding as much as you can, THEN enjoying the details/atmosphere for a while, and leaving and coming back 2 hours before close. Our longest wait of the trip was 35m for ToT, but waits were about 20m across the board, which adds up over time (we are used to split FPs with rider switch, memorizing same day drops and basically riding everything with FP).


----------



## Wosmama6

coolbrook said:


> That, my friends, is the key to a happy Disney trip.  Know your crew!


This is also why i want my next trip to be solo


----------



## Wosmama6

mster425 said:


> Thanks so much for these reviews! How did your dd meet Anna and Elsa, do they just randomly pop up in Norway sometimes? We missed them last trip.
> 
> Also, your DH being “*** am I doing here in a pandemic” will be me.


they are in one of the courtyards in Norway, the reddish building. we just hung out there until they appeared.


----------



## Naomeri

samsonjs said:


> So if I know I want to eat at 11am can I order early before they open and pick an 11am window? How much time should I give them to make it? 20min?


I order lunch before I leave my hotel room in the morning.  I’m a solo diner with simple food choices, so my meals are usually ready within 5 minutes of hitting the “I’m Here” button in the app.  If you’ve got a bunch of people eating, or complicated meals or something, it may take longer.


----------



## DisneyByMarriage

Wosmama6 said:


> DS LOVED T-REX. The food was crap, but I would recommend going just for the atmosphere (if your kids are 10 and under) and maybe splitting an app or dessert. The ribs and chicken were gross, and neither kid ate much of their meals.
> Then DH and DS stood in line for the LEGO store for about 10m.  DD and I snuck into amorette’s, my first time! I grabbed a mickey mousse and a salted caramel eclair.



Can’t agree more with you here - three kids under age 10 and they all want to go back to TREX.  Dad and Pop say no way in hell!


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## jenmsmith

@Wosmama6 Did you happen to visit the Kidani pool? I‘m interested in confirming if the splash area was open there.


----------



## closetmickey

mster425 said:


> Thanks so much for these reviews! How did your dd meet Anna and Elsa, do they just randomly pop up in Norway sometimes? We missed them last trip.
> 
> Also, your DH being “*** am I doing here in a pandemic” will be me.


We saw Anna and Elsa in the Norway pavilion late morning.


----------



## Wosmama6

jenmsmith said:


> @Wosmama6 Did you happen to visit the Kidani pool? I‘m interested in confirming if the splash area was open there.


It was! We didn't swim because it was cold but we definitely checked it out


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## jenmsmith

Wosmama6 said:


> It was! We didn't swim because it was cold but we definitely checked it out


Great!


----------



## brockash

dez1978 said:


> We are staying at riviera in a week.  What time did you go to the skyliner station to head to HS?


We're actually on ME heading home now...if it were me; I'd walk to CBR skyliner station and be there by 710 for a 9am dhs open if you want to be one of the first 10-15 families on there way to dhs.


----------



## LovesBelle

These are such great reports! For those of you who were just there—what rides are open during the early theme park entry period for resort guests? I have seen people mention that Splash wasn’t running but Big Thunder was, for example. Would love advice about all four parks. Thanks!


----------



## CaliforniaGirl09

I am currently on a Southwest plane flying back to the west coast (I sprang for wifi, LOL), after a 5-night stay at the BWV from (March 7-12. We had 5 park days: HS, AK, HS, MK, and EP. We planned to hop, but only did two parks on the evenings we had dinners planned in Epcot. 

Originally this trip was planned for a BLT stay over the Star Wars half, but I decided to move it up after earlier reports of lighter crowds, thinking I could squeeze it in before the Spring Breaks started. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have moved it forward, but we were anxious to return to the parks after vaccination. I suspect April will be busy, too, as more people get vaccinated and decide to travel so the jury is still out on whether I made  bad decision  

We had a great time. DS24 special needs has been chomping at the bit to get back to Disney, and it was nice to see him enjoying something he loves after such a long, difficult year. I didn't take detailed park notes as some PPs have done, but I thought I'd give my general impressions. 

POSITIVES: 
--The Weather! Today was the warmest day, but the week has been absolutely gorgeous. 70s for the most part with cool mornings, very little humidity, and a lovely breeze most of the day. We've been having unseasonably fabulous weather in Northern California before we left, and it was a nice continuation. 
--Mask wearing: overall it was pretty impressive and this is from someone from Northern California Oakland/Berk area where mask compliance is exceptional even outside exercising, etc. and has been for a year. Epcot was by far the worst--with lots of people moving around with drinks and food--but the rest of the time we saw great compliance. 
--Great job Disney with the markers, plexiglass, and hand sanitizer. Only hit a few empty hand santizers but we just moved on to the next attraction and could always find some. 
--ADRs and table serves. Even though I booked this trip just a few weeks ago, I managed to get a number of our favorite reservations. We are Deluxe Dining Plan fans and have gotten used to breaking up the day with meals. Although we are ride commandoes at Disneyland, we were initially frustrated by Disney World, until we learned to appreciate the food. That has become a big part of the enjoyment for us. We had all table serves with the exception of a a few breakfasts at the boardwalk bakery: Teppan Edo, Hollywood Brown Derby, Sanaa, Raglan Road, Mama Melrose, Via Napoli, Wave (Breakfast), Skippers, Morimoto, Trattoria (breakfast) and Beaches & Cream. For the most part the restaurants did a great job, although I did think the quality and offerings had declined with the pandemic. I hope they get back to full capacity and open more restaurants soon. It was kind of depressing to see so many favorite Signatures and character buffets closed (Flying Fish, CA Grill Brunch, Bomb, Tiffins, etc.)  We haven't eaten inside in a year, and although it initially felt very weird, it was nice to have some normality again. 
--BWV: this was our first stay at BWV (we are VGC and BLT owners), and although we missed the second bathroom in our 1-bedroom, I love love love the location. We had a room near the HS path, and it was awesome to be able to walk to two parks--especially on our HS days. We hate the buses, so about 3-4 years ago, we just decided to bite the bullet and rely on uber/lyft. The couple hundred dollars added to the cost was well worth the stress/frustration for me. But due to COVID we wanted to try to limit transportation exposure, so I decided to try out BWV. So happy we did. It really cut down on the amount of times we hopped in a car. This was a good thing as one of our negatives was uber/lyft! (see below). 
--Scored ROTR boarding groups on both our HS days!!! Yay. Timing worked out for both, too, so that was awesome. 

NOT AS POSITIVE:
--It was way too crowded--basically wall-to-wall people at times. Despite the efforts made by Disney with spacers, etc., there were just too many people on walkways to keep any distance apart let alone 6 feet. The long lines winding along those same pathways didn't help or the side-by-side strollers, with large groups of slow moving families. The only time we had a "light" park day was today at Epcot right around opening. I won't add to the 35% discussion--I've read many of the back and forth's and why's--but however it's being spliced the reality is that the parks are very crowded and don't feel reduced. If we weren't vaccinated, it would have been a very difficult trip. I would have been much more anxious, etc. As other posters have said, if you are anxious about COVID and haven't been vaccinated, this is probably not the time to visit the parks. 
--the wait times for headliner rides were pretty crazy. we steered clear for the most part, and did what we could with DS's DAS. But I was really glad I'd set expectations very low. I'd intended to try to rope drop, which we never do, but it didn't work out. We have a pretty standard schedule that we stick to (breakfast, a few hours in the park, lunch, back to room for rest, etc.) and we stuck to that. They need to do something about the wait times/lines. Whether that is bringing back fast pass, virtual queues or Maxpass (my favorite by far). The rides were so crowded we pretty much didn't do any of the hopping we had planned so that park hopper ticket for DS was money not well spent (DH and I are passholders).  
--Characters: Characters are such a big part of the experience for DS, even though I set the expectations very low, I don't think he really got it. It was so sad to see his disappointment when he couldn't get close, but I did appreciate the effort by Disney. We saw a ton of characters on raised platforms, cavalcades, etc, and he had a couple interactions, but it wasn't the same. Disney is doing what they can, but unfortunately this is one experience that can't be replicated without a return to "normal," whenever that might be. 
--I wish they would open up more entertainment/restaurants. It would really help to spread people out. I suspect it's more a financial thing than a COVID thing, but it's time Disney! 
--Uber/Lyft was painfully slow. We've never had this kind of trouble. In the 5-10 rides we had this trip, I don't think any were under a 10 minute wait. It felt like we'd choose the one that was allegedly quickest and then they changed it on us every time. We've been doing this for years to get around the parks, but maybe they've changed something and we're doing it wrong? Really frustrating to accept a ride and then have the driver be 15 minutes away. On our many previous visits to WDW, 5 minutes was a long wait. 

I'm really glad I had this thread to set expectations. I think we would have had a very different trip, if I hadn't read so much in advance. So thanks to all who have posted. It really helped to put us in the right frame of mind. We knew what we were getting into and made the most of it. I'm sure I forgot something, but that's it for now


----------



## Twitterpaited

WEDWDW said:


> But it could also be deceiving-after seeing Pan lines go through Columbia Harbour House,the "normal,non Social Distanced Pan line" will look SHORT!lol


Not just through Columbia Harbor House, but upstairs and back down again.


----------



## brockash

LovesBelle said:


> These are such great reports! For those of you who were just there—what rides are open during the early theme park entry period for resort guests? I have seen people mention that Splash wasn’t running but Big Thunder was, for example. Would love advice about all four parks. Thanks!


I think it somewhat varies day to day, but for us at MK, 7dmt was, but ppan, splash and thunder were not (I believe thunder was supposed to b but was having tech problems.)

AK FOP and Navi were and Everest was byvthe time we got there right before 8am open.

Epcot - Frozen was running right away, testtrack was down and I believe while soarin started before park open; they didn't seem to b running until closer to 1030/1045 for 11 open (we were on/off frozen by 1020.) 

DHS- Slinky was, ToT and rnr were by the time we got there, but still before park open.  I believe mmrr was as well.


----------



## Twitterpaited

hes122 said:


> I just got back from a 3/3-3/7 split stay between Pop Century & Coronado Springs.
> 
> Some of my observations:
> 
> Crowds- some areas (WS and FL come to mind) were much worse than others. When they got beyond our comfort levels, we removed ourselves from the situation and moved on to other things.
> Mask wearing- only saw a few CMs have to correct guests about it. IMO, it was much worse in the airports than at Disney. Disposable masks are so much more comfortable/breathable for park days than the cloth ones.
> Mobile ordering- love it! When we were there last only a few places were participating, so it was great that we could use that option pretty much everywhere.
> Bussing- The busses seemed to be coming less often than before but in the grand scheme of things, it's no big deal. We still got to where we were going in plenty of time to do what we wanted.
> As someone who has been working from home with some sporadic trips to the office this past year, I was surprised at how much my calves hurt the first few nights.


One thing that helped my feet and legs - lay on the bed with your butt up against the headboard and put your legs straight up against the wall for about 10 minutes.  It will help your circulation and get those toxins to stop pooling in your legs and feet.  It also helps your back.  You can even massage your feet and legs while they are up and feel the improvement.


----------



## only hope

LovesBelle said:


> These are such great reports! For those of you who were just there—what rides are open during the early theme park entry period for resort guests? I have seen people mention that Splash wasn’t running but Big Thunder was, for example. Would love advice about all four parks. Thanks!



The early entry hasn’t started yet. The  parks have just been opening early.


----------



## yuhas82

only hope said:


> The early entry hasn’t started yet. The  parks have just been opening early.



I think LovesBelle is simply referring to the time period  just before official posted opening time when some rides are open - not the not-yet-in-place official extra 30min


----------



## Tauwillow

Can anyone tell me if Conservation Station is still running the veterinarian checkups?  It is one of our very favorite things to do at the park.  I have to decide between doing that or trying to get on FoP, since there aren't any fastpasses.


----------



## Makmak

Tauwillow said:


> Can anyone tell me if Conservation Station is still running the veterinarian checkups?  It is one of our very favorite things to do at the park.  I have to decide between doing that or trying to get on FoP, since there aren't any fastpasses.


When we were there we didn’t see any and were told they were only doing the animation experience and limited petting zoo. We went for the animation and did not see any activity in the other areas, beyond the standard displays and videos playing.


----------



## Leigh L

LovesBelle said:


> These are such great reports! For those of you who were just there—what rides are open during the early theme park entry period for resort guests? I have seen people mention that Splash wasn’t running but Big Thunder was, for example. Would love advice about all four parks. Thanks!



Our most recent visit for opening time was MK/DHS in February (didn't do AK and EP opening on this trip).

MK: 7DMT,  Big Thunder, Space, Buzz (varies), Peter Pan (8:30ish), Splash (usually 9 but have seen lining up earlier and maybe a few minutes earlier, but mostly 9), Pirates (sometimes yes, sometimes no). This experience is based on several early arrivals for MK staying both on and off property. IaSW and HM have never opened before 9 in our experience.

DHS: ToT, RnR, MMRR, MFSR, and Slinky. Boarding Groups for Rise also have been starting to be called pre-opening at times. That's happened at least a couple of times I've seen, so if you have an early BG, that's something to consider.

Right now the early entry for resort guests hasn't started, but the parks have been opening early consistently. In February we stayed off-site for 3 park days and got in roughly around the same time we did when staying on-property in January and DD and I did one park day from Pop before moving off property in Feb. So crowds will be the same in that respect.

Have a great trip!! The mornings are the best and definitely the way to go


----------



## Naomeri

Second Park Day: Friday, March 12–Epcot (11am open) Part 1

Knowing that I wasn’t planning on any rides at Epcot, I didn’t need to rush to make rope drop, so I left my room at Pop at 10:22, and there was basically no wait for the Skyliner at Pop.  There was a bit of a line at the CBR station when I arrived at 10:32, and I got on my way to Epcot at 10:45.  13 minutes later I was landing at the Epcot station and through the temp checks at 11 on the dot.  I got pulled aside at Security for some unknown reason, since I had exactly the same stuff on me that I’d had at MK the day before.

Everyone going through the International Gateway seemed to be heading toward the UK, so I swung right and headed for France.  World Showcase was sparsely populated and it was really easy to walk around and look at all the F&G decor.  I tried to wander around and find things I hadn’t seen before.  It was a very peaceful way to start the day.  I saw the Princess cavalcade twice and Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy once.  It’s really very cool to get birthday greetings from characters.

I stopped for lunch at the Refreshment Outpost (I am a very non-adventurous eater, so a hot dog and frozen lemonade was perfect)  Things started getting crowded around China, and stayed more crowded until I got closer to Future World.  Since I have a second Epcot day coming, I chose to save Future World for that day.  I finished up the countries and hopped back on the Skyliner at 12:45 for some resort and pool time.


----------



## Naomeri

Second Park Day: Friday, March 12–Magic Kingdom (10pm close)

After my World Showcase morning, I hung out all afternoon before heading to MK to knock out all the rides I skipped on my first day.  I mobile-ordered a closing time dinner at Cosmic Ray’s just to stay a little while longer.   I got to the bus stop at 5:59, and boarded the waiting bus at 6:01.  Arrived at MK at 6:18 and sailed through temps, security, and tapstiles.

I started in TomorrowLand with Buzz Lightyear at 6:29, with a posted wait of 30 minutes.  I was on the ride at 6:43 (I scored 116,200).  Next was the Teacups at 6:55, with a posted wait of 10.  This was pretty close to right, I got on at 7:03.  Voyage of the Little Mermaid at 7:12 was a walk-on, but posted 10.  Pooh at 7:25 was posted at 25, and I was on at 7:41.  Peter Pan was posted as 25 minutes at 7:49, and I hit a cleaning cycle so I got on at 8:18.  Haunted Mansion was a walk-on at 8:24, but posted 10 minutes.  Flying Carpets posted a 10 minute wait at 8:40, and I was on at 8:48.  Jungle Cruise at 8:53 had a posted 25 minute wait, and I was on the Ganges Gertie with Skipper Amanda at 9:03.  Back to TomorrowLand for AstroOrbiter at 9:20, with a posted wait of 20 minutes, but I was in the elevator at 9:28.  Walked on to Buzz Lightyear after that and scored 114,900 (the blaster had a stiff button)

Sat down outside Ray’s and hit “Prepare Order” at 9:50 and it was hot and fresh at 9:55.  I sat down in an almost empty restaurant and listened to Sonnie Eclipse’s corny jokes for a while before heading to the castle for a couple night shots.  Hit the Pop bus stop at 10:22 and got on a bus at 10:40.


----------



## WIll C

brockash said:


> We're actually on ME heading home now...if it were me; I'd walk to CBR skyliner station and be there by 710 for a 9am dhs open if you want to be one of the first 10-15 families on there way to dhs.


The walk to the CBR station is pretty far from Riviera and unless there's a big backup at the station, taking the Skyliner from Riviera is a lot faster. Obviously, with more people coming in, there will be more people at CBR getting up early for HS so if may be worth the early walk. So long as you get ahead of them letting in the cars to the park, you're in business.

One problem I saw was that they back up the incoming traffic at HS at the Temp screening tents. If you are unlucky, you get backed up into the first set of tents on the left with the general bus traffic. I got lucky, got redirected to the right side as it opened up and got into the park with next to no one ahead of me. It's really a game of chance with where they put you.


----------



## Justrose

Need opinions - I have breakfast at Trattoria (7:30am) and Ale and Compass (7:05am) booked and plan on taking the boats to HS - will we make it in time to get in and make the most of RD for our HS days, or should I cancel those reservations?

ETA: our trip is 3/21-3/28.


----------



## WIll C

Justrose said:


> Need opinions - I have breakfast at Trattoria (7:30am) and Ale and Compass (7:05am) booked and plan on taking the boats to HS - will we make it in time to get in and make the most of RD for our HS days, or should I cancel those reservations?
> 
> ETA: our trip is 3/21-3/28.


I doubt you'd make it to HS with a 7:30 Trattoria reservation. That's an hour at least and they will open the gates shortly after 8am. SDD will be an hour quickly after they open as most people tend to hit up that first. Honestly, skip breakfast, other than to go items, if you want to rope drop anything.

HS seems the worst for rope drop as there just aren't enough rides. By 10am, even Saucers is over 30 minutes (and I've seen it an hour) and all the rest are an hour plus.


----------



## Justrose

@Naomeri , a few questions since I know you are at POP.

Is 6:45am a good time to line up for the MK and AK bus for an 8am opening?
What time do you suggest we get in line for the Skyliner for the 9am HS opening?

Thank you, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


----------



## Jaina

Kitty & Covs Covs said:


> I can’t tell if you’ve already had your trip or not—how did this work out? We have a 7:45 ADR at the Wave tomorrow morning so we could get past the guard and walk to MK for RD, but it’s only for half our party.  I’m thinking that instead of wasting it, we have half go in and order and get some to go for everyone else.   We would plan to show up for 7:30 seating.


We got back Thursday, so last Tuesday was our MK day. We nearly killed our selves  Saturday doing most of Hollywood Studios until like 6 pm and then hitting Universal from 8-10 that night then doing a partial day and a full at a very crowded Universal Sunday and Monday, so I told my husband we could chill a little on Tuesday morning (since I knew MK would be my favorite day and we’d be staying until after the 9 pm closing). So I canceled that reservation, and we just took a Lyft when parking opened. We were maybe 20 parties back waiting at that security gate at the TTC when it opened at 8:15, and by the time we rode the monorail over and got to Seven Dwarfs the wait was 20-ish minutes. So we rode Peter Pan twice and the Carousel first (because who wants to wait 45 minutes for the carousel?) and then did a bunch of other stuff before waiting in a 50 min line for 7DMT later in the day. My husband liked it, but didn’t love it after being on Hagrid’s (my new favorite ride!!)  like five times the days before at Universal. So I rode it one more time at closing well he did pirates again. And by not doing the super early no-show reservation walk over, we got to sleep in 20 or 30 more minutes and had a lot less stress. I didn’t feel fantastic about making a reservation I knew it wasn’t going to use, even if I paid the $20 fee.


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

Jaina said:


> We got back Thursday, so last Tuesday was our MK day. We nearly killed our selves  Saturday doing most of Hollywood Studios until like 6 pm and then hitting Universal from 8-10 that night then doing a partial day and a full at a very crowded Universal Sunday and Monday, so I told my husband we could chill a little on Tuesday morning (since I knew MK would be my favorite day and we’d be staying until after the 9 pm closing). So I canceled that reservation, and we just took a Lyft when parking opened. We were maybe 20 parties back waiting at that security gate at the TTC when it opened at 8:15, and by the time we rode the monorail over and got to Seven Dwarfs the wait was 20-ish minutes. So we rode Peter Pan twice and the Carousel first (because who wants to wait 45 minutes for the carousel?) and then did a bunch of other stuff before waiting in a 50 min line for 7DMT later in the day. My husband liked it, but didn’t love it after being on Hagrid’s (my new favorite ride!!)  like five times the days before at Universal. So I rode it one more time at closing well he did pirates again. And by not doing the super early no-show reservation walk over, we got to sleep in 20 or 30 more minutes and had a lot less stress. I didn’t feel fantastic about making a reservation I knew it wasn’t going to use, even if I paid the $20 fee.


Hagrid's is the BEST ride.


----------



## brockash

WIll C said:


> The walk to the CBR station is pretty far from Riviera and unless there's a big backup at the station, taking the Skyliner from Riviera is a lot faster. Obviously, with more people coming in, there will be more people at CBR getting up early for HS so if may be worth the early walk. So long as you get ahead of them letting in the cars to the park, you're in business.
> 
> One problem I saw was that they back up the incoming traffic at HS at the Temp screening tents. If you are unlucky, you get backed up into the first set of tents on the left with the general bus traffic. I got lucky, got redirected to the right side as it opened up and got into the park with next to no one ahead of me. It's really a game of chance with where they put you.


That's very true about the temp check lines.  I think if you're not concerned about being one of the first 15 or so from the skyliner than yeah I'd say not worth the walk.  I just know when we went we saw pop/art ppl. and they lined them up with us, but we never saw Riviera ppl. come through and we ended up being around the 14th family on the skyliner.


----------



## brockash

Justrose said:


> Need opinions - I have breakfast at Trattoria (7:30am) and Ale and Compass (7:05am) booked and plan on taking the boats to HS - will we make it in time to get in and make the most of RD for our HS days, or should I cancel those reservations?
> 
> ETA: our trip is 3/21-3/28.


I don't think so.  You really want to be over there or on Disney transportation by 750 for a 9am dhs park open and I don't think you'll be able to make that with either of those.


----------



## scrappinginontario

*REMINDER:*

_As a Disney travel planning site, discussions about Disney's policies and rules are very welcome here. However, discussions of, or instructions for ways to circumvent those rules or "cheat the system" are not appropriate and will be deleted._


----------



## Naomeri

Justrose said:


> @Naomeri , a few questions since I know you are at POP.
> 
> Is 6:45am a good time to line up for the MK and AK bus for an 8am opening?
> What time do you suggest we get in line for the Skyliner for the 9am HS opening?
> 
> Thank you, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


The lines might be a little long if you leave it that late, but the buses will probably start arriving shortly after you get in line, so at least you’ll be moving.

Not sure on the Skyliner since I chose not to rope drop HS this trip because I got a later BG (75, which was called at 1:08 pm)


----------



## wilkydelts

I was watching the TP lines app all day and with all park passes gone in every category for every park I could not believe how reasonable dare I say good the wait times were today. Makes me really wonder if they are increasing “ride throughputs” and the number of CMs working these next few weeks.


----------



## Tasmen

wilkydelts said:


> I was watching the TP lines app all day and with all park passes gone in every category for every park I could not believe how reasonable dare I say good the wait times were today. Makes me really wonder if they are increasing “ride throughputs” and the number of CMs working these next few weeks.



I was noticing that too!  Let's hope so.  It's calming some of the anxiety I have about that first week in April.


----------



## yaya74

wilkydelts said:


> I was watching the TP lines app all day and with all park passes gone in every category for every park I could not believe how reasonable dare I say good the wait times were today. Makes me really wonder if they are increasing “ride throughputs” and the number of CMs working these next few weeks.


I check LINE at 2:30pm and was surprised to see the very manageable wait time too!


----------



## scrappinginontario

I called the park hopper line at 4:15 (just out of curiosity since I’m in my hone in Canada) and park hopping was available to all parks.


----------



## duder92

How often do they restrict park hopping?


----------



## scrappinginontario

duder92 said:


> How often do they restrict park hopping?


To date, park hopping has never been restricted, even on days like today when all 4 parks are at capacity.  It could happen, it just hasn’t yet.


----------



## DMLAINI

Are you currently allowed to mobile order a qs meal close to the parks closing?  We're at CBR & the menu at the qs looks not too great so I was hoping to end our days eating a qs meal at the parks instead of waiting in long lines for transportation.


----------



## duder92

scrappinginontario said:


> To date, park hopping has never been restricted, even on days like today when all 4 parks are at capacity.  It could happen, it just hasn’t yet.



thanks!


----------



## brockash

DMLAINI said:


> Are you currently allowed to mobile order a qs meal close to the parks closing?  We're at CBR & the menu at the qs looks not too great so I was hoping to end our days eating a qs meal at the parks instead of waiting in long lines for transportation.


Yes.  We literally picked up our mobile order at Regal Eagle at 8pm... 8pm closing st Epcot.  Ate in restaurant with no issue etc.


----------



## samsonjs

When is the last time MK actually closed at 6 and didn’t extend hours? Is there a way to view past hours?


----------



## Naomeri

DMLAINI said:


> Are you currently allowed to mobile order a qs meal close to the parks closing?  We're at CBR & the menu at the qs looks not too great so I was hoping to end our days eating a qs meal at the parks instead of waiting in long lines for transportation.


Yes, I ordered Cosmic Ray’s for the 9:55-10pm window on a 10pm MK close just the other day (March 12)


----------



## lluv3971

Here now. Got in Thursday, 3/11 and staying until 3/18. We're here over the "sold out" Spring Break week and so far, it has not been bad at all!

I'll update later in the week so I'll keep this short-ish now.

Friday - I had to work in the morning, so we headed to MK at 2pm. We knew it would be the peak of both heat and crowds but we were prepared to be patient and play it by ear. We did Magic Carpets with a 7 min wait (posted 15), had Dole Whips (the Coconut is AMAZING), and waited 17 minutes for Mansion (posted 25). We had dinner plans at GFlo so we left MK around 3:45. We were happy to leave the crowds.

We returned to MK around 5:30. Mine Train was posted at 50. We wanted to get 7DMT done early in our trip so we could focus on other rides during the early morning hours. The line started at Dumbo but moved quickly. Once we were in the mine, the ride temporarily shut down for about 5 minutes. By the time we were on the train, we had waited only 35 mins. After that, we rode the Speedway, which was basically a walk on. We headed back to BLT after that.

Yesterday (Saturday) - walked from BLT to MK at 7:45. Was held at temp check until 8:05 with about 15 families ahead of us. The line behind us grew quickly but everyone followed the safety rules. 

We were In MK by 8:15. Went straight to Space and we're the second group in line. The line quickly grew, but opened at 8:32. Awesome first ride of the day. (Side note- 7dmt, pp, and carrousel were open at about 8:15). From there, we made our way over to BTM that had a line, but they had just started to run trains when we arrived. We walked right on. Next, we headed to Jungle Cruise and waited about 10 mins. When we got off, it was posted at 30 minutes. From there, we continued our morning with "lesser" rides - waited 10 for buzz (posted 20), walk on for Little Mermaid, had a snack, and waited 12 minutes (posted 20) for Tea Cups.

Had lunch at Tomorrow Land Terrace / Columbia Harbor House and then headed back to BLT for an afternoon at the pool.

General observations:

- Getting to a park before opening is HUGE. We were always Rope Drop people, so it's not a big change for us, but you can get so much done with hardly any crowds/ waits if you are at a park an hour beforehand.

 - Touring plans times have been SPOT ON! They usually report at least a 20 min difference on headliners. They have been the only times we have been following and so far, have been 100% accurate.

- Having at least 2 days of each park is a must if you want limited waits and pressure-free touring. 

- Morning visitors seem much more courteous and mindful, which made for even better touring. Compliance was nearly 100% and everyone knew "the drill." 

- Most people are wearing masks appropriately, but it is very noticeable when someone isn't. We saw a few noses, some maskless kids running around the hub. We have yet to see a CM remind people to pull up masks. Saw a guy take off his mask to sneeze, and a other guy behind us in line, picked his nose 3 times. It's easy to have mask issues etched in your mind, but you have to remind yourself that 90% of people are doing the right thing.

- Most people are Social Distancing in lines, but there are others who are so oblivious to the markers. Admittedly, some lines are hard to follow.

- Mobile order your lunch during breakfast to secure your time. Do the same for dinner. Times go quickly and food options are very limited.

- Snacks are hard to find! There are not as many carts and booths open, and some go-tos are closed to accommodate social distancing in lines. 

That's all for now. We are moving to the Boardwalk area to spend the rest of our vacay at Epcot at DHS. We will report back soon.


----------



## Ecomommy09

lluv3971 said:


> Here now. Got in Thursday, 3/11 and staying until 3/18. We're here over the "sold out" Spring Break week and so far, it has not been bad at all!
> 
> I'll update later in the week so I'll keep this short-ish now.
> 
> Friday - I had to work in the morning, so we headed to MK at 2pm. We knew it would be the peak of both heat and crowds but we were prepared to be patient and play it by ear. We did Magic Carpets with a 7 min wait (posted 15), had Dole Whips (the Coconut is AMAZING), and waited 17 minutes for Mansion (posted 25). We had dinner plans at GFlo so we left MK around 3:45. We were happy to leave the crowds.
> 
> We returned to MK around 5:30. Mine Train was posted at 50. We wanted to get 7DMT done early in our trip so we could focus on other rides during the early morning hours. The line started at Dumbo but moved quickly. Once we were in the mine, the ride temporarily shut down for about 5 minutes. By the time we were on the train, we had waited only 35 mins. After that, we rode the Speedway, which was basically a walk on. We headed back to BLT after that.
> 
> Yesterday (Saturday) - walked from BLT to MK at 7:45. Was held at temp check until 8:05 with about 15 families ahead of us. The line behind us grew quickly but everyone followed the safety rules.
> 
> - Touring plans times have been SPOT ON! They usually report at least a 20 min difference on headliners. They have been the only times we have been following and so far, have been 100% accurate.


thank you for this!  I was trying to figure out how early to walkover on our MK morning!


----------



## dez1978

brockash said:


> We're actually on ME heading home now...if it were me; I'd walk to CBR skyliner station and be there by 710 for a 9am dhs open if you want to be one of the first 10-15 families on there way to dhs.


What time did they start running


----------



## beesly

samsonjs said:


> When is the last time MK actually closed at 6 and didn’t extend hours? Is there a way to view past hours?



I don’t know when the last 6pm closing was, but there are many dates (as recent as the beginning of this month) when it was only extended to 7pm. It was strange not getting to see MK after sunset when I was there in January!

You can find past hours here: https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-world/park-hours.htm


----------



## Spaghetti Cat

lluv3971 said:


> - Touring plans times have been SPOT ON!



Hey thanks for reporting this. We get lots of reports of official times being off but few from alternatives. It's good to hear these guys are still at the top of their game.

I think they had some trouble when covid first hit, but it sounds like they've been adapting their models.


----------



## limace

Spaghetti Cat said:


> Hey thanks for reporting this. We get lots of reports of official times being off but few from alternatives. It's good to hear these guys are still at the top of their game.
> 
> I think they had some trouble when covid first hit, but it sounds like they've been adapting their models.


I’ve been reading trip reports in their forums and folks are doing a ton of reporting back on wait times and it does seem like their postings are much closer to accurate than Disney’s.


----------



## CrazyDreamer

We just got home last night from a week in BLT, and we had a wonderful time! We definitely got lucky with weather, but there was no loss of magic from our perspectives. 

Totally agree with the many posters commenting on the importance of getting to the parks that extra half hour early. We also found that all the parks started emptying out an hour or so before closing time (even in the parks where this was early, like AK and HS) and we were able to walk on lots of attractions during this time. We also got lucky on a 1:00 PM RotR boarding group on our HS day - it felt like winning the lottery!

The cast members are all doing an amazing job enforcing guidelines. It's a tough job, but they're doing it well. Thank you for all the tips, disboarders! This was one of the best trips our family has ever had.


----------



## brockash

dez1978 said:


> What time did they start running


They pulled us up into the station for DHS around 735/740 and started loadinf gondolas around 750.  For Epcot at the Riviera station it was about 940 & 955 to load.


----------



## Thomasboys

Spaghetti Cat said:


> Hey thanks for reporting this. We get lots of reports of official times being off but few from alternatives. It's good to hear these guys are still at the top of their game.
> 
> I think they had some trouble when covid first hit, but it sounds like they've been adapting their models.


This is good to know!  We leave Thursday and I’ve been on the fence about the TP subscription.


----------



## lnR_Texas

*March 14 (Pi Day) DHS* - Our first park day but we were ready thanks to Disboards! 

Left our room at WL at 7:30, Dropped off at Speedway by 7:50 (thanks to my dad who was forgoing the parks this time).  In line at temp check by ~8:00.  Only about 10 groups in front of us. Skyliner was just starting to drop off folks and it looked like the line built quickly behind us.

8:10 temp check opened and we were walking down Hollywood Blvd by 8:13. Straight to SDD and on ride by 8:23 (sorry 70+ mom, we made you walk so fast).  Over to MFSM and boarded by 8:48.  Back to Toy Story Land for TSM (8 min wait), boarding by 9:20.  

Had RotR BG4 (thanks to my DD12’s quick fingers) and needed to be in the line by 9:40.  On the ride by about 10.  And then...we had no choice but to wait in a long line.

Joined RnR line at 10:20 and waited 50 min. MDE said 50, Touring Plans said less, but it’s so hard to predict the rapid increase in wait times between 10-11.  Loved the ride but the wait in the sun took its toll, mostly on my DS16.  We needed a break!

Ice cream at Hollywood Scoops then shopping for some ears for my DD.  DS and DH continued to chillax at table in front of Dockside Diner.

DD, grandma, and me tried to shop in Galaxy’s Edge but just too busy.  DD and I decided to do ST at 12:15 (40 min wait posted, but waiting 25, Touring Plans was spot on here).  Made it back just in time to join the rest of the family at Brown Derby for lunch at 12:55.  Great lunch (a cold Rose tastes amazing after standing in the sun all morning) and then headed back to WL at 2.

Relaxing in the room now and hope to head back to DHS around 5:30 to hit MMRT, ToT, and SDD again.

*Thoughts on ADRs*: We really enjoy the break of a TS for lunch. Two years ago we had most of our lunches between 1-2 because we had FP+ between 10-1.  But with no FP+, 1 pm felt too late for lunch (particularly for my DS).  Maybe because we started so early, maybe because he’s 16, maybe because he didn’t really eat breakfast.  Most of our lunches for the rest of the week are closer to 2 pm and I am not sure he is going to make it that late.  Sure he could have a snack, but I think we all would rather have the lunch break earlier when the lines are longest.


----------



## GBRforWDW

samsonjs said:


> When is the last time MK actually closed at 6 and didn’t extend hours? Is there a way to view past hours?





beesly said:


> I don’t know when the last 6pm closing was, but there are many dates (as recent as the beginning of this month) when it was only extended to 7pm. It was strange not getting to see MK after sunset when I was there in January!
> 
> You can find past hours here: https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-world/park-hours.htm


Looks like Jan 30 is the last 6pm close.   Keep in mind, crowds were really low the last week or two of January


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## Sunshine2U

lnR_Texas said:


> *Thoughts on ADRs*: We really enjoy the break of a TS for lunch. Two years ago we had most of our lunches between 1-2 because we had FP+ between 10-1.  But with no FP+, 1 pm felt too late for lunch (particularly for my DS).  Maybe because we started so early, maybe because he’s 16, maybe because he didn’t really eat breakfast.  Most of our lunches for the rest of the week are closer to 2 pm and I am not sure he is going to make it that late.  Sure he could have a snack, but I think we all would rather have the lunch break earlier when the lines are longest.


I planned all of our ADRs for 2:00 with a planned heavy snack around 10:30-11:00. I'm hoping this works out and we don't lose too much time on the snack stop. I like the concept of heavy meal at 2:00, back to resort, then QS for dinner. Time will tell.

Edited to add: I know the kids won't eat breakfast so feeding them 10-11 seemed like a requirement. I definitely didn't want TS then!


----------



## pens4821

What’s the waiting like for buses at resorts that don’t have dedicated park lines/stops (I think values are the only ones with dedicated stops for each park)?  Is it still a free for all or do they have lines at every resort now for distancing?


----------



## Je-Ree Olenik

glad to see everyones experience.


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## hergosling

The resort bus stops/stations....

I'm interested in hearing about this as well.  We'll be staying at Grand Floridian at Easter time and it's going to be busy.  Given that the Epcot Monorail isn't running, the bus stop now has Epcot busses to accommodate as well.  The bus stop at the Grand just isn't that big, and filled up in the early mornings pre-covid and it was always a bit of a free for all... wondering what they've done to keep it organized and distanced now??!


----------



## RunWI1265

hergosling said:


> The resort bus stops/stations....
> 
> I'm interested in hearing about this as well.  We'll be staying at Grand Floridian at Easter time and it's going to be busy.  Given that the Epcot Monorail isn't running, the bus stop now has Epcot busses to accommodate as well.  The bus stop at the Grand just isn't that big, and filled up in the early mornings pre-covid and it was always a bit of a free for all... wondering what they've done to keep it organized and distanced now??!



Not sure about GF but when I stayed at CR end of Jan/early Feb there was usually a CM or two outside helping people line up. But I will admit, it was a little confusing. They had sandwich board signs out for specific parks/Springs but one time when we were trying to get in line for Springs the Epcot line was all the way back towards the hotel entrance (basically taking space where other park lines were supposed to start). So I had to ask people in line what park they were in line for because it seemed all the lines were just one big line. I stood off to the side where the DS bus line was supposed to start, which I'm sure looked like I was trying to cut the Epcot line. This only seems to be a problem at peak times though. I will add the screens were not accurate either. On this occasion the board said the Disney Springs bus was 20+ minutes out and it ended up coming wayyyy before that. So be alert in case you aren't waiting with the crowd for a park open bus.


----------



## JFox

Random thoughts from our trip,

March 6-13
Southwest
Copper Creek

Copper Creek - About 1 hour prior to our landing I was reviewing my text messages and realized that the text I received had my arrival time for 12:00am.  I know when I completed the check in process I had the correct time AND I had a reservation for ME.  So I pay the $8 for in flight internet so I could update my arrival time.  I finally get in and my arrival time says arriving via ME.  I then try the chat feature that connects me to someone who without even letting me explain the situation says "go to the front desk."

I explain that I need her to update my arrival time and after insisting she finally does it.  She ends her conversation with "you may now calmly pick up your bags and proceed to ME."

This is the second time I have had a 12:00am arrival time.  When we were there in January we had a split stay and our room assignment text never came.  I also used the chat feature and the CM said that my arrival time was for 12:00am.  She could see that it was a split stay and fixed it right away.

Room view - when I booked I asked for a pool view.  When we got to the resort our room location (6100) overlooked the front parking lot.  Time made a request and we're moved to 5124 overlooking the smaller pool.

One last thing about CC - our hallway was a parking lot of mobility carts parked on either side of the hallway.  I suspect they are parked in the hallway because they take up so much room and are an inconvenience to keep in the room.  I suspect the housekeeping crew has the same sentiments when zig zapping their carts through the minefield in the hallway.  Is it OK to store things outside my room?  Like my empty luggage or coolers?

Bus transportation - we had the worst luck and spent a lot of time waiting at the resort/parks.

Mobile ordering - mobile ordering is the best!

Yak & Yeti - ate here for the first time and everyone loved it.  Ordered too much food but it was all so good.

6ft markings - had some issues with this and many times felt that people were right on my tail.  At those times I would say loudly to my kidlets, "do you know those people in front of you?  No.  Then step back from them and get on your line."  Anyone close enough behind me that could hear got the point and stepped back.

Universal Studios - spent the day here on Wednesday.  Too. Many. People.

Mask compliance - saw more people's faces than I would have liked to.  It's been a year peeps.  There was a strong CM presence throughout the parks holding their signs reminding people and asking for them to pull up their masks.

DAS - while in line for Pirates I overhead a female guest complaining about the wait time.  She remarked to her friend that she was going to get a DAS card.  "I will just tell them I have a bad back.  Then we can get on all the rides without waiting.  They can't say anything about it."  Is that how easy it is?

RoR - successfully secured boarding groups from our resort room Sunday and Tuesday.  No issues.

Oga's - I had an ADR for Tuesday 9am and although I checked and checked for a better time I was not successful.  Monday night we went back to MGM (it will always be MGM in my family) and stopped by to see if we could go in.  They let us in at 5:45pm, 7pm closing time.  Quick stop at guest services on our way out to cancel the early morning reservation for the next day since I was within the 24 hr window.

Savi's & Droid Depot - my kidlets loved every minute.  They had been looking forward to those experiences for a long time.  I was so happy to see them experience GE for the first time.

Wait times - all times were exaggerated and we came in under every time.  My kidlets would start a timer when we entered the que line.  FYI, they started a time for pirates on Thursday and never turned it off.  Now they are seeing how long the timer will go.

Crowds - crowd size was considerably larger than when we were here in January and picked up Thursday.  Our spring break was early and was glad to be on our way out as more people began to arrive. 

Flower and Garden Festival - my husband and I were excited to see this festival for the first time.  My kidlets, not so much.  We are taking an adults only weekend trip in May so we can enjoy the festival.


----------



## SarahC97

JFox said:


> Random thoughts from our trip,
> 
> March 6-13
> Southwest
> Copper Creek
> 
> Copper Creek - About 1 hour prior to our landing I was reviewing my text messages and realized that the text I received had my arrival time for 12:00am.  I know when I completed the check in process I had the correct time AND I had a reservation for ME.  So I pay the $8 for in flight internet so I could update my arrival time.  I finally get in and my arrival time says arriving via ME.  I then try the chat feature that connects me to someone who without even letting me explain the situation says "go to the front desk."
> 
> I explain that I need her to update my arrival time and after insisting she finally does it.  She ends her conversation with "you may now calmly pick up your bags and proceed to ME."
> 
> This is the second time I have had a 12:00am arrival time.  When we were there in January we had a split stay and our room assignment text never came.  I also used the chat feature and the CM said that my arrival time was for 12:00am.  She could see that it was a split stay and fixed it right away.
> 
> Room view - when I booked I asked for a pool view.  When we got to the resort our room location (6100) overlooked the front parking lot.  Time made a request and we're moved to 5124 overlooking the smaller pool.
> 
> One last thing about CC - our hallway was a parking lot of mobility carts parked on either side of the hallway.  I suspect they are parked in the hallway because they take up so much room and are an inconvenience to keep in the room.  I suspect the housekeeping crew has the same sentiments when zig zapping their carts through the minefield in the hallway.  Is it OK to store things outside my room?  Like my empty luggage or coolers?
> 
> Bus transportation - we had the worst luck and spent a lot of time waiting at the resort/parks.
> 
> Mobile ordering - mobile ordering is the best!
> 
> Yak & Yeti - ate here for the first time and everyone loved it.  Ordered too much food but it was all so good.
> 
> 6ft markings - had some issues with this and many times felt that people were right on my tail.  At those times I would say loudly to my kidlets, "do you know those people in front of you?  No.  Then step back from them and get on your line."  Anyone close enough behind me that could hear got the point and stepped back.
> 
> Universal Studios - spent the day here on Wednesday.  Too. Many. People.
> 
> Mask compliance - saw more people's faces than I would have liked to.  It's been a year peeps.  There was a strong CM presence throughout the parks holding their signs reminding people and asking for them to pull up their masks.
> 
> DAS - while in line for Pirates I overhead a female guest complaining about the wait time.  She remarked to her friend that she was going to get a DAS card.  "I will just tell them I have a bad back.  Then we can get on all the rides without waiting.  They can't say anything about it."  Is that how easy it is?
> 
> RoR - successfully secured boarding groups from our resort room Sunday and Tuesday.  No issues.
> 
> Oga's - I had an ADR for Tuesday 9am and although I checked and checked for a better time I was not successful.  Monday night we went back to MGM (it will always be MGM in my family) and stopped by to see if we could go in.  They let us in at 5:45pm, 7pm closing time.  Quick stop at guest services on our way out to cancel the early morning reservation for the next day since I was within the 24 hr window.
> 
> Savi's & Droid Depot - my kidlets loved every minute.  They had been looking forward to those experiences for a long time.  I was so happy to see them experience GE for the first time.
> 
> Wait times - all times were exaggerated and we came in under every time.  My kidlets would start a timer when we entered the que line.  FYI, they started a time for pirates on Thursday and never turned it off.  Now they are seeing how long the timer will go.
> 
> Crowds - crowd size was considerably larger than when we were here in January and picked up Thursday.  Our spring break was early and was glad to be on our way out as more people began to arrive.
> 
> Flower and Garden Festival - my husband and I were excited to see this festival for the first time.  My kidlets, not so much.  We are taking an adults only weekend trip in May so we can enjoy the festival.


Regarding DAS: Disney depends on people to be honest about their needs. Theoretically, you could lie about it because they do not ask for proof, but it's also not necessarily something for those with mobility issues. Who knows? You cannot control other people but as someone who sincerely needs a DAS, I'm grateful to have it.


----------



## MoreThanThis

Hi everyone!

I booked a last minute trip with some family before all the spring break capacity issues started!

Today was our first park day. This was my first time back since January 2020.

We got to Animal Kingdom around 9:30am, took a resort break at 2PM, then hopped to Hollywood studios and Epcot from 4-11PM.

some quick takeaways:
- I’m shocked how easy it was to wait for rides. Prior to this trip, I was a fastpass or pass type of person. The lines for rides look long but you’re constantly moving that the time goes by quickly. The longest I waited was for FOP at 45 mins. We took on almost all big attractions (except Star Wars) and the wait was really easy to do. When we got to Hollywood, Mickey and Minnies Runaway was only a 15 min wait at 5:30 PM.

-Disney has done a really great job of putting social distancing in place, but many visitors don’t pay attention. On almost every attraction, I had parties standing literally right behind me and I kindly reminded them of their spots. They were kind too, but it was a bit alarming.

-The Skyliner in the evening/at sunset was wildly relaxing

-the CMs were really fantastic, still kind and putting the visitors at ease with waves and hellos


----------



## brockash

pens4821 said:


> What’s the waiting like for buses at resorts that don’t have dedicated park lines/stops (I think values are the only ones with dedicated stops for each park)?  Is it still a free for all or do they have lines at every resort now for distancing?


It really kinda depends on how many ppl are there and the resort.  This past week we stayed at CBR and one morning walked up to the bus stop and it was packed, no line or anything just ppl everywhere.  After waiting a little bit with no bus, I asked a few groups where they were headed...they all said MK (as were we,) so we left and hoofed it to Riviera as I felt like we'd have a better shot at getting on the first bus there.  It worked and there was a line, not just ppl. packed everywhere, but they also had different bus stops depending on where you were going which really helped.  In Oct. we stayed at AKL and for the most part, ppl. created lines.  At Poly in Sept.; it was more of a free for all; at least until the bus stop was full and then ppl. started lining up on the little path.  - That didn't work so well either though because on more than 1 occasion I saw ppl. not get on the bus they were trying to get on because of the line and the bus would leave half empty.  None of the resorts I've stayed at in the last year had Cms at them.  I've seen it in the past here and there, but not in the last year for my experience.


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## Jonfw2

Okay, guys. Here we go.  Less than 1 week out from the first WDW trip in well over a year.  Any last minute tips?  Masks are ready to go, assume all the "regular" Disney stuff is done...so what- perhaps unique to Covid- should I be doing this week???


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## kittylady1972

Just back from a quick trip 9-March through 13-March.

10-March was a Universal Parks day only...we arrived way too early (thought it opened at 8am; it opened at 9am for non-Universal resort guests).  We really only did Mummy, the train between US and IOA, got lucky enough to snag a 9:40 Virtual group for Hagrids, waiting for about 30 minutes or so for Hagrids in line, Spiderman was showing a long wait (40-50 minutes) as was Hulk (60?) around 10:30am so we chose not to wait.  We enjoyed the Mardis Gras floats and several food items...I really like their setup there with the booths only wish they had a key of where each one was located in the park.  The food was good though.  We got in line for MiB with a 30 minute wait showing but it was a walk-on at 12:30pm.  Loved seeing the different characters around the park...saw some Dr. Seuss characters all together and Gru and daughters together as well.  Wish I could love these parks as much as Disney but I just don't feel it when I'm there.  We had dinner plans at Disney Springs which was definitely crowded...or so we thought until we showed up there on Saturday.

11-March:  Since we were staying at Riviera, we chose to take the Skyliner over to HS that morning even though DH was unsuccessful in getting a RoTR Boarding pass at 7am (I was driving to breakfast at the time and couldn't help).  When we saw the line at the Skyliner station (at 8:30am on a 9am opening day) to go to HS we changed our minds...and rode back to Riviera and then thought we'd take a bus instead.  Joke on us...only choice in the morning is Skyliner to HS or EPCOT.  We hopped a bus to MK instead, walked over to Contemporary, did some shopping, then hopped a bus to HS.  This of course meant we didn't arrive at HS until around 10am.  The lines were already crazy looking with SDD at Little Mermaid and TSM running down to where it USED to be located.  However we found it moved quite quickly.  We were in line at about 10:15am and off the ride around 10:50am.  Other lines were looking insane and we were hungry...but not having a lot of food options in the park we decided our best bet was to leave...and we took Skyliner to Caribbean Beach which was a GREAT decision.  The food there was very good and we were able to get it quickly and eat outside there...then return to the park.  We arrived back at the park just before 1pm, grabbed some ice cream, then sat down to try to get a RoTR boarding pass...success!  With a return time estimated 80 minutes later, we headed back to our resort and came back later.  Arrived back at park about 20 minutes before our RoTR window, the line was outside of the entrance to Galaxy's Edge but moved quickly...at first.  Then we were stuck inside RoTR several times...including on the ride at several different points.  For those not familiar I won't spoil it but since this was our 3rd or 4th time on this ride in the last year we knew what to expect...and the delays were very obvious.    I think total time, with our Virtual Boarding pass, from line until we were off the ride was nearly 2 hours.  We were then hungry again so we grabbed food in GE which was my first time eating there.  We then had a little time to kill before our reservation at Oga's but lines were too long elsewhere to risk it...so we waited it out in GE area.  Afterwards it was after 6:30pm and we chose to ride MFSR with about a 20 minute wait which put us beyond the 7pm park closing.  We saw the lines for Skyliner again...and decided to take a bus to MK instead.  Arrived at MK around 8pm with a 10pm closing.  During this time we rode Space Mt (30 minute wait...took about that long), then over to HM (walk on) and finally Peter Pan (showed 40 minutes, we walked right onto it at 9:45pm ) and then park was closed and we bussed back to Riviera.

12-March: Magic Kingdom early day, we were at bus stop around 8:15am for a 9am opening and there was already a decent line so we missed the first bus by about 3 groups...but then 2 other buses were lined up right after that and we were at the parks close to 9am.  We headed directly to BTMRR and walked right onto that at 9am but the line for Splash Mt next to it was insane...and all in the area we had to walk through to get to BTMRR after walking through from Haunted Mansion area.  After BTMRR, we hit POC with about a 40 minute wait at 9:15am, though it moved pretty well.  Aftewards we headed to Dumbo and did that with a walk-on, then Little Mermaid (also pretty much walk-on) and by 10:30am lines even for the Teacups were crazy long.  So we left parks around 11am and went back to our resort.  3pm headed to EPCOT as we had a 4:45pm dinner reservation.  Decided we had time for Test Track which was about a 30 minute wait.  Then we chose to go inside the Mexico Pavillion after dinner and there was a long line outside of the pyramid but it did move quickly...we waited maybe 10 minutes to get inside and another 10 minutes to see Donald and his friends from the boat.  At 6:30pm we hopped the Skyliner to HS for the last 90 minutes there.  We got in line for MMRR and waited about 20 minutes for that.  Then we decided to try ToT, which was still at 60 minutes at 7:20pm on an 8pm closing, and the queue was back behind the Tower...never been back there.  I was sure it would be quicker...it wasn't and that was our last ride there.  We then headed back to our resort.  Note that the lines at the Skyliner look CRAZY long but they do move quickly and we usually waited no longer than 15 to 20 minutes despite the line looking long.

13-March:  Our last park day, we had a park pass for AK.  Arrived at the park after driving around 8:20am for an 8am opening.  I decided we should do everything EXCEPT FoP first and that was the BEST decision.  We got on EE (walk on), then Dinosaur (walk-on) then Safari (the queue for this started at the Lion King theater...but it did move quickly...we were on the ride in about 20 minutes.  We then grabbed lunch and hopped in line for FoP which started around the bridge going towards Lion King but moved well and I think overall we waited about 45-50 minutes.  Not bad at all and this was at 11:15am.  Finished this and we wanted to get some more food before our Sangria University class at 2:30pm.  

So items of note...some of the lines do look CRAZY long but as DH pointed out they tend to move continuously so it's not that as bad as it seems.  Exceptions were ToT (what is up with that crazy wait?) and RoTR (it was clearly having a lot of technical issues).  Best times for touring are definitely first thing in the morning and last 2 hours of the evening, which nice breaks during the day.  If you can't find a decent mobile order window to eat when you want...try a nearby Disney Resort instead.  CB was a gem of a find.  Contempo Cafe would probably be a good option if at MK, and any of the two places at Riviera if you are at HS or EPCOT are great options.  Oh should mention we did got to Disney Springs Saturday around 5:30pm and I have to say that place is pure MADNESS...you know where all the people are when you get there.  Avoid it if you don't want to deal with crowds and several "maskholes" walking around trying to eat/drink while there...which isn't allowed...plenty of people were stopped and talked to but you know they didn't really stop that behavior.  Skyliner lines also look crazy but they do move very well also.  We head back in May/June and though this trip we weren't that focused on riding all the stuff for the next trip we are bringing a Disney first time so we'll need a solid plan for her to see as much as possible.  

Questions ask away!


----------



## thejbrowns

Hi Everyone! Thought it would be helpful to post some notes here for those about to go to WDW since we just returned. 
- Most parks open early, like 45 - 60 min. early in some cases. We got into EPCOT at 10:15 a.m. both days we went (listed as 11:00 a.m. open). MK opened at 8:30 a.m. (listed as 9:00 a.m. open)
- It is up to each ride if they open early. (7DMT was open at 8:30 a.m., but Pooh wasn't) You can get atleast 2-3 rides out of the way if you go early before it gets busier with virtually no wait!
- If you plan to mobile order food, think about it sooner rather than later. You have to select a "pick up window" of time, then you have to check in when you arrive and cannot enter or sit down until the app tells you that your order is ready. 
- Wait times for buses seemed longer due to the EPCOT monorail line not operating, as well as less capacity on the buses. We stayed at the Contemporary and missed the other monorail option for sure. Lyft was very handy to have and was only about $10 if you are in a pinch. The buses and monorail were running 45 min. prior to park open (monorail only runs 45 min. prior to MK open, not all parks)
- Usually Disney will assist to get you anywhere on property if you have a reservation, however, we had a Kona breakfast and the front desk told us in order to make it we should drive our car if we had it or call a taxi/lyft. In the past, we've been given a voucher for a cab since they didn't have transportation running to get us there on time. Just a heads up for early breakfast goers. 
- I know most ppl make their dining reservations before they arrive, but be prepared for it to be more difficult once you are on property right now to snag a last min. dining reservation. I will say that we kept refreshing the app and selecting difference times up until the time we wanted to eat and all of a sudden one popped up due to cancellation. 
- I was asked a lot about crowds. 35% does feel like more when you are there b/c the train is still not back up, the people mover isn't running, and some restaurants aren't back. All of these types of things help thin out the crowds, so even though it's only 35%, it does feel like more. For some rides, you def miss the FP+ system, but it's also nice that popular rides only had about a 40 min wait for the most part. Peter Pan, 7DMT, and the other headliners stayed steady at high wait times. 
Overall, it was a great trip and we had an amazing time. We felt very safe and the cast members made sure everyone was in compliance.

If anyone is about to go and has any questions, feel free! I just wish I knew about how early they were opening the parks before our 3rd day, so I could have taken advantage of the time!


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## RollTideinMD

Finally caught up! I am loving everyone's posts.


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## whodey319

pens4821 said:


> What’s the waiting like for buses at resorts that don’t have dedicated park lines/stops (I think values are the only ones with dedicated stops for each park)?  Is it still a free for all or do they have lines at every resort now for distancing?


just got back yesterday from grand floridian. The buses were bad, there are not nearly enough of them running and it is not a capacity issue. We waited 30-45 minutes multiple times just for a single bus to show up (it was not a deal where we couldn't get on because it was full, there just wasn't a bus ever). With the epcot monorail closed on top of it, transportation was not a strong suit on this trip

There were lines at the hotel to line up and social distance to go to specific parks so it was not a free for all which was nice


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## disneydentist

Thanks for the update.


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## thejbrowns

whodey319 said:


> just got back yesterday from grand floridian. The buses were bad, there are not nearly enough of them running and it is not a capacity issue. We waited 30-45 minutes multiple times just for a single bus to show up (it was not a deal where we couldn't get on because it was full, there just wasn't a bus ever). With the epcot monorail closed on top of it, transportation was not a strong suit on this trip
> 
> There were lines at the hotel to line up and social distance to go to specific parks so it was not a free for all which was nice


I do agree with this. The bus situation at the Contemporary was rough too. The worst was waiting for a bus from Disney Springs back to the resort. Waited about 45 minutes and multiple buses just passed by with the note "refilling my pixie dust" and many were parked across the street. We ended up getting a lyft the second time we went. Line was just as long.


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## Kimg88

We are here. Planning to "rope drop" HS tomorrow after trying for a boarding group. We will walk in. Please give me a first ride strategy...longest waits look like smugglers run then tower and slinky. Which ones run before "real" opening? Please give me a strategy. We had one Saturday for MK and for AK Sunday and it was perfect. Thank you!


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## WIll C

thejbrowns said:


> I do agree with this. The bus situation at the Contemporary was rough too. The worst was waiting for a bus from Disney Springs back to the resort. Waited about 45 minutes and multiple buses just passed by with the note "refilling my pixie dust" and many were parked across the street. We ended up getting a lyft the second time we went. Line was just as long.


Yah, Disney Springs got crazy as the night went on. I was lucky enough to bail early enough that most people were still coming in and not going out. Still had to wait a bit for a bus but nothing more than about 20 minutes (and I saw mine leave just before I got to the spot). I can imagine nearer to 10 or 11pm it would be bad.

Make sure you get there before 5pm or so if you want to get in line for Gideon's. My first night, I got there around 6pm and they were full. 4pm and I only had a about a 30 minute virtual queue and another 20 minutes in line.


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## No.1000

Saw a "Best day at HS" video from AllEars.  She said everyone goes to SR and SDD, so she recommends heading down Sunset and hitting TOT and RRC first thing.  She said you will have to wait for the other 2 no matter what (even at ropedrop), but you can cut the lines for TOT and RRC.  HTH.


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## hes122

No.1000 said:


> Saw a "Best day at HS" video from AllEars.  She said everyone goes to SR and SDD, so she recommends heading down Sunset and hitting TOT and RRC first thing.  She said you will have to wait for the other 2 no matter what (even at ropedrop), but you can cut the lines for TOT and RRC.  HTH.


That's EXACTLY what we did 2 weeks ago. We arrived around 8:15ish for a 9:00 opening. Walked on to RNRC around 8:25ish (TOT wasn't open yet) and then had about a 20-25ish minute wait at TOT. We got got BG 10 for ROTR and received the notification either just as we were getting on or off TOT (I forget which). We then went to Smuggler's Run (waited about 20; posted 15). ROTR was down when we went over to get in line around 9:50ish. We hung around for about 10ish minutes when it came back online so we did that right away.

After ROTR, we got in line for TSMM (posted time was about 40; we didn't wait that long though). While we were in line we mobile order at ABC Commissary for a noonish pickup. After TSMM, we went and got our lunch and then got in line for MMRR (which was posted around 45 minutes I think; we waited probably 35-40).

We got all of that done by 1:15. We got in line at the Skyliner (walk on at both spots) around 1:45 to head back to the resort for some pool time (that really turned into nap time).

We were going to go back to HS after our break, but ultimately decided to go to MK and knock out some things instead.


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## zianha

*Copper Creek - About 1 hour prior to our landing I was reviewing my text messages and realized that the text I received had my arrival time for 12:00am.  I know when I completed the check in process I had the correct time AND I had a reservation for ME.  So I pay the $8 for in flight internet so I could update my arrival time.  I finally get in and my arrival time says arriving via ME.  I then try the chat feature that connects me to someone who without even letting me explain the situation says "go to the front desk."

I explain that I need her to update my arrival time and after insisting she finally does it.  She ends her conversation with "you may now calmly pick up your bags and proceed to ME."

This is the second time I have had a 12:00am arrival time.  When we were there in January we had a split stay and our room assignment text never came.  I also used the chat feature and the CM said that my arrival time was for 12:00am.  She could see that it was a split stay and fixed it right away.*

--------------------------------------------------------------------
The 12am arrival time thing happened to me too in January! I saw it the day before I left and called Disney, they claimed it was some technical issue and transferred me to the website support department who told me they couldn't do anything about it but the CM called the Polynesian front desk directly and someone there assured me my room would be ready when I arrived.

I got to the airport and had a message that I needed to go to the front desk to check in. A CM ended up telling me that the reason they didn't give me my room number to do the Direct To Room Service was because I didn't have a credit card on file....


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## lovethattink

We’re going to DHS tomorrow too. May the force be with you when you try for a bg!

What are your must do attractions?


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## subtchr

I noticed that the wording on the park hopper hotline is different as of today (yes, I am a nerd who calls it everyday, for academic/future planning purposes!)

Before today, it simply said that park hopping would be available for all parks starting at 2:00.

Today, it says that all guests with park reservations may enter, and that park hopping would be available starting at 2:00 for all parks "unless updates are provided here" (meaning the hotline). Sounds as if they may be anticipating the possibility of limited park hopping some times this week.


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## scrappinginontario

subtchr said:


> I noticed that the wording on the park hopper hotline is different as of today (yes, I am a nerd who calls it everyday, for academic/future planning purposes!)
> 
> Before today, it simply said that park hopping would be available for all parks starting at 2:00.
> 
> Today, it says that all guests with park reservations may enter, and that park hopping would be available starting at 2:00 for all parks "unless updates are provided here" (meaning the hotline). Sounds as if they may be anticipating the possibility of limited park hopping some times this week.


I called and noticed too.  Was concerned at first it might say that hopping wasn't permitted but was thankful when it said it was.  The message they're using now makes a lot more sense so hopefully they only changed it for that reason.

In the past it always said it would be updated at 2 PM, even if you called at 5:30.  Hoping this change is to just make it clearer.


----------



## Sarahslay

I just got back last night from my 5th trip since reopening, after going in August, Thanksgiving week, Christmas week, and Presidents day weekend. I guess you could say, aside from the August trip, I know how to pick the busiest time to go lol. This trip was great, perfect weather with hardly a cloud int he sky for much of the 3 day trip. The crowds were there, and there were sooooo many tech issues it was nuts, but we made the most of it. I do use DAS now because I have been diagnosed with MS, but I only used it once or twice per day so I still got in plenty of lines. 

I could give a loooong drawn out version of our trip but I'll summarize (maybe lol), starting with this: get there early. It is imperative if you don't want to stand in lines all day to get there at least 45 minutes before the park opens. MK on Friday got busy FAST, and if we hadn't gotten there early I would have had to use that DAS pass at every turn, but I only used it twice (7 Dwarfs and Splash, but we could have ridden both earlier with shorter waits, just one of my triggers is heat and they are both 80% outdoor waits and it was not a cool weekend). We walked from YC, leaving our room at 7:30, and they opened temp check at 8:12 for a 9am opening before cars were let in. We got so much done, including all of TSL, before it got crowded. The system was down nationwide for magic bands, which meant the DAS system was down and we had to go get a paper pass, but we never needed it. We didn't ride smugglers run or star tours because they make DD12 motion sick, but we could have, instead we took water breaks (for my sake), and watched calvalcades. We could have had every ride in the park done by our 12:55 ADR if we had gone ride to ride. If you get there early, it's easy to get it all done. Same with AK, we took our bags to the car and were on a bus and to the park by 7:15, pretty much walked on FOP and had everything but the safari ridden by 8:45 (that's when the DAS came in because I needed a break and the line was looooooooong due to delayed opening of the ride, I still waited at some tables nearby with a water). by 9:30 we had ridden everything and then did the nature walks, some shopping, lunch at 10:45, and were leaving the park to head home by 11:30 only having not done Rafiki's planet watch and the bird show. 

We rode all forms of Disney transport besides the monorail, there were some long waits mid day with some not so fun to wait with people, but it wasn't horrible and the buses were plentiful in the mornings when it mattered. We even got stuck on the skyliner coming back from HS Saturday night, were given a FP for Epcot after getting off but passed on it because I couldn't go anymore (and my daughter was shaken at that point, wanted to go lay down), but other than that it was great and I still maintain that I won't drive when I go on vacation even when it's not perfect. Every day cars were let in far enough behind park opening to not make it worth it. 

Also, if you want to talk to another guest at the bus stop don't pull your mask down and lean in real close to them, they won't appreciate it. Also don't argue about having to collapse your stroller with the bus driver (see my comment about not fun people to wait with above)


----------



## Sarahslay

Also forgot to add: we ate at several TS restaurants and they ALL told us we could take off our mask as soon as we sat down. They all said "now is the time you can take off your mask, we just ask that you please wear your mask while moving around the restaurant". I still kept it on until the drinks came, but it doesn't seem like they care if you take it off right when you sit down or not.


----------



## Sarahslay

scrappinginontario said:


> I called and noticed too.  Was concerned at first it might say that hopping wasn't permitted but was thankful when it said it was.  The message they're using now makes a lot more sense so hopefully they only changed it for that reason.
> 
> In the past it always said it would be updated at 2 PM, even if you called at 5:30.  Hoping this change is to just make it clearer.


I noticed a difference in wording even from this weekend and my last trip Presidents day weekend. Presidents day weekend it would say something like "at this time all parks are available for park hopping starting at 2pm", but this weekend it was a little different, worded just a bit different for me to notice. It was also a different guy on the message this weekend, but it was not very clear and I was constantly worried that maybe they weren't updating it since all the parks were full this weekend for reservations.


----------



## Kimg88

lovethattink said:


> We’re going to DHS tomorrow too. May the force be with you when you try for a bg!
> 
> What are your must do attractions?


Must do are ROTR (hopefully), Mickey ride, TOT, slinky, Smugglers run, TSMM. We have another day at HS just in case and to wrap things up too


----------



## lluv3971

Following up from my last post, #8185.

3/14  - EP and DHS

Sunday, 3/14- We started our morning by walking over to MK from BLT at about 30 min. after its  8am opening. After two successful days at MK, we were focused on the fun "kiddie rides" that we hadn't done yet - Winner the Pooh, Dumbo and Barnstormer, in that order. All were walk on. 

 We moved over to the YC on Sunday morning. Room was ready at about 12pm. Lobby was busy but not crazy (...yet). We headed to EP and arrived at about 1:55. They held is until the 2pm Park Hop time. We hit a few food booths and slowly made our way to Living With The Land which was posted at 5 min (other rides had MUCH longer waits). The park was busy but I wouldn't say it was any different from a regular weekend. Walkways were crowded but lines for food booths were "normal" and moved quickly, although we only visited the UK, CA, and the areas around Future World, Port of Entry and the Imagination (?) Pavilion. Around 4pm, we noticed that a lot of people were starting to get rowdy which meant it was time for us to head out, so we walked back to YC.

Around 6:00 we started walking over to DHS for a 6:55 reservation at Oga's. MMRR was posted at 30 mins but we were on the ride in 15 (as predicted by Touring Plans). We checked in for Oga's at 6:40 and we're let in at exactly 6:55. The place was full, but well spaced. We were seated at the end of the bar and were asked to keep our masks on until we ordered. Service was prompt and we made our way to MFSR at 7:30, which was posted at 35, and was accurate.  

We headed back to the YC via the walking path at park close. Skyliner line was LONG and stretched onto the path. When we passed the end of the line, it was posted at 30 mins. and was quickly growing.

We made it back to our resort and that's when it all started to fall apart for us. Stormalong Bay was crowded and loud. The lobby was PACKED as we waited for our 9:20 reservation at Ale & Compass. Kids were running laps and playing tag around the lobby and up the stairs and were not wearing masks. Families were yelling and cursing at each other and some people were getting aggressive. Mask compliance was WAY down - most people had noses out and some flat out had their masks off. There was zero social distancing. There were several CMs in the lobby but they didn't say anything to correct any of the situations. We ended up eating the "no show" cost and went back to our room to order room service. 

General Thoughts:

- If you have park hoppers and are close to a park, getting one or two headliners out of the way by riding them in the evening is BIG!!! It has really allowed us to prioritize our pre-rope drop touring without missing any of our favorites. 

- Guests are much nicer and follow the safety protocols early in the mornings. By mid day, the attitudes and demeanor of guests quickly deteriorates. I've noticed it more so this trip than any other trip I've taken in the past 5 years. I think that it has a lot to do with the FL Spring Break Crowd (sorry, I'm not trying to offend).

- We are still struggling with finding food. Mobile order and ADRs are great if you know when and where you want to eat in advance. It's hard to find any QS available "moment of", even at off peak times. ADRs are non-existent. Snack carts are few and far between. I even feel like the shops are offering fewer prepackaged snacks as well.

- Touring Plans still proves to be spot on!

Today, 3/15, we had a great day at DHS. I'll report back on that soon. Now... on to find food.


----------



## Sarahslay

lluv3971 said:


> Following up from my last post, #8185.
> 
> 3/14  - EP and DHS
> 
> Sunday, 3/14- We started our morning by walking over to MK from BLT at about 30 min. after its  8am opening. After two successful days at MK, we were focused on the fun "kiddie rides" that we hadn't done yet - Winner the Pooh, Dumbo and Barnstormer, in that order. All were walk on.
> 
> We moved over to the YC on Sunday morning. Room was ready at about 12pm. Lobby was busy but not crazy (...yet). We headed to EP and arrived at about 1:55. They held is until the 2pm Park Hop time. We hit a few food booths and slowly made our way to Living With The Land which was posted at 5 min (other rides had MUCH longer waits). The park was busy but I wouldn't say it was any different from a regular weekend. Walkways were crowded but lines for food booths were "normal" and moved quickly, although we only visited the UK, CA, and the areas around Future World, Port of Entry and the Imagination (?) Pavilion. Around 4pm, we noticed that a lot of people were starting to get rowdy which meant it was time for us to head out, so we walked back to YC.
> 
> Around 6:00 we started walking over to DHS for a 6:55 reservation at Oga's. MMRR was posted at 30 mins but we were on the ride in 15 (as predicted by Touring Plans). We checked in for Oga's at 6:40 and we're let in at exactly 6:55. The place was full, but well spaced. We were seated at the end of the bar and were asked to keep our masks on until we ordered. Service was prompt and we made our way to MFSR at 7:30, which was posted at 35, and was accurate.
> 
> We headed back to the YC via the walking path at park close. Skyliner line was LONG and stretched onto the path. When we passed the end of the line, it was posted at 30 mins. and was quickly growing.
> 
> We made it back to our resort and that's when it all started to fall apart for us. Stormalong Bay was crowded and loud. The lobby was PACKED as we waited for our 9:20 reservation at Ale & Compass. Kids were running laps and playing tag around the lobby and up the stairs and were not wearing masks. Families were yelling and cursing at each other and some people were getting aggressive. Mask compliance was WAY down - most people had noses out and some flat out had their masks off. There was zero social distancing. There were several CMs in the lobby but they didn't say anything to correct any of the situations. We ended up eating the "no show" cost and went back to our room to order room service.
> 
> General Thoughts:
> 
> - If you have park hoppers and are close to a park, getting one or two headliners out of the way by riding them in the evening is BIG!!! It has really allowed us to prioritize our pre-rope drop touring without missing any of our favorites.
> 
> - Guests are much nicer and follow the safety protocols early in the mornings. By mid day, the attitudes and demeanor of guests quickly deteriorates. I've noticed it more so this trip than any other trip I've taken in the past 5 years. I think that it has a lot to do with the FL Spring Break Crowd (sorry, I'm not trying to offend).
> 
> - We are still struggling with finding food. Mobile order and ADRs are great if you know when and where you want to eat in advance. It's hard to find any QS available "moment of", even at off peak times. ADRs are non-existent. Snack carts are few and far between. I even feel like the shops are offering fewer prepackaged snacks as well.
> 
> - Touring Plans still proves to be spot on!
> 
> Today, 3/15, we had a great day at DHS. I'll report back on that soon. Now... on to find food.


I checked out of YC on Sunday and I noticed on Saturday mask compliance went WAY down. It was the worst I’ve seen in all my trips, and I was glad I was checking out when I did. I got a survey this morning about my stay and I let them know about it, and the CMs lack of response to noncompliance.


----------



## lovethattink

Kimg88 said:


> Must do are ROTR (hopefully), Mickey ride, TOT, slinky, Smugglers run, TSMM. We have another day at HS just in case and to wrap things up too



Hopefully you’ll get rise!

The last few times we rode TSMM, they had both tracks open. The line was all the way out to where the incredibles use to be, but it moved quickly and we were done in 30 minutes. Which surprised us.

We haven’t rope dropped since summer and that was a whole different ball game, than with the amount of people now.

Be sure to hydrate. It will be hotter tomorrow than today.

Would you like this merged to the here now, just back thread? Might get more of a response there.


----------



## Kimg88

lovethattink said:


> Hopefully you’ll get rise!
> 
> The last few times we rode TSMM, they had both tracks open. The line was all the way out to where the incredibles use to be, but it moved quickly and we were done in 30 minutes. Which surprised us.
> 
> We haven’t rope dropped since summer and that was a whole different ball game, than with the amount of people now.
> 
> Be sure to hydrate. It will be hotter tomorrow than today.
> 
> Would you like this merged to the here now, just back thread? Might get more of a response there.


 Sure that would be great!


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## lovethattink

Kimg88 said:


> We are here. Planning to "rope drop" HS tomorrow after trying for a boarding group. We will walk in. Please give me a first ride strategy...longest waits look like smugglers run then tower and slinky. Which ones run before "real" opening? Please give me a strategy. We had one Saturday for MK and for AK Sunday and it was perfect. Thank you!



Your thread is merged with the Here Now, Just Back. I’m sure someone here can help you!


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## GBRforWDW

Kimg88 said:


> We are here. Planning to "rope drop" HS tomorrow after trying for a boarding group. We will walk in. Please give me a first ride strategy...longest waits look like smugglers run then tower and slinky. Which ones run before "real" opening? Please give me a strategy. We had one Saturday for MK and for AK Sunday and it was perfect. Thank you!


I'd say go to your top ride first.  The ones that will make you happiest you got on.  Lots of long lines right now, so the more rides you really want to do,the better.  

For me personally, when we were there in January, I hit MMRR, SDD, TSM, and AS2 then RotR all in order and it was the perfect morning, hitting all my rides by 11am.  So out of 9 rides, we had 5 done by 11.  The other 4 will probably each have 30-60 minute lines, so with some patience, you'll still hit em all.


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## MomOTwins

Sarahslay said:


> Also forgot to add: we ate at several TS restaurants and they ALL told us we could take off our mask as soon as we sat down. They all said "now is the time you can take off your mask, we just ask that you please wear your mask while moving around the restaurant". I still kept it on until the drinks came, but it doesn't seem like they care if you take it off right when you sit down or not.


I'm really glad you shared this.  I've been trying to find out on these boards what they meant by the confusingly reworded policy without success, so good to know that's what CMs are telling people now.



lluv3971 said:


> We made it back to our resort and that's when it all started to fall apart for us. Stormalong Bay was crowded and loud. The lobby was PACKED as we waited for our 9:20 reservation at Ale & Compass. Kids were running laps and playing tag around the lobby and up the stairs and were not wearing masks. Families were yelling and cursing at each other and some people were getting aggressive. Mask compliance was WAY down - most people had noses out and some flat out had their masks off. There was zero social distancing. There were several CMs in the lobby but they didn't say anything to correct any of the situations. We ended up eating the "no show" cost and went back to our room to order room service.


So much of your post just made feel so bad for you--that sounds like a difficult experience to say the least!  But this one really made me mad.  If you are still there, you should speak to the front desk or if not call the phone number for billing and explain the situation.  The should absolutely not be charging be people a "no show" charge if people feel they have to leave and order room service (which in fact is all just being serviced by the same restaurant anyway, so they are still getting your money) because they are not enforcing compliance with the posted safety rules.


----------



## lluv3971

Sarahslay said:


> I checked out of YC on Sunday and I noticed on Saturday mask compliance went WAY down. It was the worst I’ve seen in all my trips, and I was glad I was checking out when I did. I got a survey this morning about my stay and I let them know about it, and the CMs lack of response to noncompliance.


It's still early, but today (Monday) seems to be much better here at YC. It seems more calm and quiet and is less crowded.


----------



## fly girl

Tauwillow said:


> Can anyone tell me if Conservation Station is still running the veterinarian checkups?  It is one of our very favorite things to do at the park.  I have to decide between doing that or trying to get on FoP, since there aren't any fastpasses.



They were in February. My sister saw them doing a workup on a meerkat.


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## WEDWDW

fly girl said:


> They were in February. My sister saw them doing a workup on a meerkat.


And still on Wednesdays.

Saw a Turtle Surgery in January.


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## MermaidsMom

Maybe it’s best for those who are so worried about folks not following masks rules just stay home. Who wants to take such a chance?  When something is so scary that you need to go eat in your room, it’s not worth paying for a hotel, right? Not for me anyway. Better safe than sorry.


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## Nabas

JFox said:


> Copper Creek - About 1 hour prior to our landing I was reviewing my text messages and realized that the text I received had my arrival time for 12:00am.  I know when I completed the check in process I had the correct time AND I had a reservation for ME.


This has happened to us several times since WDW reopened.  Not sure if it's intentional or a bug in the system.


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## Martie Parker

Love Mermaids response.... stay home!


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## scrappinginontario

Please be respectful and let's keep to posting experiences, not questioning who should/should not be going to WDW right now. 

Thank you.


----------



## Tissa

I"m here now and it has been okay. I think this will be our last trip until things go back to "normal"  Nothing I can really complain about because it is just the way it is with the social distancing and no fp stuff.  I agree with the other poster about not having easy access to food.  I have a car so we go offsite to pick up food, or ordered from  Doordash a few times too. Today I picked up breakfast from Wawa.   This may be the first time I come back with money.


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## kathi

Can folks be more specific about the lack of access to food.  I understand that it's hard to get ADR unless you booked well in advance or get lucky; but, is it that hard to get QS with the mobile ordering?   If you just want a water or a soda, are there still carts for that?  Clearly you need to plan a bit in advance, but are people walking around the parks hungry?  That seems like bad business.


----------



## lnR_Texas

*March 14 MK* - With an 8 am open, we just didn’t have it in us to arrive at the bus stop 90 min before park opening. We didn’t love 7DMT when we did it for the first time two years ago, so without that ride as a priority I thought we could arrive closer to actual opening. Left WL room at 7:20, on a bus by 7:28, and on Main St by 7:40. Can’t be sure, but given there were no lines to get in, it was likely that they opened the gates around 7:15.

Straight to BTMR and loading by 7:53.  Got the last row—awesome!  Splash still hadn‘t opened so we went back on BTMR (you are going to notice a theme here) and boarded by 8:08.  Got the first row- bummer!  Splash was running now so got in that line. It was back over the bridge but not really that bad because all the switchbacks were not open yet. Got in line at 8:16 and boarded at 8:31.

Kids were not interested in JG or POTC, so we hoofed it over to Buzz.  In line at 9 and waiting only 8 minutes!  Our family MUST always do Speedway so got in line at 9:20 and waited 30 min.

Needed a break!  Ordered from Lunching Pad while in line at Speedway, and got our food immediately after. Pretzels, Cat Tail (where have you been hiding all my life!  Loved it), and two slushees. We were ready to conquer Space at 10:25 - posted 50 min but waited 37.

Hoofed it back to the other side of the park for HM, apparent long line halfway to BTMR, but only a 16 min wait at 11:35.  By then my DS16 was done and we helped him figure out how to get back to WL by himself.  The wonders of having teenagers now!  Went on BTMR twice starting around 12:15 (once in the front AGAIN, ARGH, and once in the back, YEAH!).

Shopped at Emporium and then at 2:15 a great lunch at Skipper Canteen. On the boat back to WL by 3:15 to relax and nap. 

And back to MK on the boat at 6:15.  On line at IASW at 6:40 and had a 40 min wait (only 2 groups per boat really slows things done). Then two runs on BTMR at 7:45 pm (~10 min wait but posted at 40) followed by Space to end the night with a 25 min wait. 

Great day!  We didn’t do every ride but we did all the ones we wanted.


----------



## Aimeedyan

kathi said:


> Can folks be more specific about the lack of access to food.  I understand that it's hard to get ADR unless you booked well in advance or get lucky; but, is it that hard to get QS with the mobile ordering?   If you just want a water or a soda, are there still carts for that?  Clearly you need to plan a bit in advance, but are people walking around the parks hungry?  That seems like bad business.



We are in the parks quite often and find it to be more challenging to food/drink right now but maybe because of the way we used to tour. Some changes we've found:

- we used to pop into a store to grab bottled drinks since it was usually faster than a cart + we got an AP discount. Lines to get into stores makes this more difficult.

- many QS and carts are closed so demand is higher on the ones open. Cart lines seem soooo much longer right now and tend to move at a snail's pace. The cart near Dumbo last week was 15+ parties deep just to grab a Coke, box of popcorn, or churro. 

- when it's busier, mobile ordering pickup windows fill quickly so you may want a snack/meal, try to order, and find the soonest time is 2 hours away. 

- many resorts are extremely limited in food offerings, both TS and QS. We are thankful to always have our car so we can run offsite but after a day or 2 of wrestling a toddler into a carseat, I got pretty resentful that Disney wouldn't just take my money and feed me overpriced mediocre food  Things have improved since the fall and hopefully continue to.

If you go during slower times, most of this doesn't apply as much.


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## ClapYourHands

MermaidsMom said:


> Maybe it’s best for those who are so worried about folks not following masks rules just stay home. Who wants to take such a chance?  When something is so scary that you need to go eat in your room, it’s not worth paying for a hotel, right? Not for me anyway. Better safe than sorry.


Maybe it's best for those who are so unwilling to follow Disney's rules to just stay home until Disney's policies align with the type of vacation they envision. Who wants to be so oppressed? When a piece of cloth is so onerous that they can't keep it on themselves, despite agreeing to it at booking, it's not worth paying for a hotel, right?  Better stay home.



Martie Parker said:


> Love Mermaids response.... stay home!


Stay home...if you won't follow the rules you agreed to when you booked.



Bottom line: Disney has rules. They're not secret. People agree to them when they book. Some people book because of them; some people book in spite of them. I personally have no desire to stay home, and I follow the rules whether I like them or not.  It's not unreasonable to expect others to do the same, and for Disney to enforce its own policy.


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## brockash

kathi said:


> Can folks be more specific about the lack of access to food.  I understand that it's hard to get ADR unless you booked well in advance or get lucky; but, is it that hard to get QS with the mobile ordering?   If you just want a water or a soda, are there still carts for that?  Clearly you need to plan a bit in advance, but are people walking around the parks hungry?  That seems like bad business.


It's just different and MUCH less options.  During busy times you really have to plan ahead to reserve your mobile order for when you think you'll be ready to eat.  A lot of the quick service menu items are limited and it's just not as easy to walk up somewhere to grab a drink/snack.  We just returned and while we never went hungry, we really got sick of the limited food options pretty quickly and found ourselves wanting to order delivery instead.


----------



## MomOTwins

kathi said:


> Can folks be more specific about the lack of access to food.  I understand that it's hard to get ADR unless you booked well in advance or get lucky; but, is it that hard to get QS with the mobile ordering?   If you just want a water or a soda, are there still carts for that?  Clearly you need to plan a bit in advance, but are people walking around the parks hungry?  That seems like bad business.


1. Yes. The issue is not mobile order.  There are fewer QS open and ADRs are harder to get so that leaves more demand for the QS places that are open.  And reduced seating at QS due to spacing tables means less supply.  
2. Not all carts are open, so the ones that are get long lines.  A lot of walkway space is being used for ride queues so food carts can’t be there in the way.
3. Not necessarily bad for business, if the restaurants cost more to run than they earn with reduced capacity and people taking longer to eat as a break from crowds and masks.  Only Disney knows that.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

How time consuming is it to park hop? I imagine each park has a bus that will take you to the other theme parks? Does this include the water park? Any tips/experiences would be great. I'm going back and forth on how much we'd actually use the park hoppers. I'm going in summer so I know I'll want to take breaks on hot days so that would make the hopping easier... be nice to see longer evening hours too though!


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## Leigh L

TikiTikiFan said:


> How time consuming is it to park hop? I imagine each park has a bus that will take you to the other theme parks? Does this include the water park? Any tips/experiences would be great. I'm going back and forth on how much we'd actually use the park hoppers. I'm going in summer so I know I'll want to take breaks on hot days so that would make the hopping easier... be nice to see longer evening hours too though!


In Feb DD and I did a hopping day. We got to MK pre-opening and stayed until about 1:15 and ended up wandering out to the bus stop to see what time they started running. 1:28 we boarded a bus to DHS and tapped in at 1:50.

Left DHS around 5:30(?) and hopped to EP via Skyliner. Didn't stay long, one walk around WS, some photos, and rode SSE before hopping back to MK to ride Splash and whatever else we could fit in. When we left EP for MK, I want to say it was around 6:30, we walked right onto a bus and there was only one other party, so not sure how often buses come (seems we had a bit of luck there esp with such an empty bus).


----------



## preemiemama

TikiTikiFan said:


> How time consuming is it to park hop? I imagine each park has a bus that will take you to the other theme parks? Does this include the water park? Any tips/experiences would be great. I'm going back and forth on how much we'd actually use the park hoppers. I'm going in summer so I know I'll want to take breaks on hot days so that would make the hopping easier... be nice to see longer evening hours too though!


If the park hours are longer, what we typically do is a midday break at the hotel.  It is HOT in the middle of the day in the summer- and there are often afternoon thunderstorms- so those breaks help.  We head back out to a different park after our break, usually around dinnertime so we eat and then enjoy the park.  Breaks up the day and helps avoid the peak heat and crowds.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

MomOTwins said:


> 2. Not all carts are open, so the ones that are get long lines. A lot of walkway space is being used for ride queues so food carts can’t be there in the way.


They really need to fix this.  It's spring break for gosh sakes, how hard would it be to put out a few extra food carts??


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## tlg588

Went to MK on Sunday 3/14. Big difference now besides wearing masks, are dining, no characters, and no shows, parades, fireworks. There are some ride closures, I think mostly due to refurb or construction. Maybe without COVID the construction and refurbs would have been before now, I don’t know.
The lines for everything look deceptively  long for everything because of social distancing. However, all of our waits were less than the posted wait time.
We didn’t go hungry but some of people’s favorite dining locations or snack options my not be available. Reservations for TS are impossible, you always had to book the good places well in advance but now even the bad ones during the off peak times are book solid.
With out the characters, shows, and parades the park seemed a little off. Less alive.
I will talk about crowds and rides together. The crowd in the park was MUCH lower than normal spring break crowds which made walking easier than normal. There are FPs of course but the wait times disassembled bad, about 20 minutes to the longest I seen was 55 minutes for SDMT. I think you should be able to ride anything you want and riding every ride might be possible. In the past SDMT was not usually a possibility for us.
 In summary; if you mainly enjoy the rides, appreciated low crowds, make dinning reservations well in advance, and don’t mind the mask then you should enjoy the trip. If the chactors, shows, fireworks are a big part of your experience or you want last minute TS dinning or don’t want to wear a mask then now is not the time to go.


----------



## Kimg88

At HS. It's very crowded. Opened at 8:10 tapped in at 8:15. Drop off by uber at Speedway and walked in. My kids didn't want to start with thrill ride so we did smugglers run first. Walked on at 8:30. Slinky was already 70 min. So we headed to mickey railway...waited 14 min. Now in line for TOT. Probably an hour wait. Have my TP timer running. Got boarding group 68 for Rise. Just trying to subbcomb to waiting lots today.


----------



## lovethattink

Kimg88 said:


> At HS. It's very crowded. Opened at 8:10 tapped in at 8:15. Drop off by uber at Speedway and walked in. My kids didn't want to start with thrill ride so we did smugglers run first. Walked on at 8:30. Slinky was already 70 min. So we headed to mickey railway...waited 14 min. Now in line for TOT. Probably an hour wait. Have my TP timer running. Got boarding group 68 for Rise. Just trying to subbcomb to waiting lots today.



Sounds like a great start! We didn’t get a bg. My phone took a long time to pull up the 3 of us. So went back to bed and we’ll start DH’s birthday day at DHS later this afternoon.


----------



## MomOTwins

lovethattink said:


> Sounds like a great start! We didn’t get a bg. My phone took a long time to pull up the 3 of us. So went back to bed and we’ll start DH’s birthday day at DHS later this afternoon.


Awww, bummer. Hope you have better luck at the 1pm round if you will be in the park then.


----------



## Justrose

Hi all - even though I have been to WDW several times, I always get very overwhelmed walking into MK and never know where to start- then end up running across the park in what is probably an inefficient way from ride to ride.  Can someone help me with a strategy?

It will be myself and my DD who is 9, and a total thrill seeker.  All the rollercoasters are a must do.  We will rope drop for sure.  We do plan on leaving for a few hours in the afternoon to rest and swim, and we will be back to MK in the evening for ADRs and to close the park down.  We do have 2 MK days.  We leave for WDW on Sunday and I know crowds will be high.  Thank you!!


----------



## KBL3782

kathi said:


> Can folks be more specific about the lack of access to food.  I understand that it's hard to get ADR unless you booked well in advance or get lucky; but, is it that hard to get QS with the mobile ordering?   If you just want a water or a soda, are there still carts for that?  Clearly you need to plan a bit in advance, but are people walking around the parks hungry?  That seems like bad business.


From our experience, it wasn't so much as a lack of food as much as it was a lack of options. Just seems like even the open restaurants have limited menus. Totally my opinion though. We always were able to find *something* to eat, but it does take a little pre-planning.


----------



## Sarahslay

lluv3971 said:


> It's still early, but today (Monday) seems to be much better here at YC. It seems more calm and quiet and is less crowded.


I spoke with one of the managers on duty (Greg) and he said they were booked full through the weekend. Even though they were supposed to have my room ready the day before I arrived, anticipating my stay (it always feels like I'm some celebrity or something, they always do this to me now after I had a horrible stay), the system was down when I got there so they didn't want to send me to my room in case it hadn't been done since they were booked solid all last week and through the weekend. We were going straight to MK anyway so I didn't care, but knew it would be pretty busy when we got back (and it was). They were doing so well when crowds were lower, but I think they're having a harder time with a full hotel, not ready at all on how to enforce anything with that many people.


----------



## GrumpySue

But can you get a beer as easily as before ???


----------



## Chernabob

Justrose said:


> Hi all - even though I have been to WDW several times, I always get very overwhelmed walking into MK and never know where to start- then end up running across the park in what is probably an inefficient way from ride to ride.  Can someone help me with a strategy?
> 
> It will be myself and my DD who is 9, and a total thrill seeker.  All the rollercoasters are a must do.  We will rope drop for sure.  We do plan on leaving for a few hours in the afternoon to rest and swim, and we will be back to MK in the evening for ADRs and to close the park down.  We do have 2 MK days.  We leave for WDW on Sunday and I know crowds will be high.  Thank you!!


You may have tried/seen this before, but the TouringPlans site is very helpful at building plans that help do exactly what you're describing--factor in (projected) wait times, steps, etc. to avoid some of the criss crossing.  You can also use their app to help with some of this while in the park--mark attractions as "done," edit your plan on the fly, etc.

There is a subscription, but it's not much.  $15 a year?

Now all that said, we've never been a slave to the plans.  (And probably wasted steps/energy as a result!)  My family is probably a mix of planning but then not being 100% tied to a scheduled plan if we want to deviate when the mood strikes.


----------



## SJSloan

We recently returned from our trip Home and I wanted to report in case anyone had any questions. We were there from 3/6 - 3/13 and stayed at the Riviera. Overall this was our best trip yet, even with the restrictions and the limited experiences. 

I wasn't sure what to expect with crowds but we were pleasantly surprised how not crowded it was. Crowds did start to pick up towards the end of the week and I saw all the parks were completely booked. Mask compliance was around 95%. We saw a few noses here and there, but CMs usually asked nicely for them to pull it up. The biggest offense were guests walking and eating/drinking. It didn't terribly bother me because we were quickly walking by them, but it was annoying since we couldn't do it and yet others were. Also, my 3 year old fell asleep in the stroller and I guess he wiggled his mask off, he was covered by the canopy but a CM bent down to get a bag and noticed his mask was off and asked that I put it back on. We also encountered some unfriendly CMs, more than normal, but we tried to give them grace, it's been a tough year for everyone. 

We visited the parks in the following order Epcot (3/6), MK, HS, Epcot, DS, MK and AK. We rope dropped them every morning (arriving an hour or so before official opening). We had the most success at HS, MK and AK doing this (makes sense). We were some of the first in HS and were done with Toy Story Land before the park even officially opened. Slinky was a walk-on and by the time we were talking out the line was all the way out of Toy Story Land. AK opened later than other parks (6:30 for a 7am opening) but we rode FOP with rider swap (the other parent would do Na'vi while waiting) and then we headed to Safari and had probably our best safari yet. The animals had just been let out and were running around everywhere. Everest didn't start running until 9am for whatever reason but we headed that direction. The line was back to Nemo but took maybe 20 minutes. In MK we headed to Frontierland on our first day and Tommorowland on our second MK day. We saved Mine Train for the evenings and that seemed to work for us. Most other Fantasyland rides were 10 minutes or less (with the exception of Peter Pan, Small World and Carousel) and we rode those multiple times. 

We would stay in each park for 4ish hours before returning to the resort. Crowds were be heavy and wait times soared during this time. Then we would go back 2-3 hours before park closing. We hopped in line for several rides right before closing and experienced short waits. Our longest waits were for ToT (60 minutes, but the ride went down for a short time during that), and 60 for a bus after MK one evening. 

For the most part people followed the social distancing guidelines. We encountered a few families that seemed to not pay attention to the markings but thankfully we weren't around them too long. Leaving rides was the worst when it came to social distancing but you're really just around those people for 30sec to a minute max. The Mexico area in Epcot was insane and I refused to walk through there. It was just shoulder to shoulder people some times.

For the Skyliner to HS we chose to walk to CBR instead of take the Skyliner from Riviera and have to get in the back of the line. I am glad we did because the Riviera line wasn't even running yet when we got on the Skyliner at CBR to head to HS. We wouldn't have been nearly successful that morning if we were that much later. Wait times are inflated, lines look long but generally move quickly. MMRR was posted at 60 and it took us 40 and we were constantly walking. 

I am sure I am missing information so if you have any questions I am happy to answer. Again we had a great trip. I definitely recommend rope dropping and returning in the evening if you want to avoid crowds and the longest waits.


----------



## wilkydelts

With this week being extremely busy was anyone able to get in line at the toll booths earlier than the typical 60 minutes before park opening


----------



## dizneegirl

GrumpySue said:


> But can you get a beer as easily as before ???



We didn't have any troubles last week.


----------



## dizneegirl

kathi said:


> Can folks be more specific about the lack of access to food.  I understand that it's hard to get ADR unless you booked well in advance or get lucky; but, is it that hard to get QS with the mobile ordering?   If you just want a water or a soda, are there still carts for that?  Clearly you need to plan a bit in advance, but are people walking around the parks hungry?  That seems like bad business.



We didn't have any problems last week. It might take 15-30 minutes to get a mobile order done & picked up, but it wasn't difficult to do when we were ready to eat. There are still carts with snacks, popcorn, drinks... quite a few of them had really long lines at times, but do-able. You probably won't get a walk-up space at a table service restaurant unless you're really lucky, but there are restaurants and snack places enough to feed people.


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## wilbret

Our food plan is to eat at the weirdest possible times.  Lunch at 11am or 3pm, it's okay. Dinner at 4pm or 10pm, doesn't matter.  Just never 11:45am-2pm or 5-7pm. Lol.


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## indimom3

We are here this week and haven’t had any issues getting a mobile order placed with a quick return.  We needed a break before our 130 Droid appt Monday at HS and booked a few drinks at Ronto Roasters and sat down 5 minutes later. It’s really nice to be able to just get a table when you have food rather than trying to navigate seas of people.
We mobile ordered at MK and AK as well with very short returns over the weekend.
My opinion on the crowd level is that it’s crowded but not crazy.  The last time I was here was Presidents’ Day weekend two years ago and it was more crowded that weekend than now. We are getting up early, taking pool breaks, then closing down parks. Having a great time.
I also posted on the Hopping thread that I was able to add hoppers to our package tickets at guest relations on site without issue, incase anyone is still worried about that.


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## Kimg88

lovethattink said:


> Sounds like a great start! We didn’t get a bg. My phone took a long time to pull up the 3 of us. So went back to bed and we’ll start DH’s birthday day at DHS later this afternoon.


I'm sorry you didn't get a boarding group.


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## Jen309

subtchr said:


> I noticed that the wording on the park hopper hotline is different as of today (yes, I am a nerd who calls it everyday, for academic/future planning purposes!)
> 
> Before today, it simply said that park hopping would be available for all parks starting at 2:00.
> 
> Today, it says that all guests with park reservations may enter, and that park hopping would be available starting at 2:00 for all parks "unless updates are provided here" (meaning the hotline). Sounds as if they may be anticipating the possibility of limited park hopping some times this week.


We’re going next week- do you mind sharing the number so I can put it in my phone now?


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## HokieRaven5

Jen309 said:


> We’re going next week- do you mind sharing the number so I can put it in my phone now?



(407)-560-5000


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## beesly

indimom3 said:


> We needed a break before our 130 Droid appt Monday at HS and booked a few drinks at Ronto Roasters and sat down 5 minutes later. It’s really nice to be able to just get a table when you have food rather than trying to navigate seas of people.



 This is definitely one thing I’ve enjoyed about recent trips.


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## WIll C

beesly said:


> This is definitely one thing I’ve enjoyed about recent trips.


Yes, the seating is certainly more available with people only coming in when they order (which they seem to limit some). You don't get the random people just stopping to sit down and not ordering there. People also tend to get up and move along quicker. Even the outside places that don't do mobile ordering seem to rotate tables quicker.


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## TestingH2O

indimom3 said:


> I also posted on the Hopping thread that I was able to add hoppers to our package tickets at guest relations on site without issue, incase anyone is still worried about that.


This is great news!  Thanks for sharing.


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## polynor

We’ve been here since Sat 3/13.   We were here in July of last year, so theres a bit of compare and contrast, so we know what it was like just after they reopened.  

what we’ve noticed:
1. more crowds, but less than a “normal” spring break.  parts of the park will feel congested, other parts will be pretty open.  
2. Line normalization.  If you get up to rope drop (I keep hoping, but we only make it for 30 min of good touring) you’re golden with the major rides.  Molly did a video on AllEars that discussed this and we found it true. once you lose your chance to rope drop the big draws, do the smaller stuff first.  essentially, if it’ll make you mad to stand in a 30 min line for carousel at noon, do it early for 5min.  The lines at the big rides creep up a little but are constant mostly throughout the day.  3/15 we went to MK, SDMR was at 75min when we got there before official park open and stayed roughly that length for most of the day.  we went back at 7 and did it for 45 min.
3. hours.  If you’re coming when theyre increasing park hours like this week, take the break mid day and come back later.  Youll have time, be rested, it’ll be cooler.  This week has been hot after 1pm. Even with the long lines, it’s snaking in parts of the park you may not ever see, so I think thats still kinda neat.
4. park hopping. I suspect Epcot is a popular place to hop to because with the later hours and food options.  we haven’t had issues park hopping yet.   We’ve been taking breaks and returning in the evening to a park.  Epcot has been incredibly crowded in the world showcase tho.
5. masks and crowd.  See epcot statement.  We were here last July. Compliance was decent, with some who didn’t seem to understand the purpose of a mask — this time seems ALOT better in terms of people wearing consistently, quality of masks being worn, only removing for eating/drinking etc.  I think the news stories of them forcibly removing people probably helped.  yes, a lot more people, but overall compliance is way better.  And distance markers, people still creep up, but for the most part are ok.  People tend to just follow whose ahead (like my kids) so noticing the next marker isnt right up ahead takes a little more diligence on your part.  At exits and congested area, not much you can do.
6. food.  Since it was asked about difficulty getting food.  We mobile order as soon as we get in the park to get out time slot.  As soon as we hit the time and are walking towards, we hit prepare.  We have big orders, and it taken about 20min once I hit prepare.  there isn’t as many food options as before, but there are more food option than there was in July last year (fish and chips are back    I do find there are lots of snack carts around once they open and it isnt too onerous to get something.

since we were here recently and did practically everything, we dont feel the rush to do everything and are taking our time.  we’re eating dinner in our villa (except tonight for topolinos) 

for those with spring break next week, I think your weather is cooler, enjoy it!


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## Jen309

HokieRaven5 said:


> (407)-560-5000


Thank you!!!!


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## hereforthechurros

MomOTwins said:


> 1. Yes. The issue is not mobile order.  There are fewer QS open and ADRs are harder to get so that leaves more demand for the QS places that are open.  And reduced seating at QS due to spacing tables means less supply.
> 2. Not all carts are open, so the ones that are get long lines.  A lot of walkway space is being used for ride queues so food carts can’t be there in the way.
> 3. Not necessarily bad for business, if the restaurants cost more to run than they earn with reduced capacity and people taking longer to eat as a break from crowds and masks.  Only Disney knows that.


To add onto this many places don’t even open until 11 am so any places that so serve breakfast or food earlier are very busy. I was blown away to see the Sleepy Hollow 60 people deep during our February visit. I know because I counted like a weirdo. It was wrapped around, across the walkway, and onto the bridge heading towards the tub. Total nonstarter no matter how badly we wanted the fruit & Nutella waffle.


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## mickey+minnie91

HokieRaven5 said:


> (407)-560-5000


 Thank you! I updated my phone too


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## juju

We arrived at AK today 45 mins before official opening and went right in to line up for FOP, the line was already at 110 minutes.  We decided to bite the bullet because we are leaving tomorrow.  We skipped riding last Friday because we thought the 1 hr wait time was too long!  As far as I could see there was virtually no social distancing in our part of the line.  It seems to be difficult with the large families and kids visiting right now.  Everyone is excited and tired of waiting and jumping and moving around a lot.  Cast members occasionally would ask people to space out but that only lasted for about 5 minutes.  We mobile ordered at Harambe Market around 11:15 and had no problem getting our food or finding a seat.  It was filling up by noon however.  We rode the Skyliner to The Riviera from Pop around 6pm and mobile ordered at Primo Piattovand had a great dinner at an outside table.


----------



## akg1128

juju said:


> We arrived at AK today 45 mins before official opening and went right in to line up for FOP, the line was already at 110 minutes.  We decided to bite the bullet because we are leaving tomorrow.  We skipped riding last Friday because we thought the 1 hr wait time was too long!  As far as I could see there was virtually no social distancing in our part of the line.  It seems to be difficult with the large families and kids visiting right now.  Everyone is excited and tired of waiting and jumping and moving around a lot.  Cast members occasionally would ask people to space out but that only lasted for about 5 minutes.  We mobile ordered at Harambe Market around 11:15 and had no problem getting our food or finding a seat.  It was filling up by noon however.  We rode the Skyliner to The Riviera from Pop around 6pm and mobile ordered at Primo Piattovand had a great dinner at an outside table.



Just curious, did it end up taking the full 110 minutes, or close to it?


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## duder92

When are they letting cars line up at the toll booths these days?


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## GrumpySue

One of the places we always love to stop at is Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar, is this open and has anyone had any issues getting a table there ??  It's such a nice cool place for a sit down and they have great small plates for snacking.  Thanks


----------



## disneymomof#2

lnR_Texas said:


> *March 14 MK* - With an 8 am open, we just didn’t have it in us to arrive at the bus stop 90 min before park opening. We didn’t love 7DMT when we did it for the first time two years ago, so without that ride as a priority I thought we could arrive closer to actual opening. Left WL room at 7:20, on a bus by 7:28, and on Main St by 7:40. Can’t be sure, but given there were no lines to get in, it was likely that they opened the gates around 7:15.
> 
> Straight to BTMR and loading by 7:53.  Got the last row—awesome!  Splash still hadn‘t opened so we went back on BTMR (you are going to notice a theme here) and boarded by 8:08.  Got the first row- bummer!  Splash was running now so got in that line. It was back over the bridge but not really that bad because all the switchbacks were not open yet. Got in line at 8:16 and boarded at 8:31.
> 
> Kids were not interested in JG or POTC, so we hoofed it over to Buzz.  In line at 9 and waiting only 8 minutes!  Our family MUST always do Speedway so got in line at 9:20 and waited 30 min.
> 
> Needed a break!  Ordered from Lunching Pad while in line at Speedway, and got our food immediately after. Pretzels, Cat Tail (where have you been hiding all my life!  Loved it), and two slushees. We were ready to conquer Space at 10:25 - posted 50 min but waited 37.
> 
> Hoofed it back to the other side of the park for HM, apparent long line halfway to BTMR, but only a 16 min wait at 11:35.  By then my DS16 was done and we helped him figure out how to get back to WL by himself.  The wonders of having teenagers now!  Went on BTMR twice starting around 12:15 (once in the front AGAIN, ARGH, and once in the back, YEAH!).
> 
> Shopped at Emporium and then at 2:15 a great lunch at Skipper Canteen. On the boat back to WL by 3:15 to relax and nap.
> 
> And back to MK on the boat at 6:15.  On line at IASW at 6:40 and had a 40 min wait (only 2 groups per boat really slows things done). Then two runs on BTMR at 7:45 pm (~10 min wait but posted at 40) followed by Space to end the night with a 25 min wait.
> 
> Great day!  We didn’t do every ride but we did all the ones we wanted.


Thank you for the info. We will be staying at WL. in June. What time are the buses running in the morning?


----------



## lluv3971

Here Now - Hollywood Studios (3/15 and 3/17)
and a hint of EPCOT (3/16).

Previous Posts: # 8185 & 8224

My 2 experiences with getting a ROTR BG:
Both times - off wifi, find area with best service. For us, it was on the balcony of the YC. Used time.is website to track time. 

First attempt - hit join from home screen at 6:58 and refreshed at exactly 6:59:59. It took about 2 seconds to refresh. I hit join immediately after. Ended up with BG 73, which was called at 1pm.

Second attempt-  Same set-up. This time, I hit join on the home screen at 6:59:59 and ended up with BG 3, which was called around 8:40am.

Walked over from YC at about 7:45. Was walking up to DHS when they opened the second (and more convenient) temp tent on the right, which was at about 8am. The line quickly grew behind us as the Skyliner was unloading. The first bus had just arrived. Luckily, we were near the front of the pack on the right tent side and they let us in at 8:10. This was our experience both DHS days.

We booked it to SDD with almost everyone else. We followed the markers on the ground while others started wide. The coaster had done at least one ride before we arrived at the main entrance, where CMs told people to file in and get on the marked path. We ended up being near the front, and since we were a party of 2, they held two or three larger parties and let us walk right on! By the time we were off, the line was 40 mins and growing. 

Nothing else was open in TSL, so we walked (fast) to RR and walked right on. It was posted at 10 mins. After that, TOT was posted at 13, so we rode that and the wait was accurate. When we got off, the ride was posted at 30mins and the park had officially opened as it was now 9:01.

Since we rode MMRR and MFSR the night before with relative ease, and having just completed 3 headliners before opening, we took the rest of the day pretty easy. We put in a mobile order at Ronto Roasters as they had immediate availability. On our way over, I hit "here now," and it was "ready" in less than 60 seconds. After enjoying our breakfast, we stopped at 2 stores on our way out of the park (no wait, hardly any people). We took the boat back to YC. Later, we returned to ride ROTR at 1. We waitee about 15 mins but of course, it was AMAZING!

DHS part 2 - Not much new to report as we followed our previous protocol. We wanted ride MMRR at pre-RD, but the CM told us that they would open closer to 9. This was also the case for the other rides in TSL. We went to Starbucks for a quick snack since we had already ridden (?) everything we wanted on Monday. After our 10 min coffee stop, MMRR was open and we walked right on. After, we headed to TSL and did TSMM with a posted 10 min wait, which was accurate. Then, we walked over to aliens which was posted 10, but was also a walk on. From there, we took the back entrance to GE as our BG had been called earlier. We walked right on and there was hardly anyone in our group as we went through the experience. After that, most lines were posted 40-75 minutes so we headed out.

EPCOT (3/16). Pre-Rope Drop from IG. We were held at the temp check. We watched the first boat of the day dock and off board, then they finally let us in around 10:10. Temp check was a little slower at EP than at DHS. We hightailed it over to SOARIN' which was posted at a 15 min. wait, which was accurate. When we got off, the line was snaking through the land pavilion. Frozen and TT were open at pre-RD, but we were not interested in waiting. We probably could have done Frozen with about a 30 min wait at about 10:50, but we were hungry and headed to mexico instead. We stopped at the F&G booth in mexico, and got chips and guac from the cantina. We watched Mickey and friends drive by in a cavalcade and then headed to do Gran Fiesta Tour (one of our favorites). The line was at the door of the pyramid and we waited about 10 mins until we finally reached the start of the line for the attraction. We waited about 5 mins from there. We shared a boat with one other small party. The CM made the 3 adults share one row in the front, which I appreciated, as we were placed in row 4. After the ride, the line to get in the pyramid stretched down the walkway. The frozen line was deep into China 30 mins after opening.

We then traveled through WS, stopping occasionally for snacks. Lines at the booths moved quickly and we were always able to find a shady spot to sit. There were definitely some choke points, followed by random open spots, but it felt crowded. By the time we made it to France at about 1:45, there were tons of people. All of the rides had long lines, which had begun at park open and grew ever since. We took this as a sign to leave so we walked back to our resort.

General Thoughts from our 6 days at WDW during the first "sold out" spring break week:

- Getting to a park exactly ONE HOUR before opening is key to having a successful day. Knock off 2 (maybe 3 with a party of quick moving adults) E-Ticket attractions before opening, then plan to do 2 or 3 "lesser rides" immediately after. We headed back to our resort after 2-3 hours of morning touring and felt like we accomplished most of what we wanted.

- Park Hopping and waiting in line for one "big ticket" ride in the evening really helped us to do everything we wanted. We waited 35 mins (posted 50) for 7dmt post dinner, and waited 15 for MMRR (posted 30) using the same strategy. That way, we didn't have to worry about those rides when we pre-RD'd the next morning.

- Make ADRs asap! At least for every other night of your stay, as food is hard to find (especially a filling dinner that isn't a burger). Mobile order your lunch when you walk in the park.

- Mask/safety compliance and general guest attitudes are at its peak early in the day. Weekends were the absolute worst for compliance. We saw some CMs tell people to wear their masks properly during the week, but we never once saw that happen on the weekend. Evenings tend to be a little iffy as well, but the weekends were terrible.

- Lines build very quickly at EPCOT, even during pre-RD. Set your expectations low. 

- Staying within walking distance to the parks made it possible to be at the parks early without any hassle. It also allowed us to leave when we were "done" with the crowds and pop back in in the evening.

- Touring Plans were very accurate and saved us a lot of time and stress. 

- CMs were generally pleasant.

- YC pool was crowded most of the time that we were there. The CMs escort you to your assigned chairs. Sometimes there was a line to get in.  The quiet pool was chill and had plenty of space.
BLT and Contemporary pool had better physical distancing and you could sit where you wanted. I didn't feel like I was on top of others like I did at YC. 

We have a half day left and then we head out tomorrow at noon. We took Tiffany Town Car for the first time, since we didn't want to use mass transit this trip. We will definitely use them again.

We have a trip planned with another family in July. I'm glad I was able to do a "test run" of "Covid touring" before planning a trip for/with others. We will be back at the YC (their choice), but if it were up to me, I would stay someplace a little more "tame." YC used to be our favorite, but our experience over the weekend (previous post) left a bad taste in my mouth. BLT/CR seemed to be better able to absorb the crowds and support physical distancing in all of it's areas. BLT/CR also seemed to have more CMs around which helped, I'm sure. 

Overall, it was a great trip, but if I didn't already have another trip booked, I don't think I would go again in 2021 (which I thought I would NEVER say). Although touring is doable, I miss FP and Park Hopping without restrictions. I miss having *some* day of ADR availability for spontaneity's sake. I'm hoping some version of those things come back in the months ahead.


----------



## hedberg1661

lluv3971 said:


> Here Now - Hollywood Studios (3/15 and 3/17)
> and a hint of EPCOT (3/16).
> 
> Previous Posts: # 8185 & 8224
> 
> My 2 experiences with getting a ROTR BG:
> Both times - off wifi, find area with best service. For us, it was on the balcony of the YC. Used time.is website to track time.
> 
> First attempt - hit join from home screen at 6:58 and refreshed at exactly 6:59:59. It took about 2 seconds to refresh. I hit join immediately after. Ended up with BG 73, which was called at 1pm.
> 
> Second attempt-  Same set-up. This time, I hit join on the home screen at 6:59:59 and ended up with BG 3, which was called around 8:40am.
> 
> Walked over from YC at about 7:45. Was walking up to DHS when they opened the second (and more convenient) temp tent on the right, which was at about 8am. The line quickly grew behind us as the Skyliner was unloading. The first bus had just arrived. Luckily, we were near the front of the pack on the right tent side and they let us in at 8:10. This was our experience both DHS days.
> 
> We booked it to SDD with almost everyone else. We followed the markers on the ground while others started wide. The coaster had done at least one ride before we arrived at the main entrance, where CMs told people to file in and get on the marked path. We ended up being near the front, and since we were a party of 2, they held two or three larger parties and let us walk right on! By the time we were off, the line was 40 mins and growing.
> 
> Nothing else was open in TSL, so we walked (fast) to RR and walked right on. It was posted at 10 mins. After that, TOT was posted at 13, so we rode that and the wait was accurate. When we got off, the ride was posted at 30mins and the park had officially opened as it was now 9:01.
> 
> Since we rode MMRR and MFSR the night before with relative ease, and having just completed 3 headliners before opening, we took the rest of the day pretty easy. We put in a mobile order at Ronto Roasters as they had immediate availability. On our way over, I hit "here now," and it was "ready" in less than 60 seconds. After enjoying our breakfast, we stopped at 2 stores on our way out of the park (no wait, hardly any people). We took the boat back to YC. Later, we returned to ride ROTR at 1. We waitee about 15 mins but of course, it was AMAZING!
> 
> DHS part 2 - Not much new to report as we followed our previous protocol. We wanted ride MMRR at pre-RD, but the CM told us that they would open closer to 9. This was also the case for the other rides in TSL. We went to Starbucks for a quick snack since we had already ridden (?) everything we wanted on Monday. After our 10 min coffee stop, MMRR was open and we walked right on. After, we headed to TSL and did TSMM with a posted 10 min wait, which was accurate. Then, we walked over to aliens which was posted 10, but was also a walk on. From there, we took the back entrance to GE as our BG had been called earlier. We walked right on and there was hardly anyone in our group as we went through the experience. After that, most lines were posted 40-75 minutes so we headed out.
> 
> EPCOT (3/16). Pre-Rope Drop from IG. We were held at the temp check. We watched the first boat of the day dock and off board, then they finally let us in around 10:10. Temp check was a little slower at EP than at DHS. We hightailed it over to SOARIN' which was posted at a 15 min. wait, which was accurate. When we got off, the line was snaking through the land pavilion. Frozen and TT were open at pre-RD, but we were not interested in waiting. We probably could have done Frozen with about a 30 min wait at about 10:50, but we were hungry and headed to mexico instead. We stopped at the F&G booth in mexico, and got chips and guac from the cantina. We watched Mickey and friends drive by in a cavalcade and then headed to do Gran Fiesta Tour (one of our favorites). The line was at the door of the pyramid and we waited about 10 mins until we finally reached the start of the line for the attraction. We waited about 5 mins from there. We shared a boat with one other small party. The CM made the 3 adults share one row in the front, which I appreciated, as we were placed in row 4. After the ride, the line to get in the pyramid stretched down the walkway. The frozen line was deep into China 30 mins after opening.
> 
> We then traveled through WS, stopping occasionally for snacks. Lines at the booths moved quickly and we were always able to find a shady spot to sit. There were definitely some choke points, followed by random open spots, but it felt crowded. By the time we made it to France at about 1:45, there were tons of people. All of the rides had long lines, which had begun at park open and grew ever since. We took this as a sign to leave so we walked back to our resort.
> 
> General Thoughts from our 6 days at WDW during the first "sold out" spring break week:
> 
> - Getting to a park exactly ONE HOUR before opening is key to having a successful day. Knock off 2 (maybe 3 with a party of quick moving adults) E-Ticket attractions before opening, then plan to do 2 or 3 "lesser rides" immediately after. We headed back to our resort after 2-3 hours of morning touring and felt like we accomplished most of what we wanted.
> 
> - Park Hopping and waiting in line for one "big ticket" ride in the evening really helped us to do everything we wanted. We waited 35 mins (posted 50) for 7dmt post dinner, and waited 15 for MMRR (posted 30) using the same strategy. That way, we didn't have to worry about those rides when we pre-RD'd the next morning.
> 
> - Make ADRs asap! At least for every other night of your stay, as food is hard to find (especially a filling dinner that isn't a burger). Mobile order your lunch when you walk in the park.
> 
> - Mask/safety compliance and general guest attitudes are at its peak early in the day. Weekends were the absolute worst for compliance. We saw some CMs tell people to wear their masks properly during the week, but we never once saw that happen on the weekend. Evenings tend to be a little iffy as well, but the weekends were terrible.
> 
> - Lines build very quickly at EPCOT, even during pre-RD. Set your expectations low.
> 
> - Staying within walking distance to the parks made it possible to be at the parks early without any hassle. It also allowed us to leave when we were "done" with the crowds and pop back in in the evening.
> 
> - Touring Plans were very accurate and saved us a lot of time and stress.
> 
> - CMs were generally pleasant.
> 
> - YC pool was crowded most of the time that we were there. The CMs escort you to your assigned chairs. Sometimes there was a line to get in.  The quiet pool was chill and had plenty of space.
> BLT and Contemporary pool had better physical distancing and you could sit where you wanted. I didn't feel like I was on top of others like I did at YC.
> 
> We have a half day left and then we head out tomorrow at noon. We took Tiffany Town Car for the first time, since we didn't want to use mass transit this trip. We will definitely use them again.
> 
> We have a trip planned with another family in July. I'm glad I was able to do a "test run" of "Covid touring" before planning a trip for/with others. We will be back at the YC (their choice), but if it were up to me, I would stay someplace a little more "tame." YC used to be our favorite, but our experience over the weekend (previous post) left a bad taste in my mouth. BLT/CR seemed to be better able to absorb the crowds and support physical distancing in all of it's areas. BLT/CR also seemed to have more CMs around which helped, I'm sure.
> 
> Overall, it was a great trip, but if I didn't already have another trip booked, I don't think I would go again in 2021 (which I thought I would NEVER say). Although touring is doable, I miss FP and Park Hopping without restrictions. I miss having *some* day of ADR availability for spontaneity's sake. I'm hoping some version of those things come back in the months ahead.


Thank you for putting together such a nice summary. I fly down to WDW tomorrow for the first time in over a year (thanks COVID), and while I am very excited to return to the resort, I am hesitant on the experience we will have. I miss FP and 'normalish' park hopping. I have an AP and I am staying at the Dolphin.


----------



## lnR_Texas

*March 16 - AK. * Our third park day and our third different approach to getting to the parks! Again, it’s hard to get going for these 8 am openings, so we decided to drive to AK. Arrived at parking gates at 7:15 with the lines at least 10 cars deep. Looked like they had just opened the parking, but can’t be sure. Walking in the park by 7:34.

Our plan was to zig while everyone else zagged (i.e., don’t go to Pandora)- quick safari followed by multiple rides on Everest.  Well, got to the safari line at 7:40 and they said it would not open until 8:30.  We were not going to waste pre-park time waiting in line so we trekked over to Everest. Small line building, as they didn’t let folks in until 8:00:00:00...exactly.  We got on the second train of the day and then went two more times before 8:30.  Then we went back over to KS.

This is where my wait time information is going to be sketchy...I was planning to use the wait times I posted to TP to report out (That’s what I did other days, they were conviently listed under My Profile), but apparently these only show for the current day and I was too tired to write this last night.  Oh well...

I can’t quite explain how long the KS line was, but suffice to say that it started on the bridge, turned left and went INTO the Lion King theater where a maze of lines were taped on the floor to shuttle you through many switchbacks.  Despite the length, I think we waited 40 minutes.  The CM‘s were nice enough to let my mom wait at the front of the line for us so she didn’t have to walk all that distance in line.

We were off the safari by about 9:45.  Our new park strategy, considering our ~ 2 pm ADRs for lunch, was to head back to the resort early and then return back to the park for lunch.  So after KS we got a snack (Dole whip float with rum for my mom and me YUM, and a Frappuccino for my daughter), drove back to WL, arriving around 10:45.  

After relaxing, we decided to take the bus back to AK because driving would mean parking far from the front gate.  DS16 has skipped the morning but was with us for the afternoon. The  Bus was right on time based on MDE, and we were in the park by 1:15.  Walked over to Tiffins and checked in 20 min early for our 1:50 reservation, saw a Mickey and Minnie boat cavalcade while waiting for our table, and then we were in. Enjoyed a great lunch— bread service and octopus appetizers, wine flight, and shrimp n grits (for me).  

Then it was round 2 for Everest, 4 times for me and DD12 between 3:27 and 4:10.  If you’re counting, that’s 7 rides so far.  DS16 and DH bailed after 2 rounds and went on KS with grandma.  After our. 4 rides on Everest, DD and I got in line for N’avi and waited for the rest.  They were delayed so we stepped out of line under the N’avi entrance, and they finally joined us a bit after 5.  We waited about 60 min total.  None of us had been on the ride and we were underwhelmed to say the least.  

And then back to... you guessed it...Everest.  My daughter was driven to beat our record from 2019 of 10 rides in one day, so we did eleven!  Yes, 4 more rides between 6:00 and 6:50.  The line was shorter and shorter for each ride, but after 4 rides in quick succession my body couldn’t take it anymore.  DS and DH bailed after two rides to head back to the resort with grandma.

DD and I closed down the park getting in line for FOP at 7:15 and waited 45 min.  Second time riding and first time through the long queue, beautiful!  And the ride was better than we remembered.  And because I have now seen the movie Avatar, I appreciated more the story, theming, and music.

Today (March 17, St Patrick’s Day) is a rest day at the resort with dinner at California Grill.  

*Additional thoughts*: Skipping the late morning in the park and returning for our late lunch worked perfectly. Better than trying to kill time in the park surrounded by massive crowds and long lines. And lines were starting to go down by 3 pm after lunch. We might try this Friday for DHS. Thursday is Epcot and with an 11 am opening we won’t need the early break.

We were fortunate to have a car to help minimize the time getting back to the resort in the late morning For AK.  In general, buses have been good, although DH and gang waited 30 min for a bus to return from AK around 6:45 pm yesterday.  Bus wait times from WL have been good on MDE but we seem to have waited longer returning from the parks.


----------



## lnR_Texas

disneymomof#2 said:


> Thank you for the info. We will be staying at WL. in June. What time are the buses running in the morning?


The front desk will tell you 30 min before park opening but I think it’s at least 1 hour before park opening.  We haven’t been on line to see the first bus yet, but on Monday at 7:20 am there was only one family in front of us.  They said they just missed the previous bus.


----------



## StuckInKS

We just got home from our March 6-15 trip and we did not have any issues mobile ordering at any places except Woodys Lunchbox. It was always a 2hr wait when we went to order, so we did Docking Bay 7 instead. Also, we did not go with any ADRs, but got a walk-up reservations for Beaches and Cream and Garden Grill.


----------



## lluv3971

hedberg1661 said:


> Thank you for putting together such a nice summary. I fly down to WDW tomorrow for the first time in over a year (thanks COVID), and while I am very excited to return to the resort, I am hesitant on the experience we will have. I miss FP and 'normalish' park hopping. I have an AP and I am staying at the Dolphin.


With realistic expectations, you will have a great time. Make ADRs and plan to tour early and you will be set!


----------



## CampbellzSoup

I couldn’t believe when I heard the story about cast members getting attacked over telling people to wear their masks but I actually think I can I’m not saying it’s right or am I giving any justification...however some cast members are especially nasty and rude and very aggressive telling people to put their masks on...we commented last time oh boy it’s not gonna be pretty when the summer crowds come.


----------



## lovethattink

Reminder:

" _As a Disney travel planning site, discussions about Disney's policies and rules are very welcome here. However, discussions of or instructions for ways to circumvent those rules or "cheat the system" are not appropriate and will be deleted. _"


----------



## DisneyByMarriage

I’ve done early mornings at the parks, but I’m starting to wonder how ‘worth it’ this strategy will stay.  People are saying they get to the bus stops 90 minutes before the parks open and then wait about 45 minutes combined for busses/temp checks.  They hit two or three rides before lines start building (assuming headliners).  You are getting up so early on vacation to essentially spend the same amount of time waiting in lines, just to avoid waiting in a ride line.  It’s the commute conundrum.  Leave earlier or later and your commute is under 40 minutes; leave to be right on time and your commute is an hour.


----------



## lovethattink

DisneyByMarriage said:


> I’ve done early mornings at the parks, but I’m starting to wonder how ‘worth it’ this strategy will stay.  People are saying they get to the bus stops 90 minutes before the parks open and then wait about 45 minutes combined for busses/temp checks.  They hit two or three rides before lines start building (assuming headliners).  You are getting up so early on vacation to essentially spend the same amount of time waiting in lines, just to avoid waiting in a ride line.  It’s the commute conundrum.  Leave earlier or later and your commute is under 40 minutes; leave to be right on time and your commute is an hour.



I went to DHS yesterday and got pretty much accomplished in the last few hours the park was open. Saw Lightning McQueen Racing Academy, was walk in. Then Rock n Roller with a posted 40 min wait, but it was less. Walked right onto Alien Swirling Saucers, wait time said 15 min. Then TSMM with a 10 minute wait. Then SDD. On the way out MMRR posted a 50 minute wait, we waited 8 minutes.


----------



## subtchr

DisneyByMarriage said:


> I’ve done early mornings at the parks, but I’m starting to wonder how ‘worth it’ this strategy will stay.  People are saying they get to the bus stops 90 minutes before the parks open and then wait about 45 minutes combined for busses/temp checks.  They hit two or three rides before lines start building (assuming headliners).  You are getting up so early on vacation to essentially spend the same amount of time waiting in lines, just to avoid waiting in a ride line.  It’s the commute conundrum.  Leave earlier or later and your commute is under 40 minutes; leave to be right on time and your commute is an hour.



It's not exactly the same, because that time you spend waiting for a bus or to enter the park is different from the time you would spend later in lines, because there is nothing else you could be doing in the parks during the time before opening. Later in the day, you are taking up park touring time waiting in longer queues.

But having said that, I agree that it's far from the best strategy for all families. If they have older kids (or younger kids, or adults) who don't like getting up early, and would be grumps all day because of it, then it's probably not the right choice for that family, especially not every day.

Also, there is a big difference between being toward the front of the first crowd into the park, and being "close" to opening time. Catch that first bus or Skyliner? You can have a walk-on for Flight of Passage, or Runaway Railway, or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. But if you are even only twenty to thirty minutes later, you can face the longest queues of the day for some attractions, as those build incredibly fast on busy days. So unless you make the concentrated effort to arrive when the gates open, don't bother. Sleep in, and catch the headliners at a "lull" later in the day, or right before park closing.


----------



## DisneyFive

Personally I'm hoping that they bring back FP before our stay.  That was the biggest improvement for us with FP+, sleeping in a little and still having some headliners booked.

We did the rope drop thing our first few visits when paper FP's were around, but by day 4 we were zombies.  At least now we return to our resort after lunch each day to rest or swim.  Even so, getting up at 7 am or earlier on a vacation is NOT something I'm looking forward to day after day.

Dan


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyFive said:


> Personally I'm hoping that they bring back FP before our stay.  That was the biggest improvement for us with FP+, sleeping in a little and still having some headliners booked.
> 
> We did the rope drop thing our first few visits when paper FP's were around, but by day 4 we were zombies.  At least now we return to our resort after lunch each day to rest or swim.  Even so, getting up at 7 am or earlier on a vacation is NOT something I'm looking forward to day after day.
> 
> Dan


It depends when your stay is.  FP will not be brought back until social distancing is no longer needed and there's no end to that in sight.  The FP+ queues are often being used to for regular guest lines due to the added distance required.  PH will not work while SD is in place.  Also, right now the lines move very well.  This would not happen if PH was in place.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

lluv3971 said:


> Here Now - Hollywood Studios (3/15 and 3/17)
> and a hint of EPCOT (3/16).
> 
> Previous Posts: # 8185 & 8224
> 
> My 2 experiences with getting a ROTR BG:
> Both times - off wifi, find area with best service. For us, it was on the balcony of the YC. Used time.is website to track time.
> 
> First attempt - hit join from home screen at 6:58 and refreshed at exactly 6:59:59. It took about 2 seconds to refresh. I hit join immediately after. Ended up with BG 73, which was called at 1pm.
> 
> Second attempt-  Same set-up. This time, I hit join on the home screen at 6:59:59 and ended up with BG 3, which was called around 8:40am.
> 
> Walked over from YC at about 7:45. Was walking up to DHS when they opened the second (and more convenient) temp tent on the right, which was at about 8am. The line quickly grew behind us as the Skyliner was unloading. The first bus had just arrived. Luckily, we were near the front of the pack on the right tent side and they let us in at 8:10. This was our experience both DHS days.
> 
> We booked it to SDD with almost everyone else. We followed the markers on the ground while others started wide. The coaster had done at least one ride before we arrived at the main entrance, where CMs told people to file in and get on the marked path. We ended up being near the front, and since we were a party of 2, they held two or three larger parties and let us walk right on! By the time we were off, the line was 40 mins and growing.
> 
> Nothing else was open in TSL, so we walked (fast) to RR and walked right on. It was posted at 10 mins. After that, TOT was posted at 13, so we rode that and the wait was accurate. When we got off, the ride was posted at 30mins and the park had officially opened as it was now 9:01.
> 
> Since we rode MMRR and MFSR the night before with relative ease, and having just completed 3 headliners before opening, we took the rest of the day pretty easy. We put in a mobile order at Ronto Roasters as they had immediate availability. On our way over, I hit "here now," and it was "ready" in less than 60 seconds. After enjoying our breakfast, we stopped at 2 stores on our way out of the park (no wait, hardly any people). We took the boat back to YC. Later, we returned to ride ROTR at 1. We waitee about 15 mins but of course, it was AMAZING!
> 
> DHS part 2 - Not much new to report as we followed our previous protocol. We wanted ride MMRR at pre-RD, but the CM told us that they would open closer to 9. This was also the case for the other rides in TSL. We went to Starbucks for a quick snack since we had already ridden (?) everything we wanted on Monday. After our 10 min coffee stop, MMRR was open and we walked right on. After, we headed to TSL and did TSMM with a posted 10 min wait, which was accurate. Then, we walked over to aliens which was posted 10, but was also a walk on. From there, we took the back entrance to GE as our BG had been called earlier. We walked right on and there was hardly anyone in our group as we went through the experience. After that, most lines were posted 40-75 minutes so we headed out.
> 
> EPCOT (3/16). Pre-Rope Drop from IG. We were held at the temp check. We watched the first boat of the day dock and off board, then they finally let us in around 10:10. Temp check was a little slower at EP than at DHS. We hightailed it over to SOARIN' which was posted at a 15 min. wait, which was accurate. When we got off, the line was snaking through the land pavilion. Frozen and TT were open at pre-RD, but we were not interested in waiting. We probably could have done Frozen with about a 30 min wait at about 10:50, but we were hungry and headed to mexico instead. We stopped at the F&G booth in mexico, and got chips and guac from the cantina. We watched Mickey and friends drive by in a cavalcade and then headed to do Gran Fiesta Tour (one of our favorites). The line was at the door of the pyramid and we waited about 10 mins until we finally reached the start of the line for the attraction. We waited about 5 mins from there. We shared a boat with one other small party. The CM made the 3 adults share one row in the front, which I appreciated, as we were placed in row 4. After the ride, the line to get in the pyramid stretched down the walkway. The frozen line was deep into China 30 mins after opening.
> 
> We then traveled through WS, stopping occasionally for snacks. Lines at the booths moved quickly and we were always able to find a shady spot to sit. There were definitely some choke points, followed by random open spots, but it felt crowded. By the time we made it to France at about 1:45, there were tons of people. All of the rides had long lines, which had begun at park open and grew ever since. We took this as a sign to leave so we walked back to our resort.
> 
> General Thoughts from our 6 days at WDW during the first "sold out" spring break week:
> 
> - Getting to a park exactly ONE HOUR before opening is key to having a successful day. Knock off 2 (maybe 3 with a party of quick moving adults) E-Ticket attractions before opening, then plan to do 2 or 3 "lesser rides" immediately after. We headed back to our resort after 2-3 hours of morning touring and felt like we accomplished most of what we wanted.
> 
> - Park Hopping and waiting in line for one "big ticket" ride in the evening really helped us to do everything we wanted. We waited 35 mins (posted 50) for 7dmt post dinner, and waited 15 for MMRR (posted 30) using the same strategy. That way, we didn't have to worry about those rides when we pre-RD'd the next morning.
> 
> - Make ADRs asap! At least for every other night of your stay, as food is hard to find (especially a filling dinner that isn't a burger). Mobile order your lunch when you walk in the park.
> 
> - Mask/safety compliance and general guest attitudes are at its peak early in the day. Weekends were the absolute worst for compliance. We saw some CMs tell people to wear their masks properly during the week, but we never once saw that happen on the weekend. Evenings tend to be a little iffy as well, but the weekends were terrible.
> 
> - Lines build very quickly at EPCOT, even during pre-RD. Set your expectations low.
> 
> - Staying within walking distance to the parks made it possible to be at the parks early without any hassle. It also allowed us to leave when we were "done" with the crowds and pop back in in the evening.
> 
> - Touring Plans were very accurate and saved us a lot of time and stress.
> 
> - CMs were generally pleasant.
> 
> - YC pool was crowded most of the time that we were there. The CMs escort you to your assigned chairs. Sometimes there was a line to get in.  The quiet pool was chill and had plenty of space.
> BLT and Contemporary pool had better physical distancing and you could sit where you wanted. I didn't feel like I was on top of others like I did at YC.
> 
> We have a half day left and then we head out tomorrow at noon. We took Tiffany Town Car for the first time, since we didn't want to use mass transit this trip. We will definitely use them again.
> 
> We have a trip planned with another family in July. I'm glad I was able to do a "test run" of "Covid touring" before planning a trip for/with others. We will be back at the YC (their choice), but if it were up to me, I would stay someplace a little more "tame." YC used to be our favorite, but our experience over the weekend (previous post) left a bad taste in my mouth. BLT/CR seemed to be better able to absorb the crowds and support physical distancing in all of it's areas. BLT/CR also seemed to have more CMs around which helped, I'm sure.
> 
> Overall, it was a great trip, but if I didn't already have another trip booked, I don't think I would go again in 2021 (which I thought I would NEVER say). Although touring is doable, I miss FP and Park Hopping without restrictions. I miss having *some* day of ADR availability for spontaneity's sake. I'm hoping some version of those things come back in the months ahead.



Forgive my ignorance - Star Wars isn't _my_ thing but it's about to be.  Must you be within a certain geographical area to Join in?  Is that why the YC balcony worked?


----------



## DCLMP

CampbellzSoup said:


> I couldn’t believe when I heard the story about cast members getting attacked over telling people to wear their masks but I actually think I can I’m not saying it’s right or am I giving any justification...however some cast members are especially nasty and rude and very aggressive telling people to put their masks on...we commented last time oh boy it’s not gonna be pretty when the summer crowds come.


I noticed this too. Tone and body language make a difference.


----------



## MomOTwins

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Forgive my ignorance - Star Wars isn't _my_ thing but it's about to be.  Must you be within a certain geographical area to Join in?  Is that why the YC balcony worked?


No. You can join from anywhere at 7am if you have a park pass. The reason for the balcony is cell phone signal and Disney wifi can be dicey in rooms—better cell signal outside.  If you have a slow connection, that’s a problem because boarding groups sell out in seconds


----------



## lovethattink

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Forgive my ignorance - Star Wars isn't _my_ thing but it's about to be.  Must you be within a certain geographical area to Join in?  Is that why the YC balcony worked?



If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the Boarding Group thread! Timing is the most important as all the slots fill up within a couple seconds. So you want to make sure you have a good fast connection!


----------



## shelbel95

lovethattink said:


> I went to DHS yesterday and got pretty much accomplished in the last few hours the park was open. Saw Lightning McQueen Racing Academy, was walk in. Then Rock n Roller with a posted 40 min wait, but it was less. Walked right onto Alien Swirling Saucers, wait time said 15 min. Then TSMM with a 10 minute wait. Then SDD. On the way out MMRR posted a 50 minute wait, we waited 8 minutes.


Since we are not an early riser family (but can be night owls, even with younger kids), I appreciate this! That's why we loved FPs - didn't have to even think about rope dropping since we got our big to-do's locked in ahead of time.


----------



## Jen309

shelbel95 said:


> Since we are not an early riser family (but can be night owls, even with younger kids), I appreciate this! That's why we loved FPs - didn't have to even think about rope dropping since we got our big to-do's locked in ahead of time.


Same. While I’m happy to RD a couple times, it’s still *vacation*, you know? I miss FP+...


----------



## DavidNYC

DCLMP said:


> I noticed this too. Tone and body language make a difference.



Yes - tone and body language make a difference.  And when you're dealing with a dangerous public health issue and you've seen that a Disneyfied polite reminder to wear your mask does not achieve the results you need from those who don't want to do it - you need to adopt a stronger approach to make clear how serious you are about the matter.  I've seen way too many times where polite reminders to wear your mask go unheeded while the more stern approach does.  The simple solution to cast members not being polite about masks isn't to change the cast members - it's to wear your damn mask!


----------



## kathi

Recent reports have stated that some success has been achieved with going to the parks an hour or so before close to ride some of the "E Ticket" attractions.   Can other folks comment on when that seems to work and when it doesn't?  Working on my plan for March 26th - 30th.


----------



## lovethattink

kathi said:


> Recent reports have stated that some success has been achieved with going to the parks an hour or so before close to ride some of the "E Ticket" attractions.   Can other folks comment on when that seems to work and when it doesn't?  Working on my plan for March 26th - 30th.



Posted about my last few hours at DHS a few posts above.


----------



## disneyseniors

lovethattink said:


> Posted about my last few hours at DHS a few posts above.



Thank you for mentioning being able to do all those attractions at close to closing time.  We have never done that; usually we are up early and do it all before noon.  But, that approach sounds like it would be a good one to try


----------



## GADisneyDad14

I don’t follow this thread so I’m SORRY if old news.  At BB today and the drink mug refills are handled by a CM the same way they are at the resorts.  This is different than what I saw from blogs when BB reopened, so just posting in case it happens to be new.

Got here about 10:25ish and walked right in.  Tried to rent a Polar Patio walk up but they were all booked.  Umbrellas and Clam Shells were available.  Held at spots inside the park until a few minutes before 11 and then let in.

Crowds are fantastic here, BTW.  This is a great time to visit BB if you are water park peeps.  Have done almost everything in less than 2 hours.  There are plenty of people around, but minimal lines.

Happy to answer any questions.


----------



## Leigh L

@GADisneyDad14, sounds like a great day, enjoy!!


----------



## Lsdolphin

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I don’t follow this thread so I’m SORRY if old news.  At BB today and the drink mug refills are handled by a CM the same way they are at the resorts.  This is different than what I saw from blogs when BB reopened, so just posting in case it happens to be new.
> 
> Got here about 10:25ish and walked right in.  Tried to rent a Polar Patio walk up but they were all booked.  Umbrellas and Clam Shells were available.  Held at spots inside the park until a few minutes before 11 and then let in.
> 
> Crowds are fantastic here, BTW.  This is a great time to visit BB if you are water park peeps.  Have done almost everything in less than 2 hours.  There are plenty of people around, but minimal lines.
> 
> Happy to answer any questions.



Do you need a park reservation for BB?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Lsdolphin said:


> Do you need a park reservation for BB?



No, you don’t. I’ll be curious to see if that ever changes, but for now, no.


----------



## Justrose

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I don’t follow this thread so I’m SORRY if old news.  At BB today and the drink mug refills are handled by a CM the same way they are at the resorts.  This is different than what I saw from blogs when BB reopened, so just posting in case it happens to be new.
> 
> Got here about 10:25ish and walked right in.  Tried to rent a Polar Patio walk up but they were all booked.  Umbrellas and Clam Shells were available.  Held at spots inside the park until a few minutes before 11 and then let in.
> 
> Crowds are fantastic here, BTW.  This is a great time to visit BB if you are water park peeps.  Have done almost everything in less than 2 hours.  There are plenty of people around, but minimal lines.
> 
> Happy to answer any questions.



Thank you!  You inspired me to purchase the "one day ticket" special and take my daughter on our rest day.  Who needs rest, anyway?


----------



## CampbellzSoup

DavidNYC said:


> Yes - tone and body language make a difference.  And when you're dealing with a dangerous public health issue and you've seen that a Disneyfied polite reminder to wear your mask does not achieve the results you need from those who don't want to do it - you need to adopt a stronger approach to make clear how serious you are about the matter.  I've seen way too many times where polite reminders to wear your mask go unheeded while the more stern approach does.  The simple solution to cast members not being polite about masks isn't to change the cast members - it's to wear your damn mask!


 
cringe.  Calm down you are asked to wear your mask if you don’t want to wear it properly you will be asked to leave and get security I don’t need you thinking you can scream at me because it fell below my nose.


----------



## MomOTwins

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I don’t follow this thread so I’m SORRY if old news.  At BB today and the drink mug refills are handled by a CM the same way they are at the resorts.  This is different than what I saw from blogs when BB reopened, so just posting in case it happens to be new.
> 
> Got here about 10:25ish and walked right in.  Tried to rent a Polar Patio walk up but they were all booked.  Umbrellas and Clam Shells were available.  Held at spots inside the park until a few minutes before 11 and then let in.
> 
> Crowds are fantastic here, BTW.  This is a great time to visit BB if you are water park peeps.  Have done almost everything in less than 2 hours.  There are plenty of people around, but minimal lines.
> 
> Happy to answer any questions.


Hooray, thank you so much for posting this!  We have a ticket purchased for BB next week and I really haven't seen many trip reports and have been looking for them.  I was worried with the crowded parks there would be more "overflow" into BB and it would be long lines like everywhere else.  We've never been so would like to experience as much as possible.  Can't wait!



CampbellzSoup said:


> cringe.  Calm down you are asked to wear your mask if you don’t want to wear it properly you will be asked to leave and get security I don’t need you thinking you can scream at me because it fell below my nose.


If your mask is falling below your nose, it is not well-fitted and secure and therefore does not meet the Disney World mask requirements:

All face coverings (whether disposable or reusable) must:

Be made with at least 2 layers of breathable material
Fully cover the nose and mouth and secure under the chin
Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
Be secured with ties or ear loops and allow the Guest to remain hands-free


----------



## momtoccc

All, planning for RD at HS this Sunday.  Debating on doing ToT first thing but want to know if it is generally running before official opening? Any recent experience with this?
Thanks!


----------



## lovethattink

GADisneyDad14 said:


> I don’t follow this thread so I’m SORRY if old news.  At BB today and the drink mug refills are handled by a CM the same way they are at the resorts.  This is different than what I saw from blogs when BB reopened, so just posting in case it happens to be new.
> 
> Got here about 10:25ish and walked right in.  Tried to rent a Polar Patio walk up but they were all booked.  Umbrellas and Clam Shells were available.  Held at spots inside the park until a few minutes before 11 and then let in.
> 
> Crowds are fantastic here, BTW.  This is a great time to visit BB if you are water park peeps.  Have done almost everything in less than 2 hours.  There are plenty of people around, but minimal lines.
> 
> Happy to answer any questions.



Have a great time! You picked the perfect day! Cold front coming through tonight. I’m looking forward to low 70’s on my next Epcot day!!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Merging this with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread as a lot of people with DHS read that and can hopefully help you out.


----------



## Kimg88

kathi said:


> Recent reports have stated that some success has been achieved with going to the parks an hour or so before close to ride some of the "E Ticket" attractions.   Can other folks comment on when that seems to work and when it doesn't?  Working on my plan for March 26th - 30th.


Worked for us every time this last week. Today is our last day. Disney busses say they run an hour prior but we took the poly bus and it was always earlier than that. We left at 9:36 this morning and were one of the first in Epcot. Walked onto test track and mission space. Then headed to Soarin and waited 30 min. Posted 65. Walked on living with the land. Then back to hotel. We will be back for dinner and a few rides. Last night we hopped at 5:30 and did dinner, frozen, Nemo, and spaceship earth.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Justrose said:


> Thank you!  You inspired me to purchase the "one day ticket" special and take my daughter on our rest day.  Who needs rest, anyway?





MomOTwins said:


> Hooray, thank you so much for posting this! We have a ticket purchased for BB next week and I really haven't seen many trip reports and have been looking for them. I was worried with the crowded parks there would be more "overflow" into BB and it would be long lines like everywhere else. We've never been so would like to experience as much as possible. Can't wait!



My takeaway - plenty of people there but ride lines oddly low. We left 2:45ish and the walkway for Summit Plummet still looked only down a landing or two. I’m more used to rides like that getting consistently long lines for most of the day.

The lazy river thing (having to be in a tube) is sort of silly, to be honest. Not sure how practical that will be in the long run. TBD of course. Tubes bump into each other just like people do.

Overall it was sort of like a Disney resort pool to me.  If you are really sensitive to distancing and masks, it’s probably not your place to go right now.   If you have some tolerance for outdoor no mask/less than 6 feet situations, you won’t think twice about it. 

Like with the parks and anywhere, things could change and crowds could increase, especially as  the temps pick up... so YMMV!


----------



## MomOTwins

GADisneyDad14 said:


> My takeaway - plenty of people there but ride lines oddly low. We left 2:45ish and the walkway for Summit Plummet still looked only down a landing or two. I’m more used to rides like that getting consistently long lines for most of the day.
> 
> The lazy river thing (having to be in a tube) is sort of silly, to be honest. Not sure how practical that will be in the long run. TBD of course. Tubes bump into each other just like people do.
> 
> Overall it was sort of like a Disney resort pool to me.  If you are really sensitive to distancing and masks, it’s probably not your place to go right now.   If you have some tolerance for outdoor no mask/less than 6 feet situations, you won’t think twice about it.
> 
> Like with the parks and anywhere, things could change and crowds could increase, especially as  the temps pick up... so YMMV!


Sorry one more question—do you happen yo see if they have double tubes on the lazy river?  I have an autistic DS who loves lazy rivers but only if I am with him in a tube (being in a nearby tube doesn’t cut it as he gets anxious alone).  He is pretty small so we can squeeze onto a single tube together if that is allowed.


----------



## Sunshine2U

MomOTwins said:


> Sorry one more question—do you happen yo see if they have double tubes on the lazy river?  I have an autistic DS who loves lazy rivers but only if I am with him in a tube (being in a nearby tube doesn’t cut it as he gets anxious alone).  He is pretty small so we can squeeze onto a single tube together if that is allowed.


Molly at All Ears recently posted a visit to BB. Yes, there are doubles.


----------



## MomOTwins

Sunshine2U said:


> Molly at All Ears recently posted a visit to BB. Yes, there are doubles.


Thanks!!


----------



## hes122

momtoccc said:


> All, planning for RD at HS this Sunday.  Debating on doing ToT first thing but want to know if it is generally running before official opening? Any recent experience with this?
> Thanks!


This was what we did on 3/4. TOT wasn't running when we arrived about 40 minutes prior to park opening,  so we went over and walked on to RNRC and then hit TOT after that. Everything I'd read before we went suggested that TOT would be open but I think we just caught it on an off day.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

MomOTwins said:


> Sorry one more question—do you happen yo see if they have double tubes on the lazy river?  I have an autistic DS who loves lazy rivers but only if I am with him in a tube (being in a nearby tube doesn’t cut it as he gets anxious alone).  He is pretty small so we can squeeze onto a single tube together if that is allowed.



I’m not good at these kind of details but asked DS and he said yes, there were doubles, so seems consistent with what a PP posted.

I passed by some entrances where tubes were plentiful and some where there seemed to be a very small wait. I suspect it can vary at any given moment during the day, so YMMV. 

Have fun!


----------



## indimom3

Vehicles are moving on People Mover this morning.  No passengers but first time we’ve seen that this week.


----------



## StuckInKS

CampbellzSoup said:


> I couldn’t believe when I heard the story about cast members getting attacked over telling people to wear their masks but I actually think I can I’m not saying it’s right or am I giving any justification...however some cast members are especially nasty and rude and very aggressive telling people to put their masks on...we commented last time oh boy it’s not gonna be pretty when the summer crowds come.



I don't blame them as it has to be frustrating having to tell people all day long to follow the rules that are posted everywhere and are announced over the speakers several times throughout the day. Yet people continue to break the rules constantly. I saw parents allowing their kids to have their masks off to snack while walking around the park, adults with their mask under their nose, adults and teens removing their mask to talk to each other and one guy took his mask off to sneeze. Cast are not just protecting the health of guests, they are also trying to protect their own health as well and they see people breaking the rules constantly.


----------



## aljack34

Here now. Been here all week. Crowds are terrible. But we go late to parks and basically walk on to everything. Only time we waited was in Dhs for slinky for about 20 minutes at park close Wednesday. We also walked out of dhs by ourselves after a 8:55 Cantina reservation. It was wonderful. Mask compliance is pretty good. Always a few in the crowd...  availability of food is good. But I made a lot of ADR’s. Battling the crowds for counter service is not my thing. Overall good trip but it’s just really crowded. I have went during spring break many times and this has been about the same crowd level wise.


----------



## DMLAINI

Is the security for all 4 parks, the walk through scanner type or will someone have to dig through our bag?


----------



## HokieRaven5

DMLAINI said:


> Is the security for all 4 parks, the walk through scanner type or will someone have to dig through our bag?



Walk through Scanners. Be sure to remove large items like some Water Bottles, Umbrellas, Portable Batteries and hold them out straight in front of you and you should be fine. They'll search the bags still if the scanner detects something.


----------



## hereforthechurros

HokieRaven5 said:


> Walk through Scanners. Be sure to remove large items like some Water Bottles, Umbrellas, Portable Batteries and hold them out straight in front of you and you should be fine. They'll search the bags still if the scanner detects something.


Eyeglass/sunglass cases as well.


----------



## HokieRaven5

hereforthechurros said:


> Eyeglass/sunglass cases as well.



Yeah really anything that has metal associated with it just best to take it out of the bag, hold it in front of you and walk through.


----------



## auntlynne

Follow the above and no bag search.  What you typically hear is “keep moving.” Such a nice improvement.


----------



## lnR_Texas

momtoccc said:


> All, planning for RD at HS this Sunday.  Debating on doing ToT first thing but want to know if it is generally running before official opening? Any recent experience with this?
> Thanks!


We were there today at opening and planned to start with ToT. It was delayed a bit to open (note that we were near the front of the temperature check line, so we were in the park quickly, by 8:13) so we did RnR.  We were on maybe the fourth train of the day. When we came out, ToT was open and we waited 20 min. But they only had 1 side open, and then opened the second side while we were boarding the other side. By the time we go out, the line was already snaking outside past the exit.

The short answer is yes, it should be open. But it can be delayed...


----------



## Tess

HokieRaven5 said:


> Yeah really anything that has metal associated with it just best to take it out of the bag, hold it in front of you and walk through.





auntlynne said:


> Follow the above and no bag search.  What you typically hear is “keep moving.” Such a nice improvement.



Not necessarily!  I did all of the above and got pulled aside every single time I entered the park.  I carry a Baggalini and it has large metal rings that connect the cross body strap and bag.  Additionally it has a zipper for eyeglasses on the front of said strap.  I set the alarm off every time and would then be passed through (after a bag check) every time with no explanation what was causing the red flag.  The metal rings are the only thing I can guess and when I asked a security guard--he indicated it was something in my chest area--well hello, that is the only metal there (the rings and zipper) since the bag portion was on my back/hip.


----------



## jlundeen

How does it work with a scooter...  I was going to put my stuff in the basket and hold my battery charger and phone if necessary - or do they just search scooter guests in a separate line?


----------



## jo-jo

HokieRaven5 said:


> Walk through Scanners. Be sure to remove large items like some Water Bottles, Umbrellas, Portable Batteries and hold them out straight in front of you and you should be fine. They'll search the bags still if the scanner detects something.



Water bottle, you mean reusable ones?   Not the ones in a case you buy at walmart, right?    What about soda cans?    We plan on packing lunch for the parks.


----------



## Lsdolphin

jlundeen said:


> How does it work with a scooter...  I was going to put my stuff in the basket and hold my battery charger and phone if necessary - or do they just search scooter guests in a separate line?



As you approach the scanner area you will see a sign with Handicap logo and a CM will direct to pull up alongside one of the scanners and ask if you can walk through the scanner. You are instructed to carry any bags thru the scanner but to leave any umbrellas in your ECV. Then you just walk back over to your ECV and drive away. Quick and easy


----------



## Leahc117

aljack34 said:


> Here now. Been here all week. Crowds are terrible. But we go late to parks and basically walk on to everything. Only time we waited was in Dhs for slinky for about 20 minutes at park close Wednesday. We also walked out of dhs by ourselves after a 8:55 Cantina reservation. It was wonderful. Mask compliance is pretty good. Always a few in the crowd...  availability of food is good. But I made a lot of ADR’s. Battling the crowds for counter service is not my thing. Overall good trip but it’s just really crowded. I have went during spring break many times and this has been about the same crowd level wise.


I’m confused by this...trying to be excited about our April trip -and seeing a lot of ride times that don’t look too bad- so how are crowds terrible? Is it because people are in lines in all of the walk ways? Should the crowds calm down after Easter? Thanks!!


----------



## HokieRaven5

jo-jo said:


> Water bottle, you mean reusable ones?   Not the ones in a case you buy at walmart, right?    What about soda cans?    We plan on packing lunch for the parks.



Yeah, we had metal reusable water bottles. Unsure on soda cans but the sensors tend to go off for anything metal.


----------



## lnR_Texas

Leahc117 said:


> I’m confused by this...trying to be excited about our April trip -and seeing a lot of ride times that don’t look too bad- so how are crowds terrible? Is it because people are in lines in all of the walk ways? Should the crowds calm down after Easter? Thanks!!



I am here now and think things are manageable. A few thoughts: rope dropping an hour before official opening helps (but is not necessary), avoid lines between about 11-2, invest in Touring Plans subscription so you have better estimates of real wait times, and take advantage of the late afternoon and evening when lines are shorter.

Have a great trip!


----------



## polynor

Leahc117 said:


> I’m confused by this...trying to be excited about our April trip -and seeing a lot of ride times that don’t look too bad- so how are crowds terrible? Is it because people are in lines in all of the walk ways? Should the crowds calm down after Easter? Thanks!!


I think it’s “crowded” because the lines spill out to the walkways, they can have only so many people in the stores and restaurants so people queue or or wait til their mobile orders  are called right outside making it congested. but...when you get your food, you know there’s a table for you. The spaced out lines means youre moving more constantly. The lines are shorter to check out in the stores.  The worst part we find right now is waiting for buses because of the more limited capacity.  
today, we got in line for btmr, stated 40, line started out near splash, we waited maybe 15 min.


----------



## KuiilHasSpoken

Recently returned from a 3 day trip with my wife. It was our first trip with just the two of us, and we wanted to focus on World Showcase which is hard to do with kids. We had an incredible trip! Even though there were plenty of people there, we really never felt like the crowds were too bad. Wait times weren't that bad either given that the parks were at their current capacity limits. The Touring Plans posted wait times were spot on, and were usually much lower than the official posted times. We had no issues with park hopping despite there being no park passes available.

We stayed at the Dolphin, which we loved because we were able to walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. They are no longer using Disney buses there, and using the early buses to MK and AK didn't get us there in time for an optimal rope drop experience.

3/11 - Epcot
We spent a full day at Epcot our first day. We went to Test Track and Frozen quickly at park opening and then slowed the pace down from there to enjoy the Flower and Garden Festival. We loved the topiaries, the gardens, and all the amazing food booths! We spent most of the day in World Showcase, though did make it to Soarin' and Spaceship Earth after dinner.

3/12 - MK / Epcot
We weren't able to make it MK as early as we would have liked (8:45 for a 9:00 opening). The line for 7DMT was already quite long, so we went to Splash Mountain first instead. It was probably close to a 30 minute wait. We then went to Haunted Mansion which was a walk on followed by Flight, before slowing down for soaking in the scenery, taking pictures, and shopping before lunch. We ate at Cinderella's Royal Table which was a treat! Afterwards we went to 7DMT and the line wasn't too bad at all (30-40 minutes).

We then returned to the hotel to rest up for the evening in World Showcase. Strolling around World Showcase in the evening was delightful! France was our favorite.

3/13 - AK / HS / Epcot
We wanted to get a taste of AK since we had never been before, so we went for a few hours in the morning. It wasn't our favorite park (Dinoland USA?), but it was good to spend some time there and FOP was incredibly impressive.

After resting for the early afternoon, we went to HS around 5:00. The park had cleared out significantly by then. You can really get a lot done there in the evenings. Mickey/Minnie's was only a 15 minute wait, and we followed that with SDD which was only 25 minutes. We stayed away from Galaxy's Edge since we had just been there with our kids a couple of month's ago, but we really love it there!

Afterwards we took the Skyliner to Epcot around sunset which was incredible -- definitely one of the biggest highlights of the trip! Finished up with another wonderful evening in World Showcase including some live music (Vintage Vinyl) which was nice.

Overall, it was a great trip! We weren't sure what to expect being at Disney without the kids but we loved it!


----------



## tanyaandallie

aljack34 said:


> Here now. Been here all week. Crowds are terrible. But we go late to parks and basically walk on to everything. Only time we waited was in Dhs for slinky for about 20 minutes at park close Wednesday. We also walked out of dhs by ourselves after a 8:55 Cantina reservation. It was wonderful. Mask compliance is pretty good. Always a few in the crowd...  availability of food is good. But I made a lot of ADR’s. Battling the crowds for counter service is not my thing. Overall good trip but it’s just really crowded. I have went during spring break many times and this has been about the same crowd level wise.



How did you walk on to everything?  No waiting?  I have two friends in wdw this week and they definitely were not walking onto anything.


----------



## Nabas

aljack34 said:


> Battling the crowds for counter service is not my thing.


Mobile ordering is definitely the way to go now.

I thought I would not be a fan of mobile ordering but we've used it several times now and it's infinitely better than the old standing-in-line counter service way.


----------



## Naomeri

Finally getting around to typing up the rest of my park experiences.

*Third Park Day*: *Saturday, March 13–Hollywood Studios* (9am open)

Woke up for a boarding group, successfully got BG75 on Pop wifi.  Since I had a later BG, I decided not to rope drop.  Boarded the Skyliner at 11:25 and arrived at DHS 10 minutes later.  Grabbed a funnel cake for brunch before heading to MMRR.  I got in line at 12:05, with a posted wait of 50 minutes.  The queue wandered all over the place, but there were CMs keeping everyone on track, and policing people trying to walk and eat in line.  I got on the ride at 12:52.  I knew my BG was getting close, so I headed back to Galaxy’s Edge and sat down with a Sprite grenade to wait.

BG 75 called at 1:08, and I was in the queue at 1:11.  I reached the end of the queue at 1:30.  Wandered back to search for the end of the MFSR line and found it at 1:56 with an estimate of 70 minutes.  Thankfully, it didn’t take quite that long and I got on at 2:58.  Chose to be the right pilot and we (me and a random mom/daughter duo) scored 6695.

Alien Swirling Saucers had a posted wait of 20 minutes at 3:08, and even with a cleaning cycle, I was on at 3:23.  Next was TSMM at 3:32, with a posted 25 minutes, on at 3:43 (I scored 120,600, with a 44% accuracy, which is better than my last trip).  After that, I was ready for a pool break, so I went back to Pop.


----------



## JFox

Nabas said:


> Mobile ordering is definitely the way to go now.
> 
> I thought I would not be a fan of mobile ordering but we've used it several times now and it's infinitely better than the old standing-in-line counter service way.


Same.  I resisted when it first came out but now I love it.  The only thing is you can't customize some things or order a la carte at some places.  Or maybe I just haven't figured it out yet.


----------



## Naomeri

*Third Park Day* (continued)*: Saturday, March 13—Epcot *(11pm close)

After my pool break and some food court fries, I decided to hang out at Epcot for a few hours after dark.  I’m a major night owl, so I’ll take any dark park hours I can get.  I got to Epcot about 8:45 (because I forgot the CBR Skyliner station would be busy with post-close DHS transfers) and quite a few people were leaving while I was going in.  I headed toward France and enjoyed a peaceful walk around world showcase.  I didn’t encounter any unmasked people, or annoying drunks, so that was nice.  I did some shopping, and wanted to see The American Adventure, but tech glitches killed the 9:30 show before it even began.

Eventually, I made my way up to FutureWorld and jumped in line for Test Track.  I didn’t catch the estimated wait, but it took 15-20 minutes to get on.  SE was a walk-on, but it was here I found my annoying drunks—stupid college-age kids shouting and whooping.

After SE, I meandered toward the IG.  It was about 11:20 by the time I got to the Skyliner station and there was no line.


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## Naomeri

*Fourth Park Day: Sunday, March 14–Epcot and DHS*

Not much to report for this day, I lazed around my room until early afternoon, then crossed the bridge to AoA, because I wanted to take a bus to Epcot instead of the Skyliner, so I could more easily experience the topiaries in FutureWorld.  It was a little crowded, and there were more people than I felt like dealing with for long, so I checked out the topiaries and booked it for the IG to walk over to DHS.  Along the walking path between Boardwalk and DHS, there were a few people that felt like they didn’t need to wear masks, but I just stayed on the opposite side of the path and didn’t worry too much.

Once I got into DHS, I caught a Pixar cavalcade and got more character birthday greetings, which is still the coolest thing.  I grabbed some food from Rosie’s, then hunted down the end of the ToT line.  I found it at 4:16, with an estimated wait of 60 minutes.  There was a giant party of 11 behind me and they had some problems understanding how to stop on their line, instead of mine.  I’m pretty non-confrontational, so I didn’t say anything, just tried to move away without crowding anyone else.  Luckily, their party size got them held up at the entrance stand, so I got a nice break from them inside the hotel.  I got on the ride at 5 on the dot.  This was pretty much the only thing I went to DHS to do, so I headed out (passing the Pixar cavalcade again) and hopped on the Skyliner back to Pop.

I wanted to do something in the evening, but I’d already done Epcot at night, and MK was only open until 9, so I just hung out in the room.  They’ve really got to get some more night hours going.


----------



## Naomeri

*Fifth and Final Park Day: Monday, March 15–Animal Kingdom *(8am open)/Departure Day (Tuesday, March 16)

I was going to rope drop, but I got new hotel neighbors and they weren’t terribly quiet or polite (who lets their kids bang the railings after 10pm or before 7am?!) so I chose to doze for a while.  I got to the bus stop at 11:03, and the whole Pop bus area was a madhouse.  The Skyliner was apparently down, and there were major lines for Epcot and DHS, and quite a few for MK and AK too (I’m guessing they had to reassign some of those buses to the Skyliner parks).  The first AK bus after I got to the stop arrived at 11:10, and I was on the 3rd bus by 11:20.  The Skyliner also got going, and a lot of people headed that way, but they still sent buses for the people who wanted them.

I arrived at AK at 11:35.  I explored the paths around the Tree, then headed toward Dinoland USA for lunch.  Since it was prime lunch time, my window was about 45 minutes off (12:30-1) so I killed time riding TriceraTop Spin.  Once it was time, I hit the button and waited about 10 minutes for my food to be ready.  Managed to find a 2-top table inside, and enjoyed my bacon cheeseburger.

After lunch, I was heading for EE, which was showing a much shorter wait than when I arrived (35 vs 60).  I almost missed the end of the line hidden next the Nemo theatre.  It was 12:55 when I got in line, and I was on the ride at 1:19.  I had another line-creeper family behind me, but they got told off by a line-directing CM (over her microphone, no less) after they crowded me and I took a big, obvious step forward right in front of her (I also stepped sideways so I didn’t crowd her either)—it worked to keep them off my back for a while.

The Safari line was stupid long, but only posted at 45 minutes at 1:35.  It was super fast and I got on at 1:57.  I got to see Ranger and his mom from the back, and a bunch of ostriches hanging out around the rangers’ truck.

Last stop at AK was FoP, with a posted wait of 65 at 2:38.  I got to the link room at 3:27.  They were not filling every spot, it was just me and a family of 5.  The kids decided to sit next to me anyway, but I didn’t really care.

Back to Pop to pack and try to wake up on Tuesday for a 6:05am DME ride (spoiler alert, my alarm failed me (all 3 of them) and I woke up at 5:58.  Dressed, packed the last stuff, and sped to Classic Hall.  Made it at 6:11 and had to wait for the 6:45 bus.  Shout out to luggage guy Moe for reassuring a sleep-deprived and slightly panicked guest that they’d still get her to the airport)

That’s it from me until November 29!


----------



## skeettafic

I haven’t really posted on this thread much but have been reading the past several weeks with this trip coming. We arrived this past Tuesday and leave tomorrow.

I have to say that I don’t understand those who say crowds are terrible.  I have been exceptionally pleased with the crowds compared to what I was expecting.  We have ridden everything we’ve wanted, not exclusively rope dropped, had no issues with food...

Our MK day was the only one that was a little disappointing and it was mainly because of the heat.  We just couldn’t deal with lines and heat and masks all at once.  That was a fairly short day for us but we still hit the headliners that were  most important to us. 


We’ve had a fantastic week.


----------



## Cheburashka

skeettafic said:


> I have to say that I don’t understand those who say crowds are terrible.


When people say "crowds" perhaps they mean "lines"?  I agree that it doesn't feel crowded in the parks or resorts, but I've been here all week and some of the lines for top rides have been really bad.  I've kept looking at MDE all week, and never saw Slinky Dog go below 50 minutes at any time of day.  When I finally rode it, the wait was just as bad as it looked- worse, really, as it didn't move efficiently & when I finally rode I noticed that it wasn't being fully loaded even considering pandemic guidelines- I was in the 4th or 5th row and no one at all was in front of me- but what the heck, it's not like anyone else was waiting...  (I also noticed that several families skipped the miserable line by claiming disability- and I'm talking whole families, young & very healthy looking & able-bodied- call me mean but I don't buy that each family had a member with an invisible disability- and I'm speaking as a person who actually has an invisible disability.)  Riding Slinky was fun, but it still wasn't worth the full one-hour wait.  As I walked out, though, the line was almost twice as long as it had been when I got into it!  I think this is due to park hopping.  Yuck!

Then I hopped over to Magic Kingdom, and tried to get in line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but ditched that idea when I never saw the end of the line even upon reaching the circus area.  Yes, into the circus area with no end in sight!

Not all of the lines were like that this week, but some of them have been, and not everyone wants to spend an hour+ in line for a 90 second ride that they used to be able to FastPass.


----------



## TestingH2O

We are here now and having a great time! This is our first park trip in 20+ years, and, if I’m honest, my prevailing emotion leading up to the trip was nervousness.

3/17
Arrived and took ME to AKL Kidani. Our room (1BR) was ready when we got here. Our location is absolutely perfect on the second floor just a few steps from the door to buses and the lobby. We did mobile order from Sanaa for dinner and met our grocery and wine deliveries. Early to bed so we could hit MK on Thursday.

3/18
MK day! This was also the day it was predicted to get to about 90. We were up and moving early to catch the bus. First bus came at 6:43 and we were on it. Rope dropped Mine Train and were off before 8:00. By 1:00 we had completed 7DMT, IASW, PP, HM, JLM, photo pass by little mermaid, cinnamon roll at Gaston’s, BTMR, POTC, SM.  The crowds really started to pick up around 11:30/12:00. Since it was getting hot and crowded, we decided to head back to the resort to eat lunch and get off our feet. I also upgraded our tickets with park hoppers without any trouble. We ended up just spending the rest of the day swimming and relaxing and not going back to the park.

3/19
Up early again to do AK. Again, we were on the first bus, but this time it didn’t show up until about 7:00. We rope dropped again and headed straight to Pandora. FOP was the only thing open super early so we did that. Then to Navi where we waited 30 minutes. We stopped for lots of Photopass pictures and then headed to Dinosaur (walk on) and Everest (15 minutes.) Stopped at Yak & Yeti for a break then off to the Safari. We finished everything by about 11:30 and headed to the resort to relax and have lunch until park hopper kicked in. We left AKL around 2:30 for MK. Once there, we did a bunch of pictures in the Hub, rode Buzz twice, saw Stitch, did speedway, tea cups, and Dumbo before grabbing a snack. Then we headed to Jungle Cruise. Posted wait was 35 minutes, but we hit a cleaning cycle. ::sad trombone:: That ended up taking 55 minutes and definitely took the wind out of our sails. We grabbed a dole whip though and headed for BRMRR. 7 minutes later, we were on the ride! Then we went to 7DMT and waited about 25 minutes (posted 45.) It was now about 7:00, and we were tired.  We grabbed a Starbucks on our way out of the park and were back at AKL by 8:00.

Today is a rest day with brunch at Homecomin and some shopping. I appreciate that everyone has a different history with vacations and the parks, but, I have to say, I can’t imagine this being more fun with bigger crowds or all the fast passes. We all agree that 11-2 is the stress point for crowds (I’ll be interesting to see how Epcot feels in this regard,) but otherwise it is easy to keep your own space. People are really following the rules with distancing in lines and wearing masks. Not 100%, but very, very good.

ETA - I say stuff about snacks and photos just as a reference and to show that we aren’t running at a breakneck pace or anything crazy.


----------



## aljack34

tanyaandallie said:


> How did you walk on to everything?  No waiting?  I have two friends in wdw this week and they definitely were not walking onto anything.


We walked on most big rides about 90 to 60 minutes before closing. If you aren’t doing rope drop, going late in the day is huge. Lines just moved well and fast. Constantly moving that late in the day. Really only took the time to walk through the que. longest wait was slinky.   Buses were absolutely terrible this trip but we stayed at BWV so luckily didn’t need to take that many buses. We loved Epcot but it was very crowded in World Showcase all week.  I’m definitely glad we got Park Hoppers.  Like I said having been during spring break many times in the past, I really didn’t see much of a crowd difference with this week.


----------



## aljack34

Nabas said:


> Mobile ordering is definitely the way to go now.
> 
> I thought I would not be a fan of mobile ordering but we've used it several times now and it's infinitely better than the old standing-in-line counter service way.


I used mobile ordering probably twice. It was efficient most definitely. I didn’t mind that part. I think it should stay. I just don’t like battling the crowds to sit and find a place to eat. I have never been a fan of that. That’s why I enjoy table service meals more. Takes more of our day but we enjoy the break for them.


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## MMSM

Are there specific rides in MK that open early besides Mine Train?  Is Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Space Mountain open?


----------



## lorileahb

MMSM said:


> Are there specific rides in MK that open early besides Mine Train?  Is Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Space Mountain open?



I've seen Big Thunder and Space Mountain open early, as well as others - when I was there, they let people line up for Splash Mountain, but did not open it early.  We rode SDMT and BTM, then got in line for Splash.


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## ajgardner

Cheburashka said:


> (I also noticed that several families skipped the miserable line by claiming disability- and I'm talking whole families, young & very healthy looking & able-bodied- call me mean but I don't buy that they all had an invisible disability- and I'm speaking as a person who actually has an invisible disability.)  .


Just an FYI, this is how DAS works. The entire linked family (up to 5 others) can join the person with the disability on the ride, they don’t all need to claim a disability. My husband, who looks perfectly young and healthy, needs a DAS and we join him (as 100% able bodied, healthy people) on all the rides, otherwise he would just be doing Disney by himself and we would be without a family member for most of our trip. Also, we don’t just walk up and jump into line, we have to scan in, get a return time that is equal to the posted wait time and come back later.
I am not sure if you knew this info but wanted to share with you and others - in no way is it meant as argumentative or as a debate starter.

(Apologies for going off topic, however being judged while using a DAS can be hurtful. Especially when those judging have misinformation.  Being an assumed liar and cheater never feels good, especially when you’re just trying to enjoy a family vacation. My post was an attempt to clear up misinformation and provide information to others to help alleviate these judgment.)


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## Cheburashka

ajgardner said:


> Just an FYI, this is how DAS works. The entire linked family (up to 5 others) can join the person with the disability on the ride, they don’t all need to claim a disability.


My point was that no one in the group appeared to have any disability.  I saw a lot of families doing this yesterday.  Call me cynical but I do think some were abusing it.


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## lovethattink

tanyaandallie said:


> How did you walk on to everything?  No waiting?  I have two friends in wdw this week and they definitely were not walking onto anything.




Here’s my experience from Tuesday night at DHS. We arrived about 3 hours before closing.



lovethattink said:


> I went to DHS yesterday and got pretty much accomplished in the last few hours the park was open. Saw Lightning McQueen Racing Academy, was walk in. Then Rock n Roller with a posted 40 min wait, but it was less. Walked right onto Alien Swirling Saucers, wait time said 15 min. Then TSMM with a 10 minute wait. Then SDD. On the way out MMRR posted a 50 minute wait, we waited 8 minutes.






Cheburashka said:


> (I also noticed that several families skipped the miserable line by claiming disability- and I'm talking whole families, young & very healthy looking & able-bodied- call me mean but I don't buy that they all had an invisible disability- and I'm speaking as a person who actually has an invisible disability.)



The “FP” queue is not only used for DAS. D33 members have access to it. Baby swap uses it. I think VIP tours. I can’t think of the term for it, but if you had something happen GS can add a ride to your mde, and I think Golden Oaks residents have access.


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## Cheburashka

lovethattink said:


> The “FP” queue is not only used for DAS. D33 members have access to it. Baby swap uses it. I think VIP tours. I can’t think of the term for it, but if you had something happen GS can add a ride to your mde, and I think Golden Oaks residents have access.


I asked the CM who was letting them pass us why so many families were cutting the line, and he said it was due to disabilities.


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## Cheburashka

lovethattink said:


> I went to DHS yesterday and got pretty much accomplished in the last few hours the park was open. Saw Lightning McQueen Racing Academy, was walk in. Then Rock n Roller with a posted 40 min wait, but it was less. Walked right onto Alien Swirling Saucers, wait time said 15 min. Then TSMM with a 10 minute wait. Then SDD. On the way out MMRR posted a 50 minute wait, we waited 8 minutes.


Lucky you.  The problem is that you can't wait until the end of the day to hop to HS, because it might close to hoppers.  To be reasonably sure of entry, you have to arrive mid-afternoon, which means you either get in line then, or wait around at the park doing nothing for a few hours waiting for the crowds to go down.  Either way you have to wait unless you luckily happened to have an HS park pass for a given day (or unless you're a local or otherwise frequent visitor who just doesn't care if they can't get into HS on any given day).


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## lovethattink

Cheburashka said:


> Lucky you.  The problem is that you can't wait until the end of the day to hop to HS, because it might close to hoppers.  To be reasonably sure of entry, you have to arrive mid-afternoon, which means you either get in line then, or wait around at the park doing nothing for a few hours waiting for the crowds to go down.  Either way you have to wait unless you luckily happened to have an HS park pass for a given day.



I didn’t hop. That’s when we chose to go to the park. Didn’t get Rise at 7 when I attempted so we weren’t in a hurry to get there. I’m a morning person, but the rest of my family isn’t. So last 3 to 4 park hours work best for us.

@scrappinginontario have we seen any reports this week of anyone not being able to hop? I haven’t noticed any, but I often just skim.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Cheburashka said:


> Lucky you.  The problem is that you can't wait until the end of the day to hop to HS, because it might close to hoppers.  To be reasonably sure of entry, you have to arrive mid-afternoon, which means you either get in line then, or wait around at the park doing nothing for a few hours waiting for the crowds to go down.  Either way you have to wait unless you luckily happened to have an HS park pass for a given day.


To date, park hopping has ALWAYS been allowed to all parks since park hopping was reintroduced on Jan 1.  It has not closed at any time of the afternoon/evening for any park,

I have personally called the park hopper line every day for the past 7 days to ensure this information is accurate as all parks were at capacity for daily park reservations.


----------



## Linkura

Cheburashka said:


> Lucky you.  The problem is that you can't wait until the end of the day to hop to HS, because it might close to hoppers.  To be reasonably sure of entry, you have to arrive mid-afternoon, which means you either get in line then, or wait around at the park doing nothing for a few hours waiting for the crowds to go down.  Either way you have to wait unless you luckily happened to have an HS park pass for a given day (or unless you're a local or otherwise frequent visitor who just doesn't care if they can't get into HS on any given day).


No park has ever closed to hoppers as of this date, not even HS, but ok.


----------



## lovethattink

Cheburashka said:


> I asked the CM who was letting them pass us why so many families were cutting the line, and he said it was due to disabilities.



That may have been easier to say than explaining all the uses of that line. The return set up in the MDE should be the only reason a cm should be letting them pass.


----------



## Cheburashka

Linkura said:


> No park has ever closed to hoppers as of this date, not even HS, but ok.


Good to know.  All of the parks are fully booked this week, so it seemed a bit risky to wait if using a hopper.


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## CaliMickey

Cheburashka said:


> Good to know.  All of the parks are fully booked this week, so it seemed a bit risky to wait if using a hopper.


We went to DHS almost every day/night of our trip (walkable, so why not). Never had an issue park hopping.


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## KuiilHasSpoken

Cheburashka said:


> Good to know.  All of the parks are fully booked this week, so it seemed a bit risky to wait if using a hopper.



Based on my experience from last week when there was no park availability, HS clears out significantly during the afternoon. We hopped to HS around 5:00 and it was nowhere near as busy as it is around lunch time. Wait times were all very reasonable. I think HS is a great park to hop to during the evening.


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## lovethattink

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## hereforthechurros

Wait times looking lower today than I’ve seen in a while. Hopefully this mean they’re running additional ride lines/churning more riders per hour.


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## aljack34

hereforthechurros said:


> Wait times looking lower today than I’ve seen in a while. Hopefully this mean they’re running additional ride lines/churning more riders per hour.


Weather may be keeping some away. Plus I didn’t think Saturday was sold out at all the parks this week.


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## hereforthechurros

aljack34 said:


> Weather may be keeping some away. Plus I didn’t think Saturday was sold out at all the parks this week.


Today through next weekend is sold out at all parks. Next weekend only Epcot is available then back to sold out during the week.


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## summerw

SJSloan said:


> We recently returned from our trip Home and I wanted to report in case anyone had any questions. We were there from 3/6 - 3/13 and stayed at the Riviera. Overall this was our best trip yet, even with the restrictions and the limited experiences.
> 
> I wasn't sure what to expect with crowds but we were pleasantly surprised how not crowded it was. Crowds did start to pick up towards the end of the week and I saw all the parks were completely booked. Mask compliance was around 95%. We saw a few noses here and there, but CMs usually asked nicely for them to pull it up. The biggest offense were guests walking and eating/drinking. It didn't terribly bother me because we were quickly walking by them, but it was annoying since we couldn't do it and yet others were. Also, my 3 year old fell asleep in the stroller and I guess he wiggled his mask off, he was covered by the canopy but a CM bent down to get a bag and noticed his mask was off and asked that I put it back on. We also encountered some unfriendly CMs, more than normal, but we tried to give them grace, it's been a tough year for everyone.
> 
> We visited the parks in the following order Epcot (3/6), MK, HS, Epcot, DS, MK and AK. We rope dropped them every morning (arriving an hour or so before official opening). We had the most success at HS, MK and AK doing this (makes sense). We were some of the first in HS and were done with Toy Story Land before the park even officially opened. Slinky was a walk-on and by the time we were talking out the line was all the way out of Toy Story Land. AK opened later than other parks (6:30 for a 7am opening) but we rode FOP with rider swap (the other parent would do Na'vi while waiting) and then we headed to Safari and had probably our best safari yet. The animals had just been let out and were running around everywhere. Everest didn't start running until 9am for whatever reason but we headed that direction. The line was back to Nemo but took maybe 20 minutes. In MK we headed to Frontierland on our first day and Tommorowland on our second MK day. We saved Mine Train for the evenings and that seemed to work for us. Most other Fantasyland rides were 10 minutes or less (with the exception of Peter Pan, Small World and Carousel) and we rode those multiple times.
> 
> We would stay in each park for 4ish hours before returning to the resort. Crowds were be heavy and wait times soared during this time. Then we would go back 2-3 hours before park closing. We hopped in line for several rides right before closing and experienced short waits. Our longest waits were for ToT (60 minutes, but the ride went down for a short time during that), and 60 for a bus after MK one evening.
> 
> For the most part people followed the social distancing guidelines. We encountered a few families that seemed to not pay attention to the markings but thankfully we weren't around them too long. Leaving rides was the worst when it came to social distancing but you're really just around those people for 30sec to a minute max. The Mexico area in Epcot was insane and I refused to walk through there. It was just shoulder to shoulder people some times.
> 
> For the Skyliner to HS we chose to walk to CBR instead of take the Skyliner from Riviera and have to get in the back of the line. I am glad we did because the Riviera line wasn't even running yet when we got on the Skyliner at CBR to head to HS. We wouldn't have been nearly successful that morning if we were that much later. Wait times are inflated, lines look long but generally move quickly. MMRR was posted at 60 and it took us 40 and we were constantly walking.
> 
> I am sure I am missing information so if you have any questions I am happy to answer. Again we had a great trip. I definitely recommend rope dropping and returning in the evening if you want to avoid crowds and the longest waits.



Thanks for the great report! What time do you recommend getting to the CBR station or the Riviera bus stop for the various openings?


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## aljack34

Buses have been terrible. I would not count on getting anywhere at a specific time. There has been a lot of complaints and Disney’s response is it’s because of lower capacity and rigorous new cleaning procedures, buses have been late or not coming for over 60 minutes. I don’t see a lower capacity. I just don’t. The parks are full. The bus stops are full. They need more buses for this type of capacity.  We waited over 60 minutes for a bus to AK on Tuesday morning.  So, you may get lucky. You may not. Just plan that you won’t and adjust your plans if need be.


----------



## DMLAINI

aljack34 said:


> Buses have been terrible. I would not count on getting anywhere at a specific time. There has been a lot of complaints and Disney’s response is it’s because of lower capacity and rigorous new cleaning procedures, buses have been late or not coming for over 60 minutes. I don’t see a lower capacity. I just don’t. The parks are full. The bus stops are full. They need more buses for this type of capacity.  We waited over 60 minutes for a bus to AK on Tuesday morning.  So, you may get lucky. You may not. Just plan that you won’t and adjust your plans if need be.


Wow!   What times were you waiting for buses?   I hope they get this fixed.


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## aljack34

DMLAINI said:


> Wow!   What times were you waiting for buses?   I hope they get this fixed.


Tuesday morning was a little before 8a.m.  Monday night from Disney springs at about 10 pm was an hour.  Friday at 4 p.m. from Epcot to the contemporary was over an hour and we just decided to stay at Epcot at that point. We were going to go to MK from the contemporary put we were just too frustrated with buses at that point. Tonight to Disney springs from boardwalk was a 42 minute wait. Then returning from Disney springs to boardwalk was 45 minutes.  One time there was a change in drivers for a bus and the new driver didn’t have the key for the bus. We waited 20 minutes on the bus after waitin 45 minutes for the bus, we just got off. I have no clue how long that bus sat there waiting for keys.


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## lnR_Texas

I think the bus issue is quite variable. We just returned from Wilderness Lodge and never waited for more than 20 minutes. But I saw some long lines at park close for larger resorts like CBR.

What I did hear from 3 separate bus drivers is that they have a new bus routing system that is not working well. It’s built for a city bus system and should improve efficiency, but it is not flexible for the issues at a theme park.  We saw a lot of idle buses parked at the bus depots at each park, so I think they have enough buses but they’re not in the right places. Let’s hope the kinks get ironed out soon...


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## lnR_Texas

aljack34 said:


> Tuesday morning was a little before 8a.m.  Monday night from Disney springs at about 10 pm was an hour.  Friday at 4 p.m. from Epcot to the contemporary was over an hour and we just decided to stay at Epcot at that point. We were going to go to MK from the contemporary put we were just too frustrated with buses at that point. Tonight to Disney springs from boardwalk was a 42 minute wait. Then returning from Disney springs to boardwalk was 45 minutes.  One time there was a change in drivers for a bus and the new driver didn’t have the key for the bus. We waited 20 minutes on the bus after waitin 45 minutes for the bus, we just got off. I have no clue how long that bus sat there waiting for keys.


Argh, what a terrible experience!  I would never want to see another Disney bus after those wait times...


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## brockash

DMLAINI said:


> Wow!   What times were you waiting for buses?   I hope they get this fixed.


When we were there last week; we took a midday break and waited over an hr for a bus back to MK...it was really ridiculous and such a waste of our time.  There was 1 other family there before us (and many more who joined us after) and we just all kept saying it's gotta be right around tge corner...well right around the corner ended up being about 65 mins. for us and closer to 75 for the family in front of us.


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## MomOTwins

Hi all!  Arrived yesterday and waking up in Boulder Ridge for my ROTR attempt in 15 mins.

Flight got in at noon and we waited an hour for ME—would have done uber but foolishly hoped the enormous line would move faster.

Ate a late lunch at Geyser Point.  LOVED it.  Charcuterie, brisket dip, and an amber beer, yum yum.

Went to AKL, waits very manageable but accurate. 1 hr for both pandora rides, 44 mins for dinosaur, 15 mins for safari.  EE was down most of the afternoon but we didn’t give up and kept checking ip and disney magic came through for us at 7:25.  Was a walk on for the rest of the evening—people were just looping it until the 8pm close but I’m a chicken so once is enough for me! We all thought it was the best day we’ve had at AK, though I think we got lucky going in on a cold day, but I suspect it helps to go in the afternoon when people hop elsewhere.

P.S. the discovey traders gift shop has Raya merch. If you jave a kid who loves that movie they will be in heaven.  DS wanted ALL the toys but settled for a glowing Sisu.


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## MomOTwins

Rats, BG fail.  Did phone speed test to find best signal, used time.gov, clicked at 6:59:59. Practiced so clicked through super fast.  No luck!  Full.  Will try again at 1pm.  Kid looking at me like “yeesh mom”.


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## staceymarie

I’m here now (march 20, 21st) and I’ve been to WDW around 20 times. A lot of that was during spring break times. I  was expecting long lines and huge crowds. I have been pleasantly surprised!!  It has been great so far-lines look long but seem to move quickly. Have not waited in 1 line to get into parks, bag check, etc. Staying at AoA.  The skyliner is quick and efficient.  EP was literally empty until noon yesterday. We we almost the only ones roaming around. Soarin was walk on at 9pm after we hopped back. We hopped with no problem to AK yesterday.  The bus for AK was almost no line and not crowded there or back. FOP was approximately a 55 min wait. Social distancing is happening (someone asked us to keep our distance as we got a little close in line -oops-so people are wanting this and trying) and mask compliance was great(saw a couple of noses but whatever!)
Other than freezing our butts off(LOL)-this trip has been great!!!  Off to home park of EP then hop to MK today-hope it continues to be as easy!


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## MomOTwins

Had a 7:35 breakfast at trattoria.  Food was quick snd got on the first friendship boat to HS at 8:15.  Posting because I had wondered how early the boats were running and was pleasantly surprised.  We don’t feel the need to be first in the park but didn’t want to arrive after opening either.


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## lovethattink

MomOTwins said:


> Rats, BG fail.  Did phone speed test to find best signal, used time.gov, clicked at 6:59:59. Practiced so clicked through super fast.  No luck!  Full.  Will try again at 1pm.  Kid looking at me like “yeesh mom”.



That’s exactly what I did on Tuesday and same outcome. That was the first time it didn’t work for me. It took a little time for the party to show up and that time was too much. Good luck at 1!


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## lovethattink

Has anyone been at Epcot when it’s has an 11pm closing time? Is everything still open and attractions still running at 11pm? I know butterfly garden closes at dusk. And the live entertainment would be finished earlier.


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## DMLAINI

MomOTwins said:


> Had a 7:35 breakfast at trattoria.  Food was quick snd got on the first friendship boat to HS at 8:15.  Posting because I had wondered how early the boats were running and was pleasantly surprised.  We don’t feel the need to be first in the park but didn’t want to arrive after opening either.


Where did you catch the friendship boat?  We're also eating at Trattoria on our trip & we're unfamiliar with the Boardwalk area


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## scrappinginontario

DMLAINI said:


> Where did you catch the friendship boat?  We're also eating at Trattoria on our trip & we're unfamiliar with the Boardwalk area


There is a dock outside of the Boardwalk.  It is clearly marked which side goes to DHS and which side goes to Epcot

The Boardwalk boat launch is located bottom, centre where the black circle with the white dot is displayed.


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## MomOTwins

DMLAINI said:


> Where did you catch the friendship boat?  We're also eating at Trattoria on our trip & we're unfamiliar with the Boardwalk area


It is basically just outside the restaurant—you can’t miss it!


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## lnR_Texas

lovethattink said:


> Has anyone been at Epcot when it’s has an 11pm closing time? Is everything still open and attractions still running at 11pm? I know butterfly garden closes at dusk. And the live entertainment would be finished earlier.


We were there this week and rode Frozen around 10 pm. Test track was still running as we walked out around 10:40 pm.


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## dancergirlsmom

We have reservations at Beaches & Cream for 7:55pm on the day that we visit DHS.  We are driving to DHS.  We are thinking about taking Skyliner or boat to our B&C reservation.  What time does the Skyliner/boats stop going back to DHS.  If we miss the last one and walk back to the car, is the path lit?


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## MEC004

Cheburashka said:


> My point was that no one in the group appeared to have any disability.  I saw a lot of families doing this yesterday.  Call me cynical but I do think some were abusing it.



We use DAS and if you were to look at my son you would think we were abusing it as well. Realize that many people who use the service may have epilepsy, autism, or other disabilities that make waiting in line difficult. Also, having a DAS you can only use one at a time and still have to wait the normal time. I mean we would get a DAS for a popular ride and then wait 20 minutes for others which is our sons max wait time. Doesn’t mean you don’t wait. You’re just able to do other things while waiting.


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## Naomeri

lovethattink said:


> Has anyone been at Epcot when it’s has an 11pm closing time? Is everything still open and attractions still running at 11pm? I know butterfly garden closes at dusk. And the live entertainment would be finished earlier.


I was there that late on March 13.  Test Track and SE were for sure running that late because I rode them between 10:30 and 11, and shops were still open.  I didn’t arrive until almost 9pm and everything was still going.


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## loves to dive

Naomeri said:


> I was there that late on March 13.  Test Track and SE were for sure running that late because I rode them between 10:30 and 11, and shops were still open.  I didn’t arrive until almost 9pm and everything was still going.


Were the F&G booths open as well?


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## GADisneyDad14

lovethattink said:


> Has anyone been at Epcot when it’s has an 11pm closing time? Is everything still open and attractions still running at 11pm? I know butterfly garden closes at dusk. And the live entertainment would be finished earlier.



DS and I closed down Epcot a few nights ago, got there about 9:30pm. Rides seemed open as usual, things around World Showcase were a bit hit or miss. Some stores/shops open, some closed (one example, Mitsukoshi, which closed at 10pm).  Many festival kiosks open, some were closed. Felt a bit like old PM EMHs to me.

Low crowds and beautiful weather - a great time to go to Epcot. 

Spent a few minutes taking in the new front entrance music and lighting changes on the way out.  Cheap nighttime entertainment.


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## Sarahslay

dancergirlsmom said:


> We have reservations at Beaches & Cream for 7:55pm on the day that we visit DHS.  We are driving to DHS.  We are thinking about taking Skyliner or boat to our B&C reservation.  What time does the Skyliner/boats stop going back to DHS.  If we miss the last one and walk back to the car, is the path lit?


We were told this past weekend that the skyliner runs, usually, for an hour after park close. Judging by the current closing times I would bet you'd have a hard time getting back that way. The walkway is lit, sometimes not extremely bright, but I've walked it alone in the dark numerous times. It's about a 15-20 minute walk for us usually, definitely faster than the skyliner.


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## lovethattink

GADisneyDad14 said:


> DS and I closed down Epcot a few nights ago, got there about 9:30pm. Rides seemed open as usual, things around World Showcase were a bit hit or miss. Some stores/shops open, some closed (one example, Mitsukoshi, which closed at 10pm).  Many festival kiosks open, some were closed. Felt a bit like old PM EMHs to me.
> 
> Low crowds and beautiful weather - a great time to go to Epcot.
> 
> Spent a few minutes taking in the new front entrance music and lighting changes on the way out.  Cheap nighttime entertainment.



We were hoping the food stands stayed open late as well. 

Isn’t the entrance music and lighting cool?! We stood there a while watching it.


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## auntlynne

Tess said:


> Not necessarily!  I did all of the above and got pulled aside every single time I entered the park.  I carry a Baggalini and it has large metal rings that connect the cross body strap and bag.  Additionally it has a zipper for eyeglasses on the front of said strap.  I set the alarm off every time and would then be passed through (after a bag check) every time with no explanation what was causing the red flag.  The metal rings are the only thing I can guess and when I asked a security guard--he indicated it was something in my chest area--well hello, that is the only metal there (the rings and zipper) since the bag portion was on my back/hip.



Thanks for that info.  A warning to us when selecting our bag.


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

Don't know if mentioned, but a tip for atleast the Pixar characters in the mini parade. My DD25 had DGS4 stand facing her with her phone camera ready, hoping to snap a pic as they walked by, but each Pixar character on our side actually stopped and did a quick pose behind him, just distanced of course. We did not expect that!!
Of course YMMV, but worth a shot! Kinda fun!  (Just make sure your child looks at you, lol)


----------



## Haley R

Which snack stands at MK currently have pretzels?


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## auntlynne

MomOTwins said:


> Rats, BG fail.  Did phone speed test to find best signal, used time.gov, clicked at 6:59:59. Practiced so clicked through super fast.  No luck!  Full.  Will try again at 1pm.  Kid looking at me like “yeesh mom”.


Well, I’m curious. Finished reading this thread and wondering if you got a BG at 1pm?


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## aljack34

lovethattink said:


> Has anyone been at Epcot when it’s has an 11pm closing time? Is everything still open and attractions still running at 11pm? I know butterfly garden closes at dusk. And the live entertainment would be finished earlier.


Just did Epcot close Thursday and Friday. Rides still open. Booths are about half open. Germany and US were open for sure as was Mexico. We got drinks in France on our way out at 11. Most countries were open till 11 but not all booths if that makes sense.


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## happypaws

March 17-20 (parks 18/19)
Did a quick sister trip.  18th did Animal Kingdom then hopped to Magic Kingdom.  19th did Hollywood Studios then hopped to Epcot.
We stayed at the Swan.  Room was meh, but bed super comfy!  17th hit up the pool, so crowded!  most crowded part of trip, hard to find a chair. Note if you arrive by 11 you can reserve a chair.  
18th Drove to AK for rope drop, arrived at parking gate at 7:05, let in at 7:15.  Started with FoP, 20 minute wait.  Crowds seemed average to prepandemic. When we went to MK, we had no ADR, but kept checking the MDE using the now function and scored a walk up for skipper canteen.  Missed out on Splash (waits were 85-90 minutes) but hit up all my other favorites.
19th Used tips from the board at 7a scored boarding group 22 RoR.  Walked to HS, arrived at 8am, let in around 8:10.  Despite be back in the line, we were the first group to board ToT, zero wait.  Rode RnR twice, walk on.   Longest wait MFSR, 50 minutes. Got engineer, again (groups of 1 or 2 will get placed here usually due to plexiglass barrier).  Took gondola for fun from HS to Epcot, walk on and comfortable.  Epcot walked around the festival, as anticipated, worst mask compliance here, but was average crowds too.
 Thoughts on swan, super convenient. However, Lots of hidden fees, parking is more expensive.  Room felt very musty and in need of some repair.   Would personally choose a different hotel on gondola or boardwalk area.


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## lnR_Texas

happypaws said:


> March 17-20 (parks 18/19)
> Did a quick sister trip.  18th did Animal Kingdom then hopped to Magic Kingdom.  19th did Hollywood Studios then hopped to Epcot.
> We stayed at the Swan.  Room was meh, but bed super comfy!  17th hit up the pool, so crowded!  most crowded part of trip, hard to find a chair. Note if you arrive by 11 you can reserve a chair.
> 18th Drove to AK for rope drop, arrived at parking gate at 7:05, let in at 7:15.  Started with FoP, 20 minute wait.  Crowds seemed average to prepandemic. When we went to MK, we had no ADR, but kept checking the MDE using the now function and scored a walk up for skipper canteen.  Missed out on Splash (waits were 85-90 minutes) but hit up all my other favorites.
> 19th Used tips from the board at 7a scored boarding group 22 RoR.  Walked to HS, arrived at 8am, let in around 8:10.  Despite be back in the line, we were the first group to board ToT, zero wait.  Rode RnR twice, walk on.


We rope dropped DHS on 3/19 too but we were near the front of the line. ToT was not running so everyone turned left to RnR, where we walked on. My Mom doesn’t do RnR so she waited for us and told us ToT opened shortly after we headed to RnR. Our wait for ToT was about 20 min after we did RnR.


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## MomOTwins

MEC004 said:


> We use DAS and if you were to look at my son you would think we were abusing it as well. Realize that many people who use the service may have epilepsy, autism, or other disabilities that make waiting in line difficult. Also, having a DAS you can only use one at a time and still have to wait the normal time. I mean we would get a DAS for a popular ride and then wait 20 minutes for others which is our sons max wait time. Doesn’t mean you don’t wait. You’re just able to do other things while waiting.


I completely echo this.  We have a son with autism and always used to use fastpass for everything with him pre-Covid.  We used DAS for the first time this trip with encouragement from these boards (for which I am super grateful, as we were nervous about using it) and we were so glad we did.  Even with the shorter DAS line, the line experience overwhelms him and he had to be carried the whole way with his face buried in my chest or use his stroller in line (with the DAS stroller tag) for a sense of security.  And even then we still had to leave one line (MMRR) and try again later.  It is not as though we were using DAS for skipping lines to do headliners either.  Aside from the one attempt to ride MMRR, we mostly just used DAS to ride TSMM, AS2 with him all day, and did Frozen show or Mickey cartoons to while waiting for his DAS return times. Meanwhile, DH and I took turns waiting in the regular hour-plus standby queues for everything else with our older kids. I really doubt we were meaningfully impacting waits for anyone else, unless they really like swirling saucers!



auntlynne said:


> Well, I’m curious. Finished reading this thread and wondering if you got a BG at 1pm?


Alas, probably TMI, but my youngest DS had a potty emergency right before 1pm so I had to dash with him to find the nearest restroom instead of attempting a BG!  I did chat with some other folks who had no luck at 7am but got in at 1pm so it does seem a viable option. My 9 year old twins agreed that while they had wanted to do ROTR, it was not the end of the world, especially because they really enjoyed MFSR and got to ride it twice. Was proud of them for being sports about it!

To that end, I was amazed how much better the late afternoon was than the morning. We waited 80 mins for TOT upon getting in line at 8:40am. Slinky line was 70+ mins from pre-park open to mid-afternoon. Most other things were 44-60 mins. As the afternoon went on, waits got noticeably  shorter. We only waited 40 mins for slinky at 5:30, and less than 30 Mins for MFSR right before that. We had dinner at H&V so didn’t ride anything the last couple hours but it looked like a lot of things were minimal waits. If we could do over the day, we’d sleep in and come at noon and do a QS dinner.


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## Mrjoshua

My girlfriend and I were at the parks March 1 - 4. We may have beaten the Spring breakers, so this might be more applicable to those going after mid April.
We had a really nice time. It was our first trip since the pandemic started, and we were worried about not having Fast Passes. It was fine. Our first priority was Galaxy's Edge, and Runaway Railway since we had never done either. We reserved Hollywood Studios for the first 3 days, and EPCOT for the 4th (with Park Hopper). In just one day, we able to ride MF Smugglers Run x 4, Rise of the Resistance x 1, Runaway Railway x 2, Slinky Dog x 2, and Tower of Terror x 2. That same day, we shopped, ate at Ronto Roasters, and had 2 reservations (morning and evening) at Oga's Cantina. We were able to get morning Rise boarding passes all 3 HS days. We also were able to check out every store in Batuu. 
After filling up on Hollywood Studios, our last day was spent enjoying Flower & Garden treats at EPCOT. We also rode Test Track, Soarin', and Frozen twice. 
We had hopped to Magic Kingdom earlier in the week. Between 2pm and 6pm, we were able to ride all 3 Mountains, plus Haunted Mansion twice. We also shopped at the Emporium, and Momento Mori.
The trip exceeded my expectations, because I didn't think we would be able to do so much without FP+ or attending upcharge events. Masks weren't a problem either. Overall, a very successful post vaccine trip, and I'm glad we did it. I figured this might be relevant to anyone on the fence.


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## marshallabney

These reports have been extremely helpful in planning, so I thought I’d share as well.
3/20 - arrived at MCO at 9:15, snagged bags and headed to DME line.  Line was halfway down the rental car counters, so I told everyone it would take at least an hour to get on a bus.  We dropped our bags with bell services at 10:35 at boardwalk (got to feel like that was mostly luck, but we’ll take it!).  Headed straight to Epcot, rode frozen with an 8 minute wait.  Strolled through WS a bit just to take in the topiaries and check out the food booths.  Went and rode soarin with a 20 minute wait, then headed to Garden Grill about 15 minutes early for our ADR and we’re seated right away.  DD6 is super into Chip and Dale rescue rangers right now, so she was over the moon.  We weren’t looking forward to the meal (had read so pretty bad reviews), but it exceeded our expectations.  The salad and veg were very fresh, and the steak cooked perfectly with a pretty solid chimichuri.  Leisurely lunch, we made the restaurant spin about 1 1/2 times and saw all the characters 4 times.  Really great interactions also.  We rode Nemo and strolled the tanks a bit, got the notice our room was ready, and headed back to boardwalk.  Chill time for about an hour, but the TP lines app were showing some pretty solid waits at HS and our room is as close to the walking path as possible, so we decided to hop over and catch a few rides.  Rode TSMM with about a 10 min wait (posted 30) and SDD with about a 30 min wait (posted 75!).  Got in line for MMRR, but it went down after about 10 minutes in line, so we bailed to head to dinner.  Rode the skyline to Epcot.  Fun, but not really efficient.  40 minutes to get to IG.  We were probably a touch unlucky with stops.  Wandered around looking at topiaries some more (we’ve never been in the spring, really pretty).  Hit Le Cellier for dinner and crashed about 9:30 as we’d been up since 2am our time to make our flight.
3/21 - Grabbed BG62at 7am, app was a bit slow on the party selection screen, but pushed through and got lucky it sounds like.  Walked to HS at 8am, in line at 8:10.  DD9 and I rode ToT, which was a walk on, but RnRC was still closed when we got off so headed to MMRR to meet DW and DD6, who rode TSMM.  MMRR was a walk on, off by 9.  DD6 and I rode AS2, but that wait of 25 was brutal, we waited longer than DD9 and DW did to ride RnRC.  Traded kids, and DD9 and I built her droid.  This was truly an awesome experience, she loved it...heck, I loved it!  Highly recommend.  DD6 and DW grabbed her a Mickey bar because #vacation, and we met up and grabbed a late breakfast at Ronto.  This was much better than expected and a nice break.  Rode TSMM again with 10 minute wait, grabbed a cocktail and sat in GE while DD9 had her droid interact around the land.  Our BG was called at 12 on the nose and jumped in line.  What an amazing ride!  Won’t spoil it, as no one did for us, but I can say it was the most immersive ride experience I’ve ever seen.  Rolled back to BW for a break.  Kids braved to pool for about an hour, insane, but they loved it.  We had an early dinner at Sci Fi at 4:15, so wandered back for that.  Always fun restaurant, and the southern specialty burger with pimento cheese and a fried green tomato was awesome!  We called an audible with the extra cool weather and hopped to MK.  Left HS gates at 5:20 and tapped in at 6:10.  We had an insanely efficient evening, riding dumbo, Buzz, speedway, teacups, space x2, Pooh, carousel, BTMRR, and splash before park closing.  That included a stop for a churro and a bubble wand.  TP lines app is on the nose.  We’re on the bus to MK this morning (I let everyone sleep in after last night), and will report back soon.


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## Orion Nebula

MomOTwins said:


> I completely echo this.  We have a son with autism and always used to use fastpass for everything with him pre-Covid.  We used DAS for the first time this trip with encouragement from these boards (for which I am super grateful, as we were nervous about using it) and we were so glad we did.  Even with the shorter DAS line, the line experience overwhelms him and he had to be carried the whole way with his face buried in my chest or use his stroller in line (with the DAS stroller tag) for a sense of security.  And even then we still had to leave one line (MMRR) and try again later.  It is not as though we were using DAS for skipping lines to do headliners either.  Aside from the one attempt to ride MMRR, we mostly just used DAS to ride TSMM, AS2 with him all day, and did Frozen show or Mickey cartoons to while waiting for his DAS return times. Meanwhile, DH and I took turns waiting in the regular hour-plus standby queues for everything else with our older kids. I really doubt we were meaningfully impacting waits for anyone else, unless they really like swirling saucers!



I second echo this and also have kids with ASD. I get also where the original OP is coming from and I have no doubt that DAS system is abused. But sometimes it is very difficult to tell unless you observe or speak with people / kids who have autism. Funny enough I always thought if people took issue with it and ended up near my son in line or on a plane they would regret it. As I am sure your well aware once the stemming takes off it can really bother other people. His bouncing in the plane in particular, we flew SW and obviously they don't have assigned seats so we were a bit concerned. The entire row was shaking for the duration of the flight.


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## bizeemom4

3/17 - We were at the Grotto pool on 3/17. I agree with a PP that it was super busy! We walked through a little after 10 and scored the last set of chairs that had an umbrella but they were all the way over at the Dolphin side pool next to the Cabana restaurant. It was so windy and crowded. Not the ideal pool day we dream of but the water was warm and the poolside food was good. Order EARLY because it takes an hour for food to be delivered to your chair.

3/18 - Our first parks day. We had an 8 am Trattorio breakfast al fresco. Felt safe eating outside with an empty table between each occupied table. Someone tried to sit at the empty one - just walked up expecting service - I directed her inside and she came out and thanked me, saying the wait for a table was 75 minutes! We then walked to the WS entrance of Epcot around 9.:15. There were 4 people already in line for temp screening. We sat on the bench right by the skyliner and waited until we saw bunches of folks coming and joined the crowd. The temp screeners opened at 10 and we were let into the park at 10:15. We walked at a casual pace to Frozen - walked right on. Just a quick note to show you how quickly the lines build. At 10:40, the line for Test Track was 60 minutes. We didn't wait.

3/19 - Magic Kingdom. We walked to Yacht Club to catch the MK bus. At 6:30, the line went almost all the way back into the hotel. We waited about 20 minutes before two busses to MK and one to AK pulled up and we were lucky enough to get on the second MK bus. The groupings and no standing pax really impact how few people can get on the park buses so plan accordingly. We made it to MK and through the screeners by 7:17. 7D was down, Small World down, Pooh down. We walked through Pan line all alone. I think folks were all waiting for 7D to open??

3/20 and 3/21 - We were so so so lucky to get boarding groups both days for ROTR. We used the atomic clock to count down the seconds and jammed on JOIN right at 7:00.00. Tip - do NOT rely on the time on your TV. It's off by 30 seconds or so. Use the atomic clock to get it down to the second it flips from 6:59.59 to 7:00.00. We had boarding groups 89 and 18. Husband loved it so we did it both days. I would have been fine doing something else yesterday but he wanted to do it again.

We were bored though halfway through the second day at Studios. Really this is just a one day park for us, especially without any shows. We went back to the room to relax before getting our take out from Ale and Compass and read on here that someone was successfully able to add a park hopper to existing tickets this week, despite blocked out parks. So we squished our swollen feet back into sneakers and walked to Epcot to inquire. Success!! No issues at all. $90 later and we were having Regal Eagle dinner and date night at Epcot! We watched the Motown Band at the amphitheater and had a much better night than takeout in our room.

3/22 - We are checking out of Dolphin and moving to Movies. We just got a text (it's not even 9am) that our room is ready so we are grabbing an Uber and heading over there.

So far, yes, it is crowded with people coming at you from all directions. NO social distancing for the most part when walking. People do get right up next to you and pass right by your face. If I had not had vax, I would be VERY uncomfortable. And so many people have tried to get into the elevator at Dolphin to share with us. There are signs inside and outside the elevators limiting it to one family (or two people). I think people just don't look at things or choose not to read them.


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## MoeJ

Maybe it's just me but DHS seemed insanely crowded today, way more than yesterday. We're staying at POP and got in the skyliner line at 7:10. When we got to the transfer station at CBR it was packed! It did move quickly and we were off at DHS at 8:00 and through screening and tapstile at 8:15. Went to RnRC and walked on. By the time we were off our BG was called for RotR at 8:30. 

By the time we got off that there were huge lines everywhere. I went to have a smoke in the designated area at 9:30 and people were streaming in in droves. Did TSMM, 35 minute wait, posted 45.

At 11 we got a couple of drinks at the Market stand and found a spot to stand & hydrate. Line for SDD was past Walt Disney Presents.

Went out & had another smoke & checked in at 11:30 for 11:45 Brown Derby reservation.

We decided to head out & rest in our room before hopping to MK for an early dinner reservation this afternoon. This was the skyliner station at CBR at 7:51.


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## travellovingirl

KuiilHasSpoken said:


> Recently returned from a 3 day trip with my wife. It was our first trip with just the two of us, and we wanted to focus on World Showcase which is hard to do with kids. We had an incredible trip! Even though there were plenty of people there, we really never felt like the crowds were too bad. Wait times weren't that bad either given that the parks were at their current capacity limits. The Touring Plans posted wait times were spot on, and were usually much lower than the official posted times. We had no issues with park hopping despite there being no park passes available.
> 
> We stayed at the Dolphin, which we loved because we were able to walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. They are no longer using Disney buses there, and using the early buses to MK and AK didn't get us there in time for an optimal rope drop experience.
> 
> 3/11 - Epcot
> We spent a full day at Epcot our first day. We went to Test Track and Frozen quickly at park opening and then slowed the pace down from there to enjoy the Flower and Garden Festival. We loved the topiaries, the gardens, and all the amazing food booths! We spent most of the day in World Showcase, though did make it to Soarin' and Spaceship Earth after dinner.
> 
> 3/12 - MK / Epcot
> We weren't able to make it MK as early as we would have liked (8:45 for a 9:00 opening). The line for 7DMT was already quite long, so we went to Splash Mountain first instead. It was probably close to a 30 minute wait. We then went to Haunted Mansion which was a walk on followed by Flight, before slowing down for soaking in the scenery, taking pictures, and shopping before lunch. We ate at Cinderella's Royal Table which was a treat! Afterwards we went to 7DMT and the line wasn't too bad at all (30-40 minutes).
> 
> We then returned to the hotel to rest up for the evening in World Showcase. Strolling around World Showcase in the evening was delightful! France was our favorite.
> 
> 3/13 - AK / HS / Epcot
> We wanted to get a taste of AK since we had never been before, so we went for a few hours in the morning. It wasn't our favorite park (Dinoland USA?), but it was good to spend some time there and FOP was incredibly impressive.
> 
> After resting for the early afternoon, we went to HS around 5:00. The park had cleared out significantly by then. You can really get a lot done there in the evenings. Mickey/Minnie's was only a 15 minute wait, and we followed that with SDD which was only 25 minutes. We stayed away from Galaxy's Edge since we had just been there with our kids a couple of month's ago, but we really love it there!
> 
> Afterwards we took the Skyliner to Epcot around sunset which was incredible -- definitely one of the biggest highlights of the trip! Finished up with another wonderful evening in World Showcase including some live music (Vintage Vinyl) which was nice.
> 
> Overall, it was a great trip! We weren't sure what to expect being at Disney without the kids but we loved it!


We are headed to disney in two weeks. How did you like the Dolphin? Have never stayed there. Were the pools crowded? It is just me and my 23 year old DD. Maybe a quiet/lap pool for us?


----------



## angryduck71

bizeemom4 said:


> read on here that someone was successfully able to add a park hopper to existing tickets this week, despite blocked out parks. So we squished our swollen feet back into sneakers and walked to Epcot to inquire. Success!! No issues at all. $90 later and we were having Regal Eagle dinner and date night at Epcot!



Thank you for this.  I have a military ticket I have to upgrade at Disney to hoppers and had heard there had been a bit of an issue adding a hopper if the parks were at capacity.  This makes me feel much better.


----------



## beesly

lnR_Texas said:


> What I did hear from 3 separate bus drivers is that they have a new bus routing system that is not working well. It’s built for a city bus system and should improve efficiency, but it is not flexible for the issues at a theme park.  We saw a lot of idle buses parked at the bus depots at each park, so I think they have enough buses but they’re not in the right places. Let’s hope the kinks get ironed out soon...



I heard the same thing from a bus driver last August. We ended up on a bus that broke down on the way from WL to DHS and it took a full 90 minutes for them to send someone out with alternate transportation for us and one other family on the bus. The driver explained that they are no longer able to connect directly with dispatch or other drivers via their radio. They have to press a button to request assistance and wait for dispatch to call them. In our case, someone at dispatch opened our driver's request but didn't respond to it (for whatever reason) so it looked like it had been taken care of (but our driver had no visibility of that on his end to indicate that he should send an additional request). Our driver ended up using his personal phone to make a call to his supervisor after a while (which he explained he could actually get in trouble for doing), at which time they realized no one had actually responded to his earlier call. We ended up getting a ride to DHS in the supervisor's work vehicle (finally arriving at the park at 7:30 for an 8:00pm close, before park-hopping came back) along with a few paper recovery FPs from the supervisor for MK and EPCOT (he had no DHS ones on hand, so he recommended we go to GR once inside the park to explain what happened, and there we ended up getting a recovery FP for MMRR). We were told the reason they updated the system was to reduce the "chatter" between drivers and dispatch, but I really think they need to bring back the old system!


----------



## KuiilHasSpoken

travellovingirl said:


> We are headed to disney in two weeks. How did you like the Dolphin? Have never stayed there. Were the pools crowded? It is just me and my 23 year old DD. Maybe a quiet/lap pool for us?



We loved the Dolphin. Mainly for the location (ability to walk to Epcot/DHS) at rates that were affordable. The room was nice and suited our needs. We definitely plan on staying at the Dolphin (or Swan) again.

We didn't spend time at the pools, but I did walk by to check them out on Saturday afternoon. They were very crowded. I'm not sure if this is just a weekend thing, or if they are always that crowded?


----------



## dez1978

MomOTwins said:


> Rats, BG fail.  Did phone speed test to find best signal, used time.gov, clicked at 6:59:59. Practiced so clicked through super fast.  No luck!  Full.  Will try again at 1pm.  Kid looking at me like “yeesh mom”.


How fast does the phone speed need to be?


----------



## Akck

dez1978 said:


> How fast does the phone speed need to be?



I saw a vlog where he said to get a ping app. He said to look for times under 50 ms when pinging vqguest-svc-wdw.wdprapps.disney.com and api.wdpro.disney.go.com.


----------



## dez1978

Akck said:


> I saw a vlog where he said to get a ping app. He said to look for times under 50 ms when pinging vqguest-svc-wdw.wdprapps.disney.com and api.wdpro.disney.go.com.


I’m obviously looking at the wrong thing lol. I’m looking at download speed?


----------



## GADisneyDad14

I sort of don't like to do 'crowd experience' posts since it's so subjective and we all interpret what we see in the parks very differently, but was there last week and frankly didn't think things were all that bad from a general crowd perspective.   We were last at WDW between Christmas and New Years and overall it felt about the same/identical, if not better in some cases where increased ride capacity/plexiglass usage is preventing some lines from spilling out into crazy places (which was more of the norm Christmas to New Years).   We probably travel at more high crowd times a year than low crowd times, so on that scale we're relatively used to heavier times so have a certain degree of tolerance with it.

The whole thing still feels really 'lumpy' to me at times.  There are situations where we were saying "no doubt spring break crowds are here" and others where we were like "where is everybody?"

Haven't really been following posts so not sure if I'm on island with this observation, but I had sort of bought into a lot of the "full park reservations" hype beforehand, so we were pleasantly surprised with the week.

Having gone a few times now since reopening, I'm personally in the "time to get some more things open" phase of my relationship with the park experience right now, but overall we thought it was a good week.


----------



## JFox

Time.gov?  atomic clocks?  speed tests?

In all the times I've tried to secure a BG for ROR all I do is select Join Boarding group when my cell phone hits 7:00am/1:00pm.  I've never had an issue.


----------



## MomOTwins

We were at Epcot today.  Will name this post “a tale of two Epcots.”  Ghost town the first couple of hours.  Crowds and long waits after hopping begins in the afternoon and evening.  We did really enjoy exploring the empty WS upon arrival.  I recommend if you have hoppers still choosing one day to make your park reservation at Epcot to enjoy it before the crowds descend.

Still, even when crowded, we enjoyed it.  WS is still beautiful even with the weird giant Harmonious structures in the lagoon.  There were good-size lines at all the food booths all afternoon but they moved quick.  Wait times for rides were pretty long and we definitely did not do as much as we hoped. We did Frozen, Caballeros (no animatronics in the final scene still... booo), Spaceship Earth, Nemo and Mission space green using DAS pass, snacked at a few food booths (love thay orange bird sipper!) and had dinner at Teppan Edo.  Test track, Soarin, and Mission Space Orange were just too long waits for us to fit in before we tuckered out at 9pm, especially because we couldn’t use DAS pass (those are too intense for our DS who has the pass). 

I haven’t seen too many reviews for the frozen meet and greet outside the summer house but we saw Anna and she made my kiddos’s day and really talked to all the kids in the audience—really a well done character interaction.


----------



## Gearbm95

MomOTwins said:


> We were at Epcot today.  Will name this post “a tale of two Epcots.”  Ghost town the first couple of hours.  Crowds and long waits after hopping begins in the afternoon and evening.  We did really enjoy exploring the empty WS upon arrival.  I recommend if you have hoppers still choosing one day to make your park reservation at Epcot to enjoy it before the crowds descend.
> 
> Still, even when crowded, we enjoyed it.  WS is still beautiful even with the weird giant Harmonious structures in the lagoon.  There were good-size lines at all the food booths all afternoon but they moved quick.  Wait times for rides were pretty long and we definitely did not do as much as we hoped. We did Frozen, Caballeros (no animatronics in the final scene still... booo), Spaceship Earth, Nemo and Mission space green using DAS pass, snacked at a few food booths (love thay orange bird sipper!) and had dinner at Teppan Edo.  Test track, Soarin, and Mission Space Orange were just too long waits for us to fit in before we tuckered out at 9pm, especially because we couldn’t use DAS pass (those are too intense for our DS who has the pass).
> 
> I haven’t seen too many reviews for the frozen meet and greet outside the summer house but we saw Anna and she made my kiddos’s day and really talked to all the kids in the audience—really a well done character interaction.



Sounds like a fun day, looking at TP for Epcot right now and every ride has under a 15min wait time posted since about 9pm. It seems the late evening is the best time for rides at Epcot.


----------



## Castlequeen5

We started our trip at Animal Kingdom on Saturday March 20.  The hours were 8 to 8.  We’re staying at Pop Century, but drove straight to the park without checking in to the resort.

We arrived around 6:50, but the gates weren’t opened yet.  We went to a gas station and came back around 7:20 and parked.  There we’re 10 of us, and we had just arrived from a long overnight drive.  So it took us some time to unload and get our stuff together. 

The temperature check and security was quick and easy.  There was no bag check, which made it much faster.  However we got stopped at the ticket gate because our tickets wouldn’t work.  We were sent over to guest service, because we hadn’t checked into our hotel yet.  I still don’t really understand why it was a problem, but apparently the tickets need to be “activated” by the hotel before we could use them.  I had to force myself to stay positive, since we wasted about 20-25 minutes waiting in line. 

By the time we made it through the gate, it was around 8:20.  By that point FOP was a 60 minute wait, so we headed to Navi River instead.  We were on the ride by 9:00.  Then we went to Asia to ride Everest and it was pretty much a walk on.  After that we walked over to Dinosaur with a posted wait time of 35 minutes.  But it actually only took us 20 minutes.  When that was finished, we went to It’s Tough To Be a Bug.  That was a 15 minute wait, even though MDE said 25 minutes.

At this point it was 11:00, and everyone was hungry.  We found a spot to eat, and took a break.  Afterwards we headed over to Safari, but most of our group was uninterested in waiting the 35 minutes.  So we bypassed that line and went to FOP.  The wait time was listed at 75 minutes.  We got in line at 11:34 and got on the ride 12:27.  So we really only waited for 53 minutes.  And the line was constantly moving.  

We left the park at 1:00 having done everything we wanted to do.  There was plenty of time to do more rides or repeat our favorites, but we were tired and it was quite chilly.  So we decided to leave.  This is a recap:

Navi River: 30-35 minute wait
Everest: 5 minute wait
Dinosaur: 20 minute wait
Tough To Be A Bug: 15 minute wait
FOP: 53 minute wait

Even though we got a later start than we intended, it still worked out fine.  We had no sense of urgency and stopped to take photos as we walked around.  The crowds seemed normal...not overly crowded or especially low.  There were some busier areas than others, but totally manageable.  Nothing stood out to me as far mask issues or personal space.  We had a good first day at the parks.


----------



## lorileahb

Castlequeen5 said:


> We started our trip at Animal Kingdom on Saturday March 20.  The hours were 8 to 8.  We’re staying at Pop Century, but drove straight to the park without checking in to the resort.
> 
> We arrived around 6:50, but the gates weren’t opened yet.  We went to a gas station and came back around 7:20 and parked.  There we’re 10 of us, and we had just arrived from a long overnight drive.  So it took us some time to unload and get our stuff together.
> 
> The temperature check and security was quick and easy.  There was no bag check, which made it much faster.  However we got stopped at the ticket gate because our tickets wouldn’t work.  We were sent over to guest service, because we hadn’t checked into our hotel yet.  I still don’t really understand why it was a problem, but apparently the tickets need to be “activated” by the hotel before we could use them.  I had to force myself to stay positive, since we wasted about 20-25 minutes waiting in line.
> 
> By the time we made it through the gate, it was around 8:20.  By that point FOP was a 60 minute wait, so we headed to Navi River instead.  We were on the ride by 9:00.  Then we went to Asia to ride Everest and it was pretty much a walk on.  After that we walked over to Dinosaur with a posted wait time of 35 minutes.  But it actually only took us 20 minutes.  When that was finished, we went to It’s Tough To Be a Bug.  That was a 15 minute wait, even though MDE said 25 minutes.
> 
> At this point it was 11:00, and everyone was hungry.  We found a spot to eat, and took a break.  Afterwards we headed over to Safari, but most of our group was uninterested in waiting the 35 minutes.  So we bypassed that line and went to FOP.  The wait time was listed at 75 minutes.  We got in line at 11:34 and got on the ride 12:27.  So we really only waited for 53 minutes.  And the line was constantly moving.
> 
> We left the park at 1:00 having done everything we wanted to do.  There was plenty of time to do more rides or repeat our favorites, but we were tired and it was quite chilly.  So we decided to leave.  This is a recap:
> 
> Navi River: 30-35 minute wait
> Everest: 5 minute wait
> Dinosaur: 20 minute wait
> Tough To Be A Bug: 15 minute wait
> FOP: 53 minute wait
> 
> Even though we got a later start than we intended, it still worked out fine.  We had no sense of urgency and stopped to take photos as we walked around.  The crowds seemed normal...not overly crowded or especially low.  There were some busier areas than others, but totally manageable.  Nothing stood out to me as far mask issues or personal space.  We had a good first day at the parks.



Thank you so much for the report!  We are actually going to AK on our first day early before checking into hotel.  Going to call ahead and see how we can avoid the situation you all encountered (so sorry to hear about it!).  Glad you stayed positive and had a good parks day!


----------



## Tattylou

bizeemom4 said:


> 3/17 - We were at the Grotto pool on 3/17. I agree with a PP that it was super busy! We walked through a little after 10 and scored the last set of chairs that had an umbrella but they were all the way over at the Dolphin side pool next to the Cabana restaurant. It was so windy and crowded. Not the ideal pool day we dream of but the water was warm and the poolside food was good. Order EARLY because it takes an hour for food to be delivered to your chair.
> 
> 3/18 - Our first parks day. We had an 8 am Trattorio breakfast al fresco. Felt safe eating outside with an empty table between each occupied table. Someone tried to sit at the empty one - just walked up expecting service - I directed her inside and she came out and thanked me, saying the wait for a table was 75 minutes! We then walked to the WS entrance of Epcot around 9.:15. There were 4 people already in line for temp screening. We sat on the bench right by the skyliner and waited until we saw bunches of folks coming and joined the crowd. The temp screeners opened at 10 and we were let into the park at 10:15. We walked at a casual pace to Frozen - walked right on. Just a quick note to show you how quickly the lines build. At 10:40, the line for Test Track was 60 minutes. We didn't wait.
> 
> 3/19 - Magic Kingdom. We walked to Yacht Club to catch the MK bus. At 6:30, the line went almost all the way back into the hotel. We waited about 20 minutes before two busses to MK and one to AK pulled up and we were lucky enough to get on the second MK bus. The groupings and no standing pax really impact how few people can get on the park buses so plan accordingly. We made it to MK and through the screeners by 7:17. 7D was down, Small World down, Pooh down. We walked through Pan line all alone. I think folks were all waiting for 7D to open??
> 
> 3/20 and 3/21 - We were so so so lucky to get boarding groups both days for ROTR. We used the atomic clock to count down the seconds and jammed on JOIN right at 7:00.00. Tip - do NOT rely on the time on your TV. It's off by 30 seconds or so. Use the atomic clock to get it down to the second it flips from 6:59.59 to 7:00.00. We had boarding groups 89 and 18. Husband loved it so we did it both days. I would have been fine doing something else yesterday but he wanted to do it again.
> 
> We were bored though halfway through the second day at Studios. Really this is just a one day park for us, especially without any shows. We went back to the room to relax before getting our take out from Ale and Compass and read on here that someone was successfully able to add a park hopper to existing tickets this week, despite blocked out parks. So we squished our swollen feet back into sneakers and walked to Epcot to inquire. Success!! No issues at all. $90 later and we were having Regal Eagle dinner and date night at Epcot! We watched the Motown Band at the amphitheater and had a much better night than takeout in our room.
> 
> 3/22 - We are checking out of Dolphin and moving to Movies. We just got a text (it's not even 9am) that our room is ready so we are grabbing an Uber and heading over there.
> 
> So far, yes, it is crowded with people coming at you from all directions. NO social distancing for the most part when walking. People do get right up next to you and pass right by your face. If I had not had vax, I would be VERY uncomfortable. And so many people have tried to get into the elevator at Dolphin to share with us. There are signs inside and outside the elevators limiting it to one family (or two people). I think people just don't look at things or choose not to read them.


What’s the atomic clock?


----------



## MomOTwins

lorileahb said:


> Thank you so much for the report!  We are actually going to AK on our first day early before checking into hotel.  Going to call ahead and see how we can avoid the situation you all encountered (so sorry to hear about it!).  Glad you stayed positive and had a good parks day!


Just do the online check in in your MDE account and you should be fine.  We have always done this and never had to physically go to the hotel before going to a park.


----------



## MomOTwins

Gearbm95 said:


> Sounds like a fun day, looking at TP for Epcot right now and every ride has under a 15min wait time posted since about 9pm. It seems the late evening is the best time for rides at Epcot.


That’s probably true, but our kiddos really can’t make it much later than 9, and with the earlier opens at all the other parks, we had to get up early the next day.  Suppose there are lots of people like us and that’s why after 9 the crowds thin out!


----------



## marshallabney

Continued from post #8,400
3/22 - we were so productive in the last few hours hopping to magic kingdom the night before, I let everyone sleep in.  We grabbed the bus from BW to MK at 8:15.  As an aside, there appeared to be several frustrated groups that were waiting for buses to other parks.  We’ve been pretty lucky with transportation so far, but that will likely run out based upon some anecdotal complaints I’ve overheard.  Anyway, we were in line at pirates at 8:45 and waited 25.  It was cold and misty, so we took advantage and rode splash, which was a walk on.  TP had everything with at least 20 minutes, so we hit the shops on Main Street and headed to the boats.  Went to WL and had a late breakfast at Whispering Canyon.  The wait staff “schtick” is falling a bit flat right now, not sure if it was the time (they were switching from breakfast to lunch toward the end of our meal), or the half full restaurant due to social distancing or what.  Could have just been unlucky.  It was a decent breakfast and we’d never been so it was fun.  Popped back over to MK and rode BTMRR (10 min), buzz (32 min), and dumbo (18 min).  We split, as lines were building and walkways were becoming crowded.  With the sun finally out for a bit, the girls hit the pool and I got some work done.  At around 6:30 we decided to hop over to HS to ride MMRR.  That line was a bit long (TP said 18, but it was longer than when we waited 20). Hit SDD with a posted 60 and waited 27.  TSMM was a walk on, then jumped in line for MMRR at 7:40 with no line out of the building.  Virtually walked on, but the ride glitched about halfway through and we ended up stuck at the 2nd to last scene.  Waited about 10 minutes for a CM to free us and walk us out of the ride.  Pretty cool really, as all of the lights were up and you could see lots of details.  They gave us a free FP to most any ride in any park to be used today, so worth the inconvenience.  Skyliner was packed, the line was quite a ways down the walking path, so we walked to Epcot.  We ate a late dinner around half the world at the booths.  Some good, some smeh, and the soy glazed pork shank from Hanami in Japan was killer.  DD6 and DW walked back to the room while DD9 and I hit test track.  Waited about 15 and then bailed.  HS today, snagged BG7 a minute ago, then we’ll hop to AK.  Having a great time!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

JFox said:


> Time.gov?  atomic clocks?  speed tests?
> 
> In all the times I've tried to secure a BG for ROR all I do is select Join Boarding group when my cell phone hits 7:00am/1:00pm.  I've never had an issue.


Same.  A lot of people are overthinking this.


----------



## beesly

Tattylou said:


> What’s the atomic clock?



https://www.time.gov/


----------



## marshallabney

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Same.  A lot of people are overthinking this.


Agree on the clock, I grabbed BG7 this morning by just watching the clock on my phone turn to 7 and hitting join.  I think your phone speed, however, plays a big part. I have a newer iPhone 12, turned off WiFi, and used our balcony (strongest 5G signal at BW).


----------



## dez1978

A win and a fail this am. Got BG 15 yay. Walked from Riv to cbr to get ahead of the line on the skyliner and it’s down so they are loading us onto buses


----------



## momtoccc

I enjoyed reading everyone else‘s experience so here is ours:

Sun 3/21 DHS. We are staying offsite. Tried to time it so we would arrive at parking toll booth just before 8. Arrived too early so they turned us around. Drove to the McDonaldo by Blizzard beach and sat for 5 min and then went back. At this point we were 10 cars back.  They started letting cars in about 8:10.  Made it through temp check and through the gate around 8:45. I figured we missed our chance to do SDD quickly so we went to ToT and walked on that. Then we walked on RnRC. When we got done here the lines were building. 
We headed to Toy Story land and got in line for SDD. Said it was 80  in but really only 45 min. This was a new ride for me and I really enjoyed. We were going to try TSM next but that line had gotten super long so we headed over to Star Tours. That line was probably about 15-20 min. it Was probably a little after 11 at this time and we had 1140 ADR at Brown Derby. We checked in early and had a nice lunch.  Our RoR BG was 51 which was called just before ADR. We knew this was going to happen but  we checked with a guest service guy and he said just screen shot the BG and the ADR on our phones and show them 
As it turns out we got to RoR just and end of our BG time. Wow. Very impressive. So glad my dd was able to get that. our last ride was smugglers run And our longest wait. The line moved well when we were outside but once inside it stopped a lot. Still another fun ride that was new for me. 
After this we checked TSM again and line was still long (this was around 2). We decided to get some churros and then we left the park happy we did everything we really wanted to.  Getting there at rope drop is definitely the key


----------



## momtoccc

Part 2: 3/22 MK day. Again we got up early in the dark. Left hotel at 635 and was about 3rd car back in our line. However there was issue with car on other side of booth so we did not get through very quickly. The lady ended up letting us through without having to pay so that was nice. We rode the boat over to MK. Not sure if that was best option or not. It was probably 745 before we got into park. We had quick stop at the starbucks to pick up a MK cup. There was only 4 people in front of us so knew it would be best time. Even though I hated taking away ride time for this.  
we went to space Mtn first and walked on. Next was Astro orbiters. Not in our plane but there was no line so we figured why not?  Nice views from up there! Next was walk-on to Buzz.  
After this we headed to BTMRR. I’d say it was about 15 min. walked over to splash and walked on there. Ride stopped for a little bit while we were on it. I will say the weather was cloudy and misty so not sure if that kept the crowds low this morning.  
After Splash we decided to do BTMRR agsin since we were at that end of the park. I think it was just the time to walk through the long queue before we were on again and then the ride stopped just after we left the boarding area. And then we sat there and they shut the ride down. And we sat there. Actually they were good about it all and we were probably off within 15 min. As a bonus we got a FP to use anywhere in the park except 7DM or PP.
 We checked the app and decided pirates would be best way to use this. Posted wait time was 55 min and we just walked past it all. Awesome!   After this we were hungry (a little after 10). Dd wanted a pastry or donut type snack. She found place on app in tomorrow land so we headed back there. Long line but we waited and enjoyed  a coffee and snack break. 
Dd is 17 and was huge Pooh fan growing up so we had to do that ride. Got in line and it was shorter than posted. Probably 20 min. Next was HM. Definitely crowded now and a bottleneck to get through crowds to get over there. Line looked very long but it moves constantly and was not that bad. Don’t let the posted times scare you s they are generally never that long!
We had 6pm ADR at Skipper Canteen so we had planned to leave and come back later so we headed out of MK around noon very satisfied with all we had done


----------



## momtoccc

Part 3: General observations.  Mask compliance was mostly good. A few here and there below noses but not that many.  There was more issues with folks not paying attention to the “wait here” lines. Usually if people were getting too close we’d look at them and the line and they would get the hint. I will say sometimes it is hard to figure out where to be.  It was crowded a few hours after opening. We stayed ahead of crowds by going early. We never stayed late so can’t comment on that. We did do a couple of things in MK when we went back for dinner. Again they had 40 min wait time posted for BTMRR and it was a walk on. 
We were hoping for warm sunny weather but I think it helped that it was cool and cloudy. I can’t imagine doing all that in mask and hot humid weather.
We had a fun time. We are hoping for a pool day before we head home tomorrow come on sunshine!


----------



## Castlequeen5

lorileahb said:


> Thank you so much for the report!  We are actually going to AK on our first day early before checking into hotel.  Going to call ahead and see how we can avoid the situation you all encountered (so sorry to hear about it!).  Glad you stayed positive and had a good parks day!


I do think it had something to do with online check-in.  I attempted to complete the online check-in the night before, but I never could get it to go all way through.  We had 3 rooms on separate reservations, that we wanted next to each other.  So that might have been the problem.  I figured I’d worry about it when we got to Pop.  In hindsight, I should have called while we were driving down to Florida.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Castlequeen5 said:


> We started our trip at Animal Kingdom on Saturday March 20.  The hours were 8 to 8.  We’re staying at Pop Century, but drove straight to the park without checking in to the resort.
> 
> We arrived around 6:50, but the gates weren’t opened yet.  We went to a gas station and came back around 7:20 and parked.  There we’re 10 of us, and we had just arrived from a long overnight drive.  So it took us some time to unload and get our stuff together.
> 
> The temperature check and security was quick and easy.  There was no bag check, which made it much faster.  However we got stopped at the ticket gate because our tickets wouldn’t work.  We were sent over to guest service, because we hadn’t checked into our hotel yet.  I still don’t really understand why it was a problem, but apparently the tickets need to be “activated” by the hotel before we could use them.  I had to force myself to stay positive, since we wasted about 20-25 minutes waiting in line.
> 
> By the time we made it through the gate, it was around 8:20.  By that point FOP was a 60 minute wait, so we headed to Navi River instead.  We were on the ride by 9:00.  Then we went to Asia to ride Everest and it was pretty much a walk on.  After that we walked over to Dinosaur with a posted wait time of 35 minutes.  But it actually only took us 20 minutes.  When that was finished, we went to It’s Tough To Be a Bug.  That was a 15 minute wait, even though MDE said 25 minutes.
> 
> At this point it was 11:00, and everyone was hungry.  We found a spot to eat, and took a break.  Afterwards we headed over to Safari, but most of our group was uninterested in waiting the 35 minutes.  So we bypassed that line and went to FOP.  The wait time was listed at 75 minutes.  We got in line at 11:34 and got on the ride 12:27.  So we really only waited for 53 minutes.  And the line was constantly moving.
> 
> We left the park at 1:00 having done everything we wanted to do.  There was plenty of time to do more rides or repeat our favorites, but we were tired and it was quite chilly.  So we decided to leave.  This is a recap:
> 
> Navi River: 30-35 minute wait
> Everest: 5 minute wait
> Dinosaur: 20 minute wait
> Tough To Be A Bug: 15 minute wait
> FOP: 53 minute wait
> 
> Even though we got a later start than we intended, it still worked out fine.  We had no sense of urgency and stopped to take photos as we walked around.  The crowds seemed normal...not overly crowded or especially low.  There were some busier areas than others, but totally manageable.  Nothing stood out to me as far mask issues or personal space.  We had a good first day at the parks.





Castlequeen5 said:


> I do think it had something to do with online check-in.  I attempted to complete the online check-in the night before, but I never could get it to go all way through.  We had 3 rooms on separate reservations, that we wanted next to each other.  So that might have been the problem.  I figured I’d worry about it when we got to Pop.  In hindsight, I should have called while we were driving down to Florida.


I'm curious, did you happen to have the ticket offer attached to your package that enabled you to get 2 free days added to your tickets?  Not sure of the dates of that offer.  I'm wondering if possibly that was why there was a glitch?  They needed to ensure you actually were going to fulfill the entire package of a resort stay which is required for the free 2 days?  just a thought.

Also, if you find yourself at the GS window for an extended period of time when you arrive at RD (we've had this twice with ticket issues), you may wish to gently ask at the end if there might be an option to request a FP as we had arrived early to accomplish a certain ride with a lower wait.  The one time they gave it to us and the other time I found out it had already been issued to us before I even asked.  I don't recommend requesting FPs normally but when ticket issues happen when we've arrived early for RD, I have asked.


----------



## kathi

So is the moral of the ticket activation story to do online check-in so you can go right to a park and get through the tapstyles?  We planned to do that this Friday for Epcot - headed directly from the airport.


----------



## Akck

dez1978 said:


> I’m obviously looking at the wrong thing lol. I’m looking at download speed?



You can get an app that does a ping test. Ping measures the time it takes to send a small data set and get an answer from a server. Theory is the lower your ping speed, the better your chance is to get a BG.


----------



## loves to dive

Has anyone had any experience visiting resorts either via bus or walking?   I know they aren't letting you park unless you have an ADR but what about if you are on a bus?   I'm asking because I hope to drop into YC and look in the shops and just visit.   It's my favorite resort but I'm not staying there, usually when I'm not staying I'll drop in while walking from Epcot to the resort I'm staying at (either BW, Swan/Dolphin) and just visit.   It doesn't seem like a trip to me if I don't get to see my beloved YC.  I would probably be coming in the back door off the Boardwalk.


----------



## Naomeri

loves to dive said:


> Has anyone had any experience visiting resorts either via bus or walking?   I know they aren't letting you park unless you have an ADR but what about if you are on a bus?   I'm asking because I hope to drop into YC and look in the shops and just visit.   It's my favorite resort but I'm not staying there, usually when I'm not staying I'll drop in while walking from Epcot to the resort I'm staying at (either BW, Swan/Dolphin) and just visit.   It doesn't seem like a trip to me if I don't get to see my beloved YC.  I would probably be coming in the back door off the Boardwalk.


They don’t check where you’re staying if you arrive via Disney transportation or on your own feet.  I walked through Beach Club on my way to Beaches & Cream, and through Boardwalk on my way from Epcot to DHS and no one asked.


----------



## hes122

loves to dive said:


> Has anyone had any experience visiting resorts either via bus or walking?   I know they aren't letting you park unless you have an ADR but what about if you are on a bus?   I'm asking because I hope to drop into YC and look in the shops and just visit.   It's my favorite resort but I'm not staying there, usually when I'm not staying I'll drop in while walking from Epcot to the resort I'm staying at (either BW, Swan/Dolphin) and just visit.   It doesn't seem like a trip to me if I don't get to see my beloved YC.  I would probably be coming in the back door off the Boardwalk.


We walked around BC & YC twice a few weeks ago. The 1st was on arrival day when we had an ADR for Beaches & Cream. The second was when we hopped from MK to EP. We took the bus to BC instead of EP (we wanted to enter in through the IG) and walked around a bit before heading into Epcot.


----------



## scrappinginontario

loves to dive said:


> Has anyone had any experience visiting resorts either via bus or walking?   I know they aren't letting you park unless you have an ADR but what about if you are on a bus?   I'm asking because I hope to drop into YC and look in the shops and just visit.   It's my favorite resort but I'm not staying there, usually when I'm not staying I'll drop in while walking from Epcot to the resort I'm staying at (either BW, Swan/Dolphin) and just visit.   It doesn't seem like a trip to me if I don't get to see my beloved YC.  I would probably be coming in the back door off the Boardwalk.


If you arrive via Disney transportation or walking you may visit any resort you wish without question.


----------



## Leigh L

loves to dive said:


> Has anyone had any experience visiting resorts either via bus or walking?   I know they aren't letting you park unless you have an ADR but what about if you are on a bus?   I'm asking because I hope to drop into YC and look in the shops and just visit.   It's my favorite resort but I'm not staying there, usually when I'm not staying I'll drop in while walking from Epcot to the resort I'm staying at (either BW, Swan/Dolphin) and just visit.   It doesn't seem like a trip to me if I don't get to see my beloved YC.  I would probably be coming in the back door off the Boardwalk.


No problems whatsoever. Over the past several months, we've taken buses, Skyliner, and walked to different resorts to eat (both food courts and CS), shop, or just walk around (Poly, Pop, AoA, Riviera, YC/BC). Once we even were staying offsite and paid to park at DHS to use the Skyliner (had a bunch of hours before our flights) and stopped at a couple of resorts along the way.


----------



## auntlynne

marshallabney said:


> Continued from post #8,400
> 3/22 - we were so productive in the last few hours hopping to magic kingdom the night before, I let everyone sleep in.  We grabbed the bus from BW to MK at 8:15.  As an aside, there appeared to be several frustrated groups that were waiting for buses to other parks.  We’ve been pretty lucky with transportation so far, but that will likely run out based upon some anecdotal complaints I’ve overheard.  Anyway, we were in line at pirates at 8:45 and waited 25.  It was cold and misty, so we took advantage and rode splash, which was a walk on.  TP had everything with at least 20 minutes, so we hit the shops on Main Street and headed to the boats.  Went to WL and had a late breakfast at Whispering Canyon.  The wait staff “schtick” is falling a bit flat right now, not sure if it was the time (they were switching from breakfast to lunch toward the end of our meal), or the half full restaurant due to social distancing or what.  Could have just been unlucky.  It was a decent breakfast and we’d never been so it was fun.  Popped back over to MK and rode BTMRR (10 min), buzz (32 min), and dumbo (18 min).  We split, as lines were building and walkways were becoming crowded.  With the sun finally out for a bit, the girls hit the pool and I got some work done.  At around 6:30 we decided to hop over to HS to ride MMRR.  That line was a bit long (TP said 18, but it was longer than when we waited 20). Hit SDD with a posted 60 and waited 27.  TSMM was a walk on, then jumped in line for MMRR at 7:40 with no line out of the building.  Virtually walked on, but the ride glitched about halfway through and we ended up stuck at the 2nd to last scene.  Waited about 10 minutes for a CM to free us and walk us out of the ride.  Pretty cool really, as all of the lights were up and you could see lots of details.  They gave us a free FP to most any ride in any park to be used today, so worth the inconvenience.  Skyliner was packed, the line was quite a ways down the walking path, so we walked to Epcot.  We ate a late dinner around half the world at the booths.  Some good, some smeh, and the soy glazed pork shank from Hanami in Japan was killer.  DD6 and DW walked back to the room while DD9 and I hit test track.  Waited about 15 and then bailed.  HS today, snagged BG7 a minute ago, then we’ll hop to AK.  Having a great time!



Sounds like you were pixie dusted most of the day.  The wait times for MMRR and SDD were great.


----------



## KSL

Anyone there now or recently back who can comment on the availability of Flower & Garden merchandise?  I'll be there Easter week and would like to get a couple of things, but I know sometimes it sells out quickly and I've heard there's rather less this year than usual.  Specifically, I'd like to get a couple of those giftcards on the bracelets, pins (actually I haven't seen pins for F&G but hoping there are some?), and maybe one of the items with Figment (DD loves!).  Maybe it would be better if I ask again next week....  But would like to set expectations if stuff is already gone.


----------



## marshallabney

auntlynne said:


> Sounds like you were pixie dusted most of the day.  The wait times for MMRR and SDD were great.


Totally agree, pretty lucky all week.  Although a lot of that is probably owed to Len testa and Touring Plans (and the tips in these boards).  Truly spot on our entire trip.  Always been really accurate, but seems even more so right now.


----------



## lovethattink

KSL said:


> Anyone there now or recently back who can comment on the availability of Flower & Garden merchandise?  I'll be there Easter week and would like to get a couple of things, but I know sometimes it sells out quickly and I've heard there's rather less this year than usual.  Specifically, I'd like to get a couple of those giftcards on the bracelets, pins (actually I haven't seen pins for F&G but hoping there are some?), and maybe one of the items with Figment (DD loves!).  Maybe it would be better if I ask again next week....  But would like to set expectations if stuff is already gone.



So sorry I’m only seeing this now. I just left Epcot. We don’t collect pins anymore, but I asked dh and ds if they saw any festival pins and both said they didn’t notice any.


----------



## KSL

lovethattink said:


> So sorry I’m only seeing this now. I just left Epcot. We don’t collect pins anymore, but I asked dh and ds if they saw any festival pins and both said they didn’t notice any.


Ok, good to know!  Disappointing, but good to know ahead, which is exactly why I asked.  Thank you!!


----------



## auntlynne

I’m an optimist (and believe Disney wants your money).  Since the festival runs for four months, I would hope or expect the merchandise to be there a while.

From Disney Food Blog:



They did not show any pins, but the info was from the Festival preview, it seems.


----------



## auntlynne

From WDW-magazine:


----------



## auntlynne




----------



## auntlynne

KSL said:


> Anyone there now or recently back who can comment on the availability of Flower & Garden merchandise?  I'll be there Easter week and would like to get a couple of things, but I know sometimes it sells out quickly and I've heard there's rather less this year than usual.  Specifically, I'd like to get a couple of those giftcards on the bracelets, pins (actually I haven't seen pins for F&G but hoping there are some?), and maybe one of the items with Figment (DD loves!).  Maybe it would be better if I ask again next week....  But would like to set expectations if stuff is already gone.



Just a few weeks, maybe some of the above will still be there.  Fingers crossed for you.


----------



## KSL

Thanks for these photos, @auntlynne!  We are passholders so my DD will be looking for that Figment pin!  I agree that Disney would surely want our money, and if this festival lasts until JULY you'd think there would still be merchandise in early April, but I've definitely been proven wrong before!  Here's hoping, and thanks to your photos I know what to keep my eye out for!


----------



## dez1978

Akck said:


> You can get an app that does a ping test. Ping measures the time it takes to send a small data set and get an answer from a server. Theory is the lower your ping speed, the better your chance is to get a BG.


Gotcha. I got BG 15 this am so I guess my speed was fast enough lol


----------



## Castlequeen5

scrappinginontario said:


> I'm curious, did you happen to have the ticket offer attached to your package that enabled you to get 2 free days added to your tickets?  Not sure of the dates of that offer.  I'm wondering if possibly that was why there was a glitch?  They needed to ensure you actually were going to fulfill the entire package of a resort stay which is required for the free 2 days?  just a thought.
> 
> Also, if you find yourself at the GS window for an extended period of time when you arrive at RD (we've had this twice with ticket issues), you may wish to gently ask at the end if there might be an option to request a FP as we had arrived early to accomplish a certain ride with a lower wait.  The one time they gave it to us and the other time I found out it had already been issued to us before I even asked.  I don't recommend requesting FPs normally but when ticket issues happen when we've arrived early for RD, I have asked.


I just had a room discount and tickets... not the extra ticket offer.  So I don’t know why it was a problem.  This was the first time for my family to go to a park before checking in the hotel.  I didn’t really take the time to ask questions like I probably should have, since I was in a rush.

I thought about saying something to the cast member about missing park time, since we were having to wait.  But generally I’m not one to complain, unless I’m really upset.  Plus we are visiting Disney with friends that have never been before.  They were so excited about just being there, and I didn’t want to spoil the mood.  Ultimately it didn’t really matter, since we got to do everything we wanted to do anyway.


----------



## Castlequeen5

We spent our 2nd park day Sunday, March 21 at Hollywood Studios.  The hours were 9-8.

We started our morning trying for a boarding group in our room at Pop.  One of my girls got boarding group #3!  Then we walked over to the Skyliner at 7:30.  We waited in line for about 20-25 minutes.  After switching at CBR to the Hollywood line, we arrived at 8.

We stood around for a few minutes and then they started allowing guests to come through.  We never could come up with a good RD strategy, so we decided to head to MMRR at the last minute.  We were on the ride by 8:25.  Then we rushed over to SDD, but the listed wait was 50 minutes.  So we made a U-turn, and went to TOT and RR.

Our boarding group was called while we were still at RR.  So we headed to Galaxy’s Edge.  We scanned and walked on ROTR around 9:30.  It was amazing!  Then we walked around a bit and took some pictures.  We did see Chewy, Rey, and some stormtroopers walking around the area.  Eventually we got in line for MFSR.  I forgot to take a picture for confirmation, but I think the listed wait time was around 50-60 minutes.  The line was long, but constantly moving.  We used this time to place a mobile order for part of our group at Docking Bay.  We were off the ride at 11:10.

So by 11:10, we had already rode:
MMRR
TOT
RR
ROTR
MFSR

Half of our group had reservations to build a droid, while the other group had reservations at 50’s Primetime.  Our reservations were at 12:00, but we got there at 11:39.  I found out they allow you to check-in online up to 20 minutes early, which we did.  We got a notification that our table was ready immediately after I clicked submit.  So we happily got seated earlier than planned.

After lunch, we were all freezing.  It had been cold and damp all morning.  So we decided to go back to the hotel to warm up and take a break.

We returned around 6:00 and went to SDD.  The wait time listed was 40 minutes.  But we were on the ride in just under 30 minutes.  Then we went to TSM.  That had a 5 minute wait, which was pretty much walking through the queue.

Then we decided to go ride MMRR.  The wait time listed was at 20 minutes, which was pretty accurate.  It was about 7:30 when we got off, so we headed over to Star Tours with a 10 minute wait.  We got off at 7:52, so we rushed over to SDD for one more ride.  We got there exactly at 7:59!  The wait time was still listed for 40 minutes, but I was on the ride at 8:11.  So it was actually only a 12 minute wait.

So from 6-8, we rode:
SDD
TSM
MMRR
Star Tours
SDD

We took our time leaving the park, knowing there would be a line at the Skyliner.  And there was even at 8:45.  The line wrapped around the side and looked super long.  But we actually waited about 15-20 minutes.

This park didn’t seem overly crowded or especially low...just normal.  It was a cold damp day, so maybe that influenced some people into staying home.  Again I thought masks and social distancing was fine.  Nothing stood out to me, but I did hear CMs occasionally remind guests to pull up their masks.

This was a FABULOUS day!  It’ll be hard for our 2nd HS day to be as good as this one.  Ha!


----------



## TestingH2O

KSL said:


> Anyone there now or recently back who can comment on the availability of Flower & Garden merchandise?  I'll be there Easter week and would like to get a couple of things, but I know sometimes it sells out quickly and I've heard there's rather less this year than usual.  Specifically, I'd like to get a couple of those giftcards on the bracelets, pins (actually I haven't seen pins for F&G but hoping there are some?), and maybe one of the items with Figment (DD loves!).  Maybe it would be better if I ask again next week....  But would like to set expectations if stuff is already gone.


We were at Epcot on Monday. I saw the Minnie pin in one of the festival kiosks in world showcase. I didn’t realize there were two designs or look for the figment one.


----------



## marshallabney

Continued from 8420
3/23 - started in HS.  We had a late night at Epcot and were really productive there the night before, so I let everyone sleep in again (I’m going soft apparently).  I got BG7 and we wandered over around 9:15 from BW.  We were on Rise at 9:35 for the 2nd time this week, what a great ride!  The girls split an ice cream sandwich afterwards for “breakfast” because #vacation.  We received any time FPs for most rides the night before for getting stuck on MMRR and used those for MFSR, which was posted at 90 and the line was into Toy Story land.  Walked on in 5 minutes.  Had an early lunch at Brown Derby, scallop app and Cobb salad were both amazing.  DD6 and DW waited 20 for TSMM at a posted 45, and DD9 and I waited in a 50 posted RnRC for 20 as well.  Little pixie dust sprinkling again today when a guest relations CM said how much he liked my shirt, I showed him the website where I got it.  Couple minutes later he came back asked my DD9 what she wanted to ride, and emphatically she said MFSR, so he gave us FPs!  We went back and rode MFSR again with no wait, and then headed back to BW for a rest. We hung out in the room from 3-5:15.  We had 7:50 reservations for Tiffins, so we decided to head on over to AK early and try and ride Safari and FoP.  We waited exactly 2 minutes for the bus to AK outside BW and we were on the safari at 6:05.  Walked over to EE and DD9 and I rode with no wait.  Then walked to FoP and waited 33 minutes on a 45 min posted wait.  Something went wrong in our theater, however, and we waited on the ride vehicles for 10+ minutes before the ride started.  Because of that we were about 10 mins late for our ADR, but CMs were great and gracious and we ordered quickly.  We were maybe the last people out of the park at 9:10, and bus was waiting for us to take us back to BW.  Pretty awesome day.  We’re taking the day off for pool time, relaxation and a bit of work (unfortunately).


----------



## MinnieMSue

Went to studios yesterday (3/23). Had a really good day. We were later than I wanted to be getting into the park because the skyliner was down when we got to CBR and had to wait for a bus. Not an issue though since we pretty much walked onto ToT and RnR. Then we did our boarding group ride. Lines weren’t bad all day foe what we rode. We did toy story mania later in the day and our car didn’t work on the dart scene. We told them and they put us on again. They seemed to be having some issues because I saw maintenance had one of the cars open (area between the seats). Also when we did the millennium falcon ride there was a family ahead of us where the dad and kids kept removing their masks. I mentioned to a cast member as we got close to the loading area that we didn’t want to ride with them. She said we could ride by ourselves if we wanted. But we rode with a couple of teens. I had heard that you couldn’t ride alone anymore but that CM said it was fine. It was a really good day.
Today (3/24) we got on a bus at pop to AK. Oddly we were the second bus (3 came at once) but the first to leave. We were actually the very first bus to arrive at AK and 4th in line for pandora. We didn’t have to wait for temp or to get into the park. We were inside the park at 7:05 and let into FOP at 7:15. Boarded by 7:30. We then went to Navi snd there was no one in line or in the loading area. Literally walked right on. Got on safari but are currently stuck by the goats because a vehicle broke down and we could be stuck a very very long time. Will see what happens lol. At least we are close to the end. We have been stuck a half hour so far roughly. I love that everyone on our ride is chill about it.


----------



## bdiddy

Orion Nebula said:


> I second echo this and also have kids with ASD. I get also where the original OP is coming from and I have no doubt that DAS system is abused. But sometimes it is very difficult to tell unless you observe or speak with people / kids who have autism. Funny enough I always thought if people took issue with it and ended up near my son in line or on a plane they would regret it. As I am sure your well aware once the stemming takes off it can really bother other people. His bouncing in the plane in particular, we flew SW and obviously they don't have assigned seats so we were a bit concerned. The entire row was shaking for the duration of the flight.



I was just wondering how DAS works. Our son has always had anxiety but things spun out of control last year when he hit puberty and with the shut down. The worse being severe OCD. It's completely upended our lives. He also just received an autism diagnosis. We actually had him evaluated when he was very young but they said he wasn't on the spectrum. They think he was just so high-functioning he just flew under the radar all of these years until recently. Anyway - the OCD is a beast of its own and I have NO idea how he is going to do traveling much less at the parks. He is excited about going and looking forward to it but I don't know how all of his rituals and new tics will translate over into the parks. Is talking with someone through DAS something you do beforehand or when you get there?


----------



## lovethattink

bdiddy said:


> I was just wondering how DAS works. Our son has always had anxiety but things spun out of control last year when he hit puberty and with the shut down. The worse being severe OCD. It's completely upended our lives. He also just received an autism diagnosis. We actually had him evaluated when he was very young but they said he wasn't on the spectrum. They think he was just so high-functioning he just flew under the radar all of these years until recently. Anyway - the OCD is a beast of its own and I have NO idea how he is going to do traveling much less at the parks. He is excited about going and looking forward to it but I don't know how all of his rituals and new tics will translate over into the parks. Is talking with someone through DAS something you do beforehand or when you get there?



When you get there.

You might want to check out the disability board here.
Click Here


----------



## wilkydelts

To those who enter Animal Kingdom via Buena Vista Dr then Osceola Parkway, if you get to the toll booths to early how did they re-route you to loop you back around? I plan to arrive right at 7 but if I am early, I wanted to know what to expect.


----------



## DavidNYC

Any reports on Blizzard Beach the last week?  Thinking of heading up Thursday/Friday for a non-park day but may hit BB since we have a bunch of left over pluses from old non-expiring tickets.  How have the crowds been there?


----------



## RhodyKP

MinnieMSue said:


> Went to studios yesterday (3/23). Had a really good day. We were later than I wanted to be getting into the park because the skyliner was down when we got to CBR and had to wait for a bus. Not an issue though since we pretty much walked onto ToT and RnR. Then we did our boarding group ride. Lines weren’t bad all day foe what we rode. We did toy story mania later in the day and our car didn’t work on the dart scene. We told them and they put us on again. They seemed to be having some issues because I saw maintenance had one of the cars open (area between the seats). Also when we did the millennium falcon ride there was a family ahead of us where the dad and kids kept removing their masks. I mentioned to a cast member as we got close to the loading area that we didn’t want to ride with them. She said we could ride by ourselves if we wanted. But we rode with a couple of teens. I had heard that you couldn’t ride alone anymore but that CM said it was fine. It was a really good day.
> Today (3/24) we got on a bus at pop to AK. Oddly we were the second bus (3 came at once) but the first to leave. We were actually the very first bus to arrive at AK and 4th in line for pandora. We didn’t have to wait for temp or to get into the park. We were inside the park at 7:05 and let into FOP at 7:15. Boarded by 7:30. We then went to Navi snd there was no one in line or in the loading area. Literally walked right on. Got on safari but are currently stuck by the goats because a vehicle broke down and we could be stuck a very very long time. Will see what happens lol. At least we are close to the end. We have been stuck a half hour so far roughly. I love that everyone on our ride is chill about it.


How long did you end up being stuck?


----------



## Orion Nebula

bdiddy said:


> I was just wondering how DAS works. Our son has always had anxiety but things spun out of control last year when he hit puberty and with the shut down. The worse being severe OCD. It's completely upended our lives. He also just received an autism diagnosis. We actually had him evaluated when he was very young but they said he wasn't on the spectrum. They think he was just so high-functioning he just flew under the radar all of these years until recently. Anyway - the OCD is a beast of its own and I have NO idea how he is going to do traveling much less at the parks. He is excited about going and looking forward to it but I don't know how all of his rituals and new tics will translate over into the parks. Is talking with someone through DAS something you do beforehand or when you get there?



Same situation here, my daughter was not diagnosed at a young age due to slipping through the cracks. Once she hit puberty she really changed, seemingly overnight. My son has had a diagnoses since he was 5 or 6 so he has been able to get much better support at school. However he exhibits much more "traditional" ASD traits than my daughter. We never got the DAS pass for my daughter as she didn't need it but our son for sure does. 

All you have to do is go to guest services at any park on your first day. Then tell them you require a DAS pass for your son and give a brief description of why he will be unable to stand in line. They will then scan his band. The DAS pass is good for all parks throughout your stay so you don't need to visit guest services again. Once you are inside the park you will need to walk up to the CM at the entrance to each attraction and tell them that you have a DAS pass. They will then scan your sons band and then you can come back with your party at the designated time. Each person will have to scan their bands when entering. 

Usually wait times are similar to what is posted, but sometimes they can be much shorter. Regardless you are only allowed to have one DAS reservation active at a time.


----------



## bdiddy

Orion Nebula said:


> Same situation here, my daughter was not diagnosed at a young age due to slipping through the cracks. Once she hit puberty she really changed, seemingly overnight. My son has had a diagnoses since he was 5 or 6 so he has been able to get much better support at school. However he exhibits much more "traditional" ASD traits than my daughter. We never got the DAS pass for my daughter as she didn't need it but our son for sure does.
> 
> All you have to do is go to guest services at any park on your first day. Then tell them you require a DAS pass for your son and give a brief description of why he will be unable to stand in line. They will then scan his band. The DAS pass is good for all parks throughout your stay so you don't need to visit guest services again. Once you are inside the park you will need to walk up to the CM at the entrance to each attraction and tell them that you have a DAS pass. They will then scan your sons band and then you can come back with your party at the designated time. Each person will have to scan their bands when entering.
> 
> Usually wait times are similar to what is posted, but sometimes they can be much shorter. Regardless you are only allowed to have one DAS reservation active at a time.



Thank you so much for the info! I've been reading over on the Disability board as well. I didn't even realize it was there!


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## jlundeen

For those of you staying on property recently, did you use the Magic Express?  We arrive April 10, and while I have always had a good experience with DME, I dread the line at the airport due to less capacity on the bus.

 So, we are considering using a private car service to get to the resort and back to the airport, especially since we have to transport our own luggage anyway...

Could anyone who recently used DME report on their experience, (such as wait time, capacity, multiple stops), please?  

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Orion Nebula

jlundeen said:


> For those of you staying on property recently, did you use the Magic Express?  We arrive April 10, and while I have always had a good experience with DME, I dread the line at the airport due to less capacity on the bus.
> 
> So, we are considering using a private car service to get to the resort and back to the airport, especially since we have to transport our own luggage anyway...
> 
> Could anyone who recently used DME report on their experience, (such as wait time, capacity, multiple stops), please?
> 
> Thanks in advance!



I used it a few weeks ago on my trip and it worked out as good as ever. However the first week of March seems like it was much less crowded than now. We were able to get on the first bus and there were only _maybe_ a total of 10 people onboard.


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## MinnieMSue

RhodyKP said:


> How long did you end up being stuck?



Ended  up being just a little longer after I posted so maybe 35 min. A man came and told us we would be moving soon just as I posted.  It didn’t throw us too far behind. We were able to grab breakfast and have a 20 min wait on Everest.I am glad they added the goats so we had an erhing to look at lol


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## MinnieMSue

Orion Nebula said:


> I used it a few weeks ago on my trip and it worked out as good as ever. However the first week of March seems like it was much less crowded than now. We were able to get on the first bus and there were only _maybe_ a total of 10 people onboard.



we too had a great DME experience on Monday morning  We walked up to a completely empty area. We walked right onto the bus. It quickly was loaded socially distant and we were off. They said they were dropping off at 4 resorts. Our stop (Pop) was the first. I remember they had CBR and ASM too (forget what the other hotel was). We didn’t get a room ready text or any text. I stopped at the desk to get the Magical Extras card and she said our room was ready. It met our requests. 50’s with a tub. (Touring plans requests. Also called it in).


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## Betty Rohrer

bdiddy said:


> Thank you so much for the info! I've been reading over on the Disability board as well. I didn't even realize it was there!


just remember your son with the DAS will have to scan in first when returning to ride


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## marshallabney

jlundeen said:


> For those of you staying on property recently, did you use the Magic Express?  We arrive April 10, and while I have always had a good experience with DME, I dread the line at the airport due to less capacity on the bus.
> 
> So, we are considering using a private car service to get to the resort and back to the airport, especially since we have to transport our own luggage anyway...
> 
> Could anyone who recently used DME report on their experience, (such as wait time, capacity, multiple stops), please?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


Really wasn’t bad at all, line was super long, but all in, less than an hour from landing to resort.  Even if we were the last resort instead of the first on the drop off, would have been about an hour from getting in line at DME to resort drop off.  Better than usual.


----------



## scrappinginontario

DavidNYC said:


> Any reports on Blizzard Beach the last week?  Thinking of heading up Thursday/Friday for a non-park day but may hit BB since we have a bunch of left over pluses from old non-expiring tickets.  How have the crowds been there?


A friend was there last Friday and she said the crowds were great and there were only 2 slide rides they needed to wait for and even those waits were not very long.

If you're familiar with BB, to put it into perspective, she said they used the chair lift to the family slide multiple times and at the most there were 4-5 groups in front of them!

It was their first time at a Disney water park and they loved it!


----------



## mdgineok

wilkydelts said:


> To those who enter Animal Kingdom via Buena Vista Dr then Osceola Parkway, if you get to the toll booths to early how did they re-route you to loop you back around? I plan to arrive right at 7 but if I am early, I wanted to know what to expect.



They make you turn around at what is the left turn lane for AK if you were going East bound on Osceola Pkwy from the AKL area. If you are coming from AKL they don't allow you to turn left or wait in the turn lane.  Highlighted below:


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## wilkydelts

mdgineok said:


> They make you turn around at what is the left turn lane for AK if you were going East bound on Osceola Pkwy from the AKL area. If you are coming from AKL they don't allow you to turn left or wait in the turn lane.  Highlighted below:
> View attachment 564974



Thank you so much. Any chance you could explain how Disney would reroute me for Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom?


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## Naomeri

jlundeen said:


> For those of you staying on property recently, did you use the Magic Express?  We arrive April 10, and while I have always had a good experience with DME, I dread the line at the airport due to less capacity on the bus.
> 
> So, we are considering using a private car service to get to the resort and back to the airport, especially since we have to transport our own luggage anyway...
> 
> Could anyone who recently used DME report on their experience, (such as wait time, capacity, multiple stops), please?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


I arrived at 6:30pm on March 10th and practically walked right onto a bus to AoA/Pop/CBR.  They are distancing on the bus by alternating rows between parties, both front/back and side to side.  I had a similar experience in October 2020.


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## Jaina

We had our Orlando trip and have been back for like a week and a half, but we were exhausted and had to jump back in to busy life and 5 kids, so I forgot I never reported here! Our park days were March 6th-10th (Sat-Weds) and we did HS Saturday the 6th, and MK on Tuesday the 9th. We got all our tickets from UT and had a buy 2-get 2 ticket for Universal, so we hit Universal the last few hours of Saturday, the second half of Sunday (we were recovering from our 35k steps day on Saturday), Monday, and Wednesday.
We stayed at the Doubletree across the street from Universal. We used Lyft to get to and from the airport, and to Disney. (And, sometimes, to Universal, because we're old and sometimes it was wasted walking, haha!) The Disney Character Outlet by Universal is a-ma-zing. We had to wait like 1.5 hours Sunday morning for our turn to shop, but I spent over $200 because so much was so cheap. (and bought nothing in the parks, haha!) Like 1/3 of that was on Minnie ears and hats that were $4-6 instead of $30 a pop.
Saturday morning my alarm was set for 6:45 AM (that's 4:45 AZ time, haha) and my fingers were ready for the 7AM ROTR game of chance and skill. I've had plenty of practice, with four rides under my belt (3 DLR days, one HS ride in Oct) and we scored BG 2. My husband was pretty excited. He loves that one! We took a Lyft to the Swan and Dolphin. The walk from there was super easy, and I found it less stressful than getting dropped off at the Speedway like last time. (Just because I was turned around and didn't even know which way to jaywalk!) We got in the security line about 7:55 for a "9 AM" opening, and didn't feel like we were too far back in line. We were let through security starting at 8:14, and even with a pause to exchange our vouchers for plastic tickets before we went through the turnstiles, we were heading down toward the Hollywood Tower of Terror at 8:18 AM. That was my husband's favorite ride in California Adventure, and he has missed it since they rethemed it. I had been watching wait times, and it's been consistently at 45-75 minutes all day, so we decided it was our priority, in case he wanted to ride it twice. We did TOT, the RRC and Slinky Dog all within the first hour. Though crowds picked up significantly after that, it wasn't a bad day there, from other wait times I had been watching on weekends, probably because it was supposed to rain all afternoon, but luckily only rained for 5-10 minutes lightly, and drizzled on and off after that. We did ROTR, the cool Walt Disney movie, Mickey and Minnie's, TSMM, saw a few cavalcades, and hung out in the relaxation area before getting a same day reservation at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano about 2:30 PM (lunchtime for our biological clocks). We also just spent a lot of time just looking at all the theming and details, and checking everything out, since DH had never been there. After "lunch" we did Mickey and Minnie's again, and the Swirling Saucers ride, but then realized there wasn't anything else we wanted to do badly enough to wait in 20-45 min line for. We had gotten up really early, and we were tired! Millennium Falcon we can do anytime at DLR (once it opens again) and we had ridden everything else. So just before 5 PM we headed out to the rideshare area and took a Lyft back to our hotel! (That night about 7:30 we were feeling refreshed though, and we decided to run up to Universal for the last 2 hours of park time, since we had 4 days. We were so glad we did! Because of the rain threat, I'm guessing, it was the least crowded time we had there all week!)
We took a Lyft Tuesday morning about 7:45 for a 9 AM opening at the Magic Kingdom. Our drive from Universal to Disney was usually about 15-20 minutes. We were in a decent line (almost to the little underpass) by the rideshare drop off by 8:08 AM and didn't have to wait to go into parking. They started letting people through about 8:15. The buses weren't running, so we took the monorail over and were walking down Main Street by 8:31. I wasn't sure we wanted to wait in the line for 7DMT right away when we could hit a few other important (to my husband) things with little wait. But I didn't realize there would be less open on a weekday before official opening than there was on a Saturday the last time I went. But maybe that was my imagination. I felt like everything was pretty much open at HS. We went on Peter Pan twice (so fun to have walk and then nearly walk on when it's always mobbed first at DLR) and the Carousel in between. I loved carousels, but the wait for that one has been consistently high, and I'm not willing to wait more than 10 minutes. We didn't have to wait at all at like 8:40.  We had a really great day, and did those three rides, IASW, HM, and POTC by 10:30.  We were hungry and grabbed a snack at Pecos Bill's at 11 then DH and I split up for a while and I got lucky enough to walk onto Splash, which had just opened, followed by BTMR. Had some popcorn and a Grey Stuff cupcake, and checked out the a/c relaxation station. (Stromboli? The big circus tent) It was honestly kind of dreary and sad in there. I don't know why. We had a 2:00 reservation at the Skipper Canteen, then we did the Jungle Cruise, the Little Mermaid, and finally decided to wait in the 7DMT line. It would have only been about 15 minutes, but it broke down or something for about 15 minutes. (Are they still doing cleaning cycles?) My husband was underwhelmed with that one after such a wait! (And after riding Universal rides for the last 2 days...) We did the Carousel of Progress (so fun!) and then split up again and I walked onto the Teacups, Dumbo, and the Barnstormer, followed by a quick dinner in Tomorrowland and then Space Mountain. We met up again to walk onto The Little Mermaid again, then rode Winnie the Pooh. We had different closing priorities, so I got in line for 7DMT ones more time and he went to ride POTC one more time.
We don't worry a lot about others' mask compliance, but I tried to pay attention to report back. I thought it was pretty good. Like 98-99% from what I saw, and people who weren't wearing them properly were usually spoken to. We do worry about distancing, but mostly because my husband's anxiety already makes lines a bit much for him sometimes, and when he also had to wear a mask, (he also struggles with that, but has gotten much better at dealing with it the last few months) he definitely needed people to stay out of his personal space. That part wasn't so good. People are really bad at following the markers sometimes, and some think very linearly about 6 feet behind the people -just- in front of you, not side to side. Like they don't understand why there are complete rows with no markers that you're just supposed to walk through. That being said, it was a Tuesday, and it wasn't too bad crowd-wise. The lines were better than many days I had been watching on the app, and much better than Universal's. Universal -felt- more crowded, and I would say about the same level of mask compliance and people understanding/following distancing. But the Disney CM's were much more pleasant at correcting people and helping them follow guidelines than Universal. We had several experiences there where I felt kind of resentful and icky about it, and it was just a case of us not knowing there were slightly different guidelines, or needing direction. (We were also using Universal's policy that you can wear cotton gloves on each ride instead of the mandatory sanitizer, and we were doing that, mostly due to my husband's sensitive skin that breaks out with some sanitizers, and I wore them in solidarity, and because I had giant globs of sanitizer-that's-not-mine all day). Most team members understood, but a few made a stink until they talked to their lead. Universal's team members were across the board more "authoritarian" instead of "authoritative" and it gave us a bad taste in our mouth sometimes. But you guys, Hagrid's is the coolest ride I've ever been on, including all the Disney ones. We rode it at least 9 times over 2 full days and 2 half days in the Universal parks...
Sorry, that was super long. I'm not good at reporting when it's not a full trip report, apparently! If anyone has questions, let me know!


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## Castlequeen5

For our 3rd park day, we went to Magic Kingdom on Monday, Mar 22.  The hours were 8-9.  We are staying at Pop Century.

We didn’t have it in us to RD this particular morning, so we didn’t actually get to the buses until 8:30ish.  There was about a 10-15 minute wait and we made it on the 2nd bus, which was the double bus kind.  There was a cast member managing/entertaining the crowds telling jokes and asking questions while we waited.  This was our first time to ride the buses since Covid, and it seemed very organized.  Plus the buses were plentiful...at least to MK.

We got to MK a little before 9:00.  Again we had no ride strategy, so we were just deciding as we went.  We went to HM with a 10 minute listed wait.  But we just walked all the way through and got straight on the ride with no wait at all.  Then we headed to Splash Mountain.  It was listed as a 5 minute wait and it was.  We planned to go to BTMR next, but it was closed temporarily.  So we decided on PoC with a listed wait of 55 minutes.  We got in line at 10:10 and were on the ride by 10:55.  So we waited about 45 minutes.  While we were in line, part of our group placed a mobile order for lunch at Cosmic Rays.

BTMR was back up and we headed over, but the line looked super long and the wait time shot up to 60 minutes.  So we opted for snacks instead.  Some of our group got snacks at the snack carts in front of Pecos Bill.  There were plenty of options...churros, pretzels, ice cream, popcorn.  The lines were short.  I went with a couple of my daughters to get dole whips at Alohas.  There was no line at all.  Maybe it was too cold for ice cream, but I was surprised.  Because there’s usually always a line when I go.  Then we were able to sit at some outside tables at Pecos Bill and watch a couple of the cavalades go by.

The BTMR line dropped down to 40 minutes, so went back over there.  We got in line at 11:47 and got on the ride at 11:59.  So we actually only stood in line for 12 minutes.

Afterwards we split up, so the kids could go to Tommorowland.  They rode speedway with about a 30-35 minute wait.  Then they picked up their order at Cosmic Rays with no issues.  However, they did have trouble finding a table.  It took a few minutes, but they were able to get 2 tables for the group of 8.  Then they went to Space Mountain with a wait of approximately 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, my best friend and I went to CRT for lunch.  We walked around in Fantasyland until it was time.  Our reservations were for 1:00, but we checked in online at 12:40.  We were immediately notified our table was ready, so we were seated early.  This experience was definitely different than the last time we were there.  First, there was no photo with Cinderella at the entry.  Then, there were no princesses walking around interacting with the guests.  And they did not hand out the wands, swords, or wishing stars.  So modify your expectations if you’ve been before.  I was already prepared for this and my friend had never been, so she didn’t know the difference.  We didn’t bring any of the kids with us, so it didn’t matter anyway.  She has always wanted to eat in the castle and was thrilled to be there.  Cinderella came out for a few minutes every 30 minutes, so you still get to see her.




Cinderella just stays in a certain area and waves/dances from a distance.  It was a great experience for us 2 adults and the children around us seemed happy.  But I don’t think I would spend that kind of money, if the point is to interact with the characters or get autographs.  It’s perfectly fine, if you just want an elegant meal in the castle.

After our meal, our group met back up and went back to the hotel around 2:00.  This is what our group got done between 9-2:
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain
Pirates
BTMR
Speedway
Space Mountain

After our break, we got back on the bus for MK around 6:30.  We spent our evening in Fantasyland.  Our first stop was Winnie the Pooh.  It was listed as a 20 minute wait.  But it took us a little less than 15 minutes.  Then we went to Little Mermaid.  It was a walk-on.  Next we went over to Peter Pan.  It was listed as a 35 minute wait.  We waited less than 30 minutes.  Afterwards we went across the street to IASW.  The wait listed was 35 minutes.  We got in line at 8:07 and on the ride at 8:27.  So it was about a 20 minute wait.  The last ride for the night was SDMT.  The wait listed was 40 minutes.  We got in line at 8:47 and on the ride at 9:05.  The actual wait was 18 minutes.

So from 6:30 to 9:00 we rode:
WTP
Little Mermaid
Peter Pan
IASW
SDMT

We didn’t ride everything, but we did ride what we wanted.  We have another day at MK, so we will ride the attractions we didn’t get to.  No doubt if we had RD or stayed all day, we could have done more.  But our pacing worked well for us.

The crowds seemed a little light to me.  It was by no means empty, but I didn’t see all the normal congestion that is typical in certain areas of the park.  But I may have just gotten lucky and been in the right places at the right time.  It was cold and damp again, so the weather may have kept people away.

As far as mask compliance, it seemed pretty good.  And the social distancing was mostly fine as well.  However, I did have an issue in the Peter Pan queue.  We had a family with 3 young children right behind us.  The parents did not stay on the line behind us, and therefore neither did their kids.  By the end of the wait, it felt like I gained 3 more kids.  Their children bumped into me several times.  I’m a teacher and have 5 kids of my own, so I understand it can be hard to wrangle kids...especially in a line.  But it did make me uncomfortable, that they were ALL invading our space and didn’t seem to understand the “wait behind the line” concept.

Overall we had a great day at Magic Kingdom!


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## marcar12

We just got back! Like literally, 1 hour ago we arrived home  I don't have time or energy to give a full report right now (but I plan to do that later!) I just wanted to tell my story really quick of getting our Rise of the Resistance boarding group yesterday, March 23.

I wasn't planning to try at 7am because it was the last day of our trip, and I wanted to get good sleep. But my body woke up by itself at 6:55 so I grabbed my phone and got ready to try for it. I used the atomic clock app and started refreshing it at about 6:59:50. When "join" popped up I pushed it. But the groups were gone immediately. So crazy! So I planned to attempt again at 1:00 and I went back to sleep.

At about 12:20 we got in line for Star Tours. The posted wait was 35 minutes, and I assumed it would be less than that since everything else had inflated wait times our entire trip. But at 12:55 we were boarding the ride, haha. I put my phone in my lap and turned on the atomic clock app. I was literally in the middle of riding Star Tours when 12:59:50 rolled around, but there I was refreshing my phone trying for a RoR boarding group!!!! And guess what?! I got one! We got group 123. The rest of the day we were nervous that we wouldn't get called. But at 7:12pm  we got called, and it ended up being our last ride of the trip! What a way to go out with a bang! We loved it!!!!


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## Lsdolphin

Last trip was first week of Feb and I was disappointed when we did rope drop at MK and were able to enter park at 8:00 and went straight back to PP only to be told it was not opening until 9:00 am...has anyone been able to ride it earlier?


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## Leigh L

Lsdolphin said:


> Last trip was first week of Feb and I was disappointed when we did rope drop at MK and were able to enter park at 8:00 and went straight back to PP only to be told it was not opening until 9:00 am...has anyone been able to ride it earlier?


Back in November we RD Peter Pan (at the ride 8:15 with one party in front of us). We were told 8:30 and then let us on at 8:25


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## scrappinginontario

We are trying to compile a list of rides that may be open at Rope Drop.  We’ve gathered info about all parks except MK.  

Can those who have been in the MK during the approx 45 mins from when the gates normally open until the official opening time, please share any attractions that were open at that time?

We understand this list can change daily but wanted to compile a list that could be options for people to look for.

Thanks so much!


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## Ckrn320

scrappinginontario said:


> We are trying to compile a list of rides that may be open at Rope Drop.  We’ve gathered info about all parks except MK.
> 
> Can those who have been in the MK during the approx 45 mins from when the gates normally open until the official opening time, please share any attractions that were open at that time?
> 
> We understand this list can change daily but wanted to compile a list that could be options for people to look for.
> 
> Thanks so much!
> [/QUOTE
> 
> We RD MK on 3/20 (Saturday) and rode SDMT, PP, Thunder Mountain, POTC, all before the 8am open. I am not sure if TM or POTC was open right at 7:15 when they let us in, though. Splash was not running before 8am. After POTC we waited less than 5 min for JC and then headed to SM and waited 20 min and then Buzz and waited 10 min. At this point it was a little after 10am and the waits were growing and we were ready for a snack but were so happy we got so much done with minimal waits. We were ahead of the pack and third on line to tap in and rode in the second mine train of the day which I think was why it was so successful. Hope this helps!


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## kathi

Can someone who has been recently comment on taking stainless steel water bottles through security.  If you are clearly holding them, will you get pulled aside regardless?  (It's going to be super hot and we want to have cold water available and the stainless do the best job of staying cold - but if they are going to slow us down, I'll work on a plan B).   We fly down tomorrow morning!


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## lnR_Texas

kathi said:


> Can someone who has been recently comment on taking stainless steel water bottles through security.  If you are clearly holding them, will you get pulled aside regardless?  (It's going to be super hot and we want to have cold water available and the stainless do the best job of staying cold - but if they are going to slow us down, I'll work on a plan B).   We fly down tomorrow morning!


Last week I went through security everyday with a stainless steel water bottle in my hand and never got pulled aside.


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## Jaina

scrappinginontario said:


> We are trying to compile a list of rides that may be open at Rope Drop.  We’ve gathered info about all parks except MK.
> 
> Can those who have been in the MK during the approx 45 mins from when the gates normally open until the official opening time, please share any attractions that were open at that time?
> 
> We understand this list can change daily but wanted to compile a list that could be options for people to look for.
> 
> Thanks so much!


When we were there a couple weeks ago on a Tuesday morning I asked one of the cast members of the newish rides were open at about 830 and they said the only ones they knew of were seven dwarfs mine train and Peter Pan. But then the carousel was open five minutes later, so who knows?


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## Jessrobian

scrappinginontario said:


> We are trying to compile a list of rides that may be open at Rope Drop.  We’ve gathered info about all parks except MK.
> 
> Can those who have been in the MK during the approx 45 mins from when the gates normally open until the official opening time, please share any attractions that were open at that time?
> 
> We understand this list can change daily but wanted to compile a list that could be options for people to look for.
> 
> Thanks so much!


We were there on March 9th and were able to ride the following before official RD:
Peter Pan @8:20a
Dumbo @8:30a (first riders)
Spinning Saucers @8:40a
Winnie the Pooh @8:45a (first riders)
Carousel @8:50a
Small World @9:00a

After Peter Pan we tried all of the rides below it with no luck before moving on to Dumbo. Even then, the castmembers weren't positive they were open but seemed to make a call in the moment we asked.


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## PirateSnowmen

scrappinginontario said:


> We are trying to compile a list of rides that may be open at Rope Drop.  We’ve gathered info about all parks except MK.
> 
> Can those who have been in the MK during the approx 45 mins from when the gates normally open until the official opening time, please share any attractions that were open at that time?
> 
> We understand this list can change daily but wanted to compile a list that could be options for people to look for.
> 
> Thanks so much!



I just went to MK this past Sunday (3/21). Before official park opening we were able to ride BTMRR (twice) and PotC. BTMRR opened right as we were walking up to it (around 7:35am; park opening was 8am). Splash was still closed when we walked from BTMRR to PotC, but was open after we got off PotC (which was technically right after official park opening). It was also cloudy & chilly (temps in the 50's), so that may have something to do with it as well.


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## shelbel95

marshallabney said:


> Skyliner was packed, the line was quite a ways down the walking path, so we walked to Epcot.


Thank you for this.... I didn't realize you could walk between the 2 parks! We are a family of walkers who, in general, would rather hoof it by foot than stand around and wait for transportation. I've definitely added this to my notes for our upcoming trip


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## VeronicaZS

shelbel95 said:


> Thank you for this.... I didn't realize you could walk between the 2 parks! We are a family of walkers who, in general, would rather hoof it by foot than stand around and wait for transportation. I've definitely added this to my notes for our upcoming trip


Google walking path to HS, you'll find directions and YouTube videos of the route. Make sure you take note of the shortcut by Wyland gallery at the Boardwalk past the pool. Happy trails!


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## marcar12

We got back last night from a fabulous vacation! We were there for 6 nights and had 5 park days. Here are my thoughts...

Animal Kingdom:
-Flight of Passage is AMAZING (it was our first time ever riding it, and it is a new FAVORITE.) Do not miss it!!!
-Rainforest Cafe is very underrated. We had dinner there and loved it. And the service was fantastic.
-The Up! Bird show is great!

Magic Kingdom:
-The cavalcades are so much fun. We got Dole Whips and sat down to watch characters go by while we ate. This was a highlight of the day! The Princess cavalcade is especially awesome.
-We had lunch at The Plaza. Our group of 6 had two separate reservations since they wouldn't allow me to make a reservation for larger than 4. But when we arrived to check in they easily sat us all together. And we had a great view of the castle and the cavalcades from our table!
-One day we were walking out of the park at 9:20pm and wanted a picture with the castle, but we couldn't find a memory maker photographer anywhere. We were bummed! So we made sure to get that picture taken the next day before closing time.
-Loved riding 7 Dwarfs Mine Train at night!
-We enjoyed our dinner at Tony's.... the food was meh (but fine). Our waiter was awesome, and our view of the Train Station was great since we could see the characters when they were up there.

Epcot:
-Loved walking through the aquarium! We didn't know it would be so awesome!
-Garden Grill was a very fun character meal. We saw the characters probably 8 times each. And the food was yummy too!

Hollywood Studios:
-The day we were there was quite busy, but we still got lots done! We hit Rock-n-Rollercoaster first, then Star Tours, then lunch, then Runaway Railway, then Toy Story Land, and then Galaxy's Edge. By the time we got to Toy Story Land (around 4:00), lines were very manageable. 
-Lunch at Mama Melrose was delicious! It was one of our favorite meals.
-I posted above about my experience getting a boarding group for RoR (while I was riding Star Tours at 1pm). haha! I am so glad it worked out and that we got to ride! It was awesome!!!
-After getting called for our RoR boarding group, we waited in line for probably 35 minutes. Then once we got to the front, the experience/ride took about 25 minutes. I had no idea what to expect with the length of that, so I thought I would share!


General:
-Ride times are exaggerated, unless you are in line when a cleaning cycle happens. Then they are pretty accurate.
-Check the weather before you go! We had some chilly days while we were there and were very glad we were prepared with jackets and jeans!
-Mobile ordering is awesome. If you order and then miss your pick-up window then the app let's you pick a new pick-up time. No big deal. (This happened to us when we got in line for Pirates thinking that the wait time would be inflated, but it ended up being accurate and we were late to pick up our food.)
-We didn't rope-drop. It's just not something we are interested in, especially coming from Colorado time zone and having young kids. So we got to the parks around 11:00 each day, and stayed until close. The last 2 hours of the day were wonderful with short lines and the beauty of Disney in the dark!
-We loved that the kids' meals at each of our ADRs offered 2 sides, some of which were desserts. Our kids always chose to get the main meal item, plus 1 healthy side, plus the dessert. And the desserts were so much fun!!! They all had a fun Disneyesque theme to them and they made the meals worth the price 
-We had 1 ADR on some days and 2 ADRs on other days. I think I preferred the days with 1 ADR. Less rushed and more time for the park! But having 1 ADR seemed critical for being able to sit, relax, and be served once a day. Such a nice break!
-Having a "break" day is important! We did 3 full park days, and then did a half-day with swimming in the morning, then arrived to Epcot at 4:00, did a couple rides, had our ADR, did a few more rides, and called it a night! It was really good to have some extra downtime that day, and then we were ready to hit our last day with gusto!


Coming home was hard, but I have to say.... I just feel SO GRATEFUL that we got to take this trip. The whole time I was planning it, I felt like there was a chance it might not happen. Either there would be another shut-down, or travel restrictions, or one of us would get sick, or our flights would get messed up.... etc etc etc. I was so nervous! But in the end we got to go, and now we have these amazing memories to cherish forever. I am so thankful, after this crazy year of cancellations and disappointments, that we finally got to do something so special as a family. Masks or no masks, it was 100% worth it!!!


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## bizeemom4

A very unsafe moment last night at Epcot

Epcot bus going to the park from Movies - waited over 45 minutes. NO buses. People in line called (someone, not sure who) and finally after 3 calls, we got a Disney bus sent specifically because of the calls.

The park bus leaving was a charter bus that came after a 20 minute wait (at around 10:40). The line was very long. The driver loaded every row, every seat. No air conditioner, fan, air flow of any kind. We rode all the way back to Movies in a HOT, crowded bus with people who I could see in the bus window reflections not wearing masks (PO'd that they would do it but understand because it was really warm). I was furious and honestly a bit scared that we have all now potentially been exposed to Covid. We wore our masks the whole ride and we held them so that they would be sealed as tight as possible.

I should have grabbed the ID of the bus but I didn't. I just wanted to get OFF THAT bus. We spoke to a manager in the bus area this morning before heading off to MK. He apologized, saying that the charters are hired but they are required to comply with Disney safety protocol and obviously didn't.

I should have gotten off the bus when I recognized it was unsafe. I even said to my husband "This is how people get sick." before we pulled away and before we knew there would be absolutely no airflow. I hesitated because of the really crappy bus service we had getting there (and a few other days already this week coming home from Epcot). And then it was too late because we were on our way. Sorry this is so long. I'm obviously still worked up about it.


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## marshallabney

shelbel95 said:


> Thank you for this.... I didn't realize you could walk between the 2 parks! We are a family of walkers who, in general, would rather hoof it by foot than stand around and wait for transportation. I've definitely added this to my notes for our upcoming trip


Absolutely!  Robo has the maps in a sticky, but you basically cut through boardwalk’s pool, hang a right, and you’ll land at IG.  It’s probably 20 minutes at a leisurely pace.


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## horse11

PirateSnowmen said:


> I just went to MK this past Sunday (3/21). Before official park opening we were able to ride BTMRR (twice) and PotC. BTMRR opened right as we were walking up to it (around 7:35am; park opening was 8am). Splash was still closed when we walked from BTMRR to PotC, but was open after we got off PotC (which was technically right after official park opening). It was also cloudy & chilly (temps in the 50's), so that may have something to do with it as well.


how did  you get in the park early? Do they let people whom are staying on Property in a half hour earlier? If so does Disney Transportation get you to the parks in time to get in 30 minutes before?


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## marshallabney

3/25 - after taking Wednesday off for pool time, work, and Cali Grill dinner, we were up early yesterday to RD at MK.  Unfortunately, we walked out of BW at 6:50 and watched the bus pull away.  We were a bit late and I knew it, but had hoped maybe we would catch it.  We caught the next bus at 7:05 and were in line at 7DMT at 7:30 on the nose.  We got in line at Ariel, but could tell they hadn’t let anyone in the queue yet.  The ride was running empty until 7:45, at that time the line started moving constantly and we were off at 8:02.  Something must have been up with the ride.  After we walked on to PP, Pooh, Buzz, and DD9 and I waited 10 mins for Space.  We were hungry and grabbed an ADR for 10:25 at The Wave in Contemporary.  Pretty good breakfast and the bottomless mimosas, win.  Both girls picked a last ride at MK, took the monorail back and we rode BTMRR and Dumbo, both waiting about 20 mins.  Rested in the room until 4 (it was really starting to get hot yesterday), then made our way over to Epcot to eat around the world and clean up a few rides.  The 3 booths in World Showplace are all worth checking out.  I really liked the avacado toast at sunshine griddle as well.  DD9 thought the cinnamon roll bites and fruit loops shake were awesome as well.  We walked onto MS green, Nemo, and spaceship earth in the middle of our food coma, waited about 15 mins for soarin’ and walked onto living with the land.  Honey Beestro was a bit overrated for us on the 2 savory dishes, but the cheesecake and honey ale were solid.  Crashed in the room about 10:30.  Caught the first bus for AK this morning at 6:50, so hoping for a productive morning and getting out before the heat hits.


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## MinnieMSue

Not a good early entry day for us at MK. Went to 7D which had a line to the circus area (not let anyone into the actual queue yet). Then we saw a maintenance CM on the track so we left and around 7:30 they opened PP line so it was walkon. Over to HM and not open. Over to Splash - not open until 8 and they didn’t allow people to form a line. Splash was running boats but no water on drop. Thunder not allowing people into the queue but allowed a line so we are in that now at 7:45. I would say we had an early entry fail although we did get PP out of the way at least.
Some time later: we ended up being first to board out train a couple minutes til 8. Splash still closed when we got off thunder. We then walked on pirates and are in what is supposed to be a 20 min wait for jungle cruise


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## Jonfw2

We are just leaving Beach Club after our first stay during the Covid era. Some thoughts:

- I would definitely wait for the next trip until the masking requirements are gone and more of the magic is back. I personally don’t find the trade off worthwhile. Don’t get me wrong- we had a good time. But it really is annoying.

- the Covid changes are generally good and well enforced and we never felt like we were in a high risk situation. But having said that, my wife and I are both vaxxed.


- sadly, and the worst note I can give: it’s very clear that many of the cutbacks currently are not to make guests/cast members more safe but rather just to save money. Mouse keeping can’t change bedding? Resort shipping services are closed? Even fireworks and evening shows would be very workable- they have giant dots on the ground everywhere you’re allowed to stand anyway- zero reason you couldn’t use them for shows.  Frozen and Muppets can be run indoors but Fantasmic and Indy can’t happen outside???

- Disney transport including the Magical Express is noticeably cut back. Wait times were far longer than usual- Magical Express left the property at 9:40 today on a scheduled 9:05 departure; and we just gave up on the park busses and took Lyft.

So...just my thoughts I guess. The Magic will be back but I don’t think it is quite yet.


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## mdgineok

wilkydelts said:


> Thank you so much. Any chance you could explain how Disney would reroute me for Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom?



Sorry, we didn't drive to MK but at HS they had us go left where the people leaving the lot normally can turn left to re-enter:


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## KerryCM

In the Magic kingdom today and having a great day. We are on aVIP Tour, thanks to my generous son. I am sitting with my husband while they do Mine Train, not a  fan of it. Our guide Sam, is outstanding. We our off to Tomorrow Land next then to Animal Kingdom. Beautiful weather and low crowds.


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## wilkydelts

mdgineok said:


> Sorry, we didn't drive to MK but at HS they had us go left where the people leaving the lot normally can turn left to re-enter:
> View attachment 565306



So where did you end up? Did you just get U-turned right back out the same direction you entered from, or detoured through the parking lot and way back around?


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## wilkydelts

Has any one in the last 2 or 3 weeks had luck getting in line at the toll booths before 1 hour before official opening?

Has any one in the last 2 or 3 weeks been rerouted trying get in line at the toll booths at 1 hour before official opening?


----------



## mdgineok

mdgineok said:


> Sorry, we didn't drive to MK but at HS they had us go left where the people leaving the lot normally can turn left to re-enter:
> View attachment 565306


We were routed out the exit road all the way to Victory Way/Osceloa Parkway interchange.   Had to re-route using GPS to get back as we ended up West bound on Osceloa Pkwy and had to go through the cloverleafs at World Drive to head back.  I'm sure there is a quicker way but I couldn't visualize it after they turned us around.


----------



## wilkydelts

mdgineok said:


> We were routed out the exit road all the way to Victory Way/Osceloa Parkway interchange.   Had to re-route using GPS to get back as we ended up West bound on Osceloa Pkwy and had to go through the cloverleafs at World Drive to head back.  I'm sure there is a quicker way but I couldn't visualize it after they turned us around.



Thank you so much for the response. That is the route I was just mentally tracking in order to get back out and around. I do think that is the fastest way.


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## PirateSnowmen

horse11 said:


> how did  you get in the park early? Do they let people whom are staying on Property in a half hour earlier? If so does Disney Transportation get you to the parks in time to get in 30 minutes before?



As of right now they're letting everyone in early. We only stayed on property for half of our trip, and our MK day we didn't. Yes, Disney Transportation will get you there that early.

For instance, this trip we entered MK at 7:20 for an 8am opening (we took an uber, but Disney Transportation was running). For Hollywood Studios we entered the park at 8:10ish for a 9am opening (we took the Skyliner). And for Epcot we took the Skyliner and entered the park at 10:45 for an 11am opening (we weren't trying to get there early, so not sure how early they were letting people in).


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## teach22180

scrappinginontario said:


> We are trying to compile a list of rides that may be open at Rope Drop.  We’ve gathered info about all parks except MK.
> 
> Can those who have been in the MK during the approx 45 mins from when the gates normally open until the official opening time, please share any attractions that were open at that time?
> 
> We understand this list can change daily but wanted to compile a list that could be options for people to look for.
> 
> Thanks so much!


I rode Jungle Cruise (opened at 30 min prior), BTMRR, Pirates and the Aladdin's Carpets first thing. I think Pirates opened right at 9, so that's why I came back there.


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## loves to dive

marshallabney said:


> Absolutely!  Robo has the maps in a sticky, but you basically cut through boardwalk’s pool, hang a right, and you’ll land at IG.  It’s probably 20 minutes at a leisurely pace.


And Fiasco of the Dis did a video of walking it, he did not take the shortcut.


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## flippinyourfins

bizeemom4 said:


> A very unsafe moment last night at Epcot
> 
> Epcot bus going to the park from Movies - waited over 45 minutes. NO buses. People in line called (someone, not sure who) and finally after 3 calls, we got a Disney bus sent specifically because of the calls.
> 
> The park bus leaving was a charter bus that came after a 20 minute wait (at around 10:40). The line was very long. The driver loaded every row, every seat. No air conditioner, fan, air flow of any kind. We rode all the way back to Movies in a HOT, crowded bus with people who I could see in the bus window reflections not wearing masks (PO'd that they would do it but understand because it was really warm). I was furious and honestly a bit scared that we have all now potentially been exposed to Covid. We wore our masks the whole ride and we held them so that they would be sealed as tight as possible.
> 
> I should have grabbed the ID of the bus but I didn't. I just wanted to get OFF THAT bus. We spoke to a manager in the bus area this morning before heading off to MK. He apologized, saying that the charters are hired but they are required to comply with Disney safety protocol and obviously didn't.
> 
> I should have gotten off the bus when I recognized it was unsafe. I even said to my husband "This is how people get sick." before we pulled away and before we knew there would be absolutely no airflow. I hesitated because of the really crappy bus service we had getting there (and a few other days already this week coming home from Epcot). And then it was too late because we were on our way. Sorry this is so long. I'm obviously still worked up about it.




We had this exact experience a few weeks ago going from DS to Yacht Club. Waited almost an hour for a bus at 1ish and the driver had no windows open, no AC on. I PASSED OUT and after my family/other families noticed all started shouting for the bus driver to turn AC on and his reply was "oh it's on I feel it". Dude had his upfront AC on only. I complained at the front desk and was given a "When I started out a a cast member, we used to have a sanitation company run our transportation and there was never any AC" story, which was super out of place and not what I expected out of Disney.


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## Jonfw2

flippinyourfins said:


> We had this exact experience a few weeks ago going from DS to Yacht Club. Waited almost an hour for a bus at 1ish and the driver had no windows open, no AC on. I PASSED OUT and after my family/other families noticed all started shouting for the bus driver to turn AC on and his reply was "oh it's on I feel it". Dude had his upfront AC on only. I complained at the front desk and was given a "When I started out a a cast member, we used to have a sanitation company run our transportation and there was never any AC" story, which was super out of place and not what I expected out of Disney.


Last night when I asked about shipping, the suggested I go to a local UPS store.


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## flippinyourfins

Jonfw2 said:


> Last night when I asked about shipping, the suggested I go to a local UPS store.



That's just wild to me. I get the times we're in, being overworked(AREN'T WE ALL AT THIS POINT!?) but that's a response I'd expect from a Holiday Inn or Motel 6 sort of front desk, not Disney.


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## Jonfw2

flippinyourfins said:


> That's just wild to me. I get the times we're in, being overworked(AREN'T WE ALL AT THIS POINT!?) but that's a response I'd expect from a Holiday Inn or Motel 6 sort of front desk, not Disney.


BINGO! They also said I could go to the Coronado- why not label it and send it over there themselves instead of sending a guest on an adventure on the last night of his vacation?


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## #1hoosierfan

Can anyone confirm if Space Mountain is running before park opening?


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## Castlequeen5

Our 4th park day was at Epcot on Tuesday, March 23.  The park hours were from 11-11.

We took the Skyliner from Pop.  We got there around 12.  There was no wait there.  But once we got to CBR to transfer to the Epcot line, it was about a 20 minute wait.  There was no line to get into the park, once we arrived at Epcot.  

We headed all the way to the front of the park to go to Spaceship Earth. It was listed as a 30 minute wait.  The wait may have been a little less, but it was fairly accurate.  Next we went to Test Track with a wait time listed at 60 minutes.  We got in line at 1:50 and got on the ride at 2:15.  So the actual wait time was only 25 minutes.

Then we had ADRs at Biergarten.  We had 2 separate reservations 5 minutes apart.  We’ve asked to be seated as close as possible.  They were able to seat us next to each other and 20 minutes early too!  The food was brought to us, instead of a buffet.  They still had the folk singers and the instruments.  It was a great experience and our first-time friends LOVED it.  However my family liked it better pre-Covid, since there were way more options at the buffet.  

This was also when I noticed that they had a mismatch of staff.  Our waitress was actually from O’hana.  She was from Ecuador...not from Germany.  But since it is closed, they sent her to Biergarten.  She’s said a lot of employees were sent to other restaurants.  I did see some waiters in the German outfits, but there were lots that were not.  Our waitress was great and she did a nice job.  But if you’re wanting more of an “authentic” experience, you may want to wait until things are a little back to normal.

After lunch, we went back to future world.  We rode Finding Nemo and it was a walk-on.  Some of the experiences in that building were closed, but you could still see the aquarium.

At this point everyone wanted to do their own thing.  So my group headed back to World Showcase.  We went to Grand Fiesta tour in Mexico.  The wait was listed as 5 minutes.  But there was a line to get inside the building.  So it actually took us about 15 minutes to get on the ride.  

Then we went to Frozen with a wait time listed as 40 minutes.  That wait was spot on.  Also there’s a spot in front of Anna and Elsa’s meet and greet, where the characters take turns coming out to talk and pose for pictures.  You don’t actually get next to them, but there’s a spot designated to get a picture with the character behind you.

By this point it was 7, and my group was done.  We got a couple of snacks and sat at a table in America.  Once we finished, we went back to the Skyliner around 7:45.  There was a line and it took about 25 minutes to get on.

This felt like the busiest park we visited so far, especially in World Showcase.  There were lots of people all over the place.  It was also the first sunny day of our trip.  The weather was much nicer.  So that may have made a difference.  Regardless of crowds, the wait times weren’t bad at all...at least for the rides we rode.

As far as Covid issues, I noticed it was hard for some to follow social distancing at the aquarium.  It wasn’t a big deal to us, but it might be for some.  Also, we were in the back of the boat on the Frozen ride.  I thought the plexiglass obscured the view a bit.  That’s the only ride in all 4 parks, where the plexiglass bothered me.

Epcot is my least favorite park, so I didn’t care to RD or ride all the rides.  There’s lots of construction going on in future world, therefore we had to follow the detour signs to get where we were going.  We mainly wanted to go to the Flower and Garden festival for the snacks.  And we had no trouble with lines or getting the snacks we wanted.  We did get some of the gift card bracelets which made it convenient for the kids to keep up with their own cards.  There were plenty available.



Overall it was a good day.  It was a perfect day to sleep in or lounge around the resort, if you don’t feel the need to do everything at Epcot.  For our group, it was also perfect us to go back to the resort early and chill.


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## TISHLOVESDISNEY

#1hoosierfan said:


> Can anyone confirm if Space Mountain is running before park opening?


Rode it 2x with no wait March 17th before 8am opening. Opened about 7:30 I am guessing. We waited only a few minutes in a short line after going straight to it at open.


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## MinnieMSue

Saw one small world boat with plastic between each seat today


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## Castlequeen5

We spent our 5th park day at Hollywood Studios on Wednesday, March 24.  The hours were 9-8.  We were staying at Pop.

This was our 2nd day at HS and we didn’t really care about RD this time.  We did try for a boarding group at 7:00 and got #4.  So we knew we would need to be there close to park opening.

We got to the Skyliner a little after 8:00.  There was no line at the Pop station.  But once we got to the CBR station there was a long line to transfer to Hollywood.  It took us about 20 minutes.

There was no line for temperature check or security. We were inside the park by 8:40 and headed to RnR.  We were on the ride at 8:48.

We didn’t really want to get in a long line, so we went to Alien Saucers with a 5 minute wait.  Our boarding group was called, so went over to ROTR to wait for the rest of our group.  We saw Chewy and Rey again on our walk through Galaxy’s Edge.

We were off the ride by 10:00.  Then we went to TOT with a listed wait of 70 minutes.  But it took almost 2 hours.  One of the elevators went down.  Then we got on MMRR with a 45 wait listed.  This was pretty accurate.

For lunch, we had ADRs for Sci Fi for 2 groups.  They were 5 minutes apart.   We checked online 20 minutes early and asked if we could be seated close by.  They were able to seat us in 2 cars side by side.  So it worked out perfectly!

After lunch, we went back to the hotel.  So from 8:40-3:00 we rode:
RnR
Alien Saucers
ROTR
TOT
MMRR

It was a bright and sunny day.  The crowds seemed similar to our first day at HS...maybe a tad bit more busy.  But completely manageable.  It was definitely hotter especially in the MMRR line.  Most of the line is in the direct sun.

We had no issues with masks or personal space.  I did witness a CM tell 2 teens to pull up their masks, as they were sitting off to the side.  They were stationary, but were not eating or drinking.  And we did have a very minor incident at a snack stand.  My daughter was getting a drink early that morning. She went through the exit instead of the entrance, not realizing it.  The cashier sorta got onto her, telling her next time to use the entrance.  It was a simple mistake and she was the ONLY person in line.  So we kind of found it amusing, especially since it’s been a constant problem to find the entrances all week long.



Since this was our 2nd day, we weren’t trying to ride or do everything.  We took a much slower approach.  Once we got back to the hotel, nobody wanted to return for the evening.  Everyone just wanted to hang out or swim.  But it was a good day, nonetheless.


----------



## Jackie H.

Daughter & I had a girls trip 3/21 & 3/24. It was busier than when Hubby & I went in January, but those days were not sold out and these were. For both trips most people were very good at wearing their masks. Of course there are people who are going to try to sneak their nose out, but the vast majority are observant of those rules. What does seem to have changed since January however, is the following the rules on the physical distancing. In January people were more observant of the "Please Stop Here" lines while standing in lines. This time most people completely ignored those.

Sunday 3/21 we got to Contemporary at 9:20 am, left our bags with Bell Services and headed over to Epcot. The Flower & Garden festival was wonderful! We enjoyed everything about it. The crowds were not bad at any location. We did everything we wanted to do, but we did not want to do Test Track or Frozen so I can't tell you what their wait times were like. We loved the B&B Sing Along. It did my heart good! The festival food was wonderful, as were the topiaries and flowers. We had a great time on the scavenger hunt! It was overcast and rather cold however. Our room was ready before lunch, but we didn't go back until after dark. Bell Services brought our bags up promptly. A really great first day.

Monday 3/22: We had poor cell service in our room and did not get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance. Got to DHS by 8:15 and headed to Tower but it was not running. Did RnR, MMRR, MF by 9:30. Got to be the pilots! It was a rainy and cool day. By now the other high wait rides had long waits. We did a little shopping, got something to eat and watched Vacation fun, and sat and watched calvacades until time to try for a boarding group - which we were successful at getting! Then we left the park, rode the Skyliner just for fun and went back to the room to rest and dry out. Came back tonight rode RoR, Toy Story Mania, and Slinky Dog right at closing. Great day!

Tuesday 3/23: Walked over to MK at rope drop (7:15). Walked on Peter Pan, then to BTMRR which was not running (neither was Splash). By 8:30 we had ridden both BTMRR and Splash.  Waited about 25 minutes for Haunted Mansion. Don't let the looks of this line fool you. It looks really long. But it moves really fast. Then over to Little Mermaid and then Carousel of Progress.  We watched a few calvacades and by now the crowds and lines were really long. We left and had lunch at Old Key West. The Southern Most Chicken is wonderful! Back to the room for a little while - today is rather hot. By 5 back at MK. Waited about 35mins for JC. Then to Pirates - this was our longest wait the entire trip. A full 45mins - and it was a miserable, hot 45 mins. That line does not allow for air flow the way they have it set up. Space Mountain was down to 20 mins! We hoofed it over (so did everyone else) and waited about 25 mins, then the park was closing. Good day!

Wednesday 3/24: We thought this would be our AK day, but ended up with a DHS park pass. So we got up and got another RoR boarding group. Again went to ToT and it was not running. However, since that was the only 'must do' we had not done in this park, we just waited it out. While ToT did not open as early as RnR, it was open long before the park opened. We were finished riding it 20 minutes before park opening. Then we rode MMRR and TSM again. By then it was time for our RoR group.  We went back to the resort, rested and waited until we could hop to AK, which we did at 2 (left Contemporary at 2). The wait on FOP was 90+ mins for most of our trip. Our plan was to wait it out until near the end of the day. We walked some trails, walked on Everest, greatly enjoyed the animation experience, walked on the safari around 5:30, had a 5 min wait at nomad lounge. Then with 40 minutes left until park closing we got in line. The stated time was 60 minutes but we were on the ride in 20 minutes. 

We did everything we listed as a 'must do' on this trip - including all the snacks. My biggest suggestion is get to the parks at rope drop, have an attack plan for the high wait rides, avoid them during the middle of the day, then they will be available again at the end of the day. Hope this helps!


----------



## jo-jo

Anyone have any updates on Webway?


----------



## lovethattink

MinnieMSue said:


> Saw one small world boat with plastic between each seat today View attachment 565370View attachment 565370



That’s how Frozen Ever After boats are. I had trouble getting into the boat because there was nothing sturdy to hold on to. The plexiglass wiggled.


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## MinnieMSue

lovethattink said:


> That’s how Frozen Ever After boats are. I had trouble getting into the boat because there was nothing sturdy to hold on to. The plexiglass wiggled.
> View attachment 565413



I had the exact same problem. I have a numb leg and am somewhat unstable. All the rides with the plexiglass type stuff there made it hard for me


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## kathi

Friday, March 26th  Epcot and Magic Kingdom

We flew in this morning from Philly.  Rental car directly to Epcot and arrived around noon.  It was HOT and more crowded than I was expecting.  We were hungry so hit up a few outdoor kitchens.  Lines were not too bad, not hard to find a table to eat.  Shade was at a premium.   Line to get in to Mexico was about 10 minutes and another 5 to get onto the ride.  Went all the way around World Showcase eating/drinking and just enjoying being back in Disney (last trip was Christmas 2019).  Our Bay Lake Tower studio was ready around 3:30, so we headed back toward the front, rode Spaceship Earth and found our Leave a Legacy photo.

After showering and resting a bit, we walked over to MK for dinner at Tony's.  Then we blitzed rides in MK.  It was not that crowded and in 2 hour we were able to ride:  Haunted Mansion (walk on), Peter Pan (15 min), Barnstormer (walk on), Space Mountain (15 min), Big Thunder (15 min) and then Mine Train TWICE (5 then 10 min).

Mask compliance was overall very good.  Social distancing was a crap shoot.  We are all vaccinated, but I'm not sure I would have stood in some of these lines if I were not.  You can definitely stay away from people  at the crowd level today, but you might have to sacrifice some rides.

We are EXHAUSTED - but now are not so worried about making rope drop at MK tomorrow morning since we got most of the E-ticket rides done.  We will ride Buzz a few times tomorrow, Pooh, Tiki Room maybe Pirates if its not too long then eat at Skipper Canteen and go check into Boardwalk.


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## kathi

jo-jo said:


> Anyone have any updates on Webway?


We were in MK tonight - not running.


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## jhalpin

Here now - our last day is tomorrow. I found this thread helpful when planning so I wanted to add a few things:

We had a blast! The lines were great - all moved much faster than posted waits. The waits aren’t bad because you at least keep moving. We were able to get RotR both days (11 and 36). What a great ride! We loved MMRR too. We rode everything we wanted and ate way more than we should have. I loved the mobile order and table situation. It was so easy to find seating everywhere. I also loved no bag check, finger print.

the crowds aren’t bad. I would say similar to our previous trip in May. It doesn’t feel like capacity is limited but obviously it is.

we were able to park hop every day despite sold out crowds.

the bus situation is not bad, but we did have to wait for a third bus one night. We ended up driving to the parks on the last night which we had never done before.

epcot is not staffed with employees from those countries.Future world is a construction mess. Food and wine booths were great!

I didn’t take many pics because of the masks. I got a few, but not nearly as many as previous trips.

character meals are very weird. We did Hollywood and vine. The characters would stand 6 feet behind you and for a picture. It was so sad to see the little ones try to run up and hug them, only to be stopped by thcharacter’s handler. One little girl cried.

I don’t think we will be back until they lift some of the covid restrictions. It has been so hot and the masks are so annoying in the heat. Mid day breaks have been a must for us. I miss the fireworks and parade. The little cavalcades are cute, but not the same. I also didn’t take into account just how out of travel mode we are. It’s our first trip since feb 2020 and we all were extra tired this trip from all the walking.


----------



## lovethattink

jhalpin said:


> Here now - our last day is tomorrow. I found this thread helpful when planning so I wanted to add a few things:
> 
> We had a blast! The lines were great - all moved much faster than posted waits. The waits aren’t bad because you at least keep moving. We were able to get RotR both days (11 and 36). What a great ride! We loved MMRR too. We rode everything we wanted and ate way more than we should have. I loved the mobile order and table situation. It was so easy to find seating everywhere. I also loved no bag check, finger print.
> 
> the crowds aren’t bad. I would say similar to our previous trip in May. It doesn’t feel like capacity is limited but obviously it is.
> 
> we were able to park hop every day despite sold out crowds.
> 
> the bus situation is not bad, but we did have to wait for a third bus one night. We ended up driving to the parks on the last night which we had never done before.
> 
> epcot is not staffed with employees from those countries.Future world is a construction mess. Food and wine booths were great!
> 
> I didn’t take many pics because of the masks. I got a few, but not nearly as many as previous trips.
> 
> character meals are very weird. We did Hollywood and vine. The characters would stand 6 feet behind you and for a picture. It was so sad to see the little ones try to run up and hug them, only to be stopped by thcharacter’s handler. One little girl cried.
> 
> I don’t think we will be back until they lift some of the covid restrictions. It has been so hot and the masks are so annoying in the heat. Mid day breaks have been a must for us. I miss the fireworks and parade. The little cavalcades are cute, but not the same. I also didn’t take into account just how out of travel mode we are. It’s our first trip since feb 2020 and we all were extra tired this trip from all the walking.



The walking is definitely more due to the snaking of all the queues. We just go for a few hours at a time and we’ve been averaging about 5 miles in that short time.


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## jhalpin

lovethattink said:


> The walking is definitely more due to the snaking of all the queues. We just go for a few hours at a time and we’ve been averaging about 5 miles in that short time.


 
Yes! We hit 20,000 steps 3/4 days so far! Close to 10 miles a day


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## Wood Nymph

scrappinginontario said:


> Can those who have been in the MK during the approx 45 mins from when the gates normally open until the official opening time, please share any attractions that were open at that time?


 Winnie the Pooh did not open early on the morning we were there the first week of March.



kathi said:


> Can someone who has been recently comment on taking stainless steel water bottles through security.


I have been to WDW on four separate trips. I have had a stainless steel water bottle in my backpack for all the parks and never got stopped at bag check. I walked right through the scanner every time.  I never had to take the bottle out of the bag for the scanner.


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## TestingH2O

A few quick thoughts on our 3/17-3/24 trip. It was my first trip in 20+ years and my daughter’s first trip ever. 

Reading this thread was very helpful for figuring out a top drop strategy. I am so grateful it is still going!

Several people talk about how unmanageable the crowds are or the unrealistic waits. I disagree. We waited more than 30 minutes only one time, and that was because we caught a cleaning cycle. After all the reports I read about 2-3 hour standby lines pre-COVID, we couldn’t have been happier with our experience. We rode every ride we wanted to ride, took afternoon breaks, and rode several rides more than once.

Around 11:00 every day, you could really see the crowds tick up. The afternoon breaks really helped with this and we almost always avoided the busiest time of the day. The only exception was our day at HS and our BG meant we needed to stay in the park through that time. Still not bad though.

We didn’t have any issues with buses to and from AKL. First bus was consistently 75 minutes before park opening. (I mean consistent MK @ 6:43, AK @ 6:53, HS @ 7:47. We did Topolino’s for Epcot day and took Skyliner.) We never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus home.

We loved mobile order and Sanaa to go. It was great being able to relax in our room while we ate.

Mask compliance was good overall. We watched a teenager completely flaunt the rules all through the Slinky Dog line one day while both of his parents just shrugged and watched it happen. I was as annoyed by the poor parenting/example setting as I was by the actual violation of policy.

Obviously this isn’t a super detailed report, but I'm happy to answer questions if anyone has them. I wish we could get another trip in before they change the experience significantly.


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## DisneyJColeMom

JFox said:


> Time.gov?  atomic clocks?  speed tests?
> 
> In all the times I've tried to secure a BG for ROR all I do is select Join Boarding group when my cell phone hits 7:00am/1:00pm.  I've never had an issue.


Same.


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## JoJoGirl

lovethattink said:


> That’s how Frozen Ever After boats are. I had trouble getting into the boat because there was nothing sturdy to hold on to. The plexiglass wiggled.



This is not a good situation for guests who are older, or guests with any type of mobility limitation who use those seat back tops as grips to get in and out of the boats. Heck, getting in and out of those boats without anything to hold onto can be tricky for a fully able-bodied person.  

I worry about my 80+ year old parents who are visiting with me in May.  With most of the shows and live entertainment not operating, they are counting on being able to experience the slower rides, boat rides included.  This change will make some of them inaccessible to my mom.  It’s not the end of the world, but it is a little sad.


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## kathi

March 27th. Magic Kingdom.  8am open

Since we rode the big rides last night, we didn’t go for rope drop. Walked over from Bay Lake and were in the park about 8:10. For the first 2 hours we had max 5 minute wait for: Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Pooh, Little Mermaid, Barnstormer. At 10:30 there was a 20 minute wait for Buzz. Then walk on Tiki Room. Now we are waiting for our 11:30 Skipper Canteen ADR.

Park was almost empty when we arrived at 8 and no lines were long. Started picking up around 9:30. Mask compliance good. Social distancing in line varied. If you have concerns about social distancing in line DO NOT RIDE BUZZ unless it’s a walk on. It was really bad. We are vaccinated or I would have gotten out of line and left. People do not follow the “stay on your line“ because it requires paying attention.

Will do a little shopping on the way out. Moving to BWV today and plan to hit the pool till our room is ready.   Studios will be later tonight.


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## tsme

JoJoGirl said:


> This is not a good situation for guests who are older, or guests with any type of mobility limitation who use those seat back tops as grips to get in and out of the boats. Heck, getting in and out of those boats without anything to hold onto can be tricky for a fully able-bodied person.
> 
> I worry about my 80+ year old parents who are visiting with me in May.  With most of the shows and live entertainment not operating, they are counting on being able to experience the slower rides, boat rides included.  This change will make some of them inaccessible to my mom.  It’s not the end of the world, but it is a little sad.



When we rode in Feb. I told my DH, someone is going to fall trying to get in or out of these boats because of the plexiglass. It really is a danger to anyone who needs something to grab onto going in and out. Actually the couple in front of us, were Pooh size, struggled getting in & knocked into the plexiglass (NOT their fault, the glass makes it hard). They struggled, I felt bad for them with nothing to grab. For an older person, I could see it being hard on them. On the positive, we rode in the last row & even though the line of sight isn’t great, we could use the back of the row to brace ourselves going in & out, so maybe ask for the last row for those with mobility issues.


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## bastraker

We got here yesterday. Headed to magic Kingdom around 3pm. I was expecting long waits. We rode BTMR - wait said 35 minutes, we were on the ride in 4 minutes.  Then haunted mansion was a walk on.

Had a drink break then headed to late lunch/early dinner at Tony's.  Went to the pool after that.

Today we are at HS. Got here at 8am. Walked from beach club. We rode Mickey railroad, TSM and Allen saucers all before 850am. Then had breakfast at Starbucks.  We got on rise of the resistance at 925am (thanks mom boarding group 22).

Having an amazing time with little crowds - at least to us.  We are use to larger crowds.


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## Castlequeen5

For our 6th and final day, we went to Magic Kingdom on Thursday, March 25.  The hours were 8-9.  We took the bus from Pop.

There was no line at the bus stop and we were on the bus by 7:45.  We were in line at Peter Pan at 8:15 with a listed wait of 5 minutes.  But it actually took us about 15 minutes to get through the queue.  Then we walked on Haunted Mansion even though it was listed at 10 minutes.  Afterwards we walked over to BTMR with a wait time of 30 minutes.  It actually took us 15 minutes and the line was continuously moving.

Next we went over to Jungle Cruise with a listed wait of 35 minutes.  But the wait was closer to 50 minutes.  Then part of our group went to Splash with a listed wait of 60 minutes, which was pretty accurate.  The rest of us had snacks in Frontierland and watched the cavalades go by.

Then we went to Fantasyland.  We did teacups with a 20 minute wait.  Then went over to Dumbo with a 35 minute listed wait.  It actually took us 25 minutes.  We then headed over to Carousel of Progress with an approximately 15 minute wait.  Afterwards we decided to go back to the hotel.

So between 8:05-1:45, we did the following:
Peter Pan
Haunted Mansion
BTMR
Jungle Cruise
Splash Mountain
Tea Cups
Dumbo
Carousel of Progress

When we got to the bus stop, we placed a mobile order at Pop.  But then we waited and waited for a bus to come.  I had to change my pickup time, because I knew we wouldn’t make it back in time.  We ended up waiting 30 minutes for the bus.

We returned to MK around 6:30 with no wait for the bus.  We went straight to Haunted Mansion and rode it 3 times.  There was no wait at all.  Then we went over to SDMT with a listed wait of 45 minutes.  But the actual wait was 30 minutes.  Then we went over to Little Mermaid, which was a walk-on.

For our last ride we got in the Splash Mountain line at 8:52.  The line had a listed wait of 70 minutes.  We were on the ride at 9:29.  So it actually took us 37 minutes.

So from 6:30-9:30 we rode:
Haunted Mansion 3 times
SDMT
Little Mermaid
Splash Mountain

Because this was our 2nd day at MK, we didn’t feel the need to ride or do everything.  We tried to ride the rides we missed the first day and then ride our favorite ones again...like Haunted Mansion!  Ha!

The crowds seemed normal and we didn’t have any issues related to COVID restrictions.  We had a great last day in the park!


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## Anna45

I've been reading this forum to help plan our trip (last week, Mar 19-26). So maybe my experiences will help someone else:
We will not be returning til the parks get back to some kind of normalcy.  However, there were many guests who were having a great time last week.  And we did enjoy the less crowded indoor dining options for our trip.  
I guess we should not have planned to go during crowded spring break, but we honestly didn't realize the impact of spring break til a week or two prior to our trip when all park reservations disappeared for the week.  
Others have talked about the long lines and limited dining options, so that is not new to anyone.  Many popular rides had 60+ minute wait times.  We never rode a few of our fav rides. The one thing that I didn't consider is the effect of weather on the park reservations that we couldn't change since all parks reservations were filled for the week and we could not change parks.  The first part of our trip was colder than expected (we actually wore our winter coats the one evening), so our pool day had a high in the 60s.  Our plans for pool time at the resort didn't happen at those temps.  Also our planned afternoon pool breaks didn't happen on those cold days.
The last two full days of our trip when temps were hot, our main pool hit capacity in early afternoon.  Luckily CSR has quiet pools which didn't appear to have capacity restrictions. So we picked a resort for a reportedly great pool, CSR, but couldn't use it as planned.
Also, the one thing I like about Disney World is the escapism from 'real life' and with all the safety measures (necessary safety measures), there were constant reminders of the pandemic.  We were fully vaccinated 3 weeks ago, which was one of the reasons we visited.  We were celebrating surviving the many challenges of the last year with our trip.  But I would tell someone who needs an escape that right now Disney may not be that trip for you -- sorry.  It hurts me to say that.
The last thing that may help others: EPCOT does not open til 11;00--this becomes very important on 90 degree days when you would prefer to go to park in the cooler morning.  Disney needs to open the rides in EPCOT at 9:00.  I hope they do for anyone planning to go there during the hot summer months. EPCOT was very full when we were there, with long lines for Test Track and Frozen (mostly in the sun). Soarin' lines are indoor, so we should have done Frozen before park opening instead of Soarin' (Test Track was not open when we got there around 10:25).
Hope this helps others with planning.


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## Ecomommy09

We have returned from our visit 3/23-3/26 we only did 2 park days at MK and Epcot.  We had a wonderful time.  I booked at the Contemporary because I like to walk over.  We headed to MK on Wednesday at 0650 and we’re the 3rd party in line.  They let us go through temp and security shortly after 0700.  I have to rent a stroller for my 5-yr-old so that always delays me a bit.  Nevertheless, we went to SDMT which was a must-do for us.  They let ‘ghosts’ ride for about 20 minutes before letting people on, at which point it was a walk on.   We then rode Pooh, Tea Cups, Peter Pan, HM, and Ariel (all walk on) with a stop for a waffle at sleepy hollow.  That was actually the longest wait and we were starving.  

After snack, we rode Magic Carpets (5 min) and Carousel (5 min) and waited 45 min for Splash. I’d never ridden it, and I wouldn’t wait again. It was boring. I look forward to the Tiana overhaul.

At this point it was lunch and after that we headed back to the hotel to swim and rest. we returned to MK for dinner and rode something but for the life of me I can’t recall what. Must have been something my little picked.

Obviously, we didn’t ride everything and skipped several top attractions, but we had a great day and were pleased with the food, cast members, and mask compliance. We love the cavalcade and wasted some time hanging around watching those.

I believe if you go now with the attitude that you will enjoy yourself, then you probably will.


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## Ecomommy09

Our Epcot day is classic grannies, but we had a great time and I’m ok with being ‘Janet and Rita’ (if you don’t get the Bluey reference, you have older children). I didn’t rope drop because my little said she didn’t want to ride anything.  We got there close to Noon and drive in.  I paid for preferred parking because I have to carry her a lot (short legs) and I try to spare my back.  We also had to rent another stroller.  It was a real scorcher.  We ate the spicy hotdog and pineapple cake with the violet lemonade.  Didn’t love the hotdog.  Oh well.  I also had the coconut key lime ale and it was amazing.

We purchased our maps for Easter egg and Spike the Bee hunts and set off. We tried the salmon and strawberry mousse which were both tasty. I was sad I couldn’t eat more. So many things looked amazing. We only had the pizza and Prosecco from Italy after that. .

5 loved the hunts. She had so much fun looking around. We would find another group of children and they would share where they had seen eggs or bees. It was lovely. We also sat in the B&B singalong because I needed a break. 
The waits all seemed super long and there were so many people in Epcot. No where near as bad as Dec 2019 when we were last there pre-COVID-19 but still crowded. I think the walkways just make it feel cramped. They’re narrow and there isn’t enough shade in Epcot. People cluster around any tree.

We finished our hunts and I had to run all over creation to find the right place to turn in the maps.  If you want to know, it’s a little booth across from the Trade Post at the entrance to World Showcase.  They were out of Orange Bird plates.  .  I settled for Minnie.  We ate an early dinner and then headed home to rest before the drinking got serious enough for me to tell you if it is full of drunks in the evening or not

We went to the butterfly pavilion and 5 got one to sit on her finger.  I can tell you it was a close thing and I was sweating it.  Her trip would have been RUINED!
It was a great day and we rode nothing. My only sort of negative was that Spike in Mexico was behind the queue for 3 Caballeros and I think the CM was about to tell me I couldn’t cut through (thinking I was cutting line I guess in front of 2 CMs and a million people).  They should move him to a less controversial garden


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## Betty Rohrer

JoJoGirl said:


> This is not a good situation for guests who are older, or guests with any type of mobility limitation who use those seat back tops as grips to get in and out of the boats. Heck, getting in and out of those boats without anything to hold onto can be tricky for a fully able-bodied person.
> 
> I worry about my 80+ year old parents who are visiting with me in May.  With most of the shows and live entertainment not operating, they are counting on being able to experience the slower rides, boat rides included.  This change will make some of them inaccessible to my mom.  It’s not the end of the world, but it is a little sad.


try a cane for balance getting out of boats. I have better luck with this than back of seat and I am 70


----------



## Brittany Fata

Just a recap of my trip for Monday March 22nd - Friday March 26th at Art of Animation 

*Airport/Magical Express* 
We arrived Monday at around 2pm. The line to check in for the magical express was very long; however, once we checked in we got on the bus almost immediately. The entire experience from getting in line to arriving at the hotel was probably about 90 mins. 

*Arrival Day/Disney Springs - Monday March 22nd. *
After arriving to the hotel we mobile ordered lunch at Flavors of Landscape. It was an off time (around 3:30pm) so it was quick and efficient. For fun we rode the Skyliner to CBR and walked the resort a little bit and then took a bus to Disney Springs. The wait for the bus was about 15-20 mins. We went to World of Disney and a few other shops. We headed over to Splitsville for drinks and sushi. The later in the evening it got, the more crowded the walkways were; however, we felt okay with it as you're essentially just walking past groups of people and not stuck in actual crowds. Splitsville did not seem as crowded as some of the other restaurants. 

*Tuesday March 23rd - Mini Golf & Lounges *
We went to Fantasia Garden’s Mini Golf. We went at 1pm and we were quoted a 50 min wait. I don't remember how long the wait actually was, I want to say no more than 30 mins. By the time we finished there was no wait to play mini golf. We explored the Boardwalk area and then went to Abracadabar at 4pm when it opened. The tables were well distanced.  At around 5pm we drove to the Wilderness Lodge with a friend to go to Geyser's point and had a very nice dinner. No trouble getting a table, but there were a few families waiting when we left.

*Wednesday March 24th - Another Resort Day *
We had a 10:40am reservation at Topolino's Terrace. We took the Skyliner over to CBR at around 10am. Due to long wait to transfer we decided to just walk to the Riveria Resort. It was about a 10 min walk. I recommend this for anyone who doesn't mind walking. It was a great breakfast and we enjoyed the modified Character experience. The main pool at AOA is closed so they are offering a $25 dollar Blizzard Beach ticket to offset this. Based on the line for the buses in the morning, it seems like a lot of people were taking advantage of this promotion! If we weren't having engagement pictures done Wednesday afternoon, we might have gone to Blizzard Beach. For dinner we went to Trattoria al Forno. I actually found the Boardwalk more active than I anticipated. It was not "crowded", but there was a good amount of people out and about. The great thing about staying on a Skyliner resort is that it really opens up your options for dining reservations without having to worry about ubering or transferring at a theme park to get on a resort bus. 

*Thursday March 25th - Park Hopping *
We took the bus from AOA at about 10am and got to Epcot at 10:30am. There was no line for the bus, no line at temp check and they already were letting people into the park so there was no line to scan your ticket. We first went to test track but it was down, so we decided to just do Spaceship Earth which was an obvious walk on. We then mostly walked around the WS trying the Flower and Garden booths. The WS in the beginning was dead, we went into the Mexico pavilion at about 11am, by the time we finished inside and came out a line had formed to go in. At around 11:45ish we went to Frozen, the posted wait was 40 mins and we waited about 30. From there we just continued around the showcase until about 3:30pm where we decided to park hop. We did not do Soarin or TT - so I can’t speak to wait times on that. We park hopped to HS got there at around 4pm, went straight to Smuggler’s Run posted wait was 30 mins and that was pretty accurate. While in line we mobile ordered the Ronto Wrap and was able to pick it up when we got off the ride. We then park hopped to MK, I would say we got there at about 6pm. The wait for the bus from HS to MK was about 10 mins. The first ride we did was BTMR, posted wait was 30 mins and it was a complete walk on! From there we went to HM posted wait was 10 mins and it was a walk on. We then went to Pirates, wait was 30 mins, a few mins in line the time jumped to 45 mins - we waited about 30 mins. After Pirates we stopped in front of the castle to get a few pictures. Went to Little Mermaid which was a walk on. A little after 8pm we mobile ordered from Peco’s Bill. At 8:40pm we went to Splash Mountain, posted wait was 75 mins but we waited about 40mins. It definitely was inflated to discourage guests lining up at park close. 

*Overall thoughts on crowds: *
I originally had a longer trip planned with 5 park days, but I shortened the trip and did a mostly resort stay as the trip reports on here made me nervous for the crowds. We chose a one day ticket to test our comfort level. Epcot definitely felt the least crowded. I would say every park has moments in the walkways where you will be within 6 feet of other people. But it is just in passing, I never found myself standing next to people for long periods of times. Coming from NYC, I definitely felt comfortable and I think I could have spent more days in the park. I think you have to take everyone's experience on here with a grain of salt as everyone has different comfort levels as well as opinions on if the experience is "worth it." I definitely psyched myself out more than I needed to, but am glad I tested the waters for myself by doing 1 park day. 

*Mask Compliance:* 
I felt mask compliance around the resort and at the parks was fairly good. The biggest issue we saw was waiting for the Magical express where a man tried to get on line without a mask, and then tried to wear a mesh mask before finally putting on an acceptable mask. Of course as soon as he got past the line him and his kids took their mask off completely. Luckily they were going to a different resort. Our bus boarded first so I don't know what happened to them. The other main issue we saw was the party in front of us on BTMR took their masks off for the entire ride. Those are the big two moments I remember where I felt bothered or uncomfortable regarding mask compliance. Even though I don't agree with anyone who purposely breaks the rules, I understand that cast members can't be and see everything going on at all times. If being around people who will not comply with masks makes you extremely nervous, I recommend waiting to come. It's unfortunate that a few people breaking the rules might make you have to postpone a trip, but the reality is at some point someone will not be complying.


----------



## KdKyA

3/27 Animal Kingdom Official Park Open 8am
Arrived via bus from Fort Wilderness (left at 6:58). We walked through the gates at 7:18 and headed to FOP. We were on the ride at 7:36. Ride got stuck with just 30 seconds left so they routed us "behind the scenes" and let us get back on and start from the beginning so we pretty much rode it twice before 8 am lol. Walked over to NRJ and rode that by 8:15. KS was just barely opening at about 8:15 so we headed fir that, it was about a 20 minute wait. From there we headed to EE and it was about a 20 minute wait, did child/rider swap and DH went on with the older kids while younger DD and I waited for the 10:30 showing of Feathered Friends. DH and others met up to join us in line just before the doors opened. After that we went and had lunch in Pandora then headed for Rafiki's Planet watch. Waited about 30 minutes for the train there. Walked around a bit and headed back. Wait for the train back was about 10 minutes. Walked through Gorilla Trail then headed to the bus back to the resort. We were done with everything we wanted to do by 1:45. 
I will note, FOP was super short wait before park opening, but if you are not there first thing, the ride immediately bumps up to over 90 minutes. As we were leaving the ride, at 8, there was a 95 minute wait.

Back at the Fort, the kids wanted to swim but there was a very long line for the pool. So we went to the cabin to rest. Headed back a couple of hours later and there was still a line. Found out they put you on a waitlist and text you when it's your turn. I had not read that anywhere prior to coming here, so I hope that helps someone else! They only allow a 15 minute return window, if you aren't there in 15 minutes, they move on quickly. No grace period like they have with dining, etc. We waited about an hour for the return text.

Tomorrow we have horseback riding and Disney Springs.


----------



## Haley R

KdKyA said:


> 3/27 Animal Kingdom Official Park Open 8am
> Arrived via bus from Fort Wilderness (left at 6:58). We walked through the gates at 7:18 and headed to FOP. We were on the ride at 7:36. Ride got stuck with just 30 seconds left so they routed us "behind the scenes" and let us get back on and start from the beginning so we pretty much rode it twice before 8 am lol. Walked over to NRJ and rode that by 8:15. KS was just barely opening at about 8:15 so we headed fir that, it was about a 20 minute wait. From there we headed to EE and it was about a 20 minute wait, did child/rider swap and DH went on with the older kids while younger DD and I waited for the 10:30 showing of Feathered Friends. DH and others met up to join us in line just before the doors opened. After that we went and had lunch in Pandora then headed for Rafiki's Planet watch. Waited about 30 minutes for the train there. Walked around a bit and headed back. Wait for the train back was about 10 minutes. Walked through Gorilla Trail then headed to the bus back to the resort. We were done with everything we wanted to do by 1:45.
> I will note, FOP was super short wait before park opening, but if you are not there first thing, the ride immediately bumps up to over 90 minutes. As we were leaving the ride, at 8, there was a 95 minute wait.
> 
> Back at the Fort, the kids wanted to swim but there was a very long line for the pool. So we went to the cabin to rest. Headed back a couple of hours later and there was still a line. Found out they put you on a waitlist and text you when it's your turn. I had not read that anywhere prior to coming here, so I hope that helps someone else! They only allow a 15 minute return window, if you aren't there in 15 minutes, they move on quickly. No grace period like they have with dining, etc. We waited about an hour for the return text.
> 
> Tomorrow we have horseback riding and Disney Springs.


Thank you for mentioning the pool! We’re staying in a cabin in May and have resort days planned. It’s good to know they’ll text you to come. What time did you get to the pool? Do you know if the splash pad also had a line?


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## KdKyA

Haley R said:


> Thank you for mentioning the pool! We’re staying in a cabin in May and have resort days planned. It’s good to know they’ll text you to come. What time did you get to the pool? Do you know if the splash pad also had a line?


The line is the same for both. We went around 4:30 and put our name on the waitlist.  Waited about an hour and we were in the pool around 5:40. We only stayed for about 45 minutes then picked up our mobile order from the take out to eat back in our cabin. When you mobile order it will text when it’s ready the pick up number. You just go inside to the numbered table and grab your tray. No one physically hands you the tray, it’s all packaged up and you grab and go.


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## Haley R

KdKyA said:


> The line is the same for both. We went around 4:30 and put our name on the waitlist.  Waited about an hour and we were in the pool around 5:40. We only stayed for about 45 minutes then picked up our mobile order from the take out to eat back in our cabin. When you mobile order it will text when it’s ready the pick up number. You just go inside to the numbered table and grab your tray. No one physically hands you the tray, it’s all packaged up and you grab and go.


I know the pool is opening up at 10 but ds usually naps from 9-10:30 so we won’t be among the first there. Hopefully we get there and can still get in. I didn’t realize the splash pad would be the same line. Did it look busy while you were there? And are there lots of chairs even when it’s full? That’s good about the mobile order! We plan to do it a couple times and will also cook some of our own stuff


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## Betty Rohrer

Haley R said:


> I know the pool is opening up at 10 but ds usually naps from 9-10:30 so we won’t be among the first there. Hopefully we get there and can still get in. I didn’t realize the splash pad would be the same line. Did it look busy while you were there? And are there lots of chairs even when it’s full? That’s good about the mobile order! We plan to do it a couple times and will also cook some of our own stuff


you can not get to splash pad without being inside the pool area. has a separate gate but it is the pool area. also if I remember correctly it is not walkable even with stroller from cabins and I would not plan on walking from pool to PJs. no car parking near PJs or pool area


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## TikiTikiFan

Our trip is in June and these pool reports have me concerned. I'd love to continue to hear if this is an issue for folks! Be nice if we could nail down what time of day it's most common? At the end of the day once parks are about to close? Or mid-afternoon when folks take breaks?


----------



## SarahC97

TikiTikiFan said:


> Our trip is in June and these pool reports have me concerned. I'd love to continue to hear if this is an issue for folks! Be nice if we could nail down what time of day it's most common? At the end of the day once parks are about to close? Or mid-afternoon when folks take breaks?


I'm feeling the same for my Memorial Day trip. I'll be paying attention.


----------



## KdKyA

Haley R said:


> I know the pool is opening up at 10 but ds usually naps from 9-10:30 so we won’t be among the first there. Hopefully we get there and can still get in. I didn’t realize the splash pad would be the same line. Did it look busy while you were there? And are there lots of chairs even when it’s full? That’s good about the mobile order! We plan to do it a couple times and will also cook some of our own stuff


They base the number of people going in on the amount of chairs/tables available. The chairs and tables are spread out for social distancing. We have a group of 5 so finding the exact amount available was not happening. The tables seat 4. They have solid plastic flags on each grouping of chairs/tables. If the flag is up, the tables/chairs are clean and available. Flag gone or down means they have been used or are being used.


----------



## Haley R

Betty Rohrer said:


> you can not get to splash pad without being inside the pool area. has a separate gate but it is the pool area. also if I remember correctly it is not walkable even with stroller from cabins and I would not plan on walking from pool to PJs. no car parking near PJs or pool area


Is there golf cart parking by the pool? We’re renting a golf cart


----------



## Haley R

KdKyA said:


> They base the number of people going in on the amount of chairs/tables available. The chairs and tables are spread out for social distancing. We have a group of 5 so finding the exact amount available was not happening. The tables seat 4. They have solid plastic flags on each grouping of chairs/tables. If the flag is up, the tables/chairs are clean and available. Flag gone or down means they have been used or are being used.


Okay that’s good to know. We would get to the pool around 10:45 or so. I would hope it isn’t full that early but who knows


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Haley R said:


> Is there golf cart parking by the pool? We’re renting a golf cart


yes golf cart but no cars


----------



## Jen309

We’re heading out of town now. Flight delayed, so gotta do something!

mother/son (13 yo) trip, 3/24-28, stayed at shades of green, which is across from (behind?) the Polynesian. Park days were MK (weds ), HS (thurs), EP (fri), AK (sat), HS(sun) we had park hoppers.

General impressions regarding common concerns- wait times for big rides were consistently 1 hour + mid-day. If you plan to ride many rides or have short waits, early arrival or staying till close are a MUST. Due to aforementioned teenager, we only made it to Epcot anywhere near park open, but we did stay till close most nights. Ride time dropped significantly in the last two hours of the night.

Mask compliance was very good, IMO. Most of the CM reminders I witnessed were either little kids or people trying to do maskless pics. No one was out of line on either side of those interactions.

Transport was hit or miss.  We used Poly buses most often, and the one we needed was always the one that didn’t show for ages, lol! They were great about distancing, except in one case, but the people that got sat kinda close both agreed.

Crowds were normal. Maybe capacity was reduced, but with the limited offerings, many people were out in the streets, so to speak, so crowd levels looked the same.  Distancing in lines seemed a moot point because at all other times, people were close, like any other day.

Things I found annoying: mobile order for almost everything. Want a blue milk? Mobile order. Dole whip? Mobile order, even when there’s no one else in line. Frustrating for us Apple uses constantly inputting passcode because facial recognition doesn’t work for masks. Also, stores have limited capacity, and there were occasionally lines to get in, and usually one entrance (most doors were marked exit only), which was sometimes hard to find. Food and Wine was busy and crowded like usual, but super annoying because there was no walking and eating, and a shady, distance space was tough to find.

We usually only go every couple years. With that being said, I was glad this wasn’t a whole-family trip. I think frustrations would’ve mounted. We will probably wait till all is relatively normal again before returning, but we weren’t upset we went.


----------



## boltjames

Hey friends, I'm here on property and tomorrow I need some help with how to strategize the morning at Hollywood Studios.

We are going to drive there by car and want to be there at the gate at 8am, an hour before the 9am official park opening.  As we are driving, I'm worried that we won't be allowed to park our cars in the lot at 8am and that we'll wind up sitting in a queue and miss the rope drop.

Anyone know how things work at HS for rope droppers arriving by rental car?  Will they let us in at 8am to park, walk to the gate, and line up with the rope droppers?

Thanks.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Merging your question with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread as a lot of people are on there and have up to date information.

Also, you should be fine at 8:00 but if it's recently been different they'll know for sure!


----------



## GBRforWDW

boltjames said:


> Hey friends, I'm here on property and tomorrow I need some help with how to strategize the morning at Hollywood Studios.
> 
> 
> 
> We are going to drive there by car and want to be there at the gate at 8am, an hour before the 9am official park opening. As we are driving, I'm worried that we won't be allowed to park our cars in the lot at 8am and that we'll wind up sitting in a queue and miss the rope drop.
> 
> 
> 
> Anyone know how things work at HS for rope droppers arriving by rental car? Will they let us in at 8am to park, walk to the gate, and line up with the rope droppers?
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks.



You will be allowed through the toll booth at the same time the temp checks are open, so the ones walking and maybe a few bus/skyliner riders will beat you in, but by the time you park and walk, they should be mostly through, so you won't have to stand in much of a line, instead you'll just walk through.


----------



## brockash

boltjames said:


> Hey friends, I'm here on property and tomorrow I need some help with how to strategize the morning at Hollywood Studios.
> 
> We are going to drive there by car and want to be there at the gate at 8am, an hour before the 9am official park opening.  As we are driving, I'm worried that we won't be allowed to park our cars in the lot at 8am and that we'll wind up sitting in a queue and miss the rope drop.
> 
> Anyone know how things work at HS for rope droppers arriving by rental car?  Will they let us in at 8am to park, walk to the gate, and line up with the rope droppers?
> 
> Thanks.


In our experience there's no way to be in the first groups of ppl in dhs by driving.  When we went a couple weeks ago, walkers, skyliner and buses all arrived in time for temp check rooe drop...not a car or ppl walking from lot in sight.  I have no idea when they eventually made it to the temp checks, but they definitely weren't in the first 1000 ppl or so getting in.


----------



## Akck

boltjames said:


> Hey friends, I'm here on property and tomorrow I need some help with how to strategize the morning at Hollywood Studios.
> 
> We are going to drive there by car and want to be there at the gate at 8am, an hour before the 9am official park opening.  As we are driving, I'm worried that we won't be allowed to park our cars in the lot at 8am and that we'll wind up sitting in a queue and miss the rope drop.
> 
> Anyone know how things work at HS for rope droppers arriving by rental car?  Will they let us in at 8am to park, walk to the gate, and line up with the rope droppers?
> 
> Thanks.



Our experience may have been atypical in December, but we arrived just after 9 for a 10 am opening and they started letting cars through about 10 minutes later. As we drove in, the skyliner was stopped and started up about the time we parked. There was a line for temp checks, but it moved quickly. While we weren’t the first group in, MMRR was essentially a walk on, except for a 5-10 minute wait before they started up.


----------



## DMLAINI

Can you currently use a luggage cart from bell services to take your luggage to your room or do you need to have them do it for you?


----------



## boltjames

We just got ROTR boarding group #34, yay!

The park opens at 9 AM… What time do you think we will be called? Not sure if we can run over to some of the other rides and risk missing our ROTR boarding group.

Thanks!


----------



## TestingH2O

boltjames said:


> We just got ROTR boarding group #34, yay!
> 
> The park opens at 9 AM… What time do you think we will be called? Not sure if we can run over to some of the other rides and risk missing our ROTR boarding group.
> 
> Thanks!


Touring plans has a graph with average times for boarding groups. Their estimate is between 10 and 11 for the 30’s.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

boltjames said:


> We just got ROTR boarding group #34, yay!
> 
> The park opens at 9 AM… What time do you think we will be called? Not sure if we can run over to some of the other rides and risk missing our ROTR boarding group.
> 
> Thanks!



Congrats on the Rise Boarding Group!

You have an HOUR to get to Rise after your group is called, so you have time to ride other rides for sure!  I got Boarding Group 7 last month and was able to ride Mickey and Minnie before my group was called. So you should have time to knock out at least one or two rides. Maybe head to Toy Story and do Slinky and Toy Story Mania - then stroll through Galaxy's edge from there


----------



## MMSM

boltjames said:


> We just got ROTR boarding group #34, yay!
> 
> The park opens at 9 AM… What time do you think we will be called? Not sure if we can run over to some of the other rides and risk missing our ROTR boarding group.
> 
> Thanks!


Park is open at 8:15 today.   I am on property and every day there is a message saying parks are open 45 min early.  My question is does this apply to BlizzardBeach.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

It’s 5am here in CA, and our flight leaves today at 1pm our time. The rest of my family is still sleeping, but I’ve been a (widely awake) bundle of nerves since about 1:30am (which, I figure, may not be such a bad thing, since it’ll probably help me fall asleep better tonight, once on east coast time—assuming I manage to stay awake on the plane). So, since I’m up anyhow, I figure I’ll share my touring plans with you (I’m posting this here and in my individual prep thread, so if you’re seeing it twice, I’m sorry… don’t mean to spam the board… I just figure that both threads may have different people following them, and the more feedback I can get the better!!!). We are DL regulars, but this is our first time at WDW as a family, so I appreciate any feedback. Please, critique away!

Overall, we do have some “must do” rides but are also planning on having a good amount of time for just walking around, people-watching, and enjoying the theming. We have one ADR but are planning to mostly do counter service. We’re staying at ALL STAR MOVIES and don’t have a rental car. We are planning to mostly use Disney bus transportation (as well as UBER/Lyft for Friday, our Universal day). We don’t have hoppers, and our park reservations are: HS on Tuesday, EPCOT on Wednesday, and MK on Thursday.

Monday, March 29. Expected touchdown at MCO 9:15pm. Find ME pickup (got my ME reservation number and our magic bands ready). Use MDE for online check-in while en route to the hotel. Once there, get the kids settled, while I go to the front desk with my list of questions (e.g. when does the first bus leaves, where’s the bus stop, what are good pick up spots for UBER/Lyft). Schedule our Friday ride with UBER or Lyft (whichever app may be easier to figure out—this whole ride share thing is new to me; I did download both apps—and whichever service gives up the best “new customer discount”). Lay out clothes and fanny pack (plus maybe a small backpack, if all the wipes and hand sanitizer and various masks end up being too much for the latter) for the next day.

All the times are preliminary and may be adjusted according to what I find out about the bus schedule when talking to the front desk people on our arrival evening. I remember hearing the general 1.5 hrs before opening rule of thumb but don’t know if that’s a pre-COVID time line and if we should be there earlier, given the whole physical distancing on buses business.

TUESDAY MARCH 30: Get up 6am? ROTR Boarding Pass 7am!!!!!! Be at bus stop by 7:30 (adjust based on front desk info)? Get into park. Speed-walk to Tower of Terror (one of our absolute must-dos, since the ride has been re-themed at DL and my kids are eager to experience the original (too bad about the pre-show being affected by COVID). Get into the line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (I’m so scared of that one, because I’m a coaster wimp, but I am doing the “little train that could” thing and am telling myself that “I think I can, I think I can, I think… I’m OK with California Adventure’s Incredicoaster and can do loop-di-loops as long as they’re fast—I am terrified of any kind of slow inversions”)

(adjust, depending on ROTR Boarding Pass, if any, return time). After getting off, check wait times for other rides on app and look for breakfast (Ronto Roasters? Woody’s Lunch Box? ABC Commissary? Backlot Express? Walk around, look for stuff, and continue to check wait times. If we didn’t get a boarding pass for ROTR earlier, try again at 1pm. If we did get a boarding pass for ROTR earlier, figure that in (if there’s a conflict with our 2:05 ADR, check in with guest services, just to make sure we’re ok and to ask if they can reschedule our boarding passes accordingly). 2:05pm ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (we’re so excited about having gotten that one; everything was out when we first tried, but somebody canceled theirs and my reservation finder came through!). After lunch, continue to walk around and check wait times. Consider riding M&MRR, ST, TSMM, MFSR. Neither of us is a big Toy Story fan, so we don’t know if Slinky is worth the often long wait. We’ll see how we’re doing towards the end of the evening. Maybe we’re making it our last ride of the day? Depending on when everybody gets hungry, fit dinner in the park in there somehow (Docking Bay 7 or Rosie’s?). If we don’t get hungry until late, consider mobile ordering from World Premiere Food Court on the way back and eating in our hotel room.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31: Get up 6:30am (again, exact time depends on what we find out about bus schedules). Mobile order breakfast. Eat at hotel (or, if there’s no seating, in the room). Bus 9:30am? Speed-walk to Test Track. Then check out which other rides are open. We are interested in Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, and Figment. Maybe Nemo and the Grand Fiesta ride thingie. We are also intrigued by Mission Space Orange (but wondering how to exactly schedule that one to have a break afterwards in case one of us gets nauseated from it). It’s ok if we miss Soaring. Neither of us cares much about Frozen, so that’s one less long wait right there. We figure we’ll ride in the morning and evening, when lines will hopefully be on the short end, and spend the middle of the day checking out the pavilions and the Flower and Garden Festival and eating all the snacks. We’re planning to have dinner at some point at Katsura Grill (with me mobile ordering from Regal Eagle—because, BBQ!!!). We’re not married to a particular dinner time; we’re just trying to avoid the big dinner rush, so it’ll probably be earlier or later than the main dinner crowds.

THURSDAY, APRIL 1: Try to get the first bus to MK (again, check at front desk when that one leaves and how early to be there). Hoof it to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and ride it if the wait is 45 minutes or less). If open, ride Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress. Scavenge for snacks (Gaston’s, Friar’s Nook, Sleepy Hollow, etc.?), whenever hungry. Consider Cosmic Ray’s for either lunch or dinner (hopefully avoiding main crowds through creative scheduling and eating either earlier or later than most other guests). Walk around and take it all in. Check wait times on app and ride whatever seems not too long of a wait (Buzz? Big Thunder?). Explore Adventureland. Ride Jungle Cruise. End the day with a Dole Whip.

FRIDAY, APRIL 2: Meet up with UBER or Lyft driver. Try to be at Universal around 7:15am. Get through security and line up at turnstiles (we won’t have either early admission or express pass, so we figure being close to the front of the non-early admission line can’t hurt). Check on Hagrid’s VL spots starting around 7:30 (I checked the app over the past couple of weeks and that first drop seems to happen any time between 7:30 and 8:02). Get the latest one possible (11-11:30?). 8am—walk swiftly to Gringotts. Mummy. Men in Black. Back to Hogwarts Express station (watch wait times). If we’re off MIB early and HE lines are short, walk around a little (otherwise do that later in the afternoon). Take Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure (ask team member if capacity issues may be an issues if the line to come back is long and we choose to walk—I talked to a team member by phone about this earlier this week and she said it wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m a big one on double-checking on stuff like that). Late breakfast or early lunch at Three Broomsticks (get in line and mobile order from there once we’re getting close to being seated). If we did NOT get a Hagrid’s VL spot, try again at 11am drop. After brunch (?), walk around Hogsmeade, checking wait times for Forbidden Journey and Spiderman. Explore the Lost Continent & other areas that look interesting. Ride Forbidden Journey whenever 45 mins or less. Ride Spiderman whenever 45 mins or less. Check Hogwarts Express wait times. In the late afternoon, decide if we want to take HE back or walk. If we’re hungry, snack at Mardi Gras food festival booths. Explore Diagon Alley. Have a late dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. If anything has relatively short wait times, ride it. Call UBER or Lyft to get back to the hotel.

SATURDAY, APRIL 3: Drag our utterly exhausted bodies to the airport. Sleep on the plane.


----------



## Sarahslay

Akck said:


> Our experience may have been atypical in December, but we arrived just after 9 for a 10 am opening and they started letting cars through about 10 minutes later. As we drove in, the skyliner was stopped and started up about the time we parked. There was a line for temp checks, but it moved quickly. While we weren’t the first group in, MMRR was essentially a walk on, except for a 5-10 minute wait before they started up.


In december it did seem they were letting cars in earlier. We were there Christmas week and we always saw the cars being let in as our bus drove by for both HS and AK. I have been twice since then, latest was 2 weeks ago, and they didn't start letting cars in until after onsite guests were already in. We walked to HS and not a car in sight, we got MMRR and all of TSL in before crowds showed up and we heard people complaining about how late they opened the lot, which was pretty much what my other DD and I experienced Presidents day weekend as well. They are definitely changing how they do opening regularly in that regard.


----------



## preemiemama

NorthernCalMom said:


> TUESDAY MARCH 30: Get up 6am? ROTR Boarding Pass 7am!!!!!! Be at bus stop by 7:30 (adjust based on front desk info)? Get into park. Speed-walk to Tower of Terror (one of our absolute must-dos, since the ride has been re-themed at DL and my kids are eager to experience the original (too bad about the pre-show being affected by COVID).
> 
> Get into the line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (I’m so scared of that one, because I’m a coaster wimp, but I am doing the “little train that could” thing and am telling myself that “I think I can, I think I can, I think… I’m OK with California Adventure’s Incredicoaster and can do loop-di-loops as long as they’re fast—I am terrified of any kind of slow inversions”)
> 
> After getting off, check wait times for other rides on app and look for breakfast (Ronto Roasters? Woody’s Lunch Box? ABC Commissary? Backlot Express? Walk around, look for stuff, and continue to check wait times.
> 
> Consider riding M&MRR, ST, TSMM, MFSR. Neither of us is a big Toy Story fan, so we don’t know if Slinky is worth the often long wait. We’ll see how we’re doing towards the end of the evening. Maybe we’re making it our last ride of the day?



A few comments for you:

I think buses may start at 7:15, but definitely check the front desk to see.  For DHS you definitely want to be on that first bus!  

If TOT is a priority, then go there first.  Depending on how close the front of the pack you are at arrival, I might consider knocking out MMRR first since waits there will build quickly.  TOT/RNR will not build quite as quickly.  However, that's only if you are within the first couple hundred in the park and MMRR is running.  Otherwise, getting to TOT/RNR to beat waits there is a good idea.

I am also a roller coaster wimp, but I can handle the inversions at RNR.  The whole ride is over quickly, and I feel like you are honestly through the first inversion before you even really realize it.  If you can handle quick inversions you should be fine.

Waits drop for ST sooner than the others you mentioned.  TSMM will also drop sooner than the others.  Last hour or so of operation is best for MFSR and Slinky unless you go in the beginning.  Slinky is WAY better at night with the lights on, IMHO.  And if going at the end of the night, be prepared for inflated wait times.  

Also, with mobile order, you want to pick a time window when you arrive at the park so you aren't left with a time an hour or two later than when you are hungry.  Especially with a 2 pm Sci-Fi reservation, I would probably try to make it for an earlier window.  

Hope you have a great time!


----------



## KSL

DMLAINI said:


> Can you currently use a luggage cart from bell services to take your luggage to your room or do you need to have them do it for you?


I am interested in this, too!  Anyone have a recent experience to share?


----------



## bizeemom4

DMLAINI said:


> Can you currently use a luggage cart from bell services to take your luggage to your room or do you need to have them do it for you?



For what hotel? At the values (Pop and Movies), we were able to borrow one. Just sign it out/in at bell services. At the Dolphin, we were not. Bell services must use it for you.


----------



## RhodyKP

NorthernCalMom said:


> It’s 5am here in CA, and our flight leaves today at 1pm our time. The rest of my family is still sleeping, but I’ve been a (widely awake) bundle of nerves since about 1:30am (which, I figure, may not be such a bad thing, since it’ll probably help me fall asleep better tonight, once on east coast time—assuming I manage to stay awake on the plane). So, since I’m up anyhow, I figure I’ll share my touring plans with you (I’m posting this here and in my individual prep thread, so if you’re seeing it twice, I’m sorry… don’t mean to spam the board… I just figure that both threads may have different people following them, and the more feedback I can get the better!!!). We are DL regulars, but this is our first time at WDW as a family, so I appreciate any feedback. Please, critique away!
> 
> Overall, we do have some “must do” rides but are also planning on having a good amount of time for just walking around, people-watching, and enjoying the theming. We have one ADR but are planning to mostly do counter service. We’re staying at ALL STAR MOVIES and don’t have a rental car. We are planning to mostly use Disney bus transportation (as well as UBER/Lyft for Friday, our Universal day). We don’t have hoppers, and our park reservations are: HS on Tuesday, EPCOT on Wednesday, and MK on Thursday.
> 
> Monday, March 29. Expected touchdown at MCO 9:15pm. Find ME pickup (got my ME reservation number and our magic bands ready). Use MDE for online check-in while en route to the hotel. Once there, get the kids settled, while I go to the front desk with my list of questions (e.g. when does the first bus leaves, where’s the bus stop, what are good pick up spots for UBER/Lyft). Schedule our Friday ride with UBER or Lyft (whichever app may be easier to figure out—this whole ride share thing is new to me; I did download both apps—and whichever service gives up the best “new customer discount”). Lay out clothes and fanny pack (plus maybe a small backpack, if all the wipes and hand sanitizer and various masks end up being too much for the latter) for the next day.
> 
> All the times are preliminary and may be adjusted according to what I find out about the bus schedule when talking to the front desk people on our arrival evening. I remember hearing the general 1.5 hrs before opening rule of thumb but don’t know if that’s a pre-COVID time line and if we should be there earlier, given the whole physical distancing on buses business.
> 
> TUESDAY MARCH 30: Get up 6am? ROTR Boarding Pass 7am!!!!!! Be at bus stop by 7:30 (adjust based on front desk info)? Get into park. Speed-walk to Tower of Terror (one of our absolute must-dos, since the ride has been re-themed at DL and my kids are eager to experience the original (too bad about the pre-show being affected by COVID). Get into the line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (I’m so scared of that one, because I’m a coaster wimp, but I am doing the “little train that could” thing and am telling myself that “I think I can, I think I can, I think… I’m OK with California Adventure’s Incredicoaster and can do loop-di-loops as long as they’re fast—I am terrified of any kind of slow inversions”)
> 
> (adjust, depending on ROTR Boarding Pass, if any, return time). After getting off, check wait times for other rides on app and look for breakfast (Ronto Roasters? Woody’s Lunch Box? ABC Commissary? Backlot Express? Walk around, look for stuff, and continue to check wait times. If we didn’t get a boarding pass for ROTR earlier, try again at 1pm. If we did get a boarding pass for ROTR earlier, figure that in (if there’s a conflict with our 2:05 ADR, check in with guest services, just to make sure we’re ok and to ask if they can reschedule our boarding passes accordingly). 2:05pm ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (we’re so excited about having gotten that one; everything was out when we first tried, but somebody canceled theirs and my reservation finder came through!). After lunch, continue to walk around and check wait times. Consider riding M&MRR, ST, TSMM, MFSR. Neither of us is a big Toy Story fan, so we don’t know if Slinky is worth the often long wait. We’ll see how we’re doing towards the end of the evening. Maybe we’re making it our last ride of the day? Depending on when everybody gets hungry, fit dinner in the park in there somehow (Docking Bay 7 or Rosie’s?). If we don’t get hungry until late, consider mobile ordering from World Premiere Food Court on the way back and eating in our hotel room.
> 
> WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31: Get up 6:30am (again, exact time depends on what we find out about bus schedules). Mobile order breakfast. Eat at hotel (or, if there’s no seating, in the room). Bus 9:30am? Speed-walk to Test Track. Then check out which other rides are open. We are interested in Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, and Figment. Maybe Nemo and the Grand Fiesta ride thingie. We are also intrigued by Mission Space Orange (but wondering how to exactly schedule that one to have a break afterwards in case one of us gets nauseated from it). It’s ok if we miss Soaring. Neither of us cares much about Frozen, so that’s one less long wait right there. We figure we’ll ride in the morning and evening, when lines will hopefully be on the short end, and spend the middle of the day checking out the pavilions and the Flower and Garden Festival and eating all the snacks. We’re planning to have dinner at some point at Katsura Grill (with me mobile ordering from Regal Eagle—because, BBQ!!!). We’re not married to a particular dinner time; we’re just trying to avoid the big dinner rush, so it’ll probably be earlier or later than the main dinner crowds.
> 
> THURSDAY, APRIL 1: Try to get the first bus to MK (again, check at front desk when that one leaves and how early to be there). Hoof it to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and ride it if the wait is 45 minutes or less). If open, ride Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress. Scavenge for snacks (Gaston’s, Friar’s Nook, Sleepy Hollow, etc.?), whenever hungry. Consider Cosmic Ray’s for either lunch or dinner (hopefully avoiding main crowds through creative scheduling and eating either earlier or later than most other guests). Walk around and take it all in. Check wait times on app and ride whatever seems not too long of a wait (Buzz? Big Thunder?). Explore Adventureland. Ride Jungle Cruise. End the day with a Dole Whip.
> 
> FRIDAY, APRIL 2: Meet up with UBER or Lyft driver. Try to be at Universal around 7:15am. Get through security and line up at turnstiles (we won’t have either early admission or express pass, so we figure being close to the front of the non-early admission line can’t hurt). Check on Hagrid’s VL spots starting around 7:30 (I checked the app over the past couple of weeks and that first drop seems to happen any time between 7:30 and 8:02). Get the latest one possible (11-11:30?). 8am—walk swiftly to Gringotts. Mummy. Men in Black. Back to Hogwarts Express station (watch wait times). If we’re off MIB early and HE lines are short, walk around a little (otherwise do that later in the afternoon). Take Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure (ask team member if capacity issues may be an issues if the line to come back is long and we choose to walk—I talked to a team member by phone about this earlier this week and she said it wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m a big one on double-checking on stuff like that). Late breakfast or early lunch at Three Broomsticks (get in line and mobile order from there once we’re getting close to being seated). If we did NOT get a Hagrid’s VL spot, try again at 11am drop. After brunch (?), walk around Hogsmeade, checking wait times for Forbidden Journey and Spiderman. Explore the Lost Continent & other areas that look interesting. Ride Forbidden Journey whenever 45 mins or less. Ride Spiderman whenever 45 mins or less. Check Hogwarts Express wait times. In the late afternoon, decide if we want to take HE back or walk. If we’re hungry, snack at Mardi Gras food festival booths. Explore Diagon Alley. Have a late dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. If anything has relatively short wait times, ride it. Call UBER or Lyft to get back to the hotel.
> 
> SATURDAY, APRIL 3: Drag our utterly exhausted bodies to the airport. Sleep on the plane.


Agree with @preemiemama re: mobile ordering early tomorrow at DHS. Once you (hopefully!!) get your RotR boarding pass and have an idea when that might happen, I would mobile order your breakfast and schedule a pickup time while you're waiting for/on the bus to DHS.


----------



## RhodyKP

Does anyone have any recent experience with how easy or difficult it is to refill a water bottle in the parks rn? I'm anticipating needing frequent water breaks due to weather (in May) and all the mask wearing. Thanks!


----------



## whiporee

We did HS yesterday. Lines were longer, not quite as long as the projected but about 80 percent of it. We got there are opening and stayed until closing, and did everything we wanted to. One thing to make sure you're aware of, though, is that there's a LOT more walking now. Because the lines are so long, you're physically covering a lot more ground while waiting for rides. not a big deal, but if you're someone who struggled with feet or hip issues, that's something to be aware of. 

Didn't see a maskless person all day.


----------



## BethanyMouse

Naomeri said:


> First Park Day: Thursday, March 11–Magic Kingdom (9am open)
> 
> I’m having a great day so far!
> Woke up way earlier than planned thanks to happy, singing birds outside my room at Pop Century.  Mobile ordered lunch at Cosmic Ray’s before I left for an 11-11:30 pick-up.  I got to the bus stop at 7:24, and the line seemed long, but there were only 30-40 parties ahead of me.  The first bus arrived at 7:36, and my bus arrived at 7:48.  Got to MK at 8:06, through the temp screening at 8:08, and tapstiles at 8:12.
> 
> I ambled along through Liberty Square to see if Haunted Mansion was running (it wasn’t) then walked to 7DMT.  The line looped around all the way to the entrance to Storybook Circus, and was posted at 30 minutes at 8:27.  The line moved fast and I was on at 8:52.  Walked back to HM and walked on at 9am.  Stopped into Memento Mori and got a birthday button from the awesome CM Cory.
> 
> Next up was BTMR, which was down when I arrived, but opened up about 3 minutes later, so I walked on at 9:28.  Since I was there, I got in the Splash line at 9:37, which was posted at 45 minutes.  Got on the ride at 10:18, got well-splashed on the plunge, right in the face, then crossed the park to finish off the MK mountains.  Space was posted 40 minutes at 10:47, but I was on at 11:12.  Hit “I’m Here” on my lunch when I hit the Space gift shop, waited about 5 minutes once I got to Ray’s, ate inside.
> 
> Since I’ve got hoppers and 4 more park days left, I decided I’d had enough rides for the day and headed out.  I wanted to go to Disney Springs for Gideon’s before the weekend/spring break crowds arrived this weekend, so I hopped the monorail to CR (because I wanted to ride the monorail, and it was just waiting up there for me).  The DS bus arrived 2 minutes after I got to the bus stop, and I made it to the Gideon’s VQ check-in at 12:50 and began my estimated 2 hr wait.  I spent a whole bunch on money on things I don’t really need (which is half the point of a Disney vacation, right?) and got the return text for Gideon’s 2hrs and 3m later.  Waited in the physical queue for 23 minutes, but it was all in shade, so very comfortable.  Bought 2 cookies for me and 2 cookies to take home to my grandparents and headed out.  Approximately 10 million miles later, I made it to the Pop bus stop at Disney Springs (why must they punish the value resorts by putting their stops as far away as possible? )
> 
> Back at the resort, I decided it was pool time and trekked over to the 80s for the Computer Pool because the Hippy Dippy seemed louder and busier than I was in the mood for.  Half hour of swimming and reading in the shade and I went back to the room to rest up before I hop the Skyliner to Beach Club for my birthday dinner (complete with custom Maleficent cake) at Beaches & Cream.
> 
> Look at what a nice job Cory did on my birthday button!  He even taped over it to make sure it didn’t smear.
> View attachment 562057



Thank you for this review!  You give me hope!  I am nervous about crowds for our August trip with a 2 year old who wont be great waiting on lines!


----------



## dizneedoll

NorthernCalMom said:


> It’s 5am here in CA, and our flight leaves today at 1pm our time. The rest of my family is still sleeping, but I’ve been a (widely awake) bundle of nerves since about 1:30am (which, I figure, may not be such a bad thing, since it’ll probably help me fall asleep better tonight, once on east coast time—assuming I manage to stay awake on the plane). So, since I’m up anyhow, I figure I’ll share my touring plans with you (I’m posting this here and in my individual prep thread, so if you’re seeing it twice, I’m sorry… don’t mean to spam the board… I just figure that both threads may have different people following them, and the more feedback I can get the better!!!). We are DL regulars, but this is our first time at WDW as a family, so I appreciate any feedback. Please, critique away!
> 
> Overall, we do have some “must do” rides but are also planning on having a good amount of time for just walking around, people-watching, and enjoying the theming. We have one ADR but are planning to mostly do counter service. We’re staying at ALL STAR MOVIES and don’t have a rental car. We are planning to mostly use Disney bus transportation (as well as UBER/Lyft for Friday, our Universal day). We don’t have hoppers, and our park reservations are: HS on Tuesday, EPCOT on Wednesday, and MK on Thursday.
> 
> Monday, March 29. Expected touchdown at MCO 9:15pm. Find ME pickup (got my ME reservation number and our magic bands ready). Use MDE for online check-in while en route to the hotel. Once there, get the kids settled, while I go to the front desk with my list of questions (e.g. when does the first bus leaves, where’s the bus stop, what are good pick up spots for UBER/Lyft). Schedule our Friday ride with UBER or Lyft (whichever app may be easier to figure out—this whole ride share thing is new to me; I did download both apps—and whichever service gives up the best “new customer discount”). Lay out clothes and fanny pack (plus maybe a small backpack, if all the wipes and hand sanitizer and various masks end up being too much for the latter) for the next day.
> 
> All the times are preliminary and may be adjusted according to what I find out about the bus schedule when talking to the front desk people on our arrival evening. I remember hearing the general 1.5 hrs before opening rule of thumb but don’t know if that’s a pre-COVID time line and if we should be there earlier, given the whole physical distancing on buses business.
> 
> TUESDAY MARCH 30: Get up 6am? ROTR Boarding Pass 7am!!!!!! Be at bus stop by 7:30 (adjust based on front desk info)? Get into park. Speed-walk to Tower of Terror (one of our absolute must-dos, since the ride has been re-themed at DL and my kids are eager to experience the original (too bad about the pre-show being affected by COVID). Get into the line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (I’m so scared of that one, because I’m a coaster wimp, but I am doing the “little train that could” thing and am telling myself that “I think I can, I think I can, I think… I’m OK with California Adventure’s Incredicoaster and can do loop-di-loops as long as they’re fast—I am terrified of any kind of slow inversions”)
> 
> (adjust, depending on ROTR Boarding Pass, if any, return time). After getting off, check wait times for other rides on app and look for breakfast (Ronto Roasters? Woody’s Lunch Box? ABC Commissary? Backlot Express? Walk around, look for stuff, and continue to check wait times. If we didn’t get a boarding pass for ROTR earlier, try again at 1pm. If we did get a boarding pass for ROTR earlier, figure that in (if there’s a conflict with our 2:05 ADR, check in with guest services, just to make sure we’re ok and to ask if they can reschedule our boarding passes accordingly). 2:05pm ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (we’re so excited about having gotten that one; everything was out when we first tried, but somebody canceled theirs and my reservation finder came through!). After lunch, continue to walk around and check wait times. Consider riding M&MRR, ST, TSMM, MFSR. Neither of us is a big Toy Story fan, so we don’t know if Slinky is worth the often long wait. We’ll see how we’re doing towards the end of the evening. Maybe we’re making it our last ride of the day? Depending on when everybody gets hungry, fit dinner in the park in there somehow (Docking Bay 7 or Rosie’s?). If we don’t get hungry until late, consider mobile ordering from World Premiere Food Court on the way back and eating in our hotel room.
> 
> WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31: Get up 6:30am (again, exact time depends on what we find out about bus schedules). Mobile order breakfast. Eat at hotel (or, if there’s no seating, in the room). Bus 9:30am? Speed-walk to Test Track. Then check out which other rides are open. We are interested in Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, and Figment. Maybe Nemo and the Grand Fiesta ride thingie. We are also intrigued by Mission Space Orange (but wondering how to exactly schedule that one to have a break afterwards in case one of us gets nauseated from it). It’s ok if we miss Soaring. Neither of us cares much about Frozen, so that’s one less long wait right there. We figure we’ll ride in the morning and evening, when lines will hopefully be on the short end, and spend the middle of the day checking out the pavilions and the Flower and Garden Festival and eating all the snacks. We’re planning to have dinner at some point at Katsura Grill (with me mobile ordering from Regal Eagle—because, BBQ!!!). We’re not married to a particular dinner time; we’re just trying to avoid the big dinner rush, so it’ll probably be earlier or later than the main dinner crowds.
> 
> THURSDAY, APRIL 1: Try to get the first bus to MK (again, check at front desk when that one leaves and how early to be there). Hoof it to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and ride it if the wait is 45 minutes or less). If open, ride Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress. Scavenge for snacks (Gaston’s, Friar’s Nook, Sleepy Hollow, etc.?), whenever hungry. Consider Cosmic Ray’s for either lunch or dinner (hopefully avoiding main crowds through creative scheduling and eating either earlier or later than most other guests). Walk around and take it all in. Check wait times on app and ride whatever seems not too long of a wait (Buzz? Big Thunder?). Explore Adventureland. Ride Jungle Cruise. End the day with a Dole Whip.
> 
> FRIDAY, APRIL 2: Meet up with UBER or Lyft driver. Try to be at Universal around 7:15am. Get through security and line up at turnstiles (we won’t have either early admission or express pass, so we figure being close to the front of the non-early admission line can’t hurt). Check on Hagrid’s VL spots starting around 7:30 (I checked the app over the past couple of weeks and that first drop seems to happen any time between 7:30 and 8:02). Get the latest one possible (11-11:30?). 8am—walk swiftly to Gringotts. Mummy. Men in Black. Back to Hogwarts Express station (watch wait times). If we’re off MIB early and HE lines are short, walk around a little (otherwise do that later in the afternoon). Take Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure (ask team member if capacity issues may be an issues if the line to come back is long and we choose to walk—I talked to a team member by phone about this earlier this week and she said it wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m a big one on double-checking on stuff like that). Late breakfast or early lunch at Three Broomsticks (get in line and mobile order from there once we’re getting close to being seated). If we did NOT get a Hagrid’s VL spot, try again at 11am drop. After brunch (?), walk around Hogsmeade, checking wait times for Forbidden Journey and Spiderman. Explore the Lost Continent & other areas that look interesting. Ride Forbidden Journey whenever 45 mins or less. Ride Spiderman whenever 45 mins or less. Check Hogwarts Express wait times. In the late afternoon, decide if we want to take HE back or walk. If we’re hungry, snack at Mardi Gras food festival booths. Explore Diagon Alley. Have a late dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. If anything has relatively short wait times, ride it. Call UBER or Lyft to get back to the hotel.
> 
> SATURDAY, APRIL 3: Drag our utterly exhausted bodies to the airport. Sleep on the plane.


We are in California too and are making the pilgrimage east in 2 weeks. I just wanted to say that I’ve done both Incredicoaster and RnR and I found RnR to be the easier one of the two for me to handle, I can’t even do Incredicoaster at all anymore, it’s too intense. So if you are ok with DCA’s coaster, you should be ok on RnR! Have a great time and let us know how the trip went!


----------



## bizeemom4

We walked 94 miles in 10 park days, a pool day and our travel day yesterday. My feet hurt so much! We went through a whole bottle of Advil in 2 weeks.


----------



## wilkydelts

According to TP line app. Kali River Rapid is running today which would be a couple days earlier than announced.


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## KdKyA

3/29: Hollywood Studios. 
We woke up early to get a boarding group for ROTR. We had 4 phones going, two on one account, 2 on my husbands account. DH was able to get group 13!!! We hopped on the bus at 7:52 arrived at 8:05.They didn’t let anyone in the park until 8:15. Headed to Slinky Dog first. In line around 8:20, on the ride at 8:35. Went to Midway Mania and it was a 5 minute wait. Headed to Swirling Saucers and it was about a 5 minute wait. From there we went to MMRR, waited about 35 minutes. Once done, we had about10 minutes to wait and they called our boarding group. Afterward we headed to the Star Wars Market. We waited 35 minutes just to get into the shopping area. They then have only one family/group in at a time for each shop, so we would have to stand in line for each shop as well. Once done the family went on Star Tours. Disney app and Touring Plans was way off. Each posted about 20-24 minute wait. By the time they were off the ride, it was over 50 minutes. We order a Blue milk to try then the kids and DH went to Smuggler’s Run. 
Mask Compliance. Well, there have been about 8-10 times today where we witnessed people being told to put on a mask, cover their nose, must be stationary while eating/drinking. Only one time did the person actually fix it. Everyone else just rolled their eyes and kept doing what they were doing and the CM didn’t say anything again. 
Crowds have definitely picked up. More so than Animal Kingdom on Saturday.
Yesterday we did Disney Springs and it wasn’t too bad, but we were their around lunch time. We left as soon as things started getting uncomfortable to walk through. 
we are having a BLAST though!


----------



## kdonnel

RhodyKP said:


> Does anyone have any recent experience with how easy or difficult it is to refill a water bottle in the parks rn? I'm anticipating needing frequent water breaks due to weather (in May) and all the mask wearing. Thanks!


All the water fountains and water bottle fill stations are open.  I never had to wait in line to fill my water bottle.


----------



## SnickerzKC

boltjames said:


> Hey friends, I'm here on property and tomorrow I need some help with how to strategize the morning at Hollywood Studios.
> 
> We are going to drive there by car and want to be there at the gate at 8am, an hour before the 9am official park opening.  As we are driving, I'm worried that we won't be allowed to park our cars in the lot at 8am and that we'll wind up sitting in a queue and miss the rope drop.
> 
> Anyone know how things work at HS for rope droppers arriving by rental car?  Will they let us in at 8am to park, walk to the gate, and line up with the rope droppers?
> 
> Thanks.




Went to HS  on 3/17 & 3/19 both times chose driving/preferred parking route. First day we arrive at 7:45 and were told to turn around because they weren't allowing people to lineup at the toll area until 8 am. Did a loop got back around 8 am then had to wait until 8:15ish in the line in the toll area until 8:15 when they finally started letting people through. Was in the park by 8:30 and headed to MF:SR and had about a 15 minute wait for that. 

On 3/19 did the same thing but ended up pulling off to the side of the road at 7:50 like a lot of people do off the HS exit in order to prevent having to loop around again. Around 7:58 they were allowing people to get up to the toll line, we were the 2nd car in our lane, and they finally started letting people through at 8:10. However, they were holding people off from heading to go to the parking lot for another like 5 minutes a short ways down. Eventually got through the turnstiles and headed ToT. Was done with both ToT and RRC by 9 am.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

People understand queue front to back social distancing but not left to right so they don't respect the floor markers when they are spaced far apart to keep people apart left to right!  They just ASSUME the marker must be missing and fill in the space so now everyone is right next to each other left to right when the intent is to keek the 'middle' lane empty or at least staggered.  

Every so often another group would 'get it'.  We'd smile at each other in empathy and knowledge; even my engineer husband didn't catch on at first but he follows rules so it didn't matter,  Once you are near the boarding area, Disney uses plexiglass to allow for using markers evenly spaced in every row but it is not the intent for the enire queue.

It's sad people can't or won't follow directions.


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## #1hoosierfan

Arrived yesterday 3/28. Plane was delayed. Waited about 20 minutes for ME. Checked in ASMo, and grabbed a bus to Epcot (5 minutes) Arrived around 7:00. Walked around WS and sampled the drinks and food  from the booths. Got in line for Soarin a little after 10 with a 20 minute wait. Then walked on Living with the Land. Exited park a little before 11. Waited about 10 minutes for a bus. 

Got up this morning 3/29 and got boarding group 19 for Rise. At the bus stop at 7:30, and there was already a long line. Got on the third bus. Waited 20-30 minutes. I think we were walking in the park gates around 8:30. Ds 11 and I went to ToT. Dh and ds14 went to RR. They rode 3 times in the time it took us at ToT. Then all four of us rode together. Got in line for Runaway Railroad at 9:10. Waited around 30 minutes. 

Grabbed snacks and drinks and sat down to enjoy. Walked over to Star Wars land and waited for boarding group to be called. Very cool ride. Then we had a drink at Baseline. Checked in for our Mama Melroses ADR at 12:10. Had lunch then did Muppets 3D. Headed back to Star Wars so boys could get light sabers at  Dok Ondar’s. That took forever. Did a bit of shopping. Waited around 5 minutes for a bus, and back at hotel around 4:15. Not sure what we are doing tonight.


----------



## bizeemom4

ILoveMyDVC said:


> People understand queue front to back social distancing but not left to right so they don't respect the floor markers when they are spaced far apart to keep people apart left to right!  They just ASSUME the marker must be missing and fill in the space so now everyone is right next to each other left to right when the intent is to keek the 'middle' lane empty or at least staggered.
> 
> Every so often another group would 'get it'.  We'd smile at each other in empathy and knowledge; even my engineer husband didn't catch on at first but he follows rules so it didn't matter,  Once you are near the boarding area, Disney uses plexiglass to allow for using markers evenly spaced in every row but it is not the intent for the enire queue.
> 
> It's sad people can't or won't follow directions.



We noticed this right away. I couldn't understand why 99% of the people didn't follow the "wait here" markers when they were wrapping around a corner or at the end of a row meant to be kept open as a buffer. I also commented positively to others that 'got it.'


----------



## Disneymomma18

#1hoosierfan said:


> Arrived yesterday 3/28. Plane was delayed. Waited about 20 minutes for ME. Checked in ASMo, and grabbed a bus to Epcot (5 minutes) Arrived around 7:00. Walked around WS and sampled the drinks and food  from the booths. Got in line for Soarin a little after 10 with a 20 minute wait. Then walked on Living with the Land. Exited park a little before 11. Waited about 10 minutes for a bus.
> 
> Got up this morning 3/29 and got boarding group 19 for Rise. At the bus stop at 7:30, and there was already a long line. Got on the third bus. Waited 20-30 minutes. I think we were walking in the park gates around 8:30. Ds 11 and I went to ToT. Dh and ds14 went to RR. They rode 3 times in the time it took us at ToT. Then all four of us rode together. Got in line for Runaway Railroad at 9:10. Waited around 30 minutes.
> 
> Grabbed snacks and drinks and sat down to enjoy. Walked over to Star Wars land and waited for boarding group to be called. Very cool ride. Then we had a drink at Baseline. Checked in for our Mama Melroses ADR at 12:10. Had lunch then did Muppets 3D. Headed back to Star Wars so boys could get light sabers at  Dok Ondar’s. That took forever. Did a bit of shopping. Waited around 5 minutes for a bus, and back at hotel around 4:15. Not sure what we are doing tonight.


How did you like Mama Melrose? It’s the only ADR I’ve been able to get at DHS.


----------



## Nabas

Disneymomma18 said:


> How did you like Mama Melrose? It’s the only ADR I’ve been able to get at DHS.


Over the years, we've been to Mama Melrose's about a dozen times.

Sometimes we love it, sometimes the server leaves something to desire.

The food generally is good, although I did have one mediocre meal there about 5 years ago.  (My chicken parm was a bit rubbery.  Other times, it has been good.)

We used to really enjoy getting a carafe of red sangria but haven't done that in a few years.

They had a free bread service, did away with that for a few years, and then brought it back.  It was still there when we last ate their in December.


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## #1hoosierfan

Disneymomma18 said:


> How did you like Mama Melrose? It’s the only ADR I’ve been able to get at DHS.



It was good. We really liked the calamari. All four us got the spaghetti and meatballs. It was a large portion. Our server was great. I would return at some point.


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## NorthernCalMom

Looks as if there’s a definite chance of thunderstorms during our HS, Epcot, and MK days. Which of the rides have to close down when it rains? I figure Slinky at HS, Test Track in Epcot & MK‘s 7DMT, Big Thunder, and Jungle Cruise? What else? We brought Ponchos & an umbrella and are determined to still have a great time but want to make sure we do any rain susceptible must-do‘s early.


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## polynor

DMLAINI said:


> Can you currently use a luggage cart from bell services to take your luggage to your room or do you need to have them do it for you?


we used the carts ourselves at Riviera two week ago and at BLT last summer.


----------



## Linkura

NorthernCalMom said:


> Looks as if there’s a definite chance of thunderstorms during our HS, Epcot, and MK days. Which of the rides have to close down when it rains? I figure Slinky at HS, Test Track in Epcot & MK‘s 7DMT, Big Thunder, and Jungle Cruise? What else? We brought Ponchos & an umbrella and are determined to still have a great time but want to make sure we do any rain susceptible must-do‘s early.


If there's thunder in the area: Splash Mountain, Magic Carpets, Dumbo, Astro Orbiter, Speedway.  I'm sure there's some I'm missing.


----------



## horse11

preemiemama said:


> A few comments for you:
> 
> 
> If TOT is a priority, then go there first.  Depending on how close the front of the pack you are at arrival, I might consider knocking out MMRR first since waits there will build quickly.  TOT/RNR will not build quite as quickly.  However, that's only if you are within the first couple hundred in the park and MMRR is running.  Otherwise, getting to TOT/RNR to beat waits there is a good idea.


We may have to depend on the Skyline at CBR...  I will make sure Our family is one of the first ones lined up for the skyline but not sure where that will put us at the head of the pack entering HS.... If we are not the first 1couple hundred in the park when would be the best time to ride MMRR?


----------



## preemiemama

horse11 said:


> We may have to depend on the Skyline at CBR...  I will make sure Our family is one of the first ones lined up for the skyline but not sure where that will put us at the head of the pack entering HS.... If we are not the first 1couple hundred in the park when would be the best time to ride MMRR?


I believe what I've seen/read is that things tend to quiet down in the park after 2 -3 pm.  The last hour or two is when you can get bigger rides with less wait.  ETA: I'm hoping someone with skyliner experience can chime in on that mode of transportation.  I know there is a transfer somewhere along the way that can affect arrival times, but being in the front of the line can help mitigate it.  I'm not familiar enough with the stations to be able to tell you that, though.


----------



## brockash

preemiemama said:


> I believe what I've seen/read is that things tend to quiet down in the park after 2 -3 pm.  The last hour or two is when you can get bigger rides with less wait.  ETA: I'm hoping someone with skyliner experience can chime in on that mode of transportation.  I know there is a transfer somewhere along the way that can affect arrival times, but being in the front of the line can help mitigate it.  I'm not familiar enough with the stations to be able to tell you that, though.


Are they talking skyliner from CBR or from Pop and connecting?  Really either way should put them at the head of the pack if they make sure they're one of the first 8 families or so at their original starting point.  When we were there; they pulled the first 8 familes from the CBR line to the platform and then the first 10 or so from Pop coming in and started alternating, 1 party from cbr, 1 from pop going to dhs.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

bizeemom4 said:


> We noticed this right away. I couldn't understand why 99% of the people didn't follow the "wait here" markers when they were wrapping around a corner or at the end of a row meant to be kept open as a buffer. I also commented positively to others that 'got it.'
> [/QUOTE
> 
> I went to Krispy Kreme today - 4 young adults walked by without masks and for no apparent reason felt necessary to get into the faces of the 3 clearly non-related women in line grinning while chanting "we love masks".  I was caught off guard and/or so wishing my husband had been with me.
> 
> The world is a strange place.
> 
> COVID certainly hasn't dented to number if line monkeys - the children, teenagers (and sadly, some adults) that need to straddle, swing, and climb on the railings or chains.
> 
> In other news...Frozen really is affected by the plexiglass as is Runaway MM (much more so) if you aren't in the front seat.  Not complaining just noting.
> 
> We haven't found eating snacks, mobile orders or drinking to be difficult - a little more waiting is required but it is doable.  ADRs and TS are just not available property wide this week.  Luckily, we've not wanted even the ones we had for the most part choosing to eat in the room or go off property a few times.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

YEAH!!! It was of course the 15-year old with the olden timey iPhone 7, who beat all of us adults with our fancy, newer phones.


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## NorthernCalMom

We got on the bus to HS by 7:58 (4th bus, so if anybody wants to get in the first one, they need to get to the bus stop earlier than we did; we were in line for the bus 7:35, and there was a good amount of people in front of us). First bus left 7:40. Front desk told us last night that there wouldn’t be a bus before 8:15 (and she also insisted that the park wouldn’t open before 9) but it’s obvious that there are (A) an “official” bus schedule/park opening and (B) an unofficial one, giving the loaders and park staff discretion to get things going before then to avoid bunching/inappropriately distanced lines of impatient, excited people. My guess is that (B) is mostly happening on busy days.


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## MomOTwins

MMSM said:


> Park is open at 8:15 today.   I am on property and every day there is a message saying parks are open 45 min early.  My question is does this apply to BlizzardBeach.


No--we arrived early for Blizzard beach and were let into the area with the stores/food, but were held at the bridge until about 10 minutes before park open.


----------



## MomOTwins

Just back from a mixed Disney/Universal trip.  I did do some "here now" posts earlier in this thread at the start of the trip, but then got too tired in the evenings to post, so I'll avoid repeating myself.  

Wait Times
It was bad. No sugar coating it.  Yes, wait times were "only" an hour that might have been 2 hours at spring break pre-Covid, but unless you really didn't understand how to use fastpass properly, you never had to wait in those longer lines pre-Covid.  Plus we found our feet were KILLING us this trip and looked to see our step count was twice what it used to be, which I suspect is because of all the longer queues and standing when before, we were taking more breaks to sit and watch a show or a parade.  The other thing that made wait times feel worse it is used to be there were a fair number of rides that always had a pretty short wait that you could just do standby between fastpasses when the park was crowded, but now due to distanced seating, those rides now have long waits too--e.g., small word, three caballeros.  We did arrive early/come back in the evening, but the secret is out on mornings and I would say evening are much better now.  Also, that startegy does make you TIRED.  All in all, we won't be back until fastpasses return.

Crowds/Masks
I know this is something there are such different perceptions of, but if you are at all concerned about Covid, this is not the time to go.  Mask wearing was pretty good, but there were enough nose peekers and snackers in line and on transportation that I wouldn't say it was safe.  Distancing was the biggest issue.  We didn't mind crowds outdoors in the walkways (and there were crowds/chokepoints) because you move past people pretty quick.  But indoors, whenever a line had switchbacks, there would be a party waiting between a marker in the switchback next you, just a foot or two away from you.  And the creep-up-behinders were everywhere.  I had to repeatedly ask people to go back to their marker, not because I was worried about covid (we have immunity), but because I was tired of them bumping into me and/or breathing down my neck because they weren't paying attention to when they needed to stop.  I would say about 30% of the rides, we had someone walking right up behind us ignoring their marker.

Dining
We MUCH preferred table service to quick service this trip.  Mobile order was good for breakfast, but lunch was another experience.  We did order on the app at 7am for QS lunch and had no trouble getting the order placed since we ordered early, but once we got to the restaurant at lunchtime there were long waits out in the hot usn after hitting the "I'm here, prepare my food" button, and once we were allowed in, finding a table was near impossible, with dozens of people all hanging around and rushing to the nearest table once it opened.  People also moved the tables and chairs a lot so the tables were not properly spread out any more.  

Transportation
Morning buses were consistently available 75 minutes before park open and were very efficient.  However, if you like midday breaks, we found bus times were very sketchy midday, with long waits and arrival times on the resort board that would mysteriously disappear and be replaced with another time 30 minutes later.  Evenings at park close, there were also a lot of long waits at the park bus stop to get back to the resort, but that was just because the lines were really long.  We opted to use Uber a lot more than we an expected and in hindsight wished we had rented a car when you added up all the uber cost over the trip. 

Ride Breakdowns
This was enough of a recurring issue that I feel it warrants its own section of the post.  In the past, when a ride went down, it was not a big deal.  If I had a fastpass for it, I'd get an anytime FP automatically to use when it reopened. Without FP, when a ride went down, it was very disruptive. Maybe we had bad luck, but this affected us pretty much every day. For example, we tried to do TOT pre-park opening and the ride started out only running one side, and then went down entirely just as we were about to board. At that point, it was too late to rope drop anything else as wait times had climbed all across the park, so we stuck it out. Ended up waiting upwards of 90 minutes and it felt like the morning was wasted. Similar thing happened when we tried to do Space Mountain at park opening, and the ride went down while in line. There, they made everyone exit the queue as it was clear it was going to be a prolonged outage, but again, we missed our chance to get in line for other rides first thing. It also meant that because it was down almost all of the day, when it did reopen in the evening, we had an hour-long in the last hour of park open even though everything else in the park was a pretty short wait. Then AGAIN we had an issue on Animal Kingdom day where we decided to wait to do EE until the last few hours to allow the wait time to die down, and mid-afternoon, it went down. Finally at around 7:30pm on an 8pm park close day it reopened and we had to RUN to get to the other end of the park and ride it before our in-park dinner reservation. So that may be more info than needed, but it was one of the things that contributed to our decision that it is simply not worth it to visit again without fastpass.

Blizzard Beach
We went to Blizzard Beach on Wednesday 3/24.  The transportation situation is annoying, as you had to take a bus to animal kingdom and then transfer to a blizzard beach bus.  We opted to uber back to the hotel at the end of the day. The first couple of hours were really quiet with lines only 4-5 parties deep.  As the day went on, it definitely started picking up.  The wave pool was pretty much full at 3pm, and at 4pm, we waited around 45 minutes for teamboat springs.  We were also a bit surprised that the park started to shut down a bit earlier than the official 6pm closing time.  Tried to get a drink/snack at 5:30 everything was shuttered.  We had a polar patio, and at around $230 for the day, very much felt it was worth it.  It includes a locker and towels, spa-style water dispenser with cucumber/citrus infusion, and it gave us a nice comfy shaded spot to eat our lunch, re-apply sunscreen, and relax between activities

DAS
We had DAS, but my DS who needs the pass only has one or two rides in each park he likes to do over and over and they are not headliners (e.g. "Alien Swirling Saucers" "Magic Carpets") so we also ended up taking turns with the older kids doing most things standby while the other parent did DAS with our youngest.  We generally found DAS worked really well.  I was surprised that return times were often shorter than the official standby wait time by about 20-30 minutes a lot of times, which made it easy to grab an ice cream or popcorn and wait for the return time (and yes, in case you're putting two and two together, that does mean that waits for AS2 and Magic Carpets were upwards of 45 mins to an hour at some points).


----------



## Gearbm95

For anyone that has used the Skyline to hop between HS and Epcot these last couple weeks...has there been long lines for transfers to Epcot at CBR mid-day? Safe to say we can get from park to park in less than 30mins using the Skyline, mid-afternoon on a weekday?


----------



## Naomeri

Gearbm95 said:


> For anyone that has used the Skyline to hop between HS and Epcot these last couple weeks...has there been long lines for transfers to Epcot at CBR mid-day? Safe to say we can get from park to park in less than 30mins using the Skyline, mid-afternoon on a weekday?


Shouldn’t be a problem, I did a lot of midday skyliner travel and never saw lines at CBR.  It might still take less time to walk between the 2 parks than ride the skyliner though


----------



## FastPasser.

Gearbm95 said:


> For anyone that has used the Skyline to hop between HS and Epcot these last couple weeks...has there been long lines for transfers to Epcot at CBR mid-day?


Used it mid afternoon yesterday from Epcot and there were no lines.


----------



## wilkydelts

Has anyone else noticed that there are two distinct camps about wait times? Either they were great or it was awful and everything was way to long. There is no comments on middle ground.

More importantly ever noticed that the people who report great times list their detailed experience and include exact wait times compared to posted wait times where as those who say everything was awful and too long always speak in generalization with no times reported?


----------



## loves to dive

wilkydelts said:


> Has anyone else noticed that there are two distinct camps about wait times? Either they were great or it was awful and everything was way to long. There is no comments on middle ground.
> 
> More importantly ever noticed that the people who report great times list their detailed experience and include exact wait times compared to posted wait times where as those who say everything was awful and too long always speak in generalization with no times reported?


I think that may be because there are two camps for lines.  Those that love FP, always used it and think it's the best thing ever invented.  Those that didn't use FP a lot or didn't know how to use FP to their advantage so tended to wait in lines.   If you were in the FP camp, you probably didn't wait in lines and were a type of person that wanted to do a lot of rides.   If you didn't use FP you were probably used to waiting in lines so a line that is now 45 min to a hour as opposed to a hour to 90 min. in the past would seem like a short wait.  

I also think there are just people who like it the way they like it and when it's different it throws their experience out of whack.   So they speak in generalities, it was horrible couldn't find anywhere to eat (meaning couldn't eat at the place they always eat at and didn't want to try something new) the lines were long (meaning they used FP and liked to ride x ride with a 10 min wait and now x ride has a 30 min wait and that's just too long).   Then there are people who embrace or at least try different/new things.  For them there were plenty of places to eat because they had never tried x and surprise it was pretty good.  The lines were not bad because they had never even thought to ride x because they wanted to ride z and aren't these wait times from this time to that time great?


----------



## wilkydelts

@loves to dive I agree but I guess I am just someone that wants proof to back up a complaint.

I want to draw my own conclusions from someone else's information, I really do not want much subjectivity from them. When I do trip reports I try to have minimal subjectivity, so people can just look at the details and decide if "they" think that experience would work for them.


----------



## snow_white725

Does anyone know what the current specialty burger is at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater?
Thank you!


----------



## only hope

NorthernCalMom said:


> Looks as if there’s a definite chance of thunderstorms during our HS, Epcot, and MK days. Which of the rides have to close down when it rains? I figure Slinky at HS, Test Track in Epcot & MK‘s 7DMT, Big Thunder, and Jungle Cruise? What else? We brought Ponchos & an umbrella and are determined to still have a great time but want to make sure we do any rain susceptible must-do‘s early.



Lightening within a few miles shuts down everything outside til it’s been clear for 20 or maybe it’s 30mn. Rain shuts down Test Track, and in the old days, outdoor entertainment. Test Track takes a long time to reopen. Rain doesn’t usually shut down other attractions, unless it is extremely heavy or prolonged- sometimes pools of water form at entrances/exits and they have to clear that.


----------



## lorileahb

I just can't wait to have an excellent Disney vacation, no matter what the waits look like.  We are fortunate to be able to go every so often, so don't have to try to do it all - we can pick our waits and just enjoy the trip.


----------



## Mango7100

MomOTwins said:


> Just back from a mixed Disney/Universal trip.  I did do some "here now" posts earlier in this thread at the start of the trip, but then got too tired in the evenings to post, so I'll avoid repeating myself.
> 
> Wait Times
> It was bad. No sugar coating it.  Yes, wait times were "only" an hour that might have been 2 hours at spring break pre-Covid, but unless you really didn't understand how to use fastpass properly, you never had to wait in those longer lines pre-Covid.  Plus we found our feet were KILLING us this trip and looked to see our step count was twice what it used to be, which I suspect is because of all the longer queues and standing when before, we were taking more breaks to sit and watch a show or a parade.  The other thing that made wait times feel worse it is used to be there were a fair number of rides that always had a pretty short wait that you could just do standby between fastpasses when the park was crowded, but now due to distanced seating, those rides now have long waits too--e.g., small word, three caballeros.  We did arrive early/come back in the evening, but the secret is out on mornings and I would say evening are much better now.  Also, that startegy does make you TIRED.  All in all, we won't be back until fastpasses return.
> 
> Crowds/Masks
> I know this is something there are such different perceptions of, but if you are at all concerned about Covid, this is not the time to go.  Mask wearing was pretty good, but there were enough nose peekers and snackers in line and on transportation that I wouldn't say it was safe.  Distancing was the biggest issue.  We didn't mind crowds outdoors in the walkways (and there were crowds/chokepoints) because you move past people pretty quick.  But indoors, whenever a line had switchbacks, there would be a party waiting between a marker in the switchback next you, just a foot or two away from you.  And the creep-up-behinders were everywhere.  I had to repeatedly ask people to go back to their marker, not because I was worried about covid (we have immunity), but because I was tired of them bumping into me and/or breathing down my neck because they weren't paying attention to when they needed to stop.  I would say about 30% of the rides, we had someone walking right up behind us ignoring their marker.
> 
> Dining
> We MUCH preferred table service to quick service this trip.  Mobile order was good for breakfast, but lunch was another experience.  We did order on the app at 7am for QS lunch and had no trouble getting the order placed since we ordered early, but once we got to the restaurant at lunchtime there were long waits out in the hot usn after hitting the "I'm here, prepare my food" button, and once we were allowed in, finding a table was near impossible, with dozens of people all hanging around and rushing to the nearest table once it opened.  People also moved the tables and chairs a lot so the tables were not properly spread out any more.
> 
> Transportation
> Morning buses were consistently available 75 minutes before park open and were very efficient.  However, if you like midday breaks, we found bus times were very sketchy midday, with long waits and arrival times on the resort board that would mysteriously disappear and be replaced with another time 30 minutes later.  Evenings at park close, there were also a lot of long waits at the park bus stop to get back to the resort, but that was just because the lines were really long.  We opted to use Uber a lot more than we an expected and in hindsight wished we had rented a car when you added up all the uber cost over the trip.
> 
> Ride Breakdowns
> This was enough of a recurring issue that I feel it warrants its own section of the post.  In the past, when a ride went down, it was not a big deal.  If I had a fastpass for it, I'd get an anytime FP automatically to use when it reopened. Without FP, when a ride went down, it was very disruptive. Maybe we had bad luck, but this affected us pretty much every day. For example, we tried to do TOT pre-park opening and the ride started out only running one side, and then went down entirely just as we were about to board. At that point, it was too late to rope drop anything else as wait times had climbed all across the park, so we stuck it out. Ended up waiting upwards of 90 minutes and it felt like the morning was wasted. Similar thing happened when we tried to do Space Mountain at park opening, and the ride went down while in line. There, they made everyone exit the queue as it was clear it was going to be a prolonged outage, but again, we missed our chance to get in line for other rides first thing. It also meant that because it was down almost all of the day, when it did reopen in the evening, we had an hour-long in the last hour of park open even though everything else in the park was a pretty short wait. Then AGAIN we had an issue on Animal Kingdom day where we decided to wait to do EE until the last few hours to allow the wait time to die down, and mid-afternoon, it went down. Finally at around 7:30pm on an 8pm park close day it reopened and we had to RUN to get to the other end of the park and ride it before our in-park dinner reservation. So that may be more info than needed, but it was one of the things that contributed to our decision that it is simply not worth it to visit again without fastpass.
> 
> Blizzard Beach
> We went to Blizzard Beach on Wednesday 3/24.  The transportation situation is annoying, as you had to take a bus to animal kingdom and then transfer to a blizzard beach bus.  We opted to uber back to the hotel at the end of the day. The first couple of hours were really quiet with lines only 4-5 parties deep.  As the day went on, it definitely started picking up.  The wave pool was pretty much full at 3pm, and at 4pm, we waited around 45 minutes for teamboat springs.  We were also a bit surprised that the park started to shut down a bit earlier than the official 6pm closing time.  Tried to get a drink/snack at 5:30 everything was shuttered.  We had a polar patio, and at around $230 for the day, very much felt it was worth it.  It includes a locker and towels, spa-style water dispenser with cucumber/citrus infusion, and it gave us a nice comfy shaded spot to eat our lunch, re-apply sunscreen, and relax between activities
> 
> DAS
> We had DAS, but my DS who needs the pass only has one or two rides in each park he likes to do over and over and they are not headliners (e.g. "Alien Swirling Saucers" "Magic Carpets") so we also ended up taking turns with the older kids doing most things standby while the other parent did DAS with our youngest.  We generally found DAS worked really well.  I was surprised that return times were often shorter than the official standby wait time by about 20-30 minutes a lot of times, which made it easy to grab an ice cream or popcorn and wait for the return time (and yes, in case you're putting two and two together, that does mean that waits for AS2 and Magic Carpets were upwards of 45 mins to an hour at some points).


Thank you for the report. i am worried about wait times as well. We were a family who used FP for everything—I think one day we had 15 FP at MK. so rides like Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Small World, Carpets, Pirates, etc we would never wait 20 min because you could get a FP so easy. Waiting 45 minutes for Carpets is crazy! I hope they bring FP or something back soon, but I know it’s not going to happen for awhile.


----------



## Sarahslay

Gearbm95 said:


> For anyone that has used the Skyline to hop between HS and Epcot these last couple weeks...has there been long lines for transfers to Epcot at CBR mid-day? Safe to say we can get from park to park in less than 30mins using the Skyline, mid-afternoon on a weekday?


We were at YC weekend before last and used the skyliner to hop back and for a couple of times midday between HS & Epcot. On one instance no line at all, hopped right on at CBR without issue, next day it was a pretty long line around 2 due to a lot of people park hopping from HS to Epcot. The first day was earlier in the day so that is probably why it wasn't crowded, but it is obvious most people are hopping over to Epcot at pretty much the same time so it gets a bit congested. That being said, the line moved pretty quickly, and I felt bad for a few families forced to exit the line because someone in the group would go "this is nuts, the boat to Epcot will be faster" and jump over to go back to HS and we're on gondala in less than 5 minutes and on our way.


----------



## brockash

wilkydelts said:


> @loves to dive I agree but I guess I am just someone that wants proof to back up a complaint.
> 
> I want to draw my own conclusions from someone else's information, I really do not want much subjectivity from them. When I do trip reports I try to have minimal subjectivity, so people can just look at the details and decide if "they" think that experience would work for them.


Probably best to just find your proof in your own experience if you're that specific about it, as just because it might be 1 thing one day doesn't mean it will be that way when you go.


----------



## wilkydelts

@brockash Because specifics (proof) aren't helpful

Two people exact same line standing by each other:

Person A- The wait was awful the line was so long for Space Mountain. I hate not having FP+

Person B- Got in line for Space Mountain it said 55 took us 40


----------



## Nabas

loves to dive said:


> I think that may be because there are two camps for lines.  Those that love FP, always used it and think it's the best thing ever invented.  Those that didn't use FP a lot or didn't know how to use FP to their advantage so tended to wait in lines.


We're in a third camp.

We knew how to use FP+ to maximize our experience, used it all the time, and hated it.

We hated the spontaneity that FP+ destroyed, having to be at a certain place at a certain time.

FP+ is a zero-sum game.  For every FP+ you got, it meant waiting even longer in other lines.

If I got a FP+ for Frozen Ever After, it meant longer waits at Test Track and Soarin'.

So far, we've enjoyed no FP+ much more than the old way, watching hundreds of people walk past us on our non-FP+ rides.

And we love being able to change our plans without having to worry how it's going to impact our FP+ selections.

Seriously, I wish they never bring back FP+.


----------



## DoryGirl1963

Nabas said:


> We're in a third camp.
> 
> We knew how to use FP+ to maximize our experience, used it all the time, and hated it.
> 
> We hated the spontaneity that FP+ destroyed, having to be at a certain place at a certain time.
> 
> FP+ is a zero-sum game.  For every FP+ you got, it meant waiting even longer in other lines.
> 
> If I got a FP+ for Frozen Ever After, it meant longer waits at Test Track and Soarin'.
> 
> So far, we've enjoyed no FP+ much more than the old way, watching hundreds of people walk past us on our non-FP+ rides.
> 
> And we love being able to change our plans without having to worry how it's going to impact our FP+ selections.
> 
> Seriously, I wish they never bring back FP+.



So well put! This is exactly how my husband and I feel - couldn't "like" this more !


----------



## MomOTwins

wilkydelts said:


> Has anyone else noticed that there are two distinct camps about wait times? Either they were great or it was awful and everything was way to long. There is no comments on middle ground.
> 
> More importantly ever noticed that the people who report great times list their detailed experience and include exact wait times compared to posted wait times where as those who say everything was awful and too long always speak in generalization with no times reported?


Ironically, that’s a bit of a generalization since I complained and did post actual wait times for several rides in my post today and I think some of my posts last week.  I think this reply really hits the nail on the head though:



wilkydelts said:


> @brockash Because specifics (proof) aren't helpful
> 
> Two people exact same line standing by each other:
> 
> Person A- The wait was awful the line was so long for Space Mountain. I hate not having FP+
> 
> Person B- Got in line for Space Mountain it said 55 took us 40


I had almost word for word the same exchange with a couple in line behind us on Slinky Dog.  We got in line at the end of the park day with a posted wait time of 60 mins (lower than it had been all day).  Toward the end of the line, we had waited 45 mins and were pretty close to the boarding area, and was saying how I missed fastpass, since that was a long time to wait for such a short ride.  They laughed and said they were thrilled it was looking like it’d be 10–15 mins less than the posted wait time!  Of course, probably helped they were a young, physically fit couple in their 20s, and had mentioned they were locals just visiting for the day. I am a bit older and in less gread shape, and was dog tired from pushing around a heavy stroller and carrying tired kids for several days on a weeklong parks trip.  So maybe that helps give an idea of why it is so subjective.


----------



## lchuck

Nabas said:


> We're in a third camp.
> 
> We knew how to use FP+ to maximize our experience, used it all the time, and hated it.
> 
> We hated the spontaneity that FP+ destroyed, having to be at a certain place at a certain time.
> 
> FP+ is a zero-sum game.  For every FP+ you got, it meant waiting even longer in other lines.
> 
> If I got a FP+ for Frozen Ever After, it meant longer waits at Test Track and Soarin'.
> 
> So far, we've enjoyed no FP+ much more than the old way, watching hundreds of people walk past us on our non-FP+ rides.
> 
> And we love being able to change our plans without having to worry how it's going to impact our FP+ selections.
> 
> Seriously, I wish they never bring back FP+.



You could always just pretend it doesn't exist and not use it, right?  For those who actually knew how to use the system, you could pull 10+ FP+ in a day and not wait more than 15-20 minutes in any line.  If the current experience averages out to the same number of rides per day with the same amount of time spent in line, then I'm all for it.  However, based on wait time charts that are skyrocketing as the crowds return, I doubt that will be the case.  I'm really looking forward to going this summer because of the craptastic past year, but I'm definitely not looking forward to standing in lines all day long.  I hope I'm wrong, perhaps nobody will show up this summer?


----------



## lchuck

wilkydelts said:


> @brockash Because specifics (proof) aren't helpful
> 
> Two people exact same line standing by each other:
> 
> Person A- The wait was awful the line was so long for Space Mountain. I hate not having FP+
> 
> Person B- Got in line for Space Mountain it said 55 took us 40



This is an "experiences" thread, so you'll always get opinions tossed in.  What you're looking for are charts/graphs containing numbers with wait times and can be located on other sites.  Those will give you the hard data you want, without relying on any opinions or people who misremembered the length of time they waited.

I recommend taking a look at this post on EasyWDW by Josh.  It's roughly 4400 words breaking down Magic Kingdom wait times post pandemic:

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/w...nce-reopening-and-the-best-day-to-visit-each/


----------



## olafgypsy

Here now, Tuesday 03/30 with my son, age 7, and husband. Got here 03/28 with our first park day (EPCOT) on Monday, 03/29 and today was Magic Kingdom. We're staying at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress on points -- great resort! -- and doing rideshare to/from the parks and Disney Springs, but will move to CSR Friday since Grand Cypress was totally booked for the weekend.

*First Day - 03/29 - EPCOT*
Got to the park about 1pm because I had to do a meeting I couldn't get out of from 11-12, so hubby and son hung by the pool in the morning and then we headed out after lunch. Crowds were light to moderate at EPCOT when we got there, gradually picking up into the evening hours as expected. From 1-5:30 or so we toured World Showcase. Had a bit of a disappointment because they were completely sold out of both the scavenger hunt and the egg hunt park-wide, which my son had really been looking forward to doing. Fingers crossed they're back in stock on Thursday when we return to EPCOT. 

For lunch we grazed the food booths and F&G. My husband had the verlasso salmon at the healthy booth (can't remember the name! of the booth) which he really enjoyed and I sipped on a violet lemonade. Then we hit up Cava del Tequila in Mexico. It was about a 25 minute wait to get in to the Mexico pavilion, but then Gran Fiesta Tour was a walk-on, which my son and I did while my husband picked up the margs. This ride is underrated IMHO. I love the street scenes and the fireworks! Then off to Germany, where my son had a cheese pretzel bread and I had a potato pancake with ham, also from Germany. Next funnel cake with lemon cheesecake ice cream at the America pavilion (SO GOOD) and a beignet and vodka slushie from France before heading back across the lagoon on a Friendship boat.

From 5:30 - 8 we did some attractions in Future World with lots of leisurely stopping in between to let my son rest as it's his first time walking in the parks -- we always had a stroller before -- and at this point he was getting REALLY tired. We toured Living with the Land and took in _Awesome Planet, _which we all really enjoyed, as much for the carpeted wall (!) and air con as the movie itself, although the movie was really pretty and I enjoyed the "bonus moon" joke  Then we ventured Under the Seas with Nemo and Friends and journeyed through time on Spaceship Earth before heading out of the park to grab some dinner. 

My husband had requested somewhere we could sit down for a while because he didn't want to do the "eat and walk" thing at the food booths and I didn't relish the thought of braving the crowds that were now pouring into WS. I thought Disney Springs would be our best bet and placed a mobile order for DLuxe Burger. But we were met with an unpleasant surprise when we exited the parks and realized that the buses aren't running from the parks to Disney Springs anymore - when did that happen?!? The sign said to "transfer at resort," but knowing Disney transit I was sure that would add at least an hour to our trip, so we did rideshare instead, an extra $15 I hadn't planned on, but them's the breaks. 

This was my second time trying DLuxe Burger and again it was a big letdown for me. Maybe their "premium" beef blend is actually premium but I sure hope not, because when they cook it to within an inch of its life like that it's a desecration of a good piece of meat! The truffle aioli dipping sauce is awesome, though. Disney Springs was pretty packed, even on a Monday night at 10pm, so we headed out pretty quickly after eating and crashed at the resort in preparation for an early start at Magic Kingdom the next day.

Overall, crowds were as expected on this day, mostly moderate with the exception of Disney Springs. Most people are doing a good job of following the COVID rules, although you always run into those line crowders and people who don't seem to realize that a mask worn over the mouth and not the nose is pretty pointless (or maybe they just don't care). I really like the spacing out in line: it's nice to have personal space! Partitions on the monorail, on rides, and in lines don't go floor to ceiling so I doubt we're accomplishing much there if basic chemistry is anything to go by 

Ride share to/from hotel is working pretty well and we're saving a lot of money when you consider what we'd pay for a rental car and parking. Sometimes we have had to wait quite a while (20-30 minutes) to get a ride, particularly at busy times of day, but still nowhere near what we'd wait for Disney Transit all told, and you just can't beat door-to-door service!


----------



## PrincessV

Nabas said:


> We're in a third camp.
> 
> We knew how to use FP+ to maximize our experience, used it all the time, and hated it.
> 
> We hated the spontaneity that FP+ destroyed, having to be at a certain place at a certain time.
> 
> FP+ is a zero-sum game.  For every FP+ you got, it meant waiting even longer in other lines.
> 
> If I got a FP+ for Frozen Ever After, it meant longer waits at Test Track and Soarin'.
> 
> So far, we've enjoyed no FP+ much more than the old way, watching hundreds of people walk past us on our non-FP+ rides.
> 
> And we love being able to change our plans without having to worry how it's going to impact our FP+ selections.
> 
> Seriously, I wish they never bring back FP+.


I could not agree more, and can't say it any better than you did! I've been visiting WDW regularly as a local for 30 years, so I've seen it all, and no FP in play is by far my preference.



lchuck said:


> You could always just pretend it doesn't exist and not use it, right?


Nope. Not reasonably, anyway. Because when FP is in play, it inflates the standby wait times enormously. With no FP, Standby actually moves. It's an entirely different experience.


----------



## KdKyA

3/30 EPCOT and AK
Park official opening 11:00 actual-somewhere between 10:00 and 10:15
We were going to take the first bus, but we drove the golf cart to the Outpost and there was a huge line so we drove instead. Left at 9:45 and arrived around 10:05. Walked back to Test Track where the posted sign said 45 min wait and TP had posted a 45 minute wait. Both were wrong. They kept making an announcement that the official opening wasn't until 11:00 and they would not be running the attractions until then. Except the attraction WAS running. We waited about 25 minutes and headed to Soarin'. Posted wait time was 25 minutes and we waited about that. We then walked over to Frozen. Posted wait time was 45 on both TP and MDE and Bothe were wrong again. We waited about 55 minutes. From there we did the Festival Foods. After that we headed to the Seas and the posted wait was 10 minutes but we pretty much walked right on. DH and 2 kiddos then went and did Mission Space, posted time was 25 minutes and they waited that. Other DD wanted to do Figment so we walked over to that. Posted wait was 20 minutes, but we maybe waited 5 minutes for that. 
Family decided to go see if Kali River Rapids was indeed open and not a mix up on the TP app. So we drove over to AK and headed to Kali. Posted time on TP was 8 minutes, MDE didn't even show it open. I confirmed with the CMs that they were running a soft open and they opened it yesterday. Water level was lower than we have seen before so we didn't get as wet. Wait time was about 15 minutes. Kids wanted to go again so we got in line again, this time we Waited about 5 minutes. TP and MDE both showed EE was only a 10 minute wait, so we rode that on the way out. 

Crowds: EPCOT crowds/mentality was MUCH worse than the other parks. Several peopler refusing to wear masks or not fixing them even after CMs told them too. A LOT of creepers in the lines today as well. More so than we have experienced thus far. One CM saw one family that was basically riding out tail and they told them to give 6 feet between groups. They backed off at that point. I'm not sure if it's a language barrier as I did notice many of the people that creeped were non English speaking. I have noticed that the crowd mentality overall is much better in the morning. People wearing masks properly, social distancing, etc. Usually around 12:00 we start seeing things fall apart. I heard many people tell the CMs and other people that they were vaccinated so the rule didn't apply to them. The hotter it got, the worse people adhered to the rules. Also, a lot more eating/drinking while walking. 

We still had an amazing day, but today was definitely worse as far as Covid precautions go.


----------



## Marissa227

MomOTwins said:


> Just back from a mixed Disney/Universal trip.  I did do some "here now" posts earlier in this thread at the start of the trip, but then got too tired in the evenings to post, so I'll avoid repeating myself.
> 
> Wait Times
> It was bad. No sugar coating it.  Yes, wait times were "only" an hour that might have been 2 hours at spring break pre-Covid, but unless you really didn't understand how to use fastpass properly, you never had to wait in those longer lines pre-Covid.  Plus we found our feet were KILLING us this trip and looked to see our step count was twice what it used to be, which I suspect is because of all the longer queues and standing when before, we were taking more breaks to sit and watch a show or a parade.  The other thing that made wait times feel worse it is used to be there were a fair number of rides that always had a pretty short wait that you could just do standby between fastpasses when the park was crowded, but now due to distanced seating, those rides now have long waits too--e.g., small word, three caballeros.  We did arrive early/come back in the evening, but the secret is out on mornings and I would say evening are much better now.  Also, that startegy does make you TIRED.  All in all, we won't be back until fastpasses return.
> 
> Crowds/Masks
> I know this is something there are such different perceptions of, but if you are at all concerned about Covid, this is not the time to go.  Mask wearing was pretty good, but there were enough nose peekers and snackers in line and on transportation that I wouldn't say it was safe.  Distancing was the biggest issue.  We didn't mind crowds outdoors in the walkways (and there were crowds/chokepoints) because you move past people pretty quick.  But indoors, whenever a line had switchbacks, there would be a party waiting between a marker in the switchback next you, just a foot or two away from you.  And the creep-up-behinders were everywhere.  I had to repeatedly ask people to go back to their marker, not because I was worried about covid (we have immunity), but because I was tired of them bumping into me and/or breathing down my neck because they weren't paying attention to when they needed to stop.  I would say about 30% of the rides, we had someone walking right up behind us ignoring their marker.
> 
> Dining
> We MUCH preferred table service to quick service this trip.  Mobile order was good for breakfast, but lunch was another experience.  We did order on the app at 7am for QS lunch and had no trouble getting the order placed since we ordered early, but once we got to the restaurant at lunchtime there were long waits out in the hot usn after hitting the "I'm here, prepare my food" button, and once we were allowed in, finding a table was near impossible, with dozens of people all hanging around and rushing to the nearest table once it opened.  People also moved the tables and chairs a lot so the tables were not properly spread out any more.
> 
> Transportation
> Morning buses were consistently available 75 minutes before park open and were very efficient.  However, if you like midday breaks, we found bus times were very sketchy midday, with long waits and arrival times on the resort board that would mysteriously disappear and be replaced with another time 30 minutes later.  Evenings at park close, there were also a lot of long waits at the park bus stop to get back to the resort, but that was just because the lines were really long.  We opted to use Uber a lot more than we an expected and in hindsight wished we had rented a car when you added up all the uber cost over the trip.
> 
> Ride Breakdowns
> This was enough of a recurring issue that I feel it warrants its own section of the post.  In the past, when a ride went down, it was not a big deal.  If I had a fastpass for it, I'd get an anytime FP automatically to use when it reopened. Without FP, when a ride went down, it was very disruptive. Maybe we had bad luck, but this affected us pretty much every day. For example, we tried to do TOT pre-park opening and the ride started out only running one side, and then went down entirely just as we were about to board. At that point, it was too late to rope drop anything else as wait times had climbed all across the park, so we stuck it out. Ended up waiting upwards of 90 minutes and it felt like the morning was wasted. Similar thing happened when we tried to do Space Mountain at park opening, and the ride went down while in line. There, they made everyone exit the queue as it was clear it was going to be a prolonged outage, but again, we missed our chance to get in line for other rides first thing. It also meant that because it was down almost all of the day, when it did reopen in the evening, we had an hour-long in the last hour of park open even though everything else in the park was a pretty short wait. Then AGAIN we had an issue on Animal Kingdom day where we decided to wait to do EE until the last few hours to allow the wait time to die down, and mid-afternoon, it went down. Finally at around 7:30pm on an 8pm park close day it reopened and we had to RUN to get to the other end of the park and ride it before our in-park dinner reservation. So that may be more info than needed, but it was one of the things that contributed to our decision that it is simply not worth it to visit again without fastpass.
> 
> Blizzard Beach
> We went to Blizzard Beach on Wednesday 3/24.  The transportation situation is annoying, as you had to take a bus to animal kingdom and then transfer to a blizzard beach bus.  We opted to uber back to the hotel at the end of the day. The first couple of hours were really quiet with lines only 4-5 parties deep.  As the day went on, it definitely started picking up.  The wave pool was pretty much full at 3pm, and at 4pm, we waited around 45 minutes for teamboat springs.  We were also a bit surprised that the park started to shut down a bit earlier than the official 6pm closing time.  Tried to get a drink/snack at 5:30 everything was shuttered.  We had a polar patio, and at around $230 for the day, very much felt it was worth it.  It includes a locker and towels, spa-style water dispenser with cucumber/citrus infusion, and it gave us a nice comfy shaded spot to eat our lunch, re-apply sunscreen, and relax between activities
> 
> DAS
> We had DAS, but my DS who needs the pass only has one or two rides in each park he likes to do over and over and they are not headliners (e.g. "Alien Swirling Saucers" "Magic Carpets") so we also ended up taking turns with the older kids doing most things standby while the other parent did DAS with our youngest.  We generally found DAS worked really well.  I was surprised that return times were often shorter than the official standby wait time by about 20-30 minutes a lot of times, which made it easy to grab an ice cream or popcorn and wait for the return time (and yes, in case you're putting two and two together, that does mean that waits for AS2 and Magic Carpets were upwards of 45 mins to an hour at some points).


This is so helpful, thank you for sharing. We leave Thursday. I was thinking of doing rope drop, afternoon break return, but based on reviews lately I think we will change our strategy and do pool mornings and head to the parks for the afternoon/evening.


----------



## #1hoosierfan

I posted about the the first part of 3/29 yesterday. We decided to go to MK at the end of the day. Caught a bus to MK from Movies (10 minutes) and walked into MK at 7;00. We did HM ( no wait) BTMR, SM, and Buzz. Exited at 8:45. Rode the boat to wilderness for adr at Whispering Canyon. 

Tuesday 3/30

No real plan for today. Got to bus stop later than we wanted.... at 7:00 for MK. Waited about 20 minutes for a bus. Got to MK and headed straight to Pirates. Rode with no wait. Then JC with no wait. Boys rode BTMR with a 10 minute wait while dh and I got coffee. Wanted to ride Splash but wait was 45 at this point. We will be back this week so skipped it. Got in line for PP and waited 25 minutes. Walked on Philharmagic. Then left park for ADR at the wave at 10:25. Decided at breakfast we would head to Epcot. 

ROOKIE mistake. I’m totally embarrassed about. Totally forgot we can’t hop until 2:00. So we found ourselves at Epcot at 12 with no  plans. Decided to head to DS and go to Jock Lindsays. It’s been on my bucket list. Grabbed an Uber and headed to DS. Visited JL and then Goofy Candy Company. DS was not crowded at all. 

We had an ADR for Ogas, and I wanted to ride the sky liner, so grabbed a bus to Rivera (5 minute wait) and then sky liner to HS. Boys rode RnR (30 minute wait) and the ADR at Ogas at 5;25. We really enjoyed that. Headed to Baseline for drinks and a couple of charcuterie boards. Exited park at 7:45. Waited about 10 minutes for bus.


----------



## twodogs

I wonder if locals feel happier about no FP than those that come once a year?  I don’t know if this is true.  But I do wonder if it is more acceptable to locals that if a line is long in the non-FP universe that we are currently in, that locals just shrug and say they will ride it next time, whereas the once a year visitor doesn’t have the “come back next time” opportunity to bypass a long standby line (no FP)?  Just a thought....


----------



## whiporee

We just got back from an open-to-close day at MK. We got in 13 rides, with a couple of walk-ons. But it was a hard day. The length of the lines was a killer — for example, the PP line started outside the Columbia, went inside, up the stairs, around a bunch of tables, then down the stairs, then another route through the restaurant, then alongside the building, the back into the ride, then through the original queue, then a switchback and then the ride. That’s a lot of extra walking.

For those tracking, Space was 55 minutes at 8:05, Astro was 45, speed track was 45, PP was 60, BTM was nearly a midday walk-in at 7, alladin was 40, Splash was 65, pirates was 55, mine train 55, buzz a walk-in, and small world 45 at closing. We also walked into CoP, and Country Bears.

We don’t think we’ll be back until the distancing is done. Just an hour of kids playing with the chains over and over and over in the tight, echo-y space of Pirates is enough for us to say we’re done until FPs return. The waiting in line just sucked a lot of the fun away. It’s one thing for waiting to be interspersed with non-waiting, but going from one long line to another long line to another long line was a drag.


----------



## Jonfw2

whiporee said:


> We just got back from an open-to-close day at MK. We got in 13 rides, with a couple of walk-ons. But it was a hard day. The length of the lines was a killer — for example, the PP line started outside the Columbia, went inside, up the stairs, around a bunch of tables, then down the stairs, then another route through the restaurant, then alongside the building, the back into the ride, then through the original queue, then a switchback and then the ride. That’s a lot of extra walking.
> 
> For those tracking, Space was 55 minutes at 8:05, Astro was 45, speed track was 45, PP was 60, BTM was nearly a midday walk-in at 7, alladin was 40, Splash was 65, pirates was 55, mine train 55, buzz a walk-in, and small world 45 at closing. We also walked into CoP, and Country Bears.
> 
> we don’t think we’ll be back until the distancing is done. Just an hour of kids playing with the chains over and over and over in a i tight, echo-y space is enough for us to say we’re done until FPs return. The waiting in line just sucked a lot oh the fun away.



Good points.  I'm not as concerned about the lengths, but I will say that walking through the Columbia, for example, or backstage for Smuggler's Run, was kind of depressing. Talk about killing the magic- if I want to see dead fish in a pond while I'm in a queue, I'll go to Cedar Point.


----------



## NorthernCalMom

Our Hollywood Studios trip turned out great. Disboards came through for us yet again! We rode everything we wanted to ride, and wait times were totally doable (for us at least—we’re DLand regulars and spoiled by Fastpasses/Maxpass, but we did take the GREAT advice we got, to, by any means, not compare the CA and FL parks but to just enjoy WDW for what it is).

We did forego Slinky, which we all were ok with, since the line stayed long throughout the day. We didn’t manage opening to closing as we had planned, since the heat and humidity really got to us toward the end. If there’s one thing I missed, compared with our DLand trips, it’s to have a hotel in walking distance and be able to take a midday nap.

Park closed at 8, but we left around 6:45. We had been going strong since 7:15. Instead of busing straight back to the hotel, we took the Skyliner to Epcot, then the Friendship boat back to HS, then the bus back to the hotel—a wonderful, sedate way of closing a wonderful park day.

Interesting analysis further above about the “two kinds of visitors.” We’re definitely the “oh, that wait really wasn’t all that bad kind.”

I am writing this in our hotel room, in the early morning. Today is our Epcot day! Yeah!!


----------



## whiporee

Jonfw2 said:


> Good points.  I'm not as concerned about the lengths, but I will say that walking through the Columbia, for example, or backstage for Smuggler's Run, was kind of depressing. Talk about killing the magic- if I want to see dead fish in a pond while I'm in a queue, I'll go to Cedar Point.



We did HS on Sunday, and the backstage at Smugglers was the worst. That and the wierd switchback round and round at MMRR.


----------



## mds88

Mango7100 said:


> Thank you for the report. i am worried about wait times as well. We were a family who used FP for everything—I think one day we had 15 FP at MK. so rides like Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Small World, Carpets, Pirates, etc we would never wait 20 min because you could get a FP so easy. Waiting 45 minutes for Carpets is crazy! I hope they bring FP or something back soon, but I know it’s not going to happen for awhile.


My husband and I always maximized our fastpasses and rope drop so we never had to wait in a line longer than 20 minutes. That is impossible now. "Rope drop" isn't even worth it. You can possibly ride a lower tier ride or 2 with a shorter wait time, but headliners seem to be extremely high even before posted park opening. And by less than an hour after opening every ride has a high wait time (45-60min). Its something we told ourselves we just had to accept, but personally I wouldn't go back until something is done to lower wait times. Also a huge issue with the lines I have is that you can't drink water. It is extremely hot now and it's only March. To wait in a 90 minute line in this weather without being able to hydrate is really not healthy.


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## kathi

MomOTwins said:


> Wait Times
> It was bad. No sugar coating it.  Yes, wait times were "only" an hour that might have been 2 hours at spring break pre-Covid, but unless you really didn't understand how to use fastpass properly, you never had to wait in those longer lines pre-Covid.  Plus we found our feet were KILLING us this trip and looked to see our step count was twice what it used to be, which I suspect is because of all the longer queues and standing when before, we were taking more breaks to sit and watch a show or a parade.  The other thing that made wait times feel worse it is used to be there were a fair number of rides that always had a pretty short wait that you could just do standby between fastpasses when the park was crowded, but now due to distanced seating, those rides now have long waits too--e.g., small word, three caballeros.  We did arrive early/come back in the evening, but the secret is out on mornings and I would say evening are much better now.  Also, that startegy does make you TIRED.  All in all, we won't be back until fastpasses return.
> 
> Crowds/Masks
> I know this is something there are such different perceptions of, but if you are at all concerned about Covid, this is not the time to go.  Mask wearing was pretty good, but there were enough nose peekers and snackers in line and on transportation that I wouldn't say it was safe.  Distancing was the biggest issue.  We didn't mind crowds outdoors in the walkways (and there were crowds/chokepoints) because you move past people pretty quick.  But indoors, whenever a line had switchbacks, there would be a party waiting between a marker in the switchback next you, just a foot or two away from you.  And the creep-up-behinders were everywhere.  I had to repeatedly ask people to go back to their marker, not because I was worried about covid (we have immunity), but because I was tired of them bumping into me and/or breathing down my neck because they weren't paying attention to when they needed to stop.  I would say about 30% of the rides, we had someone walking right up behind us ignoring their marker.
> Ride Breakdowns
> This was enough of a recurring issue that I feel it warrants its own section of the post.  In the past, when a ride went down, it was not a big deal.  If I had a fastpass for it, I'd get an anytime FP automatically to use when it reopened. Without FP, when a ride went down, it was very disruptive. Maybe we had bad luck, but this affected us pretty much every day. For example, we tried to do TOT pre-park opening and the ride started out only running one side, and then went down entirely just as we were about to board. At that point, it was too late to rope drop anything else as wait times had climbed all across the park, so we stuck it out. Ended up waiting upwards of 90 minutes and it felt like the morning was wasted. Similar thing happened when we tried to do Space Mountain at park opening, and the ride went down while in line. There, they made everyone exit the queue as it was clear it was going to be a prolonged outage, but again, we missed our chance to get in line for other rides first thing. It also meant that because it was down almost all of the day, when it did reopen in the evening, we had an hour-long in the last hour of park open even though everything else in the park was a pretty short wait. Then AGAIN we had an issue on Animal Kingdom day where we decided to wait to do EE until the last few hours to allow the wait time to die down, and mid-afternoon, it went down. Finally at around 7:30pm on an 8pm park close day it reopened and we had to RUN to get to the other end of the park and ride it before our in-park dinner reservation. So that may be more info than needed, but it was one of the things that contributed to our decision that it is simply not worth it to visit again without fastpass.



I agree with momoftwins completely on the things we also experienced  (we didn’t go to Blizzard beach eat QS or take a bus).    We had fun the first few days.  We did commando touring early in the morning and late at night and totally rocked magic kingdom and Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.  But by the middle of the third day (out of 6) we were EXHAUSTED and I had used more than 1/2 of my band aid stash on blisters (and we were not wearing new shoes).   The lines are just too long and there are not enough rides open (MK being the exception).  Mask and social distance  compliance was good but I honestly not good enough in lines (where I expect people to follow the rules).   I personally only saw a cast member say something once.  We are vaccinated but for those who are not, give this some serious thought.  

Last Day today at Epcot. Still need to ride Test Track and Soarin. So we will schlep over soon to try to knock those out before they turn into hour plus waits for the whole day.  We are booked to return between Christmas and New Years and will not if Fast Pass and shows are not back. Also APs. The tickets were so expensive for the amount of lines we had to wait in with so few attractions available. I’m glad we came. We needed the break but it’s definitely worse than I was expecting.   (And I’ve researched the heck out of it.).


----------



## NorthernCalMom

We’re in a (relatively short) line for the Epcot bus. The husband’s fanny pack reminds me of Mary Poppins’s carpet bag—inexhaustible and full of anything needed for a great Epcot trip: moleskin, sunscreen, ibuprofen, neosporin, bandaids, ace wraps, lactaid, pepsid, and tums! I‘m carrying the sunscreen, sugarless gum for cleaning our palates between festival snacks and, in case that Mission Space Orange ends up getting the better of our stomachs, ginger chews. We are ready!


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## Toad_Passenger

lchuck said:


> However, based on wait time charts that are skyrocketing as the crowds return, I doubt that will be the case.



Crowd levels are certainly affecting the non-FP+ experience. When we were there 1st week of Feb., the crowds were non-existent. We rode just as many rides as we do with FP+ (and we are usually the ones pulling double digit FP per day). If crowds had even been marginally higher this may have not been the case.

If our experience was guaranteed once the parks fully reopen I'd say dropping FP+ would be a no brainer, but there is no way crowd levels won't return to normal and, at that point, FP+ will be necessary again.


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## Dakota731

NorthernCalMom said:


> We’re in a (relatively short) line for the Epcot bus. The husband’s fanny pack reminds me of Mary Poppins’s carpet bag—inexhaustible and full of anything needed for a great Epcot trip: moleskin, sunscreen, ibuprofen, neosporin, bandaids, ace wraps, lactaid, pepsid, and tums! I‘m carrying the sunscreen, sugarless gum for cleaning our palates between festival snacks and, in case that Mission Orange ends up getting the better of our stomachs, ginger chews. We are ready!


Off topic alert!  Where do you get ginger chews?  I had some for a cruise years ago and they were great but can’t find them nowadays


----------



## NorthernCalMom

Dakota731 said:


> Off topic alert!  Where do you get ginger chews?  I had some for a cruise years ago and they were great but can’t find them nowadays


We‘re from SF and buy them in Chinatown. If you’re comfortable sending me your postal address via PM, I‘ll be happy to mail you some after we’re back home. It‘s the least I can do, given all the fantastic help I‘ve gotten here over the years! 

eBay is of course always an option:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=ginger+chews&_trksid=p2380057.m4084.l1313
Also, the above search revealed some Trader Joe‘s brand ones. Could be a local thing, though...


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## NorthernCalMom

Epcot bus finally came at 10. The line for it had grown very long rather fast since about 9:35. Phew, I‘m hot!


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## MMSM

I’m at HS right now. It’s so busy here.  We got boarding group 15 and we were lucky. We rope dropped slinky and was on in 25 min.  Got off ride and it was by little mermaid at 75 min at 8:30.  Went to Toy Story Mania for 5 min. Headed to our Boarding Group. Now in line for smugglers run for 75 min. It’s so awful that I feel bad that my kids don’t even want to go and stand in line anywhere. Everything is 60 minutes plus.  And unlike MK I believe these waits are accurate.  MK was inflated by about 20 min. EXCEPT for dwarf train, splash mountain; and space mountain.   Those were pretty accurate.


----------



## MMSM

MMSM said:


> I’m at HS right now. It’s so busy here.  We got boarding group 15 and we were lucky. We rope dropped slinky and was on in 25 min.  Got off ride and it was by little mermaid at 75 min at 8:30.  Went to Toy Story Mania for 5 min. Headed to our Boarding Group. Now in line for smugglers run for 75 min. It’s so awful that I feel bad that my kids don’t even want to go and stand in line anywhere. Everything is 60 minutes plus.  And unlike MK I believe these waits are accurate.  MK was inflated by about 20 min. EXCEPT for dwarf train, splash mountain; and space mountain.   Those were pretty accurate.


It’s killer on the legs. My kids are older too. Unless you have a stroller for your little ones it is a lot.


----------



## mds88

MMSM said:


> I’m at HS right now. It’s so busy here.  We got boarding group 15 and we were lucky. We rope dropped slinky and was on in 25 min.  Got off ride and it was by little mermaid at 75 min at 8:30.  Went to Toy Story Mania for 5 min. Headed to our Boarding Group. Now in line for smugglers run for 75 min. It’s so awful that I feel bad that my kids don’t even want to go and stand in line anywhere. Everything is 60 minutes plus.  And unlike MK I believe these waits are accurate.  MK was inflated by about 20 min. EXCEPT for dwarf train, splash mountain; and space mountain.   Those were pretty accurate.


We went to HS/EP Monday and MK/AK yesterday and I agree, we found the wait times for all parks to be more or less spot on. There were only a handful that we waited shorter than the posted time.


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## flipflopmom

Jonfw2 said:


> Last night when I asked about shipping, the suggested I go to a local UPS store.



I thought the front desk would ship items to your home?  Is this not the case?


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## Jonfw2

flipflopmom said:


> I thought the front desk would ship items to your home?  Is this not the case?



That is literally who suggested I go to a UPS store.


----------



## MMSM

mds88 said:


> We went to HS/EP Monday and MK/AK yesterday and I agree, we found the wait times for all parks to be more or less spot on. There were only a handful that we waited shorter than the posted time.


Did you find tower or rock n roller was accurate? Deciding on what to do next


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## wilkydelts

MMSM said:


> Did you find tower or rock n roller was accurate? Deciding on what to do next



Touring Plans says 47 min


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## flipflopmom

Jonfw2 said:


> That is literally who suggested I go to a UPS store.


Oh my gosh! That changes my shopping plans, considerably!  Thanks for this heads up!


----------



## Jonfw2

flipflopmom said:


> Oh my gosh! That changes my shopping plans, considerably!  Thanks for this heads up!



Believe me- it changed my packing plans!  I emailed Disney's whatever email address and i've gotten zero response.


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## mds88

MMSM said:


> Did you find tower or rock n roller was accurate? Deciding on what to do next


RnR might have been slightly under but ToT was accurate Monday mid afternoon.


----------



## mdgineok

RhodyKP said:


> Does anyone have any recent experience with how easy or difficult it is to refill a water bottle in the parks rn? I'm anticipating needing frequent water breaks due to weather (in May) and all the mask wearing. Thanks!



HS has fountains with water bottle fillers in GE.  We did not have trouble at AK or MK finding a fountain to fill our bottles or getting cups of water/ice from places that sell fountain drinks to refill our bottles.  We did not go to Epcot this trip.

Mark in MN


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## Mango7100

Target has some


Dakota731 said:


> Off topic alert!  Where do you get ginger chews?  I had some for a cruise years ago and they were great but can’t find them nowadays


 Target has some ginger drops—not chewy but hard like a cough drop. I think they are called Upspring Stomach Settle


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## C&Jx2

flipflopmom said:


> I thought the front desk would ship items to your home?  Is this not the case?





Jonfw2 said:


> That is literally who suggested I go to a UPS store.


I was under the impression that you can ship to home from stores but never knew about doing it from the front desk. I use the store to resort option frequently, but have never tried to ship items home.


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## hereforthechurros

A friend of mine at WDW for spring break this week said Blizzard Beach hit capacity today (this afternoon) and they weren’t able to get in.


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## GBRforWDW

C&Jx2 said:


> I was under the impression that you can ship to home from stores but never knew about doing it from the front desk. I use the store to resort option frequently, but have never tried to ship items home.


When I was there in January, I checked at the front desk.  Hotels are not shipping home.  Only Disney stores are right now.   If you buy something at a Disney owned shop, you can ship it at any other Disney owned shop - I had 2 custom built droids from droid depot that I shipped from AoA gift shop.  However, if you have something not purchased onsite, there's not really a way to ship it from Disney property.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Quick question: when you make dining reservations as an on-site guest, how does the website know you can book all your plans 10 days out? Do you just log in through My Experience to do it? What time do reservations usually go live? Thanks folks- thought it'd be easier to just ask here.


----------



## Nabas

TikiTikiFan said:


> Quick question: when you make dining reservations as an on-site guest, how does the website know you can book all your plans 10 days out? Do you just log in through My Experience to do it? What time do reservations usually go live? Thanks folks- thought it'd be easier to just ask here.


Yes, you have to login to the Disney website and have a linked onsite hotel reservation.  Then Disney's dining search engine is smart enough to allow you to both 60 day plus 7 more days ahead of time.

BYW, my sister typically stays for 13 nights but she can only book 60 + 7 days out.  So she books her first 7 days at 60 days, and then can book 1 more day after that each day.


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## #1hoosierfan

Successful day at AK. 3/31 

At bus stop at movies at 6:30. We were probably 40 people back. First bus came at 6;55. Four had come for MK in that time. At 6:55 they started rolling in though and got on bus right after the first loaded. 

Walked into AK and straight to FoP. Waited 20 minutes or so. The line was crazy long by the time we got off. The boys wanted to get to do EE so they went ahead and dh and I got coffee. Met up with the boys and all of us rode EE. Stopped and split a breakfast sandwich after we got off. 

Headed to Safari. Posted wait time was 60 minutes. We waited about 20. Ride took a long time because animals ahead kept stopping on the path. After Safari the boys got a brownie sundae, dh got a beer, and I had a dole whip float. By now it was 11:00 and we wanted to go to Nomad Lounge. Walked in and had a glass of wine and shared some small plates. We love this place. We were there 45-60 minutes and saw probably 6 cavalcades go by. Got some great pictures. 

After Nomad the boys wanted to ride EE again. We told them to meet us at Bugs Life when finished. Dh and I took our time walking over there. It’s Tough to Be a Bug had a posted wait time of 30 minutes. We waited more like 40. 

It was hot at this point. We left at 1:45. Our bus was waiting at the stop when we walked out. 

Dh and ds11 went to the pool while ds14 and I napped. They just walked back from the pool while I am typing this at 4:10 and pool is currently on a “wait.” It was not earlier. 

Heading to DS for a 7:00 adr at Wime Bar George later.


----------



## Castlequeen5

*After spending a week at Disney during Covid times, these were the changes we LOVED:*

Refillable mugs- just hold on to the receipt or snap a picture on your phone. They give you a new large paper cup with your drink selection.  It was much cleaner, easier and more convenient than dragging your mug around.

Buses- you always get a seat and they were regular and plentiful most of the time...at least at Pop.

Skyliner - you don’t have to share a ride with a different group.  This may be considered a negative if you’re a people person and you like to chat with everyone!  But we considered it a plus.

Mobile ordering was super easy.  We only used it a time or two before, but it seemed more organized and efficient this round.  We always placed our order while waiting in line for a ride or transportation.

Table service was great as well.  I loved being able to do the online check-in, especially 20 minutes early.  We had 4 ADRs throughout the week and were seated early...every single time!  Plus all the servers had both a mask and a face shield on for better protection.

No fastpasses- it was much easier to do what we wanted, without having to worry about missing our fastpass time.   Plus we weren’t glued to our phones trying to find more.  I liked not having to plan our day so carefully.  And the lines moved pretty quickly.

I loved skipping all the pre-shows for the lines.  We’ve seen them many times, so it was nice not having to watch them...Dinosaur, HM stretching room, RnR, TOT, etc.  But this could be a negative for first timers.

Hand sanitizer was everywhere...most of them usually were full, with an occasional empty one.

*What we didn’t like:*

Our rooms weren’t cleaned at all.  The trash was taken out and towels exchanged every other day.  We could always make a request for something, but we didn’t.  Plus we used to get a $10 credit for each night, when we declined housekeeping.  Now they DON’T clean you’re room for FREE.

Not being able eat or drink in line.  It was super inconvenient.  There were plenty of places to sit and chill including the relaxation stations.  But we always seemed to be heading to our next stop.

No fastpasses- although it was nice not having a schedule, we missed NOT waiting in line.

No EMH- we REALLY missed them, especially the “stay open later” ones.

*Here’s some tips, I hope you find helpful:*

Wait times on MDE were almost always longer than they actually were.  I don’t have the TP app, nor did I feel like I needed it.

Paper masks were so much easier than fabric.  I bought 100 for $10 on Amazon.  We got a new one each morning and throughout the day as needed.

Be prepared for the various types of weather.  It was in the 50s the first part of the week when we were there.  We had jackets/ponchos but should have brought jeans.  It was cold and wet...not what we were expecting.

Get to the parks as early as you can.  We had a bunch of teenagers, so we only did RD one day.  But we still got to the parks within an hour of opening.  The wait times were still better in the morning compared to later in the day.

Take a break in the middle of the day.  It was nice to go back to the resort and rest or swim.  Since the lines are typically the longest in the afternoon, it’s a perfect time to relax for a bit.

If you don’t want to get there early, stay late.  We probably got just as much done at the end of the day as the beginning.  The lines are shorter and it’s COOLER...the temperature and the lighting!

Manage your expectations and try to stay positive when you can.

*Overall, we had a GREAT time and will come back with no hesitations*!


----------



## DisneyFive

Nabas said:


> Yes, you have to login to the Disney website and have a linked onsite hotel reservation.  Then Disney's dining search engine is smart enough to allow you to both 60 day plus 7 more days ahead of time.



Do you happen to know if it is also 60 days out if you have a DVC resort reservation?  I would think so?

Dan


----------



## Nabas

DisneyFive said:


> Do you happen to know if it is also 60 days out if you have a DVC resort reservation?  I would think so?
> 
> Dan


Yes, DVC too.  But it has to be linked in your Plans in My Disney Experience.


----------



## Nabas

DisneyFive said:


> Do you happen to know if it is also 60 days out if you have a DVC resort reservation?  I would think so?
> 
> Dan


We have a DVC stay booked from May 15 to May 19.  This is how it appears when searching for a dining reservation (note the 15-19 are greyed):


----------



## DisneyFive

Nabas said:


> Yes, DVC too.  But it has to be linked in your Plans in My Disney Experience.



Yes, both reservations are linked. (We are doing a split stay, seven nights at boardwalk villas, three nights at the Polynesian)

Dan


----------



## Nabas

DisneyFive said:


> Yes, both reservations are linked. (We are doing a split stay, seven nights at boardwalk villas, three nights at the Polynesian)
> 
> Dan


I've had problems with split stays in the past.

The Disney Dining Reservation system might not recognize what you have booked as 10 consecutive nights.  If you encounter the problem that I ran into, the system will treat these as 2 separate trips.


----------



## DL1WDW2

This is the first time I have noticed the MDE telling me the first day my dining window opens. It is in small print , I guess that is why I have never noticed it before now.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Nabas said:


> I've had problems with split stays in the past.
> 
> The Disney Dining Reservation system might not recognize what you have booked as 10 consecutive nights.  If you encounter the problem that I ran into, the system will treat these as 2 separate trips.


I think this is how it's supposed to work, at least in my experience and everyone else I've talked to.  Since they're different stays, you have 2 different 60 day marks.


----------



## VAtink

GBRforWDW said:


> I think this is how it's supposed to work, at least in my experience and everyone else I've talked to.  Since they're different stays, you have 2 different 60 day marks.



Yup, exactly this.  We learned the hard way for our first split stay, planned all the hard to get ADRs for the end of the trip (thinking we were soooo smart  ), only to learn that we couldn't book those days until 60 days out from our second resort stay.  Went from being 60+7 to 60+2 for those hard to get ones.  Oops!


----------



## flipflopmom

GBRforWDW said:


> When I was there in January, I checked at the front desk.  Hotels are not shipping home.  Only Disney stores are right now.   If you buy something at a Disney owned shop, you can ship it at any other Disney owned shop - I had 2 custom built droids from droid depot that I shipped from AoA gift shop.  However, if you have something not purchased onsite, there's not really a way to ship it from Disney property



Thank you!  Do you happen to know if you purchase throughout trip can you take it all to hotel gift shop to be shipped at once?


----------



## scrappinginontario

In the days of dining plans when we bought a DP only for the first part of our trip, we always needed to remember that our dining credits ended at midnight the night we swapped resorts!


----------



## auntlynne

wilkydelts said:


> @loves to dive I agree but I guess I am just someone that wants proof to back up a complaint.
> 
> I want to draw my own conclusions from someone else's information, I really do not want much subjectivity from them. When I do trip reports I try to have minimal subjectivity, so people can just look at the details and decide if "they" think that experience would work for them.



At first, I thought you were making an interesting observation.  

After your second quote, I wondered what you were trying to say.  Or what you are looking for.  

So, are you saying you don’t really want to read trip reports about the Experiences people had - but really just want to see numbers?  

I read the reports to share in the stories of vacations.  Brings back memories of my trips.  When they mention a ride, I see the area around it, can imagine the line (ouch, little feet), and get a feeling of excitement (sometimes nausea).  I live vicariously through others’ experiences.  I will ask you what you had for dinner.

And learn things for my next trip.  If the posts are not Information that affects me, I skim or skip them.  

After reading through these threads, I get an overall feeling of how the parks are changing over time.  My visits in September and November were different, as will by next one in May.  I don’t know how long the lines will be, but I have a better idea of what May await me.  And even that may change when the reports from post Spring Break get written.

I truly hope  you can find what you are looking for.

Thanks everyone who shared their vacation stories here.


----------



## soup23

Sorry if this has been answered before but what attractions are generally operating at MK before the opening time. Going down next week and looking at the wait times has seen Splash be higher than 7DMT late in the afternoon so if Splash is open before the park open, we may head there.


----------



## GBRforWDW

flipflopmom said:


> Thank you!  Do you happen to know if you purchase throughout trip can you take it all to hotel gift shop to be shipped at once?


Yes, and since they have tiered rates it's probably better to do it this way.  See shipping rates in the shipping and handling section:
https://help.shopdisney.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015826788-Shipping-DeliveryIf you are shipping a lot, I'd recommend taking receipts with so it's easier to get everything situated.


----------



## auntlynne

soup23 said:


> Sorry if this has been answered before but what attractions are generally operating at MK before the opening time. Going down next week and looking at the wait times has seen Splash be higher than 7DMT late in the afternoon so if Splash is open before the park open, we may head there.



A lot of reports about Splash not running at gates open.


----------



## HikingFam

Anyone been to Ghiradelli recently?  Are they still doing a virtual queue for ice cream (they were in December)?


----------



## hereforthechurros

soup23 said:


> Sorry if this has been answered before but what attractions are generally operating at MK before the opening time. Going down next week and looking at the wait times has seen Splash be higher than 7DMT late in the afternoon so if Splash is open before the park open, we may head there.


There doesn’t seem to be a guarantee from one day to the next. I know one of the mods was working to put together a list of pre-open MK attractions but haven’t seen it yet.

On our MK day in February Splash, BTMR and Pirates were all down to start the day. By the time we realized that, the 7DMT line was already 45 minutes but didn’t seem to be running ahead of park opening. We quickly hit HM and Peter Pan instead. Lines grow quickly, it doesn’t feel like the advantage it used to be. Without FP everyone knows to be there early.


----------



## Evita_W

tanyaandallie said:


> How did you walk on to everything?  No waiting?  I have two friends in wdw this week and they definitely were not walking onto anything.


You pick the right order to do things. Touring Plans helps a lot with this on a normal basis and right now with a hard cap on capacity, it means there are only so many people on the parks spread out to the rides. Human nature dictates that a majority of people will go to certain attractions first, skip those initially and go others first and then go to those.


----------



## Evita_W

auntlynne said:


> A lot of reports about Splash not running at gates open.


When we were there in Feb it wasn't, but went on Thunder instead and it was open by the time we were done.


----------



## auntlynne

Evita_W said:


> When we were there in Feb it wasn't, but went on Thunder instead and it was open by the time we were done.



Yours seems to be what I keep reading.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Thanks for the reminder @hereforthechurros.

This is what I’ve gathered so far of what MAY be open at Rope Drop in the parks.  No guarantees and also attractions seem to open at different times during the time between Rope Drop and official park opening time.  (Can’t find my AK info.  Will add that soon)

ROPE DROP RIDES THAT MAY BE OPEN:

*DHS*
Alien Swirling Saucers
MMRR
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Slinky Dog Dash
Toy Story Mania!
Tower of Terror

*Epcot*
Awesome Planet
Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along
Canada Far and Wide
Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
Frozen Ever After
Gran Fiesta Tour
Journey Into Imagination with Figment
Living with the Land
Mission SPACE: Green
Mission SPACE: Orange
Reflections of China
The Seas Main Tank Exhibits
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Soarin'
Spaceship Earth
Test Track
Walt Disney Imagineering presents the EPCOT Experience

*Magic Kingdom *
Big Thunder Mountain
Carousel
Dumbo
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Peter Pan
Pirates of the Caribbean
Seven Dwarfs
Small World
Space Mountain
Teacups
Winnie the Pooh

This info will also be added to the first post of the Rope Drop thread soon.


----------



## disneyfan150

VAtink said:


> Yup, exactly this.  We learned the hard way for our first split stay, planned all the hard to get ADRs for the end of the trip (thinking we were soooo smart  ), only to learn that we couldn't book those days until 60 days out from our second resort stay.  Went from being 60+7 to 60+2 for those hard to get ones.  Oops!


Did you have any luck at all getting ADRs?  We have a split stay. 60 + 2 and 60 + 4  I was hoping for Narccoossee's for the first stay and Cali for the second.  I am so bummed about this situation.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

Gearbm95 said:


> For anyone that has used the Skyline to hop between HS and Epcot these last couple weeks...has there been long lines for transfers to Epcot at CBR mid-day? Safe to say we can get from park to park in less than 30mins using the Skyline, mid-afternoon on a weekday?


Just back last night.  No lines mid-day on skyliner.  walk on


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

HikingFam said:


> Anyone been to Ghiradelli recently?  Are they still doing a virtual queue for ice cream (they were in December)?


There on Saturday.  DS is a MESS and a COVID nightmare.  But, yes, procedure is the same.  Gobs of people waiting to get their order waiting on top of each other.  We did order it but waited far away and ate far away.


----------



## scrappinginontario

disneyfan150 said:


> Did you have any luck at all getting ADRs?  We have a split stay. 60 + 2 and 60 + 4  I was hoping for Narccoossee's for the first stay and Cali for the second.  I am so bummed about this situation.



Is it an option to try and get both for the first half of your spilt stay to ensure you get them and then when you’re eligible to book ADRs for the second stay, you can try to get one there and cancel the first booking?

Just trying to look at options that might help.


----------



## HikingFam

ILoveMyDVC said:


> There on Saturday.  DS is a MESS and a COVID nightmare.  But, yes, procdeure is the same.  Gobs of people waiting to get their order waiting on top of each other.  We did ordered it but waited far away and ate far away.


Thanks- sounds like our experience in December. Ugh why do all of my favorite restaurants have to be in DS?!


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

HikingFam said:


> Thanks- sounds like our experience in December. Ugh why do all of my favorite restaurants have to be in DS?!


People didn't even have masks - not that they didn't wear them properly.


----------



## disneyfan150

scrappinginontario said:


> Is it an option to try and get both for the first half of your spilt stay to ensure you get them and then when you’re eligible to book ADRs for the second stay, you can try to get one there and cancel the first booking?
> 
> Just trying to look at options that might help.


Thank you! Actually, both restaurants were in my dream plans for the first half.  We start at GF for 3 nights and move to YC for 5 nights. Maybe I will get lucky!  We can usually get something through the Restaurant Finder.  It will work out one way or another.


----------



## olafgypsy

Tuesday 03/30 (yesterday) - Second park day: Magic Kingdom. This day was a lot more challenging crowds-wise than EPCOT the day before. We are not early morning people but we *really* tried hard to make it there as soon as they opened the park. Unfortunately, we had a 20 minute wait for a Lyft and then a 15 minute drive to the park, followed by TTC + Monorail. We were walking onto Main Street at 7:30. At that point SDMT was at 50 minutes so we decided to skip it and walk on to PPF instead. Next we got in line for Speedway at DS7's request: It is his favorite ride in Magic Kingdom. Still, I kind of wish we had gone to something else before this one because they were just gearing up for this and were only running like five cars, so we ended up waiting 20 minutes in line even though we were only about 10 parties back. But maybe it was worth it for my son's sigh of happiness as our car INCHED its way around the track and his exclamation "Walt Disney is the GREATEST for thinking up a ride like this"! But the extra wait at Speedway meant that the Space line was up to 45 minutes by the time we got done, so we did Carousel of Progress instead. It has been so many years since I've seen this! Very cute and kind of a nostalgia trip, but it smells SO weird in that theater. What is that smell?!?

At this point we headed across the park to Jungle Cruise, DS7's other favorite ride. The wait was about 25 minutes. We had a great skipper and we could actually hear him, always a plus  I mobile ordered a Dole Whip Float and a Kakamora Float just as we were getting on the ride and we were able to pick it up right away when we got done. I LOVE the mobile order and pick-up for the ability to do stuff like this. I've definitely spent 30 minutes in line for a Dole Whip before and it's nice not to have to do that, especially if I'm going to have to spend 45 minutes in line for Small World.

By now it was already about 11 o'clock and we had been in the park for 2 1/2 hours and done three attractions and eaten a Dole Whip. Partly this was due to my son and husband's slow pace of touring. One or the other of them is always requesting to take a break to drink coffee, use the bathroom, or just rest their feet. But partly it was due to the lines being long even for non-headliner attractions.

We decided to split up at this point so I could ride BTMRR with a 15 minute wait while my husband and son went to Tom Sawyer Island. After I was done I waited for them in the phone charging area next to the Rapunzel bathrooms because SOMEONE (*cough*husband*cough*) took my phone off the charger the night before and it was now at about 15%. A text from my husband reported that my son was fading. Apparently all he wanted to do on Tom Sawyer Island was take a nap! It was about 12pm and the 85 degree heat combined with our 6am wake-up was really starting to get to us, plus it was getting SO crowded in the park at this point. I placed a mobile order for pickup in about 30 minutes at Cosmic Ray's and then hopped in the line for Haunted Mansion, which had suddenly dropped from 45 minutes to 15! Score! I figured we could quickly eat lunch after that and then head out of the park during the most crowded / hottest hours.

Here's where things went sideways a little bit with mobile order and COVID protocols: We got to Cosmic Ray's and of course, you can't go in until your order is ready, and it took so long for them to prepare our order -- I think about 25 minutes. There are really very few places to sit out there that aren't in the hot sun and the area was very crowded with others waiting for their mobile orders. The crowding outside the restaurant seems to defeat the purpose of the mobile ordering system for preventing viral spread. I acknowledge that being outside in a crowd is safer than being inside in a crowd, but it still seems like this part of the system could use some tweaking to prevent that "crowd around outside the restaurant" moment.

Anyway, we got our food and took it outside since all the inside tables were full (I would have preferred the air conditioning). The food was honestly pretty terrible, but at least I was able to fulfill my son's request for a hot dog with a GIANT FOOT LONG hot dog, which he actually ate in its entirety. (He loves hot dogs.) Then we headed over to the Contemporary for our Lyft pick-up about 1:30pm.

After a glorious 2 hr long nap and some relaxing at the hotel, we were headed back to MK at about 5:30pm. Wow, WHAT a difference in crowd level. Parts of the park were nearly empty. I took my son on Buzz Lightyear to give my husband a chance to do at least one "adult" ride on this day: he did Space Mountain with about a 30 minute wait. Buzz Lightyear was only about 15 minutes, so my son and I went to Sleepy Hollow for a Nutella fruit waffle snack while we waited. It was super yummy! It was pretty quiet there, and as we were sitting there we watched a custodian CM doing broom art!: Mickey, Minnie, and Donald. My son asked me "Why's he doing that?" and I told him, "Just to bring a little joy to your day" and I think that tickled the CM because he just smiled and smiled.

Hubby met us at Sleepy Hollow and we headed over to Splash. My son had decided that he wanted to do Splash as his "try ride." I have a rule that he has to be brave and try one ride that scares him a little bit. Otherwise, my son would never do anything new, ever. Splash had a 65 minute wait at 7pm, and we definitely waited all 65 minutes of it despite Touring Plans saying it would only be 38.  On a positive note, it got dark as we were waiting, and all the lanterns came on. I have never been in this ride line at night -- it is beautiful! My son HATED Splash and says he is never going on it again.

At this point, Pirates had a 20 minute wait. I figured we could make it on Pirates, mobile order at Pecos Bill's, and get off the ride just in time to pick up some dinner before the restaurant closed. The Pirates line did move quickly and we had a fun ride -- this is a great one to close out a Magic Kingdom day, for sure. RAN across to PB's and got there just as they were closing the doors to the food pick-up and they were happy to see us. A little pixie dust here because I asked for ice waters and the guy who gave us our food said he couldn't give us water because they had already shut the machine down, but then he said, "just a moment," and went to the fridges and grabbed us three bottles of Dasani. It was so nice of him to do that, especially when we were late picking up! We had a nice quiet meal at Pecos Bill's. I really like this place. The dining area is beautiful and you can get corn dog nuggets: 'nuff said.


----------



## KdKyA

3/31 MK official park opening 8am, gates were already opened when we pulled in from the Fort Wilderness boat at 7:10. We booked it to 7DMT and waited about 25 minutes, then Peter Pan waited about 10 min. By then it was 8:05 so we got in line for Small World. It was a walk on and It was NOT open before official park opening. We then saw that 7DMT was down for several hours. We did Haunted 
Mansion with a posted wait time of 15 and we waited about 10 min ( no pre-show) and Big Thunder. That had a posted wait of 15 but we waited closer to 25 min. From there we headed to Sleepy Hallow for waffles and were hugely disappointed. They had a bunch of premade waffles sitting on the counter for the entire 20 minutes I was in line. By the time we got our food it was not good and not warm. This was not a preorder item. They make a bunch ahead of time and it just sits there. Afterwards we went on Pirates, which had a posted 45 minute wait, that’s pretty close to actual time. We then did Jungle cruise and Tiki Room. Afterwards we headed over to lunch at Liberty Tree. They actually walked us out of Liberty tree and seated us in the Diamond restaurant next door. After lunch we headed back to the cabin for a midday brake which was around 2:00.
At 5:15 we headed back over to MK. We hopped onto Space Mountain (posted time was 15 and we waited about that. Headed over to Buzz Lightyear, posted wait was 10 min and we waited about 15 min. Then we headed to Speedway and waited about 10 min. Then we headed to Little Mermaid which was pretty much a walk on.Afterwards we did Barnstormer and Dumbo which was maybe a 5 minute wait each. It was time them time to get our dole whips. Then we headed up  Splash  Mountain. That was the longest line thus far.. Posted wait was 75. Wait time was actually about 60.


----------



## olafgypsy

A few bonus thoughts on the COVID protocols. I agree with others who have said that the compliance breaks down quite a bit in the afternoon to evening hours. In line for Splash and Pirates at MK last night, folks were basically ignoring the distancing markers and there were many people snacking in line (I'm not talking quick sips of water, I'm talking fully unmasked eating popcorn or whatever), wearing masks with their noses hanging out, and even a few totally unmasked. I did notice CMs stationed at key points throughout the line, presumably to police this behavior, but there's so much time in between those CMs that you see a lot of non-compliant behavior in line in the evenings. 

Part of the problem with the physical distancing in the lines is that there are many big groups. Someone in the group may stop at the distancing marker, but they don't all fit on that marker and they end up stretching out all the way to the next marker, at which point the system breaks down and people just stop trying. What Disney really needs is distancing BOXES for whole groups to stand in, spaced 6 ft apart!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

HikingFam said:


> Anyone been to Ghiradelli recently?  Are they still doing a virtual queue for ice cream (they were in December)?


They were still doing a VQ as of 2 nights ago.


----------



## sdeut

It sounds like lines are hit or miss for length during spring break?  We usually visit during school holidays and it is always very busy especially mid day so we avoid mid day.  Do the crowds currently seem just as busy as always during school holidays?  We are supposed to visit beginning of June.


----------



## KdKyA

olafgypsy said:


> A few bonus thoughts on the COVID protocols. I agree with others who have said that the compliance breaks down quite a bit in the afternoon to evening hours. In line for Splash and Pirates at MK last night, folks were basically ignoring the distancing markers and there were many people snacking in line (I'm not talking quick sips of water, I'm talking fully unmasked eating popcorn or whatever), wearing masks with their noses hanging out, and even a few totally unmasked. I did notice CMs stationed at key points throughout the line, presumably to police this behavior, but there's so much time in between those CMs that you see a lot of non-compliant behavior in line in the evenings.
> 
> Part of the problem with the physical distancing in the lines is that there are many big groups. Someone in the group may stop at the distancing marker, but they don't all fit on that marker and they end up stretching out all the way to the next marker, at which point the system breaks down and people just stop trying. What Disney really needs is distancing BOXES for whole groups to stand in, spaced 6 ft apart!


I think we were in the same line at Splash LOL! There were so many large groups that it was breaking down the whole system. A lot of the time it would be the parents would stand at the marker but then let their kids run around and do whatever. Or the parents would be on their phone not paying attention to the line and creep forward when no one else was moving. There was definitely a break down with mask compliance as well. Around 8pm even the CMs stopped caring to say anything. If anyone is at all hesitant about Covid protocols, I would suggest waiting to go or just go in the early hours before the breakdown begins. This was the crowds on the way out. Social distancing did not exist.


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## KdKyA

Magic Kingdom exiting crowds at park closure. If you want social distancing, leave well before the park closes!


----------



## Haley R

KdKyA said:


> 3/31 MK official park opening 8am, gates were already opened when we pulled in from the Fort Wilderness boat at 7:10. We booked it to 7DMT and waited about 25 minutes, then Peter Pan waited about 10 min. By then it was 8:05 so we got in line for Small World. It was a walk on and It was NOT open before official park opening. We then saw that 7DMT was down for several hours. We did Haunted
> Mansion with a posted wait time of 15 and we waited about 10 min ( no pre-show) and Big Thunder. That had a posted wait of 15 but we waited closer to 25 min. From there we headed to Sleepy Hallow for waffles and were hugely disappointed. They had a bunch of premade waffles sitting on the counter for the entire 20 minutes I was in line. By the time we got our food it was not good and not warm. This was not a preorder item. They make a bunch ahead of time and it just sits there. Afterwards we went on Pirates, which had a posted 45 minute wait, that’s pretty close to actual time. We then did Jungle cruise and Tiki Room. Afterwards we headed over to lunch at Liberty Tree. They actually walked us out of Liberty tree and seated us in the Diamond restaurant next door. After lunch we headed back to the cabin for a midday brake which was around 2:00.
> At 5:15 we headed back over to MK. We hopped onto Space Mountain (posted time was 15 and we waited about that. Headed over to Buzz Lightyear, posted wait was 10 min and we waited about 15 min. Then we headed to Speedway and waited about 10 min. Then we headed to Little Mermaid which was pretty much a walk on.Afterwards we did Barnstormer and Dumbo which was maybe a 5 minute wait each. It was time them time to get our dole whips. Then we headed up  Splash  Mountain. That was the longest line thus far.. Posted wait was 75. Wait time was actually about 60.


Were you on the first boat from the fort? We’re trying to figure out how early to get there before park opening


----------



## KdKyA

Haley R said:


> Were you on the first boat from the fort? We’re trying to figure out how early to get there before park opening


Yes we made the first boat. It arrived around 6:55 to the fort. We were the first in line. We got to the dock at 6:40, and by 6:50 there was already enough people in line to fill the first boat.


----------



## Lsdolphin

olafgypsy said:


> A few bonus thoughts on the COVID protocols. I agree with others who have said that the compliance breaks down quite a bit in the afternoon to evening hours. In line for Splash and Pirates at MK last night, folks were basically ignoring the distancing markers and there were many people snacking in line (I'm not talking quick sips of water, I'm talking fully unmasked eating popcorn or whatever), wearing masks with their noses hanging out, and even a few totally unmasked. I did notice CMs stationed at key points throughout the line, presumably to police this behavior, but there's so much time in between those CMs that you see a lot of non-compliant behavior in line in the evenings.
> 
> Part of the problem with the physical distancing in the lines is that there are many big groups. Someone in the group may stop at the distancing marker, but they don't all fit on that marker and they end up stretching out all the way to the next marker, at which point the system breaks down and people just stop trying. What Disney really needs is distancing BOXES for whole groups to stand in, spaced 6 ft apart!



Or maybe people can use common sense and allow large groups to use space of 2 or even 3 (if necessary) space markers and just space themselves  behind the large group...


----------



## Momtomouselover

Lsdolphin said:


> Or maybe people can use common sense and allow large groups to use space of 2 or even 3 (if necessary) space markers and just space themselves  behind the large group...



Large groups are supposed to split and use two or more markers (officially “4 guests per marker” and “separate larger parties”). The problem is when they are behind you and creep up instead of using two.


----------



## Haley R

KdKyA said:


> Yes we made the first boat. It arrived around 6:55 to the fort. We were the first in line. We got to the dock at 6:40, and by 6:50 there was already enough people in line to fill the first boat.


Awesome thank you! We were planning to get there about an hour and a half before park opening but it all depends on how our morning goes with ds


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

scrappinginontario said:


> Thanks for the reminder @hereforthechurros.
> 
> This is what I’ve gathered so far of what MAY be open at Rope Drop in the parks.  No guarantees and also attractions seem to open at different times during the time between Rope Drop and official park opening time.  (Can’t find my AK info.  Will add that soon)
> 
> ROPE DROP RIDES THAT MAY BE OPEN:
> 
> *DHS*
> Alien Swirling Saucers
> MMRR
> Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
> Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
> Slinky Dog Dash
> Toy Story Mania!
> Tower of Terror
> 
> *Epcot*
> Awesome Planet
> Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along
> Canada Far and Wide
> Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
> Frozen Ever After
> Gran Fiesta Tour
> Journey Into Imagination with Figment
> Living with the Land
> Mission SPACE: Green
> Mission SPACE: Orange
> Reflections of China
> The Seas Main Tank Exhibits
> The Seas with Nemo and Friends
> Soarin'
> Spaceship Earth
> Test Track
> Walt Disney Imagineering presents the EPCOT Experience
> 
> *Magic Kingdom *
> Big Thunder Mountain
> Carousel
> Dumbo
> Magic Carpets of Aladdin
> Peter Pan
> Pirates of the Caribbean
> Seven Dwarfs
> Small World
> Space Mountain
> Teacups
> Winnie the Pooh
> 
> This info will also be added to the first post of the Rope Drop thread soon.



I did AK rope drop in January AND early March. They held the safari until official opening time both times - holding the line outside of the official que.


----------



## Lsdolphin

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> I did AK rope drop in January AND early March. They held the safari until official opening time both times - holding the line outside of the official que.



I did AK rope drop first week of Feb and they did same holding Safari until official opening...I also arrived at PP in MK at 8:00 and they didn’t open ride until 8:40


----------



## lorileahb

KdKyA said:


> I think we were in the same line at Splash LOL! There were so many large groups that it was breaking down the whole system. A lot of the time it would be the parents would stand at the marker but then let their kids run around and do whatever. Or the parents would be on their phone not paying attention to the line and creep forward when no one else was moving. There was definitely a break down with mask compliance as well. Around 8pm even the CMs stopped caring to say anything. If anyone is at all hesitant about Covid protocols, I would suggest waiting to go or just go in the early hours before the breakdown begins. This was the crowds on the way out. Social distancing did not exist.



Or hang back with a drink/snack (I'm thinking Dole Whip!) and enjoy a quiet space and walk out...


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> I did AK rope drop first week of Feb and they did same holding Safari until official opening...I also arrived at PP in MK at 8:00 and they didn’t open ride until 8:40


That was my understanding too but it's good to have confirmation.  What I'm looking for is the rides that may be open at Rope Drop in AK.  I'm fairly confident that list will include:
- Expedition Everest
- Flight of Passage
-Na'vi River Journey

but not sure what else.  I wasn't able to look this morning as I was waiting for Southwest to release their new flight schedule so spent all my time there.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

scrappinginontario said:


> That was my understanding too but it's good to have confirmation.  What I'm looking for is the rides that may be open at Rope Drop in AK.  I'm fairly confident that list will include:
> - Expedition Everest
> - Flight of Passage
> -Na'vi River Journey
> 
> but not sure what else.  I wasn't able to look this morning as I was waiting for Southwest to release their new flight schedule so spent all my time there.



Maybe Dinosaur opens early, too?

I do know that the Dinoland Games don't open until 10 AM. And the Jungle Trek doesn't open until an hour AFTER park opening.


----------



## lnR_Texas

scrappinginontario said:


> That was my understanding too but it's good to have confirmation.  What I'm looking for is the rides that may be open at Rope Drop in AK.  I'm fairly confident that list will include:
> - Expedition Everest
> - Flight of Passage
> -Na'vi River Journey
> 
> but not sure what else.  I wasn't able to look this morning as I was waiting for Southwest to release their new flight schedule so spent all my time there.


Two weeks ago they didn’t open EE until 8:00:00:00 (it seemed that precise). Not sure if testing started late and that delayed the opening. Safari did not open until 8:30.


----------



## KathyNY76

This morning (Thursday 4/1) got Rise BG 59 by sitting out in the hall 4 doors down from my Dolphin room (only 1 data bar inside my room). Estimated return around 12:15.

Left the room around 7:15 to grab breakfast in the store and there was a long line. We didn't get walking to DHS until 7:40. We walked quickly and were in temp check lines by about 7:55. Temps started a little before 8:15.

TOT first. Waited just before the pergola area for about 5-10 minutes then they started loading and it went pretty quickly. Over to RnR said 10 minute wait. Basically walk on - just a couple quick stops. Out of that a little before 9. We decided since we have another DHS morning tomorrow we'd do TOT again and save MMRR and slinky for tomorrow. Wait said 55 so we got in expecting less. It was 53 mins.

Got free ice waters at Rosie's, sat and drank them.

Started to head toward Toy Story, but kids decided on a snack, so grabed Mickey pretzel and cuties at Anaheim Produce.

Headed to TSMM. Posted 35, changed to 40 right as we got in line. Waited 30. (When we were leaving we passed it and still said 30, but line was at ride entrance, so it was definitely way less than 30 as ours snaked way back to Incredibles area).

Tried to mobile order Woody's (it was 11:20ish) and return was 1:55. Instead did Ronto and Docking Bay with an almost immediate return.

Headed to SW - had never been so it was cool to just look around. Got our food, ate in Ronto. Walked over toward Rise, looked around, then sat and waited about 15 mins for group to be called. Timed line entrance to off-load - 45 mins. (We all enjoyed but decided it wasn't so ridiculously amazing that we needed to ride again this trip. Plus, that frees up a BG for someone else who might be on a once in a lifetime trip). Mobile ordered blue and green milks, drank those (well only blue, green tasted like cleaning products...), and headed back to Dolphin via Skyliner. (45 mins from boarding to back resting in our Dolphin room). Longer than just walking back, but we enjoy the Skyliner!

Crowds are here, but not as crazy as normal spring break. Masks quite good, some noses and walking snackers but we just try to avoid. Line creepers all over, but none that I've needed I felt I needed to say something to (yet!).

Resting before hopping to AK around 4.


----------



## lnR_Texas

KathyNY76 said:


> This morning (Thursday 4/1) got Rise BG 59 by sitting out in the hall 4 doors down from my Dolphin room (only 1 data bar inside my room). Estimated return around 12:15.
> 
> Left the room around 7:15 to grab breakfast in the store and there was a long line. We didn't get walking to DHS until 7:40. We walked quickly and were in temp check lines by about 7:55. Temps started a little before 8:15.
> 
> TOT first. Waited just before the pergola area for about 5-10 minutes then they started loading and it went pretty quickly. Over to RnR said 10 minute wait. Basically walk on - just a couple quick stops. Out of that a little before 9. We decided since we have another DHS morning tomorrow we'd do TOT again and save MMRR and slinky for tomorrow. Wait said 55 so we got in expecting less. It was 53 mins.
> 
> Got free ice waters at Rosie's, sat and drank them.
> 
> Started to head toward Toy Story, but kids decided on a snack, so grabed Mickey pretzel and cuties at Anaheim Produce.
> 
> Headed to TSMM. Posted 35, changed to 40 right as we got in line. Waited 30. (When we were leaving we passed it and still said 30, but line was at ride entrance, so it was definitely way less than 30 as ours snaked way back to Incredibles area).
> 
> Tried to mobile order Woody's (it was 11:20ish) and return was 1:55. Instead did Ronto and Docking Bay with an almost immediate return.
> 
> Headed to SW - had never been so it was cool to just look around. Got our food, ate in Ronto. Walked over toward Rise, looked around, then sat and waited about 15 mins for group to be called. Timed line entrance to off-load - 45 mins. (We all enjoyed but decided it wasn't so ridiculously amazing that we needed to ride again this trip. Plus, that frees up a BG for someone else who might be on a once in a lifetime trip). Mobile ordered blue and green milks, drank those (well only blue, green tasted like cleaning products...), and headed back to Dolphin via Skyliner. (45 mins from boarding to back resting in our Dolphin room). Longer than just walking back, but we enjoy the Skyliner!
> 
> Crowds are here, but not as crazy as normal spring break. Masks quite good, some noses and walking snackers but we just try to avoid. Line creepers all over, but none that I've needed I felt I needed to say something to (yet!).
> 
> Resting before hopping to AK around 4.


Sounds like a wonderful day so far. Was glad to hear your assessment of RoR. We felt the same way and didn’t try for a BG on our second DHS day. Maybe RoR will be better next time when I can hear the CM better and I’m not stressed about which dot to stand on (where is the silver dot?  Is that a gray dot or a silver dot? Argh!).


----------



## KdKyA

4/1 Hollywood Studios official park opening 9:00 
Family decided they wanted to sleep in a little this morning as we already had a day at HS on Monday. I was up at 6:50 and decided I would try for a boarding group just in case. If we got it, great, if not, oh well, we rode it Monday. No atomic clocks, only one phone, and simply refreshing right at 7:00. Got boarding group 21. We finally decided to head out at 8:15. Got to HS around 8:35. Had to stop at GS to prioritize tickets (had old HS complimentary passes from prior trip).  The crowds heading in were insane. Every day we had gone in with the first bus or right when gates opened. Coming in 40 minutes after that was a bad, very bad idea. ToT was already a 50 minute wait by 8:45. At 9:00 it was 77 minutes. They were already calling our boarding group by the time we got off ToT. We headed over there and DS and DH said something about and animatronic being out and used a screen instead. A non Star Wars fanatic as myself never even noticed. We stopped for churros and pretzels and then headed to RnR. Posted wait was 45 minutes, we waited 55. Every attraction at that point had well over 40 minute waits so we decided to head back to the cabin for a break. 
Fort Wilderness Main pool was closed and we were told would probably be all day. DH and DD went to the quiet pool while the other 2 kiddos and I went to the Barn to see the horses. Not much to see as the bigger horses were out exercising throughout the fort. 
Came back to the cabin for a power nap and showers before heading back to HS for dinner reservations at Sci-Fi.

Biggest lesson learned here, if you don’t get in and utilize the hour of prepark opening, you lose very valuable time. Even my teens said they would rather not sleep in and get to the attractions early rather than deal with crowds from the moment arriving at the parks. We were regularly getting in 3 attractions in before park opening. Today, we were ready to call it quits at 11:00 (only being in the park 2.5 hours). Heat wasn’t a factor either today as the temps were fantastic!


----------



## VAtink

disneyfan150 said:


> Did you have any luck at all getting ADRs?  We have a split stay. 60 + 2 and 60 + 4  I was hoping for Narccoossee's for the first stay and Cali for the second.  I am so bummed about this situation.



We did end up getting most of them!  The only one we couldn't get was BoG, but we had ate there before so not the end of the world.  For the other ones we used the trick where we searched for different party sizes and booked one that came up, then updated it to our party size later.  For the most part I think we were able to book for parties of 3-4 and just reduced it to our party of two.


----------



## NashvilleMama

lnR_Texas said:


> Sounds like a wonderful day so far. Was glad to hear your assessment of RoR. We felt the same way and didn’t try for a BG on our second DHS day. Maybe RoR will be better next time when I can hear the CM better and I’m not stressed about which dot to stand on (where is the silver dot?  Is that a gray dot or a silver dot? Argh!).


yes!! why are those dots so difficult? they picked the worst/most confusing color scheme somehow.


----------



## Haley R

KdKyA said:


> 4/1 Hollywood Studios official park opening 9:00
> Family decided they wanted to sleep in a little this morning as we already had a day at HS on Monday. I was up at 6:50 and decided I would try for a boarding group just in case. If we got it, great, if not, oh well, we rode it Monday. No atomic clocks, only one phone, and simply refreshing right at 7:00. Got boarding group 21. We finally decided to head out at 8:15. Got to HS around 8:35. Had to stop at GS to prioritize tickets (had old HS complimentary passes from prior trip).  The crowds heading in were insane. Every day we had gone in with the first bus or right when gates opened. Coming in 40 minutes after that was a bad, very bad idea. ToT was already a 50 minute wait by 8:45. At 9:00 it was 77 minutes. They were already calling our boarding group by the time we got off ToT. We headed over there and DS and DH said something about and animatronic being out and used a screen instead. A non Star Wars fanatic as myself never even noticed. We stopped for churros and pretzels and then headed to RnR. Posted wait was 45 minutes, we waited 55. Every attraction at that point had well over 40 minute waits so we decided to head back to the cabin for a break.
> Fort Wilderness Main pool was closed and we were told would probably be all day. DH and DD went to the quiet pool while the other 2 kiddos and I went to the Barn to see the horses. Not much to see as the bigger horses were out exercising throughout the fort.
> Came back to the cabin for a power nap and showers before heading back to HS for dinner reservations at Sci-Fi.
> 
> Biggest lesson learned here, if you don’t get in and utilize the hour of prepark opening, you lose very valuable time. Even my teens said they would rather not sleep in and get to the attractions early rather than deal with crowds from the moment arriving at the parks. We were regularly getting in 3 attractions in before park opening. Today, we were ready to call it quits at 11:00 (only being in the park 2.5 hours). Heat wasn’t a factor either today as the temps were fantastic!


Was the pool closed because of capacity?


----------



## KdKyA

Haley R said:


> Was the pool closed because of capacity?


No, it was completely closed.


----------



## Haley R

KdKyA said:


> No, it was completely closed.


Oh that’s weird. Do you know why?


----------



## #1hoosierfan

Today 4/1

At bus stop at Movies at 9:30 to go to Epcot. Waited a few minutes and got on bus. Driver said he could not unload us until 10:00. Pulled in right at 10. Headed straight to TT. Waited about 20 minutes. We had already ridden Soarin and Living with the Land, so didn’t make our way over there. Headed to WS, starting in Mexico. Rode boat ride with a 5 minute wait and got an avocado margarita. Took our time going around WS and had drinks. Frozen was a 45 minute wait and not a must do so we skipped it. 

Checked into Chefs de France at 1:20. Finished up WS after lunch and then rode MS with a 20 minute wait. Exited Epcot around 4:30. Waited about 15 minutes for bus to AK. DS wanted to ride Dinosaur. Posted time was  45 minutes. Waited 60. Officially the longest I have ever waited for a ride in all my trips to WDW. I hate not having FP. 

Boys wanted to ride EE again. They headed over there while dh and I headed back to the front of the park. My feet were killing me. Boys ride EE four times with about a 5-10 minute wait. 

Exited park at 7:45. Waited about 15 minutes for bus.


----------



## disneyfan150

VAtink said:


> We did end up getting most of them!  The only one we couldn't get was BoG, but we had ate there before so not the end of the world.  For the other ones we used the trick where we searched for different party sizes and booked one that came up, then updated it to our party size later.  For the most part I think we were able to book for parties of 3-4 and just reduced it to our party of two.


This is great news!  Thanks for the tip about reducing.  I didn't think that was possible.


----------



## KathyNY76

Continuing day 1, Thursday 4/1...after a couple hours of rest at Dolphin, took the bus to AK. DS developed a headache on the ride, so took some motrin and decided to do ITTBAB so he'd have some time for it to kick in. Posted 20, took 20.

Headed to EE. Showed 30, kids got in line, I got a drink and some popcorn, saw them come down the hill and met them out front. Maybe took 15-18 mins. Wait had changed to 15 so they went again. They were back out front 13 mins later.

Mobile ordered dinner at Satulii and it was ready just as we walked up. We wanted to hit Navi so the food could digest before Dinosaur, but it was 6:45 and we didn't think we could do Navi, then Dino, then back to FOP. So we hurried over to Dino. Posted wait was 35, but the line was barely out the door - way shorter than when we'd waited in a normal 35 min line. Ended up being 30 anyway. Lots of switch backs inside (surprised me that the bulk of the line wasn't kept outside?).

We were heading back to Pandora right at 7:30, so plenty of time to make FoP line by 8pm close. Said 55, took 50.

Thought for 2 minutes about bussing to Epcot to walk thru and grab some F&G items, but so glad we didn't. Feet are sore and FOP makes me a little gross feeling. Heading to bed for another DHS rope drop tomorrow for MMRR and Toy Story.


----------



## KathyNY76

lnR_Texas said:


> Sounds like a wonderful day so far. Was glad to hear your assessment of RoR. We felt the same way and didn’t try for a BG on our second DHS day. Maybe RoR will be better next time when I can hear the CM better and I’m not stressed about which dot to stand on (where is the silver dot?  Is that a gray dot or a silver dot? Argh!).



Yes, and much of what I'd read was about the CM interaction and while they tried, they weren't very menacing as they pointed confused people where to go, worried about distancing, etc.

We also got quickly ushered through the section with the storm troopers - it didn't give us time to soak it in.


----------



## dizneedoll

KathyNY76 said:


> We also got quickly ushered through the section with the storm troopers - it didn't give us time to soak it in.


They did this to us pre-Covid so maybe is just what they do.


----------



## jennanyg

My DD-15 and I got back yesterday from 6 nights/5 days and stayed at Caribbean Beach. I would like to start off by saying I think Disney has done an amazing job putting all of these safety measures in place. We knew that going into this trip it would be different from previous trips and were okay with that. In the end, I enjoyed this trip a little more than usual because it was more relaxed. We took mid-day breaks some days, and we didn't try and do rope drop every day, some days we slept in and got to the parks around 11am. Usually, we are the people that will go to a park and then another park and be gone for 15 hours in a day, but not this trip. Not having FP, which normally forces you to plan everything around it, was really nice. You know going into it that you will wait about an hour for all of the popular rides, if you don't do rope drop. Yes, this means you typically can't get off a ride and immediately get back on like you can when you get FP after FP. As long as you know ahead of time the popular rides will take an hour, you will not be disappointed.

Going through security is awesome now. We did not have to take our stainless steel water bottles out of our bag, but we did carry our phones in our hands as we walked through. I hope they never go back to the old way of digging through everyone's bags. Typically, once you get inside the temp check tent, it will take no more than 2-3 minutes to go through security and scan in to get into the parks. This was one of the best improvements COVID has brought to Disney. 


We stayed in a pirate room at CBR and requested no mousekeeping. I will freely admit that I am a germaphobe and wiped down all of the hard surfaces with Lysol wipes that I brought. The resort was fine, we liked staying there because of the Skyliner. HS is our favorite park so it makes it super easy to go back and forth. CBR food options are limited to just the Centertown Market and Banana Cabana so they both get busy. 

If you don't know how to mobile order food, look into it now. I actually ended up loving this and had not used it before. I was hesitant to use it before because I didn't want my food to sit and get cold but you tell them to "prepare" your food once we get to the restaurant/counter. Do some research before you go so you know what QS have mobile ordering because not all of them do. The grilled cheese sandwich at Woody's Lunch Box was really good, but you need to order early in the day for Woody's to get a lunch time slot, it's a popular QS.

Overall, I would say the mask wearing is good. There will always be those people that are reminded to wear them properly and then just let them fall back down when a castmember is looking away. The CMs do the best they can and do remind people politely to fix their masks. In my observations, I would say that the middle school age group are the worst offenders. They are old enough to know better but often their parents don't say anything to them. These are also the same parents that don't seem to know that their mask should cover their noses. If you decided to come to Disney right now, you agreed to wear a mask. If you don't like this rule, then don't come right now. We chose to come to Disney because of their mask mandate and enforcement, respect the rules. 

In general, people are good at following the social distancing in lines. We had one case where I politely asked 2 teenage girls behind us to stay on their line because they kept getting within 6 inches right behind us. They were on their phones so I think they just weren't paying attention. There were a few times where you just had to turn around (not saying anything) and people got the message. Sometimes we all just need to be reminded because we have not lined up that way all of the previous years, it's so easy to forget.

As far as the buses go at CBR, we had really good luck getting to and from AK and getting to MK. When we tried to get a bus from MK back to CBR at 1pm on Sunday, that was not great. When we got to the bus stop there were so many people that we had to wait outside of the gate. The first bus came after about 5 minutes but could only take a few people. Knowing this was going to be a long process, there were lots of strollers and families, my DD-15 suggested we get on a bus to HS instead and then take the Skyliner back to CBR. We ended up doing this, but I would say we should have stayed put. I think we would have gotten on the third bus that arrived at the same time we got on the bus to HS, oh well. (We had no bus experience for HS and Epcot because you take the Skyliner from CBR to those parks.)

*General Tips:*
If you have smaller children attach their mask to a sunglasses holder so the mask can just hang around their necks while eating or drinking. I wish I had done that for myself because I hated putting my mask on the table or chair when we were eating.

Bring hand sanitizer and have it hang off your bag so you don't have to dig for it every time you want to use it.

Bring anti-bacterial wipes so you give yourself a break from the hand sanitizer which I find can leave your hands sticky after several usages. I brought a small empty ziploc bag and labeled it "Trash" so we could put the used wipes in it in case a trash can was not around at the time.

Bring a cooling towel for the hot days. They sell them at Disney, but you could get one much cheaper outside of the parks. It got really hot this week waiting for different rides since the lines have to be spaced out and often are in the sun at some point.

That is all I can think of for now, hope you find this helpful.


----------



## Tawney

kathi said:


> Friday, March 26th  Epcot and Magic Kingdom
> 
> We flew in this morning from Philly.


What time was your flight out of PHL?


----------



## DMLAINI

jennanyg said:


> My DD-15 and I got back yesterday from 6 nights/5 days and stayed at Caribbean Beach. I would like to start off by saying I think Disney has done an amazing job putting all of these safety measures in place. We knew that going into this trip it would be different from previous trips and were okay with that. In the end, I enjoyed this trip a little more than usual because it was more relaxed. We took mid-day breaks some days, and we didn't try and do rope drop every day, some days we slept in and got to the parks around 11am. Usually, we are the people that will go to a park and then another park and be gone for 15 hours in a day, but not this trip. Not having FP, which normally forces you to plan everything around it, was really nice. You know going into it that you will wait about an hour for all of the popular rides, if you don't do rope drop. Yes, this means you typically can't get off a ride and immediately get back on like you can when you get FP after FP. As long as you know ahead of time the popular rides will take an hour, you will not be disappointed.
> 
> Going through security is awesome now. We did not have to take our stainless steel water bottles out of our bag, but we did carry our phones in our hands as we walked through. I hope they never go back to the old way of digging through everyone's bags. Typically, once you get inside the temp check tent, it will take no more than 2-3 minutes to go through security and scan in to get into the parks. This was one of the best improvements COVID has brought to Disney.
> 
> 
> We stayed in a pirate room at CBR and requested no mousekeeping. I will freely admit that I am a germaphobe and wiped down all of the hard surfaces with Lysol wipes that I brought. The resort was fine, we liked staying there because of the Skyliner. HS is our favorite park so it makes it super easy to go back and forth. CBR food options are limited to just the Centertown Market and Banana Cabana so they both get busy.
> 
> If you don't know how to mobile order food, look into it now. I actually ended up loving this and had not used it before. I was hesitant to use it before because I didn't want my food to sit and get cold but you tell them to "prepare" your food once we get to the restaurant/counter. Do some research before you go so you know what QS have mobile ordering because not all of them do. The grilled cheese sandwich at Woody's Lunch Box was really good, but you need to order early in the day for Woody's to get a lunch time slot, it's a popular QS.
> 
> Overall, I would say the mask wearing is good. There will always be those people that are reminded to wear them properly and then just let them fall back down when a castmember is looking away. The CMs do the best they can and do remind people politely to fix their masks. In my observations, I would say that the middle school age group are the worst offenders. They are old enough to know better but often their parents don't say anything to them. These are also the same parents that don't seem to know that their mask should cover their noses. If you decided to come to Disney right now, you agreed to wear a mask. If you don't like this rule, then don't come right now. We chose to come to Disney because of their mask mandate and enforcement, respect the rules.
> 
> In general, people are good at following the social distancing in lines. We had one case where I politely asked 2 teenage girls behind us to stay on their line because they kept getting within 6 inches right behind us. They were on their phones so I think they just weren't paying attention. There were a few times where you just had to turn around (not saying anything) and people got the message. Sometimes we all just need to be reminded because we have not lined up that way all of the previous years, it's so easy to forget.
> 
> As far as the buses go at CBR, we had really good luck getting to and from AK and getting to MK. When we tried to get a bus from MK back to CBR at 1pm on Sunday, that was not great. When we got to the bus stop there were so many people that we had to wait outside of the gate. The first bus came after about 5 minutes but could only take a few people. Knowing this was going to be a long process, there were lots of strollers and families, my DD-15 suggested we get on a bus to HS instead and then take the Skyliner back to CBR. We ended up doing this, but I would say we should have stayed put. I think we would have gotten on the third bus that arrived at the same time we got on the bus to HS, oh well. (We had no bus experience for HS and Epcot because you take the Skyliner from CBR to those parks.)
> 
> *General Tips:*
> If you have smaller children attach their mask to a sunglasses holder so the mask can just hang around their necks while eating or drinking. I wish I had done that for myself because I hated putting my mask on the table or chair when we were eating.
> 
> Bring hand sanitizer and have it hang off your bag so you don't have to dig for it every time you want to use it.
> 
> Bring anti-bacterial wipes so you give yourself a break from the hand sanitizer which I find can leave your hands sticky after several usages. I brought a small empty ziploc bag and labeled it "Trash" so we could put the used wipes in it in case a trash can was not around at the time.
> 
> Bring a cooling towel for the hot days. They sell them at Disney, but you could get one much cheaper outside of the parks. It got really hot this week waiting for different rides since the lines have to be spaced out and often are in the sun at some point.
> 
> That is all I can think of for now, hope you find this helpful.


Did you take a bus from Trinidad any days to the parks or did you walk to another stop?  We're coming in 19 days & we'll be in Trinidad.


----------



## KdKyA

Not having much luck with the boats to and from Magic Kingdom this week. We are currently spinning circles in the bay for the last 25 minutes because paperwork wasn’t filled out properly at the dock. So much for getting in an hour early before park opening. On Wednesday they had a “mix up” with the floating electrical parade and we waited 30 minutes because the barges were blocking all of the boats.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

GBRforWDW said:


> When I was there in January, I checked at the front desk.  Hotels are not shipping home.  Only Disney stores are right now.   If you buy something at a Disney owned shop, you can ship it at any other Disney owned shop - I had 2 custom built droids from droid depot that I shipped from AoA gift shop.  However, if you have something not purchased onsite, there's not really a way to ship it from Disney property.


Does this apply to Savi’s lightsabers too? 
To make sure I understand correctly, if I buy souvenirs in the parks, I can ship them home from my resort’s gift shop, like Bou-tiki or Moanas Mercantile from Poly? Im new to Disney trip planning & thats my first time seeing this option. How much is shipping?


----------



## GBRforWDW

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Does this apply to Savi’s lightsabers too?
> To make sure I understand correctly, if I buy souvenirs in the parks, I can ship them home from my resort’s gift shop, like Bou-tiki or Moanas Mercantile from Poly? Im new to Disney trip planning & thats my first time seeing this option. How much is shipping?


I would assume Savi’s is the same way.  As long as it’s sold at a Disney shop, any other shop will complete the shipping info. 

shipping rates are tiered:
https://help.shopdisney.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015826788-Shipping-Delivery


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

GBRforWDW said:


> I would assume Savi’s is the same way.  As long as it’s sold at a Disney shop, any other shop will complete the shipping info.
> 
> shipping rates are tiered:
> https://help.shopdisney.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015826788-Shipping-Delivery


Do we know if coupons for free shipping apply to this? I just got a Disney Rewards coupon in the mail for 20% off & free shipping over $75.


----------



## GBRforWDW

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Do we know if coupons for free shipping apply to this? I just got a Disney Rewards coupon in the mail for 20% off & free shipping over $75.


I do not know if that can be applied.


----------



## travellovingirl

disneyfan150 said:


> This is great news!  Thanks for the tip about reducing.  I didn't think that was possible.


How did you update to your party size?


----------



## beesly

A few notes from our first day, 4/1. Currently at All Star Movies, moving to GF tomorrow.

6:15 In MK bus line, fourth party. Those three other parties grew from ~8 people to 18 as others joined their party member who had been holding a place in line. Line grew quickly behind us.
6:40 4 charter buses showed up and were sent to leave and circle back to continue waiting.
6:45 First MK bus arrived. We were the second to last party to make it on that bus.
7:00 Bus arrived at MK. Contemporary walkers were still holding. Off bus at 7:01, temp checked at 7:03, then held before security. CR walkers were through temp at 7:05, also held before security.
7:07 Security gave a short spiel and we were allowed to go through at 7:08. After walking through the scanners we were sent to the far left entrance lines, and were the second party in our line.
7:16 Music changed to opening announcements.
7:18 Open.

We headed straight to 7DMT and the queue wasn’t yet open. We got in line and were in the stroller parking area. We were on within 10 minutes. Tried PP next and it wasn’t running yet - HM after that, same story. We decided to head over to Tomorrowland for Buzz and Speedway, then into Fantasyland for Pooh before doubling back to Sleepy Hollow for funnel cake. After that we went to Pirates (our only real wait - 35 minutes), then over to Dumbo and Mad Tea Party. Walked off of MTP at 10:30 and headed to the front of the park - from here we had an adventure getting to Disney Springs that involved stopping by the Poly. I should have just asked a CM at MK for the best way to get there - live and learn.

We went to the pool at Movies from about 1:30-4:30 and there was hardly anyone there - tons of empty chairs. It was also only about 70 degrees, though.


----------



## jennanyg

DMLAINI said:


> Did you take a bus from Trinidad any days to the parks or did you walk to another stop?  We're coming in 19 days & we'll be in Trinidad.



We took the bus from Trinidad and never had a problem getting on. One of the days we went to AK, my DD and I were the only ones on the bus.


----------



## disneyfan150

travellovingirl said:


> How did you update to your party size?


VaTink was the OP with this idea.  I haven't done this yet. My ADR booking date is about 2 weeks away.

Getting nervous!!!


----------



## hereforthechurros

beesly said:


> A few notes from our first day, 4/1. Currently at All Star Movies, moving to GF tomorrow.
> 
> 6:15 In MK bus line, fourth party. Those three other parties grew from ~8 people to 18 as others joined their party member who had been holding a place in line. Line grew quickly behind us.
> 6:40 4 charter buses showed up and were sent to leave and circle back to continue waiting.
> 6:45 First MK bus arrived. We were the second to last party to make it on that bus.
> 7:00 Bus arrived at MK. Contemporary walkers were still holding. Off bus at 7:01, temp checked at 7:03, then held before security. CR walkers were through temp at 7:05, also held before security.
> 7:07 Security gave a short spiel and we were allowed to go through at 7:08. After walking through the scanners we were sent to the far left entrance lines, and were the second party in our line.
> 7:16 Music changed to opening announcements.
> 7:18 Open.
> 
> We headed straight to 7DMT and the queue wasn’t yet open. We got in line and were in the stroller parking area. We were on within 10 minutes. Tried PP next and it wasn’t running yet - HM after that, same story. We decided to head over to Tomorrowland for Buzz and Speedway, then into Fantasyland for Pooh before doubling back to Sleepy Hollow for funnel cake. After that we went to Pirates (our only real wait - 35 minutes), then over to Dumbo and Mad Tea Party. Walked off of MTP at 10:30 and headed to the front of the park - from here we had an adventure getting to Disney Springs that involved stopping by the Poly. I should have just asked a CM at MK for the best way to get there - live and learn.
> 
> We went to the pool at Movies from about 1:30-4:30 and there was hardly anyone there - tons of empty chairs. It was also only about 70 degrees, though.


Your experience is exactly why I don't like the parks right now  6:15 am in bus line means waking up around 5:30 am - on vacation! - for even a chance to hit some preferred rides. By 10:30-11:00 am, you've either done what you wanted to do, or lines are too long to want to keep going. So many people leave, we did too, and try to fill the rest of the day before maybe coming back later. Hence very busy pools (per our experience and other reports, glad it wasn't that way for you) and Disney Springs. We've been a handful of times and just can't really get around this. Not saying you had a bad time!

FP made for a more full and satisfying day, for us at least. Rope drop a select 1-2 rides then FPs. Break for lunch then start securing rolling 4th, 5th, 6th FPs, pausing for breaks/snacks along the way until we were ready to leave.


----------



## GBRforWDW

travellovingirl said:


> How did you update to your party size?





disneyfan150 said:


> VaTink was the OP with this idea.  I haven't done this yet. My ADR booking date is about 2 weeks away.
> 
> Getting nervous!!!


You don’t have to update the party size.  When it’s time to check in for the adr, it’ll ask you for guest counts in each age range, just give the actual numbers here.

I’m sure if you can update to a table size that’s more exact, it would be better for larger parties, but it’s not something that’s required and you won’t be charged the cancellation fee if you had a reservation for 6 and only 1 shows up.  Hopefully it’s not that extreme, just saying as long as the reservation gets used, there’s no fees for additional no show guests.


----------



## MMSM

Went to AK today. Drove in and got there at 7am.  They held us until 7:15.  Got in FOP line at 7:30 and off in 20 min.  When we got off the line was huge and by 8:00am it was 75 min long.  Went to NaVi for 10 min.  To Safari for 15 min and to EE for 10 min. Left park at 9:45am and FOP was at 100 minutes and safari at 45 min. It was very cool out today. So we were sad that our Kali that was finally  open we didn’t do.  Just way too chilly.


----------



## scrappinginontario

GBRforWDW said:


> You don’t have to update the party size.  When it’s time to check in for the adr, it’ll ask you for guest counts in each age range, just give the actual numbers here.
> 
> I’m sure if you can update to a table size that’s more exact, it would be better for larger parties, but it’s not something that’s required and you won’t be charged the cancellation fee if you had a reservation for 6 and only 1 shows up.  Hopefully it’s not that extreme, just saying as long as the reservation gets used, there’s no fees for additional no show guests.


Technically you don't need to update the number in your party but if possible, it's helpful to do so.  With restaurants having limited capacity seating right now, accurate numbers are helpful to planning and also in accurately knowing how many guests a server will be responsible for.


----------



## KathyNY76

Day 2 Friday 4/2 DHS
Did Rise yesterday so skipped BG try today.

Left Dolphin around 7:40. Strolled to DHS. Waiting at temp check around 7:55. I mobile ordered some food from Woody's to be ready at 10:05. Let us in around 8:15. 

Went straight to MMRR. Noticed TONS of people heading to Toy Story...which worried me for our post-MMRR Slinky plan.

Walked right on to MMRR. Our first time and we thought it was very fun. 

Headed over to Slinky and I was relieved to see the line looked short. Then I realized I didn't see the train running... (Ended up being down until we left around 11:30.)

Walked on to Saucers. Still no slinky so schlepped over to RnR. I wasn't interested so went to wait in ToT while kids rode. Line said 55 and looked easily that, so I went back to wait for the kids. RnR said 10 mins, it was about that, maybe a smidge more - 45 by the time they got off.

App showed Slinky with a 5 min wait (right at 9am) so we schlepped back. CMs were announcing Slinky was down, so we opted to wait for TSMM which said 30 but was no where near backed out to where we were yesterday at 30 mins. It was probably 20.

Still no slinky...decided to head over to Muppets thru Star Wars while we waited for our food time. Right around the droid depot we noticed a character on the raised walkway by the land speeder. So we decided to sit and see if Rey or Chewy came out. Rey did so we watched a little then back over to Woody's for food. While we ate we realized we wanted more tater tots, so luckily I was able to mobile order some more for immediate arrival window.

Decided to try Muppets again. Got in line saying 25 mins but then looking at the app in line it said 45! So we left, headed back thru Star Wars, saw Chewy with Rey, and out to Toy Story. Still no slinky so we decided to leave.

Got some mickey bars, ate those, and a friendship boat was pulling up just as we were exiting. Perfect!

Room resting, heading to Epcot tonight.

Definitely more noises out and line creepers today. Someone mentioned seeing middle schooler culprits. Not me. 6-8 year olds talking right go their parents and also grown adults - noses everywhere.


----------



## disneyseniors

olafgypsy said:


> Tuesday 03/30 (yesterday) - Second park day: Magic Kingdom. This day was a lot more challenging crowds-wise than EPCOT the day before. We are not early morning people but we *really* tried hard to make it there as soon as they opened the park. Unfortunately, we had a 20 minute wait for a Lyft and then a 15 minute drive to the park, followed by TTC + Monorail. We were walking onto Main Street at 7:30. At that point SDMT was at 50 minutes so we decided to skip it and walk on to PPF instead. Next we got in line for Speedway at DS7's request: It is his favorite ride in Magic Kingdom. Still, I kind of wish we had gone to something else before this one because they were just gearing up for this and were only running like five cars, so we ended up waiting 20 minutes in line even though we were only about 10 parties back. But maybe it was worth it for my son's sigh of happiness as our car INCHED its way around the track and his exclamation "Walt Disney is the GREATEST for thinking up a ride like this"! But the extra wait at Speedway meant that the Space line was up to 45 minutes by the time we got done, so we did Carousel of Progress instead. It has been so many years since I've seen this! Very cute and kind of a nostalgia trip, but it smells SO weird in that theater. What is that smell?!?
> 
> At this point we headed across the park to Jungle Cruise, DS7's other favorite ride. The wait was about 25 minutes. We had a great skipper and we could actually hear him, always a plus  I mobile ordered a Dole Whip Float and a Kakamora Float just as we were getting on the ride and we were able to pick it up right away when we got done. I LOVE the mobile order and pick-up for the ability to do stuff like this. I've definitely spent 30 minutes in line for a Dole Whip before and it's nice not to have to do that, especially if I'm going to have to spend 45 minutes in line for Small World.
> 
> By now it was already about 11 o'clock and we had been in the park for 2 1/2 hours and done three attractions and eaten a Dole Whip. Partly this was due to my son and husband's slow pace of touring. One or the other of them is always requesting to take a break to drink coffee, use the bathroom, or just rest their feet. But partly it was due to the lines being long even for non-headliner attractions.
> 
> We decided to split up at this point so I could ride BTMRR with a 15 minute wait while my husband and son went to Tom Sawyer Island. After I was done I waited for them in the phone charging area next to the Rapunzel bathrooms because SOMEONE (*cough*husband*cough*) took my phone off the charger the night before and it was now at about 15%. A text from my husband reported that my son was fading. Apparently all he wanted to do on Tom Sawyer Island was take a nap! It was about 12pm and the 85 degree heat combined with our 6am wake-up was really starting to get to us, plus it was getting SO crowded in the park at this point. I placed a mobile order for pickup in about 30 minutes at Cosmic Ray's and then hopped in the line for Haunted Mansion, which had suddenly dropped from 45 minutes to 15! Score! I figured we could quickly eat lunch after that and then head out of the park during the most crowded / hottest hours.
> 
> Here's where things went sideways a little bit with mobile order and COVID protocols: We got to Cosmic Ray's and of course, you can't go in until your order is ready, and it took so long for them to prepare our order -- I think about 25 minutes. There are really very few places to sit out there that aren't in the hot sun and the area was very crowded with others waiting for their mobile orders. The crowding outside the restaurant seems to defeat the purpose of the mobile ordering system for preventing viral spread. I acknowledge that being outside in a crowd is safer than being inside in a crowd, but it still seems like this part of the system could use some tweaking to prevent that "crowd around outside the restaurant" moment.
> 
> Anyway, we got our food and took it outside since all the inside tables were full (I would have preferred the air conditioning). The food was honestly pretty terrible, but at least I was able to fulfill my son's request for a hot dog with a GIANT FOOT LONG hot dog, which he actually ate in its entirety. (He loves hot dogs.) Then we headed over to the Contemporary for our Lyft pick-up about 1:30pm.
> 
> After a glorious 2 hr long nap and some relaxing at the hotel, we were headed back to MK at about 5:30pm. Wow, WHAT a difference in crowd level. Parts of the park were nearly empty. I took my son on Buzz Lightyear to give my husband a chance to do at least one "adult" ride on this day: he did Space Mountain with about a 30 minute wait. Buzz Lightyear was only about 15 minutes, so my son and I went to Sleepy Hollow for a Nutella fruit waffle snack while we waited. It was super yummy! It was pretty quiet there, and as we were sitting there we watched a custodian CM doing broom art!: Mickey, Minnie, and Donald. My son asked me "Why's he doing that?" and I told him, "Just to bring a little joy to your day" and I think that tickled the CM because he just smiled and smiled.
> 
> Hubby met us at Sleepy Hollow and we headed over to Splash. My son had decided that he wanted to do Splash as his "try ride." I have a rule that he has to be brave and try one ride that scares him a little bit. Otherwise, my son would never do anything new, ever. Splash had a 65 minute wait at 7pm, and we definitely waited all 65 minutes of it despite Touring Plans saying it would only be 38.  On a positive note, it got dark as we were waiting, and all the lanterns came on. I have never been in this ride line at night -- it is beautiful! My son HATED Splash and says he is never going on it again.
> 
> At this point, Pirates had a 20 minute wait. I figured we could make it on Pirates, mobile order at Pecos Bill's, and get off the ride just in time to pick up some dinner before the restaurant closed. The Pirates line did move quickly and we had a fun ride -- this is a great one to close out a Magic Kingdom day, for sure. RAN across to PB's and got there just as they were closing the doors to the food pick-up and they were happy to see us. A little pixie dust here because I asked for ice waters and the guy who gave us our food said he couldn't give us water because they had already shut the machine down, but then he said, "just a moment," and went to the fridges and grabbed us three bottles of Dasani. It was so nice of him to do that, especially when we were late picking up! We had a nice quiet meal at Pecos Bill's. I really like this place. The dining area is beautiful and you can get corn dog nuggets: 'nuff said.



I just got to say that I loved all of your trip report.  Your 7 y/o son's comments about the rides were so fun to hear;   they reminded me of the unique view kids have of disney.  I always hated the race cars, but each child and grandchild loved, loved them.  Sounds like you had a great day, making lots of great memories, and Dasani too, LOL.  Your TR is my favorite so far


----------



## beesly

KathyNY76 said:


> Day 2 Friday 4/2 DHS
> Did Rise yesterday so skipped BG try today.
> 
> Left Dolphin around 7:40. Strolled to DHS. Waiting at temp check around 7:55. I mobile ordered some food from Woody's to be ready at 10:05. Let us in around 8:15.
> 
> Went straight to MMRR. Noticed TONS of people heading to Toy Story...which worried me for our post-MMRR Slinky plan.
> 
> Walked right on to MMRR. Our first time and we thought it was very fun.
> 
> Headed over to Slinky and I was relieved to see the line looked short. Then I realized I didn't see the train running... (Ended up being down until we left around 11:30.)
> 
> Walked on to Saucers. Still no slinky so schlepped over to RnR. I wasn't interested so went to wait in ToT while kids rode. Line said 55 and looked easily that, so I went back to wait for the kids. RnR said 10 mins, it was about that, maybe a smidge more - 45 by the time they got off.
> 
> App showed Slinky with a 5 min wait (right at 9am) so we schlepped back. CMs were announcing Slinky was down, so we opted to wait for TSMM which said 30 but was no where near backed out to where we were yesterday at 30 mins. It was probably 20.
> 
> Still no slinky...decided to head over to Muppets thru Star Wars while we waited for our food time. Right around the droid depot we noticed a character on the raised walkway by the land speeder. So we decided to sit and see if Rey or Chewy came out. Rey did so we watched a little then back over to Woody's for food. While we ate we realized we wanted more tater tots, so luckily I was able to mobile order some more for immediate arrival window.
> 
> Decided to try Muppets again. Got in line saying 25 mins but then looking at the app in line it said 45! So we left, headed back thru Star Wars, saw Chewy with Rey, and out to Toy Story. Still no slinky so we decided to leave.
> 
> Got some mickey bars, ate those, and a friendship boat was pulling up just as we were exiting. Perfect!
> 
> Room resting, heading to Epcot tonight.
> 
> Definitely more noises out and line creepers today. Someone mentioned seeing middle schooler culprits. Not me. 6-8 year olds talking right go their parents and also grown adults - noses everywhere.



It’s a tough day for waits at DHS with Slinky still down. When we got off of RotR we walked to Toy Story Land, and the MFSR line went all the way to Aliens before looping back into GE - the CM’s sign said 80 minutes. Aliens was posted 40 and looked it, TSM was posted 50 and the end of the line was over near where the entrance used to be. We ended up grabbing some snacks and sitting on a bench next to Brown Derby, watched Chip and Dale come out twice for a picnic, and saw a Pixar cavalcade. We’re going to hop to Epcot for a while and come back this evening, hoping for waits to be a little lower.


----------



## KdKyA

4/2 Magic Kingdom official park opening 8:00
We tried the same plan of attack as we did on Wednesday but met with immediate failure. Today was safety inspection day at MK and it was brutal.
We arrived at FW dock at 6:40. Boat didn’t arrive until 6:55. We headed out around 7:00. The stopped in front of Contemporary and did circles on the water. Captain said they had to redo clearance paperwork first the dock. He said in all his years working at Disney, he’d never experienced that one before. Around 7:35 he got clearance to dock. We pulled in around 7:40. By the time we got through security and temp check, we were already at 7:45 so we decided 7DMT was a lost cause as the wait on TP was already showing over 45 minutes. So we headed to Jungle cruise. They said they wouldn’t open until 8:00, which was fine. At 8:00 we watched the safety inspector shake his head and walk away. 8:05 a guy came back with a bunch of papers. 8:08 the CMs came out and said it could be 5 minutes, could be an hour. Just then a maintenance guy cam walking down the path. Everyone in line bolted and headed to Pirates. We decided to go to Haunted Mansion instead. It was a walk on at HM and then we saw Jungle Cruise had just opened so we went down there. Posted time said 5 minutes. As soon as we got there it jumped to 15. Within 5 minutes of us waiting in line the wait jumped up to 45 then 60. BTMR was down the entire time. We did Jungle Cruise and ended up waiting about 20 minutes. We headed over to Pirates. Posted wait was 45 minutes, we waited 45 minutes. We got off at 9:40 and headed to Tomorrowland. Mobile order was set for 10 so decided to do Carousel of Progress. Pretty much a walk on. DH and DD did Tea Cups while we did CoP. Picked up breakfast and finished around 10:45. Even though the assumption is that MK only sells so many reservations and it’s supposed to be a set limit at 35%, there was a major increase in crowds from Wednesday compared to what we saw today. However Big Thunder was down as well as Splash, I perhaps those crowds that would have been in line are why it felt so much worse. We left at 10:45 to come rest at the cabin and will head back out later this evening. 

Covid precautions: zero social distancing in shops and on Main Street. On Wednesday they controlled the number of people in the shops, today, this morning at least, they just let everyone in. It was packed. Way more line creepers today compared to what we have witnessed all week long.


----------



## melmel

GBRforWDW said:


> I would assume Savi’s is the same way.  As long as it’s sold at a Disney shop, any other shop will complete the shipping info.
> 
> shipping rates are tiered:
> https://help.shopdisney.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015826788-Shipping-Delivery



Yes, we specifically shipped home to avoid dragging lightsabers on the plane.  We took our sabers and other fragile items to the hotel gift shop.  I did take pictures just in case (since they are custom), but everything went perfectly.  The shipment arrived the Friday after we got home.


----------



## boltjames

Friday 4/2:  Just got back to hotel after doing 10am to 3pm at Epcot.

Epcot is a COVID zoo, no distancing in the World Showcase and very few people respecting 6’ gaps on any of the Future World attractions.  More people pulling down masks for photos/arrogance in this park than any of the other three.  Rope drop reduced TT wait to 20 minutes but by the time we got off and wanted to go again it was at 90. Soarin was next, 90 minutes, didn’t bother.  Just walked around, didn’t do many rides, lunched at Mexican indoor restaurant, came back to the room.  Long lines for attractions, crowded walkways, this isn’t working. Pity because HS, AK, and MK were very good.


----------



## MMSM

boltjames said:


> Friday 4/2:  Just got back to hotel after doing 10am to 3pm at Epcot.
> 
> Epcot is a COVID zoo, no distancing in the World Showcase and very few people respecting 6’ gaps on any of the Future World attractions.  More people pulling down masks for photos/arrogance in this park than any of the other three.  Rope drop reduced TT wait to 20 minutes but by the time we got off and wanted to go again it was at 90. Soarin was next, 90 minutes, didn’t bother.  Just walked around, didn’t do many rides, lunched at Mexican indoor restaurant, came back to the room.  Long lines for attractions, crowded walkways, this isn’t working. Pity because HS, AK, and MK were very good.





boltjames said:


> Friday 4/2:  Just got back to hotel after doing 10am to 3pm at Epcot.
> 
> Epcot is a COVID zoo, no distancing in the World Showcase and very few people respecting 6’ gaps on any of the Future World attractions.  More people pulling down masks for photos/arrogance in this park than any of the other three.  Rope drop reduced TT wait to 20 minutes but by the time we got off and wanted to go again it was at 90. Soarin was next, 90 minutes, didn’t bother.  Just walked around, didn’t do many rides, lunched at Mexican indoor restaurant, came back to the room.  Long lines for attractions, crowded walkways, this isn’t working. Pity because HS, AK, and MK were very good.


We hopped to Epcot today around 6 and did dinner. We wanted to hop earlier but all the mainrides were 75min or longer. So we waited.  World Showcase was packed.  Walked to TT and it was down. Went to soarin with 50 min wait but the. Saw they gave fast passes to all who lost out on TT and there were a group of men very drunk behind my family.  We left and did living with land and then left.  We didnt even get to ride. It was so busy and awful.


----------



## scrappinginontario

boltjames said:


> Friday 4/2:  Just got back to hotel after doing 10am to 3pm at Epcot.
> 
> Epcot is a COVID zoo, no distancing in the World Showcase and very few people respecting 6’ gaps on any of the Future World attractions.  More people pulling down masks for photos/arrogance in this park than any of the other three.  Rope drop reduced TT wait to 20 minutes but by the time we got off and wanted to go again it was at 90. Soarin was next, 90 minutes, didn’t bother.  Just walked around, didn’t do many rides, lunched at Mexican indoor restaurant, came back to the room.  Long lines for attractions, crowded walkways, this isn’t working. Pity because HS, AK, and MK were very good.


Epcot is historically busy on the weekends.  If you have hoppers hope you can head back there next week if you're still there.  Hopefully things might be better then.


----------



## DMLAINI

I'm not getting a magic band & I don't want to use my phone to get into the parks. Is there a way to get a key card like Disney used to give out?


----------



## auntlynne

lnR_Texas said:


> Sounds like a wonderful day so far. Was glad to hear your assessment of RoR. We felt the same way and didn’t try for a BG on our second DHS day. Maybe RoR will be better next time when I can hear the CM better and I’m not stressed about which dot to stand on (where is the silver dot?  Is that a gray dot or a silver dot? Argh!).



True, the dot colors are not clearly distinguisgable.

One of my favorite memories at WDW is at Rise.  I wasn’t standing tightly on the dot with my group. The CM started chastising me, to which I responded that I was a rebel from the Alliance.  We had fun with the fact I didn’t even now which groups were in power now.  ‘Cause I am old school.

We looked across the way to see a couple clinging to each other tightly - on their dot.  I love it when others get into these things.


----------



## auntlynne

DMLAINI said:


> I'm not getting a magic band & I don't want to use my phone to get into the parks. Is there a way to get a key card like Disney used to give out?



Yes. I use the hard card. I got mine at Ticket Sales in Disney Spring when converting old paper tickets last year.

Very possible it could be done at Guest Services on the way into any park. 

Someone on here should know with more confidence.


----------



## iujen94

What is the current thought on Slinky vs MMRR at rope drop at DHS?  I want to do both and am debating which to do first.  I'll be walking from the Dolphin and will be there embarrassingly early.  MFSR isn't on my "must do" list, so I'm not worried about that one.


----------



## KathyNY76

4/2 Afternoon hop to Epcot.

It was SO crowded, but we did more than others who have posted.

Left Dolphin just before 2. Friendship boat was at the dock so saved feet and took that.

DD's friend from home was there, so we walked to Figment to meet her. Posted 25, maybe 10.

Nemo posted 10, walk on.

Spaceship Earth posted 25, maybe 15.

Girls left to walk around. DS and I got food at the F&G booth just outside TT exit. Avocado Toast, Shrimp & Grits, and Cinnamon Bites (stuffed donut holes basically). All delicious.

We headed to Mexico for 3 Cabs, but line to get in to pavilion was way too long. Thought about Frozen. 55 mins and wrapped into China, so we sat on a bench to rest legs.

Met up with DD and got Violet Lemonade and the Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy cavalcade came by. Girls went to Soarin, we did LwtL ( walk on). Soarin was posted 60, they waited 35.

DS and I checked Mexico again, still too long. Decided to wait out the 65 at TT. A few minutes in to wait they dropped it to 55. DD joined us. We waited 50.

Headed to Mexico and line was finally short enough. About 10 minutes in and 5 for the ride. We had to the creepers from hell behind us - leading the charge was Grandma. Her 10 year old even grandkid even pointed out what they were doing and she shook her head and did it anyway. I asked a CM for help, he reminded her and she proceeded to yell at him. But he was awesome and she did end up hanging back after that.

Mobile ordered Regal Eagle. Sat outside freezing to eat it (it was real feel 48 or something and windy). Then left and walked back. I really wanted a La Vie en Rose from France F&G, but it was just too cold at that point. 

But, despite the crowds and creepers, we felt pretty successful for a 2:15-8 afternoon hop.


----------



## wdwrule

DMLAINI said:


> I'm not getting a magic band & I don't want to use my phone to get into the parks. Is there a way to get a key card like Disney used to give out?


I thought I read somewhere that you can go to the hotel front desk upon check-in to receive the key card.


----------



## brockash

wdwrule said:


> I thought I read somewhere that you can go to the hotel front desk upon check-in to receive the key card.


I'm sure you can.  When we were there a cpl weeks ago; one person in our party didn't have a magicband so I asked at our resort about getting a card and the guy said well I can just give youna magicband...what color would you like?  I'm sure they just have an excess that they're trying to get rid of, but made our lives easier.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

Should I rope drop Slinky or MFSR on my HS day?
What do you rope drop at MK?


----------



## lnR_Texas

iujen94 said:


> What is the current thought on Slinky vs MMRR at rope drop at DHS?  I want to do both and am debating which to do first.  I'll be walking from the Dolphin and will be there embarrassingly early.  MFSR isn't on my "must do" list, so I'm not worried about that one.


I would choose Slinky because the line for MMRR gets much shorter as the day goes on.  Slinky wait stays long throughout the day.  But rope dropping Slinky only works if you can get there by about 8 am.  I was there two weeks ago and walked from the Speedway gas station, arriving right before Skyliner guests.  Walked through the front gates at 8:13 and boarded SDD by 8:23.  Then to MFSR for about a 20 min wait.  We did MMRR after 5:30 and waited about 15-20 min.  And of course, ended the night with one last SDD run right after park close.


----------



## nicket

Just curious as we have an upcoming trip next month. My daughter is 2 years old and loves Winnie the Pooh. I've seen pictures from when Disney first re-opened and around Christmas of Winnie outside the Imagination pavilion in Epcot. Is he still out at that location randomly throughout the day? I haven't been able to find out if he's in any of the calvacades currently operating either. We have a couple character breakfasts booked and I know she'll be able to see most of the princesses on a calvavade, but Winnie seems to be more elusive. Any tips would be appreciated!


----------



## Lsyves

We have had taxis take us to the contemporary for our early breakfasts at crystal palace. We’d walk from the contemporary to the MK. I think this avoids the parking lot issues? Last time we did that was about 5 years ago so maybe that’s changed.


----------



## lorileahb

nicket said:


> Just curious as we have an upcoming trip next month. My daughter is 2 years old and loves Winnie the Pooh. I've seen pictures from when Disney first re-opened and around Christmas of Winnie outside the Imagination pavilion in Epcot. Is he still out at that location randomly throughout the day? I haven't been able to find out if he's in any of the calvacades currently operating either. We have a couple character breakfasts booked and I know she'll be able to see most of the princesses on a calvavade, but Winnie seems to be more elusive. Any tips would be appreciated!



He's my favorite, too!  In November, those are the two places we were able to catch him.  Watching this one.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Lsyves said:


> We have had taxis take us to the contemporary for our early breakfasts at crustal palace. We’d walk from the contemporary to the MK. I think this avoids the parking lot issues? Last time we did that was about 5 years ago so maybe that’s changed.


This was happening quite a bit recently, but security was really cracking down on people using contemporary as a drop off point.  Without an ADR at the restaurants there, they'd make The cars turn around and leave.


----------



## Lsyves

GBRforWDW said:


> This was happening quite a bit recently, but security was really cracking down on people using contemporary as a drop off point.  Without an ADR at the restaurants there, they'd make The cars turn around and leave.


That is such a bummer! But good to know...


----------



## Makmak

Lsyves said:


> We have had taxis take us to the contemporary for our early breakfasts at crustal palace. We’d walk from the contemporary to the MK. I think this avoids the parking lot issues? Last time we did that was about 5 years ago so maybe that’s changed.


There are reports of people being denied entrance unless they have TS at the contemporary. I’ve not heard of anyone try for drop off for a MK reservation, maybe some others can share. What time is the CP reservation?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsyves said:


> We have had taxis take us to the contemporary for our early breakfasts at crustal palace. We’d walk from the contemporary to the MK. I think this avoids the parking lot issues? Last time we did that was about 5 years ago so maybe that’s changed.


There are no dining reservations before parks are open to guests so there is no need to be dropped anywhere other than the TTC.  You may be dropped at the TTC and take either the monorail or ferry to MK for your CP breakfast.


----------



## Lsyves

scrappinginontario said:


> There are no dining reservations before parks are open to guests so there is no need to be dropped anywhere other than the TTC.  You may be dropped at the TTC and take either the monorail or ferry to MK for your CP breakfast.


Eek. So much has changed. We LOVED seeing the empty MK on our way to breakfast. It was April so it was still a little dark and all the twinkle lights were on, etc. It was magical.


----------



## wdwrule

DMLAINI said:


> I'm not getting a magic band & I don't want to use my phone to get into the parks. Is there a way to get a key card like Disney used to give out?


Found this on MDE app, so yes you can definitely pick up a hard card at front desk (or reactivate an old one in the app)


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsyves said:


> Eek. So much has changed. We LOVED seeing the empty MK on our way to breakfast. It was April so it was still a little dark and all the twinkle lights were on, etc. It was magical.


 I just looked on the MDE app and Crystal Palace is not open for breakfast at this time nor is Be Our Guest.


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

nicket said:


> Just curious as we have an upcoming trip next month. My daughter is 2 years old and loves Winnie the Pooh. I've seen pictures from when Disney first re-opened and around Christmas of Winnie outside the Imagination pavilion in Epcot. Is he still out at that location randomly throughout the day? I haven't been able to find out if he's in any of the calvacades currently operating either. We have a couple character breakfasts booked and I know she'll be able to see most of the princesses on a calvavade, but Winnie seems to be more elusive. Any tips would be appreciated!


Saw him in mid March! He makes a point, if you get up there, to acknowledge all the children with waves.


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

For those doing the dropoff-
On our walk to MK from BLT in mid March, I believe a few "BLT/CR dropoffs" were turned away, and then they attempted to drop them off outside of the gate and the officer that sits there in the middle announced on his intercom to get back in the car for each attempt. (There were several)

Honestly, if you are coming from a Disney hotel, most days buses entered before walkers. Annoying as it was   , I'd bus and take my chances...


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

nicket said:


> Just curious as we have an upcoming trip next month. My daughter is 2 years old and loves Winnie the Pooh. I've seen pictures from when Disney first re-opened and around Christmas of Winnie outside the Imagination pavilion in Epcot. Is he still out at that location randomly throughout the day? I haven't been able to find out if he's in any of the calvacades currently operating either. We have a couple character breakfasts booked and I know she'll be able to see most of the princesses on a calvavade, but Winnie seems to be more elusive. Any tips would be appreciated!




I've seen Pooh in Epcot (as mentioned) and in January he took posed for a selfie with my "Flat Husband" (a friend and I were on a trip in January and we made a Flat Stanley version of my DH since I was missing his birthday and took him everywhere and posed for pictures). The characters DO try to acknowledge folks and pose.

And in MK, I've seen Pooh in a couple of different cavalcades.

Sometimes he is with the other Pooh Characters (Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Tigger) on a trolley car (or walking with them). Other times I have seen him on the cavalcade (this photo is from October 2020 but I also saw him in Jan and Mar)

Other times, he isn't with the other Pooh friends, but on the "Fantasy Friends" Cavalcade.

Also, look at the Train Station on Main Street. Sometimes he's there as well.


----------



## PirateSnowmen

nicket said:


> Just curious as we have an upcoming trip next month. My daughter is 2 years old and loves Winnie the Pooh. I've seen pictures from when Disney first re-opened and around Christmas of Winnie outside the Imagination pavilion in Epcot. Is he still out at that location randomly throughout the day? I haven't been able to find out if he's in any of the calvacades currently operating either. We have a couple character breakfasts booked and I know she'll be able to see most of the princesses on a calvavade, but Winnie seems to be more elusive. Any tips would be appreciated!



I saw him outside the Imagination pavilion when I was there 2 weeks ago! When we passed by he was interacting with people in line for the butterfly house, which is the temporary butterfly garden enclosure they put up for the F&G festival. I didn't see him as a part of any of the cavalcades, but we didn't see many of those during our trip (we weren't around at the right time), so I can't comment for sure if he's apart of any or not.



TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> For those doing the dropoff-
> On our walk to MK from BLT in mid March, I believe a few "BLT/CR dropoffs" were turned away, and then they attempted to drop them off outside of the gate and the officer that sits there in the middle announced on his intercom to get back in the car for each attempt. (There were several)
> 
> Honestly, if you are coming from a Disney hotel, most days buses entered before walkers. Annoying as it was   , I'd bus and take my chances...



Also, if people are already wanting to Uber/Lyft, getting dropped off at the TTC isn't the end of the world. On my trip two weeks ago we took an Uber to MK and were still in the park early. The park opened at 8am: we got dropped off at the TTC at 7:10, on the [waiting] Monorail at 7:15, and through the gates at 7:23.

On my trip back in November, we took the bus from CBR. The park opened at 9am: we got to our bus stop at 7:40, were on the first bus out of CBR at 8:15ish, and didn't make it through the gates until 8:40.


----------



## WEDWDW

wdwrule said:


> Found this on MDE app, so yes you can definitely pick up a hard card at front desk (or reactivate an old one in the app)
> 
> View attachment 566724


Looks like _Key to the World_ Cards will be making a great comeback!lol

We may get one when we go this month just for great memories of knowing you had REALLY arrived at WDW when the Front Desk of your Resort issued you your KTTW card!


----------



## brockash

nicket said:


> Just curious as we have an upcoming trip next month. My daughter is 2 years old and loves Winnie the Pooh. I've seen pictures from when Disney first re-opened and around Christmas of Winnie outside the Imagination pavilion in Epcot. Is he still out at that location randomly throughout the day? I haven't been able to find out if he's in any of the calvacades currently operating either. We have a couple character breakfasts booked and I know she'll be able to see most of the princesses on a calvavade, but Winnie seems to be more elusive. Any tips would be appreciated!


We saw him there a cpl weeks ago...he's not there all the time...instead comes in/out intermittently.


----------



## 1GoldenSun

TISHLOVESDISNEY said:


> Honestly, if you are coming from a Disney hotel, most days buses entered before walkers. Annoying as it was  , I'd bus and take my chances...


Bus riders are getting in before walkers? Are the walkers held back? I'm staying at the Poly and was planning on leaving crazy early and walking, maybe I should just be crazy early for the bus instead. I wonder if there's any benefit to walking to GF and getting a bus from there.


----------



## Wood Nymph

1GoldenSun said:


> Bus riders are getting in before walkers? Are the walkers held back? I'm staying at the Poly and was planning on leaving crazy early and walking, maybe I should just be crazy early for the bus instead. I wonder if there's any benefit to walking to GF and getting a bus from there.


They don't have a bus from GF to MK. There is a monorail, a boat and a walking path instead. But they are running a bus from the Polynesian to MK while the monorail station is closed for construction.


----------



## nicket

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> I've seen Pooh in Epcot (as mentioned) and in January he took posed for a selfie with my "Flat Husband" (a friend and I were on a trip in January and we made a Flat Stanley version of my DH since I was missing his birthday and took him everywhere and posed for pictures). The characters DO try to acknowledge folks and pose.
> 
> And in MK, I've seen Pooh in a couple of different cavalcades.
> 
> Sometimes he is with the other Pooh Characters (Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Tigger) on a trolley car (or walking with them). Other times I have seen him on the cavalcade (this photo is from October 2020 but I also saw him in Jan and Mar)
> 
> Other times, he isn't with the other Pooh friends, but on the "Fantasy Friends" Cavalcade.
> 
> Also, look at the Train Station on Main Street. Sometimes he's there as well.
> 
> View attachment 566734



Thanks so much for the tips! We plan on hanging out both in that Epcot area and along the calvacade route in MK/Main Street for a decent amount of time off/on to try and see Winnie. Glad to know he is still out and about!


----------



## scrappinginontario

1GoldenSun said:


> Bus riders are getting in before walkers? Are the walkers held back? I'm staying at the Poly and was planning on leaving crazy early and walking, maybe I should just be crazy early for the bus instead. I wonder if there's any benefit to walking to GF and getting a bus from there.


Disney is coordinating transportation so that basically everyone arrives at approx the same time.  One day the walkers may arrive a bit before the others but the next day it may be a different form of transportation.  I would recommend taking the one that is most convenient for you.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Apologies if this is old news, if so, please ignore.  Saw this posted earlier on the Resorts Board and it was new to me.  FYI.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Apologies if this is old news, if so, please ignore.  Saw this posted earlier on the Resorts Board and it was new to me.  FYI.
> 
> View attachment 566796View attachment 566797



WOW!  They must REALLY be having challenges this week with people trying to park / get dropped off at the Contemporary.


----------



## beesly

Thought this might be the best place to share that there appears to be a WDW-wide shortage of sunscreen. We tried to buy some at Sandy Cove today at GF, and they didn’t have any and couldn’t tell me where to get any. We popped into DHS briefly and tried to buy some at Mickey’s of Hollywood - nothing. They recommended we try Movieland Memorabilia and Crossroads - and it was at the latter that we were told that there isn’t any to be found on property. I don’t know how accurate that is or how long it will be the case, but I’d say anyone visiting soon should make sure to bring sunscreen with you unless you’re already planning to go somewhere off property where you can get some (or perhaps plan on having groceries delivered, in which case you should add that to your list!).


----------



## brockash

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Apologies if this is old news, if so, please ignore.  Saw this posted earlier on the Resorts Board and it was new to me.  FYI.
> 
> View attachment 566796View attachment 566797


Hmmm...I'm wondering if their system actually is not allowing others to order or if like many things Disney does; they're just putting it out there to see if ppl. comply.


----------



## 1GoldenSun

How much farther is the walk from GF? Maybe people will just start getting dropped off there.


----------



## scrappinginontario

1GoldenSun said:


> How much farther is the walk from GF? Maybe people will just start getting dropped off there.


Guests may not be dropped off at any resorts without an Advanced Dining Reservation to dine at a table service restaurant.  The resorts are not available for guest drop-off.  Guests are to be dropped at the TTC when going to the Magic Kingdom..


----------



## KdKyA

beesly said:


> Thought this might be the best place to share that there appears to be a WDW-wide shortage of sunscreen. We tried to buy some at Sandy Cove today at GF, and they didn’t have any and couldn’t tell me where to get any. We popped into DHS briefly and tried to buy some at Mickey’s of Hollywood - nothing. They recommended we try Movieland Memorabilia and Crossroads - and it was at the latter that we were told that there isn’t any to be found on property. I don’t know how accurate that is or how long it will be the case, but I’d say anyone visiting soon should make sure to bring sunscreen with you unless you’re already planning to go somewhere off property where you can get some (or perhaps plan on having groceries delivered, in which case you should add that to your list!).


Had a lengthy conversation with a CM yesterday. He said they are switching vendors on sunscreen and batteries so both of those are in extremely short supply until the contracts get switched over.


----------



## DisneyFive

WEDWDW said:


> Looks like _Key to the World_ Cards will be making a great comeback!lol
> 
> We may get one when we go this month just for great memories of knowing you had REALLY arrived at WDW when the Front Desk of your Resort issued you your KTTW card!



Brings back good memories of having 7 KTTW cards stuffed in my wallet “back in the day” as the dedicated paper fast pass runner. 5 for my immediate family and two for my in-laws 

Dan


----------



## WEDWDW

DisneyFive said:


> Brings back good memories of having 7 KTTW cards stuffed in my wallet “back in the day” as the dedicated paper fast pass runner. 5 for my immediate family and two for my in-laws
> 
> Dan


No doubt!

What was really "fun" was when The 15s would send one person with about 70 KTTW cards to a FASTPASS machine!lol


----------



## wilkydelts

Day 1: Animal Kingdom- 4/2 8a-8p

Party of 11, one who is too short so needs to child swap bigger things.

After re-routing once came back at 6:54a and found people held at cones waiting to be let into cones so joined them. Let us to tolls at 7:04a. Opened tolls at 7:15

In line for Flights of Passage 7:38 got loaded at 7:58. Took 20 minutes Never stopped moving until about loading area

Went to Navi said 20 minutes took us 13

Some went back to Flights for child swap rest waited. Got quick breakfast snack at Pongu Pongu

Got to Safari at 9:15 said 30 took us 29 but also had to wait for handicap access truck. Probably would of been closer to 20 if main line only. Animals very active, it was a great experience.

Head to Dinosaur got DAS pass for it then had snacks while we waited for around 40 minutes for the pass to come available. Also rode Triceratop-spin while we waited, said 10 took us 2.

Group went to Dinosaur, I did Triceratops again with young one.  It was walk on again went to do it twice and the ride jump in crazy fashion. 

Went to Everest said 30 took 18. We child swapped then head to lunch. 5 at Rainforest for 12:30 and 6 at Yak and Yeti for 12:45. Met back together after eating at 2:25.

Did Jungle Trek, then got in line for 3:30 Bird show at 3:00. Young one did not want any part of the show so I took a walk while they watched the show. 

Did Gorilla Falls then stopped at Tamu Tamu for Dole whips at 4:30

Went to Tough To Be A Bug said 20 was 22

Headed to Triceratops again said 10 was 4. Some went to Dinosaur again. 

Went on Everest to end the night said 15 was 5

Left park at 7:15. Wasn’t sure if I was guaranteed Pandora at night so we just decided to head home. 

The day was absolutely perfect. We never felt crowded and never waited in long lines and today did not have any park reservations left for any group! If my HS day on Tuesday and MK on Wednesday is this good it might end up the best Disney trip I have ever had


----------



## preemiemama

WEDWDW said:


> No doubt!
> 
> What was really "fun" was when The 15s would send one person with about 70 KTTW cards to a FASTPASS machine!lol


And you would just sit and watch that return time get further and further into the future as the machine kept spitting out FPs for them.


----------



## kdonnel

Had a slow easy day. Made it to Epcot about 11:30. Waited on TT, took 40 minutes compared to the posted 65 minutes. We then ate our way over to the Frozen ride. Waited 25 minutes there, exactly the same as the posted 25 minutes wait. We then ate our way around to the International Gateway exit. Rode the Skyliner to RR where we caught an Uber to the Animal Kingdom. 

At the Animal Kingdom we went straight to Expedition Everest. The posted time was 45 minutes, we waited 30 minutes. Next we road the Safari with a wait time listed at 25 mins but a wait of 15. Then off to Flight of Passage with a posted wait of 65 and an actual wait of 40.  After dinner we went back to Everest as it was a walk on. 

We took the bus back to the hotel and baked in the hot tub with 22 of our newest friends. 

It was a nice slow easy day on our first trip to WDW without our kids. We did so many fewer rides but that was because of our purposefully slow style. Crowds and lines seem more or less the same as our last visit in November when we had no problem riding rides at a break neck speed with the kids.


----------



## olafgypsy

04/01 EPCOT - 3rd park day, our second day at EPCOT. We decided to embrace our night owl tendencies and not attempt rope drop at EPCOT; we would simply hold off on doing any rides until late evening when the lines went down. We woke around 10am and then headed to Disney Springs for "breakfast" around 12pm because I wanted to try Everglazed. I immediately regretted this choice when we were routed through the parking garage cattle chute style back-and-forth, back-and-forth that immediately adds half a mile to your walk before the day even starts. It took about 30 minutes just to get IN to Disney Springs around noon. On a Thursday. Ugh. Everglazed, however, was amazing. The donuts tasted SO fresh! My husband had a burger that was really good also. But Disney Springs was an absolute zoo with horrific crowds and long lines to get into every store, so this day had me regretting I had booked so many dinner reservations for our non-park days here.....I knew it wasn't going to be very restful.

Headed to EPCOT around 2:30 and were scanning into the parks about 3. We spent 4+ hours in World Showcase just grazing the F&G festival booths, admiring the floral displays, and hunting for Spike. Crowds were manageable in World Showcase: we never had more than a 5-minute wait for food booths and many areas of the pavilions were totally empty once you got off the main walkways. 

We finally headed to Future World around 7:20 for Test Track. This was my son's "try ride" for EPCOT (a new-to-him ride he agrees to try to force him out of his comfort zone). I have been wanting him to try this ride forever because he has been obsessed with wheeled machines pretty much since birth, but he was always too scared to try TT because he thought it looked "too fast." Well........he loved it!! (I knew he would.) He got off the ride and did this little jump he always does when he's excited and said, "I guess I have a new favorite ride" (so cute). Our wait on this would have been about 35 minutes except they did a 15 minute cleaning cycle RIGHT before we got to the front of the line, so it was 50 minutes -- longest wait of the trip so far. Worth it for my son's reaction 

At this point we paused to eat at Sunshine Griddle food booth. This was the BEST food booth of the festival hands down. Everything we had -- shrimp and grits, corned beef hash, avocado toast, Froot Loops shake, cinnamon bites--was SO, SO good. Run, don't walk, to this booth next time you are at EPCOT!

About 9:00 we were in line for Spaceship Earth. It was about 15 minutes to front of line. After SE we headed to Soarin'. For this one we waited about 30 minutes and had a great ride. It was getting close to park close at this point, but I had promised my son I would take him to the WDI Presents the EPCOT Experience exhibit in the festival center so we did that for about 10 minutes before hopping in line at 10:45pm for FEA. I have not been on this ride since it was Maelstrom and this is a fun re-make, but some of it seems kind of low-budget. There are whole parts of the ride that are just black wall on one side, which seems very.....not Disney-like. The line theming, however, is adorable. The ride has a drop in it, therefore my son hated it.

Overall I think that in non-FP times late evening touring at EPCOT is the way to go if you can swing it with your family's preferences. The crowds are so light and the lines as short as they're going to get. I know that's probably difficult for folks with little ones, but happily our son is a night owl just like mom and dad and he is rarin' to go and happy as a clam about 7pm, so this worked well for us. The relaxed touring in WS and (relatively) short lines in FW made this our best park day so far.


----------



## olafgypsy

disneyseniors said:


> I just got to say that I loved all of your trip report.  Your 7 y/o son's comments about the rides were so fun to hear;   they reminded me of the unique view kids have of disney.  I always hated the race cars, but each child and grandchild loved, loved them.  Sounds like you had a great day, making lots of great memories, and Dasani too, LOL.  Your TR is my favorite so far


Awww, thank you! Yes, it's such a different experience doing Disney with a kid! My 20-something-self would shudder at the thought of Rope-Dropping the Speedway. My mom self just shrugs and goes with it


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

I love these updates from you all. Great tips, whether it’s rope dropping or to bring your own sunscreen. Thank you all so much!


----------



## DCLMP

scrappinginontario said:


> Guests may not be dropped off at any resorts without an Advanced Dining Reservation to dine at a table service restaurant.  The resorts are not available for guest drop-off.  Guests are to be dropped at the TTC when going to the Magic Kingdom..


If they would improve their bus service or only allow resort guests in an hour early they could alleviate these problems.


----------



## DCLMP

If you Lyft to AK what time do they let ride shares in?


----------



## GBRforWDW

DCLMP said:


> If you Lyft to AK what time do they let ride shares in?


They usually let cars start lining up an hour before posted opening, then hold you at the toll booths until 45 minutes before posted opening.


----------



## LSUfan4444

Did any park close for hopping at any point all weekend or yesterday?


----------



## TheMick424

Thanks to everyone for reporting back on their trips!  So helpful!  Anyone recently stay at Riviera or Beach Club?  Would love to hear about your experiences with the buses and food at the resort.


----------



## Wood Nymph

TheMick424 said:


> Thanks to everyone for reporting back on their trips!  So helpful!  Anyone recently stay at Riviera or Beach Club?  Would love to hear about your experiences with the buses and food at the resort.


We have stayed at the Yacht Club and have gone to the BC Marketplace for breakfast almost every day during our last three trips. The villas building is open but the resort rooms are closed. The BC marketplace has been empty or had very few guests every time we went there. We really liked having the place to ourselves.

We have done the bus stop at the BC and it has been fine. The MK bus is the busiest, as usual, and the AK bus has been fine, too. The only other bus is for Disney Springs, since you can walk, take a boat or a Skyliner for the other two parks. They don't have a formal line for the buses and social distancing for the bus lines doesn't exist. But otherwise, it is fine. I prefer taking the bus from the YC because they have clearly marked lines with social distancing stickers on the ground.


----------



## subtchr

LSUfan4444 said:


> Did any park close for hopping at any point all weekend or yesterday?



No. 

Every park has been available for hopping every day since it was reinstated on 1/1/21.


----------



## DisneyFive

subtchr said:


> No.
> 
> Every park has been available for hopping every day since it was reinstated on 1/1/21.



Gosh I hope they open the Epcot monorail loop soon.  It's one of the perks of staying at the monorail resorts (I'm looking at you Polynesian August of this year).  

Dan


----------



## subtchr

DisneyFive said:


> Gosh I hope they open the Epcot monorail loop soon.  It's one of the perks of staying at the monorail resorts (I'm looking at you Polynesian August of this year).
> 
> Dan



Eh, I wouldn't expect that anytime soon. They seem to be doing fine with the direct buses between MK & Epcot after 2, (and between Poly and Epcot all day).

I hope they do, too, though!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

GBRforWDW said:


> When I was there in January, I checked at the front desk.  Hotels are not shipping home.  Only Disney stores are right now.   If you buy something at a Disney owned shop, you can ship it at any other Disney owned shop - I had 2 custom built droids from droid depot that I shipped from AoA gift shop.  However, if you have something not purchased onsite, there's not really a way to ship it from Disney property.


Ok so this is confusing-Disney Stores mean anywhere on property yes? So if we go to our hotel store we could ship it form there yes?


----------



## GBRforWDW

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Ok so this is confusing-Disney Stores mean anywhere on property yes? So if we go to our hotel store we could ship it form there yes?


Yes, I'm not sure if all Disney Springs shops fall into this category, but should include all shops in the parks and resorts.


----------



## Ejw5

Disney has updated their mask policy with a change that starts April 8! You will be able to take massless photos while outdoors, stationary, and socially distanced! I am so excited to be able to see my kids faces in our vacation photos!


----------



## travellovingirl

Ejw5 said:


> Disney has updated their mask policy with a change that starts April 8! You will be able to take massless photos while outdoors, stationary, and socially distanced! I am so excited to be able to see my kids faces in our vacation photos!


Where did you see this change?


----------



## Ejw5

travellovingirl said:


> Where did you see this change?


It’s on the Disney website. Here is a screenshot from the official announcement.


----------



## Rarity

travellovingirl said:


> Where did you see this change?



It's on the WDW website. Click on "Face Coverings (link)."


----------



## chad_1138

I am now officially keeping Memory Maker for our July Trip!!!


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

Im sorry if this has already been discussed, but is it being enforced that you have to wear your mask til your food or drinks come to your table while dining? Or has it been more that you can take off your mask once seated?


----------



## beesly

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Im sorry if this has already been discussed, but is it being enforced that you have to wear your mask til your food or drinks come to your table while dining? Or has it been more that you can take off your mask once seated?



Our experience over the past week was that diners could (and most seemed to) remove their masks once seated.


----------



## KBL3782

TheMick424 said:


> Thanks to everyone for reporting back on their trips!  So helpful!  Anyone recently stay at Riviera or Beach Club?  Would love to hear about your experiences with the buses and food at the resort.



We stayed at Rivera in early March and had a fantastic experience! The resort itself is beautiful and the service in general was excellent. We had no issues with buses at all, and never waited more than about 10 minutes for a bus from resort to park or to DS. It is a small enough resort that there is not a *ton* of competition for bus space, but its still a good idea to arrive to the stop early so you can guarantee a spot in line. The skyliner was really easy and efficient, both for Epcot & DHS. (I would be in line by 7:30am for a 9am DHS opening if rope drop is important to you though. We did not rope drop Epcot, so I really can't speak to that)

As for the food, here is where I will probably have a different opinion than most. It was fine -- nothing great or outstanding to me but it was fine. The only meal we had at Topolino's was breakfast, and while it was good it isn't something I would do again.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Just back from our spring break trip 3/25-4/1 and thought I'd share some overall experiences/thoughts.  Travel party was myself, DH, DS14 and DS12 and we stayed in a preferred room at CBR.  I will preface these comments by saying that I was most worried about lack of FP and crowds on this trip, as we are typically hard core Fast Passers and not used to waiting in lines.  I was also worried about the parks feeling less magical with a lot of the experiences still missing.  I'll touch on each of these in more detail, but to summarize I'll say we had an amazing trip!  There were definitely some things we missed, but I couldn't be happier that we went and had a great time.

*Masks/Safety Protocols*
I was very impressed by everything Disney has put in place, especially with ride queues.  Yes, the lines look incredibly long and it can be a challenge to find the end, but the nice thing is that once you're in line they move constantly so it never really feels that long.  The lines are now mostly outdoors, which is good for Covid but not great when it's super hot.  MOST people are good about staying on the markers, but occasionally you do get families that aren't paying attention.  We also observed a lot of people eating/drinking in line (and not just kids).  Not debating whether it's right or wrong, just an observation.  Occasionally you would get a CM that would remind people that it's not allowed, but for the most part no one says anything.  Mask wearing was very good throughout the parks.  I was actually surprised by how well most people complied.  

*Mobile Ordering*
Loved it, hope it stays around forever!  We never had an issue getting a time slot and generally would only wait 10-15 minutes to pickup.  We found it so much easier to find a shady place to sit, have everyone look at the menu on the phone, and place the order versus the chaos of taking everyone into the restaurant and trying to order with a cashier.  Just so much more convenient and nice to always be able to find a table.

*Characters/Shows*
My kids are older and no longer into meeting characters, but I will say that we definitely missed seeing characters around the parks.  The cavalcades are really fun, but I feel like Disney can definitely do more in this area.  They could easily have more socially distanced characters throughout the parks and I think it would really bring back an energy that is lacking right now.  We really missed the nighttime shows as well.  It was so weird not seeing people lining up in the hub in the evenings.  I really hope they return soon.

*Lines/Crowds*
As I mentioned earlier, the rides lines LOOK super long, but we found wait times to be pretty manageable, especially in the first hour after park opening and last 2 hours of the day.  For the first hour, most everything will be walk on or less than 20 minutes (SDD being an exception - that lines gets crazy long almost immediately).   Same for the last couple hours before park closing.  We generally found posted wait times to be exaggerated (especially at MK).  The longest we waited all week was for Splash at about 45 minutes (at park closing) and FOP for almost an hour (this was our fault as we slept in on our AK day, knowing we'd have to wait a bit for the ride).

*Resort/Pools*
We stayed at CBR and the resort definitely seemed "full".  It's really time to open everything back up at the "open" resorts.  The food court and pool were very crowded.  We never had to wait to get into the main pool, but by mid-afternoon it was packed with most every chair occupied (they did have the chairs spaced out and asked people not to move them).  Masks are not required once inside the pool gates.  Mask compliance throughout the resort was definitely less than in the parks.  However, I'll say this is an area were IMO Disney could ease up a bit.  Seems reasonable that walking outside at the resort, when social distancing is not difficult at all, shouldn't be an issue.

*Transportation*
We used Skyliner a LOT on this trip and absolutely loved it.  Total game changer.  The lines do build pretty long at park open/close, but move quickly.  We had our usual "ok" experience with buses.  They are as unpredictable as ever and maybe even more so now with the reduced capacity.  It's nice always having a seat though!

*TS Dining*
They are still doing a great job of spacing out tables.  I know there was a lot of recent talk about keeping masks on until food is served, but that wasn't our experience at all.  We ate at quite a few TS and none of them mentioned this rule nor did I see anyone seated with a mask on.

I think that covers the major topics.  All in all a great trip.  Happy to answer any questions


----------



## brockash

Ejw5 said:


> Disney has updated their mask policy with a change that starts April 8! You will be able to take massless photos while outdoors, stationary, and socially distanced! I am so excited to be able to see my kids faces in our vacation photos!


Wow...I'm glad, but pretty surprised how quickly they made that change - quickly for Disney lol...especially considering their wasted time on changing (making more strict) the verbiage/policy of mask wearing when eating/drinking a month or so ago.  Interesting...maybe we're closer to maskless Disney than I thought.


----------



## whiporee

Ejw5 said:


> It’s on the Disney website. Here is a screenshot from the official announcement.



That probably deserves its own thread.


----------



## scrappinginontario

whiporee said:


> That probably deserves its own thread.


One was started earlier today.


----------



## Victoria3

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Im sorry if this has already been discussed, but is it being enforced that you have to wear your mask til your food or drinks come to your table while dining? Or has it been more that you can take off your mask once seated?



I remove my mask when I receive my drink.


----------



## HokieRaven5

Got back from a trip yesterday. Had a great time with my kids and extended family. My kids are a little more anxious or under 40" so we didn't do as many of the big ticket rides as a family. My extended family did more of those in their time. 

Day 1: MK (3/31)
We got to the parking gates a little after 7am and they didn't start letting cars through until closer to 7:15am. We were off the monorail and into the park a little before 8am. Most of the rides we did were practically walk on to start the day and our longest wait was about 15 minutes for BTMR. My extended family waited a lot longer for splash mountain due to a cleaning cycle and a lot of folks coming through on the fastpass side (a bunch of people may have gotten a multiple experience pass due to 7 dwarfs being down early in the morning for an hour or so on top of the DAS and rider swap individuals who use the fastpass line. About 3-4pm my kids were done with the parks so we spent the rest of the day at our pool.

Day 2: DHS/EPCOT (4/1)
Got boarding group 16 for all 11 people in my group. Got to the parking gates later than I had wanted to due to hang ups with the family but we still got on MMRR within 15 minutes of arriving in the park. Headed to our boarding group where 7 of the 11 got on ROTR first (operated in B mode) and then the other 4 (some were repeat riders) got to go in line but the ride shut down after the first ride portion and they were evacuated and got experience passes. From there did TSMM, AS2 (which my youngest loved), saw some commercial filming in Toy Story Land and used the multiple experience with my wife to hop on SDD at the same time as my extended family who had waited in line. Then took my kids over to check out Lightning while my family managed to use a single multiple experience to get into the fastpass line for ToT (i'll call that some Disney Magic there) and we got the same to get on MFSR prior to our nice relaxing lunch at Sci-Fi (kids loved some of the old time TV).
Then we hopped over to EPCOT and saw Pooh chasing some butterflies, got on Living with the Land, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, Frozen, and tasted some samples from Flower and Garden before taking the skyliner back to our car at DHS

Day 3: Resort day
Hung around our resort, played some mini golf, went to Disney Springs which was by far our worst experience associated with Disney. Way too many people there for us and way too questionable on the mask compliance. I knew that going into it but it was still jarring the amount of people that were there by comparison to the parks. Had an early DessertDinner at Beaches and Cream before getting an early night sleep.

Day 4: DAK/DHS (4/3)
Started the day at the animal kingdom and did the safari a few times on the day, walked around and saw some of the animals. Had a gorilla playfully toss a bucket at the glass barrier so that made the highlight reel for my youngest. Did Navi river journey with the whole family. Rode triceratops a few times while my extended family did Dinosaur. Ate at flame tree and watched the flotillas which the kids loved waving hi to the characters. Then walked to see the tigers while extended family did everest and did one last safari where we had to hop out of line due to bathroom issues for my kids and fortunately the cast member at the fastpass entrance was kind enough to let us go through there to catch up to our family unit (She was even from my home town!). 

We then went back to DHS because my oldest wanted to find something star wars related that we didn't get on our second day. We also did the Disney Jr Sing and Dance and my kids lit up seeing mickey in his roadster racer outfit. Youngest did TSMM again while we shopped. Got dinner at Woody's lunchbox and called it an early evening. 

Day 5: MK/EP (4/4)
Easter Sunday in the Magic Kingdom and my kids were pretty much burnt out at this point and didn't really have much of an interest in getting on any rides. We saw the princess cavalcade on our way out and my youngest son was blowing kisses back and forth with them!

We then went back to our hotel for a few hours and decided to get dinner at EPCOT and walked around snacking on the items from the Flower and Garden. The Citrus folks were kind enough to give me (2) Orange Bird Smoothies for each of my boys which was great. The M-80s were performing near the American Pavilion and watching my kids (5 and 3) rock out to some Come On Eileen, Don't Stop Believing, Blister in the Sun just made me so happy.

Day 6: Travel Home 4/5


I didn't do as much as I would've personally liked to in my head and in my normal operations in the park, but to just be a part of the experience my kids had during this made it totally worth it. 

Mask compliance in the parks was great from what I observed but I wasn't as concerned about it having already had COVID and most of my family unit had at least 1 dose or were fully vaccinated (kids excluded). Disney Springs as has been mentioned is just a whole ordeal and probably our fault for going on a friday but it just felt way too crowded by comparison.


----------



## DMLAINI

Are the parks closing at the posted times?   TP is still showing wait times for HS & it should have closed 48 min.  Ago.


----------



## Triple A Mom

TheMick424 said:


> Thanks to everyone for reporting back on their trips!  So helpful!  Anyone recently stay at Riviera or Beach Club?  Would love to hear about your experiences with the buses and food at the resort.


We are at the Riviera now and loving it! The QS is delicious (we’ve had dinner there twice). Skyliner is fun but the line can be crazy during high traffic times. The opening for HS was great at Riviera but the transfer was long but moved. I was bummed the transfer wasn’t a separate line but we just got off abs had to go to the end of the CBR line. The line looked nuts last night at HS closing but it actually moved quickly and was really fast even during transfer.
Today going to animal kingdom the bus was over a 30 minute wait so we decided to drive. We were parked and at the front entrance before the bus was even quotes to arrive at the resort.


----------



## only hope

DMLAINI said:


> Are the parks closing at the posted times?   TP is still showing wait times for HS & it should have closed 48 min.  Ago.



Maybe TP continues to show wait times as long as people are submitting timing info? I’ve never used it so I don’t know, I’ve just read about it on here. Lines close at park close so if there is a long line for something, people could easily still be waiting 48mn later.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

DMLAINI said:


> Are the parks closing at the posted times?   TP is still showing wait times for HS & it should have closed 48 min.  Ago.


anyone in line at close would get to ride even if after close time


----------



## wilkydelts

Day 2: Hollywood Studios 4/6 9a-8p

Party of 10, do not have the young one this  day. 

After re-routing once came back at 7:50a and found people held at cones waiting to be let into cones so joined them. Let us to tolls at 7:52a. We were first in line at the tolls. Opened tolls at 8:10a

Straight to Slinky. Took us 22 minutes got in line by the Cast Member side alley. Off ride and straight to Toy Story Mania. Said 15 was 15. My wife whooped everyone in our group.

Headed to Alien Saucers said 40 was 22. Headed to our BG for Rise. Had BG 26 with return time by 10:34a. Got our DAS pass for Falcon on way to Rise. Got in line for Rise at 10:20 off ride at 10:55.

Went to Indiana Jones Relaxation Station and had packed lunch. Finished and head to Muppets at 12:05. Muppets said 30 was  30 to get into the theater and seated.

Headed back to Falcon to use the DAS pass. Enjoyed a Blue an Green Milk. Prefer Blue.

Headed to ToT to get a DAS. Some waited in Rockn Rollercoaster for DAS time to come up. Rock’n Rollercoaster said 40 was 35. 

Went back and did DAS for ToT. Went shopping for sometime while we waited for DAS for Mickey Minnie Railway. 

Ride Mickey Minnie Railway with DAS

Picked up our PizzeRizzo that we mobile ordered around 11:45. We found out PizzeRizzo closes at 5 so make plans early if you want it

Done eating at 5:25 and headed to Star Tours. For some reason they sent us through DAS line for Star Tours. It may be a ride that requires scooters/chairs to go in a back entrance. 

Caught a bit of a Mickey and Minnie cavalcade then got in line for 6:30 Frozen at 5:50. 

Went back with another DAS for Mickey Minnie Railway.

High tailed it over Toy Story Mania rode it twice to close the night. Wife ended the night as the champion

Then headed to our 8:10 Oga’s reservation to celebrate a birthday. We did not get in until about 8:45 so do not plan to immediately get seated

It was an amazing day again. Other than masks I think I am getting spoiled by Covid precaution Disney.


----------



## cpc98

*I’m only posting this question in this thread because it get a lot of attention from people who have recently visited the parks*

If I were to do an ADR for The Wave and take the Monorail over to The Contemporary (girlfriend’s first time at WDW), what do you think would be a good time to do this? 1:30-2:30 PM? Definitely looking to get out of the heat and crowds for a little bit during the worst part of the day, and wanted some input from people who have been in MK during recent months. Thanks!


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

cpc98 said:


> *I’m only posting this question in this thread because it get a lot of attention from people who have recently visited the parks*
> 
> If I were to do an ADR for The Wave and take the Monorail over to The Contemporary (girlfriend’s first time at WDW), what do you think would be a good time to do this? 1:30-2:30 PM? Definitely looking to get out of the heat and crowds for a little bit during the worst part of the day, and wanted some input from people who have been in MK during recent months. Thanks!



The last time I was at WDW was in  early March - and I'd say this is a good time to leave MK - or maybe even closer to 1 PM. With park hopping at 2 PM, you get both an exodus and surge around this time.


----------



## MDIME

cpc98 said:


> *I’m only posting this question in this thread because it get a lot of attention from people who have recently visited the parks*
> 
> If I were to do an ADR for The Wave and take the Monorail over to The Contemporary (girlfriend’s first time at WDW), what do you think would be a good time to do this? 1:30-2:30 PM? Definitely looking to get out of the heat and crowds for a little bit during the worst part of the day, and wanted some input from people who have been in MK during recent months. Thanks!


We were at MK on 3/30 and did this. We arrived at the park at 8am and by 1:30 we needed a bit of a break. We took the monorail over to the GF and grabbed drinks in the gift shop and sat in the lobby for a half hour or so. It was so peaceful and exactly what we needed. I recommend it even if you do not have an ADR. Have fun on your trip!


----------



## jjpdjr

Last day today, animal kingdom
Did all 4 parks and a day at both universal parks with EP

had a great trip, the no fast passes definitely took some getting used to
Think if I had the choice, I would wait until there is some kind of fast pass option back

apparently waiting in line for longer than 20 minutes is torture for 13 & 15 year old boys

found Disney wait times to be more accurate than TP for the main attractions

definitely recommend the savi’s lightsaber build
And definitely wait for the smugglers run ride, my boys liked it better than RoR

99% chance this is our last Disney trip, until grandkids

15 trips over the last 10 years, great memories


----------



## mlbrv

We were in WDW 3/27 - 3/31 and stayed at YC.

It was definitely crowded, I can’t say what capacity it was at, but I know this was a major spring break week for a lot of school districts.
Despite the crowds, there was still plenty of space to move around, except for places in the parks that will always be “bottlenecks” - like in Tomorrowland, and walking from Pater Pan to Haunted Mansion, etc…one of the issues is that the lines for the rides are now largely outside the attraction queue, so it encroaches on the walking space. It really didn’t bother us.

We had a fantastic trip - but we have already been a bunch of times so we understood what we were missing…If you have never been, I might think twice about going now and waiting until things start opening up more….the “pre-shows” for the rides are not running, so if you’ve never been on a ride before, you might miss the story of that ride since you are ushered right pass any show you’d normally sit and watch before you go on the ride. Kind of a bummer, but if you’ve seen it, then you already know it…

Mobile ordering was great before covid, and now that you can do it for more places it’s even better. And there is something nice that you can’t even get into the restaurant until your order is ready so we always found a table with ease - better than most people occupying tables while they have someone ordering food and bunch of people walking around with trays of food and nowhere to sit - in general it was much less chaotic at the QS places.

Skyliner is awesome - we took it a lot in the middle of the day between Epcot & HS…never any lines….lines were there in the am and pm….but middle of the day it’s such a nice way to get between those 2 parks.

We used busses in the morning to get to MK & AK. It was easy and we never waited long….we used lyft & uber a few times to get from a park to the hotel - if we needed to get from a park to a dinner rez in a hurry, we used lyft or uber - waits were between 5 & 20 minutes…and costs were low so it’s a really good option if you don’t want to wait for the bus.

Mask compliance was very good - some wore below their noses, but cast members asked them to fix…..waiting in lines were generally not 6ft apart - mostly just due to people not paying attention….if you are covid-fearful then this is not the time to go - there is just no way around this and you’d spend your day telling people to “back up” - lots of kids not staying 6ft back and parents not paying attention to tell them to move…or they didn't care…and lot of adults not staying 6ft apart in line….this is just how it goes…..so if this will upset you then might be best to wait. But it really didn’t feel unsafe…

Overall it was a great trip - as most people said, lines look really really long - but they move almost constantly….it was 90 degrees when we were there so waiting outside in lines was tough at times - especially the parts of the lines that were in direct sun….i cannot imagine doing that in the summer - that part did get to us…longest line we waited in was for TOT - 1 hr…..and FOP was about an hour as well - but in generally even a really long line amounted to about 40 minutes….

Worth getting a Touring Plans subscription as the wait times on it were more accurate than Disney’s….

Definitely way less photo pass photographers around…..

My only real complaint was that it was harder to get food at the hotel - we stayed at YC for the 1st time and the market there had VERY little options....either for fresh food or packaged food. Our last stay was at AK and they had a way better "cafe" with tons of options and better hours...YC market opened at 7am, not great if you are trying to get an early bus to the parks and want to eat before, and closed at 10pm, which was a little early. And Beaches & Cream would even serve ice cream for a walk up - you had to have a full reservation to get in - I felt that was a huge miss on their part as so many people love to grab ice cream during the day.

No FP was fine since lines moved fast - a lot faster then when you are constantly having the FP merge in...and great to decide where to go next on the fly....BUT this was at a lower capacity for the park overall - once the capacity restrictions are lifted, they will have to bring FP back...

Overall, a great trip as usual


----------



## fly girl

Just got back last night from a 5 day trip. 

Pre-note: This is our second trip since COVID. Went in early August last year. Crowds were non existent then, unlike now. 

WOW it was busy. I knew it would be since it is Spring Break, but evenings at Epcot did not feel like 35% capacity. Lots of choke points and very congested. 

We are a FP using family. I know many people love not having them. We did not. We missed them. Terribly. Key to not waiting too long is getting in early and visiting last 2 hours. So that basically means your mid day is pool time. Unless you hit a cold snap like we did. Not swimming when it is 60 degrees. That was a huge bummer. 

Mask compliance was very good. Cast members were quick to tell people to use them correctly if they weren't. 

Felt safe at dining. We wore our masks until the drinks came. Wasn't a big deal. Still very limited menus. Not surprised, just miss some favorites  -- hoping they will return. 

Order Lyft/Uber early as they are busy. We stayed at the Swan and had to wait on average 15-20 each time we ordered a ride. One morning when bus to AK was not showing up we tried ordering one and there weren't any available unless you wanted to spend $47 for a Uber to AK. Uhh ... no. I love FOP, but not for that price. 

Overall we felt average about this trip. We decided we will likely wait until a little more normalcy resumes. You can still have a good time, but with the crowds you definitely will realize how many shows/restaurants/character meets are missing. Too much personally for us.


----------



## bethannie203

DisneyByMarriage said:


> I’ve done early mornings at the parks, but I’m starting to wonder how ‘worth it’ this strategy will stay.  People are saying they get to the bus stops 90 minutes before the parks open and then wait about 45 minutes combined for busses/temp checks.  They hit two or three rides before lines start building (assuming headliners).  You are getting up so early on vacation to essentially spend the same amount of time waiting in lines, just to avoid waiting in a ride line.  It’s the commute conundrum.  Leave earlier or later and your commute is under 40 minutes; leave to be right on time and your commute is an hour.



We usually rope drop, but we are planning to reverse this strategy for our upcoming trip in early May. It doesn't seem worth it to us this time with such long waits happening so early in the mornings, especially at DHS. We booked a 10-day trip this time, the longest we have ever done for WDW without also visiting Universal also, and we plan on sleeping in and taking our times to get to the parks, so we will be able to be there at park closing to hopefully have shorter waits. I'm actually looking forward to it - because the worst part about rope dropping is of course the lack of sleep on a vacay!  It seems like our usual strategies are upside down this time!


----------



## Lsdolphin

Does anyone know the correct current price of the Crystal Palace lunch/dinner?  I’ve seen one price posted and a higher price when I look at menu on Disney website?


----------



## whiporee

Lsdolphin said:


> Does anyone know the correct current price of the Crystal Palace lunch/dinner?  I’ve seen one price posted and a higher price when I look at menu on Disney website?



CP wasn't open when we were there last week.


----------



## scrappinginontario

whiporee said:


> CP wasn't open when we were there last week.


Friends ate lunch there 2 weeks ago but unfortunately I don’t know what they paid.


----------



## auntlynne

Lsdolphin said:


> Does anyone know the correct current price of the Crystal Palace lunch/dinner?  I’ve seen one price posted and a higher price when I look at menu on Disney website?



Are you seeing $39 adult $23 kid (Disney website)


----------



## cpc98

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> The last time I was at WDW was in  early March - and I'd say this is a good time to leave MK - or maybe even closer to 1 PM. With park hopping at 2 PM, you get both an exodus and surge around this time.



Thanks! I completely agree. Just sounds so nice to get out of the park for a little awhile, check out The Contemporary, and eat in a bit of a quieter environment...


----------



## cpc98

MDIME said:


> We were at MK on 3/30 and did this. We arrived at the park at 8am and by 1:30 we needed a bit of a break. We took the monorail over to the GF and grabbed drinks in the gift shop and sat in the lobby for a half hour or so. It was so peaceful and exactly what we needed. I recommend it even if you do not have an ADR. Have fun on your trip!



Thanks! Sounds great. I was looking forward to Liberty Tree until I thought about it - $40 per person, and my girlfriend can barely finish a 10 piece chicken nugget on a normal day  probably isn’t worth it for someone with a small appetite. Also read that people are being seated over in Diamond Horseshoe, which would not be great.. definitely gonna do something like what you did instead! Thanks


----------



## danceteachermom

Still in Florida but done with our park days. We went to Hollywood Studios on Sunday, April 4 and Blizzard Beach on Monday, April 5. We have been the first week of April many times as I am a teacher and that is the only time we can go in the spring. I thought everything was much less crowded that I expected despite the parks being "sold out." Disney has done a very good job with policy and mask enforcement. It was not perfect but I felt more comfortable in lines and on rides than I do walking through the hallway in the school where I teach.  A few times I had to put my hand out or give a teacher look to keep people distanced but overwhelmingly people were very considerate. We walked from the Swan and arrived about 8:10. There was a quick moving line and there appeared to be noone off the skyliner yet and no cars in the lot yet, but as we moved through we saw cars being slowly escorted into parking. We walked straight to Slinky Dog Dash and rode in about 30 minutes. Then our boarding group was called (14) so we went straight to Rise of the Resistance and walked right on (new for us and we are not Star Wars fans but we loved this attraction). Then we went to Rock 'n Roller Coaster and waited about 40 minutes but it was almost all outside and we enjoyed the beautiful weather. After we went to Toy Story Mania and waited about 30 minutes. We had used mobile ordering that morning to get a meal at Woody's Lunchbox and we were about 15 minutes from our window so we just relaxed. Checked in and had a way too expensive lunch for grilled cheese but my son got his alien cup he wanted so all was good. My husband is a few hours in the park guy so he was ready to head back to our condo. He and my son left and my daughter and I rode MMRR with about a 30 minute wait. Then we walked around Star Wars Land. Got in our longest line of the day for Millenium Falcon Smugglers Run and waited about 60 minutes. After we decided we wanted to experience the Skyliner so we took it to Caribbean Beach and had burgers from their quick service for an early dinner. We ate outside and it was uncrowded. Skyliner back to the park and we walked through the shops but did not buy anything then did another ride on Midway Mania. Debated hitting a few more rides but ended up leaving about 4:30. 

Our original Blizzard Beach plan was for Friday but the park was closed due to "cold" weather. It was still chilly on Saturday so we waited until Monday. Arrived about 10:15 AM and easily parked close to entrance. Went through entry and were held from park area until about 11. Got great chairs by the wave pool. They are in groups of 6...two lounge chairs and 4 of the beach chairs. Signs and enforcement to not move chairs since they were placed for distance. Mask enforcement here was exceptional and it helped make me feel really comfortable. We rode a bunch of slides with little to no wait for about an hour and a half. Then we had lunch from Lattawatta Lodge via mobile order. Enjoyed adult beverages and our son spent a lot of time in the wave pool. All four of us went on he lazy river...distancing here was not ideal but people were really trying. Then we did another slide before heading back to be in the wave pool and just catching sun. Left about 4:45. 

We have been very careful during this pandemic and we were nervous about being at Disney and in Florida. I am fully vaccinated and my husband and daughter have had their first dose. We have good masks and wear them correctly. We know we are taking risks being here but have been more comfortable than we anticipated. I am glad we only planned a couple of park days and have spent most of our time distanced around our pool at the airbnb or enjoying the hot tub in our unit. We have been to Disney many, many times. Did not miss planning fastpasses but did miss using them. I did miss shows. With all they have brought back it just seems a slap in the face to their entertainment employees...dancers, singers, and actors that they are not figuring out how to do this. It could be done with the same amount of risk and safety as other things. We would have seen Indiana Jones, Beauty and the Beast, and Fantasmic if given the chance and a socially distant masked, not eating audience. I would be fine with performers being masked.


----------



## wilkydelts

Day 3: Magic Kingdom 4/7 8a-9p

Party of 5 to start day the getting young one for the rest of the day during lunch. 

Pulled up and found tolls open at 6:58. We were fourth in line at our toll. Opened tolls at 7:15a

In line for 7 Dwarfs at 7:45. It said 65. Line was almost to Gastons. Took 28. 

Headed to Peter Pan said 45. Got in line just before the archway heading towards Haunted Mansion. Took 15

Went over to Tomorrowland Speedway so my kids could finally drive it because before without a kid who is tall enough to be solo you can’t divide it out. Said 15 was 12

Went to Buzz but it just looked so long. First time all trip we decided to detour. Some went Space Mountain and I went with kid to get snacks. Ordered Launching Pad with immediate pickup and it took almost 30 minutes. I was not happy. Space said 60 was 30.

Went back to Buzz said 35 was 35.

Headed across park to Big Thunder Mountain. Said 65 Minutes at 11:20a, it took 10 minutes. We got back in line again said 30 this time, it took 5.

Went to Splash got in line at 12:05 said 70 I had to trust TP Lines App or we would have issues getting to our lunch reservation. Line took 60. 

Barely made it to our ADR at Whispering Canyon. FYI lunch there closes at 2 do not be late. Had a great meal with Grandparents and got little one back. Got back to park at 3:30.

Did some shopping and the went to Pooh. Said 20 was 16

Headed to Barnstormer said 20 was 12. Got off at 5p

Went to Dumbo said 15 was walk on

Next Little Mermaid said 15 was walk on through very long queue 

Headed to Haunted Mansion said 10 was walk on

Went to Sunshine Terrace for Ice Cream, headed to Carpets at 6:15

Carpets said 15 was walk on

Went to Small World said 45 was 35

Went to Philarmagic to end the night. We are beat and just could not finish it out. Starting walking out at 8:10

It has been a great couple of days. It will be a trip to remember for a long time.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

So, in theory, do spring break crowds basically taper off after this week?


----------



## DL1WDW2

DisneyJColeMom said:


> So, in theory, do spring break crowds basically taper off after this week?


No Coach busses on property this morn just Disney owned so might be slow day today but tomorrow is Friday and weekend...


----------



## Chris Ehlers

cpc98 said:


> Thanks! Sounds great. I was looking forward to Liberty Tree until I thought about it - $40 per person, and my girlfriend can barely finish a 10 piece chicken nugget on a normal day  probably isn’t worth it for someone with a small appetite. Also read that people are being seated over in Diamond Horseshoe, which would not be great.. definitely gonna do something like what you did instead! Thanks


We ate at Liberty Tree for Thanksgiving 2020 and it was horrible!  The Service was poor as plates were piled up on table and being seated in Diamond Horseshoe added to it and the Pot Roast we like the bottom of the pot and was like eating salt.   it will be a long time before we ever eat there again


----------



## zeferjen

danceteachermom said:


> Mask enforcement here was exceptional and it helped make me feel really comfortable.



Hi! Can you tell me more about how the masks work at Blizzard? You wear them when not in the water right? How do you wear them in lines for the slides, for example? Thanks!


----------



## boothbay

DisneyJColeMom said:


> So, in theory, do spring break crowds basically taper off after this week?


There is still spring break for parts of New England - the week of April 19 and the week of April 26.  The crowds will keep on coming I think.


----------



## Catvondita

boothbay said:


> There is still spring break for parts of New England - the week of April 19 and the week of April 26.  The crowds will keep on coming I think.



Are most spring breaks over around this time though? So there will still be some crowds but maybe not quite as horrible as the last couple?


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

zeferjen said:


> Hi! Can you tell me more about how the masks work at Blizzard? You wear them when not in the water right? How do you wear them in lines for the slides, for example? Thanks!


You do not have to wear masks in the water areas.  Masks are only required in the park entrance and exit, shopping areas, food and beverage ordering areas, and restrooms, locker areas, and changing areas.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Catvondita said:


> Are most spring breaks over around this time though? So there will still be some crowds but maybe not quite as horrible as the last couple?


I would think most spring breaks are over, yes.  But looking at the park reservation calendar it seems that besides Epcot, all the parks are at capacity all month.  So there won't be much easing of crowds.


----------



## jlundeen

Has anyone done the Animation Experience at Conservation Station lately?  Can you tell me your experience?  How far in advance did you arrive to be able to participate?


----------



## DrFacilier

10 days to go!  Way behind in planning our first non FP+ since we booked it totally last minute less than a month ago.  I (think I) have pretty solid plans for MK AK and HS but need help with EP.  We plan to be at IG at 9:45 for a 11am opening.    Right now I'm thinking of hitting TT then Soarin at RD and worrying about FEA later if not closer to the 11pm close. Is there any strategy to knock out TT Soarin and FEA with (relatively) minimal waits in the morning? I MISS FASTPASS


----------



## fly girl

jlundeen said:


> Has anyone done the Art of Animation event in Conservation Station lately?  Can you tell me your experience?  How far in advance did you arrive to be able to participate?



We went to the Conservation Station last Friday. We went early (rode FOP and Kilimanjaro Safari first) and then hopped on train with no line, just a short wait for train. Our objective was to see them performing a surgery in the clinic, and we did. Unfortunately, it was on a table further back so we really could not see much. They were doing a arthritis and dental check on a red river hog.

The 10am Animation Experience was just starting when we arrived. It was a packed crowd - I think they were drawing Timone.  Parks were full last Friday so I don't know if the packed crowd was a rare occurrence, but my best guess would be to get a seat no later than 15 minutes before start time. Personally, I would take a train over around the time we did (9:50am), go check to see if they are doing a procedure, pet the animals, and relax a bit before taking in the 10:45am Animation. 

When we got back to Africa, the line to Rafiki's Planet Watch was rrreeeaaalllyyy long. We picked the perfect time to go. We could have easily stayed for the next drawing session, but dd wasn't feeling it. 

Good Luck!


----------



## DisneyFive

Catvondita said:


> Are most spring breaks over around this time though? So there will still be some crowds but maybe not quite as horrible as the last couple?


Our kids are off this week.  I think this week is slower than last, but I would expect crowds to drop after this week.  Who knows though, with limiting park capacity the parks might just stay close to the 35% number for quite some time.

Dan


----------



## Shellyred8

TheMick424 said:


> Thanks to everyone for reporting back on their trips!  So helpful!  Anyone recently stay at Riviera or Beach Club?  Would love to hear about your experiences with the buses and food at the resort.


We enjoy going to Primo Piatto to eat.  I like that they have some different food options from what most other places have.


----------



## DMLAINI

I know lines are currently very long due to social distancing.  We've never been to Pandora before.  I definitely don't want to accidentally get into the Navi River Journey line instead of the Flight Of Passage line.   We're going to rope drop.  Will the line be clearly marked?


----------



## dizneedoll

DMLAINI said:


> I know lines are currently very long due to social distancing.  We've never been to Pandora before.  I definitely don't want to accidentally get into the Navi River Journey line instead of the Flight Of Passage line.   We're going to rope drop.  Will the line be clearly marked?


I think most attractions, especially those two, will have CM stationed at the end of the lines holding signs indicating what ride you are getting in line for.
On another note, this reminds me of a comic strip I saw a long time ago of a family at Disney getting in a long line and the dad is saying “this is supposed to be the best ride here!” And the next frame shows the front of the line and it’s for the bathroom!


----------



## FCDub

DMLAINI said:


> I know lines are currently very long due to social distancing.  We've never been to Pandora before.  I definitely don't want to accidentally get into the Navi River Journey line instead of the Flight Of Passage line.   We're going to rope drop.  Will the line be clearly marked?



there’s virtually no chance of this happening, because people actually want to ride Flight of Passage at park opening. Just follow the people.


----------



## mickeyluv'r

jlundeen said:


> Has anyone done the Animation Experience at Conservation Station lately?  Can you tell me your experience?  How far in advance did you arrive to be able to participate?


 
Took the last train, arrived just as the show was starting, and were seated right away.


----------



## danceteachermom

zeferjen said:


> Hi! Can you tell me more about how the masks work at Blizzard? You wear them when not in the water right? How do you wear them in lines for the slides, for example? Thanks!


You wear them when you are walking in and any time you cross over the little bridges to the food areas, the restrooms, stores, or when ordering. People were stationed there all day and enforcement was strong. We say security get called to follow one women who refused to put hers on. You do not have to wear them at your chairs, in the water, in slide lines or while on slides. Lines are marked for social distance. Capacity was low.  I do not think we were ever within 6 feet of someone other than maybe the lazy river. It was a fun day and I felt safe.


----------



## tinkerhon

dizneedoll said:


> I think most attractions, especially those two, will have CM stationed at the end of the lines holding signs indicating what ride you are getting in line for.
> On another note, this reminds me of a comic strip I saw a long time ago of a family at Disney getting in a long line and the dad is saying “this is supposed to be the best ride here!” And the next frame shows the front of the line and it’s for the bathroom!



Hopefully not the bathrooms near Mouse Gear !  )


----------



## Linkura

fly girl said:


> We went to the Conservation Station last Friday. We went early (rode FOP and Kilimanjaro Safari first) and then hopped on train with no line, just a short wait for train. Our objective was to see them performing a surgery in the clinic, and we did. Unfortunately, it was on a table further back so we really could not see much. They were doing a arthritis and dental check on a red river hog.
> 
> The 10am Animation Experience was just starting when we arrived. It was a packed crowd - I think they were drawing Timone.  Parks were full last Friday so I don't know if the packed crowd was a rare occurrence, but my best guess would be to get a seat no later than 15 minutes before start time. Personally, I would take a train over around the time we did (9:50am), go check to see if they are doing a procedure, pet the animals, and relax a bit before taking in the 10:45am Animation.
> 
> When we got back to Africa, the line to Rafiki's Planet Watch was rrreeeaaalllyyy long. We picked the perfect time to go. We could have easily stayed for the next drawing session, but dd wasn't feeling it.
> 
> Good Luck!


Regarding the surgery, did you talk to anyone about a schedule beforehand or did you just happen upon it? I saw them doing a surgery on a monkey one time and it was awesome.


----------



## fly girl

Linkura said:


> Regarding the surgery, did you talk to anyone about a schedule beforehand or did you just happen upon it? I saw them doing a surgery on a monkey one time and it was awesome.



Only prior knowledge we knew was to go to Conservation Station early, as that is the time they do procedures. No clue if we would get lucky, but we did. Bummer it was on a table in the back, still cool to see though. My sister went in February and got a close up view of them working on a meerkat. (tad jealous about that one  )


----------



## Linkura

fly girl said:


> Only prior knowledge we knew was to go to Conservation Station early, as that is the time they do procedures. No clue if we would get lucky, but we did. Bummer it was on a table in the back, still cool to see though. My sister went in February and got a close up view of them working on a meerkat. (tad jealous about that one  )


What time was the open and when were you there for the surgery? Thanks!!


----------



## fly girl

Linkura said:


> What time was the open and when were you there for the surgery? Thanks!!



We got on the train around 9:50. Went straight to see if they were working in the clinic, and they were.

Unsure what time first train runs, hopefully someone on here will let you know.


----------



## disneyfan150

danceteachermom said:


> You wear them when you are walking in and any time you cross over the little bridges to the food areas, the restrooms, stores, or when ordering. People were stationed there all day and enforcement was strong. We say security get called to follow one women who refused to put hers on. You do not have to wear them at your chairs, in the water, in slide lines or while on slides. Lines are marked for social distance. Capacity was low.  I do not think we were ever within 6 feet of someone other than maybe the lazy river. It was a fun day and I felt safe.


What time did you arrive?


----------



## Linkura

fly girl said:


> We got on the train around 9:50. Went straight to see if they were working in the clinic, and they were.
> 
> Unsure what time first train runs, hopefully someone on here will let you know.


Thank you!


----------



## auntlynne

DMLAINI said:


> I know lines are currently very long due to social distancing.  We've never been to Pandora before.  I definitely don't want to accidentally get into the Navi River Journey line instead of the Flight Of Passage line.   We're going to rope drop.  Will the line be clearly marked?



when coming from the park entrance, heading to Pandora, the line in the left is Navi. In the right, FOP. The end of FOP queue might be on the path to Festival of Lion King (If you are coming from Africa).

You can walk a long ways before coming to the end of any line to find the sign.


----------



## MacMaam

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I would think most spring breaks are over, yes.  But looking at the park reservation calendar it seems that besides Epcot, all the parks are at capacity all month.  So there won't be much easing of crowds.


Massachusetts has a state holiday, Patriots’ Day and 19 April and that week is our spring break


----------



## alainchas

Hi! I'm a long time lurker of these boards, but just got back and thought I'd share our recent experience. We (Me, husband, 2 sons 9 and 11) are all pretty sad that the trip is over! We had a wonderful time and the unexpected cool weather was amazing!

Friday 4/2: Arrived at Disney Springs around noon. Immediately put our name on the virtual line for Gideon's. Estimated wait was 4.5 hours. We ate at Art Smith Homecomin' (SO GOOD!) and did some shopping at WOD. The estimated wait to get into WOD was 1 hour, but we were in within 20 mins. We had hoped to take a ride on the amphicars, but wait was over an hour and we didn't want to miss our Gideon's time. We were called about 15 mins early at 4:15 and waited in line 15 mins to get into Gideons. The cookies are worth the hype!! Checked in at the Dolphin...quick and easy check in!

Sat 4/3: MK all day! Arrived at 7:30, walked on to Space Mtn. Overall, wait times for the coasters all hovered around 40 mins despite longer wait times sometimes listed. BTMR wait times was the one we found to be most inflated. We were able to ride everything that we wanted, except for SDMT. We love that ride, but wait times were consistently about an hour. The ride is so short, it was hard to justify the hour wait. We left in the middle of the day to give our feet a rest, but waited at the TTC for the bus back to the Dolphin for 30 minutes with no luck. Thankfully the weather outside was gorgeous! Decided to cut our losses and head to the Polynesian for a dole whip. My oldest son had the specialty Easter marshmallow flavored dole whip. it was beautiful (edible glitter!), but not our favorite. The rest of us got the classic pineapple, lime, and vanilla. Then we went back to MK and enjoyed the rest of the day until our 8:45 BOG reservation. We requested to sit in the west wing (Rose room) and they accommodated. What I loved is that by the time dinner was over, the park was closed and the castle and Main St. looked beautiful! We were able to get some pictures without the crowds. My kids really enjoyed being there after hours and the way the park transformed after dark. 

Sun 4/4: We arrived at Animal Kingdom at by 7:30 and headed to FOP. The estimated wait time was already at 45 mins and we waited 45 minutes. Went to Everest next and rode it twice with wait times at approx 15 mins. Hit up the Safari, 
Gorillas, and Dinosaur before heading out. We then took a bus to HS for a late lunch at Sci Fi Drive in. We stayed at HS until park close and were able to do every ride we wanted except SDD (it was down for a while). We got in line for TOT right at park close and once again, it was really cool to walk out to a very empty HS. We got in line for skyliner (it was VERY long line), but only actually waited about 20 minutes to get on. We rode it to Epcot and then went to Beaches and Cream for late night KITCHEN SINK. The kiddos were a little disappointed that they didn't do the sirens and announcement (A WHOLE CAN!?) like they usually do. 

Mon 4/5 Blizzard Beach! This was our first time visiting a Disney waterpark and we loved it! The longest wait was 15 minutes, but most were less than 5 mins. We rented a polar patio and it was worth it in our opinion! We had a blast and most of the slides were really long! We went to Rix Sports Bar at Coronado for dinner that night and all found it to be just ok..I don't think we'll be back to that one. 

Tues 4/6: Started the morning with breakfast at The Wave and then arrived at Epcot at 10:15. They were already letting people in. Score!...or so we thought. We headed to TT, but it was down. Then we went to Soarin' and waited about 30 mins to ride. After that, rode Spaceship Earth and then a trip around the world for snacks. The boys were really disappointed that TT remained down for the whole morning and therefore didn't get to ride this trip. We then took a bus to MK for the rest of the afternoon. Had a blast riding the rides and then dinner at Liberty Tree. We hit Splash Mtn right before park close to experience the ride in the dark. 

Tues 4/6: Hit up Disney Springs one last time before heading home. Arrived at 10:15 and line for Gideons looked to be about 45-60 mins. Thought we'd have luck riding an amphicar, but the wait was already over an hour. We had to get on the road, so we stopped one more time at WOD and walked right in. Then we decided to stop by Everglazed on our way out. The donuts were really good! Then we all said one last goodbye and sulked our way back to the car for the ride home. 

Overall our stay at the Dolphin was great...very clean room, mostly quiet, good service.  We always stay at the Contemporary, but we only started planning this vacation a month prior to stay, so Contemporary wasn't an option. My only complaint was that the bus system was inconsistent for The Dolphin and we started just using Uber to get places. We all missed the convenience of walking to MK from The Contemporary (and the view of the castle!), so we'll plan to stay there next time if possible.

Our last visit to Disney was in August, and we did notice a few things: 1) The crowds are definitely back! We knew this going in, but it was a stark difference to August when we were able to pretty much walk on every ride. I remember we rode FOB back to back 4 TIMES in August. Despite the crowds, the weather was SO much more pleasant for this trip. 2) Back in August, people were much more compliant with standing on the marked spaces and very aware of spacing. This trip people were much closer together and didn't really seem to be paying as much attention. They still gave some space, but very few families were hyper aware like they were in Aug (prior to vaccines). It didn't bother us one bit, but I know it will affect some. 3) I hate to even say this, but there were several cast members that were having side conversations with each other. I heard "today is my last day, I can't wait to get out of here", along with conversations about family issues with each other as they were loading rides.  I have never experienced that at Disney in all of my trips, but I know this has been a trying year. There was one particularly snippy cast member at the popcorn stand outside of the castle. Of course there were so many others who were wonderful so it didn't affect us in the slightest, but it was different than our usual experience. 4) The ride photos that previously populated in the mydisney app either automatically or when we scanned our magic band don't seem to work well anymore. This happened in August as well. This trip we only seemed to get photos from SM and Buzz Space Ranger....and a lot of photos from people not in our family. Strange! None of our photos from Splash, TOT, Everest, etc saved to our account. Bummer!

Now we are looking to plan our next trip in the Fall and also a Disney cruise in 2021. I am currently having sticker shock for park dates in Oct/Nov. For the price of 4/5 days at the Contemporary, we could pay for the whole European Cruise! Yowza!


----------



## TestingH2O

alainchas said:


> The ride photos that previously populated in the mydisney app either automatically or when we scanned our magic band don't seem to work well anymore. This happened in August as well. This trip we only seemed to get photos from SM and Buzz Space Ranger....and a lot of photos from people not in our family. Strange! None of our photos from Splash, TOT, Everest, etc saved to our account. Bummer!


We also had this problem in March. I used the photo pass email and they were able to add them all. It’s worth a shot.


----------



## Makmak

jlundeen said:


> Has anyone done the Animation Experience at Conservation Station lately?  Can you tell me your experience?  How far in advance did you arrive to be able to participate?


We learned last trip that you can ask at the front of the park what the schedule is (which character is getting drawn at which time). I just wanted to share because we didn’t know that on any previous trips.


----------



## danceteachermom

disneyfan150 said:


> What time did you arrive?


We arrived to the parking lot at about 10:15 AM for an 11 AM opening. After we went through the entrance we walked straight to the bridge right in front of Lotawatta Lodge and waiting there for opening. We were he second family in and got our first choice seating spot in front of the wave pool. A line did form behind us and the seating by the wave pool filled up quickly but there were many chairs open throughout the park in other more secluded areas open all day.


----------



## WEDWDW

Makmak said:


> We learned last trip that you can ask at the front of the park what the schedule is (which character is getting drawn at which time). I just wanted to share because we didn’t know that on any previous trips.


And I think you can also do that to inquire about any Animal procedures that may be happening that day.

I think Wednesdays are still the main days for procedures.


----------



## William B

Has anyone experienced/heard of a park hopper not being allowed to any park at 2?  I am curious what the chances of having park hopper denied will be when we get there in a little over a week or so.  I am hoping it will be lighter crowds than now, so if people have had no problem park hopping lately, I assume that should continue.  

Also, once Disney adjusts the hours longer, I assume it is very unlikely they will adjust them back shorter?  Thanks!


----------



## scrappinginontario

William B said:


> Has anyone experienced/heard of a park hopper not being allowed to any park at 2?  I am curious what the chances of having park hopper denied will be when we get there in a little over a week or so.  I am hoping it will be lighter crowds than now, so if people have had no problem park hopping lately, I assume that should continue.
> 
> Also, once Disney adjusts the hours longer, I assume it is very unlikely they will adjust them back shorter?  Thanks!


Park hopping has been allowed every day to every park since it was reinstated Jan 1st of this year.

No, i would not anticipate hours be shortened.  Again, this has not been happening once they were adjusted to later closings.


----------



## William B

scrappinginontario said:


> Park hopping has been allowed every day to every park since it was reinstated Jan 1st of this year.
> 
> No, i would not anticipate hours be shortened.  Again, this has not been happening once they were adjusted to later closings.



Thanks for the info.  A follow up question.  Can you park hop more than once?  For instance if we leave AK at 2 and go to HS until 7 or 9, can we hop to EP to finish out the night with drinks etc in world showcase.


----------



## Leigh L

William B said:


> Thanks for the info.  A follow up question.  Can you park hop more than once?  For instance if we leave AK at 2 and go to HS until 7 or 9, can we hop to EP to finish out the night with drinks etc in world showcase.


In February, DD and I hopped to 3 parks and then back (MK, DHS, EP, MK) with no problem. This was during President's week on the Thursday.


----------



## loves to dive

William B said:


> Thanks for the info.  A follow up question.  Can you park hop more than once?  For instance if we leave AK at 2 and go to HS until 7 or 9, can we hop to EP to finish out the night with drinks etc in world showcase.


Yes, you can hop as many times as you want after you have tapped into the park you have a reservation at and after 2.


----------



## disneyworldsk

loves to dive said:


> Yes, you can hop as many times as you want after you have tapped into the park you have a reservation at and after 2.


what time to people generally leave a park if they're done with it to hop and be at another park by 2 pm?


----------



## HiStitch626

disneyworldsk said:


> what time to people generally leave a park if they're done with it to hop and be at another park by 2 pm?



Which parks and what transportation method?  Quick walkers can do DHS to Epcot in 20 minutes.  Driving your own car from MK to AK would be longer than that.


----------



## Leigh L

disneyworldsk said:


> what time to people generally leave a park if they're done with it to hop and be at another park by 2 pm?


We walked out of MK around 1:15ish and a bus to DHS arrived at MK at 1:28 (I checked, lol) and tapped in at DHS around 1:50. So they let us in a little early, but I'm not sure if that's the norm.


----------



## disneyfan150

Makmak said:


> We learned last trip that you can ask at the front of the park what the schedule is (which character is getting drawn at which time). I just wanted to share because we didn’t know that on any previous trips.


Oh My Gosh!!  This is great information! Thank you so much!!! Where specifically do you ask, Guest Relations?


----------



## Makmak

disneyfan150 said:


> Oh My Gosh!!  This is great information! Thank you so much!!! Where specifically do you ask, Guest Relations?


There’s a little building inside the park on the right where they rent strollers, and there’s a few things for sale and a lot going on and I didn’t notice if it was labeled and that is where we were directed to ask. It’s basically the one you walk right past if you take “the path on the right” as you enter. I hope that helps, we are headed back in a few weeks and I will find the proper name.


----------



## disneyfan150

Makmak said:


> There’s a little building inside the park on the right where they rent strollers, and there’s a few things for sale and a lot going on and I didn’t notice if it was labeled and that is where we were directed to ask. It’s basically the one you walk right past if you take “the path on the right” as you enter. I hope that helps, we are headed back in a few weeks and I will find the proper name.


Great!  I can find the building. Thanks again!


----------



## GrumpySue

We are here now and I can honestly say that I feel 100% more safe in WDW than I did the previous week that I spent in another part of Florida (where no one wears masks and they look at you funny if you do).  The mask thing is annoying but we quickly got used to it and are having a great time.  No problem Park hopping at all, got on Rise of the Resistance which was amazing, and I must say I do not miss Fast Pass at all.  I also hope they keep the Park Reservation System and keep crowds at a more manageable level forever, it works great and makes for a much better experience. 

Disney Springs was another story altogether, it was so packed yesterday I could not wait to get out of there.  Not only because of Covid, it just felt too crowded and rowdy-ish.  I can't explain it, but I do not like the atmosphere there anymore.  If Disney thought the old Pleasure Island was a problem, they have created a monster now.  It seems like a party-time locals hangout now.  Not for me anymore, which is a shame because I love a lot of the restaurants down there.


----------



## Cliffside

GrumpySue said:


> We are here now and I can honestly say that I feel 100% more safe in WDW than I did the previous week that I spent in another part of Florida (where no one wears masks and they look at you funny if you do).  The mask thing is annoying but we quickly got used to it and are having a great time.  No problem Park hopping at all, got on Rise of the Resistance which was amazing, and I must say I do not miss Fast Pass at all.  I also hope they keep the Park Reservation System and keep crowds at a more manageable level forever, it works great and makes for a much better experience.
> 
> Disney Springs was another story altogether, it was so packed yesterday I could not wait to get out of there.  Not only because of Covid, it just felt too crowded and rowdy-ish.  I can't explain it, but I do not like the atmosphere there anymore.  If Disney thought the old Pleasure Island was a problem, they have created a monster now.  It seems like a party-time locals hangout now.  Not for me anymore, which is a shame because I love a lot of the restaurants down there.


Were you at Disney Springs during the day or in the evening. We are set to be there at the end of April and are trying to decide if we should spend time there.


----------



## GrumpySue

Cliffside said:


> Were you at Disney Springs during the day or in the evening. We are set to be there at the end of April and are trying to decide if we should spend time there.


We got there around 3:00 and left at 7:00.  It was a Friday night so I don't know if that makes a difference.


----------



## MinnieMSue

fly girl said:


> Only prior knowledge we knew was to go to Conservation Station early, as that is the time they do procedures. No clue if we would get lucky, but we did. Bummer it was on a table in the back, still cool to see though. My sister went in February and got a close up view of them working on a meerkat. (tad jealous about that one  )



we saw meerkat surgery years ago - it had gotten into a fight and they were cleaning it up and checking it’s wounds. It was so cool. In late March this year they were doing something in the back but we couldn’t see what it was. I love seeing the close up operating table in action. We usually go a bit after lunch so we don’t usually see much of anything. We did do the drawing class a couple of times and loved it


----------



## Adian80

They extended the hours for the week we are going today.  When will added dining reservations be added?  I'm hoping to Oga's, but I'm guessing I've already missed the added times.


----------



## beesly

Adian80 said:


> They extended the hours for the week we are going today.  When will added dining reservations be added?  I'm hoping to Oga's, but I'm guessing I've already missed the added times.



This morning we saw AK TS added, along with Savi’s/Droid reservations. Keep checking each morning for other parks’ ADRs to be added. This past week, Oga’s showed up on Tuesday following last Friday’s extension of hours.


----------



## daraweb

GrumpySue said:


> We are here now and I can honestly say that I feel 100% more safe in WDW than I did the previous week that I spent in another part of Florida (where no one wears masks and they look at you funny if you do).  The mask thing is annoying but we quickly got used to it and are having a great time.  No problem Park hopping at all, got on Rise of the Resistance which was amazing, and I must say I do not miss Fast Pass at all.  I also hope they keep the Park Reservation System and keep crowds at a more manageable level forever, it works great and makes for a much better experience.
> 
> Disney Springs was another story altogether, it was so packed yesterday I could not wait to get out of there.  Not only because of Covid, it just felt too crowded and rowdy-ish.  I can't explain it, but I do not like the atmosphere there anymore.  If Disney thought the old Pleasure Island was a problem, they have created a monster now.  It seems like a party-time locals hangout now.  Not for me anymore, which is a shame because I love a lot of the restaurants down there.


We were at Disney Springs last night too. We just arrived and went there for a bite before checking into our hotel. We were a bit overwhelmed by the crowds too. We kept wondering if it would feel that crowded in the parks.


----------



## Adian80

Thank you so much!  I was able to grab the last Savi's reservation on May 4 @9:05 PM.  I now have one very happy 13 YO!  I also grabbed a Tiffen's reservation for AK which is why I thought maybe I missed Oga's.


----------



## kwwdw

For those who have gone to the parks recently... what’s the “unofficial“ time they are letting people in/starting rides? Last I saw was about an hour before official park open, but is that still right? Trying to plan out our rope drop strategy and don’t want to get there too early or too late. Thanks!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

kwwdw said:


> For those who have gone to the parks recently... what’s the “unofficial“ time they are letting people in/starting rides? Last I saw was about an hour before official park open, but is that still right? Trying to plan out our rope drop strategy and don’t want to get there too early or too late. Thanks!


Yes, still about 45 minutes to an hour.


----------



## disneyfan150

Cliffside said:


> Were you at Disney Springs during the day or in the evening. We are set to be there at the end of April and are trying to decide if we should spend time there.


I was at DS back in August and felt nervous. I am not even a real worrier about Covid (most of the time).  We are planning a trip in June and I will avoid DS. That is just me though. . .


----------



## Tasmen

Just back from our trip from 4/3-9.  Some general observations.

Pros

Mask compliance was pretty damn good.  Sure there were folks that had their noses out but for the most part, everyone was doing what was expected.
Line management - Disney knows how to manage a line.  While some of the lines seemed long, they moved pretty quickly and only once did it truly feel like we stood in line the amount of time we were there.  
Security changes - I LOVE THEM.  I really hope they keep the 'cellphones first' method of going through the metal detectors.  It really sped up entry into the parks not having to have every bag searched.
Mobile ordering - We've used this at DL before but really love what they are doing right now with making sure you have a mobile order before letting you take a seat in some places.  The no fighting or standing around all sad with warm food while looking for a table was amazing.
Unofficially opening each park one hour before official opening was also great.  We didn't take advantage every day but on those days we did, we absolutely got in some rides early.
Absolutely LOVE the Beach Club.  Second time staying in a villa and we will absolutely be back.  Location is great.
CMs were a joy and great ESPECIALLY those in Rise of the Resistance.  The Imperial Officers can sass me anytime.

Cons

That lines for Pirates was the absolute worst for us.  All the line snaking made it felt like we were never going to get to the end.
Disney Springs - Pure mayhem the one time we went there.  Super crowded with people up in each other's business.  Not our particular cup o tea.
Not sure if it was just bad timing on our part, but they didn't seem to be running a ton of buses to the Beach & Yacht Clubs.  Twice we missed getting on a bus after waiting a long time for an initial bus to arrive because it was too full after loading those before us.  Same thing happened with a Friendship boat on our last day.  Filled up at Boardwalk and only had room for 3 families at our stop.  We really felt the social distancing in waits on any Disney Transportation we tried to take.
Because of the nature of weird line dynamics, it was not always easy to see where a line was flowing and we had at least one incident where we did not see a person in line and moved beyond them.  They were definitely very snotty about it.  We were apologetic and moved behind the individual in question.  Still, didn't feel the rudeness was called for.  I'll attribute it to them being hangry and really needing that corndog they ordered.
Missed the fireworks.  Totally understand why they are not happening and I contemplated if I should list it as a con.  I ended up deciding to as fireworks on the last night is quite the tradition for us and that not being there felt...weird.


----------



## HiStitch626

Cliffside said:


> Were you at Disney Springs during the day or in the evening. We are set to be there at the end of April and are trying to decide if we should spend time there.



We spent some time at Disney Springs in both August and December and had similar experiences both times. I think it’s probably still true today. On both occasions we arrived about 10 o’clock - Wandered around, did some shopping, had a nice lunch. About 3 o’clock things started getting much more crowded. In December we did stay until about 5 and were uncomfortable at that point. So, I think if you go in the morning it will probably be fine but don’t plan for an evening there.


----------



## RhodyKP

beesly said:


> This morning we saw AK TS added, along with Savi’s/Droid reservations. Keep checking each morning for other parks’ ADRs to be added. This past week, Oga’s showed up on Tuesday following last Friday’s extension of hours.


Do you happen to know if they add more character dining ADRs?


----------



## beesly

RhodyKP said:


> Do you happen to know if they add more character dining ADRs?



The only in-park character dining I’m aware of right now is at Garden Grill and Hollywood & Vine, and I have seen both of those add ADRs for the extended hours in recent weeks.


----------



## scrappinginontario

beesly said:


> The only in-park character dining I’m aware of right now is at Garden Grill and Hollywood & Vine, and I have seen both of those add ADRs for the extended hours in recent weeks.


 At one point Cinderella was also appearing at Cinderella’s Royal Table in the MK.  Does anyone know if she’s still there?


----------



## wdwrule

scrappinginontario said:


> At one point Cinderella was also appearing at Cinderella’s Royal Table in the MK.  Does anyone know if she’s still there?


According to some recent live streams that I’ve been watching yes she is still there.

ETA:  it also appears they have modified character experience for Chef Mickey’s breakfast as well as Topilinos terrace breakfast at the Riviera resort. I believe the characters at both of these are Mickey and crew.


----------



## GBRforWDW

I’ll add, if you’re looking for CRT adrs, you have to do it from the website.  You will not find them available in the app.

 Good luck to anyone trying to add adrs as they come available!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

scrappinginontario said:


> At one point Cinderella was also appearing at Cinderella’s Royal Table in the MK.  Does anyone know if she’s still there?


She was there on 3/31


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

scrappinginontario said:


> At one point Cinderella was also appearing at Cinderella’s Royal Table in the MK.  Does anyone know if she’s still there?



I ate at CRT in March - Cinderella comes out  - and socially distant - she waves and dances and walks around the outer edges of the restaurant while an automatic message about magic plays.

I was seated at the far side of the dining room near the windows - she came out near the elevator


----------



## beesly

scrappinginontario said:


> At one point Cinderella was also appearing at Cinderella’s Royal Table in the MK.  Does anyone know if she’s still there?





wdwrule said:


> According to some recent live streams that I’ve been watching yes she is still there.
> 
> ETA:  it also appears they have modified character experience for Chef Mickey’s breakfast as well as Topilinos terrace breakfast at the Riviera resort. I believe the characters at both of these are Mickey and crew.



Disney does not consider CRT or BOG, where one character merely appears and does not walk around the entire restaurant to interact with guests, to be “character dining.” The other restaurants mentioned are not in-park and ADRs will not be added for them as a result of extended park hours.


----------



## 2minny

HiStitch626 said:


> We spent some time at Disney Springs in both August and December and had similar experiences both times. I think it’s probably still true today. On both occasions we arrived about 10 o’clock - Wandered around, did some shopping, had a nice lunch. About 3 o’clock things started getting much more crowded. In December we did stay until about 5 and were uncomfortable at that point. So, I think if you go in the morning it will probably be fine but don’t plan for an evening there.


This is so sad, we love Disney Springs restaurants, wonder why it's so crazy now, do you think it's parks closing earlier forcing more the Disney Springs?


----------



## e_yerger

2minny said:


> This is so sad, we love Disney Springs restaurants, wonder why it's so crazy now, do you think it's parks closing earlier forcing more the Disney Springs?


I'm curious about the ratio of resort guests to locals that are at DS nowadays.


----------



## e_yerger

Animal Kingdom touring help - we are doing DAK on our arrival day, and we probably wont get to the park until around noonish. Is our best bet for FOP to be at the very end of the day at that point?


----------



## subtchr

e_yerger said:


> Animal Kingdom touring help - we are doing DAK on our arrival day, and we probably wont get to the park until around noonish. Is our best bet for FOP to be at the very end of the day at that point?



Not necessarily. Keep checking the wait time in the app. It tends to ebb and flow somewhat during the day. You can catch a low wait time some days mid-day.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

If you've been to the park in the last week, what was your bus or uber/lyft experience park hopping? Planning to hop from Epcot to MK and heard from a friend it took her an hour as she ended up waiting for the bus at EP for 40 min. I know bus service can be sporadic but this was also during Orlando/Central FL spring break week and not as of late. Have not done a park to park uber/lyft sine park reopening, is the process still the same? Head to the Uber/Lyft area at the Epcot parking lot, request a ride and then get dropped off at TTC? Thanks!


----------



## TeKa21

e_yerger said:


> Animal Kingdom touring help - we are doing DAK on our arrival day, and we probably wont get to the park until around noonish. Is our best bet for FOP to be at the very end of the day at that point?



We were there 4/5 and it stayed around 60-80 mins most of the day. The mainreason to save it till the end is that with sunset at almost 8 now if you get in line around 7:45 you can be done after dark, the crowds are all gone and you can explore the stunning beauty of Pandora after dark and get some great pics.


----------



## 2minny

e_yerger said:


> I'm curious about the ratio of resort guests to locals that are at DS nowadays.


Interesting question - wonder what has changed?


----------



## lovethattink

2minny said:


> Interesting question - wonder what has changed?



All but platinum AP were blocked out of the parks through 4/9. Maybe went to DS?


----------



## Haley R

2minny said:


> Interesting question - wonder what has changed?


We live an hour away and have had friends say they want to drive over to DS for something to do because they don’t want to pay to get into the parks.


----------



## Leigh L

I'm not sure if this is the right thread to post, but has anyone had recent luck getting DHS when the buckets are full? 

Currently, DHS in June is fully booked except 2 days and we'll be gone by then. (AP bucket is all green for DHS). I've read here Disney shifts things around. About how long out would this likely happen where I might be able to add one more person? 

(I did already successfully add DH and DD in last week despite DHS being yellow after they decided to come but now DD's friend is also coming. No dice this week!)


----------



## LMO429

We will be there first week of may we made boathouse reservations for 6:30 pm on a Tuesday is it crazy crowded there during the week too they extended park hours so hoping maybe that will keep some crowds away ?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Leigh L said:


> I'm not sure if this is the right thread to post, but has anyone had recent luck getting DHS when the buckets are full?
> 
> Currently, DHS in June is fully booked except 2 days and we'll be gone by then. (AP bucket is all green for DHS). I've read here Disney shifts things around. About how long out would this likely happen where I might be able to add one more person?
> 
> (I did already successfully add DH and DD in last week despite DHS being yellow after they decided to come but now DD's friend is also coming. No dice this week!)


Unfortunately many are in the same situation as you.  The best recommendation is to keep trying many times a day to secure a reservation.  I would keep trying to book rather than relying on the park availability calendar as the calendar is not updated real time.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Leigh L said:


> I'm not sure if this is the right thread to post, but has anyone had recent luck getting DHS when the buckets are full?
> 
> Currently, DHS in June is fully booked except 2 days and we'll be gone by then. (AP bucket is all green for DHS). I've read here Disney shifts things around. About how long out would this likely happen where I might be able to add one more person?
> 
> (I did already successfully add DH and DD in last week despite DHS being yellow after they decided to come but now DD's friend is also coming. No dice this week!)



I honestly think capacity will be increased again by June.

The AP is wide open in June because those of us who visit often don't want to tie up their 3 visits now for days a few months away. You'll notice that the AP bucket fills almost a month at a time. Because of the reservation system, I booked 3 visits in April as soon as my March visits were done (well, when my blackouts started). Once I finish an April visit, I book a May day. And so on. So I won't book June until May, and my guess is most AP's are like that too, so it gives a false picture of the June AP being "empty" (though June does begin blockout for Silver and weekday, which will help!)


----------



## Leigh L

scrappinginontario said:


> Unfortunately many are in the same situation as you.  The best recommendation is to keep trying many times a day to secure a reservation.  I would keep trying to book rather than relying on the park availability calendar as the calendar is not updated real time.





Aimeedyan said:


> I honestly think capacity will be increased again by June.
> 
> The AP is wide open in June because those of us who visit often don't want to tie up their 3 visits now for days a few months away. You'll notice that the AP bucket fills almost a month at a time. Because of the reservation system, I booked 3 visits in April as soon as my March visits were done (well, when my blackouts started). Once I finish an April visit, I book a May day. And so on. So I won't book June until May, and my guess is most AP's are like that too, so it gives a false picture of the June AP being "empty" (though June does begin blockout for Silver and weekday, which will help!)



Thanks! I haven't been tracking the full days since every time we've come they've been green so didn't know if there was rhyme or reason to when Disneys shifts things around.


----------



## HiStitch626

2minny said:


> Interesting question - wonder what has changed?



It's much more of a destination that it used to be.  Back in the Marketplace/Pleasure Island/Westside  days there just wasted as much to do.  PI was open in the day and had a little shopping but was ticketed in the evening.  Disney Quest was ticketed on the Westside and the AMC was more expensive than some other local theaters.  Plus, there were not as many shops or restaurants.  People might go for a few hours, but I don't think it was an all day experience Now, DS is a destination itself and they never charge for parking unlike Universal Citywalk


----------



## Lsdolphin

HiStitch626 said:


> It's much more of a destination that it used to be.  Back in the Marketplace/Pleasure Island/Westside  days there just wasted as much to do.  PI was open in the day and had a little shopping but was ticketed in the evening.  Disney Quest was ticketed on the Westside and the AMC was more expensive than some other local theaters.  Plus, there were not as many shops or restaurants.  People might go for a few hours, but I don't think it was an all day experience Now, DS is a destination itself and they never charge for parking unlike Universal Citywalk




Shhh don’t give them any ideas!!! Resort parking used to be free....


----------



## DMLAINI

Are late check outs being denied?   We'd like an extra hour at Caribbean Beach.


----------



## Meglen

DMLAINI said:


> Are late check outs being denied?   We'd like an extra hour at Caribbean Beach.


I'm not sure but you can still use everything including the pool for the rest of the day even after you check out


----------



## subtchr

DMLAINI said:


> Are late check outs being denied?   We'd like an extra hour at Caribbean Beach.



Generally, yes, they are, to allow for more time for cleaning. 

Heck, we never had luck with this even before Covid (but only tried a couple times). 

As with everything, it doesn’t hurt to ask! But you can always leave things with bell services and swim or do other things before leaving.


----------



## whiporee

Tasmen said:


> That lines for Pirates was the absolute worst for us. All the line snaking made it felt like we were never going to get to the end.



It really was the worst. And the constant clinking of the metal rings .... that was the most unpleasant one for us out of the parks.


----------



## beesly

DMLAINI said:


> Are late check outs being denied?   We'd like an extra hour at Caribbean Beach.



I can’t speak for CBR, but I was given a late checkout at GF last week (I only requested an extra hour).


----------



## Nabas

whiporee said:


> It really was the worst. And the constant clinking of the metal rings .... that was the most unpleasant one for us out of the parks.


This was another crazy long line for Slinky Dog Dash.  The line stretched all the way into the Animation Courtyard.


----------



## 2minny

Lsdolphin said:


> Shhh don’t give them any ideas!!! Resort parking used to be free....


It might help with the crowds if they charge for parking, if it's gotten out of control.


----------



## brockash

DMLAINI said:


> Are late check outs being denied?   We'd like an extra hour at Caribbean Beach.


We asked for and received a late check out at CBR about 3 weeks ago.  We also got one at Polynesian in Sept.  We asked but were denied at AKL in Oct.


----------



## GrumpySue

daraweb said:


> We were at Disney Springs last night too. We just arrived and went there for a bite before checking into our hotel. We were a bit overwhelmed by the crowds too. We kept wondering if it would feel that crowded in the parks.



The parks were no way near as crowded.


----------



## GrumpySue

Lsdolphin said:


> Shhh don’t give them any ideas!!! Resort parking used to be free....



I would gladly pay to park if it made for a safer, more enjoyable experience.  Right now its horrible.


----------



## OKWFan88

first day of trip and went to Disney springs and parked at 9 to get in line for Gideon’s. Took an hour but got one of everything. Worth the wait. Nice breeze and didn’t start raining till after we left. Also got some sprinkles and waiting in our room for rain to subside then off to animal kingdom.


----------



## teachluvbeach

How much time do you plan for when taking the bus from a park to DS?  I have a 6:15pm dinner reservation at Homecomin' on my Epcot day.


----------



## subtchr

teachluvbeach said:


> How much time do you plan for when taking the bus from a park to DS?  I have a 6:15pm dinner reservation at Homecomin' on my Epcot day.



You can’t take a bus from a park to DS. You have to transfer through a resort, or take the bus to Saratoga Springs and walk over.

How long to allow, and the best way to do it, varies by the park you are leaving from and where you are going in DS.


----------



## teachluvbeach

subtchr said:


> You can’t take a bus from a park to DS. You have to transfer through a resort, or take the bus to Saratoga Springs and walk over.
> 
> How long to allow, and the best way to do it, varies by the park you are leaving from and where you are going in DS.



Good to know, thanks!  I was hoping to go on our non-park days but this reservation popped a couple of days ago up so I grabbed it.  Might reconsider if it means a ton of travel time.


----------



## DisneyFive

Aimeedyan said:


> I honestly think capacity will be increased again by June.



I doubt it unless they bring back fast pass plus. Even at the current capacity the standby lines are extremely long, snaking out everywhere.

Dan


----------



## hereforthechurros

Looking at the map and so many rides in WDW are down. Only three attractions operational at MK, only one at AK. I know there are storms but yikes. Anyone there that can confirm the map isn’t just glitchy?


----------



## scrappinginontario

hereforthechurros said:


> Looking at the map and so many rides in WDW are down. Only three attractions operational at MK, only one at AK. I know there are storms but yikes. Anyone there that can confirm the map isn’t just glitchy?


I just checked TP and most rides are down due to the weather.


----------



## preemiemama

hereforthechurros said:


> Looking at the map and so many rides in WDW are down. Only three attractions operational at MK, only one at AK. I know there are storms but yikes. Anyone there that can confirm the map isn’t just glitchy?


Severe storms moving through.

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1381287933391605766


----------



## hereforthechurros

scrappinginontario said:


> I just checked TP and most rides are down due to the weather.


Right but the likes of CoP, Space Mountain, Pirates, Country Bears also being down is crazy.


----------



## preemiemama

hereforthechurros said:


> Right but the likes of CoP, Space Mountain, Pirates, Country Bears also being down is crazy.



Epcot attractions lose power in the storm 
Not sure how that is affecting power at other parks.


----------



## Magnoliafan

teachluvbeach said:


> Good to know, thanks!  I was hoping to go on our non-park days but this reservation popped a couple of days ago up so I grabbed it.  Might reconsider if it means a ton of travel time.


If you plan to end your Epcot day at World Showcase, then you can just head out the IG exit and grab a bus to DS from either BC or Boardwalk.  I think this would be the shortest walking distance, as you wouldn’t have to walk all the way through Epcot to the main exit and then buses.  Plus, Homecomin is closer to the DS bus stop than the walkway from SSR.  The wait time for the bus would be the biggest question mark. but that would be true regardless of where you caught a bus.


----------



## Turk February

DisneyFive said:


> I doubt it unless they bring back fast pass plus. Even at the current capacity the standby lines are extremely long, snaking out everywhere.
> 
> Dan



FP+ will only make standby lines longer if they do not increase ride capacity. I think it's more likely that with increased park capacity they reopen shows, more dining options, and increase ride capacity. That'll do much more to alleviate crowds than bringing back FP+


----------



## Triple A Mom

We just got home from a 16 hour drive that started yesterday. Since I relied so much on everyone's accounts before my trip I wanted to post about our trip. I'm not trying to write a trip report, but if it ends up that way I apologize, I just don't want to leave out any helpful information.

Trip was April 2 - 10. 
April 2 & 3 was Wilderness Lodge Copper Creek (Studio) and 4-10 Riviera Resort (1 Bedroom). 
Family of 5. Myself, Husband, Two 17 year-old boys and 1 almost 2 year old (got her in right before she had to mask up 24/7). We are DVC and have gone to Disney many times but our last trip was October 2019. Learned this trip that we can't share a studio as a family anymore, just not enough space. It was a rough two nights at Wilderness Lodge!

General Observations:
Crowds were surprising lower than we expected. It wasn't by any means empty, but very manageable. We had the early rope drop strategy and then took mid-day breaks. It wasn't always easy to get up at 6/7 AM for a 8/9 AM park opening, but we got a lot done those early mornings. The one park we slept in was Animal Kingdom and that was a big mistake!

Magic Kingdom (April 3 & 8)
It was cooler weather the 3rd and that may have helped us crowd wise. We arrived a little before 8 AM park opening, but not much due to us missing the bus and having a 20 minute wait (see travel party of 2 teens and a toddler - very inefficient group). We started at pirates which was a walk-on but should have done Jungle Cruise first since that line jumped from a walk on to 30 minutes in the time we were on pirates, which was still a walk on when we were done. Then walked on Aladdin (for the baby), walked on Haunted Mansion despite a quoted 30 minute posted time.) We waited about 15 minutes for Peter Pan and thought about Small World, but the line looked long and we thought it would get better (it didn't, only worse so that was another mistake). We waited for the carousel (for the baby) and then the teens were done with us (they lasted a surprisingly long time before ditching us - the carousel was their breaking point. They love their sister but they don't ride "up down horsies" anymore! We did Little Mermaid as a walk on and then Dumbo as a walk on. It was around 11 at this point so we accomplished a ton! We went back to the hotel to nap. 

We went back to Magic Kingdom around 3 PM and did Big Thunder Mountain (about 20 minute wait) and baby swapped. Got a dole whip, rode Pooh (30 minute wait - ouch), Mermaid and Dumbo (walk on). It felt busy and we were tired so we left around 7 PM.

Mask and line spacing was good with the exception of Big Thunder Mountain, people just weren't keeping spaced. I also saw more faces at the exit waiting area of BTM when I was waiting with baby. People were spaced out and had drinks, but I think it was more an excuse to take off their mask. I wasn't bothered because we had space (plus we are vaccinated) and I just kept baby in stroller and lots of distance from others. 

April 8 we had breakfast at the Wave and then walked over to MK from Contemporary. The guard at the Contemporary gave us no trouble about parking. He had a list and we had a reservation so it wasn't trouble. We weren't trying to be the first in the park and we enjoyed the breakfast. We got MK at 8:45 AM.

We saw the Fab 5 at the train station and since baby doesn't know any different, she LOVED seeing them, even at a distance. We did Small World (post 30 minutes, took 30 minutes) and then stood in line for a baby swap for Mine Train. Low point, I took baby (who was napping in stroller) to get iced coffee from Joffery's in Tomorrowland and stood in line for 20 minutes on to find out they didn't have any non-dairy options (I'm high-maintenance that way) and I was kinda mad. Wish they had put up a sign or something. Anyway, by the time I didn't get my coffee the guys were off Mine Train and it was my turn to ride with teens. The teens decided they wanted iced coffee so we went to Main Street Starbucks. Wait times were more accurate this day and the park was crowded so we didn't stick around long. We swam at the hotel and went back in the evening. High point was in the evening we took baby on Dumbo and it was a walk on to the point they let everyone stay on and ride again since there was no one in line! Pretty fun bonus!

Hollywood Studios (April 5)
Woke up at 6:45 AM to try for a boarding group. I read on this board awhile back to make sure the teens tried because they have fast fingers and that was a great tip! Myself, husband and one teen all were prepped and ready while the other teen gave the countdown. I thought I had it but it and as I was exclaiming my victory saying "I think I'm going to get it!" my teen says "boarding group 31, I already did it," so that was good. Meanwhile, my husband still hadn't figured out how to 'join' in the app so pro tip - if you have a teen, let them do it! 

We got ready to skylined over for early entry. So, I thought I read that Riviera would skyline to Carribean Beach and then enter a different line to transfer, but we were sent to the end of the line at Caribbean Beach. It only took about 10 minutes, but I spent about 4 of those silently stewing about not having a seperate line for transfers!  We still got to Studios before they were even letting cars in and were able to keep ahead of crowds since skyliner had separate temperature check/security.

We did Slinky Dog in about 20 minutes tops and baby swapped. We waited maybe 5 minutes for Toy Story Mania and then headed to Star Wars. We waited probably 30-40 minutes for Millennium Falcon and rode with baby swap. Our boarding group was called during the first Falcon ride so we hurried right over to Rise of the Resistance and rode it with Baby swap. I would like to say now that baby swap is really an awesome, I wouldn't have done either of these rides without the swap option and it is a thoughtful program for parents.

We ate lunch via mobile order at Docking Bay. If we had wanted another option we should have ordered earlier but we didn't care so we just picked the place that had immediate availability. 

Mickey and Minnie Railway was super cute, but the wait was outside in the sun. We waited about 30 minutes but later in the evening it was a walk on. The drawback of the line is it's outside but you can't bring your stroller through the line so baby was hard to wrangle. With the sun high in the sky it was warm in line so it was probably the worst line of the week just because of layout and timing.

We left and came back in the evening and roade Rock'n Rollercoaster with 20 (posted 40) minute wait and walked on M&M Railway.

EPCOT (April 7 & 9)
We got in line for skyliner a 9:30 AM and they started boarding at 9:45 AM (9:50 AM on the 9th). They hold the line off skyliner at temperature check and waited for park opening to let people through. We headed straight to Frozen (teens to Test Track). They were on and done in 20 minutes and we rode Frozen twice in that time. We went to Mexico and did the boat ride before walking the world showcase. 

Not crowded at all. We are used to Food and Wine crowds so it felt great. However, April 9 was busy. We did the same strategy of Frozen twice which worked, but after that is got busy.

We had a lunch Garden Grill reservation and left the park after we were done. The evening were great walking the World Showcase, but ride times were busy. We were only interested in Frozen because of baby so it wasn't an issue for us.

Animal Kingdom (April 6)
Big mistakes were made today. We didn't try for rope drop/early entry. The bus times was over 30 minutes so we drove over and arrived around 9 AM. This park was CRAZY BUSY! Every ride was over an hour except Everest which quoted 30 minutes but the line was past Nemo so I'm not sure I believed it. It was insanely busy. While we debated what we wanted to do Safari closed temporarily. We just weren't feeling the crowd. It felt like wall to wall people so we left. We basically burned a park ticket because we didn't even go back in the evening since the wait times never went down.  

Disney Springs was a mess! I saw lots of faces, noses, walking and eating/drinking and just CROWDS! Sunday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon were busy, we didn't go in the evening.

Takeaways:
I didn't make any advanced dining reservations. I just didn't want to be scheduled (toddlers laugh in the face of advanced plans) but I was able to pick up a few dining reservations during the week so if you want a place (Garden Grill for us) just keep checking the app and you may get lucky. We also joined virtual walk up lines and got tables immediately each time even though it was a quoted hour wait. We even got a table Easter morning at Whispering Canyon by joining walk up line.

Covid compliance was good. I wasn't bothered by much and lines were generally spaced out. Little kids have trouble keeping distance, but parent do their best. If you are super worried then you should wait because it's not perfect, but probably as safe as most places you go at home. Resorts were clean, very clean, and sanitizer was everywhere. 

Character cavalcades and radom sightings were fun, but sad for the littles who don't get the full experience. My toddler was so excited to see her favorite 'friends' even at a distance, but I can only imagine what she would have done if she had gotten to get close. In the grand scheme not a big deal.

I miss the fireworks and shows and I didn't think I would. I am not big for that stuff, but when it isn't there you definitely notice. 

I had read accounts from others of cast members looking like they weren't feeling the magic. I get it. Most looked like they were forcing it at least a little bit, but I can't really blame them. It's our vacation, but it's their every day, so I didn't think much of it. 

If you have questions about Wilderness Lodge or Riviera let me know, or anything else.


----------



## DMLAINI

Triple A Mom said:


> We just got home from a 16 hour drive that started yesterday. Since I relied so much on everyone's accounts before my trip I wanted to post about our trip. I'm not trying to write a trip report, but if it ends up that way I apologize, I just don't want to leave out any helpful information.
> 
> Trip was April 2 - 10.
> April 2 & 3 was Wilderness Lodge Copper Creek (Studio) and 4-10 Riviera Resort (1 Bedroom).
> Family of 5. Myself, Husband, Two 17 year-old boys and 1 almost 2 year old (got her in right before she had to mask up 24/7). We are DVC and have gone to Disney many times but our last trip was October 2019. Learned this trip that we can't share a studio as a family anymore, just not enough space. It was a rough two nights at Wilderness Lodge!
> 
> General Observations:
> Crowds were surprising lower than we expected. It wasn't by any means empty, but very manageable. We had the early rope drop strategy and then took mid-day breaks. It wasn't always easy to get up at 6/7 AM for a 8/9 AM park opening, but we got a lot done those early mornings. The one park we slept in was Animal Kingdom and that was a big mistake!
> 
> Magic Kingdom (April 3 & 8)
> It was cooler weather the 3rd and that may have helped us crowd wise. We arrived a little before 8 AM park opening, but not much due to us missing the bus and having a 20 minute wait (see travel party of 2 teens and a toddler - very inefficient group). We started at pirates which was a walk-on but should have done Jungle Cruise first since that line jumped from a walk on to 30 minutes in the time we were on pirates, which was still a walk on when we were done. Then walked on Aladdin (for the baby), walked on Haunted Mansion despite a quoted 30 minute posted time.) We waited about 15 minutes for Peter Pan and thought about Small World, but the line looked long and we thought it would get better (it didn't, only worse so that was another mistake). We waited for the carousel (for the baby) and then the teens were done with us (they lasted a surprisingly long time before ditching us - the carousel was their breaking point. They love their sister but they don't ride "up down horsies" anymore! We did Little Mermaid as a walk on and then Dumbo as a walk on. It was around 11 at this point so we accomplished a ton! We went back to the hotel to nap.
> 
> We went back to Magic Kingdom around 3 PM and did Big Thunder Mountain (about 20 minute wait) and baby swapped. Got a dole whip, rode Pooh (30 minute wait - ouch), Mermaid and Dumbo (walk on). It felt busy and we were tired so we left around 7 PM.
> 
> Mask and line spacing was good with the exception of Big Thunder Mountain, people just weren't keeping spaced. I also saw more faces at the exit waiting area of BTM when I was waiting with baby. People were spaced out and had drinks, but I think it was more an excuse to take off their mask. I wasn't bothered because we had space (plus we are vaccinated) and I just kept baby in stroller and lots of distance from others.
> 
> April 8 we had breakfast at the Wave and then walked over to MK from Contemporary. The guard at the Contemporary gave us no trouble about parking. He had a list and we had a reservation so it wasn't trouble. We weren't trying to be the first in the park and we enjoyed the breakfast. We got MK at 8:45 AM.
> 
> We saw the Fab 5 at the train station and since baby doesn't know any different, she LOVED seeing them, even at a distance. We did Small World (post 30 minutes, took 30 minutes) and then stood in line for a baby swap for Mine Train. Low point, I took baby (who was napping in stroller) to get iced coffee from Joffery's in Tomorrowland and stood in line for 20 minutes on to find out they didn't have any non-dairy options (I'm high-maintenance that way) and I was kinda mad. Wish they had put up a sign or something. Anyway, by the time I didn't get my coffee the guys were off Mine Train and it was my turn to ride with teens. The teens decided they wanted iced coffee so we went to Main Street Starbucks. Wait times were more accurate this day and the park was crowded so we didn't stick around long. We swam at the hotel and went back in the evening. High point was in the evening we took baby on Dumbo and it was a walk on to the point they let everyone stay on and ride again since there was no one in line! Pretty fun bonus!
> 
> Hollywood Studios (April 5)
> Woke up at 6:45 AM to try for a boarding group. I read on this board awhile back to make sure the teens tried because they have fast fingers and that was a great tip! Myself, husband and one teen all were prepped and ready while the other teen gave the countdown. I thought I had it but it and as I was exclaiming my victory saying "I think I'm going to get it!" my teen says "boarding group 31, I already did it," so that was good. Meanwhile, my husband still hadn't figured out how to 'join' in the app so pro tip - if you have a teen, let them do it!
> 
> We got ready to skylined over for early entry. So, I thought I read that Riviera would skyline to Carribean Beach and then enter a different line to transfer, but we were sent to the end of the line at Caribbean Beach. It only took about 10 minutes, but I spent about 4 of those silently stewing about not having a seperate line for transfers!  We still got to Studios before they were even letting cars in and were able to keep ahead of crowds since skyliner had separate temperature check/security.
> 
> We did Slinky Dog in about 20 minutes tops and baby swapped. We waited maybe 5 minutes for Toy Story Mania and then headed to Star Wars. We waited probably 30-40 minutes for Millennium Falcon and rode with baby swap. Our boarding group was called during the first Falcon ride so we hurried right over to Rise of the Resistance and rode it with Baby swap. I would like to say now that baby swap is really an awesome, I wouldn't have done either of these rides without the swap option and it is a thoughtful program for parents.
> 
> We ate lunch via mobile order at Docking Bay. If we had wanted another option we should have ordered earlier but we didn't care so we just picked the place that had immediate availability.
> 
> Mickey and Minnie Railway was super cute, but the wait was outside in the sun. We waited about 30 minutes but later in the evening it was a walk on. The drawback of the line is it's outside but you can't bring your stroller through the line so baby was hard to wrangle. With the sun high in the sky it was warm in line so it was probably the worst line of the week just because of layout and timing.
> 
> We left and came back in the evening and roade Rock'n Rollercoaster with 20 (posted 40) minute wait and walked on M&M Railway.
> 
> EPCOT (April 7 & 9)
> We got in line for skyliner a 9:30 AM and they started boarding at 9:45 AM (9:50 AM on the 9th). They hold the line off skyliner at temperature check and waited for park opening to let people through. We headed straight to Frozen (teens to Test Track). They were on and done in 20 minutes and we rode Frozen twice in that time. We went to Mexico and did the boat ride before walking the world showcase.
> 
> Not crowded at all. We are used to Food and Wine crowds so it felt great. However, April 9 was busy. We did the same strategy of Frozen twice which worked, but after that is got busy.
> 
> We had a lunch Garden Grill reservation and left the park after we were done. The evening were great walking the World Showcase, but ride times were busy. We were only interested in Frozen because of baby so it wasn't an issue for us.
> 
> Animal Kingdom (April 6)
> Big mistakes were made today. We didn't try for rope drop/early entry. The bus times was over 30 minutes so we drove over and arrived around 9 AM. This park was CRAZY BUSY! Every ride was over an hour except Everest which quoted 30 minutes but the line was past Nemo so I'm not sure I believed it. It was insanely busy. While we debated what we wanted to do Safari closed temporarily. We just weren't feeling the crowd. It felt like wall to wall people so we left. We basically burned a park ticket because we didn't even go back in the evening since the wait times never went down.
> 
> Disney Springs was a mess! I saw lots of faces, noses, walking and eating/drinking and just CROWDS! Sunday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon were busy, we didn't go in the evening.
> 
> Takeaways:
> I didn't make any advanced dining reservations. I just didn't want to be scheduled (toddlers laugh in the face of advanced plans) but I was able to pick up a few dining reservations during the week so if you want a place (Garden Grill for us) just keep checking the app and you may get lucky. We also joined virtual walk up lines and got tables immediately each time even though it was a quoted hour wait. We even got a table Easter morning at Whispering Canyon by joining walk up line.
> 
> Covid compliance was good. I wasn't bothered by much and lines were generally spaced out. Little kids have trouble keeping distance, but parent do their best. If you are super worried then you should wait because it's not perfect, but probably as safe as most places you go at home. Resorts were clean, very clean, and sanitizer was everywhere.
> 
> Character cavalcades and radom sightings were fun, but sad for the littles who don't get the full experience. My toddler was so excited to see her favorite 'friends' even at a distance, but I can only imagine what she would have done if she had gotten to get close. In the grand scheme not a big deal.
> 
> I miss the fireworks and shows and I didn't think I would. I am not big for that stuff, but when it isn't there you definitely notice.
> 
> I had read accounts from others of cast members looking like they weren't feeling the magic. I get it. Most looked like they were forcing it at least a little bit, but I can't really blame them. It's our vacation, but it's their every day, so I didn't think much of it.
> 
> If you have questions about Wilderness Lodge or Riviera let me know, or anything else.


How was morning bus service from the Riviera?


----------



## Triple A Mom

DMLAINI said:


> How was morning bus service from the Riviera?


We only used it (or tried to use it) twice. The first time was going to Animal Kingdom and the wait said 33 minutes until next bus. We just walked to our car and drove there and was there before the 33 minutes elapsed. Bus to MK in the even was good, about 20 minutes wait at the Resort and leaving it was about 15 minutes to get back. It was full and we were the last people loaded (just before park closing) but the people left were easily on the next bus.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Local APs being blocked out made a big difference over the last two weeks it seems. Wait times never looked unmanageable. Disney *may* have also increased ride capacity for anticipated crowds which would be great as wait times the last couple months we’re starting to get hairy. Curious to see how the rest of April looks.


----------



## debdebdebby13

We arrive on the 16th and currently it looks like it's supposed to rain/thunderstorm most every day we are there. I see today was also stormy. I live in OK and when we have a weather forecast that says 70% chance of rain that means it's going to rain all day. Is this how Florida forecasts work? Should I expect it to rain ALL day? or will it be a storm and then done?


----------



## Haley R

debdebdebby13 said:


> We arrive on the 16th and currently it looks like it's supposed to rain/thunderstorm most every day we are there. I see today was also stormy. I live in OK and when we have a weather forecast that says 70% chance of rain that means it's going to rain all day. Is this how Florida forecasts work? Should I expect it to rain ALL day? or will it be a storm and then done?


It’s different all the time honestly. I would be prepared for it to rain all day but usually it’s an afternoon storm. Today it has been pretty much all day long


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## Naomeri

teachluvbeach said:


> Good to know, thanks!  I was hoping to go on our non-park days but this reservation popped a couple of days ago up so I grabbed it.  Might reconsider if it means a ton of travel time.


I went to Disney Springs on my MK day and just hopped the monorail to the Contemporary (because it was there and I haven’t ridden it since I was a little kid) and caught bus from there (the bus showed up less than 5 minutes after I got to the CR bus stop)


----------



## DisneyFive

Turk February said:


> FP+ will only make standby lines longer if they do not increase ride capacity. I think it's more likely that with increased park capacity they reopen shows, more dining options, and increase ride capacity. That'll do much more to alleviate crowds than bringing back FP+



IMO if they add park capacity they will absolutely have to increase ride capacity.  I think lines are about the max that people are willing to tolerate as it is right now.   The problem with increased ride capacity is the loss of social distancing and I’m just not sure Disney is willing to do that in June already.  I guess we’ll see.  Shows will help a little but I don’t think they will impact ride waits as much as some think.

I just hope that waits times are reasonable when we arrive in late July.  

Dan


----------



## FCDub

debdebdebby13 said:


> We arrive on the 16th and currently it looks like it's supposed to rain/thunderstorm most every day we are there. I see today was also stormy. I live in OK and when we have a weather forecast that says 70% chance of rain that means it's going to rain all day. Is this how Florida forecasts work? Should I expect it to rain ALL day? or will it be a storm and then done?



There is literally no way to predict the weather a week in advance


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## zeferjen

> If,  you have questions about Wilderness Lodge or Riviera let me know, or anything else.


Hi! How did you find the pool at Riviera? Any issues with getting chairs? Did you do any of the resort activities? Any issues with long skyliner waits or bus waits?


----------



## disneyfan150

Triple A Mom said:


> Hollywood Studios (April 5)
> so pro tip - if you have a teen, let them do it!


So true!  I had practiced for days and days to get a boarding group before our last trip. On the big day, my heart was beating fast, my palms were sweating, and I thought I was going to throw up. When the clock ticked down to go time, I was pushing things as fast as I could.  I almost cried when I didn't get anything.  Then DD shouts BG #3. She hadn't practiced at all!


----------



## Obi-J Kenobi

This!


----------



## only hope

debdebdebby13 said:


> We arrive on the 16th and currently it looks like it's supposed to rain/thunderstorm most every day we are there. I see today was also stormy. I live in OK and when we have a weather forecast that says 70% chance of rain that means it's going to rain all day. Is this how Florida forecasts work? Should I expect it to rain ALL day? or will it be a storm and then done?





FCDub said:


> There is literally no way to predict the weather a week in advance



Summer it’s usually brief. Winter it’s more typically all day. We’re kinda inbetween right now. But forecasts are extremely unreliable, even the night before. The exception is days like today when a huge system is coming towards us- the exact times it rains change but we know it will be an all day off and on affair.


----------



## Triple A Mom

zeferjen said:


> Hi! How did you find the pool at Riviera? Any issues with getting chairs? Did you do any of the resort activities? Any issues with long skyliner waits or bus waits?


We loved to pool at the Riviera! Never had any issues getting chairs or capacity issues. There were people there and busy, but not so much that you felt crowded. We spent most of our pool time in the small kids splash area and it was usually just a few kids. Once it had lots of bigger kids and the lifeguard came over and measured the big kids and told them they could use the slides if they were taller than the lifeguard floaty. It worked and I was secretly happy because those bigger kids were running around and not paying close attention to the littles. 
They had movies at night and I think I saw a sign about posted activities. We talked with an activities person at the movie because we commented how cool it was that they set it up and had blankets for people since it was a cooler night. 
The skyliner was awesome! We only used it to Hollywood studios one day so the transfer wasn't great but also not terrible, about 10 minutes in line at CBR. We got there early for Epcot at 9:30 AM each day and they posted 10 AM to start running. We were overly eager because the line when they started boarding both mornings wasn't bad at all, but we were already up and ready so it worked out for us.
The skyliner leaving at park closing is nuts! The line at HS was SO LONG, but it moved fast, just lots of walking to find the end of the line. We left Epcot before closing each night but the line was longer than we expected one night. It moved though and I thought better than a typical bus wait can be in the past.


----------



## soup23

Back from my trip the past week (4-5 thru 4-11) and want to give some overall impressions.

We went in October and I felt there was much less presence by Disney this week in ensuring mask enforcement. Key areas such as the hub in MK had tons of roaming people holding signs in October that discouraged walking drinking and eating. This week, it wasn't uncommon to see someone go from Aloha Isle to Splash Mountain area eating away on a Dole Whip without any acknowledgement from CMs. I preface that to just say that if you are still an individuals that is very apprehensive about being in public, this is still not the right time to go.

3 Positives from the Trip:

1. Late Nights: Having younger kids that get up at 7 at the latest, rope dropping isn't usually an issue for us. This trip really tilted that strategy as we did RD but saw that you had at best around 2-3 big rides to maximize before the crowds came in whereas before you could get in around 4-5. An example of this was MK. In previous trips we have been able to do 7DMT>Peter Pan>Small World>Splash>Pirates all within the first 90 minutes of opening and with a maximum ten minute wait. Friday at rope drop we did 7DMT>Peter Pan> Small World> Jungle Cruise>Pirates and Jungle Cruise was a 30 minute wait and Pirates a 20. We got into the Jungle Cruise line around 20 minutes after "official" park opening. On the contrary, the last 2 hours of the night in each park were glorious. There were usually a few headliner attractions that didn't relent much (Slinky, Test Track, Splash, FOP) but overall you could do so much in those final few hours in a minimal amount of time. Another tip for FOP is that I think the best window if you can't get early in the morning is to do it around 5-6ish before the other attractions close (Safari, Walking Trails, etc). We got in line at 7:45 for FOP and still had a 70 minute wait as it seemed like everyone else around the park had nothing else to do and decided to close down the park doing FOP. 

2. Maskless Photos: Being there the week of this policy changing, it was incredible to see the energy shift from the beginning of the week to the end. I think there was a clear enthusiasm by guests as well as photo pass photographers that helped permeate across the park. Truthfully or not, it felt like some progress was a made and was a welcome change that seemed minor in retrospect but paid huge dividends.

3. All Star Movies: Pop has the Skyliner but I contend that everything else about the results gives the advantage to All Star Movies and when for our trip we were looking at a $40 per night price difference, the choice was pretty easy. Food Court mobile order worked much better than at Pop in October and I enjoy the Food Court offerings more. THey aren't reinventing the culinary wheel with what they serve but it is done well and the food is fresh. Rooms, pools and activities were all well presented. 

3 Negatives from the Trip:

1. Inconsistency among CMs: This has been a prevailing issue with our two post COVID trips. I try to be understanding and appreciative. I know the CMs have been through a lot of stress and there are many moments within the day where they have to make judgement calls. Saying that though, I had more negative encounters with CMs this trip than my previous four combined. I will be glad when mandates and needing for those CM judgement calls are negated. The second safari we went on in AK is the encapsulation of this. An individual on the ride was being pretty blatant on their mask being below their nose. Therefore, the 20 minute safari turned into a dialogue between the safari driver and the individual on proper use of the mask. I don't blame the CM per say as the individual was certainly being defiant with the rules, but in a 20 minute attraction it ruined the experience for the rest of of the vehicle and was the most uncomfortable I have been on a Disney ride. The other instances I do place the blame at CMs in general being overzealous in their approach. Wednesday was the day before the maskless policy for pictures took affect but it was being encouraged by Photo Pass photographers. Approach goes a long way and berating my family and threatening to kick us out with me simply inquiring why Photopass Individuals were encouraging the removal of masks is a standard I do expect from Disney CM's and that they present when setting a premium on their vacations. Another instance I saw more of was CMs in uniform fraternizing outside the ride and socializing in an unprofessional manner. Theming is everything in Disney and a differentiator for the vacation. Coming off the HM and seeing 4-5 CMs in uniform talk about the party they went to last weekend is a buzz kill for the ride and overall aesthetic. There just seems to be less acts of kindness or professionalism that evaporate with each passing trip. 

2. Transportation: We are used to having that one bus ride from hell each trip. Buses break down, something doesn't work.... we get it. In our five park days, we had four instances of this which to me speaks of a bigger overall communication and maintenance problem. I don't know if the charter buses muddle that up as communication can be iffy between whom is picking up whom but it was frustrating than before and had us to revaluate that barring MK, we will probably drive to the park from now on. I am still iffy on the Charter buses in general. I do go to Disney to escape from the real world and like feeling in the bubble. The charter buses with nondescript drivers not wearing a uniform and the buses having no personality do take away from that. It is a case of at 10:00 at night after a long park day, I don't care how I get back to my room, just get me there, but there was definitely some magic lost with my kids in not being able to ride Disney buses for 70% of the time on the trip. 

3. Still not enough open: Some restaurants and attractions that possibly could be opened are still closed which causes the middle of the day to become pretty unbearable when parks are at their capacity. Mobile ordering options in the parks for DHS and Animal Kingdom were tough to come by for desirable locations. I am just ready for more options and still feels like to a degree you are paying for 70% Disney at 100% of the price.

Overall, we had a better trip than in October but were in agreeance we are going to wait and see and probably shoot for a 2022 return where hopefully a return to "new normalization" has occurred.


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## baggs32

Triple A Mom said:


> We just got home from a 16 hour drive that started yesterday. Since I relied so much on everyone's accounts before my trip I wanted to post about our trip. I'm not trying to write a trip report, but if it ends up that way I apologize, I just don't want to leave out any helpful information.
> 
> Trip was April 2 - 10.
> April 2 & 3 was Wilderness Lodge Copper Creek (Studio) and 4-10 Riviera Resort (1 Bedroom).
> Family of 5. Myself, Husband, Two 17 year-old boys and 1 almost 2 year old (got her in right before she had to mask up 24/7). We are DVC and have gone to Disney many times but our last trip was October 2019. Learned this trip that we can't share a studio as a family anymore, just not enough space. It was a rough two nights at Wilderness Lodge!
> 
> General Observations:
> Crowds were surprising lower than we expected. It wasn't by any means empty, but very manageable. We had the early rope drop strategy and then took mid-day breaks. It wasn't always easy to get up at 6/7 AM for a 8/9 AM park opening, but we got a lot done those early mornings. The one park we slept in was Animal Kingdom and that was a big mistake!
> 
> Magic Kingdom (April 3 & 8)
> It was cooler weather the 3rd and that may have helped us crowd wise. We arrived a little before 8 AM park opening, but not much due to us missing the bus and having a 20 minute wait (see travel party of 2 teens and a toddler - very inefficient group). We started at pirates which was a walk-on but should have done Jungle Cruise first since that line jumped from a walk on to 30 minutes in the time we were on pirates, which was still a walk on when we were done. Then walked on Aladdin (for the baby), walked on Haunted Mansion despite a quoted 30 minute posted time.) We waited about 15 minutes for Peter Pan and thought about Small World, but the line looked long and we thought it would get better (it didn't, only worse so that was another mistake). We waited for the carousel (for the baby) and then the teens were done with us (they lasted a surprisingly long time before ditching us - the carousel was their breaking point. They love their sister but they don't ride "up down horsies" anymore! We did Little Mermaid as a walk on and then Dumbo as a walk on. It was around 11 at this point so we accomplished a ton! We went back to the hotel to nap.
> 
> We went back to Magic Kingdom around 3 PM and did Big Thunder Mountain (about 20 minute wait) and baby swapped. Got a dole whip, rode Pooh (30 minute wait - ouch), Mermaid and Dumbo (walk on). It felt busy and we were tired so we left around 7 PM.
> 
> Mask and line spacing was good with the exception of Big Thunder Mountain, people just weren't keeping spaced. I also saw more faces at the exit waiting area of BTM when I was waiting with baby. People were spaced out and had drinks, but I think it was more an excuse to take off their mask. I wasn't bothered because we had space (plus we are vaccinated) and I just kept baby in stroller and lots of distance from others.
> 
> April 8 we had breakfast at the Wave and then walked over to MK from Contemporary. The guard at the Contemporary gave us no trouble about parking. He had a list and we had a reservation so it wasn't trouble. We weren't trying to be the first in the park and we enjoyed the breakfast. We got MK at 8:45 AM.
> 
> We saw the Fab 5 at the train station and since baby doesn't know any different, she LOVED seeing them, even at a distance. We did Small World (post 30 minutes, took 30 minutes) and then stood in line for a baby swap for Mine Train. Low point, I took baby (who was napping in stroller) to get iced coffee from Joffery's in Tomorrowland and stood in line for 20 minutes on to find out they didn't have any non-dairy options (I'm high-maintenance that way) and I was kinda mad. Wish they had put up a sign or something. Anyway, by the time I didn't get my coffee the guys were off Mine Train and it was my turn to ride with teens. The teens decided they wanted iced coffee so we went to Main Street Starbucks. Wait times were more accurate this day and the park was crowded so we didn't stick around long. We swam at the hotel and went back in the evening. High point was in the evening we took baby on Dumbo and it was a walk on to the point they let everyone stay on and ride again since there was no one in line! Pretty fun bonus!
> 
> Hollywood Studios (April 5)
> Woke up at 6:45 AM to try for a boarding group. I read on this board awhile back to make sure the teens tried because they have fast fingers and that was a great tip! Myself, husband and one teen all were prepped and ready while the other teen gave the countdown. I thought I had it but it and as I was exclaiming my victory saying "I think I'm going to get it!" my teen says "boarding group 31, I already did it," so that was good. Meanwhile, my husband still hadn't figured out how to 'join' in the app so pro tip - if you have a teen, let them do it!
> 
> We got ready to skylined over for early entry. So, I thought I read that Riviera would skyline to Carribean Beach and then enter a different line to transfer, but we were sent to the end of the line at Caribbean Beach. It only took about 10 minutes, but I spent about 4 of those silently stewing about not having a seperate line for transfers!  We still got to Studios before they were even letting cars in and were able to keep ahead of crowds since skyliner had separate temperature check/security.
> 
> We did Slinky Dog in about 20 minutes tops and baby swapped. We waited maybe 5 minutes for Toy Story Mania and then headed to Star Wars. We waited probably 30-40 minutes for Millennium Falcon and rode with baby swap. Our boarding group was called during the first Falcon ride so we hurried right over to Rise of the Resistance and rode it with Baby swap. I would like to say now that baby swap is really an awesome, I wouldn't have done either of these rides without the swap option and it is a thoughtful program for parents.
> 
> We ate lunch via mobile order at Docking Bay. If we had wanted another option we should have ordered earlier but we didn't care so we just picked the place that had immediate availability.
> 
> Mickey and Minnie Railway was super cute, but the wait was outside in the sun. We waited about 30 minutes but later in the evening it was a walk on. The drawback of the line is it's outside but you can't bring your stroller through the line so baby was hard to wrangle. With the sun high in the sky it was warm in line so it was probably the worst line of the week just because of layout and timing.
> 
> We left and came back in the evening and roade Rock'n Rollercoaster with 20 (posted 40) minute wait and walked on M&M Railway.
> 
> EPCOT (April 7 & 9)
> We got in line for skyliner a 9:30 AM and they started boarding at 9:45 AM (9:50 AM on the 9th). They hold the line off skyliner at temperature check and waited for park opening to let people through. We headed straight to Frozen (teens to Test Track). They were on and done in 20 minutes and we rode Frozen twice in that time. We went to Mexico and did the boat ride before walking the world showcase.
> 
> Not crowded at all. We are used to Food and Wine crowds so it felt great. However, April 9 was busy. We did the same strategy of Frozen twice which worked, but after that is got busy.
> 
> We had a lunch Garden Grill reservation and left the park after we were done. The evening were great walking the World Showcase, but ride times were busy. We were only interested in Frozen because of baby so it wasn't an issue for us.
> 
> Animal Kingdom (April 6)
> Big mistakes were made today. We didn't try for rope drop/early entry. The bus times was over 30 minutes so we drove over and arrived around 9 AM. This park was CRAZY BUSY! Every ride was over an hour except Everest which quoted 30 minutes but the line was past Nemo so I'm not sure I believed it. It was insanely busy. While we debated what we wanted to do Safari closed temporarily. We just weren't feeling the crowd. It felt like wall to wall people so we left. We basically burned a park ticket because we didn't even go back in the evening since the wait times never went down.
> 
> Disney Springs was a mess! I saw lots of faces, noses, walking and eating/drinking and just CROWDS! Sunday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon were busy, we didn't go in the evening.
> 
> Takeaways:
> I didn't make any advanced dining reservations. I just didn't want to be scheduled (toddlers laugh in the face of advanced plans) but I was able to pick up a few dining reservations during the week so if you want a place (Garden Grill for us) just keep checking the app and you may get lucky. We also joined virtual walk up lines and got tables immediately each time even though it was a quoted hour wait. We even got a table Easter morning at Whispering Canyon by joining walk up line.
> 
> Covid compliance was good. I wasn't bothered by much and lines were generally spaced out. Little kids have trouble keeping distance, but parent do their best. If you are super worried then you should wait because it's not perfect, but probably as safe as most places you go at home. Resorts were clean, very clean, and sanitizer was everywhere.
> 
> Character cavalcades and radom sightings were fun, but sad for the littles who don't get the full experience. My toddler was so excited to see her favorite 'friends' even at a distance, but I can only imagine what she would have done if she had gotten to get close. In the grand scheme not a big deal.
> 
> I miss the fireworks and shows and I didn't think I would. I am not big for that stuff, but when it isn't there you definitely notice.
> 
> I had read accounts from others of cast members looking like they weren't feeling the magic. I get it. Most looked like they were forcing it at least a little bit, but I can't really blame them. It's our vacation, but it's their every day, so I didn't think much of it.
> 
> If you have questions about Wilderness Lodge or Riviera let me know, or anything else.



Great write-up!  We are going later in May and I hope to use your tips for the ROTR boarding groups as we have two teens with us.  One question though, was everyone logged into one MDE account at the same time or do you all have separate accounts linked together?  I've always been the only one interested in using MDE while there but this time we all need to be in it for the boarding groups and I don't know what the best method is to be honest.


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## ENJDisneyFan

baggs32 said:


> Great write-up!  We are going later in May and I hope to use your tips for the ROTR boarding groups as we have two teens with us.  One question though, was everyone logged into one MDE account at the same time or do you all have separate accounts linked together?  I've always been the only one interested in using MDE while there but this time we all need to be in it for the boarding groups and I don't know what the best method is to be honest.


You can all use the same MDE account.


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## Triple A Mom

baggs32 said:


> Great write-up!  We are going later in May and I hope to use your tips for the ROTR boarding groups as we have two teens with us.  One question though, was everyone logged into one MDE account at the same time or do you all have separate accounts linked together?  I've always been the only one interested in using MDE while there but this time we all need to be in it for the boarding groups and I don't know what the best method is to be honest.


I had them all download the app but sign in as me. I just told them not to mess around in the app and cancel any park reservations!


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## baggs32

Triple A Mom said:


> I had them all download the app but sign in as me. I just told them not to mess around in the app and cancel any park reservations!



Got it and thanks to both of you for the quick replies!  Good to know that it works with just the one main MDE account.  Does anyone have any other experiences with using multiple accounts?  Does that give you better chances possibly?  We have a pass for HS 3 of our 7 days but I want to get this over with early on so it's not hanging over our heads all week.


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## ENJDisneyFan

baggs32 said:


> Got it and thanks to both of you for the quick replies!  Good to know that it works with just the one main MDE account.  Does anyone have any other experiences with using multiple accounts?  Does that give you better chances possibly?  We have a pass for HS 3 of our 7 days but I want to get this over with early on so it's not hanging over our heads all week.


The more people trying, the better your chances.  2 weeks ago I had myself, DH, and 2 kids all trying under my account.  14 year old was fastest and got the BG.  We also had 2 of us on park Wi-Fi and 2 of us on cell service (AT&T).  Park Wi-Fi won (I was surprised).


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## cristen72

Anyone that has been there in the last couple of weeks that was also there between Christmas and New Years?      Just wondering how the crowds compare.


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## twodogs

baggs32 said:


> Got it and thanks to both of you for the quick replies!  Good to know that it works with just the one main MDE account.  Does anyone have any other experiences with using multiple accounts?  Does that give you better chances possibly?  We have a pass for HS 3 of our 7 days but I want to get this over with early on so it's not hanging over our heads all week.


I think you have the best chances if you all sign into the same account, but use multiple phones/devices and all try simultaneously.  As far as I know, there is no advantage to having multiple MDE accounts, and it just complicates things.  We have done this many times, and we just all sign into my account on our different phones and all try simultaneously. And the teenagers always, always get the BG first!!!  So hopefully you have a teenager with you!

We have even helped friends who were in the parks (we are in Texas) get their BG.  We signed into their MDE account from our phones here at home, and they were signed in at the parks to the same account, on their phones.  Speed tests showed our phones on wifi at home were smoking fast compared to theirs either on cell or parks wifi.  We all tried, and we got the BG from our phones at home both days (and one day, it was BG 1!).   So if you trust someone at home to be logged into your MDE, they can also try and may have better internet speed than you and thousands of other in the resort/park all trying from there.


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## baggs32

Thanks for all the great boarding group tips everyone.  We will have 2 teens with us and I guess the real challenge will be getting them up that early in the morning!  Our last visit was in 2018 a week before Toy Story Land opened so we have a lot of new stuff to see and the quicker we get on Rise the better.


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## melanieewr

I am the trip planner and do multiple yearly trips so my “friends” list that I manage is lengthy.  The last time I tried for a BG it took too long to go through and pick the 6 traveling with me.  Any suggestions on how to move the current friends traveling to the top of the list?  That might increase my chances I hope!


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## TexanInTheMidwest

melanieewr said:


> I am the trip planner and do multiple yearly trips so my “friends” list that I manage is lengthy.  The last time I tried for a BG it took too long to go through and pick the 6 traveling with me.  Any suggestions on how to move the current friends traveling to the top of the list?  That might increase my chances I hope!



If you have no more than 4 in your party? Just hit "join" and don't worry about who gets added to your boarding group. If you get a boarding group, immediately go to Guest Services when you enter the park and tell them which people you forgot to click. As long as they have a park reservation (as in a park reservation before 7 AM), they should be able to add them to your boarding group.

Parties between 1 and 4 people will be given their own row due to COVID restrictions.  This happened to me in October and in January where a person wasn't "clicked" and Guest Services was very kind about it.

I haven't had to do it, but if you add 5 or more people to a boarding group and miss someone, they should be able to help there as well since each row seats 4 people.


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## melanieewr

There are 6 this trip.  About 30 on my “friends that I make plans”


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## hereforthechurros

cristen72 said:


> Anyone that has been there in the last couple of weeks that was also there between Christmas and New Years?      Just wondering how the crowds compare.


We were there over Christmas (mostly manageable), President's Day (madness), and will be there later this week. I'll report back.


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## TexanInTheMidwest

melanieewr said:


> There are 6 this trip.  About 30 on my “friends that I make plans”



Are any of the folks at the "top" of your MDE? Can multiple people try for a boarding group? 

If you can get 2 boarding groups amongst the 6 of you Guest Services can probably help.

Otherwise, maybe it's time to clean out your MDE and add some friends back later?


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## subtchr

melanieewr said:


> I am the trip planner and do multiple yearly trips so my “friends” list that I manage is lengthy.  The last time I tried for a BG it took too long to go through and pick the 6 traveling with me.  Any suggestions on how to move the current friends traveling to the top of the list?  That might increase my chances I hope!



I have dozens of people on my list. I don't even look at who is chosen when I get a boarding group, and it has always been only the correct people, who have HS park reservations for that day. You don't have to select them.


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## ENJDisneyFan

melanieewr said:


> I am the trip planner and do multiple yearly trips so my “friends” list that I manage is lengthy.  The last time I tried for a BG it took too long to go through and pick the 6 traveling with me.  Any suggestions on how to move the current friends traveling to the top of the list?  That might increase my chances I hope!


You don’t have to select anyone.  Those on your list who have a park pass for the day will be automatically selected.  If you stop to select/unselect or even read anything, you won’t get a BG.  Just make sure ahead of time that everyone is linked on your account and showing in your list.  Then day of just push join, join, join as fast as you possibly can.


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## melanieewr

Thank you!


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## melanieewr

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> Are any of the folks at the "top" of your MDE? Can multiple people try for a boarding group?
> 
> If you can get 2 boarding groups amongst the 6 of you Guest Services can probably help.
> 
> Otherwise, maybe it's time to clean out your MDE and add some friends back later?


None at the top.  Working on getting everyone to try.  I agree that it’s time to clean house!


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## cristen72

hereforthechurros said:


> We were there over Christmas (mostly manageable), President's Day (madness), and will be there later this week. I'll report back.



Thank you!  We were there from 12/28 - 1/2 and I honestly didn’t think it was that bad.   But the reports the past couple of weeks have been brutal.   We go back in two weeks.


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## hereforthechurros

cristen72 said:


> Thank you!  We were there from 12/28 - 1/2 and I honestly didn’t think it was that bad.   But the reports the past couple of weeks have been brutal.   We go back in two weeks.


I feel ya. Christmas Day at MK was a dream. Everything was a 20 minute wait, low to no crowds. The rest of our trip was pretty mild as well crowd-wise. I think blackout days play a large role. 

I've been keeping an eye on spring break wait times and they seem lower than President's Day weekend for the most part. Just hope that continues as spring break season is winding down and I worry WDW will again pull back resources.


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## hereforthechurros

Any recent experience with Electric Water Pageant times at each resort?


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## e_yerger

For people who have visited recently, how do you tour that first hour or so of rope drop at Magic Kingdom? We aren't coaster people, so the draw of SDMT, BTMM and Space aren't there. Are we safe to start touring counter clockwise (Jungle Cruise, Pirates, HM etc)?


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## HiStitch626

e_yerger said:


> For people who have visited recently, how do you tour that first hour or so of rope drop at Magic Kingdom? We aren't coaster people, so the draw of SDMT, BTMM and Space aren't there. Are we safe to start touring counter clockwise (Jungle Cruise, Pirates, HM etc)?



jungle Cruise and Pirates are both good choices to start. HM seems to move pretty well for much of the day, so if you’re interested in Peter Pan that might be a good third ride.


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## Triple A Mom

e_yerger said:


> For people who have visited recently, how do you tour that first hour or so of rope drop at Magic Kingdom? We aren't coaster people, so the draw of SDMT, BTMM and Space aren't there. Are we safe to start touring counter clockwise (Jungle Cruise, Pirates, HM etc)?


Jungle Cruise and Pirate first, the lines builds quickly. We also did Small World and Peter Pan first a seperate day for the same reason.


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## Carol_

soup23 said:


> Coming off the HM and seeing 4-5 CMs in uniform talk about the party they went to last weekend is a buzz kill for the ride and overall aesthetic. There just seems to be less acts of kindness or professionalism that evaporate with each passing trip.


YUP!
I pray that training and retraining will occur soon. Disney was, until Covid, the standard maker for professionalism in the hospitality industry.


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## brockash

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> If you have no more than 4 in your party? Just hit "join" and don't worry about who gets added to your boarding group. If you get a boarding group, immediately go to Guest Services when you enter the park and tell them which people you forgot to click. As long as they have a park reservation (as in a park reservation before 7 AM), they should be able to add them to your boarding group.
> 
> Parties between 1 and 4 people will be given their own row due to COVID restrictions.  This happened to me in October and in January where a person wasn't "clicked" and Guest Services was very kind about it.
> 
> I haven't had to do it, but if you add 5 or more people to a boarding group and miss someone, they should be able to help there as well since each row seats 4 people.


Just wanted to add that you don't need to go to guest services and waste your valuable park time if for whatever reason it doesn't add everyone.  

This happened to us a few weeks ago and we just told the guy when they scanned our bands when it was our turn to enter the line.


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## disneyfan150

soup23 said:


> Late Nights: There were usually a few headliner attractions that didn't relent much (Slinky, Test Track, Splash, FOP) but overall you could do so much in those final few hours in a minimal amount of time. Another tip for FOP is that I think the best window if you can't get early in the morning is to do it around 5-6ish before the other attractions close (Safari, Walking Trails, etc). We got in line at 7:45 for FOP and still had a 70 minute wait as it seemed like everyone else around the park had nothing else to do and decided to close down the park doing FOP.


Thank you for these great tips!


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## Heather07438

Carol_ said:


> YUP!
> I pray that training and retraining will occur soon. Disney was, until Covid, the standard maker for professionalism in the hospitality industry.


Back in 2019 I remember Pete explaining how CMs used to be trained for days in ‘Traditions’. Can’t rembere exactly but they either removed it or cut it down to a couple hours.
It was a big gripe for Pete. Of course. Not only is WDW a leader in hospitality but the whole ‘on stage’ thing is a huge part of the atmosphere. And why people pay  to go.


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## loves to dive

Here now.   Background, solo 64 years old woman.

4/11/21   4 am - 9 pm.
Up bright and early at 4am for drive from Athens, GA, stopped 3 times - drive through McDonalds for breakfast, rest stop for potty and gas.   Dark for 2 hours, then construction on 75 in Macon, then foggy, then started to rain.   At Florida border all heck broke out, the skys opened up, wind rain, lightening and thunder all the way through to WDW.   At times it was so bad traffic was slowed down to 35.  Took longer to get here but arrived at Dolphin a little after 1 and room was ready.   Unpacked, grabbed rain gear and walked to Epcot.   Was in Epcot by 2:30.   I had planned on eating most of meals from F&G booths but knew they wouldn't be open in the thunder storm so booked an ADR for Chefs France for 4:20 before I left my room.  Meanwhile, I was hungry since all I had eaten all day was an Egg McMuffin and some cheese and crackers so I went to the Festival Center.   Got the spring onion soup and a cider flight.   Huge bowl of soup which I could only eat half of but it was good.  Walked around WS toward Mexico and landed in Norway.  Frozen was posted a 10 min. wait, not my favorite ride but I had time to kill so got in line.   It was a walk on.   Walked around WS stopping in shops, it was not very crowded at all because it was still pouring.   Checked into Chefs around 4:10 and was seated around 4:15.   Ordered baked Feta salad, glass of white wine and Ratatouille.   Chefs is not one of favorite restaurants but it was one of 3 I could get in WS for that early (England and Canada being the other two).   The service was good and the food was good, I was half way through my Ratatouille and getting pretty full when a little girl one table over dropped her drink and shattered her glass.   A piece of glass went flying in front of my face, skipped off my plate and landed on the floor the table next to me, which was empty.   I took another bite and noticed something shining on my plated.   I couldn't tell if it was a sliver of glass or a large salt crystal so I called the waiter over and told him I was done.   Of course, he wanted to know why and I explained I just wasn't sure what it was and didn't want to risk it and I was full any way.   The manager came over and offered another plate, which I didn't want and offered to comp. the Ratatouille.   I told him it was not necessary I really was full.   They comped it anyway, which was nice.   So, I left France and wandered over to the Land, my favorite ride.   5 min. posted wait, walk on.   Went to Soarin after that, 20 min. posted wait, 10 min.   It had stopped raining by this point.  Went to the Seas with Nemo, 10 min. posted wait, walk on.  Went to visit my friend Figment after that, walk on.   Next Space Ship Earth, posted 10 min wait, walk on. Walked to Test Track, posted 20 min. wait and it was.   I decided what the heck, I love the Land when all the lights are on at night so went and rode it again.  Walk on.   Over to Soarin again, because why not, again posted 10 min., walk on.  I was done by then, noticed all but 2 of the booths were closed as I was leaving around 9 pm.   Walked back to the Dolphin and pretty much died.


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## loves to dive

Monday, 4/12

Up and at the bus stop for AK around 8:05.   Bus arrived right when I got there, waited about 5 min. for anyone else no one, no one at Swan.   Arrived at AK around 8:35.   Walked to Safari, 20 min. posted wait and it was.   Great safari, all the animals were real active, two young male elephants sparing, lions out, cheeta jumped into a tree.   Walked over to Jungle Trek and walked through that, again animals active, both tigers were out and walking around.   I wanted to make sure I got into Nomad Lounge so walked over to Gorilla Falls and wandered through there, little devil gorillas were all playful, 7 year old boy sat on his 2 year old sisters head. Stopped and watched the monkeys as I wandered over to Pandora and sat and waited to Nomad Lounge to open up.  Sat for about 1/2 hour, but got my sliders and Singapore Sling so was happy.   Left there and walked to Dinosaur, 20 min. posted wait and it was that.  Everest was posted 20 min. so I decided what the heck, I don't really like that ride but why not.   Posted 20 and it was.  FoP was posted 40 so I figured why not, again not a fan, it makes me sick.   It was actually closer to 50 and the worst line for people so far.   There was a family behind me with younger kids who kept coming up and bumping me.   After the third time an older teenager in the family pushed them all back and stood in front of them, worked for about 10 min.   Mom and Dad did nothing.   After that Navi was posted 20 and I needed to cleanse my pallet of the kids on FoP so got in line for that.   It was 20 min. posted wait.   The boat in front of us got stuck and a woman in the front row of my boat stood up and pushed them off with her foot, I'm sure she wasn't supposed to but no telling how long we would have had to wait had she not.  I was tired of AK by then so hopped over to MK.   Day went downhill.   Haunted Mansion was posted 20 min. so I went over there.  It was 20 min and was great as usual.  Peter Pan was posted 30 min. so went over there.   There was a group of about 6 in front of me who didn't really care of social distancing which made it hard for me to stop on the right line.   Then a family behind me had never heard of social distancing.   Their kids came up right beside me a couple of times and Dad stood right behind me as well.  If that wasn't bad enough, dude sneezed and didn't have his chin covered up, had folded his mask up over it earlier.   So, that happened, I turned around and pushed my sun glasses down on my nose and gave them the mom look.   They stayed away after that but seriously, the damage was done.   The wait was 50 of the worst min. I've ever had (posted 30).   Jungle Cruise was posted 40 so I figured why not, most people were good about the marks but the father and adult son in front of me didn't get that both of them were supposed to stand on them, son would stand a few feet behind Dad so again I had trouble figuring out which line I was supposed to stand on.   It was a 40 min. wait.   After that I was hungry so hopped to Epcot.   Stopped at booths and had grilled veggies, honey chicken flat bread and a honey ale.  Walked around some, stopped in China and had strawberry papa cakes, was tired and full so walked toward the exit, stopped in Japan and got a Frushi because even though I was full I love those things.   Then I was done, it was around 8:30, my feet and hips were hurting so I came back to the room.   

Yesterday, mask compliance was good at Epcot and the  social distancing in lines was great.
Today, I saw a lot of masks below the nose, a lot totally off people in lines and saw a number of people who were told to pull them up over their noses, who as soon as the cast member walked on they pulled them back down.   Social distancing in lines was a joke at both AK and MK.   No lines at all at any of F&G booths but I was there latish around 7 tonight.


----------



## WillJenDisney

loves to dive said:


> Monday, 4/12
> 
> Up and at the bus stop for AK around 8:05.   Bus arrived right when I got there, waited about 5 min. for anyone else no one, no one at Swan.   Arrived at AK around 8:35.   Walked to Safari, 20 min. posted wait and it was.   Great safari, all the animals were real active, two young male elephants sparing, lions out, cheeta jumped into a tree.   Walked over to Jungle Trek and walked through that, again animals active, both tigers were out and walking around.   I wanted to make sure I got into Nomad Lounge so walked over to Gorilla Falls and wandered through there, little devil gorillas were all playful, 7 year old boy sat on his 2 year old sisters head. Stopped and watched the monkeys as I wandered over to Pandora and sat and waited to Nomad Lounge to open up.  Sat for about 1/2 hour, but got my sliders and Singapore Sling so was happy.   Left there and walked to Dinosaur, 20 min. posted wait and it was that.  Everest was posted 20 min. so I decided what the heck, I don't really like that ride but why not.   Posted 20 and it was.  FoP was posted 40 so I figured why not, again not a fan, it makes me sick.   It was actually closer to 50 and the worst line for people so far.   There was a family behind me with younger kids who kept coming up and bumping me.   After the third time an older teenager in the family pushed them all back and stood in front of them, worked for about 10 min.   Mom and Dad did nothing.   After that Navi was posted 20 and I needed to cleanse my pallet of the kids on FoP so got in line for that.   It was 20 min. posted wait.   The boat in front of us got stuck and a woman in the front row of my boat stood up and pushed them off with her foot, I'm sure she wasn't supposed to but no telling how long we would have had to wait had she not.  I was tired of AK by then so hopped over to MK.   Day went downhill.   Haunted Mansion was posted 20 min. so I went over there.  It was 20 min and was great as usual.  Peter Pan was posted 30 min. so went over there.   There was a group of about 6 in front of me who didn't really care of social distancing which made it hard for me to stop on the right line.   Then a family behind me had never heard of social distancing.   Their kids came up right beside me a couple of times and Dad stood right behind me as well.  If that wasn't bad enough, dude sneezed and didn't have his chin covered up, had folded his mask up over it earlier.   So, that happened, I turned around and pushed my sun glasses down on my nose and gave them the mom look.   They stayed away after that but seriously, the damage was done.   The wait was 50 of the worst min. I've ever had (posted 30).   Jungle Cruise was posted 40 so I figured why not, most people were good about the marks but the father and adult son in front of me didn't get that both of them were supposed to stand on them, son would stand a few feet behind Dad so again I had trouble figuring out which line I was supposed to stand on.   It was a 40 min. wait.   After that I was hungry so hopped to Epcot.   Stopped at booths and had grilled veggies, honey chicken flat bread and a honey ale.  Walked around some, stopped in China and had strawberry papa cakes, was tired and full so walked toward the exit, stopped in Japan and got a Frushi because even though I was full I love those things.   Then I was done, it was around 8:30, my feet and hips were hurting so I came back to the room.
> 
> Yesterday, mask compliance was good at Epcot and the  social distancing in lines was great.
> Today, I saw a lot of masks below the nose, a lot totally off people in lines and saw a number of people who were told to pull them up over their noses, who as soon as the cast member walked on they pulled them back down.   Social distancing in lines was a joke at both AK and MK.   No lines at all at any of F&G booths but I was there latish around 7 tonight.



Thank you for taking the time with the updates, we arrive Friday so I'm happy to hear how it's going.


----------



## bizeemom4

loves to dive said:


> Yesterday, mask compliance was good at Epcot and the  social distancing in lines was great.
> Today, I saw a lot of masks below the nose, a lot totally off people in lines and saw a number of people who were told to pull them up over their noses, who as soon as the cast member walked on they pulled them back down.   Social distancing in lines was a joke at both AK and MK.   No lines at all at any of F&G booths but I was there latish around 7 tonight.



Sorry that people are purposely disregarding the rules. Some people are just so selfish.

How is the Dolphin? When we were there last month, we had a hard time with people not understanding that you don't share an elevator with other families.


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## only hope

loves to dive said:


> Monday, 4/12
> 
> Up and at the bus stop for AK around 8:05.   Bus arrived right when I got there, waited about 5 min. for anyone else no one, no one at Swan.   Arrived at AK around 8:35.   Walked to Safari, 20 min. posted wait and it was.   Great safari, all the animals were real active, two young male elephants sparing, lions out, cheeta jumped into a tree.   Walked over to Jungle Trek and walked through that, again animals active, both tigers were out and walking around.   I wanted to make sure I got into Nomad Lounge so walked over to Gorilla Falls and wandered through there, little devil gorillas were all playful, 7 year old boy sat on his 2 year old sisters head. Stopped and watched the monkeys as I wandered over to Pandora and sat and waited to Nomad Lounge to open up.  Sat for about 1/2 hour, but got my sliders and Singapore Sling so was happy.   Left there and walked to Dinosaur, 20 min. posted wait and it was that.  Everest was posted 20 min. so I decided what the heck, I don't really like that ride but why not.   Posted 20 and it was.  FoP was posted 40 so I figured why not, again not a fan, it makes me sick.   It was actually closer to 50 and the worst line for people so far.   There was a family behind me with younger kids who kept coming up and bumping me.   After the third time an older teenager in the family pushed them all back and stood in front of them, worked for about 10 min.   Mom and Dad did nothing.   After that Navi was posted 20 and I needed to cleanse my pallet of the kids on FoP so got in line for that.   It was 20 min. posted wait.   The boat in front of us got stuck and a woman in the front row of my boat stood up and pushed them off with her foot, I'm sure she wasn't supposed to but no telling how long we would have had to wait had she not.  I was tired of AK by then so hopped over to MK.   Day went downhill.   Haunted Mansion was posted 20 min. so I went over there.  It was 20 min and was great as usual.  Peter Pan was posted 30 min. so went over there.   There was a group of about 6 in front of me who didn't really care of social distancing which made it hard for me to stop on the right line.   Then a family behind me had never heard of social distancing.   Their kids came up right beside me a couple of times and Dad stood right behind me as well.  If that wasn't bad enough, dude sneezed and didn't have his chin covered up, had folded his mask up over it earlier.   So, that happened, I turned around and pushed my sun glasses down on my nose and gave them the mom look.   They stayed away after that but seriously, the damage was done.   The wait was 50 of the worst min. I've ever had (posted 30).   Jungle Cruise was posted 40 so I figured why not, most people were good about the marks but the father and adult son in front of me didn't get that both of them were supposed to stand on them, son would stand a few feet behind Dad so again I had trouble figuring out which line I was supposed to stand on.   It was a 40 min. wait.   After that I was hungry so hopped to Epcot.   Stopped at booths and had grilled veggies, honey chicken flat bread and a honey ale.  Walked around some, stopped in China and had strawberry papa cakes, was tired and full so walked toward the exit, stopped in Japan and got a Frushi because even though I was full I love those things.   Then I was done, it was around 8:30, my feet and hips were hurting so I came back to the room.
> 
> Yesterday, mask compliance was good at Epcot and the  social distancing in lines was great.
> Today, I saw a lot of masks below the nose, a lot totally off people in lines and saw a number of people who were told to pull them up over their noses, who as soon as the cast member walked on they pulled them back down.   Social distancing in lines was a joke at both AK and MK.   No lines at all at any of F&G booths but I was there latish around 7 tonight.



We always stood on whatever line kept us a minimum of six feet from the party in front of us, and if the people behind us didn’t do the same after a few backwards glances we would politely ask them to. Awful that so many people are ignoring the safety rules. Glad you are having a good time.


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## auntlynne

debdebdebby13 said:


> We arrive on the 16th and currently it looks like it's supposed to rain/thunderstorm most every day we are there. I see today was also stormy. I live in OK and when we have a weather forecast that says 70% chance of rain that means it's going to rain all day. Is this how Florida forecasts work? Should I expect it to rain ALL day? or will it be a storm and then done?



Suggestion:  buy some of the cheap ponchos (disposable) from Walmart or grocer that are folded very small.  About $2.  So much cheaper than waiting until it is raining at the park to make a purchase.  If you expect rain, wear waterproof/ resistant shoes.  Walking around in rain is not something most of us do nowadays.  Amazing how wet you can get.


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## auntyjenn

melanieewr said:


> I am the trip planner and do multiple yearly trips so my “friends” list that I manage is lengthy.  The last time I tried for a BG it took too long to go through and pick the 6 traveling with me.  Any suggestions on how to move the current friends traveling to the top of the list?  That might increase my chances I hope!


 
I read that if you open the app, then go to your friends and family list so that it is 'cached' on your phone then things move quicker when you're going for boarding group.  I've tried two practices this way and both worked!  (I'm just going by faith that all the right people will get added later ; )


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## loves to dive

bizeemom4 said:


> Sorry that people are purposely disregarding the rules. Some people are just so selfish.
> 
> How is the Dolphin? When we were there last month, we had a hard time with people not understanding that you don't share an elevator with other families.


The Dolphin is good.   I always wait if someone just got on an elevator and take the next one and I have been coming and going at such odd times no one has tried to get in with me.   The bus to AK was weird because they don't use the Disney bus lanes when they get there and have to wait to go through the gates with all the cars.   Check in was pretty smooth and room being ready at 1 was a real bonus, of course, my view is the tops of buildings and ACs but it's a standard room and I'm not in it often enough to worry.


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## loves to dive

only hope said:


> We always stood on whatever line kept us a minimum of six feet from the party in front of us, and if the people behind us didn’t do the same after a few backwards glances we would politely ask them to. Awful that so many people are ignoring the safety rules. Glad you are having a good time.


That is pretty much what I did as well, sometimes that would leave a little bigger gap then 6 feet but that was o.k.   People complain that they make the mask and social distancing announcements so often but obviously they need to make them more often as people just don't obey.   I will say the best people keeping their masks on were the littles and their parents.   The worst were from about 15 through mid-30s.


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## SheSingsAlong

Triple A Mom said:


> Mickey and Minnie Railway was super cute, but the wait was outside in the sun. We waited about 30 minutes but later in the evening it was a walk on. The drawback of the line is it's outside but you can't bring your stroller through the line so baby was hard to wrangle. With the sun high in the sky it was warm in line so it was probably the worst line of the week just because of layout and timing.


I am so surprised to read this because we went in November and strollers were allowed in the outdoor portion of the MMRR queue. You just had to park the stroller before entering the building. Very sad to hear they have changed this :-\ Was banking on MMRR being an easy line to tolerate when we return (1 week!) because we could have DD in the stroller through most of it.


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## DMLAINI

Has DME been picking people up 3 hours prior to their flight departure?


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## beesly

DMLAINI said:


> Has DME been picking people up 3 hours prior to their flight departure?



Right around that, in my experience. My pickup last week was 3 hours and 15 minutes prior to my flight.


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## cdh

What time would you suggest being at the bus stop at the Contemporary to get to AK for rope drop?  AK opens at 8.  Does that mean they unofficially open at around 7:15?  Should I be at the bus stop by 6am?


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## hereforthechurros

Those at MK this week: is the spring roll cart still open? 

Those at Ecpot this week: is Lotus Blossom open?


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## DemonLlama

Just back from a weekend visit April 11/12 all all four parks, in case this helps. 

First wrinkle, my daughter and son-in-law who were supposed to drive over from Tampa but ended up needing to quarantine and couldn't come. (They found out two days before, so completely last minute.) I changed their theme park dates to the fall when I am returning, but that left me completely alone all day Saturday, because my friend who has an Annual Pass was shut out of all park availability. She'd already managed to snag a reservation to join us on Sunday.

When I changed the ticket dates, it did not alter the three reservations in my MDE for Studios that Saturday, so I went to Disney Springs after I arrived Friday and a CM was able to reassign one of those reservations to my friend! Very happy surprise! We spent the rest of the evening walking around Disney Springs waiting for our Gideon's return time. This was the longest thing we waited for all weekend, lol -- joined the virtual queue at 5:52, called back 9:18, inside 9:45. We watched the very last cake slice of the day disappear and we ended up buying the last April specialty cookie in the shop. I was surprised they still had some that late. 

Saturday morning (9 opening)  we arrived at the Studios parking gates at 8:10 with a few cars at every line. They started letting people in at 8:15, we were in the park by 8:45. She'd never managed to ride Slinky Dog so that was our goal, but it was down. We'd struck out at getting a Rise boarding group at 7:00 but managed it at 1:00 (I'd never ridden before). After we booked that, we took the Skyliner over to Epcot and spent a few hours taking in the Flower and Garden Festival (super hot, rains approaching) and then rode back to Studios for Rise, which was down when we arrived, so we grabbed a bite at Backlot (which is when it started raining). Rise was back up, rode that, then walked on  Mickey and Minnie, then got in a 30 minute wait for Slinky Dog. It was a nail biter as the rains picked up and there was an announcement they might need to close, but we made it. Still had time to walk on both Toy Story Mania & Alien Saucer Swirl before close at 8, and enjoy the lights in Galaxy's edge before heading out of a pretty empty, beautiful in the rain park. 

Sunday we parked at the MK lot, then took the resort monorail to GF to bus to AK for the morning, fully prepared for the incoming heavy rains (but not all the rides going down at once). Highly recommend packing a roll-able raincoat, waterproof backpack, and waterproof shoes. 

By the time we could hop to MK, on the app it looked like almost everything had a star instead of a wait time. We bussed from AK to Wilderness Lodge, then bussed to MK from there. There was a mass exodus by this time and MK was emptying out. (2:30). But most of the rides were back up and running by then. We had a lovely time, walked on Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, Pirates, and Ariel, about 15 minute waits for Space Mountain and Peter Pan. We stayed until 8:00 and enjoyed the sunset and all the lights coming on.


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## TikiTikiFan

Unfortunately, the only night open to add Disney Springs is a sunday night on our upcoming trip in June. I've been reading how busy it is lately. I'm vaccinated though and not too worried when it comes to covid- so that aside, is it really that bad? Especially when it comes to waits for stores, etc.? We'd likely make sure we have an advance dinner reservation.


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## DisneyFive

auntlynne said:


> Suggestion:  buy some of the cheap ponchos (disposable) from Walmart or grocer that are folded very small.  About $2.  So much cheaper than waiting until it is raining at the park to make a purchase.  If you expect rain, wear waterproof/ resistant shoes.  Walking around in rain is not something most of us do nowadays.  Amazing how wet you can get.



Good suggestions.  In addition, some in our group don’t like the smothering feel of ponchos so we also carry a couple of mini pop out  umbrellas.  They are small and light ( but not as light as the cheap ponchos), and are also good for portable shade especially with the current standby lines spilling out all over the parks.

Dan


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## RhodyKP

loves to dive said:


> Here now.   Background, solo 64 years old woman.


I love that you're doing a solo trip! I would absolutely do that. I like connecting/chatting with people, though, and it seems like that might be harder right now with the social distancing, masks, etc. What has your experience been?


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## ENJDisneyFan

TikiTikiFan said:


> Unfortunately, the only night open to add Disney Springs is a sunday night on our upcoming trip in June. I've been reading how busy it is lately. I'm vaccinated though and not too worried when it comes to covid- so that aside, is it really that bad? Especially when it comes to waits for stores, etc.? We'd likely make sure we have an advance dinner reservation.


It depends on the store.  World of Disney almost always has a wait (as do most of the Disney stores).  I also noticed waits at the Coca-Cola store and the Lego Store.  Mostly the touristy type stores will have a wait but the rest don't.  Gideon's and Ghirardelli were both doing virtual queues.  The crowds are pretty heavy just walking around.


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## HiStitch626

hereforthechurros said:


> Those at MK this week: is the spring roll cart still open?
> 
> Those at Ecpot this week: is Lotus Blossom open?



Lotus Blossom is open, but I am not sure about the cart.


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## TikiTikiFan

ENJDisneyFan said:


> It depends on the store.  World of Disney almost always has a wait (as do most of the Disney stores).  I also noticed waits at the Coca-Cola store and the Lego Store.  Mostly the touristy type stores will have a wait but the rest don't.  Gideon's and Ghirardelli were both doing virtual queues.  The crowds are pretty heavy just walking around.



Thanks! That sounds doable for just a dinner, pop in World of Disney and then run! 

While I'm here... any more reports of pools hitting capacity at hotel resorts? That's the one thing that's stressing me out!


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## lorileahb

TikiTikiFan said:


> Thanks! That sounds doable for just a dinner, pop in World of Disney and then run!
> 
> While I'm here... any more reports of pools hitting capacity at hotel resorts? That's the one thing that's stressing me out!



The good side - even with the extremely long line pictures, seems like most of those folks have said waits are more like 10-15 mins to get in.


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## brockash

DMLAINI said:


> Has DME been picking people up 3 hours prior to their flight departure?



My last 3 trips our pick up was 3 hrs and 15 mins prior to flight...only once did we stop at any other resorts and it was only 1.  I was surprised they had us go over 3 hrs prior to flight with no stops etc.  We used to get a lot of 2.75- 3 hrs prior to flight, but not recently.


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## DMLAINI

Have TP wait times been accurate lately?


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## limace

DMLAINI said:


> Have TP wait times been accurate lately?


My s sense from trip reports here and in their forums is that they’ve been much more accurate across the board than Disney’s posted times.


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## Rick195275

limace said:


> My s sense from trip reports here and in their forums is that they’ve been much more accurate across the board than Disney’s posted times.


Is disney still posting their times in the app? Or you just mean the times posted in the park? I haven’t been able to find where Disney is posting theirs if they are.


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## ENJDisneyFan

Rick195275 said:


> Is disney still posting their times in the app? Or you just mean the times posted in the park? I haven’t been able to find where Disney is posting theirs if they are.


Yes Disney still posts them on the app.  Up at the top of the screen there is a category dropdown selection and "Wait Times' is the first option.


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## Tasmen

DMLAINI said:


> Have TP wait times been accurate lately?



I found them relatively accurate.  This was more true later in the day than early in the day.


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## Rick195275

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Yes Disney still posts them on the app.  Up at the top of the screen there is a category dropdown selection and "Wait Times' is the first option.


Ahhh got it! Not sure if it’s just me, and it likely is lol but I only see them when I go into the map. I thought last year when I was there it came up as the default and I was struggling to find it anywhere. Thank you!


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## dizgirl74

We are traveling in July (I know crazy sweltering heat) and I was curious how the crowds are now??? Did they lift the 35% capacity limits??  How were the lines, considering there are no FP??  Thanks for all of your feedback.


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## Rick195275

https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...g-experiences-including-park-hopping.3807247/
Read the last few pages of this thread. Should find most of if not all the info you’re looking for


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## auntlynne

^^ The “Here Now & Just Back...” thread.  You don’t have to read all 450 pages . Lots of different takes on the current experience.

No one has reported a formal stated increase to the 35% capacity,  But there Are a lot of days (most) where there was no availability for park reservations.


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## Arianabtd

Just back! Stayed at the Dolphin from April 8th-12th. First time staying there and absolutely loved it. Will definitely be back.

We had a 3 day ticket and park passes for MK on Friday, Epcot Saturday, and AK Sunday. On Saturday night (night before the big storm ) we noticed green availability on the park pass calendar, so we switched AK to HS for Sunday.

On the Sunday woke up early and got boarding group 7 for ROTR! We were let into the park about 8:10ish for a 9 am opening, rode slinky at 8:30, and had our boarding group called about 8:35! 
We got totally soaked starting in the afternoon on Sunday, as did everybody else. We went back later that night right before closing after the storm stopped, and were able to get in some rides in with low waits. Very good day other than the rain 


This being my first trip since panoramic, I wasn't really sure what to expect crowd wise. But for me, someone who is now nervous with big groups of people because of the circumstances had no problem at all. Very manageable. 


I am a huge huge character person, and I very much felt their presence missing. But my ears were very adept at hearing the cavalcade music. Once It started I would sprint to the closest spot I knew they'd pass by 

Overall a very fun trip. Was honestly worried about this trip, but I'm glad I went!


----------



## Schneewittchen37

But this is a fun topic.  My family left WDW on Easter Sunday.  It was not as knucking futz as a normal spring break/Easter week trip.  And somewhat less magical.

Stayed in our RV at Ft. Wilderness.  5 days.  Checked in on Tuesday.  4 day hoppers.

Tuesday - checked in super early, like maybe 11 am.  Ate lunch in camp and attempted to go to the Meadow pool.  Massive 2+ hour waiting list.  Went to the Wilderness pool instead.  No wait.  Not crowded.  Attempted to take the bus to Disney Springs <insert bad words here>, the bus driver blew by the bus shelter and didn't pick us up.  Drove our truck instead.  Easy peasy.  Went to Lego store.  Long line.  Worth it.  Got a free Easter egg Lego set.  Went to Jaleo for dinner.  Pretty awesome as usual.

Wednesday - AK day (also the world's hottest/stickiest theme park).  So now we know buses are not reliable....  drove the truck.  Did Navi River, Dinosaur (longest wait of the day at about 30 minutes), Triceratops, Wild Life Train, Affection Section (we pets the goats).  Lunch at Satu'li.  Used mobile ordering an hour or two in advance.  Very awesome.  But it's hot.  No one wants to go on Everest.  And the line for Kilimanjaro was long most of the day.  And DH and I refuse to go on FoP ever again (motion sickness).  So we head back to camp.  Attempted to go to the Meadow pool.  Another massive hour waiting list.  Went to the Wilderness pool instead.  No wait.  Not crowded. Boat to MK.  Walked to Contemporary.  Dinner at California Grill.  It was our first visit.  It was amazing.  Love it.  Want to go again.  Long wait for the boat back to camp.  Oh well, MK had just closed.

Thursday - HS day (didn't get a RoR boarding group - dang it).  Drove the truck.  First ride of the day was Runaway Railway.  Super quick line.  Everyone loved it.  Did Millenium Falcon (longest line at about 40 minutes), Swirling Saucers, Toy Story Mania.  Lunch at PizzaRizzo.  Used mobile ordering an hour or two in advance.  Very awesome again.  Did manage to get a backup boarding group at 1 pm - Like Group 304567.  Long lines to get into the Star Wars marketplace area.  Waited 30 minutes and gave up.  The kids really wanted Star Wars toys, so we went to the Star Tours gift shop and got lots of Baby Yodas.  Everybody is getting grouchy.  So we head back to camp.  It's cooler, so no pool today.  Walked to the camp store and got ice cream.  Took the boat to MK (remember we have hoppers).  Entered the park easy peasy and did a few rides.  Dinner at Skipper Canteen (pretty good, but the menu is limited and there was no steak salad ).  While we're eating dinner, got the call back for RoR.  Well that's not going to happen.  Did more rides.  This was awesome.  Another long wait for the boat at the end of the night.  

Friday - MK day.  Boat ride to the park.  All the rides.  Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.  Pretty good.  More all the rides.  Walked to the Contemporary.  Dinner at the Wave.  Love that place.  Amazing.  Back to MK.  Extra all the rides.  Did Big Thunder, Splash, and Mine Train in the last hour of the day.  Longest wait was maybe 30 minutes for Jungle Cruise in the afternoon.  So worth it, right before they axed Sam.  Har dee har har.  Another epic long wait for the boat.

Saturday - Epcot day.  Slept in.  Breakfast at P&J's takeout.  Not good.  So sad because I loved the Trail's End breakfast buffet.  Drove to Epcot.  Late-ish lunch at Rose & Crown.  Not as good as I remembered it.  Sort of sad about that too. Tons of rides.  Some shopping too.  ORANGE BIRD!!!!  Dinner at La Hacienda.  Again, not as good as my last visit.  So weird to have a bad food day.  In the last hour or so we did Soarin and Test Track with quick waits.  Longest wait of the day was Frozen at about 35 minutes.  Lowest moment was realizing I didn't feel like waiting 45 minutes to get inside the Mexico building.  I love the 3 Caballeros and that stunk.

To recap - 35% is not crowded.  I had very few of those WDW-omg-I'm-drowning-in-a-sea-of-people moments.  You know what I mean, that crush in Fantasyland between iasw and Peter Pan?  Or when Indiana Jones and the Frozen show seem to simultaneously vomit large crowds from the theaters?  The Mexico margarita stand pinch point?  Never happened.  It was weird sometimes.

The lines for rides were better than a regular day in my opinion.  Fast passes make all the lines longer.  And generally speaking, most of the posted wait times were exaggerated by at least 10 minutes.  More so later in the evenings.  

I missed the shows, but I'm not sure we would have gone to them anyway.  We can do shows after DH is fully vaccinated.

I missed the full menus.  Some of my favorite items were missing and one of the CMs I spoke with mentioned something about physical distancing in the kitchens meant that some menu items were cut and cooks laid off.  That is terrible to me.

The first bus situation turned us off buses for the rest of the trip and the boat waits were horrible at the end of the night at MK, but that's not really unusual.  Parking was a breeze.

The pool situation was annoying.  But knowing about the quiet pool was a win.  The CMs never actually told people about the other pool as far as I could see.....

The lines to get into some of the shopping areas was annoying too.  So that turned us off from some showing.

The hoppers weren't worth as much as usual with the limits on hoping starting at 2.  And the park hours weren't as late as they usually are around spring break.  Lesson learned.

But, it was pretty cool to basically walk on a new ride.  We did have some awesome meals.  And we generally had good days at HS, MK and Epcot.  All in all, the trip was worthwhile.


----------



## dizgirl74

Schneewittchen37 said:


> But this is a fun topic.  My family left WDW on Easter Sunday.  It was not as knucking futz as a normal spring break/Easter week trip.  And somewhat less magical.
> 
> Stayed in our RV at Ft. Wilderness.  5 days.  Checked in on Tuesday.  4 day hoppers.
> 
> Tuesday - checked in super early, like maybe 11 am.  Ate lunch in camp and attempted to go to the Meadow pool.  Massive 2+ hour waiting list.  Went to the Wilderness pool instead.  No wait.  Not crowded.  Attempted to take the bus to Disney Springs <insert bad words here>, the bus driver blew by the bus shelter and didn't pick us up.  Drove our truck instead.  Easy peasy.  Went to Lego store.  Long line.  Worth it.  Got a free Easter egg Lego set.  Went to Jaleo for dinner.  Pretty awesome as usual.
> 
> Wednesday - AK day (also the world's hottest/stickiest theme park).  So now we know buses are not reliable....  drove the truck.  Did Navi River, Dinosaur (longest wait of the day at about 30 minutes), Triceratops, Wild Life Train, Affection Section (we pets the goats).  Lunch at Satu'li.  Used mobile ordering an hour or two in advance.  Very awesome.  But it's hot.  No one wants to go on Everest.  And the line for Kilimanjaro was long most of the day.  And DH and I refuse to go on FoP ever again (motion sickness).  So we head back to camp.  Attempted to go to the Meadow pool.  Another massive hour waiting list.  Went to the Wilderness pool instead.  No wait.  Not crowded. Boat to MK.  Walked to Contemporary.  Dinner at California Grill.  It was our first visit.  It was amazing.  Love it.  Want to go again.  Long wait for the boat back to camp.  Oh well, MK had just closed.
> 
> Thursday - HS day (didn't get a RoR boarding group - dang it).  Drove the truck.  First ride of the day was Runaway Railway.  Super quick line.  Everyone loved it.  Did Millenium Falcon (longest line at about 40 minutes), Swirling Saucers, Toy Story Mania.  Lunch at PizzaRizzo.  Used mobile ordering an hour or two in advance.  Very awesome again.  Did manage to get a backup boarding group at 1 pm - Like Group 304567.  Long lines to get into the Star Wars marketplace area.  Waited 30 minutes and gave up.  The kids really wanted Star Wars toys, so we went to the Star Tours gift shop and got lots of Baby Yodas.  Everybody is getting grouchy.  So we head back to camp.  It's cooler, so no pool today.  Walked to the camp store and got ice cream.  Took the boat to MK (remember we have hoppers).  Entered the park easy peasy and did a few rides.  Dinner at Skipper Canteen (pretty good, but the menu is limited and there was no steak salad ).  While we're eating dinner, got the call back for RoR.  Well that's not going to happen.  Did more rides.  This was awesome.  Another long wait for the boat at the end of the night.
> 
> Friday - MK day.  Boat ride to the park.  All the rides.  Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.  Pretty good.  More all the rides.  Walked to the Contemporary.  Dinner at the Wave.  Love that place.  Amazing.  Back to MK.  Extra all the rides.  Did Big Thunder, Splash, and Mine Train in the last hour of the day.  Longest wait was maybe 30 minutes for Jungle Cruise in the afternoon.  So worth it, right before they axed Sam.  Har dee har har.  Another epic long wait for the boat.
> 
> Saturday - Epcot day.  Slept in.  Breakfast at P&J's takeout.  Not good.  So sad because I loved the Trail's End breakfast buffet.  Drove to Epcot.  Late-ish lunch at Rose & Crown.  Not as good as I remembered it.  Sort of sad about that too. Tons of rides.  Some shopping too.  ORANGE BIRD!!!!  Dinner at La Hacienda.  Again, not as good as my last visit.  So weird to have a bad food day.  In the last hour or so we did Soarin and Test Track with quick waits.  Longest wait of the day was Frozen at about 35 minutes.  Lowest moment was realizing I didn't feel like waiting 45 minutes to get inside the Mexico building.  I love the 3 Caballeros and that stunk.
> 
> To recap - 35% is not crowded.  I had very few of those WDW-omg-I'm-drowning-in-a-sea-of-people moments.  You know what I mean, that crush in Fantasyland between iasw and Peter Pan?  Or when Indiana Jones and the Frozen show seem to simultaneously vomit large crowds from the theaters?  The Mexico margarita stand pinch point?  Never happened.  It was weird sometimes.
> 
> The lines for rides were better than a regular day in my opinion.  Fast passes make all the lines longer.  And generally speaking, most of the posted wait times were exaggerated by at least 10 minutes.  More so later in the evenings.
> 
> I missed the shows, but I'm not sure we would have gone to them anyway.  We can do shows after DH is fully vaccinated.
> 
> I missed the full menus.  Some of my favorite items were missing and one of the CMs I spoke with mentioned something about physical distancing in the kitchens meant that some menu items were cut and cooks laid off.  That is terrible to me.
> 
> The first bus situation turned us off buses for the rest of the trip and the boat waits were horrible at the end of the night at MK, but that's not really unusual.  Parking was a breeze.
> 
> The pool situation was annoying.  But knowing about the quiet pool was a win.  The CMs never actually told people about the other pool as far as I could see.....
> 
> The lines to get into some of the shopping areas was annoying too.  So that turned us off from some showing.
> 
> The hoppers weren't worth as much as usual with the limits on hoping starting at 2.  And the park hours weren't as late as they usually are around spring break.  Lesson learned.
> 
> But, it was pretty cool to basically walk on a new ride.  We did have some awesome meals.  And we generally had good days at HS, MK and Epcot.  All in all, the trip was worthwhile.



Ok, so let me start by saying...I LOVED this post and all of the info.  I am actually smiling from ear to ear, so thank you a million times.  I was living your trip, knew all the spots and exactly what you were
talking about.  We did WDW Summer in 2019 and yes beyond sweltering, however this year we have no choice and have to return in summer again.  Reading some other posts I was beginning to get worried about food and ride lines.  

We are staying at Bay Lake and YES...we LOVE The Wave as well.  Thank you so much again for leaving such details and resting my mind a bit.  We drive from NJ, so we will have our car as well...I'm not much for DT anyway...except for the monorail.  We don't have HP we just do base tickets.  My fear was a lot of people were saying there were no reservations 60 days out, however I never knew about this mobile ordering.  This is all new to me and I've been to Disney A LOT over the passed 47 years, however not COVID Disney.  

Thanks again


----------



## dizgirl74

auntlynne said:


> ^^ The “Here Now & Just Back...” thread.  You don’t have to read all 450 pages . Lots of different takes on the current experience.
> 
> No one has reported a formal stated increase to the 35% capacity,  But there Are a lot of days (most) where there was no availability for park reservations.



Thank you


----------



## starousse

What was annoying about the Pool situation? We're staying at WL in August and would like some tips.


----------



## LetsDoDisney!

starousse said:


> What was annoying about the Pool situation? We're staying at WL in August and would like some tips.



If you read the post, they found multi hour waits at the pool each time they went so they went to the quiet pool instead. It’s a bummer. I think we’re going to run into the same thing at CSR but we are prepared for it.


----------



## LetsDoDisney!

Schneewittchen37 said:


> But this is a fun topic.  My family left WDW on Easter Sunday.  It was not as knucking futz as a normal spring break/Easter week trip.  And somewhat less magical.
> 
> Stayed in our RV at Ft. Wilderness.  5 days.  Checked in on Tuesday.  4 day hoppers.
> 
> Tuesday - checked in super early, like maybe 11 am.  Ate lunch in camp and attempted to go to the Meadow pool.  Massive 2+ hour waiting list.  Went to the Wilderness pool instead.  No wait.  Not crowded.  Attempted to take the bus to Disney Springs <insert bad words here>, the bus driver blew by the bus shelter and didn't pick us up.  Drove our truck instead.  Easy peasy.  Went to Lego store.  Long line.  Worth it.  Got a free Easter egg Lego set.  Went to Jaleo for dinner.  Pretty awesome as usual.
> 
> Wednesday - AK day (also the world's hottest/stickiest theme park).  So now we know buses are not reliable....  drove the truck.  Did Navi River, Dinosaur (longest wait of the day at about 30 minutes), Triceratops, Wild Life Train, Affection Section (we pets the goats).  Lunch at Satu'li.  Used mobile ordering an hour or two in advance.  Very awesome.  But it's hot.  No one wants to go on Everest.  And the line for Kilimanjaro was long most of the day.  And DH and I refuse to go on FoP ever again (motion sickness).  So we head back to camp.  Attempted to go to the Meadow pool.  Another massive hour waiting list.  Went to the Wilderness pool instead.  No wait.  Not crowded. Boat to MK.  Walked to Contemporary.  Dinner at California Grill.  It was our first visit.  It was amazing.  Love it.  Want to go again.  Long wait for the boat back to camp.  Oh well, MK had just closed.
> 
> Thursday - HS day (didn't get a RoR boarding group - dang it).  Drove the truck.  First ride of the day was Runaway Railway.  Super quick line.  Everyone loved it.  Did Millenium Falcon (longest line at about 40 minutes), Swirling Saucers, Toy Story Mania.  Lunch at PizzaRizzo.  Used mobile ordering an hour or two in advance.  Very awesome again.  Did manage to get a backup boarding group at 1 pm - Like Group 304567.  Long lines to get into the Star Wars marketplace area.  Waited 30 minutes and gave up.  The kids really wanted Star Wars toys, so we went to the Star Tours gift shop and got lots of Baby Yodas.  Everybody is getting grouchy.  So we head back to camp.  It's cooler, so no pool today.  Walked to the camp store and got ice cream.  Took the boat to MK (remember we have hoppers).  Entered the park easy peasy and did a few rides.  Dinner at Skipper Canteen (pretty good, but the menu is limited and there was no steak salad ).  While we're eating dinner, got the call back for RoR.  Well that's not going to happen.  Did more rides.  This was awesome.  Another long wait for the boat at the end of the night.
> 
> Friday - MK day.  Boat ride to the park.  All the rides.  Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.  Pretty good.  More all the rides.  Walked to the Contemporary.  Dinner at the Wave.  Love that place.  Amazing.  Back to MK.  Extra all the rides.  Did Big Thunder, Splash, and Mine Train in the last hour of the day.  Longest wait was maybe 30 minutes for Jungle Cruise in the afternoon.  So worth it, right before they axed Sam.  Har dee har har.  Another epic long wait for the boat.
> 
> Saturday - Epcot day.  Slept in.  Breakfast at P&J's takeout.  Not good.  So sad because I loved the Trail's End breakfast buffet.  Drove to Epcot.  Late-ish lunch at Rose & Crown.  Not as good as I remembered it.  Sort of sad about that too. Tons of rides.  Some shopping too.  ORANGE BIRD!!!!  Dinner at La Hacienda.  Again, not as good as my last visit.  So weird to have a bad food day.  In the last hour or so we did Soarin and Test Track with quick waits.  Longest wait of the day was Frozen at about 35 minutes.  Lowest moment was realizing I didn't feel like waiting 45 minutes to get inside the Mexico building.  I love the 3 Caballeros and that stunk.
> 
> To recap - 35% is not crowded.  I had very few of those WDW-omg-I'm-drowning-in-a-sea-of-people moments.  You know what I mean, that crush in Fantasyland between iasw and Peter Pan?  Or when Indiana Jones and the Frozen show seem to simultaneously vomit large crowds from the theaters?  The Mexico margarita stand pinch point?  Never happened.  It was weird sometimes.
> 
> The lines for rides were better than a regular day in my opinion.  Fast passes make all the lines longer.  And generally speaking, most of the posted wait times were exaggerated by at least 10 minutes.  More so later in the evenings.
> 
> I missed the shows, but I'm not sure we would have gone to them anyway.  We can do shows after DH is fully vaccinated.
> 
> I missed the full menus.  Some of my favorite items were missing and one of the CMs I spoke with mentioned something about physical distancing in the kitchens meant that some menu items were cut and cooks laid off.  That is terrible to me.
> 
> The first bus situation turned us off buses for the rest of the trip and the boat waits were horrible at the end of the night at MK, but that's not really unusual.  Parking was a breeze.
> 
> The pool situation was annoying.  But knowing about the quiet pool was a win.  The CMs never actually told people about the other pool as far as I could see.....
> 
> The lines to get into some of the shopping areas was annoying too.  So that turned us off from some showing.
> 
> The hoppers weren't worth as much as usual with the limits on hoping starting at 2.  And the park hours weren't as late as they usually are around spring break.  Lesson learned.
> 
> But, it was pretty cool to basically walk on a new ride.  We did have some awesome meals.  And we generally had good days at HS, MK and Epcot.  All in all, the trip was worthwhile.


We are going to P&J’s this trip, what wasn’t good about it? Although we are going for dinner not breakfast but I’d like to hear your thoughts about what wasn’t good. Service? Food? Thank you!


----------



## Schneewittchen37

starousse said:


> What was annoying about the Pool situation? We're staying at WL in August and would like some tips.


Never in my life have I ever considered that I might have to wait to get into a hotel pool.  Inconceivable!

Anyway, I guess my tip would be to make sure you know where the quiet pools are if the main pool is full.....


----------



## Schneewittchen37

LetsDoDisney! said:


> We are going to P&J’s this trip, what wasn’t good about it? Although we are going for dinner not breakfast but I’d like to hear your thoughts about what wasn’t good. Service? Food? Thank you!


The food seemed not fresh and the options were very limited.  The CMs were fine.

DH wanted a pastry.  Literally all they had was a blueberry danish.  Sadness.

The kids each got mickey waffles.  One with bacon, one with sausage.  Both seemed happy with their choice.

I got the Bounty Breakfast and ended up giving the kids my sausage and biscuit because they were still hungry after finishing their food.  My eggs were a giant, cold, rubbery lump.  The french toast sticks were shockingly weird and deep fried.  Not what I was expecting.  The bacon and tots were fine, though not so warm.

Everything is served up in weird paper to-go boxes and seemed not so warm.  It's just a stark contrast to the piles of fresh hot food I'm used to seeing at Trail's End.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Schneewittchen37 said:


> The food seemed not fresh and the options were very limited.  The CMs were fine.
> 
> DH wanted a pastry.  Literally all they had was a blueberry danish.  Sadness.
> 
> The kids each got mickey waffles.  One with bacon, one with sausage.  Both seemed happy with their choice.
> 
> I got the Bounty Breakfast and ended up giving the kids my sausage and biscuit because they were still hungry after finishing their food.  My eggs were a giant, cold, rubbery lump.  The french toast sticks were shockingly weird and deep fried.  Not what I was expecting.  The bacon and tots were fine, though not so warm.
> 
> Everything is served up in weird paper to-go boxes and seemed not so warm.  It's just a stark contrast to the piles of fresh hot food I'm used to seeing at Trail's End.


Did you eat at there or take back to your RV? from what I have found cooked eggs do not travel well not just at Disney


----------



## Triple A Mom

SheSingsAlong said:


> I am so surprised to read this because we went in November and strollers were allowed in the outdoor portion of the MMRR queue. You just had to park the stroller before entering the building. Very sad to hear they have changed this :-\ Was banking on MMRR being an easy line to tolerate when we return (1 week!) because we could have DD in the stroller through most of it.


Maybe it was an off day but I asked specifically and was told we had to park the stroller. All the stroller parking is away from the entrance to the building and right by where the line started too so many that is a new change. It was a rough line with a little, but we got smart and put her up on my husbands shoulders and that helped keep her contained, just not fun for hubby.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

SheSingsAlong said:


> I am so surprised to read this because we went in November and strollers were allowed in the outdoor portion of the MMRR queue. You just had to park the stroller before entering the building. Very sad to hear they have changed this :-\ Was banking on MMRR being an easy line to tolerate when we return (1 week!) because we could have DD in the stroller through most of it.


When I was there 2 weeks ago they were allowing strollers in line.


----------



## Schneewittchen37

Betty Rohrer said:


> Did you eat at there or take back to your RV? from what I have found cooked eggs do not travel well not just at Disney


Ate it right there in the Trail's End dining room.


----------



## loves to dive

RhodyKP said:


> I love that you're doing a solo trip! I would absolutely do that. I like connecting/chatting with people, though, and it seems like that might be harder right now with the social distancing, masks, etc. What has your experience been?


I do a lot of solo trips here, you can still chat in line, just have to yell a bit.   I love coming her solo.


----------



## Linkura

I love solo trips. Doing my third this June.


----------



## Wood Nymph

hereforthechurros said:


> Any recent experience with Electric Water Pageant times at each resort?


 We are here now and the Electric Water Pagent begins with the Grand Floridian at 8:40pm. I don’t know the times for the rest of the stops.


e_yerger said:


> For people who have visited recently, how do you tour that first hour or so of rope drop at Magic Kingdom? We aren't coaster people, so the draw of SDMT, BTMM and Space aren't there. Are we safe to start touring counter clockwise (Jungle Cruise, Pirates, HM etc)?


We arrived at MK at 7:44 am this morning,  walked on Peter Pan, Big Thunder Mtn, and Pirates without any wait. Haunted Mansion was a walk on, too, but we skipped it.  We got to Jungle Cruise at 8:24 and had a 25 minute wait by then. We then did Buzz and the Little Mermaid ride, which were also walk on rides and had finished those by 10 am. Most of the rides were at least a 25 minute wait by then. You can get in a lot of rides if you don’t want to ride Seven Dwarfs.


----------



## disneyfan150

Wood Nymph said:


> We are here now and the Electric Water Pagent begins with the Grand Floridian at 8:40pm. I don’t know the times for the rest of the stops.
> 
> We arrived at MK at 7:44 am this morning,  walked on Peter Pan, Big Thunder Mtn, and Pirates without any wait. Haunted Mansion was a walk on, too, but we skipped it.  We got to Jungle Cruise at 8:24 and had a 25 minute wait by then. We then did Buzz and the Little Mermaid ride, which were also walk on rides and had finished those by 10 am. Most of the rides were at least a 25 minute wait by then. You can get in a lot of rides if you don’t want to ride Seven Dwarfs.


Two great pieces of information, thank you! Staying at GF for my MK days in June and I am writing this down in my notes!!


----------



## loves to dive

4/13  8:30 am to 8:50 pm.  

Got up around 6:30 to try to get ROTR, had atomic clock going on computer at the stroke of 7 hit join, join and no luck.   Oh well, no big deal.   Did score an ADR to HBD for 12:20 for lunch so that was good.  

 Went and had breakfast at the Fresh Med. Market at the Dolphin and walked over to HS.   In the gate by around 8:30.  

 Walked to ToT, posted wait time 13 min., walk on until the boiler room then 5 min. wait. 
  Over to MMRR, posted wait time 20 min and it was. 
  I don't do RRRC, hurts my neck and not even for science.  By now the park was officially open and the lowest wait time for the big ticket rides was 40 min. 
 Went to ride MF, posted wait 60 min, was 40 so score.  
 Over to SDD, posted wait 60 min and it was, this was the first bad line of the day, nothing like yesterday but there were a couple of kids that felt they needed to throw tantrums about every 4th line and would sit while about 5 lines opened in front,   parents tried bribing but that didn't work.  
 Alien saucers was posted 30 min. and I was wasting time until lunch so hopped in that line, it was 30 min.   another family of bad kids in front and behind me.   
Went into One Man's Dream and about halfway through the exhibit they announced the movie was going to start in 4 min. so I went to watch that.   Love that movie. 
  Did my on line check in at HBD and meandered over in that direction and was called to eat.   I sat down at exactly 12:20.  Ordered my Cobb Salad and glass of wine and decided why not try for RotR at 1, can't hurt.   Got boarding group 138.   Celebrated with a piece of grapefruit cake.
  I don't ride Star Tours since it makes me sick, not even for science. 
  Went through a couple of shops on the way out of the park.   Caught the boat back to Dolphin and some pool time.  
 Back to HS around 4ish and wandered through some shops.   Wandered around Star Wars watching Storm Troopers and waving at Chewy (cause he's my man).  
 BG called at 5:51.   In line at 5:55.  Into first pre-show at 6:20. 
  Decided to ride the skyliner to Epcot.   Why do they make you go to CB first then double back right where you started?   That route must have been designed by the engineers who designed spaghetti junction on 75 in Atlanta, drunk as skunks.   Could have walked from HS to Epcot faster and probably could have taken the boat and gotten there faster but did it for science.  
 Am doing the garden graze at the F&G booths so got the Lemon Magdalena cake in Morocco.   Not the best thing I've had so far, actually needed a knife to cut it.   Wandered through WS, stopping to look at topiaries and went into America and looked at the Soul exhibit.   Second garden graze item for the day (actually got one other yesterday grilled vegetables) Pineapple skewer at Refreshment Outpost,  nice big spear of pineapple with Tajin seasoning on it, I'd get that again.  
 Saw ride in Mexico was posted 5 min. so wandered over there.   I'm not a fan of this ride since they changed it but, well science.  Wait to get in the pyramid was 5 min, wait to get on the ride 10 min.   Headed back through the two shops at the front of WS, through Canada and GB and back to Dolphin.   Walked out of the gates at 8:50 pm.

Tomorrow MK day.


----------



## lnR_Texas

LetsDoDisney! said:


> We are going to P&J’s this trip, what wasn’t good about it? Although we are going for dinner not breakfast but I’d like to hear your thoughts about what wasn’t good. Service? Food? Thank you!


We ate at P&J’s for lunch last month.  First time we had gone there and we went based on DisneyTouristBlog’s review of the BBQ ribs and fried chicken family meal. It was amazing, particularly the chicken (moist, moist, moist!) and the cornbread side.  I would highly recommend it.


----------



## Schneewittchen37

This thread got with thinking about the dismal state of shopping/souvenirs right now in the Parks.  Don't get me started on ShopDisney, that might be worse.

Is it just me or is there less stuff?  less variety? more unprettiness among the items that are available?  I struggled to find anything appealing clothing-wise until I saw the yellow Orange Bird shirts at Epcot.  Everything else seemed plain, dreary or generic.

Examples:  My kids love the PoTC and Winnie gift shops.  They found nothing they wanted in those shops.  All the toys they seemed to already have or what was new was unappealing.  And DH always gets a "year" pin.  OMG the 2021 pins are ugly.  He kept looking for a different option and had to settle for ugliness.  

It seemed like half the shops were closed anyway and then half of the ones that were open had long lines to get in.  I'm sorry but I'm not waiting 30 minutes to go in a shop.  This is not Soviet toilet paper.

Is all the good swag stuck in a container at Long Beach?  Or did they not order/design new items for this year?  Are all the artists laid off?  Are they holding back all the good stuff for October?


----------



## bookgirl2632

Schneewittchen37 said:


> This thread got with thinking about the dismal state of shopping/souvenirs right now in the Parks.  Don't get me started on ShopDisney, that might be worse.
> 
> Is it just me or is there less stuff?  less variety? more unprettiness among the items that are available?  I struggled to find anything appealing clothing-wise until I saw the yellow Orange Bird shirts at Epcot.  Everything else seemed plain, dreary or generic.
> 
> Examples:  My kids love the PoTC and Winnie gift shops.  They found nothing they wanted in those shops.  All the toys they seemed to already have or what was new was unappealing.  And DH always gets a "year" pin.  OMG the 2021 pins are ugly.  He kept looking for a different option and had to settle for ugliness.
> 
> It seemed like half the shops were closed anyway and then half of the ones that were open had long lines to get in.  I'm sorry but I'm not waiting 30 minutes to go in a shop.  This is not Soviet toilet paper.
> 
> Is all the good swag stuck in a container at Long Beach?  Or did they not order/design new items for this year?  Are all the artists laid off?  Are they holding back all the good stuff for October?


I haven’t been, so I can’t speak to the lack of merchandise.  I will say that there is probably a delay in getting merchandise since a lot of it is made in Asia.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Schneewittchen37 said:


> This thread got with thinking about the dismal state of shopping/souvenirs right now in the Parks.  Don't get me started on ShopDisney, that might be worse.
> 
> Is it just me or is there less stuff?  less variety? more unprettiness among the items that are available?  I struggled to find anything appealing clothing-wise until I saw the yellow Orange Bird shirts at Epcot.  Everything else seemed plain, dreary or generic.
> 
> Examples:  My kids love the PoTC and Winnie gift shops.  They found nothing they wanted in those shops.  All the toys they seemed to already have or what was new was unappealing.  And DH always gets a "year" pin.  OMG the 2021 pins are ugly.  He kept looking for a different option and had to settle for ugliness.
> 
> It seemed like half the shops were closed anyway and then half of the ones that were open had long lines to get in.  I'm sorry but I'm not waiting 30 minutes to go in a shop.  This is not Soviet toilet paper.
> 
> Is all the good swag stuck in a container at Long Beach?  Or did they not order/design new items for this year?  Are all the artists laid off?  Are they holding back all the good stuff for October?


I didn’t really notice a lack of merchandise.  My kids had no problem spending their souvenir money!  Lol. World of Disney seemed pretty well stocked as did all the stores in the parks.  POC gift shop has had the same merchandise for like 10 years and I think we own most of it


----------



## Carol_

Schneewittchen37 said:


> This thread got with thinking about the dismal state of shopping/souvenirs right now in the Parks.  Don't get me started on ShopDisney, that might be worse.
> 
> Is it just me or is there less stuff?  less variety? more unprettiness among the items that are available?  I struggled to find anything appealing clothing-wise until I saw the yellow Orange Bird shirts at Epcot.  Everything else seemed plain, dreary or generic.
> 
> Examples:  My kids love the PoTC and Winnie gift shops.  They found nothing they wanted in those shops.  All the toys they seemed to already have or what was new was unappealing.  And DH always gets a "year" pin.  OMG the 2021 pins are ugly.  He kept looking for a different option and had to settle for ugliness.
> 
> It seemed like half the shops were closed anyway and then half of the ones that were open had long lines to get in.  I'm sorry but I'm not waiting 30 minutes to go in a shop.  This is not Soviet toilet paper.
> 
> Is all the good swag stuck in a container at Long Beach?  Or did they not order/design new items for this year?  Are all the artists laid off?  Are they holding back all the good stuff for October?


I have trouble finding higher quality items that might last more than 5 years. So much chintzy garbage that breaks or fades to sad colors after one wash... The spirit jerseys are fine but they’re casual. I have enough mugs. I’d like something a little higher end. Higher thread count.


----------



## JohnRPG

We did a quick trip last week with DW and DD13, 4/5-4/8. This was our only COVID era trip, and our first visit since SWGE opened. Being a Star Wars obsessive, that was the primary focus. Here's a brief report:

*Monday 4/5*
Flew into MCO. Flight was great, and DME worked perfectly as intended. Note - the Magic of Disney store in MCO was closed. This surprised us, since the Universal one across the concourse was open. Signs posted at DME entrance that wait would be 60 minutes. We were heading to YC, and wait worked out to ~15 minutes. YC was the last stop, after CBR, RIV, and BC.
Used direct to room at YC, and found out that our room assignment had 1 King for the three of us. Visited desk to discuss. Hotel was fully booked so they didn't have a room with 2 Queens. We had a dinner reservation at the Edison at DS, so they took my phone number and called around. We left our bags with Bell Services (who confirmed they had our grocery delivery, too). En route to dinner, they called and offered to transfer to GF. I refused, since I really wanted an Epcot area resort. They called back a few minutes later with a transfer to BWV, which I accepted. 
DS was fairly crowded, but manageable. Saw some noses walking around, and maintaining a 6 foot bubble was pretty impossible, but it wasn't as packed as I'd feared. Dinner at the Edison was terrific, (Candied Bacon - Yes, please!) and we hit up the Star Wars Galactic Outpost shop to begin our obsessive Star Wars souvenir hunting. Picked up a Jedi Holocron and white and yellow kybers. 
Headed back to YC, picked up our bags, and walked across the bridge to BWV. Had a couple of missteps trying to find our room, but eventually found it. Room was fine (1Queen, sleeper sofa, and murphy bed), but not quite as nice as I might've hoped. Bathroom made it's first of several attempts on my life when I showered. (The bottom of the tub wasn't at all flat, and the low point was about a foot away from the drain. I fell while showering, and then hit my head on the soap holder later, when picking up a bar of soap.) This wasn't quite the glamorous DVC I keep seeing advertised. Bed was very comfortable, though.

*Tuesday 4/6 - DHS*
Up at 6:30 in order to grab food and try for RotR boarding pass. Made coffee in the coffee pot. Slightly problematic since we'd ordered K-Cups for the Keurigs at YC. (Doh!) Joffrey's was kind of weak, but it was caffeeine. In better news, DW managed to snag us a BG (82). Finished breakfast and decided to hoof it to DHS.
Walk over to DHS was pleasant, but when we arrived security lines were VERY long and we ended up the very last in line on the left side. They opened up the right side right after us, so we had a fairly long wait to get in. OTOH, security screening and temp checks were amazingly fast. So, hardly worth a complaint. Just noted that we thought the boat would be a better plan for the next day. Mobile ordered lunch from Docking Bay 7 while we waited.
Hit MMRR on the way in, with no real wait. We all enjoyed the ride. 
Headed directly from there to MFRR. ~20 minute wait, and the queue made that a completely enjoyable wait. 
Went back and did Star Tours and Muppet Vision with pretty manageable waits. Then moved over to TSMM. By then it was lunch time and grabbed that. 
We sat in one of the cargo containers within Docking Bay 7, and bought the obligatory sporks. This was a really well themed and delicious meal. DD and I both got the Batuuan Roast, DW had the Endorian Tip Yip. Both were very good, and the portions were a bit bigger than I'd expected. Batuu-bon was an amazing desert.
RotR was after lunch. The ride was really impressive and fun.
Somewhere in here we hit up a few different PP sites to collect magic shots. We got the Porgs, the zooms, the X-Wings, and the TIEs. We also hit the Disney/Chase spot and got those. There were a couple of others I would have liked to snag, but I didn't have any luck finding them, and I probably should have asked.
Took the Skyliner to Epcot after lunch for a break at the hotel. This was WAY better than I'd expected it to be. DD went for a swim in the pool. She thought it was too crowded, but I thought it was pretty manageable. We also snagged a refillable mug from Boardwalk Bakery at this point, which we used extensively for refills for the remainder of the trip. Their set up was great, because they didn't need us to carry the mug. They just told us to take a photo of it and keep it on our phone, then we could get refills as needed. This seemed like a tremendous improvement over the normal way of doing things.
Changed into bounding attire and headed back to DHS in the late afternoon. We did a little shopping in SWGE, and then hit 7:15 reservation for Oga's and 8:25 reservation at Savi's. Both were extremely well themed. The numbing experience from DW's Fuzzy Taun-Taun completely lives up to the reputation. DD's Carbon Freeze was really wild with the dry ice effects. My Jet Juice was enjoyable, and worth trying to replicate. I think Oga's would have been better in a non-pandemic time, when it could be legitimately crowded. It was very cool to not feel rushed and to be able to see everything, but it was kind of like being in a bar on a week day afternoon, instead of in a hopping weekend party.
Savi's was a pretty emotional experience for me. I really enjoyed it, as did DD. We both fence lightsaber, so we knew we weren't going to be getting really high end sabers out of this, but we knew we were paying for the premium experience. They absolutely delivered on that front. That's a memory that I will treasure.
We snuck around and snapped a couple of quick photos in our bounding outfits, and headed out of the mostly empty park.

We walked back to BWV, mostly because we wanted to walk through late evening with our illuminated sabers. Then, changed back into more normal attire and grabbed a late snack at Epcot F&G booths. (Dole Whip with rum was probably the dining experience of the trip.)

*Wednesday 4/7 - DHS*
Another 6:30 start for breakfast and RotR. DW again snagged us one, this time a little early (52). We headed down to the dock at 7:45 to catch a boat, but the dock wasn't yet open. We saw the boats appear just before 8, with two heading to S&D, one to YC, and one to BW. At this point, I realized we'd made a poor decision. It would've been smarter to walk to YC or S&D and catch that boat first. Boats travel Epcot -> BW -> YC -> S&D ->DHS. So, we had to stop at YC and S&D before going to DHS. This meant that we missed RD by ~10 minutes. 
Screening was much faster coming from the boats, but it was already open when we arrived. So, by the time we got to SDD, there was a 60+ minute wait. Decided we'd take a pass on it, and just went to RRC and TT. This was DD's first experience with both of them, and I was relieved that she really enjoyed them. 
Headed from there to Droid Depot, where DW and DD built droids. We'd picked up small dog slings for these, which they used to carry them around the rest of the day. It was really cool to see and hear the droids interacting with each other, the environment, and other people's droids as we walked around. 
Lunch was Ronto Roasters. We all went with the standard Ronto Wrap and really enjoyed them. We've got plans to try an at home recipe for these this week, and I'm hoping it works out well. 
After lunch, we did RotR when our BG was called. Oddly, this skipped the first part of the ride, and just went directly to the second part. This seemed pretty weird, since it messed up the story element and also required us to walk through some backstage portions. Now the ride was still amazing, but I really enjoyed the first part, so I was sad to not get to experience it. Also a couple of other families near us were obviously on their first ride through, so I felt bad knowing that they'd missed important story elements. I don't know how often this happens, but I really hope it's not common.
I think we hit another couple rides at this point, and then headed back to the hotel for a break. 
I took our (far too much) loot down to the hotel gift shop and made arrangements to ship everything home. This was only $40 for two lightsabers, two droids, and far too many other items as well. That seemed like a really great value. The clerk indicated that it was probably going to be three boxes, and that I should allow 1-2 weeks for delivery. I haven't seen anything yet, but today's only 1 week, so I'm not sweating it either. The only challenge with this stage was figuring out how to ship the Sporks from Docking Bay 7. Since they're metal, I was concerned about trying to get them past TSA. Since they're sold by a restaurant, these didn't come up in their system. The clerk was kind enough to figure out a way to add them, but it felt like they were making an exception. For something like this, I felt like there should've been a better system in place. This probably took 30-40 minutes, given the complexity of hte process and the amount of stuf we were shipping. So, I was really glad that I'd decided to do this on Wednesday instead of waiting until the next morning.
We grabbed a pizza from BW Pizza with a salad from the bakery as an early dinner, and it was a pretty decent pie and a very cheap dinner by Disney standards. After that, we headed back over to Epcot for a little more shopping and to hit up the F&G booths a bit more. World Showcase was busy, but not packed. Mask compliance seemed pretty good, though there was a lot of walking and eating. Lines were all 70+ minutes for any of the attractions we would have wanted to hit, so we decided it wasn't really worth it. We split up a bit to snag different snacks, and met back up to consume them. Karamell-Kuche was amazing as always. The shakshuka from the booth in Morrocco was definitely my F&G highlight of the day. 
We stayed until around sunset, and decided at that point that our legs and feet had done enough walking for the day. Stopped at BC and grabbed a snack from the marketplace to enjoy back in our room at BWV, before settling in for the evening.

*Thursday 4/8 - MCO to Home*
Grabbed coffee (last use of sourvenir mug) and a pastry from Boardwalk bakery, and then DME picked us up at ~8:15. The trip back to MCO was painless and our flight departed on time. The airport was  more crowded than we'd expected, and there wasn't as much social distancing possible here. Mask compliance otherwise seemed pretty good, though. 

All in all, a very successful and enjoyable trip.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

I apologize in advance if this can be found elsewhere, but Im kind of hoping for a quick easy breakdown of mobile ordering! My trip is in 10 days & I wanna feel like I know what Im doing. I was trying to explain to my brother-in-law who is traveling with us and would never read through forums like this lol & realized I didnt really know specifics. How does mobile ordering work? What I mean by that is, how far in advance should I order? When do I say Im there ready to pick up? And people are saying its easier to find places to sit bc things are more controlled?


----------



## Naomeri

DisneyJColeMom said:


> I apologize in advance if this can be found elsewhere, but Im kind of hoping for a quick easy breakdown of mobile ordering! My trip is in 10 days & I wanna feel like I know what Im doing. I was trying to explain to my brother-in-law who is traveling with us and would never read through forums like this lol & realized I didnt really know specifics. How does mobile ordering work? What I mean by that is, how far in advance should I order? When do I say Im there ready to pick up? And people are saying its easier to find places to sit bc things are more controlled?


You can actually try it out from home, just don’t actually submit the order.

Go to your My Disney Experience app, pick a restaurant, for example Cosmic Ray’s in MK, pick the half hour timeframe you’d like to eat in, pick out all your food, and that’s it.  Then, when you’re a couple minutes from showing up at the restaurant (I always seem to ride Space Mt before Ray’s, so I do this part when I hit the Space gift shop) you just hit “I’m here, prepare my order” in the app and wait outside until you’re notified it’s ready, then go in, pick it up at the counter and enjoy.

edited to add: I always know where I’m eating lunch in each park, and about when I’ll be hungry, so I just do my order before I leave my hotel in the morning.  Dinner is less concrete, so I either snack, or have an ADR.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Schneewittchen37 said:


> This thread got with thinking about the dismal state of shopping/souvenirs right now in the Parks.  Don't get me started on ShopDisney, that might be worse.
> 
> Is it just me or is there less stuff?  less variety? more unprettiness among the items that are available?  I struggled to find anything appealing clothing-wise until I saw the yellow Orange Bird shirts at Epcot.  Everything else seemed plain, dreary or generic.
> 
> Examples:  My kids love the PoTC and Winnie gift shops.  They found nothing they wanted in those shops.  All the toys they seemed to already have or what was new was unappealing.  And DH always gets a "year" pin.  OMG the 2021 pins are ugly.  He kept looking for a different option and had to settle for ugliness.
> 
> It seemed like half the shops were closed anyway and then half of the ones that were open had long lines to get in.  I'm sorry but I'm not waiting 30 minutes to go in a shop.  This is not Soviet toilet paper.
> 
> Is all the good swag stuck in a container at Long Beach?  Or did they not order/design new items for this year?  Are all the artists laid off?  Are they holding back all the good stuff for October?



Glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. I've been in the stores, ShopDisney, Disney Store at the mall (RIP), and none of them do it for me. Honestly, I see better quality and more appealing clothes searching for 30 seconds on Etsy than I've been drawn to in the stores.


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## mhf

Here now...cannot over-emphasize how important it is to get to parks an hour before opening.  Set the alarm!!!   I was first group on Soarin on Monday then rode Living with the Land, Mission Space, and Nemo before heading to World Showcase.  Test Track was busy all day, finally rode about 7 with a 35 minute wait.  The wait times after 10 p.m. seem inflated:  Soaring was maybe 5 minutes but posted at 45.  Spaceship Earth was walk-in but posted at 15.
Today, I was about 25th in line for MFalcon.  Crowds became insane in Star Wars quickly, 45 then 70 minute wait within an hour for MF.  Most of the Galaxy Edge shops are 1 family at a time.  Missed getting ROTR at 7, kept getting “you are not in the park” which was a Disney error.
I usually go early, spend a few hours, rest and have lunch at my resort, then head back in around dinner.  It’s worth the bus ride to avoid lines/heat.
Bus service is OK (20 minutes between buses) except for Sunday’s disaster in the rain when they closed the monorail and the skyliner.  Disney Springs is busy busy.  Make sure you have ADRs or are willing to do quick serve.  Mobile ordering is easy.


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## PrincessJL16

Has anyone with an Apple Watch who has been recently used the new Magic Mobile successfully? I found an article recently that seems like it can do almost everything as a magic band, so was wondering if it works pretty smoothly or if there are occasional hiccups. Took a while to get it setup on my watch (had to unpair, install IOS update first) but now that I have it I'm not sure if I should also get a $5 magic band for my trip this summer just in case. I haven't been to Disney World since 2016 so I was planning on replacing my old magic band before they rolled out MagicMobile.


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## JohnRPG

PrincessJL16 said:


> Has anyone with an Apple Watch who has been recently used the new Magic Mobile successfully? I found an article recently that seems like it can do almost everything as a magic band, so was wondering if it works pretty smoothly or if there are occasional hiccups. Took a while to get it setup on my watch (had to unpair, install IOS update first) but now that I have it I'm not sure if I should also get a $5 magic band for my trip this summer just in case. I haven't been to Disney World since 2016 so I was planning on replacing my old magic band before they rolled out MagicMobile.


I forgot my band in my room one morning, so used Magic Mobile to get into the park and for most things. The one thing it can't do is PhotoPass. They're not equipped for it. Other than that, my Apple Watch got me into the park, got me onto Rise of the Resistance, opened my hotel room, and worked fine for purchases.


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## JAyala

Been here since 04/09… only complaint is that people clearly do not know how to follow the social distancing markers. So many people right behind me for all rides. I hate it!


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## OKWFan88

I've been here since Sunday the 11th. I stayed at POP for the first two days then moved over to OKW. At POP we got in line at the skyliner at 7:10am for a HS rope drop on Tuesday. We were about 5 people deep at that point. Around 745-750 am they started letting people on the skyliner and when we got to CBR hub they did NOT put us at the back of the CBR line, we were able to get in line for HS immediately and were only about 15 people back. Then a few minutes later they started loading people onto the skyliner to HS and we were off. Got in line at temp check and thru security within 5 minutes and headed over to SDD as were about 30 people back and was told SDD was down. That really stunk as we were doing so well on time. Well we waited it out and about 45 min later we were 2nd to get on as the line kept dwindling down while we waited. But sadly by the time we were done with SDD the crowds were massive and everything was super long wait. We ended up coming back before closing and walked on to RnRC, TSM, AS, ST etc. We did Epcot on Wednesday and walked onto Soarin and waited about 10 min for TT as we rope dropped and were done with Epcot after an hour. Went to MK today and the spring roll cart was open and it was WONDERFUL!!! Gosh I missed the cheeseburger spring rolls. I will mention though it closed around 7:00 pm. It's busy. But I will say if you aren't a rope drop person, go a few hours at the end of the park hours and that helps with the long lines for rides. We basically walked on to a lot of rides at MK tonight by going around 5pm. We have a car but have been using bus transportation and tonight was the first night that we had to wait 47 min for a OKW bus to show up at MK for pick up. There was a HUGE line of people waiting and thankfully we got on the first bus but not sure what was going on as it took forever. Never had that issue before. Ate at Olivia's and it was wonderful as usual, highly recommend the southern chicken. Also tried Hollywood Brown Derby for the first time, they make great cocktails, but the filet mignon was not the greatest sadly. Good service though. AK is tomorrow and will be rope dropping that.


----------



## loves to dive

4/14   8:30 to 8:30

Got to MK around 8:30 and hadn't had breakfast so grabbed a sandwich at Starbucks and sat outside Casey's to eat it.   
PoTC, wait listed as 10 min, walk on. 
 Next BTMRR, wait time posted 40 min and it was.  
On to SDMT, wait posted at 45 min and it was.   Bad mask and distance compliance, there were actually two sets of women that were not with each other that were standing in the space between two lines in front of me (which means the front women were on the backs of the people in front of them).  Both sets had one person with their masks totally off.   
Did a little shopping in Fantasy Land then off to CoP, about a 10 min. wait. 
 Next Winny the Pooh was listed as 15 min. wait and it was.   Again bad distance compliance in that line.   By this time I was done with MK, tried to do a little shopping on the way out but the store was way too crowded so back to resort.   
Rested (napped) and ate a snack of grapes and cheese and crackers until about 3:30 then walked to Epcot.   I had already ridden all the rides I was going to my first night so it was just a eating at the food booths night.   American Experience was starting in 5 min. when I was walking by so I went in and watched that, haven't seen it in years.   
Stopped at Bauermarkt and got Potato Pancakes with apple sauce for the graden graze.   It was o.k. not great.  
Wandered around looking in shops and stopped at Jardin de Fiestas for Taco Vampira and Passion fruit Margarita.   The Taco was good but had obviously been sitting under a heat lamp for a while and was pretty tough.   
Onto the Epcot Experience, such a cool show and I love watching it.   
Next booth Sunshine Griddle for some avocado toast because I love avocado.  It was good.  
The on to Mouse Gears for some shopping, got ideas of things to pick up tomorrow.  
 More shopping then to Trowel & Trellis for Boneless impossible Korean Short Rib.  Surprisingly good.  That finished my Garden Graze.  
 More walking around then picked up my gift from Garden Graze, a huge dole whip in a cute little planter thing and a bag of basil seeds.  Sat on a bench by the lake and just enjoyed the evening, my dole whip and the sights and sounds.  
 Walked over to the Seas and spent a lot of time in the Aquarium, hubby, my son and I are scuba divers so I love that place.  
 Then over to The Land, because I can't be in that area and not go on it.   Walk on.   
After that I was tired so walked through Canada and GB, stopped in the World Traveler to get a gift for my new grand daughter and decided what the heck and hopped on the boat for the trip back to Dolphin.   18 min. boat ride, I would usually walk it but I was feeling lazy.   Nice easy evening after a hot, frustrating morning at MK.   

Tomorrow I have reservations at HS, I've ridden everything I want to ride there except TSMM so I'll get up in time to try for RotR just because and then go over there a little later in the morning.


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## coolbrook

Carol_ said:


> I have trouble finding higher quality items that might last more than 5 years. So much chintzy garbage that breaks or fades to sad colors after one wash... The spirit jerseys are fine but they’re casual. I have enough mugs. I’d like something a little higher end. Higher thread count.


There are some nice clothing items in the Yacht Club gift shop.  We found my husband a nice Tommy Bahama Mickey camp shirt in February.


----------



## Gonflipin

Has anyone who has recently gone have been able to change park reservations close to travel or while there? We are going next week, been watching the weather, and starting to get a little concerned. I’d like to switch around some park reservation days but of course there’s no availability to do that right now. Looks like it will be down pouring on us in MK if it stays this way.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Gonflipin said:


> Has anyone who has recently gone have been able to change park reservations close to travel or while there? We are going next week, been watching the weather, and starting to get a little concerned. I’d like to switch around some park reservation days but of course there’s no availability to do that right now. Looks like it will be down pouring on us in MK if it stays this way.


I've heard that some people have been able to change the morning of.  Definitely worth it to keep trying.  However, I wouldn't count on weather reports being accurate a week in advance.


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## gometros

PrincessJL16 said:


> Has anyone with an Apple Watch who has been recently used the new Magic Mobile successfully? I found an article recently that seems like it can do almost everything as a magic band, so was wondering if it works pretty smoothly or if there are occasional hiccups. Took a while to get it setup on my watch (had to unpair, install IOS update first) but now that I have it I'm not sure if I should also get a $5 magic band for my trip this summer just in case. I haven't been to Disney World since 2016 so I was planning on replacing my old magic band before they rolled out MagicMobile.



My daughter has one and we're here now. It did not work on our room door. We have not gone to a park yet, so I don't know about that yet.


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## Rick195275

Gonflipin said:


> Has anyone who has recently gone have been able to change park reservations close to travel or while there? We are going next week, been watching the weather, and starting to get a little concerned. I’d like to switch around some park reservation days but of course there’s no availability to do that right now. Looks like it will be down pouring on us in MK if it stays this way.


The size of your party will have a big impact on this too I would think. I was able to grab 2 Hollywood studios days morning of a couple days ago. The problem being to switch you need to cancel the reservations you have and you might get stuck with nothing. Really wish it was like the fastpass reservations where it had a “modify” option...


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## Leigh L

Rick195275 said:


> The size of your party will have a big impact on this too I would think. I was able to grab 2 Hollywood studios days morning of a couple days ago. The problem being to switch you need to cancel the reservations you have and you might get stuck with nothing. *Really wish it was like the fastpass reservations where it had a “modify” option...*


This is totally at the top of my Disney IT wish list! Changing parks on the fly never used to be an issue but sure seems like it is now.


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## DMLAINI

I know airline check in at the resorts are closed.   Is there a way to print our boarding passes at the resort or will we need to at the airport?


----------



## OKWFan88

Gonflipin said:


> Has anyone who has recently gone have been able to change park reservations close to travel or while there? We are going next week, been watching the weather, and starting to get a little concerned. I’d like to switch around some park reservation days but of course there’s no availability to do that right now. Looks like it will be down pouring on us in MK if it stays this way.


Here now and out of the six days we’ve been here we’ve had no problem changing parks a day before (done it twice). Now, we went from HS to either MK or AK. The calendar said there was no availability but we took a chance and it allowed the change.


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## subtchr

DMLAINI said:


> I know airline check in at the resorts are closed.   Is there a way to print our boarding passes at the resort or will we need to at the airport?



We didn’t ask, because we just use the boarding passes on our phones. I imagine the concierge desk would do it if you really need them.


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## EPCOT-O.G.

JohnRPG said:


> *Monday 4/5*
> Flew into MCO. Flight was great, and DME worked perfectly as intended. Note - the Magic of Disney store in MCO was closed. This surprised us, since the Universal one across the concourse was open.



I really appreciated this entire post and all the info, and congrats on getting on ROTR twice! 
I have to ask, I thought the store was open again?


----------



## 1GoldenSun

JAyala said:


> Been here since 04/09… only complaint is that people clearly do not know how to follow the social distancing markers. So many people right behind me for all rides. I hate it!


I carry a UV protectant umbrella. It really helps me keep cool and prevents sunburn, but I've also found that it's a great "weapon" against encroachers. If someone behind you is maskless or too close, you can angle the umbrella in a way that both discourages them from getting too close and (hopefully) protects you a little from any sneezes, etc., sort of like a face shield. You can angle that umbrella any way you need to, based on the location of the maskless person. If they're in front of you or beside you you can just turn your body to the side and hold the umbrella to the side that shields you from that person. Of course, there's not much you can do if you've got people from more than one side not wearing a mask or getting too close.

Most lines are roomy enough now that you can even do this in inside lines. I may get some funny looks, but no CM has told me to fold my umbrella. Maybe they think I really have extremely light-sensitive skin!


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## DMLAINI

1GoldenSun said:


> I carry a UV protectant umbrella. It really helps me keep cool and prevents sunburn, but I've also found that it's a great "weapon" against encroachers. If someone behind you is maskless or too close, you can angle the umbrella in a way that both discourages them from getting too close and (hopefully) protects you a little from any sneezes, etc., sort of like a face shield. You can angle that umbrella any way you need to, based on the location of the maskless person. If they're in front of you or beside you you can just turn your body to the side and hold the umbrella to the side that shields you from that person. Of course, there's not much you can do if you've got people from more than one side not wearing a mask or getting too close.
> 
> Most lines are roomy enough now that you can even do this in inside lines. I may get some funny looks, but no CM has told me to fold my umbrella. Maybe they think I really have extremely light-sensitive skin!


We have uv umbrellas & planned on using them for the same reasons too..lol


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## hereforthechurros

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> I really appreciated this entire post and all the info, and congrats on getting on ROTR twice!
> I have to ask, I thought the store was open again?


It was open at one point, around the holidays maybe? But it was closed in February as well and from recent  reports has remained closed.


----------



## Haley R

1GoldenSun said:


> I carry a UV protectant umbrella. It really helps me keep cool and prevents sunburn, but I've also found that it's a great "weapon" against encroachers. If someone behind you is maskless or too close, you can angle the umbrella in a way that both discourages them from getting too close and (hopefully) protects you a little from any sneezes, etc., sort of like a face shield. You can angle that umbrella any way you need to, based on the location of the maskless person. If they're in front of you or beside you you can just turn your body to the side and hold the umbrella to the side that shields you from that person. Of course, there's not much you can do if you've got people from more than one side not wearing a mask or getting too close.
> 
> Most lines are roomy enough now that you can even do this in inside lines. I may get some funny looks, but no CM has told me to fold my umbrella. Maybe they think I really have extremely light-sensitive skin!


That’s a great idea about the umbrella! I didn’t think to do that. Dh and I are fully vaccinated but will have ds (12 months) with us that we have to worry about. I’m not planning on standing in any lines really because we’ll mostly just be there for rope drop but it’s good to have in case


----------



## Mellymc

We were there April 6th-13th. Stayed at Yacht Club and loved it! We spent six days in the parks, 2 at MK, 2 at HS, 1 Epcot and 1 at AK. Overall we had a great trip. Some things we noticed. Mask compliance was overall very good. Social distancing was hot or miss. Most people followed the markers in lines. We had one instance where the family behind us was literally so close they were touching our backpack. After a few glances I finally asked the. To respect our space. The father was extremely nasty and said”sorry I didn’t bring my tape measure so I could stay 20 feet away”.  Well that didn’t go over well with me so I told him what I thought of that. When we were boarding the ride I asked the CM if we could not be seated with them. Other than that we had no issues. I was extremely pleased with the compliance. We never felt unsafe.
Like previous posters we found the wait times to be not as long as posted. We were able to ride everything we wanted and scored a boarding group on both  of our HS days. We rode the same day as a previous poster who said they skipped the pre show. We had the exact thing as well. We would not have known any different if we hadn’t rode several days later. The pre show  makes the ride. So glad we were able to experience it the second time.  We were so happy to be back and though the park is different we were able to still enjoy it and feel the Disney magic.


----------



## lovethattink

dizgirl74 said:


> We are traveling in July (I know crazy sweltering heat) and I was curious how the crowds are now??? Did they lift the 35% capacity limits??  How were the lines, considering there are no FP??  Thanks for all of your feedback.



Crowd capacity is the same, 35%. And many days reservations have been full, but people were still able to park hop. Lines are long, plan on walking double the miles due to crazy long queues. Those lines can be deceiving and wait time usually isn’t nearly as long as you’d think. The heat and sun are brutal, and you’ll be spending a lot more time in lines in the sun. Last summer they added umbrellas to the outdoor queues, but I haven’t seen those umbrellas out in months. 

I recently was talking to a friend who’s in the know. According to what they’ve been told there are no plans in the works to change anything this year. Not sure what 2022 will bring.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

lovethattink said:


> Last summer they added umbrellas to the outdoor queues, but I haven’t seen those umbrellas out in months.


2 weeks ago the umbrellas were out for MMRR and SDD queues.


----------



## PrincessV

1GoldenSun said:


> I carry a UV protectant umbrella. It really helps me keep cool and prevents sunburn, but I've also found that it's a great "weapon" against encroachers.


I'll second this.  I_ always_ carry an umbrella in my bag (Floridian - I like to be prepared!) and have used it for sun/heat protection at WDW for decades. And yep, discovered during the pandemic it works REALLY well for keeping people a safe distance from me, too! Mine's tiny and in theory would only give me about a 2' radius of distance from others, but people seem to be scared enough of getting poked that they actually give me at least 4' or more, lol!


----------



## dizgirl74

lovethattink said:


> Crowd capacity is the same, 35%. And many days reservations have been full, but people were still able to park hop. Lines are long, plan on walking double the miles due to crazy long queues. Those lines can be deceiving and wait time usually isn’t nearly as long as you’d think. The heat and sun are brutal, and you’ll be spending a lot more time in lines in the sun. Last summer they added umbrellas to the outdoor queues, but I haven’t seen those umbrellas out in months.
> 
> I recently was talking to a friend who’s in the know. According to what they’ve been told there are no plans in the works to change anything this year. Not sure what 2022 will bring.


----------



## lynzi2004

FWIW, we were there last August and got a BG for ROTR for the first time. I had specifically avoided all spoilers bc I wanted to be surprised. They were having trouble with the ride that day and after standing in the queue for nearly an hour, they decided to evacuate the ride. Right before we stepped outside, they got it working again and ushered us through a side door and into the storm trooper room. I’m not going to give any spoilers here but DH and I were completely confused as to what was happening. We did the ride and as we exited I called my sis and was telling her how confused I was and after a couple of questions about some scenes she told me we had missed half the preshows. I went to a CM at the front of the ride and explained what happened. He quickly escorted us through the FP lane and we got to experience ALL of the attraction....so much better! So YMMV, but if part of the ride isn’t working properly, make sure you talk to a CM before leaving disappointed. Things happen that can’t be controlled, but it never hurts to ask!


----------



## dizgirl74

lovethattink said:


> Crowd capacity is the same, 35%. And many days reservations have been full, but people were still able to park hop. Lines are long, plan on walking double the miles due to crazy long queues. Those lines can be deceiving and wait time usually isn’t nearly as long as you’d think. The heat and sun are brutal, and you’ll be spending a lot more time in lines in the sun. Last summer they added umbrellas to the outdoor queues, but I haven’t seen those umbrellas out in months.
> 
> I recently was talking to a friend who’s in the know. According to what they’ve been told there are no plans in the works to change anything this year. Not sure what 2022 will bring.


Awesome, thank you so much for your post.  I am hoping you are correct.  Summer is the only time we can get there this year, and dealing with regular summer crowds, social distancing, masks, lack of other park things to do aside from rides, I think will be beyond crazy.  Let's hope they continue to keep crowd control at bay, until the COVID restrictions are lifted.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Mellymc said:


> We were there April 6th-13th. Stayed at Yacht Club and loved it! We spent six days in the parks, 2 at MK, 2 at HS, 1 Epcot and 1 at AK. Overall we had a great trip. Some things we noticed. Mask compliance was overall very good. Social distancing was hot or miss. Most people followed the markers in lines. We had one instance where the family behind us was literally so close they were touching our backpack. After a few glances I finally asked the. To respect our space. *The father was extremely nasty and said”sorry I didn’t bring my tape measure so I could stay 20 feet away*”.  Well that didn’t go over well with me so I told him what I thought of that. When we were boarding the ride I asked the CM if we could not be seated with them. Other than that we had no issues. I was extremely pleased with the compliance. We never felt unsafe.
> Like previous posters we found the wait times to be not as long as posted. We were able to ride everything we wanted and scored a boarding group on both  of our HS days. We rode the same day as a previous poster who said they skipped the pre show. We had the exact thing as well. We would not have known any different if we hadn’t rode several days later. The pre show  makes the ride. So glad we were able to experience it the second time.  We were so happy to be back and though the park is different we were able to still enjoy it and feel the Disney magic.


Oy.  I want to believe in the best in people, but we've been a few times and had issues with line markers every time. The people who talk back make it seem like they're crowding to prove a point. So lame.


----------



## hereforthechurros

lovethattink said:


> Crowd capacity is the same, 35%. And many days reservations have been full, but people were still able to park hop. Lines are long, plan on walking double the miles due to crazy long queues. Those lines can be deceiving and wait time usually isn’t nearly as long as you’d think. The heat and sun are brutal, and you’ll be spending a lot more time in lines in the sun. Last summer they added umbrellas to the outdoor queues, but I haven’t seen those umbrellas out in months.
> 
> I recently was talking to a friend who’s in the know. According to what they’ve been told there are no plans in the works to change anything this year. Not sure what 2022 will bring.


No plan to change capacity at all in 2021? That doesn't seem right.


----------



## Tasmen

Rick195275 said:


> The size of your party will have a big impact on this too I would think. I was able to grab 2 Hollywood studios days morning of a couple days ago. The problem being to switch you need to cancel the reservations you have and you might get stuck with nothing. Really wish it was like the fastpass reservations where it had a “modify” option...



Omg yes.  They have this for dining already if they notice a conflict.  I have to admit the couple times I did modify parks for my last trip, I got SUPER nervous doing so with fears I'd be stuck with nothing.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Did anyone add a Universal day during recent trips? What do you all think the average operating hours will be for summer?

We're visiting in late June and I was going to make our one (and only) Universal day a Thursday but as I'm looking now I notice they close around 6/7PM for each park on weekdays with weekends having longer hours. Did they have longer hours during spring break on weekdays? Hoping they would do that for summer.

With Park Pass availability being so touch and go in June I want to make sure if I switch my plans I do it in advance! Right now I have Animal Kingdom reserved on our Saturday so I could swap it with Universal if need be...


----------



## teach22180

Schneewittchen37 said:


> Ate it right there in the Trail's End dining room.


I normally eat breakfast each morning at the resort QS, but I have found during my pandemic trips that I really enjoy sit down breakfasts.  The food was not very good at the QS in those brown boxes except for a ham and cheese omelet.  It was cold and greasy.  I took uber or lyft to a resort with easy transportation to my park that day and just treated myself this trip.  MK, I went to WCC every trip, plus tried the Wave, Kona and Grand Floridian Cafe for the first time.  HS, I went to Ale and Compass and Trattatoria.  For AK, I just planned to eat a last breakfast at Pongu Pongu in Pandora.  And, I had one Epcot morning and ate at Topolino's since Epcot opened at 11.


----------



## OKWFan88

Has anyone found luck in finding a Mickey pretzel at Disney springs?


----------



## Schneewittchen37

teach22180 said:


> I normally eat breakfast each morning at the resort QS, but I have found during my pandemic trips that I really enjoy sit down breakfasts.  The food was not very good at the QS in those brown boxes except for a ham and cheese omelet.  It was cold and greasy.  I took uber or lyft to a resort with easy transportation to my park that day and just treated myself this trip.  MK, I went to WCC every trip, plus tried the Wave, Kona and Grand Floridian Cafe for the first time.  HS, I went to Ale and Compass and Trattatoria.  For AK, I just planned to eat a last breakfast at Pongu Pongu in Pandora.  And, I had one Epcot morning and ate at Topolino's since Epcot opened at 11.


Yep.  Lesson learned.  Normally, the QS breakfasts aren't horrible.  I think it's going to be all nutrigrain bars or table service for breakfast during our next trip if things aren't back to "normal".


----------



## auntlynne

DisneyJColeMom said:


> I apologize in advance if this can be found elsewhere, but Im kind of hoping for a quick easy breakdown of mobile ordering! My trip is in 10 days & I wanna feel like I know what Im doing. I was trying to explain to my brother-in-law who is traveling with us and would never read through forums like this lol & realized I didnt really know specifics. How does mobile ordering work? What I mean by that is, how far in advance should I order? When do I say Im there ready to pick up? And people are saying its easier to find places to sit bc things are more controlled?





Naomeri said:


> You can actually try it out from home, just don’t actually submit the order.
> 
> Go to your My Disney Experience app, pick a restaurant, for example Cosmic Ray’s in MK, pick the half hour timeframe you’d like to eat in, pick out all your food, and that’s it.  Then, when you’re a couple minutes from showing up at the restaurant (I always seem to ride Space Mt before Ray’s, so I do this part when I hit the Space gift shop) you just hit “I’m here, prepare my order” in the app and wait outside until you’re notified it’s ready, then go in, pick it up at the counter and enjoy.
> 
> edited to add: I always know where I’m eating lunch in each park, and about when I’ll be hungry, so I just do my order before I leave my hotel in the morning.  Dinner is less concrete, so I either snack, or have an ADR.



Order early.  It doesn’t apply to QS AS counters, but you never know if it will be the day that your choice is everyone’s choice.

For example, right now @12:50, the first pickup at Woody’s Lunchbox in HS is 2:35-3:95.

And then will probably be waiting to actually get the food.  

I suggest you read the menus, decide what to order, and pick your time when you are standing in line for a ride early+to-mid morning.

You can be halfway across the park when you rap I’m here in response to their notification that you are in your selected window (make sure Push Notifications are turned ON on your phone.  It can take 20 minutes still to get your food.  Mainly standing around.  You will a notification when the food is actually ready.  Sometimes there are people in front of you for that.  

The notification will show which numbered window has your order.  Often, you will be showing your phone screen, so don’t tuck it away just yet.

I make it sound horrible.  It’s not bad.  But if you Wait until you are hungry... not good.


----------



## dancergirlsmom

TikiTikiFan said:


> Did anyone add a Universal day during recent trips? What do you all think the average operating hours will be for summer?


We just spent one night there at the beginning of our trip during Spring Break (3/25).  Both parks were open on the Thursday night until 9pm and Friday was until 10pm.  We are hoping to add another night at the beginning of our trip in July.  We usually do this on our arrival day so that we get a 1/2 day then a full day before moving over to Disney but we also have passes so we aren't paying full price for a 1/2 day.


----------



## Dakota731

lovethattink said:


> Crowd capacity is the same, 35%.
> 
> I recently was talking to a friend who’s in the know. According to what they’ve been told there are no plans in the works to change anything this year. Not sure what 2022 will bring.


Another thread on this forum said capacity is increasing starting Memorial Day so not sure which person “in the know” to believe


----------



## DisneyFive

Dakota731 said:


> Another thread on this forum said capacity is increasing starting Memorial Day so not sure which person “in the know” to believe



That is complete hearsay at this point though. There is a lot of speculation that they just shifted some of the annual passholder spots over to resort and ticket reservation people. Not a park capacity increase. With how fast those June dates are getting filled up again it makes sense they did not increase capacity but rather shifted around between annual passholders and resort and to get guests


----------



## lovethattink

PrincessV said:


> I'll second this.  I_ always_ carry an umbrella in my bag (Floridian - I like to be prepared!) and have used it for sun/heat protection at WDW for decades. And yep, discovered during the pandemic it works REALLY well for keeping people a safe distance from me, too! Mine's tiny and in theory would only give me about a 2' radius of distance from others, but people seem to be scared enough of getting poked that they actually give me at least 4' or more, lol!



My umbrella goes with me for shade or rain!



hereforthechurros said:


> No plan to change capacity at all in 2021? That doesn't seem right.



I was told that with more attractions opening, more reservations will open to fill the queue and attraction. But would still be at a 35% capacity. Guess we’ll see.



Dakota731 said:


> Another thread on this forum said capacity is increasing starting Memorial Day so not sure which person “in the know” to believe


I’ve seen articles about an increase coming soon. But I was told otherwise. I guess we’ll find out soon then. Also see my response to hereforthechurros.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

dancergirlsmom said:


> We just spent one night there at the beginning of our trip during Spring Break (3/25).  Both parks were open on the Thursday night until 9pm and Friday was until 10pm.  We are hoping to add another night at the beginning of our trip in July.  We usually do this on our arrival day so that we get a 1/2 day then a full day before moving over to Disney but we also have passes so we aren't paying full price for a 1/2 day.



That's great to hear, thank you! I think we'll leave our dates alone then- seems like they'd likely extend it for summer. If Disney is gonna be busy, I expect they will too.

It sounds small but I'm so happy to get a picture of my and my kiddo without masks! His first ever trip to WDW was in Nov. and it bummed me out my first pictures of him there were all masked up. I even sprung for Memory Maker because we're gonna take all the photos now. (Which I'm sure was part of their reasoning for loosening the restriction lol!) Just 68 more days to go!


----------



## dancergirlsmom

TikiTikiFan said:


> That's great to hear, thank you! I think we'll leave our dates alone then- seems like they'd likely extend it for summer. If Disney is gonna be busy, I expect they will too.
> 
> It sounds small but I'm so happy to get a picture of my and my kiddo without masks! His first ever trip to WDW was in Nov. and it bummed me out my first pictures of him there were all masked up. I even sprung for Memory Maker because we're gonna take all the photos now. (Which I'm sure was part of their reasoning for loosening the restriction lol!) Just 68 more days to go!



Not small at all.  I totally understand.  We have been 3 times since they reopened and have a whole lot of mask pictures.  In fact, they just changed the policy three days after our last trip .  Looking forward to the unmasked pictures again.


----------



## William B

1GoldenSun said:


> I carry a UV protectant umbrella.





lovethattink said:


> My umbrella goes with me for shade or rain!



I have noticed several people mention carrying an umbrella with them even for when it is not raining.  Do y'all have ones that fold up rather small for on rides but otherwise keep them out all the time?  Any links to examples of the ones you have?  My wife loves the idea of having one for shade or rain, but I am concerned about dealing with it on rides or in stores etc.  Thanks!


----------



## lovethattink

William B said:


> I have noticed several people mention carrying an umbrella with them even for when it is not raining.  Do y'all have ones that fold up rather small for on rides but otherwise keep them out all the time?  Any links to examples of the ones you have?  My wife loves the idea of having one for shade or rain, but I am concerned about dealing with it on rides or in stores etc.  Thanks!



Mine folds up fairly small. It’s an old Vera Bradley poppy fields print. It fits perfectly in my Loungefly. A mini-totes umbrella is pretty small too. I bring an empty bag to stick it in when it’s wet before placing it in my Loungefly.


----------



## DisneyFive

We keep our small collapsible umbrellas in a backpack.  and I'm the pack mule.    Ours are the Totes brand.

Dan


----------



## Akck

William B said:


> I have noticed several people mention carrying an umbrella with them even for when it is not raining.  Do y'all have ones that fold up rather small for on rides but otherwise keep them out all the time?  Any links to examples of the ones you have?  My wife loves the idea of having one for shade or rain, but I am concerned about dealing with it on rides or in stores etc.  Thanks!



We got this one just as much for sun protection:

https://www.amazon.com/Umenice-Prot...el+Umbrella+Ultra+Light&qid=1618529786&sr=8-1


----------



## CampbellzSoup

I have been in March 2020 without a child then since he was born in July I have been 4 times with him?  Even as a parent I still don't understand the huge commando backpacks, even now.


----------



## auntyjenn

lovethattink said:


> I was told that with more attractions opening, more reservations will open to fill the queue and attraction. But would still be at a 35% capacity.



Any idea what other attractions are opening?


----------



## lovethattink

auntyjenn said:


> Any idea what other attractions are opening?



Other than the announced FotLK this Summer and Ratatouille in October, no.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

lovethattink said:


> Other than the announced FotLK this Summer and Ratatouille in October, no.



It'd be great to see them being back a show (or more!) to Hollywood Studios. Come on Indiana Jones...


----------



## gometros

JAyala said:


> Been here since 04/09… only complaint is that people clearly do not know how to follow the social distancing markers. So many people right behind me for all rides. I hate it!



Totally agree. Today was our first day in the park (Magic Kingdom) and nobody seems to understand what eating and drinking or stationary means either.


----------



## bdiddy

William B said:


> I have noticed several people mention carrying an umbrella with them even for when it is not raining.  Do y'all have ones that fold up rather small for on rides but otherwise keep them out all the time?  Any links to examples of the ones you have?  My wife loves the idea of having one for shade or rain, but I am concerned about dealing with it on rides or in stores etc.  Thanks!



I bought some of these a few months ago and we used them for the first time at the zoo over the weekend and they dried SO quick which was really nice. Definitely bringing them this summer for rain/sun.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DTLTFF9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1


----------



## Wood Nymph

They are using private charter buses to go to the resorts to pick up people going to the parks in the morning. We were at Grand Floridian and they were taking people to Hollywood Studios along with Disney buses. And we saw several different private charter buses dropping people off at Animal Kingdom this morning.


----------



## solosara

hereforthechurros said:


> Those at MK this week: is the spring roll cart still open?
> 
> Those at Ecpot this week: is Lotus Blossom open?



The spring roll cart was open Wednesday (4/14) at MK during lunch time. Not sure about later in the day.


----------



## Wood Nymph

We learned on this past trip that if you don't get to the park buses well before park opening that you may not make it on the first bus that arrives, and that when you finally get to the parks, the more popular rides have long lines. Disney needs to open up more of their rides and shows.


----------



## PrincessV

William B said:


> I have noticed several people mention carrying an umbrella with them even for when it is not raining.  Do y'all have ones that fold up rather small for on rides but otherwise keep them out all the time?  Any links to examples of the ones you have?  My wife loves the idea of having one for shade or rain, but I am concerned about dealing with it on rides or in stores etc.  Thanks!


Mine's just a very small, collapsible rain umbrella I got at Target. I always carry a small bag of some sort (cross-body, sling, backpack) and keep it in one of the bag's pockets. I collapse it and stick it back in said pocket while indoors, unless it's wet from rain, in which case I just carry it in my hand and lay it on the floor on rides or in restaurants.


----------



## tinkerhon

Wood Nymph said:


> We learned on this past trip that if you don't get to the park buses well before park opening that you may not make it on the first bus that arrives, and that when you finally get to the parks, the more popular rides have long lines. Disney needs to open up more of their rides and shows.



Think you just answered my concerns about a July trip - I’m sensing nightmare scenario!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Wood Nymph said:


> We learned on this past trip that if you don't get to the park buses well before park opening that you may not make it on the first bus that arrives, and that when you finally get to the parks, the more popular rides have long lines. Disney needs to open up more of their rides and shows.





tinkerhon said:


> Think you just answered my concerns about a July trip - I’m sensing nightmare scenario!


For those who wish to arrive at the parks on one of the first buses, it is recommended you arrive at your bus stop 90 mins before park opening.


----------



## jillinastoria

scrappinginontario said:


> For those who wish to arrive at the parks on one of the first buses, it is recommended you arrive at your bus stop 90 mins before park opening.



Agree with this — here now, and we have arrived at our bus stop at AKL every morning 90 minutes before park opening (closer to 75 minutes for MK and AK, although that made me a little nervous). We’ve made the first bus every time and been there for rope drop or close to it. But families arriving only 60 minutes before don’t always seem to make it, FYI.


----------



## gharter

scrappinginontario said:


> For those who wish to arrive at the parks on one of the first buses, it is recommended you arrive at your bus stop 90 mins before park opening.


Good to know.  I'd read this before and sounds like it hasn't changed.


----------



## 1GoldenSun

scrappinginontario said:


> For those who wish to arrive at the parks on one of the first buses, it is recommended you arrive at your bus stop 90 mins before park opening.


Is this 90 minutes before the actual scheduled opening?


----------



## gharter

jillinastoria said:


> Agree with this — here now, and we have arrived at our bus stop at AKL every morning 90 minutes before park opening (closer to 75 minutes for MK and AK, although that made me a little nervous). We’ve made the first bus every time and been there for rope drop or close to it. But families arriving only 60 minutes before don’t always seem to make it, FYI.


When you get to the bus stop 75-90 minutes before park opening, are there many people in line for the bus?
Are the parks still opening about 45 minutes before the posted time?


----------



## jillinastoria

gharter said:


> When you get to the bus stop 75-90 minutes before park opening, are there many people in line for the bus?
> Are the parks still opening about 45 minutes before the posted time?



We have generally first or second in line, but with many families arriving 5 or 10 minutes after us. 

And yes, parks seem to open almost exactly 45 minutes before the official posted time.


----------



## scrappinginontario

1GoldenSun said:


> Is this 90 minutes before the actual scheduled opening?


90 mins before scheduled park opening.  Eg If a park is scheduled to open at 8AM you’d want to arrive at your bus stop at 6:30 AM.


----------



## nerdyone

We are going on May 13th for 5 nights.  When were here back in 2019, we avoided the bus by taking mini vans or lyfts.  Is this something you can still do?


----------



## scrappinginontario

nerdyone said:


> We are going on May 13th for 5 nights.  When were here back in 2019, we avoided the bus by taking mini vans or lyfts.  Is this something you can still do?


Uber and Lyft are still available.


----------



## GreyStr0ke

We got to the bus stop at SSR today at 9:40 and we’re the first people at the turnstiles at Epcot this morning and third in line for Test Track.


----------



## nerdyone

scrappinginontario said:


> Uber and Lyft are still available.


is it Mini Vans or normal Lyft?


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

nerdyone said:


> is it Mini Vans or normal Lyft?


Normal Lyft.  Minnie Vans are no longer in service.


----------



## scrappinginontario

nerdyone said:


> is it Mini Vans or normal Lyft?


Minnie Vans have not been reinstated since the reopening so it’s normal Lyft.  If you're asking what type of vehicles Lyft uses, I'm sorry but I don't know as I've never used a ride share.


----------



## limace

scrappinginontario said:


> Minnie Vans have not been reinstated since the reopening so it’s normal Lyft.  If you're asking what type of vehicles Lyft uses, I'm sorry but I don't know as I've never used a ride share.


They use whatever vehicle the driver owns-you’ll know before you book. On the bright side, it’ll be a fraction of the cost of Minnie Vans!


----------



## scrappinginontario

limace said:


> They use whatever vehicle the driver owns-you’ll know before you book. On the bright side, it’ll be a fraction of the cost of Minnie Vans!


Thanks.  I was helping the OP.  I plan on using Disney transportation for our upcoming trip as I have always found it meets our needs and I don't feel it necessary to spend extra $ on external transportation services.


----------



## GBRforWDW

scrappinginontario said:


> Thanks.  I was helping the OP.  I plan on using Disney transportation for our upcoming trip as I have always found it meets our needs and I don't feel it necessary to spend extra $ on external transportation services.


Yay for upcoming trip!


----------



## scrappinginontario

GBRforWDW said:


> Yay for upcoming trip!


Thank you!!!  We are SO hoping we can go this time although realistically a lot needs to happen.  The border closure and mandatory quarantine upon return are deal breakers right now but a lot can happen in the next 4 months so we're waiting and watching.  If we need to day again we will and oh how we'll celebrate once we eventually make it back to our happy place!!


----------



## limace

scrappinginontario said:


> Thanks.  I was helping the OP.  I plan on using Disney transportation for our upcoming trip as I have always found it meets our needs and I don't feel it necessary to spend extra $ on external transportation services.


Sorry yes, was clarifying for OP.


----------



## jillinastoria

scrappinginontario said:


> Thank you!!!  We are SO hoping we can go this time although realistically a lot needs to happen.  The border closure and mandatory quarantine upon return are deal breakers right now but a lot can happen in the next 4 months so we're waiting and watching.  If we need to day again we will and oh how we'll celebrate once we eventually make it back to our happy place!!



Good luck! Your posts have helped me so much on our trip, you deserve a great one!!


----------



## DCLMP

We just finished our 7 day trip today. The longest we waited in line was 40 minutes for FOP. We only rope dropped DHS on day one the second day we arrived at 830.

We got to to AK at 9am walked on Everest and dinosaur, 40 minutes for FOP and 25 for safari and about 30 for Kali. Lines all moved quickly. Navi was long as usual I would never wait more than 10 minutes for that ride so we always skip it.

Our two days at MK  we arrived around 845. Walked on splash, thunder, and HM. We waited 20 minutes for SM and around 30 for Pirates, and Buzz. The second day we added small world which was 20 minutes. If you can live without riding mine train which I can you can sleep in a bit.

Epcot we entered through the world showcase at ten and walked on everything. It was an easy day minus the torrential rain.

DHS I screwed up the boarding pass at 7am. We were one of the first ones in the park at 815. We walked on MMRR. Then we went to tower of terror and that screwed up our day it said 15 minutes it ended up being 40. They only had one elevator running by the time we got off the wait was 90 minutes. We did get a boarding pass at 1pm. We came back to the park at 6pm and there wasn’t much of a wait for anything.

Our second DHS day was great. We got boarding group 17. We arrived at 830 walked on Smugglers, 22 minutes for MMRR stated 30, rode ROTR, 40 minute wait for Aerosmith actual 20, 40 minutes for toy story actual20, old Star Wars 20 minutes. If you can live without riding slinky dog there is no reason to stress about being the first one in the park. If tower of terror is a must do I would head there first. We didn’t even attempt it the second day. With one or two elevators running it’s a mess.

It was a really great trip. I don’t see the point of getting up at 5am and waiting in line for an hour just to not have have to wait in line. It’s kind of counter productive. My advice would be to just get to the parks before nine and have a plan. Zig when everyone else zags. Such as don’t head to FOP first. Ride everything else first and then do FOP. FOP usually posts about 60 minutes all day but it’s closer to 35 or 40. The line moves quickly.

Park passes were sold out everyday for a trip. It still was a great trip. I’ll never get a trip like January or last August those were once in a lifetime. I really don’t know how things are going to work if they keep increasing capacity without some kind of fast pass system. 30 minutes waits are no big deal. If it starts getting to be an hour people aren’t going to be happy.


----------



## DCLMP

tinkerhon said:


> Think you just answered my concerns about a July trip - I’m sensing nightmare scenario!


You can read my previous post and  that was not my experience at all. We never had trouble getting on a bus around 8 to 830 am. I dont know what went on at 7 am with the people that wanted to be first in the park. Honestly I think people make this way more stressful than it needs to be. Get to the parks early, but I don’t see the point in getting to a bus stop at 630 , waiting in line for a bus and then waiting to get into the parks. That’s 90 minutes of waiting to avoid waiting.


----------



## Castlequeen5

DCLMP said:


> You can read my previous post and  that was not my experience at all. We never had trouble getting on a bus around 8 to 830 am. I dont know what went on at 7 am with the people that wanted to be first in the park. Honestly I think people make this way more stressful than it needs to be. Get to the parks early, but I don’t see the point in getting to a bus stop at 630 , waiting in line for a bus and then waiting to get into the parks. That’s 90 minutes of waiting to avoid waiting.


That was us too.  We did RD our first day at HS, but that was it.  We were in line for the Skyliner by 7:30 for a 9 opening.   But after that, we just tried to get there early.  For our first MK day, we arrived at the buses at 8:30 with a 10 minute wait.  Our 2nd MK day, we got there at 7:40 and got right on the bus.  Both days MK opened at 8.  We took an afternoon break both days.  And we still did everything we wanted to do.

For our family/group, trying to RD was not worth the wait or stress of getting up so early.  We got a little extra sleep and a lot of peace.  Just do whatever works for your group.  Everyone will be much happier that way!


----------



## mickeymom629

Gonflipin said:


> Has anyone who has recently gone have been able to change park reservations close to travel or while there? We are going next week, been watching the weather, and starting to get a little concerned. I’d like to switch around some park reservation days but of course there’s no availability to do that right now. Looks like it will be down pouring on us in MK if it stays this way.



We are in the same boat!  We are driving down tonight and it looks like a good chance of rain for the next several days.  We are only doing two days at the parks this trip - Tues and Wed.  I really don't like this park reservation system at all.


----------



## Haley R

mickeymom629 said:


> We are in the same boat!  We are driving down tonight and it looks like a good chance of rain for the next several days.  We are only doing two days at the parks this trip - Tues and Wed.  I really don't like this park reservation system at all.


We live an hour from Orlando. Yesterday we had a 90% chance of storms and it didn’t even rain. Not saying this won’t happen this week but it’s very possible it either won’t rain or might only rain for a bit


----------



## hereforthechurros

We’ve been a bunch and have taken MDE every time but once. Even when things were 100% capacity, even during holidays, even during breaks, I’ve never seen the MDE line 1/10 what is is today. I have pics I’ll post once I can rotate them, but it’s well past where the rentals car counters end. And it’s not spaced out!


----------



## Princess Katelet

jillinastoria said:


> Agree with this — here now, and we have arrived at our bus stop at AKL every morning 90 minutes before park opening (closer to 75 minutes for MK and AK, although that made me a little nervous). We’ve made the first bus every time and been there for rope drop or close to it. But families arriving only 60 minutes before don’t always seem to make it, FYI.



Is there a genuine LINE for the bus?  How do you ensure you are first or second (or tenth or twelfth) on the bus if you were the first or second (or tenth or twelfth) family to arrive at the bus stop?  My memory of WL morning waits were just a crowd of people milling about, with no line or first come firsts served type of thing going on.  If I drag myself out of bed to be at a bus stop by 6:30 before most anyone else, I want to make sure the latecomers don't steal my sleep deprived spot!!  How do I do that?  I'll be at SSR if that helps.

Thanks!


----------



## GADisneyDad14

hereforthechurros said:


> We’ve been a bunch and have taken MDE every time but once. Even when things were 100% capacity, even during holidays, even during breaks, I’ve never seen the MDE line 1/10 what is is today. I have pics I’ll post once I can rotate them, but it’s well past where the rentals car counters end. And it’s not spaced out!



Doesn’t look fun (posted at 11am).  Hope your wait doesn’t end up being too long.  


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1383435325511323657


----------



## preemiemama

hereforthechurros said:


> We’ve been a bunch and have taken MDE every time but once. Even when things were 100% capacity, even during holidays, even during breaks, I’ve never seen the MDE line 1/10 what is is today. I have pics I’ll post once I can rotate them, but it’s well past where the rentals car counters end. And it’s not spaced out!


I saw a few people posting pics on twitter- it is crazy long!  Interested to know how long it actually takes to get on to a bus...


----------



## Princess Katelet

loves to dive said:


> 4/13  8:30 am to 8:50 pm.
> 
> Got up around 6:30 to try to get ROTR, had atomic clock going on computer at the stroke of 7 hit join, join and no luck.   Oh well, no big deal.   Did score an ADR to HBD for 12:20 for lunch so that was good.
> 
> Went and had breakfast at the Fresh Med. Market at the Dolphin and walked over to HS.   In the gate by around 8:30.
> 
> Walked to ToT, posted wait time 13 min., walk on until the boiler room then 5 min. wait.
> Over to MMRR, posted wait time 20 min and it was.
> I don't do RRRC, hurts my neck and not even for science.  By now the park was officially open and the lowest wait time for the big ticket rides was 40 min.
> Went to ride MF, posted wait 60 min, was 40 so score.
> Over to SDD, posted wait 60 min and it was, this was the first bad line of the day, nothing like yesterday but there were a couple of kids that felt they needed to throw tantrums about every 4th line and would sit while about 5 lines opened in front,   parents tried bribing but that didn't work.
> Alien saucers was posted 30 min. and I was wasting time until lunch so hopped in that line, it was 30 min.   another family of bad kids in front and behind me.
> Went into One Man's Dream and about halfway through the exhibit they announced the movie was going to start in 4 min. so I went to watch that.   Love that movie.
> Did my on line check in at HBD and meandered over in that direction and was called to eat.   I sat down at exactly 12:20.  Ordered my Cobb Salad and glass of wine and decided why not try for RotR at 1, can't hurt.   Got boarding group 138.   Celebrated with a piece of grapefruit cake.
> I don't ride Star Tours since it makes me sick, not even for science.
> Went through a couple of shops on the way out of the park.   Caught the boat back to Dolphin and some pool time.
> Back to HS around 4ish and wandered through some shops.   Wandered around Star Wars watching Storm Troopers and waving at Chewy (cause he's my man).
> BG called at 5:51.   In line at 5:55.  Into first pre-show at 6:20.
> Decided to ride the skyliner to Epcot.   Why do they make you go to CB first then double back right where you started?   That route must have been designed by the engineers who designed spaghetti junction on 75 in Atlanta, drunk as skunks.   Could have walked from HS to Epcot faster and probably could have taken the boat and gotten there faster but did it for science.
> Am doing the garden graze at the F&G booths so got the Lemon Magdalena cake in Morocco.   Not the best thing I've had so far, actually needed a knife to cut it.   Wandered through WS, stopping to look at topiaries and went into America and looked at the Soul exhibit.   Second garden graze item for the day (actually got one other yesterday grilled vegetables) Pineapple skewer at Refreshment Outpost,  nice big spear of pineapple with Tajin seasoning on it, I'd get that again.
> Saw ride in Mexico was posted 5 min. so wandered over there.   I'm not a fan of this ride since they changed it but, well science.  Wait to get in the pyramid was 5 min, wait to get on the ride 10 min.   Headed back through the two shops at the front of WS, through Canada and GB and back to Dolphin.   Walked out of the gates at 8:50 pm.
> 
> Tomorrow MK day.




MF??  Wracking my brain...canNOT decode this ride name.  I wish the acronym list was ALWAYS on the side of these posts.  I have a huge  four inch blank section on my screen next to every post which could be utilized for that.


----------



## Princess Katelet

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Doesn’t look fun (posted at 11am):
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1383435325511323657



Sooooo...anyone want to explain how to get uber or lyft or taxi to SSR?  Especially to someone who never ever in their life has taken an uber or lyft or taxi??  Also, how much would it be and what would the tip need to be?


----------



## Honeypot

Princess Katelet said:


> MF??  Wracking my brain...canNOT decode this ride name.  I wish the acronym list was ALWAYS on the side of these posts.  I have a huge  four inch blank section on my screen next to every post which could be utilized for that.


Millennium Falcon : Smugglers Run?


----------



## Helvetica

Princess Katelet said:


> Sooooo...anyone want to explain how to get uber or lyft or taxi to SSR?  Especially to someone who never ever in their life has taken an uber or lyft or taxi??  Also, how much would it be and what would the tip need to be?



Download the app and tell it where you want to go. The app will give you a description of the car and the photo of the driver and it will tell you where you need to be. I think MCO has a special place for ride-shares (I’ve never used it at the airport). That’s pretty much it.

Uber and Lyft both have estimators on how much it will probably cost. 

https://www.uber.com/us/en/price-estimate/


----------



## Lsdolphin

hereforthechurros said:


> We’ve been a bunch and have taken MDE every time but once. Even when things were 100% capacity, even during holidays, even during breaks, I’ve never seen the MDE line 1/10 what is is today. I have pics I’ll post once I can rotate them, but it’s well past where the rentals car counters end. And it’s not spaced out!



Not surprised...Coronado is completely sold out!  Sounds like we may be better off taking Uber instead of ME tomorrow


----------



## Princess Katelet

Honeypot said:


> Millennium Falcon : Smugglers Run?



Thank you!  Is that ride any good?  Does it have huge lines?  I assume it's in the Star Wars section?  Do you still need reservations for the Star Wars section, or just for Rise of the Resistance?


----------



## DisneyFive

mickeymom629 said:


> We are in the same boat!  We are driving down tonight and it looks like a good chance of rain for the next several days.  We are only doing two days at the parks this trip - Tues and Wed.  I really don't like this park reservation system at all.



I don't even look at the rain forecasts anymore for Orlando.   I do look at the temperature forecast though.  Case in point, our very first trip to WDW was in 2010 for 7 nights and before we flew down I was super worried because the forecast showed rain every day.  I was super bummed.  We ended up having a _*slight rain for a few hours only one evening the the entire trip*_.  The other 6 1/2 days were absolutely gorgeous.  Rain in WDW is a fickle beast.  It can be pouring rain at Epcot and dry at Animal Kingdom.

Wishing you clear skies.

Dan


----------



## FCDub

Princess Katelet said:


> Thank you!  Is that ride any good?  Does it have huge lines?  I assume it's in the Star Wars section?  Do you still need reservations for the Star Wars section, or just for Rise of the Resistance?



The only thing you need a boarding group for is Rise of the Resistance.


----------



## Linkura

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Doesn’t look fun (posted at 11am).  Hope your wait doesn’t end up being too long.
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1383435325511323657


This makes me SO glad I hired a private car to/from the airport.  Same folks I've used for Universal in the past.  If there's even a CHANCE of running into something like this, I don't want to be a part of it.  I also have no idea how this could even happen.  There's never even been a line the times I've used it.


----------



## scrappinginontario

hereforthechurros said:


> We’ve been a bunch and have taken MDE every time but once. Even when things were 100% capacity, even during holidays, even during breaks, I’ve never seen the MDE line 1/10 what is is today. I have pics I’ll post once I can rotate them, but it’s well past where the rentals car counters end. And it’s not spaced out!


 We had this happen one trip.  Wasn't fun but it moved and once on the bus we put it behind us and moved on with our trip!  


Princess Katelet said:


> Is there a genuine LINE for the bus?  How do you ensure you are first or second (or tenth or twelfth) on the bus if you were the first or second (or tenth or twelfth) family to arrive at the bus stop?  My memory of WL morning waits were just a crowd of people milling about, with no line or first come firsts served type of thing going on.  If I drag myself out of bed to be at a bus stop by 6:30 before most anyone else, I want to make sure the latecomers don't steal my sleep deprived spot!!  How do I do that?  I'll be at SSR if that helps.
> 
> Thanks!


 It depends on which resort you stay at.  The value resorts have dedicated lines which I love as it keeps things in order.  One of the many reasons I enjoy the value resorts.  The moderates have bus stations but not actual queues. Not sure how people manage those.


----------



## MinnieLove44

Hi! I found these boards super helpful in planning my trip, so I wanted to share our experience this past week.
This was our first trip since Covid. We are a family of 4, two girls 6 and 9. We stayed at the Contemporary, and we were very happy with the resort. I found mobile ordering to be super easy if you did it early. We never had a problem with getting into the pool when we wanted to swim. 
We loved being able to walk to MK! We left the room at 7:00 am for an 8:00 opening. Went straight to 7DMT and I would say we were off the ride by 7:40. We got at least 6 rides done by 9:30. I found rope drop to be by far the most quiet time of the day. For Epcot, we got to the bus 90 minutes before scheduled opening. We were in the first group of people to line up for Test Track. We knocked out that and Soarin by official park opening. 
Overall, crowds were manageable, but definitely not low. It was very warm, and I did find we needed to take breaks more often to drink water and take masks off. 
We still had a wonderful time, but I think we will wait for more “normalcy” before returning. Still many magical memories made, and I am glad we went! 
Thanks to all of you for all of the helpful tips!


----------



## LovesBelle

Question for anyone recently there who had a vacation package. Do they mail you the mini golf vouchers in advance? I know they used to but wondered if it’s different now.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

LovesBelle said:


> Question for anyone recently there who had a vacation package. Do they mail you the mini golf vouchers in advance? I know they used to but wondered if it’s different now.


I got mine in the box with the magic bands I ordered.  I believe if you don’t get MBs you can pick them up at the front desk, but not positive on that.


----------



## SDKMom

nerdyone said:


> We are going on May 13th for 5 nights.  When were here back in 2019, we avoided the bus by taking mini vans or lyfts.  Is this something you can still do?


I've been wondering about this too. We were there in February 2020, and Uber/Lyft worked amazingly well, but I've been wondering how it might be different now. I've read posts indicating that ride shares are being held until parking lots open. Does anyone know if that's still the case? Just wondering if we can still make rope drop this way.


----------



## Araminta18

Trying to plan a trip for the end of May, and wondering if there's anything that closes early that people were surprised by, or that I should be aware of?  hate to plan on something that pre-COVID was open normal hours only to discover it closes early during these current times.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Princess Katelet said:


> Thank you!  Is that ride any good?  Does it have huge lines?  I assume it's in the Star Wars section?  Do you still need reservations for the Star Wars section, or just for Rise of the Resistance?


You've never needed reservations for Galaxy's Edge (the Star Wars land), you just need a boarding group to be able to ride Rise.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Doesn’t look fun (posted at 11am).  Hope your wait doesn’t end up being too long.
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1383435325511323657



What’s the trick for scoring an early MDE boarding group? Stay off the airline’s WiFi? Click “I’ve Landed” just as the plane touches ground? Don’t delay by trying to add everyone in your party?


----------



## beesly

luv2cheer92 said:


> You've never needed reservations for Galaxy's Edge (the Star Wars land), you just need a boarding group to be able to ride Rise.



They actually did use a virtual queue to enter Galaxy’s Edge when the land first opened, but I think it only lasted about two days.


----------



## luv2cheer92

beesly said:


> They actually did use a virtual queue to enter Galaxy’s Edge when the land first opened, but I think it only lasted about two days.


Oops, you're right. It was so short-lived though that I totally forgot about it!


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

I think they bailed on it midday opening day, IIRC


----------



## HiStitch626

Tom Sawyer island will close at dusk as well the raft  that takes you back-and-forth. The river boat usually closes early also. You would also want to keep an eye out on Carousel of Progress, and the Hall of Presidents if it is reopened by then. Their last show is usually before park close. Everything else should be open, if you go into MDE you can check a traction times to see if they match the park hours.


----------



## Makmak

LovesBelle said:


> Question for anyone recently there who had a vacation package. Do they mail you the mini golf vouchers in advance? I know they used to but wondered if it’s different now.


We got luggage tags and the mini golf/espn passes yesterday for our trip at start of May (we did not order new magic bands).


----------



## scrappinginontario

Makmak said:


> We got luggage tags and the mini golf/espn passes yesterday for our trip at start of May (we did not order new magic bands).


Were these mailed to your home?


----------



## Raisincain

Linkura said:


> This makes me SO glad I hired a private car to/from the airport.  Same folks I've used for Universal in the past.  If there's even a CHANCE of running into something like this, I don't want to be a part of it.  I also have no idea how this could even happen.  There's never even been a line the times I've used it.



Hi there!

Do you mind me asking which ride service you used and the price? Thanks for any help!


----------



## DanaCeppy

We just got home from 5 nights yesterday. Here’s a quick recap of our trip.
Sunday- drove over from the west coast. Left our house at 9 and was at Pop by 11. I was trying to beat the rain that was looming over us. Thankfully we made it before the crazy storm came in. We had reservations at beaches and cream for 2:50 and had planned on using the sky liner but with the storm it was shut down so we took an Uber with the hopes of it coming back on when we were done eating. We loved beaches and cream and decided to try to go here once every trip! The rain had slowed down when we were done but the sky liner wasn’t running yet so we took an Uber back. Since the storm had passed we spent the rest of the evening in the pool. 
Monday- HS- we werent trying to make rope drop any day but we were just planning on being there close to opening. We were up at 6:30 and I was able to score boarding group 28 for ROTR at 7am. We got in line for the sky liner a little after 7:30. There was a line to get in HS as it wasn’t open yet by the time we got off the sky liner. It opened and we walked on MMRR and then went to our Hollywood and Vine breakfast reservation. When we got off we headed into toy store land and got in line for TSMM. It was posted at 35 mins but we only waited about 15/20. When we got off our boarding group  was called so we headed over to Star Wars land. When we got over there it was down so we waited a few minutes and it came back up so we got in line. My 5 year old hated the escape pod part and cried but we loved it. After we got off we walked around and saw Chewy and Rey and then saw some storm troopers interacting with the crowd. They were fun. We decided to skip Smugglers Run since my daughter didn’t like ROTR. We did Alien Swirling Saucers next and then had lunch at Sci-Fi. On our way over to lunch we saw chop and dale having a picnic. After lunch we went on Star Tours and then headed back to Pop. We spent the rest of the day in the pool and did mobile ordering at Pop for dinner.
Tuesday- MK. Got up at 6 and put in our mobile order for 7am breakfast at Pop. We were done eating a little after 730 and got in the bus line. We were on the bus at 7:48 and in MK a little after 8. I put in our mobile order lunch time for 1230-1 at cosmic rays. We didn’t want any headliners since my 5 year old decided she didn’t want to do them anymore she just liked watching them on YouTube. We did Haunted Mansion, PP, It’s a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, and Tea cups. We decided that we wanted lunch a little early so I changed the time and we ate. After lunch we did buzz, the speedway, dumbo, Ariel, and then went over to Tom saywer island. On our way we saw the princesses by the castle and then saw Gaston, moana, Alice, and Peter Pan in Frontierland. We spend some time at Tom saywer island and then headed out for the day. Spent the evening at the pool, did another mobile order for pop for dinner. We took a walk over to AOA and on the way back played at the playground before going in for showers. 
Wednesday- Epcot- we slept in a little this day and then got breakfast at Pop. Got on the Skyliner and got to Epcot around 1045. We headed over to Frozen and when we got off Elsa was out so we got in line for her. We went to Mexico and when we got out the princesses were riding by and then Mickey and the gang passed by. We then headed to figment and did the Pixar shorts show. Pooh was out with his butterfly net and then did some excerises. It was so cute. We then went to the land. We decided to skip soarin and test track since my 5 year old didn’t want to be brave . Instead we did living with the land and ate at sunshine seasons. Next up was Nemo and the aquarium where we found an awesome CM with a scavenger hunt book for us to do. then we checked out the butterfly garden. We stopped to get an orange bird cup and I got the wine slushy it was so good. We went walking around the countries and my daughter fell asleep in her stroller. We hung out at the American pavilion got a bit until she woke up. Then we went to Italy for dinner at via Napoli. After dinner we finished up the countries and headed back to pop on the Skyliner. 
Thursday- MK- same plan as Tuesday and got to MK a little after 8 and I placed our mobile order for cosmic rays. This time we headed to adventure land and did jungle cruise, flying carpets, and pirates. Then we hit haunted mansion, it’s a small world, and mickeys philarmagic. We went to lunch and relaxed for a bit. Next was buzz, Pooh, teacups, and Ariel. We decided to do some shopping so we went to sit mickeys where I saw the stepsisters out so we ran over to talk to them. We had planned on stopping on Main Street for some cupcakes. But they were closed for refurbishment  we left and went back to pop for swimming and dinner. 
Overall we had a great trip even though we missed some of the big rides since my daughter didn’t want to try them. We didn’t have very long waits and I really liked mobile ordering. Can’t wait until our next trip!


----------



## sophy1996

On a recent YouTube video they noted the safari at AK closes an hour before the park closes.

ETA:  this was in response to a question on a thread that apparently was folded into this thread, about things closing earlier than park closing time.


----------



## auntlynne

Princess Katelet said:


> Thank you!  Is that ride any good?  Does it have huge lines?  I assume it's in the Star Wars section?  Do you still need reservations for the Star Wars section, or just for Rise of the Resistance?



Is it good?  It’s a simulator style ride with a good video.  I get seasick on It.  My sister says she can skip it in the future - but plans to re-ride Flight of Pandora in AK multiple times (another simulator ride) on our next visit.  You get an assigned duty of pilot or engineer and have tasks to complete (buttons to push).  It’s on my “Been there, rode that list.”  I’d rather ride RocknRollercoaster, Towerof Terror, Mickey Minnie Runaway Railway, sing at Frozen, Toy Story Midway Mania or try to get on Slinky Dog Dash.  And I never ride Star Tours due tio motion sickness.  

Smuggler’s Run is a popular ride with a wait Time that varies throughout the day - but there are opportunities to get decent waits, unlike Tower of Terror and its fairly consistent long wait.

Yes, it is in the heart of Galaxy’s Edge, whether coming from the front of the park or from Toy Story Land.

Why not give it a try.


----------



## Makmak

scrappinginontario said:


> Were these mailed to your home?


Yes! They arrived yesterday and there are reports on another thread that people are receiving daily envelopes with luggage tags to their homes. One person received 8 in a row so perhaps there are some IT issues???
Edited: to clarify he has one trip upcoming but has received several separate mailings referencing the same single upcoming trip and containing the luggage tags/mini golf/espn coupons like there was some glitch while other were reporting the same thing happening to them:they were receiving way too many mailings. Then there were people saying theirs arrived AFTER their trip so there do seem to be some odd things going on with the package coupon/tag mailings.


----------



## LovesBelle

Makmak said:


> Yes! They arrived yesterday and there are reports on another thread that people are receiving daily envelopes with luggage tags to their homes. One person received 8 in a row so perhaps there are some IT issues???
> Edited: to clarify he has one trip upcoming but has received several separate mailings referencing the same single upcoming trip and containing the luggage tags/mini golf/espn coupons like there was some glitch while other were reporting the same thing happening to them:they were receiving way too many mailings. Then there were people saying theirs arrived AFTER their trip so there do seem to be some odd things going on with the package coupon/tag mailings.


Does the mini golf coupon have an expiration date? We booked a split stay and the first hotel is the one that is a package, while the second is resort only. I am trying to figure out if I have to call to make that second hotel a package too since that’s the point at which we probably would want to play mini golf. But if there aren’t dates on the vouchers, maybe we could still use them.


----------



## Makmak

LovesBelle said:


> Does the mini golf coupon have an expiration date? We booked a split stay and the first hotel is the one that is a package, while the second is resort only. I am trying to figure out if I have to call to make that second hotel a package too since that’s the point at which we probably would want to play mini golf. But if there aren’t dates on the vouchers, maybe we could still use them.


The little golf coupon is not dated, but the fine print says it must be presented with the Magical Extras card which is dated the date of check in to date of check out. I found that odd since we are allowed more of a range than that for our package theme park tickets!


----------



## LovesBelle

Makmak said:


> The little golf coupon is not dated, but the fine print says it must be presented with the Magical Extras card which is dated the date of check in to date of check out. I found that odd since we are allowed more of a range than that for our package theme park tickets!


Thanks! That’s what I needed to know. Guess I will call!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

LovesBelle said:


> Thanks! That’s what I needed to know. Guess I will call!


I just used the golf coupons 2 weeks ago and they did not ask for the magical extras card, just FYI


----------



## scrappinginontario

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I just used the golf coupons 2 weeks ago and they did not ask for the magical extras card, just FYI


It depends on who is checking you in.  One time I didn't have both portions so was charged for our mini-golfing.  I later had to take both parts to guest relations at our resort to have the charges reversed.


----------



## LovesBelle

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I just used the golf coupons 2 weeks ago and they did not ask for the magical extras card, just FYI


Did you have to reserve a time to play or do you just show up?


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

LovesBelle said:


> Did you have to reserve a time to play or do you just show up?


You can do either, but if you just show up there could be a wait.


----------



## hereforthechurros

preemiemama said:


> I saw a few people posting pics on twitter- it is crazy long!  Interested to know how long it actually takes to get on to a bus...


It took 65 minutes to get on a bus. Not fun.


----------



## GreyStr0ke

I just returned from my fifth COVID trip to Disney and would like to share my experience this time around. The dates were 4/14-4/17 with just my sister joining me. We stayed Wednesday night at the Aloft and the rest of the trip in a Preferred Studio at SSR. This would be my first time staying at SSR in about 7 years so I can also share some thoughts on the resort as well.

We did MK Thursday and Epcot on Friday. Also, we took advantage of the close proximity of SSR to Disney Springs so we could get those coveted Gideon’s Cookies!!!

*Wednesday, April 14th – Disney Springs*

This has been said time and time again on these boards and it’s so very true it bears repeating. DO NOT go to DS at night! It was miserable and made me not want to go back again. Gone are the days of being able to just grab a drink from a bar and be on your way. We drove up after work and went straight here. Every place was a 30 minute wait just to get a drink. We had reservations at Wine Bar George and had some apps and decided to just leave after that.

*Thursday, April 15th – Disney Springs (Gideons) + Magic Kingdom (Plaza dinner)*

One of the main reasons for this trip was to get cookies! I got a text before 8am letting me know the room was ready at SSR. We decided to drive over to DS but the garages weren’t open yet. We ended up just parking at SSR and walking over which ended up being prefect. We were let in at 9am and booked it to Gideons. It paid off as we were the 4th in line. Gideons opened early and we were out of there by 10am. Huge difference between the early mornings and nights at Springs. It was actually pleasant in the morning.

SSR was absolutely fabulous. Our room was in Congress Park and was refurbed recently. The walks to the Springs pool and the Paddock pool were relatively quick. Food options for lunch at the Paddock pool were limited and not that great. Bad food seemed to be the theme this trip, but I’ll get to that in a bit. Unfortunately, quiet time at the theme pools seems to be nonexistent. I’ve never heard so many screaming kids in my life. I seriously feel bad for the lifeguards having to listen to that all day long while the parents look on smiling. The resort needs a sit down restaurant. Otherwise busses were on point. Does take a while at drop off if you're staying in Congress Park.

Magic Kingdom (4:30pm – Close)

I admittedly haven’t been to MK since reopening, so this was pretty exciting. Tried the Spring Rolls in Adventure Land and loved them. Tried a Dole Whip and threw it out. I don’t get that craze guys.

Pirates had a posted 30 min wait at 5pm and it was accurate.

BTMR had a posted 35 min wait and it was a straight walk on.

HM had a posted 10 min wait and was a walk on.

I was excited to try dinner at The Plaza for my first time, but that was a big mistake! That may have been the worst food experience I’ve ever had at Disney. Absolutely disgusting food. Luckily the meal took less than 30 minutes and we were out of there. No theming and if you don’t have a view of the castle there’s nothing going for this place.

After dinner we headed to Tomorrowland and SM had a posted 20 min wait but was only 10.

Buzz had a 15 min posted wait and took 10. Social distancing was sketchy in this line to say the least.

At that point it was getting close to closing and the lines somehow seemed to have gotten worse so we headed out and tried to grab more Spring Rolls but the cart was closed.

As we were walking out we noticed a huge lack of CM’s around. It just seemed very chaotic.

*Friday, April 16th – Epcot (Flower & Garden)*

Epcot

I’m almost positive that our bus was one of the first in Epcot at around 9:55. We were let in shortly after and were third in line for TT. They held us inside the queue until about 10:25.

None of the booths were open yet so we gave Frozen a shot and it was a 10 minute wait. The plexiglass on this one is bad. It has water stains on it and is really distracting.

At 11am we were let into Mexico and got margaritas at La Cava.

Ate at way too many booths and all were really good. The only complaint would be the pretzel bread with ham and cheese in Germany. We took a mid-day break and came back for dinner at Chefs de France. We were really excited to try this place for the first time, but it just didn’t work out. I guess they opened Monsieur Paul up to fit more people and they were just not prepared. No music playing and no one came to our table for over 10 minutes. Decided to just get up and leave which worked out well because we got to eat at more booths. The lines for the booths weren't bad at all both in the afternoon and at night.

The bus driver at the end of the night was awesome and took a poll to see where everyone was getting off at SSR which resulted in only two stops!

It was a really good trip and definitely not as busy as it was in March.  Happy to answer anything if anyone has any questions.

*TLDR*: Avoid Disney Springs at night. Get to Gideon’s early. Waits at MK were really good on Thursday night. Saratoga Springs was great for this trip and a nice change. Food wasn't so great at restaurants but the booths at Epcot were really good. The rides where the queues switch back and forth seemed to have the worst social distancing. Bring back more CM's!


----------



## BridgetBordeaux

Thanks for taking the time to update us on your trip.

Next time, try a Dole Whip Swirl (with vanilla ice cream).

It has a very different character and is the flavor that we love.


----------



## Haley R

GreyStr0ke said:


> I just returned from my fifth COVID trip to Disney and would like to share my experience this time around. The dates were 4/14-4/17 with just my sister joining me. We stayed Wednesday night at the Aloft and the rest of the trip in a Preferred Studio at SSR. This would be my first time staying at SSR in about 7 years so I can also share some thoughts on the resort as well.
> 
> We did MK Thursday and Epcot on Friday. Also, we took advantage of the close proximity of SSR to Disney Springs so we could get those coveted Gideon’s Cookies!!!
> 
> *Wednesday, April 14th – Disney Springs*
> 
> This has been said time and time again on these boards and it’s so very true it bears repeating. DO NOT go to DS at night! It was miserable and made me not want to go back again. Gone are the days of being able to just grab a drink from a bar and be on your way. We drove up after work and went straight here. Every place was a 30 minute wait just to get a drink. We had reservations at Wine Bar George and had some apps and decided to just leave after that.
> 
> *Thursday, April 15th – Disney Springs (Gideons) + Magic Kingdom (Plaza dinner)*
> 
> One of the main reasons for this trip was to get cookies! I got a text before 8am letting me know the room was ready at SSR. We decided to drive over to DS but the garages weren’t open yet. We ended up just parking at SSR and walking over which ended up being prefect. We were let in at 9am and booked it to Gideons. It paid off as we were the 4th in line. Gideons opened early and we were out of there by 10am. Huge difference between the early mornings and nights at Springs. It was actually pleasant in the morning.
> 
> SSR was absolutely fabulous. Our room was in Congress Park and was refurbed recently. The walks to the Springs pool and the Paddock pool were relatively quick. Food options for lunch at the Paddock pool were limited and not that great. Bad food seemed to be the theme this trip, but I’ll get to that in a bit. Unfortunately, quiet time at the theme pools seems to be nonexistent. I’ve never heard so many screaming kids in my life. I seriously feel bad for the lifeguards having to listen to that all day long while the parents look on smiling. The resort needs a sit down restaurant. Otherwise busses were on point. Does take a while at drop off if you're staying in Congress Park.
> 
> Magic Kingdom (4:30pm – Close)
> 
> I admittedly haven’t been to MK since reopening, so this was pretty exciting. Tried the Spring Rolls in Adventure Land and loved them. Tried a Dole Whip and threw it out. I don’t get that craze guys.
> 
> Pirates had a posted 30 min wait at 5pm and it was accurate.
> 
> BTMR had a posted 35 min wait and it was a straight walk on.
> 
> HM had a posted 10 min wait and was a walk on.
> 
> I was excited to try dinner at The Plaza for my first time, but that was a big mistake! That may have been the worst food experience I’ve ever had at Disney. Absolutely disgusting food. Luckily the meal took less than 30 minutes and we were out of there. No theming and if you don’t have a view of the castle there’s nothing going for this place.
> 
> After dinner we headed to Tomorrowland and SM had a posted 20 min wait but was only 10.
> 
> Buzz had a 15 min posted wait and took 10. Social distancing was sketchy in this line to say the least.
> 
> At that point it was getting close to closing and the lines somehow seemed to have gotten worse so we headed out and tried to grab more Spring Rolls but the cart was closed.
> 
> As we were walking out we noticed a huge lack of CM’s around. It just seemed very chaotic.
> 
> *Friday, April 16th – Epcot (Flower & Garden)*
> 
> Epcot
> 
> I’m almost positive that our bus was one of the first in Epcot at around 9:55. We were let in shortly after and were third in line for TT. They held us inside the queue until about 10:25.
> 
> None of the booths were open yet so we gave Frozen a shot and it was a 10 minute wait. The plexiglass on this one is bad. It has water stains on it and is really distracting.
> 
> At 11am we were let into Mexico and got margaritas at La Cava.
> 
> Ate at way too many booths and all were really good. The only complaint would be the pretzel bread with ham and cheese in Germany. We took a mid-day break and came back for dinner at Chefs de France. We were really excited to try this place for the first time, but it just didn’t work out. I guess they opened Monsieur Paul up to fit more people and they were just not prepared. No music playing and no one came to our table for over 10 minutes. Decided to just get up and leave which worked out well because we got to eat at more booths. The lines for the booths weren't bad at all both in the afternoon and at night.
> 
> The bus driver at the end of the night was awesome and took a poll to see where everyone was getting off at SSR which resulted in only two stops!
> 
> It was a really good trip and definitely not as busy as it was in March.  Happy to answer anything if anyone has any questions.
> 
> *TLDR*: Avoid Disney Springs at night. Get to Gideon’s early. Waits at MK were really good on Thursday night. Saratoga Springs was great for this trip and a nice change. Food wasn't so great at restaurants but the booths at Epcot were really good. The rides where the queues switch back and forth seemed to have the worst social distancing. Bring back more CM's!


I’ve seen others mention social distancing being bad with buzz. Why is that?


----------



## DCLMP

Haley R said:


> We live an hour from Orlando. Yesterday we had a 90% chance of storms and it didn’t even rain. Not saying this won’t happen this week but it’s very possible it either won’t rain or might only rain for a bit


I know I was so disappointed I was hoping that the rain clear out DHS.


----------



## Elle23

hereforthechurros said:


> It took 65 minutes to get on a bus. Not fun.



We landed a little after 1 pm today and there was no line at all for the Magical Express. We waited maybe 5 minutes for the bus to come.

Granted, it was the most unmagical ride ever on some ugly generic charter bus.   But we at least we didn’t wait long for it.


----------



## DCLMP

GreyStr0ke said:


> I just returned from my fifth COVID trip to Disney and would like to share my experience this time around. The dates were 4/14-4/17 with just my sister joining me. We stayed Wednesday night at the Aloft and the rest of the trip in a Preferred Studio at SSR. This would be my first time staying at SSR in about 7 years so I can also share some thoughts on the resort as well.
> 
> We did MK Thursday and Epcot on Friday. Also, we took advantage of the close proximity of SSR to Disney Springs so we could get those coveted Gideon’s Cookies!!!
> 
> *Wednesday, April 14th – Disney Springs*
> 
> This has been said time and time again on these boards and it’s so very true it bears repeating. DO NOT go to DS at night! It was miserable and made me not want to go back again. Gone are the days of being able to just grab a drink from a bar and be on your way. We drove up after work and went straight here. Every place was a 30 minute wait just to get a drink. We had reservations at Wine Bar George and had some apps and decided to just leave after that.
> 
> *Thursday, April 15th – Disney Springs (Gideons) + Magic Kingdom (Plaza dinner)*
> 
> One of the main reasons for this trip was to get cookies! I got a text before 8am letting me know the room was ready at SSR. We decided to drive over to DS but the garages weren’t open yet. We ended up just parking at SSR and walking over which ended up being prefect. We were let in at 9am and booked it to Gideons. It paid off as we were the 4th in line. Gideons opened early and we were out of there by 10am. Huge difference between the early mornings and nights at Springs. It was actually pleasant in the morning.
> 
> SSR was absolutely fabulous. Our room was in Congress Park and was refurbed recently. The walks to the Springs pool and the Paddock pool were relatively quick. Food options for lunch at the Paddock pool were limited and not that great. Bad food seemed to be the theme this trip, but I’ll get to that in a bit. Unfortunately, quiet time at the theme pools seems to be nonexistent. I’ve never heard so many screaming kids in my life. I seriously feel bad for the lifeguards having to listen to that all day long while the parents look on smiling. The resort needs a sit down restaurant. Otherwise busses were on point. Does take a while at drop off if you're staying in Congress Park.
> 
> Magic Kingdom (4:30pm – Close)
> 
> I admittedly haven’t been to MK since reopening, so this was pretty exciting. Tried the Spring Rolls in Adventure Land and loved them. Tried a Dole Whip and threw it out. I don’t get that craze guys.
> 
> Pirates had a posted 30 min wait at 5pm and it was accurate.
> 
> BTMR had a posted 35 min wait and it was a straight walk on.
> 
> HM had a posted 10 min wait and was a walk on.
> 
> I was excited to try dinner at The Plaza for my first time, but that was a big mistake! That may have been the worst food experience I’ve ever had at Disney. Absolutely disgusting food. Luckily the meal took less than 30 minutes and we were out of there. No theming and if you don’t have a view of the castle there’s nothing going for this place.
> 
> After dinner we headed to Tomorrowland and SM had a posted 20 min wait but was only 10.
> 
> Buzz had a 15 min posted wait and took 10. Social distancing was sketchy in this line to say the least.
> 
> At that point it was getting close to closing and the lines somehow seemed to have gotten worse so we headed out and tried to grab more Spring Rolls but the cart was closed.
> 
> As we were walking out we noticed a huge lack of CM’s around. It just seemed very chaotic.
> 
> *Friday, April 16th – Epcot (Flower & Garden)*
> 
> Epcot
> 
> I’m almost positive that our bus was one of the first in Epcot at around 9:55. We were let in shortly after and were third in line for TT. They held us inside the queue until about 10:25.
> 
> None of the booths were open yet so we gave Frozen a shot and it was a 10 minute wait. The plexiglass on this one is bad. It has water stains on it and is really distracting.
> 
> At 11am we were let into Mexico and got margaritas at La Cava.
> 
> Ate at way too many booths and all were really good. The only complaint would be the pretzel bread with ham and cheese in Germany. We took a mid-day break and came back for dinner at Chefs de France. We were really excited to try this place for the first time, but it just didn’t work out. I guess they opened Monsieur Paul up to fit more people and they were just not prepared. No music playing and no one came to our table for over 10 minutes. Decided to just get up and leave which worked out well because we got to eat at more booths. The lines for the booths weren't bad at all both in the afternoon and at night.
> 
> The bus driver at the end of the night was awesome and took a poll to see where everyone was getting off at SSR which resulted in only two stops!
> 
> It was a really good trip and definitely not as busy as it was in March.  Happy to answer anything if anyone has any questions.
> 
> *TLDR*: Avoid Disney Springs at night. Get to Gideon’s early. Waits at MK were really good on Thursday night. Saratoga Springs was great for this trip and a nice change. Food wasn't so great at restaurants but the booths at Epcot were really good. The rides where the queues switch back and forth seemed to have the worst social distancing. Bring back more CM's!


We were at Gideons on the the 15th too. We got there at 6pm and waited about 30 minutes. In January we walked in at 9pm with no wait. Maybe its just luck. We stayed in a SSR preferred in January and its now my favorite resort. We stayed at YC this trip and although it was nice being able to walk to two parks I missed walking to DS in the evenings for Dinner. There isn't really any restaurants in Epcot that I like. The money I would have saved staying at SSR would have covered Lyfts to the parks. Instead I paid more the resort and Lyfted to DS. Lesson learned.  I shouldn't promote SSR. I'm hoping it stays the redheaded step child of deluxes and continues to have the best discounts.


----------



## BeBopaSaurus

hereforthechurros said:


> It took 65 minutes to get on a bus. Not fun.


That stinks. And not that this will make you feel better, but the last time I rented a car it took over 90 minutes.


----------



## DCLMP

BeBopaSaurus said:


> That stinks. And not that this will make you feel better, but the last time I rented a car it took over 90 minutes.


Rent from Alamo next time. You can now check-in online and go straight to your car. It was awesome.


----------



## preemiemama

hereforthechurros said:


> It took 65 minutes to get on a bus. Not fun.


That sucks.  Sorry.  Hope the rest of the trip is easier.


----------



## Linkura

Raisincain said:


> Hi there!
> 
> Do you mind me asking which ride service you used and the price? Thanks for any help!


Tony Hinds, r/t for WDW is $140.  In 2018-19 it was $100 r/t to Universal.  He came recommended by the good folks here in the Universal forums. aobh607@gmail.com 

Obviously not a bargain but service is A+.  Met me at luggage claim, escorted me right to his car right outside the terminal, offered an included grocery trip.  Was very punctual for the return to the airport as well.


----------



## nevergrowup826

hereforthechurros said:


> It took 65 minutes to get on a bus. Not fun.


imho that’s just about par to every other busy time I’ve been there. After having a 5 hour snow delay, arriving after MCO monorail closure at 1am (for construction) being hoarded like cattle into shuttles to get to the main terminal, picking up our luggage we had not planned on doing, and then waiting for more shuttles (not busses as it was after hours) to get to our hotel and finally arriving at our hotel at 3am a few years ago (and making a 7am rope drop the next morning) - I will never complain about DME again, it will truly be missed!


----------



## SwanVT2

DanaCeppy said:


> We just got home from 5 nights yesterday. Here’s a quick recap of our trip.
> Sunday- drove over from the west coast. Left our house at 9 and was at Pop by 11. I was trying to beat the rain that was looming over us. Thankfully we made it before the crazy storm came in. We had reservations at beaches and cream for 2:50 and had planned on using the sky liner but with the storm it was shut down so we took an Uber with the hopes of it coming back on when we were done eating. We loved beaches and cream and decided to try to go here once every trip! The rain had slowed down when we were done but the sky liner wasn’t running yet so we took an Uber back. Since the storm had passed we spent the rest of the evening in the pool.
> Monday- HS- we werent trying to make rope drop any day but we were just planning on being there close to opening. We were up at 6:30 and I was able to score boarding group 28 for ROTR at 7am. We got in line for the sky liner a little after 7:30. There was a line to get in HS as it wasn’t open yet by the time we got off the sky liner. It opened and we walked on MMRR and then went to our Hollywood and Vine breakfast reservation. When we got off we headed into toy store land and got in line for TSMM. It was posted at 35 mins but we only waited about 15/20. When we got off our boarding group  was called so we headed over to Star Wars land. When we got over there it was down so we waited a few minutes and it came back up so we got in line. My 5 year old hated the escape pod part and cried but we loved it. After we got off we walked around and saw Chewy and Rey and then saw some storm troopers interacting with the crowd. They were fun. We decided to skip Smugglers Run since my daughter didn’t like ROTR. We did Alien Swirling Saucers next and then had lunch at Sci-Fi. On our way over to lunch we saw chop and dale having a picnic. After lunch we went on Star Tours and then headed back to Pop. We spent the rest of the day in the pool and did mobile ordering at Pop for dinner.
> Tuesday- MK. Got up at 6 and put in our mobile order for 7am breakfast at Pop. We were done eating a little after 730 and got in the bus line. We were on the bus at 7:48 and in MK a little after 8. I put in our mobile order lunch time for 1230-1 at cosmic rays. We didn’t want any headliners since my 5 year old decided she didn’t want to do them anymore she just liked watching them on YouTube. We did Haunted Mansion, PP, It’s a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, and Tea cups. We decided that we wanted lunch a little early so I changed the time and we ate. After lunch we did buzz, the speedway, dumbo, Ariel, and then went over to Tom saywer island. On our way we saw the princesses by the castle and then saw Gaston, moana, Alice, and Peter Pan in Frontierland. We spend some time at Tom saywer island and then headed out for the day. Spent the evening at the pool, did another mobile order for pop for dinner. We took a walk over to AOA and on the way back played at the playground before going in for showers.
> Wednesday- Epcot- we slept in a little this day and then got breakfast at Pop. Got on the Skyliner and got to Epcot around 1045. We headed over to Frozen and when we got off Elsa was out so we got in line for her. We went to Mexico and when we got out the princesses were riding by and then Mickey and the gang passed by. We then headed to figment and did the Pixar shorts show. Pooh was out with his butterfly net and then did some excerises. It was so cute. We then went to the land. We decided to skip soarin and test track since my 5 year old didn’t want to be brave . Instead we did living with the land and ate at sunshine seasons. Next up was Nemo and the aquarium where we found an awesome CM with a scavenger hunt book for us to do. then we checked out the butterfly garden. We stopped to get an orange bird cup and I got the wine slushy it was so good. We went walking around the countries and my daughter fell asleep in her stroller. We hung out at the American pavilion got a bit until she woke up. Then we went to Italy for dinner at via Napoli. After dinner we finished up the countries and headed back to pop on the Skyliner.
> Thursday- MK- same plan as Tuesday and got to MK a little after 8 and I placed our mobile order for cosmic rays. This time we headed to adventure land and did jungle cruise, flying carpets, and pirates. Then we hit haunted mansion, it’s a small world, and mickeys philarmagic. We went to lunch and relaxed for a bit. Next was buzz, Pooh, teacups, and Ariel. We decided to do some shopping so we went to sit mickeys where I saw the stepsisters out so we ran over to talk to them. We had planned on stopping on Main Street for some cupcakes. But they were closed for refurbishment  we left and went back to pop for swimming and dinner.
> Overall we had a great trip even though we missed some of the big rides since my daughter didn’t want to try them. We didn’t have very long waits and I really liked mobile ordering. Can’t wait until our next trip!


Thank you for the trip report! It sounds like you had success!  So are characters doing meet and greets again?  Also, were the stores open on Main Street in Magic Kingdom?  Finally, what characters were at Hollywood and Vine?


----------



## lorileahb

scrappinginontario said:


> Were these mailed to your home?



We received the extra magic card and luggage tags a couple of weeks ago - mailed directly to our home by themselves for our trip at end of April.


----------



## eileen2664

Makmak said:


> Yes! They arrived yesterday and there are reports on another thread that people are receiving daily envelopes with luggage tags to their homes. One person received 8 in a row so perhaps there are some IT issues???
> Edited: to clarify he has one trip upcoming but has received several separate mailings referencing the same single upcoming trip and containing the luggage tags/mini golf/espn coupons like there was some glitch while other were reporting the same thing happening to them:they were receiving way too many mailings. Then there were people saying theirs arrived AFTER their trip so there do seem to be some odd things going on with the package coupon/tag mailings.



lol I think that might have been me. I lost count but we got something like 13 shipped to our house (we had a 3 way split stay). When we arrived yesterday there was another waiting at the desk for us .The ones at home all got the same luggage tags, the one we got here was a different character.


----------



## HiStitch626

SwanVT2 said:


> Thank you for the trip report! It sounds like you had success!  So are characters doing meet and greets again?  Also, were the stores open on Main Street in Magic Kingdom?  Finally, what characters were at Hollywood and Vine?



No
Yes
It's Disney Jr.   Vamperina, Doc McStuffins, Fancy Nancy, Goofy


----------



## Makmak

Can someone link the May “I’m going to cancel park res and ADR” thread? I can find other months but I can’t find May. I know a lot of people looking here are going soon also so I’ll mention it here since people are friendly and will let me know/delete if it’s not allowed! (We are resort package ppl)

May 3 cancelling Epcot and a Garden Grill at 7:55 for two and San Angel Inn for two at 9:45.

Saturday May 8 cancelling HS and Hollywood and Vine 12:20 for 4 and Ogas 8:25 for two

I’ll  wait to get the link for the cancellation board or to hear from someone if they want to coordinate. Please delete if not allowed.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Makmak said:


> Can someone link the May “I’m going to cancel park res and ADR” thread? I can find other months but I can’t find May. I know a lot of people looking here are going soon also so I’ll mention it here since people are friendly and will let me know/delete if it’s not allowed! (We are resort package ppl)
> 
> May 3 cancelling Epcot and a Garden Grill at 7:55 for two and San Angel Inn for two at 9:45.
> 
> Saturday May 8 cancelling HS and Hollywood and Vine 12:20 for 4 and Ogas 8:25 for two
> 
> I’ll  wait to get the link for the cancellation board or to hear from someone if they want to coordinate. Please delete if not allowed.


This information is normally found on the dining board rather than on this thread.  You should be able to find more information there.  

The thread found here is the one to list and follow dining cancellations:  https://www.disboards.com/threads/may-2021-cancelled-adr-thread-guidelines-in-first-post.3831462/


----------



## Jennyonecoin

Hi, can someone in the parks recently tell me if anyone saw clip on hand sanitizers or clip on hand sanitizer holders in the shops? Looking for something cute/Disney themed to clip on my bag for the parks.  Thanks!


----------



## Gearbm95

Just got here yesterday...staying at Gaylord Palms (reallyyyyy great pool complex) and spent the evening bouncing around Disney, some observations...

- Wanted to do a truncated Monorail bar hop last night, but out Uber driver missed the turn for TTC and ended up just dropping us off at CR. The gate guard asked the driver and he said we had “dinner reservations”, she waved us on through.

- Wave Lounge was at capacity 6pm, didn’t put name down. CA Grill Lounge was quoted as a 90min wait for the lounge area, ended up taking about 60mins.

- Had some drinks at Outer Rim while waiting for CA Grill text. Watermelon Margarita was amazing! Apps and drinks at CA Grill were top notch!

- Uber’d from CR to Dolphin at 8:15pm to get boat to IG Epcot as we wanted to take the Skyliner to Riviera for our 9:15 ADR at Topolinos. Between the 30min wait for the boat and the 30min wait for the Skyliner at Epcot we missed our ADR lol.

- Walked around Riviera a little bit, nice place. Got a Uber to Disney Springs and scored a last minute 10:45 reservation at the Boathouse. Food and service were all great but service was a little slow, not the servers fault, they’re clearly short staffed and she had a few too many tables, very nice server tho!

- Disney Springs is def a cluster at night, the vibe felt MASSIVELY different from CR and RR to DS. I guess that’s to be expected though, much rowdier crowd and lots of people with no masks.


----------



## kristenabelle

scrappinginontario said:


> We had this happen one trip.  Wasn't fun but it moved and once on the bus we put it behind us and moved on with our trip!
> It depends on which resort you stay at.  The value resorts have dedicated lines which I love as it keeps things in order.  One of the many reasons I enjoy the value resorts.  The moderates have bus stations but not actual queues. Not sure how people manage those.



I haaaaate that BoardWalk has a station, but no lines. People clump, and latecomers waltz right up. Normally it doesn't bother me, but when bus capacity is significantly reduced it can be really unfair. /end rant. I do love that AKL/Riviera, WL have stations for specific parks, so you can "line up," sorta, for wherever you're going.


----------



## DisneyFive

lorileahb said:


> We received the extra magic card and luggage tags a couple of weeks ago - mailed directly to our home by themselves for our trip at end of April.



when you say luggage tags, you’re not talking magical express tags correct? I thought that you had to go get your checked bags now at baggage claim and bring everything with you on the magical express bus? They are not still doing the direct to the hotel room service with magical express anymore right?


----------



## DanaCeppy

SwanVT2 said:


> Thank you for the trip report! It sounds like you had success!  So are characters doing meet and greets again?  Also, were the stores open on Main Street in Magic Kingdom?  Finally, what characters were at Hollywood and Vine?


Not meet and greets like in the past. Elsa was out behind a fence and we could talk to her and take a pic and the step sisters were out at princess hall behind a barrier where we could talk to them. Pooh was in the grassy area by figment catching butterfly’s so he was farther away


----------



## DanaCeppy

SwanVT2 said:


> Thank you for the trip report! It sounds like you had success!  So are characters doing meet and greets again?  Also, were the stores open on Main Street in Magic Kingdom?  Finally, what characters were at Hollywood and Vine?


Stores were open but the confectionery was closed for refurbishment.
We saw goofy, vamperina, fancy Nancy, and doc mcstuffins 
Sorry the pics are sideways In the other post I don’t know how to fix that


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyFive said:


> when you say luggage tags, you’re not talking magical express tags correct? I thought that you had to go get your checked bags now at baggage claim and bring everything with you on the magical express bus? They are not still doing the direct to the hotel room service with magical express anymore right?


Magical Express is not delivering luggage.  Guests need to claim their own luggage at the airport and take it with them on DME.

The luggage tags mentioned above are the ones that have always been included with MagicBands and are used to identify your luggage with your home address and phone number.


----------



## DanaCeppy

Jennyonecoin said:


> Hi, can someone in the parks recently tell me if anyone saw clip on hand sanitizers or clip on hand sanitizer holders in the shops? Looking for something cute/Disney themed to clip on my bag for the parks.  Thanks!


There was a bunch of these kind at Pop next to the registers. My daughter had to have this one


----------



## scrappinginontario

DanaCeppy said:


> Stores were open but the confectionery was closed for refurbishment.
> We saw goofy, vamperina, fancy Nancy, and doc mcstuffins
> Sorry the pics are sideways In the other post I don’t know how to fix that


Although the confectionery is closed, there is a smaller location beside it with some items available there.

I had the same problem with pictures that were taken with my cell phone.  The secret to fixing is to make some sort of change (however minor) and resave.  They should then post correctly.


----------



## DanaCeppy

scrappinginontario said:


> Although the confectionery is closed, there is a smaller location beside it with items available there.
> 
> I had the same problem with pictures that were taken with my cell phone.  The secret to fixing is to make some sort of change (however minor) and resave.  They should then post correctly.


Yes it is open but they didn’t have cupcakes like I had promised my daughter we would pick up on the way out. They did have a bunch of other yummy treats but of course my 5 year old had her mind made up on a cupcake


----------



## luv2cheer92

scrappinginontario said:


> Magical Express is not delivering luggage.  Guests need to claim their own luggage at the airport and take it with them on DME.
> 
> The luggage tags mentioned above are the ones that have always been included with MagicBands and are used to identify your luggage with your home address and phone number.


I believe you only get the luggage tags when you book a package. At least that's how it's been in the past.


----------



## Leigh L

luv2cheer92 said:


> I believe you only get the luggage tags when you book a package. At least that's how it's been in the past.


I think so too. We've only gotten tags once and it was the one time we did a ticketless package (military). Usually we do room-only bookings.


----------



## LSUmiss

Are the resorts still doing the airline check-in for luggage or do you have to bring your own luggage to the airport?


----------



## Jennyonecoin

DanaCeppy said:


> There was a bunch of these kind at Pop next to the registers. My daughter had to have this one View attachment 569091


That’s perfect! Thank you. How much was it?


----------



## DMLAINI

How have the waits been for DME & how is mask compliance & social distancing at the Orlando International Airport?


----------



## sara_s

Hey all! I'll be hitting Epcot on Thursday for a spontaneous day trip. The posted hours say Epcot opens at 11 - has anyone gotten in earlier this past week? We'll be driving over from Titusville (to see the SpaceX launch) and would probably be in the area no later than 9am. Otherwise I'll have to figure out somewhere to hang out.


----------



## iujen94

Anyone who has been recently - any tips on seeing the Frozen Sing a Long at DHS?  How far in advance of a show should I plan to line up?


----------



## DCLMP

sara_s said:


> Hey all! I'll be hitting Epcot on Thursday for a spontaneous day trip. The posted hours say Epcot opens at 11 - has anyone gotten in earlier this past week? We'll be driving over from Titusville (to see the SpaceX launch) and would probably be in the area no later than 9am. Otherwise I'll have to figure out somewhere to hang out.


They start letting people in around 10am


----------



## DCLMP

DMLAINI said:


> How have the waits been for DME & how is mask compliance & social distancing at the Orlando International Airport?


There is no social distancing at the airport.


----------



## Leigh L

DMLAINI said:


> How have the waits been for DME & how is mask compliance & social distancing at the Orlando International Airport?


It's hit and miss. We've had some great experiences (always a few people who disregard rules). In February, it was awful at our gate for our departure home. My family was in another gate area across the terminal and it was great compliance there.

One thing I'd recommend upon arrival, if another flight is heading to the tram (or even just yours), wait for the next one. Everyone crowds on the first one that arrives. Every time we've gone, we wait the four minutes and pretty much are on by ourselves - we walk as far as we can to where the last car will be.

Edited to clarify


----------



## Leigh L

iujen94 said:


> Anyone who has been recently - any tips on seeing the Frozen Sing a Long at DHS?  How far in advance of a show should I plan to line up?


Not super recent, but I imagine it's only gotten busier.
I'd check in with the CM at the 45-minute mark to see what the line looks like. 30 minutes has been hit or miss for us twice. One miss in January, one barely got in in February, both 30-minutes before the show.


----------



## scrappinginontario

LSUmiss said:


> Are the resorts still doing the airline check-in for luggage or do you have to bring your own luggage to the airport?


No airline check-in at Disney resorts.  You must take your luggage with you.


DMLAINI said:


> How have the waits been for DME & how is mask compliance & social distancing at the Orlando International Airport?


As with all lines they change minute by minute.  There were reports yesterday of people waiting more than an hour from arriving at the DME line to boarding a bus and within an hour or 2 another family arriving and almost walking right onto the bus.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

luv2cheer92 said:


> I believe you only get the luggage tags when you book a package. At least that's how it's been in the past.





Leigh L said:


> I think so too. We've only gotten tags once and it was the one time we did a ticketless package (military). Usually we do room-only bookings.



Just confirming y’all are correct, bag name tags and other “Magical Extras” (eg, coupons, mini-golf vouchers, etc) only come with a Package booking, not a Room Only booking.


----------



## Leigh L

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Just confirming y’all are correct, bag name tags and other “Magical Extras” (eg, coupons, mini-golf vouchers, etc) only come with a Package booking, not a Room Only booking.


I was referring to the cute cartoon tags (unless I was misunderstanding the conversation  ). If so, those came with the magical extras with the ticketless package I did the one time.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

HiStitch626 said:


> No
> Yes
> It's Disney Jr.   Vamperina, Doc McStuffins, Fancy Nancy, Goofy


Oh wait!! Hollywood & Vine isnt Mickey & Minnie & Co?


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

DCLMP said:


> There is no social distancing at the airport.


Absolutely correct, there is not a hint of social distancing at any airport Ive been to.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Leigh L said:


> I was referring to the cute cartoon tags (unless I was misunderstanding the conversation  ). If so, those came with the magical extras with the ticketless package I did the one time.



Yes, those are what was being referred to (and what I was referring to).  Regular Packages w/ tickets and ticketless Packages (like what you had) are both still Packages, so they get the Magical Extras.  I think we’re basically saying the same thing.  

(Sorry this is a little OT for this thread)


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Oh wait!! Hollywood & Vine isnt Mickey & Minnie & Co?


No, it is other Disney Jr characters.

Update: Correcting my response based on what I learned from other responses.

Breakfast: Disney Jr characters

Lunch and Dinner: Minnie and friends.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

scrappinginontario said:


> No, it is other Disney Jr characters.


Is there a certain time of year or something that changes? I could swear i saw pics of mickey & minnie in seasonal outfits like halloween costumes? This makes me rethink our reservation, we dont watch Disney Jr stuff. Thought we’d see mickey & minnie


----------



## Leigh L

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Is there a certain time of year or something that changes? I could swear i saw pics of mickey & minnie in seasonal outfits like halloween costumes? This makes me rethink our reservation, we dont watch Disney Jr stuff. Thought we’d see mickey & minnie


Lunch and Dinner are Minnie, et al. (We did this in November)
Disney Jr. is for breakfast
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hollywood-studios/hollywood-and-vine/


----------



## Akck

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Is there a certain time of year or something that changes? I could swear i saw pics of mickey & minnie in seasonal outfits like halloween costumes? This makes me rethink our reservation, we dont watch Disney Jr stuff. Thought we’d see mickey & minnie



Minnie, Mickey & gang were there for Christmas and I believe Halloween. Our granddaughter just loved the socially distant character interactions.


----------



## SwanVT2

Akck said:


> Minnie, Mickey & gang were there for Christmas and I believe Halloween. Our granddaughter just loved the socially distant character interactions.


Did "gang" include Chip n Dale?


----------



## SwanVT2

Akck said:


> Minnie, Mickey & gang were there for Christmas and I believe Halloween. Our granddaughter just loved the socially distant character interactions.


Did "gang" include Chip n Dale?


----------



## Akck

SwanVT2 said:


> Did "gang" include Chip n Dale?



No, it was Goofy and Pluto.


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Is there a certain time of year or something that changes? I could swear i saw pics of mickey & minnie in seasonal outfits like halloween costumes? This makes me rethink our reservation, we dont watch Disney Jr stuff. Thought we’d see mickey & minnie


I updated my response after realizing other characters were there at lunch and supper that I was not aware of.  Minnie and friends.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

SwanVT2 said:


> Did "gang" include Chip n Dale?


I know Chip & Dale are at Garden Grill in Epcot.


----------



## DCLMP

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Absolutely correct, there is not a hint of social distancing at any airport Ive been to.


Social distancing aside MCO is a nightmare leaving. I love arriving it means I’m going to WDW or on a cruise, but leaving no thank you. I got TSA pre check just for MCO. I understand why Disney wants to drop you off 3 hours before your flight.


----------



## DMLAINI

Has anyone done Animal Kingdom later in the day instead of rope dropping & if so, how were the wait times?


----------



## DCLMP

DMLAINI said:


> Has anyone done Animal Kingdom later in the day instead of rope dropping & if so, how were the wait times?


You can check the wait times on the app from anywhere. You can check them now for instance.


----------



## disneyfan150

ENJDisneyFan said:


> You can do either, but if you just show up there could be a wait.


How do you reserve a time? tia


----------



## HiStitch626

disneyfan150 said:


> How do you reserve a time? tia



Call the Play line - (407) WDW-PLAY


----------



## Geomom

Here now.  (2 adults and DD16) 

Staying at Boardwalk.  Arrived at mco on Saturday, 4/17, 4pm.  Once we picked up luggage and got to magical express, only a few people in front of us to check in and got on a bus in 15 minutes.  Mobile ordered pizza and then got dessert from bakery and screen door shop.

Today (Sunday)
Hollywood studios.  I was the only one awake at 7am and did not get a boarding group.  Got to park after 10 am. (Walked) Went on toy story midway mania, alien saucers, star tours, mickey movie, lunch at backlot express and tried to get boarding group at 1pm.  DD16 was successful!!!! Group 108.  Did Muppets, mickey minnie railway, shopped, boarding group called around 4pm.  First time on ride!!  It was awesome.  We had mostly avoided spoilers, so didn't know exactly what to expect.  Ride times went down after 4:30.  Went on alien saucers again (5 min), saw the line for Slinky looked a lot shorter than the posted 50 minutes...took 20!    Toy story midway mania again (10 min), star tours again (10 min).  6:35 dinner at Hollywood brown derby.  Got a bunch of appetizers and dessert.  Had the margarita flight.  Everything was delicious!

Got so much more done than we expected (11 rides/attractions), didn't wait more than 35 minutes for anything we went on.


----------



## DCLMP

Geomom said:


> Here now.  (2 adults and DD16)
> 
> Staying at Boardwalk.  Arrived at mco on Saturday, 4/17, 4pm.  Once we picked up luggage and got to magical express, only a few people in front of us to check in and got on a bus in 15 minutes.  Mobile ordered pizza and then got dessert from bakery and screen door shop.
> 
> Today (Sunday)
> Hollywood studios.  I was the only one awake at 7am and did not get a boarding group.  Got to park after 10 am. (Walked) Went on toy story midway mania, alien saucers, star tours, mickey movie, lunch at backlot express and tried to get boarding group at 1pm.  DD16 was successful!!!! Group 108.  Did Muppets, mickey minnie railway, shopped, boarding group called around 4pm.  First time on ride!!  It was awesome.  We had mostly avoided spoilers, so didn't know exactly what to expect.  Ride times went down after 4:30.  Went on alien saucers again (5 min), saw the line for Slinky looked a lot shorter than the posted 50 minutes...took 20!    Toy story midway mania again (10 min), star tours again (10 min).  6:35 dinner at Hollywood brown derby.  Got a bunch of appetizers and dessert.  Had the margarita flight.  Everything was delicious!
> 
> Got so much more done than we expected (11 rides/attractions), didn't wait more than 35 minutes for anything we went on.


It sounds like you had an awesome day. We get so much more done without fast passes. Waiting in line for 30-45 minutes when the line is constantly moving feels like nothing. I'm not sure how this is going to work out if they increase capacity, but I've really enjoyed our trips this year. I did not enjoy WDW with fast pass plus. I felt like I waited around all day between fast passes because everything had a two-hour standby line. I know in the future they will probably need some kind of fast pass system, but I hope the great minds at Dinsey come up with something better than what they had in the past. I did like the original fast pass system.


----------



## canyoncam

DCLMP said:


> Social distancing aside MCO is a nightmare leaving. I love arriving it means I’m going to WDW or on a cruise, but leaving no thank you. I got TSA pre check just for MCO. I understand why Disney wants to drop you off 3 hours before your flight.



Way back in the day, even pre pre-covid, times it used to be 2 hours and the DME bus video always showed you getting back in plenty of time to last minute shop. That never happened for me and after one near missed flight I started giving DME a flight scheduled an hour earlier than mine about 5 years ago. I should go in and do that right now!!!


----------



## Disneymomma18

DMLAINI said:


> How have the waits been for DME & how is mask compliance & social distancing at the Orlando International Airport?


We arrived yesterday to the magical express line around 2:40. The line stretched back for what seemed forever. It moved quickly but ended up being 20-30 minutes just to make it to the check in. Once we got to the check in they told us it could be 45-60 minutes before we got on a bus. Luckily it was only 20. Total wait time was just about an hour from the time we got in line to the time we got on a bus. There was no social distancing until we got assigned our resort specific line. Mask compliance was overall really good. Some children without masks but that didn’t bother me as I have a 14 month old and 2 year old.


----------



## Gonflipin

Arrived yesterday, got to the ME check in desk around 4:40pm, no line to check in. Was told could be 45-60 minute wait (it was hot in there, no AC? Even the CM’s were fanning themselves). Bus came in 15 minutes. Yaaay! Dragging all that luggage is a big downer, those yellow luggage tags were very missed!!!!


----------



## slyster

I read here and there that DS is really crowded in the evenings.  I was thinking of getting reservations to Homecoming or Raglan Road for dinner one night.  I'm thinking of skipping any shopping as it seems it will be a nightmare.  Are folks still getting dinner reservations or skipping it due to the massive crowds?  This would be for first week of September.  Thanks!


----------



## fly girl

nerdyone said:


> We are going on May 13th for 5 nights.  When were here back in 2019, we avoided the bus by taking mini vans or lyfts.  Is this something you can still do?



As previously stated, yes you can Uber/Lyft.

When we were there over spring break, Lyft was significantly cheaper than Uber. (Swan to AK on Lyft was $11 versus Uber for $40.  I kid you not. And it was regular Uber X, not XL or Black, insanity!!)

Also, order your ride share early. To say they are very busy in the mornings is an understatement. If you don’t order early, you’ll wait. 20 minutes was the typical wait for pick up. I read on here some tried ordering it the night prior, and they waited even longer.  So be proactive and order your ride at least 20 minutes before you want to go.


----------



## zeferjen

slyster said:


> I read here and there that DS is really crowded in the evenings.  I was thinking of getting reservations to Homecoming or Raglan Road for dinner one night.  I'm thinking of skipping any shopping as it seems it will be a nightmare.  Are folks still getting dinner reservations or skipping it due to the massive crowds?  This would be for first week of September.  Thanks!



I'm thinking to try to go on a week night instead of weekend, hoping it is less crowded.


----------



## LCoulter

We were at WDW 4/10-4/17.  The masks were uncomfortable in the heat.  The wait times were longer than what we are used too.  A lot is closed or not running.  I thought there were supposed to be a few fireworks set off here and there at night but there were none.  We only saw a couple cavalcade.  They pushed most of the que into the hot sun.  The heat wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it could have been since there was a breeze and the worst humidity of the week was the day we checked out.  We did still have a great time but I really don’t want to go again until things are more normal.

We had no problem with hopping.   Mobile ordering is so sloooow with many people waiting around for their orders.  I really don’t think there are enough restaurants open for the number of people.  HS closes restaurants and food carts by 5 so there was no place to grab dinner. 

Most people were good about wearing masks and social distancing when they could.  Some areas were so crowded that it was impossible to social distance.  It seemed very crowded.  In lines there were a few times when we had to tell people to back off because they were right up on top of us.  And a few times where DH or I would hang way back from our group to keep people off our backs.

We went to Universal two days and they were better with sanitizer.  At Disney sometimes it was hard to find the sanitizers or they ran out.  I think there must be a delay on the sanitizers because DH will get some and it won’t dispense for me or will take a while before it will finally dispense.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

slyster said:


> I read here and there that DS is really crowded in the evenings.  I was thinking of getting reservations to Homecoming or Raglan Road for dinner one night.  I'm thinking of skipping any shopping as it seems it will be a nightmare.  Are folks still getting dinner reservations or skipping it due to the massive crowds?  This would be for first week of September.  Thanks!


We did a dinner reservation and then just left after, which was fine.  If you want to do shops or just walk around I would suggest going early in the day.


----------



## gometros

zeferjen said:


> I'm thinking to try to go on a week night instead of weekend, hoping it is less crowded.



Weekdays are definitely the better choice. DS on weekends is a nightmare and if you drive parking is worse.


----------



## mickeymom629

We (DH, DS26 and I) arrived by car from MD yesterday morning.  Our villa wasn't ready at OKW so we went to DS about 10:30 - I had updated our check-in time for 10:30 from noon.  Found parking easily on the lowest level.  Lots of people already there and a long line for Gideons bakery that we noticed.  We went to Guest Services to exchange old tickets for new ones to put on our MDE when we get home so as not to cause an issue with the tickets we wanted to prioritize for this week.  It looked like only a few people in there but there were already about 5 before us.  Got icy drinks at Candy Cauldron and then pretzels at Wetzel's.  We wandered around a lot in between.  It was cloudy and humid but no rain.  Most people wore masks properly.  One guy took off his mask to sneeze on the ground as we were having our icy drinks.  We left about noon, when it was getting too warm and crowded and sat at the OKW quiet pool while hoping to get our room assignment.  Watched one of those white cranes slowly creep on the plants and snatch up a small lizard (not sure about the correct name of either animal). Got our room assignment about 1:30!  It never rained where we were all day (just a few brief sprinkles), though it looked like it would.  Today we are just relaxing.  Tomorrow is supposed to be AK day.  I noticed that AK is now open for tickets...maybe because of weather predictions?  TP also showed HS availability for today but I don't see it on the Disney site.  
Hoping that the weather for tomorrow gets better than the forecast for our AK day


----------



## Dis703

I have just returned from a 6 day visit 4/12-4/17 and just wanted to share a bit of my impressions. First, I was there in December for 4 days for the first time during COVID and I was really impressed both with how they were handling precautions as well as how good the guests were about distancing and using face masks properly.  So it was after that experience that I decided I was comfortable bringing my kids for a visit.

However, since December it seems like guests are way more lax about wearing masks properly and I only once in 6 days heard a CM ask someone to cover their nose.  People were getting away with walking and eating and standing in line with masks completely off.  And the efforts to distance seemed to have gone out the window much of the time as well.  It definitely felt more crowded than early December too.  If this had been my experience in December I probably would not have taken my kids this time around.  But we made the most of it and were as cautious as we could manage.

Certain areas like Pandora there were too many people to even attempt to distance, but CMs were trying to keep people moving.

They were still using dividers and spacing people out on rides that didn't have them so that was good to see.  I didn't hear nearly as many announcements reminding people about masks this time as I did in December. Not sure if it would have helped or not.

We still had a lot of fun and lines weren't too bad.


----------



## Raisincain

Linkura said:


> Tony Hinds, r/t for WDW is $140.  In 2018-19 it was $100 r/t to Universal.  He came recommended by the good folks here in the Universal forums. aobh607@gmail.com
> 
> Obviously not a bargain but service is A+.  Met me at luggage claim, escorted me right to his car right outside the terminal, offered an included grocery trip.  Was very punctual for the return to the airport as well.




Thank you Linkura!!


----------



## WEDWDW

Dis703 said:


> I have just returned from a 6 day visit 4/12-4/17 and just wanted to share a bit of my impressions. First, I was there in December for 4 days for the first time during COVID and I was really impressed both with how they were handling precautions as well as how good the guests were about distancing and using face masks properly.  So it was after that experience that I decided I was comfortable bringing my kids for a visit.
> 
> However, since December it seems like guests are way more lax about wearing masks properly and I only once in 6 days heard a CM ask someone to cover their nose.  People were getting away with walking and eating and standing in line with masks completely off.  And the efforts to distance seemed to have gone out the window much of the time as well.  It definitely felt more crowded than early December too.  If this had been my experience in December I probably would not have taken my kids this time around.  But we made the most of it and were as cautious as we could manage.
> 
> Certain areas like Pandora there were too many people to even attempt to distance, but CMs were trying to keep people moving.
> 
> They were still using dividers and spacing people out on rides that didn't have them so that was good to see.  I didn't hear nearly as many announcements reminding people about masks this time as I did in December. Not sure if it would have helped or not.
> 
> We still had a lot of fun and lines weren't too bad.


I think the "level" of adherence to Covid protocols at WDW has "peaked" and will continue to slowly deteriorate with time.

It is inevitable.

We are going down Saturday for our third Covid WDW trip and are now vaccinated.

We will still follow every Protocol to the letter,but even with that being our attitude,we,rightly or wrongly, will not feel the same level of "concern" as on the other 2 trips.

For example,if another Guest gets within 4 feet of us in a queue instead of 6 feet,the "freak out" factor just won't be there for us like it was on the other 2 trips.

It would be awesome if everybody would still act at WDW as they did in the early days of Covid World,but it is not realistic IMO-human nature is in play.


----------



## LSUmiss

WEDWDW said:


> I think the "level" of adherence to Covid protocols at WDW has "peaked" and will continue to slowly deteriorate with time.
> 
> It is inevitable.
> 
> We are going down Saturday for our third Covid WDW trip and are now vaccinated.
> 
> We will still follow every Protocol to the letter,but even with that being our attitude,we,rightly or wrongly,we will not feel the same level of "concern" as on the other 2 trips.
> 
> For example,if another Guest gets within 4 feet of us in a queue instead of 6 feet,the "freak out" factor just won't be there for us like it was on the other 2 trips.
> 
> It would be awesome if everybody would still act at WDW as they did in the early days of Covid World,but it is not realistic IMO-human nature is in play.


Yep this has been my prediction from the beginning that before wdw does away with the mask policy, we will see it be more & more lax & enforced less & less.


----------



## NapKag5

If I have a 8 day package with my girlfriend, and our friend wants to join us at one of the parks for a day. Can we add her to our Friends and Family List and she will just appear for that one day she has a ticket and park pass?


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## Catvondita

When people say MCO is chaotic is it the security lines that people aren't distancing? Or are there large groups of people crowding by their gates? Are they at least wearing the masks properly ?


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## ENJDisneyFan

Catvondita said:


> When people say MCO is chaotic is it the security lines that people aren't distancing? Or are there large groups of people crowding by their gates? Are they at least wearing the masks properly ?


When people say MCO is chaotic is it the security lines that people aren't distancing?   YES

Or are there large groups of people crowding by their gates? YES 

Are they at least wearing the masks properly ?  Sometimes


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## MinnieInVA

We just got back on Saturday from a 7 night trip (4/10-4/17)

4/10 (arrival day): flight landed around 4:30 pm, and we had a rental car reserved thru Enterprise. The line for the desk was long-ish, but we waited like 30 seconds for a kiosk to open up, did the check-in that way, and we were off to the garage within 5 minutes. We arrived at Beach Club Villas around 5:30 and hadn't gotten a room notification yet, so we stopped by the front desk. The app hadn't gotten around to notifying us that our room was ready, so we got our room number and settled in. I'd gotten groceries from Garden Grocer, so that was dinner, and then we walked over to Epcot Guest Relations to activate our annual passes (I had purchased them months prior to the pandemic in anticipation of an inevitable price increase, which worked out well for this trip!). We zipped over to Les Halles to get macarons and some pastries for the next morning's breakfast, then back to the resort for the night.

4/11 (MK): We got to the bus stop around 6:40 am for an 8 am open. The line at BC wasn't long, no trouble getting on the first bus at around 6:43. We were at the tap stiles by 7 am, and the gates opened about 2 minutes later. We zipped over to SDMT, which opened a couple minutes after we got in line. We had a productive morning catching a lot of outdoor rides since we knew some bad weather was coming. Sure enough, at noon the skies opened up and proceeded to storm for the next 5 hours. It was crazy. I'd planned to try to stick it out, but my DD (11) was over it about 30 minutes into the storm, so we opted to leave...along with about 90% of the rest of the guests. It took 90 minutes to get on a bus back to BCV, and it was miserable. We hung out in the room til the storm passed around 5, then we headed into Epcot for dinner and a couple of attractions.

4/12 (EP): We got to the IG a little after 10, the line wasn't awful. I think the gates opened about 10:15, and we were off to Frozen (walk on). We did most of the rides throughout the day, trying to balance what was close with what had the most reasonable wait times. We had a dinner reservation at Teppan Edo at 4 (yummy!) and after a couple more hours of wandering/riding rides, we had dessert at Les Glaces. World Showcase was a little busy, but not what I considered ridiculous. 

4/13 (Blizzard Beach/Disney Springs): We arrived at Blizzard Beach at about 10:40, got towels from the Beach Haus, and then waited at the bridge until 11 for rope drop. We grabbed loungers in the shade near Polar Pub and headed off to the chairlift for Teamboat Springs. That was a walk-on at that point, and we had a 10 minute wait about an hour later when we went again. We did most of the slides and had lunch over the course of about 3 hours. Of note, someone grabbed one of our loungers while we were out doing slides, which I thought was a no-no in these times....but apparently that doesn't matter to some people. We survived. We left around 2:45 because we wanted to go to Disney Springs before it got too late. We did get there around 4, and it was dead...relatively speaking. For reference, Gideon's had a 25 minute line. Not a virtual queue, the actual line. It was awesome. We did the Coke store international tasting tray, had dinner at Polite Pig, got cookies at Gideon's, did the Photopass Studio (with masks, since it was indoors), and shopped. I think we left around 7:30-8 pm, and it still didn't look crazy crowded. Maybe Tuesdays are the day to go?

4/14 (HS): We experienced the 7 am glitch where for about 2 minutes the app told everyone that they didn't have a park pass. I gave up after 15 seconds because I assumed it was an issue on my end, but screenshotted my issue so I could see the Guest Experience Team when we got there. We walked to HS and got there around 8:10. The gates opened around 5 minutes later. We headed for ToT, which unfortunately was down when we first arrived. So I decided to go see the GET folks and see if they could help us out with the RoTR boarding group problem I had (which I learned later wasn't just me, but I didn't know that at the time). I wound up spending the rest of the pre-opening time in line for the GET. They couldn't help with RoTR, but they did give me a fastpass to an attraction of my choice, and we chose SDD. We bounced around the park, choosing rides based on proximity and wait times, and had lunch at Docking Bay 7 at around 12:45. While eating, we tried for a RoTR boarding group. I did a speed check and the Ping time for park wi-fi was way better than Verizon's, so I used wi-fi to get boarding group 87! Unfortunately, RoTR was having issues that day, so our group didn't end up being called until nearly 5:45pm. After lunch, we left the park via the Skyliner for a couple hours, then returned via Skyliner as our RoTR group was getting close. 

4/15 (AK): We drove over since the bus times for BC were causing me angst, and were there not long after rope drop. We headed straight for FoP, and that was practically a walk on. Went to Navi after that, which was also practically a walk-on. We bounced around the park the rest of the day, trying (and failing) to find shade. Expedition Everest continued to have fairly short (20 minute) most of the day, even though the line looked insanely long. This was the one day I regretted not having fast pass. Normally, I would FP for FoP, so we could do Kilimanjaro Safaris first before the heat of the day makes the animals sleepy. We ended up not doing KS until 2:30 or so, and that was the least interesting safari ride I've ever experienced at AK. We still did everything we planned that day, but the lack of shade really hit us hard that day. We had dinner at Beaches and Cream that evening, which was still yummy...especially the Fudge Mudslide sundae!

4/16 (MK): day 2 at MK, we got there around 7 am on the bus, and the tap stiles didn't open til around 7:15. We again zipped over to SDMT, which didn't start running until around 7:40, so a much slower start than on Sunday. We did rides until around 11, then left for a few hours of break time. We came back around 3:30 and stayed til closing. We had dinner at Skipper Canteen. The food was tasty, but our server was apparently in training, so her jokes weren't quite as well delivered or plentiful as I'd been looking forward to. However, her trainer stopped by near the end of our meal to see how the trainee was doing, and he more than delivered on the jokes and puns. 

4/17 (EP): Departure day (boooooo.....), but our flight didn't leave until 6:30 pm, so we spent a few hours at Epcot. We got to IG at 9:45, and the tap stiles opened shortly after 10. We hadn't done Soarin' yet, so we beelined over to that. The CMs in the Land pavilion were noting that "Soarin' is not planned to open until 11", but they were letting everyone in to line up anyway. As I suspected, the ride did actually start running around 10:30, so we got in on one of the first showings of the day. We caught a few more favorites, had our traditional Mickey ice cream bar/sandwich, caught Canada Far and Wide, Beauty and the Beast singalong, grabbed macarons for the road from Les Halles, then over to Via Napoli for a 2 pm lunch. After that, it was time to head back to BCV to grab our bags from bell services, load up the rental, and head back to the airport.

This trip was different, but I expected that, and different isn't always bad. If you are either vehemently pro-mask or vehemently anti-mask, this is not the time for you to be at Disney. You'll either be annoyed all day at the anti-maskers disregarding the rules (which weren't by any means widespread) or you'll be annoyed with the "sheeple" abiding by "stupid mask rules and social distancing." I did enjoy not being told to fill in all available space, even though about 25% of the lines I was in had line creepers behind me. Masks weren't as bad as I thought they would be in the 80s outside. Shopping was far more limited than I'd hoped. Disney didn't take nearly as much of my money as I'd thought they might. We made do with the limited food offerings...we certainly didn't starve. I generally didn't miss fastpass, the standby lines moved very well, and I was generally able to avoid the longest rides by either rope-dropping or keeping a watchful eye on wait times/monitoring the Touring Plans app. It was also nice to see some of the standby line features that I've missed out on in the past because I always fastpass the rides. I would go again, if given the opportunity, even despite the current restrictions.


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## OhioStateBuckeye

*Friday April 16 DHS 9-8 and Epcot 11-11*

Thought I would do another play by play of our parks day on last Friday, in case people are interested about timing and what you can get done. I'll have some general impressions at the end.

7:00 am: Tried for Rise boarding groups. My boyfriend got group 2. Which was fine, this was our second attempt at riding and on our first attempt I got group 1. So I'm still winning (but really, whose keeping score?). 

7:05: breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass. We'd had breakfast there one other time, I think I liked it better the first time but it was still good.

7:38: started walking to DHS.

7:58: arrived at the DHS temperature check. Hovered a bit because they only had the left side open and last time we'd gone they'd had the right and left both open. Our hovering paid off and they opened the right side right around 8 am so we were able to be the third group back in a line instead of being about 40ish groups back on the left hand side. Left hand side was closest to parking lot, right hand was close to Skyliner.

8:05: started to do temperatures. We were quickly through that and then through the tap styles. 

8:20: we had to wait for one train ahead of us to load then we were on Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway

8:29: backtracked to ToT and in line. The wait time said 13 minutes.

8:41: on our elevator.

When we came out of ToT the line now stretched all the way down the Fantasmic path. We had just beat the crowds. 

8:51: in line for Rockin' Rollercoaster

Had about a 10 minute wait.

We headed over to Rise, we had until 9:30 to ride. 

9:18: in line for Rise

9:38: off Rise

9:54: mobile ordered a drink at Ronto Roaster's and had a short sit down break.

10:21: in line for Star Tours

10:43: on ST, got the Force Awakens and Last Skywalker scenes. 

At this time we had to go to guest services to clear something up with our tickets. It ended up taking until 11:30 to finish, so the very nice CM offered us a FP for anything but Rise and we chose Smuggler's Run.

11:45: walked through One Man's Dream. It had been updated with some new dioramas since the last time I had went. Even had a couple new costumes: Jack Sparrow, Descendants and Mulan. 

12:20: mobile order at Rizzo's. I know most people hate this pizza but I really don't think it's that bad. Plus we discovered a room upstairs that made me think of local restaurants 'special room' that people reserved for birthday or wedding receptions.



12:54: Smuggler's Run. Had about a 5 minute wait in the FP line. The only bad thing about Smuggler's is we always seem to get engineer when it's just the two of us. We are both highly competitive and play a lot of video games. So engineer is pretty boring and our pilots crashed...a lot. If we had 9 lives like a cat we spent 'em all on that flight. 


1:30: headed out for the Skyliner so we could hop to Epcot. Skyliner ended up taking almost half an hour exactly to get there, but it was a nice break and the breeze was great.

We went back to Yacht to drop off our umbrellas since there had not been any rain. On the way back to Epcot we saw Donald and Goofy coming out. It was just really nice to see some characters! We didn't end up seeing any character cavalcades that day. I wonder if the parks were just way too crowded?



2:30: entered Epcot



We saw Pooh out with his butterfly net.

3:28: walked onto Nemo

No pictures to take time stamps from but we next waited about 10 minutes for Spaceship Earth.

We also went on Living with the Land.

4:33: spent a few minutes in the preview center to cool off. The park walkways were stupendously crowded at this time and the masks were making us really hot.



We walked around World Showcase trying to find some food booths to sample. We noticed the line for Frozen was all the way over to the bridge to the African Outpost. We ended up wasting our time and did not stop at any booths. The lines were somewhat long and the sun was really hot and we were starting to get tired and cranky.



5: we ended up in the festival center by Canada. We went to the Cider house booth, Brian got a dark chocolate raspberry tart, said it was fine. I got the house made potato and cheddar biscuit with salmon tartare which I thought was pretty good. Thankfully we found a table with chairs and had a nice break and listened to the piano player.

5:37: back on the Skyliner to DHS. I wanted to take advantage of (hopefully) shorter lines at the end of the park hours. We really had wanted to hop to Epcot to eat at food booths, which really didn't work out. Our short stint at Epcot was the only really bad part of the day.  Too crowded, too hot.

6: back to DHS

6:10: another go on Star Tours. Wait was only about 10 minutes this time. We got the Pod Race and Naboo scenes. Was nice to see the throwback scenes.

6:41: picked up a mobile order that we'd made around 2 for Woody's Lunchbox. I tried the pop tart which was just ok, and Brian had the totchos, which were much better. Seating in this area sucks. We could only find a standing table and I was not very pleased. Luckily the table next to us got up to leave and offered us their table after a few minutes.

7: in line for TSMM, was a walk on

We thought about Smuggler's again but the chance to be engineers just didn't make it worthwhile.

7:25: in line for Mickey and Minnie's again. 10 minute wait. When we were done we had 12 minutes left til park close.



7:51: in line for another go on ToT. 



8:36: were off the ride and headed slowly for the exit.

Made a pretty big mistake here. We wanted to head back to Epcot since it stayed open til 11. The Skyliner line was long (but moving fast). We were afraid it would be backed up at the transfer to the Epcot line, so we instead waited for the ferry. We had to wait for 2 and didn't make it back into Epcot until close to 9:45. Bad move. Waiting for the ferry tired us out. Should have just taken the Skyliner.



10: we wanted to ride Living with the Land in the dark.

10:20: headed towards Mexico and took some pictures along the way.



10:30 no wait to get into Mexico and also no wait for the 3 Caballeros.

10:45: about a 10 minute wait for Frozen.

Does anyone want to see what it looks like to ride Frozen in the back row through the plexiglass?



The park had just closed as we were finishing with Frozen so we slowly walked to the International Gateway.

Misc Thoughts:

-mask adherence was pretty good all around. Saw a few bad eggs but you'll always have that.

-we ended up walking 38,000 steps which is 15.77 miles. My feet still hurt a bit.

-if you have park hoppers and can take a midday break, I still think those are best. 

-arriving at DHS early is the key to everything. We were able to ride Runaway Railway, ToT and RR with very little wait. We've done the same thing on another day trip and also knocked out Railway, Slinky, Alien Saucers and TSMM with little to no wait. 

-ToT gets a very long line super quick and it stays that way all day. If you want to ride I'd suggest first thing in the morning or right before the park closes

-mobile ordering ahead of time at places like Woody's Lunchbox is key. You can put an order in anytime after park open and you can pick whatever time slot you want/is available. 

-Epcot was horrendously crowded around 3-4. Especially the World Showcase. I think a lot of other park goers hopped over with the intent to eat at the food booths. 

-I do all my timing by time stamps on my pictures. Most of those times are accurate, though I did stop taking so many pictures later in the day. So times might be a bit jumbled there. 

Anyone have any questions?


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## EEPETEZ

Catvondita said:


> When people say MCO is chaotic is it the security lines that people aren't distancing? Or are there large groups of people crowding by their gates? Are they at least wearing the masks properly ?


Honestly, the airport was the scariest part of our trip.  It is crowded, people everywhere, little mask compliance.  I was so happy we all have pre-check, the security lines seemed like a nightmare.


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## EEPETEZ

DMLAINI said:


> Has anyone done Animal Kingdom later in the day instead of rope dropping & if so, how were the wait times?


We did last week-waits were very minimal.
 I think we were there about 2 hours before close and did Dinosaur, EE, FoP and Navi.  We even played some of the dinosaur carnival games.


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## LeeLee'sMom

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Doesn’t look fun (posted at 11am).  Hope your wait doesn’t end up being too long.
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1383435325511323657


OMG never ever had that long of a line in all of the times we have been there too...wow


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## Elle23

MinnieInVA said:


> The CMs in the Land pavilion were noting that "Soarin' is not planned to open until 11", but they were letting everyone in to line up anyway. As I suspected, the ride did actually start running around 10:30, so we got in on one of the first showings of the day.



So are the CMs just not being honest or not communicating with the operating crew or what?

The same thing happened to us today. As we were walking  through at 10:18, they were telling everyone the ride would not start till around 11. I decided to leave my daughter in line and run to the restroom since it would be a longer wait than anticipated. It wasn’t a minute or 2 later she texted me that they were already loading the ride and I ended up missing it.


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## MinnieInVA

Elle23 said:


> So are the CMs just not being honest or not communicating with the operating crew or what?
> 
> The same thing happened to us today. As we were walking  through at 10:18, they were telling everyone the ride would not start till around 11. I decided to leave my daughter in line and run to the restroom since it would be a longer wait than anticipated. It wasn’t a minute or 2 later she texted me that they were already loading the ride and I ended up missing it.


Yeah, I don't know what's up with that. I guess they're trying to balance expectations so they have some leeway, but that doesn't always work out well for the guests. Sorry you missed riding with your family!


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## eileen2664

This probably means nothing. But I’m in the World today, this morning it was rainy and dreary with forecast of rain on and off all day, out of curiosity I checked reservation availability.....for weeks it’s been showing only Epcot as available. This morning (before 10) it showed everything except DHS. Right now (3pm) its green, everything is available.  And the weather is gorgeous now. Not pool weather (for me, my kids would likely swim) but perfect park weather.


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## scrappinginontario

eileen2664 said:


> This probably means nothing. But I’m in the World today, this morning it was rainy and dreary with forecast of rain on and off all day, out of curiosity I checked reservation availability.....for weeks it’s been showing only Epcot as available. This morning (before 10) it showed everything except DHS. Right now (3pm) its green, everything is available.  And the weather is gorgeous now. Not pool weather (for me, my kids would likely swim) but perfect park weather.


My guess is guests who had an option to go today or not, chose to do something else.  I'm guessing it happens regularly with locals who have options to move their dates more easily than those travelling to Disney.  I know I would do that with our local theme park if it was calling for rain.


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## eileen2664

scrappinginontario said:


> My guess is guests who had an option to go today or not, chose to do something else.  I'm guessing it happens regularly with locals who have options to move their dates more easily than those travelling to Disney.  I know I would do that with our local theme park if it was calling for rain.



that’s exactly what I told dh this morning. I was posting as a thought for those who can’t get the park reservation they wanted. We’re not rope drop people and had we not already had a reservation for MK today I could have switched to that if I’d wanted to. I wouldn’t bank on it but might be worth a last minute check before heading out to yet another Epcot day because that’s all that was available when you made your reservation. Kwim?


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## Catvondita

EEPETEZ said:


> Honestly, the airport was the scariest part of our trip.  It is crowded, people everywhere, little mask compliance.  I was so happy we all have pre-check, the security lines seemed like a nightmare.


Well that's a drag. Like I expected a few non compliant people but not a sea of them lol


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## slyster

ENJDisneyFan said:


> We did a dinner reservation and then just left after, which was fine.  If you want to do shops or just walk around I would suggest going early in the day.



Thanks I was sort of hoping that. I just want to try dinner there!


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## Catvondita

Are there times during the day the airport is less busy? My family and I are planning on going May 1-7 which is landing on a Saturday and Leaving on a Friday (which I'm sure are busy days normally). Just trying to figure out some hacks that can keep us a little more safe if there's no compliance at the airport.


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## EPCOT-O.G.

I think conventional wisdom holds that Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the least traveled days of the week (not accounting for holidays)


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## NashvilleMama

gometros said:


> Weekdays are definitely the better choice. DS on weekends is a nightmare and if you drive parking is worse.


how are Sunday nights? Just as bad?


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## scrappinginontario

Catvondita said:


> Are there times during the day the airport is less busy? My family and I are planning on going May 1-7 which is landing on a Saturday and Leaving on a Friday (which I'm sure are busy days normally). Just trying to figure out some hacks that can keep us a little more safe if there's no compliance at the airport.



I've found evenings quieter in airports than the morning or afternoon.


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## Daisy7425

Catvondita said:


> Just trying to figure out some hacks that can keep us a little more safe if there's no compliance at the airport.



I'd like to hopefully give you a sense of ease a little bit with the airports.  We just flew through Atlanta, Key West and Fort Lauderdale airports about two weeks ago and mask compliance was at about 99%.  I was surprised.  We found both Delta and United Airlines to be great with cleaning and measures to reduce exposure.  This was my first time flying since covid and I was really nervous about it but I felt safe the entire time.


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## 2minny

LeeLee'sMom said:


> OMG never ever had that long of a line in all of the times we have been there too...wow


What on earth, I need to know more about this, is this the norm lately?


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## brockash

Elle23 said:


> So are the CMs just not being honest or not communicating with the operating crew or what?
> 
> The same thing happened to us today. As we were walking  through at 10:18, they were telling everyone the ride would not start till around 11. I decided to leave my daughter in line and run to the restroom since it would be a longer wait than anticipated. It wasn’t a minute or 2 later she texted me that they were already loading the ride and I ended up missing it.


They aren't being honest.  I'm not sure why they're trained to mislead, but it happens constantly and is one of my biggest pet peeves about Disney...you can't trust what comes out of their mouth.  

I'm sure it has to do with limiting disappointment etc. but man it's frustrating.


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## OKWFan88

brockash said:


> They aren't being honest.  I'm not sure why they're trained to mislead, but it happens constantly and is one of my biggest pet peeves about Disney...you can't trust what comes out of their mouth.
> 
> I'm sure it has to do with limiting disappointment etc. but man it's frustrating.


When SDD went down at rope drop last week this one CM kept telling all of us in line it wouldn’t be up for a few hours and that we were wasting time staying in line. I was about 50 people back from the front of the line. In about ten min time I was second in line as all of the people listened to him and got out of the line. The ride was back up in 30 min and we were so glad we didn’t take his advice and get out of the line.


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## Castlequeen5

OKWFan88 said:


> When SDD went down at rope drop last week this one CM kept telling all of us in line it wouldn’t be up for a few hours and that we were wasting time staying in line. I was about 50 people back from the front of the line. In about ten min time I was second in line as all of the people listened to him and got out of the line. The ride was back up in 30 min and we were so glad we didn’t take his advice and get out of the line.


Same thing happened to us at RnR.  We were trying to get in line around 8:40ish, before official park opening at 9.  There were several CMs telling us the ride wasn’t open, and they didn’t know when it would open.  They were discouraging us from forming a line.  Not 2 minutes later, they opened the gate and let everyone through.  We were on the ride at 8:48.


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## EPCOT-O.G.

2minny said:


> What on earth, I need to know more about this, is this the norm lately?


I too would like to know. The easy explanation is that distancing makes the lines look far longer than it actually takes (not dissimilar to in-park lines). Another explanation is the scarcity of available drivers. The sinister explanation is Mears/Disney has no incentive to keep up with the efficiency given the end of the contract, and are doing to bare minimum to get by as it sunsets.


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## Wood Nymph

MinnieInVA said:


> We experienced the 7 am glitch where for about 2 minutes the app told everyone that they didn't have a park pass. I gave up after 15 seconds because I assumed it was an issue on my end, but screenshotted my issue so I could see the Guest Experience Team when we got there.


We were at WDW last week and experienced the boarding group glitch, too. I knew something was wrong on Disney's end because I knew how it was supposed to work. My husband gave up trying but I just kept hitting the join button and finally got a boarding group for just me. We went to DHS and the CM was able to give my DH a boarding group because I had one. 


2minny said:


> What on earth, I need to know more about this, is this the norm lately?


We experienced a really long line for ME when our flight landed around 12:30pm in February. But when we take an earlier flight which lands around 9:30am, the line is short. The social distancing is what makes the line so long. Once you get into the bus waiting area, it isn't crowded.


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## Geomom

Today, Monday 4/19, magic kingdom
Got to park at 11am.  So many people there today!   Felt worse than hollywood studios yesterday even though both parks were at capacity, maybe we just weren't in the more crowded areas at Hollywood studios... magic kingdom just seemed crowded everywhere.  But...it wasn't as bad as a normal February vacation...did look similar to normal april vacation though.  Lots of people ignoring the please wait here markers and lots of lax mask wearing... probably still 90% full compliance...but you notice the ones who don't...they also tend to be the people not stopping on the markers.  Had 2 kids bump into me in lines which shouldn't even be possible right now when I'm standing on my line.  Also had a woman on her phone bump into my daughters shoulder while walking past us to catch up to her group at Dumbo.  It was completely unexpected and scared DD16.  No apology, don't think the woman even noticed.  So many oblivious people today.

Okay... enough ranting. We did go on a bunch of rides and had some fun anyways.  Did Buzz and carousel of progress before 1pm lunch at liberty tree tavern at diamond horseshoe.  Food was yummy.  Haunted mansion, peter pan, ariel, dumbo, shopping, tiki room, country bears, mine train.  Mobile ordered dinner at pecos bill around 7ish.  Wait times way down by 7:30.  Walked on haunted mansion, 10-15 for peter pan and small world, then walked on Pooh to end our night.  Left magic kingdom at 8:45pm.  Caught a bus back quickly.  Managed to do 13 rides/attractions...so while there seem to be people everywhere, you can still get a lot done... just wish those people would stay further away from me, lol.

Also wanted to add compliance seemed better at Hollywood studios.  On every ride at Hollywood studios they reminded people to keep masks over nose and mouth...only heard it a couple times at magic kingdom and the CMs there just don't seem to be asking the non compliers to cover up.  

Oh, have they stopped cleaning rides every 2 hrs?  Never encountered it this trip so far.  (We went July/August 2020 and had lots of cleaning stops and saw much better social distancing and mask compliance then as well). Did see CMs cleaning railings on property though... just not the rides.

Walked over 15,000 steps both yesterday and today.

Sorry for the long post today... people just really annoyed us today!!!


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## Gearbm95

Just got back to the hotel from MK...

Observations:

1) Covid regulations at MK are laughable...not ONE time today did we see guests following the social distancing markers in line...not one CM said a word to anyone. The line for POTC was hilarious how packed in it was, why even go through the trouble of pretending to care, Disney clearly has no plans on currently enforcing their distancing rules.

2) Not one CM mentioned anything to guests about mask wearing. Sat outside Space Mtn for about 60mins and saw at least 40-50 people wearing masks incorrectly, again not one CM enforcing this.

3) Arrived to the park around 3pm, got our DAS pass and was able to have all the following rides done by 8:15...Buzz, Space Mtn, 7D, Little Mermaid, Small World, HM, Big Thunder, POTC, and Jungle Cruise. Got all these rides done and still was able to take an hour for a reservation at BOG.

4) Saw an elderly woman take a seriously nasty fall getting off of HM, she lost her balance getting off the ride on the moving walkway and went down hard, smacked her head off the ground and was motionless on the ground. Very scary situation, saw medics coming over as we left.

5) Lots of food stands and stores closed at MK, kinda sad to see.

6) I’m fully aware 4/20 is tomorrow...but on 2 different occasions we smelled marijuana in MK today, once at the relaxation station in Frontierland (young couple in mid 20s) and the other time back by the bathrooms near Space Mtn, didn’t see who was smoking it here. First time I’ve ever encountered this in the parks.


----------



## Catvondita

Daisy7425 said:


> I'd like to hopefully give you a sense of ease a little bit with the airports.  We just flew through Atlanta, Key West and Fort Lauderdale airports about two weeks ago and mask compliance was at about 99%.  I was surprised.  We found both Delta and United Airlines to be great with cleaning and measures to reduce exposure.  This was my first time flying since covid and I was really nervous about it but I felt safe the entire time.


Thanks so much! Were flying Delta to so that makes me happy to hear


----------



## PirateSnowmen

Elle23 said:


> So are the CMs just not being honest or not communicating with the operating crew or what?
> 
> The same thing happened to us today. As we were walking  through at 10:18, they were telling everyone the ride would not start till around 11. I decided to leave my daughter in line and run to the restroom since it would be a longer wait than anticipated. It wasn’t a minute or 2 later she texted me that they were already loading the ride and I ended up missing it.





MinnieInVA said:


> Yeah, I don't know what's up with that. I guess they're trying to balance expectations so they have some leeway, but that doesn't always work out well for the guests. Sorry you missed riding with your family!





brockash said:


> They aren't being honest.  I'm not sure why they're trained to mislead, but it happens constantly and is one of my biggest pet peeves about Disney...you can't trust what comes out of their mouth.
> 
> I'm sure it has to do with limiting disappointment etc. but man it's frustrating.



Sorry you missed riding with your family! As a former attractions CM (at Soarin, actually), hopefully I can shed some light as to why this happens. The CM opening the ride has a long checklist that they need to do before the ride can open. If any little thing is wrong on that checklist, the ride can't open. Since the park is technically open at 11, that's what the other CM's will tell people when asked when the ride is opening. The CM's up at the front (at the standby entrance) have no idea what is going on with the ride. Unless it's an outdoor ride, they can't even see if the ride is operating. Even if the ride is operating, they don't know if something is wrong. Once the CM opening the ride finishes his/her checklist and everything is good to go, the ride can officially open, and that's when the standby CM's are alerted to open the line.

For the most part it's not that the CM's up at the front are being dishonest, it's that they genuinely don't know when the ride will be opening. There are so many things that can go wrong when opening up a ride. Imagine CM's telling people, "oh yeah, the ride will be open in 5 minutes!" then something going wrong & the ride not opening. It's probably just safest to say the ride will be open when the park officially opens.


----------



## eileen2664

Interesting.....it’s 8:05 and I’m waiting for our breakfast table so I checked today’s park availability....yesterday all that was available was Epcot. Right now the only thing NOT available is MK. Could be weather related again (expecting rain this morning) could be a fluke or could be a regular occurrence.


----------



## Geomom

Forgot to mention, saw them testing the people mover yesterday.... empty cars going around.  I wish it would have a soft open this week sometime vs the 5/1 date.  Definitely miss that ride!


----------



## lorileahb

Geomom said:


> Forgot to mention, saw them testing the people mover yesterday.... empty cars going around.  I wish it would have a soft open this week sometime vs the 5/1 date.  Definitely miss that ride!



same here!  I keep hoping for a little Disney magic this coming week.


----------



## scrappinginontario

eileen2664 said:


> Interesting.....it’s 8:05 and I’m waiting for our breakfast table so I checked today’s park availability....yesterday all that was available was Epcot. Right now the only thing NOT available is MK. Could be weather related again (expecting rain this morning) could be a fluke or could be a regular occurrence.


I'm guessing this is a daily occurrence when people's plans change at the last minute due to a variety of reasons.  It's a good reminder for those looking for park reservations to keep trying right up until the last moment and hopefully they will be able to find a park reservation!


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

LCoulter said:


> HS closes restaurants and food carts by 5 so there was no place to grab dinner.


Wow!! 5:00 sounds so early!! Arent they open normally til 8? What was closing time?


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Wow!! 5:00 sounds so early!! Arent they open normally til 8? What was closing time?


I'm not sure how accurate this is. I've been looking for reservations for weeks at DHS and with the expanded hours they've had in place (as recently as last week) most restaurants show times until at least 7pm, and most of them 8pm (park closes at 8). I can't speak to the food carts.


----------



## Elle23

PirateSnowmen said:


> Sorry you missed riding with your family! As a former attractions CM (at Soarin, actually), hopefully I can shed some light as to why this happens. The CM opening the ride has a long checklist that they need to do before the ride can open. If any little thing is wrong on that checklist, the ride can't open. Since the park is technically open at 11, that's what the other CM's will tell people when asked when the ride is opening. The CM's up at the front (at the standby entrance) have no idea what is going on with the ride. Unless it's an outdoor ride, they can't even see if the ride is operating. Even if the ride is operating, they don't know if something is wrong. Once the CM opening the ride finishes his/her checklist and everything is good to go, the ride can officially open, and that's when the standby CM's are alerted to open the line.
> 
> For the most part it's not that the CM's up at the front are being dishonest, it's that they genuinely don't know when the ride will be opening. There are so many things that can go wrong when opening up a ride. Imagine CM's telling people, "oh yeah, the ride will be open in 5 minutes!" then something going wrong & the ride not opening. It's probably just safest to say the ride will be open when the park officially opens.



Thanks for the explanation! It does help to have some perspective on what’s going on with the CMs and ride operations.


----------



## lovethattink

> @LCoulte
> We had no problem with hopping.   Mobile ordering is so sloooow with many people waiting around for their orders.  I really don’t think there are enough restaurants open for the number of people.  HS closes restaurants and food carts by 5 so there was no place to grab dinner.



The main qs stop taking mobile orders around 5, but there are still several places taking orders til 8. Woody’s Lunchbox, Docking Bay 7, and Rosies All American cafe show Mobil ordering til 8pm.


----------



## Elle23

Gearbm95 said:


> Covid regulations at MK are laughable...not ONE time today did we see guests following the social distancing markers in line...not one CM said a word to anyone. The line for POTC was hilarious how packed in it was, why even go through the trouble of pretending to care, Disney clearly has no plans on currently enforcing their distancing rules



At MK today and I agree with this. However, it doesn’t bother me at all. It’s time for things to start getting back to normal. The whole vibe this trip is so much better than in November where everyone seemed to be on edge and suspicious of each other. People seem much happier and relaxed this trip.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

PirateSnowmen said:


> Sorry you missed riding with your family! As a former attractions CM (at Soarin, actually), hopefully I can shed some light as to why this happens. The CM opening the ride has a long checklist that they need to do before the ride can open. If any little thing is wrong on that checklist, the ride can't open. Since the park is technically open at 11, that's what the other CM's will tell people when asked when the ride is opening. The CM's up at the front (at the standby entrance) have no idea what is going on with the ride. Unless it's an outdoor ride, they can't even see if the ride is operating. Even if the ride is operating, they don't know if something is wrong. Once the CM opening the ride finishes his/her checklist and everything is good to go, the ride can officially open, and that's when the standby CM's are alerted to open the line.
> 
> For the most part it's not that the CM's up at the front are being dishonest, it's that they genuinely don't know when the ride will be opening. There are so many things that can go wrong when opening up a ride. Imagine CM's telling people, "oh yeah, the ride will be open in 5 minutes!" then something going wrong & the ride not opening. It's probably just safest to say the ride will be open when the park officially opens.



I really appreciate this perspective and insight. Thank you.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Geomom said:


> Forgot to mention, saw them testing the people mover yesterday.... empty cars going around.  I wish it would have a soft open this week sometime vs the 5/1 date.  Definitely miss that ride!


Lol, I saw them testing the people mover in January.  Who knows how close they really are to actually allowing people on the ride.


----------



## Nikki1013

Wood Nymph said:


> We experienced a really long line for ME when our flight landed around 12:30pm in February. But when we take an earlier flight which lands around 9:30am, the line is short. The social distancing is what makes the line so long. Once you get into the bus waiting area, it isn't crowded.


This is great to hear! My flight lands at 9:10 Saturday morning so hopefully my stay at MCO will be short. It being Saturday may add to that though.

I haven't seen MCO's baggage claim area since before ME existed. How much time will that add to the whole process? I never pay attention to how long it takes to claim my luggage when I get back home!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Nikki1013 said:


> This is great to hear! My flight lands at 9:10 Saturday morning so hopefully my stay at MCO will be short. It being Saturday may add to that though.
> 
> I haven't seen MCO's baggage claim area since before ME existed. How much time will that add to the whole process? I never pay attention to how long it takes to claim my luggage when I get back home!


Luggage normally arrives pretty quickly.  My experience has often been by the time we disembark, stop at the restroom, take the tram and arrive at luggage, it's either already there or arrives quickly.


----------



## WEDWDW

Elle23 said:


> At MK today and I agree with this. However, it doesn’t bother me at all. It’s time for things to start getting back to normal. The whole vibe this trip is so much better than in November where everyone seemed to be on edge and suspicious of each other. People seem much happier and relaxed this trip.


One word explains the difference-
VACCINATIONS


----------



## Dakota731

[QUOTE="Oh, have they stopped cleaning rides every 2 hrs?  Never encountered it this trip so far.  (We went July/August 2020 and had lots of cleaning stops and saw much better social distancing and mask compliance then as well).
Sorry for the long post today... people just really annoyed us today!!!
[/QUOTE]

The CDC said it’s extremely rare to get covid from surfaces so no need for Disney to clean rides every two hours.  And shorter lines will result, so I’m glad!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> I'm not sure how accurate this is. I've been looking for reservations for weeks at DHS and with the expanded hours they've had in place (as recently as last week) most restaurants show times until at least 7pm, and most of them 8pm (park closes at 8). I can't speak to the food carts.


I definitely saw carts open later than 5.  We were able to get popcorn and churros around 7pm.


----------



## ColoradoMill

Just back yesterday, stayed at Coronado Springs 4/14 - 4/19.  Multigenerational trip: myself, 4 year old twin boys, our au pair, and my parents.  Overall amazing trip and we all had a great time!  A few experiences and opinions below:

1. Airports were busy.  Both of our flights from DEN were 100% full.  We had good crowd strategy and didn't do many long ride lines, but the parks felt crowded midday.  I would advise anyone that is uncomfortable being in crowds that this is still not the right time for a Disney trip.  We were fine with it, but just sharing that in case someone is on the fence.  

2. I was extremely diligent about trying to keep my 4 year olds on the queue markers, but yes, they still bumped into people sometimes....I've seen many complains about that on this board, and just want to throw it out there that it's not necessarily careless parents, it may just be that managing small children in a queue is difficult.  Admittedly, the line markers sometimes feel senseless when you have people directly beside you on the other queue rows.  It's a theme park and you will be in close proximity.  I found mask compliance to be excellent, even outside around the resort.....far better than at home, even though I live in a high-compliance area.  We were thrilled that we could un-mask for pictures and wished we could have done so when far away from other groups outside at our resort (i.e. lounging in hammocks with no one nearby).

3. Finding decent food was hard and required lots of advance planning.  ADRs were extremely rare to find.  We had a horrible experience in MK our first day, getting a mobile order from Pinnochio Village Haus.  It was noon and total chaos, with lots of angry and stressed people who could not figure out where to go, there was no room to accommodate the line, and then when you finally get your (now cold) order, there was nowhere to sit.  We vowed then and there that we would avoid peak times and put in mobile orders hours in advance after that.....and that turned out to be a great strategy.  I felt bad for the multiple people I saw having horrible experiences at peak times later in the trip.  Many restaurants had "walk up lists" that you could join from the app, and we did this several times, but again, you need to be on your A-game and join the list immediately when the restaurant opens because they filled to capacity very quickly.  We found a workaround, but honestly they need to open more dining options for the number of people they have there now.  We had a couple of great meals at Three Bridges at CSR and a nice dinner at Grand Floridian Cafe.  Also highly recommend the brisket sandwich at Woody's Lunch Box!

4. CSR was somewhat of a disappointment, and I doubt we will stay here again.  Last two trips, we stayed at AoA and loved the kid-friendly theming and simple layout with just one bus stop.  I chose CSR because I thought we would do a lot of pool time and seemed like a pretty resort.  It was nicely landscaped, but I found the rooms to be quite drab.....I guess brown is not my favorite color scheme.  There was no tub...not ideal for kids but not a big deal for us.  The pool area was nice and my kids loved the slide, but I was disappointed to learn that there's no zero entry area......which means my 4 year olds could not practice swimming or dive for toys (something they would have spent hours doing if we'd had a zero entry situation with a shallower area).  I will pay more attention to this feature next time.  

5. CSR transportation - Overall, we had very good experiences with the buses.  We only waited 15-20 mins a couple of times, and had many times where we were on a bus within 5 mins.  We did not like how spread out CSR was....big hikes to the bus stop.  I also missed the busstop queue system at AoA where there are ropes for each park and it's very clear and orderly who arrived first and is first on the bus.  At CSR, there's no queue system.....so a couple of times we were there at 6:30 am, and while waiting, other parties arrived and kind of crowded us out and we had to jockey for position to make sure we got on the next bus.  I don't really like having to do that, while corraling children....I missed the queues.  

6. CSR housekeeping - We were told upon arrival that housekeeping would be every other day, and would only include taking out trash and refreshing towels.  In 6 days there, they came and did this one time.  I had to make multiple calls about needing towels, overflowing trash, running out of TP, running out of coffee pods.  I understand this reduction in service was initially attributed to COVID, but I question how long people will find it acceptable.  I did not.  This, along with the end of Magical Express, solidifies my onsite/offsite decision for our future trips.  I would love to know what kinds of experiences people are having in the offsite hotels...maybe it's comparable?

7. We were really happy with our park touring strategy.  We rope dropped every day (tough for people on mountain time), and had a fabulous couple of hours each morning of low crowds, low waits, and beautiful weather.  We got most of our must-do rides done this way.  Parks started feeling REALLY busy by 10 am, with waits starting to exceed our tolerance.  We went back to the hotel for a 2-3 hour rest/nap time each afternoon and returned to the parks by 5 pm.  By 6 pm we found that lines were REALLY dropping, weather improved, and had lovely evenings in the parks.  We loved the late closure times and being able to be there after dark.  We all noticed that we didn't feel that tired, and that those midday breaks made a huge difference in feeling refreshed and enjoying the evenings.  We were on the fence about whether to take those breaks, and all felt it was hands down the right approach.  

8. The only thing I stressed about before the trip was a ROTR boarding group.  Ended up getting group 1!  Every member of our party, ages 4 to 67, LOVED this ride, and it was the highlight of our trip.  My kids loved all of star wars land and the other rides as well.  We also loved the new Mickey and Minnie ride.  HS was an awesome day.  While Docking Bay 7 had a cool ambiance, we were underwhelmed with the food, especially considering the high price and small portion.....we all wished we had repeated the brisket sandwiches from Woody's.  

9.  We tried to add a park day for AK, and were not able to.....all park passes were sold out.  In the past, we would start out buying minimal park days and just add on spontaneously.  Those days are over.  I wished I had included the extra day in our initial plans.  

10.  Had a great experience with Magical Express.  Yes, the line looks long running through the terminal, but moved very quickly.  We are sad about this ending and probably will not stay onsite anymore once it's gone.  

11.  Character experiences in the parks were extremely minimal.  We were looking for them all day at both MK and HS and only saw a couple of characters all day.  The cavalcades were cute but minimal and we didn't see them often enough.  I missed the full parades and nighttime shows, and hope this comes back soon.  Right now, it's definitely a ride-centric experience with dining and entertainment not even close to firing on all cylinders.   Despite this, we had an awesome time, loved seeing what my 4 years olds were into, and are so glad we went!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Elle23 said:


> At MK today and I agree with this. However, it doesn’t bother me at all. It’s time for things to start getting back to normal. The whole vibe this trip is so much better than in November where everyone seemed to be on edge and suspicious of each other. People seem much happier and relaxed this trip.





WEDWDW said:


> One word explains the difference-
> VACCINATIONS



Love hearing this! I'm excited to be back too and feel more relaxed about it when we come in June. I was much more edgy when we were there in Nov. but now being vaccinated it really doesn't bother me if people get too close to me or aren't wearing their masks properly. Definitely a different vibe for many of us! Even flying will be much less stressful being vaccinated.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Please keep posts to actual experiences, not mask and vaccination thoughts and opinions.  I understand it's tempting but can too easily take this great thread of track.

Thanks.


----------



## Adian80

We have brunch reservations at The Wave at 10:45.  If we wanted to rope drop MK and wanted to drive and park at Contemporary before the park opened would we be allowed?  My original plan was to sleep in before heading to brunch then to MK, but now I'm thinking rope drop at MK, then brunch at The Wave, rest for a few hours before heading back to the park.  We're staying at Pop, so I thought it might be easier and quicker to drive.


----------



## brockash

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> I'm not sure how accurate this is. I've been looking for reservations for weeks at DHS and with the expanded hours they've had in place (as recently as last week) most restaurants show times until at least 7pm, and most of them 8pm (park closes at 8). I can't speak to the food carts.


They mean counter service and yes many of the counter service places at dhs close hrs before the park closes...it's annoying.


----------



## LSUmiss

Elle23 said:


> At MK today and I agree with this. However, it doesn’t bother me at all. It’s time for things to start getting back to normal. The whole vibe this trip is so much better than in November where everyone seemed to be on edge and suspicious of each other. People seem much happier and relaxed this trip.


This is how I feel. I am happy to hear those kinds of reports.


----------



## Akck

Nikki1013 said:


> This is great to hear! My flight lands at 9:10 Saturday morning so hopefully my stay at MCO will be short. It being Saturday may add to that though.
> 
> I haven't seen MCO's baggage claim area since before ME existed. How much time will that add to the whole process? I never pay attention to how long it takes to claim my luggage when I get back home!



Just arrived and Alaska Air missed their 20 minute baggage guarantee by about 5 minutes. I’d figure anywhere from 15-30 minutes after arrival at the gate.


----------



## Kelly014

Elle23 said:


> We landed a little after 1 pm today and there was no line at all for the Magical Express. We waited maybe 5 minutes for the bus to come.
> 
> Granted, it was the most unmagical ride ever on some ugly generic charter bus.   But we at least we didn’t wait long for it.



Hang on, is this a thing? Like you went through the ME line but it was just a regular old bus? We love ME and I was really hoping our kids would get one last ride on the Magical Express this summer!


----------



## Elle23

Kelly014 said:


> Hang on, is this a thing? Like you went through the ME line but it was just a regular old bus? We love ME and I was really hoping our kids would get one last ride on the Magical Express this summer!



Unfortunately yes.  We love DME too and were looking forward to one last ride.


----------



## Gonflipin

ColoradoMill said:


> 6. CSR housekeeping - We were told upon arrival that housekeeping would be every other day, and would only include taking out trash and refreshing towels.  In 6 days there, they came and did this one time.  I had to make multiple calls about needing towels, overflowing trash, running out of TP, running out of coffee pods.  I understand this reduction in service was initially attributed to COVID, but I question how long people will find it acceptable.  I did not.  This, along with the end of Magical Express, solidifies my onsite/offsite decision for our future trips.  I would love to know what kinds of experiences people are having in the offsite hotels...maybe it's comparable?



Here now at AoA and also questioning how long people will put up with this, it is unacceptable for the reasons above. The trash, dirty towels are piling up.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Gonflipin said:


> Here now at AoA and also questioning how long people will put up with this, it is unacceptable for the reasons above. The trash, dirty towels are piling up.


 There are many trash bins around the property.  Even pre-pandemic many people tied up their trash and placed it in a bin on their way out of the room.  I often placed used towels inside one towel and placed them outside our room.  They were quickly removed.

For every person who doesn’t like the reduced cleaning there would be a person who would complain about someone going into their room while we’re trying to reduce personal contact.


----------



## brockash

scrappinginontario said:


> There are many trash bins around the property.  Even pre-pandemic many people tied up their trash and placed it in a bin on their way out of the room.  I often placed used towels inside one towel and placed them outside our room.  They were quickly removed.
> 
> For every person who doesn’t like the reduced cleaning there would be a person who would complain about someone going into their room while we’re trying to reduce personal contact.


There is nothing wrong with ppl. voicing their displeasure with the lack of housekeeping and how it affects them.  
If you were going now and prefer to do your own housekeeping, then that's great for you, but does not invalidate the reasonable complaints of others who feel they're paying for a service that's not up to par.

It'd be like having someone post their displeasure that while at dinner at BoG their waiter didn't refill their drinks etc. and then someone coming on here posting "well you can get up and refill your own drink."  

Totally missing the point and isn't helpful.  Instead it just comes across as condescending.  Of course anyone can take out their own trash/refill their own drinks; but many feel (rightfully so) that that service is part of what they're paying for .. and Disney specifically tells them it is...so when they don't receive it or it's severely lacking; they have every right to be annoyed about it and to post their displeasure.


----------



## SarahC97

Adian80 said:


> We have brunch reservations at The Wave at 10:45.  If we wanted to rope drop MK and wanted to drive and park at Contemporary before the park opened would we be allowed?  My original plan was to sleep in before heading to brunch then to MK, but now I'm thinking rope drop at MK, then brunch at The Wave, rest for a few hours before heading back to the park.  We're staying at Pop, so I thought it might be easier and quicker to drive.


No, they will not allow you to park several hours before your ADR.


----------



## scrappinginontario

brockash said:


> There is nothing wrong with ppl. voicing their displeasure with the lack of housekeeping and how it affects them.
> If you were going now and prefer to do your own housekeeping, then that's great for you, but does not invalidate the reasonable complaints of others who feel they're paying for a service that's not up to par.
> 
> It'd be like having someone post their displeasure that while at dinner at BoG their waiter didn't refill their drinks etc. and then someone coming on here posting "well you can get up and refill your own drink."
> 
> Totally missing the point and isn't helpful.  Instead it just comes across as condescending.  Of course anyone can take out their own trash/refill their own drinks; but many feel (rightfully so) that that service is part of what they're paying for .. and Disney specifically tells them it is...so when they don't receive it or it's severely lacking; they have every right to be annoyed about it and to post their displeasure.


I’m allowed to post my thoughts too and offer suggestions for those who possibly don’t know what options there are.


----------



## tanyaandallie

Gonflipin said:


> Here now at AoA and also questioning how long people will put up with this, it is unacceptable for the reasons above. The trash, dirty towels are piling up.



This is very good info to have.  We currently have onsite and offsite reservations and still trying to decide which to keep.  We have done a number of hotel stays since covid and have dealt with no housekeeping just fine.  But certainly does play into our decision when the cost of the onsite hotel is so much more.


----------



## coolbrook

scrappinginontario said:


> There are many trash bins around the property.  Even pre-pandemic many people tied up their trash and placed it in a bin on their way out of the room.  I often placed used towels inside one towel and placed them outside our room.  They were quickly removed.
> 
> For every person who doesn’t like the reduced cleaning there would be a person who would complain about someone going into their room while we’re trying to reduce personal contact.


When I was at Yacht Club in Feb. I called and asked where the trash bin was to take our trash to and the guy said not to do that and certainly not to put it in the hallway. He would ask housekeeping to come take it.  Got back to the room that evening and no one had come to take the trash but they had hung a bag of fresh towels on the door.  I wanted the dirty towels and trash gone.  ugh.  That bothered me more than not having the bed made.  I'm looking forward to the return of regular housekeeping!


----------



## DCLMP

brockash said:


> There is nothing wrong with ppl. voicing their displeasure with the lack of housekeeping and how it affects them.
> If you were going now and prefer to do your own housekeeping, then that's great for you, but does not invalidate the reasonable complaints of others who feel they're paying for a service that's not up to par.
> 
> It'd be like having someone post their displeasure that while at dinner at BoG their waiter didn't refill their drinks etc. and then someone coming on here posting "well you can get up and refill your own drink."
> 
> Totally missing the point and isn't helpful.  Instead it just comes across as condescending.  Of course anyone can take out their own trash/refill their own drinks; but many feel (rightfully so) that that service is part of what they're paying for .. and Disney specifically tells them it is...so when they don't receive it or it's severely lacking; they have every right to be annoyed about it and to post their displeasure.


I would have been annoyed. Luckily we got what Disney said we would get nothing more, nothing less. I personally don't see why they can't offer daily housekeeping. You don't get Covid from surfaces and they can wear PPE. It's just a cost-reducing and using Covid as an excuse. I wonder how long hotels will continue to do this.  I'm afraid it could be permanent. I wonder the same thing about the airlines and their no drink service. They can hand you baggy with water and pretzels, but you can't get a soda? It makes no sense.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

Elle23 said:


> Unfortunately yes.  We love DME too and were looking forward to one last ride.


Ive never ridden ME before, what is being referred to here? Was there something different about previous ME busses? Are all the recent busses just plain?


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyJColeMom said:


> Ive never ridden ME before, what is being referred to here? Was there something different about previous ME busses? Are all the recent busses just plain?


DME buses and the Cruise line buses are coach buses that are Disney themed inside snd out.  They play a welcome video on the way to WDW.

Getting a regular coach bus (not sure if they show the video?) would be a disappointment for sure.

For many people their Disney trip feels like it has begun when they board their DME coach.


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

scrappinginontario said:


> DME buses and the Cruise line buses are coach buses that are Disney themed inside snd out.  They play a welcome video on the way to WDW.
> 
> Getting a regular coach bus (not sure if they show the video?) would be a disappointment for sure.
> 
> For many people their Disney trip feels like it has begun when they board their DME coach.


An old friend on FB just posted her trip photos from last week. Funny timing, but her first pic is of them on DME, with blue seats & TV screens & Pluto at her window. So wow that sucks, that you might randomly get just some regular bus. Doesnt seem right!


----------



## Elle23

scrappinginontario said:


> Getting a regular coach bus (not sure if they show the video?) would be a disappointment for sure.



No video and not a word from the driver. Just utter silence the whole way.

I think it is pointless for me to even try to tell Disney management how disappointing this was. I just really feel like they don’t even care anymore.


----------



## Elle23

The self service drink stations are open at Pop!!!!

They have a CM standing there limiting the number of people who can access the stations at a given time, but I filled my very own coffee cup this morning!

Progress!!!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Adian80 said:


> We have brunch reservations at The Wave at 10:45.  If we wanted to rope drop MK and wanted to drive and park at Contemporary before the park opened would we be allowed?  My original plan was to sleep in before heading to brunch then to MK, but now I'm thinking rope drop at MK, then brunch at The Wave, rest for a few hours before heading back to the park.  We're staying at Pop, so I thought it might be easier and quicker to drive.


You cannot park at Contemporary and then go to the park.


----------



## snappy

Disney was having staff check guest rooms each day and take out the trash.  Are they still checking the room and not taking out the trash when they do the room check?


----------



## GreyStr0ke

At SSR last week they came in and removed the recycling but not the trash.


----------



## snappy

GreyStr0ke said:


> At SSR last week they came in and removed the recycling but not the trash.


 that’s crazy


----------



## brockash

scrappinginontario said:


> I’m allowed to post my thoughts too and offer suggestions for those who possibly don’t know what options there are.


You posting they can take their own trash out is not a helpful suggestion...do you think they're dumb and don't kbow they can take their trash out?  Of course you don't think that; your response came off as though you don't feel they have a right to voice their experience and concerns with the lack of housekeeping they received.  Empathy goes a really long way and seems to be something missing in the world right now.  It's ok to let someone voice their thoughts without needing to try to tell them why they're wrong to feel that way or that their experience and opinion doesn't matter.


----------



## snappy

I think it is helpful for housekeeping to take out the trash as I guess they put new bags in the trash receptacles In the room? If they don’t come to take out the trash, will they come to give you replacement bags if you call them?  If this is not the case, I guess I would like to know as I will have to pack a bunch of trash bags for my longish trip.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

snappy said:


> I think it is helpful for housekeeping to take out the trash as I guess they put new bags in the trash receptacles In the room? If they don’t come to take out the trash, will they come to give you replacement bags if you call them?  If this is not the case, I guess I would like to know as I will have to pack a bunch of trash bags for my longish trip.


Yes they will give you extra bags.  I usually just waited until I saw a cart nearby and asked the housekeeper for whatever we needed and they were happy to provide it.  I would also ask them to take our trash at that time.


----------



## tjmw2727

preemiemama said:


> I saw a few people posting pics on twitter- it is crazy long!  Interested to know how long it actually takes to get on to a bus...



I timed our trip on Saturday 4/18 - landed at 2, grabbed bags and traversed the airport (swa) to DME.  No line for check in and waited about 5 minutes when the first bus pulled up - just missed it.  First party in line now, waited another 18 minutes for the second bus, boarded and left immediately after the bus was loaded.  It was a coach and we were loaded back to front skipping rows between parties. Only POP guests on bus so no additional stops and we were at Pop by 3:15.


----------



## FinallyFL

snappy said:


> I think it is helpful for housekeeping to take out the trash as I guess they put new bags in the trash receptacles In the room? If they don’t come to take out the trash, will they come to give you replacement bags if you call them?  If this is not the case, I guess I would like to know as I will have to pack a bunch of trash bags for my longish trip.


There are usually extra trash bags inside the garbage can.


----------



## tjmw2727

Gonflipin said:


> Here now at AoA and also questioning how long people will put up with this, it is unacceptable for the reasons above. The trash, dirty towels are piling up.



Also at AOA, so far we have had the trash and tidy every other day as promised.  Old towels removed and replaced, trash emptied and coffee replaced.   We also had a faulty fridge that was replaced within 20 minutes of my call.


----------



## tjmw2727

scrappinginontario said:


> DME buses and the Cruise line buses are coach buses that are Disney themed inside snd out.  They play a welcome video on the way to WDW.
> 
> Getting a regular coach bus (not sure if they show the video?) would be a disappointment for sure.
> 
> For many people their Disney trip feels like it has begun when they board their DME coach.



Our inbound ride was a generic coach bus (Dynamic I think) and we did miss that welcome video but the trip was so quick this time we didn't mind.


----------



## tjmw2727

Elle23 said:


> No video and not a word from the driver. Just utter silence the whole way.
> 
> I think it is pointless for me to even try to tell Disney management how disappointing this was. I just really feel like they don’t even care anymore.



In this particular case I feel differently.  With social distancing they can't fill the buses even 1/2 full sometimes.  So its either wait twice the time (and people were already complaining about long waits) or hire additional buses from other companies.  

However I do expect the drivers to be courteous and the buses to be clean!


----------



## Elle23

FinallyFL said:


> There are usually extra trash bags inside the garbage can.



I guess it depends on the hotel, but at Pop we have never had trash bags in the (very small) trash cans.


----------



## dstein12

DCLMP said:


> I would have been annoyed. Luckily we got what Disney said we would get nothing more, nothing less. I personally don't see why they can't offer daily housekeeping. You don't get Covid from surfaces and they can wear PPE. It's just a cost-reducing and using Covid as an excuse. I wonder how long hotels will continue to do this.  I'm afraid it could be permanent. I wonder the same thing about the airlines and their no drink service. They can hand you baggy with water and pretzels, but you can't get a soda? It makes no sense.
> 
> 
> The housekeeping issue is not because they are afraid of Covid spread, it's because Disney laid off massive numbers of cast members. They are slowly bring back more cast members but there is just not enough housekeeping staff as of right now. This may or may not change when they start to open up more resorts. Right now they are running WDW on as least number of cast members as possible. This is one of the reason for such long bus waits as well. Yes, part of the problem is you have to social distance but their are just not enough bus drivers.  The other day I spent over two 1/2 hours on hold for technical services and when I did the cast member was honest and said there is just not enough of them. She said between spring break and now Cheers season starting they are just overwhelmed. My hope is, that as crowds and capacity increase they will bring back more cast members. Let's face it cast members are what make Disney so magical.  As for the airlines I agree they are ridiculous, but I have felt that way for year, well before the pandemic


----------



## Elle23

tjmw2727 said:


> In this particular case I feel differently.  With social distancing they can't fill the buses even 1/2 full sometimes.  So its either wait twice the time (and people were already complaining about long waits) or hire additional buses from other companies.
> 
> However I do expect the drivers to be courteous and the buses to be clean!



I do understand and told my daughter that. It just made us sad and was a taste of what is to come with no DME....a lesser experience that lacks the Disney magic we have all come to know and love.

There are also Charter buses operating to and from the parks. My daughter and I call them ghetto buses even though they are actually nicer buses than the Disney themed ones.


----------



## MARY-IN-OH

Elle23 said:


> I guess it depends on the hotel, but at Pop we have never had trash bags in the (very small) trash cans.



Just saw your post - I just posted the same thing in a new thread on resorts board! We didn't have bags either at All Star Movies (even the "very small" part lol).... No trash bags is so odd!


----------



## Aimeedyan

MARY-IN-OH said:


> Just saw your post - I just posted the same thing in a new thread on resorts board! We didn't have bags either at All Star Movies (even the "very small" part lol).... No trash bags is so odd!



We did not have bags in our room at AKL Jambo, Pop, or SSR recently. I can't remember if Boardwalk had them or not...

So "taking out my own trash" would have been super entertaining for anyone watching me juggle a pile of empty cups, plates, toy packaging, and 4 million Disney receipts.


----------



## lorileahb

Aimeedyan said:


> We did not have bags in our room at AKL Jambo, Pop, or SSR recently. I can't remember if Boardwalk had them or not...



I am a waste program manager for a large, national company.  Our waste vendor is requiring we go "bagless" for our trash and recycling within the next year.  It is a big initiative for them (I believe the bags interfere with some of their disposal or sorting systems), so I am assuming this is true for a lot of large companies using these large waste vendors.  Of course, should never assume!!! LOL


----------



## DCLMP

II’ve stayed at Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt over the last year and none of them offer housekeeping. Universal  resorts willl do a complete clean if you request it.


----------



## Skippyboo

Quick question one of my friends was saying that they are letting people fill their own mugs now. Is that true? I was last there end of January and it wasn’t the case. I’m heading to Pop on Saturday.


----------



## nerdyone

I see everyone taking the DME to their hotel.  We are able to take a Lyft or Uber to the hotel, right?


----------



## mantysk8coach

Skippyboo said:


> Quick question one of my friends was saying that they are letting people fill their own mugs now. Is that true? I was last there end of January and it wasn’t the case. I’m heading to Pop on Saturday.



I think this is brand new as of today, my travel agent just posted about it this morning. A baby step in the right direction!


----------



## Nikki1013

Skippyboo said:


> Quick question one of my friends was saying that they are letting people fill their own mugs now. Is that true? I was last there end of January and it wasn’t the case. I’m heading to Pop on Saturday.


Yes, but since DME is complementary, I always use that. Next year, when DME is no more , things will be different.

Enjoy your trip!


----------



## Kelly014

tjmw2727 said:


> In this particular case I feel differently.  With social distancing they can't fill the buses even 1/2 full sometimes.  So its either wait twice the time (and people were already complaining about long waits) or hire additional buses from other companies.
> 
> However I do expect the drivers to be courteous and the buses to be clean!


This is a good point. Do you think they will let me wait for a DME bus if I ask My husband will think I am nuts. I just love starting our vacation this way. I have fond memories of the DME - my toddler son falling asleep on me after an early flight, trivia with my daughter, photos in front of the bus in their mickey shades, shutting said toddler son's finger in the door to the tiny bathroom he had to use while potty training...I am a sucker so I will gladly pay for for DME service in the future if they offer the Disney themed buses for an upcharge. Okay, done with my off-topic nostalgic rant!


----------



## Elle23

Kelly014 said:


> Do you think they will let me wait for a DME bus if I ask



The thought crossed my mind, not gonna lie!


----------



## NEMouse

Staying at CSR. Buses *to* places aren't bad, if you are at the first stop (heard family at tower say no AK bus for 30 min at 10 am but we saw 2 go through our stop). Leaving places was awful- 2 buses in 40 min at MK after park close. Similar at DS. We are done with MK as many people aren't respecting line markers and we were told by guests to move up rather than leave space. I asked a cast member to enforce as we were being spoken to for following rules and the response was 'oh well'. Mask compliance is good but crowds are above expected. Originally expected 1-2 and on our arrival day updated to 3/4 and feels like 8 for walking crowds and wait times. Found TP and Disney wait times to both be off, take the average and it's more realistic. Happy we came, got to do a lot but 6 days of having people within arm's reach is getting to me.


----------



## LSUmiss

Dakota731 said:


> I think some of the housekeeping issues are lack of help which is affecting businesses all over the US now. Saw a news report that fast food places will only do drive thru from now on not because of covid, but because of no employees.  We’ve had two restaurants close in our small town for the same reason. McDonalds is now paying people $50 just to fill out an application! The hospital
> network in our area is even paying sign on bonuses for housekeeping staff not just nurses. I guess it’s easier for some people to collect assistance or unemployment than to work.


We are having the same issues here & vaccines are open & available to anyone who wants them in our area so Covid is no excuse now.


----------



## Sarahslay

MARY-IN-OH said:


> Just saw your post - I just posted the same thing in a new thread on resorts board! We didn't have bags either at All Star Movies (even the "very small" part lol).... No trash bags is so odd!


I'm actually used to no trash bags, and I prefer it, but on my last several stays (CR, Riviera, YC, BCV, & Pop over 4 trips) they've all had bags and it's been SUPER annoying. They are just giant air bubbles that hold zero things. We drink a lot of water (from bottles we bring) and they fill up with 1 bottle of water. We have to take the bag out and re-seat it in the can, but still can't fit as much in those tiny cans with the bags. On my next trip I'm just taking the bags out (but, like I said, I've been used to no bags pre-covid)


----------



## disneyseniors

Dakota731 said:


> I think some of the housekeeping issues are lack of help which is affecting businesses all over the US now. Saw a news report that fast food places will only do drive thru from now on not because of covid, but because of no employees.  We’ve had two restaurants close in our small town for the same reason. McDonalds is now paying people $50 just to fill out an application! The hospital
> network in our area is even paying sign on bonuses for housekeeping staff not just nurses. I guess it’s easier for some people to collect assistance or unemployment than to work.


I agree with the last statement.  Unemployment is practically doubled each week due to more "stimulus" money.  Some people are making more on unemployment than when they worked.  I think that is the main reason there are so many jobs open now.  We need to get back to regular UEI. IMO


----------



## LSUmiss

Dakota731 said:


> This may explain why Disney can’t get all the restaurants open yet. My husband is a hiring manager for a large company that pays very well, and he said it’s really hard to get workers right now.  Candidates either don’t pass the drug tests or have gotten comfortable sitting at home during covid.  And this is a company that a few years ago had a long waiting list to get hired.


I actually told DH that yesterday.


----------



## lovethattink

Hey everyone! Just a reminder that this is the theme park board and the Here Now Just Back thread. Please keep it to those topics. It suddenly feels like we are on the resort board instead.


----------



## jo-jo

We just got back last night.
  Parks seemed busy to us (we are late fall people).   Some lines are just crazy.   Waited an hour for mickey ride in HS.   Lines snaked all over the place.   Sometime it's hard to find where the line begins.  Never rode PP or mine train.  First thing in the morning, slinky dog was 70 min.  Last hour at MK was amazing.   Took my 4 year DGD on barnstormer, dumbo, tea cups twice and race cars.   One note, I was pushing DH in wheelchair,part of the time.   Some rides like buzz had switch backs every 20 ft or so.   The next day my back was achy from all the turns.

Handsanitizers...dispensers all over the place.   But are they filled????   At Buzz on Monday evening, all three were empty.  I always carried my own, so I didn't have to stop.   Sometimes, there would be a line getting off ride just to use hand sanitizer.

We didn't buy much food in parks.   But one meal was at Sunshine seasons.    Not many choices.   My 8 year old DGS got the chicken leg and rice.   I was afraid he would still be hungry.      I was hoping to order just a side of mac and cheese.   But I didn't see a way to do that, so ordered an extra kids meal.

Loved the bus and getting a seat.   We didn't have issues.  My DD, did JUST miss a AKL bus from Epcot and had to wait 30 mins.


Love the new security system.  Once I figured out the "bad" items,  I put them in a large ziplock bag and pulled it out and left in wheelchair, then walked thru carrying bags with drinks and snacks.  No more digging thru everything.

We stayed at BLT and AKL.   BLT no issues with housekeeping.  (We didn't have much)  AKL one day no trash pick up, I had brought along a few extra bags.  So I had a bag and trash can full of recyclables .   Then had all trash cans plus a bag of trash.    Heard housekeeping outside the door and asked about picking up trash.    CM came in and I told those there are recyclables and those are trash.   She put everything in one bag.   So glad I took the time to keep recyclables separate.

Really really missed the old ME.   Getting the luggage from SW and walking to ME was not pleasant.   Then waited about 30 mins.     I think for Dec,  we'll look into a town car service.

*Forgot to add, we had to wait about  20-30 mins just to get checked into ME.   So that was carry bags, shove suitcase shuffle, pause, repeat, over and over. 

Another thing just remembered.   At BLT, bell services were handing out carts like penny candy.   For luggage and grocery orders.    Wonder if this is because not enough CM working?   We had a huge food order and needed help, while waiting at least 3 people got their own items with carts.*


----------



## auntyjenn

jo-jo said:


> Love the new security system.  Once I figured out the "bad" items,  I put them in a large ziplock bag and pulled it out and left in wheelchair, then walked thru carrying bags with drinks and snacks.  No more digging thru everything.



What are the 'bad' items?


----------



## jlundeen

auntyjenn said:


> What are the 'bad' items?


I had trouble with my eyeglasses case (metal hinge on back) and battery charger.  When I left these in the basket of my ECV, I was able to walk through with my other bag, but held my little sanitizer bottle out since it was connected with a metal ring.  Never had to dig through again, although they did sometimes want to see inside my battery charger case.

They told me if you have something inside the bag that might set it off, to take it out and hold it away from the bag, and then they can see it and it's not an issue.  It is SOOOO much faster than the old bag check....


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

auntyjenn said:


> What are the 'bad' items?


Anything that sets off the metal detector.  If it goes off you have to go over and let security check your bag.


----------



## auntlynne

Kelly014 said:


> This is a good point. Do you think they will let me wait for a DME bus if I ask My husband will think I am nuts. I just love starting our vacation this way. I have fond memories of the DME - my toddler son falling asleep on me after an early flight, trivia with my daughter, photos in front of the bus in their mickey shades, shutting said toddler son's finger in the door to the tiny bathroom he had to use while potty training...I am a sucker so I will gladly pay for for DME service in the future if they offer the Disney themed buses for an upcharge. Okay, done with my off-topic nostalgic rant!



They’re not going to make you get on a bus.  If you want to wait, it’s your time.  Now, convincing your husband is another thing.


----------



## auntlynne

Skippyboo said:


> Quick question one of my friends was saying that they are letting people fill their own mugs now. Is that true? I was last there end of January and it wasn’t the case. I’m heading to Pop on Saturday.



They posted the answer before you asked.  They read your mind. 



Elle23 said:


> The self service drink stations are open at Pop!!!!
> 
> They have a CM standing there limiting the number of people who can access the stations at a given time, but I filled my very own coffee cup this morning!
> 
> Progress!!!


----------



## DisneyJColeMom

Elle23 said:


> I do understand and told my daughter that. It just made us sad and was a taste of what is to come with no DME....a lesser experience that lacks the Disney magic we have all come to know and love.
> 
> There are also Charter buses operating to and from the parks. My daughter and I call them ghetto buses even though they are actually nicer buses than the Disney themed ones.


I didnt even know i might be missing out on this experience and now I want it lol!! So its just a mix of buses? Some people ARE getting the DME? Or is it mostly regular?


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

DisneyJColeMom said:


> I didnt even know i might be missing out on this experience and now I want it lol!! So its just a mix of buses? Some people ARE getting the DME? Or is it mostly regular?


Would I prefer to be on a DME bus?  Yes.
Would I wait longer to take a DME bus if a regular bus was waiting?  Absolutely not.


----------



## focusondisney

FinallyFL said:


> There are usually extra trash bags inside the garbage can.



Not at YC this week.


----------



## GDubDIS

Hey everyone - this is a bit delayed but I spent a few days at the parks last week, and this thread was very helpful for me so wanted to share my experience. The TLDR is: if you are vaccinated, or feel comfortable being around crowds of people wearing masks, I think it's a great time to go!

This trip was just me and my partner, both late 20s who like to eat and drink and hadn't been to HS or AK in 10 years so were excited for Star Wars Land, Pandora, and our first festival at Epcot. For us, MK didn't matter, so with our two park days we spent the time at the other 3 parks.

*Social Distancing / Masking / Covid Protocols: *We live in the middle of Washington DC, where mask compliance and distancing are generally excellent and Covid protocols are strict. Well, we were in for a rude awakening when we landed at MCO and saw noses and mouths everywhere. Yikes. Partner is fully vaccinated, and I got my first dose a few days before the trip so baggage claim was particularly stressful for me.

Once we got to WDW it was a different world. In the parks I would say mask compliance is fantastic. Social distancing actually wasn't bad either! Maybe because we live in a city where it is never practical to always be 6 feet apart from others, and are used to sharing elevators with other parties in our apartment building, but I thought given that almost everyone was properly wearing masks, I felt comfortable pretty much everywhere. In lines I actually did think everyone was almost always appropriately distanced. Of course there are chokepoints, but if you're wearing a mask and just walking by (and outdoors) I personally don't think that's too high of a risk.

Disney Springs was definitely more "nose-y" but still way better than what I saw at MCO and better than I was expecting from reading reports here. And we went on a Sunday night. FWIW I'm a pretty strict Covid "rules" follower and was impressed with Disney in that regard. All I could think about in the lines was, why did we ever get closer to strangers than this?! 

*Lines/Wait Times:* The lines do pretty much always look incredibly long but I loved always moving. The last time I was at WDW was in 2017 (EP & MK) and we are not WDW pros so hadn't done any FastPasses in advance. The standbys at that time were sooo long we only did a few rides and mostly walked around and took pictures with characters. This time around, I felt like you could really do everything you wanted even with minimal planning.

*Monday, 4/12 HS --> EP --> HS: *On Monday, 4/12 we got to HS at around 8:10/8:15 for an official 9am opening. Couldn't have been later than 8:20 when they started letting folks in and we went towards ToT/RnRC but ToT wasn't open yet so started with RnRC. Took about 5 or 10 minutes for the line to start moving but then we immediately walked on. After that got in line for ToT which had a posted wait of 50 and probably took about 40 minutes, one of the longer lines of the trip. But still not bad at all! We then did Smugglers Run, posted 60 wait, actual 45. After that we did lunch at Ronto Roasters (yum) and were able to get an immediate time for mobile ordering around 11am-ish. After that got a beer at one of the walk up carts by Muppets and Galaxy's Edge entrance (less than a 5 minute line for the cart) and waited for our RoTR boarding group (what an awesome ride)!

Probably the ONLY thing that was annoying (but understandable) about the Covid restrictions were the limits on people in the stores. In GE, as many of you know, you have to wait in line to access the main collection of shops. This line moved sloooowly and the merch was kind of disappointing once we got there. Really felt like the DS merch was better which was surprising to me. But we made the best of it and I ran to grab some Green Milks + Tequila for us while my partner waited in line.

It was starting to get hot then so we walked back to the Swan ( first we stopped at the shops on the way out of the park for some gifts) for a couple of hours at the pool, then headed over to Epcot to hit up festival booths. We got to Epcot around 4:30-5pm, stopped at a few booths around WS, and then took the Skyliner to HS arriving around 6:30. Between 6:30 and 8pm (closing time), we were able to ride TSM (posted 15, walk on), MMRR (posted 20, actually 10), and SDD (posted 50, actual 35). We also got our second Green Milk + Tequila of the day (YUM).

So in one day not only were we able to get on every ride we personally wanted to do at HS (which I think covered all the headliners), we also had time to sit down for lunch, go to our pool in the afternoon, pop into Epcot for festival booths, and do some shopping. We got up at 6:55am to grab our boarding pass, and were back in our room for the night by 9pm so I was thrilled with what we got done in that timespan, and that we weren't out super late before our next day in the parks.

*Tuesday, 4/13: AK --> EP: *Woke up around 6:45am today - park was scheduled to open at 8am so knew we wanted to be there well before then but didn't want to wake up toooo early because vacation.  We just missed an AK bus from the Swan so took a Lyft (quick, easy, cheap) and arrived around 7:40am with no line to enter since early arrivals had already been let in.

We walked back towards the Safari and had to wait about 10-ish minutes before they opened up the line but then immediately walked through the queue and got on a truck. Great safari although we may have actually been a bit too early - it seemed like a lot of the animals were (understandably) still asleep.

Got off the Safari and walked to Everest (posted 5, walk on) then Dinosar (posted 5, walk on, had our own vehicle). After that we figured the line for FoP would be long all day so just got in line when it was posted 70 mins and stretched allll the way back to Africa but it only took 50 and was moving the whole time. Another awesome first-for-us ride! When we got off Pandora was definitely crowded (feels like they could have added more path space there??) so we got drinks and a pineappple/cream cheese roll from Pongu Pongu, which had a line but moved very quickly. And yes, we got the alcoholic version because again, vacation. 

After that we hit up the animal trails - Gorilla Falls and Maharajah. Great trails! We were a bit hungry but unsure what we wanted so we went to Dawa Bar for drinks and snagged a table (it was tough to get a table when we were there but afterwards it cleared out around 11:30am and then there were tons of tables available) and grabbed a pretzel from the Harambe cart. *Before this trip I saw a lot about terrible lines for carts, and yes there were lines, but they only ever took 5 minutes to me which is what I would expect in normal times anyway.

We ended up scoring a walk-up spot for Nomad Lounge and did some quick shopping while we waited for that to be ready. We had a great spot on the patio and saw some character floats go by which was fun. Yummy food and drinks here, but boy oh boy is it challenging to get a non-sweet drink at WDW. After that we got in line for Navi River Journey to round out our time at AK (posted 40, took 40) and then called a Lyft back to the Swan. I will say the Swan buses were hard to find and not cleraly identifiable so Lyft was a lifesaver.

Spent about 2 hours at the pool in the afternoon before changing and walking over to Epcot again for the night. On the way we stopped at Abracadabar, which had our favorite drinks and overall atmosphere of the trip. Loved it and highly recommend if you want a good drink at Disney. We'd love to go back in normal times when it's buzzing and we can have an easier conversation with the bartender (something we really miss during Covid overall!)

Got to Epcot around 7pm and hit up some of the food booths on the other side of WS we didn't get to the night before. At some point we got a drink at the tequila bar in Mexico which was another place we think must be so fun during normal times - felt like a normal, non-Disney bar in there! There was no wait to get in the pavilion when we went and it was a 5 minute wait to get our drinks.

Later that night we hit up a few rides in quick succession - Livin with the Land (posted 5, walk on), Spaceship Earth (posted 35, took 20), Frozen (posted 25, took 15), and Test Track (posted 40, took 25). Once again I felt like we hit all the booths, pavilions, shops, and rides we wanted to with minimal wait times. We left Epcot around 10:30 and crashed once we got back to the Swan.

*Overall Thoughts: *We had a wonderful time! We felt safe the entire time we were on Disney property, although DS was crowded at night and definitely not as good compliance. But I expected worse! Wait times are amazing. We rode every ride we wanted to, including multiple headliners (MMRR, ToT, Smugglers Run, SDD, Test Track, Frozen, FoP) and never waited more than 50 minutes. And the 50 minute line was an exception, not the rule. We would have loved to see fireworks or have more shops/restaurants open, but we had realistic expectations given the events of the world, and felt increidbly lucky to be traveling and in good health (and at least partially vaccinated). Just the mini-break we needed!

Happy to answer any questions anyone has but if you've got your vaccine, don't mind going with the flow (and following the rules ), and need a little boost of happiness, I would 10/10 recommend it!


----------



## auntyjenn

GDubDIS said:


> Hey everyone - this is a bit delayed but I spent a few days at the parks last week, and this thread was very helpful for me so wanted to share my experience. The TLDR is: if you are vaccinated, or feel comfortable being around crowds of people wearing masks, I think it's a great time to go!
> 
> This trip was just me and my partner, both late 20s who like to eat and drink and hadn't been to HS or AK in 10 years so were excited for Star Wars Land, Pandora, and our first festival at Epcot. For us, MK didn't matter, so with our two park days we spent the time at the other 3 parks.
> 
> *Social Distancing / Masking / Covid Protocols: *We live in the middle of Washington DC, where mask compliance and distancing are generally excellent and Covid protocols are strict. Well, we were in for a rude awakening when we landed at MCO and saw noses and mouths everywhere. Yikes. Partner is fully vaccinated, and I got my first dose a few days before the trip so baggage claim was particularly stressful for me.
> 
> Once we got to WDW it was a different world. In the parks I would say mask compliance is fantastic. Social distancing actually wasn't bad either! Maybe because we live in a city where it is never practical to always be 6 feet apart from others, and are used to sharing elevators with other parties in our apartment building, but I thought given that almost everyone was properly wearing masks, I felt comfortable pretty much everywhere. In lines I actually did think everyone was almost always appropriately distanced. Of course there are chokepoints, but if you're wearing a mask and just walking by (and outdoors) I personally don't think that's too high of a risk.
> 
> Disney Springs was definitely more "nose-y" but still way better than what I saw at MCO and better than I was expecting from reading reports here. And we went on a Sunday night. FWIW I'm a pretty strict Covid "rules" follower and was impressed with Disney in that regard. All I could think about in the lines was, why did we ever get closer to strangers than this?!
> 
> *Lines/Wait Times:* The lines do pretty much always look incredibly long but I loved always moving. The last time I was at WDW was in 2017 (EP & MK) and we are not WDW pros so hadn't done any FastPasses in advance. The standbys at that time were sooo long we only did a few rides and mostly walked around and took pictures with characters. This time around, I felt like you could really do everything you wanted even with minimal planning.
> 
> *Monday, 4/12 HS --> EP --> HS: *On Monday, 4/12 we got to HS at around 8:10/8:15 for an official 9am opening. Couldn't have been later than 8:20 when they started letting folks in and we went towards ToT/RnRC but ToT wasn't open yet so started with RnRC. Took about 5 or 10 minutes for the line to start moving but then we immediately walked on. After that got in line for ToT which had a posted wait of 50 and probably took about 40 minutes, one of the longer lines of the trip. But still not bad at all! We then did Smugglers Run, posted 60 wait, actual 45. After that we did lunch at Ronto Roasters (yum) and were able to get an immediate time for mobile ordering around 11am-ish. After that got a beer at one of the walk up carts by Muppets and Galaxy's Edge entrance (less than a 5 minute line for the cart) and waited for our RoTR boarding group (what an awesome ride)!
> 
> Probably the ONLY thing that was annoying (but understandable) about the Covid restrictions were the limits on people in the stores. In GE, as many of you know, you have to wait in line to access the main collection of shops. This line moved sloooowly and the merch was kind of disappointing once we got there. Really felt like the DS merch was better which was surprising to me. But we made the best of it and I ran to grab some Green Milks + Tequila for us while my partner waited in line.
> 
> It was starting to get hot then so we walked back to the Swan ( first we stopped at the shops on the way out of the park for some gifts) for a couple of hours at the pool, then headed over to Epcot to hit up festival booths. We got to Epcot around 4:30-5pm, stopped at a few booths around WS, and then took the Skyliner to HS arriving around 6:30. Between 6:30 and 8pm (closing time), we were able to ride TSM (posted 15, walk on), MMRR (posted 20, actually 10), and SDD (posted 50, actual 35). We also got our second Green Milk + Tequila of the day (YUM).
> 
> So in one day not only were we able to get on every ride we personally wanted to do at HS (which I think covered all the headliners), we also had time to sit down for lunch, go to our pool in the afternoon, pop into Epcot for festival booths, and do some shopping. We got up at 6:55am to grab our boarding pass, and were back in our room for the night by 9pm so I was thrilled with what we got done in that timespan, and that we weren't out super late before our next day in the parks.
> 
> *Tuesday, 4/13: AK --> EP: *Woke up around 6:45am today - park was scheduled to open at 8am so knew we wanted to be there well before then but didn't want to wake up toooo early because vacation.  We just missed an AK bus from the Swan so took a Lyft (quick, easy, cheap) and arrived around 7:40am with no line to enter since early arrivals had already been let in.
> 
> We walked back towards the Safari and had to wait about 10-ish minutes before they opened up the line but then immediately walked through the queue and got on a truck. Great safari although we may have actually been a bit too early - it seemed like a lot of the animals were (understandably) still asleep.
> 
> Got off the Safari and walked to Everest (posted 5, walk on) then Dinosar (posted 5, walk on, had our own vehicle). After that we figured the line for FoP would be long all day so just got in line when it was posted 70 mins and stretched allll the way back to Africa but it only took 50 and was moving the whole time. Another awesome first-for-us ride! When we got off Pandora was definitely crowded (feels like they could have added more path space there??) so we got drinks and a pineappple/cream cheese roll from Pongu Pongu, which had a line but moved very quickly. And yes, we got the alcoholic version because again, vacation.
> 
> After that we hit up the animal trails - Gorilla Falls and Maharajah. Great trails! We were a bit hungry but unsure what we wanted so we went to Dawa Bar for drinks and snagged a table (it was tough to get a table when we were there but afterwards it cleared out around 11:30am and then there were tons of tables available) and grabbed a pretzel from the Harambe cart. *Before this trip I saw a lot about terrible lines for carts, and yes there were lines, but they only ever took 5 minutes to me which is what I would expect in normal times anyway.
> 
> We ended up scoring a walk-up spot for Nomad Lounge and did some quick shopping while we waited for that to be ready. We had a great spot on the patio and saw some character floats go by which was fun. Yummy food and drinks here, but boy oh boy is it challenging to get a non-sweet drink at WDW. After that we got in line for Navi River Journey to round out our time at AK (posted 40, took 40) and then called a Lyft back to the Swan. I will say the Swan buses were hard to find and not cleraly identifiable so Lyft was a lifesaver.
> 
> Spent about 2 hours at the pool in the afternoon before changing and walking over to Epcot again for the night. On the way we stopped at Abracadabar, which had our favorite drinks and overall atmosphere of the trip. Loved it and highly recommend if you want a good drink at Disney. We'd love to go back in normal times when it's buzzing and we can have an easier conversation with the bartender (something we really miss during Covid overall!)
> 
> Got to Epcot around 7pm and hit up some of the food booths on the other side of WS we didn't get to the night before. At some point we got a drink at the tequila bar in Mexico which was another place we think must be so fun during normal times - felt like a normal, non-Disney bar in there! There was no wait to get in the pavilion when we went and it was a 5 minute wait to get our drinks.
> 
> Later that night we hit up a few rides in quick succession - Livin with the Land (posted 5, walk on), Spaceship Earth (posted 35, took 20), Frozen (posted 25, took 15), and Test Track (posted 40, took 25). Once again I felt like we hit all the booths, pavilions, shops, and rides we wanted to with minimal wait times. We left Epcot around 10:30 and crashed once we got back to the Swan.
> 
> *Overall Thoughts: *We had a wonderful time! We felt safe the entire time we were on Disney property, although DS was crowded at night and definitely not as good compliance. But I expected worse! Wait times are amazing. We rode every ride we wanted to, including multiple headliners (MMRR, ToT, Smugglers Run, SDD, Test Track, Frozen, FoP) and never waited more than 50 minutes. And the 50 minute line was an exception, not the rule. We would have loved to see fireworks or have more shops/restaurants open, but we had realistic expectations given the events of the world, and felt increidbly lucky to be traveling and in good health (and at least partially vaccinated). Just the mini-break we needed!
> 
> Happy to answer any questions anyone has but if you've got your vaccine, don't mind going with the flow (and following the rules ), and need a little boost of happiness, I would 10/10 recommend it!



Did you notice if the shops for GE were open before official park opening? 

Thanks!


----------



## jo-jo

auntyjenn said:


> What are the 'bad' items?



For us, a cane, an umbrella, a charger, couple of mini fans.


----------



## jo-jo

DisneyJColeMom said:


> I didnt even know i might be missing out on this experience and now I want it lol!! So its just a mix of buses? Some people ARE getting the DME? Or is it mostly regular?




We got a ME bus once.   He put the strollers under the bus.   I felt the urge to tip (but didn't).


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## iujen94

jo-jo said:


> For us, a cane, an umbrella, a charger, couple of mini fans.


I’ve also heard metal water bottles can be a problem.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Skippyboo said:


> Quick question one of my friends was saying that they are letting people fill their own mugs now. Is that true? I was last there end of January and it wasn’t the case. I’m heading to Pop on Saturday.


saw something about this this morning. appears to just be changing like overnight from what I read


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Kelly014 said:


> This is a good point. Do you think they will let me wait for a DME bus if I ask My husband will think I am nuts. I just love starting our vacation this way. I have fond memories of the DME - my toddler son falling asleep on me after an early flight, trivia with my daughter, photos in front of the bus in their mickey shades, shutting said toddler son's finger in the door to the tiny bathroom he had to use while potty training...I am a sucker so I will gladly pay for for DME service in the future if they offer the Disney themed buses for an upcharge. Okay, done with my off-topic nostalgic rant!


even if allowed how many buses would you wait or what happens if none are on your route


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## wdwrule

Just got back last night. We stayed from Saturday April 17 until Tuesday April 20 and visited every park except AK. No park hoppers (we typically get them but this time we wanted to soak up park time from opening to closing and it was a ‘short’ trip).  Our typical day consisted of rope dropping headliner rides, then late morning we would slow down and have an early lunch. We’d then shop (shops get busy in evenings anyways) stroll, and hit up rides which had lower waits like Nemo, Little Mermaid, CoP, etc. Then early dinner and try for more headliner rides. This strategy worked really well for us especially since we’ve always been fastpass fans. Without park hoppers it was surprisingly nice to just stay in one park all day/evening and it felt like we got tons done!  So many things we noticed this time around such as those little details throughout that we otherwise rush by. I highly recommend as others have said here, to hit up popular rides early morning and/or evening. For example, MMRR was consistently busy with a crazy long line from mid morning until late afternoon. We got in line for it around 5:30 or so and only waited 20-25 minutes. 

I also recommend which others have, to eat early mealtimes and start mobile ordering way earlier than when you normally would. For example, on the bus to MK opening around 8:00am (would’ve been earlier but had to stow luggage for departure), I ordered lunch for an 11:00 window. 1) the food was so fresh, 2) no crowding to fight through to pick up the order, 3) plentiful seating. It’s also beneficial to click on ‘I’m Here’ at least 10 minutes before you plan on actually picking it up. 

On both of our MK days, we had a meal at a nearby resort. Geyser point at WL... boat ride from MK and joined walk up list while on the boat. Not very busy though. Fabulous food and great atmosphere!  Nice change of scenery from park without being away from the park long. Plus we’ve stayed at WL few times before and it’s my fave so it was awesome to visit.  I really like the convenience of joining a walk up list and also the convenience of mobile ordering. I could see pros and cons but for our family (who likes to plan ahead) it was fantastic. Other time was Gasparilla Grill at GF. Also great food and lovely atmosphere... love the shops at the GF too! We were going to use the walkway there from MK but torrential rain and thunder...  love the monorail anyways.  In general, in all of the restaurants we visited, table spacing was wonderful and felt comfortable/safe.

A pleasant surprise was, this was first of many trips we didn’t order memory maker but... low and behold the memory maker we had purchased and used this past November still worked for this trip!  I had called prior to trip if my previous MM was still attached to this trip and CM told me no but I noticed ride pics showing up in my MDE. So I was so excited that I was able to get pics after all!! We ended up getting so many pictures.  Just throwing that out there if anyone has a similar scenario.

Magical Express:  arrival no issues waiting and no long lines. We always arrive early as we always book crack of dawn flights and have never had long waits pre- and post- covid. Headed to Pop, we had an official ME bus with movie playing. Departure was a charter bus... driver made announcement and apologized and said dvd wasn’t set up at that moment or he would’ve played the movie. November we had an official ME but no movie playing so I think it’s just the luck of the draw for the whole experience.

Transportation:  love, love, love the ease of the skyliner. Also, it’s great having your own gondola during this era. Buses were good and efficient too. November we ubered to Speedway for HS rope drop (very long line at skyliner that morning). We attempted this once this trip, however Uber doubled its fare for this location and nearby locations since then (at least in our situation) so we waited in the skyliner line which actually didn’t take that long at all. I’ve heard Lyft is cheaper but we’ve never used them yet.  We love Disney transportation though and use it 98% of the time we’re there. 

It wasn’t as easy finding cups of water in the parks as in the past so we bought a case of water for $7.50 or so at our resort’s gift shop... Had to specifically ask for it. I think there’s about 24 kid sized bottles in the case and they all fit in the fridge. Nice size to carry off to the parks. We did this in November too and highly recommend it. We used some to run through the coffee maker (also ran it through for oatmeal).

We enjoyed spontaneous cavalcades at the parks and character caravans at resorts but missed live entertainment such as Citizens of Hollywood and the orchestra at the GF to name a few.

Even in these trying different times, the magic was definitely there and I do miss being there already. It will always be my happy place no matter what and I think it’s just all of what you make of it.


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## Kelly014

Betty Rohrer said:


> even if allowed how many buses would you wait or what happens if none are on your route


It was mostly a joke


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## bookgirl2632

As far as “bad items” that set off the metal detectors, I see people are taking them out of their bags before going through.  What do you do with the items?  I’ll probably have my phone, a charger, and my metal water bottle. Do I just carry them through the detector?


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## DisneyFive

I seem to remember getting coach buses for ME even before Covid?  I don't think this is something new.  I could be wrong though.  I can see why it matters to some, and it certainly is a great memory from our first couple of stays.  However, just that fact that I don't need to drive once I arrive to MCO is enough for me to start decompressing and starting to feel like I'm in the Disney Bubble.  I guess for me it starts when we check in at the ME counters and get in line for our resort.  If it's a Disney Bus or a coach doesn't matter much now to us.

Dan


----------



## beesly

bookgirl2632 said:


> As far as “bad items” that set off the metal detectors, I see people are taking them out of their bags before going through.  What do you do with the items?  I’ll probably have my phone, a charger, and my metal water bottle. Do I just carry them through the detector?



Yep!

Most of the time we didn’t even take the phones or chargers out of our bags. The only time it went off and my DD had to have her bag searched was when she actually had the charger on with her phone charging as she walked through the detector.


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## jo-jo

bookgirl2632 said:


> As far as “bad items” that set off the metal detectors, I see people are taking them out of their bags before going through.  What do you do with the items?  I’ll probably have my phone, a charger, and my metal water bottle. Do I just carry them through the detector?



We were told keep phone in pocket.  But for us, couldn't carry cooler AND carry umbrella, cane, etc out in front of us.


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## Carol_

Elle23 said:


> The self service drink stations are open at Pop!!!!
> 
> They have a CM standing there limiting the number of people who can access the stations at a given time, but I filled my very own coffee cup this morning!
> 
> Progress!!!


I’m so sad that we’re celebrating self serve coffee at WDW. Of course it’s better than it was before but dang what a low bar.


----------



## tjmw2727

bookgirl2632 said:


> As far as “bad items” that set off the metal detectors, I see people are taking them out of their bags before going through.  What do you do with the items?  I’ll probably have my phone, a charger, and my metal water bottle. Do I just carry them through the detector?



Yes and be sure to carry them in a different hand than you carry your bag!  I got "scolded" the first time going through as I had my umbrella out but in the same hand as my park bag and apparently they can't tell if its in or out of the bag LOL.   

My dd has a larger portable phone charger and she takes that out along with her umbrella.  

I read upthread that someone puts them in a separate clear zip lock - that's what were going to try tomorrow, in separate hands


----------



## MoeJ

bookgirl2632 said:


> As far as “bad items” that set off the metal detectors, I see people are taking them out of their bags before going through.  What do you do with the items?  I’ll probably have my phone, a charger, and my metal water bottle. Do I just carry them through the detector?


My phone & charger didn't set off at any park. My umbrella only set it off at MK.

Kind of weird, MK was my first day with a new umbrella and because I'd read (in this thread, thank you!) that they can set off the detectors, I purposely held it out in front of me as I walked through it.

Welp, one CM insisted I go to bag check. The CM at bag check had witnessed the whole entry, rolled her eyes, gave a cursory glance to my bag and sent us on our way.

Same umbrella never set off the detectors in any other park.

Odd, but OK whatevs.


----------



## DanaCeppy

Jennyonecoin said:


> That’s perfect! Thank you. How much was it?


I think $9.99


----------



## Wood Nymph

iujen94 said:


> I’ve also heard metal water bottles can be a problem.





bookgirl2632 said:


> As far as “bad items” that set off the metal detectors, I see people are taking them out of their bags before going through.  What do you do with the items?  I’ll probably have my phone, a charger, and my metal water bottle. Do I just carry them through the detector?


I bring a stainless steel water bottle in my string bag and haven't set off the scanners at any of the parks. The cellphone stays in the bag, too.


----------



## Linkura

nerdyone said:


> I see everyone taking the DME to their hotel.  We are able to take a Lyft or Uber to the hotel, right?


Of course!  I hired a private car this time so I don't have to deal with DME or spend a second longer in MCO than I have to.


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## Aimeedyan

I have never taken anything out of the bag or our pockets and nothing has gone off yet. We never carry an umbrella but have stainless water bottles in the bag every park visit.

My cell is always in my pocket.

I love love LOVE the new security. If you're a Disney pro and haven't experienced it yet, it will put a skip in your step first thing in the morning!


----------



## Gearbm95

I’m not naive, I knew it was 4/20 this week...but did anyone else experience marijuana use in the park? Happened to us twice in MK on Monday and once in Epcot on Tuesday.

Is this pretty common at the parks?


----------



## Gonflipin

Skippyboo said:


> Quick question one of my friends was saying that they are letting people fill their own mugs now. Is that true? I was last there end of January and it wasn’t the case. I’m heading to Pop on Saturday.


Yes, we were able to fill our own mugs today at AoA. Cast member letting one party at a time use the machines. Also in Epcot today, at Regal Eagle Smokehouse quick service in America, we were allowed to fill our own drinks, not sure if that was new. No cast member present watching though


----------



## DisneyFive

Gearbm95 said:


> I’m not naive, I knew it was 4/20 this week...but did anyone else experience marijuana use in the park? Happened to us twice in MK on Monday and once in Epcot on Tuesday.
> 
> Is this pretty common at the parks?



Can you explain “experience marijuana”?  Like you actually witnessed people smoking it?  ...or you smelled it on someone(s).

it is definitely not something I want to smell or see while anywhere on Disney property

Dan


----------



## Gonflipin

auntyjenn said:


> What are the 'bad' items?


So far eyeglasses case and umbrellas had to be bag checked


----------



## Gonflipin

Really loving mobile ordering concept just hoping they expand the choices back soon. Traveling with a child who is super picky eater is a challenge but even more so with limited choices. PSA: there are only 2 quick service locations open in Epcot that have specific menus. I wish I realized that, read the menus prior and made lunch reservations instead of quick service. I was relying on the burger and fry place being open that’s by mouse gears and it is not, yikes! My mistake. Hope this helps others.


----------



## Naomeri

Gonflipin said:


> Really loving mobile ordering concept just hoping they expand the choices back soon. Traveling with a child who is super picky eater is a challenge but even more so with limited choices. PSA: there are only 2 quick service locations open in Epcot that have specific menus. I wish I realized that, read the menus prior and made lunch reservations instead of quick service. I was relying on the burger and fry place being open that’s by mouse gears and it is not, yikes! My mistake. Hope this helps others.


I’m basically your child, all grown up   Epcot is hard for me.  Luckily, I like hot dogs, so I hit the Refreshment Outpost


----------



## Kerr84

Our daughter’s yogurt pouch set off the metal detector. So we learned to keep that in the stroller.


----------



## GDubDIS

auntyjenn said:


> Did you notice if the shops for GE were open before official park opening?
> 
> Thanks!



We didn’t notice unfortunately - we made the choice to go down Sunset Boulevard at Rope Drop when other crowds when to TSL and GE so not sure when the shops officially open. If I had to take a guess, there probably isn’t much of a wait for the shops in the morning because I think people hit the rides first but if rides are important probably good to hit those first


----------



## Gearbm95

DisneyFive said:


> Can you explain “experience marijuana”?  Like you actually witnessed people smoking it?  ...or you smelled it on someone(s).
> 
> it is definitely not something I want to smell or see while anywhere on Disney property
> 
> Dan



Saw a younger couple (maybe early 30s?) smoking/vaping what smelled liked marijuana in the Relaxation Station near POTC.

Tuesday at Epcot also saw a group smoking what again smelled like marijuana, on the walkway between Epcot Experience and TT.


----------



## auntlynne

Gearbm95 said:


> Saw a younger couple (maybe early 30s?) smoking/vaping what smelled liked marijuana in the Relaxation Station near POTC.
> 
> Tuesday at Epcot also saw a group smoking what again smelled like marijuana, on the walkway between Epcot Experience and TT.



I thought smoking had been moved to outside the entrance at all parks.  Just sort of stuck out there.  Smoking in a relaxation station makes it a non-relaxation station for non-smokers.  The marijuana doubles the relaxation for its partakers, though?


----------



## Tawney

I would like to know more about the recent security procedures, if anyone could fill me in.  I searched but didn't really find what I was looking for.  We remove items from our bags now and hold them?  Sorry if this has been asked before, but I guess I don't really understand.  How do I know what items to carry and what to leave in the bag?  All of the articles that I have found searching the internet state to leave everything in your bag.  Thanks!

Edited to add; I did just read that metal water bottles must be carried.  We will have those, so I guess that everything else is just seeing if the metal detector goes off for anything else we are carrying.


----------



## Akck

Tawney said:


> I would like to know more about the recent security procedures, if anyone could fill me in.  I searched but didn't really find what I was looking for.  We remove items from our bags now and hold them?  Sorry if this has been asked before, but I guess I don't really understand.  How do I know what items to carry and what to leave in the bag?  All of the articles that I have found searching the internet state to leave everything in your bag.  Thanks!
> 
> Edited to add; I did just read that metal water bottles must be carried.  We will have those, so I guess that everything else is just seeing if the metal detector goes off for anything else we are carrying.



Generally, they’ll mention umbrellas, metal bottles and eyeglass cases should be held out in front of you. In addition, I’ll hold out my phone and battery bank as one or the other once set it off.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Tawney said:


> I would like to know more about the recent security procedures, if anyone could fill me in.  I searched but didn't really find what I was looking for.  We remove items from our bags now and hold them?  Sorry if this has been asked before, but I guess I don't really understand.  How do I know what items to carry and what to leave in the bag?  All of the articles that I have found searching the internet state to leave everything in your bag.  Thanks!
> 
> Edited to add; I did just read that metal water bottles must be carried.  We will have those, so I guess that everything else is just seeing if the metal detector goes off for anything else we are carrying.


Basically it's best to carry anything metal that might set off the metal detector.  If it gets set off and they can't see what you're carrying, they will send you over to security for a quick bag check.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

GDubDIS said:


> We didn’t notice unfortunately - we made the choice to go down Sunset Boulevard at Rope Drop when other crowds when to TSL and GE so not sure when the shops officially open. If I had to take a guess, *there probably isn’t much of a wait for the shops in the morning *because I think people hit the rides first but if rides are important probably good to hit those first


This is true - first hour of the day is a great time to visit the shops, otherwise you'll be waiting in a long, slow line to enter.


----------



## Akck

I was able to snag BG 27 from CBR at 7 am. In checking the night before, data was quicker than WiFi, so I was planning to turn it off. However, just before 7, WiFi was quicker than data, so I left it on and got my BG. With BG 27, we’re not planning to RD and will leisurely head over as our BG gets closer.


----------



## Leigh L

bookgirl2632 said:


> As far as “bad items” that set off the metal detectors, I see people are taking them out of their bags before going through.  What do you do with the items?  I’ll probably have my phone, a charger, and my metal water bottle. Do I just carry them through the detector?


Yes, but also hold them as far as you can. Once or twice I didn't stretch my arms far enough when holding my eyeglasses case out and the guard told me I need to hold it out further.

Phones we always left in pockets or bags with no issue). The two things we carry that needed out were my eyeglasses case and DD's portable charger. The one thing I didn't realize for two trips was that I didn't have to open the eyeglasses case. Here in DC I have to open it in numerous places, so just assumed LOL

The new security system is sooooo much better.


----------



## Geomom

Gearbm95 said:


> Saw a younger couple (maybe early 30s?) smoking/vaping what smelled liked marijuana in the Relaxation Station near POTC.
> 
> Tuesday at Epcot also saw a group smoking what again smelled like marijuana, on the walkway between Epcot Experience and TT.


There's not supposed to any kind of smoking/vaping inside the parks.  Smoking areas had been moved to outside the park.  The people in the relaxation area should have been told by a CM to go out of the park to smoke. (The epcot one sounds like an area with no CMs)  We had a guy vaping in the soarin' line over the summer, where there are no CMs.  We haven't seen/smelled marijuana in the parks this week.  DH did smell it just outside of Magic kingdom as we walked to the buses.  I don't think it's widespread in the parks, but you've been unlucky to encounter it multiple times.


----------



## jo-jo

Tawney said:


> I would like to know more about the recent security procedures, if anyone could fill me in.  I searched but didn't really find what I was looking for.  We remove items from our bags now and hold them?  Sorry if this has been asked before, but I guess I don't really understand.  How do I know what items to carry and what to leave in the bag?  All of the articles that I have found searching the internet state to leave everything in your bag.  Thanks!
> 
> Edited to add; I did just read that metal water bottles must be carried.  We will have those, so I guess that everything else is just seeing if the metal detector goes off for anything else we are carrying.




We traveled with 4 adults, 6 grandkids.    On the first day, I didn't know the rules.  Security said the fans, the cane, umbrella and pringles can triggered the alarm.     In the coolers, I had soda cans, juice pouches, sandwiches wrapped in foil, plastic water bottles.  No issues with the coolers.  Not even a need to open. I thought the amount of foil on 10 sandwiches might set it off.


----------



## brockash

Leigh L said:


> Yes, but also hold them as far as you can. Once or twice I didn't stretch my arms far enough when holding my eyeglasses case out and the guard told me I need to hold it out further.
> 
> Phones we always left in pockets or bags with no issue). The two things we carry that needed out were my eyeglasses case and DD's portable charger. The one thing I didn't realize for two trips was that I didn't have to open the eyeglasses case. Here in DC I have to open it in numerous places, so just assumed LOL
> 
> The new security system is sooooo much better.


Yes, this seemed to make a huge difference for us this last trip as opposed to the 2 before with these new procedures.  This trip we made sure to hold our bags out as far as possible from our body and were never stopped.  The last two trips we just held them in front of us and were stopped every time.  Same contents in the bag.


----------



## Wood Nymph

Tawney said:


> I would like to know more about the recent security procedures, if anyone could fill me in.  I searched but didn't really find what I was looking for.  We remove items from our bags now and hold them?  Sorry if this has been asked before, but I guess I don't really understand.  How do I know what items to carry and what to leave in the bag?  All of the articles that I have found searching the internet state to leave everything in your bag.  Thanks!
> 
> Edited to add; I did just read that metal water bottles must be carried.  We will have those, so I guess that everything else is just seeing if the metal detector goes off for anything else we are carrying.


We never take anything out of our bags. We have carried metal (stainless steel) water bottles and cellphones through without removing them. Disney requests that you remove umbrellas. I would just keep everything in the bag and see if they catch you at the scan and ask you to go to the search.


----------



## mickeymom629

We went to AK on Tuesday 4/20 - our first Disney park since 2017.  My plan was to get up @ 5 am but, thanks to a 'symphony' of car alarms, we were all up @ 4:15!  It was actually helpful and gave me plenty of time.  Got on the first bus (shortly before 6:30) we saw and only 3 others got on (@ OKW). I think we may have been the first people through the temp check, security and gates @ 7 at AK, or at least it seemed that way.  Just as we were entering, the downpour started.  Right to FoP (after a quick bathroom stop and we were still among the first people in) where they held us for about 5 minutes. Did safari @ 8.  EE closed for tech problems.  Maharajah Trail closed until 9.  Did Kali since we were already wet.  Walked the tiger trail.  9:30 D!.  Placed our MO for Satu'li Canteen. Had a snack we brought.  3D Bugs.  10:30 Satuli Canteen -awesome lunch! I got the shrimp with salad. 11:15 my guys went to EE (finally fixed!) while I went to safari.  We all walked the gorilla trail.  Then train to Rafiki's planet watch in a downpour.  Sat at the exit pavillion until a slight let-up and walked to the animation drawing class.  Comfy chairs and enough seats for us, yay!  Drew Turk from Tarzan.  FoP (2nd).  Dole Whip and brownie sundaes for a snack.  Another safari (my 3rd for the day). EE, D! again. Left about 7 p.m. - 12 hours at the park! OKW bus was waiting (for us, wink, wink). Beautiful evening.   Mobile ordered Earl of Sandwich using coupons I had printed from home.  Drove to p/u. Yum! It was a really good day for us, in spite of the rain - thank goodness no lightning!!!!

It got noticeably more crowded around noon at AK, not much social distancing and lots of 'noses', but most people were complying.  Definitely there are those who prefer to challenge the rules or they forget - a woman was walking in front of us eating a turkey leg, so we got around her.


----------



## loves to dive

Honeypot said:


> Millennium Falcon : Smugglers Run?


Yes


----------



## teach22180

bookgirl2632 said:


> As far as “bad items” that set off the metal detectors, I see people are taking them out of their bags before going through.  What do you do with the items?  I’ll probably have my phone, a charger, and my metal water bottle. Do I just carry them through the detector?


Hold them out in front of you, away from your body. I did that every day with my glass case and never had to have my bag searched!  It was wonderful, so quick and easy.  I heard it was for glass cases, umbrellas, external chargers and metal water bottles.  The security folks were grateful that I knew what to do, too.  Thanks to the disboards!


----------



## DisneyFive

Gearbm95 said:


> Saw a younger couple (maybe early 30s?) smoking/vaping what smelled liked marijuana in the Relaxation Station near POTC.
> 
> Tuesday at Epcot also saw a group smoking what again smelled like marijuana, on the walkway between Epcot Experience and TT.



Not cool in either case.  I would have found the nearest cast member and have them call security.

Dan


----------



## loves to dive

teach22180 said:


> Hold them out in front of you, away from your body. I did that every day with my glass case and never had to have my bag searched!  It was wonderful, so quick and easy.  I heard it was for glass cases, umbrellas, external chargers and metal water bottles.  The security folks were grateful that I knew what to do, too.  Thanks to the disboards!


I always had my phone and lipstick charger in my hand (separate hands) and just slightly in front of me down by my side.   Never had any problems.


----------



## teach22180

loves to dive said:


> I always had my phone and lipstick charger in my hand (separate hands) and just slightly in front of me down by my side.   Never had any problems.


You don't have to take out your phone.  That's the most frequently asked question I heard the security folks answer! I never did and never had to be searched.


----------



## loves to dive

teach22180 said:


> You don't have to take out your phone.  That's the most frequently asked question I heard the security folks answer! I never did and never had to be searched.


Good to know.  I'm probably going back in Sept. so I'll try not taking it out.  I seem to recall a sign at one of the parks right before security that did say to take out your phone but I might be remembering wrong.


----------



## nolawave

How far is the walk from Southwest baggage claim to DME? We will have a 3 year old, 9 month old, double stroller and a few bags. Not really interested in walking a mile then waiting a long time with all that. Seems like I can get a private driver with car seats for around $100. Thoughts?


----------



## KGolf31

Consensus of posted wait times vs actual still are trending 10-15 mins less than what is shown on MDE? I know a couple months ago this was the case but since park passes and spring break seem to load the park more consistently I don't know if this changed.


----------



## subtchr

loves to dive said:


> I always had my phone and lipstick charger in my hand (separate hands) and just slightly in front of me down by my side.   Never had any problems.



That's because neither of those will trigger the detector.


----------



## subtchr

nolawave said:


> How far is the walk from Southwest baggage claim to DME? We will have a 3 year old, 9 month old, double stroller and a few bags. Not really interested in walking a mile then waiting a long time with all that. Seems like I can get a private driver with car seats for around $100. Thoughts?



It's not short, but not long enough in my opinion to be worth spending $100 to avoid it.

When we have kids with us and need to get luggage from SW, we take the monorail to the main concourse, and have the kids and a couple adults hang out there. Let the kids wiggle a bit of energy out, maybe poke into the Magic of Disney store if it's open. Send however many adults are needed to retrieve the checked items down one level on the escalator on the A side to SW baggage claim. Collect the items, then come up, gather everyone, cross the concourse, and head down via elevator to the lowest level on the B side for DME.

We love DME, and will miss it after this year. The kids adore it: no car seats, and Mickey movies! Easy, convenient, fun, comfortable, and free.


----------



## auntyjenn

brockash said:


> Yes, this seemed to make a huge difference for us this last trip as opposed to the 2 before with these new procedures.  This trip we made sure to hold our bags out as far as possible from our body and were never stopped.  The last two trips we just held them in front of us and were stopped every time.  Same contents in the bag.



So, are we holding our bags and 'bad' items out in front of us?  but not in the same hand? Good thing moms get extra arms...   What if you're pushing a stroller?


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

auntyjenn said:


> So, are we holding our bags and 'bad' items out in front of us?  but not in the same hand? Good thing moms get extra arms...   What if you're pushing a stroller?


You really don't have to hold anything out in front of you.  You can leave everything in your bag and on the off chance the metal detector goes off, you get a very quick bag check by security.


----------



## jlundeen

Strollers and ECVs/Wheelchairs use a separate entrance.  You "drive" into the designated area, and leave the vehicle behind (if possible - if you cannot walk through the metal detector, they will wand you.)  I left my phone, battery charger and glasses case in the basket of my ECV. in full view of the security folks.  Once they asked me to open the battery charger case, but usually, they were fine just being able to see the items.  I have a metal carabiner with hand sanitizer bottle hanging from my purse, so I simply pulled that out and away from the bag as I walked through the detector.  No issues.  Then got back on the ECV and drove away.  Imagine it's the same for strollers.


----------



## Akck

I will report that social distancing is slowly working it’s way out. I don’t know how many times I saw people looking at their phones and not paying attention to the markers. I pulled the trick of hanging back a couple of feet from the marker while my wife stood on it. It got the people behind us to pay attention, but it didn’t last. As son as the line moved over several markers, they were back to their old habits. I will say that people afraid of getting too close to others should wait until they are fully vaccinated.


----------



## VeronicaZS

I'm just curious if the finger scanners are back in use?


----------



## scrappinginontario

VeronicaZS said:


> I'm just curious if the finger scanners are back in use?



Not yet.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

VeronicaZS said:


> I'm just curious if the finger scanners are back in use?


Nope, but they were actually testing out face scanners a few weeks ago.


----------



## mickeymom629

KGolf31 said:


> Consensus of posted wait times vs actual still are trending 10-15 mins less than what is shown on MDE? I know a couple months ago this was the case but since park passes and spring break seem to load the park more consistently I don't know if this changed.


 
Yesterday at MK, we found wait times to be more acurate with MDE than Touring Plans.   TP was showing very little waits when they were actually quite longer.  I kept refreshing, too.
Tuesday at AK, we found MDE to be a little longer than actual and TP actually more acurate.


----------



## LSUmiss

nolawave said:


> How far is the walk from Southwest baggage claim to DME? We will have a 3 year old, 9 month old, double stroller and a few bags. Not really interested in walking a mile then waiting a long time with all that. Seems like I can get a private driver with car seats for around $100. Thoughts?


I remember it being a bit of walk which wasn’t bad when it was just DH & I. But was bags & DS (3) we are getting a private car this trip. It was $160 round trip to & from MCO. Includes car seat & grocery stop if you want. Do you catch the private cars by the baggage claim? I’ve never done that at mco.


----------



## Sara W

I know this has been posted before but couldn't find it in my search. How early does parking open for MK (8am open)? Trying to decide which is worse- dealing with TTC or getting to the bus at 6:30am. And does the BWV bus still hit YC and BC? TIA!


----------



## hereforthechurros

nevergrowup826 said:


> imho that’s just about par to every other busy time I’ve been there. After having a 5 hour snow delay, arriving after MCO monorail closure at 1am (for construction) being hoarded like cattle into shuttles to get to the main terminal, picking up our luggage we had not planned on doing, and then waiting for more shuttles (not busses as it was after hours) to get to our hotel and finally arriving at our hotel at 3am a few years ago (and making a 7am rope drop the next morning) - I will never complain about DME again, it will truly be missed!


I’ve been 17 times in four years, twice over Christmas, and have never even waited close to that. People were walking up and down and documenting the line because it was that long. And to be fair I was trying to wrangle luggage and my son so it could have been longer than 65 minutes, that was my best guess. But whatever, not trying to get into a who had it worse match. It was impressively long and not a fun start, but everyone lived.


----------



## hereforthechurros

KGolf31 said:


> Consensus of posted wait times vs actual still are trending 10-15 mins less than what is shown on MDE? I know a couple months ago this was the case but since park passes and spring break seem to load the park more consistently I don't know if this changed.


In our experience this past week Big Thunder was the only wait that seemed consistently less than what was posted, everything else was pretty spot on or longer than posted.


----------



## Lsdolphin

jlundeen said:


> I had trouble with my eyeglasses case (metal hinge on back) and battery charger.  When I left these in the basket of my ECV, I was able to walk through with my other bag, but held my little sanitizer bottle out since it was connected with a metal ring.  Never had to dig through again, although they did sometimes want to see inside my battery charger case.
> 
> They told me if you have something inside the bag that might set it off, to take it out and hold it away from the bag, and then they can see it and it's not an issue.  It is SOOOO much faster than the old bag check....



I had same experience with my sunglasses case...I was told to hold it out in front of me when walking through.


----------



## hereforthechurros

It’s Spring break currently for New England and boy they flocked to WDW. Boston and Patriots gear as far as the eye could see. But for the most part I noticed a lot of large extended family groups with younger children this past week. Not as many school aged kids as normal. Crowds felt like any normal busy time. Some moments were manageable, plenty were not. For us ADRs were harder to come by this trip than any other. Lines (save for MK on Sunday which was dead in the AM) grew quickly and stayed long all day.

As reported many times, Cast member joy just isn’t there right now. Between trying to manage what’s expected of them to keep themselves and the public safe, and dealing with the public, many of whom flout the rules on purpose, how could there be much room for joy? Service was pretty abysmal across the board. At least three different CMs remarked that they didn’t expect things to be so busy which seems impossible since WDW has exact numbers of everyone in the parks and resorts for each day.

This is our 5th trip since reopening and our last until the fall when things have hopefully improved. Gotta get a little more use out of those APs.


----------



## Linkura

KGolf31 said:


> Consensus of posted wait times vs actual still are trending 10-15 mins less than what is shown on MDE? I know a couple months ago this was the case but since park passes and spring break seem to load the park more consistently I don't know if this changed.


Depends on the ride. Seems like Splash and TOT especially are fairly accurate to MDE, for example.  Most are usually less than MDE/posted.


LSUmiss said:


> I remember it being a bit of walk which wasn’t bad when it was just DH & I. But was bags & DS (3) we are getting a private car this trip. It was $160 round trip to & from MCO. Includes car seat & grocery stop if you want. Do you catch the private cars by the baggage claim? I’ve never done that at mco.


Yes, the private car driver will meet you inside at baggage claim.


----------



## caradi

hereforthechurros said:


> It’s Spring break currently for New England and boy they flocked to WDW. Boston and Patriots gear as far as the eye could see. But for the most part I noticed a lot of large extended family groups with younger children this past week. Not as many school aged kids as normal. Crowds felt like any normal busy time. Some moments were manageable, plenty were not. For us ADRs were harder to come by this trip than any other. Lines (save for MK on Sunday which was dead in the AM) grew quickly and stayed long all day.
> 
> As reported many times, Cast member joy just isn’t there right now. Between trying to manage what’s expected of them to keep themselves and the public safe, and dealing with the public, many of whom flout the rules on purpose, how could there be much room for joy? Service was pretty abysmal across the board. At least three different CMs remarked that they didn’t expect things to be so busy which seems impossible since WDW has exact numbers of everyone in the parks and resorts for each day.
> 
> This is our 5th trip since reopening and our last until the fall when things have hopefully improved. Gotta get a little more use out of those APs.



I’ve been here since Sunday and nothing but positive cast member interactions and excellent service across the board. I’m sorry your experience hasn’t been the same but I wholeheartedly disagree that cast member joy isn’t present.


----------



## Gonflipin

We got in line for SDD, a posted 70 minute wait on MDE yesterday, at 5:30pm. Actual wait was 38 minutes! Most waits have been much shorter than posted this week.


----------



## sandam1

nolawave said:


> How far is the walk from Southwest baggage claim to DME? We will have a 3 year old, 9 month old, double stroller and a few bags. Not really interested in walking a mile then waiting a long time with all that. Seems like I can get a private driver with car seats for around $100. Thoughts?



I would do it in a heartbeat! After a couple of less-than-stellar shuttle experiences (once with Disney and once with Universal), my private car transport to/from the airport is the vacation "splurge" that I give myself. Some people give themself a nice meal, some people buy themselves a fancy souvenir, I buy myself a ride with Tony (Hinds) and a 100% stress free/worry free transportation experience. No one-hour long ride on the DME with someone else's screaming child (done that)! No dashing through the airport trying to make my flight because the shuttle never came (done that too)! I know that he will be there when he says that he will and will do everything to make the start and end of my vacation as delightful and relaxing as possible.



LSUmiss said:


> I remember it being a bit of walk which wasn’t bad when it was just DH & I. But was bags & DS (3) we are getting a private car this trip. It was $160 round trip to & from MCO. Includes car seat & grocery stop if you want. Do you catch the private cars by the baggage claim? I’ve never done that at mco.



From what I understand, right now the drivers can't come into the airport until you have your bags. But as soon as you do, you text your driver and they will come in to help you out with your bags. We usually go down one floor and right out the door. No lines, no waiting, no stopping at three different hotels before you FINALLY get to yours.


----------



## scrappinginontario

We'll do one final trip with DME this August then after that compare the prices of the options.  The car services sure sound like a great option!  Especially those that offer a grocery stop.


----------



## NashvilleMama

scrappinginontario said:


> We'll do one final trip with DME this August then after that compare the prices of the options.  The car services sure sound like a great option!  Especially those that offer a grocery stop.


the grocery store stop is enough to get me to seriously consider this....


----------



## KayKayJS

Just back from a 3 day trip Sunday-Wednesday. 

We had a great time, it was our daughter's 1st trip (19months) and we stayed at the Yacht Club. 

Transportation: Great. Buses + Gondolas were fast and efficient.
Food: Not enough restaurants open, not enough snack carts.. Food on the fly as an issue IMO. We had reservations but when you have a toddler it's really tough to plan out meals in advance.. sometimes it work sometimes it doesn't.
Covid Related: were vaccinated so I really wasn't concerned about this but I didn't see any people breaking the rules.
What else... We really missed the parades and fireworks. We did Toppolinos and that was a lot of fun for my 1 year old! And the food was delicious. 

Overall had a great time and we even got a pixie dust upgrade to a bigger room at the Yacht Club. Can't wait to go back and hop parades/Fireworks/FP come back soon.


----------



## julesann

I arrive in a few days and weather looks consistent from now to then.  I am wondering what evening weather is like--did you/are you wearing a light sweater --or does 68 with humidity feel warm for t-shirts?


----------



## iujen94

julesann said:


> I arrive in a few days and weather looks consistent from now to then.  I am wondering what evening weather is like--did you/are you wearing a light sweater --or does 68 with humidity feel warm for t-shirts?


I’m here now, and it’s been chilly in the evenings for sure (and the mornings too, especially if you’re in the shade). I’ve been wearing a thin hoodie (really a glorified long-sleeve t-shirt), and it’s been great for those chilly times.


----------



## baggs32

NashvilleMama said:


> the grocery store stop is enough to get me to seriously consider this....



Would they stop at more than one store?  We are renting a car at MCO from Alamo next month so we can get some snacks somewhere like Target and go to the ABC store for some libations.  MK is our park the next day so we're returning the car to the CCC and getting shuttled to TTC or CR to get to the park.  Those car services cost about the same as our car but I didn't think they could stop multiple places for us and not having to deal with returning the car would be a bonus.


----------



## JoJoGirl

For those who are there now, AllEars.net is reporting that the Jeff Vahle, President of Walt Disney World Resort, has announced Peoplemover will officially reopen this weekend!  Woohoo!  Can‘t wait for live reports!


----------



## scrappinginontario

For those there now or arriving soon.....

*It's Official:  Tomorrowland PeopleMover to Open This Weekend!*


----------



## aboveH20

Bottom line, it was a very different trip.  I’ve been vaccinated, but still appreciated all that Disney did with covid protocols.  That being said, it made for LONG wait times for just about everything.  I was there 4/13-4/20.  I thought I was past spring breaks since it was two weeks following Easter, but apparently it was still spring break time for many schools.

My phone never worked for mobile ordering.  The first few days I showed my white screen to the “gatekeeper” and they all said,”It’s easy, just do this . . .”  None of which ever worked.  I asked at the front desk and they thought maybe my phone was too old (iPhone 6S, iOS 12, not able to upgrade higher).  It never occurred to me that my phone was told old, although one “gatekeeper” told me she uses her iPhone 6 all the time.  Whatever the reason, *frustrating,* I think more because I couldn’t see menus to see what each restaurant offered than actually being prevented from ordering.  I never had a problem being allowed to use a register to order.


I had park reservations for Hollywood Studios for two days and was not able to get a boarding group for either day.  Honestly, I’m not very Star Wars savvy, so it wasn’t a huge disappointment, but if I _was_ a SW fanatic I would have been* pretty mad *that I couldn’t experience the new attraction. Also, I planned two days at HS with the expectation that I’d be able to get a boarding pass one of the days.  Otherwise I would not have planned two days at HS.

Usually I don’t spend much time at the resort, but got tired of the long lines so finally justified heading back to the hotel (Contemporary) because the room cost much more per day than park tickets, so why not enjoy the resort!

I’m interested that many people have been on multiple trips during these reimagined times. I won’t return until things are opened up more.


----------



## brockash

hereforthechurros said:


> In our experience this past week Big Thunder was the only wait that seemed consistently less than what was posted, everything else was pretty spot on or longer than posted.


Interesting that was our same experience in March...odd that the same ride was the only one with a lower wait than posted.  In Sept. most were lower than posted, but in March they were all pretty accurate, some longer, except BTM, which was less.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

aboveH20 said:


> I had park reservations for Hollywood Studios for two days and was not able to get a boarding group for either day. Honestly, I’m not very Star Wars savvy, so it wasn’t a huge disappointment, but if I _was_ a SW fanatic I would have been* pretty mad *that I couldn’t experience the new attraction. Also, I planned two days at HS with the expectation that I’d be able to get a boarding pass one of the days. Otherwise I would not have planned two days at HS.


That's a bummer.  You weren't successful at 7am and 1pm on both days?  Did you read up on the process and practice before your trip?


----------



## Jolene Fraser

KayKayJS said:


> we even got a pixie dust upgrade to a bigger room at the Yacht Club.


Curious if you did the mobile check-in or went to the front desk to check in?  We are staying at the Yacht Club in June and would love to get a pixie dust upgrade!  Wondering if checking in at the front desk gives us a better chance for this...


----------



## KayKayJS

Jolene Fraser said:


> Curious if you did the mobile check-in or went to the front desk to check in?  We are staying at the Yacht Club in June and would love to get a pixie dust upgrade!  Wondering if checking in at the front desk gives us a better chance for this...



We did not go to the front desk! We had room arrival set for 2PM which is earlier than check in and it was just assigned to us. I think it's just random or whoever is working! I've been going to Disney for 18 years and this is my first upgrade!


----------



## Jolene Fraser

KayKayJS said:


> We did not go to the front desk! We had room arrival set for 2PM which is earlier than check in and it was just assigned to us. I think it's just random or whoever is working! I've been going to Disney for 18 years and this is my first upgrade!


Thanks for the info!  Glad you got the upgrade!


----------



## LSUmiss

sandam1 said:


> I would do it in a heartbeat! After a couple of less-than-stellar shuttle experiences (once with Disney and once with Universal), my private car transport to/from the airport is the vacation "splurge" that I give myself. Some people give themself a nice meal, some people buy themselves a fancy souvenir, I buy myself a ride with Tony (Hinds) and a 100% stress free/worry free transportation experience. No one-hour long ride on the DME with someone else's screaming child (done that)! No dashing through the airport trying to make my flight because the shuttle never came (done that too)! I know that he will be there when he says that he will and will do everything to make the start and end of my vacation as delightful and relaxing as possible.
> 
> 
> 
> From what I understand, right now the drivers can't come into the airport until you have your bags. But as soon as you do, you text your driver and they will come in to help you out with your bags. We usually go down one floor and right out the door. No lines, no waiting, no stopping at three different hotels before you FINALLY get to yours.


So they can meet you at baggage claim?


----------



## Tess

LSUmiss said:


> So they can meet you at baggage claim?



Yes indeed.


----------



## jlundeen

The service we used (can I give out the name here??) texted us the day before with a photo of the driver, and then he texted us once we were on the ground saying he was on the way.  We picked up our luggage and met him outside at the door we said we were closest to.  He loaded everything into the trunk (which was great because they were heavy) and we were on our way.  We arranged with the service to have the same driver pick us up for return to the airport, and he helped us get the luggage handlers at the curb loaded and on our way to the baggage check in.  They do offer a 30 minute stop at a grocery store, but we didn't need it.  I believe cost was $150 round trip (there were only two of us so we only needed the town car), in addition to tip each way.  I will definitely use this service again.


----------



## KayKayJS

Has anyone gone to Epcot prior to opening? I see it opens at 11AM, but my daughter's nap time is 12. I am wondering if it actually opens earlier so we could get 2 hrs in before nap...


----------



## brockash

KayKayJS said:


> Has anyone gone to Epcot prior to opening? I see it opens at 11AM, but my daughter's nap time is 12. I am wondering if it actually opens earlier so we could get 2 hrs in before nap...


Opens between 10-1015.


----------



## KayKayJS

brockash said:


> Opens between 10-1015.



Thank you!! This is great news. We can probably get in Frozen & Nemo


----------



## FastPasser.

KayKayJS said:


> Has anyone gone to Epcot prior to opening? I see it opens at 11AM, but my daughter's nap time is 12. I am wondering if it actually opens earlier so we could get 2 hrs in before nap...


Just went a couple of weeks ago and I was ready for a 12:00 nap. Not my best experience at EPCOT.


----------



## KayKayJS

FastPasser. said:


> Just went a couple of weeks ago and I was ready for a 12:00 nap. Not my best experience at EPCOT.


 Yes even us adults need a break! Any tips to make it better? I was going to go straight to Frozen ever after (her max wait time in a line is about 15 min before meltdown), then to Nemo, then maybe let her just look at everything and run around... then back to room for nap.


----------



## Boopuff

I'm really glad to read about good experiences with hiring a private car for  pick-up.  We're planning to go at the end of the year so this will be good news.  Also anyone with experience, do you need to negotiate a grocery stop when you hire the car?


----------



## sandam1

Boopuff said:


> I'm really glad to read about good experiences with hiring a private car for pick-up. We're planning to go at the end of the year so this will be good news. Also anyone with experience, do you need to negotiate a grocery stop when you hire the car?



In my experience, most of the places will tell you if they include a grocery stop. The drivers know the best stores to go to (I know that we stop at the same Publix every time we go to Universal, the plaza also has a liquor store adjacent to the Publix as well), but will work with you if you want to go some place specific.


----------



## hereforthechurros

One more quick note about transportation from MCO: I priced it from the airport, while there, to the Contemporary where we were staying and it was $71, one way. On the flip side, Tuesday AM for my husband and son was $31 from Boardwalk to MCO.


----------



## hereforthechurros

KayKayJS said:


> Thank you!! This is great news. We can probably get in Frozen & Nemo


Keep in mind rides may or may not be running by then. I was there this past Wednesday and while the gates were open, Soarin', for instance, wasn't running until closer to 11 am. Hopefully your rides are!


----------



## aboveH20

ENJDisneyFan said:


> That's a bummer.  You weren't successful at 7am and 1pm on both days?  Did you read up on the process and practice before your trip?



Good question.  I read that the 1:00 opening was much more likely so didn't try at 7.  Not sure if it would have made a difference.  Yes, I read up on the process (which is how I knew 1:00 was theoretically more likely, etc.).  I'm wondering if my phone was part of the problem.  I was able to see wait times, fortunately, just not mobile order.  

I was sitting outside Sci-Fi Dine-In waiting and then trying at 1:00 when a roar went up from the crowd, which I believe was people getting in.  One man said to someone else near him that spaces are gone within 4 seconds. I believe it!!!


----------



## hereforthechurros

brockash said:


> Interesting that was our same experience in March...odd that the same ride was the only one with a lower wait than posted.  In Sept. most were lower than posted, but in March they were all pretty accurate, some longer, except BTM, which was less.


Strange! I even said to my husband at one point it's like they can't pay people to ride BTRM. It regularly showed a 15-30 minute wait but was pretty much a straight walk on.


----------



## hereforthechurros

caradi said:


> I’ve been here since Sunday and nothing but positive cast member interactions and excellent service across the board. I’m sorry your experience hasn’t been the same but I wholeheartedly disagree that cast member joy isn’t present.


Cool. Most of our direct encounters with CMs found them stressed/high strung/overwhelmed. I was commenting on the fact that who could blame them? Working with the public right now is a lot of pressure/stress. Safety has to come first and sometimes that replaces the usual cheer.


----------



## Haley R

julesann said:


> I arrive in a few days and weather looks consistent from now to then.  I am wondering what evening weather is like--did you/are you wearing a light sweater --or does 68 with humidity feel warm for t-shirts?


I live an hour away and we’re wearing T-shirts and shorts all day long. The nights are still warm enough imo


----------



## b2k1121

Not intended to start a mask debate, just my observations and wondering if others have noticed this on recent trips or if it's always been this way.  

We just got back from 17-22.  Heard a lot leading up to the trip about how strict the CMs were with proper mask wearing but never saw even one instance of a CM asking someone to put their mask on correctly or not walking around eating/drinking.  Didn't bother me much as we are vaccinated but was just interesting that they no longer care or are getting sick of correcting people or were never strict to begin with.  I would also get sick of doing it if I worked there. 

There were multiple occasions of people in front of us in the skyliner queues with the chin strap mask eating/drinking all the way through the queue and to the cast member who assigned them a skyliner and didn't say anything to them.  There was a clearly very drunk couple at the end of the night at Epcot without a mask visible anywhere on them that walked out of International Gateway and into the skyliner queue behind us for about a half hour without a word from anyone.   Earlier that night we were waiting for a mobile order outside the BBQ quick service and a group of 3 came up to the CM all with the chin strap mask and he just looked at their mobile order and let them inside without saying anything and then they stood inside waiting the same way.  There were plenty of people in kiosk lines eating/drinking all the way through ordering.  Also saw multiple people get their food from the window, pull their mask down and start eating right at the window while they waited for the rest of their order. 

We spent 1 night at Disney Springs and 2 at Epcot and I'd say about 25% or more of the people there were walking around with the chin strap mask.  Even in the Magic Kingdom during the middle of the day we saw a lot of families walking around eating or some not even eating, just masks pulled down.  Wonder if they got a message recently to not bother correcting people anymore.


----------



## lelew

b2k1121 said:


> Not intended to start a mask debate, just my observations and wondering if others have noticed this on recent trips or if it's always been this way.
> 
> We just got back from 17-22.  Heard a lot leading up to the trip about how strict the CMs were with proper mask wearing but never saw even one instance of a CM asking someone to put their mask on correctly or not walking around eating/drinking.  Didn't bother me much as we are vaccinated but was just interesting that they no longer care or are getting sick of correcting people or were never strict to begin with.  I would also get sick of doing it if I worked there.
> 
> There were multiple occasions of people in front of us in the skyliner queues with the chin strap mask eating/drinking all the way through the queue and to the cast member who assigned them a skyliner and didn't say anything to them.  There was a clearly very drunk couple at the end of the night at Epcot without a mask visible anywhere on them that walked out of International Gateway and into the skyliner queue behind us for about a half hour without a word from anyone.   Earlier that night we were waiting for a mobile order outside the BBQ quick service and a group of 3 came up to the CM all with the chin strap mask and he just looked at their mobile order and let them inside without saying anything and then they stood inside waiting the same way.  There were plenty of people in kiosk lines eating/drinking all the way through ordering.  Also saw multiple people get their food from the window, pull their mask down and start eating right at the window while they waited for the rest of their order.
> 
> We spent 1 night at Disney Springs and 2 at Epcot and I'd say about 25% or more of the people there were walking around with the chin strap mask.  Even in the Magic Kingdom during the middle of the day we saw a lot of families walking around eating or some not even eating, just masks pulled down.  Wonder if they got a message recently to not bother correcting people anymore.


Thanks for this report. I pulled the plug and booked a summer trip after such a good time last August. I know the parks are more crowded but I didn't know the stopped enforcing proper mask wearing. The adults in the trip are fully vaccinated but my teen is not and dont know if her age group would be allowed by july. If not we probably just have to skip the parks if Disney relax mask enforcement


----------



## lorileahb

YAY - People mover when we are there next week!


----------



## b2k1121

lelew said:


> Thanks for this report. I pulled the plug and booked a summer trip after such a good time last August. I know the parks are more crowded but I didn't know the stopped enforcing proper mask wearing. The adults in the trip are fully vaccinated but my teen is not and dont know if her age group would be allowed by july. If not we probably just have to skip the parks if Disney relax mask enforcement


I wouldn't make your vacation decision just based on my one data point.  I could have just somehow happened to be in spots where certain CMs weren't following the rules they are supposed to impose.  That's why I wanted to see if others have noticed a similar relaxing of enforcement or if it's been this way the whole time.   I just came in with the expectation that even if a nose is hanging out that a CM is there right away to correct them based on posts I saw here and from some podcasts.  That just wasn't the case in my experience, but could be different for you.


----------



## julesann

iujen94 said:


> I’m here now, and it’s been chilly in the evenings for sure (and the mornings too, especially if you’re in the shade). I’ve been wearing a thin hoodie (really a glorified long-sleeve t-shirt), and it’s been great for those chilly times.



Thank you--super helpful!!


----------



## Wood Nymph

Sara W said:


> I know this has been posted before but couldn't find it in my search. How early does parking open for MK (8am open)? Trying to decide which is worse- dealing with TTC or getting to the bus at 6:30am. And does the BWV bus still hit YC and BC? TIA!


The BWV bus doesn’t go to any other resorts.


----------



## Anne Scaffo

DisneyFive said:


> Can you explain “experience marijuana”?  Like you actually witnessed people smoking it?  ...or you smelled it on someone(s).
> 
> it is definitely not something I want to smell or see while anywhere on Disney property
> 
> Dan


While there is no way to be certain, a lot of times it isn't marijuana. It's CBD vapes. Many people use them for pain and stress.  Most strands have a strong odor that smells the same as marijuana.


----------



## Aimeedyan

b2k1121 said:


> I wouldn't make your vacation decision just based on my one data point.  I could have just somehow happened to be in spots where certain CMs weren't following the rules they are supposed to impose.  That's why I wanted to see if others have noticed a similar relaxing of enforcement or if it's been this way the whole time.   I just came in with the expectation that even if a nose is hanging out that a CM is there right away to correct them based on posts I saw here and from some podcasts.  That just wasn't the case in my experience, but could be different for you.



We were blocked out during the peak of spring break but went back last weekend, to both Epcot and HS, and I noticed a marked difference in mark adherence and reminders. While prior to blockouts, I would see/hear multiple CM's reminding people about their mask, this time we didn't see a single reminder. I didn't see any CM's standing on mask patrol with the little sign like usual. I noticed lots and lots of drinking/eating while walking without a word said. 

I do wonder if they have been instructed to scale back some. 

My DH is one of the least observant people in the world and even he made a remark a few hours into our visit.

We will be back this week for another staycation, and hitting AK and MK this time, so I wonder if I'll see some of the same there.


----------



## cindianne320

We went to WDW and Universal a month ago. I had been at WDW in October, so was nervous for Universal. I was completely wrong- Universal was MUCH more strict on mask compliance and social distancing. I was one step over the line at Hogwarts Express, and was asked to stand back, to distance from the party next to us. I appreciated their reminders. Disney, not so much this trip, especially when it came to social distancing.


----------



## lelew

b2k1121 said:


> I wouldn't make your vacation decision just based on my one data point.  I could have just somehow happened to be in spots where certain CMs weren't following the rules they are supposed to impose.  That's why I wanted to see if others have noticed a similar relaxing of enforcement or if it's been this way the whole time.   I just came in with the expectation that even if a nose is hanging out that a CM is there right away to correct them based on posts I saw here and from some podcasts.  That just wasn't the case in my experience, but could be different for you.


Thanks, my eyes will be super glued to this thread now that I have a up coming trip again and appreciate all the feedback so that I can know what to expect. The reason I decided to visit last August was because of the feedback from from here.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Disney has not changed any of their masking or distancing requirements at this time with the exception of masks may be removed when taking a picture.


----------



## b2k1121

cindianne320 said:


> We went to WDW and Universal a month ago. I had been at WDW in October, so was nervous for Universal. I was completely wrong- Universal was MUCH more strict on mask compliance and social distancing. I was one step over the line at Hogwarts Express, and was asked to stand back, to distance from the party next to us. I appreciated their reminders. Disney, not so much this trip, especially when it came to social distancing.


My mask post sounded a lot like complaining, but didn't bother me too much because I could just avoid those people.  But your post reminded me to complain for real about the distancing because I couldn't avoid those people and it was very annoying.  More often than not, in any queue last week, the people behind us completely ignored the markers on the ground.  I just don't get, even in normal times, why you would want to be so close to strangers.  You aren't going to get to the end of the queue any faster.  There were times when the kids of the family behind us were next to or even in front of us for awhile in line and the parents said nothing to them because they were standing right on our heels too.  

An example of how much people either don't care or are not paying attention to the world around them was at the skyliner transfer station.  We got off the pop century line to transfer to the Epcot line close to Epcot opening so it was pretty busy.  They had everything roped off and were directing everyone where to go when it was their turn to merge to the new queue.  We were the first to be held back with ropes on either side of us as people crossed past us to get to the HS queue.  Within seconds a family behind us attempted to push passed us with their stroller and go around to the line we were waiting for as if we weren't even there.  The CM thankfully told them to get behind us and that they were holding us there for a reason.  Of course they didn't go behind us and just kept their stroller next to us instead of backing up.  

But the crazy part is, the next family behind them did the same thing and tried to pass us on the other side immediately after that.  The CM stopped them too and they also just stayed next to us instead of backing up.  It wasn't a wide open space around us, it was like a normal queue with ropes on either side and both families somehow thought they should try to squeeze around us while a CM was standing there holding up the line.  That's just general weird behavior from people, but even more annoying at this time.


----------



## jlundeen

b2k1121 said:


> Not intended to start a mask debate, just my observations and wondering if others have noticed this on recent trips or if it's always been this way.
> 
> We just got back from 17-22.  Heard a lot leading up to the trip about how strict the CMs were with proper mask wearing but never saw even one instance of a CM asking someone to put their mask on correctly or not walking around eating/drinking.  Didn't bother me much as we are vaccinated but was just interesting that they no longer care or are getting sick of correcting people or were never strict to begin with.  I would also get sick of doing it if I worked there.
> 
> There were multiple occasions of people in front of us in the skyliner queues with the chin strap mask eating/drinking all the way through the queue and to the cast member who assigned them a skyliner and didn't say anything to them.  There was a clearly very drunk couple at the end of the night at Epcot without a mask visible anywhere on them that walked out of International Gateway and into the skyliner queue behind us for about a half hour without a word from anyone.   Earlier that night we were waiting for a mobile order outside the BBQ quick service and a group of 3 came up to the CM all with the chin strap mask and he just looked at their mobile order and let them inside without saying anything and then they stood inside waiting the same way.  There were plenty of people in kiosk lines eating/drinking all the way through ordering.  Also saw multiple people get their food from the window, pull their mask down and start eating right at the window while they waited for the rest of their order.
> 
> We spent 1 night at Disney Springs and 2 at Epcot and I'd say about 25% or more of the people there were walking around with the chin strap mask.  Even in the Magic Kingdom during the middle of the day we saw a lot of families walking around eating or some not even eating, just masks pulled down.  Wonder if they got a message recently to not bother correcting people anymore.


We were there last week, and they are announcing very often that masks are to be worn covering nose and mouth by everyone, and distancing is required.  There are signs up all over saying anyone not complying will be asked to leave.  We did have one hot shot on Jungle Cruse that had to be "reminded" about three times - as soon as he would put it up, he'd pull it down again.  He finally did get the idea and left it up.  Also in the overhead announcement is reminders that eating and drinking are only allowed when you are stationary and to the side.

Of course, there are some folks who either don't understand (non-English speaking, perhaps?) or just assume it doesn't apply to them, but while we were there, they were the exception.  Most tried to keep distance also, but excited families sometimes just "missed" the distance, but it wasn't terrible.  There is plexiglass up between many of the queues, but not all, so it's hard to maintain distance in some cases (thinking about Na'vi River Journey for one when the queues are full).


----------



## jlundeen

Sorry - duplicate post


----------



## DisneyFive

Anne Scaffo said:


> While there is no way to be certain, a lot of times it isn't marijuana. It's CBD vapes. Many people use them for pain and stress.  Most strands have a strong odor that smells the same as marijuana.



Not to sound like a jerk or anything but it’s a moot point.  Neither smoking nor vaping is allowed inside the parks.

Dan


----------



## b2k1121

jlundeen said:


> We were there last week, and they are announcing very often that masks are to be worn covering nose and mouth by everyone, and distancing is required.  There are signs up all over saying anyone not complying will be asked to leave.  We did have one hot shot on Jungle Cruse that had to be "reminded" about three times as as soon as he would put it up, he's pull it down again.  He finally did get the idea and left it up.  Also in the overhead announcement is reminders that eating and drinking are only allowed when you are stationary and to the side.
> 
> Of course, there are some folks who either don't understand (non-English speaking, perhaps?) or just assume it doesn't apply to them, but while we were there, they were the exception.  Most tried to keep distance also, but excited families sometimes just "missed" the distance, but it wasn't terrible.  There is plexiglass up between many of the queues, but not all, so it's hard to maintain distance in some cases (thinking about Na'vi River Journey for one when the queues are full).


Yeah I'm definitely not questioning the official policy just wondering if it was possible that word was passed to CMs to start letting it go.


----------



## brockash

KayKayJS said:


> Thank you!! This is great news. We can probably get in Frozen & Nemo


As long as there are no issues with the ride; then yes you should definitely be able to do this.  

In our experience Frozen has always been open right away, while rides like Soarin and Test track didn't open until around 1045.

Obviously this can change any day, but you should have a good shot.


----------



## jo-jo

b2k1121 said:


> Not intended to start a mask debate, just my observations and wondering if others have noticed this on recent trips or if it's always been this way.
> 
> We just got back from 17-22.  Heard a lot leading up to the trip about how strict the CMs were with proper mask wearing but never saw even one instance of a CM asking someone to put their mask on correctly or not walking around eating/drinking.  Didn't bother me much as we are vaccinated but was just interesting that they no longer care or are getting sick of correcting people or were never strict to begin with.  I would also get sick of doing it if I worked there.
> 
> There were multiple occasions of people in front of us in the skyliner queues with the chin strap mask eating/drinking all the way through the queue and to the cast member who assigned them a skyliner and didn't say anything to them.  There was a clearly very drunk couple at the end of the night at Epcot without a mask visible anywhere on them that walked out of International Gateway and into the skyliner queue behind us for about a half hour without a word from anyone.   Earlier that night we were waiting for a mobile order outside the BBQ quick service and a group of 3 came up to the CM all with the chin strap mask and he just looked at their mobile order and let them inside without saying anything and then they stood inside waiting the same way.  There were plenty of people in kiosk lines eating/drinking all the way through ordering.  Also saw multiple people get their food from the window, pull their mask down and start eating right at the window while they waited for the rest of their order.
> 
> We spent 1 night at Disney Springs and 2 at Epcot and I'd say about 25% or more of the people there were walking around with the chin strap mask.  Even in the Magic Kingdom during the middle of the day we saw a lot of families walking around eating or some not even eating, just masks pulled down.  Wonder if they got a message recently to not bother correcting people anymore.



We were there April 10-20.  I noticed at least 3 or 4 CM telling people to adjust/put on mask.    Once guest coming out of HM and CM sort of chased woman down and told her a few times to put mask on.  Another time CM told two people who were walking and eating, they should be in one spot for eating.  Another time was my DH, coming out of DVC lounge, where we ate and drank, CM told DH "I love your smile, but you need to pull up your mask".  In our resort, housekeeping knocked on door to replace towels, DH opened door, CM stepped back and asked him to put on mask.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

KayKayJS said:


> Yes even us adults need a break! Any tips to make it better? I was going to go straight to Frozen ever after (her max wait time in a line is about 15 min before meltdown), then to Nemo, then maybe let her just look at everything and run around... then back to room for nap.


just remember the down travel time back to resort. will she fall back to sleep if falls asleep on the way and wakes up before you get to your room? had a very bad time with a grandson who fell asleep for like 10 minutes but woke up as we stopped to get off and walk to room. after 3 hours of screaming he fall asleep as we walk to dinner and sleeps thru. what would happen if you took a drive or walk just before naptime and she falls asleep. I am guessing you will want to rethink your before nap plans


----------



## cjlong88

I've noticed that most of the park passes on the weekends in May are all full. My husband and I were thinking about doing a quick weekend trip May 22-23. May 23rd has availability at EPCOT (which is one of the parks we want to visit) but there is no availability on May 22nd. Any chance park passes will open up if I check religiously or am I out of luck? We were hoping to do AK if we choose to visit. TIA!


----------



## Nabas

cjlong88 said:


> I've noticed that most of the park passes on the weekends in May are all full. My husband and I were thinking about doing a quick weekend trip May 22-23. May 23rd has availability at EPCOT (which is one of the parks we want to visit) but there is no availability on May 22nd. Any chance park passes will open up if I check religiously or am I out of luck? We were hoping to do AK if we choose to visit. TIA!


I believe they released more Park Passes for June a week or so ago.  The rumor is that they plan to increase theme park capacity soon.  Maybe they will decide to do that sooner.

If the past, I've seen a park be not available, and then open up for just a bit before it became unavailable again.

I suggest you keep checking several times each day.  Someone might cancel.

If you are really desperate, you could always buy a park hopper ticket.

Good luck!


----------



## scrappinginontario

cjlong88 said:


> I've noticed that most of the park passes on the weekends in May are all full. My husband and I were thinking about doing a quick weekend trip May 22-23. May 23rd has availability at EPCOT (which is one of the parks we want to visit) but there is no availability on May 22nd. Any chance park passes will open up if I check religiously or am I out of luck? We were hoping to do AK if we choose to visit. TIA!


Availability may or may not open.  Unfortunately it's impossible to know.  The best we can suggest is to keep trying many times daily to book a reservation.  It's recommended that you actually try to book rather than go by the park availability calendar as it is not updated real-time.

Hope you can find something.


----------



## bdiddy

Betty Rohrer said:


> just remember the down travel time back to resort. will she fall back to sleep if falls asleep on the way and wakes up before you get to your room? had a very bad time with a grandson who fell asleep for like 10 minutes but woke up as we stopped to get off and walk to room. after 3 hours of screaming he fall asleep as we walk to dinner and sleeps thru. what would happen if you took a drive or walk just before naptime and she falls asleep. I am guessing you will want to rethink your before nap plans



Our first trip was when our kids were 2 and 4 and everything I had read said to go back to the resort for naps. Which at that point our 4 yr old daughter wasn’t napping much but our 2 yr old son still was.  HUGE mistake! He fell asleep on the bus on the way to the resort and then woke up when we were carrying him in and of course he was wide awake and wouldn’t go back to sleep. It was a huge waste of time. The rest of the days we just stayed in the parks  and let him nap in the stroller. He’d nap like clockwork every day from about 1-3 and DH and I would take turns taking DD on stuff she was tall enough for but he wasn’t.


----------



## KayKayJS

bdiddy said:


> Our first trip was when our kids were 2 and 4 and everything I had read said to go back to the resort for naps. Which at that point our 4 yr old daughter wasn’t napping much but our 2 yr old son still was.  HUGE mistake! He fell asleep on the bus on the way to the resort and then woke up when we were carrying him in and of course he was wide awake and wouldn’t go back to sleep. It was a huge waste of time. The rest of the days we just stayed in the parks  and let him nap in the stroller. He’d nap like clockwork every day from about 1-3 and DH and I would take turns taking DD on stuff she was tall enough for but he wasn’t.



I think we may need to try the stroller nap lol


----------



## focusondisney

b2k1121 said:


> We just got back from 17-22. Heard a lot leading up to the trip about how strict the CMs were with proper mask wearing but never saw even one instance of a CM asking someone to put their mask on correctly or not walking around eating/drinking. Didn't bother me much as we are vaccinated but was just interesting that they no longer care or are getting sick of correcting people or were never strict to begin with. I would also get sick of doing it if I worked there.





Aimeedyan said:


> While prior to blockouts, I would see/hear multiple CM's reminding people about their mask, this time we didn't see a single reminder. I didn't see any CM's standing on mask patrol with the little sign like usual. I noticed lots and lots of drinking/eating while walking without a word said.



We were  there the 15-22 too. I agree, many people were walking & drinking or eating & many improperly worn masks.  The whole week, I only saw 1 CM attempt to say something to a woman at Epcot, but the woman was walking too fast & she never got to her.  I never saw any CM holding wear your mask signs & forgot all about that til I read your post.  



scrappinginontario said:


> Disney has not changed any of their masking or distancing requirements at this time with the exception of masks may be removed when taking a picture.



Not that they’ve officially announced anyway.   But enforcement was certainly lacking this past week.  



jlundeen said:


> We were there last week, and they are announcing very often that masks are to be worn covering nose and mouth by everyone, and distancing is required. There are signs up all over saying anyone not complying will be asked to leave.



Yes, there are signs & I did hear the announcements occasionally.  But no one seemed to do anything about enforcement.  And there were lots of uncovered noses all over with no one saying a word.



b2k1121 said:


> Yeah I'm definitely not questioning the official policy just wondering if it was possible that word was passed to CMs to start letting it go.



I wouldn‘t be surprised. I noticed the same things you did.


----------



## Akck

cjlong88 said:


> I've noticed that most of the park passes on the weekends in May are all full. My husband and I were thinking about doing a quick weekend trip May 22-23. May 23rd has availability at EPCOT (which is one of the parks we want to visit) but there is no availability on May 22nd. Any chance park passes will open up if I check religiously or am I out of luck? We were hoping to do AK if we choose to visit. TIA!



The availability calendar isn’t necessarily updated with the latest availability. We decided to change one of our park passes for next week.  The only one available was Epcot, which was the one we wanted. After I canceled our AK pass, all parks were available when I made our Epcot reservation. Your only danger is if you cancel a full park reservation and the calendar is up to date so you lose both.


----------



## b2k1121

focusondisney said:


> We were  there the 15-22 too. I agree, many people were walking & drinking or eating & many improperly worn masks.  The whole week, I only saw 1 CM attempt to say something to a woman at Epcot, but the woman was walking too fast & she never got to her.  I never saw any CM holding wear your mask signs & forgot all about that til I read your post.
> 
> Not that they’ve officially announced anyway.   But enforcement was certainly lacking this past week.
> 
> Yes, there are signs & I did hear the announcements occasionally.  But no one seemed to do anything about enforcement.  And there were lots of uncovered noses all over with no one saying a word.
> 
> I wouldn‘t be surprised. I noticed the same things you did.


Yeah I didn't see a wear your mask sign either, I didn't know that was even a thing. 

I didn't even mention the noses in my post because there were way too many of those.  If they weren't calling out the chin straps they definitely weren't doing anything about noses hanging out.


----------



## DisneyFive

The more people get vaccinated, the more I think Disney is going to have a hard time enforcing their own rules. Not saying that it’s right but I can see it happening.  I can see the mentality “ I’m fully vaccinated, why should I have to to be so strict with wearing my mask?”. I think it is something that Disney will struggle with until they finally allow no masks whenever that is.

Dan


----------



## auntlynne

loves to dive said:


> Good to know.  I'm probably going back in Sept. so I'll try not taking it out.  I seem to recall a sign at one of the parks right before security that did say to take out your phone but I might be remembering wrong.



Last September, at least one of the parks said to hold your phone out in front of you.  Different parks had different rules.  By November, it seemed standard to hold the phones.  And now, just pockets?  Getting easier for guests.  Add in facial recognition and poof! you will be in the park in no time.  Now, if you find your car at the end of the day...


----------



## canyoncam

I’ll be there in two weeks! Trying to keep up with this thread to know what to expect. Looking forward to seeing reports of People Mover experiences. Seriously was not looking forward to my trip if it wasn’t back up so I hope for positive operations. Disappointed they may be less strict with the masks but I live in a very anti mask county so I suspect I’ll still be pleasantly happy with overall compliance. I go into my local grocery store and count on one hand the number of masked people I see-and that includes myself! Yep-the employees are not even masked. So I shop one town over where at least the employees wear masks. I am vaccinated and will continue to mask.


----------



## ellbell

auntlynne said:


> Last September, at least one of the parks said to hold your phone out in front of you.  Different parks had different rules.  By November, it seemed standard to hold the phones.  And now, just pockets?  Getting easier for guests.  Add in facial recognition and poof! you will be in the park in no time.  Now, if you find your car at the end of the day...


I was there in October and was only ever told to hold my umbrella and glasses case in front of me at all the parks.


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## mickeymom629

Just back - I already posted our DS (4/19) and AK (4/20) experiences.  Me (not a thrill ride person), DH and DS27.  By the time I realized we needed to buy new tickets rather than using our old once we got there, HS reservations were gone and I felt like we will wait to do E next trip.  However, I really did miss seeing those parks this trip.

MK - 4/21 Wed. - Since the car alarms got us up by 4:30 yesterday morning and gave me plenty of time to get ready, I set my alarm for 4:30 and, again, we were out of the door by 6:20 a.m.  Decided to wait at Turtle Pond stop rather than walk to Peninsular and a MK bus pulled up as we were approaching!  We were the only ones on the bus and the first bus to arrive at MK at 6:50 a.m. where they held us for a bit.  Beautiful weather today. We went right to SDMT and my guys were on the 3rd train of people.  PP walk on through long queue, Pirates walk on.  People were lined up at JC but I don't think it opened for a while, so they were "wasting" precious time.  There was already a long line for Splash but it wasn't open yet.  BTMRR @ 8 - posted was 5 min and it was!  They did it 2x.   Then they waited in line for Splash which said 25 min - I felt like I waited a lot longer for them to get off, but maybe not.  Buzz - walk on 9:05.   Placed MO @ Cosmic Rays for 10:30-11.  Tomorrowland seemed much less crowded than other areas.  Space - 20 min posted.  I got in line for Pooh while they rode Space and then they joined me in line when I was still outside (every family gets their own honey pot, so they didn't take anyone's spot).  It was starting to get crowded by now.  LM and then Barnstormer and @ 10:33 pushed 'we are here' for lunch.  There was a crowd waiting for their orders and we got ours at 10:47.  Good spicy, crispy chicken sandwich and ate at a small table inside.  Felt very "safe".  11:30 HM (posted 30 min - it was less). Then JC - posted was 40 min and it was.  We had a great captain but I didn't catch her name.  Waited for Tom Sawyer's because TP said it was 11 min but the line was quickly forming so it took us about 50 minutes - we would NEVER have waited for this, but we were trying to take it easy/spend the day here and had already done a lot.  My guys did do BTMRR while I waited in line for TSI raft.  DH and DS26 enjoyed doing the caves and exploring since we haven't done it since kids were young.  While we were waiting, we saw Tinkerbell going through Frontierland.  As we were walking toward Fantasyland after TSI, we saw Country Bear characters up on the roof.  Philharmagic was 40 min wait.  Found a quite alcove in Tomorrowland to enjoy a coffee while guys did SM.  Then Buzz 2x - they must have been cleaning because wait turned out to be about 50 minutes (as MDE posted but TP kept saying 11 min).  Waited so long for the first ride that we went right back in for the second.  At 5:30 we got in line for Speedway (20 min posted and it was).  HM one more time.  We were tired, so we grabbed some pizza and cheeseburger egg rolls and sat for a snack.  Then walked out and saw Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Daisy on the train platform.  I was thrilled!!!

4/22 Thurs - DH birthday.  We walked to DS from OKW in the a.m. to buy a few souveniers for the grandkids.  We had a 5:00 reservation for Raglan Road.  We've never been there and we loved it!  ETA - our utensils wrapped in napkins were under a dome when we arrived at our table.  Our food came delivered by several people and the plates with domes were set in front of us and then the domes were removed. We had a high table in the corner and a fantastic waiter named Jack who took our drink orders immediately, described menu items and checked on us plenty but not annoyingly so.  There was entertainment and the food was great!  No Rush Pork, Braised Be Beef and Vegan Shepard pie.  A shrimp app was awesome as well as the bread pudding we shared.  Then we walked to the new shopping area to look around.  DS is huge now!  It got extremely crowded.  We left close to 8.

Masks and distancing - I wanted to agree with other posters about this week about mask wearing and people staying on designated spots in lines.  I wish the announcements would include a reminder about staying on designated spots in lines because some people just aren't doing it.  At Buzz, they must have been cleaning because we had a long wait when it shouldn't have been and the line grew pretty long.  People were clustered together just like any other time.  Only CM I heard correct anyone the entire trip was in line for the 3D Bugs at AK.

Bus - I will say that being at the bus stops by 6:25 a.m., if you can do it, is great.  At OKW, both days we went to parks we did this.  If we had been a minute late, we would have missed our bus.  We were only on with 3 other people on our AK day and the only ones on our MK day.  We were the first ones in AK (I think) and the first in line at our queue at MK.  Unfortunately, on our MK day, we walked to the bus stop to go back to OKW about 5:15 and people were there who had been waiting an hour and were really complaining.  I don't know what happened.

Overall experience - I was surprised at how many small children were there this past week.  Not only because of the virus, but there really aren't characters around like usual and I only saw Mickey and friends on the way out of MK by chance.  I think this modified experience might be best for older kids and adults who really love the rides more than seeing the characters. I really missed the parades and character spottings that usually go on, since I'm not a thrill ride person and usually wander a little when my family is riding.  This time I felt like I was just waiting for them at MK - especially as the day wore on and it got really crowded - with no castle shows, parades, PeopleMover, autograph signings to watch, etc.  At AK I can wander the trails or watch the monkeys in the middle, etc.  I'm glad we went but two days at the parks in 5 nights was plenty.  We spent the first and last day around the resort.

Our drives from MD were uneventful but UGH!

For some reason I received two different Disney survey emails prior to my trip asking me to review my trip.  Today, the survey links are expired.    I have no idea why Disney thought my trip was the week before.


----------



## hereforthechurros

ellbell said:


> I was there in October and was only ever told to hold my umbrella and glasses case in front of me at all the parks.


Yes this is still accurate as of this past week.


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## Soph&HanMom

Writing this as I am sitting in the airport to go home. Visited Disney Sunday and Monday, visited relatives Tuesday, Wednesday Universal, Thursday and Friday back at Disney.
Stayed at Pop my first two days. Got a surprise upgrade from CRS to Grand Floridian garden view for my last two days.
Was a lot busier then my visit in February. I was lucky with transportation for the most part. Able to walk on a bus no waits. Got booted out of the sky liner line late Sunday night due to lightning. We had to walk to the front of the park in buckets of rain to catch the bus. 
Did not rope drop a single Disney park. If you are doing Universal and want to ride Hagrids get there as early as you can.
I only rode a handful of rides because wait times are high in the afternoons.
Friday night at magic kingdom was the least busy I’d seen it. Was able to hit PP, BTMR, and mine train the last hour of the park day.
Parks had no open availability on Friday but I had no problem starting at HS, dropping into Epcot, and ending the day at Magic Kingdom.


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## e_yerger

WOWIE i arrived at CBR this morning at 10am, was told our room was almost ready and to hang around, now it’s 3 hours later and still not ready. Line at checkin desk is looped around the entire lobby and only 2 CM working the check in desks. People are getting irritated.

it’s me, i’m people.


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## scrappinginontario

e_yerger said:


> WOWIE i arrived at CBR this morning at 10am, was told our room was almost ready and to hang around, now it’s 3 hours later and still not ready. Line at checkin desk is looped around the entire lobby and only 2 CM working the check in desks. People are getting irritated.
> 
> it’s me, i’m people.


SO disappointing!!  Can you check your luggage and head to a park if that's what you planned to do today?

You may also want to check your MDE app also.  In the past I've found my room populated there before I received the notification text/email.


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## e_yerger

scrappinginontario said:


> SO disappointing!!  Can you check your luggage and head to a park if that's what you planned to do today?
> 
> You may also want to check your MDE app also.  In the past I've found my room populated there before I received the notification text/email.


We’ve been up since 2am and want to get into our room before we go to the parks. We also were told our room was “almost ready” so we didnt want to leave and then the second we got on the bus our room was ready.
I’ve also bee obsessively refreshing the App for the last 2 hours. I talked to a CM and she said they “moved me up the list” so we should be in our room soon. But that’s what we were told this morning when we arrived.


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## wdwrule

e_yerger said:


> We’ve been up since 2am and want to get into our room before we go to the parks. We also were told our room was “almost ready” so we didnt want to leave and then the second we got on the bus our room was ready.
> I’ve also bee obsessively refreshing the App for the last 2 hours. I talked to a CM and she said they “moved me up the list” so we should be in our room soon. But that’s what we were told this morning when we arrived.


I feel your pain. This was our exact experience last Saturday morning. We always arrive typically between 9&10am and 99% of the time our room is ready right away (including a trip this past November).  Last Saturday it wasn’t ready until almost 5:00pm. We had debated too whether to wait or go to the park. Glad we had decided to head right to the park that morning. Good luck!


----------



## e_yerger

wdwrule said:


> I feel your pain. This was our exact experience last Saturday morning. We always arrive typically between 9&10am and 99% of the time our room is ready right away (including a trip this past November).  Last Saturday it wasn’t ready until almost 5:00pm. We had debated too whether to wait or go to the park. Glad we had decided to head right to the park that morning. Good luck!


Got the text for our room at 1:45 after checking in at 10:15. And that was after complaining.


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## wdwrule

e_yerger said:


> Got the text for our room at 1:45 after checking in at 10:15. And that was after complaining.


So glad you got your room!!  Cheers and here’s hoping for a more magical rest of your stay!


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## Akck

e_yerger said:


> Got the text for our room at 1:45 after checking in at 10:15. And that was after complaining.



We moved from CBR to RIV today. We listed 8 am on our check in. I didn’t expect the room to be ready then, but we went to the lobby to let them know we were here. I think that expedited cleaning as we got the room ready text at 11:40 am.


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## Geomom

At mco heading home, will try to type up rest of trip tomorrow.  Just wanted to say, saw lots of cheer/dance troops in the parks this week, looks like competitions continue next week if you're coming in soon.  I didn't realize they had started back up.  Could be one reason park reservations are filling up quicker now with more groups arriving.  (I know our school cancelled the senior trip, but I'm sure other high school trips will happen soon.)  Also saw lots of multigenerational groups in parks, shirts with grandma/grandpa/mom/dad, etc.   Definitely a lot of pent up demand for Disney.   Lots of trips cancelled last year...


----------



## Princess Katelet

Geomom said:


> At mco heading home, will try to type up rest of trip tomorrow.  Just wanted to say, saw lots of cheer/dance troops in the parks this week, looks like competitions continue next week if you're coming in soon.  I didn't realize they had started back up.  Could be one reason park reservations are filling up quicker now with more groups arriving.  (I know our school cancelled the senior trip, but I'm sure other high school trips will happen soon.)  Also saw lots of multigenerational groups in parks, shirts with grandma/grandpa/mom/dad, etc.   Definitely a lot of pent up demand for Disney.   Lots of trips cancelled last year...



  My trip overlaps with them, too, but I didn’t know it at the time. Not a fan of groups, even well behaved ones. Their volume wreaks havoc on the parks.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Princess Katelet said:


> My trip overlaps with them, too, but I didn’t know it at the time. Not a fan of groups, even well behaved ones. Their volume wreaks havoc on the parks.


How so? We’ll be there in a little over two weeks. What are the worse times of day for them? I assume evenings? Anything we should avoid?


----------



## Princess Katelet

I was referring to groups in general.  I actually haven't experienced the cheer groups, but I've experienced Brazillian tour groups in July and various school groups any time and chuch groups, etc.  They wreak havoc because they are hard to walk around because they are one big group, and they can double a line like nothing.   It's best to go in the opposite direction so your touring doesn't overlap with theirs, but you can often meet up again.  I just find their large numbers challenging and it's disappointing to spend so much money and end up there while groups are there, and since Disney seems to allow groups at all times you just never know if you'll encounter them when planning a trip.  Without FP it's a bit disheartening.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Yeah I was pretty bummed when I realized this. My general gut instinct is that there is a lot of pent-up travel wants out there, and Disney is going to be towards the top of the list. As summer approaches and more are vaccinated, I figure it’s just going to get busier and busier. We wanted to get a trip in after spring break and before the summer hits.


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## auntlynne




----------



## auntlynne

If I had known, I would have looked at a week later.  Sigh.  The chanting.


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## iujen94

auntlynne said:


> If I had known, I would have looked at a week later.  Sigh.  The chanting.


I’ve seen many groups of cheerleaders (and I am VERY easily annoyed), and honestly they haven’t bothered me a bit. I haven’t heard any chanting or seen any obnoxious behavior at all.  I was dreading it when I started seeing them, but it’s been a total non-issue.


----------



## Makmak

I’m surprised that there are championships since so many cheer programs collapsed financially (all of them in our area sadly) or were unable to practice  due to COVID closures/restrictions so I didn’t even check this year! If anyone there can share the “sightings”/impact I’m interested to hear experiences particularly if you are at ASMovies (that’s where we are going to be and now I’m scared.....haha ....)


----------



## NashvilleMama

Makmak said:


> I’m surprised that there are championships since so many cheer programs collapsed financially (all of them in our area sadly) or were unable to practice  due to COVID closures/restrictions so I didn’t even check this year! If anyone there can share the “sightings”/impact I’m interested to hear experiences particularly if you are at ASMovies (that’s where we are going to be and now I’m scared.....haha ....)


I think that fully depends on what area of the country you live in. Ours here in a very...."keep things open at all costs" state....haven't seem to be hit too hard. Everything I know of is still operating and thriving. 

As a note, I know cheer and dance competition groups will be going strong through late June and mid-July. Lots of friends attending them. I think planning around them is a lost cause.


----------



## Makmak

NashvilleMama said:


> I think that fully depends on what area of the country you live in. Ours here in a very...."keep things open at all costs" state....haven't seem to be hit too hard. Everything I know of is still operating and thriving.
> 
> As a note, I know cheer and dance competition groups will be going strong through late June and mid-July. Lots of friends attending them. I think planning around them is a lost cause.


My daughters cheer gym was one that collapsed bc they were not allowed to open for over a year at any capacity.....so I’m worried she’s going to be depressed when she sees them so I may reschedule....


----------



## NashvilleMama

Makmak said:


> My daughters cheer gym was one that collapsed bc they were not allowed to open for over a year at any capacity.....so I’m worried she’s going to be depressed when she sees them so I may reschedule....


ugh. that's really rough. These poor kids have been through so many disappointments in the past year.


----------



## pixiedust2u

Boopuff said:


> I'm really glad to read about good experiences with hiring a private car for  pick-up.  We're planning to go at the end of the year so this will be good news.  Also anyone with experience, do you need to negotiate a grocery stop when you hire the car?


A lot of reputable places will advertise and allow for one grocery stop for up to 15 minutes or so.


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## jlwhitney

NashvilleMama said:


> I think that fully depends on what area of the country you live in. Ours here in a very...."keep things open at all costs" state....haven't seem to be hit too hard. Everything I know of is still operating and thriving.
> 
> As a note, I know cheer and dance competition groups will be going strong through late June and mid-July. Lots of friends attending them. I think planning around them is a lost cause.



Many in my area actually had higher than normal join this year also since people were so desperate for their kids to do things and people were unsure what other activities would be available and in person cheer started back mid may last year right in time for try outs for new season.


----------



## mickeymom629

iujen94 said:


> I’ve seen many groups of cheerleaders (and I am VERY easily annoyed), and honestly they haven’t bothered me a bit. I haven’t heard any chanting or seen any obnoxious behavior at all.  I was dreading it when I started seeing them, but it’s been a total non-issue.



I agree.  At MK on Wednesday, we saw a couple of groups but they were not making themselves the center of attention in any way.


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## DisneyFive

can we start a separate cheer thread?


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyFive said:


> can we start a separate cheer thread?


Not sure what you want to discuss about the cheer teams.

If it is Theme Park related please start it in our community board.

If the discussion is related to their accommodations please start it in the resorts community board.


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## nerdboyrockstar

e_yerger said:


> Got the text for our room at 1:45 after checking in at 10:15. And that was after complaining.



Wow. I didn't know you could complain before the official check-in time. Well, I know you could complain anytime but I wouldn't think it's valid. Or am I wrong on that?

I know Disney asks expected arrival time and it's a nice surprise when it's ready prior, but I feel like guests can't expect rooms to be ready any earlier than official check-in time. If they're being cleaned, they do need time to turn the rooms over and I imagine that process is a little more thorough post-COVID.

If I wanted to guarantee I would have a room early in the morning, I would imagine I may need to pay for that night before and anything else would be strictly pixie dust.


----------



## Ecomommy09

nerdboyrockstar said:


> Wow. I didn't know you could complain before the official check-in time. Well, I know you could complain anytime but I wouldn't think it's valid. Or am I wrong on that?
> 
> I know Disney asks expected arrival time and it's a nice surprise when it's ready prior, but I feel like guests can't expect rooms to be ready any earlier than official check-in time. If they're being cleaned, they do need time to turn the rooms over and I imagine that process is a little more thorough post-COVID.
> 
> If I wanted to guarantee I would have a room early in the morning, I would imagine I may need to pay for that night before and anything else would be strictly pixie dust.


When we checked into Contemporary last time, our room said it would be ready soon (which was still early), but it was very hot and I’d trekked to the car a couple of times for swim stuff, without the room ever updating.  I stopped by the desk and she said it was ready and just needed the supervisor to check it.  So, she expedited that.  If you are there, it never hurts to stop at the desk and ask what’s up.


----------



## luv2cheer92

auntlynne said:


> If I had known, I would have looked at a week later.  Sigh.  The chanting.


It's mostly all star teams, which don't typically do any chanting lol.


NashvilleMama said:


> I think that fully depends on what area of the country you live in. Ours here in a very...."keep things open at all costs" state....haven't seem to be hit too hard. Everything I know of is still operating and thriving.
> 
> As a note, I know cheer and dance competition groups will be going strong through late June and mid-July. Lots of friends attending them. I think planning around them is a lost cause.


Not sure what comps they are. The all star and school seasons end with these competitions. Either way, there are not any more scheduled for WDW at this time after mid-May.


----------



## Akck

nerdboyrockstar said:


> Wow. I didn't know you could complain before the official check-in time. Well, I know you could complain anytime but I wouldn't think it's valid. Or am I wrong on that?
> 
> I know Disney asks expected arrival time and it's a nice surprise when it's ready prior, but I feel like guests can't expect rooms to be ready any earlier than official check-in time. If they're being cleaned, they do need time to turn the rooms over and I imagine that process is a little more thorough post-COVID.
> 
> If I wanted to guarantee I would have a room early in the morning, I would imagine I may need to pay for that night before and anything else would be strictly pixie dust.



We didn’t complain, but I think letting them know you’re physically here can expedite the process. I also think that there notification system isn’t always updated when the room is ready.


----------



## Akck

I was able to get BG 21 this morning at the Riviera. I checked WiFi speed and it was faster than data again, so I left it on. My wife isn’t very happy about it as she wanted to sleep in and go later to the park.


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## DMLAINI

We've been here since 4/21.  The cheer group mask compliance in nonexistent.   There are very few that comprehend social distancing.  We were also stuck on a Southwest flight with a lot of them.   It's super annoying.   We just try to avoid them.   Their chaperones are also not following guidelines.


----------



## julesann

Without fast passes but with mobile ordering and checking wait times, how are you doing with your phone's battery life?  I ordered a battery pack but it is sooo bulky and heavy, I am thinking of returning it based on experiences in the park right now.


----------



## Anne Scaffo

DisneyFive said:


> Not to sound like a jerk or anything but it’s a moot point.  Neither smoking nor vaping is allowed inside the parks.
> 
> Dan


I understand. Completely. I don't want to smell it regardless of what it is.


----------



## Princess Katelet

scrappinginontario said:


> Not sure what you want to discuss about the cheer teams.
> 
> If it is Theme Park related please start it in our community board.
> 
> If the discussion is related to their accommodations please start it in the resorts community board.



Why would a topic that is theme park related go in the community board??  I’ve never once gone to that page. Guess I’ll have to check it out. I didn’t think it had much to do with Disney, but was more of an anything OUTSIDE of Disney group for people who happened to like Disney.


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## luv2cheer92

Princess Katelet said:


> Why would a topic that is theme park related go in the community board??  I’ve never once gone to that page. Guess I’ll have to check it out. I didn’t think it had much to do with Disney, but was more of an anything OUTSIDE of Disney group for people who happened to like Disney.


There is a Theme Parks Community sub-board. Different than the general Community board.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Princess Katelet said:


> Why would a topic that is theme park related go in the community board??  I’ve never once gone to that page. Guess I’ll have to check it out. I didn’t think it had much to do with Disney, but was more of an anything OUTSIDE of Disney group for people who happened to like Disney.


The OP wanted to create a separate thread about cheerleaders.  If it’s about what people are experiencing why not keep it here since it’s relevant to this discussion as this thread is the  ‘Here Now and Just Back’ thread?  It wasn’t my idea to start a separate thread I was just responding to the request.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

I agree. The cheerleading competitions are going on now through at least mid-May, and are relevant to those presently trying to prepare for their imminent arrivals


----------



## OKWFan88

Here now. Staying at OKW and our room was ready yesterday at 8am and we drove overnight to get here so that was great. Bus service has been hit or miss. Yesterday MK bus took 43 min to come to our bus stop at OKW but this was late afternoon. It filled up quickly. But did rope drop for HS this morning. The app didn’t show when a HS bus was coming so we got down to bus stop at 7:10 and a bus came at 7:30am and we were the only ones on it. I noticed the app never updated showing when the first HS bus was coming so I had to wonder if people just missed it. Got to HS by 745 and in temp line. By 8-805 the temp line started moving and we were inside within a few minutes. Went straight to the Mickey and Minnie Railway ride and walked on twice. Went to Starbucks, only a couple people ahead of us and got good.  We got boarding group 25 using Disney wifi and got called for that around 10 maybe. Walked around Galaxy shops but wasn’t very impressed with the merchandise. Short rain storm hit but we were back on a OKW bus by then as we have dinner reservations later tonight at HS and Oga reservation, so will hit more rides later tonight when crowds hopefully subside. Mask compliance good, but it is hot. Make sure to take drink breaks and hop into air conditioned stores.


----------



## Princess Katelet

OKWFan88 said:


> Here now. Staying at OKW and our room was ready yesterday at 8am and we drove overnight to get here so that was great. Bus service has been hit or miss. Yesterday MK bus took 43 min to come to our bus stop at OKW but this was late afternoon. It filled up quickly. But did rope drop for HS this morning. The app didn’t show when a HS bus was coming so we got down to bus stop at 7:10 and a bus came at 7:30am and we were the only ones on it. I noticed the app never updated showing when the first HS bus was coming so I had to wonder if people just missed it. Got to HS by 745 and in temp line. By 8-805 the temp line started moving and we were inside within a few minutes. Went straight to the Mickey and Minnie Railway ride and walked on twice. Went to Starbucks, only a couple people ahead of us and got good.  We got boarding group 25 using Disney wifi and got called for that around 10 maybe. Walked around Galaxy shops but wasn’t very impressed with the merchandise. Short rain storm hit but we were back on a OKW bus by then as we have dinner reservations later tonight at HS and Oga reservation, so will hit more rides later tonight when crowds hopefully subside. Mask compliance good, but it is hot. Make sure to take drink breaks and hop into air conditioned stores.



Where on the app does it show when buses are coming??  Is this the MDE app?  I've never seen that...


----------



## DisneyFive

scrappinginontario said:


> Not sure what you want to discuss about the cheer teams.
> 
> If it is Theme Park related please start it in our community board.
> 
> If the discussion is related to their accommodations please start it in the resorts community board.



Sorry, what I meant was that it seemed to be getting off topic with so many posts about cheer groups. I was hoping they could start a separate thread so it didn’t dilute this “here now and just back” thread

Dan


----------



## OKWFan88

Princess Katelet said:


> Where on the app does it show when buses are coming??  Is this the MDE app?  I've never seen that...


When I click on the three lines on the bottom of the app when it comes up it takes me to the area that shows Ticket and passes, My plans, virtual queue etc. Well, there is an option to click on Resort Hotel. When you click on that there is a spot to click on bus times for the Disney resort you're staying at. It's not always accurate. We were lucky to have gotten on that HS bus this morning as that was the first one and we were the only ones on it. If we had waited until the app or even the tv's in the bus station to update we would have missed it as it never updated to show when the first bus was coming. We just happened to be down there waiting for it.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Princess Katelet said:


> Where on the app does it show when buses are coming??  Is this the MDE app?  I've never seen that...



Just to add to PP’s info, the Bus Wait icon only shows up on your day of check-in through your day of check-out.


----------



## CinderellaCharming

Just to pipe in on the cheer groups at Disney:


Hi there!

I'm a cheer mom and I wanted to clarify the types of cheer groups. The competition next weekend and the following weekend (The Summit and The D2) are All-Star cheer. These cheerleaders all come with their parents and I would think most have made individual park reservations for the most part. I have made reservations wihtout consulting with any other parent on my daughter's team. I am bringing 2 of my daughters teammate becasue their parent can't come, but that's it.

Last time my daughter and I walked around Disney by ourselves. The only time she was with her team was at ESPN for comp related bonding, practice, and performance.

My daughter also does high school cheer. When the high school cheer team competes at ESPN, they go around Disney more as a group because they are going with their coaches and maybe one or 2 chaperones.

With that said, Orlando will be swarmed with cheerleaders this weekend, but they won't even all go to the parks. At the parks , you will  just see girls with their parents  (maybe a couple of parents will be together). But, you shouldn's see a big group walking around cheering and chanting!  Allstar cheer doesn't even say actual cheers!! It is a routine that involves stunting, tumbling, jumps, and a short dance portion.

From what I can gather, a lot of the cheer community is NOT happy with how Varsity has set up ticket sales, registration, and ticket pick-up. Seems like a lot of people couldn't get reservations, or have reservations, but are having issues with getting their tickets in time to actually go into the park on their reservation day. Hopefully, it will all work out for everyone.


----------



## BK2014

Princess Katelet said:


> Where on the app does it show when buses are coming??  Is this the MDE app?  I've never seen that...



I don't know if it is just us, but in several trips since they started offering this, I have never been able to find it on the MDE app during our stays.


----------



## luv2cheer92

CinderellaCharming said:


> Just to pipe in on the cheer groups at Disney:
> 
> 
> Hi there!
> 
> I'm a cheer mom and I wanted to clarify the types of cheer groups. The competition next weekend and the following weekend (The Summit and The D2) are All-Star cheer. These cheerleaders all come with their parents and I would think most have made individual park reservations for the most part. I have made reservations wihtout consulting with any other parent on my daughter's team. I am bringing 2 of my daughters teammate becasue their parent can't come, but that's it.
> 
> Last time my daughter and I walked around Disney by ourselves. The only time she was with her team was at ESPN for comp related bonding, practice, and performance.
> 
> My daughter also does high school cheer. When the high school cheer team competes at ESPN, they go around Disney more as a group because they are going with their coaches and maybe one or 2 chaperones.
> 
> With that said, Orlando will be swarmed with cheerleaders this weekend, but they won't even all go to the parks. At the parks , you will  just see girls with their parents  (maybe a couple of parents will be together). But, you shouldn's see a big group walking around cheering and chanting!  Allstar cheer doesn't even say actual cheers!! It is a routine that involves stunting, tumbling, jumps, and a short dance portion.
> 
> From what I can gather, a lot of the cheer community is NOT happy with how Varsity has set up ticket sales, registration, and ticket pick-up. Seems like a lot of people couldn't get reservations, or have reservations, but are having issues with getting their tickets in time to actually go into the park on their reservation day. Hopefully, it will all work out for everyone.


I'll clarify a little further. This coming weekend is Summit, then the following weekend is Worlds, then the next weekend after that is D2 Summit. And Dance Worlds is in between Summit and Cheer Worlds. So 3 weekends in a row. (And some allstar teams do use cheers, but it is only a very select few)


----------



## ellbell

People mover is running


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

I appreciate the insight from within the cheer community. I saw some posting on a DVC board that parents weren’t happy about the arrangement with Disney. Something along the lines of how participants are required to buy park hoppers for the days their kids are in the tournaments, and some of these teams don’t learn until last minute that they’ve made it, and then they’re required to buy park hoppers when there is no more (or highly limited) park availability for their days.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

ellbell said:


> People mover is running


More like the PeopleMov ̶E̶r̶ ing


----------



## brockash

.


----------



## dancergirlsmom

Akck said:


> We didn’t complain, but I think letting them know you’re physically here can expedite the process. I also think that there notification system isn’t always updated when the room is ready.



On our last trip our room was showing on MDE long before I ever got a text.  We were in our room, put things away and headed to a park before I got the text


----------



## nevergrowup826

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> I agree. The cheerleading competitions are going on now through at least mid-May, and are relevant to those presently trying to prepare for their imminent arrivals


The cheer groups here have been prevalent.  Not noisy, but their mask compliance (and their chaperones) in lines has been poor. Like they’re above the rules.  I’ve noticed a lot of poor mask compliance especially in outside lines.  Noses everywhere, eating and drinking a whole meal in line.  Cast members are barely around to say something.  I would also say in 8/10 lines the people behind us are up our behinds to the point where I have to say something- sometimes several times.   It’s like no one can read the signs or they just don’t give a hoot.  Cast members have not once enforced the line distancing in the two days I’ve been here.  If people are squeamish, be prepared or delay


----------



## Akck

Just wanted to report that some QS locations are allowing you to fill your own drink. Regal Eagle BBQ allowed you to do so while ABC Commissary had a CM filling cups.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Akck said:


> Just wanted to report that some QS locations are allowing you to fill your own drink. Regal Eagle BBQ allowed you to do so while ABC Commissary had a CM filling cups.


Interesting, this was reported as a new change several days ago. Weird that there are some places still having the CM do it.


----------



## Elle23

We just got home from an 8 night trip. I will probably write more later, but I did want to reiterate the importance of being at the parks when it opens. We slept it one day and it was by far the worst day in terms of what we were able to do (and we were stuck with the afternoon which was HOT!)

Just to give an example:

We rope dropped AK yesterday. The park opened a little after 7 (official opening time was 8). By 10:15, we had ridden FOP, Navi, EE, Dinosaur, Safari. and Kali x 2, and even stopped at Starbucks for a breakfast/ coffee break! It was an amazing morning and parts of the park were deserted for the first few hours. We rounded out our morning with lunch at Satuli Canteen and headed back to our hotel for a rest break.

It’s not easy getting up early, but it was totally worth it! And we always had our mid day break to rest and catch up on sleep.


----------



## NashvilleMama

luv2cheer92 said:


> It's mostly all star teams, which don't typically do any chanting lol.
> 
> Not sure what comps they are. The all star and school seasons end with these competitions. Either way, there are not any more scheduled for WDW at this time after mid-May.


There are quite a few nationals comps at Gaylord Opryland in June/July and those groups do park days, too. But probably nowhere near as big as the all-star/school groups


----------



## cindianne320

luv2cheer92 said:


> Interesting, this was reported as a new change several days ago. Weird that there are some places still having the CM do it.



I think the change was announced at the Resorts, not necessarily at all QS Restaurants.


----------



## luv2cheer92

NashvilleMama said:


> There are quite a few nationals comps at Gaylord Opryland in June/July and those groups do park days, too. But probably nowhere near as big as the all-star/school groups


Oh, so not all star cheer and not at WDW. Ok.


----------



## hereforthechurros

e_yerger said:


> WOWIE i arrived at CBR this morning at 10am, was told our room was almost ready and to hang around, now it’s 3 hours later and still not ready. Line at checkin desk is looped around the entire lobby and only 2 CM working the check in desks. People are getting irritated.
> 
> it’s me, i’m people.


I stayed at three resorts last week and late room check in happened at all three of them, and only after visiting the front desk. Zero requests were met as well. Whomever told you the room was almost ready obviously shouldn’t have :-/ Getting into a room early seems more unreliable than ever.


----------



## NashvilleMama

luv2cheer92 said:


> Oh, so not all star cheer and not at WDW. Ok.


The OP on the topic wasn't just on all star, but about cheer/dance groups in general. I think we've beaten the cheer horse to death and can move along.


----------



## luv2cheer92

NashvilleMama said:


> The OP on the topic wasn't just on all star, but about cheer/dance groups in general. I think we've beaten the cheer horse to death and can move along.


Not just all star, but comps at WDW. I just didn't understand how bringing up comps in Tennessee would affect park strategies at WDW.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

GADisneyDad14 said:


> Just to add to PP’s info, the Bus Wait icon only shows up on your day of check-in through your day of check-out.





BK2014 said:


> I don't know if it is just us, but in several trips since they started offering this, I have never been able to find it on the MDE app during our stays.



Wait... what? You can track the busses on the app?! Where? Why did I not know about this?


----------



## Haley R

hereforthechurros said:


> I stayed at three resorts last week and late room check in happened at all three of them, and only after visiting the front desk. Zero requests were met as well. Whomever told you the room was almost ready obviously shouldn’t have :-/ Getting into a room early seems more unreliable than ever.


This worries me. We’re going in May and staying at the cabins. My son is only 12 months so we were hoping to get into a cabin for his nap


----------



## MNDisneyMommy

Just back from a week at WDW, here are some thoughts:


I was concerned with no Fastpass we'd be waiting in long lines, but honestly between using rope drop, riding hard for a few hours, and then taking a long break and coming back at dinnertime to ride hard before close, we avoided most of the insanity.  We rode everything we wanted to at least once, and many things multiple times during the trip.  We had 2 days at HS and my son and I rode Minnie/Mickey a total of 5 times... my husband and daughter got through RNR three times and Tower twice... we got Space done three times, Splash twice... we really did get as much done as we used to with Fastpass so that was a huge positive.  I couldn't get over some of the waits during the afternoon though, they were nuts!
COVID safety wise, we would have bypassed many situations if we weren't vaccinated and our kids weren't wearing really great masks.  Obviously restaurant dining would have been out, but there were plenty of line situations where my husband and I stood on either end of our kids and lingered to try to get some distance between the kids and people doing dumb things.  (Some of our favorites... the lady on a phone call who took her mask off and when her husband chided her she defended herself by saying she couldn't hear the other person on the phone with her face mask on... the parents who not only let their 6-8ish year old kid not wear his mask at all but then gave him chewing gum while in line?.... the macho guy who seemed to think getting away with taking his mask off whenever CMs weren't looking would impress his girlfriend).  I would still rate mask compliance as pretty high (97-98%) but its hard not to focus on the noses and people who just think the rules must not apply to them. 
Learn and practice Rise of the Resistance.  I prepared with obsession and my husband watched a couple videos, and I got boarding group 10 while he was still trying to click through the first screen after Join.  I was able to get RoR boarding groups both mornings at 7 using time.gov to count down the seconds and then flipping to my app and timing my Join click for exactly when the clock struck 7 (and then clicking fast through every screen after).  It skipped my son one morning and we got him easily added at a low wait Guest Relations stand later (they have them scattered through the park, so don't wait in a long line).  The ride was super cool...totally loved it.
Wearing masks sucks in the heat, not so much because you're sweating under it (which we did no matter which mask type we tried) but you want to be sipping and drinking and snacking on the go during precious low wait times and its so HARD to pull over and stop just to drink.  We did it, but it sucked.  Disney's newer cloth masks felt pretty breathable to me and I wore those over the surgical masks I brought, my husband settled on his KF94 because it boxes away from his face and felt cooler to him, and the kids wore KF94s without complaint.
MK, Epcot, and HS all had rides going as soon as they let us enter in the morning, so imagine our surprise when we got up early and raced to Safari at AK later in the week and were told we had to wait 30 minutes until 8am before the ride would start.  ***??  They did start running the truck at exactly 8, but that was very unexpected!  None of the rides started early (although we didn't ask about the Pandora rides, maybe those opened, but Everest, Dinosaur and Safari were a no go.
Our Kidani room was ready at our requested 1pm arrival, which really surprised me... so many anecdotes about rooms not being ready on time I did not expect that.  Kidani was fantastic, beautiful, all good things we expected.
To Go from Table Service places was awesome.  We grabbed some Kona at the Poly and enjoyed, Sanaa and enjoyed.  I hope they keep that!
We did not experience any long Mobile Order return window issues some reported (but we usually had reservations at lunch).
We really did have a great time and it was a much needed return to our favorite place.  We'll do some COVID tests later this week and maybe the week after (our state does free ship-to-home so they're really convenient) and see if we (especially the kids) picked up anything, but so far so good.  Even with all the adjustments, it felt so GOOD to be there.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Haley R said:


> This worries me. We’re going in May and staying at the cabins. My son is only 12 months so we were hoping to get into a cabin for his nap


Your room may be ready but it’s not guaranteed especially before 3pm.  (I’m not really sure what check-in time means as I’ve heard it’s not a guarantee that your room will be ready by 3PM either.)  Disney is doing enhanced cleaning of all rooms and checkout time is officially 11AM. There is a lot for the cleaning CMs to do to prepare a room and have it checked before it us ready for the next guests.


----------



## Princess Katelet

MNDisneyMommy said:


> Just back from a week at WDW, here are some thoughts:
> 
> 
> I was concerned with no Fastpass we'd be waiting in long lines, but honestly between using rope drop, riding hard for a few hours, and then taking a long break and coming back at dinnertime to ride hard before close, we avoided most of the insanity.  We rode everything we wanted to at least once, and many things multiple times during the trip.  We had 2 days at HS and my son and I rode Minnie/Mickey a total of 5 times... my husband and daughter got through RNR three times and Tower twice... we got Space done three times, Splash twice... we really did get as much done as we used to with Fastpass so that was a huge positive.  I couldn't get over some of the waits during the afternoon though, they were nuts!
> COVID safety wise, we would have bypassed many situations if we weren't vaccinated and our kids weren't wearing really great masks.  Obviously restaurant dining would have been out, but there were plenty of line situations where my husband and I stood on either end of our kids and lingered to try to get some distance between the kids and people doing dumb things.  (Some of our favorites... the lady on a phone call who took her mask off and when her husband chided her she defended herself by saying she couldn't hear the other person on the phone with her face mask on... the parents who not only let their 6-8ish year old kid not wear his mask at all but then gave him chewing gum while in line?.... the macho guy who seemed to think getting away with taking his mask off whenever CMs weren't looking would impress his girlfriend).  I would still rate mask compliance as pretty high (97-98%) but its hard not to focus on the noses and people who just think the rules must not apply to them.
> Learn and practice Rise of the Resistance.  I prepared with obsession and my husband watched a couple videos, and I got boarding group 10 while he was still trying to click through the first screen after Join.  I was able to get RoR boarding groups both mornings at 7 using time.gov to count down the seconds and then flipping to my app and timing my Join click for exactly when the clock struck 7 (and then clicking fast through every screen after).  It skipped my son one morning and we got him easily added at a low wait Guest Relations stand later (they have them scattered through the park, so don't wait in a long line).  The ride was super cool...totally loved it.
> Wearing masks sucks in the heat, not so much because you're sweating under it (which we did no matter which mask type we tried) but you want to be sipping and drinking and snacking on the go during precious low wait times and its so HARD to pull over and stop just to drink.  We did it, but it sucked.  Disney's newer cloth masks felt pretty breathable to me and I wore those over the surgical masks I brought, my husband settled on his KF94 because it boxes away from his face and felt cooler to him, and the kids wore KF94s without complaint.
> MK, Epcot, and HS all had rides going as soon as they let us enter in the morning, so imagine our surprise when we got up early and raced to Safari at AK later in the week and were told we had to wait 30 minutes until 8am before the ride would start.  ***??  They did start running the truck at exactly 8, but that was very unexpected!  None of the rides started early (although we didn't ask about the Pandora rides, maybe those opened, but Everest, Dinosaur and Safari were a no go.
> Our Kidani room was ready at our requested 1pm arrival, which really surprised me... so many anecdotes about rooms not being ready on time I did not expect that.  Kidani was fantastic, beautiful, all good things we expected.
> To Go from Table Service places was awesome.  We grabbed some Kona at the Poly and enjoyed, Sanaa and enjoyed.  I hope they keep that!
> We did not experience any long Mobile Order return window issues some reported (but we usually had reservations at lunch).
> We really did have a great time and it was a much needed return to our favorite place.  We'll do some COVID tests later this week and maybe the week after (our state does free ship-to-home so they're really convenient) and see if we (especially the kids) picked up anything, but so far so good.  Even with all the adjustments, it felt so GOOD to be there.


I hate that you saw such bad mask compliance and social distancing. 
What is to go table service?? You can order full meals on the app and just go pick them up? Where do you then eat them?


----------



## Akck

Haley R said:


> This worries me. We’re going in May and staying at the cabins. My son is only 12 months so we were hoping to get into a cabin for his nap



I’d do online check-in and specify your arrival time. When you get to the resort and don’t have your room yet, talk to a CM in the lobby so they’ll know you’re physically present. They may be able to expedite your room.


----------



## Haley R

Akck said:


> I’d do online check-in and specify your arrival time. When you get to the resort and don’t have your room yet, talk to a CM in the lobby so they’ll know you’re physically present. They may be able to expedite your room.


I put that getting a room early is our number one request. I plan to stop by the check in when we get there if the cabin isn’t assigned yet. If there’s nothing they can do we’ll have to figure something out.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Haley R said:


> This worries me. We’re going in May and staying at the cabins. My son is only 12 months so we were hoping to get into a cabin for his nap


Do online check in and put in your expected arrival time. Then click the box that says early arrival supersedes any requests. This may help.


----------



## CableKC

TikiTikiFan said:


> Wait... what? You can track the busses on the app?! Where? Why did I not know about this?


Don't know if it changed since the last time we went to DW, but I think it's in the DisneyWorld App itself when you check the Resort information.   It was very helpful.   I figured out how much time it took for us to walk from the room to the bus stop and then was able to time it out to determine when we had to leave the room.


----------



## luv2cheer92

TikiTikiFan said:


> Wait... what? You can track the busses on the app?! Where? Why did I not know about this?


It shows you the approximate arrival time for buses coming to the resort you are staying at based on destination. It's only for buses leaving your resort, you can't track them when leaving the parks. You can only see them once you are there and it shows up in the resort info area, where you can see your room number. It's had that for a few years.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Princess Katelet said:


> What is to go table service?? You can order full meals on the app and just go pick them up? Where do you then eat them?



Below is a list of table service restaurants that offer mobile “To Go” ordering.  It is only offered at select resort table service restaurants, no theme park table service restaurants offer this option.

AKL - Sanaa To Go
Poly - Kona Cafe To Go
OKW - Olivia’s Cafe To Go
BWI - Trattoria al Forno To Go (this was recently added)
YC - Ale & Compass Restaurant To Go
WL - Geyser Point Bar & Grill To Go (this was recently added)
CR - The Wave To Go
CSR - Three Bridges Bar & Grill To Go

In the app, search “To Go” and the list of options will show up.

The interface is very similar to Quick Service mobile ordering.

Where you eat is up to you - some take it back to their room, a bench somewhere, some resorts have outside tables in certain spots (for example, the tables outside of Captain Cook’s and Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace at Poly, there are a few tables out by the water at CR, etc).


----------



## Elle23

TikiTikiFan said:


> Wait... what? You can track the busses on the app?! Where? Why did I not know about this?



Even if you can track bus times on the app, it doesn’t tell you how many people are already in line for the bus, so it’s honestly best not to rely on it.

If you are ready to go, it’s best to just go and secure your place in line and wait. We missed several buses one trip by relying on the app bus times because the buses had filled up.


----------



## e_yerger

nerdboyrockstar said:


> Wow. I didn't know you could complain before the official check-in time. Well, I know you could complain anytime but I wouldn't think it's valid. Or am I wrong on that?
> 
> I know Disney asks expected arrival time and it's a nice surprise when it's ready prior, but I feel like guests can't expect rooms to be ready any earlier than official check-in time. If they're being cleaned, they do need time to turn the rooms over and I imagine that process is a little more thorough post-COVID.
> 
> If I wanted to guarantee I would have a room early in the morning, I would imagine I may need to pay for that night before and anything else would be strictly pixie dust.


My complaint my purely based on the first CM telling us specifically to hang around, followed by nearly 4 hours before getting the alert that our room was open.


----------



## Tammy A

MNDisneyMommy said:


> Just back from a week at WDW, here are some thoughts:
> 
> 
> I was concerned with no Fastpass we'd be waiting in long lines, but honestly between using rope drop, riding hard for a few hours, and then taking a long break and coming back at dinnertime to ride hard before close, we avoided most of the insanity.  We rode everything we wanted to at least once, and many things multiple times during the trip.  We had 2 days at HS and my son and I rode Minnie/Mickey a total of 5 times... my husband and daughter got through RNR three times and Tower twice... we got Space done three times, Splash twice... we really did get as much done as we used to with Fastpass so that was a huge positive.  I couldn't get over some of the waits during the afternoon though, they were nuts!
> COVID safety wise, we would have bypassed many situations if we weren't vaccinated and our kids weren't wearing really great masks.  Obviously restaurant dining would have been out, but there were plenty of line situations where my husband and I stood on either end of our kids and lingered to try to get some distance between the kids and people doing dumb things.  (Some of our favorites... the lady on a phone call who took her mask off and when her husband chided her she defended herself by saying she couldn't hear the other person on the phone with her face mask on... the parents who not only let their 6-8ish year old kid not wear his mask at all but then gave him chewing gum while in line?.... the macho guy who seemed to think getting away with taking his mask off whenever CMs weren't looking would impress his girlfriend).  I would still rate mask compliance as pretty high (97-98%) but its hard not to focus on the noses and people who just think the rules must not apply to them.
> Learn and practice Rise of the Resistance.  I prepared with obsession and my husband watched a couple videos, and I got boarding group 10 while he was still trying to click through the first screen after Join.  I was able to get RoR boarding groups both mornings at 7 using time.gov to count down the seconds and then flipping to my app and timing my Join click for exactly when the clock struck 7 (and then clicking fast through every screen after).  It skipped my son one morning and we got him easily added at a low wait Guest Relations stand later (they have them scattered through the park, so don't wait in a long line).  The ride was super cool...totally loved it.
> Wearing masks sucks in the heat, not so much because you're sweating under it (which we did no matter which mask type we tried) but you want to be sipping and drinking and snacking on the go during precious low wait times and its so HARD to pull over and stop just to drink.  We did it, but it sucked.  Disney's newer cloth masks felt pretty breathable to me and I wore those over the surgical masks I brought, my husband settled on his KF94 because it boxes away from his face and felt cooler to him, and the kids wore KF94s without complaint.
> MK, Epcot, and HS all had rides going as soon as they let us enter in the morning, so imagine our surprise when we got up early and raced to Safari at AK later in the week and were told we had to wait 30 minutes until 8am before the ride would start.  ***??  They did start running the truck at exactly 8, but that was very unexpected!  None of the rides started early (although we didn't ask about the Pandora rides, maybe those opened, but Everest, Dinosaur and Safari were a no go.
> Our Kidani room was ready at our requested 1pm arrival, which really surprised me... so many anecdotes about rooms not being ready on time I did not expect that.  Kidani was fantastic, beautiful, all good things we expected.
> To Go from Table Service places was awesome.  We grabbed some Kona at the Poly and enjoyed, Sanaa and enjoyed.  I hope they keep that!
> We did not experience any long Mobile Order return window issues some reported (but we usually had reservations at lunch).
> We really did have a great time and it was a much needed return to our favorite place.  We'll do some COVID tests later this week and maybe the week after (our state does free ship-to-home so they're really convenient) and see if we (especially the kids) picked up anything, but so far so good.  Even with all the adjustments, it felt so GOOD to be there.



Thank you so much for your report.  It sounds like you all had a great time.


----------



## Tammy A

MNDisneyMommy said:


> Just back from a week at WDW, here are some thoughts:
> 
> 
> I was concerned with no Fastpass we'd be waiting in long lines, but honestly between using rope drop, riding hard for a few hours, and then taking a long break and coming back at dinnertime to ride hard before close, we avoided most of the insanity.  We rode everything we wanted to at least once, and many things multiple times during the trip.  We had 2 days at HS and my son and I rode Minnie/Mickey a total of 5 times... my husband and daughter got through RNR three times and Tower twice... we got Space done three times, Splash twice... we really did get as much done as we used to with Fastpass so that was a huge positive.  I couldn't get over some of the waits during the afternoon though, they were nuts!
> COVID safety wise, we would have bypassed many situations if we weren't vaccinated and our kids weren't wearing really great masks.  Obviously restaurant dining would have been out, but there were plenty of line situations where my husband and I stood on either end of our kids and lingered to try to get some distance between the kids and people doing dumb things.  (Some of our favorites... the lady on a phone call who took her mask off and when her husband chided her she defended herself by saying she couldn't hear the other person on the phone with her face mask on... the parents who not only let their 6-8ish year old kid not wear his mask at all but then gave him chewing gum while in line?.... the macho guy who seemed to think getting away with taking his mask off whenever CMs weren't looking would impress his girlfriend).  I would still rate mask compliance as pretty high (97-98%) but its hard not to focus on the noses and people who just think the rules must not apply to them.
> Learn and practice Rise of the Resistance.  I prepared with obsession and my husband watched a couple videos, and I got boarding group 10 while he was still trying to click through the first screen after Join.  I was able to get RoR boarding groups both mornings at 7 using time.gov to count down the seconds and then flipping to my app and timing my Join click for exactly when the clock struck 7 (and then clicking fast through every screen after).  It skipped my son one morning and we got him easily added at a low wait Guest Relations stand later (they have them scattered through the park, so don't wait in a long line).  The ride was super cool...totally loved it.
> Wearing masks sucks in the heat, not so much because you're sweating under it (which we did no matter which mask type we tried) but you want to be sipping and drinking and snacking on the go during precious low wait times and its so HARD to pull over and stop just to drink.  We did it, but it sucked.  Disney's newer cloth masks felt pretty breathable to me and I wore those over the surgical masks I brought, my husband settled on his KF94 because it boxes away from his face and felt cooler to him, and the kids wore KF94s without complaint.
> MK, Epcot, and HS all had rides going as soon as they let us enter in the morning, so imagine our surprise when we got up early and raced to Safari at AK later in the week and were told we had to wait 30 minutes until 8am before the ride would start.  ***??  They did start running the truck at exactly 8, but that was very unexpected!  None of the rides started early (although we didn't ask about the Pandora rides, maybe those opened, but Everest, Dinosaur and Safari were a no go.
> Our Kidani room was ready at our requested 1pm arrival, which really surprised me... so many anecdotes about rooms not being ready on time I did not expect that.  Kidani was fantastic, beautiful, all good things we expected.
> To Go from Table Service places was awesome.  We grabbed some Kona at the Poly and enjoyed, Sanaa and enjoyed.  I hope they keep that!
> We did not experience any long Mobile Order return window issues some reported (but we usually had reservations at lunch).
> We really did have a great time and it was a much needed return to our favorite place.  We'll do some COVID tests later this week and maybe the week after (our state does free ship-to-home so they're really convenient) and see if we (especially the kids) picked up anything, but so far so good.  Even with all the adjustments, it felt so GOOD to be there.



Hey, I'm a MN disney mom too!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Oof seeing more reports of giant lines for the DME on the Facebook DIS group. What was the name and price of the car service many of you mentioned on this thread? I'm debating just going that route rather than risk a huge line... we would be so crabby haha.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

TikiTikiFan said:


> Oof seeing more reports of giant lines for the DME on the Facebook DIS group. What was the name and price of the car service many of you mentioned on this thread? I'm debating just going that route rather than risk a huge line... we would be so crabby haha.


The long lines are dismaying but I have a feeling I’ll either be waiting for the DME or sitting around at the hotel waiting for my check in so


----------



## TikiTikiFan

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> The long lines are dismaying but I have a feeling I’ll either be waiting for the DME or sitting around at the hotel waiting for my check in so



I don't know whether to laugh or cry...


----------



## heartpumper

julesann said:


> Without fast passes but with mobile ordering and checking wait times, how are you doing with your phone's battery life?  I ordered a battery pack but it is sooo bulky and heavy, I am thinking of returning it based on experiences in the park right now.


We just got back from 6 days in parks.  I actually found my battery lasted longer this trip than in past.  I wasn’t constantly refreshing to get a fast pass so I think that was the reason.  Did use it a lot to check wait times, bus times, few mobile orders, dinner check in and pictures. I brought a portable charger with to hotel but never brought it to park.


----------



## tjmw2727

nevergrowup826 said:


> The cheer groups here have been prevalent.  Not noisy, but their mask compliance (and their chaperones) in lines has been poor. Like they’re above the rules.  I’ve noticed a lot of poor mask compliance especially in outside lines.  Noses everywhere, eating and drinking a whole meal in line.  Cast members are barely around to say something.  I would also say in 8/10 lines the people behind us are up our behinds to the point where I have to say something- sometimes several times.   It’s like no one can read the signs or they just don’t give a hoot.  Cast members have not once enforced the line distancing in the two days I’ve been here.  If people are squeamish, be prepared or delay



Agree with most of the above re the Cheer groups.

Just back yesterday and cheer groups were 15/20 in number and while I appreciate that they didn't cheer they did stop often for pictures/selfies and did them maskless and took quite a long time. 

A group of about 4 rows of them on the safari turned the driver narration from the safari to everyone needs to have a mask on and covering the nose and mouth at least 6 times.  Finally he had to threaten to have security meet us at the exit.  Not the best safari we have had!

We only had a few line creepers (none were cheer groups) but they didn't get within the new "3 feet" guideline so I let it go.


----------



## Princess Katelet

tjmw2727 said:


> Agree with most of the above re the Cheer groups.
> 
> Just back yesterday and cheer groups were 15/20 in number and while I appreciate that they didn't cheer they did stop often for pictures/selfies and did the mask less and took quite a long time.
> 
> A group of about 4 rows of them on the safari turned the driver narration from the safari to everyone needs to have a mask on and covering the nose and mouth at least 6 times.  Finally he had to threaten to have security meet us at the exit.  Not the best safari we have had!
> 
> We only had a few line creepers (none were cheer groups) but they didn't get within the new "3 feet" guideline so I let it go.


New three feet guideline?? When did that start? Did they place new markers?

I wish places would do a first strike you’re out rather than empty warnings and threats. Stop the ride, remove the non compliant party and be done with it. It would not take long to set a precedent and people would thus behave.  I’m so tired of the one bad apple ruining it for everyone and do not understand why THEIR enjoyment matters more to Disney (or X store or X museum or X whatever) than the rule abiding guests they should want to KEEP!


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## Wood Nymph

mickeymom629 said:


> We walked to DS from OKW in the a.m. to buy a few souveniers for the grandkids.


Do they have a well marked and lighted path to DS now? When we stayed at OKW a few years ago, the path wasn't well marked. 


mickeymom629 said:


> For some reason I received two different Disney survey emails prior to my trip asking me to review my trip. Today, the survey links are expired.  I have no idea why Disney thought my trip was the week before.


We received two surveys from our April trip. The first survey asked questions about the resort we stayed at. The second survey was interested in transportation - how we got to parks and other places. They asked other questions as well, but those topics seemed to have the most questions.


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## heartpumper

Just back from a long desired trip to sunny Florida from frozen Minnesota.
Stayed ay Swan 4/17, AK Kidani 4/18-22, Portofino at US 4/22-24.
Some thoughts/ high lights:
- since staying at Swan we didn’t get DME with trip but our friends did.  We were on same flight. They got in a super long line for DME and I had hired Tony Hinds (fantastic once again!!). They were just getting on the bus as we walked in to HS (this is with a grocery store stop for us on way to Swan). 

-We lucked out with our rooms being ready early at both Kidani and Portofino by a little after 12pm.  

-Buses...all I can say is Wow not the best part of our trip! Tensions are high and lots of arguments about who arrived to what line first at Kidani.  It took us almost 1.5 hours to get back from MK one day.   The bus drivers said there was problems with bus wifi so he suggested we call 407-WDW-RIDE and they would send more buses. This experience made us really appreciate the boats at swan and portofino!

-RoR... I did lots of research on how to get a boarding group.  I even got up early and practiced from home (never got very far) We had 3 HS days to start our trip (2 teenagers excited to ride). Our first day we were at airport and son got a boarding group right away! Our group was 13 people but all arriving at different times. Of course it was called when we were flying.  We made it park by 12:30 and at 12:59 we tried again and got back up boarding group (just the 3 of us that were in the park) which was called just before park closed.  By the next morning we were pros! Got boarding group 18 for 3 of us called at 8:40-9:40.  The following morning I got the boarding group 36 for all 13 of us.  We would open the app at 6:59 and just keep pressing join! Don’t worry about who’s in group just join, join, join! Fantastic ride!

-Covid protocols... I work in the operating room where patients are intubated and have been around COVID since day one.  I think I have a healthy respect/concern of this virus.  As others have said, don’t go now if you are fearful of COVID.  Both my teenagers and I (as well as the rest of our group) were able to get the vaccine a while ago.  I was very thankful of that.  Disney was much better than Universal as far as crowds mask compliance but there were so many people that would pull masks down once past cast members.  I had a lady across from me on the bus pull down her mask and blow her nose as we arrived to AK.  Lady wait 2 minutes and do it outside and off bus! People are definitely crowding each other in lines.  Our worst experience was last Tuesday at MK.  We had mobile ordered lunch and just as it was our time to eat the skies opened and it poured rain like it only can in FL!! The place was packed and of course people are eating so no masks.  It was an insanely crazy mad house of people trying to find tables and get out of rain!

-bring lots of masks so you can change them! We had disposable and the latest Disney masks.  Glad we had a variety cuz this MN girl was really feeling the heat while wearing a mask.  Nice to change them.

-The lines are what they are.  Sure we had to wait 25 minutes for Its a small world but we also only waited 30 minutes for FOP in the middle of the day.  Lines seem to move pretty quickly.  Rope dropping is so important as usual and end of night we also got a lot done.  We walked over to HS from Swan our first morning.  They opened temp station at 8:05 we dashed to SD.  On second ride.  Then did TOT, RRCx2 and TSM all before official park opening!

It was so wonderful to get back to our happy place! My 16 year old saw a Disney commercial on tv this morning before going to school.  He said when are we going back mom?? I love that my 18 and 16 year old teenage boys still want to go to Disney with their mom


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## loves to dive

heartpumper said:


> We just got back from 6 days in parks.  I actually found my battery lasted longer this trip than in past.  I wasn’t constantly refreshing to get a fast pass so I think that was the reason.  Did use it a lot to check wait times, bus times, few mobile orders, dinner check in and pictures. I brought a portable charger with to hotel but never brought it to park.



I think it might depend on your phone.   I have an older (probably 3 or 4 years old) android phone (pixal) and would have it out checking wait times or snapping a picture or two or checking for food times or timing wait times while in line - and I had to charge mine twice a day.   I have one of the lipstick chargers, like the ones you can get in the machines in the parks, and it was easy to slip in a pocket and just hook it up and still use my phone if needed.


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## Justin Headley

My family and I just got back from a 6 day trip and I will echo sort of some of the things that have already been mentioned.

- I know we've heard the number at 35% capacity for the parks right now. This simly can not be true, we've been 5 times in the past 5 years (including the week before Christmas) and it felt just as crowded and some of the times we've went around holidays. As some have mentioned, rope drop and staying late is imperative. Our kids are 7, 4 and 2 so staying late is really tough and long lines can be a nightmare, so we made rope drop a priority. We noticed that about 2-3 hours after the park was opened some of the wait times were insane.
- Mask compliance was mostly ok. We did see some that were blatantly ignoring it, and seemed to always be quickly reminded by a Cast Member to wear it correctly. We did see one large group at AK outside of Na'vi river journey that was not complying and security had to get involved because of some non-compliance (that was a sight to see/watch) but it was mostly obeyed from what we saw.
- Totally agree with others about line spacing. We made it a game with our kids on standing on the distancing stripes all week, as we know many are cautious about their space, but the majority of people we encountered last week completely ignored the spacing guidelines. Seems like many still have the famous "fill in all available space" burned into their brains or just didn't care.
- We only had one HS day, but had no issue getting a RoR boarding pass. We watched time.gov, both my wife and I tried and were able to get boarding group #8. We also watched several youtube videos that had some great suggestions.
- In the past, we've always loved Character Dining with our small kids and was a highlight of our trips. We had a Hollywood & Vine reservation early in our stay and while we knew the character distancing would just be different, and we tried to be up front with out kids about the experience, in the end our kids were just understandably disappointed and it made it tough to fork over the $200+ dollars for it. Just didn't feel like the value was there. We had reservations for Topolino's terrace and Garden grill later in the week and ended up cancelling them. For our family at least, we really look forward and hope for the potential return of  "normalcy" again with the character interactions. We definitely missed that part for our trip.


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## KGolf31

Perhaps a repetitive question: 

Are you still except from paying to park at a theme park on the day of checkout ? 

Staying at BWV, most of the stay will be using provided Transportation but on the day of checkout was planning on taking bus to MK in the AM, then coming back to our vehicle after checkout hours and hopping over to HS for a Oga's reservation and possibly ending at Epcot before heading over to Universal for the 2nd part of our vacation. 

I suppose it would be easier as well to just take Bus transportation over to HS anyways then either walk back to BWV or hop over to Epcot as I'm typing and thinking this.


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## Elle23

Justin Headley said:


> - I know we've heard the number at 35% capacity for the parks right now. This simly can not be true, we've been 5 times in the past 5 years (including the week before Christmas) and it felt just as crowded and some of the times we've went around holidays



I believe the 35% capacity. One reason is I never waited one time for a bathroom in the parks. Every truly crowded time I have been in the past with unlimited capacity, there were waits for the bathrooms.

Also, I think it feels more crowded because of the long, socially distanced lines and so many attractions, shops, and restaurants being closed (or limited in capacity) that would normally absorb crowds. That leaves more people at the open attractions and out in the walkways, etc.


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## TheSouthernBelle

So we just did a quick one day visit this past Friday, 4/23/21 and here were our current observations.  Our last visit was back in July & August when the parks were empty and WDW had just reopened. 

1-Hopping- We started at Epcot and hopped shortly after 2pm to MK.  We got on the bus at 2:15pm and entered MK gates at around 2:40pm. We didn't wait very long for the bus and getting on was easy.  All timing but it worked just fine. Assumed most hoppers are always headed to DHS.  We also left MK right at park close, 9pm and hopped back to Epcot. The first bus that came filled quickly so we waited and the second bus came a few min later.  I think we arrived at Epcot around 9:25pm. 
2- Posted wait times- all are mostly wrong.  Of all the rides we did all day long, the only wait time that was accurate, and our longest wait, was Test Track. At 9:30pm, posted wait time was 45 min and it was a full 45 min wait.  The TP lines app was always more accurate than MDE and posted wait times.  I guess Disney is going with under promise and over deliver on guest experience.  The ride queues and lines look to be way worse than they really are.  Frozen was a 20 min wait and the line started next to the reflections of china show entrance. 
3- Mobile ordering- if you haven't been to WDW in a while, be sure you are familiar with mobile ordering and also realize that the windows of time food can be ready are slimmer now that everyone uses the app.  If you want to eat at high noon or dinner at 6:30pm, you better pre-order your food for that window of time or you likely won't be able to eat for a bit.  We ate dinner at 8:30 so there were no issues but I kept checking earlier times for Pecos Bills and a few others at around 6/7 and order windows were 30 min to an hour later in some cases. 
4-Cheer groups on that Friday were a non-issue.  I think it just depends on the kids in the group. All the kids we saw were respectful park guests and added nothing to crowd concerns. Perhaps a resort issue for some but we stayed at the Swan and saw a few cheer teams but again, no issues.   Crowds feel heavier than ride wait times would indicate but likely a byproduct of the fact that there is not much else to do in the parks besides rides/eat/shop/repeat.
5-Plexiglass and ride seating- no rhyme or reason as to why some rides have it and others don't. I'm sure Disney has a science to it and that's fine but as so long as it keeps wait times down, I really don't care much about it but the Frozen plexiglass (new since our August visit) is lame.  I don't like the Frozen plexiglass. Definitely detracts from the ride for shorter guests and unless you're in the front row, it really is annoying.  But if it keep the line moving, it's fine but I'll be glad when they remove all of this. 

Overall for a one day trip for me and my two daughters, 14 & 12, we were able to do every ride we wanted to except soarin, had time to shop and enjoy the festival.  It was a tough decision between riding Soarin at 10:30 at night or go eat some more food, food won!  I am bummed we missed the Peoplemover reopening by a few days but we'll be back soon. We stayed one night at the Swan and after 28,000 steps last Friday, their hotel bed felt amazing!  We had a great trip and while I don't love park hopping for longer trips, I do like having that available to us again now for our shorter visits.  Didn't realize that I did miss it.


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## tjmw2727

Princess Katelet said:


> New three feet guideline?? When did that start? Did they place new markers?
> 
> I wish places would do a first strike you’re out rather than empty warnings and threats. Stop the ride, remove the non compliant party and be done with it. It would not take long to set a precedent and people would thus behave.  I’m so tired of the one bad apple ruining it for everyone and do not understand why THEIR enjoyment matters more to Disney (or X store or X museum or X whatever) than the rule abiding guests they should want to KEEP!



No sorry!!  The WDW markers are 6 feet apart but the revised CDC guidelines are saying 3 feet is probably fine.  So in my mind if they creeped close but not consistently within 3 feet of us I mentally adjusted.


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## DaniMoon

MNDisneyMommy said:


> To Go from Table Service places was awesome.  We grabbed some Kona at the Poly and enjoyed, Sanaa and enjoyed.  I hope they keep that!
> We did not experience any long Mobile Order return window issues some reported (but we usually had reservations at lunch).



Thank you, I am going to try my hardest to get an ADR at Sanaa, it is our favorite restaurant in WDW, but it is good to know we could still the bread service and find a place to enjoy it.    I'm glad you had a great time.


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## Heather07438

KGolf31 said:


> Perhaps a repetitive question:
> 
> Are you still except from paying to park at a theme park on the day of checkout ?
> 
> Staying at BWV, most of the stay will be using provided Transportation but on the day of checkout was planning on taking bus to MK in the AM, then coming back to our vehicle after checkout hours and hopping over to HS for a Oga's reservation and possibly ending at Epcot before heading over to Universal for the 2nd part of our vacation.
> 
> I suppose it would be easier as well to just take Bus transportation over to HS anyways then either walk back to BWV or hop over to Epcot as I'm typing and thinking this.


Yes you still get free parking at the theme parks on checkout day.

You’re also allowed to use your resort pool the entire day, even after checkout.


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## VAtink

Here now, just got in yesterday after a crazy morning of just trying to get here. MCO was nuts when we finally arrived, wall to wall people, but I suspect it was because so many incoming flights had to divert due to the weather so there were no planes for people to board.

Line to DME was super long, but only took 35 minutes to get to check-in, and then it was only another 10 to board the bus and maybe 5 before we left.

Went to Epcot yesterday afternoon, and it was pretty crowded, but that was to be expected being a Sunday. It was dapper day so it was great to see everyone dressed up.

Tons of tables around if you want to grab stuff from the F&G booths. Hope they keep all these tables from now on, so much easier to find a place to eat.

Took a late afternoon break and went back to Epcot at 8. Was surprised to see the crowds hadn't really died down from earlier.  Rode LWTL, walk-on. The plastic between rows is pretty bad, really hope they remove it soon.

Decided to chance Soarin' afterwards, was hoping the wait time was inflated, it wasn't. Posted 45 minute wait, and took 40 minutes.

Crashed after that, long day!

Today is AK day. The first bus from the YC didn't arrive until 7, so got a later start than planned. By the time we got here the park was already open so at least breezed through the screening and security. Went right to FoP, posted 30 min wait, took about 45. Safari was next, I believe the posted wait was 15, took about 20. Great safari, animals super active and right next to the truck. EE was next, posted 10 min wait, was walk-on. Went to Dinosaur after, and it was posted 5 min, but took 10. Not bad. Like having entire rows to myself!  By 10 the crowds had arrived so it was time to stroll around for pictures.

At 10:30 got in line for Nomad lounge, and have been hanging out here since. It is great here, could spend the day! 

As for masks, not many had them at MCO, but since arriving at Disney it's been pretty good. A few noses here and there, but not bad that I've seen. Also, wearing one isn't as bad as expected. The first 10-15 minutes I thought I was really going to struggle, but I got used to it and forget it's on at times.

Distancing in lines has been hit or miss. More miss than hit.  Some are clearly oblivious, others seem to just not care.

Anyways, great to be back here!  Here's a picture of some ducks I saw from my seat here.


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## cindianne320

Tammy A said:


> Hey, I'm a MN disney mom too!



Me, too! 



Princess Katelet said:


> New three feet guideline?? When did that start? Did they place new markers?
> 
> I wish places would do a first strike you’re out rather than empty warnings and threats. Stop the ride, remove the non compliant party and be done with it. It would not take long to set a precedent and people would thus behave.  I’m so tired of the one bad apple ruining it for everyone and do not understand why THEIR enjoyment matters more to Disney (or X store or X museum or X whatever) than the rule abiding guests they should want to KEEP!



Universal does stop the ride if they see people not wearing masks- it happened to us on Minions! (We were wearing ours- other people kept trying to take them off, so the ride stopped...)


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## elgerber

cindianne320 said:


> Me, too!


Me Three


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## Obi-J Kenobi

TikiTikiFan said:


> Oof seeing more reports of giant lines for the DME on the Facebook DIS group. What was the *name and price of the car service* many of you mentioned on this thread? I'm debating just going that route rather than risk a huge line... we would be so crabby haha.



My DW and I booked with FL Tours.  They are a sponsor of the DIS boards.  And I heard Pete W. discuss this group on a recent DIS unplugged episode.  I have never used them but they seemed reasonable enough for private car transport.  $160 for round trip MCO to BC and back.


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## igrsod

Obi-J Kenobi said:


> My DW and I booked with FL Tours.  They are a sponsor of the DIS boards.  And I heard Pete W. discuss this group on a recent DIS unplugged episode.  I have never used them but they seemed reasonable enough for private car transport.  $160 for round trip MCO to BC and back.


That isn't bad... and they will include a 30 min grocery stop on the way to the hotel.  Perfect


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## focusondisney

nevergrowup826 said:


> The cheer groups here have been prevalent.  Not noisy, but their mask compliance (and their chaperones) in lines has been poor. Like they’re above the rules.  I’ve noticed a lot of poor mask compliance especially in outside lines.  Noses everywhere, eating and drinking a whole meal in line.  Cast members are barely around to say something.  I would also say in 8/10 lines the people behind us are up our behinds to the point where I have to say something- sometimes several times.   It’s like no one can read the signs or they just don’t give a hoot.  Cast members have not once enforced the line distancing in the two days I’ve been here.  If people are Xbox, be prepared or delay



We were there the 15-22 & I agree with everything you said.  People got very close in lines, I would often hang back from the group in front of us  & very deliberately move up only slowly & leave lots of room in front of us, hoping the people behind would pick up on the distancing.  I also noticed a LOT of missing “wait here”,  with no apparent effort to replace them. Leading me to believe line distancing will be changing or going away sooner rather than later. 

So many improperly worn masks, all over.   Lots of eating & drinking while walking around with masks below the chin or just hanging off 1 ear. And while there are signs around, in a full week we only heard 1 CM attempt to tell someone to put their mask on. And even then, she never caught up with the guest who was moving quickly away from her.

Disney is talking up compliance, but not doing anything to make their rules stick as far as we could see.


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## b2k1121

TikiTikiFan said:


> Oof seeing more reports of giant lines for the DME on the Facebook DIS group. What was the name and price of the car service many of you mentioned on this thread? I'm debating just going that route rather than risk a huge line... we would be so crabby haha.


If it makes you feel any better when we arrived last week there was not a single person in line and we got on a bus immediately.


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## chewiebar

Here's what I all fit in on Friday, April 16 - a little delayed here but crowds are probably very similar.

_Walked 17.8 miles in one day - only park day in WDW in 2021 after my AP expired - hopefully going to DL in June, so wasn't too worried about getting on a lot of rides in MK since I can do them in DL_

Got to MK turn styles at 7:10am for a 8am opening, went right to 7DMT, it was not running yet, I was pretty close to the front of the line (a little past pooh) I think if I had arrived more than 10 minutes later, it would have been smarter to do other rides first and do 7DMT at the very end of the night (but I wasn't staying in MK all day either, so I definitely wanted to get it done)
The line started moving at 7:35, I got on at 7:46a

7:53a - I wanted to do peter pan since I assumed it would be a walk on and it was right there, but it wasn't running yet, small world was running, opted against doing that.

Hoofed it to frontierland, 8am and big thunder was a walk on, did it twice in a row - splash mountain still hadn't started running yet while I was doing BT, it was running by the time I got off and said 5 minute wait time on the app lol that was not accurate, app changed to 50 minutes soon, but I only waited 20 minutes after getting in line for it at 8:20a

9a - 2p in MK I literally just stalked all the characters because my past trips I had been to busy on rides to see the train station characters and I really wanted to see all of the different groups. Then I saw all the cavalcades. I walked around and took photos and had sleep hollow & citrus swirl in between some of the longer gaps between cavalcades. 

_in depth report of MK characters I made here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/character-sighting-tips-frequencies.3834767/ _

Left a cast compliment at guest relations (I'm sure this is very much appreciated if you have time and have a special experience with a cast member and was very easy to do at guest relations. I'm sure the guest relations CMs also enjoy hearing positive stories instead of being yelled at most of the day haha, the CM at the door seemed to have a sigh of relief when she asked why I was there and I said a cast compliment)

Got in the MK to epcot bus line at 2:08 and was at the epcot pylons at 2:34.  Went around and took photos and got the orange bird shoulder plush at mouse gears (no where else seemed to have him!)  Saw princess cavalcade and mickey, and really just took a million more photos of all the topiaries until 5:45. I knew I would do rides after the sunlight was gone! The crowds weren't bad at epcot, like I was able to get most topiary photos without waiting or people around, except for the darn france pavilion! We could really use the extra space around the rat ride!

Skylined over to HS and got there at 6:10, I was taking photos near MMRR in a minnie mouse inspired outfit and a CM saw me and asked if I wanted to ride, and I was like yes I am definitely going to later! And they were like no, you can ride now through the fast pass line  Posted wait was 25, I was intrigued to see how  long posted wait was VS actual wait, but not intrigued enough to decline the nice magical moment!

Mickey and Minnie came by right when I got off MMRR just sweetening up the evening experience, and then I wanted to ride tower at 6:45 and was assuming the 50 minute posted wait time would be inaccurate, but i got tired trying to find the end of the line when it started to go into the fantasmic area and was worried it would end up being pretty close to posted wait time. 

7pm - one hour until HS closed, Placed a mobile order for woodys for 730 pickup, ran to toy story land and did TSM (posted 15 min wait, it was a walk on), 715p - Alien was 15 minute posted, I didn't get on until 7:27, wasn't expecting to actually wait around 15 minutes!
Rookie move to not push "I'm here prepare my order" on mobile order earlier, I should have pushed it before I went to the bathroom, not after while I was just standing in the waiting area for mobile orders with everyone else looking dumb and sad and hungry. Very quickly ate (brought the tots to go in my purse whoops) and got in line for Slinky at 7:46 - posted wait was 45 minutes but the line didnt even extend past the actual entrance where the sign and times are listed! Got on at 8:06

Took my TIME getting to the front of the park (my feet HURT, went to get some band aids on the way out) - the skyliner line looked LONG, and I didnt want to have to wait in another long line to transfer, so I wish I could tell you how long the wait was but.. I took an uber back to epcot. I also knew I wanted to go right to spaceship earth and didnt want to walk from france, so it was worth the $23 uber for my feet!  Finding an uber or lyft was a PAIN, they kept telling me there were no cars, and was I SURE I wanted to take a car?  Not the only time it was hard to find a ride at peak hours, so plan ahead for that possibility. 

Got in line for spaceship earth at 9:03, got on at 9:12 (20 minute posted wait) 
9:40 - walked on nemo, wow i forgot how long that line was though just of walking time, my poor feet and my dumb self for not having better shoes 
9:50 - figment was a walk on.
10:15 - frozen said 20 minute wait, got in line where the troll topiary is, got on at 10:25. Do not love the plexiglass at all, but i have no room to complain when I only waited 10 minutes for frozen!
10:45 - How were my feet still functioning now - I am not sure - Soarin said posted 30 minute wait, I got on like in my seat at 11p.
A+ way to round out the longest day in the history of my feet.

Meant for this to be a posted wait times vs actual wait time post, but got carried away  Hope this helps someone though! Do toy story rides and epcot rides super late at night! (No idea about test track tips though besides jumping in line for that one at 10:55p if possible i guess!)


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## mdgineok

julesann said:


> Without fast passes but with mobile ordering and checking wait times, how are you doing with your phone's battery life?  I ordered a battery pack but it is sooo bulky and heavy, I am thinking of returning it based on experiences in the park right now.



I have an iPhone 11 and had no problem using WDW app, checking wait times, taking pics, etc. all day and had battery left.  I did however put my phone on low power mode every morning and we did not stay until closing on any day we were there.

YMMV
Mark in MN


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## NashvilleMama

luv2cheer92 said:


> Not just all star, but comps at WDW. I just didn't understand how bringing up comps in Tennessee would affect park strategies at WDW.



ha! Now I get this - I must have misstated where it was and mixed up the Gaylord resorts. It's the one in Orlando, with quite a few of them happening in June/July.


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## olive

NashvilleMama said:


> ha! Now I get this - I must have misstated where it was and mixed up the Gaylord resorts. It's the one in Orlando, with quite a few of them happening in June/July.



Where can we check this info to plan/adjust trip/resort/park planning?


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## sharadoc

julesann said:


> Without fast passes but with mobile ordering and checking wait times, how are you doing with your phone's battery life?  I ordered a battery pack but it is sooo bulky and heavy, I am thinking of returning it based on experiences in the park right now.



Last trip, we brought our "old" phones to use in park on wifi, then our regular phones were for texting each other, etc.  It was a little annoying carrying two phones, but at least I didn't run out of battery.


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## OKWFan88

In people mover line right now. Constantly moving, but does show a 40 min wait  but I’d wait longer to get on. MK is super busy today but seeing good mask compliance. Social distancing is another story. I think people forget manners when they go on vacation.


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## OKWFan88

OKWFan88 said:


> In people mover line right now. Constantly moving, but does show a 40 min wait  but I’d wait longer to get on. MK is super busy today but seeing good mask compliance. Social distancing is another story. I think people forget manners when they go on vacation.


It only took 20 minutes woot


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## Elle23

OKWFan88 said:


> In people mover line right now. Constantly moving, but does show a 40 min wait  but I’d wait longer to get on.



So jealous! We missed it by just a couple of days!


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## HiStitch626

Just back from a  weekend stay, and we stayed at the Yacht Club.

We had made the reservations a while ago and never were able to add the Friday night at YC, so booked the Friday at the Hyatt at the airport.  It turned out to be a good decision because our flight was delayed several times and our original 2PM arrival turned into a 9 PM arrival.  The restaurant there, McCoys, is pretty good and they serve until midnight. I'm not sure any other food locations were open at the airport at 9 PM

Went down to MDE about 730 AM , and there was no line. We got right on our bus. We anticipated we would have to wait a little bit which wasn’t a problem and about 20 minutes later the bus left. This is where it got a little strange. The driver entered property and drove past AOA and POP.  He then dropped people at the Caribbean Beach and Riviera. Then we went back to AOA and POP and drop some more people. Then he said the next stop is Coronado, so we went there. Then he gets back on the bus and said OK and our last stop today will be Kidani. So DH and I look at each other wondering what was going on. we were at the back of the bus so just shouted out what about the Yacht Club. I don’t know if the driver didn’t write down the resorts he was going to or just forgot, but after a tour of six other places we did finally arrive at the YC. The return to the airport was much better we only stopped at the BC and Boardwalk and then the Airport.

we went to Epcot and the Studios.  Both were really nice days, with pool breaks in the afternoon. I wish all of the pools on property had a sand bottom. It sure is nice when your feet are tired.  As others have reported mask compliance was pretty good but not perfect as was distancing in line. We did enjoy the flower and garden booths and all of the lovely topiaries. I will say on Saturday night there were some folks who had had a few too many at Epcot, including one clearly inebriated lady who should not have been driving a scooter!

We prefer the cruise line at this point, and don’t have another stay planned for the parks in the near future in hopes that cruising will be able to start again soon.


----------



## e_yerger

okay - day 3 here (MK today). this may be a hot take, and maybe a little harsh. but the vibe i’ve been getting from guests are the worst of the worst. people who think COVID was a joke, complete disregard for personal space, and that rules don’t apply to them. there are SO MANY large groups (cheer groups aside) - a lot of huge family reunion type groups. Multiple times today at MK we were in line for a snack, and out of no where 10 people showed up to be with the person in front of us, and made it impossible to social distance. Thank god we are vaccinated, because i would have had multiple panic attacks so far today.


----------



## Kelly loves Food

Recently back after a great trip from 4/17-4/23. We got ROR boarding group 32 using no special tricks other than my 14 year old's fast fingers. Had delicious meals at CA Grill, Raglan Road, BOG, Le Cellier, Hollywood Brown Derby and Grand Floridian Cafe. Rope dropped most mornings and walked on our favorite rides. Saw a few cheerleaders, no issues with chanting or large groups.


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## fbb

NashvilleMama said:


> ha! Now I get this - I must have misstated where it was and mixed up the Gaylord resorts. It's the one in Orlando, with quite a few of them happening in June/July.


Your post led me down a little rabbit hole of old Opryland photos


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## Betty Rohrer

fbb said:


> Your post led me down a little rabbit hole of old Opryland photos


me too


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## auntlynne

iujen94 said:


> I’ve seen many groups of cheerleaders (and I am VERY easily annoyed), and honestly they haven’t bothered me a bit. I haven’t heard any chanting or seen any obnoxious behavior at all.  I was dreading it when I started seeing them, but it’s been a total non-issue.



That’s reassuring.  Thanks for the positive report.


----------



## hereforthechurros

e_yerger said:


> okay - day 3 here (MK today). this may be a hot take, and maybe a little harsh. but the vibe i’ve been getting from guests are the worst of the worst. people who think COVID was a joke, complete disregard for personal space, and that rules don’t apply to them. there are SO MANY large groups (cheer groups aside) - a lot of huge family reunion type groups. Multiple times today at MK we were in line for a snack, and out of no where 10 people showed up to be with the person in front of us, and made it impossible to social distance. Thank god we are vaccinated, because i would have had multiple panic attacks so far today.


Soooo many large family groups last week too. Like every family was 12-20 people and yeah, if one person got in front of you here comes everyone else. I was over it by the end of our visit too. Thinking these are a lot of groups that had to cancel in 2020.


----------



## disneyfan150

hereforthechurros said:


> Soooo many large family groups last week too. Like every family was 12-20 people and yeah, if one person got in front of you here comes everyone else. I was over it by the end of our visit too. Thinking these are a lot of groups that had to cancel in 2020.


I need to prepare myself for this situation in June. Thanks for the heads up.


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## hereforthechurros

disneyfan150 said:


> I need to prepare myself for this situation in June. Thanks for the heads up.


Total opinion not based on anything, but I do think summer will be busy with larger family trips as well.


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## DisneyFive

disneyfan150 said:


> I need to prepare myself for this situation in June. Thanks for the heads up.



Same here, it's just plain rude.  If it were two people, like a little kid needed to use the bathroom and the rest of the family got in line, well that's one thing.  Holding a spot in line for a large group should not be allowed.

I'll have to mentally prepare for this too.

Dan


----------



## Kbrob21

I’ve been keeping a close eye on this thread because we’re arriving Wednesday and I’m struck by how different some people’s experiences are from others…in some cases on the same days. Is this just a matter of personal tolerance? Is it the difference between rope dropping vs. not? I can’t wrap my head around how it’ll be this week! In any case, thanks for the reports!


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## OKWFan88

Just got back to OKW from MK. Went to MK using bus and got their around 330pm. Decided to try going in the afternoon as we had a lazy start this morning. It was busy. Lots of groups. But we made it work for us. We are foodies and basically eat everything lol. So we started with a mickey pretzel, then mobile ordered at Sunshine Terrace, then got cheeseburger spring rolls at the spring roll cart. Then we walked over to Small World and posted wait time was 30 min, ended up being 17 min. Then we did tea cups and posted wait time was 15 min and it was 6 min. Then walked over to People Mover and wait time was 40 min and it was 20 min. People Mover stopped unexpectedly in the middle of the ride but I was just happy to be on it again so I was fine. Only was stopped about 5 min. Then did Space Mtn. Posted wait was 30 min and it was actually 18 min. Then did COP and that was a walk on. Then did Buzz Lightyear and posted wait time was 15 min, and it was a 10 min wait. We then did People mover two more times and it was a 15/17 min true wait. Saw about three or four cavalcades, those are fun. We had a dinner reservation at Cinderella Castle for 7pm. We checked in at 650pm and waited. And waited. And waited. At 730pm I went up to the desk and they said we were next and it would be a few more minutes. 750pm came and I went back up and they said a few more minutes. We got the text at 8:03pm that our table was ready. There was only two of us. Needless to say that wasn't a great start. It's like that Seinfeld episode, "You know how to *take* the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation". The meal was good, never been there before, but wouldn't go back. We had to prepay when we made the reservation and if we hadn't then we would have gone somewhere else because of the wait. Cinderella does make an appearance but due to Covid, you can't go up to her. Smile and wave only. Thankfully an OKW bus was waiting when we left and it was a quick exit home. Overall great day, and would definitely try a late afternoon park day again as the closer you get to closing, the less busy it was. Other than the dinner issue, everything else was wonderful. I just wish people understood that the signage on the ground about where to stand was actually read. We were bumped from behind more than a dozen times, (I lost count) and no apologies given. Some people actually acted like we were at fault. Some people just don't have any sense. But don't let that ruin your trip. Take a breath and be reminded you are in your happy place. Life is way too short to sweat the small stuff.


----------



## gharter

Just got back and for the most part, very happy with how Disney ran things.  People seemed to follow the rules for masks and social distancing.  Felt very safe.
A few rants:
1.  Waiting in line for 30 minutes, just as the group in front of you suddenly realizes they haven't figured out which kid is riding with which adult.  You watch the CM get frustrated as car after empty car passes by as they decide.
2.  I understand why they got rid of some of the pre-shows, yet other rides continue to have a pre-show and have blue dots to stand on.  On many rides, the pre-show adds a lot to the ride (ie haunted Mansion)
3. Buses often took forever to arrive.  I did like the areas being  separated so they could put more people on a bus.
4. Really miss being able to check luggage at the resort for the flight home.  Hope it returns.

Loved the mobile ordering. It removed the chaos of the lines.  You couldn't enter the seating area until your food was ready.  This meant yo had no issues finding a table as nobody was reserving tables for people waiting to order food.
We have been enough times, that in the past we could judge wait times based on the lines fairly accurate.  Not this time.  The line for Frozen left Norway and took 1/2 of the front space of China (seriously, it did).  Wait time 25 minutes (I timed it), same with other rides.  The lines look far worse than they are. For 7 Dwarves, we were lined up even with Dumbo, 30 minutes.

The temperature checks were nothing, rarely much of a line.
Loved the screening stations.  As long as you took out anything metal from your backpack and held it in front of you, we just walked right through.  Much better than the old bag search stations.

Skyliner was a lot of fun to ride.  Even at 89 degrees outside, they were cool inside while moving.  I suspect if it shuts down while you are riding in that temperature, they would warm up in a hurry.

All in all, this trip was very different from any of our previous Disney trips, but still very fun.


----------



## Akck

OKWFan88 said:


> In people mover line right now. Constantly moving, but does show a 40 min wait  but I’d wait longer to get on. MK is super busy today but seeing good mask compliance. Social distancing is another story. I think people forget manners when they go on vacation.



We were in line too today, but it broke down. We opted to leave the line and got in line for Buzz Lightyear. By the time we were finished, they had cleared the queue and had escorted guests off. We’ll try again on Thursday.


----------



## nevergrowup826

MNDisneyMommy said:


> Just back from a week at WDW, here are some thoughts:
> 
> 
> I was concerned with no Fastpass we'd be waiting in long lines, but honestly between using rope drop, riding hard for a few hours, and then taking a long break and coming back at dinnertime to ride hard before close, we avoided most of the insanity.  We rode everything we wanted to at least once, and many things multiple times during the trip.  We had 2 days at HS and my son and I rode Minnie/Mickey a total of 5 times... my husband and daughter got through RNR three times and Tower twice... we got Space done three times, Splash twice... we really did get as much done as we used to with Fastpass so that was a huge positive.  I couldn't get over some of the waits during the afternoon though, they were nuts!
> COVID safety wise, we would have bypassed many situations if we weren't vaccinated and our kids weren't wearing really great masks.  Obviously restaurant dining would have been out, but there were plenty of line situations where my husband and I stood on either end of our kids and lingered to try to get some distance between the kids and people doing dumb things.  (Some of our favorites... the lady on a phone call who took her mask off and when her husband chided her she defended herself by saying she couldn't hear the other person on the phone with her face mask on... the parents who not only let their 6-8ish year old kid not wear his mask at all but then gave him chewing gum while in line?.... the macho guy who seemed to think getting away with taking his mask off whenever CMs weren't looking would impress his girlfriend).  I would still rate mask compliance as pretty high (97-98%) but its hard not to focus on the noses and people who just think the rules must not apply to them.
> Learn and practice Rise of the Resistance.  I prepared with obsession and my husband watched a couple videos, and I got boarding group 10 while he was still trying to click through the first screen after Join.  I was able to get RoR boarding groups both mornings at 7 using time.gov to count down the seconds and then flipping to my app and timing my Join click for exactly when the clock struck 7 (and then clicking fast through every screen after).  It skipped my son one morning and we got him easily added at a low wait Guest Relations stand later (they have them scattered through the park, so don't wait in a long line).  The ride was super cool...totally loved it.
> Wearing masks sucks in the heat, not so much because you're sweating under it (which we did no matter which mask type we tried) but you want to be sipping and drinking and snacking on the go during precious low wait times and its so HARD to pull over and stop just to drink.  We did it, but it sucked.  Disney's newer cloth masks felt pretty breathable to me and I wore those over the surgical masks I brought, my husband settled on his KF94 because it boxes away from his face and felt cooler to him, and the kids wore KF94s without complaint.
> MK, Epcot, and HS all had rides going as soon as they let us enter in the morning, so imagine our surprise when we got up early and raced to Safari at AK later in the week and were told we had to wait 30 minutes until 8am before the ride would start.  ***??  They did start running the truck at exactly 8, but that was very unexpected!  None of the rides started early (although we didn't ask about the Pandora rides, maybe those opened, but Everest, Dinosaur and Safari were a no go.
> Our Kidani room was ready at our requested 1pm arrival, which really surprised me... so many anecdotes about rooms not being ready on time I did not expect that.  Kidani was fantastic, beautiful, all good things we expected.
> To Go from Table Service places was awesome.  We grabbed some Kona at the Poly and enjoyed, Sanaa and enjoyed.  I hope they keep that!
> We did not experience any long Mobile Order return window issues some reported (but we usually had reservations at lunch).
> We really did have a great time and it was a much needed return to our favorite place.  We'll do some COVID tests later this week and maybe the week after (our state does free ship-to-home so they're really convenient) and see if we (especially the kids) picked up anything, but so far so good.  Even with all the adjustments, it felt so GOOD to be there.


Your review fits our experience to the T- still here. We’re vaccinated but the lack of mask compliance, eating /drinking in lines, failure to adhere to the VERY clear markers on the floor is super frustrating.  Today at HS in the falcon line- the 20+ year old guy in front of us was told to put his mask on 3 times while trying to take pictures- Within 5 minutes.  And that was just the times he was caught a. Some people really are just horrible human beings.  I’d also love to have that much needed sip of water in line, but I follow the rules that are there for a reason. I’d love to actually enjoy a Starbucks while walking around.  Disney should actually implement the consequences they claim for violations. It’s beginning to get extremely unfair.  Most cast members now actually see it happen and do nothing.

As an aside, ROTR broken down twice for a super long time this morning! I thought this was a thing of the past!!!


----------



## nevergrowup826

VAtink said:


> Here now, just got in yesterday after a crazy morning of just trying to get here. MCO was nuts when we finally arrived, wall to wall people, but I suspect it was because so many incoming flights had to divert due to the weather so there were no planes for people to board.
> 
> Line to DME was super long, but only took 35 minutes to get to check-in, and then it was only another 10 to board the bus and maybe 5 before we left.
> 
> Went to Epcot yesterday afternoon, and it was pretty crowded, but that was to be expected being a Sunday. It was dapper day so it was great to see everyone dressed up.
> 
> Tons of tables around if you want to grab stuff from the F&G booths. Hope they keep all these tables from now on, so much easier to find a place to eat.
> 
> Took a late afternoon break and went back to Epcot at 8. Was surprised to see the crowds hadn't really died down from earlier.  Rode LWTL, walk-on. The plastic between rows is pretty bad, really hope they remove it soon.
> 
> Decided to chance Soarin' afterwards, was hoping the wait time was inflated, it wasn't. Posted 45 minute wait, and took 40 minutes.
> 
> Crashed after that, long day!
> 
> Today is AK day. The first bus from the YC didn't arrive until 7, so got a later start than planned. By the time we got here the park was already open so at least breezed through the screening and security. Went right to FoP, posted 30 min wait, took about 45. Safari was next, I believe the posted wait was 15, took about 20. Great safari, animals super active and right next to the truck. EE was next, posted 10 min wait, was walk-on. Went to Dinosaur after, and it was posted 5 min, but took 10. Not bad. Like having entire rows to myself!  By 10 the crowds had arrived so it was time to stroll around for pictures.
> 
> At 10:30 got in line for Nomad lounge, and have been hanging out here since. It is great here, could spend the day!
> 
> As for masks, not many had them at MCO, but since arriving at Disney it's been pretty good. A few noses here and there, but not bad that I've seen. Also, wearing one isn't as bad as expected. The first 10-15 minutes I thought I was really going to struggle, but I got used to it and forget it's on at times.
> 
> Distancing in lines has been hit or miss. More miss than hit.  Some are clearly oblivious, others seem to just not care.
> 
> Anyways, great to be back here!  Here's a picture of some ducks I saw from my seat here.


How was the nomad line at 1030? This is our most fav spot in the “world” and real world so we want to make  sure we get a  spot outside as soon as it opens.  We  suffered a 45 min wait and then hunger games style table search today for our second fav place at Baseline and would want to avoid thats.  We’re r yacht too so good to know, will try for an Uber tomorrow!  Thanks!!


----------



## Princess Katelet

It’s really disheartening reading about all the rude and selfish people who disregard the mask and distancing rules, and really upsetting that Disney does nothing about it. I wish we Disers could reserve the parks for a week and Disney would close to everyone else!!! Wouldn’t THAT be magical?!?!


----------



## nevergrowup826

Kbrob21 said:


> I’ve been keeping a close eye on this thread because we’re arriving Wednesday and I’m struck by how different some people’s experiences are from others…in some cases on the same days. Is this just a matter of personal tolerance? Is it the difference between rope dropping vs. not? I can’t wrap my head around how it’ll be this week! In any case, thanks for the reports!


I’m now beginning to think it’s a time of the day thing.  The true disney lovers are rope drop and night owls right now. The mornings and nights are great with mask compliance and distancing. It’s the afternoon that’s terrible.  People not caring at all.  The worst part is it’s not even kids, the culprits are all
Adults!


----------



## brockash

nevergrowup826 said:


> I’m now beginning to think it’s a time of the day thing.  The true disney lovers are rope drop and night owls right now. The mornings and nights are great with mask compliance and distancing. It’s the afternoon that’s terrible.  People not caring at all.  The worst part is it’s not even kids, the culprits are all
> Adults!


Hmmm...we found the opposite in terms of mask compliance.  We found the later in the day and night the less compliance.  

I also don't think it'd going to get better.  Ppl. are generally much more accepting of inconvenient rules when they understand the purpose.  With more and more ppl. getting vaccinated; more and more ppl. are going to find it illogical that they need to be uncomfortable and wear a mask...I believe the CDC just came out is very close to coming out saying that masks outdoors is not as necessary as first thought.

Not arguing the rule, but just stating that it's human nature to go along with and enforce rules when we understand the why and the importance/need.  It's a much different story when that part is missing.


----------



## DCLMP

nevergrowup826 said:


> I’m now beginning to think it’s a time of the day thing.  The true disney lovers are rope drop and night owls right now. The mornings and nights are great with mask compliance and distancing. It’s the afternoon that’s terrible.  People not caring at all.  The worst part is it’s not even kids, the culprits are all
> Adults!


You don't think the people that show up in the morning are still there in the afternoon? The distancing is better in the early morning and late night because it's not as crowded. Crowds were always less at those times pre- covid..... nothings changed.


----------



## nevergrowup826

DCLMP said:


> You don't think the people that show up in the morning are still there in the afternoon? The distancing is better in the early morning and late night because it's not as crowded. Crowds were always less at those times pre- covid..... nothings changed.


Did I say that? No. I’m one of those of people  that are still there in the afternoon. Pretty aware of the pre covid era too.  Doesn’t change that my experience has been the mask compliance and distancing is generally better in the morning and late late at night as opposed to the middle of the afternoon. I was offering a potential reason for the vast differences in reporting as inquired by someone else. No need to be rude.


----------



## Akck

Princess Katelet said:


> It’s really disheartening reading about all the rude and selfish people who disregard the mask and distancing rules, and really upsetting that Disney does nothing about it. I wish we Disers could reserve the parks for a week and Disney would close to everyone else!!! Wouldn’t THAT be magical?!?!



It’s not that Disney is doing nothing, it’s that people know what they’re doing. CMs can’t be everywhere all the time, so those people drop their mask when none are around and put them back up when they see one. I’ve heard several CMs tell guests to pull their mask up. You know what happens when the CM is out of sight.


----------



## pixiedust2u

Akck said:


> We were in line too today, but it broke down. We opted to leave the line and got in line for Buzz Lightyear. By the time we were finished, they had cleared the queue and had escorted guests off. We’ll try again on Thursday.


How the heck is it still breaking down after a year of repairs!!!! We have robots on Mars for goodness sake!!!


----------



## nevergrowup826

Grumpy by Birth said:


> There have always been people at WDW who disregard rules.  COVID has just added a few additional rules and there are always going to be some who don't follow them.  Disney has rarely ever done anything about those who broke rules.  I think in some ways enforcing COVID rules (even though still lax by some people's standard) is actually more strict than previous enforcement of "routine" rules (line cutting, etc.) in the past.
> 
> Not necessarily.  There are plenty of times when folks here don't get along all that well.


At 730 this morning I witnessed a CM scream at a line jumper (rope jumper too) in FOP it made my day as there are rarely consequences for the self entitled bunch


----------



## Tinker326

Just back 4/21-4/26 staying at Pop Century.   

No issues with Magical Express.  Arrived 6pm, waited about 20 minutes, bus loaded & the the entire bus went to Pop- people assigned seats & every other seat row was left empty.

Hotel was very clean.  Housekeeping only comes every other day to replace towels & take out trash.  That's it & we were fine with that.   Mask compliance was good around hotel.  No cheerleading groups HOWEVER we were talking with bus director our last day and he told us that starting later this week that 1,200 of the 1,800 rooms in Pop were going to cheer groups.  So that hotel is about about to be overrun with cheerleaders.   

Liked the Skyliner.   We roped dropped both Epcot & HS (arriving at Skyliner station 90minutes prior to park opening) and had no issues with long lines/waits and were easily in the parks when they opened early.   Only issue was closing at Epcot 11:15ish & late night at Epcot (9:15ish) where we had 40 minute wait to get back on Skyliner.   

Buses- I love the reduced bus capacity- no more packed sardines- everyone gets a seat.  We had no issues on any of our bus rides.  Best experiences on busses in over a decade.  We did rope drop for AK & MK (arriving in line 90 minutes before park opening).  And we left the parks before closing on those days.   We made use of the bus arrivals on the Disney App as well to time things out.  

We roped dropped every park & it was 100% worth it!   We got so much knocked out with no wait- minimal wait.  I may be the minority but we loved no fastpasses . It allows you to work the park with a strategy and get on everything so much easier because you are not dealing with built up wait lines for fast pass usage.  We managed to hit every ride in every park easily and with time to spare at the end of the day to re-ride our favorites and/or head back to the hotel to swim (we usually never have down time to swim at Disney).  

Also really enjoyed the mobile food ordering.   Made for a streamlined ordering process (instead of waiting & jockeying in line) and I loved they didn't let you in until your order was called so people could not sit and hoard tables.  Making it easy to get your food and find a place to sit and eat it.  

Covid procedures.  I will say that I'm glad we were vaccinated or I would have been a lot more paranoid.  I did think mask usage was high & people - for the most part- did respect the space bubble.  Plus the distancing measures Disney have in place do work.   That being said, they are not really enforcing those that are choosing not to follow the rules.   Peer pressure seems to work here and so not a ton of people were not following the rules- but the ones who were not- nothing was really said to them.  As for people getting up on my space bubble on waits.. it happened just a handful of times & I politely asked them to step back a bit please.  And they did.   

Overall- we had a fantastic, wonderful trip.  Truly one of the most relaxing, magical ones I have had in over a decade.  I like all the new procedures- they worked well for our family.   My only issue was the hot/humid weather during mid day did bother me in a mask more than I would wish it would have.  I have low tolerance for heat.   I don't think I could have handled a May-Sept trip with a mask.  

Still- a solid A for this Disney trip.  Missing it already.


----------



## lovethattink

Hey everyone! It’s a gorgeous Florida day and I’m getting ready to head out to MK!! I will pay close attention to how things are at the park going. I haven’t been to a park in two weeks, but was going about once or twice a week. And my experiences varied greatly.

Now on to business. It’s been brought to my attention that this thread is getting sarcastic and argumentative with all the mask and groups talk. Please remember, sarcasm and arguments go against DIS guidelines. We don’t want to be giving out warnings and points! Keep it to here now and just back experiences and please stay on topic.


----------



## loves to dive

nevergrowup826 said:


> How was the nomad line at 1030? This is our most fav spot in the “world” and real world so we want to make  sure we get a  spot outside as soon as it opens.  We  suffered a 45 min wait and then hunger games style table search today for our second fav place at Baseline and would want to avoid thats.  We’re r yacht too so good to know, will try for an Uber tomorrow!  Thanks!!


I was there a couple of weeks ago and got to Nomad around 10:30 ish (maybe a little later).  I was second person in line, was actually there before the people who got in front of me but I was sitting on a corner and they seemed to think they could go ahead.   Anyway, by 11 the line was stretched out to the beginning of the path you turn onto to go toward Tiffins.   I was seated right at 11.


----------



## Just take my money

We are in the middle of a one week vacation.  I am enjoying the mobile ordering for quick service restaurants however there are a couple of ‘hacks’ that we have seen people using that are annoying. If it rains Disney is not accounting for the fact that people will not leave the restaurant, and continue to let new people in and now there are a lot of people walking around with trays for food with no place to sit. We have seen twice where a parent goes up to the worker says there is a food allergy and she needs to order at the counter. That’s fine, however we have seen them then let in 7 people who immediately get to sit at a table where the rest of us are lined up waiting for our food to be called before being let in in the hot sun.


----------



## gharter

Princess Katelet said:


> It’s really disheartening reading about all the rude and selfish people who disregard the mask and distancing rules, and really upsetting that Disney does nothing about it. I wish we Disers could reserve the parks for a week and Disney would close to everyone else!!! Wouldn’t THAT be magical?!?!


We were there last week and this was not our experience at all.
There were a few who we saw without a mask at times.  From what we saw, greater than 99% were wearing a mask when they should be.  We were actually surprised to see this.
Most people in lines kept the spacing as it should be. Again, there is always 1 who crowds, and that happened in a few lines.
The only lack of social distancing we saw was under the tunnel to Galaxies Edge when hundreds were there to avoid the storm. And that made sense, as we were also part of that.


----------



## cindianne320

2 things I don't think I've noted here before:

1- some people are just not nice but most are. We were in line for Space Mountain. The people behind us were following the distance markers, as were we. The Lady behind them was not. Mom behind me politely asked her to stand back. That lady got right in her face, took down her mask, and said "If you're so scared, why are you here?!" Yikes.

2- in EPCOT, I saw a handful of CMs (not together or even at the same time) walking around and/or eating plates of food. I understand that they deserve a break and who wouldn't want Festival Booth food!? It just was unlike anything I'd seen before at Disney.


----------



## b2k1121

cindianne320 said:


> 1- some people are just not nice but most are. We were in line for Space Mountain. The people behind us were following the distance markers, as were we. The Lady behind them was not. Mom behind me politely asked her to stand back. That lady got right in her face, took down her mask, and said "If you're so scared, why are you here?!" Yikes.


This is why we never said anything to the people that did this behind us, which was about 50% of the queues we got in.  I imagine a lot of people blatantly ignoring the markers are the type that wants to argue/fight about why they aren't necessary and would love if someone asked them to move so they could start something.


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## wilkydelts

Can we stop with the petty and childish name calling towards those you are frustrated with. It really shouldn't make you feel that much better.


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## DisneyFive

Let’s keep this great thread going without the negative banter.

Dan


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## scrappinginontario

Please cease with the name calling and continue with sharing experiences without the judgement.  We want to promote people openly sharing their experiences without name calling.  

thank you.


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## PrincessV

Constructive advice for when a party behind you isn't maintaining appropriate distance and you don't want to risk a confrontation: simply pull over to the side and politely ask them to go ahead of you. Feel free to make something up about needing to pull over to read your phone, or find something in your bag if that makes it feel easier. Bonus points if you can smile with your eyes. I've had 4 visits to WDW during pandemic times and have had that work beautifully multiple times. Got me out of what felt like an unsafe situation and no confrontation!


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## Dakota731

“It’s really disheartening reading about all the rude and selfish people who disregard the mask and distancing rules, and really upsetting that Disney does nothing about it. I wish we Disers could reserve the parks for a week and Disney would close to everyone else!!! Wouldn’t THAT be magical?!?!”

I would rather have the opposite and the parks open for a week with no masks and no social distancing lol.  Maybe Disney could take turns. Then those who are worried about someone’s mask under their nose and someone accidentally bumping into them in line could have their week alternately!


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## Chris Ehlers

Does anyone know if you can transfer a park reservation to someone in your MDE group?


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## wilkydelts




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## Mango7100

PrincessV said:


> Constructive advice for when a party behind you isn't maintaining appropriate distance and you don't want to risk a confrontation: simply pull over to the side and politely ask them to go ahead of you. Feel free to make something up about needing to pull over to read your phone, or find something in your bag if that makes it feel easier. Bonus points if you can smile with your eyes. I've had 4 visits to WDW during pandemic times and have had that work beautifully multiple times. Got me out of what felt like an unsafe situation and no confrontation!


We are going in May and July and I think I’m going to use the UV umbrella trick that some on this thread have used. I’m afraid to confront people directly about it...some people are just nuts


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## b2k1121

Dakota731 said:


> “It’s really disheartening reading about all the rude and selfish people who disregard the mask and distancing rules, and really upsetting that Disney does nothing about it. I wish we Disers could reserve the parks for a week and Disney would close to everyone else!!! Wouldn’t THAT be magical?!?!”
> 
> I would rather have the opposite and the parks open for a week with no masks and no social distancing lol.  Maybe Disney could take turns. Then those who are worried about someone’s mask under their nose and someone accidentally bumping into them in line could have their week alternately!


I can understand not wanting to wear a mask, but I personally love social distancing regardless if there is a pandemic or not.  Not sure why anyone would prefer to have hot, sweaty and smelly strangers closer to them if there was an option available to have them not close to you.  There's no advantage to being closer, the line doesn't move any faster.  I don't want to listen to other people conversations, which, at DW, are typically family arguments and complaining.  Social distancing 4 lyfe!  Keep the buses how they are now! Keep skyliners to 1 party!  Kick people out of the park if they get too close to me!


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## OB1

And another Just back - was in the parks 4/22-26. Here is my very brief report


Also visited in early December. Crowds actually seemed less on days that were totally booked for all 4 parks. Could not figure that one out. 
Parks were very easy to walk thru, with just a few choke points. Mexico area in EPCOT was slammed. Africa in AK was very hectic. 
Mask compliance is not as good as DEC. I think people are just getting tired of it, especially if they have the vaccine. Lots of noses, and a fair amount going chin strap style. Distancing was pretty good, but we are not really too worried. I'm sure someone that is very paranoid would have been unhappy.
All in all - we had a great time and did everything we wanted. It was high 80s, and 90 for one of the days. Those were tough in masks, so we took breaks, did the relaxation zone, and did a mid day break at the room. 
Our hope is that in the fall we can return and not have to wear masks. Sure would be nice to at least go without when outside, and mask up to go indoors.


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## Just take my money

Also, you can’t really appreciate how long the magic kingdom walk back to your car is until you do it for the first time.  Runthetrams.com


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## Akck

Just changed resorts from RIV to BC. We got a room not ready text while at RIV, so we took our time heading over. Just as we pulled up to check our bags, I checked MDE and it displayed our room number at 9:40 am. So we still had bell services take our luggage and we parked and headed to the room. Our magic bands wouldn’t work, but I was able to use my phone. We had to go to the lobby to fix them. The CM told us to always check with the desk about your room, even if you did online check-in,  as they will try to expedite housekeeping if you’re there waiting.

Today is an Epcot day, but we decided to do some outlet shopping. It’s Homecomin’ for dinner and if we’re able to after, maybe a visit to Epcot.


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## Geomom

Got back late on Saturday 4/24 from a week at Disney.  Had posted about the first couple days in posts #9191 and #9233.  So I'll continue from there...

Tuesday 4/20, Epcot:
 Arrived after 11AM thru International Gateway.  Bought Spike's PolliNation hunt game (only prize left the 2 days we were in Epcot was the Orange Bird tumbler.)  Walked around the countries looking for Spike.  Went to Spaceship Earth, said 30 min, was about 15 min wait.  Came out to a torrential downpour.  Got out our raingear and our 2 umbrellas for the 3 of us...yeah, that didn't work so well...I took the brunt of the rain.  Hurried thru the rain to The Seas...ride was down, but you could enter the aquarium area.  Changed out my soaked cloth mask for a disposable that I'd brought as a backup.  We walked around the aquarium area, DD16 loves rays, so she was happy.  It was raining less, so we headed to Land pavillion...got in line for Living with the Land and they shut down the ride due to problems.  They weren't running the Awesome Planet movie due to using the theater as a place for people to socially distance out of the rain.  Soarin' had a long wait...left the pavillion.  Sooo many people in the Land building during the rainstorm!  We were all hungry now, still raining out, so we went to World Showplace to get festival food out of the rain.  Eventually found an empty table.  Nothing was too appealing, but did end up getting Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart from Cider House,  Warm Asparagus Salad and Strawberry Rhubarb Upside Down Cake from Epcot Farmer's Feast, and Watermelon Salad, Beef Brisket Burnt Ends/Pork Belly Slider, Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab salad, and Frozen Lemonade at Festival Favorites.  Heard the Piano Player while there...and found a Spike the Bee location inside!  Walked back to Boardwalk to rest before dinner at Trattoria al Forno.  DD16's knee had started bothering her the day before, so we iced her knee.  Managed to move our ADR to 5:30 instead of 7PM.  Had a great dinner of appetizers/sides/dessert.  Then walked back to Epcot for the evening.  Got a lot accomplished--walked onto Figment, Land x2, Soarin x2, and 30 min wait for Test Track to end the night.  Left park around 10:45PM  Walked 19,000 steps today.

Wednesday 4/21 Magic Kingdom:
DD's knee was still bothering her...walked straight to First Aid upon entering park hoping they had an Ace Bandage she could have (couldn't find anything at resort store other than some Ben Gay which didn't help.)  Nurse wrapped up her knee, gave us empty plastic bags to fill with ice to ice her knee, and let us borrow a red 'in park only' wheelchair for the day.  So...off we went around Magic Kingdom with DD16 in a wheelchair to try to prevent her knee from getting worse with all the walking we normally do at the parks.  Can't remember what we got done...it was busy during the afternoon (like 30 minutes for Country Bears busy...), did end up going on the riverboat at one point, got return times for some queues that aren't wheelchair accessible.  Lots of people in the parks again...wait times 30-60 minutes for most rides during afternoon.  Mobile Ordered lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace--I had the Harbor salad (yummy), DH had the kids salad, DD had the chicken nuggets. Had a good dinner at Jungle Skipper Canteen, wait times started going down then and got on a bunch of rides before park closed at 9PM...including Winnie the Pooh which DD regretted once we got to Tigger bouncing...jostled her injured knee a good bit. Managed to catch a bus back to Boardwalk pretty quickly! Walked 14,000 steps today.

Thursday 4/22 Epcot, DD's 17th birthday!!!
After 11AM, took the boat from Boardwalk to Epcot to save DD17 some walking with her wrapped knee.  Rented a wheelchair in the park (did a multi day rental to save $4.)  Started walking around countries again to eat lunch at Festival booths and go shopping.  Had Frushi in Japan (DD17's favorite!), then went shopping at the Japan store.  DD got a Kimono and bow with a Disney gift card my Dad gave her for her b-day...she was supposed to be on a school trip to Japan over her 16th birthday...and then 17th birthday...but trip got cancelled altogether.  Listened to Voices of Liberty at America Gardens stage.  Got more food at Trowel and Trellis--Impossible Korean short rib, Lavender Pot de Creme, Energize Matcha Cranberry and Lime Green Tea and food from The Honey Bee-stro--Chicken Flatbread, and the Honey Cheesecake--DD ate ALL the cheesecake and loved it!  Went to Canada to go to the movie (since DD is already sitting in the wheelchair...my kids hate standing at the Circle Vision movies, lol.)  They were having some technical difficulties, but we just hung around in the bench area and did a video call with our college daughter until the movie was back up and running.   Sent DH back to the hotel with our packages (and he stopped at the Tea Caddy on the way back.)  I took DD thru the Butterfly Garden...2 butterflies landed on her injured leg and just sat there for a good 10 minutes.  Met up with DH by the Seas, did that ride.  Decided to go to Mousegears to see if they have any Crocs for sale as my left foot was killing me (blister on the baby toe and ball of foot was hurting from walking funny...too narrow sandals.)  The CM I asked only showed me the black ones saying they don't have much in stock...size 12...then, as I was wandering store, I came across 'The Child' shiny silver Crocs in size 10, decided that would work (I wear an 8.5, but with the strap down it fit well), had cashier remove all tags and as soon as I left the store I put them on.  Soooo much better and I could walk again vs. hobbling around more and more.   (And they're so cute!!!) Headed to the Land next for dinner at Garden Grill, not the best booth location as there's just a small area for the characters to peer down. (something blocking that particular booth)..luckily they could go just above DD, so DH took some good pics of her with the characters and Chip/Dale were funny when they came around multiple times.  Food was tasty.  Afterwards went to the Land ride (walk on) and Soarin (20 min).  Went on Mexico boat ride, checked Frozen wait...line still fully into China winding all around, kept walking, got DD an expensive dress at the Dapper Day pop up shop between Germany/the Outpost, looked at the Jazz display at America...DD didn't want to do American Adventure, so we headed back towards Norway to see if Frozen line was any better...not really, but Test Track had gone down, so got in line for that, maybe 20 min?, went back to Frozen and waited about 20 min. (line was between Norway/China) to end our night.  Left park around 10:45PM again.  Walked 18,000 steps today.

Friday 4/23 Magic Kingdom
Got there around Noon, picked up the wheelchair for DD.  No idea what order we did stuff, lol.  Seemed a little less crowded today than Mon/Wed, especially after 2PM, seemed like people hopped to other parks vs hopping TO Magic Kingdom today.   Mobile Ordered from Friar's Nook...DD wanted an Uncrustable, and DH and I split a Buffalo Chicken Tots, and DD also ate the Cheese Tots...took a good 15 minutes for them to 'prepare our order.'  Definitely some clueless people in the park who would sit right next to us on the concrete benches, especially where everyone is eating/drinking.  Had to move twice to get some separation from people.  At some point during the day/evening we did Buzz/Carousel of Progress/Peter Pan x2/Haunted Mansion x2/Jungle Cruise/Ariel x 2/ Mickey's Philharmagic/Country Bears.  We had dinner at Be Our Guest.  Love the Filet Mignon, so good!  Again we did get a lot accomplished after dinner and left the park around 8:45PM.   Walked 13,000 steps today.

Saturday 4/24 Travel Day
We had an 11:30AM Beaches and Cream reservation, took the boat over to Yacht Club and walked from there.  DD17 had plain tots and an Oreo Shake.  DH and I split Chili Cheese Tots and a Minnie Souvenir Sink Sundae (vanilla/chocolate/strawberry ice cream, Hot fudge/butterscotch/peanut butter, 2 pieces of brownie, 2 oreos, chocolate chips, whipped cream, sprinkles, and cherries for $23.99)  Yummy!  Wandered around Yacht Club, went in the shop there, took boat back to Boardwalk, looked in shop there, then DD wanted to just sit in the A/C in the lobby while we waited for our 4:15PM Magical Express shuttle.  Our original plan for the day was to go mini golfing at Fantasia gardens after Beaches and Cream...but not with DD's knee hurting.  So we just hung out at the resort.  DH got me a Cucumber Mojito from the pool bar and got DD a Mickey pretzel.  Magical Express just picked up from Boardwalk and Riviera, everyone socially distanced themselves (much better than our August experience where people sat near us and removed their masks.)  Took our luggage over to A to do self check in for Southwest.  About 10 minute wait for security at MCO.  DD got pulled aside, wanded her wrapped knee and swabbed her hands, but they didn't find anything.  (I'm sure she was sweating, especially behind the knee wrap.)  A lot more people at MCO than over the summer...people have to sit right near you as there just aren't many empty gates any more, plus there were a lot of flight delays due to weather while there.  Our flight was delayed 20 minutes, but still arrived 10 minutes early to Manchester, NH.

Overall a good trip, definitely more people not wearing masks properly and not social distancing in lines vs our July/August trip.  We always left plenty of space in front of us.  I'd say it was at 90% proper mask usage...sometimes more sometimes less, depends upon where you are.  DD17 commented multiple times that she'd be surprised if she didn't get sick from the trip...which is just kind of sad...if people just followed the rules in place, others wouldn't feel apprehensive, especially in a park with lots of kids who either aren't old enough to get a vaccine or whose states haven't opened it up to them.


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## disneyfan150

Mango7100 said:


> the UV umbrella trick that some on this thread have used. I’m afraid to confront people directly about it...some people are just nuts


Would you mind repeating this trick?


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## lovethattink

disneyfan150 said:


> Would you mind repeating this trick?



It’s not really a trick. The queues are outdoor for longer lengths of time. The umbrella provides shade. And also keeps people an umbrella radius away.


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## VAtink

Another quick update from my trip. Yesterday evening I went back to Epcot and expected it to be a bit calmer than the previous night being a Monday, but was surprised to see it was packed. Worse yesterday than Sunday.  Reminded me of a Friday night during F&W fest. Also mask compliance was way down.  Saw a bunch of people walking around not even wearing one.  So far Epcot has seemed like the busiest park. 

Today was MK and was great. It feels the most normal of the parks this week with crowds and wait times. Park opened at 7:15 and I managed to ride 7DMT, BTMR, Splash, Pirates, HM, Space, Peoplemover, and Buzz by 10:40. The longest wait was for splash to open, which was only about 18 minutes after I got in line. Managed to sneak in some photopass in there as well. Saw the Dapper Dan's and a cavalcade before heading out around 11. Super productive morning!

The distancing in lines was much better today than the past two days.  There was one family behind me in the Buzz queue who were right on top of me, and kept making comments/questioning why some people were standing so far apart, until suddenly half way through the queue they realized they were supposed to stand on the markers and started doing that. So yeah, seems like some people are just clueless about the rules. 

The MK was so empty this morning for the first 1-1.5 hours. I took videos walking around with no one around. It was amazing. If you can get there early it is totally worth it!


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## Dakota731

b2k1121 said:


> I can understand not wanting to wear a mask, but I personally love social distancing regardless if there is a pandemic or not.  Not sure why anyone would prefer to have hot, sweaty and smelly strangers closer to them if there was an option available to have them not close to you.  There's no advantage to being closer, the line doesn't move any faster.  I don't want to listen to other people conversations, which, at DW, are typically family arguments and complaining.  Social distancing 4 lyfe!  Keep the buses how they are now! Keep skyliners to 1 party!  Kick people out of the park if they get too close to me!


I must be the odd one then. I enjoy talking to families from all over the country, and my kids are the same. They make friends wherever they go and still stay in contact with some kids they met on vacations. Most people are really nice, and my life is enriched meeting new folks so I’ll be glad when social distancing is over!


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## luv2cheer92

Dakota731 said:


> I must be the odd one then. I enjoy talking to families from all over the country, and my kids are the same. They make friends wherever they go and still stay in contact with some kids they met on vacations. Most people are really nice, and my life is enriched meeting new folks so I’ll be glad when social distancing is over!


Pretty certain you can talk to other people without them being on top of you.


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## hereforthechurros

nevergrowup826 said:


> How was the nomad line at 1030? This is our most fav spot in the “world” and real world so we want to make  sure we get a  spot outside as soon as it opens.  We  suffered a 45 min wait and then hunger games style table search today for our second fav place at Baseline and would want to avoid thats.  We’re r yacht too so good to know, will try for an Uber tomorrow!  Thanks!!


At Nomad last week the line at 10:30 am was three parties deep but grew very quickly after that. 

They really need to figure something out for BaseLine, the lack of seating there really causes some issues.


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## hereforthechurros

lovethattink said:


> I haven’t been to a park in two weeks, but was going about once or twice a week. And my experiences varied greatly.


This is so important to note. Getting a lot of passive aggressive vibes from people who had amazing experiences and don’t seem to understand how others didn’t. And vice versa. Week to week, day to day, crowd habits vary greatly and do affect the experience.


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## lovethattink

Today we had an amazing day celebrating ds’ bday. In some places MK was empty. Other places it bottlenecked. Wait times were low in my opinion. Even the crazy long line for the people mover moved quickly.

7DMT broke down while we were in line. They gave everyone a multiple experience pass to ride later. We rode later and the attraction stopped 3 times while we were on it. HM had a 10 minute wait posted and actually it was a 5 min walk and rode right away.

I ordered food on the mobile app from home before we left. Love that Columbia Harbour House food is now being served at Tomorrowland Terrace! Ordered that for right before it closed at 4pm. And ordered dessert from Aloha Isle for 6pm.

Mask compliance was really good. Saw a couple people eating and walking.

It was nice to see cm able to wear things that expressed themselves more.

There were definitely many more multigenerational families at the park. It was very noticeable by the matching shirts.

Did not see any cheer or dance groups. But it is a weekday.


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## AaronInWI

lovethattink said:


> It was nice to see cm able to wear things that expressed themselves more.


I'm curious, how did you see the CM's expressing themselves? I'm all for it, I'm just wondering how they are choosing to do so!


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## Nikki1013

VAtink said:


> The MK was so empty this morning for the first 1-1.5 hours. I took videos walking around with no one around. It was amazing. If you can get there early it is totally worth it!


I second that. We were there when the park opened as well and I couldn’t believe how much we got done in the first 90 minutes. Kinda made me nostalgic for the old pre-FastPass days. The rest of the day it seemed like our wait times were about half the posted times. We have another MK day Thursday so I hope we have the same luck then. I do miss the fireworks though. 

I’m planning a solo trip for early December so it will be interesting to see the changes between now and then.


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## lovethattink

AaronInWI said:


> I'm curious, how did you see the CM's expressing themselves? I'm all for it, I'm just wondering how they are choosing to do so!



Most noticeable was black nail polish.


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## Nikki1013

lovethattink said:


> Most noticeable was black nail polish.


I saw a cast member with a tattoo on her leg working at the Rock & Rollercoaster. It was kind of perfect for the attraction.


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## Mango7100

disneyfan150 said:


> Would you mind repeating this trick?


Using the umbrella outside for shade but also you can hold the the umbrella against your back almost like a barrier, seems like people had some success doing that as a deterrent against back creepers. Some  posters used the umbrella even in the indoor queue spaces


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## Princess Katelet

Mango7100 said:


> Using the umbrella outside for shade but also you can hold the the umbrella against your back almost like a barrier, seems like people had some success doing that as a deterrent against back creepers. Some  posters used the umbrella even in the indoor queue spaces


Just ordered my two umbrellas!  I got true sun blocking ones. Definitely plan to use these to block sun AND people!  Do a lot of others use them or will my daughter and I be the only ones with ‘parasols’?


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## lovethattink

Princess Katelet said:


> Just ordered my two umbrellas!  I got true sun blocking ones. Definitely plan to use these to block sun AND people!  Do a lot of others use them or will my daughter and I be the only ones with ‘parasols’?



I don’t use them as much as I use to. I had radiation treatment and don’t need extra from the sun. You’ll definitely be in the minority on a sunny day.


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## Mango7100

Princess Katelet said:


> Just ordered my two umbrellas!  I got true sun blocking ones. Definitely plan to use these to block sun AND people!  Do a lot of others use them or will my daughter and I be the only ones with ‘parasols’?


I’m crazy pale so I always thought about one but never used it, now we are going to. That summer sun is brutal standing on the pavement. I remember seeing a few people with them on previous trips—definitely the minority but not so rare that it looked odd


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## wdwrule

Princess Katelet said:


> Just ordered my two umbrellas!  I got true sun blocking ones. Definitely plan to use these to block sun AND people!  Do a lot of others use them or will my daughter and I be the only ones with ‘parasols’?


I admit... I did order a UV blocking umbrella for my most recent trip and I loved it!!  I’ve always brought a small umbrella anyways for rain each day. But, standing in outdoor extended ques... this umbrella provided much needed shade. It’s still compact, so easy to throw in the bag.


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## SheSingsAlong

A little trip report to hopefully help others as I have found help here  Returned Monday night, 4/26, from our 7-day desperately needed escape from reality to WDW. If it’s any indication of the magic that place still holds, I had tears in my eyes as we waved goodbye to the Fab Five standing at the train station as we exited MK for the final time at the end of our trip. The magic is there, even now, and I can’t wait to go back.

Party of 3: Me, Husband, and DD (5 y/o). We flew Frontier non-stop 4/19 and arrived at 10:15am. Used DME – no check-in line, waited ~30 minutes for a bus. Split stay: 4 nights at AS-Movies preferred, 3 nights BRV Studio on rented points.

Tues 4/20 – MK
Terrible start to the day. A series of unfortunate events had us frazzled even before it started downpouring while we queued for temp check. And the rain rain rain came down down down in rushing, rising, rivulets! We had packed rain gear, but were caught without time to don it before our feet and heads were drenched. We escaped indoors and tried to dry off and re-assess our plans. The rain finally tapered off and we had missed no rope-drop time since everyone and everything had stopped. Turned out to be a highly successful day other than the 2 giant blisters I developed walking in sandals. Used Lines app, started in Adventure Land and moved clock-wise. Used MobileOrder for snacks and dinner (every quick service should offer this!), lunched at the Wave. Thank goodness BTMRR is DD’s favorite – it reliably had low waits most of the day.

Wed 4/21 – EP
Nice to wake up “late” for EP rope drop. Shared QS breakfast at resort and got on first bus to EP. Power walked to Test Track – they let us line up inside the building and we waited ~10 min before they started loading cars. Line was still short after so we rode again! Flower and Garden food was awesome and seating could always be found nearby. DD enjoyed Spike the Bee scavenger hunt (which was a great excuse to let ME enjoy the gardens LOL). Shopped and explored World Showcase. We had very good luck with lines – waited maybe 25 min for Soarin’. Dinner at Garden Grill, very good. Rode Test Track twice in a row AGAIN later in the evening since wait was so low (~20 min each time). We left a little after 8pm.

Thurs 4/22 – DHS
Our rope-drop skills advanced to a new level. A series of totally lucky breaks got us on the FIRST train for SDD. Rode again as the line was still short. Then MMRR with ~20 min wait. My button mashing skills had earned us RotR BG1 which was called before official park open, so we headed there next. DD was very sad we could only ride once. Second breakfast at Ronto Roaster. Slowed down and enjoyed Galaxy’s Edge, a few more rides. Had to power walk to Boardwalk for Beaches n’ Cream ressie because we missed the boat (that hurt). Worth it for the food. Split a plate so you have room for the ice cream LOL! Took boat back to DHS and shopped. More rides. Wookie cookie and Blue Milk snack and a long break. Dinner at Woody’s was really good and DD actually ate a lot – highly recommend. We finished the night riding SDD 3 times in a row, last time at sunset with the lights on – DD’s favorite.

Fri 4/23 – “rest” day
We apparently do not know how to rest. We need to figure that out before the next Disney trip XD Transferred to BRV, breakfast at the Wave, pool at WL (the swim vests they provide for kids are excellent!), then Disney Springs for dinner at Raglan Road.

Sat 4/24 – AK
Some friends joined us for our BRV stay and came to the parks with us. We were able to use rider swap with them to do the rides DD can’t. Rode FOP, Nav’i River Journey, and Dinosaur all twice. Rode EE and Safari once. AK broke me. I’m a very good planner, I use Lines App (was unreliable for this park), I research and study WDW. But AK is just. So. Freaking. BIG. Each land only has like 2 rides and you have to walk FOREVER to get between lands. There was no way to avoid all the walking. Beautiful park, great rides (what few there are), but with my DD being a tiny adrenaline junky, I am thinking of making AK a half park day next time. I would love to enjoy it fully at a slower pace on an adults-only trip in the future. This was the only day we left the park for a mid-day break at the resort and returned later – it was a necessity. Lunch at Flame Tree was delicious as was dinner at Satuli.

Sun 4/25 – MK
Bus never showed for MK at Wilderness Lodge so we booked it to the boat dock. Arrived at MK ~5 min after they opened for early entry. Started left in Adventureland again. PoTC was down for technical issues. Splash was running empty boats – good sign, but that ride never seems to open before official park open. Onward to BTMRR…which also had not opened yet. We queued up anyway and after 15-20 min the ride finally opened. Rode twice. Splash still down, but PoTC had finally opened. Not a super successful rope-drop morning, a lot of rides just didn’t open, but it was our second MK day, so after Splash (~35 min wait) everything else was gravy. Lunched at Whispering Canyon and went back to our Villa for a quick wardrobe change. Afternoon in the park was super busy BUT…the People Mover opened a day early!!!! I forced my group to wait an inordinate amount of time in line to ride it. Rider swapped Space Mountain and rode twice due to low wait. Cleaned up Fantasyland, had ice cream and popcorn for “dinner”, then rode BTMRR 3 times in a row. Dole whip with a view of the castle and we slowly headed out as I tried not to cry. We took the boat back to WL and caught the Electric Water Pageant – very cute.

Mon 4/25 – Leaving
Woke up “late” (when you always rope-drop, 7:30am is late), packed, stowed our bags will Bell Services, late breakfast at Whispering Canyon, then pool until time to meet the Tragical Express. MCO’s TSA line wasn’t as long as we feared it would be, so we had ample time before our flight. Note for parents with small children: THERE IS NO BATHROOM AFTER TSA until you ride the tram to your gate area. DD had a meltdown trying to hold her bladder until we could get to a restroom. Crisis averted when all the women waiting for the smallest airport bathroom I’ve ever seen let us jump to the front of the line.

Random notes:
We were in WDW in Nov. Mask compliance now is still extremely high, but social distancing is non-existent. Very few people adhered to the dots and lines in queues.

With a smart touring plan, you can avoid long lines, especially in MK. We often waited less than 20 min. Waits of ~35 – 40min were for headliners like Splash and SDD. We managed 20-25 min waits on Test Track, Soarin’, MMRR, FOP, and 7DMT. It can be done – zig when others zag, avoid mid-day, and don’t fully trust Disney reported wait times. Lines App was usually more accurate (except in AK).

MobileOrder is still awesome and they just expanded it to Sunshine Tree Terrace, Sleepy Hollow, and Friar’s Nook. Always order early to get the time slot you want. Eat at off times if seating is an issue (lookin’ at you, Woody’s Lunchbox).

Busses at All-Star Movies were excellent, always on time. Busses at Wilderness Lodge for wherever we were going were always very late, maybe we just got unlucky?

Young kids/picky eaters: Order groceries so your kids can have those go-to foods they will always eat for you. DD was always willing to take a few bites of her favorite sandwich when she refused all other food. It saved us a lot of money on wasted park food and spared us a lot of meltdowns.

Not sure about other resorts, but the food court at Movies didn’t open until 7am. If you are rope-dropping anything but EP, you will have to make other breakfast plans (highly recommend grocery delivery so you have quick items in your room).

Lots of snack places close well before park close, pretty annoying. For your Must Have snacks, double check the location’s hours so you don’t miss out.

I have fallen madly in love with the Wilderness Lodge and will spend the rest of my life dreaming about buying DVC there.


----------



## subtchr

Chris Ehlers said:


> Does anyone know if you can transfer a park reservation to someone in your MDE group?



No, and guest services generally cannot help with this, either.


----------



## tanyaandallie

SheSingsAlong said:


> A little trip report to hopefully help others as I have found help here  Returned Monday night, 4/26, from our 7-day desperately needed escape from reality to WDW. If it’s any indication of the magic that place still holds, I had tears in my eyes as we waved goodbye to the Fab Five standing at the train station as we exited MK for the final time at the end of our trip. The magic is there, even now, and I can’t wait to go back.
> 
> Party of 3: Me, Husband, and DD (5 y/o). We flew Frontier non-stop 4/19 and arrived at 10:15am. Used DME – no check-in line, waited ~30 minutes for a bus. Split stay: 4 nights at AS-Movies preferred, 3 nights BRV Studio on rented points.
> 
> Tues 4/20 – MK
> Terrible start to the day. A series of unfortunate events had us frazzled even before it started downpouring while we queued for temp check. And the rain rain rain came down down down in rushing, rising, rivulets! We had packed rain gear, but were caught without time to don it before our feet and heads were drenched. We escaped indoors and tried to dry off and re-assess our plans. The rain finally tapered off and we had missed no rope-drop time since everyone and everything had stopped. Turned out to be a highly successful day other than the 2 giant blisters I developed walking in sandals. Used Lines app, started in Adventure Land and moved clock-wise. Used MobileOrder for snacks and dinner (every quick service should offer this!), lunched at the Wave. Thank goodness BTMRR is DD’s favorite – it reliably had low waits most of the day.
> 
> Wed 4/21 – EP
> Nice to wake up “late” for EP rope drop. Shared QS breakfast at resort and got on first bus to EP. Power walked to Test Track – they let us line up inside the building and we waited ~10 min before they started loading cars. Line was still short after so we rode again! Flower and Garden food was awesome and seating could always be found nearby. DD enjoyed Spike the Bee scavenger hunt (which was a great excuse to let ME enjoy the gardens LOL). Shopped and explored World Showcase. We had very good luck with lines – waited maybe 25 min for Soarin’. Dinner at Garden Grill, very good. Rode Test Track twice in a row AGAIN later in the evening since wait was so low (~20 min each time). We left a little after 8pm.
> 
> Thurs 4/22 – DHS
> Our rope-drop skills advanced to a new level. A series of totally lucky breaks got us on the FIRST train for SDD. Rode again as the line was still short. Then MMRR with ~20 min wait. My button mashing skills had earned us RotR BG1 which was called before official park open, so we headed there next. DD was very sad we could only ride once. Second breakfast at Ronto Roaster. Slowed down and enjoyed Galaxy’s Edge, a few more rides. Had to power walk to Boardwalk for Beaches n’ Cream ressie because we missed the boat (that hurt). Worth it for the food. Split a plate so you have room for the ice cream LOL! Took boat back to DHS and shopped. More rides. Wookie cookie and Blue Milk snack and a long break. Dinner at Woody’s was really good and DD actually ate a lot – highly recommend. We finished the night riding SDD 3 times in a row, last time at sunset with the lights on – DD’s favorite.
> 
> Fri 4/23 – “rest” day
> We apparently do not know how to rest. We need to figure that out before the next Disney trip XD Transferred to BRV, breakfast at the Wave, pool at WL (the swim vests they provide for kids are excellent!), then Disney Springs for dinner at Raglan Road.
> 
> Sat 4/24 – AK
> Some friends joined us for our BRV stay and came to the parks with us. We were able to use rider swap with them to do the rides DD can’t. Rode FOP, Nav’i River Journey, and Dinosaur all twice. Rode EE and Safari once. AK broke me. I’m a very good planner, I use Lines App (was unreliable for this park), I research and study WDW. But AK is just. So. Freaking. BIG. Each land only has like 2 rides and you have to walk FOREVER to get between lands. There was no way to avoid all the walking. Beautiful park, great rides (what few there are), but with my DD being a tiny adrenaline junky, I am thinking of making AK a half park day next time. I would love to enjoy it fully at a slower pace on an adults-only trip in the future. This was the only day we left the park for a mid-day break at the resort and returned later – it was a necessity. Lunch at Flame Tree was delicious as was dinner at Satuli.
> 
> Sun 4/25 – MK
> Bus never showed for MK at Wilderness Lodge so we booked it to the boat dock. Arrived at MK ~5 min after they opened for early entry. Started left in Adventureland again. PoTC was down for technical issues. Splash was running empty boats – good sign, but that ride never seems to open before official park open. Onward to BTMRR…which also had not opened yet. We queued up anyway and after 15-20 min the ride finally opened. Rode twice. Splash still down, but PoTC had finally opened. Not a super successful rope-drop morning, a lot of rides just didn’t open, but it was our second MK day, so after Splash (~35 min wait) everything else was gravy. Lunched at Whispering Canyon and went back to our Villa for a quick wardrobe change. Afternoon in the park was super busy BUT…the People Mover opened a day early!!!! I forced my group to wait an inordinate amount of time in line to ride it. Rider swapped Space Mountain and rode twice due to low wait. Cleaned up Fantasyland, had ice cream and popcorn for “dinner”, then rode BTMRR 3 times in a row. Dole whip with a view of the castle and we slowly headed out as I tried not to cry. We took the boat back to WL and caught the Electric Water Pageant – very cute.
> 
> Mon 4/25 – Leaving
> Woke up “late” (when you always rope-drop, 7:30am is late), packed, stowed our bags will Bell Services, late breakfast at Whispering Canyon, then pool until time to meet the Tragical Express. MCO’s TSA line wasn’t as long as we feared it would be, so we had ample time before our flight. Note for parents with small children: THERE IS NO BATHROOM AFTER TSA until you ride the tram to your gate area. DD had a meltdown trying to hold her bladder until we could get to a restroom. Crisis averted when all the women waiting for the smallest airport bathroom I’ve ever seen let us jump to the front of the line.
> 
> Random notes:
> We were in WDW in Nov. Mask compliance now is still extremely high, but social distancing is non-existent. Very few people adhered to the dots and lines in queues.
> 
> With a smart touring plan, you can avoid long lines, especially in MK. We often waited less than 20 min. Waits of ~35 – 40min were for headliners like Splash and SDD. We managed 20-25 min waits on Test Track, Soarin’, MMRR, FOP, and 7DMT. It can be done – zig when others zag, avoid mid-day, and don’t fully trust Disney reported wait times. Lines App was usually more accurate (except in AK).
> 
> MobileOrder is still awesome and they just expanded it to Sunshine Tree Terrace, Sleepy Hollow, and Friar’s Nook. Always order early to get the time slot you want. Eat at off times if seating is an issue (lookin’ at you, Woody’s Lunchbox).
> 
> Busses at All-Star Movies were excellent, always on time. Busses at Wilderness Lodge for wherever we were going were always very late, maybe we just got unlucky?
> 
> Young kids/picky eaters: Order groceries so your kids can have those go-to foods they will always eat for you. DD was always willing to take a few bites of her favorite sandwich when she refused all other food. It saved us a lot of money on wasted park food and spared us a lot of meltdowns.
> 
> Not sure about other resorts, but the food court at Movies didn’t open until 7am. If you are rope-dropping anything but EP, you will have to make other breakfast plans (highly recommend grocery delivery so you have quick items in your room).
> 
> Lots of snack places close well before park close, pretty annoying. For your Must Have snacks, double check the location’s hours so you don’t miss out.
> 
> I have fallen madly in love with the Wilderness Lodge and will spend the rest of my life dreaming about buying DVC there.


Sounds like you had an amazing trip!!!!!


----------



## tanyaandallie

wdwrule said:


> I admit... I did order a UV blocking umbrella for my most recent trip and I loved it!!  I’ve always brought a small umbrella anyways for rain each day. But, standing in outdoor extended ques... this umbrella provided much needed shade. It’s still compact, so easy to throw in the bag.



We have never wanted or needed an umbrella, even traveling multiple times in August.  But.....I bought 2 reflective umbrellas for our June trip as I am worried about standing out in the heat since the lines are now extending outside.


----------



## DisneyFive

Small umbrellas are fantastic for shade in the sunny heat of the summer. We will bring ours and use them I’m sure.   I remember using them for some relief while standing in line for buses on our last trip

Dan


----------



## JFox

Schneewittchen37 said:


> This thread got with thinking about the dismal state of shopping/souvenirs right now in the Parks.  Don't get me started on ShopDisney, that might be worse.



 I would have to agree that the current merchandise isn't anything to get excited about.  I've been going to WDW for a very long time and can remember more interesting unique offerings.  It's rare for me to buy stuff souvenirs now.


----------



## JFox

PrincessV said:


> Constructive advice for when a party behind you isn't maintaining appropriate distance and you don't want to risk a confrontation: simply pull over to the side and politely ask them to go ahead of you. Feel free to make something up about needing to pull over to read your phone, or find something in your bag if that makes it feel easier. Bonus points if you can smile with your eyes. I've had 4 visits to WDW during pandemic times and have had that work beautifully multiple times. Got me out of what felt like an unsafe situation and no confrontation!



Me loudly to my kids when we were on our line and the party behind us was too close, "Do you know those people?  No?  Then why are you standing so close to them"  The other party usually got the hint, and backed off from the Mean Mom.


----------



## mickeymom629

Wood Nymph said:


> Do they have a well marked and lighted path to DS now? When we stayed at OKW a few years ago, the path wasn't well marked.
> 
> We received two surveys from our April trip. The first survey asked questions about the resort we stayed at. The second survey was interested in transportation - how we got to parks and other places. They asked other questions as well, but those topics seemed to have the most questions.



I love surveys and wish my two had come AFTER my trip.    

The path from OKW starts on the golf cart path by the South Point quiet pool.  It's a paved path that leads to SSR with no lights because it is only supposed to be traveled on during light hours.  They have closed one path near SSR because they want you to go all the way to the second path from SSR to DS so that you can funnel into the same security/temp check entrance near Earl of Sandwich.


----------



## PrincessV

Princess Katelet said:


> Just ordered my two umbrellas!  I got true sun blocking ones. Definitely plan to use these to block sun AND people!  Do a lot of others use them or will my daughter and I be the only ones with ‘parasols’?


I've used umbrellas for portable shade for many years and yep, I'm usually the only one doing it in the parks. But I can't tell you how many times strangers have seen me and commented, "What a great idea!", so I think most folks just never think of it, rather than it being something seen as "weird."


----------



## DisneyFive

PrincessV said:


> I've used umbrellas for portable shade for many years and yep, I'm usually the only one doing it in the parks. But I can't tell you how many times strangers have seen me and commented, "What a great idea!", so I think most folks just never think of it, rather than it being something seen as "weird."



Same. I saw many longing faces while we were in line places as people were fanning themselves and we had some nice shade under our small umbrellas.  We also prefer umbrellas to ponchos when it does rain.  I don’t like the clingy steamy feeling of a poncho.

Dan


----------



## PrincessV

DisneyFive said:


> Same. I saw many longing faces while we were in line places as people were fanning themselves and we had some nice shade under our small umbrellas.  We also prefer umbrellas to ponchos when it does rain.  I don’t like the clingy steamy feeling of a poncho.
> 
> Dan


Agreed! I got a lot of jealous looks while waiting in the Aug. sun several hours for MF:SR on GE's opening day, lol!


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Does anyone know what time the parking lot actually opens? I have a friend going later this week and is hearing conflicting information (1 hr vs 2 hrs)


----------



## wilkydelts

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Does anyone know what time the parking lot actually opens? I have a friend going later this week and is hearing conflicting information (1 hr vs 2 hrs)



You will not be able to line up for the toll booths more than 1 hour early.


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## GBRforWDW

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Does anyone know what time the parking lot actually opens? I have a friend going later this week and is hearing conflicting information (1 hr vs 2 hrs)


You can typically line up approximately 1 hour before official park opening.  Toll booths will open about 45 minutes before opo.  Temp check, security and ticket scans begin at the same time the parking lot opens.


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## samsonjs

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Does anyone know what time the parking lot actually opens? I have a friend going later this week and is hearing conflicting information (1 hr vs 2 hrs)


When we were on the bus to MK at exactly 7am they had green cones in front of the parking toll booths with cars still not allowed in. We were actually in line at 7:20 for 7DMT and you could tell the parking people had arrived inside the park bc there was suddenly a huge wave of people.


----------



## GrandMum

Just got home today after a 7 day trip staying at Kadini.  I felt the crowds were more then I expected but there was a cheer competition and the weekend was Dapper Days at MK on Saturday and at EP on Sunday.  First time I had seen that and the costumes were amazing.

Buses were mostly good.  Thursday we waited well over an hour for MK bus.  Sunday we had an ADR at Chef Mickey's and after waiting for 2 buses that filled up quickly, we had to take a taxi.  Otherwise we never shared a bus and didn't wait long.

Posted times for rides were almost every time overstated.  Safari on Saturday was listed as 55 min and we were on an off in 40.  Pirates on Tuesday started at 30, went up to 55 while we were in line but we ended up waiting about 20.  

I was able to get boarding passes for ROR on Friday (48) and Monday (62).  Monday it was down for at least an hour.  Friday we were evacuated from MMRR at the last room but got a return pass.


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## Beachmom0317

Can anyone share how the rental cars at MCO have been? I read some people had to wait for cars to be returned since there is a rental car shortage. We arrive next Wednesday and have a rental car at MCO through Alamo


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## dancergirlsmom

No sure about Alamo.  I have rented cars through National my last 3 trips since July without any issues.  We use "Emerald Aisle" and just walk to a car and go.  Hopefully, it stays the same since I have a rental coming up in July


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## Belle1962

There’s a large thread on the transportation board about rental cars.


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## Beachmom0317

Belle1962 said:


> There’s a large thread on the transportation board about rental cars.


Thank you! I’ll go check it out


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## cjlong88

Beachmom0317 said:


> Can anyone share how the rental cars at MCO have been? I read some people had to wait for cars to be returned since there is a rental car shortage. We arrive next Wednesday and have a rental car at MCO through Alamo


Alamo should have a 'skip the counter' option. They did the last time we used them!


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## 100AcreWood

I talked to a coworker today who is a huge Disney fan.  She said her trip two weeks ago wasn't great.  She really missed the fireworks, parades and the stretching room at the Haunted Mansion.  She also mentioned there were only 3-4 food choices at the quick service restaurants.  Can anyone comment on that?  Why so few?


----------



## Aimeedyan

100AcreWood said:


> She also mentioned there were only 3-4 food choices at the quick service restaurants.  Can anyone comment on that?  Why so few?



All the menu's are online if you want to check out a few. Some are smaller than normal. 

Almost every restaurant near me tightened up their menu since reopening last spring so I expect it when dining out. Reduced staff, reduced tables to serve, providing ample space in the kitchen so staff are not working close together, etc are probably the biggest reasons why menus are smaller.

It is a bummer but is (likely) temporary.


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## SamanthaH

Beachmom0317 said:


> Can anyone share how the rental cars at MCO have been? I read some people had to wait for cars to be returned since there is a rental car shortage. We arrive next Wednesday and have a rental car at MCO through Alamo



We got in very late, 12:30am, a couple weeks ago. We use the Emerald Aisle at National. There were no vehicles left in the Emerald Aisle. The premium aisle had only large mini vans and trucks. We ended up with a Ford F-150. They did not charge us for the upgrade. I am used to driving full sized trucks, but it was a surprise for sure. All the rental car companies seemed very low in inventory. I noticed people were scrambling to grab vehicles.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

100AcreWood said:


> I talked to a coworker today who is a huge Disney fan.  She said her trip two weeks ago wasn't great.  She really missed the fireworks, parades and the stretching room at the Haunted Mansion.  She also mentioned there were only 3-4 food choices at the quick service restaurants.  Can anyone comment on that?  Why so few?


We ate at quite a few QS over Easter and didn’t find any that had only 3-4 options.


----------



## lovethattink

100AcreWood said:


> I talked to a coworker today who is a huge Disney fan.  She said her trip two weeks ago wasn't great.  She really missed the fireworks, parades and the stretching room at the Haunted Mansion.  She also mentioned there were only 3-4 food choices at the quick service restaurants.  Can anyone comment on that?  Why so few?



There are plenty of QS. Menus have been tweaked since reopening. If you don’t have any food allergies or intolerances, there are more choices available.

If you go to mde as if you are making a mobile order, you can see the qs menus.


----------



## brockash

100AcreWood said:


> I talked to a coworker today who is a huge Disney fan.  She said her trip two weeks ago wasn't great.  She really missed the fireworks, parades and the stretching room at the Haunted Mansion.  She also mentioned there were only 3-4 food choices at the quick service restaurants.  Can anyone comment on that?  Why so few?


It's definitely limited and we found ourselves getting pretty sick of the lack of options st cs places really quickly over our 6 day stay last month.  It's not horrible, but it does get annoying...at least for us.


----------



## gharter

Beachmom0317 said:


> Can anyone share how the rental cars at MCO have been? I read some people had to wait for cars to be returned since there is a rental car shortage. We arrive next Wednesday and have a rental car at MCO through Alamo


We rented through Alamo  a week ago.  We prepaid, so just went to the lot, selected our car out of a huge number of options.  Under 5 minutes to go through check out.
I've read other horror stories, so not sure if we just timed it right?  2pm on a Saturday afternoon.  Returning the car was equally easy.


----------



## 100AcreWood

Thank you all for the feedback on the QS!  We don't have any food allergies, but we definitely have picky eaters.  

I looked at the mobile ordering on My Disney Experience and noticed that Lotus Blossom Cafe wasn't listed.  Does that mean they are not open or they don't do mobile ordering?  So much has changed, I feel like I'm starting over!


----------



## HiStitch626

Lotus Blossom is open but does not have mobile order.  When we were there last week only Regal Eagle and Sunshine Seasons had mobile order in Epcot.


----------



## William B

Here now and loving it! Flew in yesterday. Flights were fine albeit of course delayed. We had a driver meet us from TiffanyTowncars. Very professional, very helpful. One of those drivers that could answer anything but did not force conversation. Really recommend their service. 

We went to MK yesterday after we got settled at the swan. Crowded but not crazy so. If you need 100% compliance with masks and social distancing this is not the time or place. Masks were pretty good overall. Social distancing has left the park. We don't really care as we are fine and enjoy chatting but could definitely see some people that were making comment and getting agitated because people wouldn't stay on the appropriate line. 

Most of the lines seemed to be 10-15 minutes less than posted. HM and BTMRR were both walk-ons even though they were posted at 20 and 30 minutes. I did find the times posted by the touring plans app to undershoot the wait by about 5. So we started splitting the difference and were generally good. 

Today is HS. Got up psyched myself up and these fat, over-forty fingers scored boarding group 7!!!  So incredibly excited. Honestly this ride is the reason we came . . . well, that and celebrating our fifth anniversary. Finishing up to walk over from the swan and feeling some wonderful magic!


----------



## Beachmom0317

cjlong88 said:


> Alamo should have a 'skip the counter' option. They did the last time we used them!


Yes I love that feature!


----------



## Beachmom0317

SamanthaH said:


> We got in very late, 12:30am, a couple weeks ago. We use the Emerald Aisle at National. There were no vehicles left in the Emerald Aisle. The premium aisle had only large mini vans and trucks. We ended up with a Ford F-150. They did not charge us for the upgrade. I am used to driving full sized trucks, but it was a surprise for sure. All the rental car companies seemed very low in inventory. I noticed people were scrambling to grab vehicles.


Thank you for sharing! Thankfully I am used to driving my husbands truck! I’d love to get upgraded to a minivan haha well I’ll be happy to report on Wednesday my experience with Alamo. We land at 9am


----------



## JoJoGirl

William B said:


> Here now and loving it! Flew in yesterday. Flights were fine albeit of course delayed. We had a driver meet us from TiffanyTowncars. Very professional, very helpful. One of those drivers that could answer anything but did not force conversation. Really recommend their service.



Thanks for the report!  Sounds like you are having a great time!  

If I may ask, where did your Tiffany driver meet you?  We are using them next week for the first time since Covid and are wondering how they do it these days.  Thanks!


----------



## lorileahb

Just got back - amazing!  Perfect weather - perfect trip celebrating our third anniversary... wish we had a few more days!

No big coasters this trip - back issues.

Monday - bus line from Yacht club (6:25 a.m.), first bus not until almost 7 a.m. - arrived later than car drivers.  AK gates already open - nice, no line/people - just a selfie of us in front of tree of life. Short line for FOP - moved the whole time. Walk on Navi - Rum Blossoms from Pongu Pongu plus a Mickey Pretzel (perfect breakfast).  Watched the birds/parrots at tree of life (cast member told us exactly where to sit to be right beside them).  Tough to be a Bug - no wait, always a good laugh and neat to see the animals on the tree.  Donald and Daisy on boat cavalcade.  Animal Trek then Gorilla Falls Trail.  Yak & Yeti (made a reservation through Landry's/call to restaurant) - so good! - for lunch.  Back to Yacht Club for Storm-along-Bay then Beaches & Cream for dinner.   Shared a meal (plenty of food!) and a bucket-list Mickey Pants Sundae for dessert. Took a ride on the skyliner and walked the Boardwalk to enjoy the weather.

Tuesday - walk to Trattoria al Forno for breakfast.  Breakfast pizza (best food have had in while) and cute pancakes.  Complimentary croissant with chocolate treat for anniversary surprise (Disney magic). Walk to Epcot - arrived 9:45 a.m. to a short line waiting for temp checks.  About 10 a.m. to gate to wait - opened about 10:15 a.m.  Straight to Soarin' (no wait first time, second time maybe 10 min wait).  Nemo and aquarium walk on/through. Walked to front - saw Mickey and Minnie and then topiaries:  Minnie/Mickey, Pluto/Huey/Dewy/Lewy, Figment, Donald/Daisy. Pixar Film Fest (3D - loved it!).  Orange Wine Slushies (always a favorite) and Pork Belly Slider for a quick snack.  Canada - watch the movie!  Saw Mary Poppins near Tea Garden. To France to maybe see Beauty & Beast sing-a-long (since never have) - missed it, opted not to wait 18 mins.  Had Macaron on a stick and La Vie en Rose Wine Slushie - both good!  Back to Yacht Club for break.  Around 5:30 back out.  Canada movie again (so DH could see the narwhal he missed, LOL - plus he loves Canada - missed his annual trip last year and maybe this year).  Caught the Jammitors. Cool, beautiful weather.  Pooh / eeyore topiaries in England.  Peter Pan/Hook and Piggy/Kermit topiaries on the way. Walked through butterfly house. Mickey pretzel for me, beer for him. Rode the Land. Skipped Mexico (had reservation later).  Walked through and enjoyed countries.  Food at China (chicken skewer and wontons both very good).  Germany - picked up a replacement glass Mickey ornament (my tree fell over last year and it broke). Pineapple skewer from Outpost (did not like it) - Frozen Brown Elephant drink (yum!), not on menu but can ask for this Frozen Coke drink.  Missed American Adventure (next time) on to France for movie - no wait (loved this movie!).  Enjoyed the walk back to Mexico.  Boat ride - no wait, always fun.  First time dinner at San Angel (9:30 p.m. on a 10 p.m. park close night) - great food and ambiance.  Park almost empty - BEAUTIFUL moon.  Pretty perfect stroll back through countries to International Gateway - back to Yacht Club via the Friendship boat (with that moon, was a treat).

Wednesday - leaving day.  Drive to MK (arrived at toll booth at 6:50 a.m., second car in one lane - let through at 7:15ish a.m.).  Definitely behind buses and others after taking monorail over.  Still early - in park about 725.  Decided to go less traveled route.  Walk on Pirates (got my Mickey Ears). Walk on Haunted Mansion.  Walk on Peter Pan.  Walk on Carousel.  Cinnamon roll from Gaston's. Walk on Buzz Lightyear.  Walk on People Mover (happy)!!!!  Watch Philharmagic - no wait.  Walk on Ariel.  Walk on Aladdin Carpets.  Dole Whip and Mickey Pretzel (saw the Spring Roll cart, but dole whip won out). Country Bear Jamboree - enjoy it. A little shopping on main street (no waits, stores had plenty of room) - treats to take home: for the kids and rice krispie treats.  Headed to Tony's for lunch reservation.  Saw my favorites - Eeyore, Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit and Piglet on the train station balcony.  Spaghetti and meatballs plus fried mozzarella and complimentary anniversary ice cream dessert.  A goodbye wave from Eeyore and Pooh on our way to the car.

ADRs helped us avoid searching for tables out of the sun and gave good mask breaks.  Low to no lines (FOP was the longest at rope drop - we weren't first in park but still early and the wait was almost all just walking the queue).

Sad to leave, already hope to go again.


----------



## William B

JoJoGirl said:


> Thanks for the report!  Sounds like you are having a great time!
> 
> If I may ask, where did your Tiffany driver meet you?  We are using them next week for the first time since Covid and are wondering how they do it these days.  Thanks!


Right at baggage claim


----------



## DisneyFive

lorileahb said:


> Monday -   Back to Yacht Club for Storm-along-Bay then Beaches & Cream for dinner.   Shared a meal (plenty of food!) and a bucket-list Mickey Pants Sundae for dessert.



Sounds like you had a great trip!

Any tips for getting for getting a Beaches & Cream ADR?  In all our days at WDW we've never been there (never tried), but want to make it a priority this year.  The morning that ADR's open for us, I plan to try for a day later in our stay. (60+7 due to our split DVC stay)  Hopefully it won't be booked up already.  We are a party of 5.


----------



## jlundeen

JoJoGirl said:


> Thanks for the report!  Sounds like you are having a great time!
> 
> If I may ask, where did your Tiffany driver meet you?  We are using them next week for the first time since Covid and are wondering how they do it these days.  Thanks!


I'm not the original poster, but I too used Tiffany for our April trip.  The day before, they sent a text with the photo of the driver who would pick us up.  When our plane landed, we got a text from him asking which luggage carrousel we would be at, and met us outside the nearest door.  He was a great driver, and I will probably use Tiffany for all future trips.


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## KGolf31

Is Bell Services still able to hold onto luggage after checkout. IE - Last park day we'll be going to MK and hopping around then transferring via Uber to Universal at end of day. Can BWV hold luggage and then we can come back to our resort at night well after 11am checkout hours?

Initially we were planning on renting a car, but may drop rental with all variability on car availability


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## lorileahb

DisneyFive said:


> Sounds like you had a great trip!
> 
> Any tips for getting for getting a Beaches & Cream ADR?  In all our days at WDW we've never been there (never tried), but want to make it a priority this year.  The morning that ADR's open for us, I plan to try for a day later in our stay. (60+7 due to our split DVC stay)  Hopefully it won't be booked up already.  We are a party of 5.



I had success with the $5 Mouse Watcher site, as well as stalking the Disney dining reservation website.  A lot of reservations opened up a day or two before we went.  I had a reservation, and then was able to drop it and get the perfect time.  Have fun!


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## hereforthechurros

KGolf31 said:


> Is Bell Services still able to hold onto luggage after checkout. IE - Last park day we'll be going to MK and hopping around then transferring via Uber to Universal at end of day. Can BWV hold luggage and then we can come back to our resort at night well after 11am checkout hours?
> 
> Initially we were planning on renting a car, but may drop rental with all variability on car availability


Yes bell services will hold your luggage.


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## NashvilleMama

lorileahb said:


> I had success with the $5 Mouse Watcher site, as well as stalking the Disney dining reservation website.  A lot of reservations opened up a day or two before we went.  I had a reservation, and then was able to drop it and get the perfect time.  Have fun!


the touring plans reservation finder works great for this. but on our last trip in late January, we literally snagged one the same day - just really good luck I guess. So keep checking even if you don't have one by the time you get down there!


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## DisneyFive

Thanks Lorileahb and NashvilleMama.  If I don't snag one I will be using the touringplans ADR finder.  I've used it in the past with success.  Dan


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## lorileahb

DisneyFive said:


> Thanks Lorileahb and NashvilleMama.  If I don't snag one I will be using the touringplans ADR finder.  I've used it in the past with success.  Dan



Nice!  Touring Plans used to work for me (and mouse dining) - but this year the Mouse Watcher popped up ressies before the others.  Hopefully you'll get to book what you want from the get go.


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## julesann

Question about TOT.  Got into HS today 45 minutes before rope drop.  Went straight to TOT and it wasn't open and cm wouldn't let us cue.  Went to SDD and when we came back a short while later it was up to 90 minutes. We waited another hour and it went up to 120 and we (for the first time ever) waited about that long to ride it.    

Any strategies for Saturday? If we get a similar experience and cm response would you suggest we just pace around until it opens?  Any other suggestions?


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## VAtink

Just got home so final update from my trip.  Yesterday was my HS day, I managed to get BG 34, which was pretty surprising since I've been failing at my practice attempts!  I decided to walk over from the YC since boats weren't running yet.  Left YC at 7:25 and got to HS at 7:40.  Not a bad walk, although the weather was really nice this week so it was actually pretty cool in the morning.  

They held us back behind the skyliner until just before 7:50 when they walked us slooowly to line up for temp screening.  It was kind of a mess trying to get into lines there, they didn't do a great job clarifying the lines at first so people who had been at the back of the line ended up in the front.  People started offloading from the skyliner about 5 minutes after the walkers got into the temp screening line.  

The park opened at 8:17 and it seemed like half the crowd headed towards MMRR and the other half to SDD.  I headed to SDD.  It wasn't open when I got there, but did a few minutes later at 8:36.  Was on the second train of the day.  I asked the CM for the back row and he happily obliged.  

Next I headed to MF:SM and there was no one there.  I actually thought it was closed at first, but it was just shockingly empty.  Walked right on and had the ride to myself.   It was awesome, but my co-pilot sucked.    

Rode TSMM next with maybe a 10 minute wait, would have been shorter but lots of people were holding up the line so they could get pictures with Mr. Potato Head.  

After TSMM I decided to go check out the line for MMRR.  It looked bad, and was posted as 45min, but it constantly moved and the total wait only ended up being about 25 minutes.  I did ask a CM in line there what the rules were about eating and drinking in lines that are outside, and he said that as long as I was stationary it was no problem, but as soon as the line started moving again my mask had to be back on.  Actually saw him call out a few guests for trying to walk and eat in line.  

Stopped for a Mickey bar after MMRR, and while eating my BG was called!  Great ride, and glad they were doing the whole thing, I heard some people complaining that earlier in the week they weren't doing the preshow.  

I was going to head out at that point, but as I was walking by Baseline I saw there were only 3 groups waiting to order and there was no one sitting in the seating area, so decided to stop.  Probably a mistake because even with only 3 groups in front of me it still was a 25 minute wait, and by then all the tables had been taken, a bunch from people coming just to sit and rest, not eat or drink anything.  That was a bit annoying.  They really shouldn't let people sit there if they aren't ordering from Baseline.  

It was a great morning in the park, and it was the best distancing in line that I saw all trip.  Granted one line there was no one else there, but for the rest of the rides everyone I could see was distancing.  

Took a midday break before heading back for my Oga's reservation.  It was SO nice being in there not squished in with people.  

Decided to take the skyliner back once I wrapped up at Oga's.  As it was coming into Epcot I saw that Epcot looked empty, so changed my plans to head in there instead.  It was so much calmer in Epcot yesterday afternoon than it had been the previous three days.  It was a really nice evening in the park, got to try a lot (too much) of the F&G food.  

Overall it was a really great trip, I'm really glad I went.  I was really worried about how the mask would be in the heat , but it wasn't bad at all.  Granted, the first 15 minutes of wearing I had serious doubts I would be able to do the whole trip in it, but I did get used to it after a bit and it was fine after that.  

As I mentioned before, getting to parks early is key for low waits.  It was definitely a lot more running around and a lot less relaxed without FP+ than I'm used to.  To avoid long waits there was a lot of rushing between rides in the first few hours of park opening, whereas when we had FP+ we could knock out all the non-headliners we wanted to do in the morning with little to no wait and have time for pictures before our hair became a frizzy mess (priorities right?).  Still not awful, just different from how I'm used to touring.  

I unfortunately didn't have good luck with waits in the evening before the parks closed.  I was hoping the wait times were inflated during the last 30-45 minutes of the park being open, but the ones I attempted ended up being pretty much the posted wait.  So mornings definitely worked out better for me.  

Ok, this is turning out longer than expected so I'll stop now.  If anyone has any questions let me know!


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## samsonjs

MK Wednesday 4:28: we arrived at the bus stop at 6:20. The bus arrived at 6:50am. At 7am we pulled up to MK and the line for parking had not been released from the toll booth yet. We made it through security, ticketing and bathroom break to 7dmt at 7:20. The ride was still testing until 7:40 but we we’re committed. Once the line started moving we were on within 5min. Then we headed to Peter Pan which we walked on. Splash mountain was running and we were probably in line there just after 8. It posted 40min but it was more like 20. Then we did Pirates, 10 min wait, mostly walking. We went to thunder mountain which posted 30 min. It was definitely a walk on. Then we did haunted Mansion, walk on. Aladdin was 15 min posted and was about 10-15min. Back to Thunder Mountain and again it was a walk on. Earlier it was very calm and parts of the park were empty. Now it’s 11am and it is very obviously becoming more crowded and hot. We used the restrooms and waited for our 11:30 mobile order window which actually opens at 11:25. We got a table outside and decided to head back to the hotel. The park was more crowded than we liked (covid or no covid). We always do afternoon pool breaks so this wasn’t unusual for us. Our bus was waiting for us at the transportation area and we were back to our hotel by 12:30.

Swam for a bit and headed back to the park at 5. We did space mountain which said 40 min but it was more like 25. 7dmt had been down but just opened as we walked by so we walked on that. Walked on Barnstormer twice. Then we grabbed dinner at Pecos. We went to Thunder Mountain Railroad and did that twice, both walk on. My daughter loved Splash and begged to do it. We got in line at 8pm. It said 50 min but I was hoping it would be less. Nope, definitely 50min.

Thursday 4/29
We walked to Hollywood and arrived at 8am. Nobody was in the park yet, we were put in a queue with probably the first 500 guests to the left. Then busses arrived and they opened up more health checks to the right. Well everyone that had walked or skylines and queued up had a longer line to wait in than the busses which had a whole entrance opened so they walked right in. I definitely recommend hanging back if you arrive before buses and not queuing up to the side if you want to get in ASAP.
We had gotten Boarding group 10 for ROR. We went right to slinky dog and rode it twice with walk ons both times. Then the line formed and we went to Runaway Railroad. We waiting about 15 min before my husband realized our boarding group only had 20 min before it ended. I thought for some reason it would send my phone a notification when it began, but maybe I missed it. Thank God he happened to see it when playing in the app or I would have missed it. I had no experience with virtual queues so I didn’t know what to expect. Learn from my mistake!

So we left the Railroad line to go to ROR. amazing! So much better than I expected. We went to Millennium Falcon and it was 50 min wait at about 9:45. We waited 35min. It was underwhelming but my daughter thought it was super cool and like a video game. My son got Green Milk, ehh. It was a fun experience for him. Then he built one of the kid lightsabers at Star Tours. Thank God they kept that option. The worker at Disney Springs Star Trading Post said it isn’t available anymore but it definitely is. My daughter wanted her own too. Lunch at backlot. Ferried back at 12:30 to swim.

After a break we ferried back to HS at 4:45. The ferry is great! Line is never long and it comes very regularly and we haven’t had any long lines. Hollywood studios really emptied out in the evening and I’m not sure why. Slinky dog was down from late morning through the rest of the day. We did Runaway railway finally and it is so cute but it’s so hot to stand in that line outside. It’s definitely the worst line so far in regards to the sun beating down on you with minimal shade. It had an accurate 25 min wait. We walked on to Midway mania. Then walked on 2x to Alien SS. We had an accurate 20 min wait for Star Tours. The kids were tired and we went back to the hotel for dinner at 7. If not for the kids I would have stayed bc there were a lot of short lines. We also saw the Pixar cavalcade a few times and Donald watered the kids with his watering can.

MK didn’t really seem to empty out as much as I expected in the evening. Hollywood seemed much emptier after 5. Masks at MK seemed more optional to many people by evening. I was shocked at the amount of people just walking around completely massless. Early morning at MK and all day at Hollywood studios were fine with mask compliance. I’m not a big mask enforcer outside especially in wide open spaces but I’m sure CMs are super annoyed with asking people to pull their mask up and then being blatantly disregarded.  I feel bad for the CMs and can see why they just don’t say anything sometimes. I’m not sure what it is, but a lot of guests were just rude at MK. I had not experienced that before on my trips as much as I did this time. I didn’t notice it at HS so I’m curious about our next MK day and AK days coming up.

Oh! An interesting piece of info I learned. On the line to Runaway Railway before you board there’s a room with rails that ramps down. The CM said they put this sharp detail onto the bottom rail to deter kids from playing on them. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. I attached a photo of it.


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## Akck

We finally RD on our second to last day at MK. We decided to drive and paid for premium parking, arriving at the booths about 7:05 am. We lucked out in that we were only about the fourth car there, so a short walk to transportation. The express monorail was down so we ended up taking a bus to the park, arriving about 7:30 at the gate. While we could’ve headed to 7 Dwarfs, we elected to head to People Mover instead, since it broke down the last time we tried to ride it. Well, People Mover started at 8, so we ended up waiting 20 minutes. Even with that, we were able to ride Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Pirates and check out shops all before 10 am. Since this was a pool day, we ate lunch at Pecos Bill at 10 and slowly made our way out, stopping at several shops. The express monorail was still down, but the resort monorail was running, which we took. We were back at the resort and in the BC/YC pool by noon.

Overall, social distancing is on the way out. While there are announcements to keep 6’ apart, queues aren’t monitored and many guests aren’t paying attention to the markers. Too many are looking down at their phones, moving forward when they glimpse motion. Mask compliance is generally good, but there are more noses peeking out and more eating/drinking while moving. I have heard CMs correct guests on masks, but many others pull them up as they approach a CM. So if you’re concerned about keeping 6’ apart, you might want to wait awhile before going. Social distancing and mask compliance are likely to get worse with summer heat.


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## Lsyves

Has anyone read the reviews on Trip Advisor lately? For some reason my husband pulled it up. Pages of horrible reviews from this month alone-mainly about how rigid the cast members are about mask wearing (lots of scolding and yelling via megaphones), but also about pricing, bad service, and capacity seeming much higher than 35% but still so many things closed or limited. Doesn’t sound fun. We are going in October so hopefully it will improve. Just curious if anyone has thoughts...we are regulars but our last visit was pre-covid.


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## JFox

I usually don't speak Disney with strangers but yesterday while standing in the line waiting to board our flight a mom insisted on striking up a conversation.  She asked me and my husband if we were going to a park.  We said yes, we have a park reservation for MK.  "Park reservation?"  Uggh, here we go.

Mind you there were 6 of them, ready to board for their magical vacation.  Briefly explained that a reservation was required for each ticket AND the online availability calendar shows full and limited park availability for the next week.  "I haven't bought tickets yet."  This is why I don't speak Disney to people.  It was about this time that the lady in front of me said, "just go to the hotel concierge and they will let you in."  Yeah, good luck with that.


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## scrappinginontario

JFox said:


> I usually don't speak Disney with strangers but yesterday while standing in the line waiting to board our flight a mom insisted on striking up a conversation.  She asked me and my husband if we were going to a park.  We said yes, we have a park reservation for MK.  "Park reservation?"  Uggh, here we go.
> 
> Mind you there were 6 of them, ready to board for their magical vacation.  Briefly explained that a reservation was required for each ticket AND the online availability calendar shows full and limited park availability for the next week.  "I haven't bought tickets yet."  This is why I don't speak Disney to people.  It was about this time that the lady in front of me said, "just go to the hotel concierge and they will let you in."  Yeah, good luck with that.


 I feel badly for this person although it’s an example of why when taking a vacation right now, researching the destination is a mandatory part of planning travel.  Nothing can be taken for granted re: travel in 2021.


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## pixiedust2u

scrappinginontario said:


> I feel badly for this person although it’s an example of why when taking a vacation right now, researching the destination is a mandatory part of planning travel.  Nothing can be taken for granted re: travel in 2021.


I’m sorry, but I don’t think I feel badly at all. This is just plain stupidity. Pandemic times or not, there’s no excuse.  I assume she’s not staying at a Disney resort because it’s plastered all over their website about park reservations. Does she own a cell phone? You mean to tell me she has not once googled “Disney world”. It’s 2021, pandemic or not, no one just shows up places without a google search. Lol. I’m not buying it.


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## ENJDisneyFan

pixiedust2u said:


> I’m sorry, but I don’t think I feel badly at all. This is just plain stupidity. Pandemic times or not, there’s no excuse.  I assume she’s not staying at a Disney resort because it’s plastered all over their website about park reservations. Does she own a cell phone? You mean to tell me she has not once googled “Disney world”. It’s 2021, pandemic or not, no one just shows up places without a google search. Lol. I’m not buying it.


Let's hope they have a travel agent who planned everything for them and they are just blissfully unaware of all the details LOL


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## scrappinginontario

pixiedust2u said:


> I’m sorry, but I don’t think I feel badly at all. This is just plain stupidity. Pandemic times or not, there’s no excuse.  I assume she’s not staying at a Disney resort because it’s plastered all over their website about park reservations. Does she own a cell phone? You mean to tell me she has not once googled “Disney world”. It’s 2021, pandemic or not, no one just shows up places without a google search. Lol. I’m not buying it.


I'm not asking you to agree with how I'm feeling as the way you feel is just as valid but please keep responses kind and refrain from name calling.  This is someone's Disney vacation that will now not happen.


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## lovethattink

JFox said:


> I usually don't speak Disney with strangers but yesterday while standing in the line waiting to board our flight a mom insisted on striking up a conversation.  She asked me and my husband if we were going to a park.  We said yes, we have a park reservation for MK.  "Park reservation?"  Uggh, here we go.
> 
> Mind you there were 6 of them, ready to board for their magical vacation.  Briefly explained that a reservation was required for each ticket AND the online availability calendar shows full and limited park availability for the next week.  "I haven't bought tickets yet."  This is why I don't speak Disney to people.  It was about this time that the lady in front of me said, "just go to the hotel concierge and they will let you in."  Yeah, good luck with that.





scrappinginontario said:


> I feel badly for this person although it’s an example of why when taking a vacation right now, researching the destination is a mandatory part of planning travel.  Nothing can be taken for granted re: travel in 2021.



It’s not just vacationers who aren’t informed. We were with friends who are locals at Sea World. The dad was upset that there are never any park reservations for Disney when he tries. I looked up what what available at that time. He only is able to go on weekends. I was able to find him plenty of available weekends. Showed him how to see what’s available. So from July when the parked re-opened until December when they were at Sea World with us, he missed so many opportunities to visit Disney with their AP. Now they go often.


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## Halloweenqueen

Here now. Arrived on Tuesday. Spent the afternoon to closing at AK. Wonderful time with most guests leaving. Had a terrible dinner at the AK Rainforest Cafe. Waited forever for the food. Server came with a cracked glass of ice tea. Tea began to leak all over the table. Glass was completely empty by the time we got someone’s attention.

Wednesday at Epcot. We had a great lunch at San Angel, surprising I know. We booked to save us a wait into the pavilion. Was able to do and see everything. I came prepared to buy preferred parking each day. No need if you make it to rope drop. Our space was three rows behind preferred. 

Thursday was MK. We were parked and headed to the ferry shortly after 7. Lots done in the morning before a LTT dinner. Hostess seemed a little annoyed when I insisted on eating at LTT not Golden Horseshoe. We promised ourselves not to get frustrated by others in terms of mask wearing/distancing, but it was very noticeable at MK. Crowds much more noticeable too. I’ve never had a bad encounter with a CM until Pirates. We are 4 fairly large adults. When we gave our party number we were surprised to be given one row. (Normally we were divided 2 and 2). I asked if we could have two rows and the CM said “ lady I work here and I know how many can fit, all of you go to row 5”.  We could hardly move! My youngest daughter started to tear up. I think she was just surprised by the CM’s reaction. Next was Splash. The line is quite confusing until it gets closer to the ride. A lady jumped in line in front of us about 15 minutes of a 60 minute wait. I told her the start of the line began at the bridge. She turned around and barked at me with an “ I have a baby, you don’t have to be so fresh!”  We decided after those two encounters to leave early. 

Decided since we did so much on our first AK half day, to rest and get to the park later today until close. Coming from WA my kids are appreciating a relaxing pool morning in the sun. HS tomorrow before home.

Overall having a good time, but honestly surprised by attitudes and crowd levels. Lots of larger groups. We will not be returning to Disney until entrainment is back. My daughter joked on Soarin how that’s the only fireworks we will get this trip. They are definitely missed. This was a postponed 2020 birthday/graduation gift trip. I would not recommend that any once in a lifetime folks consider going until normalcy returns.


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## JFox

Pandemic or no pandemic travel planning is required for any vacation. To have the foresight to book a flight & lodging but nothing else.  You don’t just decide one day to leave for a vacation without planning.  Maybe they all just woke up from a coma or released from prison and don't know about cell phones.

Darwinism at it's finest.  One less family to have to compete with for a ROR boarding group.


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## 2manyplans

Disney springs on a Sunday afternoon? That’s our arrival day and have reservations for dinner. Wondering how crazy it will be if we go over around 4:30?  Not worth it and we should change to a different dinner venue? We don’t mind a few crowds (and are all fully vaccinated) but don’t want to have to stand in line for every store (not just WOD) or every seat in a lounge.  Pre-Covid would stop in a few places for a drink and generally just wander.   Still possible?  I have read that weekends are way busier but wondering if that is more Friday/Saturday. Also the Sunday we are going is Mother’s Day so perhaps that will affect things?  Thanks.


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## Soph&HanMom

Lsyves said:


> Has anyone read the reviews on Trip Advisor lately? For some reason my husband pulled it up. Pages of horrible reviews from this month alone-mainly about how rigid the cast members are about mask wearing (lots of scolding and yelling via megaphones), but also about pricing, bad service, and capacity seeming much higher than 35% but still so many things closed or limited. Doesn’t sound fun. We are going in October so hopefully it will improve. Just curious if anyone has thoughts...we are regulars but our last visit was pre-covid.


I have been to back twice during COVID...February and the 18-24 of April. Honestly it is a different experience then pre-COVID but I went armed with information and certain expectations about how this trip would be different. 

The world is experiencing a viral pandemic. There is a mask mandate that Disney is very transparent about and provides that information in many formats. I was able to tolerate my mask well during both visits. They are enforcing mask wearing and I’m sure after telling someone several times the employees are less then pleasant about it. I personally forgot I was not wearing my mask at a quick service and the employee stepped back and sternly asked me to mask up. I apologized profusely because I could see how scared and uncomfortable I made them feel.

Disney is not exempt from supply disruption, employment struggles, and capacity restrictions. Menus are scaled back, contactless ordering is prioritized, transportation and rides are socially distanced. There are less people but also less things to spread them out.

I would say I had a wonderful experience both times. I went knowing that it would not be the same. I learned from my February trip to have ADR for lunch and dinner for a guaranteed meal and mask break. I recommend getting to the park early to get things done, taking a break 
and going back for park close.

Understand and prepare for transportation delays. I did a split stay at different resorts this time to utilize the skyliner and walking paths to get to and from the parks. I also hopped to the park that was easiest to get back to my resort at close.

These trips required a little more planning and forethought but as a frequent Disney visitor and a DISer that Is part of the excitement of my trip

I also found several outstanding and friendly cast members as well as those that were stressed and frazzled and less as accommodating. It was no different then pre-COVID. Your experience with employees is directly related to how well you can respect that they are working with difficult restrictions and definite health risk. They are doing the best they know how and I can’t imagine the difficulties of dealing with the public at the level in Which they are required.


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## Jack & Monica

I am knee deep in planning for an early June trip.  I purposely changed a weekend scheduled resort day from Disney Springs to a Blizzard Beach day.  I changed our DIsney Springs day to Tuesday.  I did this after reading so many post regarding the crowds at Disney Springs over the weekend.


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## scrappinginontario

2manyplans said:


> That’s our arrival day and have reservations for dinner. Wondering how crazy it will be if we go over around 4:30?  Not worth it and we should change to a different dinner venue? We don’t mind a few crowds (and are all fully vaccinated) but don’t want to have to stand in line for every store (not just WOD) or every seat in a lounge.  Pre-Covid would stop in a few places for a drink and generally just wander.   Still possible?  I have read that weekends are way busier but wondering if that is more Friday/Saturday. Also the Sunday we are going is Mother’s Day so perhaps that will affect things?  Thanks.



If you would like to update your message to include your question, I'd be happy to merge your question with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread as there are a lot of people there who can share their experiences with you.


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## Catvondita

JFox said:


> Pandemic or no pandemic travel planning is required for any vacation. To have the foresight to book a flight & lodging but nothing else.  You don’t just decide one day to leave for a vacation without planning.  Maybe they all just woke up from a coma or released from prison and don't know about cell phones.
> 
> Darwinism at it's finest.  One less family to have to compete with for a ROR boarding group.


I hardly think an oversight about a vacation is "darwinism at its finest" Little dramatic me thinks. Not everyone is as uber obsessed with Disney as we are. There's research and then there's living on these boards. I can totally see someone looking up some info on Disney World right now and managing to miss the part about reservations. Maybe these people aren't super familiar with Disney, maybe they are staying off site. Maybe they stayed before yeaaaaaars ago and thought it was a similar process where they can buy tickets whenever.


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## 2manyplans

scrappinginontario said:


> If you would like to update your message to include your question, I'd be happy to merge your question with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread as there are a lot of people there who can share their experiences with you.


I’m not sure what I need to do but that sounds like a great idea. Do I just copy it over?


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## CinderellaCharming

Went to HS Thursday (4/29/21)  As much as I tried to prepare,  I wasn't as planned for theis park.  We are here for a cheer competition that you have to qualify for, so you don't know you are going way in advanced. Anyway, I spent too much time prepping my job and home life for me to be gone and organizing all the cheer details. So this is a report from a person who had not planned the day and didn't even know the layout of the park! Literally was grabbing a ma near the entrance to find MMRR which turned out to be right  in front of my face. 

ROTR: I used the resort wifi and I had my laptop open to time.gov. The second it turned 7:00, I hit join and then join again and I got BG 25. Yay!!!

I did not pay attention to the time when we got to HS but it was before it opened, which was great becuase we got to Orlando very late Wed. night and had a time change! We rode MMRR first and we were off that I ride at 9:03.  We waited maybe 10 minutes, it was basically just a moving line and never really stopped. That ride blew me away. I did not expect to be looking at a 3D cartoon! Girls loved it too. 

Then we decided to go to SDD. The wait said 70 minutes but we waited just under 30. TP said 25, so it was more accurate. I noticed all day that TP had more accurate wait times. While we were in line at SDD we ordered lunch and got the pick-up window reserved. I had it narrowed down to 2 choices (ABC Comm. and Docking Bay 7). They picked ABC.  

Our boarding group got called at 9:34. It was almost our turn to board SDD (very cute ride). 
We decided to do TSM before heading to Galaxy Edge. Loved the line queue. Don't remeber wait times but we rode it and made it to ROTR by 10:20 so I think we waited around 20 minutes for TSM.

ROTR: Wow! This was everyone's favorite ride of the day! We have limited knowledge of the newer Star Wars movies so I was worried we may not like the ride as much, but that was not the case. We loved it! I can't stop thinking about how great it was! Well deserved hype! After the ROTR, GE was crawling with people, it felt hot and very crowded, so that is all we did there except take some pictures. I wanted Ronto Roasters, but we were overwhelmed with the crowd at GE, so just started walking away! 

Ended up having a water break also featuring churros on a bench by Miss Piggy's fountain. Feeling better and refreshed, we rode Star Tours. Waited about 20 minutes.  Liked that one too, this was the Star Wars from my childhood. 

Girls wanted to ride RNR so we headed down Sunset. Posted 30 minute wait, more like 20. So much fun! That ride is FAST.  Who doesn't love Aerosmith??

TOT line was insane with a 100 minute wait, so decided to come back because we had 45 minutes until our lunch window up at ABC commisary. Needing to kill time before lunch and ready for some air conditioning, so we went to Animation Courtyard and walked through the Walt Disney presenets gallery and watched the film. Trying to deal with the heat and the masks were finding it helpful to have breaks like this.  We are used to heat (from Texas) and we are theme park people. Normally we can just go and go, but we are not used to wearing the masks all day in the heat. I wear my mask all day at work, but walking around Florida is different! Anyway, we did enjoy the gallery and film. Walt Disney is inspirational and we are fans!!  

Lunch at ABC at 1:30.  Loved, loved, loved the mobile ordering and indoor lunch. That was so easy and organized and we needed a good lunch. They would not let you in unless you had an order. This was so much better than getting in line and waiting for food in a crowded place. 

After lunch, we went to TOT got in line at 2:00 it was still reporting a 100 minute wait, but we were running out of day.  This line about killed us! It was hot and miserable. Had a group of 10 or more people (a cheer group for sure) in front of that kept letting people join them in line. I swear that doubled in size. Some of the group kept walked away a few times  and came back with food and just ate it in line. It triggers me when people break the rules. They did not care about the marked lines either. Anyway, we waited a good 80-90 minutes for TOT, but the girls loved it and it was a must do. 

Then went to the Mouse Gear shop, I think that was on Sunset and the girls bought T-shirts. Finally, we went to the Frozen Sing Along for the 4:30 show. We got there about  4:00 and waited outside the theater socially distanced on spots.  I think about 4-5 groups came after us and then they made people wait for the nest show. The waiting area was covered and had fans going, so it was nice and breezy, everyone sat down in thar area. Then the cast members directed us in the theater in an organized way. The 3 teenage girls really belted out the songs. This made me happy because Disney is supposed to bring out the kid in you!  

We were ready to go but the girls wanted to split a funnel cake from Epic Eats. Best decision becaurse a calvacade came right by. Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Edna Mode waving from a car, Sulley, Woody, Jesse, Army Men killing it on the drums and Buzz waving from a car.  We were waving and cheering for them like we were 5! The calvacades are a nice little sprinkle of the pixie dust! 

 I was going to get a coffee from the Trolley Car Cafe, but the line was really long. So we jusy left the park at this point. The crowds seemed to be thinning which surprised me because of park hopping. We would have like to have stayed, but we had something cheer to get to which IS why we are here!  I did check wait times and noticed them dropping even TOT was going down. I think it was 45 minutes. If you miss this early, maybe hold off on it as long as you can to see if wait times drop. 

Covid impact: It is very hot in the mask when you are not used to wearing one outside all day. Cast members gave lots of reminders to people about masks. mostly to cover their nose. One lady was walking and eating ice cream and a cast member told her she had to be stationary and she rolled her eyes and pulled up her mask and kept walking. Rude! The cast members never said anything about socially distancing. Not once. This is maybe too hard to inforce.  We were all as nice as we could be to all cast members because we get the feeling they are probably dealing with some rude people more than usual.  Also, cast members didn't seem as happy and peppy as I remember. Feeling bad for them in the pandemic. Final thought, I think the character meet and greets, shows, etc. being unavailable really took a lot away from the experience. Yes, we had a great day, but I have been to Disney pre-covid and that was the magic! I would say hold off if you can until all that comes back to plan your Disney trip.  I think you will miss it more than you think. 

Also, I would have to get some kind of strategy for TOT. Rope drop or closing. That line was brutal. 
Happy that I did know about getting the BG for ROTR and I knew to get lunch ordered and a window selected early in the day. Both of those experiences went very well.

Today and tomorrow we compete! We will be back at Disney Sunday and Monday!


----------



## JFox

Catvondita said:


> ... Maybe these people aren't super familiar with Disney, maybe they are staying off site. Maybe they stayed before yeaaaaaars ago and thought it was a similar process where they can buy tickets whenever.



Excellent points and all the more reasons for planning.  Either independently or using a travel agent.


----------



## Akck

Lsyves said:


> Has anyone read the reviews on Trip Advisor lately? For some reason my husband pulled it up. Pages of horrible reviews from this month alone-mainly about how rigid the cast members are about mask wearing (lots of scolding and yelling via megaphones), but also about pricing, bad service, and capacity seeming much higher than 35% but still so many things closed or limited. Doesn’t sound fun. We are going in October so hopefully it will improve. Just curious if anyone has thoughts...we are regulars but our last visit was pre-covid.



No, but your best bet for info is this thread. Yes, there are announcements for wearing masks and keeping distant, but no scolding and yelling from the interactions I’ve seen. Pricing, well it is Disney, everything is more expensive. From all reports, capacity is at 35%, but it may seem higher with activities still closed. In any case, you can get a lot done, especially if you RD. Chances are that capacity will be increased between now and October, but hopefully more things will reopen by then too. From our experience this week, things are loosening up on Covid. Not by Disney, by guest compliance.


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## DCLMP

In my opinion, were not the normal ones. People on this board seem to think planning every detail of a WDW vacation is normal behavior. Before the pandemic, you could just show up, buy tickets and go to the park. That's how it should be.


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## emily nicole

I remember planning my first trip in 2012. I didn't know anything about WDW except vague memories from a 1994 trip as a kid. I knew it was very expensive, so I spent a lot of time researching including buying a guide book and Google searching (which lead me here). I'm always surprised to hear stories of people who don't do a little research into their vacations. Maybe it's a personality thing.


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## bookgirl2632

I’m a planner, especially when going somewhere that is unfamiliar to me.  The only time I don’t plan much is a beach vacation, but then, I’m familiar with the beach towns I go to.  I understand not expecting people to know all the ins and outs of Disney if they are a newbie, but the onus is on them to research it at least a little.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Lsyves said:


> Has anyone read the reviews on Trip Advisor lately? For some reason my husband pulled it up. Pages of horrible reviews from this month alone-mainly about how rigid the cast members are about mask wearing (lots of scolding and yelling via megaphones), but also about pricing, bad service, and capacity seeming much higher than 35% but still so many things closed or limited. Doesn’t sound fun. We are going in October so hopefully it will improve. Just curious if anyone has thoughts...we are regulars but our last visit was pre-covid.


If you read reviews here, you'll see you have to be up early, at the parks early, then gone mid-day if you want to maximize your experience. We've been five times since August and think we have a pretty good pulse on how it is currently. I've been very vocal about holding WDW to a higher standard and them not delivering on a few fronts during this time. CMs have to put safety first right now, we cannot hold that against them. I haven't heard anyone yelled at over megaphone, but I can say the amount of people not wearing a mask correctly or following rules is just an insane amount that Disney cannot keep up with. Full price for a less than experience is my largest gripe. No FP, no extra hours, no parades, no fireworks, limited everything including transportation, entertainment, dining, lodging, and yes, "magic" too. October could be a different story though so sit tight.

Everyone should just drop what they think 35% should look like because it doesn't look like that. It will look and feel like a normal day most of the time.


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## JFox

bookgirl2632 said:


> I’m a planner, especially when going somewhere that is unfamiliar to me.  The only time I don’t plan much is a beach vacation, but then, I’m familiar with the beach towns I go to.  I understand not expecting people to know all the ins and outs of Disney if they are a newbie, but the onus is on them to research it at least a little.



I'm going to Antigua in August, never been.  I had to look up the exact location and learn how to spell it.  You can bet I am going everything I can to plan accordingly.


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## ambula603

For me, part of the fun in taking a trip (especially Disney, but anywhere really) is the research and the preparation leading up to it.  This thread was incredibly helpful for real-time experiences as we were approaching our trip last year!


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## hereforthechurros

Halloweenqueen said:


> Here now. Arrived on Tuesday. Spent the afternoon to closing at AK. Wonderful time with most guests leaving. Had a terrible dinner at the AK Rainforest Cafe. Waited forever for the food. Server came with a cracked glass of ice tea. Tea began to leak all over the table. Glass was completely empty by the time we got someone’s attention.
> 
> Wednesday at Epcot. We had a great lunch at San Angel, surprising I know. We booked to save us a wait into the pavilion. Was able to do and see everything. I came prepared to buy preferred parking each day. No need if you make it to rope drop. Our space was three rows behind preferred.
> 
> Thursday was MK. We were parked and headed to the ferry shortly after 7. Lots done in the morning before a LTT dinner. Hostess seemed a little annoyed when I insisted on eating at LTT not Golden Horseshoe. We promised ourselves not to get frustrated by others in terms of mask wearing/distancing, but it was very noticeable at MK. Crowds much more noticeable too. I’ve never had a bad encounter with a CM until Pirates. We are 4 fairly large adults. When we gave our party number we were surprised to be given one row. (Normally we were divided 2 and 2). I asked if we could have two rows and the CM said “ lady I work here and I know how many can fit, all of you go to row 5”.  We could hardly move! My youngest daughter started to tear up. I think she was just surprised by the CM’s reaction. Next was Splash. The line is quite confusing until it gets closer to the ride. A lady jumped in line in front of us about 15 minutes of a 60 minute wait. I told her the start of the line began at the bridge. She turned around and barked at me with an “ I have a baby, you don’t have to be so fresh!”  We decided after those two encounters to leave early.
> 
> Decided since we did so much on our first AK half day, to rest and get to the park later today until close. Coming from WA my kids are appreciating a relaxing pool morning in the sun. HS tomorrow before home.
> 
> Overall having a good time, but honestly surprised by attitudes and crowd levels. Lots of larger groups. We will not be returning to Disney until entrainment is back. My daughter joked on Soarin how that’s the only fireworks we will get this trip. They are definitely missed. *This was a postponed 2020 birthday/graduation gift trip. *I would not recommend that any once in a lifetime folks consider going until normalcy returns.


Lady I work here is a little wild, sheesh. 

To your bolded point I think this is why we're seeing a spring crush and will into summer too. A lot of rescheduled trips going on. I saw so many Family Vacation shirts with 2020 crossed out and 2021 written below when we were there last week.


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## GBRforWDW

emily nicole said:


> I remember planning my first trip in 2012. I didn't know anything about WDW except vague memories from a 1994 trip as a kid. I knew it was very expensive, so I spent a lot of time researching including buying a guide book and Google searching (which lead me here). I'm always surprised to hear stories of people who don't do a little research into their vacations. Maybe it's a personality thing.


Same, I went for the first time ever in 2018 and spent months researching.  We still weren't always successful at doing some things, Slinky Dog 3 hour wait I'm looking at you, but we were able to score some great ADRs and FPs.

But I guess some like the thrill of buying a plane ticket and seeing what happens.


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## olive

GBRforWDW said:


> But I guess some like the thrill of buying a plane ticket and seeing what happens.





emily nicole said:


> I'm always surprised to hear stories of people who don't do a little research into their vacations. Maybe it's a personality thing.



I am a super planner. Years ago I went on a trip with my (now) husband traveling out of the country. I had planned everything about our trip except one part - getting from the airport to our first stop, several hours away. I had every confirmation printed, folders, guidebooks, an itinerary. We landed, collected our luggage, and he led me toward the rental car area. It was packed. And then I learned he hadn't actually made a reservation. He figured we would play it by ear. If there were no cars - surprise! there were no cars! - we would figure it out. Part of the adventure! (We ended up having to take a train, bus and cab in the pouring rain. It was certainly an adventure but not the kind I typically seek.)

People definitely have different personalities with travel, and anything else. Some people do like the thrill of just seeing what happens. I feel bad for the kids in the case of the family headed to Disney with no tickets or park reservations. 

What is tricky, too, is when groups of people with very different travel styles go to a place like Disney together! I am hoping for some recent feedback from folks who are there now or just back in that boat. The covid era must make this even more difficult. I am going soon and my super planner self is going to be surrounded by people who don't like lists or plans. I am just planning on hiding the lists and plans, but I would never go without them.


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## teach22180

DCLMP said:


> In my opinion, were not the normal ones. People on this board seem to think planning every detail of a WDW vacation is normal behavior. Before the pandemic, you could just show up, buy tickets and go to the park. That's how it should be.


My brother and sister in law took my nephew for 2 days at MK about four years ago when he was 3.  They wouldn't let me tell them anything.  By the end of the first day, he texts, hey, how much are those fast passes?  LOL then he was all ears.  I helped him get 3 FP for the other day, and they had a lot more fun.  However, he couldn't ride PP, his favorite memory from childhood because the line was so long.  We were going in March 2020 and spending 3 days introducing my nephew to the other 3 parks.  This trip, my brother let me do all the planning, and I had FP for the big rides and everything all figured out.  Unfortunately, the parks closed.  So,  while there's a learning curve to Disney World, planning always helps.


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## scrappinginontario

For the sake of those heading here for recent experiences, let's go back to sharing those current experiences please.


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## scrappinginontario

2manyplans said:


> Disney springs on a Sunday afternoon? That’s our arrival day and have reservations for dinner. Wondering how crazy it will be if we go over around 4:30?  Not worth it and we should change to a different dinner venue? We don’t mind a few crowds (and are all fully vaccinated) but don’t want to have to stand in line for every store (not just WOD) or every seat in a lounge.  Pre-Covid would stop in a few places for a drink and generally just wander.   Still possible?  I have read that weekends are way busier but wondering if that is more Friday/Saturday. Also the Sunday we are going is Mother’s Day so perhaps that will affect things?  Thanks.


This is a question that got lost in the shuffle.  Does anyone have any recent experiences to share?


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## WEDWDW

The BEST thing we have seen at WDW this week are the red "Earning My Ears" ribbons on the Name Tags of Cast Members who have recently been called back to work and are being trained for new Roles!

It is a beautiful sight to see!  

If you see one of these CMs,give them a "Welcome back"!


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## ENJDisneyFan

2manyplans said:


> Disney springs on a Sunday afternoon? That’s our arrival day and have reservations for dinner. Wondering how crazy it will be if we go over around 4:30?  Not worth it and we should change to a different dinner venue? We don’t mind a few crowds (and are all fully vaccinated) but don’t want to have to stand in line for every store (not just WOD) or every seat in a lounge.  Pre-Covid would stop in a few places for a drink and generally just wander.   Still possible?  I have read that weekends are way busier but wondering if that is more Friday/Saturday. Also the Sunday we are going is Mother’s Day so perhaps that will affect things?  Thanks.





scrappinginontario said:


> This is a question that got lost in the shuffle.  Does anyone have any recent experiences to share?


Around 4-5pm is when it seems to start getting really busy, and crowds increase throughout the night as the parks close.  For my family it was not enjoyable to just wander around (like we normally would do).  We basically went to our ADR and then left right after.  Many of the smaller stores won't have waits, but any of the Disney shops and places like Lego, Coca Cola, etc will all have a wait.  I'm not sure about just walking up to a lounge either.  I think there are a few places where it may still be possible (like Jock Lindsay's, which doesn't take reservations), but definitely won't be as easy as pre-Covid.  Hope that helps.


----------



## Makmak

I’m guessing no but.....are any of the water features on at Epcot (the little splash pad things the kids run all over) They were on at Universal so we are hoping.


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## TheSouthernBelle

100AcreWood said:


> I talked to a coworker today who is a huge Disney fan.  She said her trip two weeks ago wasn't great.  She really missed the fireworks, parades and the stretching room at the Haunted Mansion.  She also mentioned there were only 3-4 food choices at the quick service restaurants.  Can anyone comment on that?  Why so few?


The restaurants have abbreviated their offerings but it's not unbearable.  I think where it got me was later in the day when food choices are slim and we noticed the resort had limited options. Our most recent day in MK and Epcot last week, food was plentiful and we had no cause for concern.  

As far as "missing" things, yes I miss some things but this is so personal and subjective.  I do miss fireworks but I don't miss the disaster of leaving the parks after the show. I liked FP+ but I really don't miss it and sort of hope it doesn't come back. I feel like our trips now can be much more flexible and enjoy less time on my phone looking for FP+ or having to change them.  I was never a huge parade fan and I like the spontaneous cavalcades much more.  I know some things may never come back and other things eventually will but for our family, the only thing I really need to go so we can enjoy our trips a little more are plexiglass and masks.  The line markers can definitely stick around forever, I never was a fan of being a sardine.


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## EPCOT-O.G.

Having gone myself, spoken to many people who have gone, and reading these comments, I can’t help but come back to the idea that someone’s expectations going in really affect their experience. If you go thinking 35% capacity means you’ll hardly see anybody and walk on to everything, then sorry- get a time machine and set it to late August 2020. If you go in realizing there will be crowds but generally suppressed and capped as to what’s to be expected generally, I think you’ll enjoy it a lot more.


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## TheSouthernBelle

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Having gone myself, spoken to many people who have gone, and reading these comments, I can’t help but come back to the idea that someone’s expectations going in really affect their experience. If you go thinking 35% capacity means you’ll hardly see anybody and walk on to everything, then sorry- get a time machine and set it to late August 2020. If you go in realizing there will be crowds but generally suppressed and capped as to what’s to be expected generally, I think you’ll enjoy it a lot more.


100% agree.  While 35% is low compared to pre-covid, because there are no shows/entertainment, character meet/greet reservation, etc, more of the guests are eating/riding rides/shopping and repeating since there's nothing else to do.  What 35% equates to in numbers and what it feels like is 2 different things.  We went in July/Aug 2020 and that was heaven.  Visits as of late do "feel" like pre-covid even with lower crowds overall, but it's wonderful to get that energy back in the parks with life and vibrancy.


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## Grumpy by Birth

scrappinginontario said:


> I feel badly for this person although it’s an example of why when taking a vacation right now, researching the destination is a mandatory part of planning travel.  Nothing can be taken for granted re: travel in 2021.


I feel bad for them too.  But I have to admit that this was the first thing that came to mind...


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## Cliffside

KayKayJS said:


> Has anyone gone to Epcot prior to opening? I see it opens at 11AM, but my daughter's nap time is 12. I am wondering if it actually opens earlier so we could get 2 hrs in before nap...


We were there this week...we got on line around 9:30..we were towards the front..they let some through temperature check around 9:50..they let us through the turnstiles at 10:09..we were at international gateway...we were able to do Test Track and Soarin almost before the 11:00 official opening.


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## Elle23

JFox said:


> I usually don't speak Disney with strangers but yesterday while standing in the line waiting to board our flight a mom insisted on striking up a conversation.  She asked me and my husband if we were going to a park.  We said yes, we have a park reservation for MK.  "Park reservation?"  Uggh, here we go.
> 
> Mind you there were 6 of them, ready to board for their magical vacation.  Briefly explained that a reservation was required for each ticket AND the online availability calendar shows full and limited park availability for the next week.  "I haven't bought tickets yet."  This is why I don't speak Disney to people.  It was about this time that the lady in front of me said, "just go to the hotel concierge and they will let you in."  Yeah, good luck with that.



I have never seen so many clueless people as I did on our trip. We were standing outside of Docking Bay 7 waiting for our mobile order time. A woman walked up to a CM and asked where the line was. The CM told her she needed a mobile order. After helping the woman locate the app and walking through the whole process with her, the lady finally said “Wait, I don’t want to order food. I want to get in line for MFSR!”

This was one example of many I witnessed throughout the week!


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## DaisyNY

scrappinginontario said:


> This is a question that got lost in the shuffle.  Does anyone have any recent experiences to share?


We were at DS on Saturday, 4/24 for lunch at 12...we arrived around 10 and though there was no wait outside of stores at that time, by the time we finished lunch at 1:30, the crowds had built significantly. We had dinner reservations on Monday, 4/26 and it was a much more relaxed experience... Enjoy!


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## OKWFan88

When I was at HS earlier this week and waiting in line at RotR to have our bands scanned for the boarding group... there was a couple in front of us and they didn’t know they needed a boarding group and thought they could just wait in line and get on. The man started raising his voice at the CM, I felt so bad for her as it’s not her fault.


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## Elle23

I guess these clueless people are the same ones who were waiting for 2 hours in the standby line when I would walk up and pull an available fastpass for that very ride and hop right on!


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## kylenne

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Let's hope they have a travel agent who planned everything for them and they are just blissfully unaware of all the details LOL



There really is no excuse though. I booked my end of May trip through our TA and I swear to god I must have gotten at least three emails from Disney Destinations about what to expect in terms of safety protocols, modified experiences, etc. Including the park reservation system. Like you really have to go out of your way to be ignorant of this stuff nowadays. Disney does everything possible to inform even those who inexplicably don’t spend 5 minutes online before embarking on a vacation costing thousands. 

Those of us who are regulars to the World especially know that these folk exist but man is it crazy seeing them “in the wild”. Anyway I am grateful for the crowdsourced info in this thread, it’s been incredibly valuable for researching my own trip.


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## cpc98

OKWFan88 said:


> When I was at HS earlier this week and waiting in line at RotR to have our bands scanned for the boarding group... there was a couple in front of us and they didn’t know they needed a boarding group and thought they could just wait in line and get on. The man started raising his voice at the CM, I felt so bad for her as it’s not her fault.



LOL how could he not know?? I’ve talked to people who aren’t even big theme park/Disney fans who know ROTR requires a “special pass”, boarding group, etc... what the?


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## maggnanimouse

JFox said:


> I usually don't speak Disney with strangers but yesterday while standing in the line waiting to board our flight a mom insisted on striking up a conversation.  She asked me and my husband if we were going to a park.  We said yes, we have a park reservation for MK.  "Park reservation?"  Uggh, here we go.
> 
> Mind you there were 6 of them, ready to board for their magical vacation.  Briefly explained that a reservation was required for each ticket AND the online availability calendar shows full and limited park availability for the next week.  "I haven't bought tickets yet."  This is why I don't speak Disney to people.  It was about this time that the lady in front of me said, "just go to the hotel concierge and they will let you in."  Yeah, good luck with that.



Man, even before Covid and the park reservation system, I can't imagine getting so far as boarding the plane without purchasing tickets in advance.  That is bold!


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## DisneyFive

Elle23 said:


> I guess these clueless people are the same ones who were waiting for 2 hours in the standby line when I would walk up and pull an available fastpass for that very ride and hop right on!


This, exactly this.

I love FP+ because it continuously got us out of so many standby lines.  As an example, rides like It’s a Small World could have decent standby lines in the middle of the day but I could go on to My Disney Experience  and grab fast passes for our family within 5 minutes, which basically meant that you could go straight to the fast pass line because that’s within the grace period.

Dan


----------



## Catvondita

Can someone tell me what Disney Springs is like in the morning of a weekday? I really want one of those mickey ear coach bags but am apprehensive to go to Disney Springs since our daughter is unvaccinated. Wondering if I can just steal away for an hour to run and grab one but still would like to avoid a crowd if possible.


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## ENJDisneyFan

Catvondita said:


> Can someone tell me what Disney Springs is like in the morning of a weekday? I really want one of those mickey ear coach bags but am apprehensive to go to Disney Springs since our daughter is unvaccinated. Wondering if I can just steal away for an hour to run and grab one but still would like to avoid a crowd if possible.


It’s not bad at all in the morning.


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## lovethattink

scrappinginontario said:


> For the sake of those heading here for recent experiences, let's go back to sharing those current experiences please.



Final warning, points will be given for going off topic. This is the here now, just back thread. Stay on topic to recent visits.

If someone would like to start a thread about the importance of know before you go. Be our guest.


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## Dakota731

Elle23 said:


> I have never seen so many clueless people as I did on our trip. We were standing outside of Docking Bay 7 waiting for our mobile order time. A woman walked up to a CM and asked where the line was. The CM told her she needed a mobile order. After helping the woman locate the app and walking through the whole process with her, the lady finally said “Wait, I don’t want to order food. I want to get in line for MFSR!”
> 
> This was one example of many I witnessed throughout the week!


I’m a big planner but have friends who just took their first trip last January with their four kids and did absolutely no research. They made no dining reservations, no fast passes - nothing. I feared they would have a terrible time, but they said they have a wonderful trip. They are free spirits and fly by the seat of their pants folks .  I may have a different personality but isn’t that what makes the world go round. Life would be kind of boring if we were all the same.


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## Tawney

Here is my best attempt at a trip report!  Enjoy!

Booked a three day/two night adult only trip for my DH's 42nd birthday and an _early_ celebration of our 4th wedding anniversary. We checked in to Pop Century on 4/26 and checked out on 4/28. We had park hopper tickets - our park reservations were Epcot the first day, HS the second, and AK the third. We had never had hopper for our previous trips, so I was interested to see how it works.

*Monday April 26;* Our flight landed at MCO 30 minutes before the scheduled time - we landed at 8:40 AM. We didn't have any bags to pick up as we only packed carry-ons, so we skipped baggage claim and headed straight to the Magical Express line. We arrived to the ME line at 9:00 AM and were checked in by 9:06 AM. The CM quoted us a 45 minute wait to be picked up, and then another 45 minute ride to POP. There was one family of six in front of us in the ME line. The bus arrived just three minutes after we got in line, and we were on our way to POP by 9:10 AM. When we arrived at POP (9:40 AM) there was no line for luggage services, so we checked our bags in at 9:45 AM. I had hoped that our room would be ready, but it wasn't ready quite yet.

Since we had Epcot reservations that day, and the park wasn't even open yet, we decided to head over to the Skyliner and get in line. The line was long, much longer than I anticipated... it stretched back into the 50's building walkways. However, it moved quickly. After waiting in another long line at the transfer station, we entered Epcot via the World Showcase Internation Gateway entrance just before 11 AM. (...this is also when we got our "Room Ready!" text to my phone.)  I had never been to F&G before, so I was really happy to see all of the beautiful topiaries and was also really excited to try some different food at the outdoor kitchens. I tried to keep track of wait times vs. the times quoted on MDE, but I quickly lost interest in doing so! We only rode two rides at Epcot, Soarin' and Living with the Land... then we were on our way to eat some food and see some sights. I was on the lookout for the Orange Bird festival ears, but it appears that they were sold out because I couldn't find them anywhere. Anyway, we visited The Honey Bee-stro _(Wildflower Honey Mascarpone Cheesecake)_ and then made our way to Jardin de Fiestas _(Tostada de Cochinita and Taco Vampiro)_. I was really wanting to go into the Mexico pavilion, it's my favorite! - but the line to enter was so long and I was getting really hot by this point. It was also at this time that I discovered that drinks weren't especially easy to come by... all we wanted was a nice cold Coke and I felt like there were none to be found! Luckily the Refreshment Outpost _(Pineapple Skewer with Tajin)_ came through for us with cold Coke and also shaded seating near by. The shade was really welcomed, because by now I was _really_ hot and getting out of the direct sun was wonderful. We continued our trek around the World Showcase and made a quick stop at Hanami _(Frushi and Soy-glazed Pork Shank)_ before heading back to the International Gateway for an afternoon break at Pop.

We returned to Pop by 3:30-4 and decided to cool down in the bowling pin pool. The pool was moderately busy, but we didn't have to wait to enter the pool deck. It felt so nice to just relax midday... typically we do not return to our room in the afternoon and we are in the parks all day. We are just not used to that Florida heat, we couldn't hang! After an hour or so, it was time to get ready to hop over to MK.

We were the only people on the bus to MK at 5:30 PM, so that was nice! I was so excited to see the new paint job and accessories on the castle, and I know it's controversial, but I love it!  Our son had requested photos and videos of It's a Small World (his favorite), so that was our first stop. We placed our first mobile order from Small World at Pinocchio Village Haus, and it was ready within minutes of us getting off of the ride. We were both pretty hungry, as we only shared small plates at Epcot earlier in the day - so we were pretty satisfied with our meals. I hadn't been on Splash Mountain since I was 7 or 8 years old, and my husband had never been on it - so it was our next priority. It was just as great as I remember, and it was really fun to see him experience it for the first time. Wait times were low for Big Thunder, which is a favorite for DH, so that was our next stop. Park closing was at 9 PM, so we hustled over to the People Mover just in time to get in a quick ride before closing. I was so excited when I found out that it would be open for our trip! We did a little shopping at The Emporium on the way out. MK was not crowded at all, I was actually a little taken back by how few people were in the park that evening. It made for a really enjoyable night! Bus transport to Pop was not ideal (is it ever?)... they were very slow to load people and one of the buses was having mechanical issues, so this lead to a lot of waiting. There were more buses lined up to be loaded, but until that bus with mechanical issues was out of the way there was just no room for another articulated bus. Finally everything got moving and we were back at Pop around 11-11:15 PM.

_*Next time... Hollywood Studios!*_


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## LSUmiss

focusondisney said:


> We were there the 15-22 & I agree with everything you said.  People got very close in lines, I would often hang back from the group in front of us  & very deliberately move up only slowly & leave lots of room in front of us, hoping the people behind would pick up on the distancing.  I also noticed a LOT of missing “wait here”,  with no apparent effort to replace them. Leading me to believe line distancing will be changing or going away sooner rather than later.
> 
> So many improperly worn masks, all over.   Lots of eating & drinking while walking around with masks below the chin or just hanging off 1 ear. And while there are signs around, in a full week we only heard 1 CM attempt to tell someone to put their mask on. And even then, she never caught up with the guest who was moving quickly away from her.
> 
> Disney is talking up compliance, but not doing anything to make their rules stick as far as we could see.


And this is definitely a change from the last 3 trips we have been on so I think for those that are concerned, the writing is on the wall. I think this is how things will go before they get rid of the mask policy. Think it’ll be in place for a while but slowly enforced less & less.


----------



## kylenne

Tawney said:


> Here is my best attempt at a trip report!  Enjoy!
> 
> Booked a three day/two night adult only trip for my DH's 42nd birthday and an _early_ celebration of our 4th wedding anniversary. We checked in to Pop Century on 4/26 and checked out on 4/28. We had park hopper tickets - our park reservations were Epcot the first day, HS the second, and AK the third. We had never had hopper for our previous trips, so I was interested to see how it works.
> 
> *Monday April 26;* Our flight landed at MCO 30 minutes before the scheduled time - we landed at 8:40 AM. We didn't have any bags to pick up as we only packed carry-ons, so we skipped baggage claim and headed straight to the Magical Express line. We arrived to the ME line at 9:00 AM and were checked in by 9:06 AM. The CM quoted us a 45 minute wait to be picked up, and then another 45 minute ride to POP. There was one family of six in front of us in the ME line. The bus arrived just three minutes after we got in line, and we were on our way to POP by 9:10 AM. When we arrived at POP (9:40 AM) there was no line for luggage services, so we checked our bags in at 9:45 AM. I had hoped that our room would be ready, but it wasn't ready quite yet.
> 
> Since we had Epcot reservations that day, and the park wasn't even open yet, we decided to head over to the Skyliner and get in line. The line was long, much longer than I anticipated... it stretched back into the 50's building walkways. However, it moved quickly. After waiting in another long line at the transfer station, we entered Epcot via the World Showcase Internation Gateway entrance just before 11 AM. (...this is also when we got our "Room Ready!" text to my phone.)  I had never been to F&G before, so I was really happy to see all of the beautiful topiaries and was also really excited to try some different food at the outdoor kitchens. I tried to keep track of wait times vs. the times quoted on MDE, but I quickly lost interest in doing so! We only rode two rides at Epcot, Soarin' and Living with the Land... then we were on our way to eat some food and see some sights. I was on the lookout for the Orange Bird festival ears, but it appears that they were sold out because I couldn't find them anywhere. Anyway, we visited The Honey Bee-stro _(Wildflower Honey Mascarpone Cheesecake)_ and then made our way to Jardin de Fiestas _(Tostada de Cochinita and Taco Vampiro)_. I was really wanting to go into the Mexico pavilion, it's my favorite! - but the line to enter was so long and I was getting really hot by this point. It was also at this time that I discovered that drinks weren't especially easy to come by... all we wanted was a nice cold Coke and I felt like there were none to be found! Luckily the Refreshment Outpost _(Pineapple Skewer with Tajin)_ came through for us with cold Coke and also shaded seating near by. The shade was really welcomed, because by now I was _really_ hot and getting out of the direct sun was wonderful. We continued our trek around the World Showcase and made a quick stop at Hanami _(Frushi and Soy-glazed Pork Shank)_ before heading back to the International Gateway for an afternoon break at Pop.
> 
> We returned to Pop by 3:30-4 and decided to cool down in the bowling pin pool. The pool was moderately busy, but we didn't have to wait to enter the pool deck. It felt so nice to just relax midday... typically we do not return to our room in the afternoon and we are in the parks all day. We are just not used to that Florida heat, we couldn't hang! After an hour or so, it was time to get ready to hop over to MK.
> 
> We were the only people on the bus to MK at 5:30 PM, so that was nice! I was so excited to see the new paint job and accessories on the castle, and I know it's controversial, but I love it!  Our son had requested photos and videos of It's a Small World (his favorite), so that was our first stop. We placed our first mobile order from Small World at Pinocchio Village Haus, and it was ready within minutes of us getting off of the ride. We were both pretty hungry, as we only shared small plates at Epcot earlier in the day - so we were pretty satisfied with our meals. I hadn't been on Splash Mountain since I was 7 or 8 years old, and my husband had never been on it - so it was our next priority. It was just as great as I remember, and it was really fun to see him experience it for the first time. Wait times were low for Big Thunder, which is a favorite for DH, so that was our next stop. Park closing was at 9 PM, so we hustled over to the People Mover just in time to get in a quick ride before closing. I was so excited when I found out that it would be open for our trip! We did a little shopping at The Emporium on the way out. MK was not crowded at all, I was actually a little taken back by how few people were in the park that evening. It made for a really enjoyable night! Bus transport to Pop was not ideal (is it ever?)... they were very slow to load people and one of the buses was having mechanical issues, so this lead to a lot of waiting. There were more buses lined up to be loaded, but until that bus with mechanical issues was out of the way there was just no room for another articulated bus. Finally everything got moving and we were back at Pop around 11-11:15 PM.
> 
> _*Next time... Hollywood Studios!*_



How crowded was the Emporium on your way out? I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth it waiting until the end of the night vs. using actual park time for it


----------



## Tawney

*Tuesday April 27;* This was the big day... my Husband's 42nd birthday!  I had been practicing the boarding group system on MDE for weeks prior to our trip in preparation for this day. This was our only HS day, so I _had to_ get that boarding group! I woke up at 6:50, turned off my WiFi and left our room in search of a spot with good signal/reception. Oddly enough, the best spot was directly outside of our door! I didn't do anything too special, I just clicked join (join, join...!!!) on each screen, not even stopping to read what the screens say. Luckily this approach worked and I landed boarding group 12! I was so excited!

We previously had made reservations at Oga's for 9:25 AM, but I cancelled them the night before because I knew there was no way that we would be there in time for them. We are not early morning park people, so I just gave up hope for that one. We were in line at the Skyliner station by 8:30 AM. The line was not too bad to get to the transfer station, but the line at the transfer station was insane (to me)! It went back the side of the station and wrapped back and forth multiple times the whole way back to Victory Way N. I knew I made a good choice to cancel those Oga reservations as soon as I saw this line! I don't remember what time we arrived at HS, but our boarding group had been called while we were in route. We checked in to Rise at 9:42, two minutes after the time we were supposed to be there. Luckily there were no issues with getting on the ride! No spoilers here, but I am not even a SW person and it was awesome! I hope everyone gets a chance to ride it soon! GE was crazy busy and the end of the line for Smugglers was nowhere to be found, so we were on our merry way to Toy Story Land.

Slinky is not a must do for us, but TSM only had a 20 minute wait so we decided to go for it. The line moved constantly, and the ride was as fun as usual. Hubby beat me, but that's fine. I had better accuracy, so...! After TSM we headed over to Tower of Terror, only to find that the line snaked the entire way back to the entrance of Fantasmic. ...and the majority of the line was in the sun. We waited through the 65 minute queue though, and it was definitely worth it. It's always a favorite! Lunch was at ABC Commissary where we discussed our next move for HS. We decided that if Mickey & Minnie was had a wait of 60 minutes or less, that we would ride it. Neither of us had been on it before, so we wanted to try it out. The wait time after lunch was 55 minutes, so another wait in the blazing sun it was! The line moved quickly, and the ride was super cute so I would say that it was worth it! I can't wait to take my son on it in December, he is going to love it!

We were both pretty hot and exhausted by this point, so we headed back to the room to relax. Except instead of relax, I decided to do some laundry. We hadn't packed any extra clothes since we had limited luggage space, and we didn't' have enough clean clothes to get us through the heat of the trip... so thank goodness for laundry facilities on site. After the laundry was done, we figured we would head over to MK again to ride Haunted Mansion (it was down the night before) and Pirates (I needed to smell that water!). Haunted Mansion was a walk on, it was so great! I never in 1000 years thought that I would walk into Magic Kingdom just to ride two rides and leave, but that is exactly what we did. Short trips with park hopper are a crazy thing! Hubby and I were both hungry, but nothing at MK sounded too great to us - so our next move was to go to Epcot and have dinner from different outdoor kitchens. Good idea, but it didn't work out. We took our time taking pictures of whatever we wanted, then we rode Spaceship Earth. By the time we got to the outdoor kitchens, lines were long and there wasn't much seating available. We settled for Regal Eagle Smokehouse with Kakigori from Kabuki Cafe for dessert. We stopped by Mitsukoshi for some quick shopping before calling it a night. (We didn't have much of a choice, it was 10 PM!)

When I tell you the line for the Skyliner was long... it was absurd! I know we stayed until park close, which was my bad, but that line was almost back to the Beach Club. We had a fun but busy and and exhausting day, and we definitely crashed when we got back to the room. There is no sleep like Disney sleep!

*One more day... Animal Kingdom!*


----------



## Tawney

kylenne said:


> How crowded was the Emporium on your way out? I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth it waiting until the end of the night vs. using actual park time for it


The store itself was crowded, but not so much that it was unpleasant to walk around.  We might have had to wait two minutes tops to get in.  It really wasn't bad.  I wasn't sure what to expect because I had read reports of long lines, but I had no problems getting in to any shops at all!


----------



## Tawney

*Wednesday April 28;* The final day of our trip was upon us. I was sad for the trip to end, but I missed my boy and my pets - so while I wasn't ready to leave, I was ready to get home!

My DH's favorite park is Animal Kingdom, and his favorite ride in WDW is Flight of Passage. We couldn't take a birthday trip without it, so we packed up all of our stuff and left our bags with luggage services and were on our way to the hottest park on property, AK!

While walking to Pandora we literally just walked upon the Na'vi River line, which was a 25-30 minute wait (I don't remember). DH loves Na'vi River and thinks it is absolutely beautiful, so we got our place in line and happily took the journey. Next up on the itinerary was FOP. I think the wait was 70 minutes, but he has been talking about riding it again since our last trip in December 2019 - so I couldn't deny him. The line for FOP started almost at the entrance of Festival of the Lion King. These lines blew my mind ever single time we entered one... but really, they seem long but they move so frequently... it isn't even that bad. We had never gone through the entire queue before, as we had FP before, so it was nice to see the whole thing - and of course the ride is awesome. After FOP we used mobile order to order lunch from Satu'li Canteen, and we tried the Night Blossom while we waited. I wasted no time spilling my drink while heading into Satu'li, and I felt like a total heel! Magically, almost out of nowhere, a kind CM appeared with a fresh Night Blossom for me and it totally made my day!

I would have liked to ride Kilimanjaro Safari, but the line was 8 miles long and we had limited time... the ME was due to pick us up at Pop at 4:05 PM and it was probably 1:30 already, so we decided to save the safari for December when we have more time. Everest was a walk on, so we were there for about 10 minutes total.  DH did insist that I ride Dinosaur, as the last trip we took my sweet son had a complete melt down while loading the ride vehicle and I was unable to ride because I had to get him out of there. The wait time claimed to be 30 minutes, but I swear it was closer to an hour. I don't know if it was the heat (my portable fan died while in this line) or if I was just anxious to not miss the ME to MCO, but I felt like that line was the worst that I had to wait the entire time. Luckily we were able to enjoy the ride and hop a bus back to Pop just in time. ...we were off of the AK bus at 3:25 PM and got our bags from luggage services, and the ME bus pulled in at 3:40 and loaded up a few families and was out of there by 3:50. I knew that we were pushing it, but I am glad that we did get to have some fun that day!

_Some of my thoughts about WDW in current times..._
-Masks suck. Yes, we have to wear them and I am not complaining about it. I work in healthcare and wear a mask for 12+ hours each shift I work. But wearing a mask in that Florida heat is not something that I was prepared for!
-Speaking of Florida heat, that is not something I was prepared for either! We are "Christmas at Disney" people who are from Pennsylvania, and the heat was almost more than I could handle at times. I was so thankful for ice cold water, cooling towels and portable fans.
-Don't forget your sun screen. I applied, but apparently not enough and now I have a beautiful sun burn and a Magic Band tan line.
-Arrive to transportation super early if you plan to rope drop.  I did not plan to rope drop, so I dealt with what I got - but I know first hand how backed up those Skyliner lines can be if you wait too long.
-Become familiar with mobile ordering.  It is your friend.
-Don't sweat the small stuff.  We are living in unprecedented times.  These vacations are expensive and not everything is available currently.  Make the most of what is available and honestly, I wouldn't go right now if this is a once in a lifetime trip.


----------



## lovethattink

LSUmiss said:


> And this is definitely a change from the last 3 trips we have been on so I think for those that are concerned, the writing is on the wall. I think this is how things will go before they get rid of the mask policy. Think it’ll be in place for a while but slowly enforced less & less.



My gut feeling is that masks will stay, but social distancing will change soon.

When we were at 7dmt, on Tuesday, a family went up to a cm to talk. Their little girl didn’t have her mask on properly and there cm said he’d love to help them, but needs her mask fixed first. The family complied right away. 

I let ds take his mask off for a photo at the castle since you can take them off for photos now. Cm use to patrol the hub to be sure masks were on during photos, but there wasn’t one in site. Taking photos without a mask is the only area that “laxed”, but that’s policy now.


----------



## Cliffside

b2k1121 said:


> Yeah I'm definitely not questioning the official policy just wondering if it was possible that word was passed to CMs to start letting it go.


We were there for 8 nights 4/21-4/29...we did not see any cast members carrying those signs reminding about masks or hear cast members remind individuals that masks need to cover their nose and mouth...,the loud speaker announcements did play quite often.


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## LSUmiss

lovethattink said:


> My gut feeling is that masks will stay, but social distancing will change soon.
> 
> When we were at 7dmt, on Tuesday, a family went up to a cm to talk. Their little girl didn’t have her mask on properly and there cm said he’d love to help them, but needs her mask fixed first. The family complied right away.
> 
> I let ds take his mask off for a photo at the castle since you can take them off for photos now. Cm use to patrol the hub to be sure masks were on during photos, but there wasn’t one in site. Taking photos without a mask is the only area that “laxed”, but that’s policy now.


Except there have now been several reports on this thread of poor mask compliance & a lack of enforcement. That is definitely a change from the way things were just a few mos ago. I think it’s leaning towards a more unofficial lax policy even if that’s not the case on paper. Personally, I like to see this since DS is 3. We have no problem adhering to the policy, but DS is not always compliant so it’s much less stressful for us.


----------



## lovethattink

LSUmiss said:


> Except there have now been several reports on this thread of poor mask compliance & a lack of enforcement. That is definitely a change from the way things were just a few mos ago. I think it’s leaning towards a more unofficial lax policy even if that’s not the case on paper. Personally, I like to see this since DS is 3. We have no problem adhering to the policy, but DS is not always compliant so it’s much less stressful for us.



As I mentioned earlier. I go to the parks regularly and I’ve seen some days of poor mask compliance and other days where it’s been good. It really does vary from day to day.


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## LSUmiss

lovethattink said:


> As I mentioned earlier. I go to the parks regularly and I’ve seen some days of poor mask compliance and other days where it’s been good. It really does vary from day to day.


But do you think that’s a change? We went in July, oct, & Jan & there were no days that I saw poor mask compliance or that I heard about it. I feel like things were much stricter & consistent.


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## wx1

We go in two weeks and so excited but very nervous. It looks like they might strip a few of the precautions I was counting on still being there when we go. It seems like Disney has maintained a successful reopening and I don't doubt that everything they do is carefully considered. I know kids are low risk but it's still circulating in schools near me so I assume that's happening around the country. I really hope the measures that they keep for our trip are enough. We love our happy place!!!

Has anyone been there recently? What can I expect? Thanks


----------



## emily nicole

Reading posts about how lines for rides are starting really far from the actual ride (like the post about FOP line starting by FOTLK), is it difficult to find where these lines begin? Is there a lot of signage around to help folks navigate? I haven't been since Dec 2019 so just trying to prepare for this new touring strategy.


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## EpcotPhoenician

I recommend reading the posts in this thread:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...g-experiences-including-park-hopping.3807247/


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## lovethattink

LSUmiss said:


> But do you think that’s a change? We went in July, oct, & Jan & there were no days that I saw poor mask compliance or that I heard about it. I feel like things were much stricter & consistent.



I think attitudes in general changed from last July to now. People were so happy to get out, have their jobs back and were more willing to comply. But even in July, Oct and Jan I saw some with masks below their nose, and some eating while walking.

There were definitely more cm with signs then than there are now. More yellow shirt cm than now.

Park announcements about masks are still very regular.

There is definitely more plexiglass now than in July.


----------



## lovethattink

emily nicole said:


> Reading posts about how lines for rides are starting really far from the actual ride (like the post about FOP line starting by FOTLK), is it difficult to find where these lines begin? Is there a lot of signage around to help folks navigate? I haven't been since Dec 2019 so just trying to prepare for this new touring strategy.



At the end of the line you’ll find a cm holding a sign. Other than that, there is nothing communicated.


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## emily nicole

lovethattink said:


> At the end of the line you’ll find a cm holding a sign. Other than that, there is nothing communicated.


Thanks!


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## lovethattink

wx1 said:


> We go in two weeks and so excited but very nervous. It looks like they might strip a few of the precautions I was counting on still being there when we go. It seems like Disney has maintained a successful reopening and I don't doubt that everything they do is carefully considered. I know kids are low risk but it's still circulating in schools near me so I assume that's happening around the country. I really hope the measures that they keep for our trip are enough. We love our happy place!!!
> 
> Has anyone been there recently? What can I expect? Thanks



I merged your thread with the Here Now, Just Back thread. You’ll find your answers here!!


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## Mousefan mom

I heard they were stricter for mask compliance at table service restaurants--how is that now?  Are folks really keeping them on while waiting for food?


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## Nabas

emily nicole said:


> Reading posts about how lines for rides are starting really far from the actual ride (like the post about FOP line starting by FOTLK), is it difficult to find where these lines begin? Is there a lot of signage around to help folks navigate? I haven't been since Dec 2019 so just trying to prepare for this new touring strategy.


In the morning, Guests tend to go straight for the attraction, not realizing the line starts far from the ride.  Consequently, I have seen Cast Members directing Guests to the back of lines.

Later in the day as these lines become physically shorter, it becomes easier to find the end of the line.

In both scenarios, there's a Cast Member holding up a sign indicating the start of the line, if the line extends past the attraction's entrance.


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## lorilori

We went this past October and last week and the trips were definitely different. In October most people wore masks properly, stood on the 6’ markers in line, didn’t crowd up on you waiting for food pick up, more common courtesy. If someone had forgotten to pull their mask up they were asked to do so almost immediately. Last week was a different scenario. As expected, there were more people there but there  also seemed to be more people not caring anymore for lack of a better way to say it, more people just doing what they wanted to do. I understand cm’s must be exhausted from constantly reminding people of the same thing over and over but there were also some who were busier with their own private conversations than paying attention to what people around them were doing. The mask announcement still played regularly but there were quite a few people eating and drinking while walking, wearing masks on the chin, older kids not masked unless/until they were asked to do so. The lines were long for the social distancing markers and most moved quickly, but there seemed to be more people who got into line where they wanted to and not at the end of the line and nobody there to tell them to keep walking to the cm holding the sign at the end of the line. We saw this repeatedly, not directly in front of us but close enough for us to see it. However, the lines are long and they snake around and through buildings, walkways, etc. so it probably makes it easy to do. We had great trips both times, but there was definitely a difference in general attitudes/atmosphere from October to last week. Perhaps we noticed it more because we had more time in lines.


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## WEDWDW

lorilori said:


> We went this past October and last week and the trips were definitely different. In October most people wore masks properly, stood on the 6’ markers in line, didn’t crowd up on you waiting for food pick up, more common courtesy. If someone had forgotten to pull their mask up they were asked to do so almost immediately. Last week was a different scenario. As expected, there were more people there but there  also seemed to be more people not caring anymore for lack of a better way to say it, more people just doing what they wanted to do. I understand cm’s must be exhausted from constantly reminding people of the same thing over and over but there were also some who were busier with their own private conversations than paying attention to what people around them were doing. The mask announcement still played regularly but there were quite a few people eating and drinking while walking, wearing masks on the chin, older kids not masked unless/until they were asked to do so. The lines were long for the social distancing markers and most moved quickly, but there seemed to be more people who got into line where they wanted to and not at the end of the line and nobody there to tell them to keep walking to the cm holding the sign at the end of the line. We saw this repeatedly, not directly in front of us but close enough for us to see it. However, the lines are long and they snake around and through buildings, walkways, etc. so it probably makes it easy to do. We had great trips both times, but there was definitely a difference in general attitudes/atmosphere from October to last week. Perhaps we noticed it more because we had more time in lines.


Definitely agree-things are markedly different here now from our trips in September 2020 and January 2021-mainly in Social Distancing-Mask compliance is still "fairly" good.

Because so many here now have been Vaccinated,there is not the same "tenseness" in the air as it was in September and January.

It is what it is.

For anyone not Vaccinated and/or *strongly* wanting to stay in as a safe of an environment as possible,I really think you would not be comfortable here at this time.


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## yaya74

Lsyves said:


> Has anyone read the reviews on Trip Advisor lately? For some reason my husband pulled it up. Pages of horrible reviews from this month alone-mainly about how rigid the cast members are about mask wearing (lots of scolding and yelling via megaphones), but also about pricing, bad service, and capacity seeming much higher than 35% but still so many things closed or limited. Doesn’t sound fun. We are going in October so hopefully it will improve. Just curious if anyone has thoughts...we are regulars but our last visit was pre-covid.


The complaint about mask wearing. 
I mean, you go there knowing there is a mask wearing policy. CM won’t yell at anyone who wears the masks properly. So whoever gets upset about the mask wearing policy, the finger should NOT be pointing at the CM.


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## Makmak

lovethattink said:


> At the end of the line you’ll find a cm holding a sign. Other than that, there is nothing communicated.


Wasn’t there a “map” posted in this thread awhile back? Like somebody made a map then drew on it where the lines are snaked so you can get a better idea? Does anyone know what I’m talking about or maybe it was a different thread.....


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## Pyotr

Mousefan mom said:


> I heard they were stricter for mask compliance at table service restaurants--how is that now?  Are folks really keeping them on while waiting for food?


I didn’t see any of that last Tuesday. People kept them off until they were ready to leave. I took mine off once my drink came.


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## Cliffside

Mousefan mom said:


> I heard they were stricter for mask compliance at table service restaurants--how is that now?  Are folks really keeping them on while waiting for food?


I was there from 4/21-4/29. It was the first time eating indoors in over a year. We ate at table service every day usually twice. Not one cast member asked us to keep our masks on while at the table. 

Before the trip one of my biggest concerns was eating inside but I was pretty comfortable and impressed with the distancing inside the restaurants. I was worried that they would start adding reservations as vaccination rates go up.


----------



## Akck

Makmak said:


> Wasn’t there a “map” posted in this thread awhile back? Like somebody made a map then drew on it where the lines are snaked so you can get a better idea? Does anyone know what I’m talking about or maybe it was a different thread.....



I don’t recall a map, but if you’re wanting FOP, markers start on the right side as you enter Pandora. The left side is for Navi. If you follow the markers on the right, you’ll eventually find the end of the line and a CM with the sign, which can be almost to Africa. I’ll also add that in December, the line started near the Pandora bridge.


----------



## lovethattink

Makmak said:


> Wasn’t there a “map” posted in this thread awhile back? Like somebody made a map then drew on it where the lines are snaked so you can get a better idea? Does anyone know what I’m talking about or maybe it was a different thread.....



If there is, @Robo would know!


----------



## lovethattink

Reminder to keep posts about Disney, here now and just back.


----------



## scrappinginontario

*Reminder:*

There is opportunity for so much great information to be provided here about actual experiences people are having at Disney (both good and bad) and we want that to continue but if this thread continues to veer off topic re: what should Disney do about masks or similar, the moderators will have no choice but to close this valuable thread.

Let's stay on topic and get back to sharing only actual experiences and it can stay open.


----------



## DisneyWLLover

We are here now.  My son and I rope dropped MK from AOA using the bus.  The bus arrived to the resort stop by 6:32 am.  We were to MK before 7, so we had to sit on the bus until 7.  After getting temp checked and scanned, we ended up being the first ones  through the castle for the day as we headed to PP.  most were going to SDMT I think.  We were there until 11 and rode 10 rides (Splash was down most of the time).  MK was getting pretty crowded when we left.  Just a note that the bus that picked us up to bring us back to AOA was not a Disney-named bus.  It was called “Academy” or something similar and was parked there waiting for us.


----------



## DisneyNYGalTraveler

just returned, was there april 25th - 30th. last day cheer groups arrived so, the parks felt absolutely packed. earlier in the week, not so much.

they need to crank up the distancing announcements in other languages. that seems to be an issue for some but mostly people doing the right thing. interesting observation, when mom and dad can't wear masks properly, neither can their precious snowflakes but most people following the rules and cm's on hand to remind them when they aren't. i don't understand what is so difficult about it personally.

they're using a mix of disney and coach busses between resorts and parks which is strange. they mostly run on time. i mentioned in another thread skyliner broke down one night after epcot closed and it was mayhem. total customer service fail. took some people hours to get back to the skyliner resorts. we had to walk all the way over to the boardwalk to try to catch a bus and i was rescued by a lovely family and shared their taxi.

epcot is a hot mess and i look forward to seeing that done. entrance looks lovely but the middle is still a construction site. ratatouille entrance looks all done and lovely, can't wait to see it open.

i've been to disney a few times during the pandemic but not sure i'll return any time soon, the parks and pools at resorts were just way too crowded for my liking compared to other trips in january and this past fall.


----------



## JFox

DisneyNYGalTraveler said:


> they're using a mix of disney and coach busses between resorts and parks which is strange. they mostly run on time.



The coach busses are an emergency fix to deal with the crowds.  It's a company from NJ here for at least a month.  They started on Tuesday.


----------



## DisneyNYGalTraveler

yeah it felt like a scramble with the busses, i did get on a few where i was the only one or one of about five so, it felt very VIP haha! thanks for the intel!


----------



## Princess Katelet

JFox said:


> The coach busses are an emergency fix to deal with the crowds.  It's a company from NJ here for at least a month.  They started on Tuesday.


The coach buses worry me because the drivers will be clueless as to how to get anywhere and there are so many places to get!


----------



## DisneyNYGalTraveler

honestly, i didn't experience any issues with the coach busses, drivers were super nice, too - guessing they're happy to be in florida for a month!


----------



## JFox

DisneyNYGalTraveler said:


> honestly, i didn't experience any issues with the coach busses, drivers were super nice, too - guessing they're happy to be in florida for a month!


Same.  Our driver was so nice.  We were the only ones on the bus.  I gave him some grapes that we had from breakfast.


----------



## disneyfan150

deleted


----------



## tinkerhon

Princess Katelet said:


> The coach buses worry me because the drivers will be clueless as to how to get anywhere and there are so many places to get!



Plus, they wont have any juicy tidbits of info !!!   I mean, how are the Coach bus drivers going to know when "Space 220" is opening !!??   )


----------



## lovethattink

Please stay on topic! This is the theme park board not the transportation board.


----------



## 2minny

hereforthechurros said:


> If you read reviews here, you'll see you have to be up early, at the parks early, then gone mid-day if you want to maximize your experience. We've been five times since August and think we have a pretty good pulse on how it is currently. I've been very vocal about holding WDW to a higher standard and them not delivering on a few fronts during this time. CMs have to put safety first right now, we cannot hold that against them. I haven't heard anyone yelled at over megaphone, but I can say the amount of people not wearing a mask correctly or following rules is just an insane amount that Disney cannot keep up with. Full price for a less than experience is my largest gripe. No FP, no extra hours, no parades, no fireworks, limited everything including transportation, entertainment, dining, lodging, and yes, "magic" too. October could be a different story though so sit tight.
> 
> Everyone should just drop what they think 35% should look like because it doesn't look like that. It will look and feel like a normal day most of the time.


Can you give me an idea of how early the buses run in the morning and how early the parks seem be opening before posted opening time?  I"m looking for recent info, I know it's been changing weekly.


----------



## brockash

Mousefan mom said:


> I heard they were stricter for mask compliance at table service restaurants--how is that now?  Are folks really keeping them on while waiting for food?


There's been no difference.


----------



## MickeyFan19

For those that have park hopped, how was transportation from park to park? From reading people's strategies, I've confirmed my plan to get up early, RD, return to POP for break and head to another park late afternoon. But just in case something changes, I wanted to know how did you find transportation from one park to another?


----------



## CarolynFH

MickeyFan19 said:


> For those that have park hopped, how was transportation from park to park? From reading people's strategies, I've confirmed my plan to get up early, RD, return to POP for break and head to another park late afternoon. But just in case something changes, I wanted to know how did you find transportation from one park to another?


Skyliner, boat or walk between DHS and Epcot. 
Buses between the rest.


----------



## Nabas

Makmak said:


> Wasn’t there a “map” posted in this thread awhile back? Like somebody made a map then drew on it where the lines are snaked so you can get a better idea? Does anyone know what I’m talking about or maybe it was a different thread.....





Akck said:


> I don’t recall a map, but if you’re wanting FOP, markers start on the right side as you enter Pandora. The left side is for Navi. If you follow the markers on the right, you’ll eventually find the end of the line and a CM with the sign, which can be almost to Africa. I’ll also add that in December, the line started near the Pandora bridge.


Here's a sample of morning lines I have seen during my trips since WDW reopened last July.  The lines are physically long but tend to move quickly.  Lines also tend to shrink in length in the afternoon.

Still, I suspect Disney plans to increase theme park capacity soon, so who knows what will happen to lines and wait times.

*Slinky Dog Dash*:


*Flights of Passage*:


*Frozen Ever After:*


*Seven Dwarves Mine Train*:


----------



## GADisneyDad14

Makmak said:


> Wasn’t there a “map” posted in this thread awhile back? Like somebody made a map then drew on it where the lines are snaked so you can get a better idea? Does anyone know what I’m talking about or maybe it was a different thread.....



I personally think this level of detail/analysis is a little overkill and line length can obviously be highly variable at any moment in time (and it’s just not that hard to figure things out when there anyway), but Disney Food Blog recently did a series of posts where the added that detail to Disney’s maps - that may be what you are thinking about: 

MK - https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/03/20/the-magic-kingdom-map-that-disney-wont-print/

Epcot - https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/03/23/the-only-map-you-need-to-conquer-epcot/

DHS - https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/03/28/we-just-made-hollywood-studios-10x-easier-to-navigate/

DAK - https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021...ow-but-we-have-a-way-to-fix-that/#more-471700

Hope that helps!


----------



## pixiedust2u

Nabas said:


> Here's a sample of morning lines I have seen during my trips since WDW reopened last July.  The lines are physically long but tend to move quickly.  Lines also tend to shrink in length in the afternoon.
> 
> Still, I suspect Disney plans to increase theme park capacity soon, so who knows what will happen to lines and wait times.
> 
> *Slinky Dog Dash*:
> View attachment 572103
> 
> *Flights of Passage*:
> View attachment 572104
> 
> *Frozen Ever After:*
> View attachment 572105
> 
> *Seven Dwarves Mine Train*:
> View attachment 572106


Thank you for this. How do you find where the line starts? Some of the “starting points” for the line seem so far from the attraction. I’m afraid I’ll be even further behind because I’ll be walking in circles looking for where the line starts.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

pixiedust2u said:


> Thank you for this. How do you find where the line starts? Some of the “starting points” for the line seem so far from the attraction. I’m afraid I’ll be even further behind because I’ll be walking in circles looking for where the line starts.


They have CMs stationed with “end of line here” signs.  It’s pretty easy to just follow the people until you see the sign but if you’re in doubt at all just ask a CM and they’ll point you in the right direction.


----------



## Nabas

pixiedust2u said:


> Thank you for this. How do you find where the line starts? Some of the “starting points” for the line seem so far from the attraction. I’m afraid I’ll be even further behind because I’ll be walking in circles looking for where the line starts.


In the morning, there were Cast Members directing us to the end of these long lines.


----------



## mamaofsix

MickeyFan19 said:


> For those that have park hopped, how was transportation from park to park? From reading people's strategies, I've confirmed my plan to get up early, RD, return to POP for break and head to another park late afternoon. But just in case something changes, I wanted to know how did you find transportation from one park to another?


Just watched an allears vlog where they compared types of transportation between the parks.  Between HS and EP, walking turned out to be the fastest (about 15 minutes).  Boats were next (18 minutes), followed by buses (30 minutes).  Skyliner was the worst time both at RD and throughout the day - 45-60 minutes between EP and HS due to the long waits at Caribbean Beach.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

mamaofsix said:


> Just watched an allears vlog where they compared types of transportation between the parks.  Between HS and EP, walking turned out to be the fastest (about 15 minutes).  Boats were next (18 minutes), followed by buses (30 minutes).  Skyliner was the worst time both at RD and throughout the day - 45-60 minutes between EP and HS due to the long waits at Caribbean Beach.


The skyliner part surprises me.  We often hopped midday between DHS and Epcot and never experienced anything close to 45-60 minutes.  And that was over spring break.


----------



## mamaofsix

ENJDisneyFan said:


> The skyliner part surprises me.  We often hopped midday between DHS and Epcot and never experienced anything close to 45-60 minutes.  And that was over spring break.


I was surprised by that, too.  It was filmed this past week.  They showed the lines at Caribbean Beach and they were enormous.


----------



## coolbrook

pixiedust2u said:


> Thank you for this. How do you find where the line starts? Some of the “starting points” for the line seem so far from the attraction. I’m afraid I’ll be even further behind because I’ll be walking in circles looking for where the line starts.


If you approach the line from the direction you will be walking once you are in the line (except for rope drop) you will come upon the end of the line before the actual ride entrance.  For example, I would approach Expedition Everest from Dino Land since I have usually seen the line start around the Nemo theater rather than coming from the Yak and Yeti area.  For those of us for whom walking is a bit difficult (I use a rollator in the parks) saving these extra steps can make a difference. I appreciate those detailed maps.


----------



## Makmak

For people there now: Are the splash pads at Epcot turned on? (The little areas where the kids play)? I’m guessing Disney won’t have them on but wondering because we saw them running at universal and I need to know if I should bring “backup clothes” for the kid on Epcot day (we can’t resist a fountain haha).


----------



## Nabas

ENJDisneyFan said:


> The skyliner part surprises me.  We often hopped midday between DHS and Epcot and never experienced anything close to 45-60 minutes.  And that was over spring break.


The Skyliner nearly always has short lines midday.

But the lines are especially long for theme park opening.

They are pretty long for park closing too.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

mamaofsix said:


> I was surprised by that, too.  It was filmed this past week.  They showed the lines at Caribbean Beach and they were enormous.


Was this for rope drop?


----------



## Figaroo

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Was this for rope drop?


I also watched that video. They did it at rope drop and then again later in the day around 10:30. Skylines line was pretty much the same both times.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Figaroo said:


> I also watched that video. They did it at rope drop and then again later in the day around 10:30. Skylines line was pretty much the same both times.


Please take into consideration the 10:30 is still prime time for those going to Epcot for 11AM opening.  The majority of guests are not aware that the parks open 45 mins before scheduled opening.


----------



## lovethattink

Makmak said:


> For people there now: Are the splash pads at Epcot turned on? (The little areas where the kids play)? I’m guessing Disney won’t have them on but wondering because we saw them running at universal and I need to know if I should bring “backup clothes” for the kid on Epcot day (we can’t resist a fountain haha).



No they are not.


----------



## 720L

From GF to Epcot for opening: bus or drive your own car?


----------



## Nabas

720L said:


> From GF to Epcot for opening: bus or drive your own car?


Car is nearly always faster.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

720L said:


> From GF to Epcot for opening: bus or drive your own car?


I would take the bus.  The parking lots have been opening later and it seems people arriving by Disney transportation get in earlier.  Also I like to have a few drinks at Epcot, so don’t like to drive


----------



## Cliffside

Makmak said:


> For people there now: Are the splash pads at Epcot turned on? (The little areas where the kids play)? I’m guessing Disney won’t have them on but wondering because we saw them running at universal and I need to know if I should bring “backup clothes” for the kid on Epcot day (we can’t resist a fountain haha).


I was there from 4/21-4/29 ..the splash pads were not on.


----------



## GBRforWDW

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I would take the bus.  The parking lots have been opening later and it seems people arriving by Disney transportation get in earlier.  Also I like to have a few drinks at Epcot, so don’t like to drive


While true, you're probably only getting 2 buses per resort to the park before cars are let in, so if you're not among the first 20 groups or so lined up for the bus, car will most likely be faster. If you have people who need extra time getting ready in the morning, car would be best plan.


----------



## Sarahslay

GBRforWDW said:


> While true, you're probably only getting 2 buses per resort to the park before cars are let in, so if you're not among the first 20 groups or so lined up for the bus, car will most likely be faster. If you have people who need extra time getting ready in the morning, car would be best plan.


You'd be surprised how many buses of people leave each resort well before opening. I've left for a park around 7:30 for a 9am opening and not even been on the first bus, and they come pretty frequently in the morning. Usually when we got in the park the lots weren't even open yet. We thought about driving several times, but soon realized that it would never allow us to get as many rides in.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Okay. It so it seems her big holdup was the CRB transfer.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Nabas said:


> Here's a sample of morning lines I have seen during my trips since WDW reopened last July.  The lines are physically long but tend to move quickly.  Lines also tend to shrink in length in the afternoon.
> 
> Still, I suspect Disney plans to increase theme park capacity soon, so who knows what will happen to lines and wait times.
> 
> *Slinky Dog Dash*:
> View attachment 572103
> 
> *Flights of Passage*:
> View attachment 572104
> 
> *Frozen Ever After:*
> View attachment 572105
> 
> *Seven Dwarves Mine Train*:
> View attachment 572106


These are helpful. Pretty sure Frozen winds into China now rather than across the walkways into Germany. Maybe it changes based on the day.


----------



## lovethattink

hereforthechurros said:


> These are helpful. Pretty sure Frozen winds into China now rather than across the walkways into Germany. Maybe it changes based on the day.



Yes, you are correct. Through China unless it changed very recently.

Heading to Epcot today. I’ll try to remember to look if I pass there and the splash pads.


----------



## mamaofsix

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Was this for rope drop?


They tested it out both at rope drop (8am for a 9am HS opening) and later in the day.  Huge lines both times.


----------



## Fangorn

Took the Skyliner from DHS to Epcot yesterday at about 2ish (prime hopping time). Absolutely no wait at either DHS or CB stations. Literally walked on at both places. Took Skyliner back to Riviera about 5ish. Again, walked on to a gondola. 

Steve


----------



## Nabas

hereforthechurros said:


> These are helpful. Pretty sure Frozen winds into China now rather than across the walkways into Germany. Maybe it changes based on the day.


I’ve seen the Frozen line wind into China and then to the Outpost.


----------



## MNDisneyMommy

When we were there 17-24 we took the Skyliner for a ride after lunch (around 1-2 perhaps?) from HS through to Epcot and then back on the 19th.  No lines anywhere, it was a walk on.  (and a nice break!).  You have to get off and transfer at CB, but you can stay in your cab through Riveria.  There was a lot of "backstage" visible, but it was a nice cool break.

For rope dropping... we had a car, but yes - if you're staying on property bus is definitely the way to go.  The morning we drove to HS for rope drop we were frustrated by so many lines and gates and slow cars for parking and etc.  Bus was so much easier, faster, we were closer, etc.  We rode the bus for every rope drop, and after our afternoon break we drove to the parks.  It was much easier that way.

Also FWIW... we just finished some COVID tests and we came back negative.  Yay!


----------



## ajgardner

Just arrived home midnight last night. I will give my ”trip report“ but I do know we do Disney a little differently than most. We do not rope drop and we most always have a rental car. We usually get PH but did not for this trip.

Friday 4/23: Arrival at MCO. Based on what I had read I was expecting bare faces and noses everywhere with no regard to Covid, and had prep my family for such. I saw a total of 2 noses from getting off the plane to getting into our rental car - mask compliance was great in my opinion. It was crowded, especially at baggage claim, but I feel people were trying to be as mindful as possible in a crowded situation. Car rental lines were crazy long and we were so glad my husband had Avis Preferred where he could walk directly to the car without going to the desk. Highly recommend getting a service like this if you are renting - the lines to the desk looked to be easily 1 hour waits.

Friday 4/23-Monday 4/26: Visiting family in The Villages

Mon 4/26: Checked into our hotel at Gran Destino at 3:30. The app didn’t show a room number so we went to the desk and were given a room right away. Unpacked and then headed to Disney Springs. Disney Springs 4:30-7:00pm. Again, I was expecting to see a lot of naked faces/noses but most everyone I saw was complying (a nose here and there and a few pull downs to sip a drink while walking, but nothing blatantly horrible. Yes, it’s busy, but being a Monday evening not terrible. Ate dinner at Homecoming and then headed to Magic Kingdom.  We had 90 minutes at MK and knocked out Space Mountain, 7D Mine Train, BTM, and PoC.  We felt successful.

Tue 4/27: Epcot day. Had breakfast a Whispering Canyon and entered Epcot just about 11am. This was a long day with a lot of steps! We did Soarin, Living with the Land, Seas with Nemo and Test Track then headed to World Showcase - walked around the circle starting in Mexico. We stopped for a bunch of snacks on this route (my daughter had a long list If ones to try!). The ride lines were too long so we skipped them in the afternoon in hopes they’d be less in the evening. Back to Future World and did Spaceship Earth, Mission Space and Figment. We used Touring Plans lines times which were all accurate within a couple minutes (and all under the listed times. Sorry, I did not specifically record the posted vs actual). Headed to Germany for our Biergarten ADR, then let our teens shop in Japan. Our plan was to try and get on Frozen and Gran Fiesta on our way out, Frozen was offline so we stood there trying to decide whether to wait or leave and while trying to decide it opened up and we were within the first 5 families to get in line.  Gran Fiesta was a long line with a 20 minute TP wait listed, it was 9pm and we were exhausted so called the day a success and headed back to the hotel. We once again felt made compliance was perfectly acceptable. Did some people pull them down to wipe their sweaty face? Yes.  Did some people take a drink while walking and put it back up? Yes.  But we saw very little to none of people just disregarding the mask policy and doing whatever they wanted. As for social distancing - there’s very little of it. 

Wed 4/28: Magic Kingdom Day (sort of). This ended up being our most frustrating and least productive day. My daughter had a college final exam presentation so we did not get to the park until 2:15pm. It was very hot and very crowded. All lines seemed to be long all day into the evening so we got little done. Hit SM, CoP, Buzz Lightyear Spin, JC, BTM, SM.  I was hoping to get on Peoplemover, Small World, Haunted Mansion (went offline while we were in line and never got back to it) and Mickeys Philharmagic (waited 20 minutes and was last family to get cut off for the next show, we had an ADR and couldn’t wait for next show). This felt the most crowded/busiest day for us - social distancing was non existent even if you wanted to try. Masks seemed fine.

Thu 4/29: Animal Kingdom Day.  Arrived at the park around 10:45. Other than the heat (mid 90s) and our River Rapids experience it was a perfect day.  We did all the rides, some twice (and in the situation of EE, 6 times). FoP was our first time and it was amazing- our favorite of the trip (son and husband are both Big and Tall so it was a little worrisome they wouldn’t fit, but they did - barely- phew!) We have never done the rapid ride and it was so hot we decided a little wet would feel good - we had been told it wasn’t too bad as far as wetness since the water guns weren’t in use...that was not true. We got drenched. I mean, soaking wet hair, clothes completely dripping wet - my Daughter’s dress was damp 3 hours later. Not at all what we expected and looking at others getting off, I do not know why we were one of the only ones that this happened to. (Maybe it was because of our 2 Big & Tall guys?). We did the safari at 6:45 and animals were everywhere eating, it was great. Our Yak & Yeti  ADR was at 7:30 and this ended the day.

Fri 4/30: Hollywood Studios Day. Got up early and secured BG 19, but we still didn’t get to the park until 10:30. Headed straight to RoR. We enjoyed the ride very much but later found out there was an entire pre show piece that they cut out from our ride. Oh well, next time. This was the hottest day so far and it was hard to find shade anywhere. We thought mask compliance was good despite the heat. There was more lifting of masks to get air than past days, but no big deal. Overall, people were decently respectful of policy in my opinion. We hit all the rides we wanted, some twice. We wanted ToT a second time but it was too long a line and too hot for a second run.

Sat 5/1: Departure Day. Checked out of hotel, had late breakfast and then went to a place called Amazing Animals (private animal sanctuary preserve 30 minutes away). Our flight wasn’t until 7:45pm so went to Disney Springs at 2:30pm to spend some time...however it was nearly 100 degrees and we weren’t enjoying anything. Too many lines to get into stores. We ducked into City Works for cold drinks and snack then headed to the airport early.  Still found MCO mask compliance to be good, but social distancing doesn’t exist. Crazy crowded, and even getting there 3 hours early, by the time we returned our car, got into the airport, checked our bags, got through security and got to our gate, we weren’t really waiting very long to board (50 minutes maybe...perfect for using bathroom, having snack and relaxing).


----------



## ajgardner

Overall Takeaways:
- If you are planning a trip thinking 35% capacity means you can social distance and you are relying on this, you may want to rethink your trip. It’s busy and it’s crowded. There are areas where social distancing isn’t possible. Lines for rides are more often than not socially distanced even though the markers are there. Some lines were better than others.  It felt like people were being semi mindful but not overly mindful like months ago. Also, many times the walking in line was going so fast and then it’d stop abruptly that people ended up getting stopped too close together. if socially distancing is very important to you, you may be disappointed if you come now.
- We felt mask compliance was good. At no point were we in disbelief of any outright disrespect of it. Was there a nose here and there? Sure - I saw maybe a few every hour.  Did people take sips of their drink while walking (and then put mask back up)? Yes ,again here and there, not everywhere you look.  Did people pull them down in line to wipe sweat from their face and breathe for 3 seconds? Occasionally.  If 100% compliance is what you’re looking for, you won’t find it and it’ll get worse as more get vaccinated and the summer heat builds. If mostly compliant is ok with you, then you’ll be ok.
- We felt distancing in restaurants where we had ADRs was very nice and we were completely comfortable.  Most restaurants said we could remove face covering once seated, Ogas was the only place that asked for us to wait until drinks were served. 

I feel like many of these reviews are biased based on your tolerance and concern levels. I went there thinking I was going to see a lot of non-compliance and ended up not seeing anything worse than at my local grocery store (just more crowded).  At no point did my family feel unsafe or that others were being outright disrespectful of policy.  I was surprised at how crowded things felt in certain areas but it was just by passing people and we are ok with that. In lines, even though people aren’t usually spread apart as far as the markers are placed, we were never smooshed next to people - there was still a bit of space.


----------



## luv2cheer92

mamaofsix said:


> They tested it out both at rope drop (8am for a 9am HS opening) and later in the day.  Huge lines both times.


Someone above said the second time was done around 10:30, which would be around rope drop/opening time of Epcot. I would expect huge lines then.


----------



## llij

Elle23 said:


> I have never seen so many clueless people as I did on our trip. We were standing outside of Docking Bay 7 waiting for our mobile order time. A woman walked up to a CM and asked where the line was. The CM told her she needed a mobile order. After helping the woman locate the app and walking through the whole process with her, the lady finally said “Wait, I don’t want to order food. I want to get in line for MFSR!”
> 
> This was one example of many I witnessed throughout the week!


 The craziest I ever witnessed was at Epcot waiting in line to badge into the park and a woman asked me if this was the entrance to Magic Kingdom.  I thought that she was joking but she was serious.  To this day, I wonder how she got as far as she did and didn't realize she was at Epcot and not MK!


----------



## Princess Katelet

ajgardner said:


> Overall Takeaways:
> - If you are planning a trip thinking 35% capacity means you can social distance and you are relying on this, you may want to rethink your trip. It’s busy and it’s crowded. There are areas where social distancing isn’t possible. Lines for rides are more often than not socially distanced even though the markers are there. Some lines were better than others.  It felt like people were being semi mindful but not overly mindful like months ago. Also, many times the walking in line was going so fast and then it’d stop abruptly that people ended up getting stopped too close together. if socially distancing is very important to you, you may be disappointed if you come now.
> - We felt mask compliance was good. At no point were we in disbelief of any outright disrespect of it. Was there a nose here and there? Sure - I saw maybe a few every hour.  Did people take sips of their drink while walking (and then put mask back up)? Yes ,again here and there, not everywhere you look.  Did people pull them down in line to wipe sweat from their face and breathe for 3 seconds? Occasionally.  If 100% compliance is what you’re looking for, you won’t find it and it’ll get worse as more get vaccinated and the summer heat builds. If mostly compliant is ok with you, then you’ll be ok.
> - We felt distancing in restaurants where we had ADRs was very nice and we were completely comfortable.  Most restaurants said we could remove face covering once seated, Ogas was the only place that asked for us to wait until drinks were served.
> 
> I feel like many of these reviews are biased based on your tolerance and concern levels. I went there thinking I was going to see a lot of non-compliance and ended up not seeing anything worse than at my local grocery store (just more crowded).  At no point did my family feel unsafe or that others were being outright disrespectful of policy.  I was surprised at how crowded things felt in certain areas but it was just by passing people and we are ok with that. In lines, even though people aren’t usually spread apart as far as the markers are placed, we were never smooshed next to people - there was still a bit of space.


I live in NY so I’m not used to people in stores or other places not fully masked. Distancing is good here, too. Sounds like this will be a shock for me. I’m not thrilled because even in full health periods WHO wants to be so close to sweaty strangers for thirty minutes to an hour??  EWWW!

I go next week and am prepared for the worst. I’m going to TRY to be double masked as I am here at home but I’m sure the heat and sweat will force me to just use one mask. I have a sunbrella for the blazing sun AND to help keep people away from me. I don’t like that Disney HAS these rules and doesn’t enforce them. That’s silly and wimpy.
One thing I’m really worried about is walking forever to find the end of the lines. I’ve seen the maps of extended lines and I just don’t know the parks well enough for them to help me. I think it will be frustrating to hunt for them and to walk all those extra steps in the heat.
I really miss Disney of 1999…


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## ajgardner

Princess Katelet said:


> I live in NY so I’m not used to people in stores or other places not fully masked. Distancing is good here, too. Sounds like this will be a shock for me. I’m not thrilled because even in full health periods WHO wants to be so close to sweaty strangers for thirty minutes to an hour??  EWWW!
> 
> I go next week and am prepared for the worst. I’m going to TRY to be double masked as I am here at home but I’m sure the heat and sweat will force me to just use one mask. I have a sunbrella for the blazing sun AND to help keep people away from me. I don’t like that Disney HAS these rules and doesn’t enforce them. That’s silly and wimpy.
> One thing I’m really worried about is walking forever to find the end of the lines. I’ve seen the maps of extended lines and I just don’t know the parks well enough for them to help me. I think it will be frustrating to hunt for them and to walk all those extra steps in the heat.
> I really miss Disney of 1999…


I honestly did not feel the mask compliance was an issue or shocker. The crowds were were a bit alarming but our comfort level was ok with it after our initial “wow, that’s a lot of people all together.”  While the lines didn’t typically keep the 6 foot markers between groups, they also were not as compacted together as any of our previous trips.  I honestly can say after several 90+ degree days, theres no way we will be back until masks are gone or only required indoors Or if it’s January and heat is not an issue. As for finding the line ending point, we did not really run into any instance of hunting them down, they were just there in most cases. A couple occasions we had to slightly back track , but usually you can see people standing in a line and there’s someone standing there with a sign saying what it is.  I think you will not find it as bad as it sounds.


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## ajgardner

Also, be prepared for people that are unsure of how things are working right now -
We were already having a frustrating day at Magic Kingdom (heat, plus late start, plus crowds) and mobile ordered a Dole whip. It took 25 minutes before they called us for our order to be ready after we clicked “we are here”.  We went to get in line and it was about 16 parties deep and a chaotic mess.  I noticed the group in front of us hadn’t even ordered yet but was standing in the line 2 pick up line, so I started going down the line asking if they had been called back yet and they were all just standing there thinking about ordering or hadn’t been called back yet. By the time I got done skipping down the line there were only 2 actual parties that were ahead of us - glad I started asking and skipped in front of those who weren’t ready for pickup, otherwise I may still be waiting for my dole whip!


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## ellbell

Princess Katelet said:


> I live in NY so I’m not used to people in stores or other places not fully masked. Distancing is good here, too. Sounds like this will be a shock for me. I’m not thrilled because even in full health periods WHO wants to be so close to sweaty strangers for thirty minutes to an hour??  EWWW!
> 
> I go next week and am prepared for the worst. I’m going to TRY to be double masked as I am here at home but I’m sure the heat and sweat will force me to just use one mask. I have a sunbrella for the blazing sun AND to help keep people away from me. I don’t like that Disney HAS these rules and doesn’t enforce them. That’s silly and wimpy.
> One thing I’m really worried about is walking forever to find the end of the lines. I’ve seen the maps of extended lines and I just don’t know the parks well enough for them to help me. I think it will be frustrating to hunt for them and to walk all those extra steps in the heat.
> I really miss Disney of 1999…


Watch a few live streams on Youtube.  I find they are a good representation of what you will be seeing because it's not edited. Then you can decide how comfortable you are with what is currently happening in the parks.


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## Wood Nymph

720L said:


> From GF to Epcot for opening: bus or drive your own car?


I would drive. We have had very long waits for the Epcot bus to and from GF.


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## sdeut

ellbell said:


> Watch a few live streams on Youtube.  I find they are a good representation of what you will be seeing because it's not edited. Then you can decide how comfortable you are with what is currently happening in the parks.


Yep this is what I did.  I saw maybe 10 mask compliance issues from the entrance of the park all the way back to splash and 2 or 3 were taking a drink or wiping their face so they looked to be pulling it down quickly.  I did see 2 that were told to put their masks back up.  I am a teacher in state that requires masks and it didn’t seem much different than the hallways at my school.  I have to tell 1 or 2 kids every day to cover their nose.   I am vaccinated but my kids are not yet.  We plan to keep them between us in line to keep others away from them.


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## sophy1996

I have been pretty happy with the parks thus far (this is day 3 of our trip). Most people have been leaving space in the lines.  Maybe not precisely six feet, but still plenty of space.


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## scrappinginontario

Please do not ask people if they are vaccinated.  If they choose to share this they may but please do not ask.

Thank you.


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## lovethattink

I spent the afternoon at Epcot! It was soooo hot. 91 degrees. I really minded the heat today, and I’m a local.

Last night I scored an ADR for Beaches and Cream!! The walk from Epcot parking, thru Epcot, and out to the Beach Club was scorching!! We stopped once on a shaded bench for the cavalcade of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto.

In my opinion the world showcase was not very busy. Most food stands had a queue of one or two parties or empty. Which was surprising.

Lunch at Beaches and Cream was great! It’s been years since we ate there and loved the refurbished look, was our first time seeing it.

Saw the B&B singalong.

We watched Mariachi Cobre and Voices of Liberty.

I started feeling dehydrated and overheated. So we called it a day after Voices of Liberty. Made several stops to sit in the shade and drink.

The queue for Frozen wasn’t as long as it had been on previous visits. It extended out through China, but not further.

The splash fountains were still not operating.

Even on this not very busy day it was impossible to social distance at all times while walking World Showcase.

Our meal at Beaches and Cream was the first we ate indoor at a table service. Ketchup was in packets.

And Disney has switched from Simply Heinz which doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup to Red Gold Ketchup with a cause, which does.


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## EPCOT-O.G.

lovethattink said:


> .
> 
> And Disney has switched from Simply Heinz which doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup to Red Gold Ketchup with a cause, which does.


Huh. Well this is unfortunate. I’m dating myself but one of the few sour memories I had of visiting WDW in the late 80’s / early 90’s was that they had Hunt’s ketchup (which I think is awful) instead of Heinz. Sad to see they moved away from the gold standard.


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## lovethattink

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Huh. Well this is unfortunate. I’m dating myself but one of the few sour memories I had of visiting WDW in the late 80’s / early 90’s was that they had Hunt’s ketchup (which I think is awful) instead of Heinz. Sad to see they moved away from the gold standard.



My son has to limit his high fructose intake. But he said it tasted more similar to Heinz than Hunts.


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## ellbell

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Huh. Well this is unfortunate. I’m dating myself but one of the few sour memories I had of visiting WDW in the late 80’s / early 90’s was that they had Hunt’s ketchup (which I think is awful) instead of Heinz. Sad to see they moved away from the gold standard.


It's most likely due to the ketchup shortage so they are taking what they can get.


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## LiamsDISMom

Anyone have a suggestion for Sun umbrellas you suggest? Both for Sun and heat, but distance too. Needs to be from Amazon 2 day shipping.


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## DisneyFive

LiamsDISMom said:


> Anyone have a suggestion for Sun umbrellas you suggest? Both for Sun and heat, but distance too. Needs to be from Amazon 2 day shipping.



Really, any of the little portable spring loaded pop-out ones do good for shade, rain and distancing if necessary.  I wouldn't recommend dark colors just because the sun will make the fabric hotter somewhat defeating the purpose of the shade.  Nothing clear or semi clear either, just so you have a nice shading.

Dan


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## Princess Katelet

LiamsDISMom said:


> Anyone have a suggestion for Sun umbrellas you suggest? Both for Sun and heat, but distance too. Needs to be from Amazon 2 day shipping.


I got the Shinok brand off Amazon. They open and close easily, but pushing the ‘stem’ down after it closes takes some strength. I’m hoping it will get easier with use. It’s hard to get the Velcro strap around all the fabric once it’s closed and you’ll never get it back in its case, but it DOES block the sun. I even shone my iPhone flashlight down through it and I could not see it at all. I also took a walk in the sun and was completely in shade. The wrist strap is a nice size.

The FDJASGY brand looked nice with a much easier/bigger case, but it was a bit pricier and not many color options. I chose light pink and light green in the Shinok cause I figured the sun would reflect better off lighter colors. Green arrived in two days, pink took a week.

I would avoid ones that have just a tiny knob at the bottom as it seems like it would be hard to carry for hours. I wanted a full handle to grip.

Also regular umbrellas will help, but they aren’t made of anti UV material and you won’t have complete shade. I imagine you’ll feel hotter underneath them, too.


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## elittleton

ajgardner said:


> We have never done the rapid ride and it was so hot we decided a little wet would feel good - we had been told it wasn’t too bad as far as wetness since the water guns weren’t in use...that was not true. We got drenched. I mean, soaking wet hair, clothes completely dripping wet - my Daughter’s dress was damp 3 hours later. Not at all what we expected and looking at others getting off, I do not know why we were one of the only ones that this happened to. (Maybe it was because of our 2 Big & Tall guys?).
> 
> Sat 5/1: Departure Day. Checked out of hotel, had late breakfast and then went to a place called Amazing Animals (private animal sanctuary preserve 30 minutes away).


This happens to my DD and myself on rapid ride.  We were between the 2 largest on the ride so we went over every rapid first and got hit by every wave.  We were dripping wet.

How was the animal sanctuary?  I think my DD would love it on one of our free days.


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## Wood Nymph

lovethattink said:


> In my opinion the world showcase was not very busy. Most food stands had a queue of one or two parties or empty. Which was surprising.


We were in the world showcase today, too, and agree that it wasn't very busy. We even got a table in the shade near the Northern Bloom booth. We were surprised at the low wait times for many of the rides around 4:30.


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## ajgardner

elittleton said:


> This happens to my DD and myself on rapid ride.  We were between the 2 largest on the ride so we went over every rapid first and got hit by every wave.  We were dripping wet.
> 
> How was the animal sanctuary?  I think my DD would love it on one of our free days.


We enjoyed the animal sanctuary - Amazing Animals in St Cloud. It is small, but the couple that owns it are very passionate about the animals and educating people about them. They book private tours so it’s just your family and they take you to each animal telling you about them and if it’s safe they allow you to hold, pet, and/or feed them (held a large python, pet and fed a capybara, pet and fed a couple sloths). It was small and the private tour was about 1.5 hours,  It was something different and interesting.


----------



## limace

DHS today-a bit of a frustrating morning as we had ticket and magic band issues that ate into a bunch of our “45 minute early” time. We did TOwer before park opening and that was a blast-I’d gotten a last minute ADR for Oga’s via touring plans for 9:15 which I quickly regretted but couldn’t find an open date to most fit too. DH and I let kids got so RNRC and we did the cantina and it was such a good choice. 3 drinks shared by 10 am-we arrived from west coast yesterday so this was 7 am for us. But DH loooooved it and it definitely turned our moods around. We loved ROTR and MMRR-and enjoyed being in the park at the end of the day with it almost empty. Great lunch at 50s, too!

Epcot tomorrow. DH really wants to check out Riviera and ride skyliner-would it make sense to Uber to RIV and ride the skyline?


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## Haley R

LiamsDISMom said:


> Anyone have a suggestion for Sun umbrellas you suggest? Both for Sun and heat, but distance too. Needs to be from Amazon 2 day shipping.


We just ordered this one for our trip: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003H1HXN...abc_EPFCXN1DARTK0Z1S0RV7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


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## wdwrule

LiamsDISMom said:


> Anyone have a suggestion for Sun umbrellas you suggest? Both for Sun and heat, but distance too. Needs to be from Amazon 2 day shipping.


Here’s the one I recently bought and used a few weeks ago that I mentioned earlier...

https://www.amazon.com/Orgen-Umbrel...+umbrella+travel+yellow&qid=1620007215&sr=8-3


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## cpc98

What happened with Expedition Everest yesterday? Was down 6 hours… hope it’s nothing major! I’m going later this week


----------



## Becky Mouse

William B said:


> Here now and loving it! Flew in yesterday. Flights were fine albeit of course delayed. We had a driver meet us from TiffanyTowncars. Very professional, very helpful. One of those drivers that could answer anything but did not force conversation. Really recommend their service.
> 
> We went to MK yesterday after we got settled at the swan. Crowded but not crazy so. If you need 100% compliance with masks and social distancing this is not the time or place. Masks were pretty good overall. Social distancing has left the park. We don't really care as we are fine and enjoy chatting but could definitely see some people that were making comment and getting agitated because people wouldn't stay on the appropriate line.
> 
> Most of the lines seemed to be 10-15 minutes less than posted. HM and BTMRR were both walk-ons even though they were posted at 20 and 30 minutes. I did find the times posted by the touring plans app to undershoot the wait by about 5. So we started splitting the difference and were generally good.
> 
> Today is HS. Got up psyched myself up and these fat, over-forty fingers scored boarding group 7!!!  So incredibly excited. Honestly this ride is the reason we came . . . well, that and celebrating our fifth anniversary. Finishing up to walk over from the swan and feeling some wonderful magic!



Thanks for the trip report! I'm disappointed to hear again and again that social distancing isn't enforced in the queues. For popular rides, I feel like people might be standing in line for 30-40 minutes next to other people. If you're ever next to a contagious person, that's a lot of exposure time.

Thanks to those of you who shared the tip on the portable UV umbrellas. I like the idea of opening them up in the queues to get some shade, with the added bonus that people can't get as close. I'm going to try that and see if that helps. Although I'm vaccinated, my kiddo isn't. I don't want her Disney souvenir to be COVID-19.


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## JoJoGirl

Here now!  First bus from YC to MK arrived promptly at 6:45, got held until 7:00 at MK bus stop. That was good enough to put me 17th back from the entrance tapstyles at rope drop. In line for SDMT now. They are running empty trains so hope they start soon!


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## Best Aunt

Princess Katelet said:


> I got the Shinok brand off Amazon. They open and close easily, but pushing the ‘stem’ down after it closes takes some strength. I’m hoping it will get easier with use.



Regarding umbrellas - the automatic compact umbrella that I use in the rain is like this.  It's really difficult to get the stem down after you close the umbrella.  

After I close the umbrella to enter a building, I bend down and push the umbrella into the sidewalk to get the stem down.  It probably looks weird to people watching me, but that is the easiest way I have found to get the stem down after closing the umbrella.


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## pixiedust2u

Do they allow strollers in the long lines that extend past normal waiting area? Normally we stroller park then hop in line. But I’m thinking my kids might do better in longer waits if in the stroller for a period of time in longer lines.


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## evilqueenmindy

I went to MK yesterday.  My first trip back to the parks since last feb.  I am fully vaccinated, so it felt like a good time to get back, if just for an afternoon.
Started with lunch at The Wave, the Tables are nicely distanced, I felt pretty comfortable.  You were allowed to take off your mask upon being seated.
walked to MK, no wait at the temperature tent or the entrance gate.  It was HOT yesterday but breezy.
I found wait times pretty consistently 10-15 min under what the app reported, I rode Haunted mansion, Peter Pan, little mermaid, pirates and buzz light year.  I had intended to also do people mover, but it was stopped both times I was in the area, so I skipped it.
I found mask compliance to be really good, especially considering how hot it was.  I mobile ordered for aloha aisle before I got in the park for 3:30 and it worked really well.  Finding a spot to be stationary to eat your dole whip is a bit of a challenge, but you can find a spot in Frontierland.
Social distancing was a little tricky, there’s a couple choke points in the parks, particularly by fantasyland/liberty square where it’s hard to stay away from people, but if you speed thru its okay.  For the most part, the walkways were pretty clear.  The lines were fine in practice, but the execution wasn’t great.  I don’t know why standing on or near a sticker on the floor is so hard, but people really are not getting it.  I had a few families riiiiiiight behind me.  you can’t control the people behind you, but you at least can control the space in front of you.
The worst social distancing I found was in the stores, I was in the emporium, and it was pretty packed.
I didn’t use any Disney transportation, and my interaction with CM’s was limited, but overall it was a pretty nice day.  I would suggest using disposable face masks, I used a cloth one that I use for the grocery store, and found it pretty oppressive after about 5 minutes.  It’s also difficult to stay hydrated and comply with the mask.  I typically finish a liter of water in an afternoon at Disney, I got through maybe half my bottle this time.  I didnt make use of the rest zone, but if I had spent a whole day in the park, I probably would have.


----------



## lovethattink

Becky Mouse said:


> Thanks for the trip report! I'm disappointed to hear again and again that social distancing isn't enforced in the queues. For popular rides, I feel like people might be standing in line for 30-40 minutes next to other people. If you're ever next to a contagious person, that's a lot of exposure time.
> 
> Thanks to those of you who shared the tip on the portable UV umbrellas. I like the idea of opening them up in the queues to get some shade, with the added bonus that people can't get as close. I'm going to try that and see if that helps. Although I'm vaccinated, my kiddo isn't. I don't want her Disney souvenir to be COVID-19.



The lines are constantly moving. And much of the lines are outdoors. So you really aren’t next to the same people for long periods of time. You’ll be doing double the walking of past trips if distancing stays at 6 ft.




pixiedust2u said:


> Do they allow strollers in the long lines that extend past normal waiting area? Normally we stroller park then hop in line. But I’m thinking my kids might do better in longer waits if in the stroller for a period of time in longer lines.




Strollers are allowed until a certain point at most attractions. For example, 7DMT line snakes towards Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Strollers are allowed until you get closer to the standby entrance.


----------



## cindianne320

cpc98 said:


> What happened with Expedition Everest yesterday? Was down 6 hours… hope it’s nothing major! I’m going later this week



It's down again right now, too. Not sure why.


----------



## DonnaPeach

limace said:


> DHS today-a bit of a frustrating morning as we had ticket and magic band issues that ate into a bunch of our “45 minute early” time. We did TOwer before park opening and that was a blast-I’d gotten a last minute ADR for Oga’s via touring plans for 9:15 which I quickly regretted but couldn’t find an open date to most fit too. DH and I let kids got so RNRC and we did the cantina and it was such a good choice. 3 drinks shared by 10 am-we arrived from west coast yesterday so this was 7 am for us. But DH loooooved it and it definitely turned our moods around. We loved ROTR and MMRR-and enjoyed being in the park at the end of the day with it almost empty. Great lunch at 50s, too!
> 
> Epcot tomorrow. DH really wants to check out Riviera and ride skyliner-would it make sense to Uber to RIV and ride the skyline?



If you're going to Epcot, just walk out the back International Gateway, and the skyliner is there.  Ride it over to Rivieria, and then back to Epcot.


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## Aimeedyan

pixiedust2u said:


> Do they allow strollers in the long lines that extend past normal waiting area? Normally we stroller park then hop in line. But I’m thinking my kids might do better in longer waits if in the stroller for a period of time in longer lines.



This is one of the biggest issues we have with the extended lines (and makes us really miss FP!). Our toddler struggles in the lines without a stroller to chill in.

Some of the lines you can use it until you get close to the indoors queue. But some you cannot. For example, at MMRR, they made us park the stroller before joining the line and it is loooonng, winding, and in almost full sun. Previously, we could use the stroller for most of the outdoor part but last week could not. 

So the short answer - it depends.


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## PrincessV

LiamsDISMom said:


> Anyone have a suggestion for Sun umbrellas you suggest? Both for Sun and heat, but distance too. Needs to be from Amazon 2 day shipping.


Floridian here, and I use umbrellas year-round in and out of WDW... I just use a regular rain umbrella for both rain and sun. Nothing special, just something compact and lightweight.


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## VeronicaZS

limace said:


> DHS today-a bit of a frustrating morning as we had ticket and magic band issues that ate into a bunch of our “45 minute early” time. We did TOwer before park opening and that was a blast-I’d gotten a last minute ADR for Oga’s via touring plans for 9:15 which I quickly regretted but couldn’t find an open date to most fit too. DH and I let kids got so RNRC and we did the cantina and it was such a good choice. 3 drinks shared by 10 am-we arrived from west coast yesterday so this was 7 am for us. But DH loooooved it and it definitely turned our moods around. We loved ROTR and MMRR-and enjoyed being in the park at the end of the day with it almost empty. Great lunch at 50s, too!
> 
> Epcot tomorrow. DH really wants to check out Riviera and ride skyliner-would it make sense to Uber to RIV and ride the skyline?


If you want to ride the Skyliner from Epcot to the Riviera there is no need to Uber, just exit Epcot from the International Gateway. The skyliner is right there.


----------



## Shellyred8

Catvondita said:


> Can someone tell me what Disney Springs is like in the morning of a weekday? I really want one of those mickey ear coach bags but am apprehensive to go to Disney Springs since our daughter is unvaccinated. Wondering if I can just steal away for an hour to run and grab one but still would like to avoid a crowd if possible.


Best time to go!


----------



## CableKC

I'm sure that this question has come up before.....but any suggestions for any rain ponchos that you can easily pack into a backpack that isn't very expensive but not as flimsy as the grocery store plastic bags that you use to get your fruits and vegetables?

Last trip, I made the mistake of getting some really cheap rain ponchos at Target and they easily ripped and was torn by the 2nd time it rained.

I need to get 4 of them, so that means that I have to be able to easily fold and pack them into my backpack while taking up little space.

Any suggestions?


----------



## thornton0511

JoJoGirl said:


> Here now!  First bus from YC to MK arrived promptly at 6:45, got held until 7:00 at MK bus stop. That was good enough to put me 17th back from the entrance tapstyles at rope drop. In line for SDMT now. They are running empty trains so hope they start soon!


What time did you get to the bus stop this morning and how many parties were there by the time the first bus arrived?


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## scrappinginontario

limace said:


> Epcot tomorrow. DH really wants to check out Riviera and ride skyliner-would it make sense to Uber to RIV and ride the skyline?





VeronicaZS said:


> If you want to ride the Skyliner from Epcot to the Riviera there is no need to Uber, just exit Epcot from the International Gateway. The skyliner is right there.


I'm interpreting the OP's comment a little differently.

@limace, if you want to visit Riviera before Epcot opens, then yes, you may Uber there and visit the resort then take the Skyliner to Epcot.

If you want to visit Riviera after entering Epcot then it's as @VeronicaZS says.


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## Akck

We just got back from a 10 night stay at WDW and while  I’ve made some posts here during this stay, I thought I’d go ahead and give an overview of what we did.

Our original flights would’ve  gotten us in around midnight, so we booked a night at the airport Hyatt, figuring going to the resort would get us in at 2 am at the earliest. Our flights changed, but it was easier to keep our original plan. We did a split stay, 3 days each at CBR, RIV and BCV. One thing we learned is that if your room isn’t ready, talk to a CM in the lobby.  They will do their best to expedite your room if they know you’re physically present. 

On this trip, we had no plans to RD and got to the parks near the official opening times. We did RD MK one day. For the most part, actual ride wait times were shorter than posted wait times. I used TP Lines app for wait times and it was mostly accurate. I also used TP to determine our park reservations. While some have said the crowd calendar is garbage, there’s been almost a year’s worth of data under Covid and they’ve adjusted the models for it. We were able to get BGs for both our HS days using WiFi which was faster than data at the resorts. I recommend checking both just before 7.

As to crowds, AK was the only park that felt more crowded than when we were here in December. It could’ve been because it was our first park and we weren’t used to being in a crowd yet. The other parks seemed about the same or even slightly less crowded than in December. I’d also say wait times were generally less overall from December as we were able to ride what we wanted without RDing. Park hopping was not a problem as we PH to Epcot several evenings.

Restaurant tables are still spaced out and we felt comfortable eating indoors. We wore our masks while ordering until drinks came, just out of courtesy to our server. One new TS we tried was Spice Road Table. It’s a walk-in only TS, so you have to check in and they send you 2 texts. The menu is tapas. We loved the Spiced Shrimp, ordering a second one later. I also suggest ordering extra naan. 

Mask compliance was generally good, but I did see more noses poking out. There was more eating/drinking while walking and I did see one person at Epcot walking with no mask on or in hand and a couple at DS who put on masks at temperature check and I later saw them with no masks. CMs do request that masks be worn properly, but they can’t be everywhere. If a guest doesn’t want to wear one properly, they won’t and only do so when they see a CM.

As I’ve said earlier in this thread, socially distancing is going out by guest actions in queues. Too many people are looking at their phones not paying attention, moving when they see motion, but not stopping. There are announcements to keep apart and CMs will tell guests to be on the markers, but there are no CMs throughout the queues, leaving it to guests to socially distance themselves. That said, it didn’t overly bother us as most queues are outside or in well ventilated areas. Time in enclosed areas is limited and most times you’re just moving through them.

We’ve been to the parks 3 times and Universal once post-Covid and felt uncomfortable only once and that was dining offsite. Of the 3 times, I’d say this last one we felt the most relaxed and we do have future trips planned.


----------



## Akck

CableKC said:


> I'm sure that this question has come up before.....but any suggestions for any rain ponchos that you can easily pack into a backpack that isn't very expensive but not as flimsy as the grocery store plastic bags that you use to get your fruits and vegetables?
> 
> Last trip, I made the mistake of getting some really cheap rain ponchos at Target and they easily ripped and was torn by the 2nd time it rained.
> 
> I need to get 4 of them, so that means that I have to be able to easily fold and pack them into my backpack while taking up little space.
> 
> Any suggestions?



We got packable nylon ponchos. They cost more, but you don’t get so sweaty under them like a plastic one. That said, we no longer pack them. Instead, we use packable umbrellas. They are easy to pull out and deploy. I got one that reflects sunlight and offers shade. It was maybe 5-10 degrees cooler under it when standing outside in a queue.


----------



## lovethattink

Today Florida’s governor suspended all local Covid emergency orders. Please don’t post anything about it that isn’t Disney official because private businesses may still set their own standards. We ask for no guesses if there will be changes and only to post official Disney policy. Thank you, everyone!!


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

Akck said:


> We got packable nylon ponchos. They cost more, but you don’t get so sweaty under them like a plastic one. That said, we no longer pack them. Instead, we use packable umbrellas. They are easy to pull out and deploy. I got one that reflects sunlight and offers shade. It was maybe 5-10 degrees cooler under it when standing outside in a queue.


Can you tell me the brand of umbrella?


----------



## JoJoGirl

thornton0511 said:


> What time did you get to the bus stop this morning and how many parties were there by the time the first bus arrived?


I got there at 6:41 and there were 2-3 parties ahead of me.  There was room for all of us on the bus.


----------



## Akck

4Ds4Diz said:


> Can you tell me the brand of umbrella?



It was this one from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074ZVDLPP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


----------



## Wood Nymph

lovethattink said:


> Today Florida’s governor suspended all local Covid emergency orders. Please don’t post anything about it that isn’t Disney official because private businesses may still set their own standards. We ask for no guesses if there will be changes and only to post official Disney policy. Thank you, everyone!!


We are here now and just received a message from Disney saying that there were no changes to their Covid rules right now. We still need to wear masks. I am paraphrasing the notice, since I don't have it anymore.


----------



## Randy Miller

lovethattink said:


> Today Florida’s governor suspended all local Covid emergency orders. Please don’t post anything about it that isn’t Disney official because private businesses may still set their own standards. We ask for no guesses if there will be changes and only to post official Disney policy. Thank you, everyone!!


It only affects Government  orders anyway....not local/private mandates so there should be no discussion/arguements. It is not up for discussion anyway


----------



## jlundeen

Here's a screen shot of the notice on MDE


----------



## thornton0511

JoJoGirl said:


> I got there at 6:41 and there were 2-3 parties ahead of me.  There was room for all of us on the bus.


thank you for taking the time to reply back


----------



## William B

We did a short trip as a quick fifth anniversary celebration.  It was our first time to the parks during Covid and our first time together (we have both been before but it has been a while).  My thoughts for what they are worth:

We flew in on Wednesday and were met by Tiffany Towncars.  They made the process very simple and the driver met us right at baggage claim.  He assisted in taking luggage out even though it was not necessary (kept my wife from having to roll a bag, which she appreciated).  The vehicle was a black Lincoln SUV, which was very nice. The driver was also very professional.  He answered any questions we had for him, but did not feel it necessary to fill the time with conversation, which we appreciated.  Dropped off at the Swan and made our way in to where our room was waiting for us.  Had a nice balcony room overlooking the boardwalk with the Spaceship Earth sphere in the distance.  A nice room, but I would not call it Deluxe category.  We saved a good bit from a comparable time at Yacht Club, Beach Club, or Boardwalk, but I believe those would be nicer rooms.  The location, just like the others, is great for trips to Epcot and HS.

We did not RD any day, and we don't regret it.  We were able to do everything we wanted to do which included basically every major ride (and the couple we skipped--TOT and Splash--we skipped out of choice and had plenty of time available to ride either).  We did have 2 partial days at MK, but they were from 4-9 on our arrival day and we were there from 10:00-3 on our departure day.  So neither day involved real early arrivals and the two together basically equaled one day in the park.  

We went to MK on Wednesday after we got settled.  Not significant crowds which was nice and we got some of the major rides out of the way.  Noticed most people had masks on and up.  Also noticed social distancing was not too bad. Noticed the Disney app was usually 10 minutes more than actual time on wait times, while touring plans was consistently 5 minutes under actual wait times. 

Thursday was HS.  We verified about 640 using time.gov how close our cell phones were to the atomic clock.  Mine was nearly right on and so we just used it as our countdown.  For some reason my wife's app did not keep both her and me checked when we practiced the day before.  Mine did.  So right as my clock hit 7 I clicked join and my fat, over-forty fingers managed to get boarding group 7!  We thoroughly enjoyed Galaxy's Edge and ROTR was AMAZING!  If you are going to be riding for the first time, I strongly suggest avoiding any spoilers as much as possible.  It really is incredible experiencing it for the first time not knowing what is coming next.  We rode everything except TOT, which we had time to ride, but chose not to.  Instead we did several rides twice.  On MFSR for our second ride, we were getting stuck as engineers again, but they allowed us to go into a different ship which my wife and I got to ourselves to be the pilots.  It is MUCH more fun when you get to do something other than just hit a few buttons.  We ended our day with Oga's Cantina reservations.  We got lucky and got 8:55pm reservations for a day the park closed at 8.  We had a great time wandering the park for an hour after close with much much fewer people.  We basically closed the cantina down and got escorted out as part of the last people in the park.  Talk about a peaceful way to head out (and get some great night time photos!).  This day the mask and distancing were pretty good as well.  The TP app seemed farther off today than it did at MK, but it was still generally closer than the Disney app for wait times.

Friday was Epcot.  It was miserable.  The place was packed!  The temperature was very hot! I do not know why Epcot cannot set up the same kind of umbrellas that MK and HS have out to at least pretend to create shade for some of their tables. Instead, 90% of the tables are right out in the sun.  I would strongly recommend a personal UV umbrella if you are fair skinned or to try and make it a few degrees cooler.  In addition to being packed, mask compliance and distancing was not very good.  If you need to have decent compliance to be comfortable at Disney, you probably don't want to be there on the weekend (Saturday in MK was even worse).  We were reasonably happy with the selection of food and drinks and overall enjoyed ourselves.  I can definitely recommend the shrimp and grits from Sunshine Griddle!  

Saturday was our second partial day in MK and our departure day.  Another good day at the park, but compliance with the rules was atrocious and some of the behaviors people exhibited when told that masks were required (we had a large group in front of us on the way into the park that had to be told to get masks and then had to be reminded by security that the use of profanity is grounds for removal from the parks) were even worse.  We rode everything except Splash, which we chose not to do because of not wanting to risk getting wet before a flight.  The wait times were generally accurate this day on the Disney app and underestimated on TP.  It was also a very packed park on a Saturday as is expected.

My wife and I are not fans of mobile ordering.  We are the type that like to go and then just see what is near for purposes of getting food and not ones who like to either make plans in advance or wait to get a time slot and then wait again to get the food.  One of our order took 20 minutes after pressing the we are here button, which seems like longer than it should take when you clearly know how many orders are in that time slot.  Overall it works, I just like the old way of being able to just stop and order much better.


----------



## limace

scrappinginontario said:


> I'm interpreting the OP's comment a little differently.
> 
> @limace, if you want to visit Riviera before Epcot opens, then yes, you may Uber there and visit the resort then take the Skyliner to Epcot.
> 
> If you want to visit Riviera after entering Epcot then it's as @VeronicaZS says.



Sorry yes, didn’t mean to be confusing. We were talking about ubering from Bonnet Creek, checking out RIV DVC rooms, then sky lining to Epcot.


----------



## MickeyFan19

Anywhere in Disney Springs I can buy a charger for IPad Air? Got to our gate and that feeling of forgetting something hit me! I have it fully charged for our flight to Disney now but I'm afraid of our flight home. I priced a charger at the airport and it was $46


----------



## WEDWDW

The announcement that the Disney College Program will return NEXT month is the biggest development since the Parks reopened IMO.

Several Cast Members had told us they NEEDED the help from the DCP NOW,but I don't think anyone expected it to return until late 2021 at the earliest.

This development must mean Disney is really going to "ramp things up"-I think it could be a definite sign that Fireworks/Fantasmic!/reopening of POR and All-Star-Sports/Music,etc. are coming sooner rather than later.

JMO,but,at any rate,this is HUGE,HUGE news!


----------



## DisneyFive

MickeyFan19 said:


> Anywhere in Disney Springs I can buy a charger for IPad Air? Got to our gate and that feeling of forgetting something hit me! I have it fully charged for our flight to Disney now but I'm afraid of our flight home. I priced a charger at the airport and it was $46



Do you have any wall chargers with the right charging cable with you? Any of them will work, it will just take longer to charge than the higher output chargers for the iPad Air.  Doesn’t really need to be iPad Air specific


----------



## Makmak

Just arrived and got a notification that “there is no need to line up early for transport to the parks and that driving is a good option “ .....


----------



## Princess Katelet

MickeyFan19 said:


> Anywhere in Disney Springs I can buy a charger for IPad Air? Got to our gate and that feeling of forgetting something hit me! I have it fully charged for our flight to Disney now but I'm afraid of our flight home. I priced a charger at the airport and it was $46


Do a two day prime delivery from Amazon to your hotel front desk.


----------



## Ecomommy09

Makmak said:


> Just arrived and got a notification that “there is no need to line up early for transport to the parks and that driving is a good option “ .....


What does that mean?  Don't take the bus?


----------



## Akck

limace said:


> Sorry yes, didn’t mean to be confusing. We were talking about ubering from Bonnet Creek, checking out RIV DVC rooms, then sky lining to Epcot.



If you do this, contact DVC and make an appointment. That way you’ll be able to get into the resort. Currently, they only let guests staying there plus those with dining reservations through the gate. A DVC appointment will work too.


----------



## JFox

Random thoughts
Split stay Bay Lake Tower/Boardwalk
April 29-May 3
Adult trip

The purpose of this trip was to explore the Flower and Garden Festival.  Our March trip last month was our first time to this festival but our kidlets weren't very interested in EPCOT so we didn't spend much time at that park.

Departure Southwest/DME
We packed light and didn't check baggage.  Our departure flight was early afternoon so our morning wasn't frenetic.  TSA pre-check and a mobile boarding pass in hand and we passed right through security.

We waited 45 minutes.  There were 4 stops before Bay Lake Tower, we were the last.

Park reservations 
MK April 29
EPCOT remaining days

The EPCOT reservations allowed for lazy mornings.  Although the posted park hours were 11:00am we were inside the park by 10:15am.

We only PH to MGM one afternoon for shopping and then MK last night.

Weather
IT WAS HOT!  LIKE AFRICA HOT!  Our first full day, after MGM we Ubered to Walmart for emergency swimsuits.

Let's talk for a moment about Walmart.  We went to the 2855 N Old Lake Wilson Rd location and it was ALL DISNEY.  I asked one of the employees if all Orlando stores were like this and he said that Walmart/Target locations are all Disney.  The store was very busy.  We got what we needed and left.

Bay Lake Tower/Boardwalk
BLT/studio/Lake - This was our second stay at BLT and we love it.
BW/1 bedroom/pool - First visit and also loved it.  The extra room was nice even though it was just the 2 of us.

Pools
In all our WDW resort stays we have never been to the pools.  I now realize that was a mistake.  Do all DVC resorts have water slides?  I've decided I'm only staying at resorts with water slides from now on!

We enjoyed snacks, drinks, trivia and even made MM tie dye t-shirts. 

Masks/Social Distancing
I thought mask compliance was good. It was nice to be able to take pictures sans masks.  We didn't have any line issues until Space Mtn last night.  Two teenagers got in line behind us and were on us the whole time.  Halfway through the line I said, "why don't you go ahead of us."  They didn't understand why I insisted they move ahead.

Returning DME/Southwest 
Our bus broke down at a stoplight 1 mile before the airport.  We sat for about 30 minutes until another DME bus taking guest back to the airport could pick us up.  We were really fortunate it happened where it did versus on the freeway.

Fastpass through security with TSA pre-check and then onto the plane.

*Update*
Last week I posted about the family we spoke to about park reservations.  They were on our same flight back and recognized us.  The mother said they tried but could not get park reservations and skipped Disney.


----------



## Best Aunt

MickeyFan19 said:


> Anywhere in Disney Springs I can buy a charger for IPad Air? Got to our gate and that feeling of forgetting something hit me! I have it fully charged for our flight to Disney now but I'm afraid of our flight home. I priced a charger at the airport and it was $46





Princess Katelet said:


> Do a two day prime delivery from Amazon to your hotel front desk.



There was a thread about this a few months ago.  The person forgot the charger for their cell phone and IIRC, they had a lot of trouble looking in the shops.  One suggestion was to ask at the front desk of your hotel, in case a prior guest left one behind.  Here's the thread (with a reminder that you can click on it even if it looks like it is still loading):

https://www.disboards.com/threads/n...m-where-to-buy-adapter.3830279/#post-62812558


----------



## CarolynFH

JFox said:


> Do all DVC resorts have water slides? I've decided I'm only staying at resorts with water slides from now on!


All Disney deluxe (including DVC) and moderate resorts have slides. IMHO, BWV has the best.


----------



## Makmak

Ecomommy09 said:


> What does that mean?  Don't take the bus?


Not sure .....here is the actual notification....as you can see it was sent twice in rapid succession


----------



## hereforthechurros

Makmak said:


> Not sure .....here is the actual notification....as you can see it was sent twice in rapid succession View attachment 572609


How odd. Of course there’s reason to line up early.


----------



## Linkura

Works for me, if it decreases my competition at the bus stops 90 minutes before open!


----------



## sdeut

Well they will not allow drop offs or driving to a resort to walk to MK so why wou you drive to MK?  I could see driving to some other parks.  We stay at BWV and walk to HS and Epcot and drive to AK but their isn’t a good choice besides busing to MK now.


----------



## Tigerlulu

MickeyFan19 said:


> Anywhere in Disney Springs I can buy a charger for IPad Air? Got to our gate and that feeling of forgetting something hit me! I have it fully charged for our flight to Disney now but I'm afraid of our flight home. I priced a charger at the airport and it was $46



Download Amazon prime now. They’ll bring one to you in at the hotel like 2 or so hours.


----------



## lovethattink

Makmak said:


> Not sure .....here is the actual notification....as you can see it was sent twice in rapid succession View attachment 572609



Interesting. Did that come today? Maybe because tomorrow is May the 4th and people want to check out the merchandise fit it at DHS? I don’t know, just grasping at straws here.


----------



## Randy Miller

jlundeen said:


> Here's a screen shot of the notice on MDE
> View attachment 572590


Goes into effect July 1st so it does give those government mandated restrictions time to adjust. Hard to restaff a lot of things last minute. However, I believe they can implement it immediately if they choose too.


----------



## Elle23

lovethattink said:


> Interesting. Did that come today? Maybe because tomorrow is May the 4th and people want to check out the merchandise fit it at DHS? I don’t know, just grasping at straws here.



We received the same notification a few weeks ago. I just ignored it since we didn’t have a car.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Elle23 said:


> We received the same notification a few weeks ago. I just ignored it since we didn’t have a car.


Did you arrive by DME?

Rich that instead of solving the problem (whether it’s too many people at bus stops or rope drop) Disney is feeding people this line. Bring back EMH or FP in some fashion and people won’t feel as desperate to be there early.


----------



## mfly

hereforthechurros said:


> Did you arrive by DME?
> 
> Rich that instead of solving the problem (whether it’s too many people at bus stops or rope drop) Disney is feeding people this line. Bring back EMH or FP in some fashion and people won’t feel as desperate to be there early.


We were arriving by DME and we got it just before we boarded the DME bus for our trip last Thursday.


----------



## Makmak

lovethattink said:


> Interesting. Did that come today? Maybe because tomorrow is May the 4th and people want to check out the merchandise fit it at DHS? I don’t know, just grasping at straws here.


Yes that was today at like 6ishPM


----------



## Aimeedyan

I got that same transportation text back in the fall. I figured it was an attempt to lessen the load on buses during the reopening (they are still using charter buses so it has to be killing their transportation budget to bring in extra help right now).


----------



## Carol_

Makmak said:


> Not sure .....here is the actual notification....as you can see it was sent twice in rapid succession View attachment 572609


OMG it sounds like they put DVC in charge of communications everywhere. We’re doomed.


----------



## Makmak

This charger that is needed is it the same as for say, an iPhone 11? Because we have like six of those with us and I’ll gladly drop one off wherever


----------



## Sara W

Has anyone tried one of the new Disney masks with the boning in the front?


----------



## Elle23

hereforthechurros said:


> Did you arrive by DME?
> 
> Rich that instead of solving the problem (whether it’s too many people at bus stops or rope drop) Disney is feeding people this line. Bring back EMH or FP in some fashion and people won’t feel as desperate to be there early.



Yes, we arrived via DME, or rather a generic charter bus.


----------



## DisneyFive

Makmak said:


> This charger that is needed is it the same as for say, an iPhone 11? Because we have like six of those with us and I’ll gladly drop one off wherever


Yes. It may take a little longer to charge depending on the output but yes it will certainly get the job done.

Dan


----------



## auntlynne

Princess Katelet said:


> ...
> One thing I’m really worried about is walking forever to find the end of the lines. I’ve seen the maps of extended lines and I just don’t know the parks well enough for them to help me. I think it will be frustrating to hunt for them and to walk all those extra steps in the heat.
> I really miss Disney of 1999…



You’re a step ahead already; you are aware that the lines will be long. 

Just don’t walk past a line of people as you head to a ride (like you would with a FP!).  If they are standing or slowly moving like cattle, those could be your ride companions.  If you can’t see a CM with a sign on a stick nearby, ask the people in line.  They are nicer there than if you try to waltz into the line at the front.


----------



## Becky Mouse

Sara W said:


> Has anyone tried one of the new Disney masks with the boning in the front?



Can you link please?


----------



## Sara W

Becky Mouse said:


> Can you link please?


I saw them on DFB, but I don't think I can link their website here (does anyone know??). They came out in the last week or 2.


----------



## maggnanimouse

lovethattink said:


> And Disney has switched from Simply Heinz which doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup to Red Gold Ketchup with a cause, which does.


As a Pittsburgher, I find this disappointing to an irrational degree.


----------



## JoJoGirl

Rope drop at HS not going so great for me. Walked from the YC, in the tapsyles at 8:17,  went to Slinky Dog, not running yet. Headed to MFSR before the crowds. Line stood still until 8:35, but just started moving as I type. Slow start but still hope to get a lot done!

Better news, got BG80!

May the 4th be with you all!


----------



## Betty Rohrer

maggnanimouse said:


> As a Pittsburgher, I find this disappointing to an irrational degree.


from what I have been reading it may be what they can get not what they want as packets are getting hard to find. you can always not use nobody is making you use the you do not like. for one of grandkids it has been rough as a couple of places have been out completely


----------



## William B

Sara W said:


> I saw them on DFB, but I don't think I can link their website here (does anyone know??). They came out in the last week or 2.



We saw several people with them in the parks and they seemed to give some separation from their mouth, which is nice.  I only saw them in a couple stores and never did get one.  I cannot get a link to work, but I did see them on DFB


----------



## lovethattink

JoJoGirl said:


> Rope drop at HS not going so great for me. Walked from the YC, in the tapsyles at 8:17,  went to Slinky Dog, not running yet. Headed to MFSR before the crowds. Line stood still until 8:35, but just started moving as I type. Slow start but still hope to get a lot done!
> 
> Better news, got BG80!
> 
> May the 4th be with you all!



Congrats on getting a boarding group! I wasn’t so lucky.


----------



## JoJoGirl

So during my rope drop I was able to ride MFSR (Pilot, yay!), then headed back to Slinky Dog. Still down at 9:00, so did a quick ride on TSMM. Slinky was up by then, so I hopped on line. The line was past Woody at 9:15 am with an estimated wait of 50 minutes.  

All the major rides are up to at least 45 minutes now, so it will be good to ride slinky before that line gets longer and hotter.


----------



## JoJoGirl

lovethattink said:


> Congrats on getting a boarding group! I wasn’t so lucky.



May the 4th be with you at 1:00!


----------



## maggnanimouse

Betty Rohrer said:


> from what I have been reading it may be what they can get not what they want as packets are getting hard to find. you can always not use nobody is making you use the you do not like. for one of grandkids it has been rough as a couple of places have been out completely



Sounds like I might have to start a collection of packets at home to bring with me!


----------



## lovethattink

JoJoGirl said:


> May the 4th be with you at 1:00!



We’re debating even going to DHS now. My son has a rehearsal at 4, so won’t chance it at 1pm. Is the 4th merchandise worth checking out?


----------



## HockeyMomNH

lovethattink said:


> We’re debating even going to DHS now. My son has a rehearsal at 4, so won’t chance it at 1pm. Is the 4th merchandise worth checking out?



I just read on FB that the merch line is currently 2 hours. :-(


----------



## preemiemama

Becky Mouse said:


> Can you link please?




__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1389558053998059521


----------



## wilkydelts

That is why Disney Masks are one of the cheapest items you can buy on property right now. Ride the wave while they can, get as much as they can from it, then move on.


----------



## fairestoneofall

preemiemama said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1389558053998059521



Those remind me of the ones I buy on etsy for $7.


----------



## Makmak

They are putting tape down in MK.....there are ppl crowding the tape crew, it appears that CM are just figuring something out because there are about 7 people discussing the tape......but they are drawing a lot of attention just putting down tape and you can tell the first timers are confused about why people care about the tape haha.


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

So I've got another timed parks report. I take the time stamps from my pictures, and most are pretty accurate.

*Wednesday April 26
DHS 9-8
AK 8-8
Epcot 11-10*

6:54 am: traditional pre DHS breakfast at Ale & Compass

7: boarding group 16 for Rise.  One of us used Disney WIFI and I turned my WIFI off. I was the one who got checked in first.

7:42: left Yacht Club to walk to DHS.

7:55: arrived. The second temp station was still closed off (the one closest to the Skyliner). We hovered and they opened right around 8 and we were first in line for the temperature check.

8:15: park didn't open until right around 8:15 on this day, which is 5-10 minutes later than our other days. We were the second group overall through temperature checks but had some long legs (tall people, hahaha) pass us on our way to our first attraction.

8:21: boarding the second train of the day for Runaway Railway. There was only one other couple on with us and they send the trains as soon as they're loaded whether they're full or not.

8:28: off the ride and headed back to Sunset Boulevard for ToT.

8:31: in line for ToT

8:39: on ToT. When we came out the line was already way into the Fantasmic queue space and building. If you want ToT without a long way need to get there early.

8:58: in line for Smugglers

9:11: got our own cabin for Smugglers even though there were only 2 of us. Maybe in the morning they let people have their own cabins before the line grows too long? We were pretty happy about that and chose pilots.

9:17: off Smugglers and chose to explore Batuu a bit and go in different shops. There were not lines this early.

Today was the day I decided to finally adopt my Loth Cat.



He came in a boxy pet adoption crate so I got to carry him around the next day (which I think is fun, but if you don't want to carry a box around all day wait until later in the day to purchase).

We explored a bit more and did almost all the shops.

9:41 in line for Rise of the Resistance.

9:50: on the ride.

10:03: off Rise and we walked around a bit more. Rey and Chewie were both out so we watched for a bit.



10:21: in line for Star Tours

10:42: got on Star Tours. We had the Force Awakens and Last Jedi scenes, which are probably two of my least favorite.

10:47: in line for the Mickey and Minnie vacation short. We had to wait through one rotation of the film.

11:15: got inside.

11:40: had mobile ordered from Docking Bay 7 while we waited for the vacation short cartoon. Were able to get our food at this time. I had the ribs and thought they were amazing. We made sure to make ourselves take a while eating so we could have a maskless break in the air conditioning.



Made sure to hit the bathroom on the way out of Galaxy's Edge as they have one of the only stand up water refiller stations I've been able to find.

12:30: in line for TSMM.

12:46: on the ride.

We planned to park hop and wanted to be at AK ride around opening at 2.

We took the bus and ended up getting to AK right around 2:08.

We really like to watch the animals so we took our time walking in slowly and watched the Flamingos and Otters.

2:40: got a drink from Starbucks and sat with them at an outdoor table and people watched. Pro tip with Starbucks: At AK there are two entryways. If one line is really long walk to the oppose entry of the store and see how that line is.

Spent some more time slowly walking around and exploring. Watched the lemurs for a bit.

3:15 we were in position in front of the tree to see the last flight of the macaws for the day. Sorry, got a couple pictures of this I really love so I'm posting the favorites.







3:24: in line for Everest.

3:36: on the ride.



3:49: entered Maharajah Jungle Trek.



4:27: in line for Safaris.

4:53: on the ride. I have never seen all the queue space this attraction offers. It was bananas.





5:22: off the Safaris. We sat for a long time on the savannah because the Ankoli cattle were blocking the road ahead.

5:26: on the Gorilla Falls trail.

6:19 did a mobile order for Satuli and shared a dinner.

6:44: in line for River Journey.

6:59 off River Journey and in line for FOP.

This line was super frustrating. I've been on it several times during the pandemic. Because there is no FP the line moves pretty steady. But this experience was like a throwback to FP era. We kept standing still for 10 minutes at a time then moving forward a bit. It was bizarre and I'm not sure what was going on. It took over an hour to get on the ride and the line didn't even extend that much beyond the regular queue. I've been on the ride faster when I've queued on the edge of Africa.

8:05 on the ride.

8:18: off the ride.

The park was now closed so we headed out to find an Epcot bus.

We waited about 15 minutes for a bus.

9:09 headed into Epcot. We had arrived much later than I had thought. I didn't think FOP would take that long. Originally I'd wanted to be around the bus stop at 8 but we didn't make it until a bit after 8:30.

To be honest the rest of the night was pretty crappy. We promptly got lost upon entering Epcot what with the new walls up. We could not figure out how to get to the Land pavilion. Finally I asked a CM who just let us cut through Spaceship Earth's exit to get over there. So confusing.

We ended up not going on Living with the Land because we met our friend coming from that direction. We did Spaceship Earth and waited about 5 minutes to get on.

9:45: headed over to Mexico so we could finish the day on 3 Caballeros. Ended up making it with 5 minutes to spare but the attraction was down. So we slowly walked through World Showcase on our way out.

Overall it was a very successful day until the bizarre FOP line and then getting to Epcot.

COVID safety: mask adherence was pretty good. People are not great with social distancing in lines. It seems like most people are unaware of that or have given up. I'm tired of asking people to move back and having them respond harshly, so I just let it go.

Our goal was to get the most out of our day and I think we did pretty well.

Anyone have any questions I could help with?


----------



## NashvilleMama

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> 3:15 we were in position in front of the tree to see the last flight of the macaws for the day. Sorry, got a couple pictures of this I really love so I'm posting the favorites.
> 
> View attachment 572772
> 
> View attachment 572771
> 
> View attachment 572774



are these live birds I assume? I've never seen this and didn't even know this happened! It's a regular thing during the day?


----------



## elgerber

NashvilleMama said:


> are these live birds I assume? I've never seen this and didn't even know this happened! It's a regular thing during the day?


We stumbled on this in fall of 2019, I'm glad they are still doing it.  It was so crazy cool.  They fly so close to your head!


----------



## casperthegm

I'd say you made great use of your time- sounds just about perfect. Rope dropped, moved around, making good time, but didn't sound like you rushed either.  Great write-up.


----------



## olive

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> 3:15 we were in position in front of the tree to see the last flight of the macaws for the day. Sorry, got a couple pictures of this I really love so I'm posting the favorites.
> 
> View attachment 572772
> 
> View attachment 572771
> 
> View attachment 572774



Was the flight of the macaws part of Winged Encounters? We are really looking forward to the bird shows but if this is something else to make sure to include, we don't want to miss it! My kids LOVE birds.

We are planning a similar hop from DHS to AK next month and hoping to catch at least one of the bird shows that day.


----------



## Best Aunt

olive said:


> Was the flight of the macaws part of Winged Encounters? We are really looking forward to the bird shows but if this is something else to make sure to include, we don't want to miss it! My kids LOVE birds.
> 
> We are planning a similar hop from DHS to AK next month and hoping to catch at least one of the bird shows that day.



Animal Kingdom, May 2-8, 2021

WINGED ENCOUNTERS - THE KINGDOM TAKES FLIGHT (Discovery Island)
Keep your eyes on the skies for this animal experience! Watch a flock of fine feathered macaws fly above the Park and around Discovery Island. Learn about the majestic birds from our team of avian experts. *World Parrot Trust*
9:15, 10:15 & 11:15am, 1:15, 2:15 & 3:15pm 

FEATHERED FRIENDS IN FLIGHT! (Asia)
Join the animal behavior specialists at the Caravan Stage for a behind-the-scenes look at the free-flying birds of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. Learn how they care for and train their feathered friends.
10:30 & 11:30am, 1:30, 2:30 & 3:30pm
Show Length: 25 minutes
* Sign language interpreted performances Tuesday & Saturday at 1:30pm.
 Arrive at least 20 minutes before show. Sit in the LEFT section of the audience. See a host or hostess. 

http://wdwent.com/*


----------



## auntyjenn

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> 7:55: arrived. The second temp station was still closed off (the one closest to the Skyliner). We hovered and they opened right around 8 and we were first in line for the temperature check.



Does anyone have a picture of what this looks like? Where to hover? are temperature checks labeled? 

Thanks!


----------



## JFox

elgerber said:


> We stumbled on this in fall of 2019, I'm glad they are still doing it.  It was so crazy cool.  They fly so close to your head!


Wear a hat!


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

Looks like @BestAunt has it covered. It's Winged Encounters. The times are on MDE if you look at times for AK but be sure to pick 'entertainment' under the drop down menu. 



NashvilleMama said:


> are these live birds I assume? I've never seen this and didn't even know this happened! It's a regular thing during the day?





olive said:


> Was the flight of the macaws part of Winged Encounters? We are really looking forward to the bird shows but if this is something else to make sure to include, we don't want to miss it! My kids LOVE birds.
> 
> We are planning a similar hop from DHS to AK next month and hoping to catch at least one of the bird shows that day.





Best Aunt said:


> Animal Kingdom, May 2-8, 2021
> 
> WINGED ENCOUNTERS - THE KINGDOM TAKES FLIGHT (Discovery Island)
> Keep your eyes on the skies for this animal experience! Watch a flock of fine feathered macaws fly above the Park and around Discovery Island. Learn about the majestic birds from our team of avian experts. *World Parrot Trust*
> 9:15, 10:15 & 11:15am, 1:15, 2:15 & 3:15pm
> 
> FEATHERED FRIENDS IN FLIGHT! (Asia)
> Join the animal behavior specialists at the Caravan Stage for a behind-the-scenes look at the free-flying birds of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. Learn how they care for and train their feathered friends.
> 10:30 & 11:30am, 1:30, 2:30 & 3:30pm
> Show Length: 25 minutes
> * Sign language interpreted performances Tuesday & Saturday at 1:30pm.
> Arrive at least 20 minutes before show. Sit in the LEFT section of the audience. See a host or hostess.
> 
> http://wdwent.com/*


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

auntyjenn said:


> Does anyone have a picture of what this looks like? Where to hover? are temperature checks labeled?
> 
> Thanks!



This is not my picture, I don't have one. I know it would be better to illustrate with a pic but maybe someone else will come along. 

But this is the temp tent that stays closed until just around 8 or a few minutes after. If you are approaching DHS from the Skyliner or the walking path, it will be the first one you come across. The other is closer to the parking lot. It is very obvious. The one pictured usually doesn't open until right around 8. There are benches nearby that you can hover around and see if it opens right around 8.


----------



## DisneyFive

Makmak said:


> They are putting tape down in MK.....there are ppl crowding the tape crew, it appears that CM are just figuring something out because there are about 7 people discussing the tape......but they are drawing a lot of attention just putting down tape and you can tell the first timers are confused about why people care about the tape haha.



Just thinking about them putting tape down gets me excited!!!  We know what that typically means!  (although sadly most likely not in this case)

Makes me picture a senior level Cast Member saying to his/her crew... "Hey, go start laying some tape down.  Let's see what happens..."  then bursts out in maniacal laughter

Dan


----------



## cjlong88

I know that people have mentioned that weekdays tend to have lighter crowds as opposed to weekends. For those of you there now or back recently, do you find that to still be the case in general?


----------



## Princess Katelet

DisneyFive said:


> Just thinking about them putting tape down gets me excited!!!  We know what that typically means!  (although sadly most likely not in this case)
> 
> Makes me picture a senior level Cast Member saying to his/her crew... "Hey, go start laying some tape down.  Let's see what happens..."  then bursts out in maniacal laughter
> 
> Dan


What does tape normally mean? I assumed they were fixing distancing areas in the lines?


----------



## DisneyFive

Princess Katelet said:


> What does tape normally mean? I assumed they were fixing distancing areas in the lines?



Typically it is to mark temporary walking paths or areas for people not to cross right before they set up for big parades or the nighttime extravaganzas.

Gets me excited to think of either one of those starting up again.

Dan


----------



## lovethattink

HockeyMomNH said:


> I just read on FB that the merch line is currently 2 hours. :-(



When we got there, we registered to the queue and there were over 1000 people ahead of us. We left the park without seeing the merchandise. As soon as we got home, we got the text that it was our turn. Oh well, saved money!


----------



## Becky Mouse

lovethattink said:


> When we got there, we registered to the queue and there were over 1000 people ahead of us. We left the park without seeing the merchandise. As soon as we got home, we got the text that it was our turn. Oh well, saved money!



Whoa, hold up. You have to sign up for a virtual queue to buy merchandise? Where? At all park stores?


----------



## BeBopaSaurus

Becky Mouse said:


> Whoa, hold up. You have to sign up for a virtual queue to buy merchandise? Where? At all park stores?


It was only for the new Star Wars merchandise today at DHS for May 4th. It might still be going on tomorrow, not sure?


----------



## Makmak

At magic kingdom today tons of people were walking and eating. A group of about 50 cheer/dance girls and their chaperones all had dole whips and walked from the pickup to pirates with masks on chin eating the whole way, got into line, a cm came up and told them to stay on their lines......they continued to eat inside the que. Tons of people in lines with no mask until right before boarding and it was especially bad in little mermaid and pirates. Haunted mansion got stopped and little mermaid was stopped for mask reminders. The mask rule, especially about no eating and drinking when walking around, is being very inconsistently enforced. I didn’t see any instances of CMs telling people to put their masks on correctly or to not walk around eating.


----------



## Nabas

Becky Mouse said:


> Whoa, hold up. You have to sign up for a virtual queue to buy merchandise? Where? At all park stores?





BeBopaSaurus said:


> It was only for the new Star Wars merchandise today at DHS for May 4th. It might still be going on tomorrow, not sure?


Although the virtual queue was for Star Wars merchandise, many stores at the WDW theme parks have lines to get in, especially as it gets closer to closing and Guests look for a souvenir to take back with them.

Lines at several Disney Springs stores can get very long too.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Makmak said:


> At magic kingdom today tons of people were walking and eating. A group of about 50 cheer/dance girls and their chaperones all had dole whips and walked from the pickup to pirates with masks on chin eating the whole way, got into line, a cm came up and told them to stay on their lines......they continued to eat inside the que. Tons of people in lines with no mask until right before boarding and it was especially bad in little mermaid and pirates. Haunted mansion got stopped and little mermaid was stopped for mask reminders. The mask rule, especially about no eating and drinking when walking around, is being very inconsistently enforced. I didn’t see any instances of CMs telling people to put their masks on correctly or to not walk around eating.



Virtually all of us have cell phone cameras. Maybe taking pictures and sending to Disney or posting to their social media accounts might help?


----------



## Makmak

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Virtually all of us have cell phone cameras. Maybe taking pictures and sending to Disney or posting to their social media accounts might help?


I didn’t want to sound creepy BUT ......I do have pictures of the mob of girls, people on busses without masks .....I’m basically a covert documentarian at this point .....I do plan on sending them to Disney. But I also wondered if they are going to just allow walking and eating which if that’s the case they need to stop playing the recording that says remain stationary and socially distanced. I was very mad today when I had to tell my young child she has to wait for her Ice cream until we find “a spot” and we are walking past over 50 people maskless and eating their ice cream and my poor kid is just staring as hers melts while we walk looking for a space to distance and eat.


----------



## MickeyFan19

Duplicate post sorry.


----------



## MickeyFan19

Makmak said:


> This charger that is needed is it the same as for say, an iPhone 11? Because we have like six of those with us and I’ll gladly drop one off wherever


I'm not sure, I guess? That would be so nice, I could give you $$.....I did try Prime Now before asking here but nothing would come up when I searched.


----------



## Makmak

MickeyFan19 said:


> I'm not sure, I guess? That would be so nice, I could give you $$.....I did try Prime Now before asking here but nothing would come up when I searched.


Just PM me which resort front desk to drop it off or I can leave at my resort front desk ....just lmk 
Edited : no $ necessary we have a ton of them


----------



## lovethattink

Becky Mouse said:


> Whoa, hold up. You have to sign up for a virtual queue to buy merchandise? Where? At all park stores?



Just for the May the 4th merchandise.


----------



## Tawney

auntlynne said:


> Just don’t walk past a line of people as you head to a ride (like you would with a FP!).  If they are standing or slowly moving like cattle, those could be your ride companions.  If you can’t see a CM with a sign on a stick nearby, ask the people in line.  They are nicer there than if you try to waltz into the line at the front.



This, exactly!  We had waited in line for 30+ minutes for FOP and were at the actual ride stand-by entrance when a young lady and her husband thought they were going to jump in line in front of us because they wanted to do Rider Swap and didn't realize that was not the end of the line.  Luckily the CM kindly let them know that the end of the line was near FOTLK...


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Makmak said:


> I didn’t want to sound creepy BUT ......I do have pictures of the mob of girls, people on busses without masks .....I’m basically a covert documentarian at this point .....I do plan on sending them to Disney. But I also wondered if they are going to just allow walking and eating which if that’s the case they need to stop playing the recording that says remain stationary and socially distanced. I was very mad today when I had to tell my young child she has to wait for her Ice cream until we find “a spot” and we are walking past over 50 people maskless and eating their ice cream and my poor kid is just staring as hers melts while we walk looking for a space to distance and eat.


I get it. This, and line creepers, put *you* in an awful position of having to enforce (or remind a fellow guest) of the rules. I'm normally a 'live and let live' type but given the potential downside involved in transmission to others I don't think those are unreasonable restrictions - and everyone entering the park implicitly agreed to them. 

To bring it back to the publicity issue, I think it cuts both ways. I could see Disney being kind of upset at being seen as lax on such issues. That said, the CDC and county guidance is changing towards outdoor mask wearing and physical distancing. 

Sorry you had to be put in that position.


----------



## Princess Katelet

Makmak said:


> I didn’t want to sound creepy BUT ......I do have pictures of the mob of girls, people on busses without masks .....I’m basically a covert documentarian at this point .....I do plan on sending them to Disney. But I also wondered if they are going to just allow walking and eating which if that’s the case they need to stop playing the recording that says remain stationary and socially distanced. I was very mad today when I had to tell my young child she has to wait for her Ice cream until we find “a spot” and we are walking past over 50 people maskless and eating their ice cream and my poor kid is just staring as hers melts while we walk looking for a space to distance and eat.


It’s not always easy to do the right thing and it’s soooo hard when people blatantly disregard the rules while you and your child comply. Kudos to you, though. I understand your frustration and I applaud your integrity.


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

Makmak said:


> I didn’t want to sound creepy BUT ......I do have pictures of the mob of girls, people on busses without masks .....I’m basically a covert documentarian at this point .....I do plan on sending them to Disney. But I also wondered if they are going to just allow walking and eating which if that’s the case they need to stop playing the recording that says remain stationary and socially distanced. I was very mad today when I had to tell my young child she has to wait for her Ice cream until we find “a spot” and we are walking past over 50 people maskless and eating their ice cream and my poor kid is just staring as hers melts while we walk looking for a space to distance and eat.


Can we stick to talking about experience at the park and not just the masks.....It would be creepy...Gina Carano was on the right track!


----------



## lchuck

Makmak said:


> I didn’t want to sound creepy BUT ......I do have pictures of the mob of girls, people on busses without masks .....I’m basically a covert documentarian at this point .....I do plan on sending them to Disney. But I also wondered if they are going to just allow walking and eating which if that’s the case they need to stop playing the recording that says remain stationary and socially distanced. I was very mad today when I had to tell my young child she has to wait for her Ice cream until we find “a spot” and we are walking past over 50 people maskless and eating their ice cream and my poor kid is just staring as hers melts while we walk looking for a space to distance and eat.


Extremely creepy!  Do you walk around taking pictures of people breaking other rules?  Life will always be full of examples of right and wrong for you to teach your child, no need to waste your time and energy on others.


----------



## Becky Mouse

lchuck said:


> Extremely creepy!  Do you walk around taking pictures of people breaking other rules?  Life will always be full of examples of right and wrong for you to teach your child, no need to waste your time and energy on others.



I don't think it's creepy. Social media is a powerful tool these days. I think they SHOULD show Disney the people on the buses who weren't wearing masks! I wish they tweeted it immediately, tbh.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

lchuck said:


> Extremely creepy!  Do you walk around taking pictures of people breaking other rules?  Life will always be full of examples of right and wrong for you to teach your child, no need to waste your time and energy on others.


I don’t think it’s possible to visit a park without being in the background of multiple live streams and vloggers throughout the day, so not sure how it’s creepy. It’s a public place. Disney aggressively notifies customers considering visits that they’re enforcing mask issues, likely putting those who are concerned at ease. It’s pretty bad if it turns out to be a bait and switch.


----------



## mom2rtk

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> I don’t think it’s possible to visit a park without being in the background of multiple live streams and vloggers throughout the day, so not sure how it’s creepy. It’s a public place. Disney aggressively notifies customers considering visits that they’re enforcing mask issues, likely putting those who are concerned at ease. It’s pretty bad if it turns out to be a bait and switch.


Showing up casually in the background of someone's shot is vastly different from that person making you the subject of their photo.


----------



## lovethattink

Please get back on topic of the thread!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Once again we're off on a tangent.  Please stop the discussion of taking pictures of people who are not following Disney policies.  We all know there are people who are not following the rules and that is for Disney to handle. 

Please discuss what you experienced, not whether someone should take pictures and report.  They may do what they want to do but what they/you choose to do is not up for discussion on this board.   

*All further comments will be deleted* and warning points assigned as required.


----------



## Makmak

Bus to AK at ASM arrived at 7:50....about five busses to MK arrived starting at 6:35. For people coming with strollers, if you get one of the coach-style (non Disney) busses you don’t have to fold your stroller! We got that style of bus as the first bus to AK today. They just put the whole thing in the giant cargo bay under the bus with all your gear still attached.....this is huge for some stroller people.


----------



## Elle23

Makmak said:


> Bus to AK at ASM arrived at 7:50....about five busses to MK arrived starting at 6:35. For people coming with strollers, if you get one of the coach-style (non Disney) busses you don’t have to fold your stroller! We got that style of bus as the first bus to AK today. They just put the whole thing in the giant cargo bay under the bus with all your gear still attached.....this is huge for some stroller people.



Please note also if you are on a scooter, you can’t take the charter buses and may end up waiting longer for a regular Disney bus.

There was a man and woman waiting with a scooter at AK one day and they had been waiting a long time. When the bus finally came it was a charter bus and they couldn’t get on it. I seriously thought the guy was going to throw down with the cast member when he broke the news to him.


----------



## Boopuff

I find it interesting that there are very different crowd level posts.  I know the 35% shows up a lot, so I was wondering... does Disney calculate the 35% based on the open attractions rather than the entire park?  And I get that one persons crowded (Epcot on New Years) is another persons (early February at MK)


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Boopuff said:


> I find it interesting that there are very different crowd level posts.  I know the 35% shows up a lot, so I was wondering... does Disney calculate the 35% based on the open attractions rather than the entire park?  And I get that one persons crowded (Epcot on New Years) is another persons (early February at MK)


I don't think anyone knows for sure how it's calculated.


----------



## OhioStateBuckeye

cjlong88 said:


> I know that people have mentioned that weekdays tend to have lighter crowds as opposed to weekends. For those of you there now or back recently, do you find that to still be the case in general?



It does seem that way. I don't think Disney exactly lies with their reservation capacity, but it definitely seems that way.

I went to DHS and Epcot on a Sunday in April. I also went to DHS on a Wednesday a week and a half later. It sure felt a lot emptier on that Wednesday. Though I know that makes no sense because both parks were at capacity both days.


----------



## Akck

We’ve been to the parks in September, December and April. In each trip, there were areas of the parks that were crowded and areas where no one was closer than 50’ in front of you. While crowds did increase with each trip, the only park that felt more crowded to me was AK. One thing I did notice, is that lines for most shops disappeared in April. We did little to no waiting to enter. The only big line I saw, other than for cookies, was the Lego store at DS, but we were able to just walk in the day we went.


----------



## scrappinginontario

BarbLynnM said:


> Not sure if this is appropriate for this board, but here goes:
> 
> It's currently 11:13 a.m. eastern time May 6th and I'm about to cancel a MK ressie for June 3, 2021.
> 
> It'll take a few to get back to the app. Just wanted to give Dis'ers a heads-up


I will leave this here but if you don't mind, could you please post this information in the 'Official Theme Park Cancellation' thread?  

Thanks!


----------



## cjlong88

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> It does seem that way. I don't think Disney exactly lies with their reservation capacity, but it definitely seems that way.
> 
> I went to DHS and Epcot on a Sunday in April. I also went to DHS on a Wednesday a week and a half later. It sure felt a lot emptier on that Wednesday. Though I know that makes no sense because both parks were at capacity both days.


Thank you! We are visiting just for the day on Wednesday May 26th and we were hoping that weekdays continue to be less crowded (even if it's just a little less).


----------



## William B

cjlong88 said:


> I know that people have mentioned that weekdays tend to have lighter crowds as opposed to weekends. For those of you there now or back recently, do you find that to still be the case in general?


We were at MK on Wed, HS on Thurs, EP on Fri and MK again Sat.  Fri and Sat were MUCH worse than Wed or Thursday.  The crowd difference was dramatic in some areas from Wed to Sat at MK.  I think part of it had to do with the cheerleading and dance groups being in town and having time in the parks, so it might not be as big a difference as we saw usually, but this past week the weekdays were much better than the weekends in my opinion.


----------



## lovethattink

cjlong88 said:


> Thank you! We are visiting just for the day on Wednesday May 26th and we were hoping that weekdays continue to be less crowded (even if it's just a little less).



We have been going every other Sunday to Epcot and every other Tuesday to MK, they both seem less crowded to me.

DHS always feels more crowded, especially in Galaxy’s Edge.


----------



## Elle :)

We went to MK today. Walked from the Contemporary and arrived at the main gates just around 7am. We were held there for a few minutes before they opened the park. Most people went to SDMT but we rope dropped Space mountain. We were held there for another 5-7 minutes before they opened up. We rode that twice as a walk on and went directly over to splash mountain to get in line (at 5 minutes to 8). They started running shortly after 8am and it took about 30 minutes to get through. Next, we did Big Thunder followed by Haunted Mansion (both walk on). By this point, it was 9am and I was starving so we mobile ordered a little snack. Then we hit up Buz light year (5-7 minute wait), Big Thunder again (5 minute wait) and finally Pirates of the Caribbean (~30minutes). We finished right around 11:10am and went straight to our lunch reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern.

Rope drop was definitely the way to go. By 12, the lines were long and it was freaking HOT! We took off for an afternoon break.


----------



## Wood Nymph

So we made a big mistake today and have to remember never to do it again. We were at Hollywood Studios this morning and ready to go back to the resort. We had just missed the boat back to the Yacht Club and decided to take the Skyliner back to the Epcot station instead, not realizing that it was 11am. When we got to CBR there was a long line for Epcot that was estimated to be 1/2 hour long. We went back to DHS on the Skyliner from CBR, vowing to never do that again. We ended up walking back to the YC.


----------



## cjlong88

Wood Nymph said:


> So we made a big mistake today and have to remember never to do it again. We were at Hollywood Studios this morning and ready to go back to the resort. We had just missed the boat back to the Yacht Club and decided to take the Skyliner back to the Epcot station instead, not realizing that it was 11am. When we got to CBR there was a long line for Epcot that was estimated to be 1/2 hour long. We went back to DHS on the Skyliner from CBR, vowing to never do that again. We ended up walking back to the YC.


We did the exact same thing back in February. We ended up waiting the line, but we really should have just taken the skyliner back to HS and walked like you did.


----------



## Elle23

Wood Nymph said:


> So we made a big mistake today and have to remember never to do it again. We were at Hollywood Studios this morning and ready to go back to the resort. We had just missed the boat back to the Yacht Club and decided to take the Skyliner back to the Epcot station instead, not realizing that it was 11am. When we got to CBR there was a long line for Epcot that was estimated to be 1/2 hour long. We went back to DHS on the Skyliner from CBR, vowing to never do that again. We ended up walking back to the YC.



I LOVE the skyliner....except around that time. Then it is a long convoluted mess.

We ended up walking over to AOA from Pop and taking the buses, which worked so much better.

I hope things improve once the Covid policies are over. I love having our own skyliner car,  but would gladly share again if it cleared up some of the congestion.


----------



## Linkura

Makmak said:


> Bus to AK at ASM arrived at 7:50....about five busses to MK arrived starting at 6:35. For people coming with strollers, if you get one of the coach-style (non Disney) busses you don’t have to fold your stroller! We got that style of bus as the first bus to AK today. They just put the whole thing in the giant cargo bay under the bus with all your gear still attached.....this is huge for some stroller people.


Am I reading this correctly?  The first bus to AK arrived an hour and 15 minutes after the first bus to MK?  And they open at the same time?


----------



## Makmak

Linkura said:


> Am I reading this correctly?  The first bus to AK arrived an hour and 15 minutes after the first bus to MK?  And they open at the same time?


They said they “had to get that MK line taken care of because it was so long” so the lady said they called more busses for them.....so yup.....no early bus for us to AK


----------



## Castlequeen5

I just read Disney is getting rid of temperature checks on May 16.  It really didn’t take that much time, but I think may help a little with the lines.  Plus we’re getting a little back to normal!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Castlequeen5 said:


> I just read Disney is getting rid of temperature checks on May 16.  It really didn’t take that much time, but I think may help a little with the lines.  Plus we’re getting a little back to normal!


Yes, according to the current information on the WDW website:

*Temperature Screenings*

Since reopening, we have considered guidance from public health authorities, government agencies, and our own team of health and safety experts as we assess and update health and safety measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

As this guidance continues to evolve, and with the support of local health and government officials, we are making some additional adjustments. Following the advice of the CDC and our local health officials, we will phase out onsite temperature screenings at Walt Disney World Resort for Cast Members beginning May 8 and Guests on May 16.

We will continue to follow the guidance of health and safety leaders going forward and most importantly encourage people to get vaccinated.

Temperature screenings are required for entry to some locations.

You will be required to undergo a temperature screening with no-touch thermometers before entry to some locations at Walt Disney World Resort, including the Walt Disney World theme parks, the Disney Springs area and table-service restaurants at Disney Resort hotels.

Based on guidance from health authorities, anyone displaying a temperature of 100.4 F or above will be directed to an additional location for rescreening and assistance. Those with temperatures 100.4 F or above will not be allowed entry; those in their party will not be allowed entry either.

Before you leave home, be sure to check the temperatures of everyone in your party—including yourself—as an extra layer of precaution.


*Please continue to keep discussions on the thread related to 'Here Now and Just Back'.*  Discussions outside of what Disney is actually doing re: removing temperature checks and people's actual experiences will be removed and warning points given if necessary.


----------



## stephnerninnie1984

Spent at Day at Epcot last Thursday: 4/29

Parked at DS @ 9:15 am and took a bus over to Boardwalk Inn and arrived by 10:15 am. Walked over to IG and went straight into the gates using my Apple Watch and magic mobile! That was fun.

Went straight to TT where posted wait time was 60 minutes but took less then 30 to get on. Line looked massive but we walked continuously. After TT we went over to get some Shrimp and Grits and Fried cinnamon rolls at the booth right there. Both were amazing and would eat again! Then rode MS:G because my sister had never been on it. Posted 25 minute wait: actually waited about 15. Headed back to WS at this time for more food. Got the poutine and popsicle trio from Refreshment Port right outside Canada. Then walked over to Mexico where we got in line to enter the pavilion. Again the line looked massive but we were in within 10 minutes. Not a bad wait at all. Rode 3 Cabelleros and got a laugh over the cardboard characters at the end. My sister got herself the El Diablo margarita which she said was delicious. (I don’t drink so have no opinion ). We walked around a bit, looked at the topiaries, and stopped in Germany for some more food. I got the pretzel bread with ham and cheese. Then we decided to hop over to HS and ride the skyliner because again, my sister had never rode it.

Left EP about 2:15 and got into HS about 2:45ish. Got ourselves a slushee to keep cool while we waited in line for MMRR which had a posted wait time of 50 minutes but really we were on in about 25. It was HOT while outside in the sun though. A cast member told us as soon as we stopped walking, we could drink our drinks. We didn’t stop much but when we did, we drank fast. They were super refreshing! The ride was amazing as always. After that we walked onto TSM and then did MF where we actually waited the posted 40 minute wait. But it wasn’t too bad. I did not like the plastic things separating the seats as it took away from the experience by making the screen not clear. But oh well. I hope they get ride of those soon! After that we rode Alien and then started getting hungry so decided to return to EP for dinner.

We skylined back to EP but in hindsight should have taken a boat. Once back, we went straight to the World Showplace and got the pork belly slider and watermelon salad from the first booth. Then the cheddar biscuit w/ salmon tartare from the second booth. The tartare dish was MY favorite of the day and my sister loved the watermelon salad. At this point we decided to hit Japan and get the shrimp and crab bites and frushi (both delicious) before getting in line for Frozen. Posted time 45 minutes was pretty accurate but again the line constantly moved. We sat in the back row and the stupid plastic dividers take away from that ride SO MUCH. If that was my first time on it I would have been super bummed.

After Frozen we got one last thing to eat (the cornbread from Honey Bee-stro) then headed to Figment and Soarin’. Soarin’ was posted 30 minutes but it must have went down while we were in line because we waited about 50. (Ugh). After that, we REALLY wanted to do TT one more time before leaving and so we ran over there and hopped in line at 9:58 pm. Woo. Just made it. At this point, my feet were KILLING me. We had walked over 12 miles, and burned about 1200 calories according to my watch. After riding, we left the park about 10:40 pm and my sister and I hobbled to her car. She dropped me back off at Disney Springs to get my car and we both went home (she lives in Tampa, I live near Cocoa). It was a beautiful, no kid, no work, no husband kind of Disney day.

Now looking forward to staying at the Swan next weekend with the husband for our anniversary! Love me some Disney!


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## scrappinginontario

Just read this and wanted to post it as it may affect those at WDW now:

*Planned maintenance will be taking place on the Disney Skyliner Thursday May 6 2021 resulting in a delayed opening*


----------



## Kbrob21

Just got back on Tuesday (4/29-5/3 in the parks). Me, husband, grandma, 7 year-old, 5 year-old, 7 month-old.

4/29 - MK (lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table)
4/30 - AK in AM (lunch at Yak &Yeti), Epcot in PM
5/1 - Topolinos brunch (highly recommend!), pool, Homecomin' dinner 
5/2 - MK (lunch at Cosmic Rays - mobile ordered in advance)
5/3 - HS in AM (lunch at Woody's - mobile ordered in advance), Epcot in PM

It was an awesome trip! All of the adults are vaccinated so we weren't concerned about that. The crowds were big enough that if I wasn't vaccinated I probably would have felt uncomfortable. I personally saw cast members give mask reminders to people several times each day. I see they're doing away with temp checks but there was never really a line at those for us anyway. We rope dropped and went back in the evenings and it made all the difference. Stayed off property, drove and parked at the parks. I liked having control over our transportation. We rode some headliners multiple times (Splash, SDMT, BTMRR). We got on every ride we wanted and even some we weren't planning for. The one major issue had nothing to do with Disney - it was the HEAT. It was SO hot. I knew this time of year would be hot but it was brutal some days. We did a couple of table service lunches which were great to relax and cool down. We brought fans and umbrellas and the umbrellas absolutely helped with shade. HS was the most crowded with very little shade. We rope dropped and there were hoards of people walking in. We didn't experience that at rope drop for the other parks. The longest wait of our trip was Mickey and Minnie's Railway, about 50 minutes. Again, the umbrellas were huge for this one. The line wraps around in the main courtyard area with almost no shade at all. All-in-all we had a great time and did everything we wanted to do. Tip on pics: if you have Memory Maker, take screenshots of the attraction photos (like Everest, Splash, etc.). For some reason our attraction photos aren't showing up in MDE and when you have the screenshot I assume it helps them locate the missing photos more easily. Happy to give more details if anyone has questions!


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## auntyjenn

How long has the wait been to get into the Mexico pavilion lately, and at what time of day? 

Thanks!


----------



## Kelly014

Any recent reports on Blizzard Beach reaching capacity/being busy? Really hoping Typhoon Lagoon will open back up before we go in late July, but figure the demand needs to be there.


----------



## jenjersnap

This reminds me of a question I have...hope it is ok to ask here. We have a 7:30 Topolino’s on our Epcot day. We want to be in Epcot before official opening. Will the skyliner will be a safe bet to make it back in that timeframe, if we are waiting in line at Riviera by 9:30ish? Or, should I just plan for a Lyft? 



Wood Nymph said:


> So we made a big mistake today and have to remember never to do it again. We were at Hollywood Studios this morning and ready to go back to the resort. We had just missed the boat back to the Yacht Club and decided to take the Skyliner back to the Epcot station instead, not realizing that it was 11am. When we got to CBR there was a long line for Epcot that was estimated to be 1/2 hour long. We went back to DHS on the Skyliner from CBR, vowing to never do that again. We ended up walking back to the YC.


----------



## scrappinginontario

jenjersnap said:


> This reminds me of a question I have...hope it is ok to ask here. We have a 7:30 Topolino’s on our Epcot day. We want to be in Epcot before official opening. Will the skyliner will be a safe bet to make it back in that timeframe, if we are waiting in line at Riviera by 9:30ish? Or, should I just plan for a Lyft?


Most definitely although, there is a good chance the Skyliner will not start loading guests until after 10:00am but it will be good to be in line by 9:30.


----------



## brockash

jenjersnap said:


> This reminds me of a question I have...hope it is ok to ask here. We have a 7:30 Topolino’s on our Epcot day. We want to be in Epcot before official opening. Will the skyliner will be a safe bet to make it back in that timeframe, if we are waiting in line at Riviera by 9:30ish? Or, should I just plan for a Lyft?


You'll be a the best stop for Epcot.  Riviera station should (unless something weird happens) load to Epcot before the main station ppl. even start arriving.  I'd try to get in the Riviera line around 9:15 if possible, but even at 9:30; I can't imagine you'll have any issue getting to Epcot well before official park open....this is all assuming there are no weather issues.  

We stayed at CBR in March and walked to the Riviera station on our Epcot day a little after 9.  We were the 6th family back and they started boarding about 9:50.  We were on a gondola before we ever saw ppl. coming from the main station via skyliner, so we were one of the first families to arrive at IG via the skyliner that day.  Once you get to IG; they'll hold the skyliner ppl. in a separate line and then once they open the temp check/turnstiles, the walkers will go in one entrance, while skyliner ppl. go in a different entrance.  

I'd plan on using the skyliner, but be ready to lyft if the skyliners down or something.


----------



## Wood Nymph

jenjersnap said:


> This reminds me of a question I have...hope it is ok to ask here. We have a 7:30 Topolino’s on our Epcot day. We want to be in Epcot before official opening. Will the skyliner will be a safe bet to make it back in that timeframe, if we are waiting in line at Riviera by 9:30ish? Or, should I just plan for a Lyft?


We were at Riviera around Epcot opening time and it took about 15 minutes for us to get on the Skyliner at that time. Most of the cars were filled with people coming from the CBR station, but every few cars had room for the Riviera people.


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

kylenne said:


> There really is no excuse though. I booked my end of May trip through our TA and I swear to god I must have gotten at least three emails from Disney Destinations about what to expect in terms of safety protocols, modified experiences, etc. Including the park reservation system. Like you really have to go out of your way to be ignorant of this stuff nowadays. Disney does everything possible to inform even those who inexplicably don’t spend 5 minutes online before embarking on a vacation costing thousands.
> 
> Those of us who are regulars to the World especially know that these folk exist but man is it crazy seeing them “in the wild”. Anyway I am grateful for the crowdsourced info in this thread, it’s been incredibly valuable for researching my own trip.


"in the wild"  love that


----------



## MickeyFan19

scrappinginontario said:


> Most definitely although, there is a good chance the Skyliner will not start loading guests until after 10:00am but it will be good to be in line by 9:30.


We had a breakfast reservation @ Topolino's today (7:50am). We ate and had plenty of time to go out the terrace and then walk at our leisure towards the Skyliner. The line to Epcot was down and they said we had to take a bus. We got to the bus line at 9:23am and the bus didn't come until almost 10am, so almost 45 minutes. I saw it pulling in as our Uber was pulling out of the resort.

Edited to add that I just read about maintenance being done on Skyliner today which explains it all.


----------



## Elle :)

We went to HS today. Despite the fact that I’ve been practicing for a boarding group for over a week, I almost forgot to do it this morning. Almost!  Thank goodness, it popped into my head at 6:55am. I managed to snag BG 2!! 

We walked over from Beach Club and were there by 7am. The line to get it wraps over to the left....and it’s long! They opened up the park at 7:15am and we were through temp check, security, and ticketing in a couple minutes. We went straight to Rockin Roller Coaster and rode it 3 times as a walk on (can you tell it’s my favorite ride?). Then we went off to ride the millennium falcon and waited maybe 15-20 minutes max. Our BG had been called at 8:40am but we pushed it to the end of the time frame and rode it at 9:40, as a walk on. Fantastic ride! We had a 9:55 ressie at Ogas, which gave us a chance to relax. After having a couple great drinks...and a very cool jello dish, we walked over to toy story land. I got in line for TSM with a 35 min posted wait but it was maybe 20 minutes. The line for it was crazy though...all the way back to the Jeoffrey’s cart (I’m sorry if I spelled that wrong). We rode RnRc again but with a good 30 minute wait by this point. Finally, we had lunch at Mama Melrose and left the park around 1pm.

I had planned to ride the Skyliner back to the Epcot entrance so we would have a super short walk to the hotel but they said the Epcot line was under maintenance. We ended up hoofing it back to the hotel because the boat line was insane. That was hot and miserable.


----------



## Akck

brockash said:


> You'll be a the best stop for Epcot.  Riviera station should (unless something weird happens) load to Epcot before the main station ppl. even start arriving.  I'd try to get in the Riviera line around 9:15 if possible, but even at 9:30; I can't imagine you'll have any issue getting to Epcot well before official park open....this is all assuming there are no weather issues.
> 
> We stayed at CBR in March and walked to the Riviera station on our Epcot day a little after 9.  We were the 6th family back and they started boarding about 9:50.  We were on a gondola before we ever saw ppl. coming from the main station via skyliner, so we were one of the first families to arrive at IG via the skyliner that day.  Once you get to IG; they'll hold the skyliner ppl. in a separate line and then once they open the temp check/turnstiles, the walkers will go in one entrance, while skyliner ppl. go in a different entrance.
> 
> I'd plan on using the skyliner, but be ready to lyft if the skyliners down or something.



Yes, I believe they start loading gondolas from both locations at the same time. So if you’re in the first 20 or so groups, you’ll load first. After that, it’s about every 3-4 gondolas.


----------



## jbrinkm

Elle :) said:


> We went to HS today. Despite the fact that I’ve been practicing for a boarding group for over a week, I almost forgot to do it this morning. Almost!  Thank goodness, it popped into my head at 6:55am. I managed to snag BG 2!!



I had a nightmare that I forgot to get a boarding group a few weeks ago that I posted on here. I woke up feeling like I really had ruined our HS day (we're not going until August, LOL). Congrats on BG2!!


----------



## Raisincain

OhioStateBuckeye said:


> So I've got another timed parks report. I take the time stamps from my pictures, and most are pretty accurate.




Really great pics and great report; thank you!


----------



## MickeyFan19

Elle :) said:


> We went to HS today. Despite the fact that I’ve been practicing for a boarding group for over a week, I almost forgot to do it this morning. Almost!  Thank goodness, it popped into my head at 6:55am. I managed to snag BG 2!!
> 
> We walked over from Beach Club and were there by 7am. The line to get it wraps over to the left....and it’s long! They opened up the park at 7:15am and we were through temp check, security, and ticketing in a couple minutes. We went straight to Rockin Roller Coaster and rode it 3 times as a walk on (can you tell it’s my favorite ride?). Then we went off to ride the millennium falcon and waited maybe 15-20 minutes max. Our BG had been called at 8:40am but we pushed it to the end of the time frame and rode it at 9:40, as a walk on. Fantastic ride! We had a 9:55 ressie at Ogas, which gave us a chance to relax. After having a couple great drinks...and a very cool jello dish, we walked over to toy story land. I got in line for TSM with a 35 min posted wait but it was maybe 20 minutes. The line for it was crazy though...all the way back to the Jeoffrey’s cart (I’m sorry if I spelled that wrong). We rode RnRc again but with a good 30 minute wait by this point. Finally, we had lunch at Mama Melrose and left the park around 1pm.
> 
> I had planned to ride the Skyliner back to the Epcot entrance so we would have a super short walk to the hotel but they said the Epcot line was under maintenance. We ended up hoofing it back to the hotel because the boat line was insane. That was hot and miserable.


You got into HS at 715? An hour and 45 minutes before opening time?


----------



## CarlyMur09

MickeyFan19 said:


> You got into HS at 715? An hour and 45 minutes before opening time?


I was there this morning,,, HS opened at 8:15.


----------



## coolbrook

Elle :) said:


> Finally, we had lunch at Mama Melrose and left the park around 1pm.


Hi, we have an ADR for Mama Melrose in a couple weeks and haven't eaten there in a few years.  It seems like the entrance area where you wait for your table is pretty small.  Did you have to wait very long for your table, and where did you wait? Thank you!


----------



## scrappinginontario

coolbrook said:


> Hi, we have an ADR for Mama Melrose in a couple weeks and haven't eaten there in a few years.  It seems like the entrance area where you wait for your table is pretty small.  Did you have to wait very long for your table, and where did you wait? Thank you!


Not the OP but there is an option to wait outside also.


----------



## julesdamom

CarlyMur09 said:


> I was there this morning,,, HS opened at 8:15.


We will be going the first week in June. Do all the parks open hours before the posted time? What time should we plan on arriving at Epcot, HS, MK and AK if we want to make rope drop? We always like to be there for rope drop, then go back to the room for an afternoon rest, then hit the parks again later for closing. 
We are staying at AOA and I'm wondering about taking the skyliner or buses to get to the parks June 2-6 for rope drop. What do you think?


----------



## Haley R

julesdamom said:


> We will be going the first week in June. Do all the parks open hours before the posted time? What time should we plan on arriving at Epcot, HS, MK and AK if we want to make rope drop? We always like to be there for rope drop, then go back to the room for an afternoon rest, then hit the parks again later for closing.
> We are staying at AOA and I'm wondering about taking the skyliner or buses to get to the parks June 2-6 for rope drop. What do you think?


I think they’re all opening about 45 minutes before the posted time but I might be wrong. I’ve only been paying attention to MK


----------



## Geomom

coolbrook said:


> Hi, we have an ADR for Mama Melrose in a couple weeks and haven't eaten there in a few years.  It seems like the entrance area where you wait for your table is pretty small.  Did you have to wait very long for your table, and where did you wait? Thank you!


We didn't eat at Mama Melrose, but just wanted to say that you can check in for your ADR on the MDE app up to 20 minutes before.  You'll get a notification when your table is ready and then you enter the restaurant and tell them you were notified that your table is ready and you should be seated relatively quickly.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

julesdamom said:


> We will be going the first week in June. Do all the parks open hours before the posted time? What time should we plan on arriving at Epcot, HS, MK and AK if we want to make rope drop? We always like to be there for rope drop, then go back to the room for an afternoon rest, then hit the parks again later for closing.
> We are staying at AOA and I'm wondering about taking the skyliner or buses to get to the parks June 2-6 for rope drop. What do you think?


All the parks are opening about 45 minutes before posted time.  I’m not sure if AoA always has buses to DHS and Epcot or if that’s only during super busy times.  But regardless I’d take the Skyliner over the bus.  The lines can be long for rope drop, but I like that they move consistently and quickly, while the buses are unpredictable.


----------



## scrappinginontario

julesdamom said:


> We will be going the first week in June. Do all the parks open hours before the posted time? What time should we plan on arriving at Epcot, HS, MK and AK if we want to make rope drop? We always like to be there for rope drop, then go back to the room for an afternoon rest, then hit the parks again later for closing.
> We are staying at AOA and I'm wondering about taking the skyliner or buses to get to the parks June 2-6 for rope drop. What do you think?


To arrive in time for rope drop it is recommended you arrive at your resort transportation 90 minutes before posted park opening.


----------



## Elle :)

MickeyFan19 said:


> You got into HS at 715? An hour and 45 minutes before opening time?



Nope. Just a mental slip. I’ve got Disney brain.


----------



## Elle :)

coolbrook said:


> Hi, we have an ADR for Mama Melrose in a couple weeks and haven't eaten there in a few years.  It seems like the entrance area where you wait for your table is pretty small.  Did you have to wait very long for your table, and where did you wait? Thank you!



We waited maybe 2-3 minutes (with a 12:20pm ADR). I checked in while we were walking over so add 3 minutes to that time, if you check in after you‘ve arrived.


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## Elle :)

We went to Epcot today. We walked over from the Beach Club and waited until just about 10:15am for them to open. We rope dropped Test Track. They weren’t doing the “build your car” segment. I’m not sure if that’s because it was before official park open or if it’s a COVID thing. We waited maybe 10-15 minutes to get on. We hit up mission space next with a posted 25 minute wait. We waited 15 minutes. After that, we booked it to Soarin because I know that line builds like crazy. It was a posted 35 minute wait. We waited about 20-25. The queue had a game you could log into. We’ve always used the fast pass line so I’ve never seen that before. It was a pretty fun way to pass the time. After Soarin, we went to Nemo and checked out the Seas. Then it was off to see the butterflies. Speaking of butterflies, they had the most adorable butterfly wings on the construction walls that you could use for pictures. I thought that was very cool, especially now that you can take your mask off for pics.
We had Le Cellier for lunch at 2pm and it was delicious...My steak fanatic husband was very pleased.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Elle :) said:


> We went to Epcot today. We walked over from the Beach Club and waited until just about 10:15am for them to open. *We rope dropped Test Track. They weren’t doing the “build your car” segment. *I’m not sure if that’s because it was before official park open or if it’s a COVID thing. We waited maybe 10-15 minutes to get on. We hit up mission space next with a posted 25 minute wait. We waited 15 minutes. After that, we booked it to Soarin because I know that line builds like crazy. It was a posted 35 minute wait. We waited about 20-25. The queue had a game you could log into. We’ve always used the fast pass line so I’ve never seen that before. It was a pretty fun way to pass the time. After Soarin, we went to Nemo and checked out the Seas. Then it was off to see the butterflies. Speaking of butterflies, they had the most adorable butterfly wings on the construction walls that you could use for pictures. I thought that was very cool, especially now that you can take your mask off for pics.
> We had Le Cellier for lunch at 2pm and it was delicious...My steak fanatic husband was very pleased.


Test Track's pre-show is one that is not currently running.


----------



## lovethattink

scrappinginontario said:


> Test Track's pre-show is one that is not currently running.



Most of the attractions don’t have the pre-show running.


----------



## Akck

lovethattink said:


> Most of the attractions don’t have the pre-show running.



I believe ROTR is about the only one running.


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## stephnerninnie1984

auntyjenn said:


> How long has the wait been to get into the Mexico pavilion lately, and at what time of day?
> 
> Thanks!



When I went, the wait LOOKED long. We were curved all the way back past where Donald use to meet. It took us less then 10 minutes before we were inside. It was a Friday around 12:30 pm


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## nerdboyrockstar

Been here for a few days now with Table Service dining every day and today was the first time we were asked to keep our masks on until we're actively eating and drinking once we were seated. We had our drinks within minutes so it really didn't last long? Strangely, it was probably at the most spaced out restaurant we've hit yet (Hollywood & Vine in DHS). It's a miracle we're getting reservations in any of these places with such few tables.  Food was so, so good though.


----------



## MoeJ

nerdboyrockstar said:


> Been here for a few days now with Table Service dining every day and today was the first time we were asked to keep our masks on until we're actively eating and drinking once we were seated. We had our drinks within minutes so it really didn't last long? Strangely, it was probably at the most spaced out restaurant we've hit yet (Hollywood & Vine in DHS). It's a miracle we're getting reservations in any of these places with such few tables.  Food was so, so good though.


Back in March, Brown Derby was the only restaurant we ate at that requested that as well.


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## ajgardner

Akck said:


> I believe ROTR is about the only one running.


It is running, sometimes. Other times they completely bypass the entire pre-show section (like last week when they didn’t have it going on my one and only HS day)


----------



## ajgardner

nerdboyrockstar said:


> Been here for a few days now with Table Service dining every day and today was the first time we were asked to keep our masks on until we're actively eating and drinking once we were seated. We had our drinks within minutes so it really didn't last long? Strangely, it was probably at the most spaced out restaurant we've hit yet (Hollywood & Vine in DHS). It's a miracle we're getting reservations in any of these places with such few tables.  Food was so, so good though.


Some one else stated Brown Derby was the only one they were asked at. Last week, The one and only place we were asked to keep it on was at Ogas. Maybe it is a HS thing?


----------



## Familyof4lovesDW

It must be a HS thing. When we were there last week, we had to keep our masks on until we got our drinks at 50’s and Sci Fi.  None of the other TS we went to at the other parks made that request. I wonder why they only do that at HS?


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## Becky Mouse

ajgardner said:


> Some one else stated Brown Derby was the only one they were asked at. Last week, The one and only place we were asked to keep it on was at Ogas. Maybe it is a HS thing?



That's good to hear! I got a reservation to Oga's for after closing time but was feeling nervous about it. I thought about just going in to see it and asking if I could just buy a souvenir cup to go. But if people are generally keeping masks on there, we might try a drink. I still think I'll ask them if I can pay right away when I order, that way I can leave ASAP if I start feeling uncomfortable...


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## Wood Nymph

Elle :) said:


> We went to Epcot today. We walked over from the Beach Club and waited until just about 10:15am for them to open. We rope dropped Test Track.


We walked to Epcot around 10:10 am from the Yacht Club and then walked straight to Test Track along with you. 

We arrived at the Mexico Pavilion a little before 11am. There wasn't any line for the Grand Fiesta ride at that time.


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## ENJDisneyFan

Becky Mouse said:


> That's good to hear! I got a reservation to Oga's for after closing time but was feeling nervous about it. I thought about just going in to see it and asking if I could just buy a souvenir cup to go. But if people are generally keeping masks on there, we might try a drink. I still think I'll ask them if I can pay right away when I order, that way I can leave ASAP if I start feeling uncomfortable...


I was at Oga’s last month and everyone took masks off right away when seated.  So I’d say YMMV on this.


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## Makmak

So....universal seating like “the before times” today. I was wondering about the extremely short wait times and we went on Gringotts and they had ppl scoot down to seat every seat and I said “oh I didn’t know you were doing that” and the TM said “we just started”
Edited: wanted to add that they have 3’ distancing signs and tape but that’s not happening anywhere except the very final boarding  area of hogworts where they ironically have people waiting in staggered formation at 6’ for the last two minutes before boarding and are still putting one party per car. Hagrids is listed at 45-60 minutes and we are walking on for the third time as I type total wait has been ten minutes just walking the whole time bc they are starting the que back in Poseidon theatre but the actual que is pure walkthrough. They are letting groups into the actual que to walk straight on every few minutes it’s very odd.


----------



## JoJoGirl

Just back from Disney, and really enjoyed our trip despite the heat. Crowds felt almost like normal for early May. During the afternoons walkways were crowded but still easy enough to navigate. Social distancing in the lines was OK, and most people tried to follow the markings, though not all. You can tell that the feeling is much more relaxed. The general worry/tension has mostly disappeared. It was the most normal Disney has felt in my four trips since WDW reopened.

My parents in their 80s both used scooters and didn’t have any trouble getting around through the crowds. The heat was a challenge, though. Dad had been planning to walk the parks, but realized the first night that he’d better not. He ordered a scooter from Scooterbug, which he picked up at bell services in the morning. It was smooth sailing after that.

I rope dropped every day, and those first two hours before the heat and crowds built were the most enjoyable. Getting out of bed was hard but well worth it!

My AP expires today, and luckily I have another one on my account that I purchased before the big price increase, so I still feel Disneyfied, lol. I will not activate it until masks are not required, so that my husband and special needs son, who cannot wear a mask, can come too.

Good luck to everyone visiting soon! It’s so exciting that more things are opening every week. It’s still CovidDisney with masks and limited dining capacity, but the feeling of moving toward normalcy is palpable. Safe and Happy travels!


----------



## WEDWDW

Can anyone confirm that _“A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King”  _is debuting today?


----------



## GBRforWDW

WEDWDW said:


> Can anyone confirm that _“A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King”  _is debuting today?


Found this on Twitter:



They also have sandwich board signs out welcoming guests.

https://blogmickey.com/2021/05/a-ce...ficially-opens-may-15-soft-openings-possible/


----------



## Makmak

Velicicoaster is open and running all day to the general public today as a “technical
Preview”
Edited to add: I was told by the TMs that they will be running it randomly from now until official June 10 opening date. To clarify this means it may not run some days and may run a few hours to all day other days.


----------



## sommergirl25

Sara W said:


> Has anyone tried one of the new Disney masks with the boning in the front?



Yes! I got one about halfway through our trip and loved It!  I was wearing disposable and the new mask was so much more comfortable and stayed away from my mouth.


----------



## preemiemama

Can anyone tell me how mobile ordering works with an AP or DVC discount?  Is it applying automatically, or is there something you need to do to activate it during the ordering process?


----------



## Gitelfor

WEDWDW said:


> Can anyone confirm that _“A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King”  _is debuting today?


There was a soft opening today, with a reduced cast and missing Tumble Monkeys, as well as no aerial bird act (though the birds were there, dancing).  Pictures and video clips from today's first show:

A Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King 1st performance following closure


----------



## Poohbear538

Sara W said:


> Has anyone tried one of the new Disney masks with the boning in the front?


We just got them today and pretty comfortable. I got a large and my Mom got a medium. They have the boning in both the nose area and the front. Beware of the smalls, they do not have the boning in them. We bought one for Mom and didn’t notice the packaging, it does not say it on there where the medium and large do.


----------



## jlundeen

preemiemama said:


> Can anyone tell me how mobile ordering works with an AP or DVC discount?  Is it applying automatically, or is there something you need to do to activate it during the ordering process?


When we were there in April, you could not use anything other than you visa (maybe a gift card?  not sure).  I wanted to put it on my Magic Band and pay everything off at the end of my trip, but there wasn't an option for that. And since we only used the mobile ordering for quick service, AP discount wasn't an option.... didn't try on a table service meal.


----------



## Sara W

Poohbear538 said:


> We just got them today and pretty comfortable. I got a large and my Mom got a medium. They have the boning in both the nose area and the front. Beware of the smalls, they do not have the boning in them. We bought one for Mom and didn’t notice the packaging, it does not say it on there where the medium and large do.


Thank you! My kids wear a small in the last masks and I wear a large. Do you think the sizing is similar to the last round of masks? (The poly-blend fabric, not the cotton)


----------



## preemiemama

jlundeen said:


> When we were there in April, you could not use anything other than you visa (maybe a gift card?  not sure).  I wanted to put it on my Magic Band and pay everything off at the end of my trip, but there wasn't an option for that. And since we only used the mobile ordering for quick service, AP discount wasn't an option.... didn't try on a table service meal.


Well that makes things more difficult...Thanks for the update.


----------



## Poohbear538

Sara W said:


> Thank you! My kids wear a small in the last masks and I wear a large. Do you think the sizing is similar to the last round of masks? (The poly-blend fabric, not the cotton)


You’re welcome. I honestly didn’t try the poly blend ones so I cannot compare. I normally wear my Under Armor ones which I wear a small in. Sorry


----------



## ajgardner

Becky Mouse said:


> That's good to hear! I got a reservation to Oga's for after closing time but was feeling nervous about it. I thought about just going in to see it and asking if I could just buy a souvenir cup to go. But if people are generally keeping masks on there, we might try a drink. I still think I'll ask them if I can pay right away when I order, that way I can leave ASAP if I start feeling uncomfortable...


Just to clarify, we were asked to keep it on until our first drink was served (so maybe the first 7-8 minutes) and the rest of the 45 minute time limit was no mask.  And then asked to put it back on before getting up to leave.


----------



## Magnoliafan

preemiemama said:


> Well that makes things more difficult...Thanks for the update.


My AP discount showed up automatically when I ordered Sanaa and The Wave to go.


----------



## Pyotr

preemiemama said:


> Can anyone tell me how mobile ordering works with an AP or DVC discount?  Is it applying automatically, or is there something you need to do to activate it during the ordering process?



My DVC discount was automatically applied when I did Geyser Point mobile order.


----------



## Makmak

We just resort hopped and got a notification for a survey that they want completed _during _our stay. The survey email is a form letter from the resort GM and the survey link asks to use GPS to find your location. Did anyone else get this? We didn’t get it at the last resort we checked into less than a week ago.


----------



## BillFromCT

Makmak said:


> We just resort hopped and got a notification for a survey that they want completed _during _our stay. The survey email is a form letter from the resort GM and the survey link asks to use GPS to find your location. Did anyone else get this? We didn’t get it at the last resort we checked into less than a week ago.


I received ones for our stays at both CBR and CR in March.  I like to always tell them that their internet is horribly slow.


----------



## preemiemama

So TS to go and at least one QS?  I guess I'll just need to make sure I pay attention then?  Thank you for the feedback!


----------



## RunWI1265

preemiemama said:


> So TS to go and at least one QS?  I guess I'll just need to make sure I pay attention then?  Thank you for the feedback!


My AP discount loaded automatically. Not all locations honor AP discount. If you’re unsure there is a “where’s my discount” link on the page of your mobile order and it’ll send you too a page of participating locations. Places like woodys lunchbox and satuli didn’t use it but


----------



## Makmak

People started camping lion king line at 10:00am for the 12:30 show. The lime is currently wrapping to Pandora and people are being told that they will make the 1:30 show. The show has a capacity of 400 they said (and that was also in the article here I believe).
We got in line at 11:00 and didn’t make the 12:30, we are about the tenth family in line for the 1:30.....they didn’t start the 12:30 on
time as they were still admitting people at 12:39. The CM were really trying to get as many in as possible.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Makmak said:


> People started camping lion king line at 10:00am for the 12:30 show.


If you do it in WDW does it count as "glamping"?


----------



## Sarahslay

preemiemama said:


> Can anyone tell me how mobile ordering works with an AP or DVC discount?  Is it applying automatically, or is there something you need to do to activate it during the ordering process?


You don't get an AP or DVC discount on QS meals anyway so it wouldn't apply, and so far I have not seen any discount taken off for food to go from TS spots that have it.


----------



## Sarahslay

RunWI1265 said:


> My AP discount loaded automatically. Not all locations honor AP discount. If you’re unsure there is a “where’s my discount” link on the page of your mobile order and it’ll send you too a page of participating locations. Places like woodys lunchbox and satuli didn’t use it but


Mine has never done it automatically for TS, so far I've not been willing to deal with figuring it out, with Disney IT it's usually hit or miss with some people having zero issue and others never having it work.


----------



## brockash

Makmak said:


> People started camping lion king line at 10:00am for the 12:30 show. The lime is currently wrapping to Pandora and people are being told that they will make the 1:30 show. The show has a capacity of 400 they said (and that was also in the article here I believe).
> We got in line at 11:00 and didn’t make the 12:30, we are about the tenth family in line for the 1:30.....they didn’t start the 12:30 on
> time as they were still admitting people at 12:39. The CM were really trying to get as many in as possible.


I mean I know they don't really care, but good lord how many more indicators do they need that it's well beyond time to open more/all entertainment...wow is all I can say.

Thx for the report...it's good to know...no matter how crazy of a wait it is


----------



## MickeyFan19

ENJDisneyFan said:


> All the parks are opening about 45 minutes before posted time.  I’m not sure if AoA always has buses to DHS and Epcot or if that’s only during super busy times.  But regardless I’d take the Skyliner over the bus.  The lines can be long for rope drop, but I like that they move consistently and quickly, while the buses are unpredictable.


Got home yesterday from Pop. For DHS, I took the bus from AOA. We got to the bus stop between 715-720am and were  5th in line. Around 745 bus came and we were there by 8am. Park opened around 815am. I decided against the Skyliner because of the transfer at CBR, heard it can get crowded.  Night before I went to DS and Pop had a long wait with no buses in sight. Decided to go over to AOA line and a coach bus pulled up. On our way to Pop, saw the signs about buses available to Epcot and DHS so went with that and glad I did.
Our last day, we went to MK for the night (4 to 9) and again, Pop line was long and only one bus online
 We went over to AOA and another coach bus pulled up.


----------



## mom2rtk

brockash said:


> I mean I know they don't really care, but good lord how many more indicators do they need that it's well beyond time to open more/all entertainment...wow is all I can say.
> 
> Thx for the report...it's good to know...no matter how crazy of a wait it is


But they still have cover to skimp and save $$$. They're going to be so slow at adding stuff back in.


----------



## bastraker

ajgardner said:


> Some one else stated Brown Derby was the only one they were asked at. Last week, The one and only place we were asked to keep it on was at Ogas. Maybe it is a HS thing?


That's so funny because we have eaten at the Brown Derby many times, including last month. Every time, they tell us to take our masks off as soon as we sit down. It must be a waiter specific situation.


----------



## subtchr

jlundeen said:


> When we were there in April, you could not use anything other than you visa (maybe a gift card?  not sure).  I wanted to put it on my Magic Band and pay everything off at the end of my trip, but there wasn't an option for that. And since we only used the mobile ordering for quick service, AP discount wasn't an option.... didn't try on a table service meal.



You have never been able to charge mobile orders to a MagicBand. Mobile ordering is all within the app, available to all guests, not just those staying at a Disney resort.

Payment options are a linked credit or debit card, Apple Pay, Disney Chase Visa rewards card, or Disney gift card.


----------



## subtchr

preemiemama said:


> Can anyone tell me how mobile ordering works with an AP or DVC discount?  Is it applying automatically, or is there something you need to do to activate it during the ordering process?



For the few places that have mobile ordering that offer a discount (the TS locations), the discount is applied automatically. Here's a screenshot from Ale & Compass.


----------



## preemiemama

subtchr said:


> You have never been able to charge mobile orders to a MagicBand. Mobile ordering is all within the app, available to all guests, not just those staying at a Disney resort.
> 
> Payment options are a linked credit or debit card, Apple Pay, Disney Chase Visa rewards card, or Disney gift card.


We have never gone without a dining plan, so this is going to be a learning curve for us this year.


----------



## MickeyFan19

preemiemama said:


> We have never gone without a dining plan, so this is going to be a learning curve for us this year.


Don't let it intimidate you, it is very easy. I don't qualify for any discounts so I didn't have to make sure those applied. The card that was saved to My Disney Experience always showed up when putting an order, it was a breeze. I would hit "prepare my order" as I would walk towards the QS location.


----------



## Magnoliafan

I hope that expanded Mobile Order, table service to go and table service check in on the app never go away.  I’ve been here for a week and it’s been super convenient.

An example: 7:50 ADR for Whispering Canyon.  I arrived at WL at 7:20 and sat in the lobby.  In the past, I would walk up to the podium around 7:40, give my cell number, walk back to the lobby, and wait for a text.  But today, I was able to relax in the lobby and check in from my phone at 7:30.  Got a notification maybe a minute later that my table was ready.  So easy.  No back and forth, no waiting at the podium twice.  Love it.


----------



## bjscheel

We went to the Lion King area at 11:45 today. Were told we would be in 1:30 show. Debated on whether to stay but we did and many times had a ledge in shade to sit in so it wasn’t too bad.


----------



## hereforthechurros

bastraker said:


> That's so funny because we have eaten at the Brown Derby many times, including last month. Every time, they tell us to take our masks off as soon as we sit down. It must be a waiter specific situation.


Tell you to remove your masks? I haven’t experienced this at any WDW restaurant.


----------



## brockash

hereforthechurros said:


> Tell you to remove your masks? I haven’t experienced this at any WDW restaurant.


We have many times.  Obviously, they're not rude about it, but yes most times that we've been seated at a table the host who seats us tells us we can take off our masks now and just to have it back on if we get up fron the table.  We've eaten at about 20 ts restaurants since reopening and I'd say this was our experience before and after Disney's weird verbiage change 95% of the time.  We've never had a host or waiter say anything about keeping them on until we order etc.


----------



## herkyfan

hereforthechurros said:


> Tell you to remove your masks? I haven’t experienced this at any WDW restaurant.


We are here now and our Homecomin' waiter just mentioned that we were free to remove our masks as soon as we were at out table...otherwise we've generally just kept them on till we are ordered and drinks arrive and nobody has cared or mentioned it


----------



## flipflopmom

Anyone there now notice if the “sunscreen shortage” is over? Trying to plan my shopping/packing, leaving in 2 weeks.


----------



## Becky Mouse

flipflopmom said:


> Anyone there now notice if the “sunscreen shortage” is over? Trying to plan my shopping/packing, leaving in 2 weeks.



There was a sunscreen shortage? Is that why people are suddenly allowed to bring larger bottles of sunscreen onto flights? I don't know if it's over or not, but I just ordered a travel bottle of mineral sunscreen (zinc oxide) on Amazon last week without any issue.


----------



## Makmak

flipflopmom said:


> Anyone there now notice if the “sunscreen shortage” is over? Trying to plan my shopping/packing, leaving in 2 weeks.


We saw lots of sunscreen for sale at AK yesterday in the little shop near the KRR que


----------



## flipflopmom

Makmak said:


> We saw lots of sunscreen for sale at AK yesterday in the little shop near the KRR que


Thank you so much!!


Becky Mouse said:


> There was a sunscreen shortage? Is that why people are suddenly allowed to bring larger bottles of sunscreen onto flights?


 A few weeks ago, there was no sunscreen to be found in WDW. Someone said they were told they were switching suppliers. I just read that the full size sunscreen was a misprint, and the travel size is the only one TSA would approve.


----------



## luv2cheer92

preemiemama said:


> So TS to go and at least one QS?  I guess I'll just need to make sure I pay attention then?  Thank you for the feedback!


Other than a couple at Disney Springs, QS restaurants do not offer AP discounts.


----------



## Becky Mouse

flipflopmom said:


> I just read that the full size sunscreen was a misprint, and the travel size is the only one TSA would approve.



Oh, I see you're right! I'm glad I bought the travel size.


----------



## ajgardner

brockash said:


> We have many times.  Obviously, they're not rude about it, but yes most times that we've been seated at a table the host who seats us tells us we can take off our masks now and just to have it back on if we get up fron the table.  We've eaten at about 20 ts restaurants since reopening and I'd say this was our experience before and after Disney's weird verbiage change 95% of the time.  We've never had a host or waiter say anything about keeping them on until we order etc.





hereforthechurros said:


> Tell you to remove your masks? I haven’t experienced this at any WDW restaurant.


Many restaurants also said this to us, that we were free to remove our masks now that we are seated and put them on when we leave or use the restroom.  We were actually quite surprised when Oga’s told us to keep them on - it was our last day and the opposite of everything we had experienced that week.


----------



## limace

We haven’t had a single restaurant say that to us during this trip (we’d keep masks on at least til water arrived regardless). Only time we’ve had it suggested we take off our masks was on the water rides at Universal.


----------



## Makmak

Headed home after a week. We have been five times since reopening and yesterday at AK was the most crowded day we have experienced. Even with a giant line at the Lion King there was a two hour wait for FoP and 60 minutes for safari and dinosaur. The vibe was very different since our most recent trip in January with many people being much more casual about safety protocols. One of the most noticeable things was that some CM are still strictly enforcing policy to the point of chasing people down while many others say nothing. This inconsistency is causing issues where individuals perceive the CM that enforces as being too strict or picking on them. We saw many instances of chin strap masks and noses out while talking to CM and even security and nothing was said.  I include this so others that may not be comfortable will be prepared. Also, we saw a very sad and worrying situation at ToT right before boarding on Thursday near park close. One of the CM threw her face shield to the ground, ripped off her mask put both hands over her face and slid down the wall to a squatting position and began to cry. Very quickly she was whisked away but I thought it was important to share because others have complained that the CM are not as cheery as in normal times and I feel like this moment we witnessed is a testament to the stress level they are dealing with right now. All in all we had fun but we will wait to go again until things change a bit.
Edited because typos on a very bumpy bus!


----------



## Aimeedyan

We spent the day at MK yesterday and I saw a marked change in compliance with masks, too. We were there just a week ago and it seemed very different. If you're planning a trip under the assumption that the mask compliance is stellar and that is what makes it feel safe for your family, I would reconsider. 

Lots of walking/eating (I saw one CM correct the entire visit) but I started to count chinstraps and it was about every 50 people. Lots of sitting off to the side with no food/drink but no mask. People camped at tables without them. Outdoor lines were hit and miss with people pulling them down, esp in the sun. When we got to T&TC, many on our monorail ripped the mask off upon exit and we all walked past tons of CM's who just told us goodnight - just a few weeks ago, there were CM's in the parking lots as we exited reminding us to wear the mask until we got to the car. Those are all things that would not have happened in recent months. But it was HOT. Low humidity but the sun was brutal mid-day. I think going into summer is going to be really challenging with masks outside (last July it was easy for them to monitor). I have my own feelings about masks outdoors but that's not the point of this thread - I am just sharing experiences to help you prepare for your trip  

While in line for Pooh, the mom in front of us took her mask completely off and it stayed off until she got on the ride and realized it herself! Literally walked past 2 CM's who said not a word. It was an honest mistake on her end but we were shocked the CM who directed her to the ride vehicle didn't even note it. 

They're tired. They're hot. They're overworked and underpaid and doing a darn good job for what they've been handed. 

(BTW we had an AMAZING day & a great Mother's Day dinner at someplace we've avoided for years due to reviews, Tony's!)


----------



## Haley R

We went to mk this morning and they started letting people in around 7:10 am. We took some pictures in front of the castle then headed to the carousel but it wasn’t open so we did Peter Pan instead. It was actually the only ride we were allowed to get on before 8. I was surprised because I thought others reported getting on before that. The rides that didn’t open until exactly 8 (that we attempted) were: carousel, small world, Winnie the Pooh, tea cups, little mermaid, and dumbo. So quite a few things we couldn’t get on. After 8 we did dumbo, little mermaid, carousel, and tea cups with no wait. Crowds were good and people were great with masks this morning. We went to mk last night around 5:30 and masks and distancing were not great. Dh and I are fully vaccinated so it’s just Ds we have to worry about. I never felt too bad. We were able to get around people pretty well. The emporium last night wasn’t fun. We ended up leaving.


----------



## sdeut

Makmak said:


> Headed home after a week. We have been five times since reopening and yesterday at AK was the most crowded day we have experienced. Even with a giant line at the Lion King there was a two hour wait for FoP and 60 minutes for safari and dinosaur. The vibe was very different since our most recent trip in January with many people being much more casual about safety protocols. One of the most noticeable things was that some CM are still strictly enforcing policy to the point of chasing people down while many others say nothing. This inconsistency is causing issues where individuals perceive the CM that enforces as being too strict or picking on them. We saw many instances of chin strap masks and noses out while talking to CM and even security and nothing was said.  I include this so others that may not be comfortable will be prepared. Also, we saw a very sad and worrying situation at ToT right before boarding on Thursday near park close. One of the CM threw her face shield to the ground, ripped off her mask put both hands over her face and slid down the wall to a squatting position and began to cry. Very quickly she was whisked away but I thought it was important to share because others have complained that the CM are not as cheery as in normal times and I feel like this moment we witnessed is a testament to the stress level they are dealing with right now. All in all we had fun but we will wait to go again until things change a bit.
> Edited because typos on a very bumpy bus!



That is so sad.  I am sure they are getting yelled at by a few people that think rules don't apply.  The inconsistencies make it really hard.  I am a teacher and the same things happen at our schools.  Lucky no kids have yelled at anyone but if everyone enforced the rules the way they were supposed to then it would be much less of a problem.  We are going in a couple of weeks and have friends that have gone a few times in the last month.  They said compliance is pretty good.  95% or so... which would mean about 5 people for every 100 not complying.


----------



## Sarahslay

brockash said:


> I mean I know they don't really care, but good lord how many more indicators do they need that it's well beyond time to open more/all entertainment...wow is all I can say.
> 
> Thx for the report...it's good to know...no matter how crazy of a wait it is


People waited in line forever before the closure, this is no different.


----------



## PrincessV

Spent 3 days at WDW last week: May 4, 5 and 6. For reference, I live 100 miles form WDW and have been visiting regularly for 30 years. This was my 5th visit during COVID times: previous visits were in late Aug. 2020, late Oct. 2020, early Dec. 2020, and late Jan. 2021. This was my first visit after being fully vaccinated 3ish weeks prior.

*Overall:* absolutely more people everywhere than my previous pandemic trips, in parks and at resorts. Mask compliance was still exceedingly good. (ETA: one thing I did notice was few people bothering to wear a mask while walking through parking lots, nowhere near other parties. That's different from previous trips. I had no issue at all with that.) Social distancing not so much: not at all while walking around in unmarked areas, and iffy, at best, in ride queues. Being vaccinated, I felt comfortable - I don't think I would have without that vaccine. I felt more okay with eating indoors than I expected - which was great because it was sooo hot out lol! Never had any problem finding a spot to pull over to eat or drink. I didn't do any RDs; not my thing.

*May 4th, DHS*: Star Wars Day! Park sold out. HOT: high of 95, Feels Like of 102 (note: NOT normal for this time of year!) Park open 9a-8p
- didn't get a BG at 7am, but got BG 170 at 1pm; return time at 7pm
- arrived at DHS 11:30am, MO lunch at DB7 for 12:30 while walking from parking lot. Took 10 mins from when I hit "I am here"
- busy and crowded all day, but at reduced capacity totally manageable - especially in comparison the SW Weekends of old.
- actual (not posted) wait times:
  RnR 18 mins (around 2pm)
  MF:SR 25 mins (around 3pm)
  MMRR 20 mins (around 5pm)
  ROTR 30+ mins (7:15pm)
- they had a virtual queue for SW Day merch
- 7:15p ADR for Oga's - wasn't called until after 8p. Which was fine, since I was on ROTR. In my 45 mins there, they continued to seat new parties, so they were running waaay behind. Felt very comfortable in there with parties spaced apart.
- got to experience the after-hours light saber meet-up with Ashley Eckstein - very cool!

*May 5th, EP: *Park sold out for Resort Guests, but not AP (I was both.) HOT: high of 96, Feels Like of 103. Park open 11a-10p.
- I had a DHS reservation but wanted to switch to EP: I couldn't do it online because the system prioritizes Resort Guest status over AP status. Took 35 mins on the phone, but was able to get it switched that way. (started with VIPassholder line but was transferred to IT)
- arrived at EP about 1:30p
- WS felt like a normal early May crowd level: busy, but not completely packed.
- Skylinered to Riviera for dinner around 5:30p - no wait. MO'd on Skyliner & hit "I'm here" upon arrival - took about 15 mins to be ready
- WS remained busy until closing, so I think the return of PH is helping EP a lot
- actual (not posted) wait times:
  Nemo, walk-on - a couple mins to walk the queue (around 8p)
  SSE, 5 mins (around 8:30p)

*May 6th, MK:* Park not sold out for anyone. HOT but better than the previous two days. Park open 9a-??
- arrived at TTC parking about 10:30a; no wait for monorail (my first time on it in COVID times! I LIKE the social distancing on it  )
- felt busier, more crowded than other two parks
- TONS of strollers in stroller parking spots, very like "normal" times - something I haven't see on previous pandemic trips
- impossible to social distance in most walkways
- actual (not posted) wait times:
  HM, 15 mins (about 11:15a)
  Peoplemover, 20+ mins (!!) (about 1;15p)
- MO'd lunch at Pecos: placed order for 11:50-12:20 while on monorail, hit "I'm here" about 12p - took 5 mins to be ready. Tough to find a table at Pecos - finally found one outside.
- shopped in Emporium and was told as an AP, they want us to use MDE to get AP discounts, not the card. First time I've heard that.
- headed out at 1:40p


----------



## Makmak

Haley R said:


> We went to mk this morning and they started letting people in around 7:10 am. We took some pictures in front of the castle then headed to the carousel but it wasn’t open so we did Peter Pan instead. It was actually the only ride we were allowed to get on before 8. I was surprised because I thought others reported getting on before that. The rides that didn’t open until exactly 8 (that we attempted) were: carousel, small world, Winnie the Pooh, tea cups, little mermaid, and dumbo. So quite a few things we couldn’t get on. After 8 we did dumbo, little mermaid, carousel, and tea cups with no wait. Crowds were good and people were great with masks this morning. We went to mk last night around 5:30 and masks and distancing were not great. Dh and I are fully vaccinated so it’s just Ds we have to worry about. I never felt too bad. We were able to get around people pretty well. The emporium last night wasn’t fun. We ended up leaving.


This past Friday we got into the park early and straight to mine train.....they didn’t start running it until 7:50....we were bummed as they were running it right away on Tuesday. I really think it depends on a lot of behind the scenes goings-on and is therefore hard to predict.


----------



## Haley R

Makmak said:


> This past Friday we got into the park early and straight to mine train.....they didn’t start running it until 7:50....we were bummed as they were running it right away on Tuesday. I really think it depends on a lot of behind the scenes goings-on and is therefore hard to predict.


We’re going back tomorrow but we’ll sleep in instead of waking Ds at 6.


----------



## Sarahslay

I have been talking with a friend who is a CM at WDW (in the offices, but she knows stuff so I chat with her about concerns sometimes and see what her personal insight is even though she's not in the parks), and since we're meeting for brunch on my next trip coming up I thought I'd run it by her what people were saying about their expriences this weekend with mask compliance and the like. So this is coming from the text she just sent me after what I relayed to her (not my point of view, just her talking as a Florida resident and employee of WDW): "I'm not surprised in the slightest bit. Sadly, I hate saying that, but it's the weekend and the anti-mask locals love to come out on the weekends. Especially holidays. Some are getting especially aggressives towards the poor CMs in the parks because the CDC said they don't have to wear masks outside if they have had their vaccines, even though Disney still requires it. They aren't having it. No one is going to tell them otherwise, and it gets to be a little too much for those guys on the ground in the parks who deal with it day in and day out. First thing in the morning they're great. Fine. Catching all the offenders. Lunch time rolls around and they've been told out by some angry dude, yelled at by a mom, shoved and who knows what else. They get threatened all the time so they give up after a while. I don't blame them. If I were anyone going I'd just stay away from the parks on weekends."

This is pretty much how I felt on my last two trips too which happened on busy weekends, and I have vowed to not go on weekends again until things improve with the pandemic. That goes for this coming trip and for the other two I have booked after, I arrive on a weekend and either leave on a weekend or have my pool days scheduled over it, but I won't go in the parks. There are a lot of locals who are perfectly fine, but there are just enough who aren't that it makes it just a little too uncomfortable for everyone.


----------



## hereforthechurros

brockash said:


> We have many times.  Obviously, they're not rude about it, but yes most times that we've been seated at a table the host who seats us tells us we can take off our masks now and just to have it back on if we get up fron the table.  We've eaten at about 20 ts restaurants since reopening and I'd say this was our experience before and after Disney's weird verbiage change 95% of the time.  We've never had a host or waiter say anything about keeping them on until we order etc.


Ahh yes I misunderstood. I thought OP was saying Disney was asking people to purposely remove them. Yes most places make it clear when it's acceptable to take them off.


----------



## Blondie58

monica9 said:


> *Moderator Note - All Off Topic Posts Will be Deleted*.   Stick to Here Now /Just Back content and relavent questions or your post may be removed from this thread.  The Community Board is a great place to discuss the virus.  Thank you.
> 
> Looking for a thread to check out for the first day back at WDW. The pros, cons, pics, etc.


First Day Back:  Folks wearing masks.  Folks trying to social distance.  No full parades.  No fireworks.  Shows limited.  No EPCOT monorail.  No luggage service on MDE.  No concierge floor services.  No foreign workers at World Showcase.  Spacing and plexi on rides and in some areas/places.  No character meet and greets.  No buffets.  No park hopping before 2:00.  NO FAST PASSES.  Some eateries not open - Casey's a fav of ours.


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## hereforthechurros

epcotobsessed said:


> I wonder why Disney is not supporting their employees by immediately removing the people who would challenge a CM. They have the ability to do this, but they choose not to, which says a lot about how much they value their employees.


Considering there are signs saying you will be asked to leave if you don't wear one, it is contradictory that it's not actually happening. Not sure how that's funny but there's a troll in here who loves to laugh at everything.


----------



## brockash

Sarahslay said:


> People waited in line forever before the closure, this is no different.


Many ppl. (probably most) did not.  I can tell you; in all the years of seeing shows, we never got in line more than a 20-30 mins. before Lion King etc. and we never didn't make the next available show.  I can't imagine many others waited hours to watch FOTLK either.  That seems a little crazy and it's not like right now is a traditionally busy time for crowds.


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## limace

We were in line near a woman at Splash last week who didn’t wear her mask for a good 20 minutes. New cast member arrived and waded in to tell her to put it on-she was pissed off. My very outspoken 24 year old daughter shouted thank you at him and clapped-when we got to his point in lime he said we “seemed like a fun group” and sent us into the fast pass line to board . I decided then to make sure to positively reinforce anyone enforcing mask compliance to try and balance the crap they must get all day.


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## mindeola

Fourth trip for me since they re-opened. Hubby's first trip in a couple of years. He doesn't love Disney , so I do not get him here very often!

May 4th Disney Springs/ Checked in to Coronado. We were upgraded to a  preferred in casitas three. I had asked for Cabanas, just because I had not had stayed in that section before. I think they tried to keep the cheer/dance groups there.  I was bummed our room did not have a bathtub , but we were too hot and tired to call and ask for a different room. Finally tried Gideon's Bakehouse and it lived up to the hype!  I have left two other times before my place in line came up. Glad we stuck it our for this one! 

May 5th Hubby golfed and then we met at Epcot. Love hitting the festival at opening. There were no lines at most booths. Had a Passionfruit Margarita and a steak taco that were excellent. It was crazy crowded that night, of course. 

May 6th Magic Kingdom, park hopped to HS. MK waits were very low on this day for most rides. I always use the Lines app and rides were consistently lower waits all week. I tries to submit as many wait times as I could all week, too. 

May 7th Hollywood Studios , park hopped to Epcot . This day was much better heat wise. What a  relief! Got RoR Group 60.  We were late to our Beaches and Cream Ressie by about thirty minutes because of our RoR slot. I did not expect them to be able to accommodate us, but I was so glad they could!

May 8th Animal Kingdom , park hopped to HS


This trip was completely different in terms of compliance in social distancing and mask wearing. I am completely vaxed and have no real fear about contracting COVID, but I found it so frustrating to be doing what is required when so many did not. Especially in this heat! It was unusually hot and humid this week. The masks were pretty unbearable most of the time. I think in the previous six months it was a lot of the die hard fans and visitors We were all willing to do anything and everything to be back in our happy place! Now that competitions groups are back and people in general want to travel, I think there is a wider variety of people. I do not like to paint large groups of people as all the same, but huge offenders of these rules were dance/cheer groups. Most especially the Moms, to be honest. There were a lot saying at Coronado and they never had masks on around the resorts. Again, I don't feel it is even necessary to do so outdoors anymore, but it is still Disney's rule. There were no staff outside walking around enforcing any of this.  It definitely carried over to the bus rides and parks as well. They were easy to spot with matching t shirts and lanyards. You'd see a group of ten moms and only two had their mask on. ( I know there were many of these groups doing the right thing. I'm really not trying to hate on dance/cheer groups! Just sharing my observations. )

I witnessed a couple of CM's tell people to pull up their mask in the parks, but for the most part it went unchecked. I noticed some real sneaky guests this trip , too. They would pull their mask down as  soon as the picture was taken and then back up before we pulled in when the ride was over. Lots of walking around while eating drinking. Lots of people not following the six foot distance in lines. Forget COVID, just stay back from other people as long as you can in this heat! LOL The Parks were not near as bad as the resorts though. 

We still had  a great trip. I don't think we waited more than thirty minutes for anything. Tried to get to parks at least 30 minutes before opening each day. We had excellent transportation luck all week as well. We were the first pick up at Coronado, so there were no issues there. Even then, I only saw people left behind twice. Both times the driver called for another bus to come.


----------



## Raisincain

PrincessV said:


> Spent 3 days at WDW last week: May 4, 5 and 6.



This was an excellent report, full of very useful information; thank you!


----------



## skullsplitter

Makmak said:


> Headed home after a week. We have been five times since reopening and yesterday at AK was the most crowded day we have experienced. Even with a giant line at the Lion King there was a two hour wait for FoP and 60 minutes for safari and dinosaur. The vibe was very different since our most recent trip in January with many people being much more casual about safety protocols. One of the most noticeable things was that some CM are still strictly enforcing policy to the point of chasing people down while many others say nothing. This inconsistency is causing issues where individuals perceive the CM that enforces as being too strict or picking on them. We saw many instances of chin strap masks and noses out while talking to CM and even security and nothing was said.  I include this so others that may not be comfortable will be prepared. Also, we saw a very sad and worrying situation at ToT right before boarding on Thursday near park close. One of the CM threw her face shield to the ground, ripped off her mask put both hands over her face and slid down the wall to a squatting position and began to cry. Very quickly she was whisked away but I thought it was important to share because others have complained that the CM are not as cheery as in normal times and I feel like this moment we witnessed is a testament to the stress level they are dealing with right now. All in all we had fun but we will wait to go again until things change a bit.
> Edited because typos on a very bumpy bus!


  Maybe for a different thread, but other than being polite and not causing trouble what are things we can do to let the CMs know that we appreciate them or maybe some way to cheer their day up?


----------



## jlundeen

skullsplitter said:


> Maybe for a different thread, but other than being polite and not causing trouble what are things we can do to let the CMs know that we appreciate them or maybe some way to cheer their day up?


Saying "thank you" to as many as you can, and showing appreciation for what they are trying to do goes a really long way for these folks.


----------



## JenniBarra

Since our trip to FL was actually 12 days and only the beginning was spent in WDW, I am somewhat late in posting about my experience. We were visiting between April 27 and May 1.

COVID Protocols and Adherence: As others have said, if you are at all concerned about exposure risk it's better to stay away for now. It was not uncommon to witness people with masks below their noses and pulling their masks off at times they were not supposed to as well as people ignoring the distancing markers. I can't recall if I ever ask noticed a cast member addressing non-compliance with a guest. (If you fly, like we did, people also don't distance and masks are regularly worn incorrectly or pulled down.) We purposely planned this trip to take place after both my husband and myself were fully vaccinated.

Lines: The ongoing theme of going to parks without Fastpass is lines. I didn't expect this to have a line. Where does the line begin? Wow, I didn't expect the starting point to be back *there*. Did I walk right past the start of the line? After our first day, we got better with navigating where to go, but it felt like a little bit of a learning curve. Additionally, I was a bit frustrated because I have a Touring Plans subscription and found that Disney's estimates were more often more accurate than TP's "expected" waits. While locals said the weather was mild, with the added humidity making the days often "feel" like the 90s, it does become tiring to do so much standing around outside in lines. I skipped a number of attractions I would have liked to go on, but I just couldn't bear another 45 minute wait in the sun.

Park Hopping: My husband was initially hesitant at my purchasing the park hopper option, but I'm glad I did. Each day, we ended up starting out in the morning at our reserved park, took a hotel break in the afternoon, and then hopped to a different park for the rest of the day. This was helpful both in finding good dining options as well as in managing two DHS days when it wasn't practical to change the second park reservation to another park. (I planned two days in case I didn't get a boarding group for RotR on the first day. While we were successful on our first day, all park reservations were full for Thursday and Friday so I couldn't switch out the second day.)

Dining: I am very glad I followed this topic here in the forums as it does seem like not enough restaurants are open right now. We ate at Woody's Lunch Box on our first DHS day, but I placed the mobile order several hours in advance. (Be forewarned, though, we did not know that the seating there is a combination of standard tables and chairs and high tables with no chairs. We were looking forward to a nice sitting break only to find the only table open to us was one of those tall ones.) We didn't have any table service reservations, but we still managed to eat pretty well. The trick for us was a combination of food carts (spring rolls at MK - yum!) and the outdoor kitchens at Epcot for Flower and Garden. We also did walk-ins late in the day for Spice Road table and Big River Grille at the Boardwalk. I really think you're going to have the best success with good dining if you start thinking about your options well in advance of when you actually want to eat so I suggest familiarizing yourself as much as possible in advance on menus all over the property.


----------



## flipflopmom

jlundeen said:


> Saying "thank you" to as many as you can, and showing appreciation for what they are trying to do goes a really long way for these folks.


I agree with this. These folks have been working many overtime hours and are being treated badly. A conversation goes a long way! Let them know you’re thankful for them and glad to see them, anything to break their monotony of complaints will go a long way!


----------



## lovethattink

skullsplitter said:


> Maybe for a different thread, but other than being polite and not causing trouble what are things we can do to let the CMs know that we appreciate them or maybe some way to cheer their day up?



Stop by guest services or email Disney and mention their name, approx time, and where you witnessed the Magic. The cm will get communication that a guest recognized them.

I think it’s called a 4 keys card or a cast recognition card.


----------



## Sarahslay

brockash said:


> Many ppl. (probably most) did not.  I can tell you; in all the years of seeing shows, we never got in line more than a 20-30 mins. before Lion King etc. and we never didn't make the next available show.  I can't imagine many others waited hours to watch FOTLK either.  That seems a little crazy and it's not like right now is a traditionally busy time for crowds.


I saw it a lot in the year or so before the closure, in 2018-2019 (especially 2019) it got common for me to see lines. I even stood in a line once because we couldn't get a FP and my mom just had to see it since she had never had the chance. Of course we got it, everyone always did because they were packing everyone in, but they aren't anymore which is why if you are in just a long of a line as before you won't get in. I mean, the line was never there for hours before the show opened, but 30-45 minutes? Yes. I'll have to see when I'm there if I feel like dealing with it in a few weeks, I've seen the show enough that I might not feel like it's worth it to see a scaled down show. I'm happy it's back, but I don't have to watch it. As far as right now not usually being traditionally busy for crowds, I've seen this change in the last few years too. It used to be that early May was a fantastic time to come, I even brought my mom for a week starting Mother's day weekend 2019 thinking it would be lower crowds like I had experienced before. It most definitely wasn't. Was it July 4 or spring break crazy busy? No, but it wasn't the May crowds I was used to either.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

lovethattink said:


> Stop by guest services or email Disney and mention their name, approx time, and where you witnessed the Magic. The cm will get communication that a guest recognized them.
> 
> I think it’s called a 4 keys card or a cast recognition card.


if I remember right the CM's manager also sees this


----------



## Disney0010

Arrived yesterday. Staying at the Riviera. Beautiful. Went to MK today. Tried to take the bus over. It was a joke. Used Uber. Would really like to know the capacity percentage now as it was very crowded. I have heard 45%. No way that is true. The park was crazy busy today. Mask compliance seems to be very good even though it’s very hot and humid. As far as social distancing in the lines, that’s out of the window. It’s a joke. I think the CM’s have given up.

Also Disney is not being consistent. One one HM ride they were leaving every other buggy open. Later on second time they were filling every buggy. On BTMRR, they announced that all seats were being filled to expedite moving people through. On POTC, they were spacing seats with every other seat empty. TTA People Mover they were leaving empty cars between parties. Stopped in the Emporium on the way out. Wall to wall people. Made a quick exit. Felt nice to get back to our hotel.


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## auntyjenn

Mon May 10

The beginning of the day before the crowds hit is the most magical part of the day. I personally think it's worth getting up for. My grandson got a private ride for swirling saucers! Then rode twice more. Everyone basically walked on to MFSR.

I noticed a sign at AoA that was encouraging their guests to take busses instead of the skyliner? I thought the skyliner was so slick!  (We left our room at pop at 7:05am and were in the first 50 heading to HS. The transfer wait was not long when we got there.  5-7min?). 

It's so hot!  I realized we usually go in January. Definitely my plan for next time.  MMRR line was the worst!  It was only 35min when we rode around 2pm. Jeepers! (PS. I'm from the NW so...)


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## LSUmiss

brockash said:


> I mean I know they don't really care, but good lord how many more indicators do they need that it's well beyond time to open more/all entertainment...wow is all I can say.
> 
> Thx for the report...it's good to know...no matter how crazy of a wait it is


And they should do a virtual queue or something if ppl are waiting that long. Getting ridiculous.


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## jbrinkm

LSUmiss said:


> And they should do a virtual queue or something if ppl are waiting that long. Getting ridiculous.



I was thinking that too! At least until they get some other shows up & running.


----------



## LSUmiss

Disney0010 said:


> Arrived yesterday. Staying at the Riviera. Beautiful. Went to MK today. Tried to take the bus over. It was a joke. Used Uber. Would really like to know the capacity percentage now as it was very crowded. I have heard 45%. No way that is true. The park was crazy busy today. Mask compliance seems to be very good even though it’s very hot and humid. As far as social distancing in the lines, that’s out of the window. It’s a joke. I think the CM’s have given up.
> 
> Also Disney is not being consistent. One one HM ride they were leaving every other buggy open. Later on second time they were filling every buggy. On BTMRR, they announced that all seats were being filled to expedite moving people through. On POTC, they were spacing seats with every other seat empty. TTA People Mover they were leaving empty cars between parties. Stopped in the Emporium on the way out. Wall to wall people. Made a quick exit. Felt nice to get back to our hotel.


What time did you try to take the bus? Was it the first thing in the morning?


----------



## Disney0010

LSUmiss said:


> What time did you try to take the bus? Was it the first thing in the morning?



No. The park opened at 8:00. We went down around 10:30. It was more of the driver.


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## EpcotPhoenician

Here now, staying at OKW... all of my complaints are related to the bus situation.

The bus situation is atrocious. Got in line to park hop at 3pm from Epcot, and stepped into Magic Kingdom at 4:45pm. Mask compliance on the buses and while waiting in line for the bus is awful. Most people just take them off completely. Have yet to see a bus driver reprimand anyone for it.

Specifically at Old Key West, it's a free-for-all regarding who gets on the bus first. I was standing this morning for a Magic Kingdom bus for 30mins, and a party of 9 who showed up right before the bus pulled up tried boarding before me. I had to yell at both the party of 9 and driver for not asking who was there first.

Most busses show up to our resort already full, and I get on at the first stop. I've had to wait 3-4 busses on multiple occasions.


----------



## Boopuff

Anyone have pictures of the current crowd situation?


----------



## teach22180

julesdamom said:


> We will be going the first week in June. Do all the parks open hours before the posted time? What time should we plan on arriving at Epcot, HS, MK and AK if we want to make rope drop? We always like to be there for rope drop, then go back to the room for an afternoon rest, then hit the parks again later for closing.
> We are staying at AOA and I'm wondering about taking the skyliner or buses to get to the parks June 2-6 for rope drop. What do you think?


They aren't doing a typical "rope drop" these days.  Basically, they are open when people arrive, so no lines or crowds.  Disney controls the transportation, so they only start running buses, skyliner, boats or letting in cars when they are ready for the people.  The only folks who can "beat" this system are walkers, so they are held in a short line if they arrive earlier. The opening time is usually 45 min or an hour before scheduled opening.  That 90 minute before opening is a good guideline of when to line up for transportation.


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## EpcotPhoenician

Boopuff said:


> Anyone have pictures of the current crowd situation?



Frontierland about ten minutes ago...


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## ajgardner

Boopuff said:


> Anyone have pictures of the current crowd situation?


2 pm last week


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## igrsod

ajgardner said:


> 2 pm last week View attachment 574426


That is quite a bit busier than I would expect.


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## scrappinginontario

Boopuff said:


> Anyone have pictures of the current crowd situation?


As shown very well by the 2 posts prior to this, requesting pictures is not necessarily a good way of determining crowds.  Everything depends on where you are at a specific moment.  There are open areas and crowded areas.


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## olive

ajgardner said:


> 2 pm last week View attachment 574426



Such an incredible difference from morning to mid-afternoon! We will definitely be taking those mid-day breaks back at the resort pool.


----------



## ajgardner

scrappinginontario said:


> As shown very well by the 2 posts prior to this, requesting pictures is not necessarily a good way of determining crowds.  Everything depends on where you are at a specific moment.  There are open areas and crowded areas.





olive said:


> Such an incredible difference from morning to mid-afternoon! We will definitely be taking those mid-day breaks back at the resort pool.


Scrappinginontario is absolutely correct- it could be crowded in one area and then move somewhere else and not be so bad. The day and time matter also.  We are not morning people and never get to a park before 10:30am so I can’t speak for early crowd levels, but by the sounds of it they are lighter. For us,  there are days when that 10:30 crowds are the same as the 2:00pm crowds. In the evening in some parks (MK and AK for us) seem light crowds, but then other parks (for us that was HS and EP) crowds were similar all day and pretty steady.  You need to go expecting that there will be times and areas that there will be crowds and times and areas that there won’t be.  We definitely had days when it felt very much pre-covid  walking around.


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## nerdyone

I'm super excited/nervous about our trip this week.  I've been to Disney many times but this is my first trip without kids and during a pandemic.  

In the past we used Mini Vans which would drop you off right at the front of the parks.  How is it now with normaly Lyft/Uber?


----------



## Sarahslay

scrappinginontario said:


> As shown very well by the 2 posts prior to this, requesting pictures is not necessarily a good way of determining crowds.  Everything depends on where you are at a specific moment.  There are open areas and crowded areas.


Also, perspective is a huge thing, and why I don't like these kinds of pictures. My husband is a foot taller than me, and we could stand in the same spot and take vastly different pictures of the crowd. From my point of view it's a wall of people, from his there is just a family here and a family there with space between them. There are people in his view but it's not wall to wall, while my picture it looks like pre-covid Christmas crowds. So I always take these pictures with a grain of salt.


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## EpcotPhoenician

Sarahslay said:


> Also, perspective is a huge thing, and why I don't like these kinds of pictures. My husband is a foot taller than me, and we could stand in the same spot and take vastly different pictures of the crowd. From my point of view it's a wall of people, from his there is just a family here and a family there with space between them. There are people in his view but it's not wall to wall, while my picture it looks like pre-covid Christmas crowds. So I always take these pictures with a grain of salt.



You are correct. About an hour after I posted my photo, Frontierland is now packed with people. Please take my photo with a grain of salt!

Thanks for pointing this out.


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## PrincessV

mindeola said:


> I think in the previous six months it was a lot of the die hard fans and visitors We were all willing to do anything and everything to be back in our happy place!


Nailed it.



Boopuff said:


> Anyone have pictures of the current crowd situation?


I can offer this as an example of when things get tight. The stroller parking REALLY reduced the available space to walk through in Adventureland, so in that area, it was close conditions. But Main St. was very spaced out.


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## PrincessV

I know this isn't a viable option for some folks, especially with the difficulty getting rental cars lately, but if you have a car, I HIGHLY recommend driving everywhere and skipping the buses. I've been driving to every park throughout the pandemic and it's quick and easy, with no waiting around for a bus to show up. And with reduced park capacity, there's plenty of parking available.


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## Makmak

nerdyone said:


> I'm super excited/nervous about our trip this week.  I've been to Disney many times but this is my first trip without kids and during a pandemic.
> 
> In the past we used Mini Vans which would drop you off right at the front of the parks.  How is it now with normaly Lyft/Uber?


So the major difference is that regular Lyft can only drop at TTC for Magic Kingdom while the Minnie vans could drop you closer where the busses go (at least the times we have used it). There is not any special rideshare line for the park entrances and you will be waiting in line with the cars.


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## sdeut

PrincessV said:


> I know this isn't a viable option for some folks, especially with the difficulty getting rental cars lately, but if you have a car, I HIGHLY recommend driving everywhere and skipping the buses. I've been driving to every park throughout the pandemic and it's quick and easy, with no waiting around for a bus to show up. And with reduced park capacity, there's plenty of parking available.



We stay at BWV and drive to AK.  Walk to HS and Epcot but have always bussed it to MK.  Now that I am seeing the craziness on the busses.  I am thinking we may drive to MK - though I know we will then have to take the monorail.  How is driving to MK or uber/lyft to MK and then taking the Monorail?


----------



## PrincessV

sdeut said:


> We stay at BWV and drive to AK.  Walk to HS and Epcot but have always bussed it to MK.  Now that I am seeing the craziness on the busses.  I am thinking we may drive to MK - though I know we will then have to take the monorail.  How is driving to MK or uber/lyft to MK and then taking the Monorail?


Easy! Add an extra 15-20ish minutes to your arrival time, maybe more at a busy time. I drove from ASMo to Mk last week: took maybe 10 mins from parking lot to parking lot, 5 mins to walk to TTC, a few minutes to walk through security and up to monorail, 5mins waiting/riding monorail to MK. If there's a long line for he monorail, go with the ferry. And/or take the ferry if you're not pressed for time and want to enjoy a relaxing ride across the water!


----------



## Mango7100

PrincessV said:


> I know this isn't a viable option for some folks, especially with the difficulty getting rental cars lately, but if you have a car, I HIGHLY recommend driving everywhere and skipping the buses. I've been driving to every park throughout the pandemic and it's quick and easy, with no waiting around for a bus to show up. And with reduced park capacity, there's plenty of parking available.


We are going next week and we plan to drive instead of using resort transportation to the parks. The only one I questioned was MK since we would have to park at TTC and take boat/monorail over. We are staying at SSR, so do you think driving to MK is still the best option or should we bus it?


----------



## WEDWDW

Mango7100 said:


> We are going next week and we plan to drive instead of using resort transportation to the parks. The only one I questioned was MK since we would have to park at TTC and take boat/monorail over. We are staying at SSR, so do you think driving to MK is still the best option or should we bus it?


Bus.


----------



## Mango7100

PrincessV said:


> Easy! Add an extra 15-20ish minutes to your arrival time, maybe more at a busy time. I drove from ASMo to Mk last week: took maybe 10 mins from parking lot to parking lot, 5 mins to walk to TTC, a few minutes to walk through security and up to monorail, 5mins waiting/riding monorail to MK. If there's a long line for he monorail, go with the ferry. And/or take the ferry if you're not pressed for time and want to enjoy a relaxing ride across the water!


You answered my question, maybe I should read to the bottom of the thread next time  Sounds like driving to MK may be the way to go for us, we would probably take the ferry over. Has the ferry or monorail been more crowded recently?


----------



## CarolynFH

Mango7100 said:


> We are going next week and we plan to drive instead of using resort transportation to the parks. The only one I questioned was MK since we would have to park at TTC and take boat/monorail over. We are staying at SSR, so do you think driving to MK is still the best option or should we bus it?


We would still bus to MK, unless we wanted to ride the ferry or monorail for fun. The walk from MK parking lot to TTC isn’t a fun start to the day, especially when it’s hot and humid, unless you’re one of the first into the parking lot and get to park up close. We often don’t come until after lunch.


----------



## Sara W

Since we're staying at BWV in a few weeks and going to MK I was thinking about adding the park hopper to head to HS or Epcot in the evening since we can just walk. For those who have been recently, how has your experience been with PH? Any issues getting into the park you want?


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Sara W said:


> Since we're staying at BWV in a few weeks and going to MK I was thinking about adding the park hopper to head to HS or Epcot in the evening since we can just walk. For those who have been recently, how has your experience been with PH? Any issues getting into the park you want?


Park hopping won’t be an issue, there hasn’t been a single day since it restarted when it hasn’t been allowed.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Mango7100 said:


> You answered my question, maybe I should read to the bottom of the thread next time  Sounds like driving to MK may be the way to go for us, we would probably take the ferry over. Has the ferry or monorail been more crowded recently?



We arrived on Sunday around 3pm. Parked at T&TC, 5 minute walk to the security check - no wait for temp or security. Waited 3 minutes for a monorail. They were coming right after the other.

It's SO quick and easy right now, even arriving mid-afternoon on a sold out weekend.

We were parked in Scar - it's really not a long walk IMO even in the heat.


----------



## PrincessV

Mango7100 said:


> Has the ferry or monorail been more crowded recently?


I think that will really depend on the time of day. I arrived around 1pm and neither had any line, but it may be different near opening. Both lines are visible as you walk into the plaza at TTC, so if you see a long one for monorail, head to the ferry. The ferry loads a TON of people per boat, so even if it has a lot of folks waiting, they'll all load onto the next ferry to arrive. CMs are always out there, too, telling people to use one or the other if one has a longer wait.



Aimeedyan said:


> We arrived on Sunday around 3pm. Parked at T&TC, 5 minute walk to the security check - no wait for temp or security. Waited 3 minutes for a monorail. They were coming right after the other.
> 
> It's SO quick and easy right now, even arriving mid-afternoon on a sold out weekend.
> 
> We were parked in Scar - it's really not a long walk IMO even in the heat.


Same here with a 1pm-ish arrival. Parked immediately in Scar and was in MK within 10 minutes. The walk isn't any longer or worse than from the bus depot.


----------



## JenniBarra

scrappinginontario said:


> As shown very well by the 2 posts prior to this, requesting pictures is not necessarily a good way of determining crowds.  Everything depends on where you are at a specific moment.  There are open areas and crowded areas.



I would also add that something that skews perspective is that the length of lines to accommodate for physical distancing often results in people being along the edges of pathways where they wouldn't have been before.


----------



## rj9555

Disney0010 said:


> No. The park opened at 8:00. We went down around 10:30. It was more of the driver.



What was the specific issue with the driver?


----------



## nerdboyrockstar

Disney0010 said:


> Also Disney is not being consistent. One one HM ride they were leaving every other buggy open. Later on second time they were filling every buggy. On BTMRR, they announced that all seats were being filled to expedite moving people through. On POTC, they were spacing seats with every other seat empty. TTA People Mover they were leaving empty cars between parties. Stopped in the Emporium on the way out. Wall to wall people. Made a quick exit. Felt nice to get back to our hotel.



100%. Sometimes they would even make contradictory statements in the same announcement. "For your safety, please remain 6 feet apart from the party in front of you. Also, we will be seating every row." What??


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Mango7100 said:


> We are going next week and we plan to drive instead of using resort transportation to the parks. The only one I questioned was MK since we would have to park at TTC and take boat/monorail over. We are staying at SSR, so do you think driving to MK is still the best option or should we bus it?


from what I have been reading looks like buses start arriving before cars are allowed in for parking. MK is one park I would bus or boat


----------



## GBRforWDW

nerdboyrockstar said:


> 100%. Sometimes they would even make contradictory statements in the same announcement. "For your safety, please remain 6 feet apart from the party in front of you. Also, we will be seating every row." What??


There's typically a barrier though while seated right?  Plexiglass or something else?


----------



## Quilty

Betty Rohrer said:


> from what I have been reading looks like buses start arriving before cars are allowed in for parking. MK is one park I would bus or boat


Definitely true, although the gap is somewhat variable.  Usually, buses can arrive about 15 to 45 minutes before the lot is open to private cars or Uber/Lyft.  Uber/Lyft does, however, get you to the gate much faster than self parking.  I know at least at DHS, there is a separate lane for them.

For MK, I prefer Monorail.


----------



## lovethattink

My family is heading home after a couple hours at DHS. As I’ve mentioned numerous times, each time at Disney is different.

When we arrived to the parking lot is was 91 degrees. We passed by a lot of people heading to their cars. Very few were wearing masks besides us. I think we passed maybe a handful who actually had them on. Everyone else had them completely off.

Got inside the park and mask compliance was ok until we got to toy story land. Lots of people walking while eating and drinking or in line for Slinky without a mask. Most benches we saw throughout the park had people without masks sitting on them. Outside of Hollywood and Vine restaurant, the people waiting to be seated were sitting on benches without masks. Inside the tunnel to Galaxy’s Edge, people made their own relaxation station and were maskless sitting along the walls.

In total contrast, we watched One Man’s Dream and the cm before the show announced that masks were required to be worn throughout the show. She added that it needs to be covering both your mouth and nose. And said that those that don’t comply will be asked to leave.

As I’ve said before, we go about once a week or so. And today was the worst I’ve seen for mask compliance at a park. However, it’s still better than at my grocery store where very few wear masks. Or outside where you might see one or two people wearing a mask.

There were signs placed in Walk ways reminding guests to wear masks. And the announcements voiced by Tom Kane and Mark Daniels played often.

Oh and Rise of the Resistance was amazing as always!!


----------



## stephnerninnie1984

lovethattink said:


> Got inside the park and mask compliance was ok until we got to toy story land. Lots of people walking while eating and drinking or in line for Slinky without a mask. Most benches we saw throughout the park had people without masks sitting on them. Outside of Hollywood and Vine restaurant, the people waiting to be seated were sitting on benches without masks. Inside the tunnel to Galaxy’s Edge, people made their own relaxation station and were maskless sitting along the walls.



It is confusing because even the cast members aren’t clear of the rules. My sister and I had slushees in our hand as we got into line for MMRR and the cast member smiled and said, “You can drink those as long as you aren’t moving. As soon as you start moving again, you have to replace your mask”. I was actually quite shocked to hear that. So that may explain a little bit why people are eating/drinking in line as well as sitting on random benches without a mask.


----------



## ajgardner

PrincessV said:


> I know this isn't a viable option for some folks, especially with the difficulty getting rental cars lately, but if you have a car, I HIGHLY recommend driving everywhere and skipping the buses. I've been driving to every park throughout the pandemic and it's quick and easy, with no waiting around for a bus to show up. And with reduced park capacity, there's plenty of parking available.


Absolutely agree. we were visiting family in Florida before our Disney portion of the trip so we had a rental car. It was glorious walking straight to the car and going exactly where we wanted to go, when we wanted to go.  I would have been so frustrated if we had to deal with some of the bus situations I’ve read here. We also splurged on preferred parking - that was amazing at the end of the day after 10+ hours in the park.


----------



## tarak

ajgardner said:


> Absolutely agree. we were visiting family in Florida before our Disney portion of the trip so we had a rental car. It was glorious walking straight to the car and going exactly where we wanted to go, when we wanted to go.  I would have been so frustrated if we had to deal with some of the bus situations I’ve read here. We also splurged on preferred parking - that was amazing at the end of the day after 10+ hours in the park.



We took a trip to WDW last November and I decided to rent a car to avoid the buses.  Hands down the best decision we made - we're going back in June and I'm renting a car again because I can't imagine not having one now.  Having the freedom to leave and travel whenever and wherever we chose was worth the extra cost.


----------



## maggnanimouse

stephnerninnie1984 said:


> It is confusing because even the cast members aren’t clear of the rules. My sister and I had slushees in our hand as we got into line for MMRR and the cast member smiled and said, “You can drink those as long as you aren’t moving. As soon as you start moving again, you have to replace your mask”. I was actually quite shocked to hear that. So that may explain a little bit why people are eating/drinking in line as well as sitting on random benches without a mask.



I'm trying to picture how this would go in my head, and it's actually kind of funny.


----------



## Disney0010

Today was Epcot. We arrived at about 10:30 aboard the SkyLiner. We headed directly to TT. Waited about thirty minutes to ride. Waited five minutes for The Land. Next was Soarin. Sixty minute wait. Finished up the morning with a ride on SE. We had enough with the crowds, heat and dodging electric scooters. Will keep my mouth shut about some of the drivers. We headed back to the Riviera to grab lunch. Future World is a mess. I’m sure it will be nice once complete.

Again mask compliance seemed very good today. I saw a few CM’s remind people to either wear their mask correctly or put it back on. CM’s in Epcot seemed to ensure that everyone was following the proper protocol. Social distancing was much better here today than MK yesterday where it was non existent. 

We headed back over to Epcot around 6:00. We had dinner reservations at Chefs de France at 8:00. They worked us in at 7:00 which we appreciated. Epcot was still very crowded and hot. After dinner we headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow is HS. Not sure how long we will stay.


----------



## Disney0010

rj9555 said:


> What was the specific issue with the driver?



Rude. We had the same driver that afternoon from the MK back to the hotel. Same demeanor. Trying to shrug it off as he having to wear a mask all day and deal with people. Uber was just easier.


----------



## DCLMP

tarak said:


> We took a trip to WDW last November and I decided to rent a car to avoid the buses.  Hands down the best decision we made - we're going back in June and I'm renting a car again because I can't imagine not having one now.  Having the freedom to leave and travel whenever and wherever we chose was worth the extra cost.


Were you able to get a car? I can't find one in August. I couldn't find one in California next month either. Rental car shortage is a nightmare.


----------



## nerdboyrockstar

GBRforWDW said:


> There's typically a barrier though while seated right?  Plexiglass or something else?



In this case it was Big Thunder, so no plexiglass.


----------



## 720L

PrincessV said:


> I know this isn't a viable option for some folks, especially with the difficulty getting rental cars lately, but if you have a car, I HIGHLY recommend driving everywhere and skipping the buses. I've been driving to every park throughout the pandemic and it's quick and easy, with no waiting around for a bus to show up. And with reduced park capacity, there's plenty of parking available.


Now we had a car & decided the buses were better. (Last week) We were getting there before opening & noticed the buses get in before the cars waiting in line.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Rope dropped today (5/12). Here now. 50th in line at 7DMT. Only rides that seem to be open from my perspective in Fantasyland is Carousel. They’re testing tea cups. 7DMT and Pooh still closed


----------



## 720L

stephnerninnie1984 said:


> It is confusing because even the cast members aren’t clear of the rules. My sister and I had slushees in our hand as we got into line for MMRR and the cast member smiled and said, “You can drink those as long as you aren’t moving. As soon as you start moving again, you have to replace your mask”. I was actually quite shocked to hear that. So that may explain a little bit why people are eating/drinking in line as well as sitting on random benches without a mask.


I thought there was no eating/drinking in line at all? Although tons of people were doing it on our trip last week. I think compliance got worse after they announced they were going to stop temp taking.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Kicked us out of line for technical issues. I’m a failure as a father and a Disney Dad


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Kicked us out of line for technical issues. I’m a failure as a father and a Disney Dad


What ride?


----------



## Elle23

720L said:


> Now we had a car & decided the buses were better. (Last week) We were getting there before opening & noticed the buses get in before the cars waiting in line.



We definitely had better luck at RD with the buses. There were a couple of times the entrance for the cars was still blocked but they let the buses in. We were the very first people at AK one day!


----------



## Makmak

720L said:


> I thought there was no eating/drinking in line at all? Although tons of people were doing it on our trip last week. I think compliance got worse after they announced they were going to stop temp taking.


We just got back and we saw many of the outside lines (before the actual regular “normal times” que) where people were eating and drinking but then told to finish their snack/drink before entering the regular que. Other lines like haunted mansion and pirates people were eating and drinking the whole way to the building itself. But then at lion king people were told they could not eat or drink in the line outside near the building but others further back were allowed.  Last I heard the official rule was no eating and drinking in line but that enforcement changed to “it’s ok in the outside part as long as stationary” but that’s not the consistent rule as we saw people corrected for it. This caused many guests to become upset as they had previously been told they could do it. So what happens is you get people that are miserable because they are hungry/thirsty, then you have people eating an entire lunch and they are all right together waiting two hours for lion king.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

ENJDisneyFan said:


> What ride?


Sorry 7DMT.


----------



## Donnask8pro

So... We will be staying S&D and hitting HS next Thursday. I will have a rental car but walking to HS. Hopping to MK. Bus or go back and get the car? Also, Monorail from MK to Epcot isn't running?? If not, best way back to Boardwalk area? Thanks everyone!


----------



## scrappinginontario

This is an FYI. Gas is hard to find in the state of Florida, and other states. Yesterday a state of emergency was declared in Florida. If you’re renting a car or drove to Disney please be aware of this. I’m sure there are posts on the transportation board.

Gas Buddy is a decent app to use. Last night the app was down when we were searching for gas. But came back up after we finally found some.


----------



## William B

Donnask8pro said:


> So... We will be staying S&D and hitting HS next Thursday. I will have a rental car but walking to HS. Hopping to MK. Bus or go back and get the car? Also, Monorail from MK to Epcot isn't running?? If not, best way back to Boardwalk area? Thanks everyone!


I would definitely just hop the bus from HS to MK instead of taking the time to walk back to S&D and get the car, drive to MK, park and go in through the TTC.  When we were there a few weeks back the busses between parks were at most 20 minutes apart.  As for getting back to the boardwalk area from MK, I would just take the bus to Boardwalk Resort.  We did this from the park as a means of easily getting back to the S&D from MK and not having to deal with getting to the S&D bus.  It drops off right in front of the Boardwalk Resort and you can walk down the stairs to the Boardwalk.


----------



## PrincessV

720L said:


> Now we had a car & decided the buses were better. (Last week) We were getting there before opening & noticed the buses get in before the cars waiting in line.


Fair point. I don't do rope drop, so that's  non-issue for me.


----------



## SarahC97

We go in two weeks. We have a rental car but I'm really wondering if going to MK would be better on the bus. I hate going through the TTC.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

SarahC97 said:


> We go in two weeks. We have a rental car but I'm really wondering if going to MK would be better on the bus. I hate going through the TTC.


IMO MK is always best via bus, while driving is a good option for the other parks.


----------



## preemiemama

scrappinginontario said:


> This is an FYI. Gas is hard to find in the state of Florida, and other states. Yesterday a state of emergency was declared in Florida. If you’re renting a car or drove to Disney please be aware of this. I’m sure there are posts on the transportation board.
> 
> Gas Buddy is a decent app to use. Last night the app was down when we were searching for gas. But came back up after we finally found some.


I will add for people driving today (or maybe the next few days) through NC, we are out of gas at 75% of the stations here currently and that looks to be getting worse by the end of today.  Gas Buddy is a help finding stations for sure, but you definitely want to be aware of the situation before hitting the road.


----------



## ajgardner

Elle23 said:


> We definitely had better luck at RD with the buses. There were a couple of times the entrance for the cars was still blocked but they let the buses in. We were the very first people at AK one day!





720L said:


> Now we had a car & decided the buses were better. (Last week) We were getting there before opening & noticed the buses get in before the cars waiting in line.



Good to know - we love having our own car but have never been rope drop people. If we ever decide to try a rope drop I can keep this in mind.


----------



## Kelly014

Disney announced "phased and gradual" changes to their social distancing policies. They specify that 6 feet will still be used in restaurants and shops. For all of you there now or going soon I am really interested to hear how quickly we start seeing changes in signage or procedures and if rides start/continue to be fully loaded (I know there was some reports of this a few pages back). Give us all the details!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Kelly014 said:


> Disney announced "phased and gradual" changes to their social distancing policies. They specify that 6 feet will still be used in restaurants and shops. For all of you there now or going soon I am really interested to hear how quickly we start seeing changes in signage or procedures and if rides start/continue to be fully loaded (I know there was some reports of this a few pages back). Give us all the details!



Yes, please- I second this! I'm really interested to see how this impacts queues in terms of getting some of the lines more condensed and out of the sun for indoor queues. I suppose we should prepare for sun either way but still...  I'm dreading the heat but I'm sure we'll survive. A day at Disney is a good day regardless.


----------



## luv2cheer92

stephnerninnie1984 said:


> It is confusing because even the cast members aren’t clear of the rules. My sister and I had slushees in our hand as we got into line for MMRR and the cast member smiled and said, “You can drink those as long as you aren’t moving. As soon as you start moving again, you have to replace your mask”. I was actually quite shocked to hear that. So that may explain a little bit why people are eating/drinking in line as well as sitting on random benches without a mask.


I'm confused as to what would be shocking about that? Did you think you'd be able to leave your mask off and drink as you walked through the line? I thought that had been pretty clear that it wasn't allowed, and what the CM described would be, since last July.


----------



## Ecomommy09

luv2cheer92 said:


> I'm confused as to what would be shocking about that? Did you think you'd be able to leave your mask off and drink as you walked through the line? I thought that had been pretty clear that it wasn't allowed, and what the CM described would be, since last July.


The surprise was that the said she COULD drink as she was in the line as long as she put her mask back on when actually walking.  So far, drinks/snacks have been an absolute NO in the lines.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Kelly014 said:


> Disney announced "phased and gradual" changes to their social distancing policies. They specify that 6 feet will still be used in restaurants and shops. For all of you there now or going soon I am really interested to hear how quickly we start seeing changes in signage or procedures and if rides start/continue to be fully loaded (I know there was some reports of this a few pages back). Give us all the details!


This will allow them to increase capacity pretty immediately. I’m sure that will come up in tomorrow’s earnings call.

Yes please those there now please report back. Curious if the markers in lines are being removed.


----------



## VeronicaZS

TikiTikiFan said:


> Yes, please- I second this! I'm really interested to see how this impacts queues in terms of getting some of the lines more condensed and out of the sun for indoor queues. I suppose we should prepare for sun either way but still...  I'm dreading the heat but I'm sure we'll survive. A day at Disney is a good day regardless.


We were there May 7-9 and they were not enforcing 6 ft distancing in outdoor queues and it was hit or miss indoors. Glad to see this announced officially on the website.


----------



## brockash

luv2cheer92 said:


> I'm confused as to what would be shocking about that? Did you think you'd be able to leave your mask off and drink as you walked through the line? I thought that had been pretty clear that it wasn't allowed, and what the CM described would be, since last July.


It has certainly not been clear...at all.  That was the pp's point.  They said the CM told them they could drink them IN LINE while they were stationary and just needed to pull the mask back up while they were moving.  This is very different than what others have reported and still different than what we experienced during our Sept. and Oct. trips where lots of ppl. were eating in line the entire way through (until inside a building) and while we saw lots of CM's, none of them said anything about that they couldn't eat in the line.  -  This seemed to have changed at some point, but again the inconsistency is consistent.  That's what the OP found shocking...how different every CM/rule is.


----------



## canyoncam

I’ve been here since the 7th. 

I have felt more comfortable than in my home town. My observations are masks are still overall good compliance in parks and I’ve heard CM call people out in them but yes there are those who just will not do them when not in a CM view. Around the resorts and parking lots people are not wearing them and CMs are not saying anything. Social distancing is out the door-as a solo traveler I have been “absorbed” in many a family this trip . Rides are hit and miss on which and when seating distances are imposed. Shows are spread out. The only time I’ve felt uncomfortable was at Incredible Earth in Epcot where a mother and her two small children sit right next to me. I just got up and moved. Buses are still maintaining the seating limits. 

My concern isn’t when they go back to increased capacity, do away with social distance, or get rid of masks. I know if I’m uncomfortable I’d stay away and be glad others can enjoy it the way they want. What I worry about is the toll this took on Cast Members being “on show”. They are tired and stressed. I worry their joy may never come back to pre Covid levels. Plus they will be the ones training the next group. One thing that concerns me most is the distraction I saw on Soarin last night. The CM did not double check the seatbelts by having us pull on them, he only checked the light indicator. Also he seemed very discombobulated on how to say things or the order of loading. And other cast members were talking about an upcoming party. This was the only ride I noticed this lack of safety and complete disinterest in being on show. I have overheard a few other CM private conversations but as soon as they noticed me they came back “on” and there has been no other safety concerns on my part. Most of them have still been very pleasant, just not quite as animated.


----------



## WEDWDW

canyoncam said:


> I’ve been here since the 7th.
> 
> I have felt more comfortable than in my home town. My observations are masks are still overall good compliance in parks and I’ve heard CM call people out in them but yes there are those who just will not do them when not in a CM view. Around the resorts and parking lots people are not wearing them and CMs are not saying anything. Social distancing is out the door-as a solo traveler I have been “absorbed” in many a family this trip . Rides are hit and miss on which and when seating distances are imposed. Shows are spread out. The only time I’ve felt uncomfortable was at Incredible Earth in Epcot where a mother and her two small children sit right next to me. I just got up and moved. Buses are still maintaining the seating limits.
> 
> My concern isn’t when they go back to increased capacity, do away with social distance, or get rid of masks. I know if I’m uncomfortable I’d stay away and be glad others can enjoy it the way they want. What I worry about is the toll this took on Cast Members being “on show”. They are tired and stressed. I worry their joy may never come back to pre Covid levels. Plus they will be the ones training the next group. One thing that concerns me most is the distraction I saw on Soarin last night. The CM did not double check the seatbelts by having us pull on them, he only checked the light indicator. Also he seemed very discombobulated on how to say things or the order of loading. And other cast members were talking about an upcoming party. This was the only ride I noticed this lack of safety and complete disinterest in being on show. I have overheard a few other CM private conversations but as soon as they noticed me they came back “on” and there has been no other safety concerns on my part. Most of them have still been very pleasant, just not quite as animated.


I think the return of the College Program will really take some of the stress and "load" off of the current Cast Members and the CP CMs will also bring a lot of "energy" and "excitement" with them.

IMO,the return of the CP is HUGE.


----------



## NashvilleMama

Just back from a short 5/9 - 5/11 stay at Saratoga Springs, visited all 4 parks + DS.  Third pandemic visit (September, late January, now this one). 

There is ZERO social distancing happening anymore, anywhere - especially in lines and on most rides. People weren't even trying to abide by the queue markers with very few exceptions. The difference between our late Jan. visit and this one was shocking, and I would absolutely have not been ok being there if I wasn't fully vaccinated. Mask compliance is still relatively good, even in the sweltering heat of the last few days. Exceptions: Epcot is still not great in world showcase, so much eating and drinking on the move. 

One family in front of us in a long, hot line at MK started losing their minds over the masks and the dad was loudly swearing about how (curse word) it is that Disney is requiring them. If you have a problem with masks, don't go to Disney yet. It is hot. It's brutally hot. Masks were not fun at all this trip, and I hadn't minded them in the past. Bring extras. Bring fans and cooling towels. The outside queues are brutal. 

MCO: tons of people walking around and sitting at gates without masks.


----------



## Fangorn

canyoncam said:


> I’ve been here since the 7th.
> 
> I have felt more comfortable than in my home town. My observations are masks are still overall good compliance in parks and I’ve heard CM call people out in them but yes there are those who just will not do them when not in a CM view. Around the resorts and parking lots people are not wearing them and CMs are not saying anything. Social distancing is out the door-as a solo traveler I have been “absorbed” in many a family this trip . Rides are hit and miss on which and when seating distances are imposed. Shows are spread out. The only time I’ve felt uncomfortable was at Incredible Earth in Epcot where a mother and her two small children sit right next to me. I just got up and moved. Buses are still maintaining the seating limits.
> 
> My concern isn’t when they go back to increased capacity, do away with social distance, or get rid of masks. I know if I’m uncomfortable I’d stay away and be glad others can enjoy it the way they want. What I worry about is the toll this took on Cast Members being “on show”. They are tired and stressed. I worry their joy may never come back to pre Covid levels. Plus they will be the ones training the next group. One thing that concerns me most is the distraction I saw on Soarin last night. The CM did not double check the seatbelts by having us pull on them, he only checked the light indicator. Also he seemed very discombobulated on how to say things or the order of loading. And other cast members were talking about an upcoming party. This was the only ride I noticed this lack of safety and complete disinterest in being on show. I have overheard a few other CM private conversations but as soon as they noticed me they came back “on” and there has been no other safety concerns on my part. Most of them have still been very pleasant, just not quite as animated.



We were there from May 1-10. I didn't find the CMs stressed or joyless at all. Just the opposite in fact. We were also there in Dec and CMs were significantly more upbeat and engaging in this trip than in Dec. Had lots of CM interactions and to a person, they were excited that the restricting were about to start being lifted "in the next couple of weeks".  In December, it was rare to see a CM without a face shield. This trip, I maybe saw 2 with them on the entire trip. 

The College Program restarting will indeed be a wonderful thing. Currently working CMs are often working in areas that are not their specialty. Talked to half a dozen or so full time Entertainment CMs that were working in retail or food service, since that was their only option. They were so looking forward to getting back to their real jobs and the excitement was obvious. 

Steve


----------



## canyoncam

Fangorn said:


> We were there from May 1-10. I didn't find the CMs stressed or joyless at all. Just the opposite in fact. We were also there in Dec and CMs were significantly more upbeat and engaging in this trip than in Dec. Had lots of CM interactions and to a person, they were excited that the restricting were about to start being lifted "in the next couple of weeks".  In December, it was rare to see a CM without a face shield. This trip, I maybe saw 2 with them on the entire trip.
> 
> The College Program restarting will indeed be a wonderful thing. Currently working CMs are often working in areas that are not their specialty. Talked to half a dozen or so full time Entertainment CMs that were working in retail or food service, since that was their only option. They were so looking forward to getting back to their real jobs and the excitement was obvious.
> 
> Steve



It is an overall observation. Overall still joy there, just noticed more who were stressed or plain didn’t care than I ever have in the past. Yes the CP will bring back energy! 

And as far as observation goes-I’ve noticed about half of them are wearing face shields. Of course I’ve eaten at more TS than usual and it seems every last one in a restaurant is still wearing them. At least as far as I’ve seen.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

It just dawned on me the reduced distancing could also help the crowded pool situations! Would love to hear reports on this too! That's been my main worry coming up for our stay at Pop.

No pressure on anyone there right now as we all wait with baited breath for updates.


----------



## scrappinginontario

TikiTikiFan said:


> It just dawned on me the reduced distancing could also help the crowded pool situations! Would love to hear reports on this too! That's been my main worry coming up for our stay at Pop.
> 
> No pressure on anyone there right now as we all wait with baited breath for updates.


This is not anything official and only my thoughts but, I don't see pools changing at this time as the pool areas are areas where guests can temporarily remove their masks.  This is a quote about Physical Distancing from the Disney website,

*'Physical Distancing*
Temporary adjustments are still in place to promote physical distancing. While we will reduce physical distancing measures for Guests across many areas with a gradual, phased approach, *six-feet distancing measures will continue in all dining locations, merchandise stores and in areas where Guests can temporarily remove their masks*.'

Physical distancing in pools may change in time but isn't something I anticipate happening soon.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

scrappinginontario said:


> This is not anything official and only my thoughts but, I don't see pools changing at this time as the pool areas are areas where guests can temporarily remove their masks.  This is a quote about Physical Distancing from the Disney website,
> 
> *'Physical Distancing*
> Temporary adjustments are still in place to promote physical distancing. While we will reduce physical distancing measures for Guests across many areas with a gradual, phased approach, *six-feet distancing measures will continue in all dining locations, merchandise stores and in areas where Guests can temporarily remove their masks*.'
> 
> Physical distancing in pools may change in time but isn't something I anticipate happening soon.



Ahhhh I didn't even connect that to pools in my head. Thanks for pointing that out! 

Well, here's hoping the pools won't be too wild this summer... maybe?


----------



## Snowysmom

I am at wdw now. The 6  feet wait here markers are still In the queues.  Sometimes the people behind us get a bit closer than 6 feet but no one has been right next to us. The coasters are filling every row. The shows like Muppets are still blocking off every other row and having 4 seats between parties of 4.  Restaurants have table well spaced. Announcements are made and signs still say to maintain physical distancing. Soarin has spaces between parties. Test track will put 2 parties in one car. Dh and I were in the front and another couple were in the back seat.  I do not see signs of going to 3 feet distancing in the queues yet.


----------



## Kelly014

TikiTikiFan said:


> Ahhhh I didn't even connect that to pools in my head. Thanks for pointing that out!
> 
> Well, here's hoping the pools won't be too wild this summer... maybe?


I think there’s a chance, only because the CDC has said that outdoor transmission is rare. There are many areas/states that are getting back to normal and pools will be included in that return to normal. I don’t see how Disney pools are any different and they have relied heavily on CDC guidance so far. When it comes to fireworks and parades...those are extremely heavy crowds so I could see more caution there even though it’s outdoors. But pools, I am hopeful about!


----------



## Linkura

This is probably a dumb question but... has anyone seen any *guests* wearing face shields?  I know some cast members still wear them.  But I'm wondering if anyone has seen any guests wearing them in addition to the masks.  I would assume if anyone did, they would have to take them off for rides.  I don't see any official Disney language on them.

Yes, I'm one of those weirdos you see at the store wearing a shield along with an N95.  I'll wear the shield on the plane and at the airport, for sure, but I won't wear it at WDW if I'd be the only crazy person wearing one.


----------



## NashvilleMama

Linkura said:


> This is probably a dumb question but... has anyone seen any *guests* wearing face shields?  I know some cast members still wear them.  But I'm wondering if anyone has seen any guests wearing them in addition to the masks.  I would assume if anyone did, they would have to take them off for rides.  I don't see any official Disney language on them.
> 
> Yes, I'm one of those weirdos you see at the store wearing a shield along with an N95.  I'll wear the shield on the plane and at the airport, for sure, but I won't wear it at WDW if I'd be the only crazy person wearing one.


I don't think I saw anyone wearing one at all the few days we were there this week. Honestly didn't even notice many cast members wearing them either this time (way down from previous visits.)


----------



## Fangorn

During our 10 days in the parks, I saw zero guests wearing face shield and only a couple of CMs wearing them. I did notice that a number of CMs had shields on their belts, but they were not wearing them. 

Steve


----------



## luv2cheer92

Ecomommy09 said:


> The surprise was that the said she COULD drink as she was in the line as long as she put her mask back on when actually walking.  So far, drinks/snacks have been an absolute NO in the lines.


That's not true at all. Initially you were allowed to eat/drink as long as you were stationary (that included at any point in line). This was 100% the case in August as I had asked 10+ CMs to make sure I was following the rules. Then eventually in the fall they changed it to you could eat/drink as long as you were stationary in the outside portions of the lines, but once you entered the actual queue, you could no longer eat or drink.
What you couldn't do was walk and eat/drink throughout the line. That's been true the whole time.


----------



## Snowysmom

I have not seen guests wearing face shields. I see cast members at rides and restaurants wearing the face shields.


----------



## Sirenitas

We just got back. May 2-11, stayed at Pop. Made park reservations for all parks, 2 days each. Had at least 1 ADR each day.

Whoever said that you forget you're wearing a mask while in the parks must have been there in cooler weather. We usually go in early May and have had great luck with temps, but not this time. It was over 90 degrees every day except 2 (84 & 86) and unbearably humid. We are park open to close people, never take breaks - this time we HAD to.  Most of the time we left the parks at around 2/3 and went back after 6.

Cast members were awesome - did not see a grumpy CM our entire stay.

Housekeeping - I am one of those who do not want housekeeping at all during our stay. This time I asked for the towels/trash service every other day. No problem except my niece had an accident and needed the sheets changed. I called down twice but kept getting push back and saying they did not provide that service. I caught a manager when we were going to the pool. He said it was no problem but the housekeeper really did not want to do it, she called the manager to "confirm" with him. They could have just left the sheets and we would have done it 

I really like mobile ordering but it seemed like some places were overwhelmed and people clustered right outside the doors waiting to be called up. Order early and hit the "I'm here" button on your way there - not when you get there.

Got Rise on our 2 DHS days. Set up my alarm for 6:50, I hit the first join button (on the MDE home page) and waited. When 7 hit I refreshed the page (pulled down on the page) and just hit the join buttons - did not look at anything other than that join button!
On May 4 (which I thought would be the really tough one) I got BG 22 (120 minutes). We had to be there by 10:24. The Skyliner line was crazy that day but we made it. Second DHS day I got us BG 46 (280 minutes).

We did Smugglers Run about an hour before park closing and had no wait. Slinky as always had an hour or more line. MMRRhad a huge line early but had a 15-20 minute wait after 5pm - same with TSM.
DHS seriously needs more shade. TSL and GE are frying pans. The restroom in TSL has some benches that get a nice breeze and are in the shade.

We went opposite the crowds at AK and started at Dinosaur. Then we did the carnival games at Dinoland where my daughter won one game and my husband won another - we got 2 really cute dino plushies as prizes. Everest was a walk on, we did the zoom photo, and some PP photos by Y&Y that came out great. We did the safari after 1pm and it was so hot I did not think we would see any animals - we had a great ride.Tons of animals, the hippos were out of the water!
We did FoP once each day, the line was constantly moving and it was a decent 30-40 minute wait - this was after 3pm. Na'vi River was 20 minutes at opening one day, 40 the second. We rode it once in the afternoon with a 15 min. wait.

We did lunch at Y&Y (Landry's card), our other lunch was Satuli Canteen which was as good as everyone says. I got the big Mickey cinnamon roll at Tamu Tamu and shared it with DD as a quick breakfast.

MK was busier than I had hoped - pretty much everything had a half hour or more wait, even Dumbo. But it was really nice after the sun went down. Everything was a walk on and it cooled down alot! Wish they had been open later.
We went to Skipper and I liked it but not as much as I had hoped.

Epcot was fine, did all the rides without too much of a wait. TT was the only one that got over an hour.  The Frozen ride needs to get rid of the plexiglass - it was all smudges, water and foggy.
Got a Figment shirt - could not find anything with Orange Bird other than the cup (which I got). They had the scavenger hunt, prizes were the tumblers.

The one thing about Epcot - after dark the drunks are everywhere. I had a girl fall face first right in front of me. A CM saw her and asked if she needed help, the girl could not even talk. She had blood on her lip and a guy picked her and said they just needed the exit - they were in the American pavilion so who knows how long it took them to find it! Another group (they looked like a dance group) was running around, screaming about finishing up their drinking around the world competition. DH had to pick up one of my niece's who was a little too close to them so she would not get run over.

DS was very busy on the 2 Sundays we went - arrival day had Boathouse ADR, Mother's day had Homecomin' brunch. Boathouse was good but service was super slow. Homecomin' was as good as everyone says it is and I had a heck of a time deciding what to get. My mom and I split a Hummingbird cake and it was the best thing I ate all trip!

Gideon's had a 4 hour wait on Mother's day when we got there at 10:30am. We walked/shopped/brunch and got the text! Then we waited in line another 15 minutes. My mom wanted the breakfast cookie and they still had some. We also got a chocolate chip, cookies & cream, and the espresso special.

One of my nieces and I went on a Tuesday night for a few hours and it was very nice. Not crowded, nice breeze. We had a light dinner at Chicken Guy - it was pretty good, loved all the sauce options. We waited less than 10 minutes to get inside and order.

Glad we went but will wait to go back until masks are not required. It was like a sauna on my face.  My face broke out like crazy!

Edit -  best advice is bring a small travel umbrella, fans, and cooling towels. Disney was making a mint from their cooling towels - you see everyone with them and they really work!


----------



## elittleton

scrappinginontario said:


> This is an FYI. Gas is hard to find in the state of Florida, and other states. Yesterday a state of emergency was declared in Florida. If you’re renting a car or drove to Disney please be aware of this. I’m sure there are posts on the transportation board.
> 
> Gas Buddy is a decent app to use. Last night the app was down when we were searching for gas. But came back up after we finally found some.





preemiemama said:


> I will add for people driving today (or maybe the next few days) through NC, we are out of gas at 75% of the stations here currently and that looks to be getting worse by the end of today.  Gas Buddy is a help finding stations for sure, but you definitely want to be aware of the situation before hitting the road.


Hopefully the gas situation will improve over the next several days.  The Colonial Pipeline was restarted today so at least gas is moving again.


----------



## tarak

DCLMP said:


> Were you able to get a car? I can't find one in August. I couldn't find one in California next month either. Rental car shortage is a nightmare.


I booked one several weeks ago, fortunately.  We’re a party of 7, so maybe we had better luck because we needed a larger vehicle?


----------



## auntlynne

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Kicked us out of line for technical issues. I’m a failure as a father and a Disney Dad



Technical issues on whose part - yours or theirs?


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

auntlynne said:


> Technical issues on whose part - yours or theirs?


Their’s. Thankfully it was ultimately rectified, we got on the ride, and all is well


----------



## dmband

Those discussing masks and the rules/cm not being consistent need to consider that many CM are like many in the general population where you have some that think “Covid is a hoax” while others think “Covid will kill us all” and many in between 
so it doesn’t shock me that some cm are one way or the other. Sure it should be consistent and what the rules are but that’s not reality at Disney or anywhere else


----------



## gharter

dmband said:


> Those discussing masks and the rules/cm not being consistent


We were there in April and didn't see any of that.
All CMs were wearing a mask or face shield, or both.  Didn't see any without.
We did see CMs reminding the guests not wearing a mask to put theirs back on.


----------



## PrincessV

Linkura said:


> This is probably a dumb question but... has anyone seen any *guests* wearing face shields?


I've seen a few over the past year, so they exist, but are pretty rare.


----------



## PrincessV

Just a note about the gas thing: the vast majority of FL does not get its gas from the Colonial Pipeline, so is not impacted by that at all (north FL and the Panhandle may be exceptions). Our gas comes in on ships, is off-loaded to trucks, and trucked to gas stations, and that has not experienced any issues. Last I looked, only 2ish% of FL stations were out of gas, and that was only because people panicked and started hoarding. If you're driving to FL in the next day or two, it may be a concern, but shouldn't be once you're here.


----------



## EpcotPhoenician

Sirenitas said:


> The one thing about Epcot - after dark the drunks are everywhere.



This has been my experience as well. I get the heck out of EPCOT by 3PM. I was never one for the frat parties at my university.


----------



## snappy

EpcotPhoenician said:


> This has been my experience as well. I get the heck out of EPCOT by 3PM. I was never one for the frat parties at my university.


Weekends are the worst, and it seems the worst  around the Mexico pavilion.


----------



## EpcotPhoenician

snappy said:


> Weekends are the worst, and it seems the worst  around the Mexico pavilion.



I went this Tuesday and it was PACKED all around the World Showcase. An overwhelming number of people were walking around, no mask, with a drink in each hand. I think the Cast Members just gave up trying to enforce the mask policy.


----------



## SeiterClan

Sirenitas said:


> We just got back. May 2-11, stayed at Pop. Made park reservations for all parks, 2 days each. Had at least 1 ADR each day.
> 
> Whoever said that you forget you're wearing a mask while in the parks must have been there in cooler weather. We usually go in early May and have had great luck with temps, but not this time. It was over 90 degrees every day except 2 (84 & 86) and unbearably humid. We are park open to close people, never take breaks - this time we HAD to.  Most of the time we left the parks at around 2/3 and went back after 6.
> 
> Cast members were awesome - did not see a grumpy CM our entire stay.
> 
> Housekeeping - I am one of those who do not want housekeeping at all during our stay. This time I asked for the towels/trash service every other day. No problem except my niece had an accident and needed the sheets changed. I called down twice but kept getting push back and saying they did not provide that service. I caught a manager when we were going to the pool. He said it was no problem but the housekeeper really did not want to do it, she called the manager to "confirm" with him. They could have just left the sheets and we would have done it
> 
> I really like mobile ordering but it seemed like some places were overwhelmed and people clustered right outside the doors waiting to be called up. Order early and hit the "I'm here" button on your way there - not when you get there.
> 
> Got Rise on our 2 DHS days. Set up my alarm for 6:50, I hit the first join button (on the MDE home page) and waited. When 7 hit I refreshed the page (pulled down on the page) and just hit the join buttons - did not look at anything other than that join button!
> On May 4 (which I thought would be the really tough one) I got BG 22 (120 minutes). We had to be there by 10:24. The Skyliner line was crazy that day but we made it. Second DHS day I got us BG 46 (280 minutes).
> 
> We did Smugglers Run about an hour before park closing and had no wait. Slinky as always had an hour or more line. MMRRhad a huge line early but had a 15-20 minute wait after 5pm - same with TSM.
> DHS seriously needs more shade. TSL and GE are frying pans. The restroom in TSL has some benches that get a nice breeze and are in the shade.
> 
> We went opposite the crowds at AK and started at Dinosaur. Then we did the carnival games at Dinoland where my daughter won one game and my husband won another - we got 2 really cute dino plushies as prizes. Everest was a walk on, we did the zoom photo, and some PP photos by Y&Y that came out great. We did the safari after 1pm and it was so hot I did not think we would see any animals - we had a great ride.Tons of animals, the hippos were out of the water!
> We did FoP once each day, the line was constantly moving and it was a decent 30-40 minute wait - this was after 3pm. Na'vi River was 20 minutes at opening one day, 40 the second. We rode it once in the afternoon with a 15 min. wait.
> 
> We did lunch at Y&Y (Landry's card), our other lunch was Satuli Canteen which was as good as everyone says. I got the big Mickey cinnamon roll at Kusafiri and shared it with DD as a quick breakfast.
> 
> MK was busier than I had hoped - pretty much everything had a half hour or more wait, even Dumbo. But it was really nice after the sun went down. Everything was a walk on and it cooled down alot! Wish they had been open later.
> We went to Skipper and I liked it but not as much as I had hoped.
> 
> Epcot was fine, did all the rides without too much of a wait. TT was the only one that got over an hour.  The Frozen ride needs to get rid of the plexiglass - it was all smudges, water and foggy.
> Got a Figment shirt - could not find anything with Orange Bird other than the cup (which I got). They had the scavenger hunt, prizes were the tumblers.
> 
> The one thing about Epcot - after dark the drunks are everywhere. I had a girl fall face first right in front of me. A CM saw her and asked if she needed help, the girl could not even talk. She had blood on her lip and a guy picked her and said they just needed the exit - they were in the American pavilion so who knows how long it took them to find it! Another group (they looked like a dance group) was running around, screaming about finishing up their drinking around the world competition. DH had to pick up one of my niece's who was a little too close to them so she would not get run over.
> 
> DS was very busy on the 2 Sundays we went - arrival day had Boathouse ADR, Mother's day had Homecomin' brunch. Boathouse was good but service was super slow. Homecomin' was as good as everyone says it is and I had a hack of a time deciding what to get. My mom and I split a Hummingbird cake and it was the best thing I ate all trip!
> 
> Gideon's had a 4 hour wait on Mother's day when we got there at 10:30am. We walked/shopped/brunch and got the text! Then we waited in line another 15 minutes. My mom wanted the breakfast cookie and they still had some. We also got a chocolate chip, cookies & cream, and the espresso/on special.
> 
> One of my nieces and I went on a Tuesday night for a hours and it was very nice. Not crowded, nice breeze. We had a light dinner at Chicken Guy - it was pretty good, loved all the sauce options. We waited less than 10 minutes to get inside and order.
> 
> Glad we went but will wait to go back until masks are not required. It was like a sauna on my face.  My face broke out like crazy!


Thank you for this report as we are staying at POP in a little over a week! Two questions for you if you don't mind: 1) For getting you ROTR boarding pass were you on resort wi-fi and did you do it from your room or somewhere on property? 2) Also how early are people lining up to rope drop parks for Skyliner/buses there? Your reports of it being crazy busy are making me wonder if we need to line up more that an 1.5 hours before opening time if we want to rope drop? TIA for any advice you can give!


----------



## snappy

EpcotPhoenician said:


> I went this Tuesday and it was PACKED all around the World Showcase. An overwhelming number of people were walking around, no mask, with a drink in each hand. I think the Cast Members just gave up trying to enforce the mask policy.



Thanks for the info. We stayed in Epcot area resorts 6 nights last week. We pretty much avoided the countries at night for exactly this reason.


----------



## EpcotPhoenician

FYI all.. Cast Members are actively changing the 6ft distance signs at the Riviera bus stop. The signs no longer say 6ft. He was told to not let Guests know of any particular dates for the removal of 6ft requirements.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

EpcotPhoenician said:


> FYI all.. Cast Members are *actively changing* the 6ft distance signs around Riviera. The signs no longer say 6ft. He was told to not let Guests know of any particular dates for the removal of 6ft requirements.


Changing them to what?


----------



## EpcotPhoenician

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Changing them to what?



It's now a blank arrow without the "6ft" text.


----------



## Anne Scaffo

stephnerninnie1984 said:


> It is confusing because even the cast members aren’t clear of the rules. My sister and I had slushees in our hand as we got into line for MMRR and the cast member smiled and said, “You can drink those as long as you aren’t moving. As soon as you start moving again, you have to replace your mask”. I was actually quite shocked to hear that. So that may explain a little bit why people are eating/drinking in line as well as sitting on random benches without a mask.


In recent months it has been my understanding that you are allowed to take sips while in line- as long as you are not moving.


----------



## Anne Scaffo

WEDWDW said:


> IMO,the return of the CP is HUGE.


I agree.   There are so many who have been waiting, and eager to participate. I just hope that their anticipation and excitement will be stronger than the daily stresses.  My one concern for them is the number of guests who will become cranky having to wear their masks in the heat day after day.  The heat bothers me, and tends to make me cranky.  But, I am prepared for what to expect.  I also know that I would never treat a CM with anything but kindness.


----------



## loves to dive

720L said:


> Now we had a car & decided the buses were better. (Last week) We were getting there before opening & noticed the buses get in before the cars waiting in line.


I was there mid-April and had a car but used Disney transportation or walked the entire time I was there.  The longest bus wait I had was maybe 15 min. mid-day waiting to go back to a resort and there were only 4 or 5 people in line.  I noticed this pre-Covid as well.  I had no problems with people taking masks off on the buses, I did see a couple of times people pull them down to sip a drink but they put them right back up.   The only bus driver I had that didn't seem to do as well as he should was a Mears driver at the Dolphin.  He seemed to wait a little too long to see if anyone else was coming for the bus and had some strange music videos playing on his video player next to him.   I was the only one on the bus so he may have thought it was o.k.


----------



## loves to dive

I few posts up I noticed someone mentioned they got a cin. roll at Kusafiri in AK.  I thought that was still closed, when did it open and is it open only at certain times?


----------



## poppins2008

SeiterClan said:


> Thank you for this report as we are staying at POP in a little over a week!



ME TOO!!!!   Also interested in answers to your questions


----------



## Sirenitas

SeiterClan said:


> Thank you for this report as we are staying at POP in a little over a week! Two questions for you if you don't mind: 1) For getting you ROTR boarding pass were you on resort wi-fi and did you do it from your room or somewhere on property? 2) Also how early are people lining up to rope drop parks for Skyliner/buses there? Your reports of it being crazy busy are making me wonder if we need to line up more that an 1.5 hours before opening time if we want to rope drop? TIA for any advice you can give!


I was not using the Wifi since I had read it is pretty slow. I was in our room - we were in the 50's, 2nd floor.

We made it to official park opening most days by getting to the Skyliner (which we loved!) about 40 minutes early. One day the Epcot line was down and we had to go to AoA to catch a bus - we still made it before the park officially opened. The worst day was May 4th going to DHS, but it must have been the date - waited at CBR, in the sun, for a good 30 minutes (on top of getting to the Pop station early) and we had to rush to make our BG.  The 2nd day we waited maybe 10 minutes and walking the whole time.

Buses were not bad at all and in the morning they had several buses waiting one behind the other for both AK and MK. We never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus from Pop.

My best advice is bring a small travel umbrella, fans (I had small battery ones for the kids and I used a handheld fan I got at the Japan store ages ago), and cooling towels. Disney was making a mint from their cooling towels - you see everyone with them and they really work! I'll add this to the original post since I was so glad I had packed all of these items.


----------



## Sirenitas

loves to dive said:


> I few posts up I noticed someone mentioned they got a cin. roll at Kusafiri in AK.  I thought that was still closed, when did it open and is it open only at certain times?


Sorry it was at Tamu Tamu


----------



## SeiterClan

Sirenitas said:


> I was not using the Wifi since I had read it is pretty slow. I was in our room - we were in the 50's, 2nd floor.
> 
> We made it to official park opening most days by getting to the Skyliner (which we loved!) about 40 minutes early. One day the Epcot line was down and we had to go to AoA to catch a bus - we still made it before the park officially opened. The worst day was May 4th going to DHS, but it must have been the date - waited at CBR, in the sun, for a good 30 minutes (on top of getting to the Pop station early) and we had to rush to make our BG.  The 2nd day we waited maybe 10 minutes and walking the whole time.
> 
> Buses were not bad at all and in the morning they had several buses waiting one behind the other for both AK and MK. We never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus from Pop.
> 
> My best advice is bring a small travel umbrella, fans, and cooling towels. Disney was making a mint from their cooling towels - you see everyone with them and they really work! I'll add this to the original post since I was so glad I had packed all of these items.


Thank you for taking time to respond as this is super helpful  I'm relieved to hear that the Skyliner/buses were not too crazy busy & that lines moved fast! I have already bought neck fans & cooling towels for everyone in our group as well as a few small travel umbrellas so hopefully we can handle the humidity.  We are from AZ so we know HOT but know that the humidity there takes it to whole other level but hope we will survive!


----------



## lovethattink

I created a thread in the theme park community subforum to discuss your thoughts on the new CDC mask guidelines. Please use that thread and keep this one to Here now, just back posts.

Click Here


https://www.disboards.com/threads/t...ct-your-disney-vacation.3837053/post-62972476


----------



## Akck

SeiterClan said:


> Thank you for this report as we are staying at POP in a little over a week! Two questions for you if you don't mind: 1) For getting you ROTR boarding pass were you on resort wi-fi and did you do it from your room or somewhere on property? 2) Also how early are people lining up to rope drop parks for Skyliner/buses there? Your reports of it being crazy busy are making me wonder if we need to line up more that an 1.5 hours before opening time if we want to rope drop? TIA for any advice you can give!



We were at CBR for another data point. WiFi was slow the night before, so I was planning on using data. That morning though, it was faster than data so I used WiFi. Managed to get BG 27. I suggest checking both the night before and morning of. If both are slow that night, you can go out to find a better data location.


----------



## EpcotPhoenician

Here for nearly a week, and thus far the only situation where I felt incredibly uncomfortable was whenever an afternoon shower comes around, everybody runs for cover, and the concept of social distancing goes out the window. People will cram right up next to you to avoid getting wet. 

*If you're coming to WDW and don't want to have others cram right up next to you in a rain storm, bring a poncho and carry on.*

Also, the queue for Big Thunder Mountain (the part where you descend down to the loading platform), nobody was distancing.

Other than that, I would say mask compliance is around 75%. From what I've observed, the largest offenders are those drinking in EPCOT. Zero compliance with those people.


----------



## wdwrule

SeiterClan said:


> Thank you for this report as we are staying at POP in a little over a week! Two questions for you if you don't mind: 1) For getting you ROTR boarding pass were you on resort wi-fi and did you do it from your room or somewhere on property? 2) Also how early are people lining up to rope drop parks for Skyliner/buses there? Your reports of it being crazy busy are making me wonder if we need to line up more that an 1.5 hours before opening time if we want to rope drop? TIA for any advice you can give!


Pop resort WiFi was successful for us 3 out of 3 times when we recently tried there. (1 of us always tried data at same time but WiFi won)


Also, someone else asked if guests ever wore shields with their masks... we saw a young couple wearing both last month in the Soarin que.  That was the only time we saw this though.


----------



## Princess Katelet

First pandemic visit today (Thursday, May 13).
Magical Express line was miles long yesterday and took 50 minutes to reach check in where there were only TWO CMs checking people in. Another half hour line in the SSR line. The dad of the family behind us would NOT stay away from us. We didn’t say anything but we had our rolling suitcases tilted behind us to create distance but instead he just stood practically next to us. Rude and inconsiderate.
People did pros and cons of SSR and one con of Congress Park was distance to lobby/food. It’s a four minute walk. Congress Park is perfect. I am, however, ASTOUNDED at the number of lizards that are ALL over the sidewalks and practically run over your feet as you walk. 
This morning it took half an hour for a bus that wasn’t full to take us to MK so we ended up getting there at the official 8 opening, however Space, Buzz, Mansion, and People Mover were walk ons. Peter Pan was 25 and Pirates 15. Philharmagic made me angry. It took about 45 minutes and the amount of wasted space in the theatre is NUTS because before people get to that scarcely populated theatre they are crammed in an indoor queue for 45 minutes!!! So dumb!
Park hopped to Studios after lunch at The Wave—didn’t enjoy and was uncomfortable with eating indoors. Probably won’t attempt that again. Studios was frustrating as everything had a huge line and I can’t rope drop this park as I wasn’t able to get a reservation for it the whole week. We did Star Tours and Alien Swirling Saucers. Wow was Saucers BUMPY and SHORT. I’d not be happy if I had waited in any kind of line for it. We then attempted M&M Railway cause it dropped to 30. What the app failed to mention was that it was down. We got in line anyway cause they said it’s usually down for 45 and they were nearing that. We waited at least half an hour if not longer before bailing. Big mistake to attempt it. Rode Smuggler’s Run for the first time and LOVED it!  Do the guests truly control the ride or the directions in any way? As pilots in our own pod my daughter and I just tried for the most fun ride so we went up and down and left and right and seemed to be crashing into things regularly which was fun. We just didn’t know if we were actually controlling anything. 
Jumped in line for Tower at close and when the very nice CM said PLEASE keep your masks on during the ride a middle aged couple promptly took their masks off the moment the elevator doors closed and promptly put them back just before the doors opened. People like that infuriate me with their rudeness and disrespect.
Overall mask compliance has been fairly good. Distancing hasn’t been terrible but not stellar, either. 
Yesterday was POURING rain so we were glad it was a travel day and not a park day. Today was cloudy and low 70s.


----------



## LMO429

We were at Disney for two weeks just got back. We cabbed or Uber to contemporary and walked over we went to mk six times and not once was the driver questioned by security, no asking for a dining reservation none of that which I read so many times about before we went of course your mileage may vary but that was our experience we had a car but cabbed it to contemporary for mk and walked over


----------



## hereforthechurros

LMO429 said:


> We were at Disney for two weeks just got back. We cabbed or Uber to contemporary and walked over we went to mk six times and not once was the driver questioned by security, no asking for a dining reservation none of that which I read so many times about before we went of course your mileage may vary but that was our experience we had a car but cabbed it to contemporary for mk and walked over


That’s odd. What did the driver say when he pulled up to the guest shack to gain entry? Where were you dropped off?


----------



## sdeut

LMO429 said:


> We were at Disney for two weeks just got back. We cabbed or Uber to contemporary and walked over we went to mk six times and not once was the driver questioned by security, no asking for a dining reservation none of that which I read so many times about before we went of course your mileage may vary but that was our experience we had a car but cabbed it to contemporary for mk and walked over


Crossing fingers this has changed.  Would love to be able to be dropped off at a resort again.


----------



## Sirenitas

As far as distancing - we did not feel like people were on top of us (like before covid) but there was not much distance between parties.  It only rained once and people were trying to cram into shops (we were at Epcot) but CMs were turning them away.  There was a manage at the entrance keeping people away. They just huddled at the front of the store.   We actually enjoyed the rain and it did not last very long.

The one time we took an Uber (from WL to Pop) I had my MB scanned at the Pop gate.  We had dinner at WC and I was checking availability and fares and literally saw it jump from no wait & $12 to no availability and $25 in a matter of minutes. It was right when MK closed at 9PM.  We did get a ride (actually 2 since there were 6 of us), one came within 10 minutes but for the other one my mom and I waited almost 30 minutes.   The buses would have been worse.


----------



## LMO429

hereforthechurros said:


> That’s odd. What did the driver say when he pulled up to the guest shack to gain entry? Where were you dropped off?



Honestly not sure what was said I was in the back of the van and couldn’t hear maybe because if was a van and not a car it wasn’t questioned and we got dropped off at the front of contemporary each time.


----------



## EpcotPhoenician

sdeut said:


> Crossing fingers this has changed.  Would love to be able to be dropped off at a resort again.



Don't count on it. When I took an Uber from Wilderness Lodge to Old Key West this week, the guard at Old Key West immediately told us to turn around. I had to "convince" him that I had a resort stay booked... which I did... it was very strange.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Here now, having a tranquil breakfast at CBR after a few whirlwind days. You’ve all been so generous with your time and advice I wanted to impart my observations. Not sure how enduring this will be given we are here during Chapek’s pronouncement regarding increased attendance, but here goes:

Arrived midday Tuesday (5/11). The DME lines were quite lengthy as expected but it did move briskly and we were on our bus within a half hour. I was tempted to try Lyft or Uber but the prices were around the mid $40 to $50 range for an XL (we’re a party of five).

First night was at GF. We changed into pool clothes and were able to use the pool immediately. Room wasn’t available until right around 3 which was fine by us. You should allow 20/30 minutes for mobile orders, which is good to know if you have kids to being hangry.

Walked to MK Weds morning (5/12). Easy walk, left right around 7. We were like 6th in line for temp check. Got through around 7:15/7:20, and tapped in. Made it immediately to 7DMT. They didn’t start moving the line until like 7:48/7:50, and right before we got to the interior queue they dumped the line and said they had tech difficulties. We walked over to Peter Pan, basically a walk on, and did the same with Buzz Lightyear, Barnstormer, and a bunch of Tomorrowland/Fantasyland rides and attractions. Midday lunch at Plaza - thought it was fine. Never waited more than 15 mins for the rides but avoided Space. My wife and boys did Splash at the end of the night but I’m a wimp* and they did wait the full 50 mins. (* I did conquer my fears of “roller coasters” by finally riding BTMRR and 7DMT later in the day, thanks to a Guest Services Fastpass due to the extensive tech issues throughout the morning).

Took bus to CBR at the end of the night (we did a split stay). This was a pain. If I was a little more clear headed I might’ve checked the line for Riviera and then walked over.

DHS on Thursday (5/13). Avoided Slinky first thing and counter-programmed by doing MMRR 2x to start. Both walk-ons. Delightful ride. Did MF, waited about 15 mins back to back. Did Star Tours, and by then our BG35 ROTR was ready. Did that. Shopped until Sci-Fi lunch. It was excellent, probably the best meal this week. Wife and oldest son did RNRC (see above *) and I took the other kids on Lightning McQueen. Amazing animatronic. Due to quirks in showtime and hitting it at the right time, they were out before we were. Hit Toy Story land, were able to do Alien Saucers back to back with like a 10 min wait each, shopped, saw a few of the shows, did TSM with boys while wife and daughter had dinner at Brown Derby (they loved it) and split up again when daughter and I did MMRR 2x times while wife and boys did Slinky. Skyliner there and back was a breeze.

*MASK COMPLIANCE*: Vast majority were compliant, and did see a number of CMs enforce. Obviously I think that may be changing soon, but only once did I see a family just refuse to comply over and over again. Had to be warned about eating in line, etc. Never felt unsafe, though wife and I are vaccinated. Our kids are not, but they’ve been in school all year and played sports and figured they’d be fine. Never felt really concerned they were exposed to to much, but each their own.

*TRANSPORTATION*: I think most of the battle is where you’re staying. The walk for rope drop from GF/POLY/CONTEMP/BAY LAKE is a huge competitive advantage (feels weird to frame it that way!) to getting in early at MK. Likewise, same would be case for the BEACH/YACHT/BOARDWALK/S&D walk to Epcot/HS. I’d you’re Skylining from CBR/Riviera, take the extra 5-7 mins and walk to the CRB stop. We saw first in line people at the Riviera stop - we’re in Aruba and walked the extra length to go to the CRB stop - get put at the back of the line after they got off their Skyliner connector. Dad that was first off his cab was not happy. WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT HS- do not talk over to the long line to the left as you get off Skyliner. Just as we arrived they opened the closer temp station. Hang out there.

*FOOD*: This is all going to be personal preference, but the combo of heat and masks can be tolling on you. I found sit down table service restaurant reservations to be a nice respite from all that. Check in the days before your park reservation, and the night before. Well worth it if you can make it happen. For mobile orders, just stay ahead of the game. Found there to be about a 5-10 min delay from “I’m Here” to “It’s Ready!”

*CROWDS*: I don’t have an innate sense of whether it was 35% or larger. We’ve never been to WDW during insanely busy times, so not much of a reference point. It was midweek in mid May, so we timed it for a relative lull knowing pent up travel demand was in the offing this summer as vaccination rates increase. I felt they were fine and never felt uncomfortable or unsafe (see above) but also was prepared given some of the “This was NOT 35% capacity!” observations I’ve seen here and elsewhere. We went in September and it was completely dead. I enjoyed that trip for different reasons but it also felt macabre and a little depressing at the same time. There’s a vitality back in the parks now with more people and attendance, and that’s overall a good thing even if it means slightly longer waits. But again, to each their own. 

I hope this helps, and I’m so grateful for all of your combined wisdom and advice over these many months!


----------



## Princess Katelet

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Here now, having a tranquil breakfast at CBR after a few whirlwind days. You’ve all been so generous with your time and advice I wanted to impart my observations. Not sure how enduring this will be given we are here during Chapek’s pronouncement regarding increased attendance, but here goes:
> 
> Arrived midday Tuesday (5/11). The DME lines were quite lengthy as expected but it did move briskly and we were on our bus within a half hour. I was tempted to try Lyft or Uber but the prices were around the mid $40 to $50 range for an XL (we’re a party of five).
> 
> First night was at GF. We changed into pool clothes and were able to use the pool immediately. Room wasn’t available until right around 3 which was fine by us. You should allow 20/30 minutes for mobile orders, which is good to know if you have kids to being hangry.
> 
> Walked to MK Weds morning (5/12). Easy walk, left right around 7. We were like 6th in line for temp check. Got through around 7:15/7:20, and tapped in. Made it immediately to 7DMT. They didn’t start moving the line until like 7:48/7:50, and right before we got to the interior queue they dumped the line and said they had tech difficulties. We walked over to Peter Pan, basically a walk on, and did the same with Buzz Lightyear, Barnstormer, and a bunch of Tomorrowland/Fantasyland rides and attractions. Midday lunch at Plaza - thought it was fine. Never waited more than 15 mins for the rides but avoided Space. My wife and boys did Splash at the end of the night but I’m a wimp* and they did wait the full 50 mins. (* I did conquer my fears of “roller coasters” by finally riding BTMRR and 7DMT later in the day, thanks to a Guest Services Fastpass due to the extensive tech issues throughout the morning).
> 
> Took bus to CBR at the end of the night (we did a split stay). This was a pain. If I was a little more clear headed I might’ve checked the line for Riviera and then walked over.
> 
> DHS on Thursday (5/13). Avoided Slinky first thing and counter-programmed by doing MMRR 2x to start. Both walk-ons. Delightful ride. Did MF, waited about 15 mins back to back. Did Star Tours, and by then our BG35 ROTR was ready. Did that. Shopped until Sci-Fi lunch. It was excellent, probably the best meal this week. Wife and oldest son did RNRC (see above *) and I took the other kids on Lightning McQueen. Amazing animatronic. Due to quirks in showtime and hitting it at the right time, they were out before we were. Hit Toy Story land, were able to do Alien Saucers back to back with like a 10 min wait each, shopped, saw a few of the shows, did TSM with boys while wife and daughter had dinner at Brown Derby (they loved it) and split up again when daughter and I did MMRR 2x times while wife and boys did Slinky. Skyliner there and back was a breeze.
> 
> *MASK COMPLIANCE*: Vast majority were compliant, and did see a number of CMs enforce. Obviously I think that may be changing soon, but only once did I see a family just refuse to comply over and over again. Had to be warned about eating in line, etc. Never felt unsafe, though wife and I are vaccinated. Our kids are not, but they’ve been in school all year and played sports and figured they’d be fine. Never felt really concerned they were exposed to to much, but each their own.
> 
> *TRANSPORTATION*: I think most of the battle is where you’re staying. The walk for rope drop from GF/POLY/CONTEMP/BAY LAKE is a huge competitive advantage (feels weird to frame it that way!) to getting in early at MK. Likewise, same would be case for the BEACH/YACHT/BOARDWALK/S&D walk to Epcot/HS. I’d you’re Skylining from CBR/Riviera, take the extra 5-7 mins and walk to the CRB stop. We saw first in line people at the Riviera stop - we’re in Aruba and walked the extra length to go to the CRB stop - get put at the back of the line after they got off their Skyliner connector. Dad that was first off his cab was not happy. WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT HS- do not talk over to the long line to the left as you get off Skyliner. Just as we arrived they opened the closer temp station. Hang out there.
> 
> *FOOD*: This is all going to be personal preference, but the combo of heat and masks can be tolling on you. I found sit down table service restaurant reservations to be a nice respite from all that. Check in the days before your park reservation, and the night before. Well worth it if you can make it happen. For mobile orders, just stay ahead of the game. Found there to be about a 5-10 min delay from “I’m Here” to “It’s Ready!”
> 
> I hope this helps, and I’m so grateful for all of your combined wisdom and advice over these many months!


I was in the Studios last night…how did you do MMRR twice and Slinky once??  MMRR was down forever, for one thing, but the wait times were like 80 for Slinky and 60 for MMRR.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Princess Katelet said:


> I was in the Studios last night…how did you do MMRR twice and Slinky once??  MMRR was down forever, for one thing, but the wait times were like 80 for Slinky and 60 for MMRR.


We split up. Daughter and I hit MMRR once it started back up around 730 or so, and wife and other two went to Slinky. Got off MMRR around 750, got back in line before close.


----------



## DisneyFive

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> *TRANSPORTATION*: I think most of the battle is where you’re staying. The walk for rope drop from GF/POLY/CONTEMP/BAY LAKE is a huge competitive advantage (feels weird to frame it that way!) to getting in early at MK. Likewise, same would be case for the BEACH/YACHT/BOARDWALK/S&D walk to Epcot/HS. I’d you’re Skylining from CBR/Riviera, take the extra 5-7 mins and walk to the CRB stop. We saw first in line people at the Riviera stop - we’re in Aruba and walked the extra length to go to the CRB stop - get put at the back of the line after they got off their Skyliner connector. Dad that was first off his cab was not happy. WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT HS- do not talk over to the long line to the left as you get off Skyliner. Just as we arrived they opened the closer temp station. Hang out there.



Agree, transportation is key.  Hopefully there is better capacity soon with reduced social distancing.

Dan


----------



## hereforthechurros

LMO429 said:


> Honestly not sure what was said I was in the back of the van and couldn’t hear maybe because if was a van and not a car it wasn’t questioned and we got dropped off at the front of contemporary each time.


You had the same driver/vehicle each time? So the driver was questioned at the gate but you're not sure what he said. Only asking because there are plenty of reports to the contrary. Maybe this is changing? Just last month during out visit guards at multiple resorts checked our reservation or scanned our band for access when arriving by Uber.


----------



## LMO429

hereforthechurros said:


> You had the same driver each time? Only asking because there are plenty of reports to the contrary. Maybe this is changing? Just last month during out visit guards at multiple resorts checked our reservation or scanned our band for access when arriving by Uber.


No different driver each time, like I said I knew I was rolling the dice based on so many other reports but in our experience we went to Magic Kingdom six times and were dropped off each time with no issues or asking for a reservations your mileage may vary like us be prepared to have to turn around and go to TTC but that was not the case for us we just got back tuesday.  At Riviera and AKL they asked for a dining reservation but we had no issues at contemporary maybe because it was a luxury van I haven no idea just sharing my experience and im glad it worked out for us


----------



## brightlined

Finished my first trip since late 2019 last night. It was really, really nice to be back.

*Highs:* my first time on MMRR, and it was right up my alley. I see why some folks don't like it, but I'm a fan of the character designs of the newer shorts, and I dug how the scenery projections looked. (Could do without Daisy's segment. I chuckled - her cackle at the end was almost like an evil yoga instructor.)

I was solo this trip, and getting to fly the Millennium Falcon by myself might have been the quiet highlight. When I'm solo, I usually end up as an Engineer or a Gunner (there's no way I can take a Pilot slot from an 11-year-old) -  to be fair, I actually kind of enjoy the Engineer role - but it was really, really fun to have the Falcon to myself a couple of times, knowing that it will absolutely never happen again.

Mask compliance was mostly pretty good, and I heard a lot of CMs pointing to people to fix theirs. (I had a ride photo get blocked because a young child in another row had his mask off. Was surprised that the Magicband reader was disabled; CM explained that even if it wasn't my fault - he couldn't put it on my account.) 

I really enjoyed having extra space in queue lines - I've always hated having people constantly slam into my back. I wish this could stay, but I know it won't. Weirdly, though, what I found strange - whenever we got indoors, it was like people forgot about social distancing to some degree. (And indoors is where it's more necessary.)

(Anecdotally - overall compliance seemed worse at MK than anywhere else.)

I screwed up on the first day and ended up at Epcot to park-hop at 1pm. I was mostly going there for lunch, and decided to mobile order a Cuban sandwich from Ale & Compass at Yacht Club instead - it was unbelievable. The Lounge there was a great spot to nosh and recharge. Scored an unexpected Oga's ADR on the way back from Epcot later that afternoon, which was a perfect way to end an almost perfect first day.

I'm glad so many folks recommended the seared gnocchi at The Wave. I've never eaten there before, and it was fantastic.

This was my first exposure to the new bag scanners - they're amazing. I've intentionally declined to carry a bag for years, strictly because how long bag check can be - and it was wonderful to be able to carry a bottle of water and an umbrella without having to try to shove them into my pockets. (It was perfect for that torrential rain on Wednesday - decided to open the umbrella and leave the park rather than cram into the Pandora/Avatar gift shop along with a thousand other people - the CMs were desperately trying to get people to move to the back of the store.)

*Lows:* I thought the F&G festival food wasn't nearly as good as in previous years. Like, it was fine, just seemed sorta off. I wish they hadn't put popcorn in all of the maple items at the Canada kiosk - I'd rather not eat cake and hit a partially-unpopped kernel.

Fortunately, this weird era is almost over, but the queue at Gran Fiesta Tour is one of the worst COVID traps I've ever seen, not just at Disney. The plexiglass goes almost to the ceiling, there's no air circulation at all, and people just completely forgot how to distance.

Crowds were mostly reasonably-tolerable earlier in the week, but Thursday was kind of nuts. I can't imagine what weekends are like. Honestly, in a perfect world, I would've been content to just visit the parks during the parkhopper hours. (I ended up doing most of the marquee attractions either right after 2pm or at the end of the day, and had relatively short wait times.)

All in all, even with some of the weirdness, it was a really fun few days at the parks.


----------



## Sarahslay

brightlined said:


> Finished my first trip since late 2019 last night. It was really, really nice to be back.
> 
> *Highs:* my first time on MMRR, and it was right up my alley. I see why some folks don't like it, but I'm a fan of the character designs of the newer shorts, and I dug how the scenery projections looked. (Could do without Daisy's segment. I chuckled - her cackle at the end was almost like an evil yoga instructor.)
> 
> I was solo this trip, and getting to fly the Millennium Falcon by myself might have been the quiet highlight. When I'm solo, I usually end up as an Engineer or a Gunner (there's no way I can take a Pilot slot from an 11-year-old) -  to be fair, I actually kind of enjoy the Engineer role - but it was really, really fun to have the Falcon to myself a couple of times, knowing that it will absolutely never happen again.
> 
> Mask compliance was mostly pretty good, and I heard a lot of CMs pointing to people to fix theirs. (I had a ride photo get blocked because a young child in another row had his mask off. Was surprised that the Magicband reader was disabled; CM explained that even if it wasn't my fault - he couldn't put it on my account.)
> 
> I really enjoyed having extra space in queue lines - I've always hated having people constantly slam into my back. I wish this could stay, but I know it won't. Weirdly, though, what I found strange - whenever we got indoors, it was like people forgot about social distancing to some degree. (And indoors is where it's more necessary.)
> 
> (Anecdotally - overall compliance seemed worse at MK than anywhere else.)
> 
> I screwed up on the first day and ended up at Epcot to park-hop at 1pm. I was mostly going there for lunch, and decided to mobile order a Cuban sandwich from Ale & Compass at Yacht Club instead - it was unbelievable. The Lounge there was a great spot to nosh and recharge. Scored an unexpected Oga's ADR on the way back from Epcot later that afternoon, which was a perfect way to end an almost perfect first day.
> 
> I'm glad so many folks recommended the seared gnocchi at The Wave. I've never eaten there before, and it was fantastic.
> 
> This was my first exposure to the new bag scanners - they're amazing. I've intentionally declined to carry a bag for years, strictly because how long bag check can be - and it was wonderful to be able to carry a bottle of water and an umbrella without having to try to shove them into my pockets. (It was perfect for that torrential rain on Wednesday - decided to open the umbrella and leave the park rather than cram into the Pandora/Avatar gift shop along with a thousand other people - the CMs were desperately trying to get people to move to the back of the store.)
> 
> *Lows:* I thought the F&G festival food wasn't nearly as good as in previous years. Like, it was fine, just seemed sorta off. I wish they hadn't put popcorn in all of the maple items at the Canada kiosk - I'd rather not eat cake and hit a partially-unpopped kernel.
> 
> Fortunately, this weird era is almost over, but the queue at Gran Fiesta Tour is one of the worst COVID traps I've ever seen, not just at Disney. The plexiglass goes almost to the ceiling, there's no air circulation at all, and people just completely forgot how to distance.
> 
> Crowds were mostly reasonably-tolerable earlier in the week, but Thursday was kind of nuts. I can't imagine what weekends are like. Honestly, in a perfect world, I would've been content to just visit the parks during the parkhopper hours. (I ended up doing most of the marquee attractions either right after 2pm or at the end of the day, and had relatively short wait times.)
> 
> All in all, even with some of the weirdness, it was a really fun few days at the parks.


I too wish the social distancing could stay (to a point anyway, I know the 6 feet thing is unrealistic, but even 6 inches would be good). I have never understood why people like to stand so close to people they don't know in line. I've still not been in the Mexico pavilion since the reopening because of the line to get in, probably won't again until everything is back to normal after your review, that just sound horrible.


----------



## brightlined

Sarahslay said:


> I've still not been in the Mexico pavilion since the reopening because of the line to get in, probably won't again until everything is back to normal after your review, that just sound horrible.


Honestly, you're really not missing much right now. They're using the the front area for queuing into the building, so it's hard to really look at the exhibits. I mostly went in there out of curiosity to see the cardboard cutouts of Donald, Jose, and Panchito (in place of the animatronics) at the end of the ride - but, in hindsight, I would have been fine not doing that had I known.


----------



## yaya74

If you are in the park today, can you please come back to let me/us know if you see people still choose to wear masks outdoor? Although my husband and I are vaccinated but my kids cannot get vaccinated yet, my family will choose to wear masks outdoor especially in the crowds. Hope my family won't be the only one doing that. Thank you and have a great day at WDW!


----------



## LovesBelle

I am interested to hear whether you must wear a mask in the outdoor portion of a queue. Can anyone there now please report back about that? Thanks!


----------



## lovethattink

I’m going to Animal Kingdom today.


----------



## canyoncam

yaya74 said:


> If you are in the park today, can you please come back to let me/us know if you see people still choose to wear masks outdoor? Although my husband and I are vaccinated but my kids cannot get vaccinated yet, my family will choose to wear masks outdoor especially in the crowds. Hope my family won't be the only one doing that. Thank you and have a great day at WDW!



I’m leaving today. Not visiting a park, but if I was I’d still choose to wear a mask especially in the bottleneck areas such as by Small World and Pinocchio.

The county next to mine has actually seen an increase in infections last week. It’s also low on vaccination rates though too.


----------



## sbbwdw

So, I am assuming that now you do not have to be stationary with food and drink outdoors?  Have we seen any mention of this with the new mask policy? I would imagine it would still apply indoors and believe I saw that somewhere so people are not removing masks in lines. Anyone know?


----------



## scrappinginontario

sbbwdw said:


> So, I am assuming that now you do not have to be stationary with food and drink outdoors?  Have we seen any mention of this with the new mask policy? I would imagine it would still apply indoors and believe I saw that somewhere so people are not removing masks in lines. Anyone know?


This is what the Disney website says:


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

sbbwdw said:


> So, I am assuming that now you do not have to be stationary with food and drink outdoors?  Have we seen any mention of this with the new mask policy? I would imagine it would still apply indoors and believe I saw that somewhere so people are not removing masks in lines. Anyone know?


I don't think they spelled it out, but since the only reason you couldn't eat or drink while walking was that you had to have a mask on, it stands to reason that you can now eat or drink while walking outdoors because the mask is no longer required.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Grumpy by Birth said:


> I don't think they spelled it out, but since the only reason you couldn't eat or drink while walking was that you had to have a mask on, it stands to reason that you can now eat or drink while walking outdoors because the mask is no longer required.


Thats how I would interpret it too.


----------



## Kerr84

Grumpy by Birth said:


> I don't think they spelled it out, but since the only reason you couldn't eat or drink while walking was that you had to have a mask on, it stands to reason that you can now eat or drink while walking outdoors because the mask is no longer required.



I think so too except in an outdoor portion of a queue. Then I don’t think you would be allowed.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

LovesBelle said:


> I am interested to hear whether you must wear a mask in the outdoor portion of a queue. Can anyone there now please report back about that? Thanks!



I don't know if you're on Twitter, But Disney Food Blog is updating basically live their experience in Hollywood Studios today - and their videos show people without masks walking around. And then  not allowing people in line for Rock and Roll Rollercoaster Que until they put their masks on.

https://twitter.com/DisneyFoodBlog


----------



## WEDWDW

Will the outdoor Relaxation Stations be removed now and the indoor Stations remain until indoor mask mandates are removed?


----------



## disny_luvr

WEDWDW said:


> Will the outdoor Relaxation Stations be removed now and the indoor Stations remain until indoor mask mandates are removed?



I would think so. There really isn’t a need for the outdoor ones anymore. Is there really even a need for the indoor ones?


----------



## leannak

Grumpy by Birth said:


> I don't think they spelled it out, but since the only reason you couldn't eat or drink while walking was that you had to have a mask on, it stands to reason that you can now eat or drink while walking outdoors because the mask is no longer required.


There goes my diet.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

WEDWDW said:


> Will the outdoor Relaxation Stations be removed now and the indoor Stations remain until indoor mask mandates are removed?


It would seem odd to have indoor relaxation stations at this point.  Since you don't have to wear the mask all day outdoors, relaxation stations probably shouldn't be needed much at all.  The point of the relaxation station is to be able to take your mask off, but you wouldn't have it on anyway prior to entering that indoor area.

Since they will be reminding people to put their masks ON when entering an indoor area, it may be contradictory to designate an indoor space where you can take them off when entering.

Also, restaurants will continue to be indoor "relaxation stations" of a sort once you are seated and I'm sure Disney prefers us spending money on food in those indoor locations vs. just sitting around.

ETA: They should probably keep some stations for guests who ARE wearing masks all day, but I still wonder if any of those will continue to be indoor locations.


----------



## scrappinginontario

WEDWDW said:


> Will the outdoor Relaxation Stations be removed now and the indoor Stations remain until indoor mask mandates are removed?


I have a friend at a park today and she is reporting the relaxation stations are still open.

Masks are not mandatory outdoors but that doesn’t mean everyone will feel comfortable removing their masks.  Personally I can see the relaxation stations going away in time but right now I feel they’re needed so that those who are more comfortable wearing masks and booked trips thinking masks were mandatory at all times, have locations they can go and get a break.

Each person has their own comfort levels.


----------



## FinallyFL

yaya74 said:


> If you are in the park today, can you please come back to let me/us know if you see people still choose to wear masks outdoor? Although my husband and I are vaccinated but my kids cannot get vaccinated yet, my family will choose to wear masks outdoor especially in the crowds. Hope my family won't be the only one doing that. Thank you and have a great day at WDW!


I was at Animal Kingdom this morning and there were a few people still wearing masks while walking around. I asked a CM and he said that masks are still required once you enter the queue of an attraction even if it is outdoors.


----------



## lovethattink

Relaxation Stations are open today.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

FinallyFL said:


> I was at Animal Kingdom this morning and there were a few people still wearing masks while walking around. I asked a CM and he said that masks are still required *once you enter the queue* of an attraction even if it is outdoors.


Even though some queues are outdoors, I think (at least I hope) they will continue to interpret the start of the queue to be the actual ride entrance and not outdoor "spillover" lines that extend far beyond the entrance. 

Some have reported that's how they're handling things currently, but we all know how good Disney is at consistently applying the same standards from day to day.


----------



## Sarahslay

brightlined said:


> Honestly, you're really not missing much right now. They're using the the front area for queuing into the building, so it's hard to really look at the exhibits. I mostly went in there out of curiosity to see the cardboard cutouts of Donald, Jose, and Panchito (in place of the animatronics) at the end of the ride - but, in hindsight, I would have been fine not doing that had I known.
> 
> View attachment 575101


I've never felt like waiting in line to get in to the pavilion was really my jam to begin with which is why I've stayed away. If I want a margarita I'm just gonna get one outside. I've ridden the ride enough pre-covid to know I didn't need to stand in that line longer than the ride warrented. Oh well, it won't be like that forever.


----------



## Sarahslay

Grumpy by Birth said:


> Even though some queues are outdoors, I think (at least I hope) they will continue to interpret the start of the queue to be the actual ride entrance and not outdoor "spillover" lines that extend far beyond the entrance.
> 
> Some have reported that's how they're handling things currently, but we all know how good Disney is at consistently applying the same standards from day to day.


And even if CMs remind people we all know how good some guests are at continuing to listen once they walk away.....


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

Sarahslay said:


> And even if CMs remind people we all know how good some guests are at continuing to listen once they walk away.....


True, but that's been happening since day one, so I wouldn't expect that this policy will make things any different.


----------



## Magnoliafan

FinallyFL said:


> I was at Animal Kingdom this morning and there were a few people still wearing masks while walking around. I asked a CM and he said that masks are still required once you enter the queue of an attraction even if it is outdoors.


This is what I’m seeing at Hollywood Studios.  Lots and lots of faces, but still a few masks.  The Cast Members at the park entrance were calling out the new rules and basically telling people to take off their masks (if they wanted).  Some people were surprised and the kids in front of me cheered.  I’ve only done ROTR so far, but didn’t see any noses or mouths in the queue.


----------



## Sarahslay

Magnoliafan said:


> This is what I’m seeing at Hollywood Studios.  Lots and lots of faces, but still a few masks.  The Cast Members at the park entrance were calling out the new rules and basically telling people to take off their masks (if they wanted).  Some people were surprised and the kids in front of me cheered.  I’ve only done ROTR so far, but didn’t see any noses or mouths in the queue.


I'm hoping it'll help people comply in line since they won't be so exhausted from walking around with the mask outside. There is only so much mask wearing in the heat most people can deal with. So hopefully people will be like "Ok, this is fine, I can keep it on for the line and ride". It's the one thing my 10 year old is worried about, but walking around isn't a problem for her thankfully. She may or may not wear a mask walking around, she's had covid so we'll see, just hopefully people keep being compliant where they're supposed to be.


----------



## kevgraub

scrappinginontario said:


> I have a friend at a park today and she is reporting the relaxation stations are still open.
> 
> Masks are not mandatory outdoors but that doesn’t mean everyone will feel comfortable removing their masks.  Personally I can see the relaxation stations going away in time but right now I feel they’re needed so that those who are more comfortable wearing masks and booked trips thinking masks were mandatory at all times, have locations they can go and get a break.
> 
> Each person has their own comfort levels.


My thought is that current outdoor relaxation stations will be gone extremely soon. Really no point in them at this point, as they are nothing more than an area to sit down and take your mask off, which you can now do anywhere outdoors if you want to. For people that wish to continue wearing masks, basically all of WDW just became an outdoor relaxation station.

The indoor ones will probably stick around until Disney feels the need/desire to reopen the area for its original purpose, which may not be much longer. For example, if Disney is going to keep Askershus or Pizzafari closed for a few more months, might as well leave them open for a relaxation station for a while longer. However, with the increase in park capacity, I suspect there is going to be pressure to get those restaurants opened back up sooner than later.


----------



## scrappinginontario

kevgraub said:


> My thought is that current outdoor relaxation stations will be gone extremely soon. Really no point in them at this point, as they are nothing more than an area to sit down and take your mask off, which you can now do anywhere outdoors if you want to. For people that wish to continue wearing masks, basically all of WDW just became an outdoor relaxation station.
> 
> The indoor ones will probably stick around until Disney feels the need/desire to reopen the area for its original purpose, which may not be much longer. For example, if Disney is going to keep Askershus or Pizzafari closed for a few more months, might as well leave them open for a relaxation station for a while longer. However, with the increase in park capacity, I suspect there is going to be pressure to get those restaurants opened back up sooner than later.


While I see what you’re saying, the benefit to the relaxation stations is the distancing that the other areas don’t offer.  I’ve heard of many places where someone sits down for a snack or break and someone sits directly beside them.  The relaxation stations offer ‘forced’ distancing right now.

They won’t be here forever but right now we’re also working with the majority of people who booked/arrived when masking outside was mandatory.  Allowing them a comfortable place to relax is needed right now.


----------



## lovethattink

I’m at AK. Masks weren’t needed at security or tapstiles.


----------



## anomamatt

LovesBelle said:


> I am interested to hear whether you must wear a mask in the outdoor portion of a queue. Can anyone there now please report back about that? Thanks!



We are here now. Plenty of people wearing masks outdoors. My family wore masks today and will also tomorrow.


----------



## lovethattink

LovesBelle said:


> I am interested to hear whether you must wear a mask in the outdoor portion of a queue. Can anyone there now please report back about that? Thanks!



Yes you must wear a mask in outdoor section of queue. I’m melting right now in the Kilimanjaro Safari queue.

ETA cm giving verbal reminder


----------



## sdeut

yaya74 said:


> If you are in the park today, can you please come back to let me/us know if you see people still choose to wear masks outdoor? Although my husband and I are vaccinated but my kids cannot get vaccinated yet, my family will choose to wear masks outdoor especially in the crowds. Hope my family won't be the only one doing that. Thank you and have a great day at WDW!


This is us too.  We will be there in a little over 2 weeks.  When we are in crowded area we will have our kids put on their masks.  And even though we are vaccinated because our kids are not when we make our kids put them on we will too.


----------



## lovethattink

yaya74 said:


> If you are in the park today, can you please come back to let me/us know if you see people still choose to wear masks outdoor? Although my husband and I are vaccinated but my kids cannot get vaccinated yet, my family will choose to wear masks outdoor especially in the crowds. Hope my family won't be the only one doing that. Thank you and have a great day at WDW!



Seeing both at AK, today, mostly not masked. Attractions and outdoor queues are enforcing policy.


----------



## 1GoldenSun

I left today. This morning at the Poly they were taking a decal off the glass doors--the decal/sticker with all the Covid protocol listed on it. It didn't come off easily and involved one "maintenance" CM and one "white-collar" CM and several minutes while some of us stood there waiting to go through that door. Another guest said "those are coming down?" and the white-collar CM paused for a second and said "let's just say we'll be making some changes."

I was coming home from MK last night when the notification came through on the app saying that masks were now optional except for inside, on transportation, and in lines. Another guest I talked to the next day said things at Hollywood Studios changed in an instant--one minute they were socially distancing on the rides and the next minute they filled every row of ToT and she actually was seated next to a stranger on SDD. Of course, I don't know for sure that she was telling the truth; I have no reason to doubt her but she was a little...excitable. I thought about it and the last few rides I rode at MK were Mine Train, the teacups, and Pooh. They did put someone in the seat behind me on Mine Train, and they filled every teacup, but I don't know if that was anything new. I had my own honeypot on Pooh. I've never ridden that solo before so I don't know if that's normal or not either.

My trip overall was great. It would have been nice to not have had to wear the mask the whole time but I got lucky and the weather was so nice most of the trip that the mask didn't bother me. The only bad part was transportation. The buses were pretty bad. When I checked in they recommended that I use my own car, and I heard them warning others who were checking on that the bus service was slow. Buses were NOT coming every 20 minutes.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

1GoldenSun said:


> My trip overall was great. It would have been nice to not have had to wear the mask the whole time but I got lucky and the weather was so nice most of the trip that the mask didn't bother me. The only bad part was transportation. The buses were pretty bad. When I checked in they recommended that I use my own car, and I heard them warning others who were checking on that the bus service was slow. Buses were NOT coming every 20 minutes.


oh yes. Buses were brutal. They need to do away with the distancing or double/triple present fleet. It was awful. 35+ minute waits every time we elected to use one.


----------



## lovethattink

Back home from AK. Being able to take masks off made a huge difference. We were there for the afternoon. Walked 10,200 steps. These were my observations.

Parking lot: 95% not wearing a mask.

security: Mask optional

Tapstiles: mask optional

Walkways: Overwhelmingly maskless. Though there were people also wearing masks.

Walking while eating or drinking: allowed

Outside queues: You can be maskless up to a sign and cm, from that point on, mask required. There was at least one cm in each queue remininding people to wear their mask over their nose and mouth. While welcoming those who already had masks worn properly.

Kilamanjaro Safari: The queue has changed since I last rode it. Much longer. On the ride vehicle, our driver asked the people behind us to fix their masks and wear them properly several times. She also asked them to stop making noises at the animals. She was firm in her voice.

Festival of the Lion King: It was a watered down version. But the actors have it 110%!! They were amazing. Got chills when it started. Love that show, but Timon just doesn’t substitute for the tumble monkeys.

Gorilla Falls Trail: Lots of cm posted 2 by 2. Saw so many gorillas and they were quite active.

We are going back Tuesday to do the stuff we didn’t get to do.


----------



## Helvetica

I’m at Epcot today. It feels like a normal day in May, maybe a little busier than normal. I had to wear a mask to get in and when I went inside. Pretty much everyone is opting not to wear a mask when they’re outside.


----------



## Kelly014

sdeut said:


> This is us too.  We will be there in a little over 2 weeks.  When we are in crowded area we will have our kids put on their masks.  And even though we are vaccinated because our kids are not when we make our kids put them on we will too.


Us too. I think this will be the approach for a lot of families. If there is an outdoor bottleneck, or if parades and/or fireworks are back we will all mask up so the kids don't get sick. I know the odds are that they will survive COVID just fine, but I don't want them to be a catalyst for spreading it if possible and of all the ways for a kid to spend their long awaited Disney vacation, quarantining and sick with COVID sounds pretty awful so we will still take some extra precautions.


----------



## Snowysmom

We just got back yesterday. We stayed at Boulder Ridge villas. We really liked the Wilderness Lodge area. The bus service was very good going to the parks with maybe 15 minutes wait at most. Going back from the parks was not as good. We waited 25 minutes, sometimes more, for a bus most times.  Once we were lucky and a bus  came quickly. AK and Epcot were the worst for waiting. 

The wait times were either a bit inflated or right on target. Expedition Everest queue extended onto the bridge but the app said 15 minutes. I was skeptical. It was 15 minutes. Longest queue for us was Slinky Dog Dash. Posted wait time was 60 minutes but it was more like 50 minutes and moved along. I liked having a more relaxed trip without running from fast pass to fast pass. Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway was surprisingly good. It was only a 35 minute wait at 10:00 on Tuesday morning. Peoplemover was a 30 minute wait on Sat afternoon and a 15 minute wait on Thurs afternoon.  The lines look long but they move quickly.

We found World Showcase to be a bit less charming than usual. It just seemed a bit more lacking. It was a hot and humid day with downpours off and on. That could have made it a bit more of a challenge. Future World was great. We rode Soarin twice within 45 minutes, plus we did Test Track in the evening with a 25 minute wait as well as Spaceship Earth and mission space green side. There was no wait for that. We were there on a Sunday.

We had a great trip. We got to ride and see everything we wanted. It was a much needed break from reality and we enjoyed that. We have a trip planned for Nov. We will see how things are in early Oct before we commit to the trip but with new regulations coming into play it looks better that we will go.


----------



## Mango7100

Kelly014 said:


> Us too. I think this will be the approach for a lot of families. If there is an outdoor bottleneck, or if parades and/or fireworks are back we will all mask up so the kids don't get sick. I know the odds are that they will survive COVID just fine, but I don't want them to be a catalyst for spreading it if possible and of all the ways for a kid to spend their long awaited Disney vacation, quarantining and sick with COVID sounds pretty awful so we will still take some extra precautions.


Our family is going to do the same with DD8. Security and entry, bottle necks, parades, fireworks if they ever decide to spend the money on them again.


----------



## MomOTwins

Mango7100 said:


> Our family is going to do the same with DD8. Security and entry, bottle necks, parades, fireworks if they ever decide to spend the money on them again.


Exactly, we're comfortable the kids are low risk for serious illness/hospitalization, but they can still get sick, and with incubation period as low as a day or two, that could really mess up our vacations and return home plans.  Frankly, there is really no such thing as an "uncrowded" outdoor area at WDW any more, except at the hotels.


----------



## Sara W

Snowysmom said:


> We just got back yesterday. We stayed at Boulder Ridge villas. We really liked the Wilderness Lodge area. The bus service was very good going to the parks with maybe 15 minutes wait at most.


Did you take the bus or boat to MK? Do you know what time the boat started running? Was there a line for early morning boarding? We’re staying in a few weeks and I’m trying to think about how we’ll get to MK. Thx!


----------



## Lsdolphin

Are CMs all still wearing masks?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Are CMs all still wearing masks?


 I asked this same question and found out:

Yes, CMs are still wearing masks indoors and outdoors.


----------



## Haley R

Sara W said:


> Did you take the bus or boat to MK? Do you know what time the boat started running? Was there a line for early morning boarding? We’re staying in a few weeks and I’m trying to think about how we’ll get to MK. Thx!


We just stayed at fort wilderness so it might be similar. The first boat always seemed to leave around 6:50. We tried to be there as close to 6:30 as possible.


----------



## mamaofsix

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> oh yes. Buses were brutal. They need to do away with the distancing or double/triple present fleet. It was awful. 35+ minute waits every time we elected to use one.


I am reading reports on fb DVC fan page that buses are now loading every seat, no more distancing... 
Anyone there now who can confirm?


----------



## canyoncam

nerdyone said:


> I got to DW on Thursday and it’s been great. Super low crowds compared to pre-covid. On Friday we went to HS and we rode RNR and ToT twice each before 8:30 which is 30 minutes prior to the park opening



Nice for you but mileage varies. When I was there last Monday they didn’t even start the temperature screenings until 8:20. I didn’t think they took up much time but glad they are gone for those there now. My problem there was they directed the early bus, boat, walkers and  skyliner traffic to the far side and I wound up toward the end. Later traffic got to be front of the line on the side closer to those modes of transportation. They held cars until after the initial backup off Disney modes were in. I still got ToT and RnR in once before opening and was in a 30 minute line for each again immediately after.  But crowds to me felt higher than my normal May trips. Most likely due to lack of shows.


----------



## Helvetica

In another sign that things are going back to normal, they’re no longer doing the socially distant parking thing where they have you park every other row. They had us do it yesterday at Epcot, but not at Animal Kingdom today.


----------



## LiamsDISMom

mamaofsix said:


> I am reading reports on fb DVC fan page that buses are now loading every seat, no more distancing...
> Anyone there now who can confirm?



We just got back and they were seating all seats on buses. They still have plexiglass and plastic dividers and numbered sections. Only one family in each numbered section, which could leave one seat open sometimes if the numbers/groups don't work out just right.


----------



## ajgardner

Helvetica said:


> In another sign that things are going back to normal, they’re no longer doing the socially distant parking thing where they have you park every other row. They had us do it yesterday at Epcot, but not at Animal Kingdom today.


We were there the last week in April and drove ourselves to every park. We never parked every other row - they always had us parked together like normal. However, we paid for the preferred parking, maybe it was different in the other sections but it didn’t appear to be.


----------



## Snowysmom

Sara W said:


> Did you take the bus or boat to MK? Do you know what time the boat started running? Was there a line for early morning boarding? We’re staying in a few weeks and I’m trying to think about how we’ll get to MK. Thx!



We did not take the boat but we did see that the line for the boat is long both going to MK and coming back from MK.  One morning while eating breakfast outside Roaring Forks we saw alot of people coming back from the boatdock rushing and I believe they didn't get on the boat and were heading for the bus.   We decided to take the bus to get to MK early.  We got to MK around 8:20 and the park was open and Seven Dwarves' ride already had a posted 45 minute wait.  The line moved along well and was more like 35 minutes.


----------



## krismom345

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Here now, having a tranquil breakfast at CBR after a few whirlwind days. You’ve all been so generous with your time and advice I wanted to impart my observations. Not sure how enduring this will be given we are here during Chapek’s pronouncement regarding increased attendance, but here goes:
> 
> Arrived midday Tuesday (5/11). The DME lines were quite lengthy as expected but it did move briskly and we were on our bus within a half hour. I was tempted to try Lyft or Uber but the prices were around the mid $40 to $50 range for an XL (we’re a party of five).
> 
> First night was at GF. We changed into pool clothes and were able to use the pool immediately. Room wasn’t available until right around 3 which was fine by us. You should allow 20/30 minutes for mobile orders, which is good to know if you have kids to being hangry.
> 
> Walked to MK Weds morning (5/12). Easy walk, left right around 7. We were like 6th in line for temp check. Got through around 7:15/7:20, and tapped in. Made it immediately to 7DMT. They didn’t start moving the line until like 7:48/7:50, and right before we got to the interior queue they dumped the line and said they had tech difficulties. We walked over to Peter Pan, basically a walk on, and did the same with Buzz Lightyear, Barnstormer, and a bunch of Tomorrowland/Fantasyland rides and attractions. Midday lunch at Plaza - thought it was fine. Never waited more than 15 mins for the rides but avoided Space. My wife and boys did Splash at the end of the night but I’m a wimp* and they did wait the full 50 mins. (* I did conquer my fears of “roller coasters” by finally riding BTMRR and 7DMT later in the day, thanks to a Guest Services Fastpass due to the extensive tech issues throughout the morning).
> 
> Took bus to CBR at the end of the night (we did a split stay). This was a pain. If I was a little more clear headed I might’ve checked the line for Riviera and then walked over.
> 
> DHS on Thursday (5/13). Avoided Slinky first thing and counter-programmed by doing MMRR 2x to start. Both walk-ons. Delightful ride. Did MF, waited about 15 mins back to back. Did Star Tours, and by then our BG35 ROTR was ready. Did that. Shopped until Sci-Fi lunch. It was excellent, probably the best meal this week. Wife and oldest son did RNRC (see above *) and I took the other kids on Lightning McQueen. Amazing animatronic. Due to quirks in showtime and hitting it at the right time, they were out before we were. Hit Toy Story land, were able to do Alien Saucers back to back with like a 10 min wait each, shopped, saw a few of the shows, did TSM with boys while wife and daughter had dinner at Brown Derby (they loved it) and split up again when daughter and I did MMRR 2x times while wife and boys did Slinky. Skyliner there and back was a breeze.
> 
> *MASK COMPLIANCE*: Vast majority were compliant, and did see a number of CMs enforce. Obviously I think that may be changing soon, but only once did I see a family just refuse to comply over and over again. Had to be warned about eating in line, etc. Never felt unsafe, though wife and I are vaccinated. Our kids are not, but they’ve been in school all year and played sports and figured they’d be fine. Never felt really concerned they were exposed to to much, but each their own.
> 
> *TRANSPORTATION*: I think most of the battle is where you’re staying. The walk for rope drop from GF/POLY/CONTEMP/BAY LAKE is a huge competitive advantage (feels weird to frame it that way!) to getting in early at MK. Likewise, same would be case for the BEACH/YACHT/BOARDWALK/S&D walk to Epcot/HS. I’d you’re Skylining from CBR/Riviera, take the extra 5-7 mins and walk to the CRB stop. We saw first in line people at the Riviera stop - we’re in Aruba and walked the extra length to go to the CRB stop - get put at the back of the line after they got off their Skyliner connector. Dad that was first off his cab was not happy. WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT HS- do not talk over to the long line to the left as you get off Skyliner. Just as we arrived they opened the closer temp station. Hang out there.
> 
> *FOOD*: This is all going to be personal preference, but the combo of heat and masks can be tolling on you. I found sit down table service restaurant reservations to be a nice respite from all that. Check in the days before your park reservation, and the night before. Well worth it if you can make it happen. For mobile orders, just stay ahead of the game. Found there to be about a 5-10 min delay from “I’m Here” to “It’s Ready!”
> 
> *CROWDS*: I don’t have an innate sense of whether it was 35% or larger. We’ve never been to WDW during insanely busy times, so not much of a reference point. It was midweek in mid May, so we timed it for a relative lull knowing pent up travel demand was in the offing this summer as vaccination rates increase. I felt they were fine and never felt uncomfortable or unsafe (see above) but also was prepared given some of the “This was NOT 35% capacity!” observations I’ve seen here and elsewhere. We went in September and it was completely dead. I enjoyed that trip for different reasons but it also felt macabre and a little depressing at the same time. There’s a vitality back in the parks now with more people and attendance, and that’s overall a good thing even if it means slightly longer waits. But again, to each their own.
> 
> I hope this helps, and I’m so grateful for all of your combined wisdom and advice over these many months!


Sorry- I know CBR is Caribbean Beach Resort, but what's CRB? We are staying tin the pirate rooms in July and trying to plot best transport to everywhere


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

krismom345 said:


> Sorry- I know CBR is Caribbean Beach Resort, but what's CRB? We are staying tin the pirate rooms in July and trying to plot best transport to everywhere


Sorry - typo! CRB is meant to be CBR, not to be confused with PBR


----------



## Mango7100

ajgardner said:


> We were there the last week in April and drove ourselves to every park. We never parked every other row - they always had us parked together like normal. However, we paid for the preferred parking, maybe it was different in the other sections but it didn’t appear to be.


When were they opening the gates for self parking? I believe I remember a hour before official opening?


----------



## DMLAINI

Is the Magical Express filling every row?


----------



## ajgardner

Mango7100 said:


> When were they opening the gates for self parking? I believe I remember a hour before official opening?


I heard 1 hour prior. My family are not rope drop people so I am not positive, we get there around 11am and then close the park.


----------



## Akck

Mango7100 said:


> When were they opening the gates for self parking? I believe I remember a hour before official opening?



They open the road for queuing up to the gates about an hour before official opening. They start letting cars through anywhere from 5-15 minutes later.


----------



## Mango7100

ajgardner said:


> I heard 1 hour prior. My family are not rope drop people so I am not positive, we get there around 11am and then close the park.


we usually are rope drop people, but I’m Thinking we may switch it up and do pool first and then go to parks around 3-4 and stay until close. Being at the gates at 7 am doesn’t sound as pleasant, and it sounds like wait times jump pretty quickly after that first 2 hrs.


----------



## BBH

DMLAINI said:


> Is the Magical Express filling every row?


Just arrived today, and they were filling every other row.


----------



## boop0524

Just got back from an extended weekend where we did some ADRs, Disney Springs and a day at Universal. Compared to our other trips, we found DS much busier and we definitely needed ADRs for dinner. The night without we had to eat at the food trucks, which was fine by us, but definitely something to keep in mind for the future. 

Universal, particularly compared to Disney, was frustrating, overly complicated and felt very unkept. Team members were unfriendly and one was plain rude. We enjoyed Hagrids and got to ride Velocicoaster (holy cow—intense!) but don’t plan on going back anytime soon. Although I’ve loved the parks in the past and am a big HP fan, it was not good this time. On a final note, we were there the last day of masks and they were really enforcing it.


----------



## corinne025

Here now - arrived on the day masks were discarded for outdoors and I have to say it makes a huge difference!! Still having to put them on for indoor attractions and queues, but the ability to pull them off after exiting is a nice relief. Like the breeze you didn’t even know you needed.

Staying at Saratoga Springs and Donald Statue is back but still not operating as a splash pad :-/

First park day was Hollywood Studios. We were there in our Uber at 7:55 for a 9AM open and were one of the first cars, though it filled up quickly behind us. They held us at the first gate until 8:05 and then a second location until maybe 8:15. The people who walked or rode Skyliner were in the park before us, but we still did a walk-on Mickey Railway. A bit disappointed with that ride, it was very jarring and chaotic for my toddler. Maybe she will enjoy it more when she is older.

From there went over to Star Wars land from the muppets-adjacent entrance. Was pretty cool to walk thru the land for the first time with very low crowds. Got some good pics in front of the Falcon. The group got in line for MF with a standby time of 5 minutes. Well they definitely held the line until park opening - which was unpleasant for us. My toddler wasn’t a huge fan of the area (the loud noises from the Falcon and costumed characters scared her a bit - she wasn’t crying but she was not having fun). We had to wait on the group for close to twenty five minutes.

By the time they exited the Falcon, the posted wait time was 25 minutes and the rest of the rides had exploded as well. Grandparents took Little One for a 5 minute wait on Alien Saucers (Toy Story Mania was already at 30 minutes so they skipped) while we shopped around in some stores and got some Blue Milk. I will say I was ID-ed for the Blue Milk and that’s the first time in ten years at Disney! I definitely didn’t have my ID, just my magic band! My friend had hers but that was pretty surprising!


We were Boarding Group 64 so we had some time to kill. Went to Muppets and enjoyed even the preshow. Loved seeing my daughter try and reach out and grab the items.


When we exited it was 10:35. We were getting hot and hungry and didn’t have an ADR as this was somewhat of a last minute trip. Walked over to Brown Derby intending to eat on the patio but got informed it is now drinks only! Yikes! Asked about a walk-in and the manager said he wouldn’t know until 11AM - “so you’re saying there is a chance!”

Waited patiently outside and saw a Cavalcade - loved seeing Sully! And bought my daughter some popcorn. Everyone in the group marveled at the giant snaking line for MRR baking in the sun, and were shocked when I explained it was the line for the first ride this morning!

Walked back into Brown Derby exactly at 11 and they informed me they could seat us (party of 6). I will note I tried on the App to “join walk up list” exactly at 11 and it immediately informed of no availability. So YMMV with that.

Had a fabulous and relaxing lunch at the Derby. Got a Cobb for the table, scallops, charcuterie plate, steak and chicken (big appetites!) everything was fab and our waiter Moses was wonderful. My daughter stood up and cheered when he dropped off the Grapefruit Cake.

We had 20 minutes (aprox) until our Boarding Group. Went into Frozen Singalong and enjoyed it tho it felt weird with the masks lol.

When we exited we found out Rise had broken down at Boarding Group 67. Stood around for 10 minutes and heard way too many people screaming at the CMs. Dad took Little One back to the resort and the rest of the group stayed. Three went to get in line for Star Tours and I searched for a Mobile Service, every single one was thirty minutes out at minimum for arrival window. Finally found one at Pizza Rizzo and ordered a set of beers and a glass of Sangria. When they got off Tours I met the group at the door so they could get in. Can only get into the Quick Service restaurants if you flash your “mobile order ready” to the CM guarding the Air Conditioning  but she let them in.

We had the beers and the headed to Rise. Love riding it with newbies. Got interrogated and my friend advised me to claim “Hoth” as my destination and then I was mocked for my attire - apparently that’s the cold frozen planet and our shorts and shirts!

We were all exhausted at this point and headed back to resort and pool!

Get ADRs!  We tried to do Disney Springs dinner and it was a madhouse!! Very very packed and no more masks. No walk ups anywhere until we made it all the way to Cirque and luckily Jaleo let us sit at the little counter in front of the kitchen. Food and service again absolutely fabulous A plus.

Heading to EPCOT today and will update! Plan to take an Uber to Beach Club villas and enjoy the boardwalk before entry at World Showcase


----------



## Mango7100

corinne025 said:


> Here now - arrived on the day masks were discarded for outdoors and I have to say it makes a huge difference!! Still having to put them on for indoor attractions and queues, but the ability to pull them off after exiting is a nice relief. Like the breeze you didn’t even know you needed.
> 
> Staying at Saratoga Springs and Donald Statue is back but still not operating as a splash pad :-/
> 
> First park day was Hollywood Studios. We were there in our Uber at 7:55 for a 9AM open and were one of the first cars, though it filled up quickly behind us. They held us at the first gate until 8:05 and then a second location until maybe 8:15. The people who walked or rode Skyliner were in the park before us, but we still did a walk-on Mickey Railway. A bit disappointed with that ride, it was very jarring and chaotic for my toddler. Maybe she will enjoy it more when she is older.
> 
> From there went over to Star Wars land from the muppets-adjacent entrance. Was pretty cool to walk thru the land for the first time with very low crowds. Got some good pics in front of the Falcon. The group got in line for MF with a standby time of 5 minutes. Well they definitely held the line until park opening - which was unpleasant for us. My toddler wasn’t a huge fan of the area (the loud noises from the Falcon and costumed characters scared her a bit - she wasn’t crying but she was not having fun). We had to wait on the group for close to twenty five minutes.
> 
> By the time they exited the Falcon, the posted wait time was 25 minutes and the rest of the rides had exploded as well. Grandparents took Little One for a 5 minute wait on Alien Saucers (Toy Story Mania was already at 30 minutes so they skipped) while we shopped around in some stores and got some Blue Milk. I will say I was ID-ed for the Blue Milk and that’s the first time in ten years at Disney! I definitely didn’t have my ID, just my magic band! My friend had hers but that was pretty surprising!
> 
> 
> We were Boarding Group 64 so we had some time to kill. Went to Muppets and enjoyed even the preshow. Loved seeing my daughter try and reach out and grab the items.
> 
> 
> When we exited it was 10:35. We were getting hot and hungry and didn’t have an ADR as this was somewhat of a last minute trip. Walked over to Brown Derby intending to eat on the patio but got informed it is now drinks only! Yikes! Asked about a walk-in and the manager said he wouldn’t know until 11AM - “so you’re saying there is a chance!”
> 
> Waited patiently outside and saw a Cavalcade - loved seeing Sully! And bought my daughter some popcorn. Everyone in the group marveled at the giant snaking line for MRR baking in the sun, and were shocked when I explained it was the line for the first ride this morning!
> 
> Walked back into Brown Derby exactly at 11 and they informed me they could seat us (party of 6). I will note I tried on the App to “join walk up list” exactly at 11 and it immediately informed of no availability. So YMMV with that.
> 
> Had a fabulous and relaxing lunch at the Derby. Got a Cobb for the table, scallops, charcuterie plate, steak and chicken (big appetites!) everything was fab and our waiter Moses was wonderful. My daughter stood up and cheered when he dropped off the Grapefruit Cake.
> 
> We had 20 minutes (aprox) until our Boarding Group. Went into Frozen Singalong and enjoyed it tho it felt weird with the masks lol.
> 
> When we exited we found out Rise had broken down at Boarding Group 67. Stood around for 10 minutes and heard way too many people screaming at the CMs. Dad took Little One back to the resort and the rest of the group stayed. Three went to get in line for Star Tours and I searched for a Mobile Service, every single one was thirty minutes out at minimum for arrival window. Finally found one at Pizza Rizzo and ordered a set of beers and a glass of Sangria. When they got off Tours I met the group at the door so they could get in. Can only get into the Quick Service restaurants if you flash your “mobile order ready” to the CM guarding the Air Conditioning  but she let them in.
> 
> We had the beers and the headed to Rise. Love riding it with newbies. Got interrogated and my friend advised me to claim “Hoth” as my destination and then I was mocked for my attire - apparently that’s the cold frozen planet and our shorts and shirts!
> 
> We were all exhausted at this point and headed back to resort and pool!
> 
> Get ADRs!  We tried to do Disney Springs dinner and it was a madhouse!! Very very packed and no more masks. No walk ups anywhere until we made it all the way to Cirque and luckily Jaleo let us sit at the little counter in front of the kitchen. Food and service again absolutely fabulous A plus.
> 
> Heading to EPCOT today and will update! Plan to take an Uber to Beach Club villas and enjoy the boardwalk before entry at World Showcase


Thanks for the report? How are the pools at SSR? We arrive Friday and p,an on a lot of pool time...wondering if they are crowded and you have to wait.


----------



## Boopuff

corinne025 said:


> When we exited we found out Rise had broken down at Boarding Group 67. Stood around for 10 minutes and heard way too many people screaming at the CMs.


Wow!  this is disturbing.  So sad to hear about CMs being treated badly. Stressful times, not necessary.  Other than that sounds like you had a lot of fun.


----------



## SwanVT2

corinne025 said:


> Here now - arrived on the day masks were discarded for outdoors and I have to say it makes a huge difference!! Still having to put them on for indoor attractions and queues, but the ability to pull them off after exiting is a nice relief. Like the breeze you didn’t even know you needed.
> 
> Staying at Saratoga Springs and Donald Statue is back but still not operating as a splash pad :-/
> 
> First park day was Hollywood Studios. We were there in our Uber at 7:55 for a 9AM open and were one of the first cars, though it filled up quickly behind us. They held us at the first gate until 8:05 and then a second location until maybe 8:15. The people who walked or rode Skyliner were in the park before us, but we still did a walk-on Mickey Railway. A bit disappointed with that ride, it was very jarring and chaotic for my toddler. Maybe she will enjoy it more when she is older.
> 
> From there went over to Star Wars land from the muppets-adjacent entrance. Was pretty cool to walk thru the land for the first time with very low crowds. Got some good pics in front of the Falcon. The group got in line for MF with a standby time of 5 minutes. Well they definitely held the line until park opening - which was unpleasant for us. My toddler wasn’t a huge fan of the area (the loud noises from the Falcon and costumed characters scared her a bit - she wasn’t crying but she was not having fun). We had to wait on the group for close to twenty five minutes.
> 
> By the time they exited the Falcon, the posted wait time was 25 minutes and the rest of the rides had exploded as well. Grandparents took Little One for a 5 minute wait on Alien Saucers (Toy Story Mania was already at 30 minutes so they skipped) while we shopped around in some stores and got some Blue Milk. I will say I was ID-ed for the Blue Milk and that’s the first time in ten years at Disney! I definitely didn’t have my ID, just my magic band! My friend had hers but that was pretty surprising!
> 
> 
> We were Boarding Group 64 so we had some time to kill. Went to Muppets and enjoyed even the preshow. Loved seeing my daughter try and reach out and grab the items.
> 
> 
> When we exited it was 10:35. We were getting hot and hungry and didn’t have an ADR as this was somewhat of a last minute trip. Walked over to Brown Derby intending to eat on the patio but got informed it is now drinks only! Yikes! Asked about a walk-in and the manager said he wouldn’t know until 11AM - “so you’re saying there is a chance!”
> 
> Waited patiently outside and saw a Cavalcade - loved seeing Sully! And bought my daughter some popcorn. Everyone in the group marveled at the giant snaking line for MRR baking in the sun, and were shocked when I explained it was the line for the first ride this morning!
> 
> Walked back into Brown Derby exactly at 11 and they informed me they could seat us (party of 6). I will note I tried on the App to “join walk up list” exactly at 11 and it immediately informed of no availability. So YMMV with that.
> 
> Had a fabulous and relaxing lunch at the Derby. Got a Cobb for the table, scallops, charcuterie plate, steak and chicken (big appetites!) everything was fab and our waiter Moses was wonderful. My daughter stood up and cheered when he dropped off the Grapefruit Cake.
> 
> We had 20 minutes (aprox) until our Boarding Group. Went into Frozen Singalong and enjoyed it tho it felt weird with the masks lol.
> 
> When we exited we found out Rise had broken down at Boarding Group 67. Stood around for 10 minutes and heard way too many people screaming at the CMs. Dad took Little One back to the resort and the rest of the group stayed. Three went to get in line for Star Tours and I searched for a Mobile Service, every single one was thirty minutes out at minimum for arrival window. Finally found one at Pizza Rizzo and ordered a set of beers and a glass of Sangria. When they got off Tours I met the group at the door so they could get in. Can only get into the Quick Service restaurants if you flash your “mobile order ready” to the CM guarding the Air Conditioning  but she let them in.
> 
> We had the beers and the headed to Rise. Love riding it with newbies. Got interrogated and my friend advised me to claim “Hoth” as my destination and then I was mocked for my attire - apparently that’s the cold frozen planet and our shorts and shirts!
> 
> We were all exhausted at this point and headed back to resort and pool!
> 
> Get ADRs!  We tried to do Disney Springs dinner and it was a madhouse!! Very very packed and no more masks. No walk ups anywhere until we made it all the way to Cirque and luckily Jaleo let us sit at the little counter in front of the kitchen. Food and service again absolutely fabulous A plus.
> 
> Heading to EPCOT today and will update! Plan to take an Uber to Beach Club villas and enjoy the boardwalk before entry at World Showcase


Happy to hear Donald is back at the SSR pool!


----------



## nerdyone

Im in HS right now and it’s much more crowded than Saturday. Millennium Falcon went from a 5 minute wait at 9:10 to 60 minutes at 9:20.  

RotR is currently down at 9:45. Our boarding group is 8 and we were told to come back much later.

Had a very negative interaction with a guest getting in my GF face when her mask slipped over her nose. He was acting like her was going to hit her. Very weird


----------



## sabrecmc

nerdyone said:


> Had a very negative interaction with a guest getting in my GF face when her mask slipped over her nose. He was acting like her was going to hit her. Very weird



So sorry to hear that.  I wonder if we will see a bit more of that kind of thing for a bit while people adjust to the new rules.  Bless the cast members for all they have done this past year putting up with everything on top of the usual stress.


----------



## Sarahslay

corinne025 said:


> Here now - arrived on the day masks were discarded for outdoors and I have to say it makes a huge difference!! Still having to put them on for indoor attractions and queues, but the ability to pull them off after exiting is a nice relief. Like the breeze you didn’t even know you needed.
> 
> Staying at Saratoga Springs and Donald Statue is back but still not operating as a splash pad :-/
> 
> First park day was Hollywood Studios. We were there in our Uber at 7:55 for a 9AM open and were one of the first cars, though it filled up quickly behind us. They held us at the first gate until 8:05 and then a second location until maybe 8:15. The people who walked or rode Skyliner were in the park before us, but we still did a walk-on Mickey Railway. A bit disappointed with that ride, it was very jarring and chaotic for my toddler. Maybe she will enjoy it more when she is older.
> 
> From there went over to Star Wars land from the muppets-adjacent entrance. Was pretty cool to walk thru the land for the first time with very low crowds. Got some good pics in front of the Falcon. The group got in line for MF with a standby time of 5 minutes. Well they definitely held the line until park opening - which was unpleasant for us. My toddler wasn’t a huge fan of the area (the loud noises from the Falcon and costumed characters scared her a bit - she wasn’t crying but she was not having fun). We had to wait on the group for close to twenty five minutes.
> 
> By the time they exited the Falcon, the posted wait time was 25 minutes and the rest of the rides had exploded as well. Grandparents took Little One for a 5 minute wait on Alien Saucers (Toy Story Mania was already at 30 minutes so they skipped) while we shopped around in some stores and got some Blue Milk. I will say I was ID-ed for the Blue Milk and that’s the first time in ten years at Disney! I definitely didn’t have my ID, just my magic band! My friend had hers but that was pretty surprising!
> 
> 
> We were Boarding Group 64 so we had some time to kill. Went to Muppets and enjoyed even the preshow. Loved seeing my daughter try and reach out and grab the items.
> 
> 
> When we exited it was 10:35. We were getting hot and hungry and didn’t have an ADR as this was somewhat of a last minute trip. Walked over to Brown Derby intending to eat on the patio but got informed it is now drinks only! Yikes! Asked about a walk-in and the manager said he wouldn’t know until 11AM - “so you’re saying there is a chance!”
> 
> Waited patiently outside and saw a Cavalcade - loved seeing Sully! And bought my daughter some popcorn. Everyone in the group marveled at the giant snaking line for MRR baking in the sun, and were shocked when I explained it was the line for the first ride this morning!
> 
> Walked back into Brown Derby exactly at 11 and they informed me they could seat us (party of 6). I will note I tried on the App to “join walk up list” exactly at 11 and it immediately informed of no availability. So YMMV with that.
> 
> Had a fabulous and relaxing lunch at the Derby. Got a Cobb for the table, scallops, charcuterie plate, steak and chicken (big appetites!) everything was fab and our waiter Moses was wonderful. My daughter stood up and cheered when he dropped off the Grapefruit Cake.
> 
> We had 20 minutes (aprox) until our Boarding Group. Went into Frozen Singalong and enjoyed it tho it felt weird with the masks lol.
> 
> When we exited we found out Rise had broken down at Boarding Group 67. Stood around for 10 minutes and heard way too many people screaming at the CMs. Dad took Little One back to the resort and the rest of the group stayed. Three went to get in line for Star Tours and I searched for a Mobile Service, every single one was thirty minutes out at minimum for arrival window. Finally found one at Pizza Rizzo and ordered a set of beers and a glass of Sangria. When they got off Tours I met the group at the door so they could get in. Can only get into the Quick Service restaurants if you flash your “mobile order ready” to the CM guarding the Air Conditioning  but she let them in.
> 
> We had the beers and the headed to Rise. Love riding it with newbies. Got interrogated and my friend advised me to claim “Hoth” as my destination and then I was mocked for my attire - apparently that’s the cold frozen planet and our shorts and shirts!
> 
> We were all exhausted at this point and headed back to resort and pool!
> 
> Get ADRs!  We tried to do Disney Springs dinner and it was a madhouse!! Very very packed and no more masks. No walk ups anywhere until we made it all the way to Cirque and luckily Jaleo let us sit at the little counter in front of the kitchen. Food and service again absolutely fabulous A plus.
> 
> Heading to EPCOT today and will update! Plan to take an Uber to Beach Club villas and enjoy the boardwalk before entry at World Showcase


I cheer for the grapefruit cake too  . I'm glad your group was able to be seated, it's rough right now with those ADRs!


----------



## DLo

Here now . Just a quick Magical Express report. Will write up some more detailed park days later. 

First time taking ME, I usually drive but had an airline credit to use. Arrived around 1 pm yesterday. Line was long when I got in it but by 10 minutes later you couldn't see the end of it. But, it ended up not being as bad as thought it would be. 35 minutes from when I got luggage until check in point.- on the bus at @ 55 minutes bus left about 10 minutes later - I was first stop - BWV- 1 hour 35 minutes total time.

They loaded very other row with assigned seats from back to front.  I have no idea how long it was for those way behind me. I was lucky to get in line when I did.


----------



## browneyedgirl1683

Kelly014 said:


> Us too. I think this will be the approach for a lot of families. If there is an outdoor bottleneck, or if parades and/or fireworks are back we will all mask up so the kids don't get sick. I know the odds are that they will survive COVID just fine, but I don't want them to be a catalyst for spreading it if possible and of all the ways for a kid to spend their long awaited Disney vacation, quarantining and sick with COVID sounds pretty awful so we will still take some extra precautions.


I think we will take this approach as well. It seems like so many people are tossing masks like they are graduation caps. It's OK to be sensible, and we still have to be mindful.


----------



## MGD2007

Just returned from a 4-night stay at Gran Destino.  A great time, and we lucked out with beautiful weather. A few observations that may help others:

I will never take another Disney bus again.  We Ubered it everywhere this trip and it was such a game changer.  Never waited more than 5 minutes for a car.  All drivers were professional and courteous.  10-15 dollars a ride.  We are a family of three (me, husband and 13yrDD) so it's easy to travel via Uber.  I recommend budgeting Uber/Lyft into your next trip because it really does make a difference when you are hot, tired, and just want to get where you are going.  Also Ubering to TTC, and then monorail to MK was sooo super easy and stressless.  I was worried about it---but worries were unfounded.

Gran Destino is a beautiful building.  The coffee bar in the lower lobby makes a perfect cappuccino. The rooms are well appointed and it feels more like a deluxe hotel.  The only issue are the bathrooms. First and foremost, the bathroom door is a barn door that offers significantly less privacy than a regular door. The toilet, sinks, and shower are all in one room, so it's more difficult for a family to get ready in the morning. The shower door is just clear glass so it's difficult to just sneak in and brush your teeth while another family member is showering.  Even if they just frosted the glass, it would go a long way.

Being able to remove your mask in outside common areas really helps in the heat.  We were there in 80 degree weather and it was not easy to be fully masked outside--I can't imagine 90 degrees.  We were at HS rope drop on the first day they lifted the requirement and the mood was extremely jovial.  Lots of people celebrating.  I joked to my husband it was like D-Day.  I feel compelled to add that we are fully vaxed, believers in science, and understand why masks are vital indoors.
The only time I felt uncomfortable was at Disney Springs on Saturday night.  And it serves us right for going there on a Saturday night, but my DD wanted to meet up with a friend from school who was visiting at the same time.  But there was just waaayyyy too many people on top of each other to feel good about being maskless.

Without fastpass, rope drop is even more key.  My people are not rope droppers--where did I go wrong!?!
So we waited 45 minutes for 7D.  Waited 50 minutes for the safari.  Did not ride FOP or Splash because the waits were 80+ minutes.  I convinced them to rope drop HS and it made all the difference. Walked on Slinky, walked on MMRR, walked on Smugglers, all before official park opening.  Rope drop makes all the difference.  _I_ know this, _You_ know this---but hard to convince a 13yr old.  I once saw a mother berating her child at a bus stop because they were going to miss rope drop because the kid couldn't get out of bed quickly enough.  It gave me such a sick feeling and I felt so bad for both parent and child, that I vowed that I would never do the same.   But I do wish we had done more rope dropping.  But my family was appreciative that I let them sleep.

There are some Covid protocols I hope never go away.  I love the dividers on the monorail.  Everyone has there own little section and it's great!  Mobile ordering required before entering a quick service establishment---love it!  The atmosphere, once inside, is wonderful.  No searching for an empty table, no chaos....let's keep that!

Favorite moment:  Thursday 5/13 night, we had Epcot World Showcase to ourselves. Beautiful weather and zero crowds.  We explored the back streets of the empty Morocco pavillion. We listened to the piped in "ambient" market banter and took lots of pictures.  It was truly a magical moment I won't soon forget.

I hope this is helpful to anyone traveling soon!  I know most of us on these boards are Type A planners---but don't stress!  Go with the flow, and it will all work out. Happy to answer any questions!


----------



## Dakota731

sabrecmc said:


> So sorry to hear that.  I wonder if we will see a bit more of that kind of thing for a bit while people adjust to the new rules.  Bless the cast members for all they have done this past year putting up with everything on top of the usual stress.


According to a famous Disney blog it’s been the opposite.  Guests and staff are much happier, and CMs report that it a much less stressful atmosphere in the parks since the mask lifting.


----------



## SarahC97

MGD2007 said:


> Just returned from a 4-night stay at Gran Destino.  A great time, and we lucked out with beautiful weather. A few observations that may help others:
> 
> I will never take another Disney bus again.  We Ubered it everywhere this trip and it was such a game changer.  Never waited more than 5 minutes for a car.  All drivers were professional and courteous.  10-15 dollars a ride.  We are a family of three (me, husband and 13yrDD) so it's easy to travel via Uber.  I recommend budgeting Uber/Lyft into your next trip because it really does make a difference when you are hot, tired, and just want to get where you are going.  Also Ubering to TTC, and then monorail to MK was sooo super easy and stressless.  I was worried about it---but worries were unfounded.
> 
> Gran Destino is a beautiful building.  The coffee bar in the lower lobby makes a perfect cappuccino. The rooms are well appointed and it feels more like a deluxe hotel.  The only issue are the bathrooms. First and foremost, the bathroom door is a barn door that offers significantly less privacy than a regular door. The toilet, sinks, and shower are all in one room, so it's more difficult for a family to get ready in the morning. The shower door is just clear glass so it's difficult to just sneak in and brush your teeth while another family member is showering.  Even if they just frosted the glass, it would go a long way.
> 
> Being able to remove your mask in outside common areas really helps in the heat.  We were there in 80 degree weather and it was not easy to be fully masked outside--I can't imagine 90 degrees.  We were at HS rope drop on the first day they lifted the requirement and the mood was extremely jovial.  Lots of people celebrating.  I joked to my husband it was like D-Day.  I feel compelled to add that we are fully vaxed, believers in science, and understand why masks are vital indoors.
> The only time I felt uncomfortable was at Disney Springs on Saturday night.  And it serves us right for going there on a Saturday night, but my DD wanted to meet up with a friend from school who was visiting at the same time.  But there was just waaayyyy too many people on top of each other to feel good about being maskless.
> 
> Without fastpass, rope drop is even more key.  My people are not rope droppers--where did I go wrong!?!
> So we waited 45 minutes for 7D.  Waited 50 minutes for the safari.  Did not ride FOP or Splash because the waits were 80+ minutes.  I convinced them to rope drop HS and it made all the difference. Walked on Slinky, walked on MMRR, walked on Smugglers, all before official park opening.  Rope drop makes all the difference.  _I_ know this, _You_ know this---but hard to convince a 13yr old.  I once saw a mother berating her child at a bus stop because they were going to miss rope drop because the kid couldn't get out of bed quickly enough.  It gave me such a sick feeling and I felt so bad for both parent and child, that I vowed that I would never do the same.   But I do wish we had done more rope dropping.  But my family was appreciative that I let them sleep.
> 
> There are some Covid protocols I hope never go away.  I love the dividers on the monorail.  Everyone has there own little section and it's great!  Mobile ordering required before entering a quick service establishment---love it!  The atmosphere, once inside, is wonderful.  No searching for an empty table, no chaos....let's keep that!
> 
> Favorite moment:  Thursday 5/13 night, we had Epcot World Showcase to ourselves. Beautiful weather and zero crowds.  We explored the back streets of the empty Morocco pavillion. We listened to the piped in "ambient" market banter and took lots of pictures.  It was truly a magical moment I won't soon forget.
> 
> I hope this is helpful to anyone traveling soon!  I know most of us on these boards are Type A planners---but don't stress!  Go with the flow, and it will all work out. Happy to answer any questions!


Thanks for the rundown! How was mask compliance in lines? And are people ignoring the distancing markers as others have reported?


----------



## Princess Katelet

Been here since 5/12. Reallllly missing the FPs. Cannot understand those who think this is so much better. I understand the stand by lines move better without it, but we’re all DISers, we all knew how to use the FP system so I’m just baffled that people prefer to go without it. Hour plus waits are NOT fun. We get very little done without them. For those who don’t like the planning for them, you didn’t have to plan much, just use up your three and keep refreshing for whatever you want to ride next. It’s greatly missed and mourned. 
Weather has been FABULOUS. No love bugs, yay!  Rode Smugglers Run for the first time and thought it was fantastic. Not able to get a Studios ressie so no chance for Rise. Waited more than half an hour hoping for Runaway Railway to get fixed before bailing so still haven’t ridden that. Haven’t done Slinky yet, either due to crazy wait times (and no chance to rope drop cause no Studio ressie). Really hate having to book and commit to a first park. Talk about lack of spontaneity!! Being unable to change your mind about which park to go to in the morning stinks. And they make it that you can’t modify what you have, you can only cancel which means you can’t gamble on the park you want actually being available when the calendar shows it’s not. 
We seemed to always be behind nice, courteous people who practiced social distance while the ones behind us were stepping on our shoes. Was wishing little clear glass, air conditioned pods would swallow each family and move us all along a conveyor belt through the loooong lines. Again, waiting in these lines is no fun and I don’t understand how the lack of FP can be a good thing.
The crowds are intense with so many things still closed. The lack of open restaurants and the food variety is poor. 
Buses have been mostly pretty awful. We’ve had to wait an hour at times because they can’t fill them and if you have a bus with two scooters that eats up seats, too. 
Cast members have all been lovely, although I saw a security guard at AK this morning sneeze put into the air with no mask on. Really?!?! Even without covid that’s disgusting. He was in a green security outfit. Is that real Disney security? I assumed so and figured he was in green for AK theming. No idea why no mask nor how he could be so rude and careless with his sneeze. My daughter saw a little boy urinating next to the carousel in MK while his parents watched. No words. I do understand why Michael Jackson rented out all of Disneyland though…
Helicopters have been super prevalent over Saratoga Springs this week. Do not understand the hype over Disney Springs but I’m not a shopper. DO understand the hype over Earl of Sandwich though!!! Oh my gosh, AMAAZING. Twice in a row, even calling from the bus last night asking if they can hold my order past ten cause my bus had JUST gotten to the MK to take us to Congress Park where we could walk. They said they’d hold it til they left at 10:15 or so. We made it but we had to RUN. But soooo worth it. 
People continue to take their masks off or wear them on their chin in the lines as soon as they’re beyond the CM. These same people let their kids roam the line and duck under ropes to play with the currently off limit queue stuff. 
Epcot is a mess with the construction. Makes getting where you need to go so hard. Living with the Land and AK’s Safari still have vinyl between rows. Not sure about Frozen cause again, lines.
Having fun, super grateful for the fabulous weather (and continued favorable outlook), the two bedroom villa I was gifted by a friend (although the food and gift shop grocery/toiletries at SSR, along with limited hours, makes me very much miss my simple single Wilderness Lodge and Poly rooms of yore),  just wish people were more courteous, more aware, and that there were far fewer of them in the parks…and of course wish there were FPs!


----------



## MGD2007

SarahC97 said:


> Thanks for the rundown! How was mask compliance in lines? And are people ignoring the distancing markers as others have reported?


Mask compliance is very good in lines.  There's cast members at the front of each attraction reminding guests to pull their masks up.  I have to admit, it's easy to forget sometimes in an outdoor queue.  I forgot to pull mine up at Carousel of Progress queue and I was gently reminded.  My family had a good laugh at my expense, because I am a stickler for mask compliance!
Social distancing in queues is not great.  Sometimes you get like-minded people in front and in back of you, but generally that has been abandoned.


----------



## FinallyFL

I was in Epcot yesterday and they didn't enforce masks in the outdoor portion of the TT queue. However, they did have the queue arranged so that you were 6 feet away from the neighboring section.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

Princess Katelet said:


> We seemed to always be behind nice, courteous people who practiced social distance while the ones behind us were stepping on our shoes.


Us too!  Funny how it always works out that those people _in front of us_ are so courteous and properly distancing.


----------



## starryagain

We are going next week and I realize it can change rapidly. Are there any queues that are mainly indoors? I know normally many of the queues are inside but most have been moved outside with distancing. Not sure if the CDC updates have impacted that yet. Next week will be so hot!


----------



## corinne025

Mango7100 said:


> Thanks for the report? How are the pools at SSR? We arrive Friday and p,an on a lot of pool time...wondering if they are crowded and you have to wait.


They are not crowded!! For us we have never had an issue walking up randomly and having multiple sets of chairs to choose from. The afternoon entertainment has been a hit with the toddler and adults alike. We have used the main pool and the Congress Park pool - my daughter really enjoys the little playground next to Congress Park pool. I don’t know what material it it made off but even in the blazing sun the surfaces remain cool to the touch.

I bet You’re so excited


----------



## corinne025

Sarahslay said:


> I cheer for the grapefruit cake too  . I'm glad your group was able to be seated, it's rough right now with those ADRs!


It is REALLY rough! We got a bit of Disney Magic to snag that - I think the manager took pity on us


----------



## stephnerninnie1984

Wanted to just do a little post about ride times. Everytime we entered a queue, my husband would start his watch. This is what we experienced this last weekend (5/14-5/15).

Est.Time ride/posted time/actual time

9:00 am Runaway Railway/35/20
10:00 am Toy Story Mania/45/20
6:30 pm Smugglers/40/35
11:00 am Star Tours/25/10
7:00 pm Toy Story Mania/25/10

5:30 pm Living with the Land/5/0
6:30 pm Test Track/45/22

12:45 pm Buzz/35/6
1:10 pm People Mover/25/12
1:40 pm Dumbo/10/5
2:05 pm Little Mermaid/30/15
2:45 pm Philharmagic/30/35
3:45 pm Small World/25/14
4:30 pm Peter Pan/35/35
5:15 pm Haunted Mansion/20/3
6:00 pm Big Thunder/25/10
6:30 pm Pirates/40/40

As you can see, USUALLY the wait time was significantly lower then posted.


----------



## tigertides

Predictions on this summer (June-)???


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Here now 95% no mask!  Beautiful to see happy faces


----------



## Mr. Drauer

they haven't been "moved" anywhere.  The lines just extend further from the normal entrance to each attraction due to the social distance markers and the inability to utilzed switchbacks in some places.  With those being reduced from 6 to 3 feet, some (many?) lines will not extend as far outside the actual attraction entrance.  As far as pleasant goes, I don't think anyone likes standing in lines, but since there is no fast pass, all of the lines move along at a steady rate and you don't have the standing in one spot type of scenario anymore.


----------



## DisneyFive

stephnerninnie1984 said:


> Wanted to just do a little post about ride times. Everytime we entered a queue, my husband would start his watch. This is what we experienced this last weekend (5/14-5/15).
> 
> Ride/posted time/actual time
> 
> Runaway Railway/35/20
> Toy Story Mania/45/20
> Smugglers/40/35
> Star Tours/25/10
> Toy Story Mania/25/10
> 
> Living with the Land/5/0
> Test Track/45/22
> 
> Buzz/35/6
> People Mover/25/12
> Dumbo/10/5
> Little Mermaid/30/15
> Philharmagic/30/35
> Small World/25/14
> Peter Pan/35/35
> Haunted Mansion/20/3
> Big Thunder/25/10
> Pirates/40/40
> 
> As you can see, USUALLY the wait time was significantly lower then posted.



Honestly, even those posted standby times don’t seem that long.  What time of the day were those at?

Dan


----------



## kevgraub

Princess Katelet said:


> Been here since 5/12. Reallllly missing the FPs. Cannot understand those who think this is so much better. I understand the stand by lines move better without it, but we’re all DISers, we all knew how to use the FP system so I’m just baffled that people prefer to go without it.


Our first trip without FP is coming up in a couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see which camp we fall in. 

On one hand, you are correct, we know how to use FP and last time we went we hit all of the headliners several times using probably 8-10 FPs per day. It was nice not to wait in line often. I think the only line we waiting in more than 20 minutes was TT, and I just could not get a FP for it, so we waiting in line for about an hour.

On the other hand, I remember feeling like I spent my entire vacation with my nose buried in my phone constantly checking and rechecking for that next available FP. Then running back and forth across the parks trying to make the best use of the FP system. I remember one time actually in the boat in the middle of Splash Mountain on my phone trying to find our next FP.  Not everyone gets that nuts about it, but I did. And probably would again if it was an option.

I also realized how much of the queues we were missing out on, some of which are pretty cool to check out. Now, do I want to wait in line just for the sake of checking out the queue - uh, no. But standing in line for a ride at WDW is an entirely different experience than standing in line at Six Flags or somewhere like that. My oldest does not really care for ToT ride itself, but wants to go on it because he has great memories of how cool the queue was when we waiting in line in the past.

Hitting the rides multiple times without much of a wait was great - but at the same time it was pretty hectic and kind of took away from the whole "being on vacation" thing we were going for. I think for those who are just there for the rides, and no so much the "Disney magic" (whatever that is exactly), the loss of FP is a much bigger deal. For those who don't mind only hitting the headliners once or twice a trip, and would rather have their face buried in a turkey leg than their phones, or those that get a kick out of the detail that goes into the queues, going without FP is probably a more enjoyable experience.


----------



## sophy1996

kevgraub said:


> *I also realized how much of the queues we were missing out on, some of which are pretty cool to check out*. Now, do I want to wait in line just for the sake of checking out the queue - uh, no. But standing in line for a ride at WDW is an entirely different experience than standing in line at Six Flags or somewhere like that. My oldest does not really care for ToT ride itself, but wants to go on it because he has great memories of how cool the queue was when we waiting in line in the past.



This trip we realized that we had never actually seen the Peter Pan queue, and it was really cool!


----------



## epcotobsessed

kevgraub said:


> Our first trip without FP is coming up in a couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see which camp we fall in.
> 
> On one hand, you are correct, we know how to use FP and last time we went we hit all of the headliners several times using probably 8-10 FPs per day. It was nice not to wait in line often. I think the only line we waiting in more than 20 minutes was TT, and I just could not get a FP for it, so we waiting in line for about an hour.
> 
> On the other hand, I remember feeling like I spent my entire vacation with my nose buried in my phone constantly checking and rechecking for that next available FP. Then running back and forth across the parks trying to make the best use of the FP system. I remember one time actually in the boat in the middle of Splash Mountain on my phone trying to find our next FP.  Not everyone gets that nuts about it, but I did. And probably would again if it was an option.
> 
> I also realized how much of the queues we were missing out on, some of which are pretty cool to check out. Now, do I want to wait in line just for the sake of checking out the queue - uh, no. But standing in line for a ride at WDW is an entirely different experience than standing in line at Six Flags or somewhere like that. My oldest does not really care for ToT ride itself, but wants to go on it because he has great memories of how cool the queue was when we waiting in line in the past.
> 
> Hitting the rides multiple times without much of a wait was great - but at the same time it was pretty hectic and kind of took away from the whole "being on vacation" thing we were going for. I think for those who are just there for the rides, and no so much the "Disney magic" (whatever that is exactly), the loss of FP is a much bigger deal. For those who don't mind only hitting the headliners once or twice a trip, and would rather have their face buried in a turkey leg than their phones, or those that get a kick out of the detail that goes into the queues, going without FP is probably a more enjoyable experience.



Thank you for this perspective. We are going in July and have thought about cancelling a million times because of the lack of FPs but we are going, and this is the best way to look at it. I hope that we will have as positive an experience as this projects - I know it is all in your perspective, and we were masters of getting additional FPs that day, thanks to this board. There is an element of excitement that we haven't had in a long time because we truly have no idea what to expect.


----------



## SwanVT2

Princess Katelet said:


> Been here since 5/12. Reallllly missing the FPs. Cannot understand those who think this is so much better. I understand the stand by lines move better without it, but we’re all DISers, we all knew how to use the FP system so I’m just baffled that people prefer to go without it. Hour plus waits are NOT fun. We get very little done without them. For those who don’t like the planning for them, you didn’t have to plan much, just use up your three and keep refreshing for whatever you want to ride next. It’s greatly missed and mourned.
> Weather has been FABULOUS. No love bugs, yay!  Rode Smugglers Run for the first time and thought it was fantastic. Not able to get a Studios ressie so no chance for Rise. Waited more than half an hour hoping for Runaway Railway to get fixed before bailing so still haven’t ridden that. Haven’t done Slinky yet, either due to crazy wait times (and no chance to rope drop cause no Studio ressie). Really hate having to book and commit to a first park. Talk about lack of spontaneity!! Being unable to change your mind about which park to go to in the morning stinks. And they make it that you can’t modify what you have, you can only cancel which means you can’t gamble on the park you want actually being available when the calendar shows it’s not.
> We seemed to always be behind nice, courteous people who practiced social distance while the ones behind us were stepping on our shoes. Was wishing little clear glass, air conditioned pods would swallow each family and move us all along a conveyor belt through the loooong lines. Again, waiting in these lines is no fun and I don’t understand how the lack of FP can be a good thing.
> The crowds are intense with so many things still closed. The lack of open restaurants and the food variety is poor.
> Buses have been mostly pretty awful. We’ve had to wait an hour at times because they can’t fill them and if you have a bus with two scooters that eats up seats, too.
> Cast members have all been lovely, although I saw a security guard at AK this morning sneeze put into the air with no mask on. Really?!?! Even without covid that’s disgusting. He was in a green security outfit. Is that real Disney security? I assumed so and figured he was in green for AK theming. No idea why no mask nor how he could be so rude and careless with his sneeze. My daughter saw a little boy urinating next to the carousel in MK while his parents watched. No words. I do understand why Michael Jackson rented out all of Disneyland though…
> Helicopters have been super prevalent over Saratoga Springs this week. Do not understand the hype over Disney Springs but I’m not a shopper. DO understand the hype over Earl of Sandwich though!!! Oh my gosh, AMAAZING. Twice in a row, even calling from the bus last night asking if they can hold my order past ten cause my bus had JUST gotten to the MK to take us to Congress Park where we could walk. They said they’d hold it til they left at 10:15 or so. We made it but we had to RUN. But soooo worth it.
> People continue to take their masks off or wear them on their chin in the lines as soon as they’re beyond the CM. These same people let their kids roam the line and duck under ropes to play with the currently off limit queue stuff.
> Epcot is a mess with the construction. Makes getting where you need to go so hard. Living with the Land and AK’s Safari still have vinyl between rows. Not sure about Frozen cause again, lines.
> Having fun, super grateful for the fabulous weather (and continued favorable outlook), the two bedroom villa I was gifted by a friend (although the food and gift shop grocery/toiletries at SSR, along with limited hours, makes me very much miss my simple single Wilderness Lodge and Poly rooms of yore),  just wish people were more courteous, more aware, and that there were far fewer of them in the parks…and of course wish there were FPs!


Oh my gosh..a boy peeing next to the carousel? Unbelievable!!! At that point, I don't know if I could have stuck out the day at MK.


----------



## Jason2015

Princess Katelet said:


> Been here since 5/12. Reallllly missing the FPs.



My family of four was there the week before and we LOVED the no fast passes.  We easily got everything we wanted to ride done earlier than excepted each day and were looking for things to do.  We missed the parades, fireworks, and some shows which would have helped to spread out the crowd a bit more, but didn't miss Fast passes on bit.  (On that note we have always liked Maxpass a lot better than fast passes and never loved having to plan 60/120 days in advance for what we might feel like riding.)  Fast Passes make standby lines interminable.


----------



## SwanVT2

stephnerninnie1984 said:


> Wanted to just do a little post about ride times. Everytime we entered a queue, my husband would start his watch. This is what we experienced this last weekend (5/14-5/15).
> 
> Ride/posted time/actual time
> 
> Runaway Railway/35/20
> Toy Story Mania/45/20
> Smugglers/40/35
> Star Tours/25/10
> Toy Story Mania/25/10
> 
> Living with the Land/5/0
> Test Track/45/22
> 
> Buzz/35/6
> People Mover/25/12
> Dumbo/10/5
> Little Mermaid/30/15
> Philharmagic/30/35
> Small World/25/14
> Peter Pan/35/35
> Haunted Mansion/20/3
> Big Thunder/25/10
> Pirates/40/40
> 
> As you can see, USUALLY the wait time was significantly lower then posted.


What time of day was this roughly?


----------



## corinne025

Quick update about our Second Park Day at EPCOT today May 17th.

EPCOT didn’t open until 11 but we were in line outside at 10:05. They started letting people through the gate at 10:10. We walked straight over to Frozen but they had a “delayed opening” (the ride was broken and didn’t open until sometime past noon)

They also held the Mexico Pyramid close until 11AM exactly and immediately let in a very large tour group - think 50+ people, so the Three Caballaros was backed up for a brief period at open.

Walked from Mexico toward Germany and hit up several food booths, never any line. Mexico food booth hands down the favorite of all with The Vampirio Taco and pork tostada.

Was hot today but not crowded and nice in the shade. They let us take up three white benches in the shade at the top of the American Theater to listen to the bands, no mask required (if you sat in the main arena area they wanted a mask) 

Will echo what others have said about people not paying attention to social distancing markers in the queue.

Rode Nemo with a posted wait time of 20 but was a walk on, then Soarin with a posted of 60 minutes and it took every minute of an hour.

Highly recommend the Butterfly house (between Imagination and Land Pavilions) and the Honey Bee garden as a place to sit down and eat festival food. Very cute well done area!!

Saw the Princesses three times but truly missed seeing Mickey and the Fab Five.


The heat beat us down, despite intermittent breeze and we left shortly after 2pm.

Picture below of the little Honey Bee Garden with seating, umbrellas and nice shade.


----------



## KrazeeK120

SwanVT2 said:


> Oh my gosh..a boy peeing next to the carousel? Unbelievable!!! At that point, I don't know if I could have stuck out the day at MK.



I know, right? I don’t understand that kind of thing. At all. Disgusting.


----------



## stephnerninnie1984

SwanVT2 said:


> What time of day was this roughly?



HS we were there from 9-12, and again from 6:30-8:00
EP we were there from 3:30-9:00
MK we were there from 12:30-7:00


----------



## stephnerninnie1984

DisneyFive said:


> Honestly, even those posted standby times don’t seem that long.  What time of the day were those at?
> 
> Dan


I just updated my post with the times added!


----------



## hereforthechurros

Resort reports: masks needed indoors but not walking around outside correct?


----------



## CampbellzSoup

hereforthechurros said:


> Resort reports: masks needed indoors but not walking around outside correct?



correct you


----------



## Helvetica

hereforthechurros said:


> Resort reports: masks needed indoors but not walking around outside correct?



Yes, except in you need it in some lines and some other areas (petting zoo), but not always. If they tell me to put it on, I do. They’re still figuring it out and it’s all subject to change.

You don’t need them for the treehouse interestingly enough.


----------



## Krisshay13

Just got back yesterday........went to AK & MK Saturday, the 1st day of no outdoor masks.  It was so nice to get them off my face but, was hard to remember to put them back on...LOL.   I never hesitated when told to do so.  1 photographer got on to me for not having it on when he came to scan my magic band..........then another photographer was stunned when I was looking for my mask before approaching her.  
Like others have said.......they are still working it out.  I told her I was trying to get it on before approaching since another photographer said to........she said, we all will have our own worries & she wasn't worried.  So, I just made sure of what each one asked for.
The funny thing, we had ADR at BOG & purchased special masks just for that dinner.  The photographer outside the castle by the bridge laughed when I said "we want pictures with masks on".   It's a really cute picture!!!


----------



## Krisshay13

report from our trip last week:  only 3 days Thurs-Sat..........hopped each day
We were upgraded to AOA Finding Nemo Suite..........and it was so sweet!!!  I had requested top floor.  We got top floor, view of the big pool....and close to the elevator!!  (but not too close)  We loved this suite!!!

*Wed:*  our flight was delayed due to Orlando weather (we were flying from Birmingham)......then we sat on the plane after landing for awhile.  We got our luggage & found the long line at Magical Express.  When someone working the line started asking who had magic bands...funny, I found most didn't.  We did & he sent us ahead of the line to the line for the bus.  But, said it would be about a 45 min wait.  It was about 20 min but, we stopped at several resorts first.  I was worried about food court closing so, I did mobile order & the timing was perfect!!  Personally, I like mobile ordering....it's been great for us.  This was the only time we ate at the resort & it wasn't good =(

*Thurs:  MK & EP*
Up early........got to the bus around 6:45 & a line was already there.  Buses came pretty fast, 1 after another.  We made the 2nd bus.  We did pretty good.......once they let us in the park, we headed straight to 7DMT.........and ended up being about 30th in line.  Crowds were low most of the morning!!  We rode 7DMT, PP & got on SW by official park opening.  We walked on HM & BTMRR.  We were like an hour ahead of planned schedule, it was awesome.  Splash was down & we never went back to it, sadly.  We ended up hitting rides we had not planned on riding.  Even rode PP a 2nd time!!  So, we were tickled & honestly spoiled.  *Rope Drop worked perfect this morning!!*
Headed back to the resort & jumped on skyliner to Epcot.  We honestly aren't walk around Epcot type of people & just headed to future world...did Figment, Soaring & TT.  Got some pixie dust at TT....cast member took to my 5 yr old DGS, talking to him before we rode, when we got off, he was standing there & asked if we wanted to ride again.  He took us around the track & put us back on, ahead of the line.  It was so nice!!!  
We had ADR at GG.........and it was so good.  The waiter brought pudding cup with candles to my DH & DGS for their birthdays & even sang.  We were so full, I really wanted someone to roll me out.  We walked back to the skyliner & was stunned at how long the line was.  Took a little while to get on but, the line kept moving. 
*Fri:  HS & MK*
Got boarding group70!!  (sadly, had to cancel around noon when DGS started crying about how it scared him last time).  We were at bus stop around 7:30 (9am open) & didn't make it on 1st bus.  When we arrived, DH was stunned at the line to the left of people (car crowd)....when they opened, we headed to TT since my DH has never ridden it.  Then headed straight to SD & the line was terrible so, we did TSM then Aliens.  We ended up never getting on SD, it was long all day.  This was our worst morning as far as crowds.  We did stop for pictures everywhere.......did MFSR & loved it.  Ate at Back Lot for the1st time & it was pretty good.  Had a 1:40 apptment to build a Droid.....DH & DGS loved this!!!  
Headed to resort for a short rest.  We didn't have ADR but, grabbed a last minute one for Tony's so, we hopped to MK. I rode Space while they did the cars & rode Buzz.  Then headed to dinner.  It was delicious!!!  1st time there & will go again, for sure.  
*Sat:  AK & MK*
Got to bus around 6:45.......we were probably 10th in line at temp check tent when they announced no more temp checks & no more masks outside!!!  As we walked in, cast members were saying "so good to see you smile"!!  DGS was too short for FOP but DH has never ridden it so, we booked it straight there.  My COPD really hurts me in AK with small inclines so, I told my DH to head there without us & get in line.  He was probably around 50th in line so, rope drop was good again!!!   He absolutely loved the ride.  He is not a roller coaster rider (won't ride Space).  so, I was a little worried how he would handle it.......but, he loves Soaring.  We didn't have anything planned but DGS wanted to do Dinosaur next & it was walk on.  Then he begged for Safari........OMG, the line was ridiculous.....and we didn't even realize how long it really was.  That line weaves all over the place......even back behind gates & buildings.  But, the ride was the best we've had.  giraffes came right up to the truck & animals were very active.  oh, I did get to walk on EE (they don't ride)......Headed to KR & got soaked.  Put in mobile order for Flame Tree...which I love!!  Did Bugs Life...went to eat......then headed back to resort for short rest.
Hopped back to MK around 5 for a 7PM ADR at BOG.  Rode a few smaller rides again before dinner.  We were placed in the Rose Gallery.  The beast ended up walking in 3 or 4 different times.  The meal was awesome.  They brought the trio dessert for each of us but, DGSs was a plan chip cup that he could paint.....too cute!!!  The only issue I have with this (during covid) is the lighting is terrible to even get a picture.  And the price you pay, you should be able to at least get a decent picture.  Oh well, that was my only gripe!!  
To end this long report............we had a great time!!!  Weather was almost perfect.  HS was the worst park, as far as crowds & lines.  Rope drop was great.  Transportation wasn't great but, not terrible.  I am 1 that loved FP+ so, I miss that.........and totally miss fireworks (I'm hooked on HEA & cry when Tink flies...yep, one of those).  Just isn't the same feeling when leaving the park without fireworks.
Oh, also......I was surprised at how many times I heard guest not being let in a park due to them not knowing what time they could hop over (like at noon)......or they didn't visit their reservation park 1st.   Then I realized, I probably wouldn't know either, if it weren't for reading this board.
So, again..........THANK YOU ALL for making my trips so great!!!


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

As a post-script to my earlier report: We found the Touring Plans Lines App to be incredibly useful and accurate, far moreso than the official posted times. It was invaluable for our days in the parks.


----------



## Princess Katelet

Jason2015 said:


> My family of four was there the week before and we LOVED the no fast passes.  We easily got everything we wanted to ride done earlier than excepted each day and were looking for things to do.  We missed the parades, fireworks, and some shows which would have helped to spread out the crowd a bit more, but didn't miss Fast passes on bit.  (On that note we have always liked Maxpass a lot better than fast passes and never loved having to plan 60/120 days in advance for what we might feel like riding.)  Fast Passes make standby lines interminable.


Agree 100% with you about Maxpass. It’s the BEST, I just figure many here don’t have experience with it and since it was never at World it’s hard to ‘miss’ it. Truth is I ADORE Land and absolutely everything about it! The better rides, the brilliant ease of park hopping, the inexpensive hotels just outside the gate, not having to rely on the horrible Disney buses, the superior weather, and the Maxpass!


----------



## robinb

Helvetica said:


> Yes, except in you need it in some lines and some other areas (petting zoo), but not always. If they tell me to put it on, I do. They’re still figuring it out and it’s all subject to change.
> 
> You don’t need them for the treehouse interestingly enough.


Aren‘t there signs to tell you when to put on your mask?


----------



## Helvetica

robinb said:


> Aren‘t there signs to tell you when to put on your mask?



Sometimes


----------



## Dispro1

Krisshay13 said:


> Just got back yesterday........went to AK & MK Saturday, the 1st day of no outdoor masks.  It was so nice to get them off my face but, was hard to remember to put them back on...LOL.   I never hesitated when told to do so.  1 photographer got on to me for not having it on when he came to scan my magic band..........then another photographer was stunned when I was looking for my mask before approaching her.
> Like others have said.......they are still working it out.  I told her I was trying to get it on before approaching since another photographer said to........she said, we all will have our own worries & she wasn't worried.  So, I just made sure of what each one asked for.
> The funny thing, we had ADR at BOG & purchased special masks just for that dinner.  The photographer outside the castle by the bridge laughed when I said "we want pictures with masks on".   It's a really cute picture!!!


Were there lines to get inside shops at the parks?  I realize it may be much worse when I'm there over Memorial Day, but I'm just wondering what your experience was??


----------



## tinkgirlga

sophy1996 said:


> This trip we realized that we had never actually seen the Peter Pan queue, and it was really cool!


We had a similar experience when we went through the Peter Pan queue and realized we hadn’t been through it in the last 15 years. It was actually really neat.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Princess Katelet said:


> Agree 100% with you about Maxpass. It’s the BEST, I just figure many here don’t have experience with it and since it was never at World it’s hard to ‘miss’ it. Truth is I ADORE Land and absolutely everything about it! The better rides, the brilliant ease of park hopping, the inexpensive hotels just outside the gate, not having to rely on the horrible Disney buses, the superior weather, and the Maxpass!


I've used both multiple times and still significantly prefer FP+, not close. But if MaxPass were to come to WDW, I wouldn't be mad.


----------



## Krisshay13

Dispro1 said:


> Were there lines to get inside shops at the parks?  I realize it may be much worse when I'm there over Memorial Day, but I'm just wondering what your experience was??


Honestly, I'm not a shopper while there so, I didn't notice.  But, at HS, my DH wanted to go in the store to look at the Droid stuff & there was a line there but, it went very fast.  When I went in Nov, I noticed the lines at MK for stores but, didn't notice any this time.


----------



## Dispro1

Krisshay13 said:


> Honestly, I'm not a shopper while there so, I didn't notice.  But, at HS, my DH wanted to go in the store to look at the Droid stuff & there was a line there but, it went very fast.  When I went in Nov, I noticed the lines at MK for stores but, didn't notice any this time.


Thanks.  I love to look in the stores and maybe do a little shopping, but I was honestly wondering how hard it would be to escape the heat since they're predicting temperatures around 95 when I'm there lol!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Dispro1 said:


> Thanks.  I love to look in the stores and maybe do a little shopping, but I was honestly wondering how hard it would be to escape the heat since they're predicting temperatures around 95 when I'm there lol!


Not the poster you quoted but can you give you my experience.  Most stores do not have waits, but a few did here and there.  Memento Mori for example consistently has a short line but moves pretty fast.  The shops at SWGE also have a long line that moves painfully slow.  Best way to avoid that line is by going first or last hour of the day.


----------



## Helvetica

New signs


----------



## sophy1996

Dispro1 said:


> Were there lines to get inside shops at the parks?  I realize it may be much worse when I'm there over Memorial Day, but I'm just wondering what your experience was??





Dispro1 said:


> Thanks.  I love to look in the stores and maybe do a little shopping, but I was honestly wondering how hard it would be to escape the heat since they're predicting temperatures around 95 when I'm there lol!



I'm not much of a shopper so I wasn't paying a lot of attention, but --

It was 95/96 when we were there week before last and the only lines I saw to get into stores was in Galaxy's Edge and Karamell-Kuche in Epcot. We went into the larger stores in DHS, MK, and Epcot without a wait.


----------



## MomOTwins

Just a gentle reminder having read a couple of recent posts by people planning June trips, mid-May is not mid-June.  Kids are in school in May (and many have finals).  For those planning trips in June I would highly recommend reading back in this thread to mid-March through mid-April to get a sense of what crowd levels and wait times are like when school is on break.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

How is bus availability for park hopping or when you want to take your bus back to your hotel for an afternoon break? Do you have to wait long? I'm contemplating if we'll go the Uber route to not deal with waiting.


----------



## Dispro1

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Not the poster you quoted but can you give you my experience.  Most stores do not have waits, but a few did here and there.  Memento Mori for example consistently has a short line but moves pretty fast.  The shops at SWGE also have a long line that moves painfully slow.  Best way to avoid that line is by going first or last hour of the day.





sophy1996 said:


> I'm not much of a shopper so I wasn't paying a lot of attention, but --
> 
> It was 95/96 when we were there week before last and the only lines I saw to get into stores was in Galaxy's Edge and Karamell-Kuche in Epcot. We went into the larger stores in DHS, MK, and Epcot without a wait.


Thanks for the updates!  Sounds like I should avoid SWGE unless I'm lucky enough to get a boarding group to ride lol!  I hope people will keep the updates coming if there are any changes because I'm wondering how much the "increased capacity" Disney announced will affect things since I haven't heard anything about increased capacity in shops/restaurants or about more attractions being opened.  I hope people will keep us updated on that when it happens!


MomOTwins said:


> Just a gentle reminder having read a couple of recent posts by people planning June trips, mid-May is not mid-June.  Kids are in school in May (and many have finals).  For those planning trips in June I would highly recommend reading back in this thread to mid-March through mid-April to get a sense of what crowd levels and wait times are like when school is on break.


Good point!  We are going end of May/early June, and our schools will be out which is why we're going then.  My DD17 is in the middle of finals right now actually!  I'll look back a bit in the thread to see what people were saying.  Honestly, it has the potential to be worse since they're supposedly increasing capacity.  That's why I've booked a lot more dining for this trip lol!


----------



## Princess Katelet

TikiTikiFan said:


> How is bus availability for park hopping or when you want to take your bus back to your hotel for an afternoon break? Do you have to wait long? I'm contemplating if we'll go the Uber route to not deal with waiting.


Hit or miss but mostly miss for us. We’ve waited an hour just to leave the parks due to limited seating in buses and tons of scooters. Half hour to 45 minutes seems average.


----------



## lorilori

Depended on the time of day for us. Hopping at 2:00 we waited maybe 15-20 minutes if we didn't get on the first bus for wherever we were going. Hopping a little later at 3:00/3:30  we always got on the first bus to our next park.


----------



## Helvetica

DHS is a madhouse right now. They really, really need to bring back entertainment.


----------



## Duck143

tinkgirlga said:


> We had a similar experience when we went through the Peter Pan queue and realized we hadn’t been through it in the last 15 years. It was actually really neat.


We had NEVER been through the queue for PP.  Also, FOP's queue was awesome and we had never been through that one either.


----------



## SarahC97

Helvetica said:


> DHS is a madhouse right now. They really, really need to bring back entertainment.


It's a bit mind-boggling to me that they're increasing attendance without bringing back entertainment and opening more restaurants and shops. We go next week and I'm kind of expecting the worst.


----------



## Helvetica

SarahC97 said:


> It's a bit mind-boggling to me that they're increasing attendance without bringing back entertainment and opening more restaurants and shops. We go next week and I'm kind of expecting the worst.



The other parks have been pretty ok, but DHS is just too small. It probably doesn’t help that only one side of Tower of Terror is operational right now.


----------



## Nana2Callie

SarahC97 said:


> It's a bit mind-boggling to me that they're increasing attendance without bringing back entertainment and opening more restaurants and shops. We go next week and I'm kind of expecting the worst.


Feeling the same.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Princess Katelet said:


> Hit or miss but mostly miss for us. We’ve waited an hour just to leave the parks due to limited seating in buses and tons of scooters. Half hour to 45 minutes seems average.





lorilori said:


> Depended on the time of day for us. Hopping at 2:00 we waited maybe 15-20 minutes if we didn't get on the first bus for wherever we were going. Hopping a little later at 3:00/3:30  we always got on the first bus to our next park.



Thanks for the info! I'd be super cranky if we were going to take a break and had to wait forever for a bus so maybe Uber is the way to go. We've never really used Uber at the parks that much- is the pickup area by the busses? I imagine there's signs letting you know where to go too.


----------



## SarahC97

TikiTikiFan said:


> Thanks for the info! I'd be super cranky if we were going to take a break and had to wait forever for a bus so maybe Uber is the way to go. We've never really used Uber at the parks that much- is the pickup area by the busses? I imagine there's signs letting you know where to go too.


Yes, there are rideshare pickups pretty close to the main entrances of the parks except for MK, where the pickup for rideshare is at the TTC.

ETA: I have heard a lot of rumblings that getting an Uber or Lyft is kind of hit or miss right now since they seem to have a driver shortage. Also, surge pricing can make a trip very expensive, so be aware of that if you're not already.


----------



## KGolf31

TikiTikiFan said:


> How is bus availability for park hopping or when you want to take your bus back to your hotel for an afternoon break? Do you have to wait long? I'm contemplating if we'll go the Uber route to not deal with waiting.



(For May 10-13th)
We bus hopped once from MK to DHS and waited 1 bus cycle to get on the Bus. When we arrived in line one bus just arrived and was actively loading. The next bus (which we boarded) was less than 5 minutes behind.

Otherwise, bus availability back to BWV was seemless. Bus was waiting at the parks everytime. I don't know if we got incredibly lucky or what, but we never waited for a bus other than 15 minutes for Disney Springs.

Other than that, the Skyliner was used to go from DHS to Epcot at night and was always a walk-on


----------



## hereforthechurros

Helvetica said:


> DHS is a madhouse right now. They really, really need to bring back entertainment.


That's one park that shouldn't be increasing capacity until they do. 45 minute wait to just to get into the Muppet Theater? No thanks.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Helvetica said:


> The other parks have been pretty ok, but DHS is just too small. It probably doesn’t help that only one side of Tower of Terror is operational right now.


And Slinky is down.


----------



## Helvetica

hereforthechurros said:


> That's one park that shouldn't be increasing capacity until they do. 45 minute wait to just to get into the Muppet Theater? No thanks.



I’ve never seen lines this long. I know people want fast pass back, but I don’t know where everyone would go. You already have to walk through Fantasmic for both ToT and RnRC.


----------



## corinne025

SarahC97 said:


> It's a bit mind-boggling to me that they're increasing attendance without bringing back entertainment and opening more restaurants and shops. We go next week and I'm kind of expecting the worst.



we are here now I would say 100% the biggest problem is restaurant capacity! When the sun gets at its zenith at the same time as the crowds, the need for more readily available air conditioning and hydrating options is major.

The mobile ordering is somewhat confusing, I think most regular guests will find themselves at noon suddenly with a reality they cannot find anywhere to eat, and to not even be able to step inside a Quick Service to get in line (they don’t let you in until you can flash your phone saying “mobile order ready”) will be confusing and frustrating. Then you’re trying to navigate your map and find a Mobile Order available that is not 30/45 minutes out.

They need to increase capacity at Table Service restaurants and bar seating! Add to walk-up availability!


----------



## Brett Wyman

Helvetica said:


> I’ve never seen lines this long. I know people want fast pass back, but I don’t know where everyone would go. You already have to walk through Fantasmic for both ToT and RnRC.



Is line distancing still at 6 feet? Im guessing this will drop to 3 feet any day now.


----------



## SarahC97

corinne025 said:


> we are here now I would say 100% the biggest problem is restaurant capacity! When the sun gets at its zenith at the same time as the crowds, the need for more readily available air conditioning and hydrating options is major.
> 
> The mobile ordering is somewhat confusing, I think most regular guests will find themselves at noon suddenly with a reality they cannot find anywhere to eat, and to not even be able to step inside a Quick Service to get in line (they don’t let you in until you can flash your phone saying “mobile order ready”) will be confusing and frustrating. Then you’re trying to navigate your map and find a Mobile Order available that is not 30/45 minutes out.
> 
> They need to increase capacity at Table Service restaurants and bar seating! Add to walk-up availability!


Oh yeah. Can you imagine all the people who don't know to expect things like not being able to just grab lunch somewhere when you're hungry at lunchtime? We were there over Thanksgiving and after the first day, I forced my family to order lunch when we entered the parks at rope drop just so we knew we'd have somewhere to eat. For our trip next week, we have sitdowns booked for lunch each day just so we don't have to worry about it.


----------



## Helvetica

Brett Wyman said:


> Is line distancing still at 6 feet? Im guessing this will drop to 3 feet any day now.



The stickers are still there. Sometimes people follow them, sometimes it’s back to normal. When I get back to the resort I may check and see if I can change my second DHS day to Epcot.


----------



## Tess

We returned home on Friday, 5/14/21 (arrived at BWV 5/6/21) and had a great time.  That said, it was crowded and it wasn't simply attributable to social distancing queues, stroller parking, etc.  It was simply crowded at all the parks with HS being the worst.

We have points of reference for comparison because we go this same week every year and have done so for the last 10+ years.  We were also there in October 2020--same week every year for also 10+ years.  We felt October was exceptionally crowded compared to normal and this trip in May was even more so.

Since we are well versed in Disney, we tried to hit buses early a.m. (or walked) and arrive at parks an hour prior to stated opening.  This worked better when walking to HS or EPCOT. 

Buses were hit or miss at getting to the parks an hour before scheduled opening (MK/AK). 

MK plan worked (rode everything we wanted prior to noon BUT FOR SDMT [down at opening], Carousel of Progress and Splash [down at opening]) on our first day (5/7); but the second day (5/12) we waited 40 minutes or so for a bus and did not get there as planned.  This one wasn't on us, we were at the bus stop at 7:00 a.m. or so.  We weren't overly concerned because our only goal was to ride the three aforementioned rides and return to our resort.  Once again, however, SDMT was down as was Splash until 9ish.  We did COP, Speedway and Teacups until Splash was up and hit it up.  SDMT was not up until much later in the a.m. and we opted not to wait to ride it. We mobile ordered (soon after arrival in MK) from Pecos--picked it up after Splash and went back to BWV for pool time.  I forgot to mention, our longest queue of the first day (5/7) was Peoplemover--it was a 30 minute wait.

AK (5/8) the bus was reliable and we skipped our planned second day because we crushed that park and rode everything we wanted before 11:00 a.m.  That was a good thing because when we left after our lunch at Y&Y, it was a hot mess.

DHS was flat out crazy on both days we went (5/10 and 13).  Since we were walking we arrived as planned.  On the 10th, we were a scant 5-10 minutes earlier than the 13th and the difference in our pre-opening queue location was incredible.  Not that the ultimate queue was any different (the left side for walkers, buses and cars stretched as far as the eye could see down the walkway (I have pictures, but not where I am at the moment).  Once the skyliner and boat folks arrived (and the left side of the queue was longer than the walkway), the right side was queued up and it, likewise, stretched back to the bus depot--this is pre-opening!  

On 5/10 we did great with our early hours--SDD, TSM, AS, MF, ST and RoR (BG14)--and out by noon which is always our plan for any park.  5/13 we were not so lucky.  This day our goal was to hit RoR (BG4), RnR and ToT (we have done Mickey's Runaway and weren't impressed so didn't feel the need), have lunch at 50s and leave.  ToT was down and queue was not permitted.  We rode RnR x2 and ToT queue was then forming.  By the time we joined it, the queue was all the way snaking through the exit from Fantasmic.  The handheld sign said 60 minutes but we knew it was going to be shorter because the ride had not yet even loaded--still, we waited 40 minutes which got us to our RoR boarding group with 15 minutes or so to spare.  While it seems we accomplished a good deal--the park was crowded on both days with 5/13 being worse.

So, moral of the story is that word has filtered to the masses that the parks are opening 45-60 minutes prior to stated time.  Getting to the parks early is still the best advice, but don't think you are going to breeze on everything for that first two hours as used to be the case.  The sea of humanity is arriving prior to the 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. time it used to hit the parks.  Oh those stragglers are still there, but that opening crowd is equally large (it was the same in October--at least more than expected). 

We had great weather, many hours of pool time in our private pool at BWI , hopped to EPCOT in the evening nearly every day and had a great time despite the disbelief in the size of the crowds.  It pays to know what you are doing and how to navigate the parks and crowds especially without FP+, the shows, entertainment and a shortage of restaurants.

Hopefully Disney will get the remaining hotels, restaurants and shows open and reinstate FP+ to help with the crowding issue.  Masks and distancing seem to be going away (not quickly enough for me) so our fingers are crossed for a more normal experience in the fall!


----------



## Mango7100

SarahC97 said:


> It's a bit mind-boggling to me that they're increasing attendance without bringing back entertainment and opening more restaurants and shops. We go next week and I'm kind of expecting the worst.


We will be there next week as well. We have already prepped DD8 that we are only going to spend more time at the resort, do a few hours a day at the parks, and ride a couple of rides but we aren’t going to to get to do everything we normally do. Even doing small stuff like riding Barnstormer multiple times makes her happy. I just want to ride the People Mover really. It’s going to be in the mid to high 90s all next week ..so glad I got my UV umbrella


----------



## Leigh L

SarahC97 said:


> It's a bit mind-boggling to me that they're increasing attendance without bringing back entertainment and opening more restaurants and shops. We go next week and I'm kind of expecting the worst.


Same! I'm starting to warn everyone in our party. We go at the mid-end of June and I know it's going to be nothing like President's week was. Two people joining us this trip haven't been in a long time, one since 2019 and the other before Fantasyland was expanded. I'm hoping it's a good experience for them.

Hopefully, this Friday will come more announcements of reopenings in upcoming weeks! Even a couple of shows and restaurants would probably do wonders.


----------



## SarahC97

Leigh L said:


> Same! I'm starting to warn everyone in our party. We go at the mid-end of June and I know it's going to be nothing like President's week was. Two people joining us this trip haven't been in a long time, one since 2019 and the other before Fantasyland was expanded. I'm hoping it's a good experience for them.
> 
> Hopefully, this Friday will come more announcements of reopenings in upcoming weeks! Even a couple of shows and restaurants would probably do wonders.


I hope so. I'm hopeful that once the college program kids are back that more things will open, but that doesn't help me next week! Oh well, I'd honestly rather be at Disney when it's crowded than be at home!


----------



## Mango7100

Tess said:


> We returned home on Friday, 5/14/21 (arrived at BWV 5/6/21) and had a great time.  That said, it was crowded and it wasn't simply attributable to social distancing queues, stroller parking, etc.  It was simply crowded at all the parks with HS being the worst.
> 
> We have points of reference for comparison because we go this same week every year and have done so for the last 10+ years.  We were also there in October 2020--same week every year for also 10+ years.  We felt October was exceptionally crowded compared to normal and this trip in May was even more so.
> 
> Since we are well versed in Disney, we tried to hit buses early a.m. (or walked) and arrive at parks an hour prior to stated opening.  This worked better when walking to HS or EPCOT.
> 
> Buses were hit or miss at getting to the parks an hour before scheduled opening (MK/AK).
> 
> MK plan worked (rode everything we wanted prior to noon BUT FOR SDMT [down at opening], Carousel of Progress and Splash [down at opening]) on our first day (5/7); but the second day (5/12) we waited 40 minutes or so for a bus and did not get there as planned.  This one wasn't on us, we were at the bus stop at 7:00 a.m. or so.  We weren't overly concerned because our only goal was to ride the three aforementioned rides and return to our resort.  Once again, however, SDMT was down as was Splash until 9ish.  We did COP, Speedway and Teacups until Splash was up and hit it up.  SDMT was not up until much later in the a.m. and we opted not to wait to ride it. We mobile ordered (soon after arrival in MK) from Pecos--picked it up after Splash and went back to BWV for pool time.
> 
> AK (5/8) the bus was reliable and we skipped our planned second day because we crushed that park and rode everything we wanted before 11:00 a.m.  That was a good thing because when we left after our lunch at Y&Y, it was a hot mess.
> 
> DHS was flat out crazy on both days we went (5/10 and 13).  Since we were walking we arrived as planned.  On the 10th, we were a scant 5-10 minutes earlier than the 13th and the difference in our pre-opening queue location was incredible.  Not that the ultimate queue was any different (the left side for walkers, buses and cars stretched as far as the eye could see down the walkway (I have pictures, but not where I am at the moment).  Once the skyliner and boat folks arrived (and the left side of the queue was longer than the walkway), the right side was queued up and it, likewise, stretched back to the bus depot--this is pre-opening!
> 
> On 5/10 we did great with our early hours--SDD, TSM, AS, MF, ST and RoR (BG14)--and out by noon which is always our plan for any park.  5/13 we were not so lucky.  This day our goal was to hit RoR (BG4), RnR and ToT (we have done Mickey's Runaway and weren't impressed so didn't feel the need), have lunch at 50s and leave.  ToT was down and queue was not permitted.  We rode RnR x2 and ToT queue was then forming.  By the time we joined it, the queue was all the way snaking through the exit from Fantasmic.  The handheld sign said 60 minutes but we knew it was going to be shorter because the ride had not yet even loaded--still, we waited 40 minutes which got us to our RoR boarding group with 15 minutes or so to spare.  While it seems we accomplished a good deal--the park was crowded on both days with 5/13 being worse.
> 
> So, moral of the story is that word has filtered to the masses that the parks are opening 45-60 minutes prior to stated time.  Getting to the parks early is still the best advice, but don't think you are going to breeze on everything for that first two hours as used to be the case.  The sea of humanity is arriving prior to the 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. time it used to hit the parks.  Oh those stragglers are still there, but that opening crowd is equally large (it was the same in October--at least more than expected).
> 
> We had great weather, many hours of pool time in our private pool at BWI , hopped to EPCOT in the evening nearly every day and had a great time despite the disbelief in the size of the crowds.  It pays to know what you are doing and how to navigate the parks and crowds especially without FP+, the shows, entertainment and a shortage of restaurants.
> 
> Hopefully Disney will get the remaining hotels, restaurants and shows open and reinstate FP+ to help with the crowding issue.  Masks and distancing seem to be going away (not quickly enough for me) so our fingers are crossed for a more normal experience in the fall!


Thanks for the report. I was afraid that word would be out and most people would be arriving early. I was worried that we would only really have 1-2 hours in the AM before the crush comes. I think we are going to change it up and not go to the parks until 4 and stay until close. Do pool in the morning instead. This may totally backfire, but we have a trip over July 4 if it does


----------



## Tess

Brett Wyman said:


> Is line distancing still at 6 feet? Im guessing this will drop to 3 feet any day now.



They were changing the stickers from 6' to 3' in MK the day we left on 5/14/21.  Not sure if they have it fully instituted, but that is the direction they are going. According to information we were given last week.


----------



## robinb

Helvetica said:


> I’ve never seen lines this long. I know people want fast pass back, but I don’t know where everyone would go. You already have to walk through Fantasmic for both ToT and RnRC.


It's because they increased attendance capacity by nearly 50% a couple of days ago .


----------



## brockash

Helvetica said:


> I’ve never seen lines this long. I know people want fast pass back, but I don’t know where everyone would go. You already have to walk through Fantasmic for both ToT and RnRC.


We waited for muppets in the beginning of March...after waiting 30 mins and seeing how much farther we had to go just to get into the main building we bailed...it was just crazy to us...I can't believe the kind of lines we've waited in since reopening...we never waited anything close to those times precovid.


----------



## Leigh L

SarahC97 said:


> I hope so. I'm hopeful that once the college program kids are back that more things will open, but that doesn't help me next week! *Oh well, I'd honestly rather be at Disney when it's crowded than be at home!*


That's a good point! 
Maybe with Memorial Day coming, they'll unexpectedly open some of the areas that are seeing potential signs of opening (eg monsters laugh room).


----------



## kevgraub

Mango7100 said:


> I was afraid that word would be out and most people would be arriving early.


With the reports of more and more people showing up early for the park opening, I wonder if we will see the introduction of the new early morning entry for onsite guests sooner than later? That has kind of been a forgotten issue lately.


----------



## grannyminnie

hereforthechurros said:


> That's one park that shouldn't be increasing capacity until they do. 45 minute wait to just to get into the Muppet Theater? No thanks.


That wait was actually 60 minutes when we were there!  We didn't go in...


----------



## Mango7100

Leigh L said:


> That's a good point!
> Maybe with Memorial Day coming, they'll unexpectedly open some of the areas that are seeing potential signs of opening (eg monsters laugh room).


The fact that Laugh Floor is not open is absurd at this point, what is their reasoning? Also Turtle Talk with Crush..why can’t it go?


----------



## MyTwoPrincesses

Mango7100 said:


> The fact that Laugh Floor is not open is absurd at this point, what is their reasoning? Also Turtle Talk with Crush..why can’t it go?


I am very hopeful that both of those attractions are back up soon.  They are fun - and perfect in the hot summer months.  My brother is coming with us in August - his first trip since 1989 and his wife's and kids' first trip ever.  I think they will love both of those attractions.  The kids will be 5 (almost 6) and 8 so they are the perfect ages for Turtle Talk in particular.


----------



## WEDWDW

One way entrance and exit has been removed from Boutiki at the Polynesian.

Would think this will rapidly spread across all shops.

Another huge step to "new normalcy".


----------



## Shellyred8

WEDWDW said:


> One way entrance and exit has been removed from Boutiki at the Polynesian.
> 
> Would think this will rapidly spread across all shops.
> 
> Another huge step to "new normalcy".


This is one of the things I'm really looking forward to.


----------



## LiamsDISMom

robinb said:


> It's because they increased attendance capacity by nearly 50% a couple of days ago .



Is there anywhere capacity numbers were confirmed? I was there last week and it fell crazy busy to me. We left on Saturday and saw that right after the Chapek call, this week (starting with Monday) went all green again on availability. I was thinking it would be a madhouse if it increased even more from what we experienced the 9-15.


----------



## sdeut

Mango7100 said:


> The fact that Laugh Floor is not open is absurd at this point, what is their reasoning? Also Turtle Talk with Crush..why can’t it go?


I don’t understand why since other large venues are open.  Maybe staffing?


----------



## adizzle819

WEDWDW said:


> One way entrance and exit has been removed from Boutiki at the Polynesian.
> 
> Would think this will rapidly spread across all shops.
> 
> Another huge step to "new normalcy".


Is the monorail running between the poly and MK right now? I would love to stop over and have a drink and shop there after our MK day, but I'm not sure of the easiest way right now with COVID and construction. Thanks!


----------



## DisneyFive

adizzle819 said:


> Is the monorail running between the poly and MK right now? I would love to stop over and have a drink and shop there after our MK day, but I'm not sure of the easiest way right now with COVID and construction. Thanks!


It stops at the TTC so you could get off there and walk to the Poly.

Dan


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## adizzle819

DisneyFive said:


> It stops at the TTC so you could get off there and walk to the Poly.
> 
> Dan


Thank you!


----------



## Chernabob

DisneyFive said:


> It stops at the TTC so you could get off there and walk to the Poly.
> 
> Dan


Does it stop at the Grand Floridian?  I was thinking about the same thing—riding part way, walking the rest.


----------



## kevgraub

sdeut said:


> I don’t understand why since other large venues are open.  Maybe staffing?


Could be staffing, could also be because they are smaller venues - especially Turtle Talk. If you tried to socially distance the kids (who will almost certainly be unvaccinated at that point) in that small room, you could not fit very many in there. I've also heard that the room where the cast is located is very small, although that will hopefully be less of a concern with the new guidance (assuming the cast is vaccinated).


----------



## MomOTwins

Chernabob said:


> Does it stop at the Grand Floridian?  I was thinking about the same thing—riding part way, walking the rest.


Yes, but the walk from the GF monorail station to Poly is considerably longer than the walk from TTC to Poly.


----------



## robinb

LiamsDISMom said:


> Is there anywhere capacity numbers were confirmed? I was there last week and it fell crazy busy to me. We left on Saturday and saw that right after the Chapek call, this week (starting with Monday) went all green again on availability. I was thinking it would be a madhouse if it increased even more from what we experienced the 9-15.


I don't think there are any "official" numbers but I heard that it went from 35% total capacity to 50% total capacity and all the parks that were partially sold out for my time next week were suddenly all green.  They have now returned to be all sold out or only Epcot remaining.  I'm not sure if that means that people all moved to the other parks or that people made last minute plans.  I am a Christmas/NYE veteran so I know how to handle "madhouse" but I'm not looking forward to it.  *sigh*


----------



## scrappinginontario

TikiTikiFan said:


> How is bus availability for park hopping or when you want to take your bus back to your hotel for an afternoon break? Do you have to wait long? I'm contemplating if we'll go the Uber route to not deal with waiting.


It does, but the resort loop goes clockwise so you would pass the Poly to get to GF then walk back to the Poly.  Also, as @MomOTwins indicated, the walk from GF is further than that from the TTC.


----------



## Leigh L

Mango7100 said:


> The fact that Laugh Floor is not open is absurd at this point, what is their reasoning? Also Turtle Talk with Crush..why can’t it go?


From what I understand for the Laugh Floor is it's small working quarters, but as distancing decreases and guidance evolves, maybe it's possible. The other possible reason is that it's a highly interactive show and with the mics, that would be hard to social distance unless they somehow adjusted the show?

I've only been in Turtle Talk once or twice but see others have mentioned how tight it is in there.


----------



## RunWI1265

Just returned a few days ago from a long split stay May 4-13. It was me, my husband, 4yo and 2.5yo. My 4yo and I have gone twice in pandemic time (mid-sept & end of Jan-earlyFeb).  First trip back as a family since May 2019 (two cancelled trips in between). I don’t have much to add now that everything has changed since our return (masks, distancing, capacity...) but I’ll point out a few things I feel are helpful. We split at Dolphin ending at Contemporary. Flew Southwest and places both ways were not full. We were able to get two rows to ourselves both times. There was even empty rows on our return flight. MCO is much busier though! Get that TSA pre-check everyone!! We arrived to Dolphin using Tony Hinds. Worked out great and we utilized the grocery stop. In these times I have found the ability to walk to 3 out of the 4 parks is such an advantage. The first unofficial hour open + first hourish open the parks were dead. We always went back to the hotel midday for kid naps and to get out of the heat ( WOW it was hot, hot, hot during our stay). The big walking advantage we saw on our other trips is no longer there but still helpful.

Mobile ordering in parks and at resorts were never an issue. We were always able to grab a slot whenever we wanted. My vegetarian husband said he had the best eating experience he has ever had on a trip. He loves all the new vegetarian options. My daughter has a peanut allergy and we were so excited to see some new Disney branded snacks  made in nut-free facilities. There was also a couple Disney chocolate bars made by Enjoy Life. According to a CM they had just received the products two weeks prior. Love that my kid can go into a shop and pick out a Disney snack that is safe for her. She was also able to safely eat ice cream at Beaches and Cream which was awesome.

Dolphin -> Contemporary transfer wasn't seamless, but we survived. Husband had to Uber with the bags as S&D currently does not offer bag transfer. Our room wasn't ready until closer to 5pm which meant our kids went without a nap and we were stranded. Wasn't great for my 2.5yo which some people on the 4th floor of the Contemporary may have heard.  Contemporary review will be in the resort thread. We had some sleep issues with our youngest (no such thing as Disney tired for her!!) and the front desk was SO helpful to us.

Won't go into wait times and masks as that no longer applies. We arrived home and things changed. I am grateful we got back before the change as it happened so quickly I'm not sure how I would have felt with my two unvaccinated kids around many unmasked people. We rode everything we wanted, multiple times with tolerable waits. Wait times seemed more accurate than our past trips but definitely inflated at times as well. Early mornings, back to the hotel midday, parks late evenings. It was an incredibly challenging trip with my 2.5yo surprisingly having nothing to do with masks so that is a bummer. But we realized the trip is much like child birth/raising kids. You forget the bad and are ready for the next one. Our kids will say they had the best time, but my husband and I.... For anyone in similar situations we realized the best thing for us to do was split up. One parent would rope drop with our 4yo and the other would stay back until the 2.5yo woke up. Some mornings we'd meet up in the parks other mornings we'd do the parks separate. The way these two kids feed off each other was nothing like I've ever seen. WILD. We'd go back to the park in the late afternoon as a family and then one parent would bring the youngest back to the hotel for dinner/bed and the other parent would close the night with the 4yo. Not ideal when after this year we wanted a"family" trip but you gotta be flexible and roll with it.

We're ready to plan the next trip but waiting to see where Disney goes from here. With capacity increases and without the reintroduction of FP in some form I don't know when we will return. In the past we were strictly a FP family so waiting is something we are not used to. As always, any questions feel free to ask! Although our experience was before all the changes so seems inaccurate now.

EDIT: Forgot to add we ate at Topolino's and Chef Mickeys for breakfast and both were delicious! Much better than buffet style!


----------



## Magnoliafan

brockash said:


> We waited for muppets in the beginning of March...after waiting 30 mins and seeing how much farther we had to go just to get into the main building we bailed...it was just crazy to us...I can't believe the kind of lines we've waited in since reopening...we never waited anything close to those times precovid.


The theater is still distanced though, right?  Seating every other row and marking off multiple seats between parties of four.  The lines for shows are all going to be extra long as a result.  I did Impressions de France on Saturday nights and the theater was at capacity even though there were a ton of empty seats.  Empty rows, seats blocked off, and empty “available” seats whenever a party had less than 4 people (so as a solo, I had 3 empty seats in my “group” plus the marked seats in front of me, behind me, and to both sides).  So it’s not just opening closed entertainment that will help.  Increasing capacity in people eater attractions like Muppets and Philharmagic (plus seating every row in POTC and IASW) would also make a huge difference.

And to the park hopping question, I avoided buses whenever I could during my May 1-16 trip and strategically used the monorail, Skyliner and boats.  I also eyeballed bus lines to determine the quickest option.  If I was at MK and wanted to hop to Epcot but the bus line was super long, I would check the line for the Beach Club instead and then walk over.  I had multiple bus rides with only one or two other parties and never once rode on a bus that was at full capacity.


----------



## DisneyFive

Magnoliafan said:


> I also eyeballed bus lines to determine the quickest option.  If I was at MK and wanted to hop to Epcot but the bus line was super long, I would check the line for the Beach Club instead and then walk over.  I had multiple bus rides with only one or two other parties and never once rode on a bus that was at full capacity.



Veteran move. Nicely done.

Dan


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Tess said:


> So, moral of the story is that word has filtered to the masses that the parks are opening 45-60 minutes prior to stated time.  Getting to the parks early is still the best advice, but don't think you are going to breeze on everything for that first two hours as used to be the case.  The sea of humanity is arriving prior to the 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. time it used to hit the parks.



They should really implement the “early morning half hour” thing they’ve been promising for months for resort guests


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

DisneyFive said:


> Veteran move. Nicely done.
> 
> Dan


We did the same, but with the bus to Riviera instead of CBR


----------



## jlundeen

Magnoliafan said:


> snip...
> And to the park hopping question, I avoided buses whenever I could during my May 1-16 trip and strategically used the monorail, Skyliner and boats.  I also eyeballed bus lines to determine the quickest option.  If I was at MK and wanted to hop to Epcot but the bus line was super long, I would check the line for the Beach Club instead and then walk over.  I had multiple bus rides with only one or two other parties and never once rode on a bus that was at full capacity.


This actually backfired on us during our April trip....  we wanted to go to MK after Epcot, and got to the Epcot bus area.  A driver happened to walk by as we were waiting and suggested the Contemporary bus, as he said it came more frequently.  "Great idea!" we thought, thanked him, and started off.

So we walked around and got to the empty Contemp bus area, only to look across to the Epcot bus loading and pulling away....  we waited at least another 10+ minutes for the Contemp bus, and still had to walk from  there.  

Definitely didn't save us any time...  LOL.  But, as they say, timing is everything!


----------



## canyoncam

RunWI1265 said:


> Flew Southwest and places both ways were not full. We were able to get two rows to ourselves both times. There was even empty rows on our return flight. MCO is much busier though! Get that TSA pre-check everyone!!



Just my fortune! Both my flights on SW out of Denver were sold out with people waiting stand-by too. But Denver is a major hub so I’ve come to expect that. If you don’t purchase Early Bird, aren’t an A-lister, don’t have small children, DO NOT expect anything lower than a B30 boarding number out of Denver.
I second you on MCO security. I have never had less than a 30 minute line. Security in Denver did not have any of the regular rules-liquids and large electronics out of your bags or taking of your shoes but MCO was as strict as ever. Which isn’t a bad thing.


----------



## RunWI1265

canyoncam said:


> Just my fortune! Both my flights on SW out of Denver were sold out with people waiting stand-by too. But Denver is a major hub so I’ve come to expect that. If you don’t purchase Early Bird, aren’t an A-lister, don’t have small children, DO NOT expect anything lower than a B30 boarding number out of Denver.
> I second you on MCO security. I have never had less than a 30 minute line. Security in Denver did not have any of the regular rules-liquids and large electronics out of your bags or taking of your shoes but MCO was as strict as ever. Which isn’t a bad thing.


 Ah, yeah we layover a lot in Denver when traveling west. We were on a direct out of Milwaukee so we have a couple other airports people can spread out to. Wasn’t expecting the planes to still be that empty. They even had rebooked us on a different flight because they added one and switched the times. I assumed it would be full!


----------



## Kerr84

RunWI1265 said:


> EDIT: Forgot to add we ate at Topolino's and Chef Mickeys for breakfast and both were delicious! Much better than buffet style!


Which one did you like better? I’m trying to decide between the two. We will have 2 almost two year olds with us. Thank you!


----------



## RunWI1265

Kerr84 said:


> Which one did you like better? I’m trying to decide between the two. We will have 2 almost two year olds with us. Thank you!


Topolino’s 1000%!! So good! Our server was the best. Plus the whole atmosphere of the Riviera is fantastic. They have Mickey waffles with dipping sauces for kids and the whole presentation was such a hit with our kids! We did like the family style food at Chef Mickey’s better than what we had when we ate their buffet a couple years ago. Both did a great job with character interaction.


----------



## OhioWDWDuo

> Thanks to all of the reports here; they were a HUGE help in planning our trip! This will be a long post, but I want to give back to the thread that helped me so much!
> 
> Our trip was May 9-15, stayed at the Yacht Club. We are annual passholders (not locals) who renewed our APs. Since we go at least once per year, we were not concerned with rope drop or maximizing rides. We wanted this trip to be relaxing after a stressful year. Full disclosure: We are fully vaccinated which made our comfort level for this trip very high. We also visited in September 2020 (we drove from Ohio for that trip), and this trip definitely had a more positive atmosphere. We were there when masks were still required outside. The first day of the change was our departure day and we left for the airport at 5 am, so we had no experience with the changed rules (although it’s a welcome change). I won’t list day-by-day details, but I organized my thoughts into the positives and negatives from the trip. Happy to answer any questions!
> 
> Positives:
> 1. Social distancing in lines: Even though this is being reduced to 3 feet, it’s SO nice not having others right on your heels!
> 2. Social distancing on transportation: Some will disagree with this and I know it won’t last forever, but we loved not having to stand on the busses literally face-to-face with others. It was nice to have some space.
> 3. Mobile order: Loved this! We placed our lunch orders early so that we had our pick of times. Recommend doing this if you want to eat at peak times. Also loved the CMs guarding the doors so only those with orders ready could enter the seating areas. I can’t tell you how many times in the past we walked around with trays of food looking for a table. This was such an efficient way to run the CS restaurants and much less stressful for guests.
> 4. Table service to go: We only did this once and it was for breakfast, but loved this! Since the QS menus are so limited right now, it was nice to have a TS option for carry out. We saw lots of guests taking advantage of this at the resort.
> 5. Pool hours: Stormalong Bay and the leisure pools had long hours, which was nice since the parks did not.
> 6. CMs: Almost all CMs that we interacted with were great and were working REALLY hard!
> 7. Good mask compliance: Again, we were there before the outdoor mask mandate was lifted. It was HARD to walk around with masks outside in 93 degrees! We saw pretty good compliance both outdoors and indoors during our trip. Witnessed a few guests push back with CMs when asked to pull up masks (indoors), but nothing out of control.
> 8. Character cavalcades: Saw them in all 4 parks during our visit. Loved these!
> 9. New park entrance security: So much easier on both guests and security CMs. Quickly learned to remove umbrellas, glasses cases, and external batteries from bags and hold out in front of you when walking through the scanners.
> 10. Entertainment in Epcot: Really enjoyed the Voices of Liberty and Mariachi Cobre performances in Epcot. We stayed for multiple sets. Live entertainment is something we’ve really missed and hope they bring more of it back!
> 11. Bus times in the MDE App: Convenient and accurate.
> 12. Friendly guests: For the most part, other guests we interacted with were friendly and happy to be there. The atmosphere was positive and a welcome change from our last pandemic trip back in the early fall.
> 
> 
> 
> So-So:
> 1. Restaurant food: Most of what we ate was good not great. Wished the menus weren’t so limited but understand why. Food quality was good but definitely lower than pre-COVID.
> 2. Merchandise: I’m a shopper and really couldn’t find much that I wanted to buy.
> 3. Evening atmosphere in the parks: Felt off to us. No buzz in the air or excitement about fireworks or evening entertainment, I guess.
> 
> 
> 
> Negatives:
> 1. Bugs: I am usually a bug magnet, but I hardly ever got bit on previous trips to Disney. This trip was totally different. I don’t know if they cut down on pest control to try to save money, but it sure seemed like it. I was eaten alive in Epcot one evening. After that night, I carried bug wipes and used them for evenings out. We also noticed lots of other guests walking around with visible bites on legs and arms…something that we haven’t noticed before. If you are susceptible to bites, recommend bringing your own bug repellant and using it consistently.
> 2. Housekeeping: This was an unexpected downer. Lack of housekeeping impacted our trip because we were constantly having to call or chat for additional items/service. The trash containers are tiny and they fill up quickly, especially with take out food. I asked for every other day trash removal/towel refresh, but we were missed more than once which necessitated calls. When they did come, we wouldn’t get towels replaced or coffee refilled, which required another call. It was an annoyance to have on vacation. For the resort prices, I expect better! We also checked into a very dusty room, which certainly made me doubt the “enhanced cleaning” protocols. This is something I will be emailing Disney about, because it was a big disappointment.
> 3. Short park hours: We are not rope drop people and didn’t really care about maximizing rides. We wanted to be more relaxed on this trip. That being said, we enjoy nights in the parks. The short hours are a bummer. This is related to my next negative…
> 4. No Fastpasses: We were pros with FP+ in the past. Waiting in lines on this trip made us feel like we weren’t getting our “money’s worth” in the parks. Yes, I know we could have rope dropped and that was our decision. But crowds have really picked up and the lines are long. Wait times were also pretty accurate on MDE in our experience. As crowds continue to increase, they need to change something or there will be lots of unhappy customers!
> 5. A few guests not social distancing: In one line, we literally had another couple right on our heels/backs. I asked them numerous times to give us some space, but they either didn’t speak English or pretended not to. Luckily, this was the only bad instance with this. The guy physically bumped into my back twice, so my report is not exaggerated. This was at AK and it was so HOT; not sure why they would want to stand right on top of anyone, let alone a stranger. And they were not on their phones; they seemed to realize what they were doing…strange but luckily not the norm.
> 6. CROWDS! This is not just from social distancing either. We’ve been going in early May for the past several years and this year was crowded. Disney needs to open more shows, restaurants, and character greetings ASAP! It’s only going to get worse with increased capacity, so they need to do something quickly!
> 7. No Tables in Wonderland: This was the last month on our extension to use TIW. We are going to REALLY miss this! If Disney doesn’t bring it back or delays it further, we will just adjust our restaurant spending down. Hopefully as they open more restaurants, this will come back.
> 8. Pool temperature: Stormalong Bay was cold! And we heard that same comment from many other guests while using the pool. We heard rumors that Disney was adjusting pool heating to save money. Another bad move. Still our favorite pool and love spending time there, but we spent less time actually in the water because it was cold.
> 9. Restaurant ADRs: Difficult to get. For the first time, Touring Plans alerts did not come through for me, even at the last minute. I think with the lack of restaurant availability, people are holding onto ADRs and not cancelling like they would in the past. If table service is important to you, be online right at 6 am EST 60 days out to get those ADRs!
> 10. Bus lines: At the YC, there were no defined lines or bus attendant (for the times we were there). This caused chaos when a bus pulled up. People weren’t recognizing others who were there first and being very pushy. At times, there was yelling between parties of guests which made it stressful for others and the bus driver. If reduced capacity on busses continue, Disney needs to get bus attendants at the resorts to maintain order. At the parks, we didn’t have this problem because of the defined lines. Obviously we can’t trust everyone to wait their turn and not be rude...
> 11. Having to deal with luggage: OMG- we really miss the luggage handling services and Resort Airline Check-in services! This was our first flying trip without it. The airport luggage area was mobbed and was the only place that made us feel uncomfortable. These services (including Magical Express) will definitely be missed!
> 
> Even though I have just as many negatives as positives, we still had a great trip and we’re glad that we visited. We want to return again during the summer but will be watching the crowd reports before making a final decision. I know this was lengthy, but I’m happy to answer questions or provide more info. I also plan on doing a mini-dining report on the restaurants board. Thanks!
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


----------



## lovethattink

Went to AK near closing today. Arrived around 5:15pm. Rode Triceratop Spin, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, Maharajah Jungle Trek, and Kilimanjaro Safari. Didn’t wait more than 5 minutes for anything!


----------



## elittleton

kevgraub said:


> I also realized how much of the queues we were missing out on, some of which are pretty cool to check out. Now, do I want to wait in line just for the sake of checking out the queue - uh, no. But standing in line for a ride at WDW is an entirely different experience than standing in line at Six Flags or somewhere like that. My oldest does not really care for ToT ride itself, but wants to go on it because he has great memories of how cool the queue was when we waiting in line in the past.


My DD14 wants to go on ToT for the ride then take the chicken exit since she found out it was option just to see the queue. 



SwanVT2 said:


> Oh my gosh..a boy peeing next to the carousel? Unbelievable!!! At that point, I don't know if I could have stuck out the day at MK.


When my DD was 4 we were standing in line for Speed Way.   We had to get out of line for her to got it the bathroom.  She couldn’t understand why the little boy in line didn’t have to leave when he went.   The good thing is we were already planning to leave for the day.



Krisshay13 said:


> *Wed:*  our flight was delayed due to Orlando weather (we were flying from Birmingham)......


Hello from someone else from the Birmingham area. How was the Birmingham airport?


----------



## Rosanne

grannyminnie said:


> That wait was actually 60 minutes when we were there!  We didn't go in...


Wow! I can't imagine waiting that long for Muppets. I love them, but ... Wow! Glad we only have one HS day booked.


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## CampbellzSoup

Masks and social distancing are pretty much over my son was a hit today in the park lol he’s learning to walk and so many people came and said nice words to interact with people at Disney and not feel afraid of one another is a miracle.

Book your trip and get down here!


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## stephnerninnie1984

Tess said:


> They were changing the stickers from 6' to 3' in MK the day we left on 5/14/21.  Not sure if they have it fully instituted, but that is the direction they are going. According to information we were given last week.


When we were there in 5/16 I didn’t notice any stickers being close together and we rode most everything. Everything was still 6 feet apart.


----------



## Krisshay13

elittleton said:


> My DD14 wants to go on ToT for the ride then take the chicken exit since she found out it was option just to see the queue.
> 
> 
> When my DD was 4 we were standing in line for Speed Way.   We had to get out of line for her to got it the bathroom.  She couldn’t understand why the little boy in line didn’t have to leave when he went.   The good thing is we were already planning to leave for the day.
> 
> 
> Hello from someone else from the Birmingham area. How was the Birmingham airport?


Birmingham airport was fine..........we flew out Wed around 4PM.........no crowds or issues
Orlando airport was PACKED


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## flipflopmom

Krisshay13 said:


> Birmingham airport was fine..........we flew out Wed around 4PM.........no crowds or issues
> Orlando airport was PACKED


I’m a nervous Nellie. Did you use DME to get there and felt like you had enough time to manage lines, etc?


----------



## Tess

stephnerninnie1984 said:


> When we were there in 5/16 I didn’t notice any stickers being close together and we rode most everything. Everything was still 6 feet apart.



When we left on 5/14/21, EPCOT International Gate, had the expected 6' green stickers on the ground.  We also noted there were blue tape stickers randomly placed but without any "distancing" language--just the blue tape on the ground.  We surmised they had been measuring at some point overnight for an upcoming change.  We also noted these blue tape strips in random areas around the Boardwalk and the BWVs.  It has to be an arduous process to remeasure and replace the 6' stickers with 3' stickers.  Who knows, maybe they will leave the 6' until they simply decide that social distancing is over.  As I said, it seems like a lot of work if distancing removal is imminent.


----------



## Duck143

Tess said:


> When we left on 5/14/21, EPCOT International Gate, had the expected 6' green stickers on the ground.  We also noted there were blue tape stickers randomly placed but without any "distancing" language--just the blue tape on the ground.  We surmised they had been measuring at some point overnight for an upcoming change.  We also noted these blue tape strips in random areas around the Boardwalk and the BWVs.  It has to be an arduous process to remeasure and replace the 6' stickers with 3' stickers.  Who knows, maybe they will leave the 6' until they simply decide that social distancing is over.  As I said, it seems like a lot of work if distancing removal is imminent.


I thought of this when we were there last week!  Those stickers are going to be awful getting up. My DH actually saw one pealing a bit and it was pulling up the pavement with it.


----------



## kverdon

_Very busy at EPCOT today, at official park opening At 11am wait times for Soarin’, Test Track and Mission Space were all over 60 mins. Spaceship Earth was listed at 20 but looked down when we walked past. Living with the Land was also down._


----------



## Dakota731

sdeut said:


> I don’t understand why since other large venues are open.  Maybe staffing?


That’s what I have heard on a few Disney blogs. It has nothing to do with covid but employers are finding  it hard to get help when people are making more on unemployment/stimulus


----------



## hereforthechurros

Dakota731 said:


> That’s what I have heard on a few Disney blogs. It has nothing to do with covid but employers are finding  it hard to get help when people are making more on unemployment/stimulus


Everyone in the US is re-staffing at the same time, which leads to competition, which leads to people taking the highest paying jobs first. Since Disney is decently competitive with their pay they should be able to staff accordingly but it's still a lengthy process. It's why they paid their employees a lot longer than most companies did in, in hopes they wouldn't have to lay off and re-hire. Re-hiring is expensive and a PITA. Thank goodness for CP starting back up next month. 

But I digress! I really came here to ask was if anyone has noticed boat capacity being increased?


----------



## snappy

hereforthechurros said:


> Everyone in the US is re-staffing at the same time, which leads to competition, which leads to people taking the highest paying jobs first. Since Disney is decently competitive with their pay they should be able to staff accordingly but it's still a lengthy process. It's why they paid their employees a lot longer than most companies did in, in hopes they wouldn't have to lay off and re-hire. Re-hiring is expensive and a PITA.
> 
> But I digress! I really came here to ask was if anyone has noticed boat capacity being increased?


Boat capacity was still limited to one party per seat, with plexiglass dividers throughout through our last park day May 9th.


----------



## WDWRookie2009

Duck143 said:


> I thought of this when we were there last week!  Those stickers are going to be awful getting up. My DH actually saw one pealing a bit and it was pulling up the pavement with it.



I was thinking the same thing, then my 14 year old son said " why wouldn't they just lay another sticker in-between them and boom 3 feet apart" I don't know if that would work BUT he sure did make me think LOL


----------



## Duck143

WDWRookie2009 said:


> I was thinking the same thing, then my 14 year old son said " why wouldn't they just lay another sticker in-between them and boom 3 feet apart" I don't know if that would work BUT he sure did make me think LOL


Yes!  We'll have to see what they do.  Then they'll have stickers EVERYWHERE!  I found that the day the masks were lifted, people started to disregard the social distancing markers.


----------



## hereforthechurros

snappy said:


> Boat capacity was still limited to one party per seat, with plexiglass dividers throughout through our last park day May 9th.


Bummer. But that was before they raised capacity so maybe things have changed since? Many times we just missed it by one party and had to wait about 40 minutes for it to make a roundtrip. Hope they can rectify this soon since masks are most likely still mandated on the boats.


----------



## Heather07438

nevergrowup826 said:


> At 730 this morning I witnessed a CM scream at a line jumper (rope jumper too) in FOP it made my day as there are rarely consequences for the self entitled bunch


Lol. I’ve seen people sent out of the line for cutting a few times.
One time was FoP with 3 teen girls and one was actually crying. Poor thing... peer pressure. They were already on the line for quite some time when they decided to take a ‘short cut’ into the FP line ahead of us and when they got to the front they were told ‘back of the line if you want to ride.’


----------



## lovethattink

sdeut said:


> I don’t understand why since other large venues are open.  Maybe staffing?



Staffing is a problem at all the parks. The college program is coming back and should relieve some of that. And it looks like CP won’t get to choose where they are assigned.

In addition, many entertainers went on to find work elsewhere.


----------



## sdeut

lovethattink said:


> Staffing is a problem at all the parks. The college program is coming back and should relieve some of that. And it looks like CP won’t get to choose where they are assigned.
> 
> In addition, many entertainers went on to find work elsewhere.


DO we know when the College program is back?


----------



## ajgardner

sdeut said:


> DO we know when the College program is back?


I do not have a specific answer to that, but my daughter (College junior) received an email just this morning from her school saying that they have a 3 day window to apply, and if accepted have the possibility of being asked to arrive by as early as mid-June. So it sounds soon.


----------



## sdeut

ajgardner said:


> I do not have a specific answer to that, but my daughter (College junior) received an email just this morning from her school saying that they have a 3 day window to apply, and if accepted have the possibility of being asked to arrive by as early mid-June. So it sounds soon.


Ok thanks - I was just wondering if it would be by June 1st (or Memorial Day weekend) but I guess not.  I have heard people saying the parks are getting more and more crowded so I had hoped that they would increase staff and open more things to help with that by Memorial Day weekend because many schools are out.


----------



## HappilyEverAfter1

.


----------



## SarahC97

HappilyEverAfter1 said:


> Husband and I just returned from a super quick stay at the Contemporary Garden View. We visited Epcot our first day Friday May 14th. Crowd levels were decent and just about everyone was wearing a mask and staying socially distant. We enjoyed the topiaries, the butterfly garden, some eats around the world and the Mariachi Cobre band... Amazing day! Next day was our Hollywood Studios day. *Unbeknownst to us - the CDC mask guidelines changed/park rules changed and we were FREAKED OUT!  Everyone had their mask around their necks! We gave the "evil eye" to several people. It wasn't until a cast member informed us that it was "okay" to be without a mask outside. Whoops! Sorry to those we gave a "look" to.  We got on Mickey's Runaway Railway in 35 minutes, Got a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance at the 1pm "Join" time and rode it just after we got out of line for Slinky Dog. At night we park hopped to Magic Kingdom. I got a super last minute dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table which was nice. We were able to ride Peter Pan (a family behind us had two eager kids that liked to slide up right next to us.) No one was really paying attention the the social distance markers over at Magic Kingdom. No one really was wearing face masks anywhere. It was like the Wild West. LOL. All in all, we had low expectations going in. Just looking for a fun getaway. Great weather and a great time. Last day we were too pooped to do anything and headed home after a quick breakfast.


In Magic Kingdom, were people not wearing masks in lines as they're supposed to?


----------



## HappilyEverAfter1

.


----------



## Anne Scaffo

kevgraub said:


> With the reports of more and more people showing up early for the park opening, I wonder if we will see the introduction of the new early morning entry for onsite guests sooner than later? That has kind of been a forgotten issue lately.


Yes, please.


----------



## lovethattink

SarahC97 said:


> In Magic Kingdom, were people not wearing masks in lines as they're supposed to?



As @CampbellzSoup posted:



CampbellzSoup said:


> Masks and social distancing are pretty much over my son was a hit today in the park lol he’s learning to walk and so many people came and said nice words to interact with people at Disney and not feel afraid of one another is a miracle.
> 
> Book your trip and get down here!



The only places where they were strict both days at AK were Kilimanjaro Safari, Gorilla Falls Trail and Festival of the Lion King. Otherwise it felt like a free for all and almost  back to normal. We saw very few people wearing masks in public areas that don’t require masks. Eating and drinking while walking are allowed.And social distancing was not being done.

On the other hand, at queues and attractions there was still decent adherence, I’d say 90% wore them correctly.

I haven’t been to other parks yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same.


----------



## Mome Rath

Just back.  Things I noticed; it varied by park what I overheard CMs saying to guests, but in the main it was underscored that the masks are to go on once in the attraction area proper; so for example, when you enter in under a ride marquee, that's when the masks go on.  The more popular rides are where people tended to throw all social distancing out the window.  Crowds were nowhere near pre-covid levels, IMO (we had days before the availability increase and days after).  Fantasyland is where I would most notice the difference.  Pre-covid it was a madhouse, cheek to jowl, no room to move, etc... by contrast there was never a time in Fantasyland on this trip where I felt hemmed in (early morning is still your friend).

This was my first trip during covidtide, and I was really impressed overall that Disney handled it the way they did. One thing I noticed that people didn't seem to realize; the original 6 feet distancing markers take into account 6 feet in every direction, not just in front of you, or in back of you. So, people kept better distance front and back, rather than side to side (not Disney's fault, as the original stickers are spaced correctly to keep 6 feet from side to side as well).

The weather was fantastic, and I love the Castle additions. Mobile order worked well.


----------



## SarahC97

lovethattink said:


> As @CampbellzSoup posted:
> 
> 
> 
> The only places where they were strict both days at AK were Kilimanjaro Safari, Gorilla Falls Trail and Festival of the Lion King. Otherwise it felt like a free for all and almost  back to normal. We saw very few people wearing masks in public areas that don’t require masks. Eating and drinking while walking are allowed.And social distancing was not being done.
> 
> On the other hand, at queues and attractions there was still decent adherence, I’d say 90% wore them correctly.
> 
> I haven’t been to other parks yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same.


Truthfully, I'm not really concerned with outside common areas. I'm actually relieved not to have to wear a mask outside next week. But for my kids, one of whom just had her first vaccine and the other nothing, I'd feel far more uneasy if people weren't mostly still wearing masks in lines. it's good to hear that people are, for the most part, following the rules in that respect.


----------



## LiteBrite

We were at Disney Springs yesterday (Tuesday the 18th).  I was surprised that at least 25% of the people walking around outside were wearing masks.  I really wondered how many of them were wearing them by choice, and how many just didn't know the rules had changed.  I heard no announcements and saw no signage letting people know.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

hereforthechurros said:


> ... since masks are most likely still mandated on the boats.


Since the boats are categorized as "transportation," I would say masks are definitely still required on them (at least for now) since that was one of the areas they still list in the mask requirements.


lovethattink said:


> In addition, many entertainers went on to find work elsewhere.





HappilyEverAfter1 said:


> We saw a marriage proposal in Galaxy's Edge outside Docking Bay 7. The girl said "Umm, yeah, I guess so..." not sure how long that one will last.


----------



## zackiedawg

For those who have been in the past week or so after the mask mandate lifted, can you note what the park entry procedure is like (apologies if it's mentioned elsewhere in this thread or forum - I looked around but didn't see it).  The Disney pages mention masks needed when entering the park - are masks pulled up the moment you start in line to enter, or just as you approach the entry gate?  Are there still security bag checks or are they all via X Ray now?  Are the scanners for MagicBands or the phone app still active as before where you hold it up to the sensor - and I assume they waived the fingerprint part of the procedure?  I haven't been back since March 2, 2020 just before it shut down, and will be back over July 4th weekend, so I'm just trying to get a feel for how it will be handled - I will not be wearing a mask except where necessary, so just getting a feel for how the entry works.


----------



## Amy&Dan

zackiedawg said:


> For those who have been in the past week or so after the mask mandate lifted, can you note what the park entry procedure is like (apologies if it's mentioned elsewhere in this thread or forum - I looked around but didn't see it).  The Disney pages mention masks needed when entering the park - are masks pulled up the moment you start in line to enter, or just as you approach the entry gate?  Are there still security bag checks or are they all via X Ray now?  Are the scanners for MagicBands or the phone app still active as before where you hold it up to the sensor - and I assume they waived the fingerprint part of the procedure?  I haven't been back since March 2, 2020 just before it shut down, and will be back over July 4th weekend, so I'm just trying to get a feel for how it will be handled - I will not be wearing a mask except where necessary, so just getting a feel for how the entry works.


I'm here right now. We didn't need our masks on when entering the park. Just when you get in line for rides (regardless of whether the line que is inside or outside). And on the rides themselves. Also on all transportation (boats, monorail,  busses). At the skyliner you are told to mask up as soon as you enter the que. For the busses nobody seems to be wearing masks in the que. 

No fingerprint , you just tap your magic band or phone. Also no bag checks, you walk through an airport type scanner with your bag on. If something triggers it you step aside and they check your bag. Yesterday my daughter got her bag checked at both MK (cellphone battery charger tripped it) and at Epcot (glasses case). Not needing fingers scanned or every bag checked makes getting into the parks so quick. 

**I will add the skyliner is nuts. Last night at Epcot at about 9 the line stretched back to Beach Club.  My daughter and I decided to get on a bus to MK or Springs at Beach Club and transfer.  Standing for long periods of time is very hard on my back. This worked well and we got back to AoA pretty quickly.  Talked witha lady in the food court this morning and she told me it took an hour and twenty minutes to get on the skyliner at Epcot last night. If we go back to Epcot I'll be taking a bus back to AoA to avoid that.


----------



## zackiedawg

Thank you for the info.  I'm not too surprised at the Skyliner line - I actually like to take it when I stay at Boardwalk to go to DHS, or just to head to the other hotels like Caribbean Beach or Riviera...but I won't need to use it this trip.  I'm staying at Saratoga Springs, which works out well for this July trip which I'll be doing solo...I'm mostly just there for photography, walking around, and seeing some scenery other than my hometown after over a year!  So I'll be on complete relax mode - no rush to get anywhere.  I'm a little disappointed some of the boat transportation isn't running as that's one of my favorite relaxation moments - I prefer a boat to a bus whenever possible.  I do lug a camera bag with me, so that's why I was curious about their entry procedure and bag-check process.  When staying at Saratoga Springs, I usually walk over to Disney Springs and hop a resort bus to get to the parks via the hotels nearby that let you walk in from there.


----------



## DisneyFive

HappilyEverAfter1 said:


> *Edited to add: We saw a marriage proposal in Galaxy's Edge outside Docking Bay 7. The girl said "Umm, yeah, I guess so..." not sure how long that one will last.


Not saying it happened in your case but couples have been known to “propose” in the parks but aren’t serious about it.  Some just need attention.  

Dan


----------



## MomOTwins

DisneyFive said:


> Not saying it happened in your case but couples have been known to “propose” in the parks but aren’t serious about it.  Some just need attention.
> 
> Dan


Methinks that reaction suggests the girl’s idea of romance was not the same as the guy’s. I guess we know who is the bigger star wars fan there! Reminds me of when guys propose on the Jumbotron at the sports game and you can just see in face that this is NOT the proposal of her dreams.

Had they been fakers/attention grabbers there likely would have been a more enthusiastic response by the girl.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

No masks except on attractions…distancing is completely out the window pretty much


----------



## brightlined

Amy&Dan said:


> **I will add the skyliner is nuts. Last night at Epcot at about 9 the line stretched back to Beach Club.  My daughter and I decided to get on a bus to MK or Springs at Beach Club and transfer.  Standing for long periods of time is very hard on my back. This worked well and we got back to AoA pretty quickly.  Talked witha lady in the food court this morning and she told me it took an hour and twenty minutes to get on the skyliner at Epcot last night. If we go back to Epcot I'll be taking a bus back to AoA to avoid that.


Btw - that's common at that station at the end of the night, but basically only then. (That station is almost never actually busy.) I had decent luck by bailing around 8:30pm.


----------



## jediteacher

Are the busses and skylines loading more people now with the new guidelines?


----------



## stephnerninnie1984

kverdon said:


> _Very busy at EPCOT today, at official park opening At 11am wait times for Soarin’, Test Track and Mission Space were all over 60 mins. Spaceship Earth was listed at 20 but looked down when we walked past. Living with the Land was also down._



Did you actually get in line for any of them? When TT was listed at 60 minutes a couple Saturdays ago, it only took 30 minutes to get through the line. The long queues and inflated wait times can be deceiving.


----------



## stephnerninnie1984

SarahC97 said:


> In Magic Kingdom, were people not wearing masks in lines as they're supposed to?


When I was MK on May 16, I never saw anyone give any cast member grief when they had to put their mask on in line. Most people did it naturally, some needed reminders. But compliance was good from my observation.


----------



## cjlong88

Thanks to everyone giving their reports so we can have realistic expectations! We will be visiting for one day only next week and it's nice to hear that most people are following mask guidelines when in line. I secretly wish people will unconsciously keep the habit of distancing, even if just a little. I like my personal space, and during pre-covid trips I always noticed that people at Disney just LOVED getting as close to us as humanly possible. Gurl, give me some SPACE! If I can smell you're deodorant (or lack thereof), you're too close...


----------



## Mome Rath

I also found most wait times inflated at least a bit, the only exception was a ride where the load time varies like the good ol' WEDway.  As an example we entered Soarin' with a 60 min posted time, and got all the way through the ride and off in 45.

As to social distancing, I do think most people still are avoiding getting right up against strangers. lol I didn't have anyone run into me like most other trips...


----------



## DisneyFive

MomOTwins said:


> Methinks that reaction suggests the girl’s idea of romance was not the same as the guy’s. I guess we know who is the bigger star wars fan there! Reminds me of when guys propose on the Jumbotron at the sports game and you can just see in face that this is NOT the proposal of her dreams.
> 
> Had they been fakers/attention grabbers there likely would have been a more enthusiastic response by the girl.



I’m sure you are right.  Must’ve been a little awkward. 

Dan


----------



## Aimeedyan

jediteacher said:


> Are the busses and skylines loading more people now with the new guidelines?



Honestly, they can't follow the new guidelines and change Skyliner or bus capacity IMO.

The buses have been filling every seat - there are just partitions in between parties. Having people standing in the aisle and maintaining 3ft distance can't be done. Though full disclosure, we were on a bus a couple weeks ago that had people standing but that was a one-off. 

Same goes for Skyliner. It's too small to separate parties by 3ft and you can't guarantee the Skyliner won't stop for more than 15 minutes (the definition of exposure, last I checked).


----------



## Krisshay13

flipflopmom said:


> I’m a nervous Nellie. Did you use DME to get there and felt like you had enough time to manage lines, etc?


Yes, we used DME.........leaving Sunday.....our flight was departing 10:30ish.  We went down to get on DME earlier than 7:15 like they asked & I think we got on the bus before that.  Checking bags at Southwest was busy but went fast.  Going through security took the most time & was back to fully packed.  but, again, lines kept moving.  We had time to get in another long line to get breakfast & sit down to eat.  There was no worry about time.....never rushed to get anywhere. 
DME got us there in plenty of time.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

I was in MK today…first off it was super damn hot.

Also it legit looked like prepandemic days.  Everyone was mostly compliant with masks once you entered a que and/or indoors.

For instance haunted mansion has an extended outdoor que they didn’t start enforcing the masks until you were in the entrance same with PeterPans flight once you passed the entrance to the actual line masks on…extended outdoor lines no


----------



## Mango7100

SarahC97 said:


> Truthfully, I'm not really concerned with outside common areas. I'm actually relieved not to have to wear a mask outside next week. But for my kids, one of whom just had her first vaccine and the other nothing, I'd feel far more uneasy if people weren't mostly still wearing masks in lines. it's good to hear that people are, for the most part, following the rules in that respect.


Exact same. I don’t care about people walking around..we are moving outside and encounters would be brief. Im happy we aren’t wearing it all day when it’s 98 degrees outside. I am more concerned if we get in a long line with our unvaccinated daughter and the majority of people aren’t wearing masks correctly (I know compliance will never be perfect and I don’t expect that). I will also have no problem if the people in front of us aren’t wearing masks properly to hang extra far back or let another party go in front of us. We probably won’t hit as many headliners this trip, so I don’t know if that will make a difference...


----------



## KayKayJS

Any recent animal kingdom experiences? Are they still opening before posted opening? And what all is available at that time?

tryjng to get there early so my toddler can ride Kilimanjaro without a long line. Last month it was down the entire time we were there.


----------



## Krisshay13

Amy&Dan said:


> I'm here right now. We didn't need our masks on when entering the park. Just when you get in line for rides (regardless of whether the line que is inside or outside). And on the rides themselves. Also on all transportation (boats, monorail,  busses). At the skyliner you are told to mask up as soon as you enter the que. For the busses nobody seems to be wearing masks in the que.
> 
> No fingerprint , you just tap your magic band or phone. Also no bag checks, you walk through an airport type scanner with your bag on. If something triggers it you step aside and they check your bag. Yesterday my daughter got her bag checked at both MK (cellphone battery charger tripped it) and at Epcot (glasses case). Not needing fingers scanned or every bag checked makes getting into the parks so quick.
> 
> **I will add the skyliner is nuts. Last night at Epcot at about 9 the line stretched back to Beach Club.  My daughter and I decided to get on a bus to MK or Springs at Beach Club and transfer.  Standing for long periods of time is very hard on my back. This worked well and we got back to AoA pretty quickly.  Talked witha lady in the food court this morning and she told me it took an hour and twenty minutes to get on the skyliner at Epcot last night. If we go back to Epcot I'll be taking a bus back to AoA to avoid that.


May 13th...we were leaving Epcot by skyliner to AOA around 8:30PM.  Like you, the line was terrible.  We chose to stay in line since our DGS had fallen asleep in the stroller & it was easier since you don't have to fold the stroller up to get on the gondola.  The line never stopped moving so, it didn't take too terribly long.  But, I was surprised when we saw it.


----------



## Krisshay13

KayKayJS said:


> Any recent animal kingdom experiences? Are they still opening before posted opening? And what all is available at that time?
> 
> tryjng to get there early so my toddler can ride Kilimanjaro without a long line. Last month it was down the entire time we were there.


we went to AK Saturday.  They did open before official time but, I can't remember what time.  We were so excited about just hearing the news of no mask outside so, I didn't pay attention to the time.  We went straight to FOP.....I do know Navi River did not open as early that morning as FOP.  But, I don't know about others.
If you are not doing FOP & can go to Safari 1st, do it.......we messed up & didn't go 1st thing & actually got over there closer to maybe 9:30ish.  And that line was not fun.  It kept moving but, it was probably the worst line we had the 3 days we were at the parks.  It weaved & turned & circled back around.....I thought we would never get to the trucks.  I will say, the animals were more active than I've ever seen them, though.....so, that made us forget the horrible line...LOL  But, yes, go early!!!


----------



## KayKayJS

Krisshay13 said:


> we went to AK Saturday.  They did open before official time but, I can't remember what time.  We were so excited about just hearing the news of no mask outside so, I didn't pay attention to the time.  We went straight to FOP.....I do know Navi River did not open as early that morning as FOP.  But, I don't know about others.
> If you are not doing FOP & can go to Safari 1st, do it.......we messed up & didn't go 1st thing & actually got over there closer to maybe 9:30ish.  And that line was not fun.  It kept moving but, it was probably the worst line we had the 3 days we were at the parks.  It weaved & turned & circled back around.....I thought we would never get to the trucks.  I will say, the animals were more active than I've ever seen them, though.....so, that made us forget the horrible line...LOL  But, yes, go early!!!



thank you! We will definitely be going to Kilimanjaro first since that got misssed last time and she can’t do too long of a line.


----------



## scrappinginontario

KayKayJS said:


> thank you! We will definitely be going to Kilimanjaro first since that got misssed last time and she can’t do too long of a line.


Kilimanjaro isn’t opening until 8:00 so if you’re there very early you may want to take that into consideration.


----------



## nerdyone

KayKayJS said:


> Any recent animal kingdom experiences? Are they still opening before posted opening? And what all is available at that time?
> 
> tryjng to get there early so my toddler can ride Kilimanjaro without a long line. Last month it was down the entire time we were there.


We were getting into the park almost an hour early across the board. It's a really weird experience if you are used to rope dropping


----------



## Mome Rath

Yes, it is odd.  They use the individual rides as little individual rope drops.  If you get in early before the rides open, you make your way to the attraction you want and queue up.


----------



## Helvetica

I wasn’t able to switch my DHS day, so I’m stuck here until hopping time. I tried for a Rise boarding group at exactly 7am and they were all gone. I couldn’t even get into the join screen.

Edit: Slinky Dog Dash is at 2 hours at 9:01 (1 minute after official park opening) They really need to do something with regards to either entertainment or extended park hours.


----------



## kverdon

I would say that estimated waits are now matching what they are posting. It was not that way last week but this week 45-60 mins have been bang on. In Animal Kingdom today. Got in at 7:15 and got on FOP at the advertised 35. Came straight over to Safari and we are on track to meet or exceed to 50 minute estimated wait. Both FOP and Safari are now posted at 75. It seems pretty nuts to increase park capacity without increasing ride capacity.


----------



## KayKayJS

Helvetica said:


> I wasn’t able to switch my DHS day, so I’m stuck here until hopping time. I tried for a Rise boarding group at exactly 7am and they were all gone. I couldn’t even get into the join screen.
> 
> Edit: Slinky Dog Dash is at 2 hours at 9:01 (1 minute after official park opening) They really need to do something with regards to either entertainment or extended park hours.



Agreed. We went to HS Monday and it was rough. We need FP back or more entertainment...


----------



## KayKayJS

scrappinginontario said:


> Kilimanjaro isn’t opening until 8:00 so if you’re there very early you may want to take that into consideration.


Thanks! This is what I was looking for. So maybe we'll arrive at 7:30 and head towards the safari so we are ready when it opens.


----------



## lovethattink

Be sure to let Disney know about your experiences through email or surveys.


----------



## Anne Scaffo

Helvetica said:


> I wasn’t able to switch my DHS day, so I’m stuck here until hopping time. I tried for a Rise boarding group at exactly 7am and they were all gone. I couldn’t even get into the join screen.
> 
> Edit: Slinky Dog Dash is at 2 hours at 9:01 (1 minute after official park opening) They really need to do something with regards to either entertainment or extended park hours.


And the next several weeks are only going to get worse.  I am heading down at the end of June.  Right around summer break for most of USA.  If they don't do something by then (and I am sure they will), it will just be a nightmare.


----------



## Amy&Dan

brightlined said:


> Btw - that's common at that station at the end of the night, but basically only then. (That station is almost never actually busy.) I had decent luck by bailing around 8:30pm.


It actually wasn't the end of the night.  The park was open for another two hours.


----------



## skullsplitter

Since the reopen how is pin trading working?  Is it all pin boards now or are some CMs trading?


----------



## lovethattink

skullsplitter said:


> Since the reopen how is pin trading working?  Is it all pin boards now or are some CMs trading?



There are pin boards you can trade from. No touching or up close looking. CM don’t wear lanyards.


----------



## Mango7100

Helvetica said:


> I wasn’t able to switch my DHS day, so I’m stuck here until hopping time. I tried for a Rise boarding group at exactly 7am and they were all gone. I couldn’t even get into the join screen.
> 
> Edit: Slinky Dog Dash is at 2 hours at 9:01 (1 minute after official park opening) They really need to do something with regards to either entertainment or extended park hours.


Wait times for DHS look bad on MDE and even the expected wait times on Kines look terrible. And it’s only 1045...


----------



## Helvetica

Mango7100 said:


> Wait times for DHS look bad on MDE and even the expected wait times on Kines look terrible. And it’s only 1045...



Yeah, I left. It looks like a good day for a Resort Day.


----------



## lovethattink

Helvetica said:


> I wasn’t able to switch my DHS day, so I’m stuck here until hopping time. I tried for a Rise boarding group at exactly 7am and they were all gone. I couldn’t even get into the join screen.
> 
> Edit: Slinky Dog Dash is at 2 hours at 9:01 (1 minute after official park opening) They really need to do something with regards to either entertainment or extended park hours.



I’ve found weekends to be better at DHS than weekdays.


----------



## maui2k5

We (wife and 2 girls ages 10 & 12) are planing a split stay with UOR in early August with 4 park days in WDW.  We do not plan on buying the hopper tickets (in a non COVID world we always did) so we have 1 day at DHS.  Is it extremely difficult to get Rise of the Resistance boarding passes?  What strategies do you all do in order to be able to get one?


----------



## Kerr84

maui2k5 said:


> We (wife and 2 girls ages 10 & 12) are planing a split stay with UOR in early August with 4 park days in WDW.  We do not plan on buying the hopper tickets (in a non COVID world we always did) so we have 1 day at DHS.  Is it extremely difficult to get Rise of the Resistance boarding passes?  What strategies do you all do in order to be able to get one?



This thread is very helpful. https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...planning-and-information-no-spoilers.3782822/


----------



## robinb

lovethattink said:


> I’ve found weekends to be better at DHS than weekdays.


NOW you tell me .


----------



## MomOTwins

maui2k5 said:


> We (wife and 2 girls ages 10 & 12) are planing a split stay with UOR in early August with 4 park days in WDW.  We do not plan on buying the hopper tickets (in a non COVID world we always did) so we have 1 day at DHS.  Is it extremely difficult to get Rise of the Resistance boarding passes?  What strategies do you all do in order to be able to get one?





Kerr84 said:


> This thread is very helpful. https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...planning-and-information-no-spoilers.3782822/


The thread is helpful and will at least put you on even footing with others attempting, but there is still more demand than availability and it is very much luck of the draw.  Our first trip, we did everything recommended and got boarding group 2 and felt like we had mastered it.  Next time, struck out with no boarding group at all. Just go in mentally prepared that it is hit or miss so you are not disappointed.


----------



## lovethattink

robinb said:


> NOW you tell me .



I’m sure I’ve said it before or on other threads. I also find the last 3 hours to be the best time 



MomOTwins said:


> The thread is helpful and will at least put you on even footing with others attempting, but there is still more demand than availability and it is very much luck of the draw.  Our first trip, we did everything recommended and got boarding group 2 and felt like we had mastered it.  Next time, struck out with no boarding group at all. Just go in mentally prepared that it is hit or miss so you are not disappointed.



I haven’t been very lucky at getting boarding groups lately. Was too slow on May 4 and couple tries before that, but got it on May 11!


----------



## MomOTwins

lovethattink said:


> I’m sure I’ve said it before or on other threads. I also find the last 3 hours to be the best time
> 
> 
> 
> I haven’t been very lucky at getting boarding groups lately. Was too slow on May 4 and couple tries before that, but got it on May 11!


I think part of it is increased park capacity.  Another big part is more guest awareness. Most people get it now and know they have to be on right at 7am whereas before there were a lot of people who just thought it worked like fastpass and they could just show up and get in the standby queue.  Plus when we first went, you had to be physically checked in to the park before you could attempt a pass, so that gave an advantage over people who dragged their feet and didn’t make it on time. Now folks can just do it in their hotel room or from home if they are local.


----------



## William B

lovethattink said:


> I’m sure I’ve said it before or on other threads. I also find the last 3 hours to be the best time



I agree!  We found early arrival got us two attractions without horrible lines.  Then it was pretty much miserable with lines other than an occasional shorter line for something like star tours or TSM.  We mostly just walked around, took in shops, and ate.  We noticed a pretty significant reduction in crowds from 4-8 with the last hour or two a great time to get in a couple of the big rides (SDD is much better around 7 or so than any other time).


----------



## rjb123

We were there this past week and pretty much there is not social distancing. The Cm tried to remind people but people just push and shove on top of you in line. Literally touching you! Ewww. I don’t want some nasty stinky person touching me or my child! Masking was so so in line, though I saw a literal lace mask on a local. She thought it was absolutely hilarious. . I thought she was trashy. But ya know... different strokes? We determined that AK and HS are literal crowd nightmares while MK was still very manageable and we never waited long for anything and were able to do multiple repeats of the big attractions. We determined that there is just more to DO there. AK and HS have very little open so what IS open is a mob scene making the park a hell hole. We shared this feedback with them, in detail rap since I got a survey about this very issue! It was like they bugged our room!  on the whole though we had a great time, lots of fun and we are glad we went.


----------



## Helvetica

I just found out that Rise isn’t opening today.


----------



## becauseimnew

The waits at HS are terrible! I thought they had started filling every seat. They really shouldn’t have increased capacity without having the capability to load rides at higher capacity.


----------



## kclark9830

Any recent reports of the train at AK? Should we expect long lines to get to Rafikis?


----------



## Helvetica

kclark9830 said:


> Any recent reports of the train at AK? Should we expect long lines to get to Rafikis?



I wouldn't expect a long line. It was a walk-on when I went on Sunday.


----------



## KittyKitty

maui2k5 said:


> Is it extremely difficult to get Rise of the Resistance boarding passes?


 Here is a video on getting boarding passes.


----------



## brightlined

Amy&Dan said:


> It actually wasn't the end of the night.  The park was open for another two hours.


I know - when I said I had luck at 8:30pm, the park closed at 10pm. It's busy like that from 9pm-ish until roughly an hour after park close - ie, "the end of the night". But it's not busy at basically any other part of the day.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Absolutely no masks at seaworld required, none.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Helvetica said:


> I just found out that Rise isn’t opening today.



how awful … it truly is a highlight of a Hollywood studios day


----------



## lovethattink

CampbellzSoup said:


> Absolutely no masks at seaworld required, none.



That’s for a different thread. But here’s theirpolicy if anyone is interested. It’s for vaccinated guests.

Based on the recently announced guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, we are modifying our policy regarding face coverings at SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove. Face coverings will no longer be required for guests at SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove who are fully vaccinated in accordance with CDC guidance. We will not require proof of vaccine, but ask our guests to respectfully comply with our revised policy. All SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove park employees will be required to continue to wear face coverings at this time. The safety of our guests, Ambassadors and animals in our care remains our top priority. We will continue to monitor and address this changing environment as necessary.


----------



## maui2k5

lovethattink said:


> That’s for a different thread. But here’s theirpolicy if anyone is interested. It’s for vaccinated guests.
> 
> Based on the recently announced guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, we are modifying our policy regarding face coverings at SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove. Face coverings will no longer be required for guests at SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove who are fully vaccinated in accordance with CDC guidance. We will not require proof of vaccine, but ask our guests to respectfully comply with our revised policy. All SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove park employees will be required to continue to wear face coverings at this time. The safety of our guests, Ambassadors and animals in our care remains our top priority. We will continue to monitor and address this changing environment as necessary.


It would be great if WDW were to adopt this policy also...


----------



## lovethattink

maui2k5 said:


> It would be great if WDW were to adopt this policy also...



But Disney hasn’t and this thread is only for what Disney’s policies are at the moment.


----------



## DSLRuser

maui2k5 said:


> We (wife and 2 girls ages 10 & 12) are planing a split stay with UOR in early August with 4 park days in WDW.  We do not plan on buying the hopper tickets (in a non COVID world we always did) so we have 1 day at DHS.  Is it extremely difficult to get Rise of the Resistance boarding passes?  What strategies do you all do in order to be able to get one?




We go next week and have 4 park days planned.  I have day 1 and day 3 with MGM (I will never change) park passes.  If we don't get ROR on day one, we have day 3 to fall back on.  If we get it day 1, we may move day 3 some place else.

Plan on hopping to EPCOT every night after late afternoons at the pool.


----------



## maui2k5

DSLRuser said:


> We go next week and have 4 park days planned.  I have day 1 and day 3 with MGM (I will never change) park passes.  If we don't get ROR on day one, we have day 3 to fall back on.  If we get it day 1, we may move day 3 some place else.
> 
> Plan on hopping to EPCOT every night after late afternoons at the pool.


I have thought about getting a hopper pass (which we normally do).  The $300 premium is steep when you do not know for sure you will be able to hop to the park you want to in the afternoon.


----------



## olive

maui2k5 said:


> I have thought about getting a hopper pass (which we normally do).  The $300 premium is steep when you do not know for sure you will be able to hop to the park you want to in the afternoon.



I don't think anyone has been prevented from hopping at all since reservations were mandated. I know it isn't a guarantee, but it made us feel better about hoppers.


----------



## Ecomommy09

olive said:


> I don't think anyone has been prevented from hopping at all since reservations were mandated. I know it isn't a guarantee, but it made us feel better about hoppers.


I’ve never had park hoppers, but I got it for my August trip.  Naps sound lovely at 3pm


----------



## olive

Ecomommy09 said:


> I’ve never had park hoppers, but I got it for my August trip.  Naps sound lovely at 3pm



Huge bonus.  I am a big fan of the afternoon break!


----------



## CampbellzSoup

lovethattink said:


> That’s for a different thread. But here’s theirpolicy if anyone is interested. It’s for vaccinated guests.
> 
> Based on the recently announced guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, we are modifying our policy regarding face coverings at SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove. Face coverings will no longer be required for guests at SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove who are fully vaccinated in accordance with CDC guidance. We will not require proof of vaccine, but ask our guests to respectfully comply with our revised policy. All SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove park employees will be required to continue to wear face coverings at this time. The safety of our guests, Ambassadors and animals in our care remains our top priority. We will continue to monitor and address this changing environment as necessary.



oh I’m sorry I was just giving the differences as it comes to Disney won’t happen again!


----------



## SwanVT2

These threads about long lines are so depressing considering how expensive tickets are.


----------



## VandVsmama

olive said:


> Huge bonus.  I am a big fan of the afternoon break!



our family always does an afternoon break!


----------



## lovethattink

SwanVT2 said:


> These threads about long lines are so depressing considering how expensive tickets are.



I was at AK on Tuesday night. And in the last 3 hours we only had 5 minute waits for Triceratop spin, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, and Kilimanjaro Safari.


----------



## SwanVT2

lovethattink said:


> I was at AK on Tuesday night. And in the last 3 hours we only had 5 minute waits for Triceratop spin, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, and Kilimanjaro Safari.


Well that is promising to hear. Thanks for the good news!


----------



## Krisshay13

SwanVT2 said:


> These threads about long lines are so depressing considering how expensive tickets are.


I felt the same way.....for us, it was hit or miss.  But, of course, the worst was Friday & Saturday.  The lines do look worse than they actually are but, there are lines.  We couldn't make it to the end of the day.  so, if you can, I'm sure that is a good plan.  
Still had a great time!!!  Even before Covid, we have to visit during busier times so, it wasn't much different for us.


----------



## loves to dive

DSLRuser said:


> We go next week and have 4 park days planned.  I have day 1 and day 3 with MGM (I will never change) park passes.  If we don't get ROR on day one, we have day 3 to fall back on.  If we get it day 1, we may move day 3 some place else.
> 
> Plan on hopping to EPCOT every night after late afternoons at the pool.


I did the same thing but mine was day 2 and day 4.  I didn't get RoTR in the morning first day but did get it at 1 (while sitting at BD eating a Cobb Salad) for around 5:30.  I left after lunch and rested in my room then headed back to HS for my BG and then went to Epcot.  The park reservations were full so I couldn't switch my 2nd HS day but did get RoTR that morning when I tried.  I spent the morning there and did the few rides I hadn't done on the previous day, my BG was called around 11:30 so I left after that for the pool and a nap then headed to Epcot.  I went to Epcot for at least a few hours every single day.  Rode every ride except Mission Space more than once and snacked at the booths.   It was nice because I didn't have to worry about standing in long lines if I didn't want to because I knew I had a 2nd day at HS.  The other days I did everything I wanted in AK in the morning (all the rides except River Rapids) and hopped to MK did a few rides, back to the room for a rest then hopped to Epcot.   I got everything done by 1 on my MK day because I had done some of the rides I wanted to on my AK day.  Every single day I went back to the room and either went to the pool or just to my room to rest.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Well wrapped up my four days one in each park and boy were they all crowded…it legit felt like normal times…  I couldn’t believe how crowded it was and I assumed more people would hang onto their masks, masked were without a doubt the minority.

Was May always considered busy times?  I’ve been going to Disney for a while pre and post covid..I assume without shows, characters and fireworks to swallow people it’s just all packed.


----------



## hereforthechurros

lovethattink said:


> That’s for a different thread. But here’s theirpolicy if anyone is interested. It’s for vaccinated guests.
> 
> Based on the recently announced guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, we are modifying our policy regarding face coverings at SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove. Face coverings will no longer be required for guests at SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove who are fully vaccinated in accordance with CDC guidance. We will not require proof of vaccine, but ask our guests to respectfully comply with our revised policy. All SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove park employees will be required to continue to wear face coverings at this time. The safety of our guests, Ambassadors and animals in our care remains our top priority. We will continue to monitor and address this changing environment as necessary.


So in theory 40% of people visiting there should still be masked.


----------



## LSUmiss

SwanVT2 said:


> These threads about long lines are so depressing considering how expensive tickets are.


And in the heat. We go next week & a few days are expected to hit 99 degrees .


----------



## stephnerninnie1984

SwanVT2 said:


> These threads about long lines are so depressing considering how expensive tickets are.


I remember before COVID, FOP was typically a 2-3 hour wait any given day, Test track and Soarin’ always over 90 minutes, PETER PAN 90+ And 7DMT upwards of 2 hours. The wait times are nothing compared to a lot of the waits before. I feel like people forget that. I mean, you’re not wrong, the price IS depressing compared to the wait times but it’s no different now then in 2019 when I was a passholder. Prices were depressing then too.  Either way, waiting or not, we always have a good time!


----------



## LSUmiss

stephnerninnie1984 said:


> I remember before COVID, FOP was typically a 2-3 hour wait any given day, Test track and Soarin’ always over 90 minutes, PETER PAN 90+ And 7DMT upwards of 2 hours. The wait times are nothing compared to a lot of the waits before. I feel like people forget that. I mean, you’re not wrong, the price IS depressing compared to the wait times but it’s no different now then in 2019 when I was a passholder. Prices were depressing then too.  Either way, waiting or not, we always have a good time!


Right but with no fast pass there is no option but to wait or not ride. And why does DHS continue to have such short hours compared to the other parks ?


----------



## scrappinginontario

LSUmiss said:


> Right but with no fast pass there is no option but to wait or not ride. And why does DHS continue to have such short hours compared to the other parks ?



I'm looking at the balance of May hours and up until June 19th and MK is open for 13 hours each of those days.  AK, DHS and Epcot are all open for 11 hours each day.  

Possibly park hours have been updated lately as 3/4 parks are all open 11 hours each day?


----------



## DisneyFive

stephnerninnie1984 said:


> I remember before COVID, FOP was typically a 2-3 hour wait any given day, Test track and Soarin’ always over 90 minutes, PETER PAN 90+ And 7DMT upwards of 2 hours. The wait times are nothing compared to a lot of the waits before. I feel like people forget that. I mean, you’re not wrong, the price IS depressing compared to the wait times but it’s no different now then in 2019 when I was a passholder. Prices were depressing then too.  Either way, waiting or not, we always have a good time!



I agree completely about the standby times you mention from the past, but that’s because you didn’t Fastpass them.  Every single one of those rides you mentioned we would Fastpass, even day of, with at most a 25 minute wait.  

With Park capacity opening, I think we will find the people saying “I love standby times right now“ going away completely and instead being replaced with super frustrated guests due to unavoidable long lines.

Dan


----------



## Princess Katelet

Just back a few hours ago.  We were there from May 12-May 20.  The weather was PERFECT, 72-82, NO RAIN and no lovebugs!

I've been to both Disney World and Disneyland many, many times, always for seven to ten days, and my feet never hurt and I never get sunburned.  This trip my feet were killing me all week long and I was limping each morning when I first woke up, my calves were killing me and my shins hurt.  My lower back also hurt a LOT this week and I never have back pain.  Last but not least, I've never gotten sunburned at Disney.  I determined the difference was all the standing, standing, standing in lines.  In all previous trips we utilized FP all day long and just walked on and off rides.  It was a lot of walking, but there was also a lot of sitting in ride vehicles, and walking is just far easier on the body than standing still.  I believe the sunburn was due to the long lines outdoors.  I did have an umbrella with me but admittedly did not always use it as it was a bit cumbersome and I kept hitting my daughter in the head with it and she was not pleased.  My painful feet/legs and sunburn tell me how vastly different this trip was and how crowded with so few things to eat up the crowds there are, plus, of course, the lack of FP played a huge role in all the standing.  Oh, and the bus situation added to that.

We waited about an hour many times for the bus back to Saratoga Springs.  We waited more than an hour for Tower, FOP, and even Pirates one day.  Average waits for headliners were 45 minutes except Thunder which you could count on to be under half an hour.

We had fun, but the place was PACKED and there was not enough for people to do and the lack of FPs was a disaster.  We also felt there were not enough restaurants open and the ones that were open did not have a great variety.  Mobile ordering is the BEST.

CMs were all friendly and kind, but they were not policing masks well at all.  I got so tired of hearing all the attraction announcements say you had to wear a mask or you'd be asked to leave.  That NEVER happened and no one ever told people to mask up once they were past that initial queue check.  The amount of noses that were showing was awful, and there were plenty of chin wearers. too.

We discovered Earl of Sandwich this trip which was a MAJOR find.  Just delicious, we got it five times!

We found ourselves very disappointed with everything closing so early, BUT the bus taking an hour to arrive so by the time we got back to our hotel we always just missed the hotel store closing by a few minutes.  It was super frustrating to not have food options after 10:00 at night.

We rode Smugglers Run twice just by ourselves, at our request. The second time, May 18, the guy said yes, but to not expect that perk to last very long, which of course implied that distancing would soon be ending.  He said until he was told otherwise, he could still give us our own ship though. Distancing on Soarin' changed while we were there...the plexilglass was removed and only one empty seat between parties.  Plexiglass on the Safari and Frozen were still there when we rode.

Pirates was still being loaded every other row as of last night (May 19).  Distancing in lines was mostly a joke.  You were assigned a row of carousel horses on that ride.  Small World was every other row.  Splash was every other row.  No idea on Jungle Cruise as we didn't wait in the huge line.  The Tree House has no distancing despite narrow walkways and passages.  Tom Sawyer raft only takes four parties and once you're on the island you can go anywhere, maskless.  Skyway was still giving people their own gondola.

MCO was a crowded zoo, with many, many noses showing and even some unattended luggage that they never even brought bomb sniffing dogs to.  They asked us and someone else, who was near it, if it was ours.  No one claimed it so a security guard said, "All right, I'm calling it" and I expected a closure of the area and rerouting of gates and such, but instead a few people periodically looked it over without touching, conversed, went away, came back, eventually touched it, and eventually moved it behind a JetBlue counter at the gate!  This was abandoned in the hallway leading from the center atrium of A to gates 1-9.  We finally boarded our plane so I have no idea what actually happened to it, but it was two pieces of luggage, a roller and a smaller bag hooked over it.

Any questions just ask!


----------



## Helvetica

I did have a pretty good day after DHS. I toured the resort, checked out a grand villa and had a great time at Epcot.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Skyliner line seems to be getting longer. If you can drive back to your resort, drive. Hopefully this will improve once they add capacity to the Skyliner. They’re still only doing one party per car.

Edit: It took 45 minutes- 1 hour to get on the Epcot Skyliner back to the resort. This is a lot longer than it was the night before.


----------



## teach22180

VandVsmama said:


> our family always does an afternoon break!


And you can take the break and return to the same park, so no need for hoppers.  Just wanted to mention that!


----------



## VandVsmama

teach22180 said:


> And you can take the break and return to the same park, so no need for hoppers.  Just wanted to mention that!


We are going to do that very thing on our trip in 2 weeks!


----------



## LiteBrite

We were at the Studios yesterday, the day Rise of the Resistance was down all day, and while it was crowded for sure, we had a good day.

We did get there early - we got in line at the parking lot toll plaza just after 8.  By the time we parked and walked in the line for Slinky Dog was already at 60 minutes, but we skipped it and walked on to Toy Story Mania with a posted 5 minute wait, and then waited 35 minutes for MMRR, and then walked on to Muppets.  

By this time the lines were up, so we just relaxed with coffee, tried out Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy for the first time just because we had never done it, and then grabbed lunch, and waited about 30 minutes for a second go round on TSM.

We left around 2, took the Skyliner over to Epcot, made one full circle of the park stopping for Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land, and then got a cider flight and relaxed for a  little while.  

Skyliner back to the Studios, where we had dinner outside at Rosie's, got in one last ride on TSM (can you tell it's our favorite?), and got into the posted 60 minute line for Slinky Dog.  We actually only waited about 40 minutes, which timed out to be a sunset ride (beautiful!) and then we took our time leaving, so we could enjoy the cool breeze and the lights turning on in the park. 

We were sad not to ride Rise, but it was still a really nice day.


----------



## tsme

We’re at the YC right now. It’s our last full day. We found crowds to be the same as a normal September (sometimes more crowded in areas & parks). Lots of teens (lots of just graduated hats, etc), more EVC (compared to Feb & Sept ‘20) & large groups are in the parks. 

We tried for ROTR Monday morning & got an error message, tried again at 1pm, got one but the number wasn’t called. We tried again this morning & no luck, so we ordered room service & have been lounging in our room. 

Mask compliance: in line, a lot wouldn’t put it on til reminded by CM, sometimes multiple times, on rides, lots of noses once the rides take off, in bathrooms, mostly off, in restaurants & stores most people are wearing them, in resorts, noses peaking out when out of sight of CM. As for how many people are wearing masks while walking around parks, I’d say less than 95%.

Social Distancing: basically nonexistent.

Restaurants: Everywhere we’ve eaten the food was good & the service was too. We also noticed a lot of people are shadowing servers because they are training. I think that’s a good sign Disney is gearing to be at full operations soon.

I also want to share I overheard a couple of CM in WS, who were wearing the uniform seen in other locations, telling fellow CM that was their last day in WS. So maybe we’ll be seeing our international CM back soon in WS. Also, I am so disappointed with the lack of authentic merchandise available in the most of the WS stores. Disney used to have multiple items from the country, now it’s mostly Disney themed stuff with exception of the China & Japan pavilion.

All but 2 of all the CM we have come into contact with have been nice & seemed happy. They are all working so hard & some people are making their jobs a lot more difficult than it has to be. I try to go out of my way to be nice.

Buses in the morning are crazy.  So we’ve  avoided them in the mornings by taking a cab. In the afternoons we’ve taken the bus back to the resort. It hasn’t been bad. I think because people leave at different times & there are bars to make a line, so no stressing who was there first etc. The only sad part was our bus drivers had to, multiple times, tell people to put their masks on properly, sit down, hold your stroller, & eventually get up, go towards the people to get them listen. And this wasn’t just one family on the bus. Even at a red light she had to call out to some families. Sad. 

All together we’re having a nice time and I think Disney will be completely back to normal by October.


----------



## lovethattink

Brian Shields posted this on his page today.


Be sure to hydrate and stay safe!


----------



## Helvetica

I’m not sure if this is new, but they removed the social distancing stickers from the overflow Seven Dwarfs Mine Train que. Other attractions still have them on their overflow and the SDMT stickers are still in the main que.


----------



## DisneyDeb83

DH and I have been here since Sunday. Crowds walking around the park have not been bad. Seems more people are maskless while walking around. Besides one family who ate and drank the majority of the wait in queue at Pirates everyone else we saw is complying with the requirements.

Ride waits for the headliners are ridiculous. ToT was 90 minutes the other night with only one side open. We did not do it, as we have already done it on previous trips. We did wait an hour for MMRT, cute, but would not wait again. Smugglers Run was posted at 45, waited 35.  First time for us and we loved it, though our piloting skills need work! Had a backup for RoR but it did not happen. A disappointment, but hopefully we get the chance in January.

As for those that feel it is much better without fast passes, we totally disagree.  We never waited more than ten minutes for an attraction with FP, were always able to refresh and get another ride almost immediately. Sometimes we got lucky with a FOP or mine train, sometimes not.  But we were happy to be doing something. Standing in line for more than 30 minutes is rarely worth it to us. Maybe once shows and rides are open at full capacity not having fast passes will work, but for now it is horrible!

But, as always, having a wonderful time.. Weather has been perfect, CMs very helpful and just glad to have a break from the real world!


----------



## DSLRuser

Helvetica said:


> I’m not sure if this is new, but they removed the social distancing stickers from the overflow Seven Dwarfs Mine Train que. Other attractions still have them on their overflow and the SDMT stickers are still in the main que.
> 
> View attachment 576631
> 
> View attachment 576632



I wondered how the spots where all those stickers were was going to look when they finally removed them.  Hopefully they can come back and power wash at some point.


----------



## Amy&Dan

KayKayJS said:


> Any recent animal kingdom experiences? Are they still opening before posted opening? And what all is available at that time?
> 
> tryjng to get there early so my toddler can ride Kilimanjaro without a long line. Last month it was down the entire time we were there.


We went AK yesterday.  We got to the turnstiles at about 7:10, 50 minutes before park opening. Got right in and followed everyone else back to Flights of Wonder which was a 20 minute wait by the time we got in line at about 7:20. Rode Na'vi River afterwards with zero wait. Then back to Expedition Everest that was a 10 minute wait, we rode that twice. Dinosaur was next with zero wait.  Safari I will add was a 70 minute wait this whole time. We ended up grabbing a popcorn and drink and taking a break, Safari was at 60 minutes with the que being outside snaking all the way back by Tusker House. We ended up leaving before riding Safari,  we just didn't feel like standing that long. Total bummer. 

If you aren't into FOP, then get on Safari first because it definitely got a long line early on that was still over 60 minutes when we left at 1:00.


----------



## mousegear

My family has been here since the 15th and we have hoppers and have been rope dropping every single day. Mostly we would do 2-3 headliners in the morning then take an afternoon break at the resort. At night we would park hop to another park and ride less than 30 minutes wait.  The parks have a huge crowd and we really do miss FP.  We've rarely waited more than 10~15 minutes with the fast pass system and we came here knowing that we could spend lots of time waiting.  We've spent a lovely evening going around Epcot WS after 7 pm doing the Spike map and watching Voices of Liberty.  

As for the mask compliance in the lines, there are some that would blatantly not adhere.  However, 85% would adhere.  Definitely, social distancing is almost gone.  However, we noticed when we follow the social distancing stickers, the group behind would most likely catch on and follow.  If you are uncomfortable and maybe you are concerned b/c your young child is yet unvaccinated, I would stay away yet.  We are a family of four who are all fully vaccinated and at times, some people's behavior made us shake our heads.  The weather has been extremely nice this week and so thankful for it.  Nice weather with relatively low humidity makes wearing masks much easier.  We were worried about wearing masks in the heat so came with about 150 disposable masks for four of us but I think we went through about 2~3 each per day per person.

Most parks opened 40~50 minutes before the official opening time and that's where we did 2~3 headliners with no line or minimal wait.  We've tried doing some headliners in the evening but most are more than 30 minutes and after more than 20+ trips, it's not worth standing that much to us.  Most wait times are pretty accurate maybe 5~10 minutes plus/minus.


----------



## Chernabob

For anyone there now at MK, have you noticed if the silhouettes are available on Main Street?

I know they were operating during the COVID times if you showed them a picture, but are they back to business as usual (i.e., posing for photos)?  That's the one souvenir we've missed each trip so far.


----------



## mousegear

Chernabob said:


> For anyone there now at MK, have you noticed if the silhouettes are available on Main Street?
> 
> I know they were operating during the COVID times if you showed them a picture, but are they back to business as usual (i.e., posing for photos)?  That's the one souvenir we've missed each trip so far.



I was at MK yesterday and saw a family getting it done off the little alley on Main Street.


----------



## Chernabob

mousegear said:


> I was at MK yesterday and saw a family getting it done off the little alley on Main Street.


Yep, exactly what I was hoping for.


----------



## WEDWDW

mousegear said:


> I was at MK yesterday and saw a family getting it done off the little alley on Main Street.


Center Street-and there is a cool Hidden Mickey there.


----------



## wonderchica

Bus times- still recommending getting to the bus stop 90 minutes before official opening? Assuming you want to be at the park when it opens?


----------



## scrappinginontario

wonderchica said:


> Bus times- still recommending getting to the bus stop 90 minutes before official opening? Assuming you want to be at the park when it opens?


Yes


----------



## Mango7100

After a long car trip, we tapped into HS at 615.

Rode Swirling Saucers 4 times. Posted wait 15–actual 5. Masks and distancing great. Rode SDD twice. Posted 50 one time with actual 23, other posted wait was 40 and actual wait 18. Distancing...not any. CMs enforcing masks at entrance and at loading—even told a gaiter guy he would not be allowed to ride until he changed masks. About 75% compliance, but a lot of chin straps or just not even wearing one—it was always adult males for some reason. We had a group of 4 college age guys behind us who were major back creepers and 2 had chin masks. DH (fully vaccinated, 5 ft 5, avoid confrontation at all costs) stayed back and DD8 and  I moved up to make space for her. It was outside and very breezy so I felt OK, but it did make me reassess about standing in long, indoor lines. They did not load anyone next to DH. We mobile ordered Docking Bay at 715 to pick up at 8. Ate at the outdoor seating near Docking Bay at 8 and were the only ones sitting outside...nice to spend some time in Galaxy’s Edge as the sun went down. Starting heading out at 830. I felt like we accomplished a lot and had a great time for less than 3 hrs time. Actually more masks walking around I thought there would be—maybe 20%. It was nice for DH to walk and finish his beer on or way out! Today is pool at SSR and will do MK in late afternoon


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## lorileahb

Amy&Dan said:


> We went AK yesterday.  We got to the turnstiles at about 7:10, 50 minutes before park opening. Got right in and followed everyone else back to Flights of Wonder which was a 20 minute wait by the time we got in line at about 7:20. Rode Na'vi River afterwards with zero wait. Then back to Expedition Everest that was a 10 minute wait, we rode that twice. Dinosaur was next with zero wait.  Safari I will add was a 70 minute wait this whole time. We ended up grabbing a popcorn and drink and taking a break, Safari was at 60 minutes with the que being outside snaking all the way back by Tusker House. We ended up leaving before riding Safari,  we just didn't feel like standing that long. Total bummer.
> 
> If you aren't into FOP, then get on Safari first because it definitely got a long line early on that was still over 60 minutes when we left at 1:00.



Great report.  I think the only side note is I don't believe Safari has been opening before the park opens - so early arrival would really just get you a good place in line versus actually riding something before park opens.


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## scrappinginontario

lorileahb said:


> Great report.  I think the only side note is I don't believe Safari has been opening before the park opens - so early arrival would really just get you a good place in line versus actually riding something before park opens.


you’re correct.  Kilimanjaro Safari is not known to open until posted park opening time.


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## maggnanimouse

Disney Springs was a mad house last night. Since it’s outside, there weren’t many masks, so it really felt like a pre-Covid visit to DS.  That was my first time since early 2020 in a true shoulder to shoulder crowd. Pretty wild to see!


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## OhBother1984

maggnanimouse said:


> Disney Springs was a mad house last night. Since it’s outside, there weren’t many masks, so it really felt like a pre-Covid visit to DS.  That was my first time since early 2020 in a true shoulder to shoulder crowd. Pretty wild to see!



we were there last night too! Got there about 5 and it wasn’t bad but got busy quick!


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## Haley R

How bad has Epcot been on sundays? We’re going in September with a then 17 month old. We have two other parks days which will be Epcot and AK. We’d like to drive there and get dinner but not if it’s crazy. Otherwise we’ll just hang out at AoA


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## OhBother1984

We spent the last two days at Blizzard Beach and it was amazing! Low crowds. Masks are only required for the store and half the time in the bathrooms. Half the time they said nothing and other times they handed you one. So if not near your stuff and need to use one at least they give them out . The main qs lottawa lodge didn’t require them either when in line and ordering and waiting.

There are no tubes in the wave pool now and I did miss that some but no big deal either . Lazy river is a pain waiting for enough tubes for your family then to all get in.

now hoping Typhopn lagoons Before our water park passes expire end of July!


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## brockash

OhBother1984 said:


> We spent the last two days at Blizzard Beach and it was amazing! Low crowds. Masks are only required for the store and half the time in the bathrooms. Half the time they said nothing and other times they handed you one. So if not near your stuff and need to use one at least they give them out . The main qs lottawa lodge didn’t require them either when in line and ordering and waiting.
> 
> There are no tubes in the wave pool now and I did miss that some but no big deal either . Lazy river is a pain waiting for enough tubes for your family then to all get in.
> 
> now hoping Typhopn lagoons Before our water park passes expire end of July!


Thx for the details...I was wondering how the bathroom stuff would work.


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## hereforthechurros

Haley R said:


> How bad has Epcot been on sundays? We’re going in September with a then 17 month old. We have two other parks days which will be Epcot and AK. We’d like to drive there and get dinner but not if it’s crazy. Otherwise we’ll just hang out at AoA


Epcot on Sunday feels just as busy as Friday/Saturday in my opinion, especially when there’s a festival. If you have an ADR though you’d be fine to cruise in, have dinner, then head out without issue.


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## JFox

Even with relaxed physical distancing I don't want other guests right up on top of me in lines.  There is a such thing as too close Covid or not.  Respect my personal space.


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## hereforthechurros

JFox said:


> Even with relaxed physical distancing I don't want other guests right up on top of me in lines.  There is a such thing as too close Covid or not.  Respect my personal space.


Fill in all the available space is coming back eventually :-/


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## lovethattink

Haley R said:


> How bad has Epcot been on sundays? We’re going in September with a then 17 month old. We have two other parks days which will be Epcot and AK. We’d like to drive there and get dinner but not if it’s crazy. Otherwise we’ll just hang out at AoA



I’ve been to Epcot twice recently on Sundays. I found future world busy. And world show case was busy, except from Morocco to Germany.  We enjoyed watching Voices of Liberty and Mariachi Cobre.


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## Haley R

hereforthechurros said:


> Epcot on Sunday feels just as busy as Friday/Saturday in my opinion, especially when there’s a festival. If you have an ADR though you’d be fine to cruise in, have dinner, then head out without issue.


Thanks! I’m not sure if we’ll do an ADR or not because he doesn’t sit still long. I’d hate to book something and have to leave. Maybe we’ll hang out at the resort or take the skyliner somewhere instead


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## Grumpy by Birth

hereforthechurros said:


> Fill in all the available space is coming back eventually :-/


Probably.  But perhaps we, as a society, can interpret that to mean "fill in _most _available space" instead of being within inches of each other.


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## mousegear

lovethattink said:


> I’ve been to Epcot twice recently on Sundays. I found future world busy. And world show case was busy, except from Morocco to Germany.  We enjoyed watching Voices of Liberty and Mariachi Cobre.



We also enjoyed watching Voices of Liberty and Mariachi Cobre.  Epcot is pretty packed on all the rides and WS also full of drunk people on weekend nights but we had ADR and enjoyed stroll around WS and watched them perform.  We all got goose bumps from such an amazing show by Voices of Liberty.


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## tsme

I have a little gossip from a bellman. He told me even though Disney has increased crowds levels a lot, they haven’t hired back enough CMs & they are stressed, overworked, & tired. Also told me that there is concern about the pipes at BC, since they are old & they’ve just been randomly flushing every so often. The fear is once it fully opens they will be plumbing issues. And that Disney hired a company to deal with it but took lowest bid & in the past that’s caused more issues. Anyway, take that as you will, just thought I’d share.


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## mousegear

So this is our last day at the parks.  We went to MK for rope drop and one of the first at the turnstile.  We briskly walked to Space Mt while the rest of the crowd went to the Seven Dwarves.  The CM at Space Mt said that the ride will start running 5~10 minutes so we waited.  Soon we had many crowds lining up on Space Mt saying that Seven Dwarves is down and don't know how long it will be before running again.  After Space, we were headed for Thunder and Splash, saw Buzz start running so quickly hopped on.  When we got to Thunder Mt. they just started to run it so it was a quick 10-minute walk of the lines before we were loaded on the train.  After Thunder Mt, our goal was to ride Splash, which has been running yet.  This is around 8:30.  We decided to sit around and wait for it.  We were really lucky and it started to run within 5 minutes.  We were the first 5~6th group that was on Splash.  Our observation this week on MK is that both Thunder and Splash do not run at the rope drop.  Thunder will start operating at 8 am and Splash little afterward.  Other minor rides also do not open at the rope drop either other than Pirates of Caribbean.  So at the rope drop, you have a choice between Seven Dwarves Mine Train or Space Mt.  Other than headliners, we went back to MK on other nights to do Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz, People Mover, Pirate, Little Mermaid, Barnstormer, and Haunted Mansion.  All were less than 15-minute wait or less.  We saw some of the worst behavior at MK, especially the people with little kids.  The mask compliance on the line was really bad and at some point, we were really uncomfortable b/c the people behind us were so close to us that they were breathing down on our necks.  They were a huge family group and one of them was coughing and on our personal space in the excuse of their children.  I do understand the kids get excited at Disney but that does not excuse the behavior of the adults feed the bad behavior of the children and do not have regard to other people's personal space.


At Epcot, we did Soarin and Test Track at rope drop and decided to stroll around the WS while most of the crowd are still at Future World lining up for the rides.  We had ADR at Via Napoli at 12:10 and after lunch, we came back to the resort.  We went back to Epcot on other nights to do minor rides like Figment, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Living with the Land, and Nemo.  They were all walk-on and at times, we were the only ones on the rides.  We definitely enjoy a drink or two but there seem to be too many drunk people at Epcot due to the Festival.  

AK, we drove to the park, and the security guards set up cones on the fork to AK toll booths.  So we followed several other cars, with our emergency light on, parked at the sides of the road until they cleared the cones and let the cars go to the toll booths.  Like everyone else, we went to FOP and Navi River.  We were one of the first people to be loaded on FOP so when we were getting out of Pandora, we felt like we were swimming against the current as most people were still coming into Pandora.  We then went to Safari which had a 20-minute wait but it was constantly moving and we were loaded right away.  Next was EE which had a 15 minute wait time which was less than 5 minutes before we were loaded.  We did the trails and animal watching and had 11 am ADR and Yak and Yeti.  After lunch, we rode Kali and exited from the park.

For HS, we had two park days dedicated b/c of Rise of Resistance.  On our first day DS got us Boarding Group 78 at 7 am and on our second day, DS also got us Boarding group 82 at 1 pm.  On our first Rise of Resistance, there was no preshow and it was our first time on it which was still awesome.  However, on our second ride on it had a full preshow, and the ride made much sense.  However, on our second ride, while we were waiting to be loaded,  it broke down and took more than 40 minutes before it was back in operation.  On our first day we went straight to SDD, Toy Story Mania, Millenium Falcon, ToT, and RnR.  On our second day, we went to ToT first but it wasn't running yet to went to RnR then ToT, MMRR, then Star Tour, and Muffet's.  We were finished by 10~10:30 both days. 

We also went to Vineland Premium Outlets for a couple of days.  The parking is much easier to find in the back of the outlets.  As for the mask compliance and the social distancing, we found it better at the outlets than at the parks.  Many of the shops had the lines to get into the store b/c of max numbers but most were pretty short wait.  Disney Store at the outlets has a virtual wait.  They text you when it's your turn.  

We came here knowing that there are not many shows and no FP nor nighttime fireworks thanks to the board.  However, we miss FP as well as all the shows.  Although we love to ride, the shows break up constant running and standing.  On each trip, we do maybe one or two fireworks shows and definitely miss that.  We are staying at Dolphin and have a spectacular view of Epcot from our room and if there were fireworks at night, we probably have a really good view of it. 

As for the masks, despite we were fully vaccinated, we wore our masks even outside.  There are just too many people bumping their shoulders.  We only removed in the remote spots or while we were eating at the restaurants.  We had almost every lunch ADR except for a MK day, and definitely regretted our choice.  We felt that the tables were rather closer at QS than TS restaurants. 

I was really worried about wearing the masks in the heat but this week, we got lucky and the weather is so very nice.  I hope this is helpful to those who have trips ahead.  Thank you to everyone who contributed. It was really helpful in preparing for our trip.


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## hereforthechurros

tsme said:


> I have a little gossip from a bellman. He told me even though Disney has increased crowds levels a lot, they haven’t hired back enough CMs & they are stressed, overworked, & tired. Also told me that there is concern about the pipes at BC, since they are old & they’ve just been randomly flushing every so often. The fear is once it fully opens they will be plumbing issues. And that Disney hired a company to deal with it but took lowest bid & in the past that’s caused more issues. Anyway, take that as you will, just thought I’d share.


Poly is having issues as well. There were some pictures circulating of yellow water and the guest being informed that it was due to old pipes and to just run it until it was clear, despite it being bathtubs worth of water. Pretty tacky if you ask me for what they charge at Poly. 

To your first point, I feel like that’s just confirmation of what most of us already suspect. Hiring is ramping up and CP is coming back but between now and 4th of July I expect growing crowds but not much more being reopened. They can only move so fast. However it does make me sad for overworked CMs and for guests who are being milked during this time.


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## Jules123

Here now and I want to thank whoever suggested the mask lanyards. Best purchase I made! Social distancing has not been very common here this week.


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## Stewa646

Just had our first day here today and first day at HS. I will say I expected it to be a madhouse of people for being HS and a Saturday based on what people have said here but it was honestly not that bad. Maybe my idea of crowded isn't on the same level as others lol.Plenty of spots to veer off and relax without people around, was able to  get a ronto roaster order for 12:50 ordering it at 12:30, and outside of slinky the longest we waited for a ride was 40 minutes. We had an awesome day!


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## shellbelle

Has anyone recently Ubered to Boardwalk or Swan and Dolphin in the morning to get to Hollywood?  Staying at Pop and worried about long Skyliner lines.


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## JFox

hereforthechurros said:


> Fill in all the available space is coming back eventually :-/


Agreed.

Thing is other than compressing the que line being right on top of each other doesn't mean you get on ride sooner.


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## SarahC97

shellbelle said:


> Has anyone recently Ubered to Boardwalk or Swan and Dolphin in the morning to get to Hollywood?  Staying at Pop and worried about long Skyliner lines.


I have not been recently, but several people have reported not being able to be dropped off at the Epcot area resorts without an ADR (contemporary too). Your best bet would be to be dropped at the Swan and Dolphin, you can get in there no problem.


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## shellbelle

SarahC97 said:


> I have not been recently, but several people have reported not being able to be dropped off at the Epcot area resorts without an ADR (contemporary too). Your best bet would be to be dropped at the Swan and Dolphin, you can get in there no problem.


Thanks!


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## CarolynFH

shellbelle said:


> Has anyone recently Ubered to Boardwalk or Swan and Dolphin in the morning to get to Hollywood?  Staying at Pop and worried about long Skyliner lines.


In addition to being dropped off at Swan, many people are dropped off at the Speedway on the corner of Epcot Resorts Blvd. and Buena Vista Dr.  Cross Epcot Resorts Blvd. toward the entrance to Boardwalk, where there's a sidewalk.  Turn left, then right at the corner of Buena Vista Dr., and that sidewalk will take you right down to the walkway to DHS.  Search for "Speedway" and you should be able to find multiple threads about it, including one with a video of the complete walk.  You can also see it on Google Maps satellite view.


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## kjs1976

Arrived to MCO at 10:15 AM today, Sat 5/22. ME line long, but almost always slowly moving. We had no plans, so we didn't mind. took about 30 min until we got checked in and walked to our resort bus line. It was already boarding so we waited for the two families ahead of us and then got right on. Maybe waited 5-10 min when seated on the bus. AS-M was second stop and really quick. Got the text our room was ready while waiting for driver to get luggage. First time in 5 trips that our room was actually ready when we got to the resort. By then it was 12:25. We freshened up and headed to the DS bus. Came within 5 min and we got on. Really slick to be at DS so quickly! Went straight to Gideon's to get in the online queue, which was 300 min. However, we got our text to come back at around the 3 1/2 hr mark, so that was awesome. Parts of DS felt more crowded than others between 12:50-4. I thought it would get more crowded later, but it actually seemed to thin out by the time we left at 5:30. WoD line to get in was long and snaked around a few buildings, but it also was constantly moving so we only were in line for about 10 min. PERFECT weather day! Low humidity, nice breeze, and like 85 for the high! Wish it would stay!!!


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## DMLAINI

mousegear said:


> So this is our last day at the parks.  We went to MK for rope drop and one of the first at the turnstile.  We briskly walked to Space Mt while the rest of the crowd went to the Seven Dwarves.  The CM at Space Mt said that the ride will start running 5~10 minutes so we waited.  Soon we had many crowds lining up on Space Mt saying that Seven Dwarves is down and don't know how long it will be before running again.  After Space, we were headed for Thunder and Splash, saw Buzz start running so quickly hopped on.  When we got to Thunder Mt. they just started to run it so it was a quick 10-minute walk of the lines before we were loaded on the train.  After Thunder Mt, our goal was to ride Splash, which has been running yet.  This is around 8:30.  We decided to sit around and wait for it.  We were really lucky and it started to run within 5 minutes.  We were the first 5~6th group that was on Splash.  Our observation this week on MK is that both Thunder and Splash do not run at the rope drop.  Thunder will start operating at 8 am and Splash little afterward.  Other minor rides also do not open at the rope drop either other than Pirates of Caribbean.  So at the rope drop, you have a choice between Seven Dwarves Mine Train or Space Mt.  Other than headliners, we went back to MK on other nights to do Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz, People Mover, Pirate, Little Mermaid, Barnstormer, and Haunted Mansion.  All were less than 15-minute wait or less.  We saw some of the worst behavior at MK, especially the people with little kids.  The mask compliance on the line was really bad and at some point, we were really uncomfortable b/c the people behind us were so close to us that they were breathing down on our necks.  They were a huge family group and one of them was coughing and on our personal space in the excuse of their children.  I do understand the kids get excited at Disney but that does not excuse the behavior of the adults feed the bad behavior of the children and do not have regard to other people's personal space.
> 
> 
> At Epcot, we did Soarin and Test Track at rope drop and decided to stroll around the WS while most of the crowd are still at Future World lining up for the rides.  We had ADR at Via Napoli at 12:10 and after lunch, we came back to the resort.  We went back to Epcot on other nights to do minor rides like Figment, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Living with the Land, and Nemo.  They were all walk-on and at times, we were the only ones on the rides.  We definitely enjoy a drink or two but there seem to be too many drunk people at Epcot due to the Festival.
> 
> AK, we drove to the park, and the security guards set up cones on the fork to AK toll booths.  So we followed several other cars, with our emergency light on, parked at the sides of the road until they cleared the cones and let the cars go to the toll booths.  Like everyone else, we went to FOP and Navi River.  We were one of the first people to be loaded on FOP so when we were getting out of Pandora, we felt like we were swimming against the current as most people were still coming into Pandora.  We then went to Safari which had a 20-minute wait but it was constantly moving and we were loaded right away.  Next was EE which had a 15 minute wait time which was less than 5 minutes before we were loaded.  We did the trails and animal watching and had 11 am ADR and Yak and Yeti.  After lunch, we rode Kali and exited from the park.
> 
> For HS, we had two park days dedicated b/c of Rise of Resistance.  On our first day DS got us Boarding Group 78 at 7 am and on our second day, DS also got us Boarding group 82 at 1 pm.  On our first Rise of Resistance, there was no preshow and it was our first time on it which was still awesome.  However, on our second ride on it had a full preshow, and the ride made much sense.  However, on our second ride, while we were waiting to be loaded,  it broke down and took more than 40 minutes before it was back in operation.  On our first day we went straight to SDD, Toy Story Mania, Millenium Falcon, ToT, and RnR.  On our second day, we went to ToT first but it wasn't running yet to went to RnR then ToT, MMRR, then Star Tour, and Muffet's.  We were finished by 10~10:30 both days.
> 
> We also went to Vineland Premium Outlets for a couple of days.  The parking is much easier to find in the back of the outlets.  As for the mask compliance and the social distancing, we found it better than the outlets than the parks.  Many of the shops had the lines to get into the store b/c of max numbers but most were pretty short wait.  Disney Store at the outlets has a virtual wait.  They text you when it's your turn.
> 
> We came here knowing that there are not many shows and no FP nor nighttime fireworks thanks to the board.  However, we miss FP as well as all the shows.  Although we love to ride, the shows break up constant running and standing.  On each trip, we do maybe one or two fireworks shows and definitely miss that.  We are staying at Dolphin and have a spectacular view of Epcot from our room and if there were fireworks at night, we probably have a really good view of it.
> 
> As for the masks, despite we were fully vaccinated, we were our masks even outside.  There are just too many people bumping their shoulders.  We only removed in the remote spots or while we were eating at the restaurants.  We had almost every lunch ADR except for a MK day, and definitely regretted our choice.  We felt that the tables were rather closer at QS than TS restaurants.
> 
> I was really worried about wearing the masks in the heat but this week, we got lucky and the weather is so very nice.  I hope this is helpful to those who have trips ahead.  Thank you to everyone who contributed. It was really helpful in preparing for our trip.


How long was your wait at the outlet?


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## npatellye

We went from 5/12 to 5/20. We took Tiffany Town Car to AKL Jambo. Quick ride, room was ready as we pulled in. Took some time to settle in, grabbed some food at the Mara, headed off to AK with the bus (rental wasn’t scheduled until 5/13; flight changes resulted in adding a day to the front end of our trip). AK was pretty empty at 4 pm. We walked on to every ride we wanted (Na’vi River, Safari, Kali River Rapids, Everest, Flying Dinos, and Dinosaur). We rode most rides multiple times before closing and then stopped to eat at Flame Tree. The cast members there surprised my younger one with a cupcake and wished her a happy birthday. We headed back to AKL on the bus, which was busy since it was almost an hour after park closing. Loved the villa; the views from what is a value one bedroom. We saw animals constantly from our balcony.

We checked out on 5/13 and headed over to VGF. Our villa was ready at 8 am, before we even left AKL. We went right to the room and off to our cabana. It was a great place to relax and chill out. Snacks were great; drinks were appreciated.

We headed off to MK at 4ish and opted to walk over using the GF walkway. It was a pretty walk and it went by quickly. It was nice not having to smell that odd smell the BLT walkway has in parts. We walked in and caught the Fantasyland Cavalcade with Gaston, Moana, Peter Pan, etc. Then we saw the Royal Princess Processional immediately after it. We were able to walk on to: Flying Carpets, Pirates, Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Peter Pan’s Flight, Mine Train, teacups, PeopleMover, Buzz, CoP (of course), Speedway, Barnstormer, Dumbo, teacups again, Mine Train again (had a 15 minute wait but that’s how long it took us to walk through the winding queue), and Little Mermaid before our 8:20 BOG dinner reservations. Walking out of MK at 10 pm was AMAZING! We ended up walking back to GF.

We repeated MK again on 5/14. Again, crowds weren’t bad.

We walked in to AK on 5/15 and were surprised at no temperature checks and no outdoor masks unless in queues. We had some waits this time:
-Navi River was a 10 minute wait (posted time was 30 minutes)
-Safari was 20 minutes (posted wait time of 40 minutes that one time, walked on other two times)
-Kali River Rapids was walk on (posted time was 25 minutes)
-Flying Dinos were walk on (posted wait was 20 minutes)
-Dinosaur was 20 minutes (posted wait was 45 minutes

We did what we wanted at AK, had lunch at Sa’tuli canteen and left by noon. We headed over to Disney Springs around 5. We stood in what appeared to be a crazy line for World of Disney but ended up 5 minutes. World of Disney was crowded but not impossibly so. Paying was quick as always. We hit up some less crowded places, grabbed dinner, and headed back to GF.

We headed to Epcot on 5/16. We arrived at the car booth at 9:30 and we were the first ones allowed to stay. We entered Epcot at 10. By 11:30, we had ridden Test Track once, Frozen twice in a row, and the Three Cabelleros once. We meandered the world and stopped at the stalls that were open for food and snacks (and Orange Bird sippers). Sadly, the Orange Bird passholder cup was sold out and so were the Orange Bird ears and passholder ears. We headed over to Figment, which had no wait even though the app showed a 25 minute wait. Then we did Pixar Movies, stopped for popcorn and ice cream, and walked on to Living with the Land and Nemo. We walked on to Spaceship Earth and left by 1:30 pm.


On 5/17, we headed over to Hollywood Studios and entered at 4 pm. It was fine. We had waits of:
-15 minutes for MMRR (posted wait 30 minutes)
-5 minutes for Swirling Saucers (posted wait 15 minutes)
-10 minutes for Toy Story Mania (posted wait 25 minutes)
-20-30 minutes each time we rode Slinky Dog (we rode it twice; posted wait each time was 70-75 minutes)
-25 minutes for Millenium Falcon (posted wait 80 minutes)
-85 minutes for Tower of Terror (completely accurate wait time for when got in line at 7:45 pm)

On 5/18, we repeated MK but took the monorail over at 9 am. Waits were “long” compared to 5/14 and 5/15:
-Small World was a 10 minute wait (posted time 30 minutes)
-Peter Pan was a 15 minute wait (posted time 45 minutes)
-Teacups were walk on (posted time 15 minutes)
-Pooh was a walk on (posted time 25 minutes)
-Dumbo was a 5 minute wait (posted time 20 minutes)
-Little Mermaid was a walk on (posted time 25 minutes)
-Buzz was a 5 minute wait (posted time 25 minutes)
-People Mover was a 5 minute wait (posted time 20 minutes)
-Mine Train was a 20 minute wait (posted time 60 minutes)
-Thunder Mountain was a 10 minute wait (posted time 25 minutes)
-Splash Mountain was a 30 minute wait (posted time 70 minutes)
-Haunted Mansion was a 10 minute wait (posted time 30 minutes)
-Flying Carpets were a 10 minute wait (posted time 30 minutes)

We left MK around 12:30ish and had some pool time. Then we headed over to DS around 3:30. World of Disney had no line at all to enter. We did some more shopping, grabbed pizza at Blaze, and headed back. At 6 pm, we went back to MK and did some more rides. Mine Train, Thunder Mountain, and Haunted Mansion had similar wait times as in the morning. We stopped for snacks and left MK at 8:30. We walked back using the GF walkway and caught the EWP from there.

On 5/19, we headed over to HS again but an hour before park opening. We walked on to Slinky Dog, Saucers, Toy Story Mania, and MMRR and then left. We hopped over to Epcot at 2. We walked on to Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Living with the Land, Figment, Three Cabelleros, and stopped to eat at the Cantina. Then we headed over to Frozen, where it said there was a 30 minute wait but we were able to walk through the queue and get right on. We spent about 10 minutes walking through the queue. We left Epcot at 7:30 and drove back to VGF. We opted to walk over to Poly for Dole Whips at Pineapple Lanai and headed back and stopped to catch EWP from the beach.

The weather was amazing the whole time. It was warm but not unbearably so. It was in the 80s for most of our trip. There were plenty of breezy days so it always felt cooler.


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## KayKayJS

Just wanted to report on my safari experience today since I had asked earlier in the thread.

We got to animal kingdom at 730 this morning, and we’re in line for safari at 740. We were on the ride at 8:05. By the time the we started moving at 8 it had grown pretty long so idk what the actual wait time would’ve been had we not gotten in line early.


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## WEDWDW

All Relaxation Stations in Magic Kingdom are now closed-part of Covid World history.


----------



## mousegear

DMLAINI said:


> How long was your wait at the outlet?



It all depends on the store.  However, Disney outlet store had the longest wait which was about 2 hours.  We shopped at other stores while waiting for our turn.


----------



## ItTastesPurple

Had a very successful day at Hollywood Studios today. We arrived to the parking gates at roughly 7:58am and they started letting people in around 8:04am. We were parked and waiting by the front gates within 10 minutes. Opening of the gates at 8:20am. 

We hauled our butts to MMRR and walked right on - 5 minute total queue time. Then we hiked it over to RRC and also walked right on - 5 minutes from start to getting into the seat. By the time the park opened at 9:00am, both were at 30 mins and 45 mins wait respectively. After RRC, the line for MMRR had already snaked to the outdoor queue. RRC stayed at 35-45 minutes posted wait time for the rest of the day. Reported wait times on the Lines app said it was 54 mins at 1pm. Yikes! 

Walked through Toy Story Land, stopped to do TSM at 5 min wait time and then got on line for MFSM. Unfortunately this was already 9:15am and the queue was 45 minutes. We waited roughly around 38 minutes. It would stay hovering around the 45 minute mark for the rest of the day.

We meandered around Galaxy’s Edge - had a Ronto Wrap, some blue milk, and killed time until our boarding group for ROR. Pro tip: loiter around the area when you’re 10-15 minutes away from your call time. You’ll beat the rest of your boarding group and walk right on.

ToT was only a 20 minute wait so we hauled over there. This was surprising because I had been stalking the wait times for over two weeks and it’s never been under 60 minutes all day long. We waited around 18 minutes.

By this time we were tired and hot so we decided to call it a day. Star Tours was a whopping 35 minutes all day and we just didn’t think that was worth it. We opted not to wait rope drop SDD or wait during the day because our priorities were MMRR and RCC and Galaxy’s Edge.


----------



## thornton0511

We arrived Friday 5/21 at Swan and today (Saturday) was our first park day. We walked to DHS and arrived at 7:48am. We were at the front of the line and I will say within 10 min of our arrival the line was definitely long. They let us in just after 8:15am and we booked it to Slinky, which was a walk on. Then headed to MMRR with a min wait. Both rides done before 9am. Got in line at MFSR just after 9am, then did Oga’s, Rise of resistance, and Ronto’s before noon. By then it was hot and crowded so we left. DD15 and friend went back at 7pm and did TOT (15 min wait) RnRC, then walk on TOT by 8pm.


----------



## starryagain

Very short report. We went to Epcot tonight. Entered at 8:30 from International Gateway. Rode Soarin' (posted 25, actual 10), Living with the Land (walk on), and Figment (walk on). Back out of the International Gateway shortly before 10:00. The skyliner line was AWFUL (not applicable to us). We walked by about 1/3 of the line and saw a 15 minutes marker. Overall the park wasn't that crowded in our opinion, particularly for a Saturday night.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Was it always busy like this during May?  It seemed excessively busy in all the Florida theme parks this week…even Sea World had full stadium shows…or is this people having COVID fatigue and getting out there?

I just noticed two observations this week…it was hot, and not in a good way. Also, the lines were crazy long on most things until about 5/6 o’clockish?

I just never remember May being crazy busy


----------



## tigger2002

CampbellzSoup said:


> Was it always busy like this during May?  It seemed excessively busy in all the Florida theme parks this week…even Sea World had full stadium shows…or is this people having COVID fatigue and getting out there?
> 
> I just noticed two observations this week…it was hot, and not in a good way. Also, the lines were crazy long on most things until about 5/6 o’clockish?
> 
> I just never remember May being crazy busy


.
It does seem to be busier than normal considering that there are not as many people from outside the United States there now.  Are there?
.


----------



## tigger2002

npatellye said:


> On 5/17, we headed over to Hollywood Studios and entered at 4 pm. It was fine. We had waits of:
> -15 minutes for MMRR (posted wait 30 minutes)
> -5 minutes for Swirling Saucers (posted wait 15 minutes)
> -10 minutes for Toy Story Mania (posted wait 25 minutes)
> -20-30 minutes each time we rode Slinky Dog (we rode it twice; posted wait each time was 70-75 minutes)
> -25 minutes for Millenium Falcon (posted wait 80 minutes)
> -85 minutes for Tower of Terror (completely accurate wait time for when got in line at 7:45 pm)


Why is ToT so long?  It seems to be out of step with the other rides.


----------



## Makmak

tigger2002 said:


> Why is ToT so long?  It seems to be out of step with the other rides.


There were lots of reports that only one side was running so that may be part of it.


----------



## xiphoid76

What a nice week.  Stayed at Boardwalk using an old DVC reservation we made expecting to use it after a Disney cruise.  We were supposed to be on the Fantasy but instead decided to go to Hawaii…then at last moment switched to Orlando because Hawaii still required masks and we are over them  Great choice!
The weather was amazing this week - we got so lucky!
Universal had all of their social distancing markers and signs in the parks changed overnight to the new guidelines they have - 3 feet. Very well trained there.  It was a great time.  When we got to Disney later in the week was surprised they still have old signs up on the trash cans and placards saying masks are required at all times.  They also still have their old 6 feet social distancing markers everywhere making lines look crazy long.  Still with the exit and entrance only signs as well and limited capacity in shops.
Other than that though it was wonderful. Staff are great at Disney.  
Although lines looked long they moved quickly and longest wait was 45 minutes for jungle cruise.
10 minutes for people mover which we rode three times as that ride is the best  Walk on for haunted mansion all day. 
it was great just sitting in the hub and watching families take their castle pictures. 
Hopefully Disney will update their social distancing markers which will make the lines look better. They could also allow the waiters to remove either the face shield or the masks.  Having them wear both makes it difficult to hear them.
Big Top souvenirs was closed as was Main Street confectionery but they had their bakery open in the cinema. Fireworks would be nice as well as parades and character meet and greets and I miss the train.  Hopefully all will come back soon!
Disney is still worth it and with masks off it is nice to see the smiling faces of the guests again!


----------



## flipflopmom

xiphoid76 said:


> Big Top souvenirs was closed as was Main Street confectionery but they had their bakery open in the cinema.


Did you notice if they had any “fresh” items, specifically the Rice Krispie that are candy coated? Or was it all prepackaged goods?


----------



## Tinkerbellmom43

flipflopmom said:


> Did you notice if they had any “fresh” items, specifically the Rice Krispie that are candy coated? Or was it all prepackaged goods?


I'm not the origional poster but I was there on Wednesday and it was all prepackaged krispie treats.


----------



## flipflopmom

Tinkerbellmom43 said:


> I'm not the origional poster but I was there on Wednesday and it was all prepackaged krispie treats.


Thank you! Off to Goofy’s we will go.


----------



## OhBother1984

CampbellzSoup said:


> Was it always busy like this during May?  It seemed excessively busy in all the Florida theme parks this week…even Sea World had full stadium shows…or is this people having COVID fatigue and getting out there?
> 
> I just noticed two observations this week…it was hot, and not in a good way. Also, the lines were crazy long on most things until about 5/6 o’clockish?
> 
> I just never remember May being crazy busy



I think its because everyone is traveling to Florida. Its been one of the few places so open. Pigeon Forge in TN is the same they have been even busier then normal. Now that more places are going to be fully open people will start planning their trips elsewhere. But even 6 months ago no one knew what it would be like so they picked places that they knew would be open with alot to do and such.  I am in NE Fl and some of our more local places are also slammed busy that normally aren't, its just crazy!


----------



## Mango7100

Went to MK yesterday 5/22. ParkEd at TTC at 2 and were one of maybe 5 families on the ferry. Took the boat to WL and had a nice, relaxing meal at Geyser Point. Tapped into MK at 5. Rode Carpets twice (posted 10, actual 5), Big Thunder x 3 ( posted 20-30, actual 6-10), HM (posted @5, actual 5), Mermaid (posted 10, actual <5), Barnstormer x 3 (posted 10, actual 2-3), People Mover (posted 30, actual 12), Buzz x 2 (posted 15, actual <5). Picked up a Mobile order Dole Whip at 855. Walking out at 915 was a bit more crowded than I expected. Distancing was pretty good, but we had lines that you kept moving the whole time so not much standing still. No back creepers today. I never felt uncomfortably crowded on walkways either. CMs were reminding people about masks at the entrance but always some people think they are above the rules right after entering. I did not hear any CM correct people even if maskless adults walked by then in queues. All in all we got a lot accomplished in 4 hrs there. Much more relaxed than me freaking out about getting to the parks early enough and feeling like we had to keep running to beat the crowds.


----------



## SwanVT2

npatellye said:


> We went from 5/12 to 5/20. We took Tiffany Town Car to AKL Jambo. Quick ride, room was ready as we pulled in. Took some time to settle in, grabbed some food at the Mara, headed off to AK with the bus (rental wasn’t scheduled until 5/13; flight changes resulted in adding a day to the front end of our trip). AK was pretty empty at 4 pm. We walked on to every ride we wanted (Na’vi River, Safari, Kali River Rapids, Everest, Flying Dinos, and Dinosaur). We rode most rides multiple times before closing and then stopped to eat at Flame Tree. The cast members there surprised my younger one with a cupcake and wished her a happy birthday. We headed back to AKL on the bus, which was busy since it was almost an hour after park closing. Loved the villa; the views from what is a value one bedroom. We saw animals constantly from our balcony.
> 
> We checked out on 5/13 and headed over to VGF. Our villa was ready at 8 am, before we even left AKL. We went right to the room and off to our cabana. It was a great place to relax and chill out. Snacks were great; drinks were appreciated.
> 
> We headed off to MK at 4ish and opted to walk over using the GF walkway. It was a pretty walk and it went by quickly. It was nice not having to smell that odd smell the BLT walkway has in parts. We walked in and caught the Fantasyland Cavalcade with Gaston, Moana, Peter Pan, etc. Then we saw the Royal Princess Processional immediately after it. We were able to walk on to: Flying Carpets, Pirates, Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Peter Pan’s Flight, Mine Train, teacups, PeopleMover, Buzz, CoP (of course), Speedway, Barnstormer, Dumbo, teacups again, Mine Train again (had a 15 minute wait but that’s how long it took us to walk through the winding queue), and Little Mermaid before our 8:20 BOG dinner reservations. Walking out of MK at 10 pm was AMAZING! We ended up walking back to GF.
> 
> We repeated MK again on 5/14. Again, crowds weren’t bad.
> 
> We walked in to AK on 5/15 and were surprised at no temperature checks and no outdoor masks unless in queues. We had some waits this time:
> -Navi River was a 10 minute wait (posted time was 30 minutes)
> -Safari was 20 minutes (posted wait time of 40 minutes that one time, walked on other two times)
> -Kali River Rapids was walk on (posted time was 25 minutes)
> -Flying Dinos were walk on (posted wait was 20 minutes)
> -Dinosaur was 20 minutes (posted wait was 45 minutes
> 
> We did what we wanted at AK, had lunch at Sa’tuli canteen and left by noon. We headed over to Disney Springs around 5. We stood in what appeared to be a crazy line for World of Disney but ended up 5 minutes. World of Disney was crowded but not impossibly so. Paying was quick as always. We hit up some less crowded places, grabbed dinner, and headed back to GF.
> 
> We headed to Epcot on 5/16. We arrived at the car booth at 9:30 and we were the first ones allowed to stay. We entered Epcot at 10. By 11:30, we had ridden Test Track once, Frozen twice in a row, and the Three Cabelleros once. We meandered the world and stopped at the stalls that were open for food and snacks (and Orange Bird sippers). Sadly, the Orange Bird passholder cup was sold out and so were the Orange Bird ears and passholder ears. We headed over to Figment, which had no wait even though the app showed a 25 minute wait. Then we did Pixar Movies, stopped for popcorn and ice cream, and walked on to Living with the Land and Nemo. We walked on to Spaceship Earth and left by 1:30 pm.
> 
> 
> On 5/17, we headed over to Hollywood Studios and entered at 4 pm. It was fine. We had waits of:
> -15 minutes for MMRR (posted wait 30 minutes)
> -5 minutes for Swirling Saucers (posted wait 15 minutes)
> -10 minutes for Toy Story Mania (posted wait 25 minutes)
> -20-30 minutes each time we rode Slinky Dog (we rode it twice; posted wait each time was 70-75 minutes)
> -25 minutes for Millenium Falcon (posted wait 80 minutes)
> -85 minutes for Tower of Terror (completely accurate wait time for when got in line at 7:45 pm)
> 
> On 5/18, we repeated MK but took the monorail over at 9 am. Waits were “long” compared to 5/14 and 5/15:
> -Small World was a 10 minute wait (posted time 30 minutes)
> -Peter Pan was a 15 minute wait (posted time 45 minutes)
> -Teacups were walk on (posted time 15 minutes)
> -Pooh was a walk on (posted time 25 minutes)
> -Dumbo was a 5 minute wait (posted time 20 minutes)
> -Little Mermaid was a walk on (posted time 25 minutes)
> -Buzz was a 5 minute wait (posted time 25 minutes)
> -People Mover was a 5 minute wait (posted time 20 minutes)
> -Mine Train was a 20 minute wait (posted time 60 minutes)
> -Thunder Mountain was a 10 minute wait (posted time 25 minutes)
> -Splash Mountain was a 30 minute wait (posted time 70 minutes)
> -Haunted Mansion was a 10 minute wait (posted time 30 minutes)
> -Flying Carpets were a 10 minute wait (posted time 30 minutes)
> 
> We left MK around 12:30ish and had some pool time. Then we headed over to DS around 3:30. World of Disney had no line at all to enter. We did some more shopping, grabbed pizza at Blaze, and headed back. At 6 pm, we went back to MK and did some more rides. Mine Train, Thunder Mountain, and Haunted Mansion had similar wait times as in the morning. We stopped for snacks and left MK at 8:30. We walked back using the GF walkway and caught the EWP from there.
> 
> On 5/19, we headed over to HS again but an hour before park opening. We walked on to Slinky Dog, Saucers, Toy Story Mania, and MMRR and then left. We hopped over to Epcot at 2. We walked on to Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Living with the Land, Figment, Three Cabelleros, and stopped to eat at the Cantina. Then we headed over to Frozen, where it said there was a 30 minute wait but we were able to walk through the queue and get right on. We spent about 10 minutes walking through the queue. We left Epcot at 7:30 and drove back to VGF. We opted to walk over to Poly for Dole Whips at Pineapple Lanai and headed back and stopped to catch EWP from the beach.
> 
> The weather was amazing the whole time. It was warm but not unbearably so. It was in the 80s for most of our trip. There were plenty of breezy days so it always felt cooler.


This sounds like a GREAT trip. I am impressed by how short all your wait times were. Feb 2020 we did rope drop and by 10/11 all our favorites at MK had up 45 minute to 2 hour waits and it was very discouraging. Plus FP were out for all the rides we really wanted to hit. Hope Feb. 2022 (last week) will be better, but I know lots of people will be traveling to make up for the lost year!


----------



## npatellye

SwanVT2 said:


> This sounds like a GREAT trip. I am impressed by how short all your wait times were. Feb 2020 we did rope drop and by 10/11 all our favorites at MK had up 45 minute to 2 hour waits and it was very discouraging. Plus FP were out for all the rides we really wanted to hit. Hope Feb. 2022 (last week) will be better, but I know lots of people will be traveling to make up for the lost year!


My MIL and FIL came with us and they usually stayed in the parks all day. They complained about wait times. I was surprised that we had shorter wait times this trip than we did during our November trip!


----------



## Becky Mouse

xiphoid76 said:


> They also still have their old 6 feet social distancing markers everywhere making lines look crazy long.



They aren't old. Disney said they're slowly phasing out distancing in some areas of the parks. So far, that has mostly been outdoor bus stops and the outdoor overflow lines to attractions. If you see the markers elsewhere, follow them. Encroaching on other people's space doesn't make you get on the attraction any faster.


----------



## Amy&Dan

scrappinginontario said:


> you’re correct.  Kilimanjaro Safari is not known to open until posted park opening time.


But you are allowed to get in line at the bridge (I think that's where the line starts forming). By the time we got done with FOP and Na'Vi River, it was just about 8 and the line was snaking way back and the wait was 75 minutes. Two hours later it was 65 minutes, at 1 when we left AK it was around 60 minutes. In full sun extending behind the Dawa Bar seating area. If you want to ride it in the morning you're going to wait one way or the other. I checked later in afternoon and I think it was down to 45 minutes. I can't imagine waiting in that line in the Harambe Market area on a really hot summer day. I assume the later afternoon is the best time to do Safari as far as wait times. We just didn't want to wait that long and we'd done everything else so we left. 

There were no other long waits at AK when we left (EE was 20, Dinosaur was about that, Kali was 15).


----------



## Rivergirl2005

Hey everyone! I am loving the reports! Not sure if I should ask here but I do have a couple questions. Our trip is June 14-22 so we are less than a month away. We are staying at Coronado springs. What time should we be at the bus stop if we want to first each day? Also if we are park hoping but want to grab dinner at a quick service, can we still order our meal even though we are not in the park in the morning? So like we start at HS but want to eat at AK. How does that work?


----------



## Helvetica

I opened and closed Animal Kingdom yesterday. It started pretty crowded, got super crowded, but by the end pretty much everyone left and everything was pretty much a walk-on. 

The weather was perfect, so that helped.


----------



## Rosanne

tsme said:


> I have a little gossip from a bellman. He told me even though Disney has increased crowds levels a lot, they haven’t hired back enough CMs & they are stressed, overworked, & tired. Also told me that there is concern about the pipes at BC, since they are old & they’ve just been randomly flushing every so often. The fear is once it fully opens they will be plumbing issues. And that Disney hired a company to deal with it but took lowest bid & in the past that’s caused more issues. Anyway, take that as you will, just thought I’d share.


When we stayed at BC a couple of years ago our toilet didn't flush at all when we first got to the room. I called and went down in person (looooong walk through the halls) and tried to find a maintenance person myself. It took about 8 hours before it got fixed. They didn't seem to have access to plungers even. I'd forgotten about it by now but, Yikes! Sounds like a bad issue.


----------



## Haley R

Helvetica said:


> I opened and closed Animal Kingdom yesterday. It started pretty crowded, got super crowded, but by the end pretty much everyone left and everything was pretty much a walk-on.
> 
> The weather was perfect, so that helped.


What time would you say the crowds died down?


----------



## hereforthechurros

Helvetica said:


> I opened and closed Animal Kingdom yesterday. It started pretty crowded, got super crowded, but by the end pretty much everyone left and everything was pretty much a walk-on.
> 
> The weather was perfect, so that helped.


What time did you notice a slow down?

Ha, sorry just saw the saw exact question was already posted.


----------



## Helvetica

Haley R said:


> What time would you say the crowds died down?





hereforthechurros said:


> What time did you notice a slow down?
> 
> Ha, sorry just saw the saw exact question was already posted.



I’d say around 3 - 4. The last few hours were very dead.


----------



## Sarahslay

CampbellzSoup said:


> Was it always busy like this during May?  It seemed excessively busy in all the Florida theme parks this week…even Sea World had full stadium shows…or is this people having COVID fatigue and getting out there?
> 
> I just noticed two observations this week…it was hot, and not in a good way. Also, the lines were crazy long on most things until about 5/6 o’clockish?
> 
> I just never remember May being crazy busy


I went in May 2019, during what everyone always called a historically low time, and it was defintely not low crowds. Was it lower than what I had usually experienced? Yes. But it was still hot and crowded. I took my mom who hadn't been in a VERY long time, and I kept telling her that people always say the beginning of May is quieter, so she kept asking "is it always this busy? I didn't think it was supposed to be this busy....." I went a month later in June and there were fewer crowds. I'll say, I've been during every month but September now, Covid or no Covid there are no slow times anymore.


----------



## luv2cheer92

CampbellzSoup said:


> Was it always busy like this during May?  It seemed excessively busy in all the Florida theme parks this week…even Sea World had full stadium shows…or is this people having COVID fatigue and getting out there?
> 
> I just noticed two observations this week…it was hot, and not in a good way. Also, the lines were crazy long on most things until about 5/6 o’clockish?
> 
> I just never remember May being crazy busy


I went the 2nd week of May in 2018 and it was dead. Walked on almost everything, never waited more than 20 minutes, even without FPs. Even just walking around many pathways were empty. Last couple days of October into the first week of November 2019 was probably the slowest pre-pandemic trip I've had though.


----------



## Haley R

Helvetica said:


> I’d say around 3 - 4. The last few hours were very dead.


We’re not going until September. We were planning to rope drop but maybe we’ll change our plan up


----------



## 3kidsmom

We got


KayKayJS said:


> Just wanted to report on my safari experience today since I had asked earlier in the thread.
> 
> We got to animal kingdom at 730 this morning, and we’re in line for safari at 740. We were on the ride at 8:05. By the time the we started moving at 8 it had grown pretty long so idk what the actual wait time would’ve been had we not gotten in line early.
> [/QUOTE





KayKayJS said:


> Just wanted to report on my safari experience today since I had asked earlier in the thread.
> 
> We got to animal kingdom at 730 this morning, and we’re in line for safari at 740. We were on the ride at 8:05. By the time the we started moving at 8 it had grown pretty long so idk what the actual wait time would’ve been had we not gotten in line early.


We got on Safari about 1:30, with a 45 minute posted wait, actual wait was about 20 minutes. Animals were fairly active for mid-day, and our guide was great.

Most of our waits today were actually half of what was posted, except FOP. We waited about 35-40 minutes around 5pm. We had never done it before, and it is worth every minute of the wait.


----------



## tanyaandallie

mousegear said:


> So this is our last day at the parks.  We went to MK for rope drop and one of the first at the turnstile.  We briskly walked to Space Mt while the rest of the crowd went to the Seven Dwarves.  The CM at Space Mt said that the ride will start running 5~10 minutes so we waited.  Soon we had many crowds lining up on Space Mt saying that Seven Dwarves is down and don't know how long it will be before running again.  After Space, we were headed for Thunder and Splash, saw Buzz start running so quickly hopped on.  When we got to Thunder Mt. they just started to run it so it was a quick 10-minute walk of the lines before we were loaded on the train.  After Thunder Mt, our goal was to ride Splash, which has been running yet.  This is around 8:30.  We decided to sit around and wait for it.  We were really lucky and it started to run within 5 minutes.  We were the first 5~6th group that was on Splash.  Our observation this week on MK is that both Thunder and Splash do not run at the rope drop.  Thunder will start operating at 8 am and Splash little afterward.  Other minor rides also do not open at the rope drop either other than Pirates of Caribbean.  So at the rope drop, you have a choice between Seven Dwarves Mine Train or Space Mt.  Other than headliners, we went back to MK on other nights to do Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz, People Mover, Pirate, Little Mermaid, Barnstormer, and Haunted Mansion.  All were less than 15-minute wait or less.  We saw some of the worst behavior at MK, especially the people with little kids.  The mask compliance on the line was really bad and at some point, we were really uncomfortable b/c the people behind us were so close to us that they were breathing down on our necks.  They were a huge family group and one of them was coughing and on our personal space in the excuse of their children.  I do understand the kids get excited at Disney but that does not excuse the behavior of the adults feed the bad behavior of the children and do not have regard to other people's personal space.
> 
> 
> At Epcot, we did Soarin and Test Track at rope drop and decided to stroll around the WS while most of the crowd are still at Future World lining up for the rides.  We had ADR at Via Napoli at 12:10 and after lunch, we came back to the resort.  We went back to Epcot on other nights to do minor rides like Figment, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Living with the Land, and Nemo.  They were all walk-on and at times, we were the only ones on the rides.  We definitely enjoy a drink or two but there seem to be too many drunk people at Epcot due to the Festival.
> 
> AK, we drove to the park, and the security guards set up cones on the fork to AK toll booths.  So we followed several other cars, with our emergency light on, parked at the sides of the road until they cleared the cones and let the cars go to the toll booths.  Like everyone else, we went to FOP and Navi River.  We were one of the first people to be loaded on FOP so when we were getting out of Pandora, we felt like we were swimming against the current as most people were still coming into Pandora.  We then went to Safari which had a 20-minute wait but it was constantly moving and we were loaded right away.  Next was EE which had a 15 minute wait time which was less than 5 minutes before we were loaded.  We did the trails and animal watching and had 11 am ADR and Yak and Yeti.  After lunch, we rode Kali and exited from the park.
> 
> For HS, we had two park days dedicated b/c of Rise of Resistance.  On our first day DS got us Boarding Group 78 at 7 am and on our second day, DS also got us Boarding group 82 at 1 pm.  On our first Rise of Resistance, there was no preshow and it was our first time on it which was still awesome.  However, on our second ride on it had a full preshow, and the ride made much sense.  However, on our second ride, while we were waiting to be loaded,  it broke down and took more than 40 minutes before it was back in operation.  On our first day we went straight to SDD, Toy Story Mania, Millenium Falcon, ToT, and RnR.  On our second day, we went to ToT first but it wasn't running yet to went to RnR then ToT, MMRR, then Star Tour, and Muffet's.  We were finished by 10~10:30 both days.
> 
> We also went to Vineland Premium Outlets for a couple of days.  The parking is much easier to find in the back of the outlets.  As for the mask compliance and the social distancing, we found it better at the outlets than at the parks.  Many of the shops had the lines to get into the store b/c of max numbers but most were pretty short wait.  Disney Store at the outlets has a virtual wait.  They text you when it's your turn.
> 
> We came here knowing that there are not many shows and no FP nor nighttime fireworks thanks to the board.  However, we miss FP as well as all the shows.  Although we love to ride, the shows break up constant running and standing.  On each trip, we do maybe one or two fireworks shows and definitely miss that.  We are staying at Dolphin and have a spectacular view of Epcot from our room and if there were fireworks at night, we probably have a really good view of it.
> 
> As for the masks, despite we were fully vaccinated, we wore our masks even outside.  There are just too many people bumping their shoulders.  We only removed in the remote spots or while we were eating at the restaurants.  We had almost every lunch ADR except for a MK day, and definitely regretted our choice.  We felt that the tables were rather closer at QS than TS restaurants.
> 
> I was really worried about wearing the masks in the heat but this week, we got lucky and the weather is so very nice.  I hope this is helpful to those who have trips ahead.  Thank you to everyone who contributed. It was really helpful in preparing for our trip.


Curious what time they let you line up ak and what time they started letting cars in.


----------



## Aimeedyan

We went to AK today from 3pm-close. Had an amazing day and thought the crowds were low to normal for a weekend in May. 

Walked on Triceratop Spin (5 minute posted), 10 minute wait for Everest (15 posted), walked both trails, 15 minute wait for Safari (35 posted), 15 minute wait for Navi (20 min posted), dinner at Satuli (half empty restaurant at 6pm), and finished the night with the Lion King (walked right in at 6:45 and theater was never full). 

BTW - I had big crocodile tears when FOTLK started. I forgot how much I missed that part of Disney (and live theater, in general). Even with the modifications, I couldn't stop smiling.


----------



## mousegear

tanyaandallie said:


> Curious what time they let you line up ak and what time they started letting cars in.



When we arrived at the fork leading to AK toll booth, it was 6:50 am.  The guards cleared the cones at 7:05 am.  We were 5th car parked.  We went straight through the security and turnstiles.  Some people were literally running but we just walked briskly towards FOP.  I know that we were one of the first to be loaded because we never stopped walking until we were loaded to ride.  We were finished riding FOP by 7:15 and went straight to Navi with two other groups in front of us.  By the time we were getting out of Pandora, there were so many people coming into Pandora, it was at times difficult to walk against the sea of people.


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## starryagain

We did a few hours at Epcot and the party split and some did HS and did MK today.

Epcot - we rope dropped from International Gateway. Got in line at 9:57, gates opened 10:06, in the park 10:08. Ish. I don't know if this was just bad luck but we went to Test Track and it didn't seem to start operating until 10:40. We were on around 10:50 which was sort of a bummer. Then we did Mission Space and Spaceship Earth with minimal waits. Lunch at Italy. Went back to our room for a long break.

Overall Epcot was somewhat crowded. Seemed a bit less than a normal May. Standby waits were down for headliners and up for everything else.

The group who went to HS got there at 7:00 and road Tower of Terror with a 15 minute wait (posted was higher) then walked on Star Tours. Out by 7:50.

The MK group got there at 7, road Haunted Manson (true walk on, posted 15 minutes), Big thunder twice (2 minute wait and 5 minute wait, posted 15 minutes), and Pirates twice (walk on, posted 20 minutes). Could have done much more but we stopped for Dole whips and we have school age kids slowing us down.

I actually thought the bus situation leaving after park close was much better than with fireworks. We got in line around 9:20 and were on the bus within minutes WITH SEATS FOR EVERYONE.

I'm actually enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. We'll see how we survive the heat wave.


----------



## Helvetica

I opened and closed Epcot today. I had a pretty good day. The crowds didn’t seem as bad as they were earlier on in the trip and the waits were mostly reasonable. The park slowed down in the evening and by the end of the night both Frozen and Soarin were walk-ons.


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## JJoe

RangerPooh said:


> We’re at AK right now. They weren’t planning to open parking until 7:45 and kept redirecting people to McD, which was full. So at 7:30 they allowed people to line up at the tollbooths. At 7:45 the allowed us to begin parking (already lined up in holding in the lot). We were through the park turnstiles by 7:55. By 8:10 Avatar had a 10 minute wait. So as my family rides I’m enjoying the atmosphere of View attachment 508602Pandora


Pandora at night is great but I find it hard to stay all day in ak


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## ItTastesPurple

Sunday at Epcot
We arrived at the parking gates around 9:47am and they were opening up some more gates so we managed to be first in line at our gate. Opted for Preferred Parking cause after 4 days at parks, we were tired.

They started letting us into the park shortly after 10am and we were first in our turnstile. Hauled our butts to Test Track where we were maybe 7th in line. It wasn’t open - closer to 10:30am start so our total wait was 25 mins. Walked to Frozen and had a 20 minute wait - was posted at 50 when we got off. Backtracked to Mexico to do the 3 Caballeros - walk on. When we finished, the line was at least 15 mins to get into the pyramid.

Ate and drank our way around the world showcase and ended up at Soarin’ around 2:30pm. 20 minute wait with a posted wait of 35 mins. Did Nemo and Spaceship Earth as walk ons and then finished with Mission Space at 15 min wait with posted wait of 35 mins.

All in all, a very successful Epcot day. We left around 5:45pm feeling like we did everything we wanted to do.

Test Track when down roughly an hour before we left the park - so if that’s something you want to do, make sure you do it first in case it breaks down - or rains during the day!


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## ItTastesPurple

Thursday, 5/20 at Magic Kingdom 
We arrived at TCC around 7am and I started the day off by picking the wrong lane - ours stubbornly remained closed while all others opened. Made another bad choice of picking the ferry instead of the monorail. We touched down on MK ground around 7:40am. Made another wrong choice by deviating from my original plan of rope dropping PoC and Jungle Cruise and went to Space Mountain first. It was down for at least an hour. By the time we called it quits and made it to Adventureland, Jungle Cruise was already a 30 min wait.

Did PoC and Big Thunder as walk ons. Grabbed a Mickey waffle and then did Haunted Mansion as a walk on as well. We decided to make our way to Fantasyland and did Peter Pan with a 20 min wait, SDMT with a 35 min wait, and Pooh with a 15 min wait.

Quick Dole Whip and Cheeseburger Spring Roll break in Adventureland - checked out how long the wait for Jungle Cruise was and decided the 45 min wait was just not worth it at that heat.

We decided to leave and come back later in the day. Had lupper at Homecomin’ around 4:30pm and headed back to MK around 6pm. They had closed off Preferred Parking and we couldn’t find anyone around so we just parked wherever. I went to Guest Services while DH did Space Mountain. Apparently, despite the fact that your preferred parking pass is valid all day at all parks, it doesn’t guarantee you Preferred Parking all day??? What?? Talked my way into a refund and we did Small World and Peter Pan as walk ons. Ended the night by doing some shopping and taking some PhotoPass photos with the lit up castle.

Not as successful a day as I had hoped, since I we didn’t get to do Jungle Cruise. But at least I finally did SDMT!


----------



## ItTastesPurple

Final thoughts: 
We were here from 5/19 to 5/24. 
Disney Springs was nice and empty around 8pm on Wednesday. We went back around 3pm on Thursday and it was still pretty empty. By the time we left around 6pm it was starting to really fill up. 6pm on a Saturday was a madhouse - but not anymore crowded than Universal midday.

Mask adherence on ride queues - once on the “official” queue - were pretty good. I saw one or two groups on each ride who just pulled their masks down whenever they walked past a CM and then back on when they got to the end of the line. These kind of people who just want to flaunt the rules for the sake of it will always exist. I did find it funny that it was mostly all adults! They would pull their masks down while all their kids kept theirs on!

I would say mask wearing outdoors in the parks is still pretty high for what I had expected. As a self-proclaimed mask nut, I pulled mine down when I was able to keep my distance and back up during choke points. Social distancing on lines is hit or miss - it really depends on the people behind you. No one at WDW was up my butt though - this happened a lot more at Universal.

A bit performative, but I do applaud Universal for giving everyone a healthy squirt of hand sanitizer prior to getting on each ride. Covid aside, I know tons of ppl don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom or picking their nose so I’m happy they’re getting rid of germs!

If I wasn’t vaccinated I think I would’ve been more hesitant in going to the parks right now. Crowds are pretty high in all the parks and lines can get very long. We saw MFSR get up to 65 mins during the day and Slinky was at 75 mins consistently. If you can afford it, get Express Pass at Universal. Lines were insane all day long - Kong at 75 mins, Escape from Gringotts at 65 mins, Simpsons at 55 mins.

Mobile Ordering is so so amazing and I hope this says a thing. I loved that you weren’t allowed into the restaurant until your mobile order was ready. This really helped reduce the problem of not being able to find a table because every table was being held by a person who’s family was still on line to order. Definitely click “I’m here” before you even start waking because it can take a while depending on the time.


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## luv2cheer92

ItTastesPurple said:


> Final thoughts:
> We were here from 5/19 to 5/24.
> Disney Springs was nice and empty around 8pm on Wednesday. We went back around 3pm on Thursday and it was still pretty empty. By the time we left around 6pm it was starting to really fill up. 6pm on a Saturday was a madhouse - but not anymore crowded than Universal midday.
> 
> Mask adherence on ride queues - once on the “official” queue - were pretty good. I saw one or two groups on each ride who just pulled their masks down whenever they walked past a CM and then back on when they got to the end of the line. These kind of people who just want to flaunt the rules for the sake of it will always exist. I did find it funny that it was mostly all adults! They would pull their masks down while all their kids kept theirs on!
> 
> I would say mask wearing outdoors in the parks is still pretty high for what I had expected. As a self-proclaimed mask nut, I pulled mine down when I was able to keep my distance and back up during choke points. Social distancing on lines is hit or miss - it really depends on the people behind you. No one at WDW was up my butt though - this happened a lot more at Universal.
> 
> A bit performative, but I do applaud Universal for giving everyone a healthy squirt of hand sanitizer prior to getting on each ride. Covid aside, I know tons of ppl don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom or picking their nose so I’m happy they’re getting rid of germs!
> 
> If I wasn’t vaccinated I think I would’ve been more hesitant in going to the parks right now. Crowds are pretty high in all the parks and lines can get very long. We saw MFSR get up to 65 mins during the day and Slinky was at 75 mins consistently. If you can afford it, get Express Pass at Universal. Lines were insane all day long - Kong at 75 mins, Escape from Gringotts at 65 mins, Simpsons at 55 mins.
> 
> Mobile Ordering is so so amazing and I hope this says a thing. I loved that you weren’t allowed into the restaurant until your mobile order was ready. This really helped reduce the problem of not being able to find a table because every table was being held by a person who’s family was still on line to order. Definitely click “I’m here” before you even start waking because it can take a while depending on the time.


Mobile order was a thing long before Covid, so I don't see why it wouldn't stay. I do like the change though of checking the order prior to entering, it does make it easier to find a seat.


----------



## Miffy

We're here now and have been here since last Monday. Leaving (oh no!) tomorrow.

As far as I can tell, the only way to easily, successfully, and happily tour the parks is to rope-drop. Apologies to everyone who likes sleeping in. Perhaps it's better in the evenings--I haven't tried that--but it's hellish after maybe 10:30 or earlier if you want to go on just about any attraction without standing in line for 30+ minutes.

RD has enabled us to (1) ride MMRR twice in one morning (both walk-ons after RD and we are not runners); (2) do PPF, HM, and Philharmagic each twice in a row (warning: they make you get back in the queue, but it was worth it); and (3) ride Soarin' with a super short wait.

All of these rides had long waits less than an hour later. I'd done MMRR a few days earlier and had stood in line--most of it outside with minimal shade--for nearly an hour.

We're RDing DAK this morning.

As far as compliance with masking, well, it depends. I've had every experience from near-100% compliance (Friday at DHS) to are-you-kidding-me? (here at the GF, with many many people w/o masks in the elevators, hallways, and lobby of our outbuilding) to defiance (a family on Kali--the CM wouldn't let the raft leave and they absolutely did not want to put on their masks, but they finally did and of course took them off the second the ride started). So, stay tuned for anything and everything.

Social distancing? Nonexistent just about everywhere except in areas where someone is there enforcing it, for example, on a resort boat.

It's been wonderful to be back. We haven't been since December 2019.

However . . . if you've never been before or if this is your once-in-a-lifetime trip, wait and come back when things are back to speed. I mean, no fireworks--and we have a castle view! So many things closed--I'm looking at you, Columbia Harbour House. ADRs super difficult to get. Ditto park reservations for certain days. Park hopping only after 2 p.m. The Port Orleans resorts and AKL still closed. And everything costs as much as it would anyway and in fact some things, like the restaurants, seem to be charging more, although I don't have any hard facts about this, but it just seems that way.

Does it seem less crowded here? Sorta, sometimes, but not always and not everywhere. Want to experience that _Wow, there's no one here!_ feeling? Rope drop. Rope drop. Rope drop.


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## OhBother1984

luv2cheer92 said:


> Mobile order was a thing long before Covid, so I don't see why it wouldn't stay. I do like the change though of checking the order prior to entering, it does make it easier to find a seat.



I also like that they give return windows for food. Before Covid we tried to do woodys and the mobile ordering had so many orders we had already waited an hour and I ended up having them just cancel it all together. People that got in the regular line were in and out in 15 mins but mobile order too many for themt o keep up with.


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## Mango7100

Continuing with our reverse strategy of going to parks in late afternoon (we are normally hardcore rope droppers), we arrived at DHS Sunday at 4. We rode TSM x 2 (posted 20, actual 10-12), SDD (posted 60, actual 32), Saucers (posted 5, actual 5), and Runaway Railroad x 3 (posted 20, actual 15). First time on that ride and thought it was ridiculously fun. We lucked out and made it into the line about 30 seconds before close so we rode it 3 times in an hour. Ordered Woodys lunch box for dinner (pick up windows were running about an hr after ordering but that was what we had anticipated). Agree that it’s nice that you don’t spend time wandering trying to find a table or have people standing next to you ready to swoop down as soon as you swallow your last bite of food.

For families concerned about distancing in lines, we make our own bubble. The two vaccinated adults stand on either side with the kid in the middle and we take up two spaces for our family. Saw a few other families doing the same thing.


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## zackiedawg

Mango7100 said:


> Continuing with our reverse strategy of going to parks in late afternoon (we are normally hardcore rope droppers),



Glad to see that report.  Seems a vast majority here are rope-droppers, so it's hard to find too many reports of what it's like later in the day.  Of course, my trip isn't until 4th of July weekend, so not only can things change a lot by then, but the holiday weekend could make any reports moot as that weekend could be crazy busy.

Still, when I go to Disney, I'm 100% the opposite of rope-drop - the earliest I go to any park is about 1pm - sometimes even later, and I pretty much stay to park close.  I definitely sleep in, then relax, make breakfast, read on my balcony, and wander around the resort for the early afternoon, or stroll over to Disney Springs if I'm staying at Saratoga.  I'll often take boat transportation to other resorts, or DS bus to another resort and then walk into the parks from there, or take a boat (I prefer boats whenever possible for the slow pace and the scenery).

I'm still hoping maybe by July, the rules may relax even more, maybe they'll drop the masks altogether by then if vaccinations keep up, and various shows, fireworks, and closed venues will reopen, rides may start filling all rows to reduce the lines, etc.  Probably not as soon as July, but who knows...either way, I'm just looking forward to getting away somewhere after a year and a half of being stuck around home and work, so even if I don't ride any rides, and just walk around seeing the Disney scenery again, I'll be happy.


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## Helvetica

Today is my 3rd DHS day. I wasn’t able to get a boarding group, so I’m 0-5 so far. One more chance to go 0-6.


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## scrappinginontario

Helvetica said:


> Today is my 3rd DHS day. I wasn’t able to get a boarding group, so I’m 0-5 so far. One more chance to go 0-6.


I'm so sorry!!  Hoping 1 PM is good to you.  Have you used the same method each time?  

The one that works best for me to is to line up my 'AT AT's' towards the top of the screen and the second the clock strikes 1:00 I click Join, Join, Join as fast as the system will allow me.  Don't stop, pause or read anything, just click Join.



Hoping this last time is successful for you!


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## Sarahslay

zackiedawg said:


> Glad to see that report.  Seems a vast majority here are rope-droppers, so it's hard to find too many reports of what it's like later in the day.  Of course, my trip isn't until 4th of July weekend, so not only can things change a lot by then, but the holiday weekend could make any reports moot as that weekend could be crazy busy.
> 
> Still, when I go to Disney, I'm 100% the opposite of rope-drop - the earliest I go to any park is about 1pm - sometimes even later, and I pretty much stay to park close.  I definitely sleep in, then relax, make breakfast, read on my balcony, and wander around the resort for the early afternoon, or stroll over to Disney Springs if I'm staying at Saratoga.  I'll often take boat transportation to other resorts, or DS bus to another resort and then walk into the parks from there, or take a boat (I prefer boats whenever possible for the slow pace and the scenery).
> 
> I'm still hoping maybe by July, the rules may relax even more, maybe they'll drop the masks altogether by then if vaccinations keep up, and various shows, fireworks, and closed venues will reopen, rides may start filling all rows to reduce the lines, etc.  Probably not as soon as July, but who knows...either way, I'm just looking forward to getting away somewhere after a year and a half of being stuck around home and work, so even if I don't ride any rides, and just walk around seeing the Disney scenery again, I'll be happy.


We always RD AND go back later in the day, we always do as much by lunch as we can, have our ADR, then leave. We have a break and then go back later on in the afternoon/evening and do a ton of stuff too. At HS we can usually get as much stuff done (if not more) that we did in the morning, the only park that doesn't usually hold true with is MK for some reason, but we still get so much done. We will be there for a full week starting next weekend, with first park day Memorial Day because we're crazy lol, so I'll let you know if it's crazy to go and try to do the parks in the afternoon. We loathe the parks midday, but love them first thing in the morning and at night, so we always make the most of both strategies and hope they'll help us on this trip. We are, of course, just happy to be there, this will be my 6th trip since reopening so I'm not too worried about it. I do hope that as the months go by things can start to loosen (because the world is getting better), and stuff starts coming back, fingers crossed because I do have more trips planned lol


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## nicket

We just returned from a week at Disney for our first trip with kids. I will try to write up a more detailed report l later as the recent detailed reports were helpful when planning our trip but just wanted to give a quick recap. It was a large family trip with 4 kids under 3 yo for their first trip. We started planning our trip prior to covid and pushed it back a few months to ensure all the adults had time to be vaccinated and cases dropped some. 

Our first day in the parks was the first day of the looser mask requirements. We were unsure how it would go after getting the notification literally minutes after getting to our hotel room. But it was nice, especially for the kids to let them take the masks off when sitting watching calvacades and being able to eat/drink while walking. We did tend to keep them on walking in the morning when lines were down as it was easier to just keep them on rather than taking off/on as we entered the queues pretty quickly between rides. Maybe because we were only there after the mask restrictions were loosened, we didn't see any major offenders in line. All the CM at the queue entrances were reminding people to pull masks up before they could enter and we never heard anyone argue. Social distancing was hit or miss but we thought Disney on the rides still was trying to abide by current guidelines and never felt uncomfortable though we are all vaccinated adult wise. 

My biggest worry was missing magic that I remembered from when I was a kid and seeing my DD reaction to seeing characters and not being able to get too close. But I am happy to report I was worrying over nothing. Some of it might be that since she is 2 yo and never been to the parks she didn't know anything different but the first time she saw Minnie Mouse in that first calvacade at HS almost made me tear up she was so happy just sitting there smiling and waving. 

As far as characters, we though MK and Epcot were best for actual character interactions. The characters on the train balcony were really great. My DD's favorite character is Winnie the Pooh and one day she had on a Pooh dress and watching them dance and play peek a boo for several minutes at a time was amazing. You may not be able to get a hug from the characters but I thought the character CM's did a great job of making sure to wave and interact from a distance. We hung out on Main Street for quite a bit as DD's favorite part of the parks was characters and at least in the time we were there, characters came out every 15-20 minutes and would stay for 10 minutes or so. DD also had really good interactions at Epcot with Joy, Anna, and Elsa. The ones at Epcot felt most like the traditional meet and greets and could get closer pictures with the characters. The MK calvacades were great and we caught them all multiple times, though we did make a point of it several times but also stumbled across them at other times. It was nice not having to devote a bunch of time staking out a parade watching spot an hour before. 

We were at the parks 45-60 minutes prior to official opening everyday and I think that is key to getting rides in. We didn't wait too long for anything but we had all our ADR's at lunch and then would let DD nap after lunch and then start riding rides again later in the day once it calmed down some. Looking at the wait times mid afternoon and they were all long looking. One bonus of not having a lot of FP being handed out is for rider switch, the second rider basically walks on as there aren't a lot of other people in that line so we were able to save a lot of time that way compared to before I feel like. 

All in all, I am happy we went and felt like we were going at a perfect time right when mask restrictions were loosened but before capacity skyrocketed. The people going in the next month or so before more CM are back or more entertainment options are back might be in for some long waits.


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## SarahC97

Sarahslay said:


> We always RD AND go back later in the day, we always do as much by lunch as we can, have our ADR, then leave. We have a break and then go back later on in the afternoon/evening and do a ton of stuff too. At HS we can usually get as much stuff done (if not more) that we did in the morning, the only park that doesn't usually hold true with is MK for some reason, but we still get so much done. We will be there for a full week starting next weekend, with first park day Memorial Day because we're crazy lol, so I'll let you know if it's crazy to go and try to do the parks in the afternoon. We loathe the parks midday, but love them first thing in the morning and at night, so we always make the most of both strategies and hope they'll help us on this trip. We are, of course, just happy to be there, this will be my 6th trip since reopening so I'm not too worried about it. I do hope that as the months go by things can start to loosen (because the world is getting better), and stuff starts coming back, fingers crossed because I do have more trips planned lol


This is our strategy a lot as well. We get there in the morning, do a few rides, have lunch, and then leave, heading back to the parks in the evening. We've had so many enjoyable trips with this strategy! We'll be there over Memorial Day too -- I'm wondering just how crazy it's going to be! LOL


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## hulagirl87

My best friend is there right now and texting me frequently.   She was in Epcot yesterday, Sunday, and said it was extremely busy and extremely hot.  The wait for Frozen was 3 hours at 3:00.  She said she loved Beauty and the Beast sing along in France and there was a long line for the Mexico pavilion and her words "I'm sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat"  

This morning she went to Animal Kingdom.  There is no rope drop.  She got there at 7:40 and said there were already a million people there and the wait for Flight of Passage was already over an hour.  

I would still take heat and crowds over sitting remote learning with my kids.  I love them, but man this remote learning is for the birds


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## Sarahslay

SarahC97 said:


> This is our strategy a lot as well. We get there in the morning, do a few rides, have lunch, and then leave, heading back to the parks in the evening. We've had so many enjoyable trips with this strategy! We'll be there over Memorial Day too -- I'm wondering just how crazy it's going to be! LOL


I'm sure it's gonna be nuts lol, gonna pack my patience pants. At least we got all the ADRs we wanted for lunch, so we're all set in the middle of the day for a good break when people start getting cranky around us. DH and I have been fully vaccinated for over a month, oldest DD is halfway vaccinated, so we're feeling pretty good and will form a little bubble around the youngest DD for our own social distancing in lines. DH has it all planned out at least lol. We have a 1 bedroom villa so we can have room to chill, looking to actually relax some and not be all stressed about it, gonna get done what we can and let the rest go.


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## SarahC97

Sarahslay said:


> I'm sure it's gonna be nuts lol, gonna pack my patience pants. At least we got all the ADRs we wanted for lunch, so we're all set in the middle of the day for a good break when people start getting cranky around us. DH and I have been fully vaccinated for over a month, oldest DD is halfway vaccinated, so we're feeling pretty good and will form a little bubble around the youngest DD for our own social distancing in lines. DH has it all planned out at least lol. We have a 1 bedroom villa so we can have room to chill, looking to actually relax some and not be all stressed about it, gonna get done what we can and let the rest go.


Yep, we're the exact same with vaccinations and bubble-making! And ADRs! We're trip twinsies, I think. Have a good one!


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## Castlequeen5

Sarahslay said:


> We always RD AND go back later in the day, we always do as much by lunch as we can, have our ADR, then leave. We have a break and then go back later on in the afternoon/evening and do a ton of stuff too. At HS we can usually get as much stuff done (if not more) that we did in the morning, the only park that doesn't usually hold true with is MK for some reason, but we still get so much done. We will be there for a full week starting next weekend, with first park day Memorial Day because we're crazy lol, so I'll let you know if it's crazy to go and try to do the parks in the afternoon. We loathe the parks midday, but love them first thing in the morning and at night, so we always make the most of both strategies and hope they'll help us on this trip. We are, of course, just happy to be there, this will be my 6th trip since reopening so I'm not too worried about it. I do hope that as the months go by things can start to loosen (because the world is getting better), and stuff starts coming back, fingers crossed because I do have more trips planned lol


We sorta do both as well.  We typically get to the parks early, take a break, and then go back until closing.  We’ve always been able to ride/do everything we wanted.  This was our strategy during spring break 2 months ago, and we had no problems.  We will also be there the week of Memorial Day.  Our first day will be Memorial Day at MK nonetheless!  I have no doubt it’ll be busy, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.  I’m looking forward to some of the restrictions being lifted, since we were there last time.


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## Sarahslay

hulagirl87 said:


> My best friend is there right now and texting me frequently.   She was in Epcot yesterday, Sunday, and said it was extremely busy and extremely hot.  The wait for Frozen was 3 hours at 3:00.  She said she loved Beauty and the Beast sing along in France and there was a long line for the Mexico pavilion and her words "I'm sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat"
> 
> This morning she went to Animal Kingdom.  There is no rope drop.  She got there at 7:40 and said there were already a million people there and the wait for Flight of Passage was already over an hour.
> 
> I would still take heat and crowds over sitting remote learning with my kids.  I love them, but man this remote learning is for the birds


According to TP the wait time for Frozen yesterday only got up to about 50 minutes posted (and around 3:00 it was posted around 45 minutes long), with an observed average wait time around 45 minutes. I think maybe your friend should have had a bit more water yesterday lol. Also, if the posted opening time for AK is 8 then if you aren't there by at least 7:20 you will be waiting a while to get on FOP. They open it up around 7:15 and everyone heads to FOP, If we get to AK any later than 7:20-7:30 we go and ride other stuff and come back to FOP later in the day. Usually if we are in super early it's a walk on, and by the time we leave it's already an hour+ to ride, usually snaking all the way to Africa past Creature Comforts.


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## Sarahslay

SarahC97 said:


> Yep, we're the exact same with vaccinations and bubble-making! And ADRs! We're trip twinsies, I think. Have a good one!


and name twinsies


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## Sarahslay

Castlequeen5 said:


> We sorta do both as well.  We typically get to the parks early, take a break, and then go back until closing.  We’ve always been able to ride/do everything we wanted.  This was our strategy during spring break 2 months ago, and we had no problems.  We will also be there the week of Memorial Day.  Our first day will be Memorial Day at MK nonetheless!  I have no doubt it’ll be busy, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.  I’m looking forward to some of the restrictions being lifted, since we were there last time.


We'll be at MK too! I'll be happy to be able to take off my mask outside, I do have asthma and about died last August when I went on my solo trip. I know I'll leave it on when I can, and will wear it when I'm supposed to, but I do have problems in the heat and humidity for long periods of time so it will be much easier for me this trip.


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## Castlequeen5

Sarahslay said:


> We'll be at MK too! I'll be happy to be able to take off my mask outside, I do have asthma and about died last August when I went on my solo trip. I know I'll leave it on when I can, and will wear it when I'm supposed to, but I do have problems in the heat and humidity for long periods of time so it will be much easier for me this trip.


I’m very excited about the more lenient mask restrictions too.  Last time we couldn’t even remove them for pictures.  This is a graduation trip, so I’m glad the photos will be much better!


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## jmedrew

Here now and thought I would post as a non mask wearer as it seems all posts are from maskers. I hate the mask. I’ve come Aug of 2020 and Jan of 2021 and it sucked wearing it outside.
It’s amazing to not wear it outside. Also I would say a majority are not wearing it outside. The posts here make it seem most are and I’m not seeing that at all. I will take it off everywhere so don’t have to wear it. I also read somewhere you need to wear it in lines outside but majority of people are not doing that. Only once you get up to the entrance, then people put it on. Crowds, people in lines, none of that bothers me one bit. I’m not covid scared and haven’t been. Not trying to debate with people, just giving my views since all the posts here seem to be the opposite.
MK today is pretty crowded. Hoping it thins out later. DS yesterday was good during the day but got real busy last night. Again, none of that bothers me. Feels like old times!  I say bring it on!!!


----------



## bjscheel

Rivergirl2005 said:


> Hey everyone! I am loving the reports! Not sure if I should ask here but I do have a couple questions. Our trip is June 14-22 so we are less than a month away. We are staying at Coronado springs. What time should we be at the bus stop if we want to first each day? Also if we are park hoping but want to grab dinner at a quick service, can we still order our meal even though we are not in the park in the morning? So like we start at HS but want to eat at AK. How does that work?



We stayed at CSR May 8-15.  We did shoot for 1.5 hours before park opening, but didn't usually quite make it.  I still think that we got on the first bus of the day because I watched in the app and it appeared the first busses were arriving 6:40-6:50 for 8am parks. (App was not completely accurate but still kind of nice.) We stayed in Casitas, which is the first stop to get picked up.  Occasionally we were full at the first 1-2 stops and bypassed the other stops so I was glad to get on at Casitas.  Perhaps in June they will be filling the busses fuller.

We did not park hop, but I don't think there is a requirement to be inside the park when mobile ordering?


----------



## Sarahslay

Rivergirl2005 said:


> Hey everyone! I am loving the reports! Not sure if I should ask here but I do have a couple questions. Our trip is June 14-22 so we are less than a month away. We are staying at Coronado springs. What time should we be at the bus stop if we want to first each day? Also if we are park hoping but want to grab dinner at a quick service, can we still order our meal even though we are not in the park in the morning? So like we start at HS but want to eat at AK. How does that work?


I can't comment on buses at CSR, but I can on the mobile order situation. We often set up mobile order when not in a park, usually on a bus on the way to a park, or in our room well before we got to the park. We've done breakfast at Woody's lunchbox while still in pjs in the room, we've ordered lunch while on the bus at 7am headed to the park, and we've ordered dinner at one park for much later in the evening while waiting on a bus to leave a different park after lunch (specifically leaving MK around 1pm and putting an order in for dinner at Satuli Canteen at AK for dinner at 5:30pm). We've done this on 4 trips and never had any issue, generally works well in our favor to figure out what we want when we want it well in advance so we don't have to fight for time slots and have it all taken care of. Of course we've only just gotten to park hop on 2 of those 4 trips, but still no issues at all, and have never been in the park when we've set up any of the mobile orders, just make sure the park your eating at later is for after 2pm.


----------



## Anne Scaffo

Mango7100 said:


> Continuing with our reverse strategy of going to parks in late afternoon (we are normally hardcore rope droppers), we arrived at DHS Sunday at 4. We rode TSM x 2 (posted 20, actual 10-12), SDD (posted 60, actual 32), Saucers (posted 5, actual 5), and Runaway Railroad x 3 (posted 20, actual 15). First time on that ride and thought it was ridiculously fun. We lucked out and made it into the line about 30 seconds before close so we rode it 3 times in an hour.


Based on some of the reverse RD reports that I have seen, I am seriously reconsidering some of my RD plans for late June.  Maybe I will mix it up a bit.  I am not what anyone would consider an early morning person.  But, when I am at WDW, it is impossible for me to stay in bed.  So, RD is usually my way to go.  This will be a solo trip, and I will have a lot of flexibility.


----------



## kylenne

Sarahslay said:


> We always RD AND go back later in the day, we always do as much by lunch as we can, have our ADR, then leave. We have a break and then go back later on in the afternoon/evening and do a ton of stuff too. At HS we can usually get as much stuff done (if not more) that we did in the morning, the only park that doesn't usually hold true with is MK for some reason, but we still get so much done. We will be there for a full week starting next weekend, with first park day Memorial Day because we're crazy lol, so I'll let you know if it's crazy to go and try to do the parks in the afternoon. We loathe the parks midday, but love them first thing in the morning and at night, so we always make the most of both strategies and hope they'll help us on this trip. We are, of course, just happy to be there, this will be my 6th trip since reopening so I'm not too worried about it. I do hope that as the months go by things can start to loosen (because the world is getting better), and stuff starts coming back, fingers crossed because I do have more trips planned lol





SarahC97 said:


> This is our strategy a lot as well. We get there in the morning, do a few rides, have lunch, and then leave, heading back to the parks in the evening. We've had so many enjoyable trips with this strategy! We'll be there over Memorial Day too -- I'm wondering just how crazy it's going to be! LOL





Castlequeen5 said:


> We sorta do both as well.  We typically get to the parks early, take a break, and then go back until closing.  We’ve always been able to ride/do everything we wanted.  This was our strategy during spring break 2 months ago, and we had no problems.  We will also be there the week of Memorial Day.  Our first day will be Memorial Day at MK nonetheless!  I have no doubt it’ll be busy, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.  I’m looking forward to some of the restrictions being lifted, since we were there last time.



I will also be there over Memorial Day, my 8 day trip starts this Saturday but I deliberately chose Memorial Day for my pool/resort day at GF. If I go into MK at all it will be after my dinner ADR at Chef Mickey’s. But I have always, always been a rope drop/leave for midday break/go back at night person. Mom just raised me that way, lol...we did that on our family trips growing up. Even pre-covid that was the way to go imo. I chose a split stay between GF and YC specifically for that ease of rope drop, I like to rely on my feet and to have non-bus options to get home.

My only concern is what time the GF walkway opens and how long walkers are held there and at Crescent Lake for HS.


----------



## Tess

kylenne said:


> I will also be there over Memorial Day, my 8 day trip starts this Saturday but I deliberately chose Memorial Day for my pool/resort day at GF. If I go into MK at all it will be after my dinner ADR at Chef Mickey’s. But I have always, always been a rope drop/leave for midday break/go back at night person. Mom just raised me that way, lol...we did that on our family trips growing up. Even pre-covid that was the way to go imo. I chose a split stay between GF and YC specifically for that ease of rope drop, I like to rely on my feet and to have non-bus options to get home.
> 
> My only concern is what time the GF walkway opens and how long walkers are held there and at Crescent Lake for HS.



The only hold at HS is prior to tap in.  If you arrive way too early, security won't allow you to get into the queue area.  I only know this because our daughter and her SO were running last fall and were unable to go beyond the entrance to the bus area -- probably 6:30ish a.m.


----------



## Sarahslay

kylenne said:


> I will also be there over Memorial Day, my 8 day trip starts this Saturday but I deliberately chose Memorial Day for my pool/resort day at GF. If I go into MK at all it will be after my dinner ADR at Chef Mickey’s. But I have always, always been a rope drop/leave for midday break/go back at night person. Mom just raised me that way, lol...we did that on our family trips growing up. Even pre-covid that was the way to go imo. I chose a split stay between GF and YC specifically for that ease of rope drop, I like to rely on my feet and to have non-bus options to get home.
> 
> My only concern is what time the GF walkway opens and how long walkers are held there and at Crescent Lake for HS.


I did this strategy long before Covid as well, it's just how I roll, I can't do it any other way lol. I can't speak for the GF walkway since I haven't stayed there since it opened, but I have stayed at EPCOT resorts on almost every trip (4 total) since reopening and we have never been held on the walkway. We always left the resort around 7:15 (BCV, YCx3) and have always been some of the first in the park. In fact, when I went in August I was the absolute first person in the park. This trip we're at Riviera because we are taking a more chilled approached, on account of the previous 5 trips in the last year, but I'm never concerned about the walkways opening with plenty of time to get us to the parks with time to spare. I had friends at GF a couple of weeks ago that were some of the first in the park and walked, so obviously it opened early (they did NOT keep track of time though, I was constantly getting texts every nigth asking what time they needed to do stuff the next day lol).


----------



## Helvetica

DHS is a lot hotter today, but it seems like it’s going better operations wise.

Tower of Terror is closer to full capacity and they’re loading every row. They are actively looking for single riders in Tower of Terror and adding them to groups of two in rows of four with a seat between them.

They’re also loading every row in the Frozen Sing a Long with an open chair between groups.

I was also able to get a boarding group for Rise! 6th times the charm!

…Just be sure to get your quick service orders in early. Woody’s Lunchbox was full until 2pm by 10:50am.


----------



## neptuneflame

Helvetica said:


> I was also able to get a boarding group for Rise! 6th times the charm!



Huzzah!!


----------



## Mango7100

zackiedawg said:


> Glad to see that report.  Seems a vast majority here are rope-droppers, so it's hard to find too many reports of what it's like later in the day.  Of course, my trip isn't until 4th of July weekend, so not only can things change a lot by then, but the holiday weekend could make any reports moot as that weekend could be crazy busy.
> 
> Still, when I go to Disney, I'm 100% the opposite of rope-drop - the earliest I go to any park is about 1pm - sometimes even later, and I pretty much stay to park close.  I definitely sleep in, then relax, make breakfast, read on my balcony, and wander around the resort for the early afternoon, or stroll over to Disney Springs if I'm staying at Saratoga.  I'll often take boat transportation to other resorts, or DS bus to another resort and then walk into the parks from there, or take a boat (I prefer boats whenever possible for the slow pace and the scenery).
> 
> I'm still hoping maybe by July, the rules may relax even more, maybe they'll drop the masks altogether by then if vaccinations keep up, and various shows, fireworks, and closed venues will reopen, rides may start filling all rows to reduce the lines, etc.  Probably not as soon as July, but who knows...either way, I'm just looking forward to getting away somewhere after a year and a half of being stuck around home and work, so even if I don't ride any rides, and just walk around seeing the Disney scenery again, I'll be happy.


I think we are converts on the rope dropping. It has been so much more relaxing sleeping in, DD8 is happier and not as tired. I was always the one screaming “hurry up, we are going to be late!” and freaking out about being on the first ferry, getting to rides, etc. Now we wake up whenever, have a little breakfast in the room, DD watches some TV (which we never do in the morning at home), get to the pool for 10 am opening, and go back to room around 2 for showers. People arriving at 1130-12 at the SSR pool have been out of luck—all the loungers are taken by then.


----------



## Helvetica

neptuneflame said:


> Huzzah!!



…My boarding group was called! Now Rise is down. It’s almost like they don’t want me to ride.


----------



## neptuneflame

Helvetica said:


> …My boarding group was called! Now Rise is down. It’s almost like they don’t want me to ride.



The universe is telling you to schedule another trip


----------



## Helvetica

neptuneflame said:


> The universe is telling you to schedule another trip



I already have another one scheduled for September. Whatever happens, happens.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

neptuneflame said:


> A galaxy far, far away is telling you to schedule another trip


Fixed it for you.


----------



## zackiedawg

Mango7100 said:


> I think we are converts on the rope dropping. It has been so much more relaxing sleeping in, DD8 is happier and not as tired. I was always the one screaming “hurry up, we are going to be late!” and freaking out about being on the first ferry, getting to rides, etc. Now we wake up whenever, have a little breakfast in the room, DD watches some TV (which we never do in the morning at home), get to the pool for 10 am opening, and go back to room around 2 for showers. People arriving at 1130-12 at the SSR pool have been out of luck—all the loungers are taken by then.



Pre-Covid, I generally go to Disney World 4-5 times a year, each time for 4-5 days.  I have been a DVC member since 1996 and always had annual passes, and live in South Florida just a few hours' drive away.  Because of that, my Disney trips varied between a few different styles.  I sometimes go with friends, especially those who don't go often or have never been, and those trips tend to be more about trying to get on all the popular rides, see the shows, etc.  It's more about them than me, and I'm sort of the 'host'.  Sometimes I travel with family (all adults, no kids) and rides are skipped almost entirely - it's about being at the parks and slow-pacing it, enjoying restaurants and cocktails and people-watching...we generally hit all the higher-end restaurants and concentrate more on evenings than afternoons.  And sometimes I travel solo, where I can do whatever I want at whatever pace I want...I tend to concentrate more on photography, hit some rides if the lines aren't long or if I can score fastpasses, but nothing is a 'can't miss' or 'must do', so I can skip rides if the waits go too long.  I definitely sleep in on those trips, as I will often be at parks until AFTER park closing hours - staying extra late waiting for most people to stream out so I can take photographs with more empty parks.  I still like to enjoy meals and cocktails, but skip the real high-end places which wouldn't be as fun or worth it by myself.  I generally don't even make ADRs when traveling solo.  Bars are always great places at Disney when solo because most people are very conversational and like to chat among strangers.
The July trip will be solo, then I'm up there again in September with family, and December with a friend...probably January 2022 with family again, then solo after that.  I do tend to like the adult family and solo trips the best, where I'm not feeling like I'm on a mission or schedule to cram in as much as possible - but at the same time, I still enjoy when friends who have never been or haven't in many years are having fun - so I'm OK with one or two trips a year being a little more hectic and scheduled!


----------



## Miffy

We missed RD at DAK this morning and by the time we got there, a little after 8 a.m., the FoP queue was already 90+ minutes, so we didn't do it. Instead rode NRJ after a very short wait, then did KS twice, waiting about 35 minutes each time (posted was over an hour in both instances).

We've had fantastic safaris the entire time we've been here. I could go to DAK every day and do nothing but back-to-back-to-back-to-back, etc., safaris and be quite happy. And a few FoPs too!


----------



## starryagain

Great MK evening. Much shorter lines than we are used to in May this early (normally only the last 90 minutes this short). We were there 5:30-8:00.

- walk on teacups (posted 10 minutes)
- walk on Dumbo (posted 5)
- walk on barnstormer (posted 5)
- walk on little mermaid (posted 15)
- Pooh 20 minutes (what Disney posted, tp said 15)
- dinner at cosmic rays. No issues with mobile order
- walk on Buzz (posted 5)
- 15 minutes space mountain (Disney posted 25, tp said 15)


----------



## starryagain

We also did Rise today. First for everyone in our group of 8. Blown away. We didn't do anything super special just four people hitting refresh from our room. Got BG 23. Felt so blessed to see the pre shows! Incredible. My jaw was on the floor.


----------



## xiphoid76

jmedrew said:


> Here now and thought I would post as a non mask wearer as it seems all posts are from maskers. I hate the mask. I’ve come Aug of 2020 and Jan of 2021 and it sucked wearing it outside.
> It’s amazing to not wear it outside. Also I would say a majority are not wearing it outside. The posts here make it seem most are and I’m not seeing that at all. I will take it off everywhere so don’t have to wear it. I also read somewhere you need to wear it in lines outside but majority of people are not doing that. Only once you get up to the entrance, then people put it on. Crowds, people in lines, none of that bothers me one bit. I’m not covid scared and haven’t been. Not trying to debate with people, just giving my views since all the posts here seem to be the opposite.
> MK today is pretty crowded. Hoping it thins out later. DS yesterday was good during the day but got real busy last night. Again, none of that bothers me. Feels like old times!  I say bring it on!!!


I know how you feel, from reading the posts here it seems people love the masks.  I am not anti mask at all, but feel so much happier not wearing it.  I think 95% of the people outside had masks off, maybe more it seemed. In the queues it was not enforced at all and wearing was like 80%. On the attractions and inside it was from what i witnessed 100% compliance.  At the hotel - Boardwalk 100% compliance inside, and outside the lobby no one wearing masks. People following the rules for the most part but the mask police luckily waning.  
I think most people are ready to be done with the masks


----------



## jmedrew

xiphoid76 said:


> I know how you feel, from reading the posts here it seems people love the masks.  I am not anti mask at all, but feel so much happier not wearing it.  I think 95% of the people outside had masks off, maybe more it seemed. In the queues it was not enforced at all and wearing was like 80%. On the attractions and inside it was from what i witnessed 100% compliance.  At the hotel - Boardwalk 100% compliance inside, and outside the lobby no one wearing masks. People following the rules for the most part but the mask police luckily waning.
> I think most people are ready to be done with the masks


Agree...but I am anti mask...lol.  Can’t wait for when it’s totally gone because right now, the on and off is pretty counterproductive. I’ve never touched my face so much in one day. Again, my opinion.
It’s just so great to see people again. Also, since I am not a normal mask wearer, I am just not used to wearing it at all.  And I’d love to see the cast members faces again. So to be gone with it would be fabulous.
Also, next step, the plexiglass on Frozen needs to GO. Wow, is that bad. I’ve done it 3 times with no plexiglass and my last visit we got front row so I didn't know how bad it really makes it. My sister is the biggest Frozen fan and she was so disappointed in the ride but we think it all had to do with the cloudy plexiglass in front of our faces.

But Epcot was gorgeous last night. The weather yesterday was amazing!!  We also got parks switched last minute as our party had been separated on the reservations and at two separate parks. So it was a great day!  AK today!!

eta-wow, I haven’t posted in a long time. My signature is so old!!!!!!!


----------



## hulagirl87

Sarahslay said:


> According to TP the wait time for Frozen yesterday only got up to about 50 minutes posted (and around 3:00 it was posted around 45 minutes long), with an observed average wait time around 45 minutes. I think maybe your friend should have had a bit more water yesterday lol. Also, if the posted opening time for AK is 8 then if you aren't there by at least 7:20 you will be waiting a while to get on FOP. They open it up around 7:15 and everyone heads to FOP, If we get to AK any later than 7:20-7:30 we go and ride other stuff and come back to FOP later in the day. Usually if we are in super early it's a walk on, and by the time we leave it's already an hour+ to ride, usually snaking all the way to Africa past Creature Comforts.



I'm not sure why my friend would have lied about wait times, but ok, I'll tell her to keep hydrated.     She said the line went all the way past China.

And if a park opens at 8, I'm not sure how many people would know to have to get there so early to line up for the actual ride you want to go on.   She expected there to be a rope drop that she would have to wait at, and was surprised that there wasn't.

She said that it looks like a lot of people left Animal Kingdom around lunchtime yesterday and wait times got a lot better in the afternoon and into the evening.


----------



## scrappinginontario

hulagirl87 said:


> I'm not sure why my friend would have lied about wait times, but ok, I'll tell her to keep hydrated.     She said the line went all the way past China.
> 
> And if a park opens at 8, I'm not sure how many people would know to have to get there so early to line up for the actual ride you want to go on.   She expected there to be a rope drop that she would have to wait at, and was surprised that there wasn't.
> 
> She said that it looks like a lot of people left Animal Kingdom around lunchtime yesterday and wait times got a lot better in the afternoon and into the evening.


All parks are opening 45 minutes prior to their posted park opening time so if 8:00 is the posted park opening for AK today then guests would have been allowed to enter at 7:15.  Traditionally (but not guaranteed) Flight of Passage, Na'vi River Journey and Expedition Everest are the AK rides that open at 7:15.

I would recommend your friend (or you) possibly check this thread to help them with other rope drops for the balance of their trip:

*Everything Rope Drop*

The first post in that thread lists a number of tips that will help them with the current rope drop process.  

Hope this helps!


----------



## Sarahslay

hulagirl87 said:


> I'm not sure why my friend would have lied about wait times, but ok, I'll tell her to keep hydrated.     She said the line went all the way past China.
> 
> And if a park opens at 8, I'm not sure how many people would know to have to get there so early to line up for the actual ride you want to go on.   She expected there to be a rope drop that she would have to wait at, and was surprised that there wasn't.
> 
> She said that it looks like a lot of people left Animal Kingdom around lunchtime yesterday and wait times got a lot better in the afternoon and into the evening.


The line regularly goes all the way to China, they do still have social distancing in lines. Every trip I have been on that line snakes back to China, it doesn't matter if it's 30 minutes or an hour it goes back that far, what makes the difference is how fast that line moves. Now that they have the plexi glass (which I hate) that long line isn't as bad, it moves because they load every row, but back before then it was horrific.  I have been to the parks 5 times since reopening (including 3 kinda major holiday times), that's just the way it is. With FOP at opening, if you aren't there before 7:30 to get on FOP you might as well go right something else because you will be standing in line for a very long time. People just know, I don't know what to tell you. If we don't get there in time, and the line is already long, we just wait till later in the day, it always gets better later which is why I always scratch my head at the people who are willing to waste 2 hours of their day first thing when they can just wait 30 minutes later in the day. Of course with all those people in line for that you can pretty much ride everything else as almost walk ons, then go back to FOP after you finish the rest of the park since everyone else was busy standing in line for FOP.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Sarahslay said:


> The line regularly goes all the way to China, they do still have social distancing in lines. Every trip I have been on that line snakes back to China, it doesn't matter if it's 30 minutes or an hour it goes back that far, what makes the difference is how fast that line moves. Now that they have the plexi glass (which I hate) that long line isn't as bad, it moves because they load every row, but back before then it was horrific.  I have been to the parks 5 times since reopening (including 3 kinda major holiday times), that's just the way it is.



Yup. Frozen line is ALWAYS to China - even with a less than 30 minute wait. It's just how the line is distanced. It's never been anywhere close to a 3 hour wait (I can't think of a single ride that has been that long since the limited capacity was put into place, come to think of it, even the big headliners like FOP...).

Now standing in the full sun sure makes it feel like 3 hours


----------



## Sarahslay

Aimeedyan said:


> Yup. Frozen line is ALWAYS to China - even with a less than 30 minute wait. It's just how the line is distanced. It's never been anywhere close to a 3 hour wait (I can't think of a single ride that has been that long since the limited capacity was put into place, come to think of it, even the big headliners like FOP...).
> 
> Now standing in the full sun sure makes it feel like 3 hours


When I'm hangry and in full view of the F&G stall in China it can feel like 100 hours. Thankfully my kids hate the ride with the plexiglass so I don't have to worry about riding it this trip. I think the longest line I've seen in all my trips this year was 2 hours, and that was FOP Thanksgiving week for a bit after park open, followed closely by 7DMT & Splash at 80 minutes on 2 of our trips (we didn't wait in those lines, we came back later to much shorter lines).


----------



## Tess

Sarahslay said:


> According to TP the wait time for Frozen yesterday only got up to about 50 minutes posted (and around 3:00 it was posted around 45 minutes long), with an observed average wait time around 45 minutes. I think maybe your friend should have had a bit more water yesterday lol. Also, if the posted opening time for AK is 8 then if you aren't there by at least 7:20 you will be waiting a while to get on FOP. They open it up around 7:15 and everyone heads to FOP, If we get to AK any later than 7:20-7:30 we go and ride other stuff and come back to FOP later in the day. Usually if we are in super early it's a walk on, and by the time we leave it's already an hour+ to ride, usually snaking all the way to Africa past Creature Comforts.





hulagirl87 said:


> I'm not sure why my friend would have lied about wait times, but ok, I'll tell her to keep hydrated.     She said the line went all the way past China.
> 
> And if a park opens at 8, I'm not sure how many people would know to have to get there so early to line up for the actual ride you want to go on.   She expected there to be a rope drop that she would have to wait at, and was surprised that there wasn't.
> 
> She said that it looks like a lot of people left Animal Kingdom around lunchtime yesterday and wait times got a lot better in the afternoon and into the evening.



In defense of your friend, who happens to be in the park and not simply viewing the sometimes accurate and sometimes inaccurate wait times on an app; she may well have seen the infamous "End of Line" sign carrier and that sign may well have indicated a different wait time than those published.  

I know from firsthand experience on our recent visit (5/6-14/21) that the End of the Line sign carrier times were often off by 10, 15 or 30 minutes versus our actual wait time and the wait times in the apps neither of which generally agree. 

The Frozen line often wended its way throughout China--think switchbacks in the center court area of the temple, around and through the quiet garden area, then back onto world showcase toward the drawbridge area of the showcase.  It was long!

I'm sure your friend had no intention to deceive nor do I think she needed water.  More likely a difference between apps and live person carrying a sign.


----------



## wonderchica

Been here since Saturday night. Having a great trip! Been going to rope drop, afternoon break, then back for dinner to close. I think our longest wait has been for Test Track- 40 minutes, posted 70. By FAR our longest. We did all the headliners at HS, MK, and Epcot. I’d say average we’ve waited for headliners has been 10-25 minutes, plus one walk-on at rope drop. Lots of walk-on rides in the morning and last hour. Tour with a strategy and all has been well. Took buses to parks and got there at unofficial opening every day but Epcot- we were on the 2nd bus and got there a few minutes after open.


----------



## preemiemama

Can anyone tell me if the refillable mugs are available at resorts and the current price?


----------



## Aimeedyan

preemiemama said:


> Can anyone tell me if the refillable mugs are available at resorts and the current price?



Yes, they are. They're $19.99.


----------



## preemiemama

Aimeedyan said:


> Yes, they are. They're $19.99.


Thank you!  Trying to decide if it's worthwhile to us this trip. We usually have it with the dining plan...


----------



## stephnerninnie1984

hulagirl87 said:


> I'm not sure why my friend would have lied about wait times, but ok, I'll tell her to keep hydrated.     She said the line went all the way past China.
> 
> And if a park opens at 8, I'm not sure how many people would know to have to get there so early to line up for the actual ride you want to go on.   She expected there to be a rope drop that she would have to wait at, and was surprised that there wasn't.
> 
> She said that it looks like a lot of people left Animal Kingdom around lunchtime yesterday and wait times got a lot better in the afternoon and into the evening.



Yeah last time I rode Frozen (May 11), the line went all the way into China, like switchbacks through the gardens. Posted wait time of 45, took us 25.


----------



## scrappinginontario

These are challenging times for many people and each person has their own comfort level.  Please stop the discussion re: masks unless it is to specifically share when people were/were not wearing masks.  Please do not discuss your own personal comfort level as that is not important to this thread. Keep it to facts, not opinions re: masks and Covid.

Please stay on topic.  Any further discussion re: masks other than to share specific examples of what you encountered will be removed and possibly warning points awarded.

This thread has been beneficial to many and we want to keep it active but it can only remain active if it remains on topic of sharing actual experiences, not opinions and comfort levels.


----------



## npatellye

stephnerninnie1984 said:


> Yeah last time I rode Frozen (May 11), the line went all the way into China, like switchbacks through the gardens. Posted wait time of 45, took us 25.


Agreed. The line moves much faster than it seems based on wait times posted. My neighbor was at Epcot yesterday and sent a photo of the line snaking through China and waited in it with her kids anyway. She said the end of line wait time listed around 1 pm was 45 minutes but the CM told her it would be 30 or less. It took them 20 minutes. We had a similar experience over Thanksgiving with posted wait time of 60 minutes and actual wait time of 25ish minutes. Last week, we got there early (before the listed opening time) and walked right on.


----------



## zackiedawg

Glad to hear the lines look worse than they may actually be.  Though the one disappointment for me as a photographer is having lines from rides, even the next country over, winding through all the beautiful theming of World Showcase that I like to photograph!  Hard to get nice scenic shots of China with the Frozen line wound all throughout the gardens!  For probably that reason alone, I hope they can narrow the social distancing in the lines to compact them into their own queues again.  Still have a bit over a month before I'll be there, so things may change by then...if not, I'll cope...it's nice to be back either way.


----------



## maui2k5

npatellye said:


> Agreed. The line moves much faster than it seems based on wait times posted. My neighbor was at Epcot yesterday and sent a photo of the line snaking through China and waited in it with her kids anyway. She said the end of line wait time listed around 1 pm was 45 minutes but the CM told her it would be 30 or less. It took them 20 minutes. We had a similar experience over Thanksgiving with posted wait time of 60 minutes and actual wait time of 25ish minutes. Last week, we got there early (before the listed opening time) and walked right on.


Are they still having people stand 6ft apart at Frozen outside (or any other extended queues)?


----------



## kat_lh

Here now. Landed late last night and stayed at the Hyatt in MCO - fabulous btw.

definitely no distancing on MDE. The coach is pretty full and no requests made to stay apart or anything like that.

the video being shown has not been updated and specifically mentions temp checks and 6ft apart.


----------



## SEAGULL59

kat_lh said:


> Here now. Landed late last night and stayed at the Hyatt in MCO - fabulous btw.
> 
> definitely no distancing on MDE. The coach is pretty full and no requests made to stay apart or anything like that.
> 
> the video being shown has not been updated and specifically mentions temp checks and 6ft apart.



We are also staying at the Hyatt on our arrival night (Monday). What time did you get to the MDE line? Was it long? We are trying to decide what time to head there on Tuesday am.


----------



## starryagain

Easy kid friendly morning at MK.

Left Beach Club 7:50 on bus (no wait). Through the gates by 8:10.

Space mountain at 8:15. Posted 15, actual 20-25.

Walk on speedway (posted 0)

Walk on Buzz (posted 10)

Teacups 5 minutes (posted 5)

Walk on Dumbo (posted 5)

Goofy 5 minutes (posted 10)

Little mermaid 5 minutes (posted 5)

Got a snack

All by 10:15. Nothing glamorous but an easy two hours without getting up at 5am and dealing with rope drop stuff.


----------



## Dispro1

zackiedawg said:


> Glad to hear the lines look worse than they may actually be.  Though the one disappointment for me as a photographer is having lines from rides, even the next country over, winding through all the beautiful theming of World Showcase that I like to photograph!  Hard to get nice scenic shots of China with the Frozen line wound all throughout the gardens!  For probably that reason alone, I hope they can narrow the social distancing in the lines to compact them into their own queues again.  Still have a bit over a month before I'll be there, so things may change by then...if not, I'll cope...it's nice to be back either way.


I'm not a photographer, but I was thinking about how the long lines would mess up the WS too!  I'm guessing that won't get much better until Disney brings back some version of FP+ so that some people will be moved from the standby to the FP queue.  

For those who are there now or just back, have you noticed any changes in the capacity allowed inside shops at the parks?  I'm just wondering if there are still lines to get inside and if so, how long?  I'll be curious to see how much the park crowds pick up by the time we get there Friday afternoon.  Seems like a lot of people are going this weekend!


----------



## kat_lh

SEAGULL59 said:


> We are also staying at the Hyatt on our arrival night (Monday). What time did you get to the MDE line? Was it long? We are trying to decide what time to head there on Tuesday am.



we got on the bus at 8:45 and we were standing in line at Stormalong bay at 9:45.


----------



## Sarahslay

preemiemama said:


> Thank you!  Trying to decide if it's worthwhile to us this trip. We usually have it with the dining plan...


I can say from experience it really just depends on how much you drink at your resort. My husband and I both got mugs on our week long stay Thanksgiving week, he got more than his moneys worth, I might have gotten my money back (but just barely). He got coffee in his multiple times a day (wake up and get coffee while I got ready, during our midday break, and usually in the evening a diet coke or coffee because he can fall asleep while actively drinking coffee lol). I would get a cup of coffee in the morning and that's it, sometimes not even that, I mainly drink water and brought bottles for myself for the room so I didn't use it as much but wanted the convenince of not having to check out/mobile order every time I wanted a cup. He still enjoys it even without the dining plan, but he does LOVE to have something to sip on while out on the balcony while reading a book. I will say it was really convenient in the morning.


----------



## WEDWDW

Skyliner is now loading multiple groups per Gondola!

MAJOR development.

Things are happening at HYPERspeed now!


----------



## Sarahslay

Dispro1 said:


> I'm not a photographer, but I was thinking about how the long lines would mess up the WS too!  I'm guessing that won't get much better until Disney brings back some version of FP+ so that some people will be moved from the standby to the FP queue.
> 
> For those who are there now or just back, have you noticed any changes in the capacity allowed inside shops at the parks?  I'm just wondering if there are still lines to get inside and if so, how long?  I'll be curious to see how much the park crowds pick up by the time we get there Friday afternoon.  Seems like a lot of people are going this weekend!


It's a holiday weekend, it's going to be more crowded than it has been the last few weeks anyway regardless of any capacity changes. I was there presidents day weekend and it got a lot more crowded over the weekend than it was over the end of the week when we were there. Thursday and Friday there were very few lines to get in to store, Saturday and Sunday we didn't even try to get in to the Emporium and had to wait to get in to Mouse Gear (not long, it was like 2 minutes max). Even with capacity restrictions and lines going out the doors the stores are still packed inside, at Christmas the line was back to Crystal Palace and the store was so packed we immediately left (we were let in right before the line formed and it got long quick). I really don't think you can tell any difference in what the crowd capacity is in the shops because it can always just be described as " a lot".


----------



## Sarahslay

WEDWDW said:


> Skyliner is now loading multiple groups per Gondola!
> 
> MAJOR development.
> 
> Things are happening at HYPERspeed now!


Yeah, and if they had announced this was happening ahead of time I wouldn't have booked us at Riviera. I really didn't like sharing pre-Covid, still don't lol (has nothing to do with Covid, I just never really liked it, but I like it less now since people are just so rude with things). I just got heated with folks in the comment section on the dis FB post about this. I'm not a happy camper, I guess we'll be driving.


----------



## olive

WEDWDW said:


> Skyliner is now loading multiple groups per Gondola!
> 
> MAJOR development.
> 
> Things are happening at HYPERspeed now!



Now where is the Epcot monorail?? I hope it is soon to follow.


----------



## jenjersnap

I am glad my RIV waitlist didn’t come through with this news. We only have the one meal at Toppolino’s and we will just Uber both ways.



Sarahslay said:


> Yeah, and if they had announced this was happening ahead of time I wouldn't have booked us at Riviera. I really didn't like sharing pre-Covid, still don't lol (has nothing to do with Covid, I just never really liked it, but I like it less now since people are just so rude with things). I just got heated with folks in the comment section on the dis FB post about this. I'm not a happy camper, I guess we'll be driving.


----------



## starryagain

Informational only. Here now in Splash Mountain line. Only 30% of people wearing masks deep in the queue. Which is outside. I'm one of those wearing a mask so don't @ me. Just trying to set expectations. Very little distancing. I would say 25% higher than a normal year.


----------



## mousehouse23

Arrived yesterday, first time staying at BWV (studio boardwalk view). First stay as DVC members, too! Note: we did not get early check-in OR our request via TP. In fact, we're in one of the two studios on the first floor...so a patio, no balcony. Check-in was at 3:50 pm. But honestly, it's fine. I love the atmosphere of BWV! The music just puts you in such a wonderfully relaxed mood. The room is fine, though I hate being on the side of the bed without a table or USB outlets. Small quibble! 

We had a very successful first morning at MK! 

6:15: Woke up, quick breakfast 

6:42: Got to the BWV bus stop

6:57: MK bus came (an AK bus came just before) 

7:15: through the turnstiles at MK 

We tried hitting Pirates first, but it wasn't running, and CM said he wasn't sure when it would be open. So we hopped over to Space.

7:30: Got into the SM line, which wasn't yet running

7:43: Line started moving 

8:00-9:45: 

PPF
IASM
Pooh
Little Mermaid 
HM 

~9:45: 15 minute wait for BTM (Disney said 30) 

~10:10: 31 minute wait for Splash Mountain (Disney said 45) 

10:50: 30 minute wait for PoTC (Disney said 35) 

11:30: 7 minute wait after hitting "Prepare My Order" at Pecos Bill's (I tried the Southwest Chicken salad, which was good, but needed salsa; I'd definitely add the guac, too!)

12:00: 7 minute wait for PeopleMover (it stopped for 5 minutes while we were on it)


So we spent about 5 hours in the park, and managed to ride 10 attractions AND eat lunch. I'm a huge fan of FP+ (heck, I even wrote a book about how best to tour WDW! ), but I didn't miss it at all today. Our touring felt much more organic this way. Now, if the park were more crowded, I could see myself missing it, for sure. Our only substantive waits were toward the end of the morning. We got out of the park before it got unbearably hot.

Touring Plans/Lines was very good for us. They nailed everything to within 10%, I'd say. I'm very glad I got the subscription. 

Masks/Distancing: This has been well covered. Being vaccinated, I felt fine. But there really isn't much social distancing anymore. I would say mask adherence was still pretty good. It's not really required in the outside queues until you cross the CMs at the "official" start of the line. 

We're going to take a nap, then swim at the pool and grab some soft serve from the Boardwalk Bakery. (The new Boardwalk ice cream place is closed for some reason today). Then it's off to Epcot later on!


----------



## neptuneflame

I’ve noticed this week that on the day of, some park passes have become available. Yesterday there were passes for all but Epcot, but today was sold out. Today there are passes for all but Epcot, etc. (So don’t give up hope late bookers!)

I’m interested in adding a day to our tickets for the day we arrive but only if passes become available. If I wait till we get there, what is the best way to do this? Front desk? Go to the park I want to enter if there are passes and go to guest relations?


----------



## Shelbizzles

I’m here now. And why does it seem like every attraction, shop, restaurant etc has like no A/C on. Is that typical for this time of year? I mean they definitely has some air on but I’m use to it like punching me in the face when I walk inside. It just seems a heck of a lot warmer indoors then I remember them being.


----------



## zackiedawg

I wonder if the policy of requiring lines to get in to stores and facilities mean doors are open a lot more than usual, and causing the AC's to struggle to stay cool inside.  I've been in DW in every month of the year at one point or another, and regardless of the very hottest day, their interiors are usually lovely and icy cold.


----------



## Shelbizzles

I suppose that’s possible. I’ve also been in September precovid and it was never hot in stores or attractions. Definitely not restaurants. But the only lines I’ve really scene for stores has been in galaxy’s edge and maybe very few in Disney springs. And some stores even had more doors closed to control traffic flow.


----------



## starryagain

General observations from the week so far (been here since Saturday at Beach Club). We stayed during the same week in May 2016 and May 2017:

- Line waits are down vs our 2017 experience with the exception of show type rides. I *think* they are still doing some distancing for those but I imagine that situation is rapidly changing. But for instance, there are two show waits for Country Bears and Tiki Room. Never seen that before. On the other hand, we've been able to walk on a lot of rides we have had to wait for in FP+.
- Rope drop has been miserable for us. We started aiming for the official opening time and it's gone much better. We have kids in our group so that experience may vary. I suggest just doing Epcot at night. Rope drop is miserable and already so hot. Lines are very busy at epcot rope drop.
- In general evenings are treating us the best. Very low waits.
- MK and Epcot "feel" emptier to me. AK any HS "feel" more crowded. I think AK and especially HS lean their capacity a lot more on character meets and shows and those being reduced spills everyone onto the walkways, etc.
- Masking seems reasonable to me. Almost no one wears them outside. Cast members ALWAYS wear them. If you are particular about masking DO NOT COME RIGHT NOW.
- This is the first time I've felt normal since March 2020. I'm so happy I could cry.

**Edit per mod request


----------



## Leigh L

starryagain said:


> General observations from the week so far (been here since Saturday at Beach Club). We stayed during the same week in May 2016 and May 2017:
> 
> - Line waits are down vs our 2017 experience with the exception of show type rides. I *think* they are still doing some distancing for those but I imagine that situation is rapidly changing. But for instance, there are two show waits for Country Bears and Tiki Room. Never seen that before. On the other hand, we've been able to walk on a lot of rides we have had to wait for in FP+.
> - Rope drop has been miserable for us. We started aiming for the official opening time and it's gone much better. We have kids in our group so that experience may vary. I suggest just doing Epcot at night. Rope drop is miserable and already so hot. Lines are very busy at epcot rope drop.
> - In general evenings are treating us the best. Very low waits.
> - MK and Epcot "feel" emptier to me. AK any HS "feel" more crowded. I think AK and especially HS lean their capacity a lot more on character meets and shows and those being reduced spills everyone onto the walkways, etc.
> - Masking seems reasonable to me. Almost no one wears them outside. Cast members ALWAYS wear them. If you are particular about masking DO NOT COME RIGHT NOW.
> - I was a fairly coronavirus serious person and this is the first time I've felt normal since March 2020. I'm so happy I could cry.


Enjoy the rest of your trip! So happy for you 
Thanks for sharing your experiences too! (We go next month. We've been a few times but it's clear June is not going to look like February did!)


----------



## Pyotr

I’m currently at the Riviera. Today we spent a few hours at Epcot. Yes, the Skyliner is loading multiplayer groups together. Aside from that, social distancing is nonexistent. We didn’t go on any rides, just walked around for a few hours and ate. It’s definitely busier than our previous two Covid trips.

I’m a Floridan, and used to the heat, but wow was it hot today.


----------



## LSUmiss

tsme said:


> I have a little gossip from a bellman. He told me even though Disney has increased crowds levels a lot, they haven’t hired back enough CMs & they are stressed, overworked, & tired. Also told me that there is concern about the pipes at BC, since they are old & they’ve just been randomly flushing every so often. The fear is once it fully opens they will be plumbing issues. And that Disney hired a company to deal with it but took lowest bid & in the past that’s caused more issues. Anyway, take that as you will, just thought I’d share.


I had a bus driver (not joking) tell me the same thing. Said they can’t keep up with the transportation demands. Said they are using charter busses (which we saw) & it’s still not enough b/c of the Covid protocols on busses.  Think it’s time to either loosen transportation restrictions or limit capacity. It doesn’t seem like there is anymore that can be done. Workers are stressed & under paid. Current situation is not sustainable. I see ppl on other threads complaining about skyliner increasing capacity per  gondola, but, with lines stretching to beach club at Epcot park close, there have to so something.


----------



## WEDWDW

LSUmiss said:


> I had a bus driver (not joking) tell me the same thing. Said they can’t keep up with the transportation demands. Said they are using charter busses (which we saw) & it’s still not enough b/c of the Covid protocols on busses.  Think it’s time to either loosen transportation restrictions or limit capacity. It doesn’t seem like there is anymore that can be done. Workers are stressed & under paid. Current situation is not sustainable. I see ppl on other threads complaining about skyliner increasing capacity per  gondola, but, with lines stretching to beach club at Epcot park close, there have to so something.


We experienced the same thing last month-the CMs told us many of them are working double-shifts,etc.-they are SERIOUSLY stressed.

I think the return of Skyliner to Pre-Covid operations will soon be followed by the Buses-it HAS to happen for WDW to move forward(Masks on the Buses still required,but SD eliminated).

Also,the return of the College Program will be a total GAME CHANGER-we had multiple CMs tell us last month(this was before the announcement) that they desperately needed the CP help ASAP.

Those 2 things-the return of the College Program and full-load Buses will change the dynamic at WDW INCREDIBLY.


----------



## Mango7100

Drove home today, but we arrived at MK around 415 for our last park day. We saw 2 character sets (princesses and Mickey and Friends). We rode Big Thunder x2, HM, Little Mermaid, Carousel x2, Dumbo, Barnstormer x2, SDMT, Peoplemover, Buzz, Speedway, and Small World. The evenings have worked well for us. 

One woman at dumbo was losing her mind and did not feel that the mask rule on rides should apply to her. She was screaming at the poor CM who remained very calm. I don’t know what happened but I hope they escorted her out. 

Final Thoughts: Missed character meets and fireworks quite a bit.

Even though I missed FP, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. We would hardly ride anything without a FP previously, but waits were manageable. Our longest wait was 30-35 min for Slinky Dog. Lines moved fast.  We rode MMRR 3 times in an hour one day, and I don’t think we could have done that with trying to get FP.

Aside from the woman going crazy at Dumbo, people weren’t rude but are pretty oblivious to the distancing markers. Mask compliance in lines ranged from 25-90% in our experiences, but people are definitely not following rules. What would get frustrating is big groups going to a queue entrance and then standing there rummaging for their masks when told to put them on—come on, this should not be a surprise after the first 1-2 rides. Get lanyards! So convenient. There  are people walking around with masks.  We wore them in crowded areas because of DD—while we were the minority there were still people wearing them. It does make a huge difference being able to take them off and drink while walking or just walking in some less crowded areas for us.

We really like skipping rope drop.


----------



## wonderchica

Haven’t seen lines for larger shops. Some for smaller ones (ex. The HM one). They tell you to distance in lines but not a lot of compliance.


----------



## wonderchica

Shelbizzles said:


> I’m here now. And why does it seem like every attraction, shop, restaurant etc has like no A/C on. Is that typical for this time of year? I mean they definitely has some air on but I’m use to it like punching me in the face when I walk inside. It just seems a heck of a lot warmer indoors then I remember them being.


I’ve also noticed some indoor queues and rides seemed stuffy (looking at you, Space Mountain!). Some of it is the mask but I also commented the a/c couldn’t have been running full blast.


----------



## wonderchica

I’ve seen an unreal amount of cast members in training this week. Help is on the way!


----------



## TLSnell1981

olive said:


> Now where is the Epcot monorail?? I hope it is soon to follow.


Heard that route was undergoing refurbishment. It was supposed to reopen during Spring Break but is still down.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

I noticed that too this week it was blazing hot and the AC sucked on most venues.

7 dwarfs mine train cue by far had the best AC


----------



## boop0524

Question for those there with the new capacity. We are scheduled for MK on Sunday 6/6. Hours are 8-9 and we have an ADR for 6:30 at LTT. I’m thinking about taking it slower and showing up to the parks a bit later vs rope dropping. But I’m afraid if we do that we’ll miss the early morning window and be stuck in lines most of the day. Thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## scrappinginontario

boop0524 said:


> Question for those there with the new capacity. We are scheduled for MK on Sunday 6/6. Hours are 8-9 and we have an ADR for 6:30 at LTT. I’m thinking about taking it slower and showing up to the parks a bit later vs rope dropping. But I’m afraid if we do that we’ll miss the early morning window and be stuck in lines most of the day. Thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!


Historically, both pre-Covid and now, rope drop offers your lower crowds.  

Depending on where you are staying, is it an option to do rope drop, take a break at your resort around 11 or 12 and then return to the park around 4 or 5?  This is how we would handle this to enjoy the lower crowds plus take a break during the peak line hours.


----------



## tigger2002

mousehouse23 said:


> Touring Plans/Lines was very good for us. They nailed everything to within 10%, I'd say. I'm very glad I got the subscription.


.
Did you just use the Lines part of Touring Plans or did you use an actual plan?  Or another part of Touring Plans?
.


----------



## rangerxenos

Mango7100 said:


> Drove home today, but we arrived at MK around 415 for our last park day. We saw 2 character sets (princesses and Mickey and Friends). We rode Big Thunder x2, HM, Little Mermaid, Carousel x2, Dumbo, Barnstormer x2, SDMT, Peoplemover, Buzz, Speedway, and Small World. The evenings have worked well for us.
> 
> One woman at dumbo was losing her mind and did not feel that the mask rule on rides should apply to her. She was screaming at the poor CM who remained very calm. I don’t know what happened but I hope they escorted her out.
> 
> Final Thoughts: Missed character meets and fireworks quite a bit.
> 
> Even though I missed FP, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. We would hardly ride anything without a FP previously, but waits were manageable. Our longest wait was 30-35 min for Slinky Dog. Lines moved fast.  We rode MMRR 3 times in an hour one day, and I don’t think we could have done that with trying to get FP.
> 
> Aside from the woman going crazy at Dumbo, people weren’t rude but are pretty oblivious to the distancing markers. Mask compliance in lines ranged from 25-90% in our experiences, but people are definitely not following rules. What would get frustrating is big groups going to a queue entrance and then standing there rummaging for their masks when told to put them on—come on, this should not be a surprise after the first 1-2 rides. Get lanyards! So convenient. There  are people walking around with masks.  We wore them in crowded areas because of DD—while we were the minority there were still people wearing them. It does make a huge difference being able to take them off and drink while walking or just walking in some less crowded areas for us.
> 
> We really like skipping rope drop.



If fireworks and character M&Gs aren't back by December, I think I'm rescheduling.  We only go twice a year, and haven't been since the pandemic started, and I know I would miss both.


----------



## starryagain

Been here all week. MK "felt" busier than the rest of the week (I've been part of the day Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday). Wait times up a little, maybe five minutes more. I'm guessing because of the holiday weekend.

Philharmagic seemed to be filling up as much as people wanted. I went around 10:30. My dad said at 9:00 they were saying distance two seats between parties. Who knows. They are filling every row.

Small World they are still spacing a row between parties as of 11am. Wish they would stop that to free up capacity.

We walked on BTMRR twice at 8:30 but by 9:00 it was 25 minutes posted. Vs yesterday I think it was 5 posted thorough 10am.

We have not had any experiences with openly stressed cast members but it would certainly be understandable. It's so hot and they are always masked.


----------



## jmedrew

Still here and having a great time!  I agree with the AC, we said the same thing. You walk in to cool down, yet have to put on the mask and the AC didn’t seem cold at all. To us it was cooler in the shade outside with no mask.
We had a fabulous day at HS yesterday. To me it was not busy at all. January was worse. We got a boarding group and everything we wanted to ride was 45 mins or less. 
I feel for the cast members working outside in the sun though with masks on. But all seemed cheery and happy except one working in The Toy Story line. We commented she was definitely having a bad day, she was quite rude to a few people. We enjoyed the Frozen show sooo much, man are they funny!! So glad to see it back!
Oh also, we saw The Lion King Show the day before. I admit, I cried a bit. I’m so happy for the performers being back to work. I wish it would just go back to the original show, this one definitely isn’t as good but I think they will get back there. Also our party of 5 had to sit all over the theatre. They put us in these random spots at the end of every row. I think we would have enjoyed it much more if we were together. I still love this show though and can’t wait til it’s fully operating!


----------



## WEDWDW

wonderchica said:


> I’ve seen an unreal amount of cast members in training this week. Help is on the way!


And the first wave of CPers arrive in June-exciting times!

_Earning My Ears_ ribbons  everywhere!


----------



## flowergleam1211

starryagain said:


> General observations from the week so far (been here since Saturday at Beach Club). We stayed during the same week in May 2016 and May 2017:
> 
> - Line waits are down vs our 2017 experience with the exception of show type rides. I *think* they are still doing some distancing for those but I imagine that situation is rapidly changing. But for instance, there are two show waits for Country Bears and Tiki Room. Never seen that before. On the other hand, we've been able to walk on a lot of rides we have had to wait for in FP+.
> - Rope drop has been miserable for us. We started aiming for the official opening time and it's gone much better. We have kids in our group so that experience may vary. I suggest just doing Epcot at night. Rope drop is miserable and already so hot. Lines are very busy at epcot rope drop.
> - In general evenings are treating us the best. Very low waits.
> - MK and Epcot "feel" emptier to me. AK any HS "feel" more crowded. I think AK and especially HS lean their capacity a lot more on character meets and shows and those being reduced spills everyone onto the walkways, etc.
> - Masking seems reasonable to me. Almost no one wears them outside. Cast members ALWAYS wear them. If you are particular about masking DO NOT COME RIGHT NOW.
> - This is the first time I've felt normal since March 2020. I'm so happy I could cry.
> 
> **Edit per mod request


Thanks for sharing your experience!  I was planning on doing rope drop at EPCOT once or twice next week.  What time did you arrive?  Other than the hot temperature, what about the experience felt negative?


----------



## flowergleam1211

neptuneflame said:


> I’ve noticed this week that on the day of, some park passes have become available. Yesterday there were passes for all but Epcot, but today was sold out. Today there are passes for all but Epcot, etc. (So don’t give up hope late bookers!)
> 
> I’m interested in adding a day to our tickets for the day we arrive but only if passes become available. If I wait till we get there, what is the best way to do this? Front desk? Go to the park I want to enter if there are passes and go to guest relations?



I'm in the same boat: I hope to obtain tickets and passes to HS next week as I have noticed that passes become available by the early afternoon this week.  I'm thinking of just doing it online or with the app and then heading to the park as soon as possible?


----------



## starryagain

(edit: this is a response to the post directly above. My quote feature didn't work)

We arrived at 9:55 at the International Gateway (staying at Beach Club). We were some of the earliest people in at 10:10 when they opened the gates. We went to Test Track. It didn't start running until 10:45. So we didn't get off until 11 and by then it was very hot and posted waits were high at all the headliners except Mission Space we were able to get in a ride. After that everything big was posting waits over 50 minutes vs after 5pm everything is posting much lower waits.


----------



## flowergleam1211

starryagain said:


> (edit: this is a response to the post directly above. My quote feature didn't work)
> 
> We arrived at 9:55 at the International Gateway (staying at Beach Club). We were some of the earliest people in at 10:10 when they opened the gates. We went to Test Track. It didn't start running until 10:45. So we didn't get off until 11 and by then it was very hot and posted waits were high at all the headliners except Mission Space we were able to get in a ride. After that everything big was posting waits over 50 minutes vs after 5pm everything is posting much lower waits.


Very helpful!  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Miffy

Just back from 8 days at WDW.

Someone upthread asked what about Epcot felt negative. There are walls everywhere. I mean, big, high walls that you can't see over or around. They block one's view and even for a WDW veteran like myself, it was disorienting, not to mention ugly. We did only 1 day at Epcot and that was enough. I never want to see those walls again.

I'm going to skip around a bit here, so bear with me.

MMRR: Get to DHS an hour before opening. You'll get in about 45 minutes before the official opening time. If you want to do MMRR (we did--we'd never done it before), go straight there. No need to run. In fact, we went to the restroom first. Walked onto MMRR, then walked back around and did it a second time with a 5- or 10-minute wait. Love love love this ride.

We RD'd Epcot and had maybe a 10-minute wait for Soarin'. We were going to do it again, but the wait was already over 40 minutes when we emerged. So we rode just that once. Also, we always request B1 and say we'll wait as long as necessary, but because of covid, etc., they weren't taking requests like these. Yeah, our seats really made me appreciate B1 even more!

SE doesn't open until the official park opening time. Just a heads-up on that. We were disappointed and never made it back there, as we left from the Int'l Gateway, since we wanted to ride the Skyliner.

Skyliner: Very enjoyable. We rode it on our last trip, in December 2019, and it's quite fun.

We RD'd MK and got to do everything we wanted--several things twice--by 10:45 a.m. Pretty great. Also, we ate at Skipper Canteen for the first time and loved it there.

Make sure to read the instructions in the Rise thread about the best strategies for obtaining a boarding group. They're gone in about 3 seconds (no exaggeration there--in fact it might be more like 2 seconds), so read up before you go. RotR is excellent. I will say no more. Don't want to spoil it if you haven't done it yet. And, if you haven't, stay away from spoilers. The surprises are fantastic.

Mask compliance was spotty. Great at times and terrible at other times. Be prepared.

Social distancing? What's that? If you feel uncomfortable in a crowd, WDW is not the place for you right now.

Mousekeeping? Just trash and towels every other day. And the trash cans in the room are small. Very very small. There were only 2 of us. I cannot imagine how 4 people in a WDW resort room would deal with the trash situation. I guess there are places to dump your trash yourself, but I never saw any. I like mousekeeping, and I missed having it every day.

It was great to be back. We usually go 2x/year and we hadn't been since December 2019.


----------



## kjs1976

CampbellzSoup said:


> I noticed that too this week it was blazing hot and the AC sucked on most venues.
> 
> 7 dwarfs mine train cue by far had the best AC



YES! Just back yesterday. AC sucked!!!!! Felt so warm EVERYWHERE; inside queues, attractions, shops, and counter service. YUCK


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## PanchoX1

They must have it all turned down. that's disappointing.


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## kjs1976

Miffy said:


> Just back from 8 days at WDW.
> 
> Someone upthread asked what about Epcot felt negative. There are walls everywhere. I mean, big, high walls that you can't see over or around. They block one's view and even for a WDW veteran like myself, it was disorienting, not to mention ugly. We did only 1 day at Epcot and that was enough. I never want to see those walls again.
> 
> I'm going to skip around a bit here, so bear with me.
> 
> MMRR: Get to DHS an hour before opening. You'll get in about 45 minutes before the official opening time. If you want to do MMRR (we did--we'd never done it before), go straight there. No need to run. In fact, we went to the restroom first. Walked onto MMRR, then walked back around and did it a second time with a 5- or 10-minute wait. Love love love this ride.
> 
> We RD'd Epcot and had maybe a 10-minute wait for Soarin'. We were going to do it again, but the wait was already over 40 minutes when we emerged. So we rode just that once. Also, we always request B1 and say we'll wait as long as necessary, but because of covid, etc., they weren't taking requests like these. Yeah, our seats really made me appreciate B1 even more!
> 
> SE doesn't open until the official park opening time. Just a heads-up on that. We were disappointed and never made it back there, as we left from the Int'l Gateway, since we wanted to ride the Skyliner.
> 
> Skyliner: Very enjoyable. We rode it on our last trip, in December 2019, and it's quite fun.
> 
> We RD'd MK and got to do everything we wanted--several things twice--by 10:45 a.m. Pretty great. Also, we ate at Skipper Canteen for the first time and loved it there.
> 
> Make sure to read the instructions in the Rise thread about the best strategies for obtaining a boarding group. They're gone in about 3 seconds (no exaggeration there--in fact it might be more like 2 seconds), so read up before you go. RotR is excellent. I will say no more. Don't want to spoil it if you haven't done it yet. And, if you haven't, stay away from spoilers. The surprises are fantastic.
> 
> Mask compliance was spotty. Great at times and terrible at other times. Be prepared.
> 
> Social distancing? What's that? If you feel uncomfortable in a crowd, WDW is not the place for you right now.
> 
> Mousekeeping? Just trash and towels every other day. And the trash cans in the room are small. Very very small. There were only 2 of us. I cannot imagine how 4 people in a WDW resort room would deal with the trash situation. I guess there are places to dump your trash yourself, but I never saw any. I like mousekeeping, and I missed having it every day.
> 
> It was great to be back. We usually go 2x/year and we hadn't been since December 2019.



We are just back, as well. EPCOT Future World felt as described. We did a lot of running back and forth in there and it was particularly annoying not to be able to cut through. We saw great mask compliance. Agree with the social distancing comment. Although, I did feel like people at least gave a foot or two between groups so it wasn't like the old sardine days, but still not 3-6 feet. We missed daily mousekeeping, as well.


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## kjs1976

We spent Tues 5/25 at MK. Got on the first bus at AS-M at 6:45. They let us in the park at 7:11. We went over to Adventureland and nothing was open. This was frustrating. We decided to hang out by Pirates, but after 10 min, the CMs told us they weren't sure if it would open at 8, so to leave to try other attractions. Splash didn't open until around 11, and Pirates didn't open until close to 9. BTMRR opened around 7:30 so we were able to ride it twice in a row. However, this brought us to around 8:05 and the lines were now super long at the attractions we had planned to start with that were finally open. Space and People Movers went down for a spell in the afternoon, also. This was pretty frustrating to have so many rides up and down on the one day we had for that park.

I really want to WDWCP kids back. I felt like they brought more magic. I felt like a good amount of CMs we encountered were just meh. The one who told us Pirates wasn't opening kept telling people she had no idea if any other rides in any other area were open, when asked many times what attractions were open. I was like, what???? I was a CM on the CP once upon a time and that would have never been ok to say. If you're going to open a park early, why wouldn't you know what was going on or have areas/attractions open for guests to experience??? Felt like a total waste of 2 hrs.


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## subtchr

TLSnell1981 said:


> Heard that route was undergoing refurbishment. It was supposed to reopen during Spring Break but is still down.



I've never heard or read that the Epcot monorail line was under refurbishment, and definitely not that it was supposed to open for Spring Break.

I've only heard that is an operational/staffing decision by Disney.


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## flowergleam1211

kjs1976 said:


> We are just back, as well. EPCOT Future World felt as described. We did a lot of running back and forth in there and it was particularly annoying not to be able to cut through. We saw great mask compliance. Agree with the social distancing comment. Although, I did feel like people at least gave a foot or two between groups so it wasn't like the old sardine days, but still not 3-6 feet. We missed daily mousekeeping, as well.



Thanks for sharing your experience as I'm visiting EPCOT next week.  I'd like to learn more about your experience of walking more than usual due to the construction and walls..  For example, is it more difficult to walk from Future World East to Future World West (e.g. Spaceship Earth)?  Or even from various spots within Future World West?


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## Tess

kjs1976 said:


> We spent Tues 5/25 at MK. Got on the first bus at AS-M at 6:45. They let us in the park at 7:11. We went over to Adventureland and nothing was open. This was frustrating. We decided to hang out by Pirates, but after 10 min, the CMs told us they weren't sure if it would open at 8, so to leave to try other attractions. Splash didn't open until around 11, and Pirates didn't open until close to 9. BTMRR opened around 7:30 so we were able to ride it twice in a row. However, this brought us to around 8:05 and the lines were now super long at the attractions we had planned to start with that were finally open. Space and People Movers went down for a spell in the afternoon, also. This was pretty frustrating to have so many rides up and down on the one day we had for that park.
> 
> I really want to WDWCP kids back. I felt like they brought more magic. I felt like a good amount of CMs we encountered were just meh. The one who told us Pirates wasn't opening kept telling people she had no idea if any other rides in any other area were open, when asked many times what attractions were open. I was like, what???? I was a CM on the CP once upon a time and that would have never been ok to say. If you're going to open a park early, why wouldn't you know what was going on or have areas/attractions open for guests to experience??? Felt like a total waste of 2 hrs.



Our 2nd morning at MK was like that.  The first morning we rode everything but for Splash, 7DMT and CoP and were out by 11:00 a.m.--our goal from the start.  We thought that leaving those last three rides for our second day would get us out of MK even earlier than 11:00 a.m. 

On the second day, we arrived pre-opening, went to 7DMT and it was down with no idea when it would open--we waited half an hour and then the CMs cleared the queue--it was down all morning--assuming they got it back online by afternoon but I really can't say for sure because our pool was calling.  Splash was also down on this morning so that left us CoP--we did that.  Splash got up and running by the time our show ended and we hoofed it that way only to be met with a 60 minute wait.  Knowing we weren't getting out by 11:00 a.m., I mobile ordered from Pecos Bill so we could eat before leaving and hoping that 7DMT would be up--it wasn't. 

Left around noon after hitting only two of our three desired rides.  Some days are like that--just thankful we had such success on our first day.  7DMT will be there in October, but we were fearful Splash--in its current form--may not.  It was really our priority.  Funny enough, our first visit day was a Friday and our second a Wednesday--who would think the crowds would be greater on a Wednesday.  Insult to injury--we waited 45 minutes for a bus to get back to BWV.


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## Sarahslay

subtchr said:


> I've never heard or read that the Epcot monorail line was under refurbishment, and definitely not that it was supposed to open for Spring Break.
> 
> I've only heard that is an operational/staffing decision by Disney.


I've driven by the line several times where there has been extensive work being done on supports for the line (like digging going on around the base of the supports, lots of heavy machinery around). This has been on several trips, one where we were staying at Contemporary and drove out by the section of line that is right near TTC, there was something going on that was definitely not being talked about and I'm sure more the reason it's not running rather than staffing.


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## Sarahslay

flowergleam1211 said:


> Thanks for sharing your experience as I'm visiting EPCOT next week.  I'd like to learn more about your experience of walking more than usual due to the construction and walls..  For example, is it more difficult to walk from Future World East to Future World West (e.g. Spaceship Earth)?  Or even from various spots within Future World West?


It's just a giant circle, there is no way to short cut anything, you just have to either go one way around the circle or the other. If you're around the Land & Sea pavilions and want to go to Spaceship Earth or TT I'd head to the left around, but if I wanted to head to WS I'd head right. It's really a pain if you have no interest in the rides between TT & Soarin (as my 10 year old didn't when we went in February) and you still have to walk all the way around rather than cutting through the middle like before. Usually we just decide which end we're going to start in and just go around until we're done, if not you're just walking around in circles over and over.


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## PanchoX1

Sarahslay said:


> It's just a giant circle, there is no way to short cut anything, you just have to either go one way around the circle or the other. If you're around the Land & Sea pavilions and want to go to Spaceship Earth or TT I'd head to the left around, but if I wanted to head to WS I'd head right. It's really a pain if you have no interest in the rides between TT & Soarin (as my 10 year old didn't when we went in February) and you still have to walk all the way around rather than cutting through the middle like before. Usually we just decide which end we're going to start in and just go around until we're done, if not you're just walking around in circles over and over.



It may be different by the time I get there, but if not, this is good to know!


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## mousehouse23

tigger2002 said:


> .
> Did you just use the Lines part of Touring Plans or did you use an actual plan?  Or another part of Touring Plans?
> .



We use their plans as well, and like the "optimize" feature. The room request feature wasn't successful for us this time, but it wasn't a huge deal for us.


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## jbish

Miffy said:


> We RD'd Epcot and had maybe a 10-minute wait for Soarin'. We were going to do it again, but the wait was already over 40 minutes when we emerged. So we rode just that once. Also, we always request B1 and say we'll wait as long as necessary, but because of covid, etc., they weren't taking requests like these. Yeah, our seats really made me appreciate B1 even more!


GAH!!  Seriously??  Ugh - this is helpful to know.  I always ask for B1 and I seriously hate the sides.  Maybe they'll change something in the next 23 days....probably not.  Sounds like the crowds are lower in the evenings, though, which is likely when we'll go to Epcot - any chance they'd accommodate us if there are fewer people there?  Again, likely not, but a girl can dream....


----------



## William B

jbish said:


> GAH!!  Seriously??  Ugh - this is helpful to know.  I always ask for B1 and I seriously hate the sides.  Maybe they'll change something in the next 23 days....probably not.  Sounds like the crowds are lower in the evenings, though, which is likely when we'll go to Epcot - any chance they'd accommodate us if there are fewer people there?  Again, likely not, but a girl can dream....


When they refused our B1 request, it was entirely based on covid and covid protocols (there were 2 of us and they said it was based on how they were filling the rows so who knows).  As more and more relaxation of the covid requirements happen, I have a feeling it will come back.  In the next 23 days . . . who knows.  Fingers crossed for you!


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## mousehouse23

Fun morning spent at HS, in spite of the heat. 

7:00: Got Boarding Group 87. I have to say, with all I've read about the process, and my practicing, I thought we'd do better! I refreshed too early, though (6:59:58)—so I had to refresh again—but my husband came through for us. It did make for a longer morning/afternoon than we expected, though, because our BG wasn't called until almost 1:00. 

7:45: Left BWV to walk to HS 

8:00: Arrived at HS

8:13: Started letting people into the park

8:20: RnR with 4 minute wait (no pre-show, so very fast)

8:32: ToT with 12 minute wait (seating every row now; no pre-show) 

8:55:  MMRR with 28 minute wait (our first time: I thought it was really cute, but most of us preferred The Great Movie Ride; no pre-show) 

~9:40: Smuggler's Run with 48 minute wait (my family was underwhelmed, but I thought it was cool!). Afterwards, we walked around Galaxy's Edge a bit. They're still making people queue up for the marketplace shops. We'll hit it more in depth next week. 

11:00: TSMM with 23 minute wait (Still one of our absolute favorites! I love that we can get on without much of a wait now.)

11:45: Unremarkable lunch at Backlot Express, but it hit the spot and allowed for a cool break. I didn't reserve our Mobile Ordering spot until 10:45, and got the 11:15-11:45 slot. 

1:00: 25 minute wait after our BG was called for RotR. The ride was a huge hit with all of us, unsurprisingly. I will say: I still prefer FoP as an experience, but I think Star Wars fanatics will be very, very happy. 


MK tonight with a LTT dinner to start things off right!


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## PrincessJL16

I really appreciate this group - planning for upcoming trip on 6/11 and everyone is mindful to not give spoilers for RotR. 
I was listening to a Disney podcast a few months ago (not DIS related) and was put off on how they thought it was ok to go ahead and give spoilers. The ride was only open for less than a year before Covid closed things down, right? Maybe I’m off on the dates, I don’t know. We don’t go to WDW every year so maybe I’m a little sensitive.We have a lot of new rides to experience on our trip so trying to keep as much as I can a surprise - appreciate those who have been posting here!


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## disneyfan150

jbish said:


> GAH!!  Seriously??  Ugh - this is helpful to know.  I always ask for B1 and I seriously hate the sides.  Maybe they'll change something in the next 23 days....probably not.  Sounds like the crowds are lower in the evenings, though, which is likely when we'll go to Epcot - any chance they'd accommodate us if there are fewer people there?  Again, likely not, but a girl can dream....


We were at WDW in August just after reopening and the parks were very low capacity.  We were not able to request B-1. Instead, we were given A-3 and at the very end. It was a bad experience. Oh well. . .


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## wonderchica

RD @ Animal Kingdom today. Tough morning- only FOP and EE were up and running. Safari and Navi both down for extended times. I think Safari started around 9 for an official 8 am open. We hit the animal trails after FOP because they were the only things open.


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## sophy1996

PrincessJL16 said:


> I really appreciate this group - planning for upcoming trip on 6/11 and everyone is mindful to not give spoilers for RotR.
> I was listening to a Disney podcast a few months ago (not DIS related) and was put off on how they thought it was ok to go ahead and give spoilers. The ride was only open for less than a year before Covid closed things down, right? Maybe I’m off on the dates, I don’t know. We don’t go to WDW every year so maybe I’m a little sensitive.We have a lot of new rides to experience on our trip so trying to keep as much as I can a surprise - appreciate those who have been posting here!



Much less than a year.  RotR opened at WDW on December 5, 2019, and at DLR on January 17, 2020.


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## sophy1996

Regarding seating requests, they weren't taking them on BTMRR either.  We actually didn't want the front seat -- too bad!


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## CinderellaDream

We had a successful morning at Animal Kingdom this morning even though both Navi River Journey and Kilimanjaro Safaris were down for an extended period.   We arrived via personal car at 6:40 and had to go down, take a u-turn and line up to turn left into the parking booth area. At 6:49 we began lining up at the parking booths, and they opened at exactly 7:00. We parked and walked straight to FOP - entered the queue at 7:20 and exited at 7:50. 

A summary of the rest of our day is below:

8:05 Expedition Everest
8:20 Dinosaur
8:40 Triceratop Spin 
9:00 I saw on MDE where safaris had opened. We speed walked across the park and the line was massive! We almost gave up because of the line but it ended up basically being a slow walk on through the long queue (took about 15 minutes but the line never stopped moving).  Side note - I hated the plastic dividers on the safari vehicle. 

9:50 Kali River Rapids x 2
10:45 Maharajah jungle trek
11:15 Dinosaur
12:05 Yak & Yeti lunch - Juan was a great waiter and the food was delicious as always. 

At this point it was getting hot so we decided to skip Navi River Journey in favor of going back to BCV for a swim at Stormalong Bay. We had a great relaxing afternoon and are all set to get up early for MK tomorrow. My daughters are fully onboard with the whole rope drop situation after our successful morning.

Social distancing was pretty much nonexistent but mask compliance indoors and in ride queues seemed pretty good.


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## scrappinginontario

*Rise of the Resistance*

At this time we are still requesting that *NO SPOILERS* be posted on any threads except for the ones in the Star Wars sub-forum that are clearly marked with **SPOILERS** in their title.

As indicated by a couple of posters above, many people have not had an opportunity to visit Disney since this ride opened so we greatly appreciate everyone who is helping to keep the mystery alive for those who have not yet ridden.

THANK YOU!


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## WEDWDW

kjs1976 said:


> We spent Tues 5/25 at MK. Got on the first bus at AS-M at 6:45. They let us in the park at 7:11. We went over to Adventureland and nothing was open. This was frustrating. We decided to hang out by Pirates, but after 10 min, the CMs told us they weren't sure if it would open at 8, so to leave to try other attractions. Splash didn't open until around 11, and Pirates didn't open until close to 9. BTMRR opened around 7:30 so we were able to ride it twice in a row. However, this brought us to around 8:05 and the lines were now super long at the attractions we had planned to start with that were finally open. Space and People Movers went down for a spell in the afternoon, also. This was pretty frustrating to have so many rides up and down on the one day we had for that park.
> 
> I really want to WDWCP kids back. I felt like they brought more magic. I felt like a good amount of CMs we encountered were just meh. The one who told us Pirates wasn't opening kept telling people she had no idea if any other rides in any other area were open, when asked many times what attractions were open. I was like, what???? I was a CM on the CP once upon a time and that would have never been ok to say. If you're going to open a park early, why wouldn't you know what was going on or have areas/attractions open for guests to experience??? Felt like a total waste of 2 hrs.


And the College Program Cast is going to be so JACKED when they hit town!

I think it will almost be possible to "feel" their presence when they begin appearing Onstage.

The energy and excitement of youth is PRICELESS!


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## WEDWDW

I think to the surprise of no one,it looks like Monorail/Boat/Bus Social Distancing will soon follow the "lead" of Disney Skyliner.

*No changes have yet been made to the monorail or busses, but we have been told that over the coming days we can expect to see a significant increase in their capacity.*

Disney World transportation systems to return to full capacity in the coming days (wdwmagic.com)


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## Katie1174

jbish said:


> GAH!!  Seriously??  Ugh - this is helpful to know.  I always ask for B1 and I seriously hate the sides.  Maybe they'll change something in the next 23 days....probably not.  Sounds like the crowds are lower in the evenings, though, which is likely when we'll go to Epcot - any chance they'd accommodate us if there are fewer people there?  Again, likely not, but a girl can dream....


I know a few other posters had to take whatever row they were put in but we were there from May 9-18 and we rode Soarin multiple times on different days. Our first day there we rope dropped it and rode it with virtually no wait 3 times in a row. We asked for B section each time(we didnt care which row) and we were graciously granted our request each time. Some of the other times we were given it anyway so didnt need to ask, and others asked for it and was again accommodated. I guess we were just lucky, but we never rode without being in B.
Can’t hurt to ask nicely.
On a side note, in MK, if it looked like we were going to be in the front at Big Thunder Mountain we asked for the last row instead and were granted those requests as well. And we didnt ask, but at AK, they were granting requests on Expedition Everest as well.


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## starryagain

Great night at Epcot but the earlier comments of it being hard to navigate are very accurate.

Entered International Gateway 5:30.

We snacked throughout. This is our third night here this week and festival lines were by far the shortest. Ride lines the same as yesterday 

Listened to a band and saw Mary Poppins.

Shopped in Japan.

Spaceship Earth close to walk on.

Mission Space Orange 20 minutes.

Living with the Land walk on.

Soarin' 10 minutes.

Figment walk on.

Gran Fiesta Tour 2x walk on.

No line La Cava to wrap up the night ten minutes before it closed.


----------



## LSUmiss

WEDWDW said:


> I think to the surprise of no one,it looks like Monorail/Boat/Bus Social Distancing will soon follow the "lead" of Disney Skyliner.
> 
> *No changes have yet been made to the monorail or busses, but we have been told that over the coming days we can expect to see a significant increase in their capacity.*
> 
> Disney World transportation systems to return to full capacity in the coming days (wdwmagic.com)


We are here now & that has to happen. Skyliner was 100 times better tonight. And they were only loading 2 separate parties together if they were parties of 2 or less. We are a party of 3 & had our own, but saw them loading 2 separate parties of 2 together which is by no means packing ppl in.


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## TLSnell1981

Rides are being fully loaded and partitions are being removed on monorails. Really no distancing outdoors even in lines...not much indoors either. Saw very few masks except in actual queues and inside. Rumor has it capacity will be back to normal VERY soon and restaurants are increasing capacity.


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## ppmcoj

Are the partitions still up on Frozen, Living with the Land, and the safari ride?


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## CinderellaDream

ppmcoj said:


> Are the partitions still up on Frozen, Living with the Land, and the safari ride?


They are still up on safari ride. I’m not sure about the other two.


----------



## Pyotr

ppmcoj said:


> Are the partitions still up on Frozen, Living with the Land, and the safari ride?



Yes to Frozen and Living with the Land.


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## kat_lh

HS let guests in about 8:15 this morning. Slinky dog and TSMM are bath down. smugglers run and galaxy’s edge are open.


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## kat_lh

Slinky dog is still down at 8:56


----------



## jbish

PrincessJL16 said:


> I really appreciate this group - planning for upcoming trip on 6/11 and everyone is mindful to not give spoilers for RotR.
> I was listening to a Disney podcast a few months ago (not DIS related) and was put off on how they thought it was ok to go ahead and give spoilers. The ride was only open for less than a year before Covid closed things down, right? Maybe I’m off on the dates, I don’t know. We don’t go to WDW every year so maybe I’m a little sensitive.We have a lot of new rides to experience on our trip so trying to keep as much as I can a surprise - appreciate those who have been posting here!


Totally agree!  We were just two weeks away from our trip last year when things shut down.  And I tried so hard to stay away from spoilers for ROTR.  Now I'm three weeks away and ROTR is my must do because I don't know how much longer I'll be able to avoid these spoilers!!  Always appreciate when people are mindful of that.


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## cjlong88

Trip Report: Wednesday May 26th

Flight landed in MCO Tuesday night around 10:30 pm. Our flight wasn't even half full, so everyone spread out and it was exceptionally comfortable (traveling on a Tuesday helps!!!). We picked up our car with no wait and went straight to bed for an early wake-up.

We arrived at TTC right at 7am. We were the 3rd car in our row. They started letting us in around 7:11 and we chose prime parking because we wanted to be able to park close when we hopped. Took the monorail over, and breezed through the entry way. The hub was empty and we headed straight back to Splash. Cast members told us that it won't open right at 8am so we hit BTMRR, which was a 5 minute wait. Pirates was down so we rode Haunted Mansion (walk on). As soon as we got off HM we saw Pirates was open and rode that (walk on). Right as we got off Pirates we saw that Splash opened. We waited about 15 minutes...not bad considering that it was posted 45 minutes as we got off.

From there we got a dole whip and sat on the grassy area in the hub by Crystal Palace. The sun was shining and Tinker Bell came by on her gigantic treasure chest. We walked over to Space Mountain and waited about 25 minutes (posted 35). We then did People Mover and waited about 10 minutes (posted 20), and then did Little Mermaid (walk on). We hit everything we really wanted to do so we decided to grab a snack and drink from Starbucks before heading back to TTC via the ferryboat.

We arrived at Epcot around 1:45 pm and they let us through early, which as nice! Epcot felt much quieter. Spaceship Earth and LwtL were both walk-ons so we did those before heading to WS. We ate A LOT of food and it was simply amazing. While it was 90 degrees, it was a dry heat so it was easy to manage. France and Mexico had the most crowds and everywhere else was very easy to navigate.

Around 5pm we checked MDE and saw wait times at AK were super low, so we hopped again and road Dinosaur, Everest, and the Safari with no wait. We could have done FoP but it was 6:40 pm and we were tired. So we drove back to MCO, dropped off the car and had dinner at the airport. Our flight was about 1/2 full (again, yay for weekday flights!!!).



Okay...so this was our 3rd visit to the pandemic. Yes, there were more people. BUT, because we were all vaccinated, we felt much more comfortable even without the social distancing in the lines and people not wearing masks around the in public spaces of the park. We only wore our masks when in line, using transportation, or if we were stuck around a lot of humans for more than a minute. Mask compliance in line was very good with a few people here and there not complying (y'all, just follow the rules...c'mon!). The lines were not bad at all...if you rope drop. Our longest wait was Space Mountain, and almost everything else was a walk on for us. AK was completely dead in the evening, probably because people either hopped to another park or if they rope dropped they wrapped up early. It was a great trip, and we had a BLAST.


----------



## bdiddy

mousehouse23 said:


> 11:00: TSMM with 23 minute wait (Still one of our absolute favorites! I love that we can get on without much of a wait now.)



I'm so glad to hear this! TSMM is still one of our favorites too! Funny story but our very first trip to WDW was in Sept 2008 and TSMM had just opened that year. Our kids were only 2 and 4 then and I had them in a double stroller. We did rope drop but were still pretty far back down the street. I told DH to just leave me and the kids and work his way to the front and then RUN to TSMM to the fastpass machine to get some and then by the time me and the kids got there, we could get in standby. So we were able to ride it twice - I remember being so excited! LOL


----------



## bdiddy

Hmm.....I just read that another theme park is about to drop masks indoors as of Saturday. Wonder how true that is and if it is, how far Disney will be behind them? I just don't see it happening quite yet though.

We leave in 2 wks for 3 days at USO and then 7 at Disney so I'm anxious to see if there are any more changes between now and then. Or if anything new opens up all of a sudden at WDW. I'm leaning towards no. Two weeks isn't that long from now and it seems like it would be a major ordeal to open up more shows/restaurants and it would have been announced by now. My DH has secretly been hoping for Columbia Harbor House but I don't think it's happening.


----------



## starryagain

Just did Rise. On Tuesday both preshows. Today they only had the first one. The kids were disappointed but I'm like dude you got to go on Rise twice this trip, no complaining. It was AMAZING again. Noticed lots of stuff I didn't the first time.


----------



## kat_lh

starryagain said:


> Just did Rise. On Tuesday both preshows. Today they only had the first one. The kids were disappointed but I'm like dude you got to go on Rise twice this trip, no complaining. It was AMAZING again. Noticed lots of stuff I didn't the first time.


Same here. I think the earlier in the day the more they cut to keep you going. BG 11 no ore show. BG 88 yesterday and we had it


----------



## starryagain

Muppets 3D. Asking for us to squeeze in as much as possible while maintaining 3 feet of distance between parties. Honestly seems the same as 2019. Good news is you aren't waiting outside... Walk on again (minus the time to complete the previous show)


----------



## Princess Katelet

cjlong88 said:


> Trip Report: Wednesday May 26th
> 
> Flight landed in MCO Tuesday night around 10:30 pm. Our flight wasn't even half full, so everyone spread out and it was exceptionally comfortable (traveling on a Tuesday helps!!!). We picked up our car with no wait and went straight to bed for an early wake-up.
> 
> We arrived at TTC right at 7am. We were the 3rd car in our row. They started letting us in around 7:11 and we chose prime parking because we wanted to be able to park close when we hopped. Took the monorail over, and breezed through the entry way. The hub was empty and we headed straight back to Splash. Cast members told us that it won't open right at 8am so we hit BTMRR, which was a 5 minute wait. Pirates was down so we rode Haunted Mansion (walk on). As soon as we got off HM we saw Pirates was open and rode that (walk on). Right as we got off Pirates we saw that Splash opened. We waited about 15 minutes...not bad considering that it was posted 45 minutes as we got off.
> 
> From there we got a dole whip and sat on the grassy area in the hub by Crystal Palace. The sun was shining and Tinker Bell came by on her gigantic treasure chest. We walked over to Space Mountain and waited about 25 minutes (posted 35). We then did People Mover and waited about 10 minutes (posted 20), and then did Little Mermaid (walk on). We hit everything we really wanted to do so we decided to grab a snack and drink from Starbucks before heading back to TTC via the ferryboat.
> 
> We arrived at Epcot around 1:45 pm and they let us through early, which as nice! Epcot felt much quieter. Spaceship Earth and LwtL were both walk-ons so we did those before heading to WS. We ate A LOT of food and it was simply amazing. While it was 90 degrees, it was a dry heat so it was easy to manage. France and Mexico had the most crowds and everywhere else was very easy to navigate.
> 
> Around 5pm we checked MDE and saw wait times at AK were super low, so we hopped again and road Dinosaur, Everest, and the Safari with no wait. We could have done FoP but it was 6:40 pm and we were tired. So we drove back to MCO, dropped off the car and had dinner at the airport. Our flight was about 1/2 full (again, yay for weekday flights!!!).
> 
> 
> 
> Okay...so this was our 3rd visit to the pandemic. Yes, there were more people. BUT, because we were all vaccinated, we felt much more comfortable even without the social distancing in the lines and people not wearing masks around the in public spaces of the park. We only wore our masks when in line, using transportation, or if we were stuck around a lot of humans for more than a minute. Mask compliance in line was very good with a few people here and there not complying (y'all, just follow the rules...c'mon!). The lines were not bad at all...if you rope drop. Our longest wait was Space Mountain, and almost everything else was a walk on for us. AK was completely dead in the evening, probably because people either hopped to another park or if they rope dropped they wrapped up early. It was a great trip, and we had a BLAST.


Did you only fly in for this one day? Am I reading that correctly?


----------



## LiteBrite

LSUmiss said:


> We are here now & that has to happen. Skyliner was 100 times better tonight. And they were only loading 2 separate parties together if they were parties of 2 or less. We are a party of 3 & had our own, but saw them loading 2 separate parties of 2 together which is by no means packing ppl in.



Hubby and I have been put in  with another group twice now - one was at closing, and it was just as you described - two parties of two.

However, the other time was in the middle of the afternoon with only a short line for the Epcot line at CB, and we were put in first and a group of 4 was added to our gondola, so 6 total people.


----------



## Disney102015

Had a nice morning at MK with a toddler and baby. Got on the bus around 7:10 and were through the gates + stroller rental by 7:30ish. Seemed like a lot of rides weren’t running early and the line for Mine Train looked huge so we skipped that. Walked onto Peter Pan, were the first riders of the day on Teacups, walked onto Dumbo, Barnstormer, Dumbo again, and Little Mermaid. Took a little break - really love mobile order, so convenient! Hopped in line for Small World at 9:30 with a posted wait of 25 mins, which was pretty accurate. Then headed out to let the littles cool off and nap! Very few people wearing masks outside, but didn’t see anyone not following the mask rules in line. Social distancing is another story, as others have said - pretty much not happening at all in lines, although Small World was still leaving an empty row between each party, and we had assigned seats on the bus and boat to and from the park. Overall a really fun morning.


----------



## PrincessV

General question for folks visiting over Memorial Day Weekend and into June: are pools still practicing social distancing? Operating at reduced capacity?


----------



## starryagain

It's very hot but a nice morning at HS. We walked over, got in line at 8:10. Not particularly close to the front but moved fast.

Group split between big kids and little kids.

Big kids:

Tower of Terror - got there 8:30, opened at 8:40, on and off by 8:55.

Rock and roller coaster - posted 30, on and off in 20

Little kids:

Star Tours - 5 minutes

Millennium Falcon - 10 minutes

Met up for Rise BG 7 (had to get on by 9:40). As noted above only one pre show.

Snack at ABC after.

Muppets walk on.

Had an Oga's reservation. Fantastic.

All by noon.

No wait for skyliner and got our own gondola with only two.


----------



## The Expert

PrincessV said:


> General question for folks visiting over Memorial Day Weekend and into June: are pools still practicing social distancing? Operating at reduced capacity?



Been here all week at Kidani. It's been hot and the pools very busy. But until last night crowds were still down a bit. I didn't see any signs of distancing.


----------



## starryagain

Sorry I can't figure out how to quote on mobile. 

Beach Club / Yacht Club appears to no longer be doing social distancing at the pools. All chairs seemed out. We had people sit next to us (group of four chairs, two of us, two of them). I would say 70% chairs full at 4pm yesterday. No wait to get in.


----------



## starryagain

Masking has degraded a lot since I got here a week ago. At rock and roller coaster this morning I would say 25% of noses exposed in the inside queue... Higher outside. No real distancing.


----------



## Tess

bdiddy said:


> Hmm.....I just read that another theme park is about to drop masks indoors as of Saturday. Wonder how true that is and if it is, how far Disney will be behind them? I just don't see it happening quite yet though.
> 
> We leave in 2 wks for 3 days at USO and then 7 at Disney so I'm anxious to see if there are any more changes between now and then. Or if anything new opens up all of a sudden at WDW. I'm leaning towards no. Two weeks isn't that long from now and it seems like it would be a major ordeal to open up more shows/restaurants and it would have been announced by now. My DH has secretly been hoping for Columbia Harbor House but I don't think it's happening.



That other theme park is indeed lifting its restrictions for those vaccinated.


----------



## Sarahslay

LSUmiss said:


> We are here now & that has to happen. Skyliner was 100 times better tonight. And they were only loading 2 separate parties together if they were parties of 2 or less. We are a party of 3 & had our own, but saw them loading 2 separate parties of 2 together which is by no means packing ppl in.


My friend is at YC and was coming back last night from HS, family of 4, and even with a long line got a cabin to themselves but reported a single rider and a couple ahead of her were put together. She was a bit worried they would be put in with a family with some screaming kids behind them but they weren't (only scared, not because of masks, but because it was clear the parents had pushed the kids way too hard in the heat and the kids were losing it and she didn't want to be up there with that). She said it's moving much better than her trip in early April when they came for spring break.


----------



## shifteru

kat_lh said:


> Same here. I think the earlier in the day the more they cut to keep you going. BG 11 no ore show. BG 88 yesterday and we had it



I find this pre-show/no pre-show thing interesting. At first it seemed they were excluding pre-show due to COVID, but now it's so sporadic it's almost like they're using it as a way to maybe get through boarding groups faster or catch up due to downtimes?

I haven't ridden yet (so thanks everyone for keeping spoilers in check, very much appreciated!) and hope to do when we're there in a couple weeks, so I don't know if there's something about the pre-show that may break down like the ride does and maybe it's that instead.


----------



## Sarahslay

bdiddy said:


> Hmm.....I just read that another theme park is about to drop masks indoors as of Saturday. Wonder how true that is and if it is, how far Disney will be behind them? I just don't see it happening quite yet though.
> 
> We leave in 2 wks for 3 days at USO and then 7 at Disney so I'm anxious to see if there are any more changes between now and then. Or if anything new opens up all of a sudden at WDW. I'm leaning towards no. Two weeks isn't that long from now and it seems like it would be a major ordeal to open up more shows/restaurants and it would have been announced by now. My DH has secretly been hoping for Columbia Harbor House but I don't think it's happening.


As far as columbia harbour house, that's probably a no for now since it's still being used as an overflow queue for peter pan. They are serving a lot of the food at tomorrowland terrace, so at least you can scratch that itch a bit (still not the same though). I have to say, my 10 year old will flip out if WDW drops indoor masks in the next week while we're there, she's hardly come to terms with outdoor masks. She does have some health issues, and while she did have covid last year she's still terrified since she's been sent to the hospital for less in the past. She's been to the parks twice since reopening because we felt it was safe with precautions, and had no issues, now she's having doubts and I feel for her. Husband and I are both fully vaccinated so are comfortable ourselves, oldest daughter is halfway and has had covid last year so she actually feels pretty safe, but we can't do anything for the 10 year old. I'd hate to be mid trip and be able to do nothing. It stinks to all of a sudden drop a safety measure and people who are there suddenly not be able to do anything about it, because we know not everyone who isn't vaccinated will be like "Oh no, I'll need to wear my mask, better put on my mask indoors" they just can't police it.


----------



## LSUmiss

They also need more dining availability. I can tell you they’re leaving $$ on the table with that. We did Uber eats almost all week & saw many other families doing the same. That’s $ we would have spent at wdw if they would have had more options.


----------



## cjlong88

Princess Katelet said:


> Did you only fly in for this one day? Am I reading that correctly?


We did! Flew down Tuesday Evening and flew back Wednesday Evening. Did our favorites, ate some food. We had so much fun.


----------



## CableKC

Sarahslay said:


> As far as columbia harbour house, that's probably a no for now since it's still being used as an overflow queue for peter pan. They are serving a lot of the food at tomorrowland terrace, so at least you can scratch that itch a bit (still not the same though). I have to say, my 10 year old will flip out if WDW drops indoor masks in the next week while we're there, she's hardly come to terms with outdoor masks. She does have some health issues, and while she did have covid last year she's still terrified since she's been sent to the hospital for less in the past. She's been to the parks twice since reopening because we felt it was safe with precautions, and had no issues, now she's having doubts and I feel for her. Husband and I are both fully vaccinated so are comfortable ourselves, oldest daughter is halfway and has had covid last year so she actually feels pretty safe, but we can't do anything for the 10 year old. I'd hate to be mid trip and be able to do nothing. It stinks to all of a sudden drop a safety measure and people who are there suddenly not be able to do anything about it, because we know not everyone who isn't vaccinated will be like "Oh no, I'll need to wear my mask, better put on my mask indoors" they just can't police it.


I hope that everything goes well for your family and ( most notably ) for your 10 year old.   If WDW decides to lift the indoor mask requirement, I'd assume that your 10 year old would still continue to wear mask and ( as an act of solidarity and support ) that the rest of your family would do the same.

Does anyone know if WDW following CDC or Florida State/County/Local guidelines for mask wearing?


----------



## PanchoX1

I guess I'm out of the RotR pre show loop. only been on it once and I only remember 1 pre-show. had no idea there were two. to avoid spoilers, feel free to PM me with the two pre-shows and help educate me! lol


----------



## Mr. X

Its great to hear they are reducing mask requirements, opening more up, and reducing distancing.  Looking forward to our trip at the end of August. Hopefully the place will be mask free by then.


----------



## allaboutthemouse

cjlong88 said:


> We did! Flew down Tuesday Evening and flew back Wednesday Evening. Did our favorites, ate some food. We had so much fun.


I did this once upon a time with my sister when we were about ten years younger! Lol 
Flew down for a Halloween party that night and left the next day...good times 
Not sure I would have the stamina now....or would I?


----------



## Miffy

Helpful hint for MMRR: Request an odd-numbered row.

One positive note on CHH (our fave QS place in MK) being closed: We tried Skipper Canteen. Wow! Loved it and are planning to go back on our next trip.


----------



## SanguineRed

ppmcoj said:


> Are the partitions still up on Frozen, Living with the Land, and the safari ride?


Yes on all 3 when we visited this week.


----------



## tigger2002

Tess said:


> That other theme park is indeed lifting its restrictions for those vaccinated.


Nationwide there are a lot of theme parks that have dropped all mask requirements.


----------



## flowergleam1211

wonderchica said:


> Been here since Saturday night. Having a great trip! Been going to rope drop, afternoon break, then back for dinner to close. I think our longest wait has been for Test Track- 40 minutes, posted 70. By FAR our longest. We did all the headliners at HS, MK, and Epcot. I’d say average we’ve waited for headliners has been 10-25 minutes, plus one walk-on at rope drop. Lots of walk-on rides in the morning and last hour. Tour with a strategy and all has been well. Took buses to parks and got there at unofficial opening every day but Epcot- we were on the 2nd bus and got there a few minutes after open.



That's so cool that you had a fantastic experience!  Thanks for sharing. What time did you arrive at HS?  What was your wait time like for MMRR?


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Is the rule of thumb still 90 minutes to line up at transportation before park opening? Would you do earlier if using the Skyliner to get to HS from Pop?


----------



## scrappinginontario

90 mins is still recommended.  

I think it would be sufficient at Pop too, especially since they have now returned to loading more thank 1 party in a gondola.


----------



## Rosanne

WEDWDW said:


> And the College Program Cast is going to be so JACKED when they hit town!
> 
> I think it will almost be possible to "feel" their presence when they begin appearing Onstage.
> 
> The energy and excitement of youth is PRICELESS!



We're going to be in WDW just before they get in full swing. Wish I'd timed it a week later!


----------



## wonderchica

flowergleam1211 said:


> That's so cool that you had a fantastic experience!  Thanks for sharing. What time did you arrive at HS?  What was your wait time like for MMRR?


We arrived at HS at 7ish. They opened at 7:15. We did Slinky first (15ish) and did MMRR in the evening, maybe around 5 or 6? We waited 15-20 for that.


----------



## Miffy

flowergleam1211 said:


> That's so cool that you had a fantastic experience!  Thanks for sharing. What time did you arrive at HS?  What was your wait time like for MMRR?


For another experience . . . We RD'd DHS last week and didn't go to SDD but went to MMRR instead. We are not runners and in fact we stopped at a restroom before going to MMRR. We walked onto MMRR, then went back into the queue and waited maybe 5 minutes for the 2nd ride. By the time we were finished ride #2, there was a real line, so we didn't wait for a third ride, even though we wanted one!


----------



## flowergleam1211

Miffy said:


> For another experience . . . We RD'd DHS last week and didn't go to SDD but went to MMRR instead. We are not runners and in fact we stopped at a restroom before going to MMRR. We walked onto MMRR, then went back into the queue and waited maybe 5 minutes for the 2nd ride. By the time we were finished ride #2, there was a real line, so we didn't wait for a third ride, even though we wanted one!



That's also very helpful.  What time did you arrive at DHS?  (I've never rope dropped before, hence my many detailed questions!)


----------



## flowergleam1211

Another question for those of you who arrived before the official park opening time: were dining spots open?


----------



## robinb

sophy1996 said:


> Regarding seating requests, they weren't taking them on BTMRR either.  We actually didn't want the front seat -- too bad!


I started to object to the first row too and then saw the look on the CM’s face as she was trying to figure out how to tell me “no”. I said “Sorry!  Never mind!  Covid. We’ll be fine. “


----------



## Mango7100

flowergleam1211 said:


> That's so cool that you had a fantastic experience!  Thanks for sharing. What time did you arrive at HS?  What was your wait time like for MMRR?


Also consider later at night. We rode MMRR 3 times on Sunday, got in line the first time about 715 pm with a wait iof a little less than 15 min, rode again immediately with same wait time, and rode a third time by getting in line at 759.


----------



## PrincessJL16

PanchoX1 said:


> I guess I'm out of the RotR pre show loop. only been on it once and I only remember 1 pre-show. had no idea there were two. to avoid spoilers, feel free to PM me with the two pre-shows and help educate me! lol



deleted


----------



## scrappinginontario

*Please do not discuss RotR pre-shows here.  You are welcome to do so in a SPOILER thread in the Star Wars sub-forum.*


----------



## krismom345

cjlong88 said:


> Trip Report: Wednesday May 26th
> 
> Flight landed in MCO Tuesday night around 10:30 pm. Our flight wasn't even half full, so everyone spread out and it was exceptionally comfortable (traveling on a Tuesday helps!!!). We picked up our car with no wait and went straight to bed for an early wake-up.
> 
> We arrived at TTC right at 7am. We were the 3rd car in our row. They started letting us in around 7:11 and we chose prime parking because we wanted to be able to park close when we hopped. Took the monorail over, and breezed through the entry way. The hub was empty and we headed straight back to Splash. Cast members told us that it won't open right at 8am so we hit BTMRR, which was a 5 minute wait. Pirates was down so we rode Haunted Mansion (walk on). As soon as we got off HM we saw Pirates was open and rode that (walk on). Right as we got off Pirates we saw that Splash opened. We waited about 15 minutes...not bad considering that it was posted 45 minutes as we got off.
> 
> From there we got a dole whip and sat on the grassy area in the hub by Crystal Palace. The sun was shining and Tinker Bell came by on her gigantic treasure chest. We walked over to Space Mountain and waited about 25 minutes (posted 35). We then did People Mover and waited about 10 minutes (posted 20), and then did Little Mermaid (walk on). We hit everything we really wanted to do so we decided to grab a snack and drink from Starbucks before heading back to TTC via the ferryboat.
> 
> We arrived at Epcot around 1:45 pm and they let us through early, which as nice! Epcot felt much quieter. Spaceship Earth and LwtL were both walk-ons so we did those before heading to WS. We ate A LOT of food and it was simply amazing. While it was 90 degrees, it was a dry heat so it was easy to manage. France and Mexico had the most crowds and everywhere else was very easy to navigate.
> 
> Around 5pm we checked MDE and saw wait times at AK were super low, so we hopped again and road Dinosaur, Everest, and the Safari with no wait. We could have done FoP but it was 6:40 pm and we were tired. So we drove back to MCO, dropped off the car and had dinner at the airport. Our flight was about 1/2 full (again, yay for weekday flights!!!).
> 
> 
> 
> Okay...so this was our 3rd visit to the pandemic. Yes, there were more people. BUT, because we were all vaccinated, we felt much more comfortable even without the social distancing in the lines and people not wearing masks around the in public spaces of the park. We only wore our masks when in line, using transportation, or if we were stuck around a lot of humans for more than a minute. Mask compliance in line was very good with a few people here and there not complying (y'all, just follow the rules...c'mon!). The lines were not bad at all...if you rope drop. Our longest wait was Space Mountain, and almost everything else was a walk on for us. AK was completely dead in the evening, probably because people either hopped to another park or if they rope dropped they wrapped up early. It was a great trip, and we had a BLAST.


Silly question, but to park hop from one park to another, is it relatively easy? We used to have to go to nearest resort to get to another park.


----------



## GBRforWDW

krismom345 said:


> Silly question, but to park hop from one park to another, is it relatively easy? We used to have to go to nearest resort to get to another park.


They have buses going from park to park.


----------



## loves to dive

krismom345 said:


> Silly question, but to park hop from one park to another, is it relatively easy? We used to have to go to nearest resort to get to another park.


Yes, buses going from every park to every park.  Boats between HS to Epcot as well as walking trail.  Skyliner between HS and Epcot.


----------



## Miffy

flowergleam1211 said:


> That's also very helpful.  What time did you arrive at DHS?  (I've never rope dropped before, hence my many detailed questions!)


We got to DHS about 50 minutes before official park opening and they started letting people in about 40 minutes before the official opening. We were not in the front of the line. Plan to be there about an hour before the opening time and you'll be fine.

The crowd seemed to divide into 3 groups: one toward SDD, one toward SWGE, and one toward MMRR. So whichever you choose, you won't be in competition with everyone who's there.

We took a bus from our resort, the GF, btw. No need to take a rideshare. We took resort transportation (bus or boat) for every park we RD'd and it worked out fine.


----------



## cjlong88

krismom345 said:


> Silly question, but to park hop from one park to another, is it relatively easy? We used to have to go to nearest resort to get to another park.


It was easy for us because we drove. We opted for preferred parking so we were always close to the gate. and could get back to the car with no trouble at all. I feel like we had way more control over our arrival and departure times simply because we weren't relying on or waiting for Disney transportation.

The only thing that takes a second is getting back to the TTC from MK. BUT, we left while everyone was still coming into the park, so a ferryboat was right there ready to take us back, and we weren't sitting there waiting for it to fill up because no one else was leaving.


----------



## Miffy

krismom345 said:


> Silly question, but to park hop from one park to another, is it relatively easy? We used to have to go to nearest resort to get to another park.


Regarding park-hopping:

(1) You have to have a park reservation at one park. You can't just hop. And . . . 

(2) You can't park hop if you haven't been to your first park. Against the current policy. You must go to your reserved park first and enter it, no matter what time of day it is. And . . .

(3) No park-hopping until 2 p.m.

These were the rules in place when we were there last week. Check to make sure nothing's changed. 

There's a park-hopping hotline you can call, just to make sure you can hop: 407-560-5000. So far, afaik, hopping's been allowed to every park every day. But check anyway.


----------



## VickiVM

disneyfan150 said:


> We were at WDW in August just after reopening and the parks were very low capacity.  We were not able to request B-1. Instead, we were given A-3 and at the very end. It was a bad experience. Oh well. . .


What’s the difference?


----------



## Mome Rath

VickiVM said:


> What’s the difference?


Where you sit changes your experience of the ride a bit.  If you are all the way up, you don't see people's feet dangling, and if you are in the middle, you don't see the edges of the screen, and the Eiffel Tower isn't so distorted....  So the "best" position is top row, middle seats.


----------



## Miffy

VickiVM said:


> What’s the difference?


The further one is from the center of the screen at Soarin', the worse the distortion is. And when I say _worse, _I mean_ horrendous. _Unless you like your Eiffel Tower bent over to the side. Then it's fine.


----------



## luv2cheer92

krismom345 said:


> Silly question, but to park hop from one park to another, is it relatively easy? We used to have to go to nearest resort to get to another park.


When did you have to do that? There have been park to park buses for at least 15-20 years. Though I can't remember a time even before that other than when it was just MK and Epcot. Or when park hopping wasn't allowed from July to January. But other than that, there's always been park to park buses.


----------



## TLSnell1981

Mome Rath said:


> Where you sit changes your experience of the ride a bit.  If you are all the way up, you don't see people's feet dangling, and if you are in the middle, you don't see the edges of the screen, and the Eiffel Tower isn't so distorted....  So the "best" position is top row, middle seats.


The distortion is very noticeable in the new version. I have no idea why they didn’t design the rides with a foot rest or something similar. I zone in on sweaty stinky feet if we aren’t on row on!


----------



## CarolynFH

TLSnell1981 said:


> I have no idea why they didn’t design the rides with a foot rest or something similar.


Because you're supposed to feel as if you're hang gliding - no foot rests on hang gliders!


----------



## disneyfan150

Miffy said:


> The further one is from the center of the screen at Soarin', the worse the distortion is. And when I say _worse, _I mean_ horrendous. _Unless you like your Eiffel Tower bent over to the side. Then it's fine.


So true! But it's not just the Eiffel Tower. Depending on how long the line  is, I may just leave through the exit without even watching the show when we are at Epcot in June. We were on the last seat on the bottom row.


----------



## Miffy

disneyfan150 said:


> So true! But it's not just the Eiffel Tower. Depending on how long the line  is, I may just leave through the exit without even watching the show when we are at Epcot in June. We were on the last seat on the bottom row.


Definitely, @disneyfan150. Last seat on bottom row? Ack! We at least got a seat on the middle row, but hardly in the center.

If you RD Soarin', the wait is minimal. That's what we did, but you may want to RD TT instead.


----------



## TLSnell1981

CarolynFH said:


> Because you're supposed to feel as if you're hang gliding - no foot rests on hang gliders!


The dangling feet are very distracting.


----------



## CarolynFH

TLSnell1981 said:


> The dangling feet are very distracting.


Indeed they are - so much so that they appear on Soarin’ pins and t-shirts. They’re iconic!


----------



## canyoncam

disneyfan150 said:


> So true! But it's not just the Eiffel Tower. Depending on how long the line  is, I may just leave through the exit without even watching the show when we are at Epcot in June. We were on the last seat on the bottom row.



If I wind up in the bad seats I still stay and enjoy the flight with my eyes closed. I enjoy the music and scents just as well with my memory of the video. I know it’s to each their own though. I also tend to not push my requests. If I really want something it’s back row of BTMRR so that was trying thus last trip. Took six retries but at least that line was shorter.


----------



## Princess Katelet

The distortion on Soarin’ is incredible. I can’t believe a company like Disney gave the okay on that disaster. It’s an embarrassment.
They fully loaded the Thunder waiting area/rows and cut the line right before us. I knew that would mean we’d get the very back row of the next train and I can’t handle anything beyond the middle. The difference between the back and the middle to front is HUGE. I HATE the back and can’t walk away without a massive headache and overall painful experience. I told the CM I can’t do the back and asked if I could simply walk through the seat and leave/exit but still allow my (adult) daughter to stay in the row and ride and she just asked if I’d prefer the front. I said the front would be amazing and she gave it to us. She said it’s much easier to accommodate front requests than back requests. I was prepared though, to just bail entirely. I also asked this the moment she cut the line so she had nothing to do until the train came in and the people in their rows were able to board so I didn’t break her flow or grind her directing to a halt so I’m sure that helped.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Do the penny machines at WDW still mostly take credit cards? Or do some take the quarters/pennies?


----------



## CarolynFH

Princess Katelet said:


> The distortion on Soarin’ is incredible. I can’t believe a company like Disney gave the okay on that disaster. It’s an embarrassment.


I think this (new) Soarin’ was planned to be much better then got hit by the budget cuts related to the Great Recession. At least I hope so. I’d hate to think they designed it that way from the beginning. It’s so bad compared to the original that we can’t stand to watch it anymore.


----------



## starryagain

Nice low wait night at MK. But they shut down one side of Dumbo and that line was CRAWLING (we bailed after a few minutes)


----------



## GBRforWDW

TikiTikiFan said:


> Do the penny machines at WDW still mostly take credit cards? Or do some take the quarters/pennies?


I had a discussion about this a few months ago with someone else.   I mostly found quarter/penny machines throughout the property and only a few credit card machines, while someone else mainly only saw the credit card and very few quarter/penny and we were there around the same time.  You're probably still going to find a mixture.


----------



## Mome Rath

TikiTikiFan said:


> Do the penny machines at WDW still mostly take credit cards? Or do some take the quarters/pennies?


I was there about a week ago, and also saw a mixture.


----------



## starryagain

Finished my 8 day trip to the parks. My last trips were May 2016 and May 2017.

I rode more rides than I ever have before and waited far less in line. I think this was partially the luck of the draw with coronavirus restrictions easing while park capacity hadn't caught up. But honestly I think FP+ isn't good for serious riders. Which is a business decision for Disney. We never waited over 30 minutes and rode every headliner (mainly right before park close). Can't imagine that in previous years.

We had excellent service at restaurants except for Yak and Yeti which was just ok. Never waited more than 10 minutes past our ADR minus Yak and Yeti. Next time will stick to quick service at AK.

Buses remain meh. Next time I'm splitting my stay between an MK and an Epcot / HS resort to minimize bussing.

I did not miss the character meets much but I really missed the shows and night time spectaculars. Characters still have a good presence but the shows add so much and give people something to do. I hope more come back soon.


----------



## webcreatrix

Just back! My 18 year old daughter and I spent 5 nights at the Swan. We had a great time. Both vaccinated so not too worried about the elimination of masks for outdoors. We were relieved! We had hoppers for the first time ever and they came in handy when we slept in and missed HS rope drop.  Two days, four tries, no RotR for me. Disappointing. That said, we had a great time. We hopped to MK that afternoon and did everything we wanted to. The weather was beautiful. We slept in a lot and didn't do too badly, except for HS.

F&G was our first festival and I was very much looking forward to it, but the lines seemed so long to snack here and there so we did actual dining both days we were in EPCOT. Walk up at Spice Road Table. Food was amazing! Last minute booking for La Hacienda, very relaxing.We loved mobile ordering and just winging it. Outside of a couple of rides at HS, most everything was 30 min wait max. It was glorious!

Then, we went to Universal which was crazy town. I can only imagine people arrived at Disney, couldn't get a park reservation and then ended up at IOA/US. We've been three times, but DD18 was looking forward to HP. The crowds were the worst we have seen in any given summer or during Halloween Horror Nights. I swore I'd never go to US again. DD hopes to try again with a friend in the off season. We rode three rides with Express Pass, but it was super crowded and overwhelming, not the well oiled Disney machine.


----------



## kylenne

Arrived this morning and was pixie dusted back into the main building at GF! DME line was short, but there was a bit of a wait to actually get on the bus…there were a ton of DVC folks. _Lots_ of Saratoga.

Had lunch at GF Cafe at 1, hung around the resort, then walked to MK slightly before 5. I was hugely apprehensive about going without FP because I was such a master of the system, but color me converted... I had no real plan given that I had an ADR for BOG at 7:30, just hit up the Lines app to see what was acceptable and got on it. In my meandering I knocked out Pirates (30 minutes), Big Thunder (8 minutes), Haunted Mansion was basically walk on, Small World was like 10, Pooh was 20, and I only stopped because of dinner. When I got out Peter Pan was a walk on but I was travel day exhausted. Lines app was very accurate as well.

Tomorrow I plan to rope drop and finish off the rest of the park. But for the rope drop averse, I feel like you can get even more done in the late afternoon to evening hours than in pre COVID times and that imo is entirely down to no FPs. I was shocked by how much I enjoyed no FP. It was so much less stressful.


----------



## neptuneflame

All y’all’s posts have helped me so much, so I figured I’d share mine! We are here right now until Saturday morning. Split stay between BWV and SSR. Here’s my Day 1 and Day 2.

Day 1: arrived at BWV via car from TN around 4:30. I had thought we’d get in sooner and selected 2:00pm in online check in — got a room ready text at 2:06! (That made those last couple hours in the car take that much longer!) We got a snack on the Boardwalk, and returned to find some pixie dust for my daughter who turned 11 this week! A balloon and a note from Mickey. It was so sweet and unexpected. We then spent a beautiful evening swimming. This is our first time at BWV and BW was always a goal resort for us. It’s beautiful! And the room stays cold !

Day 2: HS and MK. We woke up bright and early to get the coveted RotR boarding group. I followed all the tips I’ve read in these threads and got BG 20!! I was literally shaking with adrenaline after I grabbed it! We got ready and walked over, arriving just before the turnstiles opened (around 8:15/8:20). 

We headed straight back to SDD and waited about 30/35 min. Then we rode Saucers and our boarding group was called. I had spoiled myself for RotR so I knew with authority that we had the *perfect* ride! We then hit TMM, got lunch at Docking Bay 7, grabbed some blue milk, and rode ToT. We tried to get in line for MMRR, but it was down. We decided to get a midday rest in our room and then head to MK.

We headed to MK at 3 pm, got through the turnstiles quickly and then marathoned rides. HM, BTM x2, IASW (a surprisingly long wait), Under the Sea, Space, People Mover. My DS8 and I rode Pooh and Dumbo while DH and DD rode SDMT. It was hot but bearable and once evening hit the weather was downright beautiful.

I’m now lounging in our room feeling very tired lol! Cast interaction was on point all day. We got lucky with weather and buses today. There is definitely an enthusiastic vibe in the air. I’m a cautious person (proud Enneagram 6w7 here) and I felt pretty comfortable with the current protocols. It’s easy enough to put your mask on entering buildings and rides, and you’re not in close quarters for long.  Most people are making an effort — I only saw one person deliberately and flagrantly break the rules. My children kept their masks on most of the day by choice. I think they are so used to wearing them at school, they have gotten used to it. As others have said, though, there is very little social distancing. It felt very strange to go from very few incidental interactions with strangers in the last year to 100s! But honestly, I am probably someone who just needs to rip that band aid off. YMMV.


----------



## Castlequeen5

We just got to Disney this evening.  I know there were lots of concerns about DME, so I thought I’d share our experience.  We arrived at  the DME entrance at 8:31 and got on the bus at 8:37.  There was a very short line and it moved quickly.  We were assigned seats, and they did skip a row between each group.  We arrived at AOA at 9:18.  We were the first stop.  They were headed to Pop next and then last to All Star Movies.  We were on the normal DME bus, so we got to watch the Disney videos.  I’m sure it completely depends on when you arrive, but we had a great experience!


----------



## Castlequeen5

Also I brought 4 magic bands with me and not one of them worked to unlock the door.  Of course everyone else was at the pool.  No doubt they’ll have to be reset at the front desk. BUT I used MagicMobile from my phone to unlock the door, and it worked like a charm!  This is a fantastic new feature!  We are staying all the way in the Little Mermaid section, and I didn’t have the energy to walk all the way back to the front desk.  Ha!


----------



## ML_LovesDisney

Well I'm finally here now to see for myself. Staying at Gran Destino Tower and we really like this hotel. 



Pros:
-The wait times are great. I was so worried without FastPass, but truly I have liked it better without it. I am a super planner and going on whatever we want, when we wanted was really fun. The only "long" waits in MK were Splash Mountain and 7DMT, which were 50-60 minutes. I don't even mind those times, we are just traveling with my nephews who are 4 and 8 and probably don't have the patience for that long.
-We are here Memorial Day Weekend and MK was not bad at all yesterday. We enjoyed ourselves and crowds were nothing compared to what we have seen at Disney in the past. We did not rope drop at all and got there about an hour after most would line up for rope drop. We didn't even have a line to scan our magic bands to enter!
-Animal Kingdom was great, we only had a 40 minute wait for Flights of Passage on Thursday!
-Not having to wear masks anymore outside is key for me in this FL heat
-Most CM's have been pretty great. Some are unpleasant, most are great. 
-*Best part of trip: It is still magical. I have loved being here and it still has that Disney feel for sure. It felt good to be walking around the parks and feeling some sense of normalcy.* 
-Normally we are a rope drop family: ride everything, do our FastPass and then head back to resort for pool time. This trip, because of the shorter lines, we stayed in the parks longer and rode more things which was a lot of fun.

Not sure if this is a pro or a con for some people: I am fully vaccinated and both my kids have their first dose (plus we had COVID) so I don't mind cramming together in lines. There is no social distancing. It feels very normal in that sense. People seem to follow the rules with the masks pretty well and I haven't seen any issues besides them telling people to pull their masks up in line occasionally. 

Cons:
-The no daily housekeeping does suck and they came yesterday to do the "light cleaning" and didn't leave any more paper coffee cups (they no longer leave the two ceramic cups apparently). So I woke up to not being able to have coffee which was pretty annoying, but I headed down to Barcelona Lounge and grabbed something. Also, they don't leave the little notepad and pen in the room anymore, so if you want to leave a tip or write a note to Mousekeeping, ask for it at front desk or bring some paper and pen!
-Bus situation isn't great. We haven't had issues getting to the park, just getting back where the waits are extremely long and due to social distancing, you may have to wait for next bus after already waiting a long time. Luckily, my sister is here with us with a car so we've been able to drive to DHS and Disney Springs (didn't want to deal with parking at MK).
-ABC Commissary at DHS were so rude and abrasive about the whole mobile order situation. This is my first time back since COVID protocols so I did not know you have to check in when you actually get there, on the app. I thought I would just tell the CM I had arrived. So, they make you stand outside and wait for your food or squeeze into the entryway with everyone else waiting. Once I learned that I had to do that, all other QS Mobile Order was fine.
-MK QS options are limited in my opinion. The only actual good option is Pecos Bill which has a really nice menu still of healthier foods. 
-*Food options are the worst part of the trip. *QS at our hotel is limited and we are tired of the 3 options by day 3. We were able to snag a couple TS reservations luckily. The whole prepackaged meal thing leaves the Mickey Waffles soggy. We still eat them, but definitely not nearly as enjoyable as "normal" Disney. 
-Masks: it is very unpleasant to wear them in the outdoor virtual queues in the 94 degree heat. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It is confusing at times putting them on/off, on/off, especially with a 4yo and 8yo as you're trying to get in line "Where the heck did we put your mask" kind of thoughts. It sounds like the mask mandate may end soon so this may not be an issue soon enough, still wanted to mention it though since it was a big question of mine.


----------



## kat_lh

Festival of the Lion King is filling up well in advance of posted show times.


----------



## armerida

kat_lh said:


> Festival of the Lion King is filling up well in advance of posted show times.


How early do you need to line up to get into the next show?


----------



## disneyseniors

CarolynFH said:


> Because you're supposed to feel as if you're hang gliding - no foot rests on hang gliders!




I always feel like I'm going to fall out of that little seat.  And why do they have that bar at the back?  
I'll go back when they have shoulder straps and bigger seats , LOL


----------



## kat_lh

armerida said:


> How early do you need to line up to get into the next show?


I’d say at least 30 minutes


----------



## The Expert

kat_lh said:


> I’d say at least 30 minutes



I would go an hour early. This week walking by, we heard CMs telling folks there at noon and lined up toward the bridge that they were most likely going to be waiting for the 1:30 show as the 12:30 was already almost full. Could have been first week show re-opening crowds, but we walked by that area a few different times and the line never seemed to get shorter.


----------



## kylenne

First full day of the trip.

I left the GF at 6:45am and enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous early morning walk to MK. The walk is comparable to the one from the Crescent Lake resorts to HS. Got to security at 7, where we walkers were held momentarily, there were less than 10 of us there. After bag check we were directed to the tapstiles and then held there until 7:15 when we could tap in and go. Walkers have a distinct advantage over everyone else, literally the only people on the far left lines were walkers from the monorail resorts. AP lane is not available at that time, just FYI.

Skipped the running of the bulls to Mine Train and started left in Adventureland and Frontierland. Note that Big Thunder was the only thing open on that side of the park, and I had to wait a few minutes for it, but I walked straight on as the second party behind a family at 7:25 and could have ridden another time if I felt like it but had other priorities. So I then went to Pirates and walked straight on at 7:35. Returned to Frontier and I saw empty boats at Splash by then so got in the outdoor extended queue at 7:52 waiting for the real one to open at 8. This was absolutely the move because the line was crazy behind me, and at 8 when they let us into the real queue I walked straight into the ride…which then broke down literally right after I’d done the big drop. We were evacuated right at that bend leading into the last scene, and my boat was the last that was filled so we were some of the first evacuated. CMs walked us thru the last scene and thru a backstage area to exit, upon which we were given anytime FPs for anything except 7DMT and Peter Pan. Great considering I had done the whole ride pretty much!

Jungle Cruise was posted 35 when I got in the queue at 8:47 and that seemed about accurate. Did not note the exact time I got on the ride as my mom called me to wish me a happy birthday while in line lol. But while in line posted wait ballooned to an hour and I can believe it. Skipper Reese was the funniest I have ever had, she was hysterical with a lot of ad lib lines.

 I mobile ordered sausage & gravy tots and OJ from Friar’s Nook while in that queue so walked over and picked them up at around 10am. Ate on the hub grass in front of the castle and saw Tink’s cavalcade come by then got the super zoom shot. Then Goofy & friends came by. Spent the rest of the morning walking on to People Mover and used my FP on Space (posted 40 and looked longer) then was feeling wiped so got my fave meatballs from Capt Cook’s at the Poly and walked my food back to GF for lunch and a nap at noon. I will go back for birthday dinner at CRT this evening. 

I will continue believing running to Mine Train at rope drop is for masochists and suckers. And people saying CMs are surly or there’s no magic left are uh. Different. I’ve had nothing but fantastic experiences and plenty of magic to be had. Is it the same as the before times, no. But I’ve had some great interactions with CMs, everyone saying happy birthday for my pin, some funny times because of my shoulder porg. Crowds are not bad at all either for a holiday weekend. I am so happy to be here.


----------



## webcreatrix

TikiTikiFan said:


> Do the penny machines at WDW still mostly take credit cards? Or do some take the quarters/pennies?


We didn't see any that took change. My 18yo daughter was so disappointed. She had been saving tips and change for weeks for pressed pennies.


----------



## Leigh L

kylenne said:


> First full day of the trip.
> 
> I left the GF at 6:45am and enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous early morning walk to MK. The walk is comparable to the one from the Crescent Lake resorts to HS. Got to security at 7, where we walkers were held momentarily, there were less than 10 of us there. After bag check we were directed to the tapstiles and then held there until 7:15 when we could tap in and go. Walkers have a distinct advantage over everyone else, literally the only people on the far left lines were walkers from the monorail resorts. AP lane is not available at that time, just FYI.
> 
> Skipped the running of the bulls to Mine Train and started left in Adventureland and Frontierland. Note that Big Thunder was the only thing open on that side of the park, and I had to wait a few minutes for it, but I walked straight on as the second party behind a family at 7:25 and could have ridden another time if I felt like it but had other priorities. So I then went to Pirates and walked straight on at 7:35. Returned to Frontier and I saw empty boats at Splash by then so got in the outdoor extended queue at 7:52 waiting for the real one to open at 8. This was absolutely the move because the line was crazy behind me, and at 8 when they let us into the real queue I walked straight into the ride…which then broke down literally right after I’d done the big drop. We were evacuated right at that bend leading into the last scene, and my boat was the last that was filled so we were some of the first evacuated. CMs walked us thru the last scene and thru a backstage area to exit, upon which we were given anytime FPs for anything except 7DMT and Peter Pan. Great considering I had done the whole ride pretty much!
> 
> Jungle Cruise was posted 35 when I got in the queue at 8:47 and that seemed about accurate. Did not note the exact time I got on the ride as my mom called me to wish me a happy birthday while in line lol. But while in line posted wait ballooned to an hour and I can believe it. Skipper Reese was the funniest I have ever had, she was hysterical with a lot of ad lib lines.
> 
> I mobile ordered sausage & gravy tots and OJ from Friar’s Nook while in that queue so walked over and picked them up at around 10am. Ate on the hub grass in front of the castle and saw Tink’s cavalcade come by then got the super zoom shot. Then Goofy & friends came by. Spent the rest of the morning walking on to People Mover and used my FP on Space (posted 40 and looked longer) then was feeling wiped so got my fave meatballs from Capt Cook’s at the Poly and walked my food back to GF for lunch and a nap at noon. I will go back for birthday dinner at CRT this evening.
> 
> I will continue believing running to Mine Train at rope drop is for masochists and suckers. And people saying CMs are surly or there’s no magic left are uh. Different. I’ve had nothing but fantastic experiences and plenty of magic to be had. Is it the same as the before times, no. But I’ve had some great interactions with CMs, everyone saying happy birthday for my pin, some funny times because of my shoulder porg. Crowds are not bad at all either for a holiday weekend. I am so happy to be here.


Happy birthday!!! Sounds like a fantastic damage! Have a wonderful trip 

Ps i'm with you, never rope drop mine train lol. We did it 2 years ago and even dd12 was like never again! Lol


----------



## Rivergirl2005

For those who take the bus to the parks, I read in previous posts to be at the bus  stop 90mins before opening. Does that include official opening or the opening 45 mins prior?


----------



## Haley R

Rivergirl2005 said:


> For those who take the bus to the parks, I read in previous posts to be at the bus  stop 90mins before opening. Does that include official opening or the opening 45 mins prior?


That’s for official opening. So if the park opens at 8 I’d get there around 6:30


----------



## Leigh L

Leigh L said:


> Happy birthday!!! Sounds like a fantastic damage! Have a wonderful trip
> 
> Ps i'm with you, never rope drop mine train lol. We did it 2 years ago and even dd12 was like never again! Lol


What the heck autocorrect??
Damage? @kylenne im sorry that should have said day!


----------



## Rivergirl2005

Haley R said:


> That’s for official opening. So if the park opens at 8 I’d get there around 6:30


Thank you!


----------



## jbish

kylenne said:


> First full day of the trip.
> 
> I left the GF at 6:45am and enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous early morning walk to MK. The walk is comparable to the one from the Crescent Lake resorts to HS. Got to security at 7, where we walkers were held momentarily, there were less than 10 of us there. After bag check we were directed to the tapstiles and then held there until 7:15 when we could tap in and go. Walkers have a distinct advantage over everyone else, literally the only people on the far left lines were walkers from the monorail resorts. AP lane is not available at that time, just FYI.
> 
> Skipped the running of the bulls to Mine Train and started left in Adventureland and Frontierland. Note that Big Thunder was the only thing open on that side of the park, and I had to wait a few minutes for it, but I walked straight on as the second party behind a family at 7:25 and could have ridden another time if I felt like it but had other priorities. So I then went to Pirates and walked straight on at 7:35. Returned to Frontier and I saw empty boats at Splash by then so got in the outdoor extended queue at 7:52 waiting for the real one to open at 8. This was absolutely the move because the line was crazy behind me, and at 8 when they let us into the real queue I walked straight into the ride…which then broke down literally right after I’d done the big drop. We were evacuated right at that bend leading into the last scene, and my boat was the last that was filled so we were some of the first evacuated. CMs walked us thru the last scene and thru a backstage area to exit, upon which we were given anytime FPs for anything except 7DMT and Peter Pan. Great considering I had done the whole ride pretty much!
> 
> Jungle Cruise was posted 35 when I got in the queue at 8:47 and that seemed about accurate. Did not note the exact time I got on the ride as my mom called me to wish me a happy birthday while in line lol. But while in line posted wait ballooned to an hour and I can believe it. Skipper Reese was the funniest I have ever had, she was hysterical with a lot of ad lib lines.
> 
> I mobile ordered sausage & gravy tots and OJ from Friar’s Nook while in that queue so walked over and picked them up at around 10am. Ate on the hub grass in front of the castle and saw Tink’s cavalcade come by then got the super zoom shot. Then Goofy & friends came by. Spent the rest of the morning walking on to People Mover and used my FP on Space (posted 40 and looked longer) then was feeling wiped so got my fave meatballs from Capt Cook’s at the Poly and walked my food back to GF for lunch and a nap at noon. I will go back for birthday dinner at CRT this evening.
> 
> I will continue believing running to Mine Train at rope drop is for masochists and suckers. And people saying CMs are surly or there’s no magic left are uh. Different. I’ve had nothing but fantastic experiences and plenty of magic to be had. Is it the same as the before times, no. But I’ve had some great interactions with CMs, everyone saying happy birthday for my pin, some funny times because of my shoulder porg. Crowds are not bad at all either for a holiday weekend. I am so happy to be here.


Happy birthday @kylenne!! Sounds like a great day!!


----------



## robinb

Magic Kingdom just tested fireworks at 9:50. They closed at 9:00. We were at California Grill last night.  It sure would have been nice if they tested them then .

edited, I was wrong.It was the Marriott.


----------



## Wiltony

Definitely not MK. I read it was the full HS galactic spectacular.


----------



## robinb

Wiltony said:


> Definitely not MK. I read it was the full HS galactic spectacular.


Hmmm.  I originally thought they were DHS, but they were in the wrong spot. They appeared to be shot off east of Epcot but close. I guess it wasn’t MK, but it also wasn’t in DHS if it’s being shot “behind” Norway.


----------



## Wiltony

robinb said:


> Hmmm.  I originally thought they were DHS, but they were in the wrong spot. They appeared to be shot off east of Epcot but close. I guess it wasn’t MK, but it also wasn’t in DHS if it’s being shot “behind” Norway.


Just read on Twitter from blogmickey: "For anyone in the Walt Disney World area hearing fireworks tonight, there was a large display at the Marriott World Center hotel less than a mile south of Disney Springs. There were no fireworks on Walt Disney World property tonight"


----------



## robinb

Wiltony said:


> Just read on Twitter from blogmickey: "For anyone in the Walt Disney World area hearing fireworks tonight, there was a large display at the Marriott World Center hotel less than a mile south of Disney Springs. There were no fireworks on Walt Disney World property tonight"


Oh well. I got my hopes up but I guess I was wrong. That would be the right place for the fireworks I saw.


----------



## Castlequeen5

Today was a non-park day, so we started our day dropping off our luggage at AOA for a transfer to Movies.  There was one family in front of us, so it was very quick. 

My group wanted to use the free putt-putt passes we got with our ticket package.  Fantasia Gardens is the one open right now, so that was our only option.  We rode the Skyliner to HS with no wait.  It was 9:30, so the rush was over.  Then we got right on the Friendship boat to Swan and Dolphin.  And then walked over. 

This was our first time to play putt-putt at Disney, so we didn’t realize there would be a line.  It opened at 10:00, and we got there around 10:15.  They told us it would be a 50 minute wait, and we probably waited at least 40-45 minutes.  It was fun, especially since it was free.  But I would recommend getting there, right at opening.

Afterwards we walked back to the Swan to catch a bus to Disney Springs.  It was a long wait.  It was at least 30 minutes and there were others waiting for a park bus.  But no buses came while we waited, until the Disney Springs bus came.  We got on the bus, there were no assigned seats or numbers.  They allowed people to stand as well.

We also got dropped off at a weird place...at least for me.  It was by the orange garage, and it was a SUPER long walk.  We’ve never gone that way, so I was confused as to why we were going that way.  Maybe because of security?  But it seemed strange to me. 

Our first stop was Gideon’s, and we got in the virtual queue.  They said the wait was 4 hours and 40 minutes.  Then we went to World of Disney.  There was a line, like going on a ride.  It was mostly constantly moving, so it took maybe 5-10 minutes to get inside.  We just looked around a little bit, and then headed to our lunch reservations at Homecomin’. 

After lunch, we decided Gideon’s was not worth the wait.  So we headed back to the buses.   We waited for a bus about 30 minutes before one came.  This bus did have assigned seating with numbers, and no one was allowed to stand.

Once we got to Movies, our room was ready.  So we got to our room, and our luggage was delivered about 30 minutes later.  As the cast member handed us each piece of luggage, he spoke in a “Mickey Mouse” voice!  It was so fun and it made our day!

As far as our experience at Disney Springs, it was definitely busy.  I’m not really a shopper, so I don’t like going there anyway.  But after today, I really don’t care to go back anytime soon.  I don’t mind getting in lines for rides, but not to shop.  And I will walk all over the parks to ride our favorite rides, but I don’t want to walk what seemed like forever just to get inside Disney Springs.  It was totally not worth it to me.


----------



## kylenne

Leigh L said:


> What the heck autocorrect??
> Damage? @kylenne im sorry that should have said day!



Well, it was to my wallet!


----------



## Best Aunt

Castlequeen5 said:


> Afterwards we walked back to the Swan to catch a bus to Disney Springs.  It was a long wait.  It was at least 30 minutes and there were others waiting for a park bus.  But no buses came while we waited, until the Disney Springs bus came.  We got on the bus, there were no assigned seats or numbers.  They allowed people to stand as well.
> 
> We also got dropped off at a weird place...at least for me.  It was by the orange garage, and it was a SUPER long walk.  We’ve never gone that way, so I was confused as to why we were going that way.  Maybe because of security?  But it seemed strange to me.



I'm going to reply, although others may give a better answer.  Bus service at the Swan and Dolphin has changed.  They are no longer considered Disney hotel buses.  For example, if you go from a Disney hotel to the Magic Kingdom, the bus drops you off at the Magic Kingdom.  But if you go from Swan/Dolphin to the Magic Kingdom, the bus drops you off at the Transportation & Ticket Center, and you have to take the monorail or ferryboat from there to the Magic Kingdom. 

The Swan/Dolphin app says buses depart every 20-30 minutes.  So if you stood there for 30 minutes and no buses went by, that could be why.  If buses showed up at the 31 minute mark, it would only be 1 minute later than advertised.

The Swan/Dolphin app says that its buses use the West Side Bus Loop at Disney Springs.  I'm not sure if that's where you were dropped off.  The Disney Springs map shows that the stop for "buses to other hotels" is near Cirque du Soleil.  It shows that the stop for buses to Disney-owned hotels is near the Coca Cola Store and Puck's.

This could explain why your experience with buses at the Swan seemed different from your experience with buses at Disney-owned hotels.


----------



## kylenne

Yesterday part 2:

I took the monorail back to MK around 6pm. It started raining while en route so I went to the Tiki Room, then walked on to Haunted Mansion, and by the time I got out it had stopped. Buzz was posted 10 minutes at about 7p but was a walk on—I can’t emphasize enough during the evenings especially posted waits are inflated. Even the Lines app overestimated times (I can’t for the life of me figure out how to submit them). Everything outside of the E tickets looked like a walk on. But I was mostly getting photopass shots because I had changed into my Tiana outfit from Unique Vintage. I walked on to the People Mover twice though.

Had an ADR for 8:25 at CRT so did that. The food was shockingly good, definitely better than BOG the night before and markedly better than the “decent” the first time I ate there with my gf in 2018. Cinderella is still the only princess there and comes out to wave but what I didn’t realize is she actually does interact with tables, albeit at a distance. She stopped by my table twice and wished me a happy birthday among treating me like a fellow princess, lol. (I was wearing a literal tiara) If you’re on the fence I still think it’s worth it.

I left the castle well after official park close and got some wonderful photos—a late ADR is great for this, as the park was virtually empty by then. But I discovered the resort monorail wasn’t running and I was too tired to walk home. A transportation CM came over and asked where I was headed, I said GF and there was a resort launch sitting at the dock that he radioed to and he directed me to it, and said the captain would take care of me. So I had my  very own personal boat back to GF! He roped up the line behind me so it was the last of the night, this was 10:30 or so. Moral of the story is don’t worry if you leave the park super late, they will always help you get home.

An amazing, magical birthday was had. Today is a resort day for me.


----------



## robinb

kylenne said:


> Yesterday part 2:
> 
> I took the monorail back to MK around 6pm. It started raining while en route so I went to the Tiki Room, then walked on to Haunted Mansion, and by the time I got out it had stopped. Buzz was posted 10 minutes at about 7p but was a walk on—I can’t emphasize enough during the evenings especially posted waits are inflated. Even the Lines app overestimated times (I can’t for the life of me figure out how to submit them). Everything outside of the E tickets looked like a walk on. But I was mostly getting photopass shots because I had changed into my Tiana outfit from Unique Vintage. I walked on to the People Mover twice though.
> 
> Had an ADR for 8:25 at CRT so did that. The food was shockingly good, definitely better than BOG the night before and markedly better than the “decent” the first time I ate there with my gf in 2018. Cinderella is still the only princess there and comes out to wave but what I didn’t realize is she actually does interact with tables, albeit at a distance. She stopped by my table twice and wished me a happy birthday among treating me like a fellow princess, lol. (I was wearing a literal tiara) If you’re on the fence I still think it’s worth it.
> 
> I left the castle well after official park close and got some wonderful photos—a late ADR is great for this, as the park was virtually empty by then. But I discovered the resort monorail wasn’t running and I was too tired to walk home. A transportation CM came over and asked where I was headed, I said GF and there was a resort launch sitting at the dock that he radioed to and he directed me to it, and said the captain would take care of me. So I had my  very own personal boat back to GF! He roped up the line behind me so it was the last of the night, this was 10:30 or so. Moral of the story is don’t worry if you leave the park super late, they will always help you get home.
> 
> An amazing, magical birthday was had. Today is a resort day for me.


It took me a bit to figure out how to post a time on the Lines app. You need to tap on the green square in the upper left corner of the attraction to add a time.


----------



## Carol_

kylenne said:


> I was mostly getting photopass shots because I had changed into my Tiana outfit from Unique Vintage





kylenne said:


> was wearing a literal tiara


@kylenne you are living a dream Disney vacation. Nice. Also, I wish I had the courage and organizational skills necessary to pull this off.


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## The Expert

Just got back from a week at the parks. This was our 4th pandemic visit and definitely the busiest, but until holiday weekend crowds arrived it felt very much like a normal May crowd (ie not bad at all). We timed this trip around our youngest niece's school year, but she ended up unable to go anyway. I was reminded why we never go this late in May! The heat was CRAZY but at least we didn't have summer humidity yet.

We took my dad and step-mom (70s) and my nephew and his wife (20s). Stayed at AKV Kidani in a two bedroom (that third bathroom is a life saver with six adults getting ready!). They flew in from Missouri and we flew in from Utah late Saturday, stayed near the airport and headed to the parks in our rental van on Sunday morning about 9am. We did MK on Sunday, Epcot on Monday, AK on Tuesday, Studios on Wednesday and Thursday and I got us RotR passes BOTH days (groups 16 and 7, respectively).

Most days we were done by 2 or 3pm and spent time at the Kidani pool bar in the afternoon before dinner. We used mobile order for QS for lunches and pick-up times were usually available right away. We had two dinner reservations at DS and ended up canceling the second after our first visit there. It was insanely crowded, as it has been every trip since they reopened. Our third was at Shula's, which was easy with their validated valet parking for dining.

We hopped on Thursday to the Wave for lunch and then MK for two rides we'd missed on Sunday and decided to "pop over" to Poly for special Dole Whip flavors and pool bar drinks there. We decided to take the boat, which was still social distanced. We waited about 20 minutes and quite a line had formed, but they were only able to take us and two other parties. With distancing, there were at least two more boats worth waiting and it seemed they weren't running any extra boats for Poly even without the monorail stop there. Finally got to Poly, picked up a few lime Dole Whip margaritas from the pool bar window on the dock, then over to Pineapple Lanai for a few more treats. We ate in the lobby a/c since the outdoor seating area is cut in half with construction walls. Rather than wait for the boat back to MK, we decided to walk to TTC for the monorail -- MISTAKE! It was SO hot and they were only running the security closest to the parking area, so we had to walk really far with zero shade. I really feel for Poly guests right now and would be upset if I were staying there. They need to put on extra boats (though it may be better once they stop blocking seating) and keep at least a single lane security open near that path at the TTC. That was really our only negative experience and our bad for doing it at the heat of the day, but "popping over" to Poly for DW is not convenient right now.

On Thursday night our Missouri family went home, taking our van rental with them. We moved Friday to a one-bedroom at BWV, using bell services to transfer. We jumped on a bus to AK, which came within a few minutes. We spent a few hours there, grabbed a Joffrey tea and walked the animal trails, used mobile order for Flame Tree, then grabbed a bus to BWV (which was waiting when we walked up) about 1:30pm. I had requested check-in at 2 but we didn't get it until almost 4. Oh well. I had brought my suit, changed in the bathroom and we hung out at the BWV pool bar for a few hours. My mother-in-law drove over from near Tampa and got there right around the time our room opened up. We got her settled in at Dolphin, grabbed mobile order from Boardwalk Bakery and my husband went to the pizza window, and just hung out in the room for the evening.

On Saturday we got to Epcot WS entrance right about 11, headed to the right and visited festival booths as we worked our way around. We got back to BWV about 3 and spent some more pool bar time before dinner off property (Ocean Prime). MIL dropped us off Sunday for our early flight home.

We did not rope drop, but got to a park within an hour of opening time each day. Waits were NOT bad -- headliners around an hour or less, but most rides 20-30 minutes. They were changing things day to day in terms of distancing. We did Philharmagic with distanced seating and markers still in place on Sunday. By Wednesday at AK ITTBAB was wide open (but not packed, so most parties left a seat or two between). Same at Muppets at DS on Thursday.
Saw very few people wearing masks outside, but most were complying without being asked in lines. It was SO nice to walk around World Showcase with a drink again!

It was HOT but not humid, with temps in the mid 90s and real feel in the low 100s each day. I have a neck a/c and big floppy hat, and we ducked into shops and rides to cool off. The humidity and crowds starting building about Friday. From the forecast, it appeared the summer pop-up shower pattern was due to start on cue today!

Already looking forward to our F&W trip in October! Happy to answer any questions...

p.s. Valet parking IS BACK at deluxe resorts! We were told on our arrival day that it would be back this Sunday (yesterday), but we saw valet staff working on Friday at BWV.


----------



## Lsdolphin

The Expert said:


> Just got back from a week at the parks. This was our 4th pandemic visit and definitely the busiest, but until holiday weekend crowds arrived it felt very much like a normal May crowd (ie not bad at all). We timed this trip around our youngest niece's school year, but she ended up unable to go anyway. I was reminded why we never go this late in May! The heat was CRAZY but at least we didn't have summer humidity yet.
> 
> We took my dad and step-mom (70s) and my nephew and his wife (20s). Stayed at AKV Kidani in a two bedroom (that third bathroom is a life saver with six adults getting ready!). They flew in from Missouri and we flew in from Utah late Saturday, stayed near the airport and headed to the parks in our rental van on Sunday morning about 9am. We did MK on Sunday, Epcot on Monday, AK on Tuesday, Studios on Wednesday and Thursday and I got us RotR passes BOTH days (groups 16 and 7, respectively).
> 
> We hopped on Thursday to the Wave for lunch and then MK for two rides we'd missed on Sunday and decided to "pop over" to Poly for special Dole Whip flavors and pool bar drinks there. We decided to take the boat, which was still social distanced. We waited about 20 minutes and quite a line had formed, but they were only able to take us and two other parties. With distancing, there were at least two more boats worth waiting and it seemed they weren't running any extra boats for Poly even without the monorail stop there. Finally got to Poly, picked up a few lime Dole Whip margaritas from the pool bar window on the dock, then over to Pineapple Lanai for a few more treats. We ate in the lobby a/c since the outdoor seating area is cut in half with construction walls. Rather than wait for the boat back to MK, we decided to walk to TTC for the monorail -- MISTAKE! It was SO hot and they were only running the security closest to the parking area, so we had to walk really far with zero shade. I really feel for Poly guests right now and would be upset if I were staying there. They need to put on extra boats (though it may be better once they stop blocking seating) and keep at least a single lane security open near that path at the TTC. That was really our only negative experience and our bad for doing it at the heat of the day, but "popping over" to Poly for DW is not convenient right now.
> 
> On Thursday night our Missouri family went home, taking our van rental with them. We moved Friday to a one-bedroom at BWV, using bell services to transfer. We jumped on a bus to AK, which came within a few minutes. We spent a few hours there, grabbed a Joffrey tea and walked the animal trails, used mobile order for Flame Tree, then grabbed a bus to BWV (which was waiting when we walked up) about 1:30pm. I had requested check-in at 2 but we didn't get it until almost 4. Oh well. I had brought my suit, changed in the bathroom and we hung out at the BWV pool bar for a few hours. My mother-in-law drove over from near Tampa and got there right around the time our room opened up. We got her settled in at Dolphin, grabbed mobile order from Boardwalk Bakery and my husband went to the pizza window, and just hung out in the room for the evening.
> 
> On Saturday we got to Epcot WS entrance right about 11, headed to the right and visited festival booths as we worked our way around. We got back to BWV about 3 and spent some more pool bar time before dinner off property (Ocean Prime). MIL dropped us off Sunday for our early flight home.
> 
> We did not rope drop, but got to a park within an hour of opening time each day. Waits were NOT bad -- headliners around an hour or less, but most rides 20-30 minutes. They were changing things day to day in terms of distancing. We did Philharmagic with distanced seating and markers still in place on Sunday. By Wednesday at AK ITTBAB was wide open (but not packed, so most parties left a seat or two between). Same at Muppets at DS on Thursday.
> Saw very few people wearing masks outside, but most were complying without being asked in lines. It was SO nice to walk around World Showcase with a drink again!
> 
> Most days we were done by 2 or 3pm and spent time at the Kidani pool bar most afternoons before dinner. We used mobile order for QS for lunch most and pick-up times were usually available right away. We had two reservations at DS and ended up canceling the second after our first visit there. It was insanely crowded
> 
> It was HOT but not humid, with temps in the mid 90s and real feel in the low 100s each day. I have a neck a/c and big floppy hat, and we ducked into shops and rides to cool off. The humidity and crowds starting building about Friday. From the forecast, it appeared the summer pop-up shower pattern was due to start on cue today!
> 
> Already looking forward to our F&W trip in October! Happy to answer any questions...



Actually you didn’t have to walk to TTC to return to MK the Poly is running busses to the MK...so you could have jumped on a bus to MK and they run like every 10 min and take only a few min to get to MK


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## The Expert

Lsdolphin said:


> Actually you didn’t have to walk to TTC to return to MK the Poly is running busses to the MK...so you could have jumped on a bus to MK and they run like every 10 min and take only a few min to get to MK



Our car was still at Contemporary, so we actually wanted to go there and the monorail gave us a more direct shot. Still might've done the bus if we'd known, since the bus dropoff is so close to there!


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## coolbrook

Orlando airport yesterday at the end of our trip. Pretty crowded and hard to walk through to talk to our gate agent to get a tag for my rollator.


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## kylenne

coolbrook said:


> View attachment 578822
> Orlando airport yesterday at the end of our trip. Pretty crowded and hard to walk through to talk to our gate agent to get a tag for my rollator.



That looks like a standard holiday weekend crowd...wow.


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## kat_lh

We’ve roped dropped every park except Epcot and had the most success at MK than HS or AK.


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## Castlequeen5

Today was our first day at the parks, and we started at MK.  We arrived around 7:10 for an 8:00 am opening.  They opened the gates at 7:15.  We walked around Fantasyland and Frontierland trying to find an open ride, but nothing opened up until around 7:40.  So we got in line for SDMT. 

We were off by 8:10 and went straight to Space Mountain.  It was 15 minute wait.  Once we got off, we headed back to Peter Pan.  That was a 20 minute wait.  Then we went to Haunted Mansion.  It was a walk-on.

Next we walked back over to Frontierland and got in line for BTMR.  Our wait was less than 25 minutes.  Then we went right next door to Splash with a 35 minute wait.  We then walked over to Adventureland and waited almost 45 minutes for Pirates.  Then we stopped for lunch at noon.

So we rode the following before 12:00:
SDMT- 26 minutes
Space Mountain- 15 minutes
Peter Pan- 22 minutes
Haunted Mansion- walk-on
BTMR- 23 minutes
Splash Mountain- 35 minutes
Pirates- 43 minutes

We had a fantastic morning!  I was a bit worried the crowds would be heavy with it being Memorial Day.  But it’s been fine.  We were able to ride ALL the headliners before lunch!  Our longest wait was Pirates and it was our last ride of the morning.


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## KBoopaloo

coolbrook said:


> View attachment 578822
> Orlando airport yesterday at the end of our trip. Pretty crowded and hard to walk through to talk to our gate agent to get a tag for my rollator.


I arrived yesterday and it seemed like a regular busy day at MCO.


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## Makmak

Not sure exactly where to put this but I know a lot of people that are leaving soon read here,  plz move/delete if not OK:
We just had an “interesting” experience with Lyft to ASM—-wanted to let people know that the Lyft app has the incorrect address for ASM in its “pre-populated” menu. It will appear correct when you select it, but somehow it switches the west to east and you could end up (as we did, with an inexperienced driver) at Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace. We were trying to correct our driver (and his GPS) but there was a language barrier. We decided to get out at the Hilton and get a new driver and the Hilton valet said “this happens all the time.” So if anyone takes Lyft be sure to type in the address for ASM I’ve included a screenshot of the “directions” that the Lyft app calculates between All Star Movies and the actual, typed out address.


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## dmband

webcreatrix said:


> We didn't see any that took change. My 18yo daughter was so disappointed. She had been saving tips and change for weeks for pressed pennies.


Yeah the whole fun part is putting in the money and turning the wheel


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## canyoncam

dmband said:


> Yeah the whole fun part is putting in the money and turning the wheel



You still turn the wheel on some that take cards. Each one is different. I did see some at the Disney shop in the airport that still took your penny and two quarters.


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## pixiedust2u

Castlequeen5 said:


> Today was our first day at the parks, and we started at MK.  We arrived around 7:10 for an 8:00 am opening.  They opened the gates at 7:15.  We walked around Fantasyland and Frontierland trying to find an open ride, but nothing opened up until around 7:40.  So we got in line for SDMT.
> 
> We were off by 8:10 and went straight to Space Mountain.  It was 15 minute wait.  Once we got off, we headed back to Peter Pan.  That was a 20 minute wait.  Then we went to Haunted Mansion.  It was a walk-on.
> 
> Next we walked back over to Frontierland and got in line for BTMR.  Our wait was less than 25 minutes.  Then we went right next door to Splash with a 35 minute wait.  We then walked over to Adventureland and waited almost 45 minutes for Pirates.  Then we stopped for lunch at noon.
> 
> So we rode the following before 12:00:
> SDMT- 26 minutes
> Space Mountain- 15 minutes
> Peter Pan- 22 minutes
> Haunted Mansion- walk-on
> BTMR- 23 minutes
> Splash Mountain- 35 minutes
> Pirates- 43 minutes
> 
> We had a fantastic morning!  I was a bit worried the crowds would be heavy with it being Memorial Day.  But it’s been fine.  We were able to ride ALL the headliners before lunch!  Our longest wait was Pirates and it was our last ride of the morning.


Sounds like a perfect morning at the Kingdom!!
Do you recall around what time Splash opened? It’s our only must do of the headliners this trip so I want to try and get there as soon as it opens! Thanks!


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## Castlequeen5

pixiedust2u said:


> Sounds like a perfect morning at the Kingdom!!
> Do you recall around what time Splash opened? It’s our only must do of the headliners this trip so I want to try and get there as soon as it opens! Thanks!



We weren’t over there when it actually opened, but it had to be between 7:40-8:00. The cast members said it would be opening soon, and they allowed guests to form a line. But they said BTMR had a delayed opening, and were sending guests away.


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## robinb

I just got back from 8 days at WDW.  It was 4 days with just me and my DH and then 4 days with my DD21 who just graduated from college.  (As an aside, the price of that 4-day PH almost killed me!).  We stayed at AKV for 1 night, RIV for 2 nights and BWV for 6 nights.  

*TRANSPORTATION:*

We made it on the first or second bus every morning except our last day when we slept in.  I would have changed our MK day to Epcot that day but there were no available park reservations to change to so we just had a late morning arrival at MK instead.  I used a scooter and only had to wait for a second bus twice, once to the park and once on the way home.  I will arrange Epcot days into my October schedule even if it still opens late because I found that I needed a couple of days where we were not running for the bus at 6:40 in the morning for AK and MK or 7:40 in the morning for DHS.  I found that the MDE app was good for bus arrivals for AK and RIV, but didn't work for BWV.  It never showed when the first bus was supposed to arrive.  We arrived at the bus stop at BWV to go to MK, only to see an AK bus loading when there was no notice on the app of when the bus was supposed to come.  There was also no notice at the bus stop when the first bus was supposed to arrive until it was there.  The first bus usually came between 45 minutes and 55 minutes after the hour and got us to the park in time for rope drop.  On our day at AK with my DD21 it didn't arrive until AFTER 7:00 and dropped us off at 7:30ish.  I asked the bus driver if he was the first bus of the day (we were at the stop at 6:45) and he said that he thought that he was because there was another AK bus right behind him so he thought that was supposed to be the first one and he was late.  Gee, thanks a lot late bus driver!  Of course, we were late to FOP and our wait was considerably longer since we got there 20-30 minutes after unofficial opening.  It messed everything up and we were not off FOP until after 8:00 am.  We ended up skipping Navi in favor of getting in line for the safari which started running at 8:00 and we still needed to wait for about 30 minutes.  

I also think that some people were coming over from the Swolphin to ride the BWV bus, especially to the MK.  There were significantly more people waiting for the bus at BWV than there was at RIV.  I don't know off the top of my head how many villas are at BWV v/s RIV but I would think the number is pretty close.  

We walked/rolled to DHS in the morning (we were at Boardwalk both days).  There were NO BOATS early enough to get us to DHS for rope drop.  We left BWV around 7:40 and got there by 8:00 and the gates had not opened yet both times.  Hint, keep to the right if the lines are the same length because the left line wraps around security and joins the line for people who parked.  I don't know about the exact timing for the Skyliner.  It was running when we arrived but we didn't take it from RIV to DHS, only home from park hopping to DHS and Epcot.

*WAIT TIMES:*

I   NO FASTPASSES!!!!

I can't tell you how much I enjoy not playing the FP game.  I can't tell you how much I enjoyed not having to plan my entire day 60 days in advance.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy not waiting in horrible stand-by lines for rides and watching FP people pass us by.  Many CMs enjoyed no FPs as well.  I had a number of them say that they really liked how the line moved without FPs.  Lines were short or moderate except for the super-duper headliner for each park (FOP, Slinky, Mine Train, Test Track).  I waited around 25-30 minutes for most rides.  I purchased the Lines app via a Touring Plans membership on my laptop and the app came with it.  I've used their free dining reservation finder more than once so I didn't mind paying for the membership and I was able to use a discount code on the laptop but I would have had to pay full price through the Apple app store.  I found the Lines app to be more accurate than the official wait times on the MDE app. 

In MK lines were short-ish for everything except Mine Train, Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Splash Mountain.  The later 3 had longer lines because they were lot loading full boats.  Everything else, including Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, were short to moderate.  Space Mountain was loading one party per car, so when we went without our DD we were placed in the front car with no one in the 3rd seat.  Mine Train was long the whole day, so it's still best to rope drop it and do it right away.  Everything else fluctuated and even Peter Pan was only 25 minutes at times during the day!  That, my friends, is the power of capped crowds and no FPs.

In DHS lines were short-ish for everything except Slinky.  Tower of Terror, Rock and Roll, Toy Story Mania, Mickey's Railway and Smugglers Run also fluctuated during the day.  All were less than 30 minutes on and off throughout the day.

In AK, FOP was long all day.  The rest were 20-40 minutes, including Everest.  That was another example of no FP, I never saw Everest go above 30 minutes.  Kali tended to get longer in the hot afternoon, but nothing like it did when FPs were in play.  I think we waited about 35 minutes for Kali at 1:30 before we left for the day.

At Epcot, Test Track was long for most of the day.  We did it at rope drop and it didn't start running until about 10:45.  The rest of the rides, including Frozen and Soarin' fluctuated.  We rode both of them after park hopping and waited about 30 minutes for each.  The line for the Grand Fiesta Tour was really long one afternoon.  I have no idea why, except perhaps because of distancing in the boat.

Here's my take on no FPs now.  I think that we stood in line much less than if there were FPs.  FPs cut your wait time down to about 10-15 minutes, while doubling the stand-by line.  If FPs were in play, I would maybe cut 10-15 minutes off of waiting for 3-4 rides BUT I would have to wait 20-50 minutes more on EVERYTHING ELSE.  Most days we knocked off 5-6 rides and lunch before we took our afternoon break.  I don't think  would get as much done with FPs in play.  Once they increase crowd levels closer to maximum, then they will probably have to bring back FPs but for right now, running at full 50% capacity, they are not necessary.   Do either rope drop or close a park to get your shortest waits.

*RESTAURANTS:*

As everyone has said, mobile ordering rocks.  Scheduling your lunch break and meal a couple hours ahead of time was really great.  We used it everywhere we could except for the Sunshine Tree Terrace because I wanted a pineapple float with pineapple/coconut swirl and that wasn't on the online menu.  I had to order it in person.  I really liked how it spread out the lunch crowd and we have zero problems finding a table.  You couldn't enter the restaurant without a mobile order return so it cut back on table squatters.  Once you're called to the pick up window your food is already ready so people who grab a table are only waiting for a minute or two instead of 20-30 minutes for the food runner.  It really moves things along.  HINT: you can't charge your meal to your MB and the app does not save your gift card number to use the next time.  I entered my gift card number into a page on my Notes app.  I would copy it from the Notes app and then add it as a new gift card each time and paste in the number.  

We ate at three TS restaurants: Topolino's Terrace, California Grill and Trattoria al Forno.  I have a mixed report on Topolino's Terrace.  I really liked the apps, the Ricotta was divine and the escargot were so delicious and unique, basically en croute.   The bread service was cute with the little bread sticks, but one of them for two people was not enough.  Plus, the butter was excessively salty.  The meal really stumbled on the main course.  I had the Rigatoni and my DH had the Lobster Fettuccine.  My rigatoni was so salty!  I don't know if they over seasoned it because there are no salt and pepper on the table, but it was seriously inedible.  And I LOVE salt so much my DH calls me a "salt monster" from that old Star Trek episode.  It's really gotta be salty if a salt monster like me thinks it's salty.  My DH's fettuccine had a strange sauce on it and the presentation was lacking.  It had a sauce americaine which was OK, but the squid ink tuile leached out some of the briny, metallic squid ink taste.  It overpowered what would normally be a nice sauce.  We won't be back anytime soon.

California Grill was excellent, as always.  They have gotten rid of the vegetarian sampler menu where my DD could pick 4 items that were apps or sides for her meal.  I have no idea why they did it because I think all the food is still being offered. Of course, we ended up paying more ordering her soup, sushi and goat cheese ravioli separately.  So, maybe that's the reason .

We ordered from Trattoria al Forno as a to-go order before we headed into Epcot for pick up at 9:50 pm.  We have the bruchetta, lasagna and the gnocchi.  The bruchetta was soggy but the lasagna was good and my DD loved the gnocchi.  I was disappointed that they didn't throw in a bread service that we would normally get at an Italian restaurant.  Many local restaurants include a few pieces of bread and some butter when I order a meal to go. 

*PANDEMIC PROCEEDURES AND COMPLIANCE:*

Social distancing is non-existent.  I had read that they were reducing the markers on the ground to 3 feet, but all the markers that I saw were still at 6 feet.  Everyone ignored them and crowded up against everyone else. We tried to stop at the markers but we had others breathing (literally) down our necks behind us much of the time.  It was originally shocking to see so many people without masks as my county has had enforced rules for masks for over a year.  I got over that pretty quick.  I also got over the anxiety of soooo many people crowded into one place with and without masks.  We are all vaccinated so I did not feel totally unsafe but I still plan on getting a Covid test in a couple of days since I had been in close proximity with so many people.  

I would not have gone to WDW with children under 12 because of the sheer mass of humanity who were not wearing their masks outside.  I would say about 90% of the people outside didn't have masks on (they didn't need to) and I would say about 90-95% of the people in lines, inside or on rides had their masks on properly.  There was always a small percentage, 5-10% of the people, who had their noses out, masks on their chins, masks hanging off their ear or masks in their pockets while the rest of us had them on as required.  The PA announcements did nothing to change the behavior, only direct requests from CMs made any difference and some pulled the masks off as soon as they were out of view of the CMs.  I bought these mask lanyards: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H85M69L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and they were great!  I'm so happy I read here about mask lanyards.  They really helped a lot to keep the mask handy for the constant on and off of masks.  My DD21 said she didn't want to use one and then within her first hour in the park she attached one, LOL.

Some rides still has plastic separators (like Frozen and Jungle Cruise) but most did not.  I really liked the plastic separators in line.  It was bad enough to have someone close behind me, but I may have lost it if I was surrounded by people on all sides in close proximity.  Some rides, like Pirates and Splash were leaving an empty row between parties.  Buses were still having seat pods assigned by the driver.  I read that some of the larger buses allowed standees, but not the ones to/from BWV.   The Friendship boats did not allow groups to mix in rows inside, only one group/family per row.  There were signs outside of elevators that said "one group or 4 single people".  When there were only 2 of us and 2 other people were waiting, we invited them to ride with us.  Most people politely waited.  One dad got really mad when another family wouldn't allow his family to barge on the elevator with them and started yelling at the other family.

In all, I'm glad I went.  I've heard that it was less busy earlier but my fears that it would be really, really busy were mostly unfounded.  I am glad that they dropped the mask requirement for outside.  I don't know how all of you did it last summer!  90-degrees plus masks = miserable guests.  I feel for the poor CMs.  They must be suffocating .  We have another trip planned for September/October.  It will be even busier so I'll wait until August to make my decision.  I won't go unless I can buy an AP.  I may not go if WDW lifts all crowd limits because I'm sure it's going to be busy, but I don't think I can take "crazy" like NYE.

Sorry this was so long!  Please feel free to ask any questions .


----------



## JohnR5101

Back from a week (May 23-29). I knew to get to the parking lot about an hour before official park opening, but the first day at Epcot and 2nd day at MK we left our offsite villa about 20 minutes later than planned (so got to parking about 1/2 hour before park opening). The result was Test Track line was already quite long and 7DMT was also very long. So we waited until later in the day and that was much better. Seems like  if you don't get there at "rope drop" then its better to do those headliners later in the day (or right at the end). Later in the week we did get to HS and AK right at the beginning and were able to do Slinky and FOP with short waits.

Overall it was a great week. We used the umbrella for shade and used cooling towels in the afternoon. Got to do everything we wanted with waits typically 30 min or less (and we did all the headliners multiple times). We were able to do ROTR 3 times, FOP 3 times. Did FOP at rope drop once and at end of day (6:55 pm) twice. Short waits. One day we were the VERY last ones getting on FOP, line closed right after we got in.
 Oh, and being able to go without a mask outdoors really helped.


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## JohnR5101

One more thing. Masks in lines and on rides was pretty good on compliance. But we did see one young man (about 20 or so) that was openly defying the policy in the Kali River Rapids. He put it on at the entrance to the line or whenever a cast member was looking, but would take it off and just hold it the rest of the time. His family was pretty lax too. But that was really an exception.

The one thing that really bothered me about those who were not following instruction was that all 3 of our Tower of Terror photos were blocked because someone in the group would have a mask below the nose or off. Annoying because one person can screw it up for everyone. I felt like the CMs should have specifically told them as they got in the elevator that if they don't wear the mask properly they will block the photo for everyone.


----------



## robinb

JohnR5101 said:


> One more thing. Masks in lines and on rides was pretty good on compliance. But we did see one young man (about 20 or so) that was openly defying the policy in the Kali River Rapids. He put it on at the entrance to the line or whenever a cast member was looking, but would take it off and just hold it the rest of the time. His family was pretty lax too. But that was really an exception.
> 
> The one thing that really bothered me about those who were not following instruction was that all 3 of our Tower of Terror photos were blocked because someone in the group would have a mask below the nose or off. Annoying because one person can screw it up for everyone. I felt like the CMs should have specifically told them as they got in the elevator that if they don't wear the mask properly they will block the photo for everyone.


One of my photos was blocked too.  I assume it was because someone didn't have their mask on.  We didn't have a memory maker (no AP this trip) so it didn't bother me too much, but I would have been mad if I had paid for my photos and someone else ruined it.


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## pixiedust2u

Recent HS goers..

what gives? Did ToT open another elevator or did loading every row make _that _much of r difference. For months ToT has run 60+ minutes most of the day…. I’ve been seeing it as low as 20 minutes mid day!!!! Exciting as we were going to rope drop SDD and skip ToT, but now maybe I can ride both!


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## JohnR5101

pixiedust2u said:


> Recent HS goers..
> 
> what gives? Did ToT open another elevator or did loading every row make _that _much of r difference. For months ToT has run 60+ minutes most of the day…. I’ve been seeing it as low as 20 minutes mid day!!!! Exciting as we were going to rope drop SDD and skip ToT, but now maybe I can ride both!


Yes ToT line was very reasonable most of the time. We did it our first day at HS and it was about 50 min (I consider that long) but 2 other times it was like 20 min and 5 min (during the last hour).


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## Castlequeen5

Today we arrived at HM at 8:10 for a 9:00 opening.  They opened up at 8:18.  We went straight back to ToT and walked right on.  Then we went next door to RnR with a 5 minute wait.  Then we headed to MMRR and waited about 25 minutes.  When we got off, it was 9:18 and the park was officially open.

We headed over to Star Tours with a 15 minute wait.  And then our boarding group for ROTR was called (BG 28).  We walked right on to that.  When that ride was finished, we went on to MFSR.  By the time we got off that it was 12 and time for lunch.

So this is what we were able to do before noon:
Tower of Terror- walk-on
Rock n Roller- 5 minutes
Mickey & Minnie Runaway Rail- 25 minutes
Star Tours- 15 minutes (MDE listed it as 5)
Rise of the Resistance- walk-on
Smugglers Run- 70 minutes (MDE listed it as 50)

We had a great morning!  Our longest wait was MFSR, and it was our last ride of the morning.  Before we got in that line, we grabbed Cokes and blue milk.  It was nice to be able to drink those while waiting in the outside part of the line. 

We put in our mobile order for Woody’s Lunchbox this morning on the bus.  They only allow guest in the seating area who have an order ready.  So there were plenty of clean tables available.  Since Toy Story Land is not very shady, I prefer to be there in the evening.  After a break at the resort, we’ll come back to Toy Story later.


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## DSLRuser

Just had a great 5 night stay May 27 to June 1 at boardwalk.  Arrived at 10pm Thursday night

We rope dropped The Studios Friday the 28th.  Did not get the 7am rise pass.  They opened security and the main entry at 8:15am for a 9am open time.  We did mickeys run away train, rocking, tower of terror (both sides open) by 9:30am.   Did smugglers run and by 11:00am we were at the Base line tap house eating lunch.  Decided to walk back to boardwalk and were poolside by 1pm.  Where I got a #189 reserve rise pass.  Headed to Epcot for dinner in France at 5:40, and towards the end of dinner 7:00.....our number was called.   We had a great server and we left France at 7:05.  Took the skyline to the studios and were off rise by 7:50.  Got in line for slinky dog with a 60 minute wait at 7:58.   We got off the ride at 8:40 and walked to Board walk.

Slept in Saturday, and went to animal kingdom.  arrived by 9:30ish......and rode dinosaur, Everest, the raft ride, had lunch at mr kimals and zureys, before a nice 45 minute wait at 2pm for flight of passage.   Made it back to the boardwalk pool by 3:30 for a quick swim before an 8:10 dinner at topolinos.

Sunday we got a rise pass at 7am...made it to the studios for rope drop again.  this time security opened at 8am and the main gates at 8:15.  Did TSMWM and A saucers.....then the CARS show.....I bought a legacy light saber, and we were back at the pool by 1pm.  Hit EPCOT by 5 and ate around the world till close.  Rode frozen at 9:50.

Monday we slept in, and hit the MK at 10am.  Had dinner at cinderella royal table at 5:10 and closed the park down at 9pm.

Flew home 11L30am Tuesday morning.

Random notes.....it was weird...dont know if I was just looking or what...but I noticed many more cast members with tattoos everywhere.  I guess they just really hid them before.

Still hope fast pass + never comes back.  Even on a holiday weekend...never thought the parks were "crowded" and we got to see and do  what we expected.

I hate masks....but I tend to follow the rules.  20% of the people in lines just won't mask up and dont follow the distance marks.  I really dont care about the masks....but do like my space.

And people at the resort bus stops are just rude as ever.  We walked up and missed the bis to MK because it was full.  No biggie we waited at the curb behind another family.  As other walk up to the station, they see us there and just mill about the pavilion.  the bus pulls up and as soon as the driver starts assigning numbers 2 families of 6 jump on the bus back door.  I sort of lost it.  "sir, are you that stupid to see a line has formed"...he just looked at me with a black stare....."yes, you in the blue polo shirt with the red shoes, I am talking to you.  Do you think you are better then us and dont have to wait in line"

He got on the bus and I stared him down and kept yelling passive aggressive  remarks his direction the entire bus ride.  I know it is childish...but it makes me feel better....somebody has to stand up to inconsiderate people of the world.


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## jbish

robinb said:


> We ordered from Trattoria al Forno as a to-go order before we headed into Epcot for pick up at 9:50 pm.  We have the bruchetta, lasagna and the gnocchi.  The bruchetta was soggy but the lasagna was good and my DD loved the gnocchi.  I was disappointed that they didn't throw in a bread service that we would normally get at an Italian restaurant.  Many local restaurants include a few pieces of bread and some butter when I order a meal to go.
> 
> ...
> 
> I bought these mask lanyards: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H85M69L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and they were great!  I'm so happy I read here about mask lanyards.  They really helped a lot to keep the mask handy for the constant on and off of masks.  My DD21 said she didn't want to use one and then within her first hour in the park she attached one, LOL.


Super helpful review!!  Thank you!  

Question on to-go ordering, do you need to have already have a reservation to order to-go?  In your Trattoria al Forno example, did you already have an ADR for the restaurant and just chose not to eat inside?  We are staying at BWV for a few days on our trip, but have not had any luck with ADRs, so this would be a great option.  There are a couple of ADRs during our stay but they're all past 9 pm, which is way too late for my family.

And thanks for the recommendation on the lanyards!  I was going to make some, but these are a great price.  So thanks for saving me from buying way more material than I need to make 5 of these!  LOL


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## pixidustmom

It's been 5 years since I've been to WDW. I also haven't kept up with all the changes as I haven't had any plans until now. So I am here soaking up as much as I can. Thanks for sharing everyone.


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## MomOTwins

DSLRuser said:


> Just had a great 5 night stay May 27 to June 1 at boardwalk.  Arrived at 10pm Thursday night
> 
> We rope dropped The Studios Friday the 28th.  Did not get the 7am rise pass.  They opened security and the main entry at 8:15am for a 9am open time.  We did mickeys run away train, rocking, tower of terror (both sides open) by 9:30am.   Did smugglers run and by 11:00am we were at the Base line tap house eating lunch.  Decided to walk back to boardwalk and were poolside by 1pm.  Where I got a #189 reserve rise pass.  Headed to Epcot for dinner in France at 5:40, and towards the end of dinner 7:00.....our number was called.   We had a great server and we left France at 7:05.  Took the skyline to the studios and were off rise by 7:50.  Got in line for slinky dog with a 60 minute wait at 7:58.   We got off the ride at 8:40 and walked to Board walk.
> 
> Slept in Saturday, and went to animal kingdom.  arrived by 9:30ish......and rode dinosaur, Everest, the raft ride, had lunch at mr kimals and zureys, before a nice 45 minute wait at 2pm for flight of passage.   Made it back to the boardwalk pool by 3:30 for a quick swim before an 8:10 dinner at topolinos.
> 
> Sunday we got a rise pass at 7am...made it to the studios for rope drop again.  this time security opened at 8am and the main gates at 8:15.  Did TSMWM and A saucers.....then the CARS show.....I bought a legacy light saber, and we were back at the pool by 1pm.  Hit EPCOT by 5 and ate around the world till close.  Rode frozen at 9:50.
> 
> Monday we slept in, and hit the MK at 10am.  Had dinner at cinderella royal table at 5:10 and closed the park down at 9pm.
> 
> Flew home 11L30am Tuesday morning.
> 
> Random notes.....it was weird...dont know if I was just looking or what...but I noticed many more cast members with tattoos everywhere.  I guess they just really hid them before.
> 
> Still hope fast pass + never comes back.  Even on a holiday weekend...never thought the parks were "crowded" and we got to see and do  what we expected.
> 
> I hate masks....but I tend to follow the rules.  20% of the people in lines just won't mask up and dont follow the distance marks.  I really dont care about the masks....but do like my space.
> 
> And people at the resort bus stops are just rude as ever.  We walked up and missed the bis to MK because it was full.  No biggie we waited at the curb behind another family.  As other walk up to the station, they see us there and just mill about the pavilion.  the bus pulls up and as soon as the driver starts assigning numbers 2 families of 6 jump on the bus back door.  I sort of lost it.  "sir, are you that stupid to see a line has formed"...he just looked at me with a black stare....."yes, you in the blue polo shirt with the red shoes, I am talking to you.  Do you think you are better then us and dont have to wait in line"
> 
> He got on the bus and I stared him down and kept yelling passive aggressive  remarks his direction the entire bus ride.  I know it is childish...but it makes me feel better....somebody has to stand up to inconsiderate people of the world.


I know the feeling!  On our last trip I lined up for family boarding at southwest an hour before the flight and the line got long fast and kept growing—it was a totally full flight and with all the families in Orlando not everyone was going to get seats together.  A woman with her two kids (one a teen, the other about 11 or 12, definitely not young enough to qualify for family boarding)  walks up after they announce family boarding will start soon in our location, and sneaks in right in front of me.  “There’s a line” I say gesturing the probably 100 people behind me. “I didn’t know where we had to line up” she says (as if the massive queue was not an indication).  “We’ve all been waiting a long time, you have to go to the back of the line” I said.  “Oh if you’re going to be so bothered about it, I’ll just go behind you” she says and shoves her kids (who now look super mortified) to squeeze in behind my family but before the next family in line. I think she expected I would let it go, but I did not stop saying loudly the whole time we were boarding the plane that she was cutting the line, that it wasn’t fair to everyone else who lined up before her and she was setting an awful example for her kids, and pointedly told my kids they had better never behave like the rules don’t apply to them because it is NOT OKAY.  She just tuned me out and I know she’s probably just always going to be an entitled jerk the rest of her life and it didn’t make a lick of difference what I said, but I wasn’t going to let her get away with it without getting a piece of my mind!

I think I embarrassed DH a little, but after a week watching people at Disney World break rule after rule, what can I say, I just reached my limit and snapped.  Nothing makes you lose your faith in humanity like traveling and theme parks during peak crowd times!!


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## robinb

jbish said:


> Super helpful review!!  Thank you!
> 
> Question on to-go ordering, do you need to have already have a reservation to order to-go?  In your Trattoria al Forno example, did you already have an ADR for the restaurant and just chose not to eat inside?  We are staying at BWV for a few days on our trip, but have not had any luck with ADRs, so this would be a great option.  There are a couple of ADRs during our stay but they're all past 9 pm, which is way too late for my family.
> 
> And thanks for the recommendation on the lanyards!  I was going to make some, but these are a great price.  So thanks for saving me from buying way more material than I need to make 5 of these!  LOL


No, we didn't have an ADR.  They do have mobile ordering, but that was already filled.  I just stopped by and placed an order to go with a server.  She brought it out for me when I arrived at 10:00ish.  I had to wait about 5-10 minutes more for the gnocchi which was why the bruschetta was soggy.  My lasagna was also a bit cold.  Both sat there (probably in their containers) while we waited for the gnocchi.  I could have placed the order with her and she would have brought it out right away if I wanted to.

The lanyards are also a little stretchy and very thin.  I don't like things around my neck and I forgot they were on.


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## kylenne

Reporting on yesterday now because I was exhausted last night. It was my second full park day and the day I transferred resorts from GF to YC. I called bell services at 6am and a nice gent came right up to get my bags, he told me luggage gets delivered over to the Crescent Lake resorts between 3p and 5p.

Then I headed to the bus stop to catch the AK bus but at 6:30 saw nothing remotely in sight so I booked a Lyft and opted for priority pickup. My ride was almost instantly assigned and my car came in like 5 minutes. We arrived to the road leading to the AK toll plaza at 6:50, where we pulled up to the cones next to the only other vehicle there, and were held until 7. I was dropped off after that and made my way into Pandora at 7:10, they let me straight into the real FOP queue at 7:12. There were already a bunch of people ahead of me but we were all were held inside because they hadn’t started the ride yet. At this time I placed my mobile order for Sat’uli for an 11:50 pickup window. At 7:25 cheers went up because they started letting people onto the ride and I walked right onto it. Takeaway here for my drivers and rideshare folk: you will be perfectly fine at rope drop, Disney buses do get let in earlier than cars but with crowds this light there is no significant advantage to the buses.

After FOP I walked right onto Navi at 7:49. Got on line for the Safari at 8:04 and it was an 18 minute wait. One thing to note is our truck did not stop for pictures at the regular places like normal because they are still integrating the baby zebra into the environment, there is also some temporary fencing in places for that purpose as well. But I got tons of great pics, the animals are very active early in the am. I got a light breakfast of French toast sticks at Pongu Pongu after that, note that before it opens for lunchtime Sat’uli allows you to sit outside and eat food from the stand, which I did. Then I headed over to Asia and got a locker, and walked straight onto Kali at 9:39. Afterwards walked Maharaja trail, and I would have done Everest but the line was backed up as far as the Nemo theater and I knew the 20 minutes it posted and 15 on Lines was a whole lie lol. So I  headed to Dinosaur which was a 15 minute wait around 11. Around this time I realized I had never done online check in for YC so quickly did that. Then I got on the walk up list for Nomad and stopped for a Balinese Breeze in the AC before heading to lunch.

I took the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, which I’d never actually done before! Mostly I hung out in the Affection Section petting the fuzzy babies. It was good for the heart.  I got my room ready text while up there, and I was feeling wiped, so I headed back to wait for Celebration of Festival of the Lion King.

*IMPORTANT: there are a very limited number of showtimes and very limited seating. Get there 60-70 minutes prior. *I say this because after the 12:30 show the next show isn’t until 3. When I initially went over there, prior to the Rafiki train, the CM told me make sure I line up at 2 for the 3p show. I came back around 1:40 and there were already ppl hanging around to get into the queue, which was still closed. CMs weren’t going to open the extended queue until 2 but some rude jerks who had just strolled up took it upon themselves to get in, so CMs told us all to get in. The nice part about waiting in that area though is a ton of character barges came by. I saw Pocahontas & Meeko, the duck crew, and Timon & Rafiki as well as a live band. But they were counting heads as I went into the real queue and I was #47. I don’t know how many more got in after me but like I said...get there EARLY, they fill up fast. As for the show itself it’s definitely a Cliffs Notes “greatest hits” version, but still very enjoyable. The performers were fantastic, some of the best I’ve seen. 

I stopped by Everest for my last attraction and it was a 10 minute wait by 3:40 or so. Got to YC at 4:30ish and my bags were already waiting for me. Rested and had dinner at Beaches & Cream then spent the night in as opposed to hopping to Epcot. I was just too tired, my body can’t do all day in a park.

Exhausting day but was worth it. One thing I really enjoy about no FP is actually getting to see all these standby queues I’ve never actually been through before bc I FP everything. AK has the best themed queues of any park, imo. I took so many photos it’s unreal.


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## robinb

DSLRuser said:


> Random notes.....it was weird...dont know if I was just looking or what...but I noticed many more cast members with tattoos everywhere.  I guess they just really hid them before.


we did too!  We saw CMs with tattoos, nail polish (on both men and women), beards, “interesting” hair and earrings.  I thought it was refreshing that they could embrace their individuality.  It’s about time ... and I’m not a big fan of tattoos. 



> Still hope fast pass + never comes back.  Even on a holiday weekend...never thought the parks were "crowded" and we got to see and do  what we expected.


Word. If you told me that I would wait only 25 minutes for Big Thunder Memorial Day weekend, I’d ask you what you were smoking! 



> And people at the resort bus stops are just rude as ever.


I’ve always found the bus lines at the resort to be dog eat dog.


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## kylenne

robinb said:


> Word. If you told me that I would wait only 25 minutes for Big Thunder Memorial Day weekend, I’d ask you what you were smoking!



Thirded, and I was queen of FP refresh. Never thought I would say that! But man is it so much better. 

I mean when crowds get back to normal they will probably have to do something…but this has been such a low stress trip, I’m still gobsmacked by how little time I’ve spent in lines after fretting about it so much leading up to the trip.


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## MomOTwins

kylenne said:


> Thirded, and I was queen of FP refresh. Never thought I would say that! But man is it so much better.
> 
> I mean when crowds get back to normal they will probably have to do something…but this has been such a low stress trip, I’m still gobsmacked by how little time I’ve spent in lines after fretting about it so much leading up to the trip.


It seems like the ride efficiency issues from seating every other row and cleaning cycles were having so much more of an impact to wait times than anyone understood.  In October and March, the wait times (listed and actual) were an over an hour on pretty much every major attraction.  Makes me so frustrated that they did not switch sooner--it's just common sense that it would have been much safer for us to have a short wait in line followed by a 4 minute attraction seated close to another person, than wait an hour or more in a queue next to "line creepers" with shoddy mask compliance.


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## DSLRuser

I will also add...The Frozen Ever After show at the studios is the best attraction in all of WDW.  If you don't leave that show with a big old smile on your face.....you have something wrong with you.


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## wilkydelts

MomOTwins said:


> It seems like the ride efficiency issues from seating every other row and cleaning cycles were having so much more of an impact to wait times than anyone understood.  In October and March, the wait times (listed and actual) were an over an hour on pretty much every major attraction.  Makes me so frustrated that they did not switch sooner--it's just common sense that it would have been much safer for us to have a short wait in line followed by a 4 minute attraction seated close to another person, than wait an hour or more in a queue next to "line creepers" with shoddy mask compliance.



I was there in late October and Easter/Spring Break week. I never waited anything close to an hour. If FP+ is the majority cause of previous waits I hope it never comes back.


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## kylenne

wilkydelts said:


> I was there in late October and Easter/Spring Break week. I never waited anything close to an hour. If FP+ is the majority cause of previous waits I hope it never comes back.



Honestly, folks who analyze the data for a living have shown for ages that FP+ has a detrimental impact on standby waits. Anecdotally I can definitely confirm that. On this trip I’ve been in standby lines shorter than some FP lines when they would get backed up sometimes! I hope they can balance it out when they introduce whatever replacement system they’ll have.


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## ellbell

wilkydelts said:


> I was there in late October and Easter/Spring Break week. I never waited anything close to an hour. If FP+ is the majority cause of previous waits I hope it never comes back.


I was there in early October and waited over an hour in multiple lines.  Mostly because cleaning cycles.


----------



## PrincessJL16

Sorry if this is the wrong thread to post in (if so, please move or delete). 
Has anyone who has been to WDW lately know if they still sell the Disney Cooling Towels in gift shops? I found some info on the Disney parks planning site but was from 2019 so curious if it’s still available.


----------



## PanchoX1

I don't know about Disney cooling towels on site, but you can order a 6 pack of the highly rated Frog Togg towels from amazon for like 13 bucks.


----------



## G719

PrincessJL16 said:


> Sorry if this is the wrong thread to post in (if so, please move or delete).
> Has anyone who has been to WDW lately know if they still sell the Disney Cooling Towels in gift shops? I found some info on the Disney parks planning site but was from 2019 so curious if it’s still available.


I saw them at the AoA gift shop on Sunday.


----------



## wonderchica

PrincessJL16 said:


> Sorry if this is the wrong thread to post in (if so, please move or delete).
> Has anyone who has been to WDW lately know if they still sell the Disney Cooling Towels in gift shops? I found some info on the Disney parks planning site but was from 2019 so curious if it’s still available.


I saw these everywhere last week. Stores, carts outside... everywhere.


----------



## Akck

PrincessJL16 said:


> Sorry if this is the wrong thread to post in (if so, please move or delete).
> Has anyone who has been to WDW lately know if they still sell the Disney Cooling Towels in gift shops? I found some info on the Disney parks planning site but was from 2019 so curious if it’s still available.



We saw them in at least one shop at each park and at DS.


----------



## Anne Scaffo

kylenne said:


> Skipped the running of the bulls to Mine Train and started left in Adventureland and Frontierland. Note that Big Thunder was the only thing open on that side of the park, and I had to wait a few minutes for it, but I walked straight on as the second party behind a family at 7:25 and could have ridden another time if I felt like it but had other priorities. So I then went to Pirates and walked straight on at 7:35. Returned to Frontier and I saw empty boats at Splash by then so got in the outdoor extended queue at 7:52 waiting for the real one to open at 8. This was absolutely the move because the line was crazy behind me, and at 8 when they let us into the real queue I walked straight into the ride…which then broke down literally right after I’d done the big drop. We were evacuated right at that bend leading into the last scene, and my boat was the last that was filled so we were some of the first evacuated. CMs walked us thru the last scene and thru a backstage area to exit, upon which we were given anytime FPs for anything except 7DMT and Peter Pan. Great considering I had done the whole ride pretty much!
> 
> 
> I will continue believing running to Mine Train at rope drop is for masochists and suckers. And people saying CMs are surly or there’s no magic left are uh. Different. I’ve had nothing but fantastic experiences and plenty of magic to be had. Is it the same as the before times, no. But I’ve had some great interactions with CMs, everyone saying happy birthday for my pin, some funny times because of my shoulder porg. Crowds are not bad at all either for a holiday weekend. I am so happy to be here.


Going left when everyone goes right at MK has been my strategy for the past five years.  I remember the first time I did it.  My kids were like- "What are you doing??"  It works out most of the time.


----------



## kylenne

FYI there is a brand new Cruella themed magic shot in the UK pavilion, back in the garden area where the band used to play. The CM told me they just started it yesterday.


----------



## disneyseniors

kylenne said:


> Thirded, and I was queen of FP refresh. Never thought I would say that! But man is it so much better.
> 
> I mean when crowds get back to normal they will probably have to do something…but this has been such a low stress trip, I’m still gobsmacked by how little time I’ve spent in lines after fretting about it so much leading up to the trip.



I remember how it was before fp, and now you have seen the results.  It was great!  The lines might be a little long at times, but the difference is that they are constantly moving  That's the big difference.  And you mentioned being able to see the pre show areas which is a big part of the ride for me.  Alot of people on here are amazed at how great Not having fp's really is.
I hope disney keeps it this way, even when we are back to normal crowd levels.  There isn't much difference, IMO.  With fp's, we found we rode our 3 fp's attractions, and couldn 't get anything we wanted to do that was available for more fp's.  So we usually did our 3 and went to the resort 
Glad you are having a nice time


----------



## VandVsmama

We were at DS yesterday evening. Very busy once you hit 8 pm. Had dinner at Chicken Guy. It was ok. I don’t understand why people rave about the place.

went to HS this morning. Got into the park at 8:30. Went on MMRR with a 10 min wait, but it was probably 5. Then went to Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run. 25 min wait posted. Felt about that amount. Our kids’ first time. They loved it. We are going on it again this evening.

did not get ROTR BG at 7 am, but did at 1pm. Got BG 166. App says it’ll probably be about 6pm that our BG gets called.

had lunch at Brown Derby to celebrate YDD turning 13 today. Food and service was great. Pricey meal but the quality of the dishes was worth the price tag in my opinion.

before lunch, the kids made light sabers in Savi’s Workshop. Price tag has gone up a little. The experience was great. The light saber is hefty, doesn’t feel cheap. It’s worth the price tag in my opinion. DH is considering getting one at Dok Ondar’s this evening. I felt bad for the CMs who basically have to spend all day telling guests that Savis reservations are required, that there’s a snowball’s chance in you know where of getting in today. 3 families walked up asking to make a lightsaber and they had no idea that you had to book ahead of time. And they didn’t understand why they couldn’t get in.

So if you don’t have a reservation, count on not getting in. Period. It’s hard to book because it’s only 50% capacity right now. There’s normally I think 13 spots per reservation time but now it’s half that.

headed to Docking Bay 7 for dinner. Am doing laundry at Pop Century. Those laundry rooms are popular!


----------



## Castlequeen5

We were at AK today and walked in at 7:15 for an 8:00 opening.  We walked straight to FOP and were off the ride by 7:59.  Then we rode Navi with a 5 minute wait.

Afterwards, we headed over to Africa for the safari.  It was a long wait that wrapped around and around, but the line was constantly moving.  Once we got off, we went to Dinosaur.  The wait was 35 minutes.  Next we walked around to Everest.  It was a 20 minute wait.  Then we went over to Kali River for a 25 minute wait.  We were off before 11:45.

So this is what we were able to do by 11:45:
FOP- approximately 30 minutes 
Navi- 5 minutes
Safari- 45 minutes (MDE listed 30 minutes)
Dinosaur- 35 minutes
Everest- 20 minutes
Kali River- 25 minutes

We were finished with all the rides before noon.  Then we had lunch reservations at Yak and Yeti and were immediately seated.  The food and service was excellent!  Once we finished, we went back to the hotel for a break.  Animal Kingdom isn’t really one of my favorite parks, but we had a great day!


----------



## kylenne

Yesterday was Epcot rope drop, really nothing of note to report except I walked over from YC at 9:30 or so and booked it to Soarin when we were let in at 10. I waited about 10 minutes. Frozen was posted 60 but I waited 30 minutes at 11:30a. Mostly I took photos and ate all day. 

Personally I’m glad I only booked one Epcot park pass this trip. It’s really not worth rope dropping this park at this time with such a late opening imo. Yes many people hop to there but waits go down substantially in the late evening as people wander and eat in World Showcase. Test Track is the worst wait by far but I jumped in line at the end of the night and waited 20 minutes. Also the heat is bad so late in the am. My UV umbrella was essential.

Today is the Studios. I got BG 7 and walked over from YC at 7:32, it took me about 12 minutes of New Yorker power walking. Walkers have a huge advantage at this park. I was near the front of the line for security as we were held and at 8 am the line stretched behind me past the Skyliner station. My best advice for rope drop is get here as early as possible. Don’t cut it close to 8 if you can help it. And when the security line opens bear left—I am standing 3 back from a tapstyle now, in front of people who got here before I did, because I did that, people didn’t realize the security lines on the left were open.

Heading to Sunset attractions first, will report back later.


----------



## Leigh L

kylenne said:


> Yesterday was Epcot rope drop, really nothing of note to report except I walked over from YC at 9:30 or so and booked it to Soarin when we were let in at 10. I waited about 10 minutes. Frozen was posted 60 but I waited 30 minutes at 11:30a. Mostly I took photos and ate all day.
> 
> Personally I’m glad I only booked one Epcot park pass this trip. It’s really not worth rope dropping this park at this time with such a late opening imo. Yes many people hop to there but waits go down substantially in the late evening as people wander and eat in World Showcase. Test Track is the worst wait by far but I jumped in line at the end of the night and waited 20 minutes. Also the heat is bad so late in the am. My UV umbrella was essential.
> 
> Today is the Studios. I got BG 7 and walked over from YC at 7:32, it took me about 12 minutes of New Yorker power walking. Walkers have a huge advantage at this park. I was near the front of the line for security as we were held and at 8 am the line stretched behind me past the Skyliner station. My best advice for rope drop is get here as early as possible. Don’t cut it close to 8 if you can help it. And when the security line opens bear left—I am standing 3 back from a tapstyle now, in front of people who got here before I did, because I did that, people didn’t realize the security lines on the left were open.
> 
> Heading to Sunset attractions first, will report back later.


Have a great time today! Sounds like you've been having an awesome trip .

Appreciate the updates since we leave in just over 2 weeks, especially what you just said about Epcot. Epcot was a huge disappointment in Jan. 2020 and Jan. 2021 (first the walls/crowds and then the walls/stuff that didn't reopen), that we didn't book it this trip. DD and I still have one day left on an old hopper that is good until September 21, so we may pop over briefly on the one day - our other days are with a base ticket and everyone else has base tickets.

We had wondered if 2 days at MK vs 1 MK and 1 Epcot was the better choice for the group. Now I feel more confident we reserved 2 MK. Thank you .


----------



## elittleton

PrincessJL16 said:


> Sorry if this is the wrong thread to post in (if so, please move or delete).
> Has anyone who has been to WDW lately know if they still sell the Disney Cooling Towels in gift shops? I found some info on the Disney parks planning site but was from 2019 so curious if it’s still available.



I saw them in several places yesterday at MK.  They were close to the register.


----------



## robinb

kylenne said:


> Yesterday was Epcot rope drop, really nothing of note to report except I walked over from YC at 9:30 or so and booked it to Soarin when we were let in at 10. I waited about 10 minutes. Frozen was posted 60 but I waited 30 minutes at 11:30a. Mostly I took photos and ate all day.
> 
> Personally I’m glad I only booked one Epcot park pass this trip. It’s really not worth rope dropping this park at this time with such a late opening imo. Yes many people hop to there but waits go down substantially in the late evening as people wander and eat in World Showcase. Test Track is the worst wait by far but I jumped in line at the end of the night and waited 20 minutes. Also the heat is bad so late in the am. My UV umbrella was essential.
> 
> Today is the Studios. I got BG 7 and walked over from YC at 7:32, it took me about 12 minutes of New Yorker power walking. Walkers have a huge advantage at this park. I was near the front of the line for security as we were held and at 8 am the line stretched behind me past the Skyliner station. My best advice for rope drop is get here as early as possible. Don’t cut it close to 8 if you can help it. And when the security line opens bear left—I am standing 3 back from a tapstyle now, in front of people who got here before I did, because I did that, people didn’t realize the security lines on the left were open.
> 
> Heading to Sunset attractions first, will report back later.


I was disappointed that I didn't book a second Epcot day over my 8 days.  Getting up at the crack of dawn to make the first bus at 6:45 for the MK and AK or walking over to DHS at 7:30 began to wear on me.  We ended up taking our time on our last MK day and I would have preferred to have gone to Epcot that day but there was no availability.  

What UV umbrella do you have?  

If you're early to DHS, yes go to the left.  We were earlier one day and went to the left while there was a big line to the right.  The second time we were later and the CMs were trying to get us to go to the left but the line was much longer because it wrapped around the security area instead of going straight into security on the right (this was right after the park opened).  So, my advise is to play it by ear.


----------



## elittleton

We were at AK on Tuesday, June 1. We got to the cones just before 7am.  Most of the people were headed to FOP while we went to Safari.   We were able to see the zebras run with the baby leading the way.  We walked the Gorilla Falls Trail with a 5 minute wait for it to open.  We road dinosaur twice as walk on then EE followed by the Kali River Rapids twice.  Last we walked the Maharaja Jungle Trek all by 11 with no more than a 20 minute wait. For the first time every we took an afternoon break.  We mobile ordered from Flame Tree BBQ for 5:30.  We went back at 4.  Rode the Safaris again then EE before picking up our mobile order.  Just like also the Flame Tree BBQ was very good.

We went to MK yesterday, June 2.  We arrived at the cones at 7:00 but they didn’t let us in until 7:10 then waited until about 7:20 at the parking booth.  We didn’t get into the park until 7:40.  We road Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice all walk on up to 15 minute wait.   Haunted Mansion finally started and there was a mass number of people headed that way.  Next Tomorrow Speedway with a 20 minute wait then Space Mountain with a 45 minute wait.  We got in line for Haunted Mansion but then it went down. We hung out at Tom Sawyer Island for about an hour for a nice break.  We had a Tony ARD at 2:35.  We left for a break and came back at 6:00.   My DD road Tomorrow Speedway, she is so happy that she is finally tall enough to ride alone.  We got a turkey leg and watched a bird grab someone else’s turkey leg.  We tried to ride Haunted Mansion again but it went down again.  My DD road Big Thunder Mountain then Space Mountain right at closing.   The MDE wait times were close to the actual wait times.


----------



## jbish

We are staying at Wilderness Lodge for the first time (CCV) - what is the transportation situation for going to MK?  Do they still run boats or is it bus only these days?


----------



## elittleton

I forgot to include that when we come we always come this week.  My DD gets out of school the Wednesday before Memorial Day so we come that weekend for the week.  The crowds are lower than what we normally see this week.


----------



## kylenne

Taking a breather. I headed straight to RNRC and was 3rd in line. We were held just before the preshow room and were let onto the ride at 8:30. After that I went to Tower and walked straight on. Note that Tower is loading every row now, just keeping a space between parties. By the time I got off the ride the queue for it was back into the Fantasmic theater just about. 

My BG was called about now so I headed to Batuu. I would have done MMRR on the way but it was down. Rise is incredible and well worth the trouble. After riding I left the park and took the Skyliner back to BC for my 10:35 ADR at Cape May Cafe for breakfast. The CBR transfer line for Epcot was long but moved pretty fast. Yes you will share a car but I had a nice chat with a family about Star Wars. 

Btw, many poor suckers just walking in at 9:45 to nothing but heat and lines. Don’t be those people fam. Sunset attractions continue to be the way to go at rope drop imo. The rest of today will be resting, I have a spa appt at the Dolphin and then will have pool time at SAB. I will return to HS in the evening and will report on how waits are then. 



robinb said:


> I was disappointed that I didn't book a second Epcot day over my 8 days.  Getting up at the crack of dawn to make the first bus at 6:45 for the MK and AK or walking over to DHS at 7:30 began to wear on me.  We ended up taking our time on our last MK day and I would have preferred to have gone to Epcot that day but there was no availability.
> 
> What UV umbrella do you have?
> 
> If you're early to DHS, yes go to the left.  We were earlier one day and went to the left while there was a big line to the right.  The second time we were later and the CMs were trying to get us to go to the left but the line was much longer because it wrapped around the security area instead of going straight into security on the right (this was right after the park opened).  So, my advise is to play it by ear.



I make a rule never to rope drop more than 2 days in a row. I only did today because I was lucky and got an early BG. I got my umbrella from Amazon and it was a godsend.


----------



## robinb

kylenne said:


> I make a rule never to rope drop more than 2 days in a row. I only did today because I was lucky and got an early BG. I got my umbrella from Amazon and it was a godsend.


Great rule . I have a FOMO if I don't rope drop, but I will adjust my next trip to have a couple of Epcot days added assuming that it will still open later.  I need my sleep and even the later DHS start doesn't help when I have to be awake at 6:50 am to get a boarding group.

Can you post the Amazon link when you get home?  There are so many of them on Amazon right now!


----------



## kylenne

robinb said:


> Great rule . I have a FOMO if I don't rope drop, but I will adjust my next trip to have a couple of Epcot days added assuming that it will still open later.  I need my sleep and even the later DHS start doesn't help when I have to be awake at 6:50 am to get a boarding group.
> 
> Can you post the Amazon link when you get home?  There are so many of them on Amazon right now!



Here I got it, hopefully it works. For reference my main park bag this trip is a mini loungefly and it fits perfectly inside next to a brita steel water bottle. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082TT73L...abc_KRECQNJTV52N2QZA2B58?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


----------



## ShadowBoxer

Honestly these reports have me feeling on ease a bit. I was worried with the park capacity increase and no fast passes wait times for rides and lines to shops and food places would be crazy long during these summer months ( I am going next month).  But it seems manageable from what I am reading here. I hope it stays that way ha.


----------



## Snowysmom

The boats to MK are running from Wilderness Lodge, at least when I was there mid May.  I used the buses as the waits were short.


----------



## DaniMoon

elittleton said:


> We were at AK on Tuesday, June 1. We got to the cones just before 7am.  Most of the people were headed to FOP while we went to Safari.   We were able to see the zebras run with the baby leading the way.  We walked the Gorilla Falls Trail with a 5 minute wait for it to open.  We road dinosaur twice as walk on then EE followed by the Kali River Rapids twice.  Last we walked the Maharaja Jungle Trek all by 11 with no more than a 20 minute wait. For the first time every we took an afternoon break.  We mobile ordered from Flame Tree BBQ for 5:30.  We went back at 4.  Rode the Safaris again then EE before picking up our mobile order.  Just like also the Flame Tree BBQ was very good.



So the Safari was open early? I kept reading that they don't open it before the posted opening?


----------



## bdiddy

ShadowBoxer said:


> Honestly these reports have me feeling on ease a bit. I was worried with the park capacity increase and no fast passes wait times for rides and lines to shops and food places would be crazy long during these summer months ( I am going next month).  But it seems manageable from what I am reading here. I hope it stays that way ha.



Me too! I'm actually really looking forward to not having the fast passes now. I've been watching the wait times on MDE and on Touring Plans a lot too at all random times and other then a few times a day for a few of the headliners, I feel the wait times are really good. Much less than they would be for stand-by otherwise. Peter Pan is one I keep checking because in "before times", that stand-by line was ALWAYS over an hour, all day every day. At least in busy season and now it's been under 30 min almost every time I check. Same with Space and BTMRR, almost every time I check they 15-30 min.

I feel like the time you normally save by having those handful of fast passes will be more than made up for with all of the much shorter stand-by lines. And we aren't having to plan our day around when our fast passes are so no more running across the parks as much. We leave on the 11th so I'll definitely be reporting back on my official comparison!


----------



## hereforthechurros

elittleton said:


> I forgot to include that when we come we always come this week.  My DD gets out of school the Wednesday before Memorial Day so we come that weekend for the week.  The crowds are lower than what we normally see this week.


Wait times have looked great the past couple weeks. So many schools aren't out yet though.


----------



## Mango7100

jbish said:


> We are staying at Wilderness Lodge for the first time (CCV) - what is the transportation situation for going to MK?  Do they still run boats or is it bus only these days?


Boats were running last week. One time we just missed one so had about a 20-25 minute wait


----------



## DisneyFive

hereforthechurros said:


> Wait times have looked great the past couple weeks. So many schools aren't out yet though.



True, but unless WDW increases capacity, there is a limit to how many guests are allowed into each park and those have been maxed out for quite some time based on the park reservation system.  My biggest concern is how Disney will handle increased capacity when they decide to do so.  It just makes our late July trip so unknown in this regard.  My big fear is increased capacity without any other changes to accommodate.

Dan


----------



## hereforthechurros

DisneyFive said:


> True, but unless WDW increases capacity, there is a limit to how many guests are allowed into each park and those have been maxed out for quite some time based on the park reservation system.  My biggest concern is how Disney will handle increased capacity when they decide to do so.  It just makes our late July trip so unknown in this regard.  My big fear is increased capacity without any other changes to accommodate.
> 
> Dan


Last couple of weeks haven't been completely sold out, but to your point I hope it means perhaps ride capacity has increased. Even today every park is available except for Epcot. We do know capacity was increased, we just don't know if if it's continuing to increase or was done all at once. We also have a late July trip and agree, hard to know what summer will look like at this point.


----------



## DisneyFive

Good call.  I assumed it had been booked up.  I don't remember seeing availability day of.  It will be interesting to see reports next week and mid June when it's sold out again.  Kind of a moving target though since we have no clue what Disney has planned and can change at any moment.


----------



## Castlequeen5

Leigh L said:


> Have a great time today! Sounds like you've been having an awesome trip .
> 
> Appreciate the updates since we leave in just over 2 weeks, especially what you just said about Epcot. Epcot was a huge disappointment in Jan. 2020 and Jan. 2021 (first the walls/crowds and then the walls/stuff that didn't reopen), that we didn't book it this trip. DD and I still have one day left on an old hopper that is good until September 21, so we may pop over briefly on the one day - our other days are with a base ticket and everyone else has base tickets.
> 
> We had wondered if 2 days at MK vs 1 MK and 1 Epcot was the better choice for the group. Now I feel more confident we reserved 2 MK. Thank you .



I definitely think you made a wise choice!  We skipped Epcot this round too.  Obviously it depends on your group, but I’m with a bunch of teenagers.  There’s not a lot of interest in that park right now...especially if you aren’t doing World Showcase.  We were there in March and didn’t really want to go back...at least until the remodel is over.  We opted for 2 MK, 2 HS, and 1 AK.


----------



## d0naldduck123

Those of you who have been to HS recently, would it possible to do most/all the rides if we don't rope drop and got to the parking lot around 10? I'll be in HS in a few weeks and we'd be driving (staying off property) but we're also planning on spending the whole day at HS and the park closes at 8. I'd normally rope drop but we'd probably be exhausted from a long drive the day before so was considering sleeping in somewhat, but we do also want to do the major rides like MMRR, ToT, Smuggler's Run, Slinky, TSMM.


----------



## Best Aunt

kylenne said:


> Taking a breather. I headed straight to RNRC and was 3rd in line. We were held just before the preshow room and were let onto the ride at 8:30. After that I went to Tower and walked straight on. Note that Tower is loading every row now, just keeping a space between parties. By the time I got off the ride the queue for it was back into the Fantasmic theater just about.
> 
> My BG was called about now so I headed to Batuu. I would have done MMRR on the way but it was down. Rise is incredible and well worth the trouble. After riding I left the park and took the Skyliner back to BC for my 10:35 ADR at Cape May Cafe for breakfast. The CBR transfer line for Epcot was long but moved pretty fast. Yes you will share a car but I had a nice chat with a family about Star Wars.
> 
> Btw, many poor suckers just walking in at 9:45 to nothing but heat and lines. Don’t be those people fam. Sunset attractions continue to be the way to go at rope drop imo. The rest of today will be resting, I have a spa appt at the Dolphin and then will have pool time at SAB. I will return to HS in the evening and will report on how waits are then.
> 
> 
> 
> I make a rule never to rope drop more than 2 days in a row. I only did today because I was lucky and got an early BG. I got my umbrella from Amazon and it was a godsend.



Just wanted to say that I’ve been enjoying your posts.


----------



## Castlequeen5

d0naldduck123 said:


> Those of you who have been to HS recently, would it possible to do most/all the rides if we don't rope drop and got to the parking lot around 10? I'll be in HS in a few weeks and we'd be driving (staying off property) but we're also planning on spending the whole day at HS and the park closes at 8. I'd normally rope drop but we'd probably be exhausted from a long drive the day before so was considering sleeping in somewhat, but we do also want to do the major rides like MMRR, ToT, Smuggler's Run, Slinky, TSMM.



i definitely think it’s possible.  We did everything except for Toy Story Land by noon, when we rope dropped.  Then we took a long break and came back around 5:15.  First we watched the Frozen show.  And then rode Slinky and some other rides twice.


----------



## jbish

d0naldduck123 said:


> Those of you who have been to HS recently, would it possible to do most/all the rides if we don't rope drop and got to the parking lot around 10? I'll be in HS in a few weeks and we'd be driving (staying off property) but we're also planning on spending the whole day at HS and the park closes at 8. I'd normally rope drop but we'd probably be exhausted from a long drive the day before so was considering sleeping in somewhat, but we do also want to do the major rides like MMRR, ToT, Smuggler's Run, Slinky, TSMM.


My family would LOVE to sleep in so I've been trying to balance the rope drop advantage vs going later in the day.  (Personally, I would prefer the commando approach - RD to close, but my family did not like that last time.)  I'll be there 6/20-6/26 - sounds like about the same time as you.  My fear is that we'll be going once school is out for the summer, plus increasing capacity, so I think all of the anecdotes coming from those that are there now will not line up with what we'll be experiencing in a few weeks.  Thus why I'm following this thread very closely.  That said, if these patterns hold up, I would love to do some later days on our trip and take a really relaxed approach - especially after I get at least one ROTR ride in!


----------



## kylenne

Best Aunt said:


> Just wanted to say that I’ve been enjoying your posts.



No problem, being solo I have plenty of time to post lol! This thread was really helpful so I want to pay it forward.


----------



## ShadowBoxer

bdiddy said:


> Me too! I'm actually really looking forward to not having the fast passes now. I've been watching the wait times on MDE and on Touring Plans a lot too at all random times and other then a few times a day for a few of the headliners, I feel the wait times are really good. Much less than they would be for stand-by otherwise. Peter Pan is one I keep checking because in "before times", that stand-by line was ALWAYS over an hour, all day every day. At least in busy season and now it's been under 30 min almost every time I check. Same with Space and BTMRR, almost every time I check they 15-30 min.
> 
> I feel like the time you normally save by having those handful of fast passes will be more than made up for with all of the much shorter stand-by lines. And we aren't having to plan our day around when our fast passes are so no more running across the parks as much. We leave on the 11th so I'll definitely be reporting back on my official comparison!




I have also been monitoring wait times on the MDE app as well ha. It definitely seems like having Fast Pass suspended for the time being is a benefit. Plus we have the benefit of the parks not being as crowded as they usually are during the summer months due to park capacity rules. I am just hoping fireworks will be back in July. I feel like Disney could pull of fireworks and parades safely now. Just space folks out during fireworks and limit the capacity for fireworks of need be. Parades could work as well with characters just walking down main street and waving.


----------



## NashvilleMama

elittleton said:


> We got in line for Haunted Mansion but then it went down.



Why does HM go down so often, do we know? I can't remember the last time I rode it when it didn't stop for an extended period of time (like more than just someone having to get on/off the ride slowly, which I get...)


----------



## Anne Scaffo

robinb said:


> Great rule .
> 
> 
> robinb said:
> 
> 
> 
> Great rule . I have a FOMO if I don't rope drop, but I will adjust my next trip to have a couple of Epcot days added assuming that it will still open later.  I need my sleep and even the later DHS start doesn't help when I have to be awake at 6:50 am to get a boarding group.
> Can you post the Amazon link when you get home?  There are so many of them on Amazon right now!
> 
> 
> 
> I got the same one as Kyleene. Haven't used it yet, but here's a link to the thread where I inquired about UV umbrellas. It may be helpful.
> 
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/favorite-uv-umbrella.3835322/#post-63037053
Click to expand...


----------



## Quilty

NashvilleMama said:


> Why does HM go down so often, do we know? I can't remember the last time I rode it when it didn't stop for an extended period of time (like more than just someone having to get on/off the ride slowly, which I get...)



It's usually for loading and unloading guests with mobility issues.


----------



## zeferjen

Drivers: I haven't read anyone having to circle around for a while. Is that because people aren't getting there early anymore or is it now that you just wait at the cones?


----------



## tigger2002

DisneyFive said:


> Good call.  I assumed it had been booked up.  I don't remember seeing availability day of.  It will be interesting to see reports next week and mid June when it's sold out again.  Kind of a moving target though since we have no clue what Disney has planned and can change at any moment.
> View attachment 579612


Only EPCOT is available


----------



## kylenne

zeferjen said:


> Drivers: I haven't read anyone having to circle around for a while. Is that because people aren't getting there early anymore or is it now that you just wait at the cones?



At AK we waited at the cones.


----------



## KayKayJS

What's the earliest you can arrive by car? HS opens at 9AM Saturday so my goal was just to be at the parking lot by 8. Last few visits we had bus as an option


----------



## DSLRuser

d0naldduck123 said:


> Those of you who have been to HS recently, would it possible to do most/all the rides if we don't rope drop and got to the parking lot around 10? I'll be in HS in a few weeks and we'd be driving (staying off property) but we're also planning on spending the whole day at HS and the park closes at 8. I'd normally rope drop but we'd probably be exhausted from a long drive the day before so was considering sleeping in somewhat, but we do also want to do the major rides like MMRR, ToT, Smuggler's Run, Slinky, TSMM.



The park really clears out at 2pm.  Wait times drop considerably for everything except Slinky Dog.  So yes.  a 10am arrival would easily let you still do everything if you are prepared to do slinky dog last and leave the park well after closing.


----------



## DSLRuser

KayKayJS said:


> What's the earliest you can arrive by car? HS opens at 9AM Saturday so my goal was just to be at the parking lot by 8. Last few visits we had bus as an option



I did rope drop twice last week.  Cars were not let into the lot until 8:10am both days for a 9am opening.  8:15am is also when they let those lined up at security, enter the park.


----------



## LovesBelle

Are they offering bounce-back offers to current resort guests yet?


----------



## scrappinginontario

LovesBelle said:


> Are they offering bounce-back offers to current resort guests yet?


No.  someone reported on Bounceback thread that they asked during their trip they just returned from.


----------



## pixiedust2u

DSLRuser said:


> The park really clears out at 2pm.  Wait times drop considerably for everything except Slinky Dog.  So yes.  a 10am arrival would easily let you still do everything if you are prepared to do slinky dog last and leave the park well after closing.


What are the odds of beating the crowd at rope drop and having to wait less than an hour at SDD first thing in the AM? I’m just trying to decide if it’s even worth it to get to HS early if that’s our priority. Our kids are little, so the other headliners aren’t really a priority. If there’s a pretty good chance of having to wait an hour for SDD no matter the time we get there, then I’m not sure it’s worth the morning rush for us.


----------



## scrappinginontario

pixiedust2u said:


> What are the odds of beating the crowd at rope drop and having to wait less than an hour at SDD first thing in the AM? I’m just trying to decide if it’s even worth it to get to HS early if that’s our priority. Our kids are little, so the other headliners aren’t really a priority. If there’s a pretty good chance of having to wait an hour for SDD no matter the time we get there, then I’m not sure it’s worth the morning rush for us.


Very high if you rope drop SDD.  If you’re staying on Disney property it’s recommended you arrive at your transportation for DHS 90 mins prior to posted park opening time.  This will get you on SDD in a timely manner.


----------



## kylenne

pixiedust2u said:


> What are the odds of beating the crowd at rope drop and having to wait less than an hour at SDD first thing in the AM? I’m just trying to decide if it’s even worth it to get to HS early if that’s our priority. Our kids are little, so the other headliners aren’t really a priority. If there’s a pretty good chance of having to wait an hour for SDD no matter the time we get there, then I’m not sure it’s worth the morning rush for us.



The _vast_ majority of people are headed to SDD at rope drop. Those who aren’t are headed to MFSR. If you can manage to be there before 8 to be near the front of the security line and don’t get held up at bag check, you can do it. But that’s a lot of “ifs” and depends on where you’re coming from and how you get there.


----------



## ryggmom

Here now. Staying at BWV and can see fireworks from our room at midnight. Not bad for our standard view


----------



## kylenne

ryggmom said:


> Here now. Staying at BWV and can see fireworks from our room at midnight. Not bad for our standard view



I just saw them from my water view at YC! I swore I heard Whole New World, I wonder if it was Harmonious testing? It looked like it was by Epcot.


----------



## luv2cheer92

kylenne said:


> I just saw them from my water view at YC! I swore I heard Whole New World, I wonder if it was Harmonious testing? It looked like it was by Epcot.
> 
> View attachment 579715


Whole New World was in Epcot Forever as well


----------



## brockash

pixiedust2u said:


> What are the odds of beating the crowd at rope drop and having to wait less than an hour at SDD first thing in the AM? I’m just trying to decide if it’s even worth it to get to HS early if that’s our priority. Our kids are little, so the other headliners aren’t really a priority. If there’s a pretty good chance of having to wait an hour for SDD no matter the time we get there, then I’m not sure it’s worth the morning rush for us.


If you get there at the "real" rope drop...so 45-60 mins prior to open...unless there are issues with the ride; you'd have a very good chance at waiting under 30 mins to ride if you go there first.  In March we basically walked right on.  - If you're able to be on the first bus of the day from most resorts (this did not work at all, for any parks when we stayed at AKL in Oct  - the buses just did not start early enough there to get you to the parks early enough,) and your group can move decently fast; you have a pretty decent shot at have VERY little wait for 2 headliners before the lines get long.

I will also add, for us and for DHS, we got in line for transportation closer to 2 hrs. prior to posted park open...left our room 2 mins. before 7 and grabbed a Rise boarding pass on the way to the skyliner or bus line to ensure we'd be on first bus or in first group of folks heading via skyliner....I wouldn't say it's necessary, but we like to do what we can to keep the odds in our favor.

If you can tell us where you're coming from, by what kind of transportation and what day, I'd be happy to tell you what we'd do.  We also found transportation started running a bit earlier on weekends/holidays/higher crowd days.


----------



## kylenne

luv2cheer92 said:


> Whole New World was in Epcot Forever as well



Those were much bigger bursts than EF last night and I caught a little movement from the big metal monstrosity.


----------



## Leigh L

kylenne said:


> Those were much bigger bursts than EF last night and I caught a little movement from the* big metal monstrosity*.


How awesome!
And that part just cracked me up . It really is, isn't it?
(I was last at Epcot and I think the second one had just been brought out, I can't imagine what it looks like now. Hopefully, once it's up and going it won't be as intrusive.


----------



## Poohbear538

kylenne said:


> Those were much bigger bursts than EF last night and I caught a little movement from the big metal monstrosity.


I have to say, someone on these boards called it Epcot Stargate and I have loved it ever since. I keep waiting for SG-1 to come through.


----------



## kylenne

Leigh L said:


> How awesome!
> And that part just cracked me up . It really is, isn't it?
> (I was last at Epcot and I think the second one had just been brought out, I can't imagine what it looks like now. Hopefully, once it's up and going it won't be as intrusive.





Poohbear538 said:


> I have to say, someone on these boards called it Epcot Stargate and I have loved it ever since. I keep waiting for SG-1 to come through.



I was reserving judgment until I saw it in person, but it really is Bad…hopefully it won’t be as awful when the fountains start up. But I’m definitely waiting for the Go’auld invasion in the meantime.


----------



## Poohbear538

kylenne said:


> I was reserving judgment until I saw it in person, but it really is Bad…hopefully it won’t be as awful when the fountains start up. But I’m definitely waiting for the Go’auld invasion in the meantime.


 I do miss that show in all its variations.


----------



## patclairesmom

Got back on Monday and we had a great time. But we ran into a couple of older CMs who were just so cranky.  The first one yelled at my son to keep moving when we were watching the apes although there was someone in front of him that wouldn't move.  She said she was yelling though him.  The second we got scolded for not wanting to wait in line to go into the shops at Galaxy's Edge, like seriously scolded in a condescending way "it's only 10 minutes" "you'll see in an hour what the wait will be"


----------



## luv2cheer92

kylenne said:


> Those were much bigger bursts than EF last night and I caught a little movement from the big metal monstrosity.


Awesome!


----------



## kylenne

Yesterday pt. 2:

After I did the spa at the Dolphin and rested, I went back to HS at around 5pm. Had a Ronto Wrap then hopped on MFSR, it was a posted 45 minute wait but I waited 30 minutes. I got to solo the ride so I was finally pilot! It really is so much more fun as pilot. Then I hopped into the queue for MMRR at 6:30 or so, posted was 40 and I waited 20. Hot take from an MGM old head but I like this ride way more than GMR. I was not expecting that! But it really captures the feel of the new cartoons and puts you right into them.

I headed over to TSL afterwards and Lines was showing 30-35 minute waits for TSM and SDD respectively so I had decisions to make given it was 7:30 at that point. I went to SDD and when the CM saw I was alone, he scanned my band and gave me a FP! So I walked right on through the FP queue. Afterwards I did TSM to close out the park, and it was about a 20 minute wait. In general, HS is so much more pleasant in the evenings. Waits are way more tolerable because I think most people leave during midday. None of the headliners were over 30 minutes.

I hopped to Epcot just to do Test Track, it was posted 45 at 9:15p and I waited 38 minutes, Lines was spot on. The current state of that park is really breaking my heart. It’s so exhausting to navigate FW because of the walls. And WS is not the same without the international cast or live entertainment. I hope we can get both back by my Oct. trip.

Also, last night’s surprise midnight fireworks really was Harmonious testing. Full pyro test.

https://www.wdwmagic.com/attraction...eworks-ahead-off-the-shows-debut-at-epcot.htm


----------



## Music City Mama

kylenne said:


> Also, last night’s surprise midnight fireworks really was Harmonious testing. Full pyro test.
> 
> https://www.wdwmagic.com/attraction...eworks-ahead-off-the-shows-debut-at-epcot.htm



It certainly was a surprise. Woke us up (at least me) out of a dead sleep.  

I knew I'd miss the nighttime entertainment while we were here, but I REALLY miss it even more than I thought I would.


----------



## Lee from WV

Poohbear538 said:


> I have to say, someone on these boards called it Epcot Stargate and I have loved it ever since. I keep waiting for SG-1 to come through.


My favorite is “the Stargate and its tacos”


----------



## KayKayJS

I don't think I posted our Memorial Day MK experience in here.

We arrived to MK parking lot around 4PM. Got right in, I believe we were in the park by 4:30. Now we have a toddler and are local so our experiences are slightly different.

First thing - stopped to get a balloon, only 1 person in line in front of us. Score! As we were getting balloon, mickey and friends cavalcade came up main street - toddler loved it. Disney magic.

After this, we headed to IASW which was posted at 25 and we waited 15. Then we headed to the carousel, posted at 15, waited 10. Got out of line, got right back on in 5.

While waiting in line, did a mobile order for pinnochios which was ready as we left the carousel for the second time, was able to get a nice spot overlooking IASW. Ice cold air conditioning + food = happy toddler

Then we headed over to Winnie the Pooh, I believe the posted was around 35 and we waited probably 20. I remember noticing that Mine train was only 40 and haunted mansion was 10. I think the longest line I saw was splash.

After this we headed out as it was 7 and we didn't want to push bedtime too late. All in all, best disney experience we've had since reopening. I could not believe that the lines were so low in the afternoon of Memorial Day at Magic Kingdom. They were worse during the day 2 months ago.

Any questions feel free to ask. We are headed to HS tomorrow.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

kylenne said:


> Yesterday pt. 2:
> 
> After I did the spa at the Dolphin and rested, I went back to HS at around 5pm. Had a Ronto Wrap then hopped on MFSR, it was a posted 45 minute wait but I waited 30 minutes. I got to solo the ride so I was finally pilot! It really is so much more fun as pilot. Then I hopped into the queue for MMRR at 6:30 or so, posted was 40 and I waited 20. Hot take from an MGM old head but I like this ride way more than GMR. I was not expecting that! But it really captures the feel of the new cartoons and puts you right into them.
> 
> I headed over to TSL afterwards and Lines was showing 30-35 minute waits for TSM and SDD respectively so I had decisions to make given it was 7:30 at that point. I went to SDD and when the CM saw I was alone, he scanned my band and gave me a FP! So I walked right on through the FP queue. Afterwards I did TSM to close out the park, and it was about a 20 minute wait. In general, HS is so much more pleasant in the evenings. Waits are way more tolerable because I think most people leave during midday. None of the headliners were over 30 minutes.
> 
> I hopped to Epcot just to do Test Track, it was posted 45 at 9:15p and I waited 38 minutes, Lines was spot on. The current state of that park is really breaking my heart. It’s so exhausting to navigate FW because of the walls. And WS is not the same without the international cast or live entertainment. I hope we can get both back by my Oct. trip.
> 
> Also, last night’s surprise midnight fireworks really was Harmonious testing. Full pyro test.
> 
> https://www.wdwmagic.com/attraction...eworks-ahead-off-the-shows-debut-at-epcot.htm


I'd just like to say that I'm jealous of your solo trip.  Sounds like you're having so much fun!


----------



## DSLRuser

pixiedust2u said:


> What are the odds of beating the crowd at rope drop and having to wait less than an hour at SDD first thing in the AM? I’m just trying to decide if it’s even worth it to get to HS early if that’s our priority. Our kids are little, so the other headliners aren’t really a priority. If there’s a pretty good chance of having to wait an hour for SDD no matter the time we get there, then I’m not sure it’s worth the morning rush for us.



If you are towards the front........and want to be a runner.......yes...you can do SDD by 8:25.......on my 2nd rope drop day...we were inside security, but 200 people deep in one of the lines....we got to SDD by  8:30 (8:15 let in) and the line was back to the woody statue already.

My strategy is to catch SDD late at night and do all the other stuff in the morning.


----------



## DSLRuser

KayKayJS said:


> I don't think I posted our Memorial Day MK experience in here.
> 
> We arrived to MK parking lot around 4PM. Got right in, I believe we were in the park by 4:30. Now we have a toddler and are local so our experiences are slightly different.
> 
> First thing - stopped to get a balloon, only 1 person in line in front of us. Score! As we were getting balloon, mickey and friends cavalcade came up main street - toddler loved it. Disney magic.
> 
> After this, we headed to IASW which was posted at 25 and we waited 15. Then we headed to the carousel, posted at 15, waited 10. Got out of line, got right back on in 5.
> 
> While waiting in line, did a mobile order for pinnochios which was ready as we left the carousel for the second time, was able to get a nice spot overlooking IASW. Ice cold air conditioning + food = happy toddler
> 
> Then we headed over to Winnie the Pooh, I believe the posted was around 35 and we waited probably 20. I remember noticing that Mine train was only 40 and haunted mansion was 10. I think the longest line I saw was splash.
> 
> After this we headed out as it was 7 and we didn't want to push bedtime too late. All in all, best disney experience we've had since reopening. I could not believe that the lines were so low in the afternoon of Memorial Day at Magic Kingdom. They were worse during the day 2 months ago.
> 
> Any questions feel free to ask. We are headed to HS tomorrow.




same...we did MK on Memorial Day.  arrived about 10am...left at 8:45pm.  Did everything but splash....just didn't want to get wet.  longest wait was 45 mins for 7dmt at 7pm.  crowds are very manageable


----------



## monstermash23

DisneyFive said:


> True, but unless WDW increases capacity, there is a limit to how many guests are allowed into each park and those have been maxed out for quite some time based on the park reservation system.  My biggest concern is how Disney will handle increased capacity when they decide to do so.  It just makes our late July trip so unknown in this regard.  My big fear is increased capacity without any other changes to accommodate.
> 
> Dan



We have a trip end of July also. Same fear here. I feel like our July trip may be a “testing period” for October.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

DSLRuser said:


> My strategy is to catch SDD late at night and do all the other stuff in the morning.


This was our strategy as well, worked out great.


----------



## robinb

pixiedust2u said:


> What are the odds of beating the crowd at rope drop and having to wait less than an hour at SDD first thing in the AM? I’m just trying to decide if it’s even worth it to get to HS early if that’s our priority. Our kids are little, so the other headliners aren’t really a priority. If there’s a pretty good chance of having to wait an hour for SDD no matter the time we get there, then I’m not sure it’s worth the morning rush for us.


What rope drop does for you is to allow you to do more than one attraction with a shorter wait.  Mickey’s Railway also gets pretty long lines.  You could easily knock off all of Toy Story Land and mickey’s Railway by 10:30. 

I don’t know when you’re going, but it might be worth your while to whip up a little spreadsheet with wait times around the time you think you might arrive.  Do it for 2-3 days to see where the trends are and if it makes sense to miss rope drop.


----------



## hulk51382

We were at HS yesterday and most wait times were under an hour. Longest thing we waited for was Droid Building . Went to Slinky around 6:30 pm and the posted wait was 45 min but was on in under 30 min. Managed to get ROTR at 1pm which was awesome.


----------



## OhioWDWDuo

kylenne said:


> Yesterday pt. 2:
> 
> After I did the spa at the Dolphin and rested, I went back to HS at around 5pm.



Hi- How was the spa at the Dolphin?


----------



## tsme

Are all the 6’ markers gone in the parks?


----------



## nolawave

How early does one need to line up to get into the first Frozen show at DHS? Also, it seems that the Disney Junior show may be taking place outside now? Anyone know anything about it’s current form?


----------



## cc-atl

nolawave said:


> How early does one need to line up to get into the first Frozen show at DHS? Also, it seems that the Disney Junior show may be taking place outside now? Anyone know anything about it’s current form?


Today we walked into the Frozen show with no wait (arrived around 10:28 or 10:29 for the 10:30 show). We were in the back three rows of the theatre but had no complaints about the view.


----------



## Miffy

We were at WDW about 2 weeks ago. Note: we are not not not runners.

The day we RD'd DHS we walked onto MMRR (this was preceded by a pit stop), then went back into the extremely short queue and waited maybe 5 or 10 minutes to ride it a second time.

But the day we didn't RD DHS, we waited in line--a line that is mostly outdoors in the sun and heat--for 50 minutes or so. By the time we got off the ride, the line was even longer, so we didn't do it again, and we wanted to.


----------



## Kerr84

We heard the fireworks from Caribbean Beach last night! Now that I know it was harmonious testing, I wish I would have went outside.


----------



## kylenne

I left HS to go back to YC and ship my droid but did a u turn on the friendship boat back to HS, we did not even make it halfway to Swolphin bc of lightning. Not your typical afternoon storm over here at all, it’s a bad one and not going anywhere. Skyliner and Crescent Lake guests directed to the bus depot. It’s a doozy of a downpour but had been threatening all day tbh. Feels good lol


----------



## elittleton

DaniMoon said:


> So the Safari was open early? I kept reading that they don't open it before the posted opening?


We got in line and waited until it opened at 8.  We road it about 5 minutes after 8 and by then the line was already 45 minutes or longer.


----------



## elittleton

hereforthechurros said:


> Wait times have looked great the past couple weeks. So many schools aren't out yet though.


This is the reason we come this week. Other than Memorial Day the crowds are the best of the summer.  We came one year with my brother and sister family at the end of July and the crowds were worse. 



DisneyFive said:


> Good call.  I assumed it had been booked up.  I don't remember seeing availability day of.  It will be interesting to see reports next week and mid June when it's sold out again.  Kind of a moving target though since we have no clue what Disney has planned and can change at any moment.
> View attachment 579612



I wonder when something opened up. When I checked earlier in the week every day we are here was gray. This morning nothing was open but at lunch I noticed AK had availability. 



tsme said:


> Are all the 6’ markers gone in the parks?



They are still there at AK and MK.


----------



## kylenne

OhioWDWDuo said:


> Hi- How was the spa at the Dolphin?



Beautiful and an amazing experience. I had the 80 minute customized massage and my therapist was great. Prices much better than Senses as well. No AP discount but they do offer a DVC discount and there are often Groupons available. I still prefer Senses but I would totally go back to Mandara and plan to if Senses is still not open by our October trip.


----------



## OhioWDWDuo

kylenne said:


> Beautiful and an amazing experience. I had the 80 minute customized massage and my therapist was great. Prices much better than Senses as well. No AP discount but they do offer a DVC discount and there are often Groupons available. I still prefer Senses but I would totally go back to Mandara and plan to if Senses is still not open by our October trip.



Sounds fabulous- thank you!


----------



## robinb

tsme said:


> Are all the 6’ markers gone in the parks?


As of last Sunday they were all still there but no one was really paying attention to them .


----------



## G719

kylenne said:


> I left HS to go back to YC and ship my droid but did a u turn on the friendship boat back to HS, we did not even make it halfway to Swolphin bc of lightning. Not your typical afternoon storm over here at all, it’s a bad one and not going anywhere. Skyliner and Crescent Lake guests directed to the bus depot. It’s a doozy of a downpour but had been threatening all day tbh. Feels good lol


Yes it was bad! We were at AK trying to get on a train back from rafiki's. We got soaked but we still went to dinner at Yak and Yeti. Our reward for sticking it out was a walk on for both pandora rides.


----------



## flowergleam1211

robinb said:


> As of last Sunday they were all still there but no one was really paying attention to them .


I'm here right now and the markers are still there.  On average, groups are voluntarily creating 2-3 feet of space between each other.  I followed the markers because my kids are not vaccinated and people did not seem annoyed with me creating that space between my group and the group ahead of us.  I rarely saw a group getting up close to another group.


----------



## flowergleam1211

cc-atl said:


> Today we walked into the Frozen show with no wait (arrived around 10:28 or 10:29 for the 10:30 show). We were in the back three rows of the theatre but had no complaints about the view.


We attended the 11:30 AM Frozen show yesterday and arrived at around 11:15 AM.  There were probably 50-75 people of us and still tons of space and people who arrived afterwards.


----------



## VandVsmama

We walked in torrential rain yesterday from the front of Epcot to Biergarten for dinner. Oh my lord it was wet!  Had a very frustrating experience trying to leave. Gondola was down so had to walk all the way to the front for a bus to Pop Century. We didn’t get to our room until 11:30 pm. SO tired today.

getting a late start forHS today but I got up early anyway and got a BG for ROTR. Looks like we will get on at about 1:00 pm. Hoping to get into Dok Ondar’s today too. Virtual queue was totally full 2 evenings ago when we inquired.


----------



## Music City Mama

tsme said:


> Are all the 6’ markers gone in the parks?



No they're there, but like another poster said, people will space out about 2-3 feet in a queue. Most people are pretty mask compliant in the queues for what it's worth. 


kylenne said:


> I left HS to go back to YC and ship my droid but did a u turn on the friendship boat back to HS, we did not even make it halfway to Swolphin bc of lightning. Not your typical afternoon storm over here at all, it’s a bad one and not going anywhere. Skyliner and Crescent Lake guests directed to the bus depot. It’s a doozy of a downpour but had been threatening all day tbh. Feels good lol



We are at BWV (boardwalk side), were resting in our room, and there was one strike of lightning that was insane. I think it hit the water or the dock area on the YC side from what I could tell.


----------



## VandVsmama

Also, we were in line for Frozen yesterday about 15 min before park close and a group of very loud and obnoxious people were behind us, talking about how they were going to sing and shout all the words to Let It Go on the ride. I got to hear every word of their shouted conversation. And they kept bumping into me (I was at the back of our group).  

Finally, I just couldn’t take it anymore and told them to please go ahead of us. They said, “Are you sure?”  I said, “Yes, you’re clearly all in a hurry since you keep bumping into me so please, by all means, go ahead of us. Please. Go. Right now.”

They then got to be directly behind the vlogger who was live streaming the entire time in front of us. They ended up in another boat than us, thank goodness.

Same sort of thing happened 2 days ago in the POTC queue. A family of 5 were so close they kept bumping into me. I’d turn around and just look at them. And they’d hang back for a sec and then be right there up my backside a minute later. I did the same thing there too...told them to please go ahead of us. It was much less annoying and less stressful after that.


----------



## kylenne

VandVsmama said:


> Also, we were in line for Frozen yesterday about 15 min before park close and a group of very loud and obnoxious people were behind us, talking about how they were going to sing and shout all the words to Let It Go on the ride. I got to hear every word of their shouted conversation. And they kept bumping into me (I was at the back of our group).
> 
> Finally, I just couldn’t take it anymore and told them to please go ahead of us. They said, “Are you sure?”  I said, “Yes, you’re clearly all in a hurry since you keep bumping into me so please, by all means, go ahead of us. Please. Go. Right now.”
> 
> They then got to be directly behind the vlogger who was live streaming the entire time in front of us. They ended up in another boat than us, thank goodness.
> 
> Same sort of thing happened 2 days ago in the POTC queue. A family of 5 were so close they kept bumping into me. I’d turn around and just look at them. And they’d hang back for a sec and then be right there up my backside a minute later. I did the same thing there too...told them to please go ahead of us. It was much less annoying and less stressful after that.



I’m sorry for ugly laughing so hard at this but that Frozen situation is like peak annoying guest behavior and them and the vlogger deserved each other tbh. Letting them go ahead of you was definitely the move. 

I had a similarly obnoxious guest situation on Rise yesterday. Dad was loudly telling the whole ride to his kid before everything happened. Thank god it was my second ride or I would have been real angry. In general the folk I can’t stand at the parks are the ones who think they/their family are the only ones there. Especially on attractions. Regulars are extra obnoxious with this stuff too—they don’t realize that every single ride they go on might be another guest’s first time. I keep that in mind always and act accordingly.


----------



## KBoopaloo

It’s funny I’ve found that the distancing in lines is so varied. Rode FOP 3 times this week and the spacing markers were completely ignored by all every time. Rode Soarin last night and nearly the entire line was standing on the markers keeping all that distance between parties. I’d say if distancing is important to you, I wouldn’t come because it is so hit or miss.

 On the other hand, I’ve found that people are pretty good about masking in the lines and on transport- have seen very, very few noses all week in places where masks are meant to be worn. Was honestly pretty surprised based on other recent reports I’ve read. Only time it was not great was while we were waiting out some of that rain yesterday afternoon crammed into a store in Italy but even there it was just one group.


----------



## pixiedust2u

robinb said:


> What rope drop does for you is to allow you to do more than one attraction with a shorter wait.  Mickey’s Railway also gets pretty long lines.  You could easily knock off all of Toy Story Land and mickey’s Railway by 10:30.
> 
> I don’t know when you’re going, but it might be worth your while to whip up a little spreadsheet with wait times around the time you think you might arrive.  Do it for 2-3 days to see where the trends are and if it makes sense to miss rope drop.



I’ve been watching wait times closely, but noticed they don’t post them on the app until official park opening time. So I can’t really get a sense of official waits before 9am.
I think we’ll  rope drop SDD, if MMRR line is long by the time we get off I’ll save it for night time as it pretty consistently drops significantly later afternoon/evening.  We plan on being there for RD, leaving early afternoon, then going back in evening.


----------



## LDunks

We were also awoken at midnight to the Harmonious fireworks (had a surprise front and center view of Spaceship Earth from our Beach Club Villas room). We also saw one of the fountains on earlier that day (June 3rd) at around 11am from the Skyliner, but it was off when we visited later that evening.

On June 2nd we took the Skyliner home from Hollywood Studios pretty close to park closing, and even with the long line they were asking each group if they'd be comfortable riding with another group, and giving a gondola to only one family if that was their preference. They started to ask us and then saw our double stroller and proclaimed we would definitely get one to ourselves  But that was a relief as our 3 year olds were having some crowd anxiety after a year of hardly ever interacting with strangers. My daughter kept telling people "Don't look at me!" when they would catch her eye over my shoulder


----------



## maggnanimouse

kylenne said:


> I’m sorry for ugly laughing so hard at this but that Frozen situation is like peak annoying guest behavior and them and the vlogger deserved each other tbh. Letting them go ahead of you was definitely the move.
> 
> I had a similarly obnoxious guest situation on Rise yesterday. Dad was loudly telling the whole ride to his kid before everything happened. Thank god it was my second ride or I would have been real angry. In general the folk I can’t stand at the parks are the ones who think they/their family are the only ones there. Especially on attractions. Regulars are extra obnoxious with this stuff too—they don’t realize that every single ride they go on might be another guest’s first time. I keep that in mind always and act accordingly.



A few weeks ago on RoTR (my first time), the couple right in front of us was FaceTiming with their grandchildren the whole time, through the pre-shows and the ride itself.  It was super distracting!


----------



## TLSnell1981

They were ripping up the distancing markers outside the monorail a couple of weeks ago.  Have they just stopped? I noticed Disney has their masks at almost half price online. Think they won't be required much longer once they've sold out.


----------



## KBoopaloo

TLSnell1981 said:


> They were ripping up the distancing markers outside the monorail a couple of weeks ago.  Have they just stopped? I noticed Disney has their masks at almost half price online. Think they won't be required much longer once they've sold out.


My non scientific observation this week is that markers are gone from transportation queues (boats, Skyliner, monorail) and outdoor extended queue areas but remain in a lot of attraction lines.


----------



## yaywatermelons

VandVsmama said:


> getting a late start forHS today but I got up early anyway and got a BG for ROTR. Looks like we will get on at about 1:00 pm. Hoping to get into Dok Ondar’s today too. Virtual queue was totally full 2 evenings ago when we inquired.



Is Dok Ondar's a shop?  Do all stores have Virtual queues or just Galaxy's Edge?


----------



## Anne Scaffo

kylenne said:


> Beautiful and an amazing experience. I had the 80 minute customized massage and my therapist was great. Prices much better than Senses as well. No AP discount but they do offer a DVC discount and there are often Groupons available. I still prefer Senses but I would totally go back to Mandara and plan to if Senses is still not open by our October trip.


Did you need to wear your mask for your massage?


----------



## kylenne

Anne Scaffo said:


> Did you need to wear your mask for your massage?



Mandara requires masks to be worn at all times, but when I was face down on the table my therapist told me I could remove it for that portion of the massage and I did. I tried to keep it on at first but was having too much difficulty breathing. So it was off for that part. I put it back on when I turned over.


----------



## Anne Scaffo

kylenne said:


> Mandara requires masks to be worn at all times, but when I was face down on the table my therapist told me I could remove it for that portion of the massage and I did. I tried to keep it on at first but was having too much difficulty breathing. So it was off for that part. I put it back on when I turned over.


Thanks. That's what I figured. And, once again, thank you so much for sharing so much of your trip with us!


----------



## suse66

kylenne said:


> Especially on attractions. Regulars are extra obnoxious with this stuff too—they don’t realize that every single ride they go on might be another guest’s first time. I keep that in mind always and act accordingly.


That's because you behave in a kind and respectful manner. If only everyone did the same.


----------



## flowergleam1211

flowergleam1211 said:


> We attended the 11:30 AM Frozen show yesterday and arrived at around 11:15 AM.  There were probably 50-75 people of us and still tons of space and people who arrived afterwards.


I should also add that the Frozen theater is right next to the theater for the short film "Vacation Fun."  The film was adorable and fun.  When it ended, we slowly walked (everything is slow with my twin four year-olds) over to the Frozen sing-a-long with just the right amount of waiting time.  After a hot morning, it was so lovely to sit down, relax, and enjoy entertainment in a dark, cool space.


----------



## MomOTwins

flowergleam1211 said:


> I should also add that the Frozen theater is right next to the theater for the short film "Vacation Fun."  The film was adorable and fun.  When it ended, we slowly walked (everything is slow with my twin four year-olds) over to the Frozen sing-a-long with just the right amount of waiting time.  After a hot morning, it was so lovely to sit down, relax, and enjoy entertainment in a dark, cool space.


We discovered that too on our last trip.  Nice escape from the heat until they bring back more shows.


----------



## flowergleam1211

KBoopaloo said:


> My non scientific observation this week is that markers are gone from transportation queues (boats, Skyliner, monorail) and outdoor extended queue areas but remain in a lot of attraction lines.


That is true, as I do not remember if there were markers for the Skyliner or the Friendship boats.


----------



## lovethattink

Be careful today at the parks. Heat index is very high. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I’m waiting til tonight to visit a park.


----------



## GBRforWDW

lovethattink said:


> Be careful today at the parks. Heat index is very high. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I’m waiting til tonight to visit a park.
> View attachment 580250


Thank goodness drinking and walking is ok again!   Stay safe everyone!


----------



## kylenne

flowergleam1211 said:


> That is true, as I do not remember if there were markers for the Skyliner or the Friendship boats.



The friendship boat docks at HS and Swan/Dolphin still have the markers but most of the ones at the other docks are gone. I took those boats a lot last week and noticed the inconsistency.

Skyliner still has them at CBR, I used it to hop between parks a couple of times.


----------



## hauntedcity

Currently on siesta from Animal Kingdom. Didn’t enjoy the 45-minute wait for a bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge (how?!?), but had a great morning and looking forward to going back in an hour or two.
We LOVED seeing the Lion King again and saw the  Winged Encounters by the tree for the first time. So cool ( the birds, NOT the temperature )!

Mask compliance and distancing are very hit or miss.  At Rise of Resistance a couple days ago, we were shocked when cast members told every to bunch in close!


----------



## OhStuffandFluff

Is the Pick a Pearl experience open in Epcot yet?


----------



## cdobert

First full day at the parks. Arrived at the ASM bus stop at 0630 to catch the bus to magic kingdom. First bus Arrived at 0640, long line and we didn't get on. Next bus arrived at 0703 and we were in magic kingdom by 0735.  Able to ride big thunder twice before 0800. Had a great day but was very hot.


----------



## Rosetah2

Went to HS today from CBR. At 6:55am, went outside to get better internet (did internet speed test and Verizon was better than the WiFi). Got BG 46 for ROTR. Decided to drive our car over for rope drop. Pulled up to parking booths at 7:55am. There were 3 cars in front of us at our booth. Waited there until 8:10 and they opened the booths. Parked, walked quickly, but had to get stroller through security so it took a few extra minutes. Into park at 8:27. Went straight to SDD. Line marker said 60 minutes when we joined but it moved really quickly. Total wait was only 32 mins. Next went to TSM for 10 min wait and then to SWGE for some blue and green milk. Made a mistake and got in 50 min posted line for MFSR at 10:05am but it ended up being 65 mins. We had an 11:35 ADR at B&C and had to race out of the park, jump on boat to get there. We were 10 mins past the check in time for the ADR but the CM was nice and let us take the next available outside table. Back to CBR via skyliner to rest/pool until 3. Then back to HS via skyliner. Went to ROTR first. Our BG was called at 11:30 (we were on our way to lunch) but the CM was fine to let us ride at 3:45. It was a 25 min wait so not too bad. Then ADR at Sci-Fi at 4:45 but they were running 25 mins behind so snuck in ST while waiting. After dinner, 15 min wait for ToT, built a droid, Ogas at 7 and then jumped in line for MMRR at 7:58. It was very hot but we got water everywhere and took the afternoon break. Masks in line weren’t fun but it was great that we could take them off once out of a ride and drink water while walking. That really makes a difference. Overall a great day!


----------



## Castlequeen5

We are now back home from a fantastic week at Disney!  Our trip began and ended with the Magic Express.  I count myself lucky that we were able to ride the ME both ways on our trip.  I know Disney is also using charter buses, but we were fortunate to get the total Disney experience. We arrived in the evening and left early in the morning.  So that may have made the difference with ME availability.

As far as transportation to the parks, the Disney shuttles and charter buses were used interchangeably.  Regardless of which kind of bus we rode, everyone got a seat and both did some form of social distancing.  The buses were plentiful especially at opening and closing.  There may have been an exception or two, during non-peak times.  But in general, I was very pleased with how efficient the buses were.  I actually thought the bus experience was better than some of our pre-Covid trips.

Our experience in the parks was good as well.  We went to MK-twice, HS twice, to AK once.  The wait times were mostly reasonable.  Of course there were high waits during peak times, especially for SDD or FOP.  We rope dropped our first 3 days and we were able to get a lot accomplished during that time.  Each afternoon, we went back to the resort and took a break.  Then we returned in the evening, to finish what we didn’t do or to re-ride our favorites.  Our last 2 park days, we slept in and had a very relaxing schedule.  Those days, we just rode our favorites or the rides with the shortest waits.

I personally didn’t miss having fastpasses.  The lines were constantly moving and they didn’t really bother me.  I definitely liked not having a schedule or a plan on where I needed to be.  We had a lot of flexibility and it was nice.  Actually our last day was Friday, and it poured buckets of rain.  We were at HS and ended up watching the “Frozen” show 3 times!  Normally I wouldn’t have done this, especially if we’d had fastpasses.  But since we didn’t and didn’t want to run around in the rain, we chose to watch this show over.  We had a blast and the narrators were so funny!  FYI...they are now filling the auditorium and only skipping a seat between each group.  So it’s much easier to get in the show, than it was in the spring.

I also wanted to share my experience with the cast members.  There were some concerns about lack of magic with them.  My experience was the opposite.  Our interactions were positive.  The cast member who delivered our luggage spoke in a “Mickey Mouse” voice as he handed us each piece of luggage.  One of the bus drivers talked to the passengers all the way back from Hollywood Studios.  He told jokes and spoke in “Tigger,” “Timone,” and “Pumba” voices.  Everyone on the bus was laughing and clapping.  It was such a treat!  As a whole, it seemed like the staff were happy to be there and were very friendly and helpful.

Probably my biggest issue with Disney post-Covid are the park hours.  I hate how early they close.  My favorite ride is Slinky Dog at HS.  I love riding it at night because of the lights.  But even though we rode it at closing, you still couldn’t see the lights.  It closed at 8:00, but the sun hadn’t set yet.  Same for Pandora.  It’s hard to enjoy the lights, when AK closes at 7:00. 

Also, almost all food purchases required mobile ordering.  I don’t usually mind it, but sometimes it seemed excessive.  Like when I was trying to get the blue milk at HS.  I consider that a snack stand.  But when I walked up, I was required to mobile order first.  I understand using mobile ordering for a meal, but for a drink?  There’s only 2 choices...blue or green.  I thought it was a bit overboard.  And it didn’t look like you could walk up and order anywhere.  So that could be a problem for those who didn’t plan ahead or those who aren’t really tech savvy.

We have already been post-Covid, so we knew what to expect.  Masks were required indoors and in all the queues.  The social distancing lines were still on the floor, but were rarely followed.  This had changed since our spring break trip.  I expect  those lines and the mask requirement to be removed shortly.  None of this was an issue for us, so it didn’t affect our disposition.  We also planned to RD our first 3 mornings, so we could take advantage of shorter wait times.  But we were also realistic, and knew we needed some sleep-in days.  So we were prepared for this trip and set our expectations accordingly.

We’ve been to Disney many times, and one of my girls said this was her favorite trip!  Considering we had to wear masks, we had no fastpasses,  we had to gather and drop off our own luggage, and the parks closed early, that just shows a trip to Disney can be just as magical now as it was in the past.  I believe it’s all a matter of expectations...expect there will be changes and expect to have a good time despite the changes.  Overall, we had a great time!


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

Castlequeen5 said:


> We are now back home from a fantastic week at Disney!  Our trip began and ended with the Magic Express.  I count myself lucky that we were able to ride the ME both ways on our trip.  I know Disney is also using charter buses, but we were fortunate to get the total Disney experience. We arrived in the evening and left early in the morning.  So that may have made the difference with ME availability.
> 
> As far as transportation to the parks, the Disney shuttles and charter buses were used interchangeably.  Regardless of which kind of bus we rode, everyone got a seat and both did some form of social distancing.  The buses were plentiful especially at opening and closing.  There may have been an exception or two, during non-peak times.  But in general, I was very pleased with how efficient the buses were.  I actually thought the bus experience was better than some of our pre-Covid trips.
> 
> Our experience in the parks was good as well.  We went to MK-twice, HS twice, to AK once.  The wait times were mostly reasonable.  Of course there were high waits during peak times, especially for SDD or FOP.  We rope dropped our first 3 days and we were able to get a lot accomplished during that time.  Each afternoon, we went back to the resort and took a break.  Then we returned in the evening, to finish what we didn’t do or to re-ride our favorites.  Our last 2 park days, we slept in and had a very relaxing schedule.  Those days, we just rode our favorites or the rides with the shortest waits.
> 
> I personally didn’t miss having fastpasses.  The lines were constantly moving and they didn’t really bother me.  I definitely liked not having a schedule or a plan on where I needed to be.  We had a lot of flexibility and it was nice.  Actually our last day was Friday, and it poured buckets of rain.  We were at HS and ended up watching the “Frozen” show 3 times!  Normally I wouldn’t have done this, especially if we’d had fastpasses.  But since we didn’t and didn’t want to run around in the rain, we chose to watch this show over.  We had a blast and the narrators were so funny!  FYI...they are now filling the auditorium and only skipping a seat between each group.  So it’s much easier to get in the show, than it was in the spring.
> 
> I also wanted to share my experience with the cast members.  There were some concerns about lack of magic with them.  My experience was the opposite.  Our interactions were positive.  The cast member who delivered our luggage spoke in a “Mickey Mouse” voice as he handed us each piece of luggage.  One of the bus drivers talked to the passengers all the way back from Hollywood Studios.  He told jokes and spoke in “Tigger,” “Timone,” and “Pumba” voices.  Everyone on the bus was laughing and clapping.  It was such a treat!  As a whole, it seemed like the staff were happy to be there and were very friendly and helpful.
> 
> Probably my biggest issue with Disney post-Covid are the park hours.  I hate how early they close.  My favorite ride is Slinky Dog at HS.  I love riding it at night because of the lights.  But even though we rode it at closing, you still couldn’t see the lights.  It closed at 8:00, but the sun hadn’t set yet.  Same for Pandora.  It’s hard to enjoy the lights, when AK closes at 7:00.
> 
> Also, almost all food purchases required mobile ordering.  I don’t usually mind it, but sometimes it seemed excessive.  Like when I was trying to get the blue milk at HS.  I consider that a snack stand.  But when I walked up, I was required to mobile order first.  I understand using mobile ordering for a meal, but for a drink?  There’s only 2 choices...blue or green.  I thought it was a bit overboard.  And it didn’t look like you could walk up and order anywhere.  So that could be a problem for those who didn’t plan ahead or those who aren’t really tech savvy.
> 
> We have already been post-Covid, so we knew what to expect.  Masks were required indoors and in all the queues.  The social distancing lines were still on the floor, but were rarely followed.  This had changed since our spring break trip.  I expect  those lines and the mask requirement to be removed shortly.  None of this was an issue for us, so it didn’t affect our disposition.  We also planned to RD our first 3 mornings, so we could take advantage of shorter wait times.  But we were also realistic, and knew we needed some sleep-in days.  So we were prepared for this trip and set our expectations accordingly.
> 
> We’ve been to Disney many times, and one of my girls said this was her favorite trip!  Considering we had to wear masks, we had no fastpasses,  we had to gather and drop off our own luggage, and the parks closed early, that just shows a trip to Disney can be just as magical now as it was in the past.  I believe it’s all a matter of expectations...expect there will be changes and expect to have a good time despite the changes.  Overall, we had a great time!


We are leaving in 9 days, so happy to hear about your trip! This is the trip that didn't  happen last June. We are going into this trip with the mindset to be flexible and expecting things to be different!  I am even more excited now! Thanks for your post!


----------



## tigertides

Castlequeen5 said:


> We are now back home from a fantastic week at Disney!  Our trip began and ended with the Magic Express.  I count myself lucky that we were able to ride the ME both ways on our trip.  I know Disney is also using charter buses, but we were fortunate to get the total Disney experience. We arrived in the evening and left early in the morning.  So that may have made the difference with ME availability.
> 
> As far as transportation to the parks, the Disney shuttles and charter buses were used interchangeably.  Regardless of which kind of bus we rode, everyone got a seat and both did some form of social distancing.  The buses were plentiful especially at opening and closing.  There may have been an exception or two, during non-peak times.  But in general, I was very pleased with how efficient the buses were.  I actually thought the bus experience was better than some of our pre-Covid trips.
> 
> Our experience in the parks was good as well.  We went to MK-twice, HS twice, to AK once.  The wait times were mostly reasonable.  Of course there were high waits during peak times, especially for SDD or FOP.  We rope dropped our first 3 days and we were able to get a lot accomplished during that time.  Each afternoon, we went back to the resort and took a break.  Then we returned in the evening, to finish what we didn’t do or to re-ride our favorites.  Our last 2 park days, we slept in and had a very relaxing schedule.  Those days, we just rode our favorites or the rides with the shortest waits.
> 
> I personally didn’t miss having fastpasses.  The lines were constantly moving and they didn’t really bother me.  I definitely liked not having a schedule or a plan on where I needed to be.  We had a lot of flexibility and it was nice.  Actually our last day was Friday, and it poured buckets of rain.  We were at HS and ended up watching the “Frozen” show 3 times!  Normally I wouldn’t have done this, especially if we’d had fastpasses.  But since we didn’t and didn’t want to run around in the rain, we chose to watch this show over.  We had a blast and the narrators were so funny!  FYI...they are now filling the auditorium and only skipping a seat between each group.  So it’s much easier to get in the show, than it was in the spring.
> 
> I also wanted to share my experience with the cast members.  There were some concerns about lack of magic with them.  My experience was the opposite.  Our interactions were positive.  The cast member who delivered our luggage spoke in a “Mickey Mouse” voice as he handed us each piece of luggage.  One of the bus drivers talked to the passengers all the way back from Hollywood Studios.  He told jokes and spoke in “Tigger,” “Timone,” and “Pumba” voices.  Everyone on the bus was laughing and clapping.  It was such a treat!  As a whole, it seemed like the staff were happy to be there and were very friendly and helpful.
> 
> Probably my biggest issue with Disney post-Covid are the park hours.  I hate how early they close.  My favorite ride is Slinky Dog at HS.  I love riding it at night because of the lights.  But even though we rode it at closing, you still couldn’t see the lights.  It closed at 8:00, but the sun hadn’t set yet.  Same for Pandora.  It’s hard to enjoy the lights, when AK closes at 7:00.
> 
> Also, almost all food purchases required mobile ordering.  I don’t usually mind it, but sometimes it seemed excessive.  Like when I was trying to get the blue milk at HS.  I consider that a snack stand.  But when I walked up, I was required to mobile order first.  I understand using mobile ordering for a meal, but for a drink?  There’s only 2 choices...blue or green.  I thought it was a bit overboard.  And it didn’t look like you could walk up and order anywhere.  So that could be a problem for those who didn’t plan ahead or those who aren’t really tech savvy.
> 
> We have already been post-Covid, so we knew what to expect.  Masks were required indoors and in all the queues.  The social distancing lines were still on the floor, but were rarely followed.  This had changed since our spring break trip.  I expect  those lines and the mask requirement to be removed shortly.  None of this was an issue for us, so it didn’t affect our disposition.  We also planned to RD our first 3 mornings, so we could take advantage of shorter wait times.  But we were also realistic, and knew we needed some sleep-in days.  So we were prepared for this trip and set our expectations accordingly.
> 
> We’ve been to Disney many times, and one of my girls said this was her favorite trip!  Considering we had to wear masks, we had no fastpasses,  we had to gather and drop off our own luggage, and the parks closed early, that just shows a trip to Disney can be just as magical now as it was in the past.  I believe it’s all a matter of expectations...expect there will be changes and expect to have a good time despite the changes.  Overall, we had a great time!





Castlequeen5 said:


> We are now back home from a fantastic week at Disney!  Our trip began and ended with the Magic Express.  I count myself lucky that we were able to ride the ME both ways on our trip.  I know Disney is also using charter buses, but we were fortunate to get the total Disney experience. We arrived in the evening and left early in the morning.  So that may have made the difference with ME availability.
> 
> As far as transportation to the parks, the Disney shuttles and charter buses were used interchangeably.  Regardless of which kind of bus we rode, everyone got a seat and both did some form of social distancing.  The buses were plentiful especially at opening and closing.  There may have been an exception or two, during non-peak times.  But in general, I was very pleased with how efficient the buses were.  I actually thought the bus experience was better than some of our pre-Covid trips.
> 
> Our experience in the parks was good as well.  We went to MK-twice, HS twice, to AK once.  The wait times were mostly reasonable.  Of course there were high waits during peak times, especially for SDD or FOP.  We rope dropped our first 3 days and we were able to get a lot accomplished during that time.  Each afternoon, we went back to the resort and took a break.  Then we returned in the evening, to finish what we didn’t do or to re-ride our favorites.  Our last 2 park days, we slept in and had a very relaxing schedule.  Those days, we just rode our favorites or the rides with the shortest waits.
> 
> I personally didn’t miss having fastpasses.  The lines were constantly moving and they didn’t really bother me.  I definitely liked not having a schedule or a plan on where I needed to be.  We had a lot of flexibility and it was nice.  Actually our last day was Friday, and it poured buckets of rain.  We were at HS and ended up watching the “Frozen” show 3 times!  Normally I wouldn’t have done this, especially if we’d had fastpasses.  But since we didn’t and didn’t want to run around in the rain, we chose to watch this show over.  We had a blast and the narrators were so funny!  FYI...they are now filling the auditorium and only skipping a seat between each group.  So it’s much easier to get in the show, than it was in the spring.
> 
> I also wanted to share my experience with the cast members.  There were some concerns about lack of magic with them.  My experience was the opposite.  Our interactions were positive.  The cast member who delivered our luggage spoke in a “Mickey Mouse” voice as he handed us each piece of luggage.  One of the bus drivers talked to the passengers all the way back from Hollywood Studios.  He told jokes and spoke in “Tigger,” “Timone,” and “Pumba” voices.  Everyone on the bus was laughing and clapping.  It was such a treat!  As a whole, it seemed like the staff were happy to be there and were very friendly and helpful.
> 
> Probably my biggest issue with Disney post-Covid are the park hours.  I hate how early they close.  My favorite ride is Slinky Dog at HS.  I love riding it at night because of the lights.  But even though we rode it at closing, you still couldn’t see the lights.  It closed at 8:00, but the sun hadn’t set yet.  Same for Pandora.  It’s hard to enjoy the lights, when AK closes at 7:00.
> 
> Also, almost all food purchases required mobile ordering.  I don’t usually mind it, but sometimes it seemed excessive.  Like when I was trying to get the blue milk at HS.  I consider that a snack stand.  But when I walked up, I was required to mobile order first.  I understand using mobile ordering for a meal, but for a drink?  There’s only 2 choices...blue or green.  I thought it was a bit overboard.  And it didn’t look like you could walk up and order anywhere.  So that could be a problem for those who didn’t plan ahead or those who aren’t really tech savvy.
> 
> We have already been post-Covid, so we knew what to expect.  Masks were required indoors and in all the queues.  The social distancing lines were still on the floor, but were rarely followed.  This had changed since our spring break trip.  I expect  those lines and the mask requirement to be removed shortly.  None of this was an issue for us, so it didn’t affect our disposition.  We also planned to RD our first 3 mornings, so we could take advantage of shorter wait times.  But we were also realistic, and knew we needed some sleep-in days.  So we were prepared for this trip and set our expectations accordingly.
> 
> We’ve been to Disney many times, and one of my girls said this was her favorite trip!  Considering we had to wear masks, we had no fastpasses,  we had to gather and drop off our own luggage, and the parks closed early, that just shows a trip to Disney can be just as magical now as it was in the past.  I believe it’s all a matter of expectations...expect there will be changes and expect to have a good time despite the changes.  Overall, we had a great time!



Your last paragraph is  awesome, and so true.


----------



## KBoopaloo

> Probably my biggest issue with Disney post-Covid are the park hours.  I hate how early they close.  My favorite ride is Slinky Dog at HS.  I love riding it at night because of the lights.  But even though we rode it at closing, you still couldn’t see the lights.  It closed at 8:00, but the sun hadn’t set yet.  Same for Pandora.  It’s hard to enjoy the lights, when AK closes at 7:00.
> 
> Also, almost all food purchases required mobile ordering.  I don’t usually mind it, but sometimes it seemed excessive.  Like when I was trying to get the blue milk at HS.  I consider that a snack stand.  But when I walked up, I was required to mobile order first.  I understand using mobile ordering for a meal, but for a drink?  There’s only 2 choices...blue or green.  I thought it was a bit overboard.  And it didn’t look like you could walk up and order anywhere.  So that could be a problem for those who didn’t plan ahead or those who aren’t really tech savvy.



I was there last week as well and agree 100% with these two observations specifically.

I really, really missed being in DAK after dark and also would have loved having even one more evening hour in MK (10 pm close instead of 9 pm). We took a very laid back approach to this trip and planned mostly mornings at the pool, TS meal in late afternoon and then parks to avoid some of the heat but could have used some later closings to really make that plan work better.

I also found the mobile ordering to be a bit of a hassle at times especially when you just wanted one small thing. I like having the option for mobile ordering but will be glad when it is back to the old way of just being an option and not the default way to order QS.

My only other complaint from this trip woukd be the limited food options - it didn’t bother me so much that a lot of dining is still closed but I was annoyed that so many of the menus in the places that are open are still pretty limited. I find Disney TS menus to always be  a bit limited anyway so when they take more away from already limited menus, you really notice it.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

KBoopaloo said:


> I really, really missed being in DAK after dark and also would have loved having even one more evening hour in MK (10 pm close instead of 9 pm).



I totally spaced out that in summer the sunsets are later! In November we were able to see most of the parks when it was dark. Really crossing my fingers they extend hours for this month- we leave in two weeks so not sure how likely it is at this point! 

I keep reading about this crazy Florida UV index? Does that just mean you apply more sunscreen than normal? I burn easily so want to make sure I'm prepared. I bought the higher spf and plan to carry it in our park bag.


----------



## ars0525

Sunday June 6th at MK (park opened at 8am). AP who drove.

Parking lot entrance opened at 6:58am (I lined up around 6:50 3rd car in line). Got 1st row parking. They are now parking cars next each other & the trams are still not running. At TTC the only way to MK was the ferry or monorail. No bus option which I missed.

Scanned in at 7:20. Took pics walking down Main Street which if you want fairly no people castle pictures this is your time! Walked towards 7DMT & line was already long. Hooked a left at carousal & headed towards Frontierland (HM was temp closed). Splash had a line over the bridge, but BTM looked short. At 7:35 they sent the 1st car with people. I rode & then opted to ride again. Glad I did cause it was a walk right back on! Splash still hadn't opened when I walked by 8am & line was longer. I walked past POC which looked empty to JC first. That was a 10 minute wait & then went back to POC which was practically a walk on still. By now it was 8:40 & Splash had a 40 minute wait according to app so I got in line (which kept moving). That was more like a 25 minute wait. I will say after that it seemed like the app didn't seem to update for awhile cause I walked back to Fantasyland where it said waits were 10-15 minutes for the rides. That wasn't true. Speedway kept saying 5 minutes all morning & the line was outside the standby entrance along the fence. HM finally opened mid-morning. I saw the 1st cavalcade with Mickey & friends around 10:30am.

It was a fun morning & I got a lot done in that first 2 hours. Mask in outside areas is optional so it was a mix of people wearing them. CMs were reminding folks to put masks on when entering lines or stores. In lines you no longer have to stand 6' apart, but I wish people would still give you some space. BTM they loaded every row, but POC & Splash they still kept any empty row between groups.


----------



## Princess Katelet

Castlequeen5 said:


> We are now back home from a fantastic week at Disney!  Our trip began and ended with the Magic Express.  I count myself lucky that we were able to ride the ME both ways on our trip.  I know Disney is also using charter buses, but we were fortunate to get the total Disney experience. We arrived in the evening and left early in the morning.  So that may have made the difference with ME availability.
> 
> As far as transportation to the parks, the Disney shuttles and charter buses were used interchangeably.  Regardless of which kind of bus we rode, everyone got a seat and both did some form of social distancing.  The buses were plentiful especially at opening and closing.  There may have been an exception or two, during non-peak times.  But in general, I was very pleased with how efficient the buses were.  I actually thought the bus experience was better than some of our pre-Covid trips.
> 
> Our experience in the parks was good as well.  We went to MK-twice, HS twice, to AK once.  The wait times were mostly reasonable.  Of course there were high waits during peak times, especially for SDD or FOP.  We rope dropped our first 3 days and we were able to get a lot accomplished during that time.  Each afternoon, we went back to the resort and took a break.  Then we returned in the evening, to finish what we didn’t do or to re-ride our favorites.  Our last 2 park days, we slept in and had a very relaxing schedule.  Those days, we just rode our favorites or the rides with the shortest waits.
> 
> I personally didn’t miss having fastpasses.  The lines were constantly moving and they didn’t really bother me.  I definitely liked not having a schedule or a plan on where I needed to be.  We had a lot of flexibility and it was nice.  Actually our last day was Friday, and it poured buckets of rain.  We were at HS and ended up watching the “Frozen” show 3 times!  Normally I wouldn’t have done this, especially if we’d had fastpasses.  But since we didn’t and didn’t want to run around in the rain, we chose to watch this show over.  We had a blast and the narrators were so funny!  FYI...they are now filling the auditorium and only skipping a seat between each group.  So it’s much easier to get in the show, than it was in the spring.
> 
> I also wanted to share my experience with the cast members.  There were some concerns about lack of magic with them.  My experience was the opposite.  Our interactions were positive.  The cast member who delivered our luggage spoke in a “Mickey Mouse” voice as he handed us each piece of luggage.  One of the bus drivers talked to the passengers all the way back from Hollywood Studios.  He told jokes and spoke in “Tigger,” “Timone,” and “Pumba” voices.  Everyone on the bus was laughing and clapping.  It was such a treat!  As a whole, it seemed like the staff were happy to be there and were very friendly and helpful.
> 
> Probably my biggest issue with Disney post-Covid are the park hours.  I hate how early they close.  My favorite ride is Slinky Dog at HS.  I love riding it at night because of the lights.  But even though we rode it at closing, you still couldn’t see the lights.  It closed at 8:00, but the sun hadn’t set yet.  Same for Pandora.  It’s hard to enjoy the lights, when AK closes at 7:00.
> 
> Also, almost all food purchases required mobile ordering.  I don’t usually mind it, but sometimes it seemed excessive.  Like when I was trying to get the blue milk at HS.  I consider that a snack stand.  But when I walked up, I was required to mobile order first.  I understand using mobile ordering for a meal, but for a drink?  There’s only 2 choices...blue or green.  I thought it was a bit overboard.  And it didn’t look like you could walk up and order anywhere.  So that could be a problem for those who didn’t plan ahead or those who aren’t really tech savvy.
> 
> We have already been post-Covid, so we knew what to expect.  Masks were required indoors and in all the queues.  The social distancing lines were still on the floor, but were rarely followed.  This had changed since our spring break trip.  I expect  those lines and the mask requirement to be removed shortly.  None of this was an issue for us, so it didn’t affect our disposition.  We also planned to RD our first 3 mornings, so we could take advantage of shorter wait times.  But we were also realistic, and knew we needed some sleep-in days.  So we were prepared for this trip and set our expectations accordingly.
> 
> We’ve been to Disney many times, and one of my girls said this was her favorite trip!  Considering we had to wear masks, we had no fastpasses,  we had to gather and drop off our own luggage, and the parks closed early, that just shows a trip to Disney can be just as magical now as it was in the past.  I believe it’s all a matter of expectations...expect there will be changes and expect to have a good time despite the changes.  Overall, we had a great time!


Which resort were you at? I felt the buses were pretty awful…. They arrived okay in the morning at SSR but often were too full, but leaving parks we would wait an hour at a time for buses to come and there to be room on them.
The park hours were frustrating for sure, as well as the early closures of restaurants and food options. The lack of food variety/menu was another tough thing, especially if you have a long trip. I truly missed the FPs. I don’t care if a stand by line moves…I want to breeze through with FP and for me I always enjoyed the thrill of hunting for them and scoring them. 
Glad you had fun! I wanted to see the Frozen show but found DHS so hot and crowded we didn’t bother. Next time I will, provided it’s still there.


----------



## Castlequeen5

KBoopaloo said:


> I also found the mobile ordering to be a bit of a hassle at times especially when you just wanted one small thing. I like having the option for mobile ordering but will be glad when it is back to the old way of just being an option and not the default way to order QS.
> 
> My only other complaint from this trip woukd be the limited food options - it didn’t bother me so much that a lot of dining is still closed but I was annoyed that so many of the menus in the places that are open are still pretty limited. I find Disney TS menus to always be  a bit limited anyway so when they take more away from already limited menus, you really notice it.



Yes, once we were just trying to order a cookie at Backlot Express.  And another time, I wanted a milk at the resort.  It seemed silly to wait 5-10 minutes for them to “prepare” you order, when it’s a prepackaged item.  But we just laughed about it and went on.

And I completely agree about the limited menu options.  I felt like it was very obvious at the resort food courts.  I ended up saving money, because I didn’t like the choices.  I was glad that we packed some snacks before we left!


----------



## Castlequeen5

Princess Katelet said:


> Which resort were you at? I felt the buses were pretty awful…. They arrived okay in the morning at SSR but often were too full, but leaving parks we would wait an hour at a time for buses to come and there to be room on them.
> The park hours were frustrating for sure, as well as the early closures of restaurants and food options. The lack of food variety/menu was another tough thing, especially if you have a long trip. I truly missed the FPs. I don’t care if a stand by line moves…I want to breeze through with FP and for me I always enjoyed the thrill of hunting for them and scoring them.
> Glad you had fun! I wanted to see the Frozen show but found DHS so hot and crowded we didn’t bother. Next time I will, provided it’s still there.


We were at Movies.  We rarely had to wait too long for a bus.  One of our longest waits was at MK during closing.  The buses were coming pretty quickly, but the line was long.  Since they can’t fill the buses up, it took longer.  We got in line at 9:46 and we were sitting on the bus at 10:17.  So that took us 30 minutes.  But the buses were coming no more than 5-10 minutes apart, and sometimes right behind each other.


----------



## Gearbm95

Ok


----------



## Gearbm95

At MCO waiting for my flight home after spending the last 4 days at Dolphin, here’s some observations from my trip...

Thur

- Arrived at Dolphin at 5pm from MCO, had a ADR for Topolinos at 9:45pm.

- Grabbed an Uber to RR, dinner at Topolinos was fantastic. The veal chop and the sole were both cooked to perfection. Service was a little rushed (entrees arriving while apps still there) but I worked in a restaurant and understand what it’s like when you want to just get that last seating out of the restaurant so you can go home. Super nice server, dinner was about $220 for 2 after tip.

Fri

- Got to HS around 930am, took the boat over from Dolphin, about a 20min wait for the boat (this was the only time we used Disney transport all trip, more on that later)

- Did Star Tours (10 min wait), Rise (10 min wait), and MFSR (walk on; DAS) all by 11:45.

- Everything in the park had 30-75min wait by 11:30, decided to leave and go back to the pool.

- Hung out at Dolphin pool till about 4:30, then got an Uber over to Epcot main entrance (We used Uber for all of our transport around WDW/Orlando, never waiting more than 8mins for a ride. All of our trips within WDW were roughly $9ish each way and was MUCH more efficient than waiting for busses or diving ourselves. I don’t understand the appeal of cattle call Disney busses, they’re gross and at times unreliable)

- Got to Epcot around 5pm, did SE (5mins), Soarin (10mins) and then strolled around WS starting in Canada, stopping at a lot stores and grabbing some snacks/drinks. Made it to Mexico around 8:15, grabbed a DAS return time for TT (65mins) and did Mission Space Green (walk-on). Returned for TT (walk-on with DAS).

- Had a 9:45 ADR at La Hacienda, had a great meal. The guac with mango and the vegan “Chicken” enchiladas were incredible. Left the park at 10:50 and grabbed a boat back to Dolphin.

Saturday

- Got CBD massages at Waldorf Astoria Spain the the AM...very pricey ($485 for 2 50min massages) but my body felt amazing the remainder of the day.

- Hung out at Dolphin pool until 3:30, took an Uber over to Universal for the Orlando Informer Meetup (AMAZING event, ratchet crowd during the day when general public was still there)

Sunday

- Went to AK around 9:45am, got a DAS return time for FOP (75mins) and went to do Kilimanjaro Safari (40min wait) while we waited. Went back to FOP (walk-on with DAS)...ok, now here’s a hot take...this ride is severely overrated! I don’t get the hype, the screen gets blurry at times and it’s just a souped-up Soarin. Not impressed.

- Placed a mobile order at Flame Tree for 1:10-1:40 window, hit I’ve Arrived at 1:10, food was ready at 1:35, good food though.

- Got a return time for Kali (35mins) and it was then a walk-on, same with Everest. Left AK after this around 2:30.

- More pool time then went to MK at 5:45, between 5:45 and 8:50 we hit Buzz (this ride needs to go, it’s not even Six Flags quality), Peoplemover, HM, BTMR, Splash, and Pirates. Never waiting more than 10mins for anything, used DAS for Splash (40mins).

- Had a 9:45 ADR at CA Grill. AMAZING dinner, the Colorado Lamb w/gnudi was great, as was the Halibut. We also tried the goat cheese ravioli, roasted squash soup, and sushi. Got the green tea mousse as dessert. Bill ran us about $270 after tip for 2, wellllllllll worth it!


----------



## Shellyred8

Leigh L said:


> How awesome!
> And that part just cracked me up . It really is, isn't it?
> (I was last at Epcot and I think the second one had just been brought out, I can't imagine what it looks like now. *Hopefully, once it's up and going it won't be as intrusive.*


Now that all of the pieces are out it's even worse!  When you see it in pictures, it doesn't look so bad.  But when you see it in person it's horrible (IMO).  Maybe it will look better when they turn on the water fountains???


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Shellyred8 said:


> Now that all of the pieces are out it's even worse!  When you see it in pictures, it doesn't look so bad.  But when you see it in person it's horrible (IMO).  Maybe it will look better when they turn on the water fountains???


I agree, it’s a HUGE eyesore.  I was so disappointed seeing it in person.  It totally ruins the view IMO


----------



## DisneyFive

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I agree, it’s a HUGE eyesore.  I was so disappointed seeing it in person.  It totally ruins the view IMO



So they fixed the entrance (which I love now) but destroyed the lagoon.    We'll pass judgement until our trip in July but hoping it's not as bad as it looks now.

Dan


----------



## Princess Katelet

Gearbm95 said:


> At MCO waiting for my flight home after spending the last 4 days at Dolphin, here’s some observations from my trip...
> 
> Thur
> 
> - Arrived at Dolphin at 5pm from MCO, had a ADR for Topolinos at 9:45pm.
> 
> - Grabbed an Uber to RR, dinner at Topolinos was fantastic. The veal chop and the sole were both cooked to perfection. Service was a little rushed (entrees arriving while apps still there) but I worked in a restaurant and understand what it’s like when you want to just get that last seating out of the restaurant so you can go home. Super nice server, dinner was about $220 for 2 after tip.
> 
> Fri
> 
> - Got to HS around 930am, took the boat over from Dolphin, about a 20min wait for the boat (this was the only time we used Disney transport all trip, more on that later)
> 
> - Did Star Tours (10 min wait), Rise (10 min wait), and MFSR (walk on; DAS) all by 11:45.
> 
> - Everything in the park had 30-75min wait by 11:30, decided to leave and go back to the pool.
> 
> - Hung out at Dolphin pool till about 4:30, then got an Uber over to Epcot main entrance (We used Uber for all of our transport around WDW/Orlando, never waiting more than 8mins for a ride. All of our trips within WDW were roughly $9ish each way and was MUCH more efficient than waiting for busses or diving ourselves. I don’t understand the appeal of cattle call Disney busses, they’re gross and at times unreliable)
> 
> - Got to Epcot around 5pm, did SE (5mins), Soarin (10mins) and then strolled around WS starting in Canada, stopping at a lot stores and grabbing some snacks/drinks. Made it to Mexico around 8:15, grabbed a DAS return time for TT (65mins) and did Mission Space Green (walk-on). Returned for TT (walk-on with DAS).
> 
> - Had a 9:45 ADR at La Hacienda, had a great meal. The guac with mango and the vegan “Chicken” enchiladas were incredible. Left the park at 10:50 and grabbed a boat back to Dolphin.
> 
> Saturday
> 
> - Got CBD massages at Waldorf Astoria Spain the the AM...very pricey ($485 for 2 50min massages) but my body felt amazing the remainder of the day.
> 
> - Hung out at Dolphin pool until 3:30, took an Uber over to Universal for the Orlando Informer Meetup (AMAZING event, ratchet crowd during the day when general public was still there)
> 
> Sunday
> 
> - Went to AK around 9:45am, got a DAS return time for FOP (75mins) and went to do Kilimanjaro Safari (40min wait) while we waited. Went back to FOP (walk-on with DAS)...ok, now here’s a hot take...this ride is severely overrated! I don’t get the hype, the screen gets blurry at times and it’s just a souped-up Soarin. Not impressed.
> 
> - Placed a mobile order at Flame Tree for 1:10-1:40 window, hit I’ve Arrived at 1:10, food was ready at 1:35, good food though.
> 
> - Got a return time for Kali (35mins) and it was then a walk-on, same with Everest. Left AK after this around 2:30.
> 
> - More pool time then went to MK at 5:45, between 5:45 and 8:50 we hit Buzz (this ride needs to go, it’s not even Six Flags quality), Peoplemover, HM, BTMR, Splash, and Pirates. Never waiting more than 10mins for anything, used DAS for Splash (40mins).
> 
> - Had a 9:45 ADR at CA Grill. AMAZING dinner, the Colorado Lamb w/gnudi was great, as was the Halibut. We also tried the goat cheese ravioli, roasted squash soup, and sushi. Got the green tea mousse as dessert. Bill ran us about $270 after tip for 2, wellllllllll worth it!


Does that Uber quote of $9ish include tip? People use the Disney buses because they are free.


----------



## goodferry

For people who are taking Uber to the parks, are you getting there an hour before opening or going later in the day? I would LOVE to not take Disney Transportation, but we also want to arrive early


----------



## Bobb_o

Just want to voice frustration that some girl in my ride photo flipped off the camera. It's not that I needed or care about the photo but just how disrespectful it is. She was also crossing me in line even when she could tell I was clearly filming things.


----------



## Gearbm95

Princess Katelet said:


> Does that Uber quote of $9ish include tip? People use the Disney buses because they are free.



No, usually tipped an additional $2. The money was well spent to not have to be on a bus with a bunch of loud, stinky strangers.


----------



## Gearbm95

goodferry said:


> For people who are taking Uber to the parks, are you getting there an hour before opening or going later in the day? I would LOVE to not take Disney Transportation, but we also want to arrive early



I didn’t rope drop any parks, not interested in running a rat race, it’s vacation. It felt so nice to move at a leisurely pace, sleep in, hit 3-4 rides in the late morning then back to the pool and return to the parks around 5-6pm.


----------



## goodferry

When you wake up at 5 am without trying, it's not a rat race, you have had a leisurely breakfast and the pool isn't even open yet lol


----------



## Leigh L

goodferry said:


> When you wake up at 5 am without trying, it's not a rat race, you have had a leisurely breakfast and the pool isn't even open yet lol


I can relate!! 
We always do rope drop because 3/4 of us are up anyway


----------



## hauntedcity

Princess Katelet said:


> Which resort were you at? I felt the buses were pretty awful…. They arrived okay in the morning at SSR but often were too full, but leaving parks we would wait an hour at a time for buses to come and there to be room on them.



we are in a split stay. Transportation at Boardwalk was great: boats ,skyliner, and even buses.

Animal Kingdom Lodge bussing has been HORRIBLE, with *multiple* waits 30-45 minutes. I always say to be prepared for ONE bad bus situation per visit, but we are up to 3 in 2.5 days.


----------



## HollyMD

Hate to hear that. We will be staying at kidani  in a couple of weeks


----------



## KBoopaloo

hauntedcity said:


> we are in a split stay. Transportation at Boardwalk was great: boats ,skyliner, and even buses.
> 
> Animal Kingdom Lodge bussing has been HORRIBLE, with *multiple* waits 30-45 minutes. I always say to be prepared for ONE bad bus situation per visit, but we are up to 3 in 2.5 days.


I had similar experiences at WL last week.


----------



## brockash

hauntedcity said:


> we are in a split stay. Transportation at Boardwalk was great: boats ,skyliner, and even buses.
> 
> Animal Kingdom Lodge bussing has been HORRIBLE, with *multiple* waits 30-45 minutes. I always say to be prepared for ONE bad bus situation per visit, but we are up to 3 in 2.5 days.


This was our experience with AKL buses back in Oct as well.  It reallt put a damper on our trip.  One of the worst parts was how we just could not get to any park (other than AK) early enough.  Every other resort we've stayed at post Covid (3 others ) we've consistently gotten to every park before they even open the turnstiles which is a must for getting a cpl rides in before super long lines, but we could not do it at AKL...their buses don't start early enough (we were always on the 1st bus) snd they're a good amount further away from the parks (exception AK) than most other resorts


----------



## Mrs~Incredible

I’m curious how people there now feel crowds are flowing. They’ve been increasing capacity and I just checked MDE wait times and all of the headliners are 50 minutes or under- that seems pretty great, in my opinion.

I had been wishing for a return of free FP because I was worried about horrible 90+minute waits for everything, but now I may be on the other side of that- to be able to tour freely without the necessity of FP (or wait 2-3 hours for something like FOP) sounds pretty nice.

although I know things will continue to change as crowds heat up, will keep watching those wait times to see if increased staff/ride capacity balance out the increased crowds without FP.

Not trying to start another thread on FP vs no FP (we have plenty of those!) - just want to get a feel for people’s impressions of crowd flow and wait times and if it is as manageable as it seems while I sit at home looking at my MDE app


----------



## elittleton

OhStuffandFluff said:


> Is the Pick a Pearl experience open in Epcot yet?


It wasn’t today and the cases were pushed into a corner.   I did see a small place open in Disney Springs close to World of Disney on Saturday morning.  



TikiTikiFan said:


> I totally spaced out that in summer the sunsets are later! In November we were able to see most of the parks when it was dark. Really crossing my fingers they extend hours for this month- we leave in two weeks so not sure how likely it is at this point!
> 
> I keep reading about this crazy Florida UV index? Does that just mean you apply more sunscreen than normal? I burn easily so want to make sure I'm prepared. I bought the higher spf and plan to carry it in our park bag.



I apply sunscreen before leaving the room, mid morning, after lunch, then later afternoon.  If not I will burn.


----------



## CarolynFH

Mrs~Incredible said:


> I’m curious how people there now feel crowds are flowing. They’ve been increasing capacity and I just checked MDE wait times and all of the headliners are 50 minutes or under- that seems pretty great, in my opinion.
> 
> I had been wishing for a return of free FP because I was worried about horrible 90+minute waits for everything, but now I may be on the other side of that- to be able to tour freely without the necessity of FP (or wait 2-3 hours for something like FOP) sounds pretty nice.
> 
> although I know things will continue to change as crowds heat up, will keep watching those wait times to see if increased staff/ride capacity balance out the increased crowds without FP.
> 
> Not trying to start another thread on FP vs no FP (we have plenty of those!) - just want to get a feel for people’s impressions of crowd flow and wait times and if it is as manageable as it seems while I sit at home looking at my MDE app


Admittedly, we’ve intentionally been going late to the parks because of the heat. Got to AK around 4 on Saturday, Epcot around 6:30 yesterday, DHS about 4 today. Overall, crowds have seemed lighter than our trips in December and March, maybe about the same as or even lighter than November. Wait times have definitely been less - we walked on to Star Tours at 5:30, had a 30-minute queue for MMRR and 50-minute wait for RnR, then got into line for SDD around 7:35 and were off at 8:05. Just walking around, the walkways weren’t nearly as jammed as many previous trips.


----------



## Mrs~Incredible

CarolynFH said:


> Admittedly, we’ve intentionally been going late to the parks because of the heat. Got to AK around 4 on Saturday, Epcot around 6:30 yesterday, DHS about 4 today. Overall, crowds have seemed lighter than our trips in December and March, maybe about the same as or even lighter than November. Wait times have definitely been less - we walked on to Star Tours at 5:30, had a 30-minute queue for MMRR and 50-minute wait for RnR, then got into line for SDD around 7:35 and were off at 8:05. Just walking around, the walkways weren’t nearly as jammed as many previous trips.


Thanks for your thoughts!


----------



## kylenne

goodferry said:


> For people who are taking Uber to the parks, are you getting there an hour before opening or going later in the day? I would LOVE to not take Disney Transportation, but we also want to arrive early



I split my stay between GF and YC specifically to avoid transportation so the only park I rope dropped that I had to drive to was AK and my Lyft got me there at 6:50a. There was only one other vehicle there at that hour, and we pulled in next to them as we were held at the cones until 7. I was still able to walk onto FOP when they opened the ride and walk onto Navi with the Safari being a trivial wait afterwards. It’s fully possible to have a successful rope drop with rideshare.


----------



## cdurham1

Rosetah2 said:


> Went to HS today from CBR. At 6:55am, went outside to get better internet (did internet speed test and Verizon was better than the WiFi). Got BG 46 for ROTR. Decided to drive our car over for rope drop. Pulled up to parking booths at 7:55am. There were 3 cars in front of us at our booth. Waited there until 8:10 and they opened the booths. Parked, walked quickly, but had to get stroller through security so it took a few extra minutes. Into park at 8:27. Went straight to SDD. Line marker said 60 minutes when we joined but it moved really quickly. Total wait was only 32 mins. Next went to TSM for 10 min wait and then to SWGE for some blue and green milk. Made a mistake and got in 50 min posted line for MFSR at 10:05am but it ended up being 65 mins. We had an 11:35 ADR at B&C and had to race out of the park, jump on boat to get there. We were 10 mins past the check in time for the ADR but the CM was nice and let us take the next available outside table. Back to CBR via skyliner to rest/pool until 3. Then back to HS via skyliner. Went to ROTR first. Our BG was called at 11:30 (we were on our way to lunch) but the CM was fine to let us ride at 3:45. It was a 25 min wait so not too bad. Then ADR at Sci-Fi at 4:45 but they were running 25 mins behind so snuck in ST while waiting. After dinner, 15 min wait for ToT, built a droid, Ogas at 7 and then jumped in line for MMRR at 7:58. It was very hot but we got water everywhere and took the afternoon break. Masks in line weren’t fun but it was great that we could take them off once out of a ride and drink water while walking. That really makes a difference. Overall a great day!



Sounds like fun!  I used to get to the park so early, no one was manning the booth to the parking lot and we would drive right thru.  You can't do that anymore?

You were 10 minutes late for your actual ADR time?  Is that even considered late?


----------



## Kerr84

Here now and we are having a great time! I cannot stress enough how much you will want a mask lanyard! There are cheap ones on Amazon. Buy extras in case you lose one. I bet we are taking out masks on/off 30 times a day.


----------



## G719

I'm at fort wilderness and I am hearing some fireworks right now.


----------



## Princess Katelet

People who use Rideshare to rope drop…the driver willingly sits in the car with you in a line for 20 or so minutes waiting to get through? Don’t they charge extra for that?


----------



## kylenne

Princess Katelet said:


> People who use Rideshare to rope drop…the driver willingly sits in the car with you in a line for 20 or so minutes waiting to get through? Don’t they charge extra for that?



Rideshares don’t work that way. Prices are set in advance in the app when you book the ride, there are no on the fly adjustments during the ride and the driver has no control over the price anyway. These aren’t taxis, there’s no meter running. 

I apologized to my driver but she was cool with waiting 10 minutes and just asked if she could handle her bank business on the phone while we waited (she spoke Spanish and didn’t realize I could understand her lol). But I tripled her tip to thank her for her time


----------



## spumonisowner

Mrs~Incredible said:


> I’m curious how people there now feel crowds are flowing. They’ve been increasing capacity and I just checked MDE wait times and all of the headliners are 50 minutes or under- that seems pretty great, in my opinion.
> 
> I had been wishing for a return of free FP because I was worried about horrible 90+minute waits for everything, but now I may be on the other side of that- to be able to tour freely without the necessity of FP (or wait 2-3 hours for something like FOP) sounds pretty nice.
> 
> although I know things will continue to change as crowds heat up, will keep watching those wait times to see if increased staff/ride capacity balance out the increased crowds without FP.
> 
> Not trying to start another thread on FP vs no FP (we have plenty of those!) - just want to get a feel for people’s impressions of crowd flow and wait times and if it is as manageable as it seems while I sit at home looking at my MDE app


We were at MK yesterday, our first time after covid. We didn’t make it to rope drop but stayed until close. It seemed like average level pre-covid crowds to me. It was definitely manageable - our longest wait was 55 minutes at 7 dwarfs, but most of them were 30 minutes or less. We found the wait times posted were not accurate. Some actual waits were longer and most were shorter. I missed having FP, though, because I used to average 13-15 FP per day at MK just refreshing all day. That said, we got done almost as much done as we would have with FP and had a good day. My DH liked not having FP because we didn’t need to cross the park as much.


----------



## kylenne

Mrs~Incredible said:


> I’m curious how people there now feel crowds are flowing. They’ve been increasing capacity and I just checked MDE wait times and all of the headliners are 50 minutes or under- that seems pretty great, in my opinion.
> 
> I had been wishing for a return of free FP because I was worried about horrible 90+minute waits for everything, but now I may be on the other side of that- to be able to tour freely without the necessity of FP (or wait 2-3 hours for something like FOP) sounds pretty nice.
> 
> although I know things will continue to change as crowds heat up, will keep watching those wait times to see if increased staff/ride capacity balance out the increased crowds without FP.
> 
> Not trying to start another thread on FP vs no FP (we have plenty of those!) - just want to get a feel for people’s impressions of crowd flow and wait times and if it is as manageable as it seems while I sit at home looking at my MDE app



I got back on Saturday night, and had 7 park days, albeit with plenty of break time at my resorts.

Crowds are very, very manageable. The parks are not empty like they were last summer, but still not quite at pre-Covid levels imo. There really are far less people in the parks right now--I think folks are still not understanding that just because you see a lot of people out and about it doesn't mean crowds are back to normal. We still have a ton of closed shows that would normally be eating up a lot more people than you would see just walking around. For the most part, posted times are still grossly inflated, only twice did I notice actual waits were close to it. I used the Touring Plans Lines app extensively both to report and see times and it was much more accurate, though I always have to remind people that it's important not just to look at the time but go into the ride's screen and look to see when the last user submitted time was reported. Things can change quickly sometimes. In general though, if you rope drop and stay flexible, you'll be good. Alternatively if you come in the late afternoon, you can get a whole lot done as well (though Epcot is the exception to this, Test Track lines stay ridiculous all day long even up to closing). The tried and true strategy of rope drop, resort break during the peak heat and crowds of the day, then come back in late afternoon/evening is 100% the best way to go imo. I used it very well and did not wait longer than 30 minutes for anything the whole trip.

I will say though that HS right now is the hardest park to deal with by far in terms of wait times, just because aside from Frozen and the Disney Jr. thing, all you have there are headliners. I was very glad to have multiple HS days reserved not just for extra Rise attempts but also because wait times just build here so quickly and stay high all day without those shows to spread crowds. And if any one of them has downtime (eg. SDD, due to weather), it gets even worse. If you are ride focused people and enjoy the HS offerings I would highly suggest 2 days there and do the rope drop/evening strategy.


----------



## kylenne

Let me also add for the folks who don't want to do rope drop and are thinking of turning up later on in the afternoon/evenings to hit the parks, if you want certain snacks or food items, pay attention to when locations close. Some of them close way earlier than the parks, and certain items will move from carts to a nearby QS. Last Thursday for instance, when I went back to HS around 4:30p after my spa appt and siesta, I noticed Ronto Roasters had closed at some point so I had to order my Ronto Wrap from Docking Bay 7. Hopefully this kind of thing will not be an issue for much longer, as Disney continues to hire back more cast, but it's something important to keep in mind.


----------



## MDIME

kylenne said:


> Let me also add for the folks who don't want to do rope drop and are thinking of turning up later on in the afternoon/evenings to hit the parks, if you want certain snacks or food items, pay attention to when locations close. Some of them close way earlier than the parks, and certain items will move from carts to a nearby QS. Last Thursday for instance, when I went back to HS around 4:30p after my spa appt and siesta, I noticed Ronto Roasters had closed at some point so I had to order my Ronto Wrap from Docking Bay 7. Hopefully this kind of thing will not be an issue for much longer, as Disney continues to hire back more cast, but it's something important to keep in mind.



Thank you for sharing your updates! I’m sure I’m not the only one here who lived vicariously through your reports! Glad you had a great time!


----------



## WEDWDW

I think the chances of some sort of fireworks show at Epcot for Independence Day are looking up-judging by the Crowds at the "return" of Epcot Rope Drop today,I don't think Disney is "worried" about Fireworks "crowding" anymore!lol


----------



## kylenne

MDIME said:


> Thank you for sharing your updates! I’m sure I’m not the only one here who lived vicariously through your reports! Glad you had a great time!



It was my pleasure! Honestly it was a load of fun and I just hope it helped (or entertained) as much as this thread did so for me when I was planning. 



WEDWDW said:


> I think the chances of some sort of fireworks show at Epcot for Independence Day are looking up-judging by the Crowds at the "return" of Epcot Rope Drop today,I don't think Disney is "worried" about Fireworks "crowding" anymore!lol
> 
> View attachment 580690



Yikes, and I thought rope drop at the IG was bad!


----------



## Tess

WEDWDW said:


> I think the chances of some sort of fireworks show at Epcot for Independence Day are looking up-judging by the Crowds at the "return" of Epcot Rope Drop today,I don't think Disney is "worried" about Fireworks "crowding" anymore!lol
> 
> View attachment 580690



It appears that it is time to let those entering at the IG a few minutes head start as used to occur with regulartity.  No wonder TT wait times are outrageous from start to finish and those at IG have no chance to get there before the front gate when they are queuing at SE.


----------



## lovethattink

At MK today. Splash is running without water on the hill. Looks strange. But might try it to see what we think. There is water otherwise.

Big Thunder Mt Railroad is closed for the week according to cm.

Jack Sparrow is out for a meet and greet!

Country Bear is out above country Bears and walkway to Adventureland.

Pooh and friends are on the double decker bus for their cavalcade.

Marching band is playing Cruella Devil song.

Walkways seem more crowded than past Tuesdays.

It’s super hot. We won’t be staying long. Just needed a dole whip fix!


----------



## elittleton

WEDWDW said:


> I think the chances of some sort of fireworks show at Epcot for Independence Day are looking up-judging by the Crowds at the "return" of Epcot Rope Drop today,I don't think Disney is "worried" about Fireworks "crowding" anymore!lol
> 
> View attachment 580690


My DD and I waited in that crowd on Monday.   We were held there until 10:30.  Due to the crowd we wore our mask.  When they finally let us go we had a 30 minute wait for TT and we were closer to the front of the crowd.  It was crazy and very hot.


----------



## PanchoX1

so is epcot not doing the opening 45 min or so before posted opening time?


----------



## elittleton

PanchoX1 said:


> so is epcot not doing the opening 45 min or so before posted opening time?


Yesterday they opened the parking booths shortly after 10:00 and we walked straight thru security and the ticket touch points but then held by Spaceship Earth until 10:30.  At that point people started running for TT.  We are not runners so we ended up with a 30 minute wait.


----------



## ShadowBoxer

Yea sadly it seems my trip next month (July) will be the usual summer crowds . I saw that someone over on twitter posted that there was a whole new batch of park reservations open for the month of July ( the Disney World website calendar was pretty much green for the entire month).   It seems Disney has quietly increased park capacity again. I knew I should have planned better lol...


----------



## brockash

Tess said:


> It appears that it is time to let those entering at the IG a few minutes head start as used to occur with regulartity.  No wonder TT wait times are outrageous from start to finish and those at IG have no chance to get there before the front gate when they are queuing at SE.


Don't get me wrong; I totally would prefer them not doing rope drop etc., but in all ours years of rope dropping Epcot Spaceship Earth has been the furthest we've ever been held (other than when entering through IG.)  A few years we've qued closer to TT or Soarin - they would have 2 sets of ropes at either Innovations bldgs.


----------



## monstermash23

ShadowBoxer said:


> Yea sadly it seems my trip next month (July) will be the usual summer crowds . I saw that someone over on twitter posted that there was a whole new batch of park reservations open for the month of July ( the Disney World website calendar was pretty much green for the entire month).  I knew I should have planned better lol...



I'm with you on that one. This trip I have coming up at end of July, was actually a trip that was planned for the first week of lockdowns back in March 2020. That obviously didn't happen and this is the postponed version of that trip. Crowd timing is not on our side. I just hope some version of fastpass returns before then to help alleviate these growing crowds.


----------



## ShadowBoxer

monstermash23 said:


> I'm with you on that one. This trip I have coming up at end of July, was actually a trip that was planned for the first week of lockdowns back in March 2020. That obviously didn't happen and this is the postponed version of that trip. Crowd timing is not on our side. I just hope some version of fastpass returns before then to help alleviate these growing crowds.



Yea it seems they have quietly increased park capacity again. This trip was actually a graduation trip to myself that I planned last year but canceled due to the pandemic.  Will be interesting to see how next month goes lol


----------



## kylenne

PanchoX1 said:


> so is epcot not doing the opening 45 min or so before posted opening time?



They still were as of last week.



Tess said:


> It appears that it is time to let those entering at the IG a few minutes head start as used to occur with regulartity.  No wonder TT wait times are outrageous from start to finish and those at IG have no chance to get there before the front gate when they are queuing at SE.



I honestly didn’t even bother the one day I rope dropped Epcot, when I saw the hordes going over to TT I just went to Soarin.



brockash said:


> Don't get me wrong; I totally would prefer them not doing rope drop etc., but in all ours years of rope dropping Epcot Spaceship Earth has been the furthest we've ever been held (other than when entering through IG.)  A few years we've qued closer to TT or Soarin - they would have 2 sets of ropes at either Innovations bldgs.



The problem with trying to rope drop FW from the IG nowadays is twofold, I think: the terribly late by comparison opening time encouraging more people to do rope drop in the first place, and then the construction walls making it such a pain to navigate FW from the back of the park. I found FW absolutely exhausting  on this trip as compared to Nov 2019 when I did it from BC.

I will be coming from the front of the park come October, gods willing on the monorail, so I’ll be curious to see how it compares. The last time I came in that way the walls weren’t like this.


----------



## VandVsmama

We were at MK on Sunday, 6/6 (flew back home yesterday and it was a long travel day!).  

MK opened at 8, but we didn't get into the park until after 8:00 am.  We stayed at Pop Century and the MK bus line was REALLY REALLY long.  If you want to be there for the opening or beforehand, you really probably need to be in the bus line at the 6:30 am mark, I think.  

We tried a few times that day to get on Jungle Cruise, but the line was so long and so much of the queue was in the blazing sun.  AND on top of it, it was as hot as a mother trucker on Sunday at MK.  So we passed.

At 8:50 am, we went on Aladdin's magic carpets in Adventureland. Posted 10 min wait, but it was more like 5.  Spitting camel not operating.

Just after 9:00, we went on Fast Choo Choo (BTMRR; we used to call Heimlich's Chew Chew Train at DCA "slow choo choo").  It had a 16 min posted wait time, but was more like 5.  Skipped Splash Mtn because the wait was already at 40 min and we didn't want to wait 40 min for anything.

Then we went on Peter Pan (probably  5-7 min wait), Mad Tea Party (5 min wait, but it was posted at 10), them Dumbo (almost a walk on, had to wait for 1 iteration of the ride before we got on), and People Mover (5-7 min wait, line moved constantly, it was fine).

Then took bus to Riviera and had lunch at Primo Piatto.  Only waited 5 min for the bus, which was pretty nice compared to a couple evenings' prior when I waited 50 min at the end of the night at MK for a bus to Pop Century!

Then we napped, got some pool time, another nap, showers again.

Then took bus back to MK.  Waited 10 min for a bus this time.  Took resort monorail to CR for dinner at The Wave.  After that, we went to MK and rode POTC & HM before park close.  At one point on our way to POTC, we thought about Jungle Cruise, but JC was totally closed.  After POTC, we considered 7DMT, but the queue was 40 min and stretched way way WAY into Fantasyland...and we didn't want a repeat of the 50 min wait for a bus from a couple of nights' prior, so we went to HM and walked right onto that with no wait at all.


----------



## Kerr84

We have been here since Thursday. We have visited each park once. Crowds haven’t felt too bad until today. We are at Animal Kingdom and it is so hot and crowded. You can barely walk around because of all of the people. They definitely need to reduce capacity here but I know that won’t happen.


----------



## lovethattink

ShadowBoxer said:


> Yea it seems they have quietly increased park capacity again. This trip was actually a graduation trip to myself that I planned last year but canceled due to the pandemic.  Will be interesting to see how next month goes lol



To me, Christmas time seemed much more crowded than now.


----------



## ShadowBoxer

Well July was pretty much booked for the entire month. Now most of the month is clear so it seems they did increase capacity (or park reservation tickets).


----------



## DMLAINI

Does anyone know if everyone is ok from the Skyliner accident that happened this evening?   We were there in April when the last one happened & thankfully there were no injuries.


----------



## Mrs~Incredible

kylenne said:


> I got back on Saturday night, and had 7 park days, albeit with plenty of break time at my resorts.
> 
> Crowds are very, very manageable. The parks are not empty like they were last summer, but still not quite at pre-Covid levels imo. There really are far less people in the parks right now--I think folks are still not understanding that just because you see a lot of people out and about it doesn't mean crowds are back to normal. We still have a ton of closed shows that would normally be eating up a lot more people than you would see just walking around. For the most part, posted times are still grossly inflated, only twice did I notice actual waits were close to it. I used the Touring Plans Lines app extensively both to report and see times and it was much more accurate, though I always have to remind people that it's important not just to look at the time but go into the ride's screen and look to see when the last user submitted time was reported. Things can change quickly sometimes. In general though, if you rope drop and stay flexible, you'll be good. Alternatively if you come in the late afternoon, you can get a whole lot done as well (though Epcot is the exception to this, Test Track lines stay ridiculous all day long even up to closing). The tried and true strategy of rope drop, resort break during the peak heat and crowds of the day, then come back in late afternoon/evening is 100% the best way to go imo. I used it very well and did not wait longer than 30 minutes for anything the whole trip.
> 
> I will say though that HS right now is the hardest park to deal with by far in terms of wait times, just because aside from Frozen and the Disney Jr. thing, all you have there are headliners. I was very glad to have multiple HS days reserved not just for extra Rise attempts but also because wait times just build here so quickly and stay high all day without those shows to spread crowds. And if any one of them has downtime (eg. SDD, due to weather), it gets even worse. If you are ride focused people and enjoy the HS offerings I would highly suggest 2 days there and do the rope drop/evening strategy.


Thanks for the intel!!


----------



## emmabelle

Went to AK yesterday.  We drove and got to the parking lot by 7:15.  Parking lot looked pretty empty.  People must have bussed in because we went straight to FOP and waited 50 minutes.  We did Navi next and waited 25 minutes.  We were planning on going to Blizzard Beach so we got some food and then got in line for Kali around 9:50.  We waited about 30 minutes.  We left after that for Blizzard Beach, we our bought tickets and we were in the water park by 11am.  Lines weren’t bad at all.  Stayed about 4 hours.


----------



## Raemama

kylenne said:


> I hope we can get both back by my Oct. trip.



Are you going solo in your Oct. trip as well?


----------



## geogirl0626

Good morning! Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect during my June 19-25 trip?  I've heard the park is at 55% capacity now, as opposed to 35%.  I'm wondering about wait times and such.  I haven't been down there in years, and obviously not without Fastpasses!  

I know about the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance.  And my sister said to go straight to Smuggler's Run at rope drop.  In AK, we're planning to go straight to Flight of Passage at rope drop.  Is that still the best strategy?

Super excited for our upcoming trip!


----------



## lovethattink

geogirl0626 said:


> Good morning! Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect during my June 19-25 trip?  I've heard the park is at 55% capacity now, as opposed to 35%.  I'm wondering about wait times and such.  I haven't been down there in years, and obviously not without Fastpasses!
> 
> I know about the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance.  And my sister said to go straight to Smuggler's Run at rope drop.  In AK, we're planning to go straight to Flight of Passage at rope drop.  Is that still the best strategy?
> 
> Super excited for our upcoming trip!



Yesterday at MK wasn’t bad. Parking lot at TTC was pretty empty. We waited 15 minutes for the People Mover, 50 for Pirates, 5 minutes for magic carpets, and 20 for Buzz.

Space Mt. had a huge mass of people. I didn’t look to see what the wait time was.

The sun was brutal! I left my umbrella in the car and I got sunburned. My dole whip melted faster than I could eat it.

I’m moving this thread to the here now, just back thread. That’s the best thread to see what things are like now.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

geogirl0626 said:


> Good morning! Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect during my June 19-25 trip?  I've heard the park is at 55% capacity now, as opposed to 35%.  I'm wondering about wait times and such.  I haven't been down there in years, and obviously not without Fastpasses!
> 
> I know about the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance.  And my sister said to go straight to Smuggler's Run at rope drop.  In AK, we're planning to go straight to Flight of Passage at rope drop.  Is that still the best strategy?
> 
> Super excited for our upcoming trip!


I’ve been checking the wait times on the My Disney Experience app. I’ve noticed times going up slightly-the other day I saw a 90 minute wait for slinky, 70 for splash, 70 for jungle cruise, etc. Still not back to pre-pandemic waits by far, but it looks like they’re getting longer.


----------



## geogirl0626

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> I’ve been checking the wait times on the My Disney Experience app. I’ve noticed times going to slightly-the other day I saw a 90 minute wait for slinky, 70 for splash, 70 for jungle cruise, etc. Still not back to pre-pandemic waits by far, but it looks like they’re getting longer.


Oh yeah! I didn't think to just look at the app for wait times. That's a great idea.  

How early do I need to get to parks for "rope drop?"  We are camping in an RV at Fort Wilderness, but we plan to drive to the parks to get there easier. The campground bus system can take forever.


----------



## kylenne

Raemama said:


> Are you going solo in your Oct. trip as well?



I hope to god no lol. My partner was actually supposed to come with me on this trip, because this was our trip that was postponed from last May, but she's Canadian and the border situation prevented it. So I cut it down to 8 days and made it a solo trip, and our quick October weekend for the 50th was stretched out to our big 2 week trip together. News is looking very good though as of the last couple of days wrt Canada re-opening for leisure & non-essential travel. The latest is they're looking at a phased border re-opening starting with the fully vaccinated as soon as June 22, since the current mutual agreement with the US expires June 21.


----------



## figmentfinesse

Can anyone report on how long before FOTLK you need to be lining up?


----------



## boop0524

emmabelle said:


> Went to AK yesterday.  We drove and got to the parking lot by 7:15.  Parking lot looked pretty empty.  People must have bussed in because we went straight to FOP and waited 50 minutes.  We did Navi next and waited 25 minutes.  We were planning on going to Blizzard Beach so we got some food and then got in line for Kali around 9:50.  We waited about 30 minutes.  We left after that for Blizzard Beach, we our bought tickets and we were in the water park by 11am.  Lines weren’t bad at all.  Stayed about 4 hours.



AK rope drop today is packed too. Bus from SSR skipped our station twice so we ended up driving in ourselves. Arrived at 7:30 and FOP was at least 85 mins if not more. MK and HS were fine for us this week, but here everything we’ve wanted to ride has had good size waits. Not sure what’s going on at AK but yikes, it’s not good.


----------



## kylenne

geogirl0626 said:


> Good morning! Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect during my June 19-25 trip?  I've heard the park is at 55% capacity now, as opposed to 35%.  I'm wondering about wait times and such.  I haven't been down there in years, and obviously not without Fastpasses!
> 
> I know about the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance.  And my sister said to go straight to Smuggler's Run at rope drop.  In AK, we're planning to go straight to Flight of Passage at rope drop.  Is that still the best strategy?
> 
> Super excited for our upcoming trip!



Your sister is wrong, I'm sorry lol. Literally everyone and their porg at HS rope drop is running to either Smuggler's Run or Slinky Dog. The best move by far imo is to head to Sunset Blvd first thing and hit Tower and RNRC, then work your way back to MMRR. Tower does not always open that early so either or is good, and just hit the other one second. Smuggler's Run waits actually dip fairly low in the early afternoon hours, imo because the rope droppers are starting to leave and hardly anyone hops _to_ HS due to the restrictions on boarding groups (you can only get one if you have a park pass for HS). Both times I rode it I waited like 20-25 minutes tops and that was in the early afternoon before I headed out for my siestas. Tower waits have improved a lot that they're back to multiple elevators and loading more people into them, but the Sunset Blvd attractions don't get that low until almost closing from what I saw last week, and that's when you'll want to hit Slinky Dog.

AK really depends on how early you can get there. If you can manage to get to the park an hour before opening (which is very doable even if driving or taking a rideshare), then definitely head to Flight of Passage first. But if you're running even a little "late", don't even bother, just head to the Safari. It won't be open right away but you'll walk straight onto it when they let you on and the animals are most active in the early morning anyway.  The order I did was FoP -> Navi -> Safari and had about a 20 minute wait for the Safari but the animals were still pretty active because it hadn't gotten stinking hot yet.


----------



## kylenne

figmentfinesse said:


> Can anyone report on how long before FOTLK you need to be lining up?



An hour before your desired showtime, at minimum. Shows fill up VERY quickly because of capped seating capacity. I would even say like 70-80 minutes before just to be safe.



boop0524 said:


> AK rope drop today is packed too. Bus from SSR skipped our station twice so we ended up driving in ourselves. Arrived at 7:30 and FOP was at least 85 mins if not more. MK and HS were fine for us this week, but here everything we’ve wanted to ride has had good size waits. Not sure what’s going on at AK but yikes, it’s not good.



A 7:30 arrival was too late to be hitting FOP at rope drop, sadly. You really have to be in Pandora no later than 7:15 if you want hope of a walk on. Waits build that quickly there. Safari is the best thing at rope drop if you can't get there earlier than that.


----------



## boop0524

figmentfinesse said:


> Can anyone report on how long before FOTLK you need to be lining up?



We are here for the 10:30 show now. Hopped in line 40 minutes before showtime and were 4th in line. We’re sitting in the second row. But YMMV


----------



## gharter

geogirl0626 said:


> Good morning! Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect during my June 19-25 trip?  I've heard the park is at 55% capacity now, as opposed to 35%.  I'm wondering about wait times and such.  I haven't been down there in years, and obviously not without Fastpasses!
> 
> I know about the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance.  And my sister said to go straight to Smuggler's Run at rope drop.  In AK, we're planning to go straight to Flight of Passage at rope drop.  Is that still the best strategy?
> 
> Super excited for our upcoming trip!


It will depend on how many CMs they have and if all of the shows are running.  With fewer CMs, they tend to have fewer vehicles running on the rides and the lines get much longer faster.  
If the shows and M&Gs aren't going, then you don't have places to hold large groups of people, so they all wonder around making it look busier.

At HS, it really depends where you are in RD.  Our last trip, we were toward the front.  Went straight to MMRR, rode twice with minimal line, then over to ToT and RnRC with very short lines.

As PP noted, most are going to Smugglers run, Slinky Dog or MMRR.  If you are further back, I would go to ToT or RnRC first.
The line to MMRR does seem to be shorter in the afternoon and evening .


----------



## figmentfinesse

boop0524 said:


> We are here for the 10:30 show now. Hopped in line 40 minutes before showtime and were 4th in line. We’re sitting in the second row. But YMMV



amazing! This is the time I was considering. I never expected such a quick answer. Enjoy the show!!


----------



## MMR76

We were in the parks 5/27-6/5.  Crowds for the first 5 days were very manageable.  On Tues June 1st we were back at Epcot for a 2nd day and there was a noticeable increase in wait times.  Wednesday we did a VIP tour across HS, MK & AK.  It was great.  We managed to do 19 rides across the 3 parks in 7 hours.  Thurs, Fri & Sat the lines were pretty long for the headliners.  We waited 80 minutes for SDMT, it was listed at 60.  We found the wait times for most were higher than actual wait times with the exception of SDMT, MFSR & SDD.  They seemed to be right on or under estimated.

Most days we tried to get to the park 30-45 minutes prior to opening and were let in early. We were able to get several rides in each morning by doing this.  At HS we hit SDD both times first thing.  The first day we waited 40 minutes and the 2nd day we were on in 20 minutes.

I was very worried going into this trip about how different it would be.  In reality it didn’t feel that much different.  My 15 & 10 year old agreed.  There were a few things they missed like the Move it Shake it parade and meeting some characters but we had magical time nonetheless.

I really did miss FP+ the 2nd half of the trip.  It was hot and the lines were long.  I would have never waited 80 minutes for a ride in the past.  We were lucky we had shorter lines the 1st half.   I’m hopeful that it will return in some form.


----------



## jbish

kylenne said:


> I hope to god no lol. My partner was actually supposed to come with me on this trip, because this was our trip that was postponed from last May, but she's Canadian and the border situation prevented it. So I _cut it down to 8 days_ and made it a solo trip, and our quick October weekend for the 50th was stretched out to our big 2 week trip together. News is looking very good though as of the last couple of days wrt Canada re-opening for leisure & non-essential travel. The latest is they're looking at a phased border re-opening starting with the fully vaccinated as soon as June 22, since the current mutual agreement with the US expires June 21.


Guurrrl....you are livin' the dream (aside from not seeing your partner in probably over a year).  I'm so jealous of your 8 day solo trip (with great crowds) PLUS going to the 50th PLUS being there for 2 weeks PLUS being reunited.  Amazing.


----------



## kylenne

jbish said:


> Guurrrl....you are livin' the dream (aside from not seeing your partner in probably over a year).  I'm so jealous of your 8 day solo trip (with great crowds) PLUS going to the 50th PLUS being there for 2 weeks PLUS being reunited.  Amazing.



Valentine's Day 2020 was the last time we saw each other in person. It's been a very, very hard year.


----------



## jbish

kylenne said:


> Valentine's Day 2020 was the last time we saw each other in person. It's been a very, very hard year.


Then you two deserve a magical trip! Much pixie dust to you!!


----------



## disneyseniors

DMLAINI said:


> Does anyone know if everyone is ok from the Skyliner accident that happened this evening?   We were there in April when the last one happened & thankfully there were no injuries.



What????  Was there really another skyliner accident on 6/8/21??   No one here has answered this question yet, and I haven't seen it anywhere else?  Is it true and if so, details.


----------



## scrappinginontario

geogirl0626 said:


> Oh yeah! I didn't think to just look at the app for wait times. That's a great idea.
> 
> How early do I need to get to parks for "rope drop?"  We are camping in an RV at Fort Wilderness, but we plan to drive to the parks to get there easier. The campground bus system can take forever.


  I've seen recommendations lately to try to arrive at the MK park lot toll booths around 90 minutes prior to posted park opening although they may have you circle around at that time. 


disneyseniors said:


> What????  Was there really another skyliner accident on 6/8/21??   No one here has answered this question yet, and I haven't seen it anywhere else?  Is it true and if so, details.


Sadly, yes.
https://blogmickey.com/2021/06/disney-skyliner-crashes-again-at-disney-world/
I don't know the status of the Epcot Skyliner today.  Can anyone there report status?  Thanks.


----------



## jlstwinmommy

Currently here staying at Poly DVC. I was here with my sister in January over MLK week. Here are some things we’ve noticed this trip. 

1.  It is HOT. We are normally fall/winter vacationers but my mom wasn’t comfortable going in January and really wanted a trip before losing points so here we are.We upgraded our tickets to PH+ week before arriving and very grateful we did. We go to the parks early and leave around noon to rest or hit the pool or Blizzard Beach and then go back to the parks after dinner.

2. There are definitely more people. That was expected but it is noticeable for sure. Without the shows and parades to eat people, the lines build pretty quickly. That said at least they move continually without the stopping for FP. We know how to use FP to our advantage but I kind of like the continuously moving lines.

3.  The social distance markers are in the lines but no one uses them. In January most people were very good about keeping to the distance markers. Now they may as well not be there. No one is breathing down our necks in line, but it does feel more pre-COVID-19  line distancing.  

4.  Mask compliance is not as good as January.  Most people in January were great at following the rules. Now, I’d say 75% compliance in lines and 50% or less at the resort. Maybe it is better in resorts where you have to walk more inside to get to your room. We don’t mind as we are all vaccinated but just an FYI to those who have concerns.

5.  Wait times tend to be inflated. We noticed this in January as well. I’ve been using the Lines app from touring plans and it has been pretty accurate. Definitely pay attention to the last reported times as sometimes it is over an hour since a report.

we are having a great time but I think it will be a while before we come in the summer again. My mom and sister don’t handle heat well. For that matter, neither does my husband.


----------



## DisneyFive

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> I’ve been checking the wait times on the My Disney Experience app. I’ve noticed times going up slightly-the other day I saw a 90 minute wait for slinky, 70 for splash, 70 for jungle cruise, etc. Still not back to pre-pandemic waits by far, but it looks like they’re getting longer.



Except we had FP+ pre-pandemic to eliminate those long waits.  There is a "tipping point" coming where guest satisfaction will drop to a point where they need to open more shows, increase ride and dining capacity, reinstitute FP+, or all three.  I'm hoping for all three.

I will not be happy to stand in ANY line that is 70 minutes.  NEVER have I done that in my 11 years of WDW vacations.  On average it is 10-25.

Dan


----------



## maciemouse

I am just returning today from a quick trip staying at the new refurbished rooms at Wilderness Lodge.  Here are my observations from our fantastic stay.  Note:  This is more 4th visit since covid started and my most relaxed.

*I love the new decor in WL rooms.  It is simply done and very crisp and clean.  They have done away with the iron and it has been replaced by hand held steamers.  I love this!!!!  
*Really enjoyed our meal at Guyser Point.  The hamburger was the best I have ever had on property.
*Transportation was great during our stay.  We used boats and buses.
*Never waited more than 50 minutes for anything.  And we only did that twice.  Once for Seven dwarfs and the other for FOP.  Everything else was 20 minutes or less.  Crowds were there but lines moved quickly for sure.
*We went to MK on Sunday 4pm-close.  Got everything we wanted done and did some things twice.
*Monday we did 3 parks.  Went to AK from 1-5.  Did everything there but Rafiki's planet.  We even got to see the baby zebra and baby flamingo.  Both were precious.  Hopped to HS.  There we did Tower of Terror, Star Tours, , Slinky Dog, and Mickey's run away train.  We took the skyliner to Epcot and ate in Mexico.  We did Soarin and called it a night.
*Pool day and shopping yesterday.
*Mask wearing was much more relaxed.  My past visits felt like there was so much policing on masks that it stressed everyone out.  It was not like that at all this time.  It was so nice not to have mask outside.  Guest had them on to get on the bus and boat but some quickly moved to the chin.  Guest did have them on to enter the ride que, but the same....moved them to the chin while in line.  No one was checking to see if they were on or off while waiting in any of the lines that I was in.   Same with transportation.  Also, I noticed they did not have the AC pumping in ride ques yet so that probably encourages people to pull the mask down because it is so hot.  They would remind you while getting on the ride to keep your mask up.  There are markers still on the ground but no one follows them at ALL!  No one was on top of me but  markers were not used in any attraction.  It was nice to see smiles.  Everyone was very happy to be there.  
*Happy to answer any questions.  It was a great trip!!!!


----------



## maciemouse

geogirl0626 said:


> Good morning! Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect during my June 19-25 trip?  I've heard the park is at 55% capacity now, as opposed to 35%.  I'm wondering about wait times and such.  I haven't been down there in years, and obviously not without Fastpasses!
> 
> I know about the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance.  And my sister said to go straight to Smuggler's Run at rope drop.  In AK, we're planning to go straight to Flight of Passage at rope drop.  Is that still the best strategy?
> 
> Super excited for our upcoming trip!


We did FOP with a 50 minute wait at 4pm.  Crowds were there this week but wait times were not that bad.  I thought they were worse in December than they are right now.  We did not do rope drop on our days and were just fine.  You can get alot done in the late afternoon.


----------



## Anne Scaffo

kylenne said:


> I used the Touring Plans Lines app extensively both to report and see times and it was much more accurate, though I* always have to remind people that it's important not just to look at the time but go into the ride's screen and look to see when the last user submitted time was reported. Things can change quickly sometimes.* In general though, if you rope drop and stay flexible, you'll be good. Alternatively if you come in the late afternoon, you can get a whole lot done as well (though Epcot is the exception to this, Test Track lines stay ridiculous all day long even up to closing).


Thank you for this excellent bit of advice!


----------



## Anne Scaffo

geogirl0626 said:


> Good morning! Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect during my June 19-25 trip?  I've heard the park is at 55% capacity now, as opposed to 35%.  I'm wondering about wait times and such.  I haven't been down there in years, and obviously not without Fastpasses!
> 
> I know about the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance.  And my sister said to go straight to Smuggler's Run at rope drop.  In AK, we're planning to go straight to Flight of Passage at rope drop.  Is that still the best strategy?
> 
> Super excited for our upcoming trip!


I'll be there the same week. Since summer recess begins around the same time for much of the country, I'm expecting slightly higher crowds than early June, but not as high usually for the same week in years past. I anticipaing managble crowds, but being flexible with expectations. Enjoy your trip!


----------



## bdiddy

maciemouse said:


> I am just returning today from a quick trip staying at the new refurbished rooms at Wilderness Lodge.  Here are my observations from our fantastic stay.  Note:  This is more 4th visit since covid started and my most relaxed.
> 
> *I love the new decor in WL rooms.  It is simply done and very crisp and clean.  They have done away with the iron and it has been replaced by hand held steamers.  I love this!!!!
> *Really enjoyed our meal at Guyser Point.  The hamburger was the best I have ever had on property.
> *Transportation was great during our stay.  We used boats and buses.
> *Never waited more than 50 minutes for anything.  And we only did that twice.  Once for Seven dwarfs and the other for FOP.  Everything else was 20 minutes or less.  Crowds were there but lines moved quickly for sure.
> *We went to MK on Sunday 4pm-close.  Got everything we wanted done and did some things twice.
> *Monday we did 3 parks.  Went to AK from 1-5.  Did everything there but Rafiki's planet.  We even got to see the baby zebra and baby flamingo.  Both were precious.  Hopped to HS.  There we did Tower of Terror, Star Tours, , Slinky Dog, and Mickey's run away train.  We took the skyliner to Epcot and ate in Mexico.  We did Soarin and called it a night.
> *Pool day and shopping yesterday.
> *Mask wearing was much more relaxed.  My past visits felt like there was so much policing on masks that it stressed everyone out.  It was not like that at all this time.  It was so nice not to have mask outside.  Guest had them on to get on the bus and boat but some quickly moved to the chin.  Guest did have them on to enter the ride que, but the same....moved them to the chin while in line.  No one was checking to see if they were on or off while waiting in any of the lines that I was in.   Same with transportation.  Also, I noticed they did not have the AC pumping in ride ques yet so that probably encourages people to pull the mask down because it is so hot.  They would remind you while getting on the ride to keep your mask up.  There are markers still on the ground but no one follows them at ALL!  No one was on top of me but  markers were not used in any attraction.  It was nice to see smiles.  Everyone was very happy to be there.
> *Happy to answer any questions.  It was a great trip!!!!



We arrive for our 1st stay at WL next Tuesday. You said the transportation was good? No issues with the buses like other resorts are having? How full did the lodge seem?


----------



## tanyaandallie

We just returned home today from a great trip!  I found mask compliance to be pretty good.  We would not have been comfortable if we were not vaccinated as others have said social distancing is not great.  But vaccinated we felt comfortable with no masks outdoors and masks indoors.  I will say that mornings are good but definitely not as productive as when we had fp.  At mk our first day (this past Sunday) we caught first bus from cbr an were first at taps.  We rode space, buzz, then thunder twice with no lines.  By the time we hit our next ride (pirates) lines were definitely building.  Normally we would have started using fpp once the lines started building.  Instead we just did some picking and choosing of what we wanted to ride and we took a break for nutella waffles!

One thing I did really enjoy were evenings.  They really were better.  We have been in evenings many times and while everyone always said there were less crowds we really never found that to be the case.  However this time we did and I suspect it was lack of fpp?  We arrived around 5 and by 6 it was SO MUCH COOLER.  Just really nice in each of the parks we went to at night.  The biggest difference was HS because frankly it is just hotter than the face of the sun there during the day.  The one day we didn't take an afternoon break was HS and we definitely regretted it.

We hit sdd at rd in HS, Space both days in MK and FOP in AK.  Worked great for all but we were front of the pack for all (first at taps both days at MK, 3 fami.  At MK if you are not headed for SDMT being front of pack is not as critical.  Hardly any people were headed to space!!!!

There are definitely things we missed (like fireworks) but we still had a fantastic time!


----------



## Sarahslay

Ok, so I've been home for 2 days, but I brought a cold home with me so I haven't done much but try to call Disney to get Boo Bash tickets   
We did have a great trip aside from both of our rooms on our split stay, at Riviera and Old Key West, not being ready until 5pm or later. We were obviously not thrilled, but were always nice about asking about our rooms, and both times were given room credits which were greatly appreciated. Had great stays at both, and especially enjoyed OKW for our pool days at the end, just wish I hadn't woken up with a screaming sore throat on check out day. Parks were actually great this trip, aside from being hot, just so many coughing kids everywhere; I blame the kid that coughed in my face on Friday for this lovely cold (was walking over to Haunted Mansion, he crossed in front of me while I reached for my mask, looked right at me and coughed the nastiest wet cough right in my face before I got my mask on for the queue....ewwwwww). It's not Covid though, and I'm already on the mend, just not a fun thing to bring home, just be mindful out there folks (and if your kid has a cough, put a mask on them and keep it on them). We're glad we went before capacity went up, and it was really nice to see many CM who had recently returned back to work after a long furlough. I still say RD is the best time to go, break midday after lunch, then back in the evening to round out the day. We did everything we wanted to multiple times without rush and without huge waits doing this.


----------



## CarolynFH

DH and I are here now, hitting the parks only late afternoon into evening because it’s so hot. I don’t have anything new to report, but I do have a question. Last night at MK around 8:45 we were walking from SDMT to Jungle Cruise, trying to get there before closing. We came out from the castle to see the hub almost full of people standing and sitting, looking expectantly toward the castle as if they were waiting for something. We asked a group of CMs what everyone was waiting for, and they said they didn’t know, they didn’t get the memo!  We kept walking and made it to Jungle Cruise just before they closed the line, but we’re still wondering - do any of you know why so many people were gathered in the hub at closing last night?


----------



## tanyaandallie

CarolynFH said:


> DH and I are here now, hitting the parks only late afternoon into evening because it’s so hot. I don’t have anything new to report, but I do have a question. Last night at MK around 8:45 we were walking from SDMT to Jungle Cruise, trying to get there before closing. We came out from the castle to see the hub almost full of people standing and sitting, looking expectantly toward the castle as if they were waiting for something. We asked a group of CMs what everyone was waiting for, and they said they didn’t know, they didn’t get the memo!  We kept walking and made it to Jungle Cruise just before they closed the line, but we’re still wondering - do any of you know why so many people were gathered in the hub at closing last night?


They may have been waiting for the Kiss Goodnight?  Not sure if that is currently happening or not.  When we left after riding splash late last night we were 100% cooked so didn't even think to wait and see.


----------



## CarolynFH

tanyaandallie said:


> They may have been waiting for the Kiss Goodnight?  Not sure if that is currently happening or not.  When we left after riding splash late last night we were 100% cooked so didn't even think to wait and see.


Yeah, we wondered about that - didn’t think it was happening, and the CMs we talked to didn’t mention it. Hoping someone will come along and let us know if the Kiss Goodnight is indeed happening nowadays - we’ll be back at MK tomorrow night and might want to watch! Or make sure we leave before those large crowds do


----------



## wideeyedwonder

jlstwinmommy said:


> Mask compliance is not as good as January.  Most people in January were great at following the rules. Now, I’d say 75% compliance in lines and 50% or less at the resort. Maybe it is better in resorts where you have to walk more inside to get to your room.



As a counterpoint, we are finishing up a double resort stat tonight, and for both Wilderness Lidge and the Beach Club, I’d estimate mask compliance to be 95%-99%, with the cast members being pretty good at gently reminding the remaining people that they must wear masks while indoors.

Busses and boats were at 100%, with a bus driver nicely reminding two teenage sisters that after the third warning, he would have them exit the bus.

Ride lines were more varied , with chin-wearing being the most common “non-compliance”, but when cast members noticed, they were quick to remind people that they must wear masks while in the line proper.

As fir spacing in lines, somewhat hit or miss, and there were some marker removals in multiple places, so distancing rules may be on the way out?

All in all, all things considered, an excellent trip, and one a long time in coming.


----------



## tanyaandallie

CarolynFH said:


> Yeah, we wondered about that - didn’t think it was happening, and the CMs we talked to didn’t mention it. Hoping someone will come along and let us know if the Kiss Goodnight is indeed happening nowadays - we’ll be back at MK tomorrow night and might want to watch! Or make sure we leave before those large crowds do



There were still tons of people milling about the castle when we left and we all wondered what they were doing as well.  Then we waited for a bus for what seemed like 90 hours.  Never will I ever not drive to any park when we will be there til close.  I thought we had learned this lesson but apparently we had to be reminded again!


----------



## lovethattink

tanyaandallie said:


> There were still tons of people milling about the castle when we left and we all wondered what they were doing as well.  Then we waited for a bus for what seemed like 90 hours.  Never will I ever not drive to any park when we will be there til close.  I thought we had learned this lesson but apparently we had to be reminded again!



Driving is not much better. Monorail is still socially distanced with plexiglass so less people fit in a car. I haven’t taken the ferry in a while so not sure how full they are filling it. Then you have to walk to your car.


----------



## boop0524

lovethattink said:


> Driving is not much better. Monorail is still socially distanced with plexiglass so less people fit in a car. I haven’t taken the ferry in a while so not sure how full they are filling it. Then you have to walk to your car.



We took the ferry this evening and there was zero social distancing both waiting for the boat and riding in. Not sure capacity but it was enough to feel crowded by your neighbor. Fwiw, mask complaince was no problem


----------



## CinderellaDream

CarolynFH said:


> Yeah, we wondered about that - didn’t think it was happening, and the CMs we talked to didn’t mention it. Hoping someone will come along and let us know if the Kiss Goodnight is indeed happening nowadays - we’ll be back at MK tomorrow night and might want to watch! Or make sure we leave before those large crowds do


The kiss goodnight did not happen when we were there on May 28. I was excited when I saw people waiting and thought our family might get to see it for the first time. We waited a long time and then finally asked a cast member who told us it was not happening.


----------



## GeorgiaHoo

DisneyFive said:


> Except we had FP+ pre-pandemic to eliminate those long waits.  There is a "tipping point" coming where guest satisfaction will drop to a point where they need to open more shows, increase ride and dining capacity, reinstitute FP+, or all three.  I'm hoping for all three.
> 
> I will not be happy to stand in ANY line that is 70 minutes.  NEVER have I done that in my 11 years of WDW vacations.  On average it is 10-25.
> 
> Dan


I'm with you on the lines.  I'll just stay at the resort pool.


----------



## Dicentras

Anyone who has been to DAK lately, I'm curious what the line for Lion King looks like now - Is it still waits of over an hour like when it first reopened?


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

DisneyFive said:


> Except we had FP+ pre-pandemic to eliminate those long waits.  There is a "tipping point" coming where guest satisfaction will drop to a point where they need to open more shows, increase ride and dining capacity, reinstitute FP+, or all three.  I'm hoping for all three.
> 
> I will not be happy to stand in ANY line that is 70 minutes.  NEVER have I done that in my 11 years of WDW vacations.  On average it is 10-25.
> 
> Dan


Oh, I'm in agreement. I’d never wait in a 70 minute line. My son isn’t able to handle much more than 15 or 20 minutes. More needs to reopen since they're increasing capacity.


----------



## kylenne

CarolynFH said:


> Yeah, we wondered about that - didn’t think it was happening, and the CMs we talked to didn’t mention it. Hoping someone will come along and let us know if the Kiss Goodnight is indeed happening nowadays - we’ll be back at MK tomorrow night and might want to watch! Or make sure we leave before those large crowds do



FWIW I was super late leaving MK on 5/30 because I had a late ADR at CRT, and they were not doing the Kiss Goodnight.


----------



## clm10308

Dicentras said:


> Anyone who has been to DAK lately, I'm curious what the line for Lion King looks like now - Is it still waits of over an hour like when it first reopened?


Yesterday for the first show at 10:30, I noticed one person sitting alone near the entrance around 9:00. I came back about 9:30 and I was the third group in the pre-line roped off area. As I was waiting more groups gradually joined. About 9:45 we were allowed in the actual line. At about 10:00 seating inside the theater began. The theater did not fill up quickly. Groups were still being seated almost until 10:30. When the show let out, I saw that there were some people waiting in line for the next show, but the line did not appear full.


----------



## robinb

DisneyFive said:


> Except we had FP+ pre-pandemic to eliminate those long waits.  There is a "tipping point" coming where guest satisfaction will drop to a point where they need to open more shows, increase ride and dining capacity, reinstitute FP+, or all three.  I'm hoping for all three.
> 
> I will not be happy to stand in ANY line that is 70 minutes.  NEVER have I done that in my 11 years of WDW vacations.  On average it is 10-25.
> 
> Dan


FP+ only shorted your wait for a few rides and then rest had stand-by lines that were even longer because of FP+.  I literally walked onto many rides last month that I would have had to wait for when FP+ was implemented because people missed out getting FP+ for the E-Ticket rides and ended up setting up FPs for 2nd and even 3rd tier rides.


----------



## kylenne

DisneyFive said:


> Except we had FP+ pre-pandemic to eliminate those long waits.  There is a "tipping point" coming where guest satisfaction will drop to a point where they need to open more shows, increase ride and dining capacity, reinstitute FP+, or all three.  I'm hoping for all three.
> 
> I will not be happy to stand in ANY line that is 70 minutes.  NEVER have I done that in my 11 years of WDW vacations.  On average it is 10-25.
> 
> Dan



Not to turn this into another FP+ debate but people who literally analyze wait times for a living (Len Testa, Josh from easywdw, etc) have shown over and over again that FP+ has a detrimental impact on standby waits. Like with math and everything. But even common sense bore that out, of course standby waits are going to be atrocious when every few minutes the standby line is halted to let a million people in the FP+ line through. FP+ worked only for people with FPs, and everyone else suffered--70 minutes is peanuts compared to what SDMT and FOP standby waits were looking like pre-closures, routinely hitting triple digits. Not to mention people staying offsite and local APs basically couldn't ride them unless they knew the advanced refresh tricks and got lucky with the drop times. I was queen of refresh and never waited more than 20 minutes for anything but that system was deeply flawed and totally unsustainable. Not to mention exhausting with the having to criss cross the parks back and forth, and feeling like I had my face stuck in my phone all day wasn't fun.

And not for nothing but I was in the parks for 7 days last week and I never waited more than 30 for an attraction. 30 only happened twice, most of my waits were in the 15-20 range, and I was not stood still the whole time in the hot sun. If you are waiting 70 minutes for anything in this current era of touring you either have horrendous luck with breakdowns or your touring strategy is flawed. Only FoTLK really requires that kind of time investment and that's due to the limited seating capacity and showtimes. Which will definitely improve with time. 

Having actually experienced the parks without it now as an adult, I hope FP never comes back, but I know it will and when it does the same folk clamoring for its return right now will be hollering because it's going to be monetized like every other skip the line program at other theme parks. Then it will be all about how greedy Disney is. Tbh, everything will improve with time. They are bringing back the CP which will help with a lot of the staffing woes, and more and more reopenings are being announced. It will be fine. In the meantime this is a transitional period and folks who choose to go should bring their patient pants. But it is entirely possible to not wait in atrocious lines right now, I did it and so have many others. You just have to be smart and flexible about it.


----------



## kylenne

clm10308 said:


> Yesterday for the first show at 10:30, I noticed one person sitting alone near the entrance around 9:00. I came back about 9:30 and I was the third group in the pre-line roped off area. As I was waiting more groups gradually joined. About 9:45 we were allowed in the actual line. At about 10:00 seating inside the theater began. The theater did not fill up quickly. Groups were still being seated almost until 10:30. When the show let out, I saw that there were some people waiting in line for the next show, but the line did not appear full.



Anecdotally I think the 10:30 show is probably the best one to catch. There are 2 more on the hour intervals after and then the next one isn't until 3:15 or so. I went to that one around 3ish and you definitely had to be queued up 60-70 minutes before hand. Probably because no opportunity in the early afternoon to see it, so more demand. My advice would be to try to catch one of those morning shows if you can.


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## preemiemama

kylenne said:


> Not to turn this into another FP+ debate but people who literally analyze wait times for a living (Len Testa, Josh from easywdw, etc) have shown over and over again that *FP+ has a detrimental impact on standby waits. *Like with math and everything. But even common sense bore that out, of course standby waits are going to be atrocious when every few minutes the standby line is halted to let a million people in the FP+ line through. FP+ worked only for people with FPs, and everyone else suffered--70 minutes is peanuts compared to what SDMT and FOP standby waits were looking like pre-closures, routinely hitting triple digits. Not to mention people staying offsite and local APs basically couldn't ride them unless they knew the advanced refresh tricks and got lucky with the drop times. I was queen of refresh and never waited more than 20 minutes for anything but that system was deeply flawed and totally unsustainable.



My best example of this is POC where pre-FP+ we could ride it 5-10 times in a row at park close as a walk on (our record was 25 times in one week) and after FP+ we always had a wait and couldn't get past 2-3 times in a row.


----------



## wilkydelts

The thing I have noticed most is the vast majority of people clamoring for FP+ to return have not even visited since it was shut off. It is all wild speculation with no first hand experience. 

I know it wont but I hope it never comes back because it means you truly can not be in two places at once thus making stand-by efficient.


----------



## kylenne

wilkydelts said:


> The thing I have noticed most is the vast majority of people clamoring for FP+ to return have not even visited since it was shut off. It is all wild speculation with no first hand experience.
> 
> I know it wont but I hope it never comes back because it means you truly can not be in two places at once thus making stand-by efficient.



The only thing I was truly worried about going into this trip was how I would cope with no FP+, knowing how hard I relied on refreshing to walk onto rides. Until last week I had not been to the parks without FP+ as an adult. My family trips when I was a kid, sure, but we did not see the crowds in the 80s and early 90s that we saw in 2019, pre-closures. And those were the days of every Disney + Swan/Dolphin resort guest gets into every park an hour early and can stay an hour after closing, every day. So it was a lot different. I never "got" people who hated FP+, until I went down last week. I was _very _pleasantly surprised by how smooth everything went. No way on my 2019 trips could I have ridden Soarin 3 times in 1 day waiting less than an hour combined, or Frozen at all midday, like I did this time. No stress (just get there early for rope drop) or luck or criss crossing parks involved. Just paying attention to wait times and the ebb and flow of the crowds.

I honestly think for a lot of people who are accustomed to relying on FP+ it's hard to wrap their heads around the notion that it's actually "solving" a problem of its own creation. For me it was eye opening to experience the parks without it. Obviously capacity and crowds were low, I don't dispute that. When I go back with my gf in October I will be curious to see if these strategies still work then with the 50th madness. I have a feeling also that by then they will be introducing whatever new FP+ system. But for those of us who tend to go a few times a year, it's a very interesting time to be in the parks.


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

kylenne said:


> The only thing I was truly worried about going into this trip was how I would cope with no FP+, knowing how hard I relied on refreshing to walk onto rides. Until last week I had not been to the parks without FP+ as an adult. My family trips when I was a kid, sure, but we did not see the crowds in the 80s and early 90s that we saw in 2019, pre-closures. And those were the days of every Disney + Swan/Dolphin resort guest gets into every park an hour early and can stay an hour after closing, every day. So it was a lot different. I never "got" people who hated FP+, until I went down last week. I was _very _pleasantly surprised by how smooth everything went. No way on my 2019 trips could I have ridden Soarin 3 times in 1 day waiting less than an hour combined, or Frozen at all midday, like I did this time. No stress (just get there early for rope drop) or luck or criss crossing parks involved. Just paying attention to wait times and the ebb and flow of the crowds.
> 
> I honestly think for a lot of people who are accustomed to relying on FP+ it's hard to wrap their heads around the notion that it's actually "solving" a problem of its own creation. For me it was eye opening to experience the parks without it. Obviously capacity and crowds were low, I don't dispute that. When I go back with my gf in October I will be curious to see if these strategies still work then with the 50th madness. I have a feeling also that by then they will be introducing whatever new FP+ system. But for those of us who tend to go a few times a year, it's a very interesting time to be in the parks.


Totally agree with your views w/o FP.  It makes the waits much more tolerable and less having to constantly be on your phone and the zig zagging across the park.  Felt our last trip was so much more relaxed and easy going, plus with the lines constantly moving the waits do not seem that long at all.


----------



## kylenne

LeeLee'sMom said:


> with the lines constantly moving the waits do not seem that long at all.



I agree with this, and I can't co-sign it enough. 20 minutes of stop & go due to being halted for FP+ every few minutes feels a lot different than 20 minutes of constant movement.


----------



## blistex

kylenne said:


> The only thing I was truly worried about going into this trip was how I would cope with no FP+, knowing how hard I relied on refreshing to walk onto rides. Until last week I had not been to the parks without FP+ as an adult. My family trips when I was a kid, sure, but we did not see the crowds in the 80s and early 90s that we saw in 2019, pre-closures.



Interesting, I have vivid memories as a kid in the early 90s waiting for over an hour in the hot hot Florida sun for Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain and Space Mountain and it is honestly one of the reasons I thought I hated WDW as an adult for a very long time until I went back and found out FP was a total game-changer. Watching along from home, I can see how removing it has been great during these lower capacity times, but I can't imagine touring without FP in heavy crowds. Even this week you can see the lines getting longer and longer if the wait times posted online and in Lines app are anything to go by; it would mean my family would not ride any of the headliners or bigger rides since young kids don't really have great patient pants and I'm not seeing those under 50 minutes at really any time of day.

BUT since I haven't experienced it I have really appreciated all the posts from you and others in this thread giving a better idea of what to expect and how to anticipate so I can avoid putting myself in an unpleasant-for-us situation!


----------



## hereforthechurros

wilkydelts said:


> The thing I have noticed most is the vast majority of people clamoring for FP+ to return have not even visited since it was shut off. It is all wild speculation with no first hand experience.
> 
> I know it wont but I hope it never comes back because it means you truly can not be in two places at once thus making stand-by efficient.


I've been five times since reopening and still welcome back FP. It's just how we prefer to tour. Disney obviously spent a lot of money/time to develop and implement FP because it was necessary as lines were insanely long for so long. Times have evolved so one could argue it doesn't work as it should  anymore so I look forward to seeing what their new solution is as capacity grows. No FP only works right now because capacity is still low. That's changing by the day.


----------



## kylenne

blistex said:


> Interesting, I have vivid memories as a kid in the early 90s waiting for over an hour in the hot hot Florida sun for Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain and Space Mountain and it is honestly one of the reasons I thought I hated WDW as an adult for a very long time until I went back and found out FP was a total game-changer. Watching along from home, I can see how removing it has been great during these lower capacity times, but I can't imagine touring without FP in heavy crowds. Even this week you can see the lines getting longer and longer if the wait times posted online and in Lines app are anything to go by; it would mean my family would not ride any of the headliners or bigger rides since young kids don't really have great patient pants and I'm not seeing those under 50 minutes at really any time of day.
> 
> BUT since I haven't experienced it I have really appreciated all the posts from you and others in this thread giving a better idea of what to expect and how to anticipate so I can avoid putting myself in an unpleasant-for-us situation!



My last childhood trip was just before Tower of Terror opened. We did not ever wait in lines like that because my mom wasn't having it, and even as a kid I was a crazy planner type that used to get the Birnbaum's guide every year with my allowance and mark it up with highlighter! Mom is retired military so thought nothing of rope drop and schedules. To this day it's why I prefer rope drop, midday resort break, go back at night touring. And that old school way of doing things is very good right now too!


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## justreading

Maybe we can move the fastpass debate to a different place?


----------



## luv2cheer92

robinb said:


> FP+ only shorted your wait for a few rides and then rest had stand-by lines that were even longer because of FP+.  I literally walked onto many rides last month that I would have had to wait for when FP+ was implemented because people missed out getting FP+ for the E-Ticket rides and ended up setting up FPs for 2nd and even 3rd tier rides.


I'm kind of indifferent on if I like not having FPs or not, but we never rode anything without one. We would just go right from one FP to the next, and were able to ride everything. Maybe the first ride or two in the morning would be stand by, but then FP after FP the rest of the day. So we never waited in those stand by lines.


----------



## bdiddy

robinb said:


> FP+ only shorted your wait for a few rides and then rest had stand-by lines that were even longer because of FP+.  I literally walked onto many rides last month that I would have had to wait for when FP+ was implemented because people missed out getting FP+ for the E-Ticket rides and ended up setting up FPs for 2nd and even 3rd tier rides.



These are my thoughts too. I’m actually excited to experience no FP. I keep going back to Peter Pan as an example.That was one we usually didn’t get a FP for and stand-by was always at least an hour, if not more. All the time. We always had a debate if we wanted to wait or not. And would sometimes try to get a FP once we used our other ones. But now when I check I have yet to see it over 30 min.


----------



## PanchoX1

I'm looking forward to more things opening up and seeing how that affects wait times before wanting a FP option. for now, let it stay away.


----------



## Sarahslay

kylenne said:


> Not to turn this into another FP+ debate but people who literally analyze wait times for a living (Len Testa, Josh from easywdw, etc) have shown over and over again that FP+ has a detrimental impact on standby waits. Like with math and everything. But even common sense bore that out, of course standby waits are going to be atrocious when every few minutes the standby line is halted to let a million people in the FP+ line through. FP+ worked only for people with FPs, and everyone else suffered--70 minutes is peanuts compared to what SDMT and FOP standby waits were looking like pre-closures, routinely hitting triple digits. Not to mention people staying offsite and local APs basically couldn't ride them unless they knew the advanced refresh tricks and got lucky with the drop times. I was queen of refresh and never waited more than 20 minutes for anything but that system was deeply flawed and totally unsustainable. Not to mention exhausting with the having to criss cross the parks back and forth, and feeling like I had my face stuck in my phone all day wasn't fun.
> 
> And not for nothing but I was in the parks for 7 days last week and I never waited more than 30 for an attraction. 30 only happened twice, most of my waits were in the 15-20 range, and I was not stood still the whole time in the hot sun. If you are waiting 70 minutes for anything in this current era of touring you either have horrendous luck with breakdowns or your touring strategy is flawed. Only FoTLK really requires that kind of time investment and that's due to the limited seating capacity and showtimes. Which will definitely improve with time.
> 
> Having actually experienced the parks without it now as an adult, I hope FP never comes back, but I know it will and when it does the same folk clamoring for its return right now will be hollering because it's going to be monetized like every other skip the line program at other theme parks. Then it will be all about how greedy Disney is. Tbh, everything will improve with time. They are bringing back the CP which will help with a lot of the staffing woes, and more and more reopenings are being announced. It will be fine. In the meantime this is a transitional period and folks who choose to go should bring their patient pants. But it is entirely possible to not wait in atrocious lines right now, I did it and so have many others. You just have to be smart and flexible about it.


We were in the parks all last week as well and I think the longeset wait we had all week was a 40 minute wait for the safari, it couldn't be helped that day, and was the shortest we saw so we hopped in it. It kept moving, we were fine, and if that's the longest we waited all week I'm fine with it. All it takes is some planning, I saw those long lines and chose to ride those rides at other times when the lines were MUCH shorter. If someone chooses to get in a 120 minutes line for SDD or FOP that's on them, but I got in line for them with a 30 minute (usually much less) wait either at pre-RD or closer to park close with little rush or stress. The only time we were stuck out in the sun all week was when my 10 year old wanted to try some blue milk and we literally couldn't find a shadey spot due to crowds, that was the worst of it. There are moments I miss FP, but then I have trips like this where it's so smooth and we do absolutely everything we want in every park easily, with little wait, and I hope I don't have to see it come back for a good long while.


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## robinb

luv2cheer92 said:


> I'm kind of indifferent on if I like not having FPs or not, but we never rode anything without one. We would just go right from one FP to the next, and were able to ride everything. Maybe the first ride or two in the morning would be stand by, but then FP after FP the rest of the day. So we never waited in those stand by lines.


From your other posts claiming that you regularly got 8-10 average FPs per day, I can see where you might feel that way.  I'll just say that you are a FP+ super user and not representative of the vast majority of WDW guests.  I am fully aware of how to get that many FPs in a day but frankly, I would rather just wait an extra 10 minutes in a moving stand-by line with no FP than to try to grab a next FP+ after taping in.  I do understand the thrill of the challenge, though .

Have you ever done the Parkology challenge?  You would be very good at it!


----------



## maciemouse

bdiddy said:


> We arrive for our 1st stay at WL next Tuesday. You said the transportation was good? No issues with the buses like other resorts are having? How full did the lodge seem?


It was full from 2-4 by the pool.  One day the pool reached capacity and you had to reserve a spot.  But that was only for like a 30 minute time frame.  Mobile ordering helps so much with crowds.  You can also mobile order at Guyser point as well as put yourself in for a reservation for a table and they let you know when it is ready.  We noticed a much better breeze at the main pool so that is the one we went too.  Our transportation was good.  We never waited more than 5 minutes.  I will say that on our way back to the resort from MK we took the bus.  We could see the line was full for the boat.  Our bus was already at the stop when we got there and was not full.  It was so peaceful at WL.  You will love it.  I do want to note that we did not do rope drop.  One day we did not go to the park until 4pm.   The next day we went at 1pm and park hopped.  So we did use transportation at off times during the day.


----------



## Princess Katelet

I was very good at using legacy FP and then begrudgingly learned the FP+ system.  It was easy to get very good at that, too.  I, personally LOVE the 'refresh' challenge and abhor any line.  Of course the standby line was awful, but they weren't so bad with legacy FP because only the headliner rides had FP.  The other rides were just never busy enough to warrant them so you could FP your headliners and avoid the lines, and do stand by (again, the ONLY option then) for the less busy rides, and you'd make out VERY well.  Once FP+ came around they pretty much gave EVERY attraction a FP, thus creating those horrible stand by lines for rides that never used to have them.  But even with FP+, once they finally allowed more than three per day, you could just refresh, refresh, refresh...and I was doing it for seven people sometimes and never had an issue.  Was my head in my phone?  Yep.  Did my family appreciate it?  Yep.  

I just got back from seven days in the parks.  I greatly missed FP and truly cannot agree that it's better without it.  Some of you may prefer it that way, but I simply don't.  My seven day trip was spent in a lot of lines that were at LEAST 30 minutes, and some were 60.  That's not how I'm used to it and yes, we got there early and went back at night.  It made little difference.  For those who think you spend time criss crossing the parks with FP, how is that any different from having to criss cross because the attraction you want has a 45 minute wait, so now you need plan B?  Or C?  Or D?


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## scrappinginontario

Please take this thread back to sharing recent experiences and move on from the 'Should FP come back or not discussion.'  If someone wishes to start a thread on that topic please do so in the 'Theme Parks Community' sub-forum.

Thanks


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## GeorgiaHoo

scrappinginontario said:


> Please take this thread back to sharing recent experiences and move on from the 'Should FP come back or not discussion.'  If someone wishes to start a thread on that topic please do so in the 'Theme Parks Community' sub-forum.
> 
> Thanks


Ha, I was getting ready to post about FP.  Then I was scolded.


----------



## boop0524

Our trip is winding down and it’s been wonderful! Lines were fine, some waits were longer than others so we skipped around and managed to get in most of what we wanted in with reasonable waits. Didn’t get to a few rides we hoped for but such is life. The heat is here, so breaks are essential as are UV umbrellas, fans and anything else to cool you down. We rope dropped twice but actually preferred our MK late start date. HS held us at the turnstiles until 30 mins or so before open time anyway (don’t remember exact time, sorry) and AK was just a hot mess at RD. So my two cents is just do what works for you—rope drop or come later. Pick your poison. Busses at SSR were pretty unreliable, we drove most of the time. But the Paddock pool has never been too crowded and the Paddock Grill is a nice hidden gem. Can’t wait to start planning our next trip!


----------



## scrappinginontario

GeorgiaHoo said:


> Ha, I was getting ready to post about FP.  Then I was scolded.


  Not scolded, just gently guided back on topic.

Please feel free to start the FP+ discussion on the Theme Park Communities board!  If you do, feel free to post here that you've done that and add a link.


----------



## RaisinToast

Hey folks, currently at the airport waiting to fly home. I just wanted to share my experiences being here for the past week. 


We arrived at MCO on Thursday 6/3 at 11:35 AM. After pit stops, taking the train and walking to ME, I would estimate we got there about noon. Honestly, this was the quickest DME experience I've ever had. Maybe the time and day of the week plus some luck helped, but we waited about 10 minutes to check in, and were on a bus 5 minutes after that. By quarter after 1 we were at CSR. Did some exploring until the room was ready just before 3. Once we got situated, we headed to Disney Springs for a tasty dinner at Wine Bar George!


On Friday 6/4 we rope dropped Epcot. A super weird thing happened as we headed out to the bus stop. A little after 9, we passed the Tower bus stop, intending to grab something at El Centro before waiting for the first bus of the day to Epcot. But my husband looked over at the Tower stop and said, "Hey isn't that an Epcot bus?" It was! We had a bus all to ourselves and got dropped off at Epcot at like 9:30. I'm pretty sure Disney Transportation made a mistake, but we didn't mind taking advantage of it lol. 


We were held by the monorail station until 10, then held at the tapstiles until 10:15. After being let go we speedwalked to TT first, walked onto that and then waited maybe 10 minutes for Mission Space. (Nobody in line for Green at that time, just a few for Orange.) We then walked onto Figment before grabbing lunch at Sunshine Seasons. 


After lunch we did Spaceship Earth with a 30 minute posted wait, but we actually only waited 15 minutes. Soarin's wait was showing at almost an hour at 12:30, so we went off to World Showcase starting on the Canada side.


Things went pretty well for the first couple hours, as we briefly watched the Jammitors in Canada, got ice cream in France, and bought some stuff at Mitsukoshi. The Joy of Tea in China was out of the Tipsy Ducks, boo! Annnnd then the rain started. We tried to get cover in the Mexico pyramid, but a bunch of other people had the same idea and we ended up waiting like half an hour to get on Gran Fiesta tour lol. The rain seemed like it was letting up, so we got in line for Frozen even though it was posted at 40 minutes. The thunderstorm started about 10 minutes into our wait. So, that was an adventure! Frozen's wait was accurate, and we got soaked, but still loved the ride. And we got the front of the boat, so no plexiglass.


We rounded out the evening with dinner at Biergarten and hitting Soarin on our way back through Future World. Around 7:15 the posted wait had dropped to 25 minutes, and we actually waited less than 20. We left the park about 8. A CSR bus was full and pulling away just as we got to the stop, but another came along in 10 minutes.


----------



## brockash

robinb said:


> FP+ only shorted your wait for a few rides and then rest had stand-by lines that were even longer because of FP+.  I literally walked onto many rides last month that I would have had to wait for when FP+ was implemented because people missed out getting FP+ for the E-Ticket rides and ended up setting up FPs for 2nd and even 3rd tier rides.


This really depended on how strategic you were with your timing and fastpasses.  We've been going multiple times a year for years and years...since before fastpass plus and I can't think of 1 time we waited more than 20 mins for something and I'd say our average was 10.  We took care of a few headliners at rope drop, made our 3 fastpasses for late morning/early afternoon - all headliners and then fastpassed the crap out of the rest of the day with most times getting a fastpass for something for less than 10 mins from when we wanted tl ride.

Our post covid trips have been by far tge absolute longest lines we've waited in since we first used any kind of fastpass.  We are just not used to/nor do we prefer to wait 30-60 mins for every single headliner...heck we were waiting 20 mins for carousel if progress...never in a million yrs would I have ever thought we'd wait in those kinds of lines...yes they keep moving, but the fact is for ppl. who really worked the fastpass system; the wait times are much higher now.


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## TikiTikiFan

What time would you folks recommend lining up at your resort bus to get to Blizzard Beach right when they open? We're staying at Pop Century.


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## preemiemama

scrappinginontario said:


> Not scolded, just gently guided back on topic.
> 
> Please feel free to start the FP+ discussion on the Theme Park Communities board!  If you do, feel free to post here that you've done that and add a link.


There's already a thread for it here.


----------



## yaywatermelons

maciemouse said:


> I am just returning today from a quick trip staying at the new refurbished rooms at Wilderness Lodge.  Here are my observations from our fantastic stay.  Note:  This is more 4th visit since covid started and my most relaxed.
> 
> *I love the new decor in WL rooms.  It is simply done and very crisp and clean.  They have done away with the iron and it has been replaced by hand held steamers.  I love this!!!!
> *Really enjoyed our meal at Guyser Point.  The hamburger was the best I have ever had on property.
> *Transportation was great during our stay.  We used boats and buses.
> *Never waited more than 50 minutes for anything.  And we only did that twice.  Once for Seven dwarfs and the other for FOP.  Everything else was 20 minutes or less.  Crowds were there but lines moved quickly for sure.
> *We went to MK on Sunday 4pm-close.  Got everything we wanted done and did some things twice.
> *Monday we did 3 parks.  Went to AK from 1-5.  Did everything there but Rafiki's planet.  We even got to see the baby zebra and baby flamingo.  Both were precious.  Hopped to HS.  There we did Tower of Terror, Star Tours, , Slinky Dog, and Mickey's run away train.  We took the skyliner to Epcot and ate in Mexico.  We did Soarin and called it a night.
> *Pool day and shopping yesterday.
> *Mask wearing was much more relaxed.  My past visits felt like there was so much policing on masks that it stressed everyone out.  It was not like that at all this time.  It was so nice not to have mask outside.  Guest had them on to get on the bus and boat but some quickly moved to the chin.  Guest did have them on to enter the ride que, but the same....moved them to the chin while in line.  No one was checking to see if they were on or off while waiting in any of the lines that I was in.   Same with transportation.  Also, I noticed they did not have the AC pumping in ride ques yet so that probably encourages people to pull the mask down because it is so hot.  They would remind you while getting on the ride to keep your mask up.  There are markers still on the ground but no one follows them at ALL!  No one was on top of me but  markers were not used in any attraction.  It was nice to see smiles.  Everyone was very happy to be there.
> *Happy to answer any questions.  It was a great trip!!!!



How are they loading Jungle Cruise boats these days? I've been watching the wait times in the app and that is one that always seems so long - is it only 2-3 parties per boat?

Thanks!


----------



## tigertides

brockash said:


> This really depended on how strategic you were with your timing and fastpasses.  We've been going multiple times a year for years and years...since before fastpass plus and I can't think of 1 time we waited more than 20 mins for something and I'd say our average was 10.  We took care of a few headliners at rope drop, made our 3 fastpasses for late morning/early afternoon - all headliners and then fastpassed the crap out of the rest of the day with most times getting a fastpass for something for less than 10 mins from when we wanted tl ride.
> 
> Our post covid trips have been by far tge absolute longest lines we've waited in since we first used any kind of fastpass.  We are just not used to/nor do we prefer to wait 30-60 mins for every single headliner...heck we were waiting 20 mins for carousel if progress...never in a million yrs would I have ever thought we'd wait in those kinds of lines...yes they keep moving, but the fact is for ppl. who really worked the fastpass system; the wait times are much higher now.



let me guess... you are an AP holder???

Your experience and knowledge of fast pass only became proficient due to your multiple trips there. The majority of visitors to the parks, who never post on this blog, do Not have the time or the resources ($$$) to visit as often as you did. Most of us only visit every 2 to 3 years.

As you know, we are the high premium guests for Disney. Our actual experiences were suffering due to not knowing every link and intricacy to manipulating fast pass.

Disney figured this out. It makes no sense to spend $5000 and only ride 7-8
Rides for the day.

Only because of the unofficial guide was able to master fast pass. But when I do have an 800 page book as a reference to most people who are going there, they think it is crazy to spend that amount of time and energy for a vacation. They are probably correct correct


----------



## Geomom

yaywatermelons said:


> How are they loading Jungle Cruise boats these days? I've been watching the wait times in the app and that is one that always seems so long - is it only 2-3 parties per boat?
> 
> Thanks!


When we went in April, they had partitions in multiple places to separate parties and they just didn't seat anyone in the center.  So depending upon the size of the party, they could seat 4-5 parties of 2-4...


----------



## nemolover22

boop0524 said:


> Our trip is winding down and it’s been wonderful! Lines were fine, some waits were longer than others so we skipped around and managed to get in most of what we wanted in with reasonable waits. Didn’t get to a few rides we hoped for but such is life. The heat is here, so breaks are essential as are UV umbrellas, fans and anything else to cool you down. We rope dropped twice but actually preferred our MK late start date. HS held us at the turnstiles until 30 mins or so before open time anyway (don’t remember exact time, sorry) and AK was just a hot mess at RD. So my two cents is just do what works for you—rope drop or come later. Pick your poison. Busses at SSR were pretty unreliable, we drove most of the time. But the Paddock pool has never been too crowded and the Paddock Grill is a nice hidden gem. Can’t wait to start planning our next trip!


We are going next week and staying at SSR for a few days. How bad were the buses? We will not have a car so will need to rely on Disney transportation. We will be in the Congress Park section


----------



## Obi-J Kenobi

yaywatermelons said:


> How are they loading Jungle Cruise boats these days? I've been watching the wait times in the app and that is one that always seems so long - is it only 2-3 parties per boat?
> 
> Thanks!


We had 6 parties on one boat, but... 3 of the 6 parties were 2 people or less.


----------



## brockash

tigertides said:


> let me guess... you are an AP holder???
> 
> Your experience and knowledge of fast pass only became proficient due to your multiple trips there. The majority of visitors to the parks, who never post on this blog, do Not have the time or the resources ($$$) to visit as often as you did. Most of us only visit every 2 to 3 years.
> 
> As you know, we are the high premium guests for Disney. Our actual experiences were suffering due to not knowing every link and intricacy to manipulating fast pass.
> 
> Disney figured this out. It makes no sense to spend $5000 and only ride 7-8
> Rides for the day.
> 
> Only because of the unofficial guide was able to master fast pass. But when I do have an 800 page book as a reference to most people who are going there, they think it is crazy to spend that amount of time and energy for a vacation. They are probably correct correct


No, I have considered it, but no me nor none of the 10 ppl. in our usual party are AP holders...I've actually never been with someone who's an AP.  We were just ppl. that found great value and prioritized using fastpasses, in whichever form, to the best of our ability.  

Going to leave it at that as I don't want to derail the thread, but just trying to point out that for many on here waiting 30 plus mins for every ride, though be it a constantly moving line, is definitely a worse experience than we're used to.


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## MuddyWaters

We just got back from a 6 day trip and had a wonderful time. Lots of early mornings to get to parks 45 minutes before opening, but were able to knock the big rides out first and hang at the pool in the afternoons. I think the longest ride we waiting for was Frozen Ever After and that was in the middle of the day on our first day. 10 minute wait for FOP after driving to Animal Kingdoms and arriving at 7. Got group 51 for ROTR at the 7 Am try. Definitely have post vacation blues now!


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## Obi-J Kenobi

Our family trip was 6/4 - 6/10.  We were in the parks 6/4 - 6/9.  Stayed at BC.  First time there.  We enjoyed our stay at BC.  Room wasn't ready until after 3:00 p.m. and had all luggage held at bell services along with our Instacart groceries.  Went to MK.  BTW, BC did still charge us $6 to deliver groceries even though they delivered groceries with our luggage at 10:00 p.m. that evening.  Our room was upgraded to a pool/water view.  We were about as far as away from the lobby as you could be and that actually ended up as a benefit because our room was quite close to the EPCOT patch and bridge to the BWI.  

When we entered the room, we had 2 queens and no day beds.  Front desk couldn't move us to a different room with a day bed so we received a roll out.  My 18 year old DS slept on it and was satisfied with it.

Just a few things about BC.  Mousekeeping was very disappointing.  Mousekeeping arrived at about 3:30 p.m. when we were back in the room from the parks.  Our CM did not speak clear English and it was very difficult to communicate with her that we were leaving again in an our to park hop.  Mousekeeping did return when we were away.  We left four dirty towels on the floor and they brought us 2 clean towels?  They didn't replace coffee or paper cups.  They didn't appear to wipe down the surfaces of anything, because by the end of the trip there was dust on the counters.  They didn't even empty one of the three full garbage bins on our first stay.  Mousekeeping did take our gratuity though.  I had to call the supervisor of mousekeeping and ask for a number of these items to be done.  She seemed somewhat apologetic.

Bell services was outstanding to deal with.  Very friendly and were quite prompt when we called for our luggage and groceries.  Front desk folks were very warm and friendly too.  No complaints with either of these services.  The front desk even pin traded with my DW and DD.

My DS loved Stormalong Bay.  He ended up going almost every night.  During the day he went once and he did not like it because there were too many small children and the concrete was blazing hot.  So if you have older kids, maybe a nighttime pool visit is better for them?

During our trip we had only 4 dining reservations for TS.  We ate at Beaches and Cream (lunch) and Cape May Cafe (breakfast) inside the BC.  We all enjoyed our meals at Beaches and Cream.  All of it was good.  Our CM at Cape May Cafe is a transplant from Artist Point and she was very good and friendly.  The family style meal is 100% better than buffet in my opinion.  I thought that Beaches and Cream seems too quiet for a soda fountain but I think that is due to the tables being removed because of COVID.  We at at Jungle Skippers (lunch) in MK.  We had an excellent meal and our CM was outstanding.  He was a former skipper and moved to the restaurant and told us many jokes.  My kids both enjoyed their meals.  My DS and I had steak and it was prepared perfectly.  My DD and DW shared a tofu noodle dish that was excellent.  Ask for the secret menu cheese bread.  Excellent starter.  Lastly, my DW and I ate at the Brown Derby for an anniversary lunch.  She had the cobb salad.  It was probably one of the top 2 or 3 cobb salads I have eaten.  There are a couple joints near my home, in the Twin Cities, that make great cobb salads too.  I had the burger and it was okay.  I thought it was overpriced for the end quality of product.  Our best TS was Jungle Skippers.  Our best CS was Woody's lunchbox (grilled cheese and totchos).  Just a reminder tip, if you need to mobile order something small, and the window is far away, you ask a CM to push through your Mobile order sooner.  This happened to us at Backlot Express as my DW wanted at Wookie Cookie (which was very good) and the mobile order window was about an hour later, so I asked the CM if I could put in a mobile order and whether they could bump me up to get a cookie.  I don't know if they do that for full meals but I figured they could grab a pre-made cookie pretty quickly and get me out of there.  The CM accommodated my request.  

It rained at MK our first night (6/4).  Other than that, it only rained once more significantly the entire trip and we were on a bus when it happened.  Still bring a poncho.  Bring water with you every day.  

I'm not sure when WDW will end indoor masks but I hope for future guests it is soon.  I thought mask compliance was not particularly good among guests.  More people wore masks properly than did not wear them, but I saw many instances of folks walking down halls or queues with no masks on.  Even in the queues masking was tough in the heat and humidity.  And for the love of all things holy, please let vaccinated CMs take off their face coverings if they are working outside.  I saw one photopass CM look like she was going to die.  She was in EPCOT.  She actually removed her mask and started chugging her water bottle.  It was something else to see these CMs having to mask outside.  I will jump off the soapbox.  

My DD is a pin trader.  It seemed a little more difficult to find pin trading locations than years past (but I'm not an expert on pin trading so that may not be 100% accurate).  She was able to pin trade with the board and she was able to find one other guest to pin trade with at a board.

Transportation was good, overall.  Our worst wait for buses was at Disney Springs and that was 30 minutes.  At the parks, on a MK day there was a long line too, and it was about a 30 minute wait.  I think this was in large part due to mobility devices having to be loaded and occupying seats.  Other than these 2 instances, our bus waits were less than 10 minutes.  I was actually satisfied with the bus service overall.  But, because we were at the BC, we walked and used the Skyliner a lot.   One night (6/8) we closed down HS and the line for the boat was very long, so we just walked back.  It was a bit tough after the long day but it beat waiting for 30 minutes for a boat.  Because our room was so close to EPCOT the skyliner was a decent option for us when we were tired and returned to our room daily for a mid-day break.  We did not use DME.  We hired FL Tours for car transport to and from the airport.  I highly recommend using this group.  It is a sponsor of this site and they provided very good, quick service to and from the airport.  My DW and I will likely be a repeat customer we were so satisfifed.

The parks were fine.  We rope dropped HS and it was a huge advantage.  We rope dropped EPCOT too.  Never rope dropped MK or AK but got there before the official opening.  There was benefit to showing up early.  Although, staying late seems to have shorter lines as well.  I enjoyed the calvacades better than parades.  Not having more shows and fireworks was a real bummer.  I miss them immensely.  EPCOT's lagoon in really ruined.  It's sad.  EPCOT overall was a disaster to look at, but with future world it is understandable with the construction.  I just don't understand WDW's Harmonious decision.  We enjoyed HS, MK and AK a lot.  It seemed to get a lot busier our last two days so waiting in line may be getting worse by the day.  That's strictly and observation though and nothing scientific.  I'm very glad we went in early June rather than later this month when it comes to riding attractions.  We were able to hit all the rides we wanted save for the Peoplemover.  Some of our unexpected favorites, DW and DD loved the Frozen sing-a-long show.  I rode AO for the first time and it was really awesome.  Some of our expected favorites.  My DS loves all things TT and EE.  My DD loves ToT and EE.  My DW loves HM and PP.  I love JC and PoTC.

Enjoy your trip.


----------



## RaisinToast

Continuing from my last post. Saturday 6/5 was our Animal Kingdom day. We walked to the Casitas stop to be sure to get on the first bus of the day for rope drop, and a good thing we did, too. Not only did the bus show up a little late for my liking at 6:50, but the people at the Casitas stop filled it. Anybody at CSR waiting at the other three stops missed out on rope drop. We got to AK at 7:05, barreled through bag check and got to the tapstiles at 7:10. The park opened 5 minutes later.


We were able to walk onto FOP and then Dinosaur, then headed to the safari and waited about 25 minutes to get on a truck, which matched the posted wait. After the Safari we did the Gorilla Falls trail, then got in line for the first Lion King show of the day. We asked the cast member at 9:45 if we would get into the 10:30 show, and she said yes, this would be the shortest line of the day. After 20 or 25 other people had lined up behind us, the cast member put a rope across the line and started telling people who arrived later that they would need to wait till the 11:30 show. I would definitely recommend arriving an hour early to anyone wanting to see the show. We also weren't seated till about 10:15 and it was HOT in that sun!


After FOTLK let out, we had lunch at Flame Tree. Then we went to Asia for the Jungle Trek. As we passed Kali, we noticed they weren't posting a wait time and just thought the ride was down. After finishing the Jungle Trek, though, we noticed all the walkways in Asia seemed to be incredibly full of people. We found some shade in the locker area by Kali, and I pulled up the MDE app only to find almost every ride in AK down. Only the two Pandora attractions and the Safari were operating, with waits of course skyrocketing for those. DH also found out from a cast member that the credit card readers were down as well. So basically a lot of grumpy guests were wandering around with nothing to do. 


Since we didn't have much other choice and like birds, we watched the 1:30 Flights of Wonder show. It's so much better when the birds are the stars. Around 2 PM some things started to become available again, so we got on the train to Rafiki's. We had to wait about 15 minutes to get on a train, but I blame the large crowd on people flocking to do anything operational. Once at Rafiki's, we visited some pigs and goats, but headed inside as rain looked imminent. It did pour buckets, but we did the animation experience, and by the time we came out the sun was shining again. 


Upon getting back from Rafiki's, everything seemed to be running again with the exception of ITTBAB, of all things. I'm not sure that show ever came back up for the rest of the day. We had a great dinner at Tiffins, then headed back to Pandora for River Journey. Around 6PM, the posted wait had gone down to just 15 minutes, but we practically walked on. Leaving the park, the bus arrived after 10 or 15 minutes, and we got on the first one.


----------



## disny_luvr

Obi-J Kenobi said:


> Our family trip was 6/4 - 6/10.  We were in the parks 6/4 - 6/9.  Stayed at BC.  First time there.  We enjoyed our stay at BC.  Room wasn't ready until after 3:00 p.m. and had all luggage held at bell services along with our Instacart groceries.  Went to MK.  BTW, BC did still charge us $6 to deliver groceries even though they delivered groceries with our luggage at 10:00 p.m. that evening.  Our room was upgraded to a pool/water view.  We were about as far as away from the lobby as you could be and that actually ended up as a benefit because our room was quite close to the EPCOT patch and bridge to the BWI.
> 
> When we entered the room, we had 2 queens and no day beds.  Front desk couldn't move us to a different room with a day bed so we received a roll out.  My 18 year old DS slept on it and was satisfied with it.
> 
> Just a few things about BC.  Mousekeeping was very disappointing.  Mousekeeping arrived at about 3:30 p.m. when we were back in the room from the parks.  Our CM did not speak clear English and it was very difficult to communicate with her that we were leaving again in an our to park hop.  Mousekeeping did return when we were away.  We left four dirty towels on the floor and they brought us 2 clean towels?  They didn't replace coffee or paper cups.  They didn't appear to wipe down the surfaces of anything, because by the end of the trip there was dust on the counters.  They didn't even empty one of the three full garbage bins on our first stay.  Mousekeeping did take our gratuity though.  I had to call the supervisor of mousekeeping and ask for a number of these items to be done.  She seemed somewhat apologetic.
> 
> Bell services was outstanding to deal with.  Very friendly and were quite prompt when we called for our luggage and groceries.  Front desk folks were very warm and friendly too.  No complaints with either of these services.  The front desk even pin traded with my DW and DD.
> 
> My DS loved Stormalong Bay.  He ended up going almost every night.  During the day he went once and he did not like it because there were too many small children and the concrete was blazing hot.  So if you have older kids, maybe a nighttime pool visit is better for them?
> 
> During our trip we had only 4 dining reservations for TS.  We ate at Beaches and Cream (lunch) and Cape May Cafe (breakfast) inside the BC.  We all enjoyed our meals at Beaches and Cream.  All of it was good.  Our CM at Cape May Cafe is a transplant from Artist Point and she was very good and friendly.  The family style meal is 100% better than buffet in my opinion.  I thought that Beaches and Cream seems too quiet for a soda fountain but I think that is due to the tables being removed because of COVID.  We at at Jungle Skippers (lunch) in MK.  We had an excellent meal and our CM was outstanding.  He was a former skipper and moved to the restaurant and told us many jokes.  My kids both enjoyed their meals.  My DS and I had steak and it was prepared perfectly.  My DD and DW shared a tofu noodle dish that was excellent.  Ask for the secret menu cheese bread.  Excellent starter.  Lastly, my DW and I ate at the Brown Derby for an anniversary lunch.  She had the cobb salad.  It was probably one of the top 2 or 3 cobb salads I have eaten.  There are a couple joints near my home, in the Twin Cities, that make great cobb salads too.  I had the burger and it was okay.  I thought it was overpriced for the end quality of product.  Our best TS was Jungle Skippers.  Our best CS was Woody's lunchbox (grilled cheese and totchos).  Just a reminder tip, if you need to mobile order something small, and the window is far away, you ask a CM to push through your Mobile order sooner.  This happened to us at Backlot Express as my DW wanted at Wookie Cookie (which was very good) and the mobile order window was about an hour later, so I asked the CM if I could put in a mobile order and whether they could bump me up to get a cookie.  I don't know if they do that for full meals but I figured they could grab a pre-made cookie pretty quickly and get me out of there.  The CM accommodated my request.
> 
> It rained at MK our first night (6/4).  Other than that, it only rained once more significantly the entire trip and we were on a bus when it happened.  Still bring a poncho.  Bring water with you every day.
> 
> I'm not sure when WDW will end indoor masks but I hope for future guests it is soon.  I thought mask compliance was not particularly good among guests.  More people wore masks properly than did not wear them, but I saw many instances of folks walking down halls or queues with no masks on.  Even in the queues masking was tough in the heat and humidity.  And for the love of all things holy, please let vaccinated CMs take off their face coverings if they are working outside.  I saw one photopass CM look like she was going to die.  She was in EPCOT.  She actually removed her mask and started chugging her water bottle.  It was something else to see these CMs having to mask outside.  I will jump off the soapbox.
> 
> My DD is a pin trader.  It seemed a little more difficult to find pin trading locations than years past (but I'm not an expert on pin trading so that may not be 100% accurate).  She was able to pin trade with the board and she was able to find one other guest to pin trade with at a board.
> 
> Transportation was good, overall.  Our worst wait for buses was at Disney Springs and that was 30 minutes.  At the parks, on a MK day there was a long line too, and it was about a 30 minute wait.  I think this was in large part due to mobility devices having to be loaded and occupying seats.  Other than these 2 instances, our bus waits were less than 10 minutes.  I was actually satisfied with the bus service overall.  But, because we were at the BC, we walked and used the Skyliner a lot.   One night (6/8) we closed down HS and the line for the boat was very long, so we just walked back.  It was a bit tough after the long day but it beat waiting for 30 minutes for a boat.  Because our room was so close to EPCOT the skyliner was a decent option for us when we were tired and returned to our room daily for a mid-day break.  We did not use DME.  We hired FL Tours for car transport to and from the airport.  I highly recommend using this group.  It is a sponsor of this site and they provided very good, quick service to and from the airport.  My DW and I will likely be a repeat customer we were so satisfifed.
> 
> The parks were fine.  We rope dropped HS and it was a huge advantage.  We rope dropped EPCOT too.  Never rope dropped MK or AK but got there before the official opening.  There was benefit to showing up early.  Although, staying late seems to have shorter lines as well.  I enjoyed the calvacades better than parades.  Not having more shows and fireworks was a real bummer.  I miss them immensely.  EPCOT's lagoon in really ruined.  It's sad.  EPCOT overall was a disaster to look at, but with future world it is understandable with the construction.  I just don't understand WDW's Harmonious decision.  We enjoyed HS, MK and AK a lot.  It seemed to get a lot busier our last two days so waiting in line may be getting worse by the day.  That's strictly and observation though and nothing scientific.  I'm very glad we went in early June rather than later this month when it comes to riding attractions.  We were able to hit all the rides we wanted save for the Peoplemover.  Some of our unexpected favorites, DW and DD loved the Frozen sing-a-long show.  I rode AO for the first time and it was really awesome.  Some of our expected favorites.  My DS loves all things TT and EE.  My DD loves ToT and EE.  My DW loves HM and PP.  I love JC and PoTC.
> 
> Enjoy your trip.



Thank you for your review, especially the BC part. We arrive at the BC on August 1st, and your report is the first detailed report I’ve seen since it reopened. I know lots will probably change at the BC between now and when we arrive, but I do appreciate your detailed review. We also have ADRs at Beaches and Cream and Cape May Cafe (for breakfast). We are looking forward to both ADRs.


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## Obi-J Kenobi

disny_luvr said:


> Thank you for your review, especially the BC part. We arrive at the BC on August 1st, and your report is the first detailed report I’ve seen since it reopened. I know lots will probably change at the BC between now and when we arrive, but I do appreciate your detailed review. We also have ADRs at Beaches and Cream and Cape May Cafe (for breakfast). We are looking forward to both ADRs.


You are welcome.  

A couple of additional points about BC.  We were on the bottom level next to the quiet pool.  My DW bought a white noise machine from Amazon.  It is small, rechargeable and comes in a convenient case.  I recommend getting one and placing it near your window or the door depending on your room location to wipe out the noise from the other areas of the hotel.  It worked great for us by the poolside patio because guests can be unknowingly loud talkers (i.e. following an adult beverage or two) and that helped.  

BC Marketplace mobile order was quite prompt and I really liked how it bagged our orders and provided them to us.  The food there was of good quality.  No complaints.  It was hot and fresh.  There was a CM to hold you outside the Marketplace to wait but you can wait while you shop too.  Another thing that disappointed me about the BC was the size of the Marketplace as it was too small.  I actually cannot believe that WDW would allow a Deluxe Resort to operate with such a small gift shop.  It's incredible actually given how badly WDW wants its guests to spend money.

I know a lot of people rave about the feel of the BC being so relaxed and I echo those comments.  Maybe because it was so freshly reopened, but I thought the grounds were immaculate and beautiful.  The lobby scent was terrific and everything seemed so clean and tidy.  The concrete work outside the main lobby was well done and neatly stamped.  I thought that beautification project was nicely done by WDW.  I know that some complain about the length of the hallways, but I guess I have always walked a lot to and from my room at WDW resorts, save for the CR Tower room I stayed at when I was a younger child and my Dad to my brother and I to WDW.  CR Tower is a pretty short walk to the concourse and monorail and bus stop and I'm not sure any other hotel has the same short walking distance as CR so it is sort of an exception to the rule.

Even though we had a poor experience with mousekeeping during our trip.  I will say the room was immaculate when we entered on our first night.  So, to be fair, they did do a good job upon arrival.


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## MuddyWaters

Just got back from a fabulous Disney trip. It was hot and fairly crowded, but none of us wanted it to end. Our group was 4 adults and 2 tweens and we stayed at Yacht Club. Here’s my more detailed summary:

Friday, June 4 – flew in to MCO and landed around 10:45, got luggage at 11 and our driver (Orlando Transportation by Mike – highly recommend) was waiting with a sign for us. He stopped by Publix for us to get groceries on the way to Yacht Club. Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived (around noon) so we left our groceries and luggage with the front desk and headed to Epcot to meet our friends. At Epcot, we did Frozen Ever After (probably longest wait of our whole trip around 45 minutes, but we had drinks in hand so it was all good), 3 caballeros, and walked around World Showcase, saw a princess calvacade etc. We had “linner” resos at La Hacienda at 3:30, but at 3, we saw an approaching thunderstorm and thankfully they let us in early. Around 3:20, the skies opened up and it continued to pour for hours. Our dinner was great, but we made it last a bit long in hope the skies would clear. The rain lightened up a bit so we went to spaceship earth and Soarin, which were both walk ons due to the rain.  We then went back to check in and had an evening swim at SAB.

Sat., June 5 – AK – We drove to AK leaving Yacht Club at 6:45, they let us in the gates and then the park around 7:15, and we went straight to FOP. OMG – I had never ridden it and it blew my mind. We waited maybe only 10 minutes, but as soon as we got off, the line was already at 50 minutes, and then 70 most of the day. We then did Everest, Safari, Dinosaur, Kali, and the gorilla walk all before noon. We also saw the UP bird show and then went to our Tiffins reso at 1 only to be let down because power was out at the park. He told us we could wait around, but there was no guarantee it would come back on, so we left and went to Disney Springs for lunch. Son and I hopped to Hollywood to build a Droid – another night swim and to bed.

Sun., June 6 – Magic Kingdom. Missed the 1st bus from Yacht Club which apparently came at 6:40, got on the second around 7:10 and were in the gates around 7:30. Tried to head straight to 7DMT, but the ride was down as was Splash Mountain, and both had huge lines, so we decided to do Thunder Mountain (rode 2x as walk on) and Haunted Mansion and then POTC – all walk ons. We did a few smaller rides and some shops and then lunch at Crystal Palace. I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews, but my meal was actually great 0 catfish and shrimp. We then waited 40 minutes for 7DMT and went back to the hotel for a swim. We had dinner resos at Ale and Compass, which was also great.

Mon., June 7 – Hollywood. Woke up at 6:45 to try and get a ROTR group. 4 of us were trying and my DS got us group 51! We then walked to Hollywood for rope drop. Went straight to Slinky Dog (maybe 15 minute wait) and then did TOT – also maybe 15 minutes. We had a full day at Hollywood. ROTR BG was called around 11:30 – Incredible ride. We did all the other major ones with the longest wait being rock n roller coaster (maybe 30 minutes – but it was hot!). Dinner resos at Sci Fi, which was awesome, because we needed the dark / downtime. Took the skyliner back to Epcot and walked home.

Tuesday – Cabana day! Highly recommend one if you can get one at SAB. It’s a splurge, but so nice. We went to Epcot that evening for Chefs de France and also did test track and Mission space because we missed it the first time.

Wednesday – Magic Kingdom – Got the first bus at Yacht Club at 6:40 and were the first in the park! It was awesome. We went straight to Splash after snapping some picks around 7:20, and the CM’s were discouraging people from waiting saying “we may or may not open at 8”, but we decided to wait because the weather was nice and we could sit and chat (rather than chugging through a line). They opened promptly at 8, and we were the 2nd flume. We then did all the rides we hadn’t the first day and went to our BOG lunch resos. We went back to the hotel after doing some shopping, had ice cream for dinner at Beaches and Cream, and then one last night swim.

Overall, we loved the Yacht Club. The mousekeeping was definitely missed, but we managed. All the hotel staff was awesome and SAB in itself is totally worth it. Social distancing is lacking and mask compliance was OK, but we still felt safe. Buses ran smoothly and lines were manageable. Morning park activity is key. LOVE the calvacades (better than the parades in my opinion because of the spontaneity and no crowds) Awesome vacation!


----------



## disny_luvr

Obi-J Kenobi said:


> You are welcome.
> 
> A couple of additional points about BC.  We were on the bottom level next to the quiet pool.  My DW bought a white noise machine from Amazon.  It is small, rechargeable and comes in a convenient case.  I recommend getting one and placing it near your window or the door depending on your room location to wipe out the noise from the other areas of the hotel.  It worked great for us by the poolside patio because guests can be unknowingly loud talkers (i.e. following an adult beverage or two) and that helped.
> 
> BC Marketplace mobile order was quite prompt and I really liked how it bagged our orders and provided them to us.  The food there was of good quality.  No complaints.  It was hot and fresh.  There was a CM to hold you outside the Marketplace to wait but you can wait while you shop too.  Another thing that disappointed me about the BC was the size of the Marketplace as it was too small.  I actually cannot believe that WDW would allow a Deluxe Resort to operate with such a small gift shop.  It's incredible actually given how badly WDW wants its guests to spend money.
> 
> I know a lot of people rave about the feel of the BC being so relaxed and I echo those comments.  Maybe because it was so freshly reopened, but I thought the grounds were immaculate and beautiful.  The lobby scent was terrific and everything seemed so clean and tidy.  The concrete work outside the main lobby was well done and neatly stamped.  I thought that beautification project was nicely done by WDW.  I know that some complain about the length of the hallways, but I guess I have always walked a lot to and from my room at WDW resorts, save for the CR Tower room I stayed at when I was a younger child and my Dad to my brother and I to WDW.  CR Tower is a pretty short walk to the concourse and monorail and bus stop and I'm not sure any other hotel has the same short walking distance as CR so it is sort of an exception to the rule.
> 
> Even though we had a poor experience with mousekeeping during our trip.  I will say the room was immaculate when we entered on our first night.  So, to be fair, they did do a good job upon arrival.



It's funny you brought up the white noise machine. DH and I have talked several times about getting one, but we never actually buy one, and then when we are staying in a hotel and have noisy neighbors or hear kids running up and down the hall, we always ask ourselves why we didn't buy one, lol. I will definitely have to look into purchasing one. 

I have always grumbled about the Marketplace. This will be our fourth stay at the BC and I agree that it is way too small. My other grumble is the food offerings. I wish they had a designated QS like the Poly and Wilderness Lodge. Oh well, third world problems I guess. I'm glad the food was of good quality, hot, and fresh. I know we will be eating there a few times during our stay.

I'm happy to hear your room was very clean despite the limited mousekeeping. I hope that is that case in August.


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## Disneyepcot

I’m sorry but I have told anyone that asks me about going to Disney World now- not to go.
Yes, I am still going but I am a DVC member and have an annual pass. I also can drive from Georgia so my expenses are kept down to a minimum.
We were at Epcot on Monday for dinner. We were at Hollywood studios Tuesday morning for boarding group 9 on ROTR and left after we rode since that is the closest thing now to a FP.  
We know others have more patience than us and that is good. Currently we only visit to satisfy my Disney addiction by taking a walk around the park (most lines are too long)and having a dinner reservation.


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## Princess Katelet

nemolover22 said:


> We are going next week and staying at SSR for a few days. How bad were the buses? We will not have a car so will need to rely on Disney transportation. We will be in the Congress Park section


I was in CP from May 12-20. Buses RETURNING to SSR from the parks were terrible. Like consistent 45 minute to one hour waits. Buses TO parks were better, but CP is the fourth of five bus stops so often they were too full by them to fit everyone.


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## elgerber

disny_luvr said:


> It's funny you brought up the white noise machine. DH and I have talked several times about getting one, but we never actually buy one, and then when we are staying in a hotel and have noisy neighbors or hear kids running up and down the hall, we always ask ourselves why we didn't buy one, lol. I will definitely have to look into purchasing one.
> 
> I have always grumbled about the Marketplace. This will be our fourth stay at the BC and I agree that it is way too small. My other grumble is the food offerings. I wish they had a designated QS like the Poly and Wilderness Lodge. Oh well, third world problems I guess. I'm glad the food was of good quality, hot, and fresh. I know we will be eating there a few times during our stay.
> 
> I'm happy to hear your room was very clean despite the limited mousekeeping. I hope that is that case in August.


I LOVE a white noise machine, we just bought a tiny one for travel, to replace the one that we wore out.


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## nemolover22

Princess Katelet said:


> I was in CP from May 12-20. Buses RETURNING to SSR from the parks were terrible. Like consistent 45 minute to one hour waits. Buses TO parks were better, but CP is the fourth of five bus stops so often they were too full by them to fit everyone.


Aw man not what I wanna hear lol! Hopefully it's a little better when we go next week. Would you suggest walking to another bus stop in the morning to get the bus to the parks? We stayed at OKW in October & used the main bus stop & ended up waiting an hour for a bus to MK because it always filled up at the first stop and I don't want to deal with that again.


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## The Iron Giant

MuddyWaters said:


> We just got back from a 6 day trip and had a wonderful time. Lots of early mornings to get to parks 45 minutes before opening, but were able to knock the big rides out first and hang at the pool in the afternoons. I think the longest ride we waiting for was Frozen Ever After and that was in the middle of the day on our first day. 10 minute wait for FOP after driving to Animal Kingdoms and arriving at 7. Got group 51 for ROTR at the 7 Am try. Definitely have post vacation blues now!



We will also be driving to the parks… how early were they allowing cars into theparking lots?  Thank you!


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

disny_luvr said:


> It's funny you brought up the white noise machine. DH and I have talked several times about getting one, but we never actually buy one, and then when we are staying in a hotel and have noisy neighbors or hear kids running up and down the hall, we always ask ourselves why we didn't buy one, lol. I will definitely have to look into purchasing one.


You can use white noise apps too right on your phone-same concept and one less thing to buy/pack.  My family loves white noise. We use the app and have also been known to travel with a box fan, haha. Thank God we drive.


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## Mr. Drauer

The Iron Giant said:


> We will also be driving to the parks… how early were they allowing cars into theparking lots?  Thank you!


45 minutes


----------



## Princess Katelet

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> You can use white noise apps too right on your phone-same concept and one less thing to buy/pack.  My family loves white noise. We use the app and have also been known to travel with a box fan, haha. Thank God we drive.


Does that allow your battery to charge and remain charged all night? Like as long as you are plugged in you’ll wake up to 100% even after using the white noise all night?


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## Princess Katelet

nemolover22 said:


> Aw man not what I wanna hear lol! Hopefully it's a little better when we go next week. Would you suggest walking to another bus stop in the morning to get the bus to the parks? We stayed at OKW in October & used the main bus stop & ended up waiting an hour for a bus to MK because it always filled up at the first stop and I don't want to deal with that again.


I absolutely do. We walked to Paddock several mornings. It won’t help the return commute, which was much worse, but…


----------



## Obi-J Kenobi

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> You can use white noise apps too right on your phone-same concept and one less thing to buy/pack.  My family loves white noise. We use the app and have also been known to travel with a box fan, haha. Thank God we drive.


I am familiar with the app, but my understanding (and I could be totally wrong so don't kill me over this comment) is that you are supposed to put the white noise machine near the location where the noise comes from.  So, if you have noise near the hall, you but the noise maker near your door adjacent to the hall.  I just didn't want to put my phone that far away from my bed because I need my phone for my alarm and as a clock.  Our room at BC was not equipped with an alarm clock radio.


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## NotTheBatesMotel

Obi-J Kenobi said:


> I am familiar with the app, but my understanding (and I could be totally wrong so don't kill me over this comment) is that you are supposed to put the white noise machine near the location where the noise comes from.  So, if you have noise near the hall, you but the noise maker near your door adjacent to the hall.  I just didn't want to put my phone that far away from my bed because I need my phone for my alarm and as a clock.  Our room at BC was not equipped with an alarm clock radio.


We’ve always just put it on the nightstand and it works fine. It doesn’t drain our battery either.


----------



## elgerber

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> We’ve always just put it on the nightstand and it works fine. It doesn’t drain our battery either.


I don't use my phone, but I do put the white noise machine on the nightstand also.  I think the closer it is to you the better.


----------



## MuddyWaters

The Iron Giant said:


> We will also be driving to the parks… how early were they allowing cars into theparking lots?  Thank you!



We only drove to Animal Kingdom, and we arrived around 7 and they let us in the gates around 7:10.


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## The Iron Giant

MuddyWaters said:


> We only drove to Animal Kingdom, and we arrived around 7 and they let us in the gates around 7:10.


Thank you!


----------



## preemiemama

elgerber said:


> I don't use my phone, but I do put the white noise machine on the nightstand also.  I think the closer it is to you the better.


Yep.  We use one at home every night and use a phone app while traveling.  Before getting a machine at home, we used the bathroom fan.  Definitely works better when you have it closer to you since the machine is much closer to us at night.


----------



## boop0524

nemolover22 said:


> We are going next week and staying at SSR for a few days. How bad were the buses? We will not have a car so will need to rely on Disney transportation. We will be in the Congress Park section



I would recommend in the morning going to the bus stop really early (before 90 mins) and waiting, even before they post the bus times on the app. We had a bus buzz by us twice before they were supposed to have arrived at the station. Not sure if they were just full or if it was because no one was at the station waiting but it was pretty frustrating. So just get there and wait would be my suggestion.

If a park is your high priority and it’s not hugely inconvenient, I’d walk to Paddock or even try to make it up to Grandstand to get on the bus. We were in Paddock but closer to CP so we used that station, and sometimes the busses would be full before making our stop. We also found the mid day busses to be the worst and almost missed a dinner ADR. Morning and end of day they are running pretty consistently, but when you hit the afternoon it’s a total crapshoot.

I saw in another thread a suggestion to take a Disney Springs bus to a resort within walking distance when in desperation. We had a car so never had to do that, but may be helpful for you. Have fun!!


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

jlstwinmommy said:


> Currently here staying at Poly DVC. I was here with my sister in January over MLK week. Here are some things we’ve noticed this trip.
> 
> 1.  It is HOT. We are normally fall/winter vacationers but my mom wasn’t comfortable going in January and really wanted a trip before losing points so here we are.We upgraded our tickets to PH+ week before arriving and very grateful we did. We go to the parks early and leave around noon to rest or hit the pool or Blizzard Beach and then go back to the parks after dinner.
> 
> 2. There are definitely more people. That was expected but it is noticeable for sure. Without the shows and parades to eat people, the lines build pretty quickly. That said at least they move continually without the stopping for FP. We know how to use FP to our advantage but I kind of like the continuously moving lines.
> 
> 3.  The social distance markers are in the lines but no one uses them. In January most people were very good about keeping to the distance markers. Now they may as well not be there. No one is breathing down our necks in line, but it does feel more pre-COVID-19  line distancing.
> 
> 4.  Mask compliance is not as good as January.  Most people in January were great at following the rules. Now, I’d say 75% compliance in lines and 50% or less at the resort. Maybe it is better in resorts where you have to walk more inside to get to your room. We don’t mind as we are all vaccinated but just an FYI to those who have concerns.
> 
> 5.  Wait times tend to be inflated. We noticed this in January as well. I’ve been using the Lines app from touring plans and it has been pretty accurate. Definitely pay attention to the last reported times as sometimes it is over an hour since a report.
> 
> we are having a great time but I think it will be a while before we come in the summer again. My mom and sister don’t handle heat well. For that matter, neither does my husband.


How crowded was Blizzard Beach?


----------



## Roxyfire

bdiddy said:


> We arrive for our 1st stay at WL next Tuesday. You said the transportation was good? No issues with the buses like other resorts are having? How full did the lodge seem?


Just ending my time at BRV and I was disappointed in the bus service this time, especially to MK. We waited a long time to come back to the resort. 

Last night we were MK an hour after park closing and people had been waiting since 9. We took our time coming back from our last ride and knew we would not be on the first bus.

A young man from another group went on the chronically empty bus at stop 1 or 2 to ask why they were sitting there so long and no one was picking us up.  The driver pulled up to the WL stop to just take them back and rolled back around to get us. I felt bad for the families that had to wait that long with little kids.

No wonder they’re practically begging people to drive. We tried it one night but without the trams i did not do well. The heat was pretty oppressive and next to no rain was no fun. Without DAS i would’ve been sittingat the resort all week.


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## jbrinkm

https://www.disboards.com/threads/white-noise-machines.3841009/
For anyone interested in continuing the White Noise Machine convo!


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## yaywatermelons

Obi-J Kenobi said:


> We had 6 parties on one boat, but... 3 of the 6 parties were 2 people or less.





Geomom said:


> When we went in April, they had partitions in multiple places to separate parties and they just didn't seat anyone in the center.  So depending upon the size of the party, they could seat 4-5 parties of 2-4...



Thank you both!  I figured it wasn't "fill all available space."   We have a party of 15 next week - we may fill the boat!


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## TikiTikiFan

What time do you take a break to avoid the worst of the heat? What part of the day is the hottest? Trying to plan our break times and what outfits (lol) to plan for.


----------



## preemiemama

TikiTikiFan said:


> What time do you take a break to avoid the worst of the heat? What part of the day is the hottest? Trying to plan our break times and what outfits (lol) to plan for.


We usually go in the summer and our breaks are leaving by 1pm and then coming back for dinner around 5pm.  The pm thunderstorms usually hit around 3, so we stay out of them and it cools things down a bit. Win-win.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

preemiemama said:


> We usually go in the summer and our breaks are leaving by 1pm and then coming back for dinner around 5pm.  The pm thunderstorms usually hit around 3, so we stay out of them and it cools things down a bit. Win-win.



Perfect- thank you!


----------



## Princess Katelet

Roxyfire said:


> Just ending my time at BRV and I was disappointed in the bus service this time, especially to MK. We waited a long time to come back to the resort.
> 
> Last night we were MK an hour after park closing and people had been waiting since 9. We took our time coming back from our last ride and knew we would not be on the first bus.
> 
> A young man from another group went on the chronically empty bus at stop 1 or 2 to ask why they were sitting there so long and no one was picking us up.  The driver pulled up to the WL stop to just take them back and rolled back around to get us. I felt bad for the families that had to wait that long with little kids.
> 
> No wonder they’re practically begging people to drive. We tried it one night but without the trams i did not do well. The heat was pretty oppressive and next to no rain was no fun. Without DAS i would’ve been sittingat the resort all week.


Buses back to SSR at night were HORRIBLE. After an hour wait one night they finally sent a Mears coach bus and packed it full. We kept watching bus after bus pull up to all the other resorts, but not SSR.


Roxyfire said:


> Just ending my time at BRV and I was disappointed in the bus service this time, especially to MK. We waited a long time to come back to the resort.
> 
> Last night we were MK an hour after park closing and people had been waiting since 9. We took our time coming back from our last ride and knew we would not be on the first bus.
> 
> A young man from another group went on the chronically empty bus at stop 1 or 2 to ask why they were sitting there so long and no one was picking us up.  The driver pulled up to the WL stop to just take them back and rolled back around to get us. I felt bad for the families that had to wait that long with little kids.
> 
> No wonder they’re practically begging people to drive. We tried it one night but without the trams i did not do well. The heat was pretty oppressive and next to no rain was no fun. Without DAS i would’ve been sittingat the resort all week.


We were at SSR for eight days in May. Buses back to SSR from parks were TERRIBLE. Hardly any came and when they did they filled up right away with scooters and their families. I don’t know why they get front of the line privileges…. Finally after an hour of waiting at the Studios they called in a Mears coach bus that crammed us all in to every seat. I’m not sure how any people were left after they filled it to the brim but it did scoop up a whole bunch of us.
Day after day we would watch bus after bus after bus, sometimes two at a time, come for all the other resorts, but not SSR.


----------



## kclark9830

Leaving today after 7 days at All Star Movies and 5 park days. We had a great slowed-down trip, and we made lots of great memories. We do not regret making the choice to visit in any way.

That being said, we do have a few observations and experiences to share.

•    I was worried about mobile ordering and getting timeslots. I shouldn’t have been! It was not only super easy, it was also super convenient. No more waiting in long lines! And getting a timeslot when I wanted one was never a problem.
•    Buses were hard. We had a couple short or no wait rides, but the majority of times we waited 20-45 minutes for buses.
•    We missed FP+, a lot. I have read all the arguments and I get it. But for our family, we knew how to use them and we missed them greatly on this trip. We only come to Disney every 2-3 years, and we skipped several headliners this trip because we weren’t willing to wait in long lines with a 4 year old. I get that this was totally our choice. I get that. But it stunk and we missed FP+.
•    Lines, even for notoriously unpopular attractions, were regularly 20-30 minutes minimum. We did have a couple of walk-on experiences and that was nice, but this wasn’t the norm. Even at rope drop and park closing, which we did both of 4 out of the 5 park days.
•    We had lots of great interactions with CM’s. They make things magical, and I appreciate and applaud all of them who manage to keep a great attitude during all of this time. We absolutely did have some negative interactions with a small handful of CM's, but this wasn’t the norm. I choose to believe these poor folks are over stressed and under appreciated by guests.
•    If you are worried about any of these things, I would say try to look at all of them on the positive side. Because of longer waits for everything from buses to rides, we were forced to slow down. While it was frustrating to not get as much done as we were used to, we really enjoyed the slower Disney vacation (despite ourselves, lol).


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## malissa99

Just back from a week at BRV. I have a lot of thoughts but here are just a few: 1) it’s crowded. Just walking in the parks, getting into shops, getting coffee, snack etc. is an ordeal. 2) it’s very hot and the queues that are extended outside in the sun are unbearable. Sure folks may say the lines move quickly but 60+ minutes ( yes it was 60+ min, lowest we saw these were 45 min.) in full sun in 97 degree heat is not doable. For example, space mountain and seven dwarves. The 7DMT line started at Little Mermaid and was in full sun. We saw lots of sunburnt little ones.  Keep in mind we were there a week with park hoppers. So it wasn’t just once we saw it like that. It was every time we were at MK. Same for MMRRR. We are Disney vets and there were some big rides we did not get on bc of how the queues are right now. 3) Epcot construction is a mess and was very crowded. Great food at the Flower and Garden but recommend an evening trip. Frozen ever after line was another one we skipped. 4) there are lots of standard Disney things not available right now. Shipping was biggest issue for us. FYI the Rancor Tooth Beer flight souvenir cannot be shipped bc it’s not a “Disney” item.  5) buses were ok but the numbered seating and partitions are nuts. Really limits the number of folks who can get on a bus. Same with the ferry at WL. Times on app were accurate. Usually a bus would come before posted time bc of the huge lines waiting at WL. 6) cast members for the most part were great. There’s were definitely a few that need to find a new line of work. Lots of cast members told us how they are doing very different jobs now and are being moved around. It’s strange at Epcot not having the countries in WS be represented. Les Halles for example, not the usual well oiled machine. 7) Wilderness Lodge was amazing. Every cast member, the food, the housekeeping, all great. We checked out this morning and it was significantly more crowded in lobby.   These are just some quick thoughts I had. If anyone has any questions I’d be happy to answer if I can. Overall a good trip but we will not be back in June (too hot) and we won’t be back until things are more properly staffed and services are restored. This was a postponed 2020 trip otherwise we would not have gone. Oh and I missed the MK fireworks so much more than I thought I would.


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## wilkydelts

@kclark9830 and @malissa99 How do you know the waits were super long if you skipped them? Seems like high speculation especially since people have stated regularly to ignore the length of the line because they visible size does not match the wait time.


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## malissa99

@wilkydelts At MK we waited in space mountain twice. 62 min and 58 min. Waited 42 for pirates. 35 for BTMR. 30 for HM. The 7DMT was spiraling around the attraction and people weren’t moving. Posted wait was 65, touring plans reporting 60. Touring plans app was very accurate as long as you checked the most recent reported time. We skipped 7DMT bc it’s in full sun. The 60 minutes in full sun is much diff than 60 in an indoor queue. Lots of people were waiting so if it works for you no reason not to stand in it.


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## kclark9830

wilkydelts said:


> @kclark9830 and @malissa99 How do you know the waits were super long if you skipped them? Seems like high speculation especially since people have stated regularly to ignore the length of the line because they visible size does not match the wait time.





Posted wait time for Soarin was 50 min, we waited 65 min. Waited 80 min for 7DMT before giving up on it because it broke down. Not sure what the posted wait was for that one.

ETA: posted wait at IasW was 10 min, we waited 30.


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## OhioWDWDuo

@malissa99 The Rancor Tooth beer flight could not be shipped home? I thought anything could be shipped from a retail location if you have the receipt. We’ve done it before with a lightsaber. Thanks for the report!


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## luv2cheer92

Disneyepcot said:


> I’m sorry but I have told anyone that asks me about going to Disney World now- not to go.
> Yes, I am still going but I am a DVC member and have an annual pass. I also can drive from Georgia so my expenses are kept down to a minimum.
> We were at Epcot on Monday for dinner. We were at Hollywood studios Tuesday morning for boarding group 9 on ROTR and left after we rode since that is the closest thing now to a FP.
> We know others have more patience than us and that is good. Currently we only visit to satisfy my Disney addiction by taking a walk around the park (most lines are too long)and having a dinner reservation.


To each their own, plenty of people are having fantastic trips. But I definitely wouldn't be discouraging anyone from going right now.


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## brockash

wilkydelts said:


> @kclark9830 and @malissa99 How do you know the waits were super long if you skipped them? Seems like high speculation especially since people have stated regularly to ignore the length of the line because they visible size does not match the wait time.


I'm not them; however we've been 3 different weeks since reopening and we consistently waited 35-60 mins for headliners (except for 1-2 rides if transportation got us to the park 50ish mins. before actual opening) and literally at least 20 mins. for every single ride 95% of the time...many being more like 30 (Carousel of Progress for example...we waited 20 mins. - and the only reason we did it was because we weren't up to wait longer for anything else at the time.)  

Lines are definitely longer for those who are used to making fastpass work for them.


----------



## malissa99

OhioWDWDuo said:


> @malissa99 The Rancor Tooth beer flight could not be shipped home? I thought anything could be shipped from a retail location if you have the receipt. We’ve done it before with a lightsaber. Thanks for the report!


Yes! That’s what we thought too! The WL gift shop said it’s bc it’s not a “Disney” product, it’s a third party. You need a receipt for everything you want to ship. Basically the receipt from Oga’s looks different. It doesn’t have any text on the back compared to the other receipts. The front desk did help us out and shipped it Fed Ex for us because we were going to have to either buy a $170 or $200 suitcase or return it. So that was great but we thought same thing.


----------



## VandVsmama

We were at WDW 6/1-6/7, staying at Pop Century.  Did a 1-way cross-country road trip to get there, flew back.  Here are some highlights:

*6/1:*
Did online check in, requested 1st floor room, got 2nd floor room instead but was close to elevator, so that was helpful. We were in a preferred room category.  Very short walk to the main building.  Went to DS for dinner at Chicken Guy.  I don't understand what the big deal is about Chicken Guy. It was ok.  I wouldn't make a special trip there just for dinner again, though.  After 8 pm, DS was noticeably more busy than when we'd arrived.  Turned rental car in at the WDW Car Care Center, which was really easy. Alamo gave us a lift back to Pop Century.

*6/2:*
Intended to do rope drop at HS, but didn't get out the door early enough.  To save time in the mornings, we made our DDs shower in the evening before going to bed.  Got on MMRR at 8:50 am and it was maybe a 10 min wait. Super short wait. Probably waited 5 min, not 10.  Then went to MFSR with a 25 min wait, but it was more like 15.  We were in a cockpit by ourselves, but they are definitely doubling up with other parties now, so just be aware.  If you want to be a pilot, tell the CM.

After that, had a bathroom break and then went to Savi's Workshop for our DDs' lightsaber build appointment at 10:25 (it was YDD's b-day this day).  It was worth the $$.  Really great experience.  The lightsaber build 'guide' was really great.  He was amazing.  The kids were totally into it. They loved it.  DH loved it.  Make your ADR for this way ahead of time.  Many people were going up to the CMs at the Savi's Workshop check in asking how they could build their own lightsaber and they had no idea that you needed a reservation booked in advance.  YDD said that making her own lightsaber made for the best day ever.

Then we had an ADR at Brown Derby at 11:35 to celebrate YDD's b-day.  First time there for all of us.  We really enjoyed the food.  Felt it was really good quality & service for the price you pay.  Expensive lunch, but definitely worth it.  We were done around 12:50.

We didn't get a morning BG for ROTR, but got BG #166 at the 1:00 pm BG drop.  Hooray!  Left right away for a break back at the room.  Went back at 4:40, taking Skyliner back to HS.

Dinner was at Docking Bay 7, which YDD didn't care for.  Food too 'weird' for her.  Tried to get into Dok Ondar's, but the legacy lightsaber queue was virtual and was full for the evening by the time we figured that out, so we vowed to try again on HS day #2.  We went on all of the Toy Story Land rides, got off of SDD at 8:05 pm and then headed out of the park.  Got back to Pop at 9:00.  Walked 7.4 miles this day!

*6/3:*
MK day

Got a late start.  9:40 am - on bus.  Went on Tomorrowland Speedway, People mover, Country Bears Jamboree.  Checked in at noon 30 min early for our Skipper Canteen lunch and they went ahead and seated us early.  YDD loves Jungle Cruise, so she really loved this place.  

1:00 - done with lunch, shopped on Main Street and took bus back to Pop Century.  Not interested in being in the parks all day.  We do it this way at Disneyland, too.  Works well for us and makes for less cranky family members.

2:00 - back at Pop Century.  DH & I napped. Kids watched TV. It was nice to be in air conditioning.

4:35 - in line for bus back to MK.  4:50 - on bus, so only 15 min wait (nice!).  Went on BTMRR.  Had an absolutely awful QS dinner at Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland. Bleh. Not going there again.  

6:39 - got in line for Jungle Cruise (YDD's favorite). posted wait time was 45 min.  at 6:55, we got out of line.  we'd hardly moved in those 15 min and by the time we left the line, the app said the wait was 70 min.  Something was up.  Not too long after that, Jungle Cruise was down entirely.  

7:25 - got in line for POTC with 30 in posted wait.  7:52 - was off ride, stopped for bathroom break.

8:09 - convinced DH to join us on 7DMT (he normally doesn't like roller coasters).  Posted 40 min wait. 8:45 pm - we were off the ride and had just enough time before closing to get ice cream sundaes in Fantasyland.

Park closed at 9.  DH & the kids went on ahead to bus back to Pop Century while I shopped in the Pandora store on Main Street for charms for ODD for her birthday later this month.  LOTS of people hanging around the hub to take photos of the castle (it's beautiful at night!).  I waited in line 50 min for a bus back to Pop.  The line was so long.  And they had buses coming every couple of minutes...like, a bus would leave and then a minute later, another bus would show up.

more in next post..


----------



## cdurham1

spumonisowner said:


> We were at MK yesterday, our first time after covid. We didn’t make it to rope drop but stayed until close. It seemed like average level pre-covid crowds to me. It was definitely manageable - our longest wait was 55 minutes at 7 dwarfs, but most of them were 30 minutes or less. We found the wait times posted were not accurate. Some actual waits were longer and most were shorter. I missed having FP, though, because I used to average 13-15 FP per day at MK just refreshing all day. That said, we got done almost as much done as we would have with FP and had a good day. My DH liked not having FP because we didn’t need to cross the park as much.


I was surprised to read you used to get 10+ fastpasses/day at MK with refresh, but still were happy on this trip waiting 55 minutes for anything.   I am in the same boat, used to refresh the crap out of fastpasses, and now I am horrified at the idea of waiting in lines.


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## disneyseniors

Princess Katelet said:


> Buses back to SSR at night were HORRIBLE. After an hour wait one night they finally sent a Mears coach bus and packed it full. We kept watching bus after bus pull up to all the other resorts, but not SSR.
> 
> We were at SSR for eight days in May. Buses back to SSR from parks were TERRIBLE. Hardly any came and when they did they filled up right away with scooters and their families. I don’t know why they get front of the line privileges…. Finally after an hour of waiting at the Studios they called in a Mears coach bus that crammed us all in to every seat. I’m not sure how any people were left after they filled it to the brim but it did scoop up a whole bunch of us.
> Day after day we would watch bus after bus after bus, sometimes two at a time, come for all the other resorts, but not SSR.



Princess, sorry you had such a long wait for SSR.  I'm betting it's all related to not enough bus drivers.  But that should not be something that paid guests have to worry about.  Unfortunately it is at this time.
I wanted to address the comment of "don't know why those on scooters get front of the line privileges".  I feel your frustration but there is a reason.
The scooters have to be loaded first due to safety reasons.  Up to 6 family members are allowed by disney to accompany the disabled.  Then, after their "front of the line privilege", they are the Last to disembark from the bus.  
I hope you don't have to ever need to use a scooter.  It is not fun and it is no "privilege" to have to get on and off the buses with it.  When you ride a scooter you must keep your eyes on the front of your scooter to watch for children who wander in front of you or adults who want to cut across or are in a hurry.  You don't get to see much else while in the parks until you park.  You can't look at the windows, scenery, or attractions due to having to be constantly on the watch for people.  The disabled who use the scooters don't want to need them, but must use them for their mobility or health issues.  They have every right to ride the bus same as non disabled guests.  Please think of these things when you are frustrated at the disabled guests with their scooters.  I bet they would give anything to be able to stand and wait and to walk while at disney.


----------



## VandVsmama

*6/4:*
Slept in a bit on this day. I was up at 7:45.  Had ADR at Whispering Canyon at WL for 10:15.  Got a Lyft to WL at 9:30.  We all really enjoyed this breakfast, don't care about character meals anymore (kids are teenagers).  We'd go here again.  DH & I browsed in the gift shop.  I'd love to stay at WL some day. Very relaxing vibe there.  Love the lobby.

Took a Lyft back to Pop, got back to room at noon. Filled up our refillable mugs and water bottles in the Pop food court.  The $19/mug price was worth it for us. Napped, watched TV, rested in the room, did laundry (which was a popular place).

Had an ADR at Biergarten in Epcot for 5:15 pm. When we were ready to go get on the Skyliner to Epcot, it was pouring rain.  buckets.  Torrential downpour.  DH inquired at the front desk and they said take a Lyft or Uber or wait an hour for a bus.  We opted for Lyft.  DH was no longer laughing at me for bringing 2 UV umbrellas and 1 regular umbrella and 2 ponchos on this trip.  So we walked in the torrential rain from the front of Epcot all the way to the back in the Germany pavilion.  Bought the kids some Disney rain ponchos...about $20 in total for that.  Worth it. Everybody's feet were soaked.  Sneakers soaked and squishing with each step.  For the next trip, I'm making the kids get hiking sandals.

Dinner was fun, but picky YDD didn't care much for the food.  We're going next time in late 2022 with friends, so I think we'll try Tutto Italia at Epcot next time.

After dinner, we got ice cream in France & DH bought ODD & I fancy scarves in the France pavilion.  Then we went on Spaceship Earth, Soarin', Living with the Land, then decided to try for the Frozen ride.  After getting off of Frozen, the park was closing soon or was already closed.  After we'd gotten off of Spaceship Earth, DH asked at Guest Relations if the SKyliner was running.  They said yes, which is why we went on Frozen.  Well, we walked all the way over to the International Gateway and what do you know?  The Skyliner was not operating.

So we then had to walk all the way back to the front of the park.  We were exhausted.  

*6/5:*
HS again.  Everybody slept in.  After the frustrating and exhausting evening the night before at Epcot, we all needed the rest.  had an appointment at 11 am at the Droid Depot and we made that on time. Kids loved doing this.  We were going to go to the Droid store next door right after to arrange to have the droids shipped home, but would have been late to our lunch ADR, so we postponed that.

12:00 - checked in at 50's Prime Time Cafe for lunch.  First time at this restaurant.  We all enjoyed this a lot.  DH had the meatloaf, I had the pot roast, YDD had the fried chicken, can't remember what ODD had.  Both kids ordered milk shakes.  Server had "attitude" like they're all known for at this restaurant.  It was a real hoot.  Definitely going back there next time.  

We lucked out this time and got a ROTR BG at the 7:00 am BG drop (I got up early for that, then went back to bed).  Wifi speed in the room wasn't great and cell service in our room was bad, so I went outside and got 3 bars on 5G.  Our ROTR BG was called at 1:00, right when we were finishing up with lunch.

After ROTR, we went back to Droid Depot.  Bought 3 personality chips per kid and paid to have that and the 2 droids shipped home.  $36 to ship all of it.  That was pretty great. No need to carry it all throughout the park all day long and figure out how to get that stuff and the lightsabers on the plane.

After that, we got ourselves added to the virtual queue for Dok Ondar's.  ODD wanted to get a pair of Ahoka Tano color changing lightsabers and DH wanted to get a legacy lightsaber as well.  Then DH started to whine about taking a break back at the room.  Told him that the kids & I were staying  but if he wanted to go back to Pop, he was welcome to, but by the time he took his 3-4 hour break and got back, the park would be almost closed and he'd miss out on Dok Ondar's.

So he wisely decided to stay.  It was hot as heck this day.

Dok Ondar's had 82 other parties in line ahead of us.  We went to Muppet 3D next...which was a walk on...to escape the heat.  Then went on Star Tours, posted wait time was 10 min, but was really 5.  It rained while we were in Star Tours.

Then got soft serve ice cream from Epic Eats, but it was so hot that they started to melt almost right away.  Crazy!  We were so hot & sweaty.  Ick.

4:10 pm - were in the shaded queue for the Frozen sing along show (for the 4:30 pm show).  My kids are past the Frozen stage, but we all agreed to do this because it was survival mode at that point and I knew the show would be about 30 min long inside in the A/C.  So nobody complained.  A dad sitting behind us belted out "Let It Go" super loud.  That was cute.  

I think we got more snacks after that.  At 6:20, got in the MFSR queue with a 20 min posted wait, but was really a walk on.  Galaxy's Edge at that time of day is really nice, and pretty empty.  Nobody was hungry for dinner yet.  

Eventually, we got the text that our 60 min return time slot was now available for Dok Ondar's.  The virtual queue is ONLY for the legacy lightsaber part.  Otherwise, you stand in the regular queue in person.  By the way, the queue for the marketplace was nonexistent at this time of day. Earlier in the day, there were about a dozen parties waiting to go into the marketplace!

DH obsessed for a long time about which lightsaber to get. He eventually settled on one of the Skywalker ones (it looks super cool).  We treated ODD to the Ahsoka Tano lightsabers.  YDD wasn't interested in getting another one, so she passed.  Paid a total of $36 for all of it to be shipped home...they arrived 2 days ago (on Thursday) with everything intact and in working order.  We all had light saber battles in our family room on Thursday evening and yesterday evening.  Super fun!  

Then left HS and took Skyliner to Riviera for a late dinner at Primo Piatto.  DH complained about how come there isn't deluxe resort quality food at a value resort and the kids & I looked at him like he had 2 heads.  LOL.


----------



## Epcot242

So are people finding that if they get there at rope drop they're getting on a decent amount of rides? We have a 2-day, 1 park/day quickie trip coming up and I'd like to set expectations for our small group if I can.


----------



## VandVsmama

*6/6:*
MK day.  Last park day.  We avoided AK on purpose on this trip...too hot there.  MK park hours started at 8 am and I **intended** for us to be out the door early, but that didn't work out.

I got up at 6:10.  By the time everybody showered, got dressed, and ate breakfast, it was 7:40 am.  So we were already behind.  Had to get batteries for 1 of our WDW fans.  Learned that our DME pick up for the next day was NOT scheduled like my travel agent had told us, so I had to go to the front desk in order to get that sorted out.  Front desk agent said it was good I went there in the morning because with that much time ahead of time, she could resolve it herself instead of me having to call.  Pick up for the next day was at 10:30 am.

Then went to the MK bus line and the line was insanely long.  And not socially distanced long, but parties 2-3' apart long.  DH & I took 1 look at that line and said to each other, "It's going to take an hour to get there. Forget it, let's get a Lyft."  So that's exactly what we did and we ended up with the same driver who'd taken us to  Epcot 2 evenings prior.

8:49 am - were in Adventureland, REALLY wanted to go on Jungle Cruise, but wait time was 30 min, so YDD said, "Let's skip it and see what the wait is later. I really love that ride, but I dont' want to wait half an hour for it."  Went on Aladdin's Magic Carpets instead with a 10 min wait (was really 5).

9:02 - in line for BTMRR with a 16 min wait, but was really half of that.  DH now officially likes this attraction.

After that, we went on Peter Pan (had to wait outside in the sunny queue for a few min, so the UV umbrellas saved us), then Mad Tea Party with a 5-10 min wait.  After that, we all noticed how much more intense the heat felt today compared to 1 or 2 days' prior, so we stopped for drinks and snacks before moving on to Dumbo (5 min wait), then Peoplemover (posted 20 min, but was 7-8).

After that, it was 11:54 and we were on a bus to the Riviera (5 min wait for the bus). Pre-ordered lunch while on the bus - 2 pizzas, 2 Italian sandwiches with tomato soup.  Dh & I browsed in the Riviera gift shop.  There's a Princess & the Frog painting there that I'd like to purchase on our next trip.  Love the vibe of the Riviera.  I'd like to stay there some day.

then it was Skyliner back to Pop, followed by nap, pool, nap, shower, laundry

Took a bus back to MK and only waited 10 min this time for the MK bus.  We had 5:40 ADR at The Wave for dinner.  Took resort monorail to CR with no wait.  Checked in at The Wave at 5:35.  Dinner was good.  Both kids ordered the steak and really enjoyed it.  We shared a 7-layer chocolate cake and carrot cake for dessert.  Kids liked the 7-layer cake a lot.

After dinner, took the monorail back to MK, but got on board on the wrong side, so we took the scenic deluxe resort circle tour around the resort monorail loop on accident.  

Tried again for Jungle Cruise, but it was still a 40-60 min wait and YDD said, "No way, forget it."  At 7:48, got in line for POTC.  Probably waited 10 min for this.  A really annoying family of 5 (2 parents, 3 young children) were so close to us that the mom and kids were touching my rear end.  After a few min of this, I couldn't take it anymore and told them to please go on ahead of us.  And then I watched them snuggle up to the rear ends of the people who were in front of us.

After POTC, we thought again about Jungle Cruise, but decided against it.  We only had time for probably 1 more ride before park close.  Went over to 7DMT and the wait was posted at 40 min with the queue extending way way down towards Dumbo.  Did we want to wait 40 min?  No.

How about BTMRR?  Maybe.  But we got to HM and it was a walk on, so we did that instead.  Finished up with HM about 4 min before official park close.

On Main Street, we split up...DH & YDD went into the Emporium while ODD & I went to the Pandora shop because she wanted to spend some of her money on a Pandora charm.  Then we all met up at the bus stop.  

Bus stop to Pop this time wasn't nearly as long as it had been a few nights' prior.  Lots of buses coming every couple of minutes.  I think it was about 20 min by the time we were seated on a bus. LOTS of scooters.  By the way, they were not pulling the scooters out of line for priority access, so somebody in a scooter at the back of the line didn't get to "cut" in front of the dozens of other parties.

About 30-50% of the buses were these larger, newer, fancier "Academy" buses, but those don't take scooters.  The Academy buses accommodate strollers by putting the strollers in the luggage compartment area under the bus.  Sometimes, you didn't even have to fold up the stroller.

Stopped at the Pop food court to pick up a mobile order of Mickey rice krispy treats and chocolate chip cookies.  I really wish that there were more options there for desserts.

The following day was check out day.  Met up with a local Orlando friend for breakfast (picked us up at Pop), then got our bags from the room and headed to the bus stop for the Tragical Express bus ride to the airport!

*Overall impressions:*

It was a fun and awesome trip.
I live in AZ and am used to hot weather, but not used to FL hot.
I hope they reopen the ice cream parlor on Main Street again soon.
Bus service from Pop to MK early in the morning is a pain in the neck.
My DH is a bit of a primadonna about food prices at WDW and would like to be able to order a Deluxe resort TS-quality omelette at a value resort food court for breakfast.    
Star Wars Galaxy's Edge was amazing.
Saw Goofy at Pop Century 1 afternoon doing socially distanced meet & greets while I was walking back from the laundry room.  That was cool.
The customer service at WDW is really great.
I'd like the dining plan to return so we can use it on our next trip and my DH can quit whining about the cost of the food.


----------



## kclark9830

Epcot242 said:


> So are people finding that if they get there at rope drop they're getting on a decent amount of rides? We have a 2-day, 1 park/day quickie trip coming up and I'd like to set expectations for our small group if I can.



For our experience I'd say it depends on the rides. If you're heading toward anything other than headliners than yes, but if you do headliners than it will cut what you can do, even if you're there early.


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## OhioWDWDuo

malissa99 said:


> Yes! That’s what we thought too! The WL gift shop said it’s bc it’s not a “Disney” product, it’s a third party. You need a receipt for everything you want to ship. Basically the receipt from Oga’s looks different. It doesn’t have any text on the back compared to the other receipts. The front desk did help us out and shipped it Fed Ex for us because we were going to have to either buy a $170 or $200 suitcase or return it. So that was great but we thought same thing.



Thanks for the heads up! The rancor tooth beer flight will be coming home with us one way or another, per DH.


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## jlundeen

disneyseniors said:


> Princess, sorry you had such a long wait for SSR.  I'm betting it's all related to not enough bus drivers.  But that should not be something that paid guests have to worry about.  Unfortunately it is at this time.
> I wanted to address the comment of "don't know why those on scooters get front of the line privileges".  I feel your frustration but there is a reason.
> *The scooters have to be loaded first due to safety reasons.  *Up to 6 family members are allowed by disney to accompany the disabled.  Then, after their "front of the line privilege", they are the Last to disembark from the bus.
> I hope you don't have to ever need to use a scooter.  It is not fun and it is no "privilege" to have to get on and off the buses with it.  When you ride a scooter you must keep your eyes on the front of your scooter to watch for children who wander in front of you or adults who want to cut across or are in a hurry.  You don't get to see much else while in the parks until you park.  You can't look at the windows, scenery, or attractions due to having to be constantly on the watch for people.  The disabled who use the scooters don't want to need them, but must use them for their mobility or health issues.  They have every right to ride the bus same as non disabled guests.  Please think of these things when you are frustrated at the disabled guests with their scooters.  I bet they would give anything to be able to stand and wait and to walk while at disney.


I would like to add one more thing about scooters loading first.  I had a personal experience trying to load a scooter on a bus that people were already on.  Most folks would temporarily move from their seat across from where the scooter loads if asked politely.  However, one guy, defiantly crossed his arms and said "NO!".  Well, I'm not sure if many folks have ever tried to park a scooter on the bus, but it's not just a piece of cake.  I attempted to work around his legs in angling the scooter into the spot, but that left me out too far, so I had to go forward again.  And his legs were in the way, but he still didn't get it until I accidently "nudged" him trying to get around.  At that point, the bus driver firmly told him to move until the scooter was in, and the other people retook their seats.  He whined about it all the way back to the resort.  

It's not as easy as it looks sometimes, and as disneyseniors said above, most of us are NOT in a scooter by choice, and love visiting Disney parks just as much as any other family.


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## Princess Katelet

disneyseniors said:


> Princess, sorry you had such a long wait for SSR.  I'm betting it's all related to not enough bus drivers.  But that should not be something that paid guests have to worry about.  Unfortunately it is at this time.
> I wanted to address the comment of "don't know why those on scooters get front of the line privileges".  I feel your frustration but there is a reason.
> The scooters have to be loaded first due to safety reasons.  Up to 6 family members are allowed by disney to accompany the disabled.  Then, after their "front of the line privilege", they are the Last to disembark from the bus.
> I hope you don't have to ever need to use a scooter.  It is not fun and it is no "privilege" to have to get on and off the buses with it.  When you ride a scooter you must keep your eyes on the front of your scooter to watch for children who wander in front of you or adults who want to cut across or are in a hurry.  You don't get to see much else while in the parks until you park.  You can't look at the windows, scenery, or attractions due to having to be constantly on the watch for people.  The disabled who use the scooters don't want to need them, but must use them for their mobility or health issues.  They have every right to ride the bus same as non disabled guests.  Please think of these things when you are frustrated at the disabled guests with their scooters.  I bet they would give anything to be able to stand and wait and to walk while at disney.


Thank you so much for the very kind response to my report.  I appreciate your gentleness and even level of response.  I, too, hope I never need a scooter someday, and definitely realize touring Disney (or any place, or just everyday living) is infinitely harder and less enjoyable with mobility issues, and the crowds at Disney make this incredibly difficult and dangerous.  It was definitely frustrating to be in line for an hour though and watch as scooters and their family would walk up 45 minutes after us, and get on the next bus while we again waited, shut out.  I thought this was odd because I had a scooter behind me in the Slinky Dog ride, so they did not get head of the line privileges for that attraction, so why buses?  (Not the same, but I watched a nearly blind woman stagger all through the looooong Soarin' line with her husband holding her elbow and her white cane sweeping the area before she took a step and wondered why on earth that poor lady had to deal with that line and crowd so I find how Disney treats guests with various health issues all rather inconsistent, personally.)  Then VandV'sMama just posted that while waiting for her Pop bus to return them to Pop the scooters were NOT going in front of everyone so again there's inconsistency.  Plus, with a resort with multiple stops, like SSR, you CAN'T load a scooter into an empty bus because the scooter could be at the last stop and by then the bus already had people on it.  So they do indeed load scooters into buses that guests are already on.  So I'm not sure what the actual rules are and they definitely don't apply them consistently across the board.
And you're probably right about not enough bus drivers, but SSR was consistently the stop with hoards of people while other resort lines were empty, yet buses still kept pulling up to those empty lines!  I've never stayed at SSR before this trip but later someone told me it's the largest hotel on property (as far as how many guests it holds) so a place like that obviously needs more buses than a smaller resort does.  I also don't know why there aren't transportation people at the stops radioing in which buses to send and not send, they are on the ground and can see which lines are long and which are empty.  I mean there WERE transportation people there because on several different nights they would walk over and apologize to the line for wait and lack of buses, but they didn't seem to be able to DO anything about it.  We had a good time overall, we were grateful to be there, but we did miss FP and we missed the larger variety of food options, and the buses were a consistent issue.  Also, the inability to load the buses fully played an enormous role in the bus issue.  The scooters truly only take up two extra seats (they use three, and if the person was not in a scooter they would be in a seat, so it's only two seats that you lose for others when loading a scooter) however, as you said, if they load first no matter when they hit the line, and they are allowed six family members, then with the vastly decreased capacity of buses it does mean people who have been waiting forever continue to wait.  I've never had an issue with buses or scooters before this covid, socially distanced trip so things simply aren't ideal for anyone, le sigh.


----------



## PPFlight75

VandVsmama said:


> *6/6:*
> MK day.  Last park day.  We avoided AK on purpose on this trip...too hot there.  MK park hours started at 8 am and I **intended** for us to be out the door early, but that didn't work out.
> 
> I got up at 6:10.  By the time everybody showered, got dressed, and ate breakfast, it was 7:40 am.  So we were already behind.  Had to get batteries for 1 of our WDW fans.  Learned that our DME pick up for the next day was NOT scheduled like my travel agent had told us, so I had to go to the front desk in order to get that sorted out.  Front desk agent said it was good I went there in the morning because with that much time ahead of time, she could resolve it herself instead of me having to call.  Pick up for the next day was at 10:30 am.
> 
> Then went to the MK bus line and the line was insanely long.  And not socially distanced long, but parties 2-3' apart long.  DH & I took 1 look at that line and said to each other, "It's going to take an hour to get there. Forget it, let's get a Lyft."  So that's exactly what we did and we ended up with the same driver who'd taken us to  Epcot 2 evenings prior.
> 
> 8:49 am - were in Adventureland, REALLY wanted to go on Jungle Cruise, but wait time was 30 min, so YDD said, "Let's skip it and see what the wait is later. I really love that ride, but I dont' want to wait half an hour for it."  Went on Aladdin's Magic Carpets instead with a 10 min wait (was really 5).
> 
> 9:02 - in line for BTMRR with a 16 min wait, but was really half of that.  DH now officially likes this attraction.
> 
> After that, we went on Peter Pan (had to wait outside in the sunny queue for a few min, so the UV umbrellas saved us), then Mad Tea Party with a 5-10 min wait.  After that, we all noticed how much more intense the heat felt today compared to 1 or 2 days' prior, so we stopped for drinks and snacks before moving on to Dumbo (5 min wait), then Peoplemover (posted 20 min, but was 7-8).
> 
> After that, it was 11:54 and we were on a bus to the Riviera (5 min wait for the bus). Pre-ordered lunch while on the bus - 2 pizzas, 2 Italian sandwiches with tomato soup.  Dh & I browsed in the Riviera gift shop.  There's a Princess & the Frog painting there that I'd like to purchase on our next trip.  Love the vibe of the Riviera.  I'd like to stay there some day.
> 
> then it was Skyliner back to Pop, followed by nap, pool, nap, shower, laundry
> 
> Took a bus back to MK and only waited 10 min this time for the MK bus.  We had 5:40 ADR at The Wave for dinner.  Took resort monorail to CR with no wait.  Checked in at The Wave at 5:35.  Dinner was good.  Both kids ordered the steak and really enjoyed it.  We shared a 7-layer chocolate cake and carrot cake for dessert.  Kids liked the 7-layer cake a lot.
> 
> After dinner, took the monorail back to MK, but got on board on the wrong side, so we took the scenic deluxe resort circle tour around the resort monorail loop on accident.
> 
> Tried again for Jungle Cruise, but it was still a 40-60 min wait and YDD said, "No way, forget it."  At 7:48, got in line for POTC.  Probably waited 10 min for this.  A really annoying family of 5 (2 parents, 3 young children) were so close to us that the mom and kids were touching my rear end.  After a few min of this, I couldn't take it anymore and told them to please go on ahead of us.  And then I watched them snuggle up to the rear ends of the people who were in front of us.
> 
> After POTC, we thought again about Jungle Cruise, but decided against it.  We only had time for probably 1 more ride before park close.  Went over to 7DMT and the wait was posted at 40 min with the queue extending way way down towards Dumbo.  Did we want to wait 40 min?  No.
> 
> How about BTMRR?  Maybe.  But we got to HM and it was a walk on, so we did that instead.  Finished up with HM about 4 min before official park close.
> 
> On Main Street, we split up...DH & YDD went into the Emporium while ODD & I went to the Pandora shop because she wanted to spend some of her money on a Pandora charm.  Then we all met up at the bus stop.
> 
> Bus stop to Pop this time wasn't nearly as long as it had been a few nights' prior.  Lots of buses coming every couple of minutes.  I think it was about 20 min by the time we were seated on a bus. LOTS of scooters.  By the way, they were not pulling the scooters out of line for priority access, so somebody in a scooter at the back of the line didn't get to "cut" in front of the dozens of other parties.
> 
> About 30-50% of the buses were these larger, newer, fancier "Academy" buses, but those don't take scooters.  The Academy buses accommodate strollers by putting the strollers in the luggage compartment area under the bus.  Sometimes, you didn't even have to fold up the stroller.
> 
> Stopped at the Pop food court to pick up a mobile order of Mickey rice krispy treats and chocolate chip cookies.  I really wish that there were more options there for desserts.
> 
> The following day was check out day.  Met up with a local Orlando friend for breakfast (picked us up at Pop), then got our bags from the room and headed to the bus stop for the Tragical Express bus ride to the airport!
> 
> *Overall impressions:*
> 
> It was a fun and awesome trip.
> I live in AZ and am used to hot weather, but not used to FL hot.
> I hope they reopen the ice cream parlor on Main Street again soon.
> Bus service from Pop to MK early in the morning is a pain in the neck.
> My DH is a bit of a primadonna about food prices at WDW and would like to be able to order a Deluxe resort TS-quality omelette at a value resort food court for breakfast.
> Star Wars Galaxy's Edge was amazing.
> Saw Goofy at Pop Century 1 afternoon doing socially distanced meet & greets while I was walking back from the laundry room.  That was cool.
> The customer service at WDW is really great.
> I'd like the dining plan to return so we can use it on our next trip and my DH can quit whining about the cost of the food.


I love your trip report and am glad you had a great time. Your husband cracks me up! I am going to have to look into Lyft if the buses are crazy!


----------



## VandVsmama

Re: scooters loading on buses:

What I observed is this...

When a bus pulled up, if someone was on a scooter and they were near the front of the line, the bus loader/monitor person would count the # of people in front of them and then have the person on the scooter get out of line and sit to the side.  The scooter would be loaded first, then able bodied passengers afterwards.

So essentially the person on the scooter had to wait in the queue with everybody else the whole entire time.  There was not a separate scooter/wheelchair line.

What did NOT occur is a CM scanning the big long line of guests and pulling out all of the scooters and having the scooter rider and his/her group cut to the front of the big long queue.

My apologies if what I said earlier was confusing!


----------



## Princess Katelet

VandVsmama said:


> Re: scooters loading on buses:
> 
> What I observed is this...
> 
> When a bus pulled up, if someone was on a scooter and they were near the front of the line, the bus loader/monitor person would count the # of people in front of them and then have the person on the scooter get out of line and sit to the side.  The scooter would be loaded first, then able bodied passengers afterwards.
> 
> So essentially the person on the scooter had to wait in the queue with everybody else the whole entire time.  There was not a separate scooter/wheelchair line.
> 
> What did NOT occur is a CM scanning the big long line of guests and pulling out all of the scooters and having the scooter rider and his/her group cut to the front of the big long queue.
> 
> My apologies if what I said earlier was confusing!


Hmm…what I observed at parks was scooters just pulled off to the side of the queue, they did not get IN the line, ever. When the bus pulled up they loaded scooters and family first. Again they were not in line, they were off to the side where I think there was a wheelchair icon telling them where to wait. Maybe this was only for SSR bus stops?? Not sure.
AT SSR at the five little resort stops the scooters went front and center in the middle of the covered stop and they got loaded first regardless of when they got to the stop.
Your observations vs my observations just again proves Disney’s inconsistency here, lol.


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## SwanVT2

It is interesting to see how many people experienced long lines for jungle cruise. Since we have been bringing our daughter we have yet to get on that ride because it is either closed or the line is 45 minutes plus wait after we have rope dropped and used fast passes. Maybe this year I should just go on it first thing! Haha.


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## georgina

Princess Katelet said:


> Hmm…what I observed at parks was scooters just pulled off to the side of the queue, they did not get IN the line, ever. When the bus pulled up they loaded scooters and family first. Again they were not in line, they were off to the side where I think there was a wheelchair icon telling them where to wait. Maybe this was only for SSR bus stops?? Not sure.
> AT SSR at the five little resort stops the scooters went front and center in the middle of the covered stop and they got loaded first regardless of when they got to the stop.
> Your observations vs my observations just again proves Disney’s inconsistency here, lol.



I haven't been lately, but that was always my experience with Disney buses. Scooters did not wait in the regular line and boarded ahead of those who had been waiting in line longer. We mostly drive ourselves to the parks now.



SwanVT2 said:


> It is interesting to see how many people experienced long lines for jungle cruise. Since we have been bringing our daughter we have yet to get on that ride because it is either closed or the line is 45 minutes plus wait after we have rope dropped and used fast passes. Maybe this year I should just go on it first thing! Haha.


That line is always long, it seems. We only ever rode it with FP or during after hours events. NOT worth a long wait!


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## JBRB828

elgerber said:


> I LOVE a white noise machine, we just bought a tiny one for travel, to replace the one that we wore out.



 I have tinnitus so, I have white noise ALL the time!


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## ScarletFire

Epcot242 said:


> So are people finding that if they get there at rope drop they're getting on a decent amount of rides? We have a 2-day, 1 park/day quickie trip coming up and I'd like to set expectations for our small group if I can.



Yes!  Rope drop is the way!!  We rode everything over a four day period, no problems.  We had park hoppers and always rode an end of the night ride or two.

You must be at transportation 90 minutes before announced park opening.  We stayed at CBR and were in-line for the skyliner immediately after making our RoR reservation; 7:10am. Social Distancing means buses quickly fill to capacity.  If you don’t arrive to the bus stop early, full buses will pass you by. It happened to us.  We still got to DAK before official opening but we missed rope drop.  At 8am, Avatar wait was 85 minutes.  Glad we park hopped and rode Avatar the night before!

Disney is too expensive to sleep in!!

That being said, everyone is HAPPY!  Not many frowny faces At WDW!


----------



## jlstwinmommy

ILoveMyDVC said:


> How crowded was Blizzard Beach?


Blizzard beach was not crowded at all. Crowded enough to sell out patios but lines were very reasonable for water slides. We enjoyed it there quite a bit, especially in the heat


----------



## jbrinkm

SwanVT2 said:


> It is interesting to see how many people experienced long lines for jungle cruise. Since we have been bringing our daughter we have yet to get on that ride because it is either closed or the line is 45 minutes plus wait after we have rope dropped and used fast passes. Maybe this year I should just go on it first thing! Haha.



We had problems with Jungle Cruise back during our first trip in 2015. Always down or really long waits, as you said. Not planning to do it this time.


----------



## jlstwinmommy

Epcot242 said:


> So are people finding that if they get there at rope drop they're getting on a decent amount of rides? We have a 2-day, 1 park/day quickie trip coming up and I'd like to set expectations for our small group if I can.


I found we could ride 2-3 rides in the morning before the heat and crowds got too much. We were more successful in the evenings. The last hour we could squeeze in 4 rides or more depending on our priorities.
As an example, we closed MK last night after a fabulous dinner at Narcoosies. We got to MK at 8:15. We rode haunted mansion, little mermaid, buzz, and space mountain. Walked off space at 9:05.


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Princess Katelet said:


> Thank you so much for the very kind response to my report.  I appreciate your gentleness and even level of response.  I, too, hope I never need a scooter someday, and definitely realize touring Disney (or any place, or just everyday living) is infinitely harder and less enjoyable with mobility issues, and the crowds at Disney make this incredibly difficult and dangerous.  It was definitely frustrating to be in line for an hour though and watch as scooters and their family would walk up 45 minutes after us, and get on the next bus while we again waited, shut out.  I thought this was odd because I had a scooter behind me in the Slinky Dog ride, so they did not get head of the line privileges for that attraction, so why buses?  (Not the same, but I watched a nearly blind woman stagger all through the looooong Soarin' line with her husband holding her elbow and her white cane sweeping the area before she took a step and wondered why on earth that poor lady had to deal with that line and crowd so I find how Disney treats guests with various health issues all rather inconsistent, personally.)  Then VandV'sMama just posted that while waiting for her Pop bus to return them to Pop the scooters were NOT going in front of everyone so again there's inconsistency.  Plus, with a resort with multiple stops, like SSR, you CAN'T load a scooter into an empty bus because the scooter could be at the last stop and by then the bus already had people on it.  So they do indeed load scooters into buses that guests are already on.  So I'm not sure what the actual rules are and they definitely don't apply them consistently across the board.
> And you're probably right about not enough bus drivers, but SSR was consistently the stop with hoards of people while other resort lines were empty, yet buses still kept pulling up to those empty lines!  I've never stayed at SSR before this trip but later someone told me it's the largest hotel on property (as far as how many guests it holds) so a place like that obviously needs more buses than a smaller resort does.  I also don't know why there aren't transportation people at the stops radioing in which buses to send and not send, they are on the ground and can see which lines are long and which are empty.  I mean there WERE transportation people there because on several different nights they would walk over and apologize to the line for wait and lack of buses, but they didn't seem to be able to DO anything about it.  We had a good time overall, we were grateful to be there, but we did miss FP and we missed the larger variety of food options, and the buses were a consistent issue.  Also, the inability to load the buses fully played an enormous role in the bus issue.  The scooters truly only take up two extra seats (they use three, and if the person was not in a scooter they would be in a seat, so it's only two seats that you lose for others when loading a scooter) however, as you said, if they load first no matter when they hit the line, and they are allowed six family members, then with the vastly decreased capacity of buses it does mean people who have been waiting forever continue to wait.  I've never had an issue with buses or scooters before this covid, socially distanced trip so things simply aren't ideal for anyone, le sigh.


another thing which happened to me leaving MK one night precovid, I walk with a cane had a mother pull her young daughter up so close to me that I could not put my cane down. she looks at me and says dont put that down on her daughter. I looked at mom and answered her would you prefer me to fall on your daughter as that would be the direction I would fall.  should have seen how fast she moved her daughter so I could put the cane down. she was not happy with me but what I told her was the truth


----------



## Chernabob

Epcot242 said:


> So are people finding that if they get there at rope drop they're getting on a decent amount of rides? We have a 2-day, 1 park/day quickie trip coming up and I'd like to set expectations for our small group if I can.


We're on day 4.  And as hard as it is to get everyone up and around, I'm still convinced rope drop is the way to go.  Both for crowds and heat.

Our first day at MK was great for rides, knocked out several by 10 am--SDMT, Space, Haunted Mansion, Pirates.

EPCOT was meh for rope drop, but it could be us.  We practically walked onto TT, but had back luck after that.  Just an off day for us.

At DHS, everyone goes to SDD.  If that's a must-do on your trip, better plan to rope drop it.  Crowds just don't go down for it.  And then same for FOP at AK.  We did it, KS and then Everest in a couple of hours.


----------



## scrappinginontario

VandVsmama said:


> Re: scooters loading on buses:
> 
> What I observed is this...
> 
> When a bus pulled up, if someone was on a scooter and they were near the front of the line, the bus loader/monitor person would count the # of people in front of them and then have the person on the scooter get out of line and sit to the side.  The scooter would be loaded first, then able bodied passengers afterwards.
> 
> So essentially the person on the scooter had to wait in the queue with everybody else the whole entire time.  There was not a separate scooter/wheelchair line.
> 
> What did NOT occur is a CM scanning the big long line of guests and pulling out all of the scooters and having the scooter rider and his/her group cut to the front of the big long queue.
> 
> My apologies if what I said earlier was confusing!


Possibly it was the resort you were staying at?   At Pop, AoA, all parks and DS, the scooters line up separately from the other guests and scooter then their families are loaded first.


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## Princess Katelet

Betty Rohrer said:


> another thing which happened to me leaving MK one night precovid, I walk with a cane had a mother pull her young daughter up so close to me that I could not put my cane down. she looks at me and says dont put that down on her daughter. I looked at mom and answered her would you prefer me to fall on your daughter as that would be the direction I would fall.  should have seen how fast she moved her daughter so I could put the cane down. she was not happy with me but what I told her was the truth


What?? That’s terrible!  Where is the compassion, manners, and appreciation of personal space?? I’m sorry that happened to you.


----------



## spumonisowner

cdurham1 said:


> I was surprised to read you used to get 10+ fastpasses/day at MK with refresh, but still were happy on this trip waiting 55 minutes for anything.   I am in the same boat, used to refresh the crap out of fastpasses, and now I am horrified at the idea of waiting in lines.


Well, I wouldn’t go as far as to say I was happy waiting that long, but I didn’t have a choice. It was manageable but I still really prefer FP+! The only park I didn’t really miss it as much was AK. We went to Epcot today and really missed it there! I honestly managed better at Epcot with refreshing FP on NYE (2018?) than I did today. I rode everything I wanted to eventually but was there from rope drop to shortly before close. Even the boat in Mexico had a line out the door in the sun most of the day. As others have said the lines out in the hot sun are pretty brutal.


----------



## Princess Katelet

jlundeen said:


> I would like to add one more thing about scooters loading first.  I had a personal experience trying to load a scooter on a bus that people were already on.  Most folks would temporarily move from their seat across from where the scooter loads if asked politely.  However, one guy, defiantly crossed his arms and said "NO!".  Well, I'm not sure if many folks have ever tried to park a scooter on the bus, but it's not just a piece of cake.  I attempted to work around his legs in angling the scooter into the spot, but that left me out too far, so I had to go forward again.  And his legs were in the way, but he still didn't get it until I accidently "nudged" him trying to get around.  At that point, the bus driver firmly told him to move until the scooter was in, and the other people retook their seats.  He whined about it all the way back to the resort.
> 
> It's not as easy as it looks sometimes, and as disneyseniors said above, most of us are NOT in a scooter by choice, and love visiting Disney parks just as much as any other family.


I’ve witnessed the expert driving you need to do to get up the ramp and then back up into the spot on the bus. It looks very difficult and that guy was rude (and stupid). I’m sure it’s not fun to have to make those maneuvers with people watching you, too.  I saw several people tip their scooters off the ramp this trip, it was scary to watch but fortunately they were okay.


----------



## boop0524

jlstwinmommy said:


> I found we could ride 2-3 rides in the morning before the heat and crowds got too much. We were more successful in the evenings. The last hour we could squeeze in 4 rides or more depending on our priorities.
> As an example, we closed MK last night after a fabulous dinner at Narcoosies. We got to MK at 8:15. We rode haunted mansion, little mermaid, buzz, and space mountain. Walked off space at 9:05.



We had great luck at the end of the day as well. Shorter and very manageable waits for SDMT and Splash. While we rope dropped SDD, we also did it again at the end of the night for maybe a 10 minute wait. We felt the mornings were crowded compared to recent trips, so rope drop can be good but it’s definitely not the only way to get in rides.


----------



## spumonisowner

boop0524 said:


> We had great luck at the end of the day as well. Shorter and very manageable waits for SDMT and Splash. While we rope dropped SDD, we also did it again at the end of the night for maybe a 10 minute wait. We felt the mornings were crowded compared to recent trips, so rope drop can be good but it’s definitely not the only way to get in rides.


I agree. Rope drop only got us 1-2 rides but I think people left early due to the heat so wait times were actually better in the evenings.


----------



## VandVsmama

Princess Katelet said:


> Hmm…what I observed at parks was scooters just pulled off to the side of the queue, they did not get IN the line, ever. When the bus pulled up they loaded scooters and family first. Again they were not in line, they were off to the side where I think there was a wheelchair icon telling them where to wait. Maybe this was only for SSR bus stops?? Not sure.
> AT SSR at the five little resort stops the scooters went front and center in the middle of the covered stop and they got loaded first regardless of when they got to the stop.
> Your observations vs my observations just again proves Disney’s inconsistency here, lol.





scrappinginontario said:


> Possibly it was the resort you were staying at?   At Pop, AoA, all parks and DS, the scooters line up separately from the other guests and scooter then their families are loaded first.



This was at the MK bus stop **at MK** to go back to Pop.


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## BridgetR3

Question for those who have visited resorts from off site recently - We are planning to have breakfast at Pop on an upcoming trip but aren't staying at Disney and do not even have Disney tickets for the parks.  How are they handling that recently?  I know in the past pre-covid it was never a problem for us but I also know that recently people were not let in.  Are they relaxing that somewhat now?


----------



## JLS

Wanted to report on our MK day, Monday June 7. We are staying at AKL Jambo House and this MK day was our first day in the parks. We left Jambo House at 705 a.m. via Uber, got dropped at Contemporary and walked over. We were in the park by 735 a.m. The only rides open before 8 a.m. were Pirates, 7DMT, PP and Space Mountain. We had a 12:00 p.m. lunch reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern. 

Before lunch - so 7:30 a.m. to noon - we did the following
Peter Pan (walk on at 745 p.m. )
Haunted Mansion twice (walk on, let in at 7:55 a.m)
Splash (10 min wait)
Pirates (25 min wait)
Snack at Aloha Isle (mobile order)
Aladdin twice (10 min wait for each)
Jungle Cruise - posted line 50 minutes. Moved very slowly. About 20 minutes in the posted line went up to 70 min. This was our only bad experience of the day. The line absolutely creeped along, and we watched a ton of people come through the "special FP line" and go right to the front and board. They were not with tour guides and this is not a child swap ride so we could not figure out why so many people were getting in this line but it was large party after large party. This was entirely separate from the disability line that boards in a separate spot where the boats pull up earlier. But that was an issue too. Between the large parties boarding through the disability entrance, and then the many special FP line groups, I would say the regular line was getting about 1/3 of the available capacity on the ride. The line just barely moved. After 70 minutes we were not close to the front and we were about to miss our ADR for Liberty Tree. We asked if they could call the restaurant to tell them. Instead they gave us a recovery FP and we were able to go to lunch and return. 

After lunch (130) until we left the park at 6:45 p.m. we were able to do the following
Swiss Family twice (walk on)
TTA (10-15 min wait)
Buzz twice (15 min wait each)
Space twice (about 25-30 wait each)
7 Dwarves Mine train (35-40 min wait)
Dumbo (walk on)
Barnstormer three times (5 min wait each)
Teacups (5-10 minute wait)

We left the park around 6:45 p.m. very happy with our day. Pleasantly surprised at low wait times late in the afternoon. If we had stayed until park closing (9 p.m.) we could have done just as well and skipped rope drop. The only nightmare was Jungle Cruise. Even at 60 minutes wait this ride is not worth it IMO, and they really seem to have problems right now keeping that line manageable. It is ludicrous IMO to not fill the boats after everyone has been crammed together in line for 70 minutes. 

Liberty Tree Tavern was a good experience and the kids loved the food, but overall that place is way too pricey for food like Mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. I liked it but it was $250 for a family of 5 for lunch, so not sure we will do it again.


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## DL1WDW2

Is security allowing uber &/or Lyft past the security gates at Contemporary now ? No dining or resort reservation required anymore? Or just you got lucky?
Previous poster also asked about the policy at POP for parking without Disney ticketing or reservations… so your answer would be helpful.
Thanks


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## Minnie_49

On our way home from an 8 day trip. I can’t stress enough the importance of rope drop especially at DHS and AK. We were on the first bus from AKL Jambo at 7:41 all three of our DHS days and were able to be about 3 groups back at the turnstiles. Go all the way to the right. Our strategy was to go straight to Rock and Roller coaster then ToT or Smugglers Run (older kids no interest in Slinky). We were able to get 2 rides with low waits then a third with a wait of 30-40 minutes. We put in mobile orders for Woodys Lunch Box while in line to enter and had Tochoes for breakfast at about 10:30. Also need to plan ahead to mobile order lunch here. On our AK days we were on the first bus at 6:57. Got us in a good position for rope drop. Did Flight of Passage, Navi, then about a 40 minute wait for Safari, 25 minute wait for Everest. Second AK day did Flight of Passage then straight to Everest - no wait. Very hard to get up early but totally worth it. Our one sleep in day we had a late breakfast and shopped. Were able to do a few rides last two hours before park closing. Evenings were ok. Had good luck at Magic Kingdom in the evenings. Generally 30-40 minute waits for headliners last couple hours of the day, but rope drop worked best for us.


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## JLS

DL1WDW2 said:


> Is security allowing uber &/or Lyft past the security gates at Contemporary now ? No dining or resort reservation required anymore? Or just you got lucky?
> Previous poster also asked about the policy at POP for parking without Disney ticketing or reservations… so your answer would be helpful.
> Thanks


Our Uber driver showed his ID, motioned that he was dropping us off, circled around after the security gates, pulled to the left and let us out. No problem from the guard. We were not trying to go inside the Contemporary.


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## JLS

Minnie_49 said:


> On our way home from an 8 day trip. I can’t stress enough the importance of rope drop especially at DHS and AK. We were on the first bus from AKL Jambo at 7:41 all three of our DHS days and were able to be about 3 groups back at the turnstiles. Go all the way to the right. Our strategy was to go straight to Rock and Roller coaster then ToT or Smugglers Run (older kids no interest in Slinky). We were able to get 2 rides with low waits then a third with a wait of 30-40 minutes. We put in mobile orders for Woodys Lunch Box while in line to enter and had Tochoes for breakfast at about 10:30. Also need to plan ahead to mobile order lunch here. On our AK days we were on the first bus at 6:57. Got us in a good position for rope drop. Did Flight of Passage, Navi, then about a 40 minute wait for Safari, 25 minute wait for Everest. Second AK day did Flight of Passage then straight to Everest - no wait. Very hard to get up early but totally worth it. Our one sleep in day we had a late breakfast and shopped. Were able to do a few rides last two hours before park closing. Evenings were ok. Had good luck at Magic Kingdom in the evenings. Generally 30-40 minute waits for headliners last couple hours of the day, but rope drop worked best for us.


Also just leaving Jambo house, same trip week. I would offer that evenings before park closing are just as good as rope drops if your family doesn't want to get up. We went the last hour AK was open on Tuesday and we did Everest 3 times with 5 minute wait each, then got in line for FOP and did it with about 30 minute wait, left the park by 745. On Saturday we slept in (kids too tired for RD), got to Animal Kingdom at 1115 a.m., Dinosaur was 10 minute wait, and Everest was 20 minutes (did it twice). Then waited only about 30 or 35 minutes for Safaris. We skipped Kali, that ride not worth the wait to us. During the last hour of the day in the studios we did Runaway Railway (20 minute line) and walked on ToT.  Rock n rollercoaster was 25 minutes at end of the day, which is less than what we waited at 9 a.m. earlier in the week.


----------



## scrappinginontario

JLS said:


> Our Uber driver showed his ID, motioned that he was dropping us off, circled around after the security gates, pulled to the left and let us out. No problem from the guard. We were not trying to go inside the Contemporary.


 Just a note that this is not common as for a very long time guests not staying at the resort and who were not dining at the Contemporary with a confirmed ADR we’re being turned away.  

Things may have changed but this one case above is different from what many others have shared.


----------



## JLS

scrappinginontario said:


> Just a note that this is not common as for a very long time guests not staying at the resort and who were not dining at the Contemporary with a confirmed ADR we’re being turned away.
> 
> Things may have changed but this one case above is different from what many others have shared.


Well even if we had been turned away, the Uber would have had to do the same thing which is just flip a U turn after the gate in order to leave, and then he would have let us out right before leaving the parking lot. I don't think they can prevent you from getting out of the car on the sidewalk before the security gate. We were not trying to walk into the hotel, we were getting out and walking away from the hotel.


----------



## GBRforWDW

JLS said:


> Well even if we had been turned away, the Uber would have had to do the same thing which is just flip a U turn after the gate in order to leave, and then he would have let us out right before leaving the parking lot. I don't think they can prevent you from getting out of the car on the sidewalk before the security gate. We were not trying to walk into the hotel, we were getting out and walking away from the hotel.


You'd be surprised.   Haha.  There were lots of reports of exactly this happening.  I really don't know what would happen if you ignored him telling you to get back in the car, but would you have wanted to find out after spending Disney money?


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## WDW4us2006

We took an Uber twice in the late afternoon both to the Contemporary and Polynesian for drinks without reservations and both times we were just waved in by the gate security. I was surprised as this was not usually the practice previously, I wasn’t sure if we would be turned away or not. 
The drivers both just said “dropping off” and flashed their badges and that was it. YMMV.


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## preemiemama

Staying at Jambo in a few weeks- wondering how it is there currently.  Mostly busses, food and pool.  Any advice?


----------



## glocon

WDW4us2006 said:


> We took an Uber twice in the late afternoon both to the Contemporary and Polynesian for drinks without reservations and both times we were just waved in by the gate security. I was surprised as this was not usually the practice previously, I wasn’t sure if we would be turned away or not.
> The drivers both just said “dropping off” and flashed their badges and that was it. YMMV.


I wonder if it’s different in the afternoon when it’s not rope drop time. Seems reasonable.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

BridgetR3 said:


> Question for those who have visited resorts from off site recently - We are planning to have breakfast at Pop on an upcoming trip but aren't staying at Disney and do not even have Disney tickets for the parks.  How are they handling that recently?  I know in the past pre-covid it was never a problem for us but I also know that recently people were not let in.  Are they relaxing that somewhat now?


It’s been hit or miss but it’s definitely possible you won’t be allowed in.  They are trying to prevent people parking at a resort to avoid parking fees at the parks.  And with Pop not having a sit down restaurant where you can get an ADR, you definitely might not be allowed in.


----------



## 10CJ

JLS said:


> Jungle Cruise - posted line 50 minutes. Moved very slowly. About 20 minutes in the posted line went up to 70 min. This was our only bad experience of the day. The line absolutely creeped along, and we watched a ton of people come through the "special FP line" and go right to the front and board. They were not with tour guides and this is not a child swap ride so we could not figure out why so many people were getting in this line but it was large party after large party. This was entirely separate from the disability line that boards in a separate spot where the boats pull up earlier. But that was an issue too. Between the large parties boarding through the disability entrance, and then the many special FP line groups, I would say the regular line was getting about 1/3 of the available capacity on the ride. The line just barely moved. After 70 minutes we were not close to the front and we were about to miss our ADR for Liberty Tree. We asked if they could call the restaurant to tell them. Instead they gave us a recovery FP and we were able to go to lunch and return.



So was the recovery FP a paper FP just for Jungle Cruise? Was it good only for that day? So did you end up going through the FP line to ride Jungle Cruise?


----------



## Minnie_49

preemiemama said:


> Staying at Jambo in a few weeks- wondering how it is there currently.  Mostly busses, food and pool.  Any advice?


Just finished an 8 day stay at Jambo. First bus to DHS was 7:41, AK was 6:57, not sure on Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Bus info on the app was very accurate. Always got a seat on first bus in the morning. Had to wait a couple times at closing for a second bus. Overall busses were good. Did mobile order from Mara for dinner a few times. Food was good, limited choices. Lunch options at the pool bar were very limited. We mostly got lunch at the park. Pool not crowded at all. Was closed one day for scheduled maintenance. We went to the pool at Kidani- it was more crowded but no problem getting chairs. Shuttle over was easy.


----------



## Heluvsme

We are currently in Animal Kingdom, just wanted to pass along a "Posted Wait Times" reality check.

The Navi River Journey had a standby time of 40 minutes, my MDE app listed 35 minutes, another wait times app listed 30 minutes, we boarded the boat at 21 minutes.

Waiting in line now at Expedition Everest, posted standby time 50 minutes, MDE shows 35 minutes, I'll update when we reach the front. 
The end of the line is back past the Nemo auditorium though.


----------



## Rivergirl2005

Not sure if this is the right place but I need help with my nerves. We leave tomorrow morning and I’ve been a huge planner in the past. I knew how to work the Fp system to the biggest benefit. I’m just worried, the only game plan I have is reservations. I’ve checked touring lines for ideas but it really seems like rope drop break and then get a lot done after 4. I’ve been following here to get some ideas on what to do but I’m still not sure. I know I’ll be happy with whatever happens just worried since I feel like I have no plans lol With so many changes happening do I just keep the plan fluid and do what we want


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## maui2k5

Heluvsme said:


> We are currently in Animal Kingdom, just wanted to pass along a "Posted Wait Times" reality check.
> 
> The Navi River Journey had a standby time of 40 minutes, my MDE app listed 35 minutes, another wait times app listed 30 minutes, we boarded the boat at 21 minutes.
> 
> Waiting in line now at Expedition Everest, posted standby time 50 minutes, MDE shows 35 minutes, I'll update when we reach the front.
> The end of the line is back past the Nemo auditorium though.


Is there still distancing in place that would stretch the Everest line out so long?


----------



## preemiemama

Minnie_49 said:


> Just finished an 8 day stay at Jambo. First bus to DHS was 7:41, AK was 6:57, not sure on Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Bus info on the app was very accurate. Always got a seat on first bus in the morning. Had to wait a couple times at closing for a second bus. Overall busses were good. Did mobile order from Mara for dinner a few times. Food was good, limited choices. Lunch options at the pool bar were very limited. We mostly got lunch at the park. Pool not crowded at all. Was closed one day for scheduled maintenance. We went to the pool at Kidani- it was more crowded but no problem getting chairs. Shuttle over was easy.


Great- thank you!  I've been a little worried as it's our first time staying here, so not knowing what to expect for "normal" times on top of the resort mostly being closed makes it tough!  I've been hearing stories about bad bus service from other resorts, so wasn't sure how that was going at Jambo!


----------



## spumonisowner

Rivergirl2005 said:


> Not sure if this is the right place but I need help with my nerves. We leave tomorrow morning and I’ve been a huge planner in the past. I knew how to work the Fp system to the biggest benefit. I’m just worried, the only game plan I have is reservations. I’ve checked touring lines for ideas but it really seems like rope drop break and then get a lot done after 4. I’ve been following here to get some ideas on what to do but I’m still not sure. I know I’ll be happy with whatever happens just worried since I feel like I have no plans lol With so many changes happening do I just keep the plan fluid and do what we want


We’ve been here since 6/4 with 5 park days. I’m a big planner and FP+er too but have really had to go with the flow this trip. It’s been hard to predict when to do things and wait times posted aren’t always accurate. We are not really RD people and found closing the park to be best for us.

You’ll still have a great time! It’s just different. I actually enjoyed seeing the real lines for FOP and Smugglers run since I’ve only ever FP those. We had two DHS days and got BGs both days at 7am. So things are mostly manageable if you let go of the planning and pack your patience and stuff to keep you cool (ish) and hydrated.


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## Heluvsme

maui2k5 said:


> Is there still distancing in place that would stretch the Everest line out so long?


Yes!


----------



## Heluvsme

Heluvsme said:


> We are currently in Animal Kingdom, just wanted to pass along a "Posted Wait Times" reality check.
> 
> The Navi River Journey had a standby time of 40 minutes, my MDE app listed 35 minutes, another wait times app listed 30 minutes, we boarded the boat at 21 minutes.
> 
> Waiting in line now at Expedition Everest, posted standby time 50 minutes, MDE shows 35 minutes, I'll update when we reach the front.
> The end of the line is back past the Nemo auditorium though.


Update....
Expedition Everest was just about spot on. Standby was 35 minutes, we boarded at 32 minutes.


----------



## scrappinginontario

WDW4us2006 said:


> We took an Uber twice in the late afternoon both to the Contemporary and Polynesian for drinks without reservations and both times we were just waved in by the gate security. I was surprised as this was not usually the practice previously, I wasn’t sure if we would be turned away or not.
> The drivers both just said “dropping off” and flashed their badges and that was it. YMMV.


I’m guessing it is because you arrived in the afternoon so it wasn’t a problem and, you were going into the resort.  What Disney has been trying to avoid is guests who are supposed to be dropped off at the TTC for rope drop, being dropped off at the Contemporary or GF and walking to MK.  Resorts are not intended to be used for guest drop off to go to a park.



Rivergirl2005 said:


> Not sure if this is the right place but I need help with my nerves. We leave tomorrow morning and I’ve been a huge planner in the past. I knew how to work the Fp system to the biggest benefit. I’m just worried, the only game plan I have is reservations. I’ve checked touring lines for ideas but it really seems like rope drop break and then get a lot done after 4. I’ve been following here to get some ideas on what to do but I’m still not sure. I know I’ll be happy with whatever happens just worried since I feel like I have no plans lol With so many changes happening do I just keep the plan fluid and do what we want


The best advice I’ve read here is that Rope Drop and evenings are best times for shorter lines.


----------



## brockash

VandVsmama said:


> This was at the MK bus stop **at MK** to go back to Pop.


Yes, we've experienced this too.  We've seen them do it both ways and have actually had them direct my mom to the icon leaving MK, instead of going through the line, when the previous 2 nights she was told to go through the line...the inconsistency is really aggravating as my poor mom either feels like other ppl with think she's cutting them in line on purpose or she'll get sternly talked to from a cm telling her not to enter the line...definitely frustrating.


----------



## scrappinginontario

brockash said:


> Yes, we've experienced this too.  We've seen them do it both ways and have actually had them direct my mom to the icon leaving MK, instead of going through the line, when the previous 2 nights she was told to go through the line...the inconsistency is really aggravating as my poor mom either feels like other ppl with think she's cutting them in line on purpose or she'll get sternly talked to from a cm telling her not to enter the line...definitely frustrating.


Yes, unfortunately we've found the same inconsistency at MK and it makes things challenging for my dad at the end of a long day.  It would be much easier if they chose one way or the other and stuck to it.


----------



## Rivergirl2005

spumonisowner said:


> We’ve been here since 6/4 with 5 park days. I’m a big planner and FP+er too but have really had to go with the flow this trip. It’s been hard to predict when to do things and wait times posted aren’t always accurate. We are not really RD people and found closing the park to be best for us.
> 
> You’ll still have a great time! It’s just different. I actually enjoyed seeing the real lines for FOP and Smugglers run since I’ve only ever FP those. We had two DHS days and got BGs both days at 7am. So things are mostly manageable if you let go of the planning and pack your patience and stuff to keep you cool (ish) and hydrated.



Thank you! I guess I have to be like Elsa and let it go! Do you know are there still plexus glass on frozen?


----------



## Kelly014

maui2k5 said:


> Is there still distancing in place that would stretch the Everest line out so long?


I think part of the long lines is also that you used to have people in the fast pass line and standby line, but now they are all in standby so the lines stretch out longer.


----------



## HollyMD

Looks like several rides down at AK currently- shows they are still open for another hour and a half. Wonder if they lost power again?


----------



## adizzle819

Rivergirl2005 said:


> Thank you! I guess I have to be like Elsa and let it go! Do you know are there still plexus glass on frozen?


Not the OP but The plexiglass dividers were still on frozen this past Friday. Hope that helps


----------



## jediteacher

HollyMD said:


> Looks like several rides down at AK currently- shows they are still open for another hour and a half. Wonder if they lost power again?


It's been raining here today and that's messed with the rides


----------



## flowergleam1211

ENJDisneyFan said:


> It’s been hit or miss but it’s definitely possible you won’t be allowed in.  They are trying to prevent people parking at a resort to avoid parking fees at the parks.  And with Pop not having a sit down restaurant where you can get an ADR, you definitely might not be allowed in.


I was told two weeks ago that security will likely turn people away if they are not arriving through Disney transportation.


----------



## Mike Mantis

jediteacher said:


> It's been raining here today and that's messed with the rides



“Rain” was an understatement… It was raining so hard we rode “Carousel of Progress” 3 times because the monsoon wouldn’t stop… ;-)

With rain and thunder that strong, most outdoor rides shut down for around an hour and that totally messed up the lines and crowds for the rides that still were working.


----------



## JLS

preemiemama said:


> Staying at Jambo in a few weeks- wondering how it is there currently.  Mostly busses, food and pool.  Any advice?


Hi - hope you have a great stay. It felt pretty empty, particularly the lobby. Self parking was fantastic because very few cars in that lot. The CMs working at Jambo are super friendly and helpful. Mara is open every day until 10 pm. We filled water bottles there every morning on the way out to parks and we did mobile orders for breakfast and many dinners. Very few people in there. Limited but decent selection of items. You can buy refillable mug and use the filling station there. Pool is open at 10 am. Shuttle service to/from Kidsni was open and very easy. Loved going to the Kidani pool. It is super crowded over at Kidani compared to Jambo house. We didn’t take Disney busses except home from MK one time, so can’t really comment on that.


----------



## preemiemama

JLS said:


> Hi - hope you have a great stay. It felt pretty empty, particularly the lobby. Self parking was fantastic because very few cars in that lot. The CMs working at Jambo are super friendly and helpful. Mara is open every day until 10 pm. We filled water bottles there every morning on the way out to parks and we did mobile orders for breakfast and many dinners. Very few people in there. Limited but decent selection of items. You can buy refillable mug and use the filling station there. Pool is open at 10 am. Shuttle service to/from Kidsni was open and very easy. Loved going to the Kidani pool. It is super crowded over at Kidani compared to Jambo house. We didn’t take Disney busses except home from MK one time, so can’t really comment on that.


That is great to know!  We're contemplating the mugs because we used them a lot when we got them with the dining plan.  I'm not sure I'll mind it being quiet, but hate that not everything will be open.  At least with Mara open and the pool we should be OK.  Thanks for the insight!


----------



## nemolover22

boop0524 said:


> I would recommend in the morning going to the bus stop really early (before 90 mins) and waiting, even before they post the bus times on the app. We had a bus buzz by us twice before they were supposed to have arrived at the station. Not sure if they were just full or if it was because no one was at the station waiting but it was pretty frustrating. So just get there and wait would be my suggestion.
> 
> If a park is your high priority and it’s not hugely inconvenient, I’d walk to Paddock or even try to make it up to Grandstand to get on the bus. We were in Paddock but closer to CP so we used that station, and sometimes the busses would be full before making our stop. We also found the mid day busses to be the worst and almost missed a dinner ADR. Morning and end of day they are running pretty consistently, but when you hit the afternoon it’s a total crapshoot.
> 
> I saw in another thread a suggestion to take a Disney Springs bus to a resort within walking distance when in desperation. We had a car so never had to do that, but may be helpful for you. Have fun!!


Thank you so much for the tips! We are doing a split stay so the only parks we have reservations for when we are staying at SSR is Epcot & DAK. We will see if we either get to the bus really early or walk to a different bus stop. I wish in the mornings when its super busy that they send a bus to each different stop first so everyone has a chance to get on a bus rather than it to keep going to stop #1 over & over!


----------



## emmabelle

Got back on Saturday and we had fun but really didn't spend much time in the parks.  We went to Disney last September, and then February and this was by far the busiest.  We miss FP, my husband doesn't like waiting in lines and the old get to the park at rope drop doesn't seem to work well anymore.  I couldn't believe how large the crowds were at HS when we got to the turnstiles at 8:10am for a 9:00am opening.  We rode RNRC, TOT and TSM because the amount of crowds heading to SDD at opening just seemed way too overwhelming.  I did manage to get BG 36 for Rise so after that we bailed.  I'm glad that we really didn't need to ride everything because we go so often.  We only went to MK one night and basically did COP, HM, Buzz and the People Mover.  It was so hot and all the other lines were really long.  I can't believe we were in Disney a week and never rode Space, SM, Pirates, 7D, Frozen or SDD.    

We did have fun going out to breakfast every morning and sit down dinners at night which we never really do.  My husband loved Topolino's, I thought it was okay.  I didn't like the food at Hollywood and Vine at all.  The tenderloin was weird, my husband basically ate both our meals.  I enjoyed Chefs de France and Liberty Tree Tavern, also T Rex was super cute.

All and all it wasn't our typical Disney vacay but it was more relaxing with a lot of pool time.


----------



## robinb

VandVsmama said:


> Re: scooters loading on buses:
> 
> What I observed is this...
> 
> When a bus pulled up, if someone was on a scooter and they were near the front of the line, the bus loader/monitor person would count the # of people in front of them and then have the person on the scooter get out of line and sit to the side.  The scooter would be loaded first, then able bodied passengers afterwards.
> 
> So essentially the person on the scooter had to wait in the queue with everybody else the whole entire time.  There was not a separate scooter/wheelchair line.
> 
> What did NOT occur is a CM scanning the big long line of guests and pulling out all of the scooters and having the scooter rider and his/her group cut to the front of the big long queue.
> 
> My apologies if what I said earlier was confusing!


I used a scooter on my last trip and it was confusing for me.  Sometimes I was told to get in line and sometimes I was told to go in the scooter lane.  I missed a bus at the MK because I was IN LINE and then the bus came and I backed out and went into the scooter lane.  Meanwhile, more people loaded up in the line behind where I was in line.  The bus driver loaded THEM because he saw me scoot up along the edge and I should have been loaded instead.  It wasn't a big deal. It wasn't a long wait, but I asked one of the other drivers what I should do.


----------



## DisneyFive

emmabelle said:


> Got back on Saturday and we had fun but really didn't spend much time in the parks.  We went to Disney last September, and then February and this was by far the busiest.  We miss FP, my husband doesn't like waiting in lines and the old get to the park at rope drop doesn't seem to work well anymore.  I couldn't believe how large the crowds were at HS when we got to the turnstiles at 8:10am for a 9:00am opening.  We rode RNRC, TOT and TSM because the amount of crowds heading to SDD at opening just seemed way too overwhelming.  I did manage to get BG 36 for Rise so after that we bailed.  I'm glad that we really didn't need to ride everything because we go so often.  We only went to MK one night and basically did COP, HM, Buzz and the People Mover.  It was so hot and all the other lines were really long.  I can't believe we were in Disney a week and never rode Space, SM, Pirates, 7D, Frozen or SDD.
> 
> We did have fun going out to breakfast every morning and sit down dinners at night which we never really do.  My husband loved Topolino's, I thought it was okay.  I didn't like the food at Hollywood and Vine at all.  The tenderloin was weird, my husband basically ate both our meals.  I enjoyed Chefs de France and Liberty Tree Tavern, also T Rex was super cute.
> 
> All and all it wasn't our typical Disney vacay but it was more relaxing with a lot of pool time.



Just looked at MDE.  Lines are getting unacceptable.  
11:40 AM on a Monday
MK:  Splash 60 min, BTMRR 55 min, 7DMT 45, Space 35 min, Astro 45 min
HS:  SDD 80 min, MFSR 50 min, RnRC 50 min
AK:  FOP 70 min, Safari 50
EP:  TT 105 min, Soarin 70 min, Spaceship Earth 45 min

Dan


----------



## wilkydelts

DisneyFive said:


> Just looked at MDE.  Lines are getting unacceptable.
> 11:40 AM on a Monday
> MK:  Splash 60 min, BTMRR 55 min, 7DMT 45, Space 35 min, Astro 45 min
> HS:  SDD 80 min, MFSR 50 min, RnRC 50 min
> AK:  FOP 70 min, Safari 50
> EP:  TT 105 min, Soarin 70 min, Spaceship Earth 45 min
> 
> Dan



It has been stated regularly that MDE times are not accurate reflections of true waits.

If they are "true" they are not that bad in reality. It is like people forget with FP+ FOP used to be almost 3 hours.
EPCOT is super high because the park would have only been officially open for 40 minutes which is the highest windows.


----------



## GAN

DisneyFive said:


> Just looked at MDE.  Lines are getting unacceptable.
> 11:40 AM on a Monday
> MK:  Splash 60 min, BTMRR 55 min, 7DMT 45, Space 35 min, Astro 45 min
> HS:  SDD 80 min, MFSR 50 min, RnRC 50 min
> AK:  FOP 70 min, Safari 50
> EP:  TT 105 min, Soarin 70 min, Spaceship Earth 45 min
> 
> Dan



I would only trust the Lines app ...MDE is almost never accurate, just a tool to redirect guests


----------



## dmband

Castlequeen5 said:


> -
> Rise of the Resistance- walk-on


was there no boarding groups or you mean they were loading smooth a d there was no wait??


kylenne said:


> FYI there is a brand new Cruella themed magic shot in the UK pavilion, back in the garden area where the band used to play. The CM told me they just started it yesterday.


nice


GBRforWDW said:


> Thank goodness drinking and walking is ok again!   Stay safe everyone!


100%


WEDWDW said:


> I think the chances of some sort of fireworks show at Epcot for Independence Day are looking up-judging by the Crowds at the "return" of Epcot Rope Drop today,I don't think Disney is "worried" about Fireworks "crowding" anymore!lol
> 
> View attachment 580690


best place if you want to keep people spread out


Princess Katelet said:


> Hmm…what I observed at parks was scooters just pulled off to the side of the queue, they did not get IN the line, ever. When the bus pulled up they loaded scooters and family first. Again they were not in line, they were off to the side where I think there was a wheelchair icon telling them where to wait. Maybe this was only for SSR bus stops?? Not sure.
> AT SSR at the five little resort stops the scooters went front and center in the middle of the covered stop and they got loaded first regardless of when they got to the stop.
> Your observations vs my observations just again proves Disney’s inconsistency here, lol.


my experience too

can anyone confirm arcades are open at the resorts??
Some threads in the resort section said they are


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyFive said:


> Just looked at MDE.  Lines are getting unacceptable.
> 11:40 AM on a Monday
> MK:  Splash 60 min, BTMRR 55 min, 7DMT 45, Space 35 min, Astro 45 min
> HS:  SDD 80 min, MFSR 50 min, RnRC 50 min
> AK:  FOP 70 min, Safari 50
> EP:  TT 105 min, Soarin 70 min, Spaceship Earth 45 min
> 
> Dan


I just looked at my lines app approx 30 mins after you posted and across the board each of these wait times is 10-30 mins more than the lines app.

Also, considering what some attractions were like pre-Covid, I think even the posted 70 mins isn't bad for mid-day.

I really don't see the numbers above as too bad, even if they were as posted and according to the lines app these are higher than actual waits.

Reality is the parks are busier now so each person must decide if now is a good time for them to travel or wait until more attractions are open.  More and more people are able to travel which means many places (Disney being just one of them) has the potential to be busier than they have been in the past.


----------



## DisneyFive

Lines has:
TT at 75 minutes, Soarin at 56 minutes. 
FOP is 56 minutes
SDD 61 min, MFSR 42 min, MMRR 39 minutes, RnRC 31 min, TSM 35 min

Without any other option than standby, now we're forced to wait in these long lines when we could breeze through them in 20 minutes tops before.  Bummer

I guess that's o.k.?  Not for me.


----------



## MomOTwins

DisneyFive said:


> Just looked at MDE.  Lines are getting unacceptable.
> 11:40 AM on a Monday
> MK:  Splash 60 min, BTMRR 55 min, 7DMT 45, Space 35 min, Astro 45 min
> HS:  SDD 80 min, MFSR 50 min, RnRC 50 min
> AK:  FOP 70 min, Safari 50
> EP:  TT 105 min, Soarin 70 min, Spaceship Earth 45 min
> 
> Dan


These are all less than the posted (and actual) waits we experienced in March.  People in May were reporting 10-20 minute lines, but remember May is the last month of school and so rarely sees long waits.  Schools are out now in some but not all parts of the country.  In other words, we are just seeing the waits start to creep up to "schools outs" waits from Spring Break.  July will be much worse.


----------



## Kelly014

scrappinginontario said:


> I just looked at my lines app approx 30 mins after you posted and across the board each of these wait times is 10-30 mins more than the lines app.
> 
> Also, considering what some attractions were like pre-Covid, I think even the posted 70 mins isn't bad for mid-day.
> 
> I really don't see the numbers above as too bad, even if they were as posted and according to the lines app these are higher than actual waits.
> 
> Reality is the parks are busier now so each person must decide if now is a good time for them to travel or wait until more attractions are open.  More and more people are able to travel which means many places (Disney being just one of them) has the potential to be busier than they have been in the past.


Agree. Even our local pools are way more crowded than in years past. People are ready to get out and do things, Disney is not fully staffed up yet. It is just going to be "off" for a while.


----------



## wilkydelts

DisneyFive said:


> Without any other option than standby, now we're forced to wait in these long lines when we could breeze through them in 20 minutes tops before.  Bummer
> 
> I guess that's o.k.?  Not for me.



That is where you are being short sided. For every ride someone got to FP+ it drove up the wait for every ride you did not have FP+ especially secondary rides. You may wait 40-60 for headliners but you are waiting next to nothing for others. Peter Pan is the perfect example of this. It used to be a necessity to FP+ Peter Pan, now it is almost a secondary ride you can just walk onto.


----------



## DisneyFive

scrappinginontario said:


> I just looked at my lines app approx 30 mins after you posted and across the board each of these wait times is 10-30 mins more than the lines app.
> 
> Also, considering what some attractions were like pre-Covid, I think even the posted 70 mins isn't bad for mid-day.
> 
> I really don't see the numbers above as too bad, even if they were as posted and according to the lines app these are higher than actual waits.
> 
> Reality is the parks are busier now so each person must decide if now is a good time for them to travel or wait until more attractions are open.  More and more people are able to travel which means many places (Disney being just one of them) has the potential to be busier than they have been in the past.



No doubt people are ready to be out and there is pent up demand.  However, you can't argue that no matter how busy the parks got before, we had an options to ride headliners with low waits, and also sleep in if needed.  We've gone in high demand summer seasons before.  You just needed to plan accordingly. 

I hope they reinstate "the system that shall not be named" before we arrive late July.

Dan


----------



## DisneyFive

wilkydelts said:


> That is where you are being short sided. For every ride someone got to FP+ it drove up the wait for every ride you did not have FP+ especially secondary rides. You may wait 40-60 for headliners but you are waiting next to nothing for others. Peter Pan is the perfect example of this. It used to be a necessity to FP+ Peter Pan, now it is almost a secondary ride you can just walk onto.



That is true, the secondary attractions had boosted wait times when the other system was in place.  No doubt about it.

A little story about that though... our second year at WDW we decided to do all the rides we hadn't done the year before.  They happened to be secondary rides because we had focused on the headliners the year before.   After the third day of primarily riding secondary attractions, we just weren't having much fun.  We realized that the headliners were what we needed to focus on, and once we did, the excitement and fun came right back.  Secondary attractions are just that, secondary.  I want to ride headliners with low waits and that option is disappearing it seems and I'm concerned for our visit late next month. 

We will maximize whatever we're dealt  when it comes to our options

Dan


----------



## MomOTwins

wilkydelts said:


> That is where you are being short sided. For every ride someone got to FP+ it drove up the wait for every ride you did not have FP+ especially secondary rides. You may wait 40-60 for headliners but you are waiting next to nothing for others. Peter Pan is the perfect example of this. It used to be a necessity to FP+ Peter Pan, now it is almost a secondary ride you can just walk onto.


Unless you used fastpasses for secondary rides too, booking new FPs each time you tapped in after your first three.  Then everything in the park was walk on. The people who miss FP are the ones who knew how to use it efficiently and NEVER waited more than 10 mins for a ride.


----------



## scrappinginontario

I guess I'm in the minority here in that although I'm a FP fan, i will say I found it challenging finding additional FPs for headliner rides many times and I was only looking for 2 guests.  I'd sometimes split us up and book 1 and 1 but still, it was a lot of work to rarely get a headliner FP more than once or twice a day.  Many of the last minute FPs we got were for secondary rides and sometimes not even needed. 

Personally, I'd like to try a trip without FP just to see the difference and then decide after that...but that's just me.


----------



## monica9

dmband said:


> was there no boarding groups or you mean they were loading smooth a d there was no wait??
> nice
> 100%
> best place if you want to keep people spread out
> my experience too
> 
> can anyone confirm arcades are open at the resorts??
> Some threads in the resort section said they are


Yes. I just read that pop and all stars are open so If assume others are or about to be.


----------



## SiandAm

DisneyFive said:


> Just looked at MDE.  Lines are getting unacceptable.
> 11:40 AM on a Monday
> MK:  Splash 60 min, BTMRR 55 min, 7DMT 45, Space 35 min, Astro 45 min
> HS:  SDD 80 min, MFSR 50 min, RnRC 50 min
> AK:  FOP 70 min, Safari 50
> EP:  TT 105 min, Soarin 70 min, Spaceship Earth 45 min
> 
> Dan


Here in Hollywood Studios today and can confirm.


----------



## CarolynFH

Space Mountain 35 minutes? In the late 1990s, before the first FP was implemented, the line was almost always an hour or two.


----------



## MomOTwins

scrappinginontario said:


> I guess I'm in the minority here in that although I'm a FP fan, i will say I found it challenging finding FPs for headliner rides many times and I was only looking for 2 guests.  I'd sometimes split us up and book 1 and 1 but still, it was a lot of work to rarely get a headliner FP more than once or twice a day.  Many of the last minute FPs we got were for secondary rides and sometimes not even needed.
> 
> Personally, I'd like to try a trip without FP just to see the difference and then decide after that...but that's just me.


For when it comes back, just a helpful tip: google the "drop times" for fastpass for each park.  There were certain times a day when disney released additional same-day FP inventory for those rides.  

I will say, you have a point there about it being an interesting thing to experience at least once.  I really enjoyed getting to see the standby queue on certain rides (Peter Pan, FOP) that we'd only ever used fastpass for pre-2020.  The things I did not enjoy were (1) being exposed to florida weather in the extended outdoor queues, (2) the reduction in downtime between rides to browse shops, enjoy a treat etc. because so much time was spent going from line to line; (3) all the standing in lines really took a toll on my legs and feet and a few days in I was taking pain medication to get by from day 3 on, which is something that's never happened on all my disney trips before.  So it is a mixed bag for sure.  

I hope they bring back pre-shows.  That was one thing that helped make line waits more bearable, as they were typically in the A/C.

I know you're in our August thread, so hope you have a good experience!  I know we'll enjoy our August trip whether FP is back or not.


----------



## bwilcox

We just returned yesterday from WDW, and while I never post here, I felt like I needed to add our experience. We are not a family who can go to WDW multiple times a year or even every other year-it is usually 3-
4 years between visits for us. Our perspective may be different because we knew if we didn't ride it this time, we would not have another chance for years. I keep reading about people saying that they got to ride everything they wanted to, and that just wasn't how it happened for us. I think starting last week, the experience has changed. I know people in the past few weeks and months have said that the wait times are inflated, but that was not the case for us. We found the wait times in the Disney app to be pretty accurate-if it said 50 minutes for Splash, it was in fact right around 50 minutes for Splash. If you did not make it to a headliner right at opening, you had to wait in line the rest of the day. We got to the parks at opening everyday, but you could only make it on about two rides before the others started developing high wait times. I am a planner and knew how to work the system with FP, but this trip we just had to suck it up and wait in long lines in the heat. Plus, with the parks not staying open very late, it really cut down on time. We did all but one park open to close with a lunch ADR for a break, and still ran out of time because the park was closing. 
All this sounds like complaining, but we really did have a good trip. This is the reality of what we experienced, though.


----------



## emmabelle

I was just there and my husband sets a timer for every ride with his phone.  HM was the biggest discrepancy, reported 20 minutes and was like 7.  Everything else was fairly accurate to the times posted on the app.  Maybe 5 minutes here or there.  I would definitely recommend walking by the ride just to make sure.  It was pretty easy to tell which ride times were inflated and which were not.  Minnie and Mickey was probably 10 minutes less than the reported ride time and at like 4:30 pm we waited like 25 minutes.  We got lucky with MMRR and with TOT on the Sunday night.  For some reason the crowds weren't so bad that night.  MK on Thursday night was very crowded and that's when I missed playing the FP game the most.


----------



## The13thLetter

I have seen discussions of people asking if the skyliner from CBR will let you on the Epcot line early for a Topolino breakfast reservation, but does anyone know if they will let you on from the International Gateway for the same reason? Or is that line already running early anyway for people to get to HS?


----------



## DisneyFive

scrappinginontario said:


> Personally, I'd like to try a trip without FP just to see the difference and then decide after that...but that's just me.



So would I...  if someone else was paying for my trip.    When we have near $10,000 invested in our 10 night stay this summer, I don't want to gamble on our experience.  The system worked great for us in the past.  It's not the fault of those that used the system properly, that others didn't plan or research and then complain about their experience. 

We didn't need to be at the parks at opening, let alone 45 minutes prior.
We could take an afternoon break with an attraction waiting for us when we came back with a short wait
We could hit all the headliners with short waits
If we wanted, we could choose to get up early really make a day of it walking on popular rides at park opening, or we could stay late and do the same.  Now, you HAVE TO do this if you want those shorter headliner waits.

I'm just praying for the previous system to come back since there is more and more evidence from this awesome thread lately that crowds have grown to a level that has pushed guests to continually wait way too long in lines.  If that's our experience this summer, sadly WDW will no longer be getting our money.  We will move to our other favorite vacation options like cruises (non Disney).

Dan


----------



## emmabelle

DisneyFive said:


> So would I...  if someone else was paying for my trip.    When we have near $10,000 invested in our 10 night stay this summer, I don't want to gamble on our experience.  The system worked great for us in the past.  It's not the fault of those that used the system properly, that others didn't plan or research and then complain about their experience.
> 
> We didn't need to be at the parks at opening, let alone 45 minutes prior.
> We could take an afternoon break with an attraction waiting for us when we came back with a short wait
> We could hit all the headliners with short waits
> If we wanted, we could choose to get up early really make a day of it walking on popular rides at park opening, or we could stay late and do the same.  Now, you HAVE TO do this if you want those shorter headliner waits.
> 
> I'm just praying for the previous system to come back since there is more and more evidence from this awesome thread lately that crowds have grown to a level that has pushed guests to continually wait way too long in lines.  If that's our experience this summer, sadly WDW will no longer be getting our money.  We will move to our other favorite vacation options like cruises (non Disney).
> 
> Dan




as someone who was there last week also, I completely agree with this.  We used to get so much done before.  The lack of shows and shorter hours are making it more complicated for sure.  I mean a line just to get into the Mexico pavilion or The Emporium in MK.


----------



## finedice

DisneyFive said:


> I hope they reinstate "the system that shall not be named" before we arrive late July.


Bring it back!  We only have two days this time around - and want to enjoy some downtime for lunch etc!  These times are too long when you account for multiple waits throughout the day!


----------



## GeorgiaHoo

finedice said:


> Bring it back!  We only have two days this time around - and want to enjoy some downtime for lunch etc!  These times are too long when you account for multiple waits throughout the day!


Completely agree.  I want to be able to ride certain rides with a minimal wait and then I can make a call on whether I stand in line for an 30 minutes-plus on the others.  The answer is almost always I'm not standing in line that long.


----------



## dmband

What people don’t seem to think of with wait times is capacity. 
to comment __ ride is typically 60 mins so 30 is great has to keep in mind that when capacity goes back to 100% the line times will grow with it


----------



## HollyMD

As a mom to a toddler, I’m really glad to not see hour waits for secondary rides


----------



## TwoMisfits

CarolynFH said:


> Space Mountain 35 minutes? In the late 1990s, before the first FP was implemented, the line was almost always an hour or two.



I remember waiting 2 hours for Pirates of the Caribbean on a summer day in that rough time period...we just waited back then.  Of course, the hours for MK were something like 8am-12am, and my dad had us stay the whole day, so we still conquered the parks even with those waits...


----------



## finedice

It will be there soon at this rate.


----------



## brockash

bwilcox said:


> We just returned yesterday from WDW, and while I never post here, I felt like I needed to add our experience. We are not a family who can go to WDW multiple times a year or even every other year-it is usually 3-
> 4 years between visits for us. Our perspective may be different because we knew if we didn't ride it this time, we would not have another chance for years. I keep reading about people saying that they got to ride everything they wanted to, and that just wasn't how it happened for us. I think starting last week, the experience has changed. I know people in the past few weeks and months have said that the wait times are inflated, but that was not the case for us. We found the wait times in the Disney app to be pretty accurate-if it said 50 minutes for Splash, it was in fact right around 50 minutes for Splash. If you did not make it to a headliner right at opening, you had to wait in line the rest of the day. We got to the parks at opening everyday, but you could only make it on about two rides before the others started developing high wait times. I am a planner and knew how to work the system with FP, but this trip we just had to suck it up and wait in long lines in the heat. Plus, with the parks not staying open very late, it really cut down on time. We did all but one park open to close with a lunch ADR for a break, and still ran out of time because the park was closing.
> All this sounds like complaining, but we really did have a good trip. This is the reality of what we experienced, though.


I will say when we went in March the app times were basically correct too...when went in Sept. the actual lines were a  lower, but not in March.  We too could only usually get 2 headliners in by being some of the first at the park.

There were several rides that we just mever did in March because of the lines.


----------



## scrappinginontario

The13thLetter said:


> I have seen discussions of people asking if the skyliner from CBR will let you on the Epcot line early for a Topolino breakfast reservation, but does anyone know if they will let you on from the International Gateway for the same reason? Or is that line already running early anyway for people to get to HS?


Yes they will as guests at the Boardwalk, Yacht Club and Beach Club will be heading to DHS.


----------



## mickeyfanachey1999

We just got back home Saturday after a week at OKW.  The waits were long but not unmanageable.  DHS waits were shorter than they were in October during our times there.  The only ride we didn't ride that we normally would have was Splash Mountain.  65 minute waits and the mask required part of the line started at the very beginning, not where you enter the building.  It's my 10 year old's second favorite and we were in line for about 5 minutes before he said "I can't do this for 65 minutes"  Other than that and some iffy quick service from Goods to Go it was a great trip.  And finally after 7 tries we got a boarding group for Rise!  Cape May dinner was really good also.


----------



## Twilghtsprkle

So far we are finding it manageable, but we are getting to the parks an hour before the official opening time.  Today we got to the AK parking gates at 7 and by the time we got to the gate they were already letting people in.  We went right to Pandora and were off FOP by 8 and went right onto Navi which was walk on.  Then we went to the Safari which had a half hour wait by then,

The day before we went to Epcot.  We got to the gates at 10, they let us in to the park by the time we walked up, but held us from TT.  They did release us at 10:30 and we were getting on TT before 11.  Then onto Frozen which had a 45 minute wait, but that was ok.


----------



## tinkerhon

GeorgiaHoo said:


> Completely agree.  I want to be able to ride certain rides with a minimal wait and then I can make a call on whether I stand in line for an 30 minutes-plus on the others.  The answer is almost always I'm not standing in line that long.



Totally agree !!!


----------



## Sarahslay

mickeyfanachey1999 said:


> We just got back home Saturday after a week at OKW.  The waits were long but not unmanageable.  DHS waits were shorter than they were in October during our times there.  The only ride we didn't ride that we normally would have was Splash Mountain.  65 minute waits and the mask required part of the line started at the very beginning, not where you enter the building.  It's my 10 year old's second favorite and we were in line for about 5 minutes before he said "I can't do this for 65 minutes"  Other than that and some iffy quick service from Goods to Go it was a great trip.  And finally after 7 tries we got a boarding group for Rise!  Cape May dinner was really good also.


I think Goods to Go is having some problems, they don't seem to be handling the system to well unfortunatley. We got lucky with Splash and hit it after a closure when the wait said 20 minutes, bumped to 40 after we entered the queue, but it wasn't the hottest part of the day yet. That outdoor area is tough though, I understand that's rough. In the heat of the summer, even I as a mask wearer am happy they are removing/lifting the mask rules (well, for vaccinated anyway if people actually follow that), it's tough out there right now. 

For the people complaining about the ride wait times, and how they couldn't get it all done despite what other reports said, it's kinda all down to luck. I actually don't pay much attention to the app right now because, to be honest, by the time you get to the ride it's changed completely. If we see a line and we think we want to wait in that line we get in it, otherwise we skip. Did we ride EVERY RIDE? Absolutely not, and we didn't want to either (my kids at 13 & 10 don't like PP, Dumbo, AFC, Barnstormer, SW, and my husband is half deaf and can't understand the skippers on jungle cruise so we skipped all of those). We did do every single other ride over 5 days on our recent trip with long midday breaks. We were at every park at least 45 minutes prior to opening time, and aside from Epcot (because my family, aside from myself, are early risers and can't hang past nine) we closed down the park we were in at night. It's not a FP strategy, but it's still strategy you have to plan for before you go. I've been 6 times already since August, this was my husbands 3rd trip since reopening and he kept arguing with me as I dragged us across MK and then he had to admit if we had done what he told us to do it would have not worked out well. They aren't shutting down the rides to clean them anymore so the wait times aren't that far off like they were in the beginning, but just like pre-covid they can still be off, and they do generally keep moving because there is no FP you just have to stop while loading and sorting happens. It's not perfect, it still involves strategy and planning, so if you don't want to put that time in to do it be prepared to wait and be frustrated.


----------



## cakebaker

GeorgiaHoo said:


> Completely agree.  I want to be able to ride certain rides with a minimal wait and then I can make a call on whether I stand in line for an 30 minutes-plus on the others.  The answer is almost always I'm not standing in line that long.


30 minutes is my limit on waiting to ride anything and FP made it possible to do that. We always did a morning park without FP, rode secondary rides with very short wait times and saved our FP's for our evening park where we rode headliners. We also stayed long enough that we'd make it to each park at least twice so even HS and Epcot with their tiering wasn't a problem. I'm just not standing in hour long or more lines, I don't care what the ride is. It's simple for us, either they bring FP back or some form of it, or we don't go back. We've been going a long time, makes me sad to think about not returning, but the WDW I love doesn't exist right now.


----------



## luv2cheer92

DisneyFive said:


> So would I...  if someone else was paying for my trip.    When we have near $10,000 invested in our 10 night stay this summer, I don't want to gamble on our experience.  The system worked great for us in the past.  It's not the fault of those that used the system properly, that others didn't plan or research and then complain about their experience.
> 
> We didn't need to be at the parks at opening, let alone 45 minutes prior.
> We could take an afternoon break with an attraction waiting for us when we came back with a short wait
> We could hit all the headliners with short waits
> If we wanted, we could choose to get up early really make a day of it walking on popular rides at park opening, or we could stay late and do the same.  Now, you HAVE TO do this if you want those shorter headliner waits.
> 
> I'm just praying for the previous system to come back since there is more and more evidence from this awesome thread lately that crowds have grown to a level that has pushed guests to continually wait way too long in lines.  If that's our experience this summer, sadly WDW will no longer be getting our money.  We will move to our other favorite vacation options like cruises (non Disney).
> 
> Dan


I can see how money spent can have an impact too. My trips are generally around the 1000-1500 mark. While I never really rode anything without a FP, I also didn't really mind not having them either.


----------



## momtotanmanandraerae

For those that have recently gone, I was wondering if Kali River Rapids is running back to normal.  When we went in August, none of the water features were really working so we didn't get wet at all. We missed the old ride! We are going back next week and don't want to wait in the line if it isn't the normal getting soaked ride!


----------



## Shula

momtotanmanandraerae said:


> For those that have recently gone, I was wondering if Kali River Rapids is running back to normal.  When we went in August, none of the water features were really working so we didn't get wet at all. We missed the old ride! We are going back next week and don't want to wait in the line if it isn't the normal getting soaked ride!



We were in AK 6/3 and rode it.  My memory is horrible because I can't remember all the extra places you get wet besides the manual water blasters from above which are still covered up.  We had 12 on our boat and not 1 of us was soaked, in fact I barely got splashed however we did see a family get off while we were in line and they were soaked.   Sorry this doesn't help.  We took up a whole boat including 3 children that wanted to ride.  We waited less than 30 minutes in the late afternoon.  If it hadn't been for the kids I don't think I would've waited.


----------



## wideeyedwonder

momtotanmanandraerae said:


> For those that have recently gone, I was wondering if Kali River Rapids is running back to normal.  When we went in August, none of the water features were really working so we didn't get wet at all. We missed the old ride! We are going back next week and don't want to wait in the line if it isn't the normal getting soaked ride!



We were there a week and a half ago, and the entire raft was DRENCHED.  We were giggling like mad people after that.

(Side note : I wish KRR was a bit longer, as California Adventure's Grizzly River Run is/seems to be).


----------



## emmabelle

momtotanmanandraerae said:


> For those that have recently gone, I was wondering if Kali River Rapids is running back to normal.  When we went in August, none of the water features were really working so we didn't get wet at all. We missed the old ride! We are going back next week and don't want to wait in the line if it isn't the normal getting soaked ride!



you know we barely got wet but I did see people walking off while we were waiting and some were very wet.  Weird


----------



## GeorgiaHoo

emmabelle said:


> you know we barely got wet but I did see people walking off while we were waiting and some were very wet.  Weird


Kali is the only Disney ride where i think you can getting sopping, drenched wet.  But it is hit or miss.


----------



## RaisinToast

On Sunday 6/6 we rope dropped Magic Kingdom. We walked over to the Casitas stop at CSR and the first MK bus of the day came at 6:31. It filled half full from the people at our stop, and filled completely from the people at Ranchos. So anybody at Cabanas and the Tower stops would've missed that first bus, again.


We arrived at MK at 7, they opened the park about 7:15. We originally wanted to do Splash first, but it wasn't running when we got over to Frontierland, with the line already going over the bridge. BTMRR only had a couple people waiting though, so we waited there. It opened about 7:30. It seems like almost nothing is running first thing at MK, but we were able to walk onto BTMRR and then Pirates, followed by Jungle Cruise with only a 10 or so minute wait. I kept checking the app, but HM was down and Splash opened about 8:30 to an immediate 40 minute wait. So, we headed over to see what we could do in Fantasyland.


We did Peter Pan with a 20 minute wait and Pooh with about a half hour wait. Finally, around 10, HM opened and we motored over there as fast as we could. We waited about 25 minutes for that, then headed back to Adventureland for Dole Whips. By 11AM waits had gotten crazy almost everywhere. We finished our Dole Whips, and just decided to suck it up and wait for a headliner. SDMT was posted at a 65 minute wait, but we wound up only waiting 50. In this line we experienced the most egregious lack of mask compliance of our trip, though. A mom and two teenage girls were in front of us. They pulled their masks up for show when a cast member was checking, then spent almost the entire indoor queue eating with the masks as chin straps. *sigh* 


After Mine Train, we headed over to Tomorrowland and did the Peoplemover with a 10 minute or so wait. Then it was time for lunch at the Plaza. After lunch, since Splash was posting a 60 minute wait, SM sat at 40 and we were pretty hot and sweaty anyway, we opted to head back to CSR for some pool time.


----------



## Castlequeen5

dmband said:


> was there no boarding groups or you mean they were loading smooth a d there was no wait??
> nice



I mean once we scanned our magic bands, we walked all the way to the beginning part.  We did not have to wait in a line.  So they were loading smoothly and there was no wait.  We did have a boarding group.


----------



## Disneygrl71

We took a break for about 3 years, but will be going the end of July.

I'm curious as to why the hrs haven't been extended when most things I've seen are returning back to normal? 

We've never been in the summer, but after reading some of the posts...the late night hours seem to be what's needed in the summer sun/heat and getting everything done. 

Also, the parks are so pretty at night and with most closing at dusk, that makes me a bit sad.


----------



## Southernmiss

Disneygrl71 said:


> We took a break for about 3 years, but will be going the end of July.
> 
> I'm curious as to why the hrs haven't been extended when most things I've seen are returning back to normal?
> 
> We've never been in the summer, but after reading some of the posts...the late night hours seem to be what's needed in the summer sun/heat and getting everything done.
> 
> Also, the parks are so pretty at night and with most closing at dusk, that makes me a bit sad.



Still getting staffing back.


----------



## cakebaker

Disneygrl71 said:


> I'm curious as to why the hrs haven't been extended when most things I've seen are returning back to normal?



If you look carefully at what is re-opening, it's almost totally things that bring in more revenue. Money.....look at the huge amount they're saving with limited hours. People are willing to fill the parks so no hurry to expand those hours.


----------



## Disneygrl71

cakebaker said:


> If you look carefully at what is re-opening, it's almost totally things that bring in more revenue. Money.....look at the huge amount they're saving with limited hours. People are willing to fill the parks so no hurry to expand those hours.


Now that you mention that, I totally see it! That's so sad, and unfortunately I think a lot of places are doing this.

I almost wish I would've done better research before booking. I'm bringing my son for his 18th birthday and graduation from HS trip.

We are both very fair and figured we could do the parks mainly a few hrs in the morning and go back in the evening. My fault for not looking into it better...oh well. Here's to hoping the extend them even a tiny bit, I would love to see the parks at night, especially since we probably won't be back for another several years.


----------



## bdiddy

We just finished up a fun 3 days at USO and VB and are heading over to Disney this morning for 7 days. We are staying at the Wilderness Lodge for the first time and are really excited. We have a late breakfast ressie at Whispering Canyon and are then hoping to relax a bit at the pool until our room is ready and then head to MK. We also have a dinner reservation at Skipper.

I will say that the weekend crowds and waits at USO over the weekend gave me a lot of hope for Disney’s crowds. It was very manageable, didn’t seem too crazy and the longest we waited for anything was 40 min for Hagrid’s (which may be my new favorite ride of all time and make sure you go on it at night!) But then on Monday it was INSANE! Just wall to wall people by 10am. You could barely move and the waits were pretty much an hour or more for everything. We started doing single-rider because of it. And forget trying to even get a drink or snack much less an actual meal. The lines were so crazy. It was a rough day compared to Sat and Sun which is interesting.

Anyway, so I WAS feeling good about Disney crowds over the next week based on our first 2 days but now I’m more nervous. I’ll try to report back each evening.


----------



## mkb3

Just got back from a 8 Day Trip and here is some observations.

First Day was AK and they had no power and would not offer another park reservation.  We basically went to Pandora (the only land open) and hung out until things opened back up.

Rope Dropped MK the next day.  We got there at 7:15 and the only ride to open before 8 was 7 Dwarfs.  Big Thunder (last day before refurb), Splash, HM, Peter Pan, NOTHING was open.  Totally woke up early for nothing.

Kill Splash Mountain please.  I love that ride, but nothing was working properly, it was super sad to see it in such awful shape.  If you aren't going to take care of it start the refurb already.

Skipper Canteen might just be my new favorite Disney Restaurant.  Everything was delicious, AC and water was cold and the staff was entertaining.

Hollywood Studios cast members are the best.  They always seem to be having fun and have the best attitudes.

Line manipulation was in full effect.  Saw several cases of this, but the most frustrating one was Soarin.  They would run one theater for a couple of rounds, then open up the others.  On some shows they would only fill A and C, but no B.

Bus Scheduling needs work.  Waited way too long for busses in the hot sun. I used Lyft more than usual on this trip.

I had a good experience at Cosmic Ray's.  We placed the last mobile order of the day and I can't suggest the Spicy Chicken Sandwich enough.  Very tasty and my family eating alone with Sunny Eclipse was an unexpected highlight of the trip.

Coral Reef needs updating BAD, but the food and service was good.  

Finally even though this is no longer valid as of today there needed to be more consistency with masks.  First ride on Splash masks were required in the outdoor queue.  The second time we rode it masks were not required.  Also made zero sense on 7 Dwarfs that those lined up against the wall on the outside of the queue didn't need masks, but those lined up against the wall inside the queue needed them.  We were literally 8 inches apart.  All for show.


----------



## punkin

Disneygrl71 said:


> Now that you mention that, I totally see it! That's so sad, and unfortunately I think a lot of places are doing this.
> 
> I almost wish I would've done better research before booking. I'm bringing my son for his 18th birthday and graduation from HS trip.
> 
> We are both very fair and figured we could do the parks mainly a few hrs in the morning and go back in the evening. My fault for not looking into it better...oh well. Here's to hoping the extend them even a tiny bit, I would love to see the parks at night, especially since we probably won't be back for another several years.


I'm wondering if they might extend park hours as we get closer. I'm also going at the end of July.


----------



## lovethattink

momtotanmanandraerae said:


> For those that have recently gone, I was wondering if Kali River Rapids is running back to normal.  When we went in August, none of the water features were really working so we didn't get wet at all. We missed the old ride! We are going back next week and don't want to wait in the line if it isn't the normal getting soaked ride!



Last week, my son got drenched. But there’s a story here. Right before Sea World opened Infinity Falls, my son auditioned for the commercial. So he knew that one had a big drop. I forgot he had never been on Kali. He is on the autism spectrum and he went by himself because dh and I didn’t want to get wet. So trying something new he was nervous, but being the actor he is, he didn’t let it show. I videotaped him at the end from the bridge. He was soaked and smiling. He got off and said it was awesome, but that we should have told him it wasn’t a thrill ride like Infinity Falls. Would have saved him some stressing and suspense.


----------



## goodeats

Can someone report what percentage of guests (especially those obviously under age 12) are not wearing masks today?


----------



## sabrecmc

goodeats said:


> Can someone report what percentage of guests (especially those obviously under age 12) are not wearing masks today?



I’m watching an AK livestream right now and it does not look like that many young kids are in masks.  40%?


----------



## SomeThingsNeverChange

goodeats said:


> Can someone report what percentage of guests (especially those obviously under age 12) are not wearing masks today?


Very few. Outside of being line, maybe 1-5%. In the lines and rides, maybe 10-15%? Or at least in my experience so far today. That percentage could be a bit high.


----------



## lovethattink

Not many kids were wearing masks outside when rules changed to outdoor not having to wear one.

I’m going to Epcot today at some point to check out the impact of the new rules.

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Orlando over the weekend for a conference and very few people wore masks at the hotel. The convention required masks, so most people at the convention were wearing them.

I’m expecting the same type of response at Disney.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Princess Katelet said:


> Buses back to SSR at night were HORRIBLE. After an hour wait one night they finally sent a Mears coach bus and packed it full. We kept watching bus after bus pull up to all the other resorts, but not SSR.
> 
> We were at SSR for eight days in May. Buses back to SSR from parks were TERRIBLE. Hardly any came and when they did they filled up right away with scooters and their families. I don’t know why they get front of the line privileges…. Finally after an hour of waiting at the Studios they called in a Mears coach bus that crammed us all in to every seat. I’m not sure how any people were left after they filled it to the brim but it did scoop up a whole bunch of us.
> Day after day we would watch bus after bus after bus, sometimes two at a time, come for all the other resorts, but not SSR.


Just want to say as someone who has a family member that had no choice but to rent a scooter during our last trip due to a bakers cyst that helped cause horrible arthritis-they have to take those in scooters first. It is the law. However, we also didn't pack up the bus with the other 7 people in the party after they got on unless told to by the bus driver which did happen sometimes-myself as I was the youngest or my dad because he was the tallest would go with the person who needed the scooter and the rest would wait on the line. We were all adults and know to text or call and figure out a meeting spot.


----------



## itsmeamanda

lovethattink said:


> I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Orlando over the weekend for a conference and very few people wore masks at the hotel. The convention required masks, so most people at the convention were wearing them.



We are staying at the Hyatt Regency Orlando starting on Friday---did you happen to visit the pool(s)? Wondering how busy they are going to be.


----------



## kevgraub

Got back from an 8 day trip onsite (10 days total) and wanted to wait a little while to let things settle in before posting.

Not going to give a day by day recap of everything we did, but here are some somewhat random thoughts:

Dining
Here is how I would rank our table service meals:

1. Shula's (not entirely fair for ranking, Shula's is just on a different level - including cost - but still was our best meal)
2. Boathouse - food and service was fabulous. Took the kids on the amphibious boat ride after, which was fun and worth it (in terms of Disney worth it)
3. Liberty Tree Tavern - first time here, will not be the last. Food, service and atmosphere all were great.
4. Trattoria al Forno Breakfast - only did two breakfasts, but this one was really good. If you are staying in that area and planning an Epcot day (opening at 11:00) this is a great option. I had the steak and eggs, which was the best I've had anywhere.
5. Sci-Fi Diner - another first time. It was good, nothing out of this world, but the theming and food definitely make it worth going back for.
6. Chef Mickey's Breakfast - our other breakfast spot. Food was really good and the atmosphere was fun. Extra credit to the chef who went above and beyond to accommodate a gluten allergy.
7. Crystal Palace - I will admit, I miss the buffet. And the characters. But the food was good for the most part and plenty of it. Only hiccup was being served gluten free rolls that were still frozen in the middle. 
8. San Angel Inn - ate here once years ago and remembered the food being just ok, and the atmosphere being amazing. I have a good memory. 
9. Be Our Guest - Awesome eating in the castle, just not all that impressed with the food. It wasn't horrible by any means, but it was not really special either. Just not worth the cost to me. Price it the same as Crystal Palace and it probably climbs the list.
10. Cape May Cafe Dinner - First time we ate here, and probably the last. It was not terrible, and no one really complained about the meal at all. But no one really raved about it either. It was mediocre across the board from service to the atmosphere to the food. In the future it will only be a gap filler if other options are not available.

For counter service - I love the mobile ordering. A thousand times better than the old days. Food choices were definitely still limited, but we always found something we wanted to eat. Flame Tree BBQ was the best we had. Definitely hit the "I'm here" button long before you get to the restaurant - especially if you are ordering anything off the allergy-friendly menu. We did find that we had to wait sometimes 20 minutes or so after we said we were there before our food was done. I am sure most of that wait was for the allergy stuff though.

Lines
The lines were not terrible, with most waits being in the 30-45 minute range. Some of the major headliners like Flight of Passage obviously got longer, and we skipped a few rides that had 60 minute waits.

I generally found the wait times posted by Disney to be pretty accurate. I timed a few and they were generally within 5 minutes of the posted time. One exception was Splash Mountain at the end of the night, posted 60 minute wait and it was about 20 minutes. No other major discrepancies stood out.

I know there is the great debate ongoing about whether the return of Fastpass will be positive or a negative. Our youngest (8) absolutely hated waiting in line and let everyone know about it the entire trip. Made for some pretty long days (or short days when we just gave up and headed back to the resort to swim). For us, we would have been much better off with Fastpass+ returning. However, I can see where people that don't mind the 30-45 minute waits preferring the current setup. The lines moved steadily and quickly which was nice. None of the waiting in the same spot for 20 minutes while the fastpass queue was emptied. I do hope if Fastpass+ returns that Disney cuts back on the number of available fastpasses for each attraction, but for us, I want it to come back.

Resort
Stayed at the Boardwalk for the first time. Loved it. Wish it was fully open with the street performers, etc. but still really enjoyed the resort. The pool was fun, dining options everywhere, and the ability to walk to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios was great.

Transportation
Given we were at the Boardwalk, the only time we used Disney Transportation was to MK and AK. No real complaints, although the wait for a bus in the middle of the day did drag on a bit, but that is normal. I doubt we ever waited more than 20-30 minutes for a bus to show up. If you want to hit Flight of Passage with a minimal wait - the first bus to AK left the Boardwalk just before 7:00 each morning (8:00 opening). We just missed one on our first day, but caught the second bus about 10-15 minutes later. The day we caught the first bus our wait at FoP was about 15 minutes. The day we caught the second bus the wait was about 45 minutes.  Don't miss the first bus!

If anyone has any specific questions - let me know. Happy to provide any insight I can.


----------



## CJK

kevgraub said:


> For counter service - I love the mobile ordering. A thousand times better than the old days. Food choices were definitely still limited, but we always found something we wanted to eat. Flame Tree BBQ was the best we had. Definitely hit the "I'm here" button long before you get to the restaurant - especially if you are ordering anything off the allergy-friendly menu. We did find that we had to wait sometimes 20 minutes or so after we said we were there before our food was done. I am sure most of that wait was for the allergy stuff though.


Sounds like you had a terific trip - thanks for sharing!! I have family members with severe allergies, who are nervous to use mobile ordering. Were you able to use mobile ordering at all counter service restaurants, where you could still specify allergy needs? TIA!


----------



## bdiddy

Pretty much no one was wearing masks at Universal over the weekend. Including those under 12. It was very few and far between. If I had to guess maybe 10 people out of 1000?

We’ve been at WL since 9:30 and are eating breakfast now and we haven’t seen anyone with masks at all other than the CM’s.


----------



## kevgraub

CJK said:


> Sounds like you had a terific trip - thanks for sharing!! I have family members with severe allergies, who are nervous to use mobile ordering. Were you able to use mobile ordering at all counter service restaurants, where you could still specify allergy needs? TIA!


Yes, and no. I am allergic to both gluten and pork. Most (but not all) of the mobile order CS places have gluten free options on their menu. I then could go in and alter the selections to remove pork (take bacon off a burger, for example). If you have one of the more common allergies like nuts, gluten, dairy, etc. then there are plenty of options for the mobile ordering. If your allergy is more rare, then you may need to go up to the counter and order - which they will allow if you have an allergy.

I will also say that they seem to take cross contamination very seriously. My orders were pretty clearly prepared in a separate area and brought on on their own tray that was clearly marked for allergies. I did not have any issues with any of the Disney restaurants (TS or CS) the entire trip. At most TS meals, the Chef came out and spoke with me directly. At the family style meals (Liberty Tree Tavern, Chef Mickeys, Cape May) they prepared a separate platter of food that I could eat.

The only issue I ran into the entire trip was Shula's. I ordered the wedge salad off the gluten free menu thinking it was fine - without realizing that the salad had bacon jam on it (actually under it). I did let them know about the pork allergy, but that must have slipped by them as well. I was about 2/3 of the way through the salad before I realized that the red sauce on the plate was actually bacon jam. I was pretty miserable for a day or so, but it cleared up. No other issues the entire trip.


----------



## Jewel3k

You can now stand on the buses.  Some have the seat section dividers gone.  Heard the words fill in all available space on Smugglers Run this morning.  Only time masks have been mentioned in my hearing today were on transportation.


----------



## SarahC97

CJK said:


> Sounds like you had a terific trip - thanks for sharing!! I have family members with severe allergies, who are nervous to use mobile ordering. Were you able to use mobile ordering at all counter service restaurants, where you could still specify allergy needs? TIA!


I have a milk allergy in my family and the online menus did have milk-free options. But you can also go into the restaurant and order in person for allergies if you want, they do allow that.


----------



## MemoryMakers

mkb3 said:


> I had a good experience at Cosmic Ray's.  We placed the last mobile order of the day and I can't suggest the Spicy Chicken Sandwich enough.  Very tasty and my family eating alone with Sunny Eclipse was an unexpected highlight of the trip.



What time (approximately) did you go there?  Know it's the last counter service place open at MK but not sure how late you can place an order. Thanks.


----------



## mkb3

MemoryMakers said:


> What time (approximately) did you go there?  Know it's the last counter service place open at MK but not sure how late you can place an order. Thanks.



8:55 with the park closing at 9.


----------



## rockpiece

Anyone know if the plexiglass is gone from Frozen? I saw they removed them from Rise.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

Jewel3k said:


> Heard the words fill in all available space on Smugglers Run this morning.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Oh my, exciting  Fireworks  news!

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...aculars-are-back-at-disney-parks-this-summer/
July 1st marks the return of fireworks in Disney World!


----------



## Kelly014

> Heard the words fill in all available space on Smugglers Run this morning.





Grumpy by Birth said:


> View attachment 582270



I have such mixed feelings


----------



## lovethattink

itsmeamanda said:


> We are staying at the Hyatt Regency Orlando starting on Friday---did you happen to visit the pool(s)? Wondering how busy they are going to be.



While we were there they closed at 9:30pm. And security ushered people out. We were there for a family conference of about 5000 attendees. So the pool was always pretty busy. The Terrace pool (roof) was less busy than the grotto at ground level.

I also strongly recommend tower 2. We’d have to wait 15 minutes for elevators because our room was near the convention in Tower 1. We tried to take the steps (we were on the 8th floor) but they stopped at the 4th floor. I asked the desk manager, Tuan, how to use the steps and he said he doesn’t know. The tower 1 steps are confusing to him. I asked what they do in a fire and he said employees direct guests to the right sets of stairs. And he said they did have a fire on the 20 something for and it was chaotic. I don’t doubt that!

The food was good but really expensive. Like same prices as Disney food. It was $24 for my pulled pork sandwich, cole slaw, and drink at The Market. Red Lobster, McDonald’s, and Denny’s are very nearby. A long walk, but super short drive.


----------



## DisneyFive

GBRforWDW said:


> Oh my, exciting  Fireworks  news!
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...aculars-are-back-at-disney-parks-this-summer/
> July 1st marks the return of fireworks in Disney World!




AWESOME!  YES YES YES!  Haven't seen Happily Ever After and really wanted to see it late July!

Dan


----------



## Disneygrl71

mkb3 said:


> Just got back from a 8 Day Trip and here is some observations.
> 
> First Day was AK and they had no power and would not offer another park reservation.  We basically went to Pandora (the only land open) and hung out until things opened back up.
> 
> Rope Dropped MK the next day.  We got there at 7:15 and the only ride to open before 8 was 7 Dwarfs.  Big Thunder (last day before refurb), Splash, HM, Peter Pan, NOTHING was open.  Totally woke up early for nothing.
> 
> Kill Splash Mountain please.  I love that ride, but nothing was working properly, it was super sad to see it in such awful shape.  If you aren't going to take care of it start the refurb already.
> 
> Skipper Canteen might just be my new favorite Disney Restaurant.  Everything was delicious, AC and water was cold and the staff was entertaining.
> 
> Hollywood Studios cast members are the best.  They always seem to be having fun and have the best attitudes.
> 
> Line manipulation was in full effect.  Saw several cases of this, but the most frustrating one was Soarin.  They would run one theater for a couple of rounds, then open up the others.  On some shows they would only fill A and C, but no B.
> 
> Bus Scheduling needs work.  Waited way too long for busses in the hot sun. I used Lyft more than usual on this trip.
> 
> I had a good experience at Cosmic Ray's.  We placed the last mobile order of the day and I can't suggest the Spicy Chicken Sandwich enough.  Very tasty and my family eating alone with Sunny Eclipse was an unexpected highlight of the trip.
> 
> Coral Reef needs updating BAD, but the food and service was good.
> 
> Finally even though this is no longer valid as of today there needed to be more consistency with masks.  First ride on Splash masks were required in the outdoor queue.  The second time we rode it masks were not required.  Also made zero sense on 7 Dwarfs that those lined up against the wall on the outside of the queue didn't need masks, but those lined up against the wall inside the queue needed them.  We were literally 8 inches apart.  All for show.


I’ve noticed this in the app here lately that a lot of the rides is hardly open in the mornings, what is going on?
Really makes me want to rebook this trip in July, for the money and all the issues, I’m just not feeling good about it!


----------



## Roxyfire

Chernabob said:


> We're on day 4.  And as hard as it is to get everyone up and around, I'm still convinced rope drop is the way to go.  Both for crowds and heat.
> 
> Our first day at MK was great for rides, knocked out several by 10 am--SDMT, Space, Haunted Mansion, Pirates.
> 
> EPCOT was meh for rope drop, but it could be us.  We practically walked onto TT, but had back luck after that.  Just an off day for us.
> 
> At DHS, everyone goes to SDD.  If that's a must-do on your trip, better plan to rope drop it.  Crowds just don't go down for it.  And then same for FOP at AK.  We did it, KS and then Everest in a couple of hours.



Agreed, we did better last week when we were ropedropping. The later arriving crew did not do as much as my son and I did when we got there early. That being said, doing SDD first is not a bad strategy, it seems like many are going there but some split off to do Star Wars stuff. The line was not walk-on by the time we made it there but it was fast moving, maybe 15 minutes at most. Then we walked on to Toy Story Mania twice. After that I had to DAS the Mickey and Minnie ride because the wait had built more in the sun than I felt comfortable doing. So I sent them off to do Star Tours while I got Starbucks.


----------



## Newbie500

Or, in our case, early July


----------



## Ariel620

with procedures changing a lot this week, I know EP reverted to pre-pandemic rope drop procedure, but have the rest of the parks?


----------



## itsmeamanda

lovethattink said:


> While we were there they closed at 9:30pm. And security ushered people out. We were there for a family conference of about 5000 attendees. So the pool was always pretty busy. The Terrace pool (roof) was less busy than the grotto at ground level.
> 
> I also strongly recommend tower 2. We’d have to wait 15 minutes for elevators because our room was near the convention in Tower 1. We tried to take the steps (we were on the 8th floor) but they stopped at the 4th floor. I asked the desk manager, Tuan, how to use the steps and he said he doesn’t know. The tower 1 steps are confusing to him. I asked what they do in a fire and he said employees direct guests to the right sets of stairs. And he said they did have a fire on the 20 something for and it was chaotic. I don’t doubt that!
> 
> The food was good but really expensive. Like same prices as Disney food. It was $24 for my pulled pork sandwich, cole slaw, and drink at The Market. Red Lobster, McDonald’s, and Denny’s are very nearby. A long walk, but super short drive.



Thank you so much for your reply!  I will ask for tower 2. So it's further away from the convention center?  We were hoping to be able to walk to Red Lobster one night and maybe McDonald's and Walgreens. Did you happen to take the I-Ride trolley while you were there?


----------



## CarolynFH

Disneygrl71 said:


> Now that you mention that, I totally see it! That's so sad, and unfortunately I think a lot of places are doing this.
> 
> I almost wish I would've done better research before booking. I'm bringing my son for his 18th birthday and graduation from HS trip.
> 
> We are both very fair and figured we could do the parks mainly a few hrs in the morning and go back in the evening. My fault for not looking into it better...oh well. Here's to hoping the extend them even a tiny bit, I would love to see the parks at night, especially since we probably won't be back for another several years.





punkin said:


> I'm wondering if they might extend park hours as we get closer. I'm also going at the end of July.


It seems that they’ve been extending hours about two weeks in advance of dates. So keep watching - here’s   that you’ll be able to stay late after sundown. DH and I were there last week and didn’t enter a park until 4 or later because of the heat, but we go frequently enough that we were happy with the few attractions we experienced.


----------



## lovethattink

itsmeamanda said:


> Thank you so much for your reply!  I will ask for tower 2. So it's further away from the convention center?  We were hoping to be able to walk to Red Lobster one night and maybe McDonald's and Walgreens. Did you happen to take the I-Ride trolley while you were there?



No didn’t take the trolley. The conference kept us busy. My son was working the showroom and a speaker at 4 sessions. You can walk to those. It’s just HOT! About a 15 to 20 minute walk. If you have any other questions, feel free to email or dm me.


----------



## lchuck

Has the removal of masks and social distancing changed the arrival procedures for those who are driving to the parks themselves and trying to make it to "rope drop"?


----------



## punkin

punkin said:


> I'm wondering if they might extend park hours as we get closer. I'm also going at the end of July.


Quoting myself... looks like they just extended some for my days.


----------



## DisneyFive

punkin said:


> Quoting myself... looks like they just extended some for my days.


I was happy to see that as well. Looks like one hour later for Magic Kingdom, Epcot and animal kingdom for our late July trip. Hoping for even more extensions as we get closer

Dan


----------



## Disneygrl71

DisneyFive said:


> I was happy to see that as well. Looks like one hour later for Magic Kingdom, Epcot and animal kingdom for our late July trip. Hoping for even more extensions as we get closer
> 
> Dan


We are late July also and I’m doing a happy dance


----------



## Jewel3k

Today I was seated next to strangers on Rise of Resistance, Mission Space and no more skipping a seat in Soarin’ between parties.  We did not get a lot done due to rain.  Asked Test Track if you could design cars yet and was told no.


----------



## wideeyedwonder

Jewel3k said:


> Today I was seated next to strangers on Rise of Resistance, Mission Space and no more skipping a seat in Soarin’ between parties.  We did not get a lot done due to rain.  Asked Test Track if you could design cars yet and was told no.



That was the one thing we really really missed; we love TT, but we realized that part of the fun was the interactive/car design feature/competition/bragging rights.  I hope they bring the interactive part back soon.


----------



## JLS

Just back from 7 nights at Disney (AKL Jambo), followed by 2 nights at USO, and wanted to report general observations. I already gave a detailed report on our MK day on Monday 6/7, see post 11,096 (Page 555). But general observations:

Mobile ordering is amazing - SO easy and convenient, and Disney has a great system for doing the oder first, then hitting the button when you want them to prepare it (i.e. you are there or just about there) and they make it very easy to change the window if you get behind schedule. We would order while driving back to the resort, click "here" when we were pulling in, and very soon be picking up food for hungry kids. Amazing to not have to wait in line. I appreciated it even more once we got to Universal - their mobile ordering is a hot mess. Easy to do on the app, but then you are forced into a very long line (30-45 minutes in places) with usually 1 window open and basically they are just preparing each order for the person who gets to the window. Defeats the whole purpose.

Overall we found lines the during last 1-2 hours before park closing were as short if not shorter than lines in the morning, making me question the overall rope drop strategy and whether it was worth it (with my husband and 3 boys sort of complaining about having to do it). I think if you have to do SDD it is probably worth rope drop, but everything else at Studios is a manageable wait late in the day (park closed at 8). But be advised that if you aren't at rope drop SUPER early it really isn't worth it at all, the crowds build so fast. At the end of the day at AK - 6:55 p.m., we waited only 35 minutes for FOP and it was pleasant walking out of an empty park after, and the last 1-2 hours of the day at AK there is no line for Everest to speak of, maybe 10 minutes. If I was doing this trip completely over, I might consider pool time and lunch at the resort most days or lunch at designated park and then parks in the afternoon until close.

The park reservation system is awful because it really limits your ability to be flexible. Later in the week we had MK reservations for a second day but the kids really just wanted to go to AK and of course we could not switch the reservation (I realize we could have entered after 2). Hope that system goes away next trip.

Had a great day at Blizzard Beach. I like the 11 a.m. opening there - nice to sleep in and be able to still get there for opening. It was not crowded at all, despite a hot week, compared to many other times we have been there in the summer. Most slides were walk ons and there was no line for Summit Plummet by 430 p.m. Closed at 6 p.m., we stayed until closing. 

I was amazed at how slow bus boarding was (we only took bus once) and that they are still making a big point of spreading out groups and telling them where to sit, after you are crammed together in lines all day long in the parks and waiting in line for the bus crammed together. Same thing with some of the random spacing still going on in the rides - like Pirates the boats were launching half empty, spacing out rows after people are cramming together in line for 30 minutes. There is no distancing in the lines at all. The lines would be shorter if they were just filling the rides, and thus the situation seems counterproductive to safety (not to mention enjoyment).

Not having character interaction or preshows or other entertainment absolutely takes that "magic" element away for me. Going to the parks is still fun, but not same overall experience.

Epcot seems really tired and outdated right now. Were it not for my boys' desire to ride TT, we would not have needed to go this trip.

Disney Springs - especially on the weekend nights - was an absolute madhouse and nobody wearing masks except in stores. Long lines to enter the World of Disney and for Lego. Early closures - 10 p.m. - meant that we could not finish our dinners and then get in line and get into the stores, unfortunately. We really enjoyed our dinner at Raglan Road - great food and entertainment. If you want to do Gideons, be there early. The virtual queue was 3 hours and closes typically around 630 to new entries. Insane for a bakery!

I won't tack on Universal again after a week at Disney, it is just too much and everyone was burnt out by the time we got there. I would do a separate Universal trip of 3-4 nights.  Having Universal Express there is amazing, but there is no masking at all there and it was extremely crowded. It would have been awful without the express passes. I would not recommend doing a day trip to Volcano Bay from Disney. We tried it on Friday 6/11 and regretted it. Extremely long lines just to enter the parking garage, then you have to take a shuttle bus to the park. Park was a madhouse, terribly long lines for food and the electronic pass for lines is awful because you can only get one at a time, so you can't ride anything else - even if only a 10 min wait - without losing your place in a big line (which were 60-120 minutes each). Getting out of there then exiting the parking garage took about 2 hours. Never again.

That's about it. Fun trip, headed home exhausted. Did a ton, although not "everything".  Next 7 night trip I plan to have just a 4 day ticket, 1 day per park until closing, and a down day between each. Consecutive park days with rope drops is not a recipe for success in my family.


----------



## MomOTwins

Disneygrl71 said:


> I’ve noticed this in the app here lately that a lot of the rides is hardly open in the mornings, what is going on?
> Really makes me want to rebook this trip in July, for the money and all the issues, I’m just not feeling good about it!


Based on recent accounts, it looks like they are shifting away from everyone being able to start riding stuff pre-opening to more of a controlled rope drop at official park open for most things.  Disney announced earlier this year they'd be transitioning to an early entry system for on-site guests, allowing them in 30 mins before off-site.  I wouldn't be surprised if we hear more about that soon. Maybe they told us about the fireworks first to butter us up and drown the negative feedback when they roll out early entry and/or paid fastpass (for the avoidance of doubt, early entry is a definite as it has been announced, paid fastpass is just rumor).


----------



## bdiddy

Day 1: Left Universal’s Cabana Bay around 9 and got to Wilderness Lodge around 9:30 am. Left our bags with Bell Services and explored the resort and had breakfast at Whispering Canyon at 10:45. All the food was really good and our server was really fun. Only issue was we had a reservation and didn’t get the text our table was ready until 11 and it was almost 11:39 before she even took our order. The lodge is beautiful though and the convenience of the location to MK is worth the cost for sure.

We took the boat over about 12:30. Had an issue with our magic bands not working and had to go over to guest services but it was a quick fix. We headed straight to Haunted Mansion since it’s my favorite. It had a posted 30 min wait but we were probably on in 15. We used the touring plans app to track the times since it was way more accurate. We all missed the stretching room.

The weather has been off and on rain and thunderstorms all day. Overcast most of the time. After Haunted Mansion we went over to Pirates and as soon as we got in line, it stopped moving.
We waited maybe 10 min but got out of line. I read later that there was some kind of power outage. We went up to Small World and we’re on 15-20 min. We came out and it must have rained hard while we were in. The app said almost everything was offline and the stuff that was still up, the waits we’re going up quick. No way were we going to wait 45 min for Pooh, Mermaid, etc…

So then we went over to Tiki Room since the kids didn’t remember it. It stormed again while we were in there but was done when we came out. Ordered dole whips and sat down for a few min. DD got the Kokamora Float but said the syrup was way too sweet but liked it better when she mixed it all up. It tasted a lot like a pina colada then. It was cute though and the cake pop was good.

So many rides were showing offline still so we decided to do some shopping, which I’m glad we did because at the end of the night, there was a huge wait to get into the main store.

After we bought some stuff, we went on Buzz and were on in about 15 min. By this time Space was back up. Both posted and the TP app listed 45 min but we were on in 20. We then went to Splash since it was back up. Also a posted 45 min wait. We had a 7:50 ressie for Skipper and I was worried about making it in time but we did with 5 min to spare. It was probably an hour altogether on Splash from the time we waited and then rode. It was so humid though, everyone was melting and dripping sweat!

Our dinner at Skipper was amazing!! So so good,
I highly recommend it! The secret menu item - the Brazilian Cheese balls were so delicious, we ordered more of them. I got the corn cakes app as my main dish with a side of rice, DD the fish and DH the Thai noodles and we all loved our dishes. The coconut/pineapple bar dessert was delicious as well. They also seated us in the butterfly booth which was super cool.

After dinner it was almost time for the park to close so we stopped at the castle and took some pics. It was wonderful heading to the boat instead of the buses with most everyone else.

Got back to WL and went to our room. We got the cheapest standard view room but I requested a room request through TP and we actually got it! It actually has a view of the Contemporary, Space and the castle. And the new refurb rooms are gorgeous and our shower of all things is super cool!

So not too bad of a day for our first day. We have another full day at MK and our last day we’ll spend the evening there too so it was nice not to rush around all day.

Other random thoughts - almost no one is wearing masks .Even kids. I saw very few people with them on. If I had to guess it’s like 10 people for every 500 maybe more.  It’s very rare. There also is no social distancing at all. It’s honesty like covid never happened and things are business as usual. If anyone has concerns about those two things, this would NOT be a good time to come.

I felt the crowds were very manageable. It seemed very crowded in the bottleneck areas like fantasyland but overall but quite your typical summer crowd as we’ve experienced in the past. At least today at MK. We’ll see how things are tomorrow at HS.

We haven’t ordered a QS meal via mobile ordering yet but what I don’t like is at our resort for example…our son wanted a cookie from Roaring Fork but the next time available time was 20 min off. Just to get a cookie. We ended up having to go buy a pack in the gift shop. Just seems like there would be a better way for guests that just want one quick item to be able to get them right away and not have to pick a time in the future. It’s also hard to plan out when you will be hungry or want a snack etc…especially with kids so I think that will be our biggest challenge this week.

Tomorrow is HS day and I have the alarm set to get up and try to get a boarding pass. Luckily the cell service at WL is amazing so fingers crossed! We do have 2 more days at HS reserved in case to give us 6 chances . (Can you tell we are huge Star Wars fans?) Assuming we get it I’ll hopefully be able to switch our last HS day to Epcot.


----------



## merdie

goodeats said:


> Can someone report what percentage of guests (especially those obviously under age 12) are not wearing masks today?


We were at AK yesterday and very few kids in masks. Like 1 out of 10 few. I had my kids mask indoors, most were not. There is no more mask enforcement other than on transportation.


----------



## bdiddy

I have to say, taking an Uber to the park and passing up the long lines waiting on buses was very nice. The driver was there 3 min after I ordered standing outside WL. Definitely worth the $10.


----------



## DisneyFive

bdiddy said:


> I have to say, taking an Uber to the park and passing up the long lines waiting on buses was very nice. The driver was there 3 min after I ordered standing outside WL. Definitely worth the $10.


I can totally see this. Considering how much money is spent on a Disney vacation, spending $10 a few times for an Uber makes total sense if it relieves the frustration of waiting so long for a bus.

Dan


----------



## RaisinToast

Regarding buses, as far as CSR was concerned, I don't think we ever waited more than 15 minutes for a bus either to or from the parks and Disney Springs. We also always got on the first bus to arrive, with one exception. Our last night in the parks, we closed down HS, and arrived at the stop at 8:40ish to find about 75 people already there. Some had been waiting since park close for a bus to come. Finally, at 8:50 two buses for CSR came one right after the other, and we still had to wait for another bus after that one due to them filling. We finally caught a bus back at 9. 


Also, we had dinner at Sanaa on 6/7, and the AKL bus situation is not great. We bussed from CSR to Epcot, then waited 15 minutes for an AKL bus to come, but the other parties there said they'd been waiting a half hour. This was about 6PM. Fortunately we left in plenty of time and still got to Kidani an hour early. We finished up dinner around 8:45, and planned to catch a bus to either Epcot or Disney Springs and transfer. We waited 20 minutes and no buses arrived at all. A Disney Springs bus was supposedly 15 minutes away, but the arrival time kept moving later and later. It never did show up, but an Epcot bus did at 9:10. The party waiting for a Disney Springs bus said they'd been waiting since 8:30.


----------



## JLS

bdiddy said:


> We haven’t ordered a QS meal via mobile ordering yet but what I don’t like is at our resort for example…our son wanted a cookie from Roaring Fork but the next time available time was 20 min off. Just to get a cookie. We ended up having to go buy a pack in the gift shop. Just seems like there would be a better way for guests that just want one quick item to be able to get them right away and not have to pick a time in the future. It’s also hard to plan out when you will be hungry or want a snack etc…especially with kids so I think that will be our biggest challenge this week.



We were confused by this at first, but about 95% of the time when you mobile order the first time window option that pops up is NOW through xxx time (usually 20-30 minutes from now). All you have to do is order and then immediately hit the button "I'M HERE, PREPARE MY ORDER" and then you can get something like a cookie immediately. And even if there is no "NOW to XX time" time window (if the place is slammed), just order anyway and go right to the CM working there and say you are here and just trying to get a cookie or whatever (even if it is a meal, you can tell them your kids are super hungry or you are really pressed for time). The CM can view your order and click to have it prepared immediately. It is a great system, one example of a COVID improvement.


----------



## robinb

JLS said:


> It is a great system, one example of a COVID improvement.


I really like that you can't get into the restaurant without showing that you have a mobile order that's ready.  It really cuts down on extended table vulturing.  Families can sit right away as soon as the food shows ready but they don't tie up the table forever waiting for the food runner like in the past.


----------



## zackiedawg

JLS said:


> We were confused by this at first, but about 95% of the time when you mobile order the first time window option that pops up is NOW through xxx time (usually 20-30 minutes from now). All you have to do is order and then immediately hit the button "I'M HERE, PREPARE MY ORDER" and then you can get something like a cookie immediately. And even if there is no "NOW to XX time" time window (if the place is slammed), just order anyway and go right to the CM working there and say you are here and just trying to get a cookie or whatever (even if it is a meal, you can tell them your kids are super hungry or you are really pressed for time). The CM can view your order and click to have it prepared immediately. It is a great system, one example of a COVID improvement.





robinb said:


> I really like that you can't get into the restaurant without showing that you have a mobile order that's ready.  It really cuts down on extended table vulturing.  Families can sit right away as soon as the food shows ready but they don't tie up the table forever waiting for the food runner like in the past.


Just curious on one thing here - with the Quick Service dining options are there no longer ANY walk-up abilities?  Have they gone to mandatory mobile ordering for all QS?  I didn't see any indication of this when viewing the Disney site and clicking on various QS options - mobile order is mentioned as available, but not mandatory - I'll be headed up on July 2 and hadn't counted on requiring mobile order for the QS sites - I assumed walkup lines were still available?


----------



## robinb

zackiedawg said:


> Just curious on one thing here - with the Quick Service dining options are there no longer ANY walk-up abilities?  Have they gone to mandatory mobile ordering for all QS?  I didn't see any indication of this when viewing the Disney site and clicking on various QS options - mobile order is mentioned as available, but not mandatory - I'll be headed up on July 2 and hadn't counted on requiring mobile order for the QS sites - I assumed walkup lines were still available?


It's mixed.  All the QS restaurants with seating had a CM at the door and a big sign with a QR code which brought you right to the page to order your meal.  I don't recall seeing any walk-up lines at any QS with seating, but I wasn't really paying too much attention.  There were definitely walk-up lines at snack-y type places like Friar's Nook and Aloha Isle and all the Epcot Flower and Garden places were all walk-ups.

I would plan on Mobile Ordering.  It's really easy and takes less time than walk-up ordering ever did.  I even used my Disney Gift Cards to pay.


----------



## zackiedawg

I likely would use the Mobile for an actual meal - a breakfast or lunch especially in the parks.  I was more worried thinking about something like grabbing a quick snack or something random from the QS in the resorts - the kind of things I don't plan ahead for.  With the cookie example above, that was the one that surprised me - I figured you could always just walk into the resort's QS and grab a cookie or drink without having to mobile order it - I never even considered that they might have restricted that.


----------



## robinb

zackiedawg said:


> I likely would use the Mobile for an actual meal - a breakfast or lunch especially in the parks.  I was more worried thinking about something like grabbing a quick snack or something random from the QS in the resorts - the kind of things I don't plan ahead for.  With the cookie example above, that was the one that surprised me - I figured you could always just walk into the resort's QS and grab a cookie or drink without having to mobile order it - I never even considered that they might have restricted that.


I was not allowed to walk-up at The Mara at AKL.  I was required to use Mobile Ordering.


----------



## Aimeedyan

zackiedawg said:


> I likely would use the Mobile for an actual meal - a breakfast or lunch especially in the parks.  I was more worried thinking about something like grabbing a quick snack or something random from the QS in the resorts - the kind of things I don't plan ahead for.  With the cookie example above, that was the one that surprised me - I figured you could always just walk into the resort's QS and grab a cookie or drink without having to mobile order it - I never even considered that they might have restricted that.



We've stayed at (or eaten at) Boardwalk, Saratoga, Pop, GF, Riviera, Caribbean Beach, and Poly in the last few months and you were able to order directly with a cashier at all of their QS spots. GF and Riviera had CM's at the door and you just asked to order in person.


----------



## Mome Rath

They want everyone to mobile order that can; if you have allergies, or don't have a smartphone, or only have cash I've seen exceptions.


----------



## Naomeri

robinb said:


> I really like that you can't get into the restaurant without showing that you have a mobile order that's ready.  It really cuts down on extended table vulturing.  Families can sit right away as soon as the food shows ready but they don't tie up the table forever waiting for the food runner like in the past.


This is especially nice for solos like me, I can’t send someone to grab a table while I grab food.  I’m much more likely to be able to find a table while my food is still reasonably hot now than before MO became the norm.


----------



## lovethattink

zackiedawg said:


> Just curious on one thing here - with the Quick Service dining options are there no longer ANY walk-up abilities?  Have they gone to mandatory mobile ordering for all QS?  I didn't see any indication of this when viewing the Disney site and clicking on various QS options - mobile order is mentioned as available, but not mandatory - I'll be headed up on July 2 and hadn't counted on requiring mobile order for the QS sites - I assumed walkup lines were still available?



In December my son brought two friends with allergies not covered on the mobile ordering menu. At Cosmic Rays, we were directed to a line at the cash register. This process took an eternity. As everyone at the cash register had a complicated issue. And that was the only register opened. Same at ABC Commissary. In addition, people without smart phones were directed to these lines. It was inconvenient and a hassle at both places.

Mobile ordering is so easy. I usually order in the car or at home so I can choose the time I want.

The only places where mobile ordering doesn’t really work well we’re places like Aloha Isle. Because you click that your there. A few minutes later you get order ready and told what pick up line to go into. You get in line. Wait. They ask your name or order number and you wait while they start your order for a dole whip.


----------



## JLS

zackiedawg said:


> Just curious on one thing here - with the Quick Service dining options are there no longer ANY walk-up abilities?  Have they gone to mandatory mobile ordering for all QS?  I didn't see any indication of this when viewing the Disney site and clicking on various QS options - mobile order is mentioned as available, but not mandatory - I'll be headed up on July 2 and hadn't counted on requiring mobile order for the QS sites - I assumed walkup lines were still available?


Some places like the Mara at AKL didn’t really have a non-mobile option but they did have a CM expeditor to help people do a mobile order. I’m sure if there was an issue where a guest could not mobile order for some reason that a CM could help them order in person but most food (meal) places seem to be set up to exclusively use the mobile system. After experiencing it, I don’t know why anyone would resist using it. It is so easy and saves tons of time and hassle. You can be waiting in line for a ride and having your family decide on lunch and get everything ordered and paid for choosing any QS place in the park, no need to first walk there and fight lines. When you get done with your ride or you are heading to the QS place just click “I’m here now /Prepare my order” and it will be ready for pick up shortly after that, no lines or battling for a table.


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## luv2cheer92

I've been almost exclusively using mobile order at QS for a few years. Only not using it at the places that didn't offer it. It's fantastic! Was always surprised more people didn't use it.


----------



## CinderellaDream

The only mobile order situation that really left me scratching my head was for the Blue Milk Stand at Hollywood Studios. I walked up not realizing that mobile order was required. A cast member then told me I could not manually order and had to mobile order. No one else was waiting at the time. I stepped off to the side and completed the mobile order, clicked the I’m here button and then received the drink. I’m pretty quick with mobile order but the whole process took longer than if the cast member had just allowed me to manually order when I first got to the stand.


----------



## preschoolmom

Do you pay using the mobile app as well? Does this mean we need to add a credit card? I remember using the mobile ordering in the parks about two years ago - but I can't remember this detail.


----------



## robinb

preschoolmom said:


> Do you pay using the mobile app as well? Does this mean we need to add a credit card? I remember using the mobile ordering in the parks about two years ago - but I can't remember this detail.


Yes.   It will automatically charge your credit card on record with the Disney World app.  You can also pay with a Disney Gift Card, but you need to enter the number in each time.  I entered the number into my Notes app and copy/pasted it into the Disney World every time I wanted to use it.  It was 2 extra steps, but worthwhile for the savings.


----------



## CarolynFH

preschoolmom said:


> Do you pay using the mobile app as well? Does this mean we need to add a credit card? I remember using the mobile ordering in the parks about two years ago - but I can't remember this detail.


Yes, you pay via the app when you order. It defaults to the CC linked to your MDE account (for ADR guarantees, etc.) but you can use a gift card or Disney Visa Rewards card too - just save the GC number in a note on your phone so you can copy and paste it instead of typing it in every time.


----------



## cjnick6

Currently on day 3 of our trip.  First June trip not sure I am a fan of the rain with so little open in the parks.  My wife and I were here in august several years ago so we new about the afternoon showers and had no issue with it.  So few food options very hard to feed the family of 6.  Getting a reservation that pleased even 3 of the 6 was impossible 60 days out.  I like the mobile order once i figured out i had to hit start my food once i got near the restaurant.  
So many shops, restaurants and shows closed it creates a cluster in the hot spots.  However the lines for rides have been fine.
Just spent 25 minutes waiting for a bus back to yacht club from MK.  Saw 13 buses parked the entire time and running at other resort stops waiting for guests to get into line.  Saw 3 buses come and go for poly in that time.  
Speaking of buses the new stop at Disney springs is awful.  Why do they have the resorts with boat options with the shortest walk?  Then the location is bad as well.  I wish it was still near the actual disney themed stores, very poor design.  
For those coming soon covid is over at Disney with spacing on buses and lines for rides but still does exist for getting into certain stores and for dining choices.
Future world is a mess at epcot very hard to navigate.  Need more popcorn stands in epcot and HS


----------



## preemiemama

CarolynFH said:


> Yes, you pay via the app when you order. It defaults to the CC linked to your MDE account (for ADR guarantees, etc.) but you can use a gift card or Disney Visa Rewards card too - just save the GC number in a note on your phone so you can copy and paste it instead of typing it in every time.


So I know it's all QS places- and the blue milk stand.  Is it all snacks as well?  Is there no option to charge to the room?  We usually pay down at the desk for room charges a few times during our stay...


----------



## cjnick6

preemiemama said:


> So I know it's all QS places- and the blue milk stand.  Is it all snacks as well?  Is there no option to charge to the room?  We usually pay down at the desk for room charges a few times during our stay...


we have used our magic bands to pay to our room the entire trip.  snacks still have been in person order


----------



## MemoryMakers

For those heading to Disney 6/20 thru July, a ton of Parks are now available to book (in case you want to move a current park pass reservation from one park to another).  I was able to cancel an Epcot day for 6/22 and change it to HS.


----------



## Carol_

CinderellaDream said:


> The only mobile order situation that really left me scratching my head was for the Blue Milk Stand at Hollywood Studios. I walked up not realizing that mobile order was required. A cast member then told me I could not manually order and had to mobile order. No one else was waiting at the time. I stepped off to the side and completed the mobile order, clicked the I’m here button and then received the drink. I’m pretty quick with mobile order but the whole process took longer than if the cast member had just allowed me to manually order when I first got to the stand.


This happened to me too. So irritating. I’m here.  No one else is waiting.  Take my money. Don’t make me pull out my phone just to justify the expense of your convoluted IT systems.


----------



## rockpiece

Can someone there answer if they have removed the plexiglass from FEA? If you weren't in the front row the plexiglass ruined the ride and you can forget about the photopass.


----------



## Honeypot

rockpiece said:


> Can someone there answer if they have removed the plexiglass from FEA? If you weren't in the front row the plexiglass ruined the ride and you can forget about the photopass.



i saw someone post today it was gone, but I can’t remember which thread I saw it in.


----------



## rockpiece

Honeypot said:


> i saw someone post today it was gone, but I can’t remember which thread I saw it in.


----------



## ScarletFire

Mobile ordering takes Apple Pay.


----------



## The Iron Giant

Is it possible to load a Disney visa rewards card as my default payment instead of a regular credit card in the MDE app to use for mobile order payments?


----------



## LovesBelle

We just arrived today and had great luck with lines at MK and everything else we attempted today. Started at Fantasia mini golf at 10:00 (using those free vouchers you get with a vacation package) and waited 5 minutes. We thought we would do this first because we didn’t want to start at a park mid-morning, when lines likely would already be long. We from there to our hotel, GF. We were able to use the walk up waitlist to eat at the GF Cafe—waitlist said 35 mins but we were seated in 20. As we finished lunch, we got the notice that our room was ready so we went  there to drop our bags and rest. Ventured into MK at 2:00, as a storm was brewing. Walked straight to POC: got there just as the skies opened up. Wait said 35 mins; we boarded at 15 mins. Then to HM (still pouring), wait said 45 mins but was only 15. Rain stopped so we ran to Splash; posted wait 35 mins, actual wait 20. Small World waited 10 mins; Winnie the Pooh, waited 15 mins. Dinner at Crystal Palace, seated right on time, and the food was sooo much better than it used to be. And then we came back to the hotel. So we were able to ride 5 things between 2-5:30 with minimal waits. The result of which is that my teens are refusing to rope drop tomorrow because our experience today has caused them to believe we don’t need to.


----------



## CarolynFH

The Iron Giant said:


> Is it possible to load a Disney visa rewards card as my default payment instead of a regular credit card in the MDE app to use for mobile order payments?


I don’t think so. The Rewards card is treated as a gift card, no way to load it automatically. The best plan anyone has come up with is to save the card number to your phone so you can copy and paste it.


----------



## Southernmiss

LovesBelle said:


> We just arrived today and had great luck with lines at MK and everything else we attempted today. Started at Fantasia mini golf at 10:00 (using those free vouchers you get with a vacation package) and waited 5 minutes. We thought we would do this first because we didn’t want to start at a park mid-morning, when lines likely would already be long. We from there to our hotel, GF. We were able to use the walk up waitlist to eat at the GF Cafe—waitlist said 35 mins but we were seated in 20. As we finished lunch, we got the notice that our room was ready so we went  there to drop our bags and rest. Ventured into MK at 2:00, as a storm was brewing. Walked straight to POC: got there just as the skies opened up. Wait said 35 mins; we boarded at 15 mins. Then to HM (still pouring), wait said 45 mins but was only 15. Rain stopped so we ran to Splash; posted wait 35 mins, actual wait 20. Small World waited 10 mins; Winnie the Pooh, waited 15 mins. Dinner at Crystal Palace, seated right on time, and the food was sooo much better than it used to be. And then we came back to the hotel. So we were able to ride 5 things between 2-5:30 with minimal waits. The result of which is that my teens are refusing to rope drop tomorrow because our experience today has caused them to believe we don’t need to.



Lol. We also had a great day at MK today. Our 20 somethings had us out the door (we're offsite) at 6:50. Our parking ticket was stamped 7:13. We came back at 5:50 pm exhausted,  but they want to do the same at AK tomorrow! And hop to Epcot late in the day.

We were able to ride everything we wanted to do at least once today. Longest wait was 7 dwarves at 1 hour, Jungle Cruise at 45 minutes (but we ate dole whips in line), rode Space Mtn 2 times with posted waits about double what it actually took. Pirates was a walk on. Started the day with splash, BTMMR wasn't open, but we got it as soon as it reopened after afternoon thunderstorms. We also rode Buzz, Small World, pooh, Peter Pan, Carousel of Progress during the big thunderstorm, people mover after lunch-ordered in line for Splash for noon pickup (that was a little hectic,  but they gave us free items to make up for their confusion. The Greek Salad with chicken tenders was surprisingly very large and good, btw).

Sorry for my run on sentence of thoughts!


----------



## bdiddy

Long day today at HS. We really missed the fast passes at this park. Especially with so many shows being closed. The waits were pretty bad for almost all the rides between 10-5 so getting there early or staying to close is key. More rain and storms today a few times which closed down a few rides.

We set the alarm for 6:50 and got up and 3 of us were ready on our phones to try for a boarding pass. We used our sons phone to pull up the world clock. I got the pass, BG 55. We had all been practicing for months so I was pretty confident we’d get it. We just stayed in our room at WL and used the cell signal since it was excellent.

We decided to Uber to HS since we’ve never tried that before and I really liked it. It was $10 plus tip and we were dropped off at almost 8:30. I don’t really like to mess with rope drop anymore and being there way too early. Any extra sleep we can get is good! Haha

We debated on doing Tower and RnR since both had very low waits but ultimately decided to go to slinky in case of bad weather later which ended up being a good thing. The wait was posted at 90 min but the TP app had 44 min and it was right on target. The line moved pretty consistently all but slow but that was ok.

We had a 1:45 ressie for Mama Rosa’s but everyone was kind of hungry since we only had some snacks for breakfast so we mobile ordered ronto wraps and a grilled cheese from Woody’s toy box. I got the totchos from there and they were really good!

We explored Galaxy’s Edge for awhile since this was our first time seeing it. We all loved it of course. And bought too much stuff! I have no idea how we are getting all of this home just yet. DH says we should just buy another suitcase. I did bring 3 of the reusable bags you use at the grocery store so we’ll see if I can get everything in there and our backpacks. We flew southwest so we can have the 2 carry-ons if needed.

Our boarding group got called just before 12:30. We all loved it and were super impressed but it’s hard to compare it to anything else. It’s more of an experience than a ride. But the level of immersion is amazing.

In addition to Rise, were able to ride TSM, Smuggler’s Run, Star Tours, Tower and Mickey’s Railway. Which was super cute and the technology was impressive but I miss the Great Movie Ride. We pretty much waited anywhere from 30 min to 60 min for all of those. Except Star Tours, that was about 10 min. Lots of lines and waiting today. Things didn’t start dropping significantly until around 5ish. We were going to go on RnR  after Tower but it was so muggy out and the wait was 47 min and we just decided to wait until our other 1/2 day at HS on Sunday and will hit that first thing. We also have an Oga’s and Sci-fi on Sunday too.

That’s the one nice thing about when you go to the parks many times over the years, is that you don’t feel that stress and pressure you feel your first time. Especially not knowing if and when you’ll be back. When we go now, we aim for the new stuff and then wing it for the rest. No pressure.

We ate a late lunch at Mama Melrose’s. It was DH and the kids first time going and liked it. We ate light though and just got appetizers.

We had droid reservations at 7:50 just before park close. It was fun and the kids really enjoyed it. We took a bus back to WL There was a bus there when we got to the queue and there were only a few people waiting so that was nice.

Tomorrow is Epcot and we are going to sleep in tomorrow a bit. We’ve been going nonstop since Saturday and still have 5 more days!


----------



## DMLAINI

Can you use the quick service dining card to mobile order?


----------



## luv2cheer92

preemiemama said:


> So I know it's all QS places- and the blue milk stand.  Is it all snacks as well?  Is there no option to charge to the room?  We usually pay down at the desk for room charges a few times during our stay...


It is not all QS places, most of the bigger ones though yes. A few snack stands use it as well, but not most of them. No, you can't charge to the room.


----------



## Miffy

Another note here on mobile ordering. We stayed at the GF last month and there were snack items at Gasparilla Grill (the QS place) at the cash register that weren't included on the mobile order menu, so it was actually impossible to mobile order these things (Lara bars, allergy chocolate bars, etc.).

Also, you can't mobile order a cup of ice water. You have to do that in person.

All of the QS places are very accommodating if you have a special order for whatever reason--allergies, food preference, etc. No problem at all there.

And a couple of times we were able to get our food earlier than the time on the app, which was great.


----------



## lchuck

Since it has been a couple of days now, has the removal of masks and social distancing changed the arrival procedures for those who are driving to the parks themselves and trying to make it to "rope drop"?  Just curious if you can get into the lot earlier than 45-50 minutes before park open.  Thanks!


----------



## dmband

Mome Rath said:


> They want everyone to mobile order that can; if you have allergies, or don't have a smartphone, or only have cash I've seen exceptions.





lovethattink said:


> In December my son brought two friends with allergies not covered on the mobile ordering menu. At Cosmic Rays, we were directed to a line at the cash register. This process took an eternity. As everyone at the cash register had a complicated issue. And that was the only register opened. Same at ABC Commissary. In addition, people without smart phones were directed to these lines. It was inconvenient and a hassle at both places.
> 
> Mobile ordering is so easy. I usually order in the car or at home so I can choose the time I want.
> 
> The only places where mobile ordering doesn’t really work well we’re places like Aloha Isle. Because you click that your there. A few minutes later you get order ready and told what pick up line to go into. You get in line. Wait. They ask your name or order number and you wait while they start your order for a dole whip.


Exactly what I am concerned about
12 people, multiple with allergy/gluten/dairy mods needed and the app sucks imo from “testing at home”.
it also seems as though a lot of what Disney does is intentional, ie they make it a hassle to try and irritate you enough that you will not go through it.
in reality, for me, it makes you just not want to come back more and more


----------



## luv2cheer92

dmband said:


> Exactly what I am concerned about
> 12 people, multiple with allergy/gluten/dairy mods needed and the app sucks imo from “testing at home”.
> it also seems as though a lot of what Disney does is intentional, ie they make it a hassle to try and irritate you enough that you will not go through it.
> in reality, for me, it makes you just not want to come back more and more


If you have allergies, tell them and they will let you order in person, no need to stress about it. Never had a problem with family/friends mobile ordering with gluten or dairy allergies though as those are more common.


----------



## robinb

dmband said:


> Exactly what I am concerned about
> 12 people, multiple with allergy/gluten/dairy mods needed and the app sucks imo from “testing at home”.
> it also seems as though a lot of what Disney does is intentional, ie they make it a hassle to try and irritate you enough that you will not go through it.
> in reality, for me, it makes you just not want to come back more and more


Disney will take care of your group in person.


----------



## subtchr

The Iron Giant said:


> Is it possible to load a Disney visa rewards card as my default payment instead of a regular credit card in the MDE app to use for mobile order payments?



No, you can't load it into the system. You have to enter it for each purchase. Many of us save the number in a note on our phones, and use copy/paste on the payment page for each order.



DMLAINI said:


> Can you use the quick service dining card to mobile order?



Yes, it is a version of a Disney gift card. Save the number on the back in a note on your phone, and use copy/paste on the payment page.


----------



## scrappinginontario

dmband said:


> Exactly what I am concerned about
> 12 people, multiple with allergy/gluten/dairy mods needed and the app sucks imo from “testing at home”.
> it also seems as though a lot of what Disney does is intentional, ie they make it a hassle to try and irritate you enough that you will not go through it.
> in reality, for me, it makes you just not want to come back more and more


As others have shared you'll be able to order in person.

I started using Mobile Ordering the day the allowed users with the DDP to use it and never looked back!!  I remember many times sitting comfortably somewhere with my family, placing our order and quickly being called to pick it up, walking past long lines of people who had been there far longer than us and still hadn't ordered.

For some it doesn't work but for many I think it's a game changer which means those who wish to order in person have far fewer people lined up in front of them so truly it's a win-win in my books.


----------



## Boopuff

Had anyone noticed if they seem to be getting some of the closed places up and running? CM's inside "training" or hear anything that sounds like a rehearsal in the areas around shows?


----------



## samara

Just back from seven days in the World!  It‘s not really worth commenting on masks, social distancing etc, since they changed the rules right after we left.  The main thing that guided our trip was the heat.  It was SO hot and humid.  We went prepared with our mini fans, cooling towels, sweat wicking clothes, and still couldn’t stand to be in the parks most afternoons after 2.  We went earlier in the mornings (not always rope drop, but not too far off), back to the resort in the afternoons and then back to the parks usually around 5.  This seemed to help with both heat and lines.  The longest lines we stood in were Jungle Cruise around 11am (about 40 minutes), Smuggler’s Run (about the same) and Frozen (around 5pm, about 30 minutes).  We also seemed to wait much longer for our second RotR boarding group (11 vs 35), but I wasn’t watching the time so I can’t say exactly.  Everything else we managed to catch at 20 minutes or less.  

It definitely felt crowded, pretty much all of the time except for a few late nights at Epcot.  

We caught a bunch of cavalcades, and I really enjoyed them!  It was fun to see a bunch of characters more or less spontaneously, even though it blocked our route on a few occasions.  I don’t have little kids anymore, but I remember the awfulness of waiting for that afternoon parade on the hot pavement and I think this is a much better alternative.  

We booked several late-night dinners, and most of the dining rooms seemed empty.  We had 8:30ish dinners at both Le Cellier and Rose and Crown and there were only a few tables full.  Same with Tiffins at 6:30.  Our favorite meals were at Le Cellier and Raglan Road.  We ate at California Grill for the first time and it was fine, but not great.  We also ate A LOT at the food booths in Epcot.  Favorites were the spoonbread at the honey booth and the burnt ends slider.  I can’t remember which booth that one was, but it was one of the indoor ones.  Favorite drinks were the slushie in France and the apple wine in Germany (we ended almost every night at Epcot and this became our “last thing” drink!). Our teens had a couple of separate reservations, and they loved Liberty Tree and Rainforest Cafe (at AK).  They enjoyed Be Our Guest too, but I think it was too much for them at lunch.  

We all loved Oga’s Cantina.  Be aware that there are six standing tables;  I was looking forward to an hour off my feet and didn’t get it.  But we still had a blast.  Our teens ordered one each of the nonalcoholic drinks and shared.  Favorite was the Hyperdrive Punch followed by the Carbon Freeze.  I had a Bespin Fizz, DH had the Yub Nub and we shared an Outer Rim.  They were fine, but the real treat is the atmosphere!

Random note about alcoholic drinks - All of the pours between all of the parks seemed very weak.  Only exception was the margarita at La Cava Tequila.  

Teens also built lightsabers at Savi’s, which was a great experience.  I was glad we had two with us, because each participant can only take one accompanying person.  It was really fun to watch.  It was a little more guided than our kids wanted, but to accommodate people of all ages, I guess it needs to be.  Story and acting were really well done.

Overall, we had a great trip.  I think DH and I may try to come back in October for Food & Wine, and I very much look forward to seeing fireworks then!


----------



## chiisai

I’m at HS now.  FYI, Millennium Falcon single rider line is open right now.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

chiisai said:


> I’m at HS now.  FYI, Millennium Falcon single rider line is open right now.



Ooooo good to know! All single rider lines open now or just that one?


----------



## chiisai

TikiTikiFan said:


> Ooooo good to know! All single rider lines open now or just that one?



I don’t know.  At some point we’ll check rockin roller coaster to see.  Currently kids are riding MF multiple times.


----------



## VeronicaZS

Can anyone currently there report on the social distancing status of the busses? Are they still assigning everyone seat or to they allow standing? TIA!


----------



## MomOTwins

VeronicaZS said:


> Can anyone currently there report on the social distancing status of the busses? Are they still assigning everyone seat or to they allow standing? TIA!


Allowing standing.


----------



## bdiddy

VeronicaZS said:


> Can anyone currently there report on the social distancing status of the busses? Are they still assigning everyone seat or to they allow standing? TIA!



We’ve been here since Tuesday and there’s no social distancing on buses at all. Cramming everyone in like the old days including standing. Masks are required though.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

chiisai said:


> I don’t know.  At some point we’ll check rockin roller coaster to see.  Currently kids are riding MF multiple times.



Please report back on Rockin Rollercoaster!  My kid is obsessed with that ride but I don't do loops and it would save the day if he could just go through that single rider again and again!


----------



## chiisai

bdiddy said:


> We’ve been here since Tuesday and there’s no social distancing on buses at all. Cramming everyone in like the old days including standing. Masks are required though.


Same.  All seats and standing areas completely crammed.


----------



## elgerber

TikiTikiFan said:


> Please report back on Rockin Rollercoaster!  My kid is obsessed with that ride but I don't do loops and it would save the day if he could just go through that single rider again and again!


Fair warning, that single rider line is not terribly efficient.  Often times it takes longer than the regular line, if there are a lot of people in it.  Because it seats in twos, there are a lot fewer empty seats.


----------



## samara

I was definitely still half asleep when I wrote my post this morning, otherwise I would NOT have forgotten to mention this!  One of our absolute favorite things to do was hang out in Galaxy’s Edge and use the PlayDisney app.  You can accept “missions” that involve solving puzzles and culminate with surrounding droids, ships and antennas moving, lighting up and making noise.  It’s really fun to watch unsuspecting guests react!  All four of us had fun with this!


----------



## bdiddy

TikiTikiFan said:


> Please report back on Rockin Rollercoaster!  My kid is obsessed with that ride but I don't do loops and it would save the day if he could just go through that single rider again and again!



The single rider line was not open yesterday evening.


----------



## lchuck

samara said:


> I was definitely still half asleep when I wrote my post this morning, otherwise I would NOT have forgotten to mention this!  One of our absolute favorite things to do was hang out in Galaxy’s Edge and use the PlayDisney app.  You can accept “missions” that involve solving puzzles and culminate with surrounding droids, ships and antennas moving, lighting up and making noise.  It’s really fun to watch unsuspecting guests react!  All four of us had fun with this!


We're planning on spending most of a day in GE and this is right up my kids alley (ala Agent P missions in Epcot).  Is there anything you have to do to initiate the "missions" in the PlayDisney app or do they just show up if you open the app while in GE?


----------



## luv2cheer92

elgerber said:


> Fair warning, that single rider line is not terribly efficient.  Often times it takes longer than the regular line, if there are a lot of people in it.  Because it seats in twos, there are a lot fewer empty seats.


It's not the seating, but I don't know what it is. Everest also has the same seating set up and has an incredibly efficient single rider line.


----------



## robinb

luv2cheer92 said:


> It's not the seating, but I don't know what it is. Everest also has the same seating set up and has an incredibly efficient single rider line.


I think that's because you can SEE the single rider line before you enter it and choose not to get in it if it's long.  At R&RRC the line is hidden and you don't realize that it's super long until you exit the pre-show area.


----------



## elgerber

robinb said:


> I think that's because you can SEE the single rider line before you enter it and choose not to get in it if it's long.  At R&RRC the line is hidden and you don't realize that it's super long until you exit the pre-show area.


maybe, I always find there is almost no one in the EE single rider line.  and the RnR line is always long. I also think the EE single rider line is not nearly as obvious, that might make a difference also.


----------



## luv2cheer92

robinb said:


> I think that's because you can SEE the single rider line before you enter it and choose not to get in it if it's long.  At R&RRC the line is hidden and you don't realize that it's super long until you exit the pre-show area.


Could be part of it. I just feel like with Everest its almost constantly moving and you never have to wait long. With RnR I feel like I just stand forever.


----------



## samara

lchuck said:


> We're planning on spending most of a day in GE and this is right up my kids alley (ala Agent P missions in Epcot).  Is there anything you have to do to initiate the "missions" in the PlayDisney app or do they just show up if you open the app while in GE?


 Star Wars Data Pad is one of the options you scroll through when you open the app.  Click on that, and then there will be a button for “jobs.”  From here you can choose missions!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

luv2cheer92 said:


> It's not the seating, but I don't know what it is. Everest also has the same seating set up and has an incredibly efficient single rider line.


We need to commission a study to see if, statistically speaking, more people ride RnRC in pairs/even numbers and more ride EE in odd number groups.  That could account for why the single rider line at EE is typically a short wait and RnRC (even if there aren't that many people in the single rider line) always seems to take a lot longer.


----------



## RaisinToast

We had 2 days at HS on 6/8 and 6/9. The first day we rope dropped the park, the second we closed it down to see what was more efficient in these new times. Here is a comparison of what we accomplished on each day:


TUESDAY 6/8


7:00 AM - I get boarding group 35 for Rise in our room at CSR (yay!)


7:36 - First bus to HS arrives


7:50 - Arrival at HS. We're held by the Skylines loading area.


8:00 - We're allowed to move forward and held at the tapstiles.


8:20 - Park opens. We head to MMRR and walk on.


8:35 - We hop over to Star Tours, also a walk on.


9:00 - ToT and RNR both begin running. RNR immediately has a 40 minute wait, while ToT is at 20 so we opt to do that. 


9:40 - We exit Tower and decide that DH will do RNR in single rider. Rise finally begins calling boarding groups for the day. 


10:15 - Waits are high just about everywhere and it's already 90 degrees. We head over to Muppets and walk in as the next show is about to start.


11:00 - Lunch at ABC Commissary. While we're eating our Rise boarding group is called. 


11:40 - We scan in at Galaxy's Edge for Rise.


12:20 - Off the ride, and ready to head back to CSR and relax.


WEDNESDAY 6/9


2:00 PM - We arrive at HS and head back to Galaxy's Edge.


2:20 - Our droid building reservation. Was pretty backed up, they wouldn't even let us line up for it until exactly 2:20, and then we waited almost a half hour until we could actually start to build. 


3:15 - Droid is finished. It's broiling hot, and GE is a zoo. You have to wait in line for everything, even to go into the shops. We'll come back later and head to TSMM.


4:00 - Off the ride and the wait for Slinky is 80 minutes. We may as well go take another turn on Star Tours. It's practically a walk on. Afterward, some shopping at Tatooine Traders. 


5:00 - Almost time for dinner. We sit outside Sci-fi in the shade and wait to check in. Cast members from the restaurant are handing out cups of ice water to people waiting.


6:30 - Finished with dinner, and MFSR is now posting a 20 minute wait. In fact, it's basically a walk on. 


7:10 - We're finally allowed to shop in GE! 


7:40 - We get in line for Slinky. It's posted at 70 minutes, we wait 40. 


8:30 - We leave the park.


----------



## Leigh L

samara said:


> I was definitely still half asleep when I wrote my post this morning, otherwise I would NOT have forgotten to mention this!  One of our absolute favorite things to do was hang out in Galaxy’s Edge and use the PlayDisney app.  You can accept “missions” that involve solving puzzles and culminate with surrounding droids, ships and antennas moving, lighting up and making noise.  It’s really fun to watch unsuspecting guests react!  All four of us had fun with this!


DD and I spent a couple of hours on our last trip doing this!  We hopped over, did one ride (most were too long and we had another full DHS planned), and then played...and played before hopping back to close out MK lol. Her highlight was getting the Stormtroopers' attention over at Kylo's ship  . Those guys are so funny.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Thanks for all the single rider tips everyone! Very helpful. I think we'll stick with our heading to RRR first plan... if we don't do it first anyways, I'll be hearing about it all morning long lol! One day I'll put my big girl pants on and ride. One day...


----------



## Leigh L

TikiTikiFan said:


> Thanks for all the single rider tips everyone! Very helpful. I think we'll stick with our heading to RRR first plan... if we don't do it first anyways, I'll be hearing about it all morning long lol! One day I'll put my big girl pants on and ride. One day...


I'll stay on the sidelines with ya!!   

My DD loves this ride and I've done it twice for her since she won't go alone (it took me years to get my big girl pants on). My last I'm pretty sure was my final ride...
If WDW is now allowing requests, I might try it one more time if I can sit towards the very front. If I still don't like it, three strikes and I'm out! lol


----------



## honeymo78

Has anyone seen if the single rider line for Everest and/or Test Track are open?


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

LovesBelle said:


> We just arrived today and had great luck with lines at MK and everything else we attempted today. Started at Fantasia mini golf at 10:00 (using those free vouchers you get with a vacation package) and waited 5 minutes. We thought we would do this first because we didn’t want to start at a park mid-morning, when lines likely would already be long. We from there to our hotel, GF. We were able to use the walk up waitlist to eat at the GF Cafe—waitlist said 35 mins but we were seated in 20. As we finished lunch, we got the notice that our room was ready so we went  there to drop our bags and rest. Ventured into MK at 2:00, as a storm was brewing. Walked straight to POC: got there just as the skies opened up. Wait said 35 mins; we boarded at 15 mins. Then to HM (still pouring), wait said 45 mins but was only 15. Rain stopped so we ran to Splash; posted wait 35 mins, actual wait 20. Small World waited 10 mins; Winnie the Pooh, waited 15 mins. Dinner at Crystal Palace, seated right on time, and the food was sooo much better than it used to be. And then we came back to the hotel. So we were able to ride 5 things between 2-5:30 with minimal waits. The result of which is that my teens are refusing to rope drop tomorrow because our experience today has caused them to believe we don’t need to.


Speaking of those amazing vouchers-do they come with your magic bands still?


----------



## blistex

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Speaking of those amazing vouchers-do they come with your magic bands still?



They send them to you with the luggage tags now (or did for our June reservation) since Magic Bands no longer come free with a resort stay. We received ours just under 4 weeks from our booking.


----------



## Southernmiss

honeymo78 said:


> Has anyone seen if the single rider line for Everest and/or Test Track are open?



Road Everest this morning waiting on Test Track now.

Neither single riderine is available.

I would think soon ,though, as our ride experience  other than all ques are not open, has been normal.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

TikiTikiFan said:


> Thanks for all the single rider tips everyone! Very helpful. I think we'll stick with our heading to* RRR* first plan... if we don't do it first anyways, I'll be hearing about it all morning long lol! One day I'll put my big girl pants on and ride. One day...


Wait... isn't Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios?


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Grumpy by Birth said:


> Wait... isn't Rip Ride Rockit is at Universal Studios?



 Okay typo police. I'm sure everyone knew which one I'm meant. I'm talking about single rider on both this thread and the Universal one at the same time- too many similar abbreviations.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

TikiTikiFan said:


> Okay typo police. I'm sure everyone knew which one I'm meant. I'm talking about single rider on both this thread and the Universal one at the same time- too many similar abbreviations.


Speaking of typos, you quoted my post before I corrected mine!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Grumpy by Birth said:


> Speaking of typos, you quoted my post before I corrected mine!


----------



## snoopy352

Does anyone know if they are still enforcing crowd restrictions at the resort pools? At this point it would be inane but that doesn't mean they aren't doing it!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

blistex said:


> They send them to you with the luggage tags now (or did for our June reservation) since Magic Bands no longer come free with a resort stay. We received ours just under 4 weeks from our booking.


We did receive our bands already-will they still send luggage tags if we are only using the Magical Express for our trip home?


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Hi all, 

Now with everything constantly changing I know this can change by the time we go as well but what is the deal with shopping at World of Disney (or any store in Disney Springs) right now? We usually only do one trip to Disney Springs and its our last evening. We intend on eating at Homecomin' that night but we usually get to the springs by 4 pm in order to do stuff and usually start dinner between 5 and 7 depending on when i can get the reservation. Thank you.


BroadwayHermione5


----------



## scrappinginontario

Merging your question with the Here Now and Just Back thread


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

scrappinginontario said:


> Merging your question with the Here Now and Just Back thread


Thank you!


----------



## DMLAINI

Is there still distancing on the Magical Express?


----------



## Marthasor

snoopy352 said:


> Does anyone know if they are still enforcing crowd restrictions at the resort pools? At this point it would be inane but that doesn't mean they aren't doing it!



We were at SAB this afternoon- there did not appear to be any restrictions


----------



## DisneyFive

SAB?  Never mind, finally figured it out. Storm along bay


----------



## jlstwinmommy

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Now with everything constantly changing I know this can change by the time we go as well but what is the deal with shopping at World of Disney (or any store in Disney Springs) right now? We usually only do one trip to Disney Springs and its our last evening. We intend on eating at Homecomin' that night but we usually get to the springs by 4 pm in order to do stuff and usually start dinner between 5 and 7 depending on when i can get the reservation. Thank you.
> 
> 
> BroadwayHermione5


We went to Disney spring twice the week of 6/4-6/12. There was a line to get in the lego store and of course the Gideon’s line, but no lines anywhere else. One of the nights we were there was a Friday night. We enjoyed shopping, ate at homecomin’ one night and earl of sandwich the other.


----------



## Carol_

MK today: Got off the mask-requiring monorail with DS6 and asked a cast member, “Do we still need to wear these masks?”
“No”
“Not even in the queues?”
“Not even in the queues.”
“God bless you.”


----------



## blistex

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> We did receive our bands already-will they still send luggage tags if we are only using the Magical Express for our trip home?



We always drive and they've always sent luggage tags anyway!


----------



## lovethattink

Marthasor said:


> We were at SAB this afternoon- there did not appear to be any restrictions



I have resies for July and haven’t stayed there since 1995. How do you get to the water slide? It’s across the path from the pool, right? Was there a waiting line to get into the pool area?


----------



## Marthasor

lovethattink said:


> I have resies for July and haven’t stayed there since 1995. How do you get to the water slide? It’s across the path from the pool, right? Was there a waiting line to get into the pool area?



Yes, the slide entrance is across the path from the pool.  We went around 3 pm and there was no line to get into the pool.


----------



## bdiddy

Day 3 today was Epcot….

Got a late start since we wanted to sleep in. Took Uber to the park again and got there about 10:45. The Test Track and Soarin waits were already very high. We rode Spaceship Earth, which was about a 10 min wait. And then NEMO which was walk-on. Spent some time in the aquarium and by that time it was time to head to Rose & Crown for our lunch ressie. We stopped at a few shops on the way and checked out some of the food carts to see what we could get later.

This was our first time at Rose & Crown and our lunch was really good. DH, DD and DS got fish and chips and I got the shepherd’s pie. We got a cheese plate for an appetizer and it was SO good! Also got a scotch egg which was interesting. I didn’t hate it but didn’t care for it.

After lunch we made our way around world showcase and did some shopping. The waits were still very high for Test Track, Soarin and Frozen. Around an hour or more. By the time we got to Norway, the way for Frozen was about 42 min so we decided to ride since DD had never been on it. Then roads Cabelleros which was about a 5 min wait. After that, Test Track was down to 50 min and the TP app said to ride now so we did because I assumed it was just going to be bad the rest of the night. It was such a long wait. I really regretted it. I’ve always felt that ride was overrated and not worth a wait like that. And I much prefer the Cars version at DL. I hate the whole Chevy advertisement feel of it.

Anyway, finally got off that and went straight to Mission Space which was barely a 10 min wait. Got some Mickey Pretzels and then walked on Living with the Land, which we all love that ride and debated riding again. Lol... Then we pretty much walked on Soarin. Maybe waited 5 min. By the time we got off, it was about 9 and DD really wanted something from the ice cream place in France and we wanted some things from some of the food carts.

I got some poutine in Canada and DD and DH got some kind of little scallop dish. Made it back to France but the ice cream place was closed. Headed back towards front and I got a tiny dole whip from a cart and DD and DH got a cheesecake dish from the Honey cart which they said was amazing. Stopped in Mouse Gear and got a few things, then out to the buses. Just missed getting on one which was fine with me because I really didn’t want to stand. So we were first in the next one and back to WL by 10:30.

We have MK again tomorrow but are still trying to figure out the morning and if we want to squeeze in Disney Springs early when it won’t be too crazy.


----------



## OhhBother

Lying in bed at Beach Club (12:15 am) and listening to fireworks galore being tested. I wish I could see them, but I’m in my PJs and not about to get up and venture out. Still, it’s a wonderful thing to even hear them - normalcy is returning!


----------



## Chicachick

VandVsmama said:


> Re: scooters loading on buses:
> 
> What I observed is this...
> 
> When a bus pulled up, if someone was on a scooter and they were near the front of the line, the bus loader/monitor person would count the # of people in front of them and then have the person on the scooter get out of line and sit to the side.  The scooter would be loaded first, then able bodied passengers afterwards.
> 
> So essentially the person on the scooter had to wait in the queue with everybody else the whole entire time.  There was not a separate scooter/wheelchair line.
> 
> What did NOT occur is a CM scanning the big long line of guests and pulling out all of the scooters and having the scooter rider and his/her group cut to the front of the big long queue.
> 
> My apologies if what I said earlier was confusing!


I haven’t been to wdw in two years, but previously my experience was scooters always loaded first priority no matter the line length.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

jlstwinmommy said:


> We went to Disney spring twice the week of 6/4-6/12. There was a line to get in the lego store and of course the Gideon’s line, but no lines anywhere else. One of the nights we were there was a Friday night. We enjoyed shopping, ate at homecomin’ one night and earl of sandwich the other.


Awesome thank you! I have been hearing stories about waiting and mobile check out and we are very walk around and really look shoppers!


----------



## MomOTwins

Chicachick said:


> I haven’t been to wdw in two years, but previously my experience was scooters always loaded first priority no matter the line length.


I agree, that’s been our experience too.


----------



## disneyfan150

VeronicaZS said:


> Can anyone currently there report on the social distancing status of the busses? Are they still assigning everyone seat or to they allow standing? TIA!


FWIW, on Wednesday, the bus driver told me the capacity was 40.


----------



## Run2Disney

Did rope drop at Epcot twice this week entered from IG. 
One day probably for crowd control allowed the first couple 100 to go through security and line up in tapstile. At 10:15 CM walked us to Canada to wait until 10:30. 
First day I went to Frozen which was walk on as I was near front. Then I went to soarin 10:52. Did not have ride open, waited in line until it opened at 11:00 about 30 min.
Second day not as crowded at security they let us through and held at tapstile then walked us down to Canada to wait until 10:30. Iwas at front of line and walked fast to TT. Rounded the corner and ***!!! Complete chaos. Because the people who come from the front of the park Main entry are closer they filled the inner cue. But hundreds were like figuring out how to make a line. I did not see any CM and there was no sign saying end of line. People organized themselves. But sheesh I ended up waiting at least an hour for the ride. I am not certain they opened the ride until 10:45 either because we stood 5-10 across until the line started moving. 
IMHO- unless you are in front of park and near front of line.  Perhaps try later.  On the other hand with rain and lightning in afternoons they closed it frequently.  FP?…lol


----------



## ajksmom

OhhBother said:


> Lying in bed at Beach Club (12:15 am) and listening to fireworks galore being tested. I wish I could see them, but I’m in my PJs and not about to get up and venture out. Still, it’s a wonderful thing to even hear them - normalcy is returning!


My son heard them Wednesday night and I scolded him for not waking me up. So last night he did. This was taken from our balcony at SSR Paddock area.


----------



## yaywatermelons

DMLAINI said:


> Is there still distancing on the Magical Express?



There was no distancing on Magical Express yesterday.   It was every row assigned.  It was weird because there were only three families on the bus, but we were all in the front.


----------



## Carol_

AK Today: No masks were required by CMs anywhere for us today except the petting zoo part of Rafiki’s (affection section) where unvaccinated guests are asked to mask up. There may be free masks available for such purposes.
A cast member told us when asked when parking lot Trams would be back online, “We’re hearing rumors that may be in August. Cross our fingers.”


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Has CRT started to serve breakfast again or no?


----------



## wideeyedwonder

OhhBother said:


> Lying in bed at Beach Club (12:15 am) and listening to fireworks galore being tested. I wish I could see them, but I’m in my PJs and not about to get up and venture out. Still, it’s a wonderful thing to even hear them - normalcy is returning!


EXACT "same", from a week ago.  Exact same resort, exact same circumstances.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Is anyone at MK today and was possibly there for rope drop?  Is it as it has been since re-opening where all guests could enter and move to attractions at 7:15 or, was it more of a traditional rope drop?

TIA!


----------



## MOPNB

Carol_ said:


> AK Today: No masks were required by CMs anywhere for us today except the petting zoo part of Rafiki’s (affection section) where unvaccinated guests are asked to mask up. There may be free masks available for such purposes.


Do I need to bring my vax card?


----------



## FCDub

MOPNB said:


> Do I need to bring my vax card?



No


----------



## LovesBelle

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Speaking of those amazing vouchers-do they come with your magic bands still?


I think someone else already answered, but we got ours in a flat envelope (no magic bands) with luggage tags about three weeks before our check-in day.


----------



## Jewel3k

OhhBother said:


> Lying in bed at Beach Club (12:15 am) and listening to fireworks galore being tested. I wish I could see them, but I’m in my PJs and not about to get up and venture out. Still, it’s a wonderful thing to even hear them - normalcy is returning!


We can see them from our balcony!


----------



## CableKC

Carol_ said:


> AK Today: No masks were required by CMs anywhere for us today except the petting zoo part of Rafiki’s (affection section) where unvaccinated guests are asked to mask up. There may be free masks available for such purposes.


I think that you have to go off of the assumption that there will be no social distancing and masks ( or any COVID precautions ) going forward.

Personally; as long as no one cares if I wear one and ***** to me about wearing a mask, I no longer care if anyone that I'm around isn't wearing a mask or is social distancing.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

disneyfan150 said:


> FWIW, on Wednesday, the bus driver told me the capacity was 40.


This is one of those rare times when a WDW bus driver might actually be a reliable source.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Please keep the discussion on topic as to what people are and are not doing and away from personal preferences.


----------



## capegirl

Considering the crowds heading to TT, we hope to be on the first bus out. Would anyone know when the EPCOT busses begin to arrive?


----------



## scrappinginontario

capegirl said:


> Considering the crowds heading to TT, we hope to be on the first bus out. Would anyone know when the EPCOT busses begin to arrive?


For any park opening it is recommended you arrive at your resort transportation no less than 90 mins before posted park opening.


----------



## Eeyore1220

Hi all. Just got here today. Spent the afternoon at AK - I really appreciated everyone’s posts so I tried to keep track of wait times. We got to the park around 12. No wait to get in. Felt pretty quiet. We dawdled a bit and got in line for rapids at 12:30. Posted 25 minute wait, waited 15. Then we did safari. Posted 35, waited 35. Then Everest, posted 20, waited 20. Mobile ordered restaurantasaurus (butchered that name sorry). Then dinosaur, posted 25 at 3:25. In preshow in ten minutes, off ride in 20. We were hot and tired and it was getting  more crowded. Went to check in To our hotel and nervously prepping for boarding group try tomorrow and Hollywood studios rope drop. I know I’ve seen this here, but would really appreciate help:
- what time do parking lots open for HS? 
- what time should we try to get to the gates to have half a chance of slinky at rope drop? 
thank you! I’ll keep posted on the park success tomorrow.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

LovesBelle said:


> I think someone else already answered, but we got ours in a flat envelope (no magic bands) with luggage tags about three weeks before our check-in day.


Thank you!


----------



## capegirl

scrappinginontario said:


> For any park opening it is recommended you arrive at your resort transportation no less than 90 mins before posted park opening.



Thank you!


----------



## Southernmiss

Eeyore1220 said:


> Hi all. Just got here today. Spent the afternoon at AK - I really appreciated everyone’s posts so I tried to keep track of wait times. We got to the park around 12. No wait to get in. Felt pretty quiet. We dawdled a bit and got in line for rapids at 12:30. Posted 25 minute wait, waited 15. Then we did safari. Posted 35, waited 35. Then Everest, posted 20, waited 20. Mobile ordered restaurantasaurus (butchered that name sorry). Then dinosaur, posted 25 at 3:25. In preshow in ten minutes, off ride in 20. We were hot and tired and it was getting  more crowded. Went to check in To our hotel and nervously prepping for boarding group try tomorrow and *Hollywood studios rope drop. I know I’ve seen this here, but would really appreciate help:
> - what time do parking lots open for HS?
> - what time should we try to get to the gates to have half a chance of slinky at rope drop?*
> thank you! I’ll keep posted on the park success tomorrow.



We did DHS today.  We were at the gates 45 minutes before park opening. 4th car in our bay. 2nd row in the non preferred parking lot.  

We got into the park shortly after.  Park turnstiles were open and there was a steady stream of people coming in, but no line. The crowd was held at the Chinese theater for just a few minutes until an "opening announcement".  Cast members helped divert the crowds to Star Wars and Toy Story areas.  Our group was in the middle of main street just past Tower of Terror intersection. We were in the middle of the crowd.  Not first near the rope and not last.

DIL is a power walker and our party with the crowd were led by cast members who formed a line in front of the crowds to Slinky Dog.  They had ropes set up to keep us somewhat single file as we got into that part of the park.  Our party were about the 12th people in line.

Sounds great so far.

However, SDD did not open at rope drop as it had mechanical difficulties.  But, it got better. We got electronic fast passes to come back any time today. 

At lunch we saw that SDD was now open and we went there immediately after our lunch (Docking Bay 7 counter service order at 11:30). 

Fun ride and the Toy Story area was full.  We then went to TS Mania and rode back to back with 25 minute waits.


----------



## Eeyore1220

Southernmiss said:


> We did DHS today.  We were at the gates 45 minutes before park opening. 4th car in our bay. 2nd row in the non preferred parking lot.
> 
> We got into the park shortly after.  Park turnstiles were open and there was a steady stream of people coming in, but no line. The crowd was held at the Chinese theater for just a few minutes until an "opening announcement".  Cast members helped divert the crowds to Star Wars and Toy Story areas.  Our group was in the middle of main street just past Tower of Terror intersection. We were in the middle of the crowd.  Not first near the rope and not last.
> 
> DIL is a power walker and our party with the crowd were led by cast members who formed a line in front of the crowds to Slinky Dog.  They had ropes set up to keep us somewhat single file as we got into that part of the park.  Our party were about the 12th people in line.
> 
> Sounds great so far.
> 
> However, SDD did not open at rope drop as it had mechanical difficulties.  But, it got better. We got electronic fast passes to come back any time today.
> 
> At lunch we saw that SDD was now open and we went there immediately after our lunch (Docking Bay 7 counter service order at 11:30).
> 
> Fun ride and the Toy Story area was full.  We then went to TS Mania and rode back to back with 25 minute waits.


This is so helpful thank you!


----------



## Southernmiss

Eeyore1220 said:


> This is so helpful thank you!



You are most welcome.  Hope you have a magical trip.  Our last day is tomorrow and it has been wonderful, but our feet feel like they could fall off! LOL

We will be at DHS again tomorrow.  But taking it easier than today.  We did all the headliners today (even got ROTR group 27 this morning) and will do what we want and then hop to another park or 2.


----------



## Eeyore1220

Southernmiss said:


> You are most welcome.  Hope you have a magical trip.  Our last day is tomorrow and it has been wonderful, but our feet feel like they could fall off! LOL
> 
> We will be at DHS again tomorrow.  But taking it easier than today.  We did all the headliners today (even got ROTR group 27 this morning) and will do what we want and then hop to another park or 2.


We’ll see you there, lol! We just did two days at universal and my feet are falling off as well. I also didn’t know I could sweat so much!


----------



## Southernmiss

Eeyore1220 said:


> We’ll see you there, lol! We just did two days at universal and my feet are falling off as well. I also didn’t know I could sweat so much!



Yes! We did Universal Sunday and Monday and had 4 Disney Park days with hoppers. We rope dropped and completely did AK yesterday and hopped to Epcot from 2 until 9:30 last night- so it was like 2 full park days in 1. I've got 95,000 steps on my Fitbit for the week.  Dh says he's got more and that my watch doesn't catch all my steps!


----------



## bdiddy

Day 4: MK

We started our day with a 10:15 ressie at Topolino’s and it was amazing! We took an Uber over there. It was also our only character meal this trip.We don’t usually do them much anymore since the kids are teens now but it was cute and the artist theme was fun. We couldn’t get enough of the endless pastries they brought out and all our food was excellent. DH got the gruyere quiche, DD got the sour cream waffles, DS (our picky one) got eggs, potatoes & grapes. He also ate a ton of the mini chocolate chip muffins our server kept bringing out. I got eggs, potatoes, bacon and a side of Mickey waffle dippers which were so cute and good! We also loved the view from the terrace outside I’d the restaurant. Riviera was very nice and my BFF had been raving about it since they got their DVC there….but while I thought it was very nice, it’s not as impressive as WL which just blew me away. I guess it just depends on what kind of vibe you are going for.

After breakfast we had to head to MK but since we have never ridden the Skyliner before, we decided to take it to the Caribbean Beach stop and then take a bus from there. It all went very quick. We got to MK right about noon.

Since we had spent a big chunk of the day at MK on Tuesday, our mission was to start with the rides we didn’t get to on Tuesday. We did Thunder, Mine Train, Jungle, Philharmagic, Mermaid, Peter Pan, Pooh and DH’s favorite - Carousel of Progress. The longest wait we had was 42 min for Mine Train. The next longest waits were 28 for Jungle and 32 for Thunder and then Peter Pan at 20 min. Everything else was 15 or under and even walk-on for a couple. We were there from 12-7 so a big chunk of that time was the usual “busy time” in the park. It felt less crowded today than it did on Tuesday for some reason. We left at 7 and caught the boat back to WL to drop off some stuff and change into fresh shirts and we caught a bus to Disney Springs to run to a few stores.

As for food, other than Topolino’s, we just snacked the rest of the day. Mickey Pretzels, Mickey bars, Dole whips - DD got the strawberry Fanta one with strawberry dole whip and it was really good! That was from Sunshine Tree. DD also insisted on trying a turkey leg which I told her she’s going to eat 3 bites and then not want anymore and sure enough that’s what happened. DH and DS are the rest. I barely eat meat so I could barely look at it, much less smell it - they are so disgusting to me! Lol…We also got some poutine at DS and DD tried the s’mores cupcake from Roaring Fork when we got back - which was super cute and really good! (Included a picture)

We got back to WL a little after 10. Tomorrow is our AK day and maybe swimming after at our resort since we haven’t had a chance yet.


----------



## oktxregulators2020

Southernmiss said:


> We did DHS today.  We were at the gates 45 minutes before park opening. 4th car in our bay. 2nd row in the non preferred parking lot.
> 
> We got into the park shortly after.  Park turnstiles were open and there was a steady stream of people coming in, but no line. The crowd was held at the Chinese theater for just a few minutes until an "opening announcement".  Cast members helped divert the crowds to Star Wars and Toy Story areas.  Our group was in the middle of main street just past Tower of Terror intersection. We were in the middle of the crowd.  Not first near the rope and not last.
> 
> DIL is a power walker and our party with the crowd were led by cast members who formed a line in front of the crowds to Slinky Dog.  They had ropes set up to keep us somewhat single file as we got into that part of the park.  Our party were about the 12th people in line.
> 
> Sounds great so far.
> 
> However, SDD did not open at rope drop as it had mechanical difficulties.  But, it got better. We got electronic fast passes to come back any time today.
> 
> At lunch we saw that SDD was now open and we went there immediately after our lunch (Docking Bay 7 counter service order at 11:30).
> 
> Fun ride and the Toy Story area was full.  We then went to TS Mania and rode back to back with 25 minute waits.



I was at SD this afternoon and that explains the massive amount of people who were showing up with a FP to get into the ride.


----------



## lovethattink

Hey everyone! Just a friendly reminder not to drop any info about attractions that could be seen as a spoiler for someone who hasn’t gone on that attraction yet.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Has the Wilderness Explorer's badge challenge come back yet to AK? We are huge Up fans and have always wanted to do it and it was available when we went in 2019.


----------



## oktxregulators2020

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Has the Wilderness Explorer's badge challenge come back yet to AK? We are huge Up fans and have always wanted to do it and it was available when we went in 2019.



Yes it has, we were in AK this past Wed.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

oktxregulators2020 said:


> Yes it has, we were in AK this past Wed.


Excellent Thank You!


----------



## yorkieteacher

Sitting in the floor inside Test Track currently- was let in IG at 1015, held near Canada til 1035- in line for TT at 1050. 10 minutes ago at 1150 was 
About to get to the design area and the broken down announcement came and now we are trapped!


----------



## oktxregulators2020

yorkieteacher said:


> Sitting in the floor inside Test Track currently- was let in IG at 1015, held near Canada til 1035- in line for TT at 1050. 10 minutes ago at 1150 was
> About to get to the design area and the broken down announcement came and now we are trapped!



Yikes, I heard other people having issues with TT in the mornings. We did it this week toward park closing and had 45-60 min waits with no issue. We came to EPCOT on Monday for opening and the line for TT was 2 hours and was almost all the way down to where World Showcase begins.


----------



## Eeyore1220

Day 2 DHS. We got up early and synchronized our phones - two in hotel WiFi, one on data, one on time.gov. The insanity paid off and we got boarding group 56. We drove over and the entrance to the parking gates was blocked off and they told us we were a full half hour too early to park (7:45). We were going to circle around but we ended up pulling off, parking at the swan and walking. It was quite easy and we walked up to DHS at 8:15, right when we could have started parking there. No line for security or to enter the park, but we were held in a giant crowd outside of Chinese Theatre. They separated the crowd waiting by where they were going. My DH, DD, and DD went towards SDD and my friend and I waited for MMRR. They let us go around 8:45 and it was a walk on for MMRR. DH and the kids found that SDD wasn’t running, no eta given. They decided to stick around toy story land and did the alien swirl and midway mania. When they got on line for midway mania SDD opened with a 90 minute wait. My friend and I got on line for the kids and they caught up with us (We didn’t ride so we weren’t putting more people on by holding the spot). The 90 minute wait was actually only 25! We then went over to Star Wars and did millennium falcon with a true 45 minute wait. It was fun. We had an 11:10 droid appointment. Honestly it was a long wait and  a lot of money - I’d say if your kids don’t know it’s there, don’t tell them! We missed our woody’s lunch pickup time because droids took so long so we had to go to pizze Rizzo (the vegan sausage sandwich was actually not terrible). While we ate our boarding group was called so we finished and headed over. Wow. That was a really cool ride. I had avoided spoilers and won’t post any here, but wow. My DD wanted to do MMRR so we waited 35 minutes of a posted 45. We were exhausted and hot so we took the skyliner to cbr and then to Epcot with no waits. We walked to our car at the swan from the Epcot stop. We expected to pay 29 for the daily non guest parking fee but they just opened the gates and had no attendant and everyone was just driving out so we went with it! We are back at hotel resting and swimming, planning a short Epcot evening for dinner tonight.


----------



## d0naldduck123

Just curious, I was leaving HS today at closing and saw a bunch of people coming in for some event - they all had the same lanyards/name tags. Does anyone know what the event is?


----------



## luv2cheer92

yorkieteacher said:


> Sitting in the floor inside Test Track currently- was let in IG at 1015, held near Canada til 1035- in line for TT at 1050. 10 minutes ago at 1150 was
> About to get to the design area and the broken down announcement came and now we are trapped!


I learned many, many trips ago to never rope drop TT. Its just too unreliable.


----------



## bdiddy

Day 5: AK

We tried to get an early start but were slow going this morning and didn’t get to AK until almost 8:30. We took an Uber again. We really like doing an Uber in the morning and a bus in the evening. Or boat if we are at MK. There’s been barely any waits for WL at the end of the night for a bus so that’s been really nice.

FOP was just over an hour so we just went and got in line. I knew from watching the Disney and TP app for weeks that it doesn’t really get under an hour so we just wanted to get it done with. Which I’m glad we did because I watched it all day and the lowest it was until close was 51 min.
The line moved steady but slow so it didn’t seem too bad. It was DD’s first time on the ride and she really liked it. I mobile ordered from Satuli’s while in line for a mid morning snack. We got some of the cheeseburger pods which were really good and the chocolate mousse cake. After that we rode Navi which had 28 min wait. DS bought a new Avatar mech today at the gift shop which they didn’t have last time we were here in 2019.
Finished up in Pandora and went to the safari next. Was a 20 min wait. The animals were very active and there were so many giraffes right by the road so that was really fun to see.

After Safari we went to Everest which was a 20 min wait. Then we watched the birds in flight show to waste some time before our Yak n Yeti reservation which was fun. I got some awesome slow motion video is the birds flying so low over our heads. It was our first time eating ar Yak n Yeti and we all loved it. DH got the Korean fried chicken, DD got the shrimp lo mein and I got the plant based beyond burger with sweet potato fries which were so yummy! DS is our picky one and he just got a cheeseburger. He’s 15 and had been ordering off the kids menu almost the entire time and it’s been 100% fine.

After Yak n Yeti, we rode Everest again. It was about a 10 min wait. We asked for the front car which was super fun! We then went to dinosaur which was walk-on. DH and I kept saying how we couldn’t believe how low the waits were for the safari, Everest and dinosaur. And even Navi wasn’t bad compared to previous trips. I remember years and years ago waiting way over an hour for the safari when we couldn’t get a fast pass for some reason. So other than FOP, not having fast passes at AK had been great! After Dinosaur, we did It’s Tough to Be a Bug and hit the gift shops and left. DH loves FOP and debated on he and DS waiting again while DD and I left but the wait was still about an hour and he just didn’t want to wait again. Plus we’ll be back at AK tomorrow afternoon meeting friends and thought we’d ride it then while we hang out with them and catch up in line.

So we left AK and there was a bus waiting when we got to the terminal and were back to WL by 7. We changed into our suits right away and went to the pool and hot tub which felt so good!!

I can’t even tell you how much we love this resort. It’s our first time staying deluxe and I have no idea how we’ll ever go back to value or even moderate! Lol

After we swam, we mobile ordered some food from Roaring Fork to take back to our room and will have a quiet night in.

Tomorrow is HS in the morning again with an Oga’s and Sci-fi reservation. And we’ll try for a BG again first thing and then we’ll hit AK in the afternoon to meet our friends.


----------



## Eeyore1220

Epcot this evening was quite manageable. We did soarin with a ten minute wait at 6pm, then living with the land with no wait. We walked around to the various garden festival booths and ate little bites. Never had more than two people in line at any booth and we always found a place to sit and eat. Pretty much everything was a walk on except frozen and test track. Nice way to end a long day.


----------



## oktxregulators2020

Day 6: MK

This was our 2nd Day at MK we previously went this past Tuesday. Once again we decided to sleep in enjoy our house and the amenities that came with it before doing the afternoon to close at MK.  Drove to MK (10 min) and was able to park two rows from the very front entrance where people walk down the ramp. Security guard at the bottom of the monorail ramp enforcing people to put on masks to ride monorail. We check the app and noticed wait times around 1PM were all under 30 minutes except for 7DMT, JC, Splash. The crowd seemed very light compared to Tuesday at MK. 

We went straight to Space Mountain with a 25 min wait then walked right on People Mover then walked on Carousel. After Carousel we did AO that has a post 40 min wait but was 15 min. Went to Buzz with a 25 min wait then the Speedway with a 15 min wait.  

Teacups was next with 5 min wait, then Pooh 30 min wait. We then walked across to do 7DMT for a solid 60 min wait.  Haunted Mansion was next with a 25 min wait but was excited to see that the stretching room is back!!! (was not used this past Tuesday), The virtual que is still not open in HM. 

Next up was Sleepy Hollow for Corndogs and Funnel Cakes. The Corndogs were really greasy almost to the point where it felt like the oil was not hot enough and the batter just absorbed alot of the grease. 

Walked to Splash and had a solid 45 min wait and got soaked. Had about an hour left before park close and decided to do PotC which was a walk on and then did Jungle Cruise with a 25 min wait. We made it off the ship with 10 minutes til park closed and got a Dole Whip at Aloha Isle and then did the Carpets.

As we were walking out we went into the Emporium and proceeded to spend what Richard Gere in "Pretty Woman" would say as an "insane amount of money" on plates, bowls and mugs to redo our entire kitchen at home.  If you have a Disney Visa card be sure you use it in order to get 10% when you purchase things. 

In closing, based on what we have seen the past 6 days in the park going around 1PM to close is like night and day compared to going to Rope Drop.  I know this will probably change in the future but if this trend stays we will probably never do Rope Drop again.


----------



## preemiemama

oktxregulators2020 said:


> Day 6: MK
> Haunted Mansion was next with a 25 min wait but was excited to see that the stretching room is back!!! (was not used this past Tuesday), The virtual que is still not open in HM.


Can I ask how it was exiting the stretching room?  Usually, this spot is just a crush of people with no room to move and all sorts of pushing.  Wondering how they are handling it now?


----------



## oktxregulators2020

preemiemama said:


> Can I ask how it was exiting the stretching room?  Usually, this spot is just a crush of people with no room to move and all sorts of pushing.  Wondering how they are handling it now?



It felt like normal, there was a lot of people in the room but not to the point where everyone is on top of everyone.


----------



## preemiemama

oktxregulators2020 said:


> It felt like normal, there was a lot of people in the room but not to the point where everyone is on top of everyone.


Thanks!  Good to hear.  Normally that area gives me a panic attack with the crowding and pushing!  A little breathing room is ok- like to the point where I don't have other peoples' body parts on top of me!


----------



## Leigh L

MK is still allowing cars to line up early without circling around. Arrived 6:35 am and cars already here for 8 am opening. I'll try to circle back when they open. (Suspect it will be at 7).


----------



## armerida

bdiddy said:


> After Yak n Yeti, we rode Everest again. It was about a 10 min wait. We asked for the front car which was super fun!


Ooh! So they are allowing row requests again?! Do they have a separate line for the front row as they did in the past?


----------



## bdiddy

armerida said:


> Ooh! So they are allowing row requests again?! Do they have a separate line for the front row as they did in the past?



No separate lines that we noticed. It was pretty much walk-on and no one was waiting by where they load. We just asked and she sent us over there and we were the next ones on.


----------



## cdurham1

When Disney announced they were doing away with Extra Magic Hours, they made it sound like on site guests would be able to enter any of the parks 30 minutes early.  It isn't clear to me from trip reports - is there any difference when you are allowed to enter the parks based on if you are staying on site?


----------



## lovethattink

cdurham1 said:


> When Disney announced they were doing away with Extra Magic Hours, they made it sound like on site guests would be able to enter any of the parks 30 minutes early.  It isn't clear to me from trip reports - is there any difference when you are allowed to enter the parks based on if you are staying on site?



Early entry hasn’t started yet.


----------



## Best Aunt

cdurham1 said:


> When Disney announced they were doing away with Extra Magic Hours, they made it sound like on site guests would be able to enter any of the parks 30 minutes early.  It isn't clear to me from trip reports - is there any difference when you are allowed to enter the parks based on if you are staying on site?



I don't think that has been implemented yet.

From the official Disney website:
*Please note: The Extra Magic Hours benefit was suspended when Walt Disney World Resort reopened last summer, and as we continue to manage attendance with health and safety top of mind, Extra Magic Hours will not return. Learn more about our new early theme park entry benefit coming later this year as part of our 50th anniversary celebration.

That took you to a Disney parks blog entry from 01/11/2021
COMING SOON*


*Early Theme Park Entry*: We know how much guests enjoy extra park time, so coming later this year as part of our 50th anniversary celebration, Disney Resort hotel guests and guests of other select hotels will be able to enjoy more fun with 30-minute early entry to ANY theme park, EVERY day. It’ll be a great way to get a jump start on your Disney day, no matter the day! As a reminder, the Extra Magic Hours benefit was suspended when Walt Disney World Resort reopened last summer, and as we continue to manage attendance with health and safety top of mind, Extra Magic Hours will not return. The new early theme park entry benefit helps us better spread visitation across all four theme parks, while providing added flexibility by giving guests extra early park time on each day of their vacation and in the park of their choosing. Please note that guests need valid admission and a park reservation made via the Disney Park Pass system to enter a theme park.


----------



## Southernmiss

Offsite stay heading home now. Everyone was allowed park entry at the same time each day-about 45 to 30 minutes before official opening time.


----------



## Princess Katelet

A thirty minute early entry is not a huge perk. It’s pretty much nothing. I miss the extra hour in the morning and the extra THREE hours at night…


----------



## cakebaker

Princess Katelet said:


> A thirty minute early entry is not a huge perk. It’s pretty much nothing. I miss the extra hour in the morning and the extra THREE hours at night…



I don't even see how they manage that and why they're even bothering. 30 minutes might get you 1 ride. It's kind of insulting that they're advertising that as some huge perk.


----------



## robinstrip

d0naldduck123 said:


> Just curious, I was leaving HS today at closing and saw a bunch of people coming in for some event - they all had the same lanyards/name tags. Does anyone know what the event is?


Scentsy Rewards Trip 
They also go in super early one morning to one of the parks.


----------



## robinstrip

If anyone is at HS this week for Rope Drop, please report back what time they let you go to the rides. I saw on the previous page that they held them in a large group at the Chinese Theater until about 8:45 before letting people go to rides. Wanted to see what other people's experiences are this week.


----------



## oktxregulators2020

Princess Katelet said:


> A thirty minute early entry is not a huge perk. It’s pretty much nothing. I miss the extra hour in the morning and the extra THREE hours at night…



You are not kidding about the 3 hours extra at night. This was the main perk we loved so much and we could walk on everything at MK and ride it over and over and over.


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## jlundeen

I wonder if they will adhere more to the posted opening hours once they do start the 30 minute opening for resort guests....  it's like everyone right now is already getting that extra perk.

But I agree, I really would rather have the EMH in the AM and PM.


----------



## BridgetBordeaux

Of course I agree that the old a.m. EMH was better than the proposed 30 minutes early........BUT.....in that 30 minutes I should be able to hit TWO headliners before the public and I can do it every single day of my stay.

That means I should always be ahead of the crowd curve for a good part of the morning.

I will take that over no early entry before the public at all.


----------



## bdiddy

cdurham1 said:


> When Disney announced they were doing away with Extra Magic Hours, they made it sound like on site guests would be able to enter any of the parks 30 minutes early.  It isn't clear to me from trip reports - is there any difference when you are allowed to enter the parks based on if you are staying on site?



We’re  here now and wveeyone is being let in about 45ish min early. Nothing special or extra for resort guests yet.


----------



## cakebaker

BridgetBordeaux said:


> Of course I agree that the old a.m. EMH was better than the proposed 30 minutes early........BUT.....in that 30 minutes I should be able to hit TWO headliners before the public and I can do it every single day of my stay.
> 
> That means I should always be ahead of the crowd curve for a good part of the morning.
> 
> I will take that over no early entry before the public at all.


Unless you're at the head of the pack, I don't see getting 2 headliners in within 30 minutes. Ride 1 and by the time you get to the next one, there will be a wait that has formed just from onsite guests. 1 ride yes, but 2 is a stretch and for me, to go through the trouble of being there really early to be in front is not worth 1 ride. FP would work ever so much better. 

Is it better than nothing? Sure. But I expect more than the level of better than nothing when paying WDW resort prices. It's just another case of getting less and less while paying more. I'd love for them to explain how doing away with EMH somehow makes us all safer- because that's the excuse they're going with and it's ridiculous.


----------



## itsmeamanda

Here now and my shoes have failed me. Can anytime tell me where I can get flip flops at magic kingdom?


----------



## lovethattink

itsmeamanda said:


> Here now and my shoes have failed me. Can anytime tell me where I can get flip flops at magic kingdom?



Oh no! I can’t think of anywhere in MK that has adult shoes. You might be able to find crocs, but sizes are very limited. I saw them at Epcot at Mousegears, but haven’t seen adult ones at MK.


----------



## Skippyboo

itsmeamanda said:


> Here now and my shoes have failed me. Can anytime tell me where I can get flip flops at magic kingdom?


Emporium-the big gift shop on Main Street ?   You might have to go over to one of the hotel gift shops if the big Main Street one doesn’t have any. Definitely can get some at Disney Springs.


----------



## Leigh L

preemiemama said:


> Thanks!  Good to hear.  Normally that area gives me a panic attack with the crowding and pushing!  A little breathing room is ok- like to the point where I don't have other peoples' body parts on top of me!


Once DD and I discovered a strategy for HM. I check in under 5 ft and always get trampled. Until the year we discovered the tall dad backpack strategy! Lol

Backpack makes it so we don't crowd him as we follow him closely in. He gets us easily out onto line for doom buggies every time!

Kidding....but it's a huge joke in my family now because it does work...





Leigh L said:


> MK is still allowing cars to line up early without circling around. Arrived 6:35 am and cars already here for 8 am opening. I'll try to circle back when they open. (Suspect it will be at 7).


It was 7:01 when we started moving.


----------



## Southernmiss

robinstrip said:


> If anyone is at HS this week for Rope Drop, please report back what time they let you go to the rides. I saw on the previous page that they held them in a large group at the Chinese Theater until about 8:45 before letting people go to rides. Wanted to see what other people's experiences are this week.



We were held at the Chinese theater until a few minutes before 8:30 Friday and yesterday. There was a welcoming announcement and cast members led guests to either Toy Story or Star Wars lands or in line for MMRR.


----------



## itsmeamanda

Skippyboo said:


> Emporium-the big gift shop on Main Street ?   You might have to go over to one of the hotel gift shops if the big Main Street one doesn’t have any. Definitely can get some at Disney Springs.


yes! They had some for $15! THANK YOU!


----------



## Skippyboo

itsmeamanda said:


> yes! They had some for $15! THANK YOU!
> [/QU


Great to hear you found some.


----------



## Best Aunt

itsmeamanda said:


> Here now and my shoes have failed me. Can anytime tell me where I can get flip flops at magic kingdom?



Probably way too late, but I would have tried in Adventureland.  I seem to recall a surfer-type themed gift shop there.


----------



## merdie

DMLAINI said:


> Is there still distancing on the Magical Express?


There wasn’t yesterday when we returned to the airport.


----------



## Tigerlulu

Princess Katelet said:


> A thirty minute early entry is not a huge perk. It’s pretty much nothing. I miss the extra hour in the morning and the extra THREE hours at night…


Yep 30 min won’t convince me to come back onsite. But that 3 hours at night? I’ll spend whatever I have to to get that back!


----------



## DisneyFive

Southernmiss said:


> We were held at the Chinese theater until a few minutes before 8:30 Friday and yesterday. There was a welcoming announcement and cast members led guests to either Toy Story or Star Wars lands or in line for MMRR.



Could you go to rock n roller coaster or Tower of terror right away, or was everyone held at the Chinese theater for ALL attractions?

Dan


----------



## preemiemama

Leigh L said:


> Once DD and I discovered a strategy for HM. I check in under 5 ft and always get trampled. Until the year we discovered the tall dad backpack strategy! Lol
> 
> Backpack makes it so we don't crowd him as we follow him closely in. He gets us easily out onto line for doom buggies every time!
> 
> Kidding....but it's a huge joke in my family now because it does work...
> It was 7:01 when we started moving.


Ha!  My DH is not super tall (5'11") but he's broad/pretty solid so using him as a blocker usually helps. I still swear that room is a nightmare, though!


----------



## Eeyore1220

MK today. I was terrible about recording waits, but they weren’t bad at all. We arrived at 8:15 and by 12 we did all three mountains, HM, pirates, small world, mine train, and people mover. Lunch at Tony’s where they accommodated our request to eat outside and then back to hotel to rest. Came back to Epcot tonight and it’s much much busier than yesterday. Annoyingly so, lol. World showcase is packed. Still great, though! Side note - during our afternoon break we tried to go to the Disney outlet and were told it was a two hour wait to get in! No thank you! Tomorrow is HS again- hoping for success!


----------



## MoreThanThis

Today was our first day at the Disney parks for our summer trip. We started at MK.

Last week, we’ve been using our Universal AP with express pass after 4 to enjoy evenings in the park. So when it came to a new system for Disney, we didn’t know if we’d spoiled ourselves too much with sleeping in. Prior to this trip, we were a rope drop family, rest in the afternoons, and come back until closing. We’re also lucky in that we’ve done the parks before, so it felt easier to play with this trip.

We woke up around 9, had breakfast, and drove to the parks around 11. It was busy but manageable. I watched the wait time on the app and let that be our guide for the day. By 8PM, we’d done the mountains, the classics and snack breaks. The longest wait was SDMT with 55 mins, but it went by quickly.

We’re staying off property and saw masks being checked for the monorail but not the ferry. Inside the park, it was minimal with masks, including those under 12. This is the first time not being in the bubble, it’s fine, the only downside is the traffic on 4. 

With wait times not being so extreme, we might stick to this system.

A rainy day is expected tomorrow, on to AK we go!


----------



## robinstrip

Thanks southernmiss!!


----------



## Southernmiss

DisneyFive said:


> Could you go to rock n roller coaster or Tower of terror right away, or was everyone held at the Chinese theater for ALL attractions?
> 
> Dan



Sorry. We walked past the intersection both days focused on waiting to get to SDD and MMRR first.

Did not even look down the street to RnR and Tower of Terror.

 We did get on them, though before 1 pm after touring Toy Story area on one day and Star Wars land the other.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Are waits for Magical Express more reasonable now that they're seating every row? We arrive Wednesday afternoon and really hoping we won't have a giant line to greet us!


----------



## BridgetBordeaux

cakebaker said:


> Unless you're at the head of the pack, I don't see getting 2 headliners in within 30 minutes. Ride 1 and by the time you get to the next one, there will be a wait that has formed just from onsite guests. 1 ride yes, but 2 is a stretch and for me, to go through the trouble of being there really early to be in front is not worth 1 ride. FP would work ever so much better.
> 
> Is it better than nothing? Sure. But I expect more than the level of better than nothing when paying WDW resort prices. It's just another case of getting less and less while paying more. I'd love for them to explain how doing away with EMH somehow makes us all safer- because that's the excuse they're going with and it's ridiculous.


You have made a lot of valid points.................and yes, we rope drop and are usually one of the first 20-40 people they let in the park.


----------



## jbish

We arrived last night and today was our first day in the parks - MK. First of all, want to say how surreal it felt to actually be here after 15 months since our canceled 2020 spring break trip. So happy to be here! Won’t do the full ride by rude rundown as I’m two cocktails in sitting by the pool. 

First, DME: we landed at 8 p.m. Saturday evening. Got right on a bus but of course we were the last of five stops. Clearly combined two routes, so that was not fun as we were starving but just barely made it to pick up my mobile order for food. Mobile order definitely has its advantages!

MK this morning. RD was great. Walked right in at 7:20ish, heading to space mountain. Walked right on. By 8, was also able to get in pirates before going to jungle cruise, which opened with the park.

Overall, I’d say the waits were rather pleasant. We were a FP family. My kids were dismayed with a 20-25 minute wait. But to be able to ride PP in the middle of the day in the summer with a <30 minute wait pre-FP would have been unheard of. And quite honestly, the waits were mostly under cover, which really helped us endure the heat. PP was our longest wait of the day. I honestly think no FP is better. The lines were just always moving unless the ride was paused for some reason 

We hopped to AK, wanting to see how the closing hours really are, arriving at 5 p.m. knowing we wouldn’t get a ton done. We did EE, KS, KRR, back to Everest for two more rides. The kids would have done a third but wanted soft serve more. lol We also contemplated jumping into the FOP line, but we were beat. Closing time is great. 

My one source of disappointment, so far, has been food. Limited options. My Skipper Canteen ADR was for 2:40. Didn’t get seated until closer to 3:00. Everything was slow. Also there are few late dining options available, so I’m currently waiting for my Uber eats driver to arrive with our late dinner.

Tomorrow is HS day! 18 months of practicing better pay off!!


----------



## leannak

robinstrip said:


> If anyone is at HS this week for Rope Drop, please report back what time they let you go to the rides. I saw on the previous page that they held them in a large group at the Chinese Theater until about 8:45 before letting people go to rides. Wanted to see what other people's experiences are this week.


We were there 2 days ago and were held until 8:25. They sent people left for Star Wars and right for Toy Story. They said not to think about going right for Star Wars because you would face a wall of cast members blocking your entry.


----------



## bdiddy

Day 6: HS & AK

Set the alarm to get up for another boarding pass attempt. This time we got BG #12 (earlier in the week we were #55). We took an Uber to the park again and our plan before we knew we had an early BG number was to go right to Rock n Roller coaster since we didn’t get to that last week. When we were there before, we did Slinky first thing and both RnR and Tower were pretty low for awhile so we thought we’d be good hitting that first today. But since we got BG 12 we got called pretty early. Our return time was from 9:04-10:04. We didn’t get to the park until almost 9:30 so we had to go straight to Rise.

After Rise we went to RnR and of course it was up to a 45 min wait. We didn’t have a lot of options because we had an 11:40 at Oga’s and 1:20 at sci-fi and had to leave right after to AK. So we waited and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t quite 45 min. After RnR, we stopped in a few shops and went right to Oga’s. It was our first time there and it was super fun! Had a standing table and all ordered non-alcoholic drinks. DD got the Carbon Freeze which all the fizzy action was awesome! It tasted like a bubbly lemonade to me. I got the Blue Bantha milk that comes with the sugar cookie. I was not a fan and it took a lot for me to just drink half of it. It was just so strange. Like a weird fruity milkshake. And I’ve heard people rave about the sugar cookie that comes on top of it but I thought it was dry and nothing special! DH got the hyperdrive and he said it was pretty good. Picky DS was boring and got water! Haha

After Oga’s, we didn’t have all that much time so we went to Muppets which was one of the last things we didn’t get to along with RnR last week. After that it was time to check in for Sci-Fi. This was our 3rd time eating here over the last 13 yrs we’ve been coming and it’s always a fun meal. DD just got fried pickles for her meal and the meteor coke with the glowing ice cube. DS got the American burger and fries. I got the impossible burger which was the plant based burger - which I love these at Disney and just keep ordering them! DH got the drive-in burger.

After sci-fi we had to leave right away to go to AK. My best friend who lives in NC had just arrived with her family and we were meeting for the afternoon for a few hours. We haven’t seen them in about a year so it was nice to visit for a bit. They saved FOP for when we got there so we could hang out and talk in line. It said it was a 55 min wait but I timed it and it was 45 min. It felt so much faster though since we had them to hang out with.

After FOP, we all went on Navi which was a posted 25 min wait and we were on in 18 min. Then we all rode Everest which was pretty much walk-on. After that, they had to leave to their dinner reservation. DH and DS wanted to ride FOP again and it said it was “only” 38 min so they went and then DD and I went on safari which was 9 min posted wait but was walk-on. The rhinos were so active and right up next to the vehicle a bunch and we got to see the baby rhino which was so cute! 

I also almost forgot!! And I will include a picture because this was AMAZING! My BFF had gotten it earlier in the day and told me about it so I had to go get it to try. It’s a strawberry shortcake ice cream cookie. It’s strawberry ice cream between two sugar cookies that are coated in a strawberry crumb topping. It was SO good! It’s from a little place in Dinoland right before Dinosaur called Dino-bites.

After FOP and Safari we left and this was the longest we had to wait for a bus to WL. It was about 15 min which really isn’t bad. It just shows how quick they were all the other nights. We came back and showered and I started organizing our stuff for packing tomorrow. Can’t believe it’s our last day! 

Which we have Epcot scheduled first with a reservation at Coral Reef and then we’ll finish at MK. DH isn’t feeling so good though, he woke up with a scratchy throat and had been feeling really congested and is pretty sure he has a head cold. We got some Benadryl in the gift shop to hopefully dry him up a bit and knock him out to get some sleep tonight. Which we all figured that we’d probably be getting sick on or after this trip. It’s the first time we haven’t really had masks on since this all began! I normally get 2-3 colds a year and I haven’t been sick since the January before covid hit so I know it’s coming! I just hope it waits until we are home! And that DH feels a little better and can get though our last day.


----------



## Leigh L

preemiemama said:


> Ha!  My DH is not super tall (5'11") but he's broad/pretty solid so using him as a blocker usually helps. I still swear that room is a nightmare, though!


Thankfully, it's not bad right now. (Unless it changes during the day as crowds build up.) Plenty of room to breathe and no rush of people out of the stretching room. We went to HM sometime in the early part of 9 a.m. hour after we'd done BTMR, POC, and JC.


----------



## Leigh L

armerida said:


> Ooh! So they are allowing row requests again?! Do they have a separate line for the front row as they did in the past?


I requested towards the front at EE today. CM didn't sound too happy about it, but I was accommodated. 

Some of these coasters, especially the long train ones, I can't do the back anymore :/.


----------



## oktxregulators2020

Day 7 Disney Springs & MK (3rd Day at MK)

Day 7 was going to be a lazy day for us to continue enjoying the house we rented off property. We had lunch/early supper reservations at Homecomin at 3:30. We got to DS around 2:30 and it was very busy. I walked over to Gideon's just to get a chuckle to see how long the virtual que was for cookies and was told 4 hours!! We then went over to World of Disney and bought a few things before making our way to eat. Was seated around 3:45. Wife had Chicken & Donuts, I had the Chicken Fried Steak, Daughter had Shrimp N Grits and Daughter Friend had Chicken Breasts. My wife and myself split a yummy piece of Moonshine Cake for Desert. We finished up around 5 and decided to go back to our house and drop off leftovers and go to MK to see what we can do in around 3 hours (Closes at 9PM).

We drove to MK and the guy at the car line said since it was 5:35 he was not going to charge us to park. Wooohooo!! Got a very close parking spot and walked right on the monorail and right off into MK. Upon arrival everything had wait times under 30 min except for 7DMT, Splash and JC. We walked into the park at 5:50 and decided to see how much we can do in 3 hours.

Space was first with 25 min wait, then Buzz was 20 min wait. PM was a walk on. Speedway 10 min wait. Teacups walk on. Next we did 7DMT with a 50 min wait. It was almost 8'oclock and we then did HM 20 min wait (the graveyard is now open but it was not turned on). We still had 2 rides we wanted to do and it was 8:30. Walked over to BTM and walked on and then hit Splash with a 15 min wait and got off 10 minutes before park closed and closed out the night with a Dole Whip right as park closed. 

Drove back to the house we have and my daughter started asking about a robot she wants at HS. So, I forgot that you could build a robot at HS so I got online and was able to snag two reservations tomorrow at HS to build Robots. 

So, in a span of 3 hours we did 9 rides.  Not bad I say!!


----------



## yorkieteacher

robinstrip said:


> If anyone is at HS this week for Rope Drop, please report back what time they let you go to the rides. I saw on the previous page that they held them in a large group at the Chinese Theater until about 8:45 before letting people go to rides. Wanted to see what other people's experiences are this week.


On June 20 we went through security at 815, the tap points immediately afterwards, then held at one of three lines for Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story, or MMRR until 840.


----------



## yorkieteacher

d0naldduck123 said:


> Just curious, I was leaving HS today at closing and saw a bunch of people coming in for some event - they all had the same lanyards/name tags. Does anyone know what the event is?


On June 20 a convention my son is attending and my grandson and I are guests had a dessert party for attendees beginning at 930 pm . Many corporate events are after hours . We got to ride RnRC as often as we wanted, which is zero for me!


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## yorkieteacher

Two days into our week that began at Epcot and Hollywood Studios, we have designed a car again at Test Track, seen the preshow at MMRR and ToT,  visited with Honda at MFSR, and had the full RotT experience. I haven’t noticed any differences from our trip early March 2020 except  character hugs , nighttime shows, and street entertainers. Ready for those any time now!


----------



## Eeyore1220

DisneyFive said:


> Could you go to rock n roller coaster or Tower of terror right away, or was everyone held at the Chinese theater for ALL attractions?
> 
> Dan


Our plan is to rope drop RRC today so I’ll report back on how they handle that in terms of the holding


----------



## WEDWDW

yorkieteacher said:


> Two days into our week that began at Epcot and Hollywood Studios, we have designed a car again at Test Track, seen the preshow at MMRR and ToT,  visited with Honda at MFSR, and had the full RotT experience. I haven’t noticed any differences from our trip early March 2020 except  character hugs , nighttime shows, and street entertainers. Ready for those any time now!


It is really amazing how FAST everything is coming back!


----------



## tigger2002

jbish said:


> Tomorrow is HS day! 18 months of practicing better pay off!!


Did you get a boarding group?


----------



## Southernmiss

yorkieteacher said:


> Two days into our week that began at Epcot and Hollywood Studios, we have designed a car again at Test Track, seen the preshow at MMRR and ToT,  visited with Honda at MFSR, and had the full RotT experience. I haven’t noticed any differences from our trip early March 2020 except  character hugs , nighttime shows, and street entertainers. Ready for those any time now!



These are new since Saturday!

 We did Haunted Mansion with no pre-show on 6/16 and with pre-show on Saturday. 

Fun to see the changes happening fast.

My brother and his family will experience things this week that we didn’t last week.


----------



## Eeyore1220

Eeyore1220 said:


> Our plan is to rope drop RRC today so I’ll report back on how they handle that in terms of the holding


They let us go back and get in (a long) line for rrc at 8:20. I decided to rope drop Starbucks instead lol but my family is headed toward the ride


----------



## Eeyore1220

Eeyore1220 said:


> They let us go back and get in (a long) line for rrc at 8:20. I decided to rope drop Starbucks instead lol but my family is headed toward the ride


----------



## bdiddy

Southernmiss said:


> These are new since Saturday!
> 
> We did Haunted Mansion with no pre-show on 6/16 and with pre-show on Saturday.
> 
> Fun to see the changes happening fast.
> 
> My brother and his family will experience things this week that we didn’t last week.



I’m so excited for the stretching room today! It wasn’t happening last Tuesday when we were there and we didn’t go on it Fri when we were at MK but will be today for sure!


----------



## cakebaker

There is no ride anywhere that will get me into a line like that.


----------



## Eeyore1220

Just an FYI because people were asking - they let everyone head into HS at 8:30.


----------



## goodferry

cakebaker said:


> Unless you're at the head of the pack, I don't see getting 2 headliners in within 30 minutes. Ride 1 and by the time you get to the next one, there will be a wait that has formed just from onsite guests. 1 ride yes, but 2 is a stretch and for me, to go through the trouble of being there really early to be in front is not worth 1 ride. FP would work ever so much better.
> 
> Is it better than nothing? Sure. But I expect more than the level of better than nothing when paying WDW resort prices. It's just another case of getting less and less while paying more. I'd love for them to explain how doing away with EMH somehow makes us all safer- because that's the excuse they're going with and it's ridiculous.


I disagree, I think it's possible with the way things are working now to get two headliners in within 30 minutes. We were at the gates of Animal Kingdom when it opened (about 45 minutes early, no rope drop, last week) and we walked straight on FOP, then moved over to Everest and then to the Safari, which we got on at park opening. By 11 we had ridden everything and were walking the trails until lunch.
Magic Kingdom was a little harder, mostly because it's so spread out and not as much was open for us when they opened the gates. We rode Peter Pan and Pirates (two things we found that were open) before park open, followed by BTM, Splash, SM, Buzz, HM, VOTLM, People Mover, all before 11:30 (lunch) We saved 7D for the night when we had a late dinner reservation at BOG and waited about 15 minutes then.
Hollywood Studios was totally different, we got there early and were at the very front of the first rope drop. We immediately rode SDD, TSM, and the Alien spin just to get that area over with. We rode Star Tours with no wait and Smugglers Run next before our 10:30 Oga's reservation. For the rest of the rides we kept watching for a wait time to drop on the app and then went there. We were able to ride RNR and the runaway railway before our Rise boarding group, which was called around 1:30, then TOT on our way out 
Without Fastpass, I do think that being there at open is vital. We felt like the wait times for the non-headliner rides were MUCH lower now and we didn't really miss FP+. Do we miss the OG paper fast pass system, ABDOLUTELY, but we never loved FP+


----------



## Leigh L

Eeyore1220 said:


> Just an FYI because people were asking - they let everyone head into HS at 8:30.


Thanks, good to know! MK wasn't like that at all yesterday, it was the same it's been throughout the pandemic. This was our first park day.

As an aside, that park didn't seem overall crowded at all yesterday. Actually, none really seemed to be. I was expecting to see shoulder to shoulder everywhere (we jumped to all four parks) since the park reservations were sold out at MK and not sure about the others, previously they had been though. We did a ton before we left at 3:30 including lunch at Crystal Palace. 

We waited about 15 minutes for EE (4 pm-ish), walked on to Figment and SSE in the 5 pm hour, walked onto Star Tours and then waited 15 minutes for MFSR in the 7-8 pm hour. Plenty of space to move around the parks. There were a few rides at Epcot and DHS that were 25-60 minutes but since we had a goal to hit all parks and an 8:45 ADR we didn't try to wait for Soarin' and Frozen...we did try ToT but they were only running 1 elevator and we wouldn't have been able to do anything else so we bailed out of line.


----------



## maui2k5

Do any of the attractions still have plexiglass dividers up on the queue or on the rides themselves?  If so, which ones?


----------



## oktxregulators2020

maui2k5 said:


> Do any of the attractions still have plexiglass dividers up on the queue or on the rides themselves?  If so, which ones?



I think all the rides have the plexiglass taken off the rides. There are several that still have plexiglass on the rails in the queue.


----------



## Southernmiss

oktxregulators2020 said:


> I think all the rides have the plexiglass taken off the rides. There are several that still have plexiglass on the rails in the queue.



Plexiglass is off rides (Frozen). But still on que rails, which to me, is not a bad thing.


----------



## ShadowBoxer

To be honest,  my excitement for my trip next month has slightly gone down. Mainly because I been seeing the pics from the parks that are packed with people (like the pre covid days). While I am happy things are kinda going back to normalcy, I am NOT thrilled to have to deal with the summer crowds with no fast pass now. 

I know it's my own fault for picking to go in July but at the time I booked, most of May and June were booked in terms of park reservations. I was hoping Disney would be a bit slower in terms of park capacity. Would have like for it to have been 35-40% for a bit longer lol. It seems its at least at 50% park capacity or more now.......


----------



## lovethattink

ShadowBoxer said:


> To be honest,  my excitement for my trip next month has slightly gone down. Mainly because I been seeing the pics from the parks that are packed with people (like the pre covid days). While I am happy things are kinda going back to normalcy, I am NOT thrilled to have to deal with the summer crowds with no fast pass now.
> 
> I know it's my own fault for picking to go in July but at the time I booked, most of May and June were booked in terms of park reservations. I was hoping Disney would be a bit slower in terms of park capacity. Would have like for it to have been 35-40% for a bit longer lol. It seems its at least at 50% park capacity or more now.......



The parking lots have been relatively empty. I take that to mean there are way less locals, AP, and day guests. And I haven’t seem the parking lots more full recently. 

It’s good they aren’t filled because there are no trams running and it can be a long enough hike as it is!


----------



## ShadowBoxer

lovethattink said:


> The parking lots have been relatively empty. I take that to mean there are way less locals, AP, and day guests. And I haven’t seem the parking lots more full recently.
> 
> It’s good they aren’t filled because there are no trams running and it can be a long enough hike as it is!




That's good!


----------



## DisneyFive

Eeyore1220 said:


> They let us go back and get in (a long) line for rrc at 8:20. I decided to rope drop Starbucks instead lol but my family is headed toward the ride


Yowza.  Thanks for the info and photo.

Ok, how long did that line for RnRC take from that point once they opened the ride?

Rope drop may be looking less and less attractive to us.  SDD isn't a big deal to us, we rode it a couple of times back in 2018.  Looking forward to Smuggler's run or MMRR though.  Not sure I need to get up that early just for that though.  Maybe we'll wait for crowds to dissipate.  I really don't like the idea of getting up so dang early on vacation which we haven't had to do our last few trips.

Dan


----------



## mdonner1175

ShadowBoxer said:


> That's good!


Rental cars are so expensive!   I wonder if on-site reservations will be up as a result.


----------



## Mr. Drauer

lovethattink said:


> The parking lots have been relatively empty. I take that to mean there are way less locals, AP, and day guests. And I haven’t seem the parking lots more full recently.
> 
> It’s good they aren’t filled because there are no trams running and it can be a long enough hike as it is!


Local AP holder - went to AK yesterday.  arrived at toll booth at 7:05 for 8 AM opening and they were just starting to let cars in.  Parked, walked in (still not at traditional rope drop - gates were open and walk right in), got to Pandora for FOP line at 7:28, off the ride at 8:02.  Walked to EE, rode it twice back to back and headed to Dinosaur.  Pre show was on, off the ride at 8:45. Did Chester and Hesters Dino Twirl and headed back toward Safari.  Pretty long line - posted time was 25 when we got in line but changed to 40 before we went into the actual start of line inside attraction. Off ride at 9:50, got in line for snacks, and walked over to FotLK. Entered line at 10:10, inside building by 10:18.  Watched the show, headed to Gorilla Falls, saw the animals, then did ITTBAB, and headed for the car at 11:42.  Other than Pandora and Safari, park was pretty open.  It is not nearly as crowded as some have speculated. We had a fairly similar experience at HS two Sunday's ago - though Slinky is still crowded from open to late afternoon.


----------



## BridgetBordeaux

Mr. Drauer said:


> Local AP holder - went to AK yesterday.  arrived at toll booth at 7:05 for 8 AM opening and they were just starting to let cars in.  Parked, walked in (still not at traditional rope drop - gates were open and walk right in), got to Pandora for FOP line at 7:28, off the ride at 8:02.  Walked to EE, rode it twice back to back and headed to Dinosaur.  Pre show was on, off the ride at 8:45. Did Chester and Hesters Dino Twirl and headed back toward Safari.  Pretty long line - posted time was 25 when we got in line but changed to 40 before we went into the actual start of line inside attraction. Off ride at 9:50, got in line for snacks, and walked over to FotLK. Entered line at 10:10, inside building by 10:18.  Watched the show, headed to Gorilla Falls, saw the animals, then did ITTBAB, and headed for the car at 11:42.  Other than Pandora and Safari, park was pretty open.  It is not nearly as crowded as some have speculated. We had a fairly similar experience at HS two Sunday's ago - though Slinky is still crowded from open to late afternoon.


That AK update is very helpful...............Thanks!


----------



## DSLRuser

Southernmiss said:


> Plexiglass is off rides (Frozen). But still on que rails, which to me, is not a bad thing.



I think I hate that more then it being on the ride.....with glass being up in the queue, I feel like a cow being herded to slaughter.


----------



## Chernabob

ShadowBoxer said:


> To be honest,  my excitement for my trip next month has slightly gone down. Mainly because I been seeing the pics from the parks that are packed with people (like the pre covid days). While I am happy things are kinda going back to normalcy, I am NOT thrilled to have to deal with the summer crowds with no fast pass now.
> 
> I know it's my own fault for picking to go in July but at the time I booked, most of May and June were booked in terms of park reservations. I was hoping Disney would be a bit slower in terms of park capacity. Would have like for it to have been 35-40% for a bit longer lol. It seems its at least at 50% park capacity or more now.......


Well, you could be like me and regretting going in mid-June and getting home days before all the plexiglass started coming down, pre-shows returning, etc!

But I will agree that crowds were definitely returning to a normal summer crowd.  We actually didn't mind FP too much, but we rope dropped each day and were able to knock out the headliners.  Our last MK day, we had done Seven Dwarves, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Big Thunder by 10.


----------



## TheFloatingBear

robinstrip said:


> If anyone is at HS this week for Rope Drop, please report back what time they let you go to the rides. I saw on the previous page that they held them in a large group at the Chinese Theater until about 8:45 before letting people go to rides. Wanted to see what other people's experiences are this week.



We are headed there tomorrow- not sure what attraction we're heading for first,  still under negotiations between kids, but I'll post how we make out...


----------



## lovethattink

Mr. Drauer said:


> Local AP holder - went to AK yesterday.  arrived at toll booth at 7:05 for 8 AM opening and they were just starting to let cars in.  Parked, walked in (still not at traditional rope drop - gates were open and walk right in), got to Pandora for FOP line at 7:28, off the ride at 8:02.  Walked to EE, rode it twice back to back and headed to Dinosaur.  Pre show was on, off the ride at 8:45. Did Chester and Hesters Dino Twirl and headed back toward Safari.  Pretty long line - posted time was 25 when we got in line but changed to 40 before we went into the actual start of line inside attraction. Off ride at 9:50, got in line for snacks, and walked over to FotLK. Entered line at 10:10, inside building by 10:18.  Watched the show, headed to Gorilla Falls, saw the animals, then did ITTBAB, and headed for the car at 11:42.  Other than Pandora and Safari, park was pretty open.  It is not nearly as crowded as some have speculated. We had a fairly similar experience at HS two Sunday's ago - though Slinky is still crowded from open to late afternoon.



We have noticed that Tuesday’s and Sundays  have been great park days for us! We usually don’t rope drop. But hit the last few hours.


----------



## LSUmiss

Are they still distancing in FOTLK show? If not, are wait times any better?


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

LSUmiss said:


> Are they still distancing in FOTLK show? If not, are wait times any better?


Last I heard they were letting more people in but still distanced. Wait times I have heard mixed


----------



## jbrinkm

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Last I heard they were letting more people in but still distanced. Wait times I have heard mixed



Also interested in FotLK updates! Is the 10:30am show still the one to try to get into with lower waits? Anyone there this week who can share?


----------



## goodferry

robinstrip said:


> If anyone is at HS this week for Rope Drop, please report back what time they let you go to the rides. I saw on the previous page that they held them in a large group at the Chinese Theater until about 8:45 before letting people go to rides. Wanted to see what other people's experiences are this week.


On the 16th we were held in mass at the theater, the cast members there told us it was their first true rope drop since 2020. We were in front and headed straight to SDD, were the third group on, and were done by 8:30, so I am guessing they let us through about 8:20


----------



## Sarahslay

ShadowBoxer said:


> To be honest,  my excitement for my trip next month has slightly gone down. Mainly because I been seeing the pics from the parks that are packed with people (like the pre covid days). While I am happy things are kinda going back to normalcy, I am NOT thrilled to have to deal with the summer crowds with no fast pass now.
> 
> I know it's my own fault for picking to go in July but at the time I booked, most of May and June were booked in terms of park reservations. I was hoping Disney would be a bit slower in terms of park capacity. Would have like for it to have been 35-40% for a bit longer lol. It seems its at least at 50% park capacity or more now.......


I don't know about any pics of parks that are packed, I got back 2 weeks ago and it definitely wasn't packed at any park (even on Memorial day), nothing like pre-covid, and actually some of the lowest crowds we've had on any of our trips since reopening and that was my 6th trip. I have a friend who just got back from a long weekend, and a friend who arrived yesterday morning, both posting tons of pics and none of them are super crowded. Remember, news articles can post really old pictures to grab readers, and point of view pictures can be misleading (like, I can take a picture and it can look like the park is packed, but my husband who is a foot taller can take a picture looking over the crowd and you can see that everyone is really spaced out). I feel like it's no more packed than it was when I was there over President's day weekend, which was the most crowded time I had been there yet, and now the social distancing is gone and it feels even better in the parks since the lines aren't going on forever. I know it might not mean much, but I still think it's not that horrible, and you will still go and have an amazing time.


----------



## MinneTinK

Went to 10:30 FOLK yesterday, no distancing, walked up at 10:25 & went right in


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

mickeyfanachey1999 said:


> We just got back home Saturday after a week at OKW.  The waits were long but not unmanageable.  DHS waits were shorter than they were in October during our times there.  The only ride we didn't ride that we normally would have was Splash Mountain.  65 minute waits and the mask required part of the line started at the very beginning, not where you enter the building.  It's my 10 year old's second favorite and we were in line for about 5 minutes before he said "I can't do this for 65 minutes"  Other than that and some iffy quick service from Goods to Go it was a great trip.  And finally after 7 tries we got a boarding group for Rise!  Cape May dinner was really good also.


Did they have the steamers at Cape May?


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

Sarahslay said:


> I don't know about any pics of parks that are packed, I got back 2 weeks ago and it definitely wasn't packed at any park (even on Memorial day), nothing like pre-covid, and actually some of the lowest crowds we've had on any of our trips since reopening and that was my 6th trip. I have a friend who just got back from a long weekend, and a friend who arrived yesterday morning, both posting tons of pics and none of them are super crowded. Remember, news articles can post really old pictures to grab readers, and point of view pictures can be misleading (like, I can take a picture and it can look like the park is packed, but my husband who is a foot taller can take a picture looking over the crowd and you can see that everyone is really spaced out). I feel like it's no more packed than it was when I was there over President's day weekend, which was the most crowded time I had been there yet, and now the social distancing is gone and it feels even better in the parks since the lines aren't going on forever. I know it might not mean much, but I still think it's not that horrible, and you will still go and have an amazing time.


Obviously this is crowded because of rope drop, but this looks pretty comparable to pre-pandemic rope drop levels to me. Full disclosure: not my picture-found on another group from the 6/18 rope drop.


----------



## gasman61

Carol_ said:


> MK today: Got off the mask-requiring monorail with DS6 and asked a cast member, “Do we still need to wear these masks?”
> “No”
> “Not even in the queues?”
> “Not even in the queues.”
> “God bless you.”


Thank you for sharing that encouraging comment! Did anyone give your DS6 any hassle at all that day?  Can anyone else comment on mask requirements for young children?


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## dropzone9

jbish said:


> We arrived last night and today was our first day in the parks - MK. First of all, want to say how surreal it felt to actually be here after 15 months since our canceled 2020 spring break trip. So happy to be here! Won’t do the full ride by rude rundown as I’m two cocktails in sitting by the pool.
> 
> First, DME: we landed at 8 p.m. Saturday evening. Got right on a bus but of course we were the last of five stops. Clearly combined two routes, so that was not fun as we were starving but just barely made it to pick up my mobile order for food. Mobile order definitely has its advantages!
> 
> MK this morning. RD was great. Walked right in at 7:20ish, heading to space mountain. Walked right on. By 8, was also able to get in pirates before going to jungle cruise, which opened with the park.
> 
> Overall, I’d say the waits were rather pleasant. We were a FP family. My kids were dismayed with a 20-25 minute wait. But to be able to ride PP in the middle of the day in the summer with a <30 minute wait pre-FP would have been unheard of. And quite honestly, the waits were mostly under cover, which really helped us endure the heat. PP was our longest wait of the day. I honestly think no FP is better. The lines were just always moving unless the ride was paused for some reason
> 
> We hopped to AK, wanting to see how the closing hours really are, arriving at 5 p.m. knowing we wouldn’t get a ton done. We did EE, KS, KRR, back to Everest for two more rides. The kids would have done a third but wanted soft serve more. lol We also contemplated jumping into the FOP line, but we were beat. Closing time is great.
> 
> My one source of disappointment, so far, has been food. Limited options. My Skipper Canteen ADR was for 2:40. Didn’t get seated until closer to 3:00. Everything was slow. Also there are few late dining options available, so I’m currently waiting for my Uber eats driver to arrive with our late dinner.
> 
> Tomorrow is HS day! 18 months of practicing better pay off!!





jbish said:


> We arrived last night and today was our first day in the parks - MK. First of all, want to say how surreal it felt to actually be here after 15 months since our canceled 2020 spring break trip. So happy to be here! Won’t do the full ride by rude rundown as I’m two cocktails in sitting by the pool.
> 
> First, DME: we landed at 8 p.m. Saturday evening. Got right on a bus but of course we were the last of five stops. Clearly combined two routes, so that was not fun as we were starving but just barely made it to pick up my mobile order for food. Mobile order definitely has its advantages!
> 
> MK this morning. RD was great. Walked right in at 7:20ish, heading to space mountain. Walked right on. By 8, was also able to get in pirates before going to jungle cruise, which opened with the park.
> 
> Overall, I’d say the waits were rather pleasant. We were a FP family. My kids were dismayed with a 20-25 minute wait. But to be able to ride PP in the middle of the day in the summer with a <30 minute wait pre-FP would have been unheard of. And quite honestly, the waits were mostly under cover, which really helped us endure the heat. PP was our longest wait of the day. I honestly think no FP is better. The lines were just always moving unless the ride was paused for some reason
> 
> We hopped to AK, wanting to see how the closing hours really are, arriving at 5 p.m. knowing we wouldn’t get a ton done. We did EE, KS, KRR, back to Everest for two more rides. The kids would have done a third but wanted soft serve more. lol We also contemplated jumping into the FOP line, but we were beat. Closing time is great.
> 
> My one source of disappointment, so far, has been food. Limited options. My Skipper Canteen ADR was for 2:40. Didn’t get seated until closer to 3:00. Everything was slow. Also there are few late dining options available, so I’m currently waiting for my Uber eats driver to arrive with our late dinner.
> 
> Tomorrow is HS day! 18 months of practicing better pay off!!


Agrred about the food, slim pickings!


----------



## Carol_

gasman61 said:


> Thank you for sharing that encouraging comment! Did anyone give your DS6 any hassle at all that day?  Can anyone else comment on mask requirements for young children?


Nobody gave us any hassle at all.


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## MEC004

That just looks miserable! Those crowds!! We went in December and it was so nice. Our first trip. Ha!

We are booked for 1.5 weeks next October/November. I really hope it’s not that crowded. Lol!


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## notatallmagic

Just returned from a wonderful 8 day trip - a few observations -

We stayed three days/two nights at Pop because we love it (  ) and for the Skyliner.  We had originally booked the whole trip at Coronado (our first stay there) but had heard nightmare stories about the Coronado buses, so decided to use the first days to Skyliner to Epcot and Hollywood.

Pop is still fun for us; pools were busy but not crowded.  We love the Skyliner, and only once was our party of 3 boarded with another group - which was fine - they were super nice.  I find Pop to be very guest-focused - we called down for towels and garbage removal twice, and they came right away and were very pleasant.  The only glitch we had was a MESS with Amazon Now delivering only about 20% of our order; and delivering the wrong things (instead of 5 Nutella To Go snacks, we got five JARS of Nutella). The folks at Bell Services at Pop were amazing.  The quick service there is still Grab and Go, so we never ate there.

Our transfer to Coronado was pretty painless - we also did a split stay so we could get a clean room partway through our visit.  Eight days without cleaning is too yucky for me.  And that was a good thing, because there was NO cleaning at Coronado.  That was my only negative observation; when we called down for towels and garbage, we were told that "they were coming to clean tomorrow"; but most people were just leaving garbage outside their doors, which is not particularly magical-looking.  And we even got a text saying that a baby BEAR was spotted in the area (leaving garbage outside will get you that). Ugh.  Other than our last day, there was NO pickup of garbage or towels during our stay, unless we called to request it. 

Coronado itself was lovely; food at the Rix table service was good, and the buses worked well - but we did walk to the Casitas bus stop to be sure.  There was some sort of large group, so we heard the Transporation Cast Member mention 2800 guests, so they were watching pretty closely. The hot tub was also closed for maintenance all but our last day, so that was a bummer, but the pool was beautiful; busy but not over-crowded.

LOTS and LOTS of training of new cast members going on - from wait staff in restaurants, to Skippers and Safari drivers; everywhere seemed to have new folks in training (a good sign I think). The crowds were manageable, and it was SO wonderful to see little kids and Cast Members smiling faces again!

I would caution that food service availabiltiy is still VERY sketchy, especially at Magic Kingdom.  We carried lots of water and snacks with us.  I didn't notice the issue at AK (Satuli and Flame Tree did a great job - we Mobile Ordered on our way to the parks in the morning) or Hollywood (we LOVE the new menu at ABC).  Epcot is fine with the Flower and Garden booths; Sunshine Seasons menu is still kinda sad, so we skipped that.  Magic Kingdom though was having some real problems.  We had reservations at Jungle Skipper both days to avoid the problem, but options are very slim there.

We also had our first every LATE Magic Transport back to the airport, arriving only 50 minutes before our flight left.  He was 25 minutes late arriving; made four stops...it was very nerve-wracking.  If we didn't have TSA pre-check and a short line to check our bag, we would have missed our flight. 

There are still lots of ongoing issues to iron out, but they are moving in the right direction.  We always had A to A+ Disney trips; this was a solid B, but very pleasant and worthwhile.


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## jbish

Agree with @notatallmagic, we have seen lots of CMs in training. Safari driver, wait staff at the BWV pool, etc. A great sign for those coming soon. Hope they start increasing menu options, though. We are not picky eaters by any stretch. In fact I’d say we are quite adventurous. Was hoping to get the full skippers canteen experience, but only a handful of options. Still good food.
Also, as has already been reported, we have seen all of the pre-shows for our rides so far. Think I saw someone post that they’re even allowing car design at TT? My son will be so happy about that. I just don’t want to wait for 70-115 minutes for that ride.


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## notatallmagic

jbish said:


> Agree with @notatallmagic, we have seen lots of CMs in training. Safari driver, wait staff at the BWV pool, etc. A great sign for those coming soon. Hope they start increasing menu options, though. We are not picky eaters by any stretch. In fact I’d say we are quite adventurous. Was hoping to get the full skippers canteen experience, but only a handful of options. Still good food.
> Also, as has already been reported, we have seen all of the pre-shows for our rides so far. Think I saw someone post that they’re even allowing car design at TT? My son will be so happy about that. I just don’t want to wait for 70-115 minutes for that ride.



We were ready to board TT on Saturday when it broke down.  It was our last ride before leaving for the airport, so we had to leave, but they were letting your design your vehicle again!!! Yay!


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## Eeyore1220

DisneyFive said:


> Ok, how long did that line for RnRC take from that point once they opened the ride?


It actually wasn’t bad at all - DH and DS texted that they were off the ride at 8:55. They did TOT with virtually no wait after that. I think rope dropping helps with crowds and temperature, but doesn’t give you a walk on. I found HS was the hardest because basically all the rides are headliners. Also SDD was down this morning so that blocked up the other rides. HS felt more crowded to me today than on Saturday.


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## Eeyore1220

Today was long and kind of exhausting. We felt kind of trapped in HS today because our boarding group didn’t get called until 2 and we had done the headliners between Saturday and this morning’s rope drop and didn’t feel like waiting so long for them again. We shopped and strolled and got overheated and a bit cranky. Rise was just as awesome the second time though so it was worth it. We also got to eat at woody’s and really liked it. I felt so bad for the people just showing up and expecting to walk in and eat. Gotta do your Disney research! We also tried blue and green milk and they were both surprisingly good. After Rise we took the skyliner to Epcot where everything except test track and frozen were under 30 minutes, most of them walk ons. We wandered a bit and then the skies opened up so we booked it out of the park. Tomorrow is our last day (sob). MK and then the sad drive to the airport.


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## preschoolmom

Eeyore1220 said:


> I felt so bad for the people just showing up and expecting to walk in and eat. Gotta do your Disney research!


Are you just referring to mobile ordering? Or is there something else we should know? LOL. Thanks


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## yaywatermelons

Here now:  rope dropped Epcot Sunday and sat in a huge crowd until 10:45ish before they let us walk to Test Track but glad we did.  Our entire wait was walking the queue (which is a long one!).  That wait never dropped below 90 min after.  Frozen posted 75 min time but only took 30 and everything else was 15 min or less (even the food booths).  I loved the potato pancake and strawberry Prosecco drink in Italy, but the creme brûlée beignet was large - it felt like a cream filled donut.  (My sister’s frosé was amazing though.)  Long line for Les Halles but it moved quickly!

The heat was a bit brutal so we saw more of the world showcase movies than we have before looking for AC.  I loved the Beauty and the Beast sing a long, but it was definitely weird to be crammed into a theater with maskless singing!  

Tomorrow DHS - please wish me luck for RotR!


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## Southernmiss

preschoolmom said:


> Are you just referring to mobile ordering? Or is there something else we should know? LOL. Thanks



Reservations for Table Service 

Mobile Ordering for quick service.

We did mobile Ordering for the first time last week. Could not have been easier.  Our group of 7 picked a restaurant while in line for our 1st ride of the day, selected our time, chose our food, done, easy.

We would do mobile check in about 10 or 20 minutes before we got to the restaurant and picked up our food.

Once, we had an order for PizzeRizzo's. Son checked in as the Muppet ride started, but our food was ready before ride let out. I got an you were late, your account will be charged, you must order again message. But after an initial panic, we showed our phones to the castmembers who waved us into PizzeRizzios with a smile and said go to counter x to pick up your food. 

Because of the limited menu, which was fine for our group, we got fresh food and were on our way.


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## leannak

Just rode Winnie the Pooh. Interactive queue features still blocked off.


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## Eeyore1220

preschoolmom said:


> Are you just referring to mobile ordering? Or is there something else we should know? LOL. Thanks


Yes, people walking up to woody’s at 12 assuming they could just order and being told the next order window was two hours later. We put in our order for 12 at 9:30am


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## luv2cheer92

Eeyore1220 said:


> Yes, people walking up to woody’s at 12 assuming they could just order and being told the next order window was two hours later. We put in our order for 12 at 9:30am


There are people that need to order in person for various reasons. I wouldn't assume everyone just didn't do their research.


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## Eeyore1220

luv2cheer92 said:


> There are people that need to order in person for various reasons. I wouldn't assume everyone just didn't do their research.


I wasn’t trying to be rude, and I apologize. Everyone I observed today had never heard of mobile ordering and seemed confused. So just offering my observation.


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## Robertfam08

Eeyore1220 said:


> I wasn’t trying to be rude, and I apologize. Everyone I observed today had never heard of mobile ordering and seemed confused. So just offering my observation.



I totally get what you're saying. Most people planning trips to Disney aren't on these boards or even trip planning websites and honestly don't know what they're doing. I personally know people who have taken their first trips to Disney thinking it was just going to be like a glorified Six Flags. Boy were they wrong.


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## dropzone9

Yesterday (Sunday) was our first park, we hit MK. Got there about 8, crowds were very manageable. After a quick stop at Guest Services, we headed for Tomorrowland. Knocked out People Mover, Buzz, and CoP with no more than 15 minute waits. Headed over to Fantasyland and was much of the same, Small World, Under the Sea, Pooh, and Dumbo had short waits. In fact the longest wait was for 7DMT, which we used the DAS and got a return time. We hit the Carousel, Pirates and Aladdin as well, checked out the Swiss Family Treehouse and hit several of the Tomorrowland rides several times. It was a great day with the only issue being food options. Even with Mobile order, we had to wait a long time for the food (We ate at Pinocchio Haus, DS is very picky).


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## oktxregulators2020

LSUmiss said:


> Are they still distancing in FOTLK show? If not, are wait times any better?



Nope, we were there last Wednesday and ended up sitting in the very back and we were crammed in their like sardines.


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## oktxregulators2020

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Last I heard they were letting more people in but still distanced. Wait times I have heard mixed


No distancing in that show anymore!!


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## LSUmiss

oktxregulators2020 said:


> Nope, we were there last Wednesday and ended up sitting in the very back and we were crammed in their like sardines.


So did that help the lines to get in?


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## oktxregulators2020

LSUmiss said:


> So did that help the lines to get in?


They were trying to get everyone in there that they could.


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## Ariel620

jbrinkm said:


> Also interested in FotLK updates! Is the 10:30am show still the one to try to get into with lower waits? Anyone there this week who can share?



I was in line at 10 am for the 10:30 show on 6/20.  Too early.  It didn’t fill.  People walked in and got decent seats at 10:29


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## oktxregulators2020

Day 8 Hollywood Studios (2nd Day)

Wife got to go this time as she was wore out and tired back when me and daughter and daughter friend went back on Friday. 

Got up at 6:45 to get a ROTR boarding pass to no avail. Once again I decided to let everyone sleep in. We finally decided to head into the park around 12. Parked in almost the the same exact spot as on Friday.

HS appeared to be very busy, appeared to be the busiest we have seen in the 8 days we have been in a park.  Started out with Tower was 45 and got off in 40. I then camped out in the Tower gift shop due to having a good signal and was able to snatch Boarding Group 132 for ROTF (had 135 on Friday). The estimated arrival time for Group 132 was 6PM (park closes at 8PM).

We then went to RRC 50 min but took 60. Then everyone decided to go to MMRW and the wait was a hot and very miserable one. They had umbrellas open but didn't have them out on Friday. The wait posted was 45 but after 30 minutes the sun was getting to a lot of people and the ride broke down. The heat was getting to me as well and this was the first afternoon where I started struggling with the heat. I checked the temp and it said HS was 95 and the Heat Index was 105. We waited for 20 more mins for MMRW and decided to bail due to the heat. 

It was time for me and my daughter to go to Droid Depot to build Droids. We built an R-Unit and a BB-Unit.  My wife and daughter friend went to see the MM Movie and then went back to ride MMRR as it was back open. We went to back lot to order some food. I highly recommend the "Wookie Cookie". As we were leaving the sun disappeared and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and it became quite windy.

The family went to go ride SD and I decided to take the robots to the car in case it rains. As I walked to my car (around 5) a good majority of the park emptied out in a rush as the tops of the palm trees were bent over as the wind howled. I finally made it to my car and dropped off the droids and started walking back where the clouds opened up as more and more people scampered out of the park.

Family rode Aliens and Toy Story as I tried to make my way back through the shops and covered places to not get completely drenched. The rain finally stopped around 5:45 and my #132 Boarding Group was called (15 min early).  I met the family at TS around 6 and we walked to RotR. We made it around 6:10 and we went through the que and off the ride by 6:40. This was by far light years faster then it was on Friday when we were in the que for 45 minutes and the ride broke down for 20. We then walked on MFSR 6:50, Walked on Alien.

Next we did mobile order at Woody's Lunchbox. The bbq grilled sandwich was pretty good. The tater tots are terrible as they taste like they have been baked in an oven and not cooked in a fryer. 7:25 went back to RRC and got off at 7:50.  Finally made it back to MMRW right at park close to walk on.

Closing Thoughts:  The crowd was a lot bigger then the crowd that I saw on Friday. Wait times during the afternoons were longer then Friday. Once again in the evenings the wait times are shredded.  They are gonna have to invest in some better shade for MMRW the line was massive and the heat was intense in that queue.  When we were buying some extra things for our Droids there was a guy who bought $1500 worth of stuff and was having it all shipped to his home in Montana. I'm curious how much Disney makes a day just off Droid sales. The places was packed and was that way all day long. 

Tomorrow is our last day in HS with some snacks/dinner around Disney Springs.


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## Gitelfor

Has FotLK added back any portions of the full show that were cut, since reopening?


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## Mollymum

notatallmagic said:


> Magic Kingdom though was having some real problems. We had reservations at Jungle Skipper both days to avoid the problem, but options are very slim there.


Is the current Skipper menu smaller than it usually is? Or are they only offering a fraction of what is on the menu? Several posters have mentioned the slim offerings, so I wondered if they normally have a much bigger menu?


----------



## Sarahslay

Mollymum said:


> Is the current Skipper menu smaller than it usually is? Or are they only offering a fraction of what is on the menu? Several posters have mentioned the slim offerings, so I wondered if they normally have a much bigger menu?


It is bigger than it was for a while right after opening, but it is still a lot smaller than it used to be. We still haven't been back because they took a few things off that we really liked.


----------



## oktxregulators2020

Gitelfor said:


> Has FotLK added back any portions of the full show that were cut, since reopening?


There are no aerials.


----------



## notatallmagic

Mollymum said:


> Is the current Skipper menu smaller than it usually is? Or are they only offering a fraction of what is on the menu? Several posters have mentioned the slim offerings, so I wondered if they normally have a much bigger menu?



I believe the normal menu is a little larger, but our favorites were all still there.  We love the atmosphere, and our service has always been great.

Given that there are so few options at MK, I'll take even a limited menu at Skipper any day!!


----------



## LSUmiss

oktxregulators2020 said:


> There are no aerials.


Did they still have the Be Prepared fire part?


----------



## jbish

Mollymum said:


> Is the current Skipper menu smaller than it usually is? Or are they only offering a fraction of what is on the menu? Several posters have mentioned the slim offerings, so I wondered if they normally have a much bigger menu?


I tried searching for the pre-Covid menu but can’t seem to find it easily. But currently, there are only six entrees. I feel like there were a lot more options before but can’t say for certain. I’ve only been twice before - just “felt” like less.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

This is a specific question but maybe someone has had experience: I know when you cancel a mobile order before pickup with a debit/credit the pending charge drops off. What happens when you use a Disney gift card? Does it refund the card?


----------



## Tigerlulu

So quick service at MK is still not great? We are going in a week and debating tomorrow whether to keep our table service reservations or cancel. I was thinking it had improved a lot.


----------



## oktxregulators2020

Tigerlulu said:


> So quick service at MK is still not great? We are going in a week and debating tomorrow whether to keep our table service reservations or cancel. I was thinking it had improved a lot.



Basically for most QS Meals, there is only one entrance and exit. You are not allowed to sit unless you have food/drink. Disney basically is trying to force everyone to Mobile Order.  If you choose not to Mobile Order for a certain place you will be stuck in a line to go into the place as they only have 1 or 2 places you can order inside and most of the other part of the room is being used for mobile ordering pickup.


----------



## bdiddy

Day 7: Epcot & MK - last day! 

Today was quite the adventure which I’ll get to in a bit. DH woke up with a raging head cold out of nowhere. Mostly head congestion, a slightly scratchy throat and a little coughing. We’ve been vaccinated for months so we weren’t worried about covid or anything bit figured colds were coming after this trip. We haven’t been sick with our usual colds since a few months before covid hit and this is the first place we’ve really been with no masks like this. Our state just dropped the mask mandate a week before we left but we were still wearing ours so we didn’t pick up any normal sicknesses before our trip.

Anyway, I told him he should stay back and rest and meet us at MK later. I did put an order with door dash to bring some cold meds from Walgreens and that got delivered at about 9. We had a noon reservation for Coral Reef that was his pick but I said I would just see if I could cancel and they’d waive the fee. I also wasn’t sure how it worked if he didn’t tap in at the first park and met us at the 2nd once we hopped. I stopped down at the desk at our resort and talked to concierge and he told me to just take his magic band and tap him in real quick but I was really hesitant about that since they watch you so close when you tap in but the guy acted like it would be fine. He also said that I should just stop on Coral Reef and see if I could cancel.

So I went back up to the room and DH said he was feeling a little better since he took the meds and had showered and just wanted to push through. He didn’t have a fever or aches or anything, it was just all in his head and I said maybe the humidity and heat will help clear it up. So he got dressed quick and we hurried down and just took the bus to Epcot since there was one about to arrive.


Got to Epcot at around 10:30 and they held us to the right of spaceship earth until about 10:45 and then it was a mad dash to Soarin. We walked on and then immediately rode Living with the Land again and everyone on the ride was laughing about the cucumbers when we passed them. We then walked on Nemo and by then it was almost time for our lunch reservation. This was our 2nd time eating here, the first time was in 2009 when the kids were little so they don’t really remember. But it was fun and the food was good. I don’t eat seafood or even chicken like they had on the menu so I just got a salad and the lava cake which was SO good! DH got shrimp and grits, DD the mahi mahi which both said were excellent and DS got the kids grilled shrimp meal with the cookie inside a brownie dessert and cheesy mashed potatoes.

After lunch, DD really wanted to go back to the ice cream place in France because she wanted some kind of macaroon ice cream sandwich she saw on a blog and when we tried to get it a few days ago, we stopped too late and it was closed. Well today it was closed too!  A CM nearby said they were closed all day today. She was so disappointed. We  them went back upfront and road Spaceship Earth and then caught the bus to MK which we didn’t have a wait at all, there was a bus waiting.
Got to MK and we had decided we were going to do each persons favorite and then go from there. DD picked Splash and we rode that first since that’s the one that will shut down if it rains. We waited about 40 min and it was SO hot in that line!! So here is where people start losing their darn minds! Haha…

We get off the ride and I had purchased the memory maker so I would usually just walk up to the photos and tap quick and leave. The rest of my family doesn’t even mess with walking up because it’s always crowded and it will pop up on our phones soon after. So I go up and see our photo and reach out and tap it and this woman standing there says “Guess we can’t see our picture now since they scanned it” all nasty to whoever she was with while looking at me. I said “excuse me” and she says “thanks to you scanning it, now we can’t see our photo now” I pointed to the screen and said the photo is right there, did you scan it” and she said “no, we just want to look at it and you cut us and scanned it and now it’s going to disappear, you have to let us look at it first” I was thinking what on earth is this woman talking about!? And she was being so nasty with her attitude and tone. Like yelling at me like I did something wrong. I said “I don’t think you understand how this works. You get off the ride, see your picture and then scan it with your band if you have one.” And she says “well we don’t have bands and I just want to look at it”. I’m dumbfounded at this point and say “so you expect me to know that walking up here and just stand here and wait until you are done looking at it and then scan it?” And she said “yes we were here first” and I said well that’s not exactly how it works and good luck with that and walked away. Ugh…and the funny thing is we are forever stuck with her in our picture since she was in the same boat as us! I told DH that we need to photoshop emojis or something over her face!

Anyway….I had picked Haunted Mansion but it was offline and ended up being down for hours! So we went to DH’s pick which was Small World and had about a 10 min wait. Then we went to DS’s pick which was Space Mountain and waited about 15-20 min. When we got out it had started pouring and we waited in the gift shop for about 10 min and then it stopped. Mansion was still down so we rode Buzz then with a 15 min wait. DD has been reading all kinds of tips and wants to keep practicing and got 600k+ pts this time!
After Buzz, I ordered some food from Cosmic Ray’s. DS got a burger but three of us got the foot longs and then were cracking up at how big they were! They were like giant oversized foot longs. We should have split them - there was more than enough to share. I also ordered the Cheshire Cat tail for the first time and it was really good!

After we ate, Haunted Mansion was finally back up so we went right there. It said 30 min but we were inside in about 10 min. Which they did NOT have the stretching room going - we were so bummed! We were standing in there for a bit though because I guess the ride went down again but came back up in 5 min or so. One of the CM’s said the ghosts and the building have been naughty today and they’ve been giving them a lot of trouble. I asked about the stretching room and she said that they are doing it again but not consistently as it will depend on the situation and the line so be prepared for that I guess.

After HM, Pirates was walk-on so we did that. I then mobile ordered my last dole whip and ate it as we walked out taking more pics. DD needed to run to the Winnie the Pooh gift shop for something so DH took her and I took DS and went to the photo center up front to check about a few pics that never showed up. Which this took forever as it was park close and it was busy in there.
And while we were in there it starting pouring again. DH and DD barely made it in to us in time so we waited to see if it would stop for about 10-15 min and it wasn’t letting up much. We weren’t sure if the boat was running to WL in the rain and the CM we asked wasn’t sure. The rain seemed to be pouring slightly less so we decided to make a run for it. The ironic part is we are usually really prepared with ponchos and umbrellas but since it was our last day and DH wasn’t feeling good, he didn’t want to carry the big bag so we just put one umbrella in my small loungefly.

So here we are running in the pouring rain towards the exit. DH and DD with nothing and then DS and I squished under the one umbrella. (our kids are 17 and 15 - not sure if I’ve mentioned that). We ask another CM at the exit and they said the boats are running which was good because they are much closer than the buses. But when we run down there - it is so flooded! I’m talking water pouring up over the dock from the lake. A boat was there but there is no way anyone was getting on them. Which they said they were closed anyway. So we had to run back up and to the buses then. We made it to the WL queue and its about 10 min until a bus pulls up and we just miss getting on. Which was ok at the time because we were soaked and I really didn’t want to stand being all wet and dripping like that.
So we waited and the queue filled up again. We ended up waiting another 45 minutes for our bus!! Which at this point I was like whatever because it was our last night and we had had amazing luck with the buses for the entire week. And we also started talking with a nice couple behind us in line so it made the time go faster.

So this is where it gets even more crazy is there was also a huge line to Epcot near us that had also been waiting forever, even longer than us. At one point we hear a woman screaming. And I’m talking screaming at the top of her lungs. At first everyone thought somethings was wrong and she was calling for help but then we realized she was screaming at a CM we think. We couldn’t exactly see but we think that’s what happened. She kept calling them f’ing r word (that I’m not going to type). Ugh…as soon as people heard her say that they started raising their voices at her telling her to calm down etc…and she was still screaming you better call someone. Well I think someone did because not even 5 min later two police officers show up. I’m not sure where the woman went at this point but they were there walking around for a bit.
So then a bus finally pulls up and we get on it and the driver takes us to Ft Wilderness instead of Wilderness Lodge! He stops and turns the lights on for us to get off and no one moves! Lol…and then he acted like we were all on the wrong bus and we’re like nope, we are going to Wilderness Lodge which is the queue we were at and what his bus said when he pulled up! So he drove us over.

I think it’s after 10:30 at this point and we have to be down for the Magical Express tomorrow at 7am and we still have to pack and now we all have wet shoes. So I hurry and grab two dryers to dry everything.

So yeah it was a long day with a little craziness but still fun.

Some of my main overall thoughts on the trip are that the magic was definitely still there for us. It’s been just over 2 yrs since we’ve been here and it was long overdue! I think staying at a deluxe for the first time made it even more magical too.

I didn’t mind not having FP for the most part. I think the time we waited for the few headliners was more than made up for by the very short walk-ons for so many other rides that aren’t usually like that. I’ll be real curious to see what they end up doing.

We also did not mind not having normal parades. We’ve been never big parade people and went less and less as the kids got older. I always hated the whole staking out a spot for an hour and waiting forever and it was so hot and they lasted a long time. And then getting blocked in or having to find another way around when a parade was going on. What was nice about the calvacades is they just popped up all of a sudden, we’re super short and over quick. And didn’t really interrupt your path on the way somewhere.

I did miss the shows, especially at HS. They really need some there ASAP to help deal with the crowds at that park.

I have mixed feelings about mobile ordering. Overall I liked it. Not fighting crowds to order food or find tables etc…it’s easier to see the menu and all the options when you mobile order and easier to pay. I don’t like it in cases where you want something specific quickly but can’t get it as quick as you’d like. I’ll be curious to see how much of it they keep around in its current form.

We love, loved Wilderness Lodge! I seriously don’t know how we’ll ever stay anywhere again. Other than the theming and location, one thing I really loved was how the resort feels so huge but it was so easy to get everywhere. No long hikes to the lobby or pool. Some resorts are all spread out but this one you can get everywhere in 5 min or less. Food, gift shop, lobby, restaurants, buses, pool - it’s all right there. But it’s doesn’t feel small or cramped in anyway. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. And the lobby - I could seriously just sit in there all day. I think I may miss this resort more than the parks when we get home!!

The parks all felt very busy and very much pre-covid normal. Both Universal and Disney. So few people have masks - they are so rare. There is absolutely no social distancing. Barely any markers anywhere anymore. So many of the hand sanitizer machines were out. If any of this concerns you, then I would not go until you are comfortable with things being normal because other than the masks on the buses, it felt very normal to us.

I’m sure I’ll think of more later but that’s it for now. It’s late and I have to be up in less than 5 hrs!


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## yorkieteacher

We are here now and after being held in “cattle pens” at HS and Epcot, I am trying to convince my adult son we still need to get to AK and MK early. The 4 and 8 yr old grands don’t hold up well in no lines and heat. Crowds do spread out quickly after they let us in and ride times did fluctuate. SDD was at 40 minutes posted once after opening at 90. Epco World Showcase last night felt the most crowded, and it had stormed earlier. Food booth lines at France had about 30 people! Frozen was posted 40 minutes and it took 50 minutes. This was at 7pm.


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## Tigerlulu

oktxregulators2020 said:


> Basically for most QS Meals, there is only one entrance and exit. You are not allowed to sit unless you have food/drink. Disney basically is trying to force everyone to Mobile Order.  If you choose not to Mobile Order for a certain place you will be stuck in a line to go into the place as they only have 1 or 2 places you can order inside and most of the other part of the room is being used for mobile ordering pickup.



I know. I just read the couple bad reports posted yesterday and had thought it had gotten better overall—but reading of long lines and cold food doesn’t sound like it’s running smoother at all. That’s what I’m asking about. Just if QS situation at MK is really running better or not. We are deciding later today whether to keep our TS or not. Seems like a gamble.


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## Best Aunt

bdiddy said:


> Day 7: Epcot & MK - last day!
> 
> Today was quite the adventure which I’ll get to in a bit....



Well, you win for best trip report I've read in awhile.  It kept me on the edge of my seat!


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## Lsdolphin

notatallmagic said:


> Just returned from a wonderful 8 day trip - a few observations -
> 
> We stayed three days/two nights at Pop because we love it (  ) and for the Skyliner.  We had originally booked the whole trip at Coronado (our first stay there) but had heard nightmare stories about the Coronado buses, so decided to use the first days to Skyliner to Epcot and Hollywood.
> 
> Pop is still fun for us; pools were busy but not crowded.  We love the Skyliner, and only once was our party of 3 boarded with another group - which was fine - they were super nice.  I find Pop to be very guest-focused - we called down for towels and garbage removal twice, and they came right away and were very pleasant.  The only glitch we had was a MESS with Amazon Now delivering only about 20% of our order; and delivering the wrong things (instead of 5 Nutella To Go snacks, we got five JARS of Nutella). The folks at Bell Services at Pop were amazing.  The quick service there is still Grab and Go, so we never ate there.
> 
> Our transfer to Coronado was pretty painless - we also did a split stay so we could get a clean room partway through our visit.  Eight days without cleaning is too yucky for me.  And that was a good thing, because there was NO cleaning at Coronado.  That was my only negative observation; when we called down for towels and garbage, we were told that "they were coming to clean tomorrow"; but most people were just leaving garbage outside their doors, which is not particularly magical-looking.  And we even got a text saying that a baby BEAR was spotted in the area (leaving garbage outside will get you that). Ugh.  Other than our last day, there was NO pickup of garbage or towels during our stay, unless we called to request it.
> 
> Coronado itself was lovely; food at the Rix table service was good, and the buses worked well - but we did walk to the Casitas bus stop to be sure.  There was some sort of large group, so we heard the Transporation Cast Member mention 2800 guests, so they were watching pretty closely. The hot tub was also closed for maintenance all but our last day, so that was a bummer, but the pool was beautiful; busy but not over-crowded.
> 
> LOTS and LOTS of training of new cast members going on - from wait staff in restaurants, to Skippers and Safari drivers; everywhere seemed to have new folks in training (a good sign I think). The crowds were manageable, and it was SO wonderful to see little kids and Cast Members smiling faces again!
> 
> I would caution that food service availabiltiy is still VERY sketchy, especially at Magic Kingdom.  We carried lots of water and snacks with us.  I didn't notice the issue at AK (Satuli and Flame Tree did a great job - we Mobile Ordered on our way to the parks in the morning) or Hollywood (we LOVE the new menu at ABC).  Epcot is fine with the Flower and Garden booths; Sunshine Seasons menu is still kinda sad, so we skipped that.  Magic Kingdom though was having some real problems.  We had reservations at Jungle Skipper both days to avoid the problem, but options are very slim there.
> 
> We also had our first every LATE Magic Transport back to the airport, arriving only 50 minutes before our flight left.  He was 25 minutes late arriving; made four stops...it was very nerve-wracking.  If we didn't have TSA pre-check and a short line to check our bag, we would have missed our flight.
> 
> There are still lots of ongoing issues to iron out, but they are moving in the right direction.  We always had A to A+ Disney trips; this was a solid B, but very pleasant and worthwhile.



Planning on one night at Pop before transferring over to CSR.  Trying to decide whether to Uber over with luggage in morning before going to park or to ask for bell services to move luggage instead...How long did it take before your luggage was moved from Pop to CSR?


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## goodeats

Having been at Disney in November 2020 and now here at CBR this week is kind of a shock. So many more people everywhere and the social distancing is completely gone. There are a few places in queues that still have the “please wait here” stickers and nobody is paying any attention to them. I’m assuming they are only there because they haven’t gotten around to removing them yet.

So happy to have preshows back - loved MMRR. It wasn’t part of it in November and the story made a lot more sense this time! HM stretching room was a little tight, but not horrible. The point where you’re about to go into RNRC sound booth was too crowded for too long IMO.

Lines are definitely longer (time wise) now even though they are filling up every seat. Last trip I could ride Midway Mania over and over with little wait this time the wait was at least 30 min and not constantly moving.

Rope drop worked for us at MK but not HS. Slinky Dog was down, but we rode it at closing in 30 min. We were able to do all the rides at HS and went to the pool for a bit but it was a fairly miserable day and we didn’t get to do Frozen sing a long or One Mans Dream.


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## deanly

oktxregulators2020 said:


> They were trying to get everyone in there that they could.


That’s how it was there last Sunday when we went to the 1130 show - packed in. My kids were surprised that they didn’t do the tumbling segment and the woman/bird didn’t fly up on the wire.  Only the fire baton performer.  Show was okay, but not as good as pre-Covid.


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## disneyfan150

disneyfan150 said:


> FWIW, on Wednesday, the bus driver told me the capacity was 40.


Update:
It was back to jammed and standing on the bus from MK to Yacht and Beach yesterday afternoon.


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## scrappinginontario

All Covid discussions have been removed from this thread.  Please keep the thread on topic as to 'Here Now and Just Back'.


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## kylenne

goodeats said:


> So happy to have preshows back - loved MMRR. It wasn’t part of it in November and the story made a lot more sense this time! HM stretching room was a little tight, but not horrible. The point where you’re about to go into RNRC sound booth was too crowded for too long IMO.



Just to be clear, they are doing the stretching room again? And the preshow for Tower of Terror? Those are my favorites and I really missed them the other week.


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## disneyfan150

kylenne said:


> Just to be clear, they are doing the stretching room again? And the preshow for Tower of Terror? Those are my favorites and I really missed them the other week.


We just got back.  They are adding back the preshows, but maybe not all at once.  We didn't see the preshow at TOT on Sunday, but they were showing the preshow at RnRc as you walked through the area.  Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad had the total preshow experience. Wait times were up at HM yesterday as compared to earlier in the week. So it seems as if they are starting that one back up as well.


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## bdiddy

kylenne said:


> Just to be clear, they are doing the stretching room again? And the preshow for Tower of Terror? Those are my favorites and I really missed them the other week.



The stretching room was not happening last night when we rode.We were actually held in it for a few min though as the ride had been going down all day and was down for a few min again while we were waiting. I asked the CM standing there and she said they are doing it but it’s not consistent, it depends on the line and what is going on with the ride. It was down a lot yesterday. Several hours mid afternoon and then for a few minutes in the evening.


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## notatallmagic

Lsdolphin said:


> Planning on one night at Pop before transferring over to CSR.  Trying to decide whether to Uber over with luggage in morning before going to park or to ask for bell services to move luggage instead...How long did it take before your luggage was moved from Pop to CSR?



I don't know the timeline - we were at the parks all day, so the Pop folks picked up our bags (including some groceries) at our room at 7:15am, and then we got back from the parks at Coronado around 5pm and the bags were there.  Sorry I can't be of more help!


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## disneyfan150

This may seem like a doom and gloom post which is not my intention.  However, this was our experience.

Just returned from a 9 day stay. This is a transition time for WDW. Each day, we could see Covid protocols slipping away. Wearing masks on transportation is almost all that is left as far as protocols are concerned. Even this has been hit or miss. Rope drop returned, mask rules dropped, and "fill in all available space" returned. It was crowded and often people were shoulder to shoulder. The heat was intense and I am from Texas. It was crowded.

As mentioned up thread, the RD experience at Test Track was nuts. We also entered from IG and it was a big cluster as we approached TT. After waiting and waiting, the ride was down and it was closed. We had the same experience on SDMT. And once again, Slinky was down at RD.  Three RDs wasted. Other rides went down during the day. Maybe my memory is failing me, but rides seemed to be down much more than usual. On the positive side, after the disappointing RD to SDMT, we had better luck later.  We headed to PP and then Thunder Mountain.  Pirates and JC were also down that day.  As we passed Pirates, it had just opened and we popped into the ride.  After exiting Pirates, JC opened up at that moment and we popped into that one.  

We had fun. We are just not used to so many long lines in the hot sun.


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## Mr. Drauer

LSUmiss said:


> Did they still have the Be Prepared fire part?


yes - Fireknife is part of the show.  Just no tumble monkeys or aerial birds.  No longer give animal labels to each section, no pre-showy kind of stuff, no picking a crowd member to make the animal noise, no kids parade during finale.


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## MinneTinK

ToT pre-show was running yesterday (Monday) MK also returned to normal rope drop this morning, held until 8 on the dot, bus to MK was full with standing


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## MomOTwins

MinneTinK said:


> ToT pre-show was running yesterday (Monday) MK also returned to normal rope drop this morning, held until 8 on the dot, bus to MK was full with standing


Thanks!  Had heard about rope drop at EP and HS but MK is new.

Would be interested to hear if the first buses are still showing up at resorts over an hour before park open or if that is inching later now that rope drop is being reinstated.


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## redboat45

Has the line for HM opened back up yet, the part where you can interact with all of the things?


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## seb65

I just got put on medicine that I need to keep out of the sun and of course leave in 4 days. I bought a uv umbrella, but are there still resting stations?  I am ok with going back to the hotel, solo, if need be as well.


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## MinneTinK

MomOTwins said:


> Thanks!  Had heard about rope drop at EP and HS but MK is new.
> 
> Would be interested to hear if the first buses are still showing up at resorts over an hour before park open or if that is inching later now that rope drop is being reinstated.


Yes, we were on a bus at 6:45, only to be held u til 8, my kids were not happy


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## WEDWDW

seb65 said:


> I just got put on medicine that I need to keep out of the sun and of course leave in 4 days. I bought a uv umbrella, but are there still resting stations?  I am ok with going back to the hotel, solo, if need be as well.


No,all Relaxation Stations have been ended.

You could take a break at First Aid to save the trip back to the Hotel.


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## MomOTwins

MinneTinK said:


> Yes, we were on a bus at 6:45, only to be held u til 8, my kids were not happy


Thanks for the info!  That sounds unpleasant, but helpful to know.


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## capegirl

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> Obviously this is crowded because of rope drop, but this looks pretty comparable to pre-pandemic rope drop levels to me. Full disclosure: not my picture-found on another group from the 6/18 rope drop.
> View attachment 583890



 Wow! I need to rethink RD.


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## armerida

Mr. Drauer said:


> yes - Fireknife is part of the show.  Just no tumble monkeys or aerial birds.  No longer give animal labels to each section, no pre-showy kind of stuff, no picking a crowd member to make the animal noise, no kids parade during finale.


Does the show still run for about 30 minutes, or is it quite a bit shorter without those acts? I’m debating on going there first for the 10:30 show or for the Nomad Lounge 11:00 opening…


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## TikiTikiFan

seb65 said:


> I just got put on medicine that I need to keep out of the sun and of course leave in 4 days. I bought a uv umbrella, but are there still resting stations?  I am ok with going back to the hotel, solo, if need be as well.



What a bummer! I would also try to think strategically and do the rides with outdoor queues in the mornings/evenings and save afternoons for more indoor shows/indoor ride queues/shopping/etc.


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## TheFloatingBear

kylenne said:


> Just to be clear, they are doing the stretching room again? And the preshow for Tower of Terror? Those are my favorites and I really missed them the other week.



I did HM twice yesterday. In the morning, they did the stretching room. In the evening, they did not, however in the evening it had been down off and on for a bit, so that may be why...

We were at HS today and they did the pre - show for both TOT and RNRC which made us very happy! A Bellhop said they had been doing TOT pre-show for 2 days...


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## TheFloatingBear

We ropedropped HS this morning. The first bus for HS didn't leave our resort until 8am, so we didn't get there until about 8:15. People were held in groups to head towards different attractions - lots of signage and CMs to point people in the right direction. 

We went down Sunset Blvd for TOT. They held us in line until 8:30am and "opened" and walked us to the attractiion, and then essentially it was a walk-on.  Quick donut stop then to RNRC. It had a posted 15 minute wait and it was probably about that. By the time we got out a little after 9am there was a posted 60 minute wait (if I recall correctly... it was definitely 45+). Lines built very quickly,  it didn't help that MMRR appeared to be down around 9...

As I mentioned above, both rides had the pre- show!


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## lovethattink

seb65 said:


> I just got put on medicine that I need to keep out of the sun and of course leave in 4 days. I bought a uv umbrella, but are there still resting stations?  I am ok with going back to the hotel, solo, if need be as well.



We find Epcot to be the best park for staying out of the sun.

Many sport/outdoor clothing make clothing with UV protection. You’ll need a good sunblock too. A wide brimmed hat should help.  Those are all things I had to do after radiation treatment.


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## TikiTikiFan

Is AK doing the traditional rope drop yet?


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## scrappinginontario

TikiTikiFan said:


> Is AK doing the traditional rope drop yet?


Not as of today but things can change daily as with the MK today.  In the past week the other 3 parks have gone to a regular RD.  Any day now AK will do the same is my guess.


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## Chrisfilm

Chernabob said:


> *Well, you could be like me and regretting going in mid-June and getting home days before all the plexiglass started coming down, pre-shows returning, etc!*
> 
> But I will agree that crowds were definitely returning to a normal summer crowd.  We actually didn't mind FP too much, but we rope dropped each day and were able to knock out the headliners.  Our last MK day, we had done Seven Dwarves, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Big Thunder by 10.



This was us as well. Really happy they are moving in the right direction but I'm really sad that we didn't get to do the stretching room or ToT pre-show, had plexiglass on Frozen, Kilimanjaro, etc, and other halfway Covid restrictions that we still in place a week ago.


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## goodeats

kylenne said:


> Just to be clear, they are doing the stretching room again? And the preshow for Tower of Terror? Those are my favorites and I really missed them the other week.


Yes, we were in stretching room Sunday around 11am and Tower library on Monday.

At MK we did not have a rope drop on Sunday. HS did on Monday. Will have to read up on Epcot and AK! 

BB had a rope drop this morning - not a minute before 11! Not super pleasant.


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## Princess Katelet

TikiTikiFan said:


> Is AK doing the traditional rope drop yet?


What is a traditional rope drop?  Is that just the park opening on time and adhering to its posted hours, not opening early?


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## scrappinginontario

Princess Katelet said:


> What is a traditional rope drop?  Is that just the park opening on time and adhering to its posted hours, not opening early?


Traditional rope drop is that guests are granted access to the first bit of the parks but cannot actually access any attractions until the official park opening time.  

It is called Rope Drop because cast members stand with a rope signalling how far guests can go before official park opening.  In the past they actually dropped the rope but in recent years they slowly walk guests into the next parts of the park.


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## Mr. Drauer

armerida said:


> Does the show still run for about 30 minutes, or is it quite a bit shorter without those acts? I’m debating on going there first for the 10:30 show or for the Nomad Lounge 11:00 opening…


It was 24 minutes.


----------



## Princess Katelet

scrappinginontario said:


> Traditional rope drop is that guests are granted access to the first bit of the parks but cannot actually access any attractions until the official park opening time.
> 
> It is called Rope Drop because cast members stand with a rope signalling how far guests can go before official park opening.  In the past they actually dropped the rope but in recent years they slowly walk guests into the next parts of the park.


Thanks! Guess I’ve never been QUITE that early…. Maybe I’m being too literal, but did they actually used to drop the rope and people had to step over it and try not to trip?? Or do you mean they’d wind the rope up and walk away, allowing the stampede to begin?
I had to ask because I’m always amazed people don’t trip and get their shoes caught in the horse drawn trolley tracks and fall or sprain their ankles. I’m also amazed anyone can see at night with the lights being super dim. Both those things have always seemed like accidents waiting to happen!


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## luv2cheer92

Princess Katelet said:


> What is a traditional rope drop?  Is that just the park opening on time and adhering to its posted hours, not opening early?


Rope drop is not typically at official opening time. It's usually earlier, 10-15 min at least, up to 30-45 min at times pre -covid. Except MK who had the welcome show, there's was always right at official time.


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## JakAHearts

Ive seen this a few times but want to reiterate, NEVER rely on the Skyliner for anything. We used it to get from HS to Epcot on June 7th. Well, when we went to return to HS a half hour before Epcot closed, we were told the HS line was closed and we would need to take a bus. No biggie, we asked where the closest place to catch a bus was and the lady said to walk over to Boardwalk and grab a bus to HS. Well.... when we got to Boardwalks bus station, the HS line was labeled "Use Skyliner". Thankfully, there was an empty bus there and upon explaining the entire story to the driver, he gave us a private ride to the HS bus station. I would have been really disappointed if we had to walk all the way back to the front of Epcot or call for an Uber/MinnieVan. It was already past ten o clock by the time we had arrived at Boardwalk. 

Other than that, it was a perfect trip! (just don't rely on the Skyliner, ever)


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## Eeyore1220

Last day today and spent it at MK. It was more crowded and lines were longer than on our visit two days before. We also got off to a slow start and missed rope drop (got there around 8:30) and I think that messed us up. Luckily we had done headliners the other day so we focused on some of the less popular rides that had 5-15 minute waits. We put in a mobile order at Pinocchio village haus on our ferry ride over to MK and picked it up at 11 with no problem. I actually like that they don’t let you in until your order is ready - makes it much easier to find a seat. 
We had a snack by the entrance toward the end of our day and our last sight was the Mickey cavalcade and he blew a kiss at my daughter. Pretty much a picture perfect finish to a Disney trip! Now back to reality… delayed at MCO with my whiny and tired kids. 
Here are some general takeaways:
-Rope drop, mid day break and evening return really worked for us. 
- the thread here about boarding groups for ROTR really helped me and I was two for two getting am boarding groups 
- if you have any crowd/covid concerns, I would rethink.  Our family wore masks the whole time and we were a distinct minority. Maybe 5 percent, if that? We were often shoulder to shoulder inside and it felt really weird after 15 months of isolation. 
-  put in your lunch mobile order early, like first thing when you get there, to get your pick of places and pick up times 
- this was my first time bringing a Uv umbrella and it really helped me in the long unshaded lines. 

a big thank you to this thread for helping me prep. I hope my posts have given back in some small way.


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## scrappinginontario

JakAHearts said:


> Ive seen this a few times but want to reiterate, NEVER rely on the Skyliner for anything. We used it to get from HS to Epcot on June 7th. Well, when we went to return to HS a half hour before Epcot closed, we were told the HS line was closed and we would need to take a bus. No biggie, we asked where the closest place to catch a bus was and the lady said to walk over to Boardwalk and grab a bus to HS. Well.... when we got to Boardwalks bus station, the HS line was labeled "Use Skyliner". Thankfully, there was an empty bus there and upon explaining the entire story to the driver, he gave us a private ride to the HS bus station. I would have been really disappointed if we had to walk all the way back to the front of Epcot or call for an Uber/MinnieVan. It was already past ten o clock by the time we had arrived at Boardwalk.
> 
> Other than that, it was a perfect trip! (just don't rely on the Skyliner, ever)


I'm sorry this happened.  Thankful you were able to find a way to get to your vehicle.  (I'm guessing that's why you were attempting to get back to DHS.)

This is a time to mention that if you're driving and changing parks, it's a good idea to take your vehicle with you if at all possible.  If you hop to a park that is open later than  the original park, it may be very difficult to get back to your vehicle if the park is closed.  If it is within an hour of park closing you _may_ find Disney transportation that will take you to the closed park but it may also be necessary to hire private transportation or walk (when possible) to the closed park.

Another option if you need to get from  Epcot to DHS after DHS has closed, is a walking path.  From IG it's not that much further than walking to the front of Epcot to catch a bus.


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## lovethattink

Just left Epcot, for the most part if felt like just a regular day and business mostly as usual. Saw very few masks. Even security and some outside cm were not wearing masks. Indoor cm were. Social distancing is gone.

There was a thunderstorm and it dropped the temp by 20 degrees! Light rain until we left, then there skies opened up.


----------



## capegirl

Eeyore1220 said:


> Last day today and spent it at MK. It was more crowded and lines were longer than on our visit two days before. We also got off to a slow start and missed rope drop (got there around 8:30) and I think that messed us up. Luckily we had done headliners the other day so we focused on some of the less popular rides that had 5-15 minute waits. We put in a mobile order at Pinocchio village haus on our ferry ride over to MK and picked it up at 11 with no problem. I actually like that they don’t let you in until your order is ready - makes it much easier to find a seat.
> We had a snack by the entrance toward the end of our day and our last sight was the Mickey cavalcade and he blew a kiss at my daughter. Pretty much a picture perfect finish to a Disney trip! Now back to reality… delayed at MCO with my whiny and tired kids.
> Here are some general takeaways:
> -Rope drop, mid day break and evening return really worked for us.
> - the thread here about boarding groups for ROTR really helped me and I was two for two getting am boarding groups
> - if you have any crowd/covid concerns, I would rethink.  Our family wore masks the whole time and we were a distinct minority. Maybe 5 percent, if that? We were often shoulder to shoulder inside and it felt really weird after 15 months of isolation.
> -  put in your lunch mobile order early, like first thing when you get there, to get your pick of places and pick up times
> - this was my first time bringing a Uv umbrella and it really helped me in the long unshaded lines.
> 
> a big thank you to this thread for helping me prep. I hope my posts have given back in some small way.



Thanks for this report, lots of good advice here. I've never brought an umbrella into the parks, but after hearing so many stories of waiting in long lines in the hot sun I may need to consider getting one. I have to admit that recent photos of RD at DHS are a bit scary, it seems so strange to see all the maskless faces crammed in like sardines. The crowds may be even worse by mid July, so I think we may also be the 'mask wearing family', but it's all good. Great tip about putting the mobile order in early!


----------



## Eeyore1220

capegirl said:


> Thanks for this report, lots of good advice here. I've never brought an umbrella into the parks, but after hearing so many stories of waiting in long lines in the hot sun I may need to consider getting one. I have to admit that recent photos of RD at DHS are a bit scary, it seems so strange to see all the maskless faces crammed in like sardines. The crowds may be even worse by mid July, so I think we may also be the 'mask wearing family', but it's all good. Great tip about putting the mobile order in early!


I will say everyone was respectful. No one made any comments about us wearing them and we didn’t judge those who didn’t. But, yes, it’s an overwhelming intro back into being around people!


----------



## Mango7100

Eeyore1220 said:


> Last day today and spent it at MK. It was more crowded and lines were longer than on our visit two days before. We also got off to a slow start and missed rope drop (got there around 8:30) and I think that messed us up. Luckily we had done headliners the other day so we focused on some of the less popular rides that had 5-15 minute waits. We put in a mobile order at Pinocchio village haus on our ferry ride over to MK and picked it up at 11 with no problem. I actually like that they don’t let you in until your order is ready - makes it much easier to find a seat.
> We had a snack by the entrance toward the end of our day and our last sight was the Mickey cavalcade and he blew a kiss at my daughter. Pretty much a picture perfect finish to a Disney trip! Now back to reality… delayed at MCO with my whiny and tired kids.
> Here are some general takeaways:
> -Rope drop, mid day break and evening return really worked for us.
> - the thread here about boarding groups for ROTR really helped me and I was two for two getting am boarding groups
> - if you have any crowd/covid concerns, I would rethink.  Our family wore masks the whole time and we were a distinct minority. Maybe 5 percent, if that? We were often shoulder to shoulder inside and it felt really weird after 15 months of isolation.
> -  put in your lunch mobile order early, like first thing when you get there, to get your pick of places and pick up times
> - this was my first time bringing a Uv umbrella and it really helped me in the long unshaded lines.
> 
> a big thank you to this thread for helping me prep. I hope my posts have given back in some small way.


Did the UV umbrella for the first time in May and totally agree. We will be using it when we go over July 4. Glad to hear no comments made in your direction about masks...we will also be the mask family with DD. Honestly think we e will be skipping most indoor stuff if it is back to shoulder to shoulder and 95-100% maskless. I’m just not there yet with my kid. Outdoor rides seem easier. Very excited to see fireworks again but will probably watch away from the hub to avoid the packing in.


----------



## Eeyore1220

Mango7100 said:


> Did the UV umbrella for the first time in May and totally agree. We will be using it when we go over July 4. Glad to hear no comments made in your direction about masks...we will also be the mask family with DD. Honestly think we e will be skipping most indoor stuff if it is back to shoulder to shoulder and 95-100% maskless. I’m just not there yet with my kid. Outdoor rides seem easier. Very excited to see fireworks again but will probably watch away from the hub to avoid the packing in.


I was happy that everywhere we went had outdoor seating. We are not comfortable with indoor dining with the kids.


----------



## dropzone9

I second everything @Eeyore1220 said about the crowds and masking. We masked indoors since our DS is too young to be vaccinated, and I would say about 5% are still masked. We got to MK around 10.  It was more crowded today than Sunday. Lines were still very manageable and we did not wait longer than 30 min for anything we wanted to ride. I will say that posted wait times were never as long, usually about half as long, I can’t speak on SDMT or the big headliners though. We also placed our mobile order at Cosmic Rays a lot earlier and it was ready as we got off Dumbo. A lot of people are still not aware of the Mobile order requirements so some frustration there. Hopped to Epcot just as the rain started, and I was glad we brought ponchos! Came down pretty good for a while but we still rode Soarin twice, did Living with the Land, Mission Space and Nemo. When we started around World Showcase, the skies opened up so we called it a day. 



Eeyore1220 said:


> Last day today and spent it at MK. It was more crowded and lines were longer than on our visit two days before. We also got off to a slow start and missed rope drop (got there around 8:30) and I think that messed us up. Luckily we had done headliners the other day so we focused on some of the less popular rides that had 5-15 minute waits. We put in a mobile order at Pinocchio village haus on our ferry ride over to MK and picked it up at 11 with no problem. I actually like that they don’t let you in until your order is ready - makes it much easier to find a seat.
> We had a snack by the entrance toward the end of our day and our last sight was the Mickey cavalcade and he blew a kiss at my daughter. Pretty much a picture perfect finish to a Disney trip! Now back to reality… delayed at MCO with my whiny and tired kids.
> Here are some general takeaways:
> -Rope drop, mid day break and evening return really worked for us.
> - the thread here about boarding groups for ROTR really helped me and I was two for two getting am boarding groups
> - if you have any crowd/covid concerns, I would rethink.  Our family wore masks the whole time and we were a distinct minority. Maybe 5 percent, if that? We were often shoulder to shoulder inside and it felt really weird after 15 months of isolation.
> -  put in your lunch mobile order early, like first thing when you get there, to get your pick of places and pick up times
> - this was my first time bringing a Uv umbrella and it really helped me in the long unshaded lines.
> 
> a big thank you to this thread for helping me prep. I hope my posts have given back in some small way.


----------



## lovethattink

Mango7100 said:


> Did the UV umbrella for the first time in May and totally agree. We will be using it when we go over July 4. Glad to hear no comments made in your direction about masks...we will also be the mask family with DD. Honestly think we e will be skipping most indoor stuff if it is back to shoulder to shoulder and 95-100% maskless. I’m just not there yet with my kid. Outdoor rides seem easier. Very excited to see fireworks again but will probably watch away from the hub to avoid the packing in.



One of my favorite spots is between 7DMT and the bridge to Be Our Guest. You are surrounded by fireworks there. Can’t see any projections though.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

To ship stuff home from your hotel gift shop you just need the receipt right? And anything you buy in the park they can ship home for you too? I'm worried our suitcases might be a bit too heavy for our return journey.


----------



## Best Aunt

TikiTikiFan said:


> To ship stuff home from your hotel gift shop you just need the receipt right? And anything you buy in the park they can ship home for you too? I'm worried our suitcases might be a bit too heavy for our return journey.



Are you worried that your suitcases might be too heavy for you to deal with?  Or are you worried that your suitcases might be considered overweight by the airline and you will be charged a fee?  If the latter, I would look up what the airline fee will be.  It's been a long time since I had anything shipped home, but as I recall it was expensive and slow.  Something like FedEx, but Ground rather than one of the faster services, and it's possible that things are not shipped out right away.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Best Aunt said:


> Are you worried that your suitcases might be too heavy for you to deal with?  Or are you worried that your suitcases might be considered overweight by the airline and you will be charged a fee?  If the latter, I would look up what the airline fee will be.  It's been a long time since I had anything shipped home, but as I recall it was expensive and slow.  Something like FedEx, but Ground rather than one of the faster services, and it's possible that things are not shipped out right away.



More worried about the fee but I'll check, thanks! I keep telling myself I'm not going to buy a ton of stuff but you know how that can go.


----------



## Honeypot

TikiTikiFan said:


> More worried about the fee but I'll check, thanks! I keep telling myself I'm not going to buy a ton of stuff but you know how that can go.



Also, I'm not sure if you are there right now, but if not, consider packing an extra bag with you and then using that in addition when you fly home. At one point, it was much cheaper to pay for an extra bag than to pay for an overweight fee.


----------



## VeronicaZS

seb65 said:


> I just got put on medicine that I need to keep out of the sun and of course leave in 4 days. I bought a uv umbrella, but are there still resting stations?  I am ok with going back to the hotel, solo, if need be as well.


I wonder if you could leave your medicine at the first aid station at the front of the park.


----------



## Makmak

VeronicaZS said:


> I wonder if you could leave your medicine at the first aid station at the front of the park.


I think OP means that while taking the med they cannot be in the sun because of increased photosensitivity. Some meds make you get sunburned super easily.


----------



## Mango7100

lovethattink said:


> One of my favorite spots is between 7DMT and the bridge to Be Our Guest. You are surrounded by fireworks there. Can’t see any projections though.


Thanks! I had wondered about that spot. We have seen the show tons so not seeing the projections this time is fine...it will just be nice to hear the music!


----------



## capegirl

Eeyore1220 said:


> I will say everyone was respectful. No one made any comments about us wearing them and we didn’t judge those who didn’t. But, yes, it’s an overwhelming intro back into being around people!



So good to hear that there were no mask comments!


----------



## lovethattink

Just an FYI. 

CM may now make park reservations after 3pm if there’s availability. They’ve been blocked for so long.

And masks are optional for vaccinated cm.


----------



## WEDWDW

lovethattink said:


> Just an FYI.
> 
> CM may now make park reservations after 3pm if there’s availability. They’ve been blocked for so long.
> 
> And masks are optional for vaccinated cm.


Happy for the awesome Cast Members!  

(I bet the CPs are loving this news!!!!)


----------



## SuJo

Been here since Sat.  Weekend was great but you sure can see the increase in park capacity. HS was packed yesterday.  Long lines everywhere, all day long.


----------



## Boopuff

TikiTikiFan said:


> To ship stuff home from your hotel gift shop you just need the receipt right? And anything you buy in the park they can ship home for you too? I'm worried our suitcases might be a bit too heavy for our return journey.


I know it's too late, but we always take one extra bag (half empty) and check that one (on SW) so we have plenty of room for all our purchases!  Or sometimes we have bought an extra bag at the World of Disney.


----------



## Leigh L

kylenne said:


> Just to be clear, they are doing the stretching room again? And the preshow for Tower of Terror? Those are my favorites and I really missed them the other week.


Yes!! I missed them so much too.
Haven't been in ToT yet (they were only running 1/2 the elevators and the line wasn't moving so we bailed).
However, we did get to see the stretching room on Sunday!! It was full but plenty of room to breath, no getting trampled on the way to the doom buggies...that I think was my favorite part now lolol.

DD is so excited to see RnR preshow back and I'm so happy we'll get to see MMRR finally.


----------



## bdiddy

Boy the post Disney blues are a real thing. We got home yesterday at about 4 and I spent hours unpacking and going through everything. We bought SO much stuff. We flew southwest so we were each able to bring an extra carryon, I had brought one of the bigger reusable store bags and then I bought the discounted Mickey tote that came with a purchase and then we used the droid boxes to stuff things in. So we each just had an extra carry-on in addition to our backpack. And I squeezed some more stuff in our suitcases. It was tight though!!

But yes we are home now and I didn’t want to get out of bed today much less do any work. I feel sad too that we don’t have anything on the books to look forward to or plan. That is almost as much part of the fun for me as the actual trip is. 

I keep thinking how by the time we do our next trip - Ratatouille will be open, maybe Tron and the new Guardians ride, all of the new nighttime shows, Space 220 and maybe even the Star Wars resort. So that is a lot to look forward too for sure!

I’ll be living vicariously through you all in the meantime!


----------



## oktxregulators2020

Day 9 Hollywood/Disney Springs 

Our last day here found us going to HS for a 3rd time. The first two times we where there (Fri/Mon) we got afternoon boarding passes for RotR. However, this time we decided to not play the game and do RotR as we only wanted to do a few hours in the park and go to Disney Springs for dinner/snacks. 

We got to HS around 2 and was able to park in the 2nd Row the closest we have ever been. It looked like it was going to be another very steamy afternoon. I looked at the wait times and the big name stuff was 45min-60 min waits except for SD which was 90. We decided to try MMRR which was 40. As we walked to MMRR the sky starting turning and the win picked up and it started raining right at the time we got to the waterfall in the queue. We made it on MMRR in 25 min. By the the time we got off the rain had stopped. 

Next, we walked to Toy Story Land where the line for SD started again and the end was all the way next to Woody when you come into Toy Story Land. We did TSMM 40 min wait and got on in 25. Alien was next 15 min wait. MFSR was next 45 min wait got on in 40. 

Went to Droid Depot to build a BB-Unit, other family went to do RNRC 35 min wait. As I finished building a BB-Unit I looked at the weather app and noticed a huge storm coming so I decided to head for the car. I made it half way to the parking lot when the downpour came. My family was just now getting off RNRC and took refuge in the lobby. It rained really hard for about 40 minutes and let up for the family to make it back to the car. 

Went back home to change into dry clothes before going to Disney Springs. Part of the family wanted Blaze Pizza and the other half wanted Polite Pig. We walked up to the hostess and asked if we got Blaze Pizza could we eat it there if we got food from Polite Pig and she said sure.  Part of the family went to get pizza while the rest of us stayed in line for Polite Pig.  The skies opened up again with a downpour for most of the evening as we ate our dinner in a very cold Polite Pig.

Today, we get to start the 17 hour drive back to East Texas. 

Final Overall Thoughts:  

Parking: Not bad at all, only had one really long walk to MK and AK one day because we got there a few hours after opening. If you come in the afternoon you can park pretty close to the front. 

Shopping: Many of the stores had the same items, a lot of the things in the stores you can get online in the Disney Store if you are limited on what you can bring home with you. The stores are open typically after park closes. If you plan on going to The Emporium in MK after park closes you will be waiting in a long line. Some stores are still limiting how many people can go in and have only one entrance to the stores.  If you plan on shopping at World of Disney you might be waiting in a long queue.

Food: Several QS and Snack places still not open in the parks and forcing their items to be bought at other venues. Most of the QS places want you to mobile order. If you don't mobile order then you might have to wait in a line outside just to go in to talk to someone to place your order. There is only one entrance for food and you cannot sit at the tables unless you have food.  If you plan on doing QS place your order early as you might have to wait 20 min or longer if you tell them you are here.

Lines:  For the most part the standby lines seemed to move compared to what it was like before with FP. I remember with FP the line would move about 15 people the stop for 5 minutes to let FP people in. With FP gone the lines seemed to move and you only had to stop for maybe 30 seconds at a time. The only time we had to stop and wait alot was riding SD because they gave out a lot of Recovery Passes (ride was down at RD) and VIP Tours. The longest lines we saw was FOP was 100 min a couple of times and SD hit 95 min once. The wait for SD seemed to take forever.  If you don't like lines going in the evening is the best way to go most attractions are under 45 min in the evening with some being walk-ons a few hours before park closes.

Property:  We decided for the first time to stay off property. It was cheaper to stay off site in a fully furnished townhouse with a pool/hot tub/gameroom then it was to stay in the AoA Family Suites or even some Moderates that are open. It was a 7 min drive to HS, 12 min drive to EPCOT,  14 to MK.  I think the only way we stay on property again is if they bring back some of the perks especially EMH in the evening. The 30 minute before parks open is not enough to get me to stay on property. I have no desire to get up and compete with 1/2 the park to be the first ones there to ride stuff. 

I have a feeling the park will probably be back to 100% or very close within the next few weeks or by the end of July.


----------



## d0naldduck123

Just reporting back my experience at HS last Saturday. We were on a Universal trip so we only spent 1 day at Disney (HS). DH and I were both logged on to our separate MDE accounts on T-Mobile data and DH got BG2 for RotR! We were at the parking lot entrance around 7:45. They didn't start lining up the cars yet so they made us go all the way around - just as we were pulling away they started lining cars up so that was frustrating as if we had been there literally 10 seconds later we would've been able to line up. Anyways, by the time we were lined up around 7:50 and they started letting cars in right at 8AM. Everybody was let it and we were held in front of the Chinese theater like a normal pre-covid rope drop with signs directing people depending on which ride. Park opened right at 8:30. We went to SDD but as we were entering Toy Story land they were announcing SDD is delayed and they don't have an estimated opening time. We stood in line anyway and there was a CM making us toys in line do Toy Story 'Yoga' so we had fun with that and SDD opened around 8:55! We got on right at 9am. We did Aliens (walk-on) and TSMM (30 min posted wait time, actual wait 20 min) - right as we got in line for TSMM they called our BG so after we got off we headed over to RotR. It was my first time and WOW it was such an amazing experience! It was the highlight of my day! I then mobile ordered a Ronto Wrap and the Tatooine Sunset drink - both were so good. I just love the slaw on the Ronto Wrap. We saw stormtroopers and KyloRen standing around on a stage posing for pics. Smuggler's Run was a 65-min wait at that point so we left the area for now and went to MMRR. By the time we walked over, it was about 11AM and wait time was posted at 65-min but we decided to just stand in line since we've never been on MMRR before. Thankfully we only waited 45 minutes. This was such a cute ride! It was better than I expected.

We had a reservation at Ale&Compass at 12:55 - also our first time visiting this restaurant. We took the skyliner over and masks were required regardless of vaccination. They weren't seating separate parties together, so each party got their own car. Once we were in the air there was a good breeze and that felt really good. Funny thing about skyliner, last time we were at Disney we stayed at Pop Century so we used the skyliner a lot and every.single.time we ended up in one of the cars that don't have images printed on the outside. And sure enough, this time we also got an unwrapped car . Anyways, we checked in on the app as we walked over to Yacht Club and waited in the lobby. At 1:10 we got a text that our table was ready. DH had the shrimp&grits and I had the dark chocolate waffles with fruit. They were both so good and we agreed that this was the best meal during our entire vacation!

We took the boat back to HS and DH had a headache - not sure if it was motion sickness or the heat - so we went to first aid and they gave us some advil. We did notice there were quite a few people in the rooms that were talking about the heat and drinking water. To anyone going in the summer months, please drink lots of water and stay hydrated! DH felt much better after taking advil so we headed over to ToT with a posted 20 minute wait. They didn't do the stretching room preshow and we were in front of the elevator in about 10 minutes. Just as our elevator opened, a CM made all of us wait and he went in to clean up something. It turns out someone in the previous group took an open container of popcorn in the ride so there was popcorn literally everywhere! I guess they didn't know what type of ride it was???  Eventually we got on and had lots of unexpected drops so it was a lot of fun. We headed over to RnR, then did Star Tours (walk on), and went to Smuggler's Run around 4:30 since the wait time went down to about 35 minutes. As we were walking over to the Frozen Singalong, we saw the Pixar calvacade with the Incredibles and Toy Story characters! Frozen Singalong is great for escaping the heat and the Arendelle historians were hilarious! We then had dinner at Prime Time Cafe at 6pm - our server didn't do much with us, but the server for the table next do us was having so much fun with them - we just enjoyed watching them lol. As we headed out to get on MMRR, we saw Mickey Minnie Chip Dale and Pluto! We did MMRR again and ended the night with another ride on SDD. We got in line for Slinky at 7:20 with a 45-min posted wait time, but we waited 30 min and were on the ride by 7:50!

We had an awesome day and the posted wait times were longer than the actual waits for most of the rides. Crowd levels were actually not that bad, especially compared to Universal. Universal was crazy, literally wall-to-wall people especially in the Harry Potter areas, so we felt the crowds at HS was very very manageable. Personally, I think Disney is handling mobile ordering much better than what we experienced at Universal as well. There wasn't plexiglass on any of the rides, just in some of the queues. Overall it was a great experience and we had an amazing time!


----------



## d0naldduck123

bdiddy said:


> But yes we are home now and I didn’t want to get out of bed today much less do any work. I feel sad too that we don’t have anything on the books to look forward to or plan. That is almost as much part of the fun for me as the actual trip is.
> 
> I keep thinking how by the time we do our next trip - Ratatouille will be open, maybe Tron and the new Guardians ride, all of the new nighttime shows, Space 220 and maybe even the Star Wars resort. So that is a lot to look forward too for sure!




I totally agree! I love planning and looking forward to the trip as much as the actual trip itself so it kind of sucks when the trip ends. We got back last night and I really don't feel like working today. I'm also planning on visiting during the 50th anniversary and hoping they announce something about Tron and the Guardians ride so I can start planning our next trip!


----------



## redboat45

Best Aunt said:


> Are you worried that your suitcases might be too heavy for you to deal with?  Or are you worried that your suitcases might be considered overweight by the airline and you will be charged a fee?  If the latter, I would look up what the airline fee will be.  It's been a long time since I had anything shipped home, but as I recall it was expensive and slow.  Something like FedEx, but Ground rather than one of the faster services, and it's possible that things are not shipped out right away.


I shipped something home last September and it was only $8 and was there 2 days later (before we even left Disney).


----------



## snickbar

Leigh L said:


> Haven't been in ToT yet (they were only running 1/2 the elevators and the line wasn't moving so we bailed).



How do you know while waiting in line whether both elevators are running or just the one?  Is there an actual way to find out, or you can just assume based on how slow it's going?


----------



## goodeats

Built a car at Test Track this morning! Hadn’t seen that definitively reported yet, but maybe I missed it.


----------



## redboat45

goodeats said:


> Built a car at Test Track this morning! Hadn’t seen that definitively reported yet, but maybe I missed it.


oh my daughter is SO excited now!


----------



## Sarahslay

goodeats said:


> Built a car at Test Track this morning! Hadn’t seen that definitively reported yet, but maybe I missed it.


I don't think I've seen it reported, but my friend that just returned from her trip had pictures on FB of her kids building one this past week at some point on their trip. Normally I don't ride TT on my solo trips, but I've missed building a car so much I might just do stand-by (not even single rider) just so I can do it in August lol


----------



## hb9131

goodeats said:


> Built a car at Test Track this morning! Hadn’t seen that definitively reported yet, but maybe I missed it.


That's awesome! Things are going back to normal! I'm wondering if the cotton candy artist is in China for the Flower and Garden Festival... Do you know?


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Thought I'd give a quick DME update- line was long but moved quickly and we were on a bus in less than 10 minutes since they're sitting each row. I could see how it'd be a longer wait if we wouldn't have fit on the bus leaving right away but still, wasn't bad.


----------



## Leigh L

snickbar said:


> How do you know while waiting in line whether both elevators are running or just the one?  Is there an actual way to find out, or you can just assume based on how slow it's going?


A CM in the middle of the queue was telling people (there is that split in the outside queue and I guess they were there to keep the line orderly?)


----------



## Leigh L

Apologies if I missed this as I saw MK and DHS are both back to reg rope drop - but does anyone know if AK back to doing regular rope drop too or is it still like it's been through the pandemic? Thanks so much!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Leigh L said:


> Apologies if I missed this as I saw MK and DHS are both back to reg rope drop - but does anyone know if AK back to doing regular rope drop too or is it still like it's been through the pandemic? Thanks so much!


AK was still doing the modified rope drop this morning but it’s anticipated to move back to traditional rope drop any day.

It is the only park that has not reverted to traditional rope drop.


----------



## luv2cheer92

goodeats said:


> Built a car at Test Track this morning! Hadn’t seen that definitively reported yet, but maybe I missed it.


It was reported a few days ago, but still exciting!


----------



## seb65

What times do the parks open now- is it 1/2 hour before opening? I know AK hasn’t begun rope drop yet…


----------



## scrappinginontario

People are being allowed into MK, Epcot and DHS around 45 mins before posted park opening but are being held not too far inside the park until posted opening times.


----------



## yorkieteacher

kylenne said:


> Just to be clear, they are doing the stretching room again? And the preshow for Tower of Terror? Those are my favorites and I really missed them the other week.


Yes to both!!!


----------



## Suejacken

TikiTikiFan said:


> Thought I'd give a quick DME update- line was long but moved quickly and we were on a bus in less than 10 minutes since they're sitting each row. I could see how it'd be a longer wait if we wouldn't have fit on the bus leaving right away but still, wasn't bad.


That’s great to know . Thanks for the update


----------



## blbrodger1

CinderellaDream said:


> We had a successful morning at Animal Kingdom this morning even though both Navi River Journey and Kilimanjaro Safaris were down for an extended period.   We arrived via personal car at 6:40 and had to go down, take a u-turn and line up to turn left into the parking booth area. At 6:49 we began lining up at the parking booths, and they opened at exactly 7:00. We parked and walked straight to FOP - entered the queue at 7:20 and exited at 7:50.
> 
> A summary of the rest of our day is below:
> 
> 8:05 Expedition Everest
> 8:20 Dinosaur
> 8:40 Triceratop Spin
> 9:00 I saw on MDE where safaris had opened. We speed walked across the park and the line was massive! We almost gave up because of the line but it ended up basically being a slow walk on through the long queue (took about 15 minutes but the line never stopped moving).  Side note - I hated the plastic dividers on the safari vehicle.
> 
> 9:50 Kali River Rapids x 2
> 10:45 Maharajah jungle trek
> 11:15 Dinosaur
> 12:05 Yak & Yeti lunch - Juan was a great waiter and the food was delicious as always.
> 
> At this point it was getting hot so we decided to skip Navi River Journey in favor of going back to BCV for a swim at Stormalong Bay. We had a great relaxing afternoon and are all set to get up early for MK tomorrow. My daughters are fully onboard with the whole rope drop situation after our successful morning.
> 
> Social distancing was pretty much nonexistent but mask compliance indoors and in ride queues seemed pretty good.



What was the "official" opening time of the park?


----------



## jbish

scrappinginontario said:


> People are being allowed into MK, Epcot and DHS around 45 mins before posted park opening but are being held not too far inside the park until posted opening times.


This morning at HS, we walked in when we arrived (right after 8 I think) and held at the end of Hollywood Blvd. We heard the morning welcome at 8:30 and then the “rope dropped” to allow us going to TSL.


----------



## MomOTwins

blbrodger1 said:


> What was the "official" opening time of the park?


8am


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

We arrived today for our first trip since Feb 2020! Our room (garden wing Contemporary) wasn’t ready when we arrived around 11 so we  left our bags with bell services and walked to MK. Got to MK around 11:30, went to guest services to activate our AP vouchers and get the DAS for my son. Guest services was a breeze-no wait at all. We got our room ready text around noon which was way earlier than I expected! 

I use an electric wheelchair in the parks because of my chronic illness and was amazed how much easier it was to navigate down Main Street compared to pre-Covid. It was by no means empty but it wasn’t anything like pre-Covid where I had to sit there praying people wouldn’t trip over me and completely unable to scoot forward because the crowds were so thick.

My son really wanted to go on Splash but it was down. We also noticed BTMRR was down so we ventured over to Tomorrowland. We grabbed a DAS for Space with an hour-ish return time, grabbed some snacks, then decided to wait for Peoplemover. The line snaked a bit out of the queue and we ended up having to wait around 30 min. The CM holding the line marker commented on how busy it was for a Wednesday. By the time we were off Peoplemover the Space DAS was ready. I was super proud of my son for giving it another try. The last time he tried was 3 years ago and it terrified him. He loved it today! After Space we checked and Splash was still down. We grabbed a DAS for Buzz, and went on Buzz 25ish min or so later. We got out and it was storming and super humid. Once again we checked the app and Splash was still down. We decided to snap a photo pass pic, grab a snack, then go get unpacked. It was a short MK day but we were all pretty wiped and we have another 8 days here so we didn’t feel compelled to see ALL the things today.

Observations: I’ve yet to run into grumpy CM’s. If anything, they’ve been even better than prior trips. I’m sure having the option to mask is helping! The crowds while we moved around felt lower, but man-I’m not used to not having FP’s. My son was dealing with a lot of anxiety today about the lines even with the DAS. I think it felt so crowded because the major draws in Frontierland were closed + everyone’s tolerance is lower in the heat. Food really is harder to access quickly. Snack lines were longer than usual so if you have any kind of medical condition where you might need an emergency snack or if you have a hangry kid, bring a couple back up snacks. Tomorrow is HS. It feels great to be back!


----------



## CinderellaDream

blbrodger1 said:


> What was the "official" opening time of the park?


The official opening time was 8:00 that day.


----------



## scrappinginontario

There has been a report that the toaster and microwaves in the Pop food court have been returned.  Those staying at other resorts may want to see if it is the same at your resort if you don't have these appliances in your room.


----------



## bdiddy

The grumpy CM reminded me that I forgot to mention that in my last day post…..in 7 days we only had one unpleasant encounter and it was our very last night on the way out of the park. I stopped at the photo center to see if they could find two pictures for me that never popped up. I waited behind a family for probably close to 10 min. When it was my turn, the CM told me just a minute and walked away and never came back. I saw her over behind another register chatting with other CM’s and never once looked my way. I waited a few minutes longer and finally a different CM came and helped me. While the original one just stood to the side behind other registers just talking. Not that it was that much of an unpleasant experience per se but it was the only time in 7 days that I experienced anything less than great from them. So all in all, that’s a pretty good success rate in terms of pleasant Cast Members.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Quick Disney Springs recap:

didn't have to wait long at all taking the bus there and back from Pop- so far our experience with transportation has been good 
DS is crowded- make sure to have a dining reservation and don't expect a walk up on the spot- saw lots of unhappy people grumbling about that
World of Disney's line was constantly moving- think they only have to slow down the mass of people coming in. Checking out on the app saved us probably a 20 minute wait
Lego Store had a huge line that was barely moving but other than that no lines to get inside anywhere else
Oh, and folks aren't kidding about being prepared for rain! I thought I'd be safe to wear to sandals and turns out they were super slippery when it rained so from now on it's park shoes regardless of where we're going!


----------



## mom2rtk

TikiTikiFan said:


> Quick Disney Springs recap:
> 
> didn't have to wait long at all taking the bus there and back from Pop- so far our experience with transportation has been good
> DS is crowded- make sure to have a dining reservation and don't expect a walk up on the spot- saw lots of unhappy people grumbling about that
> World of Disney's line was constantly moving- think they only have to slow down the mass of people coming in. Checking out on the app saved us probably a 20 minute wait
> Lego Store had a huge line that was barely moving but other than that no lines to get inside anywhere else
> Oh, and folks aren't kidding about being prepared for rain! I thought I'd be safe to wear to sandals and turns out they were super slippery when it rained so from now on it's park shoes regardless of where we're going!


I recall you posting on th DLR board as they were opening. We also decided to take our money to Florida. Just finished 2 days at Universal and yesterday in the Magic Kingdom. The rain was definitely an issue. Soaked sneakers each night. But it cooled things down so we were actually happy for the rain each day. Sort of.


----------



## kylenne

TikiTikiFan said:


> Oh, and folks aren't kidding about being prepared for rain! I thought I'd be safe to wear to sandals and turns out they were super slippery when it rained so from now on it's park shoes regardless of where we're going!



Regular sandals won’t cut it. Hiking sandals are what you want because a good pair will have decent traction and dry quickly. My Tevas are perfect even in torrential downpours like the one I ran into on 6/4 while leaving HS.


----------



## Leigh L

Lined up at tollbooth today at AK 6:53 no cars being turned around, we are about 5 cars back. Booths open at 7:02 . Here we go! 

(Will post if regular rope drop back today or not)


----------



## Lsdolphin

kylenne said:


> Regular sandals won’t cut it. Hiking sandals are what you want because a good pair will have decent traction and dry quickly. My Tevas are perfect even in torrential downpours like the one I ran into on 6/4 while leaving HS.



Keens are also excellent


----------



## TikiTikiFan

kylenne said:


> Regular sandals won’t cut it. Hiking sandals are what you want because a good pair will have decent traction and dry quickly. My Tevas are perfect even in torrential downpours like the one I ran into on 6/4 while leaving HS.



I know, we were just going for dinner so weren't geared up in park clothes and dressed nice. I was wearing Birkenstocks but apparently those are way too slippery! Or mine are too old.  But lesson learned, don't bother dressing cute because the rain will ruin it!


----------



## Leigh L

7:15 tap in, regular rope drop not back, walking into fop now. 

Never have done queue before but looks like we are close to inside at 7:30 and line still constantly moving.

Eta to clarify,  first tap in at 7:15 we arrived same time as buses. In indoor queue now.


----------



## penel3

TikiTikiFan said:


> World of Disney's line was constantly moving- think they only have to slow down the mass of people coming in. Checking out on the app saved us probably a 20 minute wait


 How do we "check out on the app"? I hadn't realized this was an option....sooooo cool!!


----------



## scrappinginontario

penel3 said:


> How do we "check out on the app"? I hadn't realized this was an option....sooooo cool!!



Here's an article that explains how it works:

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020...t-system-is-now-being-tested-in-disney-world/


----------



## penel3

scrappinginontario said:


> Here's an article that explains how it works:
> 
> https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020...t-system-is-now-being-tested-in-disney-world/


Thank you!!!!


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

Back resting at the resort after an awesome MK rope drop morning! My son and I decided at the last minute to rope drop MK today before hitting HS tonight.

We got in around 7:45 or so and waited at the bridge to Adventureland. They let us in right at 8. We walked on Pirates, waited around 10 minutes for Big Thunder, walked on Haunted Mansion, waited maybe 1 minute for Under the Sea, grabbed a DAS for Peter Pan’s Flight, saw that Splash was finally open so we made our way back quickly over there where we waited around 20 minutes or so. Exited splash and ordered some Dole Whips, enjoyed those, then went on Peter Pan’s Flight before heading back to Contemporary. We were back around 11:10! It was an awesome morning and I plan to rope drop many more after seeing how well it went.


----------



## Newbie500

TikiTikiFan said:


> Thought I'd give a quick DME update- line was long but moved quickly and we were on a bus in less than 10 minutes since they're sitting each row. I could see how it'd be a longer wait if we wouldn't have fit on the bus leaving right away but still, wasn't bad.



Our flight arrives late evening to MCO so rather than waste one of our nights at BLT our plan is to stay at one of the nearby airport hotels and go to BLT next morning.  My question is if we shuttle back to the airport the next morning, could we then take DME to our resort?


----------



## Dakota731

Flip flops work great for me, but check tread before you go.  If they are old and worn down then they are slippery.


----------



## NashvilleMama

Newbie500 said:


> Our flight arrives late evening to MCO so rather than waste one of our nights at BLT our plan is to stay at one of the nearby airport hotels and go to BLT next morning.  My question is if we shuttle back to the airport the next morning, could we then take DME to our resort?


pretty sure yes - when it asks for your flight info, just put in another flight that arrives that morning.


----------



## disny_luvr

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> Back resting at the resort after an awesome MK rope drop morning! My son and I decided at the last minute to rope drop MK today before hitting HS tonight.
> 
> We got in around 7:45 or so and waited at the bridge to Adventureland. They let us in right at 8. We walked on Pirates, waited around 10 minutes for Big Thunder, walked on Haunted Mansion, waited maybe 1 minute for Under the Sea, grabbed a DAS for Peter Pan’s Flight, saw that Splash was finally open so we made our way back quickly over there where we waited around 20 minutes or so. Exited splash and ordered some Dole Whips, enjoyed those, then went on Peter Pan’s Flight before heading back to Contemporary. We were back around 11:10! It was an awesome morning and I plan to rope drop many more after seeing how well it went.



Wow! Sounds like a great morning! I may try your strategy and start in Adventureland. I'm guessing most will head towards SDMT. We might try for that later in the day. I'll have to watch wait times.


----------



## brockash

Newbie500 said:


> Our flight arrives late evening to MCO so rather than waste one of our nights at BLT our plan is to stay at one of the nearby airport hotels and go to BLT next morning.  My question is if we shuttle back to the airport the next morning, could we then take DME to our resort?


Yes, just give Disney any flight info. for the day you're wanting to use magical express.


----------



## shawol94

Hi! We did an overnight Tuesday 6/22 to Wednesday 6/23 to celebrate getting our APs back!  

Evening at HS

On Tuesday we spent the evening at HS. It was on and off raining for most the evening, actually it was more like sprinkle vs down pour cause I don't think it ever really stopped raining lol. We got into the park about 5 pm, took pictures in front of ToT and got in line for ToT at about 513. Posted time was 15 mins and while in line they opened more queue and the posted time jumped to 20 mins. We waited for the front row and were on the ride at 536. We were off at 541. The rain picked up so we ran for cover in the stores on Sunset, waited for it to lighten, and then headed to Star Tours which was posted 5 mins. We had good timing and literally walked straight onto the ride at 555. We waited in the store for a bit to see if the rain would lighten before heading to Muppets. We got into muppets and had bad timing, just missing the show. So we headed back into the rain again. Smugglers Run was posted 35 minutes so we headed over there. We got in line at 618, on the ride at 636, and off at 644. We were shook that we got on so fast considering the posted wait and how heavy the rain was! We moved onto Toy Story Land, walking on the saucers at 651 (posted 10 mins), hitting the bathroom, and then getting in line for TSM (posted 20 mins). We got in line at 702 and were off the ride at 738. The park was set to close at 8 so we quickly got in line for MMRR. We were on the ride at 809. This was our first time riding MMRR and we loved it! We didn't have any idea going what it would be like going into it and we were all excited by the technology! So fun! Def felt like a mix of ROTR and Spider Man at Universal. 

We left the park straight away, no shopping this time, cause the rain was absolutely pouring in side ways! We had placed a mobile order at Ale & Compass so we drove over to the Yacht Club. The guard gate made us press the "I'm here" button in front of her, and while I understand trying to maintain security, at that time of night and with the rain, who is realistically trying to subvert the rules and park at the Yacht Club?? We were concerned about the food being prepared too fast and getting chilly, which happened back in March when we mobile ordered at Ale & Compass. Thankfully the food came out piping hot and delicious! Highly recommend their burgers and the saffron risotto cakes!! We ate at a table in the hallway to the left of the lounge and the joint was poppin due to a conference or something being held there. Grateful we had good timing with seating!  We picked up some treats to go from the market and made our way to the Double Tree for the night.


MK RD

On Wednesday we planned to RD MK. Thankfully we had learned on Monday that they were doing a formal RD so we could plan better. We parked at the TTC and were in the park by 725. We took a couple pictures on Main Street before moving to the bridge to Tomorrowland where they held us until 8:01 am. Then it was a classic mad dash to get to Space Mountain. They had an outdoor rope queue set up which caused a bit of chaos trying to bottleneck the crowd.  They had both sides going thank God and we were off the ride by 823. We went to Buzz which was posted 5 minutes and walked straight on. We rode it a second time and walked on again, albeit a little slower because people were walking slow lol. When we got off our second Buzz it was 840 and we headed over to BTMR. We got in line at 850 and it was posted 5 minutes. While in line they opened more of the queue and the posted time changed to 10 minutes. We waited for the back and were on the ride at 904 and off the ride at 910. We had a quick water break and headed to Pirates which was posted 5 minutes. We got in line at 914, the posted time changed to 10 minutes at 916, then 20 minutes at 919. I didn't record when we got on the ride but we were off at 935, so 21 minutes total from entering the line to getting off the ride. We had a Dole Whip and bathroom break before heading to Philharmagic. Both Dole Whip places, Aloha Isle and Sunshine Tree Terrace were scheduled to open at 10 but both were open early when we went at 942. Both places had only two people working, and one was a trainee, so the waits were longer than expected but the whips were delicious! We got in line for Philharmagic at 1029 with a posted 10 minute wait. I forgot to write down how long we waited and what time we got done but we headed out of the park afterwards. We did some shopping on Main Street and were out of the park by 1130.

Thoughts 
Overall the crowds at rope drop weren't bad and the wait times did fluctuate a lot throughout the morning so I highly suggest continually checking the app for line updates. Our plan was to hit the rides that consistently get high wait times right away: Space, Buzz, BTMR, and Pirates and we were able to do all of them by 935 with basically no waits. We definitely could have continued on with the "2nd tier" rides with minimal waits but we were pooped from our HS evening the night before and we're FL residents so we can come back whenever.

As for the HS evening, we were surprised at how much we got done with minimal to okay waits. We've been APs since 2011, save for the covid year, and we're used to not having to wait for really anything ever, so we were definitely concerned about no FP and the post vaccine summer crowds. We focused on lowering our standards about wait times lol and knowing what amount of time was a reasonable amount of time to wait for each ride and that really made for a good experience. It also helped that none of the lines we waited in, save for TSM a couple times, were ever at a stand still for more than like 30 seconds. It really helps when the line at least feels like its continually moving. It was an excellent first trip back to the parks and we're looking forward to many more!


----------



## mickeyfanachey1999

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Did they have the steamers at Cape May?



Clams, mussels shrimp and mahi mahi in the seafood "bucket"  Chicken, steak corn potatoes and veggies in the other bucket.


----------



## goodeats

Animal Kingdom was pretty easy today if you were willing to wake up early and walk fast. We got picked up at CBR at 6:52 and were in line by 7:10ish. I’d say we were 20 people back. Let in around 7:20 and booked it toward FoP. We are pretty fast and just missed the cycle before ours and were off by 7:50. It’s a long walk and we passed a lot of slower groups. If you are slower you might consider coming just before closing. There’s not much point to being at the end of rope drop. The line was over an hour when we left Pandora.

We then did EE (under 10 min) and Dinosaur (walk-on) and got coffee before getting in line for Kali (5min) which was opening at 9:00. Did that, saw the tigers and went to Rafiki’s PW to do first animation class (Dumbo - so cute).We got in line for safari- posted at 45, but really 25. Had lunch at YY then did the Gorilla Trail. Stopped at EE (25) and Dinosaur (posted at 35, but really 15-20) on the way out.

In general I prefer no FP+ because the lines constantly move and you can be more flexible.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

mickeyfanachey1999 said:


> Clams, mussels shrimp and mahi mahi in the seafood "bucket"  Chicken, steak corn potatoes and veggies in the other bucket.


"Bucket" sounds scary...is it all swimming together?


----------



## Anne Scaffo

*Day 1 trip report. *Fifth day into our trip, and first chance to update. So things are going well! Including pics of DS, and food and drink from Enchanted Rose.
Our travels began around 4:30 am on Sunday 6/20. We traveled to The Parking Spot, and shuttled to the airport. Our Southwest flight was trouble free and arrived early. We scooted on over to baggage claim, and then a quick trip to DME. There was a line. We waited about 25 minutes. Our resort, GF, was the last drop off.

Arrived at GF, and got some pixie dust. Our room was upgraded from garden to lagoon view (pic included). It wasn't ready yet, so we left our bags with bell services, I got my bday pin, and off to MK we went via the walkway.
We were shocked by how low the crowds were- especially for Father's Day. If at all possible, I am always going to begin at MK with Peter Pan. We had a 25 minute wait, and off we went. We followed that up with Small World, then Big Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain. Then into our Liberty Tree reservation. We ended MK with Pirates. Pretty good for a partial day.

Our room was ready. So we quickly changed and visited The Enchanted Rose for dinner. It was a great first day! And, we were feeling the magic.


----------



## Carol_

scrappinginontario said:


> There has been a report that the toaster and microwaves in the Pop food court have been returned.  Those staying at other resorts may want to see if it is the same at your resort if you don't have these appliances in your room.


NOW I KNOW IT’S FINALLY OVER.


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## mickeymom22

We spent the day yesterday at WDW. We woke up early enough to be at Magic Kingdom right at rope drop at 8:00 am. The trams aren't running so you have to walk to the TTC and either take the monorail or a ferry over. We opted for the ferry as it was there waiting. Only waited about 5 minutes and we were off. When we got to MK went through the turnstiles and made a beeline to 7DMT and there was already a 70 minute wait so we decided against it. We headed to BTM and Splash. Each had a wait time of 40 minutes, but it was more like 20 minutes. By noon, we had ridden BTM, Splash, HM, Pirates, stopped for egg rolls, Philharmagic and Small World. We ate lunch at Pinocchio's and then headed to Space Mountain. After Space we got a Lafou's Brew and then walked through the shops on Main Street and exited to take a bus to Epcot. We hopped at 2:00 pm. MK seemed more crowded than I thought it would be. The only character we saw out was Buzz Lightyear on the stage in Tomorrowland. We missed fast passes. 

Once at Epcot, we walked on Spaceship Earth and then made our way to TT. We got lucky and got there right when they were starting the line back up after it went down. The wait was posted as 40 minutes, but it was more like 25 minutes. They are offering single rider here. Its wait time was 15 minutes. Throughout the rest of the day we ate at some of the booths. We did the Garden Graze and received the free souvenir cup and frozen lemonade from the Pineapple Promenade. Attractions we enjoyed were Soarin, Gran Fiesta, Nemo, Disney and Pixar shorts, and another ride on Spaceship Earth.There also seemed to be a lot of people there, but not a lot eating at the booths. Biggest crowd was in the Mexico pavilion. Right when you entered there were CMs directly traffic. There were ropes marking off lines for the Tequila Cave, Gran Fiesta, and just shopping. The line for Gran Fiesta snaked all around and the plexiglass was up between lines. That was a little claustrophobic. I didn't like being in that line. There were about 30 people in line for the Tequila Cave. It was a little crazy in there. I also didn't like all the walls up in Epcot. It was like a maze to get anywhere. We closed Epcot down.

Overall, I am glad we got a WDW day. I miss fast passes. I didn't like having to wait until 2:00 pm to park hop. I liked almost all the food we tried from the booths in Epcot. We thought the cheeseburger and buffalo chicken egg rolls were super yummy. We also tried the grey stuff this time, and it was yummy as well!


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## mickeymom22

I forgot to mention that Columbia Harbour House is not open, but they are serving the food from there at the Tomorrowland Terrace.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

HS report: We entered the park around 3:45 or so. I grabbed a Tower of Terror DAS while my son and husband went on Star Tours. They said it was a walk-on! After they were off Star Tours we headed to Runaway Railway. We waited 33 min in line-the posted wait was 40 min. After Runaway we went on Tower with the DAS. After ToT they headed to pick up our mobile order from Woodys Lunchbox while I grabbed a DAS for Slinky. I wasn’t a huge fan of the food here-the brisket sandwich was okay but I thought the tots were inedible. The skies started to look really ominous so we ate our dinner pretty quickly and made our way over to Midway Mania. Apparently this was everyone else’s idea too because we were in that queue what felt like forever.

We finally exited TSM and went to use the Slinky DAS just to discover that it was down. We hopped over to Alien Swirling Saucers instead. While we were about to line up I saw Slinky running so we exited the queue and BOOKED it over to Slinky (the skies were still super dark and I didn’t know how long Slinky would be running). We walked right on! After Slinky we caught one more ride on ToT. All in all a successful night but the waits were more intense than they were at rope drop. We plan to hit the Galaxy’s Edge side of the park on our next HS day.


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## disneyworldsk

just returned 6/18 to 6/24 at yc. great week. had to get used to all the new things i haven't done yet, in particular using mde app for the new things i'm not used to. mobile order, etc. There's a learning curve but i got the hang of it quickly. Did RD every morning. had to get used to not being in the parks at night and going to bed early to get up early for RD and parks close early so we just hit the hay. parks are clean, cm's are friendly, there were barely any children or adults in masks if that is a concern for anyone wanting to know. i had to get used to being in crowds again, amongst people really! that was new for me as it has been awhile. worth going, hot and humid, rained as usual. good times, good memories, we all returned happy and healthy.


----------



## blbrodger1

Like someone mentioned above, AK was relatively easy to accomplish a lot in a very short period of time. We were let into the park at around 7:15 and finished FOP and River Journey before the park officially opened at 8. Headed over to EE, which we did two times in a row, and then Dinosaur was a walk on. Then we did the Safari and animation experience. Shopped a bit before getting the tiny world picture taken by the exit of Bug's Life. We did a mobile order for lunch at Satuli Canteen. It was very nice to actually be able to find a table with a tray of food in hand. 

We park hopped to HS, which was completely unsuccessful. We headed to Minnie's railway and were in line for about 40 minutes (posted wait time was an hour) when the ride had technical difficulties. We were about 3 feet from getting into the AC. I watched family after family try to negotiate a FP or something, but no one got any satisfaction from the CM outside of the building. We waited for about half an hour and the ride started up again...we snaked through the line in the building and got to the final room where you board the ride. Then it went DOWN. I saw a CM start talking to families already in the cue to board, but couldn't hear because of the plexiglass and distance. They headed out to the left, so my daughters and I left the line and followed them. We ended up getting a FP to use at any ride. It was pretty bad that they didn't offer that to other people.

We used our FP for RNR which was amazing as always. 

Slinky, TSM, TOT, etc...all had posted waits of an hour or more and all of the lines were in direct sun with tiny little umbrellas providing a scrap of shade. We left after one ride and had been in the park after almost 3 hours. A complete waste of time.


----------



## SuJo

Was at MK yesterday and there were a lot of people there.  We tried rooe dropping the Mine ride but buses at CS tower were bad.  Had to wait for the third bus before we got to the park (they came pretty close together but took time to figure out how many people they would allow on) Got to MK and We were held at the spokes and by the time we got close to the Mine ride it was already 70 mins so we bailed and did Space and big thunder.  Was surprised in the afternoon there was a huge line to get in the emporium.  Checked back at 9pm and an even bigger line to get in was formed.  You can see the park capacity has increased.


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## robinstrip

At HS today- Had a breakfast ADR at Ale & Compass at 7 and then we walked over. They held us until about 8 before we went through security. Then held us in front of Mickey and Minnie until the opening announcement at 8:30. They announced that SDD had a delayed opening. I waited in line and we started moving forward by 8:45.


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## robinstrip

We are staying at Beach Club and it is super super nice. We booked a standard 2 Queens because my 13 year old is man sized, but they gave us a king with a pullout sofa bed. The room is very big. We got to MK parking lot  yesterday around 2:30ish. The TTC smells very strongly of garbage. I feel sorry for the few CM working the ticket window. The smell is intense. Also saw a little more trash than normal in places like on the walk to the monorail etc. The CMs are working very hard. Not sure why people can't just use the trashcan. Loving our short trip!!


----------



## dmband

lovethattink said:


> Just an FYI.
> 
> CM may now make park reservations after 3pm if there’s availability. They’ve been blocked for so long.
> 
> And masks are optional for vaccinated cm.


curious, what happens if a CM is working and gets off?
can they stay in the park or do they have to leave?


goodeats said:


> Built a car at Test Track this morning! Hadn’t seen that definitively reported yet, but maybe I missed it.


been so long since I rode TT that I forgot there is build a car.

sidenote on HM preshow…
does the stretching room have the roof go up or the floor go down?
it always felt to me like the floor went down and you exited ”underground” to board


----------



## preemiemama

dmband said:


> curious, what happens if a CM is working and gets off?
> can they stay in the park or do they have to leave?
> been so long since I rode TT that I forgot there is build a car.
> 
> sidenote on HM preshow…
> does the stretching room have the roof go up or the floor go down?
> it always felt to me like the floor went down and you exited ”underground” to board


WDW the walls/ceiling go up.  Disneyland's has the elevator down.


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## BroadwayHermione5

mickeymom22 said:


> I forgot to mention that Columbia Harbour House is not open, but they are serving the food from there at the Tomorrowland Terrace.


This is one thing we are hoping changes before we go-love CHH and while we know the food is available elsewhere we just love it there. Never a bad meal and never had any horrible service-as a matter of fact last day of our last trip in 2019 my mom was waiting for my dad and I to get off of HM and a huge thunderstorm hit. I get off the dune buggy saying its pouring and head across the street. She managed to snag a table and have them hold our food until we got there! (Edited for my horrible typing skills this morning)


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## Princess Katelet

robinstrip said:


> We are staying at Beach Club and it is super super nice. We booked a standard 2 Queens because my 13 year old is man sized, but they gave us a king with a pullout sofa bed. The room is very big. We got to MK parking lot  yesterday around 2:30ish. The TTC smells very strongly of garbage. I feel sorry for the few CM working the ticket window. The smell is intense. Also saw a little more trash than normal in places like on the walk to the monorail etc. The CMs are working very hard. Not sure why people can't just use the trashcan. Loving our short trip!!


Yikes, I wouldn’t have been happy with a pullout vs a real bed. Could you have held out for the two queens if you wanted or was the king and sofa your only choice?


----------



## Princess Katelet

blbrodger1 said:


> Like someone mentioned above, AK was relatively easy to accomplish a lot in a very short period of time. We were let into the park at around 7:15 and finished FOP and River Journey before the park officially opened at 8. Headed over to EE, which we did two times in a row, and then Dinosaur was a walk on. Then we did the Safari and animation experience. Shopped a bit before getting the tiny world picture taken by the exit of Bug's Life. We did a mobile order for lunch at Satuli Canteen. It was very nice to actually be able to find a table with a tray of food in hand.
> 
> We park hopped to HS, which was completely unsuccessful. We headed to Minnie's railway and were in line for about 40 minutes (posted wait time was an hour) when the ride had technical difficulties. We were about 3 feet from getting into the AC. I watched family after family try to negotiate a FP or something, but no one got any satisfaction from the CM outside of the building. We waited for about half an hour and the ride started up again...we snaked through the line in the building and got to the final room where you board the ride. Then it went DOWN. I saw a CM start talking to families already in the cue to board, but couldn't hear because of the plexiglass and distance. They headed out to the left, so my daughters and I left the line and followed them. We ended up getting a FP to use at any ride. It was pretty bad that they didn't offer that to other people.
> 
> We used our FP for RNR which was amazing as always.
> 
> Slinky, TSM, TOT, etc...all had posted waits of an hour or more and all of the lines were in direct sun with tiny little umbrellas providing a scrap of shade. We left after one ride and had been in the park after almost 3 hours. A complete waste of time.


HS is super frustrating isn’t it??  We waited in two 70+ minute lines for Tower after closing. Not worth it!  MMRR was MOST frustrating though. We, too, waited in a line where it broke down and stayed in line thinking it’ll get fixed but nope. We waited MUCH too long before bailing. We had never ridden it so we really wanted to stick it out but after about 45 minutes we realized how stupid we were being (every time someone ahead of us bailed we decided to stay cause we were that much closer to the front). We did finally ride on another day but apparently missed the preshow which I didn’t even know existed until getting back home.
Could you have used your FP on Slinky, or is that ride not included?


----------



## TikiTikiFan

HS at rope drop today was chaos. We at the last minute decided to do RR instead of Mickey/Minnies Runaway Railway. Good thing because it went down at open which caused everyone from that line to jump in Slinky's causing the wait to go to 120 mins. ToT also wasn't operating at opening. Glad we did RR because we were on and off the ride before park officially opened. You really have to go with the flow at this park which I admit, I'm not always great at.


----------



## robinstrip

Princess Katelet said:


> Yikes, I wouldn’t have been happy with a pullout vs a real bed. Could you have held out for the two queens if you wanted or was the king and sofa your only choice?


We were upgraded to a better view with the king room, so we just kept it. I was afraid if we got a standard view we would be on the back outside part. Our view is really nice so we just kept it and didn't say anything.


----------



## mickeyfanachey1999

ILoveMyDVC said:


> "Bucket" sounds scary...is it all swimming together?



The seafood is pretty much all swimming together.  The steak/chicken "bucket" is more separated


----------



## NashvilleMama

TikiTikiFan said:


> HS at rope drop today was chaos. We at the last minute decided to do RR instead of Mickey/Minnies Runaway Railway. Good thing because it went down at open which caused everyone from that line to jump in Slinky's causing the wait to go to 120 mins. ToT also wasn't operating at opening. Glad we did RR because we were on and off the ride before park officially opened. You really have to go with the flow at this park which I admit, I'm not always great at.


this is giving me such anxiety about rope dropping this park next week! I guess it's good we have 2 HS days reserved just in case but really want to do MMRR first and that's not sounding like a safe plan...


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## ILoveMyDVC

mickeyfanachey1999 said:


> The seafood is pretty much all swimming together.  The steak/chicken "bucket" is more separated
> View attachment 584677


Thank you!!


----------



## PanchoX1

rope dropping HS is on our agenda to. target is SDD. last time we were there, we got in line for it on 3 separate times throughout the day. it went down every time.  so we never go to ride it.


----------



## SuJo

So.eating at SciFi today and the masks for severs has been lifted.


----------



## luv2cheer92

SuJo said:


> So.eating at SciFi today and the masks for severs has been lifted.


No vaccinated CMs need to wear masks any longer.


----------



## honeymo78

luv2cheer92 said:


> No vaccinated CMs need to wear masks any longer.


Except on inside transportation, like buses and the monorail.


----------



## luv2cheer92

honeymo78 said:


> Except on inside transportation, like buses and the monorail.


Well yes of course.


----------



## leannak

For everyone frustrated by rope drop… just wanted to let you know we had success with it. Not sure how long it will last but Animal Kingdom is the best, due to early entry. They let us in at about 7:15 on the 22nd and we headed straight for FOP and didn’t run. I think we were the first ride group! But by the time we got out the line looked very long. Then we headed to Everest and rode twice walk-on. Could have done more but decided to meet up with family who had done the safari. They had gone straight there and were held until the safari stared at about 7:40. We did some other things and arrived at the lion king show around 10:27 for the 10:30 show. We had seats in the far back but could see fine and enjoyed the show.

The 7 dwarfs mine ride looks horrible at rope drop. I think it was posted 70 minutes or so by the time we got there but once inside they didn’t have all the switch-backs open in line so it was much faster than it looked. Maybe 34 minutes? Same with slinky dog. We were held on the main Street in the big crowd and headed over there and got in line waaaay back… by Woody statue. My husband was frustrated and didn’t want to wait but we did it anyway and again the line was SUPER fast once inside the actual queue. they sent you pretty much straight through each section instead of all the back& forth so it was very fast and only about 20-some minutes. Husband was so happy we stuck with it.

As for the line at the Emporium, I said I’d never wait in line to shop but my kids wanted something so we “waited”. It wasn’t much of a wait though because they basically let you just walk in single file. We ended up doing it 2 different days and it was the same both times.

I had a hard time getting my family out of the parks for mid-day rest but the one day they agreed it was wonderful. I highly recommend. A little nap made the next morning rope drop so much easier, even with a late park exit the night before. 

Don’t get disgruntled. Aside from the insane heat, the World is wonderful right now!!! So fun to see new things opening and changing every day. So much optimism and excitement. The “Earning My Ears” cast members are so happy and fun. We are having an amazing time and hope you all do too!!


----------



## DMLAINI

Are photopass photographers now allowed to take pictures of your phone?


----------



## GBRforWDW

DMLAINI said:


> Are photopass photographers now allowed to take pictures of your phone?


I’m seeing numerous reports on Twitter this is the case.


----------



## MomOTwins

Princess Katelet said:


> Yikes, I wouldn’t have been happy with a pullout vs a real bed. Could you have held out for the two queens if you wanted or was the king and sofa your only choice?


No, at Beach Club, "2 queen beds" is not a bookable category.  You can only book your room view (Standard, Garden or Water view) and then within those categories, Disney has discretion to assign you to any of the following based on availability and party size: 

2 Queen Beds and 1 Day Bed
2 Queen Beds 
1 King Bed and 1 Day Bed 
1 King Bed
It's all explained here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/beach-club-resort/rates-rooms/

We had a bad experience with this at BC where we as a family of 5 were given 2 Queen Beds and I inquired if we could move to a room with 2 Queens and a day bed and was told none were available.  We slept very uncomfortably 3 in one bed all week and that was the last time I ever stayed at BC.  Now we only ever book a room where we are guaranteed enough sleeping surfaces for our family.


----------



## blbrodger1

Princess Katelet said:


> HS is super frustrating isn’t it??  We waited in two 70+ minute lines for Tower after closing. Not worth it!  MMRR was MOST frustrating though. We, too, waited in a line where it broke down and stayed in line thinking it’ll get fixed but nope. We waited MUCH too long before bailing. We had never ridden it so we really wanted to stick it out but after about 45 minutes we realized how stupid we were being (every time someone ahead of us bailed we decided to stay cause we were that much closer to the front). We did finally ride on another day but apparently missed the preshow which I didn’t even know existed until getting back home.
> Could you have used your FP on Slinky, or is that ride not included?


We could have done Slinky, but my daughters preferred RR. It's so frustrating and the worst part is that it seems to be happening with multiple rides on multiple occasions. Sorry to hear about your TOT experience.


----------



## blbrodger1

MomOTwins said:


> No, at Beach Club, "2 queen beds" is not a bookable category.  You can only book your room view (Standard, Garden or Water view) and then within those categories, Disney has discretion to assign you to any of the following based on availability and party size:
> 
> 2 Queen Beds and 1 Day Bed
> 2 Queen Beds
> 1 King Bed and 1 Day Bed
> 1 King Bed
> It's all explained here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/beach-club-resort/rates-rooms/
> 
> We had a bad experience with this at BC where we as a family of 5 were given 2 Queen Beds and I inquired if we could move to a room with 2 Queens and a day bed and was told none were available.  We slept very uncomfortably 3 in one bed all week and that was the last time I ever stayed at BC.  Now we only ever book a room where we are guaranteed enough sleeping surfaces for our family.


A party of 5 should have never been given only 2 queen beds! That's crazy! Especially considering the price of the Beach Club.


----------



## Leigh L

We decided to drive in today and the tollbooths at DHS opened up at 8 (in February it was 8:15). Easily through security and tapped in fairly quickly. 

It felt weird to rope drop again after not doing it for a year, but going in the direction of Galaxy's Edge didn't look as chaotic as I remember it being pre-COVID....but the area they held everyone to wait for Slinky and/or MMRR (I wasn't clear on it, but I distinctly heard "Toy Story Land") and it looked crazy crowded.

We never did ride Slinky as the storms blew in and we assumed it would be closed with all the lightning, but we are OK with that. 



TikiTikiFan said:


> HS at rope drop today was chaos. We at the last minute decided to do RR instead of Mickey/Minnies Runaway Railway. Good thing because it went down at open which caused everyone from that line to jump in Slinky's causing the wait to go to 120 mins. ToT also wasn't operating at opening. Glad we did RR because we were on and off the ride before park officially opened. You really have to go with the flow at this park which I admit, I'm not always great at.


Maybe we crossed paths today 
We *almost* rope dropped ToT, but crew decided on MFSR instead. Sounds like that was the way to go since it was down.

Hope you had a great day!!


----------



## Shughart

kylenne said:


> Regular sandals won’t cut it. Hiking sandals are what you want because a good pair will have decent traction and dry quickly. My Tevas are perfect even in torrential downpours like the one I ran into on 6/4 while leaving HS.



Do you get any sores/blisters from doing all that walking in your Tevas? I love mine, but haven't done a ton in them yet.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Leigh L said:


> Maybe we crossed paths today
> We *almost* rope dropped ToT, but crew decided on MFSR instead. Sounds like that was the way to go since it was down.
> 
> Hope you had a great day!!



We probably did, hope your day was great too!!

We park hopped to MK for the evening geared up in our ponchos and wait times we're so reasonable for many rides- I imagine a lot of folks cleared out when it started raining. Btw: the ponchos they sell here are great- much better than the pack I bought on Amazon. Just buy these! $12 isn't bad at all for Disney prices.

ETA: we lined up 90 mins early for AK and were the third family in line but for MK line at 6:30 with an 8AM opening is PACKED. You wouldn't be on the first bus if you only arrived at 90 mins prior, just a heads up for folks. This is at Pop.


----------



## olive

We are at Disney right now and happy to be here.  This is what we have experienced so far. 

Weds - we had a morning flight out of CT. Got to our hotel (Gaylord Palms for 3 nights before switching to the Contemporary for a week this morning). We went swimming, then off to Disney Springs dinner to wander around and have dinner at T Rex. We had a virtual queue time at Gideon's but decided not to wait around in the rain for it.

Thurs -  We got BG 16 on our first attempts! HS officially opened 9, and our hotel shuttle dropped us off about 845. We had to stop at guest services which caused a little delay. After that we walked onto Star Tours, explored Galaxy’s Edge a little and then our BG was called at 940. We had never ridden this before but I think the preshows were running when we went. Lines were quite long by the time we got out of Rise. TS Mania was down until the afternoon. Slinky was up to 80-120 mins, Swirling Saucers 40 mins, Millennium Falcon at 60 mins. We ended up doing a short day here, with mobile ordered lunch from Docking Bay/Pizza Rizzo and riding Slinky and MF and doing Muppets before heading out. 

We hopped to AK, which seemed so much less hot and crowded. The shade at AK makes such a big difference. The kids were getting miserable at HS and asking to just leave and go back to the hotel. It was rough.  AK saved it. Lines for what we went on ranged from walk on to 25 mins posted but may have been actually less. We hit kali first to cool off, then Dinosaur and safari, then dinner at Yak and Yeti. 

Fri (yesterday) - we picked this day as a relaxation day and I am so glad. After a couple of hours at the pool at the Gaylord Palms- the pool area here is incredible especially for kids, with lots of slides and an amazing climbing structure in addition to the pools and hot tubs - we went on to Blizzard Beach. We took a Lyft over and got there shortly after opening. We did some slides and the wave pool (walked onto team boat springs, toboggan racers), short wait for slush gushers, did two cycles of the very long lazy river. Spent a little over 4 hours here, and it was never super crowded. We had lunch at Lottawatta. It was very relaxing. We headed out just as a storm hit a bit after 4. We headed back to the hotel for dinner, laundry, resting and movie. 

Today we check into the Contemporary and then have another morning at HS to hit some of what we missed and an afternoon at Epcot.  We have had a great start to the trip!


----------



## jbish

MomOTwins said:


> No, at Beach Club, "2 queen beds" is not a bookable category.  You can only book your room view (Standard, Garden or Water view) and then within those categories, Disney has discretion to assign you to any of the following based on availability and party size:
> 
> 2 Queen Beds and 1 Day Bed
> 2 Queen Beds
> 1 King Bed and 1 Day Bed
> 1 King Bed
> It's all explained here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/beach-club-resort/rates-rooms/
> 
> We had a bad experience with this at BC where we as a family of 5 were given 2 Queen Beds and I inquired if we could move to a room with 2 Queens and a day bed and was told none were available.  We slept very uncomfortably 3 in one bed all week and that was the last time I ever stayed at BC.  Now we only ever book a room where we are guaranteed enough sleeping surfaces for our family.


Ugh. What a terrible experience. Add a family of five, I can truly empathize. Now my kids are 11-14, so sleeping three in one bed, especially a queen (??!!) would have been awful. This trip we were at boardwalk villas (and I had been curious about beach club for a future trip), which was a king, and one Queen with a queen sleeper. My teenage daughter slept in the sleeper sofa and it was uncomfortable for her. We then moved to bay lake where she got her own bed and slept much more comfortably. Dedicated two bedrooms (one that has two queens) are the way to go for us. Well, until my boys are two big to share one bed. Ugh. Another problem for another day.


----------



## yorkieteacher

Observations  on our past week at Disney-
Rope drop is back at all parks- the two my family tolerated at my insistence our first two days, Epcot and Hollywood Studios, did not go well for us. In general, we found wait times overinflated in all 4 parks from 10-30 minutes.  No distancing, no spaces between parties in shows or rides, and only a handful in masks.  Glad things are back to normal. We like mobile ordering as we always order, hit I'm Here prepare my order, then walk to restaurant for maybe a 5 minute wait when we arrive. No trouble finding seats,  even  at Woody's Lunch Box, because you have to have your order ready before you enter. We use Mobile order at Woody's, Flame Tree, and Regal Eagle.  Check in on your TS ressies 20 minutes early if you are anywhere near there and you have no wait when you arrive. We had to wait about 15-20 minutes to be seated after our check ins.

We arrived at IG at Epcot on Saturday our first day  at 10, walking from Yacht Club, were allowed through security at 1015, and held at the rocks in Canada until 1035. We rushed to Test Track to a posted 90 minute wait. We were inside the building at 1130 when it broke down for 20 minutes. But we did get to design a car! Tip-go to Frozen or Soarin" first unless you are literally at the head of the pack- lines go slightly down for Test Track-lowest we saw was 60 minutes. We rode Soarin' twice-first we lucked up and were seated on B2,  2nd day  C3-what a difference without distortion! The crispy pork belly at Citrus Blossom was SO GOOD!  Second day at Epcot on Monday  we had a pool morning and entered at 1pm, and saw no difference in lines. Don't rope drop Epcot.

HS- First day on Sunday , walking from Yacht Club, arrived at 8-Held in a long line until 815 to go through security, into the three divided lines at 830, and on MMRR at 845. Loved the preshow! Smuggler's Run was posted 45, took about 30. ToT posted 40, walked on basically. And saw the preshow! Also rode Star Tours and Midway Mania before our 1130 Brown Derby Ressie. We never got to ride Slinky and I was so sad! The line was always past the entrance to Toy Story Land. My son would not wait in lines that we never saw below 75 minutes after our Test Track disaster. We left at 1 for a break and only came back for our boarding group at 4. Saw Muppets waiting for it to be called.  Packed preshow, packed auditorium.  Second day at HS on Tuesday  we entered park at 9 without waiting in any lines for security and tap points,  line for MMRR was 40 minutes posted. MMRR broke down when we were almost in the building after a 25 minute wait, so we came back later and had about a 40 minute wait again, which was the only correct posted time we had the entire trip.. One side of Saucers also broken down so we skipped it until later in the day.  On Sunday, our first HS day, we could  not get boarding group from the Yacht Club, but no trouble at 1pm inside the park. We  didn't hear of anyone inside the park not being able to get it at 1. Our group  time said 260 minutes, but it kept shrinking and we were called at 445. On both days, Slinky was longest lines of any rides in any of the  4 parks.

On Wednesday son refused to rope drop AK.  AK is so hot and humid, as usual. We arrived by car at 1030, rode Dinosaur with a 15 minute wait posted 25, grands walked on Triceratops Spin, and Everest basically walking through the queue although posted wait was 30. We used rider swap as one grand is 40 inches-she would have ridden it and loved it as she is a thrill seeker already!  Walked the Jungle Trek and ate at Yak n Yeti for our 1130 ressie.  Tough to Be A Bug was a walk on. Rode Safari with a 30 minute posted wait which was a walk on, did Gorilla Fall, then did have a 60 minute posted wait at Navi and were on it in 30. 90 minute posted wait at FOP, were on it in 50, used rider swap and second party off ride  in 10 minutes. Rode Kali posted at 65 minutes at 6, walked on. Left the park just prior to closing after having done . Unfortunately, son now believed no need to rope drop ever, soooooo-----

Thursday at MK, arrived at 930 by our car to what seemed the biggest crowd of our trip. Rode Peter Pan and Small World by 1030, cut through to Adventureland to the crowds. Rode Carpets, off by 11. Had  a ressie at BOG at 1130, Daughter in law wanted pictures made in front of castle (we had memory maker and used it liberally)  on the way so we headed there,  arriving about 5 minutes after they texted our table was ready, but we were seated immediately. I had checked in 20 minutes early as usual but those pictures! After lunch we rode Pooh with a posted 30 minute wait in about 20 minutes, Haunted Mansion with a posted 20 minute wait in 10, and the stretching room is back!  Rode Big Thunder with a 15 minute wait, posted 20, Pirates with a 40 minute posted wait in 30, and Jungle Cruise-my son's favorite ride, posted 55 minute wait and it took 45 in the crowded queue for a ride that currently needs those new scenes added quickly as it is sadly lacking. They were ready to leave to go to the pool. We never entered Tomorrowland! We didn't see the Tiki Room or ride People Mover! I was sad! We didn't ride Splash as it was down most of the day or Mine Train for the same reason. We didn't ride Buzz! Oh well it will be there when we come back in 2023-

Final observations. We love the calvacades, mobile ordering, no masks in the 95 degree heat, and the fact that most rides are not long waits. THe kids loved playing in the reopened Dumbo's Circus tent , Imagination Pavilion, arcades, and Pooh's Playground! Open them all! Like the Boneyard which was not open. Open the interactive queue at HM. The CM's are all amazing and friendly and helpful. We saw dozens of them being trained. around the parks, restaurants, and resorts. All the food tasted sooo good! Epcot needs more rides- when Remy and Guardians open maybe Test Track won't be a horror. Too many rides break down frequently. Splash, Mine Train, Saucers, Slinky, MMRR, Test Track all had issues during our visit. More shows need to open to eat the crowds-We love riding the Skyliner as a ride, but would hate to depend on it for transportation. They don't run boats or the Skyliner during any wind or rain which I understand, so we had to walk back to Yacht Club in one of the storms to make a reservation on time. Son refused to walk to Epcot one evening in a horrible storm, and we missed a reservation and were charged $50 for it. I may try to call and see if they will refund that one-I did call and cancel it but it was an hour away at that point so......

The magic was still there for us. 2022 we have a Disney Cruise scheduled and 2023 we will be back. Looking at AK Lodge as we have never stayed there, we usually  drive, and the grands like resort time as much as park time. I hear the activities there are wonderful when they start them back.


----------



## kylenne

Shughart said:


> Do you get any sores/blisters from doing all that walking in your Tevas? I love mine, but haven't done a ton in them yet.



Not at all, but I don’t get blisters at all so probably a bad person to ask! I broke mine in before I went though, like going to Target and walking around the neighborhood. And I also make a habit of switching my shoes during my afternoon breaks from the parks. I switch between the Tevas and some Clarks Cloudsteppers.


----------



## scrappinginontario

yorkieteacher said:


> Observations  on our past week at Disney-
> Rope drop is back at all parks- the two my family tolerated at my insistence our first two days, Epcot and Hollywood Studios, did not go well for us. In general, we found wait times overinflated in all 4 parks from 10-30 minutes.  No distancing, no spaces between parties in shows or rides, and only a handful in masks.  Glad things are back to normal. We like mobile ordering as we always order, hit I'm Here prepare my order, then walk to restaurant for maybe a 5 minute wait when we arrive. No trouble finding seats,  even  at Woody's Lunch Box, because you have to have your order ready before you enter. We use Mobile order at Woody's, Flame Tree, and Regal Eagle.  Check in on your TS ressies 20 minutes early if you are anywhere near there and you have no wait when you arrive. We had to wait about 15-20 minutes to be seated after our check ins.
> 
> We arrived at IG at Epcot on Saturday our first day  at 10, walking from Yacht Club, were allowed through security at 1015, and held at the rocks in Canada until 1035. We rushed to Test Track to a posted 90 minute wait. We were inside the building at 1130 when it broke down for 20 minutes. But we did get to design a car! Tip-go to Frozen or Soarin" first unless you are literally at the head of the pack- lines go slightly down for Test Track-lowest we saw was 60 minutes. We rode Soarin' twice-first we lucked up and were seated on B2,  2nd day  C3-what a difference without distortion! The crispy pork belly at Citrus Blossom was SO GOOD!  Second day at Epcot on Monday  we had a pool morning and entered at 1pm, and saw no difference in lines. Don't rope drop Epcot.
> 
> HS- First day on Sunday , walking from Yacht Club, arrived at 8-Held in a long line until 815 to go through security, into the three divided lines at 830, and on MMRR at 845. Loved the preshow! Smuggler's Run was posted 45, took about 30. ToT posted 40, walked on basically. And saw the preshow! Also rode Star Tours and Midway Mania before our 1130 Brown Derby Ressie. We never got to ride Slinky and I was so sad! The line was always past the entrance to Toy Story Land. My son would not wait in lines that we never saw below 75 minutes after our Test Track disaster. We left at 1 for a break and only came back for our boarding group at 4. Saw Muppets waiting for it to be called.  Packed preshow, packed auditorium.  Second day at HS on Tuesday  we entered park at 9 without waiting in any lines for security and tap points,  line for MMRR was 40 minutes posted. MMRR broke down when we were almost in the building after a 25 minute wait, so we came back later and had about a 40 minute wait again, which was the only correct posted time we had the entire trip.. One side of Saucers also broken down so we skipped it until later in the day.  On Sunday, our first HS day, we could  not get boarding group from the Yacht Club, but no trouble at 1pm inside the park. We  didn't hear of anyone inside the park not being able to get it at 1. Our group  time said 260 minutes, but it kept shrinking and we were called at 445. On both days, Slinky was longest lines of any rides in any of the  4 parks.
> 
> On Wednesday son refused to rope drop AK.  AK is so hot and humid, as usual. We arrived by car at 1030, rode Dinosaur with a 15 minute wait posted 25, grands walked on Triceratops Spin, and Everest basically walking through the queue although posted wait was 30. We used rider swap as one grand is 40 inches-she would have ridden it and loved it as she is a thrill seeker already!  Walked the Jungle Trek and ate at Yak n Yeti for our 1130 ressie.  Tough to Be A Bug was a walk on. Rode Safari with a 30 minute posted wait which was a walk on, did Gorilla Fall, then did have a 60 minute posted wait at Navi and were on it in 30. 90 minute posted wait at FOP, were on it in 50, used rider swap and second party off ride  in 10 minutes. Rode Kali posted at 65 minutes at 6, walked on. Left the park just prior to closing after having done . Unfortunately, son now believed no need to rope drop ever, soooooo-----
> 
> Thursday at MK, arrived at 930 by our car to what seemed the biggest crowd of our trip. Rode Peter Pan and Small World by 1030, cut through to Adventureland to the crowds. Rode Carpets, off by 11. Had  a ressie at BOG at 1130, Daughter in law wanted pictures made in front of castle (we had memory maker and used it liberally)  on the way so we headed there,  arriving about 5 minutes after they texted our table was ready, but we were seated immediately. I had checked in 20 minutes early as usual but those pictures! After lunch we rode Pooh with a posted 30 minute wait in about 20 minutes, Haunted Mansion with a posted 20 minute wait in 10, and the stretching room is back!  Rode Big Thunder with a 15 minute wait, posted 20, Pirates with a 40 minute posted wait in 30, and Jungle Cruise-my son's favorite ride, posted 55 minute wait and it took 45 in the crowded queue for a ride that currently needs those new scenes added quickly as it is sadly lacking. They were ready to leave to go to the pool. We never entered Tomorrowland! We didn't see the Tiki Room or ride People Mover! I was sad! We didn't ride Splash as it was down most of the day or Mine Train for the same reason. We didn't ride Buzz! Oh well it will be there when we come back in 2023-
> 
> Final observations. We love the calvacades, mobile ordering, no masks in the 95 degree heat, and the fact that most rides are not long waits. THe kids loved playing in the reopened Dumbo's Circus tent , Imagination Pavilion, arcades, and Pooh's Playground! Open them all! Like the Boneyard which was not open. Open the interactive queue at HM. The CM's are all amazing and friendly and helpful. We saw dozens of them being trained. around the parks, restaurants, and resorts. All the food tasted sooo good! Epcot needs more rides- when Remy and Guardians open maybe Test Track won't be a horror. Too many rides break down frequently. Splash, Mine Train, Saucers, Slinky, MMRR, Test Track all had issues during our visit. More shows need to open to eat the crowds-We love riding the Skyliner as a ride, but would hate to depend on it for transportation. They don't run boats or the Skyliner during any wind or rain which I understand, so we had to walk back to Yacht Club in one of the storms to make a reservation on time. Son refused to walk to Epcot one evening in a horrible storm, and we missed a reservation and were charged $50 for it. I may try to call and see if they will refund that one-I did call and cancel it but it was an hour away at that point so......
> 
> The magic was still there for us. 2022 we have a Disney Cruise scheduled and 2023 we will be back. Looking at AK Lodge as we have never stayed there, we usually  drive, and the grands like resort time as much as park time. I hear the activities there are wonderful when they start them back.


You mention that rope drop is back at 'all' parks but you did not arrive at AK until 9:30.  We have had multiple reports that AK is still doing the modified park opening where guests can enter the park 45 mins before posted park opening and begin riding attractions immediately.  Did you rope drop AK any day?

Just trying to keep an eye on this as AK is the only park that we're aware of that has not returned to traditional rope drop and we'll update the 'Rope Drop' thread once it changes.


----------



## MoreThanThis

A few days into my trip:

AK was the only park where getting to the park at opening felt most beneficial. 

MK and HS were BUSY early morning. The attractions filled up quickly! The headliners jumped to over 40 mins within minutes of being open.

We were at HS yesterday and Slinky was down most of the day. While at Toy Story Land, we saw Slinky getting test runs with and without guests. It was moving so slowly! To the point that I was worried the car wouldn’t make it over some of the hills.
I kept telling my brother, who has never seen it “this is not how it moves!”.

Also, Disney Birthday magic is alive and well.
It was my nephew’s birthday, and he received a funnel cake and drink on Mickey! Thats always such a fun surprise.


----------



## bdiddy

Just got back last Tuesday and yay Disney didn’t give us covid!  Some of you may remember my last day trip report earlier in the week where I said that DH wasn’t feeling good our last day and then DS the next day and it seemed like head colds. I sent them for covid tests since we are supposed to be seeing 80 yr old MIL next week and they came back negative. So that’s good but not surprising that they picked up head colds with no masks and everything pretty much back to normal in the parks. So be prepared for the normal sicknesses to be working their way back through the crowds. Honestly I wouldn’t mind to keep wearing the masks in the heavy crowds but only if it was cool out! Ha


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

We were there on the 17th. Scored a boarding pass for Rise, boarding group 2. (Watched YouTube videos for tips that worked!) We got to the park at 8:55am, walked in without a huge crowd. After Rise we waited in line 30 min to get on Millennium Falcon. As I was looking at wait times and trying to decide where to go next, my oldest son suggested Slinky Dog, even though it was 50 min posted time. We decided  to go with the flow. So glad we did, we just went with the flow. Did not miss Fast Passes at all this trip!!! We did Alien Saucers, TSM and then headed to MM Railway. Time posted 45 min, probably  took 35, line kept moving. Took a break with mobile order at ABC Commissary around 12:30. Was crowded, but found a table. By the time we left at 1:30ish the place was half empty, so I guess it's all about timing. Only thing we didn't  have time for was RR because after dinner at Brown Derby my hubby and son's had ressie to build droids. That took longer than I  expected,  but it was worth it. All my "boys" were happy happy with their BB8's! 

Next day at Epcot was so so. Between the late 11am opening,  all the walls and things still being closed  it was an unimpressive day. We started at International Gateway and headed toward future world. Went on Soarin, Living with the Land, Nemo, took pictures with Bruce the shark (recreated pics from years ago), Spaceship Earth twice and headed to Test Track. TT posted 45 min wait got line and it kept moving until the point when we got inside. Then we watched large group after large group go thru the Fastpass line. This caused the regular line to grind to a halt! (Realtime wait 65min). This is why I won't ever miss fast passes, plus we did much less running around without them, the trip was much more relaxed. After TT, we went into a shop and then headed over to the countries.

We got in line for 3 Cabeleros, it moved along at good pace. Hated the plastic dividing walls as they were claustrophobic. Add in the drunk 40 years olds banging on the plastic walls as you zig zagged through, it was annoy at best. Skipped Frozen as the line posted 45 min and backed up to China. At this point our feet were getting tired.  Instead we went into China Pavilion and watched the movie.  By then it was time for dinner in Germany. This became the first point in which we really experienced the park not being at normal operations.  My hubby and son had been looking forward to going  into the one shop in Germany. It was closed. Might not seem like a big deal but they were looking to purchasing specific items and it was planned from 2 years ago (1 year delay due to Covid closure/trip cancelation).  Dinner was good, CM was great, but missed the German CM's. It was now about 8pm, as we headed over to Japan. My hubby and other son love the Japan shop and had specific items they planned to shop for, once again part of our plans fron 2 years ago. Walked over to the shop and it had closed at 7pm. (We witnessed at least 25 other people walk up to the store, disappointed it was closed. Lots of business lost). This was the straw that broke the camels back so to speak. Might not seem like a big deal to some, but when you plan for years for a trip, you would expect the shop to have the same hours as the park. (I guess this is where Disney is still trying to hire). At this point we were tired and more than a bit disappointed.  After a stop on France for macroons, we left the park with a very disappointed feeling.

As we walked we tried to figure out a way for my son at least to go back to Japan. Nothing we talked about was cost effective, as we were only planning 1 Epcot day.  Once we returned to the Boardwalk Hotel, my husband went to the front desk to ask for help. CM at front desk talked to his manager and we received the Disney Pixiedust that satisfied the huge let down. We were grateful and thanked them for their efforts. It was very nice to know they tried to help keep the magic going! Thank you CM's!

We moved the next day to BLT and continued our trip. We began to see signs that the full reopening is coming soon!


----------



## Leigh L

Today was our first traditional rope drop at MK. It was not crazy at MK like pre covid rope drop, we stayed away from Fantasyland though, half of our group did Tomorrowland, half Frontierland . It was very orderly and CMs kept things in check. After the rope drop near Sleepy Hollow, a line of CM had another rope at Frontierland and walked the crowd in, so no pushing etc.

Also, half of us came by bus from poly since path to GF still closed (we are staying Shades of Green), half drove. The driving Tomorrowland group did 4 leisurely rides before 9:30 and the walking/poly Frontierland (incl. Me) group did 3 rides and a photo.

Since then we've done quite a bit. Storms rolling in and many rides shut diwn, so in a slowly moving POC queue right now.

Also yesterday we rope dropped DHS and they dropped the rope for Galaxy's Edge 15 to 20 minutes before 9 am official open.not sure if that's the same across all lands.


----------



## yorkieteacher

scrappinginontario said:


> You mention that rope drop is back at 'all' parks but you did not arrive at AK until 9:30.  We have had multiple reports that AK is still doing the modified park opening where guests can enter the park 45 mins before posted park opening and begin riding attractions immediately.  Did you rope drop AK any day?
> 
> Just trying to keep an eye on this as AK is the only park that we're aware of that has not returned to traditional rope drop and we'll update the 'Rope Drop' thread once it changes.


No I was going by what another hotel guest at the pool told me! She said they were allowed into the park at 715 but held at the entrance to Pandora until 745. She told me this Tuesday evening so she would have gone on June 22-sorry if I am perpetuating a rumor!


----------



## tigger2002

4Ds4Diz said:


> We were there on the 17th. Scored a boarding pass for Rise, boarding group 2. (*Watched YouTube videos* for tips that worked!)


Which ones?


----------



## scrappinginontario

yorkieteacher said:


> No I was going by what another hotel guest at the pool told me! She said they were allowed into the park at 715 but held at the entrance to Pandora until 745. She told me this Tuesday evening so she would have gone on June 22-sorry if I am perpetuating a rumor!


Thanks, I think we'll wait for more info as we've had people since then saying they were able to ride earlier than 8:00 so I believe the revised rope drop is still in effect, at least it was yesterday, Fri, Jun 25th.


----------



## CarolynFH

tigger2002 said:


> Which ones?


Did you know the DIS has a great thread about getting a BG? Click *HERE.*


----------



## lovethattink

Popped into DHS for a few hours. I have just a few notes:

Hand sanitizer machines are not as prevalent as they were.

Stores have full capacity so there’s no wait to get in. Not sure about Galaxy’s edge stores, we skipped shopping there.

For Rise of the Resistance, if your party isn’t of 4 people or a multiple of 4, you will either have a stranger ride with you or you’ll be split up and ride with another party.

Theatre seating does not skip rows or seats.

Fill in all available space was heard at Frozen sing a long, Rise, and MMRR.


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

tigger2002 said:


> Which ones?


Can't remember the exact one, but it was about 15 minutes.  The few keys that I believe helped was hubby used an app the night before to discover which was quicker download/upload speed. Also we turned off WiFi, as that was quicker for our particular phones and location. An additional tip was to use an app or clock that had the true Atomic Clock time. Do a search on videos, you will find ideas. Good luck, the ride was worth getting up early for and I say that as a family that likes Star Wars but not dedicated fans.


----------



## Leigh L

lovethattink said:


> Fill in all available space was heard at Frozen sing a long, Rise, and MMRR.


This was a very prevalent phrase heard at DHS yesterday, and a couple of places at MK today. The areas I'm hearing it aren't areas being super filled though. (Not gonna lie, not a phrase I've  missed haha)

The last time DS was at WDW was over the holidays 2018-19 and he said the parks seem empty in comparison this week.


----------



## Princess Katelet

4Ds4Diz said:


> We were there on the 17th. Scored a boarding pass for Rise, boarding group 2. (Watched YouTube videos for tips that worked!) We got to the park at 8:55am, walked in without a huge crowd. After Rise we waited in line 30 min to get on Millennium Falcon. As I was looking at wait times and trying to decide where to go next, my oldest son suggested Slinky Dog, even though it was 50 min posted time. We decided  to go with the flow. So glad we did, we just went with the flow. Did not miss Fast Passes at all this trip!!! We did Alien Saucers, TSM and then headed to MM Railway. Time posted 45 min, probably  took 35, line kept moving. Took a break with mobile order at ABC Commissary around 12:30. Was crowded, but found a table. By the time we left at 1:30ish the place was half empty, so I guess it's all about timing. Only thing we didn't  have time for was RR because after dinner at Brown Derby my hubby and son's had ressie to build droids. That took longer than I  expected,  but it was worth it. All my "boys" were happy happy with their BB8's!
> 
> Next day at Epcot was so so. Between the late 11am opening,  all the walls and things still being closed  it was an unimpressive day. We started at International Gateway and headed toward future world. Went on Soarin, Living with the Land, Nemo, took pictures with Bruce the shark (recreated pics from years ago), Spaceship Earth twice and headed to Test Track. TT posted 45 min wait got line and it kept moving until the point when we got inside. Then we watched large group after large group go thru the Fastpass line. This caused the regular line to grind to a halt! (Realtime wait 65min). This is why I won't ever miss fast passes, plus we did much less running around without them, the trip was much more relaxed. After TT, we went into a shop and then headed over to the countries.
> 
> We got in line for 3 Cabeleros, it moved along at good pace. Hated the plastic dividing walls as they were claustrophobic. Add in the drunk 40 years olds banging on the plastic walls as you zig zagged through, it was annoy at best. Skipped Frozen as the line posted 45 min and backed up to China. At this point our feet were getting tired.  Instead we went into China Pavilion and watched the movie.  By then it was time for dinner in Germany. This became the first point in which we really experienced the park not being at normal operations.  My hubby and son had been looking forward to going  into the one shop in Germany. It was closed. Might not seem like a big deal but they were looking to purchasing specific items and it was planned from 2 years ago (1 year delay due to Covid closure/trip cancelation).  Dinner was good, CM was great, but missed the German CM's. It was now about 8pm, as we headed over to Japan. My hubby and other son love the Japan shop and had specific items they planned to shop for, once again part of our plans fron 2 years ago. Walked over to the shop and it had closed at 7pm. (We witnessed at least 25 other people walk up to the store, disappointed it was closed. Lots of business lost). This was the straw that broke the camels back so to speak. Might not seem like a big deal to some, but when you plan for years for a trip, you would expect the shop to have the same hours as the park. (I guess this is where Disney is still trying to hire). At this point we were tired and more than a bit disappointed.  After a stop on France for macroons, we left the park with a very disappointed feeling.
> 
> As we walked we tried to figure out a way for my son at least to go back to Japan. Nothing we talked about was cost effective, as we were only planning 1 Epcot day.  Once we returned to the Boardwalk Hotel, my husband went to the front desk to ask for help. CM at front desk talked to his manager and we received the Disney Pixiedust that satisfied the huge let down. We were grateful and thanked them for their efforts. It was very nice to know they tried to help keep the magic going! Thank you CM's!
> 
> We moved the next day to BLT and continued our trip. We began to see signs that the full reopening is coming soon!


So what was the pixie dust?


----------



## JennLTX

I have a question that can very obviously be filed under the header "First World Problems," but here goes:

For those of you who flew United, did you notice if the United Club was open?  Their website is having all manner of glitches about if it is or if it ain't, so if someone has info, I'd appreciate it.


----------



## newbie72

Im curious, luggage tags? Disney sends luggage tags? We’ve never received those. Is this for certain pass holders? I thought the magic Bands were discontinued? We have to purchase those still correct?


----------



## Lsdolphin

lovethattink said:


> Popped into DHS for a few hours. I have just a few notes:
> 
> Hand sanitizer machines are not as prevalent as they were.
> 
> Stores have full capacity so there’s no wait to get in. Not sure about Galaxy’s edge stores, we skipped shopping there.
> 
> For Rise of the Resistance, if your party isn’t of 4 people or a multiple of 4, you will either have a stranger ride with you or you’ll be split up and ride with another party.
> 
> Theatre seating does not skip rows or seats.
> 
> Fill in all available space was heard at Frozen sing a long, Rise, and MMRR.



I have to admit I’m going to miss having space around me while in lines and empty seats between me and other guests at Frozen...


----------



## Twilghtsprkle

bdiddy said:


> Just got back last Tuesday and yay Disney didn’t give us covid!  Some of you may remember my last day trip report earlier in the week where I said that DH wasn’t feeling good our last day and then DS the next day and it seemed like head colds. I sent them for covid tests since we are supposed to be seeing 80 yr old MIL next week and they came back negative. So that’s good but not surprising that they picked up head colds with no masks and everything pretty much back to normal in the parks. So be prepared for the normal sicknesses to be working their way back through the crowds. Honestly I wouldn’t mind to keep wearing the masks in the heavy crowds but only if it was cool out! Ha


Yeah.  My younger one picked up a cold and was sick the day we were flying out. We got home, she did her usual spike a fever for a bit then was better the next day.  The rest of us did not get it and it’s been a week since we got back.


----------



## newbie72

Im curious, luggage tags? Disney sends luggage tags? We’ve never received those. Is this for certain pass holders? I thought the magic Bands were discontinued? We have to purchase those still correct?


----------



## 2letterwords

newbie72 said:


> Im curious, luggage tags? Disney sends luggage tags? We’ve never received those. Is this for certain pass holders? I thought the magic Bands were discontinued? We have to purchase those still correct?


We have always received luggage tags. We always purchase a package (room and tickets) as we are not AP or DVC.


----------



## DisneyFive

newbie72 said:


> Im curious, luggage tags? Disney sends luggage tags? We’ve never received those. Is this for certain pass holders? I thought the magic Bands were discontinued? We have to purchase those still correct?


Not sure if you are talking about magical express tags.   No Magical express luggage tags.  You have to grab your checked bags at MCO and bring them to the magical express check in. 

Magic bands are no longer provided free of charge. You can order magic bands ahead of time. Yes.  They will not provide them unless you order them.

Dan


----------



## CarolynFH

newbie72 said:


> Im curious, luggage tags? Disney sends luggage tags? We’ve never received those. Is this for certain pass holders? I thought the magic Bands were discontinued? We have to purchase those still correct?


Luggage tags (for identifying your bags, not for DME) come only with packages (room + tickets), not with room-only reservations or with DVC reservations.


----------



## newbie72

Ah! Thank you for the clarification.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

scrappinginontario said:


> You mention that rope drop is back at 'all' parks but you did not arrive at AK until 9:30. We have had multiple reports that AK is still doing the modified park opening where guests can enter the park 45 mins before posted park opening and begin riding attractions immediately. Did you rope drop AK any day?



We rope dropped AK today and they let us in at 7:15AM and we were able to ride FOP right away and Navi right after. So yes, it's still doing the modified opening! 

But man, do NOT ride FOP if you aren't at the front of that pack of people racing there. After we rode both rides it was just 8AM and the line to the ride was all the way out of Pandora with more people joining it as we walked by. When we went back later around 5pm it was much more reasonable and the queue was completely inside the building. I'd say wait and do it later.


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

Princess Katelet said:


> So what was the pixie dust?


Let's just say Disney made it possible for my son to return to the store to shop for the favorite items he had planned to purchase for himself and my husband. We were grateful and made sure to let Disney know what a great job the CMs involved did to help us.


----------



## shelbel95

We are wrapping up our 8-night stay at the Poly tonight (plus 2 nights at the start of the trip at Universal/Royal Pacific). As a fast pass-loving, non rope dropping family, staying at a monorail resort with no monorail stop and under construction, we really weren’t sure what to expect. This was a rescheduled trip that was supposed to happen June 2020 and we just went in with the attitude that we’d roll with whatever happens. 

Turns out - we had an amazing time! I may come back and do a brief report of our trip, but let me know if anyone has any questions in the meantime! We fly home tomorrow, so it’s probably best to answer any questions now before I start forgetting!


----------



## kylenne

CarolynFH said:


> Luggage tags (for identifying your bags, not for DME) come only with packages (room + tickets), not with room-only reservations or with DVC reservations.



Weirdly enough they were actually giving luggage tags and magical extras with “2020 recovery” ticketless packages...basically if you had a room only reservation that you had to move because of the closures that’s what it was rebooked as. I was shocked to see the envelope with the tags and coupons waiting for me in my room at the GF.


----------



## olive

An update from yesterday!

Sat - checked into Contemporary a little before 9. We dropped off our bags and headed to Hollywood Studios to ride Rise again (boarding group 6!). A bus pulled up shortly after we got to the bus stop. We waited all day for a text or notice on the app that our room was ready.

HS again had very long lines and was so hot! We did Rise, then Millennium Falcon. Mickey and Minnie was down all morning until a little after we got off that ride. We headed over right away but the line still got to 60 minutes pretty fast. We did Toy Story Mania after MMRR and then tried for ToT or RnR but both had lines too long for us with an upcoming reservation at Epcot.

We took the Skyliner to Epcot - no line at all. It was super pleasant! Leisurely wander over to Le Cellier for a freezing cold but tasty late lunch/early dinner. Our service was kind of weird. The server kept pointing to things and asking me to move them (like the silverware) or hand them to her/clear the table . There was also a mistake with the food. But we enjoyed our meal and left nice and full. We tried to ride Test Track but it went down for lightning, then headed to Soarin before heading out for an early night.

When we got back to the hotel after 6 pm, our room was still not ready. At the front desk they had housekeeping check everything and it turned out there was a mistake in the system and the room was actually ready when we checked in. I was kind of annoyed because we paid someone to check our bags, but I smiled it off. It wasn't the front desk person's fault and not worth getting too upset over. We unpacked and swam, caught the electric water pageant and went to sleep. MK today!


----------



## dreamit

Shughart said:


> Do you get any sores/blisters from doing all that walking in your Tevas? I love mine, but haven't done a ton in them yet.


Different poster but thought I’d share that my DD and I typically rotate between Tevas and a second pair of shoes when at WDW. I find Tevas comfortable and great for wearing in the rain. However, I do proactively place pre-cut strips of moleskin in areas where I feel rubbing. Too, regardless of the shoes we’re wearing, we run BodyGlide across our feet in the morning. It feels great!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Has anyone here right now seen the Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway Loungefly backpack and wallet around? Ive looked at HS, AK and World of Disney but no dice. Going to MK and Epcot so hope I have more luck! It's online so can buy it there but was hoping to find it here!

The design looks like this:



Also just a shopping tip: buy things you want early in the day- my son has been trying to find a hoodie and every single time he sees one he likes the only sizes left are all large/x large and up. Lots of sizes out of stock in clothes.


----------



## scrappinginontario

TikiTikiFan said:


> Has anyone here right now seen the Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway Loungefly backpack and wallet around? Ive looked at HS, AK and World of Disney but no dice. Going to MK and Epcot so hope I have more luck! It's online so can buy it there but was hoping to find it here!
> 
> The design looks like this:
> 
> View attachment 585020
> 
> Also just a shopping tip: buy things you want early in the day- my son has been trying to find a hoodie and every single time he sees one he likes the only sizes left are all large/x large and up. Lots of sizes out of stock in clothes.


If you show this pic to a CM in a store they can pull up supply across WDW and let you know where they have them and how many.  Much easier than going from place to place yourself.

I found this out a few years back when I was looking for Mickey Crocs.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

scrappinginontario said:


> If you show this pic to a CM in a store they can pull up supply across WDW and let you know where they have them and how many.  Much easier than going from place to place yourself.
> 
> I found this out a few years back when I was looking for Mickey Crocs.



Oh that's amazing! Thank you!!


----------



## cdurham1

olive said:


> We are at Disney right now and happy to be here.  This is what we have experienced so far.
> 
> Weds - we had a morning flight out of CT. Got to our hotel (Gaylord Palms for 3 nights before switching to the Contemporary for a week this morning). We went swimming, then off to Disney Springs dinner to wander around and have dinner at T Rex. We had a virtual queue time at Gideon's but decided not to wait around in the rain for it.
> 
> Thurs -  We got BG 16 on our first attempts! HS officially opened 9, and our hotel shuttle dropped us off about 845. We had to stop at guest services which caused a little delay. After that we walked onto Star Tours, explored Galaxy’s Edge a little and then our BG was called at 940. We had never ridden this before but I think the preshows were running when we went. Lines were quite long by the time we got out of Rise. TS Mania was down until the afternoon. Slinky was up to 80-120 mins, Swirling Saucers 40 mins, Millennium Falcon at 60 mins. We ended up doing a short day here, with mobile ordered lunch from Docking Bay/Pizza Rizzo and riding Slinky and MF and doing Muppets before heading out.
> 
> We hopped to AK, which seemed so much less hot and crowded. The shade at AK makes such a big difference. The kids were getting miserable at HS and asking to just leave and go back to the hotel. It was rough.  AK saved it. Lines for what we went on ranged from walk on to 25 mins posted but may have been actually less. We hit kali first to cool off, then Dinosaur and safari, then dinner at Yak and Yeti.
> 
> Fri (yesterday) - we picked this day as a relaxation day and I am so glad. After a couple of hours at the pool at the Gaylord Palms- the pool area here is incredible especially for kids, with lots of slides and an amazing climbing structure in addition to the pools and hot tubs - we went on to Blizzard Beach. We took a Lyft over and got there shortly after opening. We did some slides and the wave pool (walked onto team boat springs, toboggan racers), short wait for slush gushers, did two cycles of the very long lazy river. Spent a little over 4 hours here, and it was never super crowded. We had lunch at Lottawatta. It was very relaxing. We headed out just as a storm hit a bit after 4. We headed back to the hotel for dinner, laundry, resting and movie.
> 
> Today we check into the Contemporary and then have another morning at HS to hit some of what we missed and an afternoon at Epcot.  We have had a great start to the trip!



I got to stay at Gaylord Palms a couple of years ago for a work conference.  Wow, I was impressed with that place.  Did you find a good deal on it?  Or use Marriott points or something?  I felt like it was one of the coolest hotels i have ever stayed in.  Did you drive to the parks from there or do they have a reliable shuttle system?


----------



## threeboyzdad

Just back from a 9 day split stay rescheduled 2020 trip.  We usually go every June and are a monorail resort, rope drop, afternoon break, park close family!   It was our first split stay and first time flying in years.   So lots of new experiences for us.  I was worried about all the new logistics….using ME, having bags transferred for split stay, ordering groceries, riding ROR for first time, having no FP, increased crowds and long lines… The list goes on.   I’m happy to report it was a smooth and wonderful trip!

-We stayed at GF first and moved to YC. My kids have always wanted to use SAB. I loved both but prefer the GF. Yacht was very loud and busy. Walking through the lobby stressed me out. The pool is nice and fun but I love the GF ambiance. I did enjoy being able to walk to Epcot though at YC. I still prefer the monorail loop to the boats as the daily storms had the boats closed more and we were forced to bus. Our bus experiences were awesome. They came often.

-We got boarding groups both of our HS days at 7 am. It’s an amazing ride.

-Rope dropping Slinky was key

-Rope dropping Flight of Passage was also key

-We rope dropped Test Track but single rider is now open and that was awesome too.

-Magic Kingdom seems less crowded than other parks and walking around was so nice with extra space to move.

-Flower and Garden booths were awesome and new to us. We really enjoyed it.

-Many many shops in Epcot World showcase are closed and that’s frustrating.

-Since we rope drop and parks are opening earlier, we were done most days before lunch.  Low wait times.  We rested and returned late afternoon to close parks.  We often park hopped to Epcot or MK as they stayed open later after hopping to AK and HS. Several days we did three parks a day this way.  Getting in line for headliners at the end of the night is the way to go similar to rope drop.  We rode Slinky twice in a row at close!

-We didn’t get our bags until about 5:15 on our transfer day (room was ready at 12:15). That was frustrating even though I had heard that’s the case. I think using a taxi and moving your own bags may be worth it. I wanted to have time to unpack before I hopped to our afternoon parks.

-issues with ME. There was a line but it moved fast and we got on a bus right away.


-Mobile ordering is so nice.  It was always fast and easy and always plenty of tables.

Please let me know if you have any questions.


----------



## Carol_

We had a glitch with mobile ordering last week at Pecos Bill’s. There was a huge backup as order numbers had to be manually recorded by a cashier, then basically shouted into the kitchen for them to prepare them. The kitchen had the orders but couldn’t access info about if customers were there to get the food. Huge irritated hot and tired lunch crowd but that kitchen was hustling as much as they could… Even the manager remained incredibly pleasant given the angry mob. It was a master class in management.


----------



## Cynthiab

JennLTX said:


> For those of you who flew United, did you notice if the United Club was open? Their website is having all manner of glitches about if it is or if it ain't, so if someone has info, I'd appreciate it.



I flew week before last for a work trip to Tampa.  Clubs were open at hubs but not really anywhere else but they are open in Orlando.  See - https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/tr...lounges/locations.html#currentlyopenlocations

All snacks were pre-packaged, single serving.  There were sanitizing wipes for anything that multiple people might touch (like the coffee machine.)  The coke machine had a qr code you could scan to operate it without touching the machine.


----------



## NashvilleMama

Arrived today, no issues at MCO or with rental cars…seemed to be tons and tons of cars and relatively short lines so desks were well staffed.

1st time at Riviera, got room ready notification around 11:30am but asked to change when we got here for a pool view which they quickly did. Doesn’t seem crowded at all, had a drink out on Topolino’s terrace and mobile orders Primo Piatto. That was a bit annoying as they apparently let anyone sit down and hold tables before your food, and there are about 10 in there total so once you got your food there was nowhere to sit. I even asked the CM at the door why they were letting anyone sit down without food and she looked at me like I I was crazy. Guess that rule is gone now? I’d really liked that one.

also what on earth is up with all the helicopters? Riviera is on a flight path or something because it’s constant. Is this normal??


----------



## goodeats

NashvilleMama said:


> also what on earth is up with all the helicopters? Riviera is on a flight path or something because it’s constant. Is this normal??



I noticed that at CBR. I was thinking it had to do with being so close to the RC fire station, but maybe it’s tourist flights? I thought the parks were no fly zones though.


----------



## NashvilleMama

goodeats said:


> I noticed that at CBR. I was thinking it had to do with being so close to the RC fire station, but maybe it’s tourist flights? I thought the parks were no fly zones though.


I’m no expert but they looked like private ones to me, not news or law enforcement. It’s so constant. I think the actual parks may be no fly but doesn’t extend to resorts. We’re seriously considering DVC here and if this is normal I’m out. I don’t remember this at all from our CBR stay last fall but that was definitely deep into covid times.


----------



## NashvilleMama

NashvilleMama said:


> I’m no expert but they looked like private ones to me, not news or law enforcement. It’s so constant. I think the actual parks may be no fly but doesn’t extend to resorts. We’re seriously considering DVC here and if this is normal I’m out. I don’t remember this at all from our CBR stay last fall but that was definitely deep into covid times.



 PS the skyliner has been down here since we arrived around 4pm, but looks like the CBR to DHS line is running. Haven’t heard a reason why.


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

We saw/heard lots of helicopters too when staying at Boardwalk last week. Noise is disruptive and there were several each day, in the afternoon.  I thought tourist flights too, at first, but they do seem to be flying very quickly,  so I began to doubt that reason for them.


----------



## olive

cdurham1 said:


> I got to stay at Gaylord Palms a couple of years ago for a work conference.  Wow, I was impressed with that place.  Did you find a good deal on it?  Or use Marriott points or something?  I felt like it was one of the coolest hotels i have ever stayed in.  Did you drive to the parks from there or do they have a reliable shuttle system?



We used points. It was definitely a great use of Bonvoy points! Less than the Swan or Dolphin and a great option for the free night awards. We used a combination of the hotel shuttle and lyft. We didn't bring or rent a car so that fee was a non-issue. Our only cost was the resort fee. It was really a wonderful stay!


----------



## Leigh L

NashvilleMama said:


> PS the skyliner has been down here since we arrived around 4pm, but looks like the CBR to DHS line is running. Haven’t heard a reason why.


I was just coming to ask. Anyone know what happened and if it ever resumed service? CBR to DHS was running (we rode this about 6 p.m.) but not connecting to Riviera or Epcot, we took a bus from CBR to RIV.  Looked like the AoA/Pop section was also running.


----------



## luv2cheer92

goodeats said:


> I noticed that at CBR. I was thinking it had to do with being so close to the RC fire station, but maybe it’s tourist flights? I thought the parks were no fly zones though.


Only MK is


----------



## nemolover22

We just got home from our week long trip on Saturday! We were a party of 7 and did a split stay with Pop & SSR. Overall we had a wonderful time! The weather wasn't the best because it stormed almost every evening but we made so many hilarious memories from running to the buses and getting soaked

A quick overview of our trip:
*Saturday 6/19:* flight was delayed about an hour but once we got to MCO the worst part was waiting for your bags. After getting our bags we were able to walk right on ME to get to Pop! Unfortunately the shops & food court close pretty early at 10pm so we had to order pizza out because we were so starving!
*Sunday 6/20:* REST DAY! Slept in & rode the skyliner to get to DHS to get a bus to OKW for brunch! We arrived at OKW an hour before our reservation because we thought transportation might take longer but we were able to be seated right away after talking to the hostess. Brunch was delicious and everyone enjoyed their meals. After we got a bus to DHS again to catch the skyliner to ride to Epcot for fun! Then, we headed back to Pop to relax until dinner where we rode the skyliner to Riviera to get dinner at Primo Piatto! The food there was delicious and def worth the stop. At Riviera we got a bus to Disney Springs to browse around & found it to be very crowded so after checking a few stores we headed back to Pop to get to bed early!
*Monday 6/21: *we woke up early to try to get a BG for ROTR and were successful with getting BG #37! After that we quickly got ready because we were already up and headed down to the skyliner at 7:30. Soon we were on our way and we made it to DHS just a little after 8. We were held on Hollywood Blvd until 8:30 when they officially opened the park and we walked right onto Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway! I'm glad we did that because Slinky was down most of the morning. After our first ride we headed over to Alien's Swirling Saucers and waited about 5mins in line. We went over to GE next and had fun walking around and decided to get an AC break at Muppets. After Muppets our BG was called so we headed onto ROTR before 11am! Then we went over to Falcon and then had a wonderful lunch at Pizzerizzos! After lunch we rode SDD, watched Frozen Sing Along, rode TSM and then browsed through some shops before taking the skyliner back to Pop. After resting we took a bus to MK! We headed to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz and Carousel of Progress. Then, we had dinner reservations at Tony's for 7:50pm. Tony's was delicious but once we were done there was a torrential downpour happening. We waited it out for a few mins but then decided to make a run for the bus and we were all soaked but were laughing so hard when we saw how ridiculous we looked. We made it back to Pop at 10pm.
*Tuesday 6/22:* We left the room at 6:30am with all our luggage to drop off at bell services then headed to wait for a bus to MK. It didn't take too long for a bus to come and we made it to MK a little after 7! We decided to rope drop Space Mountain but unfortunately we were held at the rope to Tomorrowland until 8am. We then made it to Space & waited about 15 mins and then walked on the Peoplemover for a quick ride. After, we wanted to ride Buzz one more time before officially being done with Tomorrowland! Then we decided to head on over to Fantasyland where we rode Little Mermaid, SDMT, and Philharmagic! After that we split up for lunch where some of us went to Tomorrowland Terrace and others Friars Nook. We miss Columbia Harbor House & Casey's but were happy we could find some food items from there at these locations. After lunch, we went on Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Country Bears, Splash Mountain, & Big Thunder. Then it was time to head to BOG for our 3:35 reservation. We had a wonderful dinner there and all really enjoyed the atmosphere. After dinner we were going to head to Haunted Mansion but unfortunately the weather was not cooperating again so we just headed right out to the bus to go to SSR because our room was ready! We loved our 2 bedroom villa in Congress Park and walked to Disney Springs in the evening to get some snacks!
*Wednesday 6/23: *Another Rest Day! I went with my sisters to Springs at 9:30 to get in line for Gideon's! After waiting for an hour we were able to get our cookies and they are delicious! Then we went to Starbucks to get frapps and cool down before going into a few different shops. Then at 12:30 we met up with the rest of our group at Homecomin! This was almost everyone's favorite meal of the trip because the food was delicious and we highly recommend! After lunch we headed into a few other stores until it looked like rain clouds again so we quickly hurried back to our room. Once the sun came back out we went for a quick swim in the pool and then I headed back down to Springs to get Earl of Sandwich for dinner while others ate their leftovers from lunch in the room!
*Thursday 6/24:* We left the room at 9:30 to head to the bus stop and quickly got a bus to Epcot! This was definitely our most crowded park day. We decided to rope drop Soarin and were held off until 10:50 where we finally were able to get into the Land building. We walked on Soarin and then headed to Nemo. After Nemo, we went to Spaceship Earth which said it was a 50min wait but we didn't even wait 15mins! After that we went to Mousegears and then rode Test Track. Then, we ventured into the World Showcase getting a few different snack items from Flower & Garden and then stopped for an AC break in France and watched the Beauty & the Beast sing along. Then we headed to our dinner reservations where we split up with half of us going to Via Napoli and the other half to San Angel Inn. We all enjoyed our dinners but the ones at Via Napoli finished way before the others so we rode Gran Fiesta Tour to wave hi to our family members in the restaurant. Then we rode Frozen and were going to hop to DHS but there were really dark clouds so we just went back to SSR. 
*Friday 6/25:* we were at the bus stop at 6:30am to head to DAK! We were inside the park by 7:15 where we headed over to the Safari. We waited in a small line there until 7:50 where they let us in the queue to get on the ride. We were in the second safari truck and our ride ended up taking 40mins because some animals stood in the road for 20 mins but it was a great safari with many animals out and active! Then we headed over to Navi River Journey to ride and then took a break going through some shops. After that we saw FOTLK, rode FOP and then had lunch at Satuli Canteen! Then we rode Kali, Dinosaur, & Everest! After DAK some people went back to the room & others went to MK! At MK we got dole whips, rode Winnie the Pooh, then walked through Emporium before heading back to the room quickly to change for dinner. We had dinner at 6pm at Raglan Road. After dinner some of us stayed in springs to shop & others went to the Contemporary to shop there. 
*Saturday 6/26:* We left our room at 8 with all our luggage to head down to the lobby. We had a quick breakfast and then boarded ME at 8:50. MCO was packed and Southwest check in was a nightmare but we somehow made it through and got to our gate before having to fly home

Overall, we had a wonderful time! It was very nice not having to wear masks besides for transportation but there is def no social distancing so if you are not ready for that I would wait. It was nice having the preshows back because we missed those and many of the wait times look a lot longer than what they actually are! I would def recommend having a table service meal once a day because its so nice to take a break from the crowds and sit in AC! Even though they changed Rope Drop just getting one or two big rides out of the way early helped a lot! Just remember to keep a positive attitude, yes the weather is not the best this time of year but you are at Disney World & nothing is better than that


----------



## yorkieteacher

WHAT I WOULD DO THE SAME/DIFFERENT IF I HAD A DO OVER-
Looking back over last week, there are some things I would change and some things I would not-
I WOULD NOT rope drop Test Track-unless you are literally the front of the pack lines go down later in the day-they are longest first thing.
I WOULD NOT rope drop Epcot again. All the lines went down later in the day.
I WOULD make table service reservations midday again. It was much easier having a mid day break and touring in the late  afternoon when lines were shorter without having to worry about ADR times.
I WOULD drive to AK again.  Easy to get into park .
And I WOULD go later in the day again. Our longest wait was FOP posted at 90, inside in 60. Checking the app, lines at opening are higher than 90. We got inside AK at 10, had an 1130 lunch in Yak n Yeti, and did literally everything except FOTLK including a nice Flame Tree dinner by 7 when it closed.
I WOULD NOT rope drop MMRR at HS. Slinky Dog lines never got shorter, but everything else did.
I WOULD NOT stress about morning RotR boarding pass-it is easy to get at 1.  It leaves plenty of time to actually look around the park and take in the atmosphere of each area. We were done riding everything we wanted  and eating lunch and dinner by the time our boarding group 119 was called at 5pm.
I WOULD NOT drive to MK. Unless you pay for preferred parking with the trams not running it is a hike.
I WOULD NOT enter MK 2 hours after opening. Rope drop is the only way to get lots of things done in this park.
I WOULD know that nearly all wait times are inflated by 10-20 minutes.
I WOULD know that lots of rides have frequent break downs-Test Track, FOP, Navi (we saw the screen shaman) Mine Train, Splash, MMRR, Saucers, all had break downs while we were in line or about to be. What is with this??
I WOULD know that if you stay in a skyliner or boat transportation resort, do not attempt to go back from the parks
anywhere near the beginning, end of, or during rain. Just chill for a while or you will be waiting at the station/dock!
I WOULD budget time again just to stroll around and take in World Showcase shops and kiosks.
I WOULD go during Flower and Garden again. I like it much better than Food and Wine.
I WOULD wear good shoes and ankle compression socks again-I am 68 and have had the unsightly "Disney Rash" before from walking an average of 8 miles a day standing on my feet in the heat and humidity. But not this trip! I WOULD also continue to sit any chance I got, including asking people already sitting if they minded if I sat on the bench with them!
I WOULD know that the magic is still there!


----------



## DisneyFive

yorkieteacher said:


> WHAT I WOULD DO THE SAME/DIFFERENT IF I HAD A DO OVER-
> Looking back over last week, there are some things I would change and some things I would not-
> I WOULD NOT rope drop Test Track-unless you are literally the front of the pack lines go down later in the day-they are longest first thing.
> I WOULD NOT rope drop Epcot again. All the lines went down later in the day.
> I WOULD make table service reservations midday again. It was much easier having a mid day break and touring in the late  afternoon when lines were shorter without having to worry about ADR times.
> I WOULD drive to AK again.  Easy to get into park .
> And I WOULD go later in the day again. Our longest wait was FOP posted at 90, inside in 60. Checking the app, lines at opening are higher than 90. We got inside AK at 10, had an 1130 lunch in Yak n Yeti, and did literally everything except FOTLK including a nice Flame Tree dinner by 7 when it closed.
> I WOULD NOT rope drop MMRR at HS. Slinky Dog lines never got shorter, but everything else did.
> I WOULD NOT stress about morning RotR boarding pass-it is easy to get at 1.  It leaves plenty of time to actually look around the park and take in the atmosphere of each area. We were done riding everything we wanted  and eating lunch and dinner by the time our boarding group 119 was called at 5pm.
> I WOULD NOT drive to MK. Unless you pay for preferred parking with the trams not running it is a hike.
> I WOULD NOT enter MK 2 hours after opening. Rope drop is the only way to get lots of things done in this park.
> I WOULD know that nearly all wait times are inflated by 10-20 minutes.
> I WOULD know that lots of rides have frequent break downs-Test Track, FOP, Navi (we saw the screen shaman) Mine Train, Splash, MMRR, Saucers, all had break downs while we were in line or about to be. What is with this??
> I WOULD know that if you stay in a skyliner or boat transportation resort, do not attempt to go back from the parks
> anywhere near the beginning, end of, or during rain. Just chill for a while or you will be waiting at the station/dock!
> I WOULD budget time again just to stroll around and take in World Showcase shops and kiosks.
> I WOULD go during Flower and Garden again. I like it much better than Food and Wine.
> I WOULD wear good shoes and ankle compression socks again-I am 68 and have had the unsightly "Disney Rash" before from walking an average of 8 miles a day standing on my feet in the heat and humidity. But not this trip! I WOULD also continue to sit any chance I got, including asking people already sitting if they minded if I sat on the bench with them!
> I WOULD know that the magic is still there!


Love this post! The way you formatted it really helps those that are visiting in the near future. Thanks!

Dan


----------



## mickeymom629

NashvilleMama said:


> Arrived today, ...
> 
> also what on earth is up with all the helicopters? Riviera is on a flight path or something because it’s constant. Is this normal??



I'd like to know, too.  When we stayed at OKW in April, I noticed them there, at SSR and DS.  I probably really noticed them because I had read some people's comments about them on the DIS prior to my trip.  They are annoying.


----------



## JakAHearts

My wife and I also commented on the helicopters! I don't remember them flying so close to HS. In line for tower of terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster they almost fly over your head!


----------



## LeslieLou

Animal Kingdom at opening today:
6:53am picked up bus from AKL Jambo
Stopped for coffee at entrance
7:05 at Turnstiles 
7:15 tapstiles open (3 fams infront of us)
Walked to rope stop at FOP - stayed right on bridge
7:30 rope drop walk starts
7:40 on FOP
From there we went to Everest and rode back to back with 5 min wait
8:20 enter safari line posted at 25 min and was 20
9:15 bathroom breaks 
9:30 Rafiki planet watch for first animator session at 10

we mobile ordered from SC while in line for safari. Picked up at 11
11:30 headed to dinosaur with 40 min posted wait actually 20
Exited park by 12:15

good day so far! Resting now before pool and cleaning up for dinner.


----------



## Naomeri

For everyone commenting about helicopters—could be mosquito remediation.  We have a wetland area behind our house in MN, and those choppers really buzz us while they do whatever it is they do to try to control the mosquito population.  It’s horribly loud and obnoxious for about 10 minutes, and then they go away for a month or so.


----------



## NashvilleMama

Naomeri said:


> For everyone commenting about helicopters—could be mosquito remediation.  We have a wetland area behind our house in MN, and those choppers really buzz us while they do whatever it is they do to try to control the mosquito population.  It’s horribly loud and obnoxious for about 10 minutes, and then they go away for a month or so.


But every day? And every 30 minutes if not more? Don’t think that’s what these are here.


----------



## justreading

yorkieteacher said:


> WHAT I WOULD DO THE SAME/DIFFERENT IF I HAD A DO OVER-
> Looking back over last week, there are some things I would change and some things I would not-
> I WOULD NOT rope drop Test Track-unless you are literally the front of the pack lines go down later in the day-they are longest first thing.
> I WOULD NOT rope drop Epcot again. All the lines went down later in the day.
> I WOULD make table service reservations midday again. It was much easier having a mid day break and touring in the late  afternoon when lines were shorter without having to worry about ADR times.
> I WOULD drive to AK again.  Easy to get into park .
> And I WOULD go later in the day again. Our longest wait was FOP posted at 90, inside in 60. Checking the app, lines at opening are higher than 90. We got inside AK at 10, had an 1130 lunch in Yak n Yeti, and did literally everything except FOTLK including a nice Flame Tree dinner by 7 when it closed.
> I WOULD NOT rope drop MMRR at HS. Slinky Dog lines never got shorter, but everything else did.
> I WOULD NOT stress about morning RotR boarding pass-it is easy to get at 1.  It leaves plenty of time to actually look around the park and take in the atmosphere of each area. We were done riding everything we wanted  and eating lunch and dinner by the time our boarding group 119 was called at 5pm.
> I WOULD NOT drive to MK. Unless you pay for preferred parking with the trams not running it is a hike.
> I WOULD NOT enter MK 2 hours after opening. Rope drop is the only way to get lots of things done in this park.
> I WOULD know that nearly all wait times are inflated by 10-20 minutes.
> I WOULD know that lots of rides have frequent break downs-Test Track, FOP, Navi (we saw the screen shaman) Mine Train, Splash, MMRR, Saucers, all had break downs while we were in line or about to be. What is with this??
> I WOULD know that if you stay in a skyliner or boat transportation resort, do not attempt to go back from the parks
> anywhere near the beginning, end of, or during rain. Just chill for a while or you will be waiting at the station/dock!
> I WOULD budget time again just to stroll around and take in World Showcase shops and kiosks.
> I WOULD go during Flower and Garden again. I like it much better than Food and Wine.
> I WOULD wear good shoes and ankle compression socks again-I am 68 and have had the unsightly "Disney Rash" before from walking an average of 8 miles a day standing on my feet in the heat and humidity. But not this trip! I WOULD also continue to sit any chance I got, including asking people already sitting if they minded if I sat on the bench with them!
> I WOULD know that the magic is still there!



I would love more info about the socks you are talking about.  I also get a severe case of the 'disney rash'.  Thanks!


----------



## jbrinkm

justreading said:


> I would love more info about the socks you are talking about.  I also get a severe case of the 'disney rash'.  Thanks!



Actually, would it be too much of an inconvenience to ask if you could post them here? It's a thread specifically about socks for anyone who is interested:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/good-socks.3833755/


----------



## MDIME

The helicopters are from several different tour companies. They all offer Disney tours. And I totally agree, they are very annoying!


----------



## Naomeri

NashvilleMama said:


> But every day? And every 30 minutes if not more? Don’t think that’s what these are here.


It was just a theory


----------



## jbrinkm

Naomeri said:


> It was just a theory



I thought it was a good theory!


----------



## dnw25

just back from a week visit.

For us, the lines for anything other the headliners, were inflated.  Always less than posted.  However, all the headliners were spot on, if not longer, because of TECHNICAL issues.  Both days at HS, almost every ride broke down at some point.  Then MK, seven dwarfs broke down.  We face technical issues constantly this trip.  Unlike any of our previous trips.  To the point where we wondered what is going on down there - skimping on maintenance, overheating (usually don't go in the summer)?

CM told us the headliner rides are no longer inflated - ie. Slinky used to be 45 min from the large woody when you walk into TS land.  BUT, since they ceased distancing in line last week, the line is truly 90 from that point. 

We usually ride all the headliners numerous times in a week and this time we only rode soarin and rise more than once.  All of our other favorites were one and done due to breakdowns, weather, or truly long lines that never really went down.  

Stayed at YC and lifeguards said the helicopters were the theme park helicopter tours.


----------



## preschoolmom

Rope dropped MK today. Left our room at Pop around 6:25. We were on the first bus (but we just made it - the family after us was the last on the first bus.
We were early in the turnstiles- then walked quickly to the holding area for SDMT. We could see the rope at opening.
We rode SDMT, Splash and BTMR in the first hour. We took a quick water break and walked across and rode Dumbo, then Buzz. Ordered Cosmic Rays and ate. Then People Mover, Space, and Pirates.
We left the park at one for an afternoon nap.
great first morning. We’ve walked 5 miles so far. Will head to Epcot tonight.
Recommendations for Epcot Counter service? What time should we be at the sky liner for HS rope drop tomorrow?


----------



## scrappinginontario

preschoolmom said:


> Rope dropped MK today. Left our room at Pop around 6:25. We were on the first bus (but we just made it - the family after us was the last on the first bus.
> We were early in the turnstiles- then walked quickly to the holding area for SDMT. We could see the rope at opening.
> We rode SDMT, Splash and BTMR in the first hour. We took a quick water break and walked across and rode Dumbo, then Buzz. Ordered Cosmic Rays and ate. Then People Mover, Space, and Pirates.
> We left the park at one for an afternoon nap.
> great first morning. We’ve walked 5 miles so far. Will head to Epcot tonight.
> Recommendations for Epcot Counter service? What time should we be at the sky liner for HS rope drop tomorrow?


We enjoy the Mexican QS, sitting overlooking the water.  Also, Fish n Chips in the UK.


----------



## dnw25

preschoolmom said:


> Rope dropped MK today. Left our room at Pop around 6:25. We were on the first bus (but we just made it - the family after us was the last on the first bus.
> We were early in the turnstiles- then walked quickly to the holding area for SDMT. We could see the rope at opening.
> We rode SDMT, Splash and BTMR in the first hour. We took a quick water break and walked across and rode Dumbo, then Buzz. Ordered Cosmic Rays and ate. Then People Mover, Space, and Pirates.
> We left the park at one for an afternoon nap.
> great first morning. We’ve walked 5 miles so far. Will head to Epcot tonight.
> Recommendations for Epcot Counter service? What time should we be at the sky liner for HS rope drop tomorrow?


we LOVED the shrimp and grits at the F and G booth outside of test track.  AMAZING!  avocado toast was good but had nothing on the shrimp and grits.


----------



## DL1WDW2

The bakery in France called La Patisserie … anything on French bread !
I love their chocolate chip cookies too

I guess there are lots of great places in Epcot. I will definitely have to check them out next visit


----------



## dnw25

DL1WDW2 said:


> The bakery in France called La Patisserie … anything on French bread !
> I love their chocolate chip cookies too


The lines were outrageous this past week.  Again like nothing we've seen for La Patisserie or the Ice Cream place.  

Turns out.  Only two people working at the ice cream shop.  One at the register and another fulfilling the orders.  Both times this was the case when we waited the line out (back past the doors of the signature French restaurant).  We never attempted the bakery since every time we walked past, the line was back to the ice cream shop.


----------



## jbrinkm

dnw25 said:


> The lines were outrageous this past week.  Again like nothing we've seen for La Patisserie or the Ice Cream place.
> 
> Turns out.  Only two people working at the ice cream shop.  One at the register and another fulfilling the orders.  Both times this was the case when we waited the line out (back past the doors of the signature French restaurant).  We never attempted the bakery since every time we walked past, the line was back to the ice cream shop.



Ugh.

What time was this, and how crowded would you say the park was when you were there?

And no mobile order, I take it?


----------



## preschoolmom

I believe it. My water “break” above actually was me being polite. We just Wanted to buy two bottles of water, but the two people working were assembling toys and cutting tags off new merchandise for the people in front of us and they were moving like Flash  We will carry water tomorrow.


----------



## dnw25

jbrinkm said:


> Ugh.
> 
> What time was this, and how crowded would you say the park was when you were there?
> 
> And no mobile order, I take it?


wednesday 11:30-1:30 (walked by several times); yesterday 2:00 and then numerous evenings - 7:00 pm on

nope no mobile order.  crowds were really light yesterday and in most of the evenings.  I joked with family that everyone was either in france, america or mexico.  All other countries basically had no one.


----------



## NashvilleMama

MK rope drop today. Parked at 7:30 and took ferry (no masks required, we’d forgotten ours for monorail). Walked onto Peter Pan, pirates,  BTMRR, then waits kicked in - 35 mins for Splash. So not a bad first hour. 

Crowds aren’t anywhere near as high as a month ago in mid-May. Still dying for FP to return…any. day. now. please. 

The heat isn’t as bad as I expected, nice breeze today.

mobile ordered at Cosmic Rays and they’re now saying you can save a table when your second bar is flashing on the mobile order screen as food is being prepared. Frankly, doesn’t seem to be a pattern in enforcement on this across the parks.


----------



## yorkieteacher

justreading said:


> I would love more info about the socks you are talking about.  I also get a severe case of the 'disney rash'.  Thanks!


heres the link to exactly what i wore
Amazon.com: Copper Compression Socks for Men & Women Circulation- Arch Ankle Support for Athletic Running Medical Cycling: Clothing


jbrinkm said:


> Actually, would it be too much of an inconvenience to ask if you could post them here? It's a thread specifically about socks for anyone who is interested:
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/good-socks.3833755/


here's the linkAmazon.com: Copper Compression Socks for Men & Women Circulation- Arch Ankle Support for Athletic Running Medical Cycling: Clothing


----------



## Disneymomma18

nemolover22 said:


> We just got home from our week long trip on Saturday! We were a party of 7 and did a split stay with Pop & SSR. Overall we had a wonderful time! The weather wasn't the best because it stormed almost every evening but we made so many hilarious memories from running to the buses and getting soaked
> 
> A quick overview of our trip:
> *Saturday 6/19:* flight was delayed about an hour but once we got to MCO the worst part was waiting for your bags. After getting our bags we were able to walk right on ME to get to Pop! Unfortunately the shops & food court close pretty early at 10pm so we had to order pizza out because we were so starving!
> *Sunday 6/20:* REST DAY! Slept in & rode the skyliner to get to DHS to get a bus to OKW for brunch! We arrived at OKW an hour before our reservation because we thought transportation might take longer but we were able to be seated right away after talking to the hostess. Brunch was delicious and everyone enjoyed their meals. After we got a bus to DHS again to catch the skyliner to ride to Epcot for fun! Then, we headed back to Pop to relax until dinner where we rode the skyliner to Riviera to get dinner at Primo Piatto! The food there was delicious and def worth the stop. At Riviera we got a bus to Disney Springs to browse around & found it to be very crowded so after checking a few stores we headed back to Pop to get to bed early!
> *Monday 6/21: *we woke up early to try to get a BG for ROTR and were successful with getting BG #37! After that we quickly got ready because we were already up and headed down to the skyliner at 7:30. Soon we were on our way and we made it to DHS just a little after 8. We were held on Hollywood Blvd until 8:30 when they officially opened the park and we walked right onto Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway! I'm glad we did that because Slinky was down most of the morning. After our first ride we headed over to Alien's Swirling Saucers and waited about 5mins in line. We went over to GE next and had fun walking around and decided to get an AC break at Muppets. After Muppets our BG was called so we headed onto ROTR before 11am! Then we went over to Falcon and then had a wonderful lunch at Pizzerizzos! After lunch we rode SDD, watched Frozen Sing Along, rode TSM and then browsed through some shops before taking the skyliner back to Pop. After resting we took a bus to MK! We headed to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz and Carousel of Progress. Then, we had dinner reservations at Tony's for 7:50pm. Tony's was delicious but once we were done there was a torrential downpour happening. We waited it out for a few mins but then decided to make a run for the bus and we were all soaked but were laughing so hard when we saw how ridiculous we looked. We made it back to Pop at 10pm.
> *Tuesday 6/22:* We left the room at 6:30am with all our luggage to drop off at bell services then headed to wait for a bus to MK. It didn't take too long for a bus to come and we made it to MK a little after 7! We decided to rope drop Space Mountain but unfortunately we were held at the rope to Tomorrowland until 8am. We then made it to Space & waited about 15 mins and then walked on the Peoplemover for a quick ride. After, we wanted to ride Buzz one more time before officially being done with Tomorrowland! Then we decided to head on over to Fantasyland where we rode Little Mermaid, SDMT, and Philharmagic! After that we split up for lunch where some of us went to Tomorrowland Terrace and others Friars Nook. We miss Columbia Harbor House & Casey's but were happy we could find some food items from there at these locations. After lunch, we went on Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Country Bears, Splash Mountain, & Big Thunder. Then it was time to head to BOG for our 3:35 reservation. We had a wonderful dinner there and all really enjoyed the atmosphere. After dinner we were going to head to Haunted Mansion but unfortunately the weather was not cooperating again so we just headed right out to the bus to go to SSR because our room was ready! We loved our 2 bedroom villa in Congress Park and walked to Disney Springs in the evening to get some snacks!
> *Wednesday 6/23: *Another Rest Day! I went with my sisters to Springs at 9:30 to get in line for Gideon's! After waiting for an hour we were able to get our cookies and they are delicious! Then we went to Starbucks to get frapps and cool down before going into a few different shops. Then at 12:30 we met up with the rest of our group at Homecomin! This was almost everyone's favorite meal of the trip because the food was delicious and we highly recommend! After lunch we headed into a few other stores until it looked like rain clouds again so we quickly hurried back to our room. Once the sun came back out we went for a quick swim in the pool and then I headed back down to Springs to get Earl of Sandwich for dinner while others ate their leftovers from lunch in the room!
> *Thursday 6/24:* We left the room at 9:30 to head to the bus stop and quickly got a bus to Epcot! This was definitely our most crowded park day. We decided to rope drop Soarin and were held off until 10:50 where we finally were able to get into the Land building. We walked on Soarin and then headed to Nemo. After Nemo, we went to Spaceship Earth which said it was a 50min wait but we didn't even wait 15mins! After that we went to Mousegears and then rode Test Track. Then, we ventured into the World Showcase getting a few different snack items from Flower & Garden and then stopped for an AC break in France and watched the Beauty & the Beast sing along. Then we headed to our dinner reservations where we split up with half of us going to Via Napoli and the other half to San Angel Inn. We all enjoyed our dinners but the ones at Via Napoli finished way before the others so we rode Gran Fiesta Tour to wave hi to our family members in the restaurant. Then we rode Frozen and were going to hop to DHS but there were really dark clouds so we just went back to SSR.
> *Friday 6/25:* we were at the bus stop at 6:30am to head to DAK! We were inside the park by 7:15 where we headed over to the Safari. We waited in a small line there until 7:50 where they let us in the queue to get on the ride. We were in the second safari truck and our ride ended up taking 40mins because some animals stood in the road for 20 mins but it was a great safari with many animals out and active! Then we headed over to Navi River Journey to ride and then took a break going through some shops. After that we saw FOTLK, rode FOP and then had lunch at Satuli Canteen! Then we rode Kali, Dinosaur, & Everest! After DAK some people went back to the room & others went to MK! At MK we got dole whips, rode Winnie the Pooh, then walked through Emporium before heading back to the room quickly to change for dinner. We had dinner at 6pm at Raglan Road. After dinner some of us stayed in springs to shop & others went to the Contemporary to shop there.
> *Saturday 6/26:* We left our room at 8 with all our luggage to head down to the lobby. We had a quick breakfast and then boarded ME at 8:50. MCO was packed and Southwest check in was a nightmare but we somehow made it through and got to our gate before having to fly home
> 
> Overall, we had a wonderful time! It was very nice not having to wear masks besides for transportation but there is def no social distancing so if you are not ready for that I would wait. It was nice having the preshows back because we missed those and many of the wait times look a lot longer than what they actually are! I would def recommend having a table service meal once a day because its so nice to take a break from the crowds and sit in AC! Even though they changed Rope Drop just getting one or two big rides out of the way early helped a lot! Just remember to keep a positive attitude, yes the weather is not the best this time of year but you are at Disney World & nothing is better than that


Sounds like you had a great trip! It’s nice to see how much you were able to accomplish each day and it didn’t seem like you were focused on the negativity of “long lines” I’ve been seeing post after post about how long the lines are but we’ve been twice since reopening and I feel like the lines constantly moving make it seem like they are super quick.


----------



## LeslieLou

Tonight we headed from Disney Springs via Caribbean Beach bus/Skyliner to Hollywood studios. 
left DS around 6 and tapped in to HS by 6:30
Millennium Falcon posted wait was 45 min but we were off the ride in 40. Bummed around shops for a few and got in line for Runaway Railway at 745  posted wait 35 mins. Off the ride in about 30 and headed out of the park. 
We liked being in the park for the last hour or so and plan to keep hopping late
Tomorrow MK


----------



## olive

An update on what we did yesterday AK morning and MK pm.

AK officially opened at 8 but we were all pretty tired and just didn't have the energy to get up early for rope drop. When I checked the Disney and Lines apps, by 715 ride times were already high for FoP (105 posted, 90+ reported on Lines), Navi (60 posted MDE, Linss 44), Kali (55 posted, Lins 39). When we went in the afternoon earlier last week it seemed similar, so I am glad we didn't wake the kids early! 

We got there at 10 and only ended up doing Everest, Kali, Maharajah Jungle Trek and some Wilderness stops (with breaks for snacks in between) before it was too hot for everyone and the kids were begging to go back to the hotel. They do want to go back though so we are planning to hop over this afternoon.

We swam for a few hours and fully cooled off, then headed to MK. We didn't realize how early some of the counter service options closed so we wasted a bit of time finding something everyone would eat and waiting for the food. Space Mountain was down for awhile but we managed to ride Buzz, people mover and Space Mountain before the park closed. And bonus, we got back to the Contemporary just as the water pageant was starting.

Limited food options and rides going down have made us less efficient for sure this trip. Rides go down pretty frequently. We have been stuck on rides I believe every day of the trip now (here since last Thursday) with a long ish delay on Mickey and Minnie last week as the most significant. But it is very noticeable regardless and of course affects planning. The heat has made afternoon breaks a necessity for our particular family so we between these factors, we aren't getting a ton done each day but the kids are happy and we still have until Saturday to enjoy the parks and hopefully hit things we have missed. Maybe someone will add shade and benches to Hollywood Studios before then? That park is at least 15 degrees hotter.


----------



## Princess Katelet

What is the Disney rash??


----------



## dmband

Naomeri said:


> For everyone commenting about helicopters—could be mosquito remediation.


sidenote - family that lives there said they are real bad right now and recommends getting the bracelets that help keep them away


----------



## Wood Nymph

Princess Katelet said:


> What is the Disney rash??


Here is a description_ from the internet_:
*Golfer's*_ vasculitis is a common rash that happens to otherwise healthy people and usually goes away on its own.  Researchers call it exercise-induced vasculitis. You may also hear it called* golfer's rash* or even Disney rash._


----------



## Princess Katelet

Wood Nymph said:


> Here is a description_ from the internet_:
> *Golfer's*_ vasculitis is a common rash that happens to otherwise healthy people and usually goes away on its own.  Researchers call it exercise-induced vasculitis. You may also hear it called* golfer's rash* or even Disney rash._


So it’s a rash on the calves?


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

olive said:


> Maybe someone will add shade and benches to Hollywood Studios before then? That park is at least 15 degrees hotter.


Oh man, that'd be great. Our boarding group at HS yesterday wasn't called until 2ish (the time we usually try to avoid the parks) and the sun/heat and crowds were bad. The area where you walk into Galaxy's Edge near Star Tours was full of people sitting and laying down because it was the only shaded area around. We went on Rise then went right back to the hotel. I've never done only 1 ride all day in all my trips to Disney.


----------



## Wood Nymph

Princess Katelet said:


> So it’s a rash on the calves?


Many people get the rash around their ankles, or above their ankles. 

You can find out more information by running a search on golfer's rash or Disney rash. 
I've never had it but I have read lots of trip reports from people who have gotten it.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

Princess Katelet said:


> So it’s a rash on the calves?


I have it now-I'd post a picture but I'll spare everyone.   It's a splotchy red rash. Mine is always on my lower legs and starts around my sock line. I think it looks a lot worse than it feels.


----------



## AndreaDM

Maybe it's just me, but I don't get the point of a theme park helicopter tour??


----------



## elgerber

Wood Nymph said:


> Many people get the rash around their ankles, or above their ankles.
> 
> You can find out more information by running a search on golfer's rash or Disney rash.
> I've never had it but I have read lots of trip reports from people who have gotten it.


I get it every trip.  It's horrible.  Got it at our State Fair a few years back too :-(


----------



## ww52

We'll be in the "World" in a few days.  After planning and cancelling a trip in 2020 we are ALL very excited (all 11 of us, including 4 of my grandkids)

In our last trip (2018) we really enjoyed the opening show (right before rope drop) at MK but only 2 of the grandkids were there at that trip (number 4 was on her way so that family stayed home).

I think I read that the opening ceremony with so many characters at the Castle is still not performed.   Can anyone recently there verify that?

I get the idea that we can't expect all the restrictions in place to be undone all at once.  And this one I assume is more a matter of staffing and rehearsals etc than safety (we're all going congregate for rope drop with or without the show).  Just disappointed I guess.

Disappointment that will go away approximately a half second after we start walking through the castle.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Wood Nymph said:


> Many people get the rash around their ankles, or above their ankles.
> 
> You can find out more information by running a search on golfer's rash or Disney rash.
> I've never had it but I have read lots of trip reports from people who have gotten it.


I guess I get it most trips too.  I just chalked it up to being on my feet so much more than normal.  I don't find it itchy or anything, it's just there.


----------



## LeslieLou

7:22 departed AKL Jambo bus stop. Bus happened to be there when we walked up 
7:45 thru security, tapstiles and waiting at space rope (didn’t try for 7dmt rope since we were lateish) 
8:00 rope drop walk and caught up to the CMs. 
8:05 on space 
8:20 enter Peter Pan queue 5 min wait actually 20 
Stopped for coffee and donut holes on our walk to BTMR
Note splash was closed for a few hours this am
915 entered queue posted wait 20 mins and was fairly accurate
Walked back and did buzz 2x and mobile ordered dole whips 
Splash opened sometime late morning but we departed to rest and miss the rain. Picking up cake at GF and heading to CG for dinner tonight  debating park plans later 
Tomorrow is our first shot for ROTR


----------



## LeslieLou

ww52 said:


> We'll be in the "World" in a few days.  After planning and cancelling a trip in 2020 we are ALL very excited (all 11 of us, including 4 of my grandkids)
> 
> I think I read that the opening ceremony with so many characters at the Castle is still not performed.   Can anyone recently there verify that?



did not see or hear an opening this morning but could have missed it!


----------



## WEDWDW

Hopefully this picture from Epcot Monorail Station earlier today is speaking a Thousand words!


----------



## Jennyonecoin

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> HS report: We entered the park around 3:45 or so. I grabbed a Tower of Terror DAS while my son and husband went on Star Tours. They said it was a walk-on! After they were off Star Tours we headed to Runaway Railway. We waited 33 min in line-the posted wait was 40 min. After Runaway we went on Tower with the DAS. After ToT they headed to pick up our mobile order from Woodys Lunchbox while I grabbed a DAS for Slinky. I wasn’t a huge fan of the food here-the brisket sandwich was okay but I thought the tots were inedible. The skies started to look really ominous so we ate our dinner pretty quickly and made our way over to Midway Mania. Apparently this was everyone else’s idea too because we were in that queue what felt like forever.
> 
> We finally exited TSM and went to use the Slinky DAS just to discover that it was down. We hopped over to Alien Swirling Saucers instead. While we were about to line up I saw Slinky running so we exited the queue and BOOKED it over to Slinky (the skies were still super dark and I didn’t know how long Slinky would be running). We walked right on! After Slinky we caught one more ride on ToT. All in all a successful night but the waits were more intense than they were at rope drop. We plan to hit the Galaxy’s Edge side of the park on our next HS day.


  We were probably with you! We were also on the swirling saucers when my son saw slinky came back up. Our family also booked it off the saucers and right over to walk on slinky


----------



## leannak

We went to the French bakery around noon last week and there were only a couple of people in line in front of us. We waited a good 20 minutes or so before giving up because the line didn’t budge, even one party. There were only 3 people behind the counter, one helping people who couldn’t seem to make up their mind, another helping someone but the CM was walking and moving extremely slowly, like she was half asleep or daydreaming, and the other was very slowly and delicately situating and rearranging pastries in the display cases like she was creating an art display and was the only person in the room. I get and appreciate that, but it’s frustrating to watch when you’re hungry and just want to spend your money. It was a very strange experience.


----------



## dnw25

leannak said:


> We went to the French bakery around noon last week and there were only a couple of people in line in front of us. We waited a good 20 minutes or so before giving up because the line didn’t budge, even one party. There were only 3 people behind the counter, one helping people who couldn’t seem to make up their mind, another helping someone but she was walking and moving extremely slowly, like she was half asleep or daydreaming, and the other was very slowly and delicately situating and rearranging pastries in the display cases like she was creating an art display and was the only person in the room. I get and appreciate that, but it’s frustrating to watch when you’re hungry and just want to spend your money. It was a very strange experience.


yes the France pavilion desperately needs more staffing.  Maybe with the college program starts it will get better.


----------



## Principessa

ww52 said:


> We'll be in the "World" in a few days.  After planning and cancelling a trip in 2020 we are ALL very excited (all 11 of us, including 4 of my grandkids)
> 
> In our last trip (2018) we really enjoyed the opening show (right before rope drop) at MK but only 2 of the grandkids were there at that trip (number 4 was on her way so that family stayed home).
> 
> I think I read that the opening ceremony with so many characters at the Castle is still not performed.   Can anyone recently there verify that?
> 
> I get the idea that we can't expect all the restrictions in place to be undone all at once.  And this one I assume is more a matter of staffing and rehearsals etc than safety (we're all going congregate for rope drop with or without the show).  Just disappointed I guess.
> 
> Disappointment that will go away approximately a half second after we start walking through the castle.


Just back yesterday!  No Shows at the Castle.  Still Characters you can wave to from below:  characters are up on the train station platform by the entrance to the park.  Winnie the Pooh and friends; another time it's Gaston, Jasmine, Moana, etc.  On the cavalcades down mainstreet:  Merida, Princess float with 8 of the top names: Cinderella, etc.
It's fun, but I did miss the excitement of the castle show.


----------



## Principessa

dnw25 said:


> yes the France pavilion desperately needs more staffing.  Maybe with the college program starts it will get better.


On the other hand, this is typical of being in France.  You are served when you are served, not before.  It's leisurely : )


----------



## ww52

OK - another question which I assume is pertinent for this forum -

I am seeing on my app some crazy sounding wait times.  For example - 45 minutes for the boat ride in the Mexico pavilion.  In all the times we've been there we literally NEVER had to wait in line; we walked through the "snake" line and by the time we got to the front we were being loaded.  It was always a great "one more ride" when my kids were small and it was last time with two of my grandkids as well.

Is that indicative of how things are all over?  I recall one Unofficial Guide comment saying "if there is a long wait for Small World, it's going to be a rough day".  I think that applies MORE so for the boat ride in Mexico.

Sounds like maybe it's a rough day every day now that capacity is increased?

EDIT - I love the title of this thread; reminds me Bilbo Baggins "There and Back Again".


----------



## dnw25

ww52 said:


> OK - another question which I assume is pertinent for this forum -
> 
> I am seeing on my app some crazy sounding wait times.  For example - 45 minutes for the boat ride in the Mexico pavilion.  In all the times we've been there we literally NEVER had to wait in line; we walked through the "snake" line and by the time we got to the front we were being loaded.  It was always a great "one more ride" when my kids were small and it was last time with two of my grandkids as well.
> 
> Is that indicative of how things are all over?  I recall one Unofficial Guide comment saying "if there is a long wait for Small World, it's going to be a rough day".  I think that applies MORE so for the boat ride in Mexico.
> 
> Sounds like maybe it's a rough day every day now that capacity is increased?


we walked right on Saturday night at 9:00.  Honestly, other evenings around 7:00 the line was huge.  They even had it broken up into segments with CM watching to make sure no one cut.  Crazy.    I would imagine during the day the lines won't be long.


----------



## ww52

dnw25 said:


> other evenings around 7:00 the line was huge. They even had it broken up into segments with CM watching to make sure no one cut.



For the boat ride in Mexico?  Did they add something like a big drop or virtual reality or something I didn't read about.


----------



## dnw25

ww52 said:


> For the boat ride in Mexico?  Did they add something like a big drop or virtual reality or something I didn't read about.


we were shocked honestly.  but thinking about it, test track was over an hour always and everything else could be done quickly and outside of eating and drinking nothing else left to do in future world and WS just frozen and this.   sort of made sense.  But we had never seen anything like that on any of our many prior visits.

With all the construction and surprising number of places in WS not yet open or closing early, epcot was a mess in our opinion and truly not much to do.   We LOVE epcot but barely spent any time there in our 9 day trip staying at an IG hotel.


----------



## ww52

dnw25 said:


> But we had never seen anything like that on any of our many prior visits.



Maybe they are giving out cerveza gratis?


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

Jennyonecoin said:


> We were probably with you! We were also on the swirling saucers when my son saw slinky came back up. Our family also booked it off the saucers and right over to walk on slinky


I'm pretty sure I saw you! That's amazing.


----------



## AnnabelleTheTalkingTree

ww52 said:


> For example - 45 minutes for the boat ride in the Mexico pavilion.



There was a 45 minute wait for that same ride when we were there in May 2019.  Blew my mind, bc WHY? It wasn't even Cinco de Mayo!


----------



## lovethattink

It seems it’s either long and winding, or short and walk up. If we can’t get right into the pyramid, we skip it.


----------



## Dakota731

scrappinginontario said:


> I guess I get it most trips too.  I just chalked it up to being on my feet so much more than normal.  I don't find it itchy or anything, it's just there.


Does it come from socks?  We always wear flip flops so maybe that’s why our family has never had it


----------



## Boopuff

AndreaDM said:


> Maybe it's just me, but I don't get the point of a theme park helicopter tour??


Funny, I thought the same thing!  “Hey kids let’s fly over Disney it will be just as much fun!” (And annoying to everyone!)


----------



## elgerber

Dakota731 said:


> Does it come from socks?  We always wear flip flops so maybe that’s why our family has never had it


Nope, I don't take socks to Florida and I get a horrible case every time, and mine does itch.  And swells.  And sometimes hurts.


----------



## lovethattink

I live in Florida and none of my family has had this rash. Could it be prickly heat or “no see um” bites?


----------



## redboat45

The rash comes from the heat that reflects off the pavement onto sensitive skin.  My mom gets it all the time when we go.


----------



## finedice

redboat45 said:


> The rash comes from the heat that reflects off the pavement onto sensitive skin.



Agreed - the first time I got it, it was all I could think of.  Get it bad at DHS! Socks actually help prevent it!


----------



## redboat45

finedice said:


> Agreed - the first time I got it, it was all I could think of.  Get it bad at DHS! Socks actually help prevent it!


yes and my mom always tries to wear capris now.  That helps a bit.  It's absolutely worse when it's very hot.


----------



## Raisincain

Just got back yesterday from nine days at Boulder Ridge villas.

Some of the most relevant takeaways:
1. Crowd levels may be down but are still substantial. HS very crowded.
2. 99% of people are not wearing mask, so if this is a concern for you, maybe not the best time to go.
3. Social distancing is absolutely gone.
4. Several shops still closed, particularly around the world showcase.
5. As you would probably expect, the most crowded park is Hollywood studios, followed by animal kingdom, Magic Kingdom and finally Epcot.
6. I found transportation wait times to be typical of what I would expect on a normal Disney vacation. Very good overall.
7. Rise of the resistance boarding passes are literally gone in two seconds every morning. We had better luck at the 1 pm pass issuance time, but keep in mind you have to physically be in the park for the 1 PM time.
8. Almost universally the best time to go to the parks is the last three hours each day.
9. Maybe we are weird, but my family was underwhelmed by rise of the resistance and Smugglers run.  Maybe we overhyped it in our minds.
10. We were able to do all the rides on our trip with the only exception being test track, which was constantly down for weather. No big deal.
11. Mickey and Minnie’s runaway train was really cute, but seems to break down several times a day. If you are far enough in line when this happens you will get a fast pass to any ride (except ROTR) in Hollywood studios that day.
12. Just like many service industries within our economy, Disney is doing their best when it comes to staffing issues. This may however mean that some of your experiences are not what you have enjoyed in the past. For example 50s prime time was staffed with regular waiters as opposed to the wait staff that comically interacts with you throughout the meal. This is not a deal killer of course, and Disney is doing the best that they can in a difficult time. It’s just something to be aware of.

We walked an average of 8.5 miles per day, so that should tell you that we got a lot of things done. Overall it was a very good trip.

We go to Disney annually, so I am a bit apprehensive of what next year will look like if fast passes do not come back and crowds are at normal seasonal levels; factor in the 50th anniversary crowds, the new guardians of the galaxy coaster and the new tron coaster and you are looking at some tremendous wait times.

At this point if you try to make a reservation for next year, you are invited to check to make sure that park passes are available, so at this point anyway they are still planning to require advanced park reservations into the distant future.

I hope this helps and will be glad to answer any questions. Thanks to all those who have come before me and been so helpful with their input!


----------



## LSUfan4444

What times are the first busses generally picking up from the resorts at? 90 minutes before posted park opening or closer to an hour?


----------



## Raisincain

LSUfan4444 said:


> What times are the first busses generally picking up from the resorts at? 90 minutes before posted park opening or closer to an hour?


Our experience was 45 minutes


----------



## scrappinginontario

LSUfan4444 said:


> What times are the first busses generally picking up from the resorts at? 90 minutes before posted park opening or closer to an hour?





Raisincain said:


> Our experience was 45 minutes


Just a note of clarification, buses have not been picking up at resorts 90 mins before park opening since before March 2020.

90 mins is the recommended time you want to be at the bus stop if you want to be on one of the first buses to the park.


----------



## SwanVT2

ww52 said:


> OK - another question which I assume is pertinent for this forum -
> 
> I am seeing on my app some crazy sounding wait times.  For example - 45 minutes for the boat ride in the Mexico pavilion.  In all the times we've been there we literally NEVER had to wait in line; we walked through the "snake" line and by the time we got to the front we were being loaded.  It was always a great "one more ride" when my kids were small and it was last time with two of my grandkids as well.
> 
> Is that indicative of how things are all over?  I recall one Unofficial Guide comment saying "if there is a long wait for Small World, it's going to be a rough day".  I think that applies MORE so for the boat ride in Mexico.
> 
> Sounds like maybe it's a rough day every day now that capacity is increased?
> 
> EDIT - I love the title of this thread; reminds me Bilbo Baggins "There and Back Again".


Funny..for our last 3 trips to MK in February by mid day there were always long lines at small world. I don't know if walk on rides exist anymore!? Will be interested to see what it is like this February!


----------



## Southernmiss

SwanVT2 said:


> Funny..for our last 3 trips to MK in February by mid day there were always long lines at small world. I don't know if walk on rides exist anymore!? Will be interested to see what it is like this February!



Watch the wait times app. We were there 6/16 - 6/20.  The longest waits were the new rides and to us, with interesting queues, the wait of 20 to 30 minutes is like walk on.  We walked on several rides and waited for some. Had a fantastic trip and walked 125,000 steps.

We walked on 3 Caballeros, Small World, Pirates, Soaring, Smugglers Run(single rider) . Waited for Frozen, Test Track, 7 dwarves, RnRC, Tower of Terror and then walk on. Fast passed Slinky Dog(after it went down at rope drop) walked on Buzz Lightyear at MK and Toy Story Mania. Short wait for Space Mtn. Walked on Little Mermaid,  short wait for Pooh, walk on once for HauntedMansion,  2nd time short wait.

Just hit or miss. MDE app was pretty accurate for us.


----------



## wgeo

Is it worth getting the lines app at this point or is the MDE getting more accurate with less covid restrictions?


----------



## Raisincain

wgeo said:


> Is it worth getting the lines app at this point or is the MDE getting more accurate with less covid restrictions?


I have used the lines app for several years, and have even suggested it to many other people. We just got back from our trip yesterday and it performed absolutely miserably. Way off on crowd level predictions. The new user interface is much more user unfriendly than the previous version of the app. I would not purchase at this time. The wait times For the rides that are posted on MDE  are much more accurate than the lines app at this point, and usually come in a tad bit shorter than the posted time. I don’t recall any time over the last week getting a wait time on the app that actually turned out to be longer once we got in line.


----------



## penel3

Raisincain said:


> I have used the lines app for several years, and have even suggested it to many other people. We just got back from our trip yesterday and it performed absolutely miserably. Way off on crowd level predictions. The new user interface is much more user unfriendly than the previous version of the app. I would not purchase at this time. The wait times For the rides that are posted on MDE  are much more accurate than the lines app at this point, and usually come in a tad bit shorter than the posted time. I don’t recall any time over the last week getting a wait time on the app that actually turned out to be longer once we got in line.



Ugh!!!!


----------



## AndreaDM

Boopuff said:


> Funny, I thought the same thing!  “Hey kids let’s fly over Disney it will be just as much fun!” (And annoying to everyone!)



and probably more expensive than a park ticket!


----------



## leannak

Raisincain said:


> I have used the lines app for several years, and have even suggested it to many other people. We just got back from our trip yesterday and it performed absolutely miserably.


I agree about the Lines app. Have used it several times in the past but this last trip it was so off. Our last day at MK they had it at a one for crowd level… but it was the busiest of the three days we had in that park. (The others had been rated five) It was more crowded than HS on a day they had rated at an eight. There were no MK restaurant reservations available, the park reservations were booked up, etc... I had a feeling going in that the crowd prediction was going to be way off!

Line times were off, too, and many evenings there were no today’s times sent in by other users when there had been tons the day before for the same ride.

On a related note, it took me FOREVER during this trip to figure out how to enter personal wait times. That app needs a usability update.


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

dnw25 said:


> we were shocked honestly.  but thinking about it, test track was over an hour always and everything else could be done quickly and outside of eating and drinking nothing else left to do in future world and WS just frozen and this.   sort of made sense.  But we had never seen anything like that on any of our many prior visits.
> 
> With all the construction and surprising number of places in WS not yet open or closing early, epcot was a mess in our opinion and truly not much to do.   We LOVE epcot but barely spent any time there in our 9 day trip staying at an IG hotel.


This is exactly how we felt last week. It has become the boring park!


----------



## lovethattink

SwanVT2 said:


> Funny..for our last 3 trips to MK in February by mid day there were always long lines at small world. I don't know if walk on rides exist anymore!? Will be interested to see what it is like this February!



We walked on Soarin’ last week one day and the Frozen Singalong another day.


----------



## brightlined

Raisincain said:


> 7. Rise of the resistance boarding passes are literally gone in two seconds every morning. We had better luck at the 1 pm pass issuance time, but keep in mind you have to physically be in the park for the 1 PM time.


FYI: this isn't true. You don't have to physically be in DHS at 1pm - you just have to have entered the park sometime before 1pm. You can try for a BG from literally anywhere as long as you've entered DHS before 1pm.

(I scored a BG at 1pm recently while eating a sandwich at the Yacht Club.)


----------



## SDKMom

ww52 said:


> OK - another question which I assume is pertinent for this forum -
> 
> I am seeing on my app some crazy sounding wait times.  For example - 45 minutes for the boat ride in the Mexico pavilion.  In all the times we've been there we literally NEVER had to wait in line; we walked through the "snake" line and by the time we got to the front we were being loaded.  It was always a great "one more ride" when my kids were small and it was last time with two of my grandkids as well.
> 
> Is that indicative of how things are all over?  I recall one Unofficial Guide comment saying "if there is a long wait for Small World, it's going to be a rough day".  I think that applies MORE so for the boat ride in Mexico.
> 
> Sounds like maybe it's a rough day every day now that capacity is increased?
> 
> EDIT - I love the title of this thread; reminds me Bilbo Baggins "There and Back Again".


I have noticed this as well! I've been checking wait times on Lines pretty frequently this past week because we'll be there next week. This ride has consistently had long wait times, sometimes even more than Soarin and FEA.


----------



## Dicentras

SwanVT2 said:


> Funny..for our last 3 trips to MK in February by mid day there were always long lines at small world. I don't know if walk on rides exist anymore!? Will be interested to see what it is like this February!



We had an amazing, likely never to be repeated evening last week (Monday) with a ton of walk on rides.  Small world, Ariel, space mountain even!   I think it was a combo of an early evening rain plus no fireworks to draw the big crowds back.  It was so fun!


----------



## olive

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> Oh man, that'd be great. Our boarding group at HS yesterday wasn't called until 2ish (the time we usually try to avoid the parks) and the sun/heat and crowds were bad. The area where you walk into Galaxy's Edge near Star Tours was full of people sitting and laying down because it was the only shaded area around. We went on Rise then went right back to the hotel. I've never done only 1 ride all day in all my trips to Disney.



It is so weird!!! Maybe by our next visit. I mean. Probably not tomorrow, but the next next one.


----------



## yorkieteacher

lovethattink said:


> I live in Florida and none of my family has had this rash. Could it be prickly heat or “no see um” bites?


No, it's actually vasculitis, as PP said, where small capillaries in your ankles/calves break from being on your feet so much in the heat and humidity when you are not use to it. For most it looks like a rash, for some it has looked like bruises or burns! Mine hasn't itched, but for some it's itchy and painful. If you live in the area you are most likely well acquainted  with heat and humidity! Also more common in people over 50, so if you are younger there's that! I walk lots and tour  lots of places, and I think I am more affected by the humidity than the heat. We joked about leaving the resort lobby and walking into the "soup" every day!


----------



## yorkieteacher

wgeo said:


> Is it worth getting the lines app at this point or is the MDE getting more accurate with less covid restrictions?


On our trip last week I found the Lines app more accurate than MDE,  except once or twice, when suddenly big groups descended on the line at MMRR and TSMM just before we got in line. The Lines app "caught up" shortly after. I wasn't taking the time to report, but some surely were.


----------



## Chernabob

Raisincain said:


> I have used the lines app for several years, and have even suggested it to many other people. We just got back from our trip yesterday and it performed absolutely miserably. Way off on crowd level predictions. The new user interface is much more user unfriendly than the previous version of the app. I would not purchase at this time. The wait times For the rides that are posted on MDE  are much more accurate than the lines app at this point, and usually come in a tad bit shorter than the posted time. I don’t recall any time over the last week getting a wait time on the app that actually turned out to be longer once we got in line.


I just wanted to add that I was disappointed in the accuracy of the Lines app too.  It wasn't way off, but by the end of my recent trip, I'd quit using it as a reliable estimate of wait times.  Just stuck with MDE.

I did like the user interface though, and the timer function is nice.

So if you're on the fence, you can get by without it.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

Rope dropping MK now and literally everything we’ve tried is closed…Pirates, splash, haunted mansion. I couldn’t tell if Thunder was down because the crowd was so thick I couldn’t get near the entrance.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

Well that’s a first…just rope dropped Small World.


----------



## Leigh L

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> Well that’s a first…just rope dropped Small World.


We did that once last year! First in line


----------



## chad_1138

Leigh L said:


> We did that once last year! First in line


----------



## ColoradoMom12

I have the Lines app and like others have found it rather inaccurate this trip. I don’t like the new design. It seems much less user-friendly, but maybe I just don’t like change!  

One of our favorite things to do in line is to check the estimated wait time in the Lines app and the Disney app and then make our own prediction. We start a timer as we get in line and stop it just as we’re about to get on the ride. It’s kind of a fun activity, lol. We were guessing pretty accurately yesterday at HS. Our longest wait was for the Aliens (40 minutes), which seemed to be because they were cleaning the ride?? Do they still do this? The line stopped moving completely, the ride wasn’t running, but no one came out to tell us the ride was down. Unfortunately we were in the direct sun for this wait, which was pretty uncomfortable. At least without FP, the lines move pretty much continuously with no long waits so getting stuck in the direct sun isn’t too awful because the line keeps moving.


----------



## ww52

All this talk on this thread is making me nervous / frustrated and we're not even there yet.

I have to wonder if Disney is facing a real staffing shortage.  I would assume that's part of it.  That they can't handle the crowd levels they've increased to.

I heard from someone we know who just came back that despite ADRs, they waited sometimes 30 minutes for a table.  And their group was not very large.

Regarding Lines - the main reason we bought a subscription (which in fairness is pretty cheap) was to put in our plans for attractions and let it optimize for us.  That worked great in 2018.

But without fast passes, it's very different.  and if their wait times are noticeably inaccurate, it's essentially worthless.  Add to that what many are saying regarding ride closures (which SOUND like it's more of an issue than normal) and we may be in for a rather frustrating several days.

The issue for me is there is at least one rather vocal person who has said many times she thinks going this year is a mistake.  The negativity our group of 11 may encounter from this one person - in addition to the frustration plus having 4 kids plus the normal heat and thunderstorms - will be challenging.


----------



## penel3

ww52 said:


> Regarding Lines - the main reason we bought a subscription (which in fairness is pretty cheap) was to put in our plans for attractions and let it optimize for us.  That worked great in 2018.



I have always used their website faithfully for selecting which park, which day (crowd calendar) now I am panicking because I 100% committed my park picks in late August/early September on their crowd calendar


----------



## Sarahslay

penel3 said:


> I have always used their website faithfully for selecting which park, which day (crowd calendar) now I am panicking because I 100% committed my park picks in late August/early September on their crowd calendar


I'm there at the same time, and I have been 6 times already since reopening at varying times while using their site to plan. Now, it's not always accurate, but all of my trips have been awesome, and I've still felt I picked the right park on the right day. I have been watching room availability onsite, and compared it to my most recent stay (3 weeks ago, where honestly there was hardly any rooms left at all), and unless most of the people coming to the parks are staying offsite you should be fine. I always look at how many hotels still have availability, and how many room categories are still available at each as more of a gauge of how busy it will be and I'm not worried at all. I know in March YC was FULL, as were almost all the other resorts, and we were still fine, same with the trip we just had. I know they are taking attendance back to normal more or less, but I do think a lot of the crowds are still waiting to come until the 50th, there is much less room availability then anyway (I had several rooms in my cart become unavailable as I went to check out, in minutes, gone). I wouldn't panic too much.


----------



## Mousefan mom

ww52 said:


> All this talk on this thread is making me nervous / frustrated and we're not even there yet.
> 
> I have to wonder if Disney is facing a real staffing shortage.  I would assume that's part of it.  That they can't handle the crowd levels they've increased to.
> 
> I heard from someone we know who just came back that despite ADRs, they waited sometimes 30 minutes for a table.  And their group was not very large.
> 
> Regarding Lines - the main reason we bought a subscription (which in fairness is pretty cheap) was to put in our plans for attractions and let it optimize for us.  That worked great in 2018.
> 
> But without fast passes, it's very different.  and if their wait times are noticeably inaccurate, it's essentially worthless.  Add to that what many are saying regarding ride closures (which SOUND like it's more of an issue than normal) and we may be in for a rather frustrating several days.
> 
> The issue for me is there is at least one rather vocal person who has said many times she thinks going this year is a mistake.  The negativity our group of 11 may encounter from this one person - in addition to the frustration plus having 4 kids plus the normal heat and thunderstorms - will be challenging.


I am a bit concerned too--if it were just hubby and me, I wouldn't worry...but we are traveling with our 3 teens/tweens who got very accustomed to FP, dining plans, etc.  We purchased travel insurance, and I am still waiting to see before we go--because this trip is a huge investment for us (don't mean to sound negative at all), but am wondering if it makes sense to wait for the cost of the money.  The frequent rides going down does make me rethink...


----------



## dreamit

LeslieLou said:


> 7:22 departed AKL Jambo bus stop. Bus happened to be there when we walked up
> 7:45 thru security, tapstiles and waiting at space rope (didn’t try for 7dmt rope since we were lateish)
> 8:00 rope drop walk and caught up to the CMs.
> 8:05 on space
> 8:20 enter Peter Pan queue 5 min wait actually 20
> *Stopped for coffee and donut holes on our walk to BTMR*
> Note splash was closed for a few hours this am
> 915 entered queue posted wait 20 mins and was fairly accurate
> Walked back and did buzz 2x and mobile ordered dole whips
> Splash opened sometime late morning but we departed to rest and miss the rain. Picking up cake at GF and heading to CG for dinner tonight  debating park plans later
> Tomorrow is our first shot for ROTR


Where did you find donut holes?


----------



## LiamsDISMom

scrappinginontario said:


> Just a note of clarification, buses have not been picking up at resorts 90 mins before park opening since before March 2020.
> 
> 90 mins is the recommended time you want to be at the bus stop if you want to be on one of the first buses to the park.



In May 2021 at Saratoga every day there was a first bus to each park 90 minutes (give or take maybe 10 minutes at most) before opening. Also know for sure it has been the same at Caribbean Beach as well in both May and June of this year.  It was not this way in September of 2020 however at Wilderness Lodge.


----------



## LeslieLou

dreamit said:


> Where did you find donut holes?


At the small stationary refreshment stand on the main walk in front of btmr


----------



## Jennyonecoin

Mousefan mom said:


> I am a bit concerned too--if it were just hubby and me, I wouldn't worry...but we are traveling with our 3 teens/tweens who got very accustomed to FP, dining plans, etc.  We purchased travel insurance, and I am still waiting to see before we go--because this trip is a huge investment for us (don't mean to sound negative at all), but am wondering if it makes sense to wait for the cost of the money.  The frequent rides going down does make me rethink...


 We were there just last week and l cannot recall (ever) the amount of rides going down nearly every single day! Many were when it was nice out so not weather related. Just off the top of my head l can recall: slinky dog, rise of resistance, runaway railway, splash, big thunder, jungle cruise.

l do not recall any being down in animal kingdom and we decided to skip Epcot and double up at Hollywood due to all the construction.


----------



## LeslieLou

HS today 
7:00 Rise boarding pass 49 achieved
7:30 at bus stop at AKL 
7:42 first bus 
8:05 tapping through 
We were maybe 50 ft from the slinky rope on Main Street 
8:30 rope walk starts 
8:55 Off slinky 
9:00 board TSMM - 10 min posted wait was pretty much walk on 
9:20 Walked to rockin rollercoaster and joined single rider line which was a walk on. Main ride had 60 min posted wait
My son doesn’t like to ride tower of terror so we skipped that
9:45 rode star tours 35 min posted wait took 15 or so
10:20 single rider line for MFSR. Posted 80 min wait and took about 20 mins 
Bummed around until we could pick up lunch at 11:20 
Watched muppet vision to kill time for Savi rez at 12:25 
Ducked from the rain and waited for Rise to operate
1:30ish star disappears from map and we walk out from tunnel to rise queue. I knew the ride was opening before the CMs did. Son and I were first in and no one was behind us. Neat to walk through empty queue and the ride was fantastic. 
2:00 caught bus - efficient day for the most part!


----------



## cdurham1

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> Well that’s a first…just rope dropped Small World.


I don't know whether to congratulate or console you.   .   At least you will have that memory for years!


----------



## kylenne

Friendly reminder that Lines is a crowdsourced app, meaning it's only as accurate as the users reporting, so if you want more accuracy be a part of the solution and report your times whenever possible


----------



## Sarahslay

dreamit said:


> Where did you find donut holes?


I do believe it's Westward Ho, my oldest DD and I got them a few weeks ago and they were pretty good. Not amazing, but pretty good, cinnamon with powder sugar and a little more dense (not light and fluffy, they will fill you up!). They also have a breakfast sandwich that a lot of people were getting that looked pretty good too, some people were upset because they wanted the more lunch time/afternoon snack options, but this is what is offered in the mornings.


----------



## bdiddy

dnw25 said:


> The lines were outrageous this past week.  Again like nothing we've seen for La Patisserie or the Ice Cream place.
> 
> Turns out.  Only two people working at the ice cream shop.  One at the register and another fulfilling the orders.  Both times this was the case when we waited the line out (back past the doors of the signature French restaurant).  We never attempted the bakery since every time we walked past, the line was back to the ice cream shop.



We tried to go to the France ice cream place 3 different times during our recent trip. Our DD saw something on a food blog she wanted to try. The first time it was peak middle of the day and the line was insane so we were just like we’ll come back later. Which we did but it was sometime after 7 and they were closed. So on our last day we were at Epcot for a bit and it was a Monday but they were closed the whole day! None of the CM’s knew why though. Bummer!


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

cdurham1 said:


> I don't know whether to congratulate or console you.   .   At least you will have that memory for years!


We've rope dropped 3 Caballeros twice this trip because my son LOVES it and it keeps going up to a 40 min wait later in the day. Definitely the weirdest trip yet but many memories are being made!


----------



## penel3

Sarahslay said:


> I'm there at the same time, and I have been 6 times already since reopening at varying times while using their site to plan. Now, it's not always accurate, but all of my trips have been awesome, and I've still felt I picked the right park on the right day. I have been watching room availability onsite, and compared it to my most recent stay (3 weeks ago, where honestly there was hardly any rooms left at all), and unless most of the people coming to the parks are staying offsite you should be fine. I always look at how many hotels still have availability, and how many room categories are still available at each as more of a gauge of how busy it will be and I'm not worried at all. I know in March YC was FULL, as were almost all the other resorts, and we were still fine, same with the trip we just had. I know they are taking attendance back to normal more or less, but I do think a lot of the crowds are still waiting to come until the 50th, there is much less room availability then anyway (I had several rooms in my cart become unavailable as I went to check out, in minutes, gone). I wouldn't panic too much.


Thank you, I also just did a daily scan of restaurant availability at each of my chosen parks vs. the other parks…my choices still look good in alignment with the crowd calendar


----------



## dreamit

bdiddy said:


> We tried to go to the France ice cream place 3 different times during our recent trip. Our DD saw something on a food blog she wanted to try. The first time it was peak middle of the day and the line was insane so we were just like we’ll come back later. Which we did but it was sometime after 7 and they were closed. So on our last day we were at Epcot for a bit and it was a Monday but they were closed the whole day! None of the CM’s knew why though. Bummer!


I’m not sure if this means anything but the WDW website hasn‘t been showing hours for L’Artisan de Glaces for awhile, but I can now see hours beginning July 11.


----------



## epcotobsessed

We've rope dropped 3 Caballeros twice this trip because my son LOVES it and it keeps going up to a 40 min wait later in the day. Definitely the weirdest trip yet but many memories are being made!
[/QUOTE said:
			
		

> I love to hear about other people loving this ride - it's been my kids' favorite ride for years. They are now teenagers and we'll be rope dropping this ride for the first time ever next week!


----------



## cwaltjen

At AK today. We drove. Parking lot opened right at 7, turnstiles opened right at 7:15. We were held at the bridge to Pandora until 7:30.


----------



## dreamit

The dinner food offerings at HS still look dismal.  Almost everywhere is still closing before 5:00. I’ll never, ever eat at Rosie’s again after the terrible meal we had there in March. Docking Bay looks okay to me but not sure everyone in my family will find something they like on that menu. I’d appreciate any tips on dinner in that park.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

We've been here for the past 10 days and here's some initial thoughts as folks that are primarily Disneyland people:

Holy ride breakdowns! I don't know if this is normal for WDW but every single day at each park we've seen multiple rides not open at rope drop or breakdown over and over throughout the day. Yesterday Space, Splash, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates were all down when the park opened which created a wild wait for Big Thunder!  
Wait times are much, much shorter in the evening in MK. We walked on to many rides after 6PM that had 40+ minute waits all day.
HS is stressful. The crowds and the lines for rides are just intense. We ended up skipping our last evening there and spending it at MK which is a bummer bc we normally love it there.
No issues with mobile ordering! Everything was easily available when we wanted it.
Uber/Lyft drivers were always in the area and never has to wait. So that issue has seemed to improve.
The Skyliner can't be relied on much with the rain in the summer- we've only gotten to use it in the mornings. I'd recommend taking an uber if it's down when returning at park close to avoid longer than usual bus waits.
Bus waits altogether have been minimal- it's been so easy!
I'll have more later- today is our last day and we're so excited to see the fireworks!!


----------



## subtchr

dreamit said:


> The dinner food offerings at HS still look dismal.  Almost everywhere is still closing before 5:00. I’ll never, ever eat at Rosie’s again after the terrible meal we had there in March. Docking Bay looks okay to me but not sure everyone in my family will find something they like on that menu. I’d appreciate any tips on dinner in that park.



Docking Bay is my new favorite.

ABC Commissary was surprisingly good, but it does close early like many other locations in HS. That place has had a revolving-door menu for years, with more misses than hits. But the present iteration has some good choices. We got the shrimp and pork tacos, and found them to be a great light meal.

I'm also surprised how early so many of the dining locations close in HS. I would hope that this will gradually change as full operations return.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

subtchr said:


> Docking Bay is my new favorite.
> 
> ABC Commissary was surprisingly good, but it does close early like many other locations in HS. That place has had a revolving-door menu for years, with more misses than hits. But the present iteration has some good choices. We got the shrimp and pork tacos, and found them to be a great light meal.
> 
> I'm also surprised how early so many of the dining locations close in HS. I would hope that this will gradually change as full operations return.


My family and I have always enjoyed ABC commissary. While we are slightly sad that the burgers are not there anymore (they were nice and big and juicy) we are excited about the tacos and the buffalo chicken grilled cheese. Its a great quick service.


----------



## dnw25

TikiTikiFan said:


> We've been here for the past 10 days and here's some initial thoughts as folks that are primarily Disneyland people:
> 
> Holy ride breakdowns! I don't know if this is normal for WDW but every single day at each park we've seen multiple rides not open at rope drop or breakdown over and over throughout the day. Yesterday Space, Splash, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates were all down when the park opened which created a wild wait for Big Thunder!
> Wait times are much, much shorter in the evening in MK. We walked on to many rides after 6PM that had 40+ minute waits all day.
> HS is stressful. The crowds and the lines for rides are just intense. We ended up skipping our last evening there and spending it at MK which is a bummer bc we normally love it there.
> No issues with mobile ordering! Everything was easily available when we wanted it.
> Uber/Lyft drivers were always in the area and never has to wait. So that issue has seemed to improve.
> The Skyliner can't be relied on much with the rain in the summer- we've only gotten to use it in the mornings. I'd recommend taking an uber if it's down when returning at park close to avoid longer than usual bus waits.
> Bus waits altogether have been minimal- it's been so easy!
> I'll have more later- today is our last day and we're so excited to see the fireworks!!


Almost our experience exactly!  We are WDW people, but I may have under reported just how often rides went down.  It was pervasive and at all the parks, all the time. We were shocked.  

HS was stressful.  agree.  We thought Epcot too since Test track was almost impossible to ride without a lengthy wait and restaurants, food carts, shops either closed, sporadic unpublished hours or extremely shortened hours.  The college program resuming will help I think.

Skyliner was pointless anytime after 2:00 almost everyday last week (weather).  AND, it also had technical problems a few mornings and evenings as well.  I felt awful for the people at the Epcot station that were told they had to walk to the boardwalk and grab resort buses.  

Our bus waits were almost always 25-40 min.  

If this had been our first trip to WDW, we would never be going back.


----------



## dreamit

subtchr said:


> Docking Bay is my new favorite.
> 
> ABC Commissary was surprisingly good, but it does close early like many other locations in HS. That place has had a revolving-door menu for years, with more misses than hits. But the present iteration has some good choices. We got the shrimp and pork tacos, and found them to be a great light meal.
> 
> I'm also surprised how early so many of the dining locations close in HS. I would hope that this will gradually change as full operations return.





BroadwayHermione5 said:


> My family and I have always enjoyed ABC commissary. While we are slightly sad that the burgers are not there anymore (they were nice and big and juicy) we are excited about the tacos and the buffalo chicken grilled cheese. Its a great quick service.


We’ve always enjoyed ABC Commissary, but it currently is closing at 4:30. That’s my struggle—trying to plan for a meal after 5:00 that will appeal to most in our group. It looks like our options are Docking Bay and Woody’s.


----------



## MemoryMakers

dreamit said:


> We’ve always enjoyed ABC Commissary, but it currently is closing at 4:30. That’s my struggle—trying to plan for a meal after 5:00 that will appeal to most in our group. It looks like our options are Docking Bay and Woody’s.



Recently back from an 8 day trip...it was frustrating that most of the HS quick service places close early but we did enjoy Woody's.   The second night we were there,  I kept checking the app to see if any reservations opened up and saw Brown Derby, Mama Melrose, and 50s Prime Time come up a couple times.  Felt like the old days looking for FPs...kept clicking on different times and got different results every min or two.  Same goes for the other parks.  Even got a late same day California Grill reservation (9:20 reservation...got it at 6:30 same day).


----------



## SuJo

Sarahslay said:


> I do believe it's Westward Ho, my oldest DD and I got them a few weeks ago and they were pretty good. Not amazing, but pretty good, cinnamon with powder sugar and a little more dense (not light and fluffy, they will fill you up!). They also have a breakfast sandwich that a lot of people were getting that looked pretty good too, some people were upset because they wanted the more lunch time/afternoon snack options, but this is what is offered in the mornings.



We got them last week when we were there and they were pretty good.  Very doughy and yummy


----------



## Sarahslay

SuJo said:


> We got them last week when we were there and they were pretty good.  Very doughy and yummy


I think it's the great "yeast vs cake donut" debat really lol, I like mine soft and floofy like at Krispy Kreme, these are more like Dunkin which aren't bad but not my first choice. I'll definitely get them again though, a good quick breakfast.


----------



## Sarahslay

dreamit said:


> The dinner food offerings at HS still look dismal.  Almost everywhere is still closing before 5:00. I’ll never, ever eat at Rosie’s again after the terrible meal we had there in March. Docking Bay looks okay to me but not sure everyone in my family will find something they like on that menu. I’d appreciate any tips on dinner in that park.


We did Woody's on our recent trip when we ducked in there in the evening last minute, I think we got a spot around 6pm, and while the menu is small we all had something we like (most importantly, my grilled cheese loving kid and my tot loving kid were happy which made the parents happy so we were fine). My husband is happy to go to docking bay and get a ronto wrap since that's where they sell them in the evening, otherwise if we know we're eating there in the evening we grab an ADR since the food choices are so incredibly slim.


----------



## DisneyFive

dreamit said:


> We’ve always enjoyed ABC Commissary, but it currently is closing at 4:30. That’s my struggle—trying to plan for a meal after 5:00 that will appeal to most in our group. It looks like our options are Docking Bay and Woody’s.


How late is Docking Bay open to currently?


----------



## dreamit

DisneyFive said:


> How late is Docking Bay open to currently?


It’s currently open until 8:00.


----------



## oceanmarina

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> We've rope dropped 3 Caballeros twice this trip because my son LOVES it and it keeps going up to a 40 min wait later in the day. Definitely the weirdest trip yet but many memories are being made!



WOW!! 40 minutes - have never seen that ride with more than a 5-10 minute wait in all of our trips.

We love that ride tooI


----------



## oceanmarina

Raisincain said:


> Just got back yesterday from nine days at Boulder Ridge villas.
> 
> Some of the most relevant takeaways:
> 1. Crowd levels may be down but are still substantial. HS very crowded.
> 2. 99% of people are not wearing mask, so if this is a concern for you, maybe not the best time to go.
> 3. Social distancing is absolutely gone.
> 4. Several shops still closed, particularly around the world showcase.
> 5. As you would probably expect, the most crowded park is Hollywood studios, followed by animal kingdom, Magic Kingdom and finally Epcot.
> 6. I found transportation wait times to be typical of what I would expect on a normal Disney vacation. Very good overall.
> 7. Rise of the resistance boarding passes are literally gone in two seconds every morning. We had better luck at the 1 pm pass issuance time, but keep in mind you have to physically be in the park for the 1 PM time.
> 8. Almost universally the best time to go to the parks is the last three hours each day.
> 9. Maybe we are weird, but my family was underwhelmed by rise of the resistance and Smugglers run.  Maybe we overhyped it in our minds.
> 10. We were able to do all the rides on our trip with the only exception being test track, which was constantly down for weather. No big deal.
> 11. Mickey and Minnie’s runaway train was really cute, but seems to break down several times a day. If you are far enough in line when this happens you will get a fast pass to any ride (except ROTR) in Hollywood studios that day.
> 12. Just like many service industries within our economy, Disney is doing their best when it comes to staffing issues. This may however mean that some of your experiences are not what you have enjoyed in the past. For example 50s prime time was staffed with regular waiters as opposed to the wait staff that comically interacts with you throughout the meal. This is not a deal killer of course, and Disney is doing the best that they can in a difficult time. It’s just something to be aware of.
> 
> We walked an average of 8.5 miles per day, so that should tell you that we got a lot of things done. Overall it was a very good trip.
> 
> We go to Disney annually, so I am a bit apprehensive of what next year will look like if fast passes do not come back and crowds are at normal seasonal levels; factor in the 50th anniversary crowds, the new guardians of the galaxy coaster and the new tron coaster and you are looking at some tremendous wait times.
> 
> At this point if you try to make a reservation for next year, you are invited to check to make sure that park passes are available, so at this point anyway they are still planning to require advanced park reservations into the distant future.
> 
> I hope this helps and will be glad to answer any questions. Thanks to all those who have come before me and been so helpful with their input!



Hi thanks for the info,

We love Boulder Ridge and usually stay there every August. Were the pools packed there?

I'm debating booking for next month - just how long are the waits for lines (we are usually not rope drop people as my daughter always sleep in)

My husband is heat sensitive so I would be worried about long waits for rides in the heat (we have always used fastpass in the past).

Thanks for any feedback, Marina


----------



## capegirl

TikiTikiFan said:


> We've been here for the past 10 days and here's some initial thoughts as folks that are primarily Disneyland people:
> 
> Holy ride breakdowns! I don't know if this is normal for WDW but every single day at each park we've seen multiple rides not open at rope drop or breakdown over and over throughout the day. Yesterday Space, Splash, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates were all down when the park opened which created a wild wait for Big Thunder!
> Wait times are much, much shorter in the evening in MK. We walked on to many rides after 6PM that had 40+ minute waits all day.
> HS is stressful. The crowds and the lines for rides are just intense. We ended up skipping our last evening there and spending it at MK which is a bummer bc we normally love it there.
> No issues with mobile ordering! Everything was easily available when we wanted it.
> Uber/Lyft drivers were always in the area and never has to wait. So that issue has seemed to improve.
> The Skyliner can't be relied on much with the rain in the summer- we've only gotten to use it in the mornings. I'd recommend taking an uber if it's down when returning at park close to avoid longer than usual bus waits.
> Bus waits altogether have been minimal- it's been so easy!
> I'll have more later- today is our last day and we're so excited to see the fireworks!!


Happy to hear that the Uber/Lift situation has improved, as well as the bus waits.
Sad to hear about the ride breakdowns.
My biggest concern is DHS. Most reports coming in say it is 'stressful'. My grandson is on the spectrum, so if we get a later ROTR boarding group I was considering skipping rope drop at DHS. We will request a DAS for him, and hopefully we can try for his favorite rides later in the day. Not sure if this strategy will work for us, but I guess it's worth a try.


----------



## Lsdolphin

TikiTikiFan said:


> We've been here for the past 10 days and here's some initial thoughts as folks that are primarily Disneyland people:
> 
> Holy ride breakdowns! I don't know if this is normal for WDW but every single day at each park we've seen multiple rides not open at rope drop or breakdown over and over throughout the day. Yesterday Space, Splash, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates were all down when the park opened which created a wild wait for Big Thunder!
> Wait times are much, much shorter in the evening in MK. We walked on to many rides after 6PM that had 40+ minute waits all day.
> HS is stressful. The crowds and the lines for rides are just intense. We ended up skipping our last evening there and spending it at MK which is a bummer bc we normally love it there.
> No issues with mobile ordering! Everything was easily available when we wanted it.
> Uber/Lyft drivers were always in the area and never has to wait. So that issue has seemed to improve.
> The Skyliner can't be relied on much with the rain in the summer- we've only gotten to use it in the mornings. I'd recommend taking an uber if it's down when returning at park close to avoid longer than usual bus waits.
> Bus waits altogether have been minimal- it's been so easy!
> I'll have more later- today is our last day and we're so excited to see the fireworks!!



Now that fireworks have returned to MK I would certainly expect the evening ride lines to increase significantly at least before fireworks as there will way larger crowds.


----------



## MomOTwins

capegirl said:


> Happy to hear that the Uber/Lift situation has improved, as well as the bus waits.
> Sad to hear about the ride breakdowns.
> My biggest concern is DHS. Most reports coming in say it is 'stressful'. My grandson is on the spectrum, so if we get a later ROTR boarding group I was considering skipping rope drop at DHS. We will request a DAS for him, and hopefully we can try for his favorite rides later in the day. Not sure if this strategy will work for us, but I guess it's worth a try.


We used DAS in spring break for our son on the spectrum and it was definitely challenging at HS because the ride waits are so long on EVERYTHING, and there are so few shows happening now, we struggled to find things to do while waiting for return times.  And this was for rides like AS2, TSMM, and Star Tours that rarely had crazy waits before but on our trip they were all 45+ minutes.  Some things we did to keep him entertained while waiting for return times (1) watched that mickey/minnie vacation short movie; (2) did lightning mcqueen and frozen shows (although both did have a bit of a wait, but only about 15 mins); (3) found a shaded near where the old Olaf M&G used to be to sit and watch the character cavalcades; (4) bought him a bunch of ice cream/popcorn to snack on; and (5) bought a bubble wand and let him play in the bubbles.

Waits were definitely better in the evening around 6pm--he was able to ride AS2 about 5 times in a row with no wait.

By the way, shout out to everyone in MK or EP tonight--enjoy the fireworks!!!  SO excited they are back.


----------



## kylenne

oceanmarina said:


> Hi thanks for the info,
> 
> We love Boulder Ridge and usually stay there every August. Were the pools packed there?
> 
> I'm debating booking for next month - just how long are the waits for lines (we are usually not rope drop people as my daughter always sleep in)
> 
> My husband is heat sensitive so I would be worried about long waits for rides in the heat (we have always used fastpass in the past).
> 
> Thanks for any feedback, Marina



AllEars.net posts a daily list of wait times at the parks so you can get an idea of what the patterns are. I am curious to see how the return of fireworks will impact them, especially in the evening hours. Historically wait times plummet during fireworks. 

As far as surviving heat with someone sensitive to it, the best advice imo continues to be rope drop, leave at midday at the hottest, most crowded part of the day, then come back in the evening preferably after the afternoon thunderstorms. UV umbrellas with fans help a lot in outdoor queues with very little shade. Get familiar with the various shortcuts so you’re minimizing time spent in the sun and heat just walking around.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

MomOTwins said:


> We used DAS in spring break for our son on the spectrum and it was definitely challenging at HS because the ride waits are so long on EVERYTHING, and there are so few shows happening now, we struggled to find things to do while waiting for return times.  And this was for rides like AS2, TSMM, and Star Tours that rarely had crazy waits before but on our trip they were all 45+ minutes.  Some things we did to keep him entertained while waiting for return times (1) watched that mickey/minnie vacation short movie; (2) did lightning mcqueen and frozen shows (although both did have a bit of a wait, but only about 15 mins); (3) found a shaded near where the old Olaf M&G used to be to sit and watch the character cavalcades; (4) bought him a bunch of ice cream/popcorn to snack on; and (5) bought a bubble wand and let him play in the bubbles.
> 
> Waits were definitely better in the evening around 6pm--he was able to ride AS2 about 5 times in a row with no wait.
> 
> By the way, shout out to everyone in MK or EP tonight--enjoy the fireworks!!!  SO excited they are back.



All of this! My son is also on the spectrum and we found “filler” activities while we waited difficult at HS since we used to go on Star Tours or Alien swirling saucers but now the waits are too long for him. We had the same exact approach: watching the vacation shorts, snacking, Frozen singalong, Lightning McQueen (first for us!) etc. I was so glad we rope dropped this AM because we immediately knocked out Runaway Railway and Midway Mania without long waits.


----------



## DMLAINI

We're not using magic bands or our phones to get into the parks.   Can I pick up key to the world cards at check in?  I wasn't sure how that worked


----------



## CarolynFH

DMLAINI said:


> We're not using magic bands or our phones to get into the parks.   Can I pick up key to the world cards at check in?  I wasn't sure how that worked


Yes, you can get cards at your hotel that will function like MBs for all functions that require tapping. I don’t think they’ll pick up long range photos like at Seven Dwarfs, where there isn’t a tap point, but I could be wrong about that.


----------



## capegirl

MomOTwins said:


> We used DAS in spring break for our son on the spectrum and it was definitely challenging at HS because the ride waits are so long on EVERYTHING, and there are so few shows happening now, we struggled to find things to do while waiting for return times.  And this was for rides like AS2, TSMM, and Star Tours that rarely had crazy waits before but on our trip they were all 45+ minutes.  Some things we did to keep him entertained while waiting for return times (1) watched that mickey/minnie vacation short movie; (2) did lightning mcqueen and frozen shows (although both did have a bit of a wait, but only about 15 mins); (3) found a shaded near where the old Olaf M&G used to be to sit and watch the character cavalcades; (4) bought him a bunch of ice cream/popcorn to snack on; and (5) bought a bubble wand and let him play in the bubbles.
> 
> Waits were definitely better in the evening around 6pm--he was able to ride AS2 about 5 times in a row with no wait.
> 
> By the way, shout out to everyone in MK or EP tonight--enjoy the fireworks!!!  SO excited they are back.



Thanks for all the great tips!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

I'm so happy I extended our trip by one day to catch the fireworks return. It was so emotional and the energy in the crowd was just pure joy. Everyone around me was singing, crying, hugging... just one of those Disney moments you'll never forget.

It was also nonstop rain so we were drenched, Grabbed a spot in the hub about one hour prior and ended up with a dead center view. The rain also threw off what likely will be crowd level/pattern for seating- if it weren't raining I think we would have needed to get spot sooner. I was happy to have an umbrella so while we waited I didn't have rain just running down my arms/face. Ponchos are great but don't underestimate the comfort that umbrella can give you!


----------



## Chernabob

oceanmarina said:


> WOW!! 40 minutes - have never seen that ride with more than a 5-10 minute wait in all of our trips.
> 
> We love that ride tooI


*THIS* was the one experience that shocked us the most mid-June when we were there.  Both MDE and the Lines app reported a 5 (maybe 10) minute wait midday.  It was definitely close to 40 for us.  Talk about buyer's remorse!


----------



## Sarahslay

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> All of this! My son is also on the spectrum and we found “filler” activities while we waited difficult at HS since we used to go on Star Tours or Alien swirling saucers but now the waits are too long for him. We had the same exact approach: watching the vacation shorts, snacking, Frozen singalong, Lightning McQueen (first for us!) etc. I was so glad we rope dropped this AM because we immediately knocked out Runaway Railway and Midway Mania without long waits.


We had to pick up a different strategy for my DD on this trip, instead of finding fillers we had to be like "ok, we know we're going to eat now so we'll grab a SDD before our ADR and then we can ride after", or if we were going to get in line for TSMM (which she's fine waiting in line for because there is stuff to look at and it's not super loud in there, plus a/c) we'll grab a pass before hopping in line for that. RD ended up being our best friend with her at HS, more so than at any other park, we could knock out most of her must do rides early and then save the wait for the DAS pass for later when we knew we were doing something. It worked out our memorial day trip that we got a DAS and then our boarding group was called, by the time we got off of ROTR we were able to grab a blue milk by her request, and then head over to ride SDD. This is when lunch ADRs come in handy though, if the BG situation hadn't worked out we would have just waited until after lunch since we had ridden everything she wanted to ride at that point and we could leave right after. That park is just tricky, you'd think DAS would be super helpful but it's just not at that park.


----------



## BK2014

For Magic Kingdom, what time have they been opening parking at the Ticket and Transportation Center for rope drop?  And for those staying at the Contemporary, how early is the walkway to the Magic Kingdom open?


----------



## kylenne

Got into MCO at 8pm last night after some awful delays at JFK, walked straight onto DME. They are still assigning seats but filling every row now. Got to Coronado at just after 9, dropped my stuff off in my room at the tower, then immediately got a Lyft to Epcot in order to catch the fireworks in my favorite spot (Japan). I made it with a bit of time to spare. Definitely more pyro than I remember in Epcot Forever. The taco fountains were actually turned on following the show, and didn’t look too bad at all…not sure during the day though. And there was a push notification apology in the app as soon as I got in for Frozen being down all day.

Buses were not a problem afterwards, which I had been a bit worried about. But they are running a ton of the charter buses and we got one. GDT was first stop going back.

One thing I noticed that was definitely different than my stay last month, and I’m not sure if this is just at GDT, but there seems to be a replacement for Stacey on the resort tv now. Not nearly as fun tbh but it’s the same brief guide around the parks/DS concept. I mention this here though because if anyone is still avoiding Rise of the Resistance spoilers there are some major ones…it gives away whole chunks of that ride. I would have been upset if I hadn’t ridden it yet.

At the bus stop for MK now for 9am open, which is probably excessive lol but it’s pouring. Hoping (probably in vain) this keeps crowds down some today. I’m the only one waiting out here aside from a couple of families waiting for the AK bus…I will say the bus board lied. First AK bus just pulled up at 7:05 while the board said it would come at 7:11. Some more people just came down clearly thinking to get on the first and are now getting on the second. So yeah…I would not rely on times posted.


----------



## MDIME

kylenne said:


> Got into MCO at 8pm last night after some awful delays at JFK, walked straight onto DME. They are still assigning seats but filling every row now. Got to Coronado at just after 9, dropped my stuff off in my room at the tower, then immediately got a Lyft to Epcot in order to catch the fireworks in my favorite spot (Japan). I made it with a bit of time to spare. Definitely more pyro than I remember in Epcot Forever. The taco fountains were actually turned on following the show, and didn’t look too bad at all…not sure during the day though. And there was a push notification apology in the app as soon as I got in for Frozen being down all day.
> 
> Buses were not a problem afterwards, which I had been a bit worried about. But they are running a ton of the charter buses and we got one. GDT was first stop going back.
> 
> One thing I noticed that was definitely different than my stay last month, and I’m not sure if this is just at GDT, but there seems to be a replacement for Stacey on the resort tv now. Not nearly as fun tbh but it’s the same brief guide around the parks/DS concept. I mention this here though because if anyone is still avoiding Rise of the Resistance spoilers there are some major ones…it gives away whole chunks of that ride. I would have been upset if I hadn’t ridden it yet.
> 
> At the bus stop for MK now for 9am open, which is probably excessive lol but it’s pouring. Hoping (probably in vain) this keeps crowds down some today. I’m the only one waiting out here aside from a couple of families waiting for the AK bus…I will say the bus board lied. First AK bus just pulled up at 7:05 while the board said it would come at 7:11. Some more people just came down clearly thinking to get on the first and are now getting on the second. So yeah…I would not rely on times posted.


I didn’t realize you were headed back to WDW again so soon after your last trip (followed vicariously here lol). Have a great time! Happy 4th!


----------



## kylenne

MDIME said:


> I didn’t realize you were headed back to WDW again so soon after your last trip (followed vicariously here lol). Have a great time! Happy 4th!



Super last minute trip booked when they announced fireworks lol! Gran Destino shockingly had AP discount availability for this weekend so I jumped on it. It’s raining so bad these folks really ought to be going to AK on an ark.


----------



## Poohbear538

kylenne said:


> Got into MCO at 8pm last night after some awful delays at JFK, walked straight onto DME. They are still assigning seats but filling every row now. Got to Coronado at just after 9, dropped my stuff off in my room at the tower, then immediately got a Lyft to Epcot in order to catch the fireworks in my favorite spot (Japan). I made it with a bit of time to spare. Definitely more pyro than I remember in Epcot Forever. The taco fountains were actually turned on following the show, and didn’t look too bad at all…not sure during the day though. And there was a push notification apology in the app as soon as I got in for Frozen being down all day.
> 
> Buses were not a problem afterwards, which I had been a bit worried about. But they are running a ton of the charter buses and we got one. GDT was first stop going back.
> 
> One thing I noticed that was definitely different than my stay last month, and I’m not sure if this is just at GDT, but there seems to be a replacement for Stacey on the resort tv now. Not nearly as fun tbh but it’s the same brief guide around the parks/DS concept. I mention this here though because if anyone is still avoiding Rise of the Resistance spoilers there are some major ones…it gives away whole chunks of that ride. I would have been upset if I hadn’t ridden it yet.
> 
> At the bus stop for MK now for 9am open, which is probably excessive lol but it’s pouring. Hoping (probably in vain) this keeps crowds down some today. I’m the only one waiting out here aside from a couple of families waiting for the AK bus…I will say the bus board lied. First AK bus just pulled up at 7:05 while the board said it would come at 7:11. Some more people just came down clearly thinking to get on the first and are now getting on the second. So yeah…I would not rely on times posted.


So glad you got to see the fireworks.  Hope you have an awesome rest of your time


----------



## Leigh L

kylenne said:


> Super last minute trip booked when they announced fireworks lol! Gran Destino shockingly had AP discount availability for this weekend so I jumped on it. It’s raining so bad these folks really ought to be going to AK on an ark.


Have a great trip!  Enjoy the fireworks!!


----------



## JoJoGirl

kylenne said:


> Got into MCO at 8pm last night after some awful delays at JFK, walked straight onto DME. They are still assigning seats but filling every row now. Got to Coronado at just after 9, dropped my stuff off in my room at the tower, then immediately got a Lyft to Epcot in order to catch the fireworks in my favorite spot (Japan). I made it with a bit of time to spare. Definitely more pyro than I remember in Epcot Forever. The taco fountains were actually turned on following the show, and didn’t look too bad at all…not sure during the day though. And there was a push notification apology in the app as soon as I got in for Frozen being down all day.
> 
> Buses were not a problem afterwards, which I had been a bit worried about. But they are running a ton of the charter buses and we got one. GDT was first stop going back.
> 
> One thing I noticed that was definitely different than my stay last month, and I’m not sure if this is just at GDT, but there seems to be a replacement for Stacey on the resort tv now. Not nearly as fun tbh but it’s the same brief guide around the parks/DS concept. I mention this here though because if anyone is still avoiding Rise of the Resistance spoilers there are some major ones…it gives away whole chunks of that ride. I would have been upset if I hadn’t ridden it yet.
> 
> At the bus stop for MK now for 9am open, which is probably excessive lol but it’s pouring. Hoping (probably in vain) this keeps crowds down some today. I’m the only one waiting out here aside from a couple of families waiting for the AK bus…I will say the bus board lied. First AK bus just pulled up at 7:05 while the board said it would come at 7:11. Some more people just came down clearly thinking to get on the first and are now getting on the second. So yeah…I would not rely on times posted.



Thanks for the report!  Looking forward to hearing what you think of GDT.  Have a wonderful trip!


----------



## kylenne

BK2014 said:


> For Magic Kingdom, what time have they been opening parking at the Ticket and Transportation Center for rope drop?  And for those staying at the Contemporary, how early is the walkway to the Magic Kingdom open?



I am here now at rope for Mine Train, got here on the first bus from Coronado. When we passed the toll plaza at 8am vehicles were still being held there.


----------



## londonderrydisneyfan

BK2014 said:


> For Magic Kingdom, what time have they been opening parking at the Ticket and Transportation Center for rope drop?  And for those staying at the Contemporary, how early is the walkway to the Magic Kingdom open?



We're staying at Bay Lake Tower and walked over to MK around 7:50 so the walkway opens very early.   We ended up going to Big Thunder Mountain first and we were about 15-20 people back at rope drop.


----------



## Davey Jones II

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> We've rope dropped 3 Caballeros twice this trip because my son LOVES it and it keeps going up to a 40 min wait later in the day. Definitely the weirdest trip yet but many memories are being made!



That's a big jump from it's usual 5 minute wait times


----------



## minnie56

#1
Not sure where best to post this .. will also add to community thread 
Wondering what it feels like in the parks/restaurants  now as far as safety. With no or few social distancing boundaries , does it feel ‘ok’? We’re scheduled to come October 30 for 10 days and just a bit hesitant .... it’s been a long haul to get to this point.

Thank you!


----------



## easyas123

We felt perfectly "ok"!
We were there for a few days in October or last year-
A few days in early Feb. of this year, 
and overnighted/spent the afternoon at the Springs about 2 days before the first mask lifting (outside) was announced this spring.  It was HOT then and crowded there, folks really seemed ready to get out and about and have a bit of fun  

Always felt perfectly fine.  Doesn't look like we will be back until next January/Feb. and looking forward to a more freeing trip then.   I'm hoping for more restaurants/FP and hopefully a teeny lull after the October celebrations and Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years holidays.  Go!  I think you'll have a wonderful time!


----------



## minnie56

Many thanks ! Sounds like you’ve enjoyed some good visits there during this craziness!


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

minnie56 said:


> #1
> Not sure where best to post this .. will also add to community thread
> Wondering what it feels like in the parks/restaurants  now as far as safety. With no or few social distancing boundaries , does it feel ‘ok’? We’re scheduled to come October 30 for 10 days and just a bit hesitant .... it’s been a long haul to get to this point.
> 
> Thank you!


If you're hesitant of crowds, I'd wait. We just got back yesterday from a 9 day trip and it is crowded! They've removed most of the partitions and I'd say at least 98% of people of all ages aren't wearing masks including indoor rides. Tons of people were coughing-hopefully from allergies. There's no distancing of any kind anymore and they CM's tell you to fill in all available space including indoor spaces. We've reached the point (mentally) where we're okay in crowds so we still had a great trip but if we weren't okay with it, I would've found it stressful.


----------



## Sarahslay

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> If you're hesitant of crowds, I'd wait. We just got back yesterday from a 9 day trip and it is crowded! They've removed most of the partitions and I'd say at least 98% of people of all ages aren't wearing masks including indoor rides. Tons of people were coughing-hopefully from allergies. There's no distancing of any kind anymore and they CM's tell you to fill in all available space including indoor spaces. We've reached the point (mentally) where we're okay in crowds so we still had a great trip but if we weren't okay with it, I would've found it stressful.


I will say, I was coughed on (right in the face, I mean, square in the face at close distance) by a kid walking over to the queue for Haunted Mansion (he was walking over to Momento Mori from the ride and we crossed paths) and two days later I woke up with a screaming soar throat. This was towards the end of our Memorial day week trip, and thankfully I didn't get sick until the day we were leaving anyway. People coughing everywhere that trip and masks were only being required on rides and indoors at that time. Thankfully I was the only one that got sick and it was just a regular cold. Three of us are vaccinated, one of us can't be vaccinated due to age, so while we feel pretty comfortable we are still cautious with her; she still wanted to wear a mask most of the time, and we still wear them when we feel it's needed so we don't accidentally have a break through infection and bring it home to her. That being said, if I were unvaccinated I would think twice about going right now, unless I'm feeling lucky, people aren't canceling their trips because they or their kids are sick. 

I have no issue going on my solo trip next month, but I've also gotten used to it now over several trips with the easing of restrictions over that time, but I don't want to be like "oh yeah, it's totally fine" when someone else has a completely different "fine" tolerance than I do. It's pretty much business as usual, if you can't go out in your normal day and feel "fine" without masks and other safety measures then the parks aren't going to feel all that fine.


----------



## pasta

Has anyone noticed ride closures not due to inclement weather?


----------



## kylenne

pasta said:


> Has anyone noticed ride closures not due to inclement weather?



Splash opened very late this morning and Space just went down. It’s been a very rough afternoon at MK.

Will continue to preach rope drop for that reason. I was literally up at the rope for Fantasyland this morning and walked on the first train of the day for Mine Train, then hit Peter Pan (12min), Big Thunder (walk on), Jungle Cruise (5 min), Pirates (walk on), went back to Splash as it was finally open (15 min), and this was all before 11.

Weather’s been atrocious today but it kept crowds low this morning. It’s still not bad at all for a holiday weekend compared to pre covid.


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Just got home from a 10 day trip which is the longest trip we've done at a Disney park but boy we had fun. Here's some random but slightly organized thoughts!

Pop Century/Transportation

I loved this hotel! I think this is definitely going to be our go to resort at Disney World from now on. I paid for the preferred pool view room and we were right next to the gate for the pool- loved the close proximity to everything. Everything about this hotel was great it just worked out so well for my family. I liked it better than CBR!
Bus transportation was great- we only had to wait long once for a bus (and that's bc the Skyliner was down at Epcot) and every other time one showed up within minutes. Never waited long at all at open close or taking breaks.
Skyliner isn't as convenient in rainy weather- we only got to use it in the mornings usually. Lines moved fast since they're seating groups together which we didn't mind. In fact, on our way to Epcot a storm was coming in and I was having a bit of a panic attack since the wind was making the gondola swing a bit (Im terrified of heights so I really shouldn't even be riding the Skyliner haha!) and the lady we were sharing with was so sweet and kept me talking to help me relax. So thank you, kind woman! I really don't mind sharing a gondola but I'm an extrovert by nature so I'm chatty. When we stepped off the Skyliner they shut it down so we just barely made it before they closed it! After that I wasn't too keen on riding it when the sky looked questionable. Something to keep in mind for the summer months!
DME was great both there and back to the airport. Not sure if we got lucky but no stops made either way and was quick. Really going to miss it.
As for the parks, our experience was similar to other folks recently- here's some quick takeaways:

The rain seems to pick up more in afternoon/evenings sometimes all night long. Personally, even with ponchos/umbrellas I found it miserable- I live in a dry climate so probably just a culture shock for me haha! In the future, we'd avoid this time of year or just do the park all day without a break and just  leave for the day when the rain starts. But this is mainly a personal opinion for most when it comes to rain. 
The heat didn't bother me as much as I thought but the humidity makes it real rough in the afternoon. Cooling towels and fans were a big help- recommend bringing them! I'd take heat over rain any day but I'm sure I'm the minority on that!
So many ride breakdowns! It happened to us constantly at all the parks. On our last night we were just about to board Seven Dwarfs and it went down so we couldn't ride which was really disappointing. Same thing happened with Frozen too. And many other days 2-4 rides wouldn't even be working at park open. Not sure what's going on with all that but if you have your heart set on riding something, ride it early! Luckily we had already done Frozen and Seven Dwarfs or I would have been so upset.
Having a dining reservation each day was wonderful when we wanted a break from the weather. Highly recommend it when coming in the summer.
Disney Springs was busy but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. None of the stores had a line except World of Disney and that seemed more of a way to just streamline guests in one door. I spent way too much moola in the Vera Bradley store when I saw the Disney prints- heads up ladies!
Universal Orlando was a hot mess. They opened everything wide open without the staff to handle it. Many of the locations in Harry Potter only had one or maybe two people working! We waited about an hour for ice-cream because there was only one person making it and taking orders. We only stuck it out bc that place was one of our todo items. Most of the team members were miserable and rude (hard to blame them, I'd be miserable too!) and the food lines were long everywhere. I know this is likely temporary but really soured me on coming back anytime soon.
Blizzard Beach was a great time. We got there at opening and found a spot with shade easily. In fact, there were many spots with shade all day. Lines for the two big slides for long but my son did them right at open and walked right on. Everything else was no wait or moved quickly. Those stairs though.... it's not much of a rest day when you factor the stairs in. We ended up skipping many things just because the stairs were so rough. Especially barefoot- if you have water shoes, bring them. I have ones for kayaking and was kicking myself for not bringing them!
Everything is entirely back to normal with the 'fill the available space' - we are vaccinated so I was fine with it but I noticed a few folks that were clearly uncomfortable. If you feel that way, I would wait - it's really unavoidable now.
We are primarily Disneyland folks but had such a great time that I think WDW is now officially made its way into my trip rotation!


----------



## kylenne

FYI: the solo rider shortcut on Space Mountain is available again. I made a beeline for it after HEA, and it was about 25 minutes before I got to that split in the queue.

(For those who don’t know, this isn’t a “single rider” like elsewhere, about halfway thru the normal standby queue if you tell the CM you’re a party of one they will let you skip straight to the loading area. Despite signs posted towards the start of the queue almost nobody knows this trick.)


----------



## Naomeri

kylenne said:


> FYI: the solo rider shortcut on Space Mountain is available again. I made a beeline for it after HEA, and it was about 25 minutes before I got to that split in the queue.
> 
> (For those who don’t know, this isn’t a “single rider” like elsewhere, about halfway thru the normal standby queue if you tell the CM you’re a party of one they will let you skip straight to the loading area. Despite signs posted towards the start of the queue almost nobody knows this trick.)


I think I’m part of the almost everybody who didn’t know this trick, thanks for sharing!


----------



## kylenne

At AK right now. AK is back to normal rope drop procedures. I’m in the first group of guests holding on the bridge to Pandora.


----------



## pasta

kylenne said:


> At AK right now. AK is back to normal rope drop procedures. I’m in the first group of guests holding on the bridge to Pandora.


Have a great day!  Keep us updated on opening procedures if you can


----------



## kylenne

pasta said:


> Have a great day!  Keep us updated on opening procedures if you can



Rough morning so far. I was in the first group to ride FoP but the Safari didn’t start running until 8:30 (I got in line anyway and walked on when it opened) and Dinosaur went down just after I got in the vehicle.


----------



## cdurham1

kylenne said:


> Rough morning so far. I was in the first group to ride FoP but the Safari didn’t start running until 8:30 (I got in line anyway and walked on when it opened) and Dinosaur went down just after I got in the vehicle.



Besides Dinosaur, sounds pretty ideal!  You were in the first group of FOP and then one of the first trucks on KS?  Sounds exactly what I want my day to go like on the the 27th when we am there!!


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## Makmak

kylenne said:


> At AK right now. AK is back to normal rope drop procedures. I’m in the first group of guests holding on the bridge to Pandora.


I just wanted to say I’m always happy to read your report/posts and probably a lot of others are as well that may not always click “like” etc. —basically you are likely helping tons of ppl and it’s appreciated! We are going soon and with all of the daily changes these details and things like the RD at AK and single rider at SM are very important to us.


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## kylenne

cdurham1 said:


> Besides Dinosaur, sounds pretty ideal!  You were in the first group of FOP and then one of the first trucks on KS?  Sounds exactly what I want my day to go like on the the 27th when we am there!!



Best advice I can give is get on the first bus of the day. We arrived at 7:05 and from there it was just running of the bulls lol. 

In general I’ve been really impressed with the transportation at Coronado, I’ve done well with buses at rope drop so far.


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## Farro

kylenne said:


> Best advice I can give is get on the first bus of the day. We arrived at 7:05 and from there it was just running of the bulls lol.
> 
> In general I’ve been really impressed with the transportation at Coronado, I’ve done well with buses at rope drop so far.



How do you like Gran Destino???  Dahlia? Three Bridges?


----------



## kylenne

Farro said:


> How do you like Gran Destino???  Dahlia? Three Bridges?



It’s amazing!! Definitely feels like a deluxe (and frankly I like it better than YC other than location lol). Pictures just do not do the tower justice. I haven’t been to Dahlia yet but I got takeout on Friday night from Three Bridges and it was fantastic despite not getting utensils lol. The smoked paprika fries were so good!

I definitely want to come back with gf and try a split with their club level.


----------



## Farro

kylenne said:


> It’s amazing!! Definitely feels like a deluxe (and frankly I like it better than YC other than location lol). Pictures just do not do the tower justice. I haven’t been to Dahlia yet but I got takeout on Friday night from Three Bridges and it was fantastic despite not getting utensils lol. The smoked paprika fries were so good!
> 
> I definitely want to come back with gf and try a split with their club level.



Woohoo!!! 

Glad to read buses are going well so far, hope it continues! I know it's kind of hit and miss, so we are just prepared to Uber if we need to.

Have fun and be safe!


----------



## kylenne

Farro said:


> Woohoo!!!
> 
> Glad to read buses are going well so far, hope it continues! I know it's kind of hit and miss, so we are just prepared to Uber if we need to.
> 
> Have fun and be safe!



Yeah, the buses were the only thing I was worried about given the nightmarish experience I had at POFQ the 1 time I stayed there but so far so good. Buses are plentiful for rope drop and have basically been empty, there’s basically no competition for those first buses out. The tower is the last stop on the way out, coming back it’s been hit or miss. From Epcot on Friday night tower was first dropped off but last night from MK after closing we were last. But it really didn’t take long at all. I’ve only taken 1 Lyft and that was to head to Epcot real quick when I got off DME.


----------



## Leigh L

kylenne said:


> Best advice I can give is get on the first bus of the day. We arrived at 7:05 and from there it was just running of the bulls lol.
> 
> In general I’ve been really impressed with the transportation at Coronado, I’ve done well with buses at rope drop so far.


I'm so happy to hear this, thank you! This is one of the resorts we stay at the most and we've had some pretty miserable rope drop experiences in the morning in the past year at GDT (a couple of good ones though too.)

We stayed there last week for two days, but were done with park days by then and non-rope drop times were pretty awesome - didn't wait long for any buses - but I was wondering if rope drop had improved. 

Have fun the rest of the day!!


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## kaylasmom07

kylenne said:


> Not nearly as fun tbh but it’s the same brief guide around the parks/DS concept. I mention this here though because if anyone is still avoiding Rise of the Resistance spoilers there are some major ones…it gives away whole chunks of that ride. I would have been upset if I hadn’t ridden it yet.


Thank you so much for this warning!


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## disneyseniors

kylenne said:


> Yeah, the buses were the only thing I was worried about given the nightmarish experience I had at POFQ the 1 time I stayed there but so far so good. Buses are plentiful for rope drop and have basically been empty, there’s basically no competition for those first buses out. The tower is the last stop on the way out, coming back it’s been hit or miss. From Epcot on Friday night tower was first dropped off but last night from MK after closing we were last. But it really didn’t take long at all. I’ve only taken 1 Lyft and that was to head to Epcot real quick when I got off DME.



We have been staying at POFQ for the past 3 years, so I was wondering about your nightmarish experience with their buses?   We haven't had a problem but maybe we were lucky?  Anyway , would like to know what happened.


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## scrappinginontario

disneyseniors said:


> We have been staying at POFQ for the past 3 years, so I was wondering about your nightmarish experience with their buses?   We haven't had a problem but maybe we were lucky?  Anyway , would like to know what happened.


May I please request we take that conversation out of this thread as POFQ has not re-opened since it closed in March 2020 so is not beneficial to the Here Now, Just Back thread.  

Thanks


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## kylenne

I am back at the resort for my break. Waited maybe 5 minutes for a bus back. Tower was the last stop but still not very long to get there. I caught the 10:30 Diet FotLK show and was pleasantly surprised that I could get in despite rolling up at 10:10. That’s a huge change from the last trip…capacity makes all the difference.  Crowds (and heat) were really starting to build when I left the park around noon. Even if you are not a rope drop then resort break person/group I would call it mandatory for AK. Even more than the others there was such a stark difference in weather and atmosphere between the first couple hours of operation vs. the people strolling in at noon.


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## disneyseniors

kylenne said:


> Deleted, don’t want to go OT.



Oops, sorry about that.  I guess curiousity got the best of me.  Have a great day  I am enjoying your trips reports!


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## disneyseniors

scrappinginontario said:


> May I please request we take that conversation out of this thread as POFQ has not re-opened since it closed in March 2020 so is not beneficial to the Here Now, Just Back thread.
> 
> Thanks



Oops, sorry about that. I do realize it has nothing to do with trip reports.  I guess curiosity got me


----------



## cstorm65

We are here now and wanted to give our thoughts as we've now done each of the four parks this week. We are staying at Pop Century this week and moving to Bay Lake Tower next week, so I will report back if there is anything different there.

Magic Kingdom
We went here on Friday, 7/2. We got to the Pop Century bus stop at 7:35 and the line was already pretty long. We ended up getting on the 3rd bus at 7:51, which was fine. We got to MK by 8:05 and they opened the gates just as we walked through security at 8:10. We weren't planning Seven Dwarfs today so we took our time taking pics on Main Street and the hub, which was awesome! We lined up at the Liberty Square bridge at around 8:35 and they did not open until 9:00 right on the dot. We did Peter Pan (10 min wait), then Big Thunder (walk on), Big Thunder again (walk on), then got in line for Splash. Would have been about a 20 minute wait, but it broke down as we got to the front. They gave everyone in line a FP for later. It was about 9:45 after this.

Epcot
Our only RD at Epcot so far we came from the front of the park since we had breakfast at Whispering Canyon first. The first bus to Epcot from WL came at 9:53. We got in line at the gates at Epcot at 10:10 and the gates opened at 10:20. We headed for Test Track. They held us by Guardians until 10:34. Word of warning...stay to the left right along the wall and you can be in the shade while you wait. At 10:34 they moved us up closer to Test Track about 300 feet and stopped us again. Then at 10:43 we moved into the Test Track queue and the ride opened. We waited 34 minutes including the pre-show. After test track we did Frozen at 11:30 and it took us 45 minutes.

Hollywood Studios
We got to the Skyliner station at Pop at 7:35 and waited 5 minutes. We waited 8 minutes to then get on the Skyliner from the hub to HS. Security at DHS opened at 8:03 and they let us immediately through the gates into the park. We were held in sections based on what ride we were going to until 8:30. We were heading to Slinky Dog and they started walking us at 8:30. It reminded us of the old Toy Story Dash days here! We walked and on this you'll want to stay to the right upon enter Toy Story Land. If you have a stroller just get into it. I recommend having one adult get out of line and park it in the stroller area for Toy Story Mania and then rejoin your party in line for Slinky Dog. It will be harder to park the stroller in the Slinky Dog area and this gets that out of the way! We got on Slinky in 35 minutes and then headed in to Alien Swirling Saucers (5 min wait). Then we went to Toy Story Mania and waited 18 minutes. It was about 10:00 once we finished these three rides.

Animal Kingdom
We did this park today, 7/4. We were at the Pop bus stop by 6:35. The first bus came at 6:47. We were at security at 7:08 and got in line at the gates, which they then opened at 7:12. We went to the right through Oasis as everyone was going left. I'd highly recommend that especially if you have a stroller. The right side had no one on it and they both join back up at the same spot at the tree. The left side was jam packed. We were about 15 people back from the front I would guess at the rope on the bridge to Pandora. At 7:23 they walked us forward and actually formed the line for Flight of Passage, but held the line right at the start of the queue until the ride opened at 7:33. We had no wait other than the time it took to walk through the queue. We were on and off by 8:00. We then walked over and did Expedition Everest twice with no wait. We then were going to head to Dinosaur because the Safari was still not open, but by the time we got to the Tree the Safari was open. So we went there at about 8:40. It was posted 25 minutes, but was maybe a 5 minute wait was all. There was a bunch of tarps and stuff as well as trucks around the Lion area, no lions out. Not sure if they are just doing work or if something was going on. It was 9:15 when we got off and we headed to Starbucks!


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

leannak said:


> We went to the French bakery around noon last week and there were only a couple of people in line in front of us. We waited a good 20 minutes or so before giving up because the line didn’t budge, even one party. There were only 3 people behind the counter, one helping people who couldn’t seem to make up their mind, another helping someone but the CM was walking and moving extremely slowly, like she was half asleep or daydreaming, and the other was very slowly and delicately situating and rearranging pastries in the display cases like she was creating an art display and was the only person in the room. I get and appreciate that, but it’s frustrating to watch when you’re hungry and just want to spend your money. It was a very strange experience.


Similar experience last night .  One of the workers there was making a spectacle of the gloves not fitting his hands.  Each attempt to put them on became more exaggerated.


----------



## kylenne

More great news: at Epcot right now and was just able to request B1 on Soarin!!! The CM just had me step to the side for the next load like pre-covid.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

Buses at OKW have been running right on time and not crowded.  

I'd recommend wearing a mask in places like World of Disney - lots of coughing and sneezing.
The line to get in was just streaming people through.  No waiting.


----------



## Mango7100

kylenne said:


> At AK right now. AK is back to normal rope drop procedures. I’m in the first group of guests holding on the bridge to Pandora.


I would assume 95% of people at RD are headed to FOP, does that sound about right? We are going tomorrow AM and FOP was one and done for us due to DH motion sickness, so DD8 really wants to try to ride Everest multiple times in a row in the AM


----------



## kylenne

Mango7100 said:


> I would assume 95% of people at RD are headed to FOP, does that sound about right? We are going tomorrow AM and FOP was one and done for us due to DH motion sickness, so DD8 really wants to try to ride Everest multiple times in a row in the AM



Yep. I actually rode Everest twice in a row and that was after FOP and the Safari. At park open you should be golden.


----------



## Mango7100

kylenne said:


> Yep. I actually rode Everest twice in a row and that was after FOP and the Safari. At park open you should be golden.


Thanks! That and finishing those Wilderness Explorer badges are the biggest priority for her


----------



## JennLTX

First of all I want to thank EVERYONE who has been so awesome about reporting their experiences.  We head to the House of Mouse on Friday, and my anxiety level is substantially lower than it would have been without you amazing folks.    

Second, I've been hearing about surprisingly long waits to get a table at Nomad Lounge; has anyone recently at AK noticed this?  One of my absolute favorite things to do _anywhere_ is sit on that fantastic deck with a Tempting Tigress and watch the world go by.  I'd say it's totally worth a wait, but having never had to do that previously will make for an interesting experience.  Any input is appreciated!!!


----------



## sabrecmc

We walked up to Nomad at about 10:40 a couple days ago and had no problem getting a table wherever we wanted.  One of our best lunches!  I also enjoy the Tempting Tigress!  Just get there early is my advice.


----------



## DebLovesPooh

JennLTX said:


> First of all I want to thank EVERYONE who has been so awesome about reporting their experiences.  We head to the House of Mouse on Friday, and my anxiety level is substantially lower than it would have been without you amazing folks.
> 
> Second, I've been hearing about surprisingly long waits to get a table at Nomad Lounge; has anyone recently at AK noticed this?  One of my absolute favorite things to do _anywhere_ is sit on that fantastic deck with a Tempting Tigress and watch the world go by.  I'd say it's totally worth a wait, but having never had to do that previously will make for an interesting experience.  Any input is appreciated!!!


I walked by it twice that day, maybe around 11 and  12 and they had lines out into the sidewalk on Thursday. But I’ve never been, so I don’t know if that’s long or not. But I remember being surprised people were already waiting outside so early in the day.


----------



## epcotobsessed

Tempting Tigress might be the best drink in the World, followed closely by Tipsy Ducks In Love or the Citron Slushie in Epcot  I have heard that Nomad has big waits now, I'm planning to get on the standby list as soon as we enter the park.


----------



## tinkerhon

Has anyone that has been to Epcot recently noticed if the silhouette artists were working again in France?  Thought I read that they were not there since the parks reopened . Thanks !!!


----------



## kylenne

tinkerhon said:


> Has anyone that has been to Epcot recently noticed if the silhouette artists were working again in France?  Thought I read that they were not there since the parks reopened . Thanks !!!



Sadly I have not seen them at all.


----------



## kylenne

So uh. This is the bus queue for CSR at MK right now.


----------



## bookgirl2632

kylenne said:


> So uh. This is the bus queue for CSR at MK right now.
> 
> View attachment 587009


Yikes!  It seems you spoke to soon about the buses from CSR.


----------



## kylenne

bookgirl2632 said:


> Yikes!  It seems you spoke to soon about the buses from CSR.



It actually didn’t end up being as bad a wait considering. I think it was just sheer volume of people that caught them off guard and once they realized it, they sent buses nonstop and I didn’t wait nearly as long as I thought I would.  Maybe 25-30 minutes. I kinda feel like that was one of those flukes that could have happened at any of the bigger resorts tbh.

That was the worst line by far but there were some other doozies around us. Just holiday things lol.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Now that fireworks are back the crowds leaving the parks are going to look like this as many more choose to be at the parks into the late evening.  The lack of fireworks until this weekend had many guests leaving earlier and spreading out the crowds.  This won’t be the case now as many will also choose to hop to MK or Epcot to enjoy the fireworks.  Leaving at park closing will equal huge crowds.


----------



## kylenne

At HS rope drop now after dropping my bags at bell services. Arrived on the first bus from CSR at 7:45 and was among the first people in the held security line. Left side was open so I went that way and it was less people as usual. We waited about 10 minutes and were sent through, I was literally the first person at the “rope” for Tower of Terror…there are more people waiting for RNRC but it’s a decent sized crowd at this point. I got BG 8 this morning on resort wifi so hoping to get the headliners down except Slinky Dog before I head back to the resort for a chill afternoon prior to Tragical Express.

One thing I noticed is bus guests definitely get here before Skyliner guests, I didn’t see anyone coming from the station that early.


----------



## GBRforWDW

kylenne said:


> At HS rope drop now after dropping my bags at bell services. Arrived on the first bus from CSR at 7:45 and was among the first people in the held security line. Left side was open so I went that way and it was less people as usual. We waited about 10 minutes and were sent through, I was literally the first person at the “rope” for Tower of Terror…there are more people waiting for RNRC but it’s a decent sized crowd at this point. I got BG 8 this morning on resort wifi so hoping to get the headliners down except Slinky Dog before I head back to the resort for a chill afternoon prior to Tragical Express.
> 
> One thing I noticed is bus guests definitely get here before Skyliner guests, I didn’t see anyone coming from the station that early.


Enjoy your final day.  Be kind to Slinky and ride him for me!  Lol. Love that adorable ride.  

Safe travels home!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Buses at OKW have been running right on time and not crowded.
> 
> I'd recommend wearing a mask in places like World of Disney - lots of coughing and sneezing.
> The line to get in was just streaming people through.  No waiting.


I have been hearing a lot of people are getting colds and such because of no mask wearing. Will be wearing indoors and other required areas regardless on our upcoming trip-i am not risking anything!

I still bring a mask with me when I walk my dog in our neighborhood-I hate to say it like this but I just can't trust people (not all people obviously but people who lie about having the vaccine/being sick).


----------



## DisneyFive

kylenne said:


> So uh. This is the bus queue for CSR at MK right now.
> 
> View attachment 587009


I might be morbid, but that reminds of the good 'ol days before COVID!  It's a right of passage to wait in those long bus lines after MK closes.  LOL

Dan


----------



## tinkerhon

kylenne said:


> Sadly I have not seen them at all.



Aw, man.  (


----------



## LiteBrite

kylenne said:


> FYI: the solo rider shortcut on Space Mountain is available again. I made a beeline for it after HEA, and it was about 25 minutes before I got to that split in the queue.
> 
> (For those who don’t know, this isn’t a “single rider” like elsewhere, about halfway thru the normal standby queue if you tell the CM you’re a party of one they will let you skip straight to the loading area. Despite signs posted towards the start of the queue almost nobody knows this trick.)



I had no idea this was a thing.  Do you tell the CM at the front door of the attraction, or is there someone posted at this halfway point where the shortcut is?


----------



## kylenne

LiteBrite said:


> I had no idea this was a thing.  Do you tell the CM at the front door of the attraction, or is there someone posted at this halfway point where the shortcut is?



When you get to the second part of the queue there are signs posted. Someone will be posted not far after that.

This is a true solo rider thing though. I want to make that clear. This is not like Test Track etc you have to be an actual party of one.


----------



## firstmickey

Last night leaving Epcot out the back entrance after the fireworks was insane. The line for the Skyliner went past the main entrance to the Beach Club. Huge crush of people to file out one skinny exit line. It was chaos. They are going to have to set up some type of queue there because you could barely get through to walk to your resort.


----------



## bean

At MK now. Trying to get out. Honestly it’s been a pretty miserable morning. Blazing hot and 45 min lines mostly outside. We were there at rope drop and SDMT was 90 min in the first 3 min. We found most lines to be as long or longer than posted waits. Park capacity doesn’t seem reduced.


----------



## cakebaker

bean said:


> At MK now. Trying to get out. Honestly it’s been a pretty miserable morning. Blazing hot and 45 min lines mostly outside. We were there at rope drop and SDMT was 90 min in the first 3 min. We found most lines to be as long or longer than posted waits. Park capacity doesn’t seem reduced.



It's not reduced by much. They've upped capacity the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure what the number is now, but a normal park day will be at about 65% and my guess is they're pretty darn close to that. People forget that they rarely actually hit capacity, so reduced capacity means nothing if that reduction is close to what they'd have in the park regardless. Back when it was 35%, you could tell but if it's even 50%, it's still going to feel fairly crowded. Add to that, there is absolutely nothing to do but ride attractions, so everyone is in line to ride rather than being at a show or waiting for a parade etc...


----------



## kylenne

Back at Coronado after a great morning at HS. I was the actual first person on ToT and got a sweet bit of pixie dust—they were running both sides and I went to the far left but no one was queuing after me so the CM let me ride all alone!! It was actually really spooky and extra fun!!! After that I went to RNRC and waited 5 minutes, then 25 for MMRR…cut it stupid close  for my BG which had been called at 8:40 but I got in the short queue at exactly 9:40 and made it on. After that I ate a Ronto Wrap, did a little shopping, waited 12 min for Star Tours, caught 2 Pixar cavalcade and Muppets before bidding the park farewell until October.

Went for a nice little stroll around CSR and am at the pool now. Will probably try to walk up Rix a bit later before Tragical Express. All in all a great little trip despite some hiccups and fears about increased capacity. Rope drop is still key. So happy to see preshows back, I love MMRR even more with it!


----------



## lovethattink

firstmickey said:


> Last night leaving Epcot out the back entrance after the fireworks was insane. The line for the Skyliner went past the main entrance to the Beach Club. Huge crush of people to file out one skinny exit line. It was chaos. They are going to have to set up some type of queue there because you could barely get through to walk to your resort.



We were in that mess too! Watched the fireworks in France. And the exit was crazy with only 1 little section opened for guests to exit. It was a cattle call. So many sweaty people bumping into me. The Skyliner line wasn’t up to Beach Club at that point. I was glad to be heading to the Beach Clubvillas instead of the Skyliner.

What they should do is open a left lane for Boardwalk, Y&BC, Swan and Dolphin. And a separate right lane for Skyliner traffic.


----------



## epcotobsessed

lovethattink said:


> We were in that mess too! Watched the fireworks in France. And the exit was crazy with only 1 little section opened for guests to exit. It was a cattle call. So many sweaty people bumping into me. The Skyliner line wasn’t up to Beach Club at that point. I was glad to be heading to the Beach Clubvillas instead of the Skyliner.
> 
> What they should do is open a left lane for Boardwalk, Y&BC, Swan and Dolphin. And a separate right lane for Skyliner traffic.



Oof, thanks for this. Staying at BC next week and I think we'll watch the fireworks from Mexico or China and meander out after they're done. I knew the Skyliner was going to make a mess of the IG entrance - it's way too small for the amount of people it's now required to manage.


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## Dakota731

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> I have been hearing a lot of people are getting colds and such because of no mask wearing. Will be wearing indoors and other required areas regardless on our upcoming trip-i am not risking anything!
> 
> I still bring a mask with me when I walk my dog in our neighborhood-I hate to say it like this but I just can't trust people (not all people obviously but people who lie about having the vaccine/being sick).


My kindergartner got three cold this year from school and they wore masks all day so it can happen.


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## lovethattink

Did anyone happen see Latin Ambition at American Gardens theatre? Recognized the bass guitarist as the bass guitarist in Tarzan Rocks from years ago!


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## Makmak

What time are they starting fireworks at EPCOT? I looked on the app but the schedule says unavailable. Thanks!


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## scrappinginontario

Makmak said:


> What time are they starting fireworks at EPCOT? I looked on the app but the schedule says unavailable. Thanks!



10PM


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## Mango7100

scrappinginontario said:


> Now that fireworks are back the crowds leaving the parks are going to look like this as many more choose to be at the parks into the late evening.  The lack of fireworks until this weekend had many guests leaving earlier and spreading out the crowds.  This won’t be the case now as many will also choose to hop to MK or Epcot to enjoy the fireworks.  Leaving at park closing will equal huge crowds.


We were at MK July 3. We watched the fireworks from near BOG which was a fabulous spot if you don’t care about the projections (we have seen HEA multiple times so we were OK). We more wanted to avoid crowds and having to find a spot an hour before.  it was way less crowded, next group of peopl wears maybe 10 ft from us and we arrived about 2 minutes before the show. If you can make it until 11 we found getting out was much better than trying to leave after fireworks. We started out of the park from Fantasyland at 1105, walked onto a 1/2 full ferry and were in our car at 1145.


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## kylenne

Mango7100 said:


> We were at MK July 3. We watched the fireworks from near BOG which was a fabulous spot if you don’t care about the projections (we have seen HEA multiple times so we were OK). We more wanted to avoid crowds and having to find a spot an hour before.  it was way less crowded, next group of peopl wears maybe 10 ft from us and we arrived about 2 minutes before the show. If you can make it until 11 we found getting out was much better than trying to leave after fireworks. We started out of the park from Fantasyland at 1105, walked onto a 1/2 full ferry and were in our car at 1145.



I watched them on 7/3 also. Last night I was there to get on rides during them.  But I left at 11 after actual park close, not right after the fireworks, so I that’s why I know it was holiday crowds.


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## SDKMom

kylenne said:


> At HS rope drop now after dropping my bags at bell services. Arrived on the first bus from CSR at 7:45 and was among the first people in the held security line. Left side was open so I went that way and it was less people as usual. We waited about 10 minutes and were sent through, I was literally the first person at the “rope” for Tower of Terror…there are more people waiting for RNRC but it’s a decent sized crowd at this point. I got BG 8 this morning on resort wifi so hoping to get the headliners down except Slinky Dog before I head back to the resort for a chill afternoon prior to Tragical Express.
> 
> One thing I noticed is bus guests definitely get here before Skyliner guests, I didn’t see anyone coming from the station that early.


We were there too in the same line! We were about 20 people back, maybe a little less. Considering we came from the Hyatt Regency this morning, dropped our bags at WL, and had our driver from Tiffany Towncar drop us at HS, I thought our positioning for rope drop was great. We did not get a BG for Rise at 7, despite lots of success with practicing, but we were successful at 1. Hope you made it out before the rain! We didn’t!


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## kylenne

SDKMom said:


> We were there too in the same line! We were about 20 people back, maybe a little less. Considering we came from the Hyatt Regency this morning, dropped our bags at WL, and had our driver from Tiffany Towncar drop us at HS, I thought our positioning for rope drop was great. We did not get a BG for Rise at 7, despite lots of success with practicing, but we were successful at 1. Hope you made it out before the rain! We didn’t!



Not bad! I left HS at noon because my body was crying uncle after 3 consecutive late nights into 2 straight rope drops and so was long gone before any rain…it’s so funny how the weather goes on property because it was perfectly fine at CSR this afternoon, no rain at all. I cooled off at the pool and dozed a little before grabbing a bite to eat and getting on tragical express. It’s probably better I run out of steam around the time waits at HS start getting ridiculous.


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## UpstateMick

Just returned from a 7-day trip! Stayed at Old Key West (first time...not DVC...room rates in March were a good deal and we rolled the dice!) We loved the resort in every way EXCEPT the busses :/ If you are going for essential rest and relaxation, this resort is perfect! So relaxing, but BIG! Makes CB and POR feel like POFQ! Room request is essential at this resort. We had a great room on Penninsular Road building 29. Perfect location. Masks on busses and monorail and Skyway were easy! The busses at OKW were horrific! We took Uber most of the time because of the multiple stops (5 in all) and just a slowwww process! We always walked to the main building to catch the bus because that is the last stop and then to the park; however, you are standing because of all of the people! Parks were busy, but manageable. HS was the worst park for crowds. SO busy and TOO small to handle the crowds. Long lines within 30 minutes of rope drop. Got two ROTR boarding passes during our stay, missed both return windows because one day they opened late and another day we had conflicting lunch reservations. They let us on both times, after returning over 6 hors later. They didn't give us any issues. Ate at Sci-Fi and Prime Time. Sci-Fi was GREAT. Prime Time was meh :/ It has lost its luster for us. Mediocre food and the cast was fairly tame. EPCOT was busy, but manageable. Garden Grill was great dinner, but $250 for 3-people...yikes! Food was good, but nothing special. Long lines for Test Track most of the day. Soarin was much easier to manage. World Showcase was hit and miss with crowds depending on the rain. Only one morning at AK. Tusker House for breakfast was very good! Best character interaction, hands-down! Everest and Dinosaur both down at park opening. This was a trend in many of the parks. We are rope droppers, and MANY rides were down or NOT open in ALL of the parks. It was very frustrating because the parks fill up fast! MK was manageable before 10:00 AM and after 8:00 PM (saw opening night fireworks!) The park staying open until 11:00 makes a HUGE difference. Ate at the Plaza. Average experience, but great turkey sandwich. Disney Springs was busy, but TWO of our best meals were there. Art Smith's is a MUST-DO! Every experience there has ALWAYS been amazing. And a new favorite: Edison! Man was this SO much fun! Great atmosphere, great food, great entertainment, great staff! Such a unique and cool place. My 17DD LOVED this place and has already demanded a return during our February trip. Overall, we have never travelled in June (always February break as we are teachers) but it wasn't that bad. Hot...yes. Rain...yup. But nothing that ruins the vacation! I would be glad to answer any questions or offer feedback!


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## Memorymakerfor4

I read about the QS locations in HS closing early leaving people without reservations with only a few options, is that an issue at the other parks too? We got hoppers because we knew dining was limited, but now I hear this. Hoping to walk over to MK for dinner a few nights.


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## Lee from WV

First day today: arrived, checked in and went to MK at 5 pm for BOG dinner. Bus within 5 min. Celiac daughter thrilled at her dinner options. Rode the carousel, Buzz, and Pirates with minimal waits, had a great view of HEA, then Philharmagic, HM, and Space were walkons. Left at 11 and the bus to Boardwalk again arrived in 5 min. Great day. I think going to MK the day after the 4th was key.


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## kappyfamily

UpstateMick said:


> Just returned from a 7-day trip! Stayed at Old Key West (first time...not DVC...room rates in March were a good deal and we rolled the dice!) We loved the resort in every way EXCEPT the busses :/ If you are going for essential rest and relaxation, this resort is perfect! So relaxing, but BIG! Makes CB and POR feel like POFQ! Room request is essential at this resort. We had a great room on Penninsular Road building 29. Perfect location. Masks on busses and monorail and Skyway were easy! The busses at OKW were horrific! We took Uber most of the time because of the multiple stops (5 in all) and just a slowwww process! We always walked to the main building to catch the bus because that is the last stop and then to the park; however, you are standing because of all of the people! Parks were busy, but manageable. HS was the worst park for crowds. SO busy and TOO small to handle the crowds. Long lines within 30 minutes of rope drop. Got two ROTR boarding passes during our stay, missed both return windows because one day they opened late and another day we had conflicting lunch reservations. They let us on both times, after returning over 6 hors later. They didn't give us any issues. Ate at Sci-Fi and Prime Time. Sci-Fi was GREAT. Prime Time was meh :/ It has lost its luster for us. Mediocre food and the cast was fairly tame. EPCOT was busy, but manageable. Garden Grill was great dinner, but $250 for 3-people...yikes! Food was good, but nothing special. Long lines for Test Track most of the day. Soarin was much easier to manage. World Showcase was hit and miss with crowds depending on the rain. Only one morning at AK. Tusker House for breakfast was very good! Best character interaction, hands-down! Everest and Dinosaur both down at park opening. This was a trend in many of the parks. We are rope droppers, and MANY rides were down or NOT open in ALL of the parks. It was very frustrating because the parks fill up fast! MK was manageable before 10:00 AM and after 8:00 PM (saw opening night fireworks!) The park staying open until 11:00 makes a HUGE difference. Ate at the Plaza. Average experience, but great turkey sandwich. Disney Springs was busy, but TWO of our best meals were there. Art Smith's is a MUST-DO! Every experience there has ALWAYS been amazing. And a new favorite: Edison! Man was this SO much fun! Great atmosphere, great food, great entertainment, great staff! Such a unique and cool place. My 17DD LOVED this place and has already demanded a return during our February trip. Overall, we have never travelled in June (always February break as we are teachers) but it wasn't that bad. Hot...yes. Rain...yup. But nothing that ruins the vacation! I would be glad to answer any questions or offer feedback!


Thanks for the review! Couple questions. There will be 3 of us as well, wondering why Garden Grill cost you $250? Also, for The Edison, what day of the week and time did you go? We will be with our 20 year old daughter. Thank you!


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## kylenne

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> I read about the QS locations in HS closing early leaving people without reservations with only a few options, is that an issue at the other parks too? We got hoppers because we knew dining was limited, but now I hear this. Hoping to walk over to MK for dinner a few nights.



This isn’t an issue tbh…I had a grand total of 0 ADRs this weekend and was fine. Walk up waitlists in the app are a thing (I got Liberty Tree Tavern with it on 7/3) as is scheduling mobile orders in advance if you want QS, which you really should be doing anyway if you want to eat at prime hours. Unless you’re deciding at the last minute at like 9pm that you suddenly want to eat you’ll be fine. Even if this was a problem I wouldn’t get hoppers just for that…walk up waitlist availability at the resorts is plentiful on there, I could have even had Chef Mickey’s if I felt like it.


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## Lsdolphin

kylenne said:


> This isn’t an issue tbh…I had a grand total of 0 ADRs this weekend and was fine. Walk up waitlists in the app are a thing (I got Liberty Tree Tavern with it on 7/3) as is scheduling mobile orders in advance if you want QS, which you really should be doing anyway if you want to eat at prime hours. Unless you’re deciding at the last minute at like 9pm that you suddenly want to eat you’ll be fine. Even if this was a problem I wouldn’t get hoppers just for that…walk up waitlist availability at the resorts is plentiful on there, I could have even had Chef Mickey’s if I felt like it.



Did you have to order the whole dinner package or can you order from full menu like before at lunch time?


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## kylenne

Lsdolphin said:


> Did you have to order the whole dinner package or can you order from full menu like before at lunch time?



No a la carte dinner anymore, it was just the family style meal. Everything was fresh and hot and just really good, this was my first time eating there and I enjoyed it way more than I thought (I wanted Skipper Canteen walkup but my app glitched out and it filled before I could get it). Because of my tree nut allergy I was given a warm brownie with vanilla ice cream served on top instead of the ooey gooey cake and it was really really good! I will say of the family style meals I’ve had as a solo diner, this one was by far the most manageable in terms of how they scaled down the portion sizes. (Garden Grill was still way too much food even scaled down)

They are still doing overflow seating in Diamond Horseshoe as well, they asked me if I had a preference and I didn’t care given that I was cutting it a bit close with fireworks as it was. I had never been inside there before and I really liked it, I was sat near the Wurlitzer which was a real treat. If I’m honest I prefer the theming in there to LTT also, I really wish they would put a decent TS in there because it’s so pretty.

My advice for walkup wait list is keep checking...it’s kind of like the old refresh trick with FP+, space will periodically open up if you keep looking even if you don’t see any availability at a given time, except for places like CRT and BOG. I hope they keep this feature, it’s fantastic and I’ve really enjoyed using it.


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## SuJo

kylenne said:


> Yeah, the buses were the only thing I was worried about given the nightmarish experience I had at POFQ the 1 time I stayed there but so far so good. Buses are plentiful for rope drop and have basically been empty, there’s basically no competition for those first buses out. The tower is the last stop on the way out, coming back it’s been hit or miss. From Epcot on Friday night tower was first dropped off but last night from MK after closing we were last. But it really didn’t take long at all. I’ve only taken 1 Lyft and that was to head to Epcot real quick when I got off DME.



We were there a few weeks ago, staying at the Towers, and we didn't have good bus experience.  Going to MK we had to wait for 3 buses to come and go before we got on one.  They did come back to back as we were tempted to get to TTC and go from there but they did finally send us an empty bus so it could hold most of us who were waiting.  The first 3 were limited seating and they weren't letting people stand.  Also there was no "line" waiting for the bus so people who showed up late just seemed to squeeze in front of the people who we were letting go first since they got there before us.  It was very frustrating.  We got to MK later than we had hoped and got to far back for SDMR (line was already back to Circus area).  Hopefully they are filling the buses now to include standing.


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## kylenne

SuJo said:


> We were there a few weeks ago, staying at the Towers, and we didn't have good bus experience.  Going to MK we had to wait for 3 buses to come and go before we got on one.  They did come back to back as we were tempted to get to TTC and go from there but they did finally send us an empty bus so it could hold most of us who were waiting.  The first 3 were limited seating and they weren't letting people stand.  Also there was no "line" waiting for the bus so people who showed up late just seemed to squeeze in front of the people who we were letting go first since they got there before us.  It was very frustrating.  We got to MK later than we had hoped and got to far back for SDMR (line was already back to Circus area).  Hopefully they are filling the buses now to include standing.



I’m sorry you had such a rotten experience...seems like the one consistent thing about Disney buses is inconsistency, even before Covid. But a few weeks ago is an age nowadays in Disney time! Things are rapidly changing from week to week, even since I was there Memorial Day weekend/first week of June things were different this time. Last time I was there, seating was limited and there was still no standing on buses, but as of this weekend I saw they those numbers off the seats and the barriers are gone. So no limited seating anymore and people can stand on buses again.

It was kind of a moot at rope drop this past weekend, though. Of the 3 days I rope dropped parks, neither the first MK or AK bus had people on them when they pulled up to the tower. The first HS bus did have some people on it but there was more than enough room for the handful of us who were waiting at the tower stop, everyone was able to get a seat even. I’m not the kind of jerk who jumps in front of people despite rolling up just as buses pull in, but it seemed pretty orderly...I guess it really depends on the people, like a lot of things.


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## hereforthechurros

kylenne said:


> This isn’t an issue tbh…I had a grand total of 0 ADRs this weekend and was fine. Walk up waitlists in the app are a thing (I got Liberty Tree Tavern with it on 7/3) as is scheduling mobile orders in advance if you want QS, which you really should be doing anyway if you want to eat at prime hours. Unless you’re deciding at the last minute at like 9pm that you suddenly want to eat you’ll be fine. Even if this was a problem I wouldn’t get hoppers just for that…walk up waitlist availability at the resorts is plentiful on there, I could have even had Chef Mickey’s if I felt like it.


Just to be fair... it is a lot easier to stay flexible and score last minute ADRs as a party of 1 vs. a larger group. When I've gone solo I don't make any ADRs and just do what I feel but when I go with my husband/son it's a lot harder to bank on walkup or last minute availability.


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## epcotobsessed

hereforthechurros said:


> Just to be fair... it is a lot easier to stay flexible and score last minute ADRs as a party of 1 vs. a larger group. When I've gone solo I don't make any ADRs and just do what I feel but when I go with my husband/son it's a lot harder to bank on walkup or last minute availability.



I'm interested to test that next week, as we have always been able to get pretty much any ADR we wanted the day before or day of as a party of 4. I know that the pandemic has changed everything, but a quick check just now, we could get Garden Grill, Rose and Crown, Tiffin's, Tusker House, La Hacienda, Crystal Palace, Wine Bar George, Edison, Kona Cafe (and now I'll stop typing, but there are lots more) for dinner tonight.


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## UpstateMick

kappyfamily said:


> Thanks for the review! Couple questions. There will be 3 of us as well, wondering why Garden Grill cost you $250? Also, for The Edison, what day of the week and time did you go? We will be with our 20 year old daughter. Thank you!


Hello!
Garden Grill with tip for three adults came to $239.83. That’s the price! It was crazy! We went to Edison on a Thursday night at 7:45 PM. It was the perfect time. Ask for a stage seat, as they have singers and performers right in front of you during your meal. We didn’t get drinks at the Edison, as they are a bit pricey and we arent big drinkers anyway.


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## hereforthechurros

epcotobsessed said:


> I'm interested to test that next week, as we have always been able to get pretty much any ADR we wanted the day before or day of as a party of 4. I know that the pandemic has changed everything, but a quick check just now, we could get Garden Grill, Rose and Crown, Tiffin's, Tusker House, La Hacienda, Crystal Palace, Wine Bar George, Edison, Kona Cafe (and now I'll stop typing, but there are lots more) for dinner tonight.


We haven't had much luck our past two trips, but we also look in the evening once we're ready and options have been limited, or nonexistent. Safe to say last minute ADRs aren't a guarantee.


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## epcotobsessed

Nothing is a guarantee. But having over 20 options with a few hours' notice is pretty darn good.


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## kylenne

hereforthechurros said:


> Just to be fair... it is a lot easier to stay flexible and score last minute ADRs as a party of 1 vs. a larger group. When I've gone solo I don't make any ADRs and just do what I feel but when I go with my husband/son it's a lot harder to bank on walkup or last minute availability.



I really didn’t notice much difference getting last minute availability this time being solo vs. when I go with my gf tbh. If anything it was slightly harder this time because the last time I came with her was pre-covid and everything was still open. But for the sake of science I did check with parties of 2 and 3 and was still able to find walk up availability at MK. 4 was harder but still doable. Not sure when you were down last, but dining staffing and capacity has increased a lot even since I came for Memorial Day. I saw a lot of new CMs and the vast majority of them were working at dining locations.

I kinda want to emphasize that...things are rapidly changing down there from week to week, in general. That was my biggest takeaway from this trip. What may have been the case even a month ago may not be the case today. So I really encourage everyone with upcoming trips to share their experiences! What I’ve reported may not be true when you go.


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## audrey2580

Are any of the parks still letting people on rides before the posted opening time or are they all holding them at rope drop?


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## kylenne

audrey2580 said:


> Are any of the parks still letting people on rides before the posted opening time or are they all holding them at rope drop?



Both! How it’s generally working now is they are holding guests at entrances to lands and then walking you over to the respective headliner attractions some time prior to park opening. I say “generally” because it varies with the park. I would have to check my notes or when I posted a couple pages back while I was there, but IIRC on Saturday I rope dropped Mine Train, we were held right at the entrance to Fantasyland from Tomorrowland next to Cheshire Cafe and the tea cups, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t walk us over to Mine Train until exactly 9 on the dot. Meanwhile AK and HS definitely let us get on rides before official park open. Yesterday at HS they let us through the tapstiles at 8am, I headed for the Sunset attractions and the “rope” consisted of two lines, one for each of RNRC and Tower. Then at 8:30 the CMs for those rides walked their respective lines over to each attraction. They also started calling ROTR boarding groups prior to park opening at 9, I had BG 8 yesterday and it was called at 8:40 for a 1 hour return window. Pandora was similar for FOP. But I’m not sure if any other attractions were open at that time.


----------



## DisneyPapaDeac

Rope dropped AK Monday. Coming from off-site, we got in line to drive in at 6:50 and was shooed away by security, who didn't want traffic to backup. So we had to cruise around for a few minutes, then get back in line. Got in the parking lot around 7:02 and was able to get to rope drop area pretty briskly. 

We were one of the first groups on FoP and then rode KRR. Was off both by maybe 8:20. First time mobile ordering for Restaurantosaurus and it went super smooth. Honestly had about as perfect of a day as possible. Met some family in the area, (mostly) naviagated using an ECV for the first time (knee surgery pending next week) and even got in some leisurely shopping late before park closed. People traffic was a little less than I'm accustomed to at this park at this time of year, but wait times at FoP stayed high all day long. 
Expedition Everest was incredible, and was able to get on twice. 

Not sure what to expect with Epcot on the horizon tomorrow with Elsa looming.


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## capegirl

UpstateMick said:


> Hello!
> Garden Grill with tip for three adults came to $239.83. That’s the price! It was crazy! We went to Edison on a Thursday night at 7:45 PM. It was the perfect time. Ask for a stage seat, as they have singers and performers right in front of you during your meal. We didn’t get drinks at the Edison, as they are a bit pricey and we arent big drinkers anyway.



$239 for three at the Garden Grill is a bit much! Edison sounds great, I am going to check them out on our Disney Springs day.


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## UpstateMick

capegirl said:


> $239 for three at the Garden Grill is a bit much! Edison sounds great, I am going to check them out on our Disney Springs day.


We are done with Garden Grill. Just too much money for what you get. It’s fun and unique, but there are many fun and unique restaurants to explore. But the Edison….you won’t be disappointed! Enjoy your trip! Safe travels!


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## figmentfinesse

Can you eat your dole whip in the tiki room again?


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## kappyfamily

UpstateMick said:


> Hello!
> Garden Grill with tip for three adults came to $239.83. That’s the price! It was crazy! We went to Edison on a Thursday night at 7:45 PM. It was the perfect time. Ask for a stage seat, as they have singers and performers right in front of you during your meal. We didn’t get drinks at the Edison, as they are a bit pricey and we arent big drinkers anyway.


ok great, thanks for the info! At The Edison, do you know would there be entertainment if we did like a 6pm/6:30pm type of reservation or does it start later?

thanks again!


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## wgeo

We looked at the walk up wait lists a lot over this past weekend because we very quickly got tired of the sad reduced menus at the quick services.  We were never able to get on the list, it was always fine with 1 or 2 people, sometimes ok with 3 but as soon I chose 4 it would say not available.  Maybe I was just unlucky but for a party of 4 it seemed much much harder, or at least from 7/1 - 7/5 it was harder.  Who knows next weekend.


----------



## tinkerhon

capegirl said:


> $239 for three at the Garden Grill is a bit much! Edison sounds great, I am going to check them out on our Disney Springs day.



We hear you !!!  Last time we went to GG (also 3) ---- total sticker shock !!!  I couldnt believe it !


----------



## tinkerhon

UpstateMick said:


> Hello!
> Garden Grill with tip for three adults came to $239.83. That’s the price! It was crazy! We went to Edison on a Thursday night at 7:45 PM. It was the perfect time. Ask for a stage seat, as they have singers and performers right in front of you during your meal. We didn’t get drinks at the Edison, as they are a bit pricey and we arent big drinkers anyway.



Yep---  I could not believe our bill last time we were there !  Insane !!!


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## BK2014

audrey2580 said:


> Are any of the parks still letting people on rides before the posted opening time or are they all holding them at rope drop?


Saturday at MK we rope dropped Pirates and they held us at the entrance to Adventureland until right at 9:00am.


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## PPFlight75

BK2014 said:


> Saturday at MK we rope dropped Pirates and they held us at the entrance to Adventureland until right at 9:00am.


So is it just 7DMT that is letting people on before 9?


----------



## BK2014

PPFlight75 said:


> So is it just 7DMT that is letting people on before 9?



I am not sure, but according to the post right below the one I quoted, they were at MK on Saturday as well, rope dropped 7DMT and weren't let on until right at 9:00am.  So it sounds like it was probably the whole park.


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## PPFlight75

BK2014 said:


> I am not sure, but according to the post right below the one I quoted, they were at MK on Saturday as well, rope dropped 7DMT and weren't let on until right at 9:00am.  So it sounds like it was probably the whole park.


Oh, gotcha. Thanks!!


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## kylenne

PPFlight75 said:


> So is it just 7DMT that is letting people on before 9?



They aren’t. When I rope dropped on Saturday they didn’t walk us over until 9 on the dot. Only AK and HS are letting people get on rides before official opening.


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## UpstateMick

kappyfamily said:


> ok great, thanks for the info! At The Edison, do you know would there be entertainment if we did like a 6pm/6:30pm type of reservation or does it start later?
> 
> thanks again!


Yes. Entertainment is about every 20 minutes. They perform a set (depending on performers…we saw three flapper girls singing modern tunes in 30’s motifs…it was incredible!) and there was a singer and a magician! Tons of entertainment! Enjoy and let me know how it goes for you!


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## PPFlight75

Thank





kylenne said:


> They aren’t. When I rope dropped on Saturday they didn’t walk us over until 9 on the dot. Only AK and HS are letting people get on rides before official opening.


 Thank you! We are heading down next week and coming up with our rope drop plans!


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## leannak

figmentfinesse said:


> Can you eat your dole whip in the tiki room again?


I didn’t realize that was ever a thing or we would have definitely done that! We were there a couple of weeks ago and waited until we were out of the Tiki Room to buy our dole whips. Sorry I’m no help.


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## Lee from WV

Got BG 23 for Rise yesterday morning. Yay!  Except then Rise was down all morning which screwed up my perfect plans lol. We rope dropped HS. Arrived HS at 7:50. They checked my bag very slowly which put us middle of the pack for MMRR, which glitched and we didn’t get the preshow. Then Tower 15 min, RnR 30 min, Muppets, lunch at Sci Fi (burgers have improved there!). It was sad to watch our Rise time approach and then get further away.   It was down for hours so we went home to rest. Our outfits were Old Hollywood and we got tons of compliments and had fun with Photopass.
We had Beaches and Cream at 4 and then instead of meandering into Epcot we walked back to do Rise. We had missed our window when it was back up but thanks to this board I knew we could still go back. First time there- very impressive. Didn’t enjoy the 45 min wait tho. Then skyliner to Epcot for the Showcase. Which was dead dead dead. Fireworks were cancelled due to weather. Is it any livelier when there are fireworks?  I usually love the Showcase but boring!  Our evening outfits were countries- my son was Italy and had a great vaparetto hat w ears and a red striped shirt.
The sky liner is sweet. We like that you can count on it and can rest, as opposed to the unknowns of bus and boat arrival. There was no line.


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> I have been hearing a lot of people are getting colds and such because of no mask wearing. Will be wearing indoors and other required areas regardless on our upcoming trip-i am not risking anything!
> 
> I still bring a mask with me when I walk my dog in our neighborhood-I hate to say it like this but I just can't trust people (not all people obviously but people who lie about having the vaccine/being sick).


You do what you need to take care of yourself!   Don't stress too  much, we spent 8 days at the end of June. No masks except we're required....not even a sniffle among us! Enjoy your trip!


----------



## mom2rtk

figmentfinesse said:


> Can you eat your dole whip in the tiki room again?


We did just that week before last.


----------



## kylenne

Lee from WV said:


> The sky liner is sweet. We like that you can count on it and can rest, as opposed to the unknowns of bus and boat arrival.



Unless there’s weather, in which case you’re screwed. You’re lucky you weren’t there on Sunday when it was down for ages and Skyliner guests were being diverted to Beach Club to get buses.

That’s the thing people really need to take into account with the Skyliner. It’s fantastic when it’s running, but you’re rolling the dice relying on it during summer storm season. Yes you can plan around the afternoon storms to a degree but not always, and when it goes down that’s a whole lot of displaced people you’re jockeying with for a bus seat. Yes, boats are also impacted by lightning conditions but every resort with a boat has a non bus alternative to get home besides WL. That’s not the case with Skyliner resorts. Personally from what I’ve seen on multiple trips now just as an outside observer I would never stay at one during this time of year.


----------



## Chernabob

kylenne said:


> Unless there’s weather, in which case you’re screwed. You’re lucky you weren’t there on Sunday when it was down for ages and Skyliner guests were being diverted to Beach Club to get buses.
> 
> That’s the thing people really need to take into account with the Skyliner. It’s fantastic when it’s running, but you’re rolling the dice relying on it during summer storm season. Yes you can plan around the afternoon storms to a degree but not always, and when it goes down that’s a whole lot of displaced people you’re jockeying with for a bus seat. Yes, boats are also impacted by lightning conditions but every resort with a boat has a non bus alternative to get home besides WL. That’s not the case with Skyliner resorts. Personally from what I’ve seen on multiple trips now just as an outside observer I would never stay at one during this time of year.


I'll second this!  Skyliner is great when it's running, but our experience was that it's way too unreliable in the summer due to storms.  

I'd really love to see them build in some function in the app to know its status.  Epcot was the perfect example--I'd hate to have to trek from the front of the park to the IG entrance just to find out it's down.


----------



## Lee from WV

kylenne said:


> Unless there’s weather, in which case you’re screwed. You’re lucky you weren’t there on Sunday when it was down for ages and Skyliner guests were being diverted to Beach Club to get buses.
> 
> That’s the thing people really need to take into account with the Skyliner. It’s fantastic when it’s running, but you’re rolling the dice relying on it during summer storm season. Yes you can plan around the afternoon storms to a degree but not always, and when it goes down that’s a whole lot of displaced people you’re jockeying with for a bus seat. Yes, boats are also impacted by lightning conditions but every resort with a boat has a non bus alternative to get home besides WL. That’s not the case with Skyliner resorts. Personally from what I’ve seen on multiple trips now just as an outside observer I would never stay at one during this time of year.


Thanks, good points. Backup would be walking from HS to Epcot so that’s failsafe.


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## wgeo

We rode the Skyliner when it was raining but not thunder so they kept it running.  Have to say it wasn't very fun, water comes in those tilted windows and it can be pretty uncomfortable to have water dripping on you during the whole ride.  Less of a big deal if you can try and change seats, but it wasn't great - we were happy to get off.


----------



## brockash

kylenne said:


> Unless there’s weather, in which case you’re screwed. You’re lucky you weren’t there on Sunday when it was down for ages and Skyliner guests were being diverted to Beach Club to get buses.
> 
> That’s the thing people really need to take into account with the Skyliner. It’s fantastic when it’s running, but you’re rolling the dice relying on it during summer storm season. Yes you can plan around the afternoon storms to a degree but not always, and when it goes down that’s a whole lot of displaced people you’re jockeying with for a bus seat. Yes, boats are also impacted by lightning conditions but every resort with a boat has a non bus alternative to get home besides WL. That’s not the case with Skyliner resorts. Personally from what I’ve seen on multiple trips now just as an outside observer I would never stay at one during this time of year.


That's exactly how I feel.  We definitely see the slyliner resorts as a disadvantage during the rainy months.


----------



## heathsf

Lee from WV said:


> We had Beaches and Cream at 4 and then instead of meandering into Epcot we walked back to do Rise. We had missed our window when it was back up but thanks to this board I knew we could still go back. First time there- very impressive. Didn’t enjoy the 45 min wait tho.



Is the 45 min wait typical or was it because it had been down for so long earlier in the day?


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## BroadwayHermione5

4Ds4Diz said:


> You do what you need to take care of yourself!   Don't stress too  much, we spent 8 days at the end of June. No masks except we're required....not even a sniffle among us! Enjoy your trip!


Absolutely. It is definitely more of an anxiety related mindset that I am trying to get better at and I know it will be hot at times and my vaccinated self will be thankful for a mask break, but I am still cautious.


----------



## MomOTwins

brockash said:


> That's exactly how I feel.  We definitely see the slyliner resorts as a disadvantage during the rainy months.


Meh, I don't get all the fuss about the risk of the skyliner being down.  Yes, it happened when we went last august.  Mornings were usually totally fine on the skyliner--it wasn't until 2pm or so that you ran the risk of shutdowns.  Yes it is annoying when the skyliner goes down but that just restores to the default that exists for any non-skyliner resort: take a bus if the line at the bus stop is reasonable, take an uber if it isn't.  That's what we had to do for all four parks when we stayed at OKW on our last trip--and frankly, most of the time it was uber because buses were such a disaster at that resort.  At least when we stayed last august at Riviera, we got the skyliner at least once a day as an alternative to buses.

*edited to add* When the skyliner goes down, they run skyliner route buses from Boardwalk resort--so you don't have to walk from World Showcase back to the front of the park to catch a bus.



heathsf said:


> Is the 45 min wait typical or was it because it had been down for so long earlier in the day?


We only rode once, but waited well over an hour. I don't think it is ever a walk on unless you happen to get an early boarding group and it starts on time.  The fact is, it has some downtime most days, it is very glitchy.


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## BroadwayHermione5

Random question and forgive me if it has been asked-has anyone had an issue making a dining reservation at a park they aren't reserved for that day? We are EPCOT fans and love eating in the various countries and we wondering if we are reserved for another park and  we know we are going to spend maybe until 4pm there and hop over to EPCOT, can we reserve for a restaurant or is that being optimistic/wrong? I have heard the walk up lists on the app work beautifully but I am simply wondering.


----------



## epcotobsessed

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Random question and forgive me if it has been asked-has anyone had an issue making a dining reservation at a park they aren't reserved for that day? We are EPCOT fans and love eating in the various countries and we wondering if we are reserved for another park and  we know we are going to spend maybe until 4pm there and hop over to EPCOT, can we reserve for a restaurant or is that being optimistic/wrong? I have heard the walk up lists on the app work beautifully but I am simply wondering.



I have Epcot restaurant reservations next week on days when I have reservations in other parks - we have the same plan as you.


----------



## Chernabob

MomOTwins said:


> Meh, I don't get all the fuss about the risk of the skyliner being down.  Yes, it happened when we went last august.  Mornings were usually totally fine on the skyliner--it wasn't until 2pm or so that you ran the risk of shutdowns.  Yes it is annoying when the skyliner goes down but that just restores to the default that exists for any non-skyliner resort: take a bus if the line at the bus stop is reasonable, take an uber if it isn't.  That's what we had to do for all four parks when we stayed at OKW on our last trip--and frankly, most of the time it was uber because buses were such a disaster at that resort.  At least when we stayed last august at Riviera, we got the skyliner at least once a day as an alternative to buses.
> 
> *edited to add* When the skyliner goes down, they run skyliner route buses from Boardwalk resort--so you don't have to walk from World Showcase back to the front of the park to catch a bus.
> 
> 
> We only rode once, but waited well over an hour. I don't think it is ever a walk on unless you happen to get an early boarding group and it starts on time.  The fact is, it has some downtime most days, it is very glitchy.


Agreed.  That said, I'd just love to see some functionality in MDE to know *if* the Skyliner is down.  (Doesn't have to be raining in the park for it to be down.)


----------



## Ecomommy09

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Random question and forgive me if it has been asked-has anyone had an issue making a dining reservation at a park they aren't reserved for that day? We are EPCOT fans and love eating in the various countries and we wondering if we are reserved for another park and  we know we are going to spend maybe until 4pm there and hop over to EPCOT, can we reserve for a restaurant or is that being optimistic/wrong? I have heard the walk up lists on the app work beautifully but I am simply wondering.


You can reserve an ADR at any park you want.  They haven't refused park hopping to anyone yet.  I have my AK day planned with hop to Epcot for F&W and reserved the Mexican restaurant without any issue


----------



## preemiemama

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Random question and forgive me if it has been asked-has anyone had an issue making a dining reservation at a park they aren't reserved for that day? We are EPCOT fans and love eating in the various countries and we wondering if we are reserved for another park and  we know we are going to spend maybe until 4pm there and hop over to EPCOT, can we reserve for a restaurant or is that being optimistic/wrong? I have heard the walk up lists on the app work beautifully but I am simply wondering.





epcotobsessed said:


> I have Epcot restaurant reservations next week on days when I have reservations in other parks - we have the same plan as you.



We are also planning several meals in EPCOT next week where we are hopping over from another park.  There have been no reports so far of anyone being denied hopping to another park, even over Christmas or Spring Break, so we feel pretty confident doing this.  It's not a guarantee, but it should be fine.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

epcotobsessed said:


> I have Epcot restaurant reservations next week on days when I have reservations in other parks - we have the same plan as you.


This is great to know thank you! We specifically chose Boardwalk because of its proximity to EPCOT so we can eat! Lol! Thank you!


----------



## TikiTikiFan

Chernabob said:


> Agreed.  That said, I'd just love to see some functionality in MDE to know *if* the Skyliner is down.  (Doesn't have to be raining in the park for it to be down.)



Agreed- half the time when we'd ask CMs they'd have no clue which was frustrating at Epcot since it's such a long trek to either the Skyliner or the busses. I'd like to know which way I should be walking.


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## scrappinginontario

Normally buses do not run from resort to resort.  When the Skyliner is down and guests are being directed from IG to Boardwalk, are the buses there marked as 'Riviera', 'Caribbean Beach', 'Pop' and 'Art of Animation'?


----------



## zackiedawg

Got back yesterday from a 4 night stay at Saratoga on my DVC.  My trip report is for those rare few who don't need to ride every fast ride and don't do rope drop - because there needs to be the occasional report from people like us.  Arrived Friday afternoon by car, checked in through heavy rainstorms, resort roads and parking lots heavily ponding and flooded in spots.  Walked over to Disney Springs the first evening as I didn't bother with a 4-day ticket for just a half-day when I arrive.  Did bar seating at Frontera Cocina as a walkup, no reservations - sat immediately.  Line for Gideon's was silly when I passed it around 7pm.  Heavy rain while at Frontera eating, then light rain when I came out - passed by Gideon's and there didn't seem to be any line.  Apparently the rain scattered people but some still had a 'virtual' queue held for them - I asked if it was possible to join and she said no problem - I was about 10 back.  Only 15 minutes to get through, so brought home a chocolate chip key lime cookie to my room for a snack.  Tasty!
Saturday was MK day - slept in until 10am, made breakfast in the room, hung out and had coffee and relaxed, then walked over to Disney Springs, hopped the bus to Wilderness Lodge, then took the boat over to MK...arrived around 1pm.  Rained off and on all day, but never too hard.  Went towards Pirates first - wait said 15 minutes - actual wait was 1 minute - walked practically right onto a boat.  Went to Big Thunder - wait time said 45 minutes - actual was about 20 minutes.  Haunted Mansion said 50 minutes and the line was back past Columbia house, so I skipped and went onwards to Peoplemover...that line said 15 minutes and actual ended up being about 20 minutes because it stopped a few times.  By 6pm, rain had come hard a few times and then lightened up again - circled back to Haunted Mansion and line said 15 minutes - so jumped on - was on the ride in 10 minutes.  Left the park around 7pm, headed back to Disney Springs, got a reservation for Paradiso 37 for less than an hour away, ate, then walked back to my villa.
Sunday was AK - no rain while at the parks.  Started around noon that day.  Had lunch at Nomad lounge as a walk-in, no wait to find a table inside - enjoyed a Leaping Lizard or two and some sliders.  Went past Kilimanjaro and never even saw what the line wait time was - but the line was weaving all over outside the entrance, past the bakery, around the fruit stands, over by Zuri's sweets, etc - knowing how much more line was inside, I didn't even bother - had to be well over an hour and it was HOT.  Walked the nature trail - gorillas all by the window lying around upside down or leaning on the glass.  Hippos were fantastic - walking all around, going in and out of the water, opening their mouths and yawning, eating, etc.  At the Asia trail, tigers were all sleeping as usual, but nice new addition in the bird section with the tawny frogmouth - gorgeous bird that about 90% of the crowd walked right past without seeing!  Jumped on Everest - line said 50, but actual was about 35.  Walked into Rainforest around 6:30pm and found a seat at the bar without ressies in about 5 minutes, so ate there before heading back to my room.  Extra bonus for the 4th of July - my villa at Saratoga in Congress Park was overlooking DIsney Springs - apparently one of the towns nearby had their 4th fireworks which appeared directly over the Boathouse restaurant in unblocked, perfect view from my balcony...wasn't even expecting to see any fireworks that day as I had skipped MK.
Monday was Epcot day - headed over around 1pm.  Passing Spaceship Earth, the line said 45 minutes and it looked like it was going to be every bit of that, so skipped it.  Went to Land, and wait time at Living with the Land said 20 minutes - actual was about 15 minutes.  Soarin' said 50 minutes - decided to chance it, and actual was about 30.  Grabbed a quick bite at the Festival Center as the Beef Brisket Burnt Ends and Smoked Pork Belly Slider with Garlic Sausage, Chorizo, Cheddar Fondue, and House-made Pickle just sounded too tempting to pass up...and indeed it was.  Enjoyed walking World Showcase, relaxing on benches or seats, having some cocktails around the world, and eventually ending up at Mexico where I had reservations at Hacienda de San Angel.  On the way out, passing Spaceship Earth, wait time was down to 10 minutes, so jumped on - actual wait less than 5 minutes.  That was my trip.  Crowds were fairly high - more than I expected with the international travel restrictions, but still lower than a normal 4th weekend would have been.  Other than requiring masks on busses, no fast passes, and the encouraging of mobile ordering for almost everything and no paper menus at most restaurants (phone QR codes instead), there were no other real signs of pandemicness.  Less than 1% of the park guests had masks on, no social distancing required at all, every ride, line, and restaurant was filling every available seat that I could tell, and in general, everyone seemed relaxed and comingled as on any other pre-pandemic day...I was a little worried my first time back since before shutdown that it would feel too restricted and odd, so it was a relief that for the most part it felt like any other Disney vacation in the past.


----------



## Princess Katelet

zackiedawg said:


> Got back yesterday from a 4 night stay at Saratoga on my DVC.  My trip report is for those rare few who don't need to ride every fast ride and don't do rope drop - because there needs to be the occasional report from people like us.  Arrived Friday afternoon by car, checked in through heavy rainstorms, resort roads and parking lots heavily ponding and flooded in spots.  Walked over to Disney Springs the first evening as I didn't bother with a 4-day ticket for just a half-day when I arrive.  Did bar seating at Frontera Cocina as a walkup, no reservations - sat immediately.  Line for Gideon's was silly when I passed it around 7pm.  Heavy rain while at Frontera eating, then light rain when I came out - passed by Gideon's and there didn't seem to be any line.  Apparently the rain scattered people but some still had a 'virtual' queue held for them - I asked if it was possible to join and she said no problem - I was about 10 back.  Only 15 minutes to get through, so brought home a chocolate chip key lime cookie to my room for a snack.  Tasty!
> Saturday was MK day - slept in until 10am, made breakfast in the room, hung out and had coffee and relaxed, then walked over to Disney Springs, hopped the bus to Wilderness Lodge, then took the boat over to MK...arrived around 1pm.  Rained off and on all day, but never too hard.  Went towards Pirates first - wait said 15 minutes - actual wait was 1 minute - walked practically right onto a boat.  Went to Big Thunder - wait time said 45 minutes - actual was about 20 minutes.  Haunted Mansion said 50 minutes and the line was back past Columbia house, so I skipped and went onwards to Peoplemover...that line said 15 minutes and actual ended up being about 20 minutes because it stopped a few times.  By 6pm, rain had come hard a few times and then lightened up again - circled back to Haunted Mansion and line said 15 minutes - so jumped on - was on the ride in 10 minutes.  Left the park around 7pm, headed back to Disney Springs, got a reservation for Paradiso 37 for less than an hour away, ate, then walked back to my villa.
> Sunday was AK - no rain while at the parks.  Started around noon that day.  Had lunch at Nomad lounge as a walk-in, no wait to find a table inside - enjoyed a Leaping Lizard or two and some sliders.  Went past Kilimanjaro and never even saw what the line wait time was - but the line was weaving all over outside the entrance, past the bakery, around the fruit stands, over by Zuri's sweets, etc - knowing how much more line was inside, I didn't even bother - had to be well over an hour and it was HOT.  Walked the nature trail - gorillas all by the window lying around upside down or leaning on the glass.  Hippos were fantastic - walking all around, going in and out of the water, opening their mouths and yawning, eating, etc.  At the Asia trail, tigers were all sleeping as usual, but nice new addition in the bird section with the tawny frogmouth - gorgeous bird that about 90% of the crowd walked right past without seeing!  Jumped on Everest - line said 50, but actual was about 35.  Walked into Rainforest around 6:30pm and found a seat at the bar without ressies in about 5 minutes, so ate there before heading back to my room.  Extra bonus for the 4th of July - my villa at Saratoga in Congress Park was overlooking DIsney Springs - apparently one of the towns nearby had their 4th fireworks which appeared directly over the Boathouse restaurant in unblocked, perfect view from my balcony...wasn't even expecting to see any fireworks that day as I had skipped MK.
> Monday was Epcot day - headed over around 1pm.  Passing Spaceship Earth, the line said 45 minutes and it looked like it was going to be every bit of that, so skipped it.  Went to Land, and wait time at Living with the Land said 20 minutes - actual was about 15 minutes.  Soarin' said 50 minutes - decided to chance it, and actual was about 30.  Grabbed a quick bite at the Festival Center as the Beef Brisket Burnt Ends and Smoked Pork Belly Slider with Garlic Sausage, Chorizo, Cheddar Fondue, and House-made Pickle just sounded too tempting to pass up...and indeed it was.  Enjoyed walking World Showcase, relaxing on benches or seats, having some cocktails around the world, and eventually ending up at Mexico where I had reservations at Hacienda de San Angel.  On the way out, passing Spaceship Earth, wait time was down to 10 minutes, so jumped on - actual wait less than 5 minutes.  That was my trip.  Crowds were fairly high - more than I expected with the international travel restrictions, but still lower than a normal 4th weekend would have been.  Other than requiring masks on busses, no fast passes, and the encouraging of mobile ordering for almost everything and no paper menus at most restaurants (phone QR codes instead), there were no other real signs of pandemicness.  Less than 1% of the park guests had masks on, no social distancing required at all, every ride, line, and restaurant was filling every available seat that I could tell, and in general, everyone seemed relaxed and comingled as on any other pre-pandemic day...I was a little worried my first time back since before shutdown that it would feel too restricted and odd, so it was a relief that for the most part it felt like any other Disney vacation in the past.


Glad you enjoyed your trip! Curious about your circuitous travel to MK via DS and WL…. Did you just want to see WL?


----------



## zackiedawg

Princess Katelet said:


> Glad you enjoyed your trip! Curious about your circuitous travel to MK via DS and WL…. Did you just want to see WL?


Especially when I go on solo trips, I'm in super-relax mode - as you can tell I start out my park days after noon.  Part of the relaxation is that I'll often take long routes to get to parks via other resorts, because it's nice to walk through or visit those resorts, and often because the alternatives to busses which are the least scenic or interesting way to travel.  Any time I can take a boat to a park or area, I will as they are much more relaxing and scenic.  I will also use walkways into the parks rather than busses.  Staying at Saratoga Springs, especially when in Congress Park section, allows me to walk over to Springs and catch a bus to any chosen resort first - then walk those grounds, take some photos, and either walk or take a boat into the park for the day.  For example, to Boardwalk for Epcot or DHS, or to Wilderness Lodge for MK.


----------



## Lee from WV

Dhs morning Tuesday July 7: Rise BG 30, rope dropped a second day. MMRR, Toy Story Mania both down. So we did low waits at Tower of Terror, Alien Saucers, and Millenium Falcon, which we quite liked.  My kids both were pilots and shouted and bickered as they figured out how to work it while under fire.

While in the MF queue my non- Star Wars daughter looked around and mused that she didn’t like grunge. Upon reflection I realized that I also feel the First Order has more style. So I guess we’re evil now!

Then toy story mania came back up and we did that with a 15 min wait at 9:30. Then lightning McQueen which was super cute. I didn’t know that he’s a meme— so my adult daughter and son laughed all the way through.

Our BG was called but we had 50’s prime time adrs. Funny waiter, new jokes, great food. My husband always loves the decor- just like his grandmothers. We head out to our BGs and Rise is down again.

To the hotel pool!  Via immediate boat to the boardwalk inn at 12:30.
good morning.


----------



## Akck

scrappinginontario said:


> Normally buses do not run from resort to resort.  When the Skyliner is down and guests are being directed from IG to Boardwalk, are the buses there marked as 'Riviera', 'Caribbean Beach', 'Pop' and 'Art of Animation'?



Pre-Covid (Oct 2019), the busses were marked Skyliner Resorts. I assume they just did a circuit of all the resorts. We didn’t see any Skyliner busses when we were there in December and April, but there were no shutdowns while we were there.


----------



## Leigh L

scrappinginontario said:


> Normally buses do not run from resort to resort.  When the Skyliner is down and guests are being directed from IG to Boardwalk, are the buses there marked as 'Riviera', 'Caribbean Beach', 'Pop' and 'Art of Animation'?


The Epcot line was down one late afternoon / evening in June a


Akck said:


> *Pre-Covid (Oct 2019), the busses were marked Skyliner Resorts. I assume they just did a circuit of all the resorts*. We didn’t see any Skyliner busses when we were there in December and April, but there were no shutdowns while we were there.



The Skyliner on 6.27 was down between CBR to Epcot from at least 4 to 6 p.m. (not sure of how extended this was). We had taken a bus from CSR to DHS with intentions to ride the Skyliner to Riviera for dinner.

CM at DHS said we'd either have to hop a bus from DHS to Riviera or walk from CBR to Riviera. 5 of us took the Skyliner since 2 had never ridden and the other person took the bus. We were pleasantly surprised when we asked the CM at CBR where to find the walking path, they said we could catch the "Skyliner resort loop bus" (or something to that effect) just down the way. We waited maybe 5 or 10 minutes and the Bus was going to Riviera, Pop, AoA - there was a separate bus for Epcot

Seemed like it was a regular thing , but might have been due to the extended shutdown of that leg of the Skyliner (wasn't weather-related but they didn't say what the problem was). Whatever the case, it was all so smooth!


----------



## snoopy352

I understand that ride breakdowns can happen.  But what is the deal with SO much of it lately?  It's to the point where one day with no issues is the exception for EACH major ride.  Can anyone answer why it's happening and if the perception I have is accurate?  Or is it like the gambler who only talks about the jackpots and the ride breakdowns really aren't as bad as it seems in this thread?  (We are going next week and I want to be prepared.)


----------



## BK2014

scrappinginontario said:


> Normally buses do not run from resort to resort.  When the Skyliner is down and guests are being directed from IG to Boardwalk, are the buses there marked as 'Riviera', 'Caribbean Beach', 'Pop' and 'Art of Animation'?



This past Saturday the buses were labeled either "Skyliner Resorts" or "Skyliner Loop", I can't remember which one - but Skyliner was definitely in the name.  I think one bus went to all of the Skyliner resorts from the Boardwalk.


----------



## cdurham1

snoopy352 said:


> I understand that ride breakdowns can happen.  But what is the deal with SO much of it lately?  It's to the point where one day with no issues is the exception for EACH major ride.  Can anyone answer why it's happening and if the perception I have is accurate?  Or is it like the gambler who only talks about the jackpots and the ride breakdowns really aren't as bad as it seems in this thread?  (We are going next week and I want to be prepared.)



Yeah, reading all the reports I have been wondering if they let maintenance and engineers go during COVID or something


----------



## Lee from WV

This evening we went back to HS for Oga’s. My husband was razzing me about “HS again!?!”  But he loved it!  It was super fun.  Very lively. He said - let’s go tomorrow again and I just laughed at the impossibility.

We arrived about 6:15 pm and did Star Tours (why no love and a 5 min wait?  It’s a fine ride) then shopped in the Edge for 20 min and then did Ogas. My (grown) kids scooted out and caught Toy Story Mania at closing (30 min). We thought we’d do our Ride BG but it was down again. Thank goodness I dragged everybody over last night to do yesterday’s BG. 

I had had two Oga’s for 7 and 8:50 and realized my husband would never stay up that late so cancelled the later one. The crowd was so thinned out when we left I’m happy we kept the earlier one. The vibe is great when people are there. I wonder how much they charge to rent Oga’s for private parties- that would be awesome. 

Thought about going to Epcot for fireworks but (you were right Kylenne!) the Skyliner was down for lightning so we walked back to the BWI and hottubbed instead. We could have spent 5 more min walking for Epcot but didn’t.

Early AK tomorrow.


----------



## kylenne

BK2014 said:


> This past Saturday the buses were labeled either "Skyliner Resorts" or "Skyliner Loop", I can't remember which one - but Skyliner was definitely in the name.  I think one bus went to all of the Skyliner resorts from the Boardwalk.



I don't remember 100% but I _think_ on Sunday they actually had separate buses for the Skyliner resorts from Beach Club. I could swear I saw one pull up that said AoA on it, but I admittedly wasn't there very long before I gave up and just booked a Lyft to MK. I do know there was a steady stream people pouring into that stop and it just reinforced my belief to never stay at one of those resorts in the summer.

Still kicking myself for being lazy and not just walking to the front of Epcot to get an MK bus, lol.


----------



## kylenne

snoopy352 said:


> I understand that ride breakdowns can happen.  But what is the deal with SO much of it lately?  It's to the point where one day with no issues is the exception for EACH major ride.  Can anyone answer why it's happening and if the perception I have is accurate?  Or is it like the gambler who only talks about the jackpots and the ride breakdowns really aren't as bad as it seems in this thread?  (We are going next week and I want to be prepared.)



Anecdotally from my experience in the past month or so it really is that bad, and I was honestly wondering if there had been cutbacks on maintenance. I don't ever remember a trip with so many breakdowns and it seemed like it was worse this weekend than when I went at the end of May. Every day in every park it was something. When I got in on Friday night and went into Epcot for the fireworks, I got a push notification in the MDE app with a giant apology for Frozen having been down all day. MK on Saturday afternoon was really rough, multiple attractions down. At AK Dinosaur went down when I got in the ride vehicle and we never made it out of the loading bay.


----------



## MomOTwins

kylenne said:


> Anecdotally from my experience in the past month or so it really is that bad, and I was honestly wondering if there had been cutbacks on maintenance. I don't ever remember a trip with so many breakdowns and it seemed like it was worse this weekend than when I went at the end of May. Every day in every park it was something. When I got in on Friday night and went into Epcot for the fireworks, I got a push notification in the MDE app with a giant apology for Frozen having been down all day. MK on Saturday afternoon was really rough, multiple attractions down. At AK Dinosaur went down when I got in the ride vehicle and we never made it out of the loading bay.


Okay, but is it really that different from before covid?  I distinctly remember in the days of fastpass that at least once a day I would get a notification that one of my fastpasses converted to a multi-experience pass because a ride went down.  Maybe we just notice it more without fastpass because it feels worse for a ride to go down after we’ve waited an hour than it did to just go fastpass something else when a ride was out of commission.


----------



## kylenne

MomOTwins said:


> Okay, but is it really that different from before covid?  I distinctly remember in the days of fastpass that at least once a day I would get a notification that one of my fastpasses converted to a multi-experience pass because a ride went down.  Maybe we just notice it more without fastpass because it feels worse for a ride to go down after we’ve waited an hour than it did to just go fastpass something else when a ride was out of commission.



Yes, it really is that different. If you’ve followed any of my posts from the last month you’ll recall I haven’t waited more than 30 minutes for anything so that’s totally irrelevant. Pre-Covid they were not forced to do push notifications apologizing for rides being down all day. You also didn’t have multiple (as in 3 or more) E tickets down for hours at a time like recently, or like that recent day when half of HS was “Temporarily Closed”. Rides are absolutely breaking down more frequently and for longer periods of time.


----------



## Sarahslay

kylenne said:


> Anecdotally from my experience in the past month or so it really is that bad, and I was honestly wondering if there had been cutbacks on maintenance. I don't ever remember a trip with so many breakdowns and it seemed like it was worse this weekend than when I went at the end of May. Every day in every park it was something. When I got in on Friday night and went into Epcot for the fireworks, I got a push notification in the MDE app with a giant apology for Frozen having been down all day. MK on Saturday afternoon was really rough, multiple attractions down. At AK Dinosaur went down when I got in the ride vehicle and we never made it out of the loading bay.


My husband half jokingly said that the rides aren't doing so well carrying full capacity anymore, and also made the comment that maybe Disney needed to bring back full maintenance staff again since they were obviously having problems. It wasn't even that bad over memorial day week, but it was the worst we'd seen it so far on all our trip since reopening, and happened to be our first trip with most of the rides operating back at pretty much full capacity, and they just couldn't hang.


----------



## Lee from WV

Despite hot tubbing too late last night, we made it to rope drop at AK and were in the first 100 to Avatar.  The bus left BWI at 6:45 and we passed the cars being held at 7:04.  I haven’t been reading the boards much in the last 10 days so I’m sure this has been reported before, but we were held at the tapstiles until 7:15 and then held at the  tree till about 7:30 and then walked to Avatar.  I guess that’s a pre-Covid rope drop?

My tired groaning family perked up when the early bus had 25 people in it.  My son looked behind us at the tapstiles at 7:15 at a mass of people and said—oh.  Walking back from lunch we passed an hour long line of people for Navi (not worth it!).

Avatar was as fun as described!  We did Navi with 10 min wait, then Dinosaur walk on and Everest w 20 min wait, then Kali River Rapids with 15 min wait.  I’ve never done it in the summer—nice to not have to worry about whether we get soaked or not.  Walked one of the animal trails and by this point I was exhausted, so we ate at Satuli Canteen (also delicious and mobile order was so easy) and headed home.  When we wanted to eat earlier than planned, I was able to change my window to an earlier one and get the food quickly.  The bus was there within 5 minutes to get us.

We’ve been so lucky with the weather.  No drenching rains during our park times and it’s not 10,000 degrees.

Photopass: Although I had added it to our trip over a month ago, and I checked and it was in my MDE…..it wasn’t there when we were in the parks.  Too late I have learned to save every confirmation number.  I was bummed about having to pay an extra $30, but the lady at the help stand added it for free!  So that was nice.  My kids are thrilled with it for their social media postings.  I just can’t find a straightforward itemized invoice/receipt from Disney anywhere.  Does one exist?

Naps at the hotel and now it’s POURING.   Should clear up before we head back to MK.


----------



## Lee from WV

Re breakdowns—could a less experienced staff contribute to the rides going down?


----------



## MomOTwins

Lee from WV said:


> Re breakdowns—could a less experienced staff contribute to the rides going down?


Half joking, but I know I'm not the only one who gained a not-too-insignificant number of Covid-stress-eating pounds... maybe our collective Covid-times weight gain is breaking the rides!


----------



## Lee from WV

Oh one more thing. I think other people have said it, but I found using the Lines app and sorting by wait times helped us be efficient and flexible during the day when a ride was down and we needed to change the touring plan.

Edited to add—I reoptimized our touring plan while waiting for rope drop at HS yesterday and it then recommended Tower of Terror first instead of Toy Story Mania.  We went to TSM anyway and it was down.  Did @lentesta know that?


----------



## wildling99

_Took a first-timer friend on a whirlwind trip arriving at 6 AM on Tuesday 7/6 and departing at 3 PM on Wednesday 7/7. Elsa made it pretty thrilling with the weather. Used MDE a lot to check wait times + correlated with Lines app to make decisions._

*7/6*
Sitting on DME from MCO, we got BG 56 for Rise of the Resistance.
Bussed to HS from CSR, in the park around 9:10 AM and Slinky Dog was already at 80 minutes.
*RoTR boarding posted groups 1-14 but was down almost immediately for about five hours.
Ride info times: *RNRC on at 9:30, ToT on at 9:55, Muppets on at 10:45, Brown Derby lunch 11:15 - 12:10. Waited in torrential downpour for Runaway Railway (appx 60 minutes) on at 1:20, Star Tours on at 1:55 (_posted said 45 and we literally were on in 7 - RIP glass of wine we bought for the wait_), Slinky Dog on at 3:00 (_continual inclement weather announcements but never shut down while we waited_), ToT on at 4:05. RoTR was only at 36 and we opted to take Friendship Boats to Epcot (got our group called at about 6:30 PM, for reference). Did some drinks and snacks - Frozen was lined up all the way to China. Spaceship Earth, Finding Nemo were walk ons. Waiting over an hour for Frozen on at 8:15 pm. Bussed to MK to catch Happily Ever After. Mobile ordered Cosmic Rays to pick up after fireworks. At 10 PM, Space Mountain was posted at 50, so we did Big Thunder at 10:07, Haunted Mansion at 10:18, headed back to Space Mountain at 10:45, and rode again at 10:59.

*7/7*
Thank you to everyone who was talking about their AK mornings and strategies this week - it was key!
On first bus to AK at 7:15, arrived at 7:25. Everyone was headed toward Pandora. We were stopped at the bridge, no more than about 50 people back. After 10 minutes of waiting, CM with big 'end of line sign' started slowly walking the crowd into Pandora and CM's guided everyone into the FoP cue. Waited at the front of the line in the final room until about 7:55 when CM's started boarding everyone. We were walking off by 8:04. Walked on to Na'vi River at 8:20, Expedition Everest at 8:55 and 8:57, Safaris walk on at 9:30, 10:30 Festival of the Lion King show, 11:20 walked on to Dinosaur. Cannot express how awesome it was to be off FoP minutes after park opening. Attraction hit triple-digit wait by the time we left at 11:45.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

MomOTwins said:


> Okay, but is it really that different from before covid?



Yes. In my end of June/early July trip we couldn't get over how many ride breakdowns there were. My family has never seen anything like that and have been to WDW 15 times. We also kept getting stuck on rides (not your typical doom buggy stopping for a couple minutes to allow someone with mobility challenges to load-more like 10 minute stops) and had 1 "in show exit" on 7DMT where they had to walk us off the ride.


----------



## KayKayJS

Are they still opening an hour early or is 9am 9am for MK now?


----------



## MomOTwins

KayKayJS said:


> Are they still opening an hour early or is 9am 9am for MK now?


9am is 9am


----------



## Shaft41

I do not know how typical this is, because today was our first day at HS since 2017, but let me encourage anyone to stick it out with their boarding group on RotR. We got BG 109 at the 1 pm drop. Estimated return was about 5:30. The ride went down about 4 so that got pushed back. We got the notification just before 6:30 as we were in line for TSM. By the time we got to RotR around 7:05, it was down again.

We were told we could go in and wait, with no guarantees. We didn’t know if it wasn’t up at closing time at 8 if they would boot us and apologize. 8 came and went and people started to leave. Around 8:30, the line started moving and it wasn’t stopping. We speculated maybe they were leading us out of the queue to exit. To our delight, however, they led us in and we got to ride, not exiting until 9:05.

We were close to leaving too, and obviously, I am beyond grateful we didn’t. It was incredible! My daughters aren’t Star Wars fans, at all, and my oldest turned to me halfway through and said “We have to try and ride this again on our second Studios day.”

Stick it out, it just might happen for you too!


----------



## Lee from WV

MK evening. Skipper Canteen: good food, I requested anything but the Mess Hall and they put us in the Dining Room. Only a few jokes, the 50s PT was WAY jokier.

Then we walked the Treehouse (retro) and th…..

—-record scratch—-
7 pm. Hubs decided he wanted to do his favs before he went to bed. We suggested delaying for an hour or going to Teacups and People Mover but nope!  So it was 40 min at Space and 50 min! for Jungle Cruise. Painful. Jungle Cruise was hilarious though!- non stop new jokes. Why don’t they get clearer audio on the boats- it’s so hard to hear clearly.
Poor Hubs took his bad luck self home and waited a long time for a bus.
———
Meanwhile we rode Big Thunder twice w a 5 min wait and saw the fireworks from the ride. Very cool.
Peter Pan, Small World, headed home. Instant bus.

G’night!


----------



## Princess Katelet

We recently got back and had the strangest experience with trying to get a Christmas ornament personalized…. I wanted to get an Olaf ornament and have them write on it ‘some people are worth melting for’ and give it as a gift to a close friend. The Disney Springs Christmas shop told me how much it would cost and helped me figure out where to put the writing but I decided I wanted to check the MK shop just in case they had a different Olaf ornament.
And they did and so I chose that one. I bought it and the counter staff helped me fill out the personalization form and choose an ink color and  told me to come back in a few hours for it.
Just a few minutes later I got a phone call from the MK Christmas store telling me they couldn’t put that particular saying on the ornament because it was copyrighted.
Uh huh. Disney couldn’t put THEIR OWN copyrighted saying on THEIR OWN ornament from THEIR OWN movie purchased in THEIR OWN theme park…
I was completely flabbergasted. I suggested they add the copyright symbol and write ‘Disney 2013’ on it but nope. No can do. They ended up just refunding my $48 and giving me the non personalized ornament for free. 
SO bizarre. And BOTH shops had been perfectly fine with what I wanted until the engraver went to actually do it so clearly the front counter staff is not aware of this rule! Actually at the Disney Springs shop they checked with the actual engraver to see if that long message would fit on the small ornament they had and apparently that engraver didn’t have an issue with my desired message so maybe I’d have been okay at Disney Springs. I just preferred the ornament at MK. It wasn’t the engraver at MK who called me and when we went back to the shop to talk to him he was not in a Christmas Shop costume so he was clearly a manager of some sort, although he was not a Plaid.
Anyway, there goes buying a doombuggy ornament and having them write ‘beware of hitchhiking ghosts’ on it at some point.


----------



## mdonner1175

First day of a 7 day pass

thanks for all of the help for RoR - BG 9 on first try!  We had our daughter count from 6:59:55 up to 7 and when she said :59, I started the “join,join,join”.   Flawless.

staying off site, so we headed to HS for rope drop 

turned away at the parking lot at 7:40 and told tocircle around and come back at 8am.   Circled back and got in parking line at 7:55, parked at 8 in second row.  Rope dropped MMRR and spent about five minutes in line mostly walking as they built the queue.  

9:40 boarding for RoR. TSMM next, ten minutes of mostly walking.   Went to Galaxy’s edge and we’re blown away.  RoR was down so they said ride anytime.  We went to MFSR and posted 50 minute wait was 50 minutes.   Apparently during the time we went past the big window in the second floor of the queue to the end of the ride, there was a torrential downpour.   Great luck for us!

RotR was back up and boarding all groups under BG23.  About 20 minutes in line and it was worth the hype.   So stinking good.

park was crowded so we did Muppets and then took a break off site.

back at 5pm and we did a walk on at Star Tours, 50 minutes at MMRR, and the split up  so my wife and I could single ride RnR -CM warned us that the single rider line was as long as the regular queue, so we met the kids and went to Alien Saucer (15 minutes but mostly because we are 6 and had to wait for a next ride to get on the same ride)

the goal all day was SDD so we entered the queue at 7:50.  legit hour wait but so worth it AND THE LIGHTS WERE ON.  What a wonderful fun ride and so cool at night!!!  and the walk out of the park beautiful with all of the lights on.  

MK rope drop today


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## yaya74

Just checked out of the resort of a 6-night stay (7/3-7/9) and is on our way home. This is my family’s fourth trip but our first time during the 7/4 weekend. We usually visit WDW during last week of July/first week of August. Our last visit was back in 2018. This trip in comparison is the most stressful trip. It is probably because of COVID, limited services at Disney, lack of  FP+ and the timing.…..

*CROWD LEVEL: high*
4th of July crowd is no kidding. I booked that weekend based on the impression that Disney would still be operating with limited capacity. I have always heard of all the wonderful things that would  happen at Disney for the 4th of July. I did not experience any of that but crowds during the past week. As mentioned above, we can only visit during the summer and we used to come in late July/early August. The crowds never bothered us until this trip. I will stick with late July/early August weeks in the future.


*WEATHER*
We anticipated to endure heat and humidity during our trip. But because of the Elsa hurricane/storm, the weather was actually not as hot as what we have experienced in the past during late July/early August. The effect of Elsa on WDW wasn’t much. We brought neck fans and rain jacks (not Disney ponchos) and those are definitely necessities for a WDW trip in the summer.

*THE MASKS*
Because DS (9) is not yet vaccinated, we wore masks most of the time. There was about 1% of guests wearing masks. There were more mask-wearing CMs then guests. No one bothered us because we were wearing masks.  Masks are required on the buses, monorail and sky liners. Compliance was good except for once when we were on the monorail and a group of 10 people didn’t wear masks and that was the only time when we took the monorail.

*THE LINES & THE ATTRACTIONS: moving but looooong*
we don’t do rope drop. DH and I  usually get up at 5am for our jobs so we don’t like to get up early when we are on vacation. During pre-covid time, I would schedule a slew of FP+ throughout the day and we would just jump from one ride to another. The wait was never longer than 10 minutes each. During this trip, we just stood in line and waited and waited and waited, in the rain or under the sun. The standby lines were indeed constantlymoving. Most of the posted wait times are spot on. The only time when we experienced much shorter wait time than the posted time was at the Slingky Dog Dash when it was posted 80 but we only waited 35. Lines were much shorter during the last hour before park closes.That’s when we rode the MFSR when the wait was only 30 minutes. The first time when we rode MFSR we had the whole cockpit  by ourselves and it was a lot of fun! The second time we shared it with two other guests who were the pilots And they crashed it a lot!

ROTR was a great ride. I got 2 out of 2 attemps on getting BG at 7am. Once was BG 24 and once was 13. During the second visit, the ride was closed and we were told to return at anytime before the park closes. During the ride,  I  had to take DS out of the line to use the bathroom to answer a nature’s call. We were in the big room with all the stormtroopers. The CM led us to the bathroom there and let us join the line when he was done with the business. It was interesting how the CM had to break her character and whispered to me “we have bathroom here in the back if you need to use it.”. As soon as we went back to the big room she suddenly went back to her serious tone. It was just so funny.

Fireworks at Epcot was fun. Finding a spot was very effortless.Probably it’s because the show was a filler with less interest. I didn’t bother to go to MK due to the crowd level. Last time my family saw MK’s Happily Ever After was back in 2018 when Disney offered the $50 CL FP+ that included private viewing locations for evening extravaganzas. That was an awesome service and deal!

*THE RESORT and TRANSPORTATIONS*
We stayed at YC for the very first time and I really like this resort. CMs are friendly. Some of them really went out of their ways to assist my family. YC is a lot calmer and less busier than BC. The ferry service to HS and Epcot is very convenient. The longest that I have waited for ferry was 5 minutes. Buses were okay when we used it. Wait time was around 5-10 minutes. The bus schedule shown on MDE was a
Couple minutes later than the actual arrival time. We took some Lyft rides too when the buses were too full or too late. The SAB pool was very nice. The shower room by the main pool was awesome! Since YC allows dogs, I did see people walking with dogs in and outside of the resort. None of them bothered me. The dogs were all so cute!


*FOOD and MOBILE ORDERS*
We had dined at several locations (Biergarten, Yak & Yeti, Cape May Cafe, Crystal Palace, Morimoto Asia, Ale & Compass, the Captain Cook, Ronto
Roasters, Docking Bay 7, Marketplace of Ale and Compass) and used mobile orders when we could. I will post our restaurant reviews in the restaurant forum. The mobile order service is really convenient and I hope Disney will keep offering it in the future. I highly recommend placing mobile orders for Ronto Roaster and Docking Bay 7 early in the morning before you leave for the park. Seatings at Ronto Roaster is very limited. So I asked a CM to help me grab a table and he did.

*SICKNESS and THE URGENT CARE: BUENA VISTA U/C*
On the 4th day of the trip, DS started having fever and other cold-like symptoms. Due to the concern of covid, we took a detour to a local urgent care. the visit went well despite of the hour long wait. Rapid test was negative. DS bounced back to his feet the next day. Last day of our stay, DD went down with the same symptoms and she is a lot better the next say. My kids were remote for the entire 2020-2021 school year. I guess their bodies are just not used to all the physical stimuli that are involved in a Disney trip. I am glad that it was not our first trip to Disney and we have hit all the new rides and more before they went down.

**********************
In conclusion, I am grateful that my family had the opportunity to visit Disney this summer as there are bigger Disney fans who cannot visit at the current time. But value wise, I don’t believe this trip was worthwhile for what it cost us. I won’t recommend Disney to anyone right now. My family probably won’t visit Disney until 2-3 years later. If on-site benefit is still limited, we would consider staying offsite for less cost and bigger spaces. My DH sz we should have gone to Universal Studios this time instead. For once, I agree with him.

thank you for reading my review


----------



## tigger2002

wildling99 said:


> - Frozen was lined up all the way to China.


Whenever I hear people say that I think, "Holy cow that's over 8,000 miles!"


----------



## wilkydelts

I have now visited in October  20, April 21, and yesterday.

I had hoped this would be a review of how lines still aren’t that big of a problem and how you can still get things done with ease but the constant closures due to weather derailed many parts of the day and my report really just lets you know what you can complete if you park hope becauseI lost so much of our day to weather.

 Two biggest takeaways from before to yesterday: rides that were once 5-10 minute waits are now 15-20 and I will forever miss forced spacing in lines having people crowd again is miserable.

Here is my just the facts report.

Trip Report- 7/8/21

Magic Kingdom: 9a-11p

We had unused tickets we decided to spontaneously use instead of letting them turn into credit. So two days ago I started refreshing for Magic Kingdom park passes and was able to get them for 5 people (2 adults, kids 9, 7, 5, 2)

Agreed to take our time and just see how the day went. Arrived at tolls at 9:50a could not believe how long that line was to pay tolls because we normally rope drop super early. Paid for preferred parking (first time ever) because we did not want to have to walk back to the car super far late tonight. Took 26 minutes to get through tolls. After a delay due to the monorail breaking and having to switch to a bus we walked onto Main Street at 11a. 

Headed to Adventureland to find things closed for lightning. Got in Haunted Mansion line, said 50 was 21 minutes.

 Went to Jungle Cruise said 55 we were at 31 minutes and close to loading when we got stuck in a lightning delay. Gave up at 50 minutes. 

Went to Tiki Room waited 5 minutes to enter. Came out of Tiki room to massive downpour. Went to Peco’s Bill for a snack to wait out the rain. There was another downpour on then horizon so we went over to Fort Wilderness to eat at PJs Takeout before next rain came. The next rain did not come while we ate. We got back into the park at 4:30. I had to run back to the car for dry footwear (did that trip in 26 minutes). While I was gone they did Astro Orbiter that said 50 was 42 minutes.

Went to PeopleMover at 5:40 said 25 was 16 minutes.

Three people went to Space Mountain with a rider swap then we all headed to Carousel of Progress.

Headed to Speedway at 7p, said 20 was 15.

Headed to Little Mermaid at 7:30p said 35 was 23.

Went to Small World said 25 was 15

Got some snacks for Fireworks. Snuck in Carousel really quickly. Watched from behind Carousel so did not see projections. 

Left Fireworks early to jump into Peter Pan before all people move. Said 35 was 15.

Went straight to PhilarMagic took 8 minutes. 

Headed to Winnie the Pooh said 30 was 16. 

Went straight to Pirates to end the night. Got there at 10:40p said 40 minutes was 22 minutes


----------



## Lee from WV

Quick morning at AK before leaving. 6:45 bus to AK. Passed the cars at 6:55 so if at Boardwalk, bus is faster than car.

Everest three times-it didn’t open until 8 am. So only Pandora is opening early.

Then a nice safari- definitely better without the baby elephant drama. Strolled the trails then headed home. 

Immediate bus again. Disney transportation was great this whole trip.

that’s it!  I’m off to the New Orleans Jazzfest boards now. Thanks all for helping us havethe most fun at Disney.


----------



## cdurham1

yaya74 said:


> Just checked out of the resort of a 6-night stay (7/3-7/9) and is on our way home. This is my family’s fourth trip but our first time during the 7/4 weekend. We usually visit WDW during last week of July/first week of August. Our last visit was back in 2018. This trip in comparison is the most stressful trip. It is probably because of COVID, limited services at Disney, lack of  FP+ and the timing.…..
> 
> *CROWD LEVEL: high*
> 4th of July crowd is no kidding. I booked that weekend based on the impression that Disney would still be operating with limited capacity. I have always heard of all the wonderful things that would  happen at Disney for the 4th of July. I did not experience any of that but crowds during the past week. As mentioned above, we can only visit during the summer and we used to come in late July/early August. The crowds never bothered us until this trip. I will stick with late July/early August weeks in the future.
> 
> 
> *WEATHER*
> We anticipated to endure heat and humidity during our trip. But because of the Elsa hurricane/storm, the weather was actually not as hot as what we have experienced in the past during late July/early August. The effect of Elsa on WDW wasn’t much. We brought neck fans and rain jacks (not Disney ponchos) and those are definitely necessities for a WDW trip in the summer.
> 
> *THE MASKS*
> Because DS (9) is not yet vaccinated, we wore masks most of the time. There was about 1% of guests wearing masks. There were more mask-wearing CMs then guests. No one bothered us because we were wearing masks.  Masks are required on the buses, monorail and sky liners. Compliance was good except for once when we were on the monorail and a group of 10 people didn’t wear masks and that was the only time when we took the monorail.
> 
> *THE LINES & THE ATTRACTIONS: moving but looooong*
> we don’t do rope drop. DH and I  usually get up at 5am for our jobs so we don’t like to get up early when we are on vacation. During pre-covid time, I would schedule a slew of FP+ throughout the day and we would just jump from one ride to another. The wait was never longer than 10 minutes each. During this trip, we just stood in line and waited and waited and waited, in the rain or under the sun. The standby lines were indeed constantlymoving. Most of the posted wait times are spot on. The only time when we experienced much shorter wait time than the posted time was at the Slingky Dog Dash when it was posted 80 but we only waited 35. Lines were much shorter during the last hour before park closes.That’s when we rode the MFSR when the wait was only 30 minutes. The first time when we rode MFSR we had the whole cockpit  by ourselves and it was a lot of fun! The second time we shared it with two other guests who were the pilots And they crashed it a lot!
> 
> ROTR was a great ride. I got 2 out of 2 attemps on getting BG at 7am. Once was BG 24 and once was 13. During the second visit, the ride was closed and we were told to return at anytime before the park closes. During the ride,  I  had to take DS out of the line to use the bathroom to answer a nature’s call. We were in the big room with all the stormtroopers. The CM led us to the bathroom there and let us join the line when he was done with the business. It was interesting how the CM had to break her character and whispered to me “we have bathroom here in the back if you need to use it.”. As soon as we went back to the big room she suddenly went back to her serious tone. It was just so funny.
> 
> Fireworks at Epcot was fun. Finding a spot was very effortless.Probably it’s because the show was a filler with less interest. I didn’t bother to go to MK due to the crowd level. Last time my family saw MK’s Happily Ever After was back in 2018 when Disney offered the $50 CL FP+ that included private viewing locations for evening extravaganzas. That was an awesome service and deal!
> 
> *THE RESORT and TRANSPORTATIONS*
> We stayed at YC for the very first time and I really like this resort. CMs are friendly. Some of them really went out of their ways to assist my family. YC is a lot calmer and less busier than BC. The ferry service to HS and Epcot is very convenient. The longest that I have waited for ferry was 5 minutes. Buses were okay when we used it. Wait time was around 5-10 minutes. The bus schedule shown on MDE was a
> Couple minutes later than the actual arrival time. We took some Lyft rides too when the buses were too full or too late. The SAB pool was very nice. The shower room by the main pool was awesome! Since YC allows dogs, I did see people walking with dogs in and outside of the resort. None of them bothered me. The dogs were all so cute!
> 
> 
> *FOOD and MOBILE ORDERS*
> We had dined at several locations (Biergarten, Yak & Yeti, Cape May Cafe, Crystal Palace, Morimoto Asia, Ale & Compass, the Captain Cook, Ronto
> Roasters, Docking Bay 7, Marketplace of Ale and Compass) and used mobile orders when we could. I will post our restaurant reviews in the restaurant forum. The mobile order service is really convenient and I hope Disney will keep offering it in the future. I highly recommend placing mobile orders for Ronto Roaster and Docking Bay 7 early in the morning before you leave for the park. Seatings at Ronto Roaster is very limited. So I asked a CM to help me grab a table and he did.
> 
> *SICKNESS and THE URGENT CARE: BUENA VISTA U/C*
> On the 4th day of the trip, DS started having fever and other cold-like symptoms. Due to the concern of covid, we took a detour to a local urgent care. the visit went well despite of the hour long wait. Rapid test was negative. DS bounced back to his feet the next day. Last day of our stay, DD went down with the same symptoms and she is a lot better the next say. My kids were remote for the entire 2020-2021 school year. I guess their bodies are just not used to all the physical stimuli that are involved in a Disney trip. I am glad that it was not our first trip to Disney and we have hit all the new rides and more before they went down.
> 
> **********************
> In conclusion, I am grateful that my family had the opportunity to visit Disney this summer as there are bigger Disney fans who cannot visit at the current time. But value wise, I don’t believe this trip was worthwhile for what it cost us. I won’t recommend Disney to anyone right now. My family probably won’t visit Disney until 2-3 years later. If on-site benefit is still limited, we would consider staying offsite for less cost and bigger spaces. My DH sz we should have gone to Universal Studios this time instead. For once, I agree with him.
> 
> thank you for reading my review



Good report.  I like the format.


----------



## audrey2580

Princess Katelet said:


> We recently got back and had the strangest experience with trying to get a Christmas ornament personalized…. I wanted to get an Olaf ornament and have them write on it ‘some people are worth melting for’ and give it as a gift to a close friend. The Disney Springs Christmas shop told me how much it would cost and helped me figure out where to put the writing but I decided I wanted to check the MK shop just in case they had a different Olaf ornament.
> And they did and so I chose that one. I bought it and the counter staff helped me fill out the personalization form and choose an ink color and  told me to come back in a few hours for it.
> Just a few minutes later I got a phone call from the MK Christmas store telling me they couldn’t put that particular saying on the ornament because it was copyrighted.
> Uh huh. Disney couldn’t put THEIR OWN copyrighted saying on THEIR OWN ornament from THEIR OWN movie purchased in THEIR OWN theme park…
> I was completely flabbergasted. I suggested they add the copyright symbol and write ‘Disney 2013’ on it but nope. No can do. They ended up just refunding my $48 and giving me the non personalized ornament for free.
> SO bizarre. And BOTH shops had been perfectly fine with what I wanted until the engraver went to actually do it so clearly the front counter staff is not aware of this rule! Actually at the Disney Springs shop they checked with the actual engraver to see if that long message would fit on the small ornament they had and apparently that engraver didn’t have an issue with my desired message so maybe I’d have been okay at Disney Springs. I just preferred the ornament at MK. It wasn’t the engraver at MK who called me and when we went back to the shop to talk to him he was not in a Christmas Shop costume so he was clearly a manager of some sort, although he was not a Plaid.
> Anyway, there goes buying a doombuggy ornament and having them write ‘beware of hitchhiking ghosts’ on it at some point.


That's a bummer. Copyrights are weird like that. It's possible that the ornament you picked was actually made by a non Disney company like say Department 56. While they have permission to use Olaf they don't have the copyright for anything he says in the movie. Weird right? Oh well, at least they gave you the ornament for free - that was super nice.


----------



## audrey2580

Lee from WV said:


> Quick morning at AK before leaving. 6:45 bus to AK. Passed the cars at 6:55 so if at Boardwalk, bus is faster than car.
> 
> Everest three times-it didn’t open until 8 am. So only Pandora is opening early.
> 
> Then a nice safari- definitely better without the baby elephant drama. Strolled the trails then headed home.
> 
> Immediate bus again. Disney transportation was great this whole trip.
> 
> that’s it!  I’m off to the New Orleans Jazzfest boards now. Thanks all for helping us havethe most fun at Disney.


Wait - what's the baby elephant drama? lol


----------



## pasta

Lee from WV said:


> Quick morning at AK before leaving. 6:45 bus to AK. Passed the cars at 6:55 so if at Boardwalk, bus is faster than car.
> 
> Everest three times-it didn’t open until 8 am. So only Pandora is opening early.
> 
> Then a nice safari- definitely better without the baby elephant drama. Strolled the trails then headed home.
> 
> Immediate bus again. Disney transportation was great this whole trip.
> 
> that’s it!  I’m off to the New Orleans Jazzfest boards now. Thanks all for helping us havethe most fun at Disney.


Glad to hear you had a positive time. Do you know  if busses from Boardwalk usually leave at 6:45 for rope drop?


----------



## wildling99

tigger2002 said:


> Whenever I hear people say that I think, "Holy cow that's over 8,000 miles!"



You know, it was at the part of the day where a combination of exhaustion and hunger made it feel like it was 8,000 actual miles.


----------



## Mango7100

Did MK on 7/7 for our last day. We did not arrive in the park until 515. We rode Big Thunder twice (posted 25 but waits were 17 min once and 20 once, these were our longest waits), Carpets, Barnstormer x 2, Dumbo x 2, Carousel x 4 (excessive I know), Mermaid, Speedway  x 2,  Peoplemover, Winnie the Pooh, and SDMT. SDMT had been down for about 90 min, but we were walking by and noticed people going through the line without cars going. Asked the CM and he said it’s just about to start back up so we jumped in and waited a total of 8 min at about 10 pm, complete luck.

We watched the fireworks from near BOG. Lots of people were camping out in the hub when we walked through at 715. Waits also seemed to drop from 9 pm on. For example, Speedway had huge lines (for that ride) when we went by around 730 but we went twice with less than a 5 minute wait at 845. Mermaid was posting a 25 min wait for the beginning of the evening (and  it looked it based on the line), but it was a walk on right after fireworks. If you can deal with not seeing projections, you will be able to avoid crowds and get more walk on rides if you watch from behind the castle.

We ordered from Sleepy Hollow at 1055 and took our time eating a snack. Left there at 1125 and were in our car after taking the ferry at 1205. This way we avoided the mad dash of people leaving after fireworks.

We wore masks since DD8 is not vaccinated, and I was actually surprised that i saw more people on masks than I thought. It was still <10%, but we definitely weren’t the only ones. We also didn’t do any indoor rides with long queues and used the ferry instead of monorails or busses. Some had posted about a lot of people coughing around the park...there definitely were some but I didn’t feel like it was crazy. Did notice a lot of people not even bothering to cover a cough or sneeze though or wiping their nose with their hands and then touching handrails....gross. If that is something that would bother you, you may want to consider wearing a mask.

So happy fireworks were back. We did miss character meets and Festival of Fantasy though


----------



## MomOTwins

Princess Katelet said:


> We recently got back and had the strangest experience with trying to get a Christmas ornament personalized…. I wanted to get an Olaf ornament and have them write on it ‘some people are worth melting for’ and give it as a gift to a close friend. The Disney Springs Christmas shop told me how much it would cost and helped me figure out where to put the writing but I decided I wanted to check the MK shop just in case they had a different Olaf ornament.
> And they did and so I chose that one. I bought it and the counter staff helped me fill out the personalization form and choose an ink color and  told me to come back in a few hours for it.
> Just a few minutes later I got a phone call from the MK Christmas store telling me they couldn’t put that particular saying on the ornament because it was copyrighted.
> Uh huh. Disney couldn’t put THEIR OWN copyrighted saying on THEIR OWN ornament from THEIR OWN movie purchased in THEIR OWN theme park…
> I was completely flabbergasted. I suggested they add the copyright symbol and write ‘Disney 2013’ on it but nope. No can do. They ended up just refunding my $48 and giving me the non personalized ornament for free.
> SO bizarre. And BOTH shops had been perfectly fine with what I wanted until the engraver went to actually do it so clearly the front counter staff is not aware of this rule! Actually at the Disney Springs shop they checked with the actual engraver to see if that long message would fit on the small ornament they had and apparently that engraver didn’t have an issue with my desired message so maybe I’d have been okay at Disney Springs. I just preferred the ornament at MK. It wasn’t the engraver at MK who called me and when we went back to the shop to talk to him he was not in a Christmas Shop costume so he was clearly a manager of some sort, although he was not a Plaid.
> Anyway, there goes buying a doombuggy ornament and having them write ‘beware of hitchhiking ghosts’ on it at some point.


This is not terribly surprising at all.  Disney has a number of different companies, with inter-company agreements setting out the terms between them. Disney parks does not own the copyrights, it licenses them for specific purposes (rides characters etc.), and pays a license fee to the Disney company that owns the copyright.  So it is not "their own" copyright--even though the organizations are under the same ultimate parent company, they are each separate and distinct legal entities and have to spell out the rights that they have between the companies.

I know it seems a bit silly to an outsider, but it has a very real meaning from an accounting and liability perspective and Disney is not going to get in hot water and violate its inter-company agreements for the sake of a Christmas ornament engraving.

I remember where Disney cruises were cancelled, some people got frustrated that they had to have their cruise fares refunded instead of applying them toward a stay at Disney World.  Again--two separate companies. Same concept.


----------



## Princess Katelet

MomOTwins said:


> This is not terribly surprising at all.  Disney has a number of different companies, with inter-company agreements setting out the terms between them. Disney parks does not own the copyrights, it licenses them for specific purposes (rides characters etc.), and pays a license fee to the Disney company that owns the copyright.  So it is not "their own" copyright--even though the organizations are under the same ultimate parent company, they are each separate and distinct legal entities and have to spell out the rights that they have between the companies.
> 
> I know it seems a bit silly to an outsider, but it has a very real meaning from an accounting and liability perspective and Disney is not going to get in hot water and violate its inter-company agreements for the sake of a Christmas ornament engraving.
> 
> I remember where Disney cruises were cancelled, some people got frustrated that they had to have their cruise fares refunded instead of applying them toward a stay at Disney World.  Again--two separate companies. Same concept.


Very interesting! It sure did sound bizarre at the time…I wasn’t asking them to write ‘The Boy Who Lived’ on an ornament, lol! A really unhelpful analogy the manager used was to explain that they couldn’t write ‘Florida Gators’ on something…um…yeah that’s not part of Disney, bad example dude! Lol!


----------



## MomOTwins

Princess Katelet said:


> Very interesting! It sure did sound bizarre at the time…I wasn’t asking them to write ‘The Boy Who Lived’ on an ornament, lol! A really unhelpful analogy the manager used was to explain that they couldn’t write ‘Florida Gators’ on something…um…yeah that’s not part of Disney, bad example dude! Lol!


Yeah, but I bet the ESPN division of Disney DOES have a license to use "Florida Gators" or other sports teams logos/names on certain things--and ESPN's wide world of sports is in fact on WDW property--so it actually not that bad of an analogy!


----------



## bdiddy

I feel like when we were there a few weeks ago that there were an excessive amount of rides down all the time. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it quite to that extent on our previous trips. And not because of weather, I don’t count that.

When we went to DL for the first time in 2017 which we had a great time…but one of my big complaints was how many rides were constantly going down all the time. I remember writing about it in my trip report. This trip a few weeks ago definitely felt more like our DL trip for sure in that aspect.


----------



## Lee from WV

audrey2580 said:


> Wait - what's the baby elephant drama? lol


Used to, the safari included a mom elephant shot by poachers and we had to rescue the baby. Or something like that. There was a bridge almost breaking while we were on it part….  Lots of drama

In retrospect, it did detract from the seeing animal experience!


----------



## Lee from WV

pasta said:


> Glad to hear you had a positive time. Do you know  if busses from Boardwalk usually leave at 6:45 for rope drop?


For AK, yes- at least the two times we rope dropped for an 8 am opening. Get on that bus if you want to do Pandora. If skipping Pandora you can catch a later bus because everything else opens at park opening. I think a 7:30 bus would have been fine for our second AK day (shh don’t tell my son).


----------



## Princess Katelet

bdiddy said:


> I feel like when we were there a few weeks ago that there were an excessive amount of rides down all the time. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it quite to that extent on our previous trips. And not because of weather, I don’t count that.
> 
> When we went to DL for the first time in 2017 which we had a great time…but one of my big complaints was how many rides were constantly going down all the time. I remember writing about it in my trip report. This trip a few weeks ago definitely felt more like our DL trip for sure in that aspect.


Wow, huge Land fan, been five or six times since 2012 and never experienced ride breakdowns except one, when we were evacuated off Splash Mountain which we were SO excited about!! We’d always wanted to be evacuated and see backstage!


----------



## FCDub

Lee from WV said:


> Used to, the safari included a mom elephant shot by poachers and we had to rescue the baby. Or something like that. There was a bridge almost breaking while we were on it part….  Lots of drama
> 
> In retrospect, it did detract from the seeing animal experience!



That’s been gone for … almost 10 years I think.


----------



## Lee from WV

FCDub said:


> That’s been gone for … almost 10 years I think.


It’s probably been seven years since we went to WDW. The kids went to college and grad school and we just haven’t been in that mode. Before that it was every two years for 18 years. So I am definitely dated!


----------



## Miffy

To the poster who couldn't get the quote put on the Olaf ornament:

I myself have zero experience writing something on a Christmas ornament, but there must be DIY info about this on the internet.

Therefore, I suggest you put the quote on the ornament yourself. The copyright police aren't going to come to your friend's house at Christmas and arrest her and you for using a copyrighted sentence.

ETA: The issue with copyright is only when a quote's being used for a product that's being sold. Therefore, your putting the quote on the ornament yourself--unless you then intended to sell it--isn't a problem. Just to be clear and not jokey about this.


----------



## The Iron Giant

Lee from WV said:


> Used to, the safari included a mom elephant shot by poachers and we had to rescue the baby. Or something like that. There was a bridge almost breaking while we were on it part….  Lots of drama
> 
> In retrospect, it did detract from the seeing animal experience!



Big Red!


----------



## CarolynFH

The Iron Giant said:


> Big Red!


And Little Red! Lately I’ve been wondering what happened to the Tommies, too.


----------



## tinkerhon

CarolynFH said:


> And Little Red! Lately I’ve been wondering what happened to the Tommies, too.



And "Little Red" was there for around 20 years !!  I love the safari, but loved it so much more when many of the CMs operating the vehicles were from East Africa. They were so amazing and knowledgable !


----------



## WEDWDW

Just a couple of observations.

World Showcase between Festivals feels really "weird"!lol

Disney has got us so accustomed to the Festivals that Epcot feels "naked" without one!lol

And what really hurts is that they have already put out the Menu Boards for Food & Wine and all you can do is look at them and SALIVATE!lol

College Program Cast Members are EVERYWHERE!

We were told several thousand are already here with many more thousands on the way!

AND NO RAIN SO FAR TODAY!


----------



## DKkdNY

Cool


monica9 said:


> *Moderator Note - All Off Topic Posts Will be Deleted*.   Stick to Here Now /Just Back content and relavent questions or your post may be removed from this thread.  The Community Board is a great place to discuss the virus.  Thank you.
> 
> Looking for a thread to check out for the first day back at WDW. The pros, cons, pics, etc.


----------



## lchuck

figmentfinesse said:


> Can you eat your dole whip in the tiki room again?


Yes, we did just that last week when we were down there.


----------



## Randy Miller

Here now…day 3 of 12. Would just like to say, navigating EPCOT is a pain in the butt. I had “heard” it was, but now that I have seen and done it, it is true! My two cents: once you are on “one side” of Spaceship Earth STAY there. Don’t try to go “back and forth” between sides. It seriously takes a good 15 minutes to get from The Land over to Test Track….if not longer, and not in. “Logical” way at all. No “cut throughs” either.


----------



## WEDWDW

Waiting for TSL Rope Drop.

Will SDD open on time?

50/50!LOL


----------



## GBRforWDW

WEDWDW said:


> Waiting for TSL Rope Drop.
> 
> Will SDD open on time?
> 
> 50/50!LOL


How'd it go?  Haha.  Have a great day!


----------



## WEDWDW

GBRforWDW said:


> How'd it go?  Haha.  Have a great day!


TSL Rope at 8:30.

Off  SDD at 8:58.


----------



## lindsaydavis1982

WEDWDW said:


> TSL Rope at 8:30.
> 
> Off  SDD at 8:58.


Yay! Just curious, what time did you arrive at the security line?


----------



## kittylady1972

So here now and killing some time.  Wondering what reality is for entering parks right now when hopping.  Sure it can change but if we arrive at AK or EPCoT around 1:30pm what are the chances they will let us through if hopping?


----------



## Robertfam08

We just got back from a magical trip! We arrived 7-6 and of course were worried that the tropical storm was going to wash out our vacation...but I think we got less rain on this trip than any other I have ever been on. We typically go the week of Labor Day, and we're used to huge afternoon rainstorms that sometimes last all evening long. The passing storm kept temps down and we only had one "big" rain on our MK day (Thursday, 7-8) which decided to come right as we were starting our lunch at Crystal Palace. It had lessened to barely a drizzle by the time we were walking out, so we couldn't have timed that more perfectly!

We had two little first timers with us so everything was new and exciting to them. Because of that, we didn't feel the pressure to hit the big stuff first or do things in any particular order...we just did what we wanted when we wanted. It was perfect! We never waited in line more than 35 minutes for anything. (We consistently saw 50 minute wait times for the rides we wanted, but it never took that long.) Several rides were walk ons. Maybe we just got lucky! 

We waited in line for about 20 minutes for SDD when our youngest decided that he was too scared to ride. We debated splitting up, but ultimately decided to hop out of line as it was a 105 minute wait. Well...this really upset our 6 year old daughter who was super excited to ride. A cast member saw what happened and approached us. He let my husband and daughter go through the FastPass line and they were in and out in 20 minutes - awesome!!

We stayed at All Star Movies Resort, our first time staying at a Value. (We usually stay at Caribbean Beach.) The rooms were nicely refurbished, the beds were comfy, and I appreciated all of the under-the-bed storage! Because of this we didn't feel like the room was particularly more cramped than we were used to. I liked the bathroom more at Movies than CBR, but we did miss that zero-entry pool! We drove ourselves this time so not having direct access to the Skyliner was not as big of a deal as it would have been had we been relying on Disney transportation. 

This trip felt much more like "normal" compared to when DH and I visited in September. I feel like they are in full swing preparing to bump up capacity again. (We overheard two conversations in restaurants we dined in between cast members and those who looked more executive discussing the adding of more tables soon and how they were going to prepare for more guests.) I had to laugh at one conversation between two cast members at Crystal Palace who seemed new. "Were you here last week?" "Yeah." "Were there THIS many tables in here??" Haha. 

I will agree with others that Epcot is a maze right now, and that was a little crazy. I feel like we didn't get quite as much done there as usual. But I was SO thankful for fireworks back at MK and Epcot! We got awesome spots for both and could not have asked for a better way to end our days!


----------



## scrappinginontario

kittylady1972 said:


> So here now and killing some time.  Wondering what reality is for entering parks right now when hopping.  Sure it can change but if we arrive at AK or EPCoT around 1:30pm what are the chances they will let us through if hopping?


Sorry, not really sure what you are asking.  Which park do you have a reservation for?  You are allowed to enter that park from open to close the day you have a reservation.

If you want to hop to a different park you must first tap into the park you have a reservation at regardless of what time of day it is.

Not sure if this helps or not as I'm not quite sure what your original question was.


----------



## luv2cheer92

kittylady1972 said:


> So here now and killing some time.  Wondering what reality is for entering parks right now when hopping.  Sure it can change but if we arrive at AK or EPCoT around 1:30pm what are the chances they will let us through if hopping?


I've seen reports of people being let in 5-10 minutes early, but not many (if any) 30 minutes early.


----------



## Sarahslay

scrappinginontario said:


> Sorry, not really sure what you are asking.  Which park do you have a reservation for?  You are allowed to enter that park from open to close the day you have a reservation.
> 
> If you want to hop to a different park you must first tap into the park you have a reservation at regardless of what time of day it is.
> 
> Not sure if this helps or not as I'm not quite sure what your original question was.


I read it like they were wondering if they would be let in at 1:30 if they showed up at a park if they were hopping, not that they had a park pass there, but that was the park they were hopping to and they showed up at 1:30 (which is obviously before the 2pm hopping time).


----------



## kittylady1972

scrappinginontario said:


> Sorry, not really sure what you are asking.  Which park do you have a reservation for?  You are allowed to enter that park from open to close the day you have a reservation.
> 
> If you want to hop to a different park you must first tap into the park you have a reservation at regardless of what time of day it is.
> 
> Not sure if this helps or not as I'm not quite sure what your original question was.



Apologies...I was just curious that if we were hopping to another park (AK today) from our reserved park which we have already visited...are they stickers for the 2pm time or will they let us through closer to 1:30pm or 1:45pm?  I can say right now since I'm already here...1:30pm was a no go.
 Guess we will sit here at the gates until 2pm.


----------



## kittylady1972

Sarahslay said:


> I read it like they were wondering if they would be let in at 1:30 if they showed up at a park if they were hopping, not that they had a park pass there, but that was the park they were hopping to and they showed up at 1:30 (which is obviously before the 2pm hopping time).



Yep you got it.  I know some parks people have reported the hopping time can slide a bit earlier.  I can say today that isn't the case for AK.

We will just hang at the gates until 2pm


----------



## scrappinginontario

kittylady1972 said:


> Apologies...I was just curious that if we were hopping to another park (AK today) from our reserved park which we have already visited...are they stickers for the 2pm time or will they let us through closer to 1:30pm or 1:45pm?  I can say right now since I'm already here...1:30pm was a no go.
> Guess we will sit here at the gates until 2pm.


Thanks for clarifying.  Reports on the park hopping thread is that it's normally right at 2:00 and possibly a couple of minutes early but not normally 30 mins early.

If you try to enter early, can you please share your experience on this thread?  https://www.disboards.com/threads/everything-park-hopping-please-read-post-1.3828708/

Thanks!


----------



## WEDWDW

lindsaydavis1982 said:


> Yay! Just curious, what time did you arrive at the security line?


Here is the rundown.

Pop Century/AoA Skyliner Station opens at 7:34 AM

Boarding begins at 7:38 AM

We Board at 7:42 AM

Arrive at CBR Station at 7:45 AM

Boarding has already begun to DHS and we board at 7:51 AM

Arrive at DHS Station at 7:56 AM

Security Screening opens at 8:00 AM so we made it with a couple of minutes to spare and weren't too terribly far back in line.

The line did build rapidly behind us.


----------



## sgtpet

Hello all,

Just got back from a week stay at the BCV resort.  We went to all four parks.  The weather was hot.  The lines for rides were longer than other times I visited in recent times.  The walking areas were more crowded too.  I can't imagine that the crowd levels are only 35 percent now.  My guess is it is greater than 50 percent at this point.  Does anybody think that the numbers have increased?


----------



## PalmettoPath

It sounds like they have to me. I'm guessing that they're on a path to try to be back to (or very near to) 100% capacity by October 1. Unless some FP magic happens before August 7 when we arrive, I don't intend to spend a ton of time in parks. Just to rope drop and then 3 or maybe 4 rides before the waits become too long for me.


----------



## gharter

But, also remember a lot of attractions that hold a lot of people are still closed, so all those people are now walking around.
As well as some restaurants that also absorbed a lot of people are still closed.
In May, Bob Chapek stated that capacity would continue to increase over the upcoming months at Walt Disney World, with “low double digits increases” in attendance, so I'm sure the parks are more crowded now.


----------



## SkyGuy

sgtpet said:


> Hello all,
> 
> Just got back from a week stay at the BCV resort.  We went to all four parks.  The weather was hot.  The lines for rides were longer than other times I visited in recent times.  The walking areas were more crowded too.  I can't imagine that the crowd levels are only 35 percent now.  My guess is it is greater than 50 percent at this point.  Does anybody think that the numbers have increased?


I have no definitive proof, but I was told by a plaid at the end of June that they would be increasing capacity to 65% on July 5th. It was at least 50% (I want to say it was 55%) at the time I asked, which would have been the 26th or 27th.


----------



## SDKMom

PPFlight75 said:


> Thank
> Thank you! We are heading down next week and coming up with our rope drop plans!


We were there 7/5-7/10. MK was the only park we rope dropped that didn't open earlier than their official opening time, but we didn't rope drop AK. At both HS and EP we were able to tap in about 45 mins early and were lead to attractions 30 mins early. Our MK experience was exactly as described above and was miserable. We were able to tap in 45 minutes early, but then held right at the entrance to Fantasyland for 45 minutes. At 9am on the dot they dropped the rope and it was utter chaos as everyone made their way to 7D. The line moved pretty quickly though and we were off the ride by 9:10. By then the posted wait was 75 minutes.


----------



## Leigh L

SkyGuy said:


> I have no definitive proof, but I was told by a plaid at the end of June that they would be increasing capacity to 65% on July 5th. It was at least 50% (I want to say it was 55%) at the time I asked, which would have been the 26th or 27th.


We were there that week, sounds about right. I don't recall exactly but it was definitely higher than it had been a few weeks earlier. That's when a bunch of park reservations opened up too.


----------



## DMLAINI

Are Disney restaurants at 100% capacity now?


----------



## preemiemama

Here now. Last night at MK arrived at 7:44 and did Pirates, BTMRR, PP and 7DMT by 10. DS 21 ditched us and was able to  do those plus Space. Waits were shorter than posted by almost half.


----------



## preemiemama

Rope drop DHS. MMRR queued at 8:30. Broke down for 5 minutes and still off by 8:58. At that point line was 60. RNRC now. 30 minutes posted. So far 10 in line. TOT next. Posted 20 when we went by 10 minutes ago.


----------



## preemiemama

RNRC was accurate at 30 and TOT now 50.


----------



## DisneyFive

preemiemama said:


> RNRC was accurate at 30 and TOT now 50.


We will be in Hollywood studios two weeks from today. Hard to figure out a strategy when lines  fill up so fast. 30 to 50 minute waits right away in the morning is not cool.

I think we may do rockin roller coaster and Tower of terror right at rope drop and then fill in throughout the morning filling in others.  Possibly hitting.MMRR or MFSR but by the time we get off of our first two rides I’m guessing that both of those will be long lines.  Sucks. These wait times are crazy for only one hour and 15 minutes after park open IMO 

Dan


----------



## cakebaker

SkyGuy said:


> I have no definitive proof, but I was told by a plaid at the end of June that they would be increasing capacity to 65% on July 5th. It was at least 50% (I want to say it was 55%) at the time I asked, which would have been the 26th or 27th.


 If they’re at 65% capacity, any further increases don’t really matter. 65% is their average attendance for a normal busy park day. They only go higher than that on holidays.


----------



## krismom345

Yikes. Now that fireworks are back and people stay til parks closing, rope drop was our only hope. Hour waits at park open is disappointing- never thought I’d root for bad weather for our upcoming trip.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Random but has anyone heard about sending souvenirs to front of park or your resort hotel-really hoping that comes back soon-even to front of park-i truly don't mind for EPCOT having to go all the way to the front and then go all the way to the back to go back to the Boardwalk.


----------



## scrappinginontario

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Random but has anyone heard about sending souvenirs to front of park or your resort hotel-really hoping that comes back soon-even to front of park-i truly don't mind for EPCOT having to go all the way to the front and then go all the way to the back to go back to the Boardwalk.


a restart date for sending purchases to the front of the park or your resort has not been announced.


----------



## PrincessV

I was in WDW 7/1-7. Previous pandemic-era trips were in Aug. 2020, Oct. 2020, Dec. 2020, Jan. 2021, and May 2021, for reference - I've pretty much seen every level of WDW pandemic safety protocol lol! I'll just hit some observations without getting too detailed here...

Overall,  everything felt busier this trip: at resorts and parks. Just more people everywhere. But still far less than this time in other years (I visit over July 4th most years.) EP on July 4th was MUCH less busy than on previous July 4ths and I only really saw a "crowd" build along the rails 30 minutes before fireworks. (No special July 4th tag this year, though.)
I didn't do any morning touring. My plan was to hit parks late in the day, but weather played a part in a couple earlier afternoon arrivals. Evenings were consistently less busy and had lower wait times than afternoons. One surprise, though, was how little MK emptied out after fireworks on 7/2, when the park was still open another 1.5 hours. I thought it would be a ghost town, but it definitely was not.
Wait times were fine by me: I never waited more than 25 minutes for anything. I used TP's app for better wait time estimates and it was its usual accurate self. HM, for example, was posted as 65 mins, TP had it at 30, and I actually waited 22 - this was around 4pm.
Food was challenging. I don't eat beef or pork, limit poultry, and have food allergies, which reduces my choices a lot: coupled with reduced menu options, it was tough. I'd run through the few options I had at SSR by day 2 of my 5 days there.
COVID precautions are gone entirely, excepting the weirdness of masking on the monorail (and buses & Skyliner, but I didn't use those.) Not only is there no physical distancing, it's back to "fill in all available space!" and people pressing up into your back in queues. I didn't appreciate how much I really hate that - pandemic or not - until I'd had a year without it, and then it was back. The "funnel" in HM was really unpleasant for me, TBH. I'm fully vaccinated, so it wasn't really any fear of contagion - I just plain want some personal space!
I drove to all parks, as usual, and it was, also as usual, easy and quick. Still no trams, but they need them soon: I was pretty far back in MK and AK lots and ride would have been nice.
I saw a LOT of people buying tickets (I assume) at ticket windows this trip, which was surprising. "A lot" being 4-6 windows open with lines 4-10 deep per window - much more than I've seen in a year.


----------



## SamiL

We're here now at OKW. We're three nights (two park days in) to an eight-night stay. We spent our first day at HS and had a park reservation to go back to HS yesterday. I ended up changing it to Epcot because HS was so crowded (and hot!) our first day. So we did Epcot yesterday morning took a break in the afternoon and went to MK last night. What I've experienced so far are all the downsides I'd normally expect going in July (crowds and heat) compounded by lack of FP, EMH, Parking Lot Trams, few characters, and what seems to be a shortage of staff. And since we can't upgrade our tickets to APs as we hoped we might by now we are also missing that laidback, no-problem-we'll-get-to-it-next-time vibe. Lines for everything are long. Those little magic Disney moments that keep us coming back are missing as well. The closest we've gotten was a cast member in the HS asking if anyone wants stickers as we walked by. If you are thinking of visiting before WDW gets their act together I'd advise you to reconsider. We are determined to be happy and we can make our own magic, but we could do that anywhere for a lot less $$$. This is not a great time to be here. This isn't coming from anger or frustration--just practicality. Go to the beach or the mountains, or even another theme park resort--basically anywhere but here.


----------



## armerida

kittylady1972 said:


> Apologies...I was just curious that if we were hopping to another park (AK today) from our reserved park which we have already visited...are they stickers for the 2pm time or will they let us through closer to 1:30pm or 1:45pm?  I can say right now since I'm already here...1:30pm was a no go.
> Guess we will sit here at the gates until 2pm.


A week ago I was able to enter Epcot at the International Gateway at 1:45 on 2 separate occasions. CM’s were asking everyone if it was their first park of the day and had people who were hopping hang off to the side until exactly 1:45.


----------



## preemiemama

DisneyFive said:


> We will be in Hollywood studios two weeks from today. Hard to figure out a strategy when lines  fill up so fast. 30 to 50 minute waits right away in the morning is not cool.
> 
> I think we may do rockin roller coaster and Tower of terror right at rope drop and then fill in throughout the morning filling in others.  Possibly hitting.MMRR or MFSR but by the time we get off of our first two rides I’m guessing that both of those will be long lines.  Sucks. These wait times are crazy for only one hour and 15 minutes after park open IMO
> 
> DanView attachment 588731View attachment 588732
> 
> 
> MMRR was very crazy after 9. Rope drop right at 8 and queue for it was best IMHO . We were on the first bus out of AKL at 7:40 and in the park pretty much at 8. From what I saw today, go wherever your priority is at 8 to queue, ride when it opens snd move to something else. MMRR, SDD and MFSR all started running around 8:30. I believe RNRC and  TOT did as well since my son got in both easily first thing. DHS is intense in the am!


----------



## Nice Work Pal

Leaving this Wednesday for 7 nights at SSR. Last trip was late April…we arrived on a Sunday around noon and the ME line spanned the entire length of the terminal so we opted for a $30 Uber ride to the Poly. Anyone use the ME lately? Lines gone down or about the same? I don’t mind ubering to save 2 hours of vacation time but would rather take the ME


----------



## WEDWDW

IT IS GETTING CLOSE!

Many of the Food Booths were training Staff today in preparation for Thursday's Food & Wine open.

Lots and lots of hard-working CPs will be working the Festival.

Also,the "feeling" I am getting down here is that when the Local Bands finish their schedule at the end of September,the remaining weeks will indeed be filled by the National Acts-wouldn't that be amazing!

I have no "inside info"-this is just my opinion at this time.

As always,time will tell.


----------



## Randy Miller

Day 4 and we have yet to see a “Cavalcade” anywhere?  I got the impression there were several a day? We are obviously in all the wrong places and missing them.


----------



## MomOTwins

Randy Miller said:


> Day 4 and we have yet to see a “Cavalcade” anywhere?  I got the impression there were several a day? We are obviously in all the wrong places and missing them.


It’s hard to see them when you are in ride lines all day.  We never saw any on our first covid trip and the second one had to consciously sit down and wait for them.


----------



## Ali626

Hi, everyone! I’ve looked all over and can’t find if there is still plexiglass on FEA?? I’ have a 4 year old nugget who was devastated last time bc of it. Is it still there? Also - I can’t remember which other rides had it.. I know soarin and text track didn’t but can’t remember which others did? Can you guys help with this? Especially with FEA if it’s still on. Thnx so much!!


----------



## scrappinginontario

All posts re: masking, etc. have been deleted.  As a reminder of what was posted a few weeks ago.....

*Policy on COVID discussions*

The global COVID pandemic created unprecedented restrictions, disruptions and changes to our travel, work, shopping, schooling, social interactions and so many other aspects of our lives since the beginning of 2020. We’ve all been affected, and we have been inundated with news, information, mis-information, frustrations and opinions. We’ve heard them, we’ve shared them, we’ve argued about them.

The discussions, debates and arguments about the virus, distancing and masking policies, various politicians’ statements and actions have been overwhelming and divisive. Many threads on the DISboards have been derailed or devolved into arguments due to this topic. We understand the passion, but feel that we’ve let the discussions run their course. We are sure there are better places on the WWW to learn about and debate scientific, medical and political issues. The mission of the DISboards is to be a great travel resource and a friendly community.

Now that travel is opening up again, it’s time to refocus on that mission!

From this point on, we will welcome information on COVID policies RELATED TO TRAVEL. Things like the vaccination policies issued by venues or destinations, the cleaning or distancing procedures in use, practical tips for travelers or things they might need to know that are different from location to location are all valid topics. Any official policies issued by Disney, other travel destinations, cruise lines, airlines, etc. regarding requirements for visiting parks or cruising can be shared. This information needs to be on-topic for the specific forum and thread where posted.

We will NOT welcome debate or opinion about medical, scientific, or political aspects of the pandemic. There are a few often repeated trigger items that won’t be allowed: No statistics about infection rates, no ranting about individual rights, no “face-diaper” comments, no debate about whether vaccinations or masking are effective, no discussions about which governor or politician or news personality did or said what.

*In summary: COVID related discussion should be limited to actual policy and practical application, and NOT veer into opinion or debate.*

We understand that you may be passionate in your opinions on this topic and want to discuss or debate them, and appreciate your understanding that there are more appropriate places than the DISboards to do that.

Thank you,
DISboards Administrators


----------



## finedice

Any current reports on what time they are opening the parking lots right now?  Especially at MK and DHS?


----------



## preemiemama

EPCOT this pm. Soarin posted 30 but was walk on- we did it twice in a row. Nemo an SSE also walk ons. Long day so headed back early tonight.

I will say everyone was right that those things in the lagoon are even more horrific than the pictures showed. Wow. Also the state of that park right now is crazy. Way too much disruption from the construction. The new entrance is beautiful but man the hole behind it also cannot be undersold. It’s a mess.


----------



## yaya74

Ali626 said:


> Hi, everyone! I’ve looked all over and can’t find if there is still plexiglass on FEA?? I’ have a 4 year old nugget who was devastated last time bc of it. Is it still there? Also - I can’t remember which other rides had it.. I know soarin and text track didn’t but can’t remember which others did? Can you guys help with this? Especially with FEA if it’s still on. Thnx so much!!



I rode FEA on 7/3. No plexiglass on the boat, only in the queues.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

PrincessV said:


> ...Not only is there no physical distancing, it's back to "fill in all available space!" and people pressing up into your back in queues. I didn't appreciate how much I really hate that - pandemic or not - until I'd had a year without it, and then it was back. The "funnel" in HM was really unpleasant for me, TBH. I'm fully vaccinated, so it wasn't really any fear of contagion - *I just plain want some personal space!*


----------



## WEDWDW

Just left  Morocco-the Courtyard refurb turned out great.

Also for anyone interested current Mitsukoshi hours are 12-7.


----------



## Goldilocks07

Sarahslay said:


> My husband half jokingly said that the rides aren't doing so well carrying full capacity anymore, and also made the comment that maybe Disney needed to bring back full maintenance staff again since they were obviously having problems. It wasn't even that bad over memorial day week, but it was the worst we'd seen it so far on all our trip since reopening, and happened to be our first trip with most of the rides operating back at pretty much full capacity, and they just couldn't hang.



just my 2 socioeconomic opinion cents: the more complicated the ride, the more risk of breaking down.  Anything mechanical can obviously break, but the more technicalities, the more that can go wrong, and the harder to fix.  Can't have the good without the bad.  

On another note, thank you for all your posts!  I'm so excited for my upcoming trip and reading these really helps!


----------



## goodeats

DisneyFive said:


> We will be in Hollywood studios two weeks from today. Hard to figure out a strategy when lines  fill up so fast. 30 to 50 minute waits right away in the morning is not cool.
> 
> I think we may do rockin roller coaster and Tower of terror right at rope drop and then fill in throughout the morning filling in others.  Possibly hitting.MMRR or MFSR but by the time we get off of our first two rides I’m guessing that both of those will be long lines.  Sucks. These wait times are crazy for only one hour and 15 minutes after park open IMO


Yes and Epcot is very similar. Epcot and HS don’t have that many attractions and HS doesn’t have enough shows that get people away from the attractions. If one of the big rides go down all the waits go up by a lot.


----------



## Ursula_Fan

Heading to MK this Friday for the first time since Feb 2020! 

Debating rope dropping 7D versus listening to the TP app (which says start with Splash).  My concern is that there aren't enough data with the current re-ramping up for TP to be super accurate. My big goal this trip is to get on Splash because it has been broken or down for regular maintenance every. single. time. I have gone before this visit. WWYD? Rope drop 7D or start with Splash and trust TP?


----------



## WEDWDW

DAK let Guests in at 7:20.today.

Queues at each attraction


FOP is only early.open.attraction.


----------



## epcotobsessed

WEDWDW said:


> DAK let Guests in at 7:20.today.
> 
> Queues at each attraction
> 
> 
> FOP is only early.open.attraction.


Thanks for this, we’re going tomorrow and I know every morning is different but getting on FOP early would be great! Though I wonder if that makes the other lines longer since more people will be coming to them after FOP. On the bright side, it looks a lot less rainy today!


----------



## MalkaR

Ursula_Fan said:


> Heading to MK this Friday for the first time since Feb 2020!
> 
> Debating rope dropping 7D versus listening to the TP app (which says start with Splash).  My concern is that there aren't enough data with the current re-ramping up for TP to be super accurate. My big goal this trip is to get on Splash because it has been broken or down for regular maintenance every. single. time. I have gone before this visit. WWYD? Rope drop 7D or start with Splash and trust TP?


I'm in the same situation. Anyone with recent experiences who can give us their opinion?


----------



## WEDWDW

Off of Safari at 8:31-good start to the day. 

Interesting note-They were only loading one party per row-even Solos had their own row.


----------



## epcotobsessed

WEDWDW said:


> Off of Safari at 8:31-good start to the day.
> 
> Interesting note-They were only loading one party per row-even Solos had their own row.


I have always seen solo riders in their own row on Safari, I’m not sure that’s a post-Covid change…


----------



## DisneyFive

Ursula_Fan said:


> Heading to MK this Friday for the first time since Feb 2020!
> 
> Debating rope dropping 7D versus listening to the TP app (which says start with Splash).  My concern is that there aren't enough data with the current re-ramping up for TP to be super accurate. My big goal this trip is to get on Splash because it has been broken or down for regular maintenance every. single. time. I have gone before this visit. WWYD? Rope drop 7D or start with Splash and trust TP?





MalkaR said:


> I'm in the same situation. Anyone with recent experiences who can give us their opinion?



I think it really depends on your focus.

If you want Spash, then I would start there and then hit BTMRR, Pirates, HM and then go from there.  Those should all be low waits.  That knocks out a good amount of rides quickly but 7DMTR and PP will most likely be longer wait by the time you are done.

The other option is start at 7DMR, then right to splash, then BTMRR, Pirates, etc... but I'm not sure how long the lines at Splash would be after 7DMR.

Here is the experience of Kyle Pallo a couple of weeks ago with the new rope drop procedure.  They started at 7DMR and then went from there but didn't even try Splash

I'm impressed how long lines stayed low in MK at rope drop overall.  It all depends on if you can truly make it to rope drop or not.  30 minutes makes a huge difference.


----------



## OhioWDWDuo

epcotobsessed said:


> I have always seen solo riders in their own row on Safari, I’m not sure that’s a post-Covid change…



Maybe it depends on the CM? When we were there in late June, our party of 2 had to share a row with another party every time we rode Safari. We were squished in there uncomfortably on one ride. We even asked for our own row one time and was told no.


----------



## ajrwdwgirl

WEDWDW said:


> Off of Safari at 8:31-good start to the day.
> 
> Interesting note-They were only loading one party per row-even Solos had their own row.



Unless the next party in line decides on their own to join your row.   We were a party of two and last week the next party of two decided to board and slid into the row on the jeep with us and it surprised us and it was too late to say anything.  They were large people and my husband and I are not super skinny either so it was a bit tight and awkward.


----------



## epcotobsessed

OhioWDWDuo said:


> Maybe it depends on the CM? When we were there in late June, our party of 2 had to share a row with another party every time we rode Safari. We were squished in there uncomfortably on one ride. We even asked for our own row one time and was told no.


Oof, that is brutal! I think it’s right for a party of four when you’re all together - making strangers squeeze that close is not right!


----------



## epcotobsessed

^tight. Autocorrect leads to so many typos!


----------



## yaya74

Ursula_Fan said:


> Heading to MK this Friday for the first time since Feb 2020!
> 
> Debating rope dropping 7D versus listening to the TP app (which says start with Splash).  My concern is that there aren't enough data with the current re-ramping up for TP to be super accurate. My big goal this trip is to get on Splash because it has been broken or down for regular maintenance every. single. time. I have gone before this visit. WWYD? Rope drop 7D or start with Splash and trust TP?



TP is not as useful as it was nowadays. Just read it with a bucket of salt. I only used LINE last week when I was there.
If Splash is on your must-do list, go there first. But 7D's line is always longer than that of Splash. 
Enjoy your visit!!


----------



## WEDWDW

OhioWDWDuo said:


> Maybe it depends on the CM? When we were there in late June, our party of 2 had to share a row with another party every time we rode Safari. We were squished in there uncomfortably on one ride. We even asked for our own row one time and was told no.


Yes,this was the first time ever we have not shared a row.

The Driver even  mentioned that our vehicle had been "half loaded"  and to not shift our positions so as to keep it "BALANCED".


----------



## mdmost

Ursula_Fan said:


> Heading to MK this Friday for the first time since Feb 2020!
> 
> Debating rope dropping 7D versus listening to the TP app (which says start with Splash).  My concern is that there aren't enough data with the current re-ramping up for TP to be super accurate. My big goal this trip is to get on Splash because it has been broken or down for regular maintenance every. single. time. I have gone before this visit. WWYD? Rope drop 7D or start with Splash and trust TP?



I'm a big TP fan but I'm also skeptical of what they say. I think it comes down to what do you think will be the bigger time commitment: missing rope drop for 7D and waiting in line later or rope dropping Splash versus maybe having to go back over there multiple times? I've been shadowing my TP agenda that I created for myself based on all the rides we'd like to do. Splash Mountain seems to not be up at opening. I'd say that's true 4 of the last 5 days I've checked using the MDE app. I think you'd be fine to rope drop 7D and then check the app to see if Splash is open and then head over. The days Splash has been open lately, the wait was 5 to 15 minutes after park opening. You can also hit Big Thunder Mountain with minimal wait.


----------



## epcotobsessed

Someone gave the tip a few pages back to pick one direction in Epcot, right or left, from Spaceship Earth because getting from side to side in Future World is difficult. Does this mean the main walkway that goes by the old Innovations/Electric Umbrella/etc is closed? Do you have to walk up to WS to get from Soarin to Mission Space and TT now? Just trying to plan my strategy for tomorrow - thanks!


----------



## yaya74

epcotobsessed said:


> Someone gave the tip a few pages back to pick one direction in Epcot, right or left, from Spaceship Earth because getting from side to side in Future World is difficult. Does this mean the main walkway that goes by the old Innovations/Electric Umbrella/etc is closed? Do you have to walk up to WS to get from Soarin to Mission Space and TT now? Just trying to plan my strategy for tomorrow - thanks!



Based on my poor memory from last week's visit, the center of the FW is fenced up. The red marking that I scribbled was the area of the construction. So from the main Epcot entrance, you would need to choose a side to go, right to the Land/Soarin' or left to TT/Mission Space. If you want to go across, you would just need to walk around the fence to get to the other side.  

Hope it helps.


----------



## gharter

preemiemama said:


> EPCOT this pm. Soarin posted 30 but was walk on- we did it twice in a row. Nemo an SSE also walk ons. Long day so headed back early tonight.
> 
> I will say everyone was right that those things in the lagoon are even more horrific than the pictures showed. Wow. Also the state of that park right now is crazy. Way too much disruption from the construction. The new entrance is beautiful but man the hole behind it also cannot be undersold. It’s a mess.


Completely agree.  I don't think whatever water fountains they put on those things during the day is going to hide them.
I'm just hoping the night time show is incredible enough to make up for the change in the lagoon.

Can't wait for the construction to be finished as walking through Future World was a mess.


----------



## MomOTwins

yaya74 said:


> Based on my poor memory from last week's visit, the center of the FW is fenced up. The red marking that I scribbled was the area of the construction. So from the main Epcot entrance, you would need to choose a side to go, right to the Land/Soarin' or left to TT/Mission Space. If you want to go across, you would just need to walk around the fence to get to the other side.
> 
> Hope it helps.


Your recollection is exactly correct.  It wastes time going back and forth, so better to do one side and then the other, or even one side, the WS loop, and then the other side later in the day.


----------



## minnie56

How does park hopping work ? Sorry if I’ve missed this …there’s a lot of pages !


----------



## yaya74

minnie56 said:


> How does park hopping work ? Sorry if I’ve missed this …there’s a lot of pages !


First, you would need to go to the park which you have reserved. Then after 2pm you can hop to other parks and no park pass is needed for the other parks, as of now.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

WEDWDW said:


> Off of Safari at 8:31-good start to the day.
> 
> Interesting note-They were only loading one party per row-even Solos had their own row.



Are the plastic dividers still up between rows?


----------



## scrappinginontario

minnie56 said:


> How does park hopping work ? Sorry if I’ve missed this …there’s a lot of pages !


Please read post 1 of this thread:  https://www.disboards.com/threads/everything-park-hopping-please-read-post-1.3828708/

It provides all information about park hopping and allows this thread to keep on topic re: Here Now and Just Back.  Thanks.


----------



## minnie56

yaya74 said:


> First, you would need to go to the park which you have reserved. Then after 2pm you can hop to other parks and no park pass is needed for the other parks, as of now.



Can you at any point return to the park you originally reserved ?
Many thanks!


----------



## minnie56

scrappinginontario said:


> Please read post 1 of this thread:  https://www.disboards.com/threads/everything-park-hopping-please-read-post-1.3828708/
> 
> It provides all information about park hopping and allows this thread to keep on topic re: Here Now and Just Back.  Thanks.



Sorry, oh yes perfect! I didn’t see it 
Thank you


----------



## Haley R

WEDWDW said:


> DAK let Guests in at 7:20.today.
> 
> Queues at each attraction
> 
> 
> FOP is only early.open.attraction.


Navi isn’t open early?


----------



## epcotobsessed

yaya74 said:


> Based on my poor memory from last week's visit, the center of the FW is fenced up. The red marking that I scribbled was the area of the construction. So from the main Epcot entrance, you would need to choose a side to go, right to the Land/Soarin' or left to TT/Mission Space. If you want to go across, you would just need to walk around the fence to get to the other side.
> 
> Hope it helps.
> View attachment 589011



So helpful, thank you so much! Oh and “yikes” to this!


----------



## DMLAINI

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to tackle Hollywood Studios?  I've been watching wait times & it just looks like everything has long waits all day.


----------



## WEDWDW

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> Are the plastic dividers still up between rows?


Thankfully no!


----------



## WEDWDW

minnie56 said:


> Can you at any point return to the park you originally reserved ?
> Many thanks!


Yes,at any time.


----------



## WEDWDW

Haley R said:


> Navi isn’t open early?


We actually went there first and were told  Navi would be a hard 8:00 open .


----------



## Minniedap

We just returned yesterday.  At HS we roped dropped RRC, then went to ToT and walked on. Had a boarding pass 11 so went to ROTR next, followed by Smugglers Run, and Toy Story Mania. We did Slinky later in day and also MMRR. All of the rides had shorter  waits than posted times some by as much as 20 minutes.


----------



## Haley R

WEDWDW said:


> We actually went there first and were told  Navi would be a hard 8:00 open .


We’re going in September so I’m sure things will change by then too. We were planning to do Navi first but maybe that won’t happen


----------



## PrincessV

One thing I forgot to mention about my visit last week: it's soup-to-nuts when it comes to seating multiple parties per row. I was a party of 1...

ROTR I was seated with a separate party of 3, so no space between parties
Safari, I was seated in a row with another party of 1 and we kept some space between us
MMRR I was seated in my own row
ST, I was seated right next to another party, but another party was seated to my left and kept an open seat between us
TOT seated right next to another party - no seats left open
SE I was in my own row, but with another party in the seats behind me in the same car
LWTL I was placed in my own row


----------



## serenitygr

Everyone who is going to Epcot now- is there any time frame for when the construction will be done? Wondering if this is something they are trying to do before the 50th?


----------



## epcotobsessed

DMLAINI said:


> Does anyone have any recommendations on how to tackle Hollywood Studios?  I've been watching wait times & it just looks like everything has long waits all day.



I haven’t been yet but the family next to me at the pool were talking about their boarding group just now so I asked them about it - this is their third time going in the past week and they said there has been no good time to go, you just have to bite the bullet. That’s why they didn’t RD this morning when they got a higher boarding group, they waited until that was called just now to head in because the lines are long all day. You would get the advantage of one short line by RDing, but they said you’d also have to be there about an hour before open to get a real advantage.


----------



## Akck

epcotobsessed said:


> I haven’t been yet but the family next to me at the pool were talking about their boarding group just now so I asked them about it - this is their third time going in the past week and they said there has been no good time to go, you just have to bite the bullet. That’s why they didn’t RD this morning when they got a higher boarding group, they waited until that was called just now to head in because the lines are long all day. You would get the advantage of one short line by RDing, but they said you’d also have to be there about an hour before open to get a real advantage.



Back in April, we were hoping for a higher BG so we could have a leisurely start, but got 17 (I think). While we didn’t RD, we did arrive at posted opening and walked directly to ROTR. One nice thing is we were the last to be put in the single rider line (one single person behind us), so we skipped the longer queue.


----------



## petunia

If our top 2 goals at AK are FoP and Safari, and we dont necessarily usually get there at rope drop (would if we had to), what is the best approach, make it our first 2 rides or wait until later in the day?  Havent been to WDW without fastpass in forever..trying to think this through.


----------



## scrappinginontario

petunia said:


> If our top 2 goals at AK are FoP and Safari, and we dont necessarily usually get there at rope drop (would if we had to), what is the best approach, make it our first 2 rides or wait until later in the day?  Havent been to WDW without fastpass in forever..trying to think this through.


Not sure about FoP but the KS animals tend to be more active earlier in the day and around dusk so this may play into your planning.


----------



## preemiemama

epcotobsessed said:


> I haven’t been yet but the family next to me at the pool were talking about their boarding group just now so I asked them about it - this is their third time going in the past week and they said there has been no good time to go, you just have to bite the bullet. That’s why they didn’t RD this morning when they got a higher boarding group, they waited until that was called just now to head in because the lines are long all day. You would get the advantage of one short line by RDing, but they said you’d also have to be there about an hour before open to get a real advantage.


Absolutely agree.  It is a definite 1 ride advantage for SDD, MFSR or MMRR. You should be able to get both RNRC and TOT. Yesterday we did MMRR and were a couple rows back from the actual rope. We were off before 9 and then got in line for RNRC. It was posted 35 but a bit less. After that, things built quickly.


----------



## heathsf

preemiemama said:


> Absolutely agree.  It is a definite 1 ride advantage for SDD, MFSR or MMRR. You should be able to get both RNRC and TOT. Yesterday we did MMRR and were a couple rows back from the actual rope. We were off before 9 and then got in line for RNRC. It was posted 35 but a bit less. After that, things built quickly.



Do you think it would be feasible to do MMRR at RD and then MFSR with a manageable wait?


----------



## yaya74

serenitygr said:


> Everyone who is going to Epcot now- is there any time frame for when the construction will be done? Wondering if this is something they are trying to do before the 50th?


I don't think the construction wall would be down anytime before Summer 2022...


----------



## preemiemama

heathsf said:


> Do you think it would be feasible to do MMRR at RD and then MFSR with a manageable wait?


We haven’t been down into GE that early yet. We broke down on MMRR for several minutes and were still good with RNRC. We have an early Oga’s reservation Thursday so were planning to just rope drop MFSR then. We’re also planning on another night or two back at DHS to try that and SDD at the end of the night.  If you remind me Friday I’ll let you know how it looks then!


----------



## heathsf

preemiemama said:


> We haven’t been down into GE that early yet. We broke down on MMRR for several minutes and were still good with RNRC. We have an early Oga’s reservation Thursday so were planning to just rope drop MFSR then. We’re also planning on another night or two back at DHS to try that and SDD at the end of the night.  If you remind me Friday I’ll let you know how it looks then!


Thanks for sharing your experiences


----------



## yaya74

Not sure if anyone has share it....
Just want to share a small discovery regarding getting to Star Wars GE from the main gate of DHS:
There are two ways to get to GE: Right through Toy Story Land, or Left through Indiana Jones and Muppets..
I found there was definitely LESS people on the LEFT route.  Probably because there is really nothing much along the way (sorry Muppet fans!) 

Throughout the week, I have also discovered that LEFT is always THE WAY!. The left queue always moves faster than the right...


----------



## MomOTwins

Rides at or above 50 minutes at WDW right now according to the app.  Eek:

Navi 50
Test Track 50
TSM 50
TOT 50
HM 55
It's a Small World(!) 55
HM 55
EE 60
JC 60
MMRR 60
Peter Pan 50
Space 60
POTC 65
RNRC 70
MFSR 80
7DMT 85
SDD 90
Splash 95
FOP 125


----------



## yaya74

MomOTwins said:


> Rides at or above 50 minutes at WDW right now according to the app.  Eek:
> 
> Navi 50
> Test Track 50
> TSM 50
> TOT 50
> HM 55
> It's a Small World(!) 55
> HM 55
> EE 60
> JC 60
> MMRR 60
> Peter Pan 50
> Space 60
> POTC 65
> RNRC 70
> MFSR 80
> 7DMT 85
> SDD 90
> Splash 95
> FOP 125



Must be the park hopper crowd.


----------



## 123SA

Regarding that DHS map above...in the morning, which route to Galaxy's Edge do they try to steer the herd to?


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

epcotobsessed said:


> So helpful, thank you so much! Oh and “yikes” to this!


Between the walled off center of Future World and shops still closed in World Showcase, Epcot was a total bust for is a few weeks back!


----------



## mom2rtk

yaya74 said:


> Must be the park hopper crowd.


Except that it’s at all the parks.


----------



## 999wdw

I’m here now and have been for the last few days. It’s a mess. Every park is wall to wall, wait times are crazy and it’s super hot. We are doing 3-4 rides at most per park, only did 1 at studios and left and 2 at AK and we were done. I’m a park veteran and I've never seen it this bad with wait times and general crowds. They also just added more capacity so maybe that’s why it’s so crazy. My kids said we are done with Disney for a very long time. This has been a less than magical trip and a waste of very expensive tickets.


----------



## Leigh L

123SA said:


> Regarding that DHS map above...in the morning, which route to Galaxy's Edge do they try to steer the herd to?


They steer everyone towards Muppets for Galaxy's Edge, at least that's what they did last week of June.  
I'm not sure what time the path between Toy Story and Galaxy's Edge opens, but I believe it was the same pre-pandemic where morning crowds are diverted to specific lands and pathways to get there.


----------



## epcotobsessed

999wdw said:


> I’m here now and have been for the last few days. It’s a mess. Every park is wall to wall, wait times are crazy and it’s super hot. We are doing 3-4 rides at most per park, only did 1 at studios and left and 2 at AK and we were done. I’m a park veteran and I've never seen it this bad with wait times and general crowds. They also just added more capacity so maybe that’s why it’s so crazy. My kids said we are done with Disney for a very long time. This has been a less than magical trip and a waste of very expensive tickets.


So sorry to hear this. We’ve had three blissful pool days (well, yesterday wasn’t great with the rain so we resort-hopped, which was fun) and start our park days tomorrow. I’m trying to stay positive but our expectations are very low - I guess that’s a good thing? We’re probably done with Disney after this as well, what you describe and what I’ve heard from this board and from people at my hotel is really sad.


----------



## 123SA

For those there now or recently, have you noticed photopass photographers?


----------



## yaya74

999wdw said:


> I’m here now and have been for the last few days. It’s a mess. Every park is wall to wall, wait times are crazy and it’s super hot. We are doing 3-4 rides at most per park, only did 1 at studios and left and 2 at AK and we were done. I’m a park veteran and I've never seen it this bad with wait times and general crowds. They also just added more capacity so maybe that’s why it’s so crazy. My kids said we are done with Disney for a very long time. This has been a less than magical trip and a waste of very expensive tickets.


sorry to hear that. But that was my same feel from last week (7/3-7/9). People told me it was from the 4th of July holiday crowd but I guess it's not really all that. My family is not going back until Disney has a better plan on handling the crowds. I miss FP+.


----------



## yaya74

123SA said:


> For those there now or recently, have you noticed photopass photographers?



Yes. I did. I was looking for them everywhere since I bought the memory keeper/photopass.


----------



## luv2cheer92

epcotobsessed said:


> I have always seen solo riders in their own row on Safari, I’m not sure that’s a post-Covid change…


I've been paired with other groups/families almost every single time when I've gone solo. I think I've only had my own row once.


----------



## Sargeant Tibbs

yaya74 said:


> Yes. I did. I was looking for them everywhere since I bought the memory keeper/photopass.



So there were a good amount out and about? Or did you really have to keep an eye out?


----------



## epcotobsessed

So interesting, I have seen so many solos and duos in their own row on Safari. I guess I’m happy I always travel with three people!


----------



## Minniebee

123SA said:


> For those there now or recently, have you noticed photopass photographers?


We were there last week and found plenty, including lots of magic shots, super zoom shots at AK, MK, and HS, and the 360 shots. We came home with tons! of pictures--maybe more than we've ever taken before.  In particular, the photographers in GE were especially attentive and took many great shots of our kids (they are teens and dressed in "Batuu-an" inspired outfits.)  You can look in the MDE app to see where photographers are in each park-on the screen that shows ride times, use the drop down menu to select photopass.


----------



## 123SA

Not sure if this is the right place to ask  --

FOP wait time at closing today was 125 minutes.  Has the line been open right up until closing?   I think in the past, sometimes the line was closed before the park closed if it got too long.  Does anyone know what the wait time would have to be to trigger an early line closing?


----------



## cakebaker

999wdw said:


> I’m here now and have been for the last few days. It’s a mess. Every park is wall to wall, wait times are crazy and it’s super hot. We are doing 3-4 rides at most per park, only did 1 at studios and left and 2 at AK and we were done. I’m a park veteran and I've never seen it this bad with wait times and general crowds. They also just added more capacity so maybe that’s why it’s so crazy. My kids said we are done with Disney for a very long time. This has been a less than magical trip and a waste of very expensive tickets.



Sorry to hear your trip isn't what it could've been. I have no doubt it's incredibly frustrating to spend so much money and come away with a negative view of your trip.


----------



## seven dwarfs

Here now. Hit Ak this morn. Was in line for Avatar at 8:10. Told it was a 3.5 hr wait. It was long and hot but only waited about 2 hours. Lines were long all day. Lion King was full every seat and they cut off the line after my husband and I. At Mk now and seeing same thing. 1hr for space. Pooh is closed. 1 hr for pan, 80 mins dwarfs. Most lines have been at least what is posted if not longer. I'm trying to just go with the flow at this point. Also, most lines are outside  in the sun and heat. The parking lots are full with no trams. So plan for this if you bring someone who may need help with distance or the heat. Just not what I had heard with shorter lines but still doing ok.


----------



## shh

seven dwarfs said:


> parking lots are full with no trams.



Even in MK? Like the lots waaay the heck out there have no trams?


----------



## brockash

seven dwarfs said:


> Here now. Hit Ak this morn. Was in line for Avatar at 8:10. Told it was a 3.5 hr wait. It was long and hot but only waited about 2 hours. Lines were long all day. Lion King was full every seat and they cut off the line after my husband and I. At Mk now and seeing same thing. 1hr for space. Pooh is closed. 1 hr for pan, 80 mins dwarfs. Most lines have been at least what is posted if not longer. I'm trying to just go with the flow at this point. Also, most lines are outside  in the sun and heat. The parking lots are full with no trams. So plan for this if you bring someone who may need help with distance or the heat. Just not what I had heard with shorter lines but still doing ok.


Are you saying you rope dropped Flight of Passage and were in line at 810 with a normal rope drop 8am opening and you waited 2 hours!?!?!?

That seems insane...I'm not doubting you; just trying to gain a better understanding...did you take the bus or arrive by car? Thanks for any input.


----------



## scrappinginontario

shh said:


> Even in MK? Like the lots waaay the heck out there have no trams?


Parking lot trams have not restarted at any of the parks.  No talk of when they might be.


----------



## DisneyDiana

brockash said:


> Are you saying you rope dropped Flight of Passage and were in line at 810 with a normal rope drop 8am opening and you waited 2 hours!?!?!?
> 
> That seems insane...I'm not doubting you; just trying to gain a better understanding...did you take the bus or arrive by car? Thanks for any input.



We just got back a week ago and were in line for Flight of Passage at 8:05 and it was a 90 minute wait. We have ridden plenty of times so decided to just bail on it.


----------



## brockash

DisneyDiana said:


> We just got back a week ago and were in line for Flight of Passage at 8:05 and it was a 90 minute wait. We have ridden plenty of times so decided to just bail on it.


Wow...just curious do you know if this was before or after they went back to regular rope drop (holding ppl and not actually opening rides until 8am park open?) I know before while they said 8am; really park open was about 45 mins. prior, so I'm trying to understand if these waits for when the park/rides really opened at 715ish or if these are with true 8am park opens.


----------



## seven dwarfs

We drove in and yes we were inline at 8:10. I checked my watch when I was told 3.5 hours. Several people left the line and were not happy. I have no clue when roped dropped today. I thought it was at 8. Obviously it must have dropped sooner. Our wait was only 2 hrs which I was thrilled. I met a lovely lady so we made the best of our time. Even dinosaur was over an hour today. The only fast line was bugs at 20 mins. 

I guess you don't have to believe me. That's ok. I have no reason to lie. I bought tickets only two days ago. Planned to be in Florida but skip the parks this time. Decided based off wait times that we would give it a go. Just wanted to let others know what we are experiencing. Alot of the waits are outside in the heat as well before you make it inside. Just want others to be prepared for that too. Maybe someone will learn from me so they don't wait 2 hrs. 

Also the app to book the parks has been down all day and we are having issues staying connected to wifi. Both issues we don't normally have. 

It's a no kid trip. We have been here before. We plan to go with the flow, even if it stays slow. We get done what we get done. Hope this does help someone.


----------



## Neener16

Thanks for the heads up. We are leaving Sunday night. We were going in with low expectations, but I guess we have to lower them even more!


----------



## Kelly014

seven dwarfs said:


> We drove in and yes we were inline at 8:10. I checked my watch when I was told 3.5 hours. Several people left the line and were not happy. I have no clue when roped dropped today. I thought it was at 8. Obviously it must have dropped sooner. Our wait was only 2 hrs which I was thrilled. I met a lovely lady so we made the best of our time. Even dinosaur was over an hour today. The only fast line was bugs at 20 mins.
> 
> I guess you don't have to believe me. That's ok. I have no reason to lie. I bought tickets only two days ago. Planned to be in Florida but skip the parks this time. Decided based off wait times that we would give it a go. Just wanted to let others know what we are experiencing. Alot of the waits are outside in the heat as well before you make it inside. Just want others to be prepared for that too. Maybe someone will learn from me so they don't wait 2 hrs.
> 
> Also the app to book the parks has been down all day and we are having issues staying connected to wifi. Both issues we don't normally have.
> 
> It's a no kid trip. We have been here before. We plan to go with the flow, even if it stays slow. We get done what we get done. Hope this does help someone.


I believe (but someone correct me if I am wrong) that AK is still the one park hanging on to a nontraditional rope drop, so that likely accounts for the super high FOP line at 8:10.


----------



## DisneyDiana

I can't say for sure. We were walking through the AK front gate around 7:55. We found waits to be fairly long all around. At MK, we were there 40 minutes before rope drop and it was packed. However, we found that we were able to get a lot done in the last hour before the park closed.


----------



## scrappinginontario

AK is still allowing guests to enter early and limited attractions are starting approx 45 mins before posted park opening.

The actual start time can vary a little but normally it is around 30-45 mins before posted park opening.


----------



## brockash

seven dwarfs said:


> We drove in and yes we were inline at 8:10. I checked my watch when I was told 3.5 hours. Several people left the line and were not happy. I have no clue when roped dropped today. I thought it was at 8. Obviously it must have dropped sooner. Our wait was only 2 hrs which I was thrilled. I met a lovely lady so we made the best of our time. Even dinosaur was over an hour today. The only fast line was bugs at 20 mins.
> 
> I guess you don't have to believe me. That's ok. I have no reason to lie. I bought tickets only two days ago. Planned to be in Florida but skip the parks this time. Decided based off wait times that we would give it a go. Just wanted to let others know what we are experiencing. Alot of the waits are outside in the heat as well before you make it inside. Just want others to be prepared for that too. Maybe someone will learn from me so they don't wait 2 hrs.
> 
> Also the app to book the parks has been down all day and we are having issues staying connected to wifi. Both issues we don't normally have.
> 
> It's a no kid trip. We have been here before. We plan to go with the flow, even if it stays slow. We get done what we get done. Hope this does help someone.


Oh I definitely wasn't doubting you...I've seen lots of reports lately about how insane the lines are; I was just under t&e impression; we'd be able to at least get a ride or 2 in at park open with a reasonable wait (2 hrs at park open is not reasonable for us...not even half that.)  I hope you were able to enjoy yourself and I definitely appreciate the feedback; it's just so sad they keep raising capacity, without opening the rest of y&e attractions and restaurants.  With no fastpass and still limited hours it seems really frustrating.


----------



## brockash

scrappinginontario said:


> AK is still allowing guests to enter early and limited attractions are starting approx 45 mins before posted park opening.
> 
> The actual start time can vary a little but normally it is around 30-45 mins before posted park opening.


Hmmm...okay thanks.  For some reason I thought I had read reports that AK was back to normal opening like the others had gone back previously.


----------



## DisneyFive

I guess for all you that were praying for FP+ never to come back, we are seeing what it’s like without it once capacity is getting back to normal.  We are 12 days from arriving and will make the best of it, but we have been during this same time of year twice in the last five years for 10 night stays and have never experienced anything like what is being talked about here due to forced standby. Sure the standby lines could get that long in prior years but with proper use of the FP system very short waits were a normal occurrence for headliners, even FOP, SDD, etc, and you didn’t even need to get up early.

I’m soooo looking forward to getting up at 6 AM on vacation so that I _might_ get to animal kingdom in time to do flight of passage and other rides with short waits . Same goes for HS. 

we chose to go, not knowing fully what we would be getting ourselves into so that was our risk and we took it.  However I must say that I am very disappointed with Disney to allow this situation to happen.


----------



## preemiemama

Y


123SA said:


> For those there now or recently, have you noticed photopass photographers?


Yes but fewer than usual.


----------



## e_yerger

DisneyFive said:


> I guess for all you that were praying for FP+ never to come back, we are seeing what it’s like without it once capacity is getting back to normal.  We are 12 days from arriving and will make the best of it, but we have been during this same time of year twice in the last five years for 10 night stays and have never experienced anything like what is being talked about here due to forced standby. Sure the standby lines could get that long in prior years but with proper use of the FP system very short waits were a normal occurrence for headliners, even FOP, SDD, etc, and you didn’t even need to get up early.
> 
> I’m soooo looking forward to getting up at 6 AM on vacation so that I _might_ get to animal kingdom in time to do flight of passage and other rides with short waits . Same goes for HS.
> 
> we chose to go, not knowing fully what we would be getting ourselves into so that was our risk and we took it.  However I must say that I am very disappointed with Disney to allow this situation to happen.


The issue isnt the lack of Fastpass, it’s actually the lack of CM’s and capacity available in attractions. If Fastpass was added back in during the current state, standby lines would just get even longer. Until disney gets the staffing and ride capacity as full swing, then it’ll be better.

Ride capacity also includes attractions that are still closed that suck in people.


----------



## preemiemama

preemiemama said:


> Rope drop DHS. MMRR queued at 8:30. Broke down for 5 minutes and still off by 8:58. At that point line was 60. RNRC now. 30 minutes posted. So far 10 in line. TOT next. Posted 20 when we went by 10 minutes ago.





MomOTwins said:


> Rides at or above 50 minutes at WDW right now according to the app.  Eek:
> 
> Navi 50
> Test Track 50
> TSM 50
> TOT 50
> HM 55
> It's a Small World(!) 55
> HM 55
> EE 60
> JC 60
> MMRR 60
> Peter Pan 50
> Space 60
> POTC 65
> RNRC 70
> MFSR 80
> 7DMT 85
> SDD 90
> Splash 95
> FOP 125





mom2rtk said:


> Except that it’s at all the parks.





999wdw said:


> I’m here now and have been for the last few days. It’s a mess. Every park is wall to wall, wait times are crazy and it’s super hot. We are doing 3-4 rides at most per park, only did 1 at studios and left and 2 at AK and we were done. I’m a park veteran and I've never seen it this bad with wait times and general crowds. They also just added more capacity so maybe that’s why it’s so crazy. My kids said we are done with Disney for a very long time. This has been a less than magical trip and a waste of very expensive tickets.


We did ok with rope drop and pm the past 2 days. Tonight, however, it was a hot mess. Every ride at MK having issues with breakdowns. Too many people and nowhere to put them. Not enough people eaters open snd the things that are are not able to keep up. We were stuck on POTC, 7DMT, LM, in line for PM that wasn’t moving and same story at space. We gave up and headed back.


----------



## NLW814

Does anyone know what the wait times are like for the shows at HS right now (Frozen, Disney Junior, etc.)? When we were there in February we would get in line for a show to be told that place in line was not for the next show but the one (or even two) after that already, resulting in having to line up an hour or more early. Thanks in advance!


----------



## Leigh L

NLW814 said:


> Does anyone know what the wait times are like for the shows at HS right now (Frozen, Disney Junior, etc.)? When we were there in February we would get in line for a show to be told that place in line was not for the next show but the one (or even two) after that already, resulting in having to line up an hour or more early. Thanks in advance!


This was late June, but it was way easier getting into Frozen than it had been in Feb and Jan with the capacity back. We got into the next show without having to line up an hour before


----------



## disny_luvr

Leigh L said:


> This was late June, but it was way easier getting into Frozen than it had been in Feb and Jan with the capacity back. We got into the next show without having to line up an hour before



Is that the case with the Festival of the Lion King, too?


----------



## WEDWDW

Feels like Old Times!

We are seeing more CPs onstage it seems by the second and they are making a difference!

We tell them they are going to be instrumental in WDW's rebirth-NO PRESSURE!lol

For those here now,have you been experiencing this as well?


----------



## RunWI1265

brockash said:


> Hmmm...okay thanks.  For some reason I thought I had read reports that AK was back to normal opening like the others had gone back previously.


I thought I had read that as well. I think I read it on this thread? I'll go back a few pages and check.


----------



## preemiemama

WEDWDW said:


> Feels like Old Times!
> 
> We are seeing more CPs onstage it seems by the second and they are making a difference!
> 
> We tell them they are going to be instrumental in WDW's rebirth-NO PRESSURE!lol
> 
> For those here now,have you been experiencing this as well?


Yes- saw two or three large groups “touring” different areas as part of a training and many “earning my ears” ribbons.


----------



## WEDWDW

RunWI1265 said:


> I thought I had read that as well. I think I read it on this thread? I'll go back a few pages and check.


Our experience this Morning was:

Guests allowed to enter Park and Queue at each attraction at 7:20 AM.

FOP was the only attraction to open early.


----------



## Leigh L

disny_luvr said:


> Is that the case with the Festival of the Lion King, too?


We also had no problem getting in this one on our AK day. The CM asked how many we were (this was 15 minutes before showtime) and said they thought they could get us in. They not only got us in but dozens of others. This was either the last or second to last show - I want to say it was the 4 pm-ish one.


----------



## RunWI1265

WEDWDW said:


> Our experience this Morning was:
> 
> Guests allowed to enter Park and Queue at each attraction at 7:20 AM.
> 
> FOP was the only attraction to open early.


Thanks! Just saw your update from this morning. Glad I caught this. We will be there Saturday and I had it in my head they were doing traditional rope drop.


----------



## Princess Katelet

preemiemama said:


> We did ok with rope drop and pm the past 2 days. Tonight, however, it was a hot mess. Every ride at MK having issues with breakdowns. Too many people and nowhere to put them. Not enough people eaters open snd the things that are are not able to keep up. We were stuck on POTC, 7DMT, LM, in line for PM that wasn’t moving and same story at space. We gave up and headed back.


You were stuck ON those rides? Pirates and Seven Dwarves and Mermaid all broke down while you were riding them?  That’s terrible!


----------



## luv2cheer92

scrappinginontario said:


> AK is still allowing guests to enter early and limited attractions are starting approx 45 mins before posted park opening.
> 
> The actual start time can vary a little but normally it is around 30-45 mins before posted park opening.





brockash said:


> Hmmm...okay thanks.  For some reason I thought I had read reports that AK was back to normal opening like the others had gone back previously.





RunWI1265 said:


> I thought I had read that as well. I think I read it on this thread? I'll go back a few pages and check.


AK has gone back to traditional rope drop. But for AK (and HS), they always opened up ride lines early. So, that's still normal for those 2 parks (and they have been now too). Usually it's more than just FoP that opens early, but I guess yesterday it was just that ride at AK.

So normal rope drop for AK and HS: hold guests at each land, open up early, some rides open about 20-30 minutes or so early.
MK and Epcot: hold guests until right at opening. This is how the parks have been operating recently and how they were pre-Covid too.


----------



## preemiemama

Princess Katelet said:


> You were stuck ON those rides? Pirates and Seven Dwarves and Mermaid all broke down while you were riding them?  That’s terrible!


Yep. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen here. Not to this extent.


----------



## Disneygrl71

Reading some of the 'here now' reports and they are really concerning, it sounds like such a mess at Disney right now. We are suppose to arrive next Sat and I'm seriously doubting this decision  I've been so excited, we've been to Disney over 13 times (through a hurricane, etc) and still wasn't as worried as now.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Disneygrl71 said:


> Reading some of the 'here now' reports and they are really concerning, it sounds like such a mess at Disney right now. We are suppose to arrive next Sat and I'm seriously doubting this decision  I've been so excited, we've been to Disney over 13 times (through a hurricane, etc) and still wasn't as worried as now.


FWIW, I've seen a lot more positive experiences lately than negative.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Princess Katelet said:


> You were stuck ON those rides? Pirates and Seven Dwarves and Mermaid all broke down while you were riding them?  That’s terrible!





preemiemama said:


> Yep. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen here. Not to this extent.



Not that I doubt you but just curious.  Were you evacuated from each of these rides or stopped for an extended period of time?  

We were once on Pirates when it stopped for 40 mins (my daughter has not wanted to ride it since) but then it got moving again. (Yo ho yo ho still reminds her of this experience as they didn’t turn off the music for a long time) but I’ve never thought of that as ‘breaking down’ as we were not evacuated but possibly to others the terminology might be different?

That being said I do think it might be neat to be evacuated from a ride once (I know, weird right?!) but definitely not 3 times, especially in one trip!!!

Sorry this happened to you.


----------



## Biggen

Wow, you waited 40 minutes? We rode Pirates a couple of years ago and it broke down. After about 20 minutes on the boat, all of us simply got off the boat and we walked to an emergency exit. Luckily the boat was close to a edge we could get off the exit was marked well.


----------



## preemiemama

scrappinginontario said:


> Not that I doubt you but just curious.  Were you evacuated from each of these rides or stopped for an extended period of time?
> 
> We were once on Pirates when it stopped for 40 mins (my daughter has not wanted to ride it since) but then it got moving again. (Yo ho yo ho still reminds her of this experience as they didn’t turn off the music for a long time) but I’ve never thought of that as ‘breaking down’ as we were not evacuated but possibly to others the terminology might be different?
> 
> That being said I do think it might be neat to be evacuated from a ride once (I know, weird right?!) but definitely not 3 times, especially in one trip!!!
> 
> Sorry this happened to you.


Not evacuated but stopped for about 10-15 minutes. 7DMT was actually 3 stops. It was crazy. Hoping today is better!


----------



## brockash

Biggen said:


> Wow, you waited 40 minutes? We rode Pirates a couple of years ago and it broke down. After about 20 minutes on the boat, all of us simply got off the boat and we walked to an emergency exit. Luckily the boat was close to a edge we could get off the exit was marked well.


Yeah, I'd definitely call being stopped on a ride for 40 mins. a breakdown, however unless we were in danger etc., I can't imagine we'd get off the ride ourselves without a CM telling us too.  I'm glad it worked out for you, but for others reading, just know that can be dangerous.


----------



## yaya74

Disneygrl71 said:


> Reading some of the 'here now' reports and they are really concerning, it sounds like such a mess at Disney right now. We are suppose to arrive next Sat and I'm seriously doubting this decision  I've been so excited, we've been to Disney over 13 times (through a hurricane, etc) and still wasn't as worried as now.



It is all about your expectations and level of tolerance/patience. My family didn't enjoy our trip which was last week because we have no patience to stand in line for more than 20 minutes (we got spoiled by FP+). The crowd was much bigger than our comfort level, probably due to the pandemic.(I booked my trip back in Feb under the impression that Disney was operating at a reduced capacity....guess not). Everywhere we went there were people sneezing and coughing without covering their mouths. It's just gross. We just got so uncomfortable with people standing right behind us without keeping some personal space. The level of offerings from Disney resort was also reduced. Pre-pandemic there were CMs at the resort keeping kids busy on a stormy afternoon. Not this time. The club level was not available. That's why my family didn't enjoy our most recent visit as much as before. However, I am sure that there are folks who are having a blast at WDW right now.

No matter what you do, I wish you and your family a magical trip to Disney.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

scrappinginontario said:


> a restart date for sending purchases to the front of the park or your resort has not been announced.


This is what I thought-hoping it returns very soon!


----------



## disny_luvr

When rides break down or you need to evacuate do they give recovery fast passes, or is that not happening right now?


----------



## luv2cheer92

disny_luvr said:


> When rides break down or you need to evacuate do they give recovery fast passes, or is that not happening right now?


It has been happening, but its likely a case by case thing. If you need to evacuate, I'm sure you would get one. If its just a brief stop (5-10 min) then probably not.


----------



## The Iron Giant

All these breakdowns must mean Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox were causing some commotion downstream.


----------



## WEDWDW

Just a note-they are not letting Guests "shortcut" through the Emporium at Casey's anymore.


----------



## ffugitive

Heading down last week of August and, as one in the pro-Fastpass group, this thread is preparing me for a lot of lines.  But frankly nothing could compare to my pre-pandemic Easter break experience at Disneyland Paris.  Basically could not get more than 2-3 fastpasses a day (bc they ran out) and even waited 30 minutes once to get a Fastpass for BTMR.  So had to wait in Standby lines which were generally 1-2 hours (including one we waited on for two hours but had to bail in order to make our Ratatouille fastpass).  At least in WDW there will always be plenty of 20-30 minute waits for solid attractions, and I can always more than satisfy my cravings by just soaking in the place itself.  I think if you just purge the sense that you need to ride everything as many times as possible, you can't walk away disappointed or frustrated.


----------



## PrincessV

yaya74 said:


> Everywhere we went there were people sneezing and coughing without covering their mouths.


I noticed this, too, on my 7/1-7 visit. IDK if it's always been like that and I'm just more hyper-aware of it now, or what, but it felt like a LOT.


----------



## DisneyFive

ffugitive said:


> I think if you just purge the sense that you need to ride everything as many times as possible, you can't walk away disappointed or frustrated.



I prefer not to be happy to pay more for less.  ...or be forced to go into my vacation with low expectations just so I'm not disappointed.  

I do understand what you are saying, and I've already prepared our family to expect things to be a lot different.  We will go in with positive attitudes and will make the current situation work as best as possible.

However, Disney decided to let this current situation happen.  Either give the guests a way to have reasonable standby times (keep the lower capacity), or bring back the system that allowed for shorter waits (which also spread the crowds out not only in the morning but throughout the day).

There are very few things that are NOT open anymore that would draw people from attractions, especially early in the morning.

Dan


----------



## mom2rtk

WEDWDW said:


> Just a note-they are not letting Guests "shortcut" through the Emporium at Casey's anymore.
> 
> View attachment 589374


Which is just ridiculous when you see how tightly guests are packed in at other places in the parks.


----------



## scrappinginontario

mom2rtk said:


> Which is just ridiculous when you see how tightly guests are packed in at other places in the parks.


While I agree people are packed in, as someone eating my meal, I'll be happy not to have hundreds of people passing closely to my table.  That is a busy thoroughfare normally.


----------



## epcotobsessed

How do I add a real wait time to the TP app? I’m using it for the first time and can’t figure it out.


----------



## mom2rtk

scrappinginontario said:


> While I agree people are packed in, as someone eating my meal, I'll be happy not to have hundreds of people passing closely to my table.  That is a busy thoroughfare normally.


Don't disagree with that. But the fact that they are doing it now for the first time seems to me like it's a social distancing measure.

It's similar to how I feel about the fact that at Topolino Mickey wouldn't come closer than 6 feet from our table a few weeks ago. Yet somehow a typical number squished together in the stretching room was fine.


----------



## scrappinginontario

epcotobsessed said:


> How do I add a real wait time to the TP app? I’m using it for the first time and can’t figure it out.


It took me a bit to figure this out too.

In the top, left corner of the name of each ride, there is a green circle with a white clock icon on it.  Click that and it will allow you to submit a time.


----------



## epcotobsessed

scrappinginontario said:


> It took me a bit to figure this out too.
> 
> In the top, left corner of the name of each ride, there is a green circle with a white clock icon on it.  Click that and it will allow you to submit a time.


Thank you!


----------



## Mango7100

mom2rtk said:


> Don't disagree with that. But the fact that they are doing it now for the first time seems to me like it's a social distancing measure.
> 
> It's similar to how I feel about the fact that at Topolino Mickey wouldn't come closer than 6 feet from our table a few weeks ago. Yet somehow a typical number squished together in the stretching room was fine.


I don’t understand this either. How come characters cant come to your table, especially since most are in full costume with a giant character head on. Don’t tell me it’s for safety now when its fine to cram people together other times. But Mickey can’t high five you for 10 seconds?!


----------



## robinb

scrappinginontario said:


> It took me a bit to figure this out too.
> 
> In the top, left corner of the name of each ride, there is a green circle with a white clock icon on it.  Click that and it will allow you to submit a time.


It took me a bit to figure it out back in May!  Your photo is very helpful.


----------



## JBRB828

epcotobsessed said:


> How do I add a real wait time to the TP app? I’m using it for the first time and can’t figure it out.


What is the TP app?


----------



## GoofyDad_4427

123SA said:


> Not sure if this is the right place to ask  --
> 
> FOP wait time at closing today was 125 minutes.  Has the line been open right up until closing?   I think in the past, sometimes the line was closed before the park closed if it got too long.  Does anyone know what the wait time would have to be to trigger an early line closing?



In many, many trips, i have never seen this or even heard of it happening.


----------



## snoopy5386

Any off site folks? How early can I expect the parking lots to open? MK and HS.


----------



## fivikse

Question - I have the Touring Plans Lines app and have been randomly checking lines for about two weeks since our trip is in a couple weeks.  They are reporting lines as somewhat less than the official app, and they haven't looked any worse than a normal summer trip.  (For example, I don't think they've reported  Barnstormer as more than 20 minutes, and we once waited 30 WITH a Fast Pass in August- yes for Barnstormer).  

So I guess I'm wondering if Touring Plans lines app is way off this summer?


----------



## Leigh L

GoofyDad_4427 said:


> In many, many trips, i have never seen this or even heard of it happening.


I've only seen it happen with Hagrids over at Universal, never Disney as long as you get in line before official close. 

We were second to last on BTMR last winter and a CM stayed at the end of the line walking through behind the people who were last. It was basically a walk-on, I don't recall what the posted time was, but we jumped off Splash and made it to BTMR with a minute to spare.


----------



## DisneyDiana

fivikse said:


> Question - I have the Touring Plans Lines app and have been randomly checking lines for about two weeks since our trip is in a couple weeks.  They are reporting lines as somewhat less than the official app, and they haven't looked any worse than a normal summer trip.  (For example, I don't think they've reported  Barnstormer as more than 20 minutes, and we once waited 30 WITH a Fast Pass in August- yes for Barnstormer).
> 
> So I guess I'm wondering if Touring Plans lines app is way off this summer?



I did find it to be off more than not which I know is not the norm.


----------



## PrincessV

fivikse said:


> Question - I have the Touring Plans Lines app and have been randomly checking lines for about two weeks since our trip is in a couple weeks.  They are reporting lines as somewhat less than the official app, and they haven't looked any worse than a normal summer trip.  (For example, I don't think they've reported  Barnstormer as more than 20 minutes, and we once waited 30 WITH a Fast Pass in August- yes for Barnstormer).
> 
> So I guess I'm wondering if Touring Plans lines app is way off this summer?


I've used it since its inception and have never seen it be off by much for wait times. It was mostly spot-on 7/1-7 - the only outlier was HM, which was posted on MDE as 65 mins, TP as 33 mins, and my actual wait was 22 mins... but I consider walking through the doors to be the end of my wait: if I were to add the time I spent in the stretching room and "funnel" it would have been right about 33-35 mins. As I said earlier in the thread, I never waited for anything more than 25 minutes the entire trip.


----------



## Mango7100

fivikse said:


> Question - I have the Touring Plans Lines app and have been randomly checking lines for about two weeks since our trip is in a couple weeks.  They are reporting lines as somewhat less than the official app, and they haven't looked any worse than a normal summer trip.  (For example, I don't think they've reported  Barnstormer as more than 20 minutes, and we once waited 30 WITH a Fast Pass in August- yes for Barnstormer).
> 
> So I guess I'm wondering if Touring Plans lines app is way off this summer?


We found it more accurate than MDE on our trip last week except for 2 times...one time it listed Speedway at 12 and another it listed Barnstormer at 5. Both times the line was obviously way longer than either of those. Otherwise it was within 5 min.


----------



## brockash

fivikse said:


> Question - I have the Touring Plans Lines app and have been randomly checking lines for about two weeks since our trip is in a couple weeks.  They are reporting lines as somewhat less than the official app, and they haven't looked any worse than a normal summer trip.  (For example, I don't think they've reported  Barnstormer as more than 20 minutes, and we once waited 30 WITH a Fast Pass in August- yes for Barnstormer).
> 
> So I guess I'm wondering if Touring Plans lines app is way off this summer?


Not sure, there have been reports of not as many ppl reporting on TP which makes it not as accurate, but also many reports saying it's been pretty accurate.  I did want to add that we've gone at all times during the year and am pretty shocked you waited 30 mins for Barnstormer with a fastpass...I'm guessing something was wrong/broke/crazy new CM or something.

Having said that if you're good waiting 30 mins for Barnstormer with a fastpass; I think you'll be good to go this trip and the lines probably won't bother you.


----------



## fivikse

brockash said:


> Not sure, there have been reports of not as many ppl reporting on TP which makes it not as accurate, but also many reports saying it's been pretty accurate.  I did want to add that we've gone at all times during the year and am pretty shocked you waited 30 mins for Barnstormer with a fastpass...I'm guessing something was wrong/broke/crazy new CM or something.
> 
> Having said that if you're good waiting 30 mins for Barnstormer with a fastpass; I think you'll be good to go this trip and the lines probably won't bother you.



We weren't happy with the Barnstormer wait!  My kids had recently decided to try baby coasters that trip, so they desperately wanted to ride it!  But it definitely happened.  I would also say we've waited longer for Haunted Mansion and BTMRR with a FP than I am seeing Touring Plans report for standby for the most part.  (I guess we've had bad luck, but I find WDW Fast Pass lines WAY longer than Universal Express Pass lines, for example.  )


----------



## epcotobsessed

Epcot today: I have failed at nearly every TP entry today because I lose service at the start of nearly every ride. We got on Three Caballeros as a walk-on but 10min later the line was out of the building. 45min posted wait for Frozen changed to 35min posted while we were in line, but was actually 55. TP timed out in trying to post my actual wait - lots of people used the FP line while we were in line. Posted wait was up to 65 soon after we got off. Walked to TT, down, SE down right when we got there. It’s raining and lines for all food kiosks or QS are long. Epcot construction, which I was prepared for, is worse than I thought it would be. I understand why people are saying they’re skipping Epcot right now.


----------



## bigcrit

epcotobsessed said:


> Epcot today: I have failed at nearly every TP entry today because I lose service at the start of nearly every ride. We got on Three Caballeros as a walk-on but 10min later the line was out of the building. 45min posted wait for Frozen changed to 35min posted while we were in line, but was actually 55. TP timed out in trying to post my actual wait - lots of people used the FP line while we were in line. Posted wait was up to 65 soon after we got off. Walked to TT, down, SE down right when we got there. It’s raining and lines for all food kiosks or QS are long. Epcot construction, which I was prepared for, is worse than I thought it would be. I understand why people are saying they’re skipping Epcot right now.



So FP is running now?


----------



## epcotobsessed

No, there are many reasons why people might use it, but FP+ is not one of them.


----------



## bigcrit

epcotobsessed said:


> No, there are many reasons why people might use it, but FP+ is not one of them.




Seems odd that the CM would allow people to use the FP line than.


----------



## monstermash23

bigcrit said:


> Seems odd that the CM would allow people to use the FP line than.



DAS, VIP, Club 33 and a few other groups can use the line.


----------



## preemiemama

Took these at about 9:15 this am in case anyone wants to know wait times at official park open.


----------



## epcotobsessed

preemiemama said:


> Took these at about 9:15 this am in case anyone wants to know wait times at official park open.
> View attachment 589491View attachment 589490



thank you! What time did you arrive and what time were you let in the park? We got to the IG at Epcot at 10:15 today, there were already two long lines, were let in through security at about 10:25, held in Canada until 10:31, then let into the park. We were on and off Soarin’ by the official open at 11.


----------



## jujubiee4

Anyone have any idea how long Epcot construction will go on?


----------



## preemiemama

epcotobsessed said:


> thank you! What time did you arrive and what time were you let in the park? We got to the IG at Epcot at 10:15 today, there were already two long lines, were let in through security at about 10:25, held in Canada until 10:31, then let into the park. We were on and off Soarin’ by the official open at 11.


We were on the first bus out of AKL at 7:45-ish. Let in the park as soon as we arrived around 8. Queued for TOT. We were the 2nd elevator up to the boiler room. Got off and went directly to RNRC with about a 15-20 minute wait to the backstage passes room. Made a pit stop in the Cars area and then took those photos around 9:15. This was our 2nd day at DHS and same procedure- queue from 8-8:30 and then they open the rides, or at least the headliners. 

MK is a hard 9:00 open, in case you needed to know that- we did it yesterday.


----------



## The13thLetter

jujubiee4 said:


> Anyone have any idea how long Epcot construction will go on?



i think the creation store and club cool were announced to be opening this summer, but overall there should be construction there well into 2022. im assuming they are hoping to have it complete by epcot's 40th anniversary but i dont think anyone knows for sure.


----------



## preemiemama

jujubiee4 said:


> Anyone have any idea how long Epcot construction will go on?


Not officially but it’s going to be a while. There’s a lot to do!


----------



## epcotobsessed

preemiemama said:


> We were on the first bus out of AKL at 7:45-ish. Let in the park as soon as we arrived around 8. Queued for TOT. We were the 2nd elevator up to the boiler room. Got off and went directly to RNRC with about a 15-20 minute wait to the backstage passes room. Made a pit stop in the Cars area and then took those photos around 9:15. This was our 2nd day at DHS and same procedure- queue from 8-8:30 and then they open the rides, or at least the headliners.
> 
> MK is a hard 9:00 open, in case you needed to know that- we did it yesterday.



Thanks so much! I had read that Epcot was a hard 11 open but that was not the case today. Will definitely get to HS early, not as early to MK, though I know wait times build quickly in all parks so we will try to arrive in time to be near the front of RD.


----------



## Kafertal

Has anyone ridden rides during fireworks since they've retuned to MK & EP?  We're not a firework family so this strategy has worked for us in the past.


----------



## bigcrit

epcotobsessed said:


> Thanks so much! I had read that Epcot was a hard 11 open but that was not the case today. Will definitely get to HS early, not as early to MK, though I know wait times build quickly in all parks so we will try to arrive in time to be near the front of RD.



What time were you let in to Epcot? Inquiring minds want to know.....


----------



## epcotobsessed

bigcrit said:


> What time were you let in to Epcot? Inquiring minds want to know.....


Let in at about 10:20, set “free” at 10:30, we walked straight to Soarin and got right on. A good number of people went to Soarin but I’d say most went to either TT or Frozen, based on direction of crowds.


----------



## DisneyFive

epcotobsessed said:


> Let in at about 10:20, set “free” at 10:30, we walked straight to Soarin and got right on. A good number of people went to Soarin but I’d say most went to either TT or Frozen, based on direction of crowds.


Regarding Epcot.

From what I have inferred, it sounds like international gateway entry guests are at a bit of a disadvantage for test track due to the proximity of where they queue Vs front entry guests.  Would it be better to hit Soarin or frozen first if you want to beat the front entry lines?

Dan


----------



## epcotobsessed

DisneyFive said:


> Regarding Epcot.
> 
> From what I have inferred, it sounds like international gateway entry guests are at a bit of a disadvantage for test track due to the proximity of where they queue Vs front entry guests.  Would it be better to hit Soarin or frozen first if you want to beat the front entry lines?
> 
> Dan



we were held midway through Canada, so that wasn’t too bad as far as getting to either TT or Soarin. We did Soarin today so I can’t speak to TT but I think that it’s fairly equal for both entry points. Probably an advantage for IG guests to get to Frozen.


----------



## DisneyFive

JasonTCV said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1415400440456531974
> Per Scott Gustin, the monorail to Epcot is opening on July 18th. They will direct bus service from Poly to Epcot in "mid-August"


Epcot Monorail Loop opening on July 18!   Woohoo!  This was reported in the Polynesian thread. Thank you JasonTCV for the report
Dan


----------



## disny_luvr

DisneyFive said:


> Epcot Monorail Loop opening on July 18!   Woohoo!  This was reported in the Polynesian thread. Thank you JasonTCV for the report
> Dan



So happy about this!


----------



## preemiemama

Kafertal said:


> Has anyone ridden rides during fireworks since they've retuned to MK & EP?  We're not a firework family so this strategy has worked for us in the past.


Worked for us with BTMRR on Sunday but did not yesterday- though there were a lot of issues with things going down yesterday.


----------



## LSUmiss

DisneyFive said:


> I guess for all you that were praying for FP+ never to come back, we are seeing what it’s like without it once capacity is getting back to normal.  We are 12 days from arriving and will make the best of it, but we have been during this same time of year twice in the last five years for 10 night stays and have never experienced anything like what is being talked about here due to forced standby. Sure the standby lines could get that long in prior years but with proper use of the FP system very short waits were a normal occurrence for headliners, even FOP, SDD, etc, and you didn’t even need to get up early.
> 
> I’m soooo looking forward to getting up at 6 AM on vacation so that I _might_ get to animal kingdom in time to do flight of passage and other rides with short waits . Same goes for HS.
> 
> we chose to go, not knowing fully what we would be getting ourselves into so that was our risk and we took it.  However I must say that I am very disappointed with Disney to allow this situation to happen.


Yep. I was one of those. I like not having to have so much scheduled. We went in May & lines were still manageable but just got back again this week & they no longer are. Guess they’re setting us up to be happy to pay for FP.


----------



## kc51570

Kafertal said:


> Has anyone ridden rides during fireworks since they've retuned to MK & EP?  We're not a firework family so this strategy has worked for us in the past.


We rode rides during fireworks at MK on 3 different nights. 4th of July was the best night. I think we got on Buzz with a walk on, Mine Train in about 30 minutes and fireworks were going off while we were on the ride. Then we headed to Peter Pan and walked on once we got through the very long queue. Then headed to Jungle Cruise and it was maybe 10 minutes. That was our best experience of the entire trip because I think most people were specifically there to watch 4th of July fireworks. My family jumped on Space Mountain at 10:30 with a 45 minute wait and it was exactly 45 minutes. I was hoping for the inflated line time, but it wasn’t.
The 2nd night, we ended up doing BTMRR during fireworks 2x (we do this every trip during fireworks) and then Pirates and left.
The third night was last Thursday and it was crazy busy everywhere during fireworks. We went back to Mine Train and waited about an hour. When we got out-line was 85 minutes and looked it, and showed as temporarily unavailable on the app but was still running. Walking through the area-tomorrow land speedway was very crowded, Space had a huge line, people mover and Astro orbiter also had lines. I think we maybe got on Buzz again but for the most part the fireworks advantage seemed to disappear that night.
Splash had a long wait every one of these days/nights and was down a lot. We were only able to ride it because we got a FP when we had to be evacuated off of People Mover.
We fit in Pooh and Tomorrow Land Speedway somewhere in there too. It basically took us 2 days and 3 nights during the fireworks to fit in all the MK rides that we could normally do during one day with early hours and FP at MK. 
We also stayed at a monorail resort so hopping over to MK at night was very easy for us.


----------



## LSUmiss

mom2rtk said:


> Don't disagree with that. But the fact that they are doing it now for the first time seems to me like it's a social distancing measure.
> 
> It's similar to how I feel about the fact that at Topolino Mickey wouldn't come closer than 6 feet from our table a few weeks ago. Yet somehow a typical number squished together in the stretching room was fine.


Yes! At tusker house, they acted like monsters inc with the kids coming near the characters & right after, at fotlk show, asked us to basically sit on strangers’ laps to fill in all available space to cram more ppl in the building. It’s getting obnoxious. Either we are still doing covid or not. Pick one.


----------



## dmband

Some info/thoughts based on my experience and things I see talked about.

9 full days

Gold Mobility rental was easy, on time and worked well.

DME was right there for pick up (10pm) loaded fast and got us to the resort in 30 mins.
DME return was late, slowwwww to load but got us to MCO in about 30 mins from departing
The bag pick up/resort check is really want made this a plus. Def a downside now that’s it’s not available.

Check in was fast as it was so late, room of course was ready.

Was told maid service would be every other day and it wasn’t. Got towels on day 3 and full cleaning on day 5. Personally didn’t care much because I typically don’t like maid service coming in. With towel carts in the hall, it was fine for me.

Speaking of halls, lots of “stuff” everywhere. From trash, left over food, even a stroller that appeared on day 2 and was still there on day 9.

Lots of rain, which I get can’t be controlled but we ended up buying 2 umbrellas and 7 ponchos.
The ponchos were $12/10 and held up well. I thought they were a nice thickness compared to others/past trips. Some are so thin they rip easy and others so thick you can’t fold them well to reuse.
The umbrellas on the other hand, complete junk! Both broke- one in day 2 and the other day 4. $17


Skyliner was great when it was working.
Never had to wait more than a couple minutes with the exception of leaving Epcot after the fireworks.
That time, the line was wayyyyy into Beach Club. We ended up Ubering after the line not moving much at all. Well worth it IMO.


Buses were good overall but the “charter buses” need to go for two reasons.

boarding/inboard ing is a disaster because people are rude and there is only one door with a narrow walkway.
Wheelchairs/scooters can’t use them.
It is ridiculous IMO that there will be a line of wheelchairs/scooters and 5 buses all come that can’t take the guests. 


Security (metal detectors) checkpoints = I am not going into the loophole issues experienced but they are there and easy to bypass should want to.
That said, there was an incident were a “strange man” was hanging out in the bathroom making remarks to others and blowing kisses at minors.
He was reported, tracked down and removed.

Ride lines were typical 60 -90 mins for headliners.
In most cases, it was approx 10/15 mins shorter but in all cases the line was almost always moving so it didn’t seem anywhere near as long vs stop and go/stand still lines.
RoTR process I have mixed feelings about. At any rate we tried 4 times and were successful 3.
7am WiFi success
7am LTE declined
1pm WiFi success 
1pm LTE success 
Ride was pretty awesome but broke down wayyyyyy to much and made the rest of the day difficult.
For example, our 7am success said est return time 10:30. That kept getting bumped back till 2:30. Then it broke down again and we were told to return anytime before 8pm.
When returning around 5pm we were told out time had past. I explained it was broke down and we were told to return anytime it was running, after a few minutes we were scanned in.
The original plan was to be park hopped and eat dinner so that didn’t happen.
On the second ride, third attempt it broke down with us on the final exit part for a couple minutes.
On the third ride, fourth try the ride broke down with us in the line/loading area for over 1.5 hrs. We were given a FP.
All in all it’s a great ride but not sure it is worth the hassle.

I said I would never wait for a ride like FoP for hrs but I did lol.
Still the best ride I have ever experienced and glad I did.

Didn’t miss FP+ at all however the original FP might have been nice.

Crowds were not as big as past holiday weekend ones though.

Single rider line for Smugglers Run was no more than 12 mins while standby was 60-80 mins.
At times it was walk up and no line, get right on.
For RnRC it was longgggg and questionable if you saved time. Everest was in between.

Mobile ordering was hit or miss.
IF you didn’t need allergy or some sort of special order it was pretty good but if you did, forget it and plan to stand in line for wayyy longer than you should need to.
Taking out the speed aspect, we were about 50/50 on the orders being correct so double check before walking away.
I also found there wasn’t a lot of consistency with food, rather that be a burger here vs there or even from the same place. The allergy chicken nuggets/stripes were the worst. Completely different from place to place and at times the same place. Frustrating when you find a place you liked to then order again and they give you something totally different .
I also found the portion size wasn’t consistent often.
We learned from experience and a CM confirmed that ordering “double” fries in a kids meal doesn’t get you anything extra and so you should just take the second side option anyway.

Most pressed penny/medallion machines were broke at least for credit cards.
The pirate medallion machine originally was $5/each 4 for $15 - Broke
Couple days later was $3/each 4 for $13 (yes 4 for $13) and still broke
Next was day back to 5/15

Masks are basically non existent even for those who you know are not vaccinated due to age.
The funny part to me is how the Skyliner (in particular when it’s just your family) and Bus driver are all over wear a mask yet in lines and firework crowds you are packed far tighter.

Garden Grocery was right on time but expensive.
Bell Services delivered it fast and free, tipped her of course.
Insta cart was right on time for a second order of stuff last minute and was far cheaper. I prob would have done Instacart from the start of my last trip wasn’t a disaster with them.
That’s the one plus with GG, never have had any issues.

2pm hopping is perfect IMO
Wish HS would be open later though 

Magic Bands picked up other party’s ride photos and not ours a number of times.
We didn’t buy the Photopass this trip so don’t care much if if you do, check the app to see if you are actually getting yours.

I am sure there is more good and bad I am drawing a blank on now but
All in all, great time but the ever increasing costs and also issues/decrease of services makes it hard to justify a trip.
At least an on site trip


----------



## preemiemama

kc51570 said:


> Walking through the area-tomorrow land speedway was very crowded, Space had a huge line, people mover and Astro orbiter also had lines. I think we maybe got on Buzz again but for the most part the fireworks advantage seemed to disappear that night.
> Splash had a long wait every one of these days/nights and was down a lot. We were only able to ride it because we got a FP when we had to be evacuated off of People Mover.
> We fit in Pooh and Tomorrow Land Speedway somewhere in there too. *It basically took us 2 days and 3 nights during the fireworks to fit in all the MK rides that we could normally do during one day* with early hours and FP at MK.


This. It is taking much longer to do things we have normally done in shorter periods of time. For a variety of reasons!


----------



## dreamit

DisneyFive said:


> Regarding Epcot.
> 
> From what I have inferred, it sounds like international gateway entry guests are at a bit of a disadvantage for test track due to the proximity of where they queue Vs front entry guests.  Would it be better to hit Soarin or frozen first if you want to beat the front entry lines?
> 
> Dan


Yes—for beating the front entry crowds and also because Test Track is often down at park open and you then lose valuable touring time.


----------



## deltadisney

Kafertal said:


> Has anyone ridden rides during fireworks since they've retuned to MK & EP?  We're not a firework family so this strategy has worked for us in the past.



Yes - 4 days ago we opted for this strategy for the same reasons.  Ride times dropped some for the Adventureland and Frontierland rides but not much at all for Space, MT, and PP. I was surprised because Main Street was packed, but it seems a lot of older kids and families with older kids were doing this exact thing. I was disappointed because I just new this would get us a few extra rides in. I hope your experience is better.


----------



## preemiemama

Today’s DHS rope drop report:
Again arrived on first bus from AKL at 8. Entered park and queued by Indy for MFSR. Walked from there to the land and into the regular queue. Off ride by 9:10. Posted 60 minute wait as we exited. Now waiting on our Oga’s reservation at 9:40. Main objectives here today are shopping and pictures in GE.


----------



## epcotobsessed

I had read that MK buses were starting 90min before opening but BC didn’t get our first MK bus until 70min before opening. Pulled up at 8:05, tap-in started about 8:20, held until exactly 9, walked slowly and held again, twice, for Splash. Wait quickly built to 75 minutes. Waits for everything are the longest I’ve ever seen at 10am, save maybe SDMT, which is always 90ish this time of day.


----------



## becauseimnew

epcotobsessed said:


> I had read that MK buses were starting 90min before opening but BC didn’t get our first MK bus until 70min before opening. Pulled up at 8:05, tap-in started about 8:20, held until exactly 9, walked slowly and held again, twice, for Splash. Wait quickly built to 75 minutes. Waits for everything are the longest I’ve ever seen at 10am, save maybe SDMT, which is always 90ish this time of day.


This is just sad. Maybe we'll just sleep in. We used to be able to do at least 4 rides in the first 2 hours of park opening, now it sounds like we'll be lucky to do 3, if  we are at the front of the lines.


----------



## epcotobsessed

becauseimnew said:


> This is just sad. Maybe we'll just sleep in. We used to be able to do at least 4 rides in the first 2 hours of park opening, now it sounds like we'll be lucky to do 3, if  we are at the front of the lines.


We did Splash and Pirates before 10. Heading to Philharmagic. We were lucky to get 2 in, and yes, we usually do at least 4-5 in the first hour. Sad.


----------



## DisneyFive

epcotobsessed said:


> We did Splash and Pirates before 10. Heading to Philharmagic. We were lucky to get 2 in, and yes, we usually do at least 4-5 in the first hour. Sad.


Wow, so you got up early and arrived to the parks 40 minutes before open and still only got two attractions in before 10 AM? Especially at MK with so many attractions I would hope for more.

Definitely preparing ourselves for trip.  10 days…

Bring back FP+!

Dan


----------



## MomOTwins

epcotobsessed said:


> I had read that MK buses were starting 90min before opening but BC didn’t get our first MK bus until 70min before opening. Pulled up at 8:05, tap-in started about 8:20, held until exactly 9, walked slowly and held again, twice, for Splash. Wait quickly built to 75 minutes. Waits for everything are the longest I’ve ever seen at 10am, save maybe SDMT, which is always 90ish this time of day.


Just FYI, no buses have been running 90 mins early.  The 90 minute number is the recommended time to start waiting in line at the resort bus stop to get on the first bus, which often fills up.

I am sad to hear your report as it is consistent with too many rope drop reports lately.  While fast pass spread out crowds throughout the day as people would book midday passes and sleep in or have a late TS breakfast, now it seems everybody is rope dropping all at once.


----------



## cakebaker

Just curious...is this an accurate depiction of conditions in the parks? Because if so.....wow.


----------



## epcotobsessed

DisneyFive said:


> Wow, so you got up early and arrived to the parks 40 minutes before open and still only got two attractions in before 10 AM? Especially at MK with so many attractions I would hope for more.
> 
> Definitely preparing ourselves for trip.  10 days…
> 
> Bring back FP+!
> 
> Dan


Arrived 55 minutes early, in the park 40 minutes early, on the first ride, Splash, at about 9:10 (many stops while getting on), have ridden Splash, Pirates, and It’s A Small World. Took a 15 minute food break, now in line for Pooh and it’s 11:40. I don’t think we’ll be on before noon, so if you subtract our food break that would be four rides in three hours with rope dropping, and we didn’t even try fir Mine Train, Space, etc. We might have only gotten two in if we had done that. It’s pretty awful, I will not come back until FP AND EMH are back (and I know that might mean I’ll never come back!)


----------



## kc51570

epcotobsessed said:


> We did Splash and Pirates before 10. Heading to Philharmagic. We were lucky to get 2 in, and yes, we usually do at least 4-5 in the first hour. Sad.


Yes, exactly our experience. And if something was down, we did 1 attraction. Splash was down twice very close to opening last week so couldn’t rope drop it.


----------



## epcotobsessed

cakebaker said:


> Just curious...is this an accurate depiction of conditions in the parks? Because if so.....wow.


Yes, and trash throughout the halls of Beach Club. It’s so gross.


----------



## epcotobsessed

queue stopped so I’ll elaborate - I have see. CMs hustling to pick up trash but it’s clear there are not nearly enough of them. They can only do so much with the staff they have.


----------



## preemiemama

I am not seeing that level of trash in GE but yes I’ll echo everyone else with you must rope drop to do 2-3 rides with minimal waits. After that it’s crazy.


----------



## epcotobsessed

^seen (always make typos on my phone, sorry)


----------



## cakebaker

epcotobsessed said:


> queue stopped so I’ll elaborate - I have see. CMs hustling to pick up trash but it’s clear there are not nearly enough of them. They can only do so much with the staff they have.



Or they could quit ramping up for capacities they clearly can't handle.


----------



## epcotobsessed

cakebaker said:


> Or they could quit ramping up for capacities they clearly can't handle.


Totally agree, just wanted to be clear that I don’t blame the CMs. They have all been great, but Disney isn’t doing what it needs to do to handle the crowds they are bringing in.


----------



## cakebaker

epcotobsessed said:


> Totally agree, just wanted to be clear that I don’t blame the CMs. They have all been great, but Disney isn’t doing what it needs to do to handle the crowds they are bringing in.


 I absolutely don't blame them.


----------



## Nirek

epcotobsessed said:


> I had read that MK buses were starting 90min before opening but BC didn’t get our first MK bus until 70min before opening. Pulled up at 8:05, tap-in started about 8:20, held until exactly 9, walked slowly and held again, twice, for Splash. Wait quickly built to 75 minutes. Waits for everything are the longest I’ve ever seen at 10am, save maybe SDMT, which is always 90ish this time of day.


Been trying to figure out beach club bussing - I arrive Saturday. Is BC sharing morning busses with YC? Or is it easy to get that first bus if you post up 90 minutes before open?

Sorry to hear things are rough… looking for some input so I can maximize!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Random but does anyone know when certain EPCOT restaurants close? my ADR date is approaching and we are hearing reports of Via Napoli closing at 7 but Le Cellier being open through park close? Any info will be greatly appreciated!

Also please don't forget to stay hydrated! It is getting hot and humid everywhere and hydration is key! Stay safe and have fun fellow disboard humans!


----------



## brockash

LSUmiss said:


> Yep. I was one of those. I like not having to have so much scheduled. We went in May & lines were still manageable but just got back again this week & they no longer are. *Guess they’re setting us up to be happy to pay for FP. *



Yep...they really are, from a business standpoint, geniuses in taking away stuff that used to be complimentary, just to turn around and dress it up. call it something new and have us in the mindset that oh we're just so grateful to have the opportunity to pay for it.  It's pretty sad and pathetic from the customer view, but they've been insanely successful with it


----------



## honeymo78

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Random but does anyone know when certain EPCOT restaurants close? my ADR date is approaching and we are hearing reports of Via Napoli closing at 7 but Le Cellier being open through park close? Any info will be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Also please don't forget to stay hydrated! It is getting hot and humid everywhere and hydration is key! Stay safe and have fun fellow disboard humans!


As of 2 weeks ago, Via Napoli was definitely closing at 7 due to staffing issues, per a friend who works at another Epcot dining location.  This may be partly due to the fact that it isn't fully a Disney restaurant and possibly can't pull from the full Disney pool of servers.


----------



## DisneyFive

MomOTwins said:


> While fast pass spread out crowds throughout the day as people would book midday passes and sleep in or have a late TS breakfast, now it seems everybody is rope dropping all at once.


Exactly, FP helped out the rope drop situation significantly because many guests already had headliners booked for later.  There was not the innate need to be there right at rope drop let alone 40 minutes before  park open so that they could get on the headliners. Shoot, many of them slept in and weren’t even at rope drop .  Now, the word is out that without FP you need to be at the park extremely early if you want to get your one or two precious headliners completed. just sucks right now. 

Dan


----------



## kc51570

cakebaker said:


> Just curious...is this an accurate depiction of conditions in the parks? Because if so.....wow.


I did not see that. I did see a woman hustling and weaving through the 45 minute line at Kali River Rapids carrying heavy trash bags multiple times. We stayed DVC and they were pretty good at taking our trash and recycling every day. I did not notice any accumulating in those hallways.


----------



## serenitygr

Makes me so sad to see how the majority of reports are getting more and more negative- from lines to breakdowns to trash to crowds…. The optimistic side of me wants to believe it’s because people with negative experiences are more likely to report them, but the longer it goes on the more I’m starting to doubt that 
What has happened to the Disney we all love so much? Will it ever be better where we have more positive reports instead of so many negative?


----------



## PrincessV

I didn't see anything as bad as the picture in here of overflowing trash cans while I was there 7/1-7, but I definitely saw that things were understaffed. Several restrooms were in pretty bad shape, and a fair amount of trash - paper cups, napkins, maps, food wrappers, etc. - was laying about in parks, not being picked up quickly. IMO, WDW is nowhere near properly staffed for the increased capacity it's allowing in.


----------



## 100AcreWood

PrincessV said:


> I didn't see anything as bad as the picture in here of overflowing trash cans while I was there 7/1-7, but I definitely saw that things were understaffed. Several restrooms were in pretty bad shape, and a fair amount of trash - paper cups, napkins, maps, food wrappers, etc. - was laying about in parks, not being picked up quickly. IMO, WDW is nowhere near properly staffed for the increased capacity it's allowing in.



That's concerning.  It's good to know as we head into our first post-pandemic trip.


----------



## Sarahslay

Goldilocks07 said:


> just my 2 socioeconomic opinion cents: the more complicated the ride, the more risk of breaking down.  Anything mechanical can obviously break, but the more technicalities, the more that can go wrong, and the harder to fix.  Can't have the good without the bad.
> 
> On another note, thank you for all your posts!  I'm so excited for my upcoming trip and reading these really helps!


I'm sorry I'm just now seeing this, it's been a rough week! You're very welcome! I try to put my way too many trips to use somehow lol. I do hope you hope you guys have an awesome trip too!

I think, since last August, I've gotten stuck on almost every ride at WDW aside from RnR at least once. I even got stuck on the speedway when the engine gave out on our car.....twice! Didn't run out of gas, it just kept shutting down, and the second time the engine just gave out (in the rain no less). Just kinda nuts, but I just roll with it, it can get frustrating at times but it's not like there aren't other rides to go do if one is broken down. I do make sure I don't hop in line when I think I might have to go to the bathroom though, made the mistake before going on carousel of progress on this last trip. Had to watch each scene 2-3 times in a row, took forever, that was a rough go.


----------



## MomOTwins

DisneyFive said:


> Exactly, FP helped out the rope drop situation significantly because many guests already had headliners booked for later.  There was not the innate need to be there right at rope drop let alone 40 minutes before  park open so that they could get on the headliners. Shoot, many of them slept in and weren’t even at rope drop .  Now, the word is out that without FP you need to be at the park extremely early if you want to get your one or two precious headliners completed. just sucks right now.
> 
> Dan


The cynic in me suspects they are just conditioning us to be grateful when paid fastpass rolls out.

Can I just say, I'm floored to realize that it's been a full year, over 600 pages, and this thread is still an incredibly valuable source of information of what is happening on the ground at WDW.  I have read literally every post since it began and I learn something new almost every ay.  Hope this sticks around even after Covid--would be so useful when trying to figure out a good time of year to visit; be aware of unannounced changes.


----------



## Fantasmic303

I second what MomOTwins said - really appreciate the detailed and honest reviews and the real-time updates from everyone contributing. So much changes day by day, and it's really helpful to have eyes (and ears!) in the World to prepare for what to expect!


----------



## rockabyemonkey

I am wondering what the lines are like at Blizzard Beach - we have PH+ tickets and may end up spending more time at BB if it means we can escape the crowds.  Any recent experience  with BB?


----------



## Mango7100

PrincessV said:


> I didn't see anything as bad as the picture in here of overflowing trash cans while I was there 7/1-7, but I definitely saw that things were understaffed. Several restrooms were in pretty bad shape, and a fair amount of trash - paper cups, napkins, maps, food wrappers, etc. - was laying about in parks, not being picked up quickly. IMO, WDW is nowhere near properly staffed for the increased capacity it's allowing in.


Agree. We were there 6/30-7/8 but only did 3 park days. The bathrooms did need some love and lots of tables had trays and trash from eating. Our resort had no issues though, just the parks


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Random but does anyone know when certain EPCOT restaurants close? my ADR date is approaching and we are hearing reports of Via Napoli closing at 7 but Le Cellier being open through park close? Any info will be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Also please don't forget to stay hydrated! It is getting hot and humid everywhere and hydration is key! Stay safe and have fun fellow disboard humans!



Though I can't answer your question about other restaurants, I will share that I ate at Via Napoli in May - we had a 6:45 reservation, seated around 6:50, and then we were told the kitchen was closing at 7 PM. While we ordered right away, it wasn't a great experience as the CM's were cleaning up and closing down even before we got our food.


----------



## Belle1962

Are there any positives about the parks now?


----------



## GBRforWDW

Belle1962 said:


> Are there any positives about the parks now?


You get to be at Disney World!   Lol sorry.  I think every experience is what you make of it.  Go with low expectations and if you do more, then great!  

either take a list of top ride for each person or top 3 rides for your family and tackle them first regardless of anything else. Anything you do after will be a bonus.


----------



## brockash

cakebaker said:


> Just curious...is this an accurate depiction of conditions in the parks? Because if so.....wow.


That is unreal...for **** sake Disney, get your crap together.  They are destroying everything that makes Disney, Disney.  I seriously contemplate if my youngest will ever remember Disney as I don't see how we could continue to justify spending the kind of money it takes for Disney vacation if it's like this.  It's so sad.


----------



## DisneyFive

Belle1962 said:


> Are there any positives about the parks now?


Here’s my partial list. We did not know what to expect for our trip coming up in 10 days but these are all things we are happy about.

Masks only required on transportation! (we’re all fully vax’d)
Nighttime shows at MK and EP!
Epcot Monorail opening on the 18th!
Stores are more open
No more plexiglass dividers on rides
Queues aren’t stretching out as far into the uncovered, potentially sunny/rainy, areas (I think)
More people fitting on each bus
Our go to TS and QS locations are all open ( with exception of Nine Dragons for lunch)


----------



## epcotobsessed

Belle1962 said:


> Are there any positives about the parks now?





DisneyFive said:


> Here’s my partial list. We did not know what to expect for our trip coming up in 10 days but these are all things we are happy about.
> 
> Masks only required on transportation! (we’re all fully vax’d)
> Nighttime shows at MK and EP!
> Epcot Monorail opening on the 18th!
> Stores are more open
> No more plexiglass dividers on rides
> Queues aren’t stretching out as far into the uncovered, potentially sunny/rainy, areas (I think)
> More people fitting on each bus
> Our go to TS and QS locations are all open ( with exception of Nine Dragons for lunch)



I will note that at MK today, most queues were in the sun for a good portion. We actually left when we saw that both Space and Peoplemover looked to be at least 20-30min in the sun. I agree that everything is what you make of it and we are still having fun. I will add that in about 15 visits to the parks, we have never seen lines anywhere close to this long, and they are staying long all day. Doing a fraction of what you’re used to in a day, in terms of rides, is disheartening.


----------



## kc51570

Belle1962 said:


> Are there any positives about the parks now?


Quote from my teenager at the end of our trip-“This is probably the worst Disney trip we’ve ever had, but it still wasn‘t a bad trip”. 

So I will try to pick out the good-We eventually got to get on all the rides we wanted once-it just took the entire trip and lots of rope dropping and park hopping late.
I think they definitely held back park passes on MK for the 4th. Long lines, but park felt very quiet walking around during the day. They didn’t hold back park hopping for the 4th fireworks there, but we skipped those and had good luck in Adventure and Frontier Lands.
The table service meals we had were very good and service was very, very good there. They weren’t fully booking table service restaurants (except maybe LTT on the 4th)—lots of empty tables so staff was not overwhelmed.


----------



## csmommy

A bad day at Disney is still better than a good day at the office....................................!


----------



## The Iron Giant

I’ve been on these boards on and off for the last 20 years or so.  The posts that say Disney is ruining the magic make me smile.  If you search threads from 10 or 15 years ago you’ll see the same concerns and complaints about Disney choosing profit over guest experience.  This is certainly a challenging time during the post pandemic transition.  I agree with the previous poster who suggested having low expectations due to the circumstances.  Or just postpone your trip a few months.  I appreciate all the info people are sharing. It’s been really helpful in planning our trip next month.


----------



## Princess Katelet

csmommy said:


> A bad day at Disney is still better than a good day at the office....................................!


Disagree…not at these prices. I know I can’t afford to waste money and vacation days like that. If I could, then I might agree it’s better than a good day at the office. But for many people it’s been a waste of precious vacation days and hard earned money, neither of which they can get back.


----------



## Belle1962

Thanks for all the upbeat thoughts. I knew they were out there and just wanted to see them bought out.


----------



## MGD2007

It seems like most of the pain lately is in MK, is that accurate?  Are the other parks as challenging?


----------



## kc51570

MGD2007 said:


> It seems like most of the pain lately is in MK, is that accurate?  Are the other parks as challenging?


I’d say MK is the easiest since it has so many rides. HS and AK are very tough right now. Epcot is a mess with all the walls and Test Track is unreliable. We had 0 problems getting on Soarin though.


----------



## disneymom0104

We leave in about 2 weeks and I’m nervous. Most of the summer I told myself- we can manage- we’ve done this many times. But as I see the queues incredibly long every single day, all day- it is disheartening. We haven’t been to WDW in 5 years. We can’t postpone due to busy, college kids. I also have younger kids that don't remember WDW at all. We are spending more money than we ever have. I know people get it. But we are not people that will be back in a couple months, or even years maybe, that can be "grateful" that FP is back because we were forced into such a miserable experience now. It's expensive. We chose WDW because we hadn't been there in so long and my kids wanted to go back. I am nervous and sad about what we likely have ahead of us, instead of my usual over the top excitement. I am not a Disney basher, I have always been one to give them the benefit of the doubt and believed that they truly wanted people to have a positive experience. I do not understand the constant increase in capacity. I knew there was a tipping point with the lack of FP, lack of shows/entertainment/character meets, lack of dining availability and most of the summer have felt confident we could manage. That tipping point of capacity vs. park offerings and wait times has now surpassed my idea of manageable. We'll do our best. I hope it's fun. It's a lot of money to spend to be miserable. It's a lot of money to spend to have to change expectations. And while a bad day at Disney is better than most other places, enough bad days in a row (we have 10) and I'm not sure how excited any of us will be to go back. And that also makes me sad! I hope I'm wrong!


----------



## ThistleMae

Belle1962 said:


> Are there any positives about the parks now?


We are going in December and hoping for some kind of FP system, but if not, we will spend more time visiting other resorts for food and sight seeing such as Gingerbread Houses and Christmas Decorations.  We'll try and explore things we've previously ignored, like Tom Sawyer Island, never been.  We may people watch more.  Definitely looking forward to the fireworks specials at night.  I never wait in long lines, just can't stand up that long, so this trip may be entirely different than all other times, but I still feel like there will be enough to do to make the trip magical.  I just love Disney and the feeling I get walking through the parks.


----------



## Carol_

Thinking back to a visit before the pandemic, when there were crowds so thick that CMs regularly were stationed in the middle of the walkways to encourage us to walk on the right… Elbow to elbow in the Florida heat outdoors… Clutching my kid’s hand tightly so I wouldn’t lose him in the mass of sweaty humanity…
I won’t miss that.
Now that the CMs are overall pleasant again, and there’s oxygen between us most of the time, I’m thrilled to come back.


----------



## epcotobsessed

MGD2007 said:


> It seems like most of the pain lately is in MK, is that accurate?  Are the other parks as challenging?


MK has been rough today. Epcot waits went down by this point in the day yesterday, MK has held steady all day.


----------



## cdurham1

We are going in a little more than a week.  We had tickets during the pandemic that were extended thru September of this year.  I wonder how many people are in a similar situation and figure they might as well go now before school starts back and their tickets lose some of their value.  I wonder how much of that can be contributing to the crowds.


----------



## deltadisney

Belle1962 said:


> Are there any positives about the parks now?



Yes, but expectations have to be realistic and factor in everything going on right now.  We just returned from a 5 day trip, and yes, there were some negatives, but there were so many overriding positives, that is was worth every penny and as a family, it was definitely a vacation we will not forget and will always be thankful for.  

Just some of my two cents:  

We have been to Disney multiple times.  With all going on right now - no shows, characters, or parades, the focus seems to be strictly on the rides at most all of the parks (other than Epcot).  For all of us that have been multiple times and/or researched when and what FPs to get, using EMH to our advantage, and when/what order to ride rides to maximize time, this is all out of the window right now and everyone is on even-footing.  I think a lot of people are upset because they are using their gauge of success based upon the number and amount of rides they were able to ride pre-pandemic and when FPs and EMH were available and are unaccustomed to waiting in longer lines and see this as a failure or let-down compared to past vacations.  We figured this out very quickly the first day at the park  and realized that we had to pivot and pick a few of the headliners that we as a family wanted to ride and concentrate on riding those rides, waiting if need be.  Two years ago, I never would have waited over 45 minutes to ride a ride - we would have showed up at EMH rope drop and knocked out tons of headliners by 11:00 and had a few FPs in our pocket for later in the day when we came back to the park and been very happy.  This trip, I found myself lucky to knock out 2 to 3 headliners by lunchtime, and we found ourselves waiting in longer lines on multiple occasions. By no means do I say all of this to let Disney off of the hook on pricing and the lack of FPs or EMH - I do see this as a slap in the face and something I hope Disney reevaluates and does not let this become the new Disney normal.  However, this is the reality of how things presently are and expectations need to be realistic and tempered in light of this.  

I also think a lot of people don't really factor in the heat, especially this time of year like they should.  It is scorching hot right now, and it is all fine and dandy to go in with a plan of doing XYZ while sitting in the comfort of the AC making those plans and it is something else once that sun really starts to set in around 10:00 am.  We always took breaks and got out of the parks by lunch (even when we go in December).  To each their own, but I think it is asking for misery to continue to push without taking a break, especially without a lot of the indoor shows and most of the ride lines now spilling out of the indoor ques in to the sun.  

Walking around the resort, we overheard multiple people and families complaining.  I certainly get it, and I can complain about some things as well, but I always wondered when I overheard others complaining: what were their expectations and were they even realistic with all that is going on right now?  Sorry for the long-winded post - just some thoughts and observations.


----------



## tigger2002

csmommy said:


> A bad day at Disney is still better than a good day at the office....................................!


That's a pretty low bar.


----------



## tigger2002

GBRforWDW said:


> take a list of top ride for each person or top 3 rides for your family and tackle them first regardless of anything else. Anything you do after will be a bonus.


Three rides for $5,000........magical.


----------



## cdurham1

deltadisney said:


> Yes, but expectations have to be realistic and factor in everything going on right now.  We just returned from a 5 day trip, and yes, there were some negatives, but there were so many overriding positives, that is was worth every penny and as a family, it was definitely a vacation we will not forget and will always be thankful for.
> 
> Just some of my two cents:
> 
> We have been to Disney multiple times.  With all going on right now - no shows, characters, or parades, the focus seems to be strictly on the rides at most all of the parks (other than Epcot).  For all of us that have been multiple times and/or researched when and what FPs to get, using EMH to our advantage, and when/what order to ride rides to maximize time, this is all out of the window right now and everyone is on even-footing.  I think a lot of people are upset because they are using their gauge of success based upon the number and amount of rides they were able to ride pre-pandemic and when FPs and EMH were available and are unaccustomed to waiting in longer lines and see this as a failure or let-down compared to past vacations.  We figured this out very quickly the first day at the park  and realized that we had to pivot and pick a few of the headliners that we as a family wanted to ride and concentrate on riding those rides, waiting if need be.  Two years ago, I never would have waited over 45 minutes to ride a ride - we would have showed up at EMH rope drop and knocked out tons of headliners by 11:00 and had a few FPs in our pocket for later in the day when we came back to the park and been very happy.  This trip, I found myself lucky to knock out 2 to 3 headliners by lunchtime, and we found ourselves waiting in longer lines on multiple occasions. By no means do I say all of this to let Disney off of the hook on pricing and the lack of FPs or EMH - I do see this as a slap in the face and something I hope Disney reevaluates and does not let this become the new Disney normal.  However, this is the reality of how things presently are and expectations need to be realistic and tempered in light of this.
> 
> I also think a lot of people don't really factor in the heat, especially this time of year like they should.  It is scorching hot right now, and it is all fine and dandy to go in with a plan of doing XYZ while sitting in the comfort of the AC making those plans and it is something else once that sun really starts to set in around 10:00 am.  We always took breaks and got out of the parks by lunch (even when we go in December).  To each their own, but I think it is asking for misery to continue to push without taking a break, especially without a lot of the indoor shows and most of the ride lines now spilling out of the indoor ques in to the sun.
> 
> Walking around the resort, we overheard multiple people and families complaining.  I certainly get it, and I can complain about some things as well, but I always wondered when I overheard others complaining: what were their expectations and were they even realistic with all that is going on right now?  Sorry for the long-winded post - just some thoughts and observations.


That's all fine, but I don't want to stand in line for an hour average for each attraction when I had fastpasses and a terrific experience 2 years ago.


----------



## DisneyFive

Jadyreen1282 said:


> Orange county mayor just last couple of days is recommending masks indoors again. So I guess just wait for Disney to take the lead and require them everywhere again.


I heard that. I would be surprised if they could reverse course very quickly. My guess is that ship has sailed but I guess who knows?


----------



## Jadyreen1282

DisneyFive said:


> I heard that. I would be surprised if they could reverse course very quickly. My guess is that ship has sailed but I guess who knows?



I canceled GF with a pin code discount due to masking. I will cancel my BWI in 6 weeks and take the deposit hit if they require them again.


----------



## 999wdw

Agree. For ~5k I expect more than 3 rides per day and nothing but long lines for food, rides,etc., this is not vacation.  When I booked this trip, Disney had limited capacity. A few weeks before our trip they increased capacity, a few days before our trip, capacity was increased again and during our trip capacity was increased. That’s just greed. Without increased park hours, increased staffing and increased entertainment to help with crowds, Disney knew it woukd be a mess for guests. Why increase capacity knowing this. I get it, they’re a business and making money is the priority but if I knew that capacity would’ve been increased like this, I would’ve selected a different destination for better value and a much better experience. My teens have no desire to return after this trip and neither do I.


----------



## deltadisney

cdurham1 said:


> That's all fine, but I don't want to stand in line for an hour average for each attraction when I had fastpasses and a terrific experience 2 years ago.



I do not disagree with you in the least bit and hope those days are about to be back.


----------



## lelew

We are here now second trip since last August We did Universal and Disney. We found it best to sleep in and hit the parks later in the evening. The lines are bad mainly MK and HS. If your coming now just plan to relax and soak in the atmosphere I don't recommend trying to do everything There are a lot of stressed families here trying to squeeze in every little thing. We wont be back until all shows and fastpass are back not worth it when this crowded with no shows and fastpass.


----------



## bean

DisneyFive said:


> I heard that. I would be surprised if they could reverse course very quickly. My guess is that ship has sailed but I guess who knows?


I live in SC and one of my friends is a contact tracer here. She’s had a lot of positives lately after travel to WDW. And a good amount of positive vaccinated people (many asymptomatic). I’m curious how this plays out.
I’m so sad after our trip last week. I’m one of the most Disney loving, singing its praises to people, trips every year for the last 18 years, people that you could meet. It has been a consistent happy place for my three kids. I had absolutely no tricks up my sleeve during this trip. Waits were in the blazing sun, lines were long everywhere, I encountered grumpy CMs, rides were down MUCH more than usual, and I saw a big lack of cleanliness. Positives were: 1. Getting in the park was so much easier without bag check 2. We loved RoR 3. The vegetarian options at QS places were really good 4. The boat captain CMs were always very nice


----------



## GBRforWDW

tigger2002 said:


> Three rides for $5,000........magical.


That's obviously per park per day.  You know what it's like based on people there now, so you either deal with the reality and plan ahead now or complain when you get there.  Or cancel.  It was merely a suggestion for starting your day out easy with a win by riding your top rides right away and everything you do on top is a bonus to count as a win.  Sorry it didn't come off that way.


----------



## serenitygr

It seems that consistently the people who are saying “it is what it is, and we need to go in with realistic expectations” are the ones who can make frequent trips. It’s much easier to be patient and have lower expectations if you know you’ll get many other chances to experience Disney. 
I really feel bad for the families who have saved and planned fora couple of years for their Disney vacations right now and have to deal with things the way they are. And while people are quick to say “then they shouldn’t plan to go right now”- it’s simply not that easy to cancel a vacation  you’ve been planning that long. They’ve taken their work vacations ( which often times can’t be rescheduled), they don’t want to break their kids hearts by canceling, they possibly have airline tickets that they can’t  just cancel without paying a penalty, and so many other reasons. Those are the people I feel so bad for


----------



## scrappinginontario

I'm thankful to have these boards and make a decision for our family based on what we've heard is happening.  Nobody is forcing me to go now and spend my money at Disney.  I have other travel options available from a trip to a local city or elsewhere in the country but for us I'm choosing to spend it at Disney, knowing what to expect.

Many other vacation destinations lock your money into travel the moment you book.  Disney doesn't do that so changing dates, postponing, choosing elsewhere are options until the last moment.


----------



## WEDWDW

Belle1962 said:


> Are there any positives about the parks now?


The biggest positive IMO since the reopen is the return of the Disney College Program last month.

There are several thousand already at WDW with thousands more on the way and their impact is already apparent.

Over THREE HUNDRED are working the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival alone.

We are seeing them more and more-we dined at Regal Eagle the other day and it was being almost completely run by CPs.

Eventually they will be fanning out to just about every role at WDW and making a tremendous difference in the staffing shortage.

Everybody,when you run into the CPs give them an encouraging word-they are in an unprecedented position for a CP in that they are going to be an integral part of bringing WDW all the way back from a historical shutdown.

I am sure that reality brings with it some "pressure" and "weight" to the CPs so a kind word to them would be nice.


----------



## dmband

At 


cakebaker said:


> Just curious...is this an accurate depiction of conditions in the parks? Because if so.....wow.


least those people made an effort.
I have pics of the trash people just left on tables, even when a Trash can (not overflowing) was five feet away


----------



## cakebaker

dmband said:


> At
> 
> least those people made an effort.
> I have pics of the trash people just left on tables, even when a Trash can (not overflowing) was five feet away



My disgust isn’t from people being messy, it’s that Disney thinks it’s acceptable to let trash pile up like this. People not cleaning up their tables has always happened.Disney doing this has not.


----------



## famy27

Jewel3k said:


> Today I was seated next to strangers on Rise of Resistance, Mission Space and no more skipping a seat in Soarin’ between parties.  We did not get a lot done due to rain.  Asked Test Track if you could design cars yet and was told no.



You can design cars at TT. We just did it on Sunday


----------



## epcotobsessed

999wdw said:


> Agree. For ~5k I expect more than 3 rides per day and nothing but long lines for food, rides,etc., this is not vacation.  When I booked this trip, Disney had limited capacity. A few weeks before our trip they increased capacity, a few days before our trip, capacity was increased again and during our trip capacity was increased. That’s just greed. Without increased park hours, increased staffing and increased entertainment to help with crowds, Disney knew it woukd be a mess for guests. Why increase capacity knowing this. I get it, they’re a business and making money is the priority but if I knew that capacity would’ve been increased like this, I would’ve selected a different destination for better value and a much better experience. My teens have no desire to return after this trip and neither do I.



Same with my teens, who have been coming since they were babies and used to look forward to coming here all year. I really disagree with the people who say “10-15 years ago, people were making the same complaints” - we’ve been coming for almost 15 years and this has been by far our least enjoyable trip. It is also by far our most expensive trip even though we’re staying in the same place and eating at the same places. Disney is charging more right now for far less and I won’t be fooled again.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Let’s return this thread to people sharing the actual experiences they are having and away from questioning why people would/would not go or if we feel we’re getting our money’s worth.  

I got caught up in it too but we need to return this thread to the topic it was created for.

Thanks.


----------



## preemiemama

epcotobsessed said:


> Same with my teens, who have been coming since they were babies and used to look forward to coming here all year. I really disagree with the people who say “10-15 years ago, people were making the same complaints” - we’ve been coming for almost 15 years and this has been by far our least enjoyable trip. It is also by far our most expensive trip even though we’re staying in the same place and eating at the same places. Disney is charging more right now for far less and I won’t be fooled again.


Same here. I also feel like I was prepared for the lesser experience but got  taken when Disney decided to raise attendance but not capacity on the first day of our trip. Very frustrating.


----------



## preemiemama

DHS today: 
Rope drop MFSR, which I enjoyed but can’t steer worth a darn! Then Oga’s, shopping and Savi’s before lunch at Woody’s and then ROTR. I haven’t heard anyone say yet that your experience can differ slightly each time on this ride- which is cool. Not going to elaborate because I do t want to spoil anything, and I don’t mean not getting preshows- the ride itself.
Returned to the hotel to rest and swim. Headed back to DHS after dinner at Sanaa. Arrived around 6:45. Went straight to TSMM. Posted 55, took about 45. Did see a lot of DAS and a couple of your groups go through. Then went to SDD for our final ride of the night. Posted 70, took about 45. In the past we could have done TSMM twice but this time only had time to ride once. However, we met the objective of riding both prior to park close. With shorter lines and much less heat/sun. Also love TSL snd DHS in general with the lights on.


----------



## lelew

I would also like to add that we had park hopper so for example on Tuesday we arrived at epcot around 1pm went to that land area because it was so hot we rode Nemo 10min wait then explored the aquarium went to  that earth show next living with land 10 min wait. Next was sorin 20min ate in that cafeteria for got the name hop to AK around rode safari twice 20min each animals was very active went to FOP around 7 posted 115min wait didn't wait instead hop to MK ate dinner peco bill grabbed a spot for fireworks next rode people mover no wait did space rangers no wait was back at Saratoga around 1030pm and hung at small pool until  midnight we didnt do major rides but still had a good time Lines do seem to go down later in the evening maybe try none popular rides during day and major rides at night when the temperature drop


----------



## Lsdolphin

So does anyone know if the Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavillion has opened the food court so that you can go in and order directly at the stations or is it still limited selections and mobile order only? They used to have a great bakery counter with lots of choices.


----------



## lelew

Lsdolphin said:


> So does anyone know if the Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavillion has opened the food court so that you can go in and order directly at the stations or is it still limited selections and mobile order only? They used to have a great bakery counter with lots of choices.


We ordered directly we did not Mobil order I dont know about the bakery


----------



## cdurham1

lelew said:


> I would also like to add that we had park hopper so for example on Tuesday we arrived at epcot around 1pm went to that land area because it was so hot we rode Nemo 10min wait then explored the aquarium went to  that earth show next living with land 10 min wait. Next was sorin 20min ate in that cafeteria for got the name hop to AK around rode safari twice 20min each animals was very active went to FOP around 7 posted 115min wait didn't wait instead hop to MK ate dinner peco bill grabbed a spot for fireworks next rode people mover no wait did space rangers no wait was back at Saratoga around 1030pm and hung at small pool until  midnight we didnt do major rides but still had a good time Lines do seem to go down later in the evening maybe try none popular rides during day and major rides at night when the temperature drop


Probably a dumb question, but I assume Peco Bill doesn't have the toppings bar out to serve yourself?


----------



## luv2cheer92

cdurham1 said:


> Probably a dumb question, but I assume Peco Bill doesn't have the toppings bar out to serve yourself?


Not yet, but you can ask the counter for little cups of the toppings you want, no limit to how much.


----------



## ArielRae

luv2cheer92 said:


> Not yet, but you can ask the counter for little cups of the toppings you want, no limit to how much.



What toppings are they currently offering that you can ask for?


----------



## luv2cheer92

ArielRae said:


> What toppings are they currently offering that you can ask for?


All the same stuff they had at the toppings bar. Salsa, sour cream, tomatoes, jalapenos, cheese, lettuce. There may be one or two other things that I'm forgetting.


----------



## 4Spen

rockabyemonkey said:


> I am wondering what the lines are like at Blizzard Beach - we have PH+ tickets and may end up spending more time at BB if it means we can escape the crowds.  Any recent experience  with BB?


I will post more about our trip and experiences later but wanted to address this question since we did one afternoon at BB. To preface, we are not new to WDW or BB. We’ve been going 1-2 times a year since 2000. BB was not crowded like pre-pandemic summers. We found a seat easily. We rode the family raft twice and my husband was able to go down the big slide with a minimal wait. We did one loop on the lazy river and it was crowded. The only negative experience we had was when we did the family raft for a 2nd time. We are a family of 4. My husband is 6 foot and 235. I have an adult son and teen daughter. We fill a raft. The CM working decided to put our family in a raft with 2 ladies (very sweet-no complaint about them) making the total 6 people. My husband stopped for a second and questioned it but then we had to jump in because our daughter was already in their raft. This raft was probably holding over a 1,000lbs. It sunk at the end of the ride and we had to bail much sooner than you’re supposed to. The reason I’m telling you this is because people might expect some measure of social distancing still and there is none. We are vaccinated and not overly concerned but wanted to share my experience for reference.


----------



## 4Spen

Lsdolphin said:


> So does anyone know if the Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavillion has opened the food court so that you can go in and order directly at the stations or is it still limited selections and mobile order only? They used to have a great bakery counter with lots of choices.


My daughter and I sat in the food court yesterday to cool off and drink some ice water. It is open but not all the food stations and no bakery.


----------



## Wood Nymph

Nirek said:


> Been trying to figure out beach club bussing - I arrive Saturday. Is BC sharing morning busses with YC? Or is it easy to get that first bus if you post up 90 minutes before open?


The morning buses at the Beach Club do not share with the YC, or any other resort. But they do share later in the day and for the return from the parks. You shouldn't have any trouble getting on the first bus of the morning.


----------



## geoff112110

To make matters worse. They are holding in the hub until 9. I thought they let you in the lands early.


----------



## BeBopaSaurus

Can anyone tell me if the interactive queue is open for Haunted Mansion?


----------



## 4Spen

BeBopaSaurus said:


> Can anyone tell me if the interactive queue is open for Haunted Mansion?


We rode Wednesday night right before close and it wasn’t. Might be a time of day thing, though. Not sure.


----------



## PrincessV

Based on my own very subjective experiences with visiting multiple times during the pandemic, I think the current "problem" is that WDW is back to normal enough that we expect to experience normal... but it's actually still abnormal enough that it doesn't meet expectations. Masks and physical distancing are basically gone and capacity is up, but attractions/restaurants/resorts/etc. are still closed and staffing continues to be an issue. To me, the earlier visits when nothing was remotely normal were actually easier because I had NO expectations of normal. But last week, I felt frustration build as the overall congestion made it feel like pre-pandemic times, even though things really aren't back to normal. Does that make sense?

The positives to me were still there: I really, truly did not wait more than 25 minutes for any attraction (which isn't to say all wait times were 25 mins or less all day, every day - I just didn't ride anything when it had a long wait time; I opted to ride at lower wait times), and many were walk-on, which was really nice. Evenings were still relatively quiet compared to previous years, which at a peak-crowd time of year was also really nice. Plenty of space at the uncrowded pools, easy Mobile Ordering with no lines, tables available at every QS, the return of fireworks... there was a lot to enjoy, IMO.


----------



## preemiemama

This morning at MK:
Hard 9 am open. DH and DS did space while I did PM twice. They are just getting g off at 9:40 an we’re headed to Buzz which has about a 10 minute wait.


----------



## scrappinginontario

geoff112110 said:


> To make matters worse. They are holding in the hub until 9. I thought they let you in the lands early.


Magic Kingdom returned to 'normal' rope drop about a month ago and everyone is being held in the hub until exactly park opening time.


----------



## Lsdolphin

I hope BOG starts offering breakfast again.


----------



## Elle23

scrappinginontario said:


> Magic Kingdom returned to 'normal' rope drop about a month ago and everyone is being held in the hub until exactly park opening time.



Where is the MK opening show?!!


----------



## cdurham1

preemiemama said:


> This morning at MK:
> Hard 9 am open. DH and DS did space while I did PM twice. They are just getting g off at 9:40 an we’re headed to Buzz which has about a 10 minute wait.



I logged into the app to watch the lines change at open.  Seemed pretty reasonable today even up to now.  I am curious to hear from you guys what time the crowds reach the "tipping point" today and it feels crowded.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Elle23 said:


> Where is the MK opening show?!!


There isn't an opening show.  None of the shows in front of the castle have been reinstated yet.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

DisneyFive said:


> Here’s my partial list. We did not know what to expect for our trip coming up in 10 days but these are all things we are happy about.
> 
> Masks only required on transportation! (we’re all fully vax’d)
> Nighttime shows at MK and EP!
> Epcot Monorail opening on the 18th!
> Stores are more open
> No more plexiglass dividers on rides
> Queues aren’t stretching out as far into the uncovered, potentially sunny/rainy, areas (I think)
> More people fitting on each bus
> Our go to TS and QS locations are all open ( with exception of Nine Dragons for lunch)


This is our thinking too. While I am concerned about cases rising (we are all vaxxed), I know masking up works and we are all responsible humans and know proper hygiene and mask requirements. Our last WDW trip was in October 2019 and the amount of lysol wipes and purel we had when the pandemic first hit was a shock as we didn't think we had that much left over! We are preparing for anything and with the exception of Columbia Harbor House (which we can get that food at Tomorrowland Terrace) we are pretty excited! Also we are looking forward to just getting away more than anything.


----------



## Epcot242

So in general are people finding the least crowded (maybe like 25 minute waits or less) are at opening and towards the end of the night?


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Epcot242 said:


> So in general are people finding the least crowded (maybe like 25 minute waits or less) are at opening and towards the end of the night?


Yes and no. It depends on the attraction from what I am seeing and reading.


----------



## rockabyemonkey

4Spen said:


> I will post more about our trip and experiences later but wanted to address this question since we did one afternoon at BB. To preface, we are not new to WDW or BB. We’ve been going 1-2 times a year since 2000. BB was not crowded like pre-pandemic summers. We found a seat easily. We rode the family raft twice and my husband was able to go down the big slide with a minimal wait. We did one loop on the lazy river and it was crowded. The only negative experience we had was when we did the family raft for a 2nd time. We are a family of 4. My husband is 6 foot and 235. I have an adult son and teen daughter. We fill a raft. The CM working decided to put our family in a raft with 2 ladies (very sweet-no complaint about them) making the total 6 people. My husband stopped for a second and questioned it but then we had to jump in because our daughter was already in their raft. This raft was probably holding over a 1,000lbs. It sunk at the end of the ride and we had to bail much sooner than you’re supposed to. The reason I’m telling you this is because people might expect some measure of social distancing still and there is none. We are vaccinated and not overly concerned but wanted to share my experience for reference.


Thank you - this gives me a little bit of hope!  I have friends who flew down from Chicago and were there Tues-Thurs of this week and had a pretty bad experience.  One of the things she mentioned was waiting 90 minutes in line for ice cream.  I hope that people are voicing their disappointment to Disney...I have found that they do read the emails and respond, although I'm not sure how much it impacts their decision making.


----------



## Mango7100

We got a survey from our trip last week From Disney. They asked how we felt about all the health and safety measure they have currently implemented (ha ha, there are none) and if we thought the vacation was a good value for money spent...seriously asked both those questions


----------



## geoff112110

scrappinginontario said:


> Magic Kingdom returned to 'normal' rope drop about a month ago and everyone is being held in the hub until exactly park opening time.


Gotcha. I wasn’t aware of that.  It’s a madhouse today


----------



## geoff112110

PrincessV said:


> Based on my own very subjective experiences with visiting multiple times during the pandemic, I think the current "problem" is that WDW is back to normal enough that we expect to experience normal... but it's actually still abnormal enough that it doesn't meet expectations. Masks and physical distancing are basically gone and capacity is up, but attractions/restaurants/resorts/etc. are still closed and staffing continues to be an issue. To me, the earlier visits when nothing was remotely normal were actually easier because I had NO expectations of normal. But last week, I felt frustration build as the overall congestion made it feel like pre-pandemic times, even though things really aren't back to normal. Does that make sense?
> 
> The positives to me were still there: I really, truly did not wait more than 25 minutes for any attraction (which isn't to say all wait times were 25 mins or less all day, every day - I just didn't ride anything when it had a long wait time; I opted to ride at lower wait times), and many were walk-on, which was really nice. Evenings were still relatively quiet compared to previous years, which at a peak-crowd time of year was also really nice. Plenty of space at the uncrowded pools, easy Mobile Ordering with no lines, tables available at every QS, the return of fireworks... there was a lot to enjoy, IMO.


I agree with this 100%. Feels like back to normal crowds but still missing attractions/restaurants/character meets to pull people away.
Although this morning was pretty rough. We arrive at MK at 8:15 (my mistake I thought they were opening early).  We waited on the bridge  until 9 and then made our way slowly towards splash. Then stopped again for Frontier land opening show.  Finally got in line around 9:10. Waited again for ride to start letting people. All said and done off the ride around 9:45.  Thunder was posting 25 minute wait so we did that. Pretty accurate. Done by 10:30.  Thought we would head to Pirates. Got there, 50 minute wait, jungle was 60.  At that time space was about the same so thought if we are waiting that long might as well wait for good ride. Walked there and BAM it went down!!!    So almost 11 and only rode 2 rides and everything was 45 to 70 minutes.  Did people mover (15 ) and called it a morning, it was a mad house everywhere!!.    Hopefully have better luck after dinner.
I’m really surprised they aren’t opening at 8 with these crowds. AK is, you would think MK could as well.


----------



## Akck

geoff112110 said:


> I’m really surprised they aren’t opening at 8 with these crowds. AK is, you would think MK could as well.



I wonder if they’re doing this now so there will be a differential when they start the early morning openings. How else will guests realize they’re getting an extra benefit.


----------



## cakebaker

For those that have been, is the garden viewing area that used to be reserved for Dessert Parties and CRT dinner pkgs open to the public now? Trying to plot out where we'll camp for a spot! I was hoping they'd do the pkgs, but looks like that's not going to happen.  Thanks!


----------



## preemiemama

geoff112110 said:


> I agree with this 100%. Feels like back to normal crowds but still missing attractions/restaurants/character meets to pull people away.
> Although this morning was pretty rough. We arrive at MK at 8:15 (my mistake I thought they were opening early).  We waited on the bridge  until 9 and then made our way slowly towards splash. Then stopped again for Frontier land opening show.  Finally got in line around 9:10. Waited again for ride to start letting people. All said and done off the ride around 9:45.  Thunder was posting 25 minute wait so we did that. Pretty accurate. Done by 10:30.  Thought we would head to Pirates. Got there, 50 minute wait, jungle was 60.  At that time space was about the same so thought if we are waiting that long might as well wait for good ride. Walked there and BAM it went down!!!    So almost 11 and only rode 2 rides and everything was 45 to 70 minutes.  Did people mover (15 ) and called it a morning, it was a mad house everywhere!!.    Hopefully have better luck after dinner.
> I’m really surprised they aren’t opening at 8 with these crowds. AK is, you would think MK could as well.


That sounds a lot like our morning. DH and DS did space at open. I did PM. We all did Buzz. Then headed to HM posting a 30 minute wsitwhich was about right. Stoped 4 times while we were on it- 2 seemed like they were for loading people who needed assistance and were quick. The other 2 were about 10 minutes each. Headed to BTMRR and it posted 30 but was all the way back across the bridge. Splash was 70. So ate lunch, bought a couple gifts and headed out. So much like I’ve seen at DHS in the am, you get about an hour until crowds really start to build and it becomes crazy. Last hour if the night waits drop some but it really depends on the attraction/park/ what has gone down and when /how many tour groups went through and when..,


----------



## Mango7100

preemiemama said:


> That sounds a lot like our morning. DH and DS did space at open. I did PM. We all did Buzz. Then headed to HM posting a 30 minute wsitwhich was about right. Stoped 4 times while we were on it- 2 seemed like they were for loading people who needed assistance and were quick. The other 2 were about 10 minutes each. Headed to BTMRR and it posted 30 but was all the way back across the bridge. Splash was 70. So ate lunch, bought a couple gifts and headed out. So much like I’ve seen at DHS in the am, you get about an hour until crowds really start to build and it becomes crazy. Last hour if the night waits drop some but it really depends on the attraction/park/ what has gone down and when /how many tour groups went through and when..,


That seems like not much of a reward (3 rides) for the effort of rope drop


----------



## kc51570

lelew said:


> We ordered directly we did not Mobil order I dont know about the bakery


I don’t think Mobil order was open for them, we checked. There was no bakery. Only a chocolate mousse and maybe strawberry shortcake in a cup for desserts.


----------



## geoff112110

Mango7100 said:


> That seems like not much of a reward (3 rides) for the effort of rope drop ☹


Yeah, it’s disappointing. Definitely not like it use to be. Without fast pass everyone is rope dropping.


----------



## Darcy03231

999wdw said:


> Agree. For ~5k I expect more than 3 rides per day and nothing but long lines for food, rides,etc., this is not vacation.  When I booked this trip, Disney had limited capacity. A few weeks before our trip they increased capacity, a few days before our trip, capacity was increased again and during our trip capacity was increased. That’s just greed. Without increased park hours, increased staffing and increased entertainment to help with crowds, Disney knew it woukd be a mess for guests. Why increase capacity knowing this. I get it, they’re a business and making money is the priority but if I knew that capacity would’ve been increased like this, I would’ve selected a different destination for better value and a much better experience. My teens have no desire to return after this trip and neither do I.



This is why we haven't rescheduled our trip from last year that was canceled.   I've been following these boards and at one point when capacity was low and people we coming back with reports of empty parks and short lines I considered rebooking.  Now I'm waiting until at least next year.  I have no desire to tour WDW the way things are right now.


----------



## WEDWDW

preemiemama said:


> That sounds a lot like our morning. DH and DS did space at open. I did PM. We all did Buzz. Then headed to HM posting a 30 minute wsitwhich was about right. Stoped 4 times while we were on it- 2 seemed like they were for loading people who needed assistance and were quick. The other 2 were about 10 minutes each. Headed to BTMRR and it posted 30 but was all the way back across the bridge. Splash was 70. So ate lunch, bought a couple gifts and headed out. So much like I’ve seen at DHS in the am, you get about an hour until crowds really start to build and it becomes crazy. Last hour if the night waits drop some but it really depends on the attraction/park/ what has gone down and when /how many tour groups went through and when..,


Are you seeing the normal July South American Tour Groups or some other kind of Tour Groups?

We haven't seen any TGs of any kind since we've been here this July. 

Thanks


----------



## Debbie Jean

WEDWDW said:


> Are you seeing the normal July South American Tour Groups or some other kind of Tour Groups?
> 
> We haven't seen any TGs of any kind since we've been here this July.
> 
> Thanks


Funny you should mention that. I just saw my first tour group being led by two flag wavers at the front! Could have been South American but I’m not sure… I kept my distance!

But it was just the one and it didn’t look nearly as big as some of the mega groups we’ve had in the past.


----------



## Sarahslay

WEDWDW said:


> Are you seeing the normal July South American Tour Groups or some other kind of Tour Groups?
> 
> We haven't seen any TGs of any kind since we've been here this July.
> 
> Thanks


I don't believe they are currently allowed in the country


----------



## Sarahslay

Debbie Jean said:


> Funny you should mention that. I just saw my first tour group being led by two flag wavers at the front! Could have been South American but I’m not sure… I kept my distance!
> 
> But it was just the one and it didn’t look nearly as big as some of the mega groups we’ve had in the past.


There are some groups, but they are most likely not south american. I have a friend down there right now with her daughters dance company doing some kind of dance competition, I know they did one day at Disney this past week on their day off.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

geoff112110 said:


> *Thought we would head to Pirates. Got there, 50 minute wait*, jungle was 60.  At that time space was about the same so thought if we are waiting that long *might as well wait for good ride*.


----------



## orangecuse

preemiemama said:


> DHS today:
> Rope drop MFSR, which I enjoyed but can’t steer worth a darn! Then Oga’s, shopping and Savi’s before lunch at Woody’s and then ROTR. I haven’t heard anyone say yet that your experience can differ slightly each time on this ride- which is cool. Not going to elaborate because I do t want to spoil anything, and I don’t mean not getting preshows- the ride itself.
> Returned to the hotel to rest and swim. Headed back to DHS after dinner at Sanaa. Arrived around 6:45. Went straight to TSMM. Posted 55, took about 45. Did see a lot of DAS and a couple of your groups go through. Then went to SDD for our final ride of the night. Posted 70, took about 45. In the past we could have done TSMM twice but this time only had time to ride once. However, we met the objective of riding both prior to park close. With shorter lines and much less heat/sun. Also love TSL snd DHS in general with the lights on.



Is MFSR boarding the ride fully (ie strangers in the same "flight") or keeping it to same party per flight? I felt like I read it was reduced at one point for COVID and I was curious if that has changed


----------



## Naomeri

orangecuse said:


> Is MFSR boarding the ride fully (ie strangers in the same "flight") or keeping it to same party per flight? I felt like I read it was reduced at one point for COVID and I was curious if that has changed


I don’t have recent experience, but when I was there in March (so full safety procedures still in place) I (as a single) rode with a mom and daughter, so I would think they’re loading full cockpits.


----------



## Randy Miller

Here now. At DHS, not sure if someone posted before but Rider swap is only allowing 2 people to ride for the “switch”. We are at SDD. She said it just started today to only allow 2 return riders


----------



## NileNellie

orangecuse said:


> Is MFSR boarding the ride fully (ie strangers in the same "flight") or keeping it to same party per flight? I felt like I read it was reduced at one point for COVID and I was curious if that has changed


MFSR is boarding full cockpits, so yes, you may sit with strangers.


----------



## MrWreckless

geoff112110 said:


> I agree with this 100%. Feels like back to normal crowds but still missing attractions/restaurants/character meets to pull people away.
> Although this morning was pretty rough. We arrive at MK at 8:15 (my mistake I thought they were opening early).  We waited on the bridge  until 9 and then made our way slowly towards splash. Then stopped again for Frontier land opening show.  Finally got in line around 9:10. Waited again for ride to start letting people. All said and done off the ride around 9:45.  Thunder was posting 25 minute wait so we did that. Pretty accurate. Done by 10:30.  Thought we would head to Pirates. Got there, 50 minute wait, jungle was 60.  At that time space was about the same so thought if we are waiting that long might as well wait for good ride. Walked there and BAM it went down!!!    So almost 11 and only rode 2 rides and everything was 45 to 70 minutes.  Did people mover (15 ) and called it a morning, it was a mad house everywhere!!.    Hopefully have better luck after dinner.
> I’m really surprised they aren’t opening at 8 with these crowds. AK is, you would think MK could as well.



Is Disney inflating posted wait times more now?  Im looking at user submitted wait times today on touring plans for Pirates and when the posted wait time was 40 minutes riders are reporting taking only 16-20 minutes. I wonder if your posted 50 minutes was actually much lower.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Randy Miller said:


> Here now. At DHS, not sure if someone posted before but Rider swap is only allowing 2 people to ride for the “switch”. We are at SDD. She said it just started today to only allow 2 return riders


With reduced staffing and long lines right now I can see this being helpful.  I understand in the past it was up to 4 but that meant 3 people were eligible to ride twice which right now, just isn't the best way to reduce lines.


----------



## preemiemama

MrWreckless said:


> Is Disney inflating posted wait times more now?  Im looking at user submitted wait times today on touring plans for Pirates and when the posted wait time was 40 minutes riders are reporting taking only 16-20 minutes. I wonder if your posted 50 minutes was actually much lower.


Some are inflated, most are very close to actual times.


----------



## preemiemama

WEDWDW said:


> Are you seeing the normal July South American Tour Groups or some other kind of Tour Groups?
> 
> We haven't seen any TGs of any kind since we've been here this July.
> 
> Thanks


VIP Tours, not South American. With the plaid shirt guides. Sorry for the confusion!


----------



## epcotobsessed

preemiemama said:


> Some are inflated, most are very close to actual times.


Times change so quickly that the TP reports really aren’t helpful right now unless many more people start using it. We have been on rides that increased by 30 minutes or more while we were in line, or just after we got off.


----------



## becauseimnew

Randy Miller said:


> Here now. At DHS, not sure if someone posted before but Rider swap is only allowing 2 people to ride for the “switch”. We are at SDD. She said it just started today to only allow 2 return riders


Those poor CMs are probably going to have to deal with some angry/upset people. Disney World executives & park executives are making thing really difficult on the CMs.


----------



## Debbie Jean

NileNellie said:


> MFSR is boarding full cockpits, so yes, you may sit with strangers.


The Minnie Train ride is also seating unrelated parties together, 4 across. Was in a ride vehicle yesterday with a couple and 2 singles. I didn’t mind since this hopefully reduces wait times for everyone.


----------



## PPFlight75

Checked in today at BWI after the Uni part of our trip. Room ready at 11 and was very clean. Tons of CMs and housekeeping and all very kind and helpful.
Headed to EP around 4. Soarin was posted with20 min wait but was a walk on. Less than 5 minutes until on the ride. Next was LWTL posted 5 and waited about 5 min. Watch the Awesome Planet movie and walked on Nemo. Headed to Japan! A nice start to our trip!


----------



## brockash

scrappinginontario said:


> With reduced staffing and long lines right now I can see this being helpful.  I understand in the past it was up to 4 but that meant 3 people were eligible to ride twice which right now, just isn't the best way to reduce lines.


I'm almost positive the max. ever for rider swap was 3...so it's 1 less person.  Many have theorized this move by Disney is a step they wanted to take before rolling out the rumored paid fastpass.


----------



## epcotobsessed

Epcot WS is a madhouse now. Lines for F&W booths are all long. Bonus is Future World rides are walk-ons! Three Caballeros line is out the building and I haven’t seen the Frozen line this long since it opened.


----------



## DMLAINI

Is there anyplace currently in Hollywood Studios that has funnel cakes?


----------



## disny_luvr

PPFlight75 said:


> Checked in today at BWI after the Uni part of our trip. Room ready at 11 and was very clean. Tons of CMs and housekeeping and all very kind and helpful.
> Headed to EP around 4. Soarin was posted with20 min wait but was a walk on. Less than 5 minutes until on the ride. Next was LWTL posted 5 and waited about 5 min. Watch the Awesome Planet movie and walked on Nemo. Headed to Japan! A nice start to our trip!



Sounds great! I hope you have a fun trip!


----------



## Jadyreen1282

Sarahslay said:


> I don't believe they are currently allowed in the country



I hope they are. We saw a ton of groups at Typhoon Lagoon last year. Lots of friendly people.


----------



## WEDWDW

preemiemama said:


> VIP Tours, not South American. With the plaid shirt guides. Sorry for the confusion!


No problem-we were pretty sure if any of them had made it to WDW we surely would have at least HEARD them by now!lol  

We went to Disney Springs last Saturday to watch the Copa America Final between Argentina and Brazil and were saying afterward that it probably was a *VERY* good thing for Disney that the South American Tour Groups were not able to come this July.

The Argentina 15s would have been *WILDLY *celebrating the first major title for Argentina in their lifetime-the first in 28 years for Argentina-and the Brazil 15s would have been crying and in "mourning"
for seeing their team lose to their bitter rival* IN BRAZIL IN THEIR HOME STADIUM*!

We decided that the "scene" and "interaction" between those 2 groups may have been more than Disney World could have survived in its current state of "recovery"!lol

And we were only half joking!lol


----------



## ArielRae

DMLAINI said:


> Is there anyplace currently in Hollywood Studios that has funnel cakes?





DMLAINI said:


> Is there anyplace currently in Hollywood Studios that has funnel cakes?





DMLAINI said:


> Is there anyplace currently in Hollywood Studios that has funnel cakes?




Epic Eats in the Echo Lake area of the park sells funnel cakes.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hollywood-studios/epic-eats/


----------



## PPFlight75

disny_luvr said:


> Sounds great! I hope you have a fun trip!


Thanks! It’s been a great start. Tomorrow is HS so we will see how it goes lol!


----------



## yaya74

orangecuse said:


> Is MFSR boarding the ride fully (ie strangers in the same "flight") or keeping it to same party per flight? I felt like I read it was reduced at one point for COVID and I was curious if that has changed



We are a family of 4 and rode MFSR twice during our trip, once on 7/3 and once on 7/5. Both were about an hour before the park closes. At both times, the wait was 30 minutes posted.  We had the ride by ourselves on 7/3 but had to share with two other strangers on 7/5. We are grateful that we got to ride it by ourselves at least once because it wasn't as fun the second time around.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Do they still have the plexiglass on Navi River ride and Safari Ride?


----------



## preemiemama

WEDWDW said:


> No problem-we were pretty sure if any of them had made it to WDW we surely would have at least HEARD them by now!lol
> 
> We went to Disney Springs last Saturday to watch the Copa America Final between Argentina and Brazil and were saying afterward that it probably was a *VERY* good thing for Disney that the South American Tour Groups were not able to come this July.
> 
> The Argentina 15s would have been *WILDLY *celebrating the first major title for Argentina in their lifetime-the first in 28 years for Argentina-and the Brazil 15s would have been crying and in "mourning"
> for seeing their team lose to their bitter rival* IN BRAZIL IN THEIR HOME STADIUM*!
> 
> We decided that the "scene" and "interaction" between those 2 groups may have been more than Disney World could have survived in its current state of "recovery"!lol
> 
> And we were only half joking!lol


Saw the game too- and I agree it would be a challenge!!


----------



## scrappinginontario

brockash said:


> I'm almost positive the max. ever for rider swap was 3...so it's 1 less person.  Many have theorized this move by Disney is a step they wanted to take before rolling out the rumored paid fastpass.


you’re right, it was 3.  I’d forgotten about that as one time they allowed us 4 as we thought it was 4 so my sil and I went to take our girls on SDMT after my brother had ridden.  We were told it was only 3 but that one time they allowed us 4 as the girls were only 4 and 5 so too young to ride alone.  After that we made sure whoever rode an attraction first took at least 1 of the girls while someone stayed with the baby.


----------



## CinderellaDream

We will be at Epcot next Saturday coming in through the IG. I’m pretty sure we will not arrive for rope drop as we are driving in from the FL keys. Should we plan to hit WS first, do F&W for lunch and early afternoon and then go to Future World later that afternoon or evening?


----------



## yaya74

CinderellaDream said:


> We will be at Epcot next Saturday coming in through the IG. I’m pretty sure we will not arrive for rope drop as we are driving in from the FL keys. Should we plan to hit WS first, do F&W for lunch and early afternoon and then go to Future World later that afternoon or evening?



That's the plan that I would have. Have a great trip!


----------



## preemiemama

DAK this morning. 1st bus out of AKL at 7:00. Through entrance at 7:05.  Held  at bridge to Pandora until 7:30.  Just off the ride now at 8:18.


----------



## preemiemama

Update: now 9:00 and we’ve done Navi River Ride and are in line for Everest posting a 15 minute wait. Then Tusker House breakfast.


----------



## Lsdolphin

preemiemama said:


> Update: now 9:00 and we’ve done Navi River Ride and are in line for Everest posting a 15 minute wait. Then Tusker House breakfast.



Do they still have plexiglass on Navi River ride


----------



## preemiemama

FWIW, I have seen 2 VIP tours and one South American tour group so far. Doing Everest again since we’ve got time!


----------



## preemiemama

Lsdolphin said:


> Do they still have plexiglass on Navi River ride


No plexiglass. Wish there were though- little kids coughed all over DH and DS right on their necks!


----------



## epcotobsessed

HS this morning: arrived 7:45, rode ToT, RnR, ToT by 9:35 (let in to the ToT line the first time at 8:30). Now in TSMM line which says 50 minute standby and I think it will be every minute of that, maybe longer. All headliners are over an hour wait at this point, so if you want to do ToT and RnR, getting here early is a big advantage.


----------



## disny_luvr

epcotobsessed said:


> HS this morning: arrived 7:45, rode ToT, RnR, ToT by 9:35 (let in to the ToT line the first time at 8:30). Now in TSMM line which says 50 minute standby and I think it will be every minute of that, maybe longer. All headliners are over an hour wait at this point, so if you want to do ToT and RnR, getting here early is a big advantage.



This is our plan for HS - start at ToT and RnR. Thanks for sharing your experience.


----------



## dmband

Lsdolphin said:


> So does anyone know if the Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavillion has opened the food court so that you can go in and order directly at the stations or is it still limited selections and mobile order only? They used to have a great bakery counter with lots of choices.


The first day I was there last week, no
the second yes
the menu was different too and no mobile ordering on day two


----------



## dmband

orangecuse said:


> Is MFSR boarding the ride fully (ie strangers in the same "flight") or keeping it to same party per flight? I felt like I read it was reduced at one point for COVID and I was curious if that has changed


Every ride is going 100% full of they can fill it, not just MFSR
that include Skyliner


----------



## WEDWDW

dmband said:


> Every ride is going 100% full of they can fill it, not just MFSR
> that include Skyliner


They usually only load multiple parties on Skyliner during "peak demand " times it seems though.


----------



## becauseimnew

Are they running rides at full capacity? Or are they short staffed that they can’t load rides at full capacity, I don’t mean not siting parties together, do they have all trains and boats running?


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

becauseimnew said:


> Are they running rides at full capacity? Or are they short staffed that they can’t load rides at full capacity, I don’t mean not siting parties together, do they have all trains and boats running?


It depends on the ride from what I have been seeing and hearing. I have also been seeing on this thread and from trip reports that one day it will be one thing and then the next day its different.


----------



## epcotobsessed

WEDWDW said:


> They usually only load multiple parties on Skyliner during "peak demand " times it seems though.


Correct, we’re on the skyliner now, 12:30pm, they let the party of 2 ahead of us in their own car, we are in a different one. No line.


----------



## preemiemama

becauseimnew said:


> Are they running rides at full capacity? Or are they short staffed that they can’t load rides at full capacity, I don’t mean not siting parties together, do they have all trains and boats running?


As PP said, depends on the day/ride. TSMM the other right only had the 2 main tracks running- not the 3rd. Pirates, Splash and BTMRR  had both sides loading at MK. We also only saw 2 theaters in use for Soarin. It’s hard to tell on a lot of the others what capacity they’re running at because it’s not as obvious.

ETA: at FOP this morning we only saw 2 lines in use out of 5 at loading. Not sure if they added more after we left or if that means there are only 2 theaters running at park opening?


----------



## PPFlight75

HS today:
Tapped in about 810.RnR opened at 0830 and was a walk on. Rode again with 10 min wait. Rode ToT with about 15-20 min wait while others in our party rode TSMM with about a 20 min wait. TSMM was 40 when they got off along with other major rides. Rode star tours with a 10 min wait. Had BG 39 and was called at 1110.  Doing Savi for my son now and then lunch. We did all we wanted but I agree with others that getting here early is key!!


----------



## kc51570

WEDWDW said:


> They usually only load multiple parties on Skyliner during "peak demand " times it seems though.


We were loaded onto an occupied skyliner with 0 other people in line. It was kind of annoying since it definitely wasn’t peak and they could have put us in the next empty one. The few other times we rode it, it was just us.


----------



## WEDWDW

epcotobsessed said:


> Correct, we’re on the skyliner now, 12:30pm, they let the party of 2 ahead of us in their own car, we are in a different one. No line.


That has been our experience as well.

They definitely will LOAD THEM UP during the post Epcot Forever Dash!lol

But we have met some wonderful Guests this week when we have shared a Gondola-the conversation always turns to:

"I AM SO GLAD WE ARE NOT ON A PACKED SRO BUS!'


----------



## Kelly014

Any recent experiences rope dropping Slinky or MMRR? One of those is where I would prefer to head first, but I seem to remember a good amount of reports about them going down early on. A bit nervous about "wasting" our rope drop time!


----------



## figmentfinesse

Kelly014 said:


> Any recent experiences rope dropping Slinky or MMRR? One of those is where I would prefer to head first, but I seem to remember a good amount of reports about them going down early on. A bit nervous about "wasting" our rope drop time!



No recent experience (not since Jan of this year) but I would always pick Slinky between those two. It goes down for weather, and the wait is considerably worse the whole day, while I’ve seen MMRR posted at 30-35 in the evening since I’ve been stalking waits for my trip in 13 (!!!) days .


----------



## Kelly014

figmentfinesse said:


> No recent experience (not since Jan of this year) but I would always pick Slinky between those two. It goes down for weather, and the wait is considerably worse the whole day, while I’ve seen MMRR posted at 30-35 in the evening since I’ve been stalking waits for my trip in 13 (!!!) days .


That makes sense! We have ridden Slinky, so I was considering MMRR, but we really like Slinky and would like to get on it at some point if at all possible. We will stay until close so I will plan to hit MMRR at the end of the day.


----------



## preemiemama

Kelly014 said:


> Any recent experiences rope dropping Slinky or MMRR? One of those is where I would prefer to head first, but I seem to remember a good amount of reports about them going down early on. A bit nervous about "wasting" our rope drop time!


Did MMRR our first DHS day this past week. Headed right there at 7:15 ish and got on the ride by 7:45. (They opened the queue and started running the ride at 7:30.) Got stuck for about 5 minutes in the underwater scene. Still off around 8 then did RNR with about a 30 minute wait. When we exited the ride, the wait was 70 minutes- at 8:00. So if you can be at the front of the RD line you’ll be fine.
ETA: if Slinky is your priority definitely try it first. Again, get as close to the front near the rope as you can get. They run pretty much all the headliners starting at 7:30.


----------



## Sarahslay

CinderellaDream said:


> We will be at Epcot next Saturday coming in through the IG. I’m pretty sure we will not arrive for rope drop as we are driving in from the FL keys. Should we plan to hit WS first, do F&W for lunch and early afternoon and then go to Future World later that afternoon or evening?


I'm driving in from GA later in August and plan on hitting WS for lunch right at 11 or 12 since that's around the time I'll get there or shortly after, kinda eating and some shopping a little (or at least a little browsing so I know what I want to buy later from the festival. I'll hit rides a bit later, a lot of people do rides earlier and then move on to eat, I usually save TT for really late in the evening to make sure I avoid the afternoon rain though and start over at the land pavilion and work my way around the circle. 




preemiemama said:


> FWIW, I have seen 2 VIP tours and one South American tour group so far. Doing Everest again since we’ve got time!


 Just so you know, they are more than likely not south american. My friends daughters dance troup is from New Mexico and specializes in native american tribal dances and has been down there all week, they go home tomorrow. They are down there for a competition, I'm sure there are more like them, and probably wearing matching outfits. Not that SA groups can't be there, but there are still travel restrictions.


----------



## 123SA

preemiemama said:


> Did MMRR our first DHS day this past week. Headed right there at 7:15 ish and got on the ride by 7:45. (They opened the queue and started running the ride at 7:30.) Got stuck for about 5 minutes in the underwater scene. Still off around 8 then did RNR with about a 30 minute wait. When we exited the ride, the wait was 70 minutes- at 8:00. So if you can be at the front of the RD line you’ll be fine.
> ETA: if Slinky is your priority definitely try it first. Again, get as close to the front near the rope as you can get. They run pretty much all the headliners starting at 7:30.



This was with a scheduled 9:00am opening?  Or was it 8:00am that day?


----------



## geoff112110

preemiemama said:


> Did MMRR our first DHS day this past week. Headed right there at 7:15 ish and got on the ride by 7:45. (They opened the queue and started running the ride at 7:30.) Got stuck for about 5 minutes in the underwater scene. Still off around 8 then did RNR with about a 30 minute wait. When we exited the ride, the wait was 70 minutes- at 8:00. So if you can be at the front of the RD line you’ll be fine.
> ETA: if Slinky is your priority definitely try it first. Again, get as close to the front near the rope as you can get. They run pretty much all the headliners starting at 7:30.


Do you mean 8:30. Doesn’t the park open at 9?  We are at the Caribbean beach and going tomorrow.  Should we be at skyline right at 8?  When it opens.


----------



## Sarahslay

geoff112110 said:


> Do you mean 8:30. Doesn’t the park open at 9?  We are at the Caribbean beach and going tomorrow.  Should we be at skyline right at 8?  When it opens.


If you're at the skyliner at 8 you will be at the end of a long line, I would be there closer to 7-7:30 unless you aren't worried about rope drop. People will be funneling in from Pop, AOA, and Riviera an all getting in the same line to get to HS for RD with CBR guests.


----------



## preemiemama

geoff112110 said:


> Do you mean 8:30. Doesn’t the park open at 9?  We are at the Caribbean beach and going tomorrow.  Should we be at skyline right at 8?  When it opens.


Yes- sorry. Had AK from today on my brain! 8:30 for 9 am opening.


----------



## preemiemama

Sarahslay said:


> I'm driving in from GA later in August and plan on hitting WS for lunch right at 11 or 12 since that's around the time I'll get there or shortly after, kinda eating and some shopping a little (or at least a little browsing so I know what I want to buy later from the festival. I'll hit rides a bit later, a lot of people do rides earlier and then move on to eat, I usually save TT for really late in the evening to make sure I avoid the afternoon rain though and start over at the land pavilion and work my way around the circle.
> 
> 
> 
> Just so you know, they are more than likely not south american. My friends daughters dance troup is from New Mexico and specializes in native american tribal dances and has been down there all week, they go home tomorrow. They are down there for a competition, I'm sure there are more like them, and probably wearing matching outfits. Not that SA groups can't be there, but there are still travel restrictions.


Yes, I know there are restrictions but it was definitely a Spanish-speaking group with the shirts and flags and backpacks as usual. I found it odd- and it was the only group like that we have seen so far. Everything else was a VIP tour guide.


----------



## Manc

Our family of four has been here for a week now, and we have two days before we head back home. We are DVC members and are regular visitors from out of state.
Negatives….
Crowds are much heavier than we’re used to, and probably seemingly made worse by the social distancing we have gotten used to over the last 18 months.
We have acclimatized to them though as the week has gone on.
Long lines stretching into the hot outdoors have been brutal. We have altered our expectations as to how many rides we can comfortably fit into our park days, with there being no Fastpass+.
We have seen very few park-goers wearing face masks. I’ve been sneezed on three times. One of them was reminiscent of Lexi getting sneezed on by that sauropod in JP!!! All accidental. I did get purposefully coughed on though, by a lady, who my wife politely asked to pull up her mask while on the monorail. Charming.
I’ve seen many people getting on the monorail sans face coverings. One bus driver asked a family to mask-up before getting on, then said he was on a tight schedule, and let them on without masks anyway.
Last night in MK we could not find a hand sanitizer station that actually had hand sanitizer in it.
Lots of ride breakdowns. We were evacuated from Haunted Mansion, which ended up being really cool as we got to walk through the ride with the lights on. Has DW lost maintenance talent?

Positives…..
Hey, we’re at Disney World on vacation!!!
Resorts are as wonderful as ever, as are the parks. I haven’t seen any of the trash problems that others have.
Cast members have been awesome. Every single one we have encountered has been professional, friendly and cheerful, despite the trying times.
We managed to snag ROTR boarding passes for both of our HS days, and it is a great attraction. MFSR was also new to us, and was well worth the 60 minutes wait time.
Tried Skyliner for the first time, and it is really relaxing. We rode mid day, and had a gondola to ourselves.
Our food experiences have also be great. Menu choices are a lot more limited than in the past, but what we have had has been really good. I like to discover new go-to places to eat, and this time it has been Trattoria Al Forno for breakfast. Steak and eggs was to die for.
We had dinner at the Wave on the last day before closing for renovation. Our server was a little emotional about it, as he has been there since it opened 13 years ago. Again, the meal was great.


----------



## NashvilleMama

cakebaker said:


> For those that have been, is the garden viewing area that used to be reserved for Dessert Parties and CRT dinner pkgs open to the public now? Trying to plot out where we'll camp for a spot! I was hoping they'd do the pkgs, but looks like that's not going to happen.  Thanks!


Doesn't look like anyone has answered this yet unless I missed it - but as of 2 weeks ago, you're not allowed in that garden viewing area. People were in there but there were CMs at the entrance guarding it and we asked and they said it was VIP only (didn't use those words, I can't remember exactly what they said but basically "not you.")  So we walked around the front of that area and got a great spot to stand, it really wasn't that bad.


----------



## cakebaker

NashvilleMama said:


> Doesn't look like anyone has answered this yet unless I missed it - but as of 2 weeks ago, you're not allowed in that garden viewing area. People were in there but there were CMs at the entrance guarding it and we asked and they said it was VIP only (didn't use those words, I can't remember exactly what they said but basically "not you.")  So we walked around the front of that area and got a great spot to stand, it really wasn't that bad.



It's my understanding that the area in front of the gardens is handicapped viewing or at least close by. We will have a chair this trip unfortunately, so we might scope out those spots. I know they fill up fast, but unless it's just wall to wall people there, we can camp out switching people in and out. We'll just have to wing it I guess.

Thanks for the information!


----------



## im4pacers1

Warning…long post ahead.

MK Thursday 7/15/21
This was a last minute booking through RCI conversion. Rose the bus from OKW. Picked up at 7:35 ish. We were the first bus in the parking lot and second to be unloaded. They were letting in the people from CR and GF walkways at the same time they let us off the bus. We got through security and were maybe 3 groups back at the turnstiles. We were held there until probably 8:15 ish. We walked to the Liberty Square entrance and waited until 9:00 where we were walked back to Frontierland and on to splash. There were lots of people but we weren’t shoulder to shoulder and CM’s didn’t make us squish or fill in all available space. Splash didn’t open until 9:10ish. We walked through the queue and off the ride by 9:30-9:40 (sorry I don’t have exact times) We walked over and got in line for BTMR which was a posted 5 min wait. Seemed accurate. Maybe 10 mins. We got off the ride and went to Pirates. Posted wait time was 35 mins. We walked through the outdoor queue, got just inside the building and they said it was down. Made us get out of line. We got Dole Whips through mobile order. Ate our Dole Whip in the shade. Jungle Cruise had posted wait time of 60 mins (we didn’t ride. Can’t remember why) and HM was being reported as down. We got some Spring Rolls (which we did NOT care for the Buffalo chicken ones and we love all things Buffalo chicken) HM was up so we went there. Posted wait time was an hour but we were through the queue and on the ride in 35 mins. We headed to PP but decided to do Philharmagic on the way. Wait was only while the previous show was going on. Posted wait was 10 mins. Went to Tangled rest rooms for RR break. PP was posted 1 hour wait. We played Play Disney Parks and enjoyed the queue that we normally don’t see with Fast Passes. We were on and off the ride in 35 mins. Rode Litte Mermaid. Posted wait was 25 mins and we waited almost exactly 25 mins. Space Mountain had been down earlier in the day but MDE said it was back up so we went and got in line. Posted wait was 60 mins. We waited outside In the sun for prob 30 mins. Got to the front and the ride went down. They said could be 5 mins could be 2 hours so we waited at the entrance for about 10 mins until they said it would be a lengthy repair and made us get out of line. We rode buzz. 50 min posted wait time. I’d say that line was closer to actual time 40 mins. We had 3:20 reservation for Skipper Canteen so we headed there. Service/food was good. Our first time there and 2 thumbs up. We didn’t care for the cheese dough ball things with the chimichurri and cream cheese but the noodles (with chicken) and the kids steak were hits. Also the specialty slush drink with the green apple popping bubbles was sooo good. We slowly walked over to Pooh with a posted 40 min wait. We waited the full 40 mins, got to the front and the ride went down. We did teacups. Posted wait time was 25 mins. Wait was prob 15. Headed back over to Tomorrowland. My nephew was trying to talk someone into riding the speedway with him but didn’t get any takers. (SM was still down) we tried to get some waters at Cosmic Rays but it was insane in there so we went to the shop next door and bought waters. We sat and drank the waters while trying to decide what to do next. We decided to order cat tails from Cosmic Rays. Put the order in and while waiting for the order SM was showing as up and running with a 70 min wait. We got through the line quickly. Prob like 20 mins. Got to the front of the boarding line and it went down again. Luckily it was only down less than 10 mins. We rode then tried to get our car tails at Cosmic Rays but it was insane in tgere again and the fireworks were about to start. We walked to the hub and snagged a spot at 8:55. It was to the right of the castle so we could head over to Mine Train after the show. HEA was amazing as usual. After the show we walked briskly to SDMT. Posted wait was 80
Mins but didn’t appear long. It was still along the fence outside the attraction queue area. We got in line. The line did not move. A slew of people with return times flooded the line after the fireworks. We got on the ride at 10:40. We took our time leaving taking lots of pictures (life with teenagers) stopped at the makeshift treat shop for an apple. Walked to the buses where we waited about 5 mins for our very own bus back to OKW and were  on our way back at 11:20 pm. 
Overall it was a good day. Only saw one cavalcade  (Goofy and friends) didn’t see Mickey all day . We did see Stitch in Tomorrowland on stage but that was it for characters. It was hot but bearable. We didn’t have fans or cooling towels or anything. We didn’t see a single drop of rain. It was crowded but honestly not as crowded as Columbus Day weekend a few years ago. Wait times were inflated for the most part. We still got tons done despite the multiple breakdowns. The rides breaking down after waiting was annoying but didn’t ruin our day. This was our first trip during the summer and I’d say we enjoyed our resort days more than our park days. I wouldn’t say we will never do a summer trip again but I prefer the weather be a touch cooler. We had a great time but I would say it was missing some of the magic. All CMs we encountered were friendly and helpful. This was our third trip back after the shutdown and although we didn’t have to wear masks, and more stuff was open than before, it was our least favorite trip. I feel like bringing back parades and character meets and greets would greatly improve the long lines. I do like fast passes but I’m not sure I’m in the ‘bring back fast passes’ camp. I like seeing the queues. I also prefer longer fast moving lines to shorter, slow moving lines.


----------



## WEDWDW

preemiemama said:


> Yes, I know there are restrictions but it was definitely a Spanish-speaking group with the shirts and flags and backpacks as usual. I found it odd- and it was the only group like that we have seen so far. Everything else was a VIP tour guide.


Could it have been a Tour Group from Mexico and not SA?

Although not often,we have seen 15s from Mexico over the years at WDW.


----------



## cdurham1

im4pacers1 said:


> Warning…long post ahead.
> 
> MK Thursday 7/15/21
> This was a last minute booking through RCI conversion. Rose the bus from OKW. Picked up at 7:35 ish. We were the first bus in the parking lot and second to be unloaded. They were letting in the people from CR and GF walkways at the same time they let us off the bus. We got through security and were maybe 3 groups back at the turnstiles. We were held there until probably 8:15 ish. We walked to the Liberty Square entrance and waited until 9:00 where we were walked back to Frontierland and on to splash. There were lots of people but we weren’t shoulder to shoulder and CM’s didn’t make us squish or fill in all available space. Splash didn’t open until 9:10ish. We walked through the queue and off the ride by 9:30-9:40 (sorry I don’t have exact times) We walked over and got in line for BTMR which was a posted 5 min wait. Seemed accurate. Maybe 10 mins. We got off the ride and went to Pirates. Posted wait time was 35 mins. We walked through the outdoor queue, got just inside the building and they said it was down. Made us get out of line. We got Dole Whips through mobile order. Ate our Dole Whip in the shade. Jungle Cruise had posted wait time of 60 mins (we didn’t ride. Can’t remember why) and HM was being reported as down. We got some Spring Rolls (which we did NOT care for the Buffalo chicken ones and we love all things Buffalo chicken) HM was up so we went there. Posted wait time was an hour but we were through the queue and on the ride in 35 mins. We headed to PP but decided to do Philharmagic on the way. Wait was only while the previous show was going on. Posted wait was 10 mins. Went to Tangled rest rooms for RR break. PP was posted 1 hour wait. We played Play Disney Parks and enjoyed the queue that we normally don’t see with Fast Passes. We were on and off the ride in 35 mins. Rode Litte Mermaid. Posted wait was 25 mins and we waited almost exactly 25 mins. Space Mountain had been down earlier in the day but MDE said it was back up so we went and got in line. Posted wait was 60 mins. We waited outside In the sun for prob 30 mins. Got to the front and the ride went down. They said could be 5 mins could be 2 hours so we waited at the entrance for about 10 mins until they said it would be a lengthy repair and made us get out of line. We rode buzz. 50 min posted wait time. I’d say that line was closer to actual time 40 mins. We had 3:20 reservation for Skipper Canteen so we headed there. Service/food was good. Our first time there and 2 thumbs up. We didn’t care for the cheese dough ball things with the chimichurri and cream cheese but the noodles (with chicken) and the kids steak were hits. Also the specialty slush drink with the green apple popping bubbles was sooo good. We slowly walked over to Pooh with a posted 40 min wait. We waited the full 40 mins, got to the front and the ride went down. We did teacups. Posted wait time was 25 mins. Wait was prob 15. Headed back over to Tomorrowland. My nephew was trying to talk someone into riding the speedway with him but didn’t get any takers. (SM was still down) we tried to get some waters at Cosmic Rays but it was insane in there so we went to the shop next door and bought waters. We sat and drank the waters while trying to decide what to do next. We decided to order cat tails from Cosmic Rays. Put the order in and while waiting for the order SM was showing as up and running with a 70 min wait. We got through the line quickly. Prob like 20 mins. Got to the front of the boarding line and it went down again. Luckily it was only down less than 10 mins. We rode then tried to get our car tails at Cosmic Rays but it was insane in tgere again and the fireworks were about to start. We walked to the hub and snagged a spot at 8:55. It was to the right of the castle so we could head over to Mine Train after the show. HEA was amazing as usual. After the show we walked briskly to SDMT. Posted wait was 80
> Mins but didn’t appear long. It was still along the fence outside the attraction queue area. We got in line. The line did not move. A slew of people with return times flooded the line after the fireworks. We got on the ride at 10:40. We took our time leaving taking lots of pictures (life with teenagers) stopped at the makeshift treat shop for an apple. Walked to the buses where we waited about 5 mins for our very own bus back to OKW and were  on our way back at 11:20 pm.
> Overall it was a good day. Only saw one cavalcade  (Goofy and friends) didn’t see Mickey all day . We did see Stitch in Tomorrowland on stage but that was it for characters. It was hot but bearable. We didn’t have fans or cooling towels or anything. We didn’t see a single drop of rain. It was crowded but honestly not as crowded as Columbus Day weekend a few years ago. Wait times were inflated for the most part. We still got tons done despite the multiple breakdowns. The rides breaking down after waiting was annoying but didn’t ruin our day. This was our first trip during the summer and I’d say we enjoyed our resort days more than our park days. I wouldn’t say we will never do a summer trip again but I prefer the weather be a touch cooler. We had a great time but I would say it was missing some of the magic. All CMs we encountered were friendly and helpful. This was our third trip back after the shutdown and although we didn’t have to wear masks, and more stuff was open than before, it was our least favorite trip. I feel like bringing back parades and character meets and greets would greatly improve the long lines. I do like fast passes but I’m not sure I’m in the ‘bring back fast passes’ camp. I like seeing the queues. I also prefer longer fast moving lines to shorter, slow moving lines.


Wow, for all those breakdowns, you guys surely have a good attitude!  On Pooh, for example, you waited quite a while and then it broke down.  Did they give you a return FP or anything?


----------



## preemiemama

WEDWDW said:


> Could it have been a Tour Group from Mexico and not SA?
> 
> Although not often,we have seen 15s from Mexico over the years at WDW.


Could be. It’s the only one we’ve seen and they seemed to be Spanish speaking (I am not fluent but understand a lot!)  Not really sure- I’ll get a picture next time if I see them!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Let's discontinue the discussion about where the travel groups may be from please.  Thanks.


----------



## Nice Work Pal

Been here since Wednesday…hitting MK today. Crowds are insane and lines are roughly double what they were our last visit in April. Still got on everything multiple times. Sun has been pretty brutal last few days so stay hydrated. Staying at Saratoga Springs…wonderful resort. Will definitely stay again.

My biggest pet peeve and it’s especially bad now is people not keeping up with the line in front of them. I get glancing at your phone or having a convo but if there’s a constant 10-15 gap in front of you every time the line moves you should be thrown to the crocs at AK. Problem is the heat/sun/humidity is bad and people need to get into the shade or ac. Guy in front of us at TSM yesterday had his face buried in his phone, every time we’d try to go around him he’d give us a dirty look. The one time he didn’t move after we asked him, he finally did and the guests in the line adjacent to ours starting clapping. I wanted to grab his phone and throw it across the queue[/rant over]

Food and wine festival has been great. Ate at 50’s prime time last night which was wonderful. ROTR is still amazing and most underrated food choice at Disney to me is still Rhonto wraps. We had a group of 10 so I was only able to grab one beer at the baseline tap. DHS again tomorrow with small group so that’ll be priority


----------



## preemiemama

So… not so much today at DHS. For anyone who doubts How important arrival time is for RD:

Although we were at the bus stop at 7:30- just as we have been all week long- we had no bus u til 8:15. By the time we entered the park, everything was running. TOT was 45 minutes. We just got off at 9:20. DH and DS are doing RNRC single rider. (I’ll do it but not alone.) The wait is an hour for regular standby. We’ve done them a few times this week- and I’m REALLY glad we weren’t trying for MFSR or MMRR because we’d still be in line! 

I’m really trying to be just happy we are here but it’s things like this that really irritate me about the way they’ve upped the attendance currently. We’re going to eat some breakfast and head back to the hotel. Maybe we’ll have better luck at MK tonight to end the trip.


----------



## cakebaker

preemiemama said:


> I’m really trying to be just happy we are here but it’s things like this that really irritate me about the way they’ve upped the attendance currently.



You shouldn't have to work at being happy at WDW, but hats off to you for trying so hard. We have no plans to use the bus system for anything this trip. We're a boat away from the MK and everything else will be Uber. Everything I read about the busses is they are just horrid right now- and we were always dedicated bus users.

I hope  your trip ends on a high note tonight. I suspect next week is going to be rough, but we'll put on the happy faces for my grandson. I'm not sure how long he'll survive the long waits in the sun, he's always been susceptible to dehydration and is very heat sensitive even when we are super careful with him. Our cure was always FP+, short waits for secondary rides at rope drop and lots of indoor breaks just getting snacks and drinks. He'll want to do it all regardless so I hope it's not a trip full of no's, can't do that. I don't so much care about my experience, I just want it to be a decent trip for him after all the disappointments.


----------



## tbelle3

We just returned and I will say over and over how key rope drop is more than ever! The lines grow very quickly and unfortunately get and stay worse throughout the day in all parks. HS for us was the most insane of all the parks. We were at SSR and have to say loved it and the buses were better than ever for us...really only waited long for one bus all week.


----------



## preemiemama

cakebaker said:


> You shouldn't have to work at being happy at WDW, but hats off to you for trying so hard. We have no plans to use the bus system for anything this trip. We're a boat away from the MK and everything else will be Uber. Everything I read about the busses is they are just horrid right now- and we were always dedicated bus users.
> 
> I hope  your trip ends on a high note tonight. I suspect next week is going to be rough, but we'll put on the happy faces for my grandson. I'm not sure how long he'll survive the long waits in the sun, he's always been susceptible to dehydration and is very heat sensitive even when we are super careful with him. Our cure was always FP+, short waits for secondary rides at rope drop and lots of indoor breaks just getting snacks and drinks. He'll want to do it all regardless so I hope it's not a trip full of no's, can't do that. I don't so much care about my experience, I just want it to be a decent trip for him after all the disappointments.


We’re at AKL, and no car. And honestly the buses have been right on until last night for dinner (though we should have been out at the stop a bit earlier too!) and this morning. I said to DH we could’ve slept in another hour, not gotten a BG snd gotten here at park opening to do just TOT… I think that’s why I’m frustrated. We did everything right. Currently sitting and sipping a Starbucks so I’m a little more calm!


----------



## WEDWDW

Disney is now sending Guests to Beach Club Bus Depot instead of Boardwalk Inn Bus Depot for transport from Epcot to Hollywood Studios and the Skyliner Resorts when Skyliner is down.

Hopefully Buses are plentiful now,a good while back when we we were directed to BWI Bus Depot,it took A LONG time for a Skyliner Resort Bus to come-Guests were on their phones calling Disney and everything.


----------



## 123SA

Has anyone been to Disney Springs recently?  I'd like to do a little shopping on our arrival day, first Saturday in August.  We like to go to World of Disney, the Christmas Shop, and a Star Wars store.  However, if we have to wait outside a store in line, I'll head to Blizzard Beach instead.

Thanks for your help.


----------



## NashvilleMama

123SA said:


> Has anyone been to Disney Springs recently?  I'd like to do a little shopping on our arrival day, first Saturday in August.  We like to go to World of Disney, the Christmas Shop, and a Star Wars store.  However, if we have to wait outside a store in line, I'll head to Blizzard Beach instead.
> 
> Thanks for your help.


was there 2 sundays ago and it wasn't bad. There was a line for World of Disney but it moved constantly and was basically just like a funnel of people moving into the store in the same door.


----------



## e_yerger

with the social distancing measure out the window, are we still seeing really long lines for things? Like FEA wrapping into China?


----------



## 4Spen

e_yerger said:


> with the social distancing measure out the window, are we still seeing really long lines for things? Like FEA wrapping into China?


I don’t recall the FEA line since it was down the few times I was by there but the line for the boat inside the Mexico pavilion was always out the door. There is no longer a line to enter the pavilion, you just enter different sides depending on what you’re doing. (Dining/shopping one side and ride the other) It was packed in there the days we went in.

The morning we did HS we arrived around 9:30. We went to Starbucks and got breakfast first thing. (Waiting for our RotR boarding pass window) and the line for ToT was down to Starbucks.


----------



## RunWI1265

123SA said:


> Has anyone been to Disney Springs recently?  I'd like to do a little shopping on our arrival day, first Saturday in August.  We like to go to World of Disney, the Christmas Shop, and a Star Wars store.  However, if we have to wait outside a store in line, I'll head to Blizzard Beach instead.
> 
> Thanks for your help.


I was there yesterday. There was a line for WoD but it went very quickly. It does get hot though.  There is only one entrance (by Basin) and all the other doors are being used for exits from the store.


----------



## preemiemama

e_yerger said:


> with the social distancing measure out the window, are we still seeing really long lines for things? Like FEA wrapping into China?


Yes. Last 2 nights it has been all the way into China! Toy Story Land rides are crazy long as well- back almost to one MSN’s Dream.


----------



## preemiemama

So we complained at guest relations this morning before leaving the park about the bus and how it put us behind. There were 3 people fielding complaints and issuing DAS cards. The CM who helped us said that 20 more have been hired and they are training now. I asked him as well as the CM on Twitter (who replied to my cast compliments) to please let whoever needs to know know that things are not good. That they could and should have kept the cap in place until they had staff available. I also said it was a bad look for Disney- and I felt bad for them having to hear it all day long. There are so many CMs working hard and trying to make magic. Many others are training and doing what they can to keep up. If you’re coming soon please remember they are not the ones who caused this and they are taking on a lot right now. Be nice.


----------



## 4Spen

We were there July 11-17. We stayed at the GF.


*The Good*
The resort was beautiful. I had requested to be near the walking path to MK and that request was granted. It was super convenient and we used the walkway a lot. I would highly recommend this resort.

We love mobile ordering and used it frequently.

Fireworks being back makes such a difference. We didn’t stay to watch at Epcot but saw the MK fireworks every night. (From different places)

*The Just Okay*
We usually like to have one sit down dinner a day. That didn’t happen this time. I had a slew of reservations but changed them or cancelled them while there. It was either too hot to travel to the various locations or transportation was too slow or crowded. We ended up joining the walk up list for Kona, Tony’s (had never even considered this one) and Grand Flo Cafe. Surprisingly, Tony’s was the best of the three. Of course, they all have basically the same steak on the menu and my husband had a steak at all three. He said Tony’s was the best. And their tiramisu was really good.  The other restaurants were fine but nothing special. I wasn’t disappointed in any of the food and we had a lot of pretty good counter service, just wasn’t like our past trips.

Transportation was fine. We only experienced one long wait for a bus at Epcot. Never rode a bus that was full but we never stayed at a park until closing. (Except MK and we walked) Mask compliance on buses and monorails was good. I never saw or heard anyone giving a driver trouble because of it.

*The Bad (and not really that bad)*

It was hot! I know it’s Florida and summer but we haven’t been in the summer since 2019 and had forgotten how hot it is. Wear lots of deodorant, drink lots of water, and bring enough clothing to change if necessary.

It was crowded. We are all vaccinated and not concerned or upset about being near people. Just saying this for anyone that is uncomfortable around people. If there weren’t some families/people in masks, you would have thought it was 2019. There are no social distancing rules. It is shoulder to shoulder in a lot of places. Stores are busy and people are everywhere. You will be sat with other parties on rides. You will have people right against your back in lines. People will squeeze their families right up against you on benches and anywhere you’re sitting really. Lines were long and people will not give you space. Again, I’m okay with all of it but anyone that isn’t should reconsider.

I did see the overflowing trash cans. Not everywhere and not in abundance but I did see some. I’m more upset with people than Disney though. People throw stuff in bushes or leave their trash on the ground. It’s disappointing. Disney probably does need more staff and seems they’re working on that. I just wish people would be better.

Epcot construction is massive. Walls all over. World Showcase had fewer food options than before (until food and wine started) and we spent way less time there than prior trips. It’s also pretty much a giant bar in the evenings.  It wasn’t a big deal for us since our kids are older but if I had little ones I’d probably skip Epcot in the evening. JMO

Overall, we had a great time. Traffic to and from was crazy! For the first time my husband said he’d rather fly. (He hates flying) Florida is packed. We had to practice a lot of patience.


----------



## Randy Miller

Im going to teach you an Ohana trick! ( hahaha!) since the monorail isn’t running to the Poly, it’s “pretty” easy to get a lunch reservation for Kona. We are just leaving here now, the place is less than half full. Anyway, here’s the “trick”
Order the chicken stir fry ( chicken with the Ohana noodles and veggies)
Get the potstickers and the sticky wings 
Then, ask for the bread pudding. Yep, they have it! Ice cream and warm caramel sauce and all. It’s the “best” of Ohana, waaayyy less money and no crowds! 
enjoy!


----------



## 4Spen

Randy Miller said:


> Im going to teach you an Ohana trick! ( hahaha!) since the monorail isn’t running to the Poly, it’s “pretty” easy to get a lunch reservation for Kona. We are just leaving here now, the place is less than half full. Anyway, here’s the “trick”
> Order the chicken stir fry ( chicken with the Ohana noodles and veggies)
> Get the potstickers and the sticky wings
> Then, ask for the bread pudding. Yep, they have it! Ice cream and warm caramel sauce and all. It’s the “best” of Ohana, waaayyy less money and no crowds!
> enjoy!


We did Kona for dinner and they allowed me to order the noodles even though they aren’t on the dinner menu. I opted for the tofu option, which was really good. We also had the Bread Pudding. In fact, every table around us had the Bread Pudding. It was sooo good!


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## RunWI1265

Enjoying a bit of a break with time to write a bit about our trip so far. We had one night at CBR then three nights at Kidani. 

*Friday 7/16 CBR - HS - AKL - EPCOT*
Boarding Group 35 (LTE)
Skyliner 720 third in line at gate
735 walk up to gondolas 
752 in line HS
8:04 ToT line
830 welcome announcements
840off ToT
843 RR down, waiting
913 off RR
922 TSM
We then headed to galaxy’s edge for some ronto wraps and our Ogas reservation. As for Rise timing I have a picture in the stormtrooper room at 11:15am. All rides were listed as very high at this point. We got a text our room at AKL was ready so we headed there for a bit then off to Epcot. We mixed rides with food booths. Soarin was listed at 40 minutes and we waited 15 and 18. SE walk-on. Three caballeros was listed at 10 and we waited almost 20. The line is VERY tight. I assumed 10 meant walkon and I, very regrettably, was wrong. Husband is a vegetarian and he has been very pleased with the food offerings. It was surprisingly very easy to get around the WS, even on a Friday night of opening weekend. Lines for booths did get a bit long which I chose to skip. American pavilion is a great place to stop for air conditioning! We were tired so we found a spot for fire works around 815.

*saturday 7/17 AK-MK*
Got to the kidani bus stop just after 630. There was only a couple other people on the bus and a second one arriving as we left. Held at the bridge for FOP, not the tree. Unfortunately I do not remember exact times for when we were let back, but the shuffle to the actual queue is not fun. People behind you trying to maneuver their way forward to gain a few spots. It’s wild what some people do. We were probably within the first five groups to ride, which is basically walkon. Headed to safari next, no wait. Then Everest, about 10 minutes. Kali, no wait. Maharajah Trail, Everest again, 10 minutes. Dinosaur 10 minutes then at 1050 we seated at Nomad Lounge (SO GOOD!).
Headed to springs. Hot and pretty busy. At 115 the Gideon’s wait was 3.5 hrs. I got called back at 4:05 but was at MK by then. Lines at MK are longish across the board.  Shorter than listed time though. CoP walk-on. PM 15 mins (with delays), listed 35. BTMR 15, listed 35. Pirates 20, listed 40. Space Mtn and Splash lines looked very long. We found a spot near the Walt/Mickey statue around 730. We had our backs to the rails facing the statues but off to the side a bit. Perfect viewing. Finished the night with Splash which was listed at 70. We were off 10:15. Sat in the front row and got absolutely drenched. Unlike any time we’ve ever ridden! It was like someone was throwing buckets on us. 

*Sunday 7/18 HS - ????*
BG 5!! (LTE)
Got to the Kidani bus stop around 730. It was us and two others. Lined up for TSL. Such a cluster. Same deal as the FoP rope drop. People get real pushy to save a couple minutes (big eye rolls). Just after 8:30 the walked us back. We ended up further back due to people shoving their way up but ended up getting pulled fwd because they needed a group of 2. So we ended up on the second car of the day. Then did TSM twice. 

Rise was down in the morning and because we had done ToT and RR the other day we decided to do Smugglers(a first for us). We have always skipped this because we’re with our kids usually. We waited 70 mins (yuck). Got the pilot position and we did alright! Our BG was called while we were in line for SR so we headed there next then docking bay for lunch. Same as the other day, all rides have very high wait times at this point. Gotta rope drop HS it’s a must unless you like waiting in the sun. Back to AKL for a break then either Epcot or MK. Not sure yet! Probably both now that the monorail is running! 

*Details - just to make this even longer *
It is VERY hot and humid. Drink lots of water, grab a small handheld fan. I do not love being so close to others (or ever really, haha) in this kind of heat. The sweat, the smells, yuck. Busses have been great for us. We either have been very lucky with timing, or they have been sending them very frequently. We made it back to Kidani after fireworks + a ride before 11pm. Crowds are definitely heavier than when we were here in May. It’s hard to say if they are back to “pre-covid” levels. Sometimes it seems they are but other times it does not. I’m happy we do not have our double stroller (and kids) this trip because it would be very tough. MK seems the most discouraging if you’re looking at wait times in the app. Things have changed since I was here in May so I don’t have a good visual on length of lines and how it relates to wait times. When there was social distancing I had a decent idea on what the waits would truly be. I was up in the air about how I felt about FP (we are a strictly FP family. Never ride anything without one) because things have gone well without it since reopening. But this visit has me definitely wanting it back in whatever form they will offer it. Happy to answer any questions. We are here until tomorrow!


----------



## harleyquinn

Really?! My favorite thing at Ohana is the dessert. We like Kona too. I may just have to try this. Thanks for the tip!


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## Nice Work Pal

MK was absolutely brutal today (10:30 arrival). More crowded then I’ve ever seen it, weather was brutal, lines were obnoxious. Doing pool rest of day and fireworks later. Highlight of the day:


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## Lsdolphin

Randy Miller said:


> Im going to teach you an Ohana trick! ( hahaha!) since the monorail isn’t running to the Poly, it’s “pretty” easy to get a lunch reservation for Kona. We are just leaving here now, the place is less than half full. Anyway, here’s the “trick”
> Order the chicken stir fry ( chicken with the Ohana noodles and veggies)
> Get the potstickers and the sticky wings
> Then, ask for the bread pudding. Yep, they have it! Ice cream and warm caramel sauce and all. It’s the “best” of Ohana, waaayyy less money and no crowds!
> enjoy!



Well we did exactly this back in April and found the noodle with chicken at kona (only on lunch menu) were not the Ohana noodles at all and the pot stickers and chicken wings while good were also not the same as Ohana!


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## Debbie Jean

e_yerger said:


> with the social distancing measure out the window, are we still seeing really long lines for things? Like FEA wrapping into China?


When I was at Epcot on Friday, Frozen queue was back in China at midday.


----------



## scrappinginontario

The thread has been cleaned up to remove the Jungle Cruise discussion as what is funny to one person may be offensive to someone else.

Please discontinue the Jungle Cruise discussion.

Thank you.


----------



## NashvilleMama

RunWI1265 said:


> Rise was down in the morning and because we had done ToT and RR the other day we decided to do Smugglers(a first for us). We have always skipped this because we’re with our kids usually. We waited 70 mins (yuck). Got the pilot position and we did alright!



This reminds me - whoever gave the tip about doing single rider line on MFSR is a saint, as I wouldn't have even noticed they had this as an option. The wait time was 60 mins and we were going to do it as DH hadn't ridden it before so was a priority, but he and my oldest DD just did the single rider line instead and they were in and out in like 20 minutes. AND they both got pilot somehow, which was sheer luck. It sounds like they're filling in 2-3 people from single rider line in a pod together to fill in the gaps so there's a good chance you may be with your party if there's just 1-3 of you (obviously must be willing to split up.)


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## krismom345

NashvilleMama said:


> This reminds me - whoever gave the tip about doing single rider line on MFSR is a saint, as I wouldn't have even noticed they had this as an option. The wait time was 60 mins and we were going to do it as DH hadn't ridden it before so was a priority, but he and my oldest DD just did the single rider line instead and they were in and out in like 20 minutes. AND they both got pilot somehow, which was sheer luck. It sounds like they're filling in 2-3 people from single rider line in a pod together to fill in the gaps so there's a good chance you may be with your party if there's just 1-3 of you (obviously must be willing to split up.)


Can you remind me how you do this? Do you just tell the CM at the entrance to the ride?


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## lelew

123SA said:


> Has anyone been to Disney Springs recently?  I'd like to do a little shopping on our arrival day, first Saturday in August.  We like to go to World of Disney, the Christmas Shop, and a Star Wars store.  However, if we have to wait outside a store in line, I'll head to Blizzard Beach instead.
> 
> Thanks for your help.


Was there last week no lines to shop however was shocked at how busy it was at noon I was expecting that type of crowd later in the evenings I personally never seen it that busy during the day


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## WEDWDW

The Highway in The Sky is back !

And the view of Future World in its current state is "interesting"!lol


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## harleyquinn

lelew said:


> Was there last week no lines to shop however was shocked at how busy it was at noon I was expecting that type of crowd later in the evenings I personally never seen it that busy during the day


In my experience, Saturday’s are crazy busy except for the first hour or two tops. I’d never visit on a Saturday again.


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## preemiemama

RunWI1265 said:


> Enjoying a bit of a break with time to write a bit about our trip so far. We had one night at CBR then three nights at Kidani.
> 
> *Friday 7/16 CBR - HS - AKL - EPCOT*
> Boarding Group 35 (LTE)
> Skyliner 720 third in line at gate
> 735 walk up to gondolas
> 752 in line HS
> 8:04 ToT line
> 830 welcome announcements
> 840off ToT
> 843 RR down, waiting
> 913 off RR
> 922 TSM
> We then headed to galaxy’s edge for some ronto wraps and our Ogas reservation. As for Rise timing I have a picture in the stormtrooper room at 11:15am. All rides were listed as very high at this point. We got a text our room at AKL was ready so we headed there for a bit then off to Epcot. We mixed rides with food booths. Soarin was listed at 40 minutes and we waited 15 and 18. SE walk-on. Three caballeros was listed at 10 and we waited almost 20. The line is VERY tight. I assumed 10 meant walkon and I, very regrettably, was wrong. Husband is a vegetarian and he has been very pleased with the food offerings. It was surprisingly very easy to get around the WS, even on a Friday night of opening weekend. Lines for booths did get a bit long which I chose to skip. American pavilion is a great place to stop for air conditioning! We were tired so we found a spot for fire works around 815.
> 
> *saturday 7/17 AK-MK*
> Got to the kidani bus stop just after 630. There was only a couple other people on the bus and a second one arriving as we left. Held at the bridge for FOP, not the tree. Unfortunately I do not remember exact times for when we were let back, but the shuffle to the actual queue is not fun. People behind you trying to maneuver their way forward to gain a few spots. It’s wild what some people do.
> 
> *Sunday 7/18 HS - ????*
> BG 5!! (LTE)
> Got to the Kidani bus stop around 730. It was us and two others.


It’s funny- sounds like you were a bus ahead of us yesterday at AKL. We’re at Jambo! And today we were at our stop before 7:30 for DHS and no bus arrived!  We didn’t get one until 8:15. Wonder what happened!  You’re right- the things people do at RD to get 3 spots ahead is something!


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## tbelle3

123SA said:


> Has anyone been to Disney Springs recently?  I'd like to do a little shopping on our arrival day, first Saturday in August.  We like to go to World of Disney, the Christmas Shop, and a Star Wars store.  However, if we have to wait outside a store in line, I'll head to Blizzard Beach instead.
> 
> Thanks for your help.


We just got back and didnt have to wait in any lines to get in. The only one that I saw had one was Lego but wasn't on our list anyways. We did go to Blizzard Beach and had a blast though, so I would choose that and maybe Springs at night for dinner and some shopping!


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## harleyquinn

tbelle3 said:


> We just got back and didnt have to wait in any lines to get in. The only one that I saw had one was Lego but wasn't on our list anyways. We did go to Blizzard Beach and had a blast though, so I would choose that and maybe Springs at night for dinner and some shopping!


How were the crowds at BB? We’re debating going there one day if the parks are too busy for us.


----------



## lelew

harleyquinn said:


> How were the crowds at BB? We’re debating going there one day if the parks are too busy for us.


We did BB Friday arrived at 11 and had very little waits we left around 3 as crowds were picking up but not bad at all it was a very fun time highly recommend


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## RunWI1265

preemiemama said:


> It’s funny- sounds like you were a bus ahead of us yesterday at AKL. We’re at Jambo! And today we were at our stop before 7:30 for DHS and no bus arrived!  We didn’t get one until 8:15. Wonder what happened!  You’re right- the things people do at RD to get 3 spots ahead is something!


We went to HS today, too! We were on the first bus 730ish? And it was just us and one other couple. We stopped at Jambo and no one was there. I wonder if we just missed you?? Hope your trip is going well. It is SO HOT.

*Finishing up our day…*
We hopped over to Epcot and easily ate at several food booths. Again, super surprised how easy it is to manage getting around the world showcase this weekend. Was able to do Soarin under 15, Nemo walk on and SE walk on. Took the monorail to MK (YAY!!!) and stopped in the stand in Confectionary to load up on rice crispies to bring home. Has anyone else gotten them recently? They seem…thinner than usual?? We decided to grab a stop for the fireworks again. It was a little after 8:00 and we got the same spot as last night. Dead center, near the Walt statue. I just love Happily Ever After so much. I’m really going to miss it. I’m so glad I was able to see it before the new show comes. The energy of the crowd during the show is also great. It never gets old hearing the genuine joy and awe from people seeing it for the first time. We were able to do BTMR and Splash before close then headed out. Tried to mobile order Casey’s but at 10:29 they had closed it and were not letting anyone walk up. Nothing is open at the resort either so we grabbed some snacks from the emporium on the way out. Heading to MK in the morning for a couple hours before check out and our magical express pick up. Requested a late check out so we can shower. I just know we are going to be .  (They said “it should be ok”).


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## luv2cheer92

krismom345 said:


> Can you remind me how you do this? Do you just tell the CM at the entrance to the ride?


MFSR has a single rider line


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## Disneygrl71

cakebaker said:


> More and more, reports I'm reading sound much like yours. It would seem if you were there even a week ago, things have changed completely and for the worse. I am not looking forward to our trip next week at all and our main goal was to see the fireworks. But we can't have my grandson in crowds like that so looks like that one goal is going to be too much. We'll have to just settle for seeing the fireworks from a distance I guess. I'm afraid going is a huge mistake and I'm going to leave WDW vowing to never return. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see much that tells me I am.
> 
> Disney was so careful in their original approach and I was very impressed, but something has changed and now it's just a free for all money grab with no concern for guests at all.



We will be arriving Sat and I'm also concerned and wondering if I should just reschedule our trip. I'm bringing my son for his 18th birthday and graduation, I really don't want to reschedule but these reports are really making me nervous, especially for the $$$ that's dropped.


----------



## penel3




----------



## preemiemama

RunWI1265 said:


> We went to HS today, too! We were on the first bus 730ish? And it was just us and one other couple. We stopped at Jambo and no one was there. I wonder if we just missed you?? Hope your trip is going well. It is SO HOT.


The only thing we saw was a bus saying “refilling my pixie dust” that stopped at the wrong stop, wonder if that was the issue? And yes, it’s been HOT!!


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## harleyquinn

lelew said:


> We did BB Friday arrived at 11 and had very little waits we left around 3 as crowds were picking up but not bad at all it was a very fun time highly recommend


Thank you so much!!


----------



## ccianci85

Just got back from a trip last week at the Beach Club and here are a few observations. We haven't stayed at the beach club in 10 years and while it is beautiful and close to Epcot I do like the Poly more. Didn't like walking wet thru the lobby and entire hotel (we were at a far end of the villas) to get back to your room after the pool. Although the Poly has multiple building is had a smaller feel to it which I liked. Also though that food was harder to come by at the beach club. Forget about trying to eat at Beaches and Cream or Cape May which leaves you with a slim menu at the marketplace. Bus service for the most part was terrible but might be everywhere. Waiting 45 mins on multiple occasions at the resort and at the parks for busses. Also having young kids with no fastpasses is tough. Trying to get them to wait 45 mins or more for multiple rides even close to rope drop wasn't fun. Definitely liked planning our day around fast passes with a break in the pool midday. First time riding the Skyliner was great and think it is a great transportation option. Overall a great trip with great weather but the parks are Extremely crowded, I would say our last trip in July of 2019 was less crowded than this trip.


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## Palaura

TikiTikiFan said:


> Just got home from a 10 day trip which is the longest trip we've done at a Disney park but boy we had fun. Here's some random but slightly organized thoughts!
> 
> Pop Century/Transportation
> 
> I loved this hotel! I think this is definitely going to be our go to resort at Disney World from now on. I paid for the preferred pool view room and we were right next to the gate for the pool- loved the close proximity to everything. Everything about this hotel was great it just worked out so well for my family. I liked it better than CBR!
> Bus transportation was great- we only had to wait long once for a bus (and that's bc the Skyliner was down at Epcot) and every other time one showed up within minutes. Never waited long at all at open close or taking breaks.
> Skyliner isn't as convenient in rainy weather- we only got to use it in the mornings usually. Lines moved fast since they're seating groups together which we didn't mind. In fact, on our way to Epcot a storm was coming in and I was having a bit of a panic attack since the wind was making the gondola swing a bit (Im terrified of heights so I really shouldn't even be riding the Skyliner haha!) and the lady we were sharing with was so sweet and kept me talking to help me relax. So thank you, kind woman! I really don't mind sharing a gondola but I'm an extrovert by nature so I'm chatty. When we stepped off the Skyliner they shut it down so we just barely made it before they closed it! After that I wasn't too keen on riding it when the sky looked questionable. Something to keep in mind for the summer months!
> DME was great both there and back to the airport. Not sure if we got lucky but no stops made either way and was quick. Really going to miss it.
> As for the parks, our experience was similar to other folks recently- here's some quick takeaways:
> 
> The rain seems to pick up more in afternoon/evenings sometimes all night long. Personally, even with ponchos/umbrellas I found it miserable- I live in a dry climate so probably just a culture shock for me haha! In the future, we'd avoid this time of year or just do the park all day without a break and just  leave for the day when the rain starts. But this is mainly a personal opinion for most when it comes to rain.
> The heat didn't bother me as much as I thought but the humidity makes it real rough in the afternoon. Cooling towels and fans were a big help- recommend bringing them! I'd take heat over rain any day but I'm sure I'm the minority on that!
> So many ride breakdowns! It happened to us constantly at all the parks. On our last night we were just about to board Seven Dwarfs and it went down so we couldn't ride which was really disappointing. Same thing happened with Frozen too. And many other days 2-4 rides wouldn't even be working at park open. Not sure what's going on with all that but if you have your heart set on riding something, ride it early! Luckily we had already done Frozen and Seven Dwarfs or I would have been so upset.
> Having a dining reservation each day was wonderful when we wanted a break from the weather. Highly recommend it when coming in the summer.
> Disney Springs was busy but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. None of the stores had a line except World of Disney and that seemed more of a way to just streamline guests in one door. I spent way too much moola in the Vera Bradley store when I saw the Disney prints- heads up ladies!
> Universal Orlando was a hot mess. They opened everything wide open without the staff to handle it. Many of the locations in Harry Potter only had one or maybe two people working! We waited about an hour for ice-cream because there was only one person making it and taking orders. We only stuck it out bc that place was one of our todo items. Most of the team members were miserable and rude (hard to blame them, I'd be miserable too!) and the food lines were long everywhere. I know this is likely temporary but really soured me on coming back anytime soon.
> Blizzard Beach was a great time. We got there at opening and found a spot with shade easily. In fact, there were many spots with shade all day. Lines for the two big slides for long but my son did them right at open and walked right on. Everything else was no wait or moved quickly. Those stairs though.... it's not much of a rest day when you factor the stairs in. We ended up skipping many things just because the stairs were so rough. Especially barefoot- if you have water shoes, bring them. I have ones for kayaking and was kicking myself for not bringing them!
> Everything is entirely back to normal with the 'fill the available space' - we are vaccinated so I was fine with it but I noticed a few folks that were clearly uncomfortable. If you feel that way, I would wait - it's really unavoidable now.
> We are primarily Disneyland folks but had such a great time that I think WDW is now officially made its way into my trip rotation!



Mind sharing your room number?  We are headed to a preferred pool room in a few weeks.  Want to be as easy to get to the pool as possible for the kiddos.


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## RunWI1265

Just checked out of Kidani. We rope dropped MK this morning. Down at the bus stop at 7:28 and the first bus arrived at 7:50. We were able to accomplish Space, Buzz, people mover, BTMR, spring roll cart and Casey’s between 9:00-10:50.

*Final Thoughts*
I have been fortunate enough to have been to the parks Sept 2020, Jan 2021, May 2021. So I’ve seen the parks continuously evolve during these times. The experience from May to now is night and day. RD is absolutely vital to accomplishing headliners in each park. Or if head liners aren’t your thing, you need to get to the park before everyone who is RD the bigger rides get off because then they disperse into the normally people eater rides….making all lines longer. While we did find many rides at MK had inflated wait times the lines backed out into the sun. And it is just so, so hot. We also were disappointed in the lack of food availability near/after park close. Nothing is open so you need to plan ahead. The gift shop at our resort was never open by the time we got back at night nor was it open in the morning when we were going to the bus stops. 

We will be taking a long break from the parks and wait for Disney to implement more changes to help with the crowding. We were able to ride everything, but we are two able-bodied, very knowledgeable WDW people. We can tolerate the heat but it still isn’t pleasant! We did midday breaks to shower. I was considering bringing my youngest before she turns 3 next month but I don’t think as the way things are now visiting the parks would be very enjoyable for her. I cannot ask her to stand in line after line in this heat. Hats Off to the parents who manage this well. You guys are amazing!

last note - We had a standard one bedroom (7957) and a nice view! We were able to see some animals every day. A “savannah” view without the savannah price tag.  Oh and we only had one bus hiccup. We had been waiting over 10 minutes for an Epcot bus and the display and app (which never have the same times listed) kept pushing the bus arrival back (like 25+ minutes away). We saw a HS bus pull up so we hopped on and used the skyliner to get to Epcot. Worked out well since we wanted to be in the WS anyway. Overall we had a nice kid-free trip but we won’t be back until things have a little more order to them.


----------



## krybandt

ccianci85 said:


> Just got back from a trip last week at the Beach Club and here are a few observations. We haven't stayed at the beach club in 10 years and while it is beautiful and close to Epcot I do like the Poly more. Didn't like walking wet thru the lobby and entire hotel (we were at a far end of the villas) to get back to your room after the pool. Although the Poly has multiple building is had a smaller feel to it which I liked. Also though that food was harder to come by at the beach club. Forget about trying to eat at Beaches and Cream or Cape May which leaves you with a slim menu at the marketplace. Bus service for the most part was terrible but might be everywhere. Waiting 45 mins on multiple occasions at the resort and at the parks for busses. Also having young kids with no fastpasses is tough. Trying to get them to wait 45 mins or more for multiple rides even close to rope drop wasn't fun. Definitely liked planning our day around fast passes with a break in the pool midday. First time riding the Skyliner was great and think it is a great transportation option. Overall a great trip with great weather but the parks are Extremely crowded, I would say our last trip in July of 2019 was less crowded than this trip.


We last went in July 2019 too and I'm with you that the thing that made that trip work was knowing we could go to the pool midday because we had FPs for our favorite rides. I feel bad for all of the people going now with crowds and no FPs. Also thinking of staying at BC versus Poly or a couple other places next year - assuming FPs come back - and your thoughts were really helpful.


----------



## jdorman

brockash said:


> That is unreal...for **** sake Disney, get your crap together.  They are destroying everything that makes Disney, Disney.  I seriously contemplate if my youngest will ever remember Disney as I don't see how we could continue to justify spending the kind of money it takes for Disney vacation if it's like this.  It's so sad.


Quit whining - any experience is what you make of it and quit blaming Disney - we are still in the midst of a global pandemic, the world has changed, businesses had to change -we are not back to normal!!!! If you don't wish to go because you're nostalgic for you think it should be based on what you think it was - then don't go.


----------



## NashvilleMama

krismom345 said:


> Can you remind me how you do this? Do you just tell the CM at the entrance to the ride?


Yep, whenever there are single rider lines, it's a separate line entrance (like a fastpass lane) so just walk up to the "gate" or entrance to the ride. You can kind of see it on the left side of this post where you enter the building: 
https://www.magicalvacationhomes.co...-smugglers-run-review-star-wars-galaxys-edge/


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

4Spen said:


> We were there July 11-17. We stayed at the GF.
> 
> 
> *The Good*
> The resort was beautiful. I had requested to be near the walking path to MK and that request was granted. It was super convenient and we used the walkway a lot. I would highly recommend this resort.
> 
> We love mobile ordering and used it frequently.
> 
> Fireworks being back makes such a difference. We didn’t stay to watch at Epcot but saw the MK fireworks every night. (From different places)
> 
> *The Just Okay*
> We usually like to have one sit down dinner a day. That didn’t happen this time. I had a slew of reservations but changed them or cancelled them while there. It was either too hot to travel to the various locations or transportation was too slow or crowded. We ended up joining the walk up list for Kona, Tony’s (had never even considered this one) and Grand Flo Cafe. Surprisingly, Tony’s was the best of the three. Of course, they all have basically the same steak on the menu and my husband had a steak at all three. He said Tony’s was the best. And their tiramisu was really good.  The other restaurants were fine but nothing special. I wasn’t disappointed in any of the food and we had a lot of pretty good counter service, just wasn’t like our past trips.
> 
> Transportation was fine. We only experienced one long wait for a bus at Epcot. Never rode a bus that was full but we never stayed at a park until closing. (Except MK and we walked) Mask compliance on buses and monorails was good. I never saw or heard anyone giving a driver trouble because of it.
> 
> *The Bad (and not really that bad)*
> 
> It was hot! I know it’s Florida and summer but we haven’t been in the summer since 2019 and had forgotten how hot it is. Wear lots of deodorant, drink lots of water, and bring enough clothing to change if necessary.
> 
> It was crowded. We are all vaccinated and not concerned or upset about being near people. Just saying this for anyone that is uncomfortable around people. If there weren’t some families/people in masks, you would have thought it was 2019. There are no social distancing rules. It is shoulder to shoulder in a lot of places. Stores are busy and people are everywhere. You will be sat with other parties on rides. You will have people right against your back in lines. People will squeeze their families right up against you on benches and anywhere you’re sitting really. Lines were long and people will not give you space. Again, I’m okay with all of it but anyone that isn’t should reconsider.
> 
> I did see the overflowing trash cans. Not everywhere and not in abundance but I did see some. I’m more upset with people than Disney though. People throw stuff in bushes or leave their trash on the ground. It’s disappointing. Disney probably does need more staff and seems they’re working on that. I just wish people would be better.
> 
> Epcot construction is massive. Walls all over. World Showcase had fewer food options than before (until food and wine started) and we spent way less time there than prior trips. It’s also pretty much a giant bar in the evenings.  It wasn’t a big deal for us since our kids are older but if I had little ones I’d probably skip Epcot in the evening. JMO
> 
> Overall, we had a great time. Traffic to and from was crazy! For the first time my husband said he’d rather fly. (He hates flying) Florida is packed. We had to practice a lot of patience.


people threw stuff in the bushes?!?!? I am just......like i know I shouldn't be shocked but omg people go find a trash can!


----------



## PanchoX1

just got back on sunday. Arrived on 7/11. checked in to Wilderness Lodge that evening after a day at Legoland. Had to return the Rental car by 8am on the 12 at the Hyatt by Disney Springs. has planned to take a cab back but a lady at customer service suggested, that I walk over to Saratoga Springs and take a bus to MK, then move on back to the resort. As a person that enjoys walking and exploring, I did just that and had a great morning while the wife and kids slept in. I made my way over to Disney springs, got stopped by security as it was not open yet, explained what I was doing and was allowed to walk through to Saratoga. I caught a bus to MK and from there took a boat back to the resort. it was super cool weather and just started to get toasty when I arrived at the resort. Has lunch at whispering Canyon and it was great! our server was fantastic and super funny. we hit the pool for a few hours then headed out to the Grand Floridian for dinner. took the boat back to MK then jumped on the monorail to GF. Another fun outing. next day was another resort day. breakfast at light breakfast at roaring fork, lunch at the Polynesian and dinner at Enzo's hideaway in Disney springs.

on Wednesday we did Hollywood studios. got Rise boarding group #5! the park felt much more full than it did in December but I'm still a fan of no fastpass! constantly flowing lines all day long. slowest stalling line was for Smugglers run right at park close. rope dropped Slinky first thing. We hit all rides and had a sit down lunch before 4pm. Hit the brown derby for dinner and snagged a 8:45 reservation for oga's while on the monorail to the GF the day before. It gave us the perfect ending to a great day and we got to walk out of a mostly empty park and enjoy all the lights and atmosphere.

Thursday was epcot. had breakfast at the Ale and compass.  came in through the IG and rope dropped Frozen which was down. bummer. we waited it out and it opened up just before 11:30. again we were able to hit all rides with awesome moving lines and do two ADR's well before park close. got a great firework spot near france and finished the day with some ice cream from the france ice cream shop.

had a great trip.


----------



## Randy Miller

harleyquinn said:


> How were the crowds at BB? We’re debating going there one day if the parks are too busy for us.


BB has been amazing!  We get there about 10:40…we hang out at Tikes Peak, the lazy river and the wave pool. We have been there twice so far and headed back tomorrow!


----------



## PanchoX1

123SA said:


> Has anyone been to Disney Springs recently?  I'd like to do a little shopping on our arrival day, first Saturday in August.  We like to go to World of Disney, the Christmas Shop, and a Star Wars store.  However, if we have to wait outside a store in line, I'll head to Blizzard Beach instead.
> 
> Thanks for your help.



was there on Friday from about 11am to about 4 pm. there was no line to get into World of Disney. Id say that was prob my most enjoyable vist to DS that I've ever had. the star wars oupost store up by Earl of Sandwich had a ton of merchandise from the parks. so id recommend that one. the only line for a store that we waited in was for Gideon's


----------



## scrappinginontario

Randy Miller said:


> BB has been amazing!  We get there about 10:40…we hang out at Tikes Peak, the lazy river and the wave pool. We have been there twice so far and headed back tomorrow!


Are the innertubes back in the wave pool yet?  I believe they were not there when it first opened.


----------



## PanchoX1

cakebaker said:


> You shouldn't have to work at being happy at WDW, but hats off to you for trying so hard. We have no plans to use the bus system for anything this trip. We're a boat away from the MK and everything else will be Uber. Everything I read about the busses is they are just horrid right now- and we were always dedicated bus users.
> 
> I hope  your trip ends on a high note tonight. I suspect next week is going to be rough, but we'll put on the happy faces for my grandson. I'm not sure how long he'll survive the long waits in the sun, he's always been susceptible to dehydration and is very heat sensitive even when we are super careful with him. Our cure was always FP+, short waits for secondary rides at rope drop and lots of indoor breaks just getting snacks and drinks. He'll want to do it all regardless so I hope it's not a trip full of no's, can't do that. I don't so much care about my experience, I just want it to be a decent trip for him after all the disappointments.



I'd recommend picking up a uv blocking umbrella for those times  you're in the sun in line. we had two of those, cooling towels and personal fans and the umbrellas made the biggest difference. the towels really didn't do much for us.


----------



## harleyquinn

Randy Miller said:


> BB has been amazing!  We get there about 10:40…we hang out at Tikes Peak, the lazy river and the wave pool. We have been there twice so far and headed back tomorrow!


Thank you! At least one place is positive crowd wise!


----------



## PPFlight75

AK today. At the bus by 640. Bus came 10 minutes later. We were let in at 715 and held at the last bridge before Pandora( as previously reported).  At 0730, we were let in and slow walked on. Walked on Navi. Rode Everest 3 times ( 10-15 min and last was a walk on as single rider) rode dinosaur(10 min) and then did ITs tough to be a bug and shopped for a few minutes. Lunch at yak and Yeti and then headed out. We skipped the safari due to the hour wait. 
 Again, getting there early is key to avoid super long lines. The park was crowded but definitely not the worst we have seen.


----------



## JAM77

PanchoX1 said:


> I'd recommend picking up a uv blocking umbrella for those times  you're in the sun in line. we had two of those, cooling towels and personal fans and the umbrellas made the biggest difference. the towels really didn't do much for us.



Anyone have recommendations on great sun umbrellas.


----------



## Akck

JAM77 said:


> Anyone have recommendations on great sun umbrellas.



Here’s the one we got:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074ZVDLPP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1


----------



## Ursula_Fan

Just back today. Spent Friday 7/16 in MK. Took a 7:30 am bus from OKW. Got to MK at 8. They were letting people in to queue at spokes of the Hub. At 8:15 the line for Fantasyland was packed. Tomorrowland didn't look much better. We queued for Adventureland to try to RD Splash. Got held twice. Arrived at Splash at 9:05 and the wait was 30 min. Rode Splash, then BTMR after a 25 minute wait. By that time it was 10:15. Headed to HM. Was in line for 30 min; during that time the ride went down twice. Off HM at 11:05. Went to Small World next because the other queues were insane. 20 min to get onto SW, got off, then headed to LM. 30 min wait to get on LM. At that point it was about 12:10. Headed to Skippers for our lunch reservation. Went to Pirates around 1:15 and had a 25 min wait to get on. After that, it was about 2 pm and the waits skyrocketed as park hopping people came in.  Space had been down until about 2 pm, and then had a 75 min wait. We gave up on 7DMT because we never saw a wait less than 80 min. Gave up on PP because 55 min was the min we saw. Rode Carousel of Progress & People Mover. At that point we couldn't find any rides that had less than a 50 minute wait so we left at 3:30. 

TL, DR: Fri 7/16 tried to RD Splash, 30 min wait a few minutes after opening. Ended up riding 8 rides total (Splash, BTMR, HM, IASW, LM, Pirates, CoP, PM) and left at 3:30. Trash was overflowing from receptacles in Tomorrowland, which we could see from PM. A bummer, but they are letting in too many people for the staff they have. Also with breakdowns, Space was down until 2 pm, and HM, LM and Splash had intermittent issues.


----------



## Ursula_Fan

Was in Epcot Sat 7/16. We walked through the gates at opening (11 am) and immediately did Mission Space orange. TT was down then had a 75 min wait, so we instead went to Soarin (15 min wait) and walked onto Land. Headed over to France for a reservation. Around 12:30 got into line for Frozen, which was a 50 minute wait. *Definitely* bring a UV umbrella and fans/misters for Epcot. It was sunny and hot. It's nice when it doesn't rain, but no clouds means some intense sun. After Frozen we did some F&W booths. Dinner in Mexico. Around 7 pm did single rider TT with a 20 min wait. Then walked onto Nemo and left. We skipped SE, Figment, and Tres Caballeros this trip.  The F&W booths in FW were good, especially the BBQ one sponsored by the NFL that's near TT. Be prepared for lots of lines for other booths, though, since many don't open until Oct 1. 

We stayed at OKW this trip and loved it. Resort was at 100% capacity though so there were waits for the limited food options there. It seemed that the front desk was constantly slammed with not enough staff. We were in building 46 in a two bedroom (4624) and would recommend. Quiet, near the South Point bus stop, near a quiet pool, nice water view. 

If you are heading to Disney this summer, definitely RD, pack your patience, and consider taking a long break from the parks after lunch and come back around dinner time or after. We wish we had done that but had plans with family each night.


----------



## PanchoX1

JAM77 said:


> Anyone have recommendations on great sun umbrellas.



we got these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082TP4C49/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
a bit on the small size but super lightweight and easily stowed in a backpack.


----------



## snoopy5386

We opened and closed MK today - staying offsite at Bonnet Creek
Left our resort at 7:30. Arrived at parking at 7:52, I was worried that this was too early but they were already letting cars in. Parked by 8:02, on the ferry by 8:15, through the tapstiles by 8:30 and waiting to rope drop Frontierland by 8:40. We walked quickly and were in the first few hundred on Splash, basically a walk on - got in line at 9:05, in a log by 9:15, off by 9:30. At this point it was a 65 min wait. Very glad we did this first thing since it ended up being down most of the day.

Next up Big Thunder - listed as a 25 min wait, actual wait was 10 mins.

Walked to Haunted Mansion next since Pirates was down. Listed as 30 min wait, we were in the stretching room in 15 mins. Line was crazy long back to the riverboat (a sign of things to come).

Next we did Dumbo which had a 10 min wait while waiting for Storybook Treats to open so we could get some Dole Whips.

Went to Aloha Terrace to get one kid a strawberry Dole Whip and walked over to Pirates hoping it would open soon. It ended up being down the majority of the day and when it was up the ride times were crazy 60-100 minutes. We never did get to ride it.

By now it was noon, the crowds were crazy and it was thunder-storming.

We got into the longest line I have ever seen for Space Mountain. The wait was listed as 55 minutes and it seemed impossible that it would actually be that short. True wait ended up being 60 minutes on the dot, so pretty accurate.

We went to Cosmic Rays after to grab lunch at 1:30 - this was our only bad experience with mobile order - we had to wait a full 30 mins after checking in for our food to be ready.

After lunch we walked in to COP it was 3 pm at this point. Next we got in line for Peter Pan - listed as a 70 min wait, we waited 65. We did some shopping on Main Street next and the did Philharmagic which was a 10 min wait. Next was Buzz - listed as a 50 min wait, but ended up being 30. Last ride before the fireworks was Pooh - listed as a 40 min wait and that was accurate.

We were able to grab a spot in the hub around 8:30 and thankfully had a much better experience mobile ordering Casey’s for dinner. Watched HEA and booked it over to Splash after to end the night. Wait was listed as 75 mins but we only waited 25.

Left the park about 10, lines for the monorail and the ferry were crazy - ended up taking the resort launch to the Poly and walking to the TTC - got back in our car around 11:15.

We have been coming to Disney for over 20 years - we usually travel at busy times - thanksgiving and Easter, and even a few NYE’s at the turn of the century. I have never seen lines like I did today. There was a lot of lightning which meant a large number of rides were down on and off and that pushed the wait times for the remaining rides way up.  I missed FP a lot. We were always able to make whatever FP system was in place work to our advantage. Sure the popular rides had longer waits, but there were also always attractions with short waits too - Small World, Little Mermaid, Peoplemover, etc. Today we saw a 70 min wait for Small World, 75 for Little Mermaid and never saw the peoplemover go below 40 mins. I have read a lot of “but the lines never stop moving! This was very hit or miss for us. The lines for Space Mountain and Peter Pan were VERY slow.

99 out of 100 people were not wearing masks. I had planned to make my kids (1 half vaxed and 1 unvaxed) wear them any time we were inside but honestly it was too hot and gross. They only wore them on a few attractions (HM, COP and Philharmagic). It is wall to wall people and there is zero social distancing. I was able to create space by letting my kids be a few feet ahead of me and they stayed a few feet back from the people in front of them, but I had people right up my butt which I hate in normal times. I have been very conservative with where my kids have gone all pandemic, we are here for a family reunion and when I bought my tickets months ago, I was very comfortable with the safety protocols at the time, now there are basically none.

Overall we still had fun, the heat wasn’t too terrible especially after it rained and magic is what you make it.  Neck fans are great - ran mine for most of the day and it never ran out of battery, that and dri-fit clothing, a hat. sunglasses and ice cream and the heat was very bearable.

Expect crowds. Expect to say “the line starts where??” Expect not to be able to ride all you have been able to in the past. We did 11 attractions in 13 hours plus the fireworks.


----------



## Looper

RunWI1265 said:


> Just checked out of Kidani. We rope dropped MK this morning. Down at the bus stop at 7:28 and the first bus arrived at 7:50. We were able to accomplish Space, Buzz, people mover, BTMR, spring roll cart and Casey’s between 9:00-10:50.



Do you remember how crowded the bus was at Kidani for MK rope drop? We’re staying there in 2 weeks, and we’ll have a car, but the bus is so much easier to MK. But I‘m not too keen on a packed bus, lol.


----------



## dreamit

7/18/21
MK 9:01 waiting at Frontierland rope (after Liberty Square rope)

Splash walk-on, BTMR 5 minute walk-on, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Sleepy Hollow mobile order pick-up at 10:55. Tangled bathrooms, Philharmagic, Plaza check-in at 12:15.
Space Mountain posted 70, took 50. On at 1:52
Ordered DTech phone case.
15 minute wait for Peoplemover.
DTech phone case pick-up.
Main Street Bakery for Starbucks.
Emporium 
Pandora shop.
Calvacade

Bus to HS

ToT posted at 40 minutes. In line at 5:07..Out of preshow at 5:31.
6:00 Woody's lunchbox
6:32 TSMM, posted 35. 20 minute wait.

7/19

Pop bus at 6:50
7:15 let in park. Held at Pandora Rope until 7:30.
FOP. Navi. By 8:42 in 5 minute line at Kilamanjaro safari.
Bathroom Break
9:42 Royal Anandapur. Stale donut.
Everest in line at 10:12 Off Everest 10:40.
Discovery Island shops.
11:15 Tree of Life for Winged Encounters
Mobile ordered Satuli. Picked up at 11:45.
Wandered and did EE again with 20 minute wait(posted at 30).

Back to Pop. Then dinner in DS. Visited DS Art of Disney and got a print that Dirk Wunderlich then signed and sketched a Stitch for me on the back.

7/20

Pop skyliner 7:30 start (handful of people in line.
CBR transfer only five from CBR in line.
Arrived at HS at 7:50. Could see some cars lined up at gate. Went to the right line. Maybe 25 back in line. Entered. Straight to RNR line. First in line in Sunset BLvd. Three people already in the ToT line onSunset. Maybe 15 people entered the park ahead of us. Standing in the RNR line now. CM said we’ll be walked back at 8:30. If ready will start then or they may hold us until 9:00. Oh—BG 11. We sat at the tables outside Everything Pop with others doing the same thing. I was on data and got the BG. The others in my party were on WiFi.
Transferring to BCR tomorrow. Will report more later. I will say, though, that crowds seem much better than what I was seeing reported here last week.


----------



## Dakota731

Marthasor said:


> I don't think anyone on here is actually suggesting you do this.  I'm also the mom of a child with a disability.  When traveling, there are certain accommodations I can typically expect - early boarding on an aircraft, the DAS pass.  Otherwise, I have to contrive the accommodations that will best suit his needs and, yes, as you suggested in another post, "quiet room" is always the first request I put on our reservations and I typically now spend more on 1- or 2-bedroom villas just so he can be in a bedroom with no external, hallway or connecting door.  So, while your disabled child may be prone to outbursts, my disabled child is prone to panic attacks when hearing loud noises.  I think, perhaps, we all need to be cognizant and respectful of not only our childrens' needs, but the needs of those around us.





Looper said:


> Do you remember how crowded the bus was at Kidani for MK rope drop? We’re staying there in 2 weeks, and we’ll have a car, but the bus is so much easier to MK. But I‘m not too keen on a packed bus, lol.


We are staying at Kidani too for the first time so I’m concerned about breakfast if everything is closed. Will we have to walk to Jambo in the mornings?  We usually grab something quick like cereal and fruit


----------



## disny_luvr

dreamit said:


> 7/18/21
> MK 9:01 waiting at Frontierland rope (after Liberty Square rope)
> 
> Splash walk-on, BTMR 5 minute walk-on, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Sleepy Hollow mobile order pick-up at 10:55. Tangled bathrooms, Philharmagic, Plaza check-in at 12:15.
> Space Mountain posted 70, took 50. On at 1:52
> Ordered DTech phone case.
> 15 minute wait for Peoplemover.
> DTech phone case pick-up.
> Main Street Bakery for Starbucks.
> Emporium
> Pandora shop.
> Calvacade
> 
> Bus to HS
> 
> ToT posted at 40 minutes. In line at 5:07..Out of preshow at 5:31.
> 6:00 Woody's lunchbox
> 6:32 TSMM, posted 35. 20 minute wait.
> 
> 7/19
> 
> Pop bus at 6:50
> 7:15 let in park. Held at Pandora Rope until 7:30.
> FOP. Navi. By 8:42 in 5 minute line at Kilamanjaro safari.
> Bathroom Break
> 9:42 Royal Anandapur. Stale donut.
> Everest in line at 10:12 Off Everest 10:40.
> Discovery Island shops.
> 11:15 Tree of Life for Winged Encounters
> Mobile ordered Satuli. Picked up at 11:45.
> Wandered and did EE again with 20 minute wait(posted at 30).
> 
> Back to Pop. Then dinner in DS. Visited DS Art of Disney and got a print that Dirk Wunderlich then signed and sketched a Stitch for me on the back.
> 
> 7/20
> 
> Pop skyliner 7:30 start (handful of people in line.
> CBR transfer only five from CBR in line.
> Arrived at HS at 7:50. Could see some cars lined up at gate. Went to the right line. Maybe 25 back in line. Entered. Straight to RNR line. First in line in Sunset BLvd. Three people already in the ToT line onSunset. Maybe 15 people entered the park ahead of us. Standing in the RNR line now. CM said we’ll be walked back at 8:30. If ready will start then or they may hold us until 9:00. Oh—BG 11. We sat at the tables outside Everything Pop with others doing the same thing. I was on data and got the BG. The others in my party were on WiFi.
> Transferring to BCR tomorrow. Will report more later. I will say, though, that crowds seem much better than what I was seeing reported here last week.



Thank you for such a detailed report! It is very helpful. It sounds like you are having a great time! I look forward to your next report.


----------



## Geomom

Dakota731 said:


> We are staying at Kidani too for the first time so I’m concerned about breakfast if everything is closed. Will we have to walk to Jambo in the mornings?  We usually grab something quick like cereal and fruit


It depends on how early you're getting going.  Sanaa is open for quick service in the mornings and the shop at Kidani has a small grocery section so you might be able to get fruit and cereal there.  We stayed at Kidani last summer and lines were crazy in the morning at Sanaa...not enough staff.


----------



## krismom345

dreamit said:


> 7/18/21
> MK 9:01 waiting at Frontierland rope (after Liberty Square rope)
> 
> Splash walk-on, BTMR 5 minute walk-on, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Sleepy Hollow mobile order pick-up at 10:55. Tangled bathrooms, Philharmagic, Plaza check-in at 12:15.
> Space Mountain posted 70, took 50. On at 1:52
> Ordered DTech phone case.
> 15 minute wait for Peoplemover.
> DTech phone case pick-up.
> Main Street Bakery for Starbucks.
> Emporium
> Pandora shop.
> Calvacade
> 
> Bus to HS
> 
> ToT posted at 40 minutes. In line at 5:07..Out of preshow at 5:31.
> 6:00 Woody's lunchbox
> 6:32 TSMM, posted 35. 20 minute wait.
> 
> 7/19
> 
> Pop bus at 6:50
> 7:15 let in park. Held at Pandora Rope until 7:30.
> FOP. Navi. By 8:42 in 5 minute line at Kilamanjaro safari.
> Bathroom Break
> 9:42 Royal Anandapur. Stale donut.
> Everest in line at 10:12 Off Everest 10:40.
> Discovery Island shops.
> 11:15 Tree of Life for Winged Encounters
> Mobile ordered Satuli. Picked up at 11:45.
> Wandered and did EE again with 20 minute wait(posted at 30).
> 
> Back to Pop. Then dinner in DS. Visited DS Art of Disney and got a print that Dirk Wunderlich then signed and sketched a Stitch for me on the back.
> 
> 7/20
> 
> Pop skyliner 7:30 start (handful of people in line.
> CBR transfer only five from CBR in line.
> Arrived at HS at 7:50. Could see some cars lined up at gate. Went to the right line. Maybe 25 back in line. Entered. Straight to RNR line. First in line in Sunset BLvd. Three people already in the ToT line onSunset. Maybe 15 people entered the park ahead of us. Standing in the RNR line now. CM said we’ll be walked back at 8:30. If ready will start then or they may hold us until 9:00. Oh—BG 11. We sat at the tables outside Everything Pop with others doing the same thing. I was on data and got the BG. The others in my party were on WiFi.
> Transferring to BCR tomorrow. Will report more later. I will say, though, that crowds seem much better than what I was seeing reported here last week.


“Stale donut” is best part of this.


----------



## preemiemama

Looper said:


> Do you remember how crowded the bus was at Kidani for MK rope drop? We’re staying there in 2 weeks, and we’ll have a car, but the bus is so much easier to MK. But I‘m not too keen on a packed bus, lol.


Not the person you asked, but we just got back from a stay at Jambo.  The bus stops at both Kidani and Jambo in the morning, but that 7:30 bus is not usually packed. There were a few families each time we were on it, but we all had seats and some space.


----------



## moesy4

It seems to me from these posts that rides being down, either for mechanics or weather, are almost a bigger problem at this point towards line waits than the lack of people eaters or staff. When headliners are down almost every day for sometimes a large chunk of the day, it has a disastrous effect on both the overall wait times for that line when it does finally open and also the other rides when it is closed.


----------



## sjrec

Dakota731 said:


> We are staying at Kidani too for the first time so I’m concerned about breakfast if everything is closed. Will we have to walk to Jambo in the mornings?  We usually grab something quick like cereal and fruit


You should have a fridge-you could get fruit and cereal the night before and eat before you leave.


----------



## RunWI1265

Looper said:


> Do you remember how crowded the bus was at Kidani for MK rope drop? We’re staying there in 2 weeks, and we’ll have a car, but the bus is so much easier to MK. But I‘m not too keen on a packed bus, lol.


Not packed at all. It was the latest bus to pick up in the morning though. When we got to the bus stop at 7:30 there was only one other person. But the bus didn’t come for 20 more minutes so obviously more people showed up. Had it come around 730 there would have been 3 of us on the bus. My husband and I both agreed it was the best overall bussing experience we’ve had of any trip.


----------



## dmband

scrappinginontario said:


> Are the innertubes back in the wave pool yet?  I believe they were not there when it first opened.


not when I was there recently


harleyquinn said:


> Thank you! At least one place is positive crowd wise!


Crowd was super low for us.
longest wait was like 1 minute. Took way longer to get a lazy river tube than anything else


----------



## WEDWDW

Northwest Mercantile(with one of my favorite Hidden Mickeys) and Trading Post have reopened in Canada!

We still have a ways to go to get all of the World Showcase shops reopened,but this is a great development.

(I still have hopes that one day they will put a shop in Hotel du Canada again.)


----------



## BebopBaloo

Question for anyone who may have attempted this recently... I'm currently on a "over two hour" hold with WDW reservations (third time attempting this). I want to add a note about my son's birthday to a dining reservation that I already have. I've attempted to do this online and in chat, but they can't do it that way.    Is Disney doing anything special for birthdays at the moment anyway? In past there would be Mickey confetti and a card on the table. etc. I'm posting this question here in hopes that someone there, or just back may have experience with this.  Thanks!

Edit to add: Iago is still singing his version of Friend Like Me from the old Tiki Room Makeover in the hold music.


----------



## GBRforWDW

BebopBaloo said:


> Question for anyone who may have attempted this recently... I'm currently on a "over two hour" hold with WDW reservations (third time attempting this). I want to add a note about my son's birthday to a dining reservation that I already have. I've attempted to do this online and in chat, but they can't do it that way.    Is Disney doing anything special for birthdays at the moment anyway? In past there would be Mickey confetti and a card on the table. etc. I'm posting this question here in hopes that someone there, or just back may have experience with this.  Thanks!


When I went for my 40th in January, when we would check in on the app, there was an option to select if you were celebrating anything, birthday, anniversary, etc.  I checked it every time during our trip.  Some places would recognize it and bring an extra dessert, but most places didn't have anything they were doing.  Is there a specific restaurant you're thinking about?


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

BebopBaloo said:


> Question for anyone who may have attempted this recently... I'm currently on a "over two hour" hold with WDW reservations (third time attempting this). I want to add a note about my son's birthday to a dining reservation that I already have. I've attempted to do this online and in chat, but they can't do it that way.    Is Disney doing anything special for birthdays at the moment anyway? In past there would be Mickey confetti and a card on the table. etc. I'm posting this question here in hopes that someone there, or just back may have experience with this.  Thanks!



We went to via Napoli on my birthday - they sang and brought me a cannoli with a candle. When my girlfriend made reservations, I wasn't planning on going, so my guess is she told them at check in.


----------



## BebopBaloo

GBRforWDW said:


> When I went for my 40th in January, when we would check in on the app, there was an option to select if you were celebrating anything, birthday, anniversary, etc.  I checked it every time during our trip.  Some places would recognize it and bring an extra dessert, but most places didn't have anything they were doing.  Is there a specific restaurant you're thinking about?


Garden Grill is our restaurant. That's good to know about it being asked for in app check in.


----------



## GBRforWDW

BebopBaloo said:


> Garden Grill is our restaurant. That's good to know about it being asked for in app check in.


I don't remember for sure, but don't think they had anything special to offer at that time.  Maybe it's changed since then though.  You can always have a birthday cake set up to be delivered to the restaurant though.


----------



## Looper

RunWI1265 said:


> Not packed at all. It was the latest bus to pick up in the morning though. When we got to the bus stop at 7:30 there was only one other person. But the bus didn’t come for 20 more minutes so obviously more people showed up. Had it come around 730 there would have been 3 of us on the bus. My husband and I both agreed it was the best overall bussing experience we’ve had of any trip.


So good to hear! Thank you!


----------



## harleyquinn

BebopBaloo said:


> Garden Grill is our restaurant. That's good to know about it being asked for in app check in.


I highly suggest saying something when you check in there.  Years ago, they brought my daughter (I think she was turning 3) a cupcake and sang her Happy Birthday. They also gave us a card signed by all of the Characters that appear at GG.  I know part of it was that she was stinking adorable, and it was a long time ago, but it wouldn't hurt!


----------



## honeymo78

BebopBaloo said:


> Question for anyone who may have attempted this recently... I'm currently on a "over two hour" hold with WDW reservations (third time attempting this). I want to add a note about my son's birthday to a dining reservation that I already have. I've attempted to do this online and in chat, but they can't do it that way.    Is Disney doing anything special for birthdays at the moment anyway? In past there would be Mickey confetti and a card on the table. etc. I'm posting this question here in hopes that someone there, or just back may have experience with this.  Thanks!
> 
> Edit to add: Iago is still singing his version of Friend Like Me from the old Tiki Room Makeover in the hold music.


No confetti or card on the table for me earlier this month, but I got a piece of "birthday" cake at California Grill and at Via Napoli I got a cupcake with a candle and they sang to me.  I think I mentioned my birthday when checking in to CG, something about it being my grown up birthday meal the night before my birthday.  At Via Napoli, I didn't mention anything but was wearing my "birthday girl" sash since it was my actual birthday.  We also ate at Skipper Canteen and Yak & Yeti with nothing special - I didn't mention a birthday at any point so no surprise nothing happened.


----------



## BebopBaloo

I ended up not waiting the 2+ hours. I waited about 40minutes and then hung up. We'll just note it when checking in through the app. and he'll have a birthday button. We won't anticipate anything happening and will be especially happy if something does happen.


----------



## Geomom

BebopBaloo said:


> Garden Grill is our restaurant. That's good to know about it being asked for in app check in.


DD17 celebrated her bday at Garden Grill in April.  While it was noted on our resort reservation, she also wore her birthday button.  She got a signature card and a cup of chocolate mousse with Mickey sprinkles and a candle and our waiter sang happy b-day to her.


----------



## Manc

We drove back to NC last night after a 9 day stay in BCV and BLT.
Overall we (4 of us) felt like we had a good time. We all loved Galaxy’s Edge. The 2 attractions are awesome. My kids did both the droid, and lightsaber builds, and they loved them equally. My 14 y.o. even snagged a black kyber crystal on his birthday. Hollywood Studios as a whole was a hit with us, despite the heavy crowds.
Being so crowded, AK became a half day park for us again. We did the rope-drop ‘Pandora Shuffle’, as my youngest calls it. FOP, Dinosaur, Everest, and Safari, and by then it’s lunchtime. The crowds were so heavy at this point, that we couldn’t bear lining up for a repeat ride. Tiffins for lunch was both very relaxing and so yummy.

Epcot was ok. rope-dropped Soarin, which was a walk on. The Land had no wait. Over to TT, which was around 30 mins. SE was a crazy 30 min wait for us. We also did Frozen for the first time, which wasn’t so bad at 30 mins.

MK was our biggest disappointment. Crowds were very heavy. We found it difficult to get motivated to line up for such a long time in the heat to ride things we have done so many times before. Thunder Mountain wait times were fairly reasonable. We had 3 and a half MK days planned, but the kids didn’t even want to go back for the final 1.5.
On our last night our 14 y.o. started getting sick. Low grade fever, chills, stuffy, very drippy nose, and ear ache. We took him to his pediatrician this morning. He tested positive for RSV. Got back from the doctors office, and my 16 y.o. is starting with the same symptoms. Icky. Wife and I are ok so far.


----------



## lovethattink

I’m on vacation in Ohio and my dh is sending me photo after photo of the F&W festival. It feels strange not to be there and experience it vicariously through his pics! His photos make it look like Epcot isn’t busy today.


----------



## harleyquinn

lovethattink said:


> I’m on vacation in Ohio and my dh is sending me photo after photo of the F&W festival. It feels strange not to be there and experience it vicariously through his pics! His photos make it look like Epcot isn’t busy today.


"Vacation in Ohio" is very weird to this life-time Ohioan.   Though, to be fair, I use the majority of my vacation time around the state.  Hope it's a good vacation.

My friend just got back and felt like EPCOT was surprisingly uncrowded, but MK was "a nightmare."


----------



## theXfactor82

I'm curious as to how many people in the Disney Parks are US residents and if many of the international travelers are back at Disney yet. Are there stats for this info? Just wondering how this will directly impact wait times when international travelers do return without fast passes.


----------



## lovethattink

harleyquinn said:


> "Vacation in Ohio" is very weird to this life-time Ohioan.   Though, to be fair, I use the majority of my vacation time around the state.  Hope it's a good vacation.
> 
> My friend just got back and felt like EPCOT was surprisingly uncrowded, but MK was "a nightmare."



Having fun fishing. My dh bought me a Passholder Remy cup.


----------



## Princess Katelet

Someone mentioned the Tangled restrooms in the list of things they did that day. Can someone explain what’s special about them, please?? Like why was it included with the attractions they did??
Thanks!


----------



## Akck

The restrooms and area situated between the Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World is Tangled themed. There’s the tower, floating lanterns, wanted posters, etc., through the area. It’s a good area for pictures.  Pre-Covid, you could get a picture holding a lantern. The restroom interiors also have Tangled theming.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Akck said:


> The restrooms and area situated between the Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World is Tangled themed. There’s the tower, floating lanterns, wanted posters, etc., through the area. It’s a good area for pictures.  Pre-Covid, you could get a picture holding a lantern. The restroom interiors also have Tangled theming.


There's also the hidden Pascals! I love looking around for those.


----------



## WEDWDW

luv2cheer92 said:


> There's also the hidden Pascals! I love looking around for those.


And there are some cool Hidden Mickeys.


----------



## harleyquinn

Princess Katelet said:


> Someone mentioned the Tangled restrooms in the list of things they did that day. Can someone explain what’s special about them, please?? Like why was it included with the attractions they did??
> Thanks!


We always stop there at least once, because they are the coolest bathrooms on property. We usually get a goofy picture, because we love to joke about some Princesses getting more than one attraction, while poor Rapunzel got to use her talents on some bathrooms.


----------



## notatallmagic

lovethattink said:


> I’m on vacation in Ohio and my dh is sending me photo after photo of the F&W festival. It feels strange not to be there and experience it vicariously through his pics! His photos make it look like Epcot isn’t busy today.



Welcome from on Ohioian!  We grew up spending a week (this week - the last of July) at Hocking Hills every summer.  We also live really close to Cedar Point and the Lake Erie islands.  Enjoy your time here!


----------



## KGmomoftwins

WEDWDW said:


> And there are some cool Hidden Mickeys.


Don’t forget to look on the ground for Maximus hoof prints


----------



## Sarahslay

BebopBaloo said:


> Question for anyone who may have attempted this recently... I'm currently on a "over two hour" hold with WDW reservations (third time attempting this). I want to add a note about my son's birthday to a dining reservation that I already have. I've attempted to do this online and in chat, but they can't do it that way.    Is Disney doing anything special for birthdays at the moment anyway? In past there would be Mickey confetti and a card on the table. etc. I'm posting this question here in hopes that someone there, or just back may have experience with this.  Thanks!
> 
> Edit to add: Iago is still singing his version of Friend Like Me from the old Tiki Room Makeover in the hold music.


We've celebrated all of our birthdays at WDW this year, from February-Memorial day weekend week trip and had a mix of success. For my kids I put at every ADR (and we had one every single day) that we had a birthday and we had only one on each trip actually do something. Each time it was a cupcake with mickey sprinkles. When we went for my and my husbands birthdays recently absolutely nothing was done at any meal, and we had a ton of ADRs, my husband even mentioned to our waitress at Brown Derby that we were celebrating birthdays and she was just like "well that's nice". We didn't want lots of stuff done, but he was expecting at least a Happy Birthday or something (I think he secretly wanted a cupcake lol). So, your miles may vary right now, especially as restaurants get busier they sometimes just don't notice as it usually is printed on the ticket on the table they just don't look.


----------



## Sarahslay

theXfactor82 said:


> I'm curious as to how many people in the Disney Parks are US residents and if many of the international travelers are back at Disney yet. Are there stats for this info? Just wondering how this will directly impact wait times when international travelers do return without fast passes.


So, I just texted my friend that works with numbers at WDW this question about international travelers (because honestly I am curious myself). Her reply "hardly any, I'd say at this very moment probably less than 100 but I don't have the numbers in front of me". She has told me in the past a bulk of international travelers are from Europe, second being from Asia (mainly areas like Japan and India), and "certain areas in South America" which I think we all know where those are lol. None of those areas are really letting people travel easily right now, or the US isn't letting them, so unless they have the resources they aren't coming.


----------



## pasta

Here at MK. Splash and BTM closed all morning. On Carousel Progress. Having glitches. Something isn’t right today. Splash actually did open for a few rides, but was evacuated. Pretty cool seeing people walking on the mountain.


----------



## BebopBaloo

Sarahslay said:


> We've celebrated all of our birthdays at WDW this year, from February-Memorial day weekend week trip and had a mix of success. For my kids I put at every ADR (and we had one every single day) that we had a birthday and we had only one on each trip actually do something. Each time it was a cupcake with mickey sprinkles. When we went for my and my husbands birthdays recently absolutely nothing was done at any meal, and we had a ton of ADRs, my husband even mentioned to our waitress at Brown Derby that we were celebrating birthdays and she was just like "well that's nice". We didn't want lots of stuff done, but he was expecting at least a Happy Birthday or something (I think he secretly wanted a cupcake lol). So, your miles may vary right now, especially as restaurants get busier they sometimes just don't notice as it usually is printed on the ticket on the table they just don't look.


bummer... such a difference from past years. I know a lot is different etc. Just seems like it wouldn't be too hard to add a little extra for the special occasions. I was a waitress for a few years and it was never a hassle to add a little extra for a birthday.


----------



## preemiemama

Sarahslay said:


> We've celebrated all of our birthdays at WDW this year, from February-Memorial day weekend week trip and had a mix of success. For my kids I put at every ADR (and we had one every single day) that we had a birthday and we had only one on each trip actually do something. Each time it was a cupcake with mickey sprinkles. When we went for my and my husbands birthdays recently absolutely nothing was done at any meal, and we had a ton of ADRs, my husband even mentioned to our waitress at Brown Derby that we were celebrating birthdays and she was just like "well that's nice". We didn't want lots of stuff done, but he was expecting at least a Happy Birthday or something (I think he secretly wanted a cupcake lol). So, your miles may vary right now, especially as restaurants get busier they sometimes just don't notice as it usually is printed on the ticket on the table they just don't look.


I agree. We were there last week for our 25th anniversary. Had it noted on our reservation. Wore our pins. Sanaa and Narcoose’s were the only ones who recognized it at all for meals. Lots of CMs did wish us a happy anniversary, so at least that was nice. In the past we’ve gotten a champagne toast or a cupcake so we didn’t have high expectations, but thought maybe for a “big” anniversary we’d see a little more magic.


----------



## BebopBaloo

preemiemama said:


> I agree. We were there last week for our 25th anniversary. Had it noted on our reservation. Wore our pins. Sanaa and Narcoose’s were the only ones who recognized it at all for meals. Lots of CMs did wish us a happy anniversary, so at least that was nice. In the past we’ve gotten a champagne toast or a cupcake so we didn’t have high expectations, but thought maybe for a “big” anniversary we’d see a little more magic.


Happy Anniversary!!


----------



## preemiemama

BebopBaloo said:


> Happy Anniversary!!


Thank you! 

In other news…Blog Mickey reporting that the line for parking at park opening for MK today is over a mile long and park passes are still available.- calendar they showed was green.


----------



## ffugitive

preemiemama said:


> Thank you!
> 
> In other news…Blog Mickey reporting that the line for parking at park opening for MK today is over a mile long and park passes are still available.- calendar they showed was green.



Sounds like everyone is realizing the significance of rope drop!


----------



## harleyquinn

preemiemama said:


> Thank you!
> 
> In other news…Blog Mickey reporting that the line for parking at park opening for MK today is over a mile long and park passes are still available.- calendar they showed was green.


Ugh.  I'm so happy we decided to stay the Contemporary so we can just walk in (and out!) whenever we can.  I have a feeling our time at MK might be in shorter spurts than normal.
Also Happy Anniversary!


----------



## The13thLetter

some things opening back up:

8/1 wonderful world of animation returns to HS
8/15 Beauty and the Beast returns to HS
8/8 monsters inc laugh floor returns to MK
8/21 turtle talk with crush returns to Epcot


----------



## HollyMD

I think part of the problem is everyone seems to be celebrating SOMETHING these days. I know a lot are legit, but guess they don’t feel they can do something for all?


----------



## JasonTCV

Excited for all the new things to open. Glad Hollywood Studios will have a nighttime show again too. 

Really happy for all the "entertainment" cast members to be able to come back to work too.

(hopefully one step closer to hoop dee doo revue!)


----------



## mdmost

What time does that HS nighttime show usually start?


----------



## The13thLetter

mdmost said:


> What time does that HS nighttime show usually start?



Its not on their calendar yet. I was trying to remember this too. If i recall correctly its usually right at park close but dont quote me on that.


----------



## becauseimnew

The13thLetter said:


> Its not on their calendar yet. I was trying to remember this too. If i recall correctly its usually right at park close but dont quote me on that.


I’m guessing 9pm since that’s when the park closes beginning 8/1


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

HollyMD said:


> I think part of the problem is everyone seems to be celebrating SOMETHING these days. I know a lot are legit, but guess they don’t feel they can do something for all?



It's so funny you say that - I was there for my birthday in May and only wore my Birthday Button on my actual birthday...until one of the friends I was with insisted I needed to wear a new pin the next day.


----------



## jbrinkm

Did Lion King add a few more shows? TP is showing me 8 different possible show times for my August visit, and I feel like there were only 4-5 time options before...


----------



## kylenne

PrincessV said:


> One thing I forgot to mention about my visit last week: it's soup-to-nuts when it comes to seating multiple parties per row. I was a party of 1...
> 
> ROTR I was seated with a separate party of 3, so no space between parties
> Safari, I was seated in a row with another party of 1 and we kept some space between us
> MMRR I was seated in my own row
> ST, I was seated right next to another party, but another party was seated to my left and kept an open seat between us
> TOT seated right next to another party - no seats left open
> SE I was in my own row, but with another party in the seats behind me in the same car
> LWTL I was placed in my own row



This tracks with both my trips this summer. On RotR I was asked if I was comfortable being seated with another group in May. Not so in July, they just stuck me with a family.



disny_luvr said:


> When rides break down or you need to evacuate do they give recovery fast passes, or is that not happening right now?



This is case by case. When I was evacuated from Splash at the end of May, I was given a recovery FP. Nothing for Dinosaur in July though.



monstermash23 said:


> DAS, VIP, Club 33 and a few other groups can use the line.



They are also still using FP for guest recovery and rarely pixie dust. When I was there in June I was going to jump onto SDD towards the end of the night and the CM at the entrance to the queue asked me how many, when I said 1 he gave me a FP on the spot. I don't say that to brag or to have people expect it but just to say it's happening.



orangecuse said:


> Is MFSR boarding the ride fully (ie strangers in the same "flight") or keeping it to same party per flight? I felt like I read it was reduced at one point for COVID and I was curious if that has changed





NileNellie said:


> MFSR is boarding full cockpits, so yes, you may sit with strangers.



FWIW when I requested to be pilot back in June because I'd never gotten to be it (solos typically get stuck as engineers), they straight up gave me my own vehicle with teh other roles in AI mode. I was shocked.



WEDWDW said:


> Disney is now sending Guests to Beach Club Bus Depot instead of Boardwalk Inn Bus Depot for transport from Epcot to Hollywood Studios and the Skyliner Resorts when Skyliner is down.
> 
> Hopefully Buses are plentiful now,a good while back when we we were directed to BWI Bus Depot,it took A LONG time for a Skyliner Resort Bus to come-Guests were on their phones calling Disney and everything.
> 
> View attachment 590452



This was what I saw on 7/4 as well when I walked to BC just to get an MK bus from the IG. Ended up just taking a Lyft because of the sheer number of Skyliner guests at the stops, and it seemed like every bus coming was for one of those resorts. If I were a BC guest I would not have been happy.



moesy4 said:


> It seems to me from these posts that rides being down, either for mechanics or weather, are almost a bigger problem at this point towards line waits than the lack of people eaters or staff. When headliners are down almost every day for sometimes a large chunk of the day, it has a disastrous effect on both the overall wait times for that line when it does finally open and also the other rides when it is closed.



I absolutely agree with this. I was still able to manage fine on July 4th weekend with judicious use of rope drop and smart touring but it was much more challenging than the end of May/June. It really was night and day wrt ride up time.



TexanInTheMidwest said:


> It's so funny you say that - I was there for my birthday in May and only wore my Birthday Button on my actual birthday...until one of the friends I was with insisted I needed to wear a new pin the next day.



Then you have the totally extra people like me who wear birthday buttons the whole trip. I'm shameless lol (in fairness I hadn't been anywhere but work and teh store for a year).


----------



## armerida

kylenne said:


> FWIW when I requested to be pilot back in June because I'd never gotten to be it (solos typically get stuck as engineers), they straight up gave me my own vehicle with teh other roles in AI mode. I was shocked.


Nice! Was this from the single rider line, or the regular queue? I did single rider a few times 2 weeks ago and got stuck with engineer each time.


----------



## kylenne

armerida said:


> Nice! Was this from the single rider line, or the regular queue? I did single rider a few times 2 weeks ago and got stuck with engineer each time.



The regular line. I never do SR there for that reason but at the time it wasn't even open.


----------



## To the honeypots

Here now. Overall, we are having fun but definitely noticeable difference in CM attitude and cuts in service and guest experience.  Still pretty peeved about the CM who told us “you chose to come to Disney during a pandemic” when we expressed concern about having to wait amongst all the indoor playing kids at the big top.  We did not ask to skip the line just asked to wait off to the side by the line until our buzzer buzzed.


----------



## BellaBaby

Here now. Epcot tomorrow. Are they still letting people enter Epcot early? We are driving.


----------



## Nice Work Pal

Just got back from a 7 day stay at SSR. We’ve visited 3-4 times a year since 2013 (last trip was late April at the Poly). Been an AP since 2015. This was by far our worst trip.

The lines at HS and MK were horrible. 70-140 minute wait for any decent ride.

There’s a LOT more line cutting. Saw a conflict daily and was involved in one with some guy at space mountain. . Every person behind me said thanks because they knew what he was doing.

The parks are a crowded mess

They’re severely understaffed

Why are a bunch of shows still closed? Makes zero sense unless they just can’t find staff. Maybe something they should have considered before laying off 28k employees

Trash cans are all overflowing. Trash is on the ground and in random spaces everywhere. If Walt could see the current state of the parks he’d be rolling over in his grave. He was super crazy about park cleanliness

Heat was relentless. I get it it’s Florida in July but when they had fast passes you wouldn’t be standing in line all day for every single ride. At least put more shade and fans out if you’re not doing fp.

Love mobile order but every QS was a mess of people.

Disney Springs is a zoo

Ran out of toilet paper at SSR. Called the front desk/housekeeping and even maintenance over 10 times but kept getting a voicemail. Had to run to the Artist Pallet to use the bathroom. Wound up balling up a bunch of toilet paper and shoving it in my pockets so my family could use the bathroom at our hotel. I told the bartender at the Turf Club (she was awesome) and she called the manager. A relative went to the front desk to complain, she waited in line for 30 minutes for the desk person to tell her “service has been lackluster because of the pandemic” (no lie). Took them 3 hours to actually bring toilet paper to our room. I emailed Disney last night to complain about the current park situation and the lack of toilet paper and towels at the hotel. To their credit when I landed today they had called, left a vm and emailed me. Going to call them back tomorrow. The food at SSR is really lacking. At least DS is close by. Overall it’s a very nice

I make it a point every trip to take down cm’s names who were great. After every trip I email disney to let them know they went above and beyond. They always contact me thanking me for doing so and tell me they’re letting their supervisors know. This was the first trip ever I complained about anything.

The good

50’s prime time was great. Food, atmosphere and staff were amazing.

It was great seeing HEA live again.

Great time and food at Raglan Road, Boathouse and Paddlefish

Unless they bring fp back, hire more cm’s and clean up the parks I’m done. I’d rather sit on a beach in Aruba then wait in line all day in that heat for every single ride. I’m sure they’ll still draw a crowd but from talking to other guests in line and the miserable look on peoples faces Disney reputation is falling fast. It’s been on a slow decline but I feel like it’s fallen faster than the drop on the tower of terror.


----------



## AlternateID

Rope dropped Hollywood Studios today from offsite at Bonnet Creek. Scored a boarding pass for ROTR, group 14!! Using LTE, had atomic clock counting down on my laptop. Clicked join at 6:59 and 30 seconds and refreshed till the 2nd join button showed up. Then clicked as fast as possible. It is over in a second.

Left resort at 7:50, parked by 8:06. Bonnet Creek is basically right next to Riviera and very convenient to Epcot and HS. Kids wanted to do RnR and ToT instead of SDD so we headed that way. Lined up about halfway down the street by Anaheim Produce at 8:20. At 8:30 they started walking everyone down into the queues. Skipped the pre-show at 8:48 and we were off by 9.

ToT listed as 30 min wait at 9:05, we were off by 9:40.

Our RoR boarding pass was called by the time we got off ToT, so we headed over there. It was our first time and it was AMAZING!

Next we went to MMRR, in line by 10:25, listed as 50 min wait. We were in the pre show in 25 mins and off the ride by 11:03. After we went and watched the little Mickey short cartoon and had lunch at ABC commissary. Free refills on drinks were much appreciated.

After lunch we did TSMM, 60 min wait listed at 12:45, actual wait was 30.

At this point SDD and MFSR were 100 and 120 minutes respectively and my youngest was melting in the intense heat so we left and went back to our hotel for a break.

I asked nicely yesterday and today at GS if I could pretty please buy a DVC gold annual pass and was told they are not being sold right now. So instead I cried into my wallet as I paid to add parking hopping to the 2nd day of our 2 day tickets so we could spend the evening a. Was hoping for a little pixie dust, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Arrived at Epcot about 5:30, didn’t do such a great time of keeping track of time, but we did Figment (10 min wait, grabbed a soda from the DVC lounge, Living with the Land (5 min wait), ate our way around the World Showcase and rode the Three Caballeros (35 min listed wait, but was maybe 10 mins shorter?),went back to the land to ride Soarin (30 min wait, maybe a few mins shorter). At this point it was 9:15 and I thought we had plenty of time to ride Spaceship Earth and get in line for TT before close. Then we broke down on SE near the end! A CM went down the steps with a flashlight and I thought it was all over. But miracle of miracles, we got off SE at 9:53, ran to TT and got in line at 9:57. We totally missed the fireworks, but we have been watching them from our balcony all week. Turned out to be a great evening and worth every dime, but If I could wake up tomorrow and buy a DVC gold pass I’d do it in a heartbeat. Come on Disney!


----------



## cdurham1

Nice Work Pal said:


> Just got back from a 7 day stay at SSR. We’ve visited 3-4 times a year since 2013 (last trip was late April at the Poly). Been an AP since 2015. This was by far our worst trip.
> 
> The lines at HS and MK were horrible. 70-140 minute wait for any decent ride.
> 
> There’s a LOT more line cutting. Saw a conflict daily and was involved in one with some guy at space mountain. . Every person behind me said thanks because they knew what he was doing.
> 
> The parks are a crowded mess
> 
> They’re severely understaffed
> 
> Why are a bunch of shows still closed? Makes zero sense unless they just can’t find staff. Maybe something they should have considered before laying off 28k employees
> 
> Trash cans are all overflowing. Trash is on the ground and in random spaces everywhere. If Walt could see the current state of the parks he’d be rolling over in his grave. He was super crazy about park cleanliness
> 
> Heat was relentless. I get it it’s Florida in July but when they had fast passes you wouldn’t be standing in line all day for every single ride. At least put more shade and fans out if you’re not doing fp.
> 
> Love mobile order but every QS was a mess of people.
> 
> Disney Springs is a zoo
> 
> Ran out of toilet paper at SSR. Called the front desk/housekeeping and even maintenance over 10 times but kept getting a voicemail. Had to run to the Artist Pallet to use the bathroom. Wound up balling up a bunch of toilet paper and shoving it in my pockets so my family could use the bathroom at our hotel. I told the bartender at the Turf Club (she was awesome) and she called the manager. A relative went to the front desk to complain, she waited in line for 30 minutes for the desk person to tell her “service has been lackluster because of the pandemic” (no lie). Took them 3 hours to actually bring toilet paper to our room. I emailed Disney last night to complain about the current park situation and the lack of toilet paper and towels at the hotel. To their credit when I landed today they had called, left a vm and emailed me. Going to call them back tomorrow. The food at SSR is really lacking. At least DS is close by. Overall it’s a very nice
> 
> I make it a point every trip to take down cm’s names who were great. After every trip I email disney to let them know they went above and beyond. They always contact me thanking me for doing so and tell me they’re letting their supervisors know. This was the first trip ever I complained about anything.
> 
> The good
> 
> 50’s prime time was great. Food, atmosphere and staff were amazing.
> 
> It was great seeing HEA live again.
> 
> Great time and food at Raglan Road, Boathouse and Paddlefish
> 
> Unless they bring fp back, hire more cm’s and clean up the parks I’m done. I’d rather sit on a beach in Aruba then wait in line all day in that heat for every single ride. I’m sure they’ll still draw a crowd but from talking to other guests in line and the miserable look on peoples faces Disney reputation is falling fast. It’s been on a slow decline but I feel like it’s fallen faster than the drop on the tower of terror.


Wow, sorry to hear that the trip went so poorly.  Sounds similar to what others are saying, too.  Was AK and EP better experiences than MK and HS?  What time of day were you in the parks?  Did you rope drop?


----------



## tinkerhon

Nice Work Pal said:


> Just got back from a 7 day stay at SSR. We’ve visited 3-4 times a year since 2013 (last trip was late April at the Poly). Been an AP since 2015. This was by far our worst trip.
> 
> The lines at HS and MK were horrible. 70-140 minute wait for any decent ride.
> 
> There’s a LOT more line cutting. Saw a conflict daily and was involved in one with some guy at space mountain. . Every person behind me said thanks because they knew what he was doing.
> 
> The parks are a crowded mess
> 
> They’re severely understaffed
> 
> Why are a bunch of shows still closed? Makes zero sense unless they just can’t find staff. Maybe something they should have considered before laying off 28k employees
> 
> Trash cans are all overflowing. Trash is on the ground and in random spaces everywhere. If Walt could see the current state of the parks he’d be rolling over in his grave. He was super crazy about park cleanliness
> 
> Heat was relentless. I get it it’s Florida in July but when they had fast passes you wouldn’t be standing in line all day for every single ride. At least put more shade and fans out if you’re not doing fp.
> 
> Love mobile order but every QS was a mess of people.
> 
> Disney Springs is a zoo
> 
> Ran out of toilet paper at SSR. Called the front desk/housekeeping and even maintenance over 10 times but kept getting a voicemail. Had to run to the Artist Pallet to use the bathroom. Wound up balling up a bunch of toilet paper and shoving it in my pockets so my family could use the bathroom at our hotel. I told the bartender at the Turf Club (she was awesome) and she called the manager. A relative went to the front desk to complain, she waited in line for 30 minutes for the desk person to tell her “service has been lackluster because of the pandemic” (no lie). Took them 3 hours to actually bring toilet paper to our room. I emailed Disney last night to complain about the current park situation and the lack of toilet paper and towels at the hotel. To their credit when I landed today they had called, left a vm and emailed me. Going to call them back tomorrow. The food at SSR is really lacking. At least DS is close by. Overall it’s a very nice
> 
> I make it a point every trip to take down cm’s names who were great. After every trip I email disney to let them know they went above and beyond. They always contact me thanking me for doing so and tell me they’re letting their supervisors know. This was the first trip ever I complained about anything.
> 
> The good
> 
> 50’s prime time was great. Food, atmosphere and staff were amazing.
> 
> It was great seeing HEA live again.
> 
> Great time and food at Raglan Road, Boathouse and Paddlefish
> 
> Unless they bring fp back, hire more cm’s and clean up the parks I’m done. I’d rather sit on a beach in Aruba then wait in line all day in that heat for every single ride. I’m sure they’ll still draw a crowd but from talking to other guests in line and the miserable look on peoples faces Disney reputation is falling fast. It’s been on a slow decline but I feel like it’s fallen faster than the drop on the tower of terror.



Here now too, and having a great time.... BUT..... other than our ADRs, avoiding the parks like the plague !!! MK was a disaster--- Epcot was nice tonight--- park was empty--- MK and HS are a disaster---   Spent a great night yesterday at Citywalk--- excellent dinner @ Margaritaville  and the movie theatre is beautiful--- !!


----------



## Nice Work Pal

cdurham1 said:


> Wow, sorry to hear that the trip went so poorly.  Sounds similar to what others are saying, too.  Was AK and EP better experiences than MK and HS?  What time of day were you in the parks?  Did you rope drop?


AK was slightly higher wait times but definitely manageable. Epcot fluctuated but was fine for the most part. Most of the crowd was at f&w which was again awesome.

I get up around 5am every morning and have a very structured day. For that reason when I’m on vacation I don’t get up early for stuff like rope drop. On our DHS days I hope we get a higher BG number for ROTR so we don’t have to rush out to the park immediately. Generally we arrive to the parks around 11am. We usually do a quick breakfast at our hotel. 

Disney could easily alleviate the wait time issue by bringing back fp. Not sure why they had to stop it for covid in the first place.


----------



## kylenne

Nice Work Pal said:


> Disney could easily alleviate the wait time issue by bringing back fp. Not sure why they had to stop it for covid in the first place.



FP+ was stopped because of social distancing. Lines would have wrapped around entire parks if it was still operating. They also cannibalized the infrastructure for the Park Reservation system.

Wait times do not improve for anyone except the people with FPs. It’s quite the opposite for everyone else in standby. I get that you’re upset because FP+ was better for the way you like to tour, and I’m sorry you had a bad time, but the issue right now with HS specifically isn’t a lack of FP, it’s that currently it’s a park of nothing but headliner attractions with a lack of shows to eat up people besides Frozen. The Indy theater alone accounts for a massive amount of capacity that’s not being used. And if all those shows are sitting empty, the people who would have sat in them have to go somewhere else…meaning the headliners. The impact is extra noticeable because 10am is generally when the shows would start iirc, and it’s not a coincidence that’s when wait times started to get really onerous at the headliners when I was there a couple weekends ago. Hopefully BatB’s return will help the situation a little, that theater is also massive.


----------



## tbelle3

I had posted this on the July thread, but just realized it might be just as helpful here...

We just got back late night 7/16 from 7/9 and here are some thoughts, but remember ymmv!

Parks- Rope drop was always important, but never as much as it is now! MK held us until exactly 9 for SDMT but then we were on and off in 15 min and everything was about the same for the next hour which was awesome before lines started getting long but nowhere near as bad as HS...
they did let us go earlier than MK and by around 11:15 we had done Slinky, Toy Story Mania and Swirling Saucers. Wait times had soared by then for everything like I have never seen. Anything worth riding was over an hour by then and continued throughout the day.

Boarding Group for ROTR- I scored one every time I practiced from home when it didn't matter lol, but didn't get one at 7am not on the wifi from SSR. At 1pm my son and I did it at the same time in the park with his on the wifi go figure and he scored it with that one!
I won't ruin it but it was worth all of the effort! 

We hopped to AK in the afternoon on MK day before returning for fireworks and waited only a few min for safari with Lion King show after and then hit Pandora. Navi was posted at 40 and ended up being closer to 55 and then close to 90 for FOP that was posted at 80. 

Epcot at night of first day of Food and Wine was crowded but not as much as I expected. Rode Soarin, Test Track and Frozen after hopping from HS. Got to try a few booths but not as many as would have liked since the kids wanted to get the rides done before fireworks. First time seeing Epcot Forever and actually really liked it! 

Bus Service was better than ever so not sure why I read so many complaints before leaving and hope you have the same experience.

Weather was beautiful with an occasional shower, but less hot and humid than NY where I am from! 

Blizzard Beach was a first and definitely not a last as we all enjoyed it and was a nice break in the middle of the week! 

The newly renovated rooms at SSR are really beautiful! First time at that resort as usually stay Yacht/Beach but really loved being so close to Disney Springs for the great rstrnts and resort pools were fun and overall property very relaxing. Cast members were super friendly and always helpful and the kids loved the pool games, community hall and a last day surprise with Pluto and Donald at the pool! 

As a final takeaway parks are definitely more crowded than I expected, but there is more pavement to move around than ever which was nice. There are just still too many experiences not back yet to eat up the crowd to reduce lines. If parades, shows and others came back I don't even think it would be as bad without FP. So glad we went and as reluctant as I was for my youngest to not be able to hug the characters or get autographs we all still had a great trip making many memories at our favorite place!


----------



## Dakota731

Concerning the birthday and celebrations, wait staff are so swamped that they hardly have time to get food served much less recognize all the hundreds of people they see wearing buttons. It’s the same in our town where my college nieces who are waitresses are working 12 hour shifts seven days a week. Until we get enough people willing to work then there won’t be time for extras from  overworked wait staff.


----------



## cakebaker

To the honeypots said:


> Here now. Overall, we are having fun but definitely noticeable difference in CM attitude and cuts in service and guest experience.  Still pretty peeved about the CM who told us “you chose to come to Disney during a pandemic” when we expressed concern about having to wait amongst all the indoor playing kids at the big top.  We did not ask to skip the line just asked to wait off to the side by the line until our buzzer buzzed.



Please tell me you took that to guest services? She could've declined your request, but the snarky comment is outrageous.  Bad enough that I may have asked for her supervisor right then and there. People really have to not continue to put up with this. While I'm sure the vast majority of CM's are wonderful, there are some that just shouldn't be there.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

tinkerhon said:


> Here now too, and having a great time.... BUT..... other than our ADRs, avoiding the parks like the plague !!! MK was a disaster--- Epcot was nice tonight--- park was empty--- MK and HS are a disaster---   Spent a great night yesterday at Citywalk--- excellent dinner @ Margaritaville  and the movie theatre is beautiful--- !!


Can you expand a little on "Disaster" at MK, and HS?  Thanks for the words.


----------



## Turksmom

We


To the honeypots said:


> Here now. Overall, we are having fun but definitely noticeable difference in CM attitude and cuts in service and guest experience.  Still pretty peeved about the CM who told us “you chose to come to Disney during a pandemic” when we expressed concern about having to wait amongst all the indoor playing kids at the big top.  We did not ask to skip the line just asked to wait off to the side by the line until our buzzer buzzed.


We made that request pre-pandemic (2018) and were also told no in a not very nice way.


----------



## Nice Work Pal

kylenne said:


> FP+ was stopped because of social distancing. Lines would have wrapped around entire parks if it was still operating. They also cannibalized the infrastructure for the Park Reservation system.
> 
> Wait times do not improve for anyone except the people with FPs. It’s quite the opposite for everyone else in standby. I get that you’re upset because FP+ was better for the way you like to tour, and I’m sorry you had a bad time, but the issue right now with HS specifically isn’t a lack of FP, it’s that currently it’s a park of nothing but headliner attractions with a lack of shows to eat up people besides Frozen. The Indy theater alone accounts for a massive amount of capacity that’s not being used. And if all those shows are sitting empty, the people who would have sat in them have to go somewhere else…meaning the headliners. The impact is extra noticeable because 10am is generally when the shows would start iirc, and it’s not a coincidence that’s when wait times started to get really onerous at the headliners when I was there a couple weekends ago. Hopefully BatB’s return will help the situation a little, that theater is also massive.



How would fp make social distancing any worse than standing in a longer single regular line that stretches all over the parks that other guests have to walk through and by? The fp line is always way shorter which would be easier for social distancing and cut down in the regular line distance. Not understanding the logic.

We were there in April with masks and 6 foot markers. Lines were fine. Some long but not every single one. I get the cannibalization logic then but now park attendance is crazy and social distancing is no longer a thing what point does that serve? 

Also the lines are longer now than ever. I get they need to keep a separate line open for das but utilizing both lines would have been a great way to prevent lines wrapping around the entire parks. When I used to go before any fp system there were always two lines open for rides. You never had to wait out in the searing heat for 60 minutes before getting into the actual ride queue ac portion. 7DMT wrapped around to little mermaid, HM stretched to the liberty tree tavern, space mountain line got so long they moved turnstiles out to keep the distance from wrapping around to buzz again, Splash was well over the bridge and almost reached Pirates, BTR went down the side of the water, TOT was down Hollywood blvd. near the vacation club place at one point, RNR wasn’t far behind, MFSR had the gate open in the corner with turnstiles out there so it didn’t wrap to Oga’s, TSM at one point was out of the front of the line queue entrance, Kilimanjaro safari was back to the Lion king show, then went off to the side to some other wrap around, EE was back to finding Nemo but unlike the other lines that one moved fairly quick. Remember the days when the only crazy line stretch was FOP to the bridge? Now it’s every decent ride. I know a lot of the queues like HM are closed off but still don’t understand why. We’re no longer social distancing or wearing masks except on buses and that’s not really enforced.

I’m assuming most park goers used fp…so it benefited everyone. If line times aren’t really affected by fp and people don’t want to use the system that’s on them. We go often so not getting on certain rides is whatever but I felt bad for families (like my uncle, his gf and their 6 kids who we went with ) who went for the first time. They said they’ll never go back.

And agreed about HS and the shows…MK was actually way worse. We were there 8 days and only went there once…stayed until 2pm  then came back for HEA. I actually had a better time at the airport waiting in the tsa line.


----------



## To the honeypots

cakebaker said:


> Please tell me you took that to guest services? She could've declined your request, but the snarky comment is outrageous.  Bad enough that I may have asked for her supervisor right then and there. People really have to not continue to put up with this. While I'm sure the vast majority of CM's are wonderful, there are some that just shouldn't be there.



We have contacted guest services.  Yes, I agree the snarky comment was not appreciated at all.


----------



## cakebaker

kylenne said:


> FP+ was stopped because of social distancing. Lines would have wrapped around entire parks if it was still operating.



FP+ was not stopped because of social distancing. At the time of re-opening and for a good period of time afterwards, it was not needed due to low park capacity limits and lack of staffing. They also cut costs by not having to staff those lines in the first place. The proof of that is, it's still not back and social distancing is gone and has been for at least a couple of weeks. Lines never wrapped around the park with FP+ before, they wouldn't now.

The only reason it hasn't been brought back is they're going to introduce a pay to play system and don't want to have to take "free" away to do it. I'm guessing there are going to be a lot of anti-FP+ people that will be wishing we had old FP+ back once they do that. But I will guarantee you, lines won't wrap around the park with a paid system either.


----------



## scrappinginontario

There are many FP+ threads available for discussion.  Please return this thread to discussing 'Here Now and Just Back' not why/why not FP+ should return.

Thanks.


----------



## Sargeant Tibbs

Nice Work Pal said:


> Just got back from a 7 day stay at SSR. We’ve visited 3-4 times a year since 2013 (last trip was late April at the Poly). Been an AP since 2015. This was by far our worst trip.
> 
> The lines at HS and MK were horrible. 70-140 minute wait for any decent ride.
> 
> There’s a LOT more line cutting. Saw a conflict daily and was involved in one with some guy at space mountain. . Every person behind me said thanks because they knew what he was doing.
> 
> The parks are a crowded mess
> 
> They’re severely understaffed
> 
> Why are a bunch of shows still closed? Makes zero sense unless they just can’t find staff. Maybe something they should have considered before laying off 28k employees
> 
> Trash cans are all overflowing. Trash is on the ground and in random spaces everywhere. If Walt could see the current state of the parks he’d be rolling over in his grave. He was super crazy about park cleanliness
> 
> Heat was relentless. I get it it’s Florida in July but when they had fast passes you wouldn’t be standing in line all day for every single ride. At least put more shade and fans out if you’re not doing fp.
> 
> Love mobile order but every QS was a mess of people.
> 
> Disney Springs is a zoo
> 
> Ran out of toilet paper at SSR. Called the front desk/housekeeping and even maintenance over 10 times but kept getting a voicemail. Had to run to the Artist Pallet to use the bathroom. Wound up balling up a bunch of toilet paper and shoving it in my pockets so my family could use the bathroom at our hotel. I told the bartender at the Turf Club (she was awesome) and she called the manager. A relative went to the front desk to complain, she waited in line for 30 minutes for the desk person to tell her “service has been lackluster because of the pandemic” (no lie). Took them 3 hours to actually bring toilet paper to our room. I emailed Disney last night to complain about the current park situation and the lack of toilet paper and towels at the hotel. To their credit when I landed today they had called, left a vm and emailed me. Going to call them back tomorrow. The food at SSR is really lacking. At least DS is close by. Overall it’s a very nice
> 
> I make it a point every trip to take down cm’s names who were great. After every trip I email disney to let them know they went above and beyond. They always contact me thanking me for doing so and tell me they’re letting their supervisors know. This was the first trip ever I complained about anything.
> 
> The good
> 
> 50’s prime time was great. Food, atmosphere and staff were amazing.
> 
> It was great seeing HEA live again.
> 
> Great time and food at Raglan Road, Boathouse and Paddlefish
> 
> Unless they bring fp back, hire more cm’s and clean up the parks I’m done. I’d rather sit on a beach in Aruba then wait in line all day in that heat for every single ride. I’m sure they’ll still draw a crowd but from talking to other guests in line and the miserable look on peoples faces Disney reputation is falling fast. It’s been on a slow decline but I feel like it’s fallen faster than the drop on the tower of terror.



Thank you for your thorough report.

Could you elaborate more on the QS? This has me the most worried out of anything. I've been adding more and more TS to my trip as I find them (yay, got Sci Fi this morning), but we're still having 2 QS meals. 

Your TP situation is especially disheartening.


----------



## lovethattink

Dakota731 said:


> Concerning the birthday and celebrations, wait staff are so swamped that they hardly have time to get food served much less recognize all the hundreds of people they see wearing buttons. It’s the same in our town where my college nieces who are waitresses are working 12 hour shifts seven days a week. Until we get enough people willing to work then there won’t be time for extras from  overworked wait staff.



And kitchen staff could be short. My son is a server and a couple weeks ago got his double shifts cut because there weren’t enough line cooks. And he’s been having to work expo more frequently.


----------



## e_yerger

Sargeant Tibbs said:


> Thank you for your thorough report.
> 
> Could you elaborate more on the QS? This has me the most worried out of anything. I've been adding more and more TS to my trip as I find them (yay, got Sci Fi this morning), but we're still having 2 QS meals.
> 
> Your TP situation is especially disheartening.


Last time I visited was in April 2021, so it may be a bit dated. But for the QS stuff, there is really a limited amount of meals they can push out at any given time. If you want to eat at peak times (12-1pm, 5-6pm), you'll want to secure your Mobile Order early!! We would order our lunch first thing in the morning, and select a pick-up time for the time we wanted to eat. The only time that things felt a little chaotic was when we ordered from Peco Bill's and everyone was standing around the entrance waiting for their alert that their meal was ready. 

The other option would be to eat in off times - which is a win-win. This allows more availability for the time frame, and lower crowds for when you pick up your food and are looking to eat.


----------



## Kimpossible1

To the honeypots said:


> Here now. Overall, we are having fun but definitely noticeable difference in CM attitude and cuts in service and guest experience.  Still pretty peeved about the CM who told us “you chose to come to Disney during a pandemic” when we expressed concern about having to wait amongst all the indoor playing kids at the big top.  We did not ask to skip the line just asked to wait off to the side by the line until our buzzer buzzed.



Please be kind to cast members and give them a little grace.  They have had a tough year dealing with guests.  I disagree that this is a snarky comment as it is true.  You chose to go to Disney during a pandemic and knew what standards were in place currently such as no masks indoors.  Please don't take out frustrations on cast members.


----------



## BebopBaloo

Anyone that’s been in D tech recently know if they have Samsung phone case options, or if it’s just Apple?


----------



## brockash

Kimpossible1 said:


> Please be kind to cast members and give them a little grace.  They have had a tough year dealing with guests.  I disagree that this is a snarky comment as it is true.  You chose to go to Disney during a pandemic and knew what standards were in place currently such as no masks indoors.  Please don't take out frustrations on cast members.


OMG...you think the way the CM answered the question was appropriate...anywhere...let alone at Disney?!?!  The OP is not the one who took their frustration out on someone...it's VERY clear the CM was the one taking their frustration out on their paying guests.  
Good lord; yes, now we should also accept and be grateful that we have the opportunity to be spoken to rudely by CMs...give me a break...
OP I'm so glad that you took the time to let Disney know about the inappropriate way the CM handled that situation.  The pp who posted about the need for these type of things to be reported is 100% right.  Disney is now, more than ever, testing the limits to see just how far they can push things (raising prices, taking away perks, cutting costs and the number and quality of their employees etc.) and obviously there are many out there who have no problem with them running their previous business model into the ground, so for those of us who are not okay with it; we unfortunately seem to be needing to be in a place right now that we advocate for that.


----------



## Kimpossible1

brockash said:


> OMG...you think the way the CM answered the question was appropriate...anywhere...let alone at Disney?!?!  The OP is not the one who took their frustration out on someone...it's VERY clear the CM was the one taking their frustration out on their paying guests.
> Good lord; yes, now we should also accept and be grateful that we have the opportunity to be spoken to rudely by CMs...give me a break...
> OP I'm so glad that you took the time to let Disney know about the inappropriate way the CM handled that situation.  The pp who posted about the need for these type of things to be reported is 100% right.  Disney is now, more than ever, testing the limits to see just how far they can push things (raising prices, taking away perks, cutting costs and the number and quality of their employees etc.) and obviously there are many out there who have no problem with them running their previous business model into the ground, so for those of us who are not okay with it; we unfortunately seem to be needing to be in a place right now that we advocate for that.



We were not there and did not hear the conversation so it is difficult to interpret how the CM was speaking and I do not believe one side of a story.  CM's have been treated terribly by guests in the last year, and all I was saying is give them some grace.  Apparently they should not be allowed to be human beings and have feelings because that disrupts the guests' magic??  Going to WDW is a privilege, not a need but I think people have forgotten that over the last year.  CM's are people and most visitors treat them as part of the background, with no regard to them as individuals with feelings.


----------



## brockash

Kimpossible1 said:


> We were not there and did not hear the conversation so it is difficult to interpret how the CM was speaking and I do not believe one side of a story.  CM's have been treated terribly by guests in the last year, and all I was saying is give them some grace.  Apparently they should not be allowed to be human beings and have feelings because that disrupts the guests' magic??  Going to WDW is a privilege, not a need but I think people have forgotten that over the last year.  CM's are people and most visitors treat them as part of the background, with no regard to them as individuals with feelings.


Ok, I guess I didn't realize you were one of those ppl. who creates their own reality.  Just like everything else on these boards or in real life when you have a conversation with your friends/family we can only speak to what we have either experienced or been told.  I have absolutely no reason to think the OP was lying, so with the information provided, the CM was completely out of line and at the very least needs retraining.  From what was reported the OP didn't do/say anything wrong/rude etc., but obviously anyone can make up any scenario they'd like in their head, but that just seems like a complete waste of time to me.

For ppl. like you, who apparently need a video and I'm sure audio recording of every situation/comment/interaction in order to "believe" someone; it's probably a waste of time to be on a thread about 1st hand accounts/reports; as 99% of these reports do not have video and audio evidence that you seem to need in order to believe what is reported.


----------



## harleyquinn

Kimpossible1 said:


> We were not there and did not hear the conversation so it is difficult to interpret how the CM was speaking and I do not believe one side of a story.  CM's have been treated terribly by guests in the last year, and all I was saying is give them some grace.  Apparently they should not be allowed to be human beings and have feelings because that disrupts the guests' magic??  Going to WDW is a privilege, not a need but I think people have forgotten that over the last year.  CM's are people and most visitors treat them as part of the background, with no regard to them as individuals with feelings.





brockash said:


> OMG...you think the way the CM answered the question was appropriate...anywhere...let alone at Disney?!?!  The OP is not the one who took their frustration out on someone...it's VERY clear the CM was the one taking their frustration out on their paying guests.
> Good lord; yes, now we should also accept and be grateful that we have the opportunity to be spoken to rudely by CMs...give me a break...
> OP I'm so glad that you took the time to let Disney know about the inappropriate way the CM handled that situation.  The pp who posted about the need for these type of things to be reported is 100% right.  Disney is now, more than ever, testing the limits to see just how far they can push things (raising prices, taking away perks, cutting costs and the number and quality of their employees etc.) and obviously there are many out there who have no problem with them running their previous business model into the ground, so for those of us who are not okay with it; we unfortunately seem to be needing to be in a place right now that we advocate for that.



I have to say that I actually agree with BOTH of you. CMs are under a LOT of pressure, which is Disney's fault.  If I had an interaction that was truly awful (the one as described is not that bad to me, but I was not there), I would err on the side of letting it go.  What I might do is contact guest services and add it to a complaint without the CMs name as part of why my trip was awful due to x, y, z.  

As someone who worked retail and works with the public, I always err on the side of putting myself in the worker's place. Even that does not excuse everything and sometimes you definitely have to complain.


----------



## 123SA

Pandemic is not a valid excuse for poor behavior or snarky attitude from anyone.  I’m glad the OP reported it.


----------



## White_Rabbit18

The mask mandate was only lifted recently so maybe the OP booked the trip when there were different measures in the park and they might not have wanted to lose money on the trip and was just trying to find a way to feel safer on their trip.

It is crazy that people have a negative opinion on these boards without getting attack and people are excepted to accept everything just because of the pandemic.


----------



## Kimpossible1

brockash said:


> Ok, I guess I didn't realize you were one of those ppl. who creates their own reality.  Just like everything else on these boards or in real life when you have a conversation with your friends/family we can only speak to what we have either experienced or been told.  I have absolutely no reason to think the OP was lying, so with the information provided, the CM was completely out of line and at the very least needs retraining.  From what was reported the OP didn't do/say anything wrong/rude etc., but obviously anyone can make up any scenario they'd like in their head, but that just seems like a complete waste of time to me.
> 
> For ppl. like you, who apparently need a video and I'm sure audio recording of every situation/comment/interaction in order to "believe" someone; it's probably a waste of time to be on a thread about 1st hand accounts/reports; as 99% of these reports do not have video and audio evidence that you seem to need in order to believe what is reported.


Well, I obviously hit some kind of nerve as I did not make any personal attacks.  I was simply asking for people to give cast members some leeway.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Again, this is the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread that many are finding to be a valuable source of information.  

*If the off topic discussions re: what actual guests are posting continue, we would need to consider closing this thread and we don't want to do this.

Please stay on topic and share your own actual experiences and not judge/criticize the validity of what someone else posts.*

Thanks.


----------



## chad_1138

We are at Epcot right now and MDE is down, which means both Mobile Order at Magic Band room charging are down.  If you are at the parks today make sure you have back up payment methods.  Ordered at the counter for some Regal Eagle.

EDIT: MDE is back up.


----------



## cakebaker

NM- just saw mod request.


----------



## Nice Work Pal

Sargeant Tibbs said:


> Thank you for your thorough report.
> 
> Could you elaborate more on the QS? This has me the most worried out of anything. I've been adding more and more TS to my trip as I find them (yay, got Sci Fi this morning), but we're still having 2 QS meals.
> 
> Your TP situation is especially disheartening.



Depends where you’re at for QS. If it’s HS or MK forget about it. Figure out which QS spot you want to eat at, mobile order a time slot then go to pick up. Cosmic rays was a nightmare as was Pinocchio’s village. Just droves of  People standing around those areas. There were separate long lines for people picking up their mobile orders so expect an additional 20 minute wait after you get your alert. No seating anywhere. GE wasn’t too bad for mobile orders for ronto wraps and blue milk. Our usual plan of using mobile ordering and scouting seats didn’t work because that area was packed. Docking bay 7 had some seating so go to that area if you’d like to sit.  If you’re going to Epcot you’re good…lines at f&w weren’t too bad same with AK (although flame tree is probably the only QS worth it there)

Check your room once you check in and you might want to ask for towels early or just take some from the pool. Mousekeeping is severely understaffed so be prepared for very basic services like daily trash removal only.


----------



## Shaft41

We got back Monday and I wanted to give our perspective.  We were there from Wednesday, 7/7 through Saturday 7/17.  Unlike almost everyone else I see on here, we were different in that we stayed off property and did not have park hoppers.  I think so much of what people are feeling about their vacation this summer is their expectations.  If they go 3-4 times a year, or have little kids, or are more show or resort oriented than ride oriented, then all those things are going to color what they think of their trip right now.  As for us, it was our first trip since 2017.  We have 5 kids, all teenagers, although we found out 2 weeks prior that only 4 of them would be able to be with us on this trip.  While we've stayed on property in the past, with a family of 7, we can't justify the cost of even two value hotel rooms with our budget versus a spacious house off property.  Our touring style is more ride-oriented with having teenagers.  

My wife and I are both teachers, so we've only gone in the summer since we started taking our kids in 2010.  That factors into our expectations as well.  We know we're only going to be there every 3-4 years, so that's why we went with 8 day park tickets this time.  

About 2/3 of the way through the trip, I was reading up on this thread, and seeing a preponderance of negative posts, and many people saying how it was their worst trip, they wouldn't be back until things changed, it was so much worse than they were used to, etc.  So, our of curiosity, I asked my wife and kids what they thought.  Every member of our family agreed that we were having a great trip, and it was not the terrible experience for us as others were saying.  I was glad they agreed with me.  

I won't list our day-to-day adventures, but, I will list our pros and cons in general.  We stayed at a house in Calabay Parc, which ended up being a 25-35 minute drive each way every day, depending on traffic.  

*PROS*
- Unlike what so many others are saying, I thought the weather was great.  Our first day was the day after/of Elsa's arrival in Florida.  We put off getting to MK an hour or so, as the forecast showed thunderstorms that morning.  Not only did we get no rain, the cloudiness kept the temperature down.  We all agreed this was one of more pleasant trips for weather.  We had multiple days where cloud cover helped with temperature, I didn't think the humidity was oppressive, and, while I still had my share of sweat, I felt like the majority of it was caused by carrying a heavy backpack with a bunch of our stuff in it every day.  
- We had no negative CM interactions.  They were professional, courteous and there did not seem to be a lack of staffing. 
- Mobile Order worked awesome for us.  I wasn't too keen on the idea of it before we went, but we would order in line for a ride, hit "I'm Here" once we got off, walk over to the restaurant, and 90% of the time, it was ready before we got there.  And we were often eating at peak times as well.  We couldn't find an indoor table at Cosmic Ray's on our last day, and we took our Casey's order over to the seating area for Tomorrowland Terrace, but had no trouble finding seats for out family.  We did four table service meals, and loved all of them.  Crystal Palace was outstanding, we did Tutto Italia for the first time and dug it, and our two favorites of Liberty Tree Tavern and 50's Prime Time were bussin as always.  
- Granted, we had teenagers. Granted, we had 8 days in the parks.  I know not everyone was in our situation.  But we did everything we wanted to do, and almost all of them multiple times.  My 16 yo son and I really wanted to experience every attraction in every park during our stay.  He got everything except Navi River, ITTBAB and FOTLK.  We only did one day at AK, and, since we'd never done FOP before, that was a priority for us.  (We also did AK on our third consecutive park day, and we had done the first two basically open to close, so there was no way being off property that we were getting to rope drop at AK with 4 teenagers).  My wife and I did ITTBAB while the kids were on Everest after a ticket snafu delay, but I skipped Tiki Room at MK while he and my other son did that.  We did SM, SE, TSMM, and BTMR all 4-5 times each during our stay, and our favorite, Splash, we ended up doing 6 times.  We were never there before park opening, typically arriving at or within a half hour of park opening, except for a day at Epcot and a day at MK, where we got there around 1.  
- Would we have liked shorter lines?  Of course.  But we found the following rides ALWAYS were quicker than their posted wait times:  Buzz, TSMM, BTMR, PoC, SE, and Soarin.  The rides that seemed to be typically right on their times posted were MFSR, RaRC, ToT, KS and KRR.  For 7DMT, SDD, JC and FEA, the times were slightly less than posted, but not too much gained.  The lines could be a challenge to find the end at times, but the fast movers took you into the queue pretty quick.  
- We must have lucked out with ride breakdowns compared to what other people are reporting.  Our BG 107 for RotR ended up getting pushed back due to it being down, to the point where we finally got on it at 8:30, but, other than that, the ride were up and running.  Our only ride problem was one time on SM, where a young boy a couple logs behind us got out of the boat and was walking around through the ride, I guess trying to catch Brer Rabbit, so we were stopped in the log for 15-20 while cast members got him out of there.  
- We met and talked to some great people waiting in those lines.  While we waited, hoping RoTR would start up again, my son, who had made a light saber at Savi's, started showing it to a teenage boy behind us in line.  They really hit it off as we waited for an hour, and the boy's aunt and uncle later told us he was autistic and rarely talks to anyone he doesn't know, so they couldn't believe how social he was being.  He ended up riding the ride with our family and walking out of the park with us.  In our 70 minute wait for Kali River Rapids, we met and talked to a lovely family from Brazil.  
-Finally, speaking of RoTR, all I can say is WOW.  Maybe the best theme park attraction I've ever experienced.  Of all the rides that were new to us since our last visit (FOP, SDD, ASwS, MMRR), I was slightly underwhelmed by all of them except Rise and MMRR.  After we rode it on our first HS day, my two teenage daughters, who care nothing about Star Wars, said "We HAVE to get another boarding group to ride that again on our other HS day." And we got BG 14 our 2nd day, and even got to see a couple things on the ride that we didn't see the first time!  

*CONS   *
- There are people everywhere.  I mean, everywhere.  Capacity, in my mind, was every bit as high as a typical summer visit we've had in the past.  We were comfortable going, we weren't scared to be around people, etc. but I also didn't hate getting in our own van and heading to our own house at the end of the day to avoid buses, resorts, etc.  On our last MK day on 7/17, IaSW had a 60 minute wait!  In what alternate reality should that ever be a thing?  The crush of people to get on a ferry over 30 minutes after park close that night was staggering.  I thought AK felt like the most crowded park.  Our one day there, it seemed like there was no escaping the crowds.  We were at Epcot the first day of FaW, and it definitely was busier than our first day there.  
- Someone posted earlier about a line of cars a mile long to get into parking at the MK.  We experienced that moreso at HS and AK.  As others have said, if you want to beat the crowd, you better be getting there an hour before opening.  But weirdly, I guess since we were closing down the park every night we were there, and typically getting in a ride line right before close and staying until after close, the parking lots never seemed full when we left.  
- I didn't understand why some stores seemed to have lines to get in since they seemed to be limiting capacity, while others did not.  Ondar's Den of Antiquities has the same square footage as our catbox, but yet there were 100 people in there, while we waited in line for 20 minutes to get in the Lego store at DS, which had maybe 50 people in it, and same with Disney Traders at Epcot.  
- I had always wanted to try the Food and Wine Festival, even though we're not foodies and I don't drink alcohol.  So, I'm glad we were able to do it.  But I wasn't super impressed.  Maybe because I don't drink.  I didn't dislike any of the food we tried, but the best thing I ate all day was the fish and chips we got from the window in the UK.  And three bites of food for $6.75 was not the best value.  
- And this is super nitpicky, but I was befuddled when we would get the popcorn bucket refill why some locations it was exactly $2, a couple it was $2.01, and one place was $2.02.  

I'm sorry this is so long.  We went into it knowing we had time, we were not leaving the parks midday, and we would do as much as our bodies would allow.  And we had a great time!  Positives far outweighed the negatives for us.


----------



## NileNellie

Nice Work Pal said:


> Depends where you’re at for QS. If it’s HS or MK forget about it. Figure out which QS spot you want to eat at, mobile order a time slot then go to pick up. Cosmic rays was a nightmare as was Pinocchio’s village. Just droves of  People standing around those areas. There were separate long lines for people picking up their mobile orders so expect an additional 20 minute wait after you get your alert. No seating anywhere. GE wasn’t too bad for mobile orders for ronto wraps and blue milk. Our usual plan of using mobile ordering and scouting seats didn’t work because that area was packed. Docking bay 7 had some seating so go to that area if you’d like to sit.  If you’re going to Epcot you’re good…lines at f&w weren’t too bad same with AK (although flame tree is probably the only QS worth it there)
> 
> Check your room once you check in and you might want to ask for towels early or just take some from the pool. Mousekeeping is severely understaffed so be prepared for very basic services like daily trash removal only.



We had the same issue at Cosmic Ray's. Placed a mobile order for 1:35, got the notification to pick come back, and waited around for another 30 minutes until we finally got our food. We hit up Sunshine Tree Terrace earlier that day and did mobile order which was a much more pleasant experience-took less than five minutes.


----------



## DaniMoon

Shaft41 said:


> We got back Monday and I wanted to give our perspective.  We were there from Wednesday, 7/7 through Saturday 7/17.  Unlike almost everyone else I see on here, we were different in that we stayed off property and did not have park hoppers.  I think so much of what people are feeling about their vacation this summer is their expectations.  If they go 3-4 times a year, or have little kids, or are more show or resort oriented than ride oriented, then all those things are going to color what they think of their trip right now.  As for us, it was our first trip since 2017.  We have 5 kids, all teenagers, although we found out 2 weeks prior that only 4 of them would be able to be with us on this trip.  While we've stayed on property in the past, with a family of 7, we can't justify the cost of even two value hotel rooms with our budget versus a spacious house off property.  Our touring style is more ride-oriented with having teenagers.
> 
> My wife and I are both teachers, so we've only gone in the summer since we started taking our kids in 2010.  That factors into our expectations as well.  We know we're only going to be there every 3-4 years, so that's why we went with 8 day park tickets this time.
> 
> About 2/3 of the way through the trip, I was reading up on this thread, and seeing a preponderance of negative posts, and many people saying how it was their worst trip, they wouldn't be back until things changed, it was so much worse than they were used to, etc.  So, our of curiosity, I asked my wife and kids what they thought.  Every member of our family agreed that we were having a great trip, and it was not the terrible experience for us as others were saying.  I was glad they agreed with me.
> 
> I won't list our day-to-day adventures, but, I will list our pros and cons in general.  We stayed at a house in Calabay Parc, which ended up being a 25-35 minute drive each way every day, depending on traffic.
> 
> *PROS*
> - Unlike what so many others are saying, I thought the weather was great.  Our first day was the day after/of Elsa's arrival in Florida.  We put off getting to MK an hour or so, as the forecast showed thunderstorms that morning.  Not only did we get no rain, the cloudiness kept the temperature down.  We all agreed this was one of more pleasant trips for weather.  We had multiple days where cloud cover helped with temperature, I didn't think the humidity was oppressive, and, while I still had my share of sweat, I felt like the majority of it was caused by carrying a heavy backpack with a bunch of our stuff in it every day.
> - We had no negative CM interactions.  They were professional, courteous and there did not seem to be a lack of staffing.
> - Mobile Order worked awesome for us.  I wasn't too keen on the idea of it before we went, but we would order in line for a ride, hit "I'm Here" once we got off, walk over to the restaurant, and 90% of the time, it was ready before we got there.  And we were often eating at peak times as well.  We couldn't find an indoor table at Cosmic Ray's on our last day, and we took our Casey's order over to the seating area for Tomorrowland Terrace, but had no trouble finding seats for out family.  We did four table service meals, and loved all of them.  Crystal Palace was outstanding, we did Tutto Italia for the first time and dug it, and our two favorites of Liberty Tree Tavern and 50's Prime Time were bussin as always.
> - Granted, we had teenagers. Granted, we had 8 days in the parks.  I know not everyone was in our situation.  But we did everything we wanted to do, and almost all of them multiple times.  My 16 yo son and I really wanted to experience every attraction in every park during our stay.  He got everything except Navi River, ITTBAB and FOTLK.  We only did one day at AK, and, since we'd never done FOP before, that was a priority for us.  (We also did AK on our third consecutive park day, and we had done the first two basically open to close, so there was no way being off property that we were getting to rope drop at AK with 4 teenagers).  My wife and I did ITTBAB while the kids were on Everest after a ticket snafu delay, but I skipped Tiki Room at MK while he and my other son did that.  We did SM, SE, TSMM, and BTMR all 4-5 times each during our stay, and our favorite, Splash, we ended up doing 6 times.  We were never there before park opening, typically arriving at or within a half hour of park opening, except for a day at Epcot and a day at MK, where we got there around 1.
> - Would we have liked shorter lines?  Of course.  But we found the following rides ALWAYS were quicker than their posted wait times:  Buzz, TSMM, BTMR, PoC, SE, and Soarin.  The rides that seemed to be typically right on their times posted were MFSR, RaRC, ToT, KS and KRR.  For 7DMT, SDD, JC and FEA, the times were slightly less than posted, but not too much gained.  The lines could be a challenge to find the end at times, but the fast movers took you into the queue pretty quick.
> - We must have lucked out with ride breakdowns compared to what other people are reporting.  Our BG 107 for RotR ended up getting pushed back due to it being down, to the point where we finally got on it at 8:30, but, other than that, the ride were up and running.  Our only ride problem was one time on SM, where a young boy a couple logs behind us got out of the boat and was walking around through the ride, I guess trying to catch Brer Rabbit, so we were stopped in the log for 15-20 while cast members got him out of there.
> - We met and talked to some great people waiting in those lines.  While we waited, hoping RoTR would start up again, my son, who had made a light saber at Savi's, started showing it to a teenage boy behind us in line.  They really hit it off as we waited for an hour, and the boy's aunt and uncle later told us he was autistic and rarely talks to anyone he doesn't know, so they couldn't believe how social he was being.  He ended up riding the ride with our family and walking out of the park with us.  In our 70 minute wait for Kali River Rapids, we met and talked to a lovely family from Brazil.
> -Finally, speaking of RoTR, all I can say is WOW.  Maybe the best theme park attraction I've ever experienced.  Of all the rides that were new to us since our last visit (FOP, SDD, ASwS, MMRR), I was slightly underwhelmed by all of them except Rise and MMRR.  After we rode it on our first HS day, my two teenage daughters, who care nothing about Star Wars, said "We HAVE to get another boarding group to ride that again on our other HS day." And we got BG 14 our 2nd day, and even got to see a couple things on the ride that we didn't see the first time!
> 
> *CONS   *
> - There are people everywhere.  I mean, everywhere.  Capacity, in my mind, was every bit as high as a typical summer visit we've had in the past.  We were comfortable going, we weren't scared to be around people, etc. but I also didn't hate getting in our own van and heading to our own house at the end of the day to avoid buses, resorts, etc.  On our last MK day on 7/17, IaSW had a 60 minute wait!  In what alternate reality should that ever be a thing?  The crush of people to get on a ferry over 30 minutes after park close that night was staggering.  I thought AK felt like the most crowded park.  Our one day there, it seemed like there was no escaping the crowds.  We were at Epcot the first day of FaW, and it definitely was busier than our first day there.
> - Someone posted earlier about a line of cars a mile long to get into parking at the MK.  We experienced that moreso at HS and AK.  As others have said, if you want to beat the crowd, you better be getting there an hour before opening.  But weirdly, I guess since we were closing down the park every night we were there, and typically getting in a ride line right before close and staying until after close, the parking lots never seemed full when we left.
> - I didn't understand why some stores seemed to have lines to get in since they seemed to be limiting capacity, while others did not.  Ondar's Den of Antiquities has the same square footage as our catbox, but yet there were 100 people in there, while we waited in line for 20 minutes to get in the Lego store at DS, which had maybe 50 people in it, and same with Disney Traders at Epcot.
> - I had always wanted to try the Food and Wine Festival, even though we're not foodies and I don't drink alcohol.  So, I'm glad we were able to do it.  But I wasn't super impressed.  Maybe because I don't drink.  I didn't dislike any of the food we tried, but the best thing I ate all day was the fish and chips we got from the window in the UK.  And three bites of food for $6.75 was not the best value.
> - And this is super nitpicky, but I was befuddled when we would get the popcorn bucket refill why some locations it was exactly $2, a couple it was $2.01, and one place was $2.02.
> 
> I'm sorry this is so long.  We went into it knowing we had time, we were not leaving the parks midday, and we would do as much as our bodies would allow.  And we had a great time!  Positives far outweighed the negatives for us.



Thank you for your thorough account.  Gives me a boost for our upcoming trip.   I am going into it with realistic expectations and have told my two kids that it will be different than previous trips, but we are just excited to be getting away and be on vacation and be at our happy place.    It's nice to see the positives!!


----------



## BebopBaloo

Shaft41 said:


> - And this is super nitpicky, but I was befuddled when we would get the popcorn bucket refill why some locations it was exactly $2, a couple it was $2.01, and one place was $2.02.



I had wonder that in the past and asked around. It seems to be because some parks are in one county and others are in another county with different taxes.
[/QUOTE]


----------



## moesy4

Shaft41 said:


> We got back Monday and I wanted to give our perspective.  We were there from Wednesday, 7/7 through Saturday 7/17.  Unlike almost everyone else I see on here, we were different in that we stayed off property and did not have park hoppers.  I think so much of what people are feeling about their vacation this summer is their expectations.  If they go 3-4 times a year, or have little kids, or are more show or resort oriented than ride oriented, then all those things are going to color what they think of their trip right now.  As for us, it was our first trip since 2017.  We have 5 kids, all teenagers, although we found out 2 weeks prior that only 4 of them would be able to be with us on this trip.  While we've stayed on property in the past, with a family of 7, we can't justify the cost of even two value hotel rooms with our budget versus a spacious house off property.  Our touring style is more ride-oriented with having teenagers.
> 
> My wife and I are both teachers, so we've only gone in the summer since we started taking our kids in 2010.  That factors into our expectations as well.  We know we're only going to be there every 3-4 years, so that's why we went with 8 day park tickets this time.
> 
> About 2/3 of the way through the trip, I was reading up on this thread, and seeing a preponderance of negative posts, and many people saying how it was their worst trip, they wouldn't be back until things changed, it was so much worse than they were used to, etc.  So, our of curiosity, I asked my wife and kids what they thought.  Every member of our family agreed that we were having a great trip, and it was not the terrible experience for us as others were saying.  I was glad they agreed with me.
> 
> I won't list our day-to-day adventures, but, I will list our pros and cons in general.  We stayed at a house in Calabay Parc, which ended up being a 25-35 minute drive each way every day, depending on traffic.
> 
> *PROS*
> - Unlike what so many others are saying, I thought the weather was great.  Our first day was the day after/of Elsa's arrival in Florida.  We put off getting to MK an hour or so, as the forecast showed thunderstorms that morning.  Not only did we get no rain, the cloudiness kept the temperature down.  We all agreed this was one of more pleasant trips for weather.  We had multiple days where cloud cover helped with temperature, I didn't think the humidity was oppressive, and, while I still had my share of sweat, I felt like the majority of it was caused by carrying a heavy backpack with a bunch of our stuff in it every day.
> - We had no negative CM interactions.  They were professional, courteous and there did not seem to be a lack of staffing.
> - Mobile Order worked awesome for us.  I wasn't too keen on the idea of it before we went, but we would order in line for a ride, hit "I'm Here" once we got off, walk over to the restaurant, and 90% of the time, it was ready before we got there.  And we were often eating at peak times as well.  We couldn't find an indoor table at Cosmic Ray's on our last day, and we took our Casey's order over to the seating area for Tomorrowland Terrace, but had no trouble finding seats for out family.  We did four table service meals, and loved all of them.  Crystal Palace was outstanding, we did Tutto Italia for the first time and dug it, and our two favorites of Liberty Tree Tavern and 50's Prime Time were bussin as always.
> - Granted, we had teenagers. Granted, we had 8 days in the parks.  I know not everyone was in our situation.  But we did everything we wanted to do, and almost all of them multiple times.  My 16 yo son and I really wanted to experience every attraction in every park during our stay.  He got everything except Navi River, ITTBAB and FOTLK.  We only did one day at AK, and, since we'd never done FOP before, that was a priority for us.  (We also did AK on our third consecutive park day, and we had done the first two basically open to close, so there was no way being off property that we were getting to rope drop at AK with 4 teenagers).  My wife and I did ITTBAB while the kids were on Everest after a ticket snafu delay, but I skipped Tiki Room at MK while he and my other son did that.  We did SM, SE, TSMM, and BTMR all 4-5 times each during our stay, and our favorite, Splash, we ended up doing 6 times.  We were never there before park opening, typically arriving at or within a half hour of park opening, except for a day at Epcot and a day at MK, where we got there around 1.
> - Would we have liked shorter lines?  Of course.  But we found the following rides ALWAYS were quicker than their posted wait times:  Buzz, TSMM, BTMR, PoC, SE, and Soarin.  The rides that seemed to be typically right on their times posted were MFSR, RaRC, ToT, KS and KRR.  For 7DMT, SDD, JC and FEA, the times were slightly less than posted, but not too much gained.  The lines could be a challenge to find the end at times, but the fast movers took you into the queue pretty quick.
> - We must have lucked out with ride breakdowns compared to what other people are reporting.  Our BG 107 for RotR ended up getting pushed back due to it being down, to the point where we finally got on it at 8:30, but, other than that, the ride were up and running.  Our only ride problem was one time on SM, where a young boy a couple logs behind us got out of the boat and was walking around through the ride, I guess trying to catch Brer Rabbit, so we were stopped in the log for 15-20 while cast members got him out of there.
> - We met and talked to some great people waiting in those lines.  While we waited, hoping RoTR would start up again, my son, who had made a light saber at Savi's, started showing it to a teenage boy behind us in line.  They really hit it off as we waited for an hour, and the boy's aunt and uncle later told us he was autistic and rarely talks to anyone he doesn't know, so they couldn't believe how social he was being.  He ended up riding the ride with our family and walking out of the park with us.  In our 70 minute wait for Kali River Rapids, we met and talked to a lovely family from Brazil.
> -Finally, speaking of RoTR, all I can say is WOW.  Maybe the best theme park attraction I've ever experienced.  Of all the rides that were new to us since our last visit (FOP, SDD, ASwS, MMRR), I was slightly underwhelmed by all of them except Rise and MMRR.  After we rode it on our first HS day, my two teenage daughters, who care nothing about Star Wars, said "We HAVE to get another boarding group to ride that again on our other HS day." And we got BG 14 our 2nd day, and even got to see a couple things on the ride that we didn't see the first time!
> 
> *CONS   *
> - There are people everywhere.  I mean, everywhere.  Capacity, in my mind, was every bit as high as a typical summer visit we've had in the past.  We were comfortable going, we weren't scared to be around people, etc. but I also didn't hate getting in our own van and heading to our own house at the end of the day to avoid buses, resorts, etc.  On our last MK day on 7/17, IaSW had a 60 minute wait!  In what alternate reality should that ever be a thing?  The crush of people to get on a ferry over 30 minutes after park close that night was staggering.  I thought AK felt like the most crowded park.  Our one day there, it seemed like there was no escaping the crowds.  We were at Epcot the first day of FaW, and it definitely was busier than our first day there.
> - Someone posted earlier about a line of cars a mile long to get into parking at the MK.  We experienced that moreso at HS and AK.  As others have said, if you want to beat the crowd, you better be getting there an hour before opening.  But weirdly, I guess since we were closing down the park every night we were there, and typically getting in a ride line right before close and staying until after close, the parking lots never seemed full when we left.
> - I didn't understand why some stores seemed to have lines to get in since they seemed to be limiting capacity, while others did not.  Ondar's Den of Antiquities has the same square footage as our catbox, but yet there were 100 people in there, while we waited in line for 20 minutes to get in the Lego store at DS, which had maybe 50 people in it, and same with Disney Traders at Epcot.
> - I had always wanted to try the Food and Wine Festival, even though we're not foodies and I don't drink alcohol.  So, I'm glad we were able to do it.  But I wasn't super impressed.  Maybe because I don't drink.  I didn't dislike any of the food we tried, but the best thing I ate all day was the fish and chips we got from the window in the UK.  And three bites of food for $6.75 was not the best value.
> - And this is super nitpicky, but I was befuddled when we would get the popcorn bucket refill why some locations it was exactly $2, a couple it was $2.01, and one place was $2.02.
> 
> I'm sorry this is so long.  We went into it knowing we had time, we were not leaving the parks midday, and we would do as much as our bodies would allow.  And we had a great time!  Positives far outweighed the negatives for us.



I really appreciate your report, this encourages me more for our trip in November. We got 7 day passes with the water parks add on…we have very few expectations except to hit a few rides and enjoy the parks. We probably have 4 hours max before we are ready for a break. So it is encouraging to here with a longer trip, we should still enjoy ourselves!


----------



## Shaft41

BebopBaloo said:


> I had wonder that in the past and asked around. It seems to be because some parks are in one county and others are in another county with different taxes.


[/QUOTE]
That's what I told my son I figured was the case.


----------



## Leigh L

NileNellie said:


> We had the same issue at Cosmic Ray's. Placed a mobile order for 1:35, got the notification to pick come back, and waited around for another 30 minutes until we finally got our food. We hit up Sunshine Tree Terrace earlier that day and did mobile order which was a much more pleasant experience-took less than five minutes.


This has consistently been an issue for us at Cosmic Ray's and at Backlot Express at DHS all year. We stopped going to both of those. 

Those places should have figured this out by now. Satuli was crazy crowded with people waiting back in November, but when we were there in June, it was smooth - appeared they'd worked out the kinks.


----------



## Shaft41

moesy4 said:


> I really appreciate your report, this encourages me more for our trip in November. We got 7 day passes with the water parks add on…we have very few expectations except to hit a few rides and enjoy the parks. We probably have 4 hours max before we are ready for a break. So it is encouraging to here with a longer trip, we should still enjoy ourselves!


Yes!  I forgot to mention that we also had the water park add-on.  On two separate days, we went mini-golfing at Winter Summerland and then right over to Blizzard Beach, and we had great times both days.


----------



## DisneyFive

Nice Work Pal said:


> Check your room once you check in and you might want to ask for towels early or just take some from the pool. Mousekeeping is severely understaffed so be prepared for very basic services like daily trash removal only.


Great reminder about pool towels!  Thank you.  Was thinking about that and forgot about that as an option.  We’re arriving in 3 days so lots going through my head.  

Dan


----------



## The Iron Giant

Shaft41 said:


> We got back Monday and I wanted to give our perspective.  We were there from Wednesday, 7/7 through Saturday 7/17.  Unlike almost everyone else I see on here, we were different in that we stayed off property and did not have park hoppers.  I think so much of what people are feeling about their vacation this summer is their expectations.  If they go 3-4 times a year, or have little kids, or are more show or resort oriented than ride oriented, then all those things are going to color what they think of their trip right now.  As for us, it was our first trip since 2017.  We have 5 kids, all teenagers, although we found out 2 weeks prior that only 4 of them would be able to be with us on this trip.  While we've stayed on property in the past, with a family of 7, we can't justify the cost of even two value hotel rooms with our budget versus a spacious house off property.  Our touring style is more ride-oriented with having teenagers.
> 
> My wife and I are both teachers, so we've only gone in the summer since we started taking our kids in 2010.  That factors into our expectations as well.  We know we're only going to be there every 3-4 years, so that's why we went with 8 day park tickets this time.
> 
> About 2/3 of the way through the trip, I was reading up on this thread, and seeing a preponderance of negative posts, and many people saying how it was their worst trip, they wouldn't be back until things changed, it was so much worse than they were used to, etc.  So, our of curiosity, I asked my wife and kids what they thought.  Every member of our family agreed that we were having a great trip, and it was not the terrible experience for us as others were saying.  I was glad they agreed with me.
> 
> I won't list our day-to-day adventures, but, I will list our pros and cons in general.  We stayed at a house in Calabay Parc, which ended up being a 25-35 minute drive each way every day, depending on traffic.
> 
> *PROS*
> - Unlike what so many others are saying, I thought the weather was great.  Our first day was the day after/of Elsa's arrival in Florida.  We put off getting to MK an hour or so, as the forecast showed thunderstorms that morning.  Not only did we get no rain, the cloudiness kept the temperature down.  We all agreed this was one of more pleasant trips for weather.  We had multiple days where cloud cover helped with temperature, I didn't think the humidity was oppressive, and, while I still had my share of sweat, I felt like the majority of it was caused by carrying a heavy backpack with a bunch of our stuff in it every day.
> - We had no negative CM interactions.  They were professional, courteous and there did not seem to be a lack of staffing.
> - Mobile Order worked awesome for us.  I wasn't too keen on the idea of it before we went, but we would order in line for a ride, hit "I'm Here" once we got off, walk over to the restaurant, and 90% of the time, it was ready before we got there.  And we were often eating at peak times as well.  We couldn't find an indoor table at Cosmic Ray's on our last day, and we took our Casey's order over to the seating area for Tomorrowland Terrace, but had no trouble finding seats for out family.  We did four table service meals, and loved all of them.  Crystal Palace was outstanding, we did Tutto Italia for the first time and dug it, and our two favorites of Liberty Tree Tavern and 50's Prime Time were bussin as always.
> - Granted, we had teenagers. Granted, we had 8 days in the parks.  I know not everyone was in our situation.  But we did everything we wanted to do, and almost all of them multiple times.  My 16 yo son and I really wanted to experience every attraction in every park during our stay.  He got everything except Navi River, ITTBAB and FOTLK.  We only did one day at AK, and, since we'd never done FOP before, that was a priority for us.  (We also did AK on our third consecutive park day, and we had done the first two basically open to close, so there was no way being off property that we were getting to rope drop at AK with 4 teenagers).  My wife and I did ITTBAB while the kids were on Everest after a ticket snafu delay, but I skipped Tiki Room at MK while he and my other son did that.  We did SM, SE, TSMM, and BTMR all 4-5 times each during our stay, and our favorite, Splash, we ended up doing 6 times.  We were never there before park opening, typically arriving at or within a half hour of park opening, except for a day at Epcot and a day at MK, where we got there around 1.
> - Would we have liked shorter lines?  Of course.  But we found the following rides ALWAYS were quicker than their posted wait times:  Buzz, TSMM, BTMR, PoC, SE, and Soarin.  The rides that seemed to be typically right on their times posted were MFSR, RaRC, ToT, KS and KRR.  For 7DMT, SDD, JC and FEA, the times were slightly less than posted, but not too much gained.  The lines could be a challenge to find the end at times, but the fast movers took you into the queue pretty quick.
> - We must have lucked out with ride breakdowns compared to what other people are reporting.  Our BG 107 for RotR ended up getting pushed back due to it being down, to the point where we finally got on it at 8:30, but, other than that, the ride were up and running.  Our only ride problem was one time on SM, where a young boy a couple logs behind us got out of the boat and was walking around through the ride, I guess trying to catch Brer Rabbit, so we were stopped in the log for 15-20 while cast members got him out of there.
> - We met and talked to some great people waiting in those lines.  While we waited, hoping RoTR would start up again, my son, who had made a light saber at Savi's, started showing it to a teenage boy behind us in line.  They really hit it off as we waited for an hour, and the boy's aunt and uncle later told us he was autistic and rarely talks to anyone he doesn't know, so they couldn't believe how social he was being.  He ended up riding the ride with our family and walking out of the park with us.  In our 70 minute wait for Kali River Rapids, we met and talked to a lovely family from Brazil.
> -Finally, speaking of RoTR, all I can say is WOW.  Maybe the best theme park attraction I've ever experienced.  Of all the rides that were new to us since our last visit (FOP, SDD, ASwS, MMRR), I was slightly underwhelmed by all of them except Rise and MMRR.  After we rode it on our first HS day, my two teenage daughters, who care nothing about Star Wars, said "We HAVE to get another boarding group to ride that again on our other HS day." And we got BG 14 our 2nd day, and even got to see a couple things on the ride that we didn't see the first time!
> 
> *CONS   *
> - There are people everywhere.  I mean, everywhere.  Capacity, in my mind, was every bit as high as a typical summer visit we've had in the past.  We were comfortable going, we weren't scared to be around people, etc. but I also didn't hate getting in our own van and heading to our own house at the end of the day to avoid buses, resorts, etc.  On our last MK day on 7/17, IaSW had a 60 minute wait!  In what alternate reality should that ever be a thing?  The crush of people to get on a ferry over 30 minutes after park close that night was staggering.  I thought AK felt like the most crowded park.  Our one day there, it seemed like there was no escaping the crowds.  We were at Epcot the first day of FaW, and it definitely was busier than our first day there.
> - Someone posted earlier about a line of cars a mile long to get into parking at the MK.  We experienced that moreso at HS and AK.  As others have said, if you want to beat the crowd, you better be getting there an hour before opening.  But weirdly, I guess since we were closing down the park every night we were there, and typically getting in a ride line right before close and staying until after close, the parking lots never seemed full when we left.
> - I didn't understand why some stores seemed to have lines to get in since they seemed to be limiting capacity, while others did not.  Ondar's Den of Antiquities has the same square footage as our catbox, but yet there were 100 people in there, while we waited in line for 20 minutes to get in the Lego store at DS, which had maybe 50 people in it, and same with Disney Traders at Epcot.
> - I had always wanted to try the Food and Wine Festival, even though we're not foodies and I don't drink alcohol.  So, I'm glad we were able to do it.  But I wasn't super impressed.  Maybe because I don't drink.  I didn't dislike any of the food we tried, but the best thing I ate all day was the fish and chips we got from the window in the UK.  And three bites of food for $6.75 was not the best value.
> - And this is super nitpicky, but I was befuddled when we would get the popcorn bucket refill why some locations it was exactly $2, a couple it was $2.01, and one place was $2.02.
> 
> I'm sorry this is so long.  We went into it knowing we had time, we were not leaving the parks midday, and we would do as much as our bodies would allow.  And we had a great time!  Positives far outweighed the negatives for us.



Thank you for taking the time to share all that information! There’s no doubt a positive attitude can make all the difference


----------



## Gabby01

Loved hearing your report, Shaft41!  I was there around the same time, with park days on 7/6 and 7/7.  My goal was to spend 2 full days in Galaxy’s Edge so I could enjoy everything there in a single trip, since I wasn’t ever planning on going back to Disney World.  Well, I did that, absolutely loved it, and am now thinking about going back!

The weather was perfect—not too hot or humid, I totally forgot about the weather aside from the brief rains.  I was also nervous about relying on mobile ordering, but like you said, my food was always ready within a minute or two of clicking “I’m here,” and no problems finding a place to sit.  I loved trying all the space food and drinks, especially at Oga’s.  (Once the bartender asked me where I was from, and when I told her my hometown, she said “Never heard of it”—then I remembered we were on Batuu!  Loved it!!).  I got to the park around 8:30 and was able to get lots of good pictures with hardly anyone there.  No lines to get into any of the shops, ever.  I loved the atmosphere in Dok’s!  I will say I heard a few people get turned away from Oga’s or Savi’s because they didn’t have reservations, and there was a fair walk-up line for Droid Depot, but since I had reservations, no problem.  Was able to see Rey, Vi, and Kylo Ren, who had the sweetest interaction with a little girl with a disability without ever breaking character.  Got onto RoR and MFSR.  Only had to wait for a bus once.  Also went to Disney Springs on 7/8, neither Star Wars store was crowded at all, no problems eating at Earl of Sandwich.  I really didn’t feel like the pandemic affected my trip at all.  Loved every minute of it!


----------



## cdurham1

Shaft41 said:


> We got back Monday and I wanted to give our perspective.  We were there from Wednesday, 7/7 through Saturday 7/17.  Unlike almost everyone else I see on here, we were different in that we stayed off property and did not have park hoppers.  I think so much of what people are feeling about their vacation this summer is their expectations.  If they go 3-4 times a year, or have little kids, or are more show or resort oriented than ride oriented, then all those things are going to color what they think of their trip right now.  As for us, it was our first trip since 2017.  We have 5 kids, all teenagers, although we found out 2 weeks prior that only 4 of them would be able to be with us on this trip.  While we've stayed on property in the past, with a family of 7, we can't justify the cost of even two value hotel rooms with our budget versus a spacious house off property.  Our touring style is more ride-oriented with having teenagers.
> 
> My wife and I are both teachers, so we've only gone in the summer since we started taking our kids in 2010.  That factors into our expectations as well.  We know we're only going to be there every 3-4 years, so that's why we went with 8 day park tickets this time.
> 
> About 2/3 of the way through the trip, I was reading up on this thread, and seeing a preponderance of negative posts, and many people saying how it was their worst trip, they wouldn't be back until things changed, it was so much worse than they were used to, etc.  So, our of curiosity, I asked my wife and kids what they thought.  Every member of our family agreed that we were having a great trip, and it was not the terrible experience for us as others were saying.  I was glad they agreed with me.
> 
> I won't list our day-to-day adventures, but, I will list our pros and cons in general.  We stayed at a house in Calabay Parc, which ended up being a 25-35 minute drive each way every day, depending on traffic.
> 
> *PROS*
> - Unlike what so many others are saying, I thought the weather was great.  Our first day was the day after/of Elsa's arrival in Florida.  We put off getting to MK an hour or so, as the forecast showed thunderstorms that morning.  Not only did we get no rain, the cloudiness kept the temperature down.  We all agreed this was one of more pleasant trips for weather.  We had multiple days where cloud cover helped with temperature, I didn't think the humidity was oppressive, and, while I still had my share of sweat, I felt like the majority of it was caused by carrying a heavy backpack with a bunch of our stuff in it every day.
> - We had no negative CM interactions.  They were professional, courteous and there did not seem to be a lack of staffing.
> - Mobile Order worked awesome for us.  I wasn't too keen on the idea of it before we went, but we would order in line for a ride, hit "I'm Here" once we got off, walk over to the restaurant, and 90% of the time, it was ready before we got there.  And we were often eating at peak times as well.  We couldn't find an indoor table at Cosmic Ray's on our last day, and we took our Casey's order over to the seating area for Tomorrowland Terrace, but had no trouble finding seats for out family.  We did four table service meals, and loved all of them.  Crystal Palace was outstanding, we did Tutto Italia for the first time and dug it, and our two favorites of Liberty Tree Tavern and 50's Prime Time were bussin as always.
> - Granted, we had teenagers. Granted, we had 8 days in the parks.  I know not everyone was in our situation.  But we did everything we wanted to do, and almost all of them multiple times.  My 16 yo son and I really wanted to experience every attraction in every park during our stay.  He got everything except Navi River, ITTBAB and FOTLK.  We only did one day at AK, and, since we'd never done FOP before, that was a priority for us.  (We also did AK on our third consecutive park day, and we had done the first two basically open to close, so there was no way being off property that we were getting to rope drop at AK with 4 teenagers).  My wife and I did ITTBAB while the kids were on Everest after a ticket snafu delay, but I skipped Tiki Room at MK while he and my other son did that.  We did SM, SE, TSMM, and BTMR all 4-5 times each during our stay, and our favorite, Splash, we ended up doing 6 times.  We were never there before park opening, typically arriving at or within a half hour of park opening, except for a day at Epcot and a day at MK, where we got there around 1.
> - Would we have liked shorter lines?  Of course.  But we found the following rides ALWAYS were quicker than their posted wait times:  Buzz, TSMM, BTMR, PoC, SE, and Soarin.  The rides that seemed to be typically right on their times posted were MFSR, RaRC, ToT, KS and KRR.  For 7DMT, SDD, JC and FEA, the times were slightly less than posted, but not too much gained.  The lines could be a challenge to find the end at times, but the fast movers took you into the queue pretty quick.
> - We must have lucked out with ride breakdowns compared to what other people are reporting.  Our BG 107 for RotR ended up getting pushed back due to it being down, to the point where we finally got on it at 8:30, but, other than that, the ride were up and running.  Our only ride problem was one time on SM, where a young boy a couple logs behind us got out of the boat and was walking around through the ride, I guess trying to catch Brer Rabbit, so we were stopped in the log for 15-20 while cast members got him out of there.
> - We met and talked to some great people waiting in those lines.  While we waited, hoping RoTR would start up again, my son, who had made a light saber at Savi's, started showing it to a teenage boy behind us in line.  They really hit it off as we waited for an hour, and the boy's aunt and uncle later told us he was autistic and rarely talks to anyone he doesn't know, so they couldn't believe how social he was being.  He ended up riding the ride with our family and walking out of the park with us.  In our 70 minute wait for Kali River Rapids, we met and talked to a lovely family from Brazil.
> -Finally, speaking of RoTR, all I can say is WOW.  Maybe the best theme park attraction I've ever experienced.  Of all the rides that were new to us since our last visit (FOP, SDD, ASwS, MMRR), I was slightly underwhelmed by all of them except Rise and MMRR.  After we rode it on our first HS day, my two teenage daughters, who care nothing about Star Wars, said "We HAVE to get another boarding group to ride that again on our other HS day." And we got BG 14 our 2nd day, and even got to see a couple things on the ride that we didn't see the first time!
> 
> *CONS   *
> - There are people everywhere.  I mean, everywhere.  Capacity, in my mind, was every bit as high as a typical summer visit we've had in the past.  We were comfortable going, we weren't scared to be around people, etc. but I also didn't hate getting in our own van and heading to our own house at the end of the day to avoid buses, resorts, etc.  On our last MK day on 7/17, IaSW had a 60 minute wait!  In what alternate reality should that ever be a thing?  The crush of people to get on a ferry over 30 minutes after park close that night was staggering.  I thought AK felt like the most crowded park.  Our one day there, it seemed like there was no escaping the crowds.  We were at Epcot the first day of FaW, and it definitely was busier than our first day there.
> - Someone posted earlier about a line of cars a mile long to get into parking at the MK.  We experienced that moreso at HS and AK.  As others have said, if you want to beat the crowd, you better be getting there an hour before opening.  But weirdly, I guess since we were closing down the park every night we were there, and typically getting in a ride line right before close and staying until after close, the parking lots never seemed full when we left.
> - I didn't understand why some stores seemed to have lines to get in since they seemed to be limiting capacity, while others did not.  Ondar's Den of Antiquities has the same square footage as our catbox, but yet there were 100 people in there, while we waited in line for 20 minutes to get in the Lego store at DS, which had maybe 50 people in it, and same with Disney Traders at Epcot.
> - I had always wanted to try the Food and Wine Festival, even though we're not foodies and I don't drink alcohol.  So, I'm glad we were able to do it.  But I wasn't super impressed.  Maybe because I don't drink.  I didn't dislike any of the food we tried, but the best thing I ate all day was the fish and chips we got from the window in the UK.  And three bites of food for $6.75 was not the best value.
> - And this is super nitpicky, but I was befuddled when we would get the popcorn bucket refill why some locations it was exactly $2, a couple it was $2.01, and one place was $2.02.
> 
> I'm sorry this is so long.  We went into it knowing we had time, we were not leaving the parks midday, and we would do as much as our bodies would allow.  And we had a great time!  Positives far outweighed the negatives for us.


Finally, thank god, a positive trip report I can show my kids before we go on Monday.  On second thought, I will continue showing them the negative so I don't have any pushback when I am telling them we have to get to the park 1.5 hours early if we want to ride anything.


----------



## jujubiee4

@Shaft41
I won't list our day-to-day adventures, but, I will list our pros and cons in general.  *We stayed at a house in Calabay Parc*, which ended up being a 25-35 minute drive each way every day, depending on traffic.



How did you like this and would you do it again?


----------



## Shaft41

jujubiee4 said:


> @Shaft41
> I won't list our day-to-day adventures, but, I will list our pros and cons in general.  *We stayed at a house in Calabay Parc*, which ended up being a 25-35 minute drive each way every day, depending on traffic.
> 
> 
> 
> How did you like this and would you do it again?


We enjoyed the house. Good space and nice having our own pool. Not being as regular visitors to the area, I underestimated the time it would take to drive the 8 miles to the parks. Traffic was always an issue, regardless of the time of day. I think next time we would like something closer but would stay here again for the right price.


----------



## To the honeypots

Kimpossible1 said:


> We were not there and did not hear the conversation so it is difficult to interpret how the CM was speaking and I do not believe one side of a story.  CM's have been treated terribly by guests in the last year, and all I was saying is give them some grace.  Apparently they should not be allowed to be human beings and have feelings because that disrupts the guests' magic??  Going to WDW is a privilege, not a need but I think people have forgotten that over the last year.  CM's are people and most visitors treat them as part of the background, with no regard to them as individuals with feelings.



We actually normally let Disney know which CMs are kind and generally do treat them kindly to the point that one CM that we interacted with on another trip offered to give us a personal tour of his hometown if we ever found ourselves there.     We booked this trip while Disney still had all the protocols in place.  Only as we got closer and closer did they start to drop the measures and we had other reservations made that we would have lost money to cancel.  
We did not ask to skip the line. We asked to stand in an empty area that did not impede the flow of the crowd line.  She told us no and did have an attitude that we have never encountered at Disney.  

When I contacted guest services to let them know of our experience (overflowing trashcans, the CM interaction, not enforcing their masks policy), I did also provide a list of the CMs that made our trip more enjoyable and enhanced our experience.


----------



## AlternateID

e_yerger said:


> Last time I visited was in April 2021, so it may be a bit dated. But for the QS stuff, there is really a limited amount of meals they can push out at any given time. If you want to eat at peak times (12-1pm, 5-6pm), you'll want to secure your Mobile Order early!! We would order our lunch first thing in the morning, and select a pick-up time for the time we wanted to eat. The only time that things felt a little chaotic was when we ordered from Peco Bill's and everyone was standing around the entrance waiting for their alert that their meal was ready.
> 
> The other option would be to eat in off times - which is a win-win. This allows more availability for the time frame, and lower crowds for when you pick up your food and are looking to eat.



The only place where we had issues with mobile order was Cosmic Rays and we ordered 90+ mins in advance. It took them 30 mins to prepare our food from when I pressed the “prepare my food” button and that was at 1:30 pm.


----------



## smwisc

Shaft41 said:


> We got back Monday and I wanted to give our perspective.  We were there from Wednesday, 7/7 through Saturday 7/17.  Unlike almost everyone else I see on here, we were different in that we stayed off property and did not have park hoppers.  I think so much of what people are feeling about their vacation this summer is their expectations.  If they go 3-4 times a year, or have little kids, or are more show or resort oriented than ride oriented, then all those things are going to color what they think of their trip right now.  As for us, it was our first trip since 2017.  We have 5 kids, all teenagers, although we found out 2 weeks prior that only 4 of them would be able to be with us on this trip.  While we've stayed on property in the past, with a family of 7, we can't justify the cost of even two value hotel rooms with our budget versus a spacious house off property.  Our touring style is more ride-oriented with having teenagers.
> 
> My wife and I are both teachers, so we've only gone in the summer since we started taking our kids in 2010.  That factors into our expectations as well.  We know we're only going to be there every 3-4 years, so that's why we went with 8 day park tickets this time.
> 
> About 2/3 of the way through the trip, I was reading up on this thread, and seeing a preponderance of negative posts, and many people saying how it was their worst trip, they wouldn't be back until things changed, it was so much worse than they were used to, etc.  So, our of curiosity, I asked my wife and kids what they thought.  Every member of our family agreed that we were having a great trip, and it was not the terrible experience for us as others were saying.  I was glad they agreed with me.
> 
> I won't list our day-to-day adventures, but, I will list our pros and cons in general.  We stayed at a house in Calabay Parc, which ended up being a 25-35 minute drive each way every day, depending on traffic.
> 
> *PROS*
> - Unlike what so many others are saying, I thought the weather was great.  Our first day was the day after/of Elsa's arrival in Florida.  We put off getting to MK an hour or so, as the forecast showed thunderstorms that morning.  Not only did we get no rain, the cloudiness kept the temperature down.  We all agreed this was one of more pleasant trips for weather.  We had multiple days where cloud cover helped with temperature, I didn't think the humidity was oppressive, and, while I still had my share of sweat, I felt like the majority of it was caused by carrying a heavy backpack with a bunch of our stuff in it every day.
> - We had no negative CM interactions.  They were professional, courteous and there did not seem to be a lack of staffing.
> - Mobile Order worked awesome for us.  I wasn't too keen on the idea of it before we went, but we would order in line for a ride, hit "I'm Here" once we got off, walk over to the restaurant, and 90% of the time, it was ready before we got there.  And we were often eating at peak times as well.  We couldn't find an indoor table at Cosmic Ray's on our last day, and we took our Casey's order over to the seating area for Tomorrowland Terrace, but had no trouble finding seats for out family.  We did four table service meals, and loved all of them.  Crystal Palace was outstanding, we did Tutto Italia for the first time and dug it, and our two favorites of Liberty Tree Tavern and 50's Prime Time were bussin as always.
> - Granted, we had teenagers. Granted, we had 8 days in the parks.  I know not everyone was in our situation.  But we did everything we wanted to do, and almost all of them multiple times.  My 16 yo son and I really wanted to experience every attraction in every park during our stay.  He got everything except Navi River, ITTBAB and FOTLK.  We only did one day at AK, and, since we'd never done FOP before, that was a priority for us.  (We also did AK on our third consecutive park day, and we had done the first two basically open to close, so there was no way being off property that we were getting to rope drop at AK with 4 teenagers).  My wife and I did ITTBAB while the kids were on Everest after a ticket snafu delay, but I skipped Tiki Room at MK while he and my other son did that.  We did SM, SE, TSMM, and BTMR all 4-5 times each during our stay, and our favorite, Splash, we ended up doing 6 times.  We were never there before park opening, typically arriving at or within a half hour of park opening, except for a day at Epcot and a day at MK, where we got there around 1.
> - Would we have liked shorter lines?  Of course.  But we found the following rides ALWAYS were quicker than their posted wait times:  Buzz, TSMM, BTMR, PoC, SE, and Soarin.  The rides that seemed to be typically right on their times posted were MFSR, RaRC, ToT, KS and KRR.  For 7DMT, SDD, JC and FEA, the times were slightly less than posted, but not too much gained.  The lines could be a challenge to find the end at times, but the fast movers took you into the queue pretty quick.
> - We must have lucked out with ride breakdowns compared to what other people are reporting.  Our BG 107 for RotR ended up getting pushed back due to it being down, to the point where we finally got on it at 8:30, but, other than that, the ride were up and running.  Our only ride problem was one time on SM, where a young boy a couple logs behind us got out of the boat and was walking around through the ride, I guess trying to catch Brer Rabbit, so we were stopped in the log for 15-20 while cast members got him out of there.
> - We met and talked to some great people waiting in those lines.  While we waited, hoping RoTR would start up again, my son, who had made a light saber at Savi's, started showing it to a teenage boy behind us in line.  They really hit it off as we waited for an hour, and the boy's aunt and uncle later told us he was autistic and rarely talks to anyone he doesn't know, so they couldn't believe how social he was being.  He ended up riding the ride with our family and walking out of the park with us.  In our 70 minute wait for Kali River Rapids, we met and talked to a lovely family from Brazil.
> -Finally, speaking of RoTR, all I can say is WOW.  Maybe the best theme park attraction I've ever experienced.  Of all the rides that were new to us since our last visit (FOP, SDD, ASwS, MMRR), I was slightly underwhelmed by all of them except Rise and MMRR.  After we rode it on our first HS day, my two teenage daughters, who care nothing about Star Wars, said "We HAVE to get another boarding group to ride that again on our other HS day." And we got BG 14 our 2nd day, and even got to see a couple things on the ride that we didn't see the first time!
> 
> *CONS   *
> - There are people everywhere.  I mean, everywhere.  Capacity, in my mind, was every bit as high as a typical summer visit we've had in the past.  We were comfortable going, we weren't scared to be around people, etc. but I also didn't hate getting in our own van and heading to our own house at the end of the day to avoid buses, resorts, etc.  On our last MK day on 7/17, IaSW had a 60 minute wait!  In what alternate reality should that ever be a thing?  The crush of people to get on a ferry over 30 minutes after park close that night was staggering.  I thought AK felt like the most crowded park.  Our one day there, it seemed like there was no escaping the crowds.  We were at Epcot the first day of FaW, and it definitely was busier than our first day there.
> - Someone posted earlier about a line of cars a mile long to get into parking at the MK.  We experienced that moreso at HS and AK.  As others have said, if you want to beat the crowd, you better be getting there an hour before opening.  But weirdly, I guess since we were closing down the park every night we were there, and typically getting in a ride line right before close and staying until after close, the parking lots never seemed full when we left.
> - I didn't understand why some stores seemed to have lines to get in since they seemed to be limiting capacity, while others did not.  Ondar's Den of Antiquities has the same square footage as our catbox, but yet there were 100 people in there, while we waited in line for 20 minutes to get in the Lego store at DS, which had maybe 50 people in it, and same with Disney Traders at Epcot.
> - I had always wanted to try the Food and Wine Festival, even though we're not foodies and I don't drink alcohol.  So, I'm glad we were able to do it.  But I wasn't super impressed.  Maybe because I don't drink.  I didn't dislike any of the food we tried, but the best thing I ate all day was the fish and chips we got from the window in the UK.  And three bites of food for $6.75 was not the best value.
> - And this is super nitpicky, but I was befuddled when we would get the popcorn bucket refill why some locations it was exactly $2, a couple it was $2.01, and one place was $2.02.
> 
> I'm sorry this is so long.  We went into it knowing we had time, we were not leaving the parks midday, and we would do as much as our bodies would allow.  And we had a great time!  Positives far outweighed the negatives for us.


Thank you for this!  We are heading down this weekend, and your situation sounds pretty similar to ours - first trip since 2015, always go in summer, staying offsite, 3 kids including 2 teenagers, 10 day non-hoppers.  So this is encouraging.


----------



## Neener16

We have been here since Monday and are staying at the Yacht Club. Love, love, love Yacht Club. 
the first day we got to MK early afternoon. It was not a pleasant experience. Most major rides were down and the rest were crazy wait times. Went to Mickey’s Philharmonic and left. 
Tuesday got up at 6, got on first bus to AK, and arrived there shortly after 7. I think you must do this to get on FOP. If you get on right away, easy to then do Safari and Expedition Everest. We picked major things that we wanted to cover, and anything else was gravy. I would make a list of what you absolutely want to do, bite the bullet and be there at rope drop and do it. What we did was the next day had an easier day, and slept a little so nobody is overtired etc.
Epcot was a little more reasonable. We have no desire to go on test track, and were able to ride Soarin twice so far. We were fortunate both times to get in the middle, just by luck. It’s best for food and wine to go shortly after 11, and it’s not crowded at all. Even early afternoon is OK. It’s a little more crowded at dinner time, but nothing outrageous and we had a good time.
We were able to ride millennium falcon at Hollywood studios. We just lucked out with the timing and the weight wasn’t too bad. Today we went on rock ‘n’ roll roller coaster, single rider and that took about 45 minutes to get on. We also did Toy story mania. we waited about 40 minutes for that as well. Both of these were in the afternoon.
I think people can I have a good time if you are a Disney experienced person. You also have to be willing to get up early at least a couple of the days that you’re going to the parks. The lines are definitely not going down at the end of the night as much as they were a few weeks ago. My daughter was here a few weeks ago and is with me now and feels that the lines are much longer this time around.
We haven’t experienced much line cutting, except for families that are trying to get together. This personally doesn’t bother me. The CMs have been lovely. OK I need to and for now, Time to go out for a drink!


----------



## petunia

Hi all, what time/how much in advance of closing do they allow you to get on, or alternatively not let you get on rides/close the line?  Do they take into account if 30 mins before close there is a 30 min line and close it for example, or is it possible that you wait 30 mins to close and then park closes and you will be turned away if youre not on yet?


----------



## GBRforWDW

petunia said:


> Hi all, what time/how much in advance of closing do they allow you to get on, or alternatively not let you get on rides/close the line?  Do they take into account if 30 mins before close there is a 30 min line and close it for example, or is it possible that you wait 30 mins to close and then park closes and you will be turned away if youre not on yet?


Typically they’ll allow you into a line until park closing time.  Everyone in line at that time can stay in line until they’re able to ride.


----------



## becauseimnew

petunia said:


> Hi all, what time/how much in advance of closing do they allow you to get on, or alternatively not let you get on rides/close the line?  Do they take into account if 30 mins before close there is a 30 min line and close it for example, or is it possible that you wait 30 mins to close and then park closes and you will be turned away if youre not on yet?


As long as you are in line before park close you'll get to ride, if the park closes at 9PM you can jump in any ride line at 8:59.


----------



## petunia

Thanks guys, after many times at WDW I had no idea, and would just rule out that option assuming we'd be wasting our time getting in a line!


----------



## davidl81

I’m here now, and I have been here since Friday.  The lines are long, but honestly not too bad.  They are always moving with the lack of fast passes and most of the actual wait times are about 75% of the posted wait times.  Parks are packed though, I would assume there is no capacity limit right now as this seems packed even for a normal summer.  This is our 3rd trip post covid and it’s been fun to see more and more things open up.  No issues at all with rude CMs, overfilled trash cans etc.  I’m not saying these didn’t happen, but it’s nothing I’ve noticed.  For the most part it feels like 90% of a normal July Disney trip but with no fast passes.


----------



## tinkerhon

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Can you expand a little on "Disaster" at MK, and HS?  Thanks for the words.



Sure----  MK --- the lines are endless, and it seems like every single attraction has a 60 minute wait time listed---  there is a severe lack of CMs around controlling the crowds---  what I mean by that is that people are waking around, and have no idea where the line starts and ends-    the way that MK is constituted, between the lack of FPs and the capacity, you are basically forced to RD if you want to do a fair share of the attractions--- you are basically waiting on lines all day. 

DHS not much better----  very crowded, and with the exception of a few of the "minor" attractions ("Muppets", for example) , long lines for basically every attraction- 

Should also add that mobile ordering at MK is a nightmare--- people waiting for food for 45-60 mins, and huge crowds of people.


----------



## 100AcreWood

I have two questions.  We have a lot of Disney experience, but this trip feels different with the changes.  We have never utilized rope drop or left the parks in the middle of the day, but it seems like the best strategy.  

We have two days planned for HS.  When should we arrive for RD?  
Can we still leave the park, go to the resort for a couple hours and come back?  I assume re-entry still works on the same ticket as long as we go the same park?


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

tinkerhon said:


> Sure----  MK --- the lines are endless, and it seems like every single attraction has a 60 minute wait time listed---  there is a severe lack of CMs around controlling the crowds---  what I mean by that is that people are waking around, and have no idea where the line starts and ends-    the way that MK is constituted, between the lack of FPs and the capacity, you are basically forced to RD if you want to do a fair share of the attractions--- you are basically waiting on lines all day.
> 
> DHS not much better----  very crowded, and with the exception of a few of the "minor" attractions ("Muppets", for example) , long lines for basically every attraction-
> 
> Should also add that mobile ordering at MK is a nightmare--- people waiting for food for 45-60 mins, and huge crowds of people.


Thanks for that update.  Doesn't sound too fun or promising.  I'm glad our plan is to just get the granddaughters a taste of WDW and do a few kids rides each day.  It would seriously disrupt our "normal" touring tactics.  And I think we will skip DHS all together because not much open for 2 and 4 year olds.  Thanks again!!!


----------



## ten50

AK today, staying at poly, rope dropped FOP...At bus stop 644...bus arrived 659...off bus 0715, already letting people in...bridge 0723...FP entry 743...inside 747...in lab 0800...preshow room 811...off 827, wait time says 135 minutes


----------



## becauseimnew

ten50 said:


> AK today, staying at poly, rope dropped FOP...At bus stop 644...bus arrived 659...off bus 0715, already letting people in...bridge 0723...FP entry 743...inside 747...in lab 0800...preshow room 811...off 827, wait time says 135 minutes


Thanks, the waits at AK are nuts this morning.


----------



## becauseimnew

Did Splash come online yesterday??


----------



## MomOTwins

becauseimnew said:


> Thanks, the waits at AK are nuts this morning.


Depends on whether you fork left or right at the tree:

Left
FOP:  155 mins
NRJ: 40 mins
KS: 60 mins

Right
EE: 20 mins
KRR: 5 mins
Dinosaur: 5 mins


----------



## Meglen

ten50 said:


> AK today, staying at poly, rope dropped FOP...At bus stop 644...bus arrived 659...off bus 0715, already letting people in...bridge 0723...FP entry 743...inside 747...in lab 0800...preshow room 811...off 827, wait time says 135 minutes


If your family is already awake and ready to go I find rope drop amazing. But... And this is prolly controversial if your family is not and you get up and take early bus and than wait in the pre open line than slow walk.. it's usually the same wait time overall. 

Wake up at 6am for 6:45 bus = 20-30 min wait
Get to park at 7:15
Hope they let ppl in early but = 15-45 min wait
Slow walk to ride and pray you were in the front of the pack =15 min
Walk through queue =10-30 min

Now sure some folks get lucky and hit all these perfect like op. But in reality you are waiting an hour or more doing rope rope if you have to wait for bus or open. Yes you have to wait for bus either way but.. waiting for the first bus is another level of crazyness.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

100AcreWood said:


> I have two questions.  We have a lot of Disney experience, but this trip feels different with the changes.  We have never utilized rope drop or left the parks in the middle of the day, but it seems like the best strategy.
> 
> We have two days planned for HS.  When should we arrive for RD?
> Can we still leave the park, go to the resort for a couple hours and come back?  I assume re-entry still works on the same ticket as long as we go the same park?


Hi-as someone whose family is also jolted by this we are also planning rope drop a couple of times. And yes you can still go back to your resort midday for the pool but keep in mind each resort is different-some had reservations required but I haven't seen anything about that since spring break time. I do believe you can park hop but you have to have gone to the park you reserved for that day first.


----------



## DestyTiger

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Thanks for that update.  Doesn't sound too fun or promising.  I'm glad our plan is to just get the granddaughters a taste of WDW and do a few kids rides each day.  It would seriously disrupt our "normal" touring tactics.  And I think we will skip DHS all together because not much open for 2 and 4 year olds.  Thanks again!!!


We just got back from a 4 day trip yesterday and I will agree that it is crowded in all of the parks.  But, I found that actual wait times to be significantly less that the posted times in almost all situations.  When we were at MK, by 11am lines for most attractions were posted as over 60 minutes.  We got in line for HM and IASW when posted times were 60 minutes and each took less than 25 minutes.  When we came out they were still posted at 60 minutes.  Hit BTMR with 70 minutes posted time, wait was only 50 min.  The only two that we found wait times relatively consistent with posted times were Splash and SM.  Both were posted at 90 and took about 75-80 minutes.  

Found similar at HS as well.  In most cases wait times were posted much higher than actual.  We hit ToT around 1pm and wait time posted was 65 minutes, but we were on the elevator in 35 minutes.  TSM had a posted time of 75 and we were on in 40 min.  Even SR was about 75% of posted wait time just before lunch.  Now we did find MMR and RR to be close to the actual 75 min posted time.

While waits were long, they were not as bad as posted.  We are from Louisiana and still found the heat to be the biggest problem as so many lines still spill out into the sun without much shade or airflow (even without and social distancing at all).  Heat indexes were running around 105 during the middle of the day.   We didn't notice any real shortage of CMs, but Disney could probably use a few more here and there.  I know they are still trying to decide if they need to bring in more students from the College Program, and I am hoping they do as that could provide a few extra CMs to assist with line management (again we didn't real any significant issues with lines) and possibly get the parking lots trams back up and running.

All in all, we had an enjoyable trip.  You can definitely see things picking up since last year.  We went in Oct '20, Jan '21, May '21, and Jul '21 and each time crowds have been larger.


----------



## jimmymc

cdurham1 said:


> Finally, thank god, a positive trip report I can show my kids before we go on Monday.  On second thought, I will continue showing them the negative so I don't have any pushback when I am telling them we have to get to the park 1.5 hours early if we want to ride anything.



I think the only negative is that parks are back to pre-Covid crowds. Last summer and fall had much smaller crowds due to reduced capacity, but we're basically back to full.


----------



## moesy4

petunia said:


> Thanks guys, after many times at WDW I had no idea, and would just rule out that option assuming we'd be wasting our time getting in a line!


We have found wait times to be seriously inflated at closing bc they are trying to discourage people from doing just that, so don’t be afraid to just hop in line even if it says it is a long wait. We use Tp and one time we hopped over to SDMT right at closing where the wait showed over an hour. The CM was literally shouting out to people that it was an extremely long wait and to consider not getting in line. Tp showed 20 minutes and it was spot on, even with a short break down.


----------



## preemiemama

100AcreWood said:


> I have two questions.  We have a lot of Disney experience, but this trip feels different with the changes.  We have never utilized rope drop or left the parks in the middle of the day, but it seems like the best strategy.
> 
> We have two days planned for HS.  When should we arrive for RD?
> Can we still leave the park, go to the resort for a couple hours and come back?  I assume re-entry still works on the same ticket as long as we go the same park?


We did this last week- RD, afternoon break, back to a park (we hopped, but you can certainly re-enter the original park).  It definitely helped with crowds and wait times.  Plus, waiting in line with the sun going down is a lot more tolerable...

IMHO, being at the bus stop 90 minutes prior to a park opening is best- this is especially important for AK and DHS since they queue you for specific rides/areas 60 minutes prior and then start running 30 minutes prior.  AK only typically runs FOP that early, but that seems to be the best shot at doing it if you can make the first bus.  Everything after that seems to be lower until about 10-11 am since people get hung up in Pandora as they enter the park. 

MK was OK for us heading to the bus stop about an hour before.  It is a hard 9:00 open- nothing runs early.  You really only need to be at the very front if you're planning on 7DMT first.  As long as Spalsh and Space are running, you could get one or the other more easily at park opening.


----------



## Gary Stocker

"but the best thing I ate all day was the fish and chips we got from the window in the UK "...

Love me some Yorkshire. 

Outside of Disney I usually stay away from fish in general...there is something about Yorkshire, though. that makes it one of my favorite QS meals...perhaps it's the "non-Disney" fries as well?


----------



## PrincessV

Just a note about Mobile Ordering...

My experience over multiple pandemic trips has been that in the early days, most people understood the system. My last visit a couple weeks ago felt like MANY more Guests had no clue that MO was necessary, nor how it worked. At all. That produced some crowds of people hovering around restaurants, asking for help from CMs, placing their orders because they though you had to be right there to place an order, or hanging around waiting for their return time and/or for orders to be ready. I placed my orders ahead of time, nowhere near whatever restaurant I was ordering from, hit "I'm here..." when I was somewhere else but on my way toward the restaurant (usually after exiting an attraction, stopping at a restroom on the way - figure 10-ish mins), and only approached the restaurant when my order was ready. There, I passed all the groups of people hanging around and went straight to the CM manning the door, showed my "Your order is ready" image, and walked in. I had no issues whatsoever.


----------



## wdw&sonny

I just wanted to say that the long waits, busy parks, lots of people and low staffing is not unique to WDW.  Maybe that is common knowledge, but I thought I'd share a few things just b/c the discussions on many of these board are often depressing about the situations at WDW.  I realize these are Dis boards, but maybe someone doesn't realize these problems are not uniquely WDW.

I watched a video of Tim Tracker going to Universal and waiting over an hour just to get from parking garage to park.  The line to pass through security was about 45 minutes.

Having recently returned from Hilton Head Island, it was crowded.  We waited in long lines for ice cream, waited over an hour for dining.  The drive down and back was crowded.  An 8 hour drive took 11 hours.  As a male, I waited in line twice for a bathroom.  Can't remember ever doing that.  We detoured the mountain tunnels of Va and were still stuck in mile long back ups on the rural country roads.

My son just went to Cedar Point.  He spent the whole day and ended up riding 3 rides all day!!!  The waits were about 2 hours each.  They waited over an hour to get Panda Express.  They also watched one show, not really by choice, but do to reaching their limit of standing in line.  

The Revenge Travel is real.  Perhaps as schools resume, a few shows open, college program kids get trained and staffing continues to rise, more restaurants open maybe the fall at WDW will return to a more normal experience.  I hope.


----------



## MalkaR

We checked into Fort Wilderness yesterday, took the internal bus to the ferry and were waiting there by 7:45. They started loading the ferry at about 8:10, if I remember correctly. Dedicated security had no lines and we were walking past Casey's at 8:30. The crowds were already enormous. The fantasyland entrance crowd waiting was huge so we took SDMT off our list and went over to the Tomorrowland entrance to wait for Space Mountain. The crowds built behind us and at some point they announced that Space Mountain was down, no time for reopening, so a lot of people gave up and left the waiting crowd. We stayed and decided to do Buzz Lightyear first instead. Rope dropped at exactly 9. 

Turned out that Buzz was closed for refurbishment. I thought I did my research but I apparently missed that. So we rope dropped PeopleMover! Our day was very very hot and crowded, but we had a good time. Lots of line times were inflated, but we followed our Touring Plans plan (optimizing after each ride) and we did okay. Splash had a huge line so we skipped it and then it shut down anyway. I don't know what the problem was, but lots of lines would stop moving for a long time (Thunder Mountain stopped for half an hour, we stuck it out and the line flew after that). When the lines were moving, they were really moving! I think that no fastpass actually made a big difference. I have to say that the heat was a little hard to handle, and we were done by about 3.

We took the ferry back to FW and swam for a while until they closed the pool for lightening nearby. We went into P&Js to ask about kosher meals. There were a couple of "earning my ears" CMs behind the counter who didn't know about kosher meals, but they went behind to ask the chef. He came out, and read us off our options (frozen TV-dinner style meals that they put in a steamer). We were so happy and grateful that Disney provides these so we could have a hot dinner! I really didn't think they'd have any kosher meals and assumed we'd have to go back to MK to Cosmic Ray's, but eating at a nice calm picnic table at FW was amazing and relaxing.

Then we took the ferry back to MK. People were streaming out but somehow the walkways and lines were even more crowded than when we left at 3. We wanted to try Space Mountain again but the line was over an hour so we enjoyed some other rides and watched Country Bears for the first time. It was cute and the guy in front of me was laughing hysterically at the jokes so that was fun to watch. HEA was amazing and I was so proud of my kids for being able to stay up so late. My youngest was kind of a mess by the time we were heading back to FW. 

It was an exhausting, exciting, crowded, fun full day, but I don't think we could have done more than one day.


----------



## jbrinkm

wdw&sonny said:


> I just wanted to say that the long waits, busy parks, lots of people and low staffing is not unique to WDW.  Maybe that is common knowledge, but I thought I'd share a few things just b/c the discussions on many of these board are often depressing about the situations at WDW.  I realize these are Dis boards, but maybe someone doesn't realize these problems are not uniquely WDW.
> 
> I watched a video of Tim Tracker going to Universal and waiting over an hour just to get from parking garage to park.  The line to pass through security was about 45 minutes.
> 
> Having recently returned from Hilton Head Island, it was crowded.  We waited in long lines for ice cream, waited over an hour for dining.  The drive down and back was crowded.  An 8 hour drive took 11 hours.  As a male, I waited in line twice for a bathroom.  Can't remember ever doing that.  We detoured the mountain tunnels of Va and were still stuck in mile long back ups on the rural country roads.
> 
> My son just went to Cedar Point.  He spent the whole day and ended up riding 3 rides all day!!!  The waits were about 2 hours each.  They waited over an hour to get Panda Express.  They also watched one show, not really by choice, but do to reaching their limit of standing in line.
> 
> The Revenge Travel is real.  Perhaps as schools resume, a few shows open, college program kids get trained and staffing continues to rise, more restaurants open maybe the fall at WDW will return to a more normal experience.  I hope.



When you say it like that, it seems like WDW is actually doing a decent job of handling the situation!


----------



## Sargeant Tibbs

PrincessV said:


> Just a note about Mobile Ordering...
> 
> My experience over multiple pandemic trips has been that in the early days, most people understood the system. My last visit a couple weeks ago felt like MANY more Guests had no clue that MO was necessary, nor how it worked. At all. That produced some crowds of people hovering around restaurants, asking for help from CMs, placing their orders because they though you had to be right there to place an order, or hanging around waiting for their return time and/or for orders to be ready. I placed my orders ahead of time, nowhere near whatever restaurant I was ordering from, hit "I'm here..." when I was somewhere else but on my way toward the restaurant (usually after exiting an attraction, stopping at a restroom on the way - figure 10-ish mins), and only approached the restaurant when my order was ready. There, I passed all the groups of people hanging around and went straight to the CM manning the door, showed my "Your order is ready" image, and walked in. I had no issues whatsoever.



Thank you for this! The reports of crowds were so alarming. I was really concerned that MO had taken a turn for the worse and we'd be stuck waiting, hungry and desperate, for cold food.


----------



## PanchoX1

Sargeant Tibbs said:


> Thank you for this! The reports of crowds were so alarming. I was really concerned that MO had taken a turn for the worse and we'd be stuck waiting, hungry and desperate, for cold food.



No, it works pretty well if you know how to use it. just order ahead and click prepare my meal at least 10-15 min before you're actually there. and you'll walk by all the people standing there who didn't order ahead of time. it will take a bit longer at high meal times like 12-1:00 for lunch. so just plan ahead a little bit and it will go smooth.


----------



## Leigh L

wdw&sonny said:


> I watched a video of Tim Tracker going to Universal and waiting over an hour just to get from parking garage to park.  The line to pass through security was about 45 minutes.


I can confirm this!
We experienced this on June 20. I didn't plan it the same way I do for Disney rope drop and instantly regretted it as soon as we got there. Normally when we go to UO, we are on or near property, this time we weren't since just going for one day. 

It took FOREVER. I didn't time the wait from parking garage to park, but I wouldn't be surprised if we waited an hour. We arrived I'm guessing about 30 minutes prior to park opening. Way too late! It was a massive cluster of people. Somewhat organized, but still, wow.


----------



## harleyquinn

wdw&sonny said:


> My son just went to Cedar Point.  He spent the whole day and ended up riding 3 rides all day!!!  The waits were about 2 hours each.  They waited over an hour to get Panda Express.  They also watched one show, not really by choice, but do to reaching their limit of standing in line.
> 
> The Revenge Travel is real.  Perhaps as schools resume, a few shows open, college program kids get trained and staffing continues to rise, more restaurants open maybe the fall at WDW will return to a more normal experience.  I hope.



As someone who grew up going to Cedar Point (and Geauga Lake and Sea World!) and routinely waiting 3 hours to ride the Raptor, this made me laugh. I'm glad CP added the express pass system (even if it's ridiculously expensive). And now that there are more coasters, the lines aren't as bad as my teen years. 

I was watching an aerial video from a local outdoor concert and the amount of people and cars was ridiculous.  Crowds are everywhere. Hopefully it will get better soon!

Thank you for giving us all a polite dose of perspective!


----------



## DisneyFive

PrincessV said:


> Just a note about Mobile Ordering...
> 
> My experience over multiple pandemic trips has been that in the early days, most people understood the system. My last visit a couple weeks ago felt like MANY more Guests had no clue that MO was necessary, nor how it worked. At all. That produced some crowds of people hovering around restaurants, asking for help from CMs, placing their orders because they though you had to be right there to place an order, or hanging around waiting for their return time and/or for orders to be ready. I placed my orders ahead of time, nowhere near whatever restaurant I was ordering from, hit "I'm here..." when I was somewhere else but on my way toward the restaurant (usually after exiting an attraction, stopping at a restroom on the way - figure 10-ish mins), and only approached the restaurant when my order was ready. There, I passed all the groups of people hanging around and went straight to the CM manning the door, showed my "Your order is ready" image, and walked in. I had no issues whatsoever.


I feel like these might be the same people that rarely made use of the FP+ system and rode standby, then complain about long lines.

Dan


----------



## JLS

Leigh L said:


> I can confirm this!
> We experienced this on June 20. I didn't plan it the same way I do for Disney rope drop and instantly regretted it as soon as we got there. Normally when we go to UO, we are on or near property, this time we weren't since just going for one day.
> 
> It took FOREVER. I didn't time the wait from parking garage to park, but I wouldn't be surprised if we waited an hour. We arrived I'm guessing about 30 minutes prior to park opening. Way too late! It was a massive cluster of people. Somewhat organized, but still, wow.



I can confirm this was our experience too in June. We have always done Universal staying on site but this time decided to go try Volcano Bay driving over from Disney. Huge mistake, will never do this again. Long wait to park, then load shuttles to go to park, but that paled in comparison to leaving the park. Rainstorm and most people left late in afternoon. Massive line to board shuttles - about 45 minute line. Then getting to parking lot, literally NOTHING moving. It took us an hour to exit the parking garage. Just an awful experience that I will never repeat. No Universal unless we are staying onsite.


----------



## shh

MalkaR said:


> So we rope dropped PeopleMover!


Sorry for the misses, but thank you for the laugh on this. Who wouldya ever thought PM was the new E tic hottie?


----------



## PrincessV

Sargeant Tibbs said:


> Thank you for this! The reports of crowds were so alarming. I was really concerned that MO had taken a turn for the worse and we'd be stuck waiting, hungry and desperate, for cold food.


You are vey welcome! It really was quick and easy. One weird other tip is when looking for where to go to enter a place to get your food, aim for the crowds if you can't see a CM outside a door - then just "excuse me" your way past the people until you see the CM and show them your "Your order is ready" image. I found every CM in that role to be really thankful for a Guest who knew what they were doing!


----------



## davidl81

jbrinkm said:


> When you say it like that, it seems like WDW is actually doing a decent job of handling the situation!


It’s because they really are.  People on the internet like to complain, but really WDW is fine right now as long as you are just slightly flexible with your planning.


----------



## MDIME

wdw&sonny said:


> I just wanted to say that the long waits, busy parks, lots of people and low staffing is not unique to WDW.  Maybe that is common knowledge, but I thought I'd share a few things just b/c the discussions on many of these board are often depressing about the situations at WDW.  I realize these are Dis boards, but maybe someone doesn't realize these problems are not uniquely WDW.
> 
> I watched a video of Tim Tracker going to Universal and waiting over an hour just to get from parking garage to park.  The line to pass through security was about 45 minutes.
> 
> Having recently returned from Hilton Head Island, it was crowded.  We waited in long lines for ice cream, waited over an hour for dining.  The drive down and back was crowded.  An 8 hour drive took 11 hours.  As a male, I waited in line twice for a bathroom.  Can't remember ever doing that.  We detoured the mountain tunnels of Va and were still stuck in mile long back ups on the rural country roads.
> 
> My son just went to Cedar Point.  He spent the whole day and ended up riding 3 rides all day!!!  The waits were about 2 hours each.  They waited over an hour to get Panda Express.  They also watched one show, not really by choice, but do to reaching their limit of standing in line.
> 
> The Revenge Travel is real.  Perhaps as schools resume, a few shows open, college program kids get trained and staffing continues to rise, more restaurants open maybe the fall at WDW will return to a more normal experience.  I hope.



Same thing is happening here along the coast of Maine and in all of New England apparently. I live on an island and I feel like it’s sinking bc there are SO many people here! And almost every business is severely understaffed. I’m glad that tourism has rebounded here, but it is super crowded. We don’t go out to eat during tourist season (Memorial Day through MDI Marathon weekend in late October).


----------



## Grasshopper2016

Can someone who is there now or has been there recently confirm the current rope drop policy?  As I understand it, MK rope drop is at precisely 9:00 (park opening), and no one gets on any rides until them.  But DHS has been opening some rides earlier.  Is that still the case?  If so, what time, and which rides?  And what is the situation at AK and Epcot?  Thanks!


----------



## preemiemama

Grasshopper2016 said:


> Can someone who is there now or has been there recently confirm the current rope drop policy?  As I understand it, MK rope drop is at precisely 9:00 (park opening), and no one gets on any rides until them.  But DHS has been opening some rides earlier.  Is that still the case?  If so, what time, and which rides?  And what is the situation at AK and Epcot?  Thanks!





preemiemama said:


> IMHO, being at the bus stop 90 minutes prior to a park opening is best- this is especially important for AK and DHS since they queue you for specific rides/areas 60 minutes prior and then start running 30 minutes prior.  AK only typically runs FOP that early, but that seems to be the best shot at doing it if you can make the first bus.  Everything after that seems to be lower until about 10-11 am since people get hung up in Pandora as they enter the park. (Adding here that I can confirm all the DHS headliners run that early as well- TOT, RNRC, MMRR, SDD, MFSR.)
> 
> MK was OK for us heading to the bus stop about an hour before.  It is a hard 9:00 open- nothing runs early.  You really only need to be at the very front if you're planning on 7DMT first.  As long as Spalsh and Space are running, you could get one or the other more easily at park opening.


----------



## tigger2002

wdw&sonny said:


> I just wanted to say that the long waits, busy parks, lots of people and low staffing is not unique to WDW.  Maybe that is common knowledge, but I thought I'd share a few things just b/c the discussions on many of these board are often depressing about the situations at WDW.  I realize these are Dis boards, but maybe someone doesn't realize these problems are not uniquely WDW.
> 
> I watched a video of Tim Tracker going to Universal and waiting over an hour just to get from parking garage to park.  The line to pass through security was about 45 minutes.
> 
> Having recently returned from Hilton Head Island, it was crowded.  We waited in long lines for ice cream, waited over an hour for dining.  The drive down and back was crowded.  An 8 hour drive took 11 hours.  As a male, I waited in line twice for a bathroom.  Can't remember ever doing that.  We detoured the mountain tunnels of Va and were still stuck in mile long back ups on the rural country roads.
> 
> My son just went to Cedar Point.  He spent the whole day and ended up riding 3 rides all day!!!  The waits were about 2 hours each.  They waited over an hour to get Panda Express.  They also watched one show, not really by choice, but do to reaching their limit of standing in line.
> 
> The Revenge Travel is real.  Perhaps as schools resume, a few shows open, college program kids get trained and staffing continues to rise, more restaurants open maybe the fall at WDW will return to a more normal experience.  I hope.


.
Long waits are bad, but it just means that people are getting out and about a lot more, which is a good thing.
.


----------



## wdw&sonny

harleyquinn said:


> As someone who grew up going to Cedar Point (and Geauga Lake and Sea World!) and routinely waiting 3 hours to ride the Raptor, this made me laugh. I'm glad CP added the express pass system (even if it's ridiculously expensive). And now that there are more coasters, the lines aren't as bad as my teen years.
> 
> I was watching an aerial video from a local outdoor concert and the amount of people and cars was ridiculous.  Crowds are everywhere. Hopefully it will get better soon!
> 
> Thank you for giving us all a polite dose of perspective!


Me too...grew up going to Geauga Lake, Sea World and Cedar Point.  How the heck did Aurora Ohio get a Sea World? I even worked at Geauga Lake one summer in college.  Best job ever.  I miss that park.


----------



## DisneyFive

Hello Disney friends, can we please bring the conversation back to Disney World instead of all the other places in the United States? Everyone knows that there is pent up demand for vacations.  Sorry, don’t mean to be the topic police, I’m guilty at times too.

Dan


----------



## luv2cheer92

Grasshopper2016 said:


> Can someone who is there now or has been there recently confirm the current rope drop policy?  As I understand it, MK rope drop is at precisely 9:00 (park opening), and no one gets on any rides until them.  But DHS has been opening some rides earlier.  Is that still the case?  If so, what time, and which rides?  And what is the situation at AK and Epcot?  Thanks!


HS and AK are doing their traditional opening. Holding you at lands, then opening up about 30ish minutes prior to official opening. Some rides, but not all have been opening early. Epcot I have seen them open a little early most days, but not every day. MK is the only park that has had the strict opening every day, but this is all generally how it was pre pandemic.


----------



## jbrinkm

Grasshopper2016 said:


> Can someone who is there now or has been there recently confirm the current rope drop policy?  As I understand it, MK rope drop is at precisely 9:00 (park opening), and no one gets on any rides until them.  But DHS has been opening some rides earlier.  Is that still the case?  If so, what time, and which rides?  And what is the situation at AK and Epcot?  Thanks!



Also, this thread does a pretty good job of keeping up with the most current policies:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/everything-rope-drop.3828303/page-33#post-63206155


----------



## cdurham1

I don't care about what is going on at Cedar Point or Maine or whatever.  I want to know how I can ride FOP most efficiently.


----------



## WriterGina

MDIME said:


> Same thing is happening here along the coast of Maine and in all of New England apparently. I live on an island and I feel like it’s sinking bc there are SO many people here! And almost every business is severely understaffed. I’m glad that tourism has rebounded here, but it is super crowded. We don’t go out to eat during tourist season (Memorial Day through MDI Marathon weekend in late October).



Same on the Jersey shore. We were on Long Beach Island for the past two weeks, something we've done every summer for the past 10 years, and I've never seen it so crowded. And I have business trips in a shore area of Connecticut over the next couple of week and it was almost impossible to get a hotel room.

...oops. Just saw the complaints about these comments. Tried to delete but can't seem to find that as an option. I can edit but not delete. Sorry. Just scroll on by then.


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyFive said:


> Hello Disney friends, can we please bring the conversation back to Disney World instead of all the other places in the United States? Everyone knows that there is pent up demand for vacations.  Sorry, don’t mean to be the topic police, I’m guilty at times too.
> 
> Dan





cdurham1 said:


> I don't care about what is going on at Cedar Point or Maine or whatever.  I want to know how I can ride FOP most efficiently.


Please allow the moderators to handle this.  If you see posts you don't agree with or want the topic to be brought back on track, please click 'Report' and we will review the question/suggestion.

Thank you


----------



## DisneyFive

scrappinginontario said:


> Please allow the moderators to handle this.  If you see posts you don't agree with or want the topic to be brought back on track, please click 'Report' and we will review the question/suggestion.
> 
> Thank you


As you wish.  I guess I need to review protocols.  My bad.  I’m a noob

Dan


----------



## RunWI1265

Hey all - I think I’m one of the people that probably contributed to the seemingly “negative tone” of trip reports recently. Just want to clarify we had a fantastic time. Accomplished A LOT. Loved the enthusiasm from CMs that seemed lacking or toned down in previous visits since reopening. We chatted with several other guests while in line which we had not done in three previous visits. With the right preparation and willingness to be flexible it is definitely possible to have a great time even with the changes!


----------



## cdurham1

scrappinginontario said:


> Please allow the moderators to handle this.  If you see posts you don't agree with or want the topic to be brought back on track, please click 'Report' and we will review the question/suggestion.
> 
> Thank you


I wasn't trying to bring it back on topic, I was just looking for the best strategy to ride FOP


----------



## MomOTwins

cdurham1 said:


> I wasn't trying to bring it back on topic, I was just looking for the best strategy to ride FOP


For an 8am open, plan to arrive at the bus stop no later than 6:45, if you want to arrive FOP with lowest wait of the day.


----------



## preemiemama

cdurham1 said:


> I wasn't trying to bring it back on topic, I was just looking for the best strategy to ride FOP





MomOTwins said:


> For an 8am open, plan to arrive at the bus stop no later than 6:45, if you want to arrive FOP with lowest wait of the day.


Yep.  I'd say 6:30 so you can be lined up to enter the park when they start letting people in at 7 am.  You want to be in the front of that line.  This was what built behind us by 7:15 last Saturday.


----------



## AlternateID

petunia said:


> Hi all, what time/how much in advance of closing do they allow you to get on, or alternatively not let you get on rides/close the line?  Do they take into account if 30 mins before close there is a 30 min line and close it for example, or is it possible that you wait 30 mins to close and then park closes and you will be turned away if youre not on yet?



We have gotten in line one minute before closing. Got in line on Wednesday for Test Track at 9:57 for a 10 pm close.


----------



## kylenne

BebopBaloo said:


> Anyone that’s been in D tech recently know if they have Samsung phone case options, or if it’s just Apple?



Didn’t see anyone answer this. I didn’t make it to Disney Springs on either of my recent trips but I saw Samsung casea available in MouseGears and other similar sho, the selection seems more limited though. Your best bet is doing the on demand service. 



Grasshopper2016 said:


> Can someone who is there now or has been there recently confirm the current rope drop policy?  As I understand it, MK rope drop is at precisely 9:00 (park opening), and no one gets on any rides until them.  But DHS has been opening some rides earlier.  Is that still the case?  If so, what time, and which rides?  And what is the situation at AK and Epcot?  Thanks!



July 4th weekend they were letting us through the tapstiles at around 8 and then CMs were walking people to various lands to hold them. All the headliners were queuing up, my strategy this summer has been to head to Sunset first and they lined people up on either side of the street for RNRC and ToT. I would have to check my notes from 7/5 for the exact time but I was the literal first person that day to queue at the “rope” of CMs for ToT. We were let on well before official opening. All the headliners were like that, MFSR, SDD, etc. 

As well they were calling BGs starting at 8:40.I headed over to MMRR first before my bg 7 or so.


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

Here now, MK was a hot mess for us for the same reasons as everyone else. AK was better.

MDE is going down a lot which is extra frustrating when you’re trying to order that Dole whip you think you might want in an hour! We used to love mobile order and pretty much hate it now. There’s a lot of people who mob the locations because they don’t know how to work the system and I feel for both them and the cast members who are having to explain how it works to a million people a day. I highly recommend at least one TS a day now.

Also, I’ve seen many cast members walking around picking up trash and not a single overflowing trash can.

We’ve had nothing but great experiences at our hotels, SSR and Bay Lake. Saw an entire group training at SSR. Renting a car was the right choice 100%. We’ve gone off property for a few meals to escape the crowds and it really helped.


----------



## PPFlight75

MomOTwins said:


> For an 8am open, plan to arrive at the bus stop no later than 6:45, if you want to arrive FOP with lowest wait of the day.


This exactly! We were on the bus at 0645, tapped in, rode FOP and when we got off the wait was 2 hours. We never saw it less than that except our second AK day which had an hour wait the last hour of the day.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

Kimpossible1 said:


> We were not there and did not hear the conversation so it is difficult to interpret how the CM was speaking and I do not believe one side of a story.  CM's have been treated terribly by guests in the last year, and all I was saying is give them some grace.  Apparently they should not be allowed to be human beings and have feelings because that disrupts the guests' magic??  Going to WDW is a privilege, not a need but I think people have forgotten that over the last year.  CM's are people and most visitors treat them as part of the background, with no regard to them as individuals with feelings.


It's a business transaction not a privilege.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

MalkaR said:


> We checked into Fort Wilderness yesterday, took the internal bus to the ferry and were waiting there by 7:45. They started loading the ferry at about 8:10, if I remember correctly. Dedicated security had no lines and we were walking past Casey's at 8:30. The crowds were already enormous. The fantasyland entrance crowd waiting was huge so we took SDMT off our list and went over to the Tomorrowland entrance to wait for Space Mountain. The crowds built behind us and at some point they announced that Space Mountain was down, no time for reopening, so a lot of people gave up and left the waiting crowd. We stayed and decided to do Buzz Lightyear first instead. Rope dropped at exactly 9.
> 
> Turned out that Buzz was closed for refurbishment. I thought I did my research but I apparently missed that. So we rope dropped PeopleMover! Our day was very very hot and crowded, but we had a good time. Lots of line times were inflated, but we followed our Touring Plans plan (optimizing after each ride) and we did okay. Splash had a huge line so we skipped it and then it shut down anyway. I don't know what the problem was, but lots of lines would stop moving for a long time (Thunder Mountain stopped for half an hour, we stuck it out and the line flew after that). When the lines were moving, they were really moving! I think that no fastpass actually made a big difference. I have to say that the heat was a little hard to handle, and we were done by about 3.
> 
> We took the ferry back to FW and swam for a while until they closed the pool for lightening nearby. We went into P&Js to ask about kosher meals. There were a couple of "earning my ears" CMs behind the counter who didn't know about kosher meals, but they went behind to ask the chef. He came out, and read us off our options (frozen TV-dinner style meals that they put in a steamer). We were so happy and grateful that Disney provides these so we could have a hot dinner! I really didn't think they'd have any kosher meals and assumed we'd have to go back to MK to Cosmic Ray's, but eating at a nice calm picnic table at FW was amazing and relaxing.
> 
> Then we took the ferry back to MK. People were streaming out but somehow the walkways and lines were even more crowded than when we left at 3. We wanted to try Space Mountain again but the line was over an hour so we enjoyed some other rides and watched Country Bears for the first time. It was cute and the guy in front of me was laughing hysterically at the jokes so that was fun to watch. HEA was amazing and I was so proud of my kids for being able to stay up so late. My youngest was kind of a mess by the time we were heading back to FW.
> 
> It was an exhausting, exciting, crowded, fun full day, but I don't think we could have done more than one day.


Similar issues this month with rides breaking down.  Splash broke down 5 times while we were on it one day.  People Mover stopped completely 3 times after beging shut down.


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

DaniMoon said:


> Thank you for your thorough account.  Gives me a boost for our upcoming trip.   I am going into it with realistic expectations and have told my two kids that it will be different than previous trips, but we are just excited to be getting away and be on vacation and be at our happy place.    It's nice to see the positives!!


There are always positives to find. I told my family the same thing about our trip in late June. I told them it was going to be like no trip we had done before, but embrace doing somethings differently.  We did just that and had a very enjoyable  trip.  Have a great trip!


----------



## monstermash23

Here now. I posted a quick mini review about our first few days here many pages ago. But here is an updated review. 

We’ve been here since July 20th, staying at BCV. 

We’ve visited all 4 parks and Disney Springs.

It’s hot and crowded, but that’s easy to figure out whether you are here or not. Getting a chair at SAB has been relatively easy at all hours of the day.

Lines for rides are generally long throughout all ours of the day at all parks. We have NOT been rope dropping but have been entering the parks right when they open and have had a decent experience trying to get on rides in the morning. If the park opens at 9, the lines stay manageable for the most part until about 10-11am, then they are straight unbearable for the rest of the day, with a few exceptions here and there based on weather, ride downtime and people’s general touring plans. If anyone is looking to pack in the rides with short waits, rope drop is absolutely the way to go. But once again, this is probably obvious to most people whether they are here or not already.

Here are a few general comments I have though thus far regarding things that are out of the ordinary for Disney in general…..

Ride breakdowns are a thing, and they last pretty long. Ride breakdowns happen, we expect them. But they have a FAR bigger impact on the park due to there not being any shows or other people eaters being open at the moment. For instance, RNRC was down most of yesterday at Hollywood Studios. This made ride lines such as ToT almost 3 hours at certain points. I’ve been coming here for 30+ years at least 1x annually and have never seen ToT lines this long before, except for when it opened. For me, it never even topped 70-80 minutes during some of the busiest times, including Easter. So you can imagine just how long the lines are for everything else in HS. I’m not sure if this is a general staffing issue, reliability problems, fractured supply chain for parts, whatever it is, this needs to be addressed quicker then anything IMO. Maybe as quick as they need shows to return and more food options to open up. 

The parks are essentially BUTCHERED with these very long snaking lines all over the place. They are EVERYWHERE. There was a time where only new headliners like FoP would have lines snaking through the parks. Not anymore. Almost EVERY ride has lines snaking through the park. Magic Kingdom and HS are the worst with this, most especially HS though. Because of this and because of the lack of people eaters, the parks FEEL insanely crowded despite whatever the true numbers are. This is by far my biggest complaint right now. It really ruins the beauty of these parks and turns them into a more well oiled Universal. This is not OK by me and does not meet the high Disney standard for park experience that Disney has had since I’ve been coming here as a kid. I hope this problem goes away eventually with more stuff opening.

Staffing is a very real issue. At first, I didn’t think it was. But I was wrong. You really notice it at the restaurants. There are hardly any, if any, busboys or runners. This leaves a lot of dirty tables and consequently longer waits to be seated even with ADRs, because tables are unclean and not ready in proper time. Servers are responsible for cleaning these tables as far as I can see, and they are also understaffed in that regard too. There are hardly any low wage workers but there are def a lot of servers still in training which should help in the near future once they are passed through. The Be Our Guest server we had said they usually have 50 people working in the kitchen to serve 2000+ people. Now, they only have 12. These particular issues are probably why certain things like Hurricane Hannah’s grill is still closed and why getting a drink at the pool is not easy (the line for a drink is definitely long and the pool servers are very overworked). I have been tipping close to 30% at every restaurant I eat at, whether the CM is nice or not. I truly feel bad for the situation Disney has put them in with overdoing the capacity when they couldn’t handle. Disney screwed us, and them by doing that. 

I know there were reports of garbage overflowing in the parks and hallways of hotels. This is just not true. I have not seen this at all and have been here for almost a week. Maybe this is an issue that I missed and once was a problem prior to my trip. Who knows.

CM interactions have been mostly very positive. There are a few exceptions but I just brush it off. 

That’s all I have for now. I will post back once the trip is complete and I will post a full in depth review. Keep in mind, I have been vocally very critical of Disney and their decision making in the last few months while they rush back to normal. I still hold the opinion that capacity should NEVER have been increased to this point and it should have never outpaced their ability to bring back staff and other attractions. This is unacceptable by Disney standard and definitely has a negative impact on the overall guest experience here. But in general, we are getting on rides we want. We are waiting, but lines tend to move quick so they never feel that long. We overall are having a great trip and will walk away with a generally positive experience, despite the criticisms and negatives I pointed out above. But these things should be considered for anyone with an impending trip. They do have a noticeable impact.


----------



## monstermash23

monstermash23 said:


> Here now. I posted a quick mini review about our first few days here many pages ago. But here is an updated review.
> 
> We’ve been here since July 20th, staying at BCV.
> 
> We’ve visited all 4 parks and Disney Springs.
> 
> It’s hot and crowded, but that’s easy to figure out whether you are here or not. Getting a chair at SAB has been relatively easy at all hours of the day.
> 
> Lines for rides are generally long throughout all ours of the day at all parks. We have NOT been rope dropping but have been entering the parks right when they open and have had a decent experience trying to get on rides in the morning. If the park opens at 9, the lines stay manageable for the most part until about 10-11am, then they are straight unbearable for the rest of the day, with a few exceptions here and there based on weather, ride downtime and people’s general touring plans. If anyone is looking to pack in the rides with short waits, rope drop is absolutely the way to go. But once again, this is probably obvious to most people whether they are here or not already.
> 
> Here are a few general comments I have though thus far regarding things that are out of the ordinary for Disney in general…..
> 
> Ride breakdowns are a thing, and they last pretty long. Ride breakdowns happen, we expect them. But they have a FAR bigger impact on the park due to there not being any shows or other people eaters being open at the moment. For instance, RNRC was down most of yesterday at Hollywood Studios. This made ride lines such as ToT almost 3 hours at certain points. I’ve been coming here for 30+ years at least 1x annually and have never seen ToT lines this long before, except for when it opened. For me, it never even topped 70-80 minutes during some of the busiest times, including Easter. So you can imagine just how long the lines are for everything else in HS. I’m not sure if this is a general staffing issue, reliability problems, fractured supply chain for parts, whatever it is, this needs to be addressed quicker then anything IMO. Maybe as quick as they need shows to return and more food options to open up.
> 
> The parks are essentially BUTCHERED with these very long snaking lines all over the place. They are EVERYWHERE. There was a time where only new headliners like FoP would have lines snaking through the parks. Not anymore. Almost EVERY ride has lines snaking through the park. Magic Kingdom and HS are the worst with this, most especially HS though. Because of this and because of the lack of people eaters, the parks FEEL insanely crowded despite whatever the true numbers are. This is by far my biggest complaint right now. It really ruins the beauty of these parks and turns them into a more well oiled Universal. This is not OK by me and does not meet the high Disney standard for park experience that Disney has had since I’ve been coming here as a kid. I hope this problem goes away eventually with more stuff opening.
> 
> Staffing is a very real issue. At first, I didn’t think it was. But I was wrong. You really notice it at the restaurants. There are hardly any, if any, busboys or runners. This leaves a lot of dirty tables and consequently longer waits to be seated even with ADRs, because tables are unclean and not ready in proper time. Servers are responsible for cleaning these tables as far as I can see, and they are also understaffed in that regard too. There are hardly any low wage workers but there are def a lot of servers still in training which should help in the near future once they are passed through. The Be Our Guest server we had said they usually have 50 people working in the kitchen to serve 2000+ people. Now, they only have 12. These particular issues are probably why certain things like Hurricane Hannah’s grill is still closed and why getting a drink at the pool is not easy (the line for a drink is definitely long and the pool servers are very overworked). I have been tipping close to 30% at every restaurant I eat at, whether the CM is nice or not. I truly feel bad for the situation Disney has put them in with overdoing the capacity when they couldn’t handle. Disney screwed us, and them by doing that.
> 
> I know there were reports of garbage overflowing in the parks and hallways of hotels. This is just not true. I have not seen this at all and have been here for almost a week. Maybe this is an issue that I missed and once was a problem prior to my trip. Who knows.
> 
> CM interactions have been mostly very positive. There are a few exceptions but I just brush it off.
> 
> That’s all I have for now. I will post back once the trip is complete and I will post a full in depth review. Keep in mind, I have been vocally very critical of Disney and their decision making in the last few months while they rush back to normal. I still hold the opinion that capacity should NEVER have been increased to this point and it should have never outpaced their ability to bring back staff and other attractions. This is unacceptable by Disney standard and definitely has a negative impact on the overall guest experience here. But in general, we are getting on rides we want. We are waiting, but lines tend to move quick so they never feel that long. We overall are having a great trip and will walk away with a generally positive experience, despite the criticisms and negatives I pointed out above. But these things should be considered for anyone with an impending trip. They do have a noticeable impact.



Oh, a few more things I’d like to add.

Comments regarding QS. We have mostly been using ADRs. And I understand the purpose of mobile ordering with QS. But I can’t stand it. I definitely want the old system back of just old fashioned ordering from a hostess and waiting for my food to pop out of a window while I scope out a clear table. Mobile ordering and not being allowed into the area before you check in, just adds to the chaos and crowds of people, and unnecessarily imo. This is worse and most evident in Galaxy’s Edge though, where hoards of people are just waiting around for their QS or to be let into one of the tiny shops. I love how they did Galaxy’s Edge, but it was not meant to be like this.  We’ll continue to rely on our ADR’s for the time being, which brings up my next point.

Disney World menus. Man, some of these menus are REALLY pared back. I’m not talking a few entrees here and there, I’m talking there is a noticeable supply chain change. Every restaurant pretty much has the same standard menu items but with some thematic flair for variation. And it’s a real shame. Because the quality is certainly there, the chefs are putting out great meals. But the options aren’t there. And it definitely impacts the restaurant experiences a bit. We’ve found that restaurants in Disney Springs don’t have this issue, generally speaking, so we have been changing our plans to be in the parks in the morning and to eat at Disney Springs for dinner with whatever ADRs we can find last minute. It’s obvious we aren’t the only ones realizing/doing this because Disney Springs has been more packed then usual in past years.

Anyway, that’s all I got. Hope this helps anyone. If anyone has any questions, I’ll be slow to answer because I am on vacation but will be glad to help.


----------



## lelew

monstermash23 said:


> Oh, a few more things I’d like to add.
> 
> Comments regarding QS. We have mostly been using ADRs. And I understand the purpose of mobile ordering with QS. But I can’t stand it. I definitely want the old system back of just old fashioned ordering from a hostess and waiting for my food to pop out of a window while I scope out a clear table. Mobile ordering and not being allowed into the area before you check in, just adds to the chaos and crowds of people, and unnecessarily imo. This is worse and most evident in Galaxy’s Edge though, where hoards of people are just waiting around for their QS or to be let into one of the tiny shops. I love how they did Galaxy’s Edge, but it was not meant to be like this.  We’ll continue to rely on our ADR’s for the time being, which brings up my next point.
> 
> Disney World menus. Man, some of these menus are REALLY pared back. I’m not talking a few entrees here and there, I’m talking there is a noticeable supply chain change. Every restaurant pretty much has the same standard menu items but with some thematic flair for variation. And it’s a real shame. Because the quality is certainly there, the chefs are putting out great meals. But the options aren’t there. And it definitely impacts the restaurant experiences a bit. We’ve found that restaurants in Disney Springs don’t have this issue, generally speaking, so we have been changing our plans to be in the parks in the morning and to eat at Disney Springs for dinner with whatever ADRs we can find last minute. It’s obvious we aren’t the only ones realizing/doing this because Disney Springs has been more packed then usual in past years.
> 
> Anyway, that’s all I got. Hope this helps anyone. If anyone has any questions, I’ll be slow to answer because I am on vacation but will be glad to help.


we ate at Disney springs alot this trip And thought the meals was much better over there


----------



## kappyfamily

monstermash23 said:


> Oh, a few more things I’d like to add.
> 
> Comments regarding QS. We have mostly been using ADRs. And I understand the purpose of mobile ordering with QS. But I can’t stand it. I definitely want the old system back of just old fashioned ordering from a hostess and waiting for my food to pop out of a window while I scope out a clear table. Mobile ordering and not being allowed into the area before you check in, just adds to the chaos and crowds of people, and unnecessarily imo. This is worse and most evident in Galaxy’s Edge though, where hoards of people are just waiting around for their QS or to be let into one of the tiny shops. I love how they did Galaxy’s Edge, but it was not meant to be like this.  We’ll continue to rely on our ADR’s for the time being, which brings up my next point.
> 
> Disney World menus. Man, some of these menus are REALLY pared back. I’m not talking a few entrees here and there, I’m talking there is a noticeable supply chain change. Every restaurant pretty much has the same standard menu items but with some thematic flair for variation. And it’s a real shame. Because the quality is certainly there, the chefs are putting out great meals. But the options aren’t there. And it definitely impacts the restaurant experiences a bit. We’ve found that restaurants in Disney Springs don’t have this issue, generally speaking, so we have been changing our plans to be in the parks in the morning and to eat at Disney Springs for dinner with whatever ADRs we can find last minute. It’s obvious we aren’t the only ones realizing/doing this because Disney Springs has been more packed then usual in past years.
> 
> Anyway, that’s all I got. Hope this helps anyone. If anyone has any questions, I’ll be slow to answer because I am on vacation but will be glad to help.


Really great, thorough reviews! thank you!


----------



## DisneyFive

monstermash23 said:


> Here now. I posted a quick mini review about our first few days here many pages ago. But here is an updated review.
> 
> We’ve been here since July 20th, staying at BCV.
> 
> We’ve visited all 4 parks and Disney Springs.
> 
> It’s hot and crowded, but that’s easy to figure out whether you are here or not. Getting a chair at SAB has been relatively easy at all hours of the day.
> 
> Lines for rides are generally long throughout all ours of the day at all parks. We have NOT been rope dropping but have been entering the parks right when they open and have had a decent experience trying to get on rides in the morning. If the park opens at 9, the lines stay manageable for the most part until about 10-11am, then they are straight unbearable for the rest of the day, with a few exceptions here and there based on weather, ride downtime and people’s general touring plans. If anyone is looking to pack in the rides with short waits, rope drop is absolutely the way to go. But once again, this is probably obvious to most people whether they are here or not already.
> 
> Here are a few general comments I have though thus far regarding things that are out of the ordinary for Disney in general…..
> 
> Ride breakdowns are a thing, and they last pretty long. Ride breakdowns happen, we expect them. But they have a FAR bigger impact on the park due to there not being any shows or other people eaters being open at the moment. For instance, RNRC was down most of yesterday at Hollywood Studios. This made ride lines such as ToT almost 3 hours at certain points. I’ve been coming here for 30+ years at least 1x annually and have never seen ToT lines this long before, except for when it opened. For me, it never even topped 70-80 minutes during some of the busiest times, including Easter. So you can imagine just how long the lines are for everything else in HS. I’m not sure if this is a general staffing issue, reliability problems, fractured supply chain for parts, whatever it is, this needs to be addressed quicker then anything IMO. Maybe as quick as they need shows to return and more food options to open up.
> 
> The parks are essentially BUTCHERED with these very long snaking lines all over the place. They are EVERYWHERE. There was a time where only new headliners like FoP would have lines snaking through the parks. Not anymore. Almost EVERY ride has lines snaking through the park. Magic Kingdom and HS are the worst with this, most especially HS though. Because of this and because of the lack of people eaters, the parks FEEL insanely crowded despite whatever the true numbers are. This is by far my biggest complaint right now. It really ruins the beauty of these parks and turns them into a more well oiled Universal. This is not OK by me and does not meet the high Disney standard for park experience that Disney has had since I’ve been coming here as a kid. I hope this problem goes away eventually with more stuff opening.
> 
> Staffing is a very real issue. At first, I didn’t think it was. But I was wrong. You really notice it at the restaurants. There are hardly any, if any, busboys or runners. This leaves a lot of dirty tables and consequently longer waits to be seated even with ADRs, because tables are unclean and not ready in proper time. Servers are responsible for cleaning these tables as far as I can see, and they are also understaffed in that regard too. There are hardly any low wage workers but there are def a lot of servers still in training which should help in the near future once they are passed through. The Be Our Guest server we had said they usually have 50 people working in the kitchen to serve 2000+ people. Now, they only have 12. These particular issues are probably why certain things like Hurricane Hannah’s grill is still closed and why getting a drink at the pool is not easy (the line for a drink is definitely long and the pool servers are very overworked). I have been tipping close to 30% at every restaurant I eat at, whether the CM is nice or not. I truly feel bad for the situation Disney has put them in with overdoing the capacity when they couldn’t handle. Disney screwed us, and them by doing that.
> 
> I know there were reports of garbage overflowing in the parks and hallways of hotels. This is just not true. I have not seen this at all and have been here for almost a week. Maybe this is an issue that I missed and once was a problem prior to my trip. Who knows.
> 
> CM interactions have been mostly very positive. There are a few exceptions but I just brush it off.
> 
> That’s all I have for now. I will post back once the trip is complete and I will post a full in depth review. Keep in mind, I have been vocally very critical of Disney and their decision making in the last few months while they rush back to normal. I still hold the opinion that capacity should NEVER have been increased to this point and it should have never outpaced their ability to bring back staff and other attractions. This is unacceptable by Disney standard and definitely has a negative impact on the overall guest experience here. But in general, we are getting on rides we want. We are waiting, but lines tend to move quick so they never feel that long. We overall are having a great trip and will walk away with a generally positive experience, despite the criticisms and negatives I pointed out above. But these things should be considered for anyone with an impending trip. They do have a noticeable impact.


This all falls squarely on the shoulders of Disney. They chose to open up the parks to this capacity.  They could easily have kept this from happening by not opening up the parks so quickly. Now, we are the suckers showing up tomorrow handing  $10,000 over to them. I fully expect to make the most of it. We are positive people in general. I will be happy to report back my objective observations after having been to the parks for the last 10 years, the last couple of visits being this same time of year.

Dan


----------



## tinkerhon

monstermash23 said:


> Here now. I posted a quick mini review about our first few days here many pages ago. But here is an updated review.
> 
> We’ve been here since July 20th, staying at BCV.
> 
> We’ve visited all 4 parks and Disney Springs.
> 
> It’s hot and crowded, but that’s easy to figure out whether you are here or not. Getting a chair at SAB has been relatively easy at all hours of the day.
> 
> Lines for rides are generally long throughout all ours of the day at all parks. We have NOT been rope dropping but have been entering the parks right when they open and have had a decent experience trying to get on rides in the morning. If the park opens at 9, the lines stay manageable for the most part until about 10-11am, then they are straight unbearable for the rest of the day, with a few exceptions here and there based on weather, ride downtime and people’s general touring plans. If anyone is looking to pack in the rides with short waits, rope drop is absolutely the way to go. But once again, this is probably obvious to most people whether they are here or not already.
> 
> Here are a few general comments I have though thus far regarding things that are out of the ordinary for Disney in general…..
> 
> Ride breakdowns are a thing, and they last pretty long. Ride breakdowns happen, we expect them. But they have a FAR bigger impact on the park due to there not being any shows or other people eaters being open at the moment. For instance, RNRC was down most of yesterday at Hollywood Studios. This made ride lines such as ToT almost 3 hours at certain points. I’ve been coming here for 30+ years at least 1x annually and have never seen ToT lines this long before, except for when it opened. For me, it never even topped 70-80 minutes during some of the busiest times, including Easter. So you can imagine just how long the lines are for everything else in HS. I’m not sure if this is a general staffing issue, reliability problems, fractured supply chain for parts, whatever it is, this needs to be addressed quicker then anything IMO. Maybe as quick as they need shows to return and more food options to open up.
> 
> The parks are essentially BUTCHERED with these very long snaking lines all over the place. They are EVERYWHERE. There was a time where only new headliners like FoP would have lines snaking through the parks. Not anymore. Almost EVERY ride has lines snaking through the park. Magic Kingdom and HS are the worst with this, most especially HS though. Because of this and because of the lack of people eaters, the parks FEEL insanely crowded despite whatever the true numbers are. This is by far my biggest complaint right now. It really ruins the beauty of these parks and turns them into a more well oiled Universal. This is not OK by me and does not meet the high Disney standard for park experience that Disney has had since I’ve been coming here as a kid. I hope this problem goes away eventually with more stuff opening.
> 
> Staffing is a very real issue. At first, I didn’t think it was. But I was wrong. You really notice it at the restaurants. There are hardly any, if any, busboys or runners. This leaves a lot of dirty tables and consequently longer waits to be seated even with ADRs, because tables are unclean and not ready in proper time. Servers are responsible for cleaning these tables as far as I can see, and they are also understaffed in that regard too. There are hardly any low wage workers but there are def a lot of servers still in training which should help in the near future once they are passed through. The Be Our Guest server we had said they usually have 50 people working in the kitchen to serve 2000+ people. Now, they only have 12. These particular issues are probably why certain things like Hurricane Hannah’s grill is still closed and why getting a drink at the pool is not easy (the line for a drink is definitely long and the pool servers are very overworked). I have been tipping close to 30% at every restaurant I eat at, whether the CM is nice or not. I truly feel bad for the situation Disney has put them in with overdoing the capacity when they couldn’t handle. Disney screwed us, and them by doing that.
> 
> I know there were reports of garbage overflowing in the parks and hallways of hotels. This is just not true. I have not seen this at all and have been here for almost a week. Maybe this is an issue that I missed and once was a problem prior to my trip. Who knows.
> 
> CM interactions have been mostly very positive. There are a few exceptions but I just brush it off.
> 
> That’s all I have for now. I will post back once the trip is complete and I will post a full in depth review. Keep in mind, I have been vocally very critical of Disney and their decision making in the last few months while they rush back to normal. I still hold the opinion that capacity should NEVER have been increased to this point and it should have never outpaced their ability to bring back staff and other attractions. This is unacceptable by Disney standard and definitely has a negative impact on the overall guest experience here. But in general, we are getting on rides we want. We are waiting, but lines tend to move quick so they never feel that long. We overall are having a great trip and will walk away with a generally positive experience, despite the criticisms and negatives I pointed out above. But these things should be considered for anyone with an impending trip. They do have a noticeable impact.



Here now, and you have hit the nail on the head !!!  The snaking park lines are both physically and mentally draining, and it just makes you want to leave the park (well, at least in our case it does)  - and there is a severe lack of staff !!!

(On a side note--- we are at the ASM, and I knew coming in about the cutdown in housekeeping services--- but, our room has been visited twice in 10 days !!! We just had to go to guest services to get toilet paper !!!)


----------



## BK2014

monstermash23 said:


> Mobile ordering and not being allowed into the area before you check in, just adds to the chaos and crowds of people, and unnecessarily imo.



Reasonable people can certainly disagree. I actually like the mobile ordering, though I don't disagree that it adds to the crowds outside of the restaurants.  But I would rather have the crowded confusion outside of the restaurant, rather than inside when I have my tray(s) of food and cannot find a seat.  I have found that mobile ordering has made finding tables once you get your food much easier.


----------



## luv2cheer92

BK2014 said:


> Reasonable people can certainly disagree. I actually like the mobile ordering, though I don't disagree that it adds to the crowds outside of the restaurants.  But I would rather have the crowded confusion outside of the restaurant, rather than inside when I have my tray(s) of food and cannot find a seat.  I have found that mobile ordering has made finding tables once you get your food much easier.


That's really more of a Covid-generated thing than just mobile ordering, since mobile ordering wasn't like that pre-Covid. Mobile ordering is great, but I really liked it a few years ago when not many people seemed to use it.


----------



## BK2014

luv2cheer92 said:


> That's really more of a Covid-generated thing than just mobile ordering, since mobile ordering wasn't like that pre-Covid. Mobile ordering is great, but I really liked it a few years ago when not many people seemed to use it.



I find that most things at Disney (rides, shows, restaurants, etc) are more enjoyable when there are less people using them.


----------



## LSUmiss

Trip was 7/7-7/14. Had an awesome time. It was so great not to wear masks. BUT it was packed & no way to social distance. Didn’t bother us b/c we are fully vaccinated. But, came home on 7/14 & 7/19 DH developed Covid symptoms & tested positive. Then I started with symptoms right after & am positive too. I was one who couldn’t wait to get back to normal & thought we were safe. Depressing b/c we were going back in Sept or Oct, but I really don’t know now. DH & I have relatively mild symptoms compared to hospitalized ppl, but this still sucks.  Could have gotten it anywhere, of course, but we drove & made very few stops & was actually able to social distance in those locations. Hope this doesn’t get deleted b/c it contains Covid info b/c this was part our experience.


----------



## tinkerhon

tinkerhon said:


> Here now, and you have hit the nail on the head !!!  The snaking park lines are both physically and mentally draining, and it just makes you want to leave the park (well, at least in our case it does)  - and there is a severe lack of staff !!!
> 
> (On a side note--- we are at the ASM, and I knew coming in about the cutdown in housekeeping services--- but, our room has been visited twice in 10 days !!! We just had to go to guest services to get toilet paper !!!)



Exhibit A -  down the hallway from our room - the result of frustration- room have not been cleaned for days !


----------



## undertheseas

LSUmiss said:


> Trip was 7/7-7/14. Had an awesome time. It was so great not to wear masks. BUT it was packed & no way to social distance. Didn’t bother us b/c we are fully vaccinated. But, came home on 7/14 & 7/19 DH developed Covid symptoms & tested positive. Then I started with symptoms right after & am positive too. I was one who couldn’t wait to get back to normal & thought we were safe. Depressing b/c we were going back in Sept or Oct, but I really don’t know now. DH & I have relatively mild symptoms compared to hospitalized ppl, but this still sucks.  Could have gotten it anywhere, of course, but we drove & made very few stops & was actually able to social distance in those locations. Hope this doesn’t get deleted b/c it contains Covid info b/c this was part our experience.


Thank you for sharing.  This is my biggest concern about our trip next month.  We wear masks when out in public but we can't avoid eating out at Disney.


----------



## flowergleam1211

LSUmiss said:


> Trip was 7/7-7/14. Had an awesome time. It was so great not to wear masks. BUT it was packed & no way to social distance. Didn’t bother us b/c we are fully vaccinated. But, came home on 7/14 & 7/19 DH developed Covid symptoms & tested positive. Then I started with symptoms right after & am positive too. I was one who couldn’t wait to get back to normal & thought we were safe. Depressing b/c we were going back in Sept or Oct, but I really don’t know now. DH & I have relatively mild symptoms compared to hospitalized ppl, but this still sucks.  Could have gotten it anywhere, of course, but we drove & made very few stops & was actually able to social distance in those locations. Hope this doesn’t get deleted b/c it contains Covid info b/c this was part our experience.


This is so helpful, thank you.  I wish you and your family good health!


----------



## yaya74

LSUmiss said:


> Trip was 7/7-7/14. Had an awesome time. It was so great not to wear masks. BUT it was packed & no way to social distance. Didn’t bother us b/c we are fully vaccinated. But, came home on 7/14 & 7/19 DH developed Covid symptoms & tested positive. Then I started with symptoms right after & am positive too. I was one who couldn’t wait to get back to normal & thought we were safe. Depressing b/c we were going back in Sept or Oct, but I really don’t know now. DH & I have relatively mild symptoms compared to hospitalized ppl, but this still sucks.  Could have gotten it anywhere, of course, but we drove & made very few stops & was actually able to social distance in those locations. Hope this doesn’t get deleted b/c it contains Covid info b/c this was part our experience.


Sorry to hear that. Hope you and your DH feel better soon.


----------



## monstermash23

BK2014 said:


> Reasonable people can certainly disagree. I actually like the mobile ordering, though I don't disagree that it adds to the crowds outside of the restaurants.  But I would rather have the crowded confusion outside of the restaurant, rather than inside when I have my tray(s) of food and cannot find a seat.  I have found that mobile ordering has made finding tables once you get your food much easier.



Reasonable or non-reasonable people can disagree equally. Or agree? Not really sure the sentiment behind the word choice there.

But yes, getting a table certainly is easier with mobile ordering. That is one current plus. The design of it for that purpose is nice. But I think right now, with the way everything is, this is far more of a detriment to the overall park experience. It absolutely adds to the chaos within the parks. It forces more people to wait outside and more frustration with cast members acting as “bouncers” for the QS seating areas. In parks where lines are already insane right now, this doesn’t help that aspect of things whatsoever. But admittedly, as I have said, I rely more on ADRs then QS so take this with a grain of salt.

However, with that said and considering your point and experience with QS, I do think mobile ordering will be far better and more useful overall once everything is more back to normal. But in this current state that the parks are in right now, it just adds to the chaos. Maybe not at a restaurant or QS outside of the park, but inside the parks, not much of a value add to anyone’s vacation, aside from having reliable access to available tables, from my perspective at least. But as you said, feel free to disagree. Doesn’t change my limited experience and what I’m seeing at the moment though.


----------



## JLS

cdurham1 said:


> I wasn't trying to bring it back on topic, I was just looking for the best strategy to ride FOP


For FOP what worked better for us than rope drop was getting in line right before closing. Getting line at 550 p.m. we only waited about 35 minutes and got to walk out of the park while it was empty. It was nice.


----------



## preemiemama

LSUmiss said:


> Trip was 7/7-7/14. Had an awesome time. It was so great not to wear masks. BUT it was packed & no way to social distance. Didn’t bother us b/c we are fully vaccinated. But, came home on 7/14 & 7/19 DH developed Covid symptoms & tested positive. Then I started with symptoms right after & am positive too. I was one who couldn’t wait to get back to normal & thought we were safe. Depressing b/c we were going back in Sept or Oct, but I really don’t know now. DH & I have relatively mild symptoms compared to hospitalized ppl, but this still sucks.  Could have gotten it anywhere, of course, but we drove & made very few stops & was actually able to social distance in those locations. Hope this doesn’t get deleted b/c it contains Covid info b/c this was part our experience.


So sorry it happened to you.


----------



## Shughart

So it mobile ordering required currently for QS as a Covid condition/precaution? We love mobile ordering but it does seem to operate a lot better when it's a choice.


----------



## Shughart

JLS said:


> For FOP what worked better for us than rope drop was getting in line right before closing. Getting line at 550 p.m. we only waited about 35 minutes and got to walk out of the park while it was empty. It was nice.



Thank you for this, I wanted the evening option so we can hopefully see it lit up.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Shughart said:


> So it mobile ordering required currently for QS as a Covid condition/precaution? We love mobile ordering but it does seem to operate a lot better when it's a choice.


It's not required, but very strongly recommended. And it's not every QS. Mobile ordering existed before Covid, but the current procedures of having an order prior to entering is due to Covid to help control capacity, control the flow, and make sure people have a table and aren't just standing around.


----------



## krismom345

Here now and holy cow. 

Highs:
•Busses are plentiful and always got a seat. One driver said he was brought in from NYC for the month to help out.

•Cast members are overwhelmed and trying their very best. They seem as out of sorts as the rest of us. But always smiling.

•The crowds are forcing me to slow down. I’m seeing lots I haven’t in ten years of trips. My kids kept saying “is this new?” about stuff in the lines because we always had a fastpass.

•My fellow hot and frustrated park guests are helping each other out. Where there is a definite lack of cast members, guests are helping each other with directions, explanations and being generally kind.

•I got a free Dole Whip at closing when the line ended and they just put a few on the counter and said “we’re closed, take what’s left.”

•The first aid in Animal kingdom is terrific. An RN was there to help when my daughter was stung by a bee three times (!) in line for Dinosaur. I had plenty of Claritin, moleskin, and advil- but no Benadryl- she hooked us up and was great.

Lows:
•What’s with all the damn helicopters? Isn’t WDW a no-fly zone? It’s awful.

•Every. Single. Hand. Sanitizer. Is. Empty.

•People as far as the eye can see. The masses are inescapable.

•ADR’s are necessary. Like, lots of them. Plan for expensive sit down meals if you want to enjoy your food. Mobile ordering IS SO NOT what it used to be: efficient and easy.

•Those bubble wands get my glasses soapy and dodging them is an Olympic level sport.

•The parks close too early. Definitely didn’t find that couple of hours before close was less crowded. Not even after the fireworks. People are feeling <cheated> and want to get their few rides in.

•The huge quantities of people have no where to go. Meaning, in shade or a place to just sit. The tunnel into Galaxy’s Edge was shoulder to shoulder people sitting on the ground waiting for their boarding groups to be called. It looked like a refugee camp.

•Okay, rides go down. It’s inevitable. But when a headliner like Space or Splash is out of commission for HOURS there is simply nowhere for people to go. You can only sit through Country Bears / Carousel of Progress so many times.

All in all, I’m glad I came. But this is not the Disneyworld I love, and I hope they right this ship soon.


----------



## preemiemama

krismom345 said:


> Here now and holy cow.
> 
> Highs:
> •Busses are plentiful and always got a seat. One driver said he was brought in from NYC for the month to help out.
> 
> •Cast members are overwhelmed and trying their very best. They seem as out of sorts as the rest of us. But always smiling.
> 
> •The crowds are forcing me to slow down. I’m seeing lots I haven’t in them years of trips. My kids kept saying “is this new?” about stuff in the lines because we always had a fastpass.
> 
> •My fellow hot and frustrated park guests are helping each other out. Where there is a definite lack of cast members, guests are helping each other with directions, explanations and being generally helpful.
> 
> •I got a free Dole Whip at closing when the line ended and they just put a few in the counter and said “we’re closed, take what’s left.”
> 
> •The first aid in Animal
> kingdom is terrific. An RN was there to help when my daughter was stung by a bee three times (!) in line for Dinosaur. I had plenty of Claritin, moleskin
> 
> Lows:
> •What’s with all the damn helicopters? Isn’t WDW a no-fly zone? It’s awful.
> 
> •Every. Single. Hand sanitizer. Is. Empty.
> 
> •People as far as the eye can see. The masses are inescapable.
> 
> •ADR’s are necessary. Like, lots of them. Plan for expensive sit down meals if you want to enjoy your food. Mobile ordering IS SO NOT what it used to be: efficient and easy.
> 
> •Those bubble wands get my glasses soapy and dodging them is an Olympic level sport.
> 
> •The parks close too early. Definitely didn’t find that couple of hours before close was less crowded. Not even after the fireworks. People are feeling <cheated> and want to get their few rides in.
> 
> •The huge quantities of people have no where to go. Meaning, in shade or a place to just sit. The tunnel into Galaxy’s Edge was shoulder to shoulder people sitting on the ground waiting for their boarding groups to be called. It looked like a refugee camp.
> 
> •Okay, rides go down. It’s inevitable. But when a headliner like Space or Splash is out of commission for HOURS there is simply nowhere for people to go. You can only sit through Country Bears / Carousel of Progress so many times.
> 
> All in all, I’m glad I came. But this is not the Disneyworld I love, and I hope they right this ship soon.


Oh, yes, the bubble wands are CRAZY.  And the tunnel into GE- seriously I've never seen anything like that before and it was EVERY TIME we went through there.


----------



## tinkerhon

krismom345 said:


> Here now and holy cow.
> 
> Highs:
> •Busses are plentiful and always got a seat. One driver said he was brought in from NYC for the month to help out.
> 
> •Cast members are overwhelmed and trying their very best. They seem as out of sorts as the rest of us. But always smiling.
> 
> •The crowds are forcing me to slow down. I’m seeing lots I haven’t in them years of trips. My kids kept saying “is this new?” about stuff in the lines because we always had a fastpass.
> 
> •My fellow hot and frustrated park guests are helping each other out. Where there is a definite lack of cast members, guests are helping each other with directions, explanations and being generally helpful.
> 
> •I got a free Dole Whip at closing when the line ended and they just put a few in the counter and said “we’re closed, take what’s left.”
> 
> •The first aid in Animal
> kingdom is terrific. An RN was there to help when my daughter was stung by a bee three times (!) in line for Dinosaur. I had plenty of Claritin, moleskin, and advil- but no Benadryl- she hooked us up and was great.
> 
> Lows:
> •What’s with all the damn helicopters? Isn’t WDW a no-fly zone? It’s awful.
> 
> •Every. Single. Hand sanitizer. Is. Empty.
> 
> •People as far as the eye can see. The masses are inescapable.
> 
> •ADR’s are necessary. Like, lots of them. Plan for expensive sit down meals if you want to enjoy your food. Mobile ordering IS SO NOT what it used to be: efficient and easy.
> 
> •Those bubble wands get my glasses soapy and dodging them is an Olympic level sport.
> 
> •The parks close too early. Definitely didn’t find that couple of hours before close was less crowded. Not even after the fireworks. People are feeling cheated and want to get their few rides in.
> 
> •The huge quantities of people have no where to go. Meaning, in shade or a place to just sit. The tunnel into Galaxy’s Edge was shoulder to shoulder people sitting on the ground waiting for their boarding groups to be called. It looked like a refugee camp.
> 
> •Okay, rides go down. It’s inevitable. But when a headliner like Space or Splash is out of commission for HOURS there is simply nowhere for people to go. You can only sit through Country Bears / Carousel of Progress so many times.
> 
> All in all, I’m glad I came. But this is not the Disneyworld I love, and I hope they right this ship soon.



Could not agree more !!! Here now as well--- three more days----  we are exhausted- The parks have by far been the worst part of our trip- The lines are endless, and there are simply not enough CMs-   Mobile ordering is Ok.... just OK... we havent waited that long, but the portion sizes are extremely small, and the prices are outrageous !  Agree about the park hours, especially in the case of AK---  why does the park close so early, when its so beautiful at night !!??  When we are not at the parks, the trip has been great !! Our best meals (Kona, Sanaa, Beaches and Cream & Margaritaville  (Citywalk) have been outside of the parks as well-


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

tinkerhon said:


> Could not agree more !!! Here now as well--- three more days----  we are exhausted- The parks have by far been the worst part of our trip- The lines are endless, and there are simply not enough CMs-   Mobile ordering is Ok.... just OK... we havent waited that long, but the portion sizes are extremely small, and the prices are outrageous !  Agree about the park hours, especially in the case of AK---  why does the park close so early, when its so beautiful at night !!??  When we are not at the parks, the trip has been great !! Our best meals (Kona, Sanaa, Beaches and Cream & Margaritaville  (Citywalk) have been outside of the parks as well-


Missing Pandora at night!


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

LSUmiss said:


> Trip was 7/7-7/14. Had an awesome time. It was so great not to wear masks. BUT it was packed & no way to social distance. Didn’t bother us b/c we are fully vaccinated. But, came home on 7/14 & 7/19 DH developed Covid symptoms & tested positive. Then I started with symptoms right after & am positive too. I was one who couldn’t wait to get back to normal & thought we were safe. Depressing b/c we were going back in Sept or Oct, but I really don’t know now. DH & I have relatively mild symptoms compared to hospitalized ppl, but this still sucks.  Could have gotten it anywhere, of course, but we drove & made very few stops & was actually able to social distance in those locations. Hope this doesn’t get deleted b/c it contains Covid info b/c this was part our experience.


Hope you get well soon.  People are packed in like sardines down here right now.


----------



## tinkerhon

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Missing Pandora at night!



And the sunset Safari !!!  We did the safari the other day, and it was awful--- the heat must have sent all of the animals into hiding !! And our "driver/CM" was just going thru the motions---   again, the park is so beautiful at night (not to mention, cooler--) -- makes no sense that it closes so early.


----------



## brockash

tinkerhon said:


> Exhibit A -  down the hallway from our room - the result of frustration- room have not been cleaned for days ! View attachment 591967


That's really sad and disappointing...what resort is this?


----------



## Makmak

brockash said:


> That's really sad and disappointing...what resort is this?


They had said a few posts above they were at ASM (and it looks like the front left guest room building to me—-we have stayed there a lot)


----------



## luv2cheer92

krismom345 said:


> •What’s with all the damn helicopters? Isn’t WDW a no-fly zone? It’s awful.


To this point, no. Only MK is. That's how it's always been.

Bioreconstruct has been getting a lot of photos lately, so I'm sure at least some of it is them.


----------



## CinderellaDream

We went to Epcot yesterday for just one day as a stop on the way home from a beach vacation. We arrived at 11:30 (later than I intended) and went straight to Soarin. The wait was 15-20 minutes tops. Then we rode Mission Space with a less than 10 min wait. Headed over to Norway for Frozen Ever After where we waited about 40 minutes. The line stretched to China and was long and hot. 

Stopped in Italy for the ravioli and croccanti and an Italian margarita - all three were amazing! Had caramel candy and caramel corn from Karamell-Kuche for dessert.  Also tried the sushi in Japan and the martini slushy in France before heading to the Beach Club to swim.

Returned to the park around 7:30 and tried the wild mushroom beef filet mignon. Walked over to Test Track where we waited the full 65 minutes it showed as a wait time. Then went back to Soarin which was basically a walk on before the theater had technical difficulties and we had to switch to another concourse. 

Exited The Land just as the fireworks started and walked to IG as they continued. Overall it was a great day. Here are a few takeaways:

1. It was HOT!! We have been during summer months before but this was absolutely brutal. 
2. It was PACKED!! We were just here at the end of May and the difference in crowd levels is astonishing.
3. I did see more trash than usual lying around the parks.  
4. The vast majority of people are not wearing masks and there is little to no social distancing. We even heard the phrase “please fill in all available space” from cast members. 
5. Only five rides over the course of the day makes me feel like the ticket was not the best use of funds but I was just glad to get my Disney fix.  
6. Thoroughly enjoyed the small bit of F&W that we experienced and would love to come back just for that in the future.


----------



## erin1715

LSUmiss said:


> Trip was 7/7-7/14. Had an awesome time. It was so great not to wear masks. BUT it was packed & no way to social distance. Didn’t bother us b/c we are fully vaccinated. But, came home on 7/14 & 7/19 DH developed Covid symptoms & tested positive. Then I started with symptoms right after & am positive too. I was one who couldn’t wait to get back to normal & thought we were safe. Depressing b/c we were going back in Sept or Oct, but I really don’t know now. DH & I have relatively mild symptoms compared to hospitalized ppl, but this still sucks.  Could have gotten it anywhere, of course, but we drove & made very few stops & was actually able to social distance in those locations. Hope this doesn’t get deleted b/c it contains Covid info b/c this was part our experience.


I’m so sorry you got sick and hope the symptoms aren’t too bad and you feel better soon. If I’m remembering correct, you have a toddler? How is he/she so far? The reason I ask is because we also have a toddler and we have a trip next week.


----------



## Nabas

DisneyFive said:


> This all falls squarely on the shoulders of Disney. They chose to open up the parks to this capacity.  They could easily have kept this from happening by not opening up the parks so quickly. Now, we are the suckers showing up tomorrow handing  $10,000 over to them. I fully expect to make the most of it. We are positive people in general. I will be happy to report back my objective observations after having been to the parks for the last 10 years, the last couple of visits being this same time of year.


We returned from a WDW trip 10 days ago and also feel that Disney increased theme park capacity much too quickly, considering the issues they are having with opening shows, improving dining, and hiring staff.

As recently as January 2021, going to WDW was as an enjoyable experience as it had been in decades.  Even our trips in March and May were better than most years.  But our July trip showed us that WDW had deteriorated to be as bad as ever.

If you want to relax at the pool and dine away from the theme parks, you'll have a nice vacation.  But if you plan to spend hours upon hours at the theme parks, you're in for a rough time.


----------



## Nabas

BK2014 said:


> Reasonable people can certainly disagree. I actually like the mobile ordering, though I don't disagree that it adds to the crowds outside of the restaurants.  But I would rather have the crowded confusion outside of the restaurant, rather than inside when I have my tray(s) of food and cannot find a seat.  I have found that mobile ordering has made finding tables once you get your food much easier.


IMO, mobile ordering is one of the bigger improvements in recent years.

I was a doubter about this; didn't think I was going to like it.

But it's so much better to able to find a place to sit and just order on my phone, rather than stand in line waiting for large groups to figure out what they are going to order only when the reach the front of the line!


----------



## WEDWDW

tinkerhon said:


> Exhibit A -  down the hallway from our room - the result of frustration- room have not been cleaned for days ! View attachment 591967



But why make other Guests look at this out of frustration with Disney?

A call(s) to Housekeeping "should" result in someone picking it up.

If no response from Housekeeping there are Trash cans at All-Star Movies this trash could have been taken to,either in the building sections themselves or in World Premiere Food Court.

No matter how poor a job Disney  may be currently doing,to leave trash like this for other Guests to have to see speaks more of laziness by the Guest than frustration with Disney.

Not cool at all IMHO.


----------



## luv2cheer92

WEDWDW said:


> But why make other Guests look at this out of frustration with Disney?
> 
> A call(s) to Housekeeping "should" result in someone picking it up.
> 
> If no response from Housekeeping there are Trash cans at All-Star Music this trash could have been taken to,either in the building sections themselves or in World Premiere Food Court.
> 
> No matter how poor a job Disney  may be currently doing,to leave trash like this for other Guests to have to see speaks more of laziness by the Guest than frustration with Disney.
> 
> Not cool at all IMHO.


Completely agree. It takes 10 seconds to gather up at least some of the trash and throw it in a trash can that you inevitably are going to pass on your way out of the room in the morning.


----------



## Looper

For those who are there now and driving to the parks, what time have the generally started letting cars in? Is it still about an hour before opening time? 

And for anyone who has rope dropped recently, about what time are they letting people actually tap in and enter the park?

We were there in May and had it down to a science, but I know it’s all changed now.


----------



## lovethattink

undertheseas said:


> Thank you for sharing.  This is my biggest concern about our trip next month.  We wear masks when out in public but we can't avoid eating out at Disney.



Last July, we ate every single meal in our room and drove instead of Disney transportation. It certainly wasn’t convenient. But it can be done.


----------



## hsmamato2

LSUmiss said:


> Trip was 7/7-7/14. Had an awesome time. It was so great not to wear masks. BUT it was packed & no way to social distance. Didn’t bother us b/c we are fully vaccinated. But, came home on 7/14 & 7/19 DH developed Covid symptoms & tested positive. Then I started with symptoms right after & am positive too. I was one who couldn’t wait to get back to normal & thought we were safe. Depressing b/c we were going back in Sept or Oct, but I really don’t know now. DH & I have relatively mild symptoms compared to hospitalized ppl, but this still sucks.  Could have gotten it anywhere, of course, but we drove & made very few stops & was actually able to social distance in those locations. Hope this doesn’t get deleted b/c it contains Covid info b/c this was part our experience.


I feel like this is a very important post. And well written. Hope you recover quickly.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

hsmamato2 said:


> I feel like this is a very important post. And well written. Hope you recover quickly.


I agree. We’re going later this week (only to AK) and don’t plan on eating indoors anywhere. We’re coming from a place that’s worse COVID-wise than Florida, so that hasn’t concerned me. We’re vaccinated but our kids are not. We’ve been twice already during COVID and have felt relatively safe in our previous trips, but it seems like post-Memorial Day is a different animal.


----------



## preemiemama

luv2cheer92 said:


> To this point, no. Only MK is. That's how it's always been.
> 
> Bioreconstruct has been getting a lot of photos lately, so I'm sure at least some of it is them.


They have theme park helicopter tours that run now- people can see the parks/rides/etc from the helicopter.  We noticed it the most at DHS- it was constant! Not sure why you'd want to just go see what you could be doing from a helicopter, but there is obviously a market for it!


----------



## Epcot242

We're just back from a three-night stay at the Beach Club. Checked in on a Wednesday around 1ish, and room was ready within an hour. We went to Disney Springs that night around 5:00 and had no major issues--got drinks at Jock's, had dinner reservation at Raglan Road (delicious shepherd's pie), and got ice cream at Ghiardelli where the wait was around 15-20. My wife and sister waited for cookies at Gideon's and that took around the same.
 
Our first full day we got up early and went to MK for rope drop. We waited at Tomorrowland to get on SM. Once we were finally allowed in everyone was turned away because SM was down. So we went to HM...and that was down too, despite having a wait time on the app. We wanted to do Pirates but that was also down. Little Mermaid was open so we did that but it was a really frustrating way to start the day and completely defeated the purpose of us getting there early. After LM we went to TTA and right as we got on we saw that SM had opened and poeple literally running to get in line. Needless to say it was not a great ride on the TTA because by the time we got off the line for SM had backed up to the Main Street because they hadn't yet filled the queue inside. We skipped it and did HM, waiting around 20-25 despite the displayed 45 wait time. After that we decided to just wait for SM because the time had gone back down a bit to 50 minutes. This was about accurate. I had time to get an iced coffee while my wife and sister waited in the outside line, then to finish that coffee before getting inside. We left after lunch at Pecos Bill. 

Dinner was CA Grill and was excellent as usual. Walked to MK after and was able to get on TTA, LM, and HM again. We caught Happily Ever After which was terrific but bittersweet as it’s the last time we’ll see it.

Next day we went to Trattoria al Forno for breakfast. All food was great there and it was nice to have a sit-down breakfast (and to have time to do it since Epcot opened at 11:00). We went over around 10:40 and went straight to Soarin’ within about 10-15 minutes, and saw people exiting already so they must’ve just been letting people ride. We rode Living with the Land immediately after, then SE, and Nemo. Got a few Food and Wine items and generally enjoyed a less-packed environment than MK. We broke midday and came back for dinner at the Coral Reef. Atmosphere there is so fun but the food was very underwhelming, which it seems to normally be but it’d been a while since we’ve visited and wanted to give a try. Walked around some more after, rode SE again and took in the new entrance at night. One more lap around WS and we went to the Boardwalk for ice cream.

Overall takeaways:
- It’s July in FL but it’s been a while and forgot how oppressive and still it can feel. So just get ready for that and drink water.
- MK was packed and virtually no one wears a mask. It truly does feel like pre-Covid crowds without the FP+ or staffing. Lines that would ordinarily be quick for small services and food felt much longer.
- As much as it’s disappointing, be prepared to either only get on a few of your favorites if you choose to take a midday break or to wait a decent amount of the time in line if you don’t. There’s really no way around it we found.
- We only had two weekdays but if our resort was any indication on Saturday, I can’t imagine crowds during the weekend. The lobby was packed by the time we left around 11 with check-ins/outs. Again: it’s summer and with much higher capacity. So it’s expected but still was a bit surprising.
- Pet peeve alert: the pandemic has done nothing to people’s use of their flash during dark rides or fireworks. I know this complaint is just going into the void but taking flash pictures on rides that are meant to be dark feels like one person in the audience asking the magician how he did his trick and then them telling everyone the answer. I don’t want to see the mechanics of a ride or having a small spotlight illuminating half the crowd during a fireworks show that’s best viewed at in the dark.

Overall: great and fun trip, great food, and got on rides we wanted to for the most part. We expected it to be packed and it was, and that helped a bit. It does feel very crowded and like they haven’t been staffed up enough to handle it all but CMs were all pleasant and professional as ever with no overflowing trashcans and clean bathrooms mostly.

Happy to answer anything if anyone has questions!


----------



## bookgirl2632

WEDWDW said:


> But why make other Guests look at this out of frustration with Disney?
> 
> A call(s) to Housekeeping "should" result in someone picking it up.
> 
> If no response from Housekeeping there are Trash cans at All-Star Music this trash could have been taken to,either in the building sections themselves or in World Premiere Food Court.
> 
> No matter how poor a job Disney  may be currently doing,to leave trash like this for other Guests to have to see speaks more of laziness by the Guest than frustration with Disney.
> 
> Not cool at all IMHO.


Agreed.  We go in October.  I intend to take some small trash bags with me.  If I have to, I’ll take my trash to a trash can.  I surely don’t want to leave it outside to attract bugs and animals.


----------



## cakebaker

WEDWDW said:


> No matter how poor a job Disney may be currently doing,to leave trash like this for other Guests to have to see speaks more of laziness by the Guest than frustration with Disney.



It has nothing to do with laziness. I’m not hauling trash out when I’m paying over $600 for a resort. If I see trash piled around, I’m blaming the one responsible-Disney. I’m not going to mask their problems by doing their work. 

Luckily we’re in the cabins. I’ll call for trash pickup and be frustrated that I have to, but that’s as far as I go. If Disney doesn’t mind trash bags piled up on our deck, neither do I. We’ll rush like crazy getting around and out in the mornings trying to be early to avoid the horrible lines. I don’t have time to hunt for places to dump trash. 

If they’d like to cut the price of my resort for me doing their job, we’ll talk. I’m amazed this can be twisted to blame guests.


----------



## lovethattink

At Pop we were told to place dirty towels outside the room for pick up. Both in July and December. When they brought new ones, they put them in a bag and placed them on the door. We placed garbage at the big garbage cans and they sent replacement garbage bags.


----------



## becauseimnew

cakebaker said:


> It has nothing to do with laziness. I’m not hauling trash out when I’m paying over $600 for a resort. If I see trash piled around, I’m blaming the one responsible-Disney. I’m not going to mask their problems by doing their work.
> 
> Luckily we’re in the cabins. I’ll call for trash pickup and be frustrated that I have to, but that’s as far as I go. If Disney doesn’t mind trash bags piled up on our deck, neither do I. We’ll rush like crazy getting around and out in the mornings trying to be early to avoid the horrible lines. I don’t have time to hunt for places to dump trash.
> 
> If they’d like to cut the price of my resort for me doing their job, we’ll talk. I’m amazed this can be twisted to blame guests.


100% agree! I can’t believe people are giving Disney a pass, no wonder they continue to underserve and continue to increase prices.


----------



## Turksmom

becauseimnew said:


> 100% agree! I can’t believe people are giving Disney a pass, no wonder they continue to underserve and continue to increase prices.


I don't see it as giving Disney a pass. They should be handling it, but the reality is that right now they are not. That doesn't make it acceptable to subject other guests to your trash and dirty linens.


----------



## cakebaker

Turksmom said:


> I don't see it as giving Disney a pass. They should be handling it, but the reality is that right now they are not. That doesn't make it acceptable to subject other guests to your trash and dirty linens.



Disney is responsible for guests being subject to seeing piles of trash. I agree, it’s not acceptable and they should fix it.

Eta- Guests are reporting they’re being told by their resorts to put the trash outside.


----------



## petunia

Is there a standard rule for which rides you can have drink/snack in line with, or does it differ depending on the attraction, or whether its an inside queue, we havent ever found a rule either way.  With the current long waits Id like to plan for some drink/snack times in lines where allowed?


----------



## LSUmiss

erin1715 said:


> I’m so sorry you got sick and hope the symptoms aren’t too bad and you feel better soon. If I’m remembering correct, you have a toddler? How is he/she so far? The reason I ask is because we also have a toddler and we have a trip next week.


Thank you. He is fine. I didn’t traumatize him with testing him b/c pediatrician said we are all quarantined together now so it doesn’t really matter.


----------



## LSUmiss

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> I agree. We’re going later this week (only to AK) and don’t plan on eating indoors anywhere. We’re coming from a place that’s worse COVID-wise than Florida, so that hasn’t concerned me. We’re vaccinated but our kids are not. We’ve been twice already during COVID and have felt relatively safe in our previous trips, but it seems like post-Memorial Day is a different animal.


Yes I have been 5 times since Covid started, but this trip we ate indoors much more & it was waay more crowded & no masks or social distancing. And I was one who was happy about that change until now . Not sure when we will go back now.


----------



## brockash

WEDWDW said:


> But why make other Guests look at this out of frustration with Disney?
> 
> A call(s) to Housekeeping "should" result in someone picking it up.
> 
> If no response from Housekeeping there are Trash cans at All-Star Music this trash could have been taken to,either in the building sections themselves or in World Premiere Food Court.
> 
> No matter how poor a job Disney  may be currently doing,to leave trash like this for other Guests to have to see speaks more of laziness by the Guest than frustration with Disney.
> 
> Not cool at all IMHO.


All are entitled to their own opinion.  I personally don't share yours.  I'm on vacation and paying to stay at a hotel; I fully expect that I won't be taking the trash out for the week - if I was renting a house, which we often do, then absolutely; but if I'm paying for a hotel; then no, that's part of what I'm paying for.  Disney should've never opened up more than they can appropriately service...Disney is who created these frustrating situations and I don't feel it's appropriate to place the blame on the paying customers who are unfortunately not getting the service they've paid for.


----------



## brockash

petunia said:


> Is there a standard rule for which rides you can have drink/snack in line with, or does it differ depending on the attraction, or whether its an inside queue, we havent ever found a rule either way.  With the current long waits Id like to plan for some drink/snack times in lines where allowed?


Unless something has changed; there shouldn't be a debate any longer since masks aren't required.  I can't imagine any line that you aren't supposed to eat/drink in any outdoor part of the que...honestly I'm not even sure there's any issue with it being in the indoor part as long as you're done or it can safely and securely be put away before you load.


----------



## scrappinginontario

There are two different thoughts about guests taking out towels and garbage.  Each person is allowed to have their own opinion about the topic but from past debates we know that it we won't ever feel the same.  

Let's please move to sharing experiences at WDW.

Thanks.


----------



## WEDWDW

Big Gert has reopened!

*HUGE STEP* in the right direction!lol


----------



## Lupin

I just got back from WDW yesterday and stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort for the first time.  We had two youngsters in tow (7 and 8) and 4 adults.  Overall we had a great trip but like many others have pointed out the parks are insanely crowded and as expected the weather is very hot.  We actually had to wait 15 minutes for Imagination and there was a wait-list to go to the DVC lounge at the Imagination pavilion.  In years past Imagination has always been a walk-on and the one time we did visit the DVC lounge in the afternoon it was completely empty.  So it was a very stark contrast.

*Highlights:*

The Skyliner was an awesome method for getting around the resort area.  It was a huge time saver for us and a much more preferred method of travel during COVID.


CMs were super helpful and friendly as always.  A shout out to Brogan, the photographer at the entrance to Epcot who insisted on lying down on the 100+ degree ground to get a shot of my son's Wampa plush in front of the Spaceship Earth ball.


All I wanted to do on this entire trip was see Galaxy's Edge and ride Rise of the Resistance.  We managed to snag boarding group 6 and had practically the whole ride to ourselves when it opened first thing in the morning.  Both the land and the ride were spectacular.  I was never able to get on Smuggler's run because the line was consistently 90-130 minutes every day all day.


Mobile Order worked really well for us, though we almost always planned/ordered our meals about an hour before when we expected to eat.


Food at the Caribbean Beach quick service was surprisingly great


Wait times tended to be bloated compared to actual wait times.  For instance, the queue for Mickey's Runaway Railway said 60 minutes but the actual wait time was more like 35 minutes


The pastry at Riviera's Le Petit Cafe - so good!
*Lowlights:*

Crowds and wait times.  As I mentioned earlier, the crowds were a huge annoyance.  The lack of people-eater shows in Hollywood Studios means that after 10 am, every ride has an insane wait time.  With Buzz Lightyear and Splash Mountain down most of the week, the PeopleMover rarely had a wait time less than 25 minutes.  This made our trip pretty disappointing in a lot of ways.  With the Fast Pass system we would be able to do lots of rides in a single day while also having leisure time to shop and eat.  With the current system, you're constantly always scouting ride wait times and standing in line.  If you decide that you don't want to stand in line, then the only things to do are limited shows (like Carousel of Progress) or shopping.   


The queues for Mickey's Runaway Railway and the People Mover were brutally hot.  The random umbrellas placed throughout the MRR line weren't very helpful.  If Disney is going to continue this system of no or limited fast-pass with really long lines, then they should have a cooling area to let people/families hang out in while a representative from their family waits in line.


Dinoland USA.  I like the idea of the land itself, though I absolutely HATE the carnival games and the way Disney monetizes the system there.  I saw one kid who was having an absolute meltdown because he really wanted the lizard stuffy and his parents were frantically trying to win him one.  Disney as usual won't let you buy them - you can only win them - they eventually won one after spending god knows how much money.  We let our 7 year old son play the ball toss game (the one where you have to throw the ball and let it land on a colored hole to win).  His ball bounced out of the area twice and the CM would only let him re-do it once (because those are the rules).  They wouldn't make an exception for a 7 year old kid at $5/play.  It's a very seedy element to the park and it brings out a lot of negative emotions in people - I really wish they would just get rid of it.


Mask enforcement on Disney transportation was very inconsistent.  One of our poor bus drivers had to repeat himself 6 times to get a family in the back of the bus to mask up.  They all had masks on when entering the bus and decided to take them all off when they got to the back.  The bus driver wasn't having any of it and refused to move the bus until they all masked up.  The dude deserves a medal for having to put up with that all day.  The Skyliner was really good about mask enforcement too, though it was less of a worry given most people were in their own gondola.  The monorail was a complete free-for-all - no mask enforcement at all.  We rode it once and decided never to ride it again the rest of the trip.


----------



## interstate70s

Just finished our family's trip to Disney World. It was sort of a mixed bag. But here is some of our experiences.

Yacht Club- Beautiful location. Loved the storage and room set up there. The first room we were assigned was in really poor shape, including mold in the shower. The front desk reassigned us and the second room was fine. Housekeeping is what it is. Our room was refreshed once in 6 days. Housekeeping told us to call with what we needed and to leave trash and towels in the hall. It was typically picked up quickly. It was annoying and tiresome to have to continue to call for things that should be taken care of.  The limited menu options at the restaurants were also disappointing. I was glad we had groceries delivered and requested a microwave. Made eating less inconvenient. 

Bus service- Abysmal for Magic Kingdom. First day , first bus didn't show until 8:15 for a 9am opening. We didn't get through the turnstiles until 8:40. 2nd day at MK,  same thing, ditched the line at 7:40. Made it to the castle at 8:20. Busses for AK were normal.

Wait times- App couldn't be trusted. It seems its used to shift crowds around in afternoon and evening. Sometimes its accurate with headliners, but you're better off trusting your eyes. Pirates line would often be walk on while the wait time was listed as 40 minutes. Also saw this on Splash, Small World, and Barnstormer.  Maybe its to try to encourage people to shop instead of getting in line? Who knows.. I definitely spent less time shopping, just generally felt like there was less browsing time,  trying to make sure the kids rode everything they wanted with higher waits.

Overall there were highs and lows, this trip seemed less personal, less service than past trips. Partly due to covid staffing, but partly due to everything being done on your phone. Its started to feel like we were vacationing in a crowded airport. Not sure if it is something we will repeat.


----------



## erin1715

LSUmiss said:


> Thank you. He is fine. I didn’t traumatize him with testing him b/c pediatrician said we are all quarantined together now so it doesn’t really matter.


I’m glad he’s okay. My husband and I already had covid and obviously we live closely with our toddler so assume she had it too, but like you we didn’t subject her to testing.


----------



## Mango7100

LSUmiss said:


> Thank you. He is fine. I didn’t traumatize him with testing him b/c pediatrician said we are all quarantined together now so it doesn’t really matter.


Hope you all are on the mend and thank you for your post. It serves as a reminder for all of us


----------



## Marvin1968

Lupin said:


> I just got back from WDW yesterday and stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort for the first time.  We had two youngsters in tow (7 and 8) and 4 adults.  Overall we had a great trip but like many others have pointed out the parks are insanely crowded and as expected the weather is very hot.  We actually had to wait 15 minutes for Imagination and there was a wait-list to go to the DVC lounge at the Imagination pavilion.  In years past Imagination has always been a walk-on and the one time we did visit the DVC lounge in the afternoon it was completely empty.  So it was a very stark contrast.
> 
> *Highlights:*
> 
> The Skyliner was an awesome method for getting around the resort area.  It was a huge time saver for us and a much more preferred method of travel during COVID.
> 
> 
> CMs were super helpful and friendly as always.  A shout out to Brogan, the photographer at the entrance to Epcot who insisted on lying down on the 100+ degree ground to get a shot of my son's Wampa plush in front of the Spaceship Earth ball.
> 
> 
> All I wanted to do on this entire trip was see Galaxy's Edge and ride Rise of the Resistance.  We managed to snag boarding group 6 and had practically the whole ride to ourselves when it opened first thing in the morning.  Both the land and the ride were spectacular.  I was never able to get on Smuggler's run because the line was consistently 90-130 minutes every day all day.
> 
> 
> Mobile Order worked really well for us, though we almost always planned/ordered our meals about an hour before when we expected to eat.
> 
> 
> Food at the Caribbean Beach quick service was surprisingly great
> 
> 
> Wait times tended to be bloated compared to actual wait times.  For instance, the queue for Mickey's Runaway Railway said 60 minutes but the actual wait time was more like 35 minutes
> 
> 
> The pastry at Riviera's Le Petit Cafe - so good!
> *Lowlights:*
> 
> Crowds and wait times.  As I mentioned earlier, the crowds were a huge annoyance.  The lack of people-eater shows in Hollywood Studios means that after 10 am, every ride has an insane wait time.  With Buzz Lightyear and Splash Mountain down most of the week, the PeopleMover rarely had a wait time less than 25 minutes.  This made our trip pretty disappointing in a lot of ways.  With the Fast Pass system we would be able to do lots of rides in a single day while also having leisure time to shop and eat.  With the current system, you're constantly always scouting ride wait times and standing in line.  If you decide that you don't want to stand in line, then the only things to do are limited shows (like Carousel of Progress) or shopping.
> 
> 
> The queues for Mickey's Runaway Railway and the People Mover were brutally hot.  The random umbrellas placed throughout the MRR line weren't very helpful.  If Disney is going to continue this system of no or limited fast-pass with really long lines, then they should have a cooling area to let people/families hang out in while a representative from their family waits in line.
> 
> 
> Dinoland USA.  I like the idea of the land itself, though I absolutely HATE the carnival games and the way Disney monetizes the system there.  I saw one kid who was having an absolute meltdown because he really wanted the lizard stuffy and his parents were frantically trying to win him one.  Disney as usual won't let you buy them - you can only win them - they eventually won one after spending god knows how much money.  We let our 7 year old son play the ball toss game (the one where you have to throw the ball and let it land on a colored hole to win).  His ball bounced out of the area twice and the CM would only let him re-do it once (because those are the rules).  They wouldn't make an exception for a 7 year old kid at $5/play.  It's a very seedy element to the park and it brings out a lot of negative emotions in people - I really wish they would just get rid of it.
> 
> 
> Mask enforcement on Disney transportation was very inconsistent.  One of our poor bus drivers had to repeat himself 6 times to get a family in the back of the bus to mask up.  They all had masks on when entering the bus and decided to take them all off when they got to the back.  The bus driver wasn't having any of it and refused to move the bus until they all masked up.  The dude deserves a medal for having to put up with that all day.  The Skyliner was really good about mask enforcement too, though it was less of a worry given most people were in their own gondola.  The monorail was a complete free-for-all - no mask enforcement at all.  We rode it once and decided never to ride it again the rest of the trip.


No rope drop for Smugglers Run?  I’m going to try in a couple of weeks. Also,  It looks like it’s been 60 min at night. Let’s hope. We’re staying at CB also. Thanks for the tips.


----------



## preemiemama

Marvin1968 said:


> No rope drop for Smugglers Run?  I’m going to try in a couple of weeks. Also,  It looks like it’s been 60 min at night. Let’s hope. We’re staying at CB also. Thanks for the tips.


We did it one day at rope drop and were off by 9:30- and the wait was already wrapped around the MF outside and up to about 90 minutes.  You are held by Indy until 8:30, then the crowd walks with CMs down through the Grand Ave entrance and they wrap the line around in GE until they form the actual queue.  So it takes longer to get on to the ride than something like TOT.   But you get a pretty scenic tour of GE while walking!  My son also did it as a single rider a few times, but he said you don't get to pilot it that way.


----------



## Marvin1968

preemiemama said:


> We did it one day at rope drop and were off by 9:30- and the wait was already wrapped around the MF outside and up to about 90 minutes.  You are held by Indy until 8:30, then the crowd walks with CMs down through the Grand Ave entrance and they wrap the line around in GE until they form the actual queue.  So it takes longer to get on to the ride than something like TOT.   But you get a pretty scenic tour of GE while walking!  My son also did it as a single rider a few times, but he said you don't get to pilot it that way.


Thank you!


----------



## BK2014

monstermash23 said:


> Reasonable or non-reasonable people can disagree equally. Or agree? Not really sure the sentiment behind the word choice there.



All I meant by saying "reasonable people can certainly disagree" in response to your post was that, while I didn't agree with the entirety of your post, I did not think it was unreasonable. _ That should go without saying._ But often times on message boards, when you openly disagree with someone they may interpret it as being attacked or being told that their opinion is wrong or their experience is invalid. I just wanted to make it clear that, while I was responding to your post, I neither disregarded your opinion nor felt that your experience was invalid.


----------



## bastraker

cakebaker said:


> It has nothing to do with laziness. I’m not hauling trash out when I’m paying over $600 for a resort. If I see trash piled around, I’m blaming the one responsible-Disney. I’m not going to mask their problems by doing their work.
> 
> Luckily we’re in the cabins. I’ll call for trash pickup and be frustrated that I have to, but that’s as far as I go. If Disney doesn’t mind trash bags piled up on our deck, neither do I. We’ll rush like crazy getting around and out in the mornings trying to be early to avoid the horrible lines. I don’t have time to hunt for places to dump trash.
> 
> If they’d like to cut the price of my resort for me doing their job, we’ll talk. I’m amazed this can be twisted to blame guests.


I agree!! We stayed at the Grand Floridian in May and our garbage was not picked up. I have dirty diapers and I'm not leaving them in my room!

For the amount of money spent per night, I except my garbage to be picked up!!

I agree that this falls on Disney!!


----------



## Lupin

Marvin1968 said:


> No rope drop for Smugglers Run?  I’m going to try in a couple of weeks. Also,  It looks like it’s been 60 min at night. Let’s hope. We’re staying at CB also. Thanks for the tips.



We would have done Smugglers Run at rope drop but we had no idea how long it would take to ride it and we had RotR at 9:10 and droid depot reservation at 9:50.  I will say though that the rope drop line for Smugglers Run was so long that the actual Galaxy's Edge area was nearly empty.  Everyone within Galaxy's Edge for the first hour was in that line so we had a great opportunity to explore the empty area for a bit.


----------



## Marvin1968

Thanks for info!!  I may try and ride at night. We are going to Park hop from Epcot on our first day.  I have Savis and Ogas reservations at night.


----------



## e_yerger

For people who have visited Oga’s recently, how crowded has it been inside? The last time i went was pre-covid and we were packed in there like sardines.


----------



## ten50

e_yerger said:


> For people who have visited Oga’s recently, how crowded has it been inside? The last time i went was pre-covid and we were packed in there like sardines.



Just got out about 30 min ago (545)...was shoulder to shoulder all around


----------



## lelew

ten50 said:


> Just got out about 30 min ago (545)...was shoulder to shoulder all around


We had 645 res  last week and we were 30 mins late they let us in it was not that crowded but my party of 3 had to stand at the table with another party of 3


----------



## Helvetica

ten50 said:


> Just got out about 30 min ago (545)...was shoulder to shoulder all around



Ah well… Socially Distant Oga’s was fun while it lasted.


----------



## tinkerhon

Finally - got to ride ROTR today - got to the park at around 12:30, went to Starbucks , and DD ( the tech savvy one ) got us boarding group 103- definitely lives up to the hype !!  In other news --  DS10 went to Savi's -- its all he's spoken about since I booked it ! HE had a great time (DD15 went with him ) - but what a pain in the neck to carry around ! 

And here's a better question - how in the world do you get it home !! ?? Just received an email from JetBlue - flying to NYC (basic blue ) - nothing allowed in the overhead compartment ? 

Now I have 2 huge Disney bags filled with stuffed animals and a souvenirs-- and a giant lightsaber - have no idea how to get this stuff home - anyone ??  

TIA !!


----------



## tinkerhon

Helvetica said:


> Ah well… Socially Distant Oga’s was fun while it lasted.



Speaking of which - anyone that is concerned about distancing -- and I don't blame anyone -- especially with 90% without masks - do not ride MMRR !! Think about the waiting queues for Monsters, Philharmagic, and ITTBAB !!


----------



## bigfatdan

tinkerhon said:


> Finally - got to ride ROTR today - got to the park at around 12:30, went to Starbucks , and DD ( the tech savvy one ) got us boarding group 103- definitely lives up to the hype !!  In other news --  DS10 went to Savi's -- its all he's spoken about since I booked it ! HE had a great time (DD15 went with him ) - but what a pain in the neck to carry around !
> 
> And here's a better question - how in the world do you get it home !! ?? Just received an email from JetBlue - flying to NYC (basic blue ) - nothing allowed in the overhead compartment ?
> 
> Now I have 2 huge Disney bags filled with stuffed animals and a souvenirs-- and a giant lightsaber - have no idea how to get this stuff home - anyone ??
> 
> TIA !!


You can ship the saber home.  I shipped mine from Dok Ondar's Den of Antiquities in Galaxy's Edge.  You can also do it from the resort gift shops.


----------



## DisneyFive

Just arrived to Disney’s Magical Express at 7PM this evening, Sunday night. Absolutely no wait in any lines.   On our way to the Boardwalk

Dan


----------



## Neener16

e_yerger said:


> For people who have visited Oga’s recently, how crowded has it been inside? The last time i went was pre-covid and we were packed in there like sardines.


We were there yesterday at 2:50. It was actually much less crowded than I anticipated. They did not tell us we only had 45 minutes, and I did not feel rushed.


----------



## tinkerhon

bigfatdan said:


> You can ship the saber home.  I shipped mine from Dok Ondar's Den of Antiquities in Galaxy's Edge.  You can also do it from the resort gift shops.



Thanks so much !!


----------



## preemiemama

tinkerhon said:


> Finally - got to ride ROTR today - got to the park at around 12:30, went to Starbucks , and DD ( the tech savvy one ) got us boarding group 103- definitely lives up to the hype !!  In other news --  DS10 went to Savi's -- its all he's spoken about since I booked it ! HE had a great time (DD15 went with him ) - but what a pain in the neck to carry around !
> 
> And here's a better question - how in the world do you get it home !! ?? Just received an email from JetBlue - flying to NYC (basic blue ) - nothing allowed in the overhead compartment ?
> 
> Now I have 2 huge Disney bags filled with stuffed animals and a souvenirs-- and a giant lightsaber - have no idea how to get this stuff home - anyone ??
> 
> TIA !!


We carried DS21's lightsaber on Southwest, but were able to put it in the overhead compartment.  I agree with shipping it, or you could call Jet Blue and see what they could do if you carried it on?  Good luck wither way- I know firsthand what a pain it is to carry around!


----------



## preemiemama

lelew said:


> We had 645 res  last week and we were 30 mins late they let us in it was not that crowded but my party of 3 had to stand at the table with another party of 3


We had a 9:20 am reservation last week.  Our party of 3 was standing at a table with another party of 4- it was tight.  The walkways were not bad, but they were definitely using all the available space at the tables/bar.


----------



## tinkerhon

preemiemama said:


> We carried DS21's lightsaber on Southwest, but were able to put it in the overhead compartment.  I agree with shipping it, or you could call Jet Blue and see what they could do if you carried it on?  Good luck wither way- I know firsthand what a pain it is to carry around!



Yes! Its the way its weighted - very bottom heavy ! Thank goodness we were leaving the park soon ! I was trying not to impale anyone ! Just had it shipped from hotel - $17.95 and worth every cent !  Thanks to everyone that replied !!


----------



## rockabyemonkey

Looper said:


> For those who are there now and driving to the parks, what time have the generally started letting cars in? Is it still about an hour before opening time?
> 
> And for anyone who has rope dropped recently, about what time are they letting people actually tap in and enter the park?
> 
> We were there in May and had it down to a science, but I know it’s all changed now.


We drove to HS today.  Arrived at 7:40 and were told it didn’t open til 8. Circled around and by 7:47 it was open.


----------



## aliceg

Just back from our trip 7/19-7/24.  Stayed at Wilderness Lodge - first time for an onsite hotel!  It was amazing!  We might be onsite converts...if we can score a deal. 

Parks were crowded.  We hadn't been since 2016, so maybe we're remembering wrong, but it seemed like a regular summer crowd to us.  We did MK, AK, and HS.  And BB.

Holy crap, it was hot!  Especially Galaxy's Edge.  I don't know if it was the concrete rock formations, but I felt so cooked.  There are so many narrow passages crammed with people, plus the rocks and then the concrete walkway.  I felt like I couldn't really enjoy the amazing scenery as I was walking through an oven. 

Lines were long, but they were constantly moving, so it didn't feel bad, especially in MK.  Our limit is waiting 45 minutes, so we didn't get to do everything.  They built up fast, and then stayed up.  Barnstormer was 50 minutes, which is about 49 minutes and 30 seconds longer than the actual ride.  I can't see the point of waiting for that.  

It was kind of refreshing, really, to not have a plan.  Just going in and seeing what the lines were like and making a decision if we wanted to wait for that ride or skip it.  Spontaneity is not usually how we do WDW, but it worked this trip!

All in all, though, it was a fantastic time with my family, and that's what really matters.  We made it through 2020, and I am incredibly lucky to be able to hang with these people I love so much, even if it felt like my shoes were melting.


----------



## GBRforWDW

tinkerhon said:


> Finally - got to ride ROTR today - got to the park at around 12:30, went to Starbucks , and DD ( the tech savvy one ) got us boarding group 103- definitely lives up to the hype !!  In other news --  DS10 went to Savi's -- its all he's spoken about since I booked it ! HE had a great time (DD15 went with him ) - but what a pain in the neck to carry around !
> 
> And here's a better question - how in the world do you get it home !! ?? Just received an email from JetBlue - flying to NYC (basic blue ) - nothing allowed in the overhead compartment ?
> 
> Now I have 2 huge Disney bags filled with stuffed animals and a souvenirs-- and a giant lightsaber - have no idea how to get this stuff home - anyone ??
> 
> TIA !!


You can go to any Disney shop (including your resort shop if there's one there} and have it shipped home, shouldn't be more than 15-20.  We Shipped 2 droids from the art of Animation gift shop in January. They arrived a few days after we got home.


DisneyFive said:


> Just arrived to Disney’s Magical Express at 7PM this evening, Sunday night. Absolutely no wait in any lines.   On our way to the Boardwalk
> 
> Dan


Yay congrats!  Hope you have a great trip!


----------



## tinkerhon

GBRforWDW said:


> You can go to any Disney shop (including your resort shop if there's one there} and have it shipped home, shouldn't be more than 15-20.  We Shipped 2 droids from the art of Animation gift shop in January. They arrived a few days after we got home.
> 
> Yay congrats!  Hope you have a great trip!



Thank a much ! We also have two nig bags of stuffed animals Andy souvenirs- hotel is shopping them home for us - $36


----------



## undertheseas

lovethattink said:


> Last July, we ate every single meal in our room and drove instead of Disney transportation. It certainly wasn’t convenient. But it can be done.


Thank you!  I didn't think about going back to the room.


----------



## monstermash23

aliceg said:


> It was kind of refreshing, really, to not have a plan.  Just going in and seeing what the lines were like and making a decision if we wanted to wait for that ride or skip it.  Spontaneity is not usually how we do WDW, but it worked this trip!



Fully agreed. And I’m a huge proponent of fastpss+ and planning everything in advance at WDW. Half my group canceled their portions of this trip because of lack of fastpass+ coming back. But after being here for a week thus far, what you said is true for us right now as well, in many cases.

The other thing you mentioned that I think is generally true, with some exceptions (slow loading rides mostly/rides with less capacity per hour mainly) is that lines actually move which is a good feeling when waiting. Everest is a great example. Routinely has the line been posted 50-60 minutes (our limit) most hours of most days, but we’ve ridden it 3x already with 15-25 minute actual wait times vs the standard 60 posted - and the line hardly ever stopped for more then a few seconds. And this is happening at a lot of rides (the Lines app has been helpful for us strategize in this regard). Mickie and Minnie’s railway ride in HS is also a good example, at least the one time we did it. Pirates of the Caribbean was another example. 60 minute posted wait time, ended up being 15 minutes each of the 2 times we’ve ridden Pirates. Again, for us this hasn’t been all rides, but definitely enough that it’s worth pointing out imo.

I do want fastpass+ back, but after this positive experience with spontaneity that I didn’t really think was possible at Disney World, my perspective has changed on positive potentials for this rumored paid fastpass (whenever it actually launches). Full disclosure for anyone reading: I don’t believe fastpass+ adds to the wait time for most rides in a significant way, but it def can make them “feel” longer with constant stopping, imo. In the current setup, without those constant stops for loads of fastpass+ priority queuing virtually non-existant, ride lines do move. This is a great positive for us this trip, despite my earlier criticisms of overcapacity, overflowing lines, etc.

Maybe I’m wrong with my analysis on the fastpass+ line impact, but that’s my two cents.


----------



## cakebaker

After a 17hr straight through drive we are here! Almost. 

Left home at 4am, got to our off site for the night hotel around 11:30pm. We’re about 10 minutes from WDW. The plan is head to our resort this morning, then off to the MK while we wait for  our cabin to be ready. This is a take it easy day, no plans for waiting in long lines, just try to enjoy that after nearly 2 years, we are finally home.


----------



## DisneyFive

Got boarding group 49 this morning at 7 AM. Walked into Hollywood studios at 8:01AM.  This is the line after walking straight to Tower of terror.  Not too shabby.

  The line to rock’n roller coaster is to the left. It is probably twice as long.  We plan to ride that after tower of terror. We will see how that works out.  Update.  They opened both rides at 8:30 AM on the dot.  Walked on TOT and now in the line for rockin roller coaster at 8:44 AM.    Off the ride at 9:12 AM

Got in line for Smugglers run at 9:25 AM. Posted 60 minutes, now 90, now 115.  We have been in line for 40 minutes now and made it to the main standby entrance. The CM said it is roughly 30 minutes from this point.  Line definitely keeps moving.  We ended up waiting 90 minutes. I asked the single rider line how long they waited and it was only 20 minutes.  LOVED Smugglers Run.  My daughters were the pilots and I swear they were trying to kill us all.

We have Hollywood Brown Derby reserved for lunch. We all plan to try the Cobb salad. Update:  We all ordered the Cobb salad and all enjoyed it. (Although my son could probably take it or leave it).  The restaurant looked  about 2/3 full.  Very nice guest service.


Took the boat back to our resort for an afternoon nap around 1pm.  Back up and about at 3 PM now, and Rise is back up and running and our boarding group 49 looks to be ready in about 35 minutes. Will probably take the boat again. Standing in lines does take a toll on your feet. I am fit and I’m still a little leery how this will play out over the next 10 days. Heading back to HS in a few minutes! Beautiful sunny and hot here.

Update: Got in line for rise at 4:05 PM, and got on the attraction in 20 minutes. All I can say is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G !!  Major props to all those involved with creating such an imaginative and awesome attraction!

5:05pm Toy story mania, Posted wait time of 45 minutes. Waited in line 30 minutes.

6pm Window, Mobile ordered Ronto Wraps and Batuuan Beef, and an Outpost Puff.  All excellent.  Order was ready under 5 minutes once I said that we “are here”.  The heavens opened while we were eating so we stuck around and ordered a dessert rather than walking around and getting wet.



We have Oga’s reserved near park close (7:50) tonight.  Will report back.  Update:  you can check in for reservations 20 minutes early. That is what we did for Oga’s. Honestly, not really sure what all the hype is about. The drinks were unique and cool and the interior was interesting but wasn’t really feeling impressed with it especially for how difficult it is to get a reservation.  Our drinks were a Carbon Freeze, a hyperdrive and a Jabba  Juice.  The carbon freeze was cool because it had the contents jumping all around inside the glass.  (Drinks on the ends of the photo)


Update:  Did not spend very long at Oga’s, and booked it over to Tower of terror. Got in one minute before closing. We were literally the last 5 people on the ride.   Posted wait time was 30 minutes and we were on the ride in 10

Overall a productive day, despite the long lines, especially Smugglers run.

-Dan

Extra bonus:  Could not be happier with the room we were able to get at the boardwalk villas. This was the view from our balcony this morning just after getting our boarding group at 7 AM


Extra extra bonus: I guess we are sadistic because we decided to park hop over to Epcot still so we could do Soarin. Posted wait time at 9:25pm is 30 minutes, we were on in 5.

Grabbed an Impossible Slider on the way out because my son was hungry.

Dan


----------



## kristenabelle

lovethattink said:


> Last July, we ate every single meal in our room and drove instead of Disney transportation. It certainly wasn’t convenient. But it can be done.



Yup - getting mobile to-go orders from TS restaurants (Kona, Ale & Compass, etc.) and taking it back to my room worked for me last September - I did a multi-split stay, so that also let me try a few different spots.


----------



## mickeymom629

LSUmiss said:


> Trip was 7/7-7/14. Had an awesome time. It was so great not to wear masks. BUT it was packed & no way to social distance. Didn’t bother us b/c we are fully vaccinated. But, came home on 7/14 & 7/19 DH developed Covid symptoms & tested positive. Then I started with symptoms right after & am positive too. I was one who couldn’t wait to get back to normal & thought we were safe. Depressing b/c we were going back in Sept or Oct, but I really don’t know now. DH & I have relatively mild symptoms compared to hospitalized ppl, but this still sucks.  Could have gotten it anywhere, of course, but we drove & made very few stops & was actually able to social distance in those locations. Hope this doesn’t get deleted b/c it contains Covid info b/c this was part our experience.



So sorry for your diagnosis and wishing you a speedy recovery!  I know you aren't positive as to where you might have contracted the illness but I'm wondering if this is something Disney should be aware of.


----------



## disny_luvr

DisneyFive said:


> Got boarding group 49 this morning at 7 AM. Walked into Hollywood studios at 8:01AM.  This is the line after walking straight to Tower of terror.  Not too shabby.   The line to rock’n roller coaster is to the left. It is probably twice as long.  We plan to ride that after tower of terror. We will see how that works out
> View attachment 592327
> We have Hollywood Brown Derby reserved for lunch. We all plan to try the Cobb salad. We have Oga’s reserved near park close tonight.  Will report back
> 
> Dan



This is our plan for next Monday morning. ToT first and then RnRC! Have fun!


----------



## shh

Lupin said:


> It's a very seedy element to the park and it brings out a lot of negative emotions in people - I really wish they would just get rid of it.


cannot agree more. Hate these areas in both WDW and UO. Totally out of character with the rest of the park and very tacky/seedy


----------



## CADreams

DisneyFive said:


> Got boarding group 49 this morning at 7 AM. Walked into Hollywood studios at 8:01AM.  This is the line after walking straight to Tower of terror.  Not too shabby.   The line to rock’n roller coaster is to the left. It is probably twice as long.  We plan to ride that after tower of terror. We will see how that works out.  Edit. They opened both rides at 8:30 AM on the dot.  Walked on TOT and now in the line for rockin roller coaster at 8:44 AM.    Off the ride at 9:12 AM
> View attachment 592327
> We have Hollywood Brown Derby reserved for lunch. We all plan to try the Cobb salad. We have Oga’s reserved near park close tonight.  Will report back
> 
> Dan



How did you get to HS today? We arrive at AoA on Wednesday and my biggest conundrum is whether to bus or skyliner to DHS>


----------



## iujen94

I’ve read back through a good number of pages but didn’t find this answer, even though I’m sure it’s been discussed. When jt comes to rope dropping AK, do Disney buses still have an advantage over driving/Ubering to the parks?  (Meaning - are they generally still holding cars and Ubers at the parking booth until after the busses start arriving?)


----------



## cakebaker

A new experience - entering the MK area by car in the morning. Massive lines just getting in. This, if for no other reason would be why we stay on site. But we’re in no hurry, just wouldn’t want to do this every day.


----------



## Looper

cakebaker said:


> A new experience - entering the MK area by car in the morning. Massive lines just getting in. This, if for no other reason would be why we stay on site. But we’re in no hurry, just wouldn’t want to do this every day.


Is that now? Or a bit earlier? We’re staying on property but I think driving to MK to avoid being on a crowded bus. I‘m wondering how early we should try to get to the parking lot entrance.….


----------



## interstate70s

Looper said:


> Is that now? Or a bit earlier? We’re staying on property but I think driving to MK to avoid being on a crowded bus. I‘m wondering how early we should try to get to the parking lot entrance.….


 The day we drove to MK from the Yacht Club last week, we left the Yacht club parking lot around 7:30 and were about 3-5 cars back at the parking toll booth. They opened the lot at 7:50. We were in front of the castle at 8:20. My teens made in on Mine Train with no wait, I didn't attempt it with my 3 year old and stroller as there was already pretty significant crowds on that side. It was better than the day we took the bus from the Yacht Club and didn't get through the turnstiles until 8:40.


----------



## DisneyFive

CADreams said:


> How did you get to HS today? We arrive at AoA on Wednesday and my biggest conundrum is whether to bus or skyliner to DHS>


We are fortunate that we could walk. We are staying at the Boardwalk.  I would recommend bus but others may have more input.  Both buses and the Skyliner were arriving just before 8am as we were walking past. I’m just not sure about that transfer at Caribbean beach and if that would slow you down or not

Dan


----------



## Leigh L

Looper said:


> Is that now? Or a bit earlier? We’re staying on property but I think driving to MK to avoid being on a crowded bus. I‘m wondering how early we should try to get to the parking lot entrance.….


In both February and last week of June (2x  at MK per trip) we arrived at toll booth 90 minutes prior to official park open and got in quickly. Tollbooths let cars in one hour before park open.

Once in June DD and I took a bus, but DH wasn't far behind into mk by driving. They went tomorrowland,  we did frontier. Knocked out several rides.

On the June trip, the first mk day we got to the ferry and it left quickly - barely anyone on it. I wonder if they might be waiting to fill them more now though?

Edited to add. We typically were about 5 to 8 cars back each time we drove and arrived that early. Every time booths opened 1 hr before opening on the dot, looks like that may have changed since june (which was back to traditional rope drop on the 2nd day)


----------



## Marvin1968

DisneyFive said:


> Got boarding group 49 this morning at 7 AM. Walked into Hollywood studios at 8:01AM.  This is the line after walking straight to Tower of terror.  Not too shabby.   The line to rock’n roller coaster is to the left. It is probably twice as long.  We plan to ride that after tower of terror. We will see how that works out.  Edit. They opened both rides at 8:30 AM on the dot.  Walked on TOT and now in the line for rockin roller coaster at 8:44 AM.    Off the ride at 9:12 AM
> 
> Got in line for Smugglers run at 9:25 AM. Posted 60 minutes, now 90, now 115.  We have been in line for 40 minutes now and made it to the main standby entrance. The CM said it is roughly 30 minutes from this point.  Line definitely keeps moving
> View attachment 592327
> We have Hollywood Brown Derby reserved for lunch. We all plan to try the Cobb salad. We have Oga’s reserved near park close tonight.  Will report back
> 
> Dan
> Thanks for the info.  We leave in 2 weeks. We Also have Brown Derby res.  Please let me know how it goes when you leave Ogas. I have a 9:20 Ogas and wanted to take some nighttime falcon shots with our lightsabers. Hopefully the CM’s don’t  rush you.


----------



## DisneyFive

We have a 7:50 PM reservation for 8 PM park closing.  Will let you know.  I will try to remember to come back and edit this post


----------



## bastraker

We're leaving Thursday for a split universal/disney trip.  Is the Epcot monorail open?


----------



## harleyquinn

aliceg said:


> Lines were long, but they were constantly moving, so it didn't feel bad, especially in MK.  Our limit is waiting 45 minutes, so we didn't get to do everything.  They built up fast, and then stayed up.  *Barnstormer was 50 minutes, which is about 49 minutes and 30 seconds longer than the actual ride.  I can't see the point of waiting for that. *


I'm dying at the bolded part! So true!

How was BB?


----------



## LSUmiss

mickeymom629 said:


> So sorry for your diagnosis and wishing you a speedy recovery!  I know you aren't positive as to where you might have contracted the illness but I'm wondering if this is something Disney should be aware of.


I actually thought about emailing guest services just to let them know.


----------



## monstermash23

bastraker said:


> We're leaving Thursday for a split universal/disney trip.  Is the Epcot monorail open?



Yes it is. We rode it twice already from Epcot to Grabd Floridian for lunch.


----------



## scrappinginontario

bastraker said:


> We're leaving Thursday for a split universal/disney trip.  Is the Epcot monorail open?


I'm curious about this too.  It re-opened a week ago but then was closed on the Tuesday and the MDE app still shows it as closed.  Can anyone report if the Epcot monorail is currently running?


----------



## wisconsinmom

scrappinginontario said:


> I'm curious about this too.  It re-opened a week ago but then was closed on the Tuesday and the MDE app still shows it as closed.  Can anyone report if the Epcot monorail is currently running?



Yes, I rode it yesterday.

ROTR has been down since 10:00.   Still stuck on boarding group 22.   We have 23.   Hoping it comes back up before we have to go to the airport at 5:30.


----------



## monstermash23

scrappinginontario said:


> I'm curious about this too.  It re-opened a week ago but then was closed on the Tuesday and the MDE app still shows it as closed.  Can anyone report if the Epcot monorail is currently running?



It is open. Wdwnt reported it was closed one day which wasn’t true. I was standing under it watching people load as their “breaking news” posted on their insta story that it was suddenly closed for some reason.

It is open.


----------



## KrazeeK120

mickeymom629 said:


> So sorry for your diagnosis and wishing you a speedy recovery!  I know you aren't positive as to where you might have contracted the illness but I'm wondering if this is something Disney should be aware of.



I hope this doesn’t sound snarky and I do not mean it as such, but it’s a theme park full of thousands of people not socially distancing and not wearing masks in the middle of a pandemic. Statistically speaking, of course there is going to be some level of Covid spread at Disney. I’m not sure the executives really care at this point.


----------



## Meglen

KrazeeK120 said:


> I hope this doesn’t sound snarky and I do not mean it as such, but it’s a theme park full of thousands of people not socially distancing and not wearing masks in the middle of a pandemic. Statistically speaking, of course there is going to be some level of Covid spread at Disney. I’m not sure the executives really care at this point.


I think they care... but not enough to do anything nor do I think at this point it is even possible for them to add it back. Park reservations are already out and pretty full. They would need to tell folks they couldnt come to bring it back to lower crowd lvls. Imo they opened up way to fast trying to get things ready for the 50th.


----------



## Gary Stocker

KrazeeK120 said:


> I hope this doesn’t sound snarky and I do not mean it as such, but it’s a theme park full of thousands of people not socially distancing and not wearing masks in the middle of a pandemic. Statistically speaking, of course there is going to be some level of Covid spread at Disney. I’m not sure the executives really care at this point.


If there are more than a few documented cases of Covid for anyone who was at Disney this would start as poor PR and could result in people cancelling their trips. If I could cancel mine in 11 days (rented DVC points from a family member at the "bank" deadline) I would. My wife and I are both vaccinated however my 5 and 9 year old can not be as of yet and this variant is reportedly negatively impacting children more than the initial strain. I guess DIsney is waiting on the CDC but if the news starts to report "Covid at Disney" those executives will need to get their heads out of the sand. My $.02. Sorry I diverged from the thread topic.

edit...I think the mask policy for indoors will be changed soon; whether Disney waits for CDC guidance or not. I feel really bad for Cast Members, who reportedly are already under a good deal of stress, who would need to enforce this once again.


----------



## monstermash23

Gary Stocker said:


> If there are more than a few documented cases of Covid for anyone who was at Disney this would start as poor PR and could result in people cancelling their trips. If I could cancel mine in 11 days (rented DVC points from a family member at the "bank" deadline) I would. My wife and I are both vaccinated however my 5 and 9 year old can not be as of yet and this variant is reportedly negatively impacting children more than the initial strain. I guess DIsney is waiting on the CDC but if the news starts to report "Covid at Disney" those executives will need to get their heads out of the sand. My $.02. Sorry I diverged from the thread topic.



Documented cases will mean nothing. I’m here now. Maybe 10% of the people wear masks here. And anyone that cares about social distancing, shouldn’t even be here imo. But that 10% of people that wears masks, those are the people that care about avoiding Covid for whatever their reasons are. The other 90%, including myself, fall under the category of not caring (either due to vaccination, already having covid, whatever those reasons are). To think that Disney will change course because of the 10% of their guests that do care, I think is completely missing Disney’s priority here. If people cancel their vacation due to Covid, Disney will mort likely never know why and can replace you with someone who doesn’t care (which again constitutes probably 90% of the guests here). So, imo, the only feedback loop Disney has is those who wear masks here vs those who don’t wear masks here. By that alone, they are probably not going to reverse course at all.

Also, a new federal ruling for Disney Cruise Lines states that the CDC can only set guideliens but not enforce restrictions regarding their cruises setting sail from Florida. Why would Disney even be involved in a lawsuit like that if they want to somehow consider reversing course regarding Covid restrictions?

Being here now, I think it is obvious that there is no going back. They can’t trace an outbreak to Disney World. Disney world is massive. There are so many points of contact that it could be an Uver driver in Disney that spread it to a guest. Or maybe the airport. Or maybe someone visited a family member in Orlando. Again, Disney World is just too massive and too porous for that kind of meticulous tracing. People just aren’t here long enough to certify that any spread can actually be traced to here for all the reasons I stated and probably more (also considering the long incubation period with this virus).

Sorry for anyone that cares about Covid (whatever your reasons are, I’m not judging so please don’t mistake my tone here) but if you do care and a mask isn’t the only form of protection you want or a vaccine isn’t enough for anyone, then you really should stay home.


----------



## aliceg

harleyquinn said:


> I'm dying at the bolded part! So true!
> 
> How was BB?



It was great!  We didn’t do Summit Plummit or the other big ones. But roaring rapids and the toboggans and other stuff was only 15 mins or less.  Lazy river was not super packed. Honestly, it felt way less crowded than the parks.


----------



## DPgrlz

monstermash23 said:


> Documented cases will mean nothing. I’m here now. Maybe 10% of the people wear masks here. And anyone that cares about social distancing, shouldn’t even be here imo. But that 10% of people that wears masks, those are the people that care about avoiding Covid for whatever their reasons are. The other 90%, including myself, fall under the category of not caring (either due to vaccination, already having covid, whatever those reasons are). To think that Disney will change course because of the 10% of their guests that do care, I think is completely missing Disney’s priority here. If people cancel their vacation due to Covid, Disney will mort likely never know why and can replace you with someone who doesn’t care (which again constitutes probably 90% of the guests here). So, imo, the only feedback loop Disney has is those who wear masks here vs those who don’t wear masks here. By that alone, they are probably not going to reverse course at all.
> 
> Also, a new federal ruling for Disney Cruise Lines states that the CDC can only set guideliens but not enforce restrictions regarding their cruises setting sail from Florida. Why would Disney even be involved in a lawsuit like that if they want to somehow consider reversing course regarding Covid restrictions?
> 
> Being here now, I think it is obvious that there is no going back. They can’t trace an outbreak to Disney World. Disney world is massive. There are so many points of contact that it could be an Uver driver in Disney that spread it to a guest. Or maybe the airport. Or maybe someone visited a family member in Orlando. Again, Disney World is just too massive for that kind of meticulous tracing. People just aren’t here long enough to certify that any spread can actually be traced to here for all the reasons I stated and probably more (also considering the long incubation period with this virus).
> 
> Sorry for anyone that cares about Covid (whatever your reasons are, I’m not judging so please don’t mistake my tone here) but if you do care and a mask isn’t the only form of protection you want or a vaccine isn’t enough for anyone, then you really should stay home.



I agree that they can't trace it back.   I went to Disney during Spring Break this year.   My kid had required "re-entry to school" testing the day after we got back.  Positive.  She was asymptomatic.   Then the whole family had it.  Did we get it at Disney?  Either at Disney or at the airport/airplane.  Truth is that we will never know which and there is no way to prove it one way or the other.  Super slight chance that she got it before we left and no-one showed symptoms until we got back?  Again, there is no way to know.


----------



## Belle1962

You would do better to notify the FL Department of Health


LSUmiss said:


> I actually thought about emailing guest services just to let them know.


----------



## harleyquinn

aliceg said:


> It was great!  We didn’t do Summit Plummit or the other big ones. But roaring rapids and the toboggans and other stuff was only 15 mins or less.  Lazy river was not super packed. Honestly, it felt way less crowded than the parks.


Yay!  Man I hope this keeps up! We're excited to try BB for the first time!


----------



## mom2rtk

LSUmiss said:


> I actually thought about emailing guest services just to let them know.


I'm so sorry that's how your trip ended! I know you said you were vaccinated. How have your symptoms been?


----------



## LSUmiss

mom2rtk said:


> I'm so sorry that's how your trip ended! I know you said you were vaccinated. How have your symptoms been?


Mild in that we aren’t hospitalized or dead but very unpleasant. DH has been sick over a week. Mine had hasn’t been as long. But fever, congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath….


----------



## mom2rtk

LSUmiss said:


> Mild in that we aren’t hospitalized or dead but very unpleasant. DH has been sick over a week. Mine had hasn’t been as long. But fever, congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath….


I'm so sorry. I sure hope you're all feeling better soon.


----------



## LSUmiss

mom2rtk said:


> I'm so sorry. I sure hope you're all feeling better soon.


Thank you!


----------



## rlk

Just back to our room from HS this morning.  We didn't get a ROTR boarding group this morning, but we did do it a few days ago.  ROTR was down when we left the park at 12:30.  Lines are even more out of control this week compared to last week. Star Tours had a posted wait of 90 minutes!  The two other times we were at HS, Star tours was never more than 25 minutes.


----------



## Meglen

rlk said:


> Just back to our room from HS this morning.  We didn't get a ROTR boarding group this morning, but we did do it a few days ago.  ROTR was down when we left the park at 12:30.  Lines are even more out of control this week compared to last week. Star Tours had a posted wait of 90 minutes!  The two other times we were at HS, Star tours was never more than 25 minutes.


Yikes.. I know many folks wanna say these are normal summer lines but its really not. I have gone a few times in the last 5-6 years durring june/july and it was never 50-120 min for non headliners..


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Meglen said:


> Yikes.. I know many folks wanna say these are normal summer lines but its really not. I have gone a few times in the last 5-6 years durring june/july and it was never 50-120 min for non headliners..



Looking at the park res calendar the days go from yellow to green starting from Friday - I wonder what it is about this week that’s attracting so many visitors? We’re not going until mid-Sept so I can only assume it will be slightly less crowded (but prepared if not).


----------



## Naomeri

butterscotchcollins said:


> Looking at the park res calendar the days go from yellow to green starting from Friday - I wonder what it is about this week that’s attracting so many visitors? We’re not going until mid-Sept so I can only assume it will be slightly less crowded (but prepared if not).


Some schools start in early August, so this may be families/teachers getting in that last vacation before then


----------



## rlk

Meglen said:


> Yikes.. I know many folks wanna say these are normal summer lines but its really not. I have gone a few times in the last 5-6 years durring june/july and it was never 50-120 min for non headliners..



I had to go to Guest Relations at HS today to fix a mobile order mixup (Disney's fault).  They charged my credit card at 10:30 am and said I was a No Show for our 11:50 am mobile order.  Anyway, the Guest Service CM said she was off last week and was "vacationing" as a Disney guest.  She agreed that the lines are out of control and without FP or any other entertainment, it is not a pleasant experience.


----------



## sjrec

We took the first bus to AK from the Grand Floridian yesterday-we were the only family on the bus. I believe it came at 6:40 and we probably waited a few minutes before it left. Arrived about 7:00.We were the first group at a tapstile, but crowds built fairly quickly. I can’t remember what time they walked people to FOP but we were done by 8:10. Walk on to Navi, then 20 minute waits for KS, Kali and Dinosaur. We also walked Gorilla Falls. Then lunch and our kids rode Everest after about 30 minutes.
Have another day planned for shows and a repeat of everything except FOP. We really had a great day, but it is so hot! We bring water-even a 20 minute line in 90+ heat is brutal!
Went to MK rope drop today and off Mine Train by 9:15. We found line times inflated-Pirates at 50, but 25, HM 40 but 20, etc. 
We miss FP, but we’re here 10 days and can pace ourselves.
Oh, and no issues with mobile ordering-we order in a ride line and hit we’re here as we get off. It’s been ready when we arrive. I wouldn’t get there and order, though.
We’re here til next Monday, so happy to answer any questions.


----------



## CustodialQueen

We returned from a trip July 20-24 at AoA. Like others' experiences here, ours was a mixed bag. Part of this experience was skewed by the fact that we had just come from Universal July 18-19, staying at HRH and utilizing Express Pass. We went into it knowing that our Universal trip would most likely be much better than our Disney trip (and it was), however, it is hard to maintain that view once you arrive and the excitement of WDW is upon you.

Some issues for us (YMMV):
1) The lines for attractions bothered us on a psychological level - I know it's July, and it's hot and crowded. But lack of FP+ created long looking standby lines that we struggled with mentally. As much as we would tell ourselves that the standby line alone moves faster than if it had FP+ and that wait times were often lower than posted, we also struggled with the general look of chaos (lines in the streets, paths, etc, with crowds everywhere, people holding the line and allowing family members to walk right up etc). This, along with lack of shade and waiting on the hot pavement, made us go "ehhhh" and pass on several big ticket attractions. In another thread I mentioned we ended up settling for things such as Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy just because we couldn't wrap our heads around the physically long looking lines in the sun at 10am. We rope dropped and would get on 2-3 attractions, however it also seemed like these physically long lines began almost immediately after park opening for us.

2) Rides kept shutting down - This may have just been a case of bad luck, but we found about 75% of the attractions we rode (or attempted to ride) had some sort of malfunction or went down while we were in the queue or on the attraction itself. We saw one scene of Carousel of Progress 1.5 times because it couldn't make it to the next scene! Additionally, when loading wheelchair transfers, I would expect a slight occasional lag, especially in omnimover attractions, but we found that rides just seemed to lag for several minutes longer than usual. Perhaps this is due to lack of staffing?

3) QS and TS issues and mobile ordering - We chose to eat QS meals at off-times so we did not have a huge issue with crowds there. However, I struggled with mobile ordering a few times. One day it was down from around 11am-1pm. Another time I couldn't check in to my reservation. I felt as though I was doing more work placing orders for my family, while having to stand outside in the heat again. I know some people like the ease of mobile ordering, but I'd rather go stand inside an air conditioned QS queue and have a CM take my order for my family. Many places had CMs only allowing guests to enter once they verified that the order was actually ready to pick up. It just cheapens the experience that you have to stand outside in the heat for even longer. There is a lack of staffing, yet at the same time there isn't. At off-times, I placed my order, had them prep it, and it would then notify me that it was ready immediately. So I would go into pick it up and would see several CMs standing around visiting, ignoring me, while my order was obviously sitting on the counter behind them ready to go. Someone walked off with our drinks at MK Starbucks and it took the CMs 10 min to figure it out. We had two servers at Biergarten (maybe one was training the other?) But there seemed to be an excess of CMs there. It was also a bit jarring to not see any international CPs/CMs at World Showcase. TS restaurant experiences were fine for the most part. Our best experience was Garden Grill!  However, Trail's End was so far behind on seating people. We arrived too early so I asked if I could check in early (arrived at 8:55am for a 9:20am res). The CM told me to return to the desk in 6 minutes to check in. I have never been told that before...? I decided to use the mobile app in 6 min instead. Took us 45 min to get seated and other parties were walking up and wondering if they were even still on the list. It was clear that servers were not properly trained at Trails End in particular. The CM who seated us straight up stated that he normally doesn't work there. Our server struggled to understand what vegetarian meant for one member of our party, and even though we said they eat eggs and dairy and just want meats on the side and not mixed in, she kept insisting that they have the entire plant-based menu and brought that out to us. We didn't want fake pastries and fake eggs. It got resolved, but was annoying. 

We also had non-Disney buses and non-CMs picking us up for the parks from AoA. A CM buddy of mine told me that the bus drivers are severely understaffed, which is why park hours have not opened up more.

Overall, we still enjoyed ourselves, but it was clear that Disney had increased capacity too quickly and was unprepared. CM experiences were generally positive and some were fun and magical, but it felt like I paid more to do a lot less and do more work (check myself in, take my own food orders, housekeeping, etc). CMs seemed out of place and untrained especially at QS. Families seemed more entitled and unaware than ever before (pandemic cabin fever I suppose). It kind of changed my opinion on Disney and I felt bad for the CMs and also for the families who were possibly there for the first time and don't know that this isn't normal.


----------



## java

Here now taking a break at our off site house with great WiFi! Just some first thoughts 

boarding passes- using the tips from here got us boarding group 4.  Cool! Also get to HS early. They let us in at 8:30 walked us back to smugglers run. Was on and off before 9 AM opening.
Rode TSM then our boarding group was called. AMAZING!

mobile ordered at docking bay and ronto roasters. Easy peasy and pickup worked without a hitch. Kept having a great day- rode Mickey and Minnies runaway railway. Huge hit for even the teens. Did ToT and RNR. Saw muppets rode regular old star tours. 
great day had by all. We left from exhaustion around 5

today was MK day- got there early and waited. Let us in around 8:15 but then held everyone at the end of Main Street. Held us there until 9am. Ugh. Hugh bummer in the blazing sun but luckily met some nice people while we waited. Did Space, Buzz, haunted mansion, BTMR. Grabbed our Casey mobile order. Ate rode pirates, Pan, carousel of progress for a nap- people mover then here for break.

most wait times were way shorter than posted like half. 

Really start walking now. Get your body ready. If you drive- that hike from your car to the boat/monorail is killer. Why no trams? There was zero social distancing. Thankfully we got there early so our walk wasn’t so bad- but those in the back lots. Ugh.

heading out to disney springs. Even with the minor complaints still having a great time! So far only very nice CM’s

local restaurants are really short staffed. Waits are crazy long. So be prepared.


----------



## cakebaker

On an afternoon break now. First impressions of the MK- We cried seeing the castle again, it is stunning. It’s crowded, but only at rides. Walkways are not as crowded as we’ve seen on busy summer days. We unexpectedly had to have a wheelchair. We didn’t know, but for the HM, BTMR and Jungle cruise you get a return time just like DAS. We only rode  HM using it and managed to skip a very long, wrapped line - posted as an hour and looked to be every minute that long. Rode  POTC with a posted wait of 60 minutes, timed it, took 17.

We had not expected to ride anything, just walk around, but with the return time there was no reason not to. Restrooms we used were all clean, each one having 3 CM’s cleaning as fast as they could- a little trash here and there, not as sparkling as usual, nothing horribly offensive.

More mask wearing than I expected- nice surprise, Bus driver handed them out to those not complying. Mobile ordered dole whips- easy and not much waiting. I forgot how fast they melt in the heat, but teared up with the first taste. It is an emotional day for sure. 

All in all, pleasantly surprised at conditions. CM’s were smiling and pleasant. This could just be the initial dose of pixie dust and the pure joy of just being here finally, but so far we are not having the horrid time I was fearing. We’ll be back at the MK tonight to scope out fireworks conditions. For now it’s groceries, pool and a well earned nap!


----------



## SweetJulia23

LSUmiss said:


> Mild in that we aren’t hospitalized or dead but very unpleasant. DH has been sick over a week. Mine had hasn’t been as long. But fever, congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath….


I’m sorry that happened to you! That sounds horrible. I hope you feel better soon. Thanks for letting us know about your experience. I think it will help a lot of people who were on the fence about wearing masks.


----------



## LSUmiss

SweetJulia23 said:


> I’m sorry that happened to you! That sounds horrible. I hope you feel better soon. Thanks for letting us know about your experience. I think it will help a lot of people who were on the fence about wearing masks.


Thank you! I admit that I felt safer with the vaccine than I obviously I was & was glad to see masks go & things get back to “normal” .


----------



## NileNellie

ten50 said:


> Just got out about 30 min ago (545)...was shoulder to shoulder all around



This right here is the perfect example of Disney only caring about getting your $$$.


----------



## Lupin

NileNellie said:


> This right here is the perfect example of Disney only caring about getting your $$$.



I honestly don't think they know how to handle that bar. We had a party of 6 (including two kids who couldn't see over the bar) and they gave us a spot at the bar that could barely fit 4 adults.  Five minutes later another host shows up and tries to squeeze two more people next to us.  We told him that we barely had enough room for 4 let alone the 6 that are technically supposed to be there and he went and squeezed them into another part of the bar.


----------



## MaleficentEvilSister

Going at the end of Sept and leaving Oct 1, I'm expecting HUGE crowds due the 50th kick off.


----------



## monstermash23

Lupin said:


> I honestly don't think they know how to handle that bar. We had a party of 6 (including two kids who couldn't see over the bar) and they gave us a spot at the bar that could barely fit 4 adults.  Five minutes later another host shows up and tries to squeeze two more people next to us.  We told him that we barely had enough room for 4 let alone the 6 that are technically supposed to be there and he went and squeezed them into another part of the bar.



We have a party of 6 with an ADR at Oga’s on Friday. I figured with an ADR it might be better but I guess not. This info helped me re-adjust my expectations so thank you for providing this feedback!


----------



## Meglen

monstermash23 said:


> We have a party of 6 with an ADR at Oga’s on Friday. I figured with an ADR it might be better but I guess not. This info helped me re-adjust my expectations so thank you for providing this feedback!


The only way to get in is a ADR or the rare walk up availability


----------



## cakebaker

Interesting afternoon at the pool. We went to a quiet pool for fewer people and there were fewer, just one other family. But they had their cooler of beer floating in the pool, eating sandwiches in the pool and pouring their beer into the pool so the kids could play with the empty cans in the pool. They were yelling and cursing - spouting off political garbage. We called the desk directly and they sent security really quickly. They stopped it, but not sure they won’t go right back to it when security is gone. We’d had enough and headed back to our cabin. People....gah.
Disney definitely needs lifeguards or some CM presence there. They had none.


----------



## monstermash23

Meglen said:


> The only way to get in is a ADR or the rare walk up availability



Ah I see. Yea we haven’t tried to walk up yet. Makes sense, thanks.


----------



## Grasshopper2016

CustodialQueen said:


> Part of this experience was skewed by the fact that we had just come from Universal July 18-19, staying at HRH and utilizing Express Pass. We went into it knowing that our Universal trip would most likely be much better than our Disney trip (and it was)


If anyone from Disney is reading this thread, please pause for a moment and let this sink in.  It doesn't have to be this way!


----------



## jenniferahardin87

sjrec said:


> We took the first bus to AK from the Grand Floridian yesterday-we were the only family on the bus. I believe it came at 6:40 and we probably waited a few minutes before it left. Arrived about 7:00.We were the first group at a tapstile, but crowds built fairly quickly. I can’t remember what time they walked people to FOP but we were done by 8:10. Walk on to Navi, then 20 minute waits for KS, Kali and Dinosaur. We also walked Gorilla Falls. Then lunch and our kids rode Everest after about 30 minutes.
> Have another day planned for shows and a repeat of everything except FOP. We really had a great day, but it is so hot! We bring water-even a 20 minute line in 90+ heat is brutal!
> Went to MK rope drop today and off Mine Train by 9:15. We found line times inflated-Pirates at 50, but 25, HM 40 but 20, etc.
> We miss FP, but we’re here 10 days and can pace ourselves.
> Oh, and no issues with mobile ordering-we order in a ride line and hit we’re here as we get off. It’s been ready when we arrive. I wouldn’t get there and order, though.
> We’re here til next Monday, so happy to answer any questions.


Can you update with your HS experience, once you go please?


----------



## sjrec

jenniferahardin87 said:


> Can you update with your HS experience, once you go please?


Sure! But we’re not going until Thursday.
We’re moving to the BCV tomorrow-we’re trying to minimize riding the bus. So Epcot tomorrow and Wednesday. We will only need it for the AK. (Unless it rains and we can’t walk or use the boats)


----------



## sjrec

cakebaker said:


> Interesting afternoon at the pool. We went to a quiet pool for fewer people and there were fewer, just one other family. But they had their cooler of beer floating in the pool, eating sandwiches in the pool and pouring their beer into the pool so the kids could play with the empty cans in the pool. They were yelling and cursing - spouting off political garbage. We called the desk directly and they sent security really quickly. They stopped it, but not sure they won’t go right back to it when security is gone. We’d had enough and headed back to our cabin. People....gah.
> Disney definitely needs lifeguards or some CM presence there. They had none.


Where was this? The Wilderness Lodge? Yikes!


----------



## cakebaker

sjrec said:


> Where was this? The Wilderness Lodge? Yikes!


No, Fort Wilderness


----------



## Turksmom

cakebaker said:


> No, Fort Wilderness


I don't think I'd appreciate that behavior even if it was a Motel 6!


----------



## cakebaker

Turksmom said:


> I don't think I'd appreciate that behavior even if it was a Motel 6!



Security was really quick to handle it but with no CM presence, this is what’s going to happen. We’ll just stick with the main pool from now on. It’s pouring rain now so evening plans are on hold.

We’d  brave the rain but a lot of rides are closed and wait times are high for those that are open. Hopefully it will clear soon.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

“But, as you see, it's a beautiful day, the Parks are open and people are having a wonderful time. The first key at Disney, as you know, is safety.”


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

We’ve had two really excellent days at HS (Saturday) and EPCOT (today). Fewer rides than normal but we pivoted to those smaller things you always want to do but don’t because you’re running to a headliner. We skipped rope drop at both places and didn’t feel like it was bad. I didn’t feel like either was as crowded as MK was a few days ago. In 5 hours today, we toured each country around WS so my daughter could complete the KidCOT game and saw so much for the first time!

Sunday was a rest day and Disney Springs. Homecoming had the best fried chicken I’ve ever had and we will be back! Great service too. Sanaa and Chef Mickey’s were also amazing with service. World of Disney was a disaster, but it always is. My husband almost lost his cool when we had to walk alllllllll the way around just to wait another 20 minutes just to get in. Our resort gift shop ended up being a way better shopping experience.


----------



## wilkydelts

rlk said:


> I had to go to Guest Relations at HS today to fix a mobile order mixup (Disney's fault).  They charged my credit card at 10:30 am and said I was a No Show for our 11:50 am mobile order.  Anyway, the Guest Service CM said she was off last week and was "vacationing" as a Disney guest.  She agreed that the lines are out of control and without FP or any other entertainment, it is not a pleasant experience.



I don’t believe anyone working at Disney would outwardly complain about their employer to a random visitor.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

wilkydelts said:


> I don’t believe anyone working at Disney would outwardly complain about their employer to a random visitor.


You should hear what the bus drivers say to me after their shift.


----------



## lfcfan

wilkydelts said:


> I don’t believe anyone working at Disney would outwardly complain about their employer to a random visitor.


I had a similar conversation with a guest services person on the phone in preparation for my upcoming trip. I think they have been told to "validate" the guest's concerns about long lines, etc. She essentially said that the lines are very long, though at least they are moving. She also agreed that it might be better to wait for a future date when things return more to normal. She wasn't negatively complaining about her employer, but she certainly was agreeing that my concerns were valid, and that a trip this summer might not be the best experience. So, I expect rlk has represented that conversation accurately, based on my recent conversation.


----------



## cakebaker

Weather cleared and we made it over to watch HEA.

My advice- Go to the garden area in front of Casey’s at least 1 hr in advance, preferably 1.5. Go to the back fence and stake out a spot. It’s a view you used to have to spend money to get. Sit back for half an hour after they end and it’s an easy exit.


----------



## Gehrig1B

cakebaker said:


> Go to the garden area in front of Casey’s at least 1 hr in advance, preferably 1.5


Good advice but not for me.  Not waiting 90 minutes for a fireworks show...  Bring back fireworks dessert parties, please. Although I must say I have sneaked my way into that area many times 15 minutes prior to showtime on some very busy days during the holidays.


----------



## bookgirl2632

cakebaker said:


> Weather cleared and we made it over to watch HEA.
> 
> My advice- Go to the garden area in front of Casey’s at least 1 hr in advance, preferably 1.5. Go to the back fence and stake out a spot. It’s a view you used to have to spend money to get. Sit back for half an hour after they end and it’s an easy exit.


I was wondering if the grassy areas were open since dessert parties aren’t happening.  Thanks for the tip!


----------



## cakebaker

Gehrig1B said:


> Good advice but not for me.  Not waiting 90 minutes for a fireworks show...  Bring back fireworks dessert parties, please. Although I must say I have sneaked my way into that area many times 15 minutes prior to showtime on some very busy days during the holidays.


I agree. I wish they had brought parties back in time for us, but they didn’t. Our whole trip was planned just to see the fireworks one more time. So it was either wait or ruin the trip. The choice was easy. We mobile ordered from Casey’s, ate and relaxed and had fun until the show started. We got there right at an hour before they started and got this view.


----------



## cakebaker

bookgirl2632 said:


> I was wondering if the grassy areas were open since dessert parties aren’t happening.  Thanks for the tip!


Only 1 side is open. The other is reserved for vip groups.


----------



## tinkerhon

WEDWDW said:


> But why make other Guests look at this out of frustration with Disney?
> 
> A call(s) to Housekeeping "should" result in someone picking it up.
> 
> If no response from Housekeeping there are Trash cans at All-Star Movies this trash could have been taken to,either in the building sections themselves or in World Premiere Food Court.
> 
> No matter how poor a job Disney  may be currently doing,to leave trash like this for other Guests to have to see speaks more of laziness by the Guest than frustration with Disney.
> 
> Not cool at all IMHO.



I totally agree, and personally, I would never do this, but it is frustrating--- (and again, I would not do what they did) ...but people in our bldg have been calling the front desk, and getting nowhere- I had to speak with a manager to get TP delivered to our room !!!


----------



## bookgirl2632

cakebaker said:


> Only 1 side is open. The other is reserved for vip groups.


Gotcha!  So the one on the right side is VIP?


----------



## DisneyFive

cakebaker said:


> I agree. I wish they had brought parties back in time for us, but they didn’t. Our whole trip was planned just to see the fireworks one more time. So it was either wait or ruin the trip. The choice was easy. We mobile ordered from Casey’s, ate and relaxed and had fun until the show started. We got there right at an hour before they started and got this view.


We will most likely try for this location tonight. We try to get our fireworks viewing in earlier in our stay so that we are not pressured to see it every night. If the weather is good we like to see the nighttime shows as soon as possible to free up our evenings if we want to do something else.

Dan


----------



## mom2rtk

WEDWDW said:


> But why make other Guests look at this out of frustration with Disney?
> 
> A call(s) to Housekeeping "should" result in someone picking it up.
> 
> If no response from Housekeeping there are Trash cans at All-Star Movies this trash could have been taken to,either in the building sections themselves or in World Premiere Food Court.
> 
> No matter how poor a job Disney  may be currently doing,to leave trash like this for other Guests to have to see speaks more of laziness by the Guest than frustration with Disney.
> 
> Not cool at all IMHO.


It's unreasonable to expect guests to walk across the resort to get rid of their trash. If they aren't doing regular housekeeping, they need to install more trash cans around the various buildings and keep them emptied.


----------



## Meglen

mom2rtk said:


> It's unreasonable to expect guests to walk across the resort to get rid of their trash. If they aren't doing regular housekeeping, they need to install more trash cans around the various buildings and keep them emptied.


Or put regular sized trash cans in the rooms. These tiny little buckets do nothing if there not taken out everyday. Get the nice no smell cans with 13 gallon bags and put in the closet. Imo.


----------



## scrappinginontario

This is the 'Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies' board. 

Please take the discussion re: housekeeping to the Disney Resorts board.  Posts after this will be deleted.


----------



## MDIME

scrappinginontario said:


> This is the 'Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies' board.
> 
> Please take the discussion re: housekeeping to the Disney Resorts board.  Posts after this will be deleted.


----------



## DisneyFive

Magic Kingdom today. I will continue to update this post throughout the day like I did yesterday at Hollywood Studios.

At Boardwalk bus stop at 7:45 for 9am park open.  First bus filled up.  On second bus now and off bus at 8:20.  Through security and  the tap styles at 8:24

Going to line up for Space Mountain first.  Lined up at entrance to Tomorrowland at 8:30 AM. This is what it looks like, not bad at all.  The line next to us for 7DMT is probably five times as long.  Update: opened the land at 9 AM as expected. Into space Mountain building at 9:12 AM

Off space Mountain at 9:30 AM


In line for splash at 9:43 AM.  Posted 55 minute wait.  We went to knock this one out.  On the ride in 40 minutes.


Moving on to big thunder mountain railroad at 10:45 AM,   Posted 35 minutes.  Line is to the end of the bridge. We will see.  Update:  On the ride in 25 minutes.   That line really moves.  All three mountains…. 11:20am Done ✔



thought about jumping into the line for POC, but we need to get to our lunch reservation at whispering Canyon Café.



Heading back to the Boardwalk to sleep off the gluttony they call lunch at Whispering Canyon.  My son had the pulled pork sandwich and fries and my wife, myself and my younger daughter had the normal skillet, and my older daughter had the vegetable-based skillet since she likes to try plant based options sometimes.  All of it was very good.   

1:56pm. Our primary goal for tonight is to watch Happily Ever After. We have not seen that yet. We also want to fit in Pirates, haunted mansion, and any others we can before the firework show.

4:30pm now and we are up and moving.  Still full from lunch.  will Mobile order something in MK for dinner later.  Made it to Magic Kingdom around 5 PM. Lots of people leaving the park because it’s been raining all afternoon and lightning. Literally every single outdoor attraction at Magic Kingdom is down so the lines for everything else are incredibly long.

5:30pm Right now we are in line for Pirates posted 95 minutes but we will see.  We are keeping our eyes open for outdoor attractions to open and we may rush over there to hit more headliners and jump out of line at Pirates.   Skies are clearing.   Sea of humanity crisscrossing in the queue inside the Pirates of the Caribbean building.  No choice really though, very few rides open right now.  Update:  We were on the ride in 34 minutes.


6:45 PM now. Mobile ordered a couple of Dole Whips which were ready immediately. Very tasty and refreshing. Now we are in line for haunted mansion. Posted 70 minutes.  Still light sprinkles.  Line for the Liberty Bell? Nope. This is for haunted mansion.  Update: we were in the stretching room in 48 minutes.


8:05 PM, in the assembly room for Mickey’s Philharmagic. After that we staked out a spot for HEA, and got a fantastic spot.  Mobile ordered some fries from Casey’s for while we wait, but man, that was crazy town trying to find my family in the dark in that mass of people.  Was successful though.  HEA, what a show! I would probably rank it above Wishes.  I know, I know.

Now we headed over to Space at 9:40pm for one final ride of the day.  Posted 70 minutes.  By the length of the line, it will probably take us roughly the same amount of time as it did this morning at rope drop. Update:  35 minute wait.

Finishing off with a little ice cream from the Plaza ice cream parlor then heading back to the resort to crash.  Full day.  Epcot tomorrow.  FINALLY get to sleep in.


Dan

Bonus.  Beautiful evening last night.


----------



## cakebaker

Animal Kingdom this morning. We are not rope dropping any parks due to the crowds at rope drop. Arrived right after opening, rode Safari with a 15 minute standby and my group is line now to ride Everest, posted 25 minute wait.

FOP was at 2 hrs when we walked in, I expect it will be that high or higher all day. It’s not a favorite of any of ours so skipping it is no big deal. It is crowded, feeling it more here than MK and it’s relatively early.


----------



## cakebaker

Kids got in line at Everest with 25 min wait. It has popped to 45 while they’re still on the ride. Just too see, I walked the length of the queue in the walkway and it took over 1 minute at a fast pace. This is why the park feels crowded. Glad they jumped in line when they did.


----------



## Dakota731

Meglen said:


> I think they care... but not enough to do anything nor do I think at this point it is even possible for them to add it back. Park reservations are already out and pretty full. They would need to tell folks they couldnt come to bring it back to lower crowd lvls. Imo they opened up way to fast trying to get things ready for the 50th.


What could they do?  Even if they required proof of vaccine, two of my neighbors both got covid and they were fully vaccinated. If you are going to a theme park with thousands of people you are taking a chance. We all weigh the risks vs the benefits in life, and corporations aren’t going to be able to guarantee you remain healthy.


----------



## Dakota731

Belle1962 said:


> You would do better to notify the FL Department of Health


Not sure they’d care either. Our state stopped contact tracing a long time ago


----------



## NileNellie

Lupin said:


> I honestly don't think they know how to handle that bar. We had a party of 6 (including two kids who couldn't see over the bar) and they gave us a spot at the bar that could barely fit 4 adults.  Five minutes later another host shows up and tries to squeeze two more people next to us.  We told him that we barely had enough room for 4 let alone the 6 that are technically supposed to be there and he went and squeezed them into another part of the bar.



As much as I would love to experience the cantina, I feel like it would be a total letdown if I got in there and had this kind of experience. It's frustrating and disappointing. Disney can do better and they should.


----------



## cakebaker

Thoughts on mobile ordering. We were always fans of it, still are. Just finished lunch at satuli and it was easy and quick. Same thing happened with the MK. We’re placing orders with no issues.

AK is really crowded, but they have CMs cleaning up everywhere you look. Park looks good to me. I’m really beginning to wonder about all the reports of trash everywhere. We just haven’t seen it.

Afternoon break soon, Epcot tonight.


----------



## PanchoX1

DisneyFive said:


> That line really moves.  All three mountains…. Done ✔
> 
> 
> 
> thought about jumping into the line for POC, but we need to get to our lunch reservation at whispering Canyon Café.



Glad to see you're having a good time. we found that almost all the lines moved way fast and consistent without fast pass. even with larger crowds on our most recent trip.  And we Loved Whispering Canyon! I think that was our most enjoyed meal overall. and we had some good ones!


----------



## RoseRed0711

tinkerhon said:


> Yes! Its the way its weighted - very bottom heavy ! Thank goodness we were leaving the park soon ! I was trying not to impale anyone ! Just had it shipped from hotel - $17.95 and worth every cent !  Thanks to everyone that replied !!


So DD and her SO are going to Savi's in late September.  He is a big Star Wars fan.  How big is the saber?  Does it "fold"?  We always send a box of things to the resort that we don't want in the luggage, and have a return "tag" all set up to ship things home.  But would really like an idea of what size box they need to send, so the sabers (2 of them) will fit on the way home.  THANKS, hope you all had a great time!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

RoseRed0711 said:


> So DD and her SO are going to Savi's in late September.  He is a big Star Wars fan.  How big is the saber?  Does it "fold"?  We always send a box of things to the resort that we don't want in the luggage, and have a return "tag" all set up to ship things home.  But would really like an idea of what size box they need to send, so the sabers (2 of them) will fit on the way home.  THANKS, hope you all had a great time!


I believe the blade is about 36 inches, plus the hilt is about 8-10".  They do not fold, but you can detach the hilt.


----------



## brockash

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom today. I will continue to update this post throughout the day like I did yesterday at Hollywood Studios.
> 
> At Boardwalk bus stop at 7:45 for 9am park open.  First bus filled up.  On second bus now and off bus at 8:20.  Through security and  the tap styles at 8:24
> 
> Going to line up for Space Mountain first.  Lined up at entrance to Tomorrowland at 8:30 AM. This is what it looks like, not bad at all.  The line next to us for 7DMT is probably five times as long.  Update: opened the land at 9 AM as expected. Into space Mountain building at 9:12 AM
> View attachment 592636
> Off space Mountain at 9:30 AM
> View attachment 592641
> 
> In line for splash at 9:43 AM.  Posted 55 minute wait.  We went to knock this one out.  On the ride in 40 minutes.
> View attachment 592655View attachment 592656
> 
> Moving on to big thunder mountain railroad at 10:45 AM,   Posted 35 minutes.  Line is to the end of the bridge. We will see.  Update:  On the ride in 25 minutes.   That line really moves.  All three mountains…. Done ✔
> View attachment 592668
> View attachment 592669
> 
> thought about jumping into the line for POC, but we need to get to our lunch reservation at whispering Canyon Café.
> View attachment 592684
> View attachment 592712
> 
> Heading back to the Boardwalk to sleep off our gluttony they call lunch at Whispering Canyon.
> 
> Dan
> 
> Bonus.  Beautiful evening last night.
> View attachment 592682


Thanks so much for the detailed reports and pics!


----------



## brockash

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom today. I will continue to update this post throughout the day like I did yesterday at Hollywood Studios.
> 
> At Boardwalk bus stop at 7:45 for 9am park open.  First bus filled up.  On second bus now and off bus at 8:20.  Through security and  the tap styles at 8:24
> 
> Going to line up for Space Mountain first.  Lined up at entrance to Tomorrowland at 8:30 AM. This is what it looks like, not bad at all.  The line next to us for 7DMT is probably five times as long.  Update: opened the land at 9 AM as expected. Into space Mountain building at 9:12 AM
> View attachment 592636
> Off space Mountain at 9:30 AM
> View attachment 592641
> 
> In line for splash at 9:43 AM.  Posted 55 minute wait.  We went to knock this one out.  On the ride in 40 minutes.
> View attachment 592655View attachment 592656
> 
> Moving on to big thunder mountain railroad at 10:45 AM,   Posted 35 minutes.  Line is to the end of the bridge. We will see.  Update:  On the ride in 25 minutes.   That line really moves.  All three mountains…. Done ✔
> View attachment 592668
> View attachment 592669
> 
> thought about jumping into the line for POC, but we need to get to our lunch reservation at whispering Canyon Café.
> View attachment 592684
> View attachment 592712
> 
> Heading back to the Boardwalk to sleep off our gluttony they call lunch at Whispering Canyon.
> 
> Dan
> 
> Bonus.  Beautiful evening last night.
> View attachment 592682


Thanks so much for the detailed reports and pics!


----------



## Turksmom

NileNellie said:


> As much as I would love to experience the cantina, I feel like it would be a total letdown if I got in there and had this kind of experience. It's frustrating and disappointing. Disney can do better and they should.


This isn't just a recent experience. Oga's has been like that since opening. I think they're trying to create a high energy, crowded bar type atmosphere, so I don't see it changing unless demand really drops


----------



## crazy4wdw

Columbia Harbor House reopening on August 5

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...oledo-tapas-steak-seafood-and-more-reopening/


----------



## ffugitive

YES!  Love, love, love the chowder - see you there on Sept. 1!


----------



## ZellyB

Yay!  We really missed eating here on our last trip.


----------



## smwisc

cakebaker said:


> Animal Kingdom this morning. We are not rope dropping any parks due to the crowds at rope drop. Arrived right after opening, rode Safari with a 15 minute standby and my group is line now to ride Everest, posted 25 minute wait.
> 
> FOP was at 2 hrs when we walked in, I expect it will be that high or higher all day. It’s not a favorite of any of ours so skipping it is no big deal. It is crowded, feeling it more here than MK and it’s relatively early.


Are you driving, and if so, how are you timing the "just after opening"?  I want to do the same thing on a couple of days but I'm not sure how much time to allow for getting into the parking lots, etc.


----------



## cakebaker

smwisc said:


> Are you driving, and if so, how are you timing the "just after opening"?  I want to do the same thing on a couple of days but I'm not sure how much time to allow for getting into the parking lots, etc.


We had planned on using Uber but wanted to test the busses. Our bus this morning was a 5 minute wait. Just left and this bus was under 5 as well.

As for timing, it’s luck. We knew they opened at 8, wanted to be there close to opening so got to the stop just after 7. It happened to work perfect today.


----------



## DisKaren

A question for anyone who is currently onsite or has recently been to the parks (sorry if this has already been discussed): are any of the parks admitting guests AND allowing them onto rides before official park opening time? We are here now, but have only been to MK so far. I was a bit disappointed that we were held back from rides until 9 am, only because I thought I had heard that people were being allowed in a bit earlier. We overheard someone saying that HS was admitting people in earlier to the actual rides, but unsure if that’s still the case.


----------



## RoseRed0711

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I believe the blade is about 36 inches, plus the hilt is about 8-10".  They do not fold, but you can detach the hilt.


Thanks!


----------



## preemiemama

DisKaren said:


> A question for anyone who is currently onsite or has recently been to the parks (sorry if this has already been discussed): are any of the parks admitting guests AND allowing them onto rides before official park opening time? We are here now, but have only been to MK so far. I was a bit disappointed that we were held back from rides until 9 am, only because I thought I had heard that people were being allowed in a bit earlier. We overheard someone saying that HS was admitting people in earlier to the actual rides, but unsure if that’s still the case.


All the other parks admit people in about an hour ahead.  AK holds people at the bridge to Pandora and runs only FOP about 30 minutes prior to opening.  DHS queues people in certain areas for rides and then starts running them 30 minutes ahead. I'm not sure about Epcot because we didn't RD there.

There is a thread *here* all about rope drop.


----------



## scrappinginontario

RoseRed0711 said:


> So DD and her SO are going to Savi's in late September.  He is a big Star Wars fan.  How big is the saber?  Does it "fold"?  We always send a box of things to the resort that we don't want in the luggage, and have a return "tag" all set up to ship things home.  But would really like an idea of what size box they need to send, so the sabers (2 of them) will fit on the way home.  THANKS, hope you all had a great time!


I've heard it recommended that you pay to have it shipped from Disney.  Yesterday's report was that it was $17.95 for one and they felt well worth the cost.  

Just another option.


----------



## ellbell

scrappinginontario said:


> I've heard it recommended that you pay to have it shipped from Disney.  Yesterday's report was that it was $17.95 for one and they felt well worth the cost.
> 
> Just another option.


I'm wondering if this option is available to ship to Canada as well.  I'd pay the extra to avoid the hassle


----------



## scrappinginontario

ellbell said:


> I'm wondering if this option is available to ship to Canada as well.  I'd pay the extra to avoid the hassle


That I'm not sure about.  Have you tried shipping other things to Canada from Disney in the past?  I know they won't ship our MagicBands to us but possibly guests can ship other items?  I would ask in the Canadian forum to see if other's might know.


----------



## DisKaren

preemiemama said:


> All the other parks admit people in about an hour ahead.  AK holds people at the bridge to Pandora and runs only FOP about 30 minutes prior to opening.  DHS queues people in certain areas for rides and then starts running them 30 minutes ahead. I'm not sure about Epcot because we didn't RD there.
> 
> There is a thread *here* all about rope drop.


Thank you for your reply! I will check out the rope drop thread!


----------



## bigfatdan

ellbell said:


> I'm wondering if this option is available to ship to Canada as well.  I'd pay the extra to avoid the hassle


I found this.  It's from 2019 but should still be applicable:  https://plandisney.disney.go.com/qu...om-built-lightsaber-home-canada-savis-408015/


----------



## java

Ok stuck in traffic so quick update- last night we headed out to dinner at boathouse -delicious. Then back to MK. Rode Jungle cruise pirates small world and Splash missed fireworks on the line. Ugh.
But leaving we saw one of my favorite youtubers(Superenthused) 

today was Epcot. Got there at 10 letting us in to park- got to gate let us into park around 10:20- score!!! Rode TT, Soarin, Frozen, seas, living with the land, the Ball, mission space. Drank at la cava! Finally heavy handed bartenders made the $16 blood orange margarita go down beautifully! Highly recommend. Ate at Via yummy. Then the rain ruined plans to last until fireworks. So we grabbed dinner and are heading to the rental. 
Food and Wine hits- dumplings and beef buns from China. Ravioli from Italy- we are going another day to do more damage.


----------



## ellbell

bigfatdan said:


> I found this.  It's from 2019 but should still be applicable:  https://plandisney.disney.go.com/qu...om-built-lightsaber-home-canada-savis-408015/


Thanks, I'm not sure I'm going to take that as what actually happens though.  There is too much a cast member said or a cast member told me. I trust the people on this forum more than the proverbial cast member


----------



## bigfatdan

ellbell said:


> Thanks, I'm not sure I'm going to take that as what actually happens though.  There is too much a cast member said or a cast member told me. I trust the people on this forum more than the proverbial cast member


Sorry.  I thought that was an official source.


----------



## Grasshopper2016

java said:


> Got there at 10 letting us in to park- got to gate let us into park around 10:20- score!!! Rode TT, Soarin, Frozen, seas, living with the land, the Ball, mission space.


Did they actually start operating the rides before 11:00?


----------



## asumom

WEDWDW said:


> But why make other Guests look at this out of frustration with Disney?
> 
> A call(s) to Housekeeping "should" result in someone picking it up.
> 
> If no response from Housekeeping there are Trash cans at All-Star Movies this trash could have been taken to,either in the building sections themselves or in World Premiere Food Court.
> 
> No matter how poor a job Disney  may be currently doing,to leave trash like this for other Guests to have to see speaks more of laziness by the Guest than frustration with Disney.
> 
> Not cool at all IMHO.


This is how it was at POP pre covid, when they were giving guests $10 a night to opt out of housekeeping.  People too lazy to bring their garbage to the cans and switch out their towels with housekeeping or at the pool. I didn't  opt out. On our next trip we will be with our son in a dvc villa and only have housekeeping every 4 days (?) or maybe it's just towel service. Anyway, I am already planning on finding out where the garbage cans are so I can clean up a little daily. No way would I leave it outside the room!


----------



## sjrec

asumom said:


> This is how it was at POP pre covid, when they were giving guests $10 a night to opt out of housekeeping.  People too lazy to bring their garbage to the cans and switch out their towels with housekeeping or at the pool. I didn't  opt out. On our next trip we will be with our son in a dvc villa and only have housekeeping every 4 days (?) or maybe it's just towel service. Anyway, I am already planning on finding out where the garbage cans are so I can clean up a little daily. No way would I leave it outside the room!


We are DVC owners and had our trash picked up daily-and the housekeeper made a point to tell us that anything we need replaced to just ask.


----------



## kc51570

asumom said:


> This is how it was at POP pre covid, when they were giving guests $10 a night to opt out of housekeeping.  People too lazy to bring their garbage to the cans and switch out their towels with housekeeping or at the pool. I didn't  opt out. On our next trip we will be with our son in a dvc villa and only have housekeeping every 4 days (?) or maybe it's just towel service. Anyway, I am already planning on finding out where the garbage cans are so I can clean up a little daily. No way would I leave it outside the room!


They took our trash every day in a DVC villa as part of the “room check”. New towels on the 4th Day.


----------



## asumom

sjrec said:


> We are DVC owners and had our trash picked up daily-and the housekeeper made a point to tell us that anything we need replaced to just ask.


Good to know. I do nighttime dialysis and have lots of trash. I don't mind doing it myself if needed though.


----------



## asumom

kc51570 said:


> They took our trash every day in a DVC villa as part of the “room check”. New towels on the 4th Day.


That's great! Good to know.


----------



## asumom

NileNellie said:


> As much as I would love to experience the cantina, I feel like it would be a total letdown if I got in there and had this kind of experience. It's frustrating and disappointing. Disney can do better and they should.


Some people love it. It was a one and done for us. Experienced it in Disneyland.  Fun to see the theming and take some pictures but drinks are all pre-made and overpriced.  My son and wife have ressies for upcoming trip. I made lunch ressies at the same time at 50s prime time.


----------



## java

Grasshopper2016 said:


> Did they actually start operating the rides before 11:00?


Yes we were off test track and on Soarin before 11. Score!

now tomorrow May be tough AK opens at 8 and my kids all think we should head over around 6(whose teens are these?)


----------



## cakebaker

The rain let up so we headed to Epcot and hit a few booths. The mimosa trio was excellent and the filet in Canada- so good. We’ve stuffed ourselves and had more than enough to drink so parked at the fence waiting for the show.

Lines at booths aren’t bad with the exception of France, so we skipped it. Tomorrow is HS for our first attempt to get in the vq for ROTR.

The long drive along with the late nights and early mornings are beginning to catch up with me! That 18 month break made me forget how exhausting Disney can be!


----------



## tinkerhon

RoseRed0711 said:


> So DD and her SO are going to Savi's in late September.  He is a big Star Wars fan.  How big is the saber?  Does it "fold"?  We always send a box of things to the resort that we don't want in the luggage, and have a return "tag" all set up to ship things home.  But would really like an idea of what size box they need to send, so the sabers (2 of them) will fit on the way home.  THANKS, hope you all had a great time!



Its big--- Im going to guess 3.5- 4 ft, but someone please correct me if I am wrong----    doesnt "fold"---   was cheap to ship--- just have the receipt )


----------



## preemiemama

java said:


> Yes we were off test track and on Soarin before 11. Score!
> 
> now tomorrow May be tough AK opens at 8 and my kids all think we should head over around 6(whose teens are these?)


Are you driving or on a bus?  First bus comes around 6:30.  Driving starts letting you park around 7- someone who knows this timing better than me can chime in on how many minutes prior or if it is exactly 7.  My point is yes, you need to be early, but 6 might be a little too early...


----------



## TBGOES2DISNEY

asumom said:


> This is how it was at POP pre covid, when they were giving guests $10 a night to opt out of housekeeping.  People too lazy to bring their garbage to the cans and switch out their towels with housekeeping or at the pool. I didn't  opt out. On our next trip we will be with our son in a dvc villa and only have housekeeping every 4 days (?) or maybe it's just towel service. Anyway, I am already planning on finding out where the garbage cans are so I can clean up a little daily. No way would I leave it outside the room!



Uh, before assuming all people were being lazy, when we opted out at POP, they told us to tie up our garbage and set it outside the door and to pile our dirty towels outside the door. I thought the towel thing was odd, but that’s what they said to do, and it was picked up each day. With less cast members working now, it’s more likely to sit there longer, I‘m sure.


----------



## Neener16

Re: Housekeeping- We returned Saturday from the Yacht Club and housekeeping came every other day. We were there the first time and asked for fresh towels, but really nothing else needed to be done. The second time we weren’t there and they replaced all the toiletries.


----------



## SkyGuy

bigfatdan said:


> Sorry.  I thought that was an official source.


PlanDisney is an official source. Their commenters go through an application process and are chosen by Disney and have to go through a training process. However, like most CMs at WDW the answers can vary from one person to the next as Disney does not seem to update all employees at the same time.


----------



## SkyGuy

RoseRed0711 said:


> So DD and her SO are going to Savi's in late September.  He is a big Star Wars fan.  How big is the saber?  Does it "fold"?  We always send a box of things to the resort that we don't want in the luggage, and have a return "tag" all set up to ship things home.  But would really like an idea of what size box they need to send, so the sabers (2 of them) will fit on the way home.  THANKS, hope you all had a great time!


The Savi’s blades are 31” long (and breakable) and the hilts are around 10” long. They do come apart, but you are given a slightly padded storage bag for the saber to be carried as a whole. If you took it apart, I suppose you could keep the blade in the storage bag for some cushion. However, if they don’t mind relinquishing their sabers, they can ship them directly from Dok Ondar’s or Droid Depot. It costs around $17-$18, and Disney will take care of any damage that may occur.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

cakebaker said:


> Interesting afternoon at the pool. We went to a quiet pool for fewer people and there were fewer, just one other family. But they had their cooler of beer floating in the pool, eating sandwiches in the pool and pouring their beer into the pool so the kids could play with the empty cans in the pool. They were yelling and cursing - spouting off political garbage. We called the desk directly and they sent security really quickly. They stopped it, but not sure they won’t go right back to it when security is gone. We’d had enough and headed back to our cabin. People....gah.
> Disney definitely needs lifeguards or some CM presence there. They had none.


Which resort?


----------



## tinkerhon

Disney really needs to be more consistent in terms of "social distancing"--- its basically non-existent right now at the parks, but if you go to DS, you have to walk around 20 miles to find the only open entrance to the "World of Disney", and the Lego store also only has one open entrance, the store is empty, and they are letting around 3-5 people in every 5-10 minutes--- its weird !


----------



## cakebaker

TBGOES2DISNEY said:


> Uh, before assuming all people were being lazy, when we opted out at POP, they told us to tie up our garbage and set it outside the door and to pile our dirty towels outside the door. I thought the towel thing was odd, but that’s what they said to do, and it was picked up each day. With less cast members working now, it’s more likely to sit there longer, I‘m sure.


From the reports I read, that’s exactly what they’re doing now- telling them to leave it in the hallway. We’re at the cabins at Ft Wilderness so no hallway for us, but we’ll leave ours on our deck if needed. We’ve only been here since Monday so not sure when they’ll clean our cabin. Hopefully tomorrow!


----------



## DisneyFive

tinkerhon said:


> Disney really needs to be more consistent in terms of "social distancing"--- its basically non-existent right now at the parks, but if you go to DS, you have to walk around 20 miles to find the only open entrance to the "World of Disney", and the Lego store also only has one open entrance, the store is empty, and they are letting around 3-5 people in every 5-10 minutes--- its weird !



I’m not sure Disney controls the social distancing policies of the stores that are at Disney Springs. You are right that there is no socil distancing at Walt Disney World right now.  Period.  It is what it is and people need to know that before they come here. No one seems to mind based on the 2 1/2 days that we have been here. This feels every bit as much as normal Disney as far as social distancing goes. It does make the bus system stand out. People are in very close proximity all day long even indoors and then once you get on a bus you magically need to wear a mask?  I’m not starting a mask debate, I am fine to follow any policies that are set. It’s just an obvious dichotomy.
Dan


----------



## asumom

TBGOES2DISNEY said:


> Uh, before assuming all people were being lazy, when we opted out at POP, they told us to tie up our garbage and set it outside the door and to pile our dirty towels outside the door. I thought the towel thing was odd, but that’s what they said to do, and it was picked up each day. With less cast members working now, it’s more likely to sit there longer, I‘m sure.


Okay, I am sorry then since that's what disney told you to do. It really made some areas look bad, though. They should have let people know where the cans were instead as it's not a big deal to carry on the way out.


----------



## asumom

cakebaker said:


> From the reports I read, that’s exactly what they’re doing now- telling them to leave it in the hallway. We’re at the cabins at Ft Wilderness so no hallway for us, but we’ll leave ours on our deck if needed. We’ve only been here since Monday so not sure when they’ll clean our cabin. Hopefully tomorrow!


Ugh, that's too bad. Trash can attract critters and with the heat, smell bad. Disney should do better. Having more cans around the resort where people can throw their trash on the way to the bus, etc. would be better.


----------



## cakebaker

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Which resort?



Ft Wilderness


----------



## DisneyFive

Just a couple of general observations from the last 2 1/2 days of being here.  (I will have a more comprehensive summary after our stay). Our last stay was this same time of year 2018.

The parks are every bit as clean as I remember. I have not seen a single overflowing trashcan.

Even things like HEA are just as organized as they were in the past with many cast members directing traffic and organizing.

There is no social distancing, and I did not expect any based on other recent reports.

Crowds feel pretty much identical as they did the same time of year 2018.

Lines? I don’t even want to address that yet. I need to form a good response. We have 7 more full days to go.  Needless to say, it’s a night and day difference.   The amount of time standing in lines is more than we are used to and we are only riding 1/3 of the attractions that we used to.  The magic is still here, but it’s a LOT more work.

Dan


----------



## 123SA

DisneyFive said:


> I’m not sure Disney controls the social distancing policies of the stores that are at Disney Springs. You are right that there is no socil distancing at Walt Disney World right now.  Period.  It is what it is and people need to know that before they come here. No one seems to mind based on the 2 1/2 days that we have been here. This feels every bit as much as normal Disney as far as social distancing goes. It does make the bus system stand out. People are in very close proximity all day long even indoors and then once you get on a bus you magically need to wear a mask?  I’m not starting a mask debate, I am fine to follow any policies that are set. It’s just an obvious dichotomy.
> Dan




Is it a federal law to wear masks on public transportation? Not sure if it is, and I'm also not sure if Disney's transportation counts as "public"


----------



## DisneyFive

123SA said:


> Is it a federal law to wear masks on public transportation? Not sure if it is, and I'm also not sure if Disney's transportation counts as "public"


Yeah, I don’t know. The bus catches us off guard. Our whole family is fully vaccinated and my wife and I have had Covid in the past. There is nowhere on Disney property that you have to wear a mask and then all of a sudden you show up at the bus (or monorail or Skyliner) and are about to get on and have to fish for your mask out of your pocket or backpack.

Dan


----------



## tinkerhon

DisneyFive said:


> I’m not sure Disney controls the social distancing policies of the stores that are at Disney Springs. You are right that there is no socil distancing at Walt Disney World right now.  Period.  It is what it is and people need to know that before they come here. No one seems to mind based on the 2 1/2 days that we have been here. This feels every bit as much as normal Disney as far as social distancing goes. It does make the bus system stand out. People are in very close proximity all day long even indoors and then once you get on a bus you magically need to wear a mask?  I’m not starting a mask debate, I am fine to follow any policies that are set. It’s just an obvious dichotomy.
> Dan



Yea, and the busses were hit or miss too--- at least for us---a few of our drivers took the mask off right away, and a bunch of passengers did as well---


----------



## java

preemiemama said:


> Are you driving or on a bus?  First bus comes around 6:30.  Driving starts letting you park around 7- someone who knows this timing better than me can chime in on how many minutes prior or if it is exactly 7.  My point is yes, you need to be early, but 6 might be a little too early...



yes we are driving I won the argument and we will leave around 6:30


----------



## Nice Work Pal

Just an FYI…apologize mods if this is the wrong spot. We’ve been back a week now. Daughter and I are both fully vaccinated. My mom came with us the last few days of this trip. She’s unvaccinated and wore no mask and now has covid. She hasn’t been to work at all this week. She’s a very healthy 62 but she’s also very sick. She sent me this…if you’re going be careful 

https://people.com/health/central-f...ccording-to-orange-county-executive/?amp=true


----------



## cakebaker

DisneyFive said:


> Just a couple of general observations from the last 2 1/2 days of being here.  (I will have a more comprehensive summary after our stay). Our last stay was this same time of year 2018.
> 
> The parks are every bit as clean as I remember. I have not seen a single overflowing trashcan.
> 
> Even things like HEA are just as organized as they were in the past with many cast members directing traffic and organizing.
> 
> There is no social distancing, and I did not expect any based on other recent reports.
> 
> crowds feel pretty much identical as they did the same time of year 2018.
> 
> Lines? I don’t even want to address that yet. I need to form a good response. We have 7 more full days to go.  Needless to say, it’s a night and day difference.   The amount of time standing in lines is more than we are used to and we are only riding 1/3 of the attractions that we used to.  The magic is still here, but it’s a lot more work.
> 
> Dan



We’ve been here since Monday and our experience pretty much matches yours including your comment on the lines.


----------



## cakebaker

DisneyFive said:


> Yeah, I don’t know. The bus catches us off guard. Our whole family is fully vaccinated and my wife and I have had Covid in the past. There is nowhere on Disney property that you have to wear a mask and then all of a sudden you show up at the bus (or monorail or Skyliner) and are about to get on and have to fish for your mask out of your pocket or backpack.
> 
> Dan



We are wearing masks most of the time so it’s not a big deal on the busses to us. I did forget to bring my mask once, but the drivers have masks and will give you one if you need it.


----------



## cakebaker

tinkerhon said:


> Yea, and the busses were hit or miss too--- at least for us---a few of our drivers took the mask off right away, and a bunch of passengers did as well---



Our busses so far have been consistent- everyone has been masked or been given one and told to mask up by the driver. It may be that they’ve tightened up on policy.


----------



## harleyquinn

Nice Work Pal said:


> Just an FYI…apologize mods if this is the wrong spot. We’ve been back a week now. Daughter and I are both fully vaccinated. My mom came with us the last few days of this trip. She’s unvaccinated and wore no mask and now has covid. She hasn’t been to work at all this week. She’s a very healthy 62 but she’s also very sick. She sent me this…if you’re going be careful
> 
> https://people.com/health/central-f...ccording-to-orange-county-executive/?amp=true


Here’s hoping for a speedy and full recovery!


----------



## cakebaker

Off to HS this morning. We got boarding group 6, but it didn’t include my grandson. Hopefully they’ll just add him at the park.


----------



## DisneyMomx7

And that should be  lesson to those who are unvaccinated - you need to wear a mask, especially in crowds.

Hope she recovers quickly


----------



## Nice Work Pal

cakebaker said:


> Off to HS this morning. We got boarding group 6, but it didn’t include my grandson. Hopefully they’ll just add him at the park.


Go to guest services. Two saturdays ago my uncle and his g/f (even after I explained this to them numerous times) didn’t have everyone on their mde account so their 6 kids weren’t added. He went to guest services and they added everyone. Have fun and may the force be with you.


----------



## Chaitali

Nice Work Pal said:


> Just an FYI…apologize mods if this is the wrong spot. We’ve been back a week now. Daughter and I are both fully vaccinated. My mom came with us the last few days of this trip. She’s unvaccinated and wore no mask and now has covid. She hasn’t been to work at all this week. She’s a very healthy 62 but she’s also very sick. She sent me this…if you’re going be careful
> 
> https://people.com/health/central-f...ccording-to-orange-county-executive/?amp=true


I hope she recovers soon . And I hope that you and your daughter get tested just in case.  It does seem like the Delta variant can get passed on by vaccinated people.  Thank you for sharing the article.  We’re leaving Saturday to go to Disney and we’re fully vaccinated but that article was still concerning.  I’m planning on masking indoors given the surge in the area.


----------



## LMO429

LSUmiss said:


> I actually thought about emailing guest services just to let them know.



There is really no point in emailing guest services.With every park reservation you made you signed a waiver acknowledging your chance of catching covid on property. You knew ahead of time this was a risk and you decided to take it plus there is no way to trace it. I truly hope you both feel better but guest services will do nothing about this.


----------



## ttfn3

java said:


> today was Epcot. Got there at 10 letting us in to park- got to gate let us into park around 10:20- score!!! Rode TT, Soarin, Frozen, seas, living with the land, the Ball, mission space.


Were you on a ride at 10:20 - and if yes, which one?  I'm trying to figure out an Epcot RD strategy - with the shortest lines. & preferably not criss crossing thru all the construction TIA


----------



## ThistleMae

Turksmom said:


> This isn't just a recent experience. Oga's has been like that since opening. I think they're trying to create a high energy, crowded bar type atmosphere, so I don't see it changing unless demand really drops


Changing my mind about going there for sure!


----------



## Best Aunt

asumom said:


> On our next trip we will be with our son in a dvc villa and only have housekeeping every 4 days (?) or maybe it's just towel service. Anyway, I am already planning on finding out where the garbage cans are so I can clean up a little daily. No way would I leave it outside the room!



The DVC buildings have trash rooms for guests to use, because in the olden days there was no daily room check during which trash would be picked up.  Before your trip, you might want to post here on the DVC Mouscellaneous board, and people can tell you where the trash rooms are for the resort at which you will be staying.  (Don't count on the cast members at the resort being able to tell you.  I made that mistake before.)


----------



## brockash

cakebaker said:


> Off to HS this morning. We got boarding group 6, but it didn’t include my grandson. Hopefully they’ll just add him at the park.


While you can go to guest services...I just wasted to let you know that in March it left 3 ppl off of ours and I just told them when we got in line for Rise and they fixed it on the spot.  I know guest services can be time consuming, so just wanted to let yoy know.  - This was back when social distancing was a thing but if it happens to us again next week; this will be our plan.


----------



## cakebaker

brockash said:


> While you can go to guest services...I just wasted to let you know that in March it left 3 ppl off of ours and I just told them when we got in line for Rise and they fixed it on the spot.  I know guest services can be time consuming, so just wanted to let yoy know.  - This was back when social distancing was a thing but if it happens to us again next week; this will be our plan.



There was no line at one of the gs kiosks so did that. It was an amazing ride! We mobile ordered some breakfast at docking bay 7, quick to get food.

we did MMRR when we first got here, about a 20 minute stand by. This is what the line looks like for SR as of now.


----------



## NileNellie

DisneyMomx7 said:


> And that should be  lesson to those who are unvaccinated - you need to wear a mask, especially in crowds.
> 
> Hope she recovers quickly


100%.


----------



## White_Rabbit18

LMO429 said:


> There is really no point in emailing guest services.With every park reservation you made you signed a waiver acknowledging your chance of catching covid on property. You knew ahead of time this was a risk and you decided to take it plus there is no way to trace it. I truly hope you both feel better but guest services will do nothing about this.


I don’t think it is a bad thing to contact guest services but I wouldn’t expect anything from them .


----------



## cakebaker

Ordered lunch at HS and again, mobile ordering was flawless. If it weren’t for the horrific lines, this has been a near perfect trip so far. But the lines are no small deal, after all, in the end, that’s what most people are here for- to ride rides....and the lines are as bad as any report you’ve read.


----------



## LSUmiss

LMO429 said:


> There is really no point in emailing guest services.With every park reservation you made you signed a waiver acknowledging your chance of catching covid on property. You knew ahead of time this was a risk and you decided to take it plus there is no way to trace it. I truly hope you both feel better but guest services will do nothing about this.


No I know. I didn’t expect them to do anything. Just thought maybe they should be made aware.


----------



## lovethattink

I'm posting this here in this thread since there is more covid discussion on this thread and it was posted by @WebmasterKathy on the TPAS board recently. This is what you may and may not post about Covid on the DIS.

Policy on COVID discussions

The global COVID pandemic created unprecedented restrictions, disruptions and changes to our travel, work, shopping, schooling, social interactions and so many other aspects of our lives since the beginning of 2020. We’ve all been affected, and we have been inundated with news, information, mis-information, frustrations and opinions. We’ve heard them, we’ve shared them, we’ve argued about them.

The discussions, debates and arguments about the virus, distancing and masking policies, various politicians’ statements and actions have been overwhelming and divisive. Many threads on the DISboards have been derailed or devolved into arguments due to this topic. We understand the passion, but feel that we’ve let the discussions run their course. We are sure there are better places on the WWW to learn about and debate scientific, medical and political issues. The mission of the DISboards is to be a great travel resource and a friendly community.

Now that travel is opening up again, it’s time to refocus on that mission!

From this point on, we will welcome information on COVID policies RELATED TO TRAVEL. Things like the vaccination policies issued by venues or destinations, the cleaning or distancing procedures in use, practical tips for travelers or things they might need to know that are different from location to location are all valid topics. Any official policies issued by Disney, other travel destinations, cruise lines, airlines, etc. regarding requirements for visiting parks or cruising can be shared. This information needs to be on-topic for the specific forum and thread where posted.

We will NOT welcome debate or opinion about medical, scientific, or political aspects of the pandemic. There are a few often repeated trigger items that won’t be allowed: No statistics about infection rates, no ranting about individual rights, no “face-diaper” comments, no debate about whether vaccinations or masking are effective, no discussions about which governor or politician or news personality did or said what.

*In summary: COVID related discussion should be limited to actual policy and practical application, and NOT veer into opinion or debate.*

We understand that you may be passionate in your opinions on this topic and want to discuss or debate them, and appreciate your understanding that there are more appropriate places than the DISboards to do that.

Thank you,
DISboards Administrators


----------



## DisneyFive

Epcot day today. After two days of standing in lines our kids requested that we enjoy what the parks have to offer besides rides, more like we used to.  Right now, in the parks, it’s kind of one or the other. Will update this post throughout today

Looking forward to a nice relaxing day.  We are not trying to cram in many rides today. We are going to try to hop to AK and hit FOP at park close at AK tonight. We will see how that goes.

World showcase is pretty empty at noon today.


at Via Napoli for lunch right now.

OK, that pizza was the bomb! We went to Via Napoli five years ago and walked away not all that impressed. Glad we tried it again.   Today was altogether different. Great experience and the pizza was fantastic.

Taking a leisurely pace.  Two hours later and we have made it through Germany, China, and now are in the Mexico pavilion.  .

2:20pm Three Caballeros coming up!  Posted 40 minutes. On the boat in 18 minutes.   (For reference, the line to get into the Mexico pavilion was about 10 people deep outside when we got in line and it was 18 minutes total till we got on the ride).  Not bad!


finished up the Mexico pavilion and went to Joffrey‘s for some caffeine and then to Shimmering sips kiosk for this, For my son


3:31 PM got in line for Spaceship Earth. Posted wait time was 20 minutes. We were on in 10.

4:05 PM, in line for mission space, Orange. Posted 60 minutes.  On in 25 minutes

Kids are requesting Figment so we are getting in line now. 5:07 PM.  Posted 25 minutes.  On in 5 minutes.

BTW, Test track has been down since around noon and they just announced that it would be down for at least another hour.  There has been rain all afternoon.   It may have just stopped though

5:24 PM, heading to AK so that we can eat at Satu’li and knock out flight of passage and whatever else we feel like in Pandora. That way tomorrow morning we can do everything else at AK while the lines are long for FOP. At least that’s the hope.
6:26 PM. Crowds outside of Satu’li canteen.  About normal for this time of year I would say

Best QS on property in my humble opinion.


6:54 PM now. Doing Navi.  Posted 35 minutes.  On in 28 minutes

7:36 PM. In line for FOP, with an 8pm park close.   Posted 95 minutes.  On the ride in 65 minutes, your mileage may vary.




Dan

Bonus:  You’ve heard about the terra-cotta warriors in the China pavilion correct? Well these little guys were in the gift shop. The stuff of nightmares


----------



## RoseRed0711

scrappinginontario said:


> I've heard it recommended that you pay to have it shipped from Disney.  Yesterday's report was that it was $17.95 for one and they felt well worth the cost.
> 
> Just another option.


Thanks


----------



## RoseRed0711

SkyGuy said:


> The Savi’s blades are 31” long (and breakable) and the hilts are around 10” long. They do come apart, but you are given a slightly padded storage bag for the saber to be carried as a whole. If you took it apart, I suppose you could keep the blade in the storage bag for some cushion. However, if they don’t mind relinquishing their sabers, they can ship them directly from Dok Ondar’s or Droid Depot. It costs around $17-$18, and Disney will take care of any damage that may occur.


Thanks!  Great idea


----------



## luvthemouse71

Nice Work Pal said:


> Just an FYI…apologize mods if this is the wrong spot. We’ve been back a week now. Daughter and I are both fully vaccinated. My mom came with us the last few days of this trip. She’s unvaccinated and wore no mask and now has covid. She hasn’t been to work at all this week. She’s a very healthy 62 but she’s also very sick. She sent me this…if you’re going be careful
> 
> https://people.com/health/central-f...ccording-to-orange-county-executive/?amp=true


Hope she recovers soon. I’m vaccinated but I think I’m going to bring a mask into the parks anyway. This is just my personal feeling. At home, I don’t wear masks anymore unless required but WDW could be a germ soup even pre plague days.


----------



## Dakota731

LSUmiss said:


> No I know. I didn’t expect them to do anything. Just thought maybe they should be made aware.


And unless she went nowhere but Disney, it would be impossible to trace back to the parks.  If she flew on a plane, went to work or the store when she got home or saw even one person outside WDW then there is no way to determine where she caught the virus.


----------



## JayMass

lovethattink said:


> I'm posting this here in this thread since there is more covid discussion on this thread and it was posted by @WebmasterKathy on the TPAS board recently. This is what you may and may not post about Covid on the DIS.
> 
> Policy on COVID discussions
> 
> The global COVID pandemic created unprecedented restrictions, disruptions and changes to our travel, work, shopping, schooling, social interactions and so many other aspects of our lives since the beginning of 2020. We’ve all been affected, and we have been inundated with news, information, mis-information, frustrations and opinions. We’ve heard them, we’ve shared them, we’ve argued about them.
> 
> The discussions, debates and arguments about the virus, distancing and masking policies, various politicians’ statements and actions have been overwhelming and divisive. Many threads on the DISboards have been derailed or devolved into arguments due to this topic. We understand the passion, but feel that we’ve let the discussions run their course. We are sure there are better places on the WWW to learn about and debate scientific, medical and political issues. The mission of the DISboards is to be a great travel resource and a friendly community.
> 
> Now that travel is opening up again, it’s time to refocus on that mission!
> 
> From this point on, we will welcome information on COVID policies RELATED TO TRAVEL. Things like the vaccination policies issued by venues or destinations, the cleaning or distancing procedures in use, practical tips for travelers or things they might need to know that are different from location to location are all valid topics. Any official policies issued by Disney, other travel destinations, cruise lines, airlines, etc. regarding requirements for visiting parks or cruising can be shared. This information needs to be on-topic for the specific forum and thread where posted.
> 
> We will NOT welcome debate or opinion about medical, scientific, or political aspects of the pandemic. There are a few often repeated trigger items that won’t be allowed: No statistics about infection rates, no ranting about individual rights, no “face-diaper” comments, no debate about whether vaccinations or masking are effective, no discussions about which governor or politician or news personality did or said what.
> 
> *In summary: COVID related discussion should be limited to actual policy and practical application, and NOT veer into opinion or debate.*
> 
> We understand that you may be passionate in your opinions on this topic and want to discuss or debate them, and appreciate your understanding that there are more appropriate places than the DISboards to do that.
> 
> Thank you,
> DISboards Administrators




I am enjoying reading this thread. Just a bit of warning about the COVID discussion policy. I can easily see this veering off. Just a heads up!


----------



## lovethattink

JayMass said:


> I am enjoying reading this thread. Just a bit of warning about the COVID discussion policy. I can easily see this veering off. Just a heads up!



Which is why I posted the DIS policy on Covid discussion. This thread is extremely valuable for those planning to visit soon. I would hate to see the thread closed.


----------



## disney_runner

Indeed, this is an extremely valuable thread and I'm checking it multiple times a day!  So thank you to everyone for sharing their experiences. 
We head back 8/5, after a lengthy 6 year hiatus.  Lots of new stuff for us, so lots of info to soak in.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

Yes, appreciate the feedback preparing us for our visit.  This one will be much different though because no focus on the "big" rides since I'll have 4 year old and 2 year old granddaughters with us.  Love the pics of the parks, too...keep them coming!!


----------



## elle101me

Thanks to those that were there recently, and those that are there now for posting! We arrive on 8/4 so I’ve been following this thread very closely.


----------



## Akck

I like reading this thread to see the progression in crowds and their effects. I wish I thought to take more crowd pictures in September, December, and April, just to see the changes.


----------



## gatechfan99

Just back, thought I'd give a little summary of our trip to let people know what is and isn't reasonable with the crowds in the park:
-last Thursday - got there around 12. Rode Peoplemover, Space, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, Small World before dinner at 4 and then we left to go check in at Poly. Only thing I would note is the line for HM extended past the Liberty Belle. I've never seen it remotely like that at any previous visit in the 10 years we've been coming including on busy holiday weekends. Took about 40 minutes.
-Friday - got to AK parking lot around 7:30. By the time we were inside and in line for FoP, they said 90 minute wait which turned out to be about 60. Afterwards, did Everest, Kali River, and Dinosaur, had lunch and were out by 12:30. Spent the afternoon at the pool and then dinner at Ohana which was good but not as good as before.
-Saturday - full day of MK. Did Splash, POTC, Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, Pooh, Ariel, Teacups, Country Bears before going back for an afternoon break. Came back at 5 for dinner at Tonys, did Big Thunder with a 30 minutes wait and then Space with a 60. Got to Main Street for fireworks with about 20 minutes to spare. Wound up walking back to Poly with the new walkway which took just less than 30 minutes with 2 kids.
-Sunday - DHS. Was worried about fitting things in between 2 dining reservations and another for Savi's workshop. Got RnR and MMRR done before 11:00 lunch. Boarding group worked perfectly from a timing stand point and went straight to RotR after lunch before Savi's. My 8 year old loved Savi's of course and his new lightsaber. Did TSM before early dinner and left.
-Monday - did shopping at DS at 10 before TRex at 11. Went to Epcot around 2 and stayed until 10. Did every ride except Frozen which we probably could've made if a monsoon hadn't stranded us for a long time in the Test Track store waiting out the rain.

So in summary, I thought it was a good trip. We're veterans that know exactly what we want to do and how to plan it. I feel sorry for first time guests. Lines everywhere look overwhelming and it's very difficult to know which are more doable than they appear if you're not familiar with the rides. The heat is brutal (duh!) but we're from Alabama so it's what we're used to. Also my kids are now old enough (13, 11, and 8) to be good sports in lines (phones help!).  It would feel very difficult to have to do line after line with no quick options that are just 5-10 minutes if they were still 8, 6, and 2.

I will also say that even for someone that works in the medical profession and has probably been exposed to Covid more times than I can count over the past 18 months, it was still a little disconcerting to be packed into the rooms in the queue in places like Haunted Mansion and Rock n Roller Coaster. If you can't just put Covid fears out of your mind while you're there right now, it probably isn't a good time to go.


----------



## PrestonatorSR

Hello all,

FWIW, we were in the parks over the course of 5 days in mid-July. And also stayed 10 days between SSR and AKL-Kidani

Winners:
1. Mobile ordering...this is actually a very good thing. Easy, efficient process--a definite enhancement.
2. Dining Magic...desired a last-minute venue change in restaurants...multiple cast members worked to make it happen. Went above and beyond.
3. Rise of Resistance...some cast members really played their character roles extremely well, interacting with all of us. Great fun. Experience is technologically impressive, creative and I'm guessing especially appreciated by SW fans. For my money, however, Flight of Passage is still the superior experience.

Losers:
1. Lack of FP option: While stand-by waits were not unbearable, the loss of this benefit is extremely disappointing to those of us who were used to it. I fear it's not coming back, at least not as a free option--and that will be a killer for us. Sorry, I'll do the long waits on most everything for one trip, but not as a matter of routine. I suspect those who never really leveraged FP won't care much, but for those of us who leveraged the feature to its full advantage--this is a  big issue that will adversely affect future visits.

2. Communication and service in the resorts was inconsistent and poorly communicated. We stayed at AKL for 7 nights and could not get a straight answer on when rooms would be cleaned/serviced, etc. Front desk and housekeeping staff members gave us a variety of answers and no one seemed clear on much of anything regarding the routines and timing/frequency. Also, 2 minor, but hugely irritants: there was no TP in room first night--which was problematic for my wife's first visit to the restroom at 2:30 a.m. Seems like an inexcusable oversight. 2. When we FINALLY did "qualify" for a linen change, we got a sheet with a long human hair stuck to it--ugh, gross. These points under #2 are outliers compared to our many other visits here over the years, but disappointing nonetheless. Overall, things just seemed a bit off. Oh well, I"m sure it will be great next time. No big deal in the grand scheme of things...


----------



## Carathryn

Got to Magic Kingdom around 8:15am this morning. Was held back by the entrances to each land until 9:00am when the park officially opened.


----------



## cakebaker

Back at the MK for another round of HEA and celebrating both my daughters birthday.

Had our first glitch today and it was a doozy. We were making a lightsaber and using a visa rewards card. The CM was clearly new, and could not get it it to work. She swiped it 3 times, told us it was our card that was the issue.

I gave her one of my gift cards to use and it worked. Went shopping later and the rewards card showed a 0 balance when there should’ve been nearly 300.00 on it. Turns out every time she swiped the card it was debiting the account and with 3 swipes it was empty.

Went to guest services and got a very unsatisfactory response from CM who claimed it was a Chase issue and refused to do anything. Asked for a supervisor who called Chase, verified the debits and  credited our card with a bonus added for our trouble. They also gave us a few guest recovery passes as it ate up 4 hrs dealing with it and really messed up MK plans tonight.

So no rides tonight, just fireworks and we’ll catch up on Saturday. It isn’t a trip if there isn’t a glitch. lol


----------



## The13thLetter

Mask required indoors starting 7/30

https://blogmickey.com/2021/07/disn...require-all-guests-to-wear-face-mask-indoors/


----------



## Neener16

Not surprising. I feel bad for the CMs who have to enforce it. I would imagine they will run into resistance in that August heat.


----------



## DaniMoon

DisneyFive said:


> Epcot day today. After two days of standing in lines our kids requested that we enjoy what the parks have to offer besides rides, more like we used to.  Right now, in the parks, it’s kind of one or the other. Will update this post throughout today
> 
> Looking forward to a nice relaxing day.  We are not trying to cram in many rides today. We are going to try to hop to AK and hit FOP at park close at AK tonight. We will see how that goes.
> 
> World showcase is pretty empty at noon today.
> View attachment 592887
> 
> at Via Napoli for lunch right now.
> View attachment 592922
> OK, that pizza was the bomb! We went to Via Napoli five years ago and walked away not all that impressed. Glad we tried it again.   Today was altogether different. Great experience and the pizza was fantastic.
> 
> Taking a leisurely pace.  Two hours later and we have made it through Germany, China, and now are in the Mexico pavilion.  . 2:20pm Three Caballeros coming up!  Posted 40 minutes. On the boat in 18 minutes.   For reference, the line to get into the Mexico pavilion was about 10 people deep when we got in line and it was 18 minutes total till we got on the ride.
> View attachment 592921
> 
> finished up the Mexico pavilion and went to Joffrey‘s for some caffeine and then to Shimmering sips kiosk for this, For my son
> View attachment 592917
> 
> 3:31 PM got in line for Spaceship Earth. Posted wait time was 20 minutes. We were on in 10.
> 
> 4:05 PM, in line for mission space, Orange. Posted 60 minutes.  On in 25 minutes
> 
> Kids are requesting Figment so we are getting in line now. 5:07 PM.  Posted 25 minutes.  On in 5 minutes.
> View attachment 592933
> BTW, Test track has been down since around noon and they just announced that it would be down for at least another hour.  There has been rain all afternoon.   It may have just stopped though
> 
> 5:24 PM, heading to AK so that we can eat at Satu’li and knock out flight of passage and whatever else we feel like in Pandora. That way tomorrow morning we can do everything else at AK while the lines are long for FOP. At least that’s the hope.
> 6:26 PM. Crowds outside of Satu’li canteen.  About normal for this time of year I would say
> View attachment 592945
> Best QS on property in my humble opinion.
> View attachment 592946
> 
> 6:54 PM now. Doing Navi.  Posted 35 minutes.  On in 28 minutes
> 
> 7:36 PM. In line for FOP. Posted 95 minutes.  On the ride in 65 minutes, your mileage may vary.
> 
> View attachment 592964
> 
> 
> Dan
> 
> Bonus:  You’ve heard about the terra-cotta warriors in the China pavilion correct? Well these little guys were in the gift shop. The stuff of nightmares
> View attachment 592947



Really enjoying your updates.   We arrive next Friday.  I do think we are going to skip the AK rope drop rush to FOP and try it at park close.


----------



## DisneyFive

The13thLetter said:


> Mask required indoors starting 7/30
> 
> https://blogmickey.com/2021/07/disn...require-all-guests-to-wear-face-mask-indoors/


We are here now and have not had anything pushed to my phone and neither have any of the other four in my family.

I understand it though. With all the outbreaks they are having down here you could see it coming. At least it is not outdoors in the sun and heat.

Dan


----------



## erin1715

DisneyFive said:


> We are here now and have not had anything pushed to my phone and neither have any of the other four in my family.
> 
> I understand it though. With all the outbreaks they are having down here you could see it coming. At least it is not outdoors in the sun and heat.
> 
> Dan


It’s all attractions so that means a lot are in the sun and heat.


----------



## harleyquinn

cakebaker said:


> Back at the MK for another round of HEA and celebrating both my daughters birthday.
> 
> Had our first glitch today and it was a doozy. We were making a lightsaber and using a visa rewards card. The CM was clearly new, and could not get it it to work. She swiped it 3 times, told us it was our card that was the issue.
> 
> I gave her one of my gift cards to use and it worked. Went shopping later and the rewards card showed a 0 balance when there should’ve been nearly 300.00 on it. Turns out every time she swiped the card it was debiting the account and with 3 swipes it was empty.
> 
> Went to guest services and got a very unsatisfactory response from CM who claimed it was a Chase issue and refused to do anything. Asked for a supervisor who called Chase, verified the debits and  credited our card with a bonus added for our trouble. They also gave us a few guest recovery passes as it ate up 4 hrs dealing with it and really messed up MK plans tonight.
> 
> So no rides tonight, just fireworks and we’ll catch up on Saturday. It isn’t a trip if there isn’t a glitch. lol


You have a great attitude about those 4 hours! Glad they compensated you.


----------



## DisneyFive

DaniMoon said:


> Really enjoying your updates.   We arrive next Friday.  I do think we are going to skip the AK rope drop rush to FOP and try it at park close.



First of all, thank you!   We are glad that we did it this way as well. It is a stress-free way to do it. No speedwalking, maneuvering, running over grandma, etc…. It was also very cool to leave through Pandora at night with very few guests and all the stuff lit up in the dark.



erin1715 said:


> It’s all attractions so that means a lot are in the sun and heat.


It’s only indoors.  Disney did not word the announcement very well, but by how I read it, it is only the indoor portions of attractions and such.  I don’t believe the actual attraction starts until you pass through the portion where they list the standby and fast pass return times. Some of that is outdoors but not much and they may (probably?) only require masks when you actually get indoors. We will just have to see. I will report back I am sure.

Dan


----------



## cdurham1

Just wrapped up day 2 of our 8 day trip.  Tuesday, we rope dropped FOP at AK.  Got plenty of stuff done, then back to hotel for nap, followed by evening at EPCOT.  Then "rope dropped" Space Mountain this morning, followed by other stuff, lunch at Crystal Palace, then nap, and on to HS evening.

Quick notes -

- Parks seemed crowded, but no more than normal for this time of year.  The parking lots were empty enough that I was scratching my head as to how much capacity the missing attractions could take up.  We don't have attendance numbers, but I am guessing the numbers won't look particularly great to management.

- not having fastpasses sucks.  But it only sucks for those of us that do a good job planning.  I bet the average "i just showed up at the park and expect this to be like Six Flags Plus" crowd is having a great time.  The clerk at our hotel was telling us about the time she stood in line 4 hours for FOP.  Pretty sure she would have been really happy waiting up to a max of 90 minutes yesterday when we were at AK.

- just guessing here, but it seems clear to me that Disney doesn't intend to not have a fastpass option (betting on a paid variation) for too long.  The queues snaking out into the open sun are so "not Disney."  I would have expected them to create more shade and install fans (at the very least)  if they think they are going to stick around for any significant amount of time.  An ugly line with no theming in the hot sun is not a very magical feeling.

- RD fop was totally worth it.  The let us stream into FOP about 740 if i remember correctly.  We were quite a bit back in the crowd and we were on in about 20 minutes.  Most of that was walking thru the endless track of queue without stopping..  Not sure why i let my 10 year old talk me into "rope dropping" Space Mountain, but it didn't turn out very efficiently.  The crowd was already pretty intense by 8:30.  I took some pictures of the crowd behind us and in the hub while we waited at the Tomorrowland Bridge at 8:45.  As previously reported, they don't let anyone thru until exactly 9am.  I will try to attach pics.  It seemed like the expected wait time for SM was exactly the same at 9:30 as it was when we got on.  We are "rope dropping" (quotes bc they don't let you thru until 9am, so not sure it really counts) MK tomorrow, too, and hopefully will report back more successful results by going to BTM first.

- the heat is a factor.  Although it isn't a deal breaker, it will zap you.

- avoiding the lines with a paid fp option will definitely be utilized by people like me, even at a significant cost.  I live 12 hours by car away and try to visit once a year (but in reality less than that).  For us, trying to coordinate a time when family members can go is going to result in going when school is out.  And that means crowds.  And I am willing to pay to optimize our trip.  

My 19 year old said today that instead of going once a year, she thinks we should go once every 3 years and save for a couple or 3 days of ViP service if we get other family members to go, too.  I think that is the sort of direction paid fp will take us - going less often and spending more when we go.


----------



## disny_luvr

DisneyFive said:


> We are glad that we did it this way as well. It was also very cool to leave through Pandora at night with very few guests and all the stuff lit up in the dark.
> 
> 
> It’s only indoors.  Disney did not word the announcement very well, but by how I read it, it is only the indoor portions of attractions and such.  I don’t believe the actual attraction starts until you pass through the portion where they list the standby and fast pass return times. Some of that is outdoors but not much and they may (probably?) only require masks when you actually get indoors. We will just have to see. I will report back I am sure.
> 
> Dan
> 
> 
> View attachment 592986



But it’s all attractions, so that includes ones that are outside too - Safari, Jungle Cruise, etc. I’m sure you’ll have to mask up outdoors in line for those.


----------



## DisneyFive

disny_luvr said:


> But it’s all attractions, so that includes ones that are outside too - Safari, Jungle Cruise, etc. I’m sure you’ll have to mask up outdoors in line for those.



Yuck, I didn’t think of that, but I guess we will have to see how it plays out. Like I said, the wording is really bad on their part.  Maybe they will make it only strictly indoors. Period.  We will be the first to know LOL.

Dan


----------



## cdurham1

disny_luvr said:


> But it’s all attractions, so that includes ones that are outside too - Safari, Jungle Cruise, etc. I’m sure you’ll have to mask up outdoors in line for those.


I don't read their announcement as all attractions.  It sounds to me like only indoor stuff.


----------



## cdurham1

Today at MK at 8:45 from the Tomorrowland Bridge into the hub


----------



## disny_luvr

cdurham1 said:


> I don't read their announcement as all attractions.  It sounds to me like only indoor stuff.



I really, really hope this is the case!


----------



## Meglen

cdurham1 said:


> Today at MK at 8:45 from the Tomorrowland Bridge into the hub
> 
> View attachment 592989View attachment 592989View attachment 592991View attachment 592991


Do we think Disney will hault park pass sales now ? With these types of crowds having to wear a mask inside vs out legit makes no difference.


----------



## elgerber

cdurham1 said:


> I don't read their announcement as all attractions.  It sounds to me like only indoor stuff.


I agree, I read it that way as well. I don’t think it was worded very clearly .


----------



## CeCe0906

elgerber said:


> I agree, I read it that way as well. I don’t think it was worded very clearly .



Based on below it says all attractions so that would include Safari, which makes sense as you are seated close together.  
It doesn't make a lot of sense on something like Dumbo, but I figure it was just easier to say all attractions rather than create exceptions.  

"Cast Members and Guests ages 2 and up, to wear face coverings in all indoor locations at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort beginning Friday, July 30, regardless of vaccination status. 
At Walt Disney World Resort, this includes upon entering and throughout all attractions and in enclosed transportation vehicles, including shuttles, buses, monorails and at Disney Skyliner,”


----------



## 123SA

And…what does this mean for restaurants?  Both table service and counter service? Can you report back?

I really appreciate your reports!


----------



## elgerber

CeCe0906 said:


> Based on below it says all attractions so that would include Safari, which makes sense as you are seated close together.
> It doesn't make a lot of sense on something like Dumbo, but I figure it was just easier to say all attractions rather than create exceptions.
> 
> "Cast Members and Guests ages 2 and up, to wear face coverings in all indoor locations at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort beginning Friday, July 30, regardless of vaccination status.
> At Walt Disney World Resort, this includes upon entering and throughout all attractions and in enclosed transportation vehicles, including shuttles, buses, monorails and at Disney Skyliner,”


Yes I have read that too. But I believe it means upon entering and throughout the indoor attractions. I surely could be wrong but that is how it reads to me.


----------



## disny_luvr

elgerber said:


> Yes I have read that too. But I believe it means upon entering and throughout the indoor attractions. I surely could be wrong but that is how it reads to me.



I would be so much happier if it were only indoor attractions and not outdoor, too. In a Blogmickey article I read, it said that indoor cast members would be masked, too, so that makes me think it might only be indoor attractions.


----------



## cdurham1

elgerber said:


> Yes I have read that too. But I believe it means upon entering and throughout the indoor attractions. I surely could be wrong but that is how it reads to me.


I guess we will know for sure Friday morning around 740am when people are entering attraction queues at AK.


----------



## disny_luvr

CeCe0906 said:


> Based on below it says all attractions so that would include Safari, which makes sense as you are seated close together.
> It doesn't make a lot of sense on something like Dumbo, but I figure it was just easier to say all attractions rather than create exceptions.
> 
> "Cast Members and Guests ages 2 and up, to wear face coverings in all indoor locations at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort beginning Friday, July 30, regardless of vaccination status.
> At Walt Disney World Resort, this includes upon entering and throughout all attractions and in enclosed transportation vehicles, including shuttles, buses, monorails and at Disney Skyliner,”



It looks like no masks on ferries or boats?


----------



## DisneyFive

cdurham1 said:


> Today at MK at 8:45 from the Tomorrowland Bridge into the hub
> 
> View attachment 592989View attachment 592989View attachment 592991View attachment 592991


Good pictures to set expectations.  Looks normal for me considering that HEA starts at 9:15.  Wishes was the same 30 minutes before showtime.

Dan


----------



## naneliz

DisneyFive said:


> Good pictures to set expectations.  Looks normal for me considering that HEA starts at 9:15.  Wishes was the same 30 minutes before showtime.
> 
> Dan



Is this not 8:45am?


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

As an adult that travelled with a family that purchased 3 droids and 3 sabers for their 3 children, I STRONGLY recommend shipping THEM* HOME for the safety of the items and the sanity of all those involved.   
*The droids and sabers, of course...


----------



## Randy Miller

Driving home right now, left Orlando this morning.  Had 3 “mask free” weeks, but I really did feel like this was coming.


----------



## bookgirl2632

Well, I think we all saw this coming.  I have a trip mid-October, 75 days from now.  I’m hoping it’ll change again before we go, but I have little faith in that.  At this point, the best I can hope for is that they don’t mandate them outdoors as well.  If they do that, that’s when I’ll consider postponing my trip.  I really don’t want to do that.  For now, I’ll plan on masks indoors and on attractions.


----------



## asumom

DisneyFive said:


> Yuck, I didn’t think of that, but I guess we will have to see how it plays out. Like I said, the wording is really bad on their part.  Maybe they will make it only strictly indoors. Period.  We will be the first to know LOL.
> 
> Dan


keep us posted


----------



## DisneyFive

asumom said:


> keep us posted


Will do.  For sure. This new policy happens to split down the middle of our stay so we will be wanting to sleep in, but we will update ASAP. I am guessing others will be in front of me to reply on this one, but we’ll reply as soon as I know anything.  I know how much I rely on the information from these posts so I will try to reciprocate.

Dan


----------



## DisneyFive

naneliz said:


> Is this not 8:45am?


I’m sure you are right!  My bad. Reminds me of people pressing to get fast passes for toy story mania back 2010. I really don’t consider this unusual for MK, or any of the parks 15 minutes before open


----------



## LSUmiss

CeCe0906 said:


> Based on below it says all attractions so that would include Safari, which makes sense as you are seated close together.
> It doesn't make a lot of sense on something like Dumbo, but I figure it was just easier to say all attractions rather than create exceptions.
> 
> "Cast Members and Guests ages 2 and up, to wear face coverings in all indoor locations at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort beginning Friday, July 30, regardless of vaccination status.
> At Walt Disney World Resort, this includes upon entering and throughout all attractions and in enclosed transportation vehicles, including shuttles, buses, monorails and at Disney Skyliner,”


I read it as part 2 to the first paragraph. “Indoors” is what the first paragraph says & then paragraph 2 describes those indoor locations including attractions. That doesn’t mean the outdoor part of attractionsIMO. Anyway, with the hub looking like that as it’s been, THAT’S the problem. Indoor masks won’t slow the spread. And I’m speaking as someone fully vaccinated who just got back & has Covid. IMO that’s how we got it, not hopping on & off rides where we were usually distanced from another party.


----------



## luv2cheer92

disny_luvr said:


> It looks like no masks on ferries or boats?


Correct, that is how it has been since June.


----------



## cdurham1

Monorails down this morning


----------



## DisneyFive

Animal Kingdom day today. It is 8:23 AM and we still have not left our resort room.  . We will see how this works out for lines getting to Animal Kingdom a little later after park opening. That was the benefit of doing FOP last night… hopefully. I will update the post throughout the day as I have for the last three park days

Our goal is to knock out Expedition Everest and Dinosaur and then take it from there.

We were all excited, while standing in line for FOP last night and researching our day today, to see that there is a drawing class back in Rafiki‘s planet watch. We used to love doing that at Hollywood studios back in the day!!

8:50am at resort bus stop (Boardwalk) and it doesn’t look like our bus will get here for at least 26 minutes.   In the park at 9:30 AM. The bus, and our slow start, did not help our plan but we will manage .  Roughly 45 minutes behind where I would have liked to be at this point.

9:44 AM. In line for Expedition Everest. Line stretches to the end of the Asia bridge near Nemo.  Posted 40 minutes.  On the ride in 23 minutes. That line really moves!

Typical crowd level this morning I would say.  This is from the queue area of EE.


10:18 AM. In line for Dinosaur.  Posted 25 minutes.  Would have been about 17 minutes but something just broke down on the ride.  We were very close to boarding.  Waited about 10 minutes extra but got it done.

Saw these guys as we were walking into LK show

11:23am.  Waiting inside the Lion King theater right now for the 11:30am show.  Got in line about 13 minutes before the show and walked in and most of the lower seating was already filled up. We still have a good spot.  No bad seats in this theater anyway.  Love.  That.  Show!


Mobile ordered Satu’li for 12pm.  Tried these bad boys for the first time.  My verdict: not sure what the fuss is about. Kind of tastes like a mix between a sloppy Joe and a hamburger wrapped in a bao bun.  The protein bowls win hands down IMO

Taking it slow now and we are going to do the gorilla trails, maharaja jungle treck and Rafiki‘s planet watch.

2:25 now. Did the gorilla trails.  Back at Rafiki area now.  So happy to be able to do the animation experience again!  (1:45 pm show). Josh was our animator and he was great. We did Bambi.  Pretty happy with the results


2:25pm Raining now.
3:00pm Did another animation class, and the rain is shutting us down for this afternoon. We will head back to the resort and maybe park hop somewhere else tonight. Having done FOP last night, we’ve done all the main attractions in animal kingdom that we wanted to. Might come back later in our stay, might not. 

6:30 trying Kimonos over at the Swan resort for the first time. Excellent sushi and reasonably priced. Walked  right in at 6:30 no reservation needed (or taken).  We will be back for sure!


Walking over to Epcot after this to get a few rides in and maybe hit a food and wine kiosk or two.

Ended up getting on Soarin with about a 10 minute wait around 8:45pm, then Living with the land (walk on) and then walking the world showcase kiosks for a small bite. Somehow the kids/wife ended up at Greece, trying all three food options.


By that time it was 9:50 PM and we were not interested in the fireworks at EP yet. We walked back to the Boardwalk and called it a night. Chilling on the balcony now

HS tomorrow.

-Dan


----------



## MomOTwins

LSUmiss said:


> I read it as part 2 to the first paragraph. “Indoors” is what the first paragraph says & then paragraph 2 describes those indoor locations including attractions. That doesn’t mean the outdoor part of attractionsIMO. Anyway, with the hub looking like that as it’s been, THAT’S the problem. Indoor masks won’t slow the spread. And I’m speaking as someone fully vaccinated who just got back & has Covid. IMO that’s how we got it, not hopping on & off rides where we were usually distanced from another party.


I think it is a stretch to read that as indoor attractions only—it doesn’t say including attractions, it says including ALL attractions and all pretty much always means all.  Plus it says masks are optional in “outdoor common areas” for the fully vaxxed.  And that is a phrase disney has used before to distinguish as outside all attractions, shows and and queues.  We’ll find out tomorrow of course but that is how I read it.


----------



## DisneyFive

cdurham1 said:


> Just wrapped up day 2 of our 8 day trip.  Tuesday, we rope dropped FOP at AK.  Got plenty of stuff done, then back to hotel for nap, followed by evening at EPCOT.  Then "rope dropped" Space Mountain this morning, followed by other stuff, lunch at Crystal Palace, then nap, and on to HS evening.
> 
> Quick notes -
> 
> - Parks seemed crowded, but no more than normal for this time of year.  The parking lots were empty enough that I was scratching my head as to how much capacity the missing attractions could take up.  We don't have attendance numbers, but I am guessing the numbers won't look particularly great to management.
> 
> - not having fastpasses sucks.  But it only sucks for those of us that do a good job planning.  I bet the average "i just showed up at the park and expect this to be like Six Flags Plus" crowd is having a great time.  The clerk at our hotel was telling us about the time she stood in line 4 hours for FOP.  Pretty sure she would have been really happy waiting up to a max of 90 minutes yesterday when we were at AK.
> 
> - just guessing here, but it seems clear to me that Disney doesn't intend to not have a fastpass option (betting on a paid variation) for too long.  The queues snaking out into the open sun are so "not Disney."  I would have expected them to create more shade and install fans (at the very least)  if they think they are going to stick around for any significant amount of time.  An ugly line with no theming in the hot sun is not a very magical feeling.
> 
> - RD fop was totally worth it.  The let us stream into FOP about 740 if i remember correctly.  We were quite a bit back in the crowd and we were on in about 20 minutes.  Most of that was walking thru the endless track of queue without stopping..  Not sure why i let my 10 year old talk me into "rope dropping" Space Mountain, but it didn't turn out very efficiently.  The crowd was already pretty intense by 8:30.  I took some pictures of the crowd behind us and in the hub while we waited at the Tomorrowland Bridge at 8:45.  As previously reported, they don't let anyone thru until exactly 9am.  I will try to attach pics.  It seemed like the expected wait time for SM was exactly the same at 9:30 as it was when we got on.  We are "rope dropping" (quotes bc they don't let you thru until 9am, so not sure it really counts) MK tomorrow, too, and hopefully will report back more successful results by going to BTM first.
> 
> - the heat is a factor.  Although it isn't a deal breaker, it will zap you.
> 
> - avoiding the lines with a paid fp option will definitely be utilized by people like me, even at a significant cost.  I live 12 hours by car away and try to visit once a year (but in reality less than that).  For us, trying to coordinate a time when family members can go is going to result in going when school is out.  And that means crowds.  And I am willing to pay to optimize our trip.
> 
> My 19 year old said today that instead of going once a year, she thinks we should go once every 3 years and save for a couple or 3 days of ViP service if we get other family members to go, too.  I think that is the sort of direction paid fp will take us - going less often and spending more when we go.


Pretty much agree with everything you’re saying.  I do think rope dropping Space Mountain saved a little bit of time, but one thing everyone needs to realize is that time is time. Getting to Magic Kingdom at 8:30 just wait half an hour before Park opens, and then wait in a short line for your first ride….  You are still waiting 30 minutes plus ride queue, whether it’s in line somewhere or not.

My older daughter mentioned that this morning, re. FOP. We waited 66 minutes I think last night and if we would have rope dropped it this morning, sure we probably would’ve been on in less than 20 minutes but we also would have to get to animal kingdom at least 30 minutes early. Not having FP+ is a huge difference this trip.
Hope the rest of your trip goes fantastic!
-Dan


----------



## mgodisney

We are rope dropping MK right now. They are still holding us until 9 am. I'm hoping they let us in the lands early tomorrow when the indoor mask mandates start again.


----------



## Griz1

Thank you everyone who has taken time to share their recent experience!
      We are going mid-August and have ADRs at Beirgarten, Chefs de France, Sanaa and Homecoming.
      Can anyone share recent pictures of what in-door dinning looks like (at any restaurant)?
      As someone worried about but still planning to go, I’m wondering if we might be better off doing the Food & Wine kiosks.


----------



## Mike

CeCe0906 said:


> Based on below it says all attractions so that would include Safari, which makes sense as you are seated close together.
> It doesn't make a lot of sense on something like Dumbo, but I figure it was just easier to say all attractions rather than create exceptions.
> 
> "Cast Members and Guests ages 2 and up, to wear face coverings in all indoor locations at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort beginning Friday, July 30, regardless of vaccination status.
> At Walt Disney World Resort, this includes upon entering and throughout all attractions and in *enclosed* transportation vehicles, including shuttles, buses, monorails and at Disney Skyliner,”



Safari is not an "enclosed" vehicle.  Neither is the ferry which is not listed.  I believe (hope?) this is only going to be enforced indoors or in enclosed spaces.


----------



## brockash

mgodisney said:


> We are rope dropping MK right now. They are still holding us until 9 am. I'm hoping they let us in the lands early tomorrow when the indoor mask mandates start again.


I really doubt they will, because in all honesty they don't care and it's not about the safety of guests (if it was they would've always left it as that and they'd go back to social distancing and having actual capacity limits.)  I'd love it if they did, but it's easier for them not to, so I doubt it.)


----------



## brockash

Griz1 said:


> Thank you everyone who has taken time to share their recent experience!
> We are going mid-August and have ADRs at Beirgarten, Chefs de France, Sanaa and Homecoming.
> Can anyone share recent pictures of what in-door dinning looks like (at any restaurant)?
> As someone worried about but still planning to go, I’m wondering if we might be better off doing the Food & Wine kiosks.


They basically look the same as usual...perhaps a few less tables, but nothing substantial or noticeable for us.  Maybe someone will have a picture, but I'd go into with the mindset that it looks pretty much like what it used to with perhaps a bit more space between tables, but not much.


----------



## DisneyFive

Griz1 said:


> Thank you everyone who has taken time to share their recent experience!
> We are going mid-August and have ADRs at Beirgarten, Chefs de France, Sanaa and Homecoming.
> Can anyone share recent pictures of what in-door dinning looks like (at any restaurant)?
> As someone worried about but still planning to go, I’m wondering if we might be better off doing the Food & Wine kiosks.


I don’t have pictures, but our experience has varied quite a bit. For instance Hollywood Brown Derby lunch was maybe 1/2 full, docking bay 7 dinner was completely full, Satu’li canteen dinner was maybe 1/4 full, via Napoli for lunch was maybe 1/5 full, whispering Canyon Café Lunch was maybe 1/4 full.

update: today we did Satu’li canteen for lunch and it was probably 3/4 full.   Way different than yesterday for dinner

Dan


----------



## srauseo

DisneyFive said:


> Getting to Magic Kingdom at 8:30 just wait half an hour before Park opens, and then wait in a short line for your first ride…. You are still waiting 30 minutes plus ride queue, whether it’s in line somewhere or not.



That's true. But when you are waiting in line outside the park, the park isn't open and you couldn't be in another line or doing something else inside the park. You only have a finite amount of time inside the park each day. Once the park is open, if you are waiting in a line that means there is something else inside the park that you could be doing that you can't. This is why I don't mind getting there early and waiting outside the park. 

Of course, you could be sleeping or eating breakfast somewhere rather than waiting outside a closed park. My goal, normally, is to maximize what I can do inside the park. It just depends on what your priorities are.


----------



## SkyGuy

Griz1 said:


> Thank you everyone who has taken time to share their recent experience!
> We are going mid-August and have ADRs at Beirgarten, Chefs de France, Sanaa and Homecoming.
> Can anyone share recent pictures of what in-door dinning looks like (at any restaurant)?
> As someone worried about but still planning to go, I’m wondering if we might be better off doing the Food & Wine kiosks.


Our last trip about a month ago still had some distance between tables at the resorts and parks, but we did notice that while eating in Disney Springs, things seemed to be back to normal. City Works, Raglan Road, Homecoming - all felt crowded in comparison, even if they weren’t actually back to 100%.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Any recent Trader Sam’s reports? Wondering how early they start taking names if they’re still doing the VQ.


----------



## DisneyFive

hereforthechurros said:


> Any recent Trader Sam’s reports? Wondering how early they start taking names if they’re still doing the VQ.


There is a really good Polynesian Resort thread in the resort part of these forums that will answer that.

Dan


----------



## cakebaker

Back at HS this morning to ride a few things we missed yesterday.

Our bus luck ran out. We were at the bus stop at 8, a huge group there and not everyone got on. By the time the next bus came, it was filled as well. We weren’t willing to join in the craziness of elbowing and shoving to get on. Finally made it on the 3rd bus but well past opening.

The news about the new policy has made the rounds. It’s irritating listening to the ranting.


----------



## DisneyFive

srauseo said:


> That's true. But when you are waiting in line outside the park, the park isn't open and you couldn't be in another line or doing something else inside the park. You only have a finite amount of time inside the park each day. Once the park is open, if you are waiting in a line that means there is something else inside the park that you could be doing that you can't. This is why I don't mind getting there early and waiting outside the park.
> 
> Of course, you could be sleeping or eating breakfast somewhere rather than waiting outside a closed park. My goal, normally, is to maximize what I can do inside the park. It just depends on what your priorities are.


Yes, true. All good points.  By the same token, hopping on a popular ride right at park closing extends your park day by quite a bit. We left animal kingdom more than an hour after park closing last night because we got in line for a flight of passage right before park close.

Dan


----------



## tlseege

DisneyFive and Cakebaker, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate these detailed reports.  They're really helpful and you're doing a wonderful job.  Have a great remainder of your trip!


----------



## Dakota731

brockash said:


> I really doubt they will, because in all honesty they don't care and it's not about the safety of guests (if it was they would've always left it as that and they'd go back to social distancing and having actual capacity limits.)  I'd love it if they did, but it's easier for them not to, so I doubt it.)


If they aren’t making money social distancing, then they can’t stay open.  WDW is not a government run organization that can operate while losing money.  And Disney isn’t in the public safety business either.  Most adults can do what they think is best for their family whether that is wearing masks, social distancing or staying away from theme parks in a pandemic.


----------



## preemiemama

Griz1 said:


> Thank you everyone who has taken time to share their recent experience!
> We are going mid-August and have ADRs at Beirgarten, Chefs de France, Sanaa and Homecoming.
> Can anyone share recent pictures of what in-door dinning looks like (at any restaurant)?
> As someone worried about but still planning to go, I’m wondering if we might be better off doing the Food & Wine kiosks.


This was Biergarten a couple weeks ago.  ETA: They did not seat different parties together either.


----------



## ShadowBoxer

Yea I was just going to mention that Disney is going back to requiring masks for all indoor attractions, dining, and shopping.  It got pretty ugly on the Disney reddit and Facebook groups with people fighting about this. But I will say is that for anyone going to Disney World in the coming days to be safe and enjoy yourself and make the best decision about your health.

Personal opinion though, I do think it's for the best. When I was in WDW July 9th-12th it was pretty insane  people had no sense of personal space while indoors and in line for attractions and stuff.  Some guy literally coughed on the back on my neck while in line for Toy Story Mania ( that's how close up on me he was).


----------



## ultimatefans

epcotobsessed said:


> I will note that at MK today, most queues were in the sun for a good portion. We actually left when we saw that both Space and Peoplemover looked to be at least 20-30min in the sun. I agree that everything is what you make of it and we are still having fun. I will add that in about 15 visits to the parks, we have never seen lines anywhere close to this long, and they are staying long all day. Doing a fraction of what you’re used to in a day, in terms of rides, is disheartening.


I know this is from 2 weeks ago but I went back to read posts from when I was at the parks.  We were at MK on the same day - Space was having an especially bad day that day according to the CMs.  It went down at least 3 times.  That probably led to the longer than normal wait times at Peoplemover.  We were in line one of the times at Space when they cleared the queue but had only been in 5-10 minutes so no big loss for us.  The next time it went down after we had boarded so we sat in the cars about 15 minutes before they evacuated us.  That was actually kind of cool to be evacuated from the ride.  HM, PoTC, Winnie the Pooh, and Peoplemover were all also down during the day at times we wanted to get in line.  Others had temporary stops when we were in line.  At one point later in the evening Winnie the Pooh had a line all the way out the queue, around the corner, and over to the teacups.  We did still have lots of fun though and I got all choked up when Happily Ever After started to play.


----------



## Griz1

preemiemama said:


> This was Biergarten a couple weeks ago.  ETA: They did not seat different parties together either.
> View attachment 593038


Thank you. Good to know about them not seating different parties together.


----------



## Nice Work Pal

ShadowBoxer said:


> Yea I was just going to mention that Disney is going back to requiring masks for all indoor attractions, dining, and shopping.  It got pretty ugly on the Disney reddit and Facebook groups with people fighting about this. But I will say is that for anyone going to Disney World in the coming days to be safe and enjoy yourself and make the best decision about your health.
> 
> Personal opinion though, I do think it's for the best. When I was in WDW July 9th-12th it was pretty insane  people had no sense of personal space while indoors and in line for attractions and stuff.  Some guy literally coughed on the back on my neck while in line for Toy Story Mania ( that's how close up on me he was).


We were there July 14-21…also April 18th-25th…the one thing I loved in April I wish they would have kept were the 6 ft distance markers. Covid or not they were awesome. I realize with the current length of the lines they’d be a disaster but maybe once they open fp up and get lines under control it’s something they could re-explore.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

If I’m not mistaken, the previous Disneyland and WDW guidance on masks was that they’re to be on when in queue for an attraction, whether that portion of the queue is indoors or not. Is that the prevailing view as to how this (very vague) guidance is going to be interpreted?


----------



## ShadowBoxer

Nice Work Pal said:


> We were there July 14-21…also April 18th-25th…the one thing I loved in April I wish they would have kept were the 6 ft distance markers. Covid or not they were awesome. I realize with the current length of the lines they’d be a disaster but maybe once they open fp up and get lines under control it’s something they could re-explore.



Yea they should have kept those 6 Ft markers and Fast Pass is definitely needed again with the increased park capacity.  I didn't even get to ride Flight of Passage because the wait time was a whopping 140-145 mins.


----------



## MomOTwins

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> If I’m not mistaken, the previous Disneyland and WDW guidance on masks was that they’re to be on when in queue for an attraction, whether that portion of the queue is indoors or not. Is that the prevailing view as to how this (very vague) guidance is going to be interpreted?


I believe so but we will know more tomorrow.  I recall some accounts from June when they temporarily had a similar policy (masks for attractions but not outdoor common areas) that people were told to where masks when entering the queue at the point where you go past the standby queue “gate” (where the standby time is posted, whether or not it is indoor after that point (eg POTC) or outdoor (eg Teacups); however people were not told to wear masks in the extended outdoor queues that stretched out between the formal queue entrance and the CM with an “end of line here” sign, and could drink, snack etc in that extended bit.

Of course, we won’t really know until tomorrow; just sharing my recollection from those weeks in June.


----------



## disny_luvr

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> If I’m not mistaken, the previous Disneyland and WDW guidance on masks was that they’re to be on when in queue for an attraction, whether that portion of the queue is indoors or not. Is that the prevailing view as to how this (very vague) guidance is going to be interpreted?



I really hope we get some clarification and I think we will tomorrow. So many people from these boards to people on Twitter and FB seem to have a different take on what exactly this new mask policy means. CMs may have different takes, too. Tomorrow is going to be very interesting in Disney.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

For what it’s worth, WDW removed outdoor masks the day after we left on our last trip in May. We arrive tomorrow and they’re reimplementing masks. I feel like my comings and goings is a herald of mask policy changes.


----------



## kc51570

Griz1 said:


> Thank you everyone who has taken time to share their recent experience!
> We are going mid-August and have ADRs at Beirgarten, Chefs de France, Sanaa and Homecoming.
> Can anyone share recent pictures of what in-door dinning looks like (at any restaurant)?
> As someone worried about but still planning to go, I’m wondering if we might be better off doing the Food & Wine kiosks.


I don’t have any pictures, but I would say indoor table service dining was one of the best parts of the trip. We were never seated close to any other parties and there were lots of empty tables. Service was really good because they were not at 100% capacity in restaurants and they had enough staff to handle whatever reduced capacity they had set. (other than Oga’s where we had to share a stand up table) I would think at food and wine kiosks or any outdoor quick service locations you will be much closer to people than at indoor table service.


----------



## Sugarshock

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> For what it’s worth, WDW removed outdoor masks the day after we left on our last trip in May. We arrive tomorrow and they’re reimplementing masks. I feel like my comings and goings is a herald of mask policy changes.


When are you going next after this trip?


----------



## aj24

kc51570 said:


> I don’t have any pictures, but I would say indoor table service dining was one of the best parts of the trip. We were never seated close to any other parties and there were lots of empty tables. Service was really good because they were not at 100% capacity in restaurants and they had enough staff to handle whatever reduced capacity they had set. (other than Oga’s where we had to share a stand up table) I would think at food and wine kiosks or any outdoor quick service locations you will be much closer to people than at indoor table service.



Was this recently? Good to hear.


----------



## Kmk2

Griz1 said:


> Thank you everyone who has taken time to share their recent experience!
> We are going mid-August and have ADRs at Beirgarten, Chefs de France, Sanaa and Homecoming.
> Can anyone share recent pictures of what in-door dinning looks like (at any restaurant)?
> As someone worried about but still planning to go, I’m wondering if we might be better off doing the Food & Wine kiosks.


If you have Instagram you can search by places and sort by recent - it will give you a pretty good idea of crowd levels etc?

edit: do not do this on an empty stomach. I just checked out Homecoming and now I’m starving.


----------



## wilkydelts

ShadowBoxer said:


> I didn't even get to ride Flight of Passage because the wait time was a whopping 140-145 mins.



You do realize that with FP+ those waits were 1.5-2 hours longer for the FOP. So the times who saw are much better than what it was.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

cdurham1 said:


> Today at MK at 8:45 from the Tomorrowland Bridge into the hub
> 
> View attachment 592989View attachment 592989View attachment 592991View attachment 592991


Those are some pretty good crowds.  Makes you shake your head with that many people mingling together that "Magically" (pun intended) when you go indoors a cloth mask will make one iota of a difference.


----------



## ShadowBoxer

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Those are some pretty good crowds.  Makes you shake your head with that many people mingling together that "Magically" (pun intended) when you go indoors a cloth mask will make one iota of a difference.



Not trying to argue. But will stay it's a big difference with crowds being in open air as oppose to being close together in an indoor space with limited air flow.  Additionally, people don't know personal space and a mask is at least some protection from a virus that could potentially be deadly to some.


----------



## Makmak

Please stop discussing masks. This is a very important thread to many of us and it will get shut down.


----------



## ShadowBoxer

Sorry won't happen again.


----------



## chad_1138

Current situation for The Land and Soarin… Tomorrow is gonna be a bad day.


----------



## Mango7100

chad_1138 said:


> Current situation for The Land and Soarin… Tomorrow is gonna be a bad day.


That is horrific for even pre 2020. I have never seen it like that…


----------



## chad_1138

Mango7100 said:


> That is horrific for even pre 2020. I have never seen it like that…


The poor CMs are trying to sort everyone into the lines.  I feel so bad for what they are gonna face tomorrow


----------



## Mango7100

chad_1138 said:


> The poor CMs are trying to sort everyone into the lines.  I feel so bad for what they are gonna face tomorrow


You can’t even tell a separation of lines, it just looks like a mass of humanity


----------



## disneyseniors

cdurham1 said:


> Today at MK at 8:45 from the Tomorrowland Bridge into the hub
> 
> View attachment 592989View attachment 592989View attachment 592991View attachment 592991



Wow, that looks totallly ridiculous!  I've been several times and have never, ever seen a crowd like this at the hub.  Looks miserable.


----------



## chad_1138

Here you go, right before HEA last Monday night…


----------



## harleyquinn

disneyseniors said:


> Wow, that looks totallly ridiculous!  I've been several times and have never, ever seen a crowd like this at the hub.  Looks miserable.


I would NEVER stand in that HEA crowd again. I did it once pre-covid and it was AWFUL. HEA is not worth that. We now watch from rides.


----------



## disny_luvr

chad_1138 said:


> Here you go, right before HEA last Monday night…



Wow! Looks like my last trip in 2018! We did the dessert party and were in the garden area, but it was wall to wall people around the hub and all the way down Main Street. It took us forever to exit the garden area; the crowds just kept on coming. I have such mixed feelings because I want to see HEA one more time next week, but how is this okay?

ETA - What time should we get to the hub to get a decent spot?


----------



## harleyquinn

disny_luvr said:


> Wow! Looks like my last trip in 2018! We did the dessert party and were in the garden area, but it was wall to wall people around the hub and all the way down Main Street. It took us forever to exit the garden area; the crowds just kept on coming. I have such mixed feelings because I want to see HEA one more time next week, but how is this okay?
> 
> ETA - What time should we get to the hub to get a decent spot?


I've read up to 90 minutes, so that you can grab a fence spot. If you stand with a fence in front of you at least no one can push their way in front of you and you'll have the open space.


----------



## WriterGina

I tried asking this question in the Food & Wine thread but got no response, hoping maybe to get an answer in this more active thread. Has anyone who's been at Epcot recently noticed if they still seem to have the appetizer plates in stock? Would love to have for our late August trip but they are sold out online. I'm hoping to pick up when we get there!


----------



## honeymo78

harleyquinn said:


> I would NEVER stand in that HEA crowd again. I did it once pre-covid and it was AWFUL. HEA is not worth that. We now watch from rides.


The first time I saw HEA inside the park (pre-Covid), I had a full blown panic attack at the end when everyone was trying leave and we were literally trapped in a sea of not moving people near where we had watched by the Plaza restaurant.  I only saw the projections once after that when I was lucky enough to get a relatively uncrowded spot right near the taped off exit lane and was able to take a step back into the lane once in a while when I felt overwhelmed by the people.  That exit lane also allowed me to get out of the crush and find a spot to wait for crowds to disperse afterwards.  Since then, I've planned CG dinners to watch the fireworks from the observation deck and hope to try out a dessert party once they return.  I have no problem waiting an hour for people to exit, as long as there is a spot out of the crush of people.


----------



## Makmak

WriterGina said:


> I tried asking this question in the Food & Wine thread but got no response, hoping maybe to get an answer in this more active thread. Has anyone who's been at Epcot recently noticed if they still seem to have the appetizer plates in stock? Would love to have for our late August trip but they are sold out online. I'm hoping to pick up when we get there!


I just found the 2020 one on Amazon, not sure if that helps.


----------



## ShadowBoxer

It seems like that have silently increased capacity again. HOLY CRAP!  It wasn't that packed in the parks only two-three weeks ago.........


----------



## cakebaker

Talked to a few CM’s and while they are being careful with what they say, it’s clear they’re dreading tomorrow. People should be ashamed for giving them a hard time. Regardless of how you feel about it, they’re just doing their job


----------



## harleyquinn

We were supposed to be at DHS today, and I've been watching LINEs and MDE apps and yikes. I'm happy to be sitting in my freezing cold office. lol  Hopefully a week and a half from now it won't be that bad or we will spend a lot more time swimming!


----------



## smwisc

disny_luvr said:


> Wow! Looks like my last trip in 2018! We did the dessert party and were in the garden area, but it was wall to wall people around the hub and all the way down Main Street. It took us forever to exit the garden area; the crowds just kept on coming. I have such mixed feelings because I want to see HEA one more time next week, but how is this okay?
> 
> ETA - What time should we get to the hub to get a decent spot?


Last night the hub was getting pretty full at 90 minutes.


----------



## harleyquinn

cakebaker said:


> Talked to a few CM’s and while they are being careful with what they say, it’s clear they’re dreading tomorrow. People should be ashamed for giving them a hard time. Reagardless of how you feel about it, they’re just doing their job


Me too. I reached out to my CM friends with a virtual hug today. At least the next week is probably going to be incredibly difficult for them.


----------



## cakebaker

Leaving HS now. Heavy crowds and of course unbelievably long lines. Did I mention that it’s hotter than the surface of the sun today?
This afternoon is pool time and lunch at PJ’s- Ft Wilderness qs.

We may do Epcot this evening to try and taste a few things we missed. Tomorrow is Blizzard Beach - no lines for the most part!


----------



## harleyquinn

cakebaker said:


> Leaving HS now. Heavy crowds and of course unbelievably long lines. Did I mention that it’s hotter than the surface of the sun today?
> This afternoon is pool time and lunch at PJ’s- Ft Wilderness qs.
> 
> We may do Epcot this evening to try and taste a few things we missed. Tomorrow is Blizzard Beach - no lines for the most part!


I can't wait to hear your BB report! At this point, we may spend more days there than in the other parks!


----------



## naneliz

Mango7100 said:


> That is horrific for even pre 2020. I have never seen it like that…



This is exactly what I was thinking! I have been to WDW countless times and that includes peak seasons like from Christmas to NYE and I have NEVER seen it so congested. I feel awful for the CM having to deal with that hot mess.


----------



## chad_1138

So we just left Epcot.  There is absolutely zero signage about the mask change for tomorrow.  I really wish today was our last park day.  Totally dreading tomorrow.


----------



## WriterGina

Makmak said:


> I just found the 2020 one on Amazon, not sure if that helps.



Thanks, yes, I did see that one too but I really like the 2021 tray.


----------



## kc51570

aj24 said:


> Was this recently? Good to hear.


Yes, 7/4-7/12. I think one of the reason dining reservations were so hard to come by was the reduced capacity in restaurants. Probably not enough cooks or waitstaff to handle adding in more. LaHacienda had plenty of empty tables inside, bu had a sign outside that they were not taking any walk ups.


----------



## Mike Mantis

I spent a day at MK in early June, going back tomorrow for a few days.

I'm pretty much anticipating it to be (1) rainy beyond belief (2) hot as hell and (3) full of people complaining about masks. #1 and #2 I signed up for... #3 I'm not looking forward to.

For those of you (us) who have been many times, what were some of the out of the way things you've done during this crowded/COVID time that could be a good way to spend time in MK?

I don't need to do every ride, I don't need to justify my ticket price, I'm there to rope drop and leave at close and just enjoy the day. Even if a good chunk of that is shopping!


----------



## WEDWDW

harleyquinn said:


> Me too. I reached out to my CM friends with a virtual hug today. At least the next week is probably going to be incredibly difficult for them.


I REALLY feel for the wonderful DCP Cast!

What a Welcome Back "surprise"!


----------



## Sarahslay

chad_1138 said:


> So we just left Epcot.  There is absolutely zero signage about the mask change for tomorrow.  I really wish today was our last park day.  Totally dreading tomorrow.


My friend that works (office job) there says they are frantically trying to get the signage made for all the parks. It's not like they kept all the old signs, and she said this was not a decision that was a long time coming as it was pretty last minute per what her boss said. She has a close friend who works in the department that does the signs and they are BUSY right now. I don't envy them, this is all pretty much because of the CDC announcement and then local officials calling for tighter restrictions, they also realized it was bad form to pull their execs from the convention they were supposed to speak out due to covid concerns and then subject all their employees at the parks to it daily. So a last minute mask decision it is, everyone should just be happy they didn't also bring back social distancing markers with all these crowds, holy moly that would be nuts. Hoping they get the signs up in time so the CMs have something to back them up for all the folks on vacation who might not be paying attention to news.


----------



## Sarahslay

cakebaker said:


> Leaving HS now. Heavy crowds and of course unbelievably long lines. Did I mention that it’s hotter than the surface of the sun today?
> This afternoon is pool time and lunch at PJ’s- Ft Wilderness qs.
> 
> We may do Epcot this evening to try and taste a few things we missed. Tomorrow is Blizzard Beach - no lines for the most part!


I was just curious about the heat there, I know it's summer so it's dang hot, but I'm in GA and it's blazing here so thought I'd check and see how close to the sun you guys were sitting today. Make sure you drink up that water because the feels like is 101 right now, goodness (of course, it's actually hotter where I am for some reason, but you'd have to pay me to go outside right now). Hopefully you get a good break from all the crazy at BB tomorrow!


----------



## erin1715

Sarahslay said:


> My friend that works (office job) there says they are frantically trying to get the signage made for all the parks. It's not like they kept all the old signs, and she said this was not a decision that was a long time coming as it was pretty last minute per what her boss said. She has a close friend who works in the department that does the signs and they are BUSY right now. I don't envy them, this is all pretty much because of the CDC announcement and then local officials calling for tighter restrictions, they also realized it was bad form to pull their execs from the convention they were supposed to speak out due to covid concerns and then subject all their employees at the parks to it daily. So a last minute mask decision it is, everyone should just be happy they didn't also bring back social distancing markers with all these crowds, holy moly that would be nuts. Hoping they get the signs up in time so the CMs have something to back them up for all the folks on vacation who might not be paying attention to news.


What a complete mess. And still no change from Universal which is interesting


----------



## Sarahslay

erin1715 said:


> What a complete mess. And still no change from Universal which is interesting


It is an absolute mess for sure, and I 100% don't expect Universal to change anytime soon, but they also don't have the crowding issue that the Disney parks currently have. I do recommend a mask chain/lanyard for this type of thing, worked out well on our last trip for taking the mask on and off without having to keep track of it, I got a huge set of them on Amazon for under $20 so I have a color for every outfit I could ever want plus extra.


----------



## erin1715

Sarahslay said:


> It is an absolute mess for sure, and I 100% don't expect Universal to change anytime soon, but they also don't have the crowding issue that the Disney parks currently have. I do recommend a mask chain/lanyard for this type of thing, worked out well on our last trip for taking the mask on and off without having to keep track of it, I got a huge set of them on Amazon for under $20 so I have a color for every outfit I could ever want plus extra.


Actually from the vloggers I’ve seen, universal has been packed too. It took an hour just to get through security there.


----------



## cakebaker

Sarahslay said:


> I was just curious about the heat there, I know it's summer so it's dang hot, but I'm in GA and it's blazing here so thought I'd check and see how close to the sun you guys were sitting today. Make sure you drink up that water because the feels like is 101 right now, goodness (of course, it's actually hotter where I am for some reason, but you'd have to pay me to go outside right now). Hopefully you get a good break from all the crazy at BB tomorrow!


We’re from Oklahoma where it’s been at or over 100 so we’re used to the heat- but today is killing us. Drinking water is no joke. I can tell you what happens when you haven’t drank enough water and down a couple of frozen alcoholic bevarages.   Not doing that again! lol


----------



## Eastern

harleyquinn said:


> I would NEVER stand in that HEA crowd again. I did it once pre-covid and it was AWFUL. HEA is not worth that. We now watch from rides.



I like watching the fireworks from the PeopleMover.


----------



## The13thLetter

do you all think HEA will be better, worse, the same on boo bash nights? and i guess if someone is at one of the first ones maybe report back if you would be so kind


----------



## jenniferahardin87

I got a complimentary pass for one day from dec 2020 - called about it and they told me expires end of the year - 6 tickets so don’t want to waste - I checked which days kids don’t have school - oct 7-20, booked flights and rented dvc - now come here and see it’s 50th anniversary and see all the issues going on.  hoping they get better by October somehow but doubting it


----------



## Neener16

WriterGina said:


> I tried asking this question in the Food & Wine thread but got no response, hoping maybe to get an answer in this more active thread. Has anyone who's been at Epcot recently noticed if they still seem to have the appetizer plates in stock? Would love to have for our late August trip but they are sold out online. I'm hoping to pick up when we get there!


I just returned and remember seeing them in a couple places. I don't think you'll have a problem.


----------



## krismom345

WriterGina said:


> I tried asking this question in the Food & Wine thread but got no response, hoping maybe to get an answer in this more active thread. Has anyone who's been at Epcot recently noticed if they still seem to have the appetizer plates in stock? Would love to have for our late August trip but they are sold out online. I'm hoping to pick up when we get there!


In Epcot last week and they were all over


----------



## harleyquinn

Eastern said:


> I like watching the fireworks from the PeopleMover.


One of our favorites!!  We've watched it from there, Splash, Dumbo, 7D and most often from BTMR. We can usually get in 3 rides on BTMR during the fireworks, but our favorite is Splash. Something about being inside and then going out for the fireworks and then back in and back out. It's magical.


----------



## fbarker

123SA said:


> And…what does this mean for restaurants?  Both table service and counter service? Can you report back?
> 
> I really appreciate your reports!




This seems pretty clear to me:   Cast Members and Guests ages 2 and up, to wear face coverings in all indoor locations at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort beginning Friday, July 30, regardless of vaccination status.   So restaurants are indoor locations at WDW and they would require masks to eat  indoor


----------



## LittleStinkerbelle

WriterGina said:


> I tried asking this question in the Food & Wine thread but got no response, hoping maybe to get an answer in this more active thread. Has anyone who's been at Epcot recently noticed if they still seem to have the appetizer plates in stock? Would love to have for our late August trip but they are sold out online. I'm hoping to pick up when we get there!


Hi there. We were able to buy this on Sunday at Port of Entry. I believe I also saw them at the merchandise kiosk/tents.


----------



## 123SA

fbarker said:


> This seems pretty clear to me:   Cast Members and Guests ages 2 and up, to wear face coverings in all indoor locations at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort beginning Friday, July 30, regardless of vaccination status.   So restaurants are indoor locations at WDW and they would require masks to eat  indoor



I wasn't very clear at all about my concern.  I am concerned about the change in mask policy having an effect on restaurant capacity and wait times.  I arrive next Saturday for  11  nights and was planning on 2 meals in the parks per day.  If the change in mask policy makes it significantly more difficult to eat in the parks, I'd like to be prepared.  My son has celiac disease, so simply ordering food through Uber is not a good option.  I've also been advised that the the resort counter service meals are a little less capable when it comes to allergies.


And...well, yes, wear a mask to walk inside the restaurant.  I've read the rules and intend to follow Disney's policies.   I've only been in a restaurant once since March 2020 and it was after mask mandates were removed.  I don't know what is expected because you clearly can't eat with a mask on.  Do you remove it when seated?  After you order? Do you wait until your food arrives?  Is there an actual protocol for this?   Will they clearly state the expectations?


----------



## asumom

ShadowBoxer said:


> It seems like that have silently increased capacity again. HOLY CRAP!  It wasn't that packed in the parks only two-three weeks ago.........


That's why the new rule that goes into effect tomorrow makes no sense.


----------



## Naomeri

123SA said:


> I wasn't very clear at all about my concern.  I am concerned about the change in mask policy having an effect on restaurant capacity and wait times.  I arrive next Saturday for  11  nights and was planning on 2 meals in the parks per day.  If the change in mask policy makes it significantly more difficult to eat in the parks, I'd like to be prepared.  My son has celiac disease, so simply ordering food through Uber is not a good option.  I've also been advised that the the resort counter service meals are a little less capable when it comes to allergies.
> 
> 
> And...well, yes, wear a mask to walk inside the restaurant.  I've read the rules and intend to follow Disney's policies.   I've only been in a restaurant once since March 2020 and it was after mask mandates were removed.  I don't know what is expected because you clearly can't eat with a mask on.  Do you remove it when seated?  After you order? Do you wait until your food arrives?  Is there an actual protocol for this?   Will they clearly state the expectations?


I think if Disney were making any changes to restaurant capacity, they’d have mentioned it.  As far as masks in restaurants, most people take it off once seated, or when the drinks arrive.  I think they tried to have a protocol during the previous masking rules that said wait until drinks arrive, but it didn’t seem to be strongly/uniformly enforced.


----------



## Akck

123SA said:


> I wasn't very clear at all about my concern.  I am concerned about the change in mask policy having an effect on restaurant capacity and wait times.  I arrive next Saturday for  11  nights and was planning on 2 meals in the parks per day.  If the change in mask policy makes it significantly more difficult to eat in the parks, I'd like to be prepared.  My son has celiac disease, so simply ordering food through Uber is not a good option.  I've also been advised that the the resort counter service meals are a little less capable when it comes to allergies.
> 
> 
> And...well, yes, wear a mask to walk inside the restaurant.  I've read the rules and intend to follow Disney's policies.   I've only been in a restaurant once since March 2020 and it was after mask mandates were removed.  I don't know what is expected because you clearly can't eat with a mask on.  Do you remove it when seated?  After you order? Do you wait until your food arrives?  Is there an actual protocol for this?   Will they clearly state the expectations?



Past mask protocol was wear a mask upon entering and any time while moving (going to restroom). When seated and drinks served, you can remove masks. Courtesy to CMs would be to wear masks while ordering. Once finished eating, place masks on until you leave. Some restaurants would tell you it’s okay to remove masks once you’re seated.


----------



## cakebaker

disny_luvr said:


> Wow! Looks like my last trip in 2018! We did the dessert party and were in the garden area, but it was wall to wall people around the hub and all the way down Main Street. It took us forever to exit the garden area; the crowds just kept on coming. I have such mixed feelings because I want to see HEA one more time next week, but how is this okay?
> 
> ETA - What time should we get to the hub to get a decent spot?


 Right now, the only way I’d watch HEA is just like we have twice. Go to the garden area in front of Casey’s 1-1.5 hrs before fireworks start and stake out a spot on the back fence. We’re very safety conscious and this worked for us. When it’s over, just sit there and let the crowds thin out It takes at least half an hour - 45 minutes for it to be clear enough for us.

I would’ve given anything for a dessert buffet, but the way we did it wasn’t awful. Even if you get to the open hub hours in advance, you’re still going to be in a sea of people all jockeying for a good spot. An hour before fireworks, it’s a mess. The garden area does not get crazy at all. In fact, close to show time people will end up blocking the entrance standing outside the hub and people walking past don’t even realize they could come in. We were not crammed up against people just because of that.


----------



## Sarahslay

cakebaker said:


> We’re from Oklahoma where it’s been at or over 100 so we’re used to the heat- but today is killing us. Drinking water is no joke. I can tell you what happens when you haven’t drank enough water and down a couple of frozen alcoholic bevarages.   Not doing that again! lol


Being from the south I know it's not always the heat that gets you, it's the darn humidity since it'll sneak that dehydration in real sneaky like. I found out the hard way myself about the frozen alcoholic beverages a few years ago, it was at least fun for a little while lol

Edited because I had to wake up too early this morning and I am not making sense today, almost like I have had too many of those frozen alcoholic beverages, if only....


----------



## preemiemama

kc51570 said:


> Yes, 7/4-7/12. I think one of the reason dining reservations were so hard to come by was the reduced capacity in restaurants. Probably not enough cooks or waitstaff to handle adding in more. LaHacienda had plenty of empty tables inside, bu had a sign outside that they were not taking any walk ups.


We ate there on 7/14 and it was the same.  They just do not have to wait staff to add more reservations- they had their hands full (literally) the whole time we were there.


----------



## preemiemama

Here is another picture I got in Tusker House that can show some of the spacing.


----------



## Momtomouselover

The parks are super crowded right now. I am just leaving after a 4.5 day trip. On this trip we experienced less attractions then ever before. I think the number of people allowed in is calculated by the fire codes and “full capacity” is irrelevant. Parks are rarely full capacity outside of holidays. So the reduction in people is less Disney keeping people out (although there may be a cap) but mainly because some things aren’t open and so the allowed people for that space is not calculated in the total allowed capacity since it’s closed. Add to that a reduction in numbers of CMs (less people working food carts, less carts, less restaurant availability, less help in stores..), no FPs, no parades and no meet and greets, etc. and in some parks less shows, to break up waits and in effect everything has a wait. Everyone is in line or looking for where to go. We found that if you arrived at the parks really early for rope drop you could get about 3 attractions in before lines grew and you had to choose carefully. The wait times were sometimes over inflated, sometimes under inflated and sometimes just right. Unfortunately it was hard to tell until you arrived at the attraction and then you made a guess based on where the line started and previous experiences.  Storms also caused mass closures some days along with the usual ride closures. If you go, go in with expectations set correctly. I’m glad it was just myself and a friend vs large family. Perhaps once schools start back the crowds will let up but for now Disney has more guests than they can handle unless you are not oppose to waiting every time (and waiting in the heat and masked at times. I think masks are a good idea but still found it challenging). I think that is what was so different to me is before  you always had at least 3 FPs and some attractions were short waits to break things up. Right after the Covid closure there was reduced capacity (visited in October, March, and beginning of June). That is not the case right now. I have taken a couple trips here since the COVID closure but this is the first time it felt both too crowded and maybe not even safe from a COVID perspective if you are unvaccinated.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

So we’ve never been to AK. It’s never been high on our list but we came down to FL to visit family and carved out one night to check it out (staying at Poly tomorrow, planning to go Saturday morning when, ostensibly, the crowds are elsewhere). Hearing these anecdotal reports of the crowds are making me a bit apprehensive. The masking change actually makes it more likely we keep the reservation. Trying to decide if it’s worth it or if we just do resort experiences this time and use our sunk  cost in tickets towards a park hopper next fall and try it then.


----------



## DisneyFive

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> So we’ve never been to AK. It’s never been high on our list but we came down to FL to visit family and carved out one night to check it out (staying at Poly tomorrow, planning to go Saturday morning when, ostensibly, the crowds are elsewhere). Hearing these anecdotal reports of the crowds are making me a bit apprehensive. The masking change actually makes it more likely we keep the reservation. Trying to decide if it’s worth it or if we just do resort experiences this time and use our sunk  cost in tickets towards a park hopper next fall and try it then.


I would not get too concerned about crowds. We have visited for extended stays the same time of year pre-Covid and the crowds feel the same to me. Also don’t get scared by the pictures. It is easy to make an area look incredibly crowded from the angle of the photo and the perspective.

The parks are not empty by any means, but they never are this time of year. Just feels normal to me. The big difference is lack of fast pass and the amount of time standing in lines now.

Dan


----------



## cakebaker

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> So we’ve never been to AK. It’s never been high on our list but we came down to FL to visit family and carved out one night to check it out (staying at Poly tomorrow, planning to go Saturday morning when, ostensibly, the crowds are elsewhere). Hearing these anecdotal reports of the crowds are making me a bit apprehensive. The masking change actually makes it more likely we keep the reservation. Trying to decide if it’s worth it or if we just do resort experiences this time and use our sunk  cost in tickets towards a park hopper next fall and try it then.



Honestly, I’d wait. We’ve been here since Monday and AK felt more crowded than any other park. If rides are important, unless you’re willing to be at AK an hour or more before they open, then move in that massive crowd to FOP, you’re looking at a 2 hr or more wait to ride. 

Within a couple of hours all the rides there have fairly long lines and the lines snaking thru the park really make the crowds seem awful. If you can accept long waits, a lot of it outdoors in the heat, you’re set. If not, I’d think twice. 

While we’ve had a fairly decent time, it’s been hard to get anything done. If I had it to do over again, I’d stay home.


----------



## harleyquinn

Plus, never look at rope drop crowds as an indicator of anything. Those pictures are always insane at any time of the year.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

Sugarshock said:


> When are you going next after this trip?


Mid-March!


----------



## java

ttfn3 said:


> Were you on a ride at 10:20 - and if yes, which one?  I'm trying to figure out an Epcot RD strategy - with the shortest lines. & preferably not criss crossing thru all the construction TIA


We rode TT first- walked on and was one of the first to ride.
Today went back to Epcot- parking lot already opened by 9:50. We got in line at 10 let in at 10:20 walked to Soarin walk on. Then walked on figment. Headed to world showcase to eat and drink our way around. The rain shortened our plans so we left around 3 in the downpour.  Resting and heading out later.

so for this week every park let us into and on rides anywhere from 45 minutes early except MK. They held us inside the park on Main Street until 9


----------



## harleyquinn

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> So we’ve never been to AK. It’s never been high on our list but we came down to FL to visit family and carved out one night to check it out (staying at Poly tomorrow, planning to go Saturday morning when, ostensibly, the crowds are elsewhere). Hearing these anecdotal reports of the crowds are making me a bit apprehensive. The masking change actually makes it more likely we keep the reservation. Trying to decide if it’s worth it or if we just do resort experiences this time and use our sunk  cost in tickets towards a park hopper next fall and try it then.


I need to read more carefully. If I were you, I would enjoy the resort and skip the park. The next few days are going to be hard while things transistion. AK is my least favorite park and I would never waste a one day ticket there.


----------



## Bibbobboo2u

The13thLetter said:


> do you all think HEA will be better, worse, the same on boo bash nights? and i guess if someone is at one of the first ones maybe report back if you would be so kind


I think it will be worse.  You will have regular crowd levels due to normal MK closing time plus Boo Bash people who get to come in early.  We aren't going until later in Oct so won't get to see HEA,  but we went ahead and changed our MK day to a non-BB day (since we aren't attending).  It will probably still be very crowded either way.  Hope someone does report back!


----------



## allaboutthemouse

Mike Mantis said:


> I spent a day at MK in early June, going back tomorrow for a few days.
> 
> I'm pretty much anticipating it to be (1) rainy beyond belief (2) hot as hell and (3) full of people complaining about masks. #1 and #2 I signed up for... #3 I'm not looking forward to.
> 
> For those of you (us) who have been many times, what were some of the out of the way things you've done during this crowded/COVID time that could be a good way to spend time in MK?
> 
> I don't need to do every ride, I don't need to justify my ticket price, I'm there to rope drop and leave at close and just enjoy the day. Even if a good chunk of that is shopping!


My sister and I just got back last week, we have been many times so were not worried about cramming everything in…some of the highlights for me taking it slow - 

-Meandering  s l o w l y  up the Swiss family treehouse, stopping a few times to just gaze out at the castle and let people pass us…it was not very crowded lol
-Enjoying that kakamora float at aloha isle…YUM…just be sure to mobile order.  It was crazy packed and hard to find a place to enjoy it.
-Ate at skipper canteen for a break.  After you check in, go inside to the left to wait, there is a little open area through a doorway with two cushioned chairs that are outside undercover kind of like a balcony right across from the treehouse to people watch while you wait a few minutes for your table.  
-Got a last minute reservation at liberty tree, started to pour right as we went in, perfect timing!
-Found a spot to watch HEA on the left side of castle near the bridge, few people back there, projections were distorted but castle was close and colors were still pretty!
-Then made a beeline to Astro orbiter for one last ride of day after HEA while everyone else was headed to space or mine train.  Could have done people mover a couple times instead, I’m sure.
-Sitting on a bench near the train station in front of park for over 30 minutes watching the hoards of people stream out until it was a trickle, then left.  Got right on a bus, no wait.
-Carried a small umbrella around all day…great for rain, sun, and a  social distancing mechanism in crowds lol 
-We didn’t do much shopping, I have enough Disney merch.  If anything, I would have bought a pin, but I didn’t see anything I liked.  I feel like the pins haven’t changed much, same old same old. Did a lot of eating, though.
-FWIW, I know a lot of people slam AK for FEELING overly hot for some reason, but we feel like MK is overly hot…with tons of people everywhere and so much concrete and lines all being outside a lot not undercover.  I think we both enjoyed our slow day at AK better.


----------



## bigfatdan

allaboutthemouse said:


> -Enjoying that kakamora float at aloha isle…YUM…just be sure to mobile order.  It was crazy packed and hard to find a place to enjoy it.


I didn't see this the last time I was there but now I want one!


----------



## luvthemouse71

ShadowBoxer said:


> Yea I was just going to mention that Disney is going back to requiring masks for all indoor attractions, dining, and shopping.  It got pretty ugly on the Disney reddit and Facebook groups with people fighting about this. But I will say is that for anyone going to Disney World in the coming days to be safe and enjoy yourself and make the best decision about your health.
> 
> Personal opinion though, I do think it's for the best. When I was in WDW July 9th-12th it was pretty insane  people had no sense of personal space while indoors and in line for attractions and stuff.  Some guy literally coughed on the back on my neck while in line for Toy Story Mania ( that's how close up on me he was).


Like I said before, I’d be wearing a mask anyway, even if they haven’t mandated it. I’m a nurse and worked all last year during the pandemic, unvaxxed, with recycled and reused masks. Never caught the big C. But, those are some pretty intense crowds and I personally don’t wish to chance it. I also work in the OR so I’m used to the masks anyway.


----------



## luvthemouse71

allaboutthemouse said:


> My sister and I just got back last week, we have been many times so were not worried about cramming everything in…some of the highlights for me taking it slow -
> 
> -Meandering  s l o w l y  up the Swiss family treehouse, stopping a few times to just gaze out at the castle and let people pass us…it was not very crowded lol
> -Enjoying that kakamora float at aloha isle…YUM…just be sure to mobile order.  It was crazy packed and hard to find a place to enjoy it.
> -Ate at skipper canteen for a break.  After you check in, go inside to the left to wait, there is a little open area through a doorway with two cushioned chairs that are outside undercover kind of like a balcony right across from the treehouse to people watch while you wait a few minutes for your table.
> -Got a last minute reservation at liberty tree, started to pour right as we went in, perfect timing!
> -Found a spot to watch HEA on the left side of castle near the bridge, few people back there, projections were distorted but castle was close and colors were still pretty!
> -Then made a beeline to Astro orbiter for one last ride of day after HEA while everyone else was headed to space or mine train.  Could have done people mover a couple times instead, I’m sure.
> -Sitting on a bench near the train station in front of park for over 30 minutes watching the hoards of people stream out until it was a trickle, then left.  Got right on a bus, no wait.
> -Carried a small umbrella around all day…great for rain, sun, and a  social distancing mechanism in crowds lol
> -We didn’t do much shopping, I have enough Disney merch.  If anything, I would have bought a pin, but I didn’t see anything I liked.  I feel like the pins haven’t changed much, same old same old. Did a lot of eating, though.
> -FWIW, I know a lot of people slam AK for FEELING overly hot for some reason, but we feel like MK is overly hot…with tons of people everywhere and so much concrete and lines all being outside a lot not undercover.  I think we both enjoyed our slow day at AK better.


Good idea about the umbrella!


----------



## kc51570

123SA said:


> I wasn't very clear at all about my concern.  I am concerned about the change in mask policy having an effect on restaurant capacity and wait times.  I arrive next Saturday for  11  nights and was planning on 2 meals in the parks per day.  If the change in mask policy makes it significantly more difficult to eat in the parks, I'd like to be prepared.  My son has celiac disease, so simply ordering food through Uber is not a good option.  I've also been advised that the the resort counter service meals are a little less capable when it comes to allergies.
> 
> 
> And...well, yes, wear a mask to walk inside the restaurant.  I've read the rules and intend to follow Disney's policies.   I've only been in a restaurant once since March 2020 and it was after mask mandates were removed.  I don't know what is expected because you clearly can't eat with a mask on.  Do you remove it when seated?  After you order? Do you wait until your food arrives?  Is there an actual protocol for this?   Will they clearly state the expectations?


Resorts can handle food allergies-you just have to order in person usually with a manager. The quick service resort allergy options are not listed In mobile order, but they have the options and are capable.


----------



## Disneygrl71

We just got back and even though we had a great time (changed our exceptions before going and knew what to expect thanks to everyone here.. but since this was the only time we could go..made the most of it)

*Lines are extremely LONG
*It’s so HOT and the humidity is insane 
*It rained almost every afternoon/evening and since we hate to be wet (sensory issues) we missed a lot of park time, rope drop was the way to go for us (about two days in we realized this)
*Hate the short evening hours, in this heat/humidity they really should have extended night hours..plus the parks are so pretty then
*Cast members were all awesome 
*We didn’t notice any trash issues
*Buses and wait times seem to vary especially when leaving the parks, MK was the worse
*If you worried  with social distancing I would definitely skip right now. Also a side note, I twisted my ankle and went to one of the health clinics, I would say about 98% of the people who came in were being tested for covid. At one point they started sending ppl elsewhere..they were at a 4 hour wait on testing.
*Memory Maker was a bust for us, didn’t see a lot of cast members and the rain didn’t help

Overall, glad we went but will never go back in any summer months again. But, awesome memories and many laughs were made


----------



## disny_luvr

Disneygrl71 said:


> We just got back and even though we had a great time (changed our exceptions before going and knew what to expect thanks to everyone here.. but since this was the only time we could go..made the most of it)
> 
> *Lines are extremely LONG
> *It’s so HOT and the humidity is insane
> *It rained almost every afternoon/evening and since we hate to be wet (sensory issues) we missed a lot of park time, rope drop was the way to go for us (about two days in we realized this)
> *Hate the short evening hours, in this heat/humidity they really should have extended night hours..plus the parks are so pretty then
> *Cast members were all awesome
> *We didn’t notice any trash issues
> *Buses and wait times seem to vary especially when leaving the parks, MK was the worse
> *If you worried  with social distancing I would definitely skip right now. Also a side note, I twisted my ankle and went to one of the health clinics, I would say about 98% of the people who came in were being tested for covid. At one point they started sending ppl elsewhere..they were at a 4 hour wait on testing.
> *Memory Maker was a bust for us, didn’t see a lot of cast members and the rain didn’t help
> 
> Overall, glad we went but will never go back in any summer months again. But, awesome memories and many laughs were made



Your last sentence is what’s most important!


----------



## WriterGina

Thanks everyone who answered my Food and Wine tray question!!!


----------



## Lsdolphin

I wish they still had TS breakfast options it was nice to have ADRs for BOG and CP which allowed you to get into park early and right at lines at opening.


----------



## Griz1

chad_1138 said:


> Here you go, right before HEA last Monday night…


Wow. Thanks for sharing. That looks scary. 
Anybody have reports on crowd size at Epcot Forever?


----------



## tinkerhon

Momtomouselover said:


> The parks are super crowded right now. I am just leaving after a 4.5 day trip. On this trip we experienced less attractions then ever before. I think the number of people allowed in is calculated by the fire codes and “full capacity” is irrelevant. Parks are rarely full capacity outside of holidays. So the reduction in people is less Disney keeping people out (although there may be a cap) but mainly because some things aren’t open and so the allowed people for that space is not calculated in the total allowed capacity since it’s closed. Add to that a reduction in numbers of CMs (less people working food carts, less carts, less restaurant availability, less help in stores..), no FPs, no parades and no meet and greets, etc. and in some parks less shows, to break up waits and in effect everything has a wait. Everyone is in line or looking for where to go. We found that if you arrived at the parks really early for rope drop you could get about 3 attractions in before lines grew and you had to choose carefully. The wait times were sometimes over inflated, sometimes under inflated and sometimes just right. Unfortunately it was hard to tell until you arrived at the attraction and then you made a guess based on where the line started and previous experiences.  Storms also caused mass closures some days along with the usual ride closures. If you go, go in with expectations set correctly. I’m glad it was just myself and a friend vs large family. Perhaps once schools start back the crowds will let up but for now Disney has more guests than they can handle unless you are not oppose to waiting every time (and waiting in the heat and masked at times. I think masks are a good idea but still found it challenging). I think that is what was so different to me is before  you always had at least 3 FPs and some attractions were short waits to break things up. Right after the Covid closure there was reduced capacity (visited in October, March, and beginning of June). That is not the case right now. I have taken a couple trips here since the COVID closure but this is the first time it felt both too crowded and maybe not even safe from a COVID perspective if you are unvaccinated.



We just returned yesterday, and agree with just about everything you said !!  As a person that is vaccinated, there was so many times that I didnt feel safe, despite the vaccine !!  The one that stands out with the waiting queue at MMRR !!  It reminded me of ITTBAG, Philharmagic, and Monsters rolled into one !! We felt like we spent the entire trip waiting on lines !! We had a great time, but basically because we spent so much time AWAY from the parks !!!


----------



## cdurham1

Griz1 said:


> Wow. Thanks for sharing. That looks scary.
> Anybody have reports on crowd size at Epcot Forever?


We were there Tuesday night and it wasn't too crowded, imo.  But then again, I have never felt like Epcot's evening show crowds feel crowded, especially compared to MK.


----------



## DisneyFive

Second full HS day today.  Today, July 30 is the shift back to masks in some areas.  I will update this thread regarding the new mask policies at the attractions we go to!  We plan to get to Hollywood studios around 8 AM

Got BG 10 this morning!  Our plan is to do MFSR at rope drop since that was our longest standby wait of our four days so far at 90 minutes.  Then maybe MMRR before our BG is called

Walked from the Boardwalk.  Through security at 7:58 AM.  Let through tapstiles at 8 AM, being held in front of “Vacation Fun” next to frozen theater until 8:30am.


Just spoke with Tran, one of the lead cast members. So far it is sounding like it is strictly inside buildings or entering an attraction marquee (which is where it lists the standby and fast pass return times) that we have to wear masks. So some of it may be outside depending on the ride.  Will update

At the very front of the line for MFSR this morning.

Very orderly progression. Crazy how some people are still jockeying for position, even still.  In the ride queue at 8:40am.  On ride at 8:48am.  Off MFSR at 9:00am.  Soooo much better doing it this way than waiting 90 minutes after we did tower of terror and rock n roller coaster the other day.  Ok I just walked past the start of the line for MFSR, it is longer than the other day when it took us 90 minutes. I can’t stress enough getting to the park at 8 AM if you want to do MFSR with a little wait.

9:13 AM, in line for MMRR.  Posted 85 minutes.  On in 36 minutes.  Touring Plans estimated 34 minutes BTW.  Masks are NOT required in the extended outside portion of queues. Masks start once you go through the marquee entrance.  In some cases some of that may be outside.

Loved MMRR! Fantastic visuals and imaginative.


10:12am Going for some coffee and snacks now.

11:15 AM. Getting in line for Muppets 3-D since all the rides are at peak waits right now.

ROTR is down a lot today so far.  Our group was called but it’s down again.  Was told we can return any time before park close.  Glad we have an early boarding group


Prime Time Cafe at 12:10pm today.  Great comfort food and the atmosphere is so cool.

1:04 OK heading to ROTR then back to the resort to nap.   I will say that mask compliance inside of the appropriate areas has been very good here at Hollywood studios today. No mean interactions with CM’s that I have seen yet.

Left the park around 3 PM and rode the Skyliner back to the Epcot stop, just for fun.  it was our first time riding it. Loved it!  Even in 92°, sunny weather it was comfortable in the vehicles.

Relaxed at the resort for a good while.

7 PM, back to HS. The park seems to be clearing out tonight. The line for slinky dog Dash was entirely in the formal queue. Haven’t seen that since we’ve been here.

The same goes for Mickey Minnie runaway railway.

Scarfing down some food at Docking Bay 7. A couple new options today.  Plant-based meatballs and hummus (Felicia Kefta) and the spicy Tip Yip.



We are going to try to ride one more attraction standby, and then jump in either RNRC or TOT right at park close.

7:38 PM we are in line for MMRR.  At the formal Marquee entrance now.  At the first movie screen scene in 16 minutes .Got off the ride just after 8 PM.

This really points out how nice it would be to have the parks open longer. Closing at 8 PM is rough because lines are finally starting to diminish because the little kiddos can’t make it that long but the adults and older kids can.  It would help spread out the crowds.
Successful day.

Dan

Bonus: 8:15 decided to take the Skyliner back to the Epcot stop because, why not? We are all big Ratatouille fans so we browsed through the France pavilion. My wife got a really cool Tumbler (I like the design and how it is understated but still Disney)  and my oldest daughter will probably get the Remy Mickey ears for a souvenir soon.  9:49pm heading down to the main pool for some adult drink time


----------



## shm_helene

WriterGina said:


> I tried asking this question in the Food & Wine thread but got no response, hoping maybe to get an answer in this more active thread. Has anyone who's been at Epcot recently noticed if they still seem to have the appetizer plates in stock? Would love to have for our late August trip but they are sold out online. I'm hoping to pick up when we get there!


We saw a ton hanging up at a kiosk - 7/29.


----------



## Griz1

cdurham1 said:


> We were there Tuesday night and it wasn't too crowded, imo.  But then again, I have never felt like Epcot's evening show crowds feel crowded, especially compared to MK.


Thanks for the reply!


----------



## harleyquinn

DisneyFive said:


> Second full HS day today.  Today, July 30 is the shift back to masks in some areas.  I will update this thread regarding the new mask policies at the attractions we go to!  We plan to get to Hollywood studios around 8 AM
> 
> Got BG 10 this morning!  Our plan is to do MFSR at rope drop since that was our longest standby wait of our four days so far at 90 minutes.  Then maybe MMRR before our BG is called
> 
> Through security at 7:58 AM.  Let through tapstiles at 8 AM, being held in front of “Vacation Fun” next to frozen theater until 8:30am.
> View attachment 593297
> Dan


THANK YOU so much for being our eyes on the ground today. I hope you have a fabulous time and keep the details coming!!


----------



## HopperFan

wilkydelts said:


> I don’t believe anyone working at Disney would outwardly complain about their employer to a random visitor.



I was there a few weeks ago and experienced a few attractions CMs complaining to us in queue line about their jobs. I wanted to tell them to quit their job and go elsewhere but bit my tongue. They certainly didn’t care about the Disney imagine.  

So - I do believe poster as I experienced it too.


----------



## smwisc

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> So we’ve never been to AK. It’s never been high on our list but we came down to FL to visit family and carved out one night to check it out (staying at Poly tomorrow, planning to go Saturday morning when, ostensibly, the crowds are elsewhere). Hearing these anecdotal reports of the crowds are making me a bit apprehensive. The masking change actually makes it more likely we keep the reservation. Trying to decide if it’s worth it or if we just do resort experiences this time and use our sunk  cost in tickets towards a park hopper next fall and try it then.


It may be coincidence, but we had a much easier time yesterday at AK than we did the previous two days at DHS and MK (which were brutal).  It was a planned half day.  We arrived at around 2:15, huddled under cover for a few minutes hoping the rain would ease a little bit, then poncho'd up and got to the 3:00 FOTLK show.  Then took the train to Rafiki's, did the Animation Academy, looked at the exhibits, and the animals. Then back to Africa for KS (about 20 minute wait) then Gorilla Falls trail. NExt a break for dinner, then into Pandora for Navi (20 minutes) and FOP (arrived at 7:30, waited about an hour). The waits were shorter than even TP Lines predicted, which I think is in part due to the rain.

We have another day planned with rope drop to do EE, Kali, the bird show, and Dinosaur. Can't say yet whether that plan will work as planned, but in theory, those two half days could be combined into one full day.


----------



## angelinaxox

DisneyFive said:


> Second full HS day today.  Today, July 30 is the shift back to masks in some areas.  I will update this thread regarding the new mask policies at the attractions we go to!  We plan to get to Hollywood studios around 8 AM
> 
> Got BG 10 this morning!  Our plan is to do MFSR at rope drop since that was our longest standby wait of our four days so far at 90 minutes.  Then maybe MMRR before our BG is called



I also got boarding group 10 but rope dropping Slinky Dog in Toy Story Land.  The line is insane.


----------



## Jellybass

I don’t know what to think. We have been here since Sunday but the Disney part of our trip, including hotel, starts this coming Sunday. It appears that only Disney is making the requirement, which is cool, their property, their rules. Also, you could go to WDW, have a full day, use transportation (boat) and never wear a mask. Whatever, life is too short to complain.


----------



## cdurham1

At AK this morning.  Can confirm that masks are required in every attraction and in queues.  Even in outside queues.


----------



## Jellybass

angelinaxox said:


> I also got boarding group 10 but rope dropping Slinky Dog in Toy Story Land.  The line is insane.


Did you do Slinky right at rope drop? I am trying to figure out my approach to HS.


----------



## angelinaxox

Jellybass said:


> Did you do Slinky right at rope drop? I am trying to figure out my approach to HS.


Yes. I arrived around 8:05. I am still moving through the line. Just got to the official start spot and a CM said at that point to everyone to put masks on. I already had my mask on. Now that I am in this part of the queue, the line is moving.


----------



## lukemorenus

cdurham1 said:


> At AK this morning.  Can confirm that masks are required in every attraction and in queues.  Even in outside queues.



Probably easier than posting a CM at every door


----------



## cm8

Thanks for the updates!!


----------



## monstermash23

At HS. Masks required at the official start of all attractions. But not the extended queues.

CM’s are in a few checkpoints at the beginning asking people to put masks on but that is the only enforcement so far. 80-90% compliance as far as I can see. No one is chasing anyone down. No one is acting strict about this. Most didn’t have masks on in hote lobby with no enforcement there either. (this isn’t encouraging non-compliance nor am I saying anyone should break the rule - just reporting what I am seeing).


----------



## angelinaxox

Just finished Slinky Dog. We were lucky as they were looking for a party of 2 and we were the first party of 2 in line.  In line for Toy Story Mania. At the official entrance, they reminded people that they needed their whole party and masks on. They also checked that mask were over people's noses. They didn't do that in Slinky Dog line as I saw some without their noses covered. A few people in that line took off masks once they passed the CMs. Most are following directions.


----------



## monstermash23

Just watched someone pull down their mask after they passed a CM. The CM told another CM and the end result was “raising their arms a bit above their shoulder” and saying “whatever”. This is the type of enforcement I’m seeing so far


----------



## chad_1138

They are requiring masks in the extended queue for Jungle Cruise


----------



## harleyquinn

chad_1138 said:


> They are requiring masks in the extended queue for Jungle Cruise


Sounds like the CMs are confused and having varying levels of the desire to police. Pretty much what we should expect on the first day.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

chad_1138 said:


> They are requiring masks in the extended queue for Jungle Cruise


In the extended queue?  So inconsistent enforcement already.....making it even harder for CMs (and guests for that matter).  Ugh.


----------



## chad_1138

ENJDisneyFan said:


> In the extended queue?  So inconsistent enforcement already.....making it even harder for CMs (and guests for that matter).  Ugh.


Yep.  When we rode Splash at rope drop they didn’t require masks until entering the building with the stairs.  Absolutely no sense.  They even have the no food drink signs up at Jungle Cruise.  They’re gonna have big problems when the have masked people on extended queues and they try to enforce that, especially if someone has a cup of water.


----------



## rlk

At MK today. Seeing a lot of people taking off/ pulling down their mask after they pass the CM at the front of the line.


----------



## rockpiece

chad_1138 said:


> Yep.  When we rode Splash at rope drop they didn’t require masks until entering the building with the stairs.  Absolutely no sense.  They even have the no food drink signs up at Jungle Cruise.  They’re gonna have big problems when the have masked people on extended queues and they try to enforce that, especially if someone has a cup of water.



Those no food/drink signs got to go!


----------



## Juventus

OhBother1984 said:


> Ridiculous for the outdoor when people are gonna be jammed packed at rope drop,park close and fireworks which is no different then a line.


Every bit helps....


----------



## rlk

No one is masking in the Winnie  the Pooh line. CM are not able to police, so it seems to be a free for all.
BTMRR was better at masking  So was Pirates so far.

At HM, they still had everyone cram into all available spaces I. The stretching room.


----------



## TimeToPack

Just came back from a two week vacation at Disney.  The lines were ridiculous. I' always go in the summer and have never seen lines like this.  One day it was three hours to ride FOP.  Haunted Mansion 75 min, Jungle Cruise. 80min Buzz Lightyear 80 minutes.  I don't might waiting in line, but this was horrible.  They have CM's posted outside counter service restaurants and you can only go in if you have placed a mobile order and were called to pick it up, then u can find a seat while your food gets cold.  Some places are not accepting cash, only mobile.  In two weeks we only had rain that lasted for a hour, other days some sprinkles, so the heat was intense. We are all vaccinated so we only wore masks on the transportation.  The park hoping only after 2 is insane.  We went to Epcot a bit early, ten minutes to 2 and they would not let us in.  

We talked to a few bus drivers, which were really friendly and nice and they said that all the CM's hate the reservation system.  Say you sleep late or your swimming till 1:30 and have park hoppers, well you have to go to your first park which u have reservations for before you can go to another park because your tickets won't work. We felt we had alot of standing around time and wasted precious vacation time.  All in all, we had fun at the Food and Wine festival, but I will say that my whole family, kids included, do not want to go back until things change. We felt micromanaged in every aspect, from parks, rides and especially restaurants.  Also the food was the worst it had ever been., except F&W, which was excellent. 

We went to Key West for a week before arriving at Disney and had a blast, felt free to do what we wanted, when we wanted.  We were swimming  at two in the morning at the guesthouse we stayed at one block off of Duval.  It was awesome.


----------



## Juventus

MikeOhio said:


> I definitely hope the enforcement is lax for the sake of guests and CMs.


So the parks get closed down again?


----------



## rlk

Juventus said:


> So the parks get closed down again?


From our experience so far at MK this morning, it is pretty hard for CMs to monitor guests after they enter the ride line. I’m seeing lots of noses or no mask until they reach the point of the line right before the ride.

I don’t think it is too hard to mask while in line.


----------



## Melindarella

TimeToPack said:


> Just came back from a two week vacation at Disney.  The lines were ridiculous. I' always go in the summer and have never seen lines like this.  One day it was three hours to ride FOP.  Haunted Mansion 75 min, Jungle Cruise. 80min Buzz Lightyear 80 minutes.  I don't might waiting in line, but this was horrible.  They have CM's posted outside counter service restaurants and you can only go in if you have placed a mobile order and were called to pick it up, then u can find a seat while your food gets cold.  Some places are not accepting cash, only mobile.  In two weeks we only had rain that lasted for a hour, other days some sprinkles, so the heat was intense. We are all vaccinated so we only wore masks on the transportation.  The park hoping only after 2 is insane.  We went to Epcot a bit early, ten minutes to 2 and they would not let us in.
> 
> We talked to a few bus drivers, which were really friendly and nice and they said that all the CM's hate the reservation system.  Say you sleep late or your swimming till 1:30 and have park hoppers, well you have to go to your first park which u have reservations for before you can go to another park because your tickets won't work. We felt we had alot of standing around time and wasted precious vacation time.  All in all, we had fun at the Food and Wine festival, but I will say that my whole family, kids included, do not want to go back until things change. We felt micromanaged in every aspect, from parks, rides and especially restaurants.  Also the food was the worst it had ever been., except F&W, which was excellent.
> 
> We went to Key West for a week before arriving at Disney and had a blast, felt free to do what we wanted, when we wanted.  We were swimming  at two in the morning at the guesthouse we stayed at one block off of Duval.  It was awesome.




Thank you for sharing your experiences on your recent WDW trip! We have a Sept trip coming up, and I am excited, but want to have realistic expectations!

Would love to hear about your time at KW - but can't figure out how to PM you - lol.  We are planning to drive to the Keys in May 2022 (first time), and would love input on lodging, since it sounds like you had a great location!


----------



## yaya74

I really appreciate those of you who took the time to update us on the current situations in the park. Unfortunately my family already went to Disney earlier in July and we won't be back for another two years. Only wish that our vacation would be now when a mask is required indoors. 

I really hope that people are kind to the poor cast members who have to reinforce the new mask policies. They would have an awesome magical day at the job if guests are all in compliance with the rules. Those that don't want to or cannot follow the rule should not go to Disney right now.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

yaya74 said:


> Those that don't want to or cannot follow the rule should not go to Disney right now.


Yes, except for some people the rules changed mid-trip.  And unless they are following the news closely they may not even be aware of the change.


----------



## avalovesminnie

Went to MK yesterday. Let in to parking lot at 7:50. In park 8:35. If anyone feels nervous in crowds don’t go. It was packed. Over 70% of the hand sanitizers were empty- bring your own. It’s really hot and lines were long. We got to experience flooding in tomorrow land which my kids thought was fun! Dinner at Skipper Canteen was excellent. Portions at Friar Nook were small. Mobile order worked fine though. Fireworks were great to see! I loved the calvacades- we saw 2. Worst part of the day was getting back to the car- it was literally wall to wall people and took about 40 minutes. Overall we had fun but I’m not ever going in the summer again! I prefer having fast passes too.


----------



## Bigmace

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Yes, except for some people the rules changed mid-trip.  And unless they are following the news closely they may not even be aware of the change.



Seriously, we made plans to in two weeks and again in August under the impression Disneyland would be much more like normal. We are still probably going in august but probably cancel the october trip if masks are still required.


----------



## yaya74

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Yes, except for some people the rules changed mid-trip.  And unless they are following the news closely they may not even be aware of the change.



I am pretty sure that there will be signages everywhere. I will keep those guests in my prayer, wishing them a happy and magical trip at Disney.


----------



## rlk

We witnessed our first mask battle as we were about to load onto Pooh. A woman with 3 kids would not put on her mask. She finally relented but two of her children went on the ride without masks. Poor CMs are in for it today.


----------



## Momtomouselover

smwisc said:


> It may be coincidence, but we had a much easier time yesterday at AK than we did the previous two days at DHS and MK (which were brutal).  It was a planned half day.  We arrived at around 2:15, huddled under cover for a few minutes hoping the rain would ease a little bit, then poncho'd up and got to the 3:00 FOTLK show.  Then took the train to Rafiki's, did the Animation Academy, looked at the exhibits, and the animals. Then back to Africa for KS (about 20 minute wait) then Gorilla Falls trail. NExt a break for dinner, then into Pandora for Navi (20 minutes) and FOP (arrived at 7:30, waited about an hour). The waits were shorter than even TP Lines predicted, which I think is in part due to the rain.
> 
> We have another day planned with rope drop to do EE, Kali, the bird show, and Dinosaur. Can't say yet whether that plan will work as planned, but in theory, those two half days could be combined into one full day.



I don’t think Kali has been opening up right at rope drop. I believe it opens an hour later or it did on our AK day.


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

We got home last night. I can't quite put my finger on when it happened, but I felt a slight shift in crowd attitudes the last few days of our trip. It started to feel a lot like my trip last fall, with everyone trying their best to enjoy, but also feeling a little edgy. A woman snapped at me yesterday when my son got too close. We were not sad our trip was ending.

I did not time any rides, but we did note that most were slightly shorter than posted waits, like 5 or 10 minutes. Food service was chaotic the entire trip and had huge crowds each time. I HIGHLY recommend putting your order in at least an hour early, then tapping 'I'm here' about 5 minutes before you actually are. BOG ran about 30 minutes behind the night of our reservation and Beaches & Cream lost our reservation completely so we had a wait there.

With that said, we experienced some memorable and wonderful moments. We really delved into WS with our kids and saw so many new things. I think we only rode three rides at EPCOT the entire day but were not sad at all. We also managed to ride on BTMR at exactly the right time during HEA and the grand finale started just as we were ratcheting up a slow climb on the first hill. It was magical and our entire train was screaming with delight. and FOTLK... I admit I cried a little. Seeing the performing arts back in action was really moving.

We are DVC and are planning on banking our next round of points and waiting on things to settle more before coming back. If any cast members read this I want you to know how much we appreciated the hard work you're putting in when so much is out of your control. I saw a lot of servers bussing tables. We had some great conversations and service.


----------



## chad_1138

HM not requiring masks until the official queue entrance.


----------



## DisKaren

We are in the Test Track line outside right now, and the cm is reminding everyone that we will need to wear an appropriate face covering indoors.


----------



## yaya74

rlk said:


> We witnessed our first mask battle as we were about to load onto Pooh. A woman with 3 kids would not put on her mask. She finally relented but two of her children went on the ride without masks. Poor CMs are in for it today.


I bet that she would take off her mask as soon as her ride vehicle leaves the loading area. I feel bad for the CM who had to deal with this person.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

yaya74 said:


> I am pretty sure that there will be signages everywhere. I will keep those guests in my prayer, wishing them a happy and magical trip at Disney.


Yes, I'm sure there will be signs.  My point was that it's not as easy as "don't come right now if you don't like the rules".


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

I was hoping to read there is more enforcement. I know that may be an unpopular opinion right now. I'm a hour away and it's getting bad here with restaurants closing. I hope it gets better after the first few days of the new policy and doesn't lead to having to implement more restrictions.


----------



## yaya74

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Yes, I'm sure there will be signs.  My point was that it's not as easy as "don't come right now if you don't like the rules".


Your point is well taken. That's why I said I will pray for those guests. I was in the same boat when I went for my trip. I booked my vacation based on the faith that park capacity would be limited and masks would be required. However, things went completely the different way two weeks prior to my departure. I couldn't afford to lose $6k and therefore I went. My family really was done with Disney halfway through our trip. It was a miserable vacation to say the least.


----------



## Momtomouselover

rlk said:


> We witnessed our first mask battle as we were about to load onto Pooh. A woman with 3 kids would not put on her mask. She finally relented but two of her children went on the ride without masks. Poor CMs are in for it today.



I really hate this for the CMs. Just do what you are supposed to people! That CM did not make the rules and is only trying to do his/her job.They should give a day or two to let the word get out and then go back to escorting the most belligerent out of the parks (not the people taking a drink of water or a quick breather or a child who may need a bit more coaxing but the rude belligerent person who keeps refusing and making it horrible for the CMs).


----------



## cdurham1

Update - at AK, no one in outside queues for FOP or Navi wearing mask.  Not sure if policy or just not enforcing at all


----------



## DaniMoon

DisneyFive said:


> Animal Kingdom day today. It is 8:23 AM and we still have not left our resort room.  . We will see how this works out for lines getting to Animal Kingdom a little later after park opening. That was the benefit of doing FOP last night… hopefully. I will update the post throughout the day as I have for the last three park days
> 
> Our goal is to knock out Expedition Everest and Dinosaur and then take it from there.
> 
> We were all excited, while standing in line for FOP last night and researching our day today, to see that there is a drawing class back in Rafiki‘s planet watch. We used to love doing that at Hollywood studios back in the day!!
> 
> 8:50am at resort bus stop (Boardwalk) and it doesn’t look like our bus will get here for at least 26 minutes.   In the park at 9:30 AM. The bus, and our slow start, did not help our plan but we will manage .  Roughly 45 minutes behind where I would have liked to be at this point.
> 
> 9:44 AM. In line for Expedition Everest. Line stretches to the end of the Asia bridge near Nemo.  Posted 40 minutes.  On the ride in 23 minutes. That line really moves!
> 
> Typical crowd level this morning I would say.  This is from the queue area of EE.
> View attachment 593035
> 
> 10:18 AM. In line for Dinosaur.  Posted 25 minutes.  Would have been about 17 minutes but something just broke down on the ride.  We were very close to boarding.  Waited about 10 minutes extra but got it done.
> View attachment 593040
> Saw these guys as we were walking into LK show
> View attachment 593055
> 11:23am.  Waiting inside the Lion King theater right now for the 11:30am show.  Got in line about 13 minutes before the show and walked in and most of the lower seating was already filled up. We still have a good spot.  No bad seats in this theater anyway.  Love.  That.  Show!
> View attachment 593060
> 
> Mobile ordered Satu’li for 12pm.  Tried these bad boys for the first time.  My verdict: not sure what the fuss is about. Kind of tastes like a mix between a sloppy Joe and a hamburger wrapped in a bao bun.  The protein bowls win hands down IMO
> View attachment 593070
> Taking it slow now and we are going to do the gorilla trails, maharaja jungle treck and Rafiki‘s planet watch.
> 
> 2:25 now. Did the gorilla trails.  Back at Rafiki area now.  So happy to be able to do the animation experience again!  (1:45 pm show). Josh was our animator and he was great. We did Bambi.  Pretty happy with the results
> View attachment 593091
> 
> 2:25pm Raining now.
> 3:00pm Did another animation class, and the rain is shutting us down for this afternoon. We will head back to the resort and maybe park hop somewhere else tonight. Having done FOP last night, we’ve done all the main attractions in animal kingdom that we wanted to. Might come back later in our stay, might not.
> 
> 6:30 trying Kimonos over at the Swan resort for the first time. Excellent sushi and reasonably priced. Walked  right in at 6:30 no reservation needed (or taken).  We will be back for sure!
> View attachment 593174
> 
> Walking over to Epcot after this to get a few rides in and maybe hit a food and wine kiosk or two.
> 
> Ended up getting on Soarin with about a 10 minute wait around 8:45pm, then Living with the land (walk on) and then walking the world showcase kiosks for a small bite. Somehow the kids/wife ended up at Greece, trying all three food options.
> View attachment 593233
> 
> By that time it was 9:50 PM and we were not interested in the fireworks at EP yet. We walked back to the Boardwalk and called it a night. Chilling on the balcony now
> 
> HS tomorrow.
> 
> -Dan



I love doing Animation Station, your Bambi is excellent.   This reminds me to pack my tube that we bought last trip to keep ours safe.  All the food looks amazing!


----------



## slyster

Are masks needed on rides?  I'm assuming for indoor ones but what about the ones that may queue up indoors and then are an outdoor ride?


----------



## Looper

cdurham1 said:


> Update - at AK, no one in outside queues for FOP or Navi wearing mask.  Not sure if policy or just not enforcing at all


When we were there in May and the policy changed to indoors only, this was how it was. For every ride with an outdoor portion of the line, there was a point where you were considered in the official line and had to mask, whether that was actually indoors or still outdoors. But before that point, you didn’t have to wear a mask. If I remember correctly that point for FOP was when you went under the sign, so there was a good portion of the line where you didn’t have to wear it.


----------



## robinb

cdurham1 said:


> At AK this morning.  Can confirm that masks are required in every attraction and in queues.  Even in outside queues.


It sounds exactly the same as it was in May: Masks are required once you cross the "marquee entrance" even if the queue is outside (like the Safari).  The rule is the same no matter which park you're in or what attraction you are waiting for.  It makes it easier to know exactly when you need to wear a mask and when you don't.


----------



## 2Lunds

becauseimnew said:


> The only way out of this is to not go if you don’t agree with their policy!


Thankfully it seems that OP deleted their comment about challenging CMs on this.  Frontline workers have absolutely zero input on policy, or power to change them.  Leave CMs alone and let them do their job.


----------



## DisneyFive

DaniMoon said:


> I love doing Animation Station, your Bambi is excellent.   This reminds me to pack my tube that we bought last trip to keep ours safe.  All the food looks amazing!


Thanks!  

Definitely eating well this trip. Trying a bunch of new dining locations for us.  We try to do as many new things each trip as possible.

Dan


----------



## soniam

As robinb said, masks required indoors or out doors once you cross the attraction entrance sign/standby/FP entrance.



Momtomouselover said:


> I don’t think Kali has been opening up right at rope drop. I believe it opens an hour later or it did on our AK day.


Opened at 9am today with an 8am official park opening.



P'colaBeachBum said:


> I was hoping to read there is more enforcement. I know that may be an unpopular opinion right now. I'm a hour away and it's getting bad here with restaurants closing. I hope it gets better after the first few days of the new policy and doesn't lead to having to implement more restrictions.


I have seen very good compliance on the several attractions and 1 TS we did at AK today. They are enforcing at the attraction entrance sign/threshold and at loading. No one posted to specifically do it in the queue. I think CMs in the queue would remind people, but there are not many of them.



slyster said:


> Are masks needed on rides?  I'm assuming for indoor ones but what about the ones that may queue up indoors and then are an outdoor ride?


Yes. Had to wear a mask on Everest today.

EDIT: Son and husband had to wear them on Kali just now.


----------



## DaniMoon

DisneyFive said:


> Second full HS day today.  Today, July 30 is the shift back to masks in some areas.  I will update this thread regarding the new mask policies at the attractions we go to!  We plan to get to Hollywood studios around 8 AM
> 
> Got BG 10 this morning!  Our plan is to do MFSR at rope drop since that was our longest standby wait of our four days so far at 90 minutes.  Then maybe MMRR before our BG is called
> 
> Through security at 7:58 AM.  Let through tapstiles at 8 AM, being held in front of “Vacation Fun” next to frozen theater until 8:30am.
> View attachment 593297
> 
> Just spoke with Tran, one of the lead cast members. So far it is sounding like it is strictly inside buildings or entering an attraction marquee (which is where it lists the standby and fast pass return times) that we have to wear masks. So some of it may be outside depending on the ride.  Will update
> 
> At the very front of the line for MFSR this morning.
> View attachment 593310
> Very orderly progression. Crazy how some people are still jockeying for position, even still.  In the ride queue at 8:40am.  On ride at 8:48am.  Soooo much better doing it this way than waiting 90 minutes after we did tower of terror and rock n roller coaster the other day.  Ok I just walked past the start of the line for MFSR, it is longer than the other day when it took us 90 minutes. I can’t stress enough getting to the park at 8 AM if you want to do MFSR with a little wait.  Off MFSR at 9 AM.
> 
> 9:13 AM, in line for MMRR.  Posted 85 minutes.  On in 36 minutes.  Touring Plans estimated 34 minutes BTW.  Masks are NOT required in the extended outside portion of queues. Masks start once you go through the marquee entrance.  In some cases some of that may be outside.
> 
> loved MMRR! Fantastic visuals and imaginative.
> View attachment 593330
> 
> 10:12am Going for some coffee and snacks now.
> 
> 11:15 AM. Getting in line for Muppets 3-D since all the rides are at peak waits right now.
> 
> ROTR is down a lot today so far.  Our group was called but it’s down again.  Was told we can return any time before park close.  Glad we have an early boarding group
> 
> Prime Time Cafe at 12:10pm today
> 
> Dan



We have two HS days. Plan to rope drop MFSR one day and MMRR the other. I'm so glad to follow your days and help my plans. 

Enjoy Prime Time!!!


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

We opted to cancel our park reservation for tomorrow and just take in the sights and sounds of the resort hotels (were at the Poly and like to walk over to GF for a meal or two there). Based on these experiences the last few days I’m thinking I made the right choice!


----------



## DisneyFive

DaniMoon said:


> We have two HS days. Plan to rope drop MFSR one day and MMRR the other. I'm so glad to follow your days and help my plans.
> 
> Enjoy Prime Time!!!


I was very happy with how this morning went, getting Smugglers run done and then walking over to runaway railway with only a 36 minute wait. Two big rides done right away. Now granted we were at the very tippy front of Smugglers run somehow.

If you are able to do that you could rope drop RNRC and TOT the second  day if you like those rides

Dan


----------



## Looper

DisneyFive said:


> I was very happy with how this morning went, getting Smugglers run done and then walking over to runaway railway with only a 36 minute wait. Two big rides done right away. Now granted we were at the very tippy front of Smugglers run somehow.
> 
> If you are able to do that you could rope drop RNRC and TOT the second  day if you like those rides
> 
> Dan


Did they put a single rider in with you for Smugglers Run? We’re a family of 5, too, and have enjoyed not sharing ride vehicles our last two trips. We go again in a week, and I’m curious what to expect this time.


----------



## rlk

Looper said:


> Did they put a single rider in with you for Smugglers Run? We’re a family of 5, too, and have enjoyed not sharing ride vehicles our last two trips. We go again in a week, and I’m curious what to expect this time.



I don’t know about today, but yesterday,I was put in a vehicle with a family of 3.


----------



## DisneyFive

Looper said:


> Did they put a single rider in with you for Smugglers Run? We’re a family of 5, too, and have enjoyed not sharing ride vehicles our last two trips. We go again in a week, and I’m curious what to expect this time.



Not today. I think it is because at rope drop families are mostly together at that point.

When we did it a few days ago they did put a woman in with our family of five but we got in line after already doing rock n rollercoaster and Tower of terror.

Edit to add :  also, even if a person gets put in with your family, most likely they will be an engineer there are three rows of two people each and the engineer is the back row. The lady was having a great time in our millennium falcon (and so were we) so it was no big deal.

Dan


----------



## robinb

Since masks are back, I would recommend a mask lanyard because you end up putting on and taking off a mask A LOT.  I bought these lanyards from Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H85M69L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


----------



## Sugarshock

jujubiee4 said:


> I know right? I was going to cancel our trip due to pictures/reports of large crowds. Right now I'm
> keeping the reservation. I saw on twitter someone posted  "thousands should cancel their trips in protest".
> One can hope.


Right? Please cancel


----------



## disny_luvr

robinb said:


> Since masks are back, I would recommend a mask lanyard because you end up putting on and taking off a mask A LOT.  I bought these lanyards from Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H85M69L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



I just ordered some lanyards yesterday. Hopefully they get here tomorrow; we leave on Sunday.


----------



## luvthemouse71

2Lunds said:


> Thankfully it seems that OP deleted their comment about challenging CMs on this.  Frontline workers have absolutely zero input on policy, or power to change them.  Leave CMs alone and let them do their job.


I agree. Yelling at CMs solves nothing and it’s horrible to do that. When elective surgeries were canceled, they had me screening patients. OMG, never been sworn at so much in my life and I work with surgeons.  

People  have varying opinions about masking and such…please don’t abuse someone who has no power and control over policies and procedures. Write a letter to the higher ups if you want to.


----------



## rlk

robinb said:


> Since masks are back, I would recommend a mask lanyard because you end up putting on and taking off a mask A LOT.  I bought these lanyards from Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H85M69L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


 I ordered some before our trip and forgot to bring them! It wasn’t a problem until now. Oh well, I did bring plenty of disposable masks


----------



## WriterGina

robinb said:


> Since masks are back, I would recommend a mask lanyard because you end up putting on and taking off a mask A LOT.  I bought these lanyards from Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H85M69L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



Thanks for the tip! Just ordered these.


----------



## bookgirl2632

robinb said:


> Since masks are back, I would recommend a mask lanyard because you end up putting on and taking off a mask A LOT.  I bought these lanyards from Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H85M69L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Those lanyards seem great, but I’m not sure I want my mask hanging in front of me when I’m having pictures taken.


----------



## danissmart

becauseimnew said:


> The only way out of this is to not go if you don’t agree with their policy!


These people are already there.


----------



## The13thLetter

Bibbobboo2u said:


> I think it will be worse.  You will have regular crowd levels due to normal MK closing time plus Boo Bash people who get to come in early.  We aren't going until later in Oct so won't get to see HEA,  but we went ahead and changed our MK day to a non-BB day (since we aren't attending).  It will probably still be very crowded either way.  Hope someone does report back!



Thanks. I actually rechecked my plans and we were already doing MK during the day on a Boo Bash day and MK during the night for HEA on a non-boo bash day, so I must have been thinking this same way already


----------



## mzozzietj

disny_luvr said:


> I just ordered some lanyards yesterday. Hopefully they get here tomorrow; we leave on Sunday.


I ordered some cute animal print and tie dye design ones that break away for my daughter but i'm hoping they are long enough for me as well.  Adding these to my cart to remember them just incase!


----------



## robinb

bookgirl2632 said:


> Those lanyards seem great, but I’m not sure I want my mask hanging in front of me when I’m having pictures taken.


I don't blame you .  The lanyard is loose enough so that you can pull the whole thing over your head for photos, or you can disconnect one side and set the mask aside for photos.  It was just really handy for the on and off nature of "inside queue" masking which will be the majority of your time in the parks.


----------



## Mango7100

danissmart said:


> These people are already there.


Yes, but yelling at CMs doing their job or making them tell you multiple times to put a mask on is out of line and uncalled for, would you not agree?? It’s not their fault, they are literally just doing their job


----------



## Best Aunt

bookgirl2632 said:


> Those lanyards seem great, but I’m not sure I want my mask hanging in front of me when I’m having pictures taken.



Can you flip it around so that the mask is on your back during the photo?  The lanyard would still be visible but the mask wouldn't be.


----------



## honeymo78

Best Aunt said:


> Can you flip it around so that the mask is on your back during the photo?  The lanyard would still be visible but the mask wouldn't be.


That's what I did a couple times.


----------



## Sarahslay

Sugarshock said:


> Right? Please cancel


I couldn't decide if I should laugh at this or love this, safe to say both. Yes, please, cancel in protest, show all of us and Disney who's boss lol


----------



## Jillpsu15

Mango7100 said:


> Yes, but yelling at CMs doing their job or making them tell you multiple times to put a mask on is out of line and uncalled for, would you not agree?? It’s not their fault, they are literally just doing their job


Does anyone know if they are still deleting photos pass pics on rides when passengers don’t have masks on?


----------



## bookgirl2632

robinb said:


> I don't blame you .  The lanyard is loose enough so that you can pull the whole thing over your head for photos, or you can disconnect one side and set the mask aside for photos.  It was just really handy for the on and off nature of "inside queue" masking which will be the majority of your time in the parks.


Good to know.  I’ve saved that to my Amazon list in case I decide to get them.


----------



## Sarahslay

bookgirl2632 said:


> Those lanyards seem great, but I’m not sure I want my mask hanging in front of me when I’m having pictures taken.


Yep, or tuck it down in your shirt (as my daughter kept doing in May/June lol). It's easy enough to swing it around real quick, I always have on a lanyard or chain with my mask but don't like my mask hanging down in the pictures either.


----------



## bookgirl2632

Best Aunt said:


> Can you flip it around so that the mask is on your back during the photo?  The lanyard would still be visible but the mask wouldn't be.


Very true.  It’ll be like a very small cape.


----------



## Conquer1

robinb said:


> Since masks are back, I would recommend a mask lanyard because you end up putting on and taking off a mask A LOT.  I bought these lanyards from Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08H85M69L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Ummmm.....we're keeping our masks on the entire time.


----------



## JAM77

Anyone have experience with Summer crowds after Aug 14th. I know most southern schools are back in session. Was hoping we would see a big downtrend in crowds...anyone experience that


----------



## mzozzietj

Conquer1 said:


> Ummmm.....we're keeping our masks on the entire time.


I like the idea of the lanyards for when we remove masks to eat/drink so we don't accidentally drop/put them down on tables etc.


----------



## mzozzietj

JAM77 said:


> Anyone have experience with Summer crowds after Aug 14th. I know most southern schools are back in session. Was hoping we would see a big downtrend in crowds...anyone experience that


We do but I feel like any prior year trends may be irrelevant this year.  We have gone late august in 2019 and 2018 and loved the lower crowds.  From the looks of this year it won't be quiet though.


----------



## Marvin1968

Conquer1 said:


> Ummmm.....we're keeping our masks on the entire time.


Outside? Yikes!


----------



## gcoolie

JAM77 said:


> Anyone have experience with Summer crowds after Aug 14th. I know most southern schools are back in session. Was hoping we would see a big downtrend in crowds...anyone experience that


Touring Plans has a lot less red in their crowd calendar after August 23rd. I'm hopeful it will hold up. We are going on the 25th.


----------



## rainyvegandisney

.


----------



## lovethattink

DisneyFive said:


> Second full HS day today.  Today, July 30 is the shift back to masks in some areas.  I will update this thread regarding the new mask policies at the attractions we go to!  We plan to get to Hollywood studios around 8 AM
> 
> Got BG 10 this morning!  Our plan is to do MFSR at rope drop since that was our longest standby wait of our four days so far at 90 minutes.  Then maybe MMRR before our BG is called
> 
> Through security at 7:58 AM.  Let through tapstiles at 8 AM, being held in front of “Vacation Fun” next to frozen theater until 8:30am.
> View attachment 593297
> 
> Just spoke with Tran, one of the lead cast members. So far it is sounding like it is strictly inside buildings or entering an attraction marquee (which is where it lists the standby and fast pass return times) that we have to wear masks. So some of it may be outside depending on the ride.  Will update
> 
> At the very front of the line for MFSR this morning.
> View attachment 593310
> Very orderly progression. Crazy how some people are still jockeying for position, even still.  In the ride queue at 8:40am.  On ride at 8:48am.  Soooo much better doing it this way than waiting 90 minutes after we did tower of terror and rock n roller coaster the other day.  Ok I just walked past the start of the line for MFSR, it is longer than the other day when it took us 90 minutes. I can’t stress enough getting to the park at 8 AM if you want to do MFSR with a little wait.  Off MFSR at 9 AM.
> 
> 9:13 AM, in line for MMRR.  Posted 85 minutes.  On in 36 minutes.  Touring Plans estimated 34 minutes BTW.  Masks are NOT required in the extended outside portion of queues. Masks start once you go through the marquee entrance.  In some cases some of that may be outside.
> 
> loved MMRR! Fantastic visuals and imaginative.
> View attachment 593330
> 
> 10:12am Going for some coffee and snacks now.
> 
> 11:15 AM. Getting in line for Muppets 3-D since all the rides are at peak waits right now.
> 
> ROTR is down a lot today so far.  Our group was called but it’s down again.  Was told we can return any time before park close.  Glad we have an early boarding group
> 
> View attachment 593363
> Prime Time Cafe at 12:10pm today.  Great comfort food and the atmosphere is so cool.
> 
> 1:04 OK heading to ROTR then back to the resort to nap.   I will say that mask compliance inside of the appropriate areas has been very good here at Hollywood studios today. No mean interactions with CM’s that I have seen yet.
> 
> Dan



Thanks for the report. Are masks still buy one get one free, or are they back to full price?


----------



## focusondisney

JAM77 said:


> Anyone have experience with Summer crowds after Aug 14th. I know most southern schools are back in session. Was hoping we would see a big downtrend in crowds...anyone experience that



I think a lot will depend on what schools do.  If a lot of schools stay remote, kids can check in from anywhere & crowds might stay high.  If back in person, I think crowds could level off


----------



## focusondisney

lovethattink said:


> Thanks for the report. Are masks still buy one get one free, or are they back to full price?



A relative there now said back to regular price.


----------



## Conquer1

Marvin1968 said:


> Outside? Yikes!


Yep.  Doesn't bother me at all.  I'm not hotter with a mask on, than without, and can breathe just fine in the heat with a mask on.


----------



## rlk

Not mask related- we were watching the Gibbons by the Kali exit, some guy tried lighting the candles on the railing. The CM asked him not to do that and he yelled that there is a sign saying he could light them. When the CM said he could not light them he then flipped her off. She was visibly upset and asked us to stay around (as proof)while she told another CM. She is worried the guy will go to complain about her.


----------



## disny_luvr

If we play mini golf while on our trip, will masks be required?


----------



## shm_helene

Report from 7/29:

HS
Staying at Beach Club, DVC. We walked to HS, took us about 20 mins. We were at the entrance at 8:05 and held at the arches to Toy Story Land by 8:30 (or close to). We stayed to the right. We entered the queue around 8:35 and we were on the ride at 8:47 and 8:49 (two different cars) (off 8:51). We then went to TSMM, in line at 8:55 and on ride at 9:13, off 9:19. We then went right to Saucers, got in line at 9:24 (listed wait 20 mins) and off ride at 9:41. We decided to head over to GE, which we had never been to before (we failed getting a RoR). Queue for MFSR was listed at 100 mins, wasn't moving, and I swear went to the entrance to GE (but that could just be my vague memory). We walked to the front and went on single rider (there are 4 of us and we were fine not being on the same "ship"). We got into the line at 9:50, preshot at 9:58, done with ride by 10:04. Usually we like to walk around "One Man's Dream", but the girls were hot by this point and we decided to head back to the hotel via skyliner after some shopping. We got in line for skyliner at 12:03 with no wait and it took maybe 25 mins altogether. 

FOOD
We ate in our rooms and did the Kitchen Sink at Beach Club for breakfast / lunch. We asked for no peanuts, our server asked if we had any allergies and we said no, but they didn't do the peanut butter sauce or Snickers, so that was a little disappointing. 

EPCOT
It rained pretty hard yesterday afternoon and a lot of things got shut down (Test Track was only open for about a 15 min window all night). We headed over to Epcot around 4, probably a little earlier than we should have went. We headed to Spaceship Earth and got in line at 4:31. Posted wait was 25 minutes and off by 4:55. Line was much shorter when we got off though (which I know, but we had nothing else to do). We headed over to The Seas With Nemo. Posted wait was 15 mins and it was completely walkon, this was at 5:10. We explored at the seas a little bit to let lines fall off at the Land as much as possible. We got to the land and I don't know what the posted time was (sorry!) but Living with the Land was walk on. So many new things on this ride in the green houses this time. We got on the ride at 6. We headed to Soarin', which was posted 20 mins at 6:15, we were off the ride by 6:41. After that we explored the World a bit in the drizzle. Tried food from Hawaii, Greece, Germany, Canada and Appleseed. All was good except the apple desserts at Appleseed and Germany. completed the Ratatouille scavenger hunt (spoiler alert: make sure you explore the gardens in Japan and China)

HOTEL
Pool isn't too crowded! Yay! Haven't noticed the garbage issues that others have talked about. TV is questionable. Says we get NBC Sports, but couldnt find it so we had to stream the USWNT game today (7/30). (WOO WOO), which was a tad frustrating.

MASKS / COVID
Compliance is good. We did one day at Universal, where we saw a lot of masks (more that at Disney), it was right about 20% of people relatively consistently. We have dealt with COVID before despite being super careful and have no desire to quarantine again, so we've used KN94 masks off of Amazon (they are awesome, by the way). We wear them at all times unless we are outside and we aren't around people. We have chosen to not eat indoors anywhere (except once, at Leaky Cauldron) and will skip some indoor stuff. I know people are worried about how hot it is, but truthfully it really doesn't bother me that much, nor do my kids (girls, 9 and 11). We've noticed a decent amount of sanitizer stations have sanitizer, but they are slow. 

WEATHER
It's been hot, but truthfully, we have had a decent amount of cloud cover and it hasn't been as oppressive as I remember some trips in the past. Seems morning is the worst, before the clouds and breeze move in.  I am from PA so by no means used this level of heat consistently. We have an umbrella but I wish we also had one of those fans I see people wearing around their necks as well.

PHOTOPASS
Between HS and Epcot yesterday we saw 2. Today was better (will update today later today or tomorrow).


----------



## scrappinginontario

focusondisney said:


> A relative there now said back to regular price.


I'm guessing many were caught by surprise and may not have had enough with them.  Hope they have enough in stock for those who are looking to purchase them.


----------



## DaniMoon

shm_helene said:


> Report from 7/29:
> 
> HS
> Staying at Beach Club, DVC. We walked to HS, took us about 20 mins. We were at the entrance at 8:05 and held at the arches to Toy Story Land by 8:30 (or close to). We stayed to the right. We entered the queue around 8:35 and we were on the ride at 8:47 and 8:49 (two different cars) (off 8:51). We then went to TSMM, in line at 8:55 and on ride at 9:13, off 9:19. We then went right to Saucers, got in line at 9:24 (listed wait 20 mins) and off ride at 9:41. We decided to head over to GE, which we had never been to before (we failed getting a RoR). Queue for MFSR was listed at 100 mins, wasn't moving, and I swear went to the entrance to GE (but that could just be my vague memory). We walked to the front and went on single rider (there are 4 of us and we were fine not being on the same "ship"). We got into the line at 9:50, preshot at 9:58, done with ride by 10:04. Usually we like to walk around "One Man's Dream", but the girls were hot by this point and we decided to head back to the hotel via skyliner after some shopping. We got in line for skyliner at 12:03 with no wait and it took maybe 25 mins altogether.
> 
> FOOD
> We ate in our rooms and did the Kitchen Sink at Beach Club for breakfast / lunch. We asked for no peanuts, our server asked if we had any allergies and we said no, but they didn't do the peanut butter sauce or Snickers, so that was a little disappointing.
> 
> EPCOT
> It rained pretty hard yesterday afternoon and a lot of things got shut down (Test Track was only open for about a 15 min window all night). We headed over to Epcot around 4, probably a little earlier than we should have went. We headed to Spaceship Earth and got in line at 4:31. Posted wait was 25 minutes and off by 4:55. Line was much shorter when we got off though (which I know, but we had nothing else to do). We headed over to The Seas With Nemo. Posted wait was 15 mins and it was completely walkon, this was at 5:10. We explored at the seas a little bit to let lines fall off at the Land as much as possible. We got to the land and I don't know what the posted time was (sorry!) but Living with the Land was walk on. So many new things on this ride in the green houses this time. We got on the ride at 6. We headed to Soarin', which was posted 20 mins at 6:15, we were off the ride by 6:41. After that we explored the World a bit in the drizzle. Tried food from Hawaii, Greece, Germany, Canada and Appleseed. All was good except the apple desserts at Appleseed and Germany. completed the Ratatouille scavenger hunt (spoiler alert: make sure you explore the gardens in Japan and China)
> 
> HOTEL
> Pool isn't too crowded! Yay! Haven't noticed the garbage issues that others have talked about. TV is questionable. Says we get NBC Sports, but couldnt find it so we had to stream the USWNT game today (7/30). (WOO WOO), which was a tad frustrating.
> 
> MASKS / COVID
> Compliance is good. We did one day at Universal, where we saw a lot of masks (more that at Disney), it was right about 20% of people relatively consistently. We have dealt with COVID before despite being super careful and have no desire to quarantine again, so we've used KN94 masks off of Amazon (they are awesome, by the way). We wear them at all times unless we are outside and we aren't around people. We have chosen to not eat indoors anywhere (except once, at Leaky Cauldron) and will skip some indoor stuff. I know people are worried about how hot it is, but truthfully it really doesn't bother me that much, nor do my kids (girls, 9 and 11). We've noticed a decent amount of sanitizer stations have sanitizer, but they are slow.
> 
> WEATHER
> It's been hot, but truthfully, we have had a decent amount of cloud cover and it hasn't been as oppressive as I remember some trips in the past. Seems morning is the worst, before the clouds and breeze move in.  I am from PA so by no means used this level of heat consistently. We have an umbrella but I wish we also had one of those fans I see people wearing around their necks as well.
> 
> PHOTOPASS
> Between HS and Epcot yesterday we saw 2. Today was better (will update today later today or tomorrow).



We love Living with the Land, so I'm glad to see that we will some some new things!

Enjoy the rest of your trip.


----------



## harleyquinn

DisneyFive said:


> View attachment 593363
> Prime Time Cafe at 12:10pm today.  Great comfort food and the atmosphere is so cool.
> 
> 1:04 OK heading to ROTR then back to the resort to nap.   I will say that mask compliance inside of the appropriate areas has been very good here at Hollywood studios today. No mean interactions with CM’s that I have seen yet.
> 
> Dan


Is it just me or does poor Sulley look like an overheated animal panting?


----------



## kkbookmom

harleyquinn said:


> Is it just me or does poor Sulley look like an overheated animal panting?



It kinda looked like Sulley was being escorted out by the Green Army people.


----------



## DisneyFive

lovethattink said:


> Thanks for the report. Are masks still buy one get one free, or are they back to full price?



Haven’t really been in a gift shop today yet. Once we head back after dinner I will try to look

Dan


harleyquinn said:


> Is it just me or does poor Sulley look like an overheated animal panting?



LOL . No doubt.  Poor Sulley.  It does feel particularly hot this afternoon.  I just happened to catch him with his arms down. He was waving around just before that 

Dan


----------



## sjrec

scrappinginontario said:


> I'm guessing many were caught by surprise and may not have had enough with them.  Hope they have enough in stock for those who are looking to purchase them.


We noticed CMs holding stacks of masks at various entrances to give out if needed.


----------



## loves to dive

honeymo78 said:


> That's what I did a couple times.


I used lanyards when I was there in April, when you even had to wear your mask outside.  When I would get something from a booth at F&G and find my table to stand at, I'd flip the mask around to my back so I didn't drop food on it and didn't accidently touch it with my hands until after I had cleaned them.  Worked great for me.  The ones I got are adjustable and you can slid the part in the back to whatever position you need so it isn't pulling on your ears.


----------



## rpfennig

Looper said:


> Did they put a single rider in with you for Smugglers Run? We’re a family of 5, too, and have enjoyed not sharing ride vehicles our last two trips. We go again in a week, and I’m curious what to expect this time.





rlk said:


> I don’t know about today, but yesterday,I was put in a vehicle with a family of 3.



It's too bad they don't just grab six random single riders every once and awhile... "We're putting together a crack team of experts for this run. Smiles and Giggles you're our pilots, Dazed and Confused you're on guns, Guy With Glasses and You, Yeah You! are our engineers. Make us proud out there and try and bring the ship back in one piece or you're paying for it!"


----------



## serenitygr

rpfennig said:


> It's too bad they don't just grab six random single riders every once and awhile... "We're putting together a crack team of experts for this run. Smiles and Giggles you're our pilots, Dazed and Confused you're on guns, Guy With Glasses and You, Yeah You! are our engineers. Make us proud out there and try and bring the ship back in one piece or you're paying for it!"


You should be a cast member!


----------



## AndreaDanger

rpfennig said:


> It's too bad they don't just grab six random single riders every once and awhile... "We're putting together a crack team of experts for this run. Smiles and Giggles you're our pilots, Dazed and Confused you're on guns, Guy With Glasses and You, Yeah You! are our engineers. Make us proud out there and try and bring the ship back in one piece or you're paying for it!"


That actually happened to me back in 2019! Our crew was all from the single rider line.


----------



## lanejudy

disny_luvr said:


> If we play mini golf while on our trip, will masks be required?


I wouldn't think so.  Mini golf is not an attraction and I would consider it to be an "outdoor common area" -- therefore by the rules no mask required (optional).

_Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) while indoors and in Disney buses, monorail and Disney Skyliner, regardless of vaccination status. This includes upon entering and throughout all attractions. Face coverings remain optional for all Guests in outdoor common areas._​


----------



## soniam

Smugglers single rider is the way to go for te-rides, but be prepared to be very busy if you are an engineer and it will probably be very bumpy.



Jillpsu15 said:


> Does anyone know if they are still deleting photos pass pics on rides when passengers don’t have masks on?


Can’t tell yet.



scrappinginontario said:


> I'm guessing many were caught by surprise and may not have had enough with them.  Hope they have enough in stock for those who are looking to purchase them.


I saw a ton at AK.


----------



## notatallmagic

Just got back from an 8 day trip - I can post more later (lots to catch up on); but just my quick observations:

- Pop Century did a pretty solid job. We had 3 towel/coffee/trash take outs without calling and called another time and had what we needed right away.  No visible piled garbage this time, and the main pool area and landscaping were in great shape.  The main building was not as clean as it used to be, and the Food Court is very blah.  Still, much better than what I was expecting, and way better than our Coronado experience earlier this summer.
- The parks were WAY overcrowded.  I would never recommend a first timer visit now.  It was wall to wall people, with lots more rude folks (super hot, too crowded, and crazy wait times will do that to people).  We have a "touring plan" of our own that works pretty well, but it was still brutal. Simply awful if you were a once and done or Disney rookie.
- Cast Members were a toss up; I'd say about a third were awesome; a third were ok, and the other third were untrained or awful. I get all the economics and HR issues, but not the typical 85% awesome, 13% ok, and 2% yuck Disney standard of the past.
- 80% of the sanitizer stations weren't full/working.
- Bathrooms were either sparkling or trashed.  I didn't see any piled trash.
- Animal Kingdom and Hollywood seem to have it together.  Epcots's back half is still fun, albeit gutted without the Cultural Reps and live music/shows.  Food booths we tried were excellent.  They front half of Epcot is brutally hot (whose idea was it to make those dividing walls black in the summer heat?) and ugly.
- Magic Kingdom was a hot mess.  We did two full days there, and two nights for Happily Ever After.  By far the worst crowds, clueless cast members, terrible lines, mess, angry folks...simply awful.  It's my daughter's favorite park, and we were celebrating her graduation, but she even said, "this trip ALMOST killed Magic Kingdom for me."  It. was. awful.
- If you need a Disability Access Pass, I will post about that later. It was dangerously terrible at Magic.  I get that I'm biased, but putting untrained Cast Members in that job is not a fit, and downright dangerous.  Two terrible experiences.

In summary, unless you have sunk costs like we did (airline vouchers that expired and a kid leaving for college) I would NOT visit now, especially Magic Kingdom.  Yes, we found ways to enjoy things and make memories, but it was very rough.


----------



## brockash

notatallmagic said:


> Just got back from an 8 day trip - I can post more later (lots to catch up on); but just my quick observations:
> 
> - Pop Century did a pretty solid job. We had 3 towel/coffee/trash take outs without calling and called another time and had what we needed right away.  No visible piled garbage this time, and the main pool area and landscaping were in great shape.  The main building was not as clean as it used to be, and the Food Court is very blah.  Still, much better than what I was expecting, and way better than our Coronado experience earlier this summer.
> - The parks were WAY overcrowded.  I would never recommend a first timer visit now.  It was wall to wall people, with lots more rude folks (super hot, too crowded, and crazy wait times will do that to people).  We have a "touring plan" of our own that works pretty well, but it was still brutal. Simply awful if you were a once and done or Disney rookie.
> - Cast Members were a toss up; I'd say about a third were awesome; a third were ok, and the other third were untrained or awful. I get all the economics and HR issues, but not the typical 85% awesome, 13% ok, and 2% yuck Disney standard of the past.
> - 80% of the sanitizer stations weren't full/working.
> - Bathrooms were either sparkling or trashed.  I didn't see any piled trash.
> - Animal Kingdom and Hollywood seem to have it together.  Epcots's back half is still fun, albeit gutted without the Cultural Reps and live music/shows.  Food booths we tried were excellent.  They front half of Epcot is brutally hot (whose idea was it to make those dividing walls black in the summer heat?) and ugly.
> - Magic Kingdom was a hot mess.  We did two full days there, and two nights for Happily Ever After.  By far the worst crowds, clueless cast members, terrible lines, mess, angry folks...simply awful.  It's my daughter's favorite park, and we were celebrating her graduation, but she even said, "this trip ALMOST killed Magic Kingdom for me."  It. was. awful.
> - If you need a Disability Access Pass, I will post about that later. It was dangerously terrible at Magic.  I get that I'm biased, but putting untrained Cast Members in that job is not a fit, and downright dangerous.  Two terrible experiences.
> 
> In summary, unless you have sunk costs like we did (airline vouchers that expired and a kid leaving for college) I would NOT visit now, especially Magic Kingdom.  Yes, we found ways to enjoy things and make memories, but it was very rough.


Thank you for the honest report.  Most of the things you mentioned seem to unfortunately be the norm now, but it's good to know.


----------



## jujubiee4

notatallmagic said:


> Just got back from an 8 day trip - I can post more later (lots to catch up on); but just my quick observations:
> 
> - Pop Century did a pretty solid job. We had 3 towel/coffee/trash take outs without calling and called another time and had what we needed right away.  No visible piled garbage this time, and the main pool area and landscaping were in great shape.  The main building was not as clean as it used to be, and the Food Court is very blah.  Still, much better than what I was expecting, and way better than our Coronado experience earlier this summer.
> - The parks were WAY overcrowded.  I would never recommend a first timer visit now.  It was wall to wall people, with lots more rude folks (super hot, too crowded, and crazy wait times will do that to people).  We have a "touring plan" of our own that works pretty well, but it was still brutal. Simply awful if you were a once and done or Disney rookie.
> - Cast Members were a toss up; I'd say about a third were awesome; a third were ok, and the other third were untrained or awful. I get all the economics and HR issues, but not the typical 85% awesome, 13% ok, and 2% yuck Disney standard of the past.
> - 80% of the sanitizer stations weren't full/working.
> - Bathrooms were either sparkling or trashed.  I didn't see any piled trash.
> - Animal Kingdom and Hollywood seem to have it together.  Epcots's back half is still fun, albeit gutted without the Cultural Reps and live music/shows.  Food booths we tried were excellent.  They front half of Epcot is brutally hot (whose idea was it to make those dividing walls black in the summer heat?) and ugly.
> - Magic Kingdom was a hot mess.  We did two full days there, and two nights for Happily Ever After.  By far the worst crowds, clueless cast members, terrible lines, mess, angry folks...simply awful.  It's my daughter's favorite park, and we were celebrating her graduation, but she even said, "this trip ALMOST killed Magic Kingdom for me."  It. was. awful.
> - If you need a Disability Access Pass, I will post about that later. It was dangerously terrible at Magic.  I get that I'm biased, but putting untrained Cast Members in that job is not a fit, and downright dangerous.  Two terrible experiences.
> 
> In summary, unless you have sunk costs like we did (airline vouchers that expired and a kid leaving for college) I would NOT visit now, especially Magic Kingdom.  Yes, we found ways to enjoy things and make memories, but it was very rough.


Thank you for posting. Your experience was where a lot of are at regarding airline vouchers that will expire.  It's like it is either now or never. Horrible spot to be in looking at the crowds. I'm glad you at
least had a few good memories and made the best of it.


----------



## SarahC97

notatallmagic said:


> Just got back from an 8 day trip - I can post more later (lots to catch up on); but just my quick observations:
> 
> - Pop Century did a pretty solid job. We had 3 towel/coffee/trash take outs without calling and called another time and had what we needed right away.  No visible piled garbage this time, and the main pool area and landscaping were in great shape.  The main building was not as clean as it used to be, and the Food Court is very blah.  Still, much better than what I was expecting, and way better than our Coronado experience earlier this summer.
> - The parks were WAY overcrowded.  I would never recommend a first timer visit now.  It was wall to wall people, with lots more rude folks (super hot, too crowded, and crazy wait times will do that to people).  We have a "touring plan" of our own that works pretty well, but it was still brutal. Simply awful if you were a once and done or Disney rookie.
> - Cast Members were a toss up; I'd say about a third were awesome; a third were ok, and the other third were untrained or awful. I get all the economics and HR issues, but not the typical 85% awesome, 13% ok, and 2% yuck Disney standard of the past.
> - 80% of the sanitizer stations weren't full/working.
> - Bathrooms were either sparkling or trashed.  I didn't see any piled trash.
> - Animal Kingdom and Hollywood seem to have it together.  Epcots's back half is still fun, albeit gutted without the Cultural Reps and live music/shows.  Food booths we tried were excellent.  They front half of Epcot is brutally hot (whose idea was it to make those dividing walls black in the summer heat?) and ugly.
> - Magic Kingdom was a hot mess.  We did two full days there, and two nights for Happily Ever After.  By far the worst crowds, clueless cast members, terrible lines, mess, angry folks...simply awful.  It's my daughter's favorite park, and we were celebrating her graduation, but she even said, "this trip ALMOST killed Magic Kingdom for me."  It. was. awful.
> - If you need a Disability Access Pass, I will post about that later. It was dangerously terrible at Magic.  I get that I'm biased, but putting untrained Cast Members in that job is not a fit, and downright dangerous.  Two terrible experiences.
> 
> In summary, unless you have sunk costs like we did (airline vouchers that expired and a kid leaving for college) I would NOT visit now, especially Magic Kingdom.  Yes, we found ways to enjoy things and make memories, but it was very rough.


Oh, I'm really interested about the DAS pass issues you had. We're going next week and utilize DAS for a condition I have.


----------



## Kimrlav

Just wanted to share my recent experiences, I returned on Wednesday.  I am from New England and had some issues with the lack of physical distancing and guests ignoring mask requirements on bus transportation.  We stayed at the Yacht Club and enjoyed the visit - cast members were friendly, professional, and helpful. Mouse keeping brought extras when requested to the room and did not leave trash in the hallways.  As for the parks and weather, it was very hot and without longer evening hours, it was difficult for my family. The Epcot opening at 11am was just too hot to attempt to ride any Future World attractions.  We enjoyed the leisure pool at the resort and only ventured around World showcase in the evenings. We did not feel comfortable with the crowds at Hollywood Studios and did not even visit the Magic Kingdom. We decided to focus on visiting other resorts for lunch/dinner and used mobile order for a few quick service restaurants and to-go- for the Ale and Compass. We enjoyed our take-out meals from Ale and Compass very much and liked the ability to eat outside.  We were fortunate that our room had a lovely patio and we could view Epcot Forever fireworks without being in the crowds of Epcot and greatly enjoyed the performances at the American Gardens Theater early in the evenings.  We felt comfortable on the Safari ride and walking all the animal trails in AK.  

Overall, we enjoyed the time away and being on vacation. I had planned to go again in September and stay at the Boardwalk, but decided to cancel and wait until Fastpass returns /Deluxe guest evening access, if I am paying the current rates - want to feel more comfortable with crowds, and take advantage of the offering.  Again, our trip was based on our comfort level and we had a nice time, but would not recommend going if it was your first trip or you wanted to ride all the attractions.


----------



## hvanes

Momtomouselover said:


> I don’t think Kali has been opening up right at rope drop. I believe it opens an hour later or it did on our AK day.


Yesterday the park opened at 8 (we were held on the bridge to Pandora until 7:35 and on FoP by 7:53) but Kali didn't open until 9. We rode EE 3x in a row and then did Kali back to back at about 9:15.


----------



## orangecuse

gcoolie said:


> Touring Plans has a lot less red in their crowd calendar after August 23rd. I'm hopeful it will hold up. We are going on the 25th.



Same here! We went years ago near labor day and itvwas pretty empty. I am hoping maybe the masks plus school will allow us lower crowds that week!


----------



## cjsmom5

luvthemouse71 said:


> I agree. Yelling at CMs solves nothing and it’s horrible to do that. When elective surgeries were canceled, they had me screening patients. OMG, never been sworn at so much in my life and I work with surgeons.
> 
> People  have varying opinions about masking and such…please don’t abuse someone who has no power and control over policies and procedures. Write a letter to the higher ups if you want to.



agree - if you don't like the policy email wdw customer service and voice your objection. The individuals you see how NO -- absolutely NO input into the policy. They are just trying to bring home a paycheck.


----------



## smwisc

Momtomouselover said:


> I don’t think Kali has been opening up right at rope drop. I believe it opens an hour later or it did on our AK day.


Yes, that's right - more precisely, we are planning an "easy" RD, taking our time walking, and riding EE a couple of times, to get us to Kali at open.


----------



## smwisc

bookgirl2632 said:


> Those lanyards seem great, but I’m not sure I want my mask hanging in front of me when I’m having pictures taken.


Obviously we all have our priorities, but personally, between my squinty eyes or sunglasses, frizzy/ponytailed/hat-covered hair, and none/melted makeup - a lanyard with a mask around my neck is kinda not even on my radar.


----------



## nduckles

smwisc said:


> Obviously we all have our priorities, but personally, between my squinty eyes or sunglasses, frizzy/ponytailed/hat-covered hair, and none/melted makeup - a lanyard with a mask around my neck is kinda not even on my radar.


Add in my cooling towel and my neck fan and I look SEXY.


----------



## cjsmom5

nduckles said:


> Add in my cooling towel and my neck fan and I look SEXY.



Don't we all!!!


----------



## bookgirl2632

smwisc said:


> Obviously we all have our priorities, but personally, between my squinty eyes or sunglasses, frizzy/ponytailed/hat-covered hair, and none/melted makeup - a lanyard with a mask around my neck is kinda not even on my radar.



I mean, it’s not a major concern.  I’ll just unhook it or hang it behind me, as suggested.  


nduckles said:


> Add in my cooling towel and my neck fan and I look SEXY.



I tried the neck fans and wasn’t crazy about them.


----------



## Marionnette

nduckles said:


> Add in my cooling towel and my neck fan and I look SEXY.


What?!!! No over-size fanny pack to complete the look?


----------



## cdurham1

Went to Blizzard Beach this afternoon and had a perfect time.  If you want an escape from any signs of the COVID shutdown, I recommend going there.


----------



## disny_luvr

cdurham1 said:


> Went to Blizzard Beach this afternoon and had a perfect time.  If you want an escape from any signs of the COVID shutdown, I recommend going there.



We are planning on going next week while we are there and really looking forward to it. We love water parks! How were the crowds?


----------



## cdurham1

It's a small thing, but the lack of tram service really got under my skin yesterday at MK.  I don't often use the tram, but when you want it, you want it.  We were walking back to our car to go take out afternoon break and the sun was beating down on us after fighting the crowds in MK all morning.  I was thinking, "geez, they have no problem increasing the park capacity, but can't do something like bringing the tram back?!"  Sometimes it is the little things that can irritate you!


----------



## cdurham1

disny_luvr said:


> We are planning on going next week while we are there and really looking forward to it. We love water parks! How were the crowds?


Crowd didn't seem bad at all.  We started to walk up stairs with a raft and froze at the wait time sign.  It said 90 minutes.  Two young guys were zipping past us and said, "don't worry, that's wrong, it's basically a walk on."  And they were right.  One of my daughter did the tallest slide and waited less than 10 minutes.

I was really surprised.  With Typhoon Lagoon closed, the heat, and the crowds at the parks, I expected it to be very crowded.  We were really pleasantly surprised.


----------



## disny_luvr

cdurham1 said:


> Crowd didn't seem bad at all.  We started to walk up stairs with a raft and froze at the wait time sign.  It said 90 minutes.  Two young guys were zipping past us and said, "don't worry, that's wrong, it's basically a walk on."  And they were right.  One of my daughter did the tallest slide and waited less than 10 minutes.
> 
> I was really surprised.  With Typhoon Lagoon closed, the heat, and the crowds at the parks, I expected it to be very crowded.  We were really pleasantly surprised.



Great news!


----------



## cakebaker

cdurham1 said:


> Crowd didn't seem bad at all.  We started to walk up stairs with a raft and froze at the wait time sign.  It said 90 minutes.  Two young guys were zipping past us and said, "don't worry, that's wrong, it's basically a walk on."  And they were right.  One of my daughter did the tallest slide and waited less than 10 minutes.
> 
> I was really surprised.  With Typhoon Lagoon closed, the heat, and the crowds at the parks, I expected it to be very crowded.  We were really pleasantly surprised.


We were at BB today too. It wasn’t empty, but certainly not crowded. Wait times were short, plenty of great places to park your stuff.

We had a blast and stayed until closing, just now getting back to our resort. The absolute best part was not standing in lines and not fighting crowds. It was finally a relaxing day. We also got to miss whatever drama there might’ve been with masks.

Checking out of Fort Wilderness in the morning  and glad to be going to the beach club. We extended our stay there to 2 nights before our trip ends. Tomorrow is the MK both morning and evening.

I have to say, the worst part of our trip has been the people. We rarely run into it, but we’ve had some really nasty encounters.Maybe it’s the heat or more likely the frustration of long lines and not much to do but stand in them. Whatever it is, people just seem to be in bad moods. I rarely see a smile.


----------



## notatallmagic

SarahC97 said:


> Oh, I'm really interested about the DAS pass issues you had. We're going next week and utilize DAS for a condition I have.



DAS issues at Magic Kingdom - 

I'll start by saying that I am very grateful for the ability of our family to use a DAS; without it, we could no longer do Disney at all.  We have a family of 3; and the pass is for my daughter, who was diagnosed with her disability about a year ago.

Our previous 3 trips since diagnosis - DAS has worked perfectly fine. She cannot stand in direct sun/heat for extended time periods, and needs the ability to eat/drink in line.  Bathroom breaks are also a pop-up issue, so longer lines can be a problem.  We also encountered NO problems this trip at the other parks - they appeared to have trained DAS staff to both issue returns times, and check us back in.  Wait times were accurate from DAS within 5 minutes. Almost always, there were 2 distinct Cast Members and/or lines for the 2 different functions - but the DAS lines were also long, so be prepared for that.

Our first MK DAS problem was first thing in the morning; we obtained a 70 minute DAS return time for Seven Dwarves, and headed straight to Pan, since that line is usually shorter and shaded first thing in the morning.  We walked up, asked the DAS Cast Member how long the wait was, and he said "5 minutes at the most".  I could see that the line was already down the hill past the Tangled bathroom area, and when I asked if he was sure, he acted very put out, and said "I TOLD you it's 5 minutes!"  Well, 35 minutes later, we rode the ride.  Fortunately, we were able to stay in the shade, and she didn't need to leave the line or use the restroom, but that's a big miscalculation when you ask specifically, and with DAS, riders need more accurate information than that.

Our crisis came for Splash Mountain, which was insanely busy.  My son had gotten a return time for 80 minutes, so we went to try to check back in to ride, and the DAS line was literally backed up to the river.  It was wall to wall people ( I took pictures), with at least a 30 minute wait to check back in. They had the wheelchair line mixed in, as well as the "Complimentary Return" kinda Fastpasses, which is typical.  BUT, with as overwhelmed as the parks were this week, there were TONS of folks trying to use the "Disney screwed up, here's a FastPass".  There wasn't a good way to separate our party - there wasn't anywhere close or shaded to wait, and the kids couldn't have gotten back to the line due to the density of the crowd.  

So we waited about 30 minutes, and witnessed just horrible service from the one poor, untrained Cast Member trying to deal with all the angry DAS and FastPass folks. The worst part was, there was a management type with a trainee behind him for at least 20 minutes, doing NOTHING.  When we got to the front of the line to check in, after watching a large party leave with the adult man in TEARS because the Cast Member wouldn't let him use his passes - he actually asked the guy, "so, what IS your disability?" - which I'm pretty sure is not ok.  BTW, he didn't have a DAS - he had the Recovery Passes due to other issues with their party earlier.  I mentioned to the Management Cast Member that it would be helpful if they had more help, since the line was so crazy long and many of the folks in the DAS line were struggling.  Her response, "Have a Magical Day." with a smirk and a laugh.

So, it was NOT super magical when we finally got onto Splash Mountain, and my kid ends up having a medical crisis during the ride that was TOTALLY avoidable had the DAS worked like it should and like it is promised to work.  We had to leave the park after that, and take about four hours before she felt well enough to be up and around again. I can offer more details if needed, but I will be following up with Disability Services.  TOTALLY unacceptable.


----------



## tinkerhon

notatallmagic said:


> Just got back from an 8 day trip - I can post more later (lots to catch up on); but just my quick observations:
> 
> - Pop Century did a pretty solid job. We had 3 towel/coffee/trash take outs without calling and called another time and had what we needed right away.  No visible piled garbage this time, and the main pool area and landscaping were in great shape.  The main building was not as clean as it used to be, and the Food Court is very blah.  Still, much better than what I was expecting, and way better than our Coronado experience earlier this summer.
> - The parks were WAY overcrowded.  I would never recommend a first timer visit now.  It was wall to wall people, with lots more rude folks (super hot, too crowded, and crazy wait times will do that to people).  We have a "touring plan" of our own that works pretty well, but it was still brutal. Simply awful if you were a once and done or Disney rookie.
> - Cast Members were a toss up; I'd say about a third were awesome; a third were ok, and the other third were untrained or awful. I get all the economics and HR issues, but not the typical 85% awesome, 13% ok, and 2% yuck Disney standard of the past.
> - 80% of the sanitizer stations weren't full/working.
> - Bathrooms were either sparkling or trashed.  I didn't see any piled trash.
> - Animal Kingdom and Hollywood seem to have it together.  Epcots's back half is still fun, albeit gutted without the Cultural Reps and live music/shows.  Food booths we tried were excellent.  They front half of Epcot is brutally hot (whose idea was it to make those dividing walls black in the summer heat?) and ugly.
> - Magic Kingdom was a hot mess.  We did two full days there, and two nights for Happily Ever After.  By far the worst crowds, clueless cast members, terrible lines, mess, angry folks...simply awful.  It's my daughter's favorite park, and we were celebrating her graduation, but she even said, "this trip ALMOST killed Magic Kingdom for me."  It. was. awful.
> - If you need a Disability Access Pass, I will post about that later. It was dangerously terrible at Magic.  I get that I'm biased, but putting untrained Cast Members in that job is not a fit, and downright dangerous.  Two terrible experiences.
> 
> In summary, unless you have sunk costs like we did (airline vouchers that expired and a kid leaving for college) I would NOT visit now, especially Magic Kingdom.  Yes, we found ways to enjoy things and make memories, but it was very rough.



THIS X 1000 !!!!  We just got back Weds, and honestly--- said the same thing about MK--- was an absolute mess--- we had two park days reserved there, but after the first, switched the second one--- luckily, landed an ADR for an 8:15PM dinner at Kona, and watched (and listened to-- music was piped in) HEA from the pool area at the Poly-- it saved the day !!!


----------



## notatallmagic

Just another thought if you are someone who is worried about distancing - now is NOT the time to come to Disney.

We had a really sad/awful experience at Slinky in Hollywood.  There was a lady there with two boys, maybe 8 and 10. They were all double masked in the outdoor line, which is fine and their business.  

What WASN'T fine was when they loaded our cars (she was on her phone the whole time and wasn't really paying attention), and our group of 3 and her group of 3 meant that she got put in a seat next to my son who was NOT masked (this was last week, so he didn't need to be).  She literally SHRIEKED at the Cast Member about how she didn't want to ride with anyone else, distancing, mask, blah...blah...and then spent the whole ride hysterical and screaming at my kid, and balled up in the corner of her row trying to be as far from my kid as she could.  The PhotoPass pictures are so crazy...and my son was completly freaked out - getting screamed at by a stranger for doing nothing wrong.

So, again, whatever the rules are at the time - like being told to fill all seats at Bugs Life, Lion King, Frozen, etc. - don't take it out on your fellow guests.


----------



## fla4fun

cdurham1 said:


> It's a small thing, but the lack of tram service really got under my skin yesterday at MK.  I don't often use the tram, but when you want it, you want it.  We were walking back to our car to go take out afternoon break and the sun was beating down on us after fighting the crowds in MK all morning.  I was thinking, "geez, they have no problem increasing the park capacity, but can't do something like bringing the tram back?!"  Sometimes it is the little things that can irritate you!


I have an AP and I am not doing any day trips until the trams come back.  It’s hot enough walking from the resort transporotation to the parks, let alone from the parking lots.


----------



## DisneyFive

lovethattink said:


> Thanks for the report. Are masks still buy one get one free, or are they back to full price?


All masks (Disney themed) that I see are $9.99 each. No buy one get one
Dan


----------



## MEC004

mzozzietj said:


> I like the idea of the lanyards for when we remove masks to eat/drink so we don't accidentally drop/put them down on tables etc.



Second this! They were a lifesaver when we went in December. You didn’t have to put your mask down on anything grody.


----------



## lovethattink

DisneyFive said:


> All masks that I see are $9.99 each. No buy one get one
> Dan



Thanks for looking.


----------



## cakebaker

notatallmagic said:


> Just another thought if you are someone who is worried about distancing - now is NOT the time to come to Disney.
> .
> 
> What WASN'T fine was when they loaded our cars (she was on her phone the whole time and wasn't really paying attention), and our group of 3 and her group of 3 meant that she got put in a seat next to my son who was NOT masked (this was last week, so he didn't need to be).  She literally SHRIEKED at the Cast Member about how she didn't want to ride with anyone else, distancing, mask, blah...blah...and then spent the whole ride hysterical and screaming at my kid, and balled up in the corner of her row trying to be as far from my kid as she could.



We are ones who are not comfortable riding right next to someone who is not masked. I didn’t realize on slinky they were putting strangers together, but when we did, just as they put us in line, I stepped back and told the CM we did not want to ride like that. I was perfectly happy to take the exit and not ride, but the CM was quite nice and insisted we just step to the side and she put us on the next ride.

There was no excuse for her behavior. She could’ve chosen  not to ride or asked to be seated alone and they would have done that with no problem.

We are extremely careful in the parks and have skipped doing many things because of crowds. Honestly, right now, I wouldn’t recommend anyone go to WDW.


----------



## smitty0705

focusondisney said:


> A relative there now said back to regular price.



the masks are $6/4 on ShopDisney


----------



## cakebaker

DisneyFive said:


> All masks that I see are $9.99 each. No buy one get one
> Dan



I forgot to bring my mask Wednesday evening to the MK and bought 2 with the buy 1 get 1 free deal. I guess that went away when they started the new mask policy today. I did notice they had moved the mask kiosks outdoors at the shops in AK this morning.


----------



## Pyotr

notatallmagic said:


> Just another thought if you are someone who is worried about distancing - now is NOT the time to come to Disney.
> 
> We had a really sad/awful experience at Slinky in Hollywood.  There was a lady there with two boys, maybe 8 and 10. They were all double masked in the outdoor line, which is fine and their business.
> 
> What WASN'T fine was when they loaded our cars (she was on her phone the whole time and wasn't really paying attention), and our group of 3 and her group of 3 meant that she got put in a seat next to my son who was NOT masked (this was last week, so he didn't need to be).  She literally SHRIEKED at the Cast Member about how she didn't want to ride with anyone else, distancing, mask, blah...blah...and then spent the whole ride hysterical and screaming at my kid, and balled up in the corner of her row trying to be as far from my kid as she could.  The PhotoPass pictures are so crazy...and my son was completly freaked out - getting screamed at by a stranger for doing nothing wrong.
> 
> So, again, whatever the rules are at the time - like being told to fill all seats at Bugs Life, Lion King, Frozen, etc. - don't take it out on your fellow guests.


If you’re that concerned, maybe going to a crowded theme park isn’t the best choice.


----------



## soniam

nduckles said:


> Add in my cooling towel and my neck fan and I look SEXY.


Don’t forget what my husband calls my summer foundation, ghostly white zinc oxide sunscreen



notatallmagic said:


> DAS issues at Magic Kingdom -
> 
> I'll start by saying that I am very grateful for the ability of our family to use a DAS; without it, we could no longer do Disney at all.  We have a family of 3; and the pass is for my daughter, who was diagnosed with her disability about a year ago.
> 
> Our previous 3 trips since diagnosis - DAS has worked perfectly fine. She cannot stand in direct sun/heat for extended time periods, and needs the ability to eat/drink in line.  Bathroom breaks are also a pop-up issue, so longer lines can be a problem.  We also encountered NO problems this trip at the other parks - they appeared to have trained DAS staff to both issue returns times, and check us back in.  Wait times were accurate from DAS within 5 minutes. Almost always, there were 2 distinct Cast Members and/or lines for the 2 different functions - but the DAS lines were also long, so be prepared for that.
> 
> Our first MK DAS problem was first thing in the morning; we obtained a 70 minute DAS return time for Seven Dwarves, and headed straight to Pan, since that line is usually shorter and shaded first thing in the morning.  We walked up, asked the DAS Cast Member how long the wait was, and he said "5 minutes at the most".  I could see that the line was already down the hill past the Tangled bathroom area, and when I asked if he was sure, he acted very put out, and said "I TOLD you it's 5 minutes!"  Well, 35 minutes later, we rode the ride.  Fortunately, we were able to stay in the shade, and she didn't need to leave the line or use the restroom, but that's a big miscalculation when you ask specifically, and with DAS, riders need more accurate information than that.
> 
> Our crisis came for Splash Mountain, which was insanely busy.  My son had gotten a return time for 80 minutes, so we went to try to check back in to ride, and the DAS line was literally backed up to the river.  It was wall to wall people ( I took pictures), with at least a 30 minute wait to check back in. They had the wheelchair line mixed in, as well as the "Complimentary Return" kinda Fastpasses, which is typical.  BUT, with as overwhelmed as the parks were this week, there were TONS of folks trying to use the "Disney screwed up, here's a FastPass".  There wasn't a good way to separate our party - there wasn't anywhere close or shaded to wait, and the kids couldn't have gotten back to the line due to the density of the crowd.
> 
> So we waited about 30 minutes, and witnessed just horrible service from the one poor, untrained Cast Member trying to deal with all the angry DAS and FastPass folks. The worst part was, there was a management type with a trainee behind him for at least 20 minutes, doing NOTHING.  When we got to the front of the line to check in, after watching a large party leave with the adult man in TEARS because the Cast Member wouldn't let him use his passes - he actually asked the guy, "so, what IS your disability?" - which I'm pretty sure is not ok.  BTW, he didn't have a DAS - he had the Recovery Passes due to other issues with their party earlier.  I mentioned to the Management Cast Member that it would be helpful if they had more help, since the line was so crazy long and many of the folks in the DAS line were struggling.  Her response, "Have a Magical Day." with a smirk and a laugh.
> 
> So, it was NOT super magical when we finally got onto Splash Mountain, and my kid ends up having a medical crisis during the ride that was TOTALLY avoidable had the DAS worked like it should and like it is promised to work.  We had to leave the park after that, and take about four hours before she felt well enough to be up and around again. I can offer more details if needed, but I will be following up with Disability Services.  TOTALLY unacceptable.


That is terrible! I am so sorry your daughter got ill. It’s horrible having medical issues while on vacation, much less at Disney. I have diverticulitis, and it’s exhausting when it acts up at the parks, but it’s manageable for me. I know there have been times when I have secretly judged people at Disney. It’s wrong, and I have been trying to instill the opposite behavior in my son by expressing compassion and understanding for people that don’t always have it as easy as him.



notatallmagic said:


> Just another thought if you are someone who is worried about distancing - now is NOT the time to come to Disney.
> 
> We had a really sad/awful experience at Slinky in Hollywood.  There was a lady there with two boys, maybe 8 and 10. They were all double masked in the outdoor line, which is fine and their business.
> 
> What WASN'T fine was when they loaded our cars (she was on her phone the whole time and wasn't really paying attention), and our group of 3 and her group of 3 meant that she got put in a seat next to my son who was NOT masked (this was last week, so he didn't need to be).  She literally SHRIEKED at the Cast Member about how she didn't want to ride with anyone else, distancing, mask, blah...blah...and then spent the whole ride hysterical and screaming at my kid, and balled up in the corner of her row trying to be as far from my kid as she could.  The PhotoPass pictures are so crazy...and my son was completly freaked out - getting screamed at by a stranger for doing nothing wrong.
> 
> So, again, whatever the rules are at the time - like being told to fill all seats at Bugs Life, Lion King, Frozen, etc. - don't take it out on your fellow guests.


We were wearing masks while indoors before today. I didn’t expect others to do this or even physically distance. People really need to research and be honest about their comfort levels right now.


----------



## bookgirl2632

cdurham1 said:


> Crowd didn't seem bad at all.  We started to walk up stairs with a raft and froze at the wait time sign.  It said 90 minutes.  Two young guys were zipping past us and said, "don't worry, that's wrong, it's basically a walk on."  And they were right.  One of my daughter did the tallest slide and waited less than 10 minutes.
> 
> I was really surprised.  With Typhoon Lagoon closed, the heat, and the crowds at the parks, I expected it to be very crowded.  We were really pleasantly surprised.


Can you tell me, how much walking is there at BB?  What I mean is for some of the slides.  At Volcano Bay, there are so many steps.  It was daunting and my mother, who is in good shape for her age, just hated it.  Mind you, we won’t be doing the huge slides.  We stick to the tamer ones.  We usually do Typhoon Lagoon and I know they don’t have too many bad climbs to get to their slides.


----------



## Marvin1968

Pyotr said:


> If you’re that concerned, maybe going to a crowded theme park isn’t the best choice.


This ⬆


----------



## DisneyOma

notatallmagic said:


> Our previous 3 trips since diagnosis - DAS has worked perfectly fine. She cannot stand in direct sun/heat for extended time periods, and needs the ability to eat/drink in line.  Bathroom breaks are also a pop-up issue, so longer lines can be a problem.  We also encountered NO problems this trip at the other parks - they appeared to have trained DAS staff to both issue returns times, and check us back in.  Wait times were accurate from DAS within 5 minutes. Almost always, there were 2 distinct Cast Members and/or lines for the 2 different functions - but the DAS lines were also long, so be prepared for that.
> 
> Our first MK DAS problem was first thing in the morning; we obtained a 70 minute DAS return time for Seven Dwarves, and headed straight to Pan, since that line is usually shorter and shaded first thing in the morning.  We walked up, asked the DAS Cast Member how long the wait was, and he said "5 minutes at the most".  I could see that the line was already down the hill past the Tangled bathroom area, and when I asked if he was sure, he acted very put out, and said "I TOLD you it's 5 minutes!"  Well, 35 minutes later, we rode the ride.  Fortunately, we were able to stay in the shade, and she didn't need to leave the line or use the restroom, but that's a big miscalculation when you ask specifically, and with DAS, riders need more accurate information than that.
> 
> Our crisis came for Splash Mountain, which was insanely busy.  My son had gotten a return time for 80 minutes, so we went to try to check back in to ride, and the DAS line was literally backed up to the river.  It was wall to wall people ( I took pictures), with at least a 30 minute wait to check back in. They had the wheelchair line mixed in, as well as the "Complimentary Return" kinda Fastpasses, which is typical.  BUT, with as overwhelmed as the parks were this week, there were TONS of folks trying to use the "Disney screwed up, here's a FastPass".  There wasn't a good way to separate our party - there wasn't anywhere close or shaded to wait, and the kids couldn't have gotten back to the line due to the density of the crowd.
> 
> So we waited about 30 minutes, and witnessed just horrible service from the one poor, untrained Cast Member trying to deal with all the angry DAS and FastPass folks. The worst part was, there was a management type with a trainee behind him for at least 20 minutes, doing NOTHING.  When we got to the front of the line to check in, after watching a large party leave with the adult man in TEARS because the Cast Member wouldn't let him use his passes - he actually asked the guy, "so, what IS your disability?" - which I'm pretty sure is not ok.  BTW, he didn't have a DAS - he had the Recovery Passes due to other issues with their party earlier.  I mentioned to the Management Cast Member that it would be helpful if they had more help, since the line was so crazy long and many of the folks in the DAS line were struggling.  Her response, "Have a Magical Day." with a smirk and a laugh.
> 
> So, it was NOT super magical when we finally got onto Splash Mountain, and my kid ends up having a medical crisis during the ride that was TOTALLY avoidable had the DAS worked like it should and like it is promised to work.  We had to leave the park after that, and take about four hours before she felt well enough to be up and around again. I can offer more details if needed, but I will be following up with Disability Services.  TOTALLY unacceptable.



Couple of questions for you - how does DAS give you permission to eat/drink in the queue when it is only a pass that gives you a return time? And how does it keep you out of heat and sun when it just gives you a return time? Are you able to find shady areas nearby, or do you have to walk pretty far in the heat/sun? How does she handle the heat/sun just walking through the park? I've got heat/sun issues, and find walking through the park to be much harder than being in a queue, but that was when FP+ was active. Going in a week myself and am concerned about the outside queues. Are there a lot of them?


----------



## disny_luvr

DisneyFive said:


> Second full HS day today.  Today, July 30 is the shift back to masks in some areas.  I will update this thread regarding the new mask policies at the attractions we go to!  We plan to get to Hollywood studios around 8 AM
> 
> Got BG 10 this morning!  Our plan is to do MFSR at rope drop since that was our longest standby wait of our four days so far at 90 minutes.  Then maybe MMRR before our BG is called
> 
> Walked from the Boardwalk.  Through security at 7:58 AM.  Let through tapstiles at 8 AM, being held in front of “Vacation Fun” next to frozen theater until 8:30am.
> View attachment 593297
> 
> Just spoke with Tran, one of the lead cast members. So far it is sounding like it is strictly inside buildings or entering an attraction marquee (which is where it lists the standby and fast pass return times) that we have to wear masks. So some of it may be outside depending on the ride.  Will update
> 
> At the very front of the line for MFSR this morning.
> View attachment 593310
> Very orderly progression. Crazy how some people are still jockeying for position, even still.  In the ride queue at 8:40am.  On ride at 8:48am.  Off MFSR at 9:00am.  Soooo much better doing it this way than waiting 90 minutes after we did tower of terror and rock n roller coaster the other day.  Ok I just walked past the start of the line for MFSR, it is longer than the other day when it took us 90 minutes. I can’t stress enough getting to the park at 8 AM if you want to do MFSR with a little wait.
> 
> 9:13 AM, in line for MMRR.  Posted 85 minutes.  On in 36 minutes.  Touring Plans estimated 34 minutes BTW.  Masks are NOT required in the extended outside portion of queues. Masks start once you go through the marquee entrance.  In some cases some of that may be outside.
> 
> Loved MMRR! Fantastic visuals and imaginative.
> View attachment 593330
> 
> 10:12am Going for some coffee and snacks now.
> 
> 11:15 AM. Getting in line for Muppets 3-D since all the rides are at peak waits right now.
> 
> ROTR is down a lot today so far.  Our group was called but it’s down again.  Was told we can return any time before park close.  Glad we have an early boarding group
> 
> View attachment 593363
> Prime Time Cafe at 12:10pm today.  Great comfort food and the atmosphere is so cool.
> 
> 1:04 OK heading to ROTR then back to the resort to nap.   I will say that mask compliance inside of the appropriate areas has been very good here at Hollywood studios today. No mean interactions with CM’s that I have seen yet.
> 
> Left the park around 3 PM and rode the Skyliner back to the Epcot stop, just for fun.  it was our first time riding it. Loved it!  Even in 92°, sunny weather it was comfortable in the vehicles.
> 
> Relaxed at the resort for a good while.
> 
> 7 PM, back to HS. The park seems to be clearing out tonight. The line for slinky dog Dash was entirely in the formal queue. Haven’t seen that since we’ve been here.
> View attachment 593417
> The same goes for Mickey Minnie runaway railway.
> 
> Scarfing down some food at Docking Bay 7. A couple new options today.  Plant-based meatballs and hummus Felicia Kefta) and the spicy Tip Yip.
> View attachment 593418
> View attachment 593419
> 
> We are going to try to ride one more attraction standby, and then jump in either RNRC or TOT right at park close.
> 
> 7:38 PM we are in line for MMRR.  At the formal Marquee entrance now.  At the first movie screen scene in 16 minutes .Got off the ride just after 8 PM.
> 
> This really points out how nice it would be to have the parks open longer. Closing at 8 PM is rough because lines are finally starting to diminish because the little kiddos can’t make it that long but the adults and older kids can.  It would help spread out the crowds
> 
> Successful day.
> 
> Dan



Thanks for sharing your day with us! I’m glad it was a great one!


----------



## cdurham1

bookgirl2632 said:


> Can you tell me, how much walking is there at BB?  What I mean is for some of the slides.  At Volcano Bay, there are so many steps.  It was daunting and my mother, who is in good shape for her age, just hated it.  Mind you, we won’t be doing the huge slides.  We stick to the tamer ones.  We usually do Typhoon Lagoon and I know they don’t have too many bad climbs to get to their slides.


Oh, there are a ton of steps.  That is the most exhausting part of the day.


----------



## Threehearts

Re: best ways to store masks when not in use.
I am copying and pasting some information that I posted on another thread that is now closed in case others may find the information helpful.

I am a nurse so thought I would share how we handle mask wearing in and out of the hospital setting, including at WDW.  

The safest way to remove a mask is by the ear straps. Next, you fold the mask with the area you breathed on(we call it the contaminated side), folded inward. We use the blue surgical masks for routine care but N95s when the patient has a possible contagious disease. Now, in most medical settings we assume that everyone is Covid positive rather than take a chance. Disposable masks are meant to be worn once and thrown out, but I understand that this is not practical for the general public. At no time should a mask be removed and be hanging anywhere on the user's body. You can label your masks with the person's name and fold the masks away until they need to be used again. Sharpees work well on the triple layer paper masks.


----------



## disny_luvr

For anyone at MK tonight, I’m guessing they are still packing people in for HEA? I guess there really is no way to cut down on crowds.

Also, are they still sitting different parties together on the Skyliner?


----------



## bookgirl2632

cdurham1 said:


> Oh, there are a ton of steps.  That is the most exhausting part of the day.


I was afraid of that.  Perhaps we should skip BB then.


----------



## sjrec

disny_luvr said:


> For anyone at MK tonight, I’m guessing they are still packing people in for HEA? I guess there really is no way to cut down on crowds.
> 
> Also, are they still sitting different parties together on the Skyliner?


We had a car to ourselves this afternoon but it wasn’t busy. When my daughter’s family returned later in the afternoon with more people in line, they were seated with another family.


----------



## Dakota731

Sarahslay said:


> I couldn't decide if I should laugh at this or love this, safe to say both. Yes, please, cancel in protest, show all of us and Disney who's boss lol


Yes let’s start a Revolution and have everyone cancel their trips the entire month of December,  and my family and I will fly to WDW to check and make sure no one shows up lol


----------



## cdurham1

DisneyOma said:


> Couple of questions for you - how does DAS give you permission to eat/drink in the queue when it is only a pass that gives you a return time? And how does it keep you out of heat and sun when it just gives you a return time? Are you able to find shady areas nearby, or do you have to walk pretty far in the heat/sun? How does she handle the heat/sun just walking through the park? I've got heat/sun issues, and find walking through the park to be much harder than being in a queue, but that was when FP+ was active. Going in a week myself and am concerned about the outside queues. Are there a lot of them?



This trip is the first time I have used a UV umbrella and it has helped some walking around and walking into the park.

I am certainly not speaking for the op, but I think he is saying that without the DAS pass, those things would be an issue.  I definitely see if you have a heat issue (like a well known issue from diabetes that affects your ability to sweat and regulate your body temp, possibly resulting in heat stroke), then you can manage to find enough air conditioning to cool down to make it from one spot to another.  What you probably can't do is find a way to cool down if you have to wait 60+ minutes in a queue that is almost entirely outdoors like what I have seen at most of the headliner attractions this week.


----------



## notatallmagic

DisneyOma said:


> Couple of questions for you - how does DAS give you permission to eat/drink in the queue when it is only a pass that gives you a return time? And how does it keep you out of heat and sun when it just gives you a return time? Are you able to find shady areas nearby, or do you have to walk pretty far in the heat/sun? How does she handle the heat/sun just walking through the park? I've got heat/sun issues, and find walking through the park to be much harder than being in a queue, but that was when FP+ was active. Going in a week myself and am concerned about the outside queues. Are there a lot of them?



Sorry - to clarify... we were advised to get a DAS after diagnosis because especially during Covid there was NO eating or drinking in line whatsoever.  The goal for her is to have about a 20 minute total ride time, which is usually pretty doable with DAS.

The sun/heat thing is huge for her, and the return time lets us go somewhere cooler, sit, eat, go to the restroom, walk through a shop, or go on a shorter ride with an indoor line as the time ticks off.  For example, while Seven Dwarves is running down for 70 minutes, we usually walk right onto Peter Pan, Ariel, and maybe Small World.  Short walks, indoor or shady lines and we're good.

Walking through the parks we do in short chunks. We also leave the park and return at night most days.  If there is time to plan, then she can adjust for the outdoor time - but an unexpected wait or line in the sun without lead time is much more problematic.

Planning for us is HUGE!  Let me know if you have any other questions.  Happy to help!


----------



## Blondie58

monica9 said:


> *Moderator Note - All Off Topic Posts Will be Deleted*.   Stick to Here Now /Just Back content and relavent questions or your post may be removed from this thread.  The Community Board is a great place to discuss the virus.  Thank you.
> 
> Looking for a thread to check out for the first day back at WDW. The pros, cons, pics, etc.


Just back.  No masks and loved it expect for transportation.  Sorry this changes tomorrow.  If masks are off topic becasue they relate to Covid - delete me.


----------



## notatallmagic

cakebaker said:


> We are ones who are not comfortable riding right next to someone who is not masked. I didn’t realize on slinky they were putting strangers together, but when we did, just as they put us in line, I stepped back and told the CM we did not want to ride like that. I was perfectly happy to take the exit and not ride, but the CM was quite nice and insisted we just step to the side and she put us on the next ride.
> 
> There was no excuse for her behavior. She could’ve chosen  not to ride or asked to be seated alone and they would have done that with no problem.
> 
> We are extremely careful in the parks and have skipped doing many things because of crowds. Honestly, right now, I wouldn’t recommend anyone go to WDW.



Thank you for your kind words.  I wish she had noticed sooner - it was so uncomfortable for everyone, including her kids.  And I agree - the current situation is far from optimal.


----------



## rainyvegandisney

Blondie58 said:


> Just back.  No masks and loved it expect for transportation.  Sorry this changes tomorrow.  If masks are off topic becasue they relate to Covid - delete me.



The Disboard policy has been updated to allow discussions related to theme park policy and managing it well.

for example:
Allowed: tips and discussions related to mask policy in the theme parks, eg. remember to pack extra masks, masks are being worn in the outside of X queue, adjusting your theme park plans 
Disallowed: the efficacy of masks, whether you support masks and why, statistics, science, and non-Disney COVID news.


----------



## notatallmagic

disny_luvr said:


> For anyone at MK tonight, I’m guessing they are still packing people in for HEA? I guess there really is no way to cut down on crowds.
> 
> Also, are they still sitting different parties together on the Skyliner?



We just got back from an 8 day trip, and they were sitting multiple parties together on the Skyliner.  The only exception was when it was super slow, and then we got our own.

And HEA was wall to wall people.  We went 3 times, because we love that show.  Once we sat off to the side and couldn't see much; the other two times we arrived about 2 hours before to get a table near Caseys/Plaza.  Even then, there were lots of folks very close together.  Main Street was unreal.  We rode several rides after to give things a chance to clear out.


----------



## harleyquinn

notatallmagic said:


> DAS issues at Magic Kingdom -
> 
> I'll start by saying that I am very grateful for the ability of our family to use a DAS; without it, we could no longer do Disney at all.  We have a family of 3; and the pass is for my daughter, who was diagnosed with her disability about a year ago.
> 
> Our previous 3 trips since diagnosis - DAS has worked perfectly fine. She cannot stand in direct sun/heat for extended time periods, and needs the ability to eat/drink in line.  Bathroom breaks are also a pop-up issue, so longer lines can be a problem.  We also encountered NO problems this trip at the other parks - they appeared to have trained DAS staff to both issue returns times, and check us back in.  Wait times were accurate from DAS within 5 minutes. Almost always, there were 2 distinct Cast Members and/or lines for the 2 different functions - but the DAS lines were also long, so be prepared for that.
> 
> Our first MK DAS problem was first thing in the morning; we obtained a 70 minute DAS return time for Seven Dwarves, and headed straight to Pan, since that line is usually shorter and shaded first thing in the morning.  We walked up, asked the DAS Cast Member how long the wait was, and he said "5 minutes at the most".  I could see that the line was already down the hill past the Tangled bathroom area, and when I asked if he was sure, he acted very put out, and said "I TOLD you it's 5 minutes!"  Well, 35 minutes later, we rode the ride.  Fortunately, we were able to stay in the shade, and she didn't need to leave the line or use the restroom, but that's a big miscalculation when you ask specifically, and with DAS, riders need more accurate information than that.
> 
> Our crisis came for Splash Mountain, which was insanely busy.  My son had gotten a return time for 80 minutes, so we went to try to check back in to ride, and the DAS line was literally backed up to the river.  It was wall to wall people ( I took pictures), with at least a 30 minute wait to check back in. They had the wheelchair line mixed in, as well as the "Complimentary Return" kinda Fastpasses, which is typical.  BUT, with as overwhelmed as the parks were this week, there were TONS of folks trying to use the "Disney screwed up, here's a FastPass".  There wasn't a good way to separate our party - there wasn't anywhere close or shaded to wait, and the kids couldn't have gotten back to the line due to the density of the crowd.
> 
> So we waited about 30 minutes, and witnessed just horrible service from the one poor, untrained Cast Member trying to deal with all the angry DAS and FastPass folks. The worst part was, there was a management type with a trainee behind him for at least 20 minutes, doing NOTHING.  When we got to the front of the line to check in, after watching a large party leave with the adult man in TEARS because the Cast Member wouldn't let him use his passes - he actually asked the guy, "so, what IS your disability?" - which I'm pretty sure is not ok.  BTW, he didn't have a DAS - he had the Recovery Passes due to other issues with their party earlier.  I mentioned to the Management Cast Member that it would be helpful if they had more help, since the line was so crazy long and many of the folks in the DAS line were struggling.  Her response, "Have a Magical Day." with a smirk and a laugh.
> 
> So, it was NOT super magical when we finally got onto Splash Mountain, and my kid ends up having a medical crisis during the ride that was TOTALLY avoidable had the DAS worked like it should and like it is promised to work.  We had to leave the park after that, and take about four hours before she felt well enough to be up and around again. I can offer more details if needed, but I will be following up with Disability Services.  TOTALLY unacceptable.


This is horrible. I’m so sorry.


----------



## penel3

gcoolie said:


> Touring Plans has a lot less red in their crowd calendar after August 23rd. I'm hopeful it will hold up. We are going on the 25th.


We arrive the 25th also!


----------



## notatallmagic

Marvin1968 said:


> This ⬆



I think most rational adults would agree that it's unkind for a stranger - an adult - to scream at someone else's child when the child has done nothing wrong.  

I rescheduled my trip from last summer, using already paid airline vouchers and Annual Passes.  When I scheduled my trip, there was very limited park capacity, a Park Reservation system that I thought was sensible, and we'd had other recent positive park experiences.  Disney has since increased park capacity multiple times, and I stand by my opinion that the current overcrowding and staffing issues has lead to a less than optimal park experience for guests.


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## notatallmagic

harleyquinn said:


> This is horrible. I’m so sorry.



Thank you so much.  I actually just had a very pleasant conversation with Guest Services.  I hope they can move toward improving this issue before someone gets hurt.


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## aliceg

bookgirl2632 said:


> I was afraid of that.  Perhaps we should skip BB then.




Now, I'm not going to say what you should or should not do.  But personally, I'd do BB for the lazy river alone.  Seriously.


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## jasmine91

disny_luvr said:


> For anyone at MK tonight, I’m guessing they are still packing people in for HEA? I guess there really is no way to cut down on crowds.
> 
> Also, are they still sitting different parties together on the Skyliner?


Yes, if you have two relatively small parties, they’ll sit you together on the Skyliner.


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## harleyquinn

notatallmagic said:


> Thank you so much.  I actually just had a very pleasant conversation with Guest Services.  I hope they can move toward improving this issue before someone gets hurt.


I’m so glad you reached out and are satisfied. I’m positive they don’t want anyone to experience what you describe.


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## rlk

Just back to BLT from watching a jam-packed HEA at MK.  There's no social distancing for the fireworks.


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## jlwhitney

rlk said:


> Just back to BLT from watching a jam-packed HEA at MK.  There's no social distancing for the fireworks.



And with very few in masks I bet, since the new  rules make no sense.


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## rlk

jlwhitney said:


> And with very few in masks I bet, since the new  rules make no sense.



I saw more non masked than masked around me. Leaving MK had anxiety producing crowds swarming the exit. Luckily, we were on the side by the auxiliary exit they were using to ease congestion (didn’t really help)
Sorry about the sideways. I’ve tried to fix it but I’m too tired to figure it out right now.


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## cakebaker

bookgirl2632 said:


> I was afraid of that.  Perhaps we should skip BB then.


BB is handicap accessible. You can do as little or as much walking as you like, but there’s no need to climb stairs if you have issues with it.


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## cakebaker

jlwhitney said:


> And with very few in masks I bet, since the new  rules make no sense.


We were at BB most of the day, but did go to AK in the morning. I noticed a significantly higher number of mask wearers outdoors and saw no issues on the rides we did or on the busses. Everyone was masked when required.


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## Aimeedyan

We just got back from a 1 night staycation, staying at Boulder Ridge. We go quite a bit, though less in the summer when it's hot/crowded so it's been about 4 weeks since my last visit and WOW, is it crowded. 

HEA last night was basically 2019 all over again and the crowds were intense. A member of our party uses a wheelchair at Disney so we were able to use the accessible fireworks area which made it so much more enjoyable (and she was able to actually see something!). I'm thankful Disney provides and protects this space. Also, the resort boat was amazing - we walked past more people than I think I've seen in my life standing crammed together waiting on monorails/ferry and walked right on. We waited ~15 minutes after fireworks before exiting. 

This morning, we arrived to MK right after rope drop and rode 2 things and left. With as frequent as we visit, it's simply not worth waiting 45+ minutes for things we ride often. We were back in the pool by 10:30am.

When we got back to the hotel last night, mask signage had been put all over the hotel. I didn't see a single person without a mask at WL. This morning on Buzz, you had to put the mask on when you entered the building and People Mover, you put it on when you went through the counter thingy (I can't remember what it's called   ) But the day was young still.

We'll be back in 2 weeks for another staycation and it'll be interesting to compare things.


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## yaya74

jlwhitney said:


> And with very few in masks I bet, since the new  rules make no sense.



People at the HEA are there by choice. There are tons of spaces to go. They are not forced to stand at a certain spot. Also it is outdoor. Therefore masks are not required, yet. However when you are in a queue, there is not much free space for you to wander and everyone is packed indoors. As a result, masks are required indoors.


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## notatallmagic

More specific observations from our 8 days July 22-29 - Transportation

I was pleasantly surprised this trip.  We stayed at Pop Century, and the Skyliner continues to be awesome (IMO). We had one rain delay for about an hour at the Caribbean station, but the Cast Members were awesome, and they ended up busing us back to Pop.  Other than that, the Skyliner lines were very manageable, they WERE boarding parties together except during slow times, and the cabins were clean and cool.

We took the Monorail from Epcot to Magic once, and the transfer station was down, so we took the boat instead.  Both experiences were pleasant; masks were not required outside on the boat - but that was last week.  Not sure if that has changed.  Magical Transport incoming was about a 30 minute wait; outgoing was right on time, and the charter bus had the Disney movie screens, which was a nice surprise.  I will be very sad to see Magical Transport end - I love that service.

Our resort bus experiences were much better this trip except for one notable exception.  They did a great job having multiple buses at both park open and close.  After fireworks at Magic, we stayed until 10:10 or so, and when we got to the stop, they had constant buses running - doubles and charters, one right after another.  That was MUCH improved from both Spring Break and June.

Our only totally ICK experience - we were boarding with a very long line, and there was a puddle of (it had to be) urine in one of the bus seats (looked like it, and smelled foul).  The bus driver had loaded an ECV, but must have missed it, and he kept telling everyone to take every seat - and of course nobody wanted to sit there...and then a little kid climbed up there and sat right in it.  The whole bus groaned out loud.  I suppose that kind of thing could happen at any time, but we all felt SO bad for that kid and his parents.  Shudder.

So, overall, a solid B+ for transportation.


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## cakebaker

Aimeedyan said:


> Also, the resort boat was amazing - we walked past more people than I think I've seen in my life standing crammed together waiting on monorails/ferry and walked right on. We waited ~15 minutes after fireworks before exiting.



I thought the exact same thing about the monorail and ferry when we were leaving by resort boat the other night. That number of people crammed in like sardines makes HEA look like nothing. 
There’s no amount of money that would ever get me to subject myself to that.
If for no other reason, that scene outside the MK will cause me to forever stay on site. We were in our cabin sleeping before some of those people ever got on transportation.


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## jasmine91

We are wrapping up a very magical week long trip, so I thought I’d post about a few things for those interested.

The mask requirement started today, it wasn’t what we planned or hoped for - but still manageable. There were inconsistencies in regards to having to wear them in outdoor queues - Spaceship Earth didn’t require them until indoors, whereas Slinky Dog required them as soon as you entered the covered queue. It was HOT in the masks and we did remove them from time to time to catch a breather …. 

Crowds were crazy - Like Christmas CRAZY (at least that’s what it seemed like to us!) and lines were LONG, but not as long as posted. We only waited in one long line (an hour) per day. And we chose wisely - not waiting in the sun midday for an hour. Most lines were 60 percent of the posted time. We were there by rope drop each day, took a midday break, and closed the parks down each night. This worked out really well for us!

Mobile ordering was a great experience as well. We placed our orders for lunch at about 9:30 am for an 11:00 - 11:30 pick up time and never had an issue with waiting for food or finding a table. For dinner, we placed orders around 5 and never had any issues either.

Epcot Tip :Epcot claims to open at 11:00, but after our first arrival at 10:50 and Frozen already having an hour wait, we knew something was up… Today we got there (the skyliner side) at 10:15, were in the park by 10:20 (held until 10:30), and were on Frozen by 10:45! We finished the ride before “opening”.

Yes, this trip was different than the past. But, we also came in with different expectations and as usual - we are SO sad to go home tomorrow. It’s been wonderful, and we are so glad to be back in WDW again!


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## jlwhitney

yaya74 said:


> People at the HEA are there by choice. There are tons of spaces to go. They are not forced to stand at a certain spot. Also it is outdoor. Therefore masks are not required, yet. However when you are in a queue, there is not much free space for you to wander and everyone is packed indoors. As a result, masks are required indoors.



you have a choice to be in a queue also, you have a choice to even go to the theme park, and more referring to wearing mask on outdoor rides and queues

But really even in hea crowd you can’t just easily move around,


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## notatallmagic

More specifics from July 22 - 29    Topic:  Food!!!

This is also getting better - the only exception would be the Pop Century Food Court - which is still total Mobile Order with a basic menu and no cupcakes to admire and no ice cream section - which my kids used to love.  I would avoid that, and try the Quick Service at Riviera if you can (awesome menu!) or eat at the parks.

We also used IntaCart this time (we couldn't get anything on our list from Prime Now), and that went great!  About 20% more expensive, but got everything we needed with much better service.

Animal Kingdom  - solid A for us - Satuli is still our favorite.  Everything there is good IMO, and the portions are perfect.  We also still love Flame Tree; the cupcakes/desserts at Starbucks, and there were several places to get ice water if you needed it.  

Hollywood - A+! We LOVE the new-ish ABC Commissary Menu!  The Buffalo Chicken grilled cheese is amazing; and I think we tried about everything on the menu.  The greek salad is good, and the steak fries are also very good.  Lots of the snack carts are back open; lots of popcorn refill options.  Woody's Lunchbox is unique with some great choices for kids and adults.  We still LOVE Oga's (the Black Spire brew is crazy good - can't believe it's coffee with citrus???).  Docking Bay 7, the milk carts, Ronto - all great and fun atmosphere.  Lots of reasonably priced, decent quality choices.  Maybe my favorite food park.

Magic - B-ish; maybe a B- for us - not awesome.  We always eat at Jungle Skipper and have been very pleased.  The portions there are WAY too big for us, so we order off the kid's menu, and they have a very nice little steak, or chicken, or a tofu dish.  The sides are fresh and tasty too.  The cart with the cured bacon is back in FrontierLand so my son was super happy about that!  The Mobile Order Dole Whip is awesome - we love the coconut!  Popcorn lines were super long here, and this Starbucks doesn't haven't any really fun desserts other than the Cinnamon Roll.  I miss the fancy cupcakes!!  I'm happy to have Casey's back, even with the limited menu; same with Plaza Ice Cream Parlor, but they were out of several flavors when we tried to order there before HEA.

My biggest challenge with Magic is that there is almost nowhere to easily get ice water.  We asked at Pinnochio Village House, and they said they "weren't providing water at this time!"  Lines are long at pretty much every QS location. 
I would still recommend carrying a water bottle if you're a big water drinker - especially at Magic and Epcot.

Epcot - World Showcase is a B for us; the front section...ugh.  We were happy to see Sunshine Seasons open again, but there are only two desserts, and my kids used to love that dessert selection.  The salmon and chicken are still good, and the sides are tasty. We love all the food in France and Mexico - all still very solid.  The Food and Wine booths we tried were all awesome - the chicken/donut sandwhich had an amazing microgreen garnish and sauce - I loved that!  Everthing we tried, we liked.  Lots of beverage choices too.  The lines were pretty long - that was the only down side.

If you like food, this was a bright spot.


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## Shughart

WriterGina said:


> Thanks, yes, I did see that one too but I really like the 2021 tray.



Not sure if you found one but try ebay/mercari/poshmark for Disney shoppers.


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## notatallmagic

More specific observations - July 22-29 - Cleanliness

Confession - I'm a pretty clean/neat kinda person.  And I've mentioned before, my one kid has a dust allergy, so that's a necessary thing for us.

I have to say, this trip was better than June - but we did stay at Pop the whole time.  The grounds were very well kept, the pool area was very clean, and they were power washing the balconies and steps while were were there.  

The bell desk did a great job getting us what we needed when we called, and there was regular towel and garbage service.  All good there, but I do miss the daily cleaning!

Parks were better than I expected; there were a few bathrooms (Jungle Skipper) that were a total wreck, but that was the exception.  Buses were rough (sticky, stinky) and very few sanitizer stations had sanitizer in them.

All in all, pleasantly surprised.


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## notatallmagic

Last observation post - Crowds and Wait Times from July 22-29

This was the biggest challenge of this trip.  There were simply way too many people in the parks.

We have gone this same week of July for at least the past five years, and this past week was FAR busier than I have ever seen it during this comparable time.  It was even far busier than most Spring Breaks we've visited.  It was miserable.

We have a specific order that allows us to experience almost all of what we enjoy.  We were still able to do that, but if you were a typical family, you would have seen 40 minute minimum waits for very simple attractions, and over hour waits for almost everything else.  You could maybe get Animal, Hollywood, and most of Epcot done in a day, but Magic was overwhelmingly busy with crazy waits.

Ride breakdowns were also a real problem. On our first day at Magic, we rope dropped only to have Seven Dwarves, Pirates, and Space ALL broken down at open - so you had a huge pack of very angry people who had just been packed together for over an hour...for nothing.  It was UGLY.  Not sure why this is happening with such an increased frequency.

It's hard to be told to "set your expectations low" for a vacation that is a once in a lifetime, very expensive splurge for most families.  I think the combination of over-crowding, wait times, and attraction breakdowns makes Magic a rough go right now. 

We LOVE Happily Ever After!  I was very sad to watch it for the last time.  But the crowds were totally insane.


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## FreeDiningFanatic

Thanks so much for this quick review.  There have been so many negative reviews, but I think your strategies (rope drop, midday breaks, ordering ahead) made for a great vacation.  

Thanks for sharing!


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## Makmak

I asked this on the AKL thread but no answers so thought I’d check here in case anyone’s at Jambo/Kidani now (or will be soon): is there anywhere at the resort to get bottled water (like a 12 pack etc)? We will Instacart if we need to but we are going for a short time and really if we can get the water pack we can just bring the rest of the essentials. TIA if anyone can help!


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## brockash

yaya74 said:


> People at the HEA are there by choice. There are tons of spaces to go. They are not forced to stand at a certain spot. Also it is outdoor. Therefore masks are not required, yet. However when you are in a queue, there is not much free space for you to wander and everyone is packed indoors. As a result, masks are required indoors.


Lol...ummm everyone at Disney is there by choice.


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## Juventus

Addressing CMs is not the only way but I agree: if every CM goes back to their supervisor saying there were lots of complaints then changes will have to happen.  That's pressure.
The odd complaint by those willing to stop by guest relations: not so much.
I'm not saying throw a tantrum or not abide by the rules, but respectfully letting CMs know about concerns would be fine by me.


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## 123SA

Have lines at the restrooms been difficult to manage?


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## cakebaker

123SA said:


> Have lines at the restrooms been difficult to manage?


We have not encountered any waits for restrooms really. There are times we’ve found them very busy, but no lines waiting to get in.


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## cakebaker

Housekeeping experience at Fort Wilderness It’s virtually non existent.

When we arrived on Monday the first thing we did was call for extra towels and washcloths. They arrived promptly. We saw no signs of housekeeping until Wednesday. That consisted of emptying the trash cans and nothing else. That was the only service we got the entire stay of 5 days. We called yesterday for more towels and asked if we were due for room service and were told yes. When we got in last night there was a pile of towels in a chair in the kitchen. That was it- trash cans were not emptied and the huge pile of used towels we left in the bathroom were still there.

We’ve all taken to wearing socks in the room because the floor is so dirty. There’s no vacuum or broom in the room so no way to even do it ourselves. This should not happen at a motel 6 let alone at a resort charging over $450 a night. And yes I know they’re short staffed- so adjust the pricing to reflect the downgrade in service. After all, if you can’t hire people that means you aren’t paying them. Pass that savings on to the guest.


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## KSR0330

What exactly is the expectation regarding masks at the restaurants?  Do they need to be worn unless actively eating or drinking or just when not seated?  Also, are masks also required indoors throughout Disney Springs?  Thanks!


----------



## Marionnette

KSR0330 said:


> What exactly is the expectation regarding masks at the restaurants?  Do they need to be worn unless actively eating or drinking or just when not seated?  Also, are masks also required indoors throughout Disney Springs?  Thanks!


When I went to Disney in April, it was shortly after "unless actively eating or drinking" was first added to the language already being used. That was at a time when you still had to wear masks everywhere. You were supposed to have your mask up when traveling to/from your table and until your food or beverage arrived. After that, the mask could be removed and stay off until the meal was finished. If you got up from your seat, you had to put the mask back on. 

The rule applied across all of Disney property including DS restaurants but enforcement at DS was kind of lax. Many people removed their mask as soon as they were seated and no one said a word.

The language is now the same as it was in April. I would expect current experiences to be similar to what we saw back then.


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## rlk

KSR0330 said:


> What exactly is the expectation regarding masks at the restaurants?  Do they need to be worn unless actively eating or drinking or just when not seated?  Also, are masks also required indoors throughout Disney Springs?  Thanks!



We picked up lunch from Contempo Cafe and saw a mix.  Some people were waiting for their tables unmasked and some had masks on.  We have a an early lunch at The Plaza today and will report back.


----------



## Eastern

rlk said:


> At HM, they still had everyone cram into all available spaces I. The stretching room.


I didn't even like this prepandemic. I never moved all the way in. I'm a Disney criminal.


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## cdurham1

KSR0330 said:


> What exactly is the expectation regarding masks at the restaurants?  Do they need to be worn unless actively eating or drinking or just when not seated?  Also, are masks also required indoors throughout Disney Springs?  Thanks!


We had lunch at Tusker House yesterday.  Had to wear mask when not sitting at table, ie taking pics when standing, walking to bathroom, walking to and from table, etc.


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## DisneyFive

KSR0330 said:


> What exactly is the expectation regarding masks at the restaurants?  Do they need to be worn unless actively eating or drinking or just when not seated?  Also, are masks also required indoors throughout Disney Springs?  Thanks!





cdurham1 said:


> We had lunch at Tusker House yesterday.  Had to wear mask when not sitting at table, ie taking pics when standing, walking to bathroom, walking to and from table, etc.


You wear a mask until you get your drinks or food. Then you can remove them for the duration of your meal unless you get up and leave the table.

Dan


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## DisneyFive

Magic Kingdom day 2.  Beautiful morning

Immediately got on a bus at 8 AM. (because we saw the bus and ran ) We will see how MK is implementing their mask policy versus Hollywood studios.  Hopefully it is implemented as straightforward as it was at HS, which was very easy to understand.

Thru tapstiles at 8:17am.
Family overruled me and we are doing 7DMT at rope drop.  . Maybe 100 people in front of us waiting for 7DMT. They did an initial movement around 8:55am to move the crowd forward, then one minute before 9 AM they let everyone in, guided by CM’s. OK make that 300 people, my initial estimate was way off. . It was fairly orderly but a brisk walk. We are circled back around 7DMT about 100 feet past the tea cups.  9:10 AM and through the official Marquee. Masks must start past that point. On 7DMT at 9:30 AM

If these gems were real I would say that this might possibly, just about, cover the cost of this trip, maybe: 


Heading towards Ariel, and then maybe HM and Pirates . Don’t want to get stuck in a long line for a headliner at this point.

9:38 AM. Ariel. Posted five minutes.  Walked on.

9:58 AM. Haunted Mansion.  Posted 15 minutes.  On in 14 minutes .  Line is way shorter than the other day when it took us a long 48 minutes.  Nothing was said about putting your mask on as we went under the marquee.  I would say about half of the people are masked up in this outdoor Part of the queue.  Officially told to put masks on just before entering the indoors for HM

10:33 AM. Pirates. Posted 45 minutes. On in 15.  Masks are required as soon as you enter the marquee.

We are starting to be able to gauge wait times by the length of the lines.

stopped for some candied almonds.

11:15 AM Aladdin Carpets.  Posted 25 minutes.  On in 20 minutes.  It’s hot out here.  This was my son‘s favorite ride the first time we came to Disney when he was 3 years old. Reason why? We scared the poo out of him with Splash Mountain earlier in the day, our first full day.  He definitely did not like the unexpected drop.  Lesson learned.  After that experience he liked that he could see the whole ride at once, i.e. no surprises.  


11:42 AM. Swiss family treehouse… because we like climbing trees when it’s a bazillion degrees out, but hey, no line. 


11:55 AM. Checking in for our Jungle skipper canteen lunch.  First time eating here and we all loved it. We will do this again on our final MK day.


VERY happy with how things went this morning. We learned that at Magic Kingdom we cannot do two major headliners in a row at rope drop and be very efficient. By the time you get on your second headliner the line is already long and it works so much better for us to do secondary attractions instead. (If you consider pirates and HM secondary.  It’s almost sacrilege to state it that way.). Happy with six attractions in three hours though.

1:15 PM and heading back to the boardwalk to rest/swim.  Did I say it’s hot today?  Feeling the sun more today than others for some reason.

4:38 I’m up. Nobody else is. One of the side effects of having to get up so dang early every day to make things work.

Heading back to MK for a 6 pm ADR at the Plaza.  I feel like we ate, came back to the resort, and now right back to eating.  I guess that’s pretty accurate though.   It might seem like we are eating a ton but we really can’t eat high volumes of food.  We split meals at lunch today for instance.  It’s great trying so many new locations though.

5:55 PM. At The Plaza, solid diner food.

7:05 PM. Winnie the Pooh. Posted 35 minutes.  Waited 22 minutes

7:47. People mover.  Posted 30 minutes.  On in 17 minutes

8:18 PM. Buzz light year. Posted 20 minutes. On in 24 minutes.  My son and I rocked this one, but I confess, only because the cars got stopped for a while so we got to keep shooting targets. 

9:00 PM. It’s a small world. Posted.20 minutes. Walked on

Since we watched HEA our first day here, our goal is to ride buzz, , BTMR and Splash before close.

9:26 PM BTMR posted 25 minutes. Walked on.  HEA fireworks going off while on the ride. Magical!

9:35 PM Splash. Posted 50 minutes.  On in 8 minutes


Mobile ordered some Dole whips.  Rushed over and barely made it in time to get some dole whips. In other words we got there late at 10:01pm, 1 minute after closing.  I was ready to head over to the Plaza Ice cream parlor instead but an awesome CM and the other CM’s gave us some pixie dust and still made all 5 Dole Whips for us.  Unexpected, and we were grateful.  (Thanks CM Justin!!!) Finished off the night.

Tiring but successful day

Tomorrow: Epcot, and transfer to the Polynesian!

-Dan


----------



## Marvin1968

DisneyFive said:


> You wear a mask until you get your drinks or food. Then you can remove them for the duration of your meal unless you get up and leave the table.
> 
> Dan


I thought it was as soon as you sit you can take your masks off? No?


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## sjrec

Marvin1968 said:


> I thought it was as soon as you sit you can take your masks off? No?


We had a frozen drink in the ABC Commissary and lunch at SciFi and took our masks off as soon as we sat down. We purposefully sat away from people at the Commissary. They also gave us ice water with our drinks.


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## MomOTwins

Marvin1968 said:


> I thought it was as soon as you sit you can take your masks off? No?


We've had mixed experiences, some restaurants they will tell you you may have your masks off once seated, other restaurants they will tell you need to keep your mask on until after you have ordered with your server and received your drinks. The official policy on the website is the latter, but when it doubt you just have to go with the flow at the restaurant for what they want you to do.  It never hurts to (politely) ask.


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## Marvin1968

MomOTwins said:


> We've had mixed experiences, some restaurants they will tell you you may have your masks off once seated, other restaurants they will tell you need to keep your mask on until after you have ordered with your server and received your drinks. The official policy on the website is the latter, but when it doubt you just have to go with the flow at the restaurant for what they want you to do.  It never hurts to (politely) ask.


Thank you.


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## Marvin1968

sjrec said:


> We had a frozen drink in the ABC Commissary and lunch at SciFi and took our masks off as soon as we sat down. We purposefully sat away from people at the Commissary. They also gave us ice water with our drinks.


Thank you


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

General observations this morning. Passed on our AK reservation so decided to walk along the lake from Poly to GF to Contemporary. Was held up at the security checkpoint outside of MK until around 8. Seemed they let in built up walk up, Monorail, bus, and boat arrivals until right about the same time. Had I been going to MK probably could have been one of the first 50 or so in the park.

Since I was just on a leisurely walk it was a fascinating social observation. Tons and tons of people just kept walking towards (and getting into) the growing lines on the GF/Poly/monorail side of the entrance. One bright young woman bucked the flow of the crowds and just slowly started walking to the dozen or so yellow-garbed CMs who were waiting at the entrances at the other side of things. She was first in line, and waved for her friends/group to join her. Within seconds everyone else - many who had just walked past those same entrances - realized their folly and joined her on that side.

Moral of the story: do not blindly get in a line - keep your head on a swivel!


----------



## cakebaker

Eastern said:


> I didn't even like this prepandemic. I never moved all the way in. I'm a Disney criminal.


We certainly don’t now. Half the time it’s not even needed. And I honestly don’t care what anyone thinks about it. I’ve noticed a lot of times very few move. Now that they’re requiring masks a few might move just a little.


----------



## Gary Stocker

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> General observations this morning. Passed on our AK reservation so decided to walk along the lake from Poly to GF to Contemporary. Was held up at the security checkpoint outside of MK until around 8. Seemed they let in built up walk up, Monorail, bus, and boat arrivals until right about the same time. Had I been going to MK probably could have been one of the first 50 or so in the park.
> 
> Since I was just on a leisurely walk it was a fascinating social observation. Tons and tons of people just kept walking towards (and getting into) the growing lines on the GF/Poly/monorail side of the entrance. One bright young woman bucked the flow of the crowds and just slowly started walking to the dozen or so yellow-garbed CMs who were waiting at the entrances at the other side of things. She was first in line, and waved for her friends/group to join her. Within seconds everyone else - many who had just walked past those same entrances - realized their folly and joined her on that side.
> 
> Moral of the story: do not blindly get in a line - keep your head on a swivel!


"Go to the left" is a cliche but more often than not this will lead to success when entering the parks. Perhaps a result of which side we drive in this country but everyone seems to always veer to the right instinctually when approaching the gates.


----------



## lovethattink

petunia said:


> Is there a standard rule for which rides you can have drink/snack in line with, or does it differ depending on the attraction, or whether its an inside queue, we havent ever found a rule either way.  With the current long waits Id like to plan for some drink/snack times in lines where allowed?



Generally no snack or drinks after the marquee.



DisneyOma said:


> Couple of questions for you - how does DAS give you permission to eat/drink in the queue when it is only a pass that gives you a return time? And how does it keep you out of heat and sun when it just gives you a return time? Are you able to find shady areas nearby, or do you have to walk pretty far in the heat/sun? How does she handle the heat/sun just walking through the park? I've got heat/sun issues, and find walking through the park to be much harder than being in a queue, but that was when FP+ was active. Going in a week myself and am concerned about the outside queues. Are there a lot of them?



DAS keeps you out of the sun by reducing your time in line. With more people getting DAS, it increases the wait time. Child swap, vip, and a couple other reasons adds more people to that queue



rainyvegandisney said:


> The Disboard policy has been updated to allow discussions related to theme park policy and managing it well.
> 
> for example:
> Allowed: tips and discussions related to mask policy in the theme parks, eg. remember to pack extra masks, masks are being worn in the outside of X queue, adjusting your theme park plans
> Disallowed: the efficacy of masks, whether you support masks and why, statistics, science, and non-Disney COVID news.



Add no arguing to the not allowed 



rlk said:


> Just back to BLT from watching a jam-packed HEA at MK.  There's no social distancing for the fireworks.



There hasn’t been social distancing for weeks. Ever since the tape was removed from the queues. That’s the same time they added more parties to Skyliner cars, took down plexiglass on rides, and started seating each seat of attractions such as RotR, Slinky, etc.


----------



## brockash

KSR0330 said:


> What exactly is the expectation regarding masks at the restaurants?  Do they need to be worn unless actively eating or drinking or just when not seated?  Also, are masks also required indoors throughout Disney Springs?  Thanks!


When we were there in March, which was AFTER they changed the verbiage to the "must be actively eating/drinking;" we found that change in verbiage meant absolutely nothing.  Just as our previous post-Covid trips; all of the hostess/seaters; told us we could take our masks off as soon as they seated us...they remained off until you left the table.


----------



## LittleStinkerbelle

Hi all! This thread was so helpful before we left and while we were at WDW this past week, thanks to all who post.  Wanted to share a bit of our experience - we did 5 park days (2 DHS, 2 EPCOT, 1 MK - edited, 1 MK day not 2!).

On our first DHS day we got into the park around 8:30 and immediately got in line for Slinky Dog, which was posted as a 90 minute wait (CM with "end of line" sign was back to about One Man's Dream) but ended up being 45. We next attempted the line for Smuggler's Run, which I think said 70 minutes but after baking in the sun for a bit I gently encouraged my fam to try single rider and they agreed. We were on the ride within 10 minutes, waiting in aircon. Tradeoff was we knew we'd be engineers but they were ok with that. Our boarding group for Rise was called around 11:30 so we did that, some shops then lunch at Brown Derby. Took a long afternoon break at the hotel then came back in the evening and rode MM Runaway twice with shortish waits (30 the first time, maybe 15 the second) and had dinner at Woody's Lunchbox. Edited to add: got on TSMM as a walk on right before park close. 

Our first EPCOT day we rode Soarin' right at 11 and it was a walk on, then went to Living with the Land and it was also a walk-on. Then we spent the majority of our time doing F&WF booths. Didn't find the booth lines to be too bad and generally had luck finding shady spots to eat. Wanted to ride Three Caballeros but the line was incredible - outside the building at one point, so we skipped that. Again took an afternoon break then in the evening we were able to walk on Spaceship Earth and Nemo and try more food booths. It was definitely busy at the park but except for a couple of congested areas, we didn't feel like we were shoulder to shoulder all the time.

Our Magic Kingdom day was a bust, and I will preface it by saying I understand part of that was due to our choices.  I'd seen pics of the hub at rope drop and didn't want to be in a crowd like that so we purposely arrived a little after 9. I was not prepared for just how crowded it would be everywhere in the park. We went directly to Thunder and the wait was posted as 15 min when we got in the line on the bridge but by the time we got up to the actual entrance it had gone up to 35. After riding, DD was quite hot so we headed over the Chesire Cafe for a snack and water. After taking a bit of a break we checked wait times and they were up over 60+ mins for most of what we wanted (Space, HM, Pirates, Jungle Cruise). Went on Carousel of Progress (my fave and no wait, lol!) and WEDway Peoplemover. By that point it was closing in on lunch time and we were hot and not feeling being shoulder to shoulder with people so went back to Main St. to shop.  At that point, we decided to take the monorail to TTC and walk over to Poly for lunch, which was quite enjoyable. Did some shopping and pin trading then walked to GF for dessert and more shopping and to wait out the rain. Attempted to go back to MK thinking the crowds may have thinned, no such luck and we got caught in one of those flooding downpours you may have seen pictures of last week so we decided to make it a wrap for the day!

Our second DHS day we went to ToT first thing and only waited about 15 minutes and then went to Smuggler's and did single rider again. DH and DD had a reservation to make a droid then we had lunch at Sci-Fi. Our boarding group for Rise was called in the middle of these reservations but we had no problem going late (we checked with a CM beforehand and they said no problem, we had our receipts just in case but they didn't check). There were pretty severe thunderstorms that afternoon so we took a long break then came back and rode MMRR and had dinner at Docking Bay 7. Got in line for ToT about ten minutes before park closing.  Was supposed to be a 30 minute wait but it was much longer and hardly moving so we bailed on that.

Second day at EPCOT we got in the park around 10:30 and DD and DH headed straight to Test Track but the CM's were telling people it was on an extended closure so they bailed.  Kept checking back but it seemed to be down all day. We were able to get on Three Caballeros with a 5 minute waited, then more food booths while the weather held out. Also had fun doing Remy's Hide and Squeak. Took a break during the afternoon storms then came back and rode Soarin' (20 minute wait around 6 pm), dinner at Regal Eagle and more food booths.

We had a great trip, although never having been in summer I didn't fully understand how hot and crowded it would be! We went in with the attitude that it's okay if we have to skip some things. I'd say I'm bummed at how our MK day turned out but we did what we were comfortable with so it is what it is! Really enjoyed mobile ordering and I wish all rides had boarding groups like Rise!!! We stayed at BWI and the ability to walk to EPCOT and DHS was awesome. If I had to do it over again I probably would've done a four day ticket with a hopper instead of a five day non-hopper. We only did one non-park day (not including arrival day) but I could've used another break day.


----------



## harleyquinn

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom day 2.  Beautiful morning
> 
> Immediately got on a bus at 8 AM. (because we saw the bus and ran ) We will see how MK is implementing their mask policy versus Hollywood studios.  Hopefully it is implemented as straightforward as it was at HS, which was very easy to understand.
> 
> Thru tapstiles at 8:17am.
> Family overruled me and we are doing 7DMT at rope drop.  .  Maybe 100 people in front of us.  OK make that 300. . They did an initial movement around 8:55am to move the crowd forward, then one minute before 9 AM they let everyone back. It was fairly orderly but a brisk walk. We are circled back around 7DMT about 100 feet past the tea cups.


Looking forward to today’s report!  I cant tell you how much I’ve enjoyed following along with your family!


----------



## Mousefan mom

This was the worst Disney experience we have ever had.  We come every year, spend thousands of dollars on Disney vacations--and this one was so disappointing.  I've never been disappointed at Disney or wanted to leave early (we checked out early).

The crowds and lines were things that compared with Christmas or Spring break/Easter.  Expect to wait a good hour for anything.  Philharmagic was even a 30 minute wait.  I have never in my life seen the parks like this in July.  Yes,  you expect heat in July, but what you aren't used to is an hour long wait in the blazing sun before you even enter the indoor que...and no, the reason the line for Big Thunder is all the way back at the Shooting arcade isn't because of social distancing (you are jam packed with people in lines, just walking through the parks--wall to wall), it is literally that long (and this was at 8pm in the evening when you might anticipate crowds to be thinning).  There was a Cast member holding a "the line starts here" sign just to get into the Confectionery.  Lines for all the snacks, etc.  The theme here is an hour line for everything so choose your time/heat tolerance energy well.  If you expect the lines to move quicker because there is no Fast Pass, I assure you its still the same capacity of guests going to rides--just all in one line.  It doesn't move quicker and Disney clearly has increased capacity this month (during our stay Hollywood and MK both reached the maximum capacity).  

Hollywood, we got up at 6:45 AM, three of us trying to get a boarding group for Rise, and constantly refreshing.  We were in the lobby at BW so the Cast Member could assist us, out of 5 families, only 1 got a board group.  We decided to try for the 1.  Even at rope drop, you waited in a sweaty long in the sun line before you could go get in the line at 8:30 for the rides--the people going to Toy Story land, may be the force be with them...there lines were astronomical (we sadly didn't even make it into Toy Story land this trip).  There was at least an hour for every ride in Hollywood that day--we didn't get the 1pm and promptly headed back to our room to cool down.  We were told later by another guest at the pool the ride was down for hours so they just didn't do 1pm boarding groups so they could just try to get all the morning groups on when it loaded.  All the parks were similarly packed...

Lines for Food and Wine booths at Epcot on our last night, also so very long--made you rethink getting anything.   You just couldn't escape the lines no matter what park/time of day, etc.  We tried rope drop, mid day, during rain, close...all with limited success.  

Mousekeeping--non existent.  There were 5 of us at the BW, we got 5 towels, meant to last us and 1 bottle each of toiletry.  I had to call to get more, call daily to get the overflowing trash emptied, etc.  No one makes the beds or any tidying of the room.  I knew it would be less--but I paid $500 a night for this?

We noticed little things like the landscape not as trimmed as it would expect at the quiet pools (first world problem for sure, but its just not the Disney difference), chairs would be scattered or in disarray and no one was tidying them, wet towels on the ground that a guest left that morning, still there that evening when we went for a night time swim.  Mosquitoes seem to be worse--not sure if they have cut back on pest control--but I got several mosquito bites this trip near the pool (we spent a lot of time in the quiet pool to escape the crowds and lines) and I've never gotten bug bites at Disney.

Park reservation system is absolutely awful and IMO contributing to the massive crowd swells.  Many people won't park hop (and honestly it doesn't make much sense, and like many things at Disney right now you are are paying way more than the value you are getting back) so they stay in all day...Magic Kingdom and Hollywood are consistently the two most stressful and no shows, character meets, etc. to absorb the crowds.  

By day 4 we were so done, we only rode one ride.  This trip we did less than we have ever done at Disney--we rode no mountains, we left feeling so sad that this is what the pandemic has done to the place we love so much.  This was not an uplifting trip--if you are on the fence, I wouldn't recommend going to anyone right now.  We spoke to so many Disney vets while there who said the same....I'm sorry.

The good--it does appear the college program has just started back up and the cast members were enthusiastic, wonderful and about the only aspect of the "Disney Difference" we experienced this week....


----------



## Marionnette

LittleStinkerbelle said:


> Hi all! This thread was so helpful before we left and while we were at WDW this past week, thanks to all who post.  Wanted to share a bit of our experience - we did 5 park days (2 DHS, 2 EPCOT, 2 MK).
> 
> On our first DHS day we got into the park around 8:30 and immediately got in line for Slinky Dog, which was posted as a 90 minute wait (CM with "end of line" sign was back to about One Man's Dream) but ended up being 45. We next attempted the line for Smuggler's Run, which I think said 70 minutes but after baking in the sun for a bit I gently encouraged my fam to try single rider and they agreed. We were on the ride within 10 minutes, waiting in aircon. Tradeoff was we knew we'd be engineers but they were ok with that. Our boarding group for Rise was called around 11:30 so we did that, some shops then lunch at Brown Derby. Took a long afternoon break at the hotel then came back in the evening and rode MM Runaway twice with shortish waits (30 the first time, maybe 15 the second) and had dinner at Woody's Lunchbox.
> 
> Our first EPCOT day we rode Soarin' right at 11 and it was a walk on, then went to Living with the Land and it was also a walk-on. Then we spent the majority of our time doing F&WF booths. Didn't find the booth lines to be too bad and generally had luck finding shady spots to eat. Wanted to ride Three Caballeros but the line was incredible - outside the building at one point, so we skipped that. Again took an afternoon break then in the evening we were able to walk on Spaceship Earth and Nemo and try more food booths. It was definitely busy at the park but except for a couple of congested areas, we didn't feel like we were shoulder to shoulder all the time.
> 
> Our Magic Kingdom day was a bust, and I will preface it by saying I understand part of that was due to our choices.  I'd seen pics of the hub at rope drop and didn't want to be in a crowd like that so we purposely arrived a little after 9. I was not prepared for just how crowded it would be everywhere in the park. We went directly to Thunder and the wait was posted as 15 min when we got in the line on the bridge but by the time we got up to the actual entrance it had gone up to 35. After riding, DD was quite hot so we headed over the Chesire Cafe for a snack and water. After taking a bit of a break we checked wait times and they were up over 60+ mins for most of what we wanted (Space, HM, Pirates, Jungle Cruise). Went on Carousel of Progress (my fave and no wait, lol!) and WEDway Peoplemover. By that point it was closing in on lunch time and we were hot and not feeling being shoulder to shoulder with people so went back to Main St. to shop.  At that point, we decided to take the monorail to TTC and walk over to Poly for lunch, which was quite enjoyable. Did some shopping and pin trading then walked to GF for dessert and more shopping and to wait out the rain. Attempted to go back to MK thinking the crowds may have thinned, no such luck and we got caught in one of those flooding downpours you may have seen pictures of last week so we decided to make it a wrap for the day!
> 
> Our second DHS day we went to ToT first thing and only waited about 15 minutes and then went to Smuggler's and did single rider again. DH and DD had a reservation to make a droid then we had lunch at Sci-Fi. Our boarding group for Rise was called in the middle of these reservations but we had no problem going late (we checked with a CM beforehand and they said no problem, we had our receipts just in case but they didn't check). There were pretty severe thunderstorms that afternoon so we took a long break then came back and rode MMRR and had dinner at Docking Bay 7. Got in line for ToT about ten minutes before park closing.  Was supposed to be a 30 minute wait but it was much longer and hardly moving so we bailed on that.
> 
> Second day at EPCOT we got in the park around 10:30 and DD and DH headed straight to Test Track but the CM's were telling people it was on an extended closure so they bailed.  Kept checking back but it seemed to be down all day. We were able to get on Three Caballeros with a 5 minute waited, then more food booths while the weather held out. Also had fun doing Remy's Hide and Squeak. Took a break during the afternoon storms then came back and rode Soarin' (20 minute wait around 6 pm), dinner at Regal Eagle and more food booths.
> 
> We had a great trip, although never having been in summer I didn't fully understand how hot and crowded it would be! We went in with the attitude that it's okay if we have to skip some things. I'd say I'm bummed at how our MK day turned out but we did what we were comfortable with so it is what it is! Really enjoyed mobile ordering and I wish all rides had boarding groups like Rise!!! We stayed at BWI and the ability to walk to EPCOT and DHS was awesome. If I had to do it over again I probably would've done a four day ticket with a hopper instead of a five day non-hopper. We only did one non-park day (not including arrival day) but I could've used another break day.


Thank you for the detailed report. I'm glad that you had a great trip. It looks like you spent a lot of time enjoying being in the parks and not being in lines.

TBH, I would have come home greatly disappointed that I had spent in the ballpark of $100 per person for a day's admission and only got to ride 3-4 attractions. I know that under normal circumstances there's a lot more to do in the parks but given the limited to non-existent entertainment right now, finding other diversions is rather difficult. 

Still, I'm glad that you enjoyed your visit and I appreciate that you took the time to go into such detail for everyone. It certainly helps for setting expectations.


----------



## LittleStinkerbelle

Marionnette said:


> Thank you for the detailed report. I'm glad that you had a great trip. It looks like you spent a lot of time enjoying being in the parks and not being in lines.
> 
> TBH, I would have come home greatly disappointed that I had spent in the ballpark of $100 per person for a day's admission and only got to ride 3-4 attractions. I know that under normal circumstances there's a lot more to do in the parks but given the limited to non-existent entertainment right now, finding other diversions is rather difficult.
> 
> Still, I'm glad that you enjoyed your visit and I appreciate that you took the time to go into such detail for everyone. It certainly helps for setting expectations.


Thanks! We definitely could've gotten on at least a few more rides if we were willing to forego an afternoon break, but the heat was really wiping us out so those were key! We tried to keep the "we'll be back" mindset every time we decided to skip something that had a long line, and that helped me from getting too down about it.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Eastern said:


> I didn't even like this prepandemic. I never moved all the way in. I'm a Disney criminal.


the criminal part made me laugh because honestly same-and it wasn't even fully because I didn't like people crowding around me but because I liked being near the door where we would load out into for something like HM and TOT because I always like knowing where the exit is.


----------



## Sarahslay

notatallmagic said:


> DAS issues at Magic Kingdom -
> 
> I'll start by saying that I am very grateful for the ability of our family to use a DAS; without it, we could no longer do Disney at all.  We have a family of 3; and the pass is for my daughter, who was diagnosed with her disability about a year ago.
> 
> Our previous 3 trips since diagnosis - DAS has worked perfectly fine. She cannot stand in direct sun/heat for extended time periods, and needs the ability to eat/drink in line.  Bathroom breaks are also a pop-up issue, so longer lines can be a problem.  We also encountered NO problems this trip at the other parks - they appeared to have trained DAS staff to both issue returns times, and check us back in.  Wait times were accurate from DAS within 5 minutes. Almost always, there were 2 distinct Cast Members and/or lines for the 2 different functions - but the DAS lines were also long, so be prepared for that.
> 
> Our first MK DAS problem was first thing in the morning; we obtained a 70 minute DAS return time for Seven Dwarves, and headed straight to Pan, since that line is usually shorter and shaded first thing in the morning.  We walked up, asked the DAS Cast Member how long the wait was, and he said "5 minutes at the most".  I could see that the line was already down the hill past the Tangled bathroom area, and when I asked if he was sure, he acted very put out, and said "I TOLD you it's 5 minutes!"  Well, 35 minutes later, we rode the ride.  Fortunately, we were able to stay in the shade, and she didn't need to leave the line or use the restroom, but that's a big miscalculation when you ask specifically, and with DAS, riders need more accurate information than that.
> 
> Our crisis came for Splash Mountain, which was insanely busy.  My son had gotten a return time for 80 minutes, so we went to try to check back in to ride, and the DAS line was literally backed up to the river.  It was wall to wall people ( I took pictures), with at least a 30 minute wait to check back in. They had the wheelchair line mixed in, as well as the "Complimentary Return" kinda Fastpasses, which is typical.  BUT, with as overwhelmed as the parks were this week, there were TONS of folks trying to use the "Disney screwed up, here's a FastPass".  There wasn't a good way to separate our party - there wasn't anywhere close or shaded to wait, and the kids couldn't have gotten back to the line due to the density of the crowd.
> 
> So we waited about 30 minutes, and witnessed just horrible service from the one poor, untrained Cast Member trying to deal with all the angry DAS and FastPass folks. The worst part was, there was a management type with a trainee behind him for at least 20 minutes, doing NOTHING.  When we got to the front of the line to check in, after watching a large party leave with the adult man in TEARS because the Cast Member wouldn't let him use his passes - he actually asked the guy, "so, what IS your disability?" - which I'm pretty sure is not ok.  BTW, he didn't have a DAS - he had the Recovery Passes due to other issues with their party earlier.  I mentioned to the Management Cast Member that it would be helpful if they had more help, since the line was so crazy long and many of the folks in the DAS line were struggling.  Her response, "Have a Magical Day." with a smirk and a laugh.
> 
> So, it was NOT super magical when we finally got onto Splash Mountain, and my kid ends up having a medical crisis during the ride that was TOTALLY avoidable had the DAS worked like it should and like it is promised to work.  We had to leave the park after that, and take about four hours before she felt well enough to be up and around again. I can offer more details if needed, but I will be following up with Disability Services.  TOTALLY unacceptable.


We use DAS, for myself and my youngest DD (she has sensory processing disorder, I have another medical issue that makes it hard for me to be in the heat and I can get really sick so I need to do like you do as I read in one of your follow up posts to this to another poster). Splash is by far the worst ride for DAS, and probably one of the ones where it's most needed since it's so hard to get out if there is an issue. When we were there in June we had the almost exact same issue with crowds trying to get passes, return to use them, and not enough trained folks helping. I would definitely get in touch with guest services sooner rather than later about this issue, I never expect to get anything out of that personally, but they NEED to know about these kinds of things because it is a serious issue for those of us who truly need the service for real medical issues. We ended up having to leave after our Splash DAS issue as well, we ended up not being able to go to another park for the rest of the day because my daughters issues just became too much after that and we spend the rest of the day in crisis mode with her (not helped by the fact that we got stuck on the ride at the end when her and her sisters lap bar wouldn't come up and the CMs did not handle it well, even after I warned them she has sensory issues and we needed to be calm they completely freaked her out by their behavior). MK is definitely the worst for DAS at the moment, I'll need it in August when I go alone, but I've already decided I'm pretty much not riding most things aside from dark rides and people mover during the day and will just wait for Boo Bash because I don't want to have to deal with it there. So sorry you guys had to deal with this, good warning to others who might need to use the service though.


----------



## Jadyreen1282

Mousefan mom said:


> This was the worst Disney experience we have ever had.  We come every year, spend thousands of dollars on Disney vacations--and this one was so disappointing.  I've never been disappointed at Disney or wanted to leave early (we checked out early).
> 
> The crowds and lines were things that compared with Christmas or Spring break/Easter.  Expect to wait a good hour for anything.  Philharmagic was even a 30 minute wait.  I have never in my life seen the parks like this in July.  Yes,  you expect heat in July, but what you aren't used to is an hour long wait in the blazing sun before you even enter the indoor que...and no, the reason the line for Big Thunder is all the way back at the Shooting arcade isn't because of social distancing (you are jam packed with people in lines, just walking through the parks--wall to wall), it is literally that long (and this was at 8pm in the evening when you might anticipate crowds to be thinning).  There was a Cast member holding a "the line starts here" sign just to get into the Confectionery.  Lines for all the snacks, etc.  The theme here is an hour line for everything so choose your time/heat tolerance energy well.  If you expect the lines to move quicker because there is no Fast Pass, I assure you its still the same capacity of guests going to rides--just all in one line.  It doesn't move quicker and Disney clearly has increased capacity this month (during our stay Hollywood and MK both reached the maximum capacity).
> 
> Hollywood, we got up at 6:45 AM, three of us trying to get a boarding group for Rise, and constantly refreshing.  We were in the lobby at BW so the Cast Member could assist us, out of 5 families, only 1 got a board group.  We decided to try for the 1.  Even at rope drop, you waited in a sweaty long in the sun line before you could go get in the line at 8:30 for the rides--the people going to Toy Story land, may be the force be with them...there lines were astronomical (we sadly didn't even make it into Toy Story land this trip).  There was at least an hour for every ride in Hollywood that day--we didn't get the 1pm and promptly headed back to our room to cool down.  We were told later by another guest at the pool the ride was down for hours so they just didn't do 1pm boarding groups so they could just try to get all the morning groups on when it loaded.  All the parks were similarly packed...
> 
> Lines for Food and Wine booths at Epcot on our last night, also so very long--made you rethink getting anything.   You just couldn't escape the lines no matter what park/time of day, etc.  We tried rope drop, mid day, during rain, close...all with limited success.
> 
> Mousekeeping--non existent.  There were 5 of us at the BW, we got 5 towels, meant to last us and 1 bottle each of toiletry.  I had to call to get more, call daily to get the overflowing trash emptied, etc.  No one makes the beds or any tidying of the room.  I knew it would be less--but I paid $500 a night for this?
> 
> We noticed little things like the landscape not as trimmed as it would expect at the quiet pools (first world problem for sure, but its just not the Disney difference), chairs would be scattered or in disarray and no one was tidying them, wet towels on the ground that a guest left that morning, still there that evening when we went for a night time swim.  Mosquitoes seem to be worse--not sure if they have cut back on pest control--but I got several mosquito bites this trip near the pool (we spent a lot of time in the quiet pool to escape the crowds and lines) and I've never gotten bug bites at Disney.
> 
> Park reservation system is absolutely awful and IMO contributing to the massive crowd swells.  Many people won't park hop (and honestly it doesn't make much sense, and like many things at Disney right now you are are paying way more than the value you are getting back) so they stay in all day...Magic Kingdom and Hollywood are consistently the two most stressful and no shows, character meets, etc. to absorb the crowds.
> 
> By day 4 we were so done, we only rode one ride.  This trip we did less than we have ever done at Disney--we rode no mountains, we left feeling so sad that this is what the pandemic has done to the place we love so much.  This was not an uplifting trip--if you are on the fence, I wouldn't recommend going to anyone right now.  We spoke to so many Disney vets while there who said the same....I'm sorry.
> 
> The good--it does appear the college program has just started back up and the cast members were enthusiastic, wonderful and about the only aspect of the "Disney Difference" we experienced this week....



Would you say that people watchers like us who thrive on the misery of others on vacation would really enjoy this disaster? 

Especially since we are packing a full bar?


----------



## robinb

cakebaker said:


> I forgot to bring my mask Wednesday evening to the MK and bought 2 with the buy 1 get 1 free deal. I guess that went away when they started the new mask policy today.


This really rubs me the wrong way.  It’s such a money grab.


----------



## Best Aunt

Makmak said:


> I asked this on the AKL thread but no answers so thought I’d check here in case anyone’s at Jambo/Kidani now (or will be soon): is there anywhere at the resort to get bottled water (like a 12 pack etc)? We will Instacart if we need to but we are going for a short time and really if we can get the water pack we can just bring the rest of the essentials. TIA if anyone can help!



I'm sorry your question about purchasing packs of water at Jambo House or Kidani Village (AKL) keeps getting ignored.

Kidani Village has been open for awhile.  Jambo House has only had the DVC rooms open.  The hotel rooms at Jambo House reopen on 08/26/2021.

In Jambo House, the gift shop has been closed, as have Jiko and Boma restaurants and Victoria's something or other lounge.

The gift shop at Kidani Village is called Johari Treasures.  The gift shop at Jambo House is called Zawadi Marketplace.  The one at Kidani Village is significantly smaller than the one at Jambo House.

The Disney website is not showing that Zawadi Marketplace will reopen with Jambo House; I have no idea whether or not that is accurate.  It doesn't make sense to me to have a hotel open but the gift shop closed (but what do I know).

The DVC Member website has a grocery order form which members can use.  We think the orders are filled at the hotel gift shop, so we use it as an indication of what you can purchase in the shop.  The "Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas & Kidani Village - Grocery Order Form" lists an 8-pack of 12 ounce bottles of Dasani water for $4.79.  But whether that is just at the Jambo House gift shop and not at the Kidani Village gift shop, I don't know.

The gift shops often keep these packs of water in the back, so you have to ask a cast member for them.

If you are pricing out delivery of just water, don't forget about www.TurnerDrug.com, which is in Celebration, FL.  You can order online.  They are showing a 32-pack of 16.9 ounce bottles of water for $8.99.  It looks like a flat rate of $9 for shipping to Kidani Village or Jambo House no matter how much you purchase.  I haven't priced out any other delivery services, so you'll want to compare.  You probably could wait until you get there and place an order if the gift shop doesn't have what you want.

From the official Disney websites:

*Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House*

*Note: From January 2022 through April 2022, the Samawati Springs Pool will be closed for refurbishment. See details below.*

The following offerings and experiences will be available when Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House reopens on August 26, 2021. Hours of operation will be provided during your stay.
*Dining*

Sanaa
Kidani Breakfast at Sanaa
Sanaa Lounge
Maji Pool Bar
The Mara
*Shops*

Johari Treasures
*Activities*

Pools
Poolside Activities
Movies Under the Stars
Fitness Center
Community Hall
Sports Courts
Playground
*Transportation*

Bus transportation will be available from this Disney Resort hotel to the Disney theme parks and the Disney Springs area
Bus transportation will be available from this hotel to Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park, but Guests will need to transfer at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park
*Pool Refurbishment*
From January 2022 through April 2022, the Samawati Springs Pool at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village will be closed for refurbishment. During this time, Guests staying at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village may enjoy the Uzima Springs Pool at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House.
You may see and hear construction noise while this refurbishment is underway, but you should not hear noise from Guest rooms between dusk and 9:00 AM.
We apologize for any inconvenience.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/resorts/#drawer-card-animalKingdomJambo


----------



## harleyquinn

robinb said:


> This really rubs me the wrong way.  It’s such a money grab.


Plenty of others have said that CMs have been handing out free disposable masks to those who need them.

ETA: there is plenty of other money grabbing going around at WDW, so please don’t think I’m excusing Disney. I’m sure it’s harder to find a free mask than it should be considering the policy change mid trip for plenty of people.


----------



## cakebaker

At MK this morning. Went to Space at opening- it was down as was BTMRR. Rode Tea Cups and got barnstormer and dumbo with no waits and Buzz with a 15 minute wait. Posted time was accurate. Back in line for Space now with a recovery pass.

The DAS line is a mess at Space. One CM handles issuing DAS return times, then DAS, swap and recovery as well as turning those away who  don’t qualify to be in the line but got in it because it was shorter. The line is long and I feel for those with kids who don’t handle waits and heat.

Next up, pretzels!!


----------



## Neener16

brockash said:


> Lol...ummm everyone at Disney is there by choice.


I think the person meant there are numerous places to watch the fireworks and you can move around to find a less crowded space. You can't do that in a ride line.
Wow, in the time I posted this, it is 2 pages past the original post. This was in response to a post discussing the difference between the crowds at HEA and waiting in line for a ride. Don't know how to get the original quote in at this point!


----------



## lovethattink

Heat advisory today! 95 degrees with heat index of 105. Please stay safe and hydrated!


----------



## robinb

harleyquinn said:


> Plenty of others have said that CMs have been handing out free disposable masks to those who need them.
> 
> ETA: there is plenty of other money grabbing going around at WDW, so please don’t think I’m excusing Disney. I’m sure it’s harder to find a free mask than it should be considering the policy change mid trip for plenty of people.


I just think it would have been nice to extend the sale for a couple of days after the policy change for people who got caught flat footed mid trip.


----------



## southernfriedmom

We are headed to WDW for a stay at BC in less than 48 hours- YAY!! We have probably been almost 30 times in the last 10 years but have not been since right before the pandemic hit.  We have had a rough last year as a family (like many others) and we desperately need a good experience at our happy place. I am not backing out now but so discouraged by all the negative reports.  Can anyone report on having a surprisingly good experience in the last week or so??? Besides tempered expectations (my tweens/teens are so tired of me using this phrase) any specific advice for a seasoned veteran with no post-covid experience?  I am desperately seeking positive experiences (hoping they still exist).


----------



## Mousefan mom

southernfriedmom said:


> We are headed to WDW for a stay at BC in less than 48 hours- YAY!! We have probably been almost 30 times in the last 10 years but have not been since right before the pandemic hit.  We have had a rough last year as a family (like many others) and we desperately need a good experience at our happy place. I am not backing out now but so discouraged by all the negative reports.  Can anyone report on having a surprisingly good experience in the last week or so??? Besides tempered expectations (my tweens/teens are so tired of me using this phrase) any specific advice for a seasoned veteran with no post-covid experience?  I am desperately seeking positive experiences (hoping they still exist).


Let me just say we had some good experiences--generally when we let the teens go off on their own and it was just my husband and I--we had a wonderful morning at MK (don't rope drop, just get there during the actual posted openings and you will skip a line to get in), bag check/security is MUCH improved...then go ride the classic rides, HM, Pirates, Pan, Pooh....don't even attempt the mountains or dwarfs and you will get to do more for a good 2 hours.  Also, try Animal Kingdom at night--we went to Nomad Lounge had a drink then took a wonderful evening safari and then closed with the FOP (still just under 2 hours even at close, but what a way to end the night--and it was cooler!).  We had many laughs at the pool as a family, and try to get dining reservations for lunch--it will give you a break from the crowds.  I'm sorry my post was negative--but I really really want people to know its not what you think of as Disney right now--and if you have a choice, I'd try for a different time of the year considering the cost.  I wish you nothing but Pixie Dust and special memories.


----------



## Laura1865s

southernfriedmom said:


> We are headed to WDW for a stay at BC in less than 48 hours- YAY!! We have probably been almost 30 times in the last 10 years but have not been since right before the pandemic hit.  We have had a rough last year as a family (like many others) and we desperately need a good experience at our happy place. I am not backing out now but so discouraged by all the negative reports.  Can anyone report on having a surprisingly good experience in the last week or so??? Besides tempered expectations (my tweens/teens are so tired of me using this phrase) any specific advice for a seasoned veteran with no post-covid experience?  I am desperately seeking positive experiences (hoping they still exist).


We are here now, myself & 2 young teens. I’m finding the trip a bit more stressful, but the kids keep telling me they are having a wonderful time  We have managed to ride most everything we want eventually as long as we are flexible. I did buy each kid a really cheap cell phone, without cell service set up,  to use to play games in really long lines. That has been a help at times, but for the most part the lines aren’t phasing the kids. They are just happy to be here.


----------



## cdurham1

At IOA today.  Maybe 10% of people indoors are wearing masks.

We have Express Passes.  After 4 days at Disney, I think my 10 and 19 year olds are going to be bigger Universal fans than Disney


----------



## sjrec

We are currently at the BCV after four nights at VGF. We had points from last year so staying 10 days total. Our villas were immaculate, grounds are lovely, CMs at both friendly and helpful. Housekeeping made a point to tell us to ask for anything we needed.
We are all early risers so have been at parks an hour before officially open. Easily able to hit headliners and several rides afterwards before it gets ugly. With early mornings and late stays we did everything we wanted to do-we got ROTR boarding passes for both of HS days! What an amazing ride! And the Millennium Falcon was so much fun! MMRR was another favorite! We did stand in a couple 40 minute lines-but saved those for evenings. We are having a great trip-but with 10 days here we can pace ourselves. My grandson is 10 years old and is a trooper!
Have had several wonderful meals-Citricos and Narcoosees were amazing. Raglan Road was very good, Hollywood Brown Derby, SciFi as well. And service was excellent at all of these. Not only welcoming but efficient.
We do miss fast passes very much, but we have had a wonderful vacation. We looked forward to it for so long, and we’re not sorry in the least that we came.


----------



## Makmak

Best Aunt said:


> I'm sorry your question about purchasing packs of water at Jambo House or Kidani Village (AKL) keeps getting ignored.
> 
> Kidani Village has been open for awhile.  Jambo House has only had the DVC rooms open.  The hotel rooms at Jambo House reopen on 08/26/2021.
> 
> In Jambo House, the gift shop has been closed, as have Jiko and Boma restaurants and Victoria's something or other lounge.
> 
> The gift shop at Kidani Village is called Johari Treasures.  The gift shop at Jambo House is called Zawadi Marketplace.  The one at Kidani Village is significantly smaller than the one at Jambo House.
> 
> The Disney website is not showing that Zawadi Marketplace will reopen with Jambo House; I have no idea whether or not that is accurate.  It doesn't make sense to me to have a hotel open but the gift shop closed (but what do I know).
> 
> The DVC Member website has a grocery order form which members can use.  We think the orders are filled at the hotel gift shop, so we use it as an indication of what you can purchase in the shop.  The "Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas & Kidani Village - Grocery Order Form" lists an 8-pack of 12 ounce bottles of Dasani water for $4.79.  But whether that is just at the Jambo House gift shop and not at the Kidani Village gift shop, I don't know.
> 
> The gift shops often keep these packs of water in the back, so you have to ask a cast member for them.
> 
> If you are pricing out delivery of just water, don't forget about www.TurnerDrug.com, which is in Celebration, FL.  You can order online.  They are showing a 32-pack of 16.9 ounce bottles of water for $8.99.  It looks like a flat rate of $9 for shipping to Kidani Village or Jambo House no matter how much you purchase.  I haven't priced out any other delivery services, so you'll want to compare.  You probably could wait until you get there and place an order if the gift shop doesn't have what you want.
> 
> From the official Disney websites:
> 
> *Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House*
> 
> *Note: From January 2022 through April 2022, the Samawati Springs Pool will be closed for refurbishment. See details below.*
> 
> The following offerings and experiences will be available when Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House reopens on August 26, 2021. Hours of operation will be provided during your stay.
> *Dining*
> 
> Sanaa
> Kidani Breakfast at Sanaa
> Sanaa Lounge
> Maji Pool Bar
> The Mara
> *Shops*
> 
> Johari Treasures
> *Activities*
> 
> Pools
> Poolside Activities
> Movies Under the Stars
> Fitness Center
> Community Hall
> Sports Courts
> Playground
> *Transportation*
> 
> Bus transportation will be available from this Disney Resort hotel to the Disney theme parks and the Disney Springs area
> Bus transportation will be available from this hotel to Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park, but Guests will need to transfer at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park
> *Pool Refurbishment*
> From January 2022 through April 2022, the Samawati Springs Pool at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village will be closed for refurbishment. During this time, Guests staying at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village may enjoy the Uzima Springs Pool at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House.
> You may see and hear construction noise while this refurbishment is underway, but you should not hear noise from Guest rooms between dusk and 9:00 AM.
> We apologize for any inconvenience.
> 
> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/resorts/#drawer-card-animalKingdomJambo


Thank you so much for the detailed response! We are staying Jambo DVC the days before the lodge rooms open so it’s helpful to have the information you shared!


----------



## kevinm181818

Is Pandora still lit up at night? AK closes at 8 for one night during our trip. We hope to see Pandora lit up if we get into the FOP at 7:55.


----------



## java

Final thoughts as we are driving home.

The Bad
Heat oh my it was hot and we always go in July. It was the waiting in the blazing sun for the rides.
Lines were long- bring back FP please.
Major downpours a few days
We really missed the foreigners that used to work the Epcot countries.(via Napoli I’m looking at you!)

the Great
Bartenders were heavy handed making the drinks all seem like a bargain. 

Thanks to this board we were able to score ROR boarding group 4 our first day and we were 12 today. What a great ride. My family thought I was a magician.

food and wine was way better than last year. More booths and prices seemed fair.

those resort boats from MK at the end of the night are heaven. We stayed off site so it was TTC for us except the night we ate at the Poly!

tons of new and happy CM’s.

finally got to see happily ever after and I cried through the whole thing.

got in early at all parks except Mk- HS was probably the best at getting us on rides before opening time- same with Epcot.

Final final thoughts. They reinstated masks indoors yesterday- compliance was about 70%.  I am all for the protection. It did seem strange that they were still packing us in like sardines. So if you are concerned I would not go now. I’m guessing the masking will increase to everywhere. I wish they kept social distancing too. I had someone using my shoulder to rest their phone on- not for long as I am not a doormat. This was an overdue vacation and we had a blast being together. ROR was the highlight.


----------



## LittleStinkerbelle

southernfriedmom said:


> We are headed to WDW for a stay at BC in less than 48 hours- YAY!! We have probably been almost 30 times in the last 10 years but have not been since right before the pandemic hit.  We have had a rough last year as a family (like many others) and we desperately need a good experience at our happy place. I am not backing out now but so discouraged by all the negative reports.  Can anyone report on having a surprisingly good experience in the last week or so??? Besides tempered expectations (my tweens/teens are so tired of me using this phrase) any specific advice for a seasoned veteran with no post-covid experience?  I am desperately seeking positive experiences (hoping they still exist).



Aw, hang in there! I was feeling quite down at the 48 hour mark pre-trip as well.  I've been to WDW over 25 times and this trip was definitely different, but we still came home with great memories! We tried to focus on doing the things that were new to us as the absolute priority and also things that aren't always there like Food and Wine Festival booths. I'd say decide each day what's most important to your family to accomplish and focus on that. When we had to skip something it really helped my mindset to keep reminding myself that we've done (insert whatever) before and we *will *be back! Our break day from the parks ended up being lovely - we did breakfast at Topolino's then rode the Skyliner to explore CBR and then back to EPCOT followed by pool time. Wishing you the best!


----------



## LiteBrite

notatallmagic said:


> Last observation post - Crowds and Wait Times from July 22-29
> 
> This was the biggest challenge of this trip.  There were simply way too many people in the parks.
> 
> We have gone this same week of July for at least the past five years, and this past week was FAR busier than I have ever seen it during this comparable time.  It was even far busier than most Spring Breaks we've visited.  It was miserable.
> 
> We have a specific order that allows us to experience almost all of what we enjoy.  We were still able to do that, but if you were a typical family, you would have seen 40 minute minimum waits for very simple attractions, and over hour waits for almost everything else.  You could maybe get Animal, Hollywood, and most of Epcot done in a day, but Magic was overwhelmingly busy with crazy waits.
> 
> Ride breakdowns were also a real problem. On our first day at Magic, we rope dropped only to have Seven Dwarves, Pirates, and Space ALL broken down at open - so you had a huge pack of very angry people who had just been packed together for over an hour...for nothing.  It was UGLY.  Not sure why this is happening with such an increased frequency.
> 
> It's hard to be told to "set your expectations low" for a vacation that is a once in a lifetime, very expensive splurge for most families.  I think the combination of over-crowding, wait times, and attraction breakdowns makes Magic a rough go right now.
> 
> We LOVE Happily Ever After!  I was very sad to watch it for the last time.  But the crowds were totally insane.



Thanks so much for these very detailed and well written reports.


----------



## cakebaker

Lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace. They may be serving items from CHH, but it is definitely not the same quality. The shrimp and fish were just absolutely inedible and I seriously had to ask twice to actually get a full cup of ice. Once had 3 cubes in it, half melted. The second one was less than half full, but mostly not melted. If I wanted to spend the time, I’d ask for a refund on the food- it was that bad.


----------



## Neener16

southernfriedmom said:


> We are headed to WDW for a stay at BC in less than 48 hours- YAY!! We have probably been almost 30 times in the last 10 years but have not been since right before the pandemic hit.  We have had a rough last year as a family (like many others) and we desperately need a good experience at our happy place. I am not backing out now but so discouraged by all the negative reports.  Can anyone report on having a surprisingly good experience in the last week or so??? Besides tempered expectations (my tweens/teens are so tired of me using this phrase) any specific advice for a seasoned veteran with no post-covid experience?  I am desperately seeking positive experiences (hoping they still exist).


I was in Disney from 7/19-7/24 with my 30ish daughters. While we all said we probably won't go again until there are Fastpasses, we had a wonderful time. I realize this is pre- masking changes, but we did wear masks at times when it got uncomfortably crowded. We had low expectations and vowed to not get ticked off by little things. There were so many things that went our way that we were grateful for- a great room at the Yacht Club with very quiet neighbors, the weather, while hot, was good, lucked out with getting FOP through very early rope drop,  ROTR and Millennium Falcon just by luck,  had positive experiences with CMs, good luck with mobile ordering, had some dinner reservations which helped get out of the heat, plus had great meals, and did not seem to run into other annoying guests.  We picked a couple must do rides, and did them. MK is just insane. With the age of your kids, I would try arriving MK late, and try and ride some stuff during the fireworks. Rides like Peter Pan didn't seem to have much of a line at all during this time. My daughters love Space Mountain and we still waited about 45 minutes even during the fireworks. When we went earlier in the day and realized it was a zoo, we left. We had an EPCOT park pass day and went over early and rode Frozen, then hit the food. The earlier you go the less crowded it is. We rode Soarin 3 times; that was usually not a tough line at all. 
There is way less pressure to do everything at Disney if you go often. We did everything we wanted to and then some. I hope you have as good a time as we had!


----------



## cdurham1

cakebaker said:


> Lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace. They may be serving items from CHH, but it is definitely not the same quality. The shrimp and fish were just absolutely inedible and I seriously had to ask twice to actually get a full cup of ice. Once had 3 cubes in it, half melted. The second one was less than half full, but mostly not melted. If I wanted to spend the time, I’d ask for a refund on the food- it was that bad.


CHH was always terrible.  I had better fish and chips from Long John Silver's


----------



## mdmost

cdurham1 said:


> CHH was always terrible.  I had better fish and chips from Long John Silver's


The upstairs seating section was great though to get a break from the hustle and bustle.

All the negative reports has gotten me to dial back my expectations a bit. We haven't been since 2015 and that was a truly magical vacation for us. Our kids were right in the sweet spot of adolescence at 7 and 5. They're 13 and 11 now but still as excited as ever. We had a tough year and due to various circumstances, we couldn't take a summer vacation. Our trip around Labor Day is a quick one which I never enjoy doing as Disneyworld needs a long trip to really maximize your money and to get everything in. 

This trip has turned into more about doing things we haven't done in the past and making those the highlights. We haven't experienced any of the Star Wars and Toy Story parts so those each get a morning at HS. We haven't gotten to fully enjoy World Showcase so that will get some time on this trip. We go to Disneyland enough that we're going to focus on rides they don't have over there or ones that are different. We never got to see the Hall of Presidents so that's high up on our list. We never got to eat at Ohana, which my wife always wanted to do so that's now got a reservation. I've tried to reinforce to our kids that this will be different but I think I'll be more stressed about things than they will. We'll still hit the highlights but we did things specifically so we don't have to stress if we don't get them all in. I bought Boo Bash tickets for the oldest and I so we could have our evening at MK that we both wanted to do. My youngest loves to swim so we're making sure we pack in some time at the pool. We're trying to find something that each person can enjoy. Even with all the negative posts, I'm still excited to go on our trip.


----------



## rlk

Walking around MK today it seems less congested than last week and even yesterday. Wait times are down too.


----------



## Sarahslay

southernfriedmom said:


> We are headed to WDW for a stay at BC in less than 48 hours- YAY!! We have probably been almost 30 times in the last 10 years but have not been since right before the pandemic hit.  We have had a rough last year as a family (like many others) and we desperately need a good experience at our happy place. I am not backing out now but so discouraged by all the negative reports.  Can anyone report on having a surprisingly good experience in the last week or so??? Besides tempered expectations (my tweens/teens are so tired of me using this phrase) any specific advice for a seasoned veteran with no post-covid experience?  I am desperately seeking positive experiences (hoping they still exist).


This isn't from me, but a friend of mine who just got back this past week with her family. She hadn't been since she was in high school, and her kids (13 and 7) and husband had never been. She didn't really research, didn't know what to expect, didn't have these boards to tell her anything, and they had an amazing time. It really is all in what you make it right now honestly, I know we all want to go and have this out of this world experience, and have that time we thought we would get when we first booked where there were lower crowds and low waits but that's just not what it's like now. The good news is that schools are starting back and the reservation calendar hints at crowds lowering in the next week, but I say just go and have a good time. That's it, go in to each day happy to be there. Take in the day, sit on a bench with a snack and enjoy the atmosphere. My friend had absolutely zero expectations going in, she just knew she wanted to get away from home after a stressful year+ and give her kids a good vacation, and they did just that and had an amazing trip. If you look for the negative you'll find it, trust me. I've been 6 times since reopening, and have gone during the same time that some people have come on here complaining about all kinds of stuff while I had a completely different experience. Each of you should pick a ride a day you want to do and do it, pick a snack, and explore a resort you've never been to as a break (I like to go to Riviera during the day from Epcot or HS because they have a great little coffee shop with nice little treats and iced coffee). Relax, enjoy, it'll be ok.


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

I've seen a few posts about DAS (I'm sorry those people had rough experiences and this is not a response to those) and thought I'd post about how it went for us. We used it well at all 4 parks. Like everyone else, we didn't get as many rides in as usual, but viewed through the lens of how crazy the parks are right now, it was immensely helpful with my son. My observations:

There was usually a line to get a return time. Lots of people being turned away because ____ (they didn't have DAS set up correctly, they just wandered into a shorter line, they wanted "those fast passes like all of these other people," etc etc). I got BIG smiles from cast members almost every time when they saw I knew what I was doing.

You WILL have to wait the entire return time. If they say 3:58, they mean 3:58! I know in previous times they sometimes allowed people to just walk in or return a little early, but not anymore. We saw a lot of people trying to abuse this.

Many people don't know that you don't have to have your entire party present to get a return time. Me and my husband took turns getting it while the other walked around with the kids. On the flip side, you MUST have your entire party present when it's time to ride. Cast members were very strict about not letting people hold places in line for others.

When getting a return time for a very popular ride like 7DMT, we tried to get them right before meals, so we were in a/c while we waited. Also remember they don't have an expiration window like traditional fast passes. You can get one before leaving a park to go rest or swim, them come back and use it later. They do expire end of day though.

After tapping in, we still encountered waits in about 50% of lines. Still shorter than the standby line though.

Lastly, and this one was a new discovery for us - any Guest Experience member under a blue umbrella can make a DAS reservation for you. I got one by the center entrance to World Showcase (by where the Christmas tree goes up) with no wait. Asking nicely helps


----------



## DL1WDW2

I happened to drive on property last Thursday to get to castmember costuming… unbelievable crowds pouring off ferries and monorail and then parking lot with no trams and looked to be almost full. Then I wondered if everybody local was going before the mask mandate on Friday .
Maybe the MKTTC was so crowded because the Epcot Monorail has also opened creating lots of locals planning to visit .Hopefully more went to Epcot that day…


----------



## jlwhitney

java said:


> Final thoughts as we are driving home.
> 
> The Bad
> Heat oh my it was hot and we always go in July. It was the waiting in the blazing sun for the rides.
> Lines were long- bring back FP please.
> Major downpours a few days
> We really missed the foreigners that used to work the Epcot countries.(via Napoli I’m looking at you!)
> 
> the Great
> Bartenders were heavy handed making the drinks all seem like a bargain.
> 
> Thanks to this board we were able to score ROR boarding group 4 our first day and we were 12 today. What a great ride. My family thought I was a magician.
> 
> food and wine was way better than last year. More booths and prices seemed fair.
> 
> those resort boats from MK at the end of the night are heaven. We stayed off site so it was TTC for us except the night we ate at the Poly!
> 
> tons of new and happy CM’s.
> 
> finally got to see happily ever after and I cried through the whole thing.
> 
> got in early at all parks except Mk- HS was probably the best at getting us on rides before opening time- same with Epcot.
> 
> Final final thoughts. They reinstated masks indoors yesterday- compliance was about 70%.  I am all for the protection. It did seem strange that they were still packing us in like sardines. So if you are concerned I would not go now. I’m guessing the masking will increase to everywhere. I wish they kept social distancing too. I had someone using my shoulder to rest their phone on- not for long as I am not a doormat. This was an overdue vacation and we had a blast being together. ROR was the highlight.



masking is not gonna increase to everywhere.


----------



## DL1WDW2

jlwhitney said:


> masking is not gonna increase to everywhere.


?


----------



## DisneyFive

rlk said:


> Walking around MK today it seems less congested than last week and even yesterday. Wait times are down too.


I said the same thing to my wife as we were waiting before rope drop. Crowds seem less than they were just four days ago this morning.  Hopefully that continues.

update. Walking out of the park at 1:15 PM to go swim and nap at the boardwalk. Looking a little busier now, especially Main St.

-Dan


----------



## notatallmagic

bookgirl2632 said:


> Can you tell me, how much walking is there at BB?  What I mean is for some of the slides.  At Volcano Bay, there are so many steps.  It was daunting and my mother, who is in good shape for her age, just hated it.  Mind you, we won’t be doing the huge slides.  We stick to the tamer ones.  We usually do Typhoon Lagoon and I know they don’t have too many bad climbs to get to their slides.



It depends if you can split your party up if you have folks who want to do the big slides and ride everything.  If you CAN (we handled it that way in late June) the kids had a great time riding everything, and my sister in law and I spent lots of time in the lazy river and on the beach by the wave pool.  It was a great day for everyone!


----------



## dachsie

They have a Smores one that sounds really good!


----------



## 123SA

bookgirl2632 said:


> Can you tell me, how much walking is there at BB?  What I mean is for some of the slides.  At Volcano Bay, there are so many steps.  It was daunting and my mother, who is in good shape for her age, just hated it.  Mind you, we won’t be doing the huge slides.  We stick to the tamer ones.  We usually do Typhoon Lagoon and I know they don’t have too many bad climbs to get to their slides.




According to my kids, Volcano Bay has way more steps than Blizzard Beach.


----------



## dachsie

Oh No - I posted this in wrong forum.  Sorry!!  I meant to do it in the restaurant one.


----------



## lovethattink

cdurham1 said:


> At IOA today.  Maybe 10% of people indoors are wearing masks.
> 
> We have Express Passes.  After 4 days at Disney, I think my 10 and 19 year olds are going to be bigger Universal fans than Disney



I’m sitting in my off site hotel room listening to the news. Disney and now Sea World (not sure if Sea World is effective immediately or not) are the only local theme parks requiring masking indoors.

Yesterday my friend went to Epcot. She said all indoor cm wore masks. But outdoor at F&W the cm didn’t. This was her first venture to Disney to since March 2020, and are felt a bit apprehensive being only a plate away from someone handing her food.She hopped to MK and left because she was overwhelmed.

The hotel I’m staying at has all employees wearing masks, indoor and outdoors. The convention here (my son is attending) has everyone wearing masks as well. There is no housekeeping until after check out. There’s a number to text if we need anything from housekeeping. Not all restaurants in the hotel are open. Most guests I pass in the hallway are not masked.

And I just want to mention how hard it is to stay here while ds is at his convention. Disney is so close!


----------



## IluvMGM

It opened back up?


----------



## notatallmagic

cakebaker said:


> At MK this morning. Went to Space at opening- it was down as was BTMRR. Rode Tea Cups and got barnstormer and dumbo with no waits and Buzz with a 15 minute wait. Posted time was accurate. Back in line for Space now with a recovery pass.
> 
> The DAS line is a mess at Space. One CM handles issuing DAS return times, then DAS, swap and recovery as well as turning those away who  don’t qualify to be in the line but got in it because it was shorter. The line is long and I feel for those with kids who don’t handle waits and heat.
> 
> Next up, pretzels!!



We always do Space at the end of the day, but that DAS line would be brutal in the sun.  That is NOT a one person job.


----------



## dachsie

IluvMGM said:


> It opened back up?


Yes - this was posted this morning on Twitter


----------



## notatallmagic

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> I've seen a few posts about DAS (I'm sorry those people had rough experiences and this is not a response to those) and thought I'd post about how it went for us. We used it well at all 4 parks. Like everyone else, we didn't get as many rides in as usual, but viewed through the lens of how crazy the parks are right now, it was immensely helpful with my son. My observations:
> 
> There was usually a line to get a return time. Lots of people being turned away because ____ (they didn't have DAS set up correctly, they just wandered into a shorter line, they wanted "those fast passes like all of these other people," etc etc). I got BIG smiles from cast members almost every time when they saw I knew what I was doing.
> 
> You WILL have to wait the entire return time. If they say 3:58, they mean 3:58! I know in previous times they sometimes allowed people to just walk in or return a little early, but not anymore. We saw a lot of people trying to abuse this.
> 
> Many people don't know that you don't have to have your entire party present to get a return time. Me and my husband took turns getting it while the other walked around with the kids. On the flip side, you MUST have your entire party present when it's time to ride. Cast members were very strict about not letting people hold places in line for others.
> 
> When getting a return time for a very popular ride like 7DMT, we tried to get them right before meals, so we were in a/c while we waited. Also remember they don't have an expiration window like traditional fast passes. You can get one before leaving a park to go rest or swim, them come back and use it later. They do expire end of day though.
> 
> After tapping in, we still encountered waits in about 50% of lines. Still shorter than the standby line though.
> 
> Lastly, and this one was a new discovery for us - any Guest Experience member under a blue umbrella can make a DAS reservation for you. I got one by the center entrance to World Showcase (by where the Christmas tree goes up) with no wait. Asking nicely helps



What a wonderful summary!

We learned about the Blue Umbrellas about an hour before we left the park on our last day   I guess they don't have those at Magic, but they do at the other parks!  Yay!

We also found it useful to have a DAS running down during our meals or during our "leave the park for an afternoon break" times.  That really helps so much.  And yes, the CM LOVE when you know the system and don't try to abuse it.  Thanks again for a great post!


----------



## IluvMGM

dachsie said:


> Yes - this was posted this morning on Twitter


Awesome! Thanks!


----------



## jujubiee4

rlk said:


> Walking around MK today it seems less congested than last week and even yesterday. Wait times are down too.


I am curious to see now that masks are back how it affects attendance.  Was thinking about canceling
upcoming trip but now will probably keep it.


----------



## Makmak

lovethattink said:


> I’m sitting in my off site hotel room listening to the news. Disney and now Sea World (not sure if Sea World is effective immediately or not) are the only local theme parks requiring masking indoors.
> 
> Yesterday my friend went to Epcot. She said all indoor cm wore masks. But outdoor at F&W the cm didn’t. This was her first venture to Disney to since March 2020, and are felt a bit apprehensive being only a plate away from someone handing her food.She hopped to MK and left because she was overwhelmed.
> 
> The hotel I’m staying at has all employees wearing masks, indoor and outdoors. The convention here (my son is attending) has everyone wearing masks as well. There is no housekeeping until after check out. There’s a number to text if we need anything from housekeeping. Not all restaurants in the hotel are open. Most guests I pass in the hallway are not masked.
> 
> And I just want to mention how hard it is to stay here while ds is at his convention. Disney is so close!


Sea World says “recommend” for guests, or do you mean they will require for employees? Or is there an update I can’t find? I’m just trying to clarify because we are going soon and want to be prepared!


----------



## Gator29

Are they doing their traditional offerings? Ice cream? Sundaes? Or just the items shown in the photo?


----------



## lovethattink

Makmak said:


> Sea World says “recommend” for guests, or do you mean they will require for employees? Or is there an update I can’t find? I’m just trying to clarify because we are going soon and want to be prepared!



I was watching WFTV out of Orlando. I see nothing online either. I think it was about employees.


----------



## loves to dive

southernfriedmom said:


> We are headed to WDW for a stay at BC in less than 48 hours- YAY!! We have probably been almost 30 times in the last 10 years but have not been since right before the pandemic hit.  We have had a rough last year as a family (like many others) and we desperately need a good experience at our happy place. I am not backing out now but so discouraged by all the negative reports.  Can anyone report on having a surprisingly good experience in the last week or so??? Besides tempered expectations (my tweens/teens are so tired of me using this phrase) any specific advice for a seasoned veteran with no post-covid experience?  I am desperately seeking positive experiences (hoping they still exist).


I was there in April, solo.  At that time you had to wear a mask at all times except when eating.  I was staying at Dolphin.  I had park hoppers and was there for 4 nights, 5 park days.  

I go often but at that point had not been since Jan. before the shut down.  I was ready to go no matter what I had to put up with, I was one in on my shots.  I had a great time and am going back in early Sept.   I think having park hoppers helped and the fact that I'm not totally focused on riding rides.   I did ride everything I wanted and even a few things I wasn't really interested in just so I could report back on wait times.   My arrival day I got there around 2 and my room was ready, it had been a monsoon on the drive down from when I passed the Ga/FL border all the way into Disney so I was stressed.   I changed clothes, put on my full body rain coat and walked over to Epcot.  I had planned on eating supper at F&G booths but the monsoon put a halt to that although I did go into the building they were using beside Canada to grab a few things to just tide me over.   I made ADRs for later that day at France while eating my snacks.  Walked around a bit in the rain, just enjoyed not being at home until my ADRs.  The rain slowed down while I was eating and I walked over and rode Soarin, The Land, Nemo (which I don't usually ride because I liked it the way it was before darn it), walked around and looked at fish, rode Figment and walked back through WS and rode Frozen (I don't like that ride but research) and grabbed some sweet something at a booth and walked back to Dolphin.  The rest of my trip I would start in the park I made reservations for and stay until around 1 or 2 and go back to my resort and swim/rest then off to another park.   I think my first full day I did AK and hit MK that night (which was good).  I didn't get rise in the morning my first try but was able to get it at 1 while sitting at Brown Derby enjoying my Cobb Salad.  My only disappointment/bad experience was MK.   Even then it was crowded and people weren't obeying the mask or social distancing markers.  Between my first night there and the day I had reservations, I did ride everything I wanted to ride - Pirates, PP, Pooh, Under the Sea, MTMRR, CoP, Seven Dwarfs, HM and Liberty Bell.  People Mover wasn't open yet.  I don't ride Space Mountain it hurts and don't ride Splash the rain kept me plenty wet.  At AK I rode everything I wanted - Safari, EE (I didn't really want to ride this but the line was short and research) Dino, Navi and FoP (again don't like this ride that much but research).  I don't do the water ride.  I ate at Nomad Lounge.   I had 2 days of reservations at HS so didn't feel rushed either day but again, rode everything I wanted.   SDD, Aliens, RotR (twice) MF, Mickey and Minnie, ToT (I rode that a few times during the trip, it's my favorite).  I don't ride Star Tours makes me sick and don't ride RnRR, it hurts.  I road Soarin at least 3 times during my trip and The Land at least 3 times.  I rode everything at Epcot except Mission Space, makes me sick.  I never rope dropped, took a break every afternoon, ate at a few TS restaurants making ADRs day of, noshed at F&G booths and did not close down a single park.

So, it's possible to ride rides, eat TS, take breaks and not rush around and just enjoy yourself.  I'm a frequent visitor so that helps, we rarely used FP when it was available because we don't like to plan and we never made ADRs in advance, just day of.   I don't mind waiting in line, yes it was hot and having a mask on outside was not as fun as not having a mask on but it was fine.  Park Hoppers help because you can leave and go elsewhere.


----------



## DaniMoon

DisneyFive said:


> I said the same thing to my wife as we were waiting before rope drop. Crowds seem less than they were just four days ago this morning.  Hopefully that continues.
> 
> update. Walking out of the park at 1:15 PM to go swim and nap at the boardwalk. Looking a little busier now, especially Main St.
> 
> -Dan



This may be the best thing I've seen you post this week 

Hope the trend continues for the rest of your trip!


----------



## Happyjen27

My multi quote got all messed up but someone asked this:
We are headed to WDW for a stay at BC in less than 48 hours- YAY!! We have probably been almost 30 times in the last 10 years but have not been since right before the pandemic hit.  We have had a rough last year as a family (like many others) and we desperately need a good experience at our happy place. I am not backing out now but so discouraged by all the negative reports.  Can anyone report on having a surprisingly good experience in the last week or so??? Besides tempered expectations (my tweens/teens are so tired of me using this phrase) any specific advice for a seasoned veteran with no post-covid experience?  I am desperately seeking positive experiences (hoping they still exist).[/QUOTE]


I’m here with my daughter now and we’re having the best time! Lowered expectations on experiences but not fun!! Less rides for sure, but we’re people watching and enjoying queue detailing and as with all things in life, your attitude dictates your experience. Of course you see my screen name is HappyJen, so that is my default. So far we did MK our first day, it was raining and we got through HM, BTMRR, Pirates. Then went back to the resort because we were up at 3AM for our flight.
Next was DHS, scored a RoTR, tried to do slinky and it broke down, did TSMM, Millenuin Falcon and ate at docking bay 7. Also tried the milks (blech ). I find we’re planning our days around food and not rides. Haha. 
Yesterday was AK. Did FOP early, Navi, and had an amazing meal at Satu’li, then left. Those cheeseburger pods were good, but the bowls are where it’s at!! Went back for FOP last thing at night. Had a full day for sure. 
Today we had The Wave breakfast at Cali Grille, so delish, price can’t be beat for that view.  We’re laying around in the resort room now which I’m sure some people think is a total waste of time, but we have full happy bellies. Around 4 we’ll head to DHS and try to ride MMRR and slinky which we couldn’t get to the first day because we ran out of steam. 
There is magic everywhere if you look. One of my favorite moments was in MK a cavalcade went through. girl, about 8, lit up, so excited, ran back to her family about 10 feet away arms flailing and eyes excited with a huge smile to get her little sister, around 4yo, to bring over to the cavalcade. It was beautiful and magical to see them enjoy that moment. 
[/QUOTE]


kevinm181818 said:


> Is Pandora still lit up at night? AK closes at 8 for one night during our trip. We hope to see Pandora lit up if we get into the FOP at 7:55.


It was still pretty light outside at 8:15 when we were leaving yesterday. Things are lit up, but don’t show up well in the still bright-ish twilight.


----------



## mouserrificmom

DisneyFive said:


> I said the same thing to my wife as we were waiting before rope drop. Crowds seem less than they were just four days ago this morning.  Hopefully that continues.
> 
> update. Walking out of the park at 1:15 PM to go swim and nap at the boardwalk. Looking a little busier now, especially Main St.
> 
> -Dan


 
I am happy to read this. Heading down on August 8th - I have been following the boards closely to see what the trends and experiences have been. We intentionally booked Yacht Club so that we could walk to 2 parks and enjoy the pool if we feel the crowds are just too much......since the annoucement regarding masks, I've been perusing the Disney Website and noticed a lot of availablity popping up for resorts that had no discounted rooms available, so I am hoping that the crowds may diminish a bit before our arrival. Regardless, we are going into it knowing it won't be the same, and happy to just BE there and enjoy other things if the Parks are too much.


----------



## JAM77

mouserrificmom said:


> I am happy to read this. Heading down on August 8th - I have been following the boards closely to see what the trends and experiences have been. We intentionally booked Yacht Club so that we could walk to 2 parks and enjoy the pool if we feel the crowds are just too much......since the annoucement regarding masks, I've been perusing the Disney Website and noticed a lot of availablity popping up for resorts that had no discounted rooms available, so I am hoping that the crowds may diminish a bit before our arrival. Regardless, we are going into it knowing it won't be the same, and happy to just BE there and enjoy other things if the Parks are too much.


In the same boat. Heading down on 8/12 and hoping just for a 10-15% drop in crowds...would be a huge difference.


----------



## rlk

DisneyFive said:


> I said the same thing to my wife as we were waiting before rope drop. Crowds seem less than they were just four days ago this morning.  Hopefully that continues.
> 
> update. Walking out of the park at 1:15 PM to go swim and nap at the boardwalk. Looking a little busier now, especially Main St.
> 
> -Dan



my husband and I left MK around 1:50 pm and agree, it felt like it was get more crowded. I’m sure it has something to do with letting in Park hoppers 10 minutes before 2:00.


----------



## sjrec

mouserrificmom said:


> I am happy to read this. Heading down on August 8th - I have been following the boards closely to see what the trends and experiences have been. We intentionally booked Yacht Club so that we could walk to 2 parks and enjoy the pool if we feel the crowds are just too much......since the annoucement regarding masks, I've been perusing the Disney Website and noticed a lot of availablity popping up for resorts that had no discounted rooms available, so I am hoping that the crowds may diminish a bit before our arrival. Regardless, we are going into it knowing it won't be the same, and happy to just BE there and enjoy other things if the Parks are too much.


We walked to HS in the morning but took the skyliner back both days-it’s an easy return trip. Station is closer than bus or boat dock.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Any word on the return of package pickup in the front of the parks or package delivery to the resorts hotels?


----------



## dachsie

Ice cream and a mini Kitchen sink for $23


----------



## harleyquinn

POOH&PIGLET said:


> Any word on the return of package pickup in the front of the parks or package delivery to the resorts hotels?


Still not back as of yesterday.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

harleyquinn said:


> Still not back as of yesterday.




Thanks for the quick response!


----------



## harleyquinn

POOH&PIGLET said:


> Thanks for the quick response!


You’re welcome! I’ve been basically stalking this and any other recent news threads for my own trip, so I’m happy my obsession is helpful!


----------



## southernfriedmom

Thanks everyone for the encouraging stories & pick-me-ups! I was reminded that some of our most memorable trips have been the not-so-perfect ones because the magic on those trips really stood out because we were looking for it.  We were at WDW during Hurricane Matthew and it may be one of our favorite trips ever.  My daughter got the flu while at Disney and we still had no regrets from that trip.  As far as crowds, I have been Spring Break, the 4th of July, Christmas Day, and countless Star Wars Weekends and I still keep coming back.  If nothing else the people watching will be good (although quite expensive)!! I love whomever said they lowered their expectations about the amount they would accomplish but not the amount of fun that would be had.  We will have a magical vacation regardless and I am sure I will annoy my four children (11-16) while doing it!! I will be sure to update for others while there.


----------



## Cj2017

I'm so confused by these wait times everyone is claiming. For the last 2 weeks, I have been looking at my touring plans app and I never see a line more than 60 minutes and that's usually for the heavy hitters. Everything else is around 25-45 minutes. How are people only doing 3-4 rides?


Edit - I'm not saying anyone is lying just want to know what I'm missing for planning purposes.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Cj2017 said:


> I'm so confused by these wait times everyone is claiming. For the last 2 weeks, I have been looking at my touring plans app and I never see a line more than 60 minutes and that's usually for the heavy hitters. Everything else is around 25-45 minutes. How are people only doing 3-4 rides?


They are probably looking at the MDE app. There are times where both are off or MDE is more correct, but more often than not, the Lines app is far more accurate. Plenty of times where the real wait is close to half of the what the posted/MDE time says.


----------



## Happyjen27

Cj2017 said:


> I'm so confused by these wait times everyone is claiming. For the last 2 weeks, I have been looking at my touring plans app and I never see a line more than 60 minutes and that's usually for the heavy hitters. Everything else is around 25-45 minutes. How are people only doing 3-4 rides?
> 
> 
> Edit - I'm not saying anyone is lying just want to know what I'm missing for planning purposes.



In my case it’s because I’m WEAK!! Haha. Advanced arthritis in my knees and no need to maximize every minute of parks, as I’m sure we’ll come back, we’re just a plane ride away.
We usually bail after about 5 hours in the park. Rarely go back after a break. I’m  sure if I were one of those commando park people I’d be able to do more, but I’m just chill about touring and life in general.


----------



## JAM77

luv2cheer92 said:


> They are probably looking at the MDE app. There are times where both are off or MDE is more correct, but more often than not, the Lines app is far more accurate. Plenty of times where the real wait is close to half of the what the posted/MDE time says.


Disney also has to keep building because these parks with only about 10 attractions in it is not going to cut it with the constant increasing demands....You got tons of room in HS, AK and Epcot(luckily 2 rides coming) for more. keep it coming and don't take 5 years to build it...Guardians!!


----------



## Akck

Cj2017 said:


> I'm so confused by these wait times everyone is claiming. For the last 2 weeks, I have been looking at my touring plans app and I never see a line more than 60 minutes and that's usually for the heavy hitters. Everything else is around 25-45 minutes. How are people only doing 3-4 rides?
> 
> 
> Edit - I'm not saying anyone is lying just want to know what I'm missing for planning purposes.



Disney is known to manipulate wait times and many don’t know about the Lines app. I’d bet some here see the MDE waits and don’t even bother to go to the ride. A few experiences we had was MDE had a 45 minute wait and Lines had 20 minutes. Just after we got in line, MDE went to 65 minutes. The actual wait was about 35 minutes. So the Lines app can have a lag in reporting too.

As for doing only 3-4 rides, standing out in the sun takes a lot out of you. Sometimes you get off that 4th ride and decide you don’t want to stand in the sunlight again and the resort pool is a better option.


----------



## DisneyFive

Cj2017 said:


> I'm so confused by these wait times everyone is claiming. For the last 2 weeks, I have been looking at my touring plans app and I never see a line more than 60 minutes and that's usually for the heavy hitters. Everything else is around 25-45 minutes. How are people only doing 3-4 rides?
> 
> 
> Edit - I'm not saying anyone is lying just want to know what I'm missing for planning purposes.



On our 5th full day here and I can tell you, *believe the Lines app*.  It has been WAY MORE accurate.  I should have put the Lines wait times in my daily “live” updates as we tour the parks, but I didn’t want to seem like an advertisement for them 

We base our decisions on the Lines app and rarely even reference MDE anymore.

Every single ride has been inflated on the Disney (MDE) app for us except for MFSR a few days ago but that’s because we were suckers and got in line early/mid morning and the wait time hadn’t caught up yet.  Posted 60 minutes but waited 90 (and not because the ride went down or anything).

So those >60 minutes waits on the Lines app? Those are real too (and real killer).

Honestly anything even approaching 60 minutes is way too long  IMO

Dan


----------



## Sarahslay

Cj2017 said:


> I'm so confused by these wait times everyone is claiming. For the last 2 weeks, I have been looking at my touring plans app and I never see a line more than 60 minutes and that's usually for the heavy hitters. Everything else is around 25-45 minutes. How are people only doing 3-4 rides?
> 
> 
> Edit - I'm not saying anyone is lying just want to know what I'm missing for planning purposes.


Aside from what others have said (all good points, very true), there are a ton of people who do the "I won't wait in any line if it's longer than 'x' amount of time". So they look at a wait time and go "NOPE!" After about the first hour or two every line in the park is past their max wait limit and they leave, even if those aren't really the accurate wait times. I remember being there Thanksgiving week with my husband and a woman near us telling her husband they were leaving because all the lines just looked too long, it's not that they were too long, they just LOOKED too long. Sure, the HM line went down the bridge to BTMRR and look super long, but it was only 15 min. We were there in June and Splash said 80 on MDE but Lines app said 20, people were turning around left and right because it was so long but we jumped in line. It might have been closer to 40 by the time my oldest DD and I got on but it definitely wasn't anywhere near 80. The heat does wear you down though, it's tough, I know I'm only planning on being in the parks for 2-3 hours in the morning during my late August trip because I just can't do long stretches, and I'll only get like 3-4 rides (with DAS maybe 1 more, but I'm not planning on it just because I'm taking it easy).


----------



## Mrtommorrow1987

What is the lines app?


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Cj2017 said:


> I'm so confused by these wait times everyone is claiming. For the last 2 weeks, I have been looking at my touring plans app and I never see a line more than 60 minutes and that's usually for the heavy hitters. Everything else is around 25-45 minutes. How are people only doing 3-4 rides?
> 
> 
> Edit - I'm not saying anyone is lying just want to know what I'm missing for planning purposes.



The other thing to consider for planning purposes is that without Fast Pass, you can be more efficient in your touring by doing everything in one land before moving on to another area of the park. So, commit to not crisscrossing the park to chase shorter waits (per MDE).  I know this may mean choosing between rope dropping a favorite attraction over another, but it helps. And sure cuts down on saving energy - especially in the heat.


----------



## Jillpsu15

DisneyFive said:


> On our 5th full day here and I can tell you, *believe the Lines app*.  It has been WAY MORE accurate.  I should have put the Lines wait times in my daily “live” updates as we tour the parks, but I didn’t want to seem like an advertisement for them
> 
> We base our decisions on the Lines app and rarely even reference MDE anymore.
> 
> Every single ride has been inflated on the Disney (MDE) app for us except for MFSR a few days ago but that’s because we were suckers and got in line early/mid morning and the wait time hadn’t caught up yet.  Posted 60 minutes but waited 90 (and not because the ride went down or anything).
> 
> So those >60 minutes waits on the Lines app? Those are real too (and real killer).
> 
> Honestly anything even approaching 60 minutes is way too long  IMO
> 
> Dan


What is the name of the official lines app you are talking about? I see a few in the App Store and want to make sure I download the correct one! Thanks!


----------



## mdmost

Disney World Lines (TP). They have one for WDW, DLR, and Universal.


----------



## DisneyFive

Jillpsu15 said:


> What is the name of the official lines app you are talking about? I see a few in the App Store and want to make sure I download the correct one! Thanks!


This is what I have downloaded 

If you go to touringplans.com and sign up for a touring plan subscription you use the same login information for this app once downloaded.

-Dan


----------



## sjrec

Cj2017 said:


> I'm so confused by these wait times everyone is claiming. For the last 2 weeks, I have been looking at my touring plans app and I never see a line more than 60 minutes and that's usually for the heavy hitters. Everything else is around 25-45 minutes. How are people only doing 3-4 rides?
> We also go by TP lines app. Ex. Toy Story was 60 minutes posted and we went by the reported TP 25 minutes-which was accurate. Our longest line was Millenium Falcon at 40.
> 
> Edit - I'm not saying anyone is lying just want to know what I'm missing for planning purposes.


We have done probably  6 or 7 rides per park visit. Our daughter’s family rode Everest three times at opening today. Dinosaur twice, Kali, KS, the bird show, Lion King, Gorilla Falls, Animation Station and left not long after 2:00. We did FoP earlier this week.
TP lines app is much more accurate.


----------



## Spaghetti Cat

It takes me 30 minutes to wait through a 10 minute line.
A 30 minute line takes me at least 2 hours!

This is the reason for the wait time discrepancies, there are other posters like me.


----------



## Looper

I have a touring plans subscription, but didn’t realize about the app! I just downloaded it for our trip next week!


----------



## ThistleMae

DisneyFive said:


> On our 5th full day here and I can tell you, *believe the Lines app*.  It has been WAY MORE accurate.  I should have put the Lines wait times in my daily “live” updates as we tour the parks, but I didn’t want to seem like an advertisement for them
> 
> We base our decisions on the Lines app and rarely even reference MDE anymore.
> 
> Every single ride has been inflated on the Disney (MDE) app for us except for MFSR a few days ago but that’s because we were suckers and got in line early/mid morning and the wait time hadn’t caught up yet.  Posted 60 minutes but waited 90 (and not because the ride went down or anything).
> 
> So those >60 minutes waits on the Lines app? Those are real too (and real killer).
> 
> Honestly anything even approaching 60 minutes is way too long  IMO
> 
> Dan


What is the lines app?  So not part of MDE?  Nevermind, found it.


----------



## cakebaker

Back from a day at the MK. It felt every bit as crowded to me by midday as it has all week. Mask enforcement was spotty at best- lots of mask sniffers and people pulling down their masks once inside the queue. But, at least there are more with masks on than before, so I’ll take it. 

We’re at the Beach Club now and I’m much happier here than than the FT Wilderness Cabins.  We were upgraded to a water view, so finally a little pixie dust! The remainder of our trip will be at HS and Epcot so this is a much better location and the pool can’t be beat.  The resort is busy, there was actually a line to get on the elevator! 

We’ll be poolside sipping something frozen all evening. It’s been a challenging week, but has been better than I expected. But I would still highly recommend not visiting right now.


----------



## Momtomouselover

We definitely found that the Lines app was more correct than MDE but we also found that there were often long waits. If you are used to using FP I think that is the biggest difference. Between no FP, crowds and Covid I wouldn’t choose these last weeks of July to visit with your family. Maybe August will be different. Hopefully FP comes back and Covid soon goes away!


----------



## CeCe0906

JAM77 said:


> Disney also has to keep building because these parks with only about 10 attractions in it is not going to cut it with the constant increasing demands....You got tons of room in HS, AK and Epcot(luckily 2 rides coming) for more. keep it coming and don't take 5 years to build it...Guardians!!


Now that Disney has Marvel, I keep waiting to hear that Wakanda is the new land being added to AK


----------



## HauntedTTA

Back yesterday after 6 days and nights at Coronado Springs.

My first time staying at Coronado Springs and it is a fun little resort and much more enjoyable than our 2018 stay at Pop Century. I really enjoyed the theming (terrific background music) and the room was nice. The food, however, is terrible just like the food courts always have been at the resorts. 

I'm a former cast member so I notice the little things and I saw a ton of cast members chilling on their phones in the view of guests. That was a huge no no 10 years ago and assumed it still would be.

Food: 

California Grill was fantastic (you have to pay a premium of course) with their timing the food for post fireworks and had world class service. The food was fine.

Sanaa was solid as usual but I do miss the 2 meat option with rice. We had the misfortune of sitting away from the windows.

Homecomin was overrated. I liked the potatoes and the chicken biscuits were good, but I was expecting much more from the fried chicken. Our poor waiter was given us and two tables of 10 plus at the same time so we had no shot at refills or anything.

Maya Grill was just awful. I really enjoyed the live entertainment that was solid, but the food was waaaay overpriced by Disney standards and wasn't very good either. $9 chips and salsa? Come on Disney.

Oga's Cantina was fantastic with really cool food, drinks, and great service.

It was my first time on RotR and on MMRR and I thought both were solid attractions that deserve praise. Disney in general though is sorely missing line eaters like The Great Movie Ride and the current way they have guests queueing for rides are going to lead to some heat stroke deaths. It's just not tenable. 

Cast members in general seemed miserable and really not in great moods at all. The professionals at Oga's, RotR, and California Grill really saved the day Cast Member wise but there were plenty of "Six Flags level" cast members. 

I hadn't been to Epcot (former Innoventions CP) since it became a walled city and that is just ridiculous and ugly. I did enjoy riding SSE and I still hope every time I do ride it that it won't be the last time I'm riding an edutainment attraction.

Overall I feel that my time as a Disneyphile is over. I'm no longer interested in paying the prices that they're charging for getting something that is now no better than any other well done amusement park. Also Disney doesn't need me as evidenced by the end of Future World and those long attractions that were keeping guests from buying souvenirs.


One minor annoyance of note is that you can't find popcorn at the resorts. I think there would be a market there for those of us wanting to relax in our rooms and enjoy some overpriced popcorn. Especially since we can't get microwaves. 

I'm sure I'll be back, but it'll probably be a decade before I go.


----------



## Pinkgirl0814

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> I've seen a few posts about DAS (I'm sorry those people had rough experiences and this is not a response to those) and thought I'd post about how it went for us. We used it well at all 4 parks. Like everyone else, we didn't get as many rides in as usual, but viewed through the lens of how crazy the parks are right now, it was immensely helpful with my son. My observations:
> 
> There was usually a line to get a return time. Lots of people being turned away because ____ (they didn't have DAS set up correctly, they just wandered into a shorter line, they wanted "those fast passes like all of these other people," etc etc). I got BIG smiles from cast members almost every time when they saw I knew what I was doing.
> 
> You WILL have to wait the entire return time. If they say 3:58, they mean 3:58! I know in previous times they sometimes allowed people to just walk in or return a little early, but not anymore. We saw a lot of people trying to abuse this.
> 
> Many people don't know that you don't have to have your entire party present to get a return time. Me and my husband took turns getting it while the other walked around with the kids. On the flip side, you MUST have your entire party present when it's time to ride. Cast members were very strict about not letting people hold places in line for others.
> 
> When getting a return time for a very popular ride like 7DMT, we tried to get them right before meals, so we were in a/c while we waited. Also remember they don't have an expiration window like traditional fast passes. You can get one before leaving a park to go rest or swim, them come back and use it later. They do expire end of day though.
> 
> After tapping in, we still encountered waits in about 50% of lines. Still shorter than the standby line though.
> 
> Lastly, and this one was a new discovery for us - any Guest Experience member under a blue umbrella can make a DAS reservation for you. I got one by the center entrance to World Showcase (by where the Christmas tree goes up) with no wait. Asking nicely helps


Can you explain more about the blue umbrellas? Do you mean you can get the DAS passes issued for the trip at one of these locations? Or can you get a return time for any ride at one of the blue umbrellas? Example: if you are at an umbrella by Splash but can get a return time for Space mountain without walking over to the actual ride?


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## cakebaker

Forgot to add- food has been abysmal. We’ve eaten strictly qs and most of what we’ve had has been just awful. The repetitive menus are getting old. I think I may never want pulled pork or hot dogs again. 

Satuli has always been and remains the best qs on property. It’s been the one great meal we’ve had. I was hoping the MarketPlace might be an improvement, but it wasn’t. The mass production of a limited menu = really bad food. I’m pretty much living on pretzels, ice cream and whatever frozen alcohol I can find.  

But as of now, Tomorrowland Terrace leads the pack in the worst place we tried with food that was actually inedible.


----------



## luv2cheer92

CeCe0906 said:


> Now that Disney has Marvel, I keep waiting to hear that Wakanda is the new land being added to AK


Gotta break that contract, which I'm not sure I see them doing.


----------



## luv2cheer92

cakebaker said:


> Forgot to add- food has been abysmal. We’ve eaten strictly qs and most of what we’ve had has been just awful. The repetitive menus are getting old. I think I may never want pulled pork or hot dogs again.
> 
> Satuli has always been and remains the best qs on property. It’s been the one great meal we’ve had. I was hoping the MarketPlace might be an improvement, but it wasn’t. The mass production of a limited menu = really bad food. I’m pretty much living on pretzels, ice cream and whatever frozen alcohol I can find.
> 
> But as of now, Tomorrowland Terrace leads the pack in the worst place we tried with food that was actually inedible.


Interesting, I ate mostly QS on all my 3 trips in the last year (including 2 weeks ago) and I never had any issues with food. All were good to great.


----------



## cakebaker

luv2cheer92 said:


> Interesting, I ate mostly QS on all my 3 trips in the last year (including 2 weeks ago) and I never had any issues with food. All were good to great.



 We’re really not picky eaters but I’m talking crispy stale buns, dried out hot dogs, what tasted like spoiled shrimp, dry mac n cheese, chokingly dry hamburgers....really, really bad and at different locations. Food n Wine food was good though and we’re going to give Regal Eagle a try tomorrow.


----------



## DisneyFive

HauntedTTA said:


> Back yesterday after 6 days and nights at Coronado Springs.
> 
> Overall I feel that my time as a Disneyphile is over. I'm no longer interested in paying the prices that they're charging for getting something that is now no better than any other well done amusement park.



This is exactly one of the things that I will be saying when I summarize our stay. The way things are now, without Fastpass, Disney is like any other Six Flags or Cedar Fair amusement park.  The way Disney has their park set up right now, it is going to drive people to try Universal, Seaworld and Busch Gardens.

Dan


----------



## cakebaker

DisneyFive said:


> This is exactly one of the things that I will be saying when I summarize our stay. The way things are now, without Fastpass, Disney is like any other Six Flags or Cedar Fair amusement park.  The way Disney has their park set up right now, it is going to drive people to try Universal, Seaworld and Busch Gardens.
> 
> Dan


 For the most part, our experiences and overall feeling are on par with yours.


----------



## holyrita

DisneyFive said:


> This is exactly one of the things that I will be saying when I summarize our stay. The way things are now, without Fastpass, Disney is like any other Six Flags or Cedar Fair amusement park.  The way Disney has their park set up right now, it is going to drive people to try Universal, Seaworld and Busch Gardens.
> 
> Dan



Following this thread (an others) over the last few months, my 3 upcoming Disney trips over the next 6 months have gone from: a week at only Disney, to Disney with 1 day at Universal, to half Disney half Universal. Just sounds like Universal is so much more enjoyable right now, which is so sad based on how much we've been looking forward to the 50th! Sigh.. we'll see if any of these trips even happen though, just got a push notification that Florida reported the highest one-day total in new COVID cases since start of pandemic


----------



## luv2cheer92

DisneyFive said:


> This is exactly one of the things that I will be saying when I summarize our stay. The way things are now, without Fastpass, Disney is like any other Six Flags or Cedar Fair amusement park.  The way Disney has their park set up right now, it is going to drive people to try Universal, Seaworld and Busch Gardens.
> 
> Dan


Couldn't disagree more. Been to about 10 different parks this summer and that gap is still enormous. All parks are dealing with struggles, and most if not all are worse. But everyone has to decide what is right for them.


----------



## hellow

luv2cheer92 said:


> Couldn't disagree more. Been to about 10 different parks this summer and that gap is still enormous. All parks are dealing with struggles, and most if not all are worse. But everyone has to decide what is right for them.


But what was the price differential?  We usually can justify a Disney price because there is a better product.


----------



## luv2cheer92

hellow said:


> But what was the price differential?  We usually can justify a Disney price because there is a better product.


The product is still significantly better is what I'm saying. And the value is definitely still there for me. My Cedar Point trips are often not too terribly far off in price from my shorter Disney trips. Yes I get those big coasters that I can't get at WDW, but the quality in the full experience is not even close.


----------



## runjulesrun

Got back last night from Disney, we drove from Georgia and were there the 25th-30th. It was just DD18 and myself this trip, this is where she chose to go for her senior trip. After reading this thread, I would say my expectations were tempered but not enough. I was taken aback at just how crowded the parks were (this was my 4th Covid trip) and how uncomfortable the lack of distancing would be in the longest lines I have ever seen there. Wait times were typical of summer so that was expected. Most lines move regularly due to no Fastpasses but there were a couple of rides (Aerosmith, I'm looking at you) that the line remained stationary for so so long. When you are waiting out in the blazing sun, it is just miserable. Turns out that between DAS, rider swaps, recovery and VIP tours, there was a steady stream of people coming through the Fastpass line and it was just like having Fastpasses except the regular line started all the way down by Rosies. All the negatives I have seen others post was true for our trip. We still managed to have fun and a great bonding time but we both also agreed that we are done with summer trips (we normally go every summer at least once). The weather didn't help with thunderstorms every afternoon that lingered much longer than normal. Our last day was the first day that masks were required indoors and from what we saw, compliance was excellent. On the way home yesterday, DD developed a sore throat so we are quarantining until we can get rapid tests tomorrow. She actually thinks it feels like strep but we have to have the Covid test first before they will do the strep test. I have been such a Disney apologist during Covid talking about how well they were working to keep people safe with distancing, etc. That has all vanished at this point and along with it, some of the magic that we are used to experiencing.


----------



## 123SA

Please don't stop posting cakebaker.  I find both positive reviews and negative but honest reviews useful.  Thank you for answering my question about restrooms.


----------



## Chaitali

We’re here now!  I’ve been reading this thread and it’s been helpful to set my expectations so wanted to share our experience too.  We had Animal Kingdom planned today since it was the day we were flying in and wanted to keep things flexible.  Landed at the airport at 8:30am and was at the Swan by 9:45.  We took a lyft to the hotel.

Our room wasn’t ready which we had expected so we had them hold Our bags and took our day bag to the park. We took the bus and got to Animal Kingdom around 10:15. We walked leisurely to Nomad Lounge with some photo pass photos on the way. There we’re two parties ahead of us when we got there at 10:40 and they started letting us in at 10:50.

after Nomad, we walked to see the gorillas and then caught the 12:30 lion king show.  We got there at 12:15 and there were plenty of seats.  We got the text that our room was ready during the show.  We hit its tough to be a bug on our way out and went to nap.

Back to Animal Kingdom around 4 and we did Dinosaur with a 7 minute wait, and Everest with a 15 minute wait.  We decided to skip the Safari due to the heat and got snacks and cold drinks in Pandora.  Then we did Navi River with a 20 minute wait.  We got into line for FoP about 20 minutes before closing.  The ride seemed to be having problems because we had to wait in that room where they check your DNA for quite a while.  And then when we got on our bikes there was a delay again.  But we enjoyed the ride.  I was exhausted after that so we got a lyft back to the hotel and just got some food from the little cafeteria to eat in the room.

General notes, lines weren’t too bad and they were consistently under the posted time.  but the heat really sapped my energy.  They were asking people to wear masks once you entered the main part of the line, and that included outdoor lines.  We mobile ordered from Satuli Canteen in the evening and it went really smoothly.  Tomorrow’s Magic Kingdom!


----------



## preemiemama

cakebaker said:


> For the most part, our experiences and overall feeling are on par with yours.


Sounds much like ours as well.  Hard to convey the full feeling of it, I know.  It's just not the same...

For the food, have you tried ABC Commissary or Woody's at DHS?  We had good luck with the F&W booths and those 2 QS.  The shrimp tacos were decent enough we thought.  Not spectacular, but better than what you described at MK!


----------



## cakebaker

preemiemama said:


> Sounds much like ours as well.  Hard to convey the full feeling of it, I know.  It's just not the same...
> 
> For the food, have you tried ABC Commissary or Woody's at DHS?  We had good luck with the F&W booths and those 2 QS.  The shrimp tacos were decent enough we thought.  Not spectacular, but better than what you described at MK!


We plan on  Woodys tomorrow and we enjoyed several things at the F&W festival but the MK has just been awful.


----------



## cakebaker

123SA said:


> Please don't stop posting cakebaker.  I find both positive reviews and negative but honest reviews useful.  Thank you for answering my question about restrooms.


I’ve been around a while, I’m use to the trolls, but thanks for the kind words!


----------



## preemiemama

cakebaker said:


> We plan on  Woodys tomorrow and we enjoyed several things at the F&W festival but the MK has just been awful.


The lunchbox tarts are so worth it- especially if they are the blueberry ones.  Raspberry wasn't as good, but still worth it.  Haven't tried the hazelnut.


----------



## disny_luvr

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom day 2.  Beautiful morning
> 
> Immediately got on a bus at 8 AM. (because we saw the bus and ran ) We will see how MK is implementing their mask policy versus Hollywood studios.  Hopefully it is implemented as straightforward as it was at HS, which was very easy to understand.
> 
> Thru tapstiles at 8:17am.
> Family overruled me and we are doing 7DMT at rope drop.  . Maybe 100 people in front of us waiting for 7DMT. They did an initial movement around 8:55am to move the crowd forward, then one minute before 9 AM they let everyone back.  OK make that 300 people my initial estimate was way off. . It was fairly orderly but a brisk walk. We are circled back around 7DMT about 100 feet past the tea cups.  9:10 AM and through the official Marquee. Masks must start past that point. On 7DMT at 9:30 AM
> 
> If these gems were real I would say that this might possibly, just about, cover the cost of this trip, maybe:
> View attachment 593497
> 
> Heading towards Ariel, and then maybe HM and Pirates . Don’t want to get stuck in a long line for a headliner at this point.
> 
> 9:38 AM. Ariel. Posted five minutes.  Walked on.
> 
> 9:58 AM. Haunted Mansion.  Posted 15 minutes.  On in 14 minutes .  Line is way shorter than the other day when it took us a long 48 minutes.  Nothing was said about putting your mask on as we went under the marquee.  I would say about half of the people are masked up in this outdoor Part of the queue.  Officially told to put masks on just before entering the indoors for HM
> 
> 10:33 AM. Pirates. Posted 45 minutes. On in 15.  Masks are required as soon as you enter the marquee.
> View attachment 593518
> We are starting to be able to gauge wait times by the length of the lines.
> 
> stopped for some candied almonds.
> 
> 11:15 AM Aladdin Carpets.  Posted 25 minutes.  On in 20 minutes.  It’s hot out here.  This was my son‘s favorite ride the first time we came to Disney when he was 3 years old. Reason why? We scared the poo out of him with Splash Mountain earlier in the day, our first full day.  He definitely did not like the unexpected drop.  Lesson learned.  He liked that he could see the whole ride at once, i.e. no surprises.
> View attachment 593525
> 
> 11:42 AM. Swiss family treehouse… because we like climbing trees when it’s a bazillion degrees out, but hey, no line.
> View attachment 593527
> 
> 11:55 AM. Checking in for our Jungle skipper canteen lunch.  First time eating here and we all loved it. We will do this again on our final MK day.
> View attachment 593538
> 
> VERY happy with how things went this morning. We learned that at Magic Kingdom we cannot do two major headliners in a row at rope drop and be very efficient. By the time you get on your second headliner the line is already long and it works so much better for us to do secondary attractions instead. (If you consider pirates and HM secondary.  It’s almost sacrilege state it that way.). Happy with six attractions in three hours though.
> 
> 1:15 PM and heading back to the boardwalk to rest/swim.  Did I say it’s hot today?  Feeling the sun more today than others for some reason.
> 
> 4:38 I’m up. Nobody else is. One of the side effects of having to get up so dang early every day to make things work.
> 
> Heading back to MK for a 6 pm ADR at the Plaza.  I feel like we ate, came back to the resort, and now right back to eating.  I guess that’s pretty accurate though.   It might seem like we are eating a ton but we really can’t eat high volumes of food.  We split meals at lunch today for instance.  It’s great trying so many new locations though.
> 
> 5:55 PM. At The Plaza Solid diner food.
> 
> 7:05 PM. Winnie the Pooh. Posted 35 minutes.  Waited 22 minutes
> 
> 7:47. People mover.  Posted 30 minutes.  On in 17 minutes
> 
> 8:18 PM. Buzz light year. Posted 20 minutes. On in 24 minutes.  My son and I rocked this one, but I confess, only because the cars got stopped for a while so we got to keep shooting targets.
> View attachment 593614
> 9:00 PM. It’s a small world. Posted.20 minutes. Walked on
> View attachment 593613
> Since we watched HEA our first day here, our goal is to ride buzz, , BTMR and Splash before close.
> 
> 9:26 PM BTMR posted 25 minutes. Walked on.  HEA fireworks going off while on the ride. Magical!
> 
> 9:35 PM Splash. Posted 50 minutes.  On in 8 minutes
> View attachment 593623
> 
> Rushed over and barely made it in time to get some dole whips. Finishing off the night.
> 
> Tiring but successful day
> 
> Tomorrow: Epcot day and transfer to the Polynesian
> 
> -Dan



It sounds like another great day! We arrive tomorrow and plan on watching HEA on Wednesday night so the other nights we are in the MK we can ride rides during HEA. Thanks for the tip on only riding one headliner and then focusing on other non-headliner rides. We might try that.


----------



## DL1WDW2

I agree about Appreciating live updates for recent visits and future planning… I get very frustrated with people that give answers like 2 years ago when I went … It is so different now and changes day by day…

Currently the one thing that upsets me the most is No trams in the parking lots and no boat transportation at Disney Springs for resort guests…


----------



## cdurham1

DisneyFive said:


> This is exactly one of the things that I will be saying when I summarize our stay. The way things are now, without Fastpass, Disney is like any other Six Flags or Cedar Fair amusement park.  The way Disney has their park set up right now, it is going to drive people to try Universal, Seaworld and Busch Gardens.
> 
> Dan



Totally agree with you guys on this.  Today was the first day I have been to Universal since I was a kid.  Islands of Adventure was pretty awesome.   My 19 and 10 year old daughters had a great time.  We have been in the Disney World for the previous 4 days.  Today was a big eye opener.  Universal is just currently doing things way better than Disney.  The customer experience is 10 times better.


----------



## DisneyFive

Our last 9 full days of live updates if this helps consolidate things :
Hollywood Studios  July 26 2021
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63212779Magic Kingdom July 27 2021
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63216057Epcot July 28 2021
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63220345Animal Kingdom  July 29 2021
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63223333Hollywood Studios July 30 2021
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63226731Magic Kingdom  July 31 2021
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63230282Epcot and Boardwalk to Polynesian Transfer August 1 2021
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63232947Hollywood Studios August 2 2021
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63235016Magic Kingdom August 3rd 2021
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63238702-Dan


----------



## asumom

cakebaker said:


> We plan on  Woodys tomorrow and we enjoyed several things at the F&W festival but the MK has just been awful.


Sleepy Hollow is good, nutella and fruit waffle and spicy chicken waffle, also Pecos bills. That's about it imho.


----------



## Lsdolphin

cakebaker said:


> We plan on  Woodys tomorrow and we enjoyed several things at the F&W festival but the MK has just been awful.



I was also disappointed in food offered at MK except the waffle with fruit and Nutella was wonderful at Sleepy Hollow and of course dole whips!


----------



## hsmamainva

preemiemama said:


> The lunchbox tarts are so worth it- especially if they are the blueberry ones.  Raspberry wasn't as good, but still worth it.  Haven't tried the hazelnut.



We didn’t care for the tart but the tater tots with chili and cheese were awesome!!  The grilled cheese was fabulous too!


----------



## hsmamainva

Lsdolphin said:


> I was also disappointed in food offered at MK except the waffle with fruit and Nutella was wonderful at Sleepy Hollow and of course dole whips!



I agree!  The spring roll cart at the entrance to Adventureland was our favorite place in MK when we were there in May. Love the cheeseburger rolls. They have Buffalo chicken ones now too. YUM.


----------



## cakebaker

Looks like rather than a lazy morning, we’ll be headed to HS early this morning. Got boarding group 3! This will be our second time to ride.


----------



## cakebaker

hsmamainva said:


> I agree!  The spring roll cart at the entrance to Adventureland was our favorite place in MK when we were there in May. Love the cheeseburger rolls. They have Buffalo chicken ones now too. YUM.


I had forgotten we got the cheeseburger spring rolls. They were delicious and as good as ever- the 1 bright spot in MK food.

Today we’re going to Epcot when we hop this afternoon. Food from the festival  has been consistently good but we’re trying the bbq from Regal Eagle for the first time. Fingers crossed!


----------



## Southernmiss

I had a delicious salad at Cosmic Ray's in June. Our party all thought counter service food was much improved this trip at all parks since our trip 5 years ago.

My group of young adults still talks about Satuli  Canteen bowls and bao buns and the ribs and salad at Docking Bay.  I did not care for my chicken and macaroni and cheese at the Docking Bay, but that's my only complaint. Even my pizza and salad a Pizza Rizzos was good.


----------



## lovethattink

cakebaker said:


> We plan on  Woodys tomorrow and we enjoyed several things at the F&W festival but the MK has just been awful.



I agree, we’ve been skipping eating at MK and either eating at home before or after or grabbing a bite along the drive to or from home. We’ve been snacking at MK. The coconut Dole whip is so good if they still have that flavor.

Agree F&W has some really good




DL1WDW2 said:


> I agree about Appreciating live updates for recent visits and future planning… I get very frustrated with people that give answers like 2 years ago when I went … It is so different now and changes day by day…
> 
> Currently the one thing that upsets me the most is No trams in the parking lots and no boat transportation at Disney Springs for resort guests…



The trams are very missed!! Been walking 5 to 10 miles each Disney visit.


----------



## cakebaker

The big question for us today is whether the fireworks show at HS ( yes, I know it’s mostly projection based) is actually reopening today. The website says it begins today, but it’s not on the schedule and it says no showtimes today.

The front desk has no information on it and we’re going to be so irked if it doesn’t...it’s why we extended our stay by 2 days and moved to the Beach Club.

Guess we’ll find out when we get to HS this morning.:/


----------



## cakebaker

lovethattink said:


> The coconut Dole whip is so good if they still have that flavor



It is still available and agree it was really good!


----------



## Lsdolphin

cakebaker said:


> I had forgotten we got the cheeseburger spring rolls. They were delicious and as good as ever- the 1 bright spot in MK food.
> 
> Today we’re going to Epcot when we hop this afternoon. Food from the festival  has been consistently good but we’re trying the bbq from Regal Eagle for the first time. Fingers crossed!





cakebaker said:


> The big question for us today is whether the fireworks show at HS ( yes, I know it’s mostly projection based) is actually reopening today. The website says it begins today, but it’s not on the schedule and it says no showtimes today.
> 
> The front desk has no information on it and we’re going to be so irked if it doesn’t...it’s why we extended our stay by 2 days and moved to the Beach Club.
> 
> Guess we’ll find out when we get to HS this morning.:/



Just FYI...the Backlot Express actually has a great Cuban Sandwich and the Wookie Cookie and you can fill your own drinks.


----------



## chad_1138

Lsdolphin said:


> Just FYI...the Backlot Express actually has a great Cuban Sandwich and the Wookie Cookie and you can fill your own drinks.


Don’t forget the Paint Can Cake!!!!


----------



## kylenne

cakebaker said:


> I had forgotten we got the cheeseburger spring rolls. They were delicious and as good as ever- the 1 bright spot in MK food.
> 
> Today we’re going to Epcot when we hop this afternoon. Food from the festival  has been consistently good but we’re trying the bbq from Regal Eagle for the first time. Fingers crossed!



Regal Eagle was really good when I tried it on my last trip…one of the better QS meals I had.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Lsdolphin said:


> Just FYI...the Backlot Express actually has a great Cuban Sandwich and the Wookie Cookie and you can fill your own drinks.


Yes!  Backlot Express was surprisingly good.  We went in with low expectations but ended up enjoying the Cuban and the southwest salad.


----------



## luv2cheer92

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Yes!  Backlot Express was surprisingly good.  We went in with low expectations but ended up enjoying the Cuban and the southwest salad.


That southwest salad is great! So many really great options at HS for QS.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Pinkgirl0814 said:


> Can you explain more about the blue umbrellas? Do you mean you can get the DAS passes issued for the trip at one of these locations? Or can you get a return time for any ride at one of the blue umbrellas? Example: if you are at an umbrella by Splash but can get a return time for Space mountain without walking over to the actual ride?



When it comes to the "Blue Umbrellas" and DAS:

--The Guest Experience Blue Umbrella can set a DAS return time for you for any ride. These are dedicated CMs in spots like right outside Galaxy's Edge by the Muppets in DHS in addition to the Guest Services at the front of the park. They are there to help with all kinds of issues you would go to Guest Services about (for example: you get a RISE boarding group, but realize that one of your friends isn't connected on MDE)

--The person assigning return times for DAS at an attraction can typically only do that particular ride.


----------



## mrd7896

cdurham1 said:


> Totally agree with you guys on this.  Today was the first day I have been to Universal since I was a kid.  Islands of Adventure was pretty awesome.   My 19 and 10 year old daughters had a great time.  We have been in the Disney World for the previous 4 days.  Today was a big eye opener.  Universal is just currently doing things way better than Disney.  The customer experience is 10 times better.



Slightly off topic but in case people weren’t aware, when COVID hit, the way Universal went about their employees was SO MUCH better than Disney. So when it was time to call employees back, universal didn’t struggle nearly as much which i would say is pretty evident. I’m sure everyone can make their own opinions of the CMs at Disney vs. Universal right now and I’m also sure there will always be exceptionally good and bad instances with CMs but food for thought


----------



## DisneyFive

Epcot and transfer day today! ( Boardwalk to Polynesian)

Gorgeous morning.

Checkout is at 11am and we have an 11:35am Beaches&Cream ADR.  So we plan to pack up, take bags to bell services at 11 to transfer to the Poly  then walk to the Beach club for our B&C ADR.

Update: A word of warning at Beaches and cream, be prepared.  . The desserts are huge! Even with splitting our lunches, each dessert could probably have filled us up by itself, excellent though. We will be back!  If you see a group of five people walking very slowly to Epcot, you’ll know why.  They should provide a cot for a nap along with your dessert


Can’t say enough great things about the Boardwalk. Also, this was our first time staying deluxe.  I under appreciated just how awesome it is to be able to walk to Epcot and be in such close proximity to Hollywood studios.

Primary goal at Epcot is to ride TT at some point plus some of the secondary attractions, and to explore some of the countries that we’ve missed so far.  We are not rope dropping EP.  We love our Epcot days to truly sleep in

Super excited to stay at the Poly, our first time!  We’re in a lake view deluxe studio.  Loving that the Epcot monorail loop opened up just before our stay!

1:30pm It’s hot, like nuclear hot.  Full sun right now outside.  Seas with Nemo.  Posted 15 minutes.  Walked on.

2:20 PM. We were going to ride TT but impending weather has it shut down so we are going to check into the Poly and get things settled over there and then return later.

4:20 PM all unpacked and chilling at the Polynesian. Love our lake view! Could easily enjoy HEA from our balcony. Heading back to Epcot soon

5:22 PM heading back to Epcot. TT is first priority

6:00 PM TT and rain are not cooperating for us today. We tried earlier for TT and it rained, and as soon as we were walking towards TT just now it started raining again so it has been down. We are headed towards frozen.  Got to frozen and that line is too long and it is too hot and muggy outside to stand in that line. Moving on to explore countries

wandered around the rest of the countries for the remainder of the evening, eating small bites as we went. Heading over to test track around 8:30 PM.

8:42pm decided to do TT single rider since the standby line was so long. On in 10 minutes.  It was great because three of our family got to be together in one row and the other two were in another car in the same row. That was an unexpected surprise but worked out great.

9:15 PM Soarin. Posted 10 minutes.  On in 6 minutes.  Requested middle seats and were granted that request. We were top row as well also which is our favorite.  Perfect way to end our last time on soarin this trip


Goodbye Epcot. Until next time


9:50pm Heading back to the Polynesian to explore the resort a little bit and maybe some pool time and especially adult drinks 

Tomorrow HS

-Dan


----------



## erin1715

Can someone point me in the right direction about how to get a great boarding group for RoTR??


----------



## harleyquinn

erin1715 said:


> Can someone point me in the right direction about how to get a great boarding group for RoTR??


Dis ROTR thread


----------



## luv2cheer92

erin1715 said:


> Can someone point me in the right direction about how to get a great boarding group for RoTR??


There's an entire thread on it in the Galaxy's Edge sub-forum. My phone's being a little wonky right now or I'd link it. But it is pinned at the top.


----------



## cakebaker

chad_1138 said:


> Don’t forget the Paint Can Cake!!!!


It opens at 11, should time perfect with us leaving HS this morning. Just finished ROTR and have 2 more rides with recovery passes. The paint can cake looks fun!


----------



## cakebaker

Fireworks at HS will return tonight. They finally updated the app. That’s a huge relief! I’m guessing it’s going to be very crowded at HS this evening.


----------



## 2xcited2sleep

When I was there last week, it seemed that all indoor restaurants had gone back to pre-pandemic operations in terms of seating every table and/or distance (or lack thereof) between tables.  Is that still the case or has the transition back to indoor masking requirements changed anything?  I'm guessing not as most were likely already fully booked with reservations they need to accommodate but am curious.


----------



## heathsf

cakebaker said:


> It opens at 11, should time perfect with us leaving HS this morning. Just finished ROTR and have 2 more rides with recovery passes. The paint can cake looks fun!


Thanks so much for the detailed reporting. What are “recovery passes”?


----------



## Makmak

heathsf said:


> Thanks so much for the detailed reporting. What are “recovery passes”?


If a ride breaks down they give you a fast pass sort of thing to use later. Or sometimes it’s given out to someone due to another issue


----------



## jujubiee4

cakebaker said:


> Not sure why, but whatever. I don’t have to pretend things are perfect in order to have an enjoyable time. I’m brutally honest about the good and the bad.
> 
> The fact is, the food has been lousy. The alcohol has been excellent. I think I’ve figured out what Disney is doing there.


Keep posting your experiences. I like to hear the good and bad.  No place is all perfect and no place is 
all bad. Everyone makes up their own mind anyway.


----------



## notatallmagic

cakebaker said:


> I had forgotten we got the cheeseburger spring rolls. They were delicious and as good as ever- the 1 bright spot in MK food.
> 
> Today we’re going to Epcot when we hop this afternoon. Food from the festival  has been consistently good but we’re trying the bbq from Regal Eagle for the first time. Fingers crossed!



We enjoy Regal Eagle so much!  And the salad they have is so unique, but one of my favorite things in the parks!  Hope you have a great experience!


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

cakebaker said:


> Not sure why, but whatever. I don’t have to pretend things are perfect in order to have an enjoyable time. I’m brutally honest about the good and the bad.
> 
> The fact is, the food has been lousy. The alcohol has been excellent. I think I’ve figured out what Disney is doing there.


I for one want to say I’ve greatly appreciated cakebaker’s posts. They’ve helped informed our recent trip. We just got back and made it resort only. We had a great time and I concur with this. The food was fine. I finally got to get a Nautilius drink at Trader Sam’s and those were to of the most generous pours I’ve ever had (they served it in two separate plastic cups).


----------



## jujubiee4

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> I for one want to say I’ve greatly appreciated cakebaker’s posts. They’ve helped informed our recent trip. We just got back and made it resort only. We had a great time and I concur with this. The food was fine. I finally got to get a Nautilius drink at Trader Sam’s and those were to of the most generous pours I’ve ever had (they served it in two separate plastic cups).


Never had a resort only trip. Do you live locally?


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

jujubiee4 said:


> Never had a resort only trip. Do you live locally?


No. Visiting family that lives south of Ft. Myers for a few days, so had the ability to drive up early one day and got two full days here on one stay. It was great! Could enjoy the bubble without the parks and still able to reasonably social distance


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

For what it is worth-I am very happy for all reports from both WDW and UOR right now. Each has their own pros and their own cons right now. It is helping to set expectations for upcoming trips. So thank you to everyone who has posted and to all the CMs and TMs who may be on here who are doing their hardest to make each day a great one.

Everyone please stay safe and hydrated!


----------



## Gary Stocker

To add to these sentiments I am preparing my children for the August trip from hell (we leave Friday). While the weather will be literal hell on earth I feel if they go into this trip expecting the worst and things aren't too bad (somewhere between the most negative and most magical reports) then it will be considered a success. I know with the amount of dough it is costing that this shouldn't be an expectation but, hey, it is still a pandemic and if this past year has shown us anything it is the ability to push on amongst not so optimal circumstances.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Posts and posters are expected to comply with these guidelines at all times.

You may disagree with a poster’s viewpoint, and discuss the issue, but no name calling, being sarcastic or personal attacks.

It is often good advice if you see a thread or post which your are unhappy with to walk away and give yourself a time out. Alternatively use the report post button which will alert all the moderators and the webmasters to any post, where appropriate action if necessary will be taken. If you add a comment yourself you may also face infractions as per the guidelines.


----------



## Marvin1968

Gary Stocker said:


> To add to these sentiments I am preparing my children for the August trip from hell (we leave Friday). While the weather will be literal hell on earth I feel if they go into this trip expecting the worst and things aren't too bad (somewhere between the most negative and most magical reports) then it will be considered a success. I know with the amount of dough it is costing that this shouldn't be an expectation but, hey, it is still a pandemic and if this past year has shown us anything it is the ability to push on amongst not so optimal circumstances.


Same, we fly down Saturday.  My teens don’t understand how hot it’s going to be.  They started to pack black t-shirts. Lol


----------



## harleyquinn

Marvin1968 said:


> Same, we fly down Saturday.  My teens don’t understand how hot it’s going to be.  They started to pack black t-shirts. Lol


We fly Saturday too and you made me realize I have too many dark colored tanks packed! I made sure DD didn’t pack anything dark, but I just completely ignored that for myself!


----------



## WEDWDW

notatallmagic said:


> We enjoy Regal Eagle so much!  And the salad they have is so unique, but one of my favorite things in the parks!  Hope you have a great experience!


For whatever reason we hadn't been to Regal Eagle since it opened until our recent trip-LOVED IT!

Agree about the Salad and really all the dishes we tried were A Plus!

GREAT atmosphere as well-really well themed(loved reading all the Posters) and we really enjoyed talking to many of the CPs working there.

I am easily "entertained" so I was really impressed with the Guest Sink right out there in the Restaurant!lol  

Definitely our new Epcot Go-To!


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

Pinkgirl0814 said:


> Can you explain more about the blue umbrellas? Do you mean you can get the DAS passes issued for the trip at one of these locations? Or can you get a return time for any ride at one of the blue umbrellas? Example: if you are at an umbrella by Splash but can get a return time for Space mountain without walking over to the actual ride?



Sure - the only place you can get a pass established for your trip is at Guest Relations at the entrance to each park. The blue Guest Experience umbrellas just allow you to get a return time reservation. I didn't see any at MK this trip, but spotted them at EPCOT and HS. I'm sure they're other places too, but didn't notice them.


----------



## rlk

We ate at Regal Eagle on two different days because we enjoyed the salad so much.


----------



## soniam

2xcited2sleep said:


> When I was there last week, it seemed that all indoor restaurants had gone back to pre-pandemic operations in terms of seating every table and/or distance (or lack thereof) between tables.  Is that still the case or has the transition back to indoor masking requirements changed anything?  I'm guessing not as most were likely already fully booked with reservations they need to accommodate but am curious.


We haven’t seen any empty tables between parties. Only empty tables were just empty due to no guest yet. We have been here since last Sunday and leaving today. So saw both no indoor masks and indoor masking. Tables may not have been as crammed together as before in some places though. They weren’t spaced out like last July or Thanksgiving.


----------



## DaniMoon

WEDWDW said:


> For whatever reason we hadn't been to Regal Eagle since it opened until our recent trip-LOVED IT!
> 
> Agree about the Salad and really all the dishes we tried were A Plus!
> 
> GREAT atmosphere as well-really well themed(loved reading all the Posters) and we really enjoyed talking to many of the CPs working there.
> 
> I am easily "entertained" so I was really impressed with the Guest Sink right out there in the Restaurant!lol
> 
> Definitely our new Epcot Go-To!



I'm going to add that to our list for our trip next week.


----------



## dancergirlsmom

Just returned from an 11 day trip last night.  Stayed the first 3 days at RP at Universal and the remainder of the time at Disney.  2 days YC then moved over to SSR for the remainder of the trip, This was my 5th trip since they reopened last July.  Most recently I was there in June and week before Easter.  Crowd level was much more like the Easter crowd level.  Busy!!  I visited all 4 parks at least twice.  My DD is a CM so I tended to go back to the parks in the evenings when she was working after a mid day break.  

HS - Seemed to be the busiest park by far.  I use the Lines App and rides were still showing close to an hour wait.  Did manage to get on Rise both times.  Once at the 7am drop the other at 1pm.  Went on a few more rides both visits but was really only there 1/2 days due to heat (most days with heat index were over 100), storms and wait times.  

MK - Had better luck here.  Rope dropped one of the days and had Dwarves, Splash, POC, HM, PP, BTMR and Philharmagic done within the first few hours.  Met my DD for lunch at Caseys then went on Buzz and headed out as it was getting busier.  Went a couple of nights, one to watch HEA which was wonderful to see again.  I had seen the fireworks many times but I always watch away from the crowds.  I was in the hub this time to see the projections which were beautiful but man were there a lot of people.  Went on BTMRR after the fireworks then headed to the bus stop around 10:15 and didn't have to wait too long but did have to stand.  Second evening I was there we just went on rides and watched the fireworks while on BTMRR.  We had stood in line for Space for way longer than I would normally wait but I was with DD and some of her friends and one of the friends mom so at least had some fun conversation.

AK - Went twice.  Once to rope drop FOP.  Caught the 6:30 bus from SSR and arrived just before 7.  One of the first at the turnstile and they let us in at 7.  Walked to the bridge going into Pandora and had to wait there.  Quite a few people passed me up which isn't surprising since I'm kind of a slow walker, but still not far from the rope.  At 7:30 the CM's started slow walking us back to the area to get in line.  Not long after that the line started moving and filling in the stand by queue.  This was the first day for masks to have to be worn again.  We had to put our masks on as we entered the main queue area.  Was off FOP at 8:15 and headed to Safari.  Had about a 10 minute wait and saw the baby giraffe and hippopotamus.  After the Safari DD and I had breakfast at Tusker House which was good.  I just enjoyed walking the trails and went to see the bird show (1st time and really enjoyed it) the Lion King and caught the train to the Conservation Station (1st time for this too).  Headed out around 2.  I rode Everest and Dinosaur on a previous day so didn't
 wait for them this time.

Epcot - Spent a few evenings here.  Wait times were definitely lower here.  One evening I walked on Soarin, Figment, Nemo, and Spaceship Earth.  I walked over to Test Track which had been down for storms and must have just reopened.  I went through the single rider line and there was literally no one in line.  I could see people from the regular stand by line in the room where you make your car, but no one was beyond that.  When I turned the corner at the top where the cast members were there were two standing there just waiting.  There was a couple behind me and we each got our own car and off we went.  That will never happen again.  I did a lot of tasting at the Food & Wine booths and finally had school bread for the first time.  It was yummy!  The only ride I did not get on was Frozen which seemed to consistently have a 45 minute wait and I just couldn't be bothered to wait so gave it a pass.

All in all, it was a great trip.  Got to spend time with my DD and got to go to the parks solo which I enjoyed too.  I did a few things that I have never done before and am really glad that I did.  This trip was more about relaxing and taking things as they come.  I am lucky to be an AP holder and have already been a few times and have another 3 trips planned before the end of the year, so I don't need to do everything.  I work in education so going late July/early August is the norm for me.  I did find that it seemed much hotter this time and also seemed to rain more than in the past years.  It also seemed more crowded.  

One thing that I did notice that is happening again and didn't like, was that you don't have to use the mobile order for quick service.  All of the past visits in the last year we have used the mobile order and have not been able to get seated until our order was ready.  We always got a table without a problem.  Now that you can also stand in line again to order, it is very difficult to get a table.  People go in and order while the rest of their group go and get tables.  Those of us with food are wandering around aimlessly trying to find somewhere to eat.  This was very noticeable at Woody's lunch box where probably a good third or more of the tables had people sitting and not eating while those with food were trying to find somewhere to eat.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Count me as another person who loves Regal Eagle!! Even after living several years in Texas, that barbecue is good!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Is the salad people are discussing the one with the power greens, fresh fruit, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds?  If so, I'm glad so many people are raving about it as I'm not sure I would have tried it but it seems to be popular so I should give it a try!


----------



## Chaitali

Had a good morning at magic kingdom today.  We started with the Wave breakfast at California Grill at 7:30.  we took a lyft and the guard did check to make sure we had a reservation before letting us in. We were done at 8:30 and walked to the park.  They had already let people in so we didn’t have to wait in a mass of people.  We walked down main street and waited near the bunch heading to adventure land.  But again, toward the back so we weren’t in the mass.  

We did splash with an 18 minute wait, then big thunder with a 10 minute wait.  We went over to pirates after that and had a 15 minute wait.  We had been thinking of jungle cruise or haunted mansion afterward but lines were over 30 minutes.  So we did tiki room and the mobile ordered lunch at pecos bill.  

After that we did country bears and checked out some shops. We saw the Goofy cavalcade. Mobile ordered a Karamora float from Aloha Isle which was delicious!  We saw the Mickey cavalcade at some point.  We hit the shops on Main Street on our way out and saw the dapper dans.  We left around 1 to go back to the hotel for a nap and we’ll head back to the park around 5.

Our plan for the evening is hopefully tomorrow land, jungle cruise, haunted mansion, watch fireworks from fantasy land so we can hop on mine train afterward and hit Peter Pan on our way out of the park.  We’ll mobile order dinner at some point too.  If anyone has tips on a good spot in fantasyland for the fireworks, I’d love to hear it


----------



## smitty0705

scrappinginontario said:


> Is the salad people are discussing the one with the power greens, fresh fruit, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds?  If so, I'm glad so many people are raving about it as I'm not sure I would have tried it but it seems to be popular so I should give it a try!


Wondering the same! Will put RE on our list for sure but would love to know what the salad of choice is.


----------



## Turksmom

Chaitali said:


> If anyone has tips on a good spot in fantasyland for the fireworks, I’d love to hear it


You won't be able to see much of the projections, but we've watched from the area right outside of Big Top Souvenirs toward the little splash pad area


----------



## Chaitali

Turksmom said:


> You won't be able to see much of the projections, but we've watched from the area right outside of Big Top Souvenirs toward the little splash pad area


Thanks!  We’ve seen the show from Main Street before with the projections so we thought we’d try a different vantage point this time . We’re fine without the projections. And hopefully not as crowded back there plus good access to the rides afterward.  Is the music for the fireworks playing back there?


----------



## Loopster

Chaitali said:


> Thanks!  We’ve seen the show from Main Street before with the projections so we thought we’d try a different vantage point this time . We’re fine without the projections. And hopefully not as crowded back there plus good access to the rides afterward.  Is the music for the fireworks playing back there?


We've watched from behind the castle quite a bit. It’s great if you’re fine without projections and yes, the music is playing back there. I feel like you’re more immersed in the fireworks part of it over there too!


----------



## Chaitali

Loopster said:


> We've watched from behind the castle quite a bit. It’s great if you’re fine without projections and yes, the music is playing back there. I feel like you’re more immersed in the fireworks part of it over there too!


Perfect, thanks!


----------



## harleyquinn

I suggest timing things so that you are on Dumbo, BTMR, Splash, etc. any outdoor ride behind the castle will do. It sounds hard, but the show is long enough that it’s totally doable. It’s much more magical than standing in the hub with a billion hot sweaty people.


----------



## Loopster

harleyquinn said:


> I suggest timing things so that you are on Dumbo, BTMR, Splash, etc. any outdoor ride behind the castle will do. It sounds hard, but the show is long enough that it’s totally doable. It’s much more magical than standing in the hub with a billion hot sweaty people.



Agreed! We lucked out on Magic Carpets one year and were able to be on it during the finale. It was so great!


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Loopster said:


> Agreed! We lucked out on Magic Carpets one year and were able to be on it during the finale. It was so great!



Don't forget about Astro Orbiter, too!


----------



## heathsf

dancergirlsmom said:


> Just returned from an 11 day trip last night.  Stayed the first 3 days at RP at Universal and the remainder of the time at Disney.  2 days YC then moved over to SSR for the remainder of the trip, This was my 5th trip since they reopened last July.  Most recently I was there in June and week before Easter.  Crowd level was much more like the Easter crowd level.  Busy!!  I visited all 4 parks at least twice.  My DD is a CM so I tended to go back to the parks in the evenings when she was working after a mid day break.
> 
> HS - Seemed to be the busiest park by far.  I use the Lines App and rides were still showing close to an hour wait.  Did manage to get on Rise both times.  Once at the 7am drop the other at 1pm.  Went on a few more rides both visits but was really only there 1/2 days due to heat (most days with heat index were over 100), storms and wait times.
> 
> MK - Had better luck here.  Rope dropped one of the days and had Dwarves, Splash, POC, HM, PP, BTMR and Philharmagic done within the first few hours.  Met my DD for lunch at Caseys then went on Buzz and headed out as it was getting busier.  Went a couple of nights, one to watch HEA which was wonderful to see again.  I had seen the fireworks many times but I always watch away from the crowds.  I was in the hub this time to see the projections which were beautiful but man were there a lot of people.  Went on BTMRR after the fireworks then headed to the bus stop around 10:15 and didn't have to wait too long but did have to stand.  Second evening I was there we just went on rides and watched the fireworks while on BTMRR.  We had stood in line for Space for way longer than I would normally wait but I was with DD and some of her friends and one of the friends mom so at least had some fun conversation.
> 
> AK - Went twice.  Once to rope drop FOP.  Caught the 6:30 bus from SSR and arrived just before 7.  One of the first at the turnstile and they let us in at 7.  Walked to the bridge going into Pandora and had to wait there.  Quite a few people passed me up which isn't surprising since I'm kind of a slow walker, but still not far from the rope.  At 7:30 the CM's started slow walking us back to the area to get in line.  Not long after that the line started moving and filling in the stand by queue.  This was the first day for masks to have to be worn again.  We had to put our masks on as we entered the main queue area.  Was off FOP at 8:15 and headed to Safari.  Had about a 10 minute wait and saw the baby giraffe and hippopotamus.  After the Safari DD and I had breakfast at Tusker House which was good.  I just enjoyed walking the trails and went to see the bird show (1st time and really enjoyed it) the Lion King and caught the train to the Conservation Station (1st time for this too).  Headed out around 2.  I rode Everest and Dinosaur on a previous day so didn't
> wait for them this time.
> 
> Epcot - Spent a few evenings here.  Wait times were definitely lower here.  One evening I walked on Soarin, Figment, Nemo, and Spaceship Earth.  I walked over to Test Track which had been down for storms and must have just reopened.  I went through the single rider line and there was literally no one in line.  I could see people from the regular stand by line in the room where you make your car, but no one was beyond that.  When I turned the corner at the top where the cast members were there were two standing there just waiting.  There was a couple behind me and we each got our own car and off we went.  That will never happen again.  I did a lot of tasting at the Food & Wine booths and finally had school bread for the first time.  It was yummy!  The only ride I did not get on was Frozen which seemed to consistently have a 45 minute wait and I just couldn't be bothered to wait so gave it a pass.
> 
> All in all, it was a great trip.  Got to spend time with my DD and got to go to the parks solo which I enjoyed too.  I did a few things that I have never done before and am really glad that I did.  This trip was more about relaxing and taking things as they come.  I am lucky to be an AP holder and have already been a few times and have another 3 trips planned before the end of the year, so I don't need to do everything.  I work in education so going late July/early August is the norm for me.  I did find that it seemed much hotter this time and also seemed to rain more than in the past years.  It also seemed more crowded.
> 
> One thing that I did notice that is happening again and didn't like, was that you don't have to use the mobile order for quick service.  All of the past visits in the last year we have used the mobile order and have not been able to get seated until our order was ready.  We always got a table without a problem.  Now that you can also stand in line again to order, it is very difficult to get a table.  People go in and order while the rest of their group go and get tables.  Those of us with food are wandering around aimlessly trying to find somewhere to eat.  This was very noticeable at Woody's lunch box where probably a good third or more of the tables had people sitting and not eating while those with food were trying to find somewhere to eat.


Thanks for your report. How were crowds at Conservation Station? Is that area indoors or outdoors?


----------



## Hopfather28

Headed there tomorrow. We're a little nervous about the crowds and the rising case count but we're determined to make the best of it and stay safe and distanced since it's not as though it's our once in a lifetime trip. I have a question regarding the arrival time text I just received. I'm DVC with check in at 4pm. In addition we are using Magical Express and my text said we had a 12am arrival for tomorrow. I never inpit this info and I can't edit it on MDE. Is this normal for Magical Express or maybe a DVC quirk? Not looking to call member services and wait 3 hours in the phone so I figured people who were still on there trip may be able to tell me recent experience.


----------



## FinallyFL

Hopfather28 said:


> I'm DVC with check in at 4pm. In addition we are using Magical Express and my text said we had a 12am arrival for tomorrow. I never inpit this info and I can't edit it on MDE. Is this normal for Magical Express or maybe a DVC quirk? Not looking to call member services and wait 3 hours in the phone so I figured people who were still on there trip may be able to tell me recent experience.


I had the same happen with my last few DVC arrivals. I did not use MDE for those trips. I typically arrive early afternoon so I definitely wouldn't have put down midnight as my arrival time.


----------



## CarolynFH

Hopfather28 said:


> Headed there tomorrow. We're a little nervous about the crowds and the rising case count but we're determined to make the best of it and stay safe and distanced since it's not as though it's our once in a lifetime trip. I have a question regarding the arrival time text I just received. I'm DVC with check in at 4pm. In addition we are using Magical Express and my text said we had a 12am arrival for tomorrow. I never inpit this info and I can't edit it on MDE. Is this normal for Magical Express or maybe a DVC quirk? Not looking to call member services and wait 3 hours in the phone so I figured people who were still on there trip may be able to tell me recent experience.


Someone on another DISboards forum just posted the same thing! They were able to confirm via Chat that it means nothing, is supposedly the default when no arrival time is entered. For what it’s worth, when we’ve been arriving via DME, we weren’t able to enter an arrival time, so maybe midnight is the default for that - the MDE server has to have that blank filled in!


----------



## harleyquinn

Hopfather28 said:


> Headed there tomorrow. We're a little nervous about the crowds and the rising case count but we're determined to make the best of it and stay safe and distanced since it's not as though it's our once in a lifetime trip. I have a question regarding the arrival time text I just received. I'm DVC with check in at 4pm. In addition we are using Magical Express and my text said we had a 12am arrival for tomorrow. I never inpit this info and I can't edit it on MDE. Is this normal for Magical Express or maybe a DVC quirk? Not looking to call member services and wait 3 hours in the phone so I figured people who were still on there trip may be able to tell me recent experience.


What time are you actually arriving? I wouldn’t worry about it. MDE will take you whenever you show up.


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## preemiemama

Hopfather28 said:


> Headed there tomorrow. We're a little nervous about the crowds and the rising case count but we're determined to make the best of it and stay safe and distanced since it's not as though it's our once in a lifetime trip. I have a question regarding the arrival time text I just received. I'm DVC with check in at 4pm. In addition we are using Magical Express and my text said we had a 12am arrival for tomorrow. I never inpit this info and I can't edit it on MDE. Is this normal for Magical Express or maybe a DVC quirk? Not looking to call member services and wait 3 hours in the phone so I figured people who were still on there trip may be able to tell me recent experience.


I think it is a default setting for either DVC or MDE (or both?).  Ours said the same thing and we weren't scheduled to arrive until late afternoon.  It didn't seem to affect anything for us.


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## MulanMom

Chaitali said:


> If anyone has tips on a good spot in fantasyland for the fireworks, I’d love to hear it



We enjoy watching from the walkway just outside the bridge to BOG.  Fireworks are both by the castle and behind.  Music is playing over the speakers.

Have fun!


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## Chaitali

MulanMom said:


> We enjoy watching from the walkway just outside the bridge to BOG.  Fireworks are both by the castle and behind.  Music is playing over the speakers.
> 
> Have fun!


 Thank you!


----------



## Pinkgirl0814

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> When it comes to the "Blue Umbrellas" and DAS:
> 
> --The Guest Experience Blue Umbrella can set a DAS return time for you for any ride. These are dedicated CMs in spots like right outside Galaxy's Edge by the Muppets in DHS in addition to the Guest Services at the front of the park. They are there to help with all kinds of issues you would go to Guest Services about (for example: you get a RISE boarding group, but realize that one of your friends isn't connected on MDE)
> 
> --The person assigning return times for DAS at an attraction can typically only do that particular ride.


Thank you so much for that information! We only ever got a return time for our DAS pass at the actual ride.  This is a great tip- thank you so much for sharing!!!


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## cdurham1

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/1-day-magic-kingdom-plans/
I was there the same morning as Tom and agree with his updated touring plan strategy for the most part.  Rope dropping Space Mountain was a failure for us.  The second morning we rope dropped BTM, which is a risk because it seems to be down at opening 25% of the time.  The wait time for Splash Mountain immediately seemed to skyrocket, much like our personal experience at Space Mountain. 

3 reasons I think it makes sense to RD BTM right now - 1.  The shade at Liberty Square entrance at the hub.  The first day we rope dropped Space Mountain the crowd at the Tomorrowland Bridge was intense and directly in the sun.  Sitting in the direct sun for 30 minutes in this heat and  a crowd is a terrible way to start the day.  2.  Because BTM is down so much at opening, relatively few people RD it thinking it is too big a risk, BUT 3. If it is down, you are close enough to correct your course upon finding out and reroute to PPF and HM, imo.


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## tinkerhon

cakebaker said:


> Fireworks at HS will return tonight. They finally updated the app. That’s a huge relief! I’m guessing it’s going to be very crowded at HS this evening.



Awesome !!! Is that the SW projections or fireworks ? (or both !!??).  ) 

Thanks !!!


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## SCDisneyfanatic

Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary.  If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced.  Can someone verify the validity of that?


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## luv2cheer92

tinkerhon said:


> Awesome !!! Is that the SW projections or fireworks ? (or both !!??).  )
> 
> Thanks !!!


Wonderful World of Animation projection show. What they used to show before the SW show.


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## rockpiece

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary.  If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced.  Can someone verify the validity of that?



How can they even enforce that with no masks required outside?


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## luv2cheer92

rockpiece said:


> How can they even enforce that with no masks required outside?


What they said is not correct.


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## jbrinkm

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary.  If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced.  Can someone verify the validity of that?



Everywhere, or just while in line? In line would make sense as per how it was before. I can't see how it would make any difference while people are walking around...


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## tinkerhon

luv2cheer92 said:


> Wonderful World of Animation projection show. What they used to show before the SW show.



Thanks !!!


----------



## rlk

We arrived home last night from our 11 nights/12 days at Disney that started with one night at BLT, 9 nights at Boardwalk, and back for two nights at BLT.  We made park reservations based on where we were staying so we could walk to our RD park most mornings. It made our trip less stressful, something that was helpful in the heat and crowded parks.  We experienced the parks without the mask mandate up until our last two days.  

There was a  noticeable difference in the crowd level and standby times in MK on 7/30.  We rope dropped and were able to ride BTMRR, Splash, Pirates, HM, and Winnie the Pooh by 10:05.  The crowds did seem to start rolling in as we were leaving close to 2 pm. I assumed it was a lot of park hoppers who can get in at 1:50 pm.

Like others have reported, mask compliance was not great in a lot of lines, better in some others.  As soon as people pass the first CM, off goes the mask or down it goes to their chin.  Mentally counting the noncompliant maskers was a way to pass the time in line. At Everest, where the CM asked everyone to mask while still in the outside line, I counted 40+ just within my line of vision.  

We experienced mostly happy helpful CMs.  The only bad interaction was on our DME bus from the airport.  Our driver who wore his mask under his chin didn't announce what hotels he was stopping at or what order.  we were happily surprised when we got dropped off first though. We did get some pixie dust from other CMs and that always helps you forget how hot and crowded it is. When I had to get help at Guest Services, the CM said he wanted to help us get 'time' back and gave us three multi-experiences (FPs) that we could use that day or the next day.

We ad a great CM at Boardwalk help us get our first ROTR boarding group.  He cheered and waived a little flag after my husband go it.  He was there a few days later on our second attempt and was helping other people try. Unfortunately, no one in the the Boardwalk lobby got a return time that morning.  We did secure another one on our third HS day.  

We saw some bad behavior including (posted this before)someone trying to light the candles on the railing outside the Kali exit and then proceeded to flip off the CM when she tried stopping him.  Several confrontations for not wanting to comply with the reinstated mask rule.  Luckily, those ended with gust masking to get on a ride.  I can only imagine those masks came down as soon as they were out of CMs eye sight. I commend the CMs for keeping their cool!

After our first day, I decided to cancel most of our ADRs since we were loving the freedom of no FPs, plus no advanced reservations. This doesn't mean I don't want FP to come back in whatever form.  We did not like the snaking lines because everyone was in one line instead of two. Between those lines and crowds of people having no where to go, it was difficult to walk around in some places.  HS and Pandora were by far the worst that we experienced. They had a CM acting as a crossing guard.  You had to wait until a crowd built up in order to cross the FOP line to exit the land.  

We did get our first upgrade at BLT from a studio to a one bedroom.  We enjoyed watching HEA from our balcony one night.  We really enjoyed being able to walk back to our resort after HEA  another night.  The HEA crowds on 7/30 seemed much larger than when we watched the prior week.  We thought that was odd since the crowds that morning seemed much lighter. Maybe because it rained for a few hours the evening before and people decided to wait until the next night. A MK photopass CM we spoke with the following morning said she felt like it was extremely busy that night too. 

This was our fist Food & Wine.  We liked almost everything we tried except theDonut Box chicken sandwich.  I know other people rave about it but it wasn't for us.  We  were happy that Tangerine Cafe was open and we enjoyed the kebobs and fresh bread with hummus. My husband enjoyed the roasted porchetta from the Saucy Swine.  France and Mexico seemed to always have lines for drinks, so we never waited.

Epcot during Food & Wine looks like it can compete with Nashville or Vegas for Bachelorette parties.  We didn't witness any poor behavior, just lots of groups celebrating and having a VERY good time.


----------



## ChinaDenver

cdurham1 said:


> Totally agree with you guys on this.  Today was the first day I have been to Universal since I was a kid.  Islands of Adventure was pretty awesome.   My 19 and 10 year old daughters had a great time.  We have been in the Disney World for the previous 4 days.  Today was a big eye opener.  Universal is just currently doing things way better than Disney.  The customer experience is 10 times better.



I haven't been to Universal for years but several friends also have stated Universal is beating Disney in terms of customer service, ride excitement, etc.  I think I may go and see if that is true!


----------



## cdurham1

ChinaDenver said:


> I haven't been to Universal for years but several friends also have stated Universal is beating Disney in terms of customer service, ride excitement, etc.  I think I may go and see if that is true!


The lighter crowds, along with having Express Pass, are probably the biggest 2 reasons the experience is so much better.  But, I hadn't gone in 25+ years because I had always bought the idea that their attractions were just not quite up to par and the place is just not quite as "magical."  Idk, after today and yesterday, I have to say that their attractions, queues, etc., are pretty darn awesome.  This might be a game changer for us.  Universal is probably on the agenda for every return trip from now on.


----------



## Pyotr

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary.  If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced.  Can someone verify the validity of that?


While inside………


----------



## notatallmagic

rlk said:


> We ate at Regal Eagle on two different days because we enjoyed the salad so much.



Yes, the salad has mixed greens, pulled chicken, fresh grapefruit and orange, cranberries...It's such a random selection of items, but it TOTALLY WORKS!  I don't know how to describe the dressing (maybe a very light citrus vinegrette?).

I've ordered both the adult portion (very nice size) and the kids portion, which comes with two sides.  The sides at Regal Eagle are awesome - I love watermelon; they also have the standard fries, onion rings, mac and chese, baked beans, and cucumbers.  I ordered the kids portion salad with the watermelon and cucumbers, and it was a super light, fresh meal.  Hope you all enjoy!


----------



## Mango7100

MulanMom said:


> We enjoy watching from the walkway just outside the bridge to BOG.  Fireworks are both by the castle and behind.  Music is playing over the speakers.
> 
> Have fun!


We watched from there a few weeks ago and it was wonderful. Walked up about 2 minute before the show any maybe 10 people around. Then we could go to a ride right away after it was over and not be in a mob of people…


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## cdurham1

At US, just walked thru the line at Minions listening to the parkwide announcement from the lady with the fake British accent telling people they encourage you to wear masks and stay 6 feet apart.  Then got inside Minions with the cast member telling everyone to squeeze all the way in and together...  strange times...


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## Lilysmom

We’re here now. We were down in May for a long weekend and the trip was enjoyable so we proceeded with this ten day trip. Doing a split stay at BLT and GF. Honestly I can’t wait to go home and that’s never my Disney attitude. They increased capacity WAY to quickly with lots of the people eater attractions still closed and zero FP. We’ve experienced waits of over 100 minutes several times this week at all of the parks (and we’re rope droppers so not waiting until midday to hit the parks.) The parks are packed. CMs are short staffed. Garbage cans are overflowing. Last night in the Splash Mountain queue one corner had literally become a trash heap of water bottles and cups. Dozens of them so you could tell it hadn’t been addressed all day. I counted yesterday in MK because I felt like every single hand sanitizing station was empty. We hit 16 empty ones before the 17th try being full. Back in May they were all over the place, all full and they had actual hand washing stations at some parks. Dining is packed. Mobile ordering has been a life saver but my preference wouldn’t be 2-3 quick service meals a day. (We did have some sit down reservations that I was able to secure before leaving but it was difficult even at 60 days out.) I mentioned my concerns to guest services and they agreed but there is literally nothing they can do. We’ve been coming here for thirty years often multiple times a year and this trip just ended up being a huge waste and all around bummer no matter how we tried to adjust expectations. Scrapped our last park day today snd just hanging at the Grand. We decided we won’t be back until things are addressed and operating differently.


----------



## Lilysmom

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary.  If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced.  Can someone verify the validity of that?


There are signs all over that state that. It isn’t being followed nor enforced from my experience these past few days


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## Donald Duck Family

Lilysmom said:


> There are signs all over that state that. It isn’t being followed nor enforced from my experience these past few days


I am at MK right now and have seen no signs stating that.  The only time I have heard it announced that you could not eat or drink was while standing in line (where masks are required).


----------



## soniam

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary.  If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced.  Can someone verify the validity of that?


You can’t eat or drink in line and in shops when masks are required. We walked outside eating and drinking all weekend.


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## DaniMoon

Donald Duck Family said:


> I am at MK right now and have seen no signs stating that.  The only time I have heard it announced that you could not eat or drink was while standing in line (where masks are required).





soniam said:


> You can’t eat or drink in line and in shops when masks are required. We walked outside eating and drinking all weekend.



This is really the only thing that makes sense in regards to stationary eating with no masking outdoors.   Thanks for confirming.


----------



## bravenyc

mrd7896 said:


> Slightly off topic but in case people weren’t aware, when COVID hit, the way Universal went about their employees was SO MUCH better than Disney. So when it was time to call employees back, universal didn’t struggle nearly as much which i would say is pretty evident. I’m sure everyone can make their own opinions of the CMs at Disney vs. Universal right now and I’m also sure there will always be exceptionally good and bad instances with CMs but food for thought


Really, I have hears that Universal is also really struggling with staffing and that is why lines for food are so long.


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## Ricguz

Mousefan mom said:


> This was the worst Disney experience we have ever had.  We come every year, spend thousands of dollars on Disney vacations--and this one was so disappointing.  I've never been disappointed at Disney or wanted to leave early (we checked out early).
> 
> The crowds and lines were things that compared with Christmas or Spring break/Easter.  Expect to wait a good hour for anything.  Philharmagic was even a 30 minute wait.  I have never in my life seen the parks like this in July.  Yes,  you expect heat in July, but what you aren't used to is an hour long wait in the blazing sun before you even enter the indoor que...and no, the reason the line for Big Thunder is all the way back at the Shooting arcade isn't because of social distancing (you are jam packed with people in lines, just walking through the parks--wall to wall), it is literally that long (and this was at 8pm in the evening when you might anticipate crowds to be thinning).  There was a Cast member holding a "the line starts here" sign just to get into the Confectionery.  Lines for all the snacks, etc.  The theme here is an hour line for everything so choose your time/heat tolerance energy well.  If you expect the lines to move quicker because there is no Fast Pass, I assure you its still the same capacity of guests going to rides--just all in one line.  It doesn't move quicker and Disney clearly has increased capacity this month (during our stay Hollywood and MK both reached the maximum capacity).
> 
> Hollywood, we got up at 6:45 AM, three of us trying to get a boarding group for Rise, and constantly refreshing.  We were in the lobby at BW so the Cast Member could assist us, out of 5 families, only 1 got a board group.  We decided to try for the 1.  Even at rope drop, you waited in a sweaty long in the sun line before you could go get in the line at 8:30 for the rides--the people going to Toy Story land, may be the force be with them...there lines were astronomical (we sadly didn't even make it into Toy Story land this trip).  There was at least an hour for every ride in Hollywood that day--we didn't get the 1pm and promptly headed back to our room to cool down.  We were told later by another guest at the pool the ride was down for hours so they just didn't do 1pm boarding groups so they could just try to get all the morning groups on when it loaded.  All the parks were similarly packed...
> 
> Lines for Food and Wine booths at Epcot on our last night, also so very long--made you rethink getting anything.   You just couldn't escape the lines no matter what park/time of day, etc.  We tried rope drop, mid day, during rain, close...all with limited success.
> 
> Mousekeeping--non existent.  There were 5 of us at the BW, we got 5 towels, meant to last us and 1 bottle each of toiletry.  I had to call to get more, call daily to get the overflowing trash emptied, etc.  No one makes the beds or any tidying of the room.  I knew it would be less--but I paid $500 a night for this?
> 
> We noticed little things like the landscape not as trimmed as it would expect at the quiet pools (first world problem for sure, but its just not the Disney difference), chairs would be scattered or in disarray and no one was tidying them, wet towels on the ground that a guest left that morning, still there that evening when we went for a night time swim.  Mosquitoes seem to be worse--not sure if they have cut back on pest control--but I got several mosquito bites this trip near the pool (we spent a lot of time in the quiet pool to escape the crowds and lines) and I've never gotten bug bites at Disney.
> 
> Park reservation system is absolutely awful and IMO contributing to the massive crowd swells.  Many people won't park hop (and honestly it doesn't make much sense, and like many things at Disney right now you are are paying way more than the value you are getting back) so they stay in all day...Magic Kingdom and Hollywood are consistently the two most stressful and no shows, character meets, etc. to absorb the crowds.
> 
> By day 4 we were so done, we only rode one ride.  This trip we did less than we have ever done at Disney--we rode no mountains, we left feeling so sad that this is what the pandemic has done to the place we love so much.  This was not an uplifting trip--if you are on the fence, I wouldn't recommend going to anyone right now.  We spoke to so many Disney vets while there who said the same....I'm sorry.
> 
> The good--it does appear the college program has just started back up and the cast members were enthusiastic, wonderful and about the only aspect of the "Disney Difference" we experienced this week....


I’m so sorry about the experience you had.  I have been telling everyone that since the pandemic the experience is not the same. You are paying premium pricing for less of an experience. Especially those who are Disney Veterans that know how magical Disney can be with all the venues open, parades, concerts, food etc….  The guests who have never experienced Disney at its best, I understand that they want to get away, but this is not the time to get the Disney experience. The magic is not there.  Don’t pay premium prices for a lesser product.  Be patient.


----------



## Lilysmom

I was there yesterday and there are definitely multiple signs especially at attraction queues that state you can only eat and drink when stationary


----------



## luv2cheer92

Lilysmom said:


> I was there yesterday and there are definitely multiple signs especially at attraction queues


Yes, attraction queues absolutely. That is well established. There is no rule about walking around and eating or drinking.


----------



## sticker231

Mask enforcement is inconsistent also. As long as you have them on when you enter the line and as you board, nothing is said. Unfortunately, a decent amount of people are taking them off right after they enter the line and place them back on as the boarding cast member is in sight. There should be a CM midway enforcing the mask rule. I’ve noticed several overflowing trash cans also. Very different situation from our trip in June. I feel bad for the CMs, they have their hands full.


----------



## cakebaker

Lilysmom said:


> I was there yesterday and there are definitely multiple signs especially at attraction queues that state you can only eat and drink when stationary


Eating and drinking are never allowed in the indoor queues. Has not much to do with the new policy. I’ve seen nothing about having to be stationary to eat or drink outdoors.


----------



## sticker231

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary.  If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced.  Can someone verify the validity of that?



Saw that also, but haven’t personally seen those signs in the parks.  Masks aren’t required outside, so this seems possible/likely.


cakebaker said:


> Eating and drinking are never allowed in the indoor queues. Has not much to do with the new policy. I’ve seen nothing about having to be stationary to eat or drink outdoors.



agree


----------



## rockpiece

cakebaker said:


> Eating and drinking are never allowed in the indoor queues. Has not much to do with the new policy. I’ve seen nothing about having to be stationary to eat or drink outdoors.


That’s not true, as long as you finish whatever you have by the last trash can before the actual attraction. I have grabbed a beer or drink and got in the line for Tower or test track numerous times and took it inside. Sucks you can’t drink in line anymore.


----------



## luv2cheer92

rockpiece said:


> That’s not true, as long as you finish whatever you have by the last trash can before the actual attraction. I have grabbed a beer or drink and got in the line for Tower or test track numerous times and took it inside. Sucks you can’t drink in line anymore.


Yea I very frequently went through lines with a drink in hand, no issues. Snacks too. CMs always just said to make sure I finished before getting on the ride, or if able put it away.


----------



## Lilysmom

luv2cheer92 said:


> Yes, attraction queues absolutely. That is well established. There is no rule about walking around and eating or drinking.


I never said there was a rule about eating or drinking outside. My exact words in response to this 


> Read on another site that WDW brought back eating and drinking only while stationary. If you can go maskless outside I'm not sure why that policy would be re-introduced. Can someone verify the validity of that?


Were
There are signs all over that state that. It isn’t being followed nor enforced from my experience these past few days

And it is not being enforced in indoor lines either t


----------



## luv2cheer92

Lilysmom said:


> I never said there was a rule about eating or drinking outside. My exact words in response to this
> 
> Were
> There are signs all over that state that. It isn’t being followed nor enforced from my experience these past few days
> 
> And it is not being enforced in indoor lines either t


The "signs all over" seemed to imply that they were more than just near attraction entrances/ride lines.


----------



## tinkerhon

ChinaDenver said:


> I haven't been to Universal for years but several friends also have stated Universal is beating Disney in terms of customer service, ride excitement, etc.  I think I may go and see if that is true!



I love Disney as much as the next person, but the customer service has become worse---   Every time I had to call them during my trip, the wait time was 2 hrs plus --  Tried to make miniature golf reservations--- 2 hr wait---   needed to cancel a same-day ADR when my son got sick--- 2 hrs wait---

The best was the night that I needed to reserve luggage assistance for our departure day-- went to the front desk at ASM---   really nice CM came to help me--- asked if we could check out a but later--- Noon-   12:15 PM - no problem---
Then asked for luggage assistance-   She told me "no problem, the desk is right outside of the doors--- the yellow desk--- just go tell them"--- 

Went to the desk, and was asked what I needed---   the CM told me to call them.   I said "I am right here, and was told just to come to the desk"---  was told again to call--- I asked when, and was told in the morning---  Following morning I called, and no one answered the phone--- when they finally did, was told that they didnt have any "available time slots" for a noon pickup---


----------



## luv2cheer92

Lilysmom said:


> Ok you win. You’re exhausting


Lol ok, just trying to understand what you mean because it's very unclear. If its just signs by the attractions then thats obvious.


----------



## Chaitali

Had an interesting evening at Magic Kingdom.  We took the bus from the Swan to the TTC and then the ferry to the park.  I think we got there around 4:45 or so.  We did Carousel of Progress and then philharmagic. Then we saw it looked like it might rain in the evening so we put our name on the walk up list for Skippers Canteen with a 55 minute wait.

After that we did Peter Pan.  We got in line for haunted mansion but that was a fail . Touring plans thought it would be 25 minutes and posted wait was 40 minutes.  But we waited 40 minutes and didn’t even get through to the main line.  It kept stopping for some reason.  And it was getting close to when we might get called for dinner.  So we bailed.  I’m not sure what was happening there.  

We did some shopping and then had dinner at Skippers Canteen. Our table was called around 7. It was delicious!  But definitely no distancing there.  Our table was only about a foot from the table next to us.

It didn’t actually end up raining I don’t think.  So we went over to tomorrow land and did buzz and people mover. After that, it was around 9 so we went to fantasy land to get ready for fireworks.  We watched from the bridge by Belle’s Castle and it was amazing!  It really felt like being in the middle of the show.  We edged our way to Haunted Mansion so we could hop in line right as the fireworks ended and we were the second party from the stretching room doors. This ended up great and there weren’t a lot of people in the stretching room with us.  When we got out the line had really built up.  

We did it’s a small world with no wait and then it was past 10.  So we made our way out of the park.  Main Street was still crowded but you could definitely maneuver and move with ease.  It was much better than leaving right after fireworks. We got to the bus stop right as a bus for beach club pulled up and there was only one 
party in front of us.  We walked back to the Swan from Yacht Club and that’s the end of our day. The only things we wanted to ride and didn’t get were Jungle Cruise and Mine Train.  We could have hopped on one of those at the end of the night instead of Small World but we were tired and didn’t want to wait longer.

Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios!  Wish me luck with a boarding pass .  I’ve read all the tips on that thread so I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.  I haven’t seen Galaxy’s Edge yet and am really excited for it.  I’m a big Star Wars nerd!


----------



## Mike Mantis

As I’ve posted on a few other threads, I’m here now and spent entire day at MK today.

Had a blast. Rained for 30 minutes and two lightning events in the area messed with rides a bit, but it was a good time.

Were there crowds, heck yes (it’s August before school starts)… Were there people not wearing masks (absolutely, but I fight that at the grocery store back home)… Did it stink with no fast passes (kinda but I didn’t have a rigid schedule to follow)…

I feel for those who posted and had bad times. But this isn’t the Disney apocalypse and it’s not the end of the “Disney Magic”. Things change.

Not trying to say anyone else is wrong in their views or that some of the Covid restrictions are “theater”.

Hopefully those reading these threads will come with expectations aligned for the reality of what Disney World now is and not what it used to be.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

Griz1 said:


> Wow. Thanks for sharing. That looks scary.
> Anybody have reports on crowd size at Epcot Forever?


Nothing like HEA - I was just there 5 times in the last 2 weeks.  Peaceful, space, easy to leave.


----------



## cdurham1

Just tried joining the ROTR virtual queue right at 7am.  Something is structurally wrong with the system if I tried to join within 3 seconds and couldn't.   Disney can't be serious that a whole day's worth of people joined in the 2 seconds before I did.  If that is the case, Disney has miserably failed at attraction/crowd management.

I will be back on at 1pm, but this is stupid.  I mean, I was there the very first day it opened.  If I could get a boarding pass without a problem on opening day, no one is going to convince me that all the passes went in 2 seconds on a random Monday morning.


----------



## DisneyFive

HS today.  All the early mornings have caught up with us so we decided to sleep in and enjoy the Polynesian this morning.We will make it over to HS later.(our third and final  HS day this trip), so this will be our experiment with the park when you don’t rope drop .

Got BG 64 for ROTR.  Thankfully it says the return window is 360 minutes from 7am.

I just love mornings at Walt Disney World.

Space Mountain and the castle are WAY closer than they appear in this picture for some reason

10:30 AM. Off to the pool.  Still 170 minutes until our BG64 is estimated to be called

Feels good to relax

12:25 lunch at Captain Cooks


1:00pm On bus to HS.  Lucked out and the bus arrived just as we got to the bus depot. Our BG was just called.  Have a hour to get there 

I will say it again, the crowds feel just like every other year that we’ve come Pre Covid this time of year. Here are the crowds in front of the Chinese theater and looking the other direction at 1:15 PM, peak time.  Touringplans also lists the crowd levels at the 5 to 7 level for all parks which jives with what I am seeing also.  I think people that are used to going during Covid don’t recall exactly what crowds used to feel like this time of year or possibly that the lines extending into the walkways makes it feel much more crowded. I do agree with that for sure ( extended lines making it feel more crowded)


1:30 on ROTR

2:18 PM Got in single rider line for MFSR. Posted 90 minutes for standby line.  On in 7 minutes!!  Wow, having done that twice standby already this week, that was the way to go.  Glad we did it as a family twice already though

2:48 PM star tours. Posted 40 minutes.  On in 18 minutes.  Our “spy” was an empty seat 


3:41 TOT.  Posted 55 minutes.  On in 26 minutes

Skies are looking ominous.  Fitting for TOT I guess 
-

Took a break for some caffeine.

5:07 PM. RNRC posted 65 minutes.  In line 56 minutes. For what it’s worth touring plans Lines estimated 57 minutes. No single rider.  Did not like waiting that long but we didn’t really have an option since this is our last HS day

6:31pm MMRR. Posted 55.  TP says 28.  On in 33 minutes.

7:15 PM ABC commissary for dinner.

7:45 Star Tours. Posted 10, TP says 5,  On the ride in 5
8:07 PM. TSMM. Posted 20 minutes, TP says similar at 18, On in 17 minutes

8:38 PM. Alien saucers. Never done it before, never interested us.  We figured “what the heck” let’s try it.  Posted 10.  TP 8, Walked on.  The verdict? Just as terrible as I thought it would be.  (sorry to any alien saucer lovers out there) 

8:55 PM. Finishing off tonight with a  family favorite TOT.  On preshow in 4 minutes

Goodbye Hollywood studios. Until next time


-Dan


----------



## cdurham1

Makmak said:


> When we were there in June we met a family by the pool that told us they bought a service through a company that “guarantees a boarding group” and said they had to give access to their account but that company “has always gotten us a boarding group” so I looked into it and there are three companies that I found that provide this “service” so I wonder if they are doing something fancy with computers to get all the boarding groups that fast? Just something I’ve been thinking about ever since that conversation.


That also makes me wonder if it is also based on something besides just login order.  If anyone else got a BG logging in after 7:00am and 3 seconds, I hope they report it here.


----------



## Sargeant Tibbs

Yesterday 8/1 MK, our first park day. I'll just give an overview since I need to get a sleepy child up and ready for another day.

The park was clean, no overflowing trash cans anywhere. Bathrooms were also clean for the most part.

Yes, there were the rumored lines. Anyone recall Disney in the 90's? This is what it was like, and really I couldn't have been happier for it. The reports have been so dire, but we actually had a great day. We rope dropped, driving from our off property resort. We arrived at the booths at 7:30 to park. MK opened at 9.

The lines were long, but moved. We rode PP, IASW, then had a 10:15 Capture Your Moment photo session, after which we rode Pooh and teacups, then my daughter passed out in her stroller. So instead of finishing our Fantasyland tour we got cheeseburger eggrolls, then rode Pirates twice in a row, BTMRR. When she woke up we rode Little Mermaid, then it was time for our early dinner reservation. After dinner we got on HM, Dumbo, Barnstormer. By this point we were sticky and tired, so took a break in the seating area back behind the circus. Close to HEA we rode the carousel, then staked out a spot in Fantasyland to watch the fireworks as we weren't comfortable being in the crowds in the hub.

So yes, lines appear long. However, we rode 11 rides, counting Pirates twice, and if it wasn't for the Capture Your Moment and my daughter falling asleep, we would have ridden more. We weren't rushing, and had quite a leisurely day.

Today we are headed into AK, skipping RD (a last minute decision), with an 11:30am Tusker House ADR. Then hopping to Epcot for F&W.


----------



## Southernmiss

cdurham1 said:


> Just tried joining the ROTR virtual queue right at 7am.  Something is structurally wrong with the system if I tried to join within 3 seconds and couldn't.   Disney can't be serious that a whole day's worth of people joined in the 2 seconds before I did.  If that is the case, Disney has miserably failed at attraction/crowd management.
> 
> I will be back on at 1pm, but this is stupid.  I mean, I was there the very first day it opened.  If I could get a boarding pass without a problem on opening day, no one is going to convince me that all the passes went in 2 seconds on a random Monday morning.



https://www.disboards.com/threads/b...ad-1st-post-before-commenting.3841524/page-33


----------



## ThereYouSeeHer

cdurham1 said:


> Just tried joining the ROTR virtual queue right at 7am.  Something is structurally wrong with the system if I tried to join within 3 seconds and couldn't.   Disney can't be serious that a whole day's worth of people joined in the 2 seconds before I did.  If that is the case, Disney has miserably failed at attraction/crowd management.


From our experience practicing at home, we have to be in the app and refreshing prior to 7am, or there is no chance.  For your 1pm attempt, enter the app a couple minutes prior, click 'Join' from the main MDE homepage, and then constantly refresh the next page, starting around 12:59pm.  On my iPhone, I constantly swipe down to refresh, but other devices may vary.  Best wishes for success this afternoon!


----------



## Mousefan mom

cdurham1 said:


> Just tried joining the ROTR virtual queue right at 7am.  Something is structurally wrong with the system if I tried to join within 3 seconds and couldn't.   Disney can't be serious that a whole day's worth of people joined in the 2 seconds before I did.  If that is the case, Disney has miserably failed at attraction/crowd management.
> 
> I will be back on at 1pm, but this is stupid.  I mean, I was there the very first day it opened.  If I could get a boarding pass without a problem on opening day, no one is going to convince me that all the passes went in 2 seconds on a random Monday morning.


We got a join, then when I clicked it, got an error message "oops something went wrong" while there--didn't get it of course.  We tried the 1pm, but what we didn't know at the time was the ride went down for hours that day so waiting around until 1 (you all have to be in the parks) and trying was a waste of our time because if the ride goes down they push back everyone who got a 7AM and don't do any new 1pm....we spoke to another guest at the pool that night that told us he was supposed to board at 1--and didn't get on until almost 6 (it completed changed his entire day for just this one ride).  I agree, horrible way they are doing it.  If they had just announced they weren't doing 1pm boarding groups we at least could have left and went and swam versus waiting around that day.  Sorry you didn't get one!


----------



## Loopster

cdurham1 said:


> Just tried joining the ROTR virtual queue right at 7am.  Something is structurally wrong with the system if I tried to join within 3 seconds and couldn't.   Disney can't be serious that a whole day's worth of people joined in the 2 seconds before I did.  If that is the case, Disney has miserably failed at attraction/crowd management.
> 
> I will be back on at 1pm, but this is stupid.  I mean, I was there the very first day it opened.  If I could get a boarding pass without a problem on opening day, no one is going to convince me that all the passes went in 2 seconds on a random Monday morning.



It’s been like this for months now. They’re gone in two seconds or less. Click this link and read first post for tips and tricks: https://www.disboards.com/threads/b...read-read-1st-post-before-commenting.3841524/


----------



## MomOTwins

Chaitali said:


> We got in line for haunted mansion but that was a fail . Touring plans thought it would be 25 minutes and posted wait was 40 minutes.  But we waited 40 minutes and didn’t even get through to the main line.  It kept stopping for some reason.  And it was getting close to when we might get called for dinner.  So we bailed.  I’m not sure what was happening there.


Thanks for posting.  I keep seeing people say to buy the TP subscription because the lines app shows the real waits are shorter than what disney posts, but honestly, I’d rather go into a line expecting a longer wait based on Disney’s app and get a nice surprise of waiting less time than use TP’s app, expect a shorter wait, and end up waiting longer.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

cdurham1 said:


> Just tried joining the ROTR virtual queue right at 7am.  Something is structurally wrong with the system if I tried to join within 3 seconds and couldn't.   Disney can't be serious that a whole day's worth of people joined in the 2 seconds before I did.  If that is the case, Disney has miserably failed at attraction/crowd management.
> 
> I will be back on at 1pm, but this is stupid.  I mean, I was there the very first day it opened.  If I could get a boarding pass without a problem on opening day, no one is going to convince me that all the passes went in 2 seconds on a random Monday morning.





cdurham1 said:


> That also makes me wonder if it is also based on something besides just login order.  If anyone else got a BG logging in after 7:00am and 3 seconds, I hope they report it here.


They are gone in less than 3 seconds basically every day.  You have to be on the app and ready before 7am and follow the steps in the BG thread (someone posted the link above).  The 1pm drop is usually a bit easier than 7am.


----------



## Iowamomof4

Mousefan mom said:


> We got a join, then when I clicked it, got an error message "oops something went wrong" while there--didn't get it of course.  We tried the 1pm, but what we didn't know at the time was the ride went down for hours that day so waiting around until 1 (you all have to be in the parks) and trying was a waste of our time because if the ride goes down they push back everyone who got a 7AM and don't do any new 1pm....we spoke to another guest at the pool that night that told us he was supposed to board at 1--and didn't get on until almost 6 (it completed changed his entire day for just this one ride).  I agree, horrible way they are doing it.  If they had just announced they weren't doing 1pm boarding groups we at least could have left and went and swam versus waiting around that day.  Sorry you didn't get one!


You could have tried from the pool. You just have to have all tapped into the park before 1, but you can leave and try for a BG from outside the park.


----------



## Mousefan mom

Iowamomof4 said:


> You could have tried from the pool. You just have to have all tapped into the park before 1, but you can leave and try for a BG from outside the park.


We asked Cast Members working the ride this exact question, and they told us that would not work we all 5 had to physically be in the park, and they would know we weren't if our magic bands didn't show us in the park...


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Mousefan mom said:


> We asked Cast Members working the ride this exact question, and they told us that would not work we all 5 had to physically be in the park, and they would know we weren't if our magic bands didn't show us in the park...


They were wrong LOL.  There are plenty of reports on the Rise thread of people getting 1pm from outside the park (ETA - as long as you have tapped in before 1pm that is).


----------



## cdurham1

ENJDisneyFan said:


> They are gone in less than 3 seconds basically every day.  You have to be on the app and ready before 7am and follow the steps in the BG thread (someone posted the link above).  The 1pm drop is usually a bit easier than 7am.


Yeah, I did those steps.  Still gone


----------



## preemiemama

Mousefan mom said:


> We asked Cast Members working the ride this exact question, and they told us that would not work we all 5 had to physically be in the park, and they would know we weren't if our magic bands didn't show us in the park...


This is not accurate based on experiences in the thread below.  It's really a great resource for the ride!



Loopster said:


> It’s been like this for months now. They’re gone in two seconds or less. Click this link and read first post for tips and tricks: https://www.disboards.com/threads/b...read-read-1st-post-before-commenting.3841524/


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

cdurham1 said:


> Yeah, I did those steps.  Still gone


Sorry to hear that - I wish you better luck at 1pm!


----------



## 123SA

cdurham1 said:


> Yeah, I did those steps.  Still gone



did you check the time on your phone to make sure that your time isn’t off by 10-16 seconds?  Crazy that we need to do that.


----------



## honeymo78

Mousefan mom said:


> We asked Cast Members working the ride this exact question, and they told us that would not work we all 5 had to physically be in the park, and they would know we weren't if our magic bands didn't show us in the park...


It's definitely not true, but it likely is the required CM response.  During my trip at the end of June, none of us were still in the park at 1pm and I had no trouble getting a 1pm boarding pass.  I can't recall if we had made it all the way back to the room but we had definitely left the park.  You don't tap out when you leave the park - they don't know when you leave.


----------



## cdurham1

At HS right now, RD'ing TOT.  Pushed us up into the the actual queue about 8:35 or so.  Cast members at the start of the queue (fp checkin) instructing everyone to mask up from that point forward.  We are about 75 people back from being inside hotel.  Probably 30% of people (including us) unmasked while waiting outside here.


----------



## cdurham1

Update - tot now loading, started 845


----------



## cdurham1

Update- no tot pre show


----------



## Marvin1968

cdurham1 said:


> Just tried joining the ROTR virtual queue right at 7am.  Something is structurally wrong with the system if I tried to join within 3 seconds and couldn't.   Disney can't be serious that a whole day's worth of people joined in the 2 seconds before I did.  If that is the case, Disney has miserably failed at attraction/crowd management.
> 
> I will be back on at 1pm, but this is stupid.  I mean, I was there the very first day it opened.  If I could get a boarding pass without a problem on opening day, no one is going to convince me that all the passes went in 2 seconds on a random Monday morning.


You have to do it at 6:59.59 using time.gov.  If you were early, you need to pull down to refresh.


----------



## Goldilocks07

Here now at HS.
It’s 9:13. 
got in line to MMRR at 8:51. List time 45 min wait.

the park is PACKED. Slinky is at 100 min. Swarms of people. No social distancing. Sweat rolling down our backs.

we actually got here at 8:07 and rushed to tap in, only to find out our annual passes weren’t activated. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I specifically asked over the phone, if the passes were active and she said yes. We only needed to go to guest services to get the physical card, for discounts- which doesn’t affect us bc we are dvc. So didn’t cross my mind.
Went to guest services which took 30 minutes of I don’t know what the *f was taking so long as I had my confirmation number, ID, and dvc numbers out and ready, sweating and watching literally thousands of people walk by.

this park is a disaster.


----------



## petunia

harleyquinn said:


> I suggest timing things so that you are on Dumbo, BTMR, Splash, etc. any outdoor ride behind the castle will do. It sounds hard, but the show is long enough that it’s totally doable. It’s much more magical than standing in the hub with a billion hot sweaty people.


Would people mover work for some view of the fireworks?


----------



## Goldilocks07

Marvin1968 said:


> You have to do it at 6:59.59 using time.gov.  If you were early, you need to pull down to refresh.



I kept refreshing over and over and yes if 2 seconds of 10,000 people were ahead of you, you didn’t get a BP. Happened to me once.

today, we got one. Group 15. Xmas miracle bc this park today is a poop show.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Goldilocks07 said:


> I kept refreshing over and over and yes if 2 seconds of 10,000 people were ahead of you, you didn’t get a BP. Happened to me once.
> 
> today, we got one. Group 15. Xmas miracle bc this park today is a poop show.


I don't want to take this thread off topic, but the 'refresh' method is not generally considered the best method for securing a BG.  I would encourage you to read post 1 of the BG thread which describes the 'join' method - which is what the vast majority of people on the boards use and are successful almost all of the time.


----------



## Leigh L

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I don't want to take this thread off topic, but the 'refresh' method is not generally considered the best method for securing a BG.  I would encourage you to read post 1 of the BG thread which describes the 'join' method - which is what the vast majority of people on the boards use and are successful almost all of the time.


Totally agree and encourage trying the "join" method. I'm 7 for 8 doing it this way and the time I missed was a distraction on my part, not the "Join" process.

(OT but "refresh" also hung me up when doing my SW check in last week, so different situation, but definitely delayed me),


----------



## harleyquinn

petunia said:


> Would people mover work for some view of the fireworks?


Yes!!! We've done that too. You will definitely miss parts on the indoor parts, and views aren't as open as the other rides I mentioned, but it's a great place to do that.


----------



## Brett Wyman

Goldilocks07 said:


> Here now at HS.
> It’s 9:13.
> got in line to MMRR at 8:51. List time 45 min wait.
> 
> the park is PACKED. Slinky is at 100 min. Swarms of people. No social distancing. Sweat rolling down our backs.
> 
> we actually got here at 8:07 and rushed to tap in, only to find out our annual passes weren’t activated. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I specifically asked over the phone, if the passes were active and she said yes. We only needed to go to guest services to get the physical card, for discounts- which doesn’t affect us bc we are dvc. So didn’t cross my mind.
> Went to guest services which took 30 minutes of* I don’t know what the *f was taking so long as I had my confirmation number, I*D, and dvc numbers out and ready, sweating and watching literally thousands of people walk by.
> 
> this park is a disaster.



Thats just standard times with AP activations, new or renewals. Im not sure what takes so long but its always a 15-30 minute process once its your turn with a CM. They have to print the new cards, verify IDs, etc. We alway make sure to visit guest services the night before when we have to activate.


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

I hesitate to post this, but ultimately think it may be helpful. I don't want to break the rules of this forum by discussing it, so this is for informational purposes only as people plan their trips. 

My husband and I both have Covid and undoubtedly caught it at Disney. We are both fully vaccinated. He started feeling bad on the night we got home. We thought it was colds at first but he lost his smell yesterday and got tested. I'm so thankful we went into isolation as a precaution as soon as we got home so no one else was exposed.

I'm heartbroken because we thought we were being careful. Stay healthy everyone.


----------



## SkyGuy

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I don't want to take this thread off topic, but the 'refresh' method is not generally considered the best method for securing a BG.  I would encourage you to read post 1 of the BG thread which describes the 'join' method - which is what the vast majority of people on the boards use and are successful almost all of the time.


I’m 6 for 6 at 7am, 2 for 2 at the old 10am, and 1 for 1 at 1pm doing the refresh method, so it must just be luck or quick fingers.


----------



## cdurham1

SkyGuy said:


> I’m 6 for 6 at 7am, 2 for 2 at the old 10am, and 1 for 1 at 1pm doing the refresh method, so it must just be luck or quick fingers.


I was perfect until today.


----------



## harleyquinn

I guess the reports of fewer people on July 30, were a blip on the radar and not a new trend. Darn!



Memorymakerfor4 said:


> I hesitate to post this, but ultimately think it may be helpful. I don't want to break the rules of this forum by discussing it, so this is for informational purposes only as people plan their trips.
> 
> My husband and I both have Covid and undoubtedly caught it at Disney. We are both fully vaccinated. He started feeling bad on the night we got home. We thought it was colds at first but he lost his smell yesterday and got tested. I'm so thankful we went into isolation as a precaution as soon as we got home so no one else was exposed.
> 
> I'm heartbroken because we thought we were being careful. Stay healthy everyone.


At this point I'm planning on coming home with Covid. I can't believe that I typed those words and that we're still not going to cancel.

I'm sorry it happened to you, but happy that you self quarantined out of caution! We are planning to do that as well.


----------



## 2vets

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> I hesitate to post this, but ultimately think it may be helpful. I don't want to break the rules of this forum by discussing it, so this is for informational purposes only as people plan their trips.
> 
> My husband and I both have Covid and undoubtedly caught it at Disney. We are both fully vaccinated. He started feeling bad on the night we got home. We thought it was colds at first but he lost his smell yesterday and got tested. I'm so thankful we went into isolation as a precaution as soon as we got home so no one else was exposed.
> 
> I'm heartbroken because we thought we were being careful. Stay healthy everyone.



I’d love to know whether you were wearing masks outside and in during your trip, how you approached dining, etc (stuff that’s not an issue in terms of Disney rules - and not a judgement, I’ve been there twice during covid, I’m just curious) but that side discussion seems likely to take this thread downhill.

Far more importantly - I’m so sorry. Wishing you both a speedy and full recovery.


----------



## DisneyFive

cdurham1 said:


> Just tried joining the ROTR virtual queue right at 7am.  Something is structurally wrong with the system if I tried to join within 3 seconds and couldn't.   Disney can't be serious that a whole day's worth of people joined in the 2 seconds before I did.  If that is the case, Disney has miserably failed at attraction/crowd management.
> 
> I will be back on at 1pm, but this is stupid.  I mean, I was there the very first day it opened.  If I could get a boarding pass without a problem on opening day, no one is going to convince me that all the passes went in 2 seconds on a random Monday morning.



The only thing that I can add is that I recommend downloading this app and checking your speeds with WiFi turned on versus WiFi off (relying your cellular data instead.). Our Verizon is way faster than Wi-Fi at the resorts or in the parks. So when I am trying for a boarding group we all turn our Wi-Fi off. However it depends on where you are and what your cellular service is.

In the Speedtest App go which ever service gives you the LOWEST ping and the HIGHEST Mbps.

For what it’s worth, we are 3 for 3 using the refresh method starting a few seconds before 7 AM.

Dan


----------



## bsmcneil

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> I hesitate to post this, but ultimately think it may be helpful. I don't want to break the rules of this forum by discussing it, so this is for informational purposes only as people plan their trips.
> 
> My husband and I both have Covid and undoubtedly caught it at Disney. We are both fully vaccinated. He started feeling bad on the night we got home. We thought it was colds at first but he lost his smell yesterday and got tested. I'm so thankful we went into isolation as a precaution as soon as we got home so no one else was exposed.
> 
> I'm heartbroken because we thought we were being careful. Stay healthy everyone.


my "love" emoji is more of a heart/caring for you


----------



## harleyquinn

2vets said:


> I’d love to know whether you were wearing masks outside and in during your trip, how you approached dining, etc (stuff that’s not an issue in terms of Disney rules - and not a judgement, I’ve been there twice during covid, I’m just curious) but that side discussion seems likely to take this thread downhill.
> 
> Far more importantly - I’m so sorry. Wishing you both a speedy and full recovery.


Agreed! I'd like to just hear the facts.  Did they fly or drive (stops on the way?)  Those things aren't against the rules, and hopefully we could keep out the side stuff.  I just checked and I could move my trip all the way to next summer and only pay $100 more to move the flights. I'm seriously considering this and these reports help me make those calls.


----------



## DisneyFive

cdurham1 said:


> Update- no tot pre show


This was our case when we rope dropped TOT as well. I think that must be normal to get people loaded all the way through the queue as fast as possible.  Pre show was going the remainder of the day

Dan


----------



## dancergirlsmom

heathsf said:


> Thanks for your report. How were crowds at Conservation Station? Is that area indoors or outdoors?


Not a lot of people there.  The petting zoo area is open.  The Conservation Station is a covered building.  There were people there to answer questions about the animals and there is a surgical area there too.  Nothing was going on when I was there though.  There is also the drawing area that is at certain times.  Looks like it would be fun to do.  There are also restrooms and a small souvenir stand that sells bottled water/pop.


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

2vets said:


> I’d love to know whether you were wearing masks outside and in during your trip, how you approached dining, etc (stuff that’s not an issue in terms of Disney rules - and not a judgement, I’ve been there twice during covid, I’m just curious) but that side discussion seems likely to take this thread downhill.
> 
> Far more importantly - I’m so sorry. Wishing you both a speedy and full recovery.



Thank you for the kind words. Our symptoms seem to be staying mild.

Here are the facts. Like most people, we did not mask except in areas it was required, like the airport and on transportation. Our flights had one layover each way. Amazingly, flights on the way home were not full so the seat next to me was empty. We ate indoors as well. We tried to distance when we could and washed hands frequently. I brought Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer and used frequently. We rented a car so we could drive ourselves when possible.

When we booked this trip all signs pointed to things going well. Things could be very different in a few months.


----------



## ellbell

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Thank you for the kind words. Our symptoms seem to be staying mild.
> 
> Here are the facts. Like most people, we did not mask except in areas it was required, like the airport and on transportation. Our flights had one layover each way. Amazingly, flights on the way home were not full so the seat next to me was empty. We ate indoors as well. We tried to distance when we could and washed hands frequently. I brought Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer and used frequently. We rented a car so we could drive ourselves when possible.
> 
> When we booked this trip all signs pointed to things going well. Things could be very different in a few months.


Can I just confirm that this was before masks were requires indoors.  Sorry I'm just interested because I'm going this month but I'm Canadian so have a strong desire to know what the trends are because Ineed a test before crossing back to Canada.


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

ellbell said:


> Can I just confirm that this was before masks were requires indoors.  Sorry I'm just interested because I'm going this month but I'm Canadian so have a strong desire to know what the trends are because Ineed a test before crossing back to Canada.



Yes, we left on the 29th.


----------



## rlk

dancergirlsmom said:


> Not a lot of people there.  The petting zoo area is open.  The Conservation Station is a covered building.  There were people there to answer questions about the animals and there is a surgical area there too.  Nothing was going on when I was there though.  There is also the drawing area that is at certain times.  Looks like it would be fun to do.  There are also restrooms and a small souvenir stand that sells bottled water/pop.



We took the train out to Conservation Station to do the 11:30 Animation Experience.  The train was not packed and the whole Conservation Station area was not too crowded.  Our drawing group was less than 1/2 full.


----------



## ellbell

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Yes, we left on the 29th.


Thank you amd I hope you feel better soon.


----------



## ckb_nc

cdurham1 said:


> That also makes me wonder if it is also based on something besides just login order.  If anyone else got a BG logging in after 7:00am and 3 seconds, I hope they report it here.



whomever is doing this is doing a simple brute force approach - multiple computers (bots) logged into same account all trying at the same time. I do not know what the physical limit on the # of devices 1 MDE account can be logged into at one time, but each time we have gotten a RoR boarding group (and we have been incredibly lucky so far) - we have had multiple phones logged in trying. my middle daughter has the knack it seems. 

While there is nothing preventing me from say logging into your account remotely (your in Florida and I am in North Carolina), I do think Disney will at least look into this. It would be suspicious if all of sudden my account had multiple logins from out of state or country. But even then could be ways around that. 

Used to be services that helped with ADRs too.


----------



## SkyGuy

DisneyFive said:


> The only thing that I can add is that I recommend downloading this app and checking your speeds with WiFi turned on versus WiFi off (relying your cellular data instead.). Our Verizon is way faster than Wi-Fi at the resorts or in the parks. So when I am trying for a boarding group we all turn our Wi-Fi off. However it depends on where you are and what your cellular service is.
> View attachment 593956
> In the Speedtest App go which ever service gives you the LOWEST ping and the HIGHEST Mbps.
> 
> For what it’s worth, we are 3 for 3 using the refresh method starting a few seconds before 7 AM.
> 
> Dan


This is what I use as well


----------



## Nice Work Pal

I’m 7 for 7 getting a BG, 6 for 7 getting a BG mornings and 1-1 afternoons. The one time I didn’t get a morning BG was only because our signal/WiFi were slow as molasses. Follow these simple rules and you’re in:

1. Alarms set for 6:45 am
2. Run a speed test WiFi vs lte at 6:50…whichever is faster go with (it alternates)
3. Get two phones…phone joining queue clear all apps off
4. Run world clock on other phone. I hit once at 6:59:59 and it said to come back at 7 so I had to back out real fast and get back in. For that reason once the world clock hits 7 am….
5. Click “join queue”…join again…this is the most important part…when it goes to the next screen it’s going to say “select party members” COMPLETELY ignore that screen and click “JOIN”. Everyone with a pass that day is automatically selected. Don’t look at the screens just click join join join.

For the covid people, I updated a week ago my mom got sick from our last trip (left July 21st)…first symptoms started a few days later…day 10 and she’s still extremely sick. Not vaxxed and didn’t bother with a mask. I emailed Disney about our trip and issue at our hotel (SSR)…to their credit they’ve contacted me twice. If you’re going please be careful. My mom is an absolute health nut…she’d be hospitalized right now if she wasn’t.


----------



## LiteBrite

notatallmagic said:


> Yes, the salad has mixed greens, pulled chicken, fresh grapefruit and orange, cranberries...It's such a random selection of items, but it TOTALLY WORKS!  I don't know how to describe the dressing (maybe a very light citrus vinegrette?).
> 
> I've ordered both the adult portion (very nice size) and the kids portion, which comes with two sides.  The sides at Regal Eagle are awesome - I love watermelon; they also have the standard fries, onion rings, mac and chese, baked beans, and cucumbers.  I ordered the kids portion salad with the watermelon and cucumbers, and it was a super light, fresh meal.  Hope you all enjoy!



Agreed, love that salad, and I also usually order the kid's portion.  I find that if one of my sides is something a little more filling, like fries or the burnt end beans (which are delicious btw), it fills me right up.


----------



## LiteBrite

Makmak said:


> When we were there in June we met a family by the pool that told us they bought a service through a company that “guarantees a boarding group” and said they had to give access to their account but that company “has always gotten us a boarding group” so I looked into it and there are three companies that I found that provide this “service” so I wonder if they are doing something fancy with computers to get all the boarding groups that fast? Just something I’ve been thinking about ever since that conversation.



Maybe they're just very well practiced (lots of us are) and have a high success rate (lots of us do), and the "guarantee" means that if they don't get you a boarding group you get your money back (since almost any of us can fail once in a while).


----------



## jujubiee4

Nice Work Pal said:


> I’m 7 for 7 getting a BG, 6 for 7 getting a BG mornings and 1-1 afternoons. The one time I didn’t get a morning BG was only because our signal/WiFi were slow as molasses. Follow these simple rules and you’re in:
> 
> 1. Alarms set for 6:45 am
> 2. Run a speed test WiFi vs lte at 6:50…whichever is faster go with (it alternates)
> 3. Get two phones…phone joining queue clear all apps off
> 4. Run world clock on other phone. I hit once at 6:59:59 and it said to come back at 7 so I had to back out real fast and get back in. For that reason once the world clock hits 7 am….
> 5. Click “join queue”…join again…this is the most important part…when it goes to the next screen it’s going to say “select party members” COMPLETELY ignore that screen and click “JOIN”. Everyone with a pass that day is automatically selected. Don’t look at the screens just click join join join.
> 
> For the covid people, I updated a week ago my mom got sick from our last trip (left July 21st)…first symptoms started a few days later…day 10 and she’s still extremely sick. Not vaxxed and didn’t bother with a mask. I emailed Disney about our trip and issue at our hotel (SSR)…to their credit they’ve contacted me twice. If you’re going please be careful. My mom is an absolute health nut…she’d be hospitalized right now if she wasn’t.


I sincerely hope she gets better. You be careful also. Seems to be spreading like wildfire now. Thanks for
the tips.


----------



## ShadowBoxer

edit


----------



## 2vets

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Thank you for the kind words. Our symptoms seem to be staying mild.
> 
> Here are the facts. Like most people, we did not mask except in areas it was required, like the airport and on transportation. Our flights had one layover each way. Amazingly, flights on the way home were not full so the seat next to me was empty. We ate indoors as well. We tried to distance when we could and washed hands frequently. I brought Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer and used frequently. We rented a car so we could drive ourselves when possible.
> 
> When we booked this trip all signs pointed to things going well. Things could be very different in a few months.


I’m truly grateful for these details.

I hope that you had a great trip up until this hit, and I’ll be sending all best thoughts your way.


----------



## White_Rabbit18

Nice Work Pal said:


> I’m 7 for 7 getting a BG, 6 for 7 getting a BG mornings and 1-1 afternoons. The one time I didn’t get a morning BG was only because our signal/WiFi were slow as molasses. Follow these simple rules and you’re in:
> 
> 1. Alarms set for 6:45 am
> 2. Run a speed test WiFi vs lte at 6:50…whichever is faster go with (it alternates)
> 3. Get two phones…phone joining queue clear all apps off
> 4. Run world clock on other phone. I hit once at 6:59:59 and it said to come back at 7 so I had to back out real fast and get back in. For that reason once the world clock hits 7 am….
> 5. Click “join queue”…join again…this is the most important part…when it goes to the next screen it’s going to say “select party members” COMPLETELY ignore that screen and click “JOIN”. Everyone with a pass that day is automatically selected. Don’t look at the screens just click join join join.
> 
> For the covid people, I updated a week ago my mom got sick from our last trip (left July 21st)…first symptoms started a few days later…day 10 and she’s still extremely sick. Not vaxxed and didn’t bother with a mask. I emailed Disney about our trip and issue at our hotel (SSR)…to their credit they’ve contacted me twice. If you’re going please be careful. My mom is an absolute health nut…she’d be hospitalized right now if she wasn’t.


I hope your mom feels better soon.
It is really spreading quickly in Florida.


----------



## notatallmagic

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> I hesitate to post this, but ultimately think it may be helpful. I don't want to break the rules of this forum by discussing it, so this is for informational purposes only as people plan their trips.
> 
> My husband and I both have Covid and undoubtedly caught it at Disney. We are both fully vaccinated. He started feeling bad on the night we got home. We thought it was colds at first but he lost his smell yesterday and got tested. I'm so thankful we went into isolation as a precaution as soon as we got home so no one else was exposed.
> 
> I'm heartbroken because we thought we were being careful. Stay healthy everyone.



Hope you feel better soon!

I'm a "maybe" on the Disney Covid catch - just got home on the 30th, started feeling sick that first day.  Fully vaccinated, and followed the rules that were in place.  I didn't get tested (still working from home) and it may just be a cold/allergies or that post-flight yuck I always used to get when I flew.  In any event, I'm feeling much better today - only symptoms were massive congestion and headache.  In any event, be careful.  I'm a hand washer and sanitizing nut - and still got something.


----------



## Makmak

LiteBrite said:


> Maybe they're just very well practiced (lots of us are) and have a high success rate (lots of us do), and the "guarantee" means that if they don't get you a boarding group you get your money back (since almost any of us can fail once in a while).


But they would have to employ an individual per boarding group that was “good at it like you.” When my 8 year old can write a program to emulate mouse clicks on a website so I was thinking that would be the way to go from a business perspective hahaha.


----------



## Goldilocks07

I didn’t realize I had to activate the passes, or else yes of course I would have done it the night before. The cm on the phone (when I bought them) said I was good to go and only needed the actual cards for discounts.

honestly the process and delay really cut out on the 3 rides we wanted. Sadly we only got to do 1 out of 3. Lines were an hour to 100 minutes right at opening hour.


----------



## DisneyFive

MomOTwins said:


> Thanks for posting.  I keep seeing people say to buy the TP subscription because the lines app shows the real waits are shorter than what disney posts, but honestly, I’d rather go into a line expecting a longer wait based on Disney’s app and get a nice surprise of waiting less time than use TP’s app, expect a shorter wait, and end up waiting longer.


Just be prepared for wildly inaccurate times then.  The MDE wait times make it difficult to choose what attraction to do next.

Dan


----------



## cdurham1

At the 1pm BG drop, I got backup group 156.  They are on 50-64 right now.  What are the chances we get to ride today?


----------



## Happyjen27

MomOTwins said:


> Thanks for posting.  I keep seeing people say to buy the TP subscription because the lines app shows the real waits are shorter than what disney posts, but honestly, I’d rather go into a line expecting a longer wait based on Disney’s app and get a nice surprise of waiting less time than use TP’s app, expect a shorter wait, and end up waiting longer.


I’m with you. I have just been getting in line for whatever I feel like and waiting. MDE has been wrong each time, always higher. I’ve seen many theories as to why on the disboards. The net result is thatlower than posted times for the most part.
For me it’s nicer to be pleasantly surprised than pay for a subscription and count on my friends here at the parks to report accurately.

Wishing everyone affected by covid a speedy recovery.


----------



## DisneyFive

cdurham1 said:


> At the 1pm BG drop, I got backup group 156.  They are on 50-64 right now.  What are the chances we get to ride today?


I think you have a good chance if rise of the resistance stays up and running.  64 boarding groups in four hours.  To get through another 92 boarding groups that is another 5 hours and 45 minutes from 1 PM. Now granted, things would have to stay on the current pace and have the ride not  go down

Dan


----------



## cakebaker

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> I hesitate to post this, but ultimately think it may be helpful. I don't want to break the rules of this forum by discussing it, so this is for informational purposes only as people plan their trips.
> 
> My husband and I both have Covid and undoubtedly caught it at Disney. We are both fully vaccinated. He started feeling bad on the night we got home. We thought it was colds at first but he lost his smell yesterday and got tested. I'm so thankful we went into isolation as a precaution as soon as we got home so no one else was exposed.
> 
> I'm heartbroken because we thought we were being careful. Stay healthy everyone.



I’m sorry that happened. We’re on our way home now with my grandson who is sick. Testing in the area wasn’t possible and as long as we can control his fever, we’re waiting until we can test at home where it’s much easier and he can be under his drs care. His temp hit a little over 103 last night so that was a little scary, but it’s down now thankfully.

We were absolutely as careful as we could be but with the crowd levels what they are and people fighting against masks, it’s a huge roll of the dice. The rest of us are vaccinated and so far, no symptoms. We’ll all be testing when we get home.


----------



## CJK

cakebaker said:


> We were absolutely as careful as we could be but with the crowd levels what they are and people fighting against masks, it’s a huge roll of the dice. The rest of us are vaccinated and so far, no symptoms. We’ll all be testing when we get home.


So sorry to hear this. Please keep us posted.


----------



## Chaitali

So sorry to hear about everyone that’s sick . I hope you all get better soon!  We talked about it before we came down and decided we wanted to keep our trip, even with the risks.  We’re fully vaccinated, young and healthy and plan to isolate after getting home.  We‘re going to get proactively tested a couple days after we get home too so we know whether to Keep isolating or not.


----------



## ZellyB

cdurham1 said:


> At the 1pm BG drop, I got backup group 156.  They are on 50-64 right now.  What are the chances we get to ride today?



If it stays up and running you have a chance.  Our first day in the park back in February, we got backup group 151.  The ride stayed up all day and seemed to stay at a pretty consistent rate.  We got on but just barely.  152 ended up being the last group of the day.  We were tracking it all afternoon and thought we were in good shape not realizing they quit calling groups an hour before park close.  Still we made it and I hope you do as well!


----------



## ZellyB

cakebaker said:


> I’m sorry that happened. We’re on our way home now with my grandson who is sick. Testing in the area wasn’t possible and as long as we can control his fever, we’re waiting until we can test at hone where it’s much easier and he can be under his drs care. His temp hit a little over 103 last night so that was a little scary, but it’s down now thankfully.
> 
> We were absolutely as careful as we could be but with the crowd levels what they are and people fighting against masks, it’s a huge roll of the dice. The rest of us are vaccinated and so far, no symptoms. We’ll all be testing when we get home.



I'm so sorry to hear this.  I hope he improves quickly and that your trip home is not too uncomfortable for him.


----------



## Chaitali

Today morning went pretty well.  We walked from the Swan to Hollywood studios and got there at 8am for a 9am opening.  They started letting people in around 8:10 I think.  We went with the Galaxy’s edge group and we’re held until 8:30.  The CMs then walked the group to Baatu and we were close enough to the front that we got to be in the indoor portion of the line at smugglers run.  We got the gunner roles and loved the ride.  We were off by 9am and by that point the line was super long and in the sun for most of it.

We saw that toy story midway mania had a short line so we walked over there and rode that with a 12 minute wait.  Then the rest of the morning was all Star Wars for us.  We got some blue and green milk through mobile order.  I liked green the best and my husband liked blue.  We also put in a mobile order for Docking Bay 7 for later.

we had boarding group 18 for rise of the resistance so we meandered over that way since they were already on group 12.  We loved the ride, it was amazing!  I had managed to avoid all spoilers and was just blown away.

next it was time for our 11am build a droid appointment.  It was a little early so we watched some storm trooper antics while waiting.  We really enjoyed building our droid but it was packed and chaotic in there.  After that we went over to Docking Bay 7 to pick up our food.  I was surprised at how little seating there was.  We managed to find a table outside in the shade though.

after lunch we just enjoyed the atmosphere in Baatu and shopped.  We also did some missions on the play Disney app with our data pad . We had the stuff we bought shipped home since that was going to be easier than carrying it and well worth the $17.

it was packed by this point and we were tired.  So we left the park around 1 and took the boat back to the hotel.  It started raining while we were on the boat and I’m hearing thunder now from our room.  So I think it was good timing for our afternoon break   We’re heading back to DHS this evening for Star tours, muppets and hopefully Mickey and minnie’s railroad.


----------



## MEC004

DisneyFive said:


> HS today.  All the early mornings have caught up with us so we decided to sleep in and enjoy the Polynesian this morning.We will make it over to HS later.(our third and final  HS day this trip), so this will be our experiment with the park when you don’t rope drop .
> 
> Got BG 64 for ROTR.  Thankfully it says the return window is 360 minutes from now.
> I just love mornings at Walt Disney World.
> View attachment 593964
> Space Mountain and the castle are WAY closer than they appear in this picture for some reason
> -Dan



At the Poly what building are you in? I love your view! We asked for a lagoon view for next year. Thanks!


----------



## DisneyFive

MEC004 said:


> At the Poly what building are you in? I love your view! We asked for a lagoon view for next year. Thanks!


DVC Building- Moorea (sp?).

I’m not sure if the Hawaii building is DVC or not, but that looks like it would have similar views.

-Dan


----------



## p8ntldy

LiteBrite said:


> Agreed, love that salad, and I also usually order the kid's portion.  I find that if one of my sides is something a little more filling, like fries or the burnt end beans (which are delicious btw), it fills me right up.


As adults, they still Let you order off the kids menu?  I thought you had to be under a certain age to oder the kids’ portion.


----------



## Sarahslay

harleyquinn said:


> I guess the reports of fewer people on July 30, were a blip on the radar and not a new trend. Darn!
> 
> 
> At this point I'm planning on coming home with Covid. I can't believe that I typed those words and that we're still not going to cancel.
> 
> I'm sorry it happened to you, but happy that you self quarantined out of caution! We are planning to do that as well.


You could see on the park pass availability calendar that crowds were going to pick up today, green all weekend and then yellow today in two categories. Tons of people left on saturday, lots of people came in yesterday, will slow down again after this weekend (hopefully for a while so the poor CMs can catch a break). At this point, even though I'm sure I came down with Covid at the end of my June trip (and I'm fully vaccinated, but didn't get tested because I was isolating and thought it was just a cold so who knows....and I had covid last year too), I won't be surprised if I get it again. At this point I'm just a snot show when I get it, and my husband already told me just to come home and go straight to the bedroom and he'll have an at home test for me waiting. From my friend that works at WDW, the number of people they hear from that believe they have gotten covid in the parks is not low so everyone just needs to take every precaution they can. This is why I'm skaing my head at the above poster who openly admitted to standing in line with their mask down, but to each their own, I'm mainly going for F&W and Boo Bash so might just skip out on everything else.


----------



## rlk

cakebaker said:


> I’m sorry that happened. We’re on our way home now with my grandson who is sick. Testing in the area wasn’t possible and as long as we can control his fever, we’re waiting until we can test at hone where it’s much easier and he can be under his drs care. His temp hit a little over 103 last night so that was a little scary, but it’s down now thankfully.
> 
> We were absolutely as careful as we could be but with the crowd levels what they are and people fighting against masks, it’s a huge roll of the dice. The rest of us are vaccinated and so far, no symptoms. We’ll all be testing when we get home.



Sorry to hear your grandson is sick.  Are you flying or driving?


----------



## Sarahslay

p8ntldy said:


> As adults, they still Let you order off the kids menu?  I thought you had to be under a certain age to oder the kids’ portion.


No, they have no clue who you are ordering for, I got a meal off the kids menu (the salad with a side of watermelon and onion rings......those were for my husband since he just wanted a snack lol). It was only an issue on the dining plan at restaurants, but they don't know or care who you're ordering for, for all they know you have a kid sitting at a table nearby.


----------



## p8ntldy

Sarahslay said:


> No, they have no clue who you are ordering for, I got a meal off the kids menu (the salad with a side of watermelon and onion rings......those were for my husband since he just wanted a snack lol). It was only an issue on the dining plan at restaurants, but they don't know or care who you're ordering for, for all they know you have a kid sitting at a table nearby.


Oh ~~ you must be doing mobile orders.  Makes sense!


----------



## honeymo78

p8ntldy said:


> As adults, they still Let you order off the kids menu?  I thought you had to be under a certain age to oder the kids’ portion.


As long as it isn’t a fixed price meal, they really don’t care.  As recently as the end of June, we have ordered kids meals at QS both in person and on mobile and there are no children in our group.  My mom has also ordered kids meals at TS, most recently at Skipper Canteen in June.


----------



## DisneyFive

p8ntldy said:


> As adults, they still Let you order off the kids menu?  I thought you had to be under a certain age to oder the kids’ portion.


That is only buffets or family style or fixed price, menus like that.  Anyone can order a kids meal otherwise both quick service or table service

Dan


----------



## cakebaker

rlk said:


> Sorry to hear your grandson is sick.  Are you flying or driving?


 We are driving. Lucky we didn’t fly as we would not attempt to fly him home with symptoms. That would be beyond wreckless and irresponsible.


----------



## LiteBrite

p8ntldy said:


> Oh ~~ you must be doing mobile orders.  Makes sense!



Totally doesn't matter if it's mobile order or not - we used to do it all the time in the before times.  As long as we're talking about counter service, they really don't care.  They have no idea who you're ordering for, and I don't think they'd care even if they are aware.


----------



## 2letterwords

cakebaker said:


> We are driving. Lucky we didn’t fly as we would not attempt to fly him home with symptoms. That would be beyond wreckless and irresponsible.


I hope he feels better quickly.


----------



## LiteBrite

Makmak said:


> But they would have to employ an individual per boarding group that was “good at it like you.” When my 8 year old can write a program to emulate mouse clicks on a website so I was thinking that would be the way to go from a business perspective hahaha.



Lol, you're probably right.


----------



## rlk

cakebaker said:


> We are driving. Lucky we didn’t fly as we would not attempt to fly him home with symptoms. That would be beyond wreckless and irresponsible.



Thank you!  I had a feeling from all your prior posts that you were not a wreckless person.  Unfortunately, I had someone who didn't care sitting next to me on our plane ride home this past Saturday.  He actually told me his daughter who was in my row next to the window, had a fever and cough! He told this to me only after we were in the air after I commented about her falling asleep so quickly. Both my husband and I are vaccinated and already had Covid.  We will be pleasantly surprised if we don't start feeling symptoms in the next few days.  We live in an apartment building in NYC, so are isolating at our vacation home in PA.


----------



## Sarahslay

p8ntldy said:


> Oh ~~ you must be doing mobile orders.  Makes sense!


Yeah, but even if you walk up and order they don't really care. There is no dining plan so they don't really care, food is food and money is money, they don't care if I'm eating a kids meal or my kids is eating an adult meal. We got one adult meal, one kid meal, 2 extra drinks, and an extra side of watermlon and I'm the only person they saw since my whole family never all walks up to the window to pick up. Even if I had wanted to order in person and pay in cash they wouldn't have known because my husband would have stayed back with the kids.


----------



## tinkerhon

DS10 got a really bad cold first week into our trip ---    DD15 now has it---  she's vaccinated, but got hit with a doozy of a cold---  
Negative for Covid and strep, but she feels like crap---  

Thought both had allergies, but nope---   bad colds


----------



## cakebaker

rlk said:


> Thank you!  I had a feeling from all your prior posts that you were not a wreckless person.  Unfortunately, I had someone who didn't care sitting next to me on our plane ride home this past Saturday.  He actually told me his daughter who was in my row next to the window, had a fever and cough!  Both my husband and I are vaccinated and already had Covid.  We will be pleasantly surprised if we don't start feeling symptoms in the next few days.  We live in an apartment building in NYC, so are isolating at our vacation home in PA.


We felt bad enough that my son in law flew home to get back to work. But ultimately, he’s been exposed to god only knows how may people who were positive this week. He’s completely symptom free and he masks all the time just as we do. 

I absolutely think we showed poor judgement to go at all. We put my grandson at risk and there’s no getting around that. We’ve all got a pretty good case of the guilts. He may turn out to be negative, but his symptoms are pretty classic. So much for it being rare for kids to get it and symptoms being mild if they do.  It’s something I won’t ever do again. We’ll just have to cool our jets  until he can be vaccinated.


----------



## cakebaker

tinkerhon said:


> DS10 got a really bad cold first week into our trip ---    DD15 now has it---  she's vaccinated, but got hit with a doozy of a cold---
> Negative for Covid and strep, but she feels like crap---
> 
> Thought both had allergies, but nope---   bad colds


Sorry to hear that but it gives me some hope for my grandson not being positive. I just get furious over people going into the parks sick. It’s just so selfish. This is the first time my grandson has been sick since the beginning of covid.


----------



## notatallmagic

We've ordered off of the kids menu reguarly for years.  The adult portions are simply too big most places; and with the exception of buffets and fixed price places - we've always been told it's no problem.  Like other posters have said - they can't really tell who you are ordering for - but we often ask just to be sure, and have never been told no.  I just can't walk around in the heat with a super full stomach, and I hate wasting food


----------



## disny_luvr

First full day today. Got to DHS about 8:30. Rode  Tot and RnRC. We got the Mickey waffles with blueberries and strawberries (very good) for a quick breakfast at Scoops (I believe). Rode RotR and walked around GE exploring the different shops and then rode Star Tours. Ate a quick lunch at ABC Commissary (the buffalo chicken grilled cheese is really good). Rode MMRR before we headed back to the BC for a break. I loved MMRR! It stormed while we were riding, so we left and there was a BC bus waiting! Win win with the busses so far. 

Mask compliance has been so-so. Masks don’t really bother us at all. I honestly thought it would be much worse. Glad we didn’t cancel because of them. I wouldn’t plan a trip because you’ll feel safer with people masking; many are not and as soon as they pass a CM the masks are down. Hardly any mask compliance in bathrooms. 

The weather hasn’t been unbearable yet. Today there was a nice breeze. 

Headed back to DHS soon, hopefully by way of the Skyliner, for our Oga’s reservation and more rides.

Crowds have not been bad and we are happy with our day so far. Maybe there has been a drop in crowds. We had a very fun morning!


----------



## LeeLee'sMom

tinkerhon said:


> DS10 got a really bad cold first week into our trip ---    DD15 now has it---  she's vaccinated, but got hit with a doozy of a cold---
> Negative for Covid and strep, but she feels like crap---
> 
> Thought both had allergies, but nope---   bad colds


A couple people here at work also sick negative for Covid..just a summer cold luckily.


----------



## Adventureland

I hope all those awaiting test results are negative! We are much too close to consider cancelling and will just hope for reduced local crowds and good compliance now that the mandate has been up for a few days. I haven't had any post-masking colds yet so curious if I'm due for one now.


----------



## Iowamomof4

Well, all the discussion of the numbers of people who have gotten sick with COVID or similar after their trips are really bumming me out. All four of us are fully vaccinated (Pfizer) and we'll wear masks whenever possible and do our best. I already cancelled our Oga's reservation as that seems especially problematic to me. We fly to Orlando tomorrow. I really appreciate all these trip reports!


----------



## Cat0727

Just got back last night. Trip dates were 7/27-8/1. Had a really nice time despite it being very hot and pouring rain for a few hours on each of the first three days we were there. I think the heat index was at least 102 degrees each day. We went with a plan to take it easy, take lots of water breaks, and only do our "must-dos"- we nailed them all. Posted wait times were definitely inflated and I took some notes on some of the significant ones. 

MK on 7/27 - arrived in the evening. Only waited about 15 mins each for HM, SM, BTMRR despite their wait times being posted as 50+ minutes.

MK on 7/28 -  Went right to Splash when park opened, waited 20 mins. Line was constantly moving. Pirates was only 10 mins, wait said 40. BTMRR at lunchtime was 20 mins, wait said 50. Aladdin's Magic Carpets was the most accurate posted wait time out of all the rides we went on, about 20 minutes. Peoplemover was a walk-on.

7/29 - Pool day. Went to Disney Springs in the evening. It had just rained so wasn't crowded. Only about 20 people waiting outside for Gideon's. .

Epcot on 7/30 - first day of new mask rules for indoor locations. CMs were there to remind guests to put masks on before heading inside any indoor location and there were also periodic overhead announcements. This day I began to notice more people were keeping their masks on outside now, too.

DHS on 7/31 - got boarding group 46 for ROTR, was called by 11:30am. Rope dropped MMRR, wait was about 15 mins. ToT was barely 15 mins, half its posted time. Second time on ToT was at 2pm; wait ended up accurate at 40 mins because one side stopped operating halfway through the queue. Toy Story Land was a madhouse, as was Galaxy's Edge. MFSR was posted as a 90 min wait and it looked very close to being accurate. Everyone I saw that day was compliant with the new mask rules. No attitudes towards the CMs. It was really nice to see. For some outdoor queues CMs were informing guests to put their masks on, like ToT.

Epcot on 8/1 - it felt like no one was there yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised. The France F&W booth is my barometer for the park and when I passed by at 2pm there was no line. Soarin' and The Land were walk-ons.


----------



## Sarahslay

cakebaker said:


> Sorry to hear that but it gives me some hope for my grandson not being positive. I just get furious over people going into the parks sick. It’s just so selfish. This is the first time my grandson has been sick since the beginning of covid.


there were sick kids everywhere when we were there memorial day week, it was crazy. Fingers crossed he just caught one of these summer colds that's going around. I know both of my kids caught colds at the end of the school year, scared me to death even though they both had covid in March 2020, miserable for about a week and then perfectly fine. Fingers crossed! It really is a shame people can't use better judgement and just stay home/go home when a member of their family is sick with anything (not just Covid, but anything). I know it's a spendy trip, but it's not fun for the sick person or the people they infect along the way. Sending positive healing vibes your way!


----------



## DaniMoon

Adventureland said:


> I hope all those awaiting test results are negative! We are much too close to consider cancelling and will just hope for reduced local crowds and good compliance now that the mandate has been up for a few days. I haven't had any post-masking colds yet so curious if I'm due for one now.



Right there with you.   We arrive Friday.


----------



## notatallmagic

tinkerhon said:


> DS10 got a really bad cold first week into our trip ---    DD15 now has it---  she's vaccinated, but got hit with a doozy of a cold---
> Negative for Covid and strep, but she feels like crap---
> 
> Thought both had allergies, but nope---   bad colds



I'm going to bet that I just had a quick summer cold - still scary though.  Haven't had anything at all since 2019.

We've been taking our temperatures daily now since Covid started, and none of us ever had a fever; like I mentioned before, neither kid had any symptoms - just me with congestion and a killer headache.

I haven't taken anything today, and head is clear.  Fully vaccinated, but still scary.  I did sleep about 14 hours yesterday.  Sigh.  Hope everyone else just has a summer cold too!


----------



## bbn1122

Thanks to everyone for sharing your recent experiences, the good and bad.

 For everyone who are sick with COVID, cold or allergies.

I was there in November with DH and swore I was sick after I left.  I was fully masked up, social distancing, but it was high numbers in Florida and I was nervous. I was fine.

Fast forward to planning my families August trip. I figure when first planning that Mask would still be Mandated.  I was thrilled to hear about the outside mask lifting in May and then full mandate lifted in June.  I was really mad when I heard about the soaring cases in Florida and Disney bringing back the Mask Mandates. I was so excited to getting back to normal.  My whole family is fully vaccinated and we lived through NJ COVID, which was rough.  But, I calmed down and realize Disney is protecting us.
We will be masking up.  We will try to distance when we can and hand wash/sanitize often.

We are DVC members and are planning 3 park hopping days and 4 resort/Disney Springs days.  We are plans to get parks first thing, leave by 1pm or 2pm, take a break and finish each evening at Epcot.

In regards to BG strategy, can everyone in my group try to obtain a BG at the same time.  I made the reservation for the trip.  But everyone will be using the APP with my sign in to navigate the trip and plans.  I was hoping that 6 persons trying at 7am would give us a fighting chance.

Once, again thanks for everyone’s help with what to expect in 2 weeks. I am hoping by mid August that crowds maybe down a little.


----------



## jbrinkm

cakebaker said:


> I’m sorry that happened. We’re on our way home now with my grandson who is sick. Testing in the area wasn’t possible and as long as we can control his fever, we’re waiting until we can test at hone where it’s much easier and he can be under his drs care. His temp hit a little over 103 last night so that was a little scary, but it’s down now thankfully.
> 
> We were absolutely as careful as we could be but with the crowd levels what they are and people fighting against masks, it’s a huge roll of the dice. The rest of us are vaccinated and so far, no symptoms. We’ll all be testing when we get home.



That really stinks, I'm so sorry.

FYI, RSV cases are up as well in children around the country. Something to keep in mind if the covid test is negative.


----------



## e_yerger

Cat0727 said:


> Epcot on 7/30 - first day of new mask rules for indoor locations. CMs were there to remind guests to put masks on before heading inside any indoor location and there were also periodic overhead announcements. *This day I began to notice more people were keeping their masks on outside now, too.*


This is really reassuring. I hope that by 8/14 we're seeing even more people with masks outdoors. Getting really nervous with all this talk about people coming home with cases.


----------



## monstermash23

https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...trip-was-a-bit-different-full-review.3847666/
Not sure if linking other threads are allowed but my review was too long to post here. So I posted it in another thread and am linking it here for anyone interested. Just got back from a two week trip and was able to experience a lot, so hope my long review helps anyone.


----------



## Goldilocks07

disny_luvr said:


> First full day today. Got to DHS about 8:30. Rode  Tot and RnRC. We got the Mickey waffles with blueberries and strawberries (very good) for a quick breakfast at Scoops (I believe). Rode RotR and walked around GE exploring the different shops and then rode Star Tours. Ate a quick lunch at ABC Commissary (the buffalo chicken grilled cheese is really good). Rode MMRR before we headed back to the BC for a break. I loved MMRR! It stormed while we were riding, so we left and there was a BC bus waiting! Win win with the busses so far.
> 
> Mask compliance has been so-so. Masks don’t really bother us at all. I honestly thought it would be much worse. Glad we didn’t cancel because of them. I wouldn’t plan a trip because you’ll feel safer with people masking; many are not and as soon as they pass a CM the masks are down. Hardly any mask compliance in bathrooms.
> 
> The weather hasn’t been unbearable yet. Today there was a nice breeze.
> 
> Headed back to DHS soon, hopefully by way of the Skyliner, for our Oga’s reservation and more rides.
> 
> Crowds have not been bad and we are happy with our day so far. Maybe there has been a drop in crowds. We had a very fun morning!



wow you and I had opposite experiences on the same day.
We found it unbearably hot and insane crowds. 100 min wait for slinky at 9am??
Got in line for MMRR at 8:51 and waited 45 min. In crazy heat.

glad you had a good day-
I’m never coming back in august w out fast passes. EVER AGAIN.


----------



## hvanes

Just checked out this morning and on our way to the beach. Thought I'd share some thoughts about our stay July 25-Aug 2. It was our first trip in two years; we always go the same week. Last year was really hard. My husband's job was shut down for 8 weeks, and when he was able to go back, he didn't feel like he could take a vacation. So not only was this our first Disney trip in 2 years, it was his first vacation in that long. I had taken 3 of our children to a lake for a long weekend, but needless to say, we were so excited for this trip, even knowing it would be different (though not expecting that mask change - whew!).

Resort: Coronado Springs - first time at a moderate resort and have done nothing but DVC the last 5 trips so I was worried we'd be disappointed. In short, we LOVED it. Beautiful property, clean & pretty rooms, our kids loved the theming. Loved the Dig Site! Buses were either awesome or really bad... But only really bad twice (once leaving MK and once trying to get to MK in the evening). DH and I got 3 Bridges to go twice after getting back late from the parks - really good!! Also liked the options at Siestas Cantina. On day 2 of our stay, housekeeping came while my daughter was napping. She apologized and said she'd come back. She didn't. The following day I went to the front desk because our garbage was overflowing in both rooms. There was a note we had "declined" housekeeping the day before.  This was all clarified and rectified very quickly. Within 15 minutes we had a clean room and no more issues going forward. In fact, the same thing happened with my daughter napping on Saturday (teenagers!) and later someone came to make sure that housekeeping had returned to service the room. Every single CM we encountered was so helpful and kind.

Parks: I used Lines religiously and it didn't fail us. I know there's a certain amount of luck involved, but our trip would have looked totally different without that app. I watched times the week leading up to our trip, and we had a loose and flexible plan. We did rope drop every morning except for our one Epcot day (we cruised in at about 11:15 and totally missed the opening chaos but still walked right on Soarin). In the first 2-3 hours we would knock out 5-6 rides and then grab lunch and head back to enjoy the Dig Site. I remember the first morning in MK my dh was watching times on MDE and he was very concerned about us standing in a 50-minute line for PotC (it was 15). ☺ It was in the evenings that, honestly, we really missed FP+. I loved sitting with my evening snack or drink and nabbing FPs for my family to use around the park. We got to do everything we wanted this time, but some of our favorites were only done once in two days rather than a couple rides each time. That said.... I learned to enjoy NOT being glued to my phone, developing carpal tunnel as I refreshed on repeat for hours every day. It was different.... but still good! I kept telling them, "Be flexible in your spirit"  Most of us are pretty type A and the rest just don't like change, so it's an interesting mix... But they did great.

Food: Mobile ordering worked well for us. One HS morning I placed our Woody's order on the bus on the way to the park. As others mentioned, we mostly snacked in MK... Had a lot of ice cream there! The kids ordered The Back Side of Water last night and loved it, fyi! The new coconut Dole Whip is also great. Had lunch yesterday at Crystal Palace and we all really enjoyed our choices. We had one of the first lunch reservations of the day, and our food was hot and fresh. Loved Oga's too! We ate at Sci-Fi one night -- had never been, but hadn't heard great things -- but our kids absolutely loved it and I thought the food was good! The restaurant was maybe half full, and I know all the reservations were taken because I had tried to change our time to no avail. We've never done this many ADRs in one trip, but I'm so glad we did, with wait times what they are in the evenings. Loved the Wookie cookie at Backlot -- it's huge, btw. And I also loved my pork carnitas kids bowl at Pecos Bill. ☺ Something light and fresh is always nice. Our favorite thing of all was Food & Wine. Always going in July means we've never done this, and we loved sharing items and just taking a slower pace at night.

Etc: CM interactions for us were only happy. Feel really grateful for their willingness to work in an uncertain time. Didn't see any of the garbage concerns some have mentioned - not saying that doesn't exist, just that it's not a universal experience. Had good luck doing headliners at park close (Test Track said 60, took 10; 7D said 90, took 40. Slinky Dog - said 100, took 50 and was even shorter the second night). Got RotR boarding groups 5 and 6 using the tips shared here - thank you! On Friday night at Epcot a squirrel was edging his way into Disney Traders. My daughter shouted, "Hey! You can't go in there without a mask!" He stopped and looked at her like he totally understood, and it was just all so funny. Like... What even are these times?!

This week proved yet again that things continue to be uncertain. If you feel comfortable going, I just want to say that we found so much joy. But if you're not comfortable, maybe now is not the time, and that's ok too. For those who are not feeling well... I'm so sorry. Most of our family got Covid last fall, and it was pretty rough for two of us. We've all made a full recovery, and I hope you do too.


----------



## harleyquinn

hvanes said:


> Just checked out this morning and on our way to the beach. Thought I'd share some thoughts about our stay July 25-Aug 2. It was our first trip in two years; we always go the same week. Last year was really hard. My husband's job was shut down for 8 weeks, and when he was able to go back, he didn't feel like he could take a vacation. So not only was this our first Disney trip in 2 years, it was his first vacation in that long. I had taken 3 of our children to a lake for a long weekend, but needless to say, we were so excited for this trip, even knowing it would be different (though not expecting that mask change - whew!).
> 
> Resort: Coronado Springs - first time at a moderate resort and have done nothing but DVC the last 5 trips so I was worried we'd be disappointed. In short, we LOVED it. Beautiful property, clean & pretty rooms, our kids loved the theming. Loved the Dig Site! Buses were either awesome or really bad... But only really bad twice (once leaving MK and once trying to get to MK in the evening). DH and I got 3 Bridges to go twice after getting back late from the parks - really good!! Also liked the options at Siestas Cantina. On day 2 of our stay, housekeeping came while my daughter was napping. She apologized and said she'd come back. She didn't. The following day I went to the front desk because our garbage was overflowing in both rooms. There was a note we had "declined" housekeeping the day before.  This was all clarified and rectified very quickly. Within 15 minutes we had a clean room and no more issues going forward. In fact, the same thing happened with my daughter napping on Saturday (teenagers!) and later someone came to make sure that housekeeping had returned to service the room. Every single CM we encountered was so helpful and kind.
> 
> Parks: I used Lines religiously and it didn't fail us. I know there's a certain amount of luck involved, but our trip would have looked totally different without that app. I watched times the week leading up to our trip, and we had a loose and flexible plan. We did rope drop every morning except for our one Epcot day (we cruised in at about 11:15 and totally missed the opening chaos but still walked right on Soarin). In the first 2-3 hours we would knock out 5-6 rides and then grab lunch and head back to enjoy the Dig Site. I remember the first morning in MK my dh was watching times on MDE and he was very concerned about us standing in a 50-minute line for PotC (it was 15). ☺ It was in the evenings that, honestly, we really missed FP+. I loved sitting with my evening snack or drink and nabbing FPs for my family to use around the park. We got to do everything we wanted this time, but some of our favorites were only done once in two days rather than a couple rides each time. That said.... I learned to enjoy NOT being glued to my phone, developing carpal tunnel as I refreshed on repeat for hours every day. It was different.... but still good! I kept telling them, "Be flexible in your spirit"  Most of us are pretty type A and the rest just don't like change, so it's an interesting mix... But they did great.
> 
> Food: Mobile ordering worked well for us. One HS morning I placed our Woody's order on the bus on the way to the park. As others mentioned, we mostly snacked in MK... Had a lot of ice cream there! The kids ordered The Back Side of Water last night and loved it, fyi! The new coconut Dole Whip is also great. Had lunch yesterday at Crystal Palace and we all really enjoyed our choices. We had one of the first lunch reservations of the day, and our food was hot and fresh. Loved Oga's too! We ate at Sci-Fi one night -- had never been, but hadn't heard great things -- but our kids absolutely loved it and I thought the food was good! The restaurant was maybe half full, and I know all the reservations were taken because I had tried to change our time to no avail. We've never done this many ADRs in one trip, but I'm so glad we did, with wait times what they are in the evenings. Loved the Wookie cookie at Backlot -- it's huge, btw. And I also loved my pork carnitas kids bowl at Pecos Bill. ☺ Something light and fresh is always nice. Our favorite thing of all was Food & Wine. Always going in July means we've never done this, and we loved sharing items


THANK YOU!! You’re family sounds similar to mine (we’re even staying at CSR for the first time and are a little worried). We’ve really been contemplating cancelling and your post (and other recent ones) is pushing me back to just going. I appreciate you taking the time to share.


----------



## 100AcreWood

We're just back from a 4 night stay.  I'll keep it short.  We LOVED not having fast passes.  It was awesome.  The longest we waited was 90 minutes for Smuggler's Run. Everything else was less than the time posted.  We often waited for 1/2 of the time that was posted.  The park felt crowded but the lines did not.  Mobile ordering was great.  EPCOT food and wine was the best we've ever experienced.  The food was especially good this year.  Transportation was fast except for the night we left EPCOT and the monorail was not working.  We were stuck at the TTC waiting for a bus.  It took forever and it was not a great way to end the evening.  Cast members were all very helpful and friendly with a few exceptions.  During the last two days when the mask rules changed, we saw the stress in some of their faces.  We even heard one CM say "oh great, I'm going to get yelled at again" when she had to remind families to put on their masks.  We felt bad for a few CMs since my dd has also experienced this at her part time retail job.  Our experience was overall positive.  Here's my tip - try the cheeseburger spring rolls near Adventureland in the MK!


----------



## JayMass

disny_luvr said:


> Crowds have not been bad and we are happy with our day so far. Maybe there has been a drop in crowds. We had a very fun morning!


We arrive on 8/16 and I'm hoping for lower crowd levels. Lots of southeastern and western schools go back to school either this week or next week so that should bring those levels down a bit.


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## 2letterwords

harleyquinn said:


> THANK YOU!! You’re family sounds similar to mine (we’re even staying at CSR for the first time and are a little worried). We’ve really been contemplating cancelling and your post (and other recent ones) is pushing me back to just going. I appreciate you taking the time to share.


Same here. Right down to CSR first-timers. My kids are so excited for the dig site in particular. Figure if the parks are too crowded, they'll have a fun pool to play in.


----------



## cdurham1

Goldilocks07 said:


> wow you and I had opposite experiences on the same day.
> We found it unbearably hot and insane crowds. 100 min wait for slinky at 9am??
> Got in line for MMRR at 8:51 and waited 45 min. In crazy heat.
> 
> glad you had a good day-
> I’m never coming back in august w out fast passes. EVER AGAIN.


Yeah, I was there today and similar to yours.  I wish I had the same attitude/experience as the poster,  but nope


----------



## tinkerhon

notatallmagic said:


> I'm going to bet that I just had a quick summer cold - still scary though.  Haven't had anything at all since 2019.
> 
> We've been taking our temperatures daily now since Covid started, and none of us ever had a fever; like I mentioned before, neither kid had any symptoms - just me with congestion and a killer headache.
> 
> I haven't taken anything today, and head is clear.  Fully vaccinated, but still scary.  I did sleep about 14 hours yesterday.  Sigh.  Hope everyone else just has a summer cold too!



Exactly----   only mentioned it because of exactly what you said--- three of us haven't had anything since 2019--- nothing !! Not even a sniffle (other than my son's allergies!!)


----------



## tinkerhon

Goldilocks07 said:


> wow you and I had opposite experiences on the same day.
> 
> 
> We found it unbearably hot and insane crowds. 100 min wait for slinky at 9am??
> 
> 
> 
> Got in line for MMRR at 8:51 and waited 45 min. In crazy heat.
> 
> glad you had a good day-
> I’m never coming back in august w out fast passes. EVER AGAIN.



Same, except July for us--- without FP...its a no go !!


----------



## monstermash23

tinkerhon said:


> Same, except July for us--- without FP...its a no go !!



Pretty much our sentiments in a nutshell, plus more.


----------



## tinkerhon

cakebaker said:


> Sorry to hear that but it gives me some hope for my grandson not being positive. I just get furious over people going into the parks sick. It’s just so selfish. This is the first time my grandson has been sick since the beginning of covid.



There were ppl coughing all over the place when we went---  and no masks--- we were outside one day in Epcot, and started to pour---  found shelter outside of one of the bathroom areas, and a lady sitting there sounded like she was going to choke up a lung her cough was so bad !!


----------



## hvanes

2letterwords said:


> Same here. Right down to CSR first-timers. My kids are so excited for the dig site in particular. Figure if the parks are too crowded, they'll have a fun pool to play in.



Every time we go to Disney we say we wish we'd had more pool time. We finally did this trip, and it was great.


----------



## 2Lunds

cdurham1 said:


> https://www.disneytouristblog.com/1-day-magic-kingdom-plans/
> I was there the same morning as Tom and agree with his updated touring plan strategy for the most part.  Rope dropping Space Mountain was a failure for us.  The second morning we rope dropped BTM, which is a risk because it seems to be down at opening 25% of the time.  The wait time for Splash Mountain immediately seemed to skyrocket, much like our personal experience at Space Mountain.
> 
> 3 reasons I think it makes sense to RD BTM right now - 1.  The shade at Liberty Square entrance at the hub.  The first day we rope dropped Space Mountain the crowd at the Tomorrowland Bridge was intense and directly in the sun.  Sitting in the direct sun for 30 minutes in this heat and  a crowd is a terrible way to start the day.  2.  Because BTM is down so much at opening, relatively few people RD it thinking it is too big a risk, BUT 3. If it is down, you are close enough to correct your course upon finding out and reroute to PPF and HM, imo.


Planning your day to follow the shade in the summer is a killer idea and I'm surprised I haven't seen it suggested before...


----------



## tinkerhon

cakebaker said:


> I’m sorry that happened. We’re on our way home now with my grandson who is sick. Testing in the area wasn’t possible and as long as we can control his fever, we’re waiting until we can test at hone where it’s much easier and he can be under his drs care. His temp hit a little over 103 last night so that was a little scary, but it’s down now thankfully.
> 
> We were absolutely as careful as we could be but with the crowd levels what they are and people fighting against masks, it’s a huge roll of the dice. The rest of us are vaccinated and so far, no symptoms. We’ll all be testing when we get home.



Prayers out to all of you----   guess is the summer cold/virus that is seems like everyone is catching--- I mentioned this in another post---    DD15 and I are both vax'd, and she kept saying "dad, dont worry"---   by the middle of the trip, her tone changed---   some of the lines were ridiculous as far as any chance of distancing at all--- I would have gladly taken even 3 feet !!!


----------



## rlk

cdurham1 said:


> https://www.disneytouristblog.com/1-day-magic-kingdom-plans/
> I was there the same morning as Tom and agree with his updated touring plan strategy for the most part.  Rope dropping Space Mountain was a failure for us.  The second morning we rope dropped BTM, which is a risk because it seems to be down at opening 25% of the time.  The wait time for Splash Mountain immediately seemed to skyrocket, much like our personal experience at Space Mountain.
> 
> 3 reasons I think it makes sense to RD BTM right now - 1.  The shade at Liberty Square entrance at the hub.  The first day we rope dropped Space Mountain the crowd at the Tomorrowland Bridge was intense and directly in the sun.  Sitting in the direct sun for 30 minutes in this heat and  a crowd is a terrible way to start the day.  2.  Because BTM is down so much at opening, relatively few people RD it thinking it is too big a risk, BUT 3. If it is down, you are close enough to correct your course upon finding out and reroute to PPF and HM, imo.



We always prefer rope dropping BTMRR or Splash because of all the reasons you mention.  During our first rope drop this past trip, we were waiting up front to head to BTMMRR when the CM announced both Splash & BTMRR would not open at 9:00.  We switch plans and were among the first group to ride PP.


----------



## oceanmarina

2letterwords said:


> Same here. Right down to CSR first-timers. My kids are so excited for the dig site in particular. Figure if the parks are too crowded, they'll have a fun pool to play in.



Hi what’s the dig site may I ask? (Sounds fun)


----------



## Ecomommy09

oceanmarina said:


> Hi what’s the dig site may I ask? (Sounds fun)


The Pool at CSR


----------



## Farro

oceanmarina said:


> Hi what’s the dig site may I ask? (Sounds fun)



Here! (I'm a bit excited to see it firsthand!)


----------



## yaya74

Just want to wish all of you who unfortunately caught a Covid bug or cold bug recover quickly and promptly. I enjoy reading all of your reports and suggestions. To those of you who have trips quickly approaching, I want to wish you all a happy, healthy and safe trip. Please don’t forget to tell those hard working CMs how important they are.  To those who are postponing the trip, thank Goodness that we have Disboards to satisfy our Disney itches until we are back on the road to see the castle really soon again.


----------



## CarolynFH

Farro said:


> Here! (I'm a bit excited to see it firsthand!)
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 594130
> 
> View attachment 594134


The slide is really cool!


----------



## monsterkitty

100AcreWood said:


> We're just back from a 4 night stay.  I'll keep it short.  We LOVED not having fast passes.  It was awesome.  The longest we waited was 90 minutes for Smuggler's Run. Everything else was less than the time posted.  We often waited for 1/2 of the time that was posted.  The park felt crowded but the lines did not.  Mobile ordering was great.  EPCOT food and wine was the best we've ever experienced.  The food was especially good this year.  Transportation was fast except for the night we left EPCOT and the monorail was not working.  We were stuck at the TTC waiting for a bus.  It took forever and it was not a great way to end the evening.  Cast members were all very helpful and friendly with a few exceptions.  During the last two days when the mask rules changed, we saw the stress in some of their faces.  We even heard one CM say "oh great, I'm going to get yelled at again" when she had to remind families to put on their masks.  We felt bad for a few CMs since my dd has also experienced this at her part time retail job.  Our experience was overall positive.  Here's my tip - *try the cheeseburger spring rolls near Adventureland in the MK!*



We loved not having FP as well when we went in June. However, the mobile ordering was not that great for us. We had to wait up to 30 minutes after our window ended for food that we ordered when we entered each park in the morning. This was before the college program CMs came back so I'm sure they were very short handed and that led to the delays.

We didn't try the cheeseburger spring rolls, but had the buffalo chicken ones instead. I'm so addicted to them now I'm making them in my airfryer and then freezing them for quick lunches. Maybe I should try making the cheeseburger ones as well.


----------



## andied

We arrived Saturday and i was kinda dreading this trip because of Covid ramping back up and the crowds and heat. I’m pleased to say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

We were at MK yesterday and did everything we wanted. Park was crowded and hot but we managed expectations, wore our masks in crowds and went back to the resort during the day. Ate at Cali Grill at 5 and went back to MK after dinner did rides instead of fireworks and did HM, SW, 7DMT and PoC between 9 and 10

Today was Epcot. We started at IG at 11 and stayed through the day. It was hot but we had a rain shower at around 1 and it somehow actually cooled down. Did everything at a leisurely pace and had a fantastic time.   First time we didn’t go back to the resort mid-day in forever.

So, please don’t get too discouraged reading these trip reports. Yes, it’s hot and crowded. Yes, there’s still a pandemic and I was very nervous watching the numbers rise, but I’ve felt pretty good about things (if we were in crowds: we masked and we just avoided things that were crazy crowded like Main Street at  closing. We definitely have felt the magic and don’t regret our trip at all.


----------



## cdurham1

Here is rhe crowd trying to get on the monorail at 10pm.  We just took a boat to GF and there was no wait for that.


----------



## Chaitali

The second part of our day was great!  The rain in the afternoon really cooled things down for the evening.  We started out with an early dinner at Bluezoo.  The food was great but again, no distancing.  They had plenty of room but still sat us right next to another party.

We took the boat back to Hollywood Studios and got there around 6:45.  We saw a cavalcade as soon as we got in the park.  We went straight to Mickey and Minnie’s Railroad after that.  It was posted at 45 but it only took around 20 minutes.  Then we did Star tours in 5 minutes.  I hadn’t seen the recent scenes so that was fun and new for me.  

We got a bunch of photo pass shots after that and went back to Baatu for playing the games on the data pad.  I really enjoyed the hackings And various missions.  I love the interactivity it gives the land.  We also rode smuggler run again.  Posted as 30 minutes and took 20.  Baatu was beautiful at night. We slowly strolled out at 9 and got the boat back to out hotel.  The evening really worked out better thank the afternoon.  Morning and evening really seems to work out well.  Epcot tomorrow!


----------



## disny_luvr

Goldilocks07 said:


> wow you and I had opposite experiences on the same day.
> We found it unbearably hot and insane crowds. 100 min wait for slinky at 9am??
> Got in line for MMRR at 8:51 and waited 45 min. In crazy heat.
> 
> glad you had a good day-
> I’m never coming back in august w out fast passes. EVER AGAIN.



Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that! We were talking on the way home from DHS and today was one of our favorite Disney days ever! I’m almost afraid to say that since we are here until August 14th and I really hope things don’t turn south, but we truly had a fun day!


----------



## disny_luvr

andied said:


> We arrived Saturday and i was kinda dreading this trip because of Covid ramping back up and the crowds and heat. I’m pleased to say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
> 
> We were at MK yesterday and did everything we wanted. Park was crowded and hot but we managed expectations, wore our masks in crowds and went back to the resort during the day. Ate at Cali Grill at 5 and went back to MK after dinner did rides instead of fireworks and did HM, SW, 7DMT and PoC between 9 and 10
> 
> Today was Epcot. We started at IG at 11 and stayed through the day. It was hot but we had a rain shower at around 1 and it somehow actually cooled down. Did everything at a leisurely pace and had a fantastic time.   First time we didn’t go back to the resort mid-day in forever.
> 
> So, please don’t get too discouraged reading these trip reports. Yes, it’s hot and crowded. Yes, there’s still a pandemic and I was very nervous watching the numbers rise, but I’ve felt pretty good about things (if we were in crowds: we masked and we just avoided things that were crazy crowded like Main Street at  closing. We definitely have felt the magic and don’t regret our trip at all.



We got here yesterday and today was probably our favorite Disney day ever! Yes, the magic is still here! All the CMs have been great, but two in particular were absolutely awesome today! We are here until the 14th so who knows what the rest of the days have in store, but today was so fun!


----------



## cakebaker

For those following our saga- We have stopped in Mobile for the night. Traffic has been awful and we didn’t get near as far as we hoped. My grandsons temp was rising again and it’s hard to get it under control in the car for some reason, always has been when he’s gotten sick on trips. My daughter, who is vaccinated, now has a sore throat- that’s the first symptom my grandson had. 

We’ve already gotten our doctors to order covid tests, but most likely we won’t be home in time to get it done tomorrow, we still have 11 hrs of driving ahead of us. I still hold out hope that he just caught a bug of some kind and will be glad to get answers soon. I truly appreciate those who have expressed well wishes and concern. I just want to be home where we can control our environment again.


----------



## cakebaker

cdurham1 said:


> View attachment 594216
> 
> Here is rhe crowd trying to get on the monorail at 10pm.  We just took a boat to GF and there was no wait for that.


We saw crowds much like that on our nights at the MK. It’s stunning to see so many people crowded together right now. Nothing good can come from that. I was very glad we had chosen a resort with boat service.


----------



## disny_luvr

*Part one of our day is up thread.

After resting at our resort this afternoon, we went back to DHS. We ate ronto wraps from Docking Bay 7 and then headed into Toy Story Land. We rode Toy Story Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers and then it was time for our ADR at Oga’s. We absolutely loved our server, Heather. She was amazing. If you go to Oga’s, do yourself a favor and ask for her. How do I acknowledge her? After leaving, we got some great photos taken in front of the Millennium Falcon. Around 8:30, we got in line for SDD. We were off at 9:14. We rode the Skyliner back to the BC. That’s a fun mode of transportation! 

We were able to ride everything in DHS today except for Smuggler’s Run, which we’ll ride on our next day there later this week. We thought today was very successful and fun!


----------



## disny_luvr

100AcreWood said:


> We're just back from a 4 night stay.  I'll keep it short.  We LOVED not having fast passes.  It was awesome.  The longest we waited was 90 minutes for Smuggler's Run. Everything else was less than the time posted.  We often waited for 1/2 of the time that was posted.  The park felt crowded but the lines did not.  Mobile ordering was great.  EPCOT food and wine was the best we've ever experienced.  The food was especially good this year.  Transportation was fast except for the night we left EPCOT and the monorail was not working.  We were stuck at the TTC waiting for a bus.  It took forever and it was not a great way to end the evening.  Cast members were all very helpful and friendly with a few exceptions.  During the last two days when the mask rules changed, we saw the stress in some of their faces.  We even heard one CM say "oh great, I'm going to get yelled at again" when she had to remind families to put on their masks.  We felt bad for a few CMs since my dd has also experienced this at her part time retail job.  Our experience was overall positive.  Here's my tip - try the cheeseburger spring rolls near Adventureland in the MK!



Today was our first park day and we loved not having fast passes, too! My mind might change in the days to come, but so far, so good!


----------



## yaya74

cakebaker said:


> For those following our saga- We have stopped in Mobile for the night. Traffic has been awful and we didn’t get near as far as we hoped. My grandsons temp was rising again and it’s hard to get it under control in the car for some reason, always has been when he’s gotten sick on trips. My daughter, who is vaccinated, now has a sore throat- that’s the first symptom my grandson had.
> 
> We’ve already gotten our doctors to order covid tests, but most likely we won’t be home in time to get it done tomorrow, we still have 11 hrs of driving ahead of us. I still hold out hope that he just caught a big of some kind and will be glad to get answers soon. I truly appreciate those who have expressed well wishes and concern. I just want to be home where we can control our environment again.



I am hoping that your grandson and you daughter caught the same cold virus as my kids did when we were there in early July. First sore throat, followed by a day of fever, then the fever went away but runny nose and coughing persist for 5-7 days. I hope your family will get home as soon as possible and your grandson and daughter will feel better soon.


----------



## preemiemama

disny_luvr said:


> After resting at our resort this afternoon, we went back to DHS. We ate ronto wraps from Docking Bay 7 and then headed into Toy Story Land. We rode Toy Story Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers and then it was time for our ADR at Oga’s. We absolutely loved our server, Heather. She was amazing. If you go to Oga’s, do yourself a favor and ask for her. How do I acknowledge her?


You can tweet (or DM) a #castcompliment to @WDWGuestService on Twitter or you can email WDW at wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. You'll get a much faster response from the Twitter account!


----------



## stiirfry

Hey guys!! This is my first post here and also my sister and I's first trip together to Disney by ourselves  I booked this trip back in April and was a little worried to go on it due to COVID. However, crowds are relatively easy to avoid (for now, it's our first day lol) plus we're both vaccinated adults.

We left STL ~6:30am and landed at 9:30. Got to CBR by around 12 and was told we were too early for check in so we dropped our luggage off and went to Art of Animation resort mostly because we wanted to check out the skyliner. We had lunch there and then our room was ready about 2pm. 

 We went to MK and the lines from 4-7:30pm were pretty bad... Most rides we wanted were 100+ minutes. We rode the buzz lightyear shooter and the line took around 35 minutes and carousel of progress (which we got stuck on and had to watch the first sequence FOUR TIMES).... Afterwards we had dinner and got out around 8:20 we managed to ride three rides in the last hour of the night Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain! Their wait times all said ~35 minutes however thunder and space mountain maybe took 20 min and HM was walk on. Honestly, we could have probably squeezed in one more ride but we wanted to sneak out a bit before close. The biggest crowd we inevitably had was taking the bus back to CBR and exiting the MK at around close. From what I've seen masks in lines that are inside are pretty consistent and most people I saw actually followed the rules.

Tomorrow is Epcot, we're planning on drinking around the world  Any tips or suggestions for Epcot we'd love! We're planning on mostly eating and drinking tomorrow but will probably ride a few rides.


----------



## Eastern

Marvin1968 said:


> Same, we fly down Saturday.  My teens don’t understand how hot it’s going to be.  They started to pack black t-shirts. Lol


I see this all the time in the FL heat: people wearing dark tops and dark jeans. It's much cooler if you wear lighter fabric/colors. Performance/exercise type clothing is best because it dries so quickly.


----------



## hvanes

monsterkitty said:


> We loved not having FP as well when we went in June. However, the mobile ordering was not that great for us. We had to wait up to 30 minutes after our window ended for food that we ordered when we entered each park in the morning. This was before the college program CMs came back so I'm sure they were very short handed and that led to the delays.
> 
> We didn't try the cheeseburger spring rolls, but had the buffalo chicken ones instead. I'm so addicted to them now I'm making them in my airfryer and then freezing them for quick lunches. Maybe I should try making the cheeseburger ones as well.


I'm so sorry; my in-laws went in April and orders were scheduling out 2-3 hours. It was really hard for them because hungry kids = angry kids. I was really nervous about mobile ordering going in. But I think things are better now. I didn't have to "order ahead" at any site, I just did it because I wanted to have it off my mind. And I never waited longer than 5 minutes for our meal to be prepped on this trip. Usually I pressed "I'm here now, prepare my order" when we were on our way over and it timed out nicely.


----------



## cdurham1

Eastern said:


> I see this all the time in the FL heat: people wearing dark tops and dark jeans. It's much cooler if you wear lighter fabric/colors. Performance/exercise type clothing is best because it dries so quickly.



This trip i made sure we brought as many athletic/active wear as possible.  It makes a huge difference.  Cotton is terrible for this weather.  If you are going to wear t shirts, get some athletic wear t shirts.  Don't wear plain cotton.


----------



## cdurham1

I normally carry a backpack with snacks, water, umbrellas, etc.  In this heat, I recommend skipping it if you can.  We stop at every water fountain instead.  Man, that backpack adds more physical stress than you think in this weather.


----------



## Sargeant Tibbs

cakebaker said:


> I’m sorry that happened. We’re on our way home now with my grandson who is sick. Testing in the area wasn’t possible and as long as we can control his fever, we’re waiting until we can test at home where it’s much easier and he can be under his drs care. His temp hit a little over 103 last night so that was a little scary, but it’s down now thankfully.
> 
> We were absolutely as careful as we could be but with the crowd levels what they are and people fighting against masks, it’s a huge roll of the dice. The rest of us are vaccinated and so far, no symptoms. We’ll all be testing when we get home.



Fingers crossed it's just that nasty summer cold that's also making the rounds. My husband (got tested) and daughter had it in June, and daughter's temp spiked to 104.


----------



## Sargeant Tibbs

8/2 AK/Epcot

Tapped into AK around 10:30. We went to ITTBAB, then checked in for our 11:30 Tusker House ADR. Food was excellent, character interaction acceptable given the modified nature of character dining. My daughter was thrilled to see all her "friends."

Afterwards we rode Safari and Dinosaur, then took a break so my daughter could have a snack. She will be three at the end of the month, and there is a learning curve on navigating parks with a toddler. Because of Covid, the last time we were able to go was December 2019.

Snack complete, we left to hop over to Epcot for F&W.

I forgot how much I love Epcot. I had been a little down on it last trip, but I was really feeling it yesterday. We need the International CMs back to complete WS, but that's just not possible right now. We tapped in a bit after 4pm and jumped onto Spaceship Earth. My sister and I rode Soarin while my parents sat with my daughter, who needed another snack. She must be getting ready for another growth spurt because she has been an eating machine.

Then it was on to F&W! We bought the Remy Hide and Squeak, even though we knew we didn't have time to finish it. We've never done it before and it was fun looking for rats. Everything we tried was good, with a few that knocked it out of the park. Stayed for fireworks, which is such a relaxing experience at Epcot.

I looked for overflowing trash cans at both parks and saw none. I think this problem has been addressed and is now being properly handled. The restrooms at AK were clean, but one at Epcot was trashed. The other by Ratatouille was very clean.

My daughter is too small to ride the headliners, but we never had a long wait in any line. If we had more time at Epcot, I would have waited the 60 minutes for Frozen, but we had a lengthy list of booths to hit up and a very small window in which to stuff our faces. 

Crowds overall at both parks were quite manageable, and just like our experience at MK on 8/1, lines look long but move quickly. It is hot, but we are used to Florida in the summer. 

Today we are headed over to DS for shopping and Homecomin, then a nice long nap for my daughter and swimming. Tomorrow we are going to HS.


----------



## Sarahslay

Eastern said:


> I see this all the time in the FL heat: people wearing dark tops and dark jeans. It's much cooler if you wear lighter fabric/colors. Performance/exercise type clothing is best because it dries so quickly.


I went August 2019 and when I rode Kali there was a lady on my raft in these really heavy looking boot cut jeans. She got absolutely drenched on the ride and made a comment about how now at least she would be cool. I commented that she should wear shorts, she was like "people don't need to see my pale, chunky legs!" and I was like "you don't need to care what people think, it's too hot for jeans, wear what is comfortable!" I don't know how people survive. I still wonder how she survived walking around the rest of the day in heavy, wet jeans. I'm an athletic wear girl all the way (helps it makes up half my wardrobe anyway lol)


----------



## preemiemama

stiirfry said:


> Hey guys!! This is my first post here and also my sister and I's first trip together to Disney by ourselves  I booked this trip back in April and was a little worried to go on it due to COVID. However, crowds are relatively easy to avoid (for now, it's our first day lol) plus we're both vaccinated adults.
> 
> We left STL ~6:30am and landed at 9:30. Got to CBR by around 12 and was told we were too early for check in so we dropped our luggage off and went to Art of Animation resort mostly because we wanted to check out the skyliner. We had lunch there and then our room was ready about 2pm.
> 
> We went to MK and the lines from 4-7:30pm were pretty bad... Most rides we wanted were 100+ minutes. We rode the buzz lightyear shooter and the line took around 35 minutes and carousel of progress (which we got stuck on and had to watch the first sequence FOUR TIMES).... Afterwards we had dinner and got out around 8:20 we managed to ride three rides in the last hour of the night Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain! Their wait times all said ~35 minutes however thunder and space mountain maybe took 20 min and HM was walk on. Honestly, we could have probably squeezed in one more ride but we wanted to sneak out a bit before close. The biggest crowd we inevitably had was taking the bus back to CBR and exiting the MK at around close. From what I've seen masks in lines that are inside are pretty consistent and most people I saw actually followed the rules.
> 
> Tomorrow is Epcot, we're planning on drinking around the world  Any tips or suggestions for Epcot we'd love! We're planning on mostly eating and drinking tomorrow but will probably ride a few rides.


Try the Black Magic margarita at La Cava- it was so good!


----------



## Gary Stocker

Yeah we leave Friday and considering cancelling some well-worked ADRs...we'll see. Oga's seems to be largest concern at this point. Might go for 1 quickie and bolt.


----------



## alexiskimberly

Gary Stocker said:


> Yeah we leave Friday and considering cancelling some well-worked ADRs...we'll see. Oga's seems to be largest concern at this point. Might go for 1 quickie and bolt.


 
Agreed! We booked Oga's three times (!!) and are going to cancel all of them  I actually like having sit-down meals planned to get away from the crowds and hecticness but Oga's seems wayyyy too high of a risk right now with how closely they pack you in there with other parties


----------



## Gary Stocker

I know there is a max 2 drinks at Oga's but does anyone know if we walk in and it is just too crowded can we just turn around and walk out without having anything? In other words is there a minimum?


----------



## Gary Stocker

It also appears, at least for now, that most of the restaurants have tables sufficiently separated so as not to be uncomfortable. Any changes on that front for any particular places?


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Gary Stocker said:


> I know there is a max 2 drinks at Oga's but does anyone know if we walk in and it is just too crowded can we just turn around and walk out without having anything? In other words is there a minimum?


I don't think there is a minimum, but I can tell you it WILL be crowded (it always is).  If it's a concern I would just cancel.  Or, some have mentioned that you may be able to order a drink and take it to go (not positive this is allowed as I haven't tried it myself).


----------



## Eastern

Sarahslay said:


> I went August 2019 and when I rode Kali there was a lady on my raft in these really heavy looking boot cut jeans.


You can get Nike pants that look like regular pants and even in hot weather they would be cooler than jeans.


----------



## Eastern

Gary Stocker said:


> I know there is a max 2 drinks at Oga's but does anyone know if we walk in and it is just too crowded can we just turn around and walk out without having anything? In other words is there a minimum?


I would just tell a CM my concerns.


----------



## ThereYouSeeHer

Gary Stocker said:


> I know there is a max 2 drinks at Oga's but does anyone know if we walk in and it is just too crowded can we just turn around and walk out without having anything? In other words is there a minimum?


I've previously seen it mentioned that there is a 1 drink minimum per person, but not sure if that is current policy or not.


----------



## scrappinginontario

The thread has been cleaned again.  

Please keep discussion to facts. (e.g. Coworker returned from WDW and tested positive.)  No other details are required as it only creates discussions that often need to be deleted.  Please do not discuss vaccinations.

*This is a helpful thread we want to keep open as long as everyone follows the Covid discussion protocols that were provided by the DISboards Administrators:*

_From this point on, we will welcome information on COVID policies RELATED TO TRAVEL. Things like the vaccination policies issued by venues or destinations, the cleaning or distancing procedures in use, practical tips for travelers or things they might need to know that are different from location to location are all valid topics. Any official policies issued by Disney, other travel destinations, cruise lines, airlines, etc. regarding requirements for visiting parks or cruising can be shared. This information needs to be on-topic for the specific forum and thread where posted.

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We understand that you may be passionate in your opinions on this topic and want to discuss or debate them, and appreciate your understanding that there are more appropriate places than the DISboards to do that.

Thank you,
DISboards Administrators _


----------



## DisneyFive

Magic Kingdom today.

Our 3rd and final day at MK, and last full day of our 10 night stay.  We got our Tragical Express notification on our door this morning.  

We have no set plans other than Jungle Skipper for lunch.  Goal is to do Astro and Speedway since we didn’t do those the first two times, and then move on to our other favs

Nice morning, looks to have rained.  We slept in.

Heading to TTC now, 10:25am.  Monorail was slammed to MK, so the nice CM recommended a bus so we walked over and loaded onto a nice coach and got to MK very quickly that way..  10:52 now and we are in tomorrowland.

10:54am In line for Astro.  It is much cooler than typical outside right now, but after that rain came through, wow is it humid.  Decided to bail on Astro because we would rather do it at night.

11:00 in line for Speedway.  Line also looks long but only posted at 20 minutes.  We’ll see
Tron is coming along nicely:


11:25 Carousel of progress.  For one, we love it. Secondly, it is very close to speedway and convenient.  Doors opened just as we walked up.  Now I just hope I don’t have this song stuck in my head the rest of the day.  

Hall of Presidents still seems to be closed. I was hoping it would be open today since they said it would open in August.

11:55am. Jungle Skipper Canteen for our second time this trip.  Really enjoyed it.


1:10 PM. After all these years and days at Magic Kingdom we are doing a first. Liberty Square river boat.  Update:  Never mind. Overruled. . Going to Tom Sawyer Island instead. The river boat may stay a neverdone.   We have not done Tom Sawyer since our first trip when the kids were little. They ran ahead of us and we lost them, which was quite a scare, till we found them again… and then we lost grandma.  

BTW the line for BTMR stretches back to Country Bear Jamboree.  The line does move fast, but this is not sustainable. All these lines spilling out into the walkways and paths just causes confusion and congestion all over the parks


2:15 PM. All of the lines are too long so we are heading back to the Polynesian. Going to stop past Pirates on the way to see if the line is reasonable.  Update: the line for Pirates is too long but we are not very smart so we are getting in line anyway.

Thanks for the heads up from WEDWDW we are going to check out HOP next!

2:56pm At HOP!  We’re in!  Moving stuff! REALLY like the new show.  So happy that we got to see it.  Adding a couple of pictures because I’m sure some are interested in what the latest president looks like.



3:30pm OK heading back to the Poly now.

6:20 PM Up and about. Mobile ordered Captain Cook‘s again.

7 PM, heading back to MK. Hoping to ride all three mountains and Astro orbiter if possible.  And then ice cream and hanging out to enjoy the atmosphere before we say goodbye

7:40 PM. In line for a BTMR. Posted 35 minutes. Touringplans says 23. On in 20 minutes.

8:20pm Peter Pan. Posted 55 minutes, Touringplans says 23 minutes.  On in 20 minutes.

8:54 pm Astro Orbiter.  Posted 45 minutes.  TP says 34.  On in 23 minutes.  Timed it perfect.  HEA started just as we did!  Magical


9:21 Buzz. walked on.


9:30PM. Ending our trip with Space. Posted 45 minutes.  TP says 25.

10:30 Plaza Ice cream.

Goodbye Magic Kingdom.  Until next time. 


Here is the link to all of our daily updates FWIW.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63232483
-Dan


----------



## Heather07438

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom today.  Our 3rd and final day at MK, and last full day of our 10 night stay.  We have no set plans other than Jungle Skipper for lunch.
> 
> Goal is to do Astro and Speedway since we didn’t do those the first two times, and then move on to our other favs
> 
> Nice morning, looks to have rained.  We slept in.  Heading to TTC now, 10:20am


Have a wonderful day!  

I appreciate your updates  Thanks.


----------



## HauntedTTA

ThereYouSeeHer said:


> I've previously seen it mentioned that there is a 1 drink minimum per person, but not sure if that is current policy or not.


When I was there last week there didn't seem to be any enforcement of minimums or maximums. They just told us we had 45 minutes and went from there.


----------



## DisneyFive

Gary Stocker said:


> Yeah we leave Friday and considering cancelling some well-worked ADRs...we'll see. Oga's seems to be largest concern at this point. Might go for 1 quickie and bolt.





alexiskimberly said:


> Agreed! We booked Oga's three times (!!) and are going to cancel all of them  I actually like having sit-down meals planned to get away from the crowds and hecticness but Oga's seems wayyyy too high of a risk right now with how closely they pack you in there with other parties





ThereYouSeeHer said:


> I've previously seen it mentioned that there is a 1 drink minimum per person, but not sure if that is current policy or not.



Oga’s is the most overhyped ADR in our opinion. Just wasn’t feeling it for us. Yes it is crowded too.  They did not require a one drink minimum for us. We ordered four drinks for our family of five and then we left. The theming is very cool but I think the The fact that it is so small in there, which makes the ADR hard to get, leads to people thinking that it is better than it really is.  We canceled our 2nd and 3rd ADR after we went there the first time. We spoke to a very nice couple at the hot tub last night at the Poly, and hopefully we did not set their expectations too low for Oga’s. . I felt a little bad bringing our reality to their high expectations.  Just our opinions and experience though.  

-Dan


----------



## slyster

I hadn't thought about Oga's being crowded.  I am now contemplating cancelling our ADR reservation too.  At least that's something I have control over.


----------



## monstermash23

DisneyFive said:


> Oga’s is the most overhyped ADR in our opinion. Just wasn’t feeling it for us. Yes it is crowded too.  They did not require a one drink minimum for us. We ordered four drinks for our family of five and then we left. The theming is very cool but I think the The fact that it is so small in there, which makes the ADR hard to get, leads to people thinking that it is better than it really is.  We canceled our 2nd and 3rd ADR after we went there the first time. We spoke to a very nice couple at the hot tub last night at the Poly, and hopefully we did not set their expectations too low for Oga’s. . I felt a little bad bringing our reality to their high expectations.  Just our opinions and experience though.
> 
> -Dan



We agreed. That was our experience too. We were a party of 6 for our reservation and got seated at the same table as another party of 6. It was so crowded and we couldn’t really see any of the theming. We got one drink each and left. 

I think it would be cool if they limited capacity and had a virtual waiting list so you didn’t have to book in advance, and could just grab a standing spot or a bar spot and walk around. Even if that isn’t ideal, I def think they can do better with the setup in there. Def not worth an ADR for us.


----------



## cakebaker

DisneyFive said:


> Oga’s is the most overhyped ADR in our opinion. Just wasn’t feeling it for us. Yes it is crowded too.  They did not require a one drink minimum for us. We ordered four drinks for our family of five and then we left. The theming is very cool but I think the The fact that it is so small in there, which makes the ADR hard to get, leads to people thinking that it is better than it really is.  We canceled our 2nd and 3rd ADR after we went there the first time. We spoke to a very nice couple at the hot tub last night at the Poly, and hopefully we did not set their expectations too low for Oga’s. . I felt a little bad bringing our reality to their high expectations.  Just our opinions and experience though.
> 
> -Dan


We were unimpressed when we went in 2019. Unless you’re seated at the bar, you miss any interaction at all. It was loud and we weren’t overly fond of the menu or drinks. I agree, the only draw is the exclusivity of obtaining an adr. We didn’t try for one this trip because of conditions, but wouldn’t have regardless.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

DisneyFive said:


> Oga’s is the most overhyped ADR in our opinion. Just wasn’t feeling it for us. Yes it is crowded too.  They did not require a one drink minimum for us. We ordered four drinks for our family of five and then we left. The theming is very cool but I think the The fact that it is so small in there, which makes the ADR hard to get, leads to people thinking that it is better than it really is.  We canceled our 2nd and 3rd ADR after we went there the first time. We spoke to a very nice couple at the hot tub last night at the Poly, and hopefully we did not set their expectations too low for Oga’s. . I felt a little bad bringing our reality to their high expectations. Just our opinions and experience though.
> 
> -Dan





monstermash23 said:


> We agreed. That was our experience too. We were a party of 6 for our reservation and got seated at the same table as another party of 6. It was so crowded and we couldn’t really see any of the theming. We got one drink each and left.
> 
> I think it would be cool if they limited capacity and had a virtual waiting list so you didn’t have to book in advance, and could just grab a standing spot or a bar spot and walk around. Even if that isn’t ideal, I def think they can do better with the setup in there. Def not worth an ADR for us.





cakebaker said:


> We were unimpressed when we went in 2019. Unless you’re seated at the bar, you miss any interaction at all. It was loud and we weren’t overly fond of the menu or drinks. I agree, the only draw is the exclusivity of obtaining an adr. We didn’t try for one this trip because of conditions, but wouldn’t have regardless.


We have the opposite opinion - my family of 4 really enjoyed the experience.  We thought the drinks were fun and unique and the atmosphere is upbeat and exciting.  I've been twice now (once before with friends) and it's not something I feel the need to again, but I definitely think it's worth doing at least once.


----------



## preemiemama

alexiskimberly said:


> Agreed! We booked Oga's three times (!!) and are going to cancel all of them  I actually like having sit-down meals planned to get away from the crowds and hecticness but Oga's seems wayyyy too high of a risk right now with how closely they pack you in there with other parties





Gary Stocker said:


> I know there is a max 2 drinks at Oga's but does anyone know if we walk in and it is just too crowded can we just turn around and walk out without having anything? In other words is there a minimum?





DisneyFive said:


> Oga’s is the most overhyped ADR in our opinion. Just wasn’t feeling it for us. Yes it is crowded too.  They did not require a one drink minimum for us. We ordered four drinks for our family of five and then we left. The theming is very cool but I think the The fact that it is so small in there, which makes the ADR hard to get, leads to people thinking that it is better than it really is.  We canceled our 2nd and 3rd ADR after we went there the first time. We spoke to a very nice couple at the hot tub last night at the Poly, and hopefully we did not set their expectations too low for Oga’s. . I felt a little bad bringing our reality to their high expectations.  Just our opinions and experience though.
> 
> -Dan





monstermash23 said:


> We agreed. That was our experience too. We were a party of 6 for our reservation and got seated at the same table as another party of 6. It was so crowded and we couldn’t really see any of the theming. We got one drink each and left.
> 
> I think it would be cool if they limited capacity and had a virtual waiting list so you didn’t have to book in advance, and could just grab a standing spot or a bar spot and walk around. Even if that isn’t ideal, I def think they can do better with the setup in there. Def not worth an ADR for us.





cakebaker said:


> We were unimpressed when we went in 2019. Unless you’re seated at the bar, you miss any interaction at all. It was loud and we weren’t overly fond of the menu or drinks. I agree, the only draw is the exclusivity of obtaining an adr. We didn’t try for one this trip because of conditions, but wouldn’t have regardless.


Going to agree with the replies that it is crowded and overrated.  Our party of 3 was at one of the standing tables with another party of 4 a few weeks ago.  It was nice to see the theming, and the bartender was funny (though we were not at the bar, we could hear some of his interactions).  Couldn't really hear music or anything Rex was saying, either.  The drinks were fine and the mugs we brought back were really cool.  Not something I would say is a "must do" at the current time, though.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

Sargeant Tibbs said:


> Fingers crossed it's just that nasty summer cold that's also making the rounds. My husband (got tested) and daughter had it in June, and daughter's temp spiked to 104.


My whole visiting crew came down with it and passed it to my husband  - one (9 yr. old) brought it (playing 3 sports with daily practices, weekly "tournaments", pool parties and sleepovers - I was livid) - the children are too young to be vacinated and everyone including myself tested negative for COVID.  My DH is still on an inhaler and antibiotics for a sinus infection.  His fever went to 102.2


----------



## DisneyFive

Having some face characters and other aliens walking around inside Oga’s would REALLY  help add to the immersiveness .  To me it just felt like it well themed bar with a bunch of people standing around with unique and exciting drinks.

Dan


----------



## Pens Fan

DisneyFive said:


> Oga’s is the most overhyped ADR in our opinion. Just wasn’t feeling it for us. Yes it is crowded too. They did not require a one drink minimum for us. We ordered four drinks for our family of five and then we left. The theming is very cool but I think the The fact that it is so small in there, which makes the ADR hard to get, leads to people thinking that it is better than it really is. We canceled our 2nd and 3rd ADR after we went there the first time. We spoke to a very nice couple at the hot tub last night at the Poly, and hopefully we did not set their expectations too low for Oga’s. . I felt a little bad bringing our reality to their high expectations. Just our opinions and experience though.



I agree.  Oga's was one and done for us.  We went in Jan 2020 when we were at DL, and while I'm glad we got to see it I have no desire to go back.  It was so unbelievably crowded you couldn't even enjoy it.  When we finally got to enter (after waiting in a long line even though we had reservations), our designated spot was "you are the second row at the bar".  Meaning we got to stand behind the people standing at the bar.  We were told not to move or walk around or we'd lose that oh so special spot   . Once the people at the bar in front of us left, we were allowed to move forward to the bar, only to have the server there tell us we'd already had two drinks and had to leave, as she confused us with the previous people at the bar.  When we told her we weren't the same people she'd just served, she begrudgingly relented and allowed us to stay.  Needless to say, it wasn't a great experience.

My son went with his friends in WDW last August when there was noone in the parks and they had a fabulous time as there were so few people in there.  It's a shame, really that the place is so small.  It ruins what could have been a great experience.


----------



## rockabyemonkey

Gary Stocker said:


> I know there is a max 2 drinks at Oga's but does anyone know if we walk in and it is just too crowded can we just turn around and walk out without having anything? In other words is there a minimum?


We were there last week.  It was pretty packed.  We walked in, were led to a standing table, a few minutes later were greeted by our server who instructed us how to access the menu online and walked away.  We took a look at the menu, didn't see anything we wanted to stand around and wait for.  We waited a bit to let the server know we were leaving, but he didn't return...so we walked around the restaurant to see the decor, then left.  We had been told by the hostess when we checked in that they budget approximately 45 minutes per party, but they cannot control how long people choose to stay.  On our day, they were running about 15 minutes behind so we didn't feel like we were hurting anyone by leaving.


----------



## Sargeant Tibbs

slyster said:


> I hadn't thought about Oga's being crowded.  I am now contemplating cancelling our ADR reservation too.  At least that's something I have control over.



We had one for tomorrow and I decided cancel this morning.


----------



## tink2424

rockabyemonkey said:


> We were there last week.  It was pretty packed.  We walked in, were led to a standing table, a few minutes later were greeted by our server who instructed us how to access the menu online and walked away.  We took a look at the menu, didn't see anything we wanted to stand around and wait for.  We waited a bit to let the server know we were leaving, but he didn't return...so we walked around the restaurant to see the decor, then left.  We had been told by the hostess when we checked in that they budget approximately 45 minutes per party, but they cannot control how long people choose to stay.  On our day, they were running about 15 minutes behind so we didn't feel like we were hurting anyone by leaving.


My problem with Oga's is I don't want to be standing around.  It would be much better if there were stools for the standing bars.


----------



## notatallmagic

We were at Oga's last Friday, and they seated our party of 3 with anothe family of 5.  I love it when you get the chance to sit, and it was POURING outside at the time, so we did stay about 40 minutes.  I absolutely LOVE the Black Spire Brew, and we always take pictures of the fun drinks, but it is super crowded.  Not sure I would stay if I had a standing table though.


----------



## ShirikiUtundu

DisneyFive said:


> Oga’s is the most overhyped ADR in our opinion. Just wasn’t feeling it for us. Yes it is crowded too.  They did not require a one drink minimum for us. We ordered four drinks for our family of five and then we left. The theming is very cool but I think the The fact that it is so small in there, which makes the ADR hard to get, leads to people thinking that it is better than it really is.  We canceled our 2nd and 3rd ADR after we went there the first time. We spoke to a very nice couple at the hot tub last night at the Poly, and hopefully we did not set their expectations too low for Oga’s. . I felt a little bad bringing our reality to their high expectations.  Just our opinions and experience though.
> 
> -Dan



It's basically like Trader Sam's all over again


----------



## Chaitali

My plan for Oga’s is to use our reservation to go in and see the theming.  We’ll wait in our designated place and order our drinks to go.  Once we have the drinks, we’ll walk around to see things.  We’ll leave our masks on the whole time and then take them off to drink our drinks once we’re outside.


----------



## 2xcited2sleep

Chaitali said:


> My plan for Oga’s is to use our reservation to go in and see the theming.  We’ll wait in our designated place and order our drinks to go.  Once we have the drinks, we’ll walk around to see things.  We’ll leave our masks on the whole time and then take them off to drink our drinks once we’re outside.



I think this is the way (pun intended) ... at least for right now.  It is essentially designed to be packed and co-mingling different parties and that's just outside the comfort zone of many right now.  That said, it is pretty cool for a Star Wars fan to see.  There's not a ton of area to really walk around between it being small and the standing tables being packed in, you might want to remain in your designated place for a bit to try to "soak in" the atmosphere before you take a brief walk around.  Hopefully the timing works out such that you can hear THE cantina song.  There are some containers with creatures in them behind the bar (some "lay eggs"), the handles for the draught beers are light sabers, and DJ Rex has some fun things to say (if you can hear him).  I've not done this but have heard it is fun to ask about the house rules sign as you're entering - it's all in Aurebesh but supposedly is funny.  Outside of Oga's, if you're exiting Batuu toward Toy Story Land, on the left you can see DJ Rex's (former Star Tours pilot) crash site.


----------



## Kitzira

My friends and I were there this time last week, and while I had already seen youtube videos of the crowds, it was still something seeing so many people everywhere.
For both HS & MK, the posted times for the rides were correct, or even longer. As it felt like I stood in the sun for more than an hour before getting to the inside areas for the 70-80min posted time. As the week wore on (along with the afternoon rains) it started to thin out and the times posted in AK were very incorrect. Though when I arrived at AK 30min before opening, the 155min wait for Flight of the Banshee might as well been correct, as the line nearly went all the way through the park and doubled back to the front to the entrance of the ride.
As for Covid, when we were there, masks weren't required and I only saw maybe 10% of both cast members and visitors wearing one. Thursday it started to tilt back up to seeing masked people inside. My friend had to be tested before going back to work. Luckily she got it done while still in Florida and got a result of Negative before they got back to Texas. I felt tired once back home, but I think I was dehydrated and got to much sun exposure. We're both vaccinated by the way.


----------



## The13thLetter

We did oga's during AP previews and I am not sure if they were really plussing it up but it was quite fun with the music, the power "shutting off", and the interaction between all the servers and bartenders. We also went last year in August and it was very empty because of indoor dining rules back then. We sat at the bar and had a great time talking to the bartender. We are not going to go during this upcoming trip (in 3 weeks) and probably wont be back for a while. We had 2 good experiences, and based on recent reports we dont want to ruin it lol.


----------



## boop0524

Gosh I am so sad to hear about Ogas  we are big SW fans and loved it. Was hoping to take my family there this fall but will have to see if anything improves. Is this the only restaurant having big crowding problems rn?


----------



## moorish

We did Oga’s on our last trip (pre-Covid). We enjoyed the theming for a few minutes, ordered beers to go, tipped well and then explored GE with our beer in hand. Had no problem doing so.


----------



## monstermash23

boop0524 said:


> Gosh I am so sad to hear about Ogas  we are big SW fans and loved it. Was hoping to take my family there this fall but will have to see if anything improves. Is this the only restaurant having big crowding problems rn?



As far as ADR’s go, this was the only one we encountered with crowding issues. It’s by design at Oga’s though. All other normal sit down ADR’s won’t (…or shouldn’t) have this issue.


----------



## allaboutthemouse

preemiemama said:


> Try the Black Magic margarita at La Cava- it was so good!


Mmmmmmm La Cava…..Chips, guac/salsa/queso and the Blood Orange margarita for me!


----------



## 2xcited2sleep

boop0524 said:


> Gosh I am so sad to hear about Ogas  we are big SW fans and loved it. Was hoping to take my family there this fall but will have to see if anything improves. Is this the only restaurant having big crowding problems rn?



I was there last week and, while we obviously didn't visit every restaurant on property, almost everything seemed to be back to pre-pandemic operations.  

In terms of sharing tables, in addition to Oga's, Teppan Edo still does (tables of 8) - though they have a small, moveable plastic partition to place between parties.  We dined there in ~March and happened to be assigned to a full table (party of 5+ party of 3).   While I'm sure the ventilation is strong given the cook tops, I was uncomfortable and thought the partitions were too small.  I would not return in the current circumstances (and am vaccinated). Note that is was luck of the draw at Teppan Edo, other tables had an open chair or two between parties.   Food and service was great, by the way, but I'm just too anxious.  Biergarten used to have communal tables as well but as far as I know they are sticking to their individual tables with family style service for now.

Did not dine there but in walking by, it seemed like Chefs de France and San Angel Inn were back to their very tight table arrangements.  Le Cellier is another spot notorious for really close tables but we didn't dine there & can't walk by.


----------



## preemiemama

2xcited2sleep said:


> I was there last week and, while we obviously didn't visit every restaurant on property, almost everything seemed to be back to pre-pandemic operations.
> 
> In terms of sharing tables, in addition to Oga's, Teppan Edo still does (tables of 8) - though they have a small, moveable plastic partition to place between parties.  We dined there in ~March and happened to be assigned to a full table (party of 5+ party of 3).   While I'm sure the ventilation is strong given the cook tops, I was uncomfortable and thought the partitions were too small.  I would not return in the current circumstances (and am vaccinated). Note that is was luck of the draw at Teppan Edo, other tables had an open chair or two between parties.   Food and service was great, by the way, but I'm just too anxious.  Biergarten used to have communal tables as well but as far as I know they are sticking to their individual tables with family style service for now.
> 
> Did not dine there but in walking by, it seemed like Chefs de France and San Angel Inn were back to their very tight table arrangements.  Le Cellier is another spot notorious for really close tables but we didn't dine there & can't walk by.


We did Biergarten a couple weeks ago- it's still not communal tables and we felt there was some spacing.


----------



## petunia

Could someone suggest what time to leave AK (rental car) for a ressie at Frontera Cocina at 615?


----------



## monstermash23

petunia said:


> Could someone suggest what time to leave AK (rental car) for a ressie at Frontera Cocina at 615?



Depends on where you are in the park when you want to leave and where your car is parked. But I wouldn’t be walking through the exit turnstiles at AK any later then 530-540 for a 615 Disney Springs res.


----------



## Chaitali

As far as restaurants, our table at skippers canteen was only like a foot from the next to us.  But Ale and Compass was the opposite.  Every other table still had the signs about not being used due to social distancing.  I appreciated the extra room there.  It was for breakfast this morning.


----------



## WEDWDW

Hall of Presidents now OPEN!


----------



## DisneyFive

WEDWDW said:


> Hall of Presidents now OPEN!


We will head that way.  In line for  Pirates now


----------



## WEDWDW

DisneyFive said:


> We will head that way.  In line for  Pirates now


Awesome!

Attraction reopenings are always so exciting.


----------



## Sarahslay

This is a stupid question, but Casey's wasn't open when I was there in June so I wanted to check before I get great ideas. For anyone that has been recently, are people able to eat Casey's in the hub grass right next to the seating area? I know in June the area next to the Plaza restaurant seating was closed for some reason on our last MK day, and I know they are using it for VIP groups for fireworks now, but didn't know if they had that other side open to sit and possibly eat it. I thought I read someone say they had eaten there but have no clue how far back that was or if I dreamed it or not lol, just hate making plans in my head and getting bummed out when I get there (and I love sitting there when solo, hate searching for a table when alone in that area).


----------



## rlk

Sarahslay said:


> This is a stupid question, but Casey's wasn't open when I was there in June so I wanted to check before I get great ideas. For anyone that has been recently, are people able to eat Casey's in the hub grass right next to the seating area? I know in June the area next to the Plaza restaurant seating was closed for some reason on our last MK day, and I know they are using it for VIP groups for fireworks now, but didn't know if they had that other side open to sit and possibly eat it. I thought I read someone say they had eaten there but have no clue how far back that was or if I dreamed it or not lol, just hate making plans in my head and getting bummed out when I get there (and I love sitting there when solo, hate searching for a table when alone in that area).


 We were there last week and the grassy area was open and available to sit in.


----------



## Sarahslay

DisneyFive said:


> Oga’s is the most overhyped ADR in our opinion. Just wasn’t feeling it for us. Yes it is crowded too.  They did not require a one drink minimum for us. We ordered four drinks for our family of five and then we left. The theming is very cool but I think the The fact that it is so small in there, which makes the ADR hard to get, leads to people thinking that it is better than it really is.  We canceled our 2nd and 3rd ADR after we went there the first time. We spoke to a very nice couple at the hot tub last night at the Poly, and hopefully we did not set their expectations too low for Oga’s. . I felt a little bad bringing our reality to their high expectations.  Just our opinions and experience though.
> 
> -Dan


I think for big Star Wars people it's a ton of fun because it's a whole vibe, and that's really the draw, and even the over crowding adds to that. Now, being in the current state it's not so much fun with how things are, but it's kind of "realistic" I suppose (or so my friend who LOVES Star Wars tells me). I've been a couple of times with people who want to go, and will go again with my dad in January because he said he HAS to do all the things in GE, but for normal casual fans/park goers I think it is just kind of a 'meh' experience/one & done. I liked the drinks each time, but I won't be taking anyone elses spot to get in. It is too crowded in there though, I know my friend who just went week before last said that was the one low part of the trip (that and her kid not being able to see above the table lol). I always let people experience it first though before I put my 2 cents in usually, because sometimes I feel like maybe I just don't know how to have a good time anyway lol


----------



## mouserrificmom

WEDWDW said:


> Hall of Presidents now OPEN!


oh goodness YAY!!  I have been waiting to hear this news - knowing it was "August" but not an actual date was stressing me out as we want to visit and arrvie this Sunday!!!


----------



## asumom

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom today.
> 
> Our 3rd and final day at MK, and last full day of our 10 night stay.  We got our Tragical Express notification on our door this morning.
> 
> We have no set plans other than Jungle Skipper for lunch.  Goal is to do Astro and Speedway since we didn’t do those the first two times, and then move on to our other favs
> 
> Nice morning, looks to have rained.  We slept in.
> 
> Heading to TTC now, 10:25am.  Monorail was slammed to MK, so the nice CM recommended a bus so we walked over and loaded onto a nice coach and got to MK very quickly that way..  10:52 now and we are in tomorrowland.
> 
> 10:54am In line for Astro.  It is much cooler than typical outside right now, but after that rain came through, wow is it humid.  Decided to bail on Astro because we would rather do it at night.
> 
> 11:00 in line for Speedway.  Line also looks long but only posted at 20 minutes.  We’ll see
> Tron is coming along nicely:
> View attachment 594317
> 
> 11:25 Carousel of progress.  For one, we love it. Secondly, it is very close to speedway and convenient.  Doors opened just as we walked up.  Now I just hope I don’t have this song stuck in my head the rest of the day.
> 
> Hall of Presidents still seems to be closed. I was hoping it would be open today since they said it would open in August.
> 
> 11:55am. Jungle Skipper Canteen for our second time this trip.  Really enjoyed it.
> View attachment 594339
> 
> 1:10 PM. After all these years and days at Magic Kingdom we are doing a first. Liberty Square river boat.  Update:  Never mind. Overruled. . Going to Tom Sawyer Island instead. The river boat may stay a neverdone.   We have not done Tom Sawyer since our first trip when the kids were little. They ran ahead of us and we lost them, which was quite a scare, till we found them again… and then we lost grandma.
> 
> BTW the line for BTMR stretches back to Country Bear Jamboree.  The line does move fast, but this is not sustainable. All these lines spilling out into the walkways and paths just causes confusion and congestion all over the parks
> View attachment 594350
> 
> 2:15 PM. All of the lines are too long so we are heading back to the Polynesian. Going to stop past Pirates on the way to see if the line is reasonable.  Update: the line for Pirates is too long but we are not very smart so we are getting in line anyway.
> 
> Thanks for the heads up from WEDWDW we are going to check out HOP next!
> 
> 2:56pm At HOP!  We’re in!  Moving stuff! REALLY like the new show.  So happy that we got to see it.  Adding a couple of pictures because I’m sure some are interested in what the latest president looks like.
> View attachment 594368
> View attachment 594369
> 
> 3:30pm OK heading back to the Poly now.
> 
> Here is the link to all of our daily updates FWIW.
> https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63232483
> -Dan


What is the dish in the photo from skipper canteen?


----------



## DisneyFive

asumom said:


> What is the dish in the photo from skipper canteen?


Perkins Thai Noodles   (The normal protein is tofu but you can substitute chicken if you like, or they will also let you do both). 

My previous MK report showed the “Tastes like chicken” Because it is!

Dan


----------



## The13thLetter

Just an FYI, with the new DL annual pass announcement a few moments ago they said DW annual passes would be back before 10/1 with more info coming this month. Hoping they will be back in time to convert my tickets at the end of the month to APs but we shall see.


_"And for those wondering about Walt Disney World Annual Passes, new pass sales will become available in time for the start of the 50th anniversary celebration! Walt Disney World Resort will be sharing additional information and details later this month, so be sure to stay tuned to DisneyWorld.com and the Disney Parks Blog. "_


----------



## DisneyRunner2009

The13thLetter said:


> Just an FYI, with the new DL annual pass announcement a few moments ago they said DW annual passes would be back before 10/1 with more info coming this month. Hoping they will be back in time to convert my tickets at the end of the month to APs but we shall see.
> 
> 
> _"And for those wondering about Walt Disney World Annual Passes, new pass sales will become available in time for the start of the 50th anniversary celebration! Walt Disney World Resort will be sharing additional information and details later this month, so be sure to stay tuned to DisneyWorld.com and the Disney Parks Blog. "_



Saw that, too. I've been waiting for info. So excited.


----------



## monstermash23

So if the AP program at WDW will come back by October 1st….then….

If anyone was following the Fastpass threads from a month or 2 ago, and if Remy (if you all remember him/her) was right, then that probably means the new fastpass system, if they in fact move to a paid version, will launch by then too. Since according to Remy, those systems were now integrated and needed to work together on the new platform. Just speculation on my part but I think it’s fair to think that way….

Can’t wait till fastpass returns though, whenever that actually happens. This trip just wasn’t the same without it for us.


----------



## Sarahslay

The13thLetter said:


> Just an FYI, with the new DL annual pass announcement a few moments ago they said DW annual passes would be back before 10/1 with more info coming this month. Hoping they will be back in time to convert my tickets at the end of the month to APs but we shall see.
> 
> 
> _"And for those wondering about Walt Disney World Annual Passes, new pass sales will become available in time for the start of the 50th anniversary celebration! Walt Disney World Resort will be sharing additional information and details later this month, so be sure to stay tuned to DisneyWorld.com and the Disney Parks Blog. "_


I'm just glad I already renewed in June in case they decide to do a fun price increase, glad they're bringing it back though, now I can get my kids their APs and I can finally bring them for spontaneous trips.


----------



## scrappinginontario

petunia said:


> Could someone suggest what time to leave AK (rental car) for a ressie at Frontera Cocina at 615?


Rule of thumb is to leave 90 minutes from anywhere you are on WDW property to get to an ADR


----------



## cdurham1

WEDWDW said:


> Hall of Presidents now OPEN!


I sent my 19DD over there to ask the security guard last week.  DD came back and said the security guard thought it might be Thursday of this week.  We leave tomorrow.  Now that I think about it, maybe DD just told me that so I wouldn't plan on taking them..


----------



## Elle23

cdurham1 said:


> I sent my 19DD over there to ask the security guard last week.  DD came back and said the security guard thought it might be Thursday of this week.  We leave tomorrow.  Now that I think about it, maybe DD just told me that so I wouldn't plan on taking them..



My teens LOVE Hall of Presidents! We usually go several times a day each time we are in MK. I guess we are just extra nerdy!


----------



## tinkerhon

Elle23 said:


> My teens LOVE Hall of Presidents! We usually go several times a day each time we are in MK. I guess we are just extra nerdy!



Same !!! DS10 is obsessed with "HOP" !!


----------



## cdurham1

Elle23 said:


> My teens LOVE Hall of Presidents! We usually go several times a day each time we are in MK. I guess we are just extra nerdy!



Mine hasn't seen it since she was a small kid and doesn't remember it.  I think my description of it turned her off.

Last night, we did COP at the last showing about 8:50pm.  The park was busy, but there were 7 people in COP counting the 3 of us.  Afterwards, she said she liked it and couldn't understand why it is so unpopular.  So, I did have that win this trip,


----------



## DisneyFive

cdurham1 said:


> I sent my 19DD over there to ask the security guard last week.  DD came back and said the security guard thought it might be Thursday of this week.  We leave tomorrow.  Now that I think about it, maybe DD just told me that so I wouldn't plan on taking them..


The show is totally new from what I can remember and it’s great


----------



## brockash

scrappinginontario said:


> Rule of thumb is to leave 90 minutes from anywhere you are on WDW property to get to an ADR


I think that's the rule of thumb, if using Disney transportation, no?  I can't imagine any reason someone would need to factor in 90 mins. to drive from AK to a meal on property in their own car...unless I'm missing something?

It looks like it's 6.6 miles away and under a 15 min. drive.  I'd probably give myself 30-40 mins at most.


----------



## scrappinginontario

brockash said:


> I think that's the rule of thumb, if using Disney transportation, no?  I can't imagine any reason someone would need to factor in 90 mins. to drive from AK to a meal on property in their own car...unless I'm missing something?


It really depends on a lot of factors:
- where is someone in the park when they decide to travel to dining?  It can easily take 15+ mins just to walk out of park.
- how far is their car?
- if taking Disney transportation, how long do they need to wait for a bus/transportation?  I find non-prime hours transportation waits are longer
- what is the driving time from the park/resort to the park/resort/Disney Springs?
- how long will it take to get from transportation to dining location?

There are a lot of factors to play into things but I often find it takes longer than I think because there are often unexpected waits/delays.


----------



## The13thLetter

Looks like APs should be getting an email "soon" for Remy previews. 

https://blogmickey.com/2021/08/remy...nnual-passholder-preview-details-coming-soon/


----------



## ellbell

The13thLetter said:


> Looks like APs should be getting an email "soon" for Remy previews.
> 
> https://blogmickey.com/2021/08/remy...nnual-passholder-preview-details-coming-soon/


So excited.  I have trips from Aug 27 to Sept 11 and another from the 26 to the 3rd.  As long as the previews aren't in between I should be able to preview.


----------



## Disneylover99

petunia said:


> Could someone suggest what time to leave AK (rental car) for a ressie at Frontera Cocina at 615?


I'd be getting into my car at about 5:30pm. Maybe a bit earlier if it's a Saturday night. I'd park at the Lime Garage. It's a close walk to Frontera.


----------



## Disneylover99

brockash said:


> I think that's the rule of thumb, if using Disney transportation, no?  I can't imagine any reason someone would need to factor in 90 mins. to drive from AK to a meal on property in their own car...unless I'm missing something?
> 
> It looks like it's 6.6 miles away and under a 15 min. drive.  I'd probably give myself 30-40 mins at most.


Definitely agree. Park to resort or DS with your own car, I'd say roughly 45 minutes. And that's me wanting to be early. lol.


----------



## fivikse

Just left the Swan to head to Universal. I’ll write more later, but here is some random info for now.

TP lines app was far more accurate. We just totally ignored the posted times. (Example - Disney listed pirates at 55, TP said 20, we waited 12).

We usually go in August (every three years or so) but we did not find crowds larger than usual. The lines definitely stretched out more, but just walking around actually felt less crowded to us.  (Not including DHS)

I have teens so we were able to talk about how long the waits were and whether it was worth it. For the most part we got everything done (*except Rise) that we wanted to do.

Skipper and Via Napoli were great. Neither restaurant felt crowded to us.

Tried for Rise this morning. I had read the posts and practiced but we failed. We weren’t staying long enough to try at 1:00.  We have always skipped DHS because we just weren’t interested. We tried a half day today. Definitely the hottest and most crowded and longest waits. We were able to do RnR, ToT, MFSR, Star Tours, TSMM between 9-3 (including eating lunch and shopping).


----------



## LSUmiss

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> I hesitate to post this, but ultimately think it may be helpful. I don't want to break the rules of this forum by discussing it, so this is for informational purposes only as people plan their trips.
> 
> My husband and I both have Covid and undoubtedly caught it at Disney. We are both fully vaccinated. He started feeling bad on the night we got home. We thought it was colds at first but he lost his smell yesterday and got tested. I'm so thankful we went into isolation as a precaution as soon as we got home so no one else was exposed.
> 
> I'm heartbroken because we thought we were being careful. Stay healthy everyone.


Same thing happened to us.


----------



## Chaitali

fivikse said:


> Just left the Swan to head to Universal. I’ll write more later, but here is some random info for now.
> 
> TP lines app was far more accurate. We just totally ignored the posted times. (Example - Disney listed pirates at 55, TP said 20, we waited 12).
> 
> We usually go in August (every three years or so) but we did not find crowds larger than usual. The lines definitely stretched out more, but just walking around actually felt less crowded to us.  (Not including DHS)
> 
> I have teens so we were able to talk about how long the waits were and whether it was worth it. For the most part we got everything done (*except Rise) that we wanted to do.
> 
> Skipper and Via Napoli were great. Neither restaurant felt crowded to us.
> 
> Tried for Rise this morning. I had read the posts and practiced but we failed. We weren’t staying long enough to try at 1:00.  We have always skipped DHS because we just weren’t interested. We tried a half day today. Definitely the hottest and most crowded and longest waits. We were able to do RnR, ToT, MFSR, Star Tours, TSMM between 9-3 (including eating lunch and shopping).


We are also at the Swan now and heading to Universal Thursday . agreed that touring plans was generally more accurate than the Disney posted wait times.  And also agreed that it didn’t feel too crowded walking around.  The only places we felt crowded on the walkways was fantasy land in magic kingdom and toy story land   studios.  There were lots of people in Galaxy’s Edge but with all the alternate routes and wide walkways, it didn’t feel as crowded.  Epcot tonight was delightful with how much space we had .

today we did breakfast at Ale and Compass and then Disney springs in the morning.  We had lunch in our room and napped.  We went to Epcot in the evening.  We rode soarin in 15 minutes, spaceship earth was a walk on, and then figment and three caballeros with very short waits.  After that, sampled some food and wine offerings and watched the fireworks.  I’m glad this thread warned me of what a mess the front of Epcot was!  But world showcase was still nice


----------



## fivikse

More details- 
We arrived early Saturday July 31 (southwest decided we needed a VERY early flight) and made it to Rainforest Cafe at AK at 11:30. My kids used to like it. Now that they are teens they are starting to realize they’ve outgrown a lot of the things they loved last time! (Now 15, they were 12 our last trip).

Into AK around 1:30. Rode Dinosaur (15 minute wait), then Everest (waited 25 minutes, then went through single rider for second ride. Single Rider was a walk on). Tried Kali but it was down. Then Safari (30 minutes). After this the heat plus super early flight were wearing us down. Stopped for ice cream. Decided we didn’t need to ride FOP (we did our last trip) so we waited for Kali (~40 minutes) then left the park around 6:10. Overall it did not feel crowded at all. To be fair we skipped all of Pandora.

Sunday Aug 1. MK. Everyone was so tired from yesterday we didn’t try for rope drop. Entered around 11:30. Decided to do favorites and deal with line. 7DMT first (WDW said 85, TP said 55, TP was correct). Then Splash (WDW said 75, TP said 45, TP was right.) rain started right as our ride ended so we were glad we went. Haunted mansion next -maybe 25 minute wait. Shopped our way to Space. This line was chaos and we were happy about the cloud cover. TP underestimated this one by about 10 minutes but WDW overestimated about the same amount. Probably 55 minutes. Shopped our way to Skipper for early dinner. We all loved it. They accommodated my picky eaters. Pirates next -WDW over inflated this wait by a crazy amount. Then I think Big Thunder. I know we did both Haunted Mansion and Space a second time but I don’t remember waits.

Monday Aug 2 - Epcot. Didn’t feel crowded and the rain kept it cooler than usual. We mostly wandered World Showcase but rode Soarin and Land with very short waits. Did test track with long wait.

I already wrote about DHS.  It was our least enjoyable day but we still got a lot done. Overall we had a great time. But it would have been harder with younger kids or if it was our first time.


----------



## petunia

Sorry in advance if this is not the right thread for this..
We are in Canada, so never get our magic bands sent to us, always have them at the resort at check in, but this is what its says in MDE, and I purchased ours a couple months ago and got the email confirming?  Should I do something or does this just mean they will not be sent but will be at the resort?


----------



## andied

Our dining experiences having been pretty good. We do a lot of table service because my kid has a lot of weird allergies so we don’t eat out a lot at home.
Raglan Road on Sat at 5:30 was very crowded and not distanced at all. No different from pre-pandemic.
Cali Grill on Sun at 5 was great. Half full. Tables very spaced out. 
Ale and Compass on Mon at 9:45 also great. Nicely spaced and, again, not overly full. 
Toppolino’s Terrace on Mon at 5:20 was great. Not busy and well spaced.
Mama Melrose today (Tuesday) at 11:30 was well spaced and not busy. First restaurant we. We’re expressly asked to keep our masks on unless we were actively eating or drinking.
Toppolino’s Terrace tonight, Tuesday, (again!) was busier than yesterday but still very well spaced.


----------



## SimonSez

Sarahslay said:


> I went August 2019 and when I rode Kali there was a lady on my raft in these really heavy looking boot cut jeans. She got absolutely drenched on the ride and made a comment about how now at least she would be cool. I commented that she should wear shorts, she was like "people don't need to see my pale, chunky legs!" and I was like "you don't need to care what people think, it's too hot for jeans, wear what is comfortable!" I don't know how people survive. I still wonder how she survived walking around the rest of the day in heavy, wet jeans. I'm an athletic wear girl all the way (helps it makes up half my wardrobe anyway lol)


I swear denim never dries.  Several years ago, I wore these nice chino type shorts and bronzer, then rode KRR  Huge mistake, I wrecked my new shorts with the bronzer and I think it took them the rest of the trip to dry. I wore them only once and that was it because they were so stained up from the stupid bronzer. Now when we go to AK, we know to wear clothes that will dry quickly.  I can't fathom how people can wear black jeans and black t-shirts in August at Disney, and yet I see it quite a bit there


----------



## 123SA

For those of you who have been there since the masks came back  -- do any of you have memory maker?  Are your ride photos showing up?  I'm wondering if photos are being deleted again if someone in the photo is not wearing a mask.


Also...if it's not your party that is the offender, can you call photopass and have the photo added?  Thank you!


----------



## stiirfry

Hello guys! I'm back again with day 2 of my trip, we went to Epcot  My sister and I aren't ones for rope dropping so we took the Skyliner at 11 and was in the world showcase at 11:20. It was pretty empty in the park for the first hour or so, we got some pretty sweet pics throughout the world showcase. We got Joffrey's coffee and dole whips. This might be controversial but I think the watermelon dolewhip is better than the pineapple 

Then we stumbled on test track at a 95-minute wait. We were in line for about 10 minutes until we saw the people behind us say they're going to single rider because there's no wait. So we did that and there was about a 10-minute wait tops. SO much better than waiting 90 minutes. However, note that the CMs are very strict about splitting apart single riders! We saw a lady make a bit of a scene trying to stay with her daughter even though they took the single rider line...My sister and I didn't care for riding together anyways lol. Then we did Mission space orange, which was about a 25-minute wait. Then spaceship earth, which was a 30-minute wait.

We got lunch at a few different booths but after a while lines were getting pretty long (~3:30 pm) for just about every Epcot booth, we decided to go back to the hotel for an hour and mentally prepare for a lot of drinks and food. Returned to Epcot around 5. When we returned lines were....pretty rough. Pretty much every booth in the world showcase had a line that was at least 20-30 minutes. Which is rough when a lot of the booths are food and wine so you don't particularly get a large portion. We still managed to have a few drinks and food but the lines were just so long for a lot of booths it was pretty disheartening. Crowds were also pretty large, I mean shoulder to shoulder in some places. However, we got a lot of amazing food. I never thought I'd have so many margaritas in my life (my sister and I split them so I swear we're not getting completely blasted at Epcot).

Honestly, lines for rides were a lot shorter than lines for food. We managed to ride the figment ride, Nemo, Soarin, and living with the land in a little over an hour. The longest line we stood in of the day was Frozen which would not budge from above a 40-minute wait. So we just decided to ride and it did take about 40 minutes but honestly Frozen might've been my favorite ride of the day! Overall it was a really fun day, however, the crowds seemed very large. If you're worried about that I'd tell you that yes they are just as bad as the look in people's pictures lol. However, my sister and I have a running saying that it is what you make of it. So even if things seem bad we'll just perform self-affirmations lol. "We ARE having fun. This IS a good time. We are ENJOYING this experience" even after our legs hurt or we stand in line for an hour.

Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom  I actually have 2 reservations tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.


----------



## scrappinginontario

petunia said:


> Sorry in advance if this is not the right thread for this..
> We are in Canada, so never get our magic bands sent to us, always have them at the resort at check in, but this is what its says in MDE, and I purchased ours a couple months ago and got the email confirming?  Should I do something or does this just mean they will not be sent but will be at the resort?
> 
> View attachment 594551


I would recommend calling just to be on the safe side.


----------



## luv2cheer92

stiirfry said:


> Hello guys! I'm back again with day 2 of my trip, we went to Epcot  My sister and I aren't ones for rope dropping so we took the Skyliner at 11 and was in the world showcase at 11:20. It was pretty empty in the park for the first hour or so, we got some pretty sweet pics throughout the world showcase. We got Joffrey's coffee and dole whips. This might be controversial but I think the watermelon dolewhip is better than the pineapple
> 
> Then we stumbled on test track at a 95-minute wait. We were in line for about 10 minutes until we saw the people behind us say they're going to single rider because there's no wait. So we did that and there was about a 10-minute wait tops. SO much better than waiting 90 minutes. However, note that the CMs are very strict about splitting apart single riders! We saw a lady make a bit of a scene trying to stay with her daughter even though they took the single rider line...My sister and I didn't care for riding together anyways lol. Then we did Mission space orange, which was about a 25-minute wait. Then spaceship earth, which was a 30-minute wait.
> 
> We got lunch at a few different booths but after a while lines were getting pretty long (~3:30 pm) for just about every Epcot booth, we decided to go back to the hotel for an hour and mentally prepare for a lot of drinks and food. Returned to Epcot around 5. When we returned lines were....pretty rough. Pretty much every booth in the world showcase had a line that was at least 20-30 minutes. Which is rough when a lot of the booths are food and wine so you don't particularly get a large portion. We still managed to have a few drinks and food but the lines were just so long for a lot of booths it was pretty disheartening. Crowds were also pretty large, I mean shoulder to shoulder in some places. However, we got a lot of amazing food. I never thought I'd have so many margaritas in my life (my sister and I split them so I swear we're not getting completely blasted at Epcot).
> 
> Honestly, lines for rides were a lot shorter than lines for food. We managed to ride the figment ride, Nemo, Soarin, and living with the land in a little over an hour. The longest line we stood in of the day was Frozen which would not budge from above a 40-minute wait. So we just decided to ride and it did take about 40 minutes but honestly Frozen might've been my favorite ride of the day! Overall it was a really fun day, however, the crowds seemed very large. If you're worried about that I'd tell you that yes they are just as bad as the look in people's pictures lol. However, my sister and I have a running saying that it is what you make of it. So even if things seem bad we'll just perform self-affirmations lol. "We ARE having fun. This IS a good time. We are ENJOYING this experience" even after our legs hurt or we stand in line for an hour.
> 
> Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom  I actually have 2 reservations tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.


Why would anyone ever expect to ride together in a single rider line? That is the whole point of the line.


----------



## Eastern

Disneylover99 said:


> I'd be getting into my car at about 5:30pm. Maybe a bit earlier if it's a Saturday night. I'd park at the Lime Garage. It's a close walk to Frontera.


I would be worried about Lime Garage being 'full', and then redirecting me to orange, especially at night or on a weekend. It just always takes longer than you think when you are trying to get somewhere at WDW. I'd go an hour early with a car (instead of 1 and 1/2 hours for Disney transpo) and plan on shopping a little if I was early.

For Disney transportation, definitely hour and a half. There have been times when I've just made it using that rule. (If you are (for ex) at a monorail hotel going to another monorail hotel or MK you can adjust the time accordingly.) If a bus is involved there are no guarantees.


----------



## SkyGuy

Didn’t mean to respond - sorry! 





123SA said:


> For those of you who have been there since the masks came back  -- do any of you have memory maker?  Are your ride photos showing up?  I'm wondering if photos are being deleted again if someone in the photo is not wearing a mask.
> 
> 
> Also...if it's not your party that is the offender, can you call photopass and have the photo added?  Thank you!
> Yes, they are deleting no-mask pics once again. At least they did on Everest. This wasn’t me, but a good friend who goes a bit, so she wasn’t going to bother calling, so I can’t answer that part.


----------



## Makmak

stiirfry said:


> we decided to go back to the hotel for an hour and mentally prepare for a lot of drinks and food.


This is my favorite thing I read on the boards from yesterday. Excellent pre-game advice! Lol


----------



## Chaitali

123SA said:


> For those of you who have been there since the masks came back  -- do any of you have memory maker?  Are your ride photos showing up?  I'm wondering if photos are being deleted again if someone in the photo is not wearing a mask.
> 
> 
> Also...if it's not your party that is the offender, can you call photopass and have the photo added?  Thank you!


There was someone on our splash mountain log without a mask and we still got the photo.  That was Sunday so it’s been a couple days.


----------



## kevtlas

fivikse said:


> Tried for Rise this morning. I had read the posts and practiced but we failed. We weren’t staying long enough to try at 1:00.  We have always skipped DHS because we just weren’t interested. We tried a half day today. Definitely the hottest and most crowded and longest waits. We were able to do RnR, ToT, MFSR, Star Tours, TSMM between 9-3 (including eating lunch and shopping).


You definitely had better luck than our DHS visits in mid-July. We were able to do the 6 attractions you mentioned over two visits, each from about 9-6ish. We did get on RotR both days, so a total of 4 each day. And totally agree that DHS was the hottest/busiest of all parks during our visit as well.


----------



## kevtlas

123SA said:


> For those of you who have been there since the masks came back  -- do any of you have memory maker?  Are your ride photos showing up?  I'm wondering if photos are being deleted again if someone in the photo is not wearing a mask.
> 
> 
> Also...if it's not your party that is the offender, can you call photopass and have the photo added?  Thank you!


You should contact photopass if you have missing photos. We were there in mid-July, during the time of no masks required, and had a bunch of ride photos missing from our memory maker. My sister called and probably 10 or so days after she got home was able to get all the missing photos added.


----------



## Disneylover99

Eastern said:


> I would be worried about Lime Garage being 'full', and then redirecting me to orange, especially at night or on a weekend. It just always takes longer than you think when you are trying to get somewhere at WDW. I'd go an hour early with a car (instead of 1 and 1/2 hours for Disney transpo) and plan on shopping a little if I was early.
> 
> For Disney transportation, definitely hour and a half. There have been times when I've just made it using that rule. (If you are (for ex) at a monorail hotel going to another monorail hotel or MK you can adjust the time accordingly.) If a bus is involved there are no guarantees.



We’ve been redirected from Lime to Orange a few times and it’s still relatively quick. But yeah, allowing fifteen extra minutes on weekends is always a good idea.

And forget 90 minutes. I’m more of a, you should leave at least 2 hours early type of person if relying on Disney transportation. Lol.


----------



## cam8n

Did the MK open early today? Started seeing wait times on the app around 8:40? 
Anyone there right now confirm opening times at the 4 parks and what times you're being let in? I curious if they're going to go stop the actual rope drop again like they did before because of the surge in cases?


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Is Epcot rope drop still crazy this week?
Is the International Gateway entrance any better than the front of the park?


----------



## Jillpsu15

The TP line app everyone uses, I’m seeing is not free. Just checking before I pay the 17.99 fee that I have the correct one


----------



## Palaura

Jillpsu15 said:


> The TP line app everyone uses, I’m seeing is not free. Just checking before I pay the 17.99 fee that I have the correct one


thats it- love it!


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## EmilyGahr

Jillpsu15 said:


> The TP line app everyone uses, I’m seeing is not free. Just checking before I pay the 17.99 fee that I have the correct one


You have to have a subscription to Touring Plans, which costs $17.99 for a full year of access.


----------



## fivikse

Jillpsu15 said:


> The TP line app everyone uses, I’m seeing is not free. Just checking before I pay the 17.99 fee that I have the correct one



touring plans is a subscription service that helps you plan overall. They have forums, they have a tool to help you decide what order to do rides in for shortest waits, and the lines app. Probably other things that I don’t remember. The cost is for a year’s subscription. Check out their website and some of the many threads on this site.


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## aldeanarmyangel

cam8n said:


> Did the MK open early today? Started seeing wait times on the app around 8:40?
> Anyone there right now confirm opening times at the 4 parks and what times you're being let in? I curious if they're going to go stop the actual rope drop again like they did before because of the surge in cases?


Hours are 8-10 today.


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## Princess Madeleine

fivikse said:


> touring plans is a subscription service that helps you plan overall. They have forums, they have a tool to help you decide what order to do rides in for shortest waits, and the lines app. Probably other things that I don’t remember. The cost is for a year’s subscription. Check out their website and some of the many threads on this site.


They have a great room selection and request submission tool as well. That helped get us a room with a beautiful view of the lake at Pop Century last year. Well worth the subscription price in my opinion.


----------



## aldeanarmyangel

Princess Madeleine said:


> They have a great room selection and request submission tool as well. That helped get us a room with a beautiful view of the lake at Pop Century last year. Well worth the subscription price in my opinion.


we have never had good luck with the room request, but I feel the lines app alone is well worth it.


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## Gator29

Does anyone know which gift shop (or kiosk) I can find this Orange Bird at either in MK or Epcot? Trying to avoid going in more stores than necessary. Thanks!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Jillpsu15 said:


> The TP line app everyone uses, I’m seeing is not free. Just checking before I pay the 17.99 fee that I have the correct one


I've used it for years and always felt it was worth it.  Haven't even minded paying for it for the 2 years we haven't been there as our trips were cancelled.  I used it to plan the trips that didn't happen.

Also, once you subscribe, there is a renewal option that will be sent to you close to when you subscription will end that allows you to re-subscribe for a reduced price.


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## robinb

Jillpsu15 said:


> The TP line app everyone uses, I’m seeing is not free. Just checking before I pay the 17.99 fee that I have the correct one


There is a discount if you have the current book.


----------



## smholloway1

Just returned from a 5 day trip and thought I'd share some random experiences.

Stayed at the Contemporary in a South Garden wing with a standard view ($60 cheaper per night than garden view) and actually preferred the standard view as we could watch the monorail come and go from our window. Kids loved it. 

The construction at the Contemporary was LOUD, inside and outside. We had breakfast at Contempo Cafe one morning and I seriously felt bad for anyone who had reservations at Chef Mickey's. To pay all that money and listen to loud construction drilling/hammering the whole time...

The wait times listed on the Touring Plan Lines app were definitely more accurate than Disney's posted wait times. Disney's wait times were usually inflated. For example, Pirates was listed at 50 minutes but we were on in 15; Soarin was listed at 45 but ended up being walk-on; Tower of Terror was 60 but we were on in 25.

We were there on the first day of the indoor mask reinstatement. We saw several people who were downright mean to cast members who asked them to wear their masks. One guy yelled at a CM in the line for ToT after kindly being asked to pull up his mask ("It's not going to hurt anyone if I take it off for three seconds!!" he said). Another lady wouldn't put her mask over her nose on Spaceship Earth and argued with the CM that she had a doctor's note. She finally pulled it up when the CM insisted. I felt bad for the CMs having to deal with all of that.

I never waited more than 5-10 minutes for a mobile order to be ready after ordering through the app.


----------



## erin1715

Today was our first park day and we went to HS. We got there a little after opening at 9 and got right in line for MMRR. We waited for about 45 minutes. Then went to TSM and waited about 30 minutes. With a 2 year old that was about all we could do before we needed a break. Not having fastpass is frustrating. Parks are packed. And wearing masks on the friendship boats from the BW area is not pleasant. So far it’s been a rough time. We’ll take a nice long break at the resort and try HS this evening.

ETA: The BW food options are abysmal.


----------



## jmpurdy

We are just back from a quick 3 day trip using park hoppers. 
Was expecting it to be extremely crowded, and was pleasantly surprised it wasn't bad as I feared. Wearing masks in the heat is what you would expect. We did it w/o complaint both inside and outside. We found areas to take mask breaks and we did just fine. 
Walked on most rides except the big ticket ones shortly after park opening times.  Thunder was 'delayed' opening and the crowds were ridiculous in that corner, so we left. Have always felt the congestion in that area is a failure even with fast passes. 
Only saw one overflowing trash can at Pecos Bill's during the busy lunch time, but someone was always cleaning the tables. In fact, one flagged me down so I could sit at a clean one. Much appreciated.
Longest wait time was 70 minutes for Slinky Dog and this was early evening. 
Mobile ordering was flawless and worked very well for us. No issues at all. 
Did miss the parking lot trams, not gonna lie. Am still chuckling at the pre-teen complaining he had to walk to their car in the preferred lot. He had no idea how far the rest of us were!
Am glad we went to get our Disney fix. Sure, it was different, but knowing there would be challenges diminished any disappointments.  We look forward to all the changes and new attractions in the future.


----------



## cakebaker

erin1715 said:


> ETA: The BW food options are abysmal.



We didn't find it much better anywhere else either, especially the MK. The food was probably one of the biggest negatives of our trip. It was just plain horrible, almost everywhere with the exception of a few snacks and Satuli at AK-that one was as good as it's ever been.


----------



## erin1715

cakebaker said:


> We didn't find it much better anywhere else either, especially the MK. The food was probably one of the biggest negatives of our trip. It was just plain horrible, almost everywhere with the exception of a few snacks and Satuli at AK-that one was as good as it's ever been.


Yeah just the selections are horrible at the Boardwalk Bakery. For lunch and dinner they have a ham and cheese sandwich or an Italian sandwich and that’s about it. Beach Club even has way more selection than that. I dont get it.


----------



## cakebaker

erin1715 said:


> Yeah just the selections are horrible at the Boardwalk Bakery. For lunch and dinner they have a ham and cheese sandwich or an Italian sandwich and that’s about it. Beach Club even has way more selection than that. I dont get it.



The BC may have more to offer, but between the 5 of us, we pretty much covered ordering a lot of what they offer and seriously, none of it was good. Avoid the mac n cheese at all costs- it was so dry it was crispy and hard. And all of it was cold, nm it took 2 trips down to the marketplace to get the order right.

I have no good things to say about the food at WDW right now outside of the Food and Wine festival. My guess is, had I wanted to deal with it, I would've asked for refunds on at least half the things we attempted te eat on our trip with my basic requirement only being that it's edible. Because of a lot of it just wasn't.  We threw more away than we ate.


----------



## DisneyFive

erin1715 said:


> ETA: The BW food options are abysmal.


We absolutely loved our stay at the boardwalk. You are correct though, very little with regards to food at the actual boardwalk area. I did have that Italian sub a couple of times from the bakery and it was very good. We mainly ate at the parks (we had park hoppers so that helped).  We also did kimonos at the Swan for sushi. That was very very good


cakebaker said:


> The BC may have more to offer, but between the 5 of us, we pretty much covered ordering a lot of what they offer and seriously, none of it was good. Avoid the mac n cheese at all costs- it was so dry it was crispy and hard. And all of it was cold, nm it took 2 trips down to the marketplace to get the order right.
> 
> I have no good things to say about the food at WDW right now outside of the Food and Wine festival. My guess is, had I wanted to deal with it, I would've asked for refunds on at least half the things we attempted te eat on our trip with my basic requirement only being that it's edible. Because of a lot of it just wasn't.  We threw more away than we ate.



If I recall correctly, you ate all QS this trip correct? We very much enjoyed our food this vacation, trying a number of new locations in the process.  However we had a TS every day, typically for lunch (so that our evenings were flexible).

Today’s example is Kona Café at the Polynesian. Sadly we are leaving today though.

-Dan


----------



## cakebaker

DisneyFive said:


> We absolutely loved our stay at the boardwalk. You are correct though, very little with regards to food at the actual boardwalk area. I did have that Italian sub a couple of times from the bakery and it was very good. We mainly ate at the parks (we had park hoppers so that helped).  We also did kimonos at the Swan for sushi. That was very very good
> 
> 
> If I recall correctly, you ate all QS this trip correct? We very much enjoyed our food this vacation, trying a number of new locations in the process.  However we had a TS every day, typically for lunch (so that our evenings were flexible).
> 
> 
> -Dan



Yes, we were all QS, but in the past we've found it to be very good. We don't do a lot of TS on any trip, but do usually do a couple, not this time.

The snacks were excellent, the QS meals not so much. We really noticed the lack of variety in the menus.


----------



## DisneyFive

cakebaker said:


> Yes, we were all QS, but in the past we've found it to be very good. We don't do a lot of TS on any trip, but do usually do a couple, not this time.
> 
> The snacks were excellent, the QS meals not so much. We really noticed the lack of variety in the menus.



I agree that Magic Kingdom is the worst for QS right now. Fortunately we were able to eat at Captain Cook‘s at the Poly or other resort locations for QS during our MK days.


----------



## teawar

cakebaker said:


> Yes, we were all QS, but in the past we've found it to be very good. We don't do a lot of TS on any trip, but do usually do a couple, not this time.
> 
> The snacks were excellent, the QS meals not so much. We really noticed the lack of variety in the menus.


We went over to Yacht Club/beach club for most of our QS while staying at the boardwalk.


----------



## cakebaker

DisneyFive said:


> I agree that Magic Kingdom is the worst for QS right now. Fortunately we were able to eat at Captain Cook‘s at the Poly or other resort locations for QS during our MK days.



One of these days we're going to eat at CC's at the Poly. We just rarely carve out the time to visit other resorts besides our own.


----------



## bbn1122

luv2cheer92 said:


> Why would anyone ever expect to ride together in a single rider line? That is the whole point of the line.



Past trips we would usually used Single Rider, after riding the ride and really wanting to do it again but with out waiting too long. Many times  2 of our party of 5 would ride together.  So, it’s not unusual to ride with someone from your party.

My crew is planning to take advantage of Single Rider in a few weeks, we are all adults and will be spending enough time together for a week, that we don’t have to be next to each other on every ride. Lol!!


----------



## luv2cheer92

bbn1122 said:


> Past trips we would usually used Single Rider, after riding the ride and really wanting to do it again but with out waiting too long. Many times  2 of our party of 5 would ride together.  So, it’s not unusual to ride with someone from your party.
> 
> My crew is planning to take advantage of Single Rider in a few weeks, we are all adults and will be spending enough time together for a week, that we don’t have to be next to each other on every ride. Lol!!


Of course it may happen, especially on TT based on the seating arrangement. But nobody should ever expect it, that's what is crazy to me.


----------



## bbn1122

luv2cheer92 said:


> Of course it may happen, especially on TT based on the seating arrangement. But nobody should ever expect it, that's what is crazy to me.



gotcha!


----------



## dachsie

cakebaker said:


> One of these days we're going to eat at CC's at the Poly. We just rarely carve out the time to visit other resorts besides our own.


How is your grandson doing?


----------



## cakebaker

dachsie said:


> How is your grandson doing?



Some better, the nausea seems to be gone, but we're still fighting the fever he has as well as the cough. He got tested first thing this morning, as did the rest of us. We should have the results sometime later today . Thanks for asking.


----------



## disny_luvr

I didn’t post yesterday, but we went to Epcot and had a great time! We rode everything except for Test Track and Mission Space. Since we are entering through the International Gateway, we decided to head to Frozen first and were on and off by 11:00. If coming from the IG I’d recommend going to Frozen at rope drop. Also, we have been finding the wait times way more accurate on the Lines app. 

Last night we walked around World Showcase and ate way too much! There wasn’t a food we didn’t like. Our favorites were the chicken teriyaki buns and chicken dumplings. We also loved everything at the Germany booth. 

Weather has been awesome. It’s been cooler (by August standards) than I expected.

ETA - I asked if we could sit in section B, row 1 for Soarin’ and our request was honored. I had read earlier that you couldn’t request seats/rows, but we haven’t found that to be the case.
A boy in front of me on Space asked for the front row, and his request was honored, too.


----------



## disny_luvr

We are currently back at the BC after spending the morning at the MK. We got to the BC bus stop at 7:20 and the bus only arrived a little before 8:00. There was a family that said they had been waiting since 6:50. This morning was our first snafu with the busses, and actually our only setback yet this trip. We got to MK after opening, but still rode  Space, Buzz, Pooh, Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, IASW, Pirates, and watched the Enchanted Tiki Room, plus we got cinnamon rolls from Gastons all before noon. We even saw two different calvacades. We ate at LTT for lunch and it was delicious! We waited about 10 minutes for a bus back to the BC. The weather was really nice again today. It rained this morning and was cloudy so that helped keep the temps down. 

Today is our third full day, and everything has been truly awesome so far! If you are coming soon, don’t worry about some of the negativity you may have read about. CMs have been awesome, everything is clean (no dirty bathrooms or overflowing trash cans), and lines are not bad at all.


----------



## alexiskimberly

disny_luvr said:


> We are currently back at the BC after spending the morning at the MK. We got to the BC bus stop at 7:20 and the bus only arrived a little before 8:00. There was a family that said they had been waiting since 6:50. This morning was our first snafu with the busses, and actually our only setback yet this trip. We got to MK after opening, but still rode  Space, Buzz, Pooh, Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, IASW, Pirates, and watched the Enchanted Tiki Room, plus we got cinnamon rolls from Gastons all before noon. We even saw two different calvacades. We ate at LTT for lunch and it was delicious! We waited about 10 minutes for a bus back to the BC. The weather was really nice again today. It rained this morning and was cloudy so that helped keep the temps down.
> 
> Today is our third full day, and everything has been truly awesome so far! If you are coming soon, don’t worry about some of the negativity you may have read about. CMs have been awesome, everything is clean (no dirty bathrooms or overflowing trash cans), and lines are not bad at all.


Woo this is such great news!  I wonder if maybe the crowds are going down a bit given everything that is going on? Either way, makes me super excited for my upcoming trip, so thank you for sharing!


----------



## disny_luvr

alexiskimberly said:


> Woo this is such great news!  I wonder if maybe the crowds are going down a bit given everything that is going on? Either way, makes me super excited for my upcoming trip, so thank you for sharing!



That could be. It’s hard to tell. I think it’s a combo of masks required, cases rising, and schools going back. I don’t know, but we aren’t complaining!


----------



## DefnotDLav

cakebaker said:


> The BC may have more to offer, but between the 5 of us, we pretty much covered ordering a lot of what they offer and seriously, none of it was good. Avoid the mac n cheese at all costs- it was so dry it was crispy and hard. And all of it was cold, nm it took 2 trips down to the marketplace to get the order right.
> 
> I have no good things to say about the food at WDW right now outside of the Food and Wine festival. My guess is, had I wanted to deal with it, I would've asked for refunds on at least half the things we attempted te eat on our trip with my basic requirement only being that it's edible. Because of a lot of it just wasn't.  We threw more away than we ate.



Yeah the food at Disney has been sub par for sometime, IMO, outside of a few locations. 

More people should demand refunds, perhaps they'd up their game.


----------



## DefnotDLav

disny_luvr said:


> We are currently back at the BC after spending the morning at the MK. We got to the BC bus stop at 7:20 and the bus only arrived a little before 8:00. There was a family that said they had been waiting since 6:50. This morning was our first snafu with the busses, and actually our only setback yet this trip. We got to MK after opening, but still rode  Space, Buzz, Pooh, Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, IASW, Pirates, and watched the Enchanted Tiki Room, plus we got cinnamon rolls from Gastons all before noon. We even saw two different calvacades. We ate at LTT for lunch and it was delicious! We waited about 10 minutes for a bus back to the BC. The weather was really nice again today. It rained this morning and was cloudy so that helped keep the temps down.
> 
> Today is our third full day, and everything has been truly awesome so far! If you are coming soon, don’t worry about some of the negativity you may have read about. CMs have been awesome, everything is clean (no dirty bathrooms or overflowing trash cans), and lines are not bad at all.



That sounds like a great morning! I would have 0 complaints with that.


----------



## sjrec

erin1715 said:


> Today was our first park day and we went to HS. We got there a little after opening at 9 and got right in line for MMRR. We waited for about 45 minutes. Then went to TSM and waited about 30 minutes. With a 2 year old that was about all we could do before we needed a break. Not having fastpass is frustrating. Parks are packed. And wearing masks on the friendship boats from the BW area is not pleasant. So far it’s been a rough time. We’ll take a nice long break at the resort and try HS this evening.
> 
> ETA: The BW food options are abysmal.


We really enjoyed our evening in HS-again, times posted were inflated. And we really enjoyed dinner at the ABC Commissary-but they close at 7:00. We put our order in at 6:45 and practically had the restaurant to ourselves.


----------



## SimonSez

stiirfry said:


> Hello guys! I'm back again with day 2 of my trip, we went to Epcot  My sister and I aren't ones for rope dropping so we took the Skyliner at 11 and was in the world showcase at 11:20. It was pretty empty in the park for the first hour or so, we got some pretty sweet pics throughout the world showcase. We got Joffrey's coffee and dole whips. This might be controversial but I think the watermelon dolewhip is better than the pineapple
> 
> Then we stumbled on test track at a 95-minute wait. We were in line for about 10 minutes until we saw the people behind us say they're going to single rider because there's no wait. So we did that and there was about a 10-minute wait tops. SO much better than waiting 90 minutes. However, note that the CMs are very strict about splitting apart single riders! We saw a lady make a bit of a scene trying to stay with her daughter even though they took the single rider line...My sister and I didn't care for riding together anyways lol. Then we did Mission space orange, which was about a 25-minute wait. Then spaceship earth, which was a 30-minute wait.
> 
> We got lunch at a few different booths but after a while lines were getting pretty long (~3:30 pm) for just about every Epcot booth, we decided to go back to the hotel for an hour and mentally prepare for a lot of drinks and food. Returned to Epcot around 5. When we returned lines were....pretty rough. Pretty much every booth in the world showcase had a line that was at least 20-30 minutes. Which is rough when a lot of the booths are food and wine so you don't particularly get a large portion. We still managed to have a few drinks and food but the lines were just so long for a lot of booths it was pretty disheartening. Crowds were also pretty large, I mean shoulder to shoulder in some places. However, we got a lot of amazing food. I never thought I'd have so many margaritas in my life (my sister and I split them so I swear we're not getting completely blasted at Epcot).
> 
> Honestly, lines for rides were a lot shorter than lines for food. We managed to ride the figment ride, Nemo, Soarin, and living with the land in a little over an hour. The longest line we stood in of the day was Frozen which would not budge from above a 40-minute wait. So we just decided to ride and it did take about 40 minutes but honestly Frozen might've been my favorite ride of the day! Overall it was a really fun day, however, the crowds seemed very large. If you're worried about that I'd tell you that yes they are just as bad as the look in people's pictures lol. However, my sister and I have a running saying that it is what you make of it. So even if things seem bad we'll just perform self-affirmations lol. "We ARE having fun. This IS a good time. We are ENJOYING this experience" even after our legs hurt or we stand in line for an hour.
> 
> Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom  I actually have 2 reservations tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.


Single rider is great for TT


----------



## SimonSez

Eastern said:


> I would be worried about Lime Garage being 'full', and then redirecting me to orange, especially at night or on a weekend. It just always takes longer than you think when you are trying to get somewhere at WDW. I'd go an hour early with a car (instead of 1 and 1/2 hours for Disney transpo) and plan on shopping a little if I was early.
> 
> For Disney transportation, definitely hour and a half. There have been times when I've just made it using that rule. (If you are (for ex) at a monorail hotel going to another monorail hotel or MK you can adjust the time accordingly.) If a bus is involved there are no guarantees.


Good advice


----------



## sjrec

DisneyFive said:


> We absolutely loved our stay at the boardwalk. You are correct though, very little with regards to food at the actual boardwalk area. I did have that Italian sub a couple of times from the bakery and it was very good. We mainly ate at the parks (we had park hoppers so that helped).  We also did kimonos at the Swan for sushi. That was very very good
> 
> 
> If I recall correctly, you ate all QS this trip correct? We very much enjoyed our food this vacation, trying a number of new locations in the process.  However we had a TS every day, typically for lunch (so that our evenings were flexible).
> 
> Today’s example is Kona Café at the Polynesian. Sadly we are leaving today though.
> View attachment 594683View attachment 594685View attachment 594686View attachment 594684
> -Dan


That looks wonderful!
Maybe we were just lucky, but we had some excellent meals (Narcoosees, Citricos, Raglan Road, HBD), some very good (SciFi, Trattoria al Forno)-we had appetizers and drinks one night at the Enchanted Rose and the bar in the Yacht Club. Another evening we had the cheese plate from the Marketplace with some leftover grapes and our own wine. We also shared the roast beef sandwich from there and was very good. With chips and grapes on a hot day it was plenty. The ABC Commissary was a nice surprise.


----------



## Haley R

erin1715 said:


> Today was our first park day and we went to HS. We got there a little after opening at 9 and got right in line for MMRR. We waited for about 45 minutes. Then went to TSM and waited about 30 minutes. With a 2 year old that was about all we could do before we needed a break. Not having fastpass is frustrating. Parks are packed. And wearing masks on the friendship boats from the BW area is not pleasant. So far it’s been a rough time. We’ll take a nice long break at the resort and try HS this evening.
> 
> ETA: The BW food options are abysmal.


Oh no! We’re staying at BW next week for two nights. What’s open for food?


----------



## SimonSez

Gator29 said:


> Does anyone know which gift shop (or kiosk) I can find this Orange Bird at either in MK or Epcot? Trying to avoid going in more stores than necessary. Thanks!
> 
> View attachment 594666


Want one


----------



## sjrec

Haley R said:


> Oh no! We’re staying at BW next week for two nights. What’s open for food?


Trattoria al Forno is open, we saw lots of people at the Big River Grille, the pizza window was open, the Bakery.


----------



## mdmost

Gator29 said:


> Does anyone know which gift shop (or kiosk) I can find this Orange Bird at either in MK or Epcot? Trying to avoid going in more stores than necessary. Thanks!
> 
> View attachment 594666


I believe I saw on Twitter that it was at Mouse Gear in Epcot.


----------



## The Iron Giant

Gator29 said:


> Does anyone know which gift shop (or kiosk) I can find this Orange Bird at either in MK or Epcot? Trying to avoid going in more stores than necessary. Thanks!
> 
> View attachment 594666


Not sure if it’s the same one, but Disney Food blog  reported it was available at a shop in Animal Kingdom.


----------



## Heather07438

The Iron Giant said:


> Not sure if it’s the same one, but Disney Food blog  reported it was available at a shop in Animal Kingdom.
> View attachment 594741


That’s the alternate version without the sparkly eyes or big feet  I kind of like yours better though, the other details like wings and mouth are nicer.


----------



## erin1715

Haley R said:


> Oh no! We’re staying at BW next week for two nights. What’s open for food?


I feel like for our family, there isn’t a lot. We can’t sit down for a long meal with a toddler so we’re looking for QS food. So while there are some TS restaurants open, that doesn’t help us. We have gotten a full pizza two days in a row from the Boardwalk pizza window and that’s been good enough but I don’t want pizza every day. We’re gonna try some Uber Eats offsite I think tonight.


----------



## Turksmom

You could take the Skyliner to some of the other resorts on the loop. CBR, Riviera, AoA, and Pop would add a little variety to the QS rotation


----------



## rlk

erin1715 said:


> I feel like for our family, there isn’t a lot. We can’t sit down for a long meal with a toddler so we’re looking for QS food. So while there are some TS restaurants open, that doesn’t help us. We have gotten a full pizza two days in a row from the Boardwalk pizza window and that’s been good enough but I don’t want pizza every day. We’re gonna try some Uber Eats offsite I think tonight.



You can get take out from Trattoria Al Forno.  Have you tried the Boardwalk Bakery for lunch options or walk to Beach Club for more selections.  We just spent 9 nights at Boardwalk Villas and relied on hopping into Epcot for some quick meals.


----------



## PanchoX1

kevtlas said:


> You definitely had better luck than our DHS visits in mid-July. We were able to do the 6 attractions you mentioned over two visits, each from about 9-6ish. We did get on RotR both days, so a total of 4 each day. And totally agree that DHS was the hottest/busiest of all parks during our visit as well.



Odd. We were at DHS mid July and did every ride in the park including Rise of the Resistance (except Rn'R,my kids are currently too short for that one) Some more that once, saw the frozen sing along, the Lightning McQueen show, had a ADR at the brown derby and at Oga's. All in one day.  Granted, we were there RD to close. so sorry your luck was not as good.


----------



## Makmak

These are all great suggestions, but when I had a two year old I just wanted to grab something and be able to eat it in my room or somewhere the kid can run around freely without bugging people. To get in the skyliner and/or have to travel to get food is exhausting. (for those without toddlers they can be like insane unpredictable monkeys and so something simple like getting on the skyliner goes like this: start walking to skyliner kid has to go potty, go back to room and take care of that, then start walking to skyliner then kid sees ducks and wants to check them out, then get in skyliner and kid falls asleep/has to go potty/cries that he’s hungry/doesn’t want to wear mask, get to restaurant and he’s tired and won’t eat, all this while lugging a stroller and/or large bag) even if none of this happens, most parents are stressed that it “might” (seeotential insane monkey) so it’s really necessary to have decent easily accessible food options at the resorts. Kudos to those brave parents with toddlers/babies that keep traveling . I look back and can’t believe I did that much work to go to Disney all the time…..and Disney knows people go with small kids and should have options for their needs.


----------



## LSUmiss

Makmak said:


> These are all great suggestions, but when I had a two year old I just wanted to grab something and be able to eat it in my room or somewhere the kid can run around freely without bugging people. To get in the skyliner and/or have to travel to get food is exhausting. (for those without toddlers they can be like insane unpredictable monkeys and so something simple like getting on the skyliner goes like this: start walking to skyliner kid has to go potty, go back to room and take care of that, then start walking to skyliner then kid sees ducks and wants to check them out, then get in skyliner and kid falls asleep/has to go potty/cries that he’s hungry/doesn’t want to wear mask, get to restaurant and he’s tired and won’t eat, all this while lugging a stroller and/or large bag) even if none of this happens, most parents are stressed that it “might” (seeotential insane monkey) so it’s really necessary to have decent easily accessible food options at the resorts. Kudos to those brave parents with toddlers/babies that keep traveling . I look back and can’t believe I did that much work to go to Disney all the time…..and Disney knows people go with small kids and should have options for their needs.


I agree with all you said & have been there. Now we do Uber eats after having a similar experience.


----------



## kc51570

Makmak said:


> These are all great suggestions, but when I had a two year old I just wanted to grab something and be able to eat it in my room or somewhere the kid can run around freely without bugging people. To get in the skyliner and/or have to travel to get food is exhausting. (for those without toddlers they can be like insane unpredictable monkeys and so something simple like getting on the skyliner goes like this: start walking to skyliner kid has to go potty, go back to room and take care of that, then start walking to skyliner then kid sees ducks and wants to check them out, then get in skyliner and kid falls asleep/has to go potty/cries that he’s hungry/doesn’t want to wear mask, get to restaurant and he’s tired and won’t eat, all this while lugging a stroller and/or large bag) even if none of this happens, most parents are stressed that it “might” (seeotential insane monkey) so it’s really necessary to have decent easily accessible food options at the resorts. Kudos to those brave parents with toddlers/babies that keep traveling . I look back and can’t believe I did that much work to go to Disney all the time…..and Disney knows people go with small kids and should have options for their needs.


Boardwalk and Beach club have never had real quick service restaurants. Beach Club is a little better with the marketplace options. If anything the mobile order at two table service restaurants is an improvement over pre-Covid times. If I was relying on quick service for the majority of my meals I definitely wouldn’t stay there. They are both right next to Epcot with plenty of food options though. We also took a ride on the skyliner to check out and eat at the Riviera a couple of times. That’s a ride in itself for a toddler without even entering a park.


----------



## DefnotDLav

kc51570 said:


> Boardwalk and Beach club have never had real quick service restaurants. Beach Club is a little better with the marketplace options. If anything the mobile order at two table service restaurants is an improvement over pre-Covid times. If I was relying on quick service for the majority of my meals I definitely wouldn’t stay there. They are both right next to Epcot with plenty of food options though. We also took a ride on the skyliner to check out and eat at the Riviera a couple of times. That’s a ride in itself for a toddler without even entering a park.



BC is just awful. All Stars have better options.


----------



## erin1715

Makmak said:


> These are all great suggestions, but when I had a two year old I just wanted to grab something and be able to eat it in my room or somewhere the kid can run around freely without bugging people. To get in the skyliner and/or have to travel to get food is exhausting. (for those without toddlers they can be like insane unpredictable monkeys and so something simple like getting on the skyliner goes like this: start walking to skyliner kid has to go potty, go back to room and take care of that, then start walking to skyliner then kid sees ducks and wants to check them out, then get in skyliner and kid falls asleep/has to go potty/cries that he’s hungry/doesn’t want to wear mask, get to restaurant and he’s tired and won’t eat, all this while lugging a stroller and/or large bag) even if none of this happens, most parents are stressed that it “might” (seeotential insane monkey) so it’s really necessary to have decent easily accessible food options at the resorts. Kudos to those brave parents with toddlers/babies that keep traveling . I look back and can’t believe I did that much work to go to Disney all the time…..and Disney knows people go with small kids and should have options for their needs.


You hit it on the head! Just put my Uber eats order in. I’m happy to give some money to local businesses instead of Disney. I don’t feel like Disney has done enough for their guests lately. So I’m a little disenchanted with them at the moment.


----------



## tinkerhon

cakebaker said:


> Some better, the nausea seems to be gone, but we're still fighting the fever he has as well as the cough. He got tested first thing this morning, as did the rest of us. We should have the results sometime later today . Thanks for asking.



Sending positive vibes !!


----------



## tinkerhon

LSUmiss said:


> I agree with all you said & have been there. Now we do Uber eats after having a similar experience.



We couldnt believe how many people were using Uber eats this last trip !! We were at ASM, and thats all we saw !! Well, that and people filling up giant bottles all night with drinks... but, I digress !!!


----------



## sjrec

Makmak said:


> These are all great suggestions, but when I had a two year old I just wanted to grab something and be able to eat it in my room or somewhere the kid can run around freely without bugging people. To get in the skyliner and/or have to travel to get food is exhausting. (for those without toddlers they can be like insane unpredictable monkeys and so something simple like getting on the skyliner goes like this: start walking to skyliner kid has to go potty, go back to room and take care of that, then start walking to skyliner then kid sees ducks and wants to check them out, then get in skyliner and kid falls asleep/has to go potty/cries that he’s hungry/doesn’t want to wear mask, get to restaurant and he’s tired and won’t eat, all this while lugging a stroller and/or large bag) even if none of this happens, most parents are stressed that it “might” (seeotential insane monkey) so it’s really necessary to have decent easily accessible food options at the resorts. Kudos to those brave parents with toddlers/babies that keep traveling . I look back and can’t believe I did that much work to go to Disney all the time…..and Disney knows people go with small kids and should have options for their needs.


You can also mobile order from the Ale & Compass. You can also eat at Martha’s Vineyard. We saw families there in the dinner hours. Your little one won’t be the only toddler.


----------



## tinkerhon

mdmost said:


> I believe I saw on Twitter that it was at Mouse Gear in Epcot.



Need this !!! Went crazy this trip trying to find the Orange Bird plastic cup w straw--- saw it first night at World Of Disney--- didnt buy it, and didnt see it again--- until our last night --- the store at ASM had them !!!  Only 2 left


----------



## stiirfry

Hello again! I don't know if anybody is asking for these posts but I love sharing (too much) information at times.
We just got back from AK and it was a lot of fun! It was VERY busy though. This is the busiest we've seen yet honestly. Many parts were so busy it was tough to walk without being bonked by a constant onslaught of umbrellas.
We arrived around 9:15 ish. We tried for rope drop but honestly, my sister and I don't do mornings. We got some coffee at Joffrey's then we found Expedition Everest which had a 40-minute wait, but single rider had a 20-minute wait which was great. We did that and walked around a bit. We found the Dinosaur ride which had a 20-minute wait and honestly that ride was really cool. One of my favorites so far lol

We stumbled across Yak and Yeti which is where I had a 11:30 lunch reservation. It was 11:05 and I just asked the CM instead of checking in on the app and they got us in immediately  We got the ahi tuna nachos which were AMAZING. Honestly highlight of the trip so far. We also both got Yak Attacks which was...a bit of a mistake lol Should've got one and shared it..But ya gotta see it through. Also, Yak and Yeti felt pretty distanced between tables and wasn't even busy until around 12

We weren't quite sure what else to do afterward so decided to tough it out and stand in line for Flight of Passage due to rave reviews. It was also raining quite a bit at this point (~12:45 pm). The wait time said 150 minutes we were on by 2:20. I'm not sure if we got unlucky with our seats but the 3D effects didn't work as well for us and the ride was just alright.

Oh, and if you're reading these posts to help decide how social distancing/masks rules are in the parks... inside the FOP outdoor queue there were a few CMs asking people to put them on but gosh I'd say maybe only 20 percent of people in the queue would keep them on after out of sight of the CM. The crowds are a lot, and basically, nobody wears masks outside however inside shops/indoor queues I'd say most people do wear them even without a CM telling them to put them on. Also, I'd add pictures, but I believe I need 10 posts before I can do that.. Am I allowed to post an Imgur album link or would that be bypassing the required posts/link to an external site?

After FOP we got Simba dole whips (can't quite remember the name) which were great.

Then we decided to leave before our 5:20 Tusker House reservation (I modified it for a few days from now and then canceled) just because it was a bit hard to navigate around the park with so many people and because we felt there wasn't much else to do for us. It was also raining quite a bit, we had ponchos but it was just awkward to navigate around others and their umbrellas. Overall I liked AK but it did feel a bit more geared towards a family-friendly atmosphere (not a bad thing! I'm accepting that it wasn't catered toward 2 twenty-somethings who want to drink like Epcot lol hope no one takes that the wrong way!!) so we're heading over to Disney Springs later tonight


----------



## loves to dive

sjrec said:


> You can also mobile order from the Ale & Compass. You can also eat at Martha’s Vineyard. We saw families there in the dinner hours. Your little one won’t be the only toddler.


Dolphin has a pretty nice little ice cream/sandwich shop and a decent grab and go.  Picabu is not bad there either.


----------



## Farro

It doesn't seem like that much is still closed in the Boardwalk area? Just the funnel cakes and Flying Fish?

Boardwalk/Beach/Yacht have always been criticized for lack of counter-service, it's nothing new. I think they must figure people would just walk to Epcot to eat. (which we did  )


----------



## cakebaker

Farro said:


> It doesn't seem like that much is still closed in the Boardwalk area? Just the funnel cakes and Flying Fish?
> 
> Boardwalk/Beach/Yacht have always been criticized for lack of counter-service, it's nothing new. I think they must figure people would just walk to Epcot to eat. (which we did  )



For me, it's not the lack of counter service- it's the quality of what counter service they have. It was awful at the BC.


----------



## ThistleMae

DisneyFive said:


> That is only buffets or family style or fixed price, menus like that.  Anyone can order a kids meal otherwise both quick service or table service
> 
> Dan


Great!  Thanks.


----------



## 100AcreWood

monsterkitty said:


> We loved not having FP as well when we went in June. However, the mobile ordering was not that great for us. We had to wait up to 30 minutes after our window ended for food that we ordered when we entered each park in the morning. This was before the college program CMs came back so I'm sure they were very short handed and that led to the delays.
> 
> We didn't try the cheeseburger spring rolls, but had the buffalo chicken ones instead. I'm so addicted to them now I'm making them in my airfryer and then freezing them for quick lunches. Maybe I should try making the cheeseburger ones as well.



How do you make spring rolls in the air fryer?  That sounds awesome.


----------



## Haley R

erin1715 said:


> I feel like for our family, there isn’t a lot. We can’t sit down for a long meal with a toddler so we’re looking for QS food. So while there are some TS restaurants open, that doesn’t help us. We have gotten a full pizza two days in a row from the Boardwalk pizza window and that’s been good enough but I don’t want pizza every day. We’re gonna try some Uber Eats offsite I think tonight.


We also have a toddler. He’s 15 months. We’re local so I think we’re gonna just bring some things with us as a backup. We’ll be in a studio so at least we’ll have a microwave and toaster


----------



## Geomom

erin1715 said:


> I feel like for our family, there isn’t a lot. We can’t sit down for a long meal with a toddler so we’re looking for QS food. So while there are some TS restaurants open, that doesn’t help us. We have gotten a full pizza two days in a row from the Boardwalk pizza window and that’s been good enough but I don’t want pizza every day. We’re gonna try some Uber Eats offsite I think tonight.


We've picked up food from the pool bar at Boardwalk before.  I like the salads there.  It's a small menu though and probably closes on the early side.


----------



## robinb

erin1715 said:


> I feel like for our family, there isn’t a lot. We can’t sit down for a long meal with a toddler so we’re looking for QS food. So while there are some TS restaurants open, that doesn’t help us. We have gotten a full pizza two days in a row from the Boardwalk pizza window and that’s been good enough but I don’t want pizza every day. We’re gonna try some Uber Eats offsite I think tonight.


I ordered from Trattoria al Forno twice for take out when we were there in May.


----------



## oceanmarina

cdurham1 said:


> Mine hasn't seen it since she was a small kid and doesn't remember it.  I think my description of it turned her off.
> 
> Last night, we did COP at the last showing about 8:50pm.  The park was busy, but there were 7 people in COP counting the 3 of us.  Afterwards, she said she liked it and couldn't understand why it is so unpopular.  So, I did have that win this trip,




Hi just curious, which ride is COP?


----------



## elsbit

COP= Carousel of Progress


----------



## fivikse

Gator29 said:


> Does anyone know which gift shop (or kiosk) I can find this Orange Bird at either in MK or Epcot? Trying to avoid going in more stores than necessary. Thanks!
> 
> View attachment 594666


DD and I think we saw it in MK at the Emporium on Main Street.

Also, I’m not sure I commented much on our food. We grabbed a lot of stuff at Java in the Swan. MK we only did Skipper and loved it.

EP -we did Mexico qs and then via Napoli. The qs in Epcot didn’t seem to care about mobile ordering.

DHS- was awful. We did Backlot Express. Food was terrible and we mobile ordered. They wouldn’t let us in until number came up but were  letting people in who hadn’t mobile ordered. So all of the counter orderers staked out seats. We couldn’t find a table so dh and I ate standing up. It was like we were being punished for mobile ordering.


----------



## hvanes

cam8n said:


> Did the MK open early today? Started seeing wait times on the app around 8:40?
> Anyone there right now confirm opening times at the 4 parks and what times you're being let in? I curious if they're going to go stop the actual rope drop again like they did before because of the surge in cases?


Sunday was our last of 6 park days. On both of our MK days we were held at the various "lands" until the welcome announcement on the hour, exactly like we experienced in 2019.

At AK, park opening was at 8. We arrived by bus at 7:01. We were held at tapstiles until 7:10. We were then allowed to move to the bridge for Pandora (behind a rope). At 7:30 CMs led us in a fairly controlled, mostly dignified walk to make a queue in Pandora. At 7:30 we started slowly walking in our line and basically never stopped moving until we boarded FoP.

We had 2 HS days (one before re-initiating the mask mandate and one after; not sure if that made the difference?) and the rope drop experiences were pretty different, so I'll let someone there more recently chime in on that park.

We skipped rope drop at Epcot after reading advice here to do so. It was a great decision, no regrets. We opted to ride TT at the end of the night instead of arriving early.


----------



## tinkerhon

robinb said:


> I ordered from Trattoria al Forno twice for take out when we were there in May.



Our thing was taking food home from Satu'li -- cant get enough of it--- the ASM food court was OK, but the portions were ridiculous !


----------



## cakebaker

tinkerhon said:


> Our thing was taking food home from Satu'li -- cant get enough of it--- the ASM food court was OK, but the portions were ridiculous !


Satu’li is my absolute favorite place to eat. I’d eat every meal there if I could. It was as good as it ever has been.


----------



## tinkerhon

cakebaker said:


> Satu’li is my absolute favorite place to eat. I’d eat every meal there if I could. It was as good as it ever has been.



Its soooooo good !!! The food is always amazingly fresh !


----------



## disny_luvr

We watched HEA tonight and had a great spot sitting at the tables in front of the Plaza. We were up towards the railing and literally no one in front of us. There is a walkway in front, but they keep moving people along. We got there around 7:15 and I think we were lucky to get a table; someone was just leaving, but no one else moved from those tables all night. We chatted with the family beside us, and they told us they were there since 6:30. If you want to sit here, I’d suggest getting there early. We mobile ordered Casey’s while we waited and my boys rode Space Mountain. 

After HEA, we went against the masses and made our way back to 7DMT. Posted wait was 90 minutes and we were on in just under 35 minutes.


----------



## HappilyEverAfter80

petunia said:


> Sorry in advance if this is not the right thread for this..
> We are in Canada, so never get our magic bands sent to us, always have them at the resort at check in, but this is what its says in MDE, and I purchased ours a couple months ago and got the email confirming?  Should I do something or does this just mean they will not be sent but will be at the resort?
> 
> View attachment 594551


We are the same, ordered ours about a month ago, from Canada, shows the same. Since we received our confirmation I’m not super worried.


----------



## DefnotDLav

Farro said:


> It doesn't seem like that much is still closed in the Boardwalk area? Just the funnel cakes and Flying Fish?
> 
> Boardwalk/Beach/Yacht have always been criticized for lack of counter-service, it's nothing new. I think they must figure people would just walk to Epcot to eat. (which we did  )



That’s true, but when you are hangry Epcot is a bit of a haul lol


----------



## 123SA

I’m trying to figure out how many mask to pack.  We Will be using disposable medical masks.  How many per day have you been using?


----------



## KM82

On our way down now!  Looking forward to being able to contribute to this thread. Nervous about the line situation, but we will adjust as needed.


----------



## Danadanes

123SA said:


> I’m trying to figure out how many mask to pack.  We Will be using disposable medical masks.  How many per day have you been using?


I’d say at least 4 per day. That was our burn on vacation (not at Disney).


----------



## becauseimnew

At Disney, haven’t been keeping up with this thread but just saw the trams on World Drive, headed to MK area.


----------



## Makmak

The way the message cut off I picture Men in Black approaching and saying “you saw nothing” and using the memory eraser ray. (I know, wrong park)


----------



## luv2cheer92

becauseimnew said:


> At Disney, haven’t been keeping up with this thread but just saw the trams on World Drive, headed to


There was an indication that they were returning a few days ago, but nothing was ever announced or confirmed.


----------



## Eastern

DefnotDLav said:


> Yeah the food at Disney has been sub par for sometime, IMO, outside of a few locations.
> 
> More people should demand refunds, perhaps they'd up their game.


ITA that people should request exchange/refund when a food item is not acceptable but many people look at it as wasting more time.

The thing is, if you do complain, it alerts them that something should be looked at again, and it rotates the stock so that the next person may not have to deal with the same problem. I have rarely gotten an inedible item but I have sent something back at a TS and I have asked a CS to add more to my plate when the CM seems to be not paying attention and the portion seems way too small. Has never been a problem.

Once I was paying at POFQ and I thought that the CM had given me a very small portion of something but I didn't say anything. The CM checking me out actually told me to go back and tell them to give me more. She said it was not plated correctly. Remember that sometimes the workers simply may not be paying attention so if something doesn't look right or looks bad, comment right away.


----------



## tofubeast

Going in a few days.  Can someone please give the latest update on when parks open vs official posted times and rope drops info for each park?


----------



## cakebaker

Eastern said:


> ITA that people should request exchange/refund when a food item is not acceptable but many people look at it as wasting more time.



Normally I am one who is adamant about letting them know when something is wrong. It is the best way to let them know they aren't doing as well as they should.

But this trip was exhausting and I mean mentally, not physically. We were constantly monitioring my grandson for exposure, watching crowds, and laser focused on keeping him safe. I just didn't have it in me to take on any more. I do intend to email them with our concerns now that we're home and poor food quality is going to be one of the things I share. I did get a survey and filled that out as well.

My son-in-law did turn back a lobster roll when he picked up the order. He said it looked like they had forgotten to put the crab at all there was so little on the sandwich. Honestly, he said they didn't act like they much cared at all and were puzzled that he was unhappy with it, although they did give him another one. I'm not sure that complaining at the window at qs ever gets past the person at the register. I want them to know higher up that the quality was horrid.


----------



## Eastern

cakebaker said:


> Normally I am one who is adamant about letting them know when something is wrong. It is the best way to let them know they aren't doing as well as they should.
> 
> But this trip was exhausting and I mean mentally, not physically. We were constantly monitioring my grandson for exposure, watching crowds, and laser focused on keeping him safe. I just didn't have it in me to take on any more. I do intend to email them with our concerns now that we're home and poor food quality is going to be one of the things I share. I did get a survey and filled that out as well.
> 
> My son-in-law did turn back a lobster roll when he picked up the order. He said it looked like they had forgotten to put the crab at all there was so little on the sandwich. Honestly, he said they didn't act like they much cared at all and were puzzled that he was unhappy with it, although they did give him another one. I'm not sure that complaining at the window at qs ever gets past the person at the register. I want them to know higher up that the quality was horrid.


I definitely get it. I have hesitated to complain about anything this past 18 months and the few times I did, I got a 'don't you know it's a pandemic!' kind of response. But that is starting to wear thin, especially since everything is more expensive than it was. Glad you are writing to them about your experiences.


----------



## cam8n

tofubeast said:


> Going in a few days.  Can someone please give the latest update on when parks open vs official posted times and rope drops info for each park?


Wondering the same thing


----------



## Chaitali

Yesterday was our last day at Disney parks.  We had it as a second Hollywood studios day because we wanted to maximize our chances of getting a rise of the resistance pass.  We got boarding group 67 yesterday.  We got to hollywoodstudios at 8:30 instead of 8 like earlier in the week.  They had already started letting people in so we didn’t have to wait at the entrance.  We were in line for MMRR at 8:40.  The line seemed to start moving around8:45 and we were in the building by 9 and the pre-show room by 9:10.

after that we did some small things we had missed the previous day like muppets, Star tours and the new short.  Then it was back to Galaxy’s edge for our 11am at Oga’s.  We got there around 10:45 but we’re told we had to wait until 11.  We played around with the data pad for a bit and checked back in at 11.  We were seated with another family in a booth.  We kept our masks on the whole time and ordered our drinks to go.  The server didn’t bat an eye and it seemed like it’s a request they get often.  She was great and really in character.  We enjoyed the atmosphere, I got some photos of the DJ and hacked him with the data pad.  Once we got our drinks we found a ledge across the way outside to sit and drink them while finishing up our datapad games.

after that, we went to Ronto roasters.  we lucked out with finding a table.  It was really crowded there.  The food was delicious and the timing worked out because it started pouring while we were in there.  There was a lot of rain yesterday but at least it helped keep it a bit cooler.  once the rain eased off we went to check out the small shops and play some more datapad games.  It started pouring again and everyone took shelter in the shops so it was a bit crowded.

once the rain eased off again it was almost time for our boarding group so we headed that way.  The line was much longer than the other day.  But after 5 minutes in line we were told the ride was down and to come back later . We were pretty tired at this point so we went back to the room to nap.

in the evening we headed back to Epcot for food and wine and wandering around world showcase.  We also stopped at Abracadabar on the way. They had nice outdoor tables so we were able to snag one thankfully.  And it started raining again hard while we were there but we were under an awning so it was fine.  We enjoyed Epcot and made sure to stop for some photo pass pictures in world showcase.  They all seemed to have a bit of a line but it wasn’t too bad.  We left Epcot before the fireworks since we had seen them earlier in the week.  We thought about going back to Hollywood studios for rise of the resistance since it was working again But decided we were too tired.  We ordered take out from it mulino instead and had dinner in our room.

Today we’re having lunch at Homecoming and then transferring over to Royal Pacific at Universal!


----------



## PalmettoPath

HappilyEverAfter80 said:


> We are the same, ordered ours about a month ago, from Canada, shows the same. Since we received our confirmation I’m not super worried.


Same here. But we have the confirmation email of the order and payment etc. So I'm sure we'll get MBs somehow at check-in (if they actually are not there).


----------



## meremac

I feel really lucky because we have a way different experience than much of what I'm reading here on our recent trip. In two 1/2 days at HS we did MMRR (2x), RotR (2x), Star Tours (5x), TSM (3x), SDD (3x), ToT (3x), RnRC, Swirling Saucers, Smugglers Run plus one ADR, Muppet Vision, that movie short, and lots of shopping.  In two partial days at MK (one of which was about 6 hours long and the other which was only about 3 hours long), we were able to do BTMR (2x), Splash (2x), PP, 7DMT, Space (2x), HM (2x), IASW, Pirates, Buzz, PhilharMagic, Mad Tea Party plus 2 ADRs and lots of shopping. In 1.5 days at Epcot we did Soarin (3x), Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, FEA (2x), Figment (3x), Nemo, TT (2x), Mission Space, and hit every WS pavilion. And in about 8 hours total at AK, we did Safaris, FoP (3x), Expedition Everest (6x??? ~ I lost count), Navi, TriceraTop Spin, DINOSAUR, both walking trails, Nomad Lounge, and one ADR. It was definitely crowded, but the trick for us was to get there well before RD, hit 3-4 attractions first thing, take a break (either shopping/seeing a show/having an ADR in the park or back at the resort), then hitting attractions again from 4pm(ish) to close. We found MDE waits to be very inflated and even the long lines moved quickly. My point is that, yes things are different, but it's still definitely possible to get a lot done right now .


----------



## Tess

erin1715 said:


> I feel like for our family, there isn’t a lot. We can’t sit down for a long meal with a toddler so we’re looking for QS food. So while there are some TS restaurants open, that doesn’t help us. We have gotten a full pizza two days in a row from the Boardwalk pizza window and that’s been good enough but I don’t want pizza every day. We’re gonna try some Uber Eats offsite I think tonight.



If you enjoy tacos/burritos (among other items), try Picabu (hopefully the menu is up to date, but it is Disney's not Dolphin's) over at the Dolphin.  

Quick service (think cafeteria style), reasonably priced and large dining area--good spot for toddlers.  Picabu is on the lower level of the resort and easily accessible.  If you have AAA, there is a discount too.

We have had breakfast there along with grabbing to go items (burritos, pizza, etc.) to bring back to our rooms at BCV or BWV.  We have always enjoyed it.


----------



## cakebaker

meremac said:


> two 1/2 days at HS we did MMRR (2x), RotR (2x), Star Tours (5x), TSM (3x), SDD (3x), ToT (3x), RnRC, Swirling Saucers, Smugglers Run plus one ADR, Muppet Vision, that movie short, and lots of shopping. In two partial days at MK (one of which was about 6 hours long and the other which was only about 3 hours long), we were able to do BTMR (2x), Splash (2x), PP, 7DMT, Space (2x), HM (2x), IASW, Pirates, Buzz, PhilharMagic, Mad Tea Party plus 2 ADRs and lots of shopping. In 1.5 days at Epcot we did Soarin (3x), Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, FEA (2x), Figment (3x), Nemo, TT (2x), Mission Space, and hit every WS pavilion. And in about 8 hours total at AK, we did Safaris, FoP (3x), Expedition Everest (6x??? ~ I lost count), Navi, TriceraTop Spin, DINOSAUR, both walking trails, Nomad Lounge, and one ADR.



I'd be very interested to learn how you got all this done using only standby. FOP 3x's and Everest 6 with all the other things in between in only 8 hours? Even with Fp+ we never got close to accomplishing that much in that short of a time. If FOP was only a 1 hr wait and Everest was only a 30 minute wait (both those estimates are well below what anyone is reporting in real wait times) it would take 6 hrs of wait time leaving only 2 for Safari, Navi, TTS, Dino, Walking trails, Nomad lounge and an adr. The other parks seem incredible as well with the amount of time you were in the park. So what's your secret?


----------



## preemiemama

meremac said:


> I feel really lucky because we have a way different experience than much of what I'm reading here on our recent trip. In two 1/2 days at HS we did MMRR (2x), RotR (2x), Star Tours (5x), TSM (3x), SDD (3x), ToT (3x), RnRC, Swirling Saucers, Smugglers Run plus one ADR, Muppet Vision, that movie short, and lots of shopping.  In two partial days at MK (one of which was about 6 hours long and the other which was only about 3 hours long), we were able to do BTMR (2x), Splash (2x), PP, 7DMT, Space (2x), HM (2x), IASW, Pirates, Buzz, PhilharMagic, Mad Tea Party plus 2 ADRs and lots of shopping. In 1.5 days at Epcot we did Soarin (3x), Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, FEA (2x), Figment (3x), Nemo, TT (2x), Mission Space, and hit every WS pavilion. And in about 8 hours total at AK, we did Safaris, FoP (3x), Expedition Everest (6x??? ~ I lost count), Navi, TriceraTop Spin, DINOSAUR, both walking trails, Nomad Lounge, and one ADR. It was definitely crowded, but the trick for us was to get there well before RD, hit 3-4 attractions first thing, take a break (either shopping/seeing a show/having an ADR in the park or back at the resort), then hitting attractions again from 4pm(ish) to close. We found MDE waits to be very inflated and even the long lines moved quickly. My point is that, yes things are different, but it's still definitely possible to get a lot done right now .





cakebaker said:


> I'd be very interested to learn how you got all this done using only standby. FOP 3x's and Everest 6 with all the other things in between in only 8 hours? Even with Fp+ we never got close to accomplishing that much in that short of a time. If FOP was only a 1 hr wait and Everest was only a 30 minute wait (both those estimates are well below what anyone is reporting in real wait times) it would take 6 hrs of wait time leaving only 2 for Safari, Navi, TTS, Dino, Walking trails, Nomad lounge and an adr. The other parks seem incredible as well with the amount of time you were in the park. So what's your secret?


I agree- that seems like a lot to accomplish in that time.  When were you there?  Did you use the single rider lines on anything?  We had the same game plan- RD, break, return later in the day- and we did not get anywhere near that amount at AK or DHS in mid-July.


----------



## cakebaker

preemiemama said:


> I agree- that seems like a lot to accomplish in that time.  When were you there?  Did you use the single rider lines on anything?  We had the same game plan- RD, break, return later in the day- and we did not get anywhere near that amount at AK or DHS in mid-July.



We had the benefit of quite a few recovery FP's, some of which were good for FOP, SDMT, SDD and MMRR and the only ride we managed twice was MMRR. And we still didn't accomplish anything close to that with more time in the parks than the OP. One of the reasons I haven't commented on ride waits is we aren't representative of the average experience. Just having a handful of FP's changed everything we were able to do.


----------



## Sarahslay

cakebaker said:


> I'd be very interested to learn how you got all this done using only standby. FOP 3x's and Everest 6 with all the other things in between in only 8 hours? Even with Fp+ we never got close to accomplishing that much in that short of a time. If FOP was only a 1 hr wait and Everest was only a 30 minute wait (both those estimates are well below what anyone is reporting in real wait times) it would take 6 hrs of wait time leaving only 2 for Safari, Navi, TTS, Dino, Walking trails, Nomad lounge and an adr. The other parks seem incredible as well with the amount of time you were in the park. So what's your secret?


I think if they were just there in the last few days that they were able to get a ton more done than those were there from last week and earlier, the crowds have really eased up since you left. With schools going back, cases rising, and masks it's calmed down so much so that it's like a different park from last week to this week. I have had several friends getting in those last minute trips, and the last one came back yesterday (i laugh saying they're pulling in on two wheels as school started today) and they were there from last wednesday and said it was like two different worlds with lines. She didn't go to AK so I don't know about those lines, but I know she said the other parks were night and day for them.


----------



## cakebaker

Sarahslay said:


> I think if they were just there in the last few days that they were able to get a ton more done than those were there from last week and earlier, the crowds have really eased up since you left. With schools going back, cases rising, and masks it's calmed down so much so that it's like a different park from last week to this week. I have had several friends getting in those last minute trips, and the last one came back yesterday (i laugh saying they're pulling in on two wheels as school started today) and they were there from last wednesday and said it was like two different worlds with lines. She didn't go to AK so I don't know about those lines, but I know she said the other parks were night and day for them.



We were there until Monday of this week, last time in the parks was Sunday and it was packed at HS. It's still an amazing amount to get done even with very low crowd levels. It would be nice to know exactly when they made the trip- doesn't sound like it was in the last couple of days. On the best days, FOP will always be an hour or more as will many of the other rides they listed as having done multiple times. So I'm curious as to how they managed to get that much done.


----------



## stiirfry

We were at AK yesterday and definitely waited an hour and forty minutes for FOP. To be fair the wait time said over 2 hours so it was a tad inflated bur not extremely exaggerated


----------



## fivikse

cakebaker said:


> I'd be very interested to learn how you got all this done using only standby. FOP 3x's and Everest 6 with all the other things in between in only 8 hours? Even with Fp+ we never got close to accomplishing that much in that short of a time. If FOP was only a 1 hr wait and Everest was only a 30 minute wait (both those estimates are well below what anyone is reporting in real wait times) it would take 6 hrs of wait time leaving only 2 for Safari, Navi, TTS, Dino, Walking trails, Nomad lounge and an adr. The other parks seem incredible as well with the amount of time you were in the park. So what's your secret?


I’m not pp, but based on our experience this past week it seems pretty doable.  The WDW posted waits were not accurate for us at all. If they did FOP at rope drop or end of night, the rest of AK would be very doable. We never saw Everest above 25-30 (often closer to 20) and single rider was a walk on (literally). Dinosaur was about 15, triceratop had no wait. Safari was 30 in the middle of the afternoon-I’m sure much less at start of the day.


----------



## txcorey

Sarahslay said:


> I think if they were just there in the last few days that they were able to get a ton more done than those were there from last week and earlier, the crowds have really eased up since you left. With schools going back, cases rising, and masks it's calmed down so much so that it's like a different park from last week to this week. I have had several friends getting in those last minute trips, and the last one came back yesterday (i laugh saying they're pulling in on two wheels as school started today) and they were there from last wednesday and said it was like two different worlds with lines. She didn't go to AK so I don't know about those lines, but I know she said the other parks were night and day for them.


This is so good to hear. We will be there Sunday and I really hope the crowds aren't too insane. I'm prepared if they are but would love it if it's less crowded than it has been this summer.


----------



## tofubeast

For those who’ve eaten inside at Disney table service the last few days, are people masking before and after eating their meals while seated? Thx


----------



## cakebaker

fivikse said:


> I’m not pp, but based on our experience this past week it seems pretty doable.  The WDW posted waits were not accurate for us at all. If they did FOP at rope drop or end of night, the rest of AK would be very doable. We never saw Everest above 25-30 (often closer to 20) and single rider was a walk on (literally). Dinosaur was about 15, triceratop had no wait. Safari was 30 in the middle of the afternoon-I’m sure much less at start of the day.


You can't do FOP at rope drop and end of day 6 times. That leaves 4 times that had to be done at other times of the day. It will be interesting to hear their touring plan. I'd love to be able to get that much done in such a short period of time. I wanna know their secret!


----------



## mrd7896

don't like being that person that is like "oh my friend said" but similarly, my friend that was at AK recently told me that within the first half hour or so of the park officially OPENING they already did FOP (due to RD), Safari and were making their way to Everest which had a nonexistent wait since everyone was on the other side of the park. She then rode single rider for everest two more times back to back.  she had expressed that in roughly 75 minutes of 'park time' she had accomplished 3 rides, having ridden EE 3 times already. by that point she was working her way over to dinoland while the rest of the park was in africa and pandora. 

she didn't do triceratop or navi (2 adults and a teen that didn't care for those) but was able to do the trails and a sitdown reservation and two times on dinosaur. by 2 pm she had accomplished everything she wanted and still had hours of park time left. 

now, the PP had more EE (which i'm sure was single rider) and the 2 other FOP is really impressive. but that doesn't seem nearly impossible


----------



## cdurham1

I will be making a long trip report for my just completed 8 day trip soon.  But let me just say something controversial first based on my first post shutdown trip - people saying that somehow their experience was better without fastpasses were just never doing fastpasses right in the first place.  Don't believe them.  The lack of fastpasses sucked all the way around.


----------



## stiirfry

tofubeast said:


> For those who’ve eaten inside at Disney table service the last few days, are people masking before and after eating their meals while seated? Thx


Yes  indoor dining and indoor queues I've seen masks be pretty consistent same with inside hotels. Outdoor queues not so much.


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## e_yerger

I'm definitely interested to hear trip reports from people there this week & next week. I'm hoping things are slowing down. I know FL schools are set to go back next week too. We're heading down 8/13, so I'll try to bring my experience back here.


----------



## bbn1122

Sarahslay said:


> I think if they were just there in the last few days that they were able to get a ton more done than those were there from last week and earlier, the crowds have really eased up since you left. With schools going back, cases rising, and masks it's calmed down so much so that it's like a different park from last week to this week. I have had several friends getting in those last minute trips, and the last one came back yesterday (i laugh saying they're pulling in on two wheels as school started today) and they were there from last wednesday and said it was like two different worlds with lines. She didn't go to AK so I don't know about those lines, but I know she said the other parks were night and day for them.



I will be there with my family and friends in 2 weeks.  I am hoping for just what you said, between school start, cases up and masks that the crowds will ease.

I was there in November when it was mask on all the time, social distancing and way less opened.  Also, cases in Florida back then were pretty bad too.

Our whole crew is fully vaccinated, all adults and two work at hospitals so are very used to masking up.

We are also planning to take it easy, 3 days parks and 3 resort days.  Get to parks when the open or before, break in afternoon and Epcot in the evenings.



Thanks to everyone for sharing there experiences.


----------



## Sarahslay

cakebaker said:


> We were there until Monday of this week, last time in the parks was Sunday and it was packed at HS. It's still an amazing amount to get done even with very low crowd levels. It would be nice to know exactly when they made the trip- doesn't sound like it was in the last couple of days. On the best days, FOP will always be an hour or more as will many of the other rides they listed as having done multiple times. So I'm curious as to how they managed to get that much done.


I think it really depends on what park you were in on what day really, they didn’t do AK at all (no clue why). I know FOP is always a long wait unless you RD, but if you stay all day sometimes you can RD and then hit it up twice at night if it’s not crowded. I know she wasn’t at HS on Sunday (I think they did Epcot all day). I know from being there many times over the last year one park can be mayhem and another can be great, like today HS is crazy nuts but MK didn’t look bad in the same amount of time after opening. I know one part of the park can be crazy and another can be empty so two people can be in the same park and one can be like “omg it’s so crowded!” And I’m over somewhere else going “what a lovely day (experienced this Memorial Day week). All I know is she was ready to leave her trip halfway through on Friday night due to crowds, and then on Saturday she was like “ok, this is fine”. I have zero clue what parks she went to Monday and Tuesday, but we talked for a long time while they drove home yesterday and she was just super happy they stuck it out because she said last week was hell and this week was great. We didn’t go in to great detail because a friend of ours passed away on Tuesday so that was the main purpose of the conversation and we spent just a portion of it talking about crowds.


----------



## luv2cheer92

cakebaker said:


> You can't do FOP at rope drop and end of day 6 times. That leaves 4 times that had to be done at other times of the day. It will be interesting to hear their touring plan. I'd love to be able to get that much done in such a short period of time. I wanna know their secret!


They said 3x on FOP, which is definitely doable IMO. All of what they said sounds doable to me, and not terribly far off from what we accomplished a couple weeks ago on a couple of our days. Most of our days we left the parks from about 1-3 or 4 and were able to get close to that.


----------



## cakebaker

luv2cheer92 said:


> They said 3x on FOP, which is definitely doable IMO. All of what they said sounds doable to me, and not terribly far off from what we accomplished a couple weeks ago on a couple of our days. Most of our days we left the parks from about 1-3 or 4 and were able to get close to that.



My mistake- I was talking about 2 hr waits for 3 rides equally 6 hrs and just confused the 2 numbers. I look forward to more specifics on their accomplishments from them.


----------



## luv2cheer92

cakebaker said:


> My mistake- I was talking about 2 hr waits for 3 rides equally 6 hrs and just confused the 2 numbers. I look forward to more specifics on their accomplishments from them.


Getting there for rope drop ahead of the pack was by far the best thing to do. Then getting in a line right before close. Not really any secrets and allowed us to get a lot done.


----------



## preemiemama

mrd7896 said:


> don't like being that person that is like "oh my friend said" but similarly, my friend that was at AK recently told me that within the first half hour or so of the park officially OPENING they already did FOP (due to RD), Safari and were making their way to Everest which had a nonexistent wait since everyone was on the other side of the park. She then rode single rider for everest two more times back to back.  she had expressed that in roughly 75 minutes of 'park time' she had accomplished 3 rides, having ridden EE 3 times already. by that point she was working her way over to dinoland while the rest of the park was in africa and pandora.
> 
> she didn't do triceratop or navi (2 adults and a teen that didn't care for those) but was able to do the trails and a sitdown reservation and two times on dinosaur. by 2 pm she had accomplished everything she wanted and still had hours of park time left.
> 
> now, the PP had more EE (which i'm sure was single rider) and the 2 other FOP is really impressive. but that doesn't seem nearly impossible


AK with RD is definitely do-able to get a lot done.  We did FOP at RD and were off by 8:15-8:20 I think, then Navi with about a 10 min wait, then EE (x2) and took some pictures before heading to our 10:15 breakfast at Tusker House.  We left after that because we were tired and had accomplished all we really wanted to that day.  We could have done more, I'm sure, without the ADR and if we had wanted to wait in some lines.  Or if we did the Safari after Navi.  But even with being one of the first through the gates at 7 am, it still took us until 10 to accomplish all 4 rides that day.  

Epcot, if you hit it right, can be easier to fit in rides as well.  Aside from Frozen and TT, you can re-ride most anything at night pretty easily.  We had Soarin x3, Nemo and SE in about 90 minutes one evening in Epcot after dinner.

Similarly, it took us 45 minutes to do TSMM and then get in line for SDD in the last hour of operation at DHS one night.  I'm not saying what the PP said is impossible, but I agree with Cakebaker that I'd like to see their plan!  That's impressive compared to what we experienced, especially if taking an afternoon break.


----------



## DisneyFive

meremac said:


> I feel really lucky because we have a way different experience than much of what I'm reading here on our recent trip. In two 1/2 days at HS we did MMRR (2x), RotR (2x), Star Tours (5x), TSM (3x), SDD (3x), ToT (3x), RnRC, Swirling Saucers, Smugglers Run plus one ADR, Muppet Vision, that movie short, and lots of shopping.  In two partial days at MK (one of which was about 6 hours long and the other which was only about 3 hours long), we were able to do BTMR (2x), Splash (2x), PP, 7DMT, Space (2x), HM (2x), IASW, Pirates, Buzz, PhilharMagic, Mad Tea Party plus 2 ADRs and lots of shopping. In 1.5 days at Epcot we did Soarin (3x), Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, FEA (2x), Figment (3x), Nemo, TT (2x), Mission Space, and hit every WS pavilion. And in about 8 hours total at AK, we did Safaris, FoP (3x), Expedition Everest (6x??? ~ I lost count), Navi, TriceraTop Spin, DINOSAUR, both walking trails, Nomad Lounge, and one ADR. It was definitely crowded, but the trick for us was to get there well before RD, hit 3-4 attractions first thing, take a break (either shopping/seeing a show/having an ADR in the park or back at the resort), then hitting attractions again from 4pm(ish) to close. We found MDE waits to be very inflated and even the long lines moved quickly. My point is that, yes things are different, but it's still definitely possible to get a lot done right now .





cakebaker said:


> I'd be very interested to learn how you got all this done using only standby. FOP 3x's and Everest 6 with all the other things in between in only 8 hours? Even with Fp+ we never got close to accomplishing that much in that short of a time. If FOP was only a 1 hr wait and Everest was only a 30 minute wait (both those estimates are well below what anyone is reporting in real wait times) it would take 6 hrs of wait time leaving only 2 for Safari, Navi, TTS, Dino, Walking trails, Nomad lounge and an adr. The other parks seem incredible as well with the amount of time you were in the park. So what's your secret?



My question is, how much time was spent standing in lines each day, and how many hours did they need to stay in the parks each day.  THAT was the big difference for us this year.  Having to get up EARLY... every. single. day... if we wanted to be remotely as productive as we used to be with FP.  Even getting up early only helped get ONE headliner in before waits became long for all the others.  Then is was... standing in lines.     

Dan


----------



## luv2cheer92

DisneyFive said:


> My question is, how much time was spent standing in lines each day, and how many hours did they need to stay in the parks each day.  THAT was the big difference for us this year.  Having to get up EARLY... every. single. day... if we wanted to be remotely as productive as we used to be with FP.  Even getting up early only helped get ONE headliner in before waits became long for all the others.  Then is was... standing in lines.
> 
> Dan


I didn't get up any earlier than I used to. And most days we were able to get at least 2-3 rides in before the lines started to build some, then we just headed for the mid-tier rides and had little waits there. We really didn't feel like we were waiting in lines all day.


----------



## luv2cheer92

preemiemama said:


> AK with RD is definitely do-able to get a lot done.  We did FOP at RD and were off by 8:15-8:20 I think, then Navi with about a 10 min wait, then EE (x2) and took some pictures before heading to our 10:15 breakfast at Tusker House.  We left after that because we were tired and had accomplished all we really wanted to that day.  We could have done more, I'm sure, without the ADR and if we had wanted to wait in some lines.  Or if we did the Safari after Navi.  But even with being one of the first through the gates at 7 am, it still took us until 10 to accomplish all 4 rides that day.
> 
> Epcot, if you hit it right, can be easier to fit in rides as well.  Aside from Frozen and TT, you can re-ride most anything at night pretty easily.  We had Soarin x3, Nemo and SE in about 90 minutes one evening in Epcot after dinner.
> 
> Similarly, it took us 45 minutes to do TSMM and then get in line for SDD in the last hour of operation at DHS one night.  I'm not saying what the PP said is impossible, but I agree with Cakebaker that I'd like to see their plan!  That's impressive compared to what we experienced, especially if taking an afternoon break.


Rope drop is definitely the key. I can see how people who refuse to do that could have a harder time getting stuff done.
HS was the harder park for us for sure, but we were still able to ride everything at least once in one day.
The other 3 parks weren't hard at all.

ETA: forgot we didn't do saucers at HS, but we rode everything else and did Frozen. We did ToT and TSM twice.


----------



## preemiemama

luv2cheer92 said:


> Rope drop is definitely the key. I can see how people who refuse to do that could have a harder time getting stuff done.
> HS was the harder park for us for sure, but we were still able to ride everything at least once in one day.
> The other 3 parks weren't hard at all.


Did you take an afternoon break?


----------



## luv2cheer92

preemiemama said:


> Did you take an afternoon break?


Most days yes, not all. Which is something we have never done before.


----------



## cakebaker

DisneyFive said:


> My question is, how much time was spent standing in lines each day, and how many hours did they need to stay in the parks each day.  THAT was the big difference for us this year.  Having to get up EARLY... every. single. day... if we wanted to be remotely as productive as we used to be with FP.  Even getting up early only helped get ONE headliner in before waits became long for all the others.  Then is was... standing in lines.
> 
> Dan



Getting out for rope drop was something we weren't willing to do this trip. That's what the recovery passes helped us avoid. We had enough to get the biggest headliners in and just get to the parks right at opening, after the crowds had moved in.  We still waited longer for secondary rides than we normally would have- some up to 30 minutes, but even that wait time went away very quickly. So the mornings were a rush of going from ride to ride as quickly as possible. Still, we accomplished much less than we have in previous trips and we skipped quite a few rides entirely. The only thing we rode in Epcot was Frozen for example. We had to carefully pick and choose what we used those passes for to get the most out of them. 

We used to do rope drop, but because we did secondary rides, it wasn't neccesary to get there an hour or more before opening. We didn't need to be at the front of the pack- those people were all headed to rides we weren't going to. If we got there at opening, that was plenty good enough to get a couple of hours of short waits on secondary rides. This trip, we were lucky if we got 3 in before they were long waits as well.

Bottom line is, we aren't going back under these conditions again. I do think whatever they come up with is something we'll be able to work with, but until they do, we just aren't going back.


----------



## preemiemama

preemiemama said:


> Did you take an afternoon break?


It's still pretty impressive IMHO.  We did RD for AK and DHS.  We did at MK, but were not at the front of the pack as we were at the other 2.  Epcot we did at park close more often because of F&W or an ADR there.  I think we just got mentally exhausted by the crowds- more than even what the posted waits were.  It was tough feeling like there were just people everywhere- at least for us. And disheartening that even with being up at 6-6:30 every morning and then still only able to accomplish 2-3 rides before the lines became long and appeared to be everywhere.


----------



## kc51570

DisneyFive said:


> My question is, how much time was spent standing in lines each day, and how many hours did they need to stay in the parks each day.  THAT was the big difference for us this year.  Having to get up EARLY... every. single. day... if we wanted to be remotely as productive as we used to be with FP.  Even getting up early only helped get ONE headliner in before waits became long for all the others.  Then is was... standing in lines.
> 
> Dan


Exactly. We always took advantage of a combination of rope drop, a PPO breakfast, early hours, and FP. But we did not have to do that every.single.day of our previous trips. Some days we slept in a little. This time we rope dropped every day except for 1. I was way too tired to get up at 5:45 again for our second animal kingdom day. We would get on our first ride usually right away unless it was broken down which happened 4x out of 8 park days. Then the lines built up everywhere else.
Even Nomad lounge on our AK day was a 2 hour experience-with one server for all the inside and outside tables. I’m including the 20 minutes we waited in line to check in before open. We were seated for longer than 90 minutes for 1 drink, apps, and churros. That alone made me grumpy enough to leave for the day once we were out of there around 12:40. So our AK day we did FOP arriving  before 7:30, off by 8:35, Navi, and Safari by 10:40. 3 rides in 3 hours is not great in my opinion.


----------



## disneyseniors

cakebaker said:


> Satu’li is my absolute favorite place to eat. I’d eat every meal there if I could. It was as good as it ever has been.



I would love to try it, BUT my husband usually won't try anything new and it looks like they have "different" things on their menu.   Do they serve more traditional fare too, I mean burgers, chicken, etc.  I wish he was more adventurous but he's always been that way, LOL.


----------



## DefnotDLav

cakebaker said:


> Getting out for rope drop was something we weren't willing to do this trip. That's what the recovery passes helped us avoid. We had enough to get the biggest headliners in and just get to the parks right at opening, after the crowds had moved in.  We still waited longer for secondary rides than we normally would have- some up to 30 minutes, but even that wait time went away very quickly. So the mornings were a rush of going from ride to ride as quickly as possible. Still, we accomplished much less than we have in previous trips and we skipped quite a few rides entirely. The only thing we rode in Epcot was Frozen for example. We had to carefully pick and choose what we used those passes for to get the most out of them.
> 
> We used to do rope drop, but because we did secondary rides, it wasn't neccesary to get there an hour or more before opening. We didn't need to be at the front of the pack- those people were all headed to rides we weren't going to. If we got there at opening, that was plenty good enough to get a couple of hours of short waits on secondary rides. This trip, we were lucky if we got 3 in before they were long waits as well.
> 
> Bottom line is, we aren't going back under these conditions again. I do think whatever they come up with is something we'll be able to work with, but until they do, we just aren't going back.



Even with FP+ we still had to rope drop if we wanted to ride everything we wanted to.


----------



## Turksmom

disneyseniors said:


> I would love to try it, BUT my husband usually won't try anything new and it looks like they have "different" things on their menu.   Do they serve more traditional fare too, I mean burgers, chicken, etc.  I wish he was more adventurous but he's always been that way, LOL.


My MIL isn't an adventurous eater either and she loves it. The bowls are customized and the potato/ sweet potato hash is delicious. He could get that with beef or chicken and leave off the things he doesn't care for.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

cakebaker said:


> Getting out for rope drop was something we weren't willing to do this trip. That's what the recovery passes helped us avoid.


How did you know ahead of time to skip rope drop with the expectation you’d get recovery passes?


----------



## cakebaker

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> How did you know ahead of time to skip rope drop with the expectation you’d get recovery passes?


We had some before we went on our trip. We would’ve skipped rope drop regardless though and just been able to do much less.


----------



## meremac

cakebaker said:


> I'd be very interested to learn how you got all this done using only standby. FOP 3x's and Everest 6 with all the other things in between in only 8 hours? Even with Fp+ we never got close to accomplishing that much in that short of a time. If FOP was only a 1 hr wait and Everest was only a 30 minute wait (both those estimates are well below what anyone is reporting in real wait times) it would take 6 hrs of wait time leaving only 2 for Safari, Navi, TTS, Dino, Walking trails, Nomad lounge and an adr. The other parks seem incredible as well with the amount of time you were in the park. So what's your secret?



It was 8 hours total over 2 days, give or take MAYBE 30 minutes. We went once in the late afternoon and waited for FoP. Then Nomad Lounge, then back to FoP again right before park closing. So 2x that day. We rope dropped the other day. Got there at around 7:15am the second day (park opened at 8am officially but actually opened at around 7:30am). On and off FOP well before the park even opened, then Navi. Off that by 8:15am, honestly maybe even a little earlier. Then we went to Everest. It was still very early so it was a walk-on. Went on 4 times in a row. At this point it was maybe a few minutes after 9am. Went back over to Safaris which was not quite a walk-on but the line moved fast. Did Gorilla Falls Trail. Back to Asia for two more rides on Everest and Maharajah. Early lunch at Yak & Yeti. Then DinoLand.

To be fair, we do NOT waste time. We walk fast and are very focused, lol, especially in the morning and in the late afternoon. I also do this for a living and am always testing out plans, but it's very possible.

What I have found works really well is to arrive well before park opening, hit it hard for a few hours, take it easy for a bit when it starts getting really crowded, then come back in the late afternoon and hit it hard until closing. A couple times we were literally getting in line seconds before park closing. We also rarely do nighttime shows, opting instead for more attraction time (we typically get a LOT done then).


----------



## rlk

Last week we were able to accomplish a lot with rope dropping AK.  We rode FOP, Everest 2x, Dino -5 min wait and were on Kali by 9:14 am.  We had a recovery FP that we were able to use for a second FOP ride.


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## slyster

We have park reservations to visit each park twice.  It really sounds like rope drop is the key.  We plan on spending at least one rope drop per park.  I'm very thankful for the reviews and experiences here.


----------



## meremac

slyster said:


> We have park reservations to visit each park twice.  It really sounds like rope drop is the key.  We plan on spending at least one rope drop per park.  I'm very thankful for the reviews and experiences here.



IMO rope drop is super important still. Of course, there may be times when it's a total failure, like if the ride you planned to do first is down. But in my experience, it usually works well. That and the late afternoon/evening.


----------



## meremac

DisneyFive said:


> My question is, how much time was spent standing in lines each day, and how many hours did they need to stay in the parks each day.  THAT was the big difference for us this year.  Having to get up EARLY... every. single. day... if we wanted to be remotely as productive as we used to be with FP.  Even getting up early only helped get ONE headliner in before waits became long for all the others.  Then is was... standing in lines.
> 
> Dan



So yes, you make a very good point there. In the past, with FastPasses (because we knew how to maximize them), we were able to do much more and we didn't necessarily have to rope drop EVERY single day. Without FastPasses, I find that it's a necessity to get there VERY early every day. We didn't spend all day every day in the parks by any means, though. We'd hit it hard in the morning, take a break (sometimes that meant just wandering the park, shopping, taking it all in, having a meal, seeing a show, all of the above...sometimes it meant going back to the resort for a break), then hit it hard again in the late afternoon through the evening. We had 6-day Hoppers, so we had lots of flexibility and lots of time to play with as well. As I mentioned in a previous post, I do this for a living (about a decade in at this point) and am always testing out plans. Things are definitely different post-FastPass, some good and some bad. It was early morning and late nights, and we were VERY tired when it was over lol. But on the flip side, I liked that I felt more present without having to constantly be on my phone looking for the next FastPass.


----------



## 2Lunds

meremac said:


> IMO rope drop is super important still. Of course, there may be times when it's a total failure, like if the ride you planned to do first is down. But in my experience, it usually works well. *That and the late afternoon/evening.*


We haven't been since FP was suspended, but we ALWAYS saved a headliner for last thing before park close at AK (didn't care for their night-time show) and DHS (ditto), and MK if it's our second night (so we can see FW at least once).  There's triple benefit because you're guaranteed to get on, you get to experience the themed regular queue (something that's missing from FP lines) and you're exiting a much less crowded park afterwards.


----------



## meremac

2Lunds said:


> There's triple benefit because you're guaranteed to get on, you get to experience the themed regular queue (something that's missing from FP lines) and you're exiting a much less crowded park afterwards.



Yes, Yes, and Yes! Obviously, for people who like to see the nighttime shows, this wouldn't work. But we typically prefer to do attractions for the reasons that you just mentioned!


----------



## DisneyFive

2Lunds said:


> We haven't been since FP was suspended, but we ALWAYS saved a headliner for last thing before park close at AK (didn't care for their night-time show) and DHS (ditto), and MK if it's our second night (so we can see FW at least once).  There's triple benefit because you're guaranteed to get on, you get to experience the themed regular queue (something that's missing from FP lines) and you're exiting a much less crowded park afterwards.



Just so I'm clear, that's regardless of whether FP is around or not right?  We did get in a headliner queue last thing many of our nights this past stay.  I agree there are those 3 benefits to that.  Even so, we still waited 66 minutes for Flight of Passage IIRC.  Even though we went through the whole queue, I would MUCH rather skip the whole queue and wait more like 15 minutes with FP.  For us, it's nice to see the whole queue for a ride once, but we don't appreciate a queue enough to do that EVERY time.  Would much rather have the shorter wait in lines.  The actual ride is much more of the payoff for us.  It was really cool wandering Pandora with very few people around after the park had closed.

Dan


----------



## 2Lunds

DisneyFive said:


> Just so I'm clear, that's regardless of whether FP is around or not right?  We did get in a headliner queue last thing many of our nights this past stay.  I agree there are those 3 benefits to that.  Even so, we still waited 66 minutes for Flight of Passage IIRC.  Even though we went through the whole queue, I would MUCH rather skip the whole queue and wait more like 15 minutes with FP.  For us, it's nice to see the whole queue for a ride once, but we don't appreciate a queue enough to do that EVERY time.  Would much rather have the shorter wait in lines.  It was nice wandering Pandora with very few people around after the park had closed.
> 
> Dan


TOTALLY regardless of whether FP is around or not!  Even in the days of FP it wasn't always possible to get them for everything you wanted, which is why we employed this strategy.  We haven't been this past year, and we always went during quieter times anyway (sept/oct or jan/feb) but I can only imagine this strategy would be even more valuable with the crowds and heat the way they are now.  Stick around at night, get on a ride, leave AFTER everyone else has battled for a bus


----------



## wilkydelts

It amazes me how if you have success at the parks, no one will believe you.

It isn't all doom and gloom.


----------



## meremac

wilkydelts said:


> It amazes me how if you have success at the parks, no one will believe you.
> 
> It isn't all doom and gloom.



Totally agree. But at the end of the day, it's just some free advice I was doling out. People don't have to believe it/take it/etc. I'm just happy we had a successful time, and I'm happy that my clients have too. If I'm happy and they're happy, it's all good!!


----------



## Jellybean9

cakebaker said:


> Normally I am one who is adamant about letting them know when something is wrong. It is the best way to let them know they aren't doing as well as they should.
> 
> But this trip was exhausting and I mean mentally, not physically. We were constantly monitioring my grandson for exposure, watching crowds, and laser focused on keeping him safe. I just didn't have it in me to take on any more. I do intend to email them with our concerns now that we're home and poor food quality is going to be one of the things I share. I did get a survey and filled that out as well.
> 
> My son-in-law did turn back a lobster roll when he picked up the order. He said it looked like they had forgotten to put the crab at all there was so little on the sandwich. Honestly, he said they didn't act like they much cared at all and were puzzled that he was unhappy with it, although they did give him another one. I'm not sure that complaining at the window at qs ever gets past the person at the register. I want them to know higher up that the quality was horrid.


How many of you all ended up testing positive for Covid?


----------



## serenitygr

Jellybean9 said:


> How many of you all ended up testing positive for Covid?


I read his post earlier that they all tested negative


----------



## petunia

We are not typically rope droppers for an 8 am AK day (especially since it seems that actually means 730), but really love FoP... is it pretty much the case now that if we get there at 9 or 10 there will usually be a 2+ hr wait?  Also, is a significant amount of the wait outside, Im wondering if we do a long wait if it would work that one of us runs to get breakfast to eat in line, would that be allowed?  Thx!


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## meremac

petunia said:


> We are not typically rope droppers for an 8 am AK day (especially since it seems that actually means 730), but really love FoP... is it pretty much the case now that if we get there at 9 or 10 there will usually be a 2+ hr wait?  Also, is a significant amount of the wait outside, Im wondering if we do a long wait if it would work that one of us runs to get breakfast to eat in line, would that be allowed?  Thx!



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


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## petunia

meremac said:


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


Wish that was an option, but I booked an ADR at Disney Springs that night since AK closed pretty early, not even thinking about it at the time


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## cakebaker

Jellybean9 said:


> How many of you all ended up testing positive for Covid?



None of us! He just got back from the Dr and it's a viral infection. They tested for strep, but went no further since the treatment is the same regardless. No since in making him go through having something else stuck up his nose!  He's on steroids to try and calm down the coughing and inflammation. I feel for his mom- steroids can make you a little rough to put up with. lol We are very lucky it wasn't anything more serious than that, but still surprised he caught anything considering all the precautions we took.


----------



## Jellybean9

cakebaker said:


> None of us! He just got back from the Dr and it's a viral infection. He's on steroids to try and calm down the coughing and inflammation. We are very lucky it wasn't anything more serious than that, but still surprised he caught anything considering all the precautions we took.


Yay!!! I was hoping that was the case. My 9 and 6 year olds passed a cold on to me (I’m vaccinated) and it knocked me on my tush for a solid 7 days. A lot of gunk is going around!


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## Tess

cakebaker said:


> None of us! He just got back from the Dr and it's a viral infection. He's on steroids to try and calm down the coughing and inflammation. We are very lucky it wasn't anything more serious than that, but still surprised he caught anything considering all the precautions we took.



That is wonderful news!  Guess that just shows you how sneaky those viruses can be.  Not much stops them.


----------



## KM82

We are here and checked in!  When we booked, water view wasn’t available, so we got a garden view room (BWI). I went to the front desk to see if a water view was available and if we could upgrade, and at what cost. He came back after a bit and said he found one for us and there’s no charge!  First time we’ve been pixie dusted like that!  Totally unexpected and amazing!  My son is obsessed with the view already


----------



## Chaitali

Just to end the Disney portion of our trip…we had lunch at homecoming.  They had a really nice patio with shade and fans for outdoor dining.  The food and service were great.  We highly recommend it!  And I’m a vegetarian.  It looks like they don’t have much that’s vegetarian on their menu but they have gardein “chicken” so I was able to have a fried “chicken” sandwich.  The chips are made in a shared fryer so you’d have to choose another side if that bothers you.

we checked in at royal pacific and can already tell far fewer masks here.  We’ll just keep trying to be careful, wear masks indoors and opt for outdoor dining whenever possible.


----------



## bbn1122

KM82 said:


> We are here and checked in!  When we booked, water view wasn’t available, so we got a garden view room (BWI). I went to the front desk to see if a water view was available and if we could upgrade, and at what cost. He came back after a bit and said he found one for us and there’s no charge!  First time we’ve been pixie dusted like that!  Totally unexpected and amazing!  My son is obsessed with the view already View attachment 595016



So excited for your family!  What a view.

My family will be at the Riviera beginning on Sunday, August 15th.  We cannot wait. Have a wonderful time!


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## JoJoGirl

KM82 said:


> We are here and checked in!  When we booked, water view wasn’t available, so we got a garden view room (BWI). I went to the front desk to see if a water view was available and if we could upgrade, and at what cost. He came back after a bit and said he found one for us and there’s no charge!  First time we’ve been pixie dusted like that!  Totally unexpected and amazing!  My son is obsessed with the view already View attachment 595016



Awesome upgrade, what a view!! Have a wonderful trip!


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## sjrec

petunia said:


> We are not typically rope droppers for an 8 am AK day (especially since it seems that actually means 730), but really love FoP... is it pretty much the case now that if we get there at 9 or 10 there will usually be a 2+ hr wait?  Also, is a significant amount of the wait outside, Im wondering if we do a long wait if it would work that one of us runs to get breakfast to eat in line, would that be allowed?  Thx!


If you could bring yourself to get there early there are so many advantages. It’s cooler (slightly!). Getting there early gets you off the ride by 8:20, Navi is a walk on if you’re interested and it’s still a short wait on Everest because the majority streaming in head for FOP. We did a majority of the attractions with lower wait times and still had a coffee break and lunch before 2:00.


----------



## KM82

bbn1122 said:


> So excited for your family!  What a view.
> 
> My family will be at the Riviera beginning on Sunday, August 15th.  We cannot wait. Have a wonderful time!





JoJoGirl said:


> Awesome upgrade, what a view!! Have a wonderful trip!


Thank you!  It was a very exciting surprise!  We are spending the evening at food and wine. Definitely busy here. DS has been leaving his mask on outside because he feels a bit too closed in walking around. I’ve been putting it on if it gets a little tight. We expected lots of people, it’s definitely a different feeling after spending the last year and a half avoiding crowds. Not a negative, but definitely a mental adjustment


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## kmrobins03

petunia said:


> We are not typically rope droppers for an 8 am AK day (especially since it seems that actually means 730), but really love FoP... is it pretty much the case now that if we get there at 9 or 10 there will usually be a 2+ hr wait?  Also, is a significant amount of the wait outside, Im wondering if we do a long wait if it would work that one of us runs to get breakfast to eat in line, would that be allowed?  Thx!


I am answering based on my experience a few weeks ago.. Yes, if you wait to arrive until 9-10, there will probably be a 2 hour wait for FOP. I think you can eat in line as long as you are outside and from what I saw, there is a big part of line outside. I suggest also looking at the Rope Drop post. I found an extremely helpful post about strategies for AK rope drop


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## cakebaker

meremac said:


> 8 hours total over 2 days, give or take MAYBE 30 minutes. We went once in the late afternoon and waited for FoP. Then Nomad Lounge, then back to FoP again right before park closing. So 2x that day.



That makes more sense to me that it was 2 days in the park to ride FOP 3 times. I took your post to mean you did all you listed in 1 8 hr span. How long did you spend in line in total when you waited in the afternoon, then waited in line at closing?

For us, FP+ allowed us to ride FOP every trip we made into AK with no wait at all other than however long it took to get thru the FP line. Of course there are ways to ride it multiple times now, but as you show, you will be waiting in a long line at least once or twice and/or having to get there an hour before opening. We love doing AK at night, but much prefer the after hours they offered rather than just standing in a line late at night. I hope they bring them back soon.

SDMT and Slinky are 2 rides we’ll ride every trip into each park and in the past, we’ve ridden each of them as many as 4-5 times over the span of a trip- all without a long line and none using rope drop. Now it would take a lot more effort to accomplish that and some would involve waiting in a long line and giving up riding secondary rides with little or no wait to get there for rope drops- having to be in that mass of people during rope drop is just something we were not willing to do on this trip. We didn't consider it safe to have my grandson in a huge crowd of people.

But it's for that reason that we won't return until they have a FP system of some type in place. It's coming, we just don't know when. I'm confident it will be something we can work with. We've been going for over 30 years and have been able to adapt to whatever system Disney puts in place. FP+ worked perfect for us, but we'll figure out the new system too to make it work. We just need them to give us a system to work with. What they're doing now just doesn't. We're one of those families who don't mind paying for a more relaxed experience but one that gets us what we want rather than wearing ourselves out doing it.  We don't like having to do commando style touring anymore.

To be clear, we had a more enjoyable time this trip than I expected, it's just not the Disney we want and not the way we want to visit.


----------



## cakebaker

petunia said:


> We are not typically rope droppers for an 8 am AK day (especially since it seems that actually means 730), but really love FoP... is it pretty much the case now that if we get there at 9 or 10 there will usually be a 2+ hr wait?  Also, is a significant amount of the wait outside, Im wondering if we do a long wait if it would work that one of us runs to get breakfast to eat in line, would that be allowed?  Thx!



It would actually mean earlier than 7:30. If you get there just as they're opening the ride, you'll be in a very long line. We found the longest waits of the day seemed to be for those who entered the park just as they opened the ride rather than being there an hour or so before then.  At 9 or 10, you're likely looking at the longest wait times of the day. We usually got to AK right at 8 to ride anything except FOP and Navi and I was amazed at how far the line for FOP snaked out

If you're in the very long outdoor extended queue, I don't think you'll have much trouble having a runner join you in line, but once in the formal queue, I wouldn't try it. You'd probably run into more than a few people unhappy to see someone trying to work their way through to meet up with their family.


----------



## cakebaker

KM82 said:


> We are here and checked in!  When we booked, water view wasn’t available, so we got a garden view room (BWI). I went to the front desk to see if a water view was available and if we could upgrade, and at what cost. He came back after a bit and said he found one for us and there’s no charge!  First time we’ve been pixie dusted like that!  Totally unexpected and amazing!  My son is obsessed with the view already



This happened to us at the BC last week. We had asked to be put as close to the elevator as possible and our room was pretty much as far away from them as it could get. I went to the desk and politely asked if they had anything else closer and the CM upgraded us to a beautiful water view at no charge. I do love pixie dust! Congrats!


----------



## allaboutthemouse

Chaitali said:


> Just to end the Disney portion of our trip…we had lunch at homecoming.  They had a really nice patio with shade and fans for outdoor dining.  The food and service were great.  We highly recommend it!  And I’m a vegetarian.  It looks like they don’t have much that’s vegetarian on their menu but they have gardein “chicken” so I was able to have a fried “chicken” sandwich.  The chips are made in a shared fryer so you’d have to choose another side if that bothers you.
> 
> we checked in at royal pacific and can already tell far fewer masks here.  We’ll just keep trying to be careful, wear masks indoors and opt for outdoor dining whenever possible.


Would love to hear about your time in Universal!
Please, and thank you!


----------



## Chaitali

allaboutthemouse said:


> Would love to hear about your time in Universal!
> Please, and thank you!


Sure,  I wasn’t sure if this thread was just for Disney experiences but if it’s ok, I’m happy to keep posting.  We aren’t big thrill ride people though so it will mostly be Harry Potter stuff, shows and smaller rides.  No velocicoaster for us!


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## stiirfry

Hey guys  
Here are some pics from our vacation today. I included some pics of the crowds since I think a few people wanted to see that. We went to HS today and went to MMRR as soon as the park opened and had a 20-minute easy wait. We had to run to ROTR because I had a boarding group for it. Then we decided to wait in line at smugglers run which was posted at a 70 minute wait, and it was indeed an 80 minute wait. After this (around 1:30?) the park was pretty packed and we decided to leave and head back to epcot for some food and drinks  We might head back in a bit if the waits come down but we're fine either way. I noticed a lot of people saying ride times are inflated but I only notice that towards the end of the day like the last two hours of the park being opened (and rope drop I suppose). Anything before that and they're fairly accurate within 20-30 mins.


----------



## 2Lunds

Chaitali said:


> Sure,  I wasn’t sure if this thread was just for Disney experiences but if it’s ok, I’m happy to keep posting.  We aren’t big thrill ride people though so it will mostly be Harry Potter stuff, shows and smaller rides.  No velocicoaster for us!


There's a whole Universal/Seaworld section here as well...


----------



## fivikse

allaboutthemouse said:


> Would love to hear about your time in Universal!
> Please, and thank you!



not the person you asked, but we moved over to universal a couple days ago. Pretty much no masking, and to me it feels way more crowded. Food lines are crazy.

But we have hotel express passes so haven’t waited in lines, except velocicoaster (45-55 minutes x3 times). The hagrid virtual queue is fine if you keep trying. Velocicoaster and hagrid are both incredible. We are enjoying our universal stay, but to me, it feels more crowded than usual and more than WDW at start of week. But the hotel EPs mean no waits!

eta: I don’t mean to sound negative- we are having a great time!


----------



## bbn1122

KM82 said:


> Thank you!  It was a very exciting surprise!  We are spending the evening at food and wine. Definitely busy here. DS has been leaving his mask on outside because he feels a bit too closed in walking around. I’ve been putting it on if it gets a little tight. We expected lots of people, it’s definitely a different feeling after spending the last year and a half avoiding crowds. Not a negative, but definitely a mental adjustment



I was there in November with my DH.  Mask on everywhere and social distancing everywhere.  When I book this summer trip I figured mask would still be required.
I was thrilled when they dropped the outdoor Mask in May and followed with no mask in June.
Fast forward just 6 weeks, I would have never believed we would be worrying once again.
Good news, my family and friends are all adults and fully vaccinated. So, we a ready to go, we will mask up when asked and we will make it all work.

Praying for no storms and hopefully crowds will drop a little.


----------



## bbn1122

sjrec said:


> If you could bring yourself to get there early there are so many advantages. It’s cooler (slightly!). Getting there early gets you off the ride by 8:20, Navi is a walk on if you’re interested and it’s still a short wait on Everest because the majority streaming in head for FOP. We did a majority of the attractions with lower wait times and still had a coffee break and lunch before 2:00.



Thanks for sharing this.  My family is planning to do the same.  We are heading AK on a Monday.  FOP, Navi (skipped last time), EE, Dino, etc.


----------



## sunnyshari

Hi all, I thought I would do a quick report here since all of the posts I read helped me before our trip. My family of 4 (myself, DH 49, son 20 and daughter 16) drove from VA and stayed at CSR from 7/27-8/4. We ended up in Ranchos 7A with a nice view of the courtyard even though I had requested a room in Casitas5 through the touringplans app. We visited all of the parks at least once and made it to WinterSummerland golf course. He's a short review of what we did.

*Tuesday, 7/27*-Checked into CSR. Decided to head to Disney Springs for dinner and some shopping. We ate at Earl of Sandwich which was good. Both kids wanted to look for legacy lightsabers which we had heard were at Disney Springs but the cast member we asked said they had just shipped them all to Galaxy's Edge in the past week or so. My daughter was able to get Loki ears at Super Hero Headquarters in Disney Springs. If you want these ears this is the ONLY place we saw that had them. My daughter was stopped around 10 times this trip but people asking where she got them. At the time there were probably about 30 or so in the store.

*Wednesday, 7/28-*We had our first park day at HS. All 4 of us tried for a ROTR boarding pass using the tips we had learned on here. My husband was able to score one (I believe it was BG 10). He was standing outside the door of our hotel room while the rest of us were inside. We rope dropped Smuggler's Run which was a disappointment to us. We are all Star Wars fans but were put with a group of 2 that seemed like that had never seen Star Wars before. They were pilots. My kids were gunners and my husband and I were engineers. I thought it was odd that the screen was in front of you but for the gunners and engineers the buttons we had to watch to push were on the side meaning you couldn't see the action in front of you at the same time. We all said we'd rate it below Star Tours. I believe we did ROTR next which was AWESOME!!! We were also able to ride TSM and Alien Swirling Saucers before lunch I believe. We had lunch at ABC Commissary using mobile order. We loved mobile ordering and hope it never goes away!! At some point we went back to CSR for a nap/relax break. That evening we headed back to the park and had dinner at Docking Bay 7 which we thought was good. I believe we did TOT that night. We also went to Dok Ondar's. There were only 4 legacy lightsabers to choose from. Let me know if you want to know what was there as I'll ask the family. My son got the one he wanted but they didn't have any of the ones my daughter wanted. She was pretty disappointed as she has been saving her $ and watching videos to decide what to get for quite awhile. The cast members said they do get new shipments but are never sure what they are going to get.

*Thursday, 7/29-*This was an early day as we were going to AK and we love FOP. We got there probably around 7:20 and were held until about 7:30. From there we did the controlled rope drop and went straight to FOP. That was a huge line but we were probably off the ride a little after 8. We decided to skip Navi for then and went to Safari. We had a great guide named AJ who did a great job pointing out some things we had never heard on the ride before. After that we went to EE and then to the Tiger trail (can't remember the name). We went over to Rafiki's planet watch to pet the goats and look at the inside exhibits. The Animation class was already going. I believe they were drawing Bambi. It was then time for our lunch TS at Rain Forest Cafe. That was very good and we had a really nice waitress. After lunch we took a break to nap/relax at CSR. I believe this day it also was pouring heavily at this point. My husband could probably keep going without a break but it's just too much for the rest of us. I have to have a break to recharge or I will be grumpy. Also it was super hot. We always go in the summer as I work in a school and this summer just felt even hotter with the long lines due to the lack of fast pass. After our break we were able to ride EE  again and Navi. We did the chicken fried rice at the Yak and Yeti counter service place. We love that rice! We got in line before park close and were able to ride FOP again. I feel like we were in line for about 40 minutes. When we came out the park was not lit up as it used to be. I don't know if this was because the park was officially closed or not but that was something I loved about Pandora...seeing it lit up at night so this was a little disappointing. Edited to add: We also kept trying to ride Dinosaur but it was closed most of the day. I also really miss Primeval Whirl. That was always one of our favorites.


----------



## kc51570

sunnyshari said:


> Hi all, I thought I would do a quick report here since all of the posts I read helped me before our trip. My family of 4 (myself, DH 49, son 20 and daughter 16) drove from VA and stayed at CSR from 7/27-8/4. We ended up in Ranchos 7A with a nice view of the courtyard even though I had requested a room in Casitas5 through the touringplans app. We visited all of the parks at least once and made it to WinterSummerland golf course. He's a short review of what we did.
> 
> *Tuesday, 7/27*-Checked into CSR. Decided to head to Disney Springs for dinner and some shopping. We ate at Earl of Sandwich which was good. Both kids wanted to look for legacy lightsabers which we had heard were at Disney Springs but the cast member we asked said they had just shipped them all to Galaxy's Edge in the past week or so. My daughter was able to get Loki ears at Super Hero Headquarters in Disney Springs. If you want these ears this is the ONLY place we saw that had them. My daughter was stopped around 10 times this trip but people asking where she got them. At the time there were probably about 30 or so in the store.
> 
> *Wednesday, 7/28-*We had our first park day at HS. All 4 of us tried for a ROTR boarding pass using the tips we had learned on here. My husband was able to score one (I believe it was BG 10). He was standing outside the door of our hotel room while the rest of us were inside. We rope dropped Smuggler's Run which was a disappointment to us. We are all Star Wars fans but were put with a group of 2 that seemed like that had never seen Star Wars before. They were pilots. My kids were gunners and my husband and I were engineers. I thought it was odd that the screen was in front of you but for the gunners and engineers the buttons we had to watch to push were on the side meaning you couldn't see the action in front of you at the same time. We all said we'd rate it below Star Tours. I believe we did ROTR next which was AWESOME!!! We were also able to ride TSM and Alien Swirling Saucers before lunch I believe. We had lunch at ABC Commissary using mobile order. We loved mobile ordering and hope it never goes away!! At some point we went back to CSR for a nap/relax break. That evening we headed back to the park and had dinner at Docking Bay 7 which we thought was good. I believe we did TOT that night. We also went to Dok Ondar's. There were only 4 legacy lightsabers to choose from. Let me know if you want to know what was there as I'll ask the family. My son got the one he wanted but they didn't have any of the ones my daughter wanted. She was pretty disappointed as she has been saving her $ and watching videos to decide what to get for quite awhile. The cast members said they do get new shipments but are never sure what they are going to get.
> 
> *Thursday, 7/29-*This was an early day as we were going to AK and we love FOP. We got there probably around 7:20 and were held until about 7:30. From there we did the controlled rope drop and went straight to FOP. That was a huge line but we were probably off the ride a little after 8. We decided to skip Navi for then and went to Safari. We had a great guide named AJ who did a great job pointing out some things we had never heard on the ride before. After that we went to EE and then to the Tiger trail (can't remember the name). We went over to Rafiki's planet watch to pet the goats and look at the inside exhibits. The Animation class was already going. I believe they were drawing Bambi. It was then time for our lunch TS at Rain Forest Cafe. That was very good and we had a really nice waitress. After lunch we took a break to nap/relax at CSR. I believe this day it also was pouring heavily at this point. My husband could probably keep going without a break but it's just too much for the rest of us. I have to have a break to recharge or I will be grumpy. Also it was super hot. We always go in the summer as I work in a school and this summer just felt even hotter with the long lines due to the lack of fast pass. After our break we were able to ride EE  again and Navi. We did the chicken fried rice at the Yak and Yeti counter service place. We love that rice! We got in line before park close and were able to ride FOP again. I feel like we were in line for about 40 minutes. When we came out the park was not lit up as it used to be. I don't know if this was because the park was officially closed or not but that was something I loved about Pandora...seeing it lit up at night so this was a little disappointing. Edited to add: We also kept trying to ride Dinosaur but it was closed most of the day. I also really miss Primeval Whirl. That was always one of our favorites.


Completely agree on Smugglers Run. We waited at least 70 minutes for it and when we got off we said we thought Star Tours was better. I think the long wait contributed to the disappointment. We will try it again some day but only if the wait is low or they bring back FP.


----------



## sunnyshari

Continued...

*Friday, 7/30- *I forgot to add on our AK day that our sneakers were soaked so we took them to the laundry to try to dry them out. We all had backup sneakers except for my daughter but please remember to bring backups for the rain. This was our MK day. I believe this was the first day the indoor mask mandate came back. My family and I are all vaccinated so we weren't too early either way. However, as the week went on I'm sort of glad the indoor mask mandate came back. The place was packed and they were having us fill all available space. We had brought masks from home for transportation so we were ready. We also bought some disposable masks at Target in Orlando. Wearing the masks inside was not hard. It was difficult however for lines that were outside. Mask compliance was pretty good although some people were just rude to the CMs asking them to mask up. Also you had some of the people that put their masks on by the CM and then take it off further in the line. This was one of our best days. We rope dropped the park and went straight to Splash, then to Thunder Mountain, Pirates and Haunted Mansion. We mobile ordered Pecos Bill for lunch and then headed back to the resort for a break. In the evening we came back and did dinner at Cosmic Ray's, did People Mover (stopped 3 times when we were on it after waiting about 40 minutes to ride it), Aladdin, Jungle Cruise and were the last people to ride Astro Orbiter. Jungle Cruise was fun but we couldn't really understand most of the CM's jokes because of his mask. He also had plexiglass between himself and us. Riding Astro Orbiter at the end of the night was really a cool experience. This day almost felt like the days of fast pass and was very enjoyable.

*Saturday, 7/31- *Break day!! We slept in until around 10, got ready, had lunch at El Mercado (just OK) and went swimming. The main pool was super busy so we just went to the quiet pool. After that we changed and left the bubble. We had plans to go to Winter Summerland mini golf that night. The busses for Blizzard Beach were done at 6 so we decided to drive. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and then to Winter Summerland. We had the free passes from our Disney package. This was something I'd always wanted to do and we had a blast! We did the winter side. I do recommend making a reservation. I had forgotten about it and when I called the number that morning was told there was a 2 hour wait (generic Disney number). We ended up getting there around 8 and started golfing a little before 9 I believe. The employees were friendly and we had a really good time.

*Sunday, 8/1- *This was Epcot day. We left a little later and were a few minutes after rope drop. TT was already backed up so we headed to Frozen. I believe our wait was 20 minutes or so. I really loved Maelstrom (I love Norway) but I can appreciate the technology behind this and know that little kids would enjoy this ride more. People were not kidding about the boarded up nature of the place. I had told my family but my husband especially couldn't get over how different it looked. I wanted to take a picture when I saw a PP photographer but he was like of what...we would be just standing in front of construction/boarded up areas. After that I believe we did Soarin and Living on the Land. We went to Nemo, rode that and looked at the aquariums. We had a TS meal at 1:40 at Teppan Edo. The service and food were great! We were seated with a party of 2 with a divider between us. I can't remember the exact order but we also shopped in the Japan store (it closes at 7), did Spaceship Earth, and Mission Space Green. We were able to ride Test track and the Gran Fiesta Tour as well. We are not big eaters so we didn't do the food and wine festival. For dinner my son and husband mobile ordered Regal Eagle and liked it. My daughter and I got funnel cake and were able to bring it in the restaurant. This was another day that felt like a pre-Covid day.

*Monday, 8/2- *This was our second HS day. We were able to get a ROTR pass. My son got boarding group 1!! My phone wouldn't even refresh. We rope dropped SDD. I wasn't excited to rope drop this as to me it's not worth that long of a wait. I'd say we were in line 30-40 minutes and we did have a good time on it. That is a hot line to have to wear masks. You are not supposed to eat or drink in line now but no one seemed to say anything if you took a sip of water, especially in the outside part. I had bought some neck fans from Target and one of those water hand held fans. Neither of them did much to be honest. We had also brought some small frog togg neck towels which felt good for a few minutes and then dried out. I would second the recommendation to get a UV umbrella. I didn't as I thought it would be a pain but wished I'd had it. We also bought ponchos at Target for $4.99 each which were well worth the money. After SDD we went to ROTR. We then had a lunch reservation at Sci-Fi Dinner theater which was great, especially the donut with fried apples and ice cream. We had a break that afternoon. That evening we rode RNRC, Star Tours, Toy Story Mania and got in line before closing for MMRR. That was a pretty cute ride. We mobile ordered Backlot Express for dinner.

*Tuesday, 8/3- *This turned out to be a mostly crappy day. We got up early around 6 to do rope drop. At this point we were pretty exhausted and it was starting to rain. It was also 68 degrees. We rope dropped 7 Dwarves which was pretty fun. After that we rode everything in Fantasyland, Peter Pan, IASM, Teacups, Barnstormer, Dumbo. Winnie the Pooh was offline a lot of the day so we never got to that. At this point we were cold and wet so after lunch we went back to the resort for a break and to nap. That evening we mobile ordered Cosmic Ray's which was pretty dry this time. We wanted to ride Space Mountain (we did ride it the other day on this trip..forgot to add it) but the line was very long. We did go to the Hall of Presidents which opened up while we were there, Haunted Mansion, COP. At this point we were getting tired and it was almost time for HEA. All my daughter wanted was a churro. Trying to get through to the cart where they were while people were getting ready to watch the fireworks was a nightmare. CMs kept yelling to move, move, move. It wasn't overly magical although I get that they have to get the area clear. It kind of put a damper on the night. AFter asking someone else we were able to maneuver to the cart and get churros. At this point we were tired and stressed out. My husband wanted to watch HEA. The rest of us just wanted to get out before the mass of humanity.

*FINAL THOUGHTS*

Overall we had a fun trip. Side note...we are all vaccinated and masked up when required but my son started feeling sick last night. Today he has a low fever of 100.4. He made an appointment for tomorrow to get a rapid Covid test. We are hoping he just has a virus. 

We had a fun trip. I don't feel like I got my money's worth though. We go every other year or so. We were supposed to go last year but Covid happened. We stayed at CSR and the rooms were great. However, our room was not cleaned even once. When housekeeping came by for room checks we asked for towels or toilet paper. I had brought my own trash bags. The trash cans are so small they can barely hold anything. I don't blame the housekeepers. I blame Disney for raising capacity before they have the staffing. I feel like I should have been charged less for my room since I was going to be doing my own housekeeping.

We missed Fast passes. We generally do rope drop, take an afternoon break, and go back in the evenings. If they don't have FP I wish they park would stay open later. It is so much prettier and the temps are so much better in the evening. Lines did move and touring plans line app was more accurate that MDE. However, a line outside in July with masks even when moving is HOT. The heat is what drained me...not the walking.

We will be back I think but not until things are better. If I have to stay deluxe to get extra evening hours I will probably do that. I will NOT however be paying for something similar to what they are doing in Disney in Paris. That is a ripoff. I am planning to send an email to Disney as well to let them know about our experience.

The magic was still there but I feel we had to work a little harder to find it. CMs aren't rude but some were more similar to what you would find at a regular theme park. Some were also your typical magical CM. The busses worked well for us. Please let me know if you have any questions and if this should be moved to the trip reports thread or somewhere else please feel free to move it.

Thanks!


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## Afry

How are crowd levels right now?


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## Bambi1942

Makmak said:


> These are all great suggestions, but when I had a two year old I just wanted to grab something and be able to eat it in my room or somewhere the kid can run around freely without bugging people. To get in the skyliner and/or have to travel to get food is exhausting. (for those without toddlers they can be like insane unpredictable monkeys and so something simple like getting on the skyliner goes like this: start walking to skyliner kid has to go potty, go back to room and take care of that, then start walking to skyliner then kid sees ducks and wants to check them out, then get in skyliner and kid falls asleep/has to go potty/cries that he’s hungry/doesn’t want to wear mask, get to restaurant and he’s tired and won’t eat, all this while lugging a stroller and/or large bag) even if none of this happens, most parents are stressed that it “might” (seeotential insane monkey) so it’s really necessary to have decent easily accessible food options at the resorts. Kudos to those brave parents with toddlers/babies that keep traveling . I look back and can’t believe I did that much work to go to Disney all the time…..and Disney knows people go with small kids and should have options for their needs.


So agree with you. I’ve been going since my boys were a year old. I’ve stayed at many Disney resorts and I always checked the menus at the resort before I would book a room. If they had nothing good to eat for QS then there was no way I would stay there.  This was before Uber eats existed lol. Now they are 12 and 7 and a little more daring.


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## KM82

Breakdown of day 1:

We entered Epcot around 4pm and went straight to Appleseed Orchard. I got the Apple Blossom Sky and DS went with the frozen apple pie. DH sat this one out. We both really liked our choices.

Next we decided to head to Soarin.  5pm in line for soarin. Off at 5:25

Straight to living with the land, which we had never done. Off at 5:50

Then we headed to Flavors from Fire.  DS and I split  Whoopie pie and corned beef, and DH had the swine brine. (Pic attached)

6:15, we hopped in line for SE. It was a walk on.  The ride stopped fully on the way up to the first scene. Full stop again at the Woolly mammoth..  off at 6:40

Then we walked around world showcase, but a lot of the shops closed at 7, so that didn’t last long. We did get to get some tea (DS’s favorite) at Twinings Tea. We got a quick lesson about the different flavors and the origin of the tea by one of the guys that works there. He was fantastic. Somehow, not one of the three of us caught his name. We will try to stop by there again on Monday to see if he’s working again or to see if anyone can tell us who he is Seriously great CM.

We had a dinner reservation at Rose and Crown at 8:10, and we just kind of kicked around until it was time for it. We got to watch the fireworks from the patio there, which was a great ending to our first day.

We woke up at 3:30 this morning to get an early start on the road, so walking to the other side of Epcot to do some rides while we waiting wasn’t really in the cards. I think all three of us were about toast.

Now we are trying to decide if we want to rope drop MK tomorrow or just head there once we get up and moving and stay until close.  In the before times, we would do a pre park open breakfast, head back midday for the pool, then back to the park for dinner. The idea of DS (who is 10) standing in a mass of people at rope drop just doesn’t sound like the best idea. Sleep also sounds amazing…


----------



## e_yerger

question for people who have traveled recently: has anyone done a grocery delivery recently to their resort? If so, which service did you use? and did you have alcohol included in your order?


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## Bambi1942

e_yerger said:


> question for people who have traveled recently: has anyone done a grocery delivery recently to their resort? If so, which service did you use? and did you have alcohol included in your order?


Yes here now and I did an order through Amazon Prime. We stayed at CBR. I had perishable items and they stored them in the refrigerator.  I placed the order while sitting in the airport in the morning of my arrival. The resort charged me a $6 storage fee. I didn’t mind because it was way cheaper than using garden grocer. We didn’t order alcohol.


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## scrappinginontario

allaboutthemouse said:


> Would love to hear about your time in Universal!
> Please, and thank you!


For days/trips specific to Universal or other parks, taking those to the Universal board would be helpful.

Thanks.


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## Bambi1942

fivikse said:


> not the person you asked, but we moved over to universal a couple days ago. Pretty much no masking, and to me it feels way more crowded. Food lines are crazy.
> 
> But we have hotel express passes so haven’t waited in lines, except velocicoaster (45-55 minutes x3 times). The hagrid virtual queue is fine if you keep trying. Velocicoaster and hagrid are both incredible. We are enjoying our universal stay, but to me, it feels more crowded than usual and more than WDW at start of week. But the hotel EPs mean no waits!
> 
> eta: I don’t mean to sound negative- we are having a great time!


You don’t sound negative. We just finished with our Disney portion of the trip and checked into Portifino today. Disney and Universal is like night and day when it comes to covid precautions.  There is no mask mandate here unlike Disney you had cast members that would not let you get in line without a mask.  It also seems very very crowded. There are a lot of people not wearing masks inside lines. We’re still wearing masks. Being from NY my family has been accustomed to it.


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## 123SA

I've read a few reports  of shops closing at 7pm in Epcot.  Are the food booths open later than that?


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## KM82

123SA said:


> I've read a few reports  of shops closing at 7pm in Epcot.  Are the food booths open later than that?


I think they were.  Most had long lines. We didn’t go near them because we wanted to be able to have room for dinner.  We have another day there next week. I’ll try to remember to look if no one else confirms by then.


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## daae3

sunnyshari said:


> There were only 4 legacy lightsabers to choose from. Let me know if you want to know what was there as I'll ask the family. My son got the one he wanted but they didn't have any of the ones my daughter wanted. She was pretty disappointed as she has been saving her $ and watching videos to decide what to get for quite awhile. The cast members said they do get new shipments but are never sure what they are going to get.



I would love to know what legacy sabers were available... also, I too loved primeval whirl… One of my favorites


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## Chaitali

123SA said:


> I've read a few reports  of shops closing at 7pm in Epcot.  Are the food booths open later than that?


We got food from the booths around 8:30 so at least that late.


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## sunnyshari

Afry said:


> How are crowd levels right now?


My first MK day and my Epcot day did not feel crowded. The other days felt more crowded to me…no idea why the difference. HS definitely felt the most congested to me while Epcot felt the least crowded.


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## sunnyshari

daae3 said:


> I would love to know what legacy sabers were available... also, I too loved primeval whirl… One of my favorites


Ok just asked my daughter. The first HS day they had Leia’s, Luke’s, skywalker reforged, and Ben Solo’s lightsabers. The second HS day they had Leia’s, skywalker reforged, Ben Solo’s, Darth Vader’s, and the dark saber. Also I forgot to mention that I was able to score a Savi’s reservation at the last minute for my daughter for our second HS day. I was looking on my phone at the resort at almost 1am and someone must’ve cancelled. Got Savis for 9:25 pm on our second HS day. She was so excited since she wasn’t able to find the legacy lightsaber she wanted. She ended up choosing to make the power and control lightsaber with a purple crystal.


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## preemiemama

sunnyshari said:


> Ok just asked my daughter. The first HS day they had Leia’s, Luke’s, skywalker reforged, and Ben Solo’s lightsabers. The second HS day they had Leia’s, skywalker reforged, Ben Solo’s, Darth Vader’s, and the dark saber. Also I forgot to mention that I was able to score a Savi’s reservation at the last minute for my daughter for our second HS day. I was looking on my phone at the resort at almost 1am and someone must’ve cancelled. Got Savis for 9:25 pm on our second HS day. She was so excited since she wasn’t able to find the legacy lightsaber she wanted. She ended up choosing to make the power and control lightsaber with a purple crystal.


I know they also can have Count Dooku and Ashoka.  My son got Dooku's when he couldn't find Ashoka's a few weeks ago.


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## sunnyshari

preemiemama said:


> I know they also can have Count Dooku and Ashoka.  My son got Dooku's when he couldn't find Ashoka's a few weeks ago.


Yeah my daughter wanted Ashoka. The cast members told us they never know for sure what they will be getting.


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## 2letterwords

I haven't seen info on this recently. Can you drive to/park at a resort if you have a mobile order? Just trying to figure out transportation in that case.


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## allaboutthemouse

Chaitali said:


> Sure,  I wasn’t sure if this thread was just for Disney experiences but if it’s ok, I’m happy to keep posting.  We aren’t big thrill ride people though so it will mostly be Harry Potter stuff, shows and smaller rides.  No velocicoaster for us!





scrappinginontario said:


> For days/trips specific to Universal or other parks, taking those to the Universal board would be helpful.
> 
> Thanks.





Bambi1942 said:


> You don’t sound negative. We just finished with our Disney portion of the trip and checked into Portifino today. Disney and Universal is like night and day when it comes to covid precautions.  There is no mask mandate here unlike Disney you had cast members that would not let you get in line without a mask.  It also seems very very crowded. There are a lot of people not wearing masks inside lines. We’re still wearing masks. Being from NY my family has been accustomed to it.



If you have a chance, would love to hear any info you can give about your experiences, the good, the bad, and ugly, at Universal over on the Universal boards! Harry Potter stuff is our focus, checking in to Portofino in a couple weeks  
Thanks!


----------



## Belle1962

My DGS and his GF couldn’t mobile order at the monorail hotels. I think he said once he received a message while trying to order and twice the guards turned them away. 


2letterwords said:


> I haven't seen info on this recently. Can you drive to/park at a resort if you have a mobile order? Just trying to figure out transportation in that case.


----------



## shoegal9

2letterwords said:


> I haven't seen info on this recently. Can you drive to/park at a resort if you have a mobile order? Just trying to figure out transportation in that case.



Reports are still mixed. A friend of mine tried recently for pickup at Captain Cooks (staying at Riviera) and was not allowed to enter/park to grab the order.


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## Sargeant Tibbs

We are packing up to drive home today. My three year old daughter threw up this morning and is running a fever of 101. We wore masks, washed hands, sanitized obsessively. I'm hoping it's just a cold. As if now, all four vaccinated adults are feeling fine.


----------



## tofubeast

For those of you there in the past week or so, what are the rope drop times or true opening vs. published opening times for the Parks?

Also, what's the best current strategy for DHS at rope drop as we haven't been to TSL or been on MMRR. We will go one nearly full day and then come back another day (afternoon to closing).


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## slyster

meremac said:


> IMO rope drop is super important still. Of course, there may be times when it's a total failure, like if the ride you planned to do first is down. But in my experience, it usually works well. That and the late afternoon/evening.



This is what we are planning.  I'm assuming early will be stressful, getting to the parks, waiting for rope drop then heading to the ride you want.  I'm thinking after the first couple of rides, it's just going with the flow.  We plan to head back to our resort, Boardwalk Inn, right after lunch for a rest then head back later in the afternoon and evening.  Thanks for confirming it makes the most sense!


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## slyster

KM82 said:


> We are here and checked in!  When we booked, water view wasn’t available, so we got a garden view room (BWI). I went to the front desk to see if a water view was available and if we could upgrade, and at what cost. He came back after a bit and said he found one for us and there’s no charge!  First time we’ve been pixie dusted like that!  Totally unexpected and amazing!  My son is obsessed with the view already View attachment 595016



That is super awesome!  Congrats on the upgrade!


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## cakebaker

Sargeant Tibbs said:


> We are packing up to drive home today. My three year old daughter threw up this morning and is running a fever of 101. We wore masks, washed hands, sanitized obsessively. I'm hoping it's just a cold. As if now, all four vaccinated adults are feeling fine.



I'm sorry you're having to deal with this- sounds like my grandson with the fever and vomiting. It happened to us the day before we were scheduled to drive home. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to matter how careful you are, kids are catching it anyway. My gs turned our to be negative, hope yours does as well! His vomiting and nausea was due to his sensitivity to running temps- he does it with any illness he gets where he runs a temp over 100.


----------



## rlk

tofubeast said:


> For those of you there in the past week or so, what are the rope drop times or true opening vs. published opening times for the Parks?
> 
> Also, what's the best current strategy for DHS at rope drop as we haven't been to TSL or been on MMRR. We will go one nearly full day and then come back another day (afternoon to closing).



Rope Drop is important! If you can be in front of most of the crowd lining up for TSL, then you have a good shot at riding Slinky without a long wait.  Make sure you are on the right-hand side of the line when the CMs walk you to TSL because they will tell everyone to stay to the right.  We did TSL rope drop twice the other week and both times made it onto Slinky Dog either the first or second ride of the day.  We moved quickly to MMRR and only waited 18 minutes to ride.


----------



## 2letterwords

Belle1962 said:


> My DGS and his GF couldn’t mobile order at the monorail hotels. I think he said once he received a message while trying to order and twice the guards turned them away.





shoegal9 said:


> Reports are still mixed. A friend of mine tried recently for pickup at Captain Cooks (staying at Riviera) and was not allowed to enter/park to grab the order.



Thanks. This is helpful.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

e_yerger said:


> question for people who have traveled recently: has anyone done a grocery delivery recently to their resort? If so, which service did you use? and did you have alcohol included in your order?





Bambi1942 said:


> Yes here now and I did an order through Amazon Prime. We stayed at CBR. I had perishable items and they stored them in the refrigerator.  I placed the order while sitting in the airport in the morning of my arrival. The resort charged me a $6 storage fee. I didn’t mind because it was way cheaper than using garden grocer. We didn’t order alcohol.


Garden Grocer is definitely not the cheapest, but I highly recommend them if you're ordering alcohol as (unlike the others) you don't have to be present to receive the order.  They allow you to email a copy of your driver's license ahead of time and then will leave the order with bell services.  We have used GG many times and always had a great experience.  I also like that you can order ahead of time and select your delivery window.


----------



## preemiemama

sunnyshari said:


> Yeah my daughter wanted Ashoka. The cast members told us they never know for sure what they will be getting.


A couple other things to note- that I didn't realize until we were there.  The legacy sabers they sell are just the hilts.  You have to purchase the blades separately.  If you make a saber at Savi's, that blade is interchangeable- you can use it for the one you build and the legacy ones.  Otherwise, it will cost you extra.  Also, the legacy hilts come with a case- my son's was a good-sized box.  Be aware when thinking about packing them to come home. (And how to protect the bad if you purchase it.)


----------



## Marionnette

Sargeant Tibbs said:


> We are packing up to drive home today. My three year old daughter threw up this morning and is running a fever of 101. We wore masks, washed hands, sanitized obsessively. I'm hoping it's just a cold. As if now, all four vaccinated adults are feeling fine.


Hope she feels better quickly. If it's any consolation, vomiting is not a classical COVID symptom. It sounds more like a stomach virus.


----------



## meremac

cakebaker said:


> How long did you spend in line in total when you waited in the afternoon, then waited in line at closing?



In the late afternoon, the posted wait for FoP was 2 hours but it was actually maybe 75 minutes. At closing, it was posted at 90 minutes but it was only like 20. But we literally got in line seconds before park closing. People were already starting to leave the park when we arrived. And while we were at Nomad, it was like we were watching a mass exodus even though there were still an hour left before closing. By the time we finished at Nomad, the park felt VERY empty. I think ending the day at AK is SO underrated IMO. Since it closes early and there's no nighttime show, so many people leave in the afternoon to hop somewhere else. I love walking through Pandora when there's nobody there...AND we got back to the resort in time for a little evening swim.


----------



## SkyGuy

2letterwords said:


> I haven't seen info on this recently. Can you drive to/park at a resort if you have a mobile order? Just trying to figure out transportation in that case.


The Epcot resorts and the Skyliner resorts have signs by the guard stations that state parking is only allowed for guests and those with dining reservations. I asked the BC guard (I was staying there) about mobile order, and that particular guard told me a mobile order does not count as a valid dining reservation, but during slower times of the day, you could get lucky. For a morning order or an order close to fireworks, you would almost certainly be turned away.


----------



## tofubeast

rlk said:


> Rope Drop is important! If you can be in front of most of the crowd lining up for TSL, then you have a good shot at riding Slinky without a long wait.  Make sure you are on the right-hand side of the line when the CMs walk you to TSL because they will tell everyone to stay to the right.  We did TSL rope drop twice the other week and both times made it onto Slinky Dog either the first or second ride of the day.  We moved quickly to MMRR and only waited 18 minutes to ride.



Thanks! What time did the park really open vs. published?  So you were able to do Slinky and then went right over to MMRR? I think we will try that strategy.


----------



## cakebaker

meremac said:


> I love walking through Pandora when there's nobody there



That was my favorite part of the After Hours, being able to walk through a darkened park and feel like there was no one else there. No wait rides was great, but the ambience of the park is what sold me. I wish they'd bring them back- not only do we get to enjoy empty parks, we don't have to deal with the sun and heat and we can take care of riding most things during the after hours- leaving the day time for more resort time and non-ride activities. After all these years, we much prefer a more laid back, relaxed trip, but still want the rides.


----------



## meremac

tofubeast said:


> Thanks! What time did the park really open vs. published?  So you were able to do Slinky and then went right over to MMRR? I think we will try that strategy.



For us, rides started maybe 20 minutes before official park opening. One day we did SDD, TSMM and Swirling Saucers and by the time we were done, it was only 10 minutes after park opening. The second RD day, SDD wasn't running at first so we did RnRC and TSMM with very little wait. We chose to do MMRR in the evening, and that was great. Maybe a 20-minute wait.


----------



## tofubeast

meremac said:


> For us, rides started maybe 20 minutes before official park opening. One day we did SDD, TSMM and Swirling Saucers and by the time we were done, it was only 10 minutes after park opening. The second RD day, SDD wasn't running at first so we did RnRC and TSMM with very little wait. We chose to do MMRR in the evening, and that was great. Maybe a 20-minute wait.



AWESOME. I figure if we don't catch one of those, we will try the strategy of getting in line right at closing. Beauty and Beast show will resume one of the days we are there, so I am hoping that sucks some people out of the ride lines, too.


----------



## sunnyshari

tofubeast said:


> AWESOME. I figure if we don't catch one of those, we will try the strategy of getting in line right at closing. Beauty and Beast show will resume one of the days we are there, so I am hoping that sucks some people out of the ride lines, too.


Just keep in mind that for us nothing opened early at MK. You were held until exact opening time. For the other 3 parks you could ride earlier than the stated opening time.


----------



## tofubeast

sunnyshari said:


> Just keep in mind that for us nothing opened early at MK. You were held until exact opening time. For the other 3 parks you could ride earlier than the stated opening time.



Thanks. So for EPCOT as well, the park opened about 20 mins before the published opening time?


----------



## e_yerger

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Garden Grocer is definitely not the cheapest, but I highly recommend them if you're ordering alcohol as (unlike the others) you don't have to be present to receive the order.  They allow you to email a copy of your driver's license ahead of time and then will leave the order with bell services.  We have used GG many times and always had a great experience.  I also like that you can order ahead of time and select your delivery window.


It does feel like GG is the most convenient when ordering alcohol, but I'm just not thrilled with their selection (I'm more of a High Noon girl, than White Claws LOL). Trying to decide which is more important - the selection of what I'm getting, or not having to meet someone upon delivery


----------



## KM82

slyster said:


> That is super awesome!  Congrats on the upgrade!


Thanks!  We’ve never experienced one before!  So so thankful and excited!


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

I read lots of reports from AK and no one mentions It's Tough to be a Bug.  Is that still a thing?  I think my granddaughters will love that one.  Thanks in advance!!


----------



## scrappinginontario

sunnyshari said:


> Just keep in mind that for us nothing opened early at MK. You were held until exact opening time. For the other 3 parks you could ride earlier than the stated opening time.


Thanks for the info.  Your experience at MK is consistent with what we've been told.  It's helpful to know what's currently happening so that we can keep the 'Everything Rope Drop' thread current.


----------



## kristenabelle

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> I read lots of reports from AK and no one mentions It's Tough to be a Bug.  Is that still a thing?  I think my granddaughters will love that one.  Thanks in advance!!



Yup! Love this show. In June they were leaving one seat between parties, not sure if that's changed.


----------



## luv2cheer92

tofubeast said:


> Thanks. So for EPCOT as well, the park opened about 20 mins before the published opening time?


Most likely. All parks are back to their pre-Covid opening procedures. Epcot is the park that usually opens a bit early, but sometimes doesn't. MK never opens early, and AK and HS pretty much always do.


----------



## stiirfry

We are having a much better time at HS today!! We decided to take the forums advice and get up early to rope drop. SO MUCH BETTER!! We got here from the skylines about 8:15 and they opened the park (or I think they did? I heard the "welcome to Hollywood studios!") At 8:30. Got on rock n rollercoaster with a 10 minute wait then quickly went to tower of terror for another 10 minute wait. We were gonna try for slinky dog dash but our luck ran out and they were at a 100 minute wait before 9:00 o.o so we did toy story mania with a 20 minute wait. Longest line we stood in today so far was joffreys! We're gonna pick up some streusels from the lunch box and by then our ogas reservation will be coming up  I'm never doubting this forum again rope drop was so worth it and once leaving the hotel we didn't even feel tired lol. Thank you guys !it's hard to believe its only 10:30 and we've done so much


----------



## Aj1129

I have been following this thread to help me plan our upcoming trip so thank you for everyone reporting back. We are traveling with DS 6 in 10 days and we want to try to avoid the pandora crowd during rope drop. Is the safari running before the actual AK opening time like EE and FOP?


----------



## rlk

tofubeast said:


> Thanks! What time did the park really open vs. published?  So you were able to do Slinky and then went right over to MMRR? I think we will try that strategy.



I didn't mark down what time they let us into the park, but the time stamp on the photo my husband took when we were in the official line was 8:34 am. 

Edit to add:  I looked at my notes and saw that after we finished with Slinky Dog, we got in line for MMRR at 8:43 and were on by 9:01.  We then got on RNRC single rider line and were getting on the ride at 9:34.  My husband and I did not ride together but were in the same limo.


----------



## slyster

stiirfry said:


> Hey guys
> Here are some pics from our vacation today. I included some pics of the crowds since I think a few people wanted to see that. We went to HS today and went to MMRR as soon as the park opened and had a 20-minute easy wait. We had to run to ROTR because I had a boarding group for it. Then we decided to wait in line at smugglers run which was posted at a 70 minute wait, and it was indeed an 80 minute wait. After this (around 1:30?) the park was pretty packed and we decided to leave and head back to epcot for some food and drinks  We might head back in a bit if the waits come down but we're fine either way. I noticed a lot of people saying ride times are inflated but I only notice that towards the end of the day like the last two hours of the park being opened (and rope drop I suppose). Anything before that and they're fairly accurate within 20-30 mins.
> 
> View attachment 595057
> View attachment 595056


Where those crowds at rope drop? or what time?


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Aj1129 said:


> I have been following this thread to help me plan our upcoming trip so thank you for everyone reporting back. We are traveling with DS 6 in 10 days and we want to try to avoid the pandora crowd during rope drop. Is the safari running before the actual AK opening time like EE and FOP?



I usually go straight to the Safari. And although the Safari typically starts at park opening, it doesn't hurt to rope drop it as you'll be on one of the 1st safaris.  They hold you outside the que which gives you ample time to grab a spot in line and someone else in your party gets a snack (Creature Comforts is always open - and the little kiosk near the line opens up a little early) and relax. 

It also gives you an opportunity to really pause and walk a little more slowly.


----------



## bbn1122

e_yerger said:


> It does feel like GG is the most convenient when ordering alcohol, but I'm just not thrilled with their selection (I'm more of a High Noon girl, than White Claws LOL). Trying to decide which is more important - the selection of what I'm getting, or not having to meet someone upon delivery



In the past I always ordered from GG but this year I am trying Instacart from the local Publix.  The prices and selection are so much better.  I didn’t really check beer and wine.


----------



## bbn1122

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> I read lots of reports from AK and no one mentions It's Tough to be a Bug.  Is that still a thing?  I think my granddaughters will love that one.  Thanks in advance!!


It’s still there in the Tree of Life, it’s just not a ride that is in high demand.  It’s a great attraction to get out of the heat and have some giggles, .


----------



## Aj1129

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> I usually go straight to the Safari. And although the Safari typically starts at park opening, it doesn't hurt to rope drop it as you'll be on one of the 1st safaris.  They hold you outside the que which gives you ample time to grab a spot in line and someone else in your party gets a snack (Creature Comforts is always open - and the little kiosk near the line opens up a little early) and relax.
> 
> It also gives you an opportunity to really pause and walk a little more slowly.



DS really wants to get on EE and the safari. Is it best to do EE first if the safari doesn’t open until park opening? Just trying to maximize our rope drop in AK. We plan on doing pandora another day closer to park closing.


----------



## cakebaker

Aj1129 said:


> DS really wants to get on EE and the safari. Is it best to do EE first if the safari doesn’t open until park opening? Just trying to maximize our rope drop in AK. We plan on doing pandora another day closer to park closing.



I would definitely do EE first if Safari is not open. We found we could do Safari, EE and Dinosaur at opening with very little waiting. If Safari is open, I'd do that first. The lines for that got long before EE. After those, we'd do the trails without a huge crowd. With everyone rushing to FOP, AK was the easiest park for us to do if we weren't riding FOP.

It doesn't make much sense to me to get in an already long line at FOP if you aren't at the front for rope drop, but people still do and it leaves other things open to ride.


----------



## stiirfry

slyster said:


> Where those crowds at rope drop? or what time?


They were from about 11 or 12 yesterday crowds look the same today now


----------



## Aj1129

cakebaker said:


> I would definitely do EE first if Safari is not open. We found we could do Safari, EE and Dinosaur at opening with very little waiting. If Safari is open, I'd do that first. The lines for that got long before EE. After those, we'd do the trails without a huge crowd. With everyone rushing to FOP, AK was the easiest park for us to do if we weren't riding FOP.
> 
> It doesn't make much sense to me to get in an already long line at FOP if you aren't at the front for rope drop, but people still do and it leaves other things open to ride.


I feel the same way. I don’t mind getting in a line for FOP at the end of the day when I’m going to be waiting an hour or more anyway. I want to get him on other things while everyone goes to Pandora. Our main goal for the first half day is EE, safari, Lion King show and possibly the rapids. We have another half day (later afternoon/evening) planned just for pandora.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

bbn1122 said:


> It’s still there in the Tree of Life, it’s just not a ride that is in high demand.  It’s a great attraction to get out of the heat and have some giggles, .


Thanks.  I'm guessing my 4 and 2 yo granddaughters will love it!!


----------



## preemiemama

Aj1129 said:


> I feel the same way. I don’t mind getting in a line for FOP at the end of the day when I’m going to be waiting an hour or more anyway. I want to get him on other things while everyone goes to Pandora. Our main goal for the first half day is EE, safari, Lion King show and possibly the rapids. We have another half day (later afternoon/evening) planned just for pandora.


I believe none of the rides except FOP start running until park opening.  Not that you can't get there early and be in position for whenever they start, but you won't need to do as much of a "mad dash" for the other rides. Maybe that has changed, but the last report I had seen was only FOP runs early.


----------



## luv2cheer92

preemiemama said:


> I believe none of the rides except FOP start running until park opening.  Not that you can't get there early and be in position for whenever they start, but you won't need to do as much of a "mad dash" for the other rides. Maybe that has changed, but the last report I had seen was only FOP runs early.


EE and Navi usually start early.


----------



## NLW814

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Thanks.  I'm guessing my 4 and 2 yo granddaughters will love it!!


Just a warning...I thought my 2 year old would love it and she absolutely hated it...she didn't like the dark and air blowing in her face. We had to get up and leave half way through.


----------



## elgerber

NLW814 said:


> Just a warning...I thought my 2 year old would love it and she absolutely hated it...she didn't like the dark and air blowing in her face. We had to get up and leave half way through.


my dd went in the first time when she was 4, she was a huge bugs life fan.  She freaked, cried and buried her head in my lap the entire time.


----------



## Makmak

No spoilers but it’s not just cartoon bugs and that’s what freaked my
Kid out.


----------



## Miffy

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Thanks.  I'm guessing my 4 and 2 yo granddaughters will love it!!


I'm going to assume that you know that your granddaughters like or at least don't mind insects.

But just in case you don't know how they feel about insects, I'd like to mention that this experience is not for anyone who dislikes, is afraid of, or is horrified/disgusted by insects. Yes, they're animated, and they're supposed to be cute . . . but . . . I didn't find it cute at all and there are sensations as well. Sensations I was not amused by. I was hardly alone in my reaction to ITtBaB.

If you're not sitting right near the exit, it's impossible to leave the theater. Ask me how I know.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Aj1129 said:


> DS really wants to get on EE and the safari. Is it best to do EE first if the safari doesn’t open until park opening? Just trying to maximize our rope drop in AK. We plan on doing pandora another day closer to park closing.



I may be different, but I always do Safari first - and by being one of the 1st groups out.  My last trip was in May, but the line for EE was only a 10 minute wait by the time I got off Safari (which didn't start until official park opening).


----------



## sunnyshari

tofubeast said:


> Thanks. So for EPCOT as well, the park opened about 20 mins before the published opening time?


I believe its 30 minutes. I know we were in line for Frozen before park opening.


----------



## Mike

Question for those of you that have recently done FOP just before closing - at that time of day how much of the line is outside versus in?  I'm just thinking that we will all be hot and tired at that point but if the majority of the wait is in AC it wouldn't be bad.  I've never done standby for FOP; always used a Fastpass.  Thanks!


----------



## Leigh L

elgerber said:


> my dd went in the first time when she was 4, she was a huge bugs life fan.  She freaked, cried and buried her head in my lap the entire time.


My 14-YO still won't go in as of this past June. She watched it on YouTube when she was around 10 or 11, and what she saw was a dealbreaker for her.


----------



## sunnyshari

Mike said:


> Question for those of you that have recently done FOP just before closing - at that time of day how much of the line is outside versus in?  I'm just thinking that we will all be hot and tired at that point but if the majority of the wait is in AC it wouldn't be bad.  I've never done standby for FOP; always used a Fastpass.  Thanks!


Some of it was outside but it went pretty quickly. Also at that time of day it was heaven compared to the temps earlier in the day.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Aj1129 said:


> I have been following this thread to help me plan our upcoming trip so thank you for everyone reporting back. We are traveling with DS 6 in 10 days and we want to try to avoid the pandora crowd during rope drop. Is the safari running before the actual AK opening time like EE and FOP?


 Safari normally starts at posted park opening, not earlier.



luv2cheer92 said:


> EE and Navi usually start early.


Agree


Leigh L said:


> My 14-YO still won't go in as of this past June. She watched it on YouTube when she was around 10 or 11, and what she saw was a dealbreaker for her.


 My 12yo and I haven't seen it either.  I'm waiting until she's ready (that's my excuse  ) so it may be never.


----------



## RinaMB

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Thanks.  I'm guessing my 4 and 2 yo granddaughters will love it!!



It is notorious for making small kids cry hysterically. My son hated it when he was little but now he's 12 and enjoys it just to hear the screaming and crying that start after a couple minutes. If your kids are prone to getting scared by anything, there's a good chance it may terrify them.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

NLW814 said:


> Just a warning...I thought my 2 year old would love it and she absolutely hated it...she didn't like the dark and air blowing in her face. We had to get up and leave half way through.


Appreciate the words.  Honestly, the 2 year old is rough and tumble so I don't expect her to be afraid or annoyed.  The 4 yo on the other hand is rather clean and proper...but she is very interested in learning.  Hummm...a gamble I may take but will consider the options.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

Miffy said:


> I'm going to assume that you know that your granddaughters like or at least don't mind insects.
> 
> But just in case you don't know how they feel about insects, I'd like to mention that this experience is not for anyone who dislikes, is afraid of, or is horrified/disgusted by insects. Yes, they're animated, and they're supposed to be cute . . . but . . . I didn't find it cute at all and there are sensations as well. Sensations I was not amused by. I was hardly alone in my reaction to ITtBaB.
> 
> If you're not sitting right near the exit, it's impossible to leave the theater. Ask me how I know.


Thanks.  Just in case, I shall try to position myself (and them) close to the exit doors.  Thanks for the head's up!!


----------



## Miffy

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Thanks.  Just in case, I shall try to position myself (and them) close to the exit doors.  Thanks for the head's up!!


I was an adult the first--and ONLY--time I saw this and I was nearly in tears. I felt trapped, the sensations were very insect-ish, and the killer was the part where it feels like insects are skittering under your seat. 

I knew it wasn't real but it didn't matter. I was horrified. And I'm a very curious person who loves learning. Just keep insects far away from me!


----------



## TimeToPack

OMG, I Love ITTBAB!!!  I go and watch it a few times while I'm in AK.  I'm still mad they closed Honey I shrunk the audience in EPCOT, even though I hate mice.  We thought it was hysterical!!!  My Aunt on the other hand was horrified and didn't talk to her friend (who told her not to miss it) for a year.  I wish they had more shows like this, we like the funny shows more than some of the rides.


----------



## Farro

TimeToPack said:


> OMG, I Love ITTBAB!!!  I go and watch it a few times while I'm in AK.  I'm still mad they closed Honey I shrunk the audience in EPCOT, even though I hate mice.  We thought it was hysterical!!!  *My Aunt on the other hand was horrified and didn't talk to her friend (who told her not to miss it) for a year. * I wish they had more shows like this, we like the funny shows more than some of the rides.



That's quite a reaction!


----------



## meremac

RinaMB said:


> It is notorious for making small kids cry hysterically. My son hated it when he was little but now he's 12 and enjoys it just to hear the screaming and crying that start after a couple minutes. If your kids are prone to getting scared by anything, there's a good chance it may terrify them.



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


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

I am beginning to reconsider taking them now.  I shall have a conversation with mom and dad to make sure I don't scar them for life and cause Grandpa trust issues.  Maybe the Safari twice is a better option.  LOL!  They both love the zoos they've been to.


----------



## CarolynFH

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> I am beginning to reconsider taking them now.  I shall have a conversation with mom and dad to make sure I don't scar them for life and cause Grandpa trust issues.  Maybe the Safari twice is a better option.  LOL!  They both love the zoos they've been to.


I think that's a good plan.  The Safari is always different every time you ride.  And be sure to plan time to walk the trails in Africa and Asia to see the gorillas and tigers (and all the other animals).


----------



## Bambi1942

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> I read lots of reports from AK and no one mentions It's Tough to be a Bug.  Is that still a thing?  I think my granddaughters will love that one.  Thanks in advance!!


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


----------



## penel3

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Appreciate the words.  Honestly, the 2 year old is rough and tumble so I don't expect her to be afraid or annoyed.  The 4 yo on the other hand is rather clean and proper...but she is very interested in learning.  Hummm...a gamble I may take but will consider the options.


My 21 yo DS STILL refuses to go back in and see this. He was 4 when I took him in the first time, I thought he'd love it. Here he is the rough and tough football player....and freaked out by it's tough to be a bug, LMBO!!


----------



## Princess Madeleine

penel3 said:


> My 21 yo DS STILL refuses to go back in and see this. He was 4 when I took him in the first time, I thought he'd love it. Here he is the rough and tough football player....and freaked out by it's tough to be a bug, LMBO!!


Ha! Sounds exactly like my sister and I. Our very first Disney attraction and we are still scarred in our mid-20s. My poor grandmother felt so bad after taking us on that one.


----------



## jsmla

There are videos on YouTube, maybe Mom and Dad could preview.  Giant bugs aside, it has a lot of sudden, very loud noises in the dark.  DGD 3 loves bugs and creepy crawlies of all types but ITTBAB would eat her alive.


----------



## p8ntldy

Belle1962 said:


> My DGS and his GF couldn’t mobile order at the monorail hotels. I think he said once he received a message while trying to order and twice the guards turned them away.


Staying at SSR.  does this mean you can’t visit the Polynesian?  Wanted to get something from Capt. Cooks QS.


----------



## MMSM

p8ntldy said:


> Staying at SSR.  does this mean you can’t visit the Polynesian?  Wanted to get something from Capt. Cooks QS.


On other boards it’s stating if you were at MK and left to go to poly for Quick Service you would be good. I think people are being turned away when they drive to GF or Poly or any of the monorail resorts due to people parking and then walking to MK.


----------



## tinkerhon

bbn1122 said:


> It’s still there in the Tree of Life, it’s just not a ride that is in high demand.  It’s a great attraction to get out of the heat and have some giggles, .



My DS10 doesnt frighten easily, but dreads this attraction !!! LOL


----------



## ShirikiUtundu

p8ntldy said:


> Staying at SSR.  does this mean you can’t visit the Polynesian?  Wanted to get something from Capt. Cooks QS.



Apparently not in your own vehicle, by many accounts. But you can still visit using Disney Transport.


----------



## CarolynFH

p8ntldy said:


> Staying at SSR.  does this mean you can’t visit the Polynesian?  Wanted to get something from Capt. Cooks QS.


As long as you arrive via Disney transportation (bus or monorail) or on foot from TTC or MK, you're fine.  You just can't park there.


----------



## kmrobins03

Aj1129 said:


> I feel the same way. I don’t mind getting in a line for FOP at the end of the day when I’m going to be waiting an hour or more anyway. I want to get him on other things while everyone goes to Pandora. Our main goal for the first half day is EE, safari, Lion King show and possibly the rapids. We have another half day (later afternoon/evening) planned just for pandora.



When we went to AK a few weeks ago, the park opened at 8am, but only a few rides were open: River Navi, FOP & EE. All other rides opened at 9am.


----------



## scrappinginontario

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> I am beginning to reconsider taking them now.  I shall have a conversation with mom and dad to make sure I don't scar them for life and cause Grandpa trust issues.  Maybe the Safari twice is a better option.  LOL!  They both love the zoos they've been to.


I think this is a really good idea as it's a frightening one!

I will also mention that kids don't have a way to compartmentalize the way we do.  Our first Disney trip when my brother was 4 we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean first.  He was scared and done for every boat ride that entire trip!  That one ride meant he freaked out the second he saw a boat so no it's a small world, Living with the Land, Grand Fiesta or Maelstrom for him which meant my mom chose to skip it each time too.  Lesson learned for our family.


----------



## Mr. X

I was told today that Disney World is not allowing unvaccinated guests into its parks. Is this true? 

What are people hearing about any potential changes to policy?


----------



## cakebaker

Mr. X said:


> I was told today that Disney World is not allowing unvaccinated guests into its parks. Is this true?
> 
> What are people hearing about any potential changes to policy?



Pretty sure that's not true and I don't think anyone has any insight into any potential changes to policy.


----------



## meremac

Mr. X said:


> I was told today that Disney World is not allowing unvaccinated guests into its parks. Is this true?
> 
> What are people hearing about any potential changes to policy?



That is not true. Disney World recently issued a vaccine mandate for certain employees, but no vaccine requirements have been issued for guests to date. Disneyland Paris requires a Health Pass...maybe that's where lines got crossed?


----------



## Akck

Mr. X said:


> I was told today that Disney World is not allowing unvaccinated guests into its parks. Is this true?
> 
> What are people hearing about any potential changes to policy?



As mentioned untrue. Even if it was true, Disney would have no way of policing it since it’s illegal to do so in Florida. What you may have heard is that they are requiring CMs and new hires to be vaccinated.


----------



## tlseege

If you take littles who may scare easily on It's Tough to be a Bug, I'd highly recommend having them sit on your lap.  Then they miss a lot of the alarming bug features that happen throughout the show.  Just a thought.


----------



## 2Lunds

tlseege said:


> If you take littles who may scare easily on It's Tough to be a Bug, I'd highly recommend having them sit on your lap.  Then they miss a lot of the alarming bug features that happen throughout the show.  Just a thought.


Less scary minus the 3-D glasses too...


----------



## LiteBrite

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Thanks.  I'm guessing my 4 and 2 yo granddaughters will love it!!



I love this attraction and have been to it many times, BUT - I have never been there without hearing little children hysterically screaming and crying.  There is one part that is very intense for little people.


----------



## DisneyFive

Mike said:


> Question for those of you that have recently done FOP just before closing - at that time of day how much of the line is outside versus in?  I'm just thinking that we will all be hot and tired at that point but if the majority of the wait is in AC it wouldn't be bad.  I've never done standby for FOP; always used a Fastpass.  Thanks!



We rode FOP at the park closing about a week ago. I would say maybe 15 minutes out of the 65 minute wait was outside. It is cooler that time of day so it’s not as big of a deal being outside.  What shocked me was how long the inside queue was. It seem to go on FOREVER.

Dan


----------



## MomOTwins

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> I am beginning to reconsider taking them now.  I shall have a conversation with mom and dad to make sure I don't scar them for life and cause Grandpa trust issues.  Maybe the Safari twice is a better option.  LOL!  They both love the zoos they've been to.


YES!  Safari is very tame and fun for the littles.  Add us to the chorus of people who had to flee ITTBAB with a traumatized toddler.  He refused to ride anything else the rest of the day at AK because he was so terrified.  He was still scared the next day at MK and we had to have a lengthy pleading session where we promised there were no more mean bugs before he would venture onto anything else.


----------



## Kaleidodad

CarolynFH said:


> As long as you arrive via Disney transportation (bus or monorail) or on foot from TTC or MK, you're fine.  You just can't park there.


You can’t go to Poly via monorail currently as the main building including the monorail station is under construction now.  The resort monorail passes right on by all the scaffolding.


----------



## DisneyFive

Kaleidodad said:


> You can’t go to Poly via monorail currently as the main building including the monorail station is under construction now.  The resort monorail passes right on by all the scaffolding.


You can take the monorail from Magic Kingdom .  You simply get on the monorail at MK and get off at the TTC and walk over to the Poly from there. We were just there for three nights a few days ago.  Did it a number of times.

Dan


----------



## Kaleidodad

DisneyFive said:


> You can take the monorail from Magic Kingdom .  You simply get on the monorail at MK and get off at the TTC and walk over to the Poly from there. We were just there for three nights a few days ago.  Did it a number of times.
> 
> Dan


Of course that is always an option, but I was just clarifying that you can’t go directly by monorail during Poly refurb.


----------



## MomOTwins

Kaleidodad said:


> Of course that is always an option, but I was just clarifying that you can’t go directly by monorail during Poly refurb.


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


----------



## DisneyFive

MomOTwins said:


> I hear you, but I feel like this gets confused a lot by people who do not realize just how close TTC is to Poly.  It is basically a stone's throw form some of the Poly rooms.
> 
> View attachment 595274


Correct, we were in the Moorea longhouse and would have taken the TTC even if the main Monorail drop off was open at the Poly.
-Dan


----------



## luvthemouse71

Here now and yes, it’s crowded and hot. Despite this, we have had a good trip. The CMs seem to be trying to make the best of the situation so I have made an effort to be flexible too. Honestly, I’m just so happy to be back that it would take something major to upset me.

Oh, and we haven’t seen any mask meltdowns.


----------



## luvthemouse71

Mr. X said:


> I was told today that Disney World is not allowing unvaccinated guests into its parks. Is this true?
> 
> What are people hearing about any potential changes to policy?


They have not been checking vaccination status.


----------



## scrappinginontario

luvthemouse71 said:


> They have not been checking vaccination status.


Disney does not check vaccination status.


----------



## sunnyshari

Well some bad news on our end. We just got back from Disney on 8/4. My son started getting a stuffy nose the last night we were there, 8/3. He started feeling bad on the drive back from Florida to Virginia on 8/4. We were able to get him in for a rapid covid test today and they said he was very positive. All 4 of us have been vaccinated. He has to quarantine until 8/13 and they recommended the rest of us get tested as well. He is the only one with symptoms. He is 20 and has had a runny/stuffy nose, sore throat, fever off and on, sore back (although that may have been from sitting in the car on the way home) and a dry cough that has seemed to have subsided for the most part. He also had some sneezing. The rest of us have felt fine. We shared water bottles at the park. I did have a bit of a sore throat before we got to Disney at the end of July so I have no idea if Disney is where he picked it up or if I had it earlier and was asymptomatic. I'll report back once I know if the rest of us are positive or not although I assume we will be.


----------



## disny_luvr

We went to AK this evening. We ended up getting there at about 4:30 and rode Everest, ate at Satu’li Canteen, and rode Navi all before 6:15. We decided to get in line for FoP at 6:23. We were in the pre-show at 7:12. So glad we did Pandora tonight instead of getting up early tomorrow morning to ride FoP.


----------



## disny_luvr

sunnyshari said:


> Well some bad news on our end. We just got back from Disney on 8/4. My son started getting a stuffy nose the last night we were there, 8/3. He started feeling bad on the drive back from Florida to Virginia on 8/4. We were able to get him in for a rapid covid test today and they said he was very positive. All 4 of us have been vaccinated. He has to quarantine until 8/13 and they recommended the rest of us get tested as well. He is the only one with symptoms. He is 20 and has had a runny/stuffy nose, sore throat, fever off and on, sore back (although that may have been from sitting in the car on the way home) and a dry cough that has seemed to have subsided for the most part. He also had some sneezing. The rest of us have felt fine. We shared water bottles at the park. I did have a bit of a sore throat before we got to Disney at the end of July so I have no idea if Disney is where he picked it up or if I had it earlier and was asymptomatic. I'll report back once I know if the rest of us are positive or not although I assume we will be.



I’m so sorry to hear this! I hope your son is feeling better soon and everyone else stays healthy.


----------



## DisneyFive

disny_luvr said:


> We went to AK this evening. We ended up getting there at about 4:30 and rode Everest, ate at Satu’li Canteen, and rode Navi all before 6:15. We decided to get in line for FoP at 6:23. We were in the pre-show at 7:12. So glad we did Pandora tonight instead of getting up early tomorrow morning to ride FoP.


Wow you really lucked out with that standby time!  49 minutes just after 6pm, that’s really good (for standby)

Dan


----------



## Gary Stocker

Here our first night...kids and wife sleeping..me sneaking out ala Fred Flintstone twinkle toes and crawling around the Boardwalk area. Abracadabar, crews cup (no more sliders?!) and maybe the first night of Atlantic dance hall. A good first day..no parks..just resort...Boardwalk pool closed around 6 due to lightning..and then the sky opened up...as much as you try to protect your kids that water slide is in their face with other kids..AK hopefully for rope drop tomorrow...then ohana for dinner and MK. 
Will try to summarize each day...some construction out front of the Boardwalk. Loud.. blocks off the turf area.  Otherwise glad to be back.


----------



## disny_luvr

DisneyFive said:


> Wow you really lucked out with that standby time!  49 minutes just after 6pm, that’s really good
> 
> Dan



I had been watching the TP app and later this afternoon the wait times were anywhere from 43 minutes to 55 minutes. It was posted at 65 minutes. I thought AK seemed empty. Tons of people were leaving as we were entering.


----------



## disny_luvr

Gary Stocker said:


> Here our first night...kids and wife sleeping..me sneaking out ala Fred Flintstone twinkle toes and crawling around the Boardwalk area. Abracadabar, crews cup (no more sliders?!) and maybe the first night of Atlantic dance hall. A good first day..no parks..just resort...Boardwalk pool closed around 6 due to lightning..and then the sky opened up...as much as you try to protect your kids that water slide is in their face with other kids..AK hopefully for rope drop tomorrow...then ohana for dinner and MK.
> Will try to summarize each day...some construction out front of the Boardwalk. Loud.. blocks off the turf area.  Otherwise glad to be back.



Report back on Ohana please. We have an ADR on Tuesday night and I’m still on the fence about it.


----------



## Gator29

Anyone in Magic Kingdom now? Fireworks did not go off as planned at 9:15 and a ton of people are sitting on the Poly beach wondering if we should stick around. Any news from inside the park?


----------



## Gary Stocker

View from my room at Boardwalk villas.. 5093. My daughter is deathly afraid of ToT and I requested this room....via the DVC owner from whom I rented points..partially so she can see it every day and not be so intimidated.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Duplicate


----------



## Gary Stocker

Update..Atlantic dance hall was..umm..not what I was expecting... let's just say the first person at the door when I entered was an Orlando police officer. 1 beer back out into the rain. Maybe I am getting older...but all the songs were...electronic and bass heavy...Jackson 5 as I left so maybe it improved.
Best part of it was the old time disco ball spinning


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

sunnyshari said:


> Well some bad news on our end. We just got back from Disney on 8/4. My son started getting a stuffy nose the last night we were there, 8/3. He started feeling bad on the drive back from Florida to Virginia on 8/4. We were able to get him in for a rapid covid test today and they said he was very positive. All 4 of us have been vaccinated. He has to quarantine until 8/13 and they recommended the rest of us get tested as well. He is the only one with symptoms. He is 20 and has had a runny/stuffy nose, sore throat, fever off and on, sore back (although that may have been from sitting in the car on the way home) and a dry cough that has seemed to have subsided for the most part. He also had some sneezing. The rest of us have felt fine. We shared water bottles at the park. I did have a bit of a sore throat before we got to Disney at the end of July so I have no idea if Disney is where he picked it up or if I had it earlier and was asymptomatic. I'll report back once I know if the rest of us are positive or not although I assume we will be.


Sorry to hear that, hope he recovers quickly.


----------



## Joy

Gator29 said:


> Anyone in Magic Kingdom now? Fireworks did not go off as planned at 9:15 and a ton of people are sitting on the Poly beach wondering if we should stick around. Any news from inside the park?



we are staying at the BLT. There were fireworks set off about 11:30.


----------



## LSUmiss

Miffy said:


> I'm going to assume that you know that your granddaughters like or at least don't mind insects.
> 
> But just in case you don't know how they feel about insects, I'd like to mention that this experience is not for anyone who dislikes, is afraid of, or is horrified/disgusted by insects. Yes, they're animated, and they're supposed to be cute . . . but . . . I didn't find it cute at all and there are sensations as well. Sensations I was not amused by. I was hardly alone in my reaction to ITtBaB.
> 
> If you're not sitting right near the exit, it's impossible to leave the theater. Ask me how I know.


Yeah I have never done it was DS (3) b/c of the darkness & ppl yelling & screaming. He doesn’t mind bugs, but parts of the show can be intense.


----------



## Princess Katelet

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Thanks.  I'm guessing my 4 and 2 yo granddaughters will love it!!


I don’t know your granddaughters but there’s a good chance they’ll hate it and be terrified. They have warnings about how it frightens small children and when we saw it in May soooo many kids were crying and screaming. The one behind me had parents who made him sit through the whole thing, screaming in terror the entire time and ruining it for everyone. His therapy will cost more than any Disney trip.
So if it were me I’d skip it but if you try it be prepared to leave if they get upset! Good luck!


----------



## LSUmiss

Anyone know if MK will have regular fireworks the nights of boo bash before mk officially closes to regular guests?


----------



## Lsdolphin

LSUmiss said:


> Anyone know if MK will have regular fireworks the nights of boo bash before mk officially closes to regular guests?



Yes they will.


----------



## Carol_

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> I am beginning to reconsider taking them now.  I shall have a conversation with mom and dad to make sure I don't scar them for life and cause Grandpa trust issues.  Maybe the Safari twice is a better option.  LOL!  They both love the zoos they've been to.


Ride Rafiki’s train to the affection station and pet some animals. I love the bug show but the concerns here are valid. It’s meant to get you a bit worked up.


----------



## Kip Herner

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


----------



## MinnieMSue

My almost 18 yr old is still mad at me for taking her to ITTBAB when she was 5. She didn’t cry or scream during it but was silently terrified. She loves it now because it is just a tad bit scary still but every single trip she tells me she can’t believe I took her in to see it lol.


----------



## mickeydotcom

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

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


----------



## MomOTwins

mickeydotcom said:


> Hello!  Can anyone currently there give some input on the busses, please?  Are they packing people on like sardines?  This is the first time we are seriously considering driving and parking at all the parks to avoid being in super confined spaces with loads of other people for extended periods of time.
> 
> Are people wearing their masks properly?  Thank you for any observations you are willing to share!  We arrive in a week.


I've been to disney 3 times since this all began, and not once have people been wearing their masks properly--there's always been a lot of noses out, etc., but at least in the buses, they were keeping the ceiling hatch open for ventilation (not sure if they are still doing that), so it wasn't exactly an enclosed space.  Better than most ride queues.


----------



## JFDIS

Good Morning! Can anyone who’s been lately tell me what time they are letting people in to the parking lot at HS? Are they still holding cars at the entrance? We are going tomorrow and it’s a 9:00am open. Tia!


----------



## cakebaker

mickeydotcom said:


> Hello!  Can anyone currently there give some input on the busses, please?  Are they packing people on like sardines?  This is the first time we are seriously considering driving and parking at all the parks to avoid being in super confined spaces with loads of other people for extended periods of time.
> 
> Are people wearing their masks properly?  Thank you for any observations you are willing to share!  We arrive in a week.



On our trip last week, they were packing them in as tight as possible, masking was inconsistent. Most drivers were telling guests to mask, but not a single driver did anything about those who pulled their masks down or weren’t wearing them correctly. We used busses most of the time and didn’t experience one ride where everyone was complying. Most complied, but it only takes 1.


----------



## Chaitali

For those asking for universal info, I started a thread on that board. It probably won’t be that long since we’re only here a couple days.  But I’ll share my thoughts and impressions there. https://www.disboards.com/threads/quick-universal-trip-8-5-to-8-7.3848145/


----------



## disny_luvr

mickeydotcom said:


> Hello!  Can anyone currently there give some input on the busses, please?  Are they packing people on like sardines?  This is the first time we are seriously considering driving and parking at all the parks to avoid being in super confined spaces with loads of other people for extended periods of time.
> 
> Are people wearing their masks properly?  Thank you for any observations you are willing to share!  We arrive in a week.



Yep, they are packing people on busses. I think mask compliance on busses is good. Other places, not so much!

ETA - They are packing people in everywhere. There is zero social distancing. I hear fill in all available spaces several times a day.


----------



## erin1715

Joy said:


> we are staying at the BLT. There were fireworks set off about 11:30.


We’re at BLT too and were all sound asleep and they woke me up! I’m glad they didn’t wake my 2 year old! I thought that was really odd.


----------



## lovethattink

disny_luvr said:


> Yep, they are packing people on busses. I think mask compliance on busses is good. Other places, not so much!
> 
> ETA - They are packing people in everywhere. There is zero social distancing. I hear fill in all available spaces several times a day.



Right, social distancing at the parks stopped about a month ago. I was there the day after all the tape was removed and plexiglass was being taken down.


----------



## allaboutthemouse

Chaitali said:


> For those asking for universal info, I started a thread on that board. It probably won’t be that long since we’re only here a couple days.  But I’ll share my thoughts and impressions there. https://www.disboards.com/threads/quick-universal-trip-8-5-to-8-7.3848145/


Thank you!


----------



## stiirfry

mickeydotcom said:


> Hello!  Can anyone currently there give some input on the busses, please?  Are they packing people on like sardines?  This is the first time we are seriously considering driving and parking at all the parks to avoid being in super confined spaces with loads of other people for extended periods of time.
> 
> Are people wearing their masks properly?  Thank you for any observations you are willing to share!  We arrive in a week.


Here at magical kingdom now. They are packing people in. But the rides are just the same. If you'd want distancing of any kind yourd need to avoid about every queue and ride too honestly!


----------



## Kip Herner

Skyliner was very easy this morning to HS. Left AoA at 7:30 and was at HS by 8am. They let us in the park at 8:30 and we were on MMRR at 8:45.


----------



## luv2cheer92

erin1715 said:


> We’re at BLT too and were all sound asleep and they woke me up! I’m glad they didn’t wake my 2 year old! I thought that was really odd.


Once the fireworks are loaded for the show each day, they have to be shot off. I don't know the exact details of the timing, but from what I've heard they can't just hold them until the next day.

It's why it is incredibly rare for the MK fireworks show to get cancelled, usually they can just delay them long enough. But with the parks closing a little earlier now, they couldn't delay it past park closing.


----------



## sunnyshari

mickeydotcom said:


> Hello!  Can anyone currently there give some input on the busses, please?  Are they packing people on like sardines?  This is the first time we are seriously considering driving and parking at all the parks to avoid being in super confined spaces with loads of other people for extended periods of time.
> 
> Are people wearing their masks properly?  Thank you for any observations you are willing to share!  We arrive in a week.


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


----------



## EvilVillainess

MomOTwins said:


> I hear you, but I feel like this gets confused a lot by people who do not realize just how close TTC is to Poly.  It is basically a stone's throw form some of the Poly rooms.
> 
> View attachment 595274


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


----------



## disneyseniors

meremac said:


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






Bambi1942 said:


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



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


----------



## TioAdis78

meremac said:


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


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


----------



## DaniMoon

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

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

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

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


----------



## e_yerger

DaniMoon said:


> Arrived yesterday.  Our room at POP wasn't ready at two so we decided to take the skyliner to Epcot.  As we were in line we got our room ready text.
> 
> Rode Figment, Soarin, LWTL. Saw Awesome Planer for the first time. Rode Nemo and walked around the Seas. Did Nemo again because it was a bit too early to check into our Coral Reef ADR. Food was good, selection was limited for my kids who normally order off the adult menu. They both got the kids steak. Headed back to POP. I think we were in our room 10 minutes before it started storming.
> 
> This morning we did AK, we got there about 7:30 and went to EE. Which didn't open til 8. Rode it 3 times, then Safari. Off that by 9:15. Gorilla Falls, Rafiki's. Saw them operating on a painted dog. My daughter keeps saying her dream job is a vet at AK so she was enthralled. Jungle Trek and we headed out. Saw the macaws fly, so amazing.
> 
> Back at Pop, lunched and some pool time.  Sanaa ADR this evening and we plan to do FOP.


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


----------



## aj24

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


----------



## DaniMoon

e_yerger said:


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


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


----------



## stiirfry

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

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

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


----------



## anjuan

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

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


----------



## bbn1122

Kip Herner said:


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



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


----------



## Caboosey

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


----------



## scrappinginontario

Caboosey said:


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


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


----------



## KM82

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


----------



## DeeCeeSW

Beautiful family! BTMRR is my favorite too!



KM82 said:


> *long post - tried to give as much detail as I could. This thread helped me so much when we were in the planning stages*
> 
> Yesterday was MK. We decided to sleep in a bit, knowing we would be missing the advantage of rope drop. We decided we were ok with that, and knew we wouldn’t likely do everything we wanted.
> 
> We arrived at MK at 10:30 and headed to Pirates, which was a 5min wait at most. We had mobile ordered CHH for 11am before we left.  We had our food by 11:05 and were able to snag DS’s favorite booth upstairs.  Then we headed to the People Mover, which was ~10 min wait. It stopped while we were inside space mtn and the ride stopped and the lights came on (our lights, not SM lights).  We did eventually move again and were probably stopped less than 5 min.
> 
> BTMR is DS’s favorite ride so we headed there next.  We were in line at 12:20. Posted wait of 35 min. We were off at 12:40, but the line was back to the bridge when we got off.
> 
> Next stop was Aloha Isle for a Kakamora float and then the Hall of Presidents before heading to ride Space Mountain. We got in line at 2:15.  Posted 55 min, lines app said 26 but updated to 39 while we were still in the outside line. We were off the ride at 2:56.  Caught a cavalcade on the way back to BTMR
> 
> Back to BTMR, in line at 3:58, had a 15 min wait. We had a 4:54 dinner reservation and then headed back to the hotel. The thunder and lightning started during our bus ride back.
> 
> It was a good day, even with the later start. Mask compliance seems decent, but there are definitely people who have decided the rules don’t apply to them and there are lots of noses and chin diapers out there. We’ve been able to put DS between us in line and create a buffer between parties if needed, but definitely something to be aware of.
> View attachment 595404View attachment 595405


----------



## KM82

DeeCeeSW said:


> Beautiful family! BTMRR is my favorite too!


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


----------



## faceofsam

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


----------



## Sugarshock

faceofsam said:


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


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


----------



## cindianne320

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


----------



## Chaitali

Sugarshock said:


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


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


----------



## Chaitali

cindianne320 said:


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


I found most of them to have hand sanitizer.  I think there were maybe 1 or 2 per day that I tried that were empty.


----------



## KM82

cindianne320 said:


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


We have found several empty stations. Bring your own, to be safe


----------



## disny_luvr

cindianne320 said:


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



Most of them are empty. Bring your own.


----------



## e_yerger

disny_luvr said:


> Most of them are empty. Bring your own.


to encourage bringing your own - the sanitizer that is available smells awful and doesn't dry down well. do yourself a favor and just bring your own favorite kind.


----------



## cakebaker

e_yerger said:


> to encourage bringing your own - the sanitizer that is available smells awful and doesn't dry down well. do yourself a favor and just bring your own favorite kind.


We found them empty a lot, didn’t like it when we used it though. It  got sticky and kind of coated your hands rather than evaporate as you said. Nevermind take a look at the underside just once- they’re gross. I highly recommend using your own.


----------



## Chaitali

Another update, Southwest at MCO is crazy tonight.  I guess we can’t get away from waiting in lines.  We waited 35 minutes at the outdoor sky cap to check our bags.  The line to check bags indoor via the self serve kiosks was even longer. We had pre check so didn’t have to wait to get through security.  But the regular line was posted as a 30 minute wait.  So give yourself plenty of time at the airport!


----------



## KM82

AK today. We did the Rope drop thing and took the bus. Bus came at 6:56 (8am open). By the time we got to the park, we could see people walking in from the parking lot and several other busses were there before ours. However, we found a short tapstyle line and made our way to the holding area at the bridge to Pandora. We were in probably one of the first 3 runs of FOP and lucked out with seats in the middle of the middle level. By 9:30, we had done FOP, Safari, Everest, and had a wonderful Mickey pretzel and ice cream breakfast. Then we headed to Dinosaur at 9:42 (walk on).  We had a lunch at Satu’li at 10:10.  We couldn’t go in until the order was ready. I clicked “we’re here” on the bridge to Pandora at 10:05. Food was ready and we were able to enter at 10:25. We stopped at Nomad lounge on the way out since we had never been there before. It was good, but set aside some time if you go there, it’s not a quick stop and the servers seemed to have more tables than they could efficiently handle. (Our guy was great though!)



We headed back to the hotel at 12:21 to hit the pool.  We had a great time at the pool, and then the rain moved in. We headed back up to the room. The boys went to Epcot for a few booths and I stayed back.  I’ve done something to my foot and it doesn’t matter which shoe I put on, it’s painful to walk. I wish I knew what did, but it’s just gotten progressively worse each day.  I’m just crossing my fingers I can keep walking since we have 5 full days left. 



We had dinner at Cape May and DS played in the arcade for a bit afterward. We grabbed treats from the Beaches and Cream window and headed back to our room. We are going to take it easy tonight. Early day at HS tomorrow!


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## monarchsfan16

I flew down from NH this morning. Had the smoothest arrival ever in terms of timing. Plane got to the gate at 8:43, I had my luggage at 9, in the rental car, no traffic backups on I-4, luggage stored at Movies, and on a bus to Epcot by about 10:15. Walked in to Epcot about 10:35. Soarin was posted as a 20 minute wait and it was a walk on still. I don't think I saw Soarin go above 25 minutes for a posted wait today, when I was looking. Frozen was never above 35 minutes when I looked. Test Track was the high wait of the day for the bulk of the day. But overall everything was very manageable and wait times were slightly shorter than posted. Food booth lines seemed to cycle. If one I wanted was a bit long, I just went to a different booth and came back. Doing that I didn't have to wait more than a few minutes for any food booth. I did though leave about 6 because that 5:30 am flight meant a 3 am wakeup this morning. 

Cast members were generally very pleasant, if not their usual very friendly. Photopasss seemed to be the exception, but not across the board. I didn't see any overflowing trash cans, and custodial was seen regularly cleaning trash can surfaces. I saw people using Disney's sanitizer so they weren't all empty. I didn't try any of the dispensers; I've brought my own sanitizer to Disney forever and keep it hanging from my park bag. Was a real saving grace a few years ago when a bird used us for target practice in Epcot Mask compliance today was generally pretty good. Like 90% or better. 

Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom and more Epcot.


----------



## bbn1122

monarchsfan16 said:


> I flew down from NH this morning. Had the smoothest arrival ever in terms of timing. Plane got to the gate at 8:43, I had my luggage at 9, in the rental car, no traffic backups on I-4, luggage stored at Movies, and on a bus to Epcot by about 10:15. Walked in to Epcot about 10:35. Soarin was posted as a 20 minute wait and it was a walk on still. I don't think I saw Soarin go above 25 minutes for a posted wait today, when I was looking. Frozen was never above 35 minutes when I looked. Test Track was the high wait of the day for the bulk of the day. But overall everything was very manageable and wait times were slightly shorter than posted. Food booth lines seemed to cycle. If one I wanted was a bit long, I just went to a different booth and came back. Doing that I didn't have to wait more than a few minutes for any food booth. I did though leave about 6 because that 5:30 am flight meant a 3 am wakeup this morning.
> 
> Cast members were generally very pleasant, if not their usual very friendly. Photopasss seemed to be the exception, but not across the board. I didn't see any overflowing trash cans, and custodial was seen regularly cleaning trash can surfaces. I saw people using Disney's sanitizer so they weren't all empty. I didn't try any of the dispensers; I've brought my own sanitizer to Disney forever and keep it hanging from my park bag. Was a real saving grace a few years ago when a bird used us for target practice in Epcot Mask compliance today was generally pretty good. Like 90% or better.
> 
> Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom and more Epcot.


Thank you for your report. I will be there in a week with my family.  I am hoping and praying that the crowds are down a little bit. My whole crew was vaccinated and we are prepared to wear our masks. 
We are only doing 3 days at the parks and 3 resort days. So, we will go early , take a break and hit Epcot in the evening. 
I really appreciate everybody on these boards taking their time to update everyone on what is going on presently.


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## e_yerger

Does anyone know if Photopass CMs are allowed to take our phones and take pictures for us? I know that was stopped because of COVID, but I wasn't sure if it was resumed.


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## scrappinginontario

e_yerger said:


> Does anyone know if Photopass CMs are allowed to take our phones and take pictures for us? I know that was stopped because of COVID, but I wasn't sure if it was resumed.


Last I heard this had not resumed yet.  Will be interested to hear if that has changed.


----------



## Geomom

KM82 said:


> I’ve done something to my foot and it doesn’t matter which shoe I put on, it’s painful to walk. I wish I knew what did, but it’s just gotten progressively worse each day. I’m just crossing my fingers I can keep walking since we have 5 full days left.


Sorry you're in pain!  This happened to me in April, the shoes I brought weren't wide enough, ball of the foot hurt.  I was hobbling around on our second Epcot day, trying to figure out what would make it better as I just couldn't take it anymore.  (DD17 was already in a wheelchair from a knee injury the day before so that wasn't an option!).  Ended up buying Crocs from Mouse gears...had to ask a CM as I couldn't find any...CM showed me giant black ones that were way too big.  Walked around store a bit more and found shiny silver Star Wars the child ones that were smaller.  Bought them, left store, put them on immediately.  Foot felt sooo much better.  Those Crocs are now my Disney shoes!


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## Loopster

monarchsfan16 said:


> Plane got to the gate at 8:43, I had my luggage at 9, in the rental car, no traffic backups on I-4, luggage stored at Movies, and on a bus to Epcot by about 10:15. Walked in to Epcot about 10:35. Soarin


I am seriously impressed with how fast you ended up in the park! Nice work!


----------



## KM82

Geomom said:


> Sorry you're in pain!  This happened to me in April, the shoes I brought weren't wide enough, ball of the foot hurt.  I was hobbling around on our second Epcot day, trying to figure out what would make it better as I just couldn't take it anymore.  (DD17 was already in a wheelchair from a knee injury the day before so that wasn't an option!).  Ended up buying Crocs from Mouse gears...had to ask a CM as I couldn't find any...CM showed me giant black ones that were way too big.  Walked around store a bit more and found shiny silver Star Wars the child ones that were smaller.  Bought them, left store, put them on immediately.  Foot felt sooo much better.  Those Crocs are now my Disney shoes!


My plan is to find some shoes tomorrow!  (I hope!). The issue is actually on the top of my foot. I have worn these shoes daily for shifts that I stand 12-13 hrs, run and worked out in them, and had no problems. Sadly, I don’t think it’s a shoe issue.  I’ll have to make an appointment to get it looked at when I get home, but if I can at least find a shoe that doesn’t touch that part of my foot, I’ll make it until then.  
I’m hoping I can find some shoes in the shops at HS.


----------



## DaniMoon

Popped over to AK tonight after our Sanaa dinner. Got in line for FOP at 6:30.  Posted wait was 55, Lines said 47.   Was on a Banshee at 7:20, we did have a delay in one of the preshows for about 5 mins.


----------



## sunnyshari

cindianne320 said:


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


Got back home from Disney 8/4. At that time I’d say maybe 25% of machines actually had any sanitizer in them. I’d brought my own but it was shoved in my backpack so hard to get out easily. I’d definitely recommend getting one of those hand sanitizer holders and attaching it to your book bag for easy access.


----------



## disny_luvr

e_yerger said:


> Does anyone know if Photopass CMs are allowed to take our phones and take pictures for us? I know that was stopped because of COVID, but I wasn't sure if it was resumed.



Yes, all but one PhotoPass CM has taken our picture for us using my phone. The one that didn’t said he didn’t feel comfortable with Covid.


----------



## brockash

scrappinginontario said:


> Last I heard this had not resumed yet.  Will be interested to hear if that has changed.


I'm pretty sure it was posted at some point around mask lifting that they were back to doing that.


----------



## gottalovepluto

KM82 said:


> My plan is to find some shoes tomorrow!  (I hope!). The issue is actually on the top of my foot. I have worn these shoes daily for shifts that I stand 12-13 hrs, run and worked out in them, and had no problems. Sadly, I don’t think it’s a shoe issue.  I’ll have to make an appointment to get it looked at when I get home, but if I can at least find a shoe that doesn’t touch that part of my foot, I’ll make it until then.
> I’m hoping I can find some shoes in the shops at HS.


Don’t let your injury steal any park days from you, if you don’t find the right shoes and if you still have issues walking rent an ECV. Fwiw ScooterBug is the official ECV provider and you can arrange to pick up and drop off from bell services at your hotel.


----------



## DisneyFive

e_yerger said:


> Does anyone know if Photopass CMs are allowed to take our phones and take pictures for us? I know that was stopped because of COVID, but I wasn't sure if it was resumed.





scrappinginontario said:


> Last I heard this had not resumed yet.  Will be interested to hear if that has changed.


----------



## DisneyFive

Every photo pass photographer that we asked during our 10 nights (just got back three days ago)  did use our iPhones to take our pictures when we asked.

Dan


----------



## Kip Herner

Kip Herner said:


> Skyliner was very easy this morning to HS. Left AoA at 7:30 and was at HS by 8am. They let us in the park at 8:30 and we were on MMRR at 8:45.


So, overall a good day. Ended up riding MMRR, MFSR, Slinky Dog, Rockin Rollercoaster, and ROTR at HS. Went back to hotel in the afternoon for a nap. Headed to Epcot and road Figment, Soarin, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, and Three Cabalaros. Hit up a couple if food booths, most food was good. Then finished the night watching Epcot Forever. Rope Dropping AK in the morning,  then switching to Royal Pacific in the afternoon for a week at Universal with Boo Bash added in.


----------



## RinaMB

cindianne320 said:


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



All the stations we tried at EPCOT today were full.


----------



## SimonSez

monarchsfan16 said:


> I flew down from NH this morning. Had the smoothest arrival ever in terms of timing. Plane got to the gate at 8:43, I had my luggage at 9, in the rental car, no traffic backups on I-4, luggage stored at Movies, and on a bus to Epcot by about 10:15. Walked in to Epcot about 10:35. Soarin was posted as a 20 minute wait and it was a walk on still. I don't think I saw Soarin go above 25 minutes for a posted wait today, when I was looking. Frozen was never above 35 minutes when I looked. Test Track was the high wait of the day for the bulk of the day. But overall everything was very manageable and wait times were slightly shorter than posted. Food booth lines seemed to cycle. If one I wanted was a bit long, I just went to a different booth and came back. Doing that I didn't have to wait more than a few minutes for any food booth. I did though leave about 6 because that 5:30 am flight meant a 3 am wakeup this morning.
> 
> Cast members were generally very pleasant, if not their usual very friendly. Photopasss seemed to be the exception, but not across the board. I didn't see any overflowing trash cans, and custodial was seen regularly cleaning trash can surfaces. I saw people using Disney's sanitizer so they weren't all empty. I didn't try any of the dispensers; I've brought my own sanitizer to Disney forever and keep it hanging from my park bag. Was a real saving grace a few years ago when a bird used us for target practice in Epcot Mask compliance today was generally pretty good. Like 90% or better.
> 
> Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom and more Epcot.


Thanks for the update


----------



## act1980

After reading about how crazy the crowds are in Disney & Universal at the moment, I just wondered if anyone that is fully vaccinated has tested positive when on vacation or once home?

We're both fully vaccinated apart from our 2 small children and are planning on going at the end of October.

If things are still bad then we will cancel our trip as there's no way I would put them at risk and if one of us tests positive we won't be able to fly home as it's a U.K. requirement to hold a negative covid test before boarding the flight home.


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## Kbrb

Its totally possible to get covid with double vax. Its very unlikely to cause you to get seriously sick however. Im from the uk, and as its looking out there right now flordia has a higher case rate than the whole of the UK. I have no intention of going back this year.


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## monarchsfan16

Loopster said:


> I am seriously impressed with how fast you ended up in the park! Nice work!


I definitely did not expect it to go that smoothly!


----------



## allaboutthemouse

Kip Herner said:


> So, overall a good day. Ended up riding MMRR, MFSR, Slinky Dog, Rockin Rollercoaster, and ROTR at HS. Went back to hotel in the afternoon for a nap. Headed to Epcot and road Figment, Soarin, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, and Three Cabalaros. Hit up a couple if food booths, most food was good. Then finished the night watching Epcot Forever. Rope Dropping AK in the morning,  then switching to Royal Pacific in the afternoon for a week at Universal with Boo Bash added in.


If it’s not too much trouble, please report back about boo bash and Universal in their respective threads!  Staying at Universal in a couple weeks, with boo bash added in as well, and hoping for lower crowds…Thanks so much!


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## scrappinginontario

Merging your question with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread as people are reporting their experiences.  Reading the past 10 pages will give you many experiences answering your question.


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## Southernmiss

act1980 said:


> After reading about how crazy the crowds are in Disney & Universal at the moment, I just wondered if anyone that is fully vaccinated has tested positive when on vacation or once home?
> 
> We're both fully vaccinated apart from our 2 small children and are planning on going at the end of October.
> 
> If things are still bad then we will cancel our trip as there's no way I would put them at risk and if one of us tests positive we won't be able to fly home as it's a U.K. requirement to hold a negative covid test before boarding the flight home.



As the moderator said, read the last ten pages of this 'Here and just back thread' and this thread

https://www.disboards.com/threads/to-go-or-not-to-go.3847408/page-16


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## Gary Stocker

Random impressions from yesterday.. not having fastpasses is actually not a terrible thing 
.lines at AK went pretty quick. Didn't rope drop so no FOP but did have wonderful Satuuli..those cheeseburger bao buns are delightful. 
Also was able to drink it all in....found that hidden path next to the otters that brings you under the tree of life and into the queue for Its Tough to be a Bug...my 5 year old started crying he was so scared...but then loved Everest...lol...kids. 
After a couple Frozen Rum and Cokes at Drinkwalla freshened up...coffee..and Ubered to Ohana. 
Ohana was overall incredible...the singer and her guitar walking around...the back scratchers..the kids menu for the unadventurous (mac and cheese, Nuggets fries)...the honey butter for the papaya bread was unbelievable. Everything was good...didn't get the shrimp casserole due to allergies..the bread pudding was better than I remember...the only thing to nitpick is we forgot to tell the server how we liked our steak..so some of them were undercooked and some just about right or medium well...went down and got a boat to hop to the MK...splash was down...just went on Pirates and Mansion..which my nervous daughter loved at the end of the night...watched the fireworks from behind the castle...I don't need no stinking projections and all the madness...the fireworks show is just perfect and the music...
Walked to Contemporary to avoid transportation madness...kids were passed out in the double stroller...and Uber'd back to Boardwalk. Ended up here at the Bell Vue Lounge..water, more water,  gins and tonics, sleep.


----------



## shm_helene

So I had grand plans of summarizing each day we were in the parks, but my vacation had different plans 

We were there 7/29-8/4.

Here's what we learned and observed:
-Rope drop is imperative if you want to do any headliners, and the rope drop where you are there like an hour before the park opens. All parks opened 30 minutes early with the exception of MK, which was exactly at 9. Lines build about 2 hours after opening.
-At MK we were able to knock out SDMT, Splash, and BTM in about 1h20 (Splash was down for a kid puking incident which build lines at BTM and Splash). We then were able to get through about 3 rides before lines really built (Aladdin, Barnstormer 2x, Dumbo, Teacups), these were all walk on but by 11 the lines for everything were exceptionally long (and not moving). On our 2nd day at MK we roped dropped Jungle Cruise (not a headliner necessarily but we don't do Space and had done the other mountains), then hit Speedway (such a ridiculous time suck that my kids love), Under the Sea, Buzz, Barnstormer, BTM / Philharmagic (we split for this ride), IASW - these were all walk on. We never got on TTA, it was closed when we went twice and then the lines just got super long and was moving really slow. It really seems to happen about 2.5 hours into the day when I think the crowds are coming off of the headliners and move en masse to the lesser rides. *Note: We were about the third group through the tapstiles at MK and about 6 rows back for SDMT - if going to this first, be to the right on the pathway - more shade and they take the whole group to the right. We were on the bus at 7:40 out of Beach Club. Rope drop was fine here, groups were jockeying for position and we had a decent amount of space around us.
-At AK we rope dropped Pandora (we were 5 ppl back at the tapstiles, on bus at 6:40). This was insane. We were packed in like sardines and despite the "Don't run" from the CM's, most people were running. We still were walk on and towards the front. We then went to Safari and then EE, for 2 rides which were essentially walk on. Then Kali, also walk on, 2nd time on Kali wasn't quite walk on - maybe 10 minute wait, but by the time we got off the 2nd time the line was substantially longer. We then did one of the trails and checked out the tree of life, headed over to Rafiki's and did the animation class, did some pin trading, and headed out. We returned in the evening and did Safari, which was walk on at 645, as I stupidly thought the park closed at 8. EE remains easy to do early in the AM or in the PM, which we did on another night (although about 10 minutes before closing the line gets longer - took about 10 minutes for us to get through).
-At HS we rope dropped Slinky. We walked from Beach Club and we were through the tapstiles at 8:05. We were not quite as close to the front with this one, but still made it to Slinky walk on, followed by TSMM, and Saucers. We then wandered over to Star Wars and did MFSR as single riders, great advice! That line was long, in the sun, and barely moving at all (posted 90 minutes). After that we watched the Frozen show (always great), and walked back to our hotel. We did do HS another night (hadn't planned on returning and couldn't get a reservation), got there about an hour before closing. We did TSMM which was posted 20 mins and took 19. We then went to Slinky about 40 mins before closing, listed wait was 65, our wait was 55. That was the least enjoyable part of our trip. We didn't to RnR or ToT because one of mine doesn't love the thrill rides so much and the other one was fine doing SDD a 2nd time. Will say SDD is great at night!!
-Epcot we did rope drop also, entering via IG. We were there around 10:10 and then led us back at 10:30, really good CM's here. They told us TT was down, but my DD really wanted to go so we ended up going anyways - it was running pretty much by the time we got there and the line was pretty long. Took about 30 mins for us to get on the ride. We are COVID cautious and wouldn't do this ride again. After that my DD and DH went and did FEA while I took other DD on Soarin', we finished closed in similar in time and then did Remy Hide n Squeak (spoiler, as was in the past, you do have to go into Japan and China more so than the other lands to find Remy). We also tried several different foods from F & W! All which were good (we really liked the SPAM from Hawaii and the Strawberry Soft Serve from sparkling, not so good were the apple desserts from Germany and Appleseed). We hopped to Epcot on 2 other nights and did more. Not sure if this was new, but all of the Land and Seas was open until closing (Living with the Land and Sunshine Seasons used to close earlier). This area is always empty after 6 and proved to be so again. We did everything walk on, including Soarin' 2x (posted wait for Seas was 10 and literally we never stopped walking). We asked for, and got, Concourse B, Row 1 on Soarin', which my oldest DD was super excited about. Only issue was Spaceship Earth - we got to Epcot at 5:30 and this was about 15 minutes too early. It was a slow walk on - took about 10 mins - but no line when we got off (I knew this getting in line....)
-Did BB twice, once at 3:30 and once at opening. On the 3:30 day lines stayed right through closing, although we never waited more than 10 mins for Team Boat. On the day we went at opening it was supposed to storm all day and the park literally never got full. We never waited for any ride that day. It was glorious (and it never stormed). Greatlly prefer TL though, just don't find this park as much fun.
-Did Wintersummerland Golf, really fun and quick! We didn't need a reservation for it. Part of our PH+ package, just remember you have to go before 4.

Overall impressions:
-I was really worried about no FP. I still want FP BUT you can do it. The only things we didn't ride were mostly by choice, due to the nature of the ride. We didn't feel comfortable on HM, RnR, or FOLK (plus - no tumble monkeys), ToT is something my kids haven't been on so we didn't want to burn a rope drop and have them hate, or wait in line at the end of the night and have them hate it when we could do something they liked. We also didn't do TTA, closed and too long of a line, and I think that was about it. We don't like Pirates so we skipped that. What made not having FP difficult was how early you have to be at the parks - it definitely does help - so I waited in line for 30-50 minutes - it put me ahead on every ride after that. Having to get up so early every day was tough. With FP we would have had a true off day in there, which we did not because what I would have done in one day with a good touring plan now took 2 rope drop mornings. Really, your plan doesn't change that much, except that you rope drop your headliners and then follow the plan you would have done normally. You do have to criss cross parks a little more also. It was like the original FP, which I didn't enjoy having to run across the park to get the FP and then go back again later.
-We didn't get RoTR, we were on LTE, but we did in the hall at Beach Club and I needed to be outside. I did do a speed test inside, but it lagged on the 2nd join. I noticed random dips on the speed test in the hallway and I think we were a casualty of that.
-The parks were pretty clean and I could say that 2/3 of the sanitizer stations were filled. None of the garbage issues I had read about. Biggest thing was leaves, etc., at Wintersummerland.
-We wore KN-94 masks I bought off Amazon the entire time we were there. Although Disney has mandated masks on rides, queues, we were more comfortable wearing the masks at all times unless we were walking and there wasn't anyone around. The masks were great, breathable, comfortable, much more so than the blue disposables ones and any of the other million masks we have more. If you get them, I have a tiny head and I needed a medium! Had I not booked the trip 8 mos ago when they had more restrictions in place and had this trip not been combined with our first Wizarding World for my HP obsessed daughters, we would have cancelled. The girls were sooooo looking forward to the trip. I will not go again until this COVID stuff is over. We were as safe as we could have been, but with no social distancing, etc., it definitely didn't feel safe. Didn't hear too much push back over masks while I was there. Universal, ironically, had about 25-30% of guests voluntarily wearing masks on rides (this was before Disney mandated, we were there on 7/28).
-We did the Kitchen Sink at Beaches 'n Cream. Sadly, my daughter asked for no peanuts - our waitress confirmed that we didn't have a peanut allergy - but they didn't put any snickers / peanut butter / etc. on ours. This was a bucket list item and wouldn't do again. This was our only "sit down", other than that we ordered delivery or ate in our room mostly (did Sunshine Seasons and Flame Tree towards closing, so not many ppl)
-Really enjoyed Beach Club. Poly has my heart! but the walking proximity to Epcot, HS, and closeness to BB/TL was great. Felt super busy and walking to pool / marketplace took longer than when I'm at Poly. Very different vibe. Pool wasn't as crazy packed though, because it's massive, so with COVID, that was really nice. Liked the marketplace for food.
-Limited pin trading locations this time, but still did at least 1x in each park. Look forward to that returning to usual.
-We drove from PA for the 3rd time and I know everyone has probably given up reading this but we were super excited that my car sick prone kids didn't throw up on the way home, as has happened on the prior two trips. We won with a combination of Hyland's Motion Sick pills (take BEFORE you get sick and keep up every 4 hours) and Emetrol for when it failed us. Thankful for Waze which re-routed us several times. Did both 81 and 95, but never got to DC on 95. Let me know if you have any questions about the drive!
-I know this is a Disney thread, but we enjoyed Universal. Just did HP, stayed at the cheaper on property resort and really loved the first hour which is for resort guests only - there was no wait! We were of course there for rope drop, but much further back than any day at Disney. I understood peoples hatred of FP as I watched the Express Pass people pass me by . If you have any questions about Universal, feel free to ask!
-We continue to love the popcorn buckets and drink refill cups!
-We did PhotoPass - got some great pictures and some of the best / more interactive CM's we've had - but they are few and far between. Only found one at HS. MK had the most. Don't know if I would have done again. I know I can ask them to take a picture using my phone, but I don't really like doing that. Had some issues with out older MB's not picking up ride pics.
-We used Skyliners for the first time - they were fun! We rode in the middle of the day 2x, with no wait and no one in our gondola. Rode the buses to and from AK and MK, for both our rope days. For these two days we were at the bus stop 1.5 hours early and were waited at most 10 mins for out bus. Buses were full but no one standing. Rides back were similar, but had to wait for about 20 mins at AK for a bus to get back. 2nd morning for MK we didn't arrive as early (only about an hour) because we weren't trying for major headliner. Waited 20 mins and still no bus, ended up driving, partially because we didn't know how much longer we would have waited and partially because there were SOOOOO many people and we didn't want to be sandwiched on the buses. Took monorail from TTC, was pretty packed both there and back, but I have seen worse. Note that the express train back from MK to TTC doesn't start until noon. We were there around 11:30, you have to take Resort. Not sure if this is a COVID thing, we have stayed at Poly for the last 8 years so we've always taken boat or monorail. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will do my best!


----------



## DJFan88

Haley R said:


> Oh no! We’re staying at BW next week for two nights. What’s open for food?





loves to dive said:


> Dolphin has a pretty nice little ice cream/sandwich shop and a decent grab and go.  Picabu is not bad there either.



Yes! The Dolphin is So close to BWI. It’s closer than BC/YC. People don’t think about it since it’s technically not Disney. Pikabu is open a lot and The Fountain is excellent, I can’t tell you how much we loved their ice cream window and regular food for a meal so good ( think burger food with a sweet potato fries option) . This was pre-covid, but look into.
What I Always do is when I first get to a resort we walk around everywhere that is in walking distance and explore everything!!! It’s actually one of my favorite things to do!  So in this case All of the boardwalk options!  You’ll see it’s not so dire then!! Also check menus ahead of time and when you are so hungry you can’t think, you’ll realize the options aren’t as bad as you think. 
But I am a Glass half full, but do explore.


----------



## 2xcited2sleep

Haley R said:


> Oh no! We’re staying at BW next week for two nights. What’s open for food?





loves to dive said:


> Dolphin has a pretty nice little ice cream/sandwich shop and a decent grab and go.  Picabu is not bad there either.





DJFan88 said:


> Yes! The Dolphin is So close to BWI. It’s closer than BC/YC. People don’t think about it since it’s technically not Disney. Pikabu is open a lot and The Fountain is excellent, I can’t tell you how much we loved their ice cream window and regular food for a meal so good ( think burger food with a sweet potato fries option) . This was pre-covid, but look into.
> What I Always do is when I first get to a resort we walk around everywhere that is in walking distance and explore everything!!! It’s actually one of my favorite things to do!  So in this case All of the boardwalk options!  You’ll see it’s not so dire then!! Also check menus ahead of time and when you are so hungry you can’t think, you’ll realize the options aren’t as bad as you think.
> But I am a Glass half full, but do explore.



Swan and Dolphin definitely have some great options that get forgotten about.  The Fountain is the ice cream shop and while the atmosphere is nothing special, the food is quite good.  Highly recommend downloading the (free) Swan and Dolphin app that lists all the current hours for each restaurant ... they are not typical/intuitive.  For example, The Fountain is currently closed on Thursdays and doesn't open until 3pm on Mondays and Tuesdays (noon open Wed and Fri - Sun).


----------



## sunnyshari

act1980 said:


> After reading about how crazy the crowds are in Disney & Universal at the moment, I just wondered if anyone that is fully vaccinated has tested positive when on vacation or once home?
> 
> We're both fully vaccinated apart from our 2 small children and are planning on going at the end of October.
> 
> If things are still bad then we will cancel our trip as there's no way I would put them at risk and if one of us tests positive we won't be able to fly home as it's a U.K. requirement to hold a negative covid test before boarding the flight home.


Yes my fa


act1980 said:


> After reading about how crazy the crowds are in Disney & Universal at the moment, I just wondered if anyone that is fully vaccinated has tested positive when on vacation or once home?
> 
> We're both fully vaccinated apart from our 2 small children and are planning on going at the end of October.
> 
> If things are still bad then we will cancel our trip as there's no way I would put them at risk and if one of us tests positive we won't be able to fly home as it's a U.K. requirement to hold a negative covid test before boarding the flight home.


Yes, my fully vaccinated family and I returned home 8/4 from Disney. My 20 year old son started having a stuffy nose the night before we left. He went for a rapid test and they said he was “very positive” for Covid. The rest of us have no symptoms but have our rapid tests today to see if we’re positive and asymptomatic or by some miracle negative for Covid.


----------



## act1980

sunnyshari said:


> Yes my fa
> 
> Yes, my fully vaccinated family and I returned home 8/4 from Disney. My 20 year old son started having a stuffy nose the night before we left. He went for a rapid test and they said he was “very positive” for Covid. The rest of us have no symptoms but have our rapid tests today to see if we’re positive and asymptomatic or by some miracle negative for Covid.



Hope your son feels better soon, pleased to hear that you have all tested negative.


----------



## IluvMGM

Kip Herner said:


> Skyliner was very easy this morning to HS. Left AoA at 7:30 and was at HS by 8am. They let us in the park at 8:30 and we were on MMRR at 8:45.



Just curious what time you got in line for the skyliner? I know last year we had to line up super early and be one of the first in line in order to get right into the line when we got to the CB.


----------



## cakebaker

act1980 said:


> After reading about how crazy the crowds are in Disney & Universal at the moment, I just wondered if anyone that is fully vaccinated has tested positive when on vacation or once home?



There is at least one more member here, LSUmiss I think, who is reporting testing positive once they returned home who was fully vaccinated.


----------



## sjrec

We were there 7/23-8/2. We all got tested to be cautious (none of us feeling sick) and thankfully, all negative.
We have agreed though that no more trips to Florida until my 11 year old grandson can be vaccinated-he was trooper about wearing his mask even before the new mandate, but it’s just not worth the risk.


----------



## ladynmom94

Visited 7/28-8/4 and one in our group of 9 so far has tested positive (she was unvaccinated & symptoms started first day home). 5 have tested negative, still waiting for results for 2 others in our group. I am vaccinated & started with symptoms (cough, stuffy nose, fatigue) same day home but tested negative. I will do another test in a couple days since I live with positive individual. 

Overall the trip was ok & I cannot say I regret going. It certainly was different and a challenge to adjust to not having fast passes. I was with a group that was not big on waking up early so rope drop wasn’t ideal. We used lines app and found it to be very helpful and much more accurate. 
We stayed at Pop and loved the Skyliner. Such a convenience with a stroller, highly highly recommend staying at a Skyliner resort if using a stroller or wheelchair.
My grandson much preferred the Skyliner (he called it the yellow car) over any other ride he went on all week lol. I could’ve saved $100s in park tickets if I would’ve known. We rode it just for the “fun” of it multiple times. Best time was during Epcot fireworks which were just far enough in the distance where the noise didn’t scare him.


----------



## Kafertal

cakebaker said:


> None of us! He just got back from the Dr and it's a viral infection. They tested for strep, but went no further since the treatment is the same regardless. No since in making him go through having something else stuck up his nose!  He's on steroids to try and calm down the coughing and inflammation. I feel for his mom- steroids can make you a little rough to put up with. lol We are very lucky it wasn't anything more serious than that, but still surprised he caught anything considering all the precautions we took.


Glad to hear that you're all ok.  Hope he's on the mend soon.  We're in NJ & got tested last week b/c of cold symptoms just to be cautious.  All negative. Doctor said that he's seeing a lot of RSV and other viruses lately.  We're all vaxxed except for my 10 year old so we try to be extra careful for her.  But it's still scary since delta symptoms seem to be mimicking cold symptoms.


----------



## sunnyshari

act1980 said:


> Hope your son feels better soon, pleased to hear that you have all tested negative.


Thanks for the well wishes for my son. We’re getting tested today so hoping we’re negative but no idea. Thx!


----------



## monarchsfan16

Back at the resort for a break. Did Animal Kingdom this morning and it was a great morning. Got in line for the bus about 6:20 (first in the bus line but others quicky appeared) and was on a bus about 6:46. Pulled up to Animal Kingdom at 7:02. 4th row at the tapstyles. We were let in the park at 7:15. They only held us at the bridge to Pandora for about 5 minutes then walked us to the start of the line closer to the bridge to Africa to organize us and then let the line into the actual queue. I was off Flight of Passage by 8:02. Stopped for photopasss pictures, then walked on Navi River and Safaris. I'm solo so I spent some time at the gorilla falls trail and had second breakfast before hitting Everest. I hit Everest shortly before 10 and rode twice solo rider, waiting about 5 minutes each time. I think the main line was posted to be about a 25 minute wait. Watched several (all?) floating cavalcades, snacked (pineapple upside down cake milkshake at Restaurantasaurus is amazing!) and browsed the stores before coming back to the resort for a break before Epcot for more F&W later.

I loved the floating cavalcades! Cast members were all awesome and park was super clean. Mask compliance was pretty darn good. I did hear/see issues with it in the outdoor (but official) part of the Everest queue.

Great morning!


----------



## Gary Stocker

Do not trust the posted wait times 
..the Touring Plans estimated waits are much more accurate. Pirates posted 30 was in boat in 15. ToT posted 45 was in the elevator in 25


----------



## DaniMoon

Today was our first HS day.  We did not get a  BG at 7am.   We headed to the skyliner (pop)at 7:15 and we're the fifth group.   We were 2nd at the entrance.  Our plan today was MFSR.   We were passed by many on the way as my son has issues walking, but still made good time.  Was off by 9:10.  Then the kids wanted to do TSMM.  That was about a 10 min line.   Then Star Tours, another quick line.   When I pulled up the Lines app, no one wanted to wait in the lines at the listed waits.  So we hit Starbucks and headed out at 10am.   We knew going in it was going to be tough with the waits, and no one complained.  Chilled in the room and lunched.   Did get a BG 130 at 1pm.   Some pool time before we head to Ale and Compass for dinner and then back to HS.


----------



## Erica Ladd

DaniMoon said:


> Today was our first HS day.  We did not get a  BG at 7am.   We headed to the skyliner (pop)at 7:15 and we're the fifth group.   We were 2nd at the entrance.  Our plan today was MFSR.   We were passed by many on the way as my son has issues walking, but still made good time.  Was off by 9:10.  Then the kids wanted to do TSMM.  That was about a 10 min line.   Then Star Tours, another quick line.   When I pulled up the Lines app, no one wanted to wait in the lines at the listed waits.  So we hit Starbucks and headed out at 10am.   We knew going in it was going to be tough with the waits, and no one complained.  Chilled in the room and lunched.   Did get a BG 130 at 1pm.   Some pool time before we head to Ale and Compass for dinner and then back to HS.



what time did they say that you should return for BG 130? And you scored that in your room or resort right?


----------



## KSR0330

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I don't want to take this thread off topic, but the 'refresh' method is not generally considered the best method for securing a BG. I would encourage you to read post 1 of the BG thread which describes the 'join' method - which is what the vast majority of people on the boards use and are successful almost all of the time.



My (adult) son and I both tried for boarding groups on Thursday morning.  He joined a couple of minutes before 7:00 and kept refreshing and didn't get a spot.  I waited until exactly 7:00 and hit join and got boarding group 13.


----------



## LSUmiss

e_yerger said:


> Does anyone know if Photopass CMs are allowed to take our phones and take pictures for us? I know that was stopped because of COVID, but I wasn't sure if it was resumed.


They had resumed in July but not sure if they stopped again.


----------



## LSUmiss

act1980 said:


> After reading about how crazy the crowds are in Disney & Universal at the moment, I just wondered if anyone that is fully vaccinated has tested positive when on vacation or once home?
> 
> We're both fully vaccinated apart from our 2 small children and are planning on going at the end of October.
> 
> If things are still bad then we will cancel our trip as there's no way I would put them at risk and if one of us tests positive we won't be able to fly home as it's a U.K. requirement to hold a negative covid test before boarding the flight home.


Yes we did. And the “to go or not to go” thread has many other reports of the same.


----------



## Kip Herner

IluvMGM said:


> Just curious what time you got in line for the skyliner? I know last year we had to line up super early and be one of the first in line in order to get right into the line when we got to the CB.


We walked up right at 7:30. No line.


----------



## Kip Herner

allaboutthemouse said:


> If it’s not too much trouble, please report back about boo bash and Universal in their respective threads!  Staying at Universal in a couple weeks, with boo bash added in as well, and hoping for lower crowds…Thanks so much!


Will do.


----------



## The Iron Giant

Anyone know what time they’re letting cars into the Epcot lot these days?


----------



## DisneyOma

Got to WDW around 3 today, was at EPCOT by 4, did everything but Test Track and FEA, (and M/S, because we never do that, LOL!) ate some Food and Wine treats for dinner, walked the entire World Showcase, and hopped on the Skyliner at 8:30 or so.


----------



## bookgirl2632

For those staying at one of the Skyliner resorts, is it still necessary to line up 1 to 1 1/2 hours prior to the Skyliner opening?


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Arrived yesterday. Today was our first park day. Left Boardwalk at 10:20 for Epcot. People were  being held by the Canada stage. At 10:35, they let people start walking. Everyone actually walked (no running). Most people turned left for Soarin & Test Track. We headed to Frozen (walking) and were entering the ride at 10:41. Off of Frozen & taking a picture by the big troll at 10:53. Walked to Mexico & was held outside until exactly 11am. Was in the first 3 Caballeros boat at 11:03, off the ride at 11:11. Browsed the Mexico stores. That's it for our "rope drop."

Two of my kids bought coffee & we decided to eat at the Mexico quick serve. At 11:40, we were the only people eating inside. Nobody came inside while we were eating.
Browsed the China shops, saw the Shanghai Disney exhibit, saw the China movie at 12:30. Had a snack in Germany (had our pick of seats). Browsed Germany & Italy shops. Saw the 2:15 Voices of Liberty show (sad that it was only 9 minutes in duration).
Bought food in the France quick serve and ate inside Marrakesh restaurant (about 3:30 now. Went to the 4:15 Beauty & the Beast singalong. France shops. Walked to Soarin. Entered at 5pm (walk-on). Then on Figment (walk-on) by 5:30. Had Visa card member photo taken, went to DVC Epcot lounge (closed at 6pm) saw Pixar Shorts. Back on Soarin at 6:35 (walk-on). 6:55 Living With the Land (walk-on). Raining now. 7:15 Spaceship Earth (walk-on). Shopped in Mouse Gear. Saw a rainbow. 7:55 on Mission Space (walk-on). Still raining. Bought counter food and ate at Appleseed (Canada movie theater). Stayed there a long time. Watched the 10pm fireworks show. Loads if empty spots right up to 10pm.
Overall impression: crowds were way, way lower than past August trips (for one Sunday in Epcot). We have traveled this time of year at least 5 times and the crowds today were much lower than in prior years. We did everything we wanted to do with much less wait times than prior years.
We stopped / shopped in every country. Had beers in 8 of 11 countries. Fireworks are a out to start. Great day!


----------



## SimonSez

Went to AK today and I believe it was the least crowded I've seen it.  Safari was about 15 to board, KRR around 20 minutes, FOP was 70 minutes, and Dinosaur was probably a 5 minute wait.  Don't get me wrong, it was still a busy park, but I've seen it much worse.  We ate at Flame Tree BBQ which was tasty as always.  We saw one of our favorite vloggers and somehow ended up in the background of the video   My DBF was watching at home and sent a screen shot of us  Later in the evening we went to Epcot. Staying at the YC, F&W is pretty convenient to us. Ate the shrimp at Australia and some corned beef and potato chip dish at Flavors of Fire. We also tried the S'mores whoopie pie and I was kinda disappointed in it  It was still good but it wasn't all that. We waited for Frozen for probably 45 minutes and endured a downpour waiting to get in. Soarin was a 5 minute wait and we hopped right on Living with the Land. All in all a good first day. Tomorrow we attempt to get a boarding pass for ROTR


----------



## Bellusion

Haven't seen it talked about so just wanted to say that we saw Snow White in Germany/Epcot today (as well as Elsa in Norway).

Test Track was down but everything else except Frozen was a walk on (and we rode everything). And the park was clean.


----------



## SimonSez

Just wanted to add--mask compliance in queues could've been better.  A lot of people did the mask under the nose thing after they got past cast members.  The whole row behind us on the safari took their masks off, including one woman who thought it would work just fine hanging from her wrist   CM's were good about telling people to mask up upon entering shops, but the queues can be tricky once people get past CM


----------



## SimonSez

Bellusion said:


> Haven't seen it talked about so just wanted to say that we saw Snow White in Germany/Epcot today (as well as Elsa in Norway).
> 
> Test Track was down but everything else except Frozen was a walk on (and we rode everything). And the park was clean.


We saw Scrooge McDuck of all things at AK.  Also, Chip and Dale and Pocahontas.  All were on boats at AK and it was a rare treat.  I guess without the meet n greets, the characters are roaming more like in the old days


----------



## brockash

We're here now and honestly things have been much better than expected.  We rope dropped AK today, getting to bus stop around 625.  Bus came around 650 and we passed all the waiting cars to get into the AK lot a little before 7.  We were first at tap styles and I'd say around the first 50 ppl. or so on FOP (they did not hlld us at the bridge very long, but it was a  packed sweaty mess for the duration.  We walked onto Navi after Fop and got off Navi at 802.  Walked on Everest 2x, then under 5 min wait for Safari, did 930 Lion King show and under 5 mins for Dinosaur and Bugs Life.  We then tried Harambas market for lunch... kinda meh for us, but then we went back to rest and got to MK around 515...just in time for the rain lol.  Did ppl mover with about a 10 min. wait...at that time Space was down, but we kept an eye on it and it came back up about 5 mins after we got off ppl moved so we walked onto Space, then a pretty big downpour so we hung in the gift shop for a bit then walked on Philharmagic, Small World (although did get stuck on their for about 10 mins...no movement?)  We ate at Pecos Bills, ghen grabbed a spot for HEA.  We then walked onto Thunder and Pirates.

Masks have been decent...we had an entire family at Everest today that didn't wear them at all walking through the que.

Buses... have been pretty good, however if you have someone with you that uses a scooter be warned; I'd say at least half the buses we've seen come to/from our resort are charter type which does not accommodate scooters...kinda frustrating honestly, but so far that's been our only issue.  

Will be trying for boarding pass tomorrow and hoping for good rope drop luck again.


----------



## asumom

DaniMoon said:


> Arrived yesterday.  Our room at POP wasn't ready at two so we decided to take the skyliner to Epcot.  As we were in line we got our room ready text.
> 
> Rode Figment, Soarin, LWTL. Saw Awesome Planer for the first time. Rode Nemo and walked around the Seas. Did Nemo again because it was a bit too early to check into our Coral Reef ADR. Food was good, selection was limited for my kids who normally order off the adult menu. They both got the kids steak. Headed back to POP. I think we were in our room 10 minutes before it started storming.
> 
> This morning we did AK, we got there about 7:30 and went to EE. Which didn't open til 8. Rode it 3 times, then Safari. Off that by 9:15. Gorilla Falls, Rafiki's. Saw them operating on a painted dog. My daughter keeps saying her dream job is a vet at AK so she was enthralled. Jungle Trek and we headed out. Saw the macaws fly, so amazing.
> 
> Back at Pop, lunched and some pool time.  Sanaa ADR this evening and we plan to do FOP.


you were lucky to see a surgery! the most action we've seen is a snake getting an x ray!  lol


----------



## DaniMoon

Erica Ladd said:


> what time did they say that you should return for BG 130? And you scored that in your room or resort right?



We did get it in my room.  I think the initial estimate was 275 minutes. (4.5 hrs). So 5:30ish.   Our BG was called at 6:12.


----------



## DaniMoon

asumom said:


> you were lucky to see a surgery! the most action we've seen is a snake getting an x ray!  lol


 
They were cleaning his teeth  and removing a mole,  So not too invasive.   We've seen them examining  animals before, but this was the first time we saw a procedure.


----------



## Dentam

Feeling encouraged by the recent reports of much lower crowds!  We are supposed to get there on 9/8 and I have been going back and forth on canceling.  Thank you for the updates those of you who are there now!  Now just hoping that this latest wave in FL is going to be on the downward trend very soon...


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Got BG #3 for SWGE! 
Someone in the BG tip thread got #2 so I don't feel so special. 
Heading to MGM (still can't call it the studios) for rope drop.
Will try to post later.


----------



## Mr. X

DaniMoon said:


> We did get it in my room.  I think the initial estimate was 275 minutes. (4.5 hrs). So 5:30ish.   Our BG was called at 6:12.



I hope you complained and got a credit or something.  Check in is 3pm. If you were checking out they'd be tossing you out the door.


----------



## Eastern

Mr. X said:


> I hope you complained and got a credit or something.  Check in is 3pm. If you were checking out they'd be tossing you out the door.


That was their ride BG time not their hotel room.


----------



## Mr. X

Eastern said:


> That was their ride BG time not their hotel room.



Ahh. All the acronyms confuse me sometimes.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

7:50 left our Boardwalk room
8:05 through security & waiting
8:09 tapstyles (is that what their called) opened. Past them at 8:14.
8:16 waiting for Slinky (in the shade)


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

This is how far back we were arrived (past security) at 8:09.


----------



## 123SA

At aAOA skyline at 712  2nd in line.  started at 731. CBR started at 745.   Looks like cars were let in at 748  tapstiles started at 809. We are second at TOT.  DS is bitter because a runner passed him to get here first!

started moving at 834. Held in lobby until…well they told us they are not starting early today.  I hope that’s the same at all the rides

started at 848


----------



## slyster

POOH&PIGLET said:


> 7:50 left our Boardwalk room
> 8:05 through security & waiting
> 8:09 tapstyles (is that what their called) opened. Past them at 8:14.
> 8:16 waiting for Slinky (in the shade)  View attachment 595832



Oh glad to see this.  We were wondering about the walk and rope drop time for DHS.


----------



## KM82

Yesterday was HS.  We walked from BWI, leaving at 7:25. Shortly after we arrived, we were walked up to the security checkpoints. 5 or so min there and they opened up screening. We were first at our tapstyle.

Unfortunately I didn’t do a great job of tracking time yesterday morning. I know they let us though before 8:30 because I was surprised at how early it was.
They had different CMs holding signs for different areas. We went for Slinky and we were right under the archway waiting until they started walking us. We were on the second train. When we were walking down after the ride, the line was already down to the bottom of the hill.

We had BG 7, but we had some time before the end of our window so we did TSMM as a walk on and then headed to ROTR.

We grabbed coffee and a donut and found a shaded table by Dockside Diner . From there we watched Mickey Vacation Fun and then did Star Tours, which was a 10 min wait. We went left at the split, which was a good call because our line moved much faster than the other.

We did some shopping and hopped the Skyliner to head back for some pool time.

We had a dinner reservation at Hollywood and Vine at 5:30 and got on the Skyliner to avoid walking because my foot was starting to bother me again. Storms stopped the Skyliner and we got stuck at Caribbean Beach until they could get a bus to us.
Hollywood and Vine has been a staple of our trips, but it was definitely different.  My son described the vibe in there as “sad”. Much less tables,  no dance parties, just not the party atmosphere it used to be. We won’t do that one again until/unless it’s back to normal. The characters were great, but it’s got to be tough for them.

After dinner, it had cleared out quite a bit from the storm, so we headed to MMRR with about a 15 min wait. Then DH wanted a peanut butter milkshake from Hollywood Scoops. The milkshake was good, but the paper straw doesn’t really do much for the taste of a milkshake.  We headed back on the Skyliner after this. *they were giving each party their own car.

Epcot today for DS birthday!


----------



## Sargeant Tibbs

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> I am beginning to reconsider taking them now.  I shall have a conversation with mom and dad to make sure I don't scar them for life and cause Grandpa trust issues.  Maybe the Safari twice is a better option.  LOL!  They both love the zoos they've been to.



We love bugs in my house. Spiders on webs stay in their webs, hunting spiders that run fast are captured and set free outside. We try as hard as possible to catch and release all bugs. My daughter, who is almost three, just experienced ITTBAB for the first time and absolutely loved every moment of it.


----------



## Mr. X

POOH&PIGLET said:


> 7:50 left our Boardwalk room
> 8:05 through security & waiting
> 8:09 tapstyles (is that what their called) opened. Past them at 8:14.
> 8:16 waiting for Slinky (in the shade)  View attachment 595832



ugh that's a HUGE crowd


----------



## rotlex

Just wanted to give a quick review of our recent two week stay in the World.  Overall, we had a fantastic trip.  This was our first time visiting since 2019.  We skipped our yearly trip for 2020 due to covid etc.

Positive highlights:

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, our favorite resort, and it was outstanding as usual.  We had a standard view room that had a glorious view of the contemporary and MK fireworks.  We we were on the 4th floor so we had a closed balcony, and a view of the smokehouse as well.  Usually don’t like that, but honestly, the closed balcony blocked the smokehouse view, and the contemporary\fireworks more than made up for any negatives.  The remodeled rooms are gorgeous.  Wasn’t sure how we would like them being fans of the old decor, but Disney really did it right.  Especially the bathrooms, lol.

We were on site for 12 days with a 10 day park ticket.  The parks were PACKED and initially we were very concerned without having fast passes etc.  After our first two park days that concern went away.  Frankly, I hope fast pass does not return as the lines, while very, very long, moved very quickly and efficiently.  Example, BTMRR had a line out past the Splash bridge and we were on the ride in roughly 30 minutes.  We found this to be the case with almost all the attractions with the exception of huge hitters like FOP which were 60-90 minutes.  We also found the posted wait times to be much higher than the actual waits.

Hollywood Studios.  What was our least favorite park, is quite possibly our favorite now.  Galaxy’s Edge is amazing, and ROR and Smugglers run were fantastic.  We managed to score a boarding pass for ROR for both days we were there.  It is a truly amazing ride and just can’t be explained without seeing it.  We were also incredibly impressed with Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railroad.  We absolutely LOVED this attraction.  Old school Disney at its absolute best.  Feels like a classic already.

Epcot..  Had a great overall experience there regardless of the construction.  Love the crystal pillars for the fountain being back, and food and wine was awesome.  Animal Kingdom, the same as always, but we love it as well.

Negatives:

Honestly, not much.  Our biggest disappointment was that Disney re-instated the indoor mask policy on day 8 of our visit.  We were very disappointed in this as one of the reasons we kept the trip booked was they had lifted the mandate some time ago.  We dealt with it, but I would not would wanted to have dealt with it throughout our entire stay.  Would have been better if it was truly only indoors, but they also had you masking in outdoor queues as well as outdoor attractions.  Please no discussions that will close a thread over this. Just noting our thoughts and experience.

Overall, as I mentioned, we had a fantastic trip.  Will we be going back again next year?  Maybe.  It really depends on what type of discounts they will offer.  We were there this year with the 25% off room and honestly, it was still one of the most expensive trips we have ever taken.  It will be hard to justify doing WDW yearly if things keep increasing as they have.  

Last note.  We did not miss the parades at all and thought the cavalcades were a great replacement.  Spontaneous, short, and not crowd causing.  Fireworks at MK and Epcot were great.  We were very glad to see them back!


----------



## The Iron Giant

Drove to Epcot this morning and arrived at the toll booth at 9:35.  We were let right in and we’re one of the first groups in line.


----------



## tbholc81

We returned yesterday from an 8 day trip with 5 days at WDW and 3 days at Universal, including a Volcano Bay day. This was our first time to Universal since 2006 so quite a lot has changed. 

I'll write a more detailed report in the trip reports forum, but I thought a couple quick things were worth mentioning here, I'll try not to echo too much of what most people have observed on their trips. 

- We arrived Saturday around 4:30 and were on Disney Magical Express by 4:55, and to Wilderness Lodge at about 5:30.
- Meals were at Whispering Canyon, Skipper Canteen, Via Napoli, Grand Floridian Cafe and Topolinos (character breakfast). All of them were excellent but we really miss having full menus. At Universal we ate at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, and Mythos both had full menus but the service was much much slower. 
- We found crowds to be as expected for August. With getting to the park early and taking a break mid day we didn't wait in many long lines, we also had a VIP tour on Tuesday which helped us with the pressure of getting everything done. 
- Epcot was very manageable, mid afternoon was almost walk on for Soarin, LWTL, Figment. Our tour guide told us right now they are encouraging people on VIP tours to skip Epcot because the lines are short and getting around is a pain. 
- Universal crowds seemed worse, with many long lines and very little space in the parks to get around. The Team Members there were also not as nice/ helpful as Disney. It wasn't even close. 
- The parks and resorts busses etc... at Disney were extremely clean, I noticed one garbage can that was full in MK when we walked by in one direction, then walked back the other way a few minutes later and it was empty. The same cannot be said for Universal, many of the bathrooms were a mess, parts of the park (most notably "The Lost Continent in IOA) smelled awful, and there was random trash in a lot of places. 
- We saw HEA for the last time, got a great spot in the hub at 7:45, right against a railing with no one in front of us. We really miss the later closing, we tried to get some rides in after HEA but really have to chose one and go from there. The worst crowds were getting on transportation at MK closing, it was a sea of humanity. The boat to WL was key to avoiding those huge crowds. 


A few frustrating things about this trip:

- The weather was extremely unpredictable. Looked on the radar like rain all day brought umbrellas and ponchos, never rained. Forecast was for no rain, torrential downpour for hours. Also "nearby" storms caused pool closures at Disney almost everyday at the beginning of the week. On Monday they forced everybody out of the pool under sunny skies because of the forecast, it never got cloudy, rained or thundered but the pool was closed for "storms" for several hours. I get why, but it was frustrating and yes I  know it's August in Florida. 
- Rides were closing right and left. Our first attempt at ROTR was at the end of our tour; the first half was down so we entered into the ship without the pre show. Next day we had boarding group 60, did the pre show, got on the ship, ride went down and we were forced off. Also on that day Mickey and Minnie's went down, and SDD. Everest went down while we were in line for it on Sunday, then was down all day Monday. Plus there were more closures, just can't list them all here. 
- Lots of rides were stopped or held up while we were on them. HM stopped at least 3 or 4 times while riding. We waited at the top of the hill on Everest for 5 minutes. We asked why and were told most of the time it's for people transferring from wheelchairs and that Disney is seeing a huge increase in that causing rides to stop more frequently. 

Overall still a great trip and the kids had an awesome time.


----------



## bbn1122

Mr. X said:


> Ahh. All the acronyms confuse me sometimes.



I agree it takes me a couple minutes on some posts to figure out what everyone is talking about! LOL!


----------



## bbn1122

KM82 said:


> Yesterday was HS.  We walked from BWI, leaving at 7:25. Shortly after we arrived, we were walked up to the security checkpoints. 5 or so min there and they opened up screening. We were first at our tapstyle.
> 
> Unfortunately I didn’t do a great job of tracking time yesterday morning. I know they let us though before 8:30 because I was surprised at got early it was.
> They had different CMs holding signs for different areas. We went for Slinky and we were right under the archway waiting until they started walking us. We were on the second train. When we were walking down after the ride, the line was already down to the bottom of the hill.
> 
> We had BG 7, but we had some time before the end of our window so we did TSMM as a walk on and then headed to ROTR.
> 
> We grabbed coffee and a donut and found a shaded table by Dockside Diner . From there we watched Mickey Vacation Fun and then did Star Tours, which was a 10 min wait. We went left at the split, which was a good call because our line moved much faster than the other.
> 
> We did some shopping and hopped the Skyliner to head back for some pool time.
> 
> We had a dinner reservation at Hollywood and Vine at 5:30 and got on the Skyliner to avoid walking because my foot was starting to bother me again. Storms stopped the Skyliner and we got stuck at Caribbean Beach until they could get a bus to us.
> Hollywood and Vine has been a staple of our trips, but it was definitely different.  My son described the vibe in there as “sad”. Much less tables,  no dance parties, just not the party atmosphere it used to be. We won’t do that one again until/unless it’s back to normal. The characters were great, but it’s got to be tough for them.
> 
> After dinner, it had cleared out quite a bit from the storm, so we headed to MMRR with about a 15 min wait. Then DH wanted a peanut butter milkshake from Hollywood Scoops. The milkshake was good, but the paper straw doesn’t really do much for the taste of a milkshake.  We headed back on the Skyliner after this. *they were giving each party their own car.
> 
> Epcot today for DS birthday!View attachment 595845View attachment 595846



Thanks for sharing.  Happy Birthday to your son! My family will be at WDW this coming Sunday.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Dentam said:


> Feeling encouraged by the recent reports of much lower crowds!  We are supposed to get there on 9/8 and I have been going back and forth on canceling.  Thank you for the updates those of you who are there now!  Now just hoping that this latest wave in FL is going to be on the downward trend very soon...



Yes also watching we arrive 9/7.


----------



## marryfrmtx

We are also arriving on 9/7.  I will have my 2 3 year old grandsons with me.  Hope the crowds are manageable.


----------



## Best Aunt

rotlex said:


> ... We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, our favorite resort, and it was outstanding as usual.... We managed to score a boarding pass for ROR for both days we were there.



Interesting.  I stayed in the Copper Creek part of the Wilderness Lodge main building a few years ago, and the WiFi was terrible.  I remember eating lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe one day, discovering that the WiFi was better than anywhere else I had found in the hotel, and uploading all of my photos during lunch because I wanted to take advantage of the good WiFi while I could.  This was before ROR opened.  Were you in your hotel room at Wilderness Lodge when you tried for ROR boarding passes?


----------



## The Iron Giant

Crowds were light at Epcot this morning.  It helped that we were second family through the tapstiles. We were the first group on TT and then had FEA, Soarin, the land and mission space orange done before 1.  Our longest wait was 15 min. We also worked in some gift shops, food and wine stops and popcorn and churros for the kids.  Much better crowd wise than we expected.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Continuing from above (probably a few pages back by now) ...
8:34 people started moving towards Toy Story Land.
8:38 passing by front of TSMM on way to Slinky (no line for TSMM).
8:43 passed below Slinky entrance sign, posted wait says 80 minutes.
Line moved well.
8:58 off Slinky, posted wait is now 100 minutes.
9:00 at TSMM, 5 minute posted wait.
9:18 off TSMM, now posted 30 minutes.
Walked to SWGE.
Line for Slinky still says 100 minutes & line goes all the way to One Man's Dream!
9:28 in line for ROTR, off at 9:45.
Walked around Galaxys Edge for a few minutes.
10:02 entered Star Tours (posted 30 minutes), off at 10:27.
10:30 found water outside Backlot Express & hung out.
10:51 on line for Muppets, 10:59 we're the first people in the preshow (just missed the cut for earlier showing), off at 11:30.
11:40 watched Vacation Fun Animated Short, off at 11:58.
At noon, my kids went to get Starbucks.
12:15 exiting the park, Friendship boat arrives at 12:19; we depart at 12:28.
12:45 arrive at Boardwalk & check in for our 1:15 Big River Grille reservation.
2pm back in our room & its nap time!

Edited to add ...
4:55 left room heading back to MGM.
5:20 on line for MMRR (posted wait 45 min), 
5:35 inside building, off ride at 6:03.
6:10 on line for Alien Saucers, posted wait 30 min., off ride at 6:35.
Mobile ordered dinner (ABC Commissary) & had a nice slow meal.
7:20 did TSMM again (not sure when we were off the ride but less than posted 30 min).
8:07 in TOT line (35 posted), off ride at 8:35.
Got snacks & watched the projection show.
Walked back to the Boardwalk arriving by 9:45pm. To tired to swim.

All in all a solid day.
Not as crowded as our past August trips. Lack of shows is definitely causing longer standby lines. Lack of FP+ made us less productive but after reading this thread for a while, not as bad as expected.
No parks tomorrow  as we are moving from Boardwalk to Polynesian.


----------



## rotlex

Best Aunt said:


> Interesting.  I stayed in the Copper Creek part of the Wilderness Lodge main building a few years ago, and the WiFi was terrible.  I remember eating lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe one day, discovering that the WiFi was better than anywhere else I had found in the hotel, and uploading all of my photos during lunch because I wanted to take advantage of the good WiFi while I could.  This was before ROR opened.  Were you in your hotel room at Wilderness Lodge when you tried for ROR boarding passes?



Yes, we were in our hotel room\balcony, above Whispering Canyon actually when we got the ROR pass.  With the said, I never use the Disney Wifi as I find it terrible so I was on LTE\ATT.


----------



## Wdwsky8

Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.


----------



## WriterGina

Wdwsky8 said:


> Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.


Yes! At first I would read each one thinking there would be new info, but now I just delete them. I know our TA is on top of everything we need to be aware of (as am I with my obsessive planning).


----------



## Sugarshock

Wdwsky8 said:


> Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.


Yes! I've booked two trips and now I get two every day


----------



## kboo

Wdwsky8 said:


> Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.


Same here. I guess they want to make sure we all know about the new mask policy?

I'm also following obsessively to see what crowds look like and whether it's possible to distance in lines, eat indoors, etc. The crowd pictures posted above are encouraging. We have 2 unvaccinated under-12 kids who have been looking forward to this trip for over a year. And it's one's birthday. Slightly anxious - we are heading down 8/28, hopefully.


----------



## Kip Herner

Kip Herner said:


> Will do.


https://www.disboards.com/threads/universal-trip-8-9-thru-8-13.3848437/
Here is the link to my in progress Universal Trip.


----------



## Griz1

Regarding ROTR, I know the ride itself is about 18 minutes long but can anyone give me a sense of how long it takes from the time you get on line after your boarding group is called to when you walk off the ride? Thanks!


----------



## luv2cheer92

Griz1 said:


> Regarding ROTR, I know the ride itself is about 18 minutes long but can anyone give me a sense of how long it takes from the time you get on line after your boarding group is called to when you walk off the ride? Thanks!


It can vary, I would say allow at least 45 minutes to an hour total. Usually about 30-ish minutes until the attraction starts.


----------



## Jadyreen1282

Wdwsky8 said:


> Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.



Every day here on the email. Got the luggage tags and coupons today. Canceling this afternoon probably. We are just going to vacation locally in WI for a few months. I don't wish to be at Disney on day one and have an outdoor mask mandate hit.


----------



## e_yerger

luv2cheer92 said:


> It can vary, I would say allow at least 45 minutes to an hour total. Usually about 30-ish minutes until the attraction starts.


Agree with this - the 4 times that I've done ROTR it's been between 45min-1hr from checking in for the ride & walking off the attraction.


----------



## Wdwsky8

Sugarshock said:


> Yes! I've booked two trips and now I get two every day



 I’m guessing someone at Disney marketing technology didn’t set an exclusion for people who already received the email. Or their data structure is lacking. The email is surprisingly generic - Disney obviously knows who has Park Hoppers and who doesn’t, for example, but they don’t call that out. I’m curious if the emails will actually stop once I get there.


----------



## act1980

Do you think Disney will bring masks back for outside?


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Wdwsky8 said:


> I’m guessing someone at Disney marketing technology didn’t set an exclusion for people who already received the email. Or their data structure is lacking. The email is surprisingly generic - Disney obviously knows who has Park Hoppers and who doesn’t, for example, but they don’t call that out. I’m curious if the emails will actually stop once I get there.



As someone who works in CRM it really drives me up a wall!! Their program should be so much more optimized!!!! LET ME AT IT! lol

But our trip is 9/15 and we haven’t gotten any emails like this. We went last Sept and wearing masks was NBD so regardless of how the rules change we feel fine about it. I’m similarly anxious to see if/how crowds drop mid-Sept so that we can get one or two “quiet” days for rides and then have the other 3 days to go at a slower pace and meander. I am not convinced that rope-dropping is A MUST OTHERWISE OUR TRIP WILL BE RUINED bc there’s more than one way to tour. We’ll also be w my older parents so going for a mix of packing stuff in and going at a more relaxed pace.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Griz1 said:


> Regarding ROTR, I know the ride itself is about 18 minutes long but can anyone give me a sense of how long it takes from the time you get on line after your boarding group is called to when you walk off the ride? Thanks!



Us this morning...
9:28 in line for ROTR, off at 9:45.
We had BG #3
Also seems like something was missing on the ride.


----------



## Akck

act1980 said:


> Do you think Disney will bring masks back for outside?



It would depend on the CDC mandating it, which I think is highly unlikely at this point.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

Wdwsky8 said:


> Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.


YES


----------



## cakebaker

ILoveMyDVC said:


> YES


We went 2 weeks ago and I got tons of repetitive notifications. Not sure why they're doing that.


----------



## Haley R

Wdwsky8 said:


> Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.


Yes! Omg why do I keep getting these emails??


----------



## e_yerger

I’m feeling some FOMO because i have yet to get these emails!


----------



## ellbell

e_yerger said:


> I’m feeling some FOMO because i have yet to get these emails!


The Disney portion of my trip starts on Sept 1st and I was about to say the same.  Maybe someone who is getting multiple emails are receiving ours.


----------



## Jadyreen1282

Akck said:


> It would depend on the CDC mandating it, which I think is highly unlikely at this point.



Opinion but I believe it is highly likely. Check hospitalizations in Florida due to Covid. I was going to cancel our Aug 27 trip this afternoon but just about cried on hold. I may wait till the last bloody minute. Sorry to be a downer


----------



## cakebaker

Jadyreen1282 said:


> Opinion but I believe it is highly likely. Check hospitalizations in Florida due to Covid. I was going to cancel our Aug 27 trip this afternoon but just about cried on hold. I may wait till the last bloody minute. Sorry to be a downer



There are a lot of us who know exactly how you feel. It's just so disappointing. We've got a trip to DLR in October, Halloween party tickets bought back when it looked like things were getting better and now that is definitely on the chopping block.


----------



## jods

Wdwsky8 said:


> Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.


I'm going 8/22.  No email here.


----------



## jbrinkm

Wdwsky8 said:


> Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.



I'm getting them. I was so confused.


----------



## Lsyves

jbrinkm said:


> I'm getting them. I was so confused.


I am too and we don’t go til October


----------



## brockash

POOH&PIGLET said:


> 7:50 left our Boardwalk room
> 8:05 through security & waiting
> 8:09 tapstyles (is that what their called) opened. Past them at 8:14.
> 8:16 waiting for Slinky (in the shade)  View attachment 595832


Lol...well hello...we too rope dropped slinky today and see ourselves in your pic lol.  I will say one thing that I didn't realize is how much better regular rope drop is now than before when they used to hold EVERYONE in the blazing sun on the main road...we ended up being in the shade and it wasn't nearly as cram-packed as yrs past.  I still STRONGLY prefer the Covid way of rope drop, but tgis was better than expected.

We basically walked onto Slinky this morning, and were in line for RnR about 855am...had about a 15 min. wait, then 25 mind for ToT; 20 for Star Tours, snack break, 10 mins to get onto Rise, walk on muppets and then went to Epcot for a while (10 min. wait for Soarin and under 10 for Living with land around 4 today.


----------



## DisneyOma

bookgirl2632 said:


> For those staying at one of the Skyliner resorts, is it still necessary to line up 1 to 1 1/2 hours prior to the Skyliner opening?



We walked on to the Skyliner at 8:15 this morning and ended up a few rows behind the picture below  


POOH&PIGLET said:


> 7:50 left our Boardwalk room
> 8:05 through security & waiting
> 8:09 tapstyles (is that what their called) opened. Past them at 8:14.
> 8:16 waiting for Slinky (in the shade)  View attachment 595832



I'm going to look in my photos to see if I have this same shot from about 15 feet back, LOL!



act1980 said:


> Do you think Disney will bring masks back for outside?



I have no idea if they will, but we've been wearing them in crowds outside (like above) and so have many other people.


----------



## KM82

**I apologize for all of the typos. I’ve been doing these from my phone

This morning we headed to Epcot for rope drop, with a goal of getting in a ride on Test Track before a lunch at Beaches and Cream at 11:45. We left BWI at 10am and the first picture is what we walked up to at IG. At 10:20 we were let through the  tapstyle. Second picture is looking behind us from where they held us at Canada until 10:30. We headed to Test Track - people from the main gate were there first, but we still didn’t have to wait more than 15 min to ride. We were off TT at 11:14 and headed to beaches and cream for sundaes at 11:35.

We went back to resort after lunch to pick up the birthday cake from the Grand Floridian bakery at 1pm. We relaxed in the room until 2pm - had to come down from the sugar high from the sundaes and cake.


We made it back to Epcot for the 2:15 Voices of Liberty performance- they are AMAZING 


Next was Germany for Riesling and Schoefferhofer (both were really good). SE was down for technical difficulties so we headed to Soarin instead. It was a walk on but we waited for B1 which added a few minutes. Did living with the land (5 min wait) and then walked around the world.

Got a mimosa flight for me and a strawberry waffle cone for DS. They were actually good sized portions and both very tasty. DH got the pork rinds from the Swanky Saucy Swine to complete Emile’s Fromage. They were honestly so stale that it was actually difficult to bite through them.  

We had dinner at Chefs de France for DS birthday dinner choice.   It was really good and the service was great as well. 

By this point, the crowd levels had really grown and I was starting to hit areas where I was uncomfortable with the density. So we made our way around and spent some time in the Beach Club arcade before calling it a night.


----------



## SimonSez

Went to DHS today and we managed to score a Boarding Group  The place was packed and it was a pretty rough the first half of the day. We made only one meal reservation this trip and it was at the Hollywood Brown Derby at 1:30 today. Our boarding group was 56 and guess when our group was called  Fortunately, if you bring your restaurant receipt to the ride, they honor it. ROTR went down twice while we were there. The first time we left to ride Smuggler's Run and lo and behold about 15 minutes into that queue, ROTR was operating again, so we left SR to head to ROTR. We were having a heck of a time getting on this ride. Finally, we get in line and we get to the very front where they take you into the preshow room, and it went down again  We were the next in line to go in, so we saw all the comings and goings of CM's trying to figure things out. We probably waited about 40 minutes, but it wasn't so bad actually because we could see what was going on and it rained while we were in there, so we missed that. The ride was great and we were glad to experience it  It's so much different than anything else Disney has done before. We also rode TOT, TSM, and Star Tours. DHS was pretty rough the first half of the day especially. The ride waits were quite long and Galaxy's Edge was crazy. All in all, the day got better as it progressed. We'd like to try Smuggler's Run on Wednesday. We are doing Epcot that day and will try to get to the Studios that evening. Hopefully it won't be so crazy that time of day. Tomorrow is MK


----------



## Dentam

Well, dang - so much for the reports of the crowds going down quite a bit.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Dentam said:


> Well, dang - so much for the reports of the crowds going down quite a bit.


Regular August traveler here. Only two park days so far (Epcot yesterday & Studios today) so not a large sample size. Crowds are noticeable lower than our past August trips. Caveat for Studios is that there's so little to do the LINES are way longer.


----------



## SimonSez

Dentam said:


> Well, dang - so much for the reports of the crowds going down quite a bit.


Epcot and AK haven't been that bad.  AK was actually had the lightest crowds of any of our trips there.  DHS is nuts because of Galaxy's Edge and trying to score Boarding Groups.  It was also 96 degrees today.  The wait times were freaking long, but we actually did more than I thought we would. Haven't been to MK yet this trip, we go tomorrow.  Boo Bash is starting so I'm expecting some crowds there


----------



## SimonSez

rotlex said:


> Just wanted to give a quick review of our recent two week stay in the World.  Overall, we had a fantastic trip.  This was our first time visiting since 2019.  We skipped our yearly trip for 2020 due to covid etc.
> 
> Positive highlights:
> 
> We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, our favorite resort, and it was outstanding as usual.  We had a standard view room that had a glorious view of the contemporary and MK fireworks.  We we were on the 4th floor so we had a closed balcony, and a view of the smokehouse as well.  Usually don’t like that, but honestly, the closed balcony blocked the smokehouse view, and the contemporary\fireworks more than made up for any negatives.  The remodeled rooms are gorgeous.  Wasn’t sure how we would like them being fans of the old decor, but Disney really did it right.  Especially the bathrooms, lol.
> 
> We were on site for 12 days with a 10 day park ticket.  The parks were PACKED and initially we were very concerned without having fast passes etc.  After our first two park days that concern went away.  Frankly, I hope fast pass does not return as the lines, while very, very long, moved very quickly and efficiently.  Example, BTMRR had a line out past the Splash bridge and we were on the ride in roughly 30 minutes.  We found this to be the case with almost all the attractions with the exception of huge hitters like FOP which were 60-90 minutes.  We also found the posted wait times to be much higher than the actual waits.
> 
> Hollywood Studios.  What was our least favorite park, is quite possibly our favorite now.  Galaxy’s Edge is amazing, and ROR and Smugglers run were fantastic.  We managed to score a boarding pass for ROR for both days we were there.  It is a truly amazing ride and just can’t be explained without seeing it.  We were also incredibly impressed with Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railroad.  We absolutely LOVED this attraction.  Old school Disney at its absolute best.  Feels like a classic already.
> 
> Epcot..  Had a great overall experience there regardless of the construction.  Love the crystal pillars for the fountain being back, and food and wine was awesome.  Animal Kingdom, the same as always, but we love it as well.
> 
> Negatives:
> 
> Honestly, not much.  Our biggest disappointment was that Disney re-instated the indoor mask policy on day 8 of our visit.  We were very disappointed in this as one of the reasons we kept the trip booked was they had lifted the mandate some time ago.  We dealt with it, but I would not would wanted to have dealt with it throughout our entire stay.  Would have been better if it was truly only indoors, but they also had you masking in outdoor queues as well as outdoor attractions.  Please no discussions that will close a thread over this. Just noting our thoughts and experience.
> 
> Overall, as I mentioned, we had a fantastic trip.  Will we be going back again next year?  Maybe.  It really depends on what type of discounts they will offer.  We were there this year with the 25% off room and honestly, it was still one of the most expensive trips we have ever taken.  It will be hard to justify doing WDW yearly if things keep increasing as they have.
> 
> Last note.  We did not miss the parades at all and thought the cavalcades were a great replacement.  Spontaneous, short, and not crowd causing.  Fireworks at MK and Epcot were great.  We were very glad to see them back!


Thanks for the report.  Glad your trip was good.  We also don't miss the parades


----------



## Dentam

SimonSez said:


> Haven't been to MK yet this trip, we go tomorrow. Boo Bash is starting so I'm expecting some crowds there



I am really looking forward to reading reports and watching vlogs about the first Boo Bash!  We have tickets for it while we're there in Sept if we do end up going ahead with our trip.  Hope you have a great MK day tomorrow!


----------



## Gary Stocker

So it has been rainy every day here around the same time (between 5 and 7ish) so capacity and ride waiting times are always in flux with the weather...honestly don't think Splash has been available while I have been here since Friday...but today at Epcot..with a few exceptions...was a perfect storm (pun intended).
When my son and I hopped and arrived around 4p we went to Soarin...which was a 10 min wait..Land walkon...went across...Spaceship walkon....Mission Space...walkon...skipped test track since I thought lightning in the area would cause it to go down...but was 25 min on TP when we passed.
School for a lot of Florida starts tomorrow/this week. I am starting to see a reduction in crowds as my trip progresses.
Good observation today..captain cooks meatballs still deliver the goods... as do frosty pineapples (rum and dole whip).from the Poly.
One outrage....they are MAKING children play in the circus part of the Dumbo queue
.they hand you a buzzer..much like in a restaurant..and when it lights up your child can ride Dumbo.
I asked the CM if we can skip it...you know Covid outbreak and stuff...and was told.."this is part of the queue now". Listen my son loved playing with other kids...the innocence of youth...but we spent 20 minutes or so in an enclosed "tent" with mostly tired parents sitting in bleachers while their kids (some with no masks .many with masks below their noses) played on top of one another...and this is "part of the queue?"
Honestly was flabbergasted by the whole thing..when we were finally furloughed the ride was maybe 1 minute long...so i recommend skipping Dumbo if you have covid related concerns.


----------



## Marvin1968

SimonSez said:


> Went to DHS today and we managed to score a Boarding Group  The place was packed and it was a pretty rough the first half of the day. We made only one meal reservation this trip and it was at the Hollywood Brown Derby at 1:30 today. Our boarding group was 56 and guess when our group was called  Fortunately, if you bring your restaurant receipt to the ride, they honor it. ROTR went down twice while we were there. The first time we left to ride Smuggler's Run and lo and behold about 15 minutes into that queue, ROTR was operating again, so we left SR to head to ROTR. We were having a heck of a time getting on this ride. Finally, we get in line and we get to the very front where they take you into the preshow room, and it went down again  We were the next in line to go in, so we saw all the comings and goings of CM's trying to figure things out. We probably waited about 40 minutes, but it wasn't so bad actually because we could see what was going on and it rained while we were in there, so we missed that. The ride was great and we were glad to experience it  It's so much different than anything else Disney has done before. We also rode TOT, TSM, and Star Tours. DHS was pretty rough the first half of the day especially. The ride waits were quite long and Galaxy's Edge was crazy. All in all, the day got better as it progressed. We'd like to try Smuggler's Run on Wednesday. We are doing Epcot that day and will try to get to the Studios that evening. Hopefully it won't be so crazy that time of day. Tomorrow is MK


It was crowded LoL.  We managed to ride everything but slinky dog dash.   We plan on rope dropping it on Thursday.


----------



## Sarahslay

Wdwsky8 said:


> Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.


Well now I feel left out, I haven't even gotten one. Well, I take that back, I got one several weeks ago but that's it. I guess they're tired of me at this point.


----------



## CarlyMur09

Wdwsky8 said:


> Has anyone currently (or recently, or soon) at WDW gotten the exact same email every day from Disney Destinations? I’m visiting 8/20-29 and since 7/21 I have gotten the same email with the same subject line: “Welcome! Your trip to the Parks.” Every single day.


Yep. Trip is 9/2-9/5 and I've been getting it every day since I booked it last week.


----------



## Threehearts

Jadyreen1282 said:


> Opinion but I believe it is highly likely. Check hospitalizations in Florida due to Covid. I was going to cancel our Aug 27 trip this afternoon but just about cried on hold. I may wait till the last bloody minute. Sorry to be a downer


Right now, I am more concerned that my state will mandate quarantine after returning from Florida and I cannot be out of work for 10 days.  I have my WDW resort and SW air tix booked but I'm hesitating on getting the park tickets.  In the past, my state did mandate quarantine after returning from high Covid infection states of which Florida topped the list.


----------



## 123SA

AK today 714 tapstiles opened. Started moving off bridge about 732. My kids were at the rope.  Pushed back about 10 groups upon moving, but CM let dh and I on line with them when we waved at them walking by So we were in one of the first rooms. Preshow 744. Off and leaving pandora by 804.  3x Everest walk on.  Walk on safari. off at 918. Checked out gorillas.  Walk on dinosaur 2x. done at 956.  Checked out otters.  Walk in LK at 1012.   Plenty of seating available at 1025.   So the longest wait so far was bus At AOA
So far, we don’t find it an crowded than previous August visits
Also, no one misses fast pass.

and we love mobile order


----------



## Eastern

SimonSez said:


> We made only one meal reservation this trip and it was at the Hollywood Brown Derby at 1:30 today. Our boarding group was 56 and guess when our group was called  *Fortunately, if you bring your restaurant receipt to the ride, they honor it.*


Thank you for this tip, I was stressing about it


----------



## faceofsam

Hi folks! My friends and I want to avoid rope drop crowds, and we're curious what time you think would be best to show up. We were thinking around an hour or two after opening, but wanted to hear from others about their experiences avoiding rope drop.


----------



## 2Lunds

faceofsam said:


> Hi folks! My friends and I want to avoid rope drop crowds, and we're curious what time you think would be best to show up. We were thinking around an hour or two after opening, but wanted to hear from others about their experiences avoiding rope drop.
> [/QUOTE. My last trip was in sept 2019, so take this with a grain of salt.  I never did RD until my most recent trip.  Previoualy we typically left the resort about an hour after opening, arriving about 90 to 120 mins past opening.  It was always pretty chill in that time window.


----------



## KM82

Crowds are definitely here today. Not sure if it’s Boo Bash or just a new group of vacationers, but MK is busier than our last day. Just got off of people mover, where I took these. Is it Christmas busy?  No.  But, it’s not dead either.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Yeah Hollywood Studios was also mobbed.  Saw 100 min for Slinky a half hour ago...headed to TRex...RotR was flawless for once.


----------



## smwisc

faceofsam said:


> Hi folks! My friends and I want to avoid rope drop crowds, and we're curious what time you think would be best to show up. We were thinking around an hour or two after opening, but wanted to hear from others about their experiences avoiding rope drop.


You don't even need to wait that long - at the parks that open early (all except MK), if you're walking through the tapstiles right around or shortly after opening time, the initial mob will be through already.  Just don't go to the top headliners from there. It's a good strategy to get on the 2nd tier rides with low waits while avoiding the RD crowd.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

Threehearts said:


> Right now, I am more concerned that my state will mandate quarantine after returning from Florida and I cannot be out of work for 10 days.  I have my WDW resort and SW air tix booked but I'm hesitating on getting the park tickets.  In the past, my state did mandate quarantine after returning from high Covid infection states of which Florida topped the list.


I have the same concern as I have a business trip scheduled 4 days upon return


----------



## CookieandOatmeal

faceofsam said:


> Hi folks! My friends and I want to avoid rope drop crowds, and we're curious what time you think would be best to show up. We were thinking around an hour or two after opening, but wanted to hear from others about their experiences avoiding rope drop.


We wanted to miss rope drop crowds too last week and showed up at MK around a half an hour after opening. Was able to walk right in instead of standing shoulder to shoulder with a stranger while waiting for the park to open. If you wait until two hours after opening, the crowd level is just going to increase.


----------



## disneymom0104

KM82 said:


> Crowds are definitely here today. Not sure if it’s Boo Bash or just a new group of vacationers, but MK is busier than our last day. Just got off of people mover, where I took these. Is it Christmas busy?  No.  But, it’s not dead either. View attachment 596177View attachment 596178


 That actually looks less crowded than our 2 days at MK last week. We couldn't even see much pavement from People Mover. Headed to Boo Bash tonight. Animal Kingdom yesterday was dead compared to last week as well so I wonder if the trend is headed down a bit with the crowds.


----------



## e_yerger

Just saw the alert for Tropical Storm Fred for Sunday/Monday - hopefully it is around the sweet spot to reduce crowds & temps but still be manageable for nice park time!


----------



## Sarahslay

KM82 said:


> Crowds are definitely here today. Not sure if it’s Boo Bash or just a new group of vacationers, but MK is busier than our last day. Just got off of people mover, where I took these. Is it Christmas busy?  No.  But, it’s not dead either. View attachment 596177View attachment 596178


MK is the only park that is "sold out" of park reservations today from what I see, and it's no doubt due to Boo Bash. Of course compared to when we were there Memorial day week this doesn't look half bad, at least you can see between groups to move around, it's an improvement from what it has been for sure and will hopefully get better over the next few weeks.


----------



## 123SA

POOH&PIGLET said:


> Regular August traveler here. Only two park days so far (Epcot yesterday & Studios today) so not a large sample size. Crowds are noticeable lower than our past August trips. Caveat for Studios is that there's so little to do the LINES are way longer.



here now and also a regular august traveler. I completely agree


----------



## tinkerhon

disneymom0104 said:


> That actually looks less crowded than our 2 days at MK last week. We couldn't even see much pavement from People Mover. Headed to Boo Bash tonight. Animal Kingdom yesterday was dead compared to last week as well so I wonder if the trend is headed down a bit with the crowds.



Yep, we were then July 16, and definitely more crowded that day


----------



## e_yerger

KM82 said:


> Crowds are definitely here today. Not sure if it’s Boo Bash or just a new group of vacationers, but MK is busier than our last day. Just got off of people mover, where I took these. Is it Christmas busy?  No.  But, it’s not dead either. View attachment 596177View attachment 596178


I didn't get to ride Space Mountain back in April, but can someone answer this question about the queue:
Once your inside the building, does the queue move quicker, or is it built up like that outside as an extension of a packed queue inside the building?


----------



## KM82

W


e_yerger said:


> I didn't get to ride Space Mountain back in April, but can someone answer this question about the queue:
> Once your inside the building, does the queue move quicker, or is it built up like that outside as an extension of a packed queue inside the building?


We found it to pretty much flow through the inside portion. Would have preferred to stand in place in the AC, but it sort of seemed like they are trying to minimize actual inside line time on that one (which I totally understand and can get on board with)


----------



## e_yerger

KM82 said:


> W
> 
> We found it to pretty much flow through the inside portion. Would have preferred to stand in place in the AC, but it sort of seemed like they are trying to minimize actual inside line time on that one (which I totally understand and can get on board with)


Thank you! That's what I was hoping for!


----------



## MomOTwins

faceofsam said:


> Hi folks! My friends and I want to avoid rope drop crowds, and we're curious what time you think would be best to show up. We were thinking around an hour or two after opening, but wanted to hear from others about their experiences avoiding rope drop.


If you arrive 5 mins after park open, you will avoid the rope drop crush.  


e_yerger said:


> Thank you! That's what I was hoping for!


Weird—we were packed in and moving slowly indoors.  No difference between indoor and ourdoor line speed that I could tell.  I wonder if for pp they had one side operating at first then opened up the other side—that is often the case with space at park open or if maintenance issues arise and that can really accelerate the line movement.


----------



## KM82

MomOTwins said:


> If you arrive 5 mins after park open, you will avoid the rope drop crush.
> 
> Weird—we were packed in and moving slowly indoors.  No difference between indoor and ourdoor line speed that I could tell.  I wonder if for pp they had one side operating at first then opened up the other side—that is often the case with space at park open or if maintenance issues arise and that can really accelerate the line movement.


Not sure. We were in line for quite a bit and they seemed to be limiting how many they let in at a time.  Around 2:15 in the afternoon


----------



## 123SA

Wow!  I’ve been posting that the crowd is not bad…normal august.  But walking from POC to Mine train at 730 was awful!  Like end of the night fireworks awful. But the ride times aren’t too bad. It seems like 75% of the people here are not in a line!  I saw very few Halloween bands, so I hope that means these crowds clear out.


----------



## Ricguz

I hope the people without the bands leave.  It’s not fair for the ones who paid a ton of money for the Boo celebration.  I wonder if this year, cast member are going to have trouble moving people out


----------



## Ricguz

Resort TV is streaming at MK tonight so we can watch the festivities


----------



## scrappinginontario

123SA said:


> Wow!  I’ve been posting that the crowd is not bad…normal august.  But walking from POC to Mine train at 730 was awful!  Like end of the night fireworks awful. But the ride times aren’t too bad. It seems like 75% of the people here are not in a line!  I saw very few Halloween bands, so I hope that means these crowds clear out.


First night of Boo Bash so I’m guessing the crossover time tonight (and most party nights) will be packed.


----------



## 123SA

scrappinginontario said:


> First night of Boo Bash so I’m guessing the crossover time tonight (and most party nights) will be packed.


Definitely.  And despite the  crowded walkways we did mine train in 38 minutes


----------



## ellbell

It was also posted by a number of sources that Boo Bash tickets were available at guest services after previously being sold out earlier in the day and online since they went on sale.


----------



## SimonSez

Went to MK today and although it was busy, it was manageable.  Being the first day of Boo Bash, I wasn't sure how it would be there.  The most important thing to report is that the wait times weren't near as long as posted times.  For instance, Splash Mountain had a posted time of 70 minutes, but it was actually about 25 minutes.  BTMR was posted 30 and was about 22 minutes.  Pirates was posted 40 minutes and was actually 15.  Space Mountain was posted 50 and took 25 minutes.  HM was posted about 60 minutes and took only 30.  So the wait times weren't nearly as much as was posted  Will have to wait to ride SDMT on Thursday, as we didn't do much in Fantasyland except Small World. We ate too much and ended up in the background of a vlogger again. I say again because we were in the view of this same vlogger the other day at AK It's getting ridiculous and I really look like that?  I don't really want to see myself on YouTube  We jumped on the monorail to Epcot and ate goodies from the French bakery  Anyway, had a fun day and will be doing a full day at Epcot tomorrow


----------



## PortieOwner

MK was bad enough this morning but AK was wonderful in the late afternoon.


----------



## SimonSez

PortieOwner said:


> MK was bad enough this morning but AK was wonderful in the late afternoon.


MK was busy today, that's why I was surprised the wait times weren't as long as posted.  Nothing could be as bad as DHS yesterday  That place was nuts, but later in the day not so bad. Agree AK has been quite nice this trip


----------



## butterscotchcollins

scrappinginontario said:


> First night of Boo Bash so I’m guessing the crossover time tonight (and most party nights) will be packed.



Are we anticipating that all Party days will be crowded during the day at MK? I thought it was usually the opposite when the park had a hard-ticketed event and the morning/early afternoon were less packed in years past.


----------



## Bellefan76

jbrinkm said:


> That really stinks, I'm so sorry.
> 
> FYI, RSV cases are up as well in children around the country. Something to keep in mind if the covid test is negative.



It's odd that you mention that.  I got back from Yellowstone on the 27th.  4 out of the 7 of us were sick immediately after coming home.  I thought it was a sinus infection.  Nope.  RSV.  I am 45.  What. The. Heck.


----------



## scrappinginontario

butterscotchcollins said:


> Are we anticipating that all Party days will be crowded during the day at MK? I thought it was usually the opposite when the park had a hard-ticketed event and the morning/early afternoon were less packed in years past.


its hard to tell this year as the park doesn’t close early on Boo Bash days like it did with MNSSHP.  I do anticipate it being very busy during the crossover time between 7-9pm, especially for the fireworks.


----------



## DrAndreaDoesDisney

I have a trip scheduled with my 11-year old daughter and her best friend for next week. Both kids aren’t vaccinated because they are too young. How are the crowds? I’m trying to decide if I should cancel.


----------



## MomOTwins

butterscotchcollins said:


> Are we anticipating that all Party days will be crowded during the day at MK? I thought it was usually the opposite when the park had a hard-ticketed event and the morning/early afternoon were less packed in years past.





scrappinginontario said:


> its hard to tell this year as the park doesn’t close early on Boo Bash days like it did with MNSSHP.  I do anticipate it being very busy during the crossover time between 7-9pm, especially for the fireworks.


Agree—the early closure and lack of fireworks for non-party guests in the old days kept guests away.  But parks were never less crowded on after hours days before and that is a closer analogy.


----------



## distherapy

Some schools have returned but many have not. We are here now and I would not bring unvaccinated kids. Mask wearing has been poor, it is hot and lines are long. The worst though has been transportation - little airflow, hot people with masks pulled down, and lots of standing. Full capacity and then some!


----------



## Looper

We went to Boo Bash last night….and I’ll be honest it wasn’t what I’d hoped for. We’ve been to other After Hours events, and this felt 10x more crowded. Wait times were low, which was good, but there were people everywhere, so it didn’t have that special ‘you’re in the park after closing’ feel. There we’re still crowds of people in most places. I have memories of our last After Hours (in May 2019, which was sold out) and feeling like we had the place to ourselves once it hit the last hour of the event. 

Also, it was beyond crowded on Main St when we arrived….getting back to Adventure Land was a struggle with the crowds waiting for the fireworks. This was maybe at 8:15? It was as crowded as I’ve ever seen it, and we had to fight through the crowds.


----------



## The Iron Giant

This morning’s posted wait time for the Parking Lot Trek at Magic Kingdom…


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

MK ropedrop today:
7:55 left room at Poly, got off track (not lost) in the GF because we were following another family.
8:27 at security (no wait).
8:32 at hub for 7DMT (my family is looking at me wondering why we rushed - lot less crowded than I thought it would be).


Photo is at 8:32



Photo at 8:55


At 8:55, CM says, "reminder" 7DMT is a delayed opening (the "reminder" annoyed me because there was no notice at all).
9am started walking, hard right & ran to Space Mountain - in line at 9:03; 9:14 inside building; nonstop walk to boarding room (at 9:17) & then waited a bit; 9:30 off Space.
9:35 on line for Buzz (posted 5 minutes). Queue route/wall is different than our last trip two years ago); off Buzz at 9:48.
9:53 on line for Pooh (posted 5 minutes); off Pooh at 10:08.

10:10 on line for Peter Pan (posted 35 minutes, then 50 minutes while in line) (I've never been in this queue before, always a FP ride) off ride at 10:39.

10:40 on line for Haunted Mansion (posted 10 minutes); off 10:58.

11:05 on line for IASW (posted 40 minutes); my two adult daughters skipped this & went for Starbucks; 11:19 loading into boat; off IASW at 11:35
11:45 picked up our Pecos Bill mobile order - our rope drop morning is over.
Really, really miss FP+!

After lunch:
12:21 on line for BTMRR (25 min posted wait); only in the sun for 2 minutes then under cover; loading at 12:33; off ride at 12:38.
12:41 on line for Pirates (posted 45 min); loading at 12:56; off at 1:05.
Heading back to Poly (in our room) at 2pm. Gonna rest for 2 hours then head to LTT for dinner.


After a leisurely dinner at LTT, we waddled out for more rides ...
6:29 on line for SDMT (70 minute posted wait) (LOTS of line cutters & people with absolutely no concept of personal space ), loaded at 7:27 (58 minute actual wait). I really, really, really miss FP+.

7:35 on line for Little Mermaid (35 minute posted wait), loaded at 7:48 (12 minute actual wait).

8:02 on line for TTA / People Mover (20 minute posted wait), loaded at 8:10 (8 minute actual wait).

Was going to try to snag a last minute spot for HEA fireworks but crowds were CRAZY. I walked back to the Poly while my family shopped.

Again, with our lowered expectations, we had a good day. Not as good as past trips (with FP+) but not as bad as I had feared from reading this thread.

Epcot tomorrow


----------



## CarolMN

Respectfully, I would not bring unvaccinated children to Florida for the foreseeable future.  Just not worth the risk.


----------



## cakebaker

Looper said:


> We’ve been to other After Hours events, and this felt 10x more crowded. Wait times were low, which was good, but there were people everywhere, so it didn’t have that special ‘you’re in the park after closing’ feel.



I'm sorry you didn't get the feel you were hoping for but the description of the event was very telling- they used the same verbiage they did with the Villains events and those events had complaints as well because they weren't anything like a traditional After Hours. From the reports I'm reading and by watching a good deal of it on streams, it seems as though that's pretty much what they delivered - A Villains event capacity limit.


----------



## preemiemama

cakebaker said:


> I'm sorry you didn't get the feel you were hoping for but the description of the event was very telling- they used the same verbiage they did with the Villains events and those events had complaints as well because they weren't anything like a traditional After Hours. From the reports I'm reading and by watching a good deal of it on streams, it seems as though that's pretty much what they delivered - A Villains event capacity limit.


I was thinking the same thing- it's been pretty much modeled on that experience.  The wait times seemed better, though?  Villains was a mixed bag for us so I'd expect similar reviews for this as well.


----------



## MissSha

Ricguz said:


> I hope the people without the bands leave.  It’s not fair for the ones who paid a ton of money for the Boo celebration.  I wonder if this year, cast member are going to have trouble moving people out


and people who bought a park ticket alone are being kicked out early for the Boo Bash and not getting a discount for having to leave early


----------



## emily nicole

MissSha said:


> and people who bought a park ticket alone are being kicked out early for the Boo Bash and not getting a discount for having to leave early


Doesn't Boo Bash take place after the park closes? So it does not affect day guests, right? Or am I missing something.


----------



## MissSha

Sarahslay said:


> Well now I feel left out, I haven't even gotten one. Well, I take that back, I got one several weeks ago but that's it. I guess they're tired of me at this point.


I'm a DVC member who doesn't ever get anything like that.  Disney got my money 16 years ago and they stopped caring about me!


----------



## cakebaker

MissSha said:


> and people who bought a park ticket alone are being kicked out early for the Boo Bash and not getting a discount for having to leave early



That's not an excuse to try and sneak into a hard ticket event you didn't pay for. The park closed at 9, that's not having to leave early btw. Day guests lost nothing because of the party event.


----------



## MissSha

emily nicole said:


> Doesn't Boo Bash take place after the park closes? So it does not affect day guests, right? Or am I missing something.


I believe Boo Bash starts before park closing, making those of us who didn't buy a ticket have to leave early. At LEAST that's how it's been done in the past.....I certainly may be wrong


----------



## Farro

MissSha said:


> I believe Boo Bash starts before park closing, making those of us who didn't buy a ticket have to leave early. At LEAST that's how it's been done in the past.....I certainly may be wrong



No. It starts after park close. Boo Bash people can get in at 7, but no one has to leave until park normal close.


----------



## Looper

cakebaker said:


> I'm sorry you didn't get the feel you were hoping for but the description of the event was very telling- they used the same verbiage they did with the Villains events and those events had complaints as well because they weren't anything like a traditional After Hours. From the reports I'm reading and by watching a good deal of it on streams, it seems as though that's pretty much what they delivered - A Villains event capacity limit.


I‘m not upset by any means. Just wanted to relate my experience last night. It was definitely still crowded, and quite crowded at times, just with low wait times. I assume that was because there were other things for the crowds to do, like candy and watch the cavalcades. I definitely wouldn’t go again, but I’m not sad to have gone.


----------



## cakebaker

Ricguz said:


> I hope the people without the bands leave.  It’s not fair for the ones who paid a ton of money for the Boo celebration.  I wonder if this year, cast member are going to have trouble moving people out



The blame is on Disney if they don't enforce the rules. When you find someone who doesn't belong there, you escort them out, not just turn them away from a ride.  It's not hard to clear the park if they really want to, they did it quite well for traditional parties. 

Of course it's pretty low to try and stay for the event, but people do what they do. It's up to Disney to stop them.


----------



## emily nicole

MissSha said:


> I believe Boo Bash starts before park closing, making those of us who didn't buy a ticket have to leave early. At LEAST that's how it's been done in the past.....I certainly may be wrong


My understanding is that Boo Bash guests can enter the park at 7PM, but the party does not start until after the park closes. Day guests have to leave at park close (as they would on any night).

I know with MNSSHP, yes the park closed early and day guests did have to leave if they did not have MNSSHP tickets. I think you may be thinking of previous years.


----------



## MissSha

MissSha said:


> I believe Boo Bash starts before park closing, making those of us who didn't buy a ticket have to leave early. At LEAST that's how it's been done in the past.....I certainly may be wrong





emily nicole said:


> Doesn't Boo Bash take place after the park closes? So it does not affect day guests, right? Or am I missing something.


You're right.....I just checked park hours and MK closes at 9:00, with Boo Bash starting at 9:30 until early September!


----------



## cakebaker

MissSha said:


> I believe Boo Bash starts before park closing, making those of us who didn't buy a ticket have to leave early. At LEAST that's how it's been done in the past.....I certainly may be wrong



The official party doesn't start until park closing and they aren't closing early so, no-with this event day guests are losing nothing. That's a vast improvement over the regular parties where most nights the MK closed early and on the days it didn't, parks were packed because it was the only way to get a full day in.


----------



## emily nicole

cakebaker said:


> The official party doesn't start until park closing and they aren't closing early so, no-with this event day guests are losing nothing. That's a vast improvement over the regular parties where most nights the MK closed early and on the days it didn't, parks were packed because it was the only way to get a full day in.



MNSSHP days were our favorite days to visit the MK. Yes the park closed early so you missed out on a few hours and no fireworks, but the crowds were so low all day that it was worth it. We used to visit around Columbus Day every year  (school fall break) and the non-party days at MK would be a madhouse! Like 40 minute wait for the PeopleMover madhouse. Lol. It was like the difference between night and day in terms of crowds. We also learned our lesson after awhile and now avoid Columbus Day week like the plague. Haha.


----------



## MomOTwins

Looper said:


> There we’re still crowds of people in most places. I have memories of our last After Hours (in May 2020, which was sold out) and feeling like we had the place to ourselves once it hit the last hour of the event.


Of course it felt like you had the park to yourself in May 2020... just like Clark Griswold at Wallyworld


----------



## emily nicole

MomOTwins said:


> Of course it felt like you had the park to yourself in May 2020... just like Clark Griswold at Wallyworld


Park's closed, the moose out front shoulda told ya!


----------



## Looper

MomOTwins said:


> Of course it felt like you had the park to yourself in May 2020... just like Clark Griswold at Wallyworld


Lol! 2019….


----------



## DeeCeeSW

7DMT is a delayed opening? 



POOH&PIGLET said:


> MK ropedrop today:
> 7:55 left room at Poly, got off track (not lost) in the GF because we were following another family.
> 8:27 at security (no wait).
> 8:32 at hub for 7DMT (my family is looking at me wondering why we rushed - lot less crowded than I thought it would be).
> Photo is at 8:32
> View attachment 596356
> 
> At 8:55, CM says, "reminder" 7DMT is a delayed opening (the "reminder" annoyed me).
> 9am started walking, hard right & ran to Space Mountain - in line at 9:03.


----------



## Sugarshock

Wait times seem really reasonable today so far in the app! Hopefully the summer crowds are starting to go


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

DeeCeeSW said:


> 7DMT is a delayed opening?


Yes. 
Open now. Think it started a little after 9:30.


----------



## Lsdolphin

MissSha said:


> and people who bought a park ticket alone are being kicked out early for the Boo Bash and not getting a discount for having to leave early



Actually Boo Bash doesn’t begin until after the park officially closes anyway.


----------



## GoofyDad_4427

butterscotchcollins said:


> Are we anticipating that all Party days will be crowded during the day at MK? I thought it was usually the opposite when the park had a hard-ticketed event and the morning/early afternoon were less packed in years past.



2 reasons it is different now.  First, the park is not closing early.  In prior years when they had a party, the park would close at like 6:00.  Now it is still open until 9:00.  Second, the park reservation system has forced people to already book Mk for the day.  In prior years not having these two factors, people would see the park closed at 6:00 and with their ticket they could visit any park, so they would choose one of the other 3 parks for this date.  Now, with the park closing at regular hours and they already have MK reserved for that day, they are going there so it will be a normal day with crowds.


----------



## Son of Gadsden

Was there over the weekend. EPCOT and DHS were normal. Nothing too crowded, but not empty. 99% of the people I saw were wearing masks indoors, though a solid 25% of those people had them pulled down below their noses. Cast members enforce mask rules at queue entries but didn't hear them saying anything anywhere else. 

We had a good enough time to head back again for a long weekend this week. I would go. If you're an adult, you are hopefully vaccinated. My kids aren't. They homeschool because I dont like how the FL school system has handled COVID. We tell them not to touch anything at the parks that they don't have to touch, wash hands every time we pass sanitizer, and they wear masks anywhere questionable. We go to the parks multiple times a month and they haven't gotten COVID. That being said, it's a risk. All you can do is weigh the risks and decide if it's worth it for your family.


----------



## scrappinginontario

emily nicole said:


> MNSSHP days were our favorite days to visit the MK. Yes the park closed early so you missed out on a few hours and no fireworks, but the crowds were so low all day that it was worth it. We used to visit around Columbus Day every year  (school fall break) and the non-party days at MK would be a madhouse! Like 40 minute wait for the PeopleMover madhouse. Lol. It was like the difference between night and day in terms of crowds. We also learned our lesson after awhile and now avoid Columbus Day week like the plague. Haha.


We were the same!  We normally visited mid-Sept and planned all of our MK days on party days as the crowds were less during the day.  It was great!

One evening in 2019 we hopped to MK for fireworks and it was C-R-A-Z-Y!!!  Waits were over an hour for everything including it's a small world and People Mover so we left.   We were there about 45 mins and left having not ridden anything or even watched the fireworks as the crowd levels were just to intense for us.


----------



## puffkin

If it is anything like last week, you have to be personally comfortable with the risk for your children, because there are virtually no safety measures in place at this point.  The only place masking was enforced half heartedly was entering a building and boarding a ride, but nowhere else.  We are all vaccinated except my 9 year old DS and while not militant about safety/masking, we do tend to follow them as much as possible and wore masks as much as we could even in the outside lines.  It was brutal though and we did take them down often.  We always wore them indoors.  Even so, and with having a fairly high risk tolerance, I was pretty uncomfortable with my 9 year old.  If I knew everyone was vaccinated I would be fine, but there is just too many that aren't and flaunting it there.  This is our 4th COVID trip, and I felt comfortable on all the others but not this one for my son (and ironically this is the only one I was fully vaccinated on).


----------



## erionm

Classes just started yesterday (8/10) for most Central FL School Districts.


----------



## bookgirl2632

scrappinginontario said:


> We were the same!  We normally visited mid-Sept and planned all of our MK days on party days as the crowds were less during the day.  It was great!
> 
> One evening in 2019 we hopped to MK for fireworks and it was C-R-A-Z-Y!!!  Waits were over an hour for everything including it's a small world and People Mover so we left.   We were there about 45 mins and left having not ridden anything or even watched the fireworks as the crowd levels were just to intense for us.


Yeah, when I hop to MK for fireworks, we don’t plan on doing much else.  Maybe we shop or grab an ice cream, but we usually just grab a spot for the fireworks.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

bookgirl2632 said:


> Yeah, when I hop to MK for fireworks, we don’t plan on doing much else.  Maybe we shop or grab an ice cream, but we usually just grab a spot for the fireworks.


If we were to hop to MK for the fireworks, what's a good time to arrive and a good place to stake a claim that will allow a good view with small ones?


----------



## scrappinginontario

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> If we were to hop to MK for the fireworks, what's a good time to arrive and a good place to stake a claim that will allow a good view with small ones?


90 mins is often recommended.  Getting a good spot with small ones is a challenge because when the fireworks start, everyone stands up.  Not good but reality and it happens every night.

My tip is to go early and stake out a spot in the hub directly behind one of the fenced trees.  It's not a ton of space between them and the people standing in front of them but at least gives little ones a hope of seeing what's on the castle or in the sky.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

scrappinginontario said:


> 90 mins is often recommended.  Getting a good spot with small ones is a challenge because when the fireworks start, everyone stands up.  Not good but reality and it happens every night.
> 
> My tip is to go early and stake out a spot in the hub directly behind one of the fenced trees.  It's not a ton of space between them and the people standing in front of them but at least gives little ones a hope of seeing what's on the castle or in the sky.
> View attachment 596434


Thanks so much!  I shall take your advice!


----------



## Sarahslay

MissSha said:


> and people who bought a park ticket alone are being kicked out early for the Boo Bash and not getting a discount for having to leave early


no one had to leave early, park close was the same time it's been for a good long while, they lost no park time. Anyone who feels they are entitled to more obviously haven't been paying attention, and obviously haven't been to the parks pre-covid during one of these events. You don't want to have to vacate post HEA? Don't go on an event night, it's that simple, it's always been that way.


----------



## MissSha

Sarahslay said:


> no one had to leave early, park close was the same time it's been for a good long while, they lost no park time. Anyone who feels they are entitled to more obviously haven't been paying attention, and obviously haven't been to the parks pre-covid during one of these events. You don't want to have to vacate post HEA? Don't go on an event night, it's that simple, it's always been that way.


yes....I clarified my comment about that in an earlier post.


----------



## IluvMGM

CarlyMur09 said:


> Yep. Trip is 9/2-9/5 and I've been getting it every day since I booked it last week.



Haha, I was just telling my boyfriend they send me the same email every single day. It seems to be after I visit the app is when it shows up.


----------



## 123SA

Easy day at Epcot.  Crowds are not bad still think not having fast pass is fine.
We arrived on skyliner.  Held outside for a bit. The held at Canada. Rope drop at 1030.  Kids finished in design room at test track at 1107.  Then we did Nemo ride,  photopass photo, Soarin.  Split up for lunch. Some to coral reef at 1.  Rest went to countries. We did the festival booths at France Greece Japan and Germany    Frozen ride - this was really slow. Posted 35, but so many people with return fast passes arrived it really slowed down the line.  And people were wondering if fast pass plus had been reinstated. The fast pass line was past the restaurant entrance   We finished in about one hour.    Then Mexico for ride and snacks and now back at test track


----------



## 123SA

My observations about COVID policies since we arrived Sat 8/7

90% of the people are compliant. I’ve seen very few intentionally non compliant people.
It’s just that people forget. I have walked into buildings without my mask.  With the number of people here, This situation happens frequently.  
There is no standard …. You just have to look at what other people are doing.  Sometimes they want the masks on in outside lines, sometimes they don’t.  
We are all vaccinated.  No way would I consider bringing an unvaccinated person. I’m too cautious to assume that kind of risk.  There is no way to be careful. You can control your own mask wearing but you will not be able to avoid close contact  with non mask wearers.


----------



## petunia

Can someone clarify, when would you get a fastpass right now, is it if youre in line for something and the ride breaks down? Or are there other stipulations, like if it breaks down for over x amount of time? Also, is the pass then specifically for that ride that day?  Thx!


----------



## Ecomommy09

petunia said:


> Can someone clarify, when would you get a fastpass right now, is it if youre in line for something and the ride breaks down? Or are there other stipulations, like if it breaks down for over x amount of time? Also, is the pass then specifically for that ride that day?  Thx!


If you are in a ride and it breaks down or if something else unfortunate happens, they may give you a fast pass.  My daughter and I waited 90 minutes to get on FOP and when we got to the actual start of the queue, she was too short. I had specifically asked the cast member at the end of the line if I should go to the front and verify she could ride before getting in line.  She assured me she would be tall enough AND that the line was only 30 minutes at that point.  So, the CM gave me a recovery fast pass and I used it for Navi because the wait was 60 minutes. So, technically we’d already waited and they were just saying I’d waited for Navi instead of FOP, which was very kind.  Though, she was sorely disappointed


----------



## luv2cheer92

petunia said:


> Can someone clarify, when would you get a fastpass right now, is it if youre in line for something and the ride breaks down? Or are there other stipulations, like if it breaks down for over x amount of time? Also, is the pass then specifically for that ride that day?  Thx!


Pretty much as above. Also note that there are many other reasons that someone may be using the FP line, even without having a FP.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

luv2cheer92 said:


> Pretty much as above. Also note that there are many other reasons that someone may be using the FP line, even without having a FP.


Yep, also used for DAS pass and VIP tours, to name a few more.


----------



## kc51570

petunia said:


> Can someone clarify, when would you get a fastpass right now, is it if youre in line for something and the ride breaks down? Or are there other stipulations, like if it breaks down for over x amount of time? Also, is the pass then specifically for that ride that day?  Thx!


We got a FP when we had to be evacuated off the People Mover. The ride must have stopped at least 6 times and eventually they couldn’t get it running again. It turned into a 45 minute experience. We did not get a FP after we had gone through most of the Splash line, just around the corner from loading area and the ride broke down. It’s annoying that the policy is so inconsistent because as we were waiting to be evacuated from PM, we could see them giving FPs to those in that line which was a far shorter one than the Splash one we had gone through without a recovery pass. It was a MK anytime pass good for every ride except SDMT until the next day.


----------



## MinnieMSue

petunia said:


> Can someone clarify, when would you get a fastpass right now, is it if youre in line for something and the ride breaks down? Or are there other stipulations, like if it breaks down for over x amount of time? Also, is the pass then specifically for that ride that day?  Thx!



we have never once been given a recovery fast pass for any reason. We have had lots of situations where people get them as reported on here but not once have been given one.


----------



## smwisc

petunia said:


> Can someone clarify, when would you get a fastpass right now, is it if youre in line for something and the ride breaks down? Or are there other stipulations, like if it breaks down for over x amount of time? Also, is the pass then specifically for that ride that day?  Thx!


We got one when we were evacuated from Spaceship Earth. But it was only good for that day, it was already late afternoon, and it excluded Soarin', Frozen, and TT.  Since everything else had very short lines anyway it wasn't much use.


----------



## disny_luvr

petunia said:


> Can someone clarify, when would you get a fastpass right now, is it if youre in line for something and the ride breaks down? Or are there other stipulations, like if it breaks down for over x amount of time? Also, is the pass then specifically for that ride that day?  Thx!



We got a recovery fast pass on Saturday morning at AK. We were in line for the Safari and waited and waited. I guess an animal was on the road and would not move. The thing that bothered me was that they didn’t announce they were giving recovery fast passes. We were almost at the loading area and went out a side exit. No one said a word about fast passes. We walked past the entrance to the ride, and the people in the back of the line were exiting and getting fast passes. I walked over to the one CM and explained we were almost ready to load and that we didn’t get one. She happily gave us one, but there were tons of people near us in line that didn’t get one, and I just don’t think that’s right.

The fast pass had to be used that day and only on select rides.


----------



## WEDWDW

luv2cheer92 said:


> Pretty much as above. Also note that there are many other reasons that someone may be using the FP line, even without having a FP.


Occasionally a Cast Member may "Pixie Dust" a Guest with access to the FP line for no reason other than that.

It happened to us at Soarin' last trip.

First time we had been in a FP line in a LONG time-talk about getting some SERIOUS stares!lol


----------



## rlk

We got a recovery FP when we were evacuated from Winnie the Pooh.  Also, a CM at guest services surprised us with 3 FPs to use at the park we were going to the next day.  Since we only used one, a CM at a Guest Experience blue umbrella moved them to our next park day.


----------



## The Iron Giant

MinnieMSue said:


> we have never once been given a recovery fast pass for any reason. We have had lots of situations where people get them as reported on here but not once have been given one.


Sometimes you just need to ask.  We were at rope drop a few years ago and when TSM was new and there was an issue with my wife’s magic band not scanning at the tapstile even though we had used it all week. They tried to resolve it at the gate but ultimately sent us to guest services and after 15 minutes they were able to resolve the issue.  Needless to say our chance to walk on TSM had passed.  So I explained that we had waited for almost an hour at the gate and missed our chance for a low wait on the ride.  I knew from someone else’s experience that they could add fast passes to your account so I politely asked and they happily added multiple passes to our account.


----------



## The Iron Giant

We did Blizzard Beach today and paid up for the umbrella seating area.  Crowds were pretty manageable and we had low wait times for most stuff.  There was some thunder with no rain that cleared out most of the park mid afternoon.  We waited it out while eating lunch and felt like we had the park to ourself the last hour and a half.  Kids had a great time.  There was plenty of seating so I’m not sure if we would pay extra next time for the umbrella section but it was very quiet in that area.  One downside was that the lodge restaurant had no gas for the kitchen today so they couldn’t cook most of the stuff on the menu.  It was slim pickings there but not a big deal.  Great day all things considered.


----------



## DisneyOma

123SA said:


> AK today 714 tapstiles opened. Started moving off bridge about 732. My kids were at the rope.  Pushed back about 10 groups upon moving, but CM let dh and I on line with them when we waved at them walking by So we were in one of the first rooms. Preshow 744. Off and leaving pandora by 804.  3x Everest walk on.  Walk on safari. off at 918. Checked out gorillas.  Walk on dinosaur 2x. done at 956.  Checked out otters.  Walk in LK at 1012.   Plenty of seating available at 1025.   So the longest wait so far was bus At AOA
> So far, we don’t find it an crowded than previous August visits
> Also, no one misses fast pass.
> 
> and we love mobile order



We love mobile order as well, except when it doesn't work, which seems to be happening more often now. DD had a huge wait after her meal was signaled as being prepared - it was a kid's meal mac and cheese. She was told there were 15 orders ahead o hers, so why did they tag it as being prepared?

Also, we miss fast pass a lot.



123SA said:


> My observations about COVID policies since we arrived Sat 8/7
> 
> 90% of the people are compliant. I’ve seen very few intentionally non compliant people.
> It’s just that people forget. I have walked into buildings without my mask.  With the number of people here, This situation happens frequently.
> There is no standard …. You just have to look at what other people are doing.  Sometimes they want the masks on in outside lines, sometimes they don’t.
> We are all vaccinated.  No way would I consider bringing an unvaccinated person. I’m too cautious to assume that kind of risk.  There is no way to be careful. You can control your own mask wearing but you will not be able to avoid close contact  with non mask wearers.



Posted signs say masks indoors, and in queues. Not sure why you think there is no standard? I've also seen many purposely noncompliant people - ones who put the mask on when the CM tells them to, but pull it down as soon as they get past.


----------



## Marvin1968

Looper said:


> We went to Boo Bash last night….and I’ll be honest it wasn’t what I’d hoped for. We’ve been to other After Hours events, and this felt 10x more crowded. Wait times were low, which was good, but there were people everywhere, so it didn’t have that special ‘you’re in the park after closing’ feel. There we’re still crowds of people in most places. I have memories of our last After Hours (in May 2019, which was sold out) and feeling like we had the place to ourselves once it hit the last hour of the event.
> 
> Also, it was beyond crowded on Main St when we arrived….getting back to Adventure Land was a struggle with the crowds waiting for the fireworks. This was maybe at 8:15? It was as crowded as I’ve ever seen it, and we had to fight through the crowds.


This exactly


----------



## SimonSez

Walked to Epcot from the YC today around 11 am.  We practically had WS to ourselves, how nice was that   The weather was nice but hot of course. Rode SE, took about five minutes to board, Soarin was also about five minutes. The Land was a walk-on, Figment took maybe 10 minutes and the ride at Mexico was probably 5 minutes, didn't do TT. All in all, everything was pretty quick today. Last night, we went to the French bakery and were in line close to a half hour, That place is packed at night, and I think they were short staffed. Maybe it was a sign that we didn't need all that food  Today, we tried the Impossible Slider at Earth Eats, it was wonderful. We are not vegan, but that had so much flavor and a little bite to it. Also, I recommend the apple cinnamon chai ice tea there  Okay, that part belongs on the food forum, but it was part of our Epcot experience. We found all the hidden Remy's and got our prizes. China and Japan hid theirs quite well and I appreciated the extra challenge. Tomorrow is our last day here  and it'd the MK. We will do SDMT, which we missed the other day. Probably our last ride down Splash forever. That's bittersweet, as we love the ride but are also looking forward to the Princess and the Frog theme  Not sure if we are going to Epcot after the Mk tomorrow night. Enjoyed Epcot as usual, it's never quite as hectic as the other parks. AK, however, was really nice and relaxing this trip


----------



## bookgirl2632

The Iron Giant said:


> We did Blizzard Beach today and paid up for the umbrella seating area.  Crowds were pretty manageable and we had low wait times for most stuff.  There was some thunder with no rain that cleared out most of the park mid afternoon.  We waited it out while eating lunch and felt like we had the park to ourself the last hour and a half.  Kids had a great time.  There was plenty of seating so I’m not sure if we would pay extra next time for the umbrella section but it was very quiet in that area.  One downside was that the lodge restaurant had no gas for the kitchen today so they couldn’t cook most of the stuff on the menu.  It was slim pickings there but not a big deal.  Great day all things considered.


How much was the rental, if you don’t mind my asking?  And how many chairs come with it?


----------



## PortieOwner

Quick Wednesday report:

DHS with ROTR boarding group in the 60s. Rope-dropped RRC for a practical walk-on, so did it again. Then MMRR for about a 35 minute wait. Followed by Star Tours (15 mins), then single rider on Smuggler's Run. Excellent lunch at ABC Commissary. All the food service CMs have been great on this trip. Then Muppets (walk on) and a 30 minute wait to get called. ROTR was fantastic. Back to hotel to hit the pool. 

Late afternoon: Epcot. Mission Space Orange, walk-on, then Test Track (single rider line, 5 minutes). Walk to Beach Club for huge ice cream at Beaches and Cream, then Journey into Imagination, Land Boat ride, and back to hotel. 

Late evening: drive to WL for a chicken and waffles dinner at Roaring Fork. No issues entering the resort and parking there for an hour. 

Masks: compliance is not great but I don't rely on someone wearing a mask to save me. I view a mask on someone else as reducing my chance of reinfection by about 10 percent. 

There were plenty of egregious examples of mask cheating but here are two: 1) two dudes with masks off, vaping on the ToT line. It was outdoors but still a confined area. CM scolded them but they went right back to it as soon as the CM was gone. I saw several other people vaping in outdoor lines on the trip. 2) A huge dude scarfing down a bucket of popcorn on the indoor part of the Space Mountain line.


----------



## Wendy98

PortieOwner said:


> There were plenty of egregious examples of mask cheating but here are two: 1) two dudes with masks off, vaping on the ToT line. It was outdoors but still a confined area. CM scolded them but they went right back to it as soon as the CM was gone. I saw several other people vaping in outdoor lines on the trip. 2) A huge dude scarfing down a bucket of popcorn on the indoor part of the Space Mountain line.



I was at AK on Saturday and rode Expedition Everest.  The guy directly in front of me was vaping ON THE RIDE--large puffs went directly into my face and my son's.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Harmonius testing around 1215 am... security guy whereled up the Boardwalk and stopped and said "wasn't that beautiful. They do it 2x a week now ". He then told me he was en route to a couple noise complaints...lol. go figure.  Basically ran out in my boxers to witness it while someone else called in a complaint.


----------



## Gary Stocker

On the friendship boat back from DHS to Boardwalk the captain was demanding full mask compliance and calling out people individually who didn't heed the warnings. Marked difference from earlier in the trip where I saw many noses and occasional chins. 
When leaving I inquired and was told there is a lot of "feedback" on enforcement of these rules, in particular within transportation. 
The lines continue to be the wild west for the most part however.  Even had one dad tell his teenage son to pull his mask down in the Everest queue.


----------



## alexiskimberly

Just arrived at WDW yesterday and am here for a week, and so excited to share all I see and experience for you all! So far, I have continued to be blown away by how helpful and fun cast members have been. I’ve encountered at least 10-12 and they’ve all just been so constantly wonderful, even bumping us to an INCREDIBLE view at the yacht club because they saw it was our anniversary! Will start rope dropping later this week and sharing my experience


----------



## distherapy

Gary Stocker said:


> On the friendship boat back from DHS to Boardwalk the captain was demanding full mask compliance and calling out people individually who didn't heed the warnings. Marked difference from earlier in the trip where I saw many noses and occasional chins.
> When leaving I inquired and was told there is a lot of "feedback" on enforcement of these rules, in particular within transportation.
> The lines continue to be the wild west for the most part however.  Even had one dad tell his teenage son to pull his mask down in the Everest queue.


I am so jealous. On our one friendship boat experience, mask compliance was terrible. A dad and a group of older teens had them around their necks and were yelling to each other (they were scattered throughout the crowded boat. Some sitting and some standing). Parents with a younger kid were literally begging them to pull them up. A couple were wearing gaiters as masks, too.

we had better luck on Safari. The driver was great and she stopped and called people out.

overall, I think mask compliance in lines has been pretty poor - especially on rides like EE that are part outside. Lord of noses and lots of take on/take off as they pass CMs.


----------



## cakebaker

DisneyOma said:


> Posted signs say masks indoors, and in queues. Not sure why you think there is no standard?



Yes, signs are posted, but enforcement is inconsistent. When we were at Fort Wilderness, they didn’t even mention you had to wear a mask and we were some of the few who did - most did not. We moved to the BC during our stay and they were very firm in letting everyone know they had to wear masks on the friendship boats .


----------



## Best Aunt

WEDWDW said:


> Occasionally a Cast Member may "Pixie Dust" a Guest with access to the FP line for no reason other than that.



Pre-COVID, I met up with a friend at Magic Kingdom.  We stopped to ask a cast member a question, and then my friend explained our situation and how happy we were to be there.  I think my friend's enthusiasm must have been contagious, becaues the CM smiled and gave us fastpasses.


----------



## SarahC97

I just got back last Friday, stayed 8/01-8/05 at Beach Club. We're passholders and have had several trips since reopening, the last was at the end of May/start of June. Crowds then still weren't awful though it was noticeably busier than previous trips but wait times were generally under an hour for most things. Our strategy for this trip was to spend each morning/early afternoon at the pool and then go to the parks in the late afternoon or early evening.

The first two parks we went to were EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. I had been reading on this thread about how crowded everything was and I have to admit, once I got there I thought you all were a little insane for thinking the crowds were back to regular levels. EPCOT and HS still didn't feel like pre-pandemic levels to me at all. In fact, in the evenings we were able to walk on almost all the rides in future world with the exception of Test Track and while there were a few bottlenecks in the World Showcase, that was easy to stroll through as well. Waits at Food and Wine booths were not bad either. Hollywood's wait times weren't terrible. I think we waited about 30 minutes for Tower of Terror and 45 for Runaway Railway. TSMM was like a 20-minute wait. We didn't attempt any of the Star Wars rides or RNRC or SDD. Then we went to Magic Kingdom. Wowza. That park was completely nuts. While some of the other parks tend to get less busy as the day goes on, this didn't seem to be the case for Magic Kingdom.

We arrived about 2 pm and the wait times for everything were through the roof. All wait times posted were pretty high, even for smaller rides. And the absolute sea of people you had to wade through to get anywhere was intense. We ended up bailing before the fireworks because we just couldn't take it anymore. I'd say we were there for about six hours and we managed to ride three things and see the Hall of Presidents. It was not great. That park is by far the worst we experienced with crowds and I'm glad we didn't go there first so I could live in my fantasyland of "this isn't so bad" just a little while longer.

Truthfully, they need to open everything back up. This is just my opinion, but I cannot believe they have opened capacity up as much as they have while they still have many entertainment options, shops, and restaurants closed. It is not working out well at Magic Kingdom, but I imagine if I had gone to the other parks earlier in the day, I would have had a similar experience. As someone who was able to use Fastpass to it's fullest capacity when it was around, this was the first trip I lamented not having it (but I'm kind of living in fear of what it will come back as when it eventually returns). I'm going again for a short three-day trip at the end of this month, I'm hoping the crowds will be better then since that seems to be a bit of a lull between school being back in session and the 50th ramping up -- but I think I'll skip out on any more trips until next year after that. I imagine with the crowds coming this fall that any trip would not be an enjoyable experience for me.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Anyone know if CRT or BOG are going to reopen for breakfast/change back to their original lunch menus?


----------



## SarahC97

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Anyone know if CRT or BOG are going to reopen for breakfast/change back to their original lunch menus?


I have heard that BOG breakfast is coming back by the end of August. Not confirmed, obviously.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

SarahC97 said:


> I have heard that BOG breakfast is coming back by the end of August. Not confirmed, obviously.


While its a rumor, I do thank you for the information! Fingers crossed!


----------



## 123SA

I spoke too soon. So many non compliant with masks at MK today.  They hold up the line by passive aggressively slowly putting it on, making sure we all know they don’t want to, and then take it off 5 steps later.  So irritating. There are so many at risk unvaccinated kids around


----------



## SarahC97

123SA said:


> I spoke too soon. So many non compliant with masks at MK today.  They hold up the line by passive aggressively slowly putting it on, making sure we all know they don’t want to, and then take it off 5 steps later.  So irritating. There are so many at risk unvaccinated kids around


When we were there last week I did notice that some people were removing their masks or not wearing them correctly after passing by the CM at the line entrance who asked them to put it on. I didn't see any ride CMs past that point correct those people. There was no enforcement I saw after entering the ride queue.


----------



## erin1715

Obviously everyone’s experience with mask enforcement is different but I did witness a few times last week where CMs went out of their way to tell ppl to pull their masks up while waiting in a que. One instance I remember specifically was waiting in Peter Pan, a CM leaned over the railing to ask someone to pull their mask up. I think if CMs are within view then they will ask. But on other lines like Little Mermaid where you go thru a long que with nowhere for a CM to stand, then it’s harder to enforce. Overall I felt that mask compliance was pretty good.


----------



## SarahC97

erin1715 said:


> Obviously everyone’s experience with mask enforcement is different but I did witness a few times last week where CMs went out of their way to tell ppl to pull their masks up while waiting in a que. One instance I remember specifically was waiting in Peter Pan, a CM leaned over the railing to ask someone to pull their mask up. I think if CMs are within view then they will ask. But on other lines like Little Mermaid where you go thru a long que with nowhere for a CM to stand, then it’s harder to enforce. Overall I felt that mask compliance was pretty good.


I felt overall that mask compliance was really good too. Just a few people here and there in line that I saw, but a large majority of people had them on like they were supposed to.


----------



## boop0524

been awhile since we’ve traveled with our extended family and I forget….do they have to have all their tickets purchased and in my MDE in order for me to make ADRs? Or does it not matter and I can link them later?


----------



## cakebaker

erin1715 said:


> Obviously everyone’s experience with mask enforcement is different but I did witness a few times last week where CMs went out of their way to tell ppl to pull their masks up while waiting in a que. One instance I remember specifically was waiting in Peter Pan, a CM leaned over the railing to ask someone to pull their mask up. I think if CMs are within view then they will ask. But on other lines like Little Mermaid where you go thru a long que with nowhere for a CM to stand, then it’s harder to enforce. Overall I felt that mask compliance was pretty good.



It's the inconsistency on the part of CM's that's the problem. When we were there the beginning of August there was 0 mask enforcement when we rode Star Tours- not when you got in line, not when you got on the attraction. Very few people were voluntarily wearing a mask. It was bad enough that we actually complained at guest services. While I don't envy a CM's job right now, they are supposed to enforce the rules and they just weren't doing it at all. They can't do much about people who want to be jerks, but they can do more than they were doing there. I saw plenty of instances where CM's clearly had to be seeing people not wearing their masks properly and said nothing. They seem to be better about telling them to put them on, not so good at not letting them get away with being mask sniffers. Maybe it's better now, we were there when they actually started the new requirement.


----------



## Naomeri

boop0524 said:


> been awhile since we’ve traveled with our extended family and I forget….do they have to have all their tickets purchased and in my MDE in order for me to make ADRs? Or does it not matter and I can link them later?


ADRs just need to be made for the right number of people, you don’t ever have to actually say who the other guests are besides you (unless someone else would be checking in for the meal, probably)


----------



## boop0524

Naomeri said:


> ADRs just need to be made for the right number of people, you don’t ever have to actually say who the other guests are besides you (unless someone else would be checking in for the meal, probably)



awesome thank you!!


----------



## Bahamontes

Just got back from a wonderful, hectic day at BC (followed by a very warm bike ride across the Sunshine State one day and back the next) 

I could not agree more with @SarahC97 about MK. We hit all four parks - RD AK, lunch at Epcot, the evening at HS, and HEA to close out the night. I wish I had just stayed at HS; MK was wild and a stark contrast to the crowds at the other parks.

AK was probably best about mask compliance, with multiple CMs asking folks to mask properly throughout all queues. Epcot was, as Sarah mentioned, low on crowds the whole time we were there (~3-5pm)

If you can live without the Magic Kingdom right now, I’d recommend giving it a pass. It’s frenzied in a way I can’t quite articulate, and I can’t imagine what October will be like.


----------



## luv2cheer92

cakebaker said:


> Yes, signs are posted, but enforcement is inconsistent. When we were at Fort Wilderness, they didn’t even mention you had to wear a mask and we were some of the few who did - most did not. We moved to the BC during our stay and they were very firm in letting everyone know they had to wear masks on the friendship boats .


Trying to think of where a mask would be needed at FW, they aren't required on those boats.


----------



## scrappinginontario

cakebaker said:


> It's the inconsistency on the part of CM's that's the problem. When we were there the beginning of August there was 0 mask enforcement when we rode Star Tours- not when you got in line, not when you got on the attraction. Very few people were voluntarily wearing a mask. It was bad enough that we actually complained at guest services. While I don't envy a CM's job right now, they are supposed to enforce the rules and they just weren't doing it at all.


While I'm not disagreeing with what you experienced, it's just so sad to me the the CMs have to work so hard to get people to comply in areas that are clearly inside.  (I understand there are challenges/inconsistencies outside.)

Guests going now know the current rules.  I cannot imagine how exhausting it must be for CMs to have to say the same thing day after day and, we have no idea how many rude, unkind guests they have had to deal with over the past year+.  Guests are in the parks for a few days.  These CMs have been living this for over 12 months now and it must be e-x-h-a-u-s-t-i-n-g.


----------



## cakebaker

scrappinginontario said:


> While I'm not disagreeing with what you experienced, it's just so sad to me the the CMs have to work so hard to get people to comply in areas that are clearly inside.  (I understand there are challenges/inconsistencies outside.)
> 
> Guests going now know the current rules.  I cannot imagine how exhausting it must be for CMs to have to say the same thing day after day and, we have no idea how many rude, unkind guests they have had to deal with over the past year+.  Guests are in the parks for a few days.  These CMs have been living this for over 12 months now and it must be e-x-h-a-u-s-t-i-n-g.



I couldn't agree with your more. I hate that CM's are even responsible to enforce and that people give them a hard time is just inexcusable. I know when we were there, we had nothing but great interactions with CM's and maybe it's just me projecting, but most of them just looked tired and stressed.

It's been a long time of having to deal with this.  My kids are teachers and they are stressed beyond belief and dreading the start of the school year. They had thought they'd at least be going back to a more normal environment, but it's actually worse.  It is exhausting and I feel for anyone having to deal with the public directly.

I know it's not feasible, but I wish Disney had a dedicated work force just to deal with enforcement and policies regarding all this mess. There are people who go right off the edge about policies like this and CM's- especially those who are just college kids, shouldn't have to deal with it.


----------



## CarolynFH

boop0524 said:


> awesome thank you!!


And if someone else is checking in for the meal, they can/should give your name to the CM at the podium. So again, no need to list everyone, unless they have their own MDE and you want them to be able to see the ADR there. They won’t be able to change or cancel it since you manage it.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Epcot today
10:10 left room at Poly, walked to monorail (very convenient).
10:20 on monorail.
From monorail, we could see the TT line being held. By time we entered Epcot, people had been let in. Brisk walk to TT.
10:40 on line for TT (posted 55 min); 11:00 entered design room; boarded at 11:08 so a 28 minute actual wait.

11:18 entered TT single rider line. Last of our group boarded at 11:22 so a 4 minute wait.

Food & Wine booths (so good)!!!

12:52 on the Frozen line (posted 20 min); hot outside in the blazing sun for 10 minutes; boarded at 1:15
so a 23 minute wait.

Roaming World Showcase now.

5:30 on line for Soarin (15 minute posted); 5:35 preshow with Patrick; loaded at 5:36 so 6 minute wait.

5:52 Nemo (walk-on)
6:14 Spaceship Earth (walk-on)


----------



## bbn1122

POOH&PIGLET said:


> Epcot today
> 10:10 left room at Poly, walked to monorail (very convenient).
> 10:20 on monorail.
> From monorail, we could see the TT line being held. By time we entered Epcot, people had been let in. Brisk walk to TT.
> 10:40 on line for TT (posted 55 min); 11:00 entered design room; boarded at 11:08 so a 28 minute actual wait.
> 
> 11:18 entered TT single rider line. Last of our group boarded at 11:22 so a 4 minute wait.
> 
> Food & Wine booths (so good)!!!
> 
> 12:52 on the Frozen line (posted 20 min); hot outside in the blazing sun for 10 minutes; boarded at 1:15
> so a 23 minute wait.
> 
> Roaming World Showcase now.



Thanks for posting. My family will be at the world starting Sunday. We’re planning on heading up Epcot in the evenings.
I am hoping that tropical storm, Fred makes it way quickly through the state. My family flies in Sunday afternoon and we’re hoping not to have any major delays!


----------



## tinkerhon

Bahamontes said:


> Just got back from a wonderful, hectic day at BC (followed by a very warm bike ride across the Sunshine State one day and back the next)
> 
> I could not agree more with @SarahC97 about MK. We hit all four parks - RD AK, lunch at Epcot, the evening at HS, and HEA to close out the night. I wish I had just stayed at HS; MK was wild and a stark contrast to the crowds at the other parks.
> 
> AK was probably best about mask compliance, with multiple CMs asking folks to mask properly throughout all queues. Epcot was, as Sarah mentioned, low on crowds the whole time we were there (~3-5pm)
> 
> If you can live without the Magic Kingdom right now, I’d recommend giving it a pass. It’s frenzied in a way I can’t quite articulate, and I can’t imagine what October will be like.



Totally agree about MK---- we were there a few weeks ago, and it was the worst part of our trip--- only went because we had "BoG' ADR


----------



## Gary Stocker

I have eaten grasshopper twice in my life..both at La Cava...you know your vacation is approaching its end game when..


----------



## Gary Stocker

Washed it down with some cucumber margarita...oh man this place is delicious but dangerous


----------



## 123SA

MK today seems much more crowded that every other park this week.  We slept in a bit and arrived at 835.   We rope dropped jungle cruise, then splash, big thunder, small world.  By then it was 1115 lunch at harbor house.  Space, buzz, under the sea, philharmagic, pirates.  Then we got in line for haunted mansion.  We had an hour until our 405 ADR and had to get out of line after making it out of the stretching room…it was so crowded and the ride has stopped. We weren’t going to make our adr if we stayed

dinner at crystal palace was very good.  Went to Main Street to look at Halloween stuff but there wasn’t much. Didn’t buy anything.  Stood in line for Pooh .. not sure how long but my boys were finished space before we got to ride.  Then it shut down but we did get a fast pass.    My feet hurt so I’m just going to hang around until fireworks   Kids are using the fast pass on space


----------



## Eastern

kc51570 said:


> We got a FP when we had to be evacuated off the People Mover. The ride must have stopped at least 6 times and eventually they couldn’t get it running again. It turned into a 45 minute experience. We did not get a FP after we had gone through most of the Splash line, just around the corner from loading area and the ride broke down. It’s annoying that the policy is so inconsistent because as we were waiting to be evacuated from PM, we could see them giving FPs to those in that line which was a far shorter one than the Splash one we had gone through without a recovery pass. It was a MK anytime pass good for every ride except SDMT until the next day.


We were in line for an hour once at TT. They finally closed the ride indefinitely but did not give anyone a FP. I think it was because there was a really huge line. This policy is very inconsistent.


----------



## bethbuchall

WEDWDW said:


> Occasionally a Cast Member may "Pixie Dust" a Guest with access to the FP line for no reason other than that.
> 
> It happened to us at Soarin' last trip.
> 
> First time we had been in a FP line in a LONG time-talk about getting some SERIOUS stares!lol


This happened to some friends of mine at FoP recently. The CM heard the one child excited to finally be tall enough to ride and let them in through the FP line.


----------



## Gary Stocker

So security has some expectations you need to follow so you don't get pulled to the side and have them rifle through your stuff... this applies for non strollers as you can expect them to check these.
Take out anything that might be "cubic" in your bag and hold out on front of you through the detector.
Umbrella
Cell phone
Portable charger
..all of these got my bag inspected when I left them in.
Appreciate the security but learn from my experience. Got through tonight holding these in front of me.


----------



## CarolynFH

Gary Stocker said:


> So security has some expectations you need to follow so you don't get pulled to the side and have them rifle through your stuff... this applies for non strollers as you can expect them to check these.
> Take out anything that might be "cubic" in your bag and hold out on front of you through the detector.
> Umbrella
> Cell phone
> Portable charger
> ..all of these got my bag inspected when I left them in.
> Appreciate the security but learn from my experience. Got through tonight holding these in front of me.


Yep, and a cardboard prism-shaped eyeglass case got us pulled over a couple of times before we realized that was the problem.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Boat parties awaiting Epcot Forever.


----------



## preemiemama

Gary Stocker said:


> So security has some expectations you need to follow so you don't get pulled to the side and have them rifle through your stuff... this applies for non strollers as you can expect them to check these.
> Take out anything that might be "cubic" in your bag and hold out on front of you through the detector.
> Umbrella
> Cell phone
> Portable charger
> ..all of these got my bag inspected when I left them in.
> Appreciate the security but learn from my experience. Got through tonight holding these in front of me.





CarolynFH said:


> Yep, and a cardboard prism-shaped eyeglass case got us pulled over a couple of times before we realized that was the problem.


My phone and chargers got through fine- it was the eyeglass case.  It has a metal hinge.  A couple security guards pointed it out.  Once it was out of the bag, no further issues.


----------



## Gary Stocker

My umbrellas were the culprits for me. Security specifically told me...guess they look like weapons?


----------



## preemiemama

Gary Stocker said:


> My umbrellas were the culprits for me. Security specifically told me...guess they look like weapons?


Yes- a few people have said that as well.  I didn't have one, but the eyeglass case got me!


----------



## Gary Stocker

Apparently they learned their lesson when this got through


----------



## The Iron Giant

We rope dropped HS today.  We drove and arrived at the parking lot about 7:50 and they let cars in within a few minutes.  We were among the first cars to park and were near the front of the line at the tapstiles.  The crowds were pretty well behaved and it wasn’t crazy at all. We headed for MFSR and were among the first groups to go on… basically a walk on.  I have to say… using the Touring Plans app was HUGE.  The Disney ride times were way overinflated and we used the app to minimize our times in line.   Had we went by Disney’s times we would have easily been discouraged from waiting for most rides.  We left about 2 hours before close and did every ride except Slinky.  We have another HS day and plan to rope drop it then.  We debated staying and doing it before leaving as the app had the wait at only 41 minutes but decided to head out before we felt like we overdid the day.  We missed getting a boarding group at 7am due to a snafu on our part but scored one in the park. The longest wait we had was for RnR at 36 minutes  which was spot on with the TP app. Can’t recommend the Touring Plans app enough… it was worth every penny and then some.


----------



## WEDWDW

CarolynFH said:


> Yep, and a cardboard prism-shaped eyeglass case got us pulled over a couple of times before we realized that was the problem.


After "hearing" that all I needed to do was hold my Umbrella and Phone out in front of me and I would be fine and then seeing that doing that resulted in being sent to the "table" EVERY time,I eventually began to put ANYTHING remotely questionable(Cellphone/Cellphone Charger/Earbuds Case/Keys/Eyeglass Cases/Batteries,etc.) in a large Ziploc bag and held that and my Umbrella out in front.

I started doing that a couple of trips back and have been sent to the "table" ZERO times and the Guards really seem to appreciate this "system".


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

For security checkpoints, I know I'm getting stopped EVERY time. I have 5 umbrellas, two cans of sunscreen & a portable battery.
The security people I've encountered have always been professional, efficient & pleasent. Much, much better screening process than in the past.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Funny we had breakfast at the Wave at California Grill (recommend) and when we walked to MK security guards told me I almost got my bag checked because of the "angle I held the umbrella " so it seems to be procedural...or they were messing with me..
Absolutely these folks are doing a great job and I appreciate it
While we were going through noticed a veritable Santa with a bulging sack of merch....put that together when I learned 50 anniversary stuff was being sold. Ho ho ebay


----------



## brockash

Today at Epcot was sooo much better for us than yesterday at MK.  MK is just kinda a madhouse postcovid...each time we go MK is our least enjoyable park.  Yesterday; we're all bunched up for Mine Train and 855 they tell us mine train is down...of course at this point there's nothing we can really do as we're all just stuck there.  We rode the least amount of rides we ever have at MK and we were there all day.

Epcot was a total 180 though.  We ended up being first to ride Test track today (we've never beem first to ride anything.)  We then moved it to Frozen...maybe 5 min wait; walked on Mexican boat ride, shopped a lil and then had lunch in Mexico...it was empty, no problem finding tables etc.  Having said that; their nachos were not good...it's usually one of our favorites, but it was different- no white queso, instead some generic yellow cheese sauce...it was pretty disappointing.  They also had no ketchup...apparently they ran out yesterday and wouldn't have more until tomorrow.  Bummer for my kiddo who got chicken fingers.  The cm taking my order was super sweet, the guy handing out the food though (Chris) was pretty unpleasant and definitely had no business interacting with customers.

After lunch we decided to just stroll around workd showcase and while it was hot, it was a leisurely not too crowded stroll.  We then went to Figment, under 5 min wait, Spaceship Earth under 5 mins., Nemo, under 5, Soarin about 7ish mins., Living with land walk on.  We also saw the fireworks- honestly we were all pretty disappointed...why they just couldn't have left Illuminations until they were ready for the new one, cause this one is pretty blah in our opinion.

Back to MK tomorrow...hoping for a more successful day, but we'll see.


----------



## SimonSez

We wrapped up our trip today at the MK.  We did rope drop for only the second time ever. We went straight to SDMT, probably took about a half hour to board. Rode Splash Mountain twice, BTMR, Pirates three times, once this morning and twice during Happily Ever After. We rode it back to back tonight because the first trip, we had to endure a guy in the back being a jerk  First, after we got in the boat, this guy hadn't masked up. When the CM reminded him, he snottily said "yeah if I don't mask up I might die." DSis turned around and said "you might."  Then right after the ride started, this same idiot started using flash photography  DNiece turned around and said "really dude."  Needless to say, he wasn't very popular on that boat. Some people's sense of self-worth is over exaggerated--see entitled  It was a happy ending though as we got right back on and had a boat to ourselves We managed to ride everything we wanted and more. All in all it was a very good trip. We were at MK from rope drop to closing and it was great. We enjoyed F&W and Epcot, and AK had the lowest crowd I've seen there. Our toughest day was probably DHS. The crowds were pretty overwhelming, and we couldn't wait to leave that park. We usually enjoy it a lot more than we did this time. We did get to ride ROTR, and that made it worth it  We will miss WDW and the YC and we may not be back for a couple more years. When I think of all the planning that went into this trip, it's over in a second  but at least we got to go. Mask compliance ended up better than I thought it would be, I'd say over 90% obeyed the rules. Yes, there were those who pulled their masks down after they got out of sight of the CM, but most people were very nice and did as they were told. It was a different type of trip than we were used to, with Covid. I must admit, some of it was pretty nice. I didn't miss FP and I loved how the characters roamed around. We even saw Winnie the Pooh in Epcot, up on a hill with a butterfly net. So that's it for our trip. Hope some of this info helps those with trips still ahead. Good luck to all of you and have great time when you get here Thanks and I'll see you real soon


----------



## monarchsfan16

Regarding security, every park I went to this week, the CMs were announcing that umbrellas should be removed to avoid secondary screening. The one day I took my dSLR into the parks, I also removed that and just hung it from my neck and held it up. I got several thumbs up and comments from the security CMs that made it clear that that also would have sent me to the table. 

On the flip side I never removed my small (zipper) sunglass case, my phone (in my pocket) or my portable charger and never had an issue. So those must be shape/size specific?


----------



## Leigh L

monarchsfan16 said:


> Regarding security, every park I went to this week, the CMs were announcing that umbrellas should be removed to avoid secondary screening. The one day I took my dSLR into the parks, I also removed that and just hung it from my neck and held it up. I got several thumbs up and comments from the security CMs that made it clear that that also would have sent me to the table.
> 
> On the flip side I never removed my small (zipper) sunglass case, my phone (in my pocket) or my portable charger and never had an issue. So those must be shape/size specific?


Could be. I get dinged for my eyeglass case. If I take it out, no problem whatsoever. I used to walk through holding my case open at WDW (here in DC, I pretty much have to open it anywhere I go) and security told me I don't need to do that part, lol. 

Last time my oldest DD kept getting sent to the bag check. I think it was a pen she'd purchased at the warehouse store parks). It took us a while to figure that one out.


----------



## Mr. X

For those that have used the magical express how have the wait times been at MCO?

Also, are the buses stopping at multiple resorts?

Thinking of ditching the ME and just grabbing an Uber XL for a direct, no nonsense ride.

Heading down in 17 days.


----------



## preemiemama

Leigh L said:


> Could be. I get dinged for my eyeglass case. If I take it out, no problem whatsoever. I used to walk through holding my case open at WDW (here in DC, I pretty much have to open it anywhere I go) and security told me I don't need to do that part, lol.
> 
> Last time my oldest DD kept getting sent to the bag check. I think it was a pen she'd purchased at the warehouse store parks). It took us a while to figure that one out.


The security people told me the metal coil/hinge where the eyeglass case opens/closes was the issue on it.  When I had a fabric case, it wasn't an issue.  Not sure why that little coil would set stuff off but it did!


----------



## 123SA

815 tapstiles opened at HS
Off TOT at 842
Off rnrc before 9
On mickey Minnie 922
Walk on star tours. (Kids there now)
Our boarding group was called, #8, so we are headed there next.
Great morning!


----------



## 123SA

Enormous crowd at Fireworks at MK last night.  We were is grassy area in front of Casey along fence.  Excellent tip.  We arrived at 715 because my feet hurt.  It wasn’t necessary to be there that early unless you want the fence spot.   The bench in the walkway between Casey and the grassy area is NOT open during fireworks.  Lots of people were cleared out after having waited there a while.


----------



## Tess

WEDWDW said:


> After "hearing" that all I needed to do was hold my Umbrella and Phone out in front of me and I would be fine and then seeing that doing that resulted in being sent to the "table" EVERY time,I eventually began to put ANYTHING remotely questionable(Cellphone/Cellphone Charger/Earbuds Case/Keys/Eyeglass Cases/Batteries,etc.) in a large Ziploc bag and held that and my Umbrella out in front.
> 
> I started doing that a couple of trips back and have been sent to the "table" ZERO times and the Guards really seem to appreciate this "system".



After being stopped every single time I entered a park and being told each and every time that I needed to remove my eyeglass case and camera (had already done that), I had enough.  When re-entering Epcot at a very quiet time and being screened again, I had the security guard remove everything "suspect" from my Baggallini and left the items with him and my husband.  I walked through the scanner again and yep--it went off. 

We then removed everything from the bag--ding, ding, ding--went off again.  No one has an answer why this bag (pictured in my avatar) continues to sound the alarm.  They say that it is my chest area raising the machine hackles.  The bag has a zipper in the crossover portion of the strap which would be in that area.  There are also heavy metal rings that allow for adjustment.  Security said no, that wouldn't cause it--no resolution for me unless I ditch my favorite park bag ever! 

I have resigned myself to additional screening and listening to the same spiel each and every time--"it is your eyeglass case" or "it is your camera"--I gave up removing them because it makes no difference.


----------



## Gitelfor

Tess said:


> After being stopped every single time I entered a park and being told each and every time that I needed to remove my eyeglass case and camera (had already done that), I had enough.  When re-entering Epcot at a very quiet time and being screened again, I had the security guard remove everything "suspect" from my Baggallini and left the items with him and my husband.  I walked through the scanner again and yep--it went off.
> 
> We then removed everything from the bag--ding, ding, ding--went off again.  No one has an answer why this bag (pictured in my avatar) continues to sound the alarm.  They say that it is my chest area raising the machine hackles.  The bag has a zipper in the crossover portion of the strap which would be in that area.  There are also heavy metal rings that allow for adjustment.  Security said no, that wouldn't cause it--no resolution for me unless I ditch my favorite park bag ever!
> 
> I have resigned myself to additional screening and listening to the same spiel each and every time--"it is your eyeglass case" or "it is your camera"--I gave up removing them because it makes no difference.


Did you try walking through without carrying anything, including your bag. to see if there still was an issue?


----------



## cakebaker

123SA said:


> Enormous crowd at Fireworks at MK last night.  We were is grassy area in front of Casey along fence.  Excellent tip.  We arrived at 715 because my feet hurt.  It wasn’t necessary to be there that early unless you want the fence spot.   The bench in the walkway between Casey and the grassy area is NOT open during fireworks.  Lots of people were cleared out after having waited there a while.



I am so glad I found that tip here before our trip. It was almost like the old days with the dessert buffet. Why it doesn't fill in wall to wall is beyond me. But we were sure glad to get it. We would not have stayed to watch the fireworks if we had to be in that mass of people- had no interest in seeing them without the projections.


----------



## tsme

Tess said:


> After being stopped every single time I entered a park and being told each and every time that I needed to remove my eyeglass case and camera (had already done that), I had enough.  When re-entering Epcot at a very quiet time and being screened again, I had the security guard remove everything "suspect" from my Baggallini and left the items with him and my husband.  I walked through the scanner again and yep--it went off.
> 
> We then removed everything from the bag--ding, ding, ding--went off again.  No one has an answer why this bag (pictured in my avatar) continues to sound the alarm.  They say that it is my chest area raising the machine hackles.  The bag has a zipper in the crossover portion of the strap which would be in that area.  There are also heavy metal rings that allow for adjustment.  Security said no, that wouldn't cause it--no resolution for me unless I ditch my favorite park bag ever!
> 
> I have resigned myself to additional screening and listening to the same spiel each and every time--"it is your eyeglass case" or "it is your camera"--I gave up removing them because it makes no difference.



It’s hard see in your pic but it looks like there maybe metal on the strap, maybe it’s that.  I totally understand your frustration, I loathe being pulled aside. I got pulled aside because I had my umbrella straight out in front (cause at previous park that’s how I was instructed to hold it going thru) and as I went to walk thru security guy yelled at me to hold above my head, so I moved my arm up. Then he told to go to the side and next time not to move my arm.  I was not happy. I wish my clothes had deep pockets like my DH’s does, I’d never need a purse at Disney then. Why can’t the fashion industry make women’s clothing with more useable pockets?! And (while I’m on my soap box) why can’t they make pants for us using the waist & length like they do for men?! I mean, some of us short (5’ here), some of us are tall and a petite or tall label doesn’t always cut it. Sorry, off my box now.


----------



## zemmer

tsme said:


> It’s hard see in your pic but it looks like there maybe metal on the strap, maybe it’s that.  I totally understand your frustration, I loathe being pulled aside. I got pulled aside because I had my umbrella straight out in front (cause at previous park that’s how I was instructed to hold it going thru) and as I went to walk thru security guy yelled at me to hold above my head, so I moved my arm up. Then he told to go to the side and next time not to move my arm.  I was not happy. I wish my clothes had deep pockets like my DH’s does, I’d never need a purse at Disney then. Why can’t the fashion industry make women’s clothing with more useable pockets?! And (while I’m on my soap box) why can’t they make pants for us using the waist & length like they do for men?! I mean, some of us short (5’ here), some of us are tall and a petite or tall label doesn’t always cut it. Sorry, off my box now.


Check out Betabrand pants. They have a bunch with multiple deep pockets, and they have several the inseam lengths for each style. I love them!


----------



## 123SA

cakebaker said:


> I am so glad I found that tip here before our trip. It was almost like the old days with the dessert buffet. Why it doesn't fill in wall to wall is beyond me. But we were sure glad to get it. We would not have stayed to watch the fireworks if we had to be in that mass of people- had no interest in seeing them without the projections.



it was very full last night, but people sat until after it started.  Only one side stood and that created room


----------



## AJollyHoliday

Is there pin trading happening?  We are very excited to head to MK and HS next week and we were really hoping to do some pin trading.


----------



## SarahC97

AJollyHoliday said:


> Is there pin trading happening?  We are very excited to head to MK and HS next week and we were really hoping to do some pin trading.


There is some pin trading happening. There are boards around the parks and resorts you can trade on, but it works a bit differently. You take the pin you want to trade, remove the back, put it in a small bucket, and then they'll give you the pin off the board. At least that is how it worked when we were there earlier in the summer.


----------



## cakebaker

123SA said:


> it was very full last night, but people sat until after it started.  Only one side stood and that created room


No question that it's more full than when it was just the dessert buffet, but it is significantly less crowded than the shoulder to shoulder crowds outside the area. At least it was for us on a couple of really busy park days 2 weeks ago.


----------



## Tess

Gitelfor said:


> Did you try walking through without carrying anything, including your bag. to see if there still was an issue?



Yes--I walked through without the bag--no issues; then again with the bag held below my waist and that is the area that was found to be questionable--it is something in that bag's construction that is setting off the alarm.


----------



## Best Aunt

Tess said:


> After being stopped every single time I entered a park and being told each and every time that I needed to remove my eyeglass case and camera (had already done that), I had enough.  When re-entering Epcot at a very quiet time and being screened again, I had the security guard remove everything "suspect" from my Baggallini and left the items with him and my husband.  I walked through the scanner again and yep--it went off.
> 
> We then removed everything from the bag--ding, ding, ding--went off again.  No one has an answer why this bag (pictured in my avatar) continues to sound the alarm.  They say that it is my chest area raising the machine hackles.  The bag has a zipper in the crossover portion of the strap which would be in that area.  There are also heavy metal rings that allow for adjustment.  Security said no, that wouldn't cause it--no resolution for me unless I ditch my favorite park bag ever!





Gitelfor said:


> Did you try walking through without carrying anything, including your bag. to see if there still was an issue?



Did you try having your husband walk through carrying the bag to see if there still was an issue?


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Mr. X said:


> For those that have used the magical express how have the wait times been at MCO?
> 
> Also, are the buses stopping at multiple resorts?



We used it on Saturday (landed at 8:40am). When we arrived at Magical Express check-in, the CM said 30 minute wait. Waited less than 5 minutes to board bus. Maybe 10 more minutes for others boarding.
We were first stop (Boardwalk) so it was quick for us - in our room around 10:30 (off the plane at the gate at 9am & had to go to baggage claim so really quick).
After Boardwalk, stops were Yacht Club then Art of Animation.


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

Tess said:


> After being stopped every single time I entered a park and being told each and every time that I needed to remove my eyeglass case and camera (had already done that), I had enough.  When re-entering Epcot at a very quiet time and being screened again, I had the security guard remove everything "suspect" from my Baggallini and left the items with him and my husband.  I walked through the scanner again and yep--it went off.
> 
> We then removed everything from the bag--ding, ding, ding--went off again.  No one has an answer why this bag (pictured in my avatar) continues to sound the alarm.  They say that it is my chest area raising the machine hackles.  The bag has a zipper in the crossover portion of the strap which would be in that area.  There are also heavy metal rings that allow for adjustment.  Security said no, that wouldn't cause it--no resolution for me unless I ditch my favorite park bag ever!
> 
> I have resigned myself to additional screening and listening to the same spiel each and every time--"it is your eyeglass case" or "it is your camera"--I gave up removing them because it makes no difference.


Does your bag have RFID blocking in one of the compartment? I have a baggallini that has that and wonder if that might be the reason.


----------



## Sarahslay

P'colaBeachBum said:


> Does your bag have RFID blocking in one of the compartment? I have a baggallini that has that and wonder if that might be the reason.


I'm not the poster, and have a different type of bag, but I have one with RFID blocking in a compartment and a wallet with RFID blocking and have never set off the scanner. I generally pick bags with plastic adjustments and zippers though, and don't keep anything in the bag in metal compartments (like mint containers, use soft sided glasses cases if I have one with me, plastic carrying case for multi-use straws that came with a metal case but I didn't want it setting off the scanner). I set off the scanner coming to and from dinner at CR because my purse had a metal adjuster on it, the guards didn't think that could set it off, but nothing else was metal on or in my bag but that. Even if they don't think that's what set it off it doesn't mean that's not what did it.


----------



## Bahamontes

As I mentioned (entirely as a stealth brag ), I went on a long bike ride the day after we checked out. So my pal had a package of spare brake pads he’d thrown in his bag on the way out the door. It ended up being the culprit for enhanced checks at all four parks, because he’s stubborn and wouldn’t hold it out or something.
The CMs at security, however, were all super nice and very quick. Not really a delay or inconvenience for repeat stops, but it is kind of funny and you get to text your buddy’s girlfriend pics of him getting stopped all day.


----------



## Tess

Best Aunt said:


> Did you try having your husband walk through carrying the bag to see if there still was an issue?



No, but as I said--when I walked through without it, the alarm didn't sound.

Close up of the questionable area:



The wide part has a zipper that is on the underside and you can clearly see the large metal rings.  I pointed all of this out to security and they were adamant that this would not set off the machines.  I, however, beg to differ.


----------



## tsme

zemmer said:


> Check out Betabrand pants. They have a bunch with multiple deep pockets, and they have several the inseam lengths for each style. I love them!



Thanks!


----------



## Gitelfor

.


Tess said:


> Yes--I walked through without the bag--no issues; then again with the bag held below my waist and that is the area that was found to be questionable--it is something in that bag's construction that is setting off the alarm.


I wonder if there is a small anti-theft device buried somewhere in the bag.


----------



## 123SA

Does anyone know how late you can be for a lunch adr?  I keep getting stuck…wait time says 40 minutes so I think I have enough time to ride, I wait 30 minutes, realize the wait time was wrong, then have to leave to go to adr.  It’s frustrating


----------



## cakebaker

123SA said:


> Does anyone know how late you can be for a lunch adr?  I keep getting stuck…wait time says 40 minutes so I think I have enough time to ride, I wait 30 minutes, realize the wait time was wrong, then have to leave to go to adr.  It’s frustrating



If you're late due to Disney's fault ( inaccurate wait times is definitely their fault) you shouldn't have a problem be late with an adr. We've had it happen many times.


----------



## Deeleebaker

cakebaker said:


> If you're late due to Disney's fault ( inaccurate wait times is definitely their fault) you shouldn't have a problem be late with an adr. We've had it happen many times.


I called when I was going to be late and it wasn't an issue. We waited two hours for a bus from AK to MK for a 7DMT and then ADR. Missed the FastPass, made the ADR almost an hour late.


----------



## MomOTwins

cakebaker said:


> If you're late due to Disney's fault ( inaccurate wait times is definitely their fault) you shouldn't have a problem be late with an adr. We've had it happen many times.


I think you should always give yourself a decent cushion though, because what I've found is at Disney, most things take a lot more time than you expect to.  Officially, they will hold your reservation for 15 minutes.  In practice, they will often squeeze you in later if you had a problem with a delay, but it's not guaranteed.  I do remember one time we had a PPO ADR at BOG and the despite leaving about 90 mins prior to our rez, the MK bus from our resort broke down and we were stuck on it for over an hour.  By the time we made through bag check etc., and got all the way to the back of the park, we were close to 30 mins after our ADR, and they still let us in.


----------



## The Iron Giant

We headed to AK today.  Arrived in the lot by car shortly before 8 and headed to EE with no wait. Then Dinosaur, Safari, and then got on the line for Pandora at 9:40 am.  Touring Plans had the wait at 34 minutes and the posted time was 70 min.  We ended up waiting 42 minutes which was way better than expected considering we didn’t rope drop it.  Then headed to Starbucks for coffees and then to Kali.  Great morning so far!


----------



## e_yerger

not so magical start to our vacation - our departure flight has been delayed 3 hours and now we’re not set to get into the hotel until close to 11pm! 

I have an order from Garden Grocer set to be delivered to bell services from 6-9pm. I called guest services to try to pre-schedule bell services bringing it to our room (i’m okay paying the $6), but she said we have to be in the room first. Can anyone confirm if this is true? I’ve ordered groceries before through GG and they would already be in our room when we got to it (this was also pre-covid).


----------



## 123SA

So… after my third time being evacuated from rise of the resistance, I feel
Like we should get a pass back to rise, and a pass for something else. That’s 3 times we waited and one time at guest services because all Of the recoveries didn’t load.   And, again all of them didn’t load so I need to go through guest services again.


----------



## Sarahslay

e_yerger said:


> not so magical start to our vacation - our departure flight has been delayed 3 hours and now we’re not set to get into the hotel until close to 11pm!
> 
> I have an order from Garden Grocer set to be delivered to bell services from 6-9pm. I called guest services to try to pre-schedule bell services bringing it to our room (i’m okay paying the $6), but she said we have to be in the room first. Can anyone confirm if this is true? I’ve ordered groceries before through GG and they would already be in our room when we got to it (this was also pre-covid).


They won't bring groceries to your room without you in there anymore, they won't even do the in-room celebrations anymore like they used to. You have to either be in the room to receive them, or go to the front desk. It's REALLY annoying.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Rise has been down all day. Recovery passes are being given out and then down again and then more passes...round and round we go. I give up. Wish I could donate my boarding group to someone. If this was my only chance this trip I would be losing my mind.
Instead California Sunset at Baseline for the sun setting on my mostly relaxing vacation.


----------



## kboo

How have park and resort TS restaurants been, as far as crowds and masking? We've only been when masks were required in/outside, and at your table when not actually eating and drinking. Heading down in 2 weeks with 2 kids under 12 and would be very thankful to hear if the TS experience has changed since April 2021. Thanks!


----------



## jim01

Gary Stocker said:


> Instead California Sunset at Baseline for the sun setting on my mostly relaxing vacation.
> View attachment 596948



How is getting into Baseline, is there a waitlist?


----------



## Gary Stocker

jim01 said:


> How is getting into Baseline, is there a waitlist?


Just walked up, ordered, and sat outside. No reservations needed...find a table, drink, eat big pretzel and, in my case,  lament tomorrow's leaving the bubble.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Is the Confectionery in MK open yet? I know it’s been under construction for months.


----------



## disny_luvr

We had a successful morning at MK. I thought MK only opened at 9:00 when it was actually 8:00. We tapped into the park at 8:53. Between that time and 12:30 when we left to head back to the Poly to swim, we rode 7DMT, Pooh, Teacups, Speedway, Peoplemover, Pirates, and Splash, plus we stopped to eat two Cheshire Cat tails and we also mobile ordered lunch from Pecos Bill. I thought this morning would be a disaster with the late start, but it was really a great morning. We are headed back soon to ride some more rides and watch HEA one more time.


----------



## slyster

POOH&PIGLET said:


> We used it on Saturday (landed at 8:40am). When we arrived at Magical Express check-in, the CM said 30 minute wait. Waited less than 5 minutes to board bus. Maybe 10 more minutes for others boarding.
> We were first stop (Boardwalk) so it was quick for us - in our room around 10:30 (off the plane at the gate at 9am & had to go to baggage claim so really quick).
> After Boardwalk, stops were Yacht Club then Art of Animation.



Glad for this....our plane arrives at 8:35am and we are also staying at Boardwalk Inn.  I was wondering if there was a chance in heck we could get into our rooms before we head to the park.


----------



## Chaitali

Just some more info from our trip last week… we had made a droid and bought a loth cat at Galaxy’s Edge.  We didn’t want to carry them home so we had them shipped.  It was only around $15.  They told us it would be around 10 days but it got home before we did!  So that means it was less then 4 days. So shipping is a great option 

We also proactively got tested for COVID as there are people we want to see this weekend (still working from home so haven’t seen people otherwise) and our tests came back negative!


----------



## 123SA

cakebaker said:


> No question that it's more full than when it was just the dessert buffet, but it is significantly less crowded than the shoulder to shoulder crowds outside the area. At least it was for us on a couple of really busy park days 2 weeks ago.



yes. I agree. It still is much better than around the hub


----------



## distherapy

kboo said:


> How have park and resort TS restaurants been, as far as crowds and masking? We've only been when masks were required in/outside, and at your table when not actually eating and drinking. Heading down in 2 weeks with 2 kids under 12 and would be very thankful to hear if the TS experience has changed since April 2021. Thanks!



We got back last night and indoor dining felt mostly okay. We tend to eat early (11:00 lunch) and most in the park restaurants gave a lot of space between tables. At Disney Springs, though, the host sat a table directly next to us (like tables less than a foot apart) even though there were other open tables.

Most people wore masks moving about, but like everything else, it was hit or miss.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Is the Confectionery in MK open yet? I know it’s been under construction for months.


No, still closed.


----------



## faceofsam

Have people eaten at Sanaa or Topolinos recently? We have a Sanaa lunch and a Topolinos brunch for our trip in two weeks, and was wondering how long the meals took/how safe it felt covid wise? *IE, how close were the tables!


----------



## kboo

faceofsam said:


> Have people eaten at Sanaa or Topolinos recently? We have a Sanaa lunch and a Topolinos brunch for our trip in two weeks, and was wondering how long the meals took/how safe it felt covid wise? *IE, how close were the tables!



I last went to Topolino's in spring 2021 (for breakfast and dinner) when restaurants were explicitly distancing. We were easily 6 feet or more from the next family, and the meal moved along quickly.  Even when we had meals there in December 2019 (regular spacing) we were pretty far apart from each other.

ETA: I too would like to hear if the TS places generally are more crowded/less spaced since the winter/spring 2020-2021.


----------



## Leigh L

faceofsam said:


> Have people eaten at Sanaa or Topolinos recently? We have a Sanaa lunch and a Topolinos brunch for our trip in two weeks, and was wondering how long the meals took/how safe it felt covid wise? *IE, how close were the tables!


At the end of June, Topolinos still had quite a bit of distance between tables. That may have changed since. 

I'm curious as well how it's working in non-Disney Spring restaurants.


----------



## distherapy

faceofsam said:


> Have people eaten at Sanaa or Topolinos recently? We have a Sanaa lunch and a Topolinos brunch for our trip in two weeks, and was wondering how long the meals took/how safe it felt covid wise? *IE, how close were the tables!



We ate at Sanaa this week. It was one of the more crowded restaurants we saw.


----------



## luv2cheer92

kboo said:


> I last went to Topolino's in spring 2021 (for breakfast and dinner) when restaurants were explicitly distancing. We were easily 6 feet or more from the next family, and the meal moved along quickly.  Even when we had meals there in December 2019 (regular spacing) we were pretty far apart from each other.
> 
> ETA: I too would like to hear if the TS places generally are more crowded/less spaced since the winter/spring 2020-2021.


Most if not all restaurants are at full capacity with minimal to no spacing.


----------



## Akck

slyster said:


> Glad for this....our plane arrives at 8:35am and we are also staying at Boardwalk Inn.  I was wondering if there was a chance in heck we could get into our rooms before we head to the park.



We’ve been able to get into our rooms early, but it’s the luck of the draw. It can help if you let the front desk know you’re physically present and they will try to expedite your room. Sometimes it’s as simple as a supervisor checking OK on their system.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

123SA said:


> yes. I agree. It still is much better than around the hub


Here now (our view) & lots of blankets around so nobody is on top of each other


----------



## Where'sPiglet?

Gary Stocker said:


> So security has some expectations you need to follow so you don't get pulled to the side and have them rifle through your stuff... this applies for non strollers as you can expect them to check these.
> Take out anything that might be "cubic" in your bag and hold out on front of you through the detector.
> Umbrella
> Cell phone
> Portable charger
> ..all of these got my bag inspected when I left them in.
> Appreciate the security but learn from my experience. Got through tonight holding these in front of me.



I did that, then got pulled aside anyway for holding too many things.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

MK today:
When 7:15am alarm went off, my family all revolted and said they were sleeping for another hour  so no rope drop today.

9:22 left room at Poly.
9:30 waiting for monorail.

9:53 on line for Splash (posted 35 min wait); 10:10 inside; 10:16 boarded (so a 27 min actual wait).

10:37 on line for BTMRR (posted 25 min wait), 10:43 in the shade; 10:55 boarded (so a 28 min actual wait).

11:03 on line for Pirates (posted 30 min wait), 11:14 boarded (so an 11 min actual wait).

Mobile ordered lunch at Pinocchio, hit prepare food at 11:38, food ready at 11:40. Plenty of seats available.

12:20 on line for Haunted Mansion (posted 45 min) (first 10 minutes of wait was in the blazing sun) entered building at 12:39 (so a 19 minute wait).

12:57 entered Hall of Presidents. Show started around 1:10.

1:40 entered PhilharMagic (posted 15 minutes), doors opened in maybe 4 minutes.

Saw a college program CM we know from home (working in a store on Main Street).

2:50 on monorail back to our room.

5:40 on line for Buzz (posted 35 min wait), by 6:08 Buzz is temporarily closed & CM walking the line saying 15 minutes before ride restarts .
6:24 boarded (so a 44 min actual wait - includes temporary ride stoppage).

Mobile ordered Pecos Bill while on line for Buzz. Light rain turned into a downpour as we walked.

7:23 on line for Pirates (posted 25 min wait), 7:30 boarded (so a 5 min actual wait).

Watched fireworks from garden in front of Casey's Corner - followed tip from this thread - great (uncrowded) view!

8 attractions today. Would have done so much more with FP+. Fireworks was a good ending to a so so day at MK.


----------



## brockash

kboo said:


> How have park and resort TS restaurants been, as far as crowds and masking? We've only been when masks were required in/outside, and at your table when not actually eating and drinking. Heading down in 2 weeks with 2 kids under 12 and would be very thankful to hear if the TS experience has changed since April 2021. Thanks!


We've now been 4 times since Covid...currently here now...(Sept., Oct. and March were other 3) ...in practice nothing has changed in restaurants/masks.  You're told to wear mask until you're seated; then you're told you can remove, but to please put it on when/if you get ul from your table.


----------



## brockash

Today at MK was so much better than Wed.  Seems odd, but Wed. was posted as a 7 crowd, today a 5 until this morning when it was changed to a 2. 

Park opened at 8, so we were at bus stop about 620...ended up being in the front few rows of 7dmt rope drop and basically walked on; then went to peter pan - less than 5 min wait, Splash walk on, Thunder walk on, Winnie Pooh 5 min., Tea Cups walk on, Haunted Mansion 10 mins., Pirates walk on, ppl. mover 7 mins., break for waffles, Dumbo as a walk on cars - about 15 min wait, Laugh Floor 20 min wait (this didn't open til noon today...is that the new normal?)

We then went bacl for swim and break and headed to Epcot around 315...walked onto Spaceship Earth, Shorts and waited less than 5 mins for Soarin.

Then went back to MK to eat at Plaza (this used to be a favorite, but since they changed their menu, I can't really find anything I like, so this is off our list for now,) and stayed out of the rain.  We then rode Astro Orbitor- rain had just cleared and we were zble to ride with little wait.  Then did ppl mover (10 min wait) ...We then found a spot at the dessert party area to watch HEA - saw a blogger drop his phone over the ledge during the fireworks...he was lucky and it landed in a planter instead of water.  A cm was able to retrieve it for him.

Today was like night and day at MK compared to Wed.

Buses have been pretty good, especially at MK at closing.

Food has not been great...the lack of variety is the biggest issue - and it's a big one for us, although some of the things we've gotten also just haven't been great.

I'll try to update more after I sleep lol.


----------



## noonew

faceofsam said:


> Have people eaten at Sanaa or Topolinos recently? We have a Sanaa lunch and a Topolinos brunch for our trip in two weeks, and was wondering how long the meals took/how safe it felt covid wise? *IE, how close were the tables!



We just had brunch at Topolinos on Aug 9 and it took us a little over an hour for the meal.  We also went to both breakfast and dinner at Topolinos back in June, and I felt safest at Topolinos than at any other restaurants at WDW.  The only place where it felt crowded was while we were waiting for our table, but the tables were pretty far apart  once we got inside the restaurant.


----------



## e_yerger

Well our flight that was supposed to land at 6:30pm landed at 12:45am. There are no taxis or ride shares available at this hour, so sitting on a fully packed DME right now. Looks like we’re gonna hit every hotel on the way in.

future tip: do NOT travel on friday the 13th


----------



## alexiskimberly

Good morning all!! Rope dropping MK today and will keep you all updated on the waits and rides! So far we are the only people on the bus from YC so that’s pretty awesome  also, just an update. As someone religiously taking sanitizer prob 10-15 times per day, I’ve been here since Wednesday and have not found a single one empty. Mask compliance has been very solid and cast members have been great about reminding people. Also, all cast members have been wonderful thus far! Hoping today is a good morning at MK


----------



## quandrea

Tess said:


> After being stopped every single time I entered a park and being told each and every time that I needed to remove my eyeglass case and camera (had already done that), I had enough.  When re-entering Epcot at a very quiet time and being screened again, I had the security guard remove everything "suspect" from my Baggallini and left the items with him and my husband.  I walked through the scanner again and yep--it went off.
> 
> We then removed everything from the bag--ding, ding, ding--went off again.  No one has an answer why this bag (pictured in my avatar) continues to sound the alarm.  They say that it is my chest area raising the machine hackles.  The bag has a zipper in the crossover portion of the strap which would be in that area.  There are also heavy metal rings that allow for adjustment.  Security said no, that wouldn't cause it--no resolution for me unless I ditch my favorite park bag ever!
> 
> I have resigned myself to additional screening and listening to the same spiel each and every time--"it is your eyeglass case" or "it is your camera"--I gave up removing them because it makes no difference.


Could it be your bra underwire?  I’ve had that trip the machines at the airport, resulting in very invasive searches.


----------



## quandrea

e_yerger said:


> Well our flight that was supposed to land at 6:30pm landed at 12:45am. There are no taxis or ride shares available at this hour, so sitting on a fully packed DME right now. Looks like we’re gonna hit every hotel on the way in.
> 
> future tip: do NOT travel on friday the 13th


We discovered this to be one of the real negatives of a late arrival. Sorry you had to deal with this. So hard when it’s so late.


----------



## mousefan73

I am curious if people are noticing more people driving iso Disney Transportation? We have changed our touring style to include driving to parks iso of Disney buses due to the Covid situation. I’m just wondering if others have had the same idea -  and therefore more car lines.. I am just wondering if its a commute style hell driving in for rope drop?? Just had a strategy... Eat breakfast in the car to save morning time lol.....

I was also just thinking when we go the week of the 23rd schools are back locally so I would hope that they would be less local traffic and those people usually drive.


----------



## GinnyBear's_mom

In MK today this morning, opening is 8am. At 7:45 they were still holding people at the tapstiles and the crowd was very small. They let us in shortly after. The scrim is completely down on the front of the train station. 

By 9am my group did Space Mountain, Peter Pan, the carousel and Big Thunder. On our way to Splash next.


----------



## slyster

Akck said:


> We’ve been able to get into our rooms early, but it’s the luck of the draw. It can help if you let the front desk know you’re physically present and they will try to expedite your room. Sometimes it’s as simple as a supervisor checking OK on their system.



We have a special room too...it's a hearing accessible garden view room so I guess it will depend if anyone else was in it.  It has visual alarm, flashing light for deaf people so maybe it will be ready sooner.  Good idea to just ask when we arrive.  Thanks again!


----------



## kc51570

faceofsam said:


> Have people eaten at Sanaa or Topolinos recently? We have a Sanaa lunch and a Topolinos brunch for our trip in two weeks, and was wondering how long the meals took/how safe it felt covid wise? *IE, how close were the tables!


We ate at Topolino’s in July and were at least 6 feet away if not more from any other table.


----------



## Koda

brockash said:


> Today at MK was so much better than Wed.  Seems odd, but Wed. was posted as a 7 crowd, today a 5 until this morning when it was changed to a 2.
> 
> We were also at MK on Wednesday, and experienced pretty heavy crowds, although it seemed a little better than when we were there on Sundy 8/8.  I'm glad crowds are lightening up a bit!


----------



## Haley R

slyster said:


> Glad for this....our plane arrives at 8:35am and we are also staying at Boardwalk Inn.  I was wondering if there was a chance in heck we could get into our rooms before we head to the park.


We just stayed at the boardwalk this week. Our arrival time was 9 am and our room was ready around 1:40 pm


----------



## bbn1122

Thanks everyone for today’s reports. My family arrives to WDW late tomorrow late afternoon.
We are hitting AK early a Monday with Epcot in the evening.  for as little rain as possible.  And hopping the next TS makes a turn away from Florida.  
Th crowds seem low this morning, could be because Epcot opened at 10am
I can’t wait to ride FOP! ROTR (I will have 6 people trying for a BG).

Once again, a BIG a thank you to everyone who has taken time out of their vacations to update all of us!


----------



## dclDream2018

mousefan73 said:


> I am curious if people are noticing more people driving iso Disney Transportation? We have changed our touring style to include driving to parks iso of Disney buses due to the Covid situation. I’m just wondering if others have had the same idea -  and therefore more car lines.. I am just wondering if its a commute style hell driving in for rope drop?? Just had a strategy... Eat breakfast in the car to save morning time lol.....
> 
> I was also just thinking when we go the week of the 23rd schools are back locally so I would hope that they would be less local traffic and those people usually drive.



Not sure if this is relevant, but I just got us a rental car for upcoming next trip to avoid Disney transport!


----------



## mousefan73

dclDream2018 said:


> Not sure if this is relevant, but I just got us a rental car for upcoming next trip to avoid Disney transport!


Yes it is! Shows people are changing how they get from A to B. And May impact things.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Totally just my thoughts but if I am going to be standing in switchback lines day after day at Disney, standing/sitting on a bus or other transportation for 5-10 mins isn't going to introduce too many more people to my trip.  But, that's just the way I look at it.

I will add that it's quite a financial investment to renting a car.  Between the car rental itself plus paying for resort parking each night, it's a lot of money to save being away from a few people when I'm going to be near thousands of people every day at Disney.


----------



## Marvin1968

faceofsam said:


> Have people eaten at Sanaa or Topolinos recently? We have a Sanaa lunch and a Topolinos brunch for our trip in two weeks, and was wondering how long the meals took/how safe it felt covid wise? *IE, how close were the tables!


We ate breakfast at Topolinos yesterday. Didn’t give Covid a second thought.   Just enjoy!  It was the best meal I’ve had a Disney.


----------



## loves to dive

mousefan73 said:


> Yes it is! Shows people are changing how they get from A to B. And May impact things.


We drive down so have a car and park it and don't get back in it until time to go.  For us, one of the perks of staying on site is using Disney transportation.   We don't like dealing with the traffic when driving or getting into a hot car.   The buses never bothered us, I've been since Covid (in April when they were distancing on the buses which I understand they are not doing now) but even before that when it was standing room only it was no big deal.  My son always said it reminded him of taking the buses in college and made him feel younger, plus he has nerve damage in his spine so sitting actually hurts worse than standing.   We will have a baby and a stroller with us this time so that should be fun.  Trust me, I'm going to make them take the baby out of the stroller as soon as we see the bus pulling into the lot and get that sucker folded up, I hate it when people wait until it's time to get on the bus then take the kid out and hold everything up trying to fold the stroller up or put it on the bus unfolded.


----------



## maryj11

Has anyone gone to Teppan Edo lately? Just wanted to know how spaced out they have people. 
We have a reservation there soon. 
We have gone in the past and I know they fill tables up and people were pretty close.


----------



## londonderrydisneyfan

maryj11 said:


> Has anyone gone to Teppan Edo lately? Just wanted to know how spaced out they have people.
> We have a reservation there soon.
> We have gone in the past and I know they fill tables up and people were pretty close.



We went to Teppan Edo for dinner around 5 in early July.   We were a party of six and had our own table, most of the tables we saw were pretty full but I think they had small plexiglass dividers up if more than one party was sitting at one table.   They had four tables in each room so they are not spacing the tables farther apart than they normally would.


----------



## maryj11

londonderrydisneyfan said:


> We went to Teppan Edo for dinner around 5 in early July.   We were a party of six and had our own table, most of the tables we saw were pretty full but I think they had small plexiglass dividers up if more than one party was sitting at one table.   They had four tables in each room so they are not spacing the tables farther apart than they normally would.


If they have plexiglass up that would put my mind at ease.


----------



## preemiemama

maryj11 said:


> If they have plexiglass up that would put my mind at ease.


We were there about a month ago.  We were a party of 3- sat at a table with 2 other parties of 2.  There were plexiglass dividers that they put up between the different parties and sat us to give some space between as well (one end, middle, opposite end of table).


----------



## Pyotr

My wife and I returned from our quick two night anniversary trip. Our studio at VGF was ready at 1:00. It was a little beat up (torn up carpet that was patched, ripped up headboard) but still okay. We had Gasparilla in our room then walked over to Trader Sams and had a few drinks outside. I'm a lightweight and was drunk after two. Back to room for nap and dinner at Citricos. We dinner was decent. We were sat next to another couple maybe three feet away from us. MK next day. Arrived about 10:30. Rode Little Mermaid, Barnstormer, and watched Country Bears. Ate a dole whip and decided we had enough. Back to the Flo for pool/drinks. Slept until it was time to get ready for dinner. Narcoosies was good. Fireworks then more sleep.

We had a good time but I don't know if I would recommend anyone going right now. It's busy and hot. Masks inside don't bother me too much, but wearing one in an outside line stinks. We had expiring DVC points we had to use and our goal was R&R, not being park commandos. My parents watched our kids and it was nice to have a few days to relax.

I want to cancel our October Boo Bash trip though....


----------



## 123SA

AK today. Bus from AOA at 758. Through security very quickly. Held at tapstiles for a few minutes. Held at bridge until 730. Kids are at the front again. Again no seems to care about readjusting groups after moving. We waved hello and the parties near the kids made space for us.  Nice people.  We were held outside the ride until 756.  Walked Into the first ride of the day at FOP. 3x Everest with no wait. Safari was posted as 20, but it was a slow paced moving line all the way to the boarding room. We waited fir 3 trucks to load. Walk on dinosaur 2x, finished by 1030. Zoom photo, no wait.   1100 Everest slow paced walk to the ride maybe 10 minutes   Stopped for another photo and to watch the monkeys who were loud and putting on a show.  Walked through the tiger thing. Lunch at flame tree. Mobile order works great! 
I’m headed back to the resort to do laundry and the kids plan to do a few rounds on Kali River rapids. 
Very easy day, very low crowd


----------



## PortieOwner

I'll give everyone a brief evaluation of my trip. I was there last week for 5 days, 4 nights at Polynesian DVC. 

It was plenty crowded, especially the MK the first day of Boo Fest. Both MK and DS just feel full of people, and walking anywhere is a task because of the crowds. Wait times were not terrible, especially since we did rope drop on four of the five mornings. EC and AK were more pleasant to visit because of fewer crowds and generally shorter ride wait times. 

Schedule for the week: Sun: MK (am), EC (pm), Mon: DS (am), MK (pm), Tues: MK (am), AK (pm), Wed: DS (am), EC (pm), Thur: AK(am), MK (pm). 

Best things on the trip: Food service: Columbia Harbor House was a go-to at least three times, and a lot of my meals were at Cpt Cook's. ABC Commissary is overlooked. It has good food and a nice cool relaxing place to recharge with a cold drink. Brown Derby does have a fantastic salad and service, as does the Grand Floridian Café. Beaches and Cream has the best sundae anywhere. WDW security seemed very helpful and friendly. 

Speaking of food service: it was very hot, and water fountains are not common in the parks, but I always found to easy to get ice water any place I stopped for a drink. A few places gave me a water cup without me even asking. 

Resort Parking: I had no problem leaving a car much of the day at the Grand Floridian. I had drove there for breakfast because the monorail replacement bus never arrived. The gate guard had me park by the Spa, and there was plenty of parking there even with a big wedding going on. I couldn't rescue the car until later because there was a transportation breakdown mid-day. I was also able to park at Wilderness Lodge one night. I was there to eat at Roaring Forks, and there was no problem getting onto the resort and parking (again, plenty of spaces available). 

Overall, the parks all look good and well-maintained, very little litter, the bathrooms are clean, the CMs are friendly and I could tell some of the CMs were new to the job. 

Some transportation problems: I ran into a real transportation SNAFU leaving MK early one afternoon. I needed to be on the resort monorail to get to GF to get my car. The monorail stopped at the TTC and the CMs told us to take the ferry back to the MK, then a boat to GF. The CMs would not tell me how long the monorail would be stopped, but I think this was construction-related so they must have had an idea. We I took the ferry back to MK, which was a slow, then went to the line for the GF boat. Everyone was taking the boat now because the monorail was shut down. So I could not get on the first boat. The boat returned and went out of service because there were thunderstorms in the area. It never did rain or storm at Bay Lake, but now the only route left was a long walk to GF. I did the walk, and when I was halfway there the resort monorail went past me, so it was out of service for about an hour. This was bad communication, and they should have had another transportation solution in place (like a bus) for people who got stuck. 

I always argue for renting a car, and despite the transportation issues I had, I didn't use the car very much. Bus or monorail to all the theme parks worked pretty well most days. I only left property once on this trip. The MK bus from the Poly was great. 

Other smaller problems: not every ride opens at opening time. So rope-dropping may not make sense if you want to ride something that opens later. I'd like to test a touring plan where I rope drop and only hit rides that are a walk-on (and open) in the first hour. I suspect I could get 5-7 rides in with that plan because Buzz, Pooh, Mermaid, Small World, Mansion, and Pirates are all close to being walk-ons the first hour after opening. 

One other minor problem: my Touring Plans room request was not honored, but that was probably because several of the DVC buildings are being renovated. 

Some things I am neutral about:

Rise of the Resistance. I watched the videos and practices and hit the join button right at 7am, but didn't get a group. I got a 1pm backup group but they never called it. So I changed my plans, and got a park reservation for a day later at the Studios and watched more videos and got a low boarding group. I think the secret was to not be on WDW WiFi, and to find a location at the resort with good 5g coverage. It is a really good ride, but so much trouble to ride it. Anyway, be willing to change your plans mid-stream. 

ADRs: I booked a lot of reservations for meals and cancelled all but 2 of them. ADRs tie one down and I ended up shuffling my plans a lot (see above). I also didn't get all the ADRs I wanted (like an early dinner at Garden Grill or a Wave breakfast). 

Trader Sam's: it would have been nice to visit there since I was staying at the resort, but it's again a hassle to get on a list and only show up at one time slot. Not a disappointment, more of a "meh". 

Biggest Disney Disappointment: asking at City Hall what time Splash Mountain would open and being told, "All I can tell you is the park opens at 9." They seemed to open Splash at 10:30am every day last week, why not tell the guests the truth?? 

Worst Disney Magic of the Trip (or was it worst Disney practical joke?): the gate guard at the parking lot when I arrived and scanned my Magic Band said, "Ohhhh, the Bungalows." I spent the rest of the day wondering if WDW has upgraded me to a bungalow. Nope! Just a Studio, as I had booked.


----------



## PortieOwner

scrappinginontario said:


> Totally just my thoughts but if I am going to be standing in switchback lines day after day at Disney, standing/sitting on a bus or other transportation for 5-10 mins isn't going to introduce too many more people to my trip.  But, that's just the way I look at it.
> 
> I will add that it's quite a financial investment to renting a car.  Between the car rental itself plus paying for resort parking each night, it's a lot of money to save being away from a few people when I'm going to be near thousands of people every day at Disney.



I always argue for getting a rental car in Orlando. My advocacy for it is getting less strong on each trip, but it cost $270 for the week, and I got free parking (DVC). The rental car allowed me to stay at the park until 2.5 hour before my flight, and it allowed me to stay off-site the first night and save $300-400 on a hotel.


----------



## 123SA

I was on splash on aug 8 and august 12 and 10am, with many people riding before me so I don’t think opening at 1030 am is a normal thing

I have had terrible
Luck with ride photos. They just are not being consistently captured. I spoke with guest services and photopass, both pleasant experiences, but nothing was fixed. I now write down the time of every ride with a photo in case I feel like tracking them down. And… please celebrate with me… I got all the washers I needed to get my laundry dry done. Wooohoo.  This won’t take me the whole afternoon


----------



## MinnieMSue

PortieOwner said:


> Worst Disney Magic of the Trip (or was it worst Disney practical joke?): the gate guard at the parking lot when I arrived and scanned my Magic Band said, "Ohhhh, the Bungalows." I spent the rest of the day wondering if WDW has upgraded me to a bungalow. Nope! Just a Studio, as I had booked.



wow! That is really not nice at all. A terrible "joke"


----------



## alexiskimberly

Had a perfect day at MK today! Rope dropped at 8am and stayed till 1pm and had NO waits. Literally walked on every ride except Peter Pan which was a 10 min wait. Here is the list:


Big thunder (walk on)
Splash (walk on)
Haunted mansion (walk on)
Peter pan’s flight (10 min)
It’s a small world (walk on)
Space mountain x 2 (walk on)
Buzz light year (walk on)
People mover (walk on) 
Carousel of progress (walk on)
Little mermaid (walk on)
Swiss family treehouse
Pirates of the Caribbean (walk on)

Ate an early lunch at Columbia Harbor House and got a dole whip, both of which took less than 5 min after mobile ordering. Left at 1pm and am now showered and ready for a nap back at the YC before animal kingdom tonight  wonderful day!!


----------



## The13thLetter

Saw some posts that the october 1st food booths opened up early today. Anyone at epcot today/tomorrow can you confirm?


----------



## The13thLetter

Also whys everything so dead today? Were travel plans/flights cancelled you think because of the impending weather?


----------



## Makmak

The13thLetter said:


> Saw some posts that the october 1st food booths opened up early today. Anyone at epcot today/tomorrow can you confirm?


Alps and Spain opened today


----------



## The Iron Giant

We’ve been here since the 8th and leaving on the 18th.  Some random thoughts.

- Haven't seen any overflowing trash at the parks.
- Not having the trams is really tough unless you’re rope dropping and arriving early.  Having to hike out to Simba 125 after Boo Bash was a long walk!
- Navi River Journey is a major letdown.  It’s like the Rainforest Cafe on steroids.   They should just retheme it to Rainforest Cafe and connect it to the restaurant.
- We were blown away by Rise and Smugglers Run. So happy we avoid all spoilers and previews. MMRR was also a lot of fun. It was great to have new rides to experience since we were last here in 2019.
- Crowds have been very manageable. Parks aren’t empty but it’s not the doomsday scenario I was reading about in the trip reports leading up to our vacation. The longest wait we’ve had was for Flight of Passage - 42 minutes at 9:40am.
- The Touring Plan app has been HUGE! So many Disney line waits have been overinflated that we would have skipped them if we didn’t know better. We’ve found that the app has been pretty spot with its estimates. We’re very happy with it.
- Us and the kids were happy to meet TJ while waiting on line for Tower of Terror.  We immediately recognized him from the Disney+ series.  He took photos with all the kids.
- Blizzard Beach was a lot of fun and fairly empty.   Kids exhausted themselves getting to the top for the Slusher Gusher over and over again.
- We are staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and used instacart to place an order for pickup at Publix in Celebration. They had the groceries at the curb waiting when we pulled up and they put them right in the back of the minivan for us. We had to practically insist that the employee accept a tip before she finally did. Great service.
- It’s been a great trip so far despite our reservations regarding COVID. We’ve been as careful as possible. We’ve found the mask compliance to be pretty good and only a few willful violators spotted. And the CM’s have all been great.


----------



## gretabull

Has anyone been to SciFi diner lately? I have a reservation for next week but I’m thinking of cancelling because I’m going solo and I am assuming they are putting more than 1 party in a car.  Back in May they were doing the 1 party per car, so does anyone know if it’s still that way? It might be too close for comfort for me. Thanks!


----------



## The13thLetter

The13thLetter said:


> Also whys everything so dead today? Were travel plans/flights cancelled you think because of the impending weather?



quoting myself lol. I just realized that mk closes early at 6 today so maybe thats why its so empty. still surprised its THAT empty like it sounds


----------



## mdmost

Was it ever made known why Magic Kingdom is closing at 6pm EST tonight?


----------



## luv2cheer92

mdmost said:


> Was it ever made known why Magic Kingdom is closing at 6pm EST tonight?


An unknown (at least I haven't seen it) company rented out the park.

ETA: it seems that it is Snap on Tools


----------



## Marvin1968

123SA said:


> I was on splash on aug 8 and august 12 and 10am, with many people riding before me so I don’t think opening at 1030 am is a normal thing
> 
> I have had terrible
> Luck with ride photos. They just are not being consistently captured. I spoke with guest services and photopass, both pleasant experiences, but nothing was fixed. I now write down the time of every ride with a photo in case I feel like tracking them down. And… please celebrate with me… I got all the washers I needed to get my laundry dry done. Wooohoo.  This won’t take me the whole afternoon


I was there last week and I never received 
most of the automatic ride photos.  I think I got 1 haunted mansion photo.


----------



## bbn1122

123SA said:


> AK today. Bus from AOA at 758. Through security very quickly. Held at tapstiles for a few minutes. Held at bridge until 730. Kids are at the front again. Again no seems to care about readjusting groups after moving. We waved hello and the parties near the kids made space for us.  Nice people.  We were held outside the ride until 756.  Walked Into the first ride of the day at FOP. 3x Everest with no wait. Safari was posted as 20, but it was a slow paced moving line all the way to the boarding room. We waited fir 3 trucks to load. Walk on dinosaur 2x, finished by 1030. Zoom photo, no wait.   1100 Everest slow paced walk to the ride maybe 10 minutes   Stopped for another photo and to watch the monkeys who were loud and putting on a show.  Walked through the tiger thing. Lunch at flame tree. Mobile order works great!
> I’m headed back to the resort to do laundry and the kids plan to do a few rounds on Kali River rapids.
> Very easy day, very low crowd



I notice the wait time today at all the parks low, maybe weather?

My family arrives tomorrow, AK on Monday, can’t wait! 

Enjoy your stay!


----------



## Dispro1

dclDream2018 said:


> Not sure if this is relevant, but I just got us a rental car for upcoming next trip to avoid Disney transport!


Do you (or anyone else on here) happen to know what time Disney allows cars to enter the parking lot in the morning?  I'm actually planning to book a car service ahead of time, but I don't know what time to book the car.  Are cars allowed to enter before the park opens?  I saw something earlier in this thread that said something around 15 minutes early, but I just wondered if this varies or if there is a set amount of time before the posted park open time?


----------



## bbn1122

123SA said:


> AK today. Bus from AOA at 758. Through security very quickly. Held at tapstiles for a few minutes. Held at bridge until 730. Kids are at the front again. Again no seems to care about readjusting groups after moving. We waved hello and the parties near the kids made space for us.  Nice people.  We were held outside the ride until 756.  Walked Into the first ride of the day at FOP. 3x Everest with no wait. Safari was posted as 20, but it was a slow paced moving line all the way to the boarding room. We waited fir 3 trucks to load. Walk on dinosaur 2x, finished by 1030. Zoom photo, no wait.   1100 Everest slow paced walk to the ride maybe 10 minutes   Stopped for another photo and to watch the monkeys who were loud and putting on a show.  Walked through the tiger thing. Lunch at flame tree. Mobile order works great!
> I’m headed back to the resort to do laundry and the kids plan to do a few rounds on Kali River rapids.
> Very easy day, very low crowd



I notice the wait time today at all the parks low, maybe weather?

My family arrives tomorrow, AK on Monday, can’t wait! 

Enjoy your stay!


----------



## e_yerger

does anyone know if the f&w food booths are open during thunderstorms? looks like it’s gonna be a wet evening.


----------



## The13thLetter

e_yerger said:


> does anyone know if the f&w food booths are open during thunderstorms? looks like it’s gonna be a wet evening.



I know sometimes it can go to cash only if the storm knocks out the computers but i dont remember if they close completely.


----------



## e_yerger

Wanted to give an update on our time at Epcot this afternoon.
We got to international gateway around 2pm, and we were able to do the following things between 2 & 3:45:
- stopped at world traveler for the scavenger hunt map & food and wine book. 
- got a drink from rose & crown pub
- rode journey into imagination (5 min wait)
- rode soarin (went right into the seat queues w/ pre-show)
- rode living with the land (walk on)
- rode finding Nemo (5 min wait)

then we walked out the front of the park and caught a bus back to CBR. The bus pulled right up and we were the only ones on the bus. We were back to our room by 4.


----------



## MomOTwins

We had a fun arrival day so far.  Got into MCO shortly after 11am, no line at all for DME—walked right on the bus.  We however walked by the line for Southwest departures and it was scary long—we made a mental note to give ourselves an extra hour at the airport when we leave in a week.

Had a delicious and quick lunch at primi piatto.  Noticed in the app it said you must be a riviera resort guest to mobile order at primi piatto today.  We are (it’s our welcome home trip as new DVC owners!) but I was a little surprised.  They must be getting too much traffic from Caribbean beach I think.  Good thing too as the restaurant was packed.

Went to HS.  Skyliner was down but no surprise as it was pouring but buses were reasonably efficient (they were “filling all available space on each bus). Was nice to see buses were resort specific unlike our last trip when they ran a circuit and stopped at all skyliner resorts.

HS was awesome despite (maybe because of) all the rain.  We had ponchos and enjoyed the cooler weather the rain brought, but did get pretty soggy.  No crowds, 10 minutes for TOT (posted wait of 30), 15 for TSMM (posted 35), 20 for MFSR (posted 35).  Only one ride the Lines app totally failed us on was AS2.  Lines app said 9 mins.  Actual wait 35 (ended up wishing we had used DAS as our youngest is autistic and doesn’t handle long waits well, but once we were in the line, he would have had a meltdown if we tried to leave).  We also rode slinky but used DAS as the posted wait was 60 mins so I can’t speak to actual wait time.

It is DH’s bday so we headed back to the resort and are relaxing before a special dinner at Topolino’s.  

I was scared about coming with kids too young for the vax, but have been so happy here all day.  Mask compliance was VERY good on buses, in lines and on rides—I think people tolerate the masks better when the get to have a break outside.  They do pack you in but we created a bit of distance in the line queues by having DH and I stand 6 ft apart with the kids in the middle.

So glad we came… this is still most definitely my happiest place.


----------



## The Iron Giant

Dispro1 said:


> Do you (or anyone else on here) happen to know what time Disney allows cars to enter the parking lot in the morning?  I'm actually planning to book a car service ahead of time, but I don't know what time to book the car.  Are cars allowed to enter before the park opens?  I saw something earlier in this thread that said something around 15 minutes early, but I just wondered if this varies or if there is a set amount of time before the posted park open time?


Hi!  We drove to HS and Epcot this week and we were allowed into the lots around 7:50 am or so.


----------



## disny_luvr

MomOTwins said:


> We had a fun arrival day so far.  Got into MCO shortly after 11am, no line at all for DME—walked right on the bus.  We however walked by the line for Southwest departures and it was scary long—we made a mental note to give ourselves an extra hour at the airport when we leave in a week.
> 
> Had a delicious and quick lunch at primi piatto.  Noticed in the app it said you must be a riviera resort guest to mobile order at primi piatto today.  We are (it’s our welcome home trip as new DVC owners!) but I was a little surprised.  They must be getting too much traffic from Caribbean beach I think.  Good thing too as the restaurant was packed.
> 
> Went to HS.  Skyliner was down but no surprise as it was pouring but buses were reasonably efficient (they were “filling all available space on each bus). Was nice to see buses were resort specific unlike our last trip when they ran a circuit and stopped at all skyliner resorts.
> 
> HS was awesome despite (maybe because of) all the rain.  We had ponchos and enjoyed the cooler weather the rain brought, but did get pretty soggy.  No crowds, 10 minutes for TOT (posted wait of 30), 15 for TSMM (posted 35), 20 for MFSR (posted 35).  Only one ride the Lines app totally failed us on was AS2.  Lines app said 9 mins.  Actual wait 35 (ended up wishing we had used DAS as our youngest is autistic and doesn’t handle long waits well, but once we were in the line, he would have had a meltdown if we tried to leave).  We also rode slinky but used DAS as the posted wait was 60 mins so I can’t speak to actual wait time.
> 
> It is DH’s bday so we headed back to the resort and are relaxing before a special dinner at Topolino’s.
> 
> I was scared about coming with kids too young for the vax, but have been so happy here all day.  Mask compliance was VERY good on buses, in lines and on rides—I think people tolerate the masks better when the get to have a break outside.  They do pack you in but we created a bit of distance in the line queues by having DH and I stand 6 ft apart with the kids in the middle.
> 
> So glad we came… this is still most definitely my happiest place.



You probably passed us in the Southwest line. Good news is it moves really fast.


----------



## Dispro1

The Iron Giant said:


> Hi!  We drove to HS and Epcot this week and we were allowed into the lots around 7:50 am or so.


Wow...that's early!  Thanks for the info!  Do you remember about what time they started letting people into HS?


----------



## luv2cheer92

MomOTwins said:


> We had a fun arrival day so far.  Got into MCO shortly after 11am, no line at all for DME—walked right on the bus.  We however walked by the line for Southwest departures and it was scary long—we made a mental note to give ourselves an extra hour at the airport when we leave in a week.
> 
> Had a delicious and quick lunch at primi piatto.  Noticed in the app it said you must be a riviera resort guest to mobile order at primi piatto today.  We are (it’s our welcome home trip as new DVC owners!) but I was a little surprised.  They must be getting too much traffic from Caribbean beach I think.  Good thing too as the restaurant was packed.
> 
> Went to HS.  Skyliner was down but no surprise as it was pouring but buses were reasonably efficient (they were “filling all available space on each bus). Was nice to see buses were resort specific unlike our last trip when they ran a circuit and stopped at all skyliner resorts.
> 
> HS was awesome despite (maybe because of) all the rain.  We had ponchos and enjoyed the cooler weather the rain brought, but did get pretty soggy.  No crowds, 10 minutes for TOT (posted wait of 30), 15 for TSMM (posted 35), 20 for MFSR (posted 35).  Only one ride the Lines app totally failed us on was AS2.  Lines app said 9 mins.  Actual wait 35 (ended up wishing we had used DAS as our youngest is autistic and doesn’t handle long waits well, but once we were in the line, he would have had a meltdown if we tried to leave).  We also rode slinky but used DAS as the posted wait was 60 mins so I can’t speak to actual wait time.
> 
> It is DH’s bday so we headed back to the resort and are relaxing before a special dinner at Topolino’s.
> 
> I was scared about coming with kids too young for the vax, but have been so happy here all day.  Mask compliance was VERY good on buses, in lines and on rides—I think people tolerate the masks better when the get to have a break outside.  They do pack you in but we created a bit of distance in the line queues by having DH and I stand 6 ft apart with the kids in the middle.
> 
> So glad we came… this is still most definitely my happiest place.


That has been the case for Primo Piatto for at least a couple weeks now.


----------



## MomOTwins

disny_luvr said:


> You probably passed us in the Southwest line. Good news is it moves really fast.


Aww sorry it is your going home day, I know that is no fun.  Good to know it moves fast—it looked longer than any theme park ride line we waited in today!


----------



## KayKayJS

Does anyone know if they’re doing any fireworks tonight for the private party? I know they’re not listed but we’re at the GF beach and curious if we’ll see any.


----------



## danissmart

Weird the lines are getting so much shorter. And busses emptier. I wonder what changed?


----------



## ellbell

danissmart said:


> Weird the lines are getting so much shorter. And busses emptier. I wonder what changed?


Kids started going back to school among other things.  Crowds always started to die down around mid August.


----------



## Marvin1968

MomOTwins said:


> We had a fun arrival day so far.  Got into MCO shortly after 11am, no line at all for DME—walked right on the bus.  We however walked by the line for Southwest departures and it was scary long—we made a mental note to give ourselves an extra hour at the airport when we leave in a week.
> 
> Had a delicious and quick lunch at primi piatto.  Noticed in the app it said you must be a riviera resort guest to mobile order at primi piatto today.  We are (it’s our welcome home trip as new DVC owners!) but I was a little surprised.  They must be getting too much traffic from Caribbean beach I think.  Good thing too as the restaurant was packed.
> 
> Went to HS.  Skyliner was down but no surprise as it was pouring but buses were reasonably efficient (they were “filling all available space on each bus). Was nice to see buses were resort specific unlike our last trip when they ran a circuit and stopped at all skyliner resorts.
> 
> HS was awesome despite (maybe because of) all the rain.  We had ponchos and enjoyed the cooler weather the rain brought, but did get pretty soggy.  No crowds, 10 minutes for TOT (posted wait of 30), 15 for TSMM (posted 35), 20 for MFSR (posted 35).  Only one ride the Lines app totally failed us on was AS2.  Lines app said 9 mins.  Actual wait 35 (ended up wishing we had used DAS as our youngest is autistic and doesn’t handle long waits well, but once we were in the line, he would have had a meltdown if we tried to leave).  We also rode slinky but used DAS as the posted wait was 60 mins so I can’t speak to actual wait time.
> 
> It is DH’s bday so we headed back to the resort and are relaxing before a special dinner at Topolino’s.
> 
> I was scared about coming with kids too young for the vax, but have been so happy here all day.  Mask compliance was VERY good on buses, in lines and on rides—I think people tolerate the masks better when the get to have a break outside.  They do pack you in but we created a bit of distance in the line queues by having DH and I stand 6 ft apart with the kids in the middle.
> 
> So glad we came… this is still most definitely my happiest place.


We were at CBR this past week. Skyliner went down pretty much every day late afternoon because of storms.   They mobilized the buses pretty quick though.


----------



## Haley R

e_yerger said:


> does anyone know if the f&w food booths are open during thunderstorms? looks like it’s gonna be a wet evening.


We actually were there Thursday and they did close the booths for a little while during/after a storm.


----------



## 123SA

Yes Alps and Spain open. We had food from Alps tonight


----------



## OhBother1984

ellbell said:


> Kids started going back to school among other things.  Crowds always started to die down around mid August.



I think you will also see a lot less people pulling kids from schools this year for vacations. Between needing days for actual illness since not like the past when they sent them sick and many school districts are now behind and testing scores fell so there will be a lot more pressure this year plus many kids are behind .


----------



## Magnoliafan

luv2cheer92 said:


> That has been the case for Primo Piatto for at least a couple weeks now.


Just FYI: I‘ve been at Pop for a week and had no issues picking up a mobile order at Primo Piatto.  But I also arrived via Skyliner, so my guess is that it’s intended to prevent people from parking at Riviera and I would have been turned away if I had been in a car.


----------



## 123SA

Rise of the resistance boarding groups using time.gov
Starting at 7:00, we got group 63
Starting at 6:59.58 we got group 8
Starting at 6:59.57 too early
Starting at 6:59.59 group 34

used my data, not resort WiFi. Found a spot with strong signal outside


----------



## mousefan73

123SA said:


> Rise of the resistance boarding groups using time.gov
> Starting at 7:00, we got group 63
> Starting at 6:59.58 we got group 8
> Starting at 6:59.57 too early
> Starting at 6:59.59 group 34
> 
> used my data, not resort WiFi. Found a spot with strong signal outside


Did you do multiple days? Or everyone in your group tried. ? I need to check out the R thread get tips on getting a pass. I assume both my DD and I can try correct?


----------



## 123SA

mousefan73 said:


> Did you do multiple days? Or everyone in your group tried. ? I need to check out the R thread get tips on getting a pass. I assume both my DD and I can try correct?


Those are 3 days, multiple people in my group trying.  The people outside, not using WiFi, always got it.  Today daughter was too early, but I wasn’t.


----------



## 123SA

We were on the very first TOT elevator today. When we walked past Belle on our way out, prior to 9am, the line for the 11:00 Belle show  had already started.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

123SA said:


> We were on the very first TOT elevator today. When we walked past Belle on our way out, prior to 9am, the line for the 11:00 Belle show  had already started.


With it being the 1st day back for the show, it's probably a lot of Vloggers lined up....


----------



## Miffy

123SA said:


> Rise of the resistance boarding groups using time.gov
> Starting at 7:00, we got group 63
> Starting at 6:59.58 we got group 8
> Starting at 6:59.57 too early
> Starting at 6:59.59 group 34
> 
> used my data, not resort WiFi. Found a spot with strong signal outside


Interesting stats and thank you for posting! When we were there in May our successful BG experience was starting at 6:59:58. We were in the room using Wi-Fi, with data off. We had a great Wi-Fi signal in the room, btw, at the GF.


----------



## AdrienneP23

danissmart said:


> Weird the lines are getting so much shorter. And busses emptier. I wonder what changed?


Maybe the threat of the tropical storm scared away some Florida locals?


----------



## Chavaleh

123SA said:


> Rise of the resistance boarding groups using time.gov
> Starting at 7:00, we got group 63
> Starting at 6:59.58 we got group 8
> Starting at 6:59.57 too early
> Starting at 6:59.59 group 34
> 
> used my data, not resort WiFi. Found a spot with strong signal outside



What an insane system. 

My husband got a new phone and has been practicing for weeks for our mid Sept trip. I kid you not. He's even talked me into getting a new phone though my motivations have nothing to do with RotR. Insanity I tell ya. Insanity.


----------



## 123SA

At dhs. By 1040
tot
Rnrc
Starbucks
Mickey Minnie ride
Tsm
Star tours
2 phtospass stops
Shop for cards in galaxy’s edge
Blue milk

our rise boarding should be in about 15 minutes

great morning


----------



## LiteBrite

MomOTwins said:


> That has been the case for Primo Piatto for at least a couple weeks now.



This made me curious, so I just hopped on the app (I'm not at WDW right now, just checking), and I didn't see anything about needing to be a guest of the Riviera.  Perhaps it comes and goes when it's busier.  We've eaten there a couple of times in the past when we stopped by the Riviera for a visit, not staying there, but it wasn't particularly busy either of those times.


----------



## scrappinginontario

123SA said:


> Those are 3 days, multiple people in my group trying.  The people outside, not using WiFi, always got it.  Today daughter was too early, but I wasn’t.


Curious, were all your people pre-selected today?  We had a report on the main rise thread that in one case this morning their family was not pre-selected.  Only people in their group had park passes today so they clicked, 'select all' and it still glitched on them asking them to remove people.

You've had a few BGs this week (yay!! ) Did you notice the app behaving differently today?

Thanks!


----------



## PortieOwner

Chavaleh said:


> What an insane system.
> 
> My husband got a new phone and has been practicing for weeks for our mid Sept trip. I kid you not. He's even talked me into getting a new phone though my motivations have nothing to do with RotR. Insanity I tell ya. Insanity.



He will probably do better if he gets a 5g iPhone.


----------



## ckb_nc

Lots of schools in the south have started (Florida) or will be starting this week.  Just back from North Myrtle, and it felt like everyone was from Ohio, Maryland, New York or PA.


----------



## Chavaleh

PortieOwner said:


> He will probably do better if he gets a 5g iPhone.



"There are lines I'm not willing to cross." 

We have Samsung S21 Ultras. 5g if we change our plan which he's now considering.


----------



## The Iron Giant

gretabull said:


> Has anyone been to SciFi diner lately? I have a reservation for next week but I’m thinking of cancelling because I’m going solo and I am assuming they are putting more than 1 party in a car.  Back in May they were doing the 1 party per car, so does anyone know if it’s still that way? It might be too close for comfort for me. Thanks!


We have an ADR at Sci-Fi for tomorrow.   Be happy to report back shortly!


----------



## rlk

gretabull said:


> Has anyone been to SciFi diner lately? I have a reservation for next week but I’m thinking of cancelling because I’m going solo and I am assuming they are putting more than 1 party in a car.  Back in May they were doing the 1 party per car, so does anyone know if it’s still that way? It might be too close for comfort for me. Thanks!



We(party of 2) were given our own car on 7/28. The CM seating us confirmed they are only seating one party per car.

edit: correct autocorrect


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

ckb_nc said:


> Lots of schools in the south have started (Florida) or will be starting this week.  Just back from North Myrtle, and it felt like everyone was from Ohio, Maryland, New York or PA.



Most of the schools in our area - South Ohio (Dayton, Cincinnati) begin this week.


----------



## The13thLetter

Looks like the new lobster booth opened early in epcot today


----------



## luv2cheer92

The13thLetter said:


> Looks like the new lobster booth opened early in epcot today


There were a few that did. Mac and Eats, India, and Ireland also did.


----------



## Turksmom

luv2cheer92 said:


> There were a few that did. Mac and Eats, India, and Ireland also did.


I changed my September trip to November so I wouldn't miss the lobster and Ireland booths. I could have had a discounted room rate  
Well, I'll have Christmas decorations and (hopefully) the deluxe EMH.


----------



## The13thLetter

luv2cheer92 said:


> There were a few that did. Mac and Eats, India, and Ireland also did.



wow.so awesome.i hope they stay open and it wasnt a 1 time weekend only thing. are there any left to open on oct 1 now?


----------



## luv2cheer92

The13thLetter said:


> wow.so awesome.i hope they stay open and it wasnt a 1 time weekend only thing. are there any left to open on oct 1 now?


Just saw Kenya is also open today. I'm not sure what else is left or whether it could just be for this weekend.


----------



## 123SA

scrappinginontario said:


> Curious, were all your people pre-selected today?  We had a report on the main rise thread that in one case this morning their family was not pre-selected.  Only people in their group had park passes today so they clicked, 'select all' and it still glitched on them asking them to remove people.
> 
> You've had a few BGs this week (yay!! ) Did you notice the app behaving differently today?
> 
> Thanks!



I’m sorry. I don’t remember. Your question is was it like practice? If it was, I’m not sure I would have noticed since I am actually more familiar with the practice routine.
I didn’t notice anything strange and my entire did end up with a boarding group.


----------



## The13thLetter

luv2cheer92 said:


> Just saw Kenya is also open today. I'm not sure what else is left or whether it could just be for this weekend.



I just looked it up, and if kenya is open too I think that leaves just brazil and belgium.


----------



## 123SA

When I arrived last week, when, the crowds were much bigger, the touring plans app had the more reliable wait times. Now that the crowds are less, I think the posted times are more reliable. (Posted 60 for slinky, expected 30….it’s been 30 minutes and I am nowhere near loading)


however, when we got in line the FP line was huge…I’ve seen this more than once. Do they tend to give out the DAS passes in a block?  Like all of the return times will be at 3:30 instead of spread out?  I can’t figure out why it seems like the FP lines are either empty or backed up.  Im now thinking that I shouldn’t get on standby line when I see that back up. Just go somewhere else and come back half hour later


----------



## wdwlvrinAZ

Turksmom said:


> I changed my September trip to November so I wouldn't miss the lobster and Ireland booths. I could have had a discounted room rate
> Well, I'll have Christmas decorations and (hopefully) the deluxe EMH.


Oh that’s a bummer!  Bright side is, it should be cooler while we attack the F&W Festival  77 days away for us!


----------



## Ecomommy09

I'm not certain this is the best board for this question, but I'm not sure what would be a better place.  I fly with only a carry-on and I pack light on the toiletries, but I like to zip in Publix and get sunscreen, water, granola bars, and a few other essentials for the trip.  With the COVID, I think getting in the grocery might be risky?  What's the best grocery delivery service for these kinds of items and how soon do I need to make my order?  Thank you


----------



## Makmak

123SA said:


> When I arrived last week, when, the crowds were much bigger, the touring plans app had the more reliable wait times. Now that the crowds are less, I think the posted times are more reliable. (Posted 60 for slinky, expected 30….it’s been 30 minutes and I am nowhere near loading)
> 
> 
> however, when we got in line the FP line was huge…I’ve seen this more than once. Do they tend to give out the DAS passes in a block?  Like all of the return times will be at 3:30 instead of spread out?  I can’t figure out why it seems like the FP lines are either empty or backed up.  Im now thinking that I shouldn’t get on standby line when I see that back up. Just go somewhere else and come back half hour later


It could be there was an issue with the ride (like a breakdown) and they were given recovery passes and were all back upon the ride reopening or by chance around the same time? Just a thought


----------



## Makmak

Ecomommy09 said:


> I'm not certain this is the best board for this question, but I'm not sure what would be a better place.  I fly with only a carry-on and I pack light on the toiletries, but I like to zip in Publix and get sunscreen, water, granola bars, and a few other essentials for the trip.  With the COVID, I think getting in the grocery might be risky?  What's the best grocery delivery service for these kinds of items and how soon do I need to make my order?  Thank you


I use Instacart. You can schedule a delivery time well in advance. I’ve heard people on these boards use some other services. I know you can have the stuff dropped at bell services but I usually just meet them out front (I put that in the notes that I’ll meet them and when I get the “driver is on the way” text I head out.


----------



## DisneyOma

The13thLetter said:


> I just looked it up, and if kenya is open too I think that leaves just brazil and belgium.



And Ireland I think, too?


----------



## The13thLetter

Ecomommy09 said:


> I'm not certain this is the best board for this question, but I'm not sure what would be a better place.  I fly with only a carry-on and I pack light on the toiletries, but I like to zip in Publix and get sunscreen, water, granola bars, and a few other essentials for the trip.  With the COVID, I think getting in the grocery might be risky?  What's the best grocery delivery service for these kinds of items and how soon do I need to make my order?  Thank you



you might be able to just ship from amazon ahead of time if you dont need food/perishable items. We used to do that for diapers, wipes, etc.


----------



## The13thLetter

DisneyOma said:


> And Ireland I think, too?



ireland opened today too.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

123SA said:


> When I arrived last week, when, the crowds were much bigger, the touring plans app had the more reliable wait times. Now that the crowds are less, I think the posted times are more reliable. (Posted 60 for slinky, expected 30….it’s been 30 minutes and I am nowhere near loading)
> 
> 
> however, when we got in line the FP line was huge…I’ve seen this more than once. Do they tend to give out the DAS passes in a block?  Like all of the return times will be at 3:30 instead of spread out?  I can’t figure out why it seems like the FP lines are either empty or backed up.  Im now thinking that I shouldn’t get on standby line when I see that back up. Just go somewhere else and come back half hour later



Slinky has ALOT of Rider Swap (more than DAS).


----------



## Dugette

Ecomommy09 said:


> I'm not certain this is the best board for this question, but I'm not sure what would be a better place.  I fly with only a carry-on and I pack light on the toiletries, but I like to zip in Publix and get sunscreen, water, granola bars, and a few other essentials for the trip.  With the COVID, I think getting in the grocery might be risky?  What's the best grocery delivery service for these kinds of items and how soon do I need to make my order?  Thank you


Can’t tell if you’re driving, but we’ll have a rental and plan to do Target drive-up. Usually 2 hours or less from ordering in app and it’s ready (if Orlando is similar to home where we do it all the time).


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Ecomommy09 said:


> I'm not certain this is the best board for this question, but I'm not sure what would be a better place.  I fly with only a carry-on and I pack light on the toiletries, but I like to zip in Publix and get sunscreen, water, granola bars, and a few other essentials for the trip.  With the COVID, I think getting in the grocery might be risky?  What's the best grocery delivery service for these kinds of items and how soon do I need to make my order?  Thank you



If you're using a car service (or have a rental car), I have been using Target Drive UP for my trips. Order online, use the app. they bring it to the car!

The one in Hunter's Creek has a small amount of cold storage for milk/cream BUT will only hold them until close of business for the next day (so if you order on Friday, have to pick up Saturday). Note that the Vineland store is closer, but doesn't do cold storage.

They also allow you to pick up wine (and probably beer) if that's on your list. Just have to show your ID at pick up.


----------



## danissmart

AdrienneP23 said:


> Maybe the threat of the tropical storm scared away some Florida locals?


Yes I’m sure that’s it.


----------



## MomOTwins

Here Now report from our AK day. AK is amazing right now! We did not bother with rope drop—props to other families that can swing being at the bus stop at 6:30, but my kids are not up for it, so we took it easy, had a nice breakfast from Primo Piatto and headed to bus stop around 8.

First stop was EE. Got there at 8:40. Walk on. Rode it twice with no wait and could have kept going but opted to branch out. Kali also a walk on. 10 minute wait for Safari. Then headed to Pandora where FOP was posted 60 and Navi was posted 35–both accurate within 5/10 mins. Did not do lion king but was near it at various times in the morning and they were letting people in right up until show time so must not have been full.

At that point we had an early lunch at Tusker House. I actually really enjoyed the food—not sure why all the lukewarm reviews. Maybe because out bill came out the same as topolinos dinner yesterday, which was a much nicer meal, but you are mostly paying for characters. The shrimp curry is outstanding. We were sat in a side room where there were table between us and the characters and I was worried the character experience would suffer, but it was great. The little side room turned out to be very lively and we were all singing, clapping and cheering when the characters visited so they spend a good amount of time with us. Mickey played a fun game where we clapped and chanted his name and he “conducted” us to go louder and quieter, faster and slower. Kids loved it and got really into it, including the older ones who claimed they were only willing to go to character meals for the sake of their little brother.

After stuffing ourselves we stopped at dinosaur and it was just a 10 minute wait, inclusive of preshow. We went back for a swim but are very pleased with what we accomplished before 1pm on a day we slept in.

Mask compliance was also pretty much perfect today. We have been on three covid trips and were stunned how much better mask compliance has been this trip—never saw a nose all day after entering a ride queue.


----------



## MomOTwins

Makmak said:


> It could be there was an issue with the ride (like a breakdown) and they were given recovery passes and were all back upon the ride reopening or by chance around the same time? Just a thought


Or rain.  Slinky closes in afternoon storms and people in line get a pass to come back.


----------



## gretabull

The Iron Giant said:


> We have an ADR at Sci-Fi for tomorrow.   Be happy to report back shortly!



Thank you but I ended up cancelling my reservation - and my trip!


----------



## Ecomommy09

Dugette said:


> Can’t tell if you’re driving, but we’ll have a rental and plan to do Target drive-up. Usually 2 hours or less from ordering in app and it’s ready (if Orlando is similar to home where we do it all the time).





TexanInTheMidwest said:


> If you're using a car service (or have a rental car), I have been using Target Drive UP for my trips. Order online, use the app. they bring it to the car!
> 
> The one in Hunter's Creek has a small amount of cold storage for milk/cream BUT will only hold them until close of business for the next day (so if you order on Friday, have to pick up Saturday). Note that the Vineland store is closer, but doesn't do cold storage.
> 
> They also allow you to pick up wine (and probably beer) if that's on your list. Just have to show your ID at pick up.


Sounds like a plan!  I don’t live near Target so I hadn’t considered that!!


----------



## danissmart

Hotels have TONS of availability right now.


----------



## Geomom

Arrived late last night after an hour flight delay.  Got to magical express at 10:07 pm took less than 5 minutes to check-in.  Waited 15 to get on bus, another 10 until it left.  Got to Kidani village at 11:30pm, got to bed at 12:30am.  In a 1 bedroom standard view for 2 nts and got a partial Pembe savannah view with okapi, warthogs, etc.  Very happy with the view!  Moving to 1 bedroom at CCV tomorrow.

Went to AK today.  Had a great day! Made it just in time for our 9:55am breakfast at Tusker house.  Had a great meal.  Got in line for safari at 10:50am, listed as 20minutes, took 10!  Did gorilla falls trail with no wait, then went to rafikis planet watch, just missed a train both ways, so 5 min wait each way.  Got right into 12:15 animation class to draw Thumper.  Split up afterwards.  DH and DD17 to FOP posted and was 40 min at 1:15pm DD21 and I to Kali at 1:15, posted 10, rose to 20 while in line, took 20.  Brief rain shower.  Did maharahah trek and saw the tigers.  Met back up, had snacks from shop in Africa--cookies and cupcake.  Went to safari at 2:50, posted 15, took 10.  DH and DD21 went to Navi at 3:50, posted and took 25.  DD17 and I did FOP twice!  Listed 40 at 3:50, took 23 to preshow.  At 4:30 listed as 35, took 18 to preshow.  DD21 and DH shopped while we did FOP second time, then we came back to resort.  Have Sanaa for dinner later tonight.

Mask compliance was pretty good... depends on who is around you.  Could be 100% or 50% in lines....experienced both... Kali had poor compliance, FOP was great.  Happy enough with it as we're all vaxxed and wearing our masks anywhere crowded.  No social distancing anywhere anymore, as others have mentioned.  Hand sanitizer stations worked everywhere I tried at AK.  Sometimes you need to wait for red light to go away and there is a slight delay before it comes out.


----------



## maryj11

We leave next week if we don’t change our minds by then because of the covid cases. 
if crowds are going down a lot we will go. If not we may cancel and reschedule.


----------



## Linkura

Ecomommy09 said:


> I'm not certain this is the best board for this question, but I'm not sure what would be a better place.  I fly with only a carry-on and I pack light on the toiletries, but I like to zip in Publix and get sunscreen, water, granola bars, and a few other essentials for the trip.  With the COVID, I think getting in the grocery might be risky?  What's the best grocery delivery service for these kinds of items and how soon do I need to make my order?  Thank you


Probably not any riskier than going to a packed theme park…


----------



## scrappinginontario

maryj11 said:


> We leave next week if we don’t change our minds by then because of the covid cases.
> if crowds are going down a lot we will go. If not we may cancel and reschedule.


Your post has been merged with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread.  This thread is people who are reporting their trips while there and those who have just returned.  Reading the last few pages will give you a good idea what crowds are like right now.


----------



## maryj11

Geomom said:


> Arrived late last night after an hour flight delay.  Got to magical express at 10:07 pm took less than 5 minutes to check-in.  Waited 15 to get on bus, another 10 until it left.  Got to Kidani village at 11:30pm, got to bed at 12:30am.  In a 1 bedroom standard view for 2 nts and got a partial Pembe savannah view with okapi, warthogs, etc.  Very happy with the view!  Moving to 1 bedroom at CCV tomorrow.
> 
> Went to AK today.  Had a great day! Made it just in time for our 9:55am breakfast at Tusker house.  Had a great meal.  Got in line for safari at 10:50am, listed as 20minutes, took 10!  Did gorilla falls trail with no wait, then went to rafikis planet watch, just missed a train both ways, so 5 min wait each way.  Got right into 12:15 animation class to draw Thumper.  Split up afterwards.  DH and DD17 to FOP posted and was 40 min at 1:15pm DD21 and I to Kali at 1:15, posted 10, rose to 20 while in line, took 20.  Brief rain shower.  Did maharahah trek and saw the tigers.  Met back up, had snacks from shop in Africa--cookies and cupcake.  Went to safari at 2:50, posted 15, took 10.  DH and DD21 went to Navi at 3:50, posted and took 25.  DD17 and I did FOP twice!  Listed 40 at 3:50, took 23 to preshow.  At 4:30 listed as 35, took 18 to preshow.  DD21 and DH shopped while we did FOP second time, then we came back to resort.  Have Sanaa for dinner later tonight.
> 
> Mask compliance was pretty good... depends on who is around you.  Could be 100% or 50% in lines....experienced both... Kali had poor compliance, FOP was great.  Happy enough with it as we're all vaxxed and wearing our masks anywhere crowded.  No social distancing anywhere anymore, as others have mentioned.  Hand sanitizer stations worked everywhere I tried at AK.  Sometimes you need to wait for red light to go away and there is a slight delay before it comes out.View attachment 597432View attachment 597433View attachment 597434View attachment 597435View attachment 597436


Sounds like you had a great day!


----------



## PortieOwner

Ecomommy09 said:


> I'm not certain this is the best board for this question, but I'm not sure what would be a better place.  I fly with only a carry-on and I pack light on the toiletries, but I like to zip in Publix and get sunscreen, water, granola bars, and a few other essentials for the trip.  With the COVID, I think getting in the grocery might be risky?  What's the best grocery delivery service for these kinds of items and how soon do I need to make my order?  Thank you



Personally, I would not worry about a supermarket as a risk. There are far fewer people per square foot than in a restaurant, or a theme park.


----------



## maryj11

123SA said:


> Rise of the resistance boarding groups using time.gov
> Starting at 7:00, we got group 63
> Starting at 6:59.58 we got group 8
> Starting at 6:59.57 too early
> Starting at 6:59.59 group 34
> 
> used my data, not resort WiFi. Found a spot with strong signal outside


My phone does not show seconds. Is there any way I can download an app or how do you do it.


----------



## LiteBrite

maryj11 said:


> My phone does not show seconds. Is there any way I can download an app or how do you do it.



On my phone, I just use my clock app, which does show seconds.  I have the MDE app open as well, and I watch the seconds tick down on the clock app.  During the last 5 seconds I count in my head while I switch to MDE, and hit Join right at the top of the minute.  Works very well for me.


----------



## maryj11

LiteBrite said:


> On my phone, I just use my clock app, which does show seconds.  I have the MDE app open as well, and I watch the seconds tick down on the clock app.  During the last 5 seconds I count in my head while I switch to MDE, and hit Join right at the top of the minute.  Works very well for me.


I looked at my clock I have on my iPhone and it doesn’t have seconds.
Edit - I found one


----------



## disny_luvr

maryj11 said:


> I looked at my clock I have on my iPhone and it doesn’t have seconds.



This is what we did. My husband had the world clock pulled up on his phone and he started counting down for me when there was 10 seconds left before 7:00am. We must have done something right - we got boarding group 19.


----------



## scrappinginontario

maryj11 said:


> I looked at my clock I have on my iPhone and it doesn’t have seconds.





Do you have the standard clock icon on your iPhone home screen?  I watch the second hand on that then around 10 seconds to start tapping to the seconds (a great suggestion someone shared here) and flip back to MDE app.  Successful 99% of the time.


----------



## maryj11

scrappinginontario said:


> View attachment 597442
> 
> Do you have the standard clock icon on your iPhone home screen?  I watch the second hand on that then around 10 seconds to start tapping to the seconds (a great suggestion someone shared here) and flip back to MDE app.  Successful 99% of the time.


Okay yes I found it. Thanks!


----------



## maryj11

disny_luvr said:


> This is what we did. My husband had the world clock pulled up on his phone and he started counting down for me when there was 10 seconds left before 7:00am. We must have done something right - we got boarding group 19.


Okay thanks! We will have to practice


----------



## maryj11

scrappinginontario said:


> View attachment 597442
> 
> Do you have the standard clock icon on your iPhone home screen?  I watch the second hand on that then around 10 seconds to start tapping to the seconds (a great suggestion someone shared here) and flip back to MDE app.  Successful 99% of the time.


Just tried this my Disney Experience app loads slow. So at 10 seconds you start hitting join?


----------



## scrappinginontario

maryj11 said:


> Just tried this my Disney Experience app loads slow. So at 10 seconds you start hitting join?


No.  I already have the MyDisneyExperience app loaded and ready to go with the AT AT picture visible on my screen (see post 1). 

At 6:59 or 12:59 I go back from the MDE app to the home screen of my phone.

I watch the second hand and when it hits about 10 seconds before the hour I start tapping my foot to the seconds and go back to the MDE app.

I then watch the clock at the top of my screen and as soon as it flips to either  7AM or 1PM I click Join then.  If I click even a second early (on my phone) I will be too early and most likely lock myself out of a BG.

I think it's best for you to check out the* Boarding Groups: Rise of the Resistance *No Spoiler** thread.  Post 1 will explain things again.  That entire thread is dedicated to people obtaining BGs for the ride.


----------



## scrappinginontario

WOW!  For the first time ever, Rise of the Resistance was accepting stand-by guests at the end of the day.  Not sure if/when that will happen again but wow!  Game changer!!!  Something to keep an eye out for for guests that are in the parks now.


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1427069382040113154


----------



## TioAdis78

scrappinginontario said:


> WOW!  For the first time ever, Rise of the Resistance was accepting stand-by guests at the end of the day.  Not sure if/when that will happen again but wow!  Game changer!!!  Something to keep an eye out for for guests that are in the parks now.
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1427069382040113154



I think I almost fainted a little


----------



## disneymom0104

123SA said:


> Rise of the resistance boarding groups using time.gov
> Starting at 7:00, we got group 63
> Starting at 6:59.58 we got group 8
> Starting at 6:59.57 too early
> Starting at 6:59.59 group 34
> 
> used my data, not resort WiFi. Found a spot with strong signal outside



We did 3 days in HS well. We were off property in Orlando and had 4 of us trying every morning. We had checked the times on our phones prior, which were accurate. Waited for the clock to turn to 7am every time. 2 of us stayed on wifi, 2 of us didn’t.
Day 1 we got group 25- no wifi
Day 2 we got group 32- wifi
Day 3 we got group 39- wifi

Overall I didn’t think it was hard at all to get a group, just a little nerve wracking at 6:59am!


----------



## Marvin1968

maryj11 said:


> My phone does not show seconds. Is there any way I can download an app or how do you do it.


Best to use a a second phone. If you can.


----------



## lilmc

Marvin1968 said:


> Best to use a a second phone. If you can.



I used an old phone to power a fan, but also had a atomic clock app for the count down. Double duty.


----------



## petunia

scrappinginontario said:


> WOW!  For the first time ever, Rise of the Resistance was accepting stand-by guests at the end of the day.  Not sure if/when that will happen again but wow!  Game changer!!!  Something to keep an eye out for for guests that are in the parks now.
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1427069382040113154


Sorry, new to this BG thing, this year will be our first try..does this mean that if you tried at the 1 pm time slot you would have gotten on for sure, as there was still availability for some time in the day?


----------



## maryj11

scrappinginontario said:


> No.  I already have the MyDisneyExperience app loaded and ready to go with the AT AT picture visible on my screen (see post 1).
> 
> At 6:59 or 12:59 I go back from the MDE app to the home screen of my phone.
> 
> I watch the second hand and when it hits about 10 seconds before the hour I start tapping my foot to the seconds and go back to the MDE app.
> 
> I then watch the clock at the top of my screen and as soon as it flips to either  7AM or 1PM I click Join then.  If I click even a second early (on my phone) I will be too early and most likely lock myself out of a BG.
> 
> I think it's best for you to check out the* Boarding Groups: Rise of the Resistance *No Spoiler** thread.  Post 1 will explain things again.  That entire thread is dedicated to people obtaining BGs for the ride.


Okay thank you! This has me nervous lol I can see me clicking to early or to late.


----------



## TimeToPack

I started refreshing every 20 seconds starting at 6:45 AM on both days we had reservations for HS. We received boarding group 7 first day and group 12 the second day.  Only used one phone.  Very easy.


----------



## scrappinginontario

petunia said:


> Sorry, new to this BG thing, this year will be our first try..does this mean that if you tried at the 1 pm time slot you would have gotten on for sure, as there was still availability for some time in the day?


Yes today but, this is the first time this has ever happened since the ride opened in January 2020.  Until today the only people who could ride were guests who got a boarding group at 7AM or 1PM and these BGs normally fill within seconds.


----------



## Iowamomof4

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes today but, this is the first time this has ever happened since the ride opened in January 2020.  Until today the only people who could ride were guests who got a boarding group at 7AM or 1PM and these BGs normally fill within seconds.


It was also reported that hoppers were allowed to get boarding groups after 2:00 (after they tapped into DHS).


----------



## BebopBaloo

In regards to ROTR…wow. Just wow. We tried on three different times back in July and never got in even with knowing how it worked etc. Congratulations to everyone that it worked out for today!


----------



## Where'sPiglet?

gretabull said:


> Has anyone been to SciFi diner lately? I have a reservation for next week but I’m thinking of cancelling because I’m going solo and I am assuming they are putting more than 1 party in a car.  Back in May they were doing the 1 party per car, so does anyone know if it’s still that way? It might be too close for comfort for me. Thanks!



It was one party per car a couple weeks ago. They also had plexiglass between the cars that are right next to each other.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Iowamomof4 said:


> It was also reported that hoppers were allowed to get boarding groups after 2:00 (after they tapped into DHS).


Thanks for this update.  This is new too!


----------



## LSUmiss

gretabull said:


> Has anyone been to SciFi diner lately? I have a reservation for next week but I’m thinking of cancelling because I’m going solo and I am assuming they are putting more than 1 party in a car.  Back in May they were doing the 1 party per car, so does anyone know if it’s still that way? It might be too close for comfort for me. Thanks!


They weren’t in July. It was one party per car.


----------



## LSUmiss

ellbell said:


> Kids started going back to school among other things.  Crowds always started to die down around mid August.


Not this low though. I’ve been many times this time of year. I think it’s all the other stuff going on too.


----------



## OhBother1984

LSUmiss said:


> Not bis low though. I’ve been many times this time of year. I think it’s all the other stuff going on too.



we go august 28 and 29 so hoping it’s still low , lots of dining reservations available in the parks I noticed too. I’m hoping for short lines since my 3 yo won’t last that long in a mask in line, we may be spending a lot of time taking turns riding with Older 2


----------



## cakebaker

LSUmiss said:


> Not this low though. I’ve been many times this time of year. I think it’s all the other stuff going on too.



Same here. I think people are starting to take notice. FL is getting a lot of attention these days and none of it good. Even though my grandson got sick and it's since spread among the rest of us ( I'm still coughing and stuffy- sleep is hard to get) , I'm glad we went when we did. There's not a chance we'd go now. Low crowd levels are nice, but not when it's because people are wary of traveling. So tired of all of it!


----------



## Leigh L

scrappinginontario said:


> WOW!  For the first time ever, Rise of the Resistance was accepting stand-by guests at the end of the day.  Not sure if/when that will happen again but wow!  Game changer!!!  Something to keep an eye out for for guests that are in the parks now.


Wow! definitely something to watch. Thanks for sharing


----------



## danissmart

cakebaker said:


> Same here. I think people are starting to take notice. FL is getting a lot of attention these days and none of it good. Even though my grandson got sick and it's since spread among the rest of us ( I'm still coughing and stuffy- sleep is hard to get) , I'm glad we went when we did. There's not a chance we'd go now. Low crowd levels are nice, but not when it's because people are wary of traveling. So tired of all of it!


Eh, Florida tourism isn't down. But Disney is def slowing. Curious.

It's almost like Disney made a policy decision that had some consequences.


----------



## ellbell

LSUmiss said:


> Not this low though. I’ve been many times this time of year. I think it’s all the other stuff going on too.


Which is why I also mentioned among other things.  I just don't like mentioning covid cauae it always starts a debate but I figured it was implied.


----------



## gakrrajo_1

danissmart said:


> Eh, Florida tourism isn't down. But Disney is def slowing. Curious.


Maybe its like when the new iPhones come out in Sept, sales drop off in July/August waiting for the new model.  Maybe the typical Dis'er who goes after school starts back is just going after the 50th starts this year???


----------



## mom2rtk

danissmart said:


> Eh, Florida tourism isn't down. But Disney is def slowing. Curious.
> 
> It's almost like Disney made a policy decision that had some consequences.


Could just be the natural order of things. Lots of kids are starting back to school.


----------



## Makmak

There are lots of cancellations….rooms and dining I’ve been stalking for months are all wide open….as of this morning.
(This is for next week)


----------



## iheartglaciers

gakrrajo_1 said:


> Maybe its like when the new iPhones come out in Sept, sales drop off in July/August waiting for the new model.  Maybe the typical Dis'er who goes after school starts back is just going after the 50th starts this year???



I think it's a mix of things: COVID-related cancellations, kids back in school, but definitely some people are waiting until after the 50th. There was also a drop in crowds before Galaxy's Edge opened.


----------



## mrd7896

scrappinginontario said:


> WOW!  For the first time ever, Rise of the Resistance was accepting stand-by guests at the end of the day.  Not sure if/when that will happen again but wow!  Game changer!!!  Something to keep an eye out for for guests that are in the parks now.



so did this mean that if you were still in the park and had ridden earlier in the day for ROTR you could've gotten on again? thats wild!!


----------



## Makmak

mrd7896 said:


> so did this mean that if you were still in the park and had ridden earlier in the day for ROTR you could've gotten on again? thats wild!!


I know, it’s so crazy! It’s just so sad for allllll the people that didn’t get to go at all on their trip. I’ve read many reports here and reviews where people tried every day and were not successful…..then some people got to go twice and no shade their way but that has got to be frustrating for the people that missed it entirely…..


----------



## Mr. X

Are they using paper straws in the park? Was thinking of brining plastic straws in my bag.

I don't feel like drinking soda through a toilet paper roll.


----------



## penel3

Makmak said:


> There are lots of cancellations….rooms and dining I’ve been stalking for months are all wide open….as of this morning.
> (This is for next week)


I’ve had my arrival night at GF stalking and stalking to add that night on to my CR stay so I don’t have to switch. Finally showwed available last night and I made the switch! We arrive Aug 25th…..I’m so excited!!


----------



## Haley R

Mr. X said:


> Are they using paper straws in the park? Was thinking of brining plastic straws in my bag.
> 
> I don't feel like drinking soda through a toilet paper roll.


Yep they are. We were there last week. We hate the paper straws too


----------



## Makmak

Mr. X said:


> Are they using paper straws in the park? Was thinking of brining plastic straws in my bag.
> 
> I don't feel like drinking soda through a toilet paper roll.


Yes they are paper, we bring our own and find that bendy ones fit nicely in a ziploc. People have been very envious and said they wish they had brought some especially with frozen drinks because the paper ones sort of dissolve in those….I think straws are not allowed at animal kingdom (they were not when we were there last) someone may be able to confirm.


----------



## The13thLetter

Makmak said:


> Yes they are paper, we bring our own and find that bendy ones fit nicely in a ziploc. People have been very envious and said they wish they had brought some especially with frozen drinks because the paper ones sort of dissolve in those….I think straws are not allowed at animal kingdom (they were not when we were there last) someone may be able to confirm.



we have those rubber/silicone straws and brought them to all 4 parks last year with no issue


----------



## Turksmom

Disposable plastic straws are not allowed at AK because they can injure the animals


----------



## Makmak

Turksmom said:


> Disposable plastic straws are not allowed at AK because they can injure the animals


Yep I assumed because most zoos etc do not allow them.   I just googled and Disney Official Policy says plastic straws also are not allowed at  Jambo or Kidani interestingly.


----------



## mousefan73

danissmart said:


> Eh, Florida tourism isn't down. But Disney is def slowing. Curious.
> 
> It's almost like Disney made a policy decision that had some consequences.


I beg to differ. Florida is also a meeting and convention place. Tons of cancellations for August. We have seen many cancellations and these are not Disney people. Availability all over the place besides WDW. There are very few companies willing to send an employee down to Florida right now. Too much liability. Even Universal is wide open this month.


----------



## Mr. X

Flight prices for the dates we travel (end of August) have fallen off a cliff


----------



## emily nicole

Mr. X said:


> Flight prices for the dates we travel (end of August) have fallen off a cliff


I just checked ours out of curiosity hoping to get a credit (Southwest) and our Memphis to MCO flight on 8/29 went from $94 (what we paid) to $168.  Yikes! our going home flight is still $94.


----------



## William B

Mr. X said:


> Are they using paper straws in the park? Was thinking of brining plastic straws in my bag.
> 
> I don't feel like drinking soda through a toilet paper roll.


They are and they are horrible.  We got the collapsible metal straws you can hook to a key chain off of Amazon and they worked great.

I think these were the ones we used Amazon


----------



## danissmart

2.1m people through TSA yesterday. Doesn't seem like travel is slowing down...


----------



## Mango7100

danissmart said:


> 2.1m people through TSA yesterday. Doesn't seem like travel is slowing down...


Did they all go to Florida?


----------



## mousefan73

Mango7100 said:


> Did they all go to Florida?


No - from what I recall MCO averages right now about 75,000 pax per day.


----------



## Tess

quandrea said:


> Could it be your bra underwire?  I’ve had that trip the machines at the airport, resulting in very invasive searches.



I thought of that, but it didn't sound when I walked through without the bag--I don't cause the machines to sound unless I have the bag.


----------



## danissmart

Mango7100 said:


> Did they all go to Florida?


Presumably not. If you think Disney attendance isn't being driven down by whatever policy they happened to put in place, that's fine. No need to get confrontational.


----------



## maryj11

For anyone there how are crowds?


----------



## mousefan73

Concerning crowds or lack of.  Chicago schools normally start after Labor Day. They are already in session. I noticed other friends of mine, in other states,  also posted back to school pictures where they would normally start later.


----------



## mousefan73

Oh and a significant portion of late summer early fall ( mid August- Septembe) crowds are missing. Namely the UK market, who are not allowed to enter the US still. .

edit: And even if they were allowed to enter I highly doubt many of them would actually stay on site without the “full board”’ packages. UK packages often included free dining for two weeks and 14 day ticket. That’s a make or break deal for many Europeans.


----------



## Sarahslay

gakrrajo_1 said:


> Maybe its like when the new iPhones come out in Sept, sales drop off in July/August waiting for the new model.  Maybe the typical Dis'er who goes after school starts back is just going after the 50th starts this year???


I know of a lot of out of state APs who got a date to go to ride Remy early who switched their trips from August to September. I admit, I was tempted, but decided to just wait till my trip in 2022 to ride and not worry about switching my dates just for a chance to ride a ride. Also my friend that works at WDW, who works with numbers there, said there was a massive dump of reservations right after the earnings call. She has theories that some people don't like something that was said, since a certain someone in charge seems a bit tone deaf to the current situation a lot of people may have decided it was best to postpone their trips for a later date. At least that's what it looks like. I know if my trip involved my kids, if it wasn't a solo trip, I'd probably cancel it. That being said, I could see why a lot of people would want to wait for all the new stuff coming for the 50th, especially if they've already been since reopening, it's fun to be there for stuff like that (I don't really care myself, but I know others do), just hoping myself that crowds stay low for end of August *fingers crossed*


----------



## Mango7100

mousefan73 said:


> Oh and a significant portion of late summer early fall ( mid August- Septembe) crowds are missing. Namely the UK market, who are not allowed to enter the US still. .


Any idea when the UK will be allowed back in? Wonder if pent up demand will increase crowds further   later in fall?


----------



## Sarahslay

Mango7100 said:


> Any idea when the UK will be allowed back in? Wonder if pent up demand will increase crowds further   later in fall?


Your guess is as good as anyone elses at this point. I'm in a FB group with a lot of UK people (it's about 95% UK probably) and they're all just sitting by waiting, constantly moving their trips back, until they can come. Once they're allowed back in there will be a flood of UK guests, but I doubt it'll be this fall with the way things are looking, unless we get lucky.


----------



## mousefan73

Mango7100 said:


> Any idea when the UK will be allowed back in? Wonder if pent up demand will increase crowds further   later in fall?


Unfortunately signals on this topic have been reduced to the sound of crickets at the moment. If any European really really, really wants to go to Disney book 2 weeks in Mexico and then you can enter. Just find a spot on the earth which is not on the “ban” list , which are many,  and  “reside” first there  for 14 days.  
The travel ban has nothing to do with nationality or residency but instead where a person has been the past 14 days


----------



## mousefan73

Sarahslay said:


> Your guess is as good as anyone elses at this point. I'm in a FB group with a lot of UK people (it's about 95% UK probably) and they're all just sitting by waiting, constantly moving their trips back, until they can come. Once they're allowed back in there will be a flood of UK guests, but I doubt it'll be this fall with the way things are looking, unless we get lucky.


Are you from the UK? Can you confirm that you are not allowed to pull kids from schools. So if things were to open those coming  would only include people without kids- if it’s during term?


----------



## The_Banking_Scot

Mango7100 said:


> Any idea when the UK will be allowed back in? Wonder if pent up demand will increase crowds further   later in fall?



Hi,

No idea . We are waiting with baited breath to book to travel to the US.  Hopefully the US govt will allow  vaccinated travellers in


----------



## The13thLetter

Anyone there today? HS and MK look like times are up a bit from the last few slower days (still not as high as it was a couple weeks ago thoughh)


----------



## amottmers

Tess said:


> I thought of that, but it didn't sound when I walked through without the bag--I don't cause the machines to sound unless I have the bag.


What kind of bag is it? Brand?


----------



## Makmak

amottmers said:


> What kind of bag is it? Brand?


The Saga of The Bag begins a few pages back. I’m sure someone will reference the post number. We have all turned into detectives trying to discern why the bag sets off security 
Edited: to capitalize The Bag (as it has become important here)


----------



## disneyseniors

Makmak said:


> I know, it’s so crazy! It’s just so sad for allllll the people that didn’t get to go at all on their trip. I’ve read many reports here and reviews where people tried every day and were not successful…..then some people got to go twice and no shade their way but that has got to be frustrating for the people that missed it entirely…..



Yes, there seems to be a lot of people who try and try and don't get to ride one of the best rides at WDW.
I think there are way too many hoops to jump through just to try to get on that ride, IMO, it shouldn't be this hard to do.


----------



## cakebaker

disneyseniors said:


> Yes, there seems to be a lot of people who try and try and don't get to ride one of the best rides at WDW.
> I think there are way too many hoops to jump through just to try to get on that ride, IMO, it shouldn't be this hard to do.



They have an attraction that more people want to ride than they can handle in a day. Extending park hours (lol) would help, but outside of that, not sure what they can do. They can't start limiting how many times you ride it over a span of days and they already limit it to once per day. I actually like the VQ's as a way not to have to stand in line for what would be many hours, but I also understand the frustration of not getting a chance to ride. Just not sure they can fix that for now.


----------



## 123SA

At Ak. At 1:41 FOP. Walked all the way to the blue guy at a fast pace. Will be on ride in less than 15 minutes since we entered queue

we arrived at 12 today. Did safari and Dino walk on.  Everest wa a slow constant walk from the entrance. Ride twice in under 1/2 hour


----------



## holyrita

123SA said:


> At Ak. At 1:41 FOP. Walked all the way to the blue guy at a fast pace. Will be on ride in less than 15 minutes since we entered queue
> 
> we arrived at 12 today. Did safari and Dino walk on.  Everest wa a slow constant walk from the entrance. Ride twice in under 1/2 hour



Just came here because I saw FOP was a 15 minute wait on the app and I couldn't believe it!!


----------



## cam8n

mousefan73 said:


> I beg to differ. Florida is also a meeting and convention place. Tons of cancellations for August. We have seen many cancellations and these are not Disney people. Availability all over the place besides WDW. There are very few companies willing to send an employee down to Florida right now. Too much liability. Even Universal is wide open this month.


Agree,  at universal now and went to Sea World this morning was talking with some of the staff on the low crowds and they specifically mentioned conventions and international travel is way down, combine that with schools going back this week and covid you get low crowds


----------



## Gary Stocker

Based on what I am reading we should have had our daughter a week later so that her birthday trip was this week instead of last. While the crowds did go down a bit towards the end it was nothing like this (RotR and 15 minute FoPs?)


----------



## Turksmom

Gary Stocker said:


> Based on what I am reading we should have had our daughter a week later so that her birthday trip was this week instead of last. While the crowds did go down a bit towards the end it was nothing like this (RotR and 15 minute FoPs?)


Your wife would probably disagree


----------



## bbn1122

My family was at AK this morning.
Thorough turnstile at 8:05, went straight to FOP maybe 30 minute wait.  Excellent
Next Navi River 15 minutes.
Dinosaur -walk on
Everest -walk on 
Safari -walk on.

Lunch at Yak & Yeti Cafe- no line
on bus by noon.

Weather as excellent! Breezy early not too hot! 
We had an excellent morning.

Headed back to Rivera Resort for pool time.

Epcot tonight!


----------



## brockash

Mr. X said:


> Are they using paper straws in the park? Was thinking of brining plastic straws in my bag.
> 
> I don't feel like drinking soda through a toilet paper roll.


Yes, unfortunately


----------



## Tess

amottmers said:


> What kind of bag is it? Brand?



Baggallini Cross Body--I actually posted a picture of the offending area according to the security guys/gals.  Despite what they say, I truly feel it has to be the zipper inside the cross body strap--a compartment for sunglasses or small items which I never use.  I have had this bag for years and love it.  Not the best of shots, but see the picture.  It is a lightweight, nylon bag.


----------



## kboo

Gary Stocker said:


> Based on what I am reading we should have had our daughter a week later so that her birthday trip was this week instead of last. While the crowds did go down a bit towards the end it was nothing like this (RotR and 15 minute FoPs?)





Turksmom said:


> Your wife would probably disagree


HAHA. We are taking DD1 for a birthday trip that was postponed from last year. Trading off the kids (<12) unvaccinated status with low crowds ... I was in labor over Labor Day weekend some time ago, DD1's birthday trip is perfectly timed (this year). Most years it's too late because school starts around then. A week later, for us, would certainly have been too late.


----------



## 123SA

I posted this on the photopass thread too. We are capturing about 25% of ride photos. We have 5 bands from 2019 and 4 phones with mobile magic and Bluetooth on.  I’ve been jotting down ride times to hopefully find them by calling after the trip


----------



## kimili8

Here now since Sat. Having an amazing trip! With the exception of SDD at HS yesterday, the rides have been basically walk-ons. Our day today at AK was just about perfect! FoPx2, EEx2, Navi x3, a great safari with lots of active animals (and so exciting to heat the lion’s roar!) Dino, TTBaB, both trails, animation class, affection section, FotLK, had a very delicious lunch at Tusker House, and did some photo pass shoots. All at a nice leisurely pace Interspersed with many snack breaks.  We started walking out around 5, hit a few shops, walked right on to our bus, back at the YC around 6 just as it started to rain.

We were considering postponing (for the 3rd time), but decided since we are all adults and all vaccinated to “trust the science“ and go. So glad we did bc the lack of crowds is amazing. We are of course still wary of COVID and are taking all the precautions, but we really try to put it out of our head and not think about it too much. Because the crowds are so low it’s been a little easier to self distance, and we have had pretty good luck with the people behind keeping a distance as well. We are seeing lots of noses in the lines though, and there are plenty of situations where you’re still all smushed together (rope drop, preshows) While we are seeing plenty of kids it does seem like much fewer than normal, and while I’m making no judgments, we would not feel comfortable bringing little ones who were unvaccinated. We brought some tests with us in case any of us start to feel under the weather, and we will test before going back to work.
Looking forward to Boo Bash tomorrow! And praying that we can all stay healthy!


----------



## amottmers

Tess said:


> Baggallini Cross Body--I actually posted a picture of the offending area according to the security guys/gals.  Despite what they say, I truly feel it has to be the zipper inside the cross body strap--a compartment for sunglasses or small items which I never use.  I have had this bag for years and love it.  Not the best of shots, but see the picture.  It is a lightweight, nylon bag.
> View attachment 597600


This is the bag I have and will be bringing on my upcoming trip there. I brought it on my last trip back in 2015, but can't remember what type of security you had to walk through back then.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Until last year most parks had bag checks with regular metal detectors that some but not all guests were asked to walk through.  It got to the point that I think AK was metal detector for all and the other parks it was only some guests.

The new security screenings have been in place since shortly after re-opening in July 2020.


----------



## Carol_

Haley R said:


> Yep they are. We were there last week. We hate the paper straws too


If anything makes me want to sell my DVC it’s trying to sip a Kakamora float through a paper straw. I stuff my own straws in my park bag with other essentials.


----------



## mouserrificmom

We are just back from a weeks stay at the Yacht Club. I so appreciated everyone's input before we left and am sorry that I was just having too much fun enjoying my children and being back at Disney to post live updates, but I will recap the week for those it may help.

We arrived Sunday August 8 and left yesterday, August 15. Crowds dropped very noticeably around Thursday of last week.  Magic Kingdom was uncomfortably busy last Monday, but when we were there just this past Saturday we walked on just about everything except for Mine Train which was posted at 35 and we waited about 25.  We went on Thursday evening just to watch Happily Ever After because my daughter wanted to see it from the kingdom one last time. It was just as packed as I have ever seen it. We made a point of finding a spot just in FRONT of the tape line they were just putting out around 8:15 p.m at the top of main street in between Casey's and Ice Cream Parlor which turned out to be a very good idea for us as cast members stood at the curb on either side only allowing those who kept moving to cross the path it created - which provide us with 6 feet of space in front of us for the whole show.  I would have been very uncomfortable otherwise.  It was jam packed behind us and in front of us.

We were successful both times at getting boarding passes for Rise at 7 a.m. On Tuesday we were in BG 29 and on Friday 53.  We were using Disney WiFi from inside our room at the Yacht Club. No spoilers here - but it was great! Though the park was noticably less crowded on Friday, our group (53) was not called until after 4 - on Tuesday we were off the ride by noon so it seemed to be moving quite a bit slower.  

Overall, we found compliance about rules to be pretty good. In the longer queues there were some mask drops, but for the most part people were conscientious and respectful of other guests.  Cast members were frequently reminding those who were not following the rules and there reminders were followed.

I don't think we really missed the FastPass, and apprecaited being a bit more flexilbe with our plans that are usually so regimented with FastPass and dining reservations - we also enjoyed finally walking through some of the Queues that we have never seen - most notably FOP because we have never ridden these without FastPass - though some lines were longer than we usually tolerate waiting, they all moved constantly which made the waits more tolerable, you always felt like you were making progress. We did not wait more than 45 minutes for any ride - aside from Slinky - which ended up being about an hour when it went down briefly while we were online.

We LOVED mobile order. Especially in the Magic Kingdom where is has historically been so difficult to find seating. We found that they would only allow you into the restaurant if you presented confirmation of an order - and this absolutley helped with traffic flow. We were never without a seat.  The only exception to this was one meal at Backlot Express where they did allow people to come in and order at the counters - this was the only QS place we ate at where we had to hunt for seating.  I am certain it was because it was a blending of mobile and on the spot orders.  Even with Mobile Order, when we were hot and thirsty we were always accepted in to a designated pick up area for fresh cups of ice water.

Some things we noticed at 'Ohana: The restaurant was full but not packed for dinner, and many tables had signs on them saying that the table was not being used for health and safety reasons. Interestingly, we had breakfast at 'Ohana a few days after dinner and the tables were all filled and none of them had the signs on them ? Not sure if something changed between those few days with their staffing but I thought it was curious.

New security is so much quicker - the bag checks always took so long - being able to walk through the metal detector with your park bag on your shoulders was so much faster and more efficient. 

The cast members most DEFINITELY will tell you to "move forward and fill in all the available space" - this was the only thing that I felt was a bit irresponsibile, but despite the requests and some compliant movement that would follow - people are more conscious of personal space and we did not experience any "shoulder to shoulder" crowding in those spaces. MK fireworks is the only time we felt too crowded. 

Despite the fact that we are all vaccinated, I was worried about traveling to central Florida with the most recent news but I am so glad we went. We were careful to follow the rules and brought our own hand sanitizer and used it after every queue and ride......we all felt and still feel great but are keeping a low profile this week to be cautious.

The magic is STILL there - and I am hopeful that as we recover from the pandemic, the things we really miss the most will return.


----------



## cam8n

kimili8 said:


> Here now since Sat. Having an amazing trip! With the exception of SDD at HS yesterday, the rides have been basically walk-ons. Our day today at AK was just about perfect! FoPx2, EEx2, Navi x3, a great safari with lots of active animals (and so exciting to heat the lion’s roar!) Dino, TTBaB, both trails, animation class, affection section, FotLK, had a very delicious lunch at Tusker House, and did some photo pass shoots. All at a nice leisurely pace Interspersed with many snack breaks.  We started walking out around 5, hit a few shops, walked right on to our bus, back at the YC around 6 just as it started to rain.
> 
> We were considering postponing (for the 3rd time), but decided since we are all adults and all vaccinated to “trust the science“ and go. So glad we did bc the lack of crowds is amazing. We are of course still wary of COVID and are taking all the precautions, but we really try to put it out of our head and not think about it too much. Because the crowds are so low it’s been a little easier to self distance, and we have had pretty good luck with the people behind keeping a distance as well. We are seeing lots of noses in the lines though, and there are plenty of situations where you’re still all smushed together (rope drop, preshows) While we are seeing plenty of kids it does seem like much fewer than normal, and while I’m making no judgments, we would not feel comfortable bringing little ones who were unvaccinated. We brought some tests with us in case any of us start to feel under the weather, and we will test before going back to work.
> Looking forward to Boo Bash tomorrow! And praying that we can all stay healthy!


We are feeling the same way. No way would we feel comfortable bringing an unvaccinated child. We're at universal now andmove to Disney end of the week. I wou


----------



## Quilty

AK was crazy today. Everything was a walk on. Even FOP at about 4pm was 20min. We did it, and it was 20min to walk on.  No waiting at all unless you call watching the pre-show videos a “wait.”  Everything here even EE was 5-10 minutes.  Nomad had a 5 minute wait list (which was actually 0 minutes). Waits even less than a year ago.


----------



## Quilty

holyrita said:


> Just came here because I saw FOP was a 15 minute wait on the app and I couldn't believe it!!


It’s actually zero because it takes that long to get to the ride.  I’ve never seen anything like it.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

AK ropedrop today:
6:48 left room in Kidani Village
6:50 at bus stop - next  bus is listed at 6:58 (bus arrived at 7:00), next bus listed now as 7:23

7:13 at tapstyles (being held)
7:23 on bridge
7:30 begin walking (with CMs in front)
7:34 walking in the queue (only 2 people in front of us)
7:42 outside link chambers (then held)
7:59 off FOP

8:03 in line for Navi (posted 10 min wait)
8:06 on ride (almost walk on)
8:13 off Navi

8:22 in line for Everest 
8:28 off
rode Everest again (front row)
8:36 off

8:43 in line for Safari (posted 10 min wait)
8:47 loaded
9:12 off

Had coffee

9:28 in line for Safari 
posted 10 min wait
9:35 loaded

Had a snack & hung out.

12:41 in line for Dinosaur 
posted 5 min wait
Walked into preshow.

3:02 in line for Kali River Rapids
Posted 30 minute wait
3:33 Boarding (so posted time was accurate)

5:03 in line for FOP
posted 20 min wait!!! [my kids asked me why we has to wake up so early]
5:35 off FOP

5:43 in line for Navi
posted 10 min wait
5:49 boarded

Wow oh wow -- it was empty today at AK. My wife slept in and joined us 2 hours later and didn't miss anything [we repeated FOP, Navi & safari]. We has breakfast, lunch (Yak & Yeti) and dinner (Satuli Canteen) at AK and did everything we wanted (with lots of down time).
GREAT day today!

Heading to MK tomorrow & NOT doing rope drop after today's light crowds


----------



## cam8n

At Universal now moving to Disney end of week . Probably only 20% of people wearing masks here and we're finding it tough to social distance for most rides but we expected that and wouldn't have came if we weren't vaccinated. Tonight leaving dinner in citywalk a teenage girl was going around pretending to sneeze next to people and laughing at the reactions. We were not amused


----------



## CampbellzSoup

cam8n said:


> At Universal now moving to Disney end of week . Probably only 20% of people wearing masks here and we're finding it tough to social distance for most rides but we expected that and wouldn't have came if we weren't vaccinated. Tonight leaving dinner in citywalk a teenage girl was going around pretending to sneeze next to people and laughing at the reactions. We were not amused



I wouldn’t realistically these days go theme park expecting people to socially distance but to each their - own also I’m kind of glad universal is allowing people to make their own choices for their own health but that lady sounds so stupid ignorant and just awful who does something like that?


----------



## WEDWDW

I never see any discussion about the Epcot Bands at Food & Wine,but we caught The Hooligans last night and loved them!

Stones,Zeppelin,Queen,Lennon-one hit after another.

Kind of reminded me of the good old days with British Invasion!

Also enjoyed the High Fireworks from HEA followed by Epcot Forever.

Japan is probably the best spot to see the HEA fireworks right now-Harmonius has "blocked" a lot of spots.

Speaking of Harmonius,it looked like they had all the Fountains going today-didn't help!lol


----------



## MomOTwins

Celebrated my birthday yesterday in MK.  

I have mixed feelings. Daytime crowds were very manageable, though considerably worse than HS or AK. We rope dropped space and were on in about 20 mins. Did a few low-wait rides to knock them out (buzz, teacups. Dumbo, and little mermaid were all walk ons). Then we did have “real” waits for everything else. Left after an early lunch at pecos bills (food good, table distancing nonexistent—I could have reached put and touched the family next to us). We then did a pool break and returned around 5:30pm. Did pirates with no wait and seemed mosy rides had lower waits than morning. Had dinner at CRT—wonderful. They have really improved food quality since pre-covid.

Finished around 8:15 and exited to what felt like a mosh pit at a concert. The HEA scene is bonkers.  It was definitely not that bad on any of my pre-covid trips.  Not just the hub—every inch of the bridges to fantasyland and tomorrowland and also all down main street to the train station was a shoulder to shoulder mass of people.  We gave up pretty quick and just wanted to get out.  We couldn’t move on main street so doubled back and used the tomorrow land “escape route” to get away from the madness but what we saw was pretty bananas.  I hope they bring back fantasmic to suck up some of the evening crowds as it seems everyone is hopping to MK for evenings.

We saw some CMs lose their cool at guests. Never saw that before.  Once was at teacups where the CM screamed at some pre-teen kids who jumped the fence that they were line cutting and were going to get kicked out of the park (they weren’t—they were bypassing an empty part of the queue).  The POTC CM also snapped at us for asking if we could wait for the front row (my five year old really wanted it and we happened to be at the front of the line for the next boat) but she gave us a lecture about how her job is to balance the boat and we shouldn’t be interfering for safety reasons, before seating us in row 2 and then promptly seating the next family (the same size as us) in the front row after we boarded.   Other CNs were great and I heard “happy birthday” a ton while wearing my pin.  Just wondering if we are seeing some CM fatigue from the busy summer taking its toll.

Anyhow, wish me luck in 43 mins for the BG finger tap lottery. I do know all the tips from the ROTR thread so fingers crossed.


----------



## mousefan73

MomOTwins said:


> Celebrated my birthday yesterday in MK.
> 
> I have mixed feelings. Daytime crowds were very manageable, though considerably worse than HS or AK. We rope dropped space and were on in about 20 mins. Did a few low-wait rides to knock them out (buzz, teacups. Dumbo, and little mermaid were all walk ons). Then we did have “real” waits for everything else. Left after an early lunch at pecos bills (food good, table distancing nonexistent—I could have reached put and touched the family next to us). We then did a pool break and returned around 5:30pm. Did pirates with no wait and seemed mosy rides had lower waits than morning. Had dinner at CRT—wonderful. They have really improved food quality since pre-covid.
> 
> Finished around 8:15 and exited to what felt like a mosh pit at a concert. The HEA scene is bonkers.  It was definitely not that bad on any of my pre-covid trips.  Not just the hub—every inch of the bridges to fantasyland and tomorrowland and also all down main street to the train station was a shoulder to shoulder mass of people.  We gave up pretty quick and just wanted to get out.  We couldn’t move on main street so doubled back and used the tomorrow land “escape route” to get away from the madness but what we saw was pretty bananas.  I hope they bring back fantasmic to suck up some of the evening crowds as it seems everyone is hopping to MK for evenings.
> 
> We saw some CMs lose their cool at guests. Never saw that before.  Once was at teacups where the CM screamed at some pre-teen kids who jumped the fence that they were line cutting and were going to get kicked out of the park (they weren’t—they were bypassing an empty part of the queue).  The POTC CM also snapped at us for asking if we could wait for the front row (my five year old really wanted it and we happened to be at the front of the line for the next boat) but she gave us a lecture about how her job is to balance the boat and we shouldn’t be interfering for safety reasons, before seating us in row 2 and then promptly seating the next family (the same size as us) in the front row after we boarded.   Other CNs were great and I heard “happy birthday” a ton while wearing my pin.  Just wondering if we are seeing some CM fatigue from the busy summer taking its toll.
> 
> Anyhow, wish me luck in 43 mins for the BG finger tap lottery. I do know all the tips from the ROTR thread so fingers crossed.


Thanks.. your feedback is making wonder how to deal with late evening firework crowds... Do you happen to know if the back of the park, frontierland etc.. is less crowded, empty.. We dont need the fireworks,, and we take is real slow exiting the park, waiting for others to leave... we want to avoid crowds..


----------



## slyster

Thanks for the feedback....unfortunately we will join the fireworks/shows.  Too many people crowded together and leaving will be a bit squishy for us LOL.  We are within walking distance of DHS and Epcot so we may venture nearby.


----------



## kimili8

cam8n said:


> We are feeling the same way. No way would we feel comfortable bringing an unvaccinated child. We're at universal now andmove to Disney end of the week. I wou


We are doing the opposite and are moving over to Universal tomorrow night. Fingers crossed for you that the crowds remain so low  here in Disney, bc it’s been absolutely amazing !


----------



## kimili8

POOH&PIGLET said:


> AK ropedrop today:
> 6:48 left room in Kidani Village
> 6:50 at bus stop - next  bus is listed at 6:58 (bus arrived at 7:00), next bus listed now as 7:23
> 
> 7:13 at tapstyles (being held)
> 7:23 on bridge
> 7:30 begin walking (with CMs in front)
> 7:34 walking in the queue (only 2 people in front of us)
> 7:42 outside link chambers (then held)
> 7:59 off FOP
> 
> 8:03 in line for Navi (posted 10 min wait)
> 8:06 on ride (almost walk on)
> 8:13 off Navi
> 
> 8:22 in line for Everest
> 8:28 off
> rode Everest again (front row)
> 8:36 off
> 
> 8:43 in line for Safari (posted 10 min wait)
> 8:47 loaded
> 9:12 off
> 
> Had coffee
> 
> 9:28 in line for Safari
> posted 10 min wait
> 9:35 loaded
> 
> Had a snack & hung out.
> 
> 12:41 in line for Dinosaur
> posted 5 min wait
> Walked into preshow.
> 
> 3:02 in line for Kali River Rapids
> Posted 30 minute wait
> 3:33 Boarding (so posted time was accurate)
> 
> 5:03 in line for FOP
> posted 20 min wait!!! [my kids asked me why we has to wake up so early]
> 5:35 off FOP
> 
> 5:43 in line for Navi
> posted 10 min wait
> 5:49 boarded
> 
> Wow oh wow -- it was empty today at AK. My wife slept in and joined us 2 hours later and didn't miss anything [we repeated FOP, Navi & safari]. We has breakfast, lunch (Yak & Yeti) and dinner (Satuli Canteen) at AK and did everything we wanted (with lots of down time).
> GREAT day today!
> 
> Heading to MK tomorrow & NOT doing rope drop after today's light crowds


We probably crossed paths, we were on the very same schedule until after Safari. Amazing day!


----------



## MomOTwins

Got BG 66 woohoo!  Went outdoors turned off wifi and looked for a good signal—tgink that helped (DH was in the room on wifi and I beat him to it).



mousefan73 said:


> Thanks.. your feedback is making wonder how to deal with late evening firework crowds... Do you happen to know if the back of the park, frontierland etc.. is less crowded, empty.. We dont need the fireworks,, and we take is real slow exiting the park, waiting for others to leave... we want to avoid crowds..


Did not see the frontier/adventure side. But we walked the length if the mine train/pooh area and tomorrowland and crowds were pretty light.  I would have been comfortable seeing the fireworks there but we already did that (i.e. watched fireworks without projections) the night before so figured if we couldn’t watch from in front if the castle we should just leave to avoid a long post fireworks wait for the bus.


----------



## mdsd8700

POOH&PIGLET said:


> 7:13 at tapstyles (being held)
> 7:23 on bridge
> 7:30 begin walking (with CMs in front)
> 7:34 walking in the queue (only 2 people in front of us)
> 7:42 outside link chambers (then held)
> 7:59 off FOP



We were there last Saturday and our experience was pretty much the same for FOP. We went on Safari and EE after and were done by 9:15 am. We didn't do any other rides and had an ADR at Tusker House at 9:30.


----------



## Geomom

Switched resorts yesterday.  Got out of room at 11, dropped luggage with bell services to be sent from Kidani to Wilderness Lodge.  They said it would be there by 5pm.  Went to bus stop and walked right onto Epcot bus!

Epcot 8/16

11:40 walked on Soarin, listed 10
11:55 walked on The Land, listed 5
Saw Joy doing yoga on the grass.
2 orders of spanakopita


Bought Remy maps
Kiosks: Shimmering Sips: mimosa flight and banana bread, Noodle Exchange: tofu pho... unexpectedly spicy...too hot for DD21, Canada: filet mignon, Ireland: sausage and colcannon , chocolate bread pudding, and Guinness Baileys shake (for DD21...she drank half I finished it .. didn't go well with my mimosa flight, ), Greece: 3 spanakopita orders for DD17 (she loves spanakopita) and griddled cheese for DH and I.
2pm American adventure show...the AC was much welcomed.
3pm Frozen listed 35 took 30.
Donut box kiosk: candy, and sriracha donuts
4:05: Test Track listed 40 took 25...walked right into building, had fun designing our car again, we missed doing that prior covid trips...but didn't like how much they pack you in while waiting to go into design room.
Took friendship boat to Morocco.
5:50 dinner at Teppan Edo, food was yummy, great show.
Got Remy prizes, little bowls that would be good for ice cream.  DD21 chose Belle, DD17 took Mickey and Minnie.
7:45 Spaceship Earth walked on
8:11 walked on The seas, walked around aquarium.  DD17 loved rays so this made her so happy.
8:45 found a spot to watch Epcot Forever between port of entry and Disney traders.  Hadn't seen it before.  Thought it was so so, definitely looks like a temporary show.
Just missed bus to Wilderness Lodge, but another came in 2 minutes!
We wore our masks everywhere at Epcot, except while eating and drinking, too many people for us to be comfortable removing masks for more than a couple of minutes.  Definitely lots of people in World Showcase in the evening.  Had a great ride day though!

Today is a resort day, love our 1 bedroom at Copper Creek.  We're doing laundry, cooking brunch, using the pool, etc.  Going to Boo Bash tonight.


----------



## sjrec

123SA said:


> So… after my third time being evacuated from rise of the resistance, I feel
> Like we should get a pass back to rise, and a pass for something else. That’s 3 times we waited and one time at guest services because all Of the recoveries didn’t load.   And, again all of them didn’t load so I need to go through guest services again.


I hope you were given recovery passes.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

disny_luvr said:


> This is what we did. My husband had the world clock pulled up on his phone and he started counting down for me when there was 10 seconds left before 7:00am. We must have done something right - we got boarding group 19.


How do you use the world clock when it has no seconds?


----------



## Makmak

sjrec said:


> I hope you were given recovery passes.


At that point they should get another park ticket because that’s an entire wasted day


----------



## Sarahslay

mousefan73 said:


> Are you from the UK? Can you confirm that you are not allowed to pull kids from schools. So if things were to open those coming  would only include people without kids- if it’s during term?


I am not, I just followed a vlogger from the UK that started a FB group that I joined, and I have friends in the UK as well. They don't have school aged kids though, just toddlers (and one only has cats, not kids). I think they technically can pull their kids from school but it's much less likely  since they get more frequent and longer breaks than US schools do. From what I see in the school it's almost like how my friends in Californias year round school calendar works, and they also tend not to pull their kids out because they know a longer break is right around the corner....and they know they need to save their time off of work for that as well. It would probably mostly be couples without children though, you are right, but there are a lot of those. Most of my group are couples or solo travelers, since that vlogger is younger, unmarried without kids, and did solo trips that is a lot of the audience she attracted, that is the audience I see waiting on the edge of their seat waiting to come over.


----------



## Tess

amottmers said:


> This is the bag I have and will be bringing on my upcoming trip there. I brought it on my last trip back in 2015, but can't remember what type of security you had to walk through back then.



Good luck!  Mine hasn't passed muster since the institution of the scanner machines AND needing to walk through said machines with all of your items.  I never had a problem when you tossed the bag on the table for a quick look see (EPCOT) and then went through the scanners.  There have been so many interations of the entry procedure I'm not sure I can recall what it was in 2015, but I do know it is different now from back then, i.e., keeping all items on your person and everyone is scanned.  Any items that cause an alert--off to the bag check line.


----------



## William B

Tess said:


> Good luck!  Mine hasn't passed muster since the institution of the scanner machines AND needing to walk through said machines with all of your items.  I never had a problem when you tossed the bag on the table for a quick look see (EPCOT) and then went through the scanners.  There have been so many interations of the entry procedure I'm not sure I can recall what it was in 2015, but I do know it is different now from back then, i.e., keeping all items on your person and everyone is scanned.  Any items that cause an alert--off to the bag check line.



I carried a sling style bag with me, holding it out in front of me and did not keep it on my back going through the scanner (this was something one of the security people at the first entrance we made suggested). It also had the zipper in the strap for small items but I did not keep anything there. I had sunscreen carabiner clipped to one of the rings of the bag and our reusable metal straws to another. In the bad were the usual water bottles, snacks, ponchos kind of stuff.  I also had in my hands in front of me my cell phone and an umbrella the couple times we took one. Never had an issue with needing additional screening, so I got lucky!  I don't think there is any way to know what will or won't set it off.


----------



## jmparry

William B said:


> They are and they are horrible.  We got the collapsible metal straws you can hook to a key chain off of Amazon and they worked great.
> 
> I think these were the ones we used Amazon


Thank you for the link! Do these straws make drinks taste metallic? TIA


----------



## aldeanarmyangel

No they do not, we have metal straws from amazon as well, only way to go!!


----------



## Mr. X

For those that have been in the parks this week how has mask compliance been?


----------



## faceofsam

Curious how crowds have been today after getting so low the past few days!


----------



## Tess

William B said:


> I carried a sling style bag with me, *holding it out in front of me and did not keep it on my back going through the scanner (this was something one of the security people at the first entrance we made suggested)*. It also had the zipper in the strap for small items but I did not keep anything there. I had sunscreen carabiner clipped to one of the rings of the bag and our reusable metal straws to another. In the bad were the usual water bottles, snacks, ponchos kind of stuff.  I also had in my hands in front of me my cell phone and an umbrella the couple times we took one. Never had an issue with needing additional screening, so I got lucky!  I don't think there is any way to know what will or won't set it off.



Tried that too--set it off and over to the table I went.  Clearly your bag didn't set it off or you would have been asked to step aside.  Once the buzz happens--the screening security person doesn't try to figure it out--off to bag check to be told it is your eyeglass case, your camera, blah, blah, blah.


----------



## kimili8

Mr. X said:


> For those that have been in the parks this week how has mask compliance been?


Masks in stores and transportation very good.  Few people wearing them outside, even in the big rope drop crowds. In lines everyone has them on, but we are seeing LOTS of noses. We have not witnessed any push back against the CM’s when they ask to pull them up but then they just pull them down again. Bc the crowds have been so low we have been able to self distance with the party in front of us, and haven’t really had creepers behind us. Thankfully lines are so short this week!


----------



## Geomom

Mr. X said:


> For those that have been in the parks this week how has mask compliance been?


It varies, depends on who is around you.  Better compliance in Epcot lines, probably due to most being inside.  AK lines were so so, especially outside lines...at Kali party in front of us kept taking off, behind us kept on.  At Epcot, maybe 25% had masks on outside while walking around, like our party did, the rest had them off even while close to each other during fireworks and while leaving.  Bus compliance good so far.  We're fully vaxxed and just happy there is more mask usage than before they mandated it again.


----------



## jmparry

aldeanarmyangel said:


> No they do not, we have metal straws from amazon as well, only way to go!!


Thanks! I will order them today!


----------



## Mr. X

Are buses being overcrowded lately?


----------



## William B

jmparry said:


> Thank you for the link! Do these straws make drinks taste metallic? TIA


They never bothered us.  My wife is pretty sensitive to changes in water taste etc and they never bothered her either.  I think it is like using one of the Yeti (or in our case the knock offs from Amazon or Walmart) tumblers that are the stainless steel inside.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Mr. X said:


> Are buses being overcrowded lately?



They are back to normal capacity - at peak times, it's shoulder to shoulder with many standing.


----------



## Chavaleh

jmparry said:


> Thank you for the link! Do these straws make drinks taste metallic? TIA


 
They also make silicon tips you can put on the ends of the metal straws, it's my preferred way. I don't like the flexibility of a full silicon straw and I don't like the mouth feel of a metal this way I get the best of both.


----------



## kboo

MomOTwins said:


> Did not see the frontier/adventure side. But we walked the length if the mine train/pooh area and tomorrowland and crowds were pretty light. I would have been comfortable seeing the fireworks there but we already did that (i.e. watched fireworks without projections) the night before so figured if we couldn’t watch from in front if the castle we should just leave to avoid a long post fireworks wait for the bus.


Are they allowing people to watch HEA from the flagpole area? And it also sounds like watching from "behind" in Fantasyland, etc might be a better choice if we wanted to avoid the crowds at the hub? 



Chavaleh said:


> They also make silicon tips you can put on the ends of the metal straws, it's my preferred way. I don't like the flexibility of a full silicon straw and I don't like the mouth feel of a metal this way I get the best of both.



This is what we have - love them! And different colors means you can also keep track of everyone's drink.


----------



## brockash

Mr. X said:


> For those that have been in the parks this week how has mask compliance been?


We got back Sun. night.  To us mask compliance was so-so.  Pretty good indoors (although we always saw noses out,) but in outside ques I'd say it was 70%ish wearing them the whole time.  I think if you're going during cooler months that'll be better.  We had an entire family not wear masks at all in the line for Everest intil they went to load and the cm told them to.  One morning at Peter pan a family made it all the way to load and didn't have masks.  They tried to tell the cm theyd just cover their face with their shirts.  Eventually another cm came over and told them they'd have to go get masks but they could come back in the fastpass line.  - It was a bit annoying because they totally stopped the line.  They didn't load anyonfor about 10-15 ships.

On transportation masks were better, although I will say I got on a few times forgetting to put my mask on and the driver didn't say anything.  I always remembered shortlist after sitting down and put it on, but it was a bit odd because some drivers/captains wouldn't let you on until you masked up and others seemed to forget a about it.  Outdoors walking around we didn't see a lot of masks...even in the sea of humanity waiting for fireworks.


----------



## tinkerhon

brockash said:


> We got back Sun. night.  To us mask compliance was so-so.  Pretty good indoors (although we always saw noses out,) but in outside ques I'd say it was 70%ish wearing them the whole time.  I think if you're going during cooler months that'll be better.  We had an entire family not wear masks at all in the line for Everest intil they went to load and the cm told them to.  One morning at Peter pan a family made it all the way to load and didn't have masks.  They tried to tell the cm theyd just cover their face with their shirts.  Eventually another cm came over and told them they'd have to go get masks but they could come back in the fastpass line.  - It was a bit annoying because they totally stopped the line.  They didn't load anyonfor about 10-15 ships.
> 
> On transportation masks were better, although I will say I got on a few times forgetting to put my mask on and the driver didn't say anything.  I always remembered shortlist after sitting down and put it on, but it was a bit odd because some drivers/captains wouldn't let you on until you masked up and others seemed to forget a about it.  Outdoors walking around we didn't see a lot of masks...even in the sea of humanity waiting for fireworks.



Bought the mask lanyards from Amazon before our list trip, because I ALWAYS forget to put it on--- made it so much easier to remember !   )


----------



## Gary Stocker

tinkerhon said:


> Bought the mask lanyards from Amazon before our list trip, because I ALWAYS forget to put it on--- made it so much easier to remember !   )


Probably the most vital purchase for my trip from last week was that lanyard. Once I got those on my masks and my kids' masks it was a game changer.


----------



## tinkerhon

Gary Stocker said:


> Probably the most vital purchase for my trip from last week was that lanyard. Once I got those on my masks and my kids' masks it was a game changer.



They are great !!!  I use them for every mask !!!


----------



## kboo

Gary Stocker said:


> Probably the most vital purchase for my trip from last week was that lanyard. Once I got those on my masks and my kids' masks it was a game changer.


My kids are in the rainbow loom phase and have started a little cottage industry selling custom ones for $3 (no I am not soliciting any business!). We have pretty strict masking requirements where we are, so it's very helpful to have a lanyard.


----------



## mickeydotcom

We went to Epcot and Hollywood Studios today.  Masks were worn properly while inside for the most part.  It was nice to see.  We are not using Disney transportation nor are we eating inside of any restaurants, so I cannot speak to compliance there.  There is ZERO social distancing.  I try to self social distance, but people are in their own bubble and do not read body language so I have had to kinda just deal with it.  My entire party is fully vaccinated, which helps with my anxiety.

We rope dropped Epcot.  Walked onto almost everything.  Crowds seem light.  It is also super hot (hello August in FL).  No real waits for F&W booths.  We hopped to HS and waited about 15 min for ToT and 20 min for RRC.  We did take the gondolas for that and had our own compartment.  After HS, we Ubered back to the Treehouse Villas.  

I did not notice any trash overflowing and only a few had sanitizer dispensers were out of sanitizer.  Weirdly, all the dispensers around RRC were out and that is one place you NEED hand sanitizer as there is no way to NOT touch shared surfaces.

Let's talk about the THV.  Best Kept Secret of Disney.  They are amazing.  Individual, separate, large enough for 6 adults to have their own sleeping surfaces.  We can be loud, the college age children can play their more spicy music without offending anyone, and we can wash all the sweaty clothes at the end of the day.  I love them so much we are considering a SSR DVC add-on!

One thing I did not see was too many strollers or young children.  There were some, but not like in the past.  Perhaps they are in school, perhaps parents are not traveling with them since they are not yet approved for the vaccine.


----------



## bookgirl2632

tinkerhon said:


> Bought the mask lanyards from Amazon before our list trip, because I ALWAYS forget to put it on--- made it so much easier to remember !   )





Gary Stocker said:


> Probably the most vital purchase for my trip from last week was that lanyard. Once I got those on my masks and my kids' masks it was a game changer.





tinkerhon said:


> They are great !!!  I use them for every mask !!!


Which lanyards did you purchase and where from?


----------



## tinkerhon

bookgirl2632 said:


> Which lanyards did you purchase and where from?



https://www.walmart.com/ip/LanShrk-...reakaway-and-Length-Adjuster-6-Pack/242411379


----------



## Mr. X

mickeydotcom said:


> We went to Epcot and Hollywood Studios today.  Masks were worn properly while inside for the most part.  It was nice to see.  We are not using Disney transportation nor are we eating inside of any restaurants, so I cannot speak to compliance there.  There is ZERO social distancing.  I try to self social distance, but people are in their own bubble and do not read body language so I have had to kinda just deal with it.  My entire party is fully vaccinated, which helps with my anxiety.
> 
> We rope dropped Epcot.  Walked onto almost everything.  Crowds seem light.  It is also super hot (hello August in FL).  No real waits for F&W booths.  We hopped to HS and waited about 15 min for ToT and 20 min for RRC.  We did take the gondolas for that and had our own compartment.  After HS, we Ubered back to the Treehouse Villas.
> 
> I did not notice any trash overflowing and only a few had sanitizer dispensers were out of sanitizer.  Weirdly, all the dispensers around RRC were out and that is one place you NEED hand sanitizer as there is no way to NOT touch shared surfaces.
> 
> Let's talk about the THV.  Best Kept Secret of Disney.  They are amazing.  Individual, separate, large enough for 6 adults to have their own sleeping surfaces.  We can be loud, the college age children can play their more spicy music without offending anyone, and we can wash all the sweaty clothes at the end of the day.  I love them so much we are considering a SSR DVC add-on!
> 
> One thing I did not see was too many strollers or young children.  There were some, but not like in the past.  Perhaps they are in school, perhaps parents are not traveling with them since they are not yet approved for the vaccine.



How was Uber experience from you resort to the parks? Any waiting? Responsiveness? 

We are planning on Ubering from the airport to the resort (Poly) and not using ME. Also was looking at using Uber to avoid using the buses. I'd be okay with using boats (if availalbe)


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Do you guys like the mask lanyards I think they look so dumb, but maybe I should try them out!

I still don’t see the sense of it when everybody and shoulder to shoulder while viewing happily ever after but have to wear one inside but whatever I’m just glad we get to enjoy the magic!


----------



## Gary Stocker

bookgirl2632 said:


> Which lanyards did you purchase and where from?


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H8H3HJ...abc_PZQADF6V2724G856BMG2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


----------



## loves to dive

CampbellzSoup said:


> Do you guys like the mask lanyards I think they look so dumb, but maybe I should try them out!
> 
> I still don’t see the sense of it when everybody and shoulder to shoulder while viewing happily ever after but have to wear one inside but whatever I’m just glad we get to enjoy the magic!


I used them on my trip in April when you had to wear a mask all the time except eating and drinking while standing still.   I liked the ones I got because they were adjustable so I could adjust the ear things to stay off the top of my ears.


----------



## Gary Stocker

CampbellzSoup said:


> Do you guys like the mask lanyards I think they look so dumb, but maybe I should try them out!
> 
> I still don’t see the sense of it when everybody and shoulder to shoulder while viewing happily ever after but have to wear one inside but whatever I’m just glad we get to enjoy the magic!


Meh. I have so much hanging off my neck or torso at disney sometimes I look like Mr. T.  Backpack straps,  sunglass straps, portable fans (actually i drew the line on these even though my wife purchased them), cooling towels...its about convenience and my 5 year old kept dropping his mask at first onto the ground..so yuck. Problem solved.
Also you can flip them back when eating or getting a picture taken.


----------



## G719

CampbellzSoup said:


> Do you guys like the mask lanyards I think they look so dumb, but maybe I should try them out!
> 
> I still don’t see the sense of it when everybody and shoulder to shoulder while viewing happily ever after but have to wear one inside but whatever I’m just glad we get to enjoy the magic!


I got one on etsy, (disney themed of course.) We went in June when the rules were the same as now. I liked the lanyard. It makes it easier to take it off and on. And it doesn‘t look dumb if it has a mickey mouse on it.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

G719 said:


> I got one on etsy, (disney themed of course.) We went in June when the rules were the same as now. I liked the lanyard. It makes it easier to take it off and on. And it doesn‘t look dumb if it has a mickey mouse on it.


Can you please show me yours I just didn’t like the librarian look it came off as!


----------



## disneymom0104

We were in the parks for 10 days plus the Boo Bash between 8/2-8/13. I've been hesitant to post our experiences, because I'm not exactly sure how I feel about all of it. 10 days in the park is a lot. We walked over 120 miles in those 2 weeks. I would say overall the trip was good and positive. We had a lot of AMAZING moments- but also some less than amazing. We experienced the huge drop in crowds during our 2nd week there- the first week was very crowded with many long lines. Longer than we have ever stood in- and not just one, but one after another after another, it gets exhausting. But that being said, we also had moments of complete walk ons- like Soarin'- I've seen the line short before but have never been able to walk on directly into the loading line multiple times in a row. We had a 15 minute wait for FoP (on our last AK day we had done  every ride by 10:30am!) We were a group of 5 for one our Star Tours rides and there were the only ones plus 2 others on the ship! We had an almost walk on to Smuggler's Run one late afternoon. But all of that was in the 2nd week. We also waited almost 80 minutes in the hot hot sun for Space Mountain. They were loading the entire queue into the left side, one train at a time. Our group of 4 had the train to ourselves- why? They didn't even attempt to find another party of 1 or 2. We did Space another day and while the right was also being used for the FP/RS/DAS line- as it emptied out they sent some of the regular queue to the right as well and the line literally moved what felt like twice as fast! This probably comes down to who is working at any given time but some CM's are so much more efficient at getting people on the ride. We only had one evacuation, Splash Mountain and we were stuck right after the last room- we were escorted out the back and given a pass to use at any ride other than Mine Train or Peter Pan. We used it on Haunted Mansion.

We were able to get everything done in all the parks, yet there were days we felt we accomplished less than we normally would. But the walk on experiences we had at AK, Epcot and HS were all great and I'm not sure those situations would have ever happened with FP+.

MK was by far the hardest park, which surprised me since it has the most rides. By our last day at MK, I wasn't even sad to leave. I just wanted to be out of there.

Mobile ordering was good for the most part. There is inconsistency with the restaurants that most let you in to find a table when it shows your order being ready, but others (ABC Commissary and Satu'li Canteen) would not let you in until it showed the order was ready for pick up. At Satu'li Canteen we were not allowed in and we sat at one of the outdoor tables for 35 minutes while the icon on our phone only showed it was being prepared. My husband asked the girl at the door at about the 20 minute mark and she still insisted that when notified we could come in- it wasn't ready yet. We refreshed a couple times, no change. Then at the 35 minute mark we refreshed again and got a notification that we had been notified twice that our order was ready and since we didn't pick it up we were being charged for the full meal. We took that notice to the girl at the door and she finally let us in so we could find out what was going on. The girl we spoke to there said they had called for us twice and they threw our order away. But, she was very apologetic and they remade the order and we had the food in about 10 minutes. Obviously a glitch of some sort but I know we would not have had to wait 35 minutes, or had our food thrown away, had we been allowed in the building to wait. (It was not crowded inside at all- there were empty tables all over)

Mask compliance was pretty good overall. There were plenty that pulled masks down below their nose. I think some of the inconsistency in the outdoor queues again depended on the CM working. Everywhere pretty much required the mask once you went under the FP/Standby wait time sign. But on the safari for instance, sometimes the minute we entered the outdoor queue we were asked to mask up, but sometimes they allowed you to be unmasked in that outdoor queue and didn't require the mask up until you entered the actual little building that you load onto the truck. There were a few instances of these inconsistencies.

On our last Tower of Terror ride there was a group of people that would not put their mask up. They were asked a ton of times and one second later they were down. One woman was asked by the CM to put her mask up as he was turning to close the elevator doors- she literally pulled it up and then down in a one second swoop. So of course we didn't get that photo. And my ride was kind of ruined because I was so annoyed. But we also saw a family pulled out of the Dinosaur line for wearing masks with filters- couldn't get back in until they had different masks, which the CM's offered them. And on RnRC a woman was not allowed on with her sparkly single layer mask- also offered a disposable from the CM.

There is no social distancing. On Rock N Roller Coaster they were encouraging us to not be able to see any carpet on the floor. That we were a big family and there should be absolutely no space between us. This is the norm.

Overall it was a positive trip and we had fun. But I also don't have the desire to book another trip right now. Usually when we leave I'm excited about our bounce back, or already planning the next one. Not this time. We missed some of the things that were still closed- shows, shops and restaurants. I didn't love all the long lines. Also- I keep reading that the Touring Plans times are so much more accurate. While that was also true our 2nd week, that was not true the first week. On many occasions I would say-"Oh Toy Story is 55 minutes but expected 35 on the TP app" We'd get in line and 52 minutes later would be getting on the ride. Space Mountain was posted 80, Touring Plans said 58- it actually took 72. This happened the most in Hollywood Studios, but also at Magic Kingdom. Many times are greatly inflated though and it makes no sense to me. Pirates is a prime example- often the ride would be listed at 45 minutes and actually be 10, or 35 minutes and be an almost walk on. But others are much closer to the actual posted times. We waited 35 minutes for Laugh Floor when Touring Plans said 15 and Disney said 25.

We did get on Rise of Resistance all 3 HS days. We hit join right as our phones turned to 7am and got boarding groups 25, 32 and 39. Very cool ride.

This is getting long- so much more I could say. We loved Boo Bash and felt like it was our best time at Magic Kingdom. So glad we were able to do that. I am still not sure how I feel about it overall though- thankful to have had that time with my family- and that is the most important part!


----------



## maryj11

disneymom0104 said:


> We were in the parks for 10 days plus the Boo Bash between 8/2-8/13. I've been hesitant to post our experiences, because I'm not exactly sure how I feel about all of it. 10 days in the park is a lot. We walked over 120 miles in those 2 weeks. I would say overall the trip was good and positive. We had a lot of AMAZING moments- but also some less than amazing. We experienced the huge drop in crowds during our 2nd week there- the first week was very crowded with many long lines. Longer than we have ever stood in- and not just one, but one after another after another, it gets exhausting. But that being said, we also had moments of complete walk ons- like Soarin'- I've seen the line short before but have never been able to walk on directly into the loading line multiple times in a row. We had a 15 minute wait for FoP (on our last AK day we had done  every ride by 10:30am!) We were a group of 5 for one our Star Tours rides and there were the only ones plus 2 others on the ship! We had an almost walk on to Smuggler's Run one late afternoon. But all of that was in the 2nd week. We also waited almost 80 minutes in the hot hot sun for Space Mountain. They were loading the entire queue into the left side, one train at a time. Our group of 4 had the train to ourselves- why? They didn't even attempt to find another party of 1 or 2. We did Space another day and while the right was also being used for the FP/RS/DAS line- as it emptied out they sent some of the regular queue to the right as well and the line literally moved what felt like twice as fast! This probably comes down to who is working at any given time but some CM's are so much more efficient at getting people on the ride. We only had one evacuation, Splash Mountain and we were stuck right after the last room- we were escorted out the back and given a pass to use at any ride other than Mine Train or Peter Pan. We used it on Haunted Mansion.
> 
> We were able to get everything done in all the parks, yet there were days we felt we accomplished less than we normally would. But the walk on experiences we had at AK, Epcot and HS were all great and I'm not sure those situations would have ever happened with FP+.
> 
> MK was by far the hardest park, which surprised me since it has the most rides. By our last day at MK, I wasn't even sad to leave. I just wanted to be out of there.
> 
> Mobile ordering was good for the most part. There is inconsistency with the restaurants that most let you in to find a table when it shows your order being ready, but others (ABC Commissary and Satu'li Canteen) would not let you in until it showed the order was ready for pick up. At Satu'li Canteen we were not allowed in and we sat at one of the outdoor tables for 35 minutes while the icon on our phone only showed it was being prepared. My husband asked the girl at the door at about the 20 minute mark and she still insisted that when notified we could come in- it wasn't ready yet. We refreshed a couple times, no change. Then at the 35 minute mark we refreshed again and got a notification that we had been notified twice that our order was ready and since we didn't pick it up we were being charged for the full meal. We took that notice to the girl at the door and she finally let us in so we could find out what was going on. The girl we spoke to there said they had called for us twice and they threw our order away. But, she was very apologetic and they remade the order and we had the food in about 10 minutes. Obviously a glitch of some sort but I know we would not have had to wait 35 minutes, or had our food thrown away, had we been allowed in the building to wait. (It was not crowded inside at all- there were empty tables all over)
> 
> Mask compliance was pretty good overall. There were plenty that pulled masks down below their nose. I think some of the inconsistency in the outdoor queues again depended on the CM working. Everywhere pretty much required the mask once you went under the FP/Standby wait time sign. But on the safari for instance, sometimes the minute we entered the outdoor queue we were asked to mask up, but sometimes they allowed you to be unmasked in that outdoor queue and didn't require the mask up until you entered the actual little building that you load onto the truck. There were a few instances of these inconsistencies.
> 
> On our last Tower of Terror ride there was a group of people that would not put their mask up. They were asked a ton of times and one second later they were down. One woman was asked by the CM to put her mask up as he was turning to close the elevator doors- she literally pulled it up and then down in a one second swoop. So of course we didn't get that photo. And my ride was kind of ruined because I was so annoyed. But we also saw a family pulled out of the Dinosaur line for wearing masks with filters- couldn't get back in until they had different masks, which the CM's offered them. And on RnRC a woman was not allowed on with her sparkly single layer mask- also offered a disposable from the CM.
> 
> There is no social distancing. On Rock N Roller Coaster they were encouraging us to not be able to see any carpet on the floor. That we were a big family and there should be absolutely no space between us. This is the norm.
> 
> Overall it was a positive trip and we had fun. But I also don't have the desire to book another trip right now. Usually when we leave I'm excited about our bounce back, or already planning the next one. Not this time. We missed some of the things that were still closed- shows, shops and restaurants. I didn't love all the long lines. Also- I keep reading that the Touring Plans times are so much more accurate. While that was also true our 2nd week, that was not true the first week. On many occasions I would say-"Oh Toy Story is 55 minutes but expected 35 on the TP app" We'd get in line and 52 minutes later would be getting on the ride. Space Mountain was posted 80, Touring Plans said 58- it actually took 72. This happened the most in Hollywood Studios, but also at Magic Kingdom. Many times are greatly inflated though and it makes no sense to me. Pirates is a prime example- often the ride would be listed at 45 minutes and actually be 10, or 35 minutes and be an almost walk on. But others are much closer to the actual posted times. We waited 35 minutes for Laugh Floor when Touring Plans said 15 and Disney said 25.
> 
> We did get on Rise of Resistance all 3 HS days. We hit join right as our phones turned to 7am and got boarding groups 25, 32 and 39. Very cool ride.
> 
> This is getting long- so much more I could say. We loved Boo Bash and felt like it was our best time at Magic Kingdom. So glad we were able to do that. I am still not sure how I feel about it overall though- thankful to have had that time with my family- and that is the most important part!


Sounds like you had a decent time despite crowds and changes at Disney. We’re you guys vaccinated? I’m debating on if we should go with the covid situation. We heard several say they got covid after returning.


----------



## cakebaker

disneymom0104 said:


> Overall it was a positive trip and we had fun. But I also don't have the desire to book another trip right now. Usually when we leave I'm excited about our bounce back, or already planning the next one. Not this time. We missed some of the things that were still closed- shows, shops and restaurants.



This is exactly how I felt after returning a couple of weeks ago. It's such a strange feeling not really having the desire to return. We're usually planning our next trip on the drive home, but no one has even mentioned going back. I think we've all decided that when WDW is really back, we will be too.


----------



## shawol94

We rope dropped Epcot today and had a practically perfect day! 

1025am Walked up to TT rope drop area. For some reason people were in a single file line?  So we walked all the way up near the rope lol
1030 walked back to TT, 1034 in the building, 1038 building a car
1043 they announced they were experiencing a delay – shook by the amount of people who immediately sat on the ground 
1047 moving again
1053 on the ride
11 back outside
1102 in line for mission space orange - posted 10 mins – literally walked all the way into the preshow
1112 on MS
1120 off the ride
1135 entered the soarin queue – posted 10 mins – literally walked all the way into terminal C but just missed boarding so we had to wait, then there was an issue with some non-English speaking guests and a couple snarky cast members 
1150 on the ride
1158 off
1201 water break in the land
1212 entered living with the land queue – posted 5 – walked straight into a row
1231 off
1235 in line for Nemo – posted 10 – walked straight into a clamshell
1246 off Nemo
We spent some time looking at fish and got to see Mickey diving! That was really something! 
We then did some F&W and our favorites were the Alps’ Blueberry and Frangipane Tart, America’s Mushroom Tart, and Ireland’s Sausage and Potatoes. Highly recommend!

Every ride save TT and FEA were straight up walk ons pretty much all day. We’ve only ever seen these kinds of crowds and waits a couple times before! (Think right after 9/11). It was wild! We’re praying that these wait times transfer over into MK and HS later this week.


----------



## G719

CampbellzSoup said:


> Can you please show me yours I just didn’t like the librarian look it came off as!


LOL it might still have librarian vibes but it is mickey librarian vibes. 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/888080...f=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&bes=1


----------



## disneymom0104

maryj11 said:


> Sounds like you had a decent time despite crowds and changes at Disney. We’re you guys vaccinated? I’m debating on if we should go with the covid situation. We heard several say they got covid after returning.



The 4 of us eligible are fully vaccinated but I have 2 younger kids that weren’t. I was very careful about masks with them as well as hand washing. We were there 2 weeks and have been home 3 days and so far, so good.


----------



## maryj11

disneymom0104 said:


> The 4 of us eligible are fully vaccinated but I have 2 younger kids that weren’t. I was very careful about masks with them as well as hand washing. We were there 2 weeks and have been home 3 days and so far, so good.


Good I’m glad you’re  all okay!


----------



## stiirfry

disneymom0104 said:


> Also- I keep reading that the Touring Plans times are so much more accurate. While that was also true our 2nd week, that was not true the first week. On many occasions I would say-"Oh Toy Story is 55 minutes but expected 35 on the TP app" We'd get in line and 52 minutes later would be getting on the ride. Space Mountain was posted 80, Touring Plans said 58- it actually took 72. This happened the most in Hollywood Studios, but also at Magic Kingdom


Yes, we were there from 8/2 to 8/7 and that was our exact experience! I saw Smuggler's at 80 minutes, thought that couldn't be right and lo and behold it was indeed 80 minutes in the hot sun... I wish we had just gone a week later it seems the parks were cleared out compared to that first week of August lol


----------



## Lsdolphin

Has Topolinos changed their breakfast menu?


----------



## mickeydotcom

We did not Uber to the parks, we drove.  My son (20 years old) and I used Uber to get back to the THV because he wanted to experience the gondolas.  That being said, our experience with the Uber from HWS to our resort was lovely.  The only thing I can warn about is not to request an uber until you are close to the pickup site as they are far removed from the exit. Our driver had to sit for a few minutes waiting due to my ignorance.


----------



## bbn1122

I couldn’t believe our luck!  All 6 of us tried this morning on my account.  Immediately my son was in and he said I got it!!

I set up a clock with seconds on my IPad.  At 6:59:20 I yelled out the time and we start refreshing.  I keep saying the time every 10 seconds!

Yeah!!!


----------



## P'colaBeachBum

Gary Stocker said:


> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H8H3HJ...abc_PZQADF6V2724G856BMG2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


I have those and they are great. Very lightweight and comfortable.


----------



## Makmak

CampbellzSoup said:


> Can you please show me yours I just didn’t like the librarian look it came off as!


So I know I wasn’t the one asked but we got Disney mask lanyards at CVS near the sanitizer area and here is what the Minnie Mouse looks like, they also had Mickey and Frozen cast and Pluto


----------



## Obi-J Kenobi

CampbellzSoup said:


> Do you guys like the mask lanyards I think they look so dumb, but maybe I should try them out!
> 
> I still don’t see the sense of it when everybody and shoulder to shoulder while viewing happily ever after but have to wear one inside but whatever I’m just glad we get to enjoy the magic!


We used them on our trip in June.  I was a skeptic when my DW bought them before our trip.  I'm glad I had it.  I used it regularly.  It's just nice not to have fish through pockets for a mask or wear a mask around your wrist or dig through a bag for one when you need to don the mask.


----------



## PamNC

wow - the short lines sounds awesome!! I'm there 9/7 - 9/13 - hope that holds up


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Has Topolinos changed their breakfast menu?


Here's a link to the *current Topolino's menu*.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Shout out and much thanks to all of you for reminding me to get the mask lanyards! I have no idea where my initial few went (probably stuck to an article of clothing or lost), but I have purchased some more!


----------



## kboo

disneymom0104 said:


> We were able to get everything done in all the parks, yet there were days we felt we accomplished less than we normally would. But the walk on experiences we had at AK, Epcot and HS were all great and I'm not sure those situations would have ever happened with FP+.
> 
> MK was by far the hardest park, which surprised me since it has the most rides. By our last day at MK, I wasn't even sad to leave. I just wanted to be out of there.



Thank you for your detailed trip report! We have 2 under 12 kids as well, and planning to go in 10 days, so watching closely. Also, I felt like that with MK after a few days, pre-pandemic, anyway. It's loud and crowded! 

Did you feel like EP got more crowded after 2? We were planning mainly to hop to EP and didn't reserve any days there. But if MK is stressful, we may move some things around. 

Also sorry to hear about the other folks who were not compliant w the CM instructions. That's just inconsiderate and selfish, especially when ride photos are concerned.


----------



## disneymom0104

kboo said:


> Did you feel like EP got more crowded after 2? We were planning mainly to hop to EP and didn't reserve any days there. But if MK is stressful, we may move some things around.



Epcot did fill in more after 2, but mostly in World Showcase. The F&W booths had some really long lines in the evenings.  Future World was dead in the evenings both days we went.


----------



## The13thLetter

looks like mask rules are updated again.

https://blogmickey.com/2021/08/face...s-at-outdoor-attractions-queues-and-theaters/


----------



## OhBother1984

The13thLetter said:


> looks like mask rules are updated again.
> 
> https://blogmickey.com/2021/08/face...s-at-outdoor-attractions-queues-and-theaters/



I wonder how they will define outdoor atttactions, this makes me so happy for my 3 yo that was not gonna survive masks on all rides now can do some stuff much easier.


----------



## orangecuse

OhBother1984 said:


> I wonder how they will define outdoor atttactions, this makes me so happy for my 3 yo that was not gonna survive masks on all rides now can do some stuff much easier.



We arrive Sunday and this is good as long as the rules are clear for each thing! I'm a rule follower and I don't want to be guessing at each line what to do. I definitely think a little extra time w/o the mask will help my toddlers though. Also nervous about crowds swelling back up and Disney surprising us w/ some big announcement days ahead. We last went during a week of all crowd level 10s in Feb 2020 (didnt know mardi gras was such a thing) and I still felt prepared and ready to tackle the parks. Its so funny how out of my element and nervous I feel this time in comparison!


----------



## KayKayJS

Does anyone have good advice on how happily ever after is going? We are taking our almost 2 year old for the first time this week.


----------



## goodeats

I had friends there a week or so ago and no one in their Splash Mtn pictures were wearing masks. I’m sure this was impossible for Disney to enforce.


----------



## johnkerryP

KayKayJS said:


> Does anyone have good advice on how happily ever after is going? We are taking our almost 2 year old for the first time this week.


Previous reports seem to indicate its the most crowded part of the day/area


----------



## emmabelle

The13thLetter said:


> looks like mask rules are updated again.



I was thinking it was going to say wear them all the time.  Glad it's not since we are going in 12 days.  I have no issue wearing them indoors in AC.


----------



## Lsdolphin

scrappinginontario said:


> Here's a link to the *current Topolino's menu*.



I do know how to view menus....I just saw a poster that wrote that pastry basket had been changed and was curious.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

orangecuse said:


> We arrive Sunday and this is good as long as the rules are clear for each thing! I'm a rule follower and I don't want to be guessing at each line what to do. I definitely think a little extra time w/o the mask will help my toddlers though. Also nervous about crowds swelling back up and Disney surprising us w/ some big announcement days ahead. We last went during a week of all crowd level 10s in Feb 2020 (didnt know mardi gras was such a thing) and I still felt prepared and ready to tackle the parks. Its so funny how out of my element and nervous I feel this time in comparison!



I wish they would make a clear delineation of THESE rides must have masks, these don't. Just a simple list for people to refer to.....


----------



## OhBother1984

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> I wish they would make a clear delineation of THESE rides must have masks, these don't. Just a simple list for people to refer to.....



I was thinking that too!


----------



## maryj11

shawol94 said:


> We rope dropped Epcot today and had a practically perfect day!
> 
> 1025am Walked up to TT rope drop area. For some reason people were in a single file line?  So we walked all the way up near the rope lol
> 1030 walked back to TT, 1034 in the building, 1038 building a car
> 1043 they announced they were experiencing a delay – shook by the amount of people who immediately sat on the ground
> 1047 moving again
> 1053 on the ride
> 11 back outside
> 1102 in line for mission space orange - posted 10 mins – literally walked all the way into the preshow
> 1112 on MS
> 1120 off the ride
> 1135 entered the soarin queue – posted 10 mins – literally walked all the way into terminal C but just missed boarding so we had to wait, then there was an issue with some non-English speaking guests and a couple snarky cast members
> 1150 on the ride
> 1158 off
> 1201 water break in the land
> 1212 entered living with the land queue – posted 5 – walked straight into a row
> 1231 off
> 1235 in line for Nemo – posted 10 – walked straight into a clamshell
> 1246 off Nemo
> We spent some time looking at fish and got to see Mickey diving! That was really something!
> We then did some F&W and our favorites were the Alps’ Blueberry and Frangipane Tart, America’s Mushroom Tart, and Ireland’s Sausage and Potatoes. Highly recommend!
> 
> Every ride save TT and FEA were straight up walk ons pretty much all day. We’ve only ever seen these kinds of crowds and waits a couple times before! (Think right after 9/11). It was wild! We’re praying that these wait times transfer over into MK and HS later this week.


Oh sounds great!


----------



## jbrinkm

bookgirl2632 said:


> Which lanyards did you purchase and where from?



We have these from Amazon. They are working out really well so far (we're here now, first day). We all like the adjustable piece.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GH3NF9L/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_DBNTVKQ4MQ725B2X8FFC


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

KayKayJS said:


> Does anyone have good advice on how happily ever after is going? We are taking our almost 2 year old for the first time this week.


I followed what others have posted here ... the garden area by Casey's Corner is available. We went there last week about an hour early and there were loads of spots. Lots of strollers & blankets/towels/ponchos with people lounging. Lots of items holding spots too. 10 minutes before fireworks started, they made everyone stand up. Then a whole bunch of people rushed in. However it was much much less crowded than anywhere else. We tried the hub earlier on our trip & just left the park because it was crazy crowded.


----------



## jbrinkm

Tuesday 8/17
3:15pm landed MCO
4:00 got in line for DME
(Got room # text while in line YC 4163, great room! - requested 4063 or similar with 3 sleeping surfaces through TP)
5:15 Arrive at the Yacht Club (at the exact same time as our grocery delivery…)
6:30 on bus to Disney Springs
6:50 walk into T-Rex, seated immediately (with 7pm reservation). Walked around Disney Springs just a little bit, then back to resort around 10pm.

Wednesday 8/18 Hollywood Studios
6:45am got up, RotR BG 6, yay!!
8:10am on a boat
8:30 RnR (walk on)
8:45 ToT (15 min wait)
9:00 RnR (5)
9:10 Rise of the Resistance (10)
10:00 Star Tours (5)
10:30 Vacation Fun (5)
11:00 Oga's
12:00 Droids (super hot & feeling pretty crowded at this point, so...)
1:00pm skyliner + boat (took a long time but we wanted to try the skyliner and then our feet hurt so we hopped on the boat from Epcot)
2:00pm back at Yacht Club

(ETA: I will post the rest of my day in a new post)


----------



## anjuan

goodeats said:


> I had friends there a week or so ago and no one in their Splash Mtn pictures were wearing masks. I’m sure this was impossible for Disney to enforce.



We rode splash mountain this past Friday and were in the back. Right after we were past the cast members the other people in the log took off their masks and then just put them on again at the end of the ride right when we were back to the cast members.


----------



## Ricguz

disneymom0104 said:


> We were in the parks for 10 days plus the Boo Bash between 8/2-8/13. I've been hesitant to post our experiences, because I'm not exactly sure how I feel about all of it. 10 days in the park is a lot. We walked over 120 miles in those 2 weeks. I would say overall the trip was good and positive. We had a lot of AMAZING moments- but also some less than amazing. We experienced the huge drop in crowds during our 2nd week there- the first week was very crowded with many long lines. Longer than we have ever stood in- and not just one, but one after another after another, it gets exhausting. But that being said, we also had moments of complete walk ons- like Soarin'- I've seen the line short before but have never been able to walk on directly into the loading line multiple times in a row. We had a 15 minute wait for FoP (on our last AK day we had done  every ride by 10:30am!) We were a group of 5 for one our Star Tours rides and there were the only ones plus 2 others on the ship! We had an almost walk on to Smuggler's Run one late afternoon. But all of that was in the 2nd week. We also waited almost 80 minutes in the hot hot sun for Space Mountain. They were loading the entire queue into the left side, one train at a time. Our group of 4 had the train to ourselves- why? They didn't even attempt to find another party of 1 or 2. We did Space another day and while the right was also being used for the FP/RS/DAS line- as it emptied out they sent some of the regular queue to the right as well and the line literally moved what felt like twice as fast! This probably comes down to who is working at any given time but some CM's are so much more efficient at getting people on the ride. We only had one evacuation, Splash Mountain and we were stuck right after the last room- we were escorted out the back and given a pass to use at any ride other than Mine Train or Peter Pan. We used it on Haunted Mansion.
> 
> We were able to get everything done in all the parks, yet there were days we felt we accomplished less than we normally would. But the walk on experiences we had at AK, Epcot and HS were all great and I'm not sure those situations would have ever happened with FP+.
> 
> MK was by far the hardest park, which surprised me since it has the most rides. By our last day at MK, I wasn't even sad to leave. I just wanted to be out of there.
> 
> Mobile ordering was good for the most part. There is inconsistency with the restaurants that most let you in to find a table when it shows your order being ready, but others (ABC Commissary and Satu'li Canteen) would not let you in until it showed the order was ready for pick up. At Satu'li Canteen we were not allowed in and we sat at one of the outdoor tables for 35 minutes while the icon on our phone only showed it was being prepared. My husband asked the girl at the door at about the 20 minute mark and she still insisted that when notified we could come in- it wasn't ready yet. We refreshed a couple times, no change. Then at the 35 minute mark we refreshed again and got a notification that we had been notified twice that our order was ready and since we didn't pick it up we were being charged for the full meal. We took that notice to the girl at the door and she finally let us in so we could find out what was going on. The girl we spoke to there said they had called for us twice and they threw our order away. But, she was very apologetic and they remade the order and we had the food in about 10 minutes. Obviously a glitch of some sort but I know we would not have had to wait 35 minutes, or had our food thrown away, had we been allowed in the building to wait. (It was not crowded inside at all- there were empty tables all over)
> 
> Mask compliance was pretty good overall. There were plenty that pulled masks down below their nose. I think some of the inconsistency in the outdoor queues again depended on the CM working. Everywhere pretty much required the mask once you went under the FP/Standby wait time sign. But on the safari for instance, sometimes the minute we entered the outdoor queue we were asked to mask up, but sometimes they allowed you to be unmasked in that outdoor queue and didn't require the mask up until you entered the actual little building that you load onto the truck. There were a few instances of these inconsistencies.
> 
> On our last Tower of Terror ride there was a group of people that would not put their mask up. They were asked a ton of times and one second later they were down. One woman was asked by the CM to put her mask up as he was turning to close the elevator doors- she literally pulled it up and then down in a one second swoop. So of course we didn't get that photo. And my ride was kind of ruined because I was so annoyed. But we also saw a family pulled out of the Dinosaur line for wearing masks with filters- couldn't get back in until they had different masks, which the CM's offered them. And on RnRC a woman was not allowed on with her sparkly single layer mask- also offered a disposable from the CM.
> 
> There is no social distancing. On Rock N Roller Coaster they were encouraging us to not be able to see any carpet on the floor. That we were a big family and there should be absolutely no space between us. This is the norm.
> 
> Overall it was a positive trip and we had fun. But I also don't have the desire to book another trip right now. Usually when we leave I'm excited about our bounce back, or already planning the next one. Not this time. We missed some of the things that were still closed- shows, shops and restaurants. I didn't love all the long lines. Also- I keep reading that the Touring Plans times are so much more accurate. While that was also true our 2nd week, that was not true the first week. On many occasions I would say-"Oh Toy Story is 55 minutes but expected 35 on the TP app" We'd get in line and 52 minutes later would be getting on the ride. Space Mountain was posted 80, Touring Plans said 58- it actually took 72. This happened the most in Hollywood Studios, but also at Magic Kingdom. Many times are greatly inflated though and it makes no sense to me. Pirates is a prime example- often the ride would be listed at 45 minutes and actually be 10, or 35 minutes and be an almost walk on. But others are much closer to the actual posted times. We waited 35 minutes for Laugh Floor when Touring Plans said 15 and Disney said 25.
> 
> We did get on Rise of Resistance all 3 HS days. We hit join right as our phones turned to 7am and got boarding groups 25, 32 and 39. Very cool ride.
> 
> This is getting long- so much more I could say. We loved Boo Bash and felt like it was our best time at Magic Kingdom. So glad we were able to do that. I am still not sure how I feel about it overall though- thankful to have had that time with my family- and that is the most important part!


Thanks for a honest assessment of where the parks are now and the guests that attended them.


----------



## KayKayJS

POOH&PIGLET said:


> I followed what others have posted here ... the garden area by Casey's Corner is available. We went there last week about an hour early and there were loads of spots. Lots of strollers & blankets/towels/ponchos with people lounging. Lots of items holding spots too. 10 minutes before fireworks started, they made everyone stand up. Then a whole bunch of people rushed in. However it was much much less crowded than anywhere else. We tried the hub earlier on our trip & just left the park because it was crazy crowded.



Thank you, we'll try to do that because she needs a little space to move around while waiting


----------



## Mr. X

How have wait times for magical express at the airport been?  Can I call them when we land at the airport to see if the line is long?


----------



## vinmar4

stiirfry said:


> Hello again! I don't know if anybody is asking for these posts but I love sharing (too much) information at times.
> We just got back from AK and it was a lot of fun! It was VERY busy though. This is the busiest we've seen yet honestly. Many parts were so busy it was tough to walk without being bonked by a constant onslaught of umbrellas.
> We arrived around 9:15 ish. We tried for rope drop but honestly, my sister and I don't do mornings. We got some coffee at Joffrey's then we found Expedition Everest which had a 40-minute wait, but single rider had a 20-minute wait which was great. We did that and walked around a bit. We found the Dinosaur ride which had a 20-minute wait and honestly that ride was really cool. One of my favorites so far lol
> 
> We stumbled across Yak and Yeti which is where I had a 11:30 lunch reservation. It was 11:05 and I just asked the CM instead of checking in on the app and they got us in immediately  We got the ahi tuna nachos which were AMAZING. Honestly highlight of the trip so far. We also both got Yak Attacks which was...a bit of a mistake lol Should've got one and shared it..But ya gotta see it through. Also, Yak and Yeti felt pretty distanced between tables and wasn't even busy until around 12
> 
> We weren't quite sure what else to do afterward so decided to tough it out and stand in line for Flight of Passage due to rave reviews. It was also raining quite a bit at this point (~12:45 pm). The wait time said 150 minutes we were on by 2:20. I'm not sure if we got unlucky with our seats but the 3D effects didn't work as well for us and the ride was just alright.
> 
> Oh, and if you're reading these posts to help decide how social distancing/masks rules are in the parks... inside the FOP outdoor queue there were a few CMs asking people to put them on but gosh I'd say maybe only 20 percent of people in the queue would keep them on after out of sight of the CM. The crowds are a lot, and basically, nobody wears masks outside however inside shops/indoor queues I'd say most people do wear them even without a CM telling them to put them on. Also, I'd add pictures, but I believe I need 10 posts before I can do that.. Am I allowed to post an Imgur album link or would that be bypassing the required posts/link to an external site?
> 
> After FOP we got Simba dole whips (can't quite remember the name) which were great.
> 
> Then we decided to leave before our 5:20 Tusker House reservation (I modified it for a few days from now and then canceled) just because it was a bit hard to navigate around the park with so many people and because we felt there wasn't much else to do for us. It was also raining quite a bit, we had ponchos but it was just awkward to navigate around others and their umbrellas. Overall I liked AK but it did feel a bit more geared towards a family-friendly atmosphere (not a bad thing! I'm accepting that it wasn't catered toward 2 twenty-somethings who want to drink like Epcot lol hope no one takes that the wrong way!!) so we're heading over to Disney Springs later tonight



One of our favorites places to go to at AK for a break from the crowds , and to get a drink and some appetizers,  is Nomad's lounge. It's close to Pandora. 
Even our 24 y/o son loves the vibe there,  and the freshly made alcoholic drinks and appetizers.


----------



## Haley R

I keep reading reports of tons of people cancelling trips but the resort prices sure don’t reflect that. We’re supposed to be going over Labor Day and I’d love a room discount.


----------



## Aj1129

Mr. X said:


> How have wait times for magical express at the airport been?  Can I call them when we land at the airport to see if the line is long?


We arrived yesterday and there was no line for the bus. We walked right on and had the entire bus to ourselves! We made it to the Yacht Club in 25 mins. We landed at MCO around 5:00pm.


----------



## ThereYouSeeHer

Haley R said:


> I keep reading reports of tons of people cancelling trips but the resort prices sure don’t reflect that. We’re supposed to be going over Labor Day and I’d love a room discount.


Since the current room discount doesn't expire until the end of September, I would be surprised if they released an additional one, but you never know.  At this point, I'm wondering if and when they may release any holiday and winter discounts for all the people who cancelled to come back then?

Summer Room Offer


----------



## The13thLetter

welp. here we go. time to rub the lamp.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/introducing-disney-genie/


----------



## scrappinginontario

ThereYouSeeHer said:


> Since the current room discount doesn't expire until the end of September, I would be surprised if they released an additional one, but you never know.  At this point, I'm wondering if and when they may release any holiday and winter discounts for all the people who cancelled to come back then?
> 
> Summer Room Offer


Ooo, hadn't thought that might be an option!  Hope they offer something but not counting on it as many resorts are already filling.  I tried to book Pop 8 months in advance and had trouble finding availability.


----------



## emmabelle

The13thLetter said:


> welp. here we go. time to rub the lamp.
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/introducing-disney-genie/



did it say when the rollout was?  Kind of bummed about this...


----------



## kylenne

emmabelle said:


> did it say when the rollout was?  Kind of bummed about this...



“Fall” was all they said.


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

MGM today
8:31 left room at Kidani
8:35 already the bus 
8:47 exit bus
8:51 pass tapstyles
8:59 entered MFSR (posted 15 min wait) in the preshow room in about 15 minutes.


9:30 ROTR BG called (had #3)


9:34 checked in for our 9:40 Oga's reservation (seated at 9:38). My wife & I were here once before. First time here for my kids. Don't expect to be back. Kids (ages 17-21) had fun. Way to much $$$.


10:15 Entering ROTR.


11:14 entered Star Tours queue (posted 30 min wait)
11:28 boarded (so a 14 min actual wait)


Lunch at Backlot Express. Cuban sandwich was HUGE & excellent!


12:37 entered TOT queue (posted 30 min wait) [not paying attention to boarding time ] off TOT at 1:10.


1:19 on single rider queue for RNRC (posted 40 min wait)
2:03 boarded (got row 1 = nice! but the slowest single rider line ever - so the single-rider line was a very poor choice today ).


My wife & daughter who didn't ride RNRC wanted to go into the 2pm Beauty and the Beast show but they were refused entry because they had Starbucks  [apparently no food allowed in the theater].


2:46 on TSMM queue (posted 30 min wait). First 7 minutes in the blazing hot sun with no shade. I really don't know why WDW can't have shaded ride lines. I'm okay with heat and humidity but the sun is a killer. Really miserable now .
Started pouring rain as we entered the building).
After picking up the 3D glasses the entire line turned right and went to the handicapped boarding - CMs scrambling by the stairs we normally go up putting up caution sign.
3:17 boarded (so a 31 minute actual wait)


4:10 Sci-Fi reservation


5:31 entered MMRR
(30 min posted wait)
5:5? preshow
6:01 boarded (so accurate wait)


Left the park.

Two teenage daughters are shooting hoops at Kidani now (sunset) & the ball got wedged on the rim 

Not a bad day (still wish we had FP+ but that's never happening again ).


----------



## Haley R

ThereYouSeeHer said:


> Since the current room discount doesn't expire until the end of September, I would be surprised if they released an additional one, but you never know.  At this point, I'm wondering if and when they may release any holiday and winter discounts for all the people who cancelled to come back then?
> 
> Summer Room Offer


I’m talking about an AP or Florida resident offer


----------



## Geomom

Yesterday, 8/17
Resort day then Boo Bash

Copper Creek 1 bedroom: Cooked brunch--pancakes, sausage, hash browns (tater tots).  Did laundry.  Went to boulder ridge pool as there was more room to socially distance.  Had a huckleberry punch.  Came back to room, got cleaned up.  Went to Geyser point grill for early dinner.  Split charcuterie, fruit plate and edamame.  Kids split adult portion of chicken strips and fries.  DH got the chips with brisket and I had the portobello salad.  Got the black cherry mule...but they were out of the black cherry vodka...so they offered to make it with the huckleberry vodka...not the same... should have just asked for a plain vodka.  Went back to room, changed into our simple costumes.  Buzz tee for me, Bucky climate cool shirt for DH, DD17 was a fairy with fabric wings, DD21 was Bo Peep.  Took fully crammed boat to magic kingdom, it stopped at fort wilderness first.  Got to magic kingdom at 6:45.  Boo Bash folks held up in big mass until 6:57. 
Boo Bash: more crowded than an after hours event, less than a Halloween party.  Had a good time though.  During regular hours did Monsters laugh floor (15 min), people mover (15 min), haunted mansion (walk on).  Watched fireworks near splash at 8:45.  Walked to Adventureland and had to show wristbands to get in.  Walked into pirates at 9:10.  Treat trails and snacks didn't open until 9:30... people already lined up for snacks near tiki room.  Did jungle cruise (10 minutes), then got ice cream treats, popcorn and water bottles (included in cost of event).  Did a couple treat trails, watched 3 cavalcades, listened to cadaver Dan's.  Walked on Pooh, 15 min for Mine train (listed as 25), more treat trails and water, walked on small world, 10 min for Peter pan, more ice cream treats and treat trails, walked on Ariel, more treat trails, and ended night on Buzz.  They had music going around the park and spooky lighting.  Saw some characters socially distanced--pirate goofy, Chip and Dale, Pinocchio characters, Tigger and Pooh, etc.  Kept our masks on most of the time due to number of people around.


----------



## Geomom

Today 8/18 Epcot.
Slept in after Boo bash last night...got to park at 1:30pm after waiting 20-30 min for a bus from wilderness lodge. Used our cooling towels today.  Waited just a few minutes for Mexican boat ride, then got lunch from kiosks.  Mexico--chilaquiles and El tigre margarita.  India-- mango lassi, bread service, madras red curry.  Germany--schickennudelin, pretz roll sausage, apple strudel.  And bubble tea from year round kiosk in China.  China food and wine kiosk had a huge line.  Went on frozen and test track next, both with 30 min waits.  Walked on Figment.  Went to DVC lounge for AC, drinks, and cheezits.  DH and DD21 went shopping in UK and Japan.  DD17 and I walked into the Seas, spent tons of time at aquarium to watch rays (DDs favorite).  DH and DD21 met us there.  Went to the Land building.  Walked on Soarin and the land.  5:50pm went to dinner at Garden Grill.  Walked on spaceship earth and left park at 8.  Bus got there at the same time as us!  Saw electric water parade at 9:30 at resort.  DD17 met up with a friend who is also staying at Wilderness Lodge.


----------



## java

FYI out of the 5 of us vaccinated- one came down with covid from Disney. Thankfully minor symptoms thanks to the vaccine. (And we were all in a small car for 16 hours -)


----------



## jbrinkm

The rest of our day at HS, after our afternoon break at the resort (approximately, we also stopped to take pictures, fill up water bottles, etc):

5:00pm boat back to HS
5:20 Muppet vision 3D
6:00 dinner @ Woody's
6:30 SDD
7:00 TSMM
7:30 Alien Swirling Saucers
8:00 MFSR
8:30 MMRR (longest wait of the day at 25 minutes)
9:00 waiting for boat back to YC


----------



## WEDWDW

Ramblings:

Marrakesh is the best spot in Epcot to take a break from the heat!

Most Guests aren't taking food in there,but are just  kicking back on the "couch seating" and enjoying the cold AC and also the "private" Restrooms.

So get on the Marrakesh Express to Marrakesh when the heat has got you down.

Beauty and the Beast is so wonderful to see!

It is not Taste of Beauty and the Beast.

It is not A Celebration of Beauty and the Beast.

It is BEAUTY AND THE BEAST just like we remember it and it felt like old times!

We were talking to some ROTR Cast Members and they said ROTR had NEVER allowed any walk up Guests and they don't know how that Rumor started.Interesting.

Saw the greatest World Showcase shirt of all time:

EPCOT MOM IS  REGULAR MOM BUT TIPSY


----------



## alexiskimberly

Hello! Just got back from a trip to WDW from 8/11-8/18 staying at Yacht Club and wanted to do a full recap! This is probably gonna be long but hopefully helpful to some  The first few days we had a wedding, so I’ll skip to our first real park day.

Saturday 8/14

I already posted about our first full park day and awesome morning at MK. As a recap, the park was extremely empty with no lines for about 12 rides, including all the big hitters and then some (only line was PP flight at 10 min) and left by around 1pm. We went back to the hotel, took a nap, and swam for a bit before coming back out for AK in the evening. We went to animal kingdom at 5:30pm, walked right on Dinosaur and then went to sauli canteen for dinner and nomad lounge for drinks. At 7:55 we walked right on flight of passage, and then exited to see Pandora completely lit up. HIGHLY recommend this, it was INCREDIBLE! Def one of the top moments of the trip. Got back to our hotel around 9:10 and watched the Epcot fireworks from the beach near YC 

Sunday 8/15:

We woke up early for a boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance, got boarding group 3!!! We ended up rope dropping HS and got let in at 8:30. We went on Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railway first, about a 10 min wait, and then walked on rockin roller coaster. By then our boarding group was called so we went on Rise for the first time which was AWESOME! Got blue and green milk after that and explored Galaxy’s Edge. We went on Toy Story Mania (15 min wait) and then Frozen Singalong (walk on). Then we got lunch at the Brown Derby. We walked around the Star Wars museum area after that and then watched Muppet Vision. We left Hollywood Studios at about 2pm to go back to the room to nap and pool 

In the evening, we went back to Magic Kingdom area for an anniversary dinner at California Grill. We watched the MK fireworks from the balcony there, and then took the Monorail to Epcot where we jumped on Test Track with a 5 min wait. We ended up seeing the fireworks from the speedy outdoor section of the test track ride as we zipped around the bend, which was very fun. Walked back to YC after that.

Monday 8/16:

We got up early for Animal Kingdom this day, but didn’t end up fully rope dropping as we were feeling tired. Got there around 8:15 and walked on Everest three times in a row with no line. We tested the front, middle, and back, and decided the front was our favorite!  then, we walked around Asia some, saw some monkeys, and jumped on Kali as soon as it opened at 9. We did some of the walking paths after that and headed over to Pongu Pongu for breakfast. After breakfast, we went on Navi Journey, which was one of our longest waits of the trip (20 min). It was my first time on this, and it was pretty but def a one time ride for a while. If we hadn’t seen Pandora at night already, I might have been more awed. Still lovely though! We didn’t go on Flight of Passage again since we had walked on that the previous night and the line was up to 30-35 or so. After Navi, we went to Africa and walked on the Safari ride, which was WONDERFUL! Best safari ive ever had. It lasted so long because we were stopped for some giraffes, but I loved it. We saw a lot of the babies too, and all our fav animals were out (lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos). We walked on a lot of the paths after that and then went on Its a Bugs Life before heading out for the day. Back to the hotel for more pool and naps. 

In the evening, we went back to Hollywood Studios. We went on Slinky Dog Dash which was another longer wait (~25 min). Then we got food at Docking Bay 7 and went on Smugglers Run for the first time. I was left pilot and my husband was right pilot, so he got to jump to light speed, which he loved! We went and rode Rockin again after that which was about 15 min and Tower of Terror which was a walk on. Then we went on Mickey’s Runaway Railway which was about 15-20 min as well. By then, it was about 8:55 and we had to rush over to our Savi’s reservation to build a light saber. The reservation was at 9:05 for after the park closed, which was so great because then we could run around w the light saber in the dark with most of Galaxy’s edge empty and take pictures. My husband did the building since he is the Star Wars fan and had a great time. I would say it’s only worth the price if you have a mega fan in your group, it was slightly shorter than I expected though worth it for a one time splurge for him. After that, we went back to YC and got the chocolate tower for two at the Crew’s Cup Lounge, which was very tasty and huge.

Tuesday 8/17:

Our last full day! We slept in a bit and went to Ale and compass for breakfast (third time of the trip), and then walked to Epcot at around 10:45. Got let in immediately and walked on Figment, soarin, living w the land, and Nemo and friends in a row. Stopped by the aquarium area and spent some time there checking out the sharks and such. Then we went to spaceship earth, which was about a 10 min wait. We then walked in the Epcot Experience which was much cooler than I expected. We spent the rest of the day exploring food and wine festival and the world showcase, went back to the hotel for pool time and Beaches and Cream early dinner, and came back out for Epcot Forever. We ended the night at Abracadabar and left the next day.


Overall thoughts:

Rides/Parks:
We must have hit some crazy good luck, because the parks did not feel crowded and I would say at least 75% of the rides were walk ons for us and the longest ever was 25 min. It was wild. I definitely recommend rope dropping (getting there ahead of official open) and trying to hit the more popular rides later in the evening. Not going to Pandora at rope drop and doing FoP right before park close is such a great choice, highly recommend. Also just want to add that we had 0 cast members that weren’t kind and considerate at the minimum, if not truly just fabulous. Everyone was awesome!

Food:
Overall, the food was really good. Cali Grill was of course spectacular, and we did Ale and Compass breakfast three times and the lounge once. All were great, especially the chocolate waffles! My husband loved the shrimp and grits. Sauli Canteen was incredible too, and we really liked Nomad Lounge. Brown Derby was solid, with especially delicious bread and salted butter and a great Cobb salad.

I wasn’t especially blown away by anything I tasted at Food and Wine festival. The mimosa flight was good, and my husband got noodles in Japan that were tasty but not part of food and wine. We really liked the Apple Orchard drinks in the back of Canada. Other than that, I didn’t really love anything and wish I had done more research on what we should really prioritize there. Boardwalk Bakery was eh and Abracadbar wasn’t anything special.

Hotel:
Can I never stay anywhere on WDW except the Yacht Club again?? This place was a BLAST!! such great location, easy walk to Epcot, HS, and transportation, and we were upgraded to a Boardwalk view so we could see all the lovely lights as night. Stormalong bay was awesome and such a fun break from the heat. I had heard some people say they thought the lobby was stuffy, but there was too much Disney magic for me to feel that way!


Covid:
Overall, I was very nervous about this trip with everything going on with Covid. Had they not implemented the mask wearing protocols before our trip, we would not have gone, including in outdoor queues like they just announced. I’m so happy that wasn’t the case for us. We are both vaccinated, carried hand sanitizer everywhere, and wore N95s whenever indoors or on transportation, and felt much more comfortable that way and still had a great time. I did feel a little nervous in some of the preshows but felt much better than expected on the buses, which were not packed at all. We even had a bus to MK to ourselves at one point. I felt less nervous than expected but will definitely get tested when we get home. Also, mask compliance was generally very good, about 95-98% of people wore masks properly. I will not be going again until covid is in a better place however, and would definitely not feel comfortable w an unvaccinated person with me, especially a kid. I saw them sticking their fingers in their mouths wayyy too often. We also found the sanitizer stations to be filled almost every time, probably used like 50-60 and only found maybe 2 or 3 empty later in the day.

In all, we had a wonderful anniversary trip and left feeling very sad to leave (though excited to get home to our dog!). While I don’t think we’ll be back for a bit until covid calms down and some of the new attractions and shows open up, we really had a blast and felt the WDW magic in full swing. Thanks to everyone for their tips and trip reports! I hope this trip report helps someone as well!


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Heading out to Epcot today with my lime green Disboards shirt on.


----------



## Sarahslay

Haley R said:


> I keep reading reports of tons of people cancelling trips but the resort prices sure don’t reflect that. We’re supposed to be going over Labor Day and I’d love a room discount.


There were room discounts, and in some cases still are, but if people have already snatched them up then you might have lost your chance. I know I'm staying at Poly the week before labor day so no chance at a room discount, but I knew that going in, but room prices won't reflect the current cancelations since Disney doesn't reduce prices when people cancel. On looking from the saturday of labor day weekend on though there are room discounts available, you just have to look (and they're mainly at deluxe resorts at this point, most if not all of the value and moderate discounts have already been snatched up for obvious reasons).


----------



## Leigh L

Sarahslay said:


> There were room discounts, and in some cases still are, but if people have already snatched them up then you might have lost your chance. I know I'm staying at Poly the week before labor day so no chance at a room discount, but I knew that going in, but room prices won't reflect the current cancelations since Disney doesn't reduce prices when people cancel. On looking from the saturday of labor day weekend on though there are room discounts available, you just have to look (and they're mainly at deluxe resorts at this point, most if not all of the value and moderate discounts have already been snatched up for obvious reasons).


Good advice!
@HaleyR, also check Priceline. The prices on there (transparent) are lower than what the 25% discount is on WDW for the cancelations that have been popping up. I have mid-September dates and not happy with what I booked due to slim pickings with a late in the game planning 4-day trip. Seeing all sorts of stuff starting to pop up in the last day or two.

If you have used Priceline before, you might need to be logged in to see. But I saw Coronado (blind booking) for $169 and All-Star Movies for $80 (transparent). AKL was $329 (transparent).

I'm still holding out as we've done CSR several times since 2019 and not sure I want to do Movies for this particular trip.

Edited to add, the Coronado was on HW as a blind booking, not on Priceline - from what I can tell Priceline doesn't have any hidden deals listed at the moment for Disney hotels.


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## kimili8

kimili8 said:


> Masks in stores and transportation very good.  Few people wearing them outside, even in the big rope drop crowds. In lines everyone has them on, but we are seeing LOTS of noses. We have not witnessed any push back against the CM’s when they ask to pull them up but then they just pull them down again. Bc the crowds have been so low we have been able to self distance with the party in front of us, and haven’t really had creepers behind us. Thankfully lines are so short this week!


I’m replying to my own quote, bc I needed to update my assessment. My experiences up to that date was at Ep, HS, AK. The next day at MK was a whole different experience. Lots and lots of noses, and people just blatantly not wearing masks. Everywhere. No corrections from CMs other than the initial reminder at the beginning of the line. The following day (weds) at HS was much busier than the extremely slow day that we had on Sun. So it seemed like we saw less mask compliance there as well, but that might just be bc we were spending more time in the lines.


----------



## Chavaleh

Leigh L said:


> Good advice!
> @HaleyR, also check Priceline. The prices on there (transparent) are lower than what the 25% discount is on WDW for the cancelations that have been popping up. I have mid-September dates and not happy with what I booked due to slim pickings with a late in the game planning 4-day trip. Seeing all sorts of stuff starting to pop up in the last day or two.



Oooo thank you! I was able to save $125 + 5% Ratuken cash back AND upgrade my room view for our last night's stay at the Beach Club mid September.


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## rockpiece

Anyone that is there do you have to wear a mask on Splash or 7DMT?


----------



## SkyGuy

rockpiece said:


> Anyone that is there do you have to wear a mask on Splash or 7DMT?


I just saw a Twitter post saying guests were getting chastised for not wearing masks on Splash as it’s considered an inside ride. (Of course this is just heresay.)


----------



## Leigh L

Chavaleh said:


> Oooo thank you! I was able to save $125 + 5% Ratuken cash back AND upgrade my room view for our last night's stay at the Beach Club mid September.


Awesome!!


----------



## Haley R

Sarahslay said:


> There were room discounts, and in some cases still are, but if people have already snatched them up then you might have lost your chance. I know I'm staying at Poly the week before labor day so no chance at a room discount, but I knew that going in, but room prices won't reflect the current cancelations since Disney doesn't reduce prices when people cancel. On looking from the saturday of labor day weekend on though there are room discounts available, you just have to look (and they're mainly at deluxe resorts at this point, most if not all of the value and moderate discounts have already been snatched up for obvious reasons).


We’re going 9/5-9/8 and the current AP and Florida resident offers end 9/4. I know there is a general offer that goes passed that date


----------



## disny_luvr

SkyGuy said:


> I just saw a Twitter post saying guests were getting chastised for not wearing masks on Splash as it’s considered an inside ride. (Of course this is just heresay.)



I saw the same thing. I’m guessing for rides that are both indoors and outside, they’ll make you mask up. That’s just my guess though…


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## OhBother1984

disny_luvr said:


> I saw the same thing. I’m guessing for rides that are both indoors and outside, they’ll make you mask up. That’s just my guess though…



I think it’s gonna be more where the loading zone is. Like big thunder is basically outdoors but load and unload clearly inside .


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## disneymom0104

disneymom0104 said:


> The 4 of us eligible are fully vaccinated but I have 2 younger kids that weren’t. I was very careful about masks with them as well as hand washing. We were there 2 weeks and have been home 3 days and so far, so good.



I take this back- I am fully vaccinated, yesterday I started feeling a little bad and today tested positive for covid  Symptoms aren't too terrible, mostly fever.


----------



## Chaitali

disneymom0104 said:


> I take this back- I am fully vaccinated, yesterday I started feeling a little bad and today tested positive for covid  Symptoms aren't too terrible, mostly fever.


Sorry to hear that . I hope you feel better soon and that the kids are ok.


----------



## Sarahslay

Haley R said:


> We’re going 9/5-9/8 and the current AP and Florida resident offers end 9/4. I know there is a general offer that goes passed that date


Yeah, I know, I generally don't reference the AP discounts because I never know who has an AP. I HAD an AP discount for BWI....and Poly called my name so I switched and lost all that discount goodness. I know the 25% isn't much, but it is something


----------



## Sarahslay

disny_luvr said:


> I saw the same thing. I’m guessing for rides that are both indoors and outside, they’ll make you mask up. That’s just my guess though…


And this is why on the Dis FB post I was like "this isn't going to be confusing or anything" because where do you know what to do with some of these rides? Indoor, then outdoor, then indoor again....and so on. It's just made it so much more confusing, and so much harder for them to police because now people can argue back with them about technicalities. It's not like a lot of people don't already take their mask off anyway when they leave the boarding area though.


----------



## leeniewdw

disneymom0104 said:


> I take this back- I am fully vaccinated, yesterday I started feeling a little bad and today tested positive for covid  Symptoms aren't too terrible, mostly fever.



I'm so sorry!  Hope you (and the household) come thru quickly and with minimal symptoms.   But thank you for sharing your experience.  It's helpful for sure!


----------



## Carolrita

disneymom0104 said:


> I take this back- I am fully vaccinated, yesterday I started feeling a little bad and today tested positive for covid  Symptoms aren't too terrible, mostly fever.


Would you mind telling me what vaccine you had and when? I’m nervous because my second Pfizer shot was almost 6 months ago.


----------



## disny_luvr

Sarahslay said:


> And this is why on the Dis FB post I was like "this isn't going to be confusing or anything" because where do you know what to do with some of these rides? Indoor, then outdoor, then indoor again....and so on. It's just made it so much more confusing, and so much harder for them to police because now people can argue back with them about technicalities. It's not like a lot of people don't already take their mask off anyway when they leave the boarding area though.



I agree - it is totally confusing!


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## Mr. X

disneymom0104 said:


> I take this back- I am fully vaccinated, yesterday I started feeling a little bad and today tested positive for covid  Symptoms aren't too terrible, mostly fever.



Sorry to hear. How are your kids?


----------



## disneymom0104

Mr. X said:


> Sorry to hear. How are your kids?


They have no symptoms as of today. We are planning on getting them tested Sunday unless they show symptoms before then.


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## shawol94

We spent the morning in MK today, 8/19. We decided not to really rope drop like we normally would because wait times have been pretty decent and we figured it would be nicer to wait for space later while we could be inside instead of waiting before park open outside. So we ended up near main street bakery at 9 when the park opened. We were able to accomplish Buzz 2x, Space (20 min wait), tea cups, dumbo 2x, ariel, waffle break, philharmagic, princess cavalcade, dole whip break, and main street shopping by 1230. We could have done plenty more rides with little to no wait but after walking 14k steps each day for the past few days, we were ready to be carted out of there XD 

Mask compliance was mostly good. There was an incident in space when a couple had their masks under their chins almost the entire queue, another when the duo in the clamshell next to us on ariel took theirs off and we asked them to put them back on, and while waiting in the inside queue area for philharmagic, a man was not wearing a mask at all even though his entire group had them on. We thought maybe he had a medical excuse but nope! He put it on when he got close to the cast member  

Also in case anyone is staying at contemporary, they are not running any boats from MK to or from contemp, nor are they running boats between the other resorts and contemp. Took us a hot minute to get back from Wilderness Lodge today lol


----------



## cindianne320

shawol94 said:


> Mask compliance was mostly good. There was an incident in space when a couple had their masks under their chins almost the entire queue, another when the duo in the clamshell next to us on ariel took theirs off and we asked them to put them back on, and while waiting in the inside queue area for philharmagic, a man was not wearing a mask at all even though his entire group had them on. We thought maybe he had a medical excuse but nope! He put it on when he got close to the cast member



Can you clarify mask rules for rides that go indoors and outdoors- like Splash, Big Thunder, 7 Dwarves? Thanks!


----------



## Haley R

Sarahslay said:


> Yeah, I know, I generally don't reference the AP discounts because I never know who has an AP. I HAD an AP discount for BWI....and Poly called my name so I switched and lost all that discount goodness. I know the 25% isn't much, but it is something


We’re booked under the 25% discount for now, paying $369 for a car suite. I looked at Priceline and after tax it was basically the same price. I don’t love paying that much to stay there but it’s fine


----------



## MinnieMSue

cindianne320 said:


> Can you clarify mask rules for rides that go indoors and outdoors- like Splash, Big Thunder, 7 Dwarves? Thanks!



i thought all rides require masks no matter where they are. Also all lines once you cross the threshold from the extended queue to the regular queue require masks no matter inside or outside. That’s my understanding. Once the cast member tells you to mask it stays on until you exit the ride and are outside the ride area.
Edit- just saw on another thread it changed recently so disregard what I said. Sorry


----------



## OhBother1984

MinnieMSue said:


> i thought all rides require masks no matter where they are. Also all lines once you cross the threshold from the extended queue to the regular queue require masks no matter inside or outside. That’s my understanding. Once the cast member tells you to mask it stays on until you exit the ride and are outside the ride area.



It just changed today, no masks in outdoor lines, rides and theaters.


----------



## rockpiece

SkyGuy said:


> I just saw a Twitter post saying guests were getting chastised for not wearing masks on Splash as it’s considered an inside ride. (Of course this is just heresay.)


Just read through it. Sad that the site felt like it was necessary to sit there and take pictures and then post it on the internet.

Also if you are allowed to ride the Jungle Cruise without the mask it should be the same with Splash.


----------



## scrappinginontario

MinnieMSue said:


> i thought all rides require masks no matter where they are. Also all lines once you cross the threshold from the extended queue to the regular queue require masks no matter inside or outside. That’s my understanding. Once the cast member tells you to mask it stays on until you exit the ride and are outside the ride area.


 There was a change recently.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/experience-updates/#drawer-card-faceCoverings


----------



## scrappinginontario

rockpiece said:


> Also if you are allowed to ride the Jungle Cruise without the mask it should be the same with Splash.


A good portion of Splash Mountain is indoors.


----------



## MinnieMSue

scrappinginontario said:


> There was a change recently.
> 
> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/experience-updates/#drawer-card-faceCoverings



thanks I saw this in another thread belatedly. I got hung up in the mondo Genie  thread today  (and only got half through) then I decided to look at other info. Glad I came up for air because I completely missed anything else. Now I get to be confused about when to mask and when it isn’t needed. Guess I will just keep it on when in doubt. Gonna stay away from that genie thread for awhile. It will prob have another 1000 comments with no new info before I peek again tomorrow lol


----------



## BusyFLmom

Carolrita said:


> Would you mind telling me what vaccine you had and when? I’m nervous because my second Pfizer shot was almost 6 months ago.


Just wanted to let you know I was vaccinated with Pfizer 7 months ago and tested positive for covid last week.  Our Disney trip is planned for next week so we will be in the clear.  BUT, the vaccine worked!!! I only had mild cold symptoms.  Worst was the headache for 4 days.  I work in healthcare and appreciate what the vaccine has done for me.  I am thankful.


----------



## disneymom0104

Carolrita said:


> Would you mind telling me what vaccine you had and when? I’m nervous because my second Pfizer shot was almost 6 months ago.


I had the J&J in early April. One other in my family got J&J and 2 got Pfizer.


----------



## Ricguz

I wish more people like you would let the masses know how safe the vaccine is and if we all got vaccinated maybe just maybe we can get back to normal.  Wishful thinking.  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## holyrita

MinnieMSue said:


> thanks I saw this in another thread belatedly. I got hung up in the mondo Genie  thread today  (and only got half through) then I decided to look at other info. Glad I came up for air because I completely missed anything else. Now I get to be confused about when to mask and when it isn’t needed. Guess I will just keep it on when in doubt. Gonna stay away from that genie thread for awhile. It will prob have another 1000 comments with no new info before I peek again tomorrow lol



Yesterday I would read a page from the Genie thread and by the time I clicked 'next page'.. the thread would have 2 more pages


----------



## MinnieMSue

holyrita said:


> Yesterday I would read a page from the Genie thread and by the time I clicked 'next page'.. the thread would have 2 more pages



that is how I felt it was happening. I would have a break at work and skim them quickly and it was growing exponentially. Also I wasn’t learning anything new so I am just taking a break and reading one of my fave threads in Rumors - the one that has the dancing gifs lol. It is somewhat repetitive with genie too but not so unbearably long lol


----------



## WEDWDW

Just wanted to chime in add to what everybody is saying that what is happening now at WDW is something I never dreamed I would see.

For example we walked onto Soarin' at 5:30 PM today,went straight to B1 and the 3rd row of B was empty,ALL of C was empty and half of A was empty on our Flight.

STUNNING JUST STUNNING!


----------



## mantysk8coach

WEDWDW said:


> Just wanted to chime in add to what everybody is saying that what is happening now at WDW is something I never dreamed I would see.
> 
> For example we walked onto Soarin' at 5:30 PM today,went straight to B1 and the 3rd row of B was empty,ALL of C was empty and half of A was empty on our Flight.
> 
> STUNNING JUST STUNNING!



May this continue into next week!!!


----------



## shawol94

cindianne320 said:


> Can you clarify mask rules for rides that go indoors and outdoors- like Splash, Big Thunder, 7 Dwarves? Thanks!



I know a bunch of people have already responded and we didn't do any of those three rides, however we did do Everest and FOP with the outdoor queues, and I will say that the lines both inside and out are TIGHT. They are most definitely filling in all available space so we felt much safer putting masks on immediately entering any line inside or out.


----------



## Geomom

8/19 Magic kingdom Noon-8pm

Tiki room
Big thunder
County bears
Pecos Bill lunch ready within 5 min of ordering at 1:30pm
Hall of presidents
Small world
Mickey's Philharmagic
Ariel
Dumbo
Carousel of Progress
Buzz
5:50 Dinner at Be our guest 
Haunted Mansion
Longest wait for those was Hall of presidents at 20 min as we just missed a show...but got a bench to enjoy the ac while waiting so we stayed.  Made shows our priority as we didn't do those at Boo bash Tuesday.


----------



## rockpiece

scrappinginontario said:


> A good portion of Splash Mountain is indoors.


Ehhhhh you aren't ever truly enclosed indoors like Pirates or Small World.


----------



## disny_luvr

WEDWDW said:


> Just wanted to chime in add to what everybody is saying that what is happening now at WDW is something I never dreamed I would see.
> 
> For example we walked onto Soarin' at 5:30 PM today,went straight to B1 and the 3rd row of B was empty,ALL of C was empty and half of A was empty on our Flight.
> 
> STUNNING JUST STUNNING!



We had that happen last week. We sat in B3 and no one was in C3 and only two people in C2. We couldn’t believe it.


----------



## Devil13

Checking into GDT tomorrow and will update as much as I can. Feel free to message me with any specific questions.


----------



## Mcbruns

WEDWDW said:


> Saw the greatest World Showcase shirt of all time:
> 
> EPCOT MOM IS  REGULAR MOM BUT TIPSY



Love the World Showcase shirt!


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Lines today at Epcot were great.
Food lines in France (& some other places) were long in the evening.


----------



## jbrinkm

Thursday 8/19 Epcot
10:30 walk on frozen
10:45 Around the world, Visited all pavilions & watched shows. Ate from Greece, drank bubble tea, ate school bread, ice cream in France, Japan store (hours 2-9pm) - really fun store!
3:00pm Leave for break (sooo hot)
5pm Back to IG, did UK & Canada, kids got apple cider, also noodles & poutine
6pm started rides
walk on Figment
walk on Soarin
15 minute wait for Mission Space Orange (would have been 5 but there was a problem, held for 10 minutes extra)
walk on Spaceship Earth
23 minutes for Test Track (including car design)
8:30pm got impossible sliders & chili at Earth Eats, back to France for dessert but line was too long so we plopped down on the bridge and watched the fireworks. A crowd, but not huge, and no problems getting out of the park.


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## alicat130

disny_luvr said:


> I saw the same thing. I’m guessing for rides that are both indoors and outside, they’ll make you mask up. That’s just my guess though…



we arrived this afternoon and didn’t get to a lot at MK, due to being evacuated off the peoplemover. Masks were required on the ride, but saw many passengers removing their masks (before the ride broke down).


----------



## DeeBee3

Trip 8/12-8/19 (LONGish):
We just finished our most magical trip. I am so glad we went and even though we were anxious about covid; we really needed the break. Haven't been anywhere outside our immediate area since our last Disney trip in 2019 (haha).

Although I complained _*continuously*_ about the humidity, we had the most fabulous time. Hardly any waits for rides in any park. I think longest was for Runaway Railway. MK was the most crowded, but still we really didn't wait more than 20-30 and that was only for BTMR and SDMT. Everything else was literally a walk-on or close to it. 

We hit all 4 parks.
HS: Did not get BG.  Completed everything else we wanted to do even with break in middle of day and back at night.
Epcot: We spent 2 days just enjoying the festival and doing Remy's scavenger hunt with our kids. They loved it. No waits for any rides, including Frozen. The park was "empty" on Sunday. It was marvelous.
MK: The most crowded, but we sorta went where there was space. Again, we spent 2 days and took our time and breaks in the day. Even did SDMT within 30 mins.
AK: Might have been the hottest and we definitely walked the most. We enjoyed it all. What else can I say?

Covid-related: I still do curbside groceries at home, and we don't eat in restaurants so we loved mobile order at Disney. We were vigilant about washing hands, and I did not let my kids play with all the interactive items in the queues. Some touching is unavoidable, and that's why we wash hands! I also had about a million antibacterial hand wipes with me.

Cast members were great as usual. I saw them literally on hands and needs cleaning up messes on floors and really keeping up the place so I think they do a great job. And how do they keep those white uniforms so clean??? I could not keep that up.

(writing in caps for excitement now) SPEAKING OF BOMA, we were wandering around Jambo looking at the animals and the different outlooks and we stumbled upon a cast promotional photo shoot for the opening of the restaurant!!!! They let us stay outside and look at the savanna and then we had to wait for them to finish before going back in. The cool thing was they showed us the pics of the shoot and the manager spoke to us and everyone said hello. Guys, it was literally magical and I started crying. I held in sobbing, but there were tears and I had to dab them. 

A grown woman with a family and I cry over Disney things. I mean, I started laughing at the same time. It was a great trip and I hope you all had or will have a great time this month and in the future!


----------



## Bibbobboo2u

Hoping someone at WDW now can tell us if masks are required on BTMR, Splash, 7DMT based on their inside and outside design.  Thanks!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Bibbobboo2u said:


> Hoping someone at WDW now can tell us if masks are required on BTMR, Splash, 7DMT based on their inside and outside design.  Thanks!


I saw on another thread BTMRR is on once you reach inside portion.


----------



## DoughR

Been here since 8/15. Some thoughts:

Checked in BRV 8/15 & RR 8/19, both 2-bedroom. Room-ready times were exactly 4:40PM for both.

Very light crowds overall. Seems like the best time to go is at night. Without fastpass, people don’t want to risk not getting stuff done so the mornings are more packed. Most attractions seemed like walk ons later in the day, at least this week. Flight Passage was never posted below 25 mins but a walk on as soon as 5PM on Wednesday.

When we arrived on Sunday we were in Galaxy’s Edge and found out after leaving they accepted stand-by waiting for RoTR as we walked by it. We had just assumed it was boarding groups only so there was no clear indication they were accepting stand by. Maybe on the app? It was dark though and we were conditioned to the current system.

Edit: One other thing, Park Pass reservations have been available for every park all day, so this allowed us to make last minute changes. We figured we would actually try getting a boarding group for RoTR everyday and change the park if we didn’t go. Today we got Group 8 which was waaaay too early for our group so we ended up canceling it.


----------



## mantysk8coach

Question - do they still sell those mister bottle/fans in the parks?


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Mask info ...
At AK today & are in the Safari queue.
CM at the entrance greeted us (all masked as we approached) with, "Masks are optional, we are an outdoor attraction."


----------



## Mamabun

mantysk8coach said:


> Question - do they still sell those mister bottle/fans in the parks?


Yep, all over the place.


----------



## Mr. X

shawol94 said:


> We spent the morning in MK today, 8/19. We decided not to really rope drop like we normally would because wait times have been pretty decent and we figured it would be nicer to wait for space later while we could be inside instead of waiting before park open outside. So we ended up near main street bakery at 9 when the park opened. We were able to accomplish Buzz 2x, Space (20 min wait), tea cups, dumbo 2x, ariel, waffle break, philharmagic, princess cavalcade, dole whip break, and main street shopping by 1230. We could have done plenty more rides with little to no wait but after walking 14k steps each day for the past few days, we were ready to be carted out of there XD
> 
> Mask compliance was mostly good. There was an incident in space when a couple had their masks under their chins almost the entire queue, another when the duo in the clamshell next to us on ariel took theirs off and we asked them to put them back on, and while waiting in the inside queue area for philharmagic, a man was not wearing a mask at all even though his entire group had them on. We thought maybe he had a medical excuse but nope! He put it on when he got close to the cast member
> 
> Also in case anyone is staying at contemporary, they are not running any boats from MK to or from contemp, nor are they running boats between the other resorts and contemp. Took us a hot minute to get back from Wilderness Lodge today lol



Why are they not running boats? Is that a temporary thing or have they not been running for awhile?


----------



## Geomom

Mr. X said:


> Why are they not running boats? Is that a temporary thing or have they not been running for awhile?


Since they reopened last July--no boats to/from contemporary.  Wilderness Lodge boat stops at fort wilderness on the way to magic kingdom...or at least it did the other night. And I believe magic kingdom boats to poly and grand Floridian are running.


----------



## Mr. X

Geomom said:


> Since they reopened last July--no boats to/from contemporary.  Wilderness Lodge boat stops at fort wilderness on the way to magic kingdom...or at least it did the other night. And I believe magic kingdom boats to poly and grand Floridian are running.



That's just odd. I confirmed that boats are running from the Poly


----------



## honeymo78

The continued lack of those extra boats could be a staffing issue combined with lack of demand.  At least for the CR/FW/WL route, I could see not needing that when most (all?) of the marina activity is closed, no HDDR, and no Artist Point.


----------



## jbrinkm

Friday AM 8/20 Animal Kingdom
7:00am waiting for bus (bus came at 7:20, I think it might have been the first one)
7:35 arrive AK
7:50 walk through FOP line (really only "waited" two times, approximately 5-min each
8:38 off FOP, walk on Na'vi
9 something, walk on Everest
9 something, walk on Dinosaur
10:00 walk on Safari
10:30am hot, hungry & tired, went to Yak & Yeti to see if we could eat early (had 11:30 reservation & Landy's) which they accommodated! 
11:45 two more walk on Everest's 
12:45 on bus back to YC

@POOH&PIGLET, we are on the same schedule so far! I was looking for you at Epcot yesterday in your disboards shirt, but alas, no such luck...


----------



## jbrinkm

Bibbobboo2u said:


> Hoping someone at WDW now can tell us if masks are required on BTMR, Splash, 7DMT based on their inside and outside design.  Thanks!



We'll be at MK later today. Not going on Splash, but I'll see about the other two!


----------



## Mr. X

jbrinkm said:


> Friday AM 8/20 Animal Kingdom
> 7:00am waiting for bus (bus came at 7:20, I think it might have been the first one)
> 7:35 arrive AK
> 7:50 walk through FOP line (really only "waited" two times, approximately 5-min each
> 8:38 off FOP, walk on Na'vi
> 9 something, walk on Everest
> 9 something, walk on Dinosaur
> 10:00 walk on Safari
> 10:30am hot, hungry & tired, went to Yak & Yeti to see if we could eat early (had 11:30 reservation & Landy's) which they accommodated!
> 11:45 two more walk on Everest's
> 12:45 on bus back to YC
> 
> @POOH&PIGLET, we are on the same schedule so far! I was looking for you at Epcot yesterday in your disboards shirt, but alas, no such luck...



Sounds like the parks are empty


----------



## POOH&PIGLET

Mr. X said:


> Sounds like the parks are empty


Today is our last of 10 park days (3 MK, 3 Epcot, 2 Studios & 2 AK).
AK & Epcot have seemed empty & we did everything we wanted.
Studios is a shell of a park - not much to do & somewhat long (unshaded lines). MK was a disappointment all 3 days for me w/o FP+ & crowds / long lines (never were able to hit Jungle Cruise) lines were consistently long.
Crowds way down this week compared to last week.


----------



## tofubeast

We visited from 8/11 to 8/16. It was hot, but we knew what we were getting into. Most people were masked indoors and I didn't see any big problems thank goodness. Mobile QS ordering was easy and never had trouble getting the times we wanted. Line times were a bit inflated except for Haunted Mansion.

Skyliner: Pretty much a walk-on with no wait every time. I rode it first thing from BC to DHS, and in the afternoon. We had the gondola to ourselves. Only once was it shut down due to weather. CM told me that lightning and/or winds over 30 miles cause temporary shutdowns.

DHS: We were successful in getting BG for Rise. Follow the tips in the pinned thread. I used cell service vs. wifi as I found the speeds to be stronger for cell at Beach Club. Got to park around 8:10 both mornings shortly before the turnstiles opened. Rope drop (8:30 am) for Slinky and on very quickly. Plenty of time to get over to MickeyMinnieRR with a short wait.  We did single rider over and over (zero wait) for SR and often got to ride together. I highly recommend the single rider line. Docking Bay 7 is DELICIOUS!!!! No problem getting a quick food order window there. We helped friends get Rise BG at 1pm while there with cellphone service. We also rode Slinky toward the end of the night with just a 15-minute wait. I strongly recommend taking a break and then heading to DHS around 7pm to closing as wait times go WAY down esp for TSM, TT, and RnRC.

EPCOT: Did not go in the AM hours, so I cannot speak about rope drop, etc. Walked on Soarin' a couple of times and Spaceship Earth. We did single rider for TT and ended up being in the same car 2 of 3 times with little to no wait. Food lines were some of the longest I have ever seen (yes, weekends in past too) for Food Booths. I was surprised how empty Via Napoli was for a 6pm ADR despite it being very hard to get an ADR there. I am guessing due to staffing issues. I did not stay any night for EPCOT Forever, but there didn't appear to be any heavy crowds around the lake to watch it as I'd seen in previous years with IllumiNations. Food at San Angel and Biergarten was (still) good, with the former being better. Great service at all EPCOT restaurants. Regal Eagle was delicious (even for a veggie like me). The berry mule is yummy! CM interaction was great and friendly.

MK:  Rope dropped and ended up waiting on the bridge to Tomorrowland until 9 in the hot sun for well over half an hour. Probably could have gotten there a little later for RD. We rode Space with little wait and then marched over to Splash. Probably a 30m wait, followed by a short wait on Thunder. Then went to Jungle and it was maybe 15 minutes or so, same with Pirates. We then took a 'much needed' Dole Whip break and caught the tail end of a cavalcade. Happy to catch The Three Caballeros sans Donald. REsted in HAll of Prez and then an easy mobile order experience with Columbia House (which I had ordered while in JC line earlier).  The longest afternoon wait was for Haunted (nearly an hour).  Short afternoon waits for Dumbo, Little Mermaid, and Goofy. We then headed out to EPCOT. 

Random Notes: 

--We had our best TS meal hands down at Sebastian's Bistro. Best bang for the buck. Excellent food and services. I also appreciated that the tables were still spaced out for distancing. If going there from the Skyliner, take the Riviera exit and walk as it is closer to there. 

--Beach Club: Can you believe someone stole my daughter's shoes at Stormalong Bay? They were under a table with our other shoes. VERY random. CM was super surprised. Plenty of seating available for SB and no wait to enter. Slide wait was minimal if at all. Lunch at B&C was nice.

--We did a one-night "pre" Disney resort stay at Homewood Suites by Hilton at Flamingo Crossing. It just opened in Feb '21. The room was clean and very nice with a kitchen. The pool has a slide and zero entry. Free parking and hot breakfast. It is just minutes away (West) from Coronado Springs for reference. This area has LOTS of hotels that have just opened or are opening. There will be restaurants, shops, Target, and Walgreens. Disney college program apartments are opening here. Very convenient so keep in mind for a future stay.


----------



## Travelgrrl

disneymom0104 said:


> I take this back- I am fully vaccinated, yesterday I started feeling a little bad and today tested positive for covid  Symptoms aren't too terrible, mostly fever.



This just breaks my heart.  Glad the vaccines have helped!  Can't wait to get my booster!  But it's still sad to take a vacation and have multiple members of the party get sick afterwards.  Best wishes to you and your family!


----------



## luv2cheer92

rockpiece said:


> Ehhhhh you aren't ever truly enclosed indoors like Pirates or Small World.


There are several areas on Splash that are just as enclosed as those two rides. Even more so really since those two rides have much larger open rooms than on Splash.


----------



## rockpiece

luv2cheer92 said:


> There are several areas on Splash that are just as enclosed as those two rides. Even more so really since those two rides have much larger open rooms than on Splash.


Agree to disagree.


----------



## luv2cheer92

rockpiece said:


> Agree to disagree.


It's not an opinion, but ok.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Travelgrrl said:


> This just breaks my heart.  Glad the vaccines have helped!  Can't wait to get my booster!  But it's still sad to take a vacation and have multiple members of the party get sick afterwards.  Best wishes to you and your family!


I agree-I am happy to hear the OP has mild symptoms thanks to the vaccine! Stay healthy everyone!


----------



## Dakota731

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> I agree-I am happy to hear the OP has mild symptoms thanks to the vaccine! Stay healthy everyone!


Four members of my immediate family and many of my friends had very mild symptoms with covid, and they had it last year before vaccines were available. I’m not anti- vaccine and have had mine, but not everyone who gets covid gets seriously ill.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Seems ironic that the Covid numbers are sooo high around Disney and many are canceling trips which is in part resulting in wonderful shorter ride waits and yet masks are no longer required in most areas...


----------



## shawol94

Mr. X said:


> Why are they not running boats? Is that a temporary thing or have they not been running for awhile?


We were told that because of the proximity to MK by walking and monorail the boats aren't currently necessary. It's clearly an easy place to save on costs.


----------



## Lsdolphin

shawol94 said:


> We were told that because of the proximity to MK by walking and monorail the boats aren't currently necessary. It's clearly an easy place to save on costs.





shawol94 said:


> We were told that because of the proximity to MK by walking and monorail the boats aren't currently necessary. It's clearly an easy place to save on costs.



I know that there are boats that run between WL/FW, GF, and Poly but I don’t remember there having been boats running between CR and MK...


----------



## jbrinkm

Friday PM 8/20 Magic Kingdom
4:45 people mover (5 min wait)
5:10 monsters inc (no wait, rained while we were in there)
5:35 in line for space, posted 20, took closer to 30 (had been down for a looong while shortly before that…)
6:15 in line for buzz, maybe 15 minute wait?
6:45 BTMRR posted 20, took 25
7:30 Haunted mansion, posted 15, took about that (slow walk most of the time with a few stops)
8:15 7DMT (I think posted 40?, took about 30) this was longest wait of our whole trip so far
8:50 Peter Pan, walk on, walked out to the fireworks starting at 9


----------



## jbrinkm

Bibbobboo2u said:


> Hoping someone at WDW now can tell us if masks are required on BTMR, Splash, 7DMT based on their inside and outside design.  Thanks!



We WERE asked/required to put masks on at BTMR and 7DMT and leave them on for the ride.


----------



## Geomom

Friday 8/20 Hollywood studios

Oops... woke up at 7:04, so missed the morning Rise drop...but didn't expect to actually get one at 7 anyways.  Got to park around 11:15am.  Walked on Star tours and Muppets.  Did the Mickey vacation shorts next and it was 12:55 when we got out.  DD17 got us boarding group 82 at 1pm!  1 hour estimated callback time. We had lunch at Hollywood brown derby.  The 4 of us split the Charcuterie, heirloom tomato and burrata salad, Cobb salad with grilled chicken, and chicken ala king.  The waitress gave me a small piece of grapefruit cake for my birthday.  Our boarding group was called during lunch, so we went straight to Rise.  DD21s first time and the second for the rest of us.  Had a great time!  Did Alien saucers next with 10 min wait, walked on Midway mania, then went on it again with a 5 min wait.  Went to 5pm Beauty and the beast show.. torrential downpour cancelled the show during the first song. Sadly it was the last show of the day...so we didn't get to see it. Waited out the rain until they kicked us out.  Went to Mickey railway...walked right into the preshow, then waited about 10 minutes to board ride.  Rain ended while in show.  Got kids a pretzel and churro.  Went to Frozen sing-along...walked on.  Walked on Star tours.  Decided to do Mickey railway again....and they had to power it off and evacuate the ride while we were in line.  Everyone got an anytime fastpass for everything but Rise and Slinky.  So we used it on smugglers run.  Walked around galaxy's edge until it was time for our 8:50 Ogas ADR.  First time there.  We were lucky enough to get a booth (shared with another party.). We kept our masks on until our food came.  The party we were originally sat with left within 5 min of arrival, booth was just us for 10 min then a party of 5 was seated with us. They also kept masks on until they got their drink's and we kept 1-2 ft between our parties.
I had the fuzzy tauntan, DH had the black spire, DD21 the blue bantha, DD17 the jabba juice, and we split the batuu bits.  It was fun to do once.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Has the Little Mermaid show re-opened in HS yet?  When I was there in April they had the social distancing markers on the ground but show was closed.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Has the Little Mermaid show re-opened in HS yet?  When I was there in April they had the social distancing markers on the ground but show was closed.


Unfortunately it has not reopened and a reopening date has not been announced.


----------



## Bibbobboo2u

Tha


jbrinkm said:


> We WERE asked/required to put masks on at BTMR and 7DMT and leave them on for the ride.


thank you for the info!


----------



## Devil13

flight landed at 10:30AM yesterday.
Room at GDT was surprisingly ready when we were on ME. 
1:20 buss to MK. Grabbed lunch and did HM. Realized there were still boarding groups for RotR so hopped over to Hollywood.Did Slinky, Smugglers Run, Rockin and Railway along with RotR.Bussed over to Disney Springs for a drink and some snacks.
Crowd levels were low but not empty. Mask levels were good, not perfect.
On the bus to HS now…


----------



## scrappinginontario

Devil13 said:


> flight landed at 10:30AM yesterday.
> Room at GDT was surprisingly ready when we were on ME.
> 1:20 buss to MK. Grabbed lunch and did HM. Realized there were still boarding groups for RotR so hopped over to Hollywood.Did Slinky, Smugglers Run, Rockin and Railway along with RotR.Bussed over to Disney Springs for a drink and some snacks.
> Crowd levels were low but not empty. Mask levels were good, not perfect.
> On the bus to HS now…


Just confirming, as you will be our first confirmed success story! 

You had a park reservation for Magic Kingdom.  Entered MK.  Hopped to DHS.  Successfully got a BG and rode RotR?

If so - YAY!!  Happy for you and great news to know this can happen!


----------



## Devil13

scrappinginontario said:


> Just confirming, as you will be our first confirmed success story!
> 
> You had a park reservation for Magic Kingdom.  Entered MK.  Hopped to DHS.  Successfully got a BG and rode RotR?
> 
> If so - YAY!!  Happy for you and great news to know this can happen!



Yep!! Hopped over got assigned a boarding group at 4PM and on the ride at about 8PM.


Done and done!! 

(posting this from Oga’s)


----------



## Corinne

Devil13 said:


> flight landed at 10:30AM yesterday.
> Room at GDT was surprisingly ready when we were on ME.
> 1:20 buss to MK. Grabbed lunch and did HM. Realized there were still boarding groups for RotR so hopped over to Hollywood.Did Slinky, Smugglers Run, Rockin and Railway along with RotR.Bussed over to Disney Springs for a drink and some snacks.
> Crowd levels were low but not empty. Mask levels were good, not perfect.
> On the bus to HS now…



I am drawing a blank…GDT? So, were you allowed to park hop before 2:00, or did you have to wait? Either way, thats awesome you scored BG and rode RotR!


----------



## luv2cheer92

Corinne said:


> I am drawing a blank…GDT? So, were you allowed to park hop before 2:00, or did you have to wait? Either way, thats awesome you scored BG and rode RotR!


Gran Destino Tower. I'll let PP answer for sure, but sounds like MK was their first park and didn't get there til after 1.


----------



## disneymom0104

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> I agree-I am happy to hear the OP has mild symptoms thanks to the vaccine! Stay healthy everyone!



I wouldn't say they have stayed mild now a few days in- it has been a bit rough overall but I am thankful for the vaccine and the peace of mind that it should protect me from severe disease/hospitalization. So far the rest of my family is still well!


----------



## jods

Just looked.  Boarding groups still available for rise. 1:05.


----------



## kmrobins03

Tess said:


> After being stopped every single time I entered a park and being told each and every time that I needed to remove my eyeglass case and camera (had already done that), I had enough.  When re-entering Epcot at a very quiet time and being screened again, I had the security guard remove everything "suspect" from my Baggallini and left the items with him and my husband.  I walked through the scanner again and yep--it went off.
> 
> We then removed everything from the bag--ding, ding, ding--went off again.  No one has an answer why this bag (pictured in my avatar) continues to sound the alarm.  They say that it is my chest area raising the machine hackles.  The bag has a zipper in the crossover portion of the strap which would be in that area.  There are also heavy metal rings that allow for adjustment.  Security said no, that wouldn't cause it--no resolution for me unless I ditch my favorite park bag ever!
> 
> I have resigned myself to additional screening and listening to the same spiel each and every time--"it is your eyeglass case" or "it is your camera"--I gave up removing them because it makes no difference.



my bag also sets off the metal detector every time. I just deal with the extra screening too.


----------



## DeeBee3

kmrobins03 said:


> my bag also sets off the metal detector every time. I just deal with the extra screening too.


My mother in law set it off every single time. We laughed. I did take my enormous sunglass case out and I was fine after the first time.


----------



## Devil13

luv2cheer92 said:


> Gran Destino Tower. I'll let PP answer for sure, but sounds like MK was their first park and didn't get there til after 1.


Correct. First park was MK. Checked in and essentially left after about an hour so. After 2PM went to HS.

In line for Tower right now. Crowds are light. Wait is about 15 minutes according to Touring Plan (who I find are more accurate than Disney)

Also wishing for a quick turnaround for @disneymom0104


----------



## jujubiee4

disneymom0104 said:


> I wouldn't say they have stayed mild now a few days in- it has been a bit rough overall but I am thankful for the vaccine and the peace of mind that it should protect me from severe disease/hospitalization. So far the rest of my family is still well!


I hope you feel better.  My cousin and her family went a few weeks ago. I picked them up from the 
airport.  2 days later she called she wasn't feeling well.  She ended up testing positive. She had a
rough several days and on the mend.  If it is any consolation at all no one else in her family fell ill
and all tested negative twice.    Get some rest and be well.


----------



## penel3

jods said:


> Just looked.  Boarding groups still available for rise. 1:05.


Just checked also, boarding groups still available at 2:39 and they are boarding group 61 of 77!!


----------



## shawol94

Lsdolphin said:


> I know that there are boats that run between WL/FW, GF, and Poly but I don’t remember there having been boats running between CR and MK...


There were definitely boats between MK and all the MK resorts pre-vid. I can't speak to when they stopped running boats to and from contemp and MK (or a boat that included contemp as a stop) or when they stopped running boats between contemp and the other MK resorts, but they are currently not running any boats from anywhere to or from contemp.


----------



## Heather07438

After the closure when the boats were brought back late July 2020 Contempary wasn't included.  Not sure if then or shortly after the resort boat launches in front of MK were switched around, putting the Poly/GF/MK loop on the left.


----------



## GADisneyDad14

FYI, CR did not have MK boat service pre-COVID.  It DID have CR-WL-FW service (what is known as the “Blue Flag launch”) - that is the one boat route among the MK resorts that has yet to return since reopening.


----------



## Turtlesoup820

jbrinkm said:


> We'll be at MK later today. Not going on Splash, but I'll see about the other two!


As of yesterday, mask on once the splash line enters the building and on the ride.


----------



## Bibbobboo2u

Turtlesoup820 said:


> As of yesterday, mask on once the splash line enters the building and on the ride.


Thanks for info.


----------



## Carol_

GADisneyDad14 said:


> FYI, CR did not have MK boat service pre-COVID.  It DID have CR-WL-FW service (what is known as the “Blue Flag launch”) - that is the one boat route among the MK resorts that has yet to return since reopening.


That boat was a huge plus in owning CCV. Couldn’t be that complicated ($) to restart it.
Same with the SSR boats.
BRING BACK THE BOATS!!!!


----------



## Where'sPiglet?

Carol_ said:


> That boat was a huge plus in owning CCV. Couldn’t be that complicated ($) to restart it.
> Same with the SSR boats.
> BRING BACK THE BOATS!!!!



The red flag boat from Wilderness Lodge to/from the Magic Kingdom IS currently running. 

The blue flag boat is not, although I believe there is a boat to/from Ft. Wilderness and the Magic Kingdom.

There’s also the little boats between Poly and the MK and the GF and the MK. They used to be a combined, triangular route, but they’ve separated them into individual routes.


----------



## jbrinkm

Saturday 8/21 Hollywood Studios
9:30 RnR 10 min wait
10:00 Rise (BG 2)
10:30 Frozen sing along
11am ToT 15 minute wait

Lunch 8/21
12:05pm Lunch reservation at Sanaa, bus arrived quickly at HS or we would have taken a ride share. Checked in 12:06pm, table ready at 12:15. Really delicious food here!!!

Saturday 8/21 Animal Kingdom
2:05 arrive to AK
2:15 & 2:30 bird shows
3:00 Everest (5 min wait)
3:30 ITTBAB
4pm dole whips at Tamu Tamu
4:15 FOP, essentially a walk on, only waited just before the first numbered room


----------



## faceofsam

jbrinkm said:


> Saturday 8/21 Hollywood Studios
> 9:30 RnR 10 min wait
> 10:00 Rise (BG 2)
> 10:30 Frozen sing along
> 11am ToT 15 minute wait
> 
> Lunch 8/21
> 12:05pm Lunch reservation at Sanaa, bus arrived quickly at HS or we would have taken a ride share. Checked in 12:06pm, table ready at 12:15. Really delicious food here!!!
> 
> Saturday 8/21 Animal Kingdom
> 2:05 arrive to AK
> 2:15 & 2:30 bird shows
> 3:00 Everest (5 min wait)
> 3:30 ITTBAB
> 4pm dole whips at Tamu Tamu
> 4:15 FOP, essentially a walk on, only waited just before the first numbered room



This sounds like a great day! Was Sanaa crowded or did it feel more spaced out?


----------



## jbrinkm

faceofsam said:


> This sounds like a great day! Was Sanaa crowded or did it feel more spaced out?



We felt spaced out where we were sitting, but there were tables that looked closer together in the middle of the restaurant.


----------



## Geomom

Saturday 8/21. Checkout day
Magic kingdom 11-4pm

People mover 5 min
Saw Stitch and then buzz at Tomorrowland stage
Ariel 5 min
Small world 10min
Tiki room...walk on
1pm lunch at jungle skipper canteen.  I got the curry, DH the noodles, DD17 the kids crispy chicken, DD21 the kids steak
Pirates 10 min
Haunted Mansion 20 min to the actual ride listed 25 then rose to 35 while in line
Pooh 20min listed 25
Ariel 10 listed 15
Waited a long time for a boat to wilderness lodge... should have taken bus instead, but we still got to resort almost an hour before magical express pickup.  Had a great driver, relatively low lines for Southwest luggage check in and security.  Got to our terminal 2 hrs before our flight, so plenty of time for dinner...long lines in food court though!


----------



## Devil13

Day 2:

10AM - HS
RotR group 55. Got on at around 1:00
Tower twice
Star Tours
RRC
Oga’s 

3:00 - Hopped to Epcot
Early dinner at Teppan Edo
Did a loop around the world
Started pouring

6:00 - Hopped to AK
FoP
Snacks at Satu’li

8:00 - Bus to Hotel
Could be done for the night or venture out again. Not sure.


----------



## petunia

Quick report from MK today, arrived at 945 and did space, people mover, speedway, buzz before early lunch at 1115ish.  From about noon to 530 we did carousel of progress, monsters inc, thunder, little mermaid, mine train, peter pan, philharmagic, small world with starbucks and snack breaks.  Dinner at Liberty tree, then haunted mansion and pirates and HEA at the end.  Most rides were 5-20 mins, the longest wait was 35 for peter pan and mine train (listed at 50 but was 35).  We come yearly and this was a fabulous day-but HOT!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

disneymom0104 said:


> I wouldn't say they have stayed mild now a few days in- it has been a bit rough overall but I am thankful for the vaccine and the peace of mind that it should protect me from severe disease/hospitalization. So far the rest of my family is still well!


So sorry to hear that. But  I agree thank god you got the vaccine and relieved to hear that so far you are all ok for the most part.


----------



## The Iron Giant

We returned the other day after our trip from August 8 - 18… we had a great trip although it was very hot.  The crowds were manageable and better than we expected.  Mask compliance was great overall and CMs were really good.

My number 1 tip is to use the Touring Plans app for an accurate idea of how long the lines are for rides.  We found Disney’s posted times to be inflated.  We ended up riding just about everything and the longest wait we had was around 42 minutes for FoP.  Had we used Disney’s times we would have been discouraged from lining up for the many rides that were posted as 50, 60, and 75 minute waits.

My number 1 complaint is the lack of the tram service at Magic Kingdom.  If you drive and don’t rope drop or if you leave midday and come back, be prepared to walk very far… very, very far.  For the prices being charged, Disney really let its guests down on this one.  Especially in the heat of the summer. 

Overall… we had a really great time!


----------



## BillFromCT

As a piece of data - we did HS this morning from Pop.  Let through the tapstiles at 8:15. We headed down Hollywood Blvd for RnR.  We were held, along with ToT, in front of Hollywood Scoops.  At 8:30 they lead each group to their respective rides. Walked straight through the preshow onto the second limo.  Went over to ToT.  No preshow there either.  Walked straight on.  Over to MMRR just before 9:00.  It had a 10 minute wait and the preshow was running.


----------



## ShannyMcB

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

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



faceofsam said:


> Have people eaten at Sanaa or Topolinos recently? We have a Sanaa lunch and a Topolinos brunch for our trip in two weeks, and was wondering how long the meals took/how safe it felt covid wise? *IE, how close were the tables!



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


----------



## brockash

scrappinginontario said:


> Unfortunately it has not reopened and a reopening date has not been announced.


Didn't they announce that the show was done?  I thought for sure at some point during Covid Disney announced the little mermaid show at dhs had been discontinued.

Hmmm...looks like it was never actually confirmed as closed...hopefully that means it'll come back some day...we'll see I guess.  
https://blogmickey.com/2020/08/rumo...manently-closed-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/


----------



## scrappinginontario

brockash said:


> Didn't they announce that the show was done?  I thought for sure at some point during Covid Disney announced the little mermaid show at dhs had been discontinued.
> 
> Hmmm...looks like it was never actually confirmed as closed...hopefully that means it'll come back some day...we'll see I guess.
> https://blogmickey.com/2020/08/rumo...manently-closed-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/


Yes, it was rumoured to be closing but this was never confirmed.


----------



## orangecuse

Arrived at HS today at 12:30.

Walked to Cars Show and did that first
Grabbed a RotR boarding pass at 1:15- group 149. 
Rode AS2 (17 min wait)
Rode AS2 (20 min wait because 1/2 the ride stopped working so they could only load one side) 
Ate a snack at Woodys 
Rode TSMM (15 min wait) 
"Dinner" at 4 at H&V 
Rode MMRR (10 min wait) 
Rode Slink with older son (15-20 min wait). Husband got 2 walk on rides of AS2 with younger son during this time.
Rider Swap SDD. Younger son and I did TSMM. Walk on but someone lost their glasses and it took 20 min for someone to retrieve them so we got stuck for a little bit. Maintinajce was required to come out to do it even though the glasses were visible on the track by the loading area.  The CMs commented it was a really silly rule. 
RotR boarding group called around 7? Finished the night with that and walked back to Swolphin.

Overall low crowds today at HS. You could feel it in the walkways- it was very open.


----------



## orangecuse

Also- a random family gifted us their balloon when we arrived. It popped from the heat while we were on a ride. We just left it popped on the stroller. Someone must have noticed the popped balloon while we were in H&V because when we came out it had been replaced with a new balloon!


----------



## penel3

orangecuse said:


> Also- a random family gifted us their balloon when we arrived. It popped from the heat while we were on a ride. We just left it popped on the stroller. Someone must have noticed the popped balloon while we were in H&V because when we came out it had been replaced with a new balloon!


Awesome pixie dust!!


----------



## OhBother1984

orangecuse said:


> Arrived at HS today at 12:30.
> 
> Walked to Cars Show and did that first
> Grabbed a RotR boarding pass at 1:15- group 149.
> Rode AS2 (17 min wait)
> Rode AS2 (20 min wait because 1/2 the ride stopped working so they could only load one side)
> Ate a snack at Woodys
> Rode TSMM (15 min wait)
> "Dinner" at 4 at H&V
> Rode MMRR (10 min wait)
> Rode Slink with older son (15-20 min wait). Husband got 2 walk on rides of AS2 with younger son during this time.
> Rider Swap SDD. Younger son and I did TSMM. Walk on but someone lost their glasses and it took 20 min for someone to retrieve them so we got stuck for a little bit. Maintinajce was required to come out to do it even though the glasses were visible on the track by the loading area.  The CMs commented it was a really silly rule.
> RotR boarding group called around 7? Finished the night with that and walked back to Swolphin.
> 
> Overall low crowds today at HS. You could feel it in the walkways- it was very open.



how was Hollywood and vine? We have reservations for lunch next weekend.


----------



## jbrinkm

ShannyMcB said:


> Plus I'd rather hear a crying kid then see another one passed out like we did in the navi river journey queue, poor babe. Ended up ok after some water and cool air but still scary. Wonder how often that happens? Saw an adult in epcot on the verge of passing out when security showed up to help.



We saw an older woman on a stretcher outside of AK on Saturday (95 degrees). I would guess from heat...


----------



## orangecuse

OhBother1984 said:


> how was Hollywood and vine? We have reservations for lunch next weekend.



FANTASTIC! Lots of space and the food was a mile above the old buffet. We were there in Feb 2020 and thought it was fine, but we thought the food was genuinely YUMMY today.We got kids salmon, adult turkey, and adult beef. My turkey was well seasoned and the potatoes were delicious. My husband and younger son devoured the beef and my older son liked his sides but his fish was the only thing we felt was meh. They also gave my younger son (under 2 so free) free mac n cheese.  The desserts are also amazing. We did creme brule, smores pie, and apple pie, plus they brought us a bday cupcake! The characters danced behind our table and tables were well spaced out. Man that dinner would be so well served staying as they have it now!


----------



## jbrinkm

faceofsam said:


> This sounds like a great day! Was Sanaa crowded or did it feel more spaced out?



It was a great day, but I should qualify that the AK portion was DH and my itinerary. The 12 & 14 year olds wanted a little independence and had no interest in the birds, so they went on Everest 6 times, LOL. And once on Triceratop Spin  We met back up when it was time for Dole Whips (of course...)


----------



## WEDWDW

jbrinkm said:


> We saw an older woman on a stretcher outside of AK on Saturday (95 degrees). I would guess from heat...


Happening a lot-we saw a man stretchered away from Bowling Pool at Pop Century the other day-this heat is brutal.


----------



## OhBother1984

orangecuse said:


> FANTASTIC! Lots of space and the food was a mile above the old buffet. We were there in Feb 2020 and thought it was fine, but we thought the food was genuinely YUMMY today.We got kids salmon, adult turkey, and adult beef. My turkey was well seasoned and the potatoes were delicious. My husband and younger son devoured the beef and my older son liked his sides but his fish was the only thing we felt was meh. They also gave my younger son (under 2 so free) free mac n cheese.  The desserts are also amazing. We did creme brule, smores pie, and apple pie, plus they brought us a bday cupcake! The characters danced behind our table and tables were well spaced out. Man that dinner would be so well served staying as they have it now!



Halloween theme right now? I think you convinced me to keep it! Sounds so good, the menu looked good too.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


----------



## orangecuse

OhBother1984 said:


> Halloween theme right now? I think you convinced me to keep it! Sounds so good, the menu looked good too.


Yes Halloween themed! Its so funny because I forgot Halloween at Disney starts in August lol


----------



## Devil13

Quick note from my end. Daughters ventured over to HS today. Got boarding group 189 at 6:47 and were called at 8:02.


----------



## Palaura

Today was amazing. The low crowds helped with my covid anxiety. We did MK from 830-2 and HS from 5-9. I can’t get over how much we did especially at HS tonight! Incredible!


----------



## The13thLetter

2 days in the bag. Epcot yesterday. Crowds in the world showcase seemed to be there but rides were all short waits. Most people must have been eating and drinking. Back to our room around 930 and 30 minutes later had a pretty nice surprise that we could see epcot forever from our balcony at YC. Today was ak. Basicallu no waits for anything except FOP which was 40 mins at about 4pm. DS had fell asleep in his stroller at satuli and DW is pregnant so figured it was a good time to go even though i could probably had gone later with less of a wait.  At dinolamd we won FOUR of the games. We never win those things lol. Mask compliance has been pretty good so far. All in all a great start to the week. HS tomorrow. Hoping for some more of the prolonged boarding group availability.


----------



## cbvacation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


----------



## quhawk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


----------



## Lsdolphin

quhawk said:


> Just returned home to Seattle, after visiting from 8/13 - 8/21 with wife, two daughers (15 and 13). First two days at Universal and last six at  Coronado - Gran Destino Tower.   I'm aware this is a Disney thread, but i'll add brief summary of Universal because many on here mix in the two.   And honestly, the week before leaving, reading threads, I was seriously doubting our decision to press on with our trip.  However, during the trip, my anxieties went away rather quickly.
> 
> Start with Universal, where the mask policy is far different than WDW.  I bet maybe 30%-40% wear masks both outside and indoors.  Indoors not enforced, so if that is a concern, you may not want to visit.  I would put on the mask in high traffic areas (entry gates, Harry Potter world, Citiwalk).    Express passes were very nice to have.  The Hagrid's line queue took a bit to figure out, but easy to use after the fact.
> 
> Checked in to the Gran Destino Towers on Sunday night 8/15.  Wow! That's really all I have to say.  This portion of the property will most likely not remain a "Moderate" for long.  The best hotel by far.  Shouldn't be surprised since the NBA players were housed here in the bubble last summer.
> 
> Monday 8/16 - Hollywood Studios.  Thank goodness by DD 15 got us a RotR boarding pass (GP58 approx 12:30pm).  This was my very first time at HS.  Really had little desire and since I grew up a Star Wars kid, had to do it.  Only really mistake we made was take my two DD 15 and 13 on the single rider line at RR.  probably waited longer than the 40 min standby.  TT posted 40, but waited about 30min.  I like the mobile ordering and utilized it at Launch Bay 7.  Easy process and good food.  RotR amazing!  followed it up with Smuggler's Run and it was ok. Best part was being in the Falcon.  After pool break, went back for our Olga's rez.  Glad we tried it.  If you haven't, do it.  To me it's a one and done thing.  Hit everything except for Slinky Dog and Muppets.  Slinky Dog unusually long wait.
> 
> Tuesday 8/17 - Animal Kingdom.  49th b-day and our 19th anniversary, so my wife had Tshirts made.  Great surprise!  In AK at approximately 7:40 (park opened 8am) and went to FOP.  posted wait 35 min but we were on the ride around 27-28min.  After that hit all the other rides with no waits, came back to NRJ and 15 min wait (posted 30).  We love Tusker House, food was good, but miss the buffet and understand why it's not operating.  Festival of Lion King has an abridged show.  The Monkey's and the cirque part were missing, and those were two of the best parts. Still great show.    Headed back to GD around 4pm for pool/break.  Entered MK around 7:45pm for Boo Bash.   I knew it would be somewhat busier from 7-9pm, due to mix of crowds, and it tapered off after 9pm.  longest wait was 7DMT which was around 25min.  All others walk-on.
> 
> Wednesday 8/18 - Epcot.  Slept in, and took UBER to Riviera so we could ride Skyliner.  DW and DD13 hadn't been on Skyliner. My oldest hit it last March '20 during break from our volleyball tourney.   Entered Epcot around 1pm at the International gate, and headed counterclockwise (France to Mexico).  Frozen longest wait about 30min, but that probably added up to our entire wait time all day.  The park surprisingly empty and easy to navigate.  World Showcase started getting busier around 3pm, but by that time we were almost in Future World.  Lunch at Coral Reef, which I haven't visited since I believe our '87 trip.  Amazing.  Of all the 3 sit downs (Tusker, Coral, Be our Guest), way cheaper and food best of all 3.  Test Track had 45 min posted wait, so we did single riders, and walked on 2x. Had a fairly humorous interaction with a CM upon our second run.
> 
> Thursday 8/19 and Friday 8/20 - Magic Kingdom.  Had to spend 2 days here, because to me, this is Disney World.  I'm at the age where this was the only park on a few of my visits, one of two parks on a few others.  Being there pulls out memories and smells, which unfortunately miss out on with masks.  However, MK was somewhat disappointing, which I'll get to here shortly.   I've also attached a photo. To those of you familiar with MK, it's the area between Small World and Peter Pan.  High season OR Low Season, this is a chokepoint.  This was taken at 11:39.  I now believe Disney when they say they are limiting crowds.  Sure, this week we picked b/c kids are back in school in most of the country, but I have never easily navigated this area.  It was the same most of the day.    My disappointment involves the FP+, or none now.  This park is difficult to get as much done (to someone who knows this park inside/out).  Lines were never ultra long, except for 7DMT (40-50); Jungle Cruise (30-50); Peter Pan (40-50....never understand this one).  No FP spreads the crowds evenly, so you're always waiting.  We're not the rope-drop type family, but in this case for this window of time, we need to be.
> Hit BOG for lunch (great...but one and done for us) on Thurs, and cancelled Friday dinner b/c we didn't want to be tied to rez and hit what we can.   We did the 3 mountain trifecta all 3 days, and on Friday pm, started at Splash at 8:06pm, and finished at Space at 8:59pm.  girls love those 3. Sad to see Splash go.  And we left as Galactic Hero's!! All of us hitting 999,999 on Buzz!
> 
> Masks.  This is where I actually felt comfortable and my anxieties went away.  Disney CMs did great job enforcing.  The outdoor thing was lifted mid-trip, but I just put it on if in a crowed area, which was usually Main Street, and a few times around Buzz/Monsters Inc.
> Sanitizer.  Both Universal and Disney had plenty.  If anything, this pandemic lets you realize how many things you actually touch at any given moment.
> 
> Great trip.  Who knows, after 44 years of visits, it could be my last for a while, as our girls get older and it's tougher to get to Florida.  But hopefully not.  I encourage those of you on the fence, and I saw a post earlier, to sit back and do what's best for you and your family.  There are risks to anything and everything we do on a daily basis.  I would make your decision on your gut and intuition, and try to take all these posts (mine included) and formulate your own decision.



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


----------



## WEDWDW

Lsdolphin said:


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


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


----------



## DisneyOma

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> Good evening. I wanted to give a recap of my first full day today. I spent the early part of the day at AK and the afternoon in HS.
> 
> And, because I've been wondering (as many of you have) what constitutes "inside vs outside" on attractions for masks, I'll include mask requirements. (if someone wants me to start a post listing all the attractions with mask requirements for each, please let me know)
> 
> I am at the Dolphin and our bus arrives around 7 AM, went to the Swan, and then we were off. Arrived round 7.25
> 
> I went first to the Safari. After holding us outside briefly, they began to walk through que at 7.42. Note, that they allowed folks to bring their kids with strollers through the line, separated them off at the point it normally would join with fast pass, park their strollers, and then hop back in line. We loaded at 8. 1st safari with Chandler. No masks required. As a solo rider, I was seated with another single party
> 
> I then walked over to Everest which had a 5 minute wait time. I went to the single rider line, which loaded immediately. And our train left with tons empty rows. Off at 8.48. Note that you need to wear your Masks on Everest.
> 
> I walked by Kali (but didn't ride). It was 5 minutes  and Didn't require masks.
> 
> Did the thru jungle trek. No Masks required. Entered 8.58
> 
> Walked over towards Pandora. Navi was 20. Accurate. About 23. Masks once past 2nd cast member at DAS/FP point
> 
> FOP. 55 minutes... About 50. Masks once enter air conditioning.
> 
> I then broke for lunch at Nomad Lounge where I sat outside. Funny, most folks chose inside the bar area. Yes, it was HOT and humid today, but the Nomad Lounge outside was comfortable.
> 
> I then did some Dinoland games (I only play the ball/cup thing - and won a Medium Size prize)
> 
> Left AK, headed back to my hotel where I rested and showered.
> 
> Headed to HS around 2:30. Was able to still get a ROTR Boarding Group - #159
> 
> I did a variety of rides and didn't watch the timing to be honest, but here's the mask info:
> 
> MMRR: masks required once you enter the building
> (rode this twice, once when I entered the park and again before I exited the park. was 40 minutes around 2:45 -
> down to 20 minutes     around 5:30)
> Toy Story Mania: masks required once you enter the official part of the que
> Slinky: No masks required.
> Alien Swirling Saucers: No Masks Required
> Millennium Falcon: masks required once you enter the official part of the que
> (Note: I did the single rider line and was immediately put on the ride as soon as I got there)
> 
> I still had 175 minutes after all this for my boarding group.  I went to Baseline Taphouse for a snack to wait and WALKED IN and found a seat inside! Never have I ever done that.
> 
> AND to be honest: the storm clouds were coming in and I was tired so I left before my Boarding Group was called. Was back to my hotel, changed, and having a cocktail in Shula's when my boarding group was called around 7:05 PM.



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


----------



## Leigh L

WEDWDW said:


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


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


----------



## Marvin1968

ShannyMcB said:


> Just got back and aside from feeling like I was walking on the surface of the sun it was a nice trip. The longest line we encountered was probably midway mania. We had a nothing over 70 minutes policy which really only took us out of sdmt but we were able to do everything else we wanted to except rotr..but we did smuggler's run, star toursx2 and built droids so that made up for it. Droid depot was crowded as was that main gift shop on mainstreet but everywhere else had wiggle room.
> Was kind of surprised at some of the comments I heard people making in general. Like you have never heard a toddler cry at wdw before? Come on peeps look around lots of kids...you are going to run into cranky ones...you came in the summer! I was so hot I wanted to cry a few times. Plus I'd rather hear a crying kid then see another one passed out like we did in the navi river journey queue, poor babe. Ended up ok after some water and cool air but still scary. Wonder how often that happens? Saw an adult in epcot on the verge of passing out when security showed up to help.
> 
> Less serious note...is it me or is there a lack of unique merchandise? Trying to find shirts/hats that said animal kingdom was pretty tough.
> 
> 
> 
> We were one of the last seatings at the character breakfast at topilinos on Thursday. Even though adrs were tough to get the restaurant was no where near capacity when we were there. We were sat in the back, there was another family at the table next to us when we were seated but they were just finishing up. Even when both tables were occupied there was plenty of space to move about. The other half of our travel party had an earlier reservation and said they had space too. Both reservations were after 11 so if you go later there is definitely breathing room.


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


----------



## jbrinkm

DisneyOma said:


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



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


----------



## The13thLetter

DisneyOma said:


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



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


----------



## Mr. X

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

Airport crowded?

Heading down on Sunday.


----------



## BillFromCT

Fingerprint scanning at AK this morning.


----------



## cam8n

Fireworks are definitely packed


----------



## EveDallas

quhawk said:


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



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


----------



## lovethattink

BillFromCT said:


> Fingerprint scanning at AK this morning.



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


----------



## orangecuse

Animal Kingdom this morning- 

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

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

MK later today so hopefully its just as nice!


----------



## Carol_

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


----------



## BillFromCT

BillFromCT said:


> Fingerprint scanning at AK this morning.


No fingerprint at DHS.


----------



## Steve678

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


----------



## cam8n

No fingerprints at Epcot today


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

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

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

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

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


----------



## cam8n

At MK right now, seems crowed to me but wait times not to bad


----------



## DoughR

Went to DHS this morning, no finger print scan. Park hopped to DAK, did the finger scan. Going to MK tonight, will report back.


----------



## DoughR

DoughR said:


> Went to DHS this morning, no finger print scan. Park hopped to DAK, did the finger scan. Going to MK tonight, will report back.


No finger scan at MK tonight, but the scanners were uncovered.


----------



## orangecuse

Was told at MK this afternoon they will start fingerprinting on Thursday just an FYI.


----------



## orangecuse

MK afternoon was a bit of a bust for us. Park seemed MUCH more crowded than HS yesterday and AK this morning.

Lines werent awful- walked right into a laugh floor show at 3ish. Then did Buzz (15 min wait), speedway (15 min wait), and teacups 2x. Teacups is where our afternoon started to sour. Our first ride stopped after just half of a turn and we all just looked around at each other. No cast members said anything so slowly everyone left. They filled the ride back up and did the next group as normal. We and several other groups got back in line and asked the castmembers what happened and they all said "I dont know why that happened." No further explanation. This ride was just a few minute wait so it didnt upset us too much but I felt bad for two parties whose kids seemed pretty flustered.

Anyway, walked over and did Dumbo (maybe 10 min wait). Then we went to head toward LM and I have NEVER seen the outside queue of that ride full. It looked like at minimum a 20-30 minute wait. We decided to bail at this point (about 6:15) and had a fantastic evening swimming instead.

So MK wait times would tell you it was a light crowd, but every walkway felt packed. In addition mask compliance here was poor compared to HS and AK.

We had one more MK afternoon planned this week and I just shifted course so we arent back there in the afternoon. While HS thinned out quickly around 3-4, MK seemed to just build in crowds the later we were there. 

Planning Epcot tomorrow morning so we can sleep a little later!


----------



## EveDallas

Steve678 said:


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


Masks aren't enforced because they aren't required.


----------



## cam8n

Just watched MK fireworks from main st. It was jammed as usual but still amazing. Everything seemed busier than we expected but still managed fine. Impossible to social distance anywhere, were wearing mask and washing hands and hoping for the best. Still having lots of fun!


----------



## murmer

AK did fingerprints today, Epcot said they will start Wednesday when we went tonight. So if Magic Kingdom is starting Thursday then Hollywood is likely starting tomorrow.


----------



## The13thLetter

I got a backup boarding group today around 3pm and totally missed the alert that it got called. Weird thing was it got called at 859pm and it said i had 30 mins to get there (we were already long gone even if i noticed it). Is that normal though? The park closed at 9. Was surprised theyd give us until 30 minutes after close. Kinda bummed I wasnt still there. Woulda walked out the ride an hour after closing. Oh well.


----------



## Palaura

cam8n said:


> At MK right now, seems crowed to me but wait times not to bad


Oh. Wow. That’s night and day to Sunday…


----------



## BillFromCT

The13thLetter said:


> I got a backup boarding group today around 3pm and totally missed the alert that it got called. Weird thing was it got called at 859pm and it said i had 30 mins to get there (we were already long gone even if i noticed it). Is that normal though? The park closed at 9. Was surprised theyd give us until 30 minutes after close. Kinda bummed I wasnt still there. Woulda walked out the ride an hour after closing. Oh well.


I got the same thing today.  Got backup boarding group 151 that we got from a 1:50 join.  They were at boarding group 139 at 8:30pm, so we didn’t think we had a chance.   Got a notice while in line for Slinky at close that we had until 9:26.  We got off Slinky at 9:20, but decided we had 3 more days we could play the park hop virtual que game.


----------



## mantysk8coach

Was at Epcot today. Agreed that crowds didn’t seem as low as I was expecting, and had been reported recently. We had a great first couple hours though, walked onto Spaceship Earth (pretty  much…maybe 5 minute wait), Soarin and Figment, then a bit longer wait at Nemo (maybe 15?) Then moved on to Mexico (walk on) and Frozen (maybe 20 minutes or so). Test Track was probably our longest wait of the day at about 30 min. We had planned to get back and hit a few rides after dinner at Biergarten, but our service was super slow and we decided to head out and beat the post fireworks crowed to the Monorail. We’ll be back again on Thursday. Magic Kingdom and Boo Bash tomorrow. Hope the crowds drop a bit as the week goes on!


----------



## quhawk

Lsdolphin said:


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


Nope.  Just dropped us off at the front entrance.


----------



## Haley R

We get there Sunday and I was hoping for the low crowds everyone has been talking about. I guess we’ll see what happens. Maybe yesterday was a fluke


----------



## Steve678

EveDallas said:


> Masks aren't enforced because they aren't required.



There are continual announcements and signs stating they are following CDC guidelines and masks should be worn indoors but you are correct, it isn't "required" per se, just common sense that if you are in a closed compartment with 10 other people. put your mask on..


----------



## OhBother1984

Haley R said:


> We get there Sunday and I was hoping for the low crowds everyone has been talking about. I guess we’ll see what happens. Maybe yesterday was a fluke



I was watching wait times yesterday and really the wait times were still pretty low overall. We are going this weekend.


----------



## Sarahslay

OhBother1984 said:


> I was watching wait times yesterday and really the wait times were still pretty low overall. We are going this weekend.


It really is very low compared to normal, I think some people just think it's going to be empty and that's not the case. Also, some people do get unlucky and find themselves in pockets of people or not in the park with the super low crowds. There is always one park that has most of the people, if that's the park you're in (and keep being in) then you won't feel the low crowds. I've had several friends there at the same time, one reports low crowds and the other is like "I don't get it, I thought there were low crowds", but compared to normal it is low and they just don't know and they got caught every day in that park that had more people while the other friend got really lucky in different parks. I watch the TP Lines app daily since it's a bit more reliable on wait times, and it's been looking really good, they also have the crowd levels going down to level 2 overall after today (which is a 3). Compared to all the trips I've taken since reopening (6) these wait times have looked heavenly.


----------



## OhBother1984

Sarahslay said:


> It really is very low compared to normal, I think some people just think it's going to be empty and that's not the case. Also, some people do get unlucky and find themselves in pockets of people or not in the park with the super low crowds. There is always one park that has most of the people, if that's the park you're in (and keep being in) then you won't feel the low crowds. I've had several friends there at the same time, one reports low crowds and the other is like "I don't get it, I thought there were low crowds", but compared to normal it is low and they just don't know and they got caught every day in that park that had more people while the other friend got really lucky in different parks. I watch the TP Lines app daily since it's a bit more reliable on wait times, and it's been looking really good, they also have the crowd levels going down to level 2 overall after today (which is a 3). Compared to all the trips I've taken since reopening (6) these wait times have looked heavenly.



Yeah I am not as concerned with crowds of people as long as the wait times are low...LOL. 3 yo with very little mask patience means if the lines are long it just won't work.


----------



## Sugarshock

Haley R said:


> We get there Sunday and I was hoping for the low crowds everyone has been talking about. I guess we’ll see what happens. Maybe yesterday was a fluke


For what it's worth, Touring Plans said yesterday had higher crowds than any day in recent weeks. I'm not quite sure why a Monday would draw big crowds, but here's hoping it doesn't last!


----------



## Sarahslay

Sugarshock said:


> For what it's worth, Touring Plans said yesterday had higher crowds than any day in recent weeks. I'm not quite sure why a Monday would draw big crowds, but here's hoping it doesn't last!


Yeah, it was weird, it's like people were like "today's the daaaaaayyyyyy!!!!" but not on a day you'd expect like a saturday. No, lets do it on a Monday to throw everyone off. Next monday, on my first full day in the parks, they have it a bit higher as well so there must be something about Mondays.


----------



## tsme

I have a couple of questions. Is park hopping still only at 2 pm? Also I’ve been reading of people saying they went to park A then got a boarding pass for ROTR and hopped there, how is that possible? I thought you had to have a park pass to try for a pass. Has this changed?


----------



## Danadanes

tsme said:


> I have a couple of questions. Is park hopping still only at 2 pm? Also I’ve been reading of people saying they went to park A then got a boarding pass for ROTR and hopped there, how is that possible? I thought you had to have a park pass to try for a pass. Has this changed?


Hopping is still at 2.  I think folks that got a boarding pass in HS as their second (hopped to) park had already tapped in at Hollywood Studios after 2.  It is just unusual because before this week, all the 1 pm boarding groups were taken before hopping folks could get one.  Now, the afternoon BP drop is still available up to 3 - 4 - 5 pm or later.


----------



## PrincessJasmine88

Can anyone tell me what T P predicts for crowds Sept 10 to 14?


----------



## Sugarshock

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> Can anyone tell me what T P predicts for crowds Sept 10 to 14?


Low crowds, level 2 (on a scale of 1-10) everyday but the 13th, which is a 3.
For reference, today is a 3


----------



## Sarahslay

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> Can anyone tell me what T P predicts for crowds Sept 10 to 14?


Every day over that span is a 2 except for Sept. 13.


----------



## orangecuse

Low crowds again at Epcot this morning!

Arrived at International Gateway at 10:15. Let through security at 10:20. Held in Canada until 10:30.
We got to do the opening of Frozen which was cool! I think we got picked since my older toddler had on his bday button. They let us have the boat all to ourselves too.

After that younger son and I walked back onto Frozen again while bigger kid and dad did Test Track.
Gran Fiesta walk on right at 11. We had the whole ride to ourselves. Not just the boat, the whole ride. No one was in there.
Test Track group was done at 11:30. They only took a full 30 minutes because the ride stopped for about 10.
Did walk on Figment, walk on Nemo, and left for little dudes nap.
Living with the land appears to be down, or it was every time we checked this morning.
Crowds again are very low. So HS Sunday, AK Mon, and now Epcot Tues all great crowd levels. It was really just MK yesterday afternoon that was busier (and still low wait times) and Im not sure why that was.

Not sure if we will do Epcot again this afternoon or HS!


----------



## PrincessJasmine88

Sugarshock said:


> Low crowds, level 2 (on a scale of 1-10) everyday but the 13th, which is a 3.
> For reference, today is a 3


Thanks


----------



## Mr. X

Why is TP predicting a level 5 crowd for HS on Monday 8/30? None of the other parks are close to that number all week long.


----------



## Sarahslay

Mr. X said:


> Why is TP predicting a level 5 crowd for HS on Monday 8/30? None of the other parks are close to that number all week long.


Who even knows at this point, I've seen more rooms open up for next week onsite so it's obviously not going to be a mass of onsite people going to HS. You do seem a bit concerned about crowed levels for your trip, my suggestion would be to just avoid it if a 5 for that day is that bothersome. I was planning on hopping there in the evening so I'm just going to watch wait times, and if it's too much I'll go somewhere else (or stay at Epcot), they've been wrong before.


----------



## Coconut8473

Sarahslay said:


> Who even knows at this point, I've seen more rooms open up for next week onsite so it's obviously not going to be a mass of onsite people going to HS. You do seem a bit concerned about crowed levels for your trip, my suggestion would be to just avoid it if a 5 for that day is that bothersome. I was planning on hopping there in the evening so I'm just going to watch wait times, and if it's too much I'll go somewhere else (or stay at Epcot), they've been wrong before.


How reliable are those usually? We arrive on Saturday PM and of course had HS booked for Monday (figured it would be slower than Sunday)


----------



## holyrita

I can't imagine their calendar is super accurate, they only have moderate crowds for the week after the 50th starts..


----------



## marryfrmtx

This is from touringplans just now.  It's hard to believe you can still get a boarding group for Rise of  Resistance.  Has anyone at the parks today tried for a boarding group recently?


----------



## Sugarshock

marryfrmtx said:


> View attachment 599490
> 
> This is from touringplans just now.  It's hard to believe you can still get a boarding group for Rise of  Resistance.  Has anyone at the parks today tried for a boarding group recently?


They’re still open as of right now


----------



## kboo

marryfrmtx said:


> View attachment 599490
> 
> This is from touringplans just now.  It's hard to believe you can still get a boarding group for Rise of  Resistance.  Has anyone at the parks today tried for a boarding group recently?


I just tried now (6:45pm Eastern) and they're still open!! and a 20 min wait for smuggler's run.


----------



## scrappinginontario

marryfrmtx said:


> View attachment 599490
> 
> This is from touringplans just now.  It's hard to believe you can still get a boarding group for Rise of  Resistance.  Has anyone at the parks today tried for a boarding group recently?


This has happened often over the past week which has been amazing for people at DHS!  Even those who hopped to DHS have reported getting a BG without having a DHS park reservation.  I'm sure this isn't going to last but for those there now it's great news!

 not helping my mood as we were supposed to arrive today.


----------



## bbn1122

Just back from my family and friends stay from Sunday 8/15/21 - Sunday 8/22/21.
We arrived at the Rivera Resort about 5:30pm.  I received the text at the airport that our Villa was ready.  We were assigned the 2nd floor, over looking pools. Which is okay, but I stayed there in November with my DH and we were on the 8th floor with a great view.  So, I asked the CMs at the front desk and wow….we were sprinkled with Pixie Dust.  We were put in Villa 4948 on the 9th floor in the middled over looking everything.




On Monday morning we were up early for our first park, Animal Kingdom.  I wanted to get there at RD but getting 6 adults out the door is tough, Lol!  We walk thru the turnstile about 8:05am.  We had straight to FOP.  It was posted about 35 minutes but it was about 25-27 minutes.  Next Navi River, 20 minute wait.
Dinosaur was next, it was a walk on. Expedition Everest was a walk on too.  My party rode it 3 times in a row, except for me and a friend.  We sat in the arena on the water and caught a couple off Flotillas.
Weather was pretty descent that morning….the heat was to come.
After, EE we decide to do the Safari.  I haven’t done the Safari in years.  It was a walk on.  We loved it! So, many animals.
The final thing we did was grab lunch at Yak & Yeti Cafe.  Yummy!  
We were all tired from traveling on Sunday, so we headed back to Rivera for some pool time and cocktails! It was only 12pm when left.

We headed to Epcot around 4:30pm…yikes the heat. We entered from the IG and headed to the left, checking out the F&W booths on our way to Soarin’. Soarin was a walk on. We rode it twice and then walked on Spaceship Earth. We then headed to TT, posted 35 minutes, it seemed to be going pretty quickly when it was announced there was lightning in the area. The next thing we knew the ride was not going due to tech and lightning. We waited about 5 minutes but left to avoided the incoming storm and grabs some wings next door. It was raining when left TT. It only rained about 20 minutes, but it really helped cool down things. It was so comfortable after the rain. My group split up. Everyone had a fun time. My friend and I headed out before fireworks. Great evening.  

Tuesday was a Resort day. The quiet pool at Rivera is fantastic. We had dinner that night at WL at Whispering Canyon.  We all pigged out.  WL is so beautiful.

Wednesday we all got up at 6:45am.  My entire party signed into my MDE.  I had my IPAD set up with a clock with seconds.  We all signed off the Resort Wifi. ( I read on many threads that this was the thing to do).  At 6:59:00 we hit join and started refreshing at 6:59:30.  My oldest son yells out….” I’m in” … He had got BG #2.  I couldn’t believe it.  So, we headed over to HS  and rode Falcon first it was 25 minutes and then we rode ROTR.  We all loved it.  We walk right on no waiting.  It was down later in the day for about an hour.  Next we walk on Star Tours. 
We then headed to Tower it was listed at 25 minutes.  Unfortunately, Beauty and the Beast let out just as we were reaching that area and bumped the time up to a true 35 minutes.  My sons headed over to RNR and used the Single Rider line.
We next grab lunch at ABC and tried to ride MNMRR but it was down.  We walked around Galaxy’s Edge.  Then tried to ride TT again, but once again B&B let out just as we got there and bumped the wait time to 40 minutes.  It was just too hot….93 feels like 106.  So, we headed out of HS around 3pm. 
Except for the heat, we all were very happy with our 2nd park day. 

We headed back to Epcot that evening about 6:30pm.  We went right towards France and had some yummy food.  The Italian Margarita with Lemoncello in Italy was delicious. My friend and me, stopped by Mexico to cool off and ride the 3 Amigos ride.  We left just as the fireworks began and watched them from the Skyliner! We rode the Skyliner with two othe parties of 2.  One of the women mentioned that beginning Thursday, Disney would make Mask optional on all outdoor queues, including the official queues.  It was needed.

Thursday we made to MK about 9:08am.  We headed straight to BTRR and walked on.  Next walk on Pirates, followed by HM.  We then made our way to Tomorrowland.  We walked on the People Mover.  Next 35 minute posted time for SM.  It was really about 20 minutes.  When we got off the line was getting pretty long, wait time was now 45 minutes.  We then took a needed break and got Pretzels and drinks at the CS under the PM. YUMMY!
Next CoP, walk on and finally BUZZ.  Buzz was about a 15 minute waited posted 20.  We had a 2:15pm ADR at Skipper Canteen.  We had about 1 hour and half till then.  My group was, hot and tried.  The weather was so hot!!!! We decided to ride Little Mermaid to beat the heat.  My oldest son (27) couldn’t remember ever riding Jungle Cruise.  The wait time posted would be perfect for one more ride before lunch.  The CM a when we enter the area right before the queue for JC mentioned that mask were optional on the entire ride.  The line was long hot and tight.  We survived but it was so uncomfortable. 
Jungle Skipper was delicious and we all appreciate the cold water, delicious Sangria and fabulous food.  It energized us.  We were so tried and wilted when we arrived at the restaurant.  It was almost 3:30pm and we were switching resorts today.  Time to check into SSR.  My son and his girlfriend wanted to ride the Resort Monorail and visit some resorts.  Unfortunately, when they got back to SSR, they reported that it broke down at MK and they never made it out of the station.
Half of my group headed back to Epcot for the evening.  Me, my friend and one son walked over to DS.  We were staying in the Congress Park section of SSR, so we could stroll over to DS.  We went to the Dock Side Bar at the Boathouse.  We had a cocktail and some appetizers. 

Our park days really worked out. The heat was the only problem.
Friday and Saturday were our resort days. On Friday, it was 94 feels like 110 at about 2pm. I have been to WDW many times in mid to late August, I have never been this uncomfortable.
My girlfriend and I went to Wine Bar George on Friday night.  Wow, service, food and wine were a10!
Saturday night my whole crew went to dinner at Enzo’s Hideaway.  It was fantastic.  The Sangria was delicious.
We closed out the trip with Brunch at Art Smith’s Homecomin.  Wow…the food was delicious. What a way to end the trip.
Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences before my trip.  It really helped make this vacation a success.One last thought.  Now that all my sons will be done with school.  I will never go again to WDW in the summer. Too hot!  I was there in Nibe


----------



## CarolynFH

scrappinginontario said:


> This has happened often over the past week which has been amazing for people at DHS!  Even those who hopped to DHS have reported getting a BG without having a DHS park reservation.  I'm sure this isn't going to last but for those there now it's great news!
> 
> not helping my mood as we were supposed to arrive today.


I am so sorry you had to postpone your trip, and I can’t wait to read about your and your daughter’s reactions when you finally get to experience RotR!      For next year.


----------



## Sarahslay

Coconut8473 said:


> How reliable are those usually? We arrive on Saturday PM and of course had HS booked for Monday (figured it would be slower than Sunday)


When they say it’s going to be low they’re usually right (close to the date anyway, further out they can always change it as they probably will with dates around the 50th), but sometimes they have it high and it’s low. Like they had MK kinda high on Memorial Day and it was much lower on the day. I rarely go to HS beginning of the week, I usually find thursdays to be my best days to go in the morning for some odd reason, but I do have it down to hop to if crowds are low enough this Monday. I don’t think it’ll be a 5 though, unless everyone canceling on-site resort rooms is just moving to offsite rooms.


----------



## The13thLetter

MK this morning. Started with wave bfast at cg. Sweet potato pancakes were awesome and had the bottomless mimosas. Walked right into mk and the mickey cavalcade. Did teacups, dumbo, barnstormer (ds3’s first rollercoaster, he did awesome), buzz, people mover, speedway, philharmagic, price charming carousel all with 10 min or less wait. Got stuck and a stopped line at ariel but that still was maybe 15. Corn dog nuggets at caseys. 

hopped to hs. As2, tsmm walk ons. Got a boarding group at 430. 20 min wait for mmrr. Ronto wraps. 

Great day. Ds3 is the best mask wearer in all of orlando im convinced lol. All day, full nose/mouth covered, inside and outside. 

Characters last 2 days - saw donald and daisyup on a balcony in hs as soon as we walked in. Goofy was out on a balcony at riviera. Stitch was on stage in tomorrowland. All fun interactions. 

Its strange. The walkways/parks feel “busy” but the wait times are super low. I cant explain it.

Toppolino bfast then epcot again tomorrow.


----------



## The13thLetter

Mr. X said:


> Why is TP predicting a level 5 crowd for HS on Monday 8/30? None of the other parks are close to that number all week long.



i will say that hs felt busier yesterday (a 5 on to) than today. And it seemed to have the highest wait times of all the parks. When our hostess at cape may asked where we were going and i said hs she said seems like the place to be today. Some parks just have busier days of the week. That being said still didnt wait longer than 20 mins for anything (we didnt do sdd, mmrr or mfsr though) and i got a boarding group at like 230.


----------



## orangecuse

Successful afternoon at HS!

Got there around 5:30 and did-

TSMM x4
AS2 x3
MMRR x2

all walk ons except the first MMRR- maybe 10 min wait.

We also got a RotR boarding group at 5;30- group 165. Called at 8:20.

Storms meant we took a bus back today instead of the boat but we got lucky and avoided any hard rain

ETA- HS was doing fingerprinting today.


----------



## cakebaker

The13thLetter said:


> The walkways/parks feel “busy” but the wait times are super low.



I think it's that there's nowhere for anyone to go outside of being on a ride. There are no huge people eaters. We experienced much the same thing in late July. The wait times were longer, but not long enough to justify the packed conditions in the parks themselves.


----------



## mousefan73

BillFromCT said:


> I got the same thing today.  Got backup boarding group 151 that we got from a 1:50 join.  They were at boarding group 139 at 8:30pm, so we didn’t think we had a chance.   Got a notice while in line for Slinky at close that we had until 9:26.  We got off Slinky at 9:20, but decided we had 3 more days we could play the park hop virtual que game.


Omg that was our group same night! FYI we got called I believe 8:53/ 8:56 can’t recall. Was nerve wracking from 8-9 watching the app


----------



## slyster

Touring plans adjusted crowd levels next week.  All parks are showing at level 1 except for MK 3 or 4 days are a level 2.  I can't wait to report back.  I'm sort of wondering if Rope Drop is necessary for each day.  We will be there 8/28-9/4.


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## mantysk8coach

Might be another light day at Hollywood Studios? Just scored boarding group 12. I am pretty sure I didn’t reserve as fast as I could have. I never watched any of the tutorial videos, wasn’t 100% confident what I was doing and still managed a great group. Have a great day everyone and if you’re at WDW, stay hydrated, looks like a hot one today!

Oh! Also, my return time says 160 minutes. Is that from NOW or park opening?


----------



## DisneyOma

The13thLetter said:


> I got a backup boarding group today around 3pm and totally missed the alert that it got called. Weird thing was it got called at 859pm and it said i had 30 mins to get there (we were already long gone even if i noticed it). Is that normal though? The park closed at 9. Was surprised theyd give us until 30 minutes after close. Kinda bummed I wasnt still there. Woulda walked out the ride an hour after closing. Oh well.



When we were there last week, DD got a "standby boarding group" and was told they'd be loading RotR until 10 PM.


----------



## Danadanes

mantysk8coach said:


> Might be another light day at Hollywood Studios? Just scored boarding group 12. I am pretty sure I didn’t reserve as fast as I could have. I never watched any of the tutorial videos, wasn’t 100% confident what I was doing and still managed a great group. Have a great day everyone and if you’re at WDW, stay hydrated, looks like a hot one today!
> 
> Oh! Also, my return time says 160 minutes. Is that from NOW or park opening?


The countdown starts when you get the boarding group.


----------



## Steve678

Did AK yesterday morning, seemed like a  lot of people there but lines were good.  Walked onto pretty much everything, slight wait for the Safari because of a giraffic jam holding up the trucks for about 15 minutes.  Did Everest twice in a row.  Hopped to Epcot at 2, again, lots of people walking around but lines were short.  Test Track was posted 30 minutes but we were in and out in 32 minutes.  Walked onto everything else.  Food likes for the festival spots were nothing except for France for some reason, that was at least a 20 minute wait, walked up to every other vendor with either one person in line or no wait at all.  It was HOT there yesterday with the sun beating off the sidewalks.  MK today, possibly another hop to Epcot.


----------



## danissmart

slyster said:


> Touring plans adjusted crowd levels next week.  All parks are showing at level 1 except for MK 3 or 4 days are a level 2.  I can't wait to report back.  I'm sort of wondering if Rope Drop is necessary for each day.  We will be there 8/28-9/4.


This is so odd. It's almost like, they got a lot of cancellations or something.


----------



## mousefan73

mantysk8coach said:


> Might be another light day at Hollywood Studios? Just scored boarding group 12. I am pretty sure I didn’t reserve as fast as I could have. I never watched any of the tutorial videos, wasn’t 100% confident what I was doing and still managed a great group. Have a great day everyone and if you’re at WDW, stay hydrated, looks like a hot one today!
> 
> Oh! Also, my return time says 160 minutes. Is that from NOW or park opening?


I got 51! 355 minutes est time lol. I’m still in bed. Letting the kid sleep in. I’m guessing you can board at 10


----------



## mousefan73

danissmart said:


> This is so odd. It's almost like, they got a lot of cancellations or something.


Last night I was watching local news. It’s not just WDW.  Daytona Mayor saying hotels are seeing cancellations all over the place, even for this upcoming race. Most bookings are locals/ FL residents as they average only 2 nights vs longer bookings. Simply many are not coming down right now.


----------



## OhBother1984

slyster said:


> Touring plans adjusted crowd levels next week.  All parks are showing at level 1 except for MK 3 or 4 days are a level 2.  I can't wait to report back.  I'm sort of wondering if Rope Drop is necessary for each day.  We will be there 8/28-9/4.



We are going 28-30 do you remember which days MK was a 2, not that 1 or 2 is big difference. Im so excited for the potential low crowds! We already weren't planning on rope drop and Im glad it seems like it won't be necessary. We drive down sat morning, so earliest we will get into MK is 11.


----------



## The13thLetter

Anyone who was recently or currently here see the remy’s ratatouille adventure magic band anywhere?


----------



## slyster

OhBother1984 said:


> We are going 28-30 do you remember which days MK was a 2, not that 1 or 2 is big difference. Im so excited for the potential low crowds! We already weren't planning on rope drop and Im glad it seems like it won't be necessary. We drive down sat morning, so earliest we will get into MK is 11.



Yes....for the 28-30, oddly enough Touring Plans is saying Saturday the 28th  MK is a level 1 day, the 29th and 30th are level 2 days.


----------



## slyster

danissmart said:


> This is so odd. It's almost like, they got a lot of cancellations or something.



I am thinking that may be the issue.  I'm thinking folks cancelled too.  It's been showing level 1 and 2 except Hollywood Studios was consistently showing a few days as level 4 and one day was a level 5.  They all dropped to level 1.


----------



## Mr. X

Got a touring plans update last night for our stay this weekend and next week.  Crowd levels went down even more. Everything is either a 1 or a 2. 

HS on 8/30 dropped from a 5 to a 1

Saw some pics posted on twitter last night showing an empty queue for Soarin. 

Another indicator is that dining seems to have plenty of reservations open anytime we go to check for availability.

Not sure what's up, but I like what I am seeing.


----------



## OhBother1984

slyster said:


> Yes....for the 28-30, oddly enough Touring Plans is saying Saturday the 28th  MK is a level 1 day, the 29th and 30th are level 2 days.



Woot! MK is the 28th for us, 29th Hollywood and maybe hop to AK, monday morning is unsure what we are doing since we go to legoland later that day, if crowds are still low we may do a park till 1 that day.


----------



## OhBother1984

Pure Speculation, but I wonder if the rumors of August 16th of new AP's back a few months ago fueled some bookings and now that that didn't happened they are cancelling till AP's are back. It wouldn't account for all cancellations but maybe some.


----------



## tigger2002

danissmart said:


> This is so odd. It's almost like, they got a lot of cancellations or something.


COVID, hot, schools back open, Disney saving everything until October 1st, etc.


----------



## Haley R

We’re doing MK 8/30 and AK 8/31. Looks like we might get low crowds! Can’t wait. We switched from AoA to GF and saved $400!


----------



## slyster

OhBother1984 said:


> Pure Speculation, but I wonder if the rumors of August 16th of new AP's back a few months ago fueled some bookings and now that that didn't happened they are cancelling till AP's are back. It wouldn't account for all cancellations but maybe some.



Thanks for sharing that.  I wouldn't have thought of that.  I also agree that I bet a lot of folks are waiting for the 50th anniversary which makes thing slower leading up to it.


----------



## Sugarshock

Haley R said:


> We’re doing MK 8/30 and AK 8/31. Looks like we might get low crowds! Can’t wait. We switched from AoA to GF and saved $400!


I need to know, how?!  Did you go from a suite to a standard GF room?


----------



## Sinder

tigger2002 said:


> COVID, hot, schools back open, Disney saving everything until October 1st, etc.



We've always picked the week before Labor Day to go because it seemed to be the least crowded. 
This year we went earlier and crowds were moderate, but I know someone who is there now and said it's been great.


----------



## Mr. X

Sugarshock said:


> I need to know, how?!  Did you go from a suite to a standard GF room?



Supposedly they've been calling people w/ reservations at AoA and moving/upgrading them to other resorts the past week or so. I can't recall why.


----------



## Coconut8473

Mr. X said:


> Got a touring plans update last night for our stay this weekend and next week.  Crowd levels went down even more. Everything is either a 1 or a 2.
> 
> HS on 8/30 dropped from a 5 to a 1
> 
> Saw some pics posted on twitter last night showing an empty queue for Soarin.
> 
> Another indicator is that dining seems to have plenty of reservations open anytime we go to check for availability.
> 
> Not sure what's up, but I like what I am seeing.


I ante'd up after reading this thread and got a TP subscription - seeing the same thing for next week. Hope it sticks!


----------



## Haley R

Sugarshock said:


> I need to know, how?!  Did you go from a suite to a standard GF room?


We booked a confirmed dvc reservation through a rental site. It was only $750 for 3 nights in a lake view studio! We had a cars suite booked at AoA. I’ve always wanted to stay at the GF so I can’t wait


----------



## Dakota731

mousefan73 said:


> Last night I was watching local news. It’s not just WDW.  Daytona Mayor saying hotels are seeing cancellations all over the place, even for this upcoming race. Most bookings are locals/ FL residents as they average only 2 nights vs longer bookings. Simply many are not coming down right now.


Would be a great time to go to WDW if kids weren’t in school!   This time of year is always low due to parents hating to take kids out the beginning of the academic year, but the heat seems brutal right now so it’s a toss up?!?


----------



## Dakota731

tigger2002 said:


> COVID, hot, schools back open, Disney saving everything until October 1st, etc.


Yep!  And saw on a popular Disney blog that a lot of people who would be going now are saving their trips for the anniversary. So if you don’t have school kids and don’t mind the heat, this is a great time for a last minute trip


----------



## Mr. X

Coconut8473 said:


> I ante'd up after reading this thread and got a TP subscription - seeing the same thing for next week. Hope it sticks!



They are 10x more accurate than the wait time reported in the MDE app. You won't regret it.


----------



## danissmart

tigger2002 said:


> COVID, hot, schools back open, Disney saving everything until October 1st, etc.


You forgot policy decisions.


----------



## RH22

Back from a stay 8/18-8/22.  We're a bit different, we don't really have a touring plan and we get to parks early but not for rope drop.  Still got tons of things done and never waited more than 30 minutes for anything.  Had Lines app, and it was definitely more accurate throughout our stay than posted wait times.

8/18 we arrived and went over to MK at about 2PM.  Ate at CHH, then did Splash Mountain, Big Thunder and Pirates and had a 5:30 at Skipper Canteen (never been, was tremendous).  After dinner we did Small World, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Buzz, PeopleMover, got Dole Whips and then snuck in Mine Train AND Peter Pan as fireworks were going off.  Great day.

8/19 was Epcot.  Got there at noon, went straight to World Showcase for F&W and ate and drank our way around the world.  Went back to Future World around 3 and did Soarin twice, Spaceship Earth, Living Seas and Imagination.  Then back to WS and ate some more, finally leaving as fireworks were starting up.

8/20 was HS.  All of us tried for a boarding group and our son managed to grab BG22.  HS had the most lines, but we knew we were going back the next day.  Did RNR twice, Tower of Terror, then Rise of Resistance (which is as great as everyone says it is).  Lunch at ABC (never been, was actually pretty good) then the Runaway Railway.  Left mid afternoon to go back and swim.  Dinner at kona Cafe and then the Boo Bash.  It was pretty empty and trying to remember everything we hit.   We literally walked onto Space Mountain, like walked through queue and then jumped right into the ride vehicle.  Kids then went on three more times.  Mine Train was maybe 10 minutes (longest wait of the night).  Everything else was essentially a walk on.  Fun time.

8/21 we went back to HS in the mid morning.  RNR again, Smugglers Run and Slinky Dog (posted 50 minutes and we only waited 28...longest wait of the whole trip).  Can't remember where lunch was but then we did Tower of Terror again.  Son got the 1Pm drop of boarding times, we had to be back for 4:30 or so.  So we drove over to AK and rode FOP for the first time as the wait was only 20 minutes (wasn't as blown away as most people, I'm just not an Avatar guy) and then did Everest multiple times (walk on every time).  Zipped back to HS for our boarding group.  As it was the hottest day in the history of the world, we went back to jump in pool for a bit but they blew the whistles on our way over there.  Then the skies unloaded for a few hours.  Oh well.  Ate at Citrico's that night.  Too expensive for sure, but the refurb looks excellent.

8/22 we went back to Epcot, did Soarin multiple times again as well as SE and Nemo.  Met up with our daughter's friend who arrived that day and walked around a bit with them.  Then had dinner at Boma.  We were all a bit wary of the buffet, but capacity was really low (less than half the tables were taken) and we went kind of on the early side.  Food was excellent as always.

So overall, it never felt that crowded, ride waits were low although we kind of go with the flow and go on whatever is a short wait.  I don't think I've ever been as hot in my life as I was on Fri-Sun.  Just oppressive heat and humidity, and being in Epcot and HS help causes.  Grand Floridian is still gorgeous on the outside, rooms definitely need a little love though.

Back to reality now.


----------



## cam8n

At HS today again much busier than expected and much busier than any of our previous August trips. We have touring plans and all parks at rated 1's. Never waited in a line outside TT in August. Galaxy edge especially busy but it always is. We're finding evenings less crowded. I think the talk of low crowds has brought more people in. Just my observation


----------



## Mr. X

RH22 said:


> Back from a stay 8/18-8/22.  We're a bit different, we don't really have a touring plan and we get to parks early but not for rope drop.  Still got tons of things done and never waited more than 30 minutes for anything.  Had Lines app, and it was definitely more accurate throughout our stay than posted wait times.
> 
> 8/18 we arrived and went over to MK at about 2PM.  Ate at CHH, then did Splash Mountain, Big Thunder and Pirates and had a 5:30 at Skipper Canteen (never been, was tremendous).  After dinner we did Small World, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Buzz, PeopleMover, got Dole Whips and then snuck in Mine Train AND Peter Pan as fireworks were going off.  Great day.
> 
> 8/19 was Epcot.  Got there at noon, went straight to World Showcase for F&W and ate and drank our way around the world.  Went back to Future World around 3 and did Soarin twice, Spaceship Earth, Living Seas and Imagination.  Then back to WS and ate some more, finally leaving as fireworks were starting up.
> 
> 8/20 was HS.  All of us tried for a boarding group and our son managed to grab BG22.  HS had the most lines, but we knew we were going back the next day.  Did RNR twice, Tower of Terror, then Rise of Resistance (which is as great as everyone says it is).  Lunch at ABC (never been, was actually pretty good) then the Runaway Railway.  Left mid afternoon to go back and swim.  Dinner at kona Cafe and then the Boo Bash.  It was pretty empty and trying to remember everything we hit.   We literally walked onto Space Mountain, like walked through queue and then jumped right into the ride vehicle.  Kids then went on three more times.  Mine Train was maybe 10 minutes (longest wait of the night).  Everything else was essentially a walk on.  Fun time.
> 
> 8/21 we went back to HS in the mid morning.  RNR again, Smugglers Run and Slinky Dog (posted 50 minutes and we only waited 28...longest wait of the whole trip).  Can't remember where lunch was but then we did Tower of Terror again.  Son got the 1Pm drop of boarding times, we had to be back for 4:30 or so.  So we drove over to AK and rode FOP for the first time as the wait was only 20 minutes (wasn't as blown away as most people, I'm just not an Avatar guy) and then did Everest multiple times (walk on every time).  Zipped back to HS for our boarding group.  As it was the hottest day in the history of the world, we went back to jump in pool for a bit but they blew the whistles on our way over there.  Then the skies unloaded for a few hours.  Oh well.  Ate at Citrico's that night.  Too expensive for sure, but the refurb looks excellent.
> 
> 8/22 we went back to Epcot, did Soarin multiple times again as well as SE and Nemo.  Met up with our daughter's friend who arrived that day and walked around a bit with them.  Then had dinner at Boma.  We were all a bit wary of the buffet, but capacity was really low (less than half the tables were taken) and we went kind of on the early side.  Food was excellent as always.
> 
> So overall, it never felt that crowded, ride waits were low although we kind of go with the flow and go on whatever is a short wait.  I don't think I've ever been as hot in my life as I was on Fri-Sun.  Just oppressive heat and humidity, and being in Epcot and HS help causes.  Grand Floridian is still gorgeous on the outside, rooms definitely need a little love though.
> 
> Back to reality now.


I like the strategy of doing the Countries instead of Future World First. Did you like doing that?


----------



## OhBother1984

cam8n said:


> At HS today again much busier than expected and much busier than any of our previous August trips. We have touring plans and all parks at rated 1's. Never waited in a line outside TT in August. Galaxy edge especially busy but it always is. We're finding evenings less crowded. I think the talk of low crowds has brought more people in. Just my observation



those pictures don’t look crowded to me at all


----------



## jbrinkm

Mr. X said:


> I like the strategy of doing the Countries instead of Future World First. Did you like doing that?



We did the same thing last week and thought it was great. Future World was pretty empty later in the evening.


----------



## Mr. X

cam8n said:


> At HS today again much busier than expected and much busier than any of our previous August trips. We have touring plans and all parks at rated 1's. Never waited in a line outside TT in August. Galaxy edge especially busy but it always is. We're finding evenings less crowded. I think the talk of low crowds has brought more people in. Just my observation



What the heck. TP shows a 1 for all parks but the wait times for all the parks seem pretty high...  Looks like big crowds are coming in. Everyone please stay home.


----------



## RH22

Mr. X said:


> I like the strategy of doing the Countries instead of Future World First. Did you like doing that?


Absolutely!  We wanted to hit Food and Wine for "lunch" and "dinner".  Plus when it's just unbearably hot in the PM, we hit Future World to hit some AC and attractions.  Waits were not bad at all anywhere.  Test Track had 45 minute waits at all times, but we all feel that's a A+ line for a C ride, so we skipped it.

Things might change down the road with new attractions and construction getting finished, but if/when we go again, we'd do World Showcase early.


----------



## Sarahslay

slyster said:


> Touring plans adjusted crowd levels next week.  All parks are showing at level 1 except for MK 3 or 4 days are a level 2.  I can't wait to report back.  I'm sort of wondering if Rope Drop is necessary for each day.  We will be there 8/28-9/4.


Yeah, I got the email late last night, if everyone in my house wasn't asleep I would have screamed with joy lol (they wouldn't have appreciated it though since I'm going solo, so they don't care). I'm still doing RD so I can get the parks done before the midday heat rolls in, then go back to my room to chill (literally), then hop to another park for the night. I'm sure the fireworks will still be packed at MK somehow.


----------



## mousefan73

Dakota731 said:


> Would be a great time to go to WDW if kids weren’t in school!   This time of year is always low due to parents hating to take kids out the beginning of the academic year, but the heat seems brutal right now so it’s a toss up?!?


At HS right now when the suns comes out it’s Brutal. We are sitting at pizzaritto and I’m having a beer - everyone is silent and staring into space. The heat got us.


----------



## MomOTwins

I gave some updates during our trip last week, but decided to wait a week after our 8/14-8/18 trip to give some overall impressions.  On the whole, it was a good trip, and I am glad we went (especially now that I know our next trip will be a lot pricier with paid fastpass), but it is still not fully back to the park’s former glory.

Crowds: We found crowd levels and wait times were low at AK and EP (including during fireworks at EP), higher but tolerable at HS and MK during the day, and awful to the point of being unbearable and nearly ruining the entire vacation at MK during fireworks.  We had two nights at MK and I wished we had just planned to be elsewhere instead.  Crowds actually seemed worse than pre-Covid, and I wonder if it is a combination of hoppers from HS due to no fantasmic, and people wanting to watch HEA as much as possible before it goes away next month.  I cannot emphasize how much more I would have enjoyed our trip if we had just avoided MK in evenings. Also, I did cave and buy TP but did not feel it was worth it, as we ended up waiting double sometimes what TP said and it was frustrating.

Covid safety:  We felt mask compliance on the whole was very good indoors and on transportation— much better than on prior Covid trips.  Tables in QS are right next to each other — TS restaurants still seemed to have tables close to 6 feet apart. We are a week later have not gotten sick yet, knock on wood.

Resort:  I cannot sing Riviera resort’s praises enough.  Our room was gorgeous and spotlessly clean.  The food was outstanding. The staff went above and beyond on everything.  Pools and recreation were great and transportation was very efficient even when skyliner was down.

Characters: We saw cavalcades and pop up characters a lot this trip.  The interactions were great and I actually preferred just being able to walk up and talk to Anna and Elsa in Epcot or Kylo Ren in HS for example without having to wait in a line and pose for a bunch of photopass shots that I then feel pressured to buy memory maker for.  Hope it stays like this.

Dining: Our meals were all very good and we felt food quality and variety was much better than prior trips.  My only complaint is I do feel the “Family Style” meals are wayyy overpriced.  At least when there was a buffet the food variety justified the cost.  But I paid the same for our family to have an (outstanding) dinner at Citricos as I paid for Tusker House, and it confirmed to me we aren’t going back at these prices until the full buffet returns.


----------



## cam8n

OhBother1984 said:


> those pictures don’t look crowded to me at all


We're making out fine but the "empty parks" "low crowds" is not what we've been experiencing at HS and MK. We rope drop every morning and leave by noon then come back in the evening. Did 5 days universal and were doing 7 at Disney. It's much busier than are usual August trips but not unmanageable. I could never come at a busy time we're spoiled. Were having tons of fun but reading empty parks the last couple weeks I think we were expecting much less. I will say evenings at HS seem much better. We're staying at Boardwalk and F/W has been pretty busy every night we've been unless it rains then it kinda thins out. Heading over again tonight I'll post an update.
Future world was really quiet compared to the countries in the evening.


----------



## cam8n

MomOTwins said:


> I gave some updates during our trip last week, but decided to wait a week after our 8/14-8/18 trip to give some overall impressions.  On the whole, it was a good trip, and I am glad we went (especially now that I know our next trip will be a lot pricier with paid fastpass), but it is still not fully back to the park’s former glory.
> 
> Crowds: We found crowd levels and wait times were low at AK and EP (including during fireworks at EP), higher but tolerable at HS and MK during the day, and awful to the point of being unbearable and nearly ruining the entire vacation at MK during fireworks.  We had two nights at MK and I wished we had just planned to be elsewhere instead.  Crowds actually seemed worse than pre-Covid, and I wonder if it is a combination of hoppers from HS due to no fantasmic, and people wanting to watch HEA as much as possible before it goes away next month.  I cannot emphasize how much more I would have enjoyed our trip if we had just avoided MK in evenings. Also, I did cave and buy TP but did not feel it was worth it, as we ended up waiting double sometimes what TP said and it was frustrating.
> 
> Covid safety:  We felt mask compliance on the whole was very good indoors and on transportation— much better than on prior Covid trips.  Tables in QS are right next to each other — TS restaurants still seemed to have tables close to 6 feet apart. We are a week later have not gotten sick yet, knock on wood.
> 
> Resort:  I cannot sing Riviera resort’s praises enough.  Our room was gorgeous and spotlessly clean.  The food was outstanding. The staff went above and beyond on everything.  Pools and recreation were great and transportation was very efficient even when skyliner was down.
> 
> Characters: We saw cavalcades and pop up characters a lot this trip.  The interactions were great and I actually preferred just being able to walk up and talk to Anna and Elsa in Epcot or Kylo Ren in HS for example without having to wait in a line and pose for a bunch of photopass shots that I then feel pressured to buy memory maker for.  Hope it stays like this.
> 
> Dining: Our meals were all very good and we felt food quality and variety was much better than prior trips.  My only complaint is I do feel the “Family Style” meals are wayyy overpriced.  At least when there was a buffet the food variety justified the cost.  But I paid the same for our family to have an (outstanding) dinner at Citricos as I paid for Tusker House, and it confirmed to me we aren’t going back at these prices until the full buffet returns.


This is exactly what we've  been experiencing at HS and MK


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## slyster

MomOTwins said:


> Characters: We saw cavalcades and pop up characters a lot this trip.  The interactions were great and I actually preferred just being able to walk up and talk to Anna and Elsa in Epcot or Kylo Ren in HS for example without having to wait in a line and pose for a bunch of photopass shots that I then feel pressured to buy memory maker for.  Hope it stays like this.



Thank you for your comments.  I posted a new thread about characters because I'm not really sure where to find them.  Are they just scattered around the parks?  Can you do selfies or photos next them and if yes, do you have to be masked?  Thank you!


----------



## MomOTwins

slyster said:


> Thank you for your comments.  I posted a new thread about characters because I'm not really sure where to find them.  Are they just scattered around the parks?  Can you do selfies or photos next them and if yes, do you have to be masked?  Thank you!


Cavalcade times are posted in the app under “entertainment”.  I am not sure if there is a list of characters, but we saw a ton of them on or near the MK train station, captain jack in adventureland, various star wars characters in Galaxy’s Edge, Anna and Elsa in Norway, Mary Poppins in England, Mickey and Minnie outside spaceship earth and a few others I am forgetting.  No masks needed for photos outdoors (I did ask) but you are always six feet away because they stand on a stage of some kind.


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## The13thLetter

We come the last week of august every year and except for last year (which was completely dead) the wait times so far this week are equal to or lower than we have ever had. Now as I said before, the crowds seem bigger walking around but not for rides.


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## md1982

I don't know what some people are expecting, but wow, currently midday the longest wait at Epcot is 35 minutes. FOP is 20 minutes!!! Space is 10! I think some need to manage expectations, low crowds don't mean you have the parks to yourselves. Wait times are insanely low right now. There are still some closed things, like shows and character meet and greets which might make the park's walkways busier, and I also think after 18 months of the new quarantine we are used to more spacial awareness, so things might "feel" more crowded than they are. Let me say that again, FOP is 20 minutes.


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## mantysk8coach

Just left Hollywood Studios for a pool break. Not sure if we’ll go back later or not, but I’d love to see Toy Story land at night. I thought it was crowded there today and so, so hot!


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## Devil13

Was at AK this morning. Fingerprints and FoP walk on.
That is my update.


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## PamNC

WOW - I thought I'd never see the term FOP along with "walk on." I'm there 9/7-9/13 .. for the reunion and some park time. I hope the crowds remain low.


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## OhBother1984

cam8n said:


> We're making out fine but the "empty parks" "low crowds" is not what we've been experiencing at HS and MK. We rope drop every morning and leave by noon then come back in the evening. Did 5 days universal and were doing 7 at Disney. It's much busier than are usual August trips but not unmanageable. I could never come at a busy time we're spoiled. Were having tons of fun but reading empty parks the last couple weeks I think we were expecting much less. I will say evenings at HS seem much better. We're staying at Boardwalk and F/W has been pretty busy every night we've been unless it rains then it kinda thins out. Heading over again tonight I'll post an update.
> Future world was really quiet compared to the countries in the evening.



We have done mid to late august many times and the current wait time are still overall lower, it does appear the waits drop a lot now as the day goes on.


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## William B

Devil13 said:


> Was at AK this morning. Fingerprints and FoP walk on.
> That is my update.



I just want to admit my jealousy of all those in the parks right now with the reports of almost no crowds! I am doing all I can to convince my wife to grab the little one and lets go just so we can be there for walk-on FOP!


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## honeymo78

md1982 said:


> I don't know what some people are expecting, but wow, currently midday the longest wait at Epcot is 35 minutes. FOP is 20 minutes!!! Space is 10! I think some need to manage expectations, low crowds don't mean you have the parks to yourselves. Wait times are insanely low right now. There are still some closed things, like shows and character meet and greets which might make the park's walkways busier, and I also think after 18 months of the new quarantine we are used to more spacial awareness, so things might "feel" more crowded than they are. Let me say that again, FOP is 20 minutes.



Wait times are definitely short, even for this time of year.  FOP is still less than a half hour.  Mine Train is posted at 45min (less on TP).  BGs are also still available for RotR and Slinky Dog's official wait time is only 35min (less on TP).  I agree that walkways and park opening can make things look busy but those wait times are the true indicator.


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## Marvin1968

cam8n said:


> At HS today again much busier than expected and much busier than any of our previous August trips. We have touring plans and all parks at rated 1's. Never waited in a line outside TT in August. Galaxy edge especially busy but it always is. We're finding evenings less crowded. I think the talk of low crowds has brought more people in. Just my observation


Doesn’t look half as bad as 2 weeks ago.


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## Disney Fool

"Characters: We saw cavalcades and pop up characters a lot this trip. The interactions were great and I actually preferred just being able to walk up and talk to Anna and Elsa in Epcot or Kylo Ren in HS for example without having to wait in a line and pose for a bunch of photopass shots that I then feel pressured to buy memory maker for. Hope it stays like this."

funny you say this!  Am I really old enough to remember when the characters used to just roam around WDW without a handler?  I really miss those days!


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## orangecuse

Crowds are so low, not full on wmpty, but great overall.

It was a three park day for us.

MK morning from 9-11 we did Pooh, Buzz, Astro, Speedwayx2 (10 min), dumbo, and LM.

AK at 2 we did a Capture Your Moment session- happy to answer any Qs if anyone is interested. No rides here as the kids wanted to swim.

Epcot from 6-8:30 we did test track (10 min), nemo, figment, and gran fiesta x2, along with some snack stops at a few booths.

Everything except test track and speedway (times above) was a walk on.


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## Geomom

Forgot to mention a couple of our character sightings 8/20 at Hollywood studios.
Donald above front entry bathrooms:


Goofy fishing near Hollywood and Vine--it was hilarious.  He used a rubber chicken for bait!


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## DeeBee3

Going back to those who felt there were some crowds - was it mainly in mornings? We didn't rope drop anything, but 1 day at Epcot. Found it all manageable, but I think that's a personal preference thing.


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## The13thLetter

Another day in the books. Toppolino breakfast was really awesome imo. Steak and eggs and polenta were great. Characters interacted with ds wonderfully even from a distance.
Skyliner to epcot. Today was mostly f&w focused but we did nemo, soarin x2, and 3 cabs all walk ons. Watching epcot forever from balcony now. Tomorrow pool day and mk for our last HEA.


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## pangyal

We are here now and started with Blizzard Beach yesterday where there were no lines for anything. We arrived at Epcot today around noon and walked straight onto SSE, Mission Space (green), the boat ride in Mexico (with all three animatronics finally working, RIP potted plant Donald), Soarin’ (they loaded the B section first, which I thought was cool), and I walked directly into a vehicle as a single rider on TT. We waited 21 minutes for Frozen around 12:30, posted wait time 35 and TP estimated wait 18 minutes.

Compared to our last trip in late June/ early July where we pretty much got to do zilch because of the crowds, this has been a real treat today. Tomorrow is DHS so I might change my tune .


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## Aimeedyan

orangecuse said:


> AK at 2 we did a Capture Your Moment session- happy to answer any Qs if anyone is interested. No rides here as the kids wanted to swim.



I'd love to hear more about your AK session! We've done the MK version and they had pretty specific areas we needed to stay in. Same for AK? Which areas were you able to snag pics in and was the photographer pretty creative (esp with kids)?


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## iheartglaciers

Aimeedyan said:


> I'd love to hear more about your AK session! We've done the MK version and they had pretty specific areas we needed to stay in. Same for AK? Which areas were you able to snag pics in and was the photographer pretty creative (esp with kids)?



What are the areas you need to stay in for MK? We’re thinking of doing a session in November.


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## Boardwalk III

Aimeedyan said:


> I'd love to hear more about your AK session! We've done the MK version and they had pretty specific areas we needed to stay in. Same for AK? Which areas were you able to snag pics in and was the photographer pretty creative (esp with kids)?



Can anyone point me to a link with some general information on this? Tks!


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## slyster

MomOTwins said:


> Cavalcade times are posted in the app under “entertainment”.  I am not sure if there is a list of characters, but we saw a ton of them on or near the MK train station, captain jack in adventureland, various star wars characters in Galaxy’s Edge, Anna and Elsa in Norway, Mary Poppins in England, Mickey and Minnie outside spaceship earth and a few others I am forgetting.  No masks needed for photos outdoors (I did ask) but you are always six feet away because they stand on a stage of some kind.



Thank you for that!  One more question.  I am not finding "Entertainment" in the app?  I do see bottom, far right a menu that takes me to my plans and along the top there is "Entertainment" but all it says is "Lets keep moving!  Disney's Boardwalk Inn does not currently feature any entertainment".  

Can you tell me where I can it for the parks?  Thanks again!


----------



## Tigjam630

DeeBee3 said:


> Going back to those who felt there were some crowds - was it mainly in mornings? We didn't rope drop anything, but 1 day at Epcot. Found it all manageable, but I think that's a personal preference thing.



We were at HS yesterday and found crowds pretty manageable compared to previous visits. We did Rise right away in the morning (boarding group 7, called at 8:45am), Smugglers Run x2, TSMM, lunch at Docking Bay 7, then took a pool break from 1-4pm. Came back around 5pm and did MMRR, TSMM, Alien Saucers x2, took a break at Baseline Taphouse, then Star Tours, Sumgglers Run, Alien Saucers and TSMM again, and MMRR again right at close. My kids aren’t fans of thrill rides- so we felt like we were able to ride everything we wanted multiple times. It did look like RR and ToT waits were pretty low in evening- 15-20 min and we could have gone on Slinky right before close with a short wait if the kids wanted to.

The walk ways felt busy in the morning and early afternoon, but were much better when we came back in the evening. The Toy Story area, which I feel is always pretty packed was relatively empty when we came back in the evening.


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## Turksmom

slyster said:


> Thank you for that!  One more question.  I am not finding "Entertainment" in the app?  I do see bottom, far right a menu that takes me to my plans and along the top there is "Entertainment" but all it says is "Lets keep moving!  Disney's Boardwalk Inn does not currently feature any entertainment".
> 
> Can you tell me where I can it for the parks?  Thanks again!


Tap on the location symbol, tap near "Wait Times" to open the drop down and you will see "Entertainment" listed


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## Best Aunt

slyster said:


> Thank you for your comments.  I posted a new thread about characters because I'm not really sure where to find them.  Are they just scattered around the parks?  Can you do selfies or photos next them and if yes, do you have to be masked?  Thank you!



You might find this website helpful:
https://wdwent.com/


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## Steve678

Did MK and Epcot yesterday.  Got to MK at about 10, stayed until about 5, lots of people walking around but the only real wait was at Splash Mountain, about 30 minutes of a real wait, standing in line wait.  The rest of the rides are what I would call walk on as you moved freely through the ropes and by the time you actually got to the ride, you either got right on or had to wait for one group for a few minutes is all.  Had a 1:15 reservation at Be My Guest but we ended up there right at noon and asked if we could get in early, they checked us in and we go seated right away.  When we left though, lots of people waiting for tables.  Beast came out twice while we were there.

Hopped over to Epcot to hit the food we didn't do yesterday.  The wait for food at France was the longest wait we had for anything all week.  Wasn't too impressed with the Creme Brule but oh well.  Did test track twice and hit most of the rides because it was hot and we wanted AC.  Stayed for the fireworks show.

I haven't been in August before so nothing to really compare to for normal August crowds.  Our last trip was a May trip several years ago and that time it was overcast or drizzling pretty much all week and we waited for nothing all week and there didn't seem like there were many people there at all.  This time it felt busy but lines were probably 95% walk-ons.    From years past reports where most waits this time of year were well over an hour, I would say that crowds are low to nothing if you compare that.


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## penel3

I am at Disney!!! We arrived last night, landed at MCO half hour early and our Florida Tour Car Service reservation was right on top of it! He arrived to pick us up as we walked out of the doors of MCO. We had our grocery stop and off to Contemporary. My only request (and first request I have made in 15 years) was a room on the first floor. Our room ready confirmation came through on our way to Publix……3rd floor. So we got to the Contemporary, dropped our luggage and groceries with bell services so we could go and ask to get a first floor room. Rafael was the CM at the front desk and was awesome!! It took him a few minutes, but we are on the first floor, so we have the little porch area…..love it!!!! Attempted to call bell services, no luck….called 4 times. I finally called the front desk, they were Disney magical as usual!! I received a call back within 5 minutes and they brought up our luggage. We then headed off to Disney Springs. Walked directly to Gideons, saw what seemed like a long line, asked the line attendant and he said it’s about a 10 minute wait, joined right in the line and we were in and out in under 30 minutes. We bought all 7 varieties they offered but haven’t done a taste test yet. Came back to the room (waited for the Contemporary Bust for 10 minutes, others in line said they had been waiting 30 minutes) Came back to the room and found that our refrigerator was not working. Called the front desk, a new fridge was brought to our room and installed…under 30 minutes. Woke myself up at 7:56 am to get our BG for ROtR….I practiced at home many times, this morning my fingers were jumpy and I clicked too soon….went back and clicked and we got BG 63. We plan to head into the park around 10am. Now we are sitting out on our porch watching boat traffic go through the canal on Bay Lake. I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy to be here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## slyster

For those of you there this week and reporting lower crowds, did you rope drop?  Wondering if it's still as necessary.  Would be nice to sleep in an extra hour LOL!


----------



## emmabelle

we'll be there on Monday!  Still trying to decide if I should keep our indoor ADR's?  We are vaccinated so maybe we'll just keep our masks on until the food comes.  I really don't want to drop any of them, it took me so long to get them! 

I had a garden view booked for the Boardwalk and just saw this morning a standard view finally pop up.  Saving $115, that's a dent in the parking cost for the rental.


----------



## NuJoy

()


----------



## Steve678

slyster said:


> For those of you there this week and reporting lower crowds, did you rope drop?  Wondering if it's still as necessary.  Would be nice to sleep in an extra hour LOL!



We only "rope dropped" at Universal because they don't have a park reservation system and tickets are not refundable or changeable.  We got early entrance there and that was helpful.  For the Disney parks, we arrived about an hour after opening and walked right through security and the entrances.  The longest wait to tap in was 2 people but only because they couldn't figure out how to tap their bands.  Buses from the resort going to the parks were about 1/2 to 3/4ths full, no one standing at all.


----------



## orangecuse

Aimeedyan said:


> I'd love to hear more about your AK session! We've done the MK version and they had pretty specific areas we needed to stay in. Same for AK? Which areas were you able to snag pics in and was the photographer pretty creative (esp with kids)?



They said we could go wherever we wanted! We chose the oasis exhibits because I wanted something naturey and not necessarily ANIMAL KINGDOM. The photog was good with kids and also flexible in that he tried some shots my almost 2 did not wanna do without mom, so he rolled with it. He also snapped some candids of the kids oooing at the birds. At the end he insisted we do some shots at Tree of Life so he must like that spot haha My goal was a few nice shots of each kid for their bday pics and we got that! They gave us a cute mickey board w/ the # of their ages to hold as well once I said what my goal for the session was. 

We got over 50 pictures from our 20 min session!


----------



## slyster

Steve678 said:


> We only "rope dropped" at Universal because they don't have a park reservation system and tickets are not refundable or changeable.  We got early entrance there and that was helpful.  For the Disney parks, we arrived about an hour after opening and walked right through security and the entrances.  The longest wait to tap in was 2 people but only because they couldn't figure out how to tap their bands.  Buses from the resort going to the parks were about 1/2 to 3/4ths full, no one standing at all.



I appreciate that.  We are visiting 3 parks, twice while we are here so maybe we can rope drop one of those days and take things a little easier on the other days.  Thanks!


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## The13thLetter

slyster said:


> For those of you there this week and reporting lower crowds, did you rope drop?  Wondering if it's still as necessary.  Would be nice to sleep in an extra hour LOL!



we have yet to rope drop any day here so far and have been able to do all the rides we wanted. i will say though that ds is only 37” tall and dw is pregnant so we have not done 7dmt, space, btmr, sdd, rnrr or tot but wait times while we were in the parks were only listed over 20 mins for 7dmt and sdd and even those at some times were listed that low as well.


----------



## lmantry

Just got home from our 6 day vacation.  Our experiences are both positive and negative.  On the positive, the lines were great.  Other than Slinky Dog Dash and Jungle Cruise, we waited no longer than 30 minutes for anything.  We also loved the Mobile Order option for our lunches.  We would get off of the previous ride, order our food, walk to the restaurant, and when we were about 30 seconds from getting there we'd click "We're here".  Usually within 2 minutes our food was ready.  And, most places didn't let you in the restaurant until your food was ready - so there was always a table available.  On the negative, Magical express to our resort took very long.  Our bus made 7 stops and we were 2nd from last.  We had a dinner reservation 4 hours after our flight landed and just barely made it there.


----------



## DeeBee3

emmabelle said:


> we'll be there on Monday!  Still trying to decide if I should keep our indoor ADR's?  We are vaccinated so maybe we'll just keep our masks on until the food comes.  I really don't want to drop any of them, it took me so long to get them!
> 
> I had a garden view booked for the Boardwalk and just saw this morning a standard view finally pop up.  Saving $115, that's a dent in the parking cost for the rental.


 
If you decide not to eat inside, you can mobile order at the table service restaurants. Not all but they all show up on the app - just so you know you can get actual food!


----------



## DeeBee3

lmantry said:


> On the negative, Magical express to our resort took very long.  Our bus made 7 stops and we were 2nd from last.  We had a dinner reservation 4 hours after our flight landed and just barely made it there.



I really do think it's luck of the draw. We arrived 8/12 and there was no line for the bus and they took off within 15 minutes. There were less than 10 of us on the bus! I was surprised.

I expected more waiting based on pictures of lines from earlier this summer.


----------



## Sarahslay

md1982 said:


> I don't know what some people are expecting, but wow, currently midday the longest wait at Epcot is 35 minutes. FOP is 20 minutes!!! Space is 10! I think some need to manage expectations, low crowds don't mean you have the parks to yourselves. Wait times are insanely low right now. There are still some closed things, like shows and character meet and greets which might make the park's walkways busier, and I also think after 18 months of the new quarantine we are used to more spacial awareness, so things might "feel" more crowded than they are. Let me say that again, FOP is 20 minutes.


I mean, I still can't wrap my brain around anyone complaining about wait times and crowds right now, but that's me being in a place where I've been to the parks many times since reopening and experienced really high wait times and crowds. I saw SDD at 40 minutes midday yesterday, where it would have normally been 120 minutes on any of my other trips, and I was like "wow! I'd totally get in that line" lol, and the only time I've seen FOP with waits as low as I've seen them are at closing but they're that way all day now with no need to bust your butt to get there an hour before RD. I remember on our trips Thanksgiving week and Christmas week sitting at the Starbucks at AK (which soon after we got our drinks itself had a 45 minute wait) and having the FOP line wrap passed us, down by Tusker house, and over to FOTLK theater with over a 2 hour wait. We had already ridden it getting there well before RD, and when we got off it was 120 minutes and building steadily, we sat drinking our coffee watching the line grow and grow. So, I think it's just perspective, I'm used to those crowds now since I've had those kinds of crowds on 5 of my 6 trips (my first trip was last August which was only slightly more crowded than what there is right now) so the crowds now are like a dream, but for those that haven't been I'm sure they're like "why the heck are there all these people?!"


----------



## Sarahslay

slyster said:


> For those of you there this week and reporting lower crowds, did you rope drop?  Wondering if it's still as necessary.  Would be nice to sleep in an extra hour LOL!


I'm not there this week, but go often in August for solo trips, and even with lower crowds it's often nice to go early so you can get things done and beat the heat. I live in an area where the heat and humidity is comparable (sometimes slightly worse) than Disney and know that 12-4 are the worst times to be out. I will be there next week and will only RD for the fact that I want to be out after I eat lunch, take a break during that high heat time, and go back once the sun starts sliding down again. I'll probably take a shower and a nap during that time, no use being miserable just to sleep in an extra hour or two.


----------



## slyster

Sarahslay said:


> I'm not there this week, but go often in August for solo trips, and even with lower crowds it's often nice to go early so you can get things done and beat the heat. I live in an area where the heat and humidity is comparable (sometimes slightly worse) than Disney and know that 12-4 are the worst times to be out. I will be there next week and will only RD for the fact that I want to be out after I eat lunch, take a break during that high heat time, and go back once the sun starts sliding down again. I'll probably take a shower and a nap during that time, no use being miserable just to sleep in an extra hour or two.



That was my plan too.....and you bring up a good point about the heat and humidity.  Go early, head back to resort after lunch then shower/nap and repeat LOL!


----------



## slyster

Sarahslay said:


> I mean, I still can't wrap my brain around anyone complaining about wait times and crowds right now, but that's me being in a place where I've been to the parks many times since reopening and experienced really high wait times and crowds. I saw SDD at 40 minutes midday yesterday, where it would have normally been 120 minutes on any of my other trips, and I was like "wow! I'd totally get in that line" lol, and the only time I've seen FOP with waits as low as I've seen them are at closing but they're that way all day now with no need to bust your butt to get there an hour before RD. I remember on our trips Thanksgiving week and Christmas week sitting at the Starbucks at AK (which soon after we got our drinks itself had a 45 minute wait) and having the FOP line wrap passed us, down by Tusker house, and over to FOTLK theater with over a 2 hour wait. We had already ridden it getting there well before RD, and when we got off it was 120 minutes and building steadily, we sat drinking our coffee watching the line grow and grow. So, I think it's just perspective, I'm used to those crowds now since I've had those kinds of crowds on 5 of my 6 trips (my first trip was last August which was only slightly more crowded than what there is right now) so the crowds now are like a dream, but for those that haven't been I'm sure they're like "why the heck are there all these people?!"



True!  It's 10:56 am and Runaway Railroad is 33 min, Smugglers run 38 min, and slinky dog 33 min.  FOP is 32 min.  You can't beat that!


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## Turtlesoup820

slyster said:


> For those of you there this week and reporting lower crowds, did you rope drop?  Wondering if it's still as necessary.  Would be nice to sleep in an extra hour LOL!


We were there Aug 16-21, very low crowds. We rope dropped one day and just got there right at opening the others. It didn't seem necessary and we didn't want to stand around in crowds. We still got there as early as we could because we took midday breaks due to the heat but rope drop didn't seem necessary.


----------



## Mr. X

lmantry said:


> Just got home from our 6 day vacation.  Our experiences are both positive and negative.  On the positive, the lines were great.  Other than Slinky Dog Dash and Jungle Cruise, we waited no longer than 30 minutes for anything.  We also loved the Mobile Order option for our lunches.  We would get off of the previous ride, order our food, walk to the restaurant, and when we were about 30 seconds from getting there we'd click "We're here".  Usually within 2 minutes our food was ready.  And, most places didn't let you in the restaurant until your food was ready - so there was always a table available.  On the negative, Magical express to our resort took very long.  Our bus made 7 stops and we were 2nd from last.  We had a dinner reservation 4 hours after our flight landed and just barely made it there.



TY for reporting your experience on the ME bus! We're concerned that the bus trip will be a long one, also concerned about having to wait at the airport for the bus. We've gone back and forth about grabbing a Uber.


----------



## orangecuse

We have been rolling in justttt after opening (like a few minutes after) with the exception of Epcot since thats already late open. Today we started at HS and rolled in at 8:50 (technically earlier than posted open but after they had actually opened) straight on to Mickey and Minnie. So no need to rush to be first at the rope I think, but morning and after 5 are still best crowds.


----------



## Marvin1968

emmabelle said:


> we'll be there on Monday!  Still trying to decide if I should keep our indoor ADR's?  We are vaccinated so maybe we'll just keep our masks on until the food comes.  I really don't want to drop any of them, it took me so long to get them!
> 
> I had a garden view booked for the Boardwalk and just saw this morning a standard view finally pop up.  Saving $115, that's a dent in the parking cost for the rental.


We ate inside. You’ll be fine.


----------



## cam8n

Happy to report that this morning at MK was the best of our trip so far. It was truly the definition of an empty park, walked on to everything but mine train we did that on Tuesday so skipped it today.


----------



## Sarahslay

emmabelle said:


> we'll be there on Monday!  Still trying to decide if I should keep our indoor ADR's?  We are vaccinated so maybe we'll just keep our masks on until the food comes.  I really don't want to drop any of them, it took me so long to get them!
> 
> I had a garden view booked for the Boardwalk and just saw this morning a standard view finally pop up.  Saving $115, that's a dent in the parking cost for the rental.


At least there won't be as many people eating in there with you, so many reservations have opened up for next week with all the trip cancellations. I only have one ADR booked, I looked earlier today at others but decided I'll see what's available at the time of if I decide I want one, there is a lot to choose from at all times of day right now.


----------



## tripplanner

Arrived today! Magical Express was fast. Line appeared long, but moved quickly. We were on a bus with 3 stops. Key West, Wilderness Lodge and contemporary. We loaded the bus immediately. Arrived in the am around lunch. Bus was 3/4 full. They had 4 buses lined up. We had thought about Uber. When I checked it would be 40 minutes at the earliest and 40+ dollars. Glad we took the bus. Ate lunch at whispering canyon. It’s 2 and now on a bus to Disney springs. We are the only people on the bus.


----------



## kboo

MomOTwins said:


> Characters: We saw cavalcades and pop up characters a lot this trip. The interactions were great and I actually preferred just being able to walk up and talk to Anna and Elsa in Epcot or Kylo Ren in HS for example without having to wait in a line and pose for a bunch of photopass shots that I then feel pressured to buy memory maker for. Hope it stays like this.





MomOTwins said:


> Cavalcade times are posted in the app under “entertainment”. I am not sure if there is a list of characters, but we saw a ton of them on or near the MK train station, captain jack in adventureland, various star wars characters in Galaxy’s Edge, Anna and Elsa in Norway, Mary Poppins in England, Mickey and Minnie outside spaceship earth and a few others I am forgetting. No masks needed for photos outdoors (I did ask) but you are always six feet away because they stand on a stage of some kind.



So you can interact with them while in cavalcade or when we happen to see them (on a balcony, on a stage, etc)? We did dance a bit with Stitch in Tomorrowland last trip - he was on the stage, we were right in front of the stage and got some fun selfies.

Also: Goofy fishing is hilarious! Thanks for sharing the picture!


----------



## emmabelle

Marvin1968 said:


> We ate inside. You’ll be fine.





Sarahslay said:


> At least there won't be as many people eating in there with you, so many reservations have opened up for next week with all the trip cancellations. I only have one ADR booked, I looked earlier today at others but decided I'll see what's available at the time of if I decide I want one, there is a lot to choose from at all times of day right now.




I need to stop looking at the COVID numbers multiple times a day.


----------



## DisneyRunner2009

emmabelle said:


> I need to stop looking at the COVID numbers multiple times a day.



Yep, that's why we may cancel our trip for October 1.


----------



## Steve678

I would say, ride wait times were almost a better judge of how long the ride would take to walk through the first gate through completing the ride and getting out of the area.  A ride posted at 30 minutes seemed to take 30 minutes to get through to the ride, take the ride and get out.


----------



## Ecomommy09

slyster said:


> For those of you there this week and reporting lower crowds, did you rope drop?  Wondering if it's still as necessary.  Would be nice to sleep in an extra hour LOL!


I rope dropped HS this morning and don’t really think I needed to. I got on slinky fast, but by 12 I’d ridden everything and left before my boarding group was called because I was so darn tired.  I could have slept in and still ridden everything.


----------



## Disneymomma18

First day here! Landed at MCO around 11:00 was in a small line that moved quickly and was put on a bus immediately. Got to all star movies and asked for an available room early and they were able to accommodate. Grabbed a mobile order from the food court and took it back to the room. I unpacked, ate lunch, and just laid around for a bit. Came to MK around 2:45. The lines were all very short for me. Between 2:45-7 I did the following things.

people mover
Carousel of progress
Space mountain
Little mermaid
Dumbo
Buzz lightyear
Barnstormer 
Tiki room
Break- kakamora float
Jungle cruise
Big thunder 
Splash

Pretty much everything was 15 minutes or less most walk ons. I would say right now if you don’t have a real reason not to wait in line like a disability then I say get in line for the things you want to do. Space mountain was listed at 30 minutes and I walked on, splash less than the 15 posted, and jungle cruise less than the 35 posted. I’m having a fabulous time! Going to animal kingdom tomorrow and will report that too


----------



## tigger2002

Sarahslay said:


> I live in an area where the heat and humidity is comparable (sometimes slightly worse) than Disney


You live in the Amazon rainforest?  Wow!


----------



## PAGUY41

Hello, so this is a trip review and also a request on who i should send my feedback to at Disney to have the best chance of having it read.
Sunday-8.15.21-uneventful flight from baltimore to MCO.  ME had a long line but checked in and on bus in 20 min and at yacht club (3rd stop) by 1:00 pm.  Did mobile check in and room was ready by 1.  Needed help getting to room went to front desk.  Was met by nicest employee whom I got her name but don't want to mention it on here.  Said employee insisted that she pull up our reservation and make sure all our tickets, and magic bands were linked with our accounts (4 people in a room, three separate accounts).  I assured her that they should be because i did all that from home and took me 45 minutes to make sure everything was properly set up with each bank account.  Now mind you last january, pre-covid in 2020 i had a disaster with the same issue during festival of the arts when i went with my friend and disney messed up our accounts on magic band and my friend purchased several art pieces on her band which Disney did not set up her bank account correctly on and charged my debit card for her art as well as placed holds on my account, draining my account and pretty much leaving me cashless until the holds came off my account and her purchases in 3 or 5 days.  Now that time even though it took port orleans manager three separate times to correct the situation we were in my opinion adequately compensated so I didn't take offense.  
So the magic band account issue is something i am very sensitive too.  So after spending valuable park time with this so nice employee at the front desk we board our bus to AK and our there by my target time of three pm, actually are there at 2:45.  Go to tap into park and we are blocked and told we don't have park tickets and sent to guest relations.  Now we have a four day military pass and true we did purchase for half the gate price, but were also staying at the yacht club paying almost 600 a night during this three night stay.  So the lady at guest relations comes out and says the military tickets need to be activated.  And we said ok lets do this and they said we need our military id. To which we responded we left it in the room because no where on the ticket does it say you need the military id to activate the tickets and they were activated when we bought them on base and remember the nice employee at the hotel told us we were good to go to the parks and all our tickets were linked.  We then asked for a manager who treated us like second rate citizens because we had discount tickets and said because we got such a "deal" on them she could not help us  We could purchase tickets for the day and charge them to the room and take it up with guest relations and we might get credited for that.  And when i said aren't we at guest relations the manager's response was sir don't get smart with me I am trying to help you.  So then another family member who did not purchase the tickets said she had her military id and could we use that and they said that was fine, and yes we are idiots but we didn't think of that because she didn't purchase tickets.  So now it is past 4 PM, we are tired from traveling and dealing with disney employees who would not give us any sort of compensation because of our discount tickets, and head into the park with my niece who is in tears because of the employees refusal to offer any type of assistance.
Ok rant over part 1-Go into AK and it is amazing!  No wait for EE, KS, FOP, and 10 min wait for Navi.  Did FOP 3x.  Then went over to epcot and saw fireworks, although did not see the kites this time. Go to buy shaved ice in Japan which is amazing by the way and magic ban pin not working, so try my nieces, surprise hers doesn't work and neither does my moms, this is deja view from 2020.  Nice employee gives free shaved ice and urges me to rectify situation.
Day 2-HS-Get boarding group 38 for ROR.  In park arrow d 8:30, held till close to 9 walked to a delayed SDD.  By the time we got there line was to Woody so we walked on TSM, Alien saucers, and got back in line for SDD which just opened line queue, and were on in 20 min.  Then to RNR, 15 min. wait, TOT 10 min wait, B&B show, Star tours 10 min wait, ROTR boarding group called on in 15 min.  Made same night reservation for le collier.  Waited 40 min for Smuggler's (longest wait of trip)(still think its the most overhyped disney ride).  Then since we had a second went to guest relations at HS to try to get magic band accounts linked.  Lady takes us in resets our magic bands and says lets see if this works and goes to the kiosk right outside guest relations gives him my band and asks him to check it.  Unbeknownst to me said employe without our permission tries our bands to purchase a water, and of course three of ours are still not working.  So we go inside to guest relations ask for the manager and manager comes out.  Then first guest relation employee says that the guy at the kiosk charged us for a water by mistake when he was checking our bands.  Yes you got it i know from last time you have to purchase something to test the magic band because of disney's idiotic technology, thought that have been fixed, but nope, not only were we charged to the one band that actually worked but not given the water.  So the managers response is they didn't even give you the water, thats not cool, and she said it in a joking matter which set me a criminal defense attorney off and said no thats not only not cool that is theft and fraud because there is an unauthorized expense on my account.  She told me to calm down and I know the old kill them with kindness at disney saying that usually or at least pre-pandemic worked but you can only take so much incompetence.  So i then once again settled down and said we needed compensation and she said the first guest relations host already gave us 2 fast passes, now mind you they were for epcot where we were going that night, expired that night and were for test track, which had a 20 min wait and soaring which was a walk on.  I said we now have to rush my elderly mother in 100 degree weather to the skyline to epcot in 30 min when we had allotted for over an hour because we chose to address an issue with our magic bands that we were still not sure if were corrected at hollywood studios because they once again wanted to have us a buy a water to test them and credit it back and we declined because after fraudulent transaction number one did not trust them.  
Got to Le Cellier 5 min early drenched in sweat from rushing, to have the most amazing service.  All had steak (actually i think steak was the only thing on the menu), steak was decent but get better at Texas Roadhouse for fraction of the price.  Creme brûlée was delicious and again our waitress was exemplary.  After dinner did TT (with fastpass from guest services), however it broke down and waited all together maybe 30 min.  Then walked on soaring, and got in line at 8:50 for frozen.  On in 25 min, wanted to look at Noway Store but was closed when we got off the ride, which was kind of surprising because those stores were always kept open after park close.
Day 3-back to epcot at 11, walked on soaring, the land, SE, Mission Space, Three Caber., Got food at kiosk for lunch and surprise surprise magic bands not working but again very nice employee felt bad for us and gave us free hot dog, 2 sodas, pretzel and cheese.  Hopped to Studios, M&M rail was down got in line anyway and was up in 10 min and then a walk on.  Shopping and dinner for mom's birthday at Prime Time, again excellent service, and food was good, and they did give mom free cupcake for dinner.  Did toy story mania with a 30 min wait and then watched Cartoon show on Chinese theater which was mediocre at best but cute. Then did sari's with niece which was so much fun for her.  Back to Yacht club by 10:30 went to front desk told worker our tale of magic band woe got slight credit to room, but was more concerned about letting front desk know about said nice employee from day one that screwed us on our magic bands, told us we were fine to get into the parks with our military tickets and cause much strife and wasted time, that no one wants to deal with on their vacation.  I don't like to get employees in trouble but when you actively say let me make sure everything on your magic band is set up and you mess that up and take 45 min to do so, you have to take responsibility or repercussions for that.  And it is possible that maybe it is just the entire magic band account system that does not work which is fine, but then she should have told us not to use charring privileges that it never works which is what i was told by the front desk staff that credited us in the end.
Fourth day at disney checked out of yacht club stored bags, was at MK.  Fantastic day, short lines, actually saw cast members with smiles which was lacking the other days for sure.  and ended with happily ever after which i love.
That night transferred to universal and let me tell you night and day.  Disney's customer service that i would normally score a 9 or 10 out of 10 was about a .5 this trip, universals was 100 out of ten.  So disney really needs to quit making pandemic excuses because that is simply not the case at universal.  So ok my trip report and rant our over.  I have been to disney 25 plus times and did the college program i still get goosebumps when i see the castle and this is the second trip with bad customer service although i consider it my first because they made up for it on trip number one with magic bands by providing adequate compensation but hardly did anything this time.  So am i being harsh, maybe, but when you charge that much, you need to deliver on service and be consistent every time, if not lower the prices.  So i want someone who works at disney to read this, any suggestions.  I don't want any compensation just a sir we ready your feedback and that sucks, just some sort of acknowledgment, because this visit was different.  Came in January 2021 on a solo trip and it was great, this trip was not disney, it was six flags customer service at best and that is just not acceptable.  And though i would hate to do it, if this is the new disney post-pandemic, and no one at least reads and responds to my feedback disney doesn't need my money or others in the same position because i know my family was not alone, even though waits were very low park goers did not seem as happy or carefree as normal at disney something is different.  Also and I am being very critical but when i was in the college program if you had a small tiny tattoo on your wrist that you had covered they still changed your job you were hired at and sent you to the back of the parking lot  so even though i knew tattoos were allowed now i was still kind of shocked when i saw full back tattoos and kind of laughed to myself and thought what would Walt think.


----------



## preemiemama

PAGUY41 said:


> Hello, so this is a trip review and also a request on who i should send my feedback to at Disney to have the best chance of having it read.
> Sunday-8.15.21-uneventful flight from baltimore to MCO.  ME had a long line but checked in and on bus in 20 min and at yacht club (3rd stop) by 1:00 pm.  Did mobile check in and room was ready by 1.  Needed help getting to room went to front desk.  Was met by nicest employee whom I got her name but don't want to mention it on here.  Said employee insisted that she pull up our reservation and make sure all our tickets, and magic bands were linked with our accounts (4 people in a room, three separate accounts).  I assured her that they should be because i did all that from home and took me 45 minutes to make sure everything was properly set up with each bank account.  Now mind you last january, pre-covid in 2020 i had a disaster with the same issue during festival of the arts when i went with my friend and disney messed up our accounts on magic band and my friend purchased several art pieces on her band which Disney did not set up her bank account correctly on and charged my debit card for her art as well as placed holds on my account, draining my account and pretty much leaving me cashless until the holds came off my account and her purchases in 3 or 5 days.  Now that time even though it took port orleans manager three separate times to correct the situation we were in my opinion adequately compensated so I didn't take offense.
> So the magic band account issue is something i am very sensitive too.  So after spending valuable park time with this so nice employee at the front desk we board our bus to AK and our there by my target time of three pm, actually are there at 2:45.  Go to tap into park and we are blocked and told we don't have park tickets and sent to guest relations.  Now we have a four day military pass and true we did purchase for half the gate price, but were also staying at the yacht club paying almost 600 a night during this three night stay.  So the lady at guest relations comes out and says the military tickets need to be activated.  And we said ok lets do this and they said we need our military id. To which we responded we left it in the room because no where on the ticket does it say you need the military id to activate the tickets and they were activated when we bought them on base and remember the nice employee at the hotel told us we were good to go to the parks and all our tickets were linked.  We then asked for a manager who treated us like second rate citizens because we had discount tickets and said because we got such a "deal" on them she could not help us  We could purchase tickets for the day and charge them to the room and take it up with guest relations and we might get credited for that.  And when i said aren't we at guest relations the manager's response was sir don't get smart with me I am trying to help you.  So then another family member who did not purchase the tickets said she had her military id and could we use that and they said that was fine, and yes we are idiots but we didn't think of that because she didn't purchase tickets.  So now it is past 4 PM, we are tired from traveling and dealing with disney employees who would not give us any sort of compensation because of our discount tickets, and head into the park with my niece who is in tears because of the employees refusal to offer any type of assistance.
> Ok rant over part 1-Go into AK and it is amazing!  No wait for EE, KS, FOP, and 10 min wait for Navi.  Did FOP 3x.  Then went over to epcot and saw fireworks, although did not see the kites this time. Go to buy shaved ice in Japan which is amazing by the way and magic ban pin not working, so try my nieces, surprise hers doesn't work and neither does my moms, this is deja view from 2020.  Nice employee gives free shaved ice and urges me to rectify situation.
> Day 2-HS-Get boarding group 38 for ROR.  In park arrow d 8:30, held till close to 9 walked to a delayed SDD.  By the time we got there line was to Woody so we walked on TSM, Alien saucers, and got back in line for SDD which just opened line queue, and were on in 20 min.  Then to RNR, 15 min. wait, TOT 10 min wait, B&B show, Star tours 10 min wait, ROTR boarding group called on in 15 min.  Made same night reservation for le collier.  Waited 40 min for Smuggler's (longest wait of trip)(still think its the most overhyped disney ride).  Then since we had a second went to guest relations at HS to try to get magic band accounts linked.  Lady takes us in resets our magic bands and says lets see if this works and goes to the kiosk right outside guest relations gives him my band and asks him to check it.  Unbeknownst to me said employe without our permission tries our bands to purchase a water, and of course three of ours are still not working.  So we go inside to guest relations ask for the manager and manager comes out.  Then first guest relation employee says that the guy at the kiosk charged us for a water by mistake when he was checking our bands.  Yes you got it i know from last time you have to purchase something to test the magic band because of disney's idiotic technology, thought that have been fixed, but nope, not only were we charged to the one band that actually worked but not given the water.  So the managers response is they didn't even give you the water, thats not cool, and she said it in a joking matter which set me a criminal defense attorney off and said no thats not only not cool that is theft and fraud because there is an unauthorized expense on my account.  She told me to calm down and I know the old kill them with kindness at disney saying that usually or at least pre-pandemic worked but you can only take so much incompetence.  So i then once again settled down and said we needed compensation and she said the first guest relations host already gave us 2 fast passes, now mind you they were for epcot where we were going that night, expired that night and were for test track, which had a 20 min wait and soaring which was a walk on.  I said we now have to rush my elderly mother in 100 degree weather to the skyline to epcot in 30 min when we had allotted for over an hour because we chose to address an issue with our magic bands that we were still not sure if were corrected at hollywood studios because they once again wanted to have us a buy a water to test them and credit it back and we declined because after fraudulent transaction number one did not trust them.
> Got to Le Cellier 5 min early drenched in sweat from rushing, to have the most amazing service.  All had steak (actually i think steak was the only thing on the menu), steak was decent but get better at Texas Roadhouse for fraction of the price.  Creme brûlée was delicious and again our waitress was exemplary.  After dinner did TT (with fastpass from guest services), however it broke down and waited all together maybe 30 min.  Then walked on soaring, and got in line at 8:50 for frozen.  On in 25 min, wanted to look at Noway Store but was closed when we got off the ride, which was kind of surprising because those stores were always kept open after park close.
> Day 3-back to epcot at 11, walked on soaring, the land, SE, Mission Space, Three Caber., Got food at kiosk for lunch and surprise surprise magic bands not working but again very nice employee felt bad for us and gave us free hot dog, 2 sodas, pretzel and cheese.  Hopped to Studios, M&M rail was down got in line anyway and was up in 10 min and then a walk on.  Shopping and dinner for mom's birthday at Prime Time, again excellent service, and food was good, and they did give mom free cupcake for dinner.  Did toy story mania with a 30 min wait and then watched Cartoon show on Chinese theater which was mediocre at best but cute. Then did sari's with niece which was so much fun for her.  Back to Yacht club by 10:30 went to front desk told worker our tale of magic band woe got slight credit to room, but was more concerned about letting front desk know about said nice employee from day one that screwed us on our magic bands, told us we were fine to get into the parks with our military tickets and cause much strife and wasted time, that no one wants to deal with on their vacation.  I don't like to get employees in trouble but when you actively say let me make sure everything on your magic band is set up and you mess that up and take 45 min to do so, you have to take responsibility or repercussions for that.  And it is possible that maybe it is just the entire magic band account system that does not work which is fine, but then she should have told us not to use charring privileges that it never works which is what i was told by the front desk staff that credited us in the end.
> Fourth day at disney checked out of yacht club stored bags, was at MK.  Fantastic day, short lines, actually saw cast members with smiles which was lacking the other days for sure.  and ended with happily ever after which i love.
> That night transferred to universal and let me tell you night and day.  Disney's customer service that i would normally score a 9 or 10 out of 10 was about a .5 this trip, universals was 100 out of ten.  So disney really needs to quit making pandemic excuses because that is simply not the case at universal.  So ok my trip report and rant our over.  I have been to disney 25 plus times and did the college program i still get goosebumps when i see the castle and this is the second trip with bad customer service although i consider it my first because they made up for it on trip number one with magic bands by providing adequate compensation but hardly did anything this time.  So am i being harsh, maybe, but when you charge that much, you need to deliver on service and be consistent every time, if not lower the prices.  So i want someone who works at disney to read this, any suggestions.  I don't want any compensation just a sir we ready your feedback and that sucks, just some sort of acknowledgment, because this visit was different.  Came in January 2021 on a solo trip and it was great, this trip was not disney, it was six flags customer service at best and that is just not acceptable.  And though i would hate to do it, if this is the new disney post-pandemic, and no one at least reads and responds to my feedback disney doesn't need my money or others in the same position because i know my family was not alone, even though waits were very low park goers did not seem as happy or carefree as normal at disney something is different.  Also and I am being very critical but when i was in the college program if you had a small tiny tattoo on your wrist that you had covered they still changed your job you were hired at and sent you to the back of the parking lot  so even though i knew tattoos were allowed now i was still kind of shocked when i saw full back tattoos and kind of laughed to myself and thought what would Walt think.


Please email the complaints you had to guest.services@disneyworld.com .  It may take them several days to contact you, but these are big complaints that need to be heard.


----------



## PAGUY41

preemiemama said:


> Please email the complaints you had to guest.services@disneyworld.com .  It may take them several days to contact you, but these are big complaints that need to be heard.


Thank you so much!


----------



## Palaura

Steve678 said:


> I would say, ride wait times were almost a better judge of how long the ride would take to walk through the first gate through completing the ride and getting out of the area.  A ride posted at 30 minutes seemed to take 30 minutes to get through to the ride, take the ride and get out.


This is very true. We had very low waits compared to posted times with one exception. I’m looking at you Jungle Cruise.


----------



## Palaura

Ecomommy09 said:


> I rope dropped HS this morning and don’t really think I needed to. I got on slinky fast, but by 12 I’d ridden everything and left before my boarding group was called because I was so darn tired.  I could have slept in and still ridden everything.


Be happy you did! It got hot and a good bit more crowded after 1130! Still a great day but we were happy to leave at 1.


----------



## Ecomommy09

Palaura said:


> Be happy you did! It got hot and a good bit more crowded after 1130! Still a great day but we were happy to leave at 1.


And I did have a lovely 2 hour nap before hopping to MK


----------



## Steve678

tigger2002 said:


> You live in the Amazon rainforest?  Wow!



There are a lot of places around the country that are more humid than Florida, which is surprising to many people. http://www.usairnet.com/weather/maps/current/relative-humidity/


----------



## DeeBee3

PAGUY41 said:


> Now we have a four day military pass and true we did purchase for half the gate price, but were also staying at the yacht club paying almost 600 a night during this three night stay.  So the lady at guest relations comes out and says the military tickets need to be activated.  And we said ok lets do this and they said we need our military id. To which we responded we left it in the room because no where on the ticket does it say you need the military id to activate the tickets and they were activated when we bought them on base and remember the nice employee at the hotel told us we were good to go to the parks and all our tickets were linked.  We then asked for a manager who treated us like second rate citizens because we had discount tickets and said because we got such a "deal" on them she could not help us



Definitely send a message to Disney. I'm just wondering is there some fine print on the Military Ticket thing where they had to be activated beforehand like on a base or wherever you purchased them? (I have no idea - not military here)

Either way they should explain and make something "magical" for you.


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## scrappinginontario

I know when they offer Canadian Discount Tickets there is a note in the offer that the tickets need to be activated at a park Guest Services or Disney Springs Guest Services prior to entering the first park which means we need to carry our Passports with us the first day.

I'm sorry this happened to you @PAGUY41.  I'm thankful you were able to resolve it and hopefully you sharing your experience here will help someone in the future who may not have the information about presenting military ID at Guest Services clarified to them.


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## Ecomommy09

Y’all!!  I’ve ridden FOP and Na’vi River twice each before breakfast


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## BaymaxForever

PAGUY41 said:


> Hello, so this is a trip review and also a request on who i should send my feedback to at Disney to have the best chance of having it read.
> Sunday-8.15.21-uneventful flight from baltimore to MCO.  ME had a long line but checked in and on bus in 20 min and at yacht club (3rd stop) by 1:00 pm.  Did mobile check in and room was ready by 1.  Needed help getting to room went to front desk.  Was met by nicest employee whom I got her name but don't want to mention it on here.  Said employee insisted that she pull up our reservation and make sure all our tickets, and magic bands were linked with our accounts (4 people in a room, three separate accounts).  I assured her that they should be because i did all that from home and took me 45 minutes to make sure everything was properly set up with each bank account.  Now mind you last january, pre-covid in 2020 i had a disaster with the same issue during festival of the arts when i went with my friend and disney messed up our accounts on magic band and my friend purchased several art pieces on her band which Disney did not set up her bank account correctly on and charged my debit card for her art as well as placed holds on my account, draining my account and pretty much leaving me cashless until the holds came off my account and her purchases in 3 or 5 days.  Now that time even though it took port orleans manager three separate times to correct the situation we were in my opinion adequately compensated so I didn't take offense.
> So the magic band account issue is something i am very sensitive too.  So after spending valuable park time with this so nice employee at the front desk we board our bus to AK and our there by my target time of three pm, actually are there at 2:45.  Go to tap into park and we are blocked and told we don't have park tickets and sent to guest relations.  Now we have a four day military pass and true we did purchase for half the gate price, but were also staying at the yacht club paying almost 600 a night during this three night stay.  So the lady at guest relations comes out and says the military tickets need to be activated.  And we said ok lets do this and they said we need our military id. To which we responded we left it in the room because no where on the ticket does it say you need the military id to activate the tickets and they were activated when we bought them on base and remember the nice employee at the hotel told us we were good to go to the parks and all our tickets were linked.  We then asked for a manager who treated us like second rate citizens because we had discount tickets and said because we got such a "deal" on them she could not help us  We could purchase tickets for the day and charge them to the room and take it up with guest relations and we might get credited for that.  And when i said aren't we at guest relations the manager's response was sir don't get smart with me I am trying to help you.  So then another family member who did not purchase the tickets said she had her military id and could we use that and they said that was fine, and yes we are idiots but we didn't think of that because she didn't purchase tickets.  So now it is past 4 PM, we are tired from traveling and dealing with disney employees who would not give us any sort of compensation because of our discount tickets, and head into the park with my niece who is in tears because of the employees refusal to offer any type of assistance.
> Ok rant over part 1-Go into AK and it is amazing!  No wait for EE, KS, FOP, and 10 min wait for Navi.  Did FOP 3x.  Then went over to epcot and saw fireworks, although did not see the kites this time. Go to buy shaved ice in Japan which is amazing by the way and magic ban pin not working, so try my nieces, surprise hers doesn't work and neither does my moms, this is deja view from 2020.  Nice employee gives free shaved ice and urges me to rectify situation.
> Day 2-HS-Get boarding group 38 for ROR.  In park arrow d 8:30, held till close to 9 walked to a delayed SDD.  By the time we got there line was to Woody so we walked on TSM, Alien saucers, and got back in line for SDD which just opened line queue, and were on in 20 min.  Then to RNR, 15 min. wait, TOT 10 min wait, B&B show, Star tours 10 min wait, ROTR boarding group called on in 15 min.  Made same night reservation for le collier.  Waited 40 min for Smuggler's (longest wait of trip)(still think its the most overhyped disney ride).  Then since we had a second went to guest relations at HS to try to get magic band accounts linked.  Lady takes us in resets our magic bands and says lets see if this works and goes to the kiosk right outside guest relations gives him my band and asks him to check it.  Unbeknownst to me said employe without our permission tries our bands to purchase a water, and of course three of ours are still not working.  So we go inside to guest relations ask for the manager and manager comes out.  Then first guest relation employee says that the guy at the kiosk charged us for a water by mistake when he was checking our bands.  Yes you got it i know from last time you have to purchase something to test the magic band because of disney's idiotic technology, thought that have been fixed, but nope, not only were we charged to the one band that actually worked but not given the water.  So the managers response is they didn't even give you the water, thats not cool, and she said it in a joking matter which set me a criminal defense attorney off and said no thats not only not cool that is theft and fraud because there is an unauthorized expense on my account.  She told me to calm down and I know the old kill them with kindness at disney saying that usually or at least pre-pandemic worked but you can only take so much incompetence.  So i then once again settled down and said we needed compensation and she said the first guest relations host already gave us 2 fast passes, now mind you they were for epcot where we were going that night, expired that night and were for test track, which had a 20 min wait and soaring which was a walk on.  I said we now have to rush my elderly mother in 100 degree weather to the skyline to epcot in 30 min when we had allotted for over an hour because we chose to address an issue with our magic bands that we were still not sure if were corrected at hollywood studios because they once again wanted to have us a buy a water to test them and credit it back and we declined because after fraudulent transaction number one did not trust them.
> Got to Le Cellier 5 min early drenched in sweat from rushing, to have the most amazing service.  All had steak (actually i think steak was the only thing on the menu), steak was decent but get better at Texas Roadhouse for fraction of the price.  Creme brûlée was delicious and again our waitress was exemplary.  After dinner did TT (with fastpass from guest services), however it broke down and waited all together maybe 30 min.  Then walked on soaring, and got in line at 8:50 for frozen.  On in 25 min, wanted to look at Noway Store but was closed when we got off the ride, which was kind of surprising because those stores were always kept open after park close.
> Day 3-back to epcot at 11, walked on soaring, the land, SE, Mission Space, Three Caber., Got food at kiosk for lunch and surprise surprise magic bands not working but again very nice employee felt bad for us and gave us free hot dog, 2 sodas, pretzel and cheese.  Hopped to Studios, M&M rail was down got in line anyway and was up in 10 min and then a walk on.  Shopping and dinner for mom's birthday at Prime Time, again excellent service, and food was good, and they did give mom free cupcake for dinner.  Did toy story mania with a 30 min wait and then watched Cartoon show on Chinese theater which was mediocre at best but cute. Then did sari's with niece which was so much fun for her.  Back to Yacht club by 10:30 went to front desk told worker our tale of magic band woe got slight credit to room, but was more concerned about letting front desk know about said nice employee from day one that screwed us on our magic bands, told us we were fine to get into the parks with our military tickets and cause much strife and wasted time, that no one wants to deal with on their vacation.  I don't like to get employees in trouble but when you actively say let me make sure everything on your magic band is set up and you mess that up and take 45 min to do so, you have to take responsibility or repercussions for that.  And it is possible that maybe it is just the entire magic band account system that does not work which is fine, but then she should have told us not to use charring privileges that it never works which is what i was told by the front desk staff that credited us in the end.
> Fourth day at disney checked out of yacht club stored bags, was at MK.  Fantastic day, short lines, actually saw cast members with smiles which was lacking the other days for sure.  and ended with happily ever after which i love.
> That night transferred to universal and let me tell you night and day.  Disney's customer service that i would normally score a 9 or 10 out of 10 was about a .5 this trip, universals was 100 out of ten.  So disney really needs to quit making pandemic excuses because that is simply not the case at universal.  So ok my trip report and rant our over.  I have been to disney 25 plus times and did the college program i still get goosebumps when i see the castle and this is the second trip with bad customer service although i consider it my first because they made up for it on trip number one with magic bands by providing adequate compensation but hardly did anything this time.  So am i being harsh, maybe, but when you charge that much, you need to deliver on service and be consistent every time, if not lower the prices.  So i want someone who works at disney to read this, any suggestions.  I don't want any compensation just a sir we ready your feedback and that sucks, just some sort of acknowledgment, because this visit was different.  Came in January 2021 on a solo trip and it was great, this trip was not disney, it was six flags customer service at best and that is just not acceptable.  And though i would hate to do it, if this is the new disney post-pandemic, and no one at least reads and responds to my feedback disney doesn't need my money or others in the same position because i know my family was not alone, even though waits were very low park goers did not seem as happy or carefree as normal at disney something is different.  Also and I am being very critical but when i was in the college program if you had a small tiny tattoo on your wrist that you had covered they still changed your job you were hired at and sent you to the back of the parking lot  so even though i knew tattoos were allowed now i was still kind of shocked when i saw full back tattoos and kind of laughed to myself and thought what would Walt think.




Armed Forces Salute tickets (which I’m guessing you had) have to be activated when you arrive at guest services, unless purchased from Shades of Green. I think a number of people are surprised by this. There is a Military Disney tips website that is very informative. We have purchased from Shades of Green for this reason.


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## Farro

Steve678 said:


> There are a lot of places around the country that are more humid than Florida, which is surprising to many people. http://www.usairnet.com/weather/maps/current/relative-humidity/



Chicago is soup right now. Soup.

We went for a walk yesterday and it was in 90's/humid (dew points in 70s) and I said this feels just like Disney in the summer!


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## mantysk8coach

Farro said:


> Chicago is soup right now. Soup.
> 
> We went for a walk yesterday and it was in 90's/humid (dew points in 70s) and I said this feels just like Disney in the summer!



Yep, I’m about 3 hours north of you in WI, and this summer has been awful. We arrived at WDW on Sunday and the heat has been surprisingly manageable after the “training” we’ve had all summer.


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## Steve678

mantysk8coach said:


> Yep, I’m about 3 hours north of you in WI, and this summer has been awful. We arrived at WDW on Sunday and the heat has been surprisingly manageable after the “training” we’ve had all summer.



Not too far from there either and I honestly didn't notice the humidity as it seems much worse at home vs Florida right now


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## Miffy

PAGUY41 said:


> Thank you so much!


@PAGUY41: I read your long post--something I rarely do with a post that doesn't have paragraphing, but you had me at "charging with magicband," because I've had this exact problem.

Prepandemic, probably 4 or maybe 5 years ago, my sister and I were staying at AKL We checked in at the front desk and each of us linked our MBs to our own credit cards. Seemed simple enough.

Check-in day I used my MB to buy our lunch and it was charged to my credit card. Fine. After that, I stopped looking at my cc. Wrong! Because every day after that every single thing I charged using my MB was charged back to the room, which was on my sister's cc.

This is my sister, and we worked it out afterward, no problem, but it was very very annoying.

Now I don't use my MB to charge anything. I take out my cc and use that. My belief that separate MBs on the same reservation can be tied to different credit cards is nil. I don't think WDW can really do it. Maybe they can theoretically do it, but cannot actually do it.

Also, I'm very sad to read about your subpar experiences with Guest Services. This is an area where Disney has always excelled and one of the main reasons we love going.

OTOH, you got to do FoP 3 times! Yay! I'm glad there were many good moments to your trip.


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## gottalovepluto

PAGUY41 said:


> Hello, so this is a trip review and also a request on who i should send my feedback to at Disney to have the best chance of having it read.
> Sunday-8.15.21-uneventful flight from baltimore to MCO.  ME had a long line but checked in and on bus in 20 min and at yacht club (3rd stop) by 1:00 pm.  Did mobile check in and room was ready by 1.  Needed help getting to room went to front desk.  Was met by nicest employee whom I got her name but don't want to mention it on here.  Said employee insisted that she pull up our reservation and make sure all our tickets, and magic bands were linked with our accounts (4 people in a room, three separate accounts).  I assured her that they should be because i did all that from home and took me 45 minutes to make sure everything was properly set up with each bank account.  Now mind you last january, pre-covid in 2020 i had a disaster with the same issue during festival of the arts when i went with my friend and disney messed up our accounts on magic band and my friend purchased several art pieces on her band which Disney did not set up her bank account correctly on and charged my debit card for her art as well as placed holds on my account, draining my account and pretty much leaving me cashless until the holds came off my account and her purchases in 3 or 5 days.  Now that time even though it took port orleans manager three separate times to correct the situation we were in my opinion adequately compensated so I didn't take offense.
> So the magic band account issue is something i am very sensitive too.  So after spending valuable park time with this so nice employee at the front desk we board our bus to AK and our there by my target time of three pm, actually are there at 2:45.  Go to tap into park and we are blocked and told we don't have park tickets and sent to guest relations.  Now we have a four day military pass and true we did purchase for half the gate price, but were also staying at the yacht club paying almost 600 a night during this three night stay.  So the lady at guest relations comes out and says the military tickets need to be activated.  And we said ok lets do this and they said we need our military id. To which we responded we left it in the room because no where on the ticket does it say you need the military id to activate the tickets and they were activated when we bought them on base and remember the nice employee at the hotel told us we were good to go to the parks and all our tickets were linked.  We then asked for a manager who treated us like second rate citizens because we had discount tickets and said because we got such a "deal" on them she could not help us  We could purchase tickets for the day and charge them to the room and take it up with guest relations and we might get credited for that.  And when i said aren't we at guest relations the manager's response was sir don't get smart with me I am trying to help you.  So then another family member who did not purchase the tickets said she had her military id and could we use that and they said that was fine, and yes we are idiots but we didn't think of that because she didn't purchase tickets.  So now it is past 4 PM, we are tired from traveling and dealing with disney employees who would not give us any sort of compensation because of our discount tickets, and head into the park with my niece who is in tears because of the employees refusal to offer any type of assistance.
> Ok rant over part 1-Go into AK and it is amazing!  No wait for EE, KS, FOP, and 10 min wait for Navi.  Did FOP 3x.  Then went over to epcot and saw fireworks, although did not see the kites this time. Go to buy shaved ice in Japan which is amazing by the way and magic ban pin not working, so try my nieces, surprise hers doesn't work and neither does my moms, this is deja view from 2020.  Nice employee gives free shaved ice and urges me to rectify situation.
> Day 2-HS-Get boarding group 38 for ROR.  In park arrow d 8:30, held till close to 9 walked to a delayed SDD.  By the time we got there line was to Woody so we walked on TSM, Alien saucers, and got back in line for SDD which just opened line queue, and were on in 20 min.  Then to RNR, 15 min. wait, TOT 10 min wait, B&B show, Star tours 10 min wait, ROTR boarding group called on in 15 min.  Made same night reservation for le collier.  Waited 40 min for Smuggler's (longest wait of trip)(still think its the most overhyped disney ride).  Then since we had a second went to guest relations at HS to try to get magic band accounts linked.  Lady takes us in resets our magic bands and says lets see if this works and goes to the kiosk right outside guest relations gives him my band and asks him to check it.  Unbeknownst to me said employe without our permission tries our bands to purchase a water, and of course three of ours are still not working.  So we go inside to guest relations ask for the manager and manager comes out.  Then first guest relation employee says that the guy at the kiosk charged us for a water by mistake when he was checking our bands.  Yes you got it i know from last time you have to purchase something to test the magic band because of disney's idiotic technology, thought that have been fixed, but nope, not only were we charged to the one band that actually worked but not given the water.  So the managers response is they didn't even give you the water, thats not cool, and she said it in a joking matter which set me a criminal defense attorney off and said no thats not only not cool that is theft and fraud because there is an unauthorized expense on my account.  She told me to calm down and I know the old kill them with kindness at disney saying that usually or at least pre-pandemic worked but you can only take so much incompetence.  So i then once again settled down and said we needed compensation and she said the first guest relations host already gave us 2 fast passes, now mind you they were for epcot where we were going that night, expired that night and were for test track, which had a 20 min wait and soaring which was a walk on.  I said we now have to rush my elderly mother in 100 degree weather to the skyline to epcot in 30 min when we had allotted for over an hour because we chose to address an issue with our magic bands that we were still not sure if were corrected at hollywood studios because they once again wanted to have us a buy a water to test them and credit it back and we declined because after fraudulent transaction number one did not trust them.
> Got to Le Cellier 5 min early drenched in sweat from rushing, to have the most amazing service.  All had steak (actually i think steak was the only thing on the menu), steak was decent but get better at Texas Roadhouse for fraction of the price.  Creme brûlée was delicious and again our waitress was exemplary.  After dinner did TT (with fastpass from guest services), however it broke down and waited all together maybe 30 min.  Then walked on soaring, and got in line at 8:50 for frozen.  On in 25 min, wanted to look at Noway Store but was closed when we got off the ride, which was kind of surprising because those stores were always kept open after park close.
> Day 3-back to epcot at 11, walked on soaring, the land, SE, Mission Space, Three Caber., Got food at kiosk for lunch and surprise surprise magic bands not working but again very nice employee felt bad for us and gave us free hot dog, 2 sodas, pretzel and cheese.  Hopped to Studios, M&M rail was down got in line anyway and was up in 10 min and then a walk on.  Shopping and dinner for mom's birthday at Prime Time, again excellent service, and food was good, and they did give mom free cupcake for dinner.  Did toy story mania with a 30 min wait and then watched Cartoon show on Chinese theater which was mediocre at best but cute. Then did sari's with niece which was so much fun for her.  Back to Yacht club by 10:30 went to front desk told worker our tale of magic band woe got slight credit to room, but was more concerned about letting front desk know about said nice employee from day one that screwed us on our magic bands, told us we were fine to get into the parks with our military tickets and cause much strife and wasted time, that no one wants to deal with on their vacation.  I don't like to get employees in trouble but when you actively say let me make sure everything on your magic band is set up and you mess that up and take 45 min to do so, you have to take responsibility or repercussions for that.  And it is possible that maybe it is just the entire magic band account system that does not work which is fine, but then she should have told us not to use charring privileges that it never works which is what i was told by the front desk staff that credited us in the end.
> Fourth day at disney checked out of yacht club stored bags, was at MK.  Fantastic day, short lines, actually saw cast members with smiles which was lacking the other days for sure.  and ended with happily ever after which i love.
> That night transferred to universal and let me tell you night and day.  Disney's customer service that i would normally score a 9 or 10 out of 10 was about a .5 this trip, universals was 100 out of ten.  So disney really needs to quit making pandemic excuses because that is simply not the case at universal.  So ok my trip report and rant our over.  I have been to disney 25 plus times and did the college program i still get goosebumps when i see the castle and this is the second trip with bad customer service although i consider it my first because they made up for it on trip number one with magic bands by providing adequate compensation but hardly did anything this time.  So am i being harsh, maybe, but when you charge that much, you need to deliver on service and be consistent every time, if not lower the prices.  So i want someone who works at disney to read this, any suggestions.  I don't want any compensation just a sir we ready your feedback and that sucks, just some sort of acknowledgment, because this visit was different.  Came in January 2021 on a solo trip and it was great, this trip was not disney, it was six flags customer service at best and that is just not acceptable.  And though i would hate to do it, if this is the new disney post-pandemic, and no one at least reads and responds to my feedback disney doesn't need my money or others in the same position because i know my family was not alone, even though waits were very low park goers did not seem as happy or carefree as normal at disney something is different.  Also and I am being very critical but when i was in the college program if you had a small tiny tattoo on your wrist that you had covered they still changed your job you were hired at and sent you to the back of the parking lot  so even though i knew tattoos were allowed now i was still kind of shocked when i saw full back tattoos and kind of laughed to myself and thought what would Walt think.


As far as the military ticket fiasco goes I would not have high expectations guest services will have much to say as the Disney World website says

“Subject to certain exceptions, 4-Day and 5-Day Disney Military Promotional Tickets for admission to the Walt Disney World Resort *are not valid until activated by the Eligible Services Members (or their spouses) at Walt Disney World theme park ticket windows*.

Tickets and options expire and may not be used after December 17, 2021. *Valid military identification will be required for purchase and use*.”


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## Tess

DeeBee3 said:


> Definitely send a message to Disney. I'm just wondering is there some fine print on the Military Ticket thing where they had to be activated beforehand like on a base or wherever you purchased them? (I have no idea - not military here)
> 
> Either way they should explain and make something "magical" for you.



Our DIL is in the Navy.  When she and our son went with us, I linked their Military tickets to MDE but they still had to go to guest services prior to first park entry to activate them and show their IDs (her military and his spouse ID). This was four years or so ago, so longstanding procedure with those tickets.


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## PAGUY41

No I get the military ticket thing and having it in the website but when one of your employees at your hotel says your tickets are linked and you are ready to get into the parks you just go.  And I get they have policy and procedures and think we are being cheap by using military tickets which they kept alluding to you can see that we were staying at yacht club.  And the Disney I was a cast member at could not answer a question with no or we can’t and we heard that multiple times.  They could have called the military base but I get it that was our fault I will take that one.  But was just step one in dealing with employees in customer relations who seemed to have forgotten what it means to work at Disney.  Like I said I understand people are stressed and we blame the pandemic for everything but Universal was spot on and I just had only ever experienced the issue with the magic bands once and was compensated and this time while their was a tiny adjustment the unauthorized charge to our account although it was taken off was not the Disney I have been going to for 45 years.  Language is important saying to us at guest relations I am sorry for your situation would have helped but it was just no you got a big enough discount we can’t help you.  That is not Disney or maybe it is now with the new president.  I don’t know.  Just ine if many things.  And like I said I want Disney to hear the concerns because if there are all these magic band problems to do not offer that ad a service or use at as an incentive when you get rid of all the other on property incentives.  So again rant over.  It was still a fantastic trips because the crowds were low and because my sisters father in law passed away when we were there we weren’t going to sweat it and going to have a good trip for my niece no master what.  But just frustrating to be at ine park where you have always had good experiences and it was drastically different and then another park that may have had a lesser reputation handle crowds and everything that could have been affected by the pandemic much better.


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## hereforthechurros

I've had MagicBand issues plenty of times, or need to activate tickets when we went with a large group. Zero compensation nor did I really expect anything. I've also had larger complaints than those go unrectified. At least you received a few free meals and FastPasses.


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## SCDisneyfanatic

If your tickets are purchased from Shades of Green and they are linked in the MyDisneyExperience, would that not be considered activated?  I would think they need to be activated to use them for park reservations.  What am I missing?  Thanks in advance...heading there last week of Oct and have 6 tickets from Shades of Green in hand.  Is it different than if purchased from ITT on a military installation?


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## brockash

DeeBee3 said:


> Definitely send a message to Disney. I'm just wondering is there some fine print on the Military Ticket thing where they had to be activated beforehand like on a base or wherever you purchased them? (I have no idea - not military here)
> 
> Either way they should explain and make something "magical" for you.


Not the op, but I'm guessing the OPs tix probably did say they were already activated...we got ours this past summer and they did say activated, our base said they were already activated and I asked again when I picked them up and they did say they were already activated.  - They also looked very different than previous ones we used.

From my experience and how inaccurate Disney and the military often are; I still stopped by guest services im Disney Springs when we first got there and guess what?...yep they still had to be activated.

It's unfortunate, but you really do have to double, triple check everything and ask for others experiences to not be hugely inconvenienced sometime. 

What would've been extremely frustrating is that issue with the cm at their resort that wasted 45 mins of their time and still gave them wrong issue.


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## SCDisneyfanatic

brockash said:


> Not the op, but I'm guessing the OPs tix probably did say they were already activated...we got ours this past summer and they did say activated, our base said they were already activated and I asked again when I picked them up and they did say they were already activated.
> 
> From my experience and how inaccurate Disney and the military often are; I still stopped by guest services im Disney Springs when we first got there and guess what?...yep they still had to be activated.
> 
> It's unfortunate, but you really do have to double, triple check everything and ask for others experiences to not be hugely inconvenienced sometime.
> 
> What would've been extremely frustrating is that issue with the cm at their resort that wasted 45 mins of their time and still gave them wrong issue.


So, did you go to a ticket booth (say at the Transportation Center) and do that?  Or can they do that at whatever park we go to first?


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## scrappinginontario

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> So, did you go to a ticket booth (say at the Transportation Center) and do that?  Or can they do that at whatever park we go to first?


The ticket booths at TTC are not the same as Guest Services.  Guest Services are located at the front of each park and also at Disney Springs.


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## brockash

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> So, did you go to a ticket booth (say at the Transportation Center) and do that?  Or can they do that at whatever park we go to first?


We did it at guest relations at Disney Springs so we didn't lose park time, but you can do it at any guest relations (each park has them by the entrance.)  

If you bought them through Shades of Green they really should already be activated (many with that experience,) but if not Shades go to guest relations.


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## Haley R

Can someone share what the current popcorn bucket looks like?


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## SCDisneyfanatic

brockash said:


> We did it at guest relations at Disney Springs so we didn't lose park time, but you can do it at any guest relations (each park has them by the entrance.)
> 
> If you bought them through Shades of Green they really should already be activated (many with that experience,) but if not Shades go to guest relations.


Yes, we bought them from Shades of Green.  But to be safe I'll hit a Guest Relations anyway.  Hate to get to the park and then have to wait for that process.  Thanks for the words.


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## Disneymomma18

Arrived to animal kingdom from bus around 8:05. Took a few pictures in front of the tree and headed to Pandora. First was flight of passage listed at a 25 minute wait. Took half the time just walking through that crazy long que. I didn’t time it but it definitely did not seem like a full 25 minutes. Next I did river journey with 5 minute wait. I rode the train to rafikis walked through the building and went back. I then did killiminjaro safari with again maybe a 5-10 minute wait. Next went to what used to be the UP show ( not sure what it’s called now) but it was awesome! Then walked over and rode Everest twice with pretty much walkthrough lines. The only thing I found weird was not having to mask in the theater but required to mask on Everest. I’m assuming bc the que to Everest is mostly inside. Now I’m settling down for lunch and yak and yeti. Got a window seat on the second floor! Planning on finishing the rest of animal kingdom in the next few hours and then heading to boo bash tonight. I’ll report on that either really late tonight or tomorrow morning. Feel free to ask questions.


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## WEDWDW

Disneymomma18 said:


> Arrived to animal kingdom from bus around 8:05. Took a few pictures in front of the tree and headed to Pandora. First was flight of passage listed at a 25 minute wait. Took half the time just walking through that crazy long que. I didn’t time it but it definitely did not seem like a full 25 minutes. Next I did river journey with 5 minute wait. I rode the train to rafikis walked through the building and went back. I then did killiminjaro safari with again maybe a 5-10 minute wait. Next went to what used to be the UP show ( not sure what it’s called now) but it was awesome! Then walked over and rode Everest twice with pretty much walkthrough lines. The only thing I found weird was not having to mask in the theater but required to mask on Everest. I’m assuming bc the que to Everest is mostly inside. Now I’m settling down for lunch and yak and yeti. Got a window seat on the second floor! Planning on finishing the rest of animal kingdom in the next few hours and then heading to boo bash tonight. I’ll report on that either really late tonight or tomorrow morning. Feel free to ask questions.


Besides the queue,going inside the Mountain also "qualifies" the attraction for masks-PeopleMover requires masks because it goes inside Space Mountain!

Crazy times!lol


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## Sarahslay

Steve678 said:


> There are a lot of places around the country that are more humid than Florida, which is surprising to many people. http://www.usairnet.com/weather/maps/current/relative-humidity/


Yeah, but some of the ones saying "100%" humidity it's raining and in the 50's which is a different feel than 60%+ humidity and in the 90's without rain, which draws the feels like a good 10 degrees warmer. Like right now where I live (not in Florida) it's 88 with 62% humidity and a feels like of 98, in a few hours it'll be a feels like of over 100 and probably a higher humidity because we are expecting some rain, that's what makes it so much harder to tolerate. Humidity is more tolerable at lower temperatures.


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## Disneymomma18

WEDWDW said:


> Besides the queue,going inside the Mountain also "qualifies" the attraction for masks-PeopleMover requires masks because it goes inside Space Mountain!
> 
> Crazy times!lol


 Totally agree. Doesn’t bother me one bit I just find some of the “rules” silly. I’m just happy to be here mask or not. It’s been truly magical.


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## focusondisney

I’m sorry you had a bad experience @PAGUY41. May I gently suggest if you do send an email, you use paragraphs & check your grammar a little. Your posts were both very hard to read & I don’t see you getting a good result if you use the same style as you used here.  


  As far as comparing Disney & Universal, I could be wrong, but I think Universal opened stuff up  & recalled employees way sooner than WDW did. WDW CMs have been displaced from their regular spots so probably contributes to errors happening.  I also don’t think they depend on college program employees the way SDW does.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the employee at YC was a college program CM who really thought she was doing something helpful & the right way.   I know I have read how much training has been cut back, as far as the Traditions course.  I think that must have a huge impact.  

I will say, we have been back to WDW 3 times this year. And we haven’t run into any CMs with attitudes. I  also have never had anyone imply I was cheap or less than because I was using a discount.  (Not Military tickets, but any other discount, like TIW). In fact, if anyone has commented at all, it has been along the lines of “Good for you, great discount”.   I’m not making excuses for  your experience.  But you admit to going off at Studios GS. Add your comment about the tattoos.  It does make me think you had an attitude which certainly doesn’t help the situation any better.


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## PAGUY41

@focusondisney I respect your opinion and advice and I will admit I did get an attitude at hs once they fraudulently charged a water to our account and had a hold on our account till it came off.  And did not seem to think that was an issue or inconvenience.
And like I said we still had a great trip especially at universal and didn’t let these ruin our trip.  Just didn’t use the magic bands after the third failed attempt to fix them.  And did find an excellent employee at Yacht club who listened to my entire story and tried to make the situation right which use to be the Disney way.  But if I am running a multi-billion dollar business and know that my employees are telling guests that magic bands don’t work and that is why we are switching to other options I probably wouldn’t use that as a service unless of course I was selling magic bands for thirty some a pop.  So again I just wanted to share my experience and get where you all are coming from, it was just a different diner then I have known.  And when you are talking hundreds of dollars a night on a room and taking time off and have issues that are legitimate to you an employee should at least listen and say sorry that happened not just say we can’t do anything.  Ok rant over.  Thanks again for your feedback and comments!


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## DaneenD

So, I wasn’t sure if I should post this here, or in the To Go or Not Go thread. I found both threads to be really useful before my trip, so I wanted to provide an update of my experiences.

As context, my trip was 8/14 – 8/21 and no one appears to have Covid. I’ve had 3 negative rapid COVID tests since we got back from the trip (I tested frequently because of persistent allergy symptoms) and my son (age 9) tested negative today as well. While we were there, the rules changed from masks on all rides/lines to outdoors only. My family consisted of 3 vaxed, 1 unvaxed under 12. This was our sixth Disney visit.

I was very anxious about getting Covid on this trip, and it certainly affected my experience. To be clear, I never thought of Disney as a relaxing vacation, but I knew before going that it would not end up being one of my favorite visits.

I’ve gone in August before and I agree that the lines are atypically short for this time of year. Yes, the line was outside Test Track, but we still got to the design room in 30 minutes. We walked onto a lot of rides. It also helped that the last time we were in Disney was at Christmas, and so I distinctly remember seeing a 60 minute standby line time for Nemo.

Lines were a little spaced out, and I had no problems keeping my group a little away from others (and my son in the middle of our group). The only time the cast members pushed the line together more was in the line for MMRR, where people were huddling under umbrellas to stay out of the sun. So, I felt fairly comfortable in lines. The problem was more when the ride released, as that was when there ended up being a push/crowd of people. I know some people are worried about knowing when to put on their masks. I found it to be very clear, with both signs and gentle reminders.

My family wore masks outdoors 90% of the time. That was hard, because of the 95 degree heat. At the start of the week, when it was a little cooler, I would estimate the outdoor mask wearing (which is optional) was 30%. By the time it got to 95, it was more like 5 to 10%. I agree with others that although the lines are short, walking around the park does not feel like an attendance level of 1 or 2. Perhaps I am just not used to being close to other people because of Covid. For indoors, I would put the masking compliance at more like 70%. It was horrible on the Magical Express, however. There were no announcements about masking and multiple people around us did not wear masks at all on the bus, which was completely packed with people (and picked up people for over an hour before leaving for the airport).

Fireworks at MK were crazy, but did not look that bad at Epcot. We watched the fireworks from the Poly or the ferry boat.

We had our best experiences at night. I think the removal of fastpasses and restrictions on park hopping resulted in different patterns of attendance, with more people starting earlier in the day and then leaving the park earlier as well. We had a particularly nice night at HS.

Although I was nervous about indoor dining, I actually ended up being more comfortable there than outdoors, in some cases. Outdoor dining was very busy and crowded. I asked for an isolated table at ADRs, which usually ended up being against a wall, which was perfect. They were so nice and accommodating. At Columbia Harbour House, the upstairs was almost completely empty. We did eat in our room several times and mobile ordering worked great.   

I found the interactions with the Cast Members to be just as good as ever. Particularly at Boo Bash, they were friendly and fun. I still smile remembering the security guard who got the flood of people leaving the monorail to start the wave. I saw no piles of trash.

We stayed at the Polynesian, and I loved the new rooms. So bright, and friendly. However, there was a water leak through the ceiling on the other side of our hallway, the door stop came loose from the floor, and some of the parts of the door handle fell off. That was a bit disconcerting for new renovations.

Interestingly enough, looking at this summary, I took mostly positive memories/experiences from the trip (despite being very nervous while I was there). My husband, who was more relaxed about the covid risk, had a more negative take-away, driven in part by factors like the removal of free fastpass, knowing that there will be no magical express or bag delivery, multiple rides breaking down during our trip (frozen, test track, haunted mansion, slinky, and more) suggesting the need for more frequent maintenance/upkeep, and (very specifically) the excessive dirt in the monorail train station light fixtures. : ) The price is going up, and we are getting less for it. Although neither of us want to do another Disney trip during a pandemic, these factors are resulting in less interest on his part to come back in the future.  Which I think makes both of us sad.


----------



## Steve678

Sarahslay said:


> Yeah, but some of the ones saying "100%" humidity it's raining and in the 50's which is a different feel than 60%+ humidity and in the 90's without rain, which draws the feels like a good 10 degrees warmer. Like right now where I live (not in Florida) it's 88 with 62% humidity and a feels like of 98, in a few hours it'll be a feels like of over 100 and probably a higher humidity because we are expecting some rain, that's what makes it so much harder to tolerate. Humidity is more tolerable at lower temperatures.




Trust me, we are often, very often hotter and more humid than Florida, Florida just has the heat and humidity longer into the fall.  The heat index in our are has been 100+ most of the summer and it was actually "cool" in Florida this week.


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## mantysk8coach

Deleted…wrong thread, sorry!


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## kboo

Disneymomma18 said:


> Now I’m settling down for lunch and yak and yeti. Got a window seat on the second floor!



How did the spacing seem there? We have an ADR but I'm traveling with 2 under 12. Thanks!


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## kboo

DaneenD said:


> Although I was nervous about indoor dining, I actually ended up being more comfortable there than outdoors, in some cases. Outdoor dining was very busy and crowded. I asked for an isolated table at ADRs, which usually ended up being against a wall, which was perfect. They were so nice and accommodating. At Columbia Harbour House, the upstairs was almost completely empty. We did eat in our room several times and mobile ordering worked great.



If you don't mind sharing, which ADRs did you do? (PM is fine too.) 
My DH is also more cavalier than I am, but fortunately both kids (and DH and I) are fine with masking in and out, which is what we did on our last 2 trips (required back then). So the last piece of the risk puzzle is how long we and our kids are unmasked while eating and how far away (and how many) other people there are.


----------



## DaneenD

kboo said:


> If you don't mind sharing, which ADRs did you do? (PM is fine too.)
> My DH is also more cavalier than I am, but fortunately both kids (and DH and I) are fine with masking in and out, which is what we did on our last 2 trips (required back then). So the last piece of the risk puzzle is how long we and our kids are unmasked while eating and how far away (and how many) other people there are.


Happy to share! We did go to Yak and Yeti. To answer your previous question to DisneyMomma18, I did feel like spacing was a little more than in the past (we have been there many times), but could be tight in some parts of the restaurant. Second floor was better. I asked for an isolated table there, and ended up in the corner, second floor, which was great. 

We went to Via Napoli and ended up over by the kitchen as the only table. There were many workers coming by, but their masking was great and my kids were (again) by the window. This one had tables relatively close, but it was not busy (2pm lunch) so many tables were empty. Plus the ceilings there are so high, it felt better.

Other ADR were Liberty Tree, 50s Prime Time, the Plaza and Teppan Edo.  It felt tight at the Plaza, so I would not recommend that one. We had a window table, in the corner, but overall the restaurant was crowded. We asked for a TV table for Prime Time which increased the space between tables there; that one also is tight. The seating configuration at Teppan Edo was well-suited for spacing in general. They had plexiglass between the groups and again, I just managed spacing to put more space between my son and the other person. Everyone had their back to a wall.

Feel free to ask any follow-up questions you have!


----------



## Disneymomma18

kboo said:


> How did the spacing seem there? We have an ADR but I'm traveling with 2 under 12. Thanks!



I agree with the person who first answered the question. My reservation was at 12:30 so I would think that’s a pretty peak time and the lower level was definitely crowded. It did look like they skipped some tables for spacing, but it still felt really crowded. The tables upstairs seemed to be better.


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## Gary Stocker

DaneenD said:


> So, I wasn’t sure if I should post this here, or in the To Go or Not Go thread. I found both threads to be really useful before my trip, so I wanted to provide an update of my experiences.
> 
> As context, my trip was 8/14 – 8/21 and no one appears to have Covid. I’ve had 3 negative rapid COVID tests since we got back from the trip (I tested frequently because of persistent allergy symptoms) and my son (age 9) tested negative today as well. While we were there, the rules changed from masks on all rides/lines to outdoors only. My family consisted of 3 vaxed, 1 unvaxed under 12. This was our sixth Disney visit.
> 
> I was very anxious about getting Covid on this trip, and it certainly affected my experience. To be clear, I never thought of Disney as a relaxing vacation, but I knew before going that it would not end up being one of my favorite visits.
> 
> I’ve gone in August before and I agree that the lines are atypically short for this time of year. Yes, the line was outside Test Track, but we still got to the design room in 30 minutes. We walked onto a lot of rides. It also helped that the last time we were in Disney was at Christmas, and so I distinctly remember seeing a 60 minute standby line time for Nemo.
> 
> Lines were a little spaced out, and I had no problems keeping my group a little away from others (and my son in the middle of our group). The only time the cast members pushed the line together more was in the line for MMRR, where people were huddling under umbrellas to stay out of the sun. So, I felt fairly comfortable in lines. The problem was more when the ride released, as that was when there ended up being a push/crowd of people. I know some people are worried about knowing when to put on their masks. I found it to be very clear, with both signs and gentle reminders.
> 
> My family wore masks outdoors 90% of the time. That was hard, because of the 95 degree heat. At the start of the week, when it was a little cooler, I would estimate the outdoor mask wearing (which is optional) was 30%. By the time it got to 95, it was more like 5 to 10%. I agree with others that although the lines are short, walking around the park does not feel like an attendance level of 1 or 2. Perhaps I am just not used to being close to other people because of Covid. For indoors, I would put the masking compliance at more like 70%. It was horrible on the Magical Express, however. There were no announcements about masking and multiple people around us did not wear masks at all on the bus, which was completely packed with people (and picked up people for over an hour before leaving for the airport).
> 
> Fireworks at MK were crazy, but did not look that bad at Epcot. We watched the fireworks from the Poly or the ferry boat.
> 
> We had our best experiences at night. I think the removal of fastpasses and restrictions on park hopping resulted in different patterns of attendance, with more people starting earlier in the day and then leaving the park earlier as well. We had a particularly nice night at HS.
> 
> Although I was nervous about indoor dining, I actually ended up being more comfortable there than outdoors, in some cases. Outdoor dining was very busy and crowded. I asked for an isolated table at ADRs, which usually ended up being against a wall, which was perfect. They were so nice and accommodating. At Columbia Harbour House, the upstairs was almost completely empty. We did eat in our room several times and mobile ordering worked great.
> 
> I found the interactions with the Cast Members to be just as good as ever. Particularly at Boo Bash, they were friendly and fun. I still smile remembering the security guard who got the flood of people leaving the monorail to start the wave. I saw no piles of trash.
> 
> We stayed at the Polynesian, and I loved the new rooms. So bright, and friendly. However, there was a water leak through the ceiling on the other side of our hallway, the door stop came loose from the floor, and some of the parts of the door handle fell off. That was a bit disconcerting for new renovations.
> 
> Interestingly enough, looking at this summary, I took mostly positive memories/experiences from the trip (despite being very nervous while I was there). My husband, who was more relaxed about the covid risk, had a more negative take-away, driven in part by factors like the removal of free fastpass, knowing that there will be no magical express or bag delivery, multiple rides breaking down during our trip (frozen, test track, haunted mansion, slinky, and more) suggesting the need for more frequent maintenance/upkeep, and (very specifically) the excessive dirt in the monorail train station light fixtures. : ) The price is going up, and we are getting less for it. Although neither of us want to do another Disney trip during a pandemic, these factors are resulting in less interest on his part to come back in the future.  Which I think makes both of us sad.


you ought to take that last paragraph and send it to Disney as it encapsulated, IMO, the thoughts of many. Not me, of course. Disney is like crack to me...but I wont buy Genie +...I guess.


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## Sarahslay

PAGUY41 said:


> @focusondisney I respect your opinion and advice and I will admit I did get an attitude at hs once they fraudulently charged a water to our account and had a hold on our account till it came off.  And did not seem to think that was an issue or inconvenience.
> And like I said we still had a great trip especially at universal and didn’t let these ruin our trip.  Just didn’t use the magic bands after the third failed attempt to fix them.  And did find an excellent employee at Yacht club who listened to my entire story and tried to make the situation right which use to be the Disney way.  But if I am running a multi-billion dollar business and know that my employees are telling guests that magic bands don’t work and that is why we are switching to other options I probably wouldn’t use that as a service unless of course I was selling magic bands for thirty some a pop.  So again I just wanted to share my experience and get where you all are coming from, it was just a different diner then I have known.  And when you are talking hundreds of dollars a night on a room and taking time off and have issues that are legitimate to you an employee should at least listen and say sorry that happened not just say we can’t do anything.  Ok rant over.  Thanks again for your feedback and comments!


Just from personal experience, after staying at YC several times (a good 3 times or so since reopening, and another pre-covid) I always have magic band issues when I stay there. I have never had so many issues with magic bands as I do when I stay at YC, and when I stayed there in August they went as far as to tell me I had too many and I was allowed to have one, and basically I was greedy for having so many (I believe the guy told me “what do you expect to happen when you have this many bands?!”). I now only take one band with me when I stay there and only have that one activated, if I have to stay there, but after that trip the management pretty much walks me to my room to check my bands after what happened. They do something with bands there, I don’t know what, but it’s maddening.


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## PAGUY41

That makes me feel much better @Sarahslay it’s just frustrating and you want to get it fixed when it doesn’t work because when it works it is great, but to get it fixed is always a big ordeal and wasted time!


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## faceofsam

Just finished our first evening here! We got into boardwalk around 4, after stopping to pick up our publix order. Got a great room at boardwalk, close to the elevator and main boardwalk/pool area. We went for a swim and it was very quiet, had a whole section of the pool to ourselves. We then went to beaches and cream, where we got our food to go and ate at a table outside away from people. They did a great job accommodating our request! After we went and got ice cream at boardwalk and browsed the shops. Going to watch epcot fireworks from boardwalk now, but a delightful first evening. Felt very safe, and we have been wearing kn95s everywhere.


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## kboo

Does anyone who's there/been there in the last 1-2 weeks have any pics or descriptions of what Main St is like for HEA fireworks at MK? If we don't want to smush with the crowd in the hub, is all of main st. also packed back to the entrance to the park, or will we be able to get more space there? We would like to see the projections but we don't *have* to see them super up close, as long as we can sort of see them.


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## MomOTwins

kboo said:


> If we don't want to smush with the crowd in the hub, is all of main st. also packed back to the entrance to the park


Yes


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## WriterGina

Just checked into Beach Club today for a six night stay after five nights at Universal. Amazing pixie dust right away: as we were checking in for our garden/woods view room, I asked if there were any upgrades available. The lovely CM went back to check and we got a gorgeous 4th floor water view room overlooking the quiet pool and lake with a big balcony! Definitely sending an email of thanks for that beautiful start to our stay!

Spent the day in Epcot and pretty much everything was a walk-on: Frozen, Soarin, Space, etc. Test Track was about 25 mins but we had to come back later when storms rolled through. Those storms and the subsequent cloud cover kept the heat down after a blisteringly hot early morning though, so no complaints!

The line at the France booth was consistently long, but other than that it was easy to get through the festival booth lines. Gorged ourselves! Loved the paella in Spain, the carrot cake in Hops and Barley and the griddled cheese in Greece particularly, but we have lots more to try. MK tomorrow!


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## Aj1129

kboo said:


> Does anyone who's there/been there in the last 1-2 weeks have any pics or descriptions of what Main St is like for HEA fireworks at MK? If we don't want to smush with the crowd in the hub, is all of main st. also packed back to the entrance to the park, or will we be able to get more space there? We would like to see the projections but we don't *have* to see them super up close, as long as we can sort of see them.


We just came back Tuesday and yes, MK for fireworks was pretty bad. Lots of people huddled together all down Main Street up towards the castle. We watched from Tomorrowland just to be away from the hoards of people. We actually only watched MK fireworks that one night of our stay because we thought the crowd was just too much for us.


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## Disneymomma18

kboo said:


> Does anyone who's there/been there in the last 1-2 weeks have any pics or descriptions of what Main St is like for HEA fireworks at MK? If we don't want to smush with the crowd in the hub, is all of main st. also packed back to the entrance to the park, or will we be able to get more space there? We would like to see the projections but we don't *have* to see them super up close, as long as we can sort of see them.



I watched HEA last night from Main Street near the emporium. It was definitely crowded but not wall to wall like I’ve seen pictures of. The crowd by the castle was though. I only sat down on the curb like 15 minutes before the show and there was still plenty of space to move around even when the show started.


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## Disneymomma18

Well shocker HS is packed today. I’m going to get in lines of things that I want to do regardless of wait times to see if they are accurate or not. Got boarding group 54, but according to the app they haven’t even started calling yet and it’s 10:12. Most of the big ticket stuff is already 30+ minutes. Hoping the heat and humidity will drive some people out this afternoon/evening.


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## Helvetica

Disneymomma18 said:


> Well shocker HS is packed today. I’m going to get in lines of things that I want to do regardless of wait times to see if they are accurate or not. Got boarding group 54, but according to the app they haven’t even started calling yet and it’s 10:12. Most of the big ticket stuff is already 30+ minutes. Hoping the heat and humidity will drive some people out this afternoon/evening.



I guess it’s all relative, but I’ve been pretty excited about the wait times that I’ve been seeing for my upcoming trip. They’re much better than they were in May.

Back then, everything was above 30 minutes at DHS by this time of day. I think Tower of Terror would have been around an hour and a half by now.


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## Sarahslay

Disneymomma18 said:


> Well shocker HS is packed today. I’m going to get in lines of things that I want to do regardless of wait times to see if they are accurate or not. Got boarding group 54, but according to the app they haven’t even started calling yet and it’s 10:12. Most of the big ticket stuff is already 30+ minutes. Hoping the heat and humidity will drive some people out this afternoon/evening.


Honesetly, 30+ minutes after 10 isn't horrible, hopefully you have a fantastic time. I remember on every other previous trip all the headliners being well above an hour within the first 30 minutes of opening, with SDD being 2 hours almost immediately (aside from MMRR which was usually just like 45, sometimes it got around an hour first thing which is why we went there first because I'm not standing in that courtyard in the sun). It is relative though, if you're not used to what the crowds were I'm sure HS feels a lot more crowded compared to places like AK that are walk on for almost everything.


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## orangecuse

Finished our trip yesterday at MK and everything was great! No real crowds- we did SDMT 4x (2x w/ 15-20 min wait and then other parent and big kid again for Rider Swap whcih was walk on). During this other parent did pooh, peter pan, dumbo, etc all with short or no wait. We then did BTMR with no wait 2x (didnt need RS due to no line) and then ate at Caseys and did Speedway before leaving.
Peter Pan was the only thing we saw accumulate any significant wait before leaving around 1.


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## orangecuse

Overall thoughts-

Park Reservations-
We changed a few times at the last minute this trip and I am glad we were going at a time where the low crowds meant the calendar was open at all four parks even the night before. I would really hate to be there at a time where I couldnt swap based on how we were feeling in the moment.

Fastpass-
We didnt need it or miss it because there were almost no crowds at all. I was glad we got this trip in before Genie+ starts as we don't plan to return until 2023 at the earliest, so we can see how it shakes out. I enjoyed knowing we could get a RotR boarding group late afternoon and relished not waking up at 7am for any reason since our kids are always up by 8.

Masks-
Mask compliance was 95% perfect. We felt very comfortable with our masks. One family were big whiny babies on the friendship boats but other than that, just an occasional mask down on a ride (always MK).

Cast Members-
Seemed mostly happy and helpful as always! Only exception was again at MK. We had a fantastic last morning at MK but our other 5 days were filled well with AK, HS, and Epcot. Id probably advise anuone not on a once in a lofetime trip to avoid MK or just do a few morning hours and scram. Not sure why they seem to have the most issues here right now.

Ride breakdowns- theyve gotta work on this. At any given time 2 or more rides were down in any park we were in. Eg our last day Splash was down all morning and Pooh was down almost all morning (only came back up for about 30 minutes). Living with the Land was down all week so we didnt get on, and several other rides went down while we were in line.

Resort Stay- We just adore the Swan and Dolphin. We can pay with points, service is always amazing, and our room was one of the best pieces of our trip. We had a "standard view" Dolphin double bed but we faced the MK fireworks and the front of the resort our kids loved watching them every night.

Overall great trip for us and I feel lucky we hit the sweet spot of crowds!

ETA- resturaunts! We did H&V for both breakfast and dinner, The Wave breakfast at California Grill, Coral Reef dinner, Ale and Compass breakfast. Everywhere had us spaced at least one extra table apart. Both H&V meals gave us a table for 6 for our party for 4, and the others had a clear space between where a table would normally sit. Exception was Coral Reef but we got a tank table so it didnt feel particularly close to anyone but the fish anyway. We left our masks on until we had our drinks at least, if not waited for food.


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## Mich1218

We got back on Wednesday and stayed at Coronado from 8/18-8/24. I was really worried about long lines, no Fastpass and people not following masking policy. None of those worries came to pass. While wearing masks on the rides wasn't fun, it wasn't unbearable and most people were complying. The lines were the shortest we've ever experience and we rode more than we'd normally get to with Fastpass. 

Our main strategy was rope drop until early afternoon, head back to the resort and then go to the parks again for the evening. For AK, we headed into the park at 5 due to the earlier closing time. I only included attractions and some eating, not snacks, photopass, shopping, cavalcades etc. But that was mixed in between the attractions.

8/18: Epcot 5:30-9: Walked on to Soarin, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, went around the World Showcase kiosks, FEA at 8:35. This was our longest line of the trip at 35 minutes. We were blown away by the low lines in general and weren't sure it would last. Besides the evening of the 23rd, lines were really low. The lines weren't even terrible that day, but by then we'd ridden everything we wanted to and it wasn't really worth waiting even 30 minutes.
8/19: MK 9-1: 7DMT, half SM, half IASW, Buzz, CoP, Peoplemover, Philharmagic, BOG   AK 5-7 FOP, KS, EEx2 Flame Tree Barbeque
8/20: HS 9-12 (we were on Slinky Dog by 8:35ish) TSMM, Smugglers Run, half RNRC, half Alien saucers, Rosies Cafe, MMRR  MK/Boo Bash 7:30-12:30, HM, 7DMT, PP, carousel 
Boo Bash: JC, SM, BTMRR, HM, 7DMT, Peoplemover, 6 trick or treating locations, 3 cavalcades, Cadaver Dan's, way too many treat stations
8:21: EP 11-2 (we were really tired from the Boo Bash and just needed time to relax). We just went around the World Showcase and ate our way around the Food and Wine kiosks.
8/22: AK-8-12:30, HS 6:00-9. 
AK: FOP, Navi, half KS, half EEx3, Dinosaur, Animation Studio for 10 am drawing, petting zoo, Satu'li Canteen, ITTBAB
We were so successful this evening we canceled our HS reservation for the next day as we were able to do everything we'd wanted to do- Half rode TOT/half MMRR, all rode SDD, TSMM, ROTR, Smugglers Run, SDDx2. On this day, we tapped into HS at 3:30 and got boarding group 170.  Then we headed to CBR for dinner. We were called for it around 7:45. 
8/23: Spent the morning at the resort, went to Trader Sam's at 3:30, were told 2 hour wait. Had Dole Whips at Pineapple Lanai and were called into Trader Sam's around 4:10. Got to MK around 6, BTMRR, IASW, Buzz, stayed for fireworks.


----------



## Mich1218

orangecuse said:


> Overall thoughts-
> 
> Park Reservations-
> We changed a few times at the last minute this trip and I am glad we were going at a time where the low crowds meant the calendar was open at all four parks even the night before. I would really hate to be there at a time where I couldnt swap based on how we were feeling in the moment.
> 
> Fastpass-
> We didnt need it or miss it because there were almost no crowds at all. I was glad we got this trip in before Genie+ starts as we don't plan to return until 2023 at the earliest, so we can see how it shakes out. I enjoyed knowing we could get a RotR boarding group late afternoon and relished not waking up at 7am for any reason since our kids are always up by 8.
> 
> Masks-
> Mask compliance was 95% perfect. We felt very comfortable with our masks. One family were big whiny babies on the friendship boats but other than that, just an occasional mask down on a ride (always MK).
> 
> Ride breakdowns- they've gotta work on this. At any given time 2 or more rides were down in any park we were in. Eg our last day Splash was down all morning and Pooh was down almost all morning (only came back up for about 30 minutes). Living with the Land was down all week so we didn't get on, and several other rides went down while we were in line.
> 
> Overall great trip for us and I feel lucky we hit the sweet spot of crowds!


I second most of this. I was surprised at how long some rides were down. TOT was down our first HS day and then Peoplemover was down our last evening. We were also on a few rides that went down for more than 5 minutes while riding and had to bail on a PP line because it went down for about an hour.


----------



## Leigh L

Helvetica said:


> I guess it’s all relative, but I’ve been pretty excited about the wait times that I’ve been seeing for my upcoming trip. They’re much better than they were in May.
> 
> Back then, everything was above 30 minutes at DHS by this time of day. I think Tower of Terror would have been around an hour and a half by now.


I agree!
We were in late June, while not terrible, there were some long lines, esp at DHS. Have a quick weekend trip coming up and pretty excited as well.


----------



## faceofsam

Just finished our morning at animal kingdom! We got to the park around 9 and did dinosaur, Everest, and safaris as all basically walk ons. We stopped for photos, got coffee, saw almost all the floats on the waterway (only one we didn't see was Mickey and Minnie!) We walked the gorilla trail and got to see the baby gorilla, got our favorite snack of street corn, and headed out for our lunch reservation at Sanaa. A great morning, and I felt very safe.


----------



## Ecomommy09

This thread was valuable to me while planning so here come my report.  

8/25-8/28 at Kidani Village.  I had a Savannah view studio.  It was immaculate, cozy, and so fun.  I spent the first afternoon just on my balcony videoing and photographing the animals and sending them to my kids.  Food was tough, though.  Mara was all locked down. You could walk in and order but it was a hassle.  The pool bar was open and I ate there for lunch to save the walk to Jambo.  Margarita was lovely   Both shops are open now but the fridges are down in Jambo so that limits your options.  My only real complaint about the resort was how often I lost WiFi OR the app just logged me out/required a new pin code email to get back in.  That was crazy.


----------



## Ecomommy09

First morning was HS with MK in the afternoon.  I have no interest in TOT or RNRC so I didn’t even walk down there.  I arrived at the gate in my car at 0800 for a 0900 open and the gate was already open. They let us tap in at 0830 and I was on Slknky at 0840.  Then I road Aliens and TSM as a walk on.  The wait for Slinky was 25 minutes the whole time.  I had a raspberry tart and some coffee which was very tasty.  

I headed into SW and road MFSR with a 15 minute walk through the line. Next as shopping followed by walking on Star Tours. It was getting hot and so I sat around and drank some water because I was beat from traveling.

Finally MMRR with a 40 minute wait and lunch at ABC commissary. I went back to the room after that to work out and nap. I had BG 82 but ROTR was down several hours and I’d done ALL the other things I wanted so I was ready to leave.

I headed to MK via bus at 1500. Unfortunately, I hate busses and I hate the TTC so yuck. This is why I stay at Contemporary the most. The walk.

I road POC (walk on) and JC (30 min) before my dinner reservation.  Food at Skipper was awesome and my server so funny.  After dinner I walked on BTM, HM, WTP (20 min) and Space Mountain (25 min).  I think I mentioned I was tired.  I bailed before fireworks.  So sad.


----------



## Ecomommy09

Second day was AK (my fav!) with a trip to Epcot to shop in the afternoon.  I didn’t ride anything at Epcot at all, so I’ll just say I drove in at 1600 and stayed until 1900 eating around the world and buying Cat Sushi and Hello Kitty stickers. Thanks Japan!

I got to AK gate at 0730 for an 0800 opening. They held us a long time. It was like 0840 before they let us on. I walked on FOP and Na’vii and the FOP again with a 20 minute wait. I’ll never be able to ride it twice again in my life.  I had breakfast at 0900 at Sbux.  My safari was one of the best ever. I saw all the animals and the baby hippo and rhino.  .  I walked both wilderness trails and then road Everest twice as a walk on.  Finally, it was a good time to have some lunch at Nomad Lounge (hello Annapurna Zing) and shop.  I headed back to the resort at 1300 to nap and  workout.  And then Epcot as above.


----------



## Ecomommy09

I’m from E TN so the humidity didn’t bother me.  I wear my mask religiously and it never phased me.  In general, I just use my own behavior to keep myself safe so I didn’t really notice other people’s masking.  It seemed good when I was looking around.  There was an irritating lady in front of me at FOP who had a little cough (sounded like allergies) and wasn’t masked out of doors.  I noticed her .  Indoor dining was fine. I was a little close for comfort in Sanaa but Skipper, and ABC commissary were easy to space out in.  

I had planned to avoid Epcot completely, but Friday afternoon crowds were so low and the rain was coming so I risked it. I didn’t feel unsafe, and I got my husband his cat sushi, so that was a relief.

All in all, it was a great trip; and now we wait to see if I got the COVID-19.  I have my rapid test to take when I’ve been home a few days or if I experience symptoms.   The current guidelines from CDC are 7 days post exposure for vaccinated individuals.


----------



## rmclain73

My wife has a friend who just got back.  She said they felt very safe in the parks and in line.  She also mentioned there was plexiglass up in the lines for added protection.  Is this true?  I haven’t come across any posts mentioning the plexiglass.


----------



## Palaura

rmclain73 said:


> My wife has a friend who just got back.  She said they felt very safe in the parks and in line.  She also mentioned there was plexiglass up in the lines for added protection.  Is this true?  I haven’t come across any posts mentioning the plexiglass.


Some…big thunder, Mexico, pirates come to mind. Seemed like they started taking some down and then delta hit so some stayed up?


----------



## CarolynFH

rmclain73 said:


> My wife has a friend who just got back.  She said they felt very safe in the parks and in line.  She also mentioned there was plexiglass up in the lines for added protection.  Is this true?  I haven’t come across any posts mentioning the plexiglass.


In some queues the switchbacks are close together and the line can't be spread out further.  The queue for Slinky Dog comes to mind.  They installed plexiglass and other barriers along the railings.


----------



## Palaura

Disneymomma18 said:


> I watched HEA last night from Main Street near the emporium. It was definitely crowded but not wall to wall like I’ve seen pictures of. The crowd by the castle was though. I only sat down on the curb like 15 minutes before the show and there was still plenty of space to move around even when the show started.


We were fine back by the castle. However, the crazy amount of people headed to transportation after was too much for me. We sat and people watched until it was better to hop a bus.


----------



## Kailani6

kboo said:


> Does anyone who's there/been there in the last 1-2 weeks have any pics or descriptions of what Main St is like for HEA fireworks at MK? If we don't want to smush with the crowd in the hub, is all of main st. also packed back to the entrance to the park, or will we be able to get more space there? We would like to see the projections but we don't *have* to see them super up close, as long as we can sort of see them.



We were there Wed 8/25 and it was pretty tight on Main Street. We were next to Crystal Arts and the crowd was pretty wall to wall in front and back of us. I dont remember how the area right outside the entrance looked though

(Sorry Not sure why my pictures never load correctly)


----------



## tigger2002

Palaura said:


> We were fine back by the castle. However, the crazy amount of people headed to transportation after was too much for me. We sat and people watched until it was better to hop a bus.


How long did you wait?


----------



## brightlined

Kailani6 said:


> (Sorry Not sure why my pictures never load correctly)


On your phone, every picture is taken in the same orientation, no matter how the phone is held. In your case, the picture was captured by the camera upside-down like this. (Whichever side of the phone you had up is "down" to the camera.)

However, when it takes the picture, your Camera app adds a tag indicating which side is supposed to be up. Most modern software (including your Gallery app, for example), sees the tag and rotates the picture accordingly.

Unfortunately, the board's image software ignores the tag and displays the image the way it was taken.


----------



## Disneymomma18

Summary of my day at HS. Got to park around 9:30 and went through security and tickets quickly.  I posted when I was waiting in my first line just after 10:00. I said that it was busy bc compared to the other parks I’ve visited in the last couple of days these lines were worse and it just seemed more crowded overall. From 9:30-4:30 I was able to do the following:
TOT
RNR X2
Star tours
Rise of the resistance
Toy story mania
Slinky dog
Frozen singalong
Beauty and the beast  
Watched 2 cavalcades 
Ate at woodys lunch box
And had a wookie cookie from backlot

then I went back to the hotel and came back to the park at 7:00. From 7:00-8:45 I did:
TOT x2
Smugglers run
Toy story mania
MMRR
And watched the finale show

All in all I would say it was a good day, but I had a much better time at magic kingdom and animal kingdom. I wanted to give Hollywood studios one more try before ruling it out as a park I don’t really care for. For me I will only be coming back if someone in my party wants to. It’s just too congested, I don’t really care for the new lands. To each their own I was just happy that I came this week bc crowds seem to be very minimal.


----------



## Kailani6

brightlined said:


> On your phone, every picture is taken in the same orientation, no matter how the phone is held. In your case, the picture was captured by the camera upside-down like this. (Whichever side of the phone you had up is "down" to the camera.)
> 
> However, when it takes the picture, your Camera app adds a tag indicating which side is supposed to be up. Most modern software (including your Gallery app, for example), sees the tag and rotates the picture accordingly.
> 
> Unfortunately, the board's image software ignores the tag and displays the image the way it was taken.



Interesting! Thank you, I didn't realize because it looked fine on my end. Trying an experiment and saving it after reading it to look upside down on my end. And note to self to try to remember to take pictures with the camera facing the right way.


----------



## kboo

Kailani6 said:


> Interesting! Thank you, I didn't realize because it looked fine on my end. Trying an experiment and saving it after reading it to look upside down on my end. And note to self to try to remember to take pictures with the camera facing the right way.


 In the tech issues forum here, it is a common problem, and there is a step by step fix they have there. I can’t remember how to do it, but it is there.


----------



## kboo

We are here now - we’ve been up since 4:30am because we just flew in today. Got to MK around 1 pm. Had a little delay of game since there was lightning in the area and all the (many, outdoor) rides went down for about half an hour. There wasn’t a ton of social distancing in lines, but felt enough. We just got In stay, so it will be a while before we know if the precautions we are taking (signature indoor dining, some masking outdoors) are sufficient. So far about 30-50% are masking in outdoor queues. Better than I expected. Indoor most were complant without needing to be told.


----------



## ffugitive

Hi all - got to Bonnet Creek early afternoon and, after lunch and food and liquor delivery, made our way to MK by 4pm.  At a very relaxed pace (for use), did Space, Ariel, HM, Pirates, and Tiki (all walk-on) before our 6:30 Plaza ressie.  Delicious roast beef au jus.  Then off to Splash (walk-on) and BTMR (10 minute posted, 20 minute actual) for a nightcap before evading the fireworks masses, and there were some serious masses (though when has that not been the case?).  Some great firework views on monorail.  But gotta say.  Great day across the board.  Loved not having to fastpass plot and plan.  Such a fun first day (of 9).  Off to AK tomorrow, with dinner at Ale and Compass, then Epcot.  Was planning to get there at 8, but thinking a chill morning and 10am arrival ought to be fine if lines are like today.  Plan is Dino, Everest, Cali, Safari (and whatever else along the way), then hit Nomad and Pandora in the afternoon before heading out to dinner and Epcot


----------



## brightlined

Kailani6 said:


> Interesting! Thank you, I didn't realize because it looked fine on my end. Trying an experiment and saving it after reading it to look upside down on my end. And note to self to try to remember to take pictures with the camera facing the right way.


Totally optional on changing how you hold your phone - it's really the board's issue.

I did see that the forum software developers are essentially pinning it on the individual site admins to make sure that EXIF support is enabled in PHP, but that's a pretty high-level fix in my opinion.

1) Quickest fix - take a screenshot of the image on your phone and upload that.

2) Second quickest - duplicate the image on your phone and edit it slightly (in Photos or Gallery) - ie, crop it a little - and upload the new copy.

3) Hop on a computer and use something like Photos / Photoshop / Paint / GIMP (free) - open the image and "save as" a new file. (You won't need to edit it or anything - it'll be right-side up when you open it - and the save will fix the orientation.)


----------



## faceofsam

Another little trip update! Yesterday after Sanaa we went back to animal kingdom, and did river journey and FOP. The queue for rivers was the first time I felt somewhat anxious, as it had no social distancing and people very close together. Thankfully it was only about a 15 minute wait. We then walked over to FOP and it was about 20 minutes from stepping foot in the queue to stepping foot in the pre show room. After that we left AK. Chilled at boardwalk for a bit, and walked over to epcot for dinner. Epcot was crowded but not awful, and we kept our masks on and found spots to eat away from others. Did soarin and figment as basically walk ons.


----------



## Best Aunt

brightlined said:


> Totally optional on changing how you hold your phone - it's really the board's issue.
> 
> I did see that the forum software developers are essentially pinning it on the individual site admins to make sure that EXIF support is enabled in PHP, but that's a pretty high-level fix in my opinion.
> 
> 1) Quickest fix - take a screenshot of the image on your phone and upload that.
> 
> 2) Second quickest - duplicate the image on your phone and edit it slightly (in Photos or Gallery) - ie, crop it a little - and upload the new copy.
> 
> 3) Hop on a computer and use something like Photos / Photoshop / Paint / GIMP (free) - open the image and "save as" a new file. (You won't need to edit it or anything - it'll be right-side up when you open it - and the save will fix the orientation.)



This is super helpful.  Not that I'm in Orlando and taking photos, but I appreciate that you took the time to post it to help those who are.


----------



## MinnieMSue

brightlined said:


> On your phone, every picture is taken in the same orientation, no matter how the phone is held. In your case, the picture was captured by the camera upside-down like this. (Whichever side of the phone you had up is "down" to the camera.)
> 
> However, when it takes the picture, your Camera app adds a tag indicating which side is supposed to be up. Most modern software (including your Gallery app, for example), sees the tag and rotates the picture accordingly.
> 
> Unfortunately, the board's image software ignores the tag and displays the image the way it was taken.



oh my goodness I appreciate your posts here about the photo rotation problem. I had no idea all these years why my photos sometimes posted sideways. I never checked the tech area mainly because I didn’t care that much lol  Thank you for this info (along with the other post here). Makes perfect sense.


----------



## Corinne

brightlined said:


> Totally optional on changing how you hold your phone - it's really the board's issue.
> 
> I did see that the forum software developers are essentially pinning it on the individual site admins to make sure that EXIF support is enabled in PHP, but that's a pretty high-level fix in my opinion.
> 
> 1) Quickest fix - take a screenshot of the image on your phone and upload that.
> 
> 2) Second quickest - duplicate the image on your phone and edit it slightly (in Photos or Gallery) - ie, crop it a little - and upload the new copy.
> 
> 3) Hop on a computer and use something like Photos / Photoshop / Paint / GIMP (free) - open the image and "save as" a new file. (You won't need to edit it or anything - it'll be right-side up when you open it - and the save will fix the orientation.)


thanks for the information, very helpful!


----------



## OhBother1984

Here now! First park trip since Jan/feb 2020 besides going to blizzard beach and Disney springs.

Did MK yesterday and it was a little crowded but nothing horrible and our longest wait was 25 mins for space and mine train. 11 rides total, 1 calvacade, lunch, and fireworks!

mask compliance was decent but saw very little enforcement and saw a an almost full boat on small world with no masks on right before they would get off. Saw people with no masks or lowered indoors right near CM and they said nothing and they had to have seen it they were that close.

Off to Hollywood studios today with boarding group 16 for ROTR!!!


----------



## luv2cheer92

danissmart said:


> You forgot policy decisions.


Lol. Not entirely sure what you're getting at, but based on previous posts I have an idea. But its laughable that people would think that would cause many cancellations, especially compared to the listed reasons you quoted.


----------



## danissmart

luv2cheer92 said:


> Lol. Not entirely sure what you're getting at, but based on previous posts I have an idea. But its laughable that people would think that would cause many cancellations, especially compared to the listed reasons you quoted.


----------



## bagpiper

Hi,

Are any of the stores in Epcot which are located inside the germany, italy, canada, england open yet ?

TIA


----------



## 5Tulips

Just back from a stay 8/25-8/28.  Overall, mask compliance was really good in indoor queues.  95%+ is accurate.  There always seemed to be that one person though. 

Although waits were low at MK, we found walkways to be very crowded.  We hopped over to MK one evening and felt no energy walking down Main Street and the crowd seemed a little rough.  We rode Pirates and left.  Something just felt off. It was really odd. 

We loved F&W at Epcot for lunch. Cherry Beer in Germany, paella in Spain and the lobster roll at Hops were favorites.  All rides were walk ons. The cast members at Epcot were by far the most pleasant and upbeat we encountered. We hopped over to AK one evening and rode FOP in 25 minutes despite the wait time posted as 50 minutes right before close. Walked on all other attractions. A relaxing evening.

Hollywood Studios was an absolute zoo on 8/26. We got ROR boarding group 60 and that’s the only ride we rode. Waits were too long. And so many people. However, we went back Friday evening and walked on MF, TSM and had a 15 min wait for MMRR. It turned out to be a great night.

Tables at restaurants were spaced decently.  We loved breakfast at Trattoria - iced coffee was delicious.  Our server was fantastic.   Topolinos dinner was ok.  Very disappointed in Yachtsman - my filet was chewy and they sat us right next to another party despite an empty restaurant.  Yes, we could have asked to move but I thought it would fill in since we had a 5pm ressie but it never did.  Ale & Compass takeout was on point.  We ate by the (practically empty) pool.  The egg sandwiches at Boardwalk Bakery were cold and gross. 

It was a nice trip for DH and I. Glad we left the kids at home though. Thanks to all who posted on this board. The insight helped us plan and make decisions for this trip.


----------



## 5Tulips

bagpiper said:


> Hi,
> 
> Are any of the stores in Epcot which are located inside the germany, italy, canada, england open yet ?
> 
> TIA


The tea store in England is open.  But that was all I saw open in England.


----------



## larsonb74

5Tulips said:


> The tea store in England is open.  But that was all I saw open in England.



Last trip they were open but with local cast members vs. ones from those countries.


----------



## bagpiper

Thanks for the update, I was there on 7/4 and there stores were still closed. Pretty disappointing.


----------



## loves to dive

bagpiper said:


> Thanks for the update, I was there on 7/4 and there stores were still closed. Pretty disappointing.


I was there in April and the tea store in England was open.  I don't remember Canada.  The caramel store, the Christmas store, the wine store and the crystal store were all open in Germany.  The big store in Italy was open but I don't remember if the mask portion was.


----------



## Palaura

tigger2002 said:


> How long did you wait?


I think about 45 minutes?


----------



## DisneyOma

loves to dive said:


> I was there in April and the tea store in England was open.  I don't remember Canada.  The caramel store, the Christmas store, the wine store and the crystal store were all open in Germany.  The big store in Italy was open but I don't remember if the mask portion was.



When we were there two weeks ago the mask portion of the shop in Italy was open.


----------



## ffugitive

Question.  Can anyone tell me how late the afternoon boarding groups were available today?


----------



## mdmost

They're available right now


----------



## mdmost

Just looking at other wait times around HS, Slinky Dog is 30 minutes, MFSR is 15 minutes, MMRR is 10 minutes, ToT and RRRC are 15 minutes. Unreal. Hope it's similar when we're there next Sunday.


----------



## Dentam

I watched ResortTV1's livestream at the MK today and the park was so empty.  I really hope it is like that when we are there next month!  We arrive a few days after Labor Day and will be there for a week.


----------



## pangyal

We have done six trips since March 2020, so I’ve really run the gamut of crowd levels coupled with the resulting frustration (or lack thereof). I come down with my mom most years for this week in August, but of course we’ve only ever had low crowds coupled with FP+. I can definitively say that crowds and wait times are lower than they normally would be this week. At AK on Friday, in the middle of the day, we literally walked onto FOP, Navi, Safari and Navi again. The last time I was able to do that was when they had first reopened last summer.  I was a bit nervous heading to MK today since it’s a Sunday and the last time we went on a Sunday (this past June) it was so crowded that we did one show of COP and bailed. Today, we arrived at 10am and did Little Mermaid, Space, Buzz x 2, BTMR, Pirates, Peoplemover x 2, Small World and COP as walk-ons. We also waited 20 minutes for Jungle Cruise, 15 minutes for PPF, and 12 minutes for Pooh. We were going to do Splash (walk-on) and/or 7DMT (posted 35 minutes) around 2:30pm but we had sufficiently melted into puddles of hot goo and thought we needed to get back to the resort with the AC, so we called it a day.

It’s definitely making up for the last trip I did, but we are also booked for the 50th next month, so I imagine these lovely quiet days don’t have long to survive before that insanity hits!


----------



## Haley R

MK was awesome tonight! We got there around 4 pm and rode speedway, CoP, space, people mover, dumbo, and tea cups with no wait! We’ll be back tomorrow morning. The crowds are great.


----------



## emmabelle

Does anyone know what time they’ve been opening up the tapstyles at HS lately?


----------



## Sugarshock

Just back from an absolutely perfect long weekend trip- feel free to ask about anything!

Thursday 8/26 - Arrival
We got in to MCO around 8:45pm on Thursday, there was no wait for DME, our bus only had two stops and we were the first one! When we arrived to Coronado Springs, I asked if there were any upgrades available and we were able to get in a Gran Destino room with views of Animal Kingdom for only $50 more pet night over a standard CS room! We spent a little time in Dahlia Lou he before heading to bed, the wings there were among the best things we ate.

Friday 8/27 - HS/EPCOT
Some local friends were able to join us for their first visit to Galaxy’s Edge and Food & Wine! We got to HS around 8:45, ToT was a walk-on- what a way to wake up lol.
We were boarding group 47 and were called around 1. Before then, we were able to do Ogas, MFSR, ToT, MV3D, and Ronto Roasters. We really took our time taking in the atmosphere, that was honestly more fun than anything.
after RotR, we went on RRC, and headed back to the hotel to cool off.
We hopped over to EPCOT around 5, did Spaceship Earth, Frozen, and Soarin, and visited probably half of the F&W booths. All were amazing, but the best was the siracha donut chicken sandwich.

Saturday, 8/28 - MK
Magic Kingdom was, if I’m being honest, the least enjoyable of the parks. It felt the most crowded (it never felt unbearably crowded) and mask compliance was easily the worst. Lots of people were taking them off once they were out of sight of CMs. On Splash, we were the only ones on our boat who kept them on. We are a pair of generally healthy, vaccinated adults without kids, so I felt okay despite this. I have no doubt in my mind we were exposed in MK though. A kid was open mouth coughing, unmasked, for the entire time we were in the Sunshine Tree Terrace line.
Anyway, tine for the positives! We got in around 3:30 and managed to do all 3 mountains, HM, People Mover, and Pirates before we decided to stake out our spot for HEA at 7:30. We never waited more than 25 minutes for any ride. Seeing the show was the whole reason for the trip, and we wanted to sit and have a break anyways. Thank you to everyone here for the plaza garden tip, it was truly the best spot we could’ve had. Crowds inside the fence were *much* less dense than on Main Street, and it was easy to hang around for a while after the show to let the exit crowd die down a little.

TLDR - COVID:
Magic Kingdom has the worst crowds and mask compliance by a long shot. That said, as a vaccinated adult without kids, I only felt super uncomfortable once when we were near someone who had a 1.5 minute long coughing fit, unmasked. I personally wouldn’t bring any kids here right now.


----------



## tentaguasu

Sugarshock said:


> Magic Kingdom has the worst crowds and mask compliance by a long shot. That said, as a vaccinated adult without kids, I only felt super uncomfortable once when we were near someone who had a 1.5 minute long coughing fit, unmasked. I personally wouldn’t bring any kids here right now.



I've seen several posts noting this. Any guesses as to why? Seems odd....


----------



## Sugarshock

tentaguasu said:


> I've seen several posts noting this. Any guesses as to why? Seems odd....


Honestly I think it’s because many of the rides at MK aren’t fully indoors. I’m sure there’s more, but I think that plays a big part.


----------



## PrincessJasmine88

How are the stores in Galaxys Edge? When I was there in June they were limiting the number of people allowed in the stores and the lines outside in the heat were so long.


----------



## SmittS

We’re doing a quick long weekend trip over Labor Day weekend.  I have/had possibly foolish expectations for low crowds given the feedback over the past couple weeks.  Part reservations were wide open until I checked today where I see Saturday and Sunday are now sold out for most tickets type for….Epcot?  This is the first I’ve seen Epcot sold out since July 4 and I assume that was due to a combination of the holiday and fireworks just coming back.  Any idea why Epcot would be sold out this weekend?  Hoping the other parks have smaller crowds!


----------



## mdmost

SmittS said:


> We’re doing a quick long weekend trip over Labor Day weekend.  I have/had possibly foolish expectations for low crowds given the feedback over the past couple weeks.  Part reservations were wide open until I checked today where I see Saturday and Sunday are now sold out for most tickets type for….Epcot?  This is the first I’ve seen Epcot sold out since July 4 and I assume that was due to a combination of the holiday and fireworks just coming back.  Any idea why Epcot would be sold out this weekend?  Hoping the other parks have smaller crowds!



Remy's Adventure DVC member previews, I believe.


----------



## SmittS

mdmost said:


> Remy's Adventure DVC member previews, I believe.


I didn’t think reservations were required, but it appears they make one on your behalf.  I‘m registered for 9/6 and saw this in the confirmation:
Annual Passholders will not need to make a separate Theme Park reservation to enter EPCOT on the day of their preview. A Theme Park reservation for their registered preview date will be added to their My Disney Experience account and appear under "My Plans" within 72 hours of their registered preview date.

So, that would make sense if everyone registered booked up the slots!


----------



## Sugarshock

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> How are the stores in Galaxys Edge? When I was there in June they were limiting the number of people allowed in the stores and the lines outside in the heat were so long.


They aren’t limiting anymore for most. I saw short (less than 10 groups) for Dok Ondar’s and the Droid Depot in the mid afternoon, but you wouldn’t wait more than a few minutes I think.


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## burberryplaid

Line for Magical Express right now


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## brightlined

SmittS said:


> We’re doing a quick long weekend trip over Labor Day weekend.  I have/had possibly foolish expectations for low crowds given the feedback over the past couple weeks.  Part reservations were wide open until I checked today where I see Saturday and Sunday are now sold out for most tickets type for….Epcot?  This is the first I’ve seen Epcot sold out since July 4 and I assume that was due to a combination of the holiday and fireworks just coming back.  Any idea why Epcot would be sold out this weekend?  Hoping the other parks have smaller crowds!


In years past, the September weekends of Food & Wine would usually be slammed. (A few of those days are specifically blocked out on the lowest AP.)


----------



## arizonacolbys

Curious to hear from someone just back - how much are masks required at the theme parks currently? Are they now required for all rides again if the ride does indoors? We were at US/IOA in March and they were required everywhere, including outdoors and it was unseasonably hot. Curious what the current protocol is - I just see they are required indoors on the WDW website. Thanks!!


----------



## 5Tulips

arizonacolbys said:


> Curious to hear from someone just back - how much are masks required at the theme parks currently? Are they now required for all rides again if the ride does indoors? We were at US/IOA in March and they were required everywhere, including outdoors and it was unseasonably hot. Curious what the current protocol is - I just see they are required indoors on the WDW website. Thanks!!


Yes just indoors.  If you can feel AC, masks are required.


----------



## manicstreet

We just arrived back home yesterday. We had a wonderful time. Having used Magical express for the last time this trip I dont mind it going away. It does stink that they are taking away another perk but I think in the future I would rather just pay the $50 each way to Uber/Lyft to be at the resort 45 minutes after landing. It took almost 2 hours from waiting in the line to finally arriving at our resort. There were 5 stops. Thankfully we were the 3rd stop or else we would have missed our Sanaa reservation. The parks were not busy at all. Rode Rise of the Resistance 3 times. Longest we waited in line for any attraction was an hour (slinky dog). Out of our group 2 adults fully vaccinated, 1 child 1/2 vaccinated & 1 child not vaccinated. No one felt unwell during the trip. No sniffles or anything. Fingers crossed it stays that way. I have 9 more days to go until we are in the clear. However, the children start school September 8th and in my opinion are in the same boat as if we were in Disney. It is what it is. My wife and I were talking on the flight home and we both felt this was our favorite Disney World trip we have ever taken as a family. We slept in every day, parked hopped & generally just toured the parks at a leisurely pace. There was absolutely no reason to rope drop. I was worried about Stand By only but it was fantastic. Lines moved quick. That is it for now. I will update post if I need to concerning Covid. Hopefully I do not have to.


----------



## Haley R

Had a great morning at MK! Rode splash, btmr, magic carpets, and pirates as walk ons. There have been moments where the walkways were completely empty in those areas. We left around 11 so Ds could have a nap. Can’t wait for AK tomorrow!


----------



## SmittS

manicstreet said:


> We just arrived back home yesterday. We had a wonderful time. Having used Magical express for the last time this trip I dont mind it going away. It does stink that they are taking away another perk but I think in the future I would rather just pay the $50 each way to Uber/Lyft to be at the resort 45 minutes after landing. It took almost 2 hours from waiting in the line to finally arriving at our resort. There were 5 stops. Thankfully we were the 3rd stop or else we would have missed our Sanaa reservation. The parks were not busy at all. Rode Rise of the Resistance 3 times. Longest we waited in line for any attraction was an hour (slinky dog). Out of our group 2 adults fully vaccinated, 1 child 1/2 vaccinated & 1 child not vaccinated. No one felt unwell during the trip. No sniffles or anything. Fingers crossed it stays that way. I have 9 more days to go until we are in the clear. However, the children start school September 8th and in my opinion are in the same boat as if we were in Disney. It is what it is. My wife and I were talking on the flight home and we both felt this was our favorite Disney World trip we have ever taken as a family. We slept in every day, parked hopped & generally just toured the parks at a leisurely pace. There was absolutely no reason to rope drop. I was worried about Stand By only but it was fantastic. Lines moved quick. That is it for now. I will update post if I need to concerning Covid. Hopefully I do not have to.


I was curious with the BG availability for Rise being wide open through the day, if there were opportunities for multiple rides.  Typically it’s one boarding group per person, per day.  How were you able to ride 3 times in a day?  We’re there this weekend and would love to ride it more than once if possible.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

For anyone there now, are there a lot of small children or are most folks coming with older children that can be vaccinated? I guess that's 12 years old or older.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

Our plan is to limit time in or near crowds, but curious about the current state of affairs.  Our Granddaughters are 4 and 2 years old and have no issue wearing a mask inside...especially if we get a few nice Princess masks.


----------



## Disneyland1084

compared to the pre-pandemic days? I'm a DL vet and have only been to WDW once, back in 2017. Have parades and shows returned? I want to go back, but am willing to wait a couple of years until it "gets back to normal" if it ever does. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## Brett Wyman




----------



## Palaura

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> For anyone there now, are there a lot of small children or are most folks coming with older children that can be vaccinated? I guess that's 12 years old or older.


This was our concern. We had 2 under 12 that we put a lot of thought into taking to the mouse.  We knew the risks, we knew how to be safe, and we knew we needed the week away as a family. I never felt that we were the isolated group with kids-its Disney!  However, I've never seen the stroller parking so empty.  It was also the least crowded overall so it could have been an offshoot of the crowds.  We noticed that there were a lot of kid in the pools  but not a ton at table service restaurants.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

Palaura said:


> This was our concern. We had 2 under 12 that we put a lot of thought into taking to the mouse.  We knew the risks, we knew how to be safe, and we knew we needed the week away as a family. I never felt that we were the isolated group with kids-its Disney!  However, I've never seen the stroller parking so empty.  It was also the least crowded overall so it could have been an offshoot of the crowds.  We noticed that there were a lot of kid in the pools  but not a ton at table service restaurants.


Thanks for those words.  We are going in late October.  They've never been so we are hoping just the sounds and sites will check most of the boxes.  They can't do any of the larger rides because of their age/size so we will be limited on rides...plan to do pool time each day...and only doing a few sit down meals (Chef Mickey, Rainforest Cafe in AK, and the restaurant in Germany).  Most meals will be at the Shades of Green where we can keep a good distance or choose an outside venue.  Appreciate the feedback.


----------



## Gary Stocker

We were there earlier in the month and the situations we could control with masks and relative distancing (queues, within restaurants that had good spacing like Ohana) that there was little concern. The pool was a different ball game as my son especially loved the Boardwalk slide and that is a mess of kids bunched up. My wife would cringe.


----------



## Palaura

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Thanks for those words.  We are going in late October.  They've never been so we are hoping just the sounds and sites will check most of the boxes.  They can't do any of the larger rides because of their age/size so we will be limited on rides...plan to do pool time each day...and only doing a few sit down meals (Chef Mickey, Rainforest Cafe in AK, and the restaurant in Germany).  Most meals will be at the Shades of Green where we can keep a good distance or choose an outside venue.  Appreciate the feedback.


A lot can change by them. Heck-in June it was a different story! Enjoy the planning and enjoy seeing those little ones experience  the magic.
One super (mental) helpful item I packed were at home covid tests. I saw how hard it was to get tested in FL. Taking rapid tests with me made me feel better.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

Gary Stocker said:


> We were there earlier in the month and the situations we could control with masks and relative distancing (queues, within restaurants that had good spacing like Ohana) that there was little concern. The pool was a different ball game as my son especially loved the Boardwalk slide and that is a mess of kids bunched up. My wife would cringe.


Appreciate the feedback.  Yeah, we plan on pool time each day...but at Shades of Green they have 2 pools and I think the number of rooms they are filling will make it likely that the pools aren't too crowded.  That being said, I'll have the wife turn away if the slide is filled with children.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Post-mortem on that trip...we had them quarantine for 5 days after we returned and then had them tested at the pediatrician. They were negative so I think we did the best we could under the circumstances and it worked out. Don't forget the mask lanyards..the little ones WILL drop their mask onto the dirty ground without them.


----------



## Geomom

SmittS said:


> I was curious with the BG availability for Rise being wide open through the day, if there were opportunities for multiple rides.  Typically it’s one boarding group per person, per day.  How were you able to ride 3 times in a day?  We’re there this weekend and would love to ride it more than once if possible.


I assume they rode it multiple days.  We were there 8/20, got a boarding group at 1pm.  After we rode it at 2:30pm, the app still showed availability, but if you click to join it says that you maxed out your reservations for the day....so it's still limited to 1 ride/day...at least officially...no idea if they were taking any stand by folks end of the night, didn't wander that way and had an Ogas ADR near closing time.


----------



## Lsdolphin

burberryplaid said:


> Line for Magical Express right now


 Uhoh I arrive next Tuesday...hoping for a smaller crowd


----------



## hereforthechurros

pangyal said:


> We have done six trips since March 2020, so I’ve really run the gamut of crowd levels coupled with the resulting frustration (or lack thereof). I come down with my mom most years for this week in August, but of course we’ve only ever had low crowds coupled with FP+. I can definitively say that crowds and wait times are lower than they normally would be this week. At AK on Friday, in the middle of the day, we literally walked onto FOP, Navi, Safari and Navi again. The last time I was able to do that was when they had first reopened last summer.  I was a bit nervous heading to MK today since it’s a Sunday and the last time we went on a Sunday (this past June) it was so crowded that we did one show of COP and bailed. Today, we arrived at 10am and did Little Mermaid, Space, Buzz x 2, BTMR, Pirates, Peoplemover x 2, Small World and COP as walk-ons. We also waited 20 minutes for Jungle Cruise, 15 minutes for PPF, and 12 minutes for Pooh. We were going to do Splash (walk-on) and/or 7DMT (posted 35 minutes) around 2:30pm but we had sufficiently melted into puddles of hot goo and thought we needed to get back to the resort with the AC, so we called it a day.
> 
> It’s definitely making up for the last trip I did, but we are also booked for the 50th next month, so I imagine these lovely quiet days don’t have long to survive before that insanity hits!


Wow how are you traveling from Canada so often? Border being closed and all.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Kailani6 said:


> Interesting! Thank you, I didn't realize because it looked fine on my end. Trying an experiment and saving it after reading it to look upside down on my end. And note to self to try to remember to take pictures with the camera facing the right way.


When I did a recent trip report, I would go into each picture I wanted to upload, crop it and make a slight change, then save.  After that, the picture uploaded just fine on the site.  

Before editing, the pictures would display in any random direction.


----------



## The13thLetter

just got back last night from the long drive. will write up a full thoughts post later this week but wanted to mention our last 2 days were awesome. 

thursday did breakfast from ale&compass market and ate it by the pool. did full pool morning. DS3 went on the big pirate ship slide like a champ. he wanted to go on it, and he did it all by himself. we had to do it about 6 times in a row lol. aftewards we went to epcot for a quick bite from a few remaining booths, then monorail to TTC, ferry to MK. went in and did all the rides DS wanted to do again with little to no wait. did monsters inc laugh floor for the first time ever and it was pretty great. took him on barnstormer and dumbo again while DW got pceos bill. DW took him on small world while i ate chicken and waffle sandwich. DS got to see HEA for the first and last time. Since he is 3 we found a spot sort of up front to the left of the castle where no one was. he could see most of the castle projections through the trees. even with the partial view i still teared up in the normal 3 or 4 places lol. did a longggg loop around the park after so we could skip out on the immediate crowds and it worked out well as we got on the first bus to YC once we finished.

friday did tusker house breakfast. food was good but character experience was sort of lackluster. toppolino was much better. then did safari, navo, FOP, EE, triceratops, all walk ons. finished the night with pizza from the boardwalk window and swimming (more pirate slide lol)


----------



## brockash

Disneyland1084 said:


> compared to the pre-pandemic days? I'm a DL vet and have only been to WDW once, back in 2017. Have parades and shows returned? I want to go back, but am willing to wait a couple of years until it "gets back to normal" if it ever does. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.


Wait...no parades are not back and not all shows either...I'd just wait.


----------



## manicstreet

SmittS said:


> I was curious with the BG availability for Rise being wide open through the day, if there were opportunities for multiple rides.  Typically it’s one boarding group per person, per day.  How were you able to ride 3 times in a day?  We’re there this weekend and would love to ride it more than once if possible.



we went to Hollywood studios 3 different days.


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## BroadwayHermione5

5Tulips said:


> Yes just indoors.  If you can feel AC, masks are required.


That is actually a really great reference point thank you.


----------



## Haley R

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> For anyone there now, are there a lot of small children or are most folks coming with older children that can be vaccinated? I guess that's 12 years old or older.


We’re here now and there are lots of small children and babies. We’re here with our 16 month old


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## emily nicole

We arrived yesterday 8/29 at about 7pm.  There were only two other parties at DME. We were immediately placed on a Mears van, by ourselves and taken to All Star Movies. I missed the DME little movies but it was nice going directly to our resort.

We got to Magic Kingdom today around 10:30am. Everything we did was a walk-on except for Splash (posted 40, actual 20). We didn’t try 7DMT, we will hit that during Boo Bash. Ate at Skipper Canteen and it was delicious.


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## tripplanner

Just came back today. There was a float with characters led by dancers and music. One float. It was cute, but nothing like their parades. We also saw the Jaminators in Epcot. It was the only other show we came across with 3 days in the parks. I’d wait if you want those experiences.


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## MarkS2112

It’s very very different and not in a good way. Lots less to do, higher prices. Wait until it all comes back.


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## EpcotPhoenician

There's another thread with a *ton* of useful information. It helped me plan my May 2021 trip. Link below. 

https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...g-experiences-including-park-hopping.3807247/


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## burberryplaid

Good first day…

Despite the scary looking line at ME it moved quick. We waited about 15 minutes for a bus. There were 5 stops and we were stop 1.Got the text our room was ready on the bus and went straight in - no issues.

I was full on prepared to Lysol the room but when we opened it, we could tell it had just been cleaned. Both remotes were sealed in plastic with a “Cleaned”sticker.

We had a 12:20 reservation at Beaches N Cream for lunch. We were called at 12:25

Seating: We were a party of 2 seated next to another table with plexi glass in between. There was another table behind us which was a little close but not too bad and another table on the other side of us that was about 6 feet away. We were comfortable and kept masks on while waiting for food. Our server Roger was excellent.

We went back to the room and napped and got our grocery delivery then over to Epcot around 5:45. It was HOT as blazes! Walked on to Soarin and got drinks at Sunshine Seasons (I needed water) then Spaceship Earth. Walked back to Mexico and got chiliquiles and taco al pastor. Walked on to Grand Fiesta. Got food at Kenya and Germany booths. Germany was the longest line..about 5 minutes. Got the 8:45 showing of The American Adventure then walked to our room.

Walkways are busy as mentioned but we still felt comfortable outdoors without a mask. If we can into very close contact with someone like ordering food we put the mask on. No issues with compliance indoors that we could see.

I was extremely nervous before we arrived but feel really good now. We are vaccinated and being careful (2 adults) I’m happy we came so far.

This thread was very helpful to me so I will continue to report back. If you have any questions let me know!


----------



## The13thLetter

Haley R said:


> We’re here now and there are lots of small children and babies. We’re here with our 16 month old



its funny, we did notice there seemed to be less little ones than normal but they were definitely still there like you said.


----------



## smitty0705

arizonacolbys said:


> Curious to hear from someone just back - how much are masks required at the theme parks currently? Are they now required for all rides again if the ride does indoors? We were at US/IOA in March and they were required everywhere, including outdoors and it was unseasonably hot. Curious what the current protocol is - I just see they are required indoors on the WDW website. Thanks!!



They are required everywhere indoors including rides. At restaurants you are asked to mask if not actively eating/ drinking but that’s not really enforced. Lines that are covered or part inside and part outside also require masking. CMs will remind you if you forgot and don’t have your mask on. I feel like thr masking is taken seriously. Today we saw a family removed from Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway because they didn’t all have masks. I have no idea how they got all the way to the ride vehicle without all being masked but the CMs would definitely not allow them to ride unmasked. Hope this helps.


----------



## slyster

Rope dropping AK. We are being held at ticket entry point.  Rope drop thread may need to be updated.


----------



## PamNC

Everyone who is there and reporting - thank you for the reports on the crowds! I'll be there next week and hoping that the crowds remain low... keeping a close eye on the situation.


----------



## rmclain73

A friend of mine just returned.  She is not a member of this board so I figured I would share her story.  They traveled from 8/23-8/27.  She like me works in healthcare and was worried prior to the trip about the increase in Covid cases in the Florida area.  She traveled with her 2 under 12 yrs old children.

Like most have said crowds were low and wait times were great.  She found mask compliance to be very high when indoors.  CM's did a great job reminding people.  She also felt safe from the Plexiglass dividers that were up in line queues where distancing was not possible.  Dinning was better than she anticipated.  All severs kept masks on, and tables were spaced enough part.  She really thought Disney did a great job at making them feel safe.  She was glad she went, and would do it again.


----------



## Dentam

PamNC said:


> Everyone who is there and reporting - thank you for the reports on the crowds! I'll be there next week and hoping that the crowds remain low... keeping a close eye on the situation.



Same here - we arrive next Wednesday and will be there a week.  Hoping for these super low crowds to continue!


----------



## Haley R

We went to AK this morning. Showed up around 7:50 and walked onto safari, Everest, and triceratops spin. Safari was great because all of the lions were out. Then our Ds played in the boneyard before we left for his nap. We’ll be back later tonight to ride Navi and probably Everest and the triceratops ride again. I’ve been very pleased with mask wearing inside. We occasionally wear ours outside if we’re in a crowd


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## MrWreckless

The13thLetter said:


> its funny, we did notice there seemed to be less little ones than normal but they were definitely still there like you said.
> View attachment 601093View attachment 601094View attachment 601097



Where did you find that Cars poncho?


----------



## The13thLetter

MrWreckless said:


> Where did you find that Cars poncho?



its like a poncho/raincoat hybrid. a bit big but did the job.

https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Pixar...&keywords=cars+raincoat&qid=1630422122&sr=8-6


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

Dakota731 said:


> Yep!  And saw on a popular Disney blog that a lot of people who would be going now are saving their trips for the anniversary. So if you don’t have school kids and don’t mind the heat, this is a great time for a last minute trip


Waits are minimal - here now


----------



## emily nicole

What’s with all the charter buses? Almost every bus we have taken to and from the parks has been a charter bus. Not complaining, those seats are plush! Lol. Just curious where all the Disney buses are!


----------



## tigger2002

Went to EPCOT today (August 31st 2021).  No one here.  Fewest number of people I have ever seen.  Longest wait was Frozen, five minutes.


----------



## Carol_

emily nicole said:


> What’s with all the charter buses? Almost every bus we have taken to and from the parks has been a charter bus. Not complaining, those seats are plush! Lol. Just curious where all the Disney buses are!


I’m hoping WDW is starting their own bus service to replace all previous bus services, including DME.
*A dream is a wish your heart makes…*


----------



## Gary Stocker

tigger2002 said:


> Went to EPCOT today (August 31st 2021).  No one here.  Fewest number of people I have ever seen.  Longest wait was Frozen, five minutes.


As someone who was there from 8/6-8/14 (right before things starting slowing down) I am both happy for you and hate you


----------



## tigger2002

Gary Stocker said:


> As someone who was there from 8/6-8/14 (right before things starting slowing down) I am both happy for you and hate you


I do feel kind of guilty riding Soarin and Test Track over and over.


----------



## IluvMGM

We are on our 2nd day at Pop Century. No wait to get on a Magical Express bus yesterday. Did Epcot and everything was under 20 minutes. Based on the lines we experienced last year this time for the Skyliner, we got up early and headed there around 6:45 am. We were the first in line, and got boarding group 1 while in line. The line didn't get long at all, nothing compared to last year. We got to the park and were held after going through security until 8:30, but not held once in the park, so we were free to go right to whatever ride we wanted. We were one of the first ones in the park and most everything was a walk on. So, very successful day again!


----------



## Gary Stocker

tigger2002 said:


> I do feel kind of guilty riding Soarin and Test Track over and over.


no you don't...and you shouldn't.  Enjoy!


----------



## mollygirl13

Arrived yesterday morning and went straight to EPCOT. Walked on TT, Frozen, Soarin, SE, Figment. Ate at an empty Biergarten for lunch. It was so delicious BTW!!!  Took an empty Monorail to MK where we purchased Boo Bask tix for tonight. (That is why we specifically went to MK was to get tix) Walked on TTA and Buzz. Got a drink at Starbucks. Took a bus to DHS where we got a boarding group for Rise. Walked on TSM, Aliens Saucers, TOT, MMRR x2, got called for Rise in around 1.5 hours. Walked back on TSMM, MMRR, TOT. Longest wait was SDD at 25 min at end of evening. Took a not crowded boat back to Dolphin a little After park closing.
This morning we drove to DS and walked right into Gideon’s right before 10 am. Walked around an empty DS and shopped!! Ate lunch at Polite Pig and there were maybe 5 other families in there w us. Did more shopping and esp LOVED walking around the WOD store with not a lot of folks. It was WONDERFUL and I really got to take my time and look around. 
leaving for MK now. It’s 4:15 PM. Boo Bash tonight.


----------



## Gary Stocker

I am having a hard time imagining Food and Wine with current reported crowds. I think it was needing to wait on line that saved me from falling into the lake a few times.


----------



## mantysk8coach

Wow, we were there last week and things were quiet, this week sounds even better…I’m jealous!


----------



## smitty0705

Was at AK today. Rope dropped. Lines have been minimal all day. Longest I saw was 25 mins for Navi River at one point when FOP was 10 mins.  Everything we rode was a walk on. We rode FOP again just before leaving and they’re offering to let people exit or choose to ride again right away without having to fully exit and go back through the line! Never thought I’d see the day. Park hopping to MK now since we covered the entire AK park and did our favorites multiple times over.


----------



## ellbell

I arrive at Disney from Universal tomorrow.  First park day is Thursday.  I'm hoping the crowds stay this low for the 10 days I'm there.


----------



## VAtink

These crowd level reports sound amazing!  Hoping it stays this way through the next two weeks for our trip!

For those who are there now, how have the crowds been for the fireworks, especially at Epcot?


----------



## CarolynFH

emily nicole said:


> What’s with all the charter buses? Almost every bus we have taken to and from the parks has been a charter bus. Not complaining, those seats are plush! Lol. Just curious where all the Disney buses are!


I’ve read that Disney has been renting buses and contracting for drivers from other companies because they haven’t been able to hire enough drivers yet.


----------



## emily nicole

CarolynFH said:


> I’ve read that Disney has been renting buses and contracting for drivers from other companies because they haven’t been able to hire enough drivers yet.


That makes total sense! Thanks!


----------



## Sarahslay

My phone has been acting up so I haven’t been posting (got it fixed now though). I am on day three with Boo Bash tonight, and so far have done every single park. The only ride have had to wait in line for at all has been SDD, everything else has been a walk on (aside from the pre-shows, obviously). Aside from the heat it’s been a dream trip, I can pretty much get everything done I want to in a couple of hours and leave to escape the heat without sacrificing what I want to do. Have already ridden every ride I’ve wanted to, including grabbing a Rise BG at 3:30 after hoping to HS (went to AK in the morning, went to Epcot at 2 to ride Soarin’ and grab a bite to eat, then rode skyliner to HS). I think I killed my shoulder riding TSMM so many times yesterday . Hopefully Boo Bash is good tonight, my husband keeps joking that the event might be the highest crowds I see if the whole trip.


----------



## Sarahslay

emily nicole said:


> What’s with all the charter buses? Almost every bus we have taken to and from the parks has been a charter bus. Not complaining, those seats are plush! Lol. Just curious where all the Disney buses are!


I haven’t had a single charter bus, although I did see one Disney cruise line bus yesterday pick up from HS at park close.


----------



## ItsMEH

I am so jealous of these trip reports!


----------



## PrincessJasmine88

ellbell said:


> I arrive at Disney from Universal tomorrow.  First park day is Thursday.  I'm hoping the crowds stay this low for the 10 days I'm there.


How do the Universal crowds these days compare to Disney?


----------



## ellbell

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> How do the Universal crowds these days compare to Disney?


They weren't to bad.  We didn't stand in any lines over 20 minutes and that included Hagrids. Velocicoaster was a 40 minute wait but we didn't actually check the time on it because my one son is a big guy and didn't fit and the other wouldn't ride alone. We did a leisurely stroll around both parks on 2 seperate days and had done basically everything we wanted to do by mid afternoon in both parks.  Yesterday we were at Volcano Bay and never even needed the Tapu Tapu because everything was ride now all day long.


----------



## smitty0705

VAtink said:


> These crowd level reports sound amazing!  Hoping it stays this way through the next two weeks for our trip!
> 
> For those who are there now, how have the crowds been for the fireworks, especially at Epcot?


I haven’t been at Epcot fireworks but Sunday MK fireworks were crowded. That being said we were still able to get a great viewing spot 20 mins before it started so still not as crowded as it would be normally.


----------



## Dave006

ellbell said:


> I arrive at Disney from Universal tomorrow.  First park day is Thursday.  I'm hoping the crowds stay this low for the 10 days I'm there.


Just a warning guest counts will go up starting on Friday due to Labor day weekend and then it should drop again by Wednesday.

Dave


----------



## smwisc

Gary Stocker said:


> As someone who was there from 8/6-8/14 (right before things starting slowing down) I am both happy for you and hate you


I was there 7/27 - 8/5, so it was even worse!  I can relate to the mixed feelings.

Although truth be told, we would have cancelled if we'd known the COVID rates were going to spike that quickly, so we wouldn't be there for the low crowds regardless.  Which makes my jealousy at reading these reports somewhat irrational.


----------



## Gary Stocker

smwisc said:


> I was there 7/27 - 8/5, so it was even worse!  I can relate to the mixed feelings.
> 
> Although truth be told, we would have cancelled if we'd known the COVID rates were going to spike that quickly, so we wouldn't be there for the low crowds regardless.  Which makes my jealousy at reading these reports somewhat irrational.


We rented points so we were also a little hamstrung with the ability to cancel. However it was a nice trip regardless...there was the mask mandate which gave us a sense of comfort despite many who blatantly disregarded..but in the end..and despite my wife basically chasing down my son trying to get on the Keister coaster at Boardwalk..that was pretty fun...despite waking up hungover for a RotR boarding group  only to have iit break 4 times...really jealous of those getting BGs without a park pass!? we got to do most of what we wanted.. the kids tested negative..it was a great trip.


----------



## Haley R

We went back to AK at around 4 pm. Rode Navi, Everest x2, and triceratops x2. All of them were walk ons and lots of empty walkways. Our Ds is 16 months and actually had room to run/walk without running into people. We leave tomorrow after a breakfast at topolinos. It’s been fantastic!


----------



## honeymo78

Dave006 said:


> Just a warning guest counts will go up starting on Friday due to Labor day weekend and then it should drop again by Wednesday.
> 
> Dave


Fingers crossed that it drops again after the Labor Day bump.  We arrive 9/11 and are hoping for the super low crowds, but even normal mid-Sept crowds wouldn't be bad.


----------



## burberryplaid

Day 2 - Wole up at 6:45 and got BG 34 For ROTR. It did not come up until 10 which pushed our return time back. Got on the boat from Boardwalk at 8:15 and into the Studios by 8:45 which was allowing guests through.

Rode ToT twice then got breakfast at Woody's. Rode Slinky, TSMM, and MMRT,  Our group got called at 11:45 and the ride broke down just as we got to check-in. Rode Star Tours and watched MV3D to kill time. ROTR came up at 12:45 and we successfully rode it.

Back to Boardwalk by 2 and grabbed pretzels for a snack. On the boat I made a reservation at the Boathouse for dinner.

We swam for a while then went to DS. I have never seen DS that empty!

Dinner at the Boathouse was fabulous! Since we were close by we decided to see what the wait at Gideon's was. It was 10 minutes so we got 4 cookies to sample. Walked to the Basin and bought bath bombs. Back in our room by 8 and resting up for MK tomorrow.

Still feeling good and safe. I only saw 1 idiot in line at TSMM who was not wearing his mask properly - I was glad he was not on our vehicle!

Hoping tomorrow is a good one at MK!


----------



## Dentam

Sarahslay said:


> Hopefully Boo Bash is good tonight, my husband keeps joking that the event might be the highest crowds I see if the whole trip.



I was kind of thinking the same thing!  Not sure if our Boo Bash tickets will be worth it in mid-Sept but I'd rather feel that way and have super low crowds during our trip!


----------



## JFDIS

Can anyone who has been there recently confirm that Boo Bash tickets are still being offered day of on sold out nights? I saw multiple reports of this on opening night and am curious if that is still happening.


----------



## aalan

Hahahahaha…


----------



## kboo

Will report more when I’m home but the crowds are so low compared to any time I’ve ever been in the past. Mask compliance generally decent except for the adult couple in front of us who pulled down their masks for their takeoff on RRC and so now DD and I don’t have a picture. Grrr.
But - confirming that virtually everything is a walk on or close to it. Amazing.


----------



## blrem

JFDIS said:


> Can anyone who has been there recently confirm that Boo Bash tickets are still being offered day of on sold out nights? I saw multiple reports of this on opening night and am curious if that is still happening.


wondering the same...


----------



## mousefan73

VAtink said:


> These crowd level reports sound amazing!  Hoping it stays this way through the next two weeks for our trip!
> 
> For those who are there now, how have the crowds been for the fireworks, especially at Epcot?


When we were there last week, it was " dead" no real crowds. most crowded was the bridge over by France. But there was even space. We were tired so left to beat the crowds.. even though it wasnt pack, if everyone leaves at once its crowded... my experience from last week, MK was the only exception where it was packed. and the post fireworks there was insance as usually getting out.


----------



## ffugitive

We are on day 5 of our 9-day trip and dramatically changed our plan of attack due to low crowds.  Instead of getting to parks early, we are just sleeping in, having relaxed mornings and getting to the parks around 11 or so.  We are more rested and still have no problem doing everything we want to do several times over.  We even did this for HS and just picked up our RoTR boarding group at 1pm (rode at 4:30) without any problem.  And man was that ride a trip!  Surpassed my lofty expectations.  Back to MK today - still haven't gotten my Mickey Bar - might have to happen today.


----------



## kittylady1972

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> How do the Universal crowds these days compare to Disney?



*We did Universal over the weekend (Sat/Sun Aug 28/29) and I can say the crowds were pretty light overall.  Saturday was definitely busier than Sunday, both days were hot.  However on Sunday we arrived around 11am, did the Bourne Stuntacular first (for the first time...this was AMAZING), and rode MIB, had a snack, rode Gringotts (wait time showed 40 mins I think, looking at lines likely about 30 but we had a one-time use Express pass), then train over to Hogsmeade, grabbed some food, and then rode Velocicoaster twice in a row with wait time listed at 35 and actual wait about 20-25 at most.  Hagrids was showing 35 every time I looked but we skipped it having done it a lot on our last trip and wanting to get back to our resort and hit the pool.  Most of the waits for rides showed 30 minutes or less though and we definitely felt the crowds were light.  

Reading all these reports makes me sad we have made the decision to delay Disney until March of next year.  However with lack of FPs and not having APs I will do my best to stay strong in waiting until 2022 for our next Disney visit and even then it sounds like it will be a very different experience with all of these new "things" happening.   *


----------



## lovethattink

Disneyland1084 said:


> compared to the pre-pandemic days? I'm a DL vet and have only been to WDW once, back in 2017. Have parades and shows returned? I want to go back, but am willing to wait a couple of years until it "gets back to normal" if it ever does. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.



Moving your post to the Here Now, Just Back thread. You’ll be able to keep up with all the changes by reading most recent posts.


----------



## Palaura

Gary Stocker said:


> I am having a hard time imagining Food and Wine with current reported crowds. I think it was needing to wait on line that saved me from falling into the lake a few times.


Food and wine was my dieting downfall. The only line was in France. I remember looking at my charges the next morning and being impressed with how much we ate (and drank)!


----------



## DisneyFive

ffugitive said:


> We are on day 5 of our 9-day trip and dramatically changed our plan of attack due to low crowds.  Instead of getting to parks early, we are just sleeping in, having relaxed mornings and getting to the parks around 11 or so.  We are more rested and still have no problem doing everything we want to do several times over.  We even did this for HS and just picked up our RoTR boarding group at 1pm (rode at 4:30) without any problem.  And man was that ride a trip!  Surpassed my lofty expectations.  Back to MK today - still haven't gotten my Mickey Bar - might have to happen today.



Jealous.   We miss the days when we could visit during truly low crowd times.  We used to go late September.  Now that our kids are high school and college age we're forced into summer.  Not bad overall, but sounds as though it's night and day versus our crowds (which felt normal) late July, early August.  The lack of FP+ was the real downer.  We used to be able to handle crowds easily with FP+

Dan


----------



## Gary Stocker

Palaura said:


> Food and wine was my dieting downfall. The only line was in France. I remember looking at my charges the next morning and being impressed with how much we ate (and drank)!


My downfall started when we first arrived and our room wasn't ready. Boardwalk Joes dole whips and rum x 3 in the blazing sun. From there it was a fait accompli. Diet be damned.


----------



## Gary Stocker

...and I am convinced they put crack in the Yorkshire fish and chips. I had a craving almost every day that needed to be fulfilled.


----------



## Leigh L

Gary Stocker said:


> ...and I am convinced they put crack in the Yorkshire fish and chips. I had a craving almost every day that needed to be fulfilled.


I once had a trip like that!  
(IIRC it was in 2011, lol.)


----------



## WEDWDW

BGs for ROTR for the 7:00 AM drop were available as late as 9:00 AM today.

The Earth stopped momentarily in response!


----------



## TinkB278

Boy, we have a stay starting 9/12 and I’ve been considering canceling every day due to the high Covid cases but reading these reports of walk ons and no lines at F&W is really making me think twice. Ugh


----------



## ThistleMae

TinkB278 said:


> Boy, we have a stay starting 9/12 and I’ve been considering canceling every day due to the high Covid cases but reading these reports of walk ons and no lines at F&W is really making me think twice. Ugh


If I already had a trip planned right now, I'd definitely go.  Wear your masks.  With fewer people social distancing would be more probable.  It sounds like this is a very rare opportunity indeed.  Good luck!


----------



## mollygirl13

JFDIS said:


> Can anyone who has been there recently confirm that Boo Bash tickets are still being offered day of on sold out nights? I saw multiple reports of this on opening night and am curious if that is still happening.


Hi! I purchased 2 Boo Bash tickets on 8/30 for


JFDIS said:


> Can anyone who has been there recently confirm that Boo Bash tickets are still being offered day of on sold out nights? I saw multiple reports of this on opening night and am curious if that is still happening.


We went to MK on Monday 8/30 and got Boo Bash Tix for 8/31.


----------



## kboo

Does anyone have any info whether the HEA fireworks are going on tonight? Last night we were at MK and they made a quiet announcement that there were no fireworks but only projections but the app never changed.


----------



## ItsMEH

kboo said:


> Does anyone have any info whether the HEA fireworks are going on tonight? Last night we were at MK and they made a quiet announcement that there were no fireworks but only projections but the app never changed.


Yes, they are reported as being back on tonight.

https://blogmickey.com/2021/09/fireworks-to-return-to-happily-ever-after-tonight-at-magic-kingdom/


----------



## emily nicole

At Epcot today. It’s been rainy and windy but we got our ponchos and headed to the park around noon. SSE and Soarin were walk-on’s. 30 minute solid wait for Frozen. Our main objective is F&W and the only booth we have had to wait in line for was China. Started at Simmering Sips and taking a break in Morocco. It’s been a great day.

A side note, we attended Boo Bash last night and the park “felt” more crowded during that than it did during the day. The hours of 7pm-9pm were particularly yucky with both day and party guests present.  After 11 or so the park did begin to have that “after hours” feeling.


----------



## Erica Ladd

Wondering how everyone did with BGs this am!


----------



## WanderlustinFP

Erica Ladd said:


> Wondering how everyone did with BGs this am!



I got BG 18. As of right now, the virtual que is still open!


----------



## christygobar

Everyone's reports over the last week have really been encouraging to me.  This is my favorite thread right now, stalking reports daily . We are a large group, no concerns about wearing our masks everywhere (all vaccinated adults, and one of my DD's just recovered from Covid).  I would LOVE to see the crowds are lower and lines are shorter like you are reporting.

We get there Oct 4th and I'm only concerned the 50th may bump crowds....but maybe it will slow down after the weekend since the 1st is on a Friday?  The Lines app is showing numbers under 5 across all parks, so I'm crossing my fingers....


----------



## Br'er Rabbit is the Best

christygobar said:


> Everyone's reports over the last week have really been encouraging to me.  This is my favorite thread right now, stalking reports daily . We are a large group, no concerns about wearing our masks everywhere (all vaccinated adults, and one of my DD's just recovered from Covid).  I would LOVE to see the crowds are lower and lines are shorter like you are reporting.
> 
> We get there Oct 4th and I'm only concerned the 50th may bump crowds....but maybe it will slow down after the weekend since the 1st is on a Friday?  The Lines app is showing numbers under 5 across all parks, so I'm crossing my fingers....


If you want a general idea of how crowded it will be, look at hotel availability. For September you can get into pretty much any room you want. For October, almost everything is sold out. I’d expect wait times to be at least double what they are now if not higher.


----------



## tigger2002

Hollywood Studios yesterday.  Rained after 1:00 pm which made the temperature drop.  Walk on slinky dog at 8:00 pm.  The only wait we had was when toy story mania was down.  Oga's was accepting walk up reservations last night.


----------



## WriterGina

Yesterday was our final day at Disney and it was magnificent, despite—or more accurately, because of—the drizzle. We spent it primarily at MK, as is our final-day-of-Disney tradition, and everything was a walk on, including Dwarfs, Space, Splash, Peter Pan and Jungle Cruise. Only one major cloudburst that we waited out in the Pirates gift shop, otherwise just mostly sprinkles that kept everything reasonably cool and comfy—unlike Tuesday, which was blistering hot. We had Ohana breakfast and Columbia Harbour House lunch, got our last spring rolls and Dole Whip and castle pics, rode everything we wanted multiple times with no waits, my son hit the high score on Buzz Lightyear after walking on 4x in a row, and then scooted to Epcot for a final ride on Soarin’ before a truly epic dinner at Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs. What an amazing final day for a truly epic trip! We’re now eating breakfast at Ale and Compass before saying one last goodbye to our beautiful Beach Club balcony water view and heading home to NJ—where I hope our basement isn’t flooded!


----------



## ItsMEH

Br'er Rabbit is the Best said:


> If you want a general idea of how crowded it will be, look at hotel availability. For September you can get into pretty much any room you want. For October, almost everything is sold out. I’d expect wait times to be at least double what they are now if not higher.



If you look within the 30 day window though, there is availability and it seems people are waiting close to that 30 day mark to cancel or move their trip. So I can look up 09/28 - 10/02 for 2 adults and 2 kids and there are many resorts available. Well this is what I keep telling myself because I go on Oct 13th and want the crowds to be on the lower side.


----------



## slyster

Here at MK. Being kept at castle until 9am opening. They posted a new sign out front


----------



## burberryplaid

Day 3 - as previous poster mentioned the drizzle kept it very comfortable yesterday. We got to MK at 10:30 and walked on Pirates (x2) Splash (x2) BTMRR and HM. We grabbed lunch at Columbia Harbor House while a bigger burst of rain came through. After lunch we did Mickey’s Philharmagic, Little Mermaid, and 7DMT. We finally got to try a Cheshire Cat Tail then did People Mover and Buzz and hubby got a cookie ice cream sandwich at the Plaza.

We needed a break so we took a boat to Wilderness Lodge and hung out in the lobby a bit then had drinks and apps at Geyser Point (the brisket and chips were delicious) then went back to MK For HEA. We did Buzz, Peoplemover, and HM again and found a spot for the fireworks. We didn’t feel like squishing into the crowd so watched by the bridge near Cosmic Rays. We didn’t have great sound and some obstruction of fireworks but had a great view of Tink.

Previous posters mentioned less compliance with masks at MK which we found to be accurate. I’d say 90% were doing a good job. Hubby said a CM threatened to remove a woman at the Plaza for not wearing her mask properly….wish I saw that! 

We have pretty much done everything we wanted so the next week is just gravy. Off to AK this morning then Epcot for dinner t


----------



## coolbrook

in Mk now; saw my first “lightning lane” sign.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

coolbrook said:


> View attachment 601611
> in Mk now; saw my first “lightning lane” sign.


My worst fears are coming true that this will all change during or right before our trip (though I did hear another rumor that only the rides like Seven dwarves the pay to play ones would be only operating before October 1st).


----------



## stephnerninnie1984

christygobar said:


> Everyone's reports over the last week have really been encouraging to me.  This is my favorite thread right now, stalking reports daily . We are a large group, no concerns about wearing our masks everywhere (all vaccinated adults, and one of my DD's just recovered from Covid).  I would LOVE to see the crowds are lower and lines are shorter like you are reporting.
> 
> We get there Oct 4th and I'm only concerned the 50th may bump crowds....but maybe it will slow down after the weekend since the 1st is on a Friday?  The Lines app is showing numbers under 5 across all parks, so I'm crossing my fingers....


I truly believe everything is so low BECAUSE everyone is waiting until after October 1 to go so they can take part in the festivities. I personally know 8 families who are heading to Disney World in October. 3 of them TYPICALLY do their annual trip in September but wanted to wait this year. I don’t say this to dash hopes but realistically, it will probably be very crowded until mid-January.


----------



## asumom

If the crowds/lines stay low, it won't matter if genie is introduced. If people buy it, it's just wasted $ to save a couple of minutes in line. 




BroadwayHermione5 said:


> My worst fears are coming true that this will all change during or right before our trip (though I did hear another rumor that only the rides like Seven dwarves the pay to play ones would be only operating before October 1st).


 The


----------



## elgerber

asumom said:


> If the crowds/lines stay low, it won't matter if genie is introduced. If people buy it, it's just wasted $ to save a couple of minutes in line.


I don't think there is any chance the crowds will stay low once we hit October 1st.  We are going mid October, and fully expecting crazy crowds.


----------



## mollygirl13

Erica Ladd said:


> Wondering how everyone did with BGs this am!


We got BG 13 and were called around 9:15 am.


----------



## asumom

elgerber said:


> I don't think there is any chance the crowds will stay low once we hit October 1st.  We are going mid October, and fully expecting crazy crowds.


Yeah. I think the poster I was responding to is going in September


----------



## tsme

We went to MK today. It was nice crowd wise, getting more crowded as the day went on & it’s pretty hot also. But there’s one thing I noticed that I’m fairly upset about. The Mickey rice crispy treats. They are HALF the size width wise. Of course they are the same price but for a skinny rice crispy treat. I don’t want a rice crispy treat that’s been on a diet. I mean I’ve been quiet about all the other things Disney has taken from us and the rise in cost. But my Mickey rice crispy treat is my line in the sand! I’m putting my foot down. I will now only buy half as many!


----------



## WEDWDW

Looks like The Mouse wants to get his Paws on that $15.00 a day ASAP!lol


----------



## jrsharp21

WEDWDW said:


> Looks like The Mouse wants to get his Paws on that $15.00 a day ASAP!lol
> 
> View attachment 601673



Dang, I keep hoping they wait until October 1st to roll it out so that we miss it during our trip at the end of the month.


----------



## Leigh L

jrsharp21 said:


> Dang, I keep hoping they wait until October 1st to roll it out so that we miss it during our trip at the end of the month.


Same!!


----------



## jujubiee4

tsme said:


> We went to MK today. It was nice crowd wise, getting more crowded as the day went on & it’s pretty hot also. But there’s one thing I noticed that I’m fairly upset about. The Mickey rice crispy treats. They are HALF the size width wise. Of course they are the same price but for a skinny rice crispy treat. I don’t want a rice crispy treat that’s been on a diet. I mean I’ve been quiet about all the other things Disney has taken from us and the rise in cost. But my Mickey rice crispy treat is my line in the sand! I’m putting my foot down. I will now only buy half as many!


Not just those. We are having a BBQ this weekend and DH bought some chips from the store. I opened
one bag and it was less than HALF FULL.  The rest was air. Same price as usual.


----------



## jods

mantysk8coach said:


> Wow, we were there last week and things were quiet, this week sounds even better…I’m jealous!


Yes, me too!  We were there the 23rd (got in 11 pm, 4th dme stop and left for UOR Friday the 27th. We were supposed to arrive e at noon on the 22nd but storms in NY/NJ messed us up.  We had low waits  but TT was still 30ish minutes and FEA was 40.  That was actual and posted.  We waited half hour for FOP then it was posted10 . Mine train was never under 40 and Junglr Cruise too.  We walked on the Safari and had the most amazing one.  We went to AK the 24th. Walked in at 9.  Did Navi, FOP, the safari and the gorilla trail.  Pretzel and beer stop as well.  We headed out at 1130 to catch an uber for a Chef Mickey’s adr.  Not bad in 2 1/2 hours.  We had a long safari due to animals too.  We did epcot that night, strictly food and wine.  We had long lines in France.  Some booths were long and some were pretty quick.  Had my grey goose sushi.  Yum!  So we lost 2 days at the beginning,  had a rained out Boo Bash but still had a great, although rushed trip.  Saw lots of kids and actually had a hard time getting lounge chairs at Yacht Club in the afternoon.  Universal was empty Friday and Sunday. Saturday was crowded (in comparison) but we had EP so it was fine.


----------



## Dentam

jrsharp21 said:


> Dang, I keep hoping they wait until October 1st to roll it out so that we miss it during our trip at the end of the month.



Well, if they roll it out any earlier there won't be a need for it by the looks of the crowd reports lately!


----------



## Bon1423

Landing tomorrow morning hoping this short line energy carries through the weekend! Our first post Covid trip and nervous about touring without fast passes


----------



## ArielRae

It is 20min until Epcot Forever fireworks when I took this photo. I am in one of the prime spots between the Port of Entry store and Disney Traders. It is usually the FP area. This is what I am looking at for space. Everyone is keeping their space. As you can tell I’m pretty happy.


----------



## Tigjam630

We traveled 8/24-29 and had a fantastic trip!  We were very nervous about traveling with our two kids under 12 who are unable to be vaccinated, but ultimately decided to stick with the trip.  They are really good maskers and we figured we would skip anything that didn’t feel comfortable to us. We canceled all indoors ADRs except for one where we felt we could have more separation from people. We also wore masks outdoors when we were in crowded walk ways. I feel like masking at Disney indoors was very good compliance wise- probably about 95% and maybe 20-30% of people were masking in crowded outdoors areas. 

8/24: Checked into Yacht Club early around 11am. Ate lunch at Homecomin’ on the outdoor patio. We were able to walk right into Giddeons with no wait around 2pm and picked up some cookies and cake to snack on the rest of our trip. Swam in the early evening until it started storming. We did mobile order to go from Ale and Compass and are on our balcony.

8/25: HS day. Got BG 7 (turned off WiFi and used cellular data from our room) for Rise, which was called at 8:45am. We stayed in the park until about 1pm when we needed a break from the heat. Walkways were starting to feel crowded at that point too. We came back to HS around 5pm and it was pretty quiet- we were able to do everything we wanted with limited waits. We stayed through close and walked back to YC.

8/26: Drove over to Contemporary to have breakfast at the Wave at the California Grill. This was our only indoors ADR and felt pretty well spaced. We did leave our masks on when we weren’t eating or drinking. We walked over to MK around 11:30am and started over by Big Thunder and worked our way around the park counter clockwise from there. A big difference from normal as we are usually cross crossing all over the park for fast passes.The only rides that had waits were Jungle Cruise, Astro Orbiter, and 7DMT. Otherwise we walked onto everything else and rode things multiple times! We watched the fireworks from the bridge to Tomorrowland with few people around (obstructed view of castle, but we were more concerned with avoiding crowds then seeing projections clearly), then hung out for about 30 min for crowds to die down and walked back to our car at the contemporary.

8/27:  Walked over to Epcot around 10:30am. Went right in and walked to FEA- we were able to ride 3x in a row (my daughter’s favorite!)- they even let us ride on once because there was no one in line. Then we started by the Swanky Swine booth and worked our way around the WS towards the International Gateway. It was a little bit drizzly out and the crowds were low- probably the least crowded I’ve seen F&W. We took a break at the hotel/pool from 3-5pm, then when we came back it was definitely more crowded around the WS and booths (Friday night, seemed to be more locals around). We headed into Future World and did all of the rides, which had no waits (except TT which averaged about 20-30 min), along with some of the F&W booths that way.  My favorite is the corned beef from Flavors of Fire…yum!  We watched the fireworks from Canada with few crowds around and walked back to YC.

8/28:  Pool day!  Enjoyed the pool until some thunderstorms rolled in the afternoon and then walked around the boardwalk for ice cream. We took the skyliners for fun in the evening to AOA/Pop but then got stranded at those hotels for a little bit due to more lightning.  They were only boarding one family per skyliner which we appreciated. We made it back to YC and really enjoyed watching the Epcot fireworks from our balcony.

8/29:  Had a good breakfast via Ale and Compass mobile order that we ate on our balcony, then headed back home. 

Overall, we are really glad we went. Our last trip was August 2019. We thought crowds were low then, but definitely much lower this trip!  We still had those magical moments and really appreciated the time together as a family. We were cautious COVID wise- no more so than we are at home, but definitely didn’t impact how much fun we had. We just got COVID tested out of precaution 5 days post trip and were all negative, so hopefully will stay that way!


----------



## mollygirl13

ArielRae said:


> It is 20min until Epcot Forever fireworks when I took this photo. I am in one of the prime spots between the Port of Entry store and Disney Traders. It is usually the FP area. This is what I am looking at for space. Everyone is keeping their space. As you can tell I’m pretty happy.
> 
> View attachment 601762


Nice!!! We watched EPCOT FOREVER from Italy and got there 15 min before it started. Lots of space and everyone kept their distance. It was so nice!!!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

tsme said:


> We went to MK today. It was nice crowd wise, getting more crowded as the day went on & it’s pretty hot also. But there’s one thing I noticed that I’m fairly upset about. The Mickey rice crispy treats. They are HALF the size width wise. Of course they are the same price but for a skinny rice crispy treat. I don’t want a rice crispy treat that’s been on a diet. I mean I’ve been quiet about all the other things Disney has taken from us and the rise in cost. But my Mickey rice crispy treat is my line in the sand! I’m putting my foot down. *I will now only buy half as many!*


You're supposed to buy _twice _as many so you still get the same amount of rice crispy treat.


----------



## principessa0ox

We are in the airport now, delayed trying to go home. We did a short trip, 8/28-today with one day at each park. The crowds were so low that we were able to ride every single ride, plus Flight of Passage, Everest, the Safari, Runaway Railway, Slinky, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Seven Dwarves, Space Mountain, and Frozen twice without any fast passes or parent swaps. It was AMAZING. I had low expectation and it ended up being my favorite trip. Idk what to include in these posts, but happy to answer any questions.


----------



## slyster

Here at DW now.  I have talked to a few CMs about how slow it is right now.  A couple of them shared that when it’s really slow, it means budget cuts and they actually send them home.  

At the same time, they know come October 1st, things will definitely pick up.


----------



## The13thLetter

slyster said:


> Here at DW now.  I have talked to a few CMs about how slow it is right now.  A couple of them shared that when it’s really slow, it means budget cuts and they actually send them home.
> 
> At the same time, they know come October 1st, things will definitely pick up.



i cant imagine at this point they will send anyone home. they need to get people trained and ramped up with experience before oct 1st


----------



## HollyMD

Has anyone else had any trouble signing in to their MDE app today? Mine just keeps spinning…..


----------



## burberryplaid

HollyMD said:


> Has anyone else had any trouble signing in to their MDE app today? Mine just keeps spinning…..


I’ve had issues off and on. If I close and re-open it usually resets


----------



## cakebaker

The13thLetter said:


> i cant imagine at this point they will send anyone home. they need to get people trained and ramped up with experience before oct 1st



They will definitely cut hours when the crowds aren't there. They "need" to get people trained, but these days money rules all and they'll cut whenever they can possibly do it. Low crowds are fun for guests short term, but long term it just means more delays in ramping back up and more cuts.


----------



## HollyMD

burberryplaid said:


> I’ve had issues off and on. If I close and re-open it usually resets


It lets me in fine for everything except making park reservations  I canceled one for Nov 20th to change parks, and now it won’t let me in to make a new one


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## Carol_

Don’t forget all the locals waiting for the AP to drop.


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## hildarumpole

luv2cheer92 said:


> Hahaha. If it weren't you posting it, I would have assumed that was a joke. Incredibly confused why someone would think that would have anything to do with it.


We have an early October trip scheduled, but will cancel if masks are still required and switch to Universal/SeaWorld.


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## burberryplaid

Day 4 - Went to AK around 10:15. Rode Everest (x2) Safari, Navi River..lunch at Satu’li then FOP. We’re hot and tired so we went back to the room for a swim and got caught in a downpour on the way back to our room.

Dinner was lovely at Le Cellier. We were exhausted so we just went back to the room and relaxed.

Still enjoying light crowds and doing everything we want.


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## Dentam

Carol_ said:


> Don’t forget all the locals waiting for the AP to drop.



Shouldn't increase the crowds that much this month until maybe the last week before the 50th starts.  At least that's what we're hoping since we arrive the day the AP's go on sale next week!


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## asumom

Dentam said:


> Shouldn't increase the crowds that much this month until maybe the last week before the 50th starts.  At least that's what we're hoping since we arrive the day the AP's go on sale next week!


That's what I am hoping/thinking.  It's still hot, kids are in school, and there are a lot of current pass holders who were able to renew previously already in the parks so it's really just the new passholders. The most affordable pass blocks out weekends so between work and school, not many will be able to go during the week right away.


----------



## scrapshappen

We are headed south on 95 on our way from Virginia right now and will be there tomorrow. We’re one of those that almost cancelled due to Covid but decided to keep our plans due to the low crowds. Hoping it holds through the next week. Although I expect a slight bump at least over the holiday weekend,


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## coolbrook

At the airport now heading home after a 5 DVC resorts in 5 nights stay. Loved the low crowds and low lines; MK fireworks from the plaza gardens area in front of Casey’s; dinner at rose and crown for Epcot Forever; good food at resort restaurants; seeing Turtle Talk, Laugh Floor and Hall of presidents again; the new scenes in Jungle Cruise; and much more!

Did not love …Well I can’t think of anything right now.


----------



## slyster

The13thLetter said:


> i cant imagine at this point they will send anyone home. they need to get people trained and ramped up with experience before oct 1st



I wish that were the case.  Two of the CMs I chatted with told me they were sent home early due to budget cuts and because it was so incredibly slow thIs week.  

I never waited more than 15-20 min on any ride including Flight of Passage,  Seven Dwarfs Mine, Smugglers Run.  I got a boarding pass for Rise of the Resitance easily at 6pm and rode it an hour later.  It was a perfect time to visit.


----------



## slyster

scrapshappen said:


> We are headed south on 95 on our way from Virginia right now and will be there tomorrow. We’re one of those that almost cancelled due to Covid but decided to keep our plans due to the low crowds. Hoping it holds through the next week. Although I expect a slight bump at least over the holiday weekend,



They expect slow crowds for another 2 or 3 more weeks easily.  I felt masks were enforced and folks wore them when they were supposed to.  Most waited until they were required to.  We wore our masks any time we were in line regardless of whether we were indoors, but keep in mind lines were super short!  So it was never for long.


----------



## Corinne

coolbrook said:


> At the airport now heading home after a 5 DVC resorts in 5 nights stay. Loved the low crowds and low lines; MK fireworks from the plaza gardens area in front of Casey’s; dinner at rose and crown for Epcot Forever; good food at resort restaurants; seeing Turtle Talk, Laugh Floor and Hall of presidents again; the new scenes in Jungle Cruise; and much more!
> 
> Did not love …Well I can’t think of anything right now.



glad you had a great trip! Are you saying you moved resorts each day? How was THAT!!?? Would love to hear about it! Haha


----------



## igrsod

jrsharp21 said:


> Dang, I keep hoping they wait until October 1st to roll it out so that we miss it during our trip at the end of the month.


It's funny... this is one of the first times I've ever seen something new coming to WDW where everyone isn't hoping it will be there when their trip comes.... says something.
I agree... I wouldn't want to be there when it rolls out.


----------



## OhBother1984

igrsod said:


> It's funny... this is one of the first times I've ever seen something new coming to WDW where everyone isn't hoping it will be there when their trip comes.... says something.
> I agree... I wouldn't want to be there when it rolls out.



I am so indifferent on all of it, I don't think its going to be that bad and its gonna be better than the old fastpass system especially for standby lines. Now I do agree it will be a mess when it launches like everything is.


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## DisneyOma

coolbrook said:


> At the airport now heading home after a 5 DVC resorts in 5 nights stay. Loved the low crowds and low lines; MK fireworks from the plaza gardens area in front of Casey’s; dinner at rose and crown for Epcot Forever; good food at resort restaurants; seeing Turtle Talk, Laugh Floor and Hall of presidents again; the new scenes in Jungle Cruise; and much more!
> 
> Did not love …Well I can’t think of anything right now.



How about the construction walls all over a gutted EPCOT? And the huge, ugly barges blocking views across the lake? Those were two things I didn't love when we were there 2 weeks ago.


----------



## Kafertal

I  just wanted to pop back on here and write a quick trip report.  We were at WDW from 8/21 - 8/26 and stayed at The Yacht Club.  This was our 2nd stay at YC and it was great.  We're a family of 5 (mom, dad, 3 kids - 17, 16, & 10) and we went our friends this time, another family of 5 (mom, dad, 3 kids - 16, 10, & 8).  They gave us connecting rooms which was convenient - a nice surprise since we didn't request it.  I wish I  was cool enough to post a minute by minute breakdown but I'm too lazy so I'll just do a summary.

This was our first time back since 2015 and the other family's first time ever so we wanted to make sure we got as much done as possible since our trip was relatively short.  Guerrilla style touring in the mornings and then totally chill with no set plan in the evenings.   Pretty much Epcot at Night, rode rides leisurely and ate.  Day one we met at the resort and walked into World Showcase around 1pm, ate at the Japan booth, took some memory maker pics, rode Frozen Ever After, then went back to the hotel to swim and relax since we'd both driven in that day.  Epcot again that night.  We rope dropped the next three mornings (HS, MK, AK). 

HS (Sun, 8/22) -   Arrived by boat probably around 8:30am MFSR (off by 9), Star Tours, M&M, TOT, ROTR (BG 51 - 12:10), & TSMM stopped for a snack done by 2, then Epcot at night.

MK (Mon, 8/23) - Arrived by bus around 8:20am.  They held us at the entrance to Adventureland until exactly 9am.  Splash wasn't open yet so we did BTMR, then Splash, Jungle Cruise (Pirates was closed until about 10:40am), Magic Carpets, snack, then Pirates finally opened, HM (while my husband and 17 yr old son did Hall of Presidents), shopped a bit, then philharmagic, memory maker photos, took the boat to WL for a mobile ordered lunch at Geyser Point (nice place to relax & eat away from the park but they don't let you sit under the covered section if you mobile order which makes zero sense), boat back to MK, then bus back to YC around 3:!5pm, Epcot that night.

AK (Tues, 8/24) - Drove to AK, parked around 7:20am, Walked right to FOP, probably 15 min total b/c walking through the queue takes a little while, then Navi, Safari, Gorilla falls, Everest, Kali, Lunch at Satuli Canteen, Dinosaur, snack, memory maker pics, watched a quick bird show at the tree of life on the way out, gone before 2pm.

HS (Wed, 8/25) - This was supposed to be our day to sleep in but we got BG 5 for Rise and had to scramble to make it to HS.  The three teens stayed behind at the hotel.  Walked to HS b/c the boat wasn't at the dock and our BG time got moved up about 25 min.  Shopped around Galaxy's Edge, grabbed a Ronto Wrap, TOT, Slinky, and then had a treat and took off.  Disney Springs - had a late lunch at Homecomin' (so good), pretty much walked into Gideon's Bake House (my 90's goth heart was so happy in that fabulously dark & creepy store & the cookies were amazing),chilled at the pool that night and watched fireworks from there.

MK (Thurs, 8/26) - just hit MK quickly on our way out.  Took our time that morning, packed up, checked out, drove to the TTC with the car packed, got to MK just before 11, took a zoom shot, did SDMT, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, and Buzz. Mobile ordered some Pot stickers from SST and grabbed some spring rolls from the cart and left.  Drove to my cousin's house in Sewall's Point, FL and then stayed with them for four nights then started the drive back to NJ.

It was a really fun trip. Thank you to everyone on these boards for your trip posts and great advice.  Your tips for Rise of the Resistance, plus park gear advice like fans and uv umbrellas, etc really helped so much.  I loved reading about your experiences. Overall we had a great time.  **It only really rained twice, it was hot but manageable - except for the HS days, heat was oppressive in the afternoon.  *As far as covid, we almost canceled since our 10 year old isn't vaccinated (all of us were with the exception of the 3 youngest kids), but I'm glad that we went.  Indoor mask compliance was pretty good and cast members would remind people to cover their faces or noses.  We only ate outdoors, we wore Kn95 masks indoors, on transportation, and in outdoor queues and crowds.  We drove to avoid airports.  Hand sanitizing stations were everywhere and always full. We've been back from WDW for 9 days & not even a sniffle - hoping that we stay well.  **Everything was clean in the parks and at the hotel. A few guests left a bag of garbage outside of their doors but it wasn't there for long.  Mousekeeping came twice, once to do towels & garbage, and once to do that again plus a wipe down of the bathroom. **Ordered groceries from Amazon now, which is no longer a available - I think it's only Amazon Fresh as of 8/30. They couldn't deliver on our arrival day for whatever reason, came the next morning around 6:15am, then somehow delivered again the same day but we didn't know until Wed bc I didn't notice the message light on the hotel phone. So double groceries but not double charged **All of our meals were great & I  enjoyed booking them on the fly - we sat outdoors for all:  Geyser Point, Homecomin', Spice Road Table, Rose & Crown, Regal Eagle, Satuli Canteen.  **Enjoyed F&W Festival but didn't enjoy all of the obnoxious drunk people. **Didn't get our dinosaur photo b/c someone had their mask off.  **Got to ride all of the headliners except RNRC (no one wanted to) and enjoyed all of the parks.  EP & AK were the easiest to navigate,  HS & MK seemed more crowded. **It's tough to travel with a group of 10 - we all got along fine but didn't factor in the times someone would need a bathroom - which was so frequent - omg!!!!! **The Touring Plans lines app was pretty much spot on with wait times

Sorry for the novel.  Hope it's not too all over the place.  Thanks again to all of you who took the time to post your experiences and advice.  It really helped so much more than you can ever know.  Wishing all of you with future trips happy and safe travels,  Enjoy the holiday weekend!


----------



## coolbrook

DisneyOma said:


> How about the construction walls all over a gutted EPCOT? And the huge, ugly barges blocking views across the lake? Those were two things I didn't love when we were there 2 weeks ago.


Yes, I am quite ready for the Epcot mess/ construction to be done; I did enjoy riding the Epcot monorail again and seeing what was behind the walls.  I will reserve my opinion on the barges until I see what they look like in the daytime with the fountains on.


----------



## coolbrook

Corinne said:


> glad you had a great trip! Are you saying you moved resorts each day? How was THAT!!?? Would love to hear about it! Haha


Yes, we moved resorts every day.  I planned ahead to not really unpack like we usually do, have a park bag with swimsuits, phone chargers, sunscreen, and resort mugs to be able to hang out at the pool if our next room wasn't ready when we arrived.  On the days my local cm daughter with a car had to work we just took our one bag and my C-pap machine to bell services on our way to breakfast to be transferred to our next resort. We then had a table service breakfast at the resort before heading to the closest park.  On our Beach Club Villa and Epcot morning we swam after breakfast, because I love that deep lazy river.  We didn't try to rope-drop this trip, so we could enjoy our breakfasts at a leisurely pace.  After we were done in our morning park we took Disney transportation to our next resort. Sometimes the room was ready and sometimes we had to wait a bit.  I think it helped with being able to get in a bit early some days that the crowds were pretty low everywhere.  I actually thought the resort switching was easier when we didn't have to figure out when to get my daughter's car moved.  

We loved having a perfectly clean room and made bed every afternoon!  Our five resorts were BLT, BCV, BWV, OKW, and CCV.  Favorite room if you don't consider location was CCV with walk-in shower, with BCV coming in second.


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## Sarahslay

So I'm home from a great week in the parks solo, and aside from the heat it was a dream trip. The only ride I had a real wait for was SDD, I waited in that 3 times on my trip and all three times combined don't even come close to what a "normal" wait time would have been for one ride on one of my previous trips this past year (I think the longest wait was 30-ish minutes, shortest was 15 close to 2 hours after the park opening which was crazy). On thursday I even did ToT several times in a row and the only wait was waiting for the next elevator to come and load up each time, I even got the same exact sequence twice in a row on different elevators which never happens. I was trying to kill time before my lunch ADR and still ended up walking across the park to do Star Tours (again, no wait), sitting on a bench to call my husband, shopping in every store, and still had to stand around for 10 minutes before I could check in 20 minutes early. Lunch was at 12:45, I got in line for ToT the first time a around 11 and I don't even remember how many times I rode it before I was like "Ok, I guess I'll do something else" and went and did all the other stuff. A CM laid in to a group of college age girls who put their masks on during one of the rides once our elevator "docked", she was so mad and they didn't care, CMs at HS were some of the most strict that I saw with masks on rides, MK were the least strict. Overall compliance was amazing though, the worst I saw was that group of girls which is A++ in my book especially considering the heat. 

The last two days I actually spent a lot of time just chilling around Poly, shopping, and going back to Epcot to eat more at F&W. I was very happy about the overall crowd level since it meant I didn't have to use DAS, I'd really rather not have to use it and didn't use it one time the whole trip, and was able to do absolutely everything I wanted to many times over. I only actually RD on my first day, the rest of the days I got there within an hour or later of park open and still got everything done, plus I often got a bus to myself from the resort to AK or HS so that was great too not having to cram in to a bus. Always done by lunch with what I planned to do in the mornings, always back to the resort befor the heat got too insane, and was SO happy that you can now grab a BG for Rise in the afternoon if you didn't have that as your first park, it really helped since I had zero plans of waking up in time for the 7am drop on Thursday when I was going back, and didn't want to hang around for the evening. Overall great trip, no complaints at all even if I was a complete sweaty mess the whole time.


----------



## Sarahslay

DisneyOma said:


> How about the construction walls all over a gutted EPCOT? And the huge, ugly barges blocking views across the lake? Those were two things I didn't love when we were there 2 weeks ago.


Well the barges are actually going to be a giant fountain during the day when they are up and running, and they were actually testing at one point at the end of this week for a bit. I think once they're up they'll look really awesome, but they are an eyesore. They are having some growing pains right now, but it's been like that on every trip I've taken over the last year and I think I've gotten so used to it that when the walls come down it'll feel weird.


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## ffugitive

Well we had 7 days of empty parks which was absolutely amazing.  But can report that MK is packed right now, at least relative to the rest of the week


----------



## Sarahslay

ffugitive said:


> Well we had 7 days of empty parks which was absolutely amazing.  But can report that MK is packed right now, at least relative to the rest of the week


That's kinda why I wanted to go ahead and come home today. My husband was like "you sure you don't want to stay an extra day or two and enjoy the parks a bit more. Kids don't have school and I don't have work, we'll be fine" and I was like "I think I'd like to leave on a low attendance high note"


----------



## tsme

We went to HS today and it was horribly crowded. We got boarding pass 76, so we decided to go over there around 10am, arriving about 10:30. There were huge lines to buy tickets and the area to scan in the park was as crowded as rope drop, which caught us off guard. We tried shopping before our reservation but it was so crowded it was uncomfortable. We ate at the Brown Derby. It was delicious. The lines to ride were longer than we wanted to wait, but we walked up at the right time for Muppet Vision. It was cute as usual, but we had a family behind us who allowed their child to watch something on a device with the sound loudly playing. That was distracting, to be polite. Then we went into Galaxy’s Edge. By this time it was after one & the line for RORT boarding pass was down the tunnel. I guess Disney is giving out a lot more boarding passes than in the past. The last time we were here, we walked right in.  Now it’s hotter than the halls of hell & ridiculously crowded, I was nauseous with a headache from the heat & crowds, so we didn’t stay for our boarding pass, we left, which sucked, but if we’d stayed I would’ve of definitely  or .
Also I do know it’s Labor Day weekend. I was expecting crowds but don’t think I had properly prepared myself. We had not planned to come this weekend but we had to push our dates due to an emergency at home. 
One more thing, no social distancing anywhere, masks in bathrooms about 50/50, masks in lines full on face in front of cast members, chin wearing or under nose away from CM. Personally at HS I didn’t feel comfortable in most of the park, but I don’t like people on back without a virus looming over us. I like my personal space, don’t like feeling someone’s breath on my neck.


----------



## gottalovepluto

ffugitive said:


> Well we had 7 days of empty parks which was absolutely amazing.  But can report that MK is packed right now, at least relative to the rest of the week


Wait times definitely look back to business as usual


----------



## GADisneyDad14

tsme said:


> There were huge lines to buy tickets and the area to scan in the park was as crowded as rope drop, which caught us off guard.



I got there 9:10ish and there were long lines to buy tickets. And when we left 11:15iish they were even longer. I said to myself, never forget how many people come to the parks and just buy a ticket that day, especially a holiday weekend.

It was so crowded with people still coming in at 11:15 we had trouble finding the exit!

A lot of issues getting scanned in, the right reservations, etc. Speant longer in line getting in today than I have since reopening combined.

Important note, still fun and the above was just a relatively minor inconvenience.


----------



## asumom

gottalovepluto said:


> Wait times definitely look back to business as usual


To be expected on a holiday weekend. Hopefully,  slow again after Monday.


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## Dentam

asumom said:


> To be expected on a holiday weekend. Hopefully,  slow again after Monday.



Man, I hope so - we arrive next Wednesday and were getting excited about the low crowds!


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## Angela Lurie

Dentam said:


> Man, I hope so - we arrive next Wednesday and were getting excited about the low crowds!


We’re arriving Wednesday too and hoping for lower crowds and lower heat


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## Ecomommy09

Ecomommy09 said:


> ‘All in all, it was a great trip; and now we wait to see if I got the COVID-19.  I have my rapid test to take when I’ve been home a few days or if I experience symptoms.   The current guidelines from CDC are 7 days post exposure for vaccinated individuals.


I did not get COVID from my trip. I may get it at any moment at work or from my kids, but my safety precautions and luck held out at WDW


----------



## Dentam

Angela Lurie said:


> We’re arriving Wednesday too and hoping for lower crowds and lower heat



Looks like 89-90 for the high each day and mid-70's at night along with the typical afternoon storms.  Definitely need to remember my poncho!  I'm also bringing a neck fan and a UV umbrella.  I used the fan last Sept and really liked it - haven't tried the umbrella but have heard they help a lot also so will give it a whirl.


----------



## Corinne

coolbrook said:


> Yes, we moved resorts every day.  I planned ahead to not really unpack like we usually do, have a park bag with swimsuits, phone chargers, sunscreen, and resort mugs to be able to hang out at the pool if our next room wasn't ready when we arrived.  On the days my local cm daughter with a car had to work we just took our one bag and my C-pap machine to bell services on our way to breakfast to be transferred to our next resort. We then had a table service breakfast at the resort before heading to the closest park.  On our Beach Club Villa and Epcot morning we swam after breakfast, because I love that deep lazy river.  We didn't try to rope-drop this trip, so we could enjoy our breakfasts at a leisurely pace.  After we were done in our morning park we took Disney transportation to our next resort. Sometimes the room was ready and sometimes we had to wait a bit.  I think it helped with being able to get in a bit early some days that the crowds were pretty low everywhere.  I actually thought the resort switching was easier when we didn't have to figure out when to get my daughter's car moved.
> 
> We loved having a perfectly clean room and made bed every afternoon!  Our five resorts were BLT, BCV, BWV, OKW, and CCV.  Favorite room if you don't consider location was CCV with walk-in shower, with BCV coming in second.


That’s so great, I’m impressed! I also love the CCV rooms, and BCV is our favorite. Thanks for sharing!


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## smitty0705

ffugitive said:


> Well we had 7 days of empty parks which was absolutely amazing.  But can report that MK is packed right now, at least relative to the rest of the week


Yes, the crowds are sure here with a vengeance for the holiday weekend today. AK and Epcot were packed to the gills today.


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## ffugitive

Angela Lurie said:


> We’re arriving Wednesday too and hoping for lower crowds and lower heat


I wouldn't worry.  As others mentioned, the lines at the ticket booths were enormous throughout the mornings, likely meaning a lot of people just in for the holiday weekend.  Spoiled (and exhausted) from 7 perfect days, we bailed on MK yesterday and went to Splitsville for some bowling and billiards.  Was a blast!  Heading to AK for a couple of hours today before our evening flight.  Good chance I'll grab a couch at the Nomad Lounge and just chill most of the time.


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## scrapshappen

HS is crowded today too FWIW. Wait times are much more normal. I’m glad we have another day here later in the week and hope it really does get better. Epcot was similar yesterday.


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## OhBother1984

gottalovepluto said:


> Wait times definitely look back to business as usual



They will probably drop on tuesday. Long weekend, people can go places, I think this is showing even more that people just aren't pulling kids from school to vacation like in the past, paired with very little international travel.


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## The13thLetter

Now that we are back home for a week I can write my final trip wrap up (didnt want to jinx us with covid).

I did short daily reports while we were there (8/21-8/28) but wanted to do one more post. We stayed at YC. Room was perfect (except for the work being done a couple of days). Much more casual trip since no fastpass and not many dining reservations. We were really able to decide sort of day to day what we wanted to do. Parkhoppers were great for us being so close to epcot and hs. This was our last trip as a family of 3 (DW is pregnant and due in late november) and we had a wonderful time. Little to no waits, new rides for DS, characters, new restaurants for us, f&w, last HEA. Really had no big complaints.

There was two things though that I really did miss. 1-the cultural reps at worldshowcase. We still enjoyed epcot (its our fav park) but it really is not the same. 2-the seasoned castmembers who know everything. All the CMs were super nice but with all the layoffs and turnover, a lot of the CMs we asked questions to really had no idea what we were asking or how to maybe get the answer for us. In reality it didnt affect the trip that much but it was definitely something we noticed and missed.

we have a parents only trip planned for may and then our first trip as a family of 4 will be the next trip after that (not sure when that will be yet though). for now i will light my soarin over fiji candle and keep watching disney youtube videos to ease the pain


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## TioAdis78

Here today for first park day of trip at MK, definitely felt the uptick in attendance as there were only a few of the promised walk ons early in the morning. Still manageable, but quite more crowded than expected, and we still were able to had a blast, even convinced the kids to ride Haunted Mansion with us for the first time! (Got a little nervous, still had fun)


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## rea59

After reading the posts from this week I'm glad that we planned our trip for last week.  We've been home for 4 days and the crowd levels were really low while we were there. Most of the ride were walk on.  The longest wait time posted was 55 minutes for FOP and we were on and off the ride in less than 30 minutes. I've always been a big fan of DW because of all the perks they offered when staying on property. I've been taking my nephews on an annual birthday trip every summer since 2007.  With the exception of last year. We've always stayed CL at BWI, BC & WL.  I was disappointed that CL wasn't available this year for our stay at BC.  Turns out that I didn't miss it at all. I'm not sure that we will be going back because I feel like a lot of the things that made traveling to DW so special are being taken away.  If we do go back, we probably won't stay on property since Magical Express is going away, luggage delivery, airport check in at the hotel and free fastpasses are already gone. We might as well stay off property and take a shuttle over to the parks.


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## ffugitive

Just an FYI re our trip this week.  We were generally appalled by the lack of mask compliance.  3 of 4 of us got sick on trip.  Got tested today and we are negative thank goodness.  So just know if you get sick there is always a decent chance it's just a regular to-be-expected Disney cold.


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## p8ntldy

_UPDATE:  Got our Covid tests results today (9/9/21).  We had waited 5 days to take the test…. NEGATIVE for the both of us!  _

To go or not go is a decision that only you and your family can make…. We are just back from at 10 day stay at SSR.

My DH (age 70) and I (age 68) rented DVC points for a Studio at SSR for a 10 day trip (8/24 - 9/3) celebrating both of our
birthdays, our 49th Anniversary, and his retirement.  We planned the trip in May when it looked like the end of summer would be a very safe time to go (based on vaccination rates at the time).  We didn’t expect it would turn out to be the Delta variant explosion - and the positive test results/hospitalizations going thru the roof.

We were discussing cancelling the trip for over a month before we left.  We have been vaccinated since December (husband worked in healthcare) and super diligent in staying safe.  Never stopped wearing masks in public, etc.  So, to go to Florida now just didn’t feel like a good decision…

But, after reading all the info we could - we ended up deciding to take the trip with certain precautions.  We would ALWAYS wear masks indoors.  And mask up outdoors when there were people close to us, which was a lot of the time.  I must say - we observed approx. 99% masking compliance indoors.  But, only About 40% outdoors.

  Luckily, we ended up going during a really slow time - and experienced low crowds the entire trip.  We would carry sanitizer in our pockets and use it constantly before and after touching anything in public - on busses, in elevators, in stores, etc.  We carried disposable sanitizing cloths (like Clorox) and wiped off any tables, chairs, trays, etc. that we would use.   We decided we wouldn’t eat in any sit-down restaurants and canceled a few ADR’s that I had made.  We mobile ordered food, and Disney was only allowing you in a quick service restaurant if you had an order to get.  Those indoor areas were not crowded at all and we always sat by ourselves in an obscure corner.  We also ate when most families were done eating (like 3 pm for lunch - and after 7 or 8pm for dinner) - so less people around.  In addition, we sprayed our throats with an antiseptic spray a couple of times a day. 

Given all those precautions, we only went to the parks for a few hours each day of our 6 day pass.  The rest of the 4 days were spent at the pool relaxing or going to another resort to eat quick service and explore/walk around - enjoying the ambiance.  Disney Springs was a hot mess in the evening - so we left and went back early one morning when hardly anyone was there.  We never rope dropped and were able to ride in mostly empty busses other times of the day.  (Bus service was great, by the way).

We’ve been home for 3 days now, with no symptoms and will get a Covid test in the next day or so - before we see any of our grandkids.

The longer we were there, the safer we felt - as we were in charge of our actions and only counted on us to take the necessary precautions.  These were the surgical masks we ordered and used (but used N95’s on the plane):  https://myddssupply.com/products/astm-level-3-surgical-masks-blue-by-plastcare-usa

This was a really wonderful, laid back trip.  We slept in, ate breakfast in our room (had ordered InstaCart the day we arrived - so had breakfast items, adult drinks for evenings, cheese and crackers, etc.), relaxed at the pool or Blizzard Beach (which was practically empty), and went to a park late in the day.  Waited for the crowds to leave the parks before we went for our bus.  Ended up being only 4-6 people on most of the busses we took.

We wouldn’t have gone if we had unvaccinated kids, OR if it looked like the super crowds of mid-summer.  Would not go anytime after October 1st now - because of all the crowds expected.  It sounds like the rest of September will be low crowds, so that would play a part in any decision going forward.

Also, getting a booster vaccine would make us feel better about going in the future… but they are a few weeks out yet.  Our plan may not be workable for many families, but it’s what worked well for us and we would go again with the same precautions In place.

Now, we just wait to take a Covid test and keep our fingers crossed that our precautions helped keep us safe!


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## Robinmitchell

We are coming Wednesday. Anyone know what crowd size is like now?


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## Coconut8473

Just flew back yesterday from an 8/28-9/5 stay. We are 2 vaccinated adults with two unvaccinated kids (ages 7 and 11), and had been 99% ready to cancel until the very last minute when we decided to go after all (albeit with a plan to take extra precautions, limit indoor activities and dining if we felt uncomfortable, not do our usual commando-style, and keep VERY low expectations). Not sure if it was the fact that we hadn't been in over 2 years, or the fact that we had mentally set the bar very low, but it turned out to be one of our favorite trips ever. Echoing what so many have already said - majority of the week was empty and we had virtually no wait the entire time, and felt good about the distancing we were able to keep for the most part. Yes, saw lots of folks not being good about masking, but CMs were pretty vigilant on indoor lines and attractions, and we were never packed in close to anyone maskless where we were. We wore our masks constantly, even outdoors and didn't feel out of place doing so. We did four table service meals after all: Teppan Edo, bluezoo, Trattoria al Forno and 'Ohana - felt comfortably spaced at all of these; though we sat with another family at Teppan, but were divided with a plastic divider. We had park hoppers, and made HS reservations 3 of our 7 days - got RoTR boarding passes for all three days right at 7:00am with no issues (got BGs 17, 13 and 3, which allowed us to get in and knock out of HS early). It was hot, but honestly not much worse than the heat wave we had been experiencing earlier in the month in NY, and we loved going back to the nearly empty pool in the afternoons (we only had one day of light steady-ish rain, and that was our AK day anyway). We had cancelled our Beach Club reservation for a Swan Deluxe Balcony room that was about $1200 less than BC, and I had read some pretty bad reviews complaining about poor service and housekeeping (or lack thereof), so again, set my expectations low on the hotel front. We actually ended up having our room fully serviced 2x on our 8 night trip, and were given plenty of fresh towels and water immediately (within 15 min) when we asked. For most of our trip there were zero lines in our hotel for things like coffee in the morning, or drinks at the pool bar. But I will say that all that changed on Saturday (our last day in the parks) - most definitely due to the holiday weekend! Glad we were able to get in the quiet week that we did before that. Did a rapid test (negative) and PCR (still waiting) already, and will test again in 5 days, but feeling no symptoms or anything right now. The flight was honestly the scariest thing for us, Covid-wise.


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## lovethattink

Robinmitchell said:


> We are coming Wednesday. Anyone know what crowd size is like now?



Epcot felt crowded today. But it’s a holiday and there was a Passholder event and a cast member event.


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## DisneyOma

p8ntldy said:


> To go or not go is a decision that only you and your family can make…. We are just back from at 10 day stay at SSR.
> 
> My DH (age 70) and I (age 68) rented DVC points for a Studio at SSR for a 10 day trip (8/24 - 9/3) celebrating both of our birthdays, our 49th Anniversary, and his retirement.
> 
> We mobile ordered food, and Disney was only allowing you in a quick service restaurant if you had an order to get.



When we were there Aug 6-16, they had mobile order and a queue if you wanted to order in person.


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## emily nicole

Mask compliance must just be luck of the draw. We were there 8/29 to 9/2 and I thought compliance had to be near 99.8%. I saw one family in line for Frozen blatantly not wearing theirs. The rest was excellent except for a few noses here and there. I didn’t spend a ton of time studying other people but these were my observations. I did “check” occasionally out of curiosity more than worry or fear (we are both vaxxed and I had my antibodies checked before the trip and was told they’re at the max).


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## OhBother1984

emily nicole said:


> Mask compliance must just be luck of the draw. We were there 8/29 to 9/2 and I thought compliance had to be near 99.8%. I saw one family in line for Frozen blatantly not wearing theirs. The rest was excellent except for a few noses here and there. I didn’t spend a ton of time studying other people but these were my observations. I did “check” occasionally out of curiosity more than worry or fear (we are both vaxxed and I had my antibodies checked before the trip and was told they’re at the max).



MK for us had a lot of non compliance. 1 big one was an almost full boat on small world of masks pulled down or not in site right before they would get off. Another one with two girls like 10 ish that took them off right before boarding BTMR standing there and talking and the CM saw them and said nothing and the final one was a guy exiting FOP in the shop playing with his phone and CM asked him twice nicely and he looked at her and kept going with no mask in sight. Plus quite a few noses and such , and away from CM pulled down.


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## ILoveMyDVC

Just came back from 7 weeks in the World.
Waits went down to Flights of Passage = 10 minutes.
Buses came quickly for Old Key West.
Although many times we made use of Lyft.  We ate offsite a few times - better food and definitely a way better value.  

Mask compliance was so so every bus ride had at least one set of folks not wearing masks there were no masks being worn in most lines.

Cast members were friendly and attentive. There are many new cast members being trained.

We came across a number of people who snuck into the pools at Old Key West and weren't staying at any Disney hotels, we know this because we overheard them talking about it.

It was a lovely trip with my only pet peeve being parents will not stop their children from swinging and hanging off the chains and ropes throughout the lines.


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## Dugette

Just wanted to thank everyone for this thread. I followed your reports closely through the summer as our end-of-August trip approached and it was really helpful to hear real-life experiences, so figured I'd contribute ours. 4 families involved - total of 13 people - 4 adults and 9 kids. All adults and the oldest kid (12) vaccinated, the other 8 kids are too young for vaccination still (ages 4-9). Dates varied a slight bit by family, but I was there 8/21-8/30.

We all flew in and stayed different places the first night(s) - one at Universal, one with family, and a couple of us in Disney Springs (Hyatt Grand Cypress) for one night. The remainder of the trip, we all stayed together in a private house with pool, a short drive from Disney - we all had rental vehicles. Our group visited all 4 parks, Disney Springs (bowled/ate at Splitsville), and attended a Boo Bash. Crowds were generally very low and many things were walk-ons (Boo Bash actually felt more crowded than our park days). I'd say our longest waits were 30-45 minutes and not many of those at all. We also got a boarding group for RotR on our DHS day. We left midday some days to go back to the house and swim, as we were able to do a lot quickly after arriving for rope drop.

I thought mask compliance was much better than I was expecting. MK was less good (Tiki Room in particular), but overall most people were properly masked indoors. My daughter and I used KN95s and the rest of our group used cloth or surgical masks, usually just indoors. We watched the fireworks from Big Thunder, so no issues with HEA crowds for us.

In addition to some mobile-order meals and some meals at the house, we had a number of table service ADRs: The Wave Breakfast (at CA Grill), Chef Mickey's dinner, Sebastian's Bistro dinner, Be Our Guest lunch, Trattoria al Forno breakfast, Oga's Cantina drinks, Hollywood & Vine Halloween dinner, and Sanaa lunch. All of our meals felt fairly safe, probably partially due to the size of our group - we took up a large area and even got our own booth at Oga's.

Overall, this was an amazing trip and I'm so glad we did it. My own family has been highly cautious through the pandemic, so this was a waaaaay bigger risk than we typically take, but to be with our friends at our favorite place was worth the risk after a long time without seeing many people. My daughter is an only child and she was over the moon having so many other kids to play with. This was our to-go-or-not-to-go factor: if it had just been us, I probably would have cancelled because I've seen all the reports on here of people getting sick at Disney (Covid, RSV, terrible colds, etc.) But, since we could never replicate this opportunity, it was worth it to us to use caution and go forward.

In general, we felt very safe on Disney property and didn't spend much time worrying. We used lots of sanitizer, wipes, hand washing, masking, crowd-avoidance, and general common sense and just had fun. Probably the most risky thing, in my mind, was the flight home - because with the virus peaking in Florida, it seems likely someone is flying home with it. There was a coughing child on our flight home, directly behind my daughter, and that child took the mask off to have a coughing fit. My daughter and I did not take off our KN95s for the entire flight (or airports) and hoped for the best.

Well, good news - we had stocked up on the at-home test kits and were negative on return AND negative yesterday, which was 6 days out from the flight home, so we seem to be in the clear. Not only that, but we both feel great - healthier than usual after a Disney trip, as it seems like someone is always picking up a bug. And, on top of that, every single person in our group of 13 stayed healthy! I had been worried that, since we were all sharing a house, anything would quickly spread through everyone, but there was nothing to spread. So, just wanted to share a positive story because keeping 8 can't-be-vaccinated kids healthy on a long trip is not something I've seen posted here yet. Obviously, your results may vary.


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## gottalovepluto

ILoveMyDVC said:


> Just came back from 7 weeks in the World.
> Waits went down to Flights of Passage = 10 minutes.
> Buses came quickly for Old Key West.
> Although many times we made use of Lyft.  We ate offsite a few times - better food and definitely a way better value.
> 
> Mask compliance was so so every bus ride had at least one set of folks not wearing masks there were no masks being worn in most lines.
> 
> Cast members were friendly and attentive. There are many new cast members being trained.
> 
> We came across a number of people who snuck into the pools at Old Key West and weren't staying at any Disney hotels, we know this because we overheard them talking about it.
> 
> It was a lovely trip with my only pet peeve being parents will not stop their children from swinging and hanging off the chains and ropes throughout the lines.


“Weeks” …not a typo?

Did you drop a line to guest services email about the OKW pool crashers? Might be something to consider. That’s ridiculous.


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## loves to dive

Here now, staying in a Premium Deluxe Suite at the Dolphin.  Three adults and one baby.

Arrived around 1:30 yesterday (Labor Day) and our room wasn't ready so we walked over to Epcot.  Thankfully we did have a fan in the stroller for the little one and tried to take her into ac as often as possible because it was hot.  We are from Georgia so are somewhat used to it but it was hot.  Epcot was pretty much as crowded as it normally seems to be for Sept. not horrible but there were people there.  We walked around WS and sampled some booths and just sort of soaked it all in since my son's SO had never been to Epcot.   We walked over to FW and rode Living With the Land, which was about a 10 min. wait, which was what was posted.   We didn't do any other rides since we were really just getting the feel of the land and waiting for our room.   We wandered back to the Dolphin around 6 or so to get the baby out of the heat and get settled in.   We stayed in for the rest of the night, my son and I went down to the Fountain at the Dolphin and got some food to go and took it back to the room.

Today will be AK day.  We don't plan on really rushing over there but are going to try to just be there morning to around noon or a little after and come back to the room for awhile to get the little one out of the heat.

Most people were wearing masks in doors pretty well yesterday.  We did see a few noses poking out but it wasn't horrible.  You are supposed to wear them in the Dolphin but we noticed a lot of people didn't have them on and they were only asked to wear one if they were at the check in counter.  It wasn't wall to wall people when we left but we it was pretty early so who knows.


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## TioAdis78

I would like to share with other old timers like myself my pride in my ten year old daughter who’s been waking up singing “There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow” from The Carousel of Progress for two days straight! I may have turned her into a fan


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## Kaufeegurl

We are 2 weeks back from a family trip 8/16 - 8/24. 8 vaccinated adults, one 3 yr old. While we did question whether we should postpone because of our unvaccinated 3 yr. old, we felt that crowds would be low enough, masks were required indoors and in ride queues, and we could pivot with our meal plans. We also felt that COVID is going to be with us for awhile and there will never be a perfect time to vacation as a family in the near future. It was a great decision! 

Mask compliance was *really* good (shocked, i know), crowds were low, and rides were walk-on or small wait. We masked indoors, sanitized, and distanced when possible. We stayed at BCV and were out of the parks by noon, and at the pool for the afternoon, distanced and with low crowds. Meals were mostly quick serve. We kept some reservations - Toppolinos breakfast, Ohana, Via Napoli. The restaurants were not crowded and we always had seating in our own little bubble - significantly distanced from other tables. I think the restaurants were not full because of staffing issues and not because Disney was purposely social distancing.

We returned with no colds and no symptoms but all did test to safely return to our normal schedules. We all tested negative (PCR) upon return - twice (including the toddler).  And I agree with others - we came home from this trip healthier than previous trips! No colds or bugs!

The decision of go/no go is an individual one and the only answer is the one that is right for your family!


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## WEDWDW

gottalovepluto said:


> “Weeks” …not a typo?
> 
> Did you drop a line to guest services email about the OKW pool crashers? Might be something to consider. That’s ridiculous.


If it is not a typo,I am now bowing in a sign of respect and admiration to the Poster!lol


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## kdonnel

Just back from a Labor Day trip.  

We went to the Magic Kingdom on the 4th.  It was busy but not as busy as I had expected.  We were at the Magic Kingdom for Labor Day weekend in 2020 as well and felt there were just about the same amount of people at the park as a year ago.  The difference was the lines appeared shorter since they are no longer socially distanced.  In almost every case the posted wait time was inflated, except for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  There we waited the entire 60 minutes that was posted.

Pirates was down most of the day and did not open until the afternoon.  We happened to notice it had opened and were able to just walk on.  We got lucky with Splash in the same way.  Happened by right as it was opening after a short closure.

It was nice getting to do the stretching room at the Haunted Mansion.

Leaving after the fireworks was BAD!  We watched from over by Space Mountain because the crowds in the HUB were just insane.  We waited about 20 minutes after the fireworks ended and decided that was long enough, it was NOT!  It was still wall to wall people trying to funnel out of the park through the narrow security exit.  Between the narrow exit and the huge line for the monorail and ferry it was difficult to get by so we could just walk to the Grand Floridian.  We ended up hanging out at the Grand Floridian for about 30 minutes before boarding the monorail so we could get back to the TTC and our car.

Sunday we went to Epcot.  Again it was crowded but no more so than last year at the same time.  We didn't arrive until after 11am and had no trouble riding all the rides and leaving by 7pm.  We had a DVC preview of the Remy RAT ride.  We all enjoyed it and it brought back happy memories of our DisneyLand Paris visit.

It is great that the single rider lines for Test Track are back.  There was a posted 50 minute wait(not sure how long it really was) but we walked on as single riders.  As soon as we walked directly to the boarding zone, two of us were placed in one car and the other two were placed in another.

Not sure if it was really less crowded or just different covid policies but there was no longer a line to enter Mexico.  The boat ride was a walk on as well.

We also walked onto Soarin.  I have never just walked onto Soarin. We have always had to wait at least a couple minutes in the hallway before they split you up into one of the show halls.  As soon as we reached that point they pointed us left and we walked straight to the end where they put us in the boarding area.  A few seconds later the boarding doors opened and we were buckling out seat belts.

It was nice to have the plastic removed from the monorail.  In the past I felt like we were in a covid coffin.  The skyliner lines seemed a little shorter since they are now putting multiple groups in the same car. We had a nice conversation on our ride from Caribbean Beach to Epcot with two people.  We did not ride the buses at all this trip so I can't comment on how well or not well they were working.

We did grab breakfast one morning at Caribbean Beach.  You could either mobile order or order at the counter.  That seemed like a change from our last covid visit.

As for masks, it appeared most followed the rules.


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## mdmost

We just got back from our Labor Day trip last night. We had a blast. We arrived late Thursday and got to take advantage of the low crowds at MK on Friday. We stayed at the Swan which was excellent. We took the Boardwalk bus over to MK, walked to Hollywood Studios, took the boats home from there and over to Epcot. Loved the pools and queen beds at the Swan. It wasn't quite staying in a Disney resort but it worked well for what we needed which was quick access to Hollywood Studios for our two mornings there. Mask compliance seemed really good. Cast Members would remind guests before they walked into an indoor ride to put up the mask. We never felt worried about being in too tight of a crowd. The crowd levels definitely increased as the weekend commenced on Saturday. I don't believe the 1s and 2s that Touring Plans was saying on Saturday and Sunday. It was definitely more crowded and Delta was not dissuading people from coming to WDW. We got there early every morning to get a lot in before taking a break around 2-3 when it was way too hot. Our cooling towels were very helpful with dealing with all that heat.

Trip report
9/3- Magic Kingdom:
We got there at Rope Drop and were held at the Hub so I walked over to get coffee and a cinnamon roll on Main Street. We then walked back to 7 Dwarves at 9am. Walked through the queue and were on in 10 minutes. We then went to Big Thunder and walked on. Splash was down so we went over to Pirates and walked on. By the time we got off Pirates, Splash opened so we jumped on. We then went over to my personal favorite, Haunted Mansion, which was a walk on. After HM, we made our way over to Space Mountain which had a 20 minute wait, our first real wait of the morning. We did the People Mover and then walked back towards Fantasyland to ride Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, and Little Mermaid. It was around 1pm so we put in a Mobile Order for Pecos Bill and made our way over there. This was where the wheels flew off a bit. I like the idea of Mobile Order but if you do it, go ahead and say you're there so they will start making your order as you are walking over. I waited till we were there and that added almost 20 minutes of waiting around for our food. I learned from that mistake and started saying we were there well before we had headed over to the restaurants. We ate and then made our way back to the Swan. After some pool time, we headed back to MK for pictures and the rest of our rides. Mistake #2 happened then because as soon as we arrived, it stormed for 2 straight hours. DW was mad at me because she wanted to do pictures in the morning but I was trying to get all our rides in. Learned from that mistake and rectified it on Sunday. We did Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress, and Small World before finding a spot on the Liberty Square bridge to watch Happily Ever After.

9/4- Hollywood Studios/Epcot
Woke up early and got boarding group 41 for Rise which I was thrilled with. I had been practicing with the app and was thinking it would be no issues given the low crowd levels I had seen and boarding groups being available for a while. Not the case on Saturday. They were gone by the time my selection had completed and I felt lucky getting one. We walked over to HS and they held us at the gate till 8:30. We head to Galaxy's Edge when everyone else was going to Slinky Dog. We walked on Smuggler's Run twice which was fun. Loved the theming in GE and as a big Star Wars nerd, I was in awe of everything. Immediately got pictures with a Cast Member (learned from my mistake yesterday) and then headed over to Ronto Roasters for breakfast, which was delicious. We then walked around Galaxy's Edge to take it all in before going to ride Star Tours. Our BG was called around 11:30 so we headed back and rode RoTR which was fantastic. We then headed out around 12:30. Took a break till 4 and headed to Epcot. It was super busy with the Remy ride crowd. We went counter clockwise around the World Showcase, grabbing beer for me and caramel treats for the family in Germany before hitting Frozen and Grand Fiesta Tour. Finished the night with Spaceship Earth and the every trip picture we have to get which is a recreation of the trip I took with my family when I was 8. We try to position ourselves in the same manner as that photo (me for my dad, DW for my mom, DD13 for my brother, DD11 for me). It was a nice end to a long day.

9/5- Hollywood Studios/back to MK
Woke up early and rope dropped Slinky Dog. They held us at the arch near Brown Derby before walking us back to Toy Story Land. We were able to walk on Slinky Dog, Alien Saucers, and Midway Mania, all before 9am. We got Woody's Lunch Box pop tarts and then headed to Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster. DD11 was scared to ride ToT but loved it. She's ridden the similar Guardian ride in California Adventure. I told her if she rode I'd buy her a ToT pin with Goofy on it and she agreed to that. RnRC was a long wait and a very hot queue. It's a great ride but they need more shade there. ToT was a decent wait but at least it's mostly covered. I forgot just how hot HS gets with all that concrete. We then ate Backlot Express before heading over to Minnie and Mickey's ride. We really enjoyed that as we had no idea it was a ride where the cars separated like Remy's. It was great and a nice replacement for Great Movie ride. We then headed back to the Swan to rest before returning to MK. I had to do a make good for DW, who needed her picture of the family in front of the Castle. We got two separate Photopass sessions. We then did the Enchanted Tiki room, got Sunrise Tree Terrace treats (Dole Whip is better but we wanted to try the Orange Bird), rode Prince Charming's Carousel and Winnie the Pooh, before having Casey's Corner for dinner. DW and DD11 went off to ride Peter Pan while DD13 and I went to start our Boo Bash evening.

Boo Bash- the sole purpose for DD13 and me doing Boo Bash was to let DD13 beat her personal record of 7 Space Mountain rides in one trip. We got our wristbands at Tortuga Tavern and then walked over to BTMR and rode that twice. We timed it just right on the 2nd ride so we were on it when the fireworks started overhead. We then walked on Haunted Mansion before starting our 8 straight rides of Space Mountain. We got Mickey Bars and Sandwiches and multiple waters to stay hydrated. By ride #5, my stomach was starting to feel it. I was relieved when we finally got done with ride #8. It was a walk on the entire time and they had both sides open so we alternated Alpha and Omega with every ride. We then walked by Mine Train but it was still a 30 minute wait so we passed. We rode Haunted Mansion one more time before heading down to see the Maleficent cavalcade. I was disappointed to not see the Cadaver Dans but I've seen them at DLR a couple years ago. DD13 had a blast which was the entire point.

9/6- Animal Kingdom
We got there around 7:30 and walked back to Pandora. We waited maybe 20 minutes to get on Flights of Passage. Enjoyed it but I don't think I need to go back and do it again. Same with Navi River Journey. The animatronic was missing at the end so we got a screen with an animated shaman which wasn't as good. We then hit up the Dinosaur ride, though the Indiana Jones version is so much better. I think they should go ahead and switch that over. You could make the area an archaeology exhibit. We then rode Expedition Everest which was a 15 minute wait before heading towards the Tree of Life get our picture. We had a late check out of 1pm at the Swan so we went back to pack up and make the sad journey back to MCO.

All in all, it was a great trip. Only lost my cool with my kids once or twice. It always seemed to be around the 2pm time when it was super hot and they were super whiny. DW and I decided it was good to call it quits and take a break when we see the signs that things are going south. We didn't have many complaints other than guests being a bit crappy like families trying to skip around others or parents yelling at their kids. There was some fun karma for one family trying to get around us in the line for Minnie and Mickey. Around the front entrance there's a wide area in the line and I notice a dad edging around the people behind us, cutting them off. When we got to the Fastpass break, the cast member let us through and then held the line behind us and let about 30 people through behind us from that Fastpass line. I saw the dad who was trying to skip around us act all huffy as he then was way behind an entire new set of people. I don't understand the mindset of trying to skip around people in a line that might save you a minute.

One negative that I wish Disney would do away with is the biometric finger scanner. That slowed the line down multiple times because the scanner wouldn't recognize things. It happened to us a few times and that's just frustrating for everyone. I wish Disney would add a separate area to bring people having trouble to fix their situations. Then the line could keep going. We tried to be patient when it happened in front of us but Disney really just needs to go with the cards or mobile passes and skip the biometrics.

We navigated the lack of Fastpass pretty well. It just takes good planning and getting there early every day to not be stuck with really long wait times. I'll be honest, in the 95+ degree heat, I would've gladly paid extra to skip the Aerosmith queue. If Genie+ was an option, I would've taken it. I'm a big fan of Maxpass in DLR. If Genie+ is like that, I'll be golden.

I do agree with others, Disney needs more shows and parades to offset the crowds and give them somewhere to go other than rides. The calvades are okay but they don't replace a cool nighttime parade. Crowds were really bad leaving MK after the fireworks. I don't know if they had the left side pathway open so you could bypass Main Street as we were on the right both times. We plan to wait until the Tron and Guardians rides are both open before we make a return trip. We have an after school summer trip to Disneyland scheduled for late May 2022. We find we're more Disneyland people as it just fits us better being a smaller, more easily walkable park. WDW is still magical but it's such an investment of time and money that it creates a lot of stress on the planner (me) if we can't get everything in. We were able to this time but it was not as easy as DLR. We'll try to stay at the Polynesian next time as we'll focus that trip more on MK and Epcot when they are fully back up and running with the new rides.


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## titaniumfemme

p8ntldy said:


> Disney Springs was a hot mess in the evening - so we left and went back early one morning when hardly anyone was there.  We never rope dropped and were able to ride in mostly empty busses other times of the day.  (Bus service was great, by the way).



Thanks so much for this report.  My partner and I have also decided to take our trip (leaving in 2 weeks) based on a very similar risk calculation to yours.  You noted that Disney Springs was a hot mess in the evening -- was that a weekday evening or a Friday/Saturday/Sunday?  I was hoping to be able to eat some quick service meals using outdoor seating there, but may need to come up with a backup plan.


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## ILoveMyDVC

gottalovepluto said:


> “Weeks” …not a typo?
> 
> Did you drop a line to guest services email about the OKW pool crashers? Might be something to consider. That’s ridiculous.


The entire month of July and 15 days in August/September.

RE: Pool - it was at Turtle Pond and late (9-10 p.m.) - no way to simply tell a cast memeber.  If only the front desk actually had a phone line...


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## leeniewdw

Coconut8473 said:


> Glad we were able to get in the quiet week that we did before that. Did a rapid test (negative) and PCR (still waiting) already, and will test again in 5 days, but feeling no symptoms or anything right now.





Kaufeegurl said:


> We returned with no colds and no symptoms but all did test to safely return to our normal schedules. We all tested negative (PCR) upon return - twice (including the toddler).  And I agree with others - we came home from this trip healthier than previous trips! No colds or bugs!



Hope it's okay to ask about the manner in which one can get tested upon return.  I've (fortunately) only had to test once in all these months and that was due to symptoms (but was negative).  Can you get tested out of precaution via pharmacy or is this a public test site?  Do you just have to say you had an exposure (which I suppose it somewhat true), or can you get tested out of an abundance of caution w/o symptoms or direct exposure?


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## Coconut8473

I live in NYC and we have urgent care facilities and pop-up testing sites all around the city where you can just walk up and get a test quickly and easily without any reason. I literally took a rapid test and and PCR (both negative!) out of the back of a van and nobody asked the reason or if I was exposed. A lot of people simply need proof of a negative test for things like work, travel, schools/activities, going to visit elderly relatives, etc., so it's fairly common to get tested without any actual exposure-related reason.

If you're in the U.S. the tests are free - you can Google where to find a testing site in your area, but it does seem like a lot of pharmacies and urgent care clinics offer tests (not sure if the link will go through or be redacted, but here is a great starting point: https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/community-based-testing-sites/index.html)


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## Coconut8473

leeniewdw said:


> Hope it's okay to ask about the manner in which one can get tested upon return.  I've (fortunately) only had to test once in all these months and that was due to symptoms (but was negative).  Can you get tested out of precaution via pharmacy or is this a public test site?  Do you just have to say you had an exposure (which I suppose it somewhat true), or can you get tested out of an abundance of caution w/o symptoms or direct exposure?



My post above was in response to this question!


----------



## leeniewdw

Coconut8473 said:


> I live in NYC and we have urgent care facilities and pop-up testing sites all around the city where you can just walk up and get a test quickly and easily without any reason. I literally took a rapid test and and PCR (both negative!) out of the back of a van and nobody asked the reason or if I was exposed. A lot of people simply need proof of a negative test for things like work, travel, schools/activities, going to visit elderly relatives, etc., so it's fairly common to get tested without any actual exposure-related reason.
> 
> If you're in the U.S. the tests are free - you can Google where to find a testing site in your area, but it does seem like a lot of pharmacies and urgent care clinics offer tests (not sure if the link will go through or be redacted, but here is a great starting point: https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/community-based-testing-sites/index.html)



Thanks.  I'm in the US too (NC), but even back when I tested (April '21) I had to go thru a questionnaire online that resulted in "yes you should get tested".  I presume had I not had symptoms it would have said "no".   Hopefully it's easier now.   Thanks again.


----------



## Coconut8473

leeniewdw said:


> Thanks.  I'm in the US too (NC), but even back when I tested (April '21) I had to go thru a questionnaire online that resulted in "yes you should get tested".  I presume had I not had symptoms it would have said "no".   Hopefully it's easier now.   Thanks again.



If they do ask, the CDC recommends testing for:

People who have taken part in activities that put them at higher risk for COVID-19 because they cannot physically distance as needed to avoid exposure such as travel, attending large social or mass gatherings, or being in crowded or poorly-ventilated indoor settings.
Sounds like Disney to me!


----------



## bsmcneil

leeniewdw said:


> Hope it's okay to ask about the manner in which one can get tested upon return.  I've (fortunately) only had to test once in all these months and that was due to symptoms (but was negative).  Can you get tested out of precaution via pharmacy or is this a public test site?  Do you just have to say you had an exposure (which I suppose it somewhat true), or can you get tested out of an abundance of caution w/o symptoms or direct exposure?


I'm in IN but recently traveled to NC. I went to CVS's (the primary pharmacy in this area) website and requested testing (note, I did this a few days before I knew I would want the test because I knew they had been hard to come by - then, when I needed one sooner, I had to be a little flexible in where I'd go). There were 7-8 questions and for almost all of them (including known exposure) I answered no. There was one that asked about getting tested in order to prevent spread because I had potentially been somewhere dangerous (my hometown/county has a vax rate of 33% and very few people wore/wear masks); I answered yes to that and received no problem with a test (and when I went in, they asked if I had symptoms, etc and I basically told the story and the response was, "Wow, that's great - you'd be surprised how few people do that." I've planned to do the same if I go through with my planned trip to WDW in two weeks (at this point, based on my experience in NC, I'm planning to go with modifications). 

So, TL; DR - I was able to get tested in that situation - hopefully you can, too (though I realize it might be dependent on how much testing is happening in an area).


----------



## ST1TCH

Just returned on Sunday from our trip to WDW.  We had 6 days in the parks from Sunday to Friday.  Also did Boo Bash this past Friday night.  Not going to try to itemize since many before me have done so already and this will probably feel more like a random set of information. 

For the most part, lines were glorious.  The majority of rides were literally walk ons or at most 10-15 minutes.  FOP was essentially a walk on, got to do it twice.  Soarin was a walk on both days we were at Epcot.  Rode Everest 5x in the single rider line, walk on every time.  Rode MFSR 3x over two days, 2 of those being single rider that was basically walk on.  The other day was on Friday when crowds were increasing for the holiday weekend so we waited maybe 25 minutes and I got to see the pre-show that you skip with single rider.  Got ROTR both days we were at HS, that whole experience is just amazing.  ROTR would have been a walk on in the evenings both days if it was allowed as there was no line after 6 or 7pm each day.  Frozen Ever After had probably a 30 minute wait each day at Epcot, was really the only line at Epcot those days.  Most everything at MK was walk on minus 7DMT and Peter Pan (still don't get why this always has a long line).  ToT and RnRC were basically walk ons and MMRR was probably a 20-30 minute wait each time.  We really enjoyed MMRR, had not been on it before.

F&W Festival was great, got to try lots of different items.  We did several ADRs and enjoyed each of them.  Wave breakfast at the California Grill (had never been up there before, views were breathtaking), dinner at Be Our Guest (super busy here but as a party of 2 we had our own table by the wall), fireworks dinner at Rose & Crown (highly recommend), lunch at Sanaa, dinner at Ohana, drinks at Oga's Cantina (wasn't super crowded around 1pm on Friday), Yak & Yeti (used Landry's membership to get a table as we hadn't made an ADR), and.....I feel like i'm forgetting one but can't think of it now.

Mask use indoors for rides, shows and restaurants all seemed at least 95% most of the time.  Always some mask sniffers here and there but cast members would ask them to pull it up when they saw it.  We would take our masks off outdoors unless in big crowds and felt we could social distance well most of the time.  Haven't been on property since Sunday morning (not really around crowds since Saturday night at the Polynesian) and we're both feeling fine so far, God willing it stays that way (we're both vaccinated).

Heat - oh my Lord was it hot.  We're from Houston, TX and that still seemed extremely hot to us.  I wouldn't necessarily call us "commando" for how we do Disney, but we are the types to go to the parks shortly after opening and stay until they close.  2 days we had some major rain show up in the afternoon and made it very comfortable the rest of the day, but the rest were miserable.  The cooling towels that are sold at just about every store and stand in the parks were a lifesaver.  Highly recommend those.  Also drinking as much water as possible.  We brought a case of water with us and would drink 2 in the morning before we went to the parks and then I'd cary 2 in with me and then buy others the rest of the day.  I also highly recommend the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer body mist 100+ spf sunscreen.  I'm very fair skinned and will get sunburned if I just look at the sun and this stuff kept me from getting even a hint of a sunburn the entire trip. 

MDE - my oh my is this app frustrating.  It's been several years since we've been to the parks but I don't remember it being so glitchy in the past.  Each time I would want to check ride lines, etc I would have to close the app and re-open it as the menus would be empty (iOS).  Then at least 2-3 times on the trip it would log me out and I'd have to log back in and then be told there was "suspicious" activity and I had to reset my password.  Very annoying.

Boo Bash - while this was fun I want to offer some recommendations.....this 3 hours is WAAAAAY too short.  You have to decide before you go in, what's important to you.  If you want to take advantage of the special photo pass, see the cavalcades, the HM characters and Cadaver Dan's?  Make that your focus.  You'll only be able to get in 4-5 rides maybe.  I went into Boo Bash thinking "this is great, we'll see all this stuff and then ride everything".  Nope.  My wife would stay and watch the cavalcades and my goal was to ride the mountain trilogy and 7DMT.  Got stuck on Splash for at least 20 minutes as the ride kept stopping, 7DMT was down all night long and I did BTMR and SM.  Wife and I rode HM, JC, teacups, Buzz, POTC and the PM.  And then the night was over.  We did maybe 2-3 of the photo ops and I missed all the cavalcades (minus the dragon, which was cool and was breathing fire) and the cadaver dans.  My wife and I had very different experiences that night .  Also, the longest lines of the night seem to be for getting the candy and free treats.  It's cool to get that stuff, but waiting in long lines?  I don't get that.

Happily Ever After - I think my wife and I each shed some tears every time we saw the show.  Got to see it twice in person from the hub (which was busy but manageable) and then Saturday night from the beach at the Polynesian.  I feel a little sad every time I see people say they watched it from a ride or from tomorrowland, etc as you're missing out on so much from the castle projections.  I will dearly miss this show and hope the new one is along the same style.

Ok, I've rambled on long enough.  If I think of anything else I'll post a follow up.  Feel free to ask questions.


----------



## leeniewdw

bsmcneil said:


> I'm in IN but recently traveled to NC. I went to CVS's (the primary pharmacy in this area) website and requested testing (note, I did this a few days before I knew I would want the test because I knew they had been hard to come by - then, when I needed one sooner, I had to be a little flexible in where I'd go). There were 7-8 questions and for almost all of them (including known exposure) I answered no. There was one that asked about getting tested in order to prevent spread because I had potentially been somewhere dangerous (my hometown/county has a vax rate of 33% and very few people wore/wear masks); I answered yes to that and received no problem with a test (and when I went in, they asked if I had symptoms, etc and I basically told the story and the response was, "Wow, that's great - you'd be surprised how few people do that." I've planned to do the same if I go through with my planned trip to WDW in two weeks (at this point, based on my experience in NC, I'm planning to go with modifications).
> 
> So, TL; DR - I was able to get tested in that situation - hopefully you can, too (though I realize it might be dependent on how much testing is happening in an area).



Thank you so much!  At the time I took a test (at Walgreen's) I had not traveled or had any other 'at risk' activities, so I probably don't even remember that question!


----------



## jrsharp21

ST1TCH said:


> Heat - oh my Lord was it hot.  We're from Houston, TX and that still seemed extremely hot to us.  I wouldn't necessarily call us "commando" for how we do Disney, but we are the types to go to the parks shortly after opening and stay until they close.  2 days we had some major rain show up in the afternoon and made it very comfortable the rest of the day, but the rest were miserable.  The cooling towels that are sold at just about every store and stand in the parks were a lifesaver.  Highly recommend those.  Also drinking as much water as possible.  We brought a case of water with us and would drink 2 in the morning before we went to the parks and then I'd cary 2 in with me and then buy others the rest of the day.  I also highly recommend the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer body mist 100+ spf sunscreen.  I'm very fair skinned and will get sunburned if I just look at the sun and this stuff kept me from getting even a hint of a sunburn the entire trip.



Holy cow. I am from Houston area also. If someone from Houston says it was extremely hot, then you know it was absolutely brutal. Hoping that it gets a little cooler for our trip in a couple of weeks.


----------



## ST1TCH

jrsharp21 said:


> Holy cow. I am from Houston area also. If someone from Houston says it was extremely hot, then you know it was absolutely brutal. Hoping that it gets a little cooler for our trip in a couple of weeks.



It is worth mentioning though that I tend to avoid being outdoors for long periods in the Houston summers and didn't do a good job of preparing myself for the heat before going, so take my opinion with a grain of salt :-D


----------



## ST1TCH

Just remembered this little tidbit.....Lightning Lane signs..

While we were there they seemed to be updating these at different attractions.  I cannot remember all the rides I noticed them, but I know I saw several that changed between the first day there and my second day.  Like Soarin, on Monday the sign said FastPass+ and by Thursday it now said Lightning Lane.  So that is starting to happen across the parks for the physical signs that would have to be changed.  There's probably a thread about that in more detail around here, haven't noticed yet.

Also - Skyliner. Is. The. Bomb.  We loved taking it from Pop to Epcot and HS.  I hope it may be extended to MK and AK some day, not sure if that's in the plans or not.


----------



## p8ntldy

titaniumfemme said:


> Thanks so much for this report.  My partner and I have also decided to take our trip (leaving in 2 weeks) based on a very similar risk calculation to yours.  You noted that Disney Springs was a hot mess in the evening -- was that a weekday evening or a Friday/Saturday/Sunday?  I was hoping to be able to eat some quick service meals using outdoor seating there, but may need to come up with a backup plan.


Actually, I just looked at my notes and it was about 7:00 (early evening) on a Saturday when we arrived.  We got a StarBucks coffee, and after a brief downpour, it was crazy busy an hour later — so we left.  You‘ll probably be fine on a weekday nite.


----------



## mdmost

Regarding the heat, I'm from Dallas so we get hotter temps than Houston, which gets more humid. I usually do fine in the Dallas summer heat, which is what the parks feel like at 12-5pm when the full sun is out. I was struggling in the midday heat and humidity at the parks even though it's closer to what I'm used to. I can't imagine what some from the cooler climates of the USA must think when out in that heat.

Do not take it lightly. Drink plenty of water, get the free cups of ice water at each quick service restaurant, get a cooling towel for your neck or head, and wear something to keep your head shaded. If the quick service has a free drink refill machine, use the water to fill up your water bottle or cool your towel as the Disney water fountains are all lukewarm. It's a real shame that Disney hasn't invested in more automatic water bottle fountains like airports have.

Another tiny gripe I have about Disney is the marketing of former rides that Disney either destroyed or made over. I'm still bitter that the Dreamfinder is no longer in Journey Into Imagination. That's a low cost fix Disney could do to generate more interest in that ride. I also don't need to see posters for Horizons. That was one of the best rides ever and was from a time where we all seemed more hopeful for the future. I wish Disney would bring it back in some fashion. I saw a Mr Toad Deluxe Funko Pop in Frontierland. At least that one is still in Disneyland.


----------



## titaniumfemme

jrsharp21 said:


> Holy cow. I am from Houston area also. If someone from Houston says it was extremely hot, then you know it was absolutely brutal. Hoping that it gets a little cooler for our trip in a couple of weeks.


Another Houstonian here who'll also be at WDW in a couple of weeks!  I'm with you -- if someone from Houston says it was hot, you know it was "surface of the sun" hot!


----------



## titaniumfemme

p8ntldy said:


> Actually, I just looked at my notes and it was about 7:00 (early evening) on a Saturday when we arrived.  We got a StarBucks coffee, and after a brief downpour, it was crazy busy an hour later — so we left.  You‘ll probably be fine on a weekday nite.



Thank you so much for the information!


----------



## ST1TCH

titaniumfemme said:


> Another Houstonian here who'll also be at WDW in a couple of weeks!  I'm with you -- if someone from Houston says it was hot, you know it was "surface of the sun" hot!



Hopefully it starts to cool off a bit for you the closer we get to October.


----------



## kboo

TioAdis78 said:


> I would like to share with other old timers like myself my pride in my ten year old daughter who’s been waking up singing “There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow” from The Carousel of Progress for two days straight! I may have turned her into a fan


My 10-yo loves that and Spaceship Earth. And this trip, she was singing the Figment song...



mdmost said:


> 8 straight rides of Space Mountain.




We just got back from a 10-day extravaganza as well. report coming later. But this was definitely the one where our kids wanted to ride thrill rides over and over (and could, because of the low crowds). And this was definitely the trip where Everest 3x in a row was more than enough for me.


----------



## hedg12

Just back from a visit - 3 nights at the beginning of the trip at Cabana Bay (love it - fantastic hotel for the money) followed by 5 nights at Pop. Low crowds & most rides walk on up until the last Friday (beginning of the holiday weekend) - were even given the chance to re-ride Flight of Passage with no wait. My wife's cousin was with us - her first trip - so we packed the days pretty full trying to show her as much as possible. The low crowds really helped in that regard. Ate at 'Ohana and was happy to find the food was pretty much back to what it used to be, save for the lack of dipping sauce and the (nasty) bread. Great service, too. Ate at Whispering Canyon (a first for us) and loved it, also had great service. Dinner at Mama Melrose's food was generally good, but the service left something to be desired - unfortunately a recurring theme this trip aside from the two notable exceptions already mentioned. Really disappointed with the decline in customer service and generally poor cast member attitude. 

Mask guidelines were generally followed pretty well at Disney - maybe 40% of the people wore masks at Universal, where they're optional everywhere.


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## AmishGuy91

hedg12 said:


> Really disappointed with the decline in customer service and generally poor cast member attitude.



We were there this past weekend and while we didn’t have any issues with CMs, I did notice a ton of new CMs that were still in training.  Hopefully Disney still values customer service and instilling it in their new hires.


----------



## Bon1423

We are just back and found this thread helpful so I thought I’d update.  We arrived at MCO at 10am Friday 9/3 and checked in and headed to animal kingdom.  Used our Landry’s preferred seating at Y&Y to get quotes a half hour wait for a party of 6 while I heard parties of two being quoted an hour and a half.  Everything there was a walk on except FOP was 15 minutes.  Did Everest 2x, safari, triceratops 2x, kali River, saw some calvalcades got ice cream 3x and watched the otters all in the 3 hours after lunch was over.  Rain hit as soon as we left.

9/4 we planned to be at MK until close and crowds were considerably higher.  We still did thunder (10 mins), space (20 mins), magic carpets, aloha aisle, haunted mansion, Libertytree tavern (though we’re seated in diamond horseshoe) then had quite the luck with a grumpy crew in a 60 minute splash wait, we jumped out of line to the bathroom and got back in line to only a 15 minute wait and went down the mountain as fireworks started going off.  Made for a magical moment.  Crowds out of the park back to the contemporary were crazy so we walked it.

9/5 did brunch at ale&compass and pool.

9/6 after much practice got BG 24 only to get to HS at rope drop for the ride to be down (until 4/5pm).  We did smugglers run 2x at rope drop (10-15 minutes utes), ronto roasters for breakfast, star tours (10 min) and our savi appointment then left.  Everything else was plus 60 minutes an all we wanted was slinky and no way were we waiting in that line.  Went back at 7 for our BG, got out and saw Rotr was down again.  Did some shopping, did tot (14 minutes) and headed out.

I thought mask compliance was good.  On the rotr transport a lady had her mask down and the CM was like you’re all coming with us and you, put your mask on you look ridiculous.  It was pretty funny.  We haven’t been in awhile and was nice to be back we had some good luck and had a great time.


----------



## Dentam

Anyone there now to confirm if crowds have subsided after the holiday?  I fly out tomorrow after work!


----------



## BridgetBordeaux

Dentam said:


> Anyone there now to confirm if crowds have subsided after the holiday?  I fly out tomorrow after work!


According to Touring Plans....Yes, very low crowds.


----------



## scrapshappen

Dentam said:


> Anyone there now to confirm if crowds have subsided after the holiday?  I fly out tomorrow after work!


I think it was marginally better yesterday at HS than over the weekend. Wait times were still more normal than last week with waits at the peak over an hour.


----------



## loves to dive

BridgetBordeaux said:


> According to Touring Plans....Yes, very low crowds.


We have  been here since Monday afternoon.   Yesterday did AK in the morning and Epcot in the evening.   AK was pretty much a walk on for everything except FoP and Navi.   We didn't do Navi because the timing wasn't right for us (we have a baby with us and it was getting hot) but the wait times were listed higher than FoP so I'm guessing it was having issued.   Around 10:45 FoP was listed as a 45 min. wait.  Son and his SO got in line while I took the baby to wait for an opening at Nomad Lounge.   They got on with a 40 min. wait but said most of it was inside.  By the time they got off there was still no wait list at Nomad Lounge and I got us a good sized table outside.   We rode Safari right when we got there around 9:30 with no wait.  Didn't ride anything else but walked the trails.  It didn't seem very busy and we did check the wait times and everything was listed at 5 to 10 min.  We went to Epcot around 5:30 or 6, snack around F&W and walked on the Mexico ride.  Walked over to FW and walked on Figment (which the baby loved as well as Mexico) and walked on SSE.   We left the park around 8:30 and WS seemed a little crowded but not bad and there was plenty of room to walk around.   There was a decent rain shower around 6 or so and a few booths closed down but they re-opened later.  

I was able to get BG 29 this morning for ROTR with no problems.  I just put my phone on data instead of internet and when it flipped over to 7 am hit join.   No problems at all.  Later I will update as to how HS is.   Since we have a baby with us we aren't riding a lot of rides, although we will do child swap at HS for ROTR and ToT maybe Slinky dog.   We have to leave and come back to the room around 1 because it just gets too hot for her even with a fan blowing on her.


----------



## Dentam

Thanks for the crowd reports!  My parents flew in last night and will be at AK today - hopefully the crowds are low for them.  I fly in this evening and we'll all hit MK tomorrow!

ETA: I will post some updates once we're there - this thread has been helpful to me so happy to return the favor.


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## honeymo78

It seems like crowds have dropped after the holiday weekend - wait time on MDE for FOP at 9:45 is only 15min and SDMT is posted at 35- I feel like these would be much higher already.  I'm keeping an eye on crowds for the rest of the week as we arrive on Sat, but so far, I like what I'm seeing.


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## scrappinginontario

This week is traditionally a low week as all kids are back in school.  For many years we would arrive this coming Saturday.  The crowds would increase a bit next week but not by much.  We always enjoyed our September trips!


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## jim01

It looks like the popular rides have 30-45 minute waits right now. NY schools have off for the jewish holidays tue/wed this week and NYC schools don't even start until next week. I am hoping for lower wait times when I go next week.


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## NashvilleMama

Here at DHS today. I didn’t know the Lyft drop off location had changed - and my driver certainly didn’t either and English was a challenge so that was an adventure. And then we had a magic band issue (the issue being I forgot them) so had to go to ticket window. All that said, we got into the park at 8:45am and walked on ToT and RnRc, star tours, single rider line for MFSR (3 minute wait, 2 of us still rode together), frozen singalong, and MNMRR all by noon. Not bad. Wait times are about 20 mins for most things, posted 30-40.

IT IS AS HOT AS THE SURFACE OF THE SUN. We were here in early July and it wasn’t half this bad.

bring a UV umbrella, it’s saving us.
Mask compliance inside is great. 
very low crowds in my opinion. Few kids at all.
Hopping to MK this afternoon and expect more people…


----------



## Dentam

Heading to the airport soon!  I have a UV umbrella packed as well as a neck fan.  We've gone in September a few times so know what to expect in terms of heat.  Still, it would be nice to have some clouds around to help with that surface of the sun feel!

ETA: My parents are in AK today and it looks like most things are a walk-on right now!


----------



## hereforthechurros

What is MK like at open lately? Are they still letting people on Main Street then rope dropping at 9 am?


----------



## mdmost

hereforthechurros said:


> What is MK like at open lately? Are they still letting people on Main Street then rope dropping at 9 am?



Last Friday, we were allowed into Main Street at around 8:20 and held at the bridges till a little before 9am.


----------



## GBRforWDW

NashvilleMama said:


> Here at DHS today. I didn’t know the Lyft drop off location had changed - and my driver certainly didn’t either and English was a challenge so that was an adventure. And then we had a magic band issue (the issue being I forgot them) so had to go to ticket window. All that said, we got into the park at 8:45am and walked on ToT and RnRc, star tours, single rider line for Milleniuk Falcon (3 minute wait, 2 of us still rode together), frozen singalong, and MNMRR all by noon. Not bad. Wait times are about 20 mins for most things, posted 30-40.
> 
> IT IS AS HOT AS THE SURFACE OF THE SUN. We were here in early July and it wasn’t half this bad.
> 
> bring a UV umbrella, it’s saving us.
> Mask compliance inside is great.
> very low crowds in my opinion. Few kids at all.
> Hopping to MK this afternoon and expect more people…


Whats the new procedure for getting dropped off by rideshare at DHS?  In case anyone else here needs the info.


----------



## tigger2002

We have been here for about two weeks now.  Last week was definitely lower crowds than this week.  HS today not too bad but definitely not a one as reported by touring plans.  Touring plan wait times are more accurate than Disney.


----------



## scrappinginontario

GBRforWDW said:


> Whats the new procedure for getting dropped off by rideshare at DHS?  In case anyone else here needs the info.


This is also a great question for the transportation board.  There are many there who specialize in everything that has to do with transportation questions at Disney.


----------



## NashvilleMama

GBRforWDW said:


> Whats the new procedure for getting dropped off by rideshare at DHS?  In case anyone else here needs the info.


It’s at the bus depot now. Maybe it’s been there for awhile as we haven’t used rideshare in a few visits, but last time we did we came through the front parking entrance like everyone else.


----------



## Corinne

We were supposed to be there now, but had to move to 17-24. We typically go early to mid September, and I am curious to see if the crowds start ramping up as October 1 draws closer.


----------



## scrapshappen

Our longest wait at MK today was waiting for the rain to pass.  But we did wait about 30 minutes for SDMT. We opted to do Jungle Cruise at Rope Drop which we waited about 15 minutes for but it had lines longer than SDMT for parts of the day so it was worth it.


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## mdmost

Of course, they bring out the statues in MK after we've just left....


----------



## BonnieJean925

Corinne said:


> We were supposed to be there now, but had to move to 17-24. We typically go early to mid September, and I am curious to see if the crowds start ramping up as October 1 draws closer.


Going those dates as well, I have seen on other planning sites that expected crowds are predicted to be very low. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we have a good week!


----------



## Dentam

After a late breakfast, we spent the day in MK today and it was really nice.  Rained quite a bit before we arrived and then just stayed mostly cloudy and cool (79-81 according to my phone app) with a nice breeze and a few showers.  The longest we waited for anything was 25 minutes for Jungle Cruise (posted time was 50 minutes) and everything else was a walk-on or 5 minute wait. We didn't try SDMT or Tomorrowland rides though since we headed over to the Grand Floridian for an early dinner at the GF Cafe.  Anyway, it was a nice first day and hopefully the low crowds continue through next week!


----------



## JediMaster19

loves to dive said:


> We have  been here since Monday afternoon.   Yesterday did AK in the morning and Epcot in the evening.   AK was pretty much a walk on for everything except FoP and Navi.   We didn't do Navi because the timing wasn't right for us (we have a baby with us and it was getting hot) but the wait times were listed higher than FoP so I'm guessing it was having issued.   Around 10:45 FoP was listed as a 45 min. wait.  Son and his SO got in line while I took the baby to wait for an opening at Nomad Lounge.   They got on with a 40 min. wait but said most of it was inside.  By the time they got off there was still no wait list at Nomad Lounge and I got us a good sized table outside.   We rode Safari right when we got there around 9:30 with no wait.  Didn't ride anything else but walked the trails.  It didn't seem very busy and we did check the wait times and everything was listed at 5 to 10 min.  We went to Epcot around 5:30 or 6, snack around F&W and walked on the Mexico ride.  Walked over to FW and walked on Figment (which the baby loved as well as Mexico) and walked on SSE.   We left the park around 8:30 and WS seemed a little crowded but not bad and there was plenty of room to walk around.   There was a decent rain shower around 6 or so and a few booths closed down but they re-opened later.
> 
> I was able to get BG 29 this morning for ROTR with no problems.  I just put my phone on data instead of internet and when it flipped over to 7 am hit join.   No problems at all.  Later I will update as to how HS is.   Since we have a baby with us we aren't riding a lot of rides, although we will do child swap at HS for ROTR and ToT maybe Slinky dog.   We have to leave and come back to the room around 1 because it just gets too hot for her even with a fan blowing on her.



Thank you for your post I will be there this coming week.. very informative! I have heard people joining the RoTR BG by either scrolling down on the front page of the My Disney Experience app and clicking Join , or by going to Virtual Queues and joining that way? How did you go about it? Trying to decide which way to do it when I get there


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## scrappinginontario

JediMaster19 said:


> Thank you for your post I will be there this coming week.. very informative! I have heard people joining the RoTR BG by either scrolling down on the front page of the My Disney Experience app and clicking Join , or by going to Virtual Queues and joining that way? How did you go about it? Trying to decide which way to do it when I get there


Post 1 of this thread has a lot of helpful information re: *obtaining a Boarding Group for Rise of the Resistance.*

Most people find trying from the front page is a good choice although they updated the process just this week and both may go from the same location now.


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## queenadnama

Just returned from a 6 day trip at Yacht Club (mother/daughter trip)!! Our room was great, housekeeping showed up every other day so we always had a huge supply of towels. I took notes of posted wait times vs. actual wait times... we never waited to the posted time. For example: Haunted Mansion on Labor Day Saturday was 60 min; we waited 20. Basically every ride was like this. Longest we waited was 45 min for Flight of Passage around 10am on a Monday.

Mask compliant is about 50/50 outdoors, and 90/10 indoors. I wore my medical mask outdoors minus when there were not crowds, and it was very do-able. Just bring a napkin or something to dab your face if you get a sweaty lip (like me!). You will get called out if you can't handle chin/nose/mouth protocol, which I was happy to see. I wore an N95 and medical during Happily Ever After because it was super-packed and felt safe. My tip is to bring a portable hand sanitizer clip so you can clip it to a belt loop -- the park sanitizer is kinda slimy.

Park hopping is a breeze! Cast Members are very sweet if you are sweet to them and comply with the rules; we had no crabby CMs at all. Not a lot of older guests, and not as much younger children for obvious reasons, but weirdly a *ton* of newborns/under 1 year olds however were there? I found that to be the most surprising factor of all. Very sad to have our possible last Magical Express trip  We had no wait for both to and from the airport! I was dreading that the most given I'd seen so many posts about 2 hour waits, but we were pleasantly surprised. Mobile ordering is the BEST.

Overall this was one of our best trips, and I understand now why everyone wants no more fastpasses -- I'm a believer of it! I go back end of October with my SO for a week (planned eons ago before 50th announcements and Genie+ travesties) so I am worried that trip will be stressful, but at least this trip was great and relatively easy-going in every single way.


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## pinkxray

@Dugette- do you recall which KN95 you had for your DD? I would like some for my kids but it’s so hard to tell which ones are really small enough for kids.


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## Dugette

pinkxray said:


> @Dugette- do you recall which KN95 you had for your DD? I would like some for my kids but it’s so hard to tell which ones are really small enough for kids.


Yep, we got a big pack of the Vida kids ones. She’s almost 9 and they fit her well and are easy for her to put on and take off.


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## AndreaDM

I don't understand why people are talking about outdoor mask "compliance", there is nothing to comply with outdoors am I correct? We are going in 2 weeks and just making sure masks are NOT required outside.


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## scrappinginontario

AndreaDM said:


> I don't understand why people are talking about outdoor mask "compliance", there is nothing to comply with outdoors am I correct? We are going in 2 weeks and just making sure masks are NOT required outside.


This is Disney's official statement: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/experience-updates/#drawer-card-faceCoverings

My understanding is that many queues are a combination of indoors and outdoors, crossing back and forth from one to the other.  Rides like Peter Pan, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, etc may be examples of this.  From what we've heard here, once guests pass under the 'Standby Time' sign they are being advised to put on their masks and leave them on for the duration of the line and ride, regardless of when they are standing inside or outside.

This being said, we've also heard here that this messaging is not always consistent so not everyone's experiences will be the same.  If I were going to the park I would be prepared to do the above re: putting it on when I go under the Stand By Time sign.


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## IluvMGM

We just got done our 12 day trip at Pop. We had low wait times most of the trip. We thought mask compliance was pretty good, but you could always spot someone on a bus or in a queue, or even on a ride that takes it off. Not sure why it's so tough to understand. Love that you can walk into the food court to order now. There are so many more options than are listed on mobile order. We got lucky with not too much rain, but of course it was super hot. We were glad to be able to take masks off outdoors this trip and wondered how we made it through last year with them on the whole time. Lining up for the skyliner was totally different than last year. Last trip we would line up hours early and the line would stretch back to the bowling pins. This year, barely any line at all. I think HS was the toughest opening, just because they held you back at the gate. Would have been nice to at least be able to go into Starbucks before opening. Security was a breeze this trip, didn't need to have our bags checked. The finger scans though, were a pain. I never remember having trouble in years past, but just about everytime this trip one of us would have to make multiple attempts before it turned green. Also, we got boarding groups for Rise all 3 days again, so super happy about that. Touring Plans was usually much more accurate with wait times.


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## ST1TCH

scrappinginontario said:


> This is Disney's official statement: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/experience-updates/#drawer-card-faceCoverings
> 
> My understanding is that many queues are a combination of indoors and outdoors, crossing back and forth from one to the other.  Rides like Peter Pan, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, etc may be examples of this.  From what we've heard here, once guests pass under the 'Standby Time' sign they are being advised to put on their masks and leave them on for the duration of the line and ride, regardless of when they are standing inside or outside.
> 
> This being said, we've also heard here that this messaging is not always consistent so not everyone's experiences will be the same.  If I were going to the park I would be prepared to do the above re: putting it on when I go under the Stand By Time sign.



Our experience last week was that if you enter a queue that was initially outside, just about every CM would say something similar to "Please make sure you have your masks, you don't have to put them on now, but make sure you have them on when you go inside."  Then there was usually another CM where you entered the indoors part and they would make sure everyone had their mask on at that point.


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## Sarahslay

mdmost said:


> Of course, they bring out the statues in MK after we've just left....


It's like the Poly monorail station opening the day after I check out lol


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## IluvMGM

scrappinginontario said:


> This is Disney's official statement: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/experience-updates/#drawer-card-faceCoverings
> 
> My understanding is that many queues are a combination of indoors and outdoors, crossing back and forth from one to the other.  Rides like Peter Pan, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, etc may be examples of this.  From what we've heard here, once guests pass under the 'Standby Time' sign they are being advised to put on their masks and leave them on for the duration of the line and ride, regardless of when they are standing inside or outside.
> 
> This being said, we've also heard here that this messaging is not always consistent so not everyone's experiences will be the same.  If I were going to the park I would be prepared to do the above re: putting it on when I go under the Stand By Time sign.


The rides have signs at the point where masks are required, stating no food or drink beyond that point and masks required. A lot of the time there is also a cast member to tell you.


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## kboo

queenadnama said:


> but weirdly a *ton* of newborns/under 1 year olds however were there? I found that to be the most surprising factor of all.


I traveled to Paris with a newborn in the midst of a measles outbreak years ago ... I think it's 2-fold: 
1. little babies aren't mobile and touching things, so they're easily contained in a stroller or carrier which you, the parent, can manage, and 
2. some studies show that if the mom got vaccinated while pregnant, their baby has antibodies after being born, so arguably they're more covid safe than kids under 12. 



scrappinginontario said:


> My understanding is that many queues are a combination of indoors and outdoors, crossing back and forth from one to the other. Rides like Peter Pan, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, etc may be examples of this. From what we've heard here, once guests pass under the 'Standby Time' sign they are being advised to put on their masks and leave them on for the duration of the line and ride, regardless of when they are standing inside or outside.
> 
> This being said, we've also heard here that this messaging is not always consistent so not everyone's experiences will be the same. If I were going to the park I would be prepared to do the above re: putting it on when I go under the Stand By Time sign.


^^^ this, with some variation in the ride lines. At the 7DMT queue entrance last week, everyone had to show that they had a mask but didn't have to put it on until we went into the "vault". At ROTR we were told to put them on as soon as we started the "tunnel" section, even though it was largely open to outside. Signs are pretty clear and there's a CM who usually tells you the first time. we just put them on and kept them on after the first sign rather than engage in any drama/debate.


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## Leigh L

Sarahslay said:


> It's like the Poly monorail station opening the day after I check out lol


And Space 220 opens the day we leave! lol


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## queenadnama

kboo said:


> I traveled to Paris with a newborn in the midst of a measles outbreak years ago ... I think it's 2-fold:
> 1. little babies aren't mobile and touching things, so they're easily contained in a stroller or carrier which you, the parent, can manage, and
> 2. some studies show that if the mom got vaccinated while pregnant, their baby has antibodies after being born, so arguably they're more covid safe than kids under 12.



Thank you so much for the insight! That would make sense. It was baby-carrier city at MK yesterday, lol


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## kboo

Got back from a 9-night trip, 8/28-9/6. We have been spoiled by lines shorter than I remember in my lifetime, which includes the days of the paper A-B-C-D-E tickets. We went two other times earlier in the pandemic when masks were required indoors and out. I almost canceled this trip because our kids are under 12, but I'm so glad we didn't. Here are some highlights:

1. Masks/mask compliance, distancing: as others have said, pretty good in queues and on indoor rides, except - we had several instances of people taking off their masks once the ride left, or for ride photos. This happened 2x on RnRC, 2x on ToT, at least once on Space. We have photopass, and so we didn't get our photos from those rides. If that happens to you because it's someone not in your group, go to the photopass counter after the ride. One time we got a printed photo, most other times we were offered a re-ride. I did have a few people bump into me from behind, in line, but they apologized and backed up as soon as I looked back at them. About 50% or so of people also wore masks in crowds outdoors; in line, there are still plexiglas panels up in the switchbacks (even outside) and I felt ok keeping some distance.

2. Crowds/Lines: Touring plans had most days at a 1, and I think that was accurate. The TP Lines app was also more accurate than MDE. Virtually everything was a walk on, and we did not rope drop a single day (and we are usually rope droppers). The largest crowds I saw were in the evenings at EP during Labor Day weekend, and those were lines at the food booths, which sadly we didn't try. Even so, most rides were still short/no waits and it was very easy to distance while outside and not in a line. We rode *FOP *2x in a row: first time was a slow walk that took maybe 10 minutes in the late morning, then as we were exiting a CM offered everyone getting off a "re-ride" to go directly to the room right before they send you to the pre-show. We only did one weekday at AK because we rode everything we wanted to (except Safari), multiple times, in about a 3-hour period between 10-3 (we also had a 2 hour lunch at Nomad Lounge). *Everest *was a walk on, *Navi *was a 20-min wait. *ROTR*: 7am BGs filled up within minutes rather than milliseconds, and the 1pm BGs stayed open until close, *except* for Labor Day weekend, when 7am filled in seconds and 1pm filled in minutes. *ToT, RnRC, TSMM, MFSR *- were walk-ons at all times of day *except* Labor Day weekend, when they were ~20-30 min waits. *MMRR, SDD* were about a 20-30 minute wait at all times. At Epcot, we didn't get to FEA because we were squeezing in rides around ADRs - *TT *was a 20-min wait during Labor Day weekend, everything else, including *Soarin*, was a walk on.

MK: we didn't do Jungle Cruise because we haven't seen the movie yet and it always seemed to be 20-30 minutes of a wait. We did *7DMT *multiple times, not at rope drop or close, with a 10-20 minute wait. Peter Pan was about 10 min, everything else (including *BTMRR, Splash, Space, Buzz, Small World* ... ) We didn't do HM or PotC because .... (oy) ... my kids are scared of them.

3. Indoor dining: IT WAS HOT WHILE WE WERE THERE. REALLY REALLY HOT. HOT HOT HOT!!! We were touring with another family that was much more covid-risk-averse than we were, and they decided before our trip not to do any indoor dining. We kept 1-2 ADRs a day to get a break from the heat and also because we really love some of the restaurants at WDW. No one stated this specifically, but many of the restaurants appear to be running at slightly reduced capacity (and thus more spaced) but because of staffing issues. *California Grill *still had partitions up between booths near the kitchens, and we were probably 10 feet away from the nearest table; same at *Topolino's*. *Skipper Canteen. Garden Grill* also seemed pretty spaced. *Chef Mickey's* was generally pretty good, too, we were 6-8' from the next table, but we ended up being seated in the lower-ceilinged area, which was fine with us but might not feel comfortable for others. *Teppan Edo* - we were seated with another group but there was a partition between us, and I sat on that end (vaxed), so we felt comfortable there as well. We originally planned to have the whole table with the other family, but unfortunately it didn't work out that way. We also did *Sci Fi* and* Brown Derby*, and *Tutto Italia*. We were a little closer to neighboring tables than I would have liked at Brown Derby and Tutto Italia, but they staggered seating a little so there weren't people next to us for our whole meal.

4. Covid risk assessments: I thought we were pretty risk averse, but the family we ended up traveling with was far more careful/anxious. We ended up going with the flow with them, building in more pool time midday for a heat break and not always doing everything together. Our lunch at Nomad Lounge was another accommodation; we had a Tiffins lunch planned that the CMs were very kind in allowing us to cancel when it became clear that our friends wouldn't feel comfortable. (I peeked, the tables were well-spaced, but we also ate there on all of our previous trips... oh well. Next time...). We go often, so we were okay with adjusting our plans on the fly to let our friends feel more comfortable. I think that was a point well-taken for this trip overall - we adjusted plans on the fly and didn't get too invested in having to do something and it all went really well. We rode things multiple times if the line was short, and didn't feel like we *had* to do everything. Because crowds were so low, it was overall a very low stress, relaxed trip.

(ETA: we wore disposable KN95s; our friends sometimes wore N95s and N95+cloth.)

5. Fireworks: we watched HEA from the hub and while it wasn't quite as packed as days past, we kept our masks on and if I could do it over again I would have watched from farther back on Main St. or staked out a better space more time in advance. But, we enjoyed it nonetheless and I'll miss that show. Epcot Forever was easy to space. We had an amazing view almost right up at the lagoon, and the nearest groups were 20+ feet away.


----------



## gottalovepluto

ST1TCH said:


> Our experience last week was that if you enter a queue that was initially outside, just about every CM would say something similar to "Please make sure you have your masks, you don't have to put them on now, but make sure you have them on when you go inside."  Then there was usually another CM where you entered the indoors part and they would make sure everyone had their mask on at that point.


Sounds like for those of us not planning on outside masks it’s best to be ready to put it on in ride/ ride lines whenever asked, that CMs aren’t keeping it a secret when we need to wear one. That’s my plan anyway!


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## mfly

We were last at WDW in April. 

Are the parks still opening/running rides a half-hour early, or is it back to a more normal rope-drop?

Trying to decide how early we should get to MK tomorrow AM + HS on Sunday AM.


----------



## loves to dive

JediMaster19 said:


> Thank you for your post I will be there this coming week.. very informative! I have heard people joining the RoTR BG by either scrolling down on the front page of the My Disney Experience app and clicking Join , or by going to Virtual Queues and joining that way? How did you go about it? Trying to decide which way to do it when I get there


I'm afraid I'm very lazy so I don't do all the tricks and tips.   I turned off wi-fi and turned on my data.  I had MDE open and had scrolled down to the virtual que section.   When my phone turned over to 7 am I hit join and then hit join through the next screens.   I did the same thing this morning and didn't get it but since we had already ridden it, I wasn't really waiting to hit join exactly when my phone turned.


----------



## loves to dive

HS on Wens, BG 29.   We got to HS around 9:30 or 10 am went to ToT, which was listed 1/2 hour.  We did child swap, my son wasn't really paying attention but he said it didn't take them 1/2 hour to get in.    I went through the FP line for child swap but the regular line was going as fast as I was so there wasn't really a need for it.   After that we walked through TS Land just so my son's SO could see it and by the time we got ROTR, our boarding group had been called.  Again, we did child swap and they waited maybe 15 min. to get on.  It was a walk on for me for Child Swap.   After that we ate at Brown Derby outside lounge and went to Mickey & Minnie.   The baby could ride that, the wait was posted 30 min. and we waited that long but most of it was inside.   We left after that for some down time in the room.   My son and I walked over to Epcot and got stuck in one of the worst rain storms I've ever been in.  We had a huge two person umbrella and we still got soaked.  I wanted to go to the lobster booth so we booked it over there and got there about 2 min. before they shut it down.  We go the lobster tail and the dip, they were more important to us to keep dry then keeping ourselves dry so we held the umbrella over the food while we ate.  We booked it back to the Dolphin after that.  

Thurs. was MK day.  We got there around 9:30 or 10 again and right when we got up to the photo pass photographer to get a picture it started raining.  We were able to the picture before the sky opened up.   We walked over and rode Pirates as pretty much a walk on, the baby was able to ride that.  Then we went to Haunted Mansion and it was about a 30 min. wait but most of it was under cover.  After that we grabbed some ice cream and went and did COP, the baby loved that.  We went back over for my son and his SO to ride Jungle Cruise and since the baby was sleeping I just got under some cover and waited.  I didn't need to ride it so no child swap.  We left after that and rode the monorail over to Epcot.  We walked through eating at some booths and back to the room to rest.  The baby was pretty much done so Mama and she stayed in the room and my son and I went back to Epcot for some booths.

Today was another HS day.  I didn't get a BG but didn't really try too hard.  We got to HS earlier than we have any of the parks this trip, a little after 9.  We walked to Toy Story and my son and his SO rode Mid Way Mania while I walked the baby around, the wait was about 20 min.  There was a 60 min. wait for Slinky Dog and it was hot so we skipped that.   We went to Galaxy's Edge and fed the baby then they went and rode MF.   It was listed a 45 min. wait and was about that.  We walked over to the brew pub place and sat outside for a little bit then back to the room.  I went to the pool and the baby napped a little.  Back to Epcot which was showing it was Friday.   It was around 4 pm and getting a bit more crowded then it had been.  We shopped a little, ate at some booths.  Since the baby loved Figment so much the first time we rode that again, walk on.  They wanted to ride Soarin so we went over there and it was listed a 10 min. wait but they walked on while I sat and played with the baby.  Then we walked around Epcot some and ate at some more booths.  By 8 it was getting way too crowded for our comfort so we left.

All in all a pretty good trip.   I didn't think the crowds were too bad, we rode pretty much all we wanted to given we had the baby with us and were taking it easy.   We didn't really notice much problems with people not wearing their masks where they were supposed to, we did notice a few CM's gently reminding people to pull them up.


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## Deeleebaker

We were at a studio in Villas at Grand Floridian for our first dVC trip August 31- September 6. Cast members were so warm and welcoming (except one older gentleman outside MMRR who snarked after we got on the wrong side of a rope line (which led nowhere) after tying my daughters shoes.) Parks were like a ghost town and around 1230 on Tuesday the 31 we went to FantasyLand and just rode rides as walking as we approached them. Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Casey’s to cool off, Little Mermaid, Carousel, and when we got to Pooh she was exhausted to back to the Villas Around 2. The manager found us a room as my daughter napped on a wing chair, and a cast member brought some towels as a pillow and blanket for her. We lost the extra shower as what they got us was a hearing accessible room, but we managed fine without it most of the week. They offered to move us the next day, but I didn’t want to be roomless again just in case we needed a nap mid day again.

We did almost all the rides at all 4 parks over 5 days. Never rope dropped, napped most days midday. Really appreciate mobile ordering now that you can use gift cards, but really wish you could save a gift card on file, I hated having to drag it out every time. Most restaurants let us find a eat once they were filling the order for us, only ABC commissary wanted to make us wait until it was ready, but then the cast member let us in for the air conditioning when my 6 year old started slumping in the hot sun.

It got busy over the weekend, but we were able to manage with masks on indoors and outdoors. Only had to avoid 2-3 families that insisted on noses out inside and on transport. We have been fairly isolated at home/work/school for the entire pandemic and this was a big leap for us. We are home and all well (Except for our asthma which is an August/September challenge anyway)

Im already planning our February trip to a 1BR value in Jambo house. I keep thinking about going somewhere one park is walkable, but the points keep me taking buses. I have two major take aways. I don’t think Ill ever go back in September unless it’s mostly resort only, and I’m not going to try and get all the rides done again.


----------



## Ricguz

queenadnama said:


> Just returned from a 6 day trip at Yacht Club (mother/daughter trip)!! Our room was great, housekeeping showed up every other day so we always had a huge supply of towels. I took notes of posted wait times vs. actual wait times... we never waited to the posted time. For example: Haunted Mansion on Labor Day Saturday was 60 min; we waited 20. Basically every ride was like this. Longest we waited was 45 min for Flight of Passage around 10am on a Monday.
> 
> Mask compliant is about 50/50 outdoors, and 90/10 indoors. I wore my medical mask outdoors minus when there were not crowds, and it was very do-able. Just bring a napkin or something to dab your face if you get a sweaty lip (like me!). You will get called out if you can't handle chin/nose/mouth protocol, which I was happy to see. I wore an N95 and medical during Happily Ever After because it was super-packed and felt safe. My tip is to bring a portable hand sanitizer clip so you can clip it to a belt loop -- the park sanitizer is kinda slimy.
> 
> Park hopping is a breeze! Cast Members are very sweet if you are sweet to them and comply with the rules; we had no crabby CMs at all. Not a lot of older guests, and not as much younger children for obvious reasons, but weirdly a *ton* of newborns/under 1 year olds however were there? I found that to be the most surprising factor of all. Very sad to have our possible last Magical Express trip  We had no wait for both to and from the airport! I was dreading that the most given I'd seen so many posts about 2 hour waits, but we were pleasantly surprised. Mobile ordering is the BEST.
> 
> Overall this was one of our best trips, and I understand now why everyone wants no more fastpasses -- I'm a believer of it! I go back end of October with my SO for a week (planned eons ago before 50th announcements and Genie+ travesties) so I am worried that trip will be stressful, but at least this trip was great and relatively easy-going in every single way.


My favorite resort!  We have plans for December 2022.


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## cellomom

Deeleebaker said:


> I’m not going to try and get all the rides done again



After becoming a DVC member we learned to relax more too, there will be a next time


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## MrWreckless

Anyone know why crowd levels have jumped up to summer levels again? Did everyone book these weeks trying to avoid the 50th and ended up making them more crowded than usual. Two weeks ago you could get a BG to RotR all day, now they are back to going in 5 seconds.  


Ughhhhh I'm due to arrive Monday and thought we picked out a stress free week.


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## hereforthechurros

MrWreckless said:


> Anyone know why crowd levels have jumped up to summer levels again? Did everyone book these weeks trying to avoid the 50th and ended up making them more crowded than usual. Two weeks ago you could get a BG to RotR all day, now they are back to going in 5 seconds.
> 
> 
> Ughhhhh I'm due to arrive Monday and thought we picked out a stress free week.


Wait times do not match summer levels looking at them today. FOP is 60 when it was regularly 120 in July when we went. MK looks reasonable. Higher than the week before Labor Day but still very manageable. Those ROTR days were fluke not the norm. Also rumors they may be running less capacity depending on demand. 

With APs on sales again I expect weekends to be busier with locals coming in again.

Also, people see low crowds and book trips. By the time they get there so many others have done the same that crowds aren’t as low anymore.


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## MrWreckless

hereforthechurros said:


> Wait times do not match summer levels looking at them today. FOP is 60 when it was regularly 120 in July when we went. MK looks reasonable. Higher than the week before Labor Day but still very manageable. Those ROTR days were fluke not the norm.* Also rumors they may be running less capacity depending on demand.*
> 
> With APs on sales again I expect weekends to be busier with locals coming in again.
> 
> Also, people see low crowds and book trips. By the time they get there so many others have done the same that crowds aren’t as low anymore.



That must be it because they shouldn't be going in 5 seconds judging by the lines elsewhere in the park.


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## hereforthechurros

MrWreckless said:


> That must be it because they shouldn't be going in 5 seconds judging by the lines elsewhere in the park.


Also they fixed the BG group system to make it more streamlined which may be helping groups go quicker. And again not to blame locals but now that they have APs again, and you don’t have the be on property to book, many try to get a ROTR BG and just don’t go if they don’t get one.


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## VAtink

Just got back from a morning in MK. It was a productive morning, but not as productive as my April trip. Still most rides were walk on for the first hour or so. After that the waits weren't horrible, mostly 10-15ish minutes.  Was able to ride Splash x2, thunder, pirates, HM, Buzz, and people mover by 11:30. Missed 7DMT and Space that I got on in April in roughly the same time it took to ride the rides today, but back then parks were only at 35% capacity and the opening was easier with being able to head straight to a ride once you entered the park instead of being held on Main Street for the first hour.  

As we were leaving the park a bit after noon it was starting to get pretty crowded, seemed a bit worse crowd-wise than we've seen in past Septembers around that time of day, but then again the rope drop overall seems more crowded than in the past this time of year. 

Decided to grab some food at the Grand Floridian, then hopped over to Epcot to check another of the fromage montage items off our list. Epcot was typical Saturday afternoon Food and Wine crowded as expected. Didn't stay long, just grabbed our cheese then headed out.  So far a good start to the trip!  Hoping after tomorrow the crowds go back down to the pre-labor day levels!


----------



## VAtink

Also, this is the best 50th statue.


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## CarolynFH

VAtink said:


> Also, this is the best 50th statue. View attachment 604090


Where is it?!  I want my photo taken there too!


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## VAtink

CarolynFH said:


> Where is it?!  I want my photo taken there too!



It's on the walkway from Tomorrowland Terrace to Tomorrowland.  It was a hard one to find, just happened to notice it while crossing the bridge to Tomorrowland.


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## Leigh L

VAtink said:


> Also, this is the best 50th statue. View attachment 604090


This is so totally on my must do list! lol


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## CarolynFH

VAtink said:


> It's on the walkway from Tomorrowland Terrace to Tomorrowland.  It was a hard one to find, just happened to notice it while crossing the bridge to Tomorrowland.


Thanks - I thought it might be "that" purple wall!  I've made a note for my November trip!


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## Caboosey

Anyone who has been recently - is the Christmas Shop in Magic Kingdom personalizing things now?


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## GoofEeyore26

Got in yesterday around 11am. This was the magical express line. People near the front half said they'd been waiting 45min (not checked in yet). I was glad we rented a car. https://photos.app.goo.gl/3RQKRusyVk1U35un7


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## VAtink

Well we tried to get a boarding group this morning but failed. So annoyed, I verified my phone's clock was accurate at 6:55, and then watched the seconds counting down and right when it hit 7 hit join... and they were already gone.  This is our only HS day this trip, figured after how easy it was to get a BG in April it'd be easy today too, oops!  Lesson learned. At least I've already seen it, but I feel bad for my mom who hasn't and was looking forward to it.


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## mfly

GoofEeyore26 said:


> Got in yesterday around 11am. This was the magical express line. People near the front half said they'd been waiting 45min (not checked in yet). I was glad we rented a car. https://photos.app.goo.gl/3RQKRusyVk1U35un7


Just to provide people with an alternate experience: we got into the Magical Express “line” at 7 PM this past Friday night. 

There was literally ZERO other people waiting - we were immediately put on a bus, and we left within 5 minutes!


----------



## MDIME

VAtink said:


> Well we tried to get a boarding group this morning but failed. So annoyed, I verified my phone's clock was accurate at 6:55, and then watched the seconds counting down and right when it hit 7 hit join... and they were already gone.  This is our only HS day this trip, figured after how easy it was to get a BG in April it'd be easy today too, oops!  Lesson learned. At least I've already seen it, but I feel bad for my mom who hasn't and was looking forward to it.



This happened to my daughter and I in late March. We got aBG at the 1:00 drop though. So all was not lost, good luck!


----------



## mfly

VAtink said:


> Well we tried to get a boarding group this morning but failed. So annoyed, I verified my phone's clock was accurate at 6:55, and then watched the seconds counting down and right when it hit 7 hit join... and they were already gone.  This is our only HS day this trip, figured after how easy it was to get a BG in April it'd be easy today too, oops!  Lesson learned. At least I've already seen it, but I feel bad for my mom who hasn't and was looking forward to it.


Can you swap HS for another day later this trip and grab a different park pass for another park this morning?

We were able to get a BG, but I’m glad two of us were trying because the app on my phone decided it was going to act up right at 7:00:00. 

Overall, the app has felt especially finicky this weekend.


----------



## VAtink

mfly said:


> Can you swap HS for another day later this trip and grab a different park pass for another park this morning?
> 
> We were able to get a BG, but I’m glad two of us were trying because the app on my phone decided it was going to act up right at 7:00:00.
> 
> Overall, the app has felt especially finicky this weekend.



We may just use our second MK morning as a HS morning, but we'll try again at 1, thankfully we have a super late dinner tonight so our afternoon is open. 

And I agree, the app has been really buggy the last few days. Yesterday on the way to MK it completely deleted our entire trip from the system!


----------



## TMichele

Caboosey said:


> Anyone who has been recently - is the Christmas Shop in Magic Kingdom personalizing things now?


We were there yesterday and saw a CM at a small desk near the register working on something, so I would say yes!

our trip has been incredibly smooth. Flew in day before yesterday. Did not wait more than 10 mins for magical express to wilderness, no crowd. Wilderness Lodge has been amazing, it is so quiet here. Never waited more than a couple minutes for bus or boat transportation. We RD MK yesterday. We did almost everything by early afternoon. Carousel and Buzz down so we missed those. Longest wait was Pooh for 20 mins. It did start “feeling” crowded though lines weren’t bad. Hopped to HS at 4pm and it had been raining and that was really amazing. ToT twice in 25 mins. Walk on star tours, like we never saw anyone else. RNR waited like 25 mins. MMRR I’d say 20 and that ride was amazing! We caught the projection show coming out and the crowd to leave wasn’t even bad. Got right on a comfy motorcoach back to wilderness.

We go to Epcot today and transfer over to Boardwalk for the rest of the trip. We hope we love it as much as wilderness and that the crowds stay low!


----------



## TMichele

Leigh L said:


> This is so totally on my must do list! lol



I couldn’t resist either, I love Stitch! 

By the way…we have been really impressed with the shots by our photopass photographers, they are wonderful!


----------



## emily nicole

mfly said:


> Just to provide people with an alternate experience: we got into the Magical Express “line” at 7 PM this past Friday night.
> 
> There was literally ZERO other people waiting - we were immediately put on a bus, and we left within 5 minutes!


I wonder if it's all luck, or maybe time of day. We also arrived around 7pm on 8/29 and there were only 3 parties there including us. We were immediately directed to a Mears van and had a private ride to ASM.


----------



## IluvMGM

mfly said:


> Just to provide people with an alternate experience: we got into the Magical Express “line” at 7 PM this past Friday night.
> 
> There was literally ZERO other people waiting - we were immediately put on a bus, and we left within 5 minutes!



When we arrived around 9:30 am, there was no line at all either. We walked right through and got on the bus.


----------



## BonnieJean925

mfly said:


> Just to provide people with an alternate experience: we got into the Magical Express “line” at 7 PM this past Friday night.
> 
> There was literally ZERO other people waiting - we were immediately put on a bus, and we left within 5 minutes!


we are arriving this Friday.....I hope its the same way!


----------



## Dentam

We went to Epcot yesterday and the pathways were pretty crowded all day, and especially in the early evening when the locals came out for Food and Wine.  That being said, we walked on Test Track first thing with the wait time showing 50 minutes.  Then hit Frozen with a 25 minute posted wait and waited about 15-20.  Sampled food and wine items - favorites so far are the grapefruit beer in Germany and the Vietnamese Pho at the noodle booth.  Rode Living with the Land as a walk on twice and Soarin twice with a 15 minute wait.  Oh, and Spaceship Earth as a walk on with 15 minute posted wait time.

All in all, wait times were great but the crowds in the pathways were a bit crazy and lines for the food booths got long at dinner time.  All to be expected on a Saturday I guess but I was kind of foolishly hoping that the crowds would be lower.  I wore my mask in the evening on the paths and will just hope for the best.  Surprised to see kids under 12 unmasked in those crowds, although definitely more adults than kids overall.

Back to Epcot today but won't stay as late since we stayed for the fireworks last night.  We're changing resorts (Boardwalk to AKL) so will head over there and maybe get the Sanaa bread service for dinner.


----------



## PPFlight75

On the drive home from a quick weekend trip for the Remy preview. Spent Friday at EP and Saturday at MK. Crowds were so much lighter than our July trip!

Loved Remy! It was better than what I was expecting.

Saturday morning at MK rode Space, Buzz X 2, BTMR, Pirates, HM, Barnstormer, and IASW all by 11am.

Took the monorail to Poly for lunch. The new platform and front entrance look great.

The busiest was World Showcase Saturday night but still able to get a walk up seating at Rose and Crown at 7p.

All in all, a great quick trip.


----------



## Princess.Pocahotmess

Just wanted to add a little bit from my experience yesterday. I went to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. My two biggest takeaways: Wait times in the app were really off for quite a few of the lines and there were a significant amount of ride breakdowns. When in line for Pooh it was stopped and people were walked off. When I went to maybe get in line for Peter Pan later, that was down. Also stopped (not for loading) while on Peoplemover and stopped for technical difficulties while on Living with the Land. I kept checking to see if Carousel of Progress was running but I never saw it open. I thought maybe it was scheduled for refurbishment that I just didn't know about. Anyways, I had a great day and I would just stay flexible in plans if you can


----------



## Magnoliafan

I flew in late Friday for a spur of the moment long weekend to see HEA one last time.  Walked on a bus at Magical Express at about 9:30pm and then had the most perfect timing ever: Epcot Forever started just as the bus approached the Walt Disney World sign, so I literally saw the sign with fireworks above it, like something out of a commercial.  What a welcome.

I’m staying at CSR and it’s gorgeous.  I spent a not so great single night here in 2017 in the middle of a three resort split stay and wasn’t impressed.  But Gran Destino and Three Rivers make such a huge difference, with both the look of the resort, the ease of getting around (with the bridges), and the dining options.  I was starving, so I mobile ordered from Three Rivers, which is open until midnight.  It was fantastic and I went to sleep happy.

I ended up doing a rambling 4 park day yesterday.  I won’t do a full play by play, but it was definitely more crowded than it was earlier in the week, just going by wait times on the apps (official and TP).  My theory is that it‘s due to it being the first weekend since they started selling APs again.  I ended at Epcot and the crowds streaming into WS at 7pm were actually quite stunning.  Walkways were full from the IG all the way to America (where I was grabbing dinner).  Future World, however, was dead by the time I finished eating.  I walked onto Figment, LWTL (I asked if I could wait for the next boat so I could sit in the front row and ended up having a boat to myself), Nemo and Spaceship Earth.  Soarin, TT and MS all had short waits, but I just didn’t have enough time to do them all.  If I had gone straight to FW instead of dinner, then I probably could have managed it.  I made it to WS as they were making the “10 minute” fireworks announcement and had no problem getting a great spot. Even so, the crowd was very heavy as I was leaving.

I’m doing MK today and then have until about 5 tomorrow, so I’m going to try for a BG.  If my AP theory is right, then crowds will drop for the weekday.  Nice quick trip so far though!


----------



## underthesea412

Here now for our little one’s first trip to Disney (he’s 18 months) and our first time back since September 2019 (pregnancy + pandemic). We are so thrilled to be back at Disney World!

We are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge and got on a bus around 8:50 AM after a 1 minute wait and were walking down Main Street by 9:30 AM. Magic Kingdom didn’t feel empty but it certainly didn’t feel crowded, either. We have been very cautious the entire pandemic and I never felt unsafe, even with my toddler who can’t be vaccinated. Mask compliance on transportation and indoors was 100%!

Even without rope dropping, we walked on Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo (2x), the Little Mermaid and Pirates of the Caribbean all before 11:30. We grabbed Dole Whips and the Kakamora Float (delicious— hope coconut soft serve is here to stay!) from Aloha Isle to take a break.

We could have done more rides with minimal waits but needed to get back to the hotel for lunch and naptime. I keep forgetting it’s Sunday because I expected the park to be so much more crowded! I will say that most wait times seemed to be significantly lower that the posted time. Honestly, I thought I would miss Fast Pass more than I did. I know we lucked out with a low crowd day, but I liked that no FP meant the standby lines for Pooh and Pirates moved continuously. We’ve experienced unexpectedly long waits for those rides in the past due to FP loading.

Overall, a great first day for our little guy! very excited for the rest of the week!


----------



## Helvetica

I think these are for the kite show


----------



## VAtink

Busy but fun morning at HS!  Walked over from the YC a bit after 7:30 and got there at 7:50. Security was already open so breezed right through and to the tapstiles. We ended up being first in line. They opened right at 8, and we all hustled back into the park only to be held at the HS arch (for those going to TSL). They held us there until 8:30 when they slowly walked us back to slinky. We ended up on the second train of the day, and were off at 8:40. 

Next we headed to MF:SR which ended up being a 12 minute wait, but we were moving almost the whole time so it felt like walk-on.  Ended up as pilots again, and while we did better than before, we were still pretty awful. At least the guy riding with us was fun and didn't mind!

Our next stop was TSMM, the posted wait when we got off MF:SR was 0 minutes, but jumped to 10 by the time we got there. Ended up actually taking 16, so a bit more than the posted wait. 

Finally we headed to MMRR. The line didn't look bad, but it was posted as a 45 minute wait. I didn't believe it would be close to that....but I was wrong, ha!  It ended up being a 39 minute wait. Still not horrible, and we had time to spare before lunch. 

Did a bunch of photopass pictures and shopping before checking in for our mobile order lunch. 

The crowds didn't seem too bad until around 11, and even then were less than I expected based on reports I've read here.  There were a few spots where it was wall to wall people, but once you got passed those areas it cleared out. 

Took the Skyliner to Epcot to get back to the YC, and popped over to Epcot right at 2 for some more food and wine goodies. Epcot was pretty busy, not as bad as yesterday, but still lots of crowds so we only stopped at two booths before heading out. 

Overall a good day so far, oh, and I got a BG at 1. Hopefully it comes up soon!


----------



## Eye2Eye

Arrived yesterday (9/12) at Riviera and then to Epcot. This is our 4th trip since reopening (9/20, 1/21, 3/21 and 5/21). And by far Epcot was the most crowded it has been since then.  We rode Remy but didn’t get to stick around to enjoy the pavilion due to a ADR at Topilino’s, which I highly recommend.  
Today is DHS and more F&W at Epcot.  It’s our wedding anniversary and have had the trip planned for a year, we were hoping for lighter crowds but would be here regardless.  FWIW, TouringPlans.com isn’t reliable. Maybe their wait times but the crowd calendar is complete garbage. Epcot listed as 1 for yesterday and it seemed like 2019 level crowds.  
See ya real soon!


----------



## SkyGuy

Eye2Eye said:


> Arrived yesterday (9/12) at Riviera and then to Epcot. This is our 4th trip since reopening (9/20, 1/21, 3/21 and 5/21). And by far Epcot was the most crowded it has been since then.  We rode Remy but didn’t get to stick around to enjoy the pavilion due to a ADR at Topilino’s, which I highly recommend.
> Today is DHS and more F&W at Epcot.  It’s our wedding anniversary and have had the trip planned for a year, we were hoping for lighter crowds but would be here regardless.  FWIW, TouringPlans.com isn’t reliable. Maybe their wait times but the crowd calendar is complete garbage. Epcot listed as 1 for yesterday and it seemed like 2019 level crowds.
> See ya real soon!


I was at Epcot yesterday as well - my 7th trip since last July. The WS was definitely crowded, but it was more crowded when we were there in June after the mask mandate was lifted. We had never seen so many people viewing Reflections of China (in June) - ever, not just since the reopen. However, when I can ride Test Track in 20 minutes and Frozen in 30 and walk on Space Ship Earth and Soarin’, I’d say crowds are on the lower end of the spectrum. We’ll be at HS today as well - BG 1!!  I hope today is as “crowded” as Epcot was yesterday. I’d call that a win, but I’m not too optimistic.


----------



## Eye2Eye

SkyGuy said:


> I was at Epcot yesterday as well - my 7th trip since last July. The WS was definitely crowded, but it was more crowded when we were there in June after the mask mandate was lifted. We had never seen so many people viewing Reflections of China (in June) - ever, not just since the reopen. However, when I can ride Test Track in 20 minutes and Frozen in 30 and walk on Space Ship Earth and Soarin’, I’d say crowds are on the lower end of the spectrum. We’ll be at HS today as well - BG 1!!  I hope today is as “crowded” as Epcot was yesterday. I’d call that a win, but I’m not too optimistic.



we got BG 42 right at 7, which is the highest I’ve ever gotten.  I hope the the weekend crowds are gone. We had to share a skyliner last night leaving Epcot, that was first time we didn’t have it to our selves and a for sure sign it’s “crowded”.  That was at 7 pm also, not closing.  Just leaving the info for those wondering if it’s still ghost town, it’s not.


----------



## BonnieJean925

I'll be there in four days, I love reading these! Thank you everyone, have a great time.


----------



## Helvetica

This is my first Lightning Lane sighting. I think it’s new.


----------



## SkyGuy

Eye2Eye said:


> we got BG 42 right at 7, which is the highest I’ve ever gotten.  I hope the the weekend crowds are gone. We had to share a skyliner last night leaving Epcot, that was first time we didn’t have it to our selves and a for sure sign it’s “crowded”.  That was at 7 pm also, not closing.  Just leaving the info for those wondering if it’s still ghost town, it’s not.


I agree. It was definitely not a ghost town! We rode the skyliner - 3 of our party of 7 - at 4ish and again around 7:30, and we had the car to ourselves. Luck of the draw, I suppose. Have a great trip!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Really hoping all the 50 character statues will be up by the time we get there!

Also random question that may not be for this thread. Can anyone confirm if the Mears Taxi phone number is still 1(407)-422-2222?

Thanks in advance


----------



## masupo

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Really hoping all the 50 character statues will be up by the time we get there!
> 
> Also random question that may not be for this thread. Can anyone confirm if the Mears Taxi phone number is still 1(407)-422-2222?
> 
> Thanks in advance



I took a picture of a Mears cab this past April. That's still the number on the side of the cab.



At the end of a crazy busy night at Disney Springs, our Lyft driver cancelled on us. I ended up getting another Lyft, but took a pic of a Mears taxi in case I needed to call them


----------



## Corinne

BonnieJean925 said:


> I'll be there in four days, I love reading these! Thank you everyone, have a great time.


Me tooooooooo! 4 days!


----------



## titaniumfemme

Corinne said:


> Me tooooooooo! 4 days!


We'll be there in 7 days!  (Just added 2 days to the trip this past weekend!   )


----------



## VAtink

On the bus back from AK. The park had amazing low crowds this morning, was able to ride FoP, safari, EE x3, and dinosaur by 9:30. Then had time to walk the gorilla trail and watch the 10:30 bird show before lunch at Tiffins. Tiffins was great as always, but surprisingly crowded, never saw all the tables full for lunch before. 

Park opened at 7:21 this morning, we got stuck in line behind a family who couldn't get their fingers to scan and instead of having them move aside while waiting for a CM to come help as we've seen in the past, they had them stand there and block the tapstiles for 7 minutes. Even with that delay getting in, FoP was only a 18 minute wait. 

Taking a quick break at the hotel before heading to Epcot this afternoon. Fantastic start to the day, hope Epcot also has low crowds!


----------



## underthesea412

We went to AK today, arriving right at 8 AM. Since we have a toddler, we did the safari first which was incredible: the animals are so active at that time. I think we saw every single animal, including getting stuck for several minutes waiting for the baby giraffes to cross the street and having to stop again later for ostriches. 

After that, we did the Navi River Ride. The posted wait time was 25 minutes but we were on a boat in 15.

I will say, the amount of things Disney has stopped or paused felt much more noticeable at AK compared to our day at MK. I missed so much of the atmospheric entertainment around the park (especially in Africa & Discovery Island) that help make AK such an incredible experience. Now it just feels like a lot of long, hot walks between rides and animal exhibits.

With the closure of Nemo and a dialed back version of Festival of the Lion King, and the impending long-term refurbishment of EE and KRR, I don’t see us making many trips back to AK until things change. Which is sad because it used to be my favorite park.

That said, we enjoyed watching our little one light up at all the animals. He’s 18 months and truly loved the safari, river ride, and train to the Affection Section.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

underthesea412 said:


> We went to AK today, arriving right at 8 AM. Since we have a toddler, we did the safari first which was incredible: the animals are so active at that time. I think we saw every single animal, including getting stuck for several minutes waiting for the baby giraffes to cross the street and having to stop again later for ostriches.
> 
> After that, we did the Navi River Ride. The posted wait time was 25 minutes but we were on a boat in 15.
> 
> I will say, the amount of things Disney has stopped or paused felt much more noticeable at AK compared to our day at MK. I missed so much of the atmospheric entertainment around the park (especially in Africa & Discovery Island) that help make AK such an incredible experience. Now it just feels like a lot of long, hot walks between rides and animal exhibits.
> 
> With the closure of Nemo and a dialed back version of Festival of the Lion King, and the impending long-term refurbishment of EE and KRR, I don’t see us making many trips back to AK until things change. Which is sad because it used to be my favorite park.
> 
> That said, we enjoyed watching our little one light up at all the animals. He’s 18 months and truly loved the safari, river ride, and train to the Affection Section.


Glad to hear your 18 month is enjoying it.  We are bringing our 4 and 2 year old granddaughters there in October and hope they are overly excited.


----------



## Aimeedyan

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Glad to hear your 18 month is enjoying it.  We are bringing our 4 and 2 year old granddaughters there in October and hope they are overly excited.



Now we are frequent passholders and aren't trying to do a bunch of attractions when we go but we took our almost 2 year old to AK last weekend and literally all we did was the Boneyard play area. It's by far his favorite thing at AK (I wish every park had something similar!). Be sure and check it out!


----------



## Best Aunt

masupo said:


> I took a picture of a Mears cab this past April. That's still the number on the side of the cab.
> 
> View attachment 604512
> 
> At the end of a crazy busy night at Disney Springs, our Lyft driver cancelled on us. I ended up getting another Lyft, but took a pic of a Mears taxi in case I needed to call them



Before I started using Uber/Lyft, I added the Mears taxi phone number to the contacts in my cell phone, in case I needed it.


----------



## VAtink

Just got back from some more Food and Wine fun at Epcot.  It was pretty crowded in WS again this afternoon, so we made our way to the front of the park where the crowds were much lower.  SE was a walk-on, and we did it twice since it started to pour right after we got off the first time. By the time we got off the second time the rain had mostly stopped so we went to try more food booths in that area.  The truffle Mac n cheese is so good!  Also recommend the cheesecake at the Hawaii booth. 

 So far this trip Epcot has been the worst for crowds, but only in WS. Lots of large groups eating and drinking around the world and so many bridal parties, must be a big wedding week!  We haven't had a chance to get to Epcot before noon yet, so hoping when we go at opening it'll be easier to navigate WS. 

Also noticing a ton of first timers, lots of first time buttons and so many people stopping in the middle of the paths to look at maps.  Never noticed this many before, but there's a solid chance I was oblivious!


----------



## Helvetica

I got my evac credit on Rise today. It was interesting to see what the ride looked like backstage from what I could see. The ride re-opened, so now I’m trying again. I got to go through the Lightning Lane que, which is just a shorter que.

Overall, the park has been pretty crowded, but all of the lines have been manageable. Genie Plus is probably going to change that.


----------



## DisneyByMarriage

Aimeedyan said:


> Now we are frequent passholders and aren't trying to do a bunch of attractions when we go but we took our almost 2 year old to AK last weekend and literally all we did was the Boneyard play area. It's by far his favorite thing at AK (I wish every park had something similar!). Be sure and check it out!


My 9 yo is overjoyed because he can still get into boneyard and will be able to do the scarier things.  It was going to be a downer if his younger brothers could go but not him.  It’s one of their favorite things, and I like that they can get some of their energy out as opposed to flinging about in the lines.


----------



## Eye2Eye

Here now, at Epcot waiting for firework show. Started today at DHS and rope drop crowds were more than manageable. We rode ToT and RR 15 minutes into the park. Literal walk-ons. After about an hour into park opening the crowds really picked up. Snagged a BG for rise at 7 but it continued to go down, so we dropped our group and opted for a pool day at the Riviera.  Back to Epcot this evening for F&W, a little more crowded than we liked/ hoped but nothing like Sunday.  Tomorrow, on to the Poly and Boo Bash. 
See ya real soon!


----------



## Helvetica

So the rain/thunder shut down the Skyliner and they got us a chartered bus to get back to the Riviera. I never had that happen before.


----------



## Jazcat

Here at DHS.  It's way more crowded today than on Saturday. Waits are already longer right now (10 am local time) than they were at any point on Tuesday. Anybody know why?  Just surprised Tuesday would be worse than Saturday.


----------



## gottalovepluto

Helvetica said:


> So the rain/thunder shut down the Skyliner and they got us a chartered bus to get back to the Riviera. I never had that happen before.


Disney has had to supplement their Disney Bus fleet with charter buses since close to reopening due to staffing problems.


----------



## gottalovepluto

Jazcat said:


> Here at DHS.  It's way more crowded today than on Saturday. Waits are already longer right now (10 am local time) than they were at any point on Tuesday. Anybody know why?  Just surprised Tuesday would be worse than Saturday.


I can’t help but wonder if it’s a locals bump since APs went on sale last week…


----------



## VAtink

Jazcat said:


> Here at DHS.  It's way more crowded today than on Saturday. Waits are already longer right now (10 am local time) than they were at any point on Tuesday. Anybody know why?  Just surprised Tuesday would be worse than Saturday.



MK also seemed a lot more crowded today than on Saturday. Not sure why, was expecting the crowds to drop during the week.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Last week (the week that includes Labour Day Monday) is traditionally one of the lowest (if not lowest) crowd weeks of the year.  Higher amounts of guests arrive over the weekend following Labour Day which increases crowds this week.

For a number of years this week was our week and crowd levels were always higher than they were the week that started on Labour Day Monday.


----------



## masupo

There is also a holiday this week, although not everyone has it off. Thursday is Yom Kippur and the school I work for has a day off, so I scheduled a quick weekend trip for this Thurs - Sun.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

masupo said:


> I took a picture of a Mears cab this past April. That's still the number on the side of the cab.
> 
> View attachment 604512
> 
> At the end of a crazy busy night at Disney Springs, our Lyft driver cancelled on us. I ended up getting another Lyft, but took a pic of a Mears taxi in case I needed to call them


Great thank you so much!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Best Aunt said:


> Before I started using Uber/Lyft, I added the Mears taxi phone number to the contacts in my cell phone, in case I needed it.


That what I did after our 2017 trip when we needed them as uber was not cutting it at one point.


----------



## Helvetica

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but the App has been really buggy for me this trip. I have to regularly reset the App because something isn’t working properly. I just really worry what the added layer is going to do whenever they launch the new paid que system.


----------



## VAtink

Awesome day at the parks so far today. Started at MK, it was super crowded at rope drop, the hub was packed compared to Saturday, but it still took a while for most of the ride waits to build. Never seen crowds like this morning before in September at rope drop.  We took it slow this morning and focused on photopass pictures, shopping, and just exploring. Ended up doing Buzz and people mover with no wait between 9:30 and 10. 

It was great not rushing to rides this morning, much more relaxed. More like the days of FP+, just without the three guaranteed rides.   


Left MK a bit before 11 and the masses were streaming in, glad to get out of that and take a pool break. 

After the break we decided to hop to Epcot for some food, and for the first time since we got here last Friday Epcot has pleasantly low crowds. It was so nice with the low crowds we cancelled our dinner plans to stay there and eat at the food booths. It was such a great afternoon in Epcot, hope it's that quiet tomorrow too!  

Now resting up before Boo Bash tonight!


----------



## VAtink

Helvetica said:


> I’m not sure if it’s just me, but the App has been really buggy for me this trip. I have to regularly reset the App because something isn’t working properly. I just really worry what the added layer is going to do whenever they launch the new paid que system.




Not just you. Twice since we arrived our trip has disappeared from the app and I've had to dig through emails to find the reservation number to re-add it.  Just glad genie isn't starting during this trip to add to the frustration!


----------



## Helvetica

I was in Magic Kingdom today too, but I didn’t stay for long. I rode Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Space Mountain and the People Mover. I ate lunch at Casey’s and I was back at the resort by noon.

The crowds were pretty big, but the lines were manageable while I was there. I spent most of the day at the Resort and now I’m eating dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern before the party.

This stay is becoming a series of naps… Man I’m getting old.


----------



## crazy43

Helvetica said:


> I was in Magic Kingdom today too, but I didn’t stay for long. I rode Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Space Mountain and the People Mover. I ate lunch at Casey’s and I was back at the resort by noon.
> 
> The crowds were pretty big, but the lines were manageable while I was there. I spent most of the day at the Resort and now I’m eating dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern before the party.
> 
> This stay is becoming a series of naps… Man I’m getting old.



Wow!  How long was your longest wait?  And what order did you do these rides in?  Thank you!


----------



## Helvetica

crazy43 said:


> Wow!  How long was your longest wait?  And what order did you do these rides in?  Thank you!



20-30 minutes or so. I rode them in the order I posted them in.


----------



## Lsdolphin

VAtink said:


> Awesome day at the parks so far today. Started at MK, it was super crowded at rope drop, the hub was packed compared to Saturday, but it still took a while for most of the ride waits to build. Never seen crowds like this morning before in September at rope drop.  We took it slow this morning and focused on photopass pictures, shopping, and just exploring. Ended up doing Buzz and people mover with no wait between 9:30 and 10.
> 
> It was great not rushing to rides this morning, much more relaxed. More like the days of FP+, just without the three guaranteed rides.
> 
> 
> Left MK a bit before 11 and the masses were streaming in, glad to get out of that and take a pool break.
> 
> After the break we decided to hop to Epcot for some food, and for the first time since we got here last Friday Epcot has pleasantly low crowds. It was so nice with the low crowds we cancelled our dinner plans to stay there and eat at the food booths. It was such a great afternoon in Epcot, hope it's that quiet tomorrow too!
> 
> Now resting up before Boo Bash tonight!




Certainly not sounding like the TP predictions of 1-2 crowd levels....


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Certainly not sounding like the TP predictions of 1-2 crowd levels....


TP crowds are based on anticipated wait times for attractions as opposed to actual number of guests in the park.  I used to think it was based on number of people in the parks too.

This info might help see what waits were like in the MK today:  https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/park/wdw/magic-kingdom/


----------



## Helvetica

So I had a good time at Boo Bash, but this was by far the worst hard ticket event I’ve ever been to. It was super crowded, some of the lines got pretty long and everything just felt like a stripped down version of both the Halloween Party and After Hours.

It was still fun, but man… I hope they do better in the future. I’m probably looking forward to Extra Deluxe Hours more than going to another After Hours.


----------



## MrWreckless

MK was awesome yesterday. Only wait that was 30 minutes was jungle cruise.  Everything else was under 20 minutes and essentially walk on.  We did everything except HM, Pooh, and CoP, and the carousel. We are going back Friday hoping for the same. 

One note, if you only have one MK day and want to see fireworks avoid Boo Bash nights. We had strollers and the kids were sleep so we were able to stake out a prime location 75 minutes before the show. But let me tell you, when 7pm hits and Boo Bashers can enter, the overwhelming majority of them are heading straight to fireworks viewing. It's going to get crowded in the hub FAST.


----------



## BonnieJean925

Lsdolphin said:


> Certainly not sounding like the TP predictions of 1-2 crowd levels....


This is my concern as well!


----------



## lovethattink

If anyone goes to Epcot today, please takes photos of Creations and anything else they open in that area. Would love to see the changes. Creations opens today. Shopping where Mousegears was.


----------



## VAtink

Does anyone know if there is something happening at Epcot this weekend?  Just went to rearrange our park reservations and saw both Friday and Saturday Epcot is the only park fully booked. 

Also, went to boo bash last night, it was a lot of fun but definitely not after hours crowds. Fortunately after reading reports here we didn't expect the empty park feel so it wasn't a surprise. I'd say the crowds were more in line with a MNSSHP back in 2016/2017. Most rides were still either walk on or 5ish minute waits, but the walkways were pretty crowded to the point it really slowed us down moving around the park. ToT was ok, they were only giving out like 2-3 pieces of candy at each stop, we circled the park twice to ToT and still only ended up with our bags half full. 

Wish the event was longer, 3 hours is not nearly enough to get everything done. We still had a great time though. Photopass pictures ended being the biggest time suck, usually 15-20 minute waits, but the shots came out great!


----------



## Leigh L

VAtink said:


> Does anyone know if there is something happening at Epcot this weekend?  Just went to rearrange our park reservations and saw both Friday and Saturday Epcot is the only park fully booked.
> 
> Also, went to boo bash last night, it was a lot of fun but definitely not after hours crowds. Fortunately after reading reports here we didn't expect the empty park feel so it wasn't a surprise. I'd say the crowds were more in line with a MNSSHP back in 2016/2017. Most rides were still either walk on or 5ish minute waits, but the walkways were pretty crowded to the point it really slowed us down moving around the park. ToT was ok, they were only giving out like 2-3 pieces of candy at each stop, we circled the park twice to ToT and still only ended up with our bags half full.
> 
> Wish the event was longer, 3 hours is not nearly enough to get everything done. We still had a great time though. Photopass pictures ended being the biggest time suck, usually 15-20 minute waits, but the shots came out great!


Is this a Remy preview weekend? (I haven't been following it to know when they are?) Maybe people are booking due to hoping for a soft opening of the Space restaurant? DD has an Epcot reservation on Friday, I'll have to give her a heads up, thank you. I'm supposed to be hopping over later in the day (right now Epcot is not a full park for me but she really wanted to go there).

Thank you also for sharing your Boo Bash thoughts too (we're going this weekend). This helps set our expectations .

Hope you have a great rest of your trip!!


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

VAtink said:


> On the bus back from AK. The park had amazing low crowds this morning, was able to ride FoP, safari, EE x3, and dinosaur by 9:30. Then had time to walk the gorilla trail and watch the 10:30 bird show before lunch at Tiffins. Tiffins was great as always, but surprisingly crowded, never saw all the tables full for lunch before.
> 
> Park opened at 7:21 this morning, we got stuck in line behind a family who couldn't get their fingers to scan and instead of having them move aside while waiting for a CM to come help as we've seen in the past, they had them stand there and block the tapstiles for 7 minutes. Even with that delay getting in, FoP was only a 18 minute wait.
> 
> Taking a quick break at the hotel before heading to Epcot this afternoon. Fantastic start to the day, hope Epcot also has low crowds!





VAtink said:


> *instead of having them move aside while waiting for a CM to come help as we've seen in the past, they had them stand there and block the tapstiles for 7 minutes.*



I HATE THAT!

Rule 1 of custmer service.  Handle the problem offside.


----------



## Helvetica

Leigh L said:


> Is this a Remy preview weekend? (I haven't been following it to know when they are?) Maybe people are booking due to hoping for a soft opening of the Space restaurant? DD has an Epcot reservation on Friday, I'll have to give her a heads up, thank you. I'm supposed to be hopping over later in the day (right now Epcot is not a full park for me but she really wanted to go there).
> 
> Thank you also for sharing your Boo Bash thoughts too (we're going this weekend). This helps set our expectations .
> 
> Hope you have a great rest of your trip!!



Friday is DVC and I think Saturday is AP previews


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

Question for you folks that just experienced it...is it better to do MK on a non Boo Bash Day?  We are currently scheduled to do EPCOT on 25 Oct (a Monday) and MK on Tuesday the 26th.  The 26th is a Boo Bash Day so I was thinking of switching those around.  We will not be taking our granddaughters to Boo Bash, so that's not a factor other than crowds.


----------



## The13thLetter

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Question for you folks that just experienced it...is it better to do MK on a non Boo Bash Day?  We are currently scheduled to do EPCOT on 25 Oct (a Monday) and MK on Tuesday the 26th.  The 26th is a Boo Bash Day so I was thinking of switching those around.  We will not be taking our granddaughters to Boo Bash, so that's not a factor other than crowds.



if you are planning on staying for fireworks i would suggest a non boo bash night.


----------



## Helvetica

Club Cool has had a stupid long line all day for the opening. This is 30 minutes before park close.



Epcot was pretty busy today, but lines have been mostly manageable outside of Club Cool and the food booths. I kind of feel we’re back to pre-COVID levels. Maybe even busier.


----------



## Leigh L

Helvetica said:


> Club Cool has had a stupid long line all day for the opening. This is 30 minutes before park close.
> 
> View attachment 605125
> 
> Epcot was pretty busy today, but lines have been mostly manageable outside of Club Cool and the food booths. I kind of feel we’re back to pre-COVID levels. Maybe even busier.


Wow, sounds like Epcot's so busy now! 
Thanks for sharing all your pics! I hope you have fun the rest of your trip!! 

(We'll be in the parks in a couple of days )


----------



## VAtink

Just got back from an evening in Epcot, it was an amazing night!  The rotunda bistro has become one of our favorite booths of the trip.  The tart is soooo good!  Plus having tables with chairs in the air conditioning wins in my book!

Walking around WS 10 minutes prior to fireworks there was hardly anyone there. Had our choice of viewing locations, really shocked how empty it was back there.  Only complaint is I wish the park was open until 10, definitely felt too early to be closing at 9.

Edit to add, saw the space-x launch from WS and it was beyond cool. The enginerd in me couldn't have been happier to see that!


----------



## cdurham1

I am very confused.  Last poster said it felt like no one was in WS.  Immediately previous poster was at EPCOT on the very same day and said it felt like "pre Covid levels."


----------



## CampbellzSoup

I just did a quick weekend trip and swung by Cabana Bay…must say I was impressed I stay at Coronado springs this year too and the theming and level of detail is on par with Disney.


----------



## Princess Katelet

VAtink said:


> Does anyone know if there is something happening at Epcot this weekend?  Just went to rearrange our park reservations and saw both Friday and Saturday Epcot is the only park fully booked.
> 
> Also, went to boo bash last night, it was a lot of fun but definitely not after hours crowds. Fortunately after reading reports here we didn't expect the empty park feel so it wasn't a surprise. I'd say the crowds were more in line with a MNSSHP back in 2016/2017. Most rides were still either walk on or 5ish minute waits, but the walkways were pretty crowded to the point it really slowed us down moving around the park. ToT was ok, they were only giving out like 2-3 pieces of candy at each stop, we circled the park twice to ToT and still only ended up with our bags half full.
> 
> Wish the event was longer, 3 hours is not nearly enough to get everything done. We still had a great time though. Photopass pictures ended being the biggest time suck, usually 15-20 minute waits, but the shots came out great!


Wait…Boo Bash is in the Studios?? I thought it was in MK. But you’re mentioning Tower of Terror and trick or treating around it.


----------



## Naomeri

Princess Katelet said:


> Wait…Boo Bash is in the Studios?? I thought it was in MK. But you’re mentioning Tower of Terror and trick or treating around it.


By “ToT” they meant “trick-or-treating” not Tower of Terror.  It threw me for a second too, but since Boo Bash is definitely only in MK, I figured out what they were talking about.


----------



## VAtink

Princess Katelet said:


> Wait…Boo Bash is in the Studios?? I thought it was in MK. But you’re mentioning Tower of Terror and trick or treating around it.



Oh yeah, it's in MK, sorry for the confusion, ToT was trick or treat, trying to save from typing that out multiple times on my phone


----------



## PPFlight75

Helvetica said:


> Club Cool has had a stupid long line all day for the opening. This is 30 minutes before park close.
> 
> View attachment 605125
> 
> Epcot was pretty busy today, but lines have been mostly manageable outside of Club Cool and the food booths. I kind of feel we’re back to pre-COVID levels. Maybe even busier.


I read that Club Cool was one party per station for now. I wonder if that is what is causing the long lines in addition to it just reopening.


----------



## VAtink

cdurham1 said:


> I am very confused.  Last poster said it felt like no one was in WS.  Immediately previous poster was at EPCOT on the very same day and said it felt like "pre Covid levels."



Could have been different areas of the park, we never made it up to future world yesterday. Guessing with the opening of stuff up there it was more crowded than WS.  Between France and Norway yesterday evening the crowds were really low, it was awesome.


----------



## scrappinginontario

cdurham1 said:


> I am very confused.  Last poster said it felt like no one was in WS.  Immediately previous poster was at EPCOT on the very same day and said it felt like "pre Covid levels."


the feeling of crowds can be very subjective based on personal experiences and expectations.  ‘Crowds’ really iare such a personal 
thing based on so many factors.


----------



## Leigh L

VAtink said:


> Oh yeah, it's in MK, sorry for the confusion, ToT was trick or treat, trying to save from typing that out multiple times on my phone


It took me a few minutes to figure out the ToT too. Ok, actually, a few hours  And I should have known because anywhere but here I would have written trick or treating as ToT too!!


----------



## kmrobins03

mfly said:


> We were last at WDW in April.
> 
> Are the parks still opening/running rides a half-hour early, or is it back to a more normal rope-drop?
> 
> Trying to decide how early we should get to MK tomorrow AM + HS on Sunday AM.



magic kingdom is not opening rides half hour early. I think some other parks are- like HS and AK


----------



## Dentam

Just arrived home from our trip about an hour ago.  Overall, crowd levels were definitely higher than what we were hoping for based on reports from the weeks leading up to our trip.  Epcot was the most crowded and I'm pretty sure that last Saturday evening there was the source of the sore throat that I came down with halfway through my flight home tonight.  Had a few chills as well but those have disappeared and just a mild sore throat still.  We'll see what tomorrow brings and I will definitely be getting tested and waiting for all symptoms to go away as well as a negative test before returning to work.

We went to Boo Bash on Tuesday evening and agree with the previous poster who said it was more crowded than a typical After Hours event and should be an hour longer in order to get more done.

Overall, we still had a great trip but were missing the super low crowds and social distancing of last year's Sept trip.

I'll update this thread once I know my test results.  I would say if you're planning to go, know that the crowds are higher and social distancing is non-existent now.  Mask compliance was also hit and miss, especially in restrooms and on the buses.


----------



## serenitygr

Dentam said:


> Just arrived home from our trip about an hour ago.  Overall, crowd levels were definitely higher than what we were hoping for based on reports from the weeks leading up to our trip.  Epcot was the most crowded and I'm pretty sure that last Saturday evening there was the source of the sore throat that I came down with halfway through my flight home tonight.  Had a few chills as well but those have disappeared and just a mild sore throat still.  We'll see what tomorrow brings and I will definitely be getting tested and waiting for all symptoms to go away as well as a negative test before returning to work.
> 
> We went to Boo Bash on Tuesday evening and agree with the previous poster who said it was more crowded than a typical After Hours event and should be an hour longer in order to get more done.
> 
> Overall, we still had a great trip but were missing the super low crowds and social distancing of last year's Sept trip.
> 
> I'll update this thread once I know my test results.  I would say if you're planning to go, know that the crowds are higher and social distancing is non-existent now.  Mask compliance was also hit and miss, especially in restrooms and on the buses.


Hope you feel better soon! Just checking if you wore masks outside, or just inside and on transportation?


----------



## Dentam

serenitygr said:


> Hope you feel better soon! Just checking if you wore masks outside, or just inside and on transportation?



Inside and on transportation as well as outside when it got crowded.  We did dine indoors as well, and some of the restaurants were too crowded for my comfort - Nine Dragons is the one that comes to mind with too many people and the tables too close together.  I kept my mask on until our food arrived but still... not something I would recommend.  I'm fully vaccinated and just hoping that I have a mild cold or if it is covid, that my vaccination status will help keep my symptoms very mild.  I will say that they are cramming the buses full and many people wear their mask on and then put it down under their nose or under their chin. On the last bus we took, a woman just walked on without one and the bus driver didn't say a word.  Most of the bus drivers were at least attempting to enforce it, but there are always those people who think the rules shouldn't apply to them.


----------



## VAtink

Yesterday was another morning at animal kingdom. Decided to skip FoP this morning so we would have more time for photopass pictures and walking the trails. Started at the safari at 8, and the line was backed up to the stroller drop off point, ended up being a 15 minute wait, was posted as 5. Thinking maybe they just hadn't opened yet when we got there for there to be that line.  

The safari was ok this morning, lots of animals not out yet and the savanna didn't have nearly as many animals as normal. Still got to see the baby giraffe which was sooo cute!

Next we headed to EE.  EE was empty, when we got to the loading the CM told us to just go down to any row that was empty, which was all of them. Almost had a train to ourselves, one other family showed up at the last minute and got on. 

Did the jungle trail after EE, it was nice doing that early before it got crowded. Didn't open until 9, but there was still hardly anyone there. Got pooped on in the aviary, but apparently that's good luck so I guess that's ok. Funny enough, almost all our driver's animal facts on the safari were about animal poop, so apparently that was the theme of the morning.

Did the ToL trails next, found the tiny world photopass back there which came out great!  Finally at 10:30 got in line for Nomad. We were the first in line, and it built quickly, by 10:35 there were about a dozen groups in line. Once again they let us in at 10:50.  We grabbed a table up against the railing outside.

One thing to note, this is the only restaurant we've been to this trip that will not give you a paper menu if you ask, you need to use your phone. Since my mom doesn't have a smart phone, and she struggles to see the text on mine, I had to read her the menu. Seems odd they don't have a spare paper one, they did in Tiffins, and if if it had just been my parents there they'd be out of luck since neither of them have smart phones. 

Also, you can no longer get the octopus appetizer from Tiffins while at Nomad. I was able to in April, but not this trip. 

Nomad was great as always, very relaxing. They did add more tables than last time, so there isn't a lot of space along the railing for people to come watch the cavalcades go by anymore, and since the tables along the railing are all two seaters, the families with kids had to sit at the tables that didn't get a view of the cavalcades. This did lead to a slightly awkward lunch, whenever a cavalcade came by a family would come hover over us, and even lift up a kid over my moms head for a better view. Definitely awkward to have a kid hovering over your head while you try to eat.   

We headed out after lunch, and later around 4 made it over to Epcot. It started to rain shortly after arriving, but we had umbrellas and ponchos so didn't mind. The rain was actually nice, it cleared the lines to the food booths so we hardly had any wait. We ate at the Tangerine cafe, Greece, and Italy and the food was good, but nothing outstanding worth mentioning. 

Made our way to the front of the park to check out the new store. It was pretty underwhelming. I preferred the old Mouse Gears. Did try the mobile checkout which was great, love not having to wait in the checkout line!

Did soarin with about a 10 minute wait and journey into imagination with no wait before heading back to the food booths. 

It was about 7 at this point, and still raining, so we were shocked to see how crowded WS had gotten. Figured the rain would keep people away, we were wrong!  Since we didn't feel like dealing with the crowds we just stopped at one more booth, Ireland, before heading out.

Oh, and oddly, saw a bunch of people smoking in Epcot last night, and in front of CMs who didn't say a thing. Really surprised us, haven't seen anyone smoking outside of the designated areas in years!

Got another day in Epcot today, with it being fully booked we're a bit worried about how crowded it'll be, but hopefully the crowds don't show up til later in the day after we're done!


----------



## Helvetica

I’m starting at Magic Kingdom this morning. I didn’t get there early enough to be at the front of the pack for SDMT, so I’m starting at Space Mountain instead. (I was busy getting in my order for the new iPhone.) 

My Remy preview in the afternoon, so we’ll see where I end up. I expect that since it’s Friday that it will be busier than earlier on in the week.


----------



## The13thLetter

VAtink said:


> Oh, and oddly, saw a bunch of people smoking in Epcot last night, and in front of CMs who didn't say a thing. Really surprised us, haven't seen anyone smoking outside of the designated areas in years!



i noticed this too during our trip at the end of august. i usually see 1 or 2 vaping over the last few years, but this trip on several occasions saw people smoking cigarettes and smelled weed a few times at the parks in addition to the vaping.


----------



## Distriv

VAtink said:


> We headed out after lunch, and later around 4 made it over to Epcot. It started to rain shortly after arriving, but we had umbrellas and ponchos so didn't mind.


I've never thought about bringing an umbrella to the parks.  Do you use a compact one and do you find it's easy to store/keep hold of on rides?


----------



## EddieValiant

This is my 3rd Studios day, it's the worst out of Mon, Tues, and today. Monday was the best, followed by Tuesday. Today I got on Slinky Dog at rope drop, off the ride in 20 min. Had BG 4. Did the Falcon once and single rider to go again. Midway Mania line currently extending outside the entrance, longest I've seen this week.


----------



## loves to dive

We were there last week and while it certainly wasn't as slow a people were reporting the week before, it wasn't horrible by our standards.   It was a 45 min. wait for FoP around 10:30 am so not bad.  The wait for MMRR at HS was about 1/2 hour around 11 am.  MF was around 45 min. at about the same time of day (we did two day as HS).  We were at Epcot every afternoon/evening.   The lines for booths were not long but it rained every single day, some days pretty bad so a lot of the booths would close down and when they re-opened you had to pay at the window instead of at the line and that really slowed things down.  Friday night around 8 or 8:30 it was getting really crowded in WS, bad enough that we left and we never do that, but we did have a baby with us and it was late.   I would say it was along the same level as the bottle neck at MK between Small World and PP.  

Our CM interactions were really great.  My son's SO was walking around the big store in MK with a few items in her arms and a CM chased her down to give her a bag.   We were getting a stein at a booth in Epcot for my son and there wasn't a place to pay at the booth.  We asked the CM and she told us we had to go to the store in Germany (which we knew couldn't be since it was a special F&W item) but we did.  The CM's there were totally perplexed, one went and asked the manager and they said nope so she walked with us to the booth and got the item and took it over to a cash register and waited until we paid to make sure everything was o.k.   We got her name and put in a good word at GS for her.   I upgraded my ticket to an AP at the IG at Epcot and the CM there was fast and very polite and very helpful.  We were getting pictures printed at Epcot and the CM noticed the baby, after we had exited the store she came running out with a first visit button asking if she had one yet and when we told her no, took us back in the store to put her name on it and take a picture.  I was walking around with the sleeping baby in the stroller while Mom and Dad rode RoTR and went to One Man's Dream to get some AC.  The CM at the door told me I had to park the stroller and when I said never mind because the baby was asleep, she told me she didn't see me and to go on in.   The baby woke up right when we got in and started crying so we left right away but I was very grateful to be able to get even a 30 sec. AC break.  It was like that the entire trip, not a bad interaction the entire time.


----------



## iheartglaciers

Distriv said:


> I've never thought about bringing an umbrella to the parks.  Do you use a compact one and do you find it's easy to store/keep hold of on rides?



I bring one of the micro sized umbrellas from Totes. It’s small enough to fit in a crossbody bag.


----------



## kdonnel

cdurham1 said:


> I am very confused.  Last poster said it felt like no one was in WS.  Immediately previous poster was at EPCOT on the very same day and said it felt like "pre Covid levels."


It is entertaining reading reviews on Tripadvisor for that very reason.  They can be so contradictory.


----------



## fla4fun

Distriv said:


> I've never thought about bringing an umbrella to the parks.  Do you use a compact one and do you find it's easy to store/keep hold of on rides?


I bring a compact Totes umbrella that fits in my crossbody bag.  It not only helps with rain, but can be very helpful with the sun in outdoor queues.  I also bring a poncho, because umbrellas don’t work if it’s raining sideways, and sometimes it rains hard enough I need both to stay dry.


----------



## VAtink

Distriv said:


> I've never thought about bringing an umbrella to the parks.  Do you use a compact one and do you find it's easy to store/keep hold of on rides?



This is the first time we've brought them, I'm glad we did. They're compact enough they fit in our crossbody bags, and when the rain isn't a torrential downpour or coming in sideways we prefer the umbrellas since the ponchos get very steamy.  Also great to use the umbrella to open the flap on the trash cans while throwing stuff away so we don't have to touch the trash cans.


----------



## VAtink

Happy to report, for a sold out day, Epcot was not horribly crowded this morning.  Was held at IG until about 10:15, then held again at Canada until 10:30 when they finally let us loose in the park. While waiting in the sun by Canada was pretty brutal, we definitely had an advantage over those entering from the front of the park. Never saw anyone coming from that direction as we made our way to FEA. 

We were on the first boat, and even when we got off there was hardly any line for the ride. Decided to swing by Mexico for some more AC (it is HOT today!) and since it was 10:52 at that point decided to start the line for la cava del tequila. They opened a bit late, about 11:05, and we were still the only ones there. Got our drinks to go, then headed to our first food booth of the day, the donut box where we got the donut with the chicken (too lazy to look up the actual name). This was really good, we didn't know what to expect, but we loved it!  

We stopped to get some photopass pictures and get pictures of the 50th statues before heading to the noodle exchange. Got the pork and shrimp. The shrimp was nice and spicy, it was great!  

We then circled WS starting in Mexico, we only ended up getting one more food item, the bread at India which was good, but not on our best list. It was a nice stroll back to IG, really low crowds back there at that point. 

Did some shopping as we went, finally found the F&W ornament I've been looking for and the cogsworth timer. I mentioned to the CM at checkout how hard it has been to find the merchandise we wanted and she confirmed that a lot of the F&W was already, or nearly sold out. A bit frustrating, we never were able to find the red Remy shirt for my mom, only have them in XL in all the stores we found them. At least I ordered her a F&W shirt online so I'll be able to surprise her with that at Christmas. 

Overall a great morning at Epcot. Now it's time to nap so we have a chance of staying awake through Boo Bash tonight!


----------



## scrappinginontario

VAtink said:


> Happy to report, for a sold out day, Epcot was not horribly crowded this morning.  Was held at IG until about 10:15, then held again at Canada until 10:30 when they finally let us loose in the park. While waiting in the sun by Canada was pretty brutal, we definitely had an advantage over those entering from the front of the park. Never saw anyone coming from that direction as we made our way to FEA.
> 
> We were on the first boat, and even when we got off there was hardly any line for the ride. Decided to swing by Mexico for some more AC (it is HOT today!) and since it was 10:52 at that point decided to start the line for la cava del tequila. They opened a bit late, about 11:05, and we were still the only ones there. Got our drinks to go, then headed to our first food booth of the day, the donut box where we got the donut with the chicken (too lazy to look up the actual name). This was really good, we didn't know what to expect, but we loved it!
> 
> We stopped to get some photopass pictures and get pictures of the 50th statues before heading to the noodle exchange. Got the pork and shrimp. The shrimp was nice and spicy, it was great!
> 
> We then circled WS starting in Mexico, we only ended up getting one more food item, the bread at India which was good, but not on our best list. It was a nice stroll back to IG, really low crowds back there at that point.
> 
> Did some shopping as we went, finally found the F&W ornament I've been looking for and the cogsworth timer. I mentioned to the CM at checkout how hard it has been to find the merchandise we wanted and she confirmed that a lot of the F&W was already, or nearly sold out. A bit frustrating, we never were able to find the red Remy shirt for my mom, only have them in XL in all the stores we found them. At least I ordered her a F&W shirt online so I'll be able to surprise her with that at Christmas.
> 
> Overall a great morning at Epcot. Now it's time to nap so we have a chance of staying awake through Boo Bash tonight!


Did you happen to ask at any of the stores if they could look up the items you were looking for?  I was looking for a specific shirt a few years back and someone at a kiosk was able to give me exact locations where they had it in stock in my size.  I've done the same a different trip when I was looking for Mickey Crocs.  

Not sure if they can do this with F&W merchandise but I believe it's an option for many of their items.


----------



## VAtink

scrappinginontario said:


> Did you happen to ask at any of the stores if they could look up the items you were looking for?  I was looking for a specific shirt a few years back and someone at a kiosk was able to give me exact locations where they had it in stock in my size.  I've done the same a different trip when I was looking for Mickey Crocs.
> 
> Not sure if they can do this with F&W merchandise but I believe it's an option for many of their items.



We asked at the store today about the Remy shirts but she just suggested trying the Creations shop, which we checked out yesterday and didn't see the shirt. May try a different CM tomorrow when we're back in Epcot. Would be awesome if they could look it up to see if and where they have more stock of it.


----------



## Best Aunt

VAtink said:


> Also great to use the umbrella to open the flap on the trash cans while throwing stuff away so we don't have to touch the trash cans.



Brilliant!


----------



## SkyGuy

loves to dive said:


> We were there last week and while it certainly wasn't as slow a people were reporting the week before, it wasn't horrible by our standards.   It was a 45 min. wait for FoP around 10:30 am so not bad.  The wait for MMRR at HS was about 1/2 hour around 11 am.  MF was around 45 min. at about the same time of day (we did two day as HS).  We were at Epcot every afternoon/evening.   The lines for booths were not long but it rained every single day, some days pretty bad so a lot of the booths would close down and when they re-opened you had to pay at the window instead of at the line and that really slowed things down.  Friday night around 8 or 8:30 it was getting really crowded in WS, bad enough that we left and we never do that, but we did have a baby with us and it was late.   I would say it was along the same level as the bottle neck at MK between Small World and PP.
> 
> Our CM interactions were really great.  My son's SO was walking around the big store in MK with a few items in her arms and a CM chased her down to give her a bag.   We were getting a stein at a booth in Epcot for my son and there wasn't a place to pay at the booth.  We asked the CM and she told us we had to go to the store in Germany (which we knew couldn't be since it was a special F&W item) but we did.  The CM's there were totally perplexed, one went and asked the manager and they said nope so she walked with us to the booth and got the item and took it over to a cash register and waited until we paid to make sure everything was o.k.   We got her name and put in a good word at GS for her.   I upgraded my ticket to an AP at the IG at Epcot and the CM there was fast and very polite and very helpful.  We were getting pictures printed at Epcot and the CM noticed the baby, after we had exited the store she came running out with a first visit button asking if she had one yet and when we told her no, took us back in the store to put her name on it and take a picture.  I was walking around with the sleeping baby in the stroller while Mom and Dad rode RoTR and went to One Man's Dream to get some AC.  The CM at the door told me I had to park the stroller and when I said never mind because the baby was asleep, she told me she didn't see me and to go on in.   The baby woke up right when we got in and started crying so we left right away but I was very grateful to be able to get even a 30 sec. AC break.  It was like that the entire trip, not a bad interaction the entire time.


We also had a great experience with guest services this week at the IG. My brother and SIL have a home in FL and both have FL licenses. They were picking up their FL tickets, and my SIL forgot her DL (both FL and the other state). She had the other necessary paperwork to prove residency. Since she had her health worker badge (non-photo unfortunately) and other items with her name, he “let it slide” and processed the ticket and let us go on our way. She could have hopped the skyliner back to Pop, and even offered to do so, but it saved us so much time, and we were so grateful. I made sure to write an email - leaving out the part about him bending the rules so as not to get him into trouble.


----------



## Helvetica

I had a pretty good morning at Magic Kingdom. I was there until Lunch and then went back to the Resort for a nap.

Today is my Remy preview day and so far I’m really enjoying the new area. The crepe was good and the ride is super cute. It’s probably my new favorite ride at Epcot. Hopefully the rest of the day is good.


----------



## Helvetica

Epcot really wasn’t that bad in the afternoon. I was able to get a walk up reservation for Coral Reef, ride everything in the park and it only took 14 minutes to get on the Skyliner.

I also may or may not have rode Remy 5 times during my DVC preview.



The breakfast at Toppolino’s was really good. It’s a shame that the COVID restrictions are still in effect, but it is what it is.

Today I’m going to Magic Kingdom.


----------



## Carol_

HS Thursday. Crowds pretty light. Got a BG at 1 after missing the 7, but it didn’t board until LATE. I think the whole thing worked! The CMs weren’t nearly as surly and I didn’t hate it, which was a big improvement for me. ABC Commissary was surprisingly very good, as well!
AK Friday. Crowds were light. Bird shows were awesome as usual. FOP was great as usual. Got stuck on safari ride (for about 20 mins?) as they towed out a ride vehicle ahead of us. Glad it wasn’t over the crocs. 1st time at Tusker House. Great food and service, great characters. Then we went to…
Epcot for Remy. Excellent ride. Would’ve liked a crêpe but we had to move on to…
Boo Bash! Rode Buzz, Astro Orbiter, SDMT, Splash Mountain, and watched 3 cavalcades waiting for the Cadaver Dans to serenade us home.

ADVICE: Never do all these things in one day. It was hard. We got a stroller from the start to help DS6 get through it, and he passed out just as the Dans were starting to sing at 11:45… but a 3 hour party that starts an hour after his (my) normal bedtime was too much. Not buying that again.
Also, now all I can think about is crêpes…
Oh, and overall the CMs have been fantastic all over the place. I’ve noticed a real improvement in the overall level of customer service since the reopening and I’m thrilled to be a DVC owner again.

*light crowd= no waits over 45 minutes and strangers aren’t standing close enough to sniff me at any time


----------



## Nabas

cdurham1 said:


> I am very confused.  Last poster said it felt like no one was in WS.  Immediately previous poster was at EPCOT on the very same day and said it felt like "pre Covid levels."


In the World Showcase, crowd level usually depends on the time of the day and the day of the week.


----------



## VAtink

Did Boo Bash again last night, was fun again but seemed more crowded than Tuesday, there were quite a few points where the pathways were elbow to elbow. Could have been we didn't do as good a job zigging while everyone else zagged as we did on Tuesday.  We also noticed on Tuesday a lot of people camped out along the cavalcade route whereas last night a lot fewer were, so that may have also made it seem busier with more people moving around.  Ride waits were a hair longer last night, only actual walk-on was Buzz the second time, but never waited more than about 5 minutes for the others.

Once again didn't get as many things done as we wanted, but there is just too much to do!  We ended up riding Buzz x2, space, splash, thunder, pirates, and HM. Did a few photopass pictures, trying to avoid the ones with long lines this time, visited the characters, watched the cadaver Dan's,  and did a bunch of trick or treating.  They were even more stingy with the candy last night than on Tuesday, did two loops around the park stopping at all the treat trails and our bags are not even half full. Although a good number of treat trails were out of or almost out of candy when we got to them. They were refilling them, but just didn't seem fast enough.

Didn't stop to watch the cavalcades except for the last one of the night this time out in the hub. We watched it from the same area on Tuesday, and it was pretty empty then, but last night the area was a lot more crowded so we weren't able to get as good a viewing spot.

Overall a good night, glad we went twice to try to get everything done. I do hope if they do DAH events next year they bring back the low crowds from years past, I miss feeling like we had the park to ourselves and it was so much easier rushing from ride to ride when we didn't have to deal with the crowds.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

When did you introduce your kids to Beverly am I a bad parent if my toddler is inducted? Lol


----------



## scrappinginontario

CampbellzSoup said:


> When did you introduce your kids to Beverly am I a bad parent if my toddler is inducted? Lol


I introduced my daughter when she was a toddler.   I’d say go for it!


----------



## Sarahslay

cdurham1 said:


> I am very confused.  Last poster said it felt like no one was in WS.  Immediately previous poster was at EPCOT on the very same day and said it felt like "pre Covid levels."


I always say that there can be two people in the same park having a very different experience. When I was there two weeks ago I was leaving Pandora heading towards the safari marveling at how low the crowds were (I walked on to FOP, ended up not waiting in line for a single thing that morning, literally didn't even stop moving to get on the truck for the safari), and walked by a lady complaining about how crowded it was because she happened to be heading in to Pandora at the same time as a bunch of other people. AK was pretty empty that day, I did everything I wanted to in about 2 hours or so, which included a 20 minute coffee/breakfast break between FOP and the safari, but here she was complaining that she had heard crowds were low and "OMG this is NOT low crowds at ALL, look how crowded this is!" . I was on a train on EE that was 3/4 empty, on a truck on Dinosaur by myself almost 2 hours after opening, didn't wait at all for FOP and got there after they opened up the gates it was amazing, so 2 people and 2 completely different points of view of the same exact park. I don't doubt if someone was in WS and got caught in a crowd that they thought it was packed all day, it's like that some times, and someone else gets there at just the right time and it's pretty empty.


----------



## Sarahslay

CampbellzSoup said:


> When did you introduce your kids to Beverly am I a bad parent if my toddler is inducted? Lol


I don't think it's mean at all to do that (or maybe I'm the villian lol), but I know a ton of tiny kids obsessed with lemons (I know I was) so drinking Beverly might not be that bad.


----------



## ThereYouSeeHer

Booked a package last night. Left this morning and arrived at Disney after a 12 hour drive. We were going to stopover halfway but decided to press on and arrive a day early.

We tried getting a one night reservation online, but it wouldn’t show us any availability unless we put in a two night minimum. Called the reservation line and they said nothing was available anywhere tonight. Walked into AoA and they said they are able to find ‘holes’ in reservations and book single nights, so they did. They are not allowed to book any discounts, though.

We were originally supposed to come down in August, but had to cancel. We had pushed it to December, but wanted to come before the anniversary. The goal of this trip is to see Happily Ever After and Epcot Forever before they vanish. Also to try getting a boarding group for the first time before that process stops as well. Hoping the weather and crowds cooperate!


----------



## lovethattink

CampbellzSoup said:


> When did you introduce your kids to Beverly am I a bad parent if my toddler is inducted? Lol



We didn’t do it as a trick or anything like that.  He saw us drinking it and making faces. And asked if he wanted to try it too?


----------



## ThereYouSeeHer

About 90 degrees here. Hot and humid, but the sky is cloudy, which is good. I didn’t think I would use the cool ties we brought, but they’ve been helpful.

Arrived at Disney Springs around noon, left at 2pm. Crush of people coming and going from lime garage,  but not terrible once around walkways. Stores probably typical crowds. Put our name in the virtual queue for Gideon’s. Current callback estimate is 4 hours.

Waiting for Fantasia Golf right now. Half hour wait estimate, but we’re trying to beat potential rainstorms.


----------



## BK2014

We went to HS on Saturday.  Tried for a ROTR BG at 7:00am.  Both DW and I were trying on our phones from home. DW was so disappointed that she didn't get a BG that she did not hear me say "we're in, BG 1!".   We drove to the park and arrived at the parking plaza a couple minutes before 8am for a 9am open.  They were already letting car through.  We were parked in the first row of cars.  We were allowed straight into the park and a group was forming outside of MMRR on the left side of the building.  There were only a handful of people there when we got there.

At 8:30am they let us into the queue.  We were off the ride just before 9:00am.  DW had never ridden SDD, and I won't, so we decided to try and get her on that before our BG time ended at 10.  The wait for SDD said 45 minutes at 9:00am, but I assured DW that the actual wait time would be less.  Sure enough, she was on SDD right about 9:30.  Plenty of time to make it to our ROTR BG. 

Other than that, we watched the Mickey and Minnie Short Film thing and had lunch at ABC Commissary. Then we stopped at Guest Relations to get our new AP cards and magicband slider and to make sure our APs are ready to go for MK on 10/1.  It was a short but productive morning at HS.  But also a very hot and exhausted morning.


----------



## VAtink

Just got back from our 11 day trip!  We had a great time, even though there were some not so great moments (watching my mom faceplant on the concrete at Boo Bash was a bit terrifying!). 

We normally go in September, and since we go every year, we tend to do a handful of special events each trip and focus less on getting on all of the rides.  Since most of the events aren’t back yet, this trip was a bit different than our normal Septembers, but we still had a blast.  We do miss the events, especially the food and wine special lunches, so hope those come back next year!

I tried to post updates each day here during the trip, so I’m going to keep this short and touch upon stuff I hadn’t mentioned previously. 

So first the hotel, we stayed at Yacht Club as we normally do, and while I still love the resort, it wasn’t the best stay.  They were preparing for the exterior painting outside our room while we were there, but since they don’t do work on the weekends we didn’t even realize how much this would impact our trip until our 4th day in the hotel so we had already unpacked.  And when staying for 11 days, we pack A LOT, so once we realized we would not be able to use our balcony during the week, we had already unpacked all of our suitcases so my mom did not want to move. 

Now I realize that was totally on us for not requesting a move that day, but we had been assigned a different room that wasn’t ready when we arrived, but this room was ready so they put us in it as if they were doing us a favor.  I wish they had told us that they were doing work on that rooms balcony when they offered it so we at least had a choice of an earlier room or a room where we could use the balcony. 
The good news is we had very quiet neighbors this trip, so it was gloriously quiet at night! 

The crowds this trip were very varied by park and day, but we did find Epcot to be the worst with the crowds overall.  We did have some nice seemingly low-ish crowd times there, Tuesday and Wednesday were great, but compared to past years where WS seemed empty during the week mid-day, this year it definitely seemed more crowded.  We have a picture from I believe 2019 or 2018 of the pathway in front of Germany around 1:00 in the afternoon with absolutely no one in sight.  We took it after realized we hadn’t seen anyone else around since Norway and wanted to document the awesome emptiness.  I miss those days!   

That being said, wait times were great this trip!  We were really surprised, usually in September the waits are worse, but the overall number of people around seem a lot less.  This trip the wait times were fantastic, but there just seemed to be a lot more people wandering around the park than in past Septembers. 

For mask compliance, it was pretty near perfect this trip, much better than in April.  We only had two occasions where people weren’t wearing them where they were supposed to and the CM didn’t say anything.  The first was on the bus to AK one morning, of the full bus only my mom and I and one other family wore masks, no one else did, and the bus driver didn’t say a thing.  The crazy thing is the people wore masks outside at the bus stop but took them off right when they got on the bus.  So odd.  Although I did overhear a mother at the airport this morning tell her family it was ok to take their masks off since they were finally inside the airport, so maybe some people are just confused about where they are required?  

The other time was in MK before Boo Bash on Friday.  Lots of people not wearing masks in indoor lines and CMs didn’t say anything, but once Boo Bash started everyone we saw was complying with the rules. 

One thing I found awesome this trip is people were great about personal space!  In April people weren't so great, I kept having people physically touching me in lines (and this is back when the 6ft distancing was around!), but this trip we never had anyone crowding up on us in line, in fact most people stayed 2-3ft away.  Hope people stay that courteous, really hate when people crowd up on us especially when it's surface of the sun hot that day!  

Oh, and one last thing.  The MDE app was awful this trip.  I’ve never had issues with it before like I did this week.  Three times during the trip I went in to find that our trip had been deleted from the app so I had to go find the confirmation number in my email from over a year ago to reenter it.  Besides that it was just supper buggy all trip, wonder if the imminent release of Genie had anything to do with it.


----------



## ThereYouSeeHer

A bolt of lightning and mini golf closed, so we got a rain check. Went back to the hotel to relax. Got our return text for Gideon after 2.5 hours, so went to pick up cookies and then went to mini golf. Cookies are delicious (though smaller than I was expecting), and we definitely love Winter Summerland golf more than Fantasia.

Assorted pictures from Disney Springs today: Holiday turkey sandwich from Earl of Sandwich (glad it was good because I passed up my beloved caprese sandwich for it!), Gideon’s Pistachio Toffee cookie, Sprinkles cupcakes (banana, German chocolate, chocolate marshmallow, and confetti sprinkles), also glad to find the Star Wars soda bottles at the trading post, so that we don’t have to buy them in the parks and carry them around tomorrow.


----------



## Helvetica

I’ve had a pretty good day. I checked out of Riviera and after my second stay here I really like this resort. The Skyliner ran a lot better than it did in May and I utilized Disney transport for the majory of my trip.

I did Animal Kingdom from open to close today. There were crowds, but they thinned out by the end of the night. I think I rode Everest like 5 times in a row before I hit up Flight of Passage for my last ride.

The lines looked pretty good at DHS, so now I’m over here to see what I can do in an hour.

Tomorrow is an extra day for me. I need to start the drive back by 7pm. I’ll be starting at Magic Kingdom.


----------



## Corinne

Grrrrrrr…..I know I’m just one of many others who were refreshing incessantly this morning and still not able to secure a BG at exactly 7:00AM….still annoying.


----------



## TioAdis78

Corinne said:


> Grrrrrrr…..I know I’m just one of many others who were refreshing incessantly this morning and still not able to secure a BG at exactly 7:00AM….still annoying.


Would you mind, even if it unfortunately didn’t work out, telling us more details about your technique? (Where were you, if you used wifi or cellular, that kind of thing) because it might be helpful for others, even if just for a few days


----------



## Ensusieasm

VAtink said:


> Just got back from our 11 day trip!  We had a great time, even though there were some not so great moments (watching my mom faceplant on the concrete at Boo Bash was a bit terrifying!).
> 
> We normally go in September, and since we go every year, we tend to do a handful of special events each trip and focus less on getting on all of the rides.  Since most of the events aren’t back yet, this trip was a bit different than our normal Septembers, but we still had a blast.  We do miss the events, especially the food and wine special lunches, so hope those come back next year!
> 
> I tried to post updates each day here during the trip, so I’m going to keep this short and touch upon stuff I hadn’t mentioned previously.
> 
> So first the hotel, we stayed at Yacht Club as we normally do, and while I still love the resort, it wasn’t the best stay.  They were preparing for the exterior painting outside our room while we were there, but since they don’t do work on the weekends we didn’t even realize how much this would impact our trip until our 4th day in the hotel so we had already unpacked.  And when staying for 11 days, we pack A LOT, so once we realized we would not be able to use our balcony during the week, we had already unpacked all of our suitcases so my mom did not want to move.
> 
> Now I realize that was totally on us for not requesting a move that day, but we had been assigned a different room that wasn’t ready when we arrived, but this room was ready so they put us in it as if they were doing us a favor.  I wish they had told us that they were doing work on that rooms balcony when they offered it so we at least had a choice of an earlier room or a room where we could use the balcony.
> The good news is we had very quiet neighbors this trip, so it was gloriously quiet at night!
> 
> The crowds this trip were very varied by park and day, but we did find Epcot to be the worst with the crowds overall.  We did have some nice seemingly low-ish crowd times there, Tuesday and Wednesday were great, but compared to past years where WS seemed empty during the week mid-day, this year it definitely seemed more crowded.  We have a picture from I believe 2019 or 2018 of the pathway in front of Germany around 1:00 in the afternoon with absolutely no one in sight.  We took it after realized we hadn’t seen anyone else around since Norway and wanted to document the awesome emptiness.  I miss those days!
> 
> That being said, wait times were great this trip!  We were really surprised, usually in September the waits are worse, but the overall number of people around seem a lot less.  This trip the wait times were fantastic, but there just seemed to be a lot more people wandering around the park than in past Septembers.
> 
> For mask compliance, it was pretty near perfect this trip, much better than in April.  We only had two occasions where people weren’t wearing them where they were supposed to and the CM didn’t say anything.  The first was on the bus to AK one morning, of the full bus only my mom and I and one other family wore masks, no one else did, and the bus driver didn’t say a thing.  The crazy thing is the people wore masks outside at the bus stop but took them off right when they got on the bus.  So odd.  Although I did overhear a mother at the airport this morning tell her family it was ok to take their masks off since they were finally inside the airport, so maybe some people are just confused about where they are required?
> 
> The other time was in MK before Boo Bash on Friday.  Lots of people not wearing masks in indoor lines and CMs didn’t say anything, but once Boo Bash started everyone we saw was complying with the rules.
> 
> One thing I found awesome this trip is people were great about personal space!  In April people weren't so great, I kept having people physically touching me in lines (and this is back when the 6ft distancing was around!), but this trip we never had anyone crowding up on us in line, in fact most people stayed 2-3ft away.  Hope people stay that courteous, really hate when people crowd up on us especially when it's surface of the sun hot that day!
> 
> Oh, and one last thing.  The MDE app was awful this trip.  I’ve never had issues with it before like I did this week.  Three times during the trip I went in to find that our trip had been deleted from the app so I had to go find the confirmation number in my email from over a year ago to reenter it.  Besides that it was just supper buggy all trip, wonder if the imminent release of Genie had anything to do with it.


“Faceplant on the concrete” ?  What happened?


----------



## Disney Fool

anyone there now?  I haven't seen many posts about them this year.  How are they for this September?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Disney Fool said:


> anyone there now?  I haven't seen many posts about them this year.  How are they for this September?


Merged with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread.

OP is asking about love bugs.


----------



## cdurham1

scrappinginontario said:


> Merged with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread.
> 
> OP is asking about love bugs.



Here now, haven't noticed any of them


----------



## Disney Fool

thank you


----------



## cdurham1

Went to Boo Bash last night.  First ever DAH event.  I am not sure I ever want to go to the parks in the day again.  I have been to WDW a total of about 12 times I think for probably a total of 60 days (idk, who's counting at this point?).  Last night has to rank as one of, if not the best, days at WDW.

No midday heat and everything was a walk on except Jungle Cruise (14 minutes), 7Dmt (11 minutes), and strangely enough the Speedway (waited 5 minutes, saw that they were only loading 4 cars at a time in just one lane and turned around)

Candy,, unlimited ice cream, soda, and popcorn was also cool.  And characters actually out in the park.


----------



## VAtink

Ensusieasm said:


> “Faceplant on the concrete” ?  What happened?



She tripped on a step, it was dark and she just didn't see it.  Totally wiped out, face-down on the sidewalk.  Really scary to see!


----------



## ThereYouSeeHer

No pre-show this morning on Millennium Falcon. Took twenty minutes from passing under standby sign to exiting ride.

Eating at Rontos, saw Rey, Stormtroopers, and Chewie on the bridge outside our tables.


----------



## Helvetica

scrappinginontario said:


> Merged with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread.
> 
> OP is asking about love bugs.



I’ve seen like 2 or 3. I know it will pick up, but not yet.


----------



## MrWreckless

Disney Fool said:


> anyone there now?  I haven't seen many posts about them this year.  How are they for this September?



They were all over the place at AoA, especially at the Cozy Cone pool, so it just depends on where you are.  


Back to the topic,

Returned yesterday from a 7 day trip 9.13-9.20 and overall things were great.  The Skyliner is amazing and i actually prefer it over the monorail, the air circulation feels wonderful on a hot day.  The kids looked at is as an actual ride, which was another benefit.  

First a couple things that i didnt like.........my wife.  LOL.  Its impossible to get her committed to a plan without letting her fall on her face a couple times.  We agree to wake up a little later to let the rope drop crew pass and take advantage of shorter lines later in the day, yet im woken up at 7am to a fully dressed wife ready to leave for the parks.  We got to MK on our first park day at 9:15 and she immediately wants to hit every photopass spot she sees, and in my mind im thinking "I know i didnt get up early to get to the parks just to stand in long photopass lines while the queues fill up for the popular rides".  Luckily the longest wait we had was 32 minutes for Jungle Cruise, everything else was under 20 minutes or walk on.  We were able to let the kids re-ride anything they liked.  Now was definitely the time to go for us because the kids got their fill of Dumbo, Flying Carpets, Carousel, Barnstormer, etc...with the only limiting factor being how fast you race around and re-enter the queue. I will say that it seems that more people were booking mid-September hoping everyone else would push their trip into October for the 50th, leaving late August to actually be the absolute best time to go.  

We didnt partake in Boo Bash but both of our MK days fell on Boo Bash nights.  For Non-Boo Bashers there is a good and a bad here, the good is that Boo Bashers are not coming in at 7 to ride attractions so they wont affect your queue times.  The bad is that if you are there to see fireworks, id say 90% of the Boo Bashers entering the turnstiles at 7pm are there to stake out a fireworks spot, so the hub is going to fill QUICKLY.  Luckily our kids fell asleep and we were able to get a good spot at 7:15.  

Second thing i did not like is that the food seems to have dipped in quality once again.  My sister joined us on the trip and we were excited to show her some of the great treats/snacks WDW has to offer and i must say we left disappointed.  Many of our favorites have either had the recipe changed (Carrot Cake Cookie) or the quality of ingredients has taken a nose dive.  Then some of the things we wanted to try were not in stock, and i dont mean sold out for that day, i mean they never even had them that day at all, (Im looking at you Caramel Apple Tart in ABC Commissary). The highlights of our trip ended up being the cherry beer at the Germany booth, Topolinos, and the Yorkshire County Fish Shop.  I know they recently changed POG vendors but they need some quality control on the preparation because the batch we had at Tuskers House was outright bad, while at Topolinos it was amazing.  We actually requested they take away the POG at Tuskers House and bring over the Minute Maid apple juice it was so bad.  

Are the metal detectors set to maximum sensitivity at MK and set to low everywhere else?  I entered the parks with the exact same items every day and i was only sent to bag search on the 2 MK days.  

Disney is flat out lying with ride wait times.  Stood directly in front of the CM holding the 60 minute wait sign at 7DMT and it only took us 32 minutes to hit the ride.  Lines app was right on top of it.  I still think there is something illegal about telling people the ride wait times are almost double what they actually are when you are also selling a service to skip the wait times.  This is screaming class action.  

Disney needs an IN HOUSE hit on Disney Jr. in the worst way.  The most popular characters on the network are not Disney owned and therefore are not in the dance party or dont have areas set up for pictures.  Vampirina and Doc McStuffins got almost no response at all from the kids, which makes sense because those shows are just about off the network. Bluey, Puppy Dog Pals, PJ Masks, T.O.T.S, and the new Spiderman (which i know cant happen) is what the kids know now.  

On the positive side, the charter buses ARE THE BEST THING EVER.  I understand that may be a sore spot for the scooter crowd, but wow is it so much better for people with strollers and nights with heavy bus lines.  You could hear people in line get overjoyed when they saw the next bus pulling in was a charter bus and not one of the standard Disney buses.  I tell you nothing ends your night on a high note like riding a standing room only Disney bus while trying to wrangle two toddlers and strollers.  We noped right out of that and waited 3 minutes for a charter bus to arrive.  Please Disney keep the charter buses going!


----------



## Haley R

Disney Fool said:


> anyone there now?  I haven't seen many posts about them this year.  How are they for this September?


We live an hour away and they haven’t been around much at all


----------



## gottalovepluto

cdurham1 said:


> Went to Boo Bash last night.  First ever DAH event.  I am not sure I ever want to go to the parks in the day again.  I have been to WDW a total of about 12 times I think for probably a total of 60 days (idk, who's counting at this point?).  Last night has to rank as one of, if not the best, days at WDW.
> 
> No midday heat and everything was a walk on except Jungle Cruise (14 minutes), 7Dmt (11 minutes), and strangely enough the Speedway (waited 5 minutes, saw that they were only loading 4 cars at a time in just one lane and turned around)
> 
> Candy,, unlimited ice cream, soda, and popcorn was also cool.  And characters actually out in the park.


This is blowing my mind. Just read a report from someone on the party thread from last night saying SDMT seemed packed all night and the party was so crowded they felt it was _very_ Covid unsafe. (And this is not the first time we’ve had reviews from the same night that are polar opposite on this party!)

Is it possible there are two Magic Kingdoms hosting this party? Like an alternate universe situation?


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## Redhead5

I was at Disney from September 12th thru September 17th. My husband and I have been to Disney over 20 times, so we only do things we like to do. We don’t rope drop or ride a lot of rides. I don’t report wait times for rides so if you’re expecting that, it won’t be here. We are just happy to get out of the house and do things we enjoy. We visited twice in 2020 during covid restrictions. Our concern this trip was being able to visit without inviting covid into our lives, if possible. We are vaccinated and both over 60. We went into the parks later and we ate at table service restaurants. We found the parks to be much busier than we thought they would be. It wasn’t empty like the reports stated during the last weeks of August. The later in the day, the busier it got. We went to Epcot twice and after two pm it was uncomfortably crowded. I think most people are park hopping to Epcot after two. We wore masks both inside and outside. We only removed them outside when stationary and no others were near us. When eating, we found more secluded areas away from others. Masks are optional outside, and I estimate around thirty percent of people were wearing them. While masks are required indoors, many women seemed to think the restrooms were mask optional zones and didn’t put them on when they visited the restroom. Regarding ride ques, a few waited until we were far into the indoor ques before putting the masks on. We stayed at the Rivera Resort (which I can’t say enough good things about) and rode the sky liner to Epcot and Hollywood studios. We asked if we could have our own car, and this was granted. Of course, we were not riding at prime time so that might change if it had been a busier time of day. At indoor dining locations we asked for a table more distant (if possible) and stated that we would be happy to wait if we needed to. The only restaurants that had a problem with this were Beaches and Cream and California Grill. At California Grill, we did get a booth with plexiglass. It was fine. At Beaches and Cream, there were no good tables, but we finally got one next to the wall with one table on the side (next to the wall)  and the entrance to the kitchen on the other. While we were there, an incident occurred with an older drunken man and his companion parading through the restaurant mask less and shouting. Someone showed up (I’m thinking Disney Security) and took several photos of them and followed them out of the restaurant. Unless you really want to eat at Beaches and Cream, I suggest you avoid the restaurant if you are concerned about covid. They have a takeout window, but you can only get some items there (i.e., not the kitchen sink.) At Topolinos, they said that they had already socially distanced many of the tables in the restaurant. We were given a booth with plexiglass on both sides (which is exactly what I wanted.) We also ate at Liberty Tree Tavern, Brown Derby, and Via Napoli. We mobile ordered Breakfast three times from Primo Piatto, the counter service restaurant at the Riveria Resort. It was ready fast and very good. Although you were allowed to eat in the area, we took the food back to our room. We drove our car down and took the auto train back. We stayed in a 1-bedroom compartment, the evening meal was delivered, and we never left the compartment until we arrived in Lorton. Per federal law, everyone was masked. However, we were allowed to remove our masks inside our compartment. There was a stern announcement saying that prolonged non masking would not be tolerated. We arrived home Saturday. So far, we seem to be fine. A few more days will tell.


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## cdurham1

gottalovepluto said:


> This is blowing my mind. Just read a report from someone on the party thread from last night saying SDMT seemed packed all night and the party was so crowded they felt it was _very_ Covid unsafe. (And this is not the first time we’ve had reviews from the same night that are polar opposite on this party!)
> 
> Is it possible there are two Magic Kingdoms hosting this party? Like an alternate universe situation?



Yeah, it's crazy.  I like it when people give a little background on their previous WDW experience. It was our first DAH event.  So, idk, maybe if I had other ones to compare, I would have a different opinion.  7dmt and JC did have lines pretty much all night.  We did them toward the end of the night. But literally everything else we went on was a walk on (except that weird Speedway thing, but who cares about that).  My DD, 10, couldn't have been happier.  She went on things back to back walk ons.


----------



## billysmommy

We (DS15 and I) just got back from a 9/15-9/19 stay at the Beach Club. We had a slight delay on our flight down and landed at 8:00pm instead of 7:30. Only 2 families ahead of us for ME but we waited on the bus a bit before leaving. BC was the 3rd stop and we were a little late for our 9:10 Beaches & Cream reservation but they were able to seat us.

We loved mobile ordering! We'd place an order while in line, press I'm here while walking to the restaurant and only waited more than 2-3 minutes once and that was ordering lunch @ ABC commissary at 12:00.

Thursday 9/16 was all about Galaxy's Edge. We got BG 42 (used wifi in our room). It was down a lot of the morning and we didn't get called until about 1:45. We left the BC @ 7:45, stopped at the Boardwalk Bakery for Mickey muffins and walked over for an 8:45 Savi's reservation. This was amazing and totally worth it! I mobile ordered the Rising Moon overnight oats from Ronto Roasters while DS explored and then we headed to Oga's for 9:45. Loved it there! He had the Carbon Freeze and I had the Jabba juice. Both were excellent!! We took lots of pictures on our own and with photopass before heading over to ToT (20 min wait, posted 40). RnR was down so we went over for TSMM (15 min wait, posted 25). We headed back to GE and got in line for MFSR (40 min wait, posted 70). Got some blue and green milks (DS liked the blue and I liked the green) then our BG was called. We had lunch at Sci-Fi @2:35. Checked in @2:20 and were seated by 2:30. After lunch we headed back for some time @ Stormalong Bay and then went back to the DHS around 6:00 to see GE at night and do some lightsaber pictures. We jumped on MMRR (15 min wait, posted 25) then mostly just explored - DS did some of the Disney Play missions. We ordered dinner @ Docking Bay 7 and then it was dark so did a bunch of nighttime photos with his lightsaber. Jumped in line for MFSR @ 8:58 and mostly just walked on. There was almost no one left in GE when we got off and I got this shot



(to be cont)


----------



## stink

MrWreckless said:


> They were all over the place at AoA, especially at the Cozy Cone pool, so it just depends on where you are.
> 
> 
> Back to the topic,
> 
> Returned yesterday from a 7 day trip 9.13-9.20 and overall things were great.  The Skyliner is amazing and i actually prefer it over the monorail, the air circulation feels wonderful on a hot day.  The kids looked at is as an actual ride, which was another benefit.
> 
> First a couple things that i didnt like.........my wife.  LOL.  Its impossible to get her committed to a plan without letting her fall on her face a couple times.  We agree to wake up a little later to let the rope drop crew pass and take advantage of shorter lines later in the day, yet im woken up at 7am to a fully dressed wife ready to leave for the parks.  We got to MK on our first park day at 9:15 and she immediately wants to hit every photopass spot she sees, and in my mind im thinking "I know i didnt get up early to get to the parks just to stand in long photopass lines while the queues fill up for the popular rides".  Luckily the longest wait we had was 32 minutes for Jungle Cruise, everything else was under 20 minutes or walk on.  We were able to let the kids re-ride anything they liked.  Now was definitely the time to go for us because the kids got their fill of Dumbo, Flying Carpets, Carousel, Barnstormer, etc...with the only limiting factor being how fast you race around and re-enter the queue. I will say that it seems that more people were booking mid-September hoping everyone else would push their trip into October for the 50th, leaving late August to actually be the absolute best time to go.
> 
> We didnt partake in Boo Bash but both of our MK days fell on Boo Bash nights.  For Non-Boo Bashers there is a good and a bad here, the good is that Boo Bashers are not coming in at 7 to ride attractions so they wont affect your queue times.  The bad is that if you are there to see fireworks, id say 90% of the Boo Bashers entering the turnstiles at 7pm are there to stake out a fireworks spot, so the hub is going to fill QUICKLY.  Luckily our kids fell asleep and we were able to get a good spot at 7:15.
> 
> Second thing i did not like is that the food seems to have dipped in quality once again.  My sister joined us on the trip and we were excited to show her some of the great treats/snacks WDW has to offer and i must say we left disappointed.  Many of our favorites have either had the recipe changed (Carrot Cake Cookie) or the quality of ingredients has taken a nose dive.  Then some of the things we wanted to try were not in stock, and i dont mean sold out for that day, i mean they never even had them that day at all, (Im looking at you Caramel Apple Tart in ABC Commissary). The highlights of our trip ended up being the cherry beer at the Germany booth, Topolinos, and the Yorkshire County Fish Shop.  I know they recently changed POG vendors but they need some quality control on the preparation because the batch we had at Tuskers House was outright bad, while at Topolinos it was amazing.  We actually requested they take away the POG at Tuskers House and bring over the Minute Maid apple juice it was so bad.
> 
> Are the metal detectors set to maximum sensitivity at MK and set to low everywhere else?  I entered the parks with the exact same items every day and i was only sent to bag search on the 2 MK days.
> 
> Disney is flat out lying with ride wait times.  Stood directly in front of the CM holding the 60 minute wait sign at 7DMT and it only took us 32 minutes to hit the ride.  Lines app was right on top of it.  I still think there is something illegal about telling people the ride wait times are almost double what they actually are when you are also selling a service to skip the wait times.  This is screaming class action.
> 
> Disney needs an IN HOUSE hit on Disney Jr. in the worst way.  The most popular characters on the network are not Disney owned and therefore are not in the dance party or dont have areas set up for pictures.  Vampirina and Doc McStuffins got almost no response at all from the kids, which makes sense because those shows are just about off the network. Bluey, Puppy Dog Pals, PJ Masks, T.O.T.S, and the new Spiderman (which i know cant happen) is what the kids know now.
> 
> O*n the positive side, the charter buses ARE THE BEST THING EVER. * I understand that may be a sore spot for the scooter crowd, but wow is it so much better for people with strollers and nights with heavy bus lines.  You could hear people in line get overjoyed when they saw the next bus pulling in was a charter bus and not one of the standard Disney buses.  I tell you nothing ends your night on a high note like riding a standing room only Disney bus while trying to wrangle two toddlers and strollers.  We noped right out of that and waited 3 minutes for a charter bus to arrive.  Please Disney keep the charter buses going!



What is the charter buses ?   How do they work / how are they different from regular bus to and from the park.


----------



## MrWreckless

stink said:


> What is the charter buses ?   How do they work / how are they different from regular bus to and from the park.



Think of the DME buses with the storage compartments underneath and the forward facing seats.  Disney has contracted a fleet of those to support their normal busses with the scooter positions.

The charter buses are great because you can place your strollers underneath them, freeing you from that hassle. They also have more seats so more people can ride comfortably.


----------



## WEDWDW

MrWreckless said:


> Think of the MDE buses with the storage compartments underneath and the forward facing seats.  Disney has contracted a fleet of those to support their normal busses with the scooter positions.
> 
> The charter buses are great because you can place your strollers underneath them, freeing you from that hassle. They also have more seats so more people can ride comfortably.


And no "standing in the aisles" allowed as opposed to the Disney buses.


----------



## Naomeri

billysmommy said:


> We (DS15 and I) just got back from a 9/15-9/19 stay at the Beach Club. We had a slight delay on our flight down and landed at 8:00pm instead of 7:30. Only 2 families ahead of us for ME but we waited on the bus a bit before leaving. BC was the 3rd stop and we were a little late for our 9:10 Beaches & Cream reservation but they were able to seat us.
> 
> We loved mobile ordering! We'd place an order while in line, press I'm here while walking to the restaurant and only waited more than 2-3 minutes once and that was ordering lunch @ ABC commissary at 12:00.
> 
> Thursday 9/16 was all about Galaxy's Edge. We got BG 42 (used wifi in our room). It was down a lot of the morning and we didn't get called until about 1:45. We left the BC @ 7:45, stopped at the Boardwalk Bakery for Mickey muffins and walked over for an 8:45 Savi's reservation. This was amazing and totally worth it! I mobile ordered the Rising Moon overnight oats from Ronto Roasters while DS explored and then we headed to Oga's for 9:45. Loved it there! He had the Carbon Freeze and I had the Jabba juice. Both were excellent!! We took lots of pictures on our own and with photopass before heading over to ToT (20 min wait, posted 40). RnR was down so we went over for TSMM (15 min wait, posted 25). We headed back to GE and got in line for MFSR (40 min wait, posted 70). Got some blue and green milks (DS liked the blue and I liked the green) then our BG was called. We had lunch at Sci-Fi @2:35. Checked in @2:20 and were seated by 2:30. After lunch we headed back for some time @ Stormalong Bay and then went back to the DHS around 6:00 to see GE at night and do some lightsaber pictures. We mostly just explored - DS did some of the Disney Play missions. We ordered dinner @ Docking Bay 7 and then it was dark so did a bunch of nighttime photos with his lightsaber. Jumped in line for MFSR @ 8:58 and mostly just walked on. There was almost no one left in GE when we got off and I got this shot
> 
> 
> 
> (to be cont)View attachment 606197


That’s a great shot


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## Chavaleh

Just back from our trip Sept 11 - 19th.  

Heat and humidity was intense most days though we expected that. Crowds were not what I would consider light and were pretty seriously heavy on our Epcot days (especially this Sat). We rode a lot less than we normally would, my husband knew how to really use the previous FP system and we rarely waited in lines but with that gone plus the heat, covid and crowds we just didn't really want to stand and wait too much. Ended up masking more than I expected to outside because of the crowd levels. Not many other people were masked outdoors, maaaaaybe 10%. People did pretty well inside apart from the occasional nose out. There were a ton of toddlers and quite a few of them were clearly sick, coughing continuously, runny noses etc. 

We had a lyft driver who was a retired Disney employee who was incredibly enthused about Genie. He'd been in the test group since April and is either in love with it or getting some promo $$$ to hype it  I guess we'll see. He did mention that the initial rollout is more for information gathering and not the 'end product' and that after the new year is when we'll get to see what they are really planning. The things he mentioned sounded intriguing but yeah... we'll see.


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## NavyDad

scrappinginontario said:


> I introduced my daughter when she was a toddler.   I’d say go for it!



Our daughter was 3 when she tried it and she loved it!

A few years later and she didn't like it anymore. LOL


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## Corinne

TioAdis78 said:


> Would you mind, even if it unfortunately didn’t work out, telling us more details about your technique? (Where were you, if you used wifi or cellular, that kind of thing) because it might be helpful for others, even if just for a few days


We’re staying @ BCV, cellular. Was able to get a BG @ 1:00, however, the callback will likely coincide with our Remy preview.


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## SCDisneyfanatic

Did the Lyft driver say when he thought it would be implemented??


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## Mambo Junkie

Here now. First day of touring arrived 7:00 am at AK and pretty much walked on FOP with maybe a 5 minute wait max. Of course that was after a good 15 minute walk to get to the actual ride. Got off, went over to Na’vi with a posted 11 minute wait. Not very crowded, overall excellent masking. I guess the early risers are serious lol as the day went on I saw more noses but still not bad. I actually only saw a couple of unmasked indoor guests. As it got more crowded I wore my mask in and outdoors. Physical distancing is not happening, for the better part. Luckily we had a scooter so I was in the front keeping space between us and the party in front of us while the scooter took care of the back.  Anyway we next went to Lion king and they cancelled the 9:30 show so we went over to the safari ride then back to lion king. After that we ended up taking the path which used to lead to Pocahontas and did tough to be a bug. Went to EE then Dinosaur and that was pretty much what we wanted to do. Moved our dining reservation up to 1:15 (thank you, Landry’s) and done with everything we had planned. Lounged bu the pool for a while at the resort. We did catch a little of the bird show and it was good as always. So far so good. We will see about tomorrow. Still have the ROTR BG hurdle to get over but we have the backup plan of doing a walk on the next day. We also thought about going to Animation but we will wait for the kids to come with us for that. As for the social distancing and mask compliance I’m fairly comfortable.


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## gottalovepluto

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Did the Lyft driver say when he thought it would be implemented??


If it follows the DLR test of MaxPass all it will be is a price hike


----------



## Dentam

My rapid test came back negative today so it seems that I'm just dealing with a bad cold.  I definitely noticed a lot of coughing toddlers on this trip as a previous poster mentioned as well as some adults with bad coughs, including one in the restroom stall next to me on the last day hacking away and blowing her nose like crazy.  Sigh.  Why do people go to the parks sick?  And during a pandemic to boot.


----------



## loves to dive

Dentam said:


> My rapid test came back negative today so it seems that I'm just dealing with a bad cold.  I definitely noticed a lot of coughing toddlers on this trip as a previous poster mentioned as well as some adults with bad coughs, including one in the restroom stall next to me on the last day hacking away and blowing her nose like crazy.  Sigh.  Why do people go to the parks sick?  And during a pandemic to boot.


About the coughing.   I have a dry cough that I have had for over a year.   My son, who is a RT, thinks it's some form of allergies as it does seem to be worse at my office (oldish probably moldy carpets) and at home (hubby used to smoke in the house)  than at other places.   I have to go to the Dr. every 3 months to get my statin refills so I know it's not some sort of flu or anything contagious. Anyway, sometimes a cough does not mean someone is sick.  While mine is a dry cough and sort of sounds like a little kids, there are times when hubby asks if I would like that lung back I just coughed up.


----------



## Mambo Junkie

loves to dive said:


> About the coughing.   I have a dry cough that I have had for over a year.   My son, who is a RT, thinks it's some form of allergies as it does seem to be worse at my office (oldish probably moldy carpets) and at home (hubby used to smoke in the house)  than at other places.   I have to go to the Dr. every 3 months to get my statin refills so I know it's not some sort of flu or anything contagious. Anyway, sometimes a cough does not mean someone is sick.  While mine is a dry cough and sort of sounds like a little kids, there are times when hubby asks if I would like that lung back I just coughed up.


I start coughing when people I don’t know get too close to me
Edit to add no really I do tend to cough when I get dry from wearing the mask. I have to wear it at work so I always have some sort of lozenge to keep my throat moist. It’s especially noticeable when it’s hot.


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## Helvetica

My 10 days at Disney is done. Magic Kingdom was really fun today. It was probably the hottest day of the trip or it could just be that I didn’t take a break.

I didn’t mean to stay for the fireworks, but I did and it was awesome. It’s just going to mean a longer drive tomorrow, but I’m sure it will be fine.

Overall, I had a great trip. I’m also really proud of myself. I didn’t buy anything (except food).


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## Lsdolphin

Dentam said:


> My rapid test came back negative today so it seems that I'm just dealing with a bad cold.  I definitely noticed a lot of coughing toddlers on this trip as a previous poster mentioned as well as some adults with bad coughs, including one in the restroom stall next to me on the last day hacking away and blowing her nose like crazy.  Sigh.  Why do people go to the parks sick?  And during a pandemic to boot.



Well I’m fully vaccinated but caught COVID anyway!  I had it 2 months ago but I still have a cough that I just can’t get rid of...I’m not sick/contagious but of course no one would know that...the cough is not constant mainly if I’m trying to have a longer conversation or exerting myself.
So glad you just have a cold...feel better soon.


----------



## Dentam

loves to dive said:


> About the coughing.   I have a dry cough that I have had for over a year.   My son, who is a RT, thinks it's some form of allergies as it does seem to be worse at my office (oldish probably moldy carpets) and at home (hubby used to smoke in the house)  than at other places.   I have to go to the Dr. every 3 months to get my statin refills so I know it's not some sort of flu or anything contagious. Anyway, sometimes a cough does not mean someone is sick.  While mine is a dry cough and sort of sounds like a little kids, there are times when hubby asks if I would like that lung back I just coughed up.



These were not dry coughs.  Lots of phlegm being hacked up by the kids and the woman in the restroom.  And she was blowing her nose with a lot coming out that way also it sounded like.    Definitely some respiratory viruses going around in FL now aside from Covid.


----------



## Dentam

Lsdolphin said:


> Well I’m fully vaccinated but caught COVID anyway!  I had it 2 months ago but I still have a cough that I just can’t get rid of...I’m not sick/contagious but of course no one would know that...the cough is not constant mainly if I’m trying to have a longer conversation or exerting myself.
> So glad you just have a cold...feel better soon.



I remember you posting about getting Covid after your July trip.  I had hoped that the lower Sept crowds would mean we'd be more likely to get through the trip healthy, and yes, I am very glad that we didn't get Covid.  Still, I was a bit disappointed in the higher crowds, especially in Epcot, and the lack of social distancing now.  And of course the people who go to the parks sick or bring their kids there while they're sick.  People will be people I guess, pandemic or not.

I'm glad you are on the mend and hope your cough goes away soon!


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## ThereYouSeeHer

Good day yesterday. Saw Happily Ever After on a non-Boo Bash night and it was packed. Curbs and spots already taken an hour before showtime. Our plan to go to the garden area in front of Casey’s was almost thwarted because one grass plot was roped off as reserved and another was roped off for active filming. 

Leaving was crazy, not only because of the crowds, but because they roped off all the left-side exits, so you had to exit to Main Street. However, even though filming had ended, they left the ropes up, so we were also blocked from exiting to the right. It was very confusing, but we eventually made it out and jumped on Jungle Cruise before closing.


----------



## Leigh L

EddieValiant said:


> This is my 3rd Studios day, it's the worst out of Mon, Tues, and today. Monday was the best, followed by Tuesday. Today I *got on Slinky Dog at rope drop, off the ride in 20 min.* Had BG 4. *Did the Falcon once and single rider to go again*. Midway Mania line currently extending outside the entrance, longest I've seen this week.


Sounds like we probably passed each other, perhaps twice! lol

Hope you had/having a great trip!


----------



## Lsdolphin

ThereYouSeeHer said:


> Good day yesterday. Saw Happily Ever After on a non-Boo Bash night and it was packed. Curbs and spots already taken an hour before showtime. Our plan to go to the garden area in front of Casey’s was almost thwarted because one grass plot was roped off as reserved and another was roped off for active filming.
> 
> Leaving was crazy, not only because of the crowds, but because they roped off all the left-side exits, so you had to exit to Main Street. However, even though filming had ended, they left the ropes up, so we were also blocked from exiting to the right. It was very confusing, but we eventually made it out and jumped on Jungle Cruise before closing.



So much for low crowds this week...


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## Leigh L

Just got back last night from a quick Friday-Monday trip.

*Friday: DHS and Epcot*
I didn't do my research before RoTR, so missed a BG when I wasn't familiar with the new screen/confirm party step. Practice is definitely worth the effort! (Although I guess that is soon going to be a moot point with standby starting...). Surprisingly I got a lot done on Friday, DD went to Epcot while I went alone to DHS. Did Slinky at rope drop, then headed to Mania (no wait, just a temporary delay as the ride must have gone down and the people on it were allowed to reenter first).  

Then I went to Tower, which we were asked to leave the line after a 20-minute wait since it was down. Then did MMRR, maybe a 30-minute wait. Missed the Frozen show by 1 minute, so headed to Star Tours (walk-on) and then I went into GE and hopped on the single rider line for Smugglers.  I wasn't interested in Aliens, Muppets, or the movies for this trip. Made the 11:30 Frozen show and then the 1 p.m. Beauty and the Beast where I got a BG while waiting at 1 pm drop. 

After that, I headed to Epcot to catch up with DD. It was more crowded there. Food lines in World Showcase were kinda long, at least for my patience (lol). We did Spaceship Earth, Frozen, and Caballeros. I think we then did some walking around WS and then at 5 p.m. I went back to DHS for Rise. The virtual queue sped up and I was being called about an hour earlier than expected. After that, I hopped on ToT and it was running, I think I waited maybe 20 minutes. Then back to Epcot and watched 2 shows by The Hooligans, wandered around WS, and then Epcot Forever.

*Saturday: MK, AK, and EP* 
MK was on Saturday and it was not crazy busy, but definitely busier than previous visits over the past year (June was the last one). We rode Pirates, JC, Tikis, HM, Liberty Belle, PP, and CoP before 1 pm. DD can't do coasters so didn't attempt to do those rides. I hopped over to AK for EE, Lion King Show, and potentially FoP. FoP was consistently 65-75 minutes and it was raining, so never got to that. EE was awesome, I hit it before the rain and then booked it over to Lion King. Sadly, they were having technical difficulties so canceled the final 2 shows of the day. So I headed over to Epcot to ride Soarin' since I'd missed it the day before, and then catch another Hooligans performance since it was so awesome. That's the one thing Disney is truly lacking right now is entertainment and this gave the park the "Epcot vibe" I used to love so much. After that, I went back to MK to see Happily Ever After. Hub was pretty crowded and finding a spot where you were allowed to stand was tough. I should have branched out to the sides to look (as DD learned the next night!) but I was tired and was trying to meet up with DD. 

*Sunday: Boo Bash*
Boo Bash was fun, but I wouldn't do it again, at least not at the price they're charging. Nowhere near as cool as MNSSHP and too short of time for the price point. I would have rather done a day ticket instead. I'd never done an after-hours, but this felt busier than it should have been from what I've read previously. Wait times for rides were relatively low though, 7DMT was posted 45 minutes, I don't think I waited for 15. Splash went down when we were on it, so that wasted a lot of time. We sat in one spot for about 15 minutes. Cavalcades were neat, I love these. but a parade for this type of event, along with entertainment (characters were sparse) would have made it worth the price IMO.

I think rope drop is still totally worth it. On Saturday, we were switching from ASMO to Contemporary and I didn't set my alarm correctly haha (pm instead of am) so we walked into MK maybe shortly after 9 a.m. We were still able to get stuff done (but weren't going for the most popular rides either), but had we been in front of the line, I think we would have gotten way more done earlier. DHS rope drop was definitely what got me on Slinky relatively quickly. I usually head to Tower for rope drop, but wanted to do this one first and decided where to go at rope drop on a whim once I was in the park. 

Also, a CM at Chef Mickey told us that while some restaurant social distancing was still happening, all that is going to end on October 1st.


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## Leigh L

Lsdolphin said:


> So much for low crowds this week...





gottalovepluto said:


> This is blowing my mind. Just read a report from someone on the party thread from last night saying SDMT seemed packed all night and the party was so crowded they felt it was _very_ Covid unsafe. (And this is not the first time we’ve had reviews from the same night that are polar opposite on this party!)
> 
> Is it possible there are two Magic Kingdoms hosting this party? Like an alternate universe situation?


They may have felt Covid unsafe thanks to the woman that was fake coughing to attempt to keep everyone away from her for the fireworks.  :::eyeroll. Oh wait, that was the night before Boo Bash. lol

We did Boo Bash that same night, and I felt the snack lines were too long for the first half. BUT CMs both times we got on a line came down and were desperately trying to hand out ice cream (I think it might have been melting lol). So we didn't have any wait at all! Later in the night, lines were much shorter. 

I did get on line for 7DMT shortly before 8 p.m. and it was posted 45 minutes. It took about 15. I saw fireworks while getting off and watched them from the back. DD found a great spot in the hub with plenty of space around her. Very different from the previous night's experience. That was the opposite of what I would have expected which was why I opted to go ride instead of standing in what I thought would be an insanely crowded hub.

After fireworks, everyone swarmed to 7DMT since it wasn't 8:30 yet. I was texting DD to just "keep swimming" upstream to get into Fantasyland lol. I imagine that ride was packed at least for the first hour after closing. But before that, it was easy peasy. There was an issue with a woman not having masks for herself and her family and they were kicked out of the queue. I guess witnessing something like that would make someone feel unsafe maybe? Otherwise though, I felt pretty safe and mask mandates indoors were being enforced for sure.


----------



## scrappinginontario

ThereYouSeeHer said:


> Good day yesterday. Saw Happily Ever After on a non-Boo Bash night and it was packed. Curbs and spots already taken an hour before showtime. Our plan to go to the garden area in front of Casey’s was almost thwarted because one grass plot was roped off as reserved and another was roped off for active filming.
> 
> Leaving was crazy, not only because of the crowds, but because they roped off all the left-side exits, so you had to exit to Main Street. However, even though filming had ended, they left the ropes up, so we were also blocked from exiting to the right. It was very confusing, but we eventually made it out and jumped on Jungle Cruise before closing.





Lsdolphin said:


> So much for low crowds this week...


I'm guessing some of the Happily Every After crowds have to do with this being almost the end of Happily Ever After so people are hopping to MK/locals coming to watch, to take it in one final time before it ends next week.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

Mambo Junkie said:


> I start coughing when people I don’t know get too close to me
> Edit to add no really I do tend to cough when I get dry from wearing the mask. I have to wear it at work so I always have some sort of lozenge to keep my throat moist. It’s especially noticeable when it’s hot.


I use throat lozenges as well to keep my throat lubricated so I don't get the urge to cough when wearing the mask for extended times.


----------



## VAtink

So quick update, I arrived home on Sunday and was fine all day, however I woke up in the middle of night feeling awful, like I was hit by a bus.  So yesterday I went and got a Covid test just to be safe, and I'm happy to say the results just came back and it's negative!  I kinda figured it would be, this feels a lot like strep which I get every year, but I wanted to be sure. 

I am surprised I caught something this trip, I've never caught anything in Disney before and I was soooo much more careful this trip than ever before.  We even wore masks outside where it was crowded and were constantly sanitizing.  Oh well, just happy that so far my mom is perfectly fine, and at least this is something I'm used to dealing with!


----------



## jameybano

Quick 9/15-9/17 SIL trip 

Let me preface this by saying that I was at Disney World and stayed in the Tower at Coronado Springs in late February back/early March. The difference in the experience now versus then is literally night and day. The cast members were so much more friendly, bus driver singing on the bus and the overall “feel“ of the experience was much more of a Disney experience. I do not know what to attribute this feeling to, other than masks were not required to be worn outside?

9/15 I arrived separate from my traveling party at noon at the Beach Club resort. Room was not yet ready so I checked my bags and walked to the International Gateway Guest Services to purchase my annual pass! The cast member was extremely helpful and was able to convert previously purchased park hopper passes to the annual pass. I did elect to buy the memory maker feature, but will not buy that for the rest of members of my family. I will just use my magicband. The cast member was able to get me a park reservation and I just walked right into Epcot with my new annual pass. I got some poutine foodfrom the Canada food and wine booth and walked over to the Land pavilion to eat it in the air conditioning – – it was blazing hot outside! After that I walked on to both Soarin and LWL. as I was exiting LWL, I received a text from my traveling party that they had arrived at the beach club. So I walked back to the beach club to meet them! Our room was still not ready, it was about 2:30 PM, so they check their bags and we went for a ride on the Skyliner. So much fun!. No wait and there was a nice little breeze and it was a good way to see some of the other resorts from up high! We received a text that our room was ready. I just love the way the beach club smells! After that we quickly changed took the bus with no wait to Disney Springs. We had an ADR for Wine Bar George, again so good. Afterwords we did some shopping, saw the SpaceX launch, and into the evening with cocktails at the boat house the dock watching the fireworks.

9/16: Epcot day! We rope dropped at 10:30 am and rode everything at Epcot with the exception of test track which was closed down due to rain, and we all took a hard pass on mission to Mars. We walked onto everything except for frozen which was a 40 minute wait\actual 30 minute wait. We sampled many foods and drinks, my favorite was the mimosas at Sparking Sips and the bao bun at the China booth, I also sampled everything from the Greece booth and loved it. For dinner we had an ADR at Chefs de France which was awesome! Afterwards, we got ice cream and watch the fireworks and then fell into our beds after our  showers exhausted!

9/17: we slept in and spent the afternoon at stormalong bay in the lazy river soaking our feet.


----------



## ThereYouSeeHer

Lsdolphin said:


> So much for low crowds this week...


Yeah, I would say the crowds are low to moderate, but all bets are off for Happily Ever After!


----------



## Dakota731

Dentam said:


> My rapid test came back negative today so it seems that I'm just dealing with a bad cold.  I definitely noticed a lot of coughing toddlers on this trip as a previous poster mentioned as well as some adults with bad coughs, including one in the restroom stall next to me on the last day hacking away and blowing her nose like crazy.  Sigh.  Why do people go to the parks sick?  And during a pandemic to boot.


My husband coughs from allergies and my sister coughs from reflux so not everyone who coughs is sick. Plus people might not have had a cold when they got to Disney and instead picked it up there. Even if they did, most people wouldn’t cancel an expensive trip at the last minute for a cold.  They wouldn’t even get their money bank.


----------



## Dakota731

VAtink said:


> So quick update, I arrived home on Sunday and was fine all day, however I woke up in the middle of night feeling awful, like I was hit by a bus.  So yesterday I went and got a rapid Covid test just to be safe, and I'm happy to say the results just came back and it's negative!  I kinda figured it would be, this feels a lot like strep which I get every year, but I wanted to be sure.
> 
> I am surprised I caught something this trip, I've never caught anything in Disney before and I was soooo much more careful this trip than ever before.  We even wore masks outside where it was crowded and were constantly sanitizing.  Oh well, just happy that so far my mom is perfectly fine, and at least this is something I'm used to dealing with!


My nephew’s rapid test came back negative, but luckily the doctor performed a regular test as well which came back positive. He said with symptoms he always does both tests just to be safe


----------



## scrappinginontario

Dakota731 said:


> My nephew’s rapid test came back negative, but luckily the doctor performed a regular test as well which came back positive. He said with symptoms he always does both tests just to be safe


I'm sorry your nephew is positive but I'm so thankful the doctor performed the regular test so that he can care for himself as well as take the necessary precautions to keep others safe too.  Hopefully he's better soon!


----------



## bastraker

Leaving tomorrow for Beach Club.  Does anyone know if the Brown Derby Lounge is open for food now?  I know you can get drinks out there but this past year I haven't seen any food being served.


----------



## VAtink

Dakota731 said:


> My nephew’s rapid test came back negative, but luckily the doctor performed a regular test as well which came back positive. He said with symptoms he always does both tests just to be safe



Ah yes, I’ve heard the antigen test isn’t as accurate.  To clarify, I did get the PCR test, for some reason my city calls it the “rapid testing center” even though it’s the PCR so totally wrong word usage on my part.  I feel pretty confident about the results, especially since I was diagnosed with strep this afternoon.


----------



## armerida

bastraker said:


> Leaving tomorrow for Beach Club.  Does anyone know if the Brown Derby Lounge is open for food now?  I know you can get drinks out there but this past year I haven't seen any food being served.


Yes! They recently reopened with a small food menu. I’m so happy, it’s one of my favorite places to relax and people watch


----------



## bastraker

armerida said:


> Yes! They recently reopened with a small food menu. I’m so happy, it’s one of my favorite places to relax and people watch


Thanks!! I love my Cobb salad!! I'm so excited!


----------



## kmrobins03

Chavaleh said:


> Just back from our trip Sept 11 - 19th.
> 
> Heat and humidity was intense most days though we expected that. Crowds were not what I would consider light and were pretty seriously heavy on our Epcot days (especially this Sat). We rode a lot less than we normally would, my husband knew how to really use the previous FP system and we rarely waited in lines but with that gone plus the heat, covid and crowds we just didn't really want to stand and wait too much. Ended up masking more than I expected to outside because of the crowd levels. Not many other people were masked outdoors, maaaaaybe 10%. People did pretty well inside apart from the occasional nose out. There were a ton of toddlers and quite a few of them were clearly sick, coughing continuously, runny noses etc.
> 
> We had a lyft driver who was a retired Disney employee who was incredibly enthused about Genie. He'd been in the test group since April and is either in love with it or getting some promo $$$ to hype it  I guess we'll see. He did mention that the initial rollout is more for information gathering and not the 'end product' and that after the new year is when we'll get to see what they are really planning. The things he mentioned sounded intriguing but yeah... we'll see.



We just got back from our trip- the same dates as you.    Agree that it was HOT and HUMID! We also did not wait in any long lines and avoided the heat as much as possible. My daughter and I attended 2 boo bashes (Tuesday & Friday) and had a blast! At Friday's boo bash, we rode space mountain 10 times in a row with no wait!


----------



## Dentam

Dakota731 said:


> My husband coughs from allergies and my sister coughs from reflux so not everyone who coughs is sick. Plus people might not have had a cold when they got to Disney and instead picked it up there. Even if they did, most people wouldn’t cancel an expensive trip at the last minute for a cold.  They wouldn’t even get their money bank.



Sigh. I've already explained more than once what I observed which does not fall into either of these categories.  The coughs I heard were very productive and sounded coincidentally identical to the cough I developed.  And the same old pre-covid excuses for infecting others during a trip are coming back I see.  Super.  By the way, I am going on day four of sick time used since I'm not allowed to go back to work with symptoms and I wouldn't anyway since I have consideration for others.  I've also had two tests done.  But by all means, if people have paid money than they should absolutely be entitled to go to the parks sick.  Sorry, but I am just fed up with humanity lately.  Don't mind me.

ETA: And now I'm wondering if I actually do have Covid and because I did rapid tests they were inaccurate.  I did lose my sense of smell for two days and it's just coming back now.


----------



## SkyGuy

jameybano said:


> Quick 9/15-9/17 SIL trip
> 
> Let me preface this by saying that I was at Disney World and stayed in the Tower at Coronado Springs in late February back/early March. The difference in the experience now versus then is literally night and day. The cast members were so much more friendly, bus driver singing on the bus and the overall “feel“ of the experience was much more of a Disney experience. I do not know what to attribute this feeling to, other than masks were not required to be worn outside?
> 
> 9/15 I arrived separate from my traveling party at noon at the Beach Club resort. Room was not yet ready so I checked my bags and walked to the International Gateway Guest Services to purchase my annual pass! The cast member was extremely helpful and was able to convert previously purchased park hopper passes to the annual pass. I did elect to buy the memory maker feature, but will not buy that for the rest of members of my family. I will just use my magicband. The cast member was able to get me a park reservation and I just walked right into Epcot with my new annual pass. I got some poutine foodfrom the Canada food and wine booth and walked over to the Land pavilion to eat it in the air conditioning – – it was blazing hot outside! After that I walked on to both Soarin and LWL. as I was exiting LWL, I received a text from my traveling party that they had arrived at the beach club. So I walked back to the beach club to meet them! Our room was still not ready, it was about 2:30 PM, so they check their bags and we went for a ride on the Skyliner. So much fun!. No wait and there was a nice little breeze and it was a good way to see some of the other resorts from up high! We received a text that our room was ready. I just love the way the beach club smells! After that we quickly changed took the bus with no wait to Disney Springs. We had an ADR for Wine Bar George, again so good. Afterwords we did some shopping, saw the SpaceX launch, and into the evening with cocktails at the boat house the dock watching the fireworks.
> 
> 9/16: Epcot day! We rope dropped at 10:30 am and rode everything at Epcot with the exception of test track which was closed down due to rain, and we all took a hard pass on mission to Mars. We walked onto everything except for frozen which was a 40 minute wait\actual 30 minute wait. We sampled many foods and drinks, my favorite was the mimosas at Sparking Sips and the bao bun at the China booth, I also sampled everything from the Greece booth and loved it. For dinner we had an ADR at Chefs de France which was awesome! Afterwards, we got ice cream and watch the fireworks and then fell into our beds after our  showers exhausted!
> 
> 9/17: we slept in and spent the afternoon at stormalong bay in the lazy river soaking our feet.
> 
> View attachment 606424View attachment 606425View attachment 606426


We ate at Wine Bar George on the 15th then watched SpaceX - small world. It’s always so good.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Dentam said:


> Sigh. I've already explained more than once what I observed which does not fall into either of these categories.  The coughs I heard were very productive and sounded coincidentally identical to the cough I developed.  And the same old pre-covid excuses for infecting others during a trip are coming back I see.  Super.  By the way, I am going on day four of sick time used since I'm not allowed to go back to work with symptoms and I wouldn't anyway since I have consideration for others.  I've also had two tests done.  But by all means, if people have paid money than they should absolutely be entitled to go to the parks sick.  Sorry, but I am just fed up with humanity lately.  Don't mind me.
> 
> ETA: And now I'm wondering if I actually do have Covid and because I did rapid tests they were inaccurate.  I did lose my sense of smell for two days and it's just coming back now.



Hoping it’s not COVID!  Feel better soon.


----------



## gottalovepluto

VAtink said:


> Ah yes, I’ve heard the antigen test isn’t as accurate.  To clarify, I did get the PCR test, for some reason my city calls it the “rapid testing center” even though it’s the PCR so totally wrong word usage on my part.  I feel pretty confident about the results, especially since I was diagnosed with strep this afternoon.


Ack, strep is no fun! Wishes for you to feel better soon!


----------



## Mambo Junkie

Originally I was hesitant to come this week because so much is going to happen in just over a week, but this week has turned out to be so special! One of the factors in my decision to come this week was that my passes I bought for last year were set to expire on 9/26. First, we got to AK at park opening and had minimal wait time for both FOP and Na’vi. Low crowds all day. Next day, there was the opening of Space 220 (technically day #2) with walk up reservations. Glad I wasn’t there for opening day as it was chaotic; and now (thank you sooo much, Dis members!) I got BG 4 for ROTR. Even if I hadn’t gotten a BG there was the backup plan for the first standby line starting tomorrow. Knowing I could do a walk up took a lot of the stress off of trying for the BG. Tomorrow is our MK day so I’m looking forward to another magical day! That said, for the better part the masking has been pretty good, social distancing (in lines and in crowded areas outside) not so good, but I feel pretty safe as I have been avoiding large groups and have been able to keep space in lines because of using a wheelchair. I am especially vigilant when it comes to social distancing as I work with many elderly clients. For peace of mind, I will test when I arrive home.  Lastly, there were many empty tables in Space 220 so I would say if you are unsuccessful getting an ADR for your upcoming trip, keep trying because I feel sure they will open up more availability after the initial opening. Maybe they will see how it goes or they may not be fully staffed yet. Excellent experience. We did lunch.


----------



## DisneyByMarriage

Question for anyone there now- how is the Skyliner when leaving HS within 20 minutes of park close?  We are going to book Savi’s for our son (he saved the money himself so I agreed we could do it).  I’m leaning towards night but I’m not sure if I’m better off booking it so we will be done around park close or after park close to let the crowds die down.


----------



## scrappinginontario

We've done so well for so long. Let's keep this thread on topic.


----------



## loves to dive

bastraker said:


> Thanks!! I love my Cobb salad!! I'm so excited!


Just to let you know, they are only serving the full Cobb Salad and not the app. one.   We ate there a few weeks ago, my son's SO and I shared the salad and still had some left over.  They used to serve the smaller one at the lounge.   Still great to be able to eat at the lounge again.


----------



## cdurham1

Outside of WDW, few people are wearing masks in the Orlando area.  If you are concerned about COVID, take note


----------



## Princess.Pocahotmess

I wanted to add my takeaways from my day at the parks last Saturday 9/18. I went to Universal, Islands of Adventure, Animal Kingdom, and Magic Kingdom. I did not find crowds or wait times to be too crazy anywhere which was nice.

App: Wait times in the app were way off again for almost everything I went on at MK. It could just be me, but it feels like that has gotten progressively worse over the past month or two. I've also been having so many glitches with the app in the last several weeks especially with mobile ordering so hopefully that is not a bad sign for things to come. Going from Universal to Animal Kingdom, it was really noticeable how much more the Disney app drains my phone battery than the Universal app.

Flametree BBQ: So I am now done eating at Flametree for the time being. It's usually my go to at AK but the birds have gotten so aggressive and out of control in my opinion. While I was there, I saw three different birds jump up on a table and snatch food from a guest's plate or hands. So that's gonna be a no from me 

Celebration of FOTLK: While I am so so glad to have any live entertainment back, I really miss the old show. The birds have always been my favorite and it makes me sad to see the aerial work and all of their partnering gone. I feel the same with Beauty and the Beast at HS where I think the cuts are even more noticeable/impacting. To me it reads as awkward/off that Belle and Beast never touch or are near each other and I really miss the waltz choreography. Still both good shows with amazing performers worth seeing though.

Safari: Had a really good safari in the rain. We saw the elephants swimming in the water, the rhinos running and splashing in the mud with the baby rhino, both the okapis, and heard and saw the lions roaring.

MK Exit: I am not a fireworks person so I always try to be out of MK before fireworks start, and now I remember why. The fireworks were at 8:15 and the park closed at 9. The last thing I did was Philarmagic and when I got to the front of MK at 9:12 the transportation lines were still crazy. Went with the ferry and it took 33 minutes from front of park to land at the TTC. Another 12 minutes and I was back at my car ready to head home. They really pack you in waiting for the ferry and on the ferry obviously but what made me more uncomfortable was other guest behavior. There were quite a few people who were trying to push their way through everyone else and several parents yelling at their small crying children.

Anyways, I had a great and full day in the parks as usual and will definitely do some things differently next time


----------



## armerida

loves to dive said:


> Just to let you know, they are only serving the full Cobb Salad and not the app. one.   We ate there a few weeks ago, my son's SO and I shared the salad and still had some left over.  They used to serve the smaller one at the lounge.   Still great to be able to eat at the lounge again.


Do you know if they will still let you order off the indoor menu in the outdoor lounge?


----------



## jrsharp21

Princess.Pocahotmess said:


> Flametree BBQ: So I am now done eating at Flametree for the time being. It's usually my go to at AK but the birds have gotten so aggressive and out of control in my opinion. While I was there, I saw three different birds jump up on a table and snatch food from a guest's plate or hands. So that's gonna be a no from me



I had this happened to me before. We were sitting at a table along the edge of the sitting area. I had a pulled pork sandwich. I was about 3/4 of the way done with it when I reached down to my bag to pull out something and one of those white crane type birds swooped in landed on the wood on fence next to the table and snatched the last of my sandwich off my plate and flew off. My daughter was in tears she was laughing so hard.


----------



## Dakota731

Dentam said:


> Sigh. I've already explained more than once what I observed which does not fall into either of these categories.  The coughs I heard were very productive and sounded coincidentally identical to the cough I developed.  And the same old pre-covid excuses for infecting others during a trip are coming back I see.  Super.  By the way, I am going on day four of sick time used since I'm not allowed to go back to work with symptoms and I wouldn't anyway since I have consideration for others.  I've also had two tests done.  But by all means, if people have paid money than they should absolutely be entitled to go to the parks sick.  Sorry, but I am just fed up with humanity lately.  Don't mind me.
> 
> ETA: And now I'm wondering if I actually do have Covid and because I did rapid tests they were inaccurate.  I did lose my sense of smell for two days and it's just coming back now.


As someone whose immediate family (and most of my extended family) have had covid, I can tell you loss of smell is the one symptom they all had. And FYI most of them had a dry cough, so you can’t judge people’s cough trying to guess if they have allergies or covid.  The chance of being in a theme park with thousands of people and expect no one to have covid or a cold is slim to none and totally unrealistic.


----------



## bastraker

loves to dive said:


> Just to let you know, they are only serving the full Cobb Salad and not the app. one.   We ate there a few weeks ago, my son's SO and I shared the salad and still had some left over.  They used to serve the smaller one at the lounge.   Still great to be able to eat at the lounge again.


That's perfect.  My daughter and I can share. I wonder how hard it will be to get a table tomorrow.


----------



## crazy43

Flying home from 9/17-9/22 visit…

Overall, we had a great visit. 6 adults, all vaxed, stayed at Boardwalk Inn. Weather, as others have said, was very hot when in the sun and it rained most afternoons/early evenings. We all had umbrellas which worked just fine so we forged ahead. In general we didn’t really feel that the rain did anything to shorten lines or reduce crowds, fyi.

Crowds at the parks felt fairly large at times tho nothing like spring break crowds we’ve been in before Covid.  Just don’t expect the light crowds like some had during the couple weeks before Labor Day.  Worst crowds were at Epcot on Saturday in the World Showcase.  Posted Wait times were high at times (95 mins at TSMM yesterday!), but with a few exceptions like MFSR and RNRC, they were inflated by 20-50% which seems crazy to me. One time we were walking to Haunted Mansion cuz it had a 20 min posted wait time.  When we got to the start of the queue it switched from 20-35 mins when in reality it was a walk on.  No clue why they’re doing that, it was not at closing time or anything.  My best advice is to not let a long posted queue time discourage you, because in almost all cases it will be shorter than posted.

Few observations…mask compliance seemed very high in queues, on rides and on buses in our opinion.  Cast members seemed just as friendly as usual.  Food and wine offerings were excellent for us, highlights being the chilaquile (spelling?) in Mexico, griddle cheese in Greece, everything in Canada, poutine at Refreshment Port, chocolate bread pudding in Ireland and falafel in Morocco. We didn’t experience any prolonged ride breakdowns, the only 2 that impacted us were the delayed opening of 7D yesterday and Space being down for several hours starting at opening Sunday.  But we were never on a ride that broke down. We also felt like there weren’t nearly as many Photo Pass people all over the parks like in the past, mostly at entrances and key places like Main St at MK and Tree of Life at AK

Boo Bash on Sunday was fun, lines were good, many walk ons, plenty of candy and after the first hour, the snack lines were basically gone.  Only real line wait was 7D which was posted 45, but was 20.  

Enjoyed being at the Boardwalk again, can’t beat it for convenience.  Some in our party tho really missed having ESPN open on Sunday for the football games.

Thank you to all who posted here before my trip to help me plan ahead.  Much  appreciated!


----------



## Dentam

Dakota731 said:


> As someone whose immediate family (and most of my extended family) have had covid, I can tell you loss of smell is the one symptom they all had. And FYI most of them had a dry cough, so you can’t judge people’s cough trying to guess if they have allergies or covid.  The chance of being in a theme park with thousands of people and expect no one to have covid or a cold is slim to none and totally unrealistic.



You completely missed my point.  And I never said that I expected no one to have a cold or Covid.  I do expect people to not continue to go to the parks with symptoms and ignore the mask guidelines while doing it.


----------



## CBMom01

Dakota731 said:


> As someone whose immediate family (and most of my extended family) have had covid, I can tell you loss of smell is the one symptom they all had. And FYI most of them had a dry cough, so you can’t judge people’s cough trying to guess if they have allergies or covid.  The chance of being in a theme park with thousands of people and expect no one to have covid or a cold is slim to none and totally unrealistic.


I agree, actually. People with Covid are going to go to the parks knowingly and unknowingly. That seems unavoidable. Many of us are trying to get a sense of the risk inherent in WDW crowds from trip reports, firsthand accounts of Disney’s adherence to standards, and other publicly available information.  

So I like hearing folks’ accounts and like threads that stick to those observations relevant to planning and don’t go off the rails


----------



## Dentam

CBMom01 said:


> I agree, actually. People with Covid are going to go to the parks knowingly and unknowingly. That seems unavoidable. Many of us are trying to get a sense of the risk inherent in WDW crowds from trip reports, firsthand accounts of Disney’s adherence to standards, and other publicly available information.
> 
> So I like hearing folks’ accounts and like threads that stick to those observations relevant to planning and don’t go off the rails



Which is what I was trying to do with my report but it's a pattern with these boards that anything considered remotely negative is downplayed and argued with.  It is what it is but hopefully people will be aware that the risk is pretty high now with going to WDW and to any place with similar crowds since there will always unfortunately be people who think the rules don't apply to them and Disney isn't practicing social distancing anymore or consistently enforcing its mask guidelines.


----------



## honeymo78

armerida said:


> Do you know if they will still let you order off the indoor menu in the outdoor lounge?


We ate at Brown Derby Lounge last Thursday and we were able to order from the lounge menu or the full indoor menu, including dessert.  We ordered an app and dessert from the indoor menu.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

honeymo78 said:


> We ate at Brown Derby Lounge last Thursday and we were able to order from the lounge menu or the full indoor menu, including dessert.  We ordered an app and dessert from the indoor menu.



Are they back to having someone come to your table? Or do you have to order at the bar before you sit down? (Before they brought the food back, it was order at the bar only)


----------



## honeymo78

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> Are they back to having someone come to your table? Or do you have to order at the bar before you sit down? (Before they brought the food back, it was order at the bar only)


Someone will seat you and a server will come to your table.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

honeymo78 said:


> Someone will seat you and a server will come to your table.


Hooray! Back to what it was like pre-Covid!


----------



## cdurham1

We are at MCO right now waiting on our flight after 5 days at Disney.  Best 5 days I think I have ever had here.  Weather was hot, but not miserable.  Lines were the best maybe I have ever experienced.  First time i did a DAH event (Boo Bash), and I will do every single one I can from now on.  We were here at the end of July and had probably the worst time I had ever had at Disney.  This trip was the polar opposite.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

cdurham1 said:


> We are at MCO right now waiting on our flight after 5 days at Disney.  Best 5 days I think I have ever had here.  Weather was hot, but not miserable.  Lines were the best maybe I have ever experienced.  First time i did a DAH event (Boo Bash), and I will do every single one I can from now on.  We were here at the end of July and had probably the worst time I had ever had at Disney.  This trip was the polar opposite.



Glad you had a great time! Quick question which night did you do Boo Bash? We did Sunday and thought it was WAY more crowded than we were expecting but maybe that was just the day we picked? We have tickets for Very Merriest in November on a Friday and are hoping for a better experience.


----------



## TheDaysGoBy

I spent weeks lurking in here for my trip 9/17 - 9/20 and wanted to give my take on what I experienced because I found this thread so helpful in all my planning/managing my expectations.

I met my friend at MCO on 9/16. Her flight came in about 9:45pm and we stayed offsite that night. We stayed at the Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista (Disney Springs area). Because we only checked in at 11pm or so, there was no exploring of the hotel or anything. But it was a clean/comfortable room where we were able to get some sleep.

9/17 - We hit a grocery store (buying water and some snacks for the room) before arriving at Coronado Springs. We'd done online check-in prior to arriving, but we'd got in line for check-in anyway since we'd already planned to spend at least a little time to see if our room would be ready shortly after our arrival. We also wanted to check on the process for the rental car (side note: it's all tied to your band, they don't need anything else like license plate or anything like that). A cast member said she could check on the status of the room for us and reported back that it wasn't ready yet and that it could be a few hours (since it was only after 10 and check out wasn't until 11 and then the room would need to be cleaned). But she offered to see if there were any rooms ready, and we agreed. She came back saying there was a room on the 4th or 6th floor of GDT. Apparently we were supposed to get the 14th floor, but she said she could give us one of those rooms if we didn't want to wait. Ultimately, we're the kind of people that like to be settled in the room if we can before we head to the parks so we agreed to a room on the 6th floor. It wasn't our first time staying at Coronado but it was the first time for GDT. It was beautiful for sure and the view was fine. Sure we weren't as high up, but we still had a water view. Plus we don't spend much time in the room anyway.

Once we were settled, we were off to Epcot. We tried to scan our bands at the gate and had issues. They ended up sending us to Guest Services, so we had to wait in line for that for about a half hour. Not the start we wanted to our park day, but the cast member who assisted us was helpful and it seemed a super easy fix. After that, we got through no problems and went about our day.

A lot of comments I'd seen in this thread were that wait times were reasonable but the walkways often felt crowded, and I'd say that probably held true for the majority of the trip but especially Epcot. We did Soarin twice (our favorite). The first time the wait had been listed as 30 minutes and was more like 10, the second time was 15 minutes and it was truer to the actual wait. We did pretty much everything we wanted to at Epcot except for TT (not for lack of trying though). It kept going down because of weather. Once we actually made it into the line and just finished building our car when they made the announcement. We waited in line for about a half hour before bailing at about 3pm since we had a 3:40 at Via Napoli and didn't want to have to rush over to WS.

We stuck around for Epcot Forever which was nice. We watched it at the front of the WS near Future World and it wasn't terribly crowded.

9/18 - AK. We decided not to rope drop, so we got there about 9:30/10. We jumped on the Safari and then did FOP. It had been listed as a 50 minute wait and that was pretty much what it'd been. As off as the wait times at times, FOP always felt spot on. We caught the Festival of the Lion King show as well as the bird show. Both were enjoyable. Obviously Lion King suffered a bit of cuts due to COVID, but it was still enjoyable. The bird show - those guys were hilarious. So fun. We ate at Yak and Yeti (the QS place) for lunch and just lucked into Restaurantosaurus for dinner. We literally walked in like 5 minutes before they closed - not that we'd known that at the time. We did FOP again to end our night and the ride actually went down while we were on it. The ride started and we'd got 30 seconds into it before the screen froze and then the whole thing just shut down. They left us in the restraints and we ended up just sitting there for about 15 minutes before they managed to get it working again.

We hit Disney Springs after for a couple hours, and it was busy but didn't feel unmanageable. Not like the Emporium did on Monday (more on that later). As such, I got a good bit of shopping done which took the pressure off buying at the last minute which was so nice.

9/19 - HS. We got up at 6:55 and basically just kept refreshing in the app to try for a boarding group for RotR. Between the two of us, I got through and we got BG74. It estimated we'd get called about 1pm and we didn't get called until 2pm because the ride did go down a couple times in the morning. But we got to the park just before 9:30 and MFSR was 30 minutes and MMRR was already 45 minutes so we went to Galaxy's Edge and did MFSR first. We ended up as pilots, which was so fun. My friend though felt kinda nauseous afterwards and we had to sit for a few minutes to let her stomach settle. I had no problems though, and it was seriously so fun. After that we did MMRR which was still 45 minutes, and ugh being outside in that heat for that queue was not great. It felt super hot and humid. I loved the ride though. So cute and so fun. We did a combined mobile order meal for lunch where I got chicken tenders from Backlot and she got food from ABC Commissary (and I met her over there and we ate outside the restaurant as the Commissary gives you legit bowels/plates that the staff collects). Then we did Sci-Fi for dinner. All the wait times were super low after we were done (about 7pm) but we were way too full to even think about getting on a ride so we just did Muppets and then just hung out back there for a bit until we did some last minute shopping in GE before catching the Animation show.

9/20 - MK. After basically doing rope drop to close the day prior, we weren't ready for another all day in the park. So we only ended up getting into MK around 11/11:30. Seven Dwarfs stayed around 60 minutes pretty much all day and in the end, we ended up not riding it but we were okay with that because we'd been before. We hit Splash, Small World, BTMR, Pirates, HM, Buzz, COP all before our 5:40 res at Be Our Guest. This was our first time doing dinner since they'd made the change to prix fixe. We enjoyed the meal. Our waitress was a bit slow at first about greeting us and then getting us our waters/bread but things seemed to move better after that. We didn't get out of there until about 90 minutes later or so. The Beast walks around and waves/bows at people/tables. The food was very good, and we were both so full. My birthday was the 12th so I wore a birthday button each day of our trip, and when they brought the desserts out, they also gave me a plate of the grey stuff that was shaped like Mickey ears as well as a card of the castle with the Beasts' signature on the back. So that was pretty cool.

After we left the restaurant and walked out into the hub, we were surprised at the number of people that were already assembled for HEA. It was only going on 7:30 and the show was at 8:15. We did find a spot in the grass in front of Casey's (thanks to this board for the tip!). Though, like someone else had mentioned, there had a spot roped off that was reserved and then they were filming something. No idea what, but we sat there and kinda watched them while we waited which was kinda fun. HEA was great and while the particular spot we were in wasn't like packed in with people, it was truly at that moment I realized what a huge crowd we were in for fireworks. It didn't give me anxiety per se (my friend and I never really masked outside the whole trip) but it was surreal given 18 months of purposely avoiding people. It just felt weird being around that many people again, but it didn't damper my enjoyment of it. 

Afterwards, we sat for about a half hour or so before we decided to hit the Emporium on our way out. And in there is where I felt real anxiety about the crowds, lol. It was wall to wall people. You couldn't turn around without running into someone. And I didn't realize it at the time, but that was the day they'd dropped the 50th merch so I think it being the first day of that added to the craziness. It was absolutely insanity in there and I was relieved to be outside when we were done lol.

All in all, it was a great trip! I've gone in September before and this definitely felt hotter than normal. It felt more like the August trip we'd done back in 2018. This was my first trip taking my own refillable water bottle into the parks and I have to say, I didn't hate it at all (and I have a huge bottle). It was a 32oz bottle from Simple Modern, and I'd ended up finding a cute paracord strap that let me sling it over my shoulder. It wasn't as much of a pain carrying it around as I thought it might be, and the staff at each TS restaurant was quick to offer to fill it before we headed back out into the park which was so nice. I drink a lot of water and I know I saved a fortune that way rather than buying bottled water all day long. 

Crowds weren't quite as light as they'd been weeks ago, but like I said, we'd hit everything we wanted. My feet had some seriously terrible blisters this time around, which made the 20,000 or so steps we did each day hard but it was still such a blast! I loved being able to see some of the shows before they're retired, but at the same token, I'm kind of bummed I'll be missing the new shows that will be debuting once the 50th starts. Though, it's just a reason for me to go back I guess.


----------



## TheDaysGoBy

Oh and I agree that the cast members were in perfect form. I had some great interactions with them. Wish the same could be said for some other guests...

There were two times in particular that kind of irked me. 1) Our second ride on MMRR we were seated with two men who had gotten on first. I think at first they'd thought they would have it to themselves and spread their legs out, but even once we got on with them, they still kept their legs spread. My leg was pressed against the side of the safety bar and my friend was pressed into my other side. I could have seriously done without the man-spreading. It felt super inconsiderate. 2) For Philharmagic, the cast member was telling everyone to move to the end of the row before sitting. The family we followed in sat down right in the middle forcing us to squeeze past them because they refused to budge even in spite of the announcement, and there were like 6-8 of them.

I know you have people like that everywhere and they were isolated incidents so it didn't ruin my trip, but I don't remember encountering anything like that on previous trips. I guess I just lucked out before? But yeah, it was a bit annoying when it did happen.


----------



## Dentam

TheDaysGoBy said:


> And I didn't realize it at the time, but that was the day they'd dropped the 50th merch so I think it being the first day of that added to the craziness. It was absolutely insanity in there and I was relieved to be outside when we were done lol.



They actually dropped some 50th merch weeks ago but I guess it sold out quickly.  We asked CM's about it while we were there and were told that they'd sold it all.  I figured they had more and were just waiting until closer to the 50th which makes sense.  Sorry you got caught up in that mess and I hope you stay healthy!  For me, it took about 5 days after when I believe I was exposed for me to develop symptoms.


----------



## scrappinginontario

A friend was in the MK yesterday (Sep 21st) and purchased 50th Anniversary ears for us.  There are 3 different celebration ears and all were in stock.

I didn’t get the impression from them that the other anniversary items were sold out but if they were, it wasn’t mentioned.


----------



## Dentam

scrappinginontario said:


> A friend was in the MK yesterday (Sep 21st) and purchased 50th Anniversary ears for us.  There are 3 different celebration ears and all were in stock.
> 
> I didn’t get the impression from them that the other anniversary items were sold out but if they were, it wasn’t mentioned.



They were sold out when we were there but our trip was the 8-16th and I can't remember the date I checked and asked.


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## Aimeedyan

They rolled out a small selection of anniversary stuff awhile back (mid-August?) and it sold out within days. I was able to snag a t-shirt and every trip since that I've worn it, I get stopped multiple times by people looking for it 

There has been literally nothing anniversary related in weeks so this was the "big drop" of new merchandise (and maybe they restocked some of the previous drop?).

I will never understand why Disney doesn't anticipate things being in such huge demand and have the supply ready...


----------



## Dentam

Aimeedyan said:


> They rolled out a small selection of anniversary stuff awhile back (mid-August?) and it sold out within days. I was able to snag a t-shirt and every trip since that I've worn it, I get stopped multiple times by people looking for it
> 
> There has been literally nothing anniversary related in weeks so this was the "big drop" of new merchandise (and maybe they restocked some of the previous drop?).
> 
> I will never understand why Disney doesn't anticipate things being in such huge demand and have the supply ready...



Yeah, I only even knew about that first drop because I watch a few Disney vloggers who like to shop and covered it.  Otherwise I wouldn't have even known to ask about it.  The CM's told me they had a few items left close to when I asked, but the area they took me over to check in had nothing so they said they must have sold the last of it.  Glad they've restocked and also added new items it sounds like.  I don't think I'll be back during the actual 50th celebration at all so I'll just watch the coverage on vlogs.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Dentam said:


> Yeah, I only even knew about that first drop because I watch a few Disney vloggers who like to shop and covered it.  Otherwise I wouldn't have even known to ask about it.  The CM's told me they had a few items left close to when I asked, but the area they took me over to check in had nothing so they said they must have sold the last of it.  Glad they've restocked and also added new items it sounds like.  Not sure that I'll be back during the actual 50th celebration at all so I'll just watch the coverage on vlogs.



Yes! We go often so we rarely/never stop into the stores unless we need some air conditioning so I only knew by seeing it on Instagram that day! I was thrilled to be able to snag something and I sure hope they keep up supply a bit better moving forward. There are a few things that dropped this week that I'd love to grab.


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## Dentam

TheDaysGoBy said:


> Oh and I agree that the cast members were in perfect form. I had some great interactions with them. Wish the same could be said for some other guests...
> 
> There were two times in particular that kind of irked me. 1) Our second ride on MMRR we were seated with two men who had gotten on first. I think at first they'd thought they would have it to themselves and spread their legs out, but even once we got on with them, they still kept their legs spread. My leg was pressed against the side of the safety bar and my friend was pressed into my other side. I could have seriously done without the man-spreading. It felt super inconsiderate. 2) For Philharmagic, the cast member was telling everyone to move to the end of the row before sitting. The family we followed in sat down right in the middle forcing us to squeeze past them because they refused to budge even in spite of the announcement, and there were like 6-8 of them.
> 
> I know you have people like that everywhere and they were isolated incidents so it didn't ruin my trip, but I don't remember encountering anything like that on previous trips. I guess I just lucked out before? But yeah, it was a bit annoying when it did happen.



I refer to it as entitlement and I think it is a plague in this country especially.


----------



## Geomom

Aimeedyan said:


> I will never understand why Disney doesn't anticipate things being in such huge demand and have the supply ready...


Totally agree!  DD21 wanted Loki ears, couldn't find them anywhere in August.  Then there was Frozen that they didn't expect to be a hit...so merch sold out quickly.  You'd think they'd learn...


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## Dentam

Geomom said:


> Totally agree!  DD21 wanted Loki ears, couldn't find them anywhere in August.  Then there was Frozen that they didn't expect to be a hit...so merch sold out quickly.  You'd think they'd learn...



They never seem to learn, it's kind of amazing.  Like with the opening of Space 220 for walk-ups only the first week.  No virtual queue was setup until after the crazy hours long lines formed that first day.


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## scrappinginontario

Not excusing Disney not being prepared but also blame the resellers who clear the shelves Day 1. 

Unannounced merch drops later makes it more fair for guests in the park.

I wish Disney would put purchase caps on items they know are going to be popular.  There’s no surprise that 50th Anniversary merch would be in high demand so those items should have been capped at a reasonable number from the beginning.  Lol, our Costco did it with TP and Lysol wipes, I’m sure Disney could too.


----------



## Dentam

scrappinginontario said:


> Not excusing Disney not being prepared but also blame the resellers who clear the shelves Day 1.
> 
> Unannounced merch drops later makes it more fair for guests in the park.
> 
> I wish Disney would put purchase caps on items they know are going to be popular.  There’s no surprise that 50th Anniversary merch would be in high demand so those items should have been capped at a reasonable number from the beginning.  Lol, our Costco did it with TP and Lysol wipes, I’m sure Disney could too.



It sounds like maybe you haven't been in awhile?  They've put limits of 2 of each item per guest in place and it seems to be helping.  This was in place during the first 50th merch drop based on vlogs I watched and we noticed the signs about it in all the shops while we were there.  I agree that it was super frustrating to see the ebay sellers clear everything out before everyone else got a chance to buy anything.  I guess this is one area that Disney finally did learn to deal with better.

ETA: https://blogmickey.com/2021/08/disn...sing-limits-for-50th-anniversary-merchandise/ (This article is from the first merch drop on Aug 12th.  The limits apply to everything in the shops now other than food items and ponchos from what I've seen and read).


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## TheDaysGoBy

Aimeedyan said:


> They rolled out a small selection of anniversary stuff awhile back (mid-August?) and it sold out within days. I was able to snag a t-shirt and every trip since that I've worn it, I get stopped multiple times by people looking for it
> 
> There has been literally nothing anniversary related in weeks so this was the "big drop" of new merchandise (and maybe they restocked some of the previous drop?).
> 
> I will never understand why Disney doesn't anticipate things being in such huge demand and have the supply ready...



Not sure if they restocked any of the previous collection or not, but I'd been searching high and low all trip for that spirit jersey from the last drop and couldn't find it anywhere. In the end, I just grabbed a pin to commemorate it lol


----------



## Dentam

Aimeedyan said:


> I will never understand why Disney doesn't anticipate things being in such huge demand and have the supply ready...



This just made me remember an observation I made throughout our trip.  We noticed a lot of the gift shops, especially in AK, were looking very sparse with a lot of bare floor space visible where merch displays would normally be.  Mentioned it to a CM at checkout in the Pandora gift shop and she confirmed that they are all dealing with supply issues due to the pandemic.


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## scrappinginontario

Dentam said:


> It sounds like maybe you haven't been in awhile?  They've put limits of 2 of each item per guest in place and it seems to be helping.  This was in place during the first 50th merch drop based on vlogs I watched and we noticed the signs about it in all the shops while we were there.  I agree that it was super frustrating to see the ebay sellers clear everything out before everyone else got a chance to buy anything.  I guess this is one area that Disney finally did learn to deal with better.
> 
> ETA: https://blogmickey.com/2021/08/disn...sing-limits-for-50th-anniversary-merchandise/ (This article is from the first merch drop on Aug 12th.  The limits apply to everything in the shops now other than food items and ponchos from what I've seen and read).


Thanks.  I was only going from a video and article I read of 2 women with arm loads and a stroller full of 50th Anniversary merch, much of it the same article.  I guess this was an anomaly.  Glad to hear caps are in place.  Thanks for letting me know!  That’s great to hear!


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## TexanInTheMidwest

scrappinginontario said:


> Thanks.  I was only going from a video and article I read of 2 women with arm loads and a stroller full of 50th Anniversary merch, much of it the same article.  I guess this was an anomaly.  Glad to hear caps are in place.  Thanks for letting me know!  That’s great to hear!



Of note on this: it's 2 per SKU which means that some people will buy 2 of every single size, folks shop together and then separate at the checkout, and like all things at Disney, the Cast Member has to enforce the limit.... BUT it's at least better than the "Limit 10 per guest".

Also there ARE supply chain issues. Just read an article this week about how many container ships are backed up in Long Beach and LA ports which doesn't help:

https://www.businessinsider.com/busy-ports-in-california-are-worsening-shortages-2021-9


----------



## Dentam

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> Of note on this: it's 2 per SKU which means that some people will buy 2 of every single size, folks shop together and then separate at the checkout, and like all things at Disney, the Cast Member has to enforce the limit.... BUT it's at least better than the "Limit 10 per guest".



Some people will always find a way to stretch the rules and ruin things for others. Sigh.


----------



## ellbell

Has anyone been to HS this morning yet?


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## jrsharp21

ellbell said:


> Has anyone been to HS this morning yet?



There are some twitter pics in the pinned ROTR thread. No thank you. That line/crowd is crazy.


----------



## ellbell

jrsharp21 said:


> There are some twitter pics in the pinned ROTR thread. No thank you. That line/crowd is crazy.


Not good news for when I show up.  I've ridden a few times but my husband never has.  I'm hoping genie will be in play  ut unlikely since I'm going next week


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## jrsharp21

ellbell said:


> Not good news for when I show up.  I've ridden a few times but my husband never has.  I'm hoping genie will be in play  ut unlikely since I'm going next week



We are headed to DHS tomorrow morning. Most of our group has been on the ride several times. Those who have said no way to waiting in that mess. We all told the others that they are on their own if they want to wait around for it.


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## ellbell

jrsharp21 said:


> We are headed to DHS tomorrow morning. Most of our group has been on the ride several times. Those who have said no way to waiting in that mess. We all told the others that they are on their own if they want to wait around for it.


I think I'll wait till end of the night.


----------



## scrappinginontario

jrsharp21 said:


> We are headed to DHS tomorrow morning. Most of our group has been on the ride several times. Those who have said no way to waiting in that mess. We all told the others that they are on their own if they want to wait around for it.





ellbell said:


> I think I'll wait till end of the night.


You may wish to keep an eye on how things go today.  At 9:40am current wait time were up over 3.5 hours at 220mins.  This is one of the rare times when I can see them closing the queue prior to park closing but that's only a guess.  We'll see what happens today.


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## ellbell

scrappinginontario said:


> You may wish to keep an eye on how things go today.  At 9:40am current wait time were up over 3.5 hours at 220mins.  This is one of the rare times when I can see them closing the queue prior to park closing but that's only a guess.  We'll see what happens today.


I've got a few days till we are in HS.  I'll definitely be watching


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## CBMom01

I wonder if going to standby for a while is the only way for Disney to get the data it needs on ride demand


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## Dentam

CBMom01 said:


> I wonder if going to standby for a while is the only way for Disney to get the data it needs on ride demand



Seems like a good way (along with inflated wait times for other attractions) to get guests to pay for front of the line access or whatever they're calling it.


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## TexanInTheMidwest

I just peeked in at wait times and at 10:45, Rise is back down to 75 minutes:


----------



## loves to dive

bastraker said:


> That's perfect.  My daughter and I can share. I wonder how hard it will be to get a table tomorrow.


We had to get on a wait list.   There were vacant table but that was o.k. we just went shopping.  It was about a 45 min. wait.


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## JoeATC

We arrived at HS just as they opened at 8:30. Walked towards RoR but it was backed up to the M&G for Olaf. Skipped it and did MMRR twice, first time 15 min wait, 2nd time about 30 minutes. Then moved on to TSMM which took 25 minutes to get through. Alien SS was next and took 20 minutes. I noticed the RoR time had been decreasing all morning so hoofed it over and got in line at 10:55. The line moved steadily through the cue and we arrived at the pre-show in 15 minutes. Off the ride by 11:35. So 35-40 minutes start to finish. Off to lunch and a round of golf.


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## scrappinginontario

JoeATC said:


> We arrived at HS just as they opened at 8:30. Walked towards RoR but it was backed up to the M&G for Olaf. Skipped it and did MMRR twice, first time 15 min wait, 2nd time about 30 minutes. Then moved on to TSMM which took 25 minutes to get through. Alien SS was next and took 20 minutes. I noticed the RoR time had been decreasing all morning so hoofed it over and got in line at 10:55. The line moved steadily through the cue and we arrived at the pre-show in 15 minutes. Off the ride by 11:35. So 35-40 minutes start to finish. Off to lunch and a round of golf.



Just confirming based on the times quoted and when posted, were you off at 11:35 or 12:35?  Want to be sure the information I'm sharing on another thread.


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## JoeATC

scrappinginontario said:


> Just confirming based on the times quoted and when posted, were you off at 11:35 or 12:35?  Want to be sure the information I'm sharing on another thread.


11:35


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## scrappinginontario

JoeATC said:


> 11:35


Thanks!

Shared your timing on the 'Stand-by' thread


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## Mac30188

In 1974 I took my first trip to Walt Disney World with my parents and it has been a source of many happy trips.  This is the first time I am have returned truly disappointed.  There were certainly moments of fun and joy this time,  but those were sapped by malfunctions, moments of frustration and an impersonalness by the Cast Members.

The trip was for a night in Polynesian resort, a trip to Boo Bash, then after sleeping in, an afternoon in Animal Kingdom.  I brought my 9 year old daughter and her best friend (who had never been to any theme park) as a surprise. They screamed uncontrollably upon seeing the Disney sign upon our arrival. 

The problems started with a minor error on a mobile order at Boo Bash that I had to bring up my receipt to prove that I both ordered at the location and it was an omitted item. Not a huge deal, but the start of a pattern that quickly emerged through a series of ride malfunctions.  Towards end of night we were stuck on 7DMT for 10-15 minutes . Neither huge problems, but these time consuming problems do suck in a 3 hour event.

 Next day our first ride as waiting inline for Kali when it broke down while we waited then when we finally did get on it broke down a second time while ascending the first hill.  The ride needed to be brought down and we were evacuated. After a successful ride of Everest, we decided to get out of sun by riding dinosaur.  Again, the ride broke down upon getting in line.  After it came back up and we rode it successfully, I inquired what to do next.  My daughters friend responded, "I don't care, but I don't want it to break down.  Maybe we should leave?"  

Ironically the worst part was not just the 4 broke rides in 24 hours and my first ever ride evacuation, it was the cast members and how we were treated.  Never during the entire trip did anyone try any sort of ability to empathize. The only Disney employees who spoke to my daughter or her friend were giving instructions such as, "pull yellow tab, watch step, etc."   The only information ever provided during any of the 4 events was the automated evacuation message.   When the two younger children who shared our Kali raft started overheating and crying and the evacuation squad showed up (a team of 2 that did 4 rafts), they did not ask if the young kids or anyone else was even ok.  In fact no one asked any of us how we were doing the entire trip.   No matter how many things went wrong, no one said sorry the entire trip. They didn't look like bad people.  They looked tired, overworked and just didn't care. 

At one point a cast member reportedly tried to blame the guests in the neighboring raft for "breaking the ride".  The guests went ballistic and started yelling at the cast members. Besides being overheated and tired, now we were very uncomfortable.

After this hour and a half ordeal they gave a small bottle of water and a fastpass for, "Not Pandora."  They didn't say sorry.  Didn't ask if this was good or how we were feeling.  Never acknowledged the girls existence. Just kind of take it and move on please.

The longest wait at this point for not Kali and not Pandora was Everest at 11 minutes.  I mentioned this was not really compenation for such a long and uncomfortable ordeal, what else could they do?  Her one word response was "nothing."  She stared back, I assume waiting for me to vent on her, but I find that neither appropriate nor satisfying. I just left understanding the message very clear as..I don't care if you are happy or satisfied, I did my job, go find happiness elsewhere.

  It was really the feeling conveyed of the entire trip, and it is painfully clear to me that the magic of Disney was largely created by the cast members that worked there.  Whether through COVID or management culture shift, that impersonal change of treating people as numbers now exists at the cast member level.  I am usually excited for my next trip, but not currently.  As far as my daughter's friend, somehow I get the feeling that is a potential customer lost forever.


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## meremac

I am so sorry this happened to you. I can't imagine how frustrating and disappointing that must have been. Not that it's any consolation, but I do believe this was a series of unfortunate one-offs that came together here. It's not acceptable, though, and you have every right to be irritated.


----------



## Eastern

copy and paste to:   wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com


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## RogueX

You basically described my trip to Disneyland a few years ago before COVID. In 2 days I made it on to a whopping 2 rides, everything kept breaking down. The cast members kept making sarcastic and snide comments about what bad luck I was having. The last straw was when one actually told me too bad, so sad.


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## subtchr

I would never discount one person's report, especially one as thoughtfully presented as yours. You are obviously an experienced visitor who was legitimately disappointed in your experiences this trip.

But I also hope people don't think that this means there is necessarily a pervasive issue with customer service and interactions. We have visited four times since reopening, including just a few weeks ago, and had some of the most magical, friendly, helpful, heartwarming interactions with cast members that we have ever had.

I do hope that if/when you return, you have a better experience.


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## Mac30188

I do have one correction to make in my wife did have a wonderful conversation with one cast member in the guest shop who was very nice and asked her about her stay.  While my wife did notice the same unfortunate series of events, I did want to acknowledge that my wife did meet one  amazing cast member.


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## billysmommy

billysmommy said:


> We (DS15 and I) just got back from a 9/15-9/19 stay at the Beach Club. We had a slight delay on our flight down and landed at 8:00pm instead of 7:30. Only 2 families ahead of us for ME but we waited on the bus a bit before leaving. BC was the 3rd stop and we were a little late for our 9:10 Beaches & Cream reservation but they were able to seat us.
> 
> We loved mobile ordering! We'd place an order while in line, press I'm here while walking to the restaurant and only waited more than 2-3 minutes once and that was ordering lunch @ ABC commissary at 12:00.
> 
> Thursday 9/16 was all about Galaxy's Edge. We got BG 42 (used wifi in our room). It was down a lot of the morning and we didn't get called until about 1:45. We left the BC @ 7:45, stopped at the Boardwalk Bakery for Mickey muffins and walked over for an 8:45 Savi's reservation. This was amazing and totally worth it! I mobile ordered the Rising Moon overnight oats from Ronto Roasters while DS explored and then we headed to Oga's for 9:45. Loved it there! He had the Carbon Freeze and I had the Jabba juice. Both were excellent!! We took lots of pictures on our own and with photopass before heading over to ToT (20 min wait, posted 40). RnR was down so we went over for TSMM (15 min wait, posted 25). We headed back to GE and got in line for MFSR (40 min wait, posted 70). Got some blue and green milks (DS liked the blue and I liked the green) then our BG was called. We had lunch at Sci-Fi @2:35. Checked in @2:20 and were seated by 2:30. After lunch we headed back for some time @ Stormalong Bay and then went back to the DHS around 6:00 to see GE at night and do some lightsaber pictures. We jumped on MMRR (15 min wait, posted 25) then mostly just explored - DS did some of the Disney Play missions. We ordered dinner @ Docking Bay 7 and then it was dark so did a bunch of nighttime photos with his lightsaber. Jumped in line for MFSR @ 8:58 and mostly just walked on. There was almost no one left in GE when we got off and I got this shot
> 
> 
> 
> (to be cont)View attachment 606197



 It's been a crazy couple days getting back into work!

Friday 9/17 - MK day and Boo Bash. We got the bus at 8:00 from Beach Club to MK. We were through the entrance and on Main St by 8:20. I got in line for Starbucks (love the new park exclusive cups!) while DS browsed the stores. He wanted to start with BTMRR so we lined up headed to Frontierland. They held us at the rope to Liberty Square until 9 and then we hit another rope into Frontierland. They told us the Big Thunder would be open but Splash would have a slight delay and then we all moseyed on over to the rides. We had a great morning this was all done by 1:30 - BTMRR x2, Splash, Pirates, mobile ordered Kakamora shakes with immediate pick-up, ate them and saw a cavalcade while headed to Haunted Mansion. Fantasyland still had long lines for everything so we decided to wait for Boo Bash for PP and Mine Train. Then off to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain x2, Buzz, Carnitas nachos at Pecos Bill then back to Big Thunder x2. As we were pulling into the station it started to rain. By the time we got off the train it was pouring! We did Small World and then left to go back to the Beach Club at 1:30. Rain had stopped by the time we got there so we spent a couple hours at Stormalong Bay. 
We headed back to MK around 5:00. Mobile ordered from Casey's while on the bus and got a table right outside. Watched another calvalcade go by then headed back to Frontierland for another ride on BTMRR (it's a favorite for both of us!), looked through the shop @ PotC and then picked up our wristbands @ Tortuga Tavern. Back to Tomorrowland for Space x2 and Buzz again. At 7:45 I found a spot by Casey's for the fireworks while DS went to ride BTMRR a few more times. I met him back there afterwards and we did 2 more rides on BTMRR and then hit the trick or treat line by Splash. I got the mocha drink at the Outpost while he did the trick or treat line @ Pecos Bills. Haunted Mansion and then the pictures outside with the old lantern. She had us look to the side and act scared but nothing was added to the photo so not sure what we were scared of. Back to Tomorrowland for trick or treating and People Mover. Then Speedway and a few more trick or treating spots.  We finished the night with Peter Pan and 3 rides on Mine Train. We got to the bus stop @ 12:15 as a bus pulled up and were back in our room by 12:35.


----------



## meremac

subtchr said:


> I would never discount one person's report, especially one as thoughtfully presented as yours. You are obviously an experienced visitor who was legitimately disappointed in your experiences this trip.
> 
> But I also hope people don't think that this means there is necessarily a pervasive issue with customer service and interactions. We have visited four times since reopening, including just a few weeks ago, and had some of the most magical, friendly, helpful, heartwarming interactions with cast members that we have ever had.
> 
> I do hope that if/when you return, you have a better experience.



Yes I totally agree with everything here. The OP's description of their trip was heartbreaking. It's so disappointing when a trip goes so much differently than planned. And some of the things described here are unacceptable and need to be corrected. But I agree that it seems, very sadly for the OP, like a series of extremely unlucky events coming together here. We have had totally different experiences lately a WDW. BUT that being said, I will never forget our Disney Cruise flight delayed-baggage mishandled-almond milk explosion-spent the whole night doing laundry-ground transfer never showed up-two hour wait at the port-why is our bibbidi bobbidi boutique appointment missing-kid ran into a pole and broke his glasses on embarkation night-Guest Services screwed up our rewards card-fiasco. It was rough, it was one for the books, and we can laugh about it now. But it's awful when it's happening.


----------



## 3kidz4dis

We just came back from a mother daughter trip and while the crowds were low and we ultimately had a great time I just have some observations I wanted to share.  I sincerely do not intend this to bash on Disney but this trip was different from the 15 or so other trips.  The castmembers exchanged their previous personalities for being mask warriors.  I remember when you walked into haunted mansion and tower of terror that the cast members took on the personality of the ride.  Instead they seem different...  I was told at the end of  Thunder Mountain  Railroad that during the ride, my mask went to my chin and I will be asked to be removed from the park if that happens again.   That actually was my first ride and thought that I could pull it down since I was outside..my bad.  I was told that in the Sunshine Terrace I was drinking a bottle of water and my feet where moving and was told I had to stand in one spot to drink.  Trust me, I am not antimask and am vaccinated but just felt like some of that magic was replaced with rules.   And it is hot...do not understimate the heat and humidity in September.  And while I understand the mask rules, there was zero social distancing which seemed like a contradiction.  Beauty and the Beast..they ARE social distancing on stage, so no contact (that was different, lol) ...Lion King, there are no acrobats.  No Finding Nemo, no Fantasmic.  Magic Express was a mess with one poor old guy handling all the luggage of 5 resorts and it taking 1 1/2 hours to arrive.  There seemed to be numberous rides down and staffing issues.  We were stuck on the Skyliner for 1/2 hour in air facing another couple we didn't know.  (hope these masks work!) BUT....ROTR was epic, Pandora was fantastic and we came away with wonderul memories for my daughter and I. We walked on ALL rides with the exception of Frozen and Rockin RollerCoaster.  Please don't hate me...just trying to share a few observations and missing the old Disney.


----------



## gharter

It's unfortunate when things like that happen.  I've been on rides when they break down and its annoying, but it happens.
We have never had anything by great interactions with CMs.  I amazed to watch at AK when a guest didn't know how to use their power scooter and pinned a CM with the scooter and the CM didn't loose their cool.  You could see he was in pain, and he wasn't there when we got off the ride. 



meremac said:


> I will never forget our Disney Cruise flight delayed-baggage mishandled


We also had our luggage get lost by the airline prior to a cruise.  Guest services on the Cruise were awesome to find clothes for our entire group, including formal attire for that night until our luggage arrived.


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## MakiraMarlena

No hate, but those are the rules. It is a bit much to say you will be removed from the park for one mask slip.

Performers aren't wearing masks onstage, so yes, they are distancing them in the shows that have been returned. Probably out of an abundance of caution, but they're doing it.


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## CBMom01

I have to say, this makes me more encouraged to visit.  As long as I know they are enforcing the rules, I'm willing to visit.


----------



## 3kidz4dis

CBMom01 said:


> I have to say, this makes me more encouraged to visit.  As long as I know they are enforcing the rules, I'm willing to visit.


Social distancing is not enforced if that is a particular rule you are looking for.


----------



## kanerf

When I was there in May and masking was in full effect, I do not recall them being that nasty about it.  A few days after I arrived the outdoor masking was dropped, but you had to be masked when you entered a ride area (not the line unless inside).


----------



## Meglen

I was not aware of the no eating while walking. did this rule come back?


----------



## 3kidz4dis

kanerf said:


> When I was there in May and masking was in full effect, I do not recall them being that nasty about it.  A few days after I arrived the outdoor masking was dropped, but you had to be masked when you entered a ride area (not the line unless inside).


She was nasty...it was my first ride of the trip so I was a little shocked but I only put my mask to my chin when we were on the outside part of the ride..that is not allowed. Even if the ride is outside it has to be on the whole ride.  It is what it is but the castmember scolding me took me back a bit.


----------



## jknc

I love this!


----------



## 3kidz4dis

Meglen said:


> I was not aware of the no eating while walking. did this rule come back?


It was inside at the Sunshine Terrace...just bought a bottle of water ($4.25) and I started drinking it to walk outside and got told that "if my feet are moving, my mask had to be on").  I should have waited to open the water until I was outside.


----------



## carlyle688

Meglen said:


> I was not aware of the no eating while walking. did this rule come back?



No. You can eat and drink outside while walking. And no CM is going to threaten to have you removed from the park unless you are refusing to put your mask on.


----------



## Meglen

3kidz4dis said:


> She was nasty...it was my first ride of the trip so I was a little shocked but I only put my mask to my chin when we were on the outside part of the ride..that is not allowed. Even if the ride is outside it has to be on the whole ride.  It is what it is but the castmember scolding me took me back a bit.


I mean I dont blame them they have to deal with people trying to break the rules all the time and being nose warriors. They prolly thought you did it to beat the system. They are being yelled at all day pretty much. Stinks that you were not doing to break the rules and they snapped at you tho.


----------



## 3kidz4dis

carlyle688 said:


> No. You can eat and drink outside while walking. And no CM is going to threaten to have you removed from the park unless you are refusing to put your mask on.


I technically was inside walking outside (see my above reply).  She didn't threaten to remove me, she told me that if I did it again, I would be removed.  (I guess that is a threat) BUT I for sure did not refuse..just pulled it to my chin for the outside portion of the ride.  Granted I did not follow the rules but was scolded for sure


----------



## pigletto

MakiraMarlena said:


> No hate, but those are the rules. It is a bit much to say you will be removed from the park for one mask slip.
> 
> Performers aren't wearing masks onstage, so yes, they are distancing them in the shows that have been returned. Probably out of an abundance of caution, but they're doing it.


I agree it’s a bit much but my guess is they are dealing with people all day who try to get away with breaking the rules and they are sick to death of asking adults to just follow the rules that they clearly knew about beforehand. I don’t think the OP was trying to be difficult but I imagine they deal with ridiculous people all day and they are at their wits end.


----------



## Figment1990

I would feel the same as the OP because it doesn’t sound like she was trying to break rules. 

 I have to ask - what is the exact language about masking at the moment? Is it that you must be masked inside unless seated while eating/drinking? If the ride is entirely outside, such as magic carpets or slinky u don’t have to mask but are there signs on the inside/outside rides, like test track, people mover, big thunder and mine train that state you must wear a mask the entire ride?

OP sounds like they were trying to follow the rules and I’m wondering if someone can point me to the exact language/signage.  Because it seems like these would be very easy mistakes to make.


----------



## Chirple

OP, were you at Sunshine Tree Terrace in MK (which is outdoors) or in Sunshine Seasons in Epcot’s Land pavilion? When we were there in early September, it was fine to be outside and drink while walking.


----------



## 3kidz4dis

Chirple said:


> OP, were you at Sunshine Tree Terrace in MK (which is outdoors) or in Sunshine Seasons in Epcot’s Land pavilion? When we were there in early September, it was fine to be outside and drink while walking.


In the Land Pavilion in Epcot.


----------



## MDIME

billysmommy said:


> It's been a crazy couple days getting back into work!
> 
> Friday 9/17 - MK day and Boo Bash. We got the bus at 8:00 from Beach Club to MK. We were through the entrance and on Main St by 8:20. I got in line for Starbucks (love the new park exclusive cups!) while DS browsed the stores. He wanted to start with BTMRR so we lined up headed to Frontierland. They held us at the rope to Liberty Square until 9 and then we hit another rope into Frontierland. They told us the Big Thunder would be open but Splash would have a slight delay and then we all moseyed on over to the rides. We had a great morning this was all done by 1:30 - BTMRR x2, Splash, Pirates, mobile ordered Kakamora shakes with immediate pick-up, ate them and saw a cavalcade while headed to Haunted Mansion. Fantasyland still had long lines for everything so we decided to wait for Boo Bash for PP and Mine Train. Then off to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain x2, Buzz, Carnitas nachos at Pecos Bill then back to Big Thunder x2. As we were pulling into the station it started to rain. By the time we got off the train it was pouring! We did Small World and then left to go back to the Beach Club at 1:30. Rain had stopped by the time we got there so we spent a couple hours at Stormalong Bay.
> We headed back to MK around 5:00. Mobile ordered from Casey's while on the bus and got a table right outside. Watched another calvalcade go by then headed back to Frontierland for another ride on BTMRR (it's a favorite for both of us!), looked through the shop @ PotC and then picked up our wristbands @ Tortuga Tavern. Back to Tomorrowland for Space x2 and Buzz again. At 7:45 I found a spot by Casey's for the fireworks while DS went to ride BTMRR a few more times. I met him back there afterwards and we did 2 more rides on BTMRR and then hit the trick or treat line by Splash. I got the mocha drink at the Outpost while he did the trick or treat line @ Pecos Bills. Haunted Mansion and then the pictures outside with the old lantern. She had us look to the side and act scared but nothing was added to the photo so not sure what we were scared of. Back to Tomorrowland for trick or treating and People Mover. Then Speedway and a few more trick or treating spots.  We finished the night with Peter Pan and 3 rides on Mine Train. We got to the bus stop @ 12:15 as a bus pulled up and were back in our room by 12:35.



That day sounds exhausting but SO fun!!


----------



## lovethattink

I just merged 3 threads together on the topic of Here Now or Just Back.


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## princess jasmine 76

3kidz4dis said:


> Social distancing is not enforced if that is a particular rule you are looking for.



Is social distancing not being enforced outdoors among guests without masks? Or not being enforced with masked guests, or just not being enforced across the board?


----------



## Dentam

princess jasmine 76 said:


> Is social distancing not being enforced outdoors among guests without masks? Or not being enforced with masked guests, or just not being enforced across the board?



Across the board.  I'd be especially concerned about Epcot during Food and Wine and the fireworks at MK.  And all of the 50th crowds that are coming.


----------



## only hope

princess jasmine 76 said:


> Is social distancing not being enforced outdoors among guests without masks? Or not being enforced with masked guests, or just not being enforced across the board?



There’s no social distancing anywhere. Hasn’t been for months. In fact, reports on here are they tell you to fill all available space. Even before vaccines were widely available, walkways were often too crowded to stay six feet apart, queues frequently had people within six feet laterally, and they were seating parties in the same ride vehicle with plexiglass (which based on reports here, has been removed from all ride vehicles now). Some report that restaurants do have some distancing.


----------



## BK2014

princess jasmine 76 said:


> Is social distancing not being enforced outdoors among guests without masks? Or not being enforced with masked guests, or just not being enforced across the board?



Enforced is probably not the right word since social distancing is no longer required anywhere.  So it's not that it isn't being enforced, it's just not required.


----------



## 3kidz4dis

princess jasmine 76 said:


> Is social distancing not being enforced outdoors among guests without masks? Or not being enforced with masked guests, or just not being enforced across the board?


Definitely NOT being enforced across the board.. example .. fireworks at Magic kingdom, outside , wall to wall people no masks . Queue areas like monsters inc , inside wall to wall people with masks..


----------



## 3kidz4dis

Dentam said:


> Across the board.  I'd be especially concerned about Epcot during Food and Wine and the fireworks at MK.  And all of the 50th crowds that are coming.


Fireworks at MK was very crowded


----------



## princess jasmine 76

BK2014 said:


> Enforced is probably not the right word since social distancing is no longer required anywhere.  So it's not that it isn't being enforced, it's just not required.



*That makes sense.


----------



## 3kidz4dis

princess jasmine 76 said:


> *That makes sense.


I think if social distancing was enforced it would be almost impossible for Disney to be open. 1/2 of the attractions would not logistically be able to pull it off


----------



## princess jasmine 76

3kidz4dis said:


> I think if social distancing was enforced it would be almost impossible for Disney to be open. 1/2 of the attractions would not logistically be able to pull it off



Also makes sense!


----------



## 3kidz4dis

only hope said:


> There’s no social distancing anywhere. Hasn’t been for months. In fact, reports on here are they tell you to fill all available space. Even before vaccines were widely available, walkways were often too crowded to stay six feet apart, queues frequently had people within six feet laterally, and they were seating parties in the same ride vehicle with plexiglass (which based on reports here, has been removed from all ride vehicles now). Some report that restaurants do have some distancing.


We were seated in the skyliner across from another couple we didn’t know and got stuck for almost 1/2 hour


----------



## Dentam

3kidz4dis said:


> I think if social distancing was enforced it would be almost impossible for Disney to be open. 1/2 of the attractions would not logistically be able to pull it off



They operated with social distancing in place for months after they reopened last year.  I guess you probably mean long term money wise?  Logistically, yes they can do it but financially it wasn't sustainable I don't think given they needed to reduce overall park capacity so severely.


----------



## 3kidz4dis

Dentam said:


> They operated with social distancing in place for months after they reopened last year.  I guess you probably mean long term money wise?  Logistically, yes they can do it but financially it wasn't sustainable I don't think given they needed to reduce overall park capacity so severely.





Dentam said:


> They operated with social distancing in place for months after they reopened last year.  I guess you probably mean long term money wise?  Logistically, yes they can do it but financially it wasn't sustainable I don't think given they needed to reduce overall park capacity so severely.


How did they logistically handle the Monsters Inc queue right after they opened with social distancing?  or fireworks at MK?  Those were what came to mind last week where I was feeling the smush of faces


----------



## Makmak

3kidz4dis said:


> How did they logistically handle the Monsters Inc queue right after they opened with social distancing?  or fireworks at MK?  Those were what came to mind last week where I was feeling the smush of faces


They didn’t do fireworks and monsters inc was not running.


----------



## 3kidz4dis

Makmak said:


> They didn’t do fireworks and monsters inc was not running.





Makmak said:


> They didn’t do fireworks and monsters inc was not running.


gotcha...so logistically social distancing was an issue.  I personally felt that they were so strict on mask wearing but being stuck on a skyliner with another couple was just not ok...just slightly inconsistent at times..I don't have that much faith in masks to be in a literal bubble with others for a 1/2 hour


----------



## disneyfan150

Mac30188 said:


> In 1974 I took my first trip to Walt Disney World with my parents and it has been a source of many happy trips.  This is the first time I am have returned truly disappointed.  There were certainly moments of fun and joy this time,  but those were sapped by malfunctions, moments of frustration and an impersonalness by the Cast Members.
> 
> The trip was for a night in Polynesian resort, a trip to Boo Bash, then after sleeping in, an afternoon in Animal Kingdom.  I brought my 9 year old daughter and her best friend (who had never been to any theme park) as a surprise. They screamed uncontrollably upon seeing the Disney sign upon our arrival.
> 
> The problems started with a minor error on a mobile order at Boo Bash that I had to bring up my receipt to prove that I both ordered at the location and it was an omitted item. Not a huge deal, but the start of a pattern that quickly emerged through a series of ride malfunctions.  Towards end of night we were stuck on 7DMT for 10-15 minutes . Neither huge problems, but these time consuming problems do suck in a 3 hour event.
> 
> Next day our first ride as waiting inline for Kali when it broke down while we waited then when we finally did get on it broke down a second time while ascending the first hill.  The ride needed to be brought down and we were evacuated. After a successful ride of Everest, we decided to get out of sun by riding dinosaur.  Again, the ride broke down upon getting in line.  After it came back up and we rode it successfully, I inquired what to do next.  My daughters friend responded, "I don't care, but I don't want it to break down.  Maybe we should leave?"
> 
> Ironically the worst part was not just the 4 broke rides in 24 hours and my first ever ride evacuation, it was the cast members and how we were treated.  Never during the entire trip did anyone try any sort of ability to empathize. The only Disney employees who spoke to my daughter or her friend were giving instructions such as, "pull yellow tab, watch step, etc."   The only information ever provided during any of the 4 events was the automated evacuation message.   When the two younger children who shared our Kali raft started overheating and crying and the evacuation squad showed up (a team of 2 that did 4 rafts), they did not ask if the young kids or anyone else was even ok.  In fact no one asked any of us how we were doing the entire trip.   No matter how many things went wrong, no one said sorry the entire trip. They didn't look like bad people.  They looked tired, overworked and just didn't care.
> 
> At one point a cast member reportedly tried to blame the guests in the neighboring raft for "breaking the ride".  The guests went ballistic and started yelling at the cast members. Besides being overheated and tired, now we were very uncomfortable.
> 
> After this hour and a half ordeal they gave a small bottle of water and a fastpass for, "Not Pandora."  They didn't say sorry.  Didn't ask if this was good or how we were feeling.  Never acknowledged the girls existence. Just kind of take it and move on please.
> 
> The longest wait at this point for not Kali and not Pandora was Everest at 11 minutes.  I mentioned this was not really compenation for such a long and uncomfortable ordeal, what else could they do?  Her one word response was "nothing."  She stared back, I assume waiting for me to vent on her, but I find that neither appropriate nor satisfying. I just left understanding the message very clear as..I don't care if you are happy or satisfied, I did my job, go find happiness elsewhere.
> 
> It was really the feeling conveyed of the entire trip, and it is painfully clear to me that the magic of Disney was largely created by the cast members that worked there.  Whether through COVID or management culture shift, that impersonal change of treating people as numbers now exists at the cast member level.  I am usually excited for my next trip, but not currently.  As far as my daughter's friend, somehow I get the feeling that is a potential customer lost forever.


I felt the same way in June. For example, on 3 different days at RD, our rides ended up being down after we had been in line for quite some time. Another couple rides ended up being down during the day after we were in line. When explaining my frustration to a CM, her expression took a dramatic change. I don't even remember what she said.  But she expressed no empathy. We have another short trip coming up next month. Hoping for a bit more magic.


----------



## Dentam

3kidz4dis said:


> gotcha...so logistically social distancing was an issue.  I personally felt that they were so strict on mask wearing but being stuck on a skyliner with another couple was just not ok...just slightly inconsistent at times..I don't have that much faith in masks to be in a literal bubble with others for a 1/2 hour



Logistically I thought they handled it very well actually.  I also came back from last September's trip healthy and feeling really good about how seriously Disney was taking the pandemic.  Can't say the same after this month's trip unfortunately.


----------



## Dentam

Makmak said:


> They didn’t do fireworks and monsters inc was not running.



Although they could have done fireworks like other parks did (Seaworld for example) but chose not to.  Probably because they couldn't increase capacity to make it financially worth it to them I'm thinking.


----------



## 3kidz4dis

Dentam said:


> Logistically I thought they handled it very well actually.  I also came back from last September's trip healthy and feeling really good about how seriously Disney was taking the pandemic.  Can't say the same after this month's trip unfortunately.





Dentam said:


> Logistically I thought they handled it very well actually.  I also came back from last September's trip healthy and feeling really good about how seriously Disney was taking the pandemic.  Can't say the same after this month's trip unfortunately.


I had to go to guest relations regarding a ticketing issue and as I was standing in line, there was a mother and daughter (adults) demanding a manager and yelling about how the prices of Disney haven't changed but our "experience" has changed..that the virus is here and we need to live with it.  They felt that the lack of cast and staffing clearly were making their experience negative and they will not be back. I looked at the guest relations rep and thought, "oh my..this poor guy"


----------



## Dentam

3kidz4dis said:


> I had to go to guest relations regarding a ticketing issue and as I was standing in line, there was a mother and daughter (adults) demanding a manager and yelling about how the prices of Disney haven't changed but our "experience" has changed..that the virus is here and we need to live with it.  They felt that the lack of cast and staffing clearly were making their experience negative and they will not be back. I looked at the guest relations rep and thought, "oh my..this poor guy"



Yeah, I feel really bad for the CM's and really anyone in the service industry and airlines (flight attendants) right now.  The pandemic is sure bringing out the worst in people.  Amazing really that the entitlement is still there so strongly even after everything we've all been through together.


----------



## Mambo Junkie

Leaving tomorrow. We had 4 days at the parks and overall a great time. Observations to help you plan:
I feel you are probably as safe as you can be at Disney. We are leaving early because we’ve decided not to go anywhere else besides Disney.
Mask compliance in queues, on attractions, 
stores was probably 92-95 percent, if not higher. Very pleased with how safe I felt. Big fail: bathrooms. **Maybe** 30% compliance. 
This was an adult only trip and we enjoyed all the attractions. I’m hoping that meet and greets (highly unlikely) and attractions like story time with Belle will be back. 
social distancing mostly non existent. I was able to experience most queues with a 2, 3 foot space from most guests. 
Thoroughly enjoyed Space 220, don’t know that I felt it was as immersive as I had thought it would be. The staff was definitely in character and that added to the experience. The food was very good though.
Crowds were good, it was HOT, but I didn’t stay for any of the fireworks because of the crowd exposure. In fact, we tried to leave before it got crowded in the later afternoon. My profession requires me to be around elderly people, sometimes people with health issues and I do have to accept some responsibility for keeping myself healthy for them.  
I did not ride on the buses, and I took the boat to MK instead of the monorail.
As I said, I felt pretty safe and it is up to each individual to ensure that you practice the best safety measures for yourself and your family. One thing I did notice: a lot of kids were putting their hands on EVERYTHING, and not sanitizing afterward. 
I would come down again because as I said, it’s up to me to do what I feel is necessary to help me feel comfortable and keep me healthy.


----------



## Dentam

Mambo Junkie said:


> As I said, I felt pretty safe and it is up to each individual to ensure that you practice the best safety measures for yourself and your family. One thing I did notice: a lot of kids were putting their hands on EVERYTHING, and not sanitizing afterward.
> I would come down again because as I said, it’s up to me to do what I feel is necessary to help me feel comfortable and keep me healthy.



Glad you had a good trip and I hope you stay healthy!  I would note that I'm all for personal responsibility and doing as much as you can to stay healthy but there are times that you are simply unable to stay as safe as you'd like at the parks (unless you can avoid using the restroom all day I suppose) because of other people's behaviors.  Sorry for the TMI moment, but I had already sat down and was in the process of peeing when I had a woman enter the stall directly next to me and begin coughing up phlegm and blowing her nose just as productively.  So I could be doing everything right and still be exposed to who knows what because there are others who just don't give a crap quite frankly.


----------



## 3kidz4dis

Mambo Junkie said:


> Leaving tomorrow. We had 4 days at the parks and overall a great time. Observations to help you plan:
> I feel you are probably as safe as you can be at Disney. We are leaving early because we’ve decided not to go anywhere else besides Disney.
> Mask compliance in queues, on attractions,
> stores was probably 92-95 percent, if not higher. Very pleased with how safe I felt. Big fail: bathrooms. **Maybe** 30% compliance.
> This was an adult only trip and we enjoyed all the attractions. I’m hoping that meet and greets (highly unlikely) and attractions like story time with Belle will be back.
> social distancing mostly non existent. I was able to experience most queues with a 2, 3 foot space from most guests.
> Thoroughly enjoyed Space 220, don’t know that I felt it was as immersive as I had thought it would be. The staff was definitely in character and that added to the experience. The food was very good though.
> Crowds were good, it was HOT, but I didn’t stay for any of the fireworks because of the crowd exposure. In fact, we tried to leave before it got crowded in the later afternoon. My profession requires me to be around elderly people, sometimes people with health issues and I do have to accept some responsibility for keeping myself healthy for them.
> I did not ride on the buses, and I took the boat to MK instead of the monorail.
> As I said, I felt pretty safe and it is up to each individual to ensure that you practice the best safety measures for yourself and your family. One thing I did notice: a lot of kids were putting their hands on EVERYTHING, and not sanitizing afterward.
> I would come down again because as I said, it’s up to me to do what I feel is necessary to help me feel comfortable and keep me healthy.





Mambo Junkie said:


> Leaving tomorrow. We had 4 days at the parks and overall a great time. Observations to help you plan:
> I feel you are probably as safe as you can be at Disney. We are leaving early because we’ve decided not to go anywhere else besides Disney.
> Mask compliance in queues, on attractions,
> stores was probably 92-95 percent, if not higher. Very pleased with how safe I felt. Big fail: bathrooms. **Maybe** 30% compliance.
> This was an adult only trip and we enjoyed all the attractions. I’m hoping that meet and greets (highly unlikely) and attractions like story time with Belle will be back.
> social distancing mostly non existent. I was able to experience most queues with a 2, 3 foot space from most guests.
> Thoroughly enjoyed Space 220, don’t know that I felt it was as immersive as I had thought it would be. The staff was definitely in character and that added to the experience. The food was very good though.
> Crowds were good, it was HOT, but I didn’t stay for any of the fireworks because of the crowd exposure. In fact, we tried to leave before it got crowded in the later afternoon. My profession requires me to be around elderly people, sometimes people with health issues and I do have to accept some responsibility for keeping myself healthy for them.
> I did not ride on the buses, and I took the boat to MK instead of the monorail.
> As I said, I felt pretty safe and it is up to each individual to ensure that you practice the best safety measures for yourself and your family. One thing I did notice: a lot of kids were putting their hands on EVERYTHING, and not sanitizing afterward.
> I would come down again because as I said, it’s up to me to do what I feel is necessary to help me feel comfortable and keep me healthy.


We just came back from our trip yesterday and I DITTO you on the heat...Goodness!  Was not expecting it.  I do agree on the bathrooms but when I was in the stall I dropped my mask because it was air conditioned.YAY!  .we walked 26,000 steps on our AK/Epcot day.  Everyone thought I was a NUT for bringing a neck fan.. The fireworks were wall to wall people without masks.  We are vaccinated and that is always my false sense of security


----------



## magickingdomprincess

3kidz4dis said:


> We just came back from a mother daughter trip and while the crowds were low and we ultimately had a great time I just have some observations I wanted to share.  I sincerely do not intend this to bash on Disney but this trip was different from the 15 or so other trips.  The castmembers exchanged their previous personalities for being mask warriors.  I remember when you walked into haunted mansion and tower of terror that the cast members took on the personality of the ride.  Instead they seem different...  I was told at the end of  Thunder Mountain  Railroad that during the ride, my mask went to my chin and I will be asked to be removed from the park if that happens again.   That actually was my first ride and thought that I could pull it down since I was outside..my bad.  I was told that in the Sunshine Terrace I was drinking a bottle of water and my feet where moving and was told I had to stand in one spot to drink.  Trust me, I am not antimask and am vaccinated but just felt like some of that magic was replaced with rules.   And it is hot...do not understimate the heat and humidity in September.  And while I understand the mask rules, there was zero social distancing which seemed like a contradiction.  Beauty and the Beast..they ARE social distancing on stage, so no contact (that was different, lol) ...Lion King, there are no acrobats.  No Finding Nemo, no Fantasmic.  Magic Express was a mess with one poor old guy handling all the luggage of 5 resorts and it taking 1 1/2 hours to arrive.  There seemed to be numberous rides down and staffing issues.  We were stuck on the Skyliner for 1/2 hour in air facing another couple we didn't know.  (hope these masks work!) BUT....ROTR was epic, Pandora was fantastic and we came away with wonderul memories for my daughter and I. We walked on ALL rides with the exception of Frozen and Rockin RollerCoaster.  Please don't hate me...just trying to share a few observations and missing the old Disney.



Just wanted to say that we felt the same way regarding some (not all) of the cast members when we've been there during covid.  Glad that you still had a great trip though!


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## Mac30188

disneyfan150 said:


> I felt the same way in June. For example, on 3 different days at RD, our rides ended up being down after we had been in line for quite some time. Another couple rides ended up being down during the day after we were in line. When explaining my frustration to a CM, her expression took a dramatic change. I don't even remember what she said.  But she expressed no empathy. We have another short trip coming up next month. Hoping for a bit more magic.



I very much hope you have a more magical trip next month.


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## Carol_

I very rarely get pixie dust, but I got it twice on our 3 day trip last week. They’re trying.


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## CampbellzSoup

I’m here now loving it but why is it so damn hot!!!!!!!  I thought September things cool down!


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## Mambo Junkie

Dentam said:


> Glad you had a good trip and I hope you stay healthy!  I would note that I'm all for personal responsibility and doing as much as you can to stay healthy but there are times that you are simply unable to stay as safe as you'd like at the parks (unless you can avoid using the restroom all day I suppose) because of other people's behaviors.  Sorry for the TMI moment, but I had already sat down and was in the process of peeing when I had a woman enter the stall directly next to me and begin coughing up phlegm and blowing her nose just as productively.  So I could be doing everything right and still be exposed to who knows what because there are others who just don't give a crap quite frankly.


Oh yes I agree with what you are saying. My remarks about personal responsibility was more directed towards making sure your kids sanitized and better yet, didn’t touch everything in sight that you know countless others have been touching. I know that’s hard, but always have the wipes handy. It was fairly discomforting to me. I was glad my grandkids weren’t there. My DS and DDL are both in the health industry, DDL being an ER nurse so they are very aware. That’s also why they have put their trip off until mid 2022. “fingers crossed” it will happen!


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## Leigh L

only hope said:


> There’s no social distancing anywhere. Hasn’t been for months. In fact, reports on here are *they tell you to fill all available space. *Even before vaccines were widely available, walkways were often too crowded to stay six feet apart, queues frequently had people within six feet laterally, and they were seating parties in the same ride vehicle with plexiglass (which based on reports here, has been removed from all ride vehicles now). Some report that restaurants do have some distancing.


This was true in June and it was last week. It's been weird to hear that phrase again! (Especially when you can see remnants of the ground markers in some places still.)

They are enforcing masks in indoor areas, including indoor queues. In 7DMT I watched a family get booted out of the queue for not having any masks. I saw many CMs enforcing it, esp to parents with kids who had masks pulled down.

A CM in a restaurant told me the other day that social distancing inside restaurants (at least Chef Mickey's) will end Oct. 1. They were still nicely spaced when we were there. If that's true, all bets for any sort of indoor spacing in restaurants are off come next week. From what I've read Disney Springs has been back to normal for a while now. In the resorts/parks, it's probably more due to a staffing issue than for spacing purposes I'd imagine.


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## SkyGuy

CampbellzSoup said:


> I’m here now loving it but why is it so damn hot!!!!!!!  I thought September things cool down!


You thought wrong! September can be nasty. Florida “fall” won’t start until mid- to late-October, and even then “cool down” is highly subjective. We were there October of 2019 for the 6am HS openings, and stepping out of the hotel into the heat and humidity was like hitting a brick wall even at 5:30am. Plus, I used to live in Orlando. The first week I brought my daughter home from the hospital was the only week we didn’t have the a/c running in the years we lived there.


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## Dentam

Mambo Junkie said:


> Oh yes I agree with what you are saying. My remarks about personal responsibility was more directed towards making sure your kids sanitized and better yet, didn’t touch everything in sight that you know countless others have been touching. I know that’s hard, but always have the wipes handy. It was fairly discomforting to me. I was glad my grandkids weren’t there. My DS and DDL are both in the health industry, DDL being an ER nurse so they are very aware. That’s also why they have put their trip off until mid 2022. “fingers crossed” it will happen!



I was surprised also to see kids walking around in the crowds in Epcot without masks on and like you said, touching everything.  



Leigh L said:


> A CM in a restaurant told me the other day that social distancing inside restaurants (at least Chef Mickey's) will end Oct. 1. They were still nicely spaced when we were there. If that's true, all bets for any sort of indoor spacing in restaurants are off come next week. From what I've read Disney Springs has been back to normal for a while now. In the resorts/parks, it's probably more due to a staffing issue than for spacing purposes I'd imagine.



They were definitely not distancing in Nine Dragons when we ate dinner there one evening.  I would not repeat that experience.  Honestly, I don't really know when I will feel comfortable going back to Disney World at this point but I guess that's also a personal thing because I also don't see myself going to a concert or any other very crowded situation for quite some time.


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## CBMom01

Why don’t people wear masks in the bathroom? Do we think it’s because there’s no CM there to police? No wonder those CMs are worn so thin.


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## ak517

Apologies if this is clutter, but want to add my .02 in case it's helpful. At the parks yesterday I was a little confused by when and where we should be masking on rides, but I realized by the end of the day that if all the cast members are wearing their masks when you board the ride, this is a good gauge you will need it on for the duration per Disney rules. I know some others have noted that if there's AC in the queue that's an indication to put it on, but that can be tricky to feel with quick entrances/exits and rides with outdoor portions, so I found observing the CMs to be most helpful for me. Generally someone will be standing where they want you to put your mask on.

Also, if you're on an indoor ride with a photo (like HM), make sure to keep your mask on or you won't get the photo. The guideline Photopass told me was if you're outside when the photo is taken, your mask can be removed, for instance Splash Mountain and Expedition Everest qualify. I will update if I find out the policy for ToT today. 

As an aside, crowd levels were fabulous at AK and waits for all of my favorites at MK were extremely low. The longest I waited all day was FOP at AK and it was only around 30 minutes, almost everything else felt <10 minutes but I didn't ride Kali, 7DMT, or JC. I was last here in July and it was tough waiting for extended periods in the heat. I have mostly been using the TP app with membership because this doesn't seem to drain my battery as much. Additionally, Photopass lines have been short or nonexistent even at front entrances (especially later in the day), and it was impossible to find popcorn after 5PM in Frontier/Adventureland at MK (so I decided I'll get some earlier today instead).


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## CBMom01

ak517 said:


> Apologies if this is clutter, but want to add my .02 in case it's helpful. At the parks yesterday I was a little confused by when and where we should be masking on rides, but I realized by the end of the day that if all the cast members are wearing their masks when you board the ride, this is a good gauge you will need it on for the duration per Disney rules. I know some others have noted that if there's AC in the queue that's an indication to put it on, but that can be tricky to feel with quick entrances/exits and rides with outdoor portions, so I found observing the CMs to be most helpful for me. Generally someone will be standing where they want you to put your mask on.
> 
> Also, if you're on an indoor ride with a photo (like HM), make sure to keep your mask on or you won't get the photo. The guideline Photopass told me was if you're outside when the photo is taken, your mask can be removed, for instance Splash Mountain and Expedition Everest qualify. I will update if I find out the policy for ToT today.
> 
> As an aside, crowd levels were fabulous at AK and waits for all of my favorites at MK were extremely low. The longest I waited all day was FOP at AK and it was only around 30 minutes, almost everything else felt <10 minutes but I didn't ride Kali, 7DMT, or JC. I was last here in July and it was tough waiting for extended periods in the heat. I have mostly been using the TP app with membership because this doesn't seem to drain my battery as much. Additionally, Photopass lines have been short or nonexistent even at front entrances (especially later in the day), and it was impossible to find popcorn after 5PM in Frontier/Adventureland at MK (so I decided I'll get some earlier today instead).


The photo pass thing should be emphasized. I’ve seen people complaining that they lost out on pictures because someone *else* in their ride car wasn’t masked.


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## Dakota731

I’m confused with several recent posts about no enforcing of social distancing. Are the six foot markers up again in lines?  I thought they were gone now so how would CMs enforce then?


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## Dentam

Dakota731 said:


> I’m confused with several recent posts about no enforcing of social distancing. Are the six foot markers up again in lines?  I thought they were gone now so how would CMs enforce then?



No social distancing - not the enforcement of it since it's no longer in effect.  I think a previous poster already clarified this.


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## Dakota731

Odds are that in a theme park full of thousands of people someone is going to have a cold or blow their nose and they may even have to use a restroom too.


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## scrappinginontario

Let's keep comments on topic please.


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## Leigh L

Posting this from the news thread for anyone with trips this week. It's about the start of Early Entry. Thanks @JeffreyY for sharing your email. Looks like a soft opening starting 9/26
https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-news-discussion-an-element-of-fun.3838908/post-63394919


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## ThereYouSeeHer

We are back home from our trip 9/18-9/22 (with a day a Disney's Hilton Head yesterday).  I've been posting updates around the boards on various threads, so I won't recap everything here, but check out the Food and Wine thread for yummy photos!

Overall, we had a great trip and are glad we went!  We accomplished everything we set out to do (Happily Ever After, Epcot Forever, and trying boarding groups), and anything else was just a bonus.  The big hit of the vacation was Galaxy's Edge.  I didn't personally ride the Falcon or Rise, but I did go through both queues (Rise has multiple chances for an exit after the queue).  We didn't get to experience Oga's, but we knew that going into it.  Our car was full of souvenirs from around the Galaxy, including a light saber!  Yikes!

Food and Wine was delicious.  Lines for rides were either short or, if they were long, constantly moving.  

One thing that was tough was the heat.  We have been in August or September multiple times, but this just felt different.  We finally realized that most places seemed to have poor air conditioning.  We would duck into shows like Carousel of Progress or American Adventure to get cool, but realized it was just slightly less hot and slightly less humid inside.  Our room at AoA was the only place we would describe as cold and chilly.  Everywhere else, including our room at AS Music, we went in hot and came out warm.  We just couldn't get a refreshing break.

We also had broken pieces of plastic in a milkshake at Hollywood Studios.  Thankfully, no one got hurt!

We used the Sprinkles Cupcakes ATM song as our wakeup song each day, and it was such a funny way to start the morning.

For now, the goal is to return January 2023.  Hopefully, it will have low crowds, low prices, low temperature, and we can catch everything we missed for the 50th!


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## lovethattink

princess jasmine 76 said:


> Is social distancing not being enforced outdoors among guests without masks? Or not being enforced with masked guests, or just not being enforced across the board?



There is no social distancing at Disney. Hasn’t been for months. 



3kidz4dis said:


> How did they logistically handle the Monsters Inc queue right after they opened with social distancing?  or fireworks at MK?  Those were what came to mind last week where I was feeling the smush of faces



They weren’t running.



CampbellzSoup said:


> I’m here now loving it but why is it so damn hot!!!!!!!  I thought September things cool down!



Aug and September are the hottest most humid months of the year. 



CBMom01 said:


> The photo pass thing should be emphasized. I’ve seen people complaining that they lost out on pictures because someone *else* in their ride car wasn’t masked.



Even under the nose results in no photos.



Dakota731 said:


> I’m confused with several recent posts about no enforcing of social distancing. Are the six foot markers up again in lines?  I thought they were gone now so how would CMs enforce then?



The markers have been removed for a while. And cm tell you to fill in all available space again.


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## MakiraMarlena

confirming. Don't expect social distancing. It's currently very rare. I saw a recent photo of Sanaa with distanced tables. Nowhere that I actually went had distanced tables, and there was no distancing in attraction or transportation queues at all. Buses are being filled, and you may still end up sharing a gondola on Skyliner - if it's not busy, ask for your own gondola if you like.

They are distancing performing cast who do not wear masks whether indoors or out. You can greet princesses at Epcot, but only from a distance.  Had a short conversation with Aurora while getting her picture.


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## Mac30188

Eastern said:


> copy and paste to:   wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com



Multiple people recommended I follow up with this via email and submit.  As a FYI, I received the following response.  It was received promptly and seems clear that my feedback was received.



> Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World Resort.
> 
> I would like to apologize for the disappointing experience you had with several of our Cast Members during your recent visit.
> 
> Please know, the safety of our Guests and Cast Members is always our number one priority. To ensure our Guests have the best possible experiences on our Attractions, from time to time an attraction may undergo an unscheduled downtime. While is is important for our Cast Members to ensure our Guests are following instructions during these downtimes, our hosts and hostesses are always expected to maintain the high level of service for which we are known. This is true of any interaction our Cast Members have with our Guests and I am sorry that your experience did not reflect this.
> 
> While I understand that this was not the experience you remembered or had hoped for, I do want to thank you for bringing this to our attention. It is clear that you care deeply about the Disney Brand we appreciate that you have shared your honest feedback with us. As we continue to navigate these ever-changing times, we truly appreciate all of the comments and feedback our Guests share with us.
> 
> John, we look forward to many future opportunities to entertain you.



While I can't say I am excitedly planning my next trip, I am hopeful that the bitter taste will fade over time and only the happy memories will remain.


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## jrsharp21

Today was our first park day. Kicked it off with rope drop at HS and then headed over to Epcot late afternoon. We decided to let everyone rush to ROTR and we would hit other big rides. Walked on TOT and RNR right away. Then we headed over to MMRR. This was our first time on that ride. Loved it. The imagineering behind that ride was very cool. Rode Slinky Dog Dash next. Grabbed some Ronto Roasters for lunch and then tried our luck with ROTR. The wait board said it was a 95 minute wait. Touring Plans said it was 60. It ended up being 60. But right as we got onto our color, the ride went down. They let us hang out in the Star Destroyer hallway until it came back up. So got some cool pics and saw some cool CM interactions with other guests. Next we hit Star Tours and grab some snacks next door. I went and got my AP while the rest of the group went and got on Smugglers Run. I would say It never seemed really crowded. Manageable walkways and always found tables or benches to sit. Masking indoors was good. There was always one family on each ride that thought they could have it down under their nose in line. But felt like compliance was very good.

After that we went over to Epcot. Mistake there to go on a Friday evening during Food and Wine. World Showcase felt very much more crowded, and loud. The back corner by International Gateway seemed to be the most crowded. After grabbing some fish n chips we headed over to the other side where it felt a little less congested. Future World never felt crowded at all. So we hung out there mostly and got on Soarin’ with only a 10 min wait. Rode Spaceship Earth twice and part of the crew got on Nemo. Epcot just doesn’t have that thrill right now with those construction walls up in  Future World. It really does kill that vibe of that area of the park.

I would say so far haven‘t too concerned or worried about lack of ability to space out when needed or people following the mask rules. The area at Epcot has been the on,y time where things started to get a little too crowded. Haven’t ran into anyone coughing up a lung in line or appear to be sick, have allergies, etc.. Only issue I have seen with kids so far is the traditional tired meltdowns in line.


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## CampbellzSoup

Ok just got done with a 7 night Disney and universal trip and now have 3 days to relax at the resort….when I tell you we did everything we did everything WITH a one year old so it’s possible!

- WEAR SNEAKERS I wore flip flops and my feet are dead

- September is ungodly hot…l assumed like in New York it might cool off a bit, nope!

- no social distancing so if that’s a concern to you then not for you at all.  I work around people all day and night and never worked from home so it didn’t bother me.

now to relax by the pool and give my feet a rest…


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## Pyotr

Here now spending a Food and Wine weekend with my oldest daughter. We arrived at 6 last night after spending 3 miserable hours on I4 on a trip that normally takes an hour and a half. We unloaded our suitcases at the Boardwalk Villas and walked over to Epcot for some food. I was surprised how crowded it was. Walked back to Boardwalk for ice cream. It’s really missing the nighttime entertainment. 

We are going back to Epcot today for some more food. I want to rope drop Frozen but my 17 year old daughter thinks I’m lame... We shall see.


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## CampbellzSoup

Pyotr said:


> Here now spending a Food and Wine weekend with my oldest daughter. We arrived at 6 last night after spending 3 miserable hours on I4 on a trip that normally takes an hour and a half. We unloaded our suitcases at the Boardwalk Villas and walked over to Epcot for some food. I was surprised how crowded it was. Walked back to Boardwalk for ice cream. It’s really missing the nighttime entertainment.
> 
> We are going back to Epcot today for some more food. I want to rope drop Frozen but my 17 year old daughter thinks I’m lame... We shall see.



Epcot was PACKED at fireworks time I went two days in a row to see Epcot forever as it was awesome and both nights oceans of people.

also try the lamb chop from Australia!


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## jrsharp21

Wow, Magic Kingdom is way more crowded than the 1 it shows on Touring Plans. The park is pretty packed. Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Peter Pan are all down right now making the other rides longer than normal waits. There are even long waits for the vending carts. But what can you do other than push through and have fun!


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## Mambo Junkie

I've already posted a few observations the past couple of pages, but I had a couple more to add: (our trip was 9/19-9/23)
Both DH and I remarked that the standby lines were much better without FP+ - when we went in the past, we were in line 45 minutes for TT and during that entire time only 7 people were allowed in. When the fp line would almost empty, they would allow a couple of standby to get on, then there would be a whole batch of new fp holders show up. The only way we advanced is that others in line gave up and left. No exaggeration. After 45 minutes we gave up and did single rider. Interested to see how the new system will work with standby.

We use the Lines app, and it will give you a more accurate wait time, as well as advise you to wait and ride later or ride now. That helps a lot.

Rope drop and later evenings are definitely worth it. Even if everything isn't a walk on, a 10 or 15 minute wait ensures you will get a lot done. Mid days are HOT, crowded, and busy. Get there early, break, then come back. Lots of crying, overtired kids. A couple of times I felt so badly for the kids; they were beyond their limit and so utterly miserable.

Knowing some of the rides helps as well. There are some rides or attractions, where you can rest or cool down. People mover, Carousel of progress, Hall of Presidents,  at MK, One Man's Dream, Muppet Vision, Beauty and the beast,  at DHS, Imagination/Figment, Spaceship earth, the attractions and films in certain countries in the WS at EP, Tough to be a Bug, Lion King, Feathered friends in flight at AK, to name a few, are great ways to cool down and rest. I remember my son sleeping in his stroller during the American Adventure. When families get tired and hot, no one's having a good time, and you're not going to make it through a whole day without rest, especially in crowds and heat. LOL, one of the best things I did at DHS was watch One Man's Dream, because I was so refreshed when I came out.

***Our family is very conscious about germs. We try to distance as much as we can in lines, we wear masks inside and often outside in crowded areas, we use sanitizer every time we see some, we also carry with us hand wipes, disinfectant wipes, etc. We try our best to avoid crowded spaces and don't touch anything that isn't necessary. Use a new mask daily, never reuse one from the day before. Despite this, we have come back sick (sinus, headache, scratchy throat), and are being tested Monday. We are also vaccinated; if you have serious health issues, please think long and hard about this trip. My mother in law turns 90 on Tuesday, and we will not be able to celebrate with her. ***


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## gottalovepluto

CampbellzSoup said:


> Epcot was PACKED at fireworks time I went two days in a row to see Epcot forever as it was awesome and both nights oceans of people.
> 
> also try the lamb chop from Australia!


And these are the reports I’m here for. I was wondering if I should cancel my R&C for my EP Forever night, obviously not! (I don’t do crowds)


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## gottalovepluto

jrsharp21 said:


> Wow, Magic Kingdom is way more crowded than the 1 it shows on Touring Plans. The park is pretty packed. Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Peter Pan are all down right now making the other rides longer than normal waits. There are even long waits for the vending carts. But what can you do other than push through and have fun!


The down ride problem is no joke. TT went down while I was in line a couple days back but they got it running within 20 mins. Yesterday Slinky was down at rope drop, I skipped it and went to TSMM which went down for 15-20 mins after first round of guests boarded. MMRR went down last night. And then MK today when I tried to rope drop PP 

Disney is having the worst luck ever or they’re cutting maintenance corners.

ETA: And whoever thought today would be a Crowd Level 1 needs a new job. This was back to normal weekend crowds Imho. I sought quiet in my Skippers lunch ADR then left. Very happy I “rope dropped” (CRT 8:20 ADR, done before 9. Beautiful time to do CRT! So quiet and easy to get pics since other tables aren’t seated yet) and got a few things done in the morning.


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## Lsdolphin

gottalovepluto said:


> The down ride problem is no joke. TT went down while I was in line a couple days back but they got it running within 20 mins. Yesterday Slinky was down at rope drop, I skipped it and went to TSMM which went down for 15-20 mins after first round of guests boarded. MMRR went down last night. And then MK today when I tried to rope drop PP
> 
> Disney is having the worst luck ever or they’re cutting maintenance corners.



HM was down during the Boo Bash on Friday night and PP was down today!


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## gottalovepluto

Lsdolphin said:


> HM was down during the Boo Bash on Friday night and PP was down today!


OMG of all the rides    

*because sometimes one facepalm isn’t enough


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## jrsharp21

I am seeing that the issue at MK with the long vending cart lines is a result of hardly any food carts open and also a handful of the normal quick service places. So if you can find a cart or quick service place actually open, it’s going to have a line. This is something we didn’t encounter at any of the other parks so far. It really does seem that way more stuff is closed at MK than the other parks. Disney really needs some staff and quick. Can’t imagine what’s going to happen if still short staffed around Christmas time.


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## ThereYouSeeHer

gottalovepluto said:


> And these are the reports I’m here for. I was wondering if I should cancel my R&C for my EP Forever night, obviously not! (I don’t do crowds)


If anyone doesn't have a reservation and is looking to socially distance, all the benches towards the back of Port of Entry were empty when we went on 9/21.  I was initially in the crowds that lined the water and walkways, but once they told everyone to stand, I looked for a place to sit.  I was surprised not a single person was sitting on the benches, even though the view of the fireworks was just as good.  It was really relaxing back there!


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## gottalovepluto

jrsharp21 said:


> … Can’t imagine what’s going to happen if still short staffed around Christmas time.


Longer lines and more angry people 

Disney is gonna have to step up their hiring game or cutback on park attendance. Having their cake and eating it too is gonna bite them in the behind if services aren’t there but holiday level crowds are. Heck, they better step it up by 10/1 considering the expected crowds.


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## EPCOT-O.G.

jrsharp21 said:


> I am seeing that the issue at MK with the long vending cart lines is a result of hardly any food carts open and also a handful of the normal quick service places. So if you can find a cart or quick service place actually open, it’s going to have a line. This is something we didn’t encounter at any of the other parks so far. It really does seem that way more stuff is closed at MK than the other parks. Disney really needs some staff and quick. Can’t imagine what’s going to happen if still short staffed around Christmas time.


They will do this until they can’t any longer. Until people stop going and paying for this level of experience, it will continue. They don’t care about guest satisfaction like they used to. They do care about increasing profitability.


----------



## gottalovepluto

Fwiw the last two nights I’ve done ROTR around closing. First wait 50 mins, ride stopped while I was in line for about 15 mins and I got off 50 mins from went I hit the line. Last night it was a 45 min est wait and I was off 35 mins later.

Definitely beats the RD insanity occurring with it.


----------



## Mac30188

jrsharp21 said:


> Wow, Magic Kingdom is way more crowded than the 1 it shows on Touring Plans. The park is pretty packed. Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Peter Pan are all down right now making the other rides longer than normal waits. There are even long waits for the vending carts. But what can you do other than push through and have fun!



Very sorry.  Hopefully they come back. I just got back and the poor condition of things stood out for me.  I actually had never had more than 1 breakdown per trip.  This time I was only there 24 hours and had 4 breakdowns including my first evacuation.  That also doesn't include little things like I had to call to change a dining reservation because mobile app  buggged out.  The monorail herked, jerked and often felt like it was on last leg.  These events completely suck the magic out of experience.  I mean I do really like 7DMT for being a fun, small coaster, but when you get near the end for 15 minutes, all the adrenaline and excitement is gone by the time you get off.  What do you remember of that ride? ..Oh yeah, that is the one that broke down and we got stuck on.


----------



## Dentam

Mambo Junkie said:


> ***Our family is very conscious about germs. We try to distance as much as we can in lines, we wear masks inside and often outside in crowded areas, we use sanitizer every time we see some, we also carry with us hand wipes, disinfectant wipes, etc. We try our best to avoid crowded spaces and don't touch anything that isn't necessary. Use a new mask daily, never reuse one from the day before. Despite this, we have come back sick (sinus, headache, scratchy throat), and are being tested Monday. We are also vaccinated; if you have serious health issues, please think long and hard about this trip. My mother in law turns 90 on Tuesday, and we will not be able to celebrate with her. ***



Yes, this is very important to note.  We were the same way - very careful with all of the precautions you noted. I would suggest avoiding a rapid test and getting the pcr test I think it's called.  I got the rapid tests and now doubt the results.  My family was vaccinated much later than me and all of them had much more mild symptoms, if you would even call them symptoms - mostly just very tired for a couple of days after getting home.  Anyway, that leads me to believe that I could have actually had Covid given that I was vaccinated back in the spring and breakthrough cases are getting pretty common after 5 and 6 months.  We also shared food and drinks with each other so if it was just a cold I think others in my group would have been more likely to get it also.

Hope you all feel better very soon and I'm sorry to hear that you will miss your mother in law's birthday.  Definitely best to be safe though!


----------



## jrsharp21

Another thing I noticed is that mask enforcement at MK is way more lax than at other parks. Just got off Space after it came back up. A man, about 5 spots behind us in line, went through the entire line with no mask. The person who asked how many were in their party didn’t even say a word about it. No one said anything about it until he got into the ride and the guy checking the lap constraint said something to him. It was probably 20% of people inside, in line for Space without masks on or down on their chin.  I would say Space and Pirates were the worst today for mask wearing.


----------



## Dentam

Dakota731 said:


> Odds are that in a theme park full of thousands of people someone is going to have a cold or blow their nose and they may even have to use a restroom too.



Masks are required at all times while indoors, including restrooms.  There are signs posted outside of every single bathroom stating this.  The point once again is to make people aware that the rules are not being followed by a high percentage of people. And you forgot to include Covid in your post.


----------



## MDIME

I have followed this thread since it’s inception. Lots of great posts but lately it’s become the place to whine about masks and some folks’ personal health issues.


----------



## AndreaDM

…


----------



## Dentam

My mistake.  I was under the impression that people were using this thread to gauge safety at WDW right now and to aid in planning their trips.  That's what I used it for at least.  And if Covid or any illness that requires you to miss work or a loved ones party, etc is considered a "personal health issue" that doesn't affect many more people than one individual then well... not surprised honestly.  We are where we are in this country because of this kind of attitude.

Take care all.  Done with this thread.


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## scrappinginontario

This is the Here Now snd Just Back thread.  Disney has a mask policy.  If that policy is not being followed or enforced, then people sharing this information is valid and beneficial for those planning trips.


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## Pyotr

Just got back to the room after a good day at Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth and did the single rider line at Test Track, in which we waited about 10 minutes. It was a very crowded day but we had a good time. I wanted to stay and watch Epcot forever but I’m uncomfortably full.

Diet starts Monday!


----------



## Jimmy Mouse

Pyotr said:


> Diet starts Monday!


Mine too!  Every Monday.


----------



## LSUmiss

TheDaysGoBy said:


> Oh and I agree that the cast members were in perfect form. I had some great interactions with them. Wish the same could be said for some other guests...
> 
> There were two times in particular that kind of irked me. 1) Our second ride on MMRR we were seated with two men who had gotten on first. I think at first they'd thought they would have it to themselves and spread their legs out, but even once we got on with them, they still kept their legs spread. My leg was pressed against the side of the safety bar and my friend was pressed into my other side. I could have seriously done without the man-spreading. It felt super inconsiderate. 2) For Philharmagic, the cast member was telling everyone to move to the end of the row before sitting. The family we followed in sat down right in the middle forcing us to squeeze past them because they refused to budge even in spite of the announcement, and there were like 6-8 of them.
> 
> I know you have people like that everywhere and they were isolated incidents so it didn't ruin my trip, but I don't remember encountering anything like that on previous trips. I guess I just lucked out before? But yeah, it was a bit annoying when it did happen.


I would say you have been lucky. I have seen things like this & worse on pretty much every trip. There also have been countless threads in the past on bad behavior like this at wdw.


----------



## PrincessJasmine88

When HS is getting close to closing time, do they shut off the line for ROTR beforehand or do they let you get line right at closing time? How have the times been at the end of the night?


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Pyotr said:


> Just got back to the room after a good day at Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth and did the single rider line at Test Track, in which we waited about 10 minutes. It was a very crowded day but we had a good time. I wanted to stay and watch Epcot forever but I’m uncomfortably full.
> 
> Diet starts Monday!



what did you eat!

I dunno why when I’m at Disney I legit don’t eat until diner I’m just not hungry like that my other half eats breakfast lunch and diner and snacks lol I just don’t have a huge appetite I guess!


----------



## scrappinginontario

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> When HS is getting close to closing time, do they shut off the line for ROTR beforehand or do they let you get line right at closing time? How have the times been at the end of the night?


With the standby line being reasonable the first 3 days and no reports of the line closing early, I anticipate it’s (currently) like any other Disney ride and you can get in line until 1 min before closing.  This may change in the future but I believe it’s what’s happening now.


----------



## Pyotr

CampbellzSoup said:


> what did you eat!
> 
> I dunno why when I’m at Disney I legit don’t eat until diner I’m just not hungry like that my other half eats breakfast lunch and diner and snacks lol I just don’t have a huge appetite I guess!



We tried as many items from the Food and Wine booths as we could. Aside from maybe 2 or 3, everything was very good this year.

We did try the Lamb at Australia on your recommendation. It was great!

I forgot to mention that there were a lot of drunk 20 somethings. When I’ve done F&W previously it’s always during the week. The weekend must bring out the local college crowd. No one was disruptive, but it was noticeable.


----------



## Eastern

TheDaysGoBy said:


> There were two times in particular that kind of irked me. 1) Our second ride on MMRR we were seated with two men who had gotten on first. I think at first they'd thought they would have it to themselves and spread their legs out, but even once we got on with them, they still kept their legs spread. My leg was pressed against the side of the safety bar and my friend was pressed into my other side. I could have seriously done without the man-spreading. It felt super inconsiderate. 2) For Philharmagic, the cast member was telling everyone to move to the end of the row before sitting. The family we followed in sat down right in the middle forcing us to squeeze past them because they refused to budge even in spite of the announcement, and there were like 6-8 of them.


1) you can say to the CM, "I will wait for the next car".
2) just sit down and if the CM needs more seating they will come over to your row and ask people to move down the row.

You can't control what other people are doing in the parks so have a Plan B for things that worry you and don't be afraid to be assertive. I know that the CMs can speak in a forceful, crowd control way, but I'm not doing something I don't want to do. Sitting next to people where there isn't enough room and climbing over people in a row are things that I have done in the past but refuse to do now.


----------



## Dakota731

Dentam said:


> Masks are required at all times while indoors, including restrooms.  There are signs posted outside of every single bathroom stating this.  The point once again is to make people aware that the rules are not being followed by a high percentage of people. And you forgot to include Covid in your post.


And people still can have colds and cough through a mask in a restroom. The point is that no one is going to be safe from any virus in a theme park packed with thousands of people.


----------



## gottalovepluto

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> When HS is getting close to closing time, do they shut off the line for ROTR beforehand or do they let you get line right at closing time? How have the times been at the end of the night?


I went in 10 mins to close two nights back. No issues. It’s operating like every other ride now


----------



## gottalovepluto

Pyotr said:


> I forgot to mention that there were a lot of drunk 20 somethings. When I’ve done F&W previously it’s always during the week. The weekend must bring out the local college crowd. No one was disruptive, but it was noticeable.


Yes, that’s a weekend thing. A couple years ago my Dad almost had a drunk bride to be dropped on him in his ECV when her bridal party lifted her up and started precariously parading her around a jam packed area. Never again does he want to go on a weekend night!


----------



## gottalovepluto

I hit AK around 7:35 today. Staying at Swan. They’ve started EE today *so if you aren’t staying on-site/at partner hotels effective today forget rope drop*. Off-sites were being held back until opening. They tried scanning my swan room key but that didn’t work, I had MDE up showing my res and the CM glimpsed at that after the room key didn’t scan and let me in no issues. I probably should have had my AP out to scan as that is linked to MDE?…

I liked the EE benefit actually, would like it more if it was a whole hour but it is what it is. Spreading it out to all parks made it feel like an actual benefit today vs in the past where I’ve avoided it because it just seemed to cause a huge mass of crowds.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

With Resort Guest early entry beginning today… I’m looking for any DPs on how people at Swolphin are being “authenticated” for early entry. Is it via MB, via a hotel key card… either?  Something else?   

If anybody is there and staying at Swolphin please report back if you have a chance 

 Also posted in the official Swolphin thread here on the DIS as well.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Haha well perhaps I’m a few moments too late with that post since my good friend @gottalovepluto already answered my Q!  Thanks girl!!  Enjoy your trip…


----------



## gottalovepluto

SouthFayetteFan said:


> With Resort Guest early entry beginning today… I’m looking for any DPs on how people at Swolphin are being “authenticated” for early entry. Is it via MB, via a hotel key card… either?  Something else?
> 
> If anybody is there and staying at Swolphin please report back if you have a chance
> 
> Also posted in the official Swolphin thread here on the DIS as well.


#GREATMINDS


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

gottalovepluto said:


> I hit AK around 7:35 today. Staying at Swan. They’ve started EE today *so if you aren’t staying on-site/at partner hotels effective today forget rope drop*. Off-sites were being held back until opening. They tried scanning my swan room key but that didn’t work, I had MDE up showing my res and the CM glimpsed at that after the room key didn’t scan and let me in no issues. I probably should have had my AP out to scan as that is linked to MDE?…
> 
> I liked the EE benefit actually, would like it more if it was a whole hour but it is what it is. Spreading it out to all parks made it feel like an actual benefit today vs in the past where I’ve avoided it because it just seemed to cause a huge mass of crowds.



I was just going to ask about this, too!  Did you ride The Swan/Dolphin bus TO AK? Or did you walk over to Boardwalk for an official Disney Bus?

And out of curiosity: where are the off-site folks being held back at? Tapstiles?


----------



## gottalovepluto

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> I was just going to ask about this, too!  Did you ride The Swan/Dolphin bus TO AK? Or did you walk over to Boardwalk for an official Disney Bus?
> 
> And out of curiosity: where are the off-site folks being held back at? Tapstiles?


Swan/Dolphin bus. I think it AK bus stop is closer than many Disney buses 

They’re held after tapstiles but before entering Oasis.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

gottalovepluto said:


> Swan/Dolphin bus. I think it AK bus stop is closer than many Disney buses
> 
> They’re held after tapstiles but before entering Oasis.


I agree with you on the bus stop location at AK!  I love Sunday mornings at AK (so I can rope- drop Nomad Lounge   )


----------



## CampbellzSoup

No one wears masks in the bathrooms at least not the mens


----------



## gottalovepluto

CampbellzSoup said:


> No one wears masks in the bathrooms at least not the mens


About half the people in the women’s have the last few days. I did notice yesterday I almost never see a guy taking off/putting on a mask at a bathroom entry area like I see some women doing.


----------



## MDIME

TheDaysGoBy said:


> Oh and I agree that the cast members were in perfect form. I had some great interactions with them. Wish the same could be said for some other guests...
> 
> There were two times in particular that kind of irked me. 1) Our second ride on MMRR we were seated with two men who had gotten on first. I think at first they'd thought they would have it to themselves and spread their legs out, but even once we got on with them, they still kept their legs spread. My leg was pressed against the side of the safety bar and my friend was pressed into my other side. I could have seriously done without the man-spreading. It felt super inconsiderate. 2) For Philharmagic, the cast member was telling everyone to move to the end of the row before sitting. The family we followed in sat down right in the middle forcing us to squeeze past them because they refused to budge even in spite of the announcement, and there were like 6-8 of them.
> 
> I know you have people like that everywhere and they were isolated incidents so it didn't ruin my trip, but I don't remember encountering anything like that on previous trips. I guess I just lucked out before? But yeah, it was a bit annoying when it did happen.



Men sit like that because of their anatomy. The ride vehicles at WDW are usually hard plastic and some are really uncomfortable for guys. They’re trying to sit comfortably, not annoy you.


----------



## jrsharp21

Rope dropped MK this morning. 11am and Space, Splash, Buzz, and People Mover all down.


----------



## bsmcneil

3kidz4dis said:


> We just came back from our trip yesterday and I DITTO you on the heat...Goodness!  Was not expecting it.  I do agree on the bathrooms but when I was in the stall I dropped my mask because it was air conditioned.YAY!  .we walked 26,000 steps on our AK/Epcot day.  Everyone thought I was a NUT for bringing a neck fan.. The fireworks were wall to wall people without masks.  We are vaccinated and that is always my false sense of security


I'm glad I wasn't the only one. I remembered preferring the weather in Dec but this was so rough. Maybe it was just that it was an especially hot week!


----------



## gottalovepluto

jrsharp21 said:


> Rope dropped MK this morning. 11am and Space, Splash, Buzz, and People Mover all down.


Disney’s saving grace on 10/1 will be if everyone walks in and plants at opening for the fireworks show


----------



## luv2cheer92

SouthFayetteFan said:


> With Resort Guest early entry beginning today… I’m looking for any DPs on how people at Swolphin are being “authenticated” for early entry. Is it via MB, via a hotel key card… either?  Something else?
> 
> If anybody is there and staying at Swolphin please report back if you have a chance
> 
> Also posted in the official Swolphin thread here on the DIS as well.


Whatever you use to enter the park will work to gain access for early entry.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

luv2cheer92 said:


> Whatever you use to enter the park will work to gain access for early entry.


Not necessarily  if you’re staying at Swan and can’t get your hotel linked to MDE  

Sounds like you could show them the Marriott app with a Swan reservation or possibly a swan hotel keycard this morning from various reports.  Normal Disney… no communication and no consistency.


----------



## CBMom01

luv2cheer92 said:


> Whatever you use to enter the park will work to gain access for early entry.


This seems like one small benefit to having a MB, even at Swolphin


----------



## Bibbobboo2u

For those who rope dropped for early entry today, what time did you arrive at the park, and did Disney let guests into park before the EE time and hold somewhere inside?  Thanks for info!


----------



## mom2febgirls

gottalovepluto said:


> They tried scanning my swan room key but that didn’t work.





SouthFayetteFan said:


> If anybody is there and staying at Swolphin please report back if you have a chance



We went to MK and our Magic bands and room key wouldn't scan for early entry, either.  The cast member just called someone over who took care of it.


----------



## CBMom01

mom2febgirls said:


> We went to MK and our Magic bands and room key wouldn't scan for early entry, either.  The cast member just called someone over who took care of it.


Bummer.  What did the CM do? Just look at your info in MDE?


----------



## mom2febgirls

CBMom01 said:


> Bummer.  What did the CM do? Just look at your info in MDE?



Yes.


----------



## CBMom01

mom2febgirls said:


> Yes.


Thanks!  I’m very excited about the EE during busy Christmas days. Plan is to start in MK multiple days then take a break when it gets crazy


----------



## gottalovepluto

Boat CM said along with the soft opening of Harmonious on 9/29 the fountains in the center of the lagoon will begin operation that day.


----------



## OhhBother

Just rode Rise of the Resistance with a posted wait time of five minutes! Second ride today. Complete walk-on. 

First ride around 6 pm. Posted wait 45. Waited about 15 to first preshow and was off the ride in 40.


----------



## jrsharp21

OhhBother said:


> Just rode Rise of the Resistance with a posted wait time of five minutes! Second ride today. Complete walk-on.
> 
> First ride around 6 pm. Posted wait 45. Waited about 15 to first preshow and was off the ride in 40.



We were at HS this evening also and it was great. It was dead towards the end of the night. When we got there around 5:30pm, we did MMRR with about a 25 min wait. Then walked on TOT, then about a 10 min wait for RR. Walked on TSM. There was no one in line so they let us go right back on. Then went over to ROTR around 8:30. Complete walk on. It was 8:55 when we got off. Ran over to Smuggler‘s Run and made it just in time before they closed the line. The queue is really cool when no one else is in the building. It was a really good night at HS.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Posting this as a word of caution to others!!!!  I have had 4 days of “park hopper Non-Expiration” tickets saved on MDE for years and have never used them since I had begun getting annual passes.  I went to the Guest Services in DS on Thursday afternoon to buy a Boo Bash ticket and to activate my renewed AP.  Last night I was checking “My Plans” and I saw that 3 of those “Non—Expiration “ days have disappeared!!!  I’m going back to guest services today as I’m assuming they did not put my tickets in proper order and that when I went to parks last 3 days my non-expiration tickets were used instead of my AP.  I’m betting they will tell me “tough luck!  It’s really upsetting since I made a point of asking CM to prioritize my tickets.


----------



## SkyGuy

Lsdolphin said:


> Posting this as a word of caution to others!!!!  I have had 4 days of “park hopper Non-Expiration” tickets saved on MDE for years and have never used them since I had begun getting annual passes.  I went to the Guest Services in DS on Thursday afternoon to buy a Boo Bash ticket and to activate my renewed AP.  Last night I was checking “My Plans” and I saw that 3 of those “Non—Expiration “ days have disappeared!!!  I’m going back to guest services today as I’m assuming they did not put my tickets in proper order and that when I went to parks last 3 days my non-expiration tickets were used instead of my AP.  I’m betting they will tell me “tough luck!  It’s really upsetting since I made a point of asking CM to prioritize my tickets.


This happened to me in May when they hit an old unused park hopper of mine instead of my AP. My son, who was with me, also had a park hopper on file, yet his was untouched. I was basically told, sorry, you’ll still get credit for the remaining balance of the ticket when you renew your AP, even though this was entirely Disney IT’s fault. Those tickets had been on my account through four previous trips with no issues. To make it even better, since the ticket was now considered used, I was not allowed to renew my AP online or over the phone. The CM at the IG put a note on my account explaining the situation, and I had to do it in person. I hope you have better luck.


----------



## Lsdolphin

SkyGuy said:


> This happened to me in May when they hit an old unused park hopper of mine instead of my AP. My son, who was with me, also had a park hopper on file, yet his was untouched. I was basically told, sorry, you’ll still get credit for the remaining balance of the ticket when you renew your AP, even though this was entirely Disney IT’s fault. Those tickets had been on my account through four previous trips with no issues. To make it even better, since the ticket was now considered used, I was not allowed to renew my AP online or over the phone. The CM at the IG put a note on my account explaining the situation, and I had to do it in person. I hope you have better luck.



Thanks. I’m going over to guest services in DS first thing this morning


----------



## kboo

Lsdolphin said:


> Posting this as a word of caution to others!!!!  I have had 4 days of “park hopper Non-Expiration” tickets saved on MDE for years and have never used them since I had begun getting annual passes.  I went to the Guest Services in DS on Thursday afternoon to buy a Boo Bash ticket and to activate my renewed AP.  Last night I was checking “My Plans” and I saw that 3 of those “Non—Expiration “ days have disappeared!!!  I’m going back to guest services today as I’m assuming they did not put my tickets in proper order and that when I went to parks last 3 days my non-expiration tickets were used instead of my AP.  I’m betting they will tell me “tough luck!  It’s really upsetting since I made a point of asking CM to prioritize my tickets.





SkyGuy said:


> This happened to me in May when they hit an old unused park hopper of mine instead of my AP. My son, who was with me, also had a park hopper on file, yet his was untouched. I was basically told, sorry, you’ll still get credit for the remaining balance of the ticket when you renew your AP, even though this was entirely Disney IT’s fault. Those tickets had been on my account through four previous trips with no issues. To make it even better, since the ticket was now considered used, I was not allowed to renew my AP online or over the phone. The CM at the IG put a note on my account explaining the situation, and I had to do it in person. I hope you have better luck.


I had something similar happen with our first APs in the pandemic. We had a huge snafu (one child's AP didn't get the refund + able to get a new one), and we had a child 5-day non-expiring ticket as well. After hours on the phone before our trip in Dec. 2020, we all had APs but despite activating everyone's AP, when the kid scanned, I saw on MDE it used her 5-day ticket. ARGH!!!! More hours at Guest relations getting it straightened out. They put the 5-day ticket back on, but now it has an expiration date. 




MrWreckless said:


> First a couple things that i didnt like.........my wife. LOL. Its impossible to get her committed to a plan without letting her fall on her face a couple times. We agree to wake up a little later to let the rope drop crew pass and take advantage of shorter lines later in the day, yet im woken up at 7am to a fully dressed wife ready to leave for the parks. We got to MK on our first park day at 9:15 and she immediately wants to hit every photopass spot she sees, and in my mind im thinking "I know i didnt get up early to get to the parks just to stand in long photopass lines while the queues fill up for the popular rides".


I think your wife and my husband are related, except he'll never be up at 7am except for ROTR BGs (which I guess are a thing of the past? must read...) He also wants to do photopass first thing. Either that or ... we are all fast-walking for 7dmt and he decides he needs to go to the bathroom. Again. 



MrWreckless said:


> I will say that it seems that more people were booking mid-September hoping everyone else would push their trip into October for the 50th, leaving late August to actually be the absolute best time to go.


I'm one of the late-August crew and despite delta-anxiety leading up to the trip (which turned out fine once we got there), I had to remind the kids to remember this trip because we would never see lines like that again. Mid-morning back-to-back rides on FOP were probably the highlight.


----------



## GoofEeyore26

Hi folks, got back a few days ago - meant to post sooner but got sidetracked. Trip was me, my wife and an almost 3 yr old, We were on the fence due to Covid, but ultimately decide to take the trip as we rented points and couldn't get them back so we'd be out a big chunk of money. We stayed at the Poly for 9 days and ultimately I'm really, really happy we went. Crowds were fantastic compared to past trips (May 2021, Jan 2020 being the most recent).  We rented a car with Avis - highly recommend Avis with all your details entered in the account before so you can just walk to the car and go. Some rental lines were crazy so that helped, and also the MDE line was nearly an hour long at 11 on a Saturday. We've rented a stroller the past few trips and the company we use has a pick up right near MDE which is very helpful.

For safety precautions - we generally avoided disney transport (hence the car rental) - only took monorail 3 times mid-day so either no one was in  our car or 2 other parties, and took the boat once. We didn't do any indoor dining and avoided big indoor crowds - biggest crowd/line was philharmagic b/c we just missed a show. Mask compliance was 90%/95% indoors and 30% outdoors in crowds. People have generally given up on social distance/personal space.

Won't go through every day, but some key takeaways i hope someone finds helpful

Mobile ordering for quick service has gotten much better. We didn't need to order hours before - usually wait was either immediate or the window was 10/15 min later. Once the "here now" was clicked usually food was ready ~10min later.
Did take out from Kona, Sanaa, Trattoria al Forno, and Ale & Compass. I hope this never goes away. With not wanting to eat indoors and also having a 3yr old crapshoot on his temperament, this was ideal. For Kona we ate by the pool at the Poly; for Sanaa and Ale & Compass we went back to the room; for Trattoria al Forno we at the outside tables at Abracadabar (it was fairly early and we got drinks and left a good tip. Server didn't mind since it was slow - we asked). We didn't have issues getting into any of the resorts to pick up our food (drove for all except Kona)  - though i know others have gotten stopped by guards at the gate so mileage may vary.
Posted wait times were about right in the mornings but as the day went on the posted wait was very overestimated
Watched the fireworks from the poly beach twice - so much more relaxed than dealing with the MK crowds
Remy ride was fantastic - would rank it between RotR and Railway for trackless rides.
Park wasn't as dirty as I've heard people complain about - actually felt cleaner than before
CMs were all awesome
Creations shop is great. Love the open, clean feel. The Epoct merch is awesome, and it didn't smell like a diaper.
MCO was busy on the way home but we have TSA pre so it was pretty easy.
Splash pads are godsend for toddlers!

All in all had an awesome time! Everyone tested negative on return - so got out in 1 piece! Any questions, let me know.


----------



## gottalovepluto

HM, 7DMT, Pooh all down right now… maybe they’re taking a lunch break?


----------



## Pbogtret

First this is our experiences and opinions…. Everyone will have different ones.

PART ONE

Got here Friday the 24th, staying at Coronado. The weekend was quite crowded ….. and today is crowded as well. Not what we are used to as we usually go the following week after Labor Day…. Around the 12th. That being said, we knew the weekend would be busier, but hoped Monday would see a drop in people… we didn’t see it today.

we are at MK today and there is a good sized  crowd. The rides keep going down. Mine Train, Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion and it is only noon! Honestly we haven’t seen that many go down in all our visits… and it isn’t just hiccups it’s to the point they cleared the queue lines.

Mask compliance is at 90% I would say. We have seen noses peeking out or people pulling their masks down on rides…. But it isn’t the majority.

Paddlefish was good and they have socially distanced their tables… yay!

Yak and Yeti was good as always, not the best on socially distancing.

Chef arts was honestly just ok, no social distancing at all.

Whispering Canyon was good no social distancing.

Bfast at Rix Sports Bar and Grill was good but expensive for what you got they did good on social distancing.

Tried to do walk up for Space 220…. Got in line to get a reservation, at the beginning of the day. Line was steady huge. When we finally got up to the front, only had return times of 8:30pm or later. No good for us.

majority of places have a very reduced menu and, in our opinion, some of the quality has gone down.

will continue on another post.


----------



## Ricguz

GoofEeyore26 said:


> Hi folks, got back a few days ago - meant to post sooner but got sidetracked. Trip was me, my wife and an almost 3 yr old, We were on the fence due to Covid, but ultimately decide to take the trip as we rented points and couldn't get them back so we'd be out a big chunk of money. We stayed at the Poly for 9 days and ultimately I'm really, really happy we went. Crowds were fantastic compared to past trips (May 2021, Jan 2020 being the most recent).  We rented a car with Avis - highly recommend Avis with all your details entered in the account before so you can just walk to the car and go. Some rental lines were crazy so that help, and also the MDE line was nearly an hour long at 11 on a Saturday. We've rented a stroller the past few trips and the company we use has a pick up right near MDE which is very helpful.
> 
> For safety precautions - we generally avoided disney transport (hence the car rental) - only took monorail 3 times mid-day so either no one is our car or 2 other parties, and boat once. We didn't do any indoor dining and avoided big indoor crowds - biggest crowd/line was philharmagic b/c we just missed a show. Mask compliance was 90%/95% indoors and 30% outdoors in crowds. People have generally given up on social distance/personal space.
> 
> Won't go through every day, but some key takeaways i hope someone finds helpful
> 
> Mobile ordering for quick service has gotten much better. We didn't need to order hours before - usually wait was either immediate or the window was 10/15 min later. Once the "here now" was clicked usually food was ready ~10min later.
> Did take out from Kona, Sanaa, Trattoria al Forno, and Ale & Compass. I hope this never goes away. With not wanting to eat indoors and also having a 3yr old crapshoot on his temperament, this was ideal. For Kona we ate by the pool at the Poly; for Sanaa and Ale & Compass we went back to the room; for Trattoria al Forno we at the outside tables at Abracadabar (it was fairly early and we got drinks and left a good tip. Server didn't mind since it was slow - we asked). We didn't have issues getting into any of the resorts to pick up our food (drove for all except Kona)  - though i know others have gotten stopped by guards at the gate so mileage may vary.
> Posted wait times were about right in the mornings but as the day went on the posted wait was very overestimated
> Watched the fireworks from the poly beach twice - so much more relaxed than dealing with the MK crowds
> Remy ride was fantastic - would rank it between RotR and Railway for trackless rides.
> Park wasn't as dirty as I've heard people complain about - actually felt cleaner than before
> CMs were all awesome
> Creations shop is great. Love the open, clean feel. The Epoct merch is awesome, and it didn't smell like a diaper.
> MCO was busy on the way home but we have TSA pre so it was pretty easy.
> Splash pads are godsend for toddlers!
> 
> All in all had an awesome time! Everyone tested negative on return - so got out in 1 piece! Any questions, let me know.


Thanks for the update.  Heading down at the end of 2022 out of Logan, hopeful that the pandemic is over and Disney is 100 percent up and running.  Good to know about mobile ordering and you had a good trip


----------



## Lsdolphin

Ok update to my earlier posts regarding the older “Non-Expiration Parker hopper tickets that disappeared from my MDE: I went to guest services in DS and explained that the tickets were apparently used although I have an AP. The CM was able to determine that was exactly what happened. He explained that Disney is currently still changing over to the new system and that this has happened to guests. He said if you notice a ticket missing from your MDE that guest services is able to track what parks you visit and what type of ticket is used. The CM replaced the 3 Tickets that were mistakenly used from my MDE.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Ok update to my earlier posts regarding the older “Non-Expiration Parker hopper tickets that disappeared from my MDE: I went to guest services in DS and explained that the tickets were apparently used although I have an AP. The CM was able to determine that was exactly what happened. He explained that Disney is currently still changing over to the new system and that this has happened to guests. He said if you notice a ticket missing from your MDE that guest services is able to track what parks you visit and what type of ticket is used. The CM replaced the 3 Tickets that were mistakenly used from my MDE.



SO glad they were able to help you!!


----------



## Pbogtret

PART 2

Just a little background on us, we are Disney fans and have been coming since 1989…. We also got married at Disney and had our wedding reception at Fulton’s (now called Paddlefish).

Now onto more of our experiences / observations / opinions

Don’t come with the idea you can socially distance in the parks, it’s impossible. If you do find a spot expect others to join that area shortly after you and with the crowds expected for the 50th it’s just not going to happen.

we wore our masks outside as much as the heat allowed us to. We saw others masked up outside but we were the few not the majority.  We are fully vaccinated but at this point, with how many people are around and come in contact with, we would be very surprised if we don’t end up with Covid. I anticipate the risk will be even greater come later this week. We are due to leave on Oct 1st, we do not plan on being in any parks on Thursday or Friday.

we do rent a car every time we come and I am very thankful to have a “safe” place for a little bit of my park time 

To get a little distance from people, we have booked Horse Back riding for Thursday…. Which we are very excited about.

I will post more about our trip and observations later in PART 3


----------



## AndreaDM

Water parks rarely get a mention here so I thought I’d share our experience at BB today. It was awesome! We got there at 11, thought we’d stay a few hours but ended up staying til they closed at 6. It was empty, at one point there were maybe a dozen other people in the wave pool with us. The only wait for water slides was the time it took to run back up the stairs. The helicopters were annoying but a very fun day! Cast members were great!

eta: I forgot my phone today and only had magic band, no problem ordering food and drinks. And it was actually nice not looking at my phone once in almost 8 hours!

eta again: I haven’t rode water slides in years, was not prepared for the waterboarding and wedgies!


----------



## GoofEeyore26

Ricguz said:


> Thanks for the update.  Heading down at the end of 2022 out of Logan, hopeful that the pandemic is over and Disney is 100 percent up and running.  Good to know about mobile ordering and you had a good trip


I fly out of logan too. Jetblue?? If so get TSA pre if possible. So worth the money bc that Terminal C security is nuts.


----------



## scrappinginontario

AndreaDM said:


> Water parks rarely get a mention here so I thought I’d share our experience at BB today. It was awesome! We got there at 11, thought we’d stay a few hours but ended up staying til they closed at 6. It was empty, at one point there were maybe a dozen other people in the wave pool with us. The only wait for water slides was the time it took to run back up the stairs. The helicopters were annoying but a very fun day! Cast members were great!


Are the  inner tubes in the wave pool yet?  They’re my favourite.


----------



## AndreaDM

No they didn’t have them, this was our first trip to BB so I didn’t even know they ever had them. So guess we didn't know what we missed lol!


----------



## scrappinginontario

AndreaDM said:


> No they didn’t have them, this was our first trip to BB so I didn’t even know they ever had them. So guess we didn't know what we missed lol!


 Thanks!  Normally there are a lot of them and I bib around in the pool (similar to lazy River) while my daughter swims.  I can hang like that fir ages!!


----------



## jrsharp21

GoofEeyore26 said:


> Remy ride was fantastic - would rank it between RotR and Railway for trackless rides.



How did you get on Remy? We were at Epcot this morning and they were turning people away left and right. Looks like it was CM previews today from what I heard them tell people.


----------



## jrsharp21

Finished up our last day today. Great day! Started off in Epcot. Hit Test Track and Frozen. Those were the only two rides we had on our list for today. The rest of the time at Epcot was for Food & Wine. Had a good time making our way through WS. My favorite out of everything, the wild cherry Hefeweizen. That was tasty!

We headed over to MK around 4:30pm. We were happy to find that it was not crowded at all and wait times were low for the most part. We did Speedway, Peoplemover, Space, Buzz, Pooh, Thunder Mountain, Splash x 2, and Jungle Cruise to end the night. Thunder Mountain and Splash were sending out empty cars and boats because no one was in line. At Splash, they let us stay on and ride because there was no one in line. We mobile ordered Cacey’s Corner at close. Hung out eating and chatting there until almost 10 to end the night. Great finish to a fun four days.


----------



## scrappinginontario

jrsharp21 said:


> How did you get on Remy? We were at Epcot this morning and they were turning people away left and right. Looks like it was CM previews today from what I heard them tell people.


There were previews for APs for a few weeks.  OP has been back a few days they said so most likely rose as part of that.


----------



## gottalovepluto

Weekends vs weekdays very noticeable at park opening at AK today. I arrived for the tail end of EE and FoP showed a 30 min wait- it was 5. Went back on around 8:30 (park opened at 8) wait showed 35 and it was 10. Huge difference from when I went on Sun and the FoP line at official park opening was over an hour and looked like it from the outside (it was much more crowded even on the inside when I went during EE on Sun). Crowds at AK also feel much lighter than they did here on Sun so that’s nice.

@jrsharp21 I’m regretting not returning to MK last night like I’d planned. I left around 2 as the crowds were way too much for me and opted not to return. Guess I wasn’t alone


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Got back Saturday from a split stay UOR (never again-be on the lookout for that post-hotel related not parks) and WDW and it was amazing! It did rain every day late afternoon about 45 minutes. Sometimes it would linger and other times no. Longest wait at UOR was actually at HHN-50 minutes for Beetlejuice (posted 70) and longest wait at Disney was 35 minutes for FoP (posted 60). Excellent meals across both resorts and all around good times minus what was mentioned above earlier.  Stay safe and hydrated!


----------



## GoofEeyore26

jrsharp21 said:


> How did you get on Remy? We were at Epcot this morning and they were turning people away left and right. Looks like it was CM previews today from what I heard them tell people.


Had an AP preview reservation


----------



## Dakota731

GoofEeyore26 said:


> Had an AP preview reservation


How was it?  What ages would you recommend?  Is it jerky?


----------



## Wood Nymph

Dakota731 said:


> How was it?  What ages would you recommend?  Is it jerky?


We did the Remy AP preview yesterday. The ride is very cute and I think young children would love it. We saw young ones during our ride. The ride is a little jerky, but no more so than Mickey and Minnie RR, or Alien Saucers, or Rise of the Resistance.

I think that today is the last day for the annual passholders previews. Cast members had their previews before the AP previews began.

We were at DHS today and had early entry. We were through RotR by 9:03. We thought that DHS wasn't as crowded as it had been during the summer.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Dakota731 said:


> How was it?  What ages would you recommend?  Is it jerky?


The later pages of this thread might be helpful as it's a thread dedicated to the *Remy Preview*.


----------



## GoofEeyore26

Dakota731 said:


> How was it?  What ages would you recommend?  Is it jerky?


Really fun. It's not too jerky at all. There is one part where you spin which was a little disorienting. 

Most ages should enjoy it. My 3 yr old loved it and had us ride it 3 times in a row.


----------



## Tgoody

Interested to hear how Rope Drop is going since Early Entry has started for resort guests.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Tgoody said:


> Interested to hear how Rope Drop is going since Early Entry has started for resort guests.


Some are posting their experiences in the '*Everything Rope Drop*' thread.


----------



## gottalovepluto

Tons of filming going on around EP today. Media preview day? They’re getting special access to Rat as well it looks like but no one un credentialed is being let in.

No fountains running yet. Just screens advertising Disney’s 50th.

Crowds are REALLY light. Frozen is still only a 15 min wait. I rope dropped with EE today for Frozen and it was about 10 mins. At 10:55 it was 15 so I rode again. At 12:25 now it’s still reading 15 so basically I should have slept in  (Darn ride had been 45-60 mins anytime I looked on Thurs or Sun )


----------



## aviva5675

We were there this week, Mon/Tues.

Got to Coronado Springs around 330, our first time there. Had found a passholder deal on a room awhile ago. Went in to the tower, and were very impressed with it. Were looking around and a guy, apparently a mgr, came up to us and was chatting. I asked if we would be able to see the MK fireworks from our room (401). He said no, not on that side. The said he could check for a different room for us, and after kinda saying no, thats ok, we said ok sure. Awhile later he came back and had upgraded us to a 1 bedroom suite!!  We were shocked, to say the least.  The room(s) were wonderful, living room, bedroom, bath and a 1/2.  Fancy.  We were able to see MK fw great, at 815.  Afterwards we went up to the top floor lounge and watched the Epcot fireworks, and also the ones they have with the show at HS. So managed to see all 3 parks from the hotel!!  Wonderful experience.

Tues my DH left early for golf. I ate at Rix at the hotel, which was fine. The hotel seemed pretty empty. I then took a bus to Epcot. We had Remy preview at 1-2. Got there about 10 and stood about 15 back in resort early entry line. About 1005 they started scanning us in, yay!!  But then walked us (I went left towards Space 220) and then held us back by the walls til the 1/2 hour, 1030 exactly. There were pretty many in the area by then. Fast walked it over to the restaurant to beg for a ressie.  Was in the line, about 12 back, actually it was the wait for lounge line. About 1045 1050 lady came out and I flagged her down and started my beg. She said she'd check, and a bit later brought me around to the podium and found me a 1230!!!

Texted my DH to hurry it up and he ran from the car to Space, we were there right at 1230, figuring to eat fast to get to our Remy.  Suffice to say, so thrilled to get the ressie, enjoyed the experience and food (salmon and steak), the elevaotr was the best part... rushed the lunch but then hyper walked all the way to France, got there 130.

The Remy line said 30 minutes, it was a wound around outside at first, moved along fairly fast tho, so probably all told 20-25 minutes.  Loved the ride, much more than MMRR, not really jerky. Each color car does a slightly different route.  Got out of that and then wait was 15 minutes, no one outside at all. Just walked right back on. Did that twice more!  Got lucky there.

Walked over and got a griddled cheese in Greece, the only thing I really wanted to try and FW, it was super delicious, could have had 5 more. Then walked to France and got ice cream, and by then we were done. Slow walked it to car.

Overall one of our best trips yet, lots of surprises and pixie dust.  Monday night dinner El Mulino, could take it or leave it, probably won't return.
Sorry for the long post.


----------



## bsmcneil

I keep thinking I should post something in this thread (Here Now/Recently) but a lot of it was covered. I traveled between 9/22-9/25 (ironically, that was my original plan - but then I added on the night before and then my flight was cancelled … it was a mess). I'll break it into two parts.

*9/22* - checked into AKL and DME went smoothly even with the numerous changes I had. Originally I pre-purchased a MB and it was sent to ASMu as I had added the night before there (DVC rental at AKL). I called the night before, when my flight was cancelled, to let ASMu know I wasn’t coming and they could have it ready to turn-over and/or re-rent (mine was non-refundable) and to see if they could get someone to take the MB over to AKL. That took a while. I tried Mobile Magic before receiving it - life was a lot easier for me with the MB (my phone case seemed to be a problem when I went to EP). 

Went to EP for the day (arrived near noon given early morning flight, DME, and then bus to EP); immediately walked to S220 to see about a reservation/lounge - they were running out of reservations but I scored a lounge visit, which was my preference. Had the chicken on waffle. It was good; but as I’ve said in S220 threads - I wanted to really like the place and it felt very boring after a couple of minutes. 

Test Track was down from the time I arrived (and seemingly since open) until maybe 4 or 5? So that made things like FEA have a little bit more of a wait. Soarin was basically a walk-on and it was great (haven’t been since they changed it from CA, which I honestly preferred). Enjoyed the Hawaii booth for F&W. I needed a mid-day break (body gave out) and I waited for more than an hour (63 min - I had taken a pic of the monorail as I left the park and my bus stop was super close) before getting a bus. It was beyond frustrating (especially because then people would walk up way after me and not get in line and got on first - and mostly the heat and my body made me irritable. After that, I decided if I felt like it was a hurry, I’d Uber. After park close, etc when it felt like buses would be more reliable, I’d do that. 

Made it back around 5 or 6? TT was finally up in the evening - I also enjoyed SR there (standby was over an hour at that point). Picked up a Mobile Order at Regal Eagle *just* as it started to pour down (and I had left my poncho in the room). It was perfect timing - and I finished eating and it stopped raining. Got a final ride on Soarin, some extra shopping, and got to a good place to see Epcot Forever - it was a full day and got everything I wanted (and avoid the departing crowds by checking out Creations). 


*9/23* - got a very late start (wanted to RD DHS, especially since it was the first day of not doing BG for ROTR and I worried that without RD, I wouldn’t get to go). But, I have some accessibility stuff and hadn’t taken care of myself Wed. Had a late breakfast (11:30, I think?) at Ohana and it was fantastic! Wow, wow, wow. I went to Aulani just as Covid was beginning to spread and this was a great connection back to a place I love. 

Got to DHS around 1, I think. They were out of ECV and put me on a waitlist; in the meantime, I pushed myself in a manual chair (that, plus the heat and not being used to the chair created some *major* hand blisters. I *really* wish they sold gloves and I looked in just about every shop to try to find something that would help. Otherwise that went fine, except I did poorly at going up hills). ROTR was posted as a long wait - I got on within 30-40. MMRR was great although I missed a bit because I was still trying to recover from hills and the heat. ToT has lost its luster for me (it’s fine but not that exciting anymore). Single Rider line at RnRC was great (I know sometimes it doesn’t go much faster). 

Really enjoyed SDD (first time doing it) and I also did it again at night (and that was amazing). SW:GE was fine (I'm not a huge SW person - all of the references beyond Chewbacca and Darth Vader are lost on me) - cool and clearly well done but just fine, for a non-fan. I really enjoyed the WWoA show (but wow do I miss Fantasmic!).


----------



## disneyseniors

bsmcneil said:


> I keep thinking I should post something in this thread (Here Now/Recently) but a lot of it was covered. I traveled between 9/22-9/25 (ironically, that was my original plan - but then I added on the night before and then my flight was cancelled … it was a mess). I'll break it into two parts.
> 
> *9/22* - checked into AKL and DME went smoothly even with the numerous changes I had. Originally I pre-purchased a MB and it was sent to ASMu as I had added the night before there (DVC rental at AKL). I called the night before, when my flight was cancelled, to let ASMu know I wasn’t coming and they could have it ready to turn-over and/or re-rent (mine was non-refundable) and to see if they could get someone to take the MB over to AKL. That took a while. I tried Mobile Magic before receiving it - life was a lot easier for me with the MB (my phone case seemed to be a problem when I went to EP).
> 
> Went to EP for the day (arrived near noon given early morning flight, DME, and then bus to EP); immediately walked to S220 to see about a reservation/lounge - they were running out of reservations but I scored a lounge visit, which was my preference. Had the chicken on waffle. It was good; but as I’ve said in S220 threads - I wanted to really like the place and it felt very boring after a couple of minutes.
> 
> Test Track was down from the time I arrived (and seemingly since open) until maybe 4 or 5? So that made things like FEA have a little bit more of a wait. Soarin was basically a walk-on and it was great (haven’t been since they changed it from CA, which I honestly preferred). Enjoyed the Hawaii booth for F&W. I needed a mid-day break (body gave out) and I waited for more than an hour (63 min - I had taken a pic of the monorail as I left the park and my bus stop was super close) before getting a bus. It was beyond frustrating (especially because then people would walk up way after me and not get in line and got on first - and mostly the heat and my body made me irritable. After that, I decided if I felt like it was a hurry, I’d Uber. After park close, etc when it felt like buses would be more reliable, I’d do that.
> 
> Made it back around 5 or 6? TT was finally up in the evening - I also enjoyed SR there (standby was over an hour at that point). Picked up a Mobile Order at Regal Eagle *just* as it started to pour down (and I had left my poncho in the room). It was perfect timing - and I finished eating and it stopped raining. Got a final ride on Soarin, some extra shopping, and got to a good place to see Epcot Forever - it was a full day and got everything I wanted (and avoid the departing crowds by checking out Creations).
> 
> 
> *9/23* - got a very late start (wanted to RD DHS, especially since it was the first day of not doing BG for ROTR and I worried that without RD, I wouldn’t get to go). But, I have some accessibility stuff and hadn’t taken care of myself Wed. Had a late breakfast (11:30, I think?) at Ohana and it was fantastic! Wow, wow, wow. I went to Aulani just as Covid was beginning to spread and this was a great connection back to a place I love.
> 
> Got to DHS around 1, I think. They were out of ECV and put me on a waitlist; in the meantime, I pushed myself in a manual chair (that, plus the heat and not being used to the chair created some *major* hand blisters. I *really* wish they sold gloves and I looked in just about every shop to try to find something that would help. Otherwise that went fine, except I did poorly at going up hills). ROTR was posted as a long wait - I got on within 30-40. MMRR was great although I missed a bit because I was still trying to recover from hills and the heat. ToT has lost its luster for me (it’s fine but not that exciting anymore). Single Rider line at RnRC was great (I know sometimes it doesn’t go much faster).
> 
> Really enjoyed SDD (first time doing it) and I also did it again at night (and that was amazing). SW:GE was fine (I'm not a huge SW person - all of the references beyond Chewbacca and Darth Vader are lost on me) - cool and clearly well done but just fine, for a non-fan. I really enjoyed the WWoA show (but wow do I miss Fantasmic!).



That's crummy that you had to use a wheelchair.   That must have been rough.   I wonder if you had gone to first aid that they might have been able to help you.  Hope your next trip goes better!


----------



## zdad59

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Got back Saturday from a split stay UOR (never again-be on the lookout for that post-hotel related not parks) and WDW and it was amazing! It did rain every day late afternoon about 45 minutes. Sometimes it would linger and other times no. Longest wait at UOR was actually at HHN-50 minutes for Beetlejuice (posted 70) and longest wait at Disney was 35 minutes for FoP (posted 60). Excellent meals across both resorts and all around good times minus what was mentioned above earlier.  Stay safe and hydrated!


We are also finishing 8 days with 3 at Universal (Royal Pacific).   We too agree that there is no comparison.   One is an amusement park, the other is a THEME park.    Universal felt 2nd rate by any measure.    1 1/2 days would have been plenty.    

 Most interesting item was when we checked into our room at Royal Pacific, our safe was locked.  No big deal.   Had security come up to unlock it.    When they did they turned and asked us to immediately leave the room.    Turns out there was a LOADED GUN in the safe.    First, who brings a gun to Universal.  Second, WHO FORGETS TO TAKE IT HOME ????


----------



## gottalovepluto

zdad59 said:


> We are also finishing 8 days with 3 at Universal (Royal Pacific).   We too agree that there is no comparison.   One is an amusement park, the other is a THEME park.    Universal felt 2nd rate by any measure.    1 1/2 days would have been plenty.
> 
> Most interesting item was when we checked into our room at Royal Pacific, our safe was locked.  No big deal.   Had security come up to unlock it.    When they did they turned and asked us to immediately leave the room.    Turns out there was a LOADED GUN in the safe.    First, who brings a gun to Universal.  Second, WHO FORGETS TO TAKE IT HOME ????


So they have a procedure in place for “loaded gun in safe”. That’s equally comforting and disturbing.


----------



## bsmcneil

disneyseniors said:


> That's crummy that you had to use a wheelchair.   That must have been rough.   I wonder if you had gone to first aid that they might have been able to help you.  Hope your next trip goes better!


I had not thought about first aid, actually. I had some bandaids and the location (of the blisters) made it hard for them to stay on (I also tried moleskin, in case that would've helped but I couldn't get it to stay in place). I tried using a tshirt I had purchased as protection but that didn't quite work. It's okay - just one of those things folks might not think of unless/until they experience it. I did use Shipt to get a pair of gloves for the rest of the trip (but also was fortunate enough to get an ECV). The wheelchair wasn't completely a shock - I should've been using one for the past decade (I do at major conferences ... some times, at least). But, carrying internalized ablism, I kept thinking, "Oh, I can make this work," until I literally couldn't make my hip roll forward. I couldn't walk or even sit for about 5 minutes at EP and then I went to the room and took a break. Unfortunately, we often don't take the breaks until long past our body says we need a break. Anyway, I was very lucky to get the wheelchair at all and especially so to get an ECV the next day. I had committed to myself and a couple of friends that should I _*not*_ get some mobility aid, I would just stay at the resort and not walk around more than I had to.


----------



## luv2cheer92

I have arrived! Currently enjoying Sanaa bread service from our AKL savanna view balcony (soooo good). Heading to MK tonight for the last HEA!!


----------



## zdad59

gottalovepluto said:


> So they have a procedure in place for “loaded gun in safe”. That’s equally comforting and disturbing.


They told us they find guns…under the bed, under the pillows, in the refrigerator, and other places.    They treated it like it was a common occurrence  for them.


----------



## gottalovepluto

zdad59 said:


> They told us they find guns…under the bed, under the pillows, in the refrigerator, and other places.    They treated it like it was a common occurrence  for them.


#JobsIDontWant


----------



## georgina

Wait times continue to be ridiculously low today. Did everything I wanted at AK by 11 AM. Hopped to MK , Space Mtn was a walk on at 2 PM, BTMRR was 10 minutes. Splash was 30.


----------



## jrsharp21

GoofEeyore26 said:


> Had an AP preview reservation



how far in advance did you have to book your AP preview? I bought my AP the first day we were there, Thursday. On Monday, standing out front of Remy, I was hoping to hear them say something about an AP preview. But only heard them say something about reservations. I tried to do a quick search on google but couldn’t find anything.


----------



## focusondisney

georgina said:


> Wait times continue to be ridiculously low today. Did everything I wanted at AK by 11 AM. Hopped to MK , Space Mtn was a walk on at 2 PM, BTMRR was 10 minutes. Splash was 30.



Too bad it won’t last, right?  My family members went to Studios for the resort guest early entry. Went right to ROTR, only about 50 people in front of them. By 9:06 they had done Rise, Slinky Dog & Toy Story Mania.  Crazy!


----------



## cafetao

Just back a few days ago.  8 days at Disney and one day at UO.  Thought I'd give some thoughts about our experience. 
1.  Overall CM were really great with a couple exceptions.  Very friendly and helpful.  They didn't seem as efficient as in the past but hopefully they staff up and train.
2. MMRR is fantastic.  Such fun, everyone in our party loved it.  Good riddance to the Great Movie Ride.
3.  This has been discussed here so I thought I'd comment.  Mask compliance seemed really high for what it's worth.
4. Raglan Road was one of the best places to eat.  Great food and entertainment.  A new tradition for us.
5. UO was a good time.  I would like to spend more time there. However I wouldn't bother with young kids.  My daughter was 36 in before we left and measured just fine in disney. Universal measurement were off by an inch or two. She only rode one ride all day because of this.
6. I had read here about what a better value UO is over disney. That was not my experience.  UO seemed overall more expensive for admission, food, and souvenirs.  The HP merch was especially high priced. We plan on going back when my youngest can experience more, but I certainly didn't feel like I got more for the money.


----------



## SkyGuy

jrsharp21 said:


> how far in advance did you have to book your AP preview? I bought my AP the first day we were there, Thursday. On Monday, standing out front of Remy, I was hoping to hear them say something about an AP preview. But only heard them say something about reservations. I tried to do a quick search on google but couldn’t find anything.


Preview reservations were made the beginning of August.


----------



## scrappinginontario

georgina said:


> Wait times continue to be ridiculously low today. Did everything I wanted at AK by 11 AM. Hopped to MK , Space Mtn was a walk on at 2 PM, BTMRR was 10 minutes. Splash was 30.


This is great to hear!  I had thought by now we’d see the uptick of guests for the 50th arriving but I guess not yet.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Very low waits at MK this evening. Walked in about 5:15, the hub was already getting pretty full by that point. Did Space, Peoplemover, Pirates, got a dole whip, did some shopping and was in my spot for HEA by 6:40. It was absolutely packed, as expected.  Watched HEA (cried like a baby). Then after HEA did Big Thunder x2, Splash, and SDMT x2. Got a glimpse of the new EWP floats on the way out!


----------



## dclDream2018

*Reading about all of these low wait times, is this the calm before the storm? Thoughts? *


----------



## georgina

dclDream2018 said:


> *Reading about all of these low wait times, is this the calm before the storm? Thoughts? *


I have been very happily surprised this week. I suspect there will be a peak for the 50th week and then go back to low crowds. Then there is the question of how Genie + will affect times.


----------



## Looper

Has anyone driven to MK since they started early entry for resort guests? I know the bus would be better, but I’m not ready to take buses yet Covid-wise. Are they still only letting cars in about and hour before official opening?


----------



## Redhead5

Yes. It's the calm before October 1st when it all breaks loose for 18 months.


----------



## luv2cheer92

At AK today. Did not rope drop, which never happens for me, but we wanted to take advantage of our morning at AKL. Got to see the giraffes running and playing so it was worth it. Walked in about 9:20, so the macaws fly around and then just waited 15 minutes for FOP, posted wait was 25.
Looking like another day of low waits, we will see what tomorrow brings.


----------



## Tonyz

dclDream2018 said:


> *Reading about all of these low wait times, is this the calm before the storm? Thoughts? *





luv2cheer92 said:


> At AK today. Did not rope drop, which never happens for me, but we wanted to take advantage of our morning at AKL. Got to see the giraffes running and playing so it was worth it. Walked in about 9:20, so the macaws fly around and then just waited 15 minutes for FOP, posted wait was 25.
> Looking like another day of low waits, we will see what tomorrow brings.



Yup! Got to AK around 9:00 or so and walked  on FOP twice and waited 25 for Navi.


----------



## gottalovepluto

scrappinginontario said:


> This is great to hear!  I had thought by now we’d see the uptick of guests for the 50th arriving but I guess not yet.


I did too. Chalk today up for another quiet morning at EP like yesterday was.

(Last night was obviously crazy with the new show.)


----------



## gottalovepluto

dclDream2018 said:


> *Reading about all of these low wait times, is this the calm before the storm? Thoughts? *


I’m seriously questioning my assumption that would happen. Except on weekends. Weekends I still vote will be crazy.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Just spent close to an hour just watching the new baby gorilla (11 weeks old). Omg, cutest thing ever. I could sit there all day and be perfectly content.


----------



## elgerber

gottalovepluto said:


> I’m seriously questioning my assumption that would happen. Except on weekends. Weekends I still vote will be crazy.


I hope your assumption (and mine too) is wrong!


----------



## luv2cheer92

Also walked on to the safari. Had a great ride, saw so many babies!


----------



## gottalovepluto

And the EP fountains are still not running to cover the monstrosity in the middle of the lake.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

luv2cheer92 said:


> Also walked on to the safari. Had a great ride, saw so many babies!


We had a lot of babies last week too!


----------



## disneyseniors

bsmcneil said:


> I had not thought about first aid, actually. I had some bandaids and the location (of the blisters) made it hard for them to stay on (I also tried moleskin, in case that would've helped but I couldn't get it to stay in place). I tried using a tshirt I had purchased as protection but that didn't quite work. It's okay - just one of those things folks might not think of unless/until they experience it. I did use Shipt to get a pair of gloves for the rest of the trip (but also was fortunate enough to get an ECV). The wheelchair wasn't completely a shock - I should've been using one for the past decade (I do at major conferences ... some times, at least). But, carrying internalized ablism, I kept thinking, "Oh, I can make this work," until I literally couldn't make my hip roll forward. I couldn't walk or even sit for about 5 minutes at EP and then I went to the room and took a break. Unfortunately, we often don't take the breaks until long past our body says we need a break. Anyway, I was very lucky to get the wheelchair at all and especially so to get an ECV the next day. I had committed to myself and a couple of friends that should I _*not*_ get some mobility aid, I would just stay at the resort and not walk around more than I had to.



I'm glad that things finally worked out for you


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

gottalovepluto said:


> I’m seriously questioning my assumption that would happen. Except on weekends. Weekends I still vote will be crazy.


So is it possible that the only people that will make it busy this weekend are travel agents and bloggers?     

Seriously, my FB and Twitter feeds are all Disney Travel Agents and bloggers... are any real people going to Disney??  I still feel like any hope I have for low crowds by mid-October are unfounded though... I mean resort bookings looked strong, right?  The people have to be coming...

Eh, maybe I'll just continue to hold on to hope that the low crowds will continue through October once we're past next week...


----------



## luv2cheer92

SouthFayetteFan said:


> So is it possible that the only people that will make it busy this weekend are travel agents and bloggers?
> 
> Seriously, my FB and Twitter feeds are all Disney Travel Agents and bloggers... are any real people going to Disney??  I still feel like any hope I have for low crowds by mid-October are unfounded though... I mean resort bookings looked strong, right?  The people have to be coming...
> 
> Eh, maybe I'll just continue to hold on to hope that the low crowds will continue through October once we're past next week...


Haha, I think I'm a real person? Lol. But really, the funny thing is the parks actually feel relatively crowded. I mean, not holiday crowds, but the parks are far from empty, the wait times are just very low. 

In other news, just overheard a lady rename Triceratops Spin, "Dumbo Dinosaur". I think I'm gonna call it that from now on.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

luv2cheer92 said:


> Haha, I think I'm a real person? Lol. But really, the funny thing is the parks actually feel relatively crowded. I mean, not holiday crowds, but the parks are far from empty, the wait times are just very low.
> 
> In other news, just overheard a lady rename Triceratops Spin, "Dumbo Dinosaur". I think I'm gonna call it that from now on.


I've always called it Dumbosaurus.  The kids even say it now HAHA!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

The wait times are amazing one day prior to the 50th.

As of 2:45pm SDD is 60 minutes and RotR is 95 minutes and ALL other attractions across ALL parks are 40 minutes or less!!  

It almost doesn't seem real...


----------



## GoofEeyore26

jrsharp21 said:


> how far in advance did you have to book your AP preview? I bought my AP the first day we were there, Thursday. On Monday, standing out front of Remy, I was hoping to hear them say something about an AP preview. But only heard them say something about reservations. I tried to do a quick search on google but couldn’t find anything.



APs were invited in early August to sign up for dates in sept. Wasn't open access.


----------



## gottalovepluto

SouthFayetteFan said:


> So is it possible that the only people that will make it busy this weekend are travel agents and bloggers?
> 
> Seriously, my FB and Twitter feeds are all Disney Travel Agents and bloggers... are any real people going to Disney??  I still feel like any hope I have for low crowds by mid-October are unfounded though... I mean resort bookings looked strong, right?  The people have to be coming...
> 
> Eh, maybe I'll just continue to hold on to hope that the low crowds will continue through October once we're past next week...


I’ve seen/heard more CMs than ever, I sincerely wonder what the attendance levels would be without them. Guess they’re trying to enjoy the parks before being blocked? I’ve heard CMs in lines every day the last 4 days.

And if you threw a pair of Mickey Ears anywhere in Epcot the last two days you’d hit at least 3 mid-level managers as they travel in packs…


----------



## CBMom01

I do get the sense that the huge expected crowd this weekend will be primarily Florida folks and every existing and aspiring Disney blogger and/or TA.


----------



## brightlined

Random thing: I just saw Bob Iger and Chapek amidst a group of folks (including the WDW ambassadors) walking through Epcot. Was not expecting that.


----------



## CBMom01

brightlined said:


> Random thing: I just saw Bob Iger and Chapek amidst a group of folks (including the WDW ambassadors) walking through Epcot. Was not expecting that.


I’d go all fan girl over Bob Iger.


----------



## jrsharp21

Had a day to decompress from our 4 day visit starting the 24th. Since I posted some info while I was there, I will just include some observations and highlights for those couple of days.

CM's for the most part were pretty awesome. We ran into a couple that didn't have that magic, but almost all others were great. We got sprinkled with some pixie dust a couple of times. One time a bunch of us got in line to grab a pretzel and churro. My wife sat down on a planter next to the cart on the other side where we were waiting. One of the CM's reached over to her and asked if she wanted a free churro. She gave us all a big smile while the rest of us just laughed. We had several other similar instances where members in our party were given free food or drinks.
Speaking of awesome CM's, the ferry from the transportation center to MK is now our preferred method. This is the first time we took the ferry in all of our trips to WDW. The CM's were so nice and hilarious. Love that you have space on the ferry and not shoved in shoulder to shoulder like on the monorail.
If you are worried about being crammed together, the monorail is definitely not the way to go. On our first MK night, we took the monorail back to the transportation center. They were literally packing the monorail until the doors could barely shut. They kept telling people to move together so they could fit one or two more people in each section. 
The construction walls in Future World at Epcot are a pain in the butt to get around. It started to become frustrating to get one side of future world to the other. After a while we all just said forget Future World and stay in World Showcase.
Kept waiting for those big fireworks display pieces in the World Showcase lagoon to transform. Reminded me of things right out of a Transformers movie. They are an eyesore. 
We didnt mind the plexiglass dividers in rides. We liked that there was no more people/kids using the chains as a swing and knocking into you.
Mobile ordering is awesome! Loved the convenience of it. I was in line at World Showcase for fish n chips. The line was crawling. Pulled out my phone, placed an order, got out of line and walked right up to grab my food!
MMRR is such a cool ride. The Imagineering around that ride is so cool. Had to ride it several times to catch all the changing details. 
I did not think you could pack that many people into the hub at MK. We walked out to the hub around 7:30pm on Saturday night and just went "whoa". That was crazy. We ended up sitting in the little roped off area on the side of Crystal Palace. At least there was room to breath there.
MK needs more vending carts out. The lack of vending carts out lead to long lines at the ones that were open and at the QS restaurants. At times I just skipped grabbing a snack or eating because didn't want to wait in the long lines to just grab a pretzel.
As far as masks go, it really felt like it depended on what ride you were on and which cast member was working as far as enforcement goes. The first 3 times we went on Splash, cast members were not enforcing any masks in line or when you got in the log. The last time we rode it, the CM's were making sure everyone had their mask on before sending out the log. It felt like Space had the least amount of enforcement. As soon as people got past the CM at the entrance to the building, masks were coming off. Then when you got past the CM telling you to go left or right, masks right back off. Pirates the same. People would not other with masks until you got to the CM who directed you to the queue on the current side or to go over to the other side.  Other than that, mask compliance was overall good. Outside I would say maybe 20% of people wearing masks.
We had an absolute blast on our trip. Crowds were low for the most part. Friday night and Saturday at MK were pretty crowded. But all other times the crowds seemed low. Two of my daughter's friends that came with us had never been before. By the time we left, the husband was decked out in Disney gear from head to toe. He loved it and was already trying figure out when they could come back.

We did have an hiccup on the way home with one of the worst flight experiences I have ever had. The airport in Houston was temporarily closed because of weather. After circling for about 20 minutes we had to divert to Austin to fuel up and then head back to Houston. We were told it was going to be a 30-45 minute process. Turned into 3 hours sitting on the tarmac in Austin. Only one fuel truck for multiple planes all doing the same thing. People asking to get off the plane in Austin because it was their destination. So they had to go find portable stairs and there was only one set in all of that part of the airport. We were stuck so long on the plane that more than half the plane pretty much ditched their masks and were walking around the plane. Almost had multiple arguments break out between passengers and the flight attendants. It was brutal.


----------



## jrsharp21

gottalovepluto said:


> I’ve seen/heard more CMs than ever, I sincerely wonder what the attendance levels would be without them. Guess they’re trying to enjoy the parks before being blocked? I’ve heard CMs in lines every day the last 4 days.
> 
> And if you threw a pair of Mickey Ears anywhere in Epcot the last two days you’d hit at least 3 mid-level managers as they travel in packs…



We also saw/heard a bunch of CM's while we were there. Lot's talking about their schedule or lack of scheduling.


----------



## brightlined

CBMom01 said:


> I’d go all fan girl over Bob Iger.


It's funny - there was a small pack of folks tailing the group - trying to get pictures. I was heading the other direction, and I think we all did double-takes (as CMs were trying to keep us out of the way).

I think there was a pow-wow of some kind under the gazebo near Disney Traders. 

I was thinking to myself - that's probably the closest I'll ever get to seeing Walt in the parks.


----------



## bsmcneil

Some last updates from last week. First, I'd super agree with this


jrsharp21 said:


> couple of days.
> 
> CM's for the most part were pretty awesome. We ran into a couple that didn't have that magic, but almost all others were great. We got sprinkled with some pixie dust a couple of times.
> The construction walls in Future World at Epcot are a pain in the butt to get around. It started to become frustrating to get one side of future world to the other. After a while we all just said forget Future World and stay in World Showcase.



My own experience with mobile ordering was that it was fine but felt a little obnoxious as an added step (there were times where I just wanted something like a quick dessert (I'm thinking a pop-tart from Woody's) and I couldn't get in because the windows were 20 minutes away. Everything was empty in TSL and I didn't want to wait for 20 min when I wanted to go see WWoA. Anyway - minor inconvenience truly.

*9/24* - Given the day before and my plan to (a) go to DAK, which I knew was a lot more space to cover and somewhat hilly and (b) go to MK for Boo Bash, I knew I needed an ECV. I also was trying to buy 2 tickets for friends to join me at Boo Bash. Initially got a ride share to AK and they told me (after picking me up, despite my submitted destination of DAK) that they wouldn’t be able to get me there. They took me back and I got on a bus and was the first person at DAK (I speed-walked but was glad to see it was just me). Once it was time to get in (about 7:45), got the tickets and then the ECV. Went to FoP and was there pretty early (though the other people at RD got there first since I had those two - relatively short - stops). FoP was cool. Not sure I’ll pay if/when it’s a IA$. Did EE a few times in a row (didn’t bother with Single Rider because the wait was so short). Had breakfast at RFC to make use of Landry’s Select Club Rewards (breakfast was disappointing - wish I hadn’t done it). Had a later ADR for Yak & Yeti (also because of Rewards as I had my welcome and birthday to use) - it made sense originally as a meal to tide me over so I could do MK/Boo Bash commando-style. But I was getting exhausted and couldn’t hold up at AK. Left around 2; went back to AKL and napped. Met up with friends and we made it to MK around 7. Boo Bash was okay - really glad to see HEA. 

*9/25* - My SW flights were changed a lot (by them, and me). Eventually left on a 7p flight (wanted some extra time since I didn’t come in on Tuesday like I planned). Enjoyed a great breakfast at Boma (couldn’t get an ADR - did walk-up). Briefly lost my phone (set it down on the bench waiting for a bus to Disney Springs - realized it about 2 minutes after bus departed). Made it to DS - honestly, it wasn’t really worth it. The merchandise is so limited across WDW; I hate the lack of unique things in places (and while I heard people talk about it - it was disappointingly true). There were some unique things in places but so much of it was homogenized and found in every park/resort shop I tried. Went back to AKL and planned to do the pool but was feeling tired and unsure of whether I wanted to do that sort of thing with Covid/no masks. For what it’s worth, I wore my mask outside 90-95% of the time (there were brief moments where the heat/humidity bothered me and I would lower it). I tried some social distancing - it wasn’t great but I was willing to lose out on prime spots, etc to try to keep some space (I feel moderately concerned about covid still mostly as I have two kids unable to be vaccinated). DME back to MCO was fine. Did a rapid test at MCO to get a prelim view and then a follow-up this week back home (given kiddos who share two homes and an upcoming event where we wouldn’t have wanted them to spread anything). 

I got a lot done, even with not being at the parks open-close. OTOH, I traveled by myself for the most part and so meals, etc go a lot faster. It was a good trip and I learned a ton for my upcoming trip as a single parent with two young-ish kids (9 and 5); and thank god. If I had brought them on this trip as originally planned, it could’ve been a bust. I was sad to miss out on some of the 50th stuff that I hoped might be soft launched (but totally get why it wasn’t and I didn’t feel entitled to any of it). And, I think that my next trip will totally suffice as the last for a while. 

One thing that really bothered me, and seems so trivial (but also telling, given a lot of feedback about Disney’s reputation, etc these days), that I thought I’d share. Upon arrival, DME had a couple of stops before AKL. We left one place (near the firehouse, I forget which now) and on the corner was an advertisement for DVC - it’s a large sculpture/billboard with Goofy driving and some other characters in the back - maybe you’ve seen it. It looks *terrible*. Like, godawful. Things of that quality would not have been allowed to be in plays/musicals performed in my HS. And I just thought - if you’re willing to let something like that go for so long without touch-ups or anything, it just sort of speaks to a resignation/giving up. And it’s super not important; but I also felt like I saw that sort of thing lots of places. The way Primieval Whirl is partially blocked off but you can see part of it (and it looks terrible). The tarp over RnRC. The walls all around Epcot. I trust that good things are coming; but, not having been to WDW in 6 years, it really felt run down (not far from how the local amusement park, Holiday World, feels). And I get all of the reasons behind it. It’s fine - and it’s telling. (This is the billboard, at least in its original state: https://www.disboards.com/threads/any-news-on-that-billboard.1149925/)


----------



## Violet Parr

CBMom01 said:


> I’d go all fan girl over Bob Iger.




Same.  In those cardigans? With those loafers?  Yum.  (Not sorry!)


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Pbogtret said:


> PART 2
> 
> Just a little background on us, we are Disney fans and have been coming since 1989…. We also got married at Disney and had our wedding reception at Fulton’s (now called Paddlefish).
> 
> Now onto more of our experiences / observations / opinions
> 
> Don’t come with the idea you can socially distance in the parks, it’s impossible. If you do find a spot expect others to join that area shortly after you and with the crowds expected for the 50th it’s just not going to happen.
> 
> we wore our masks outside as much as the heat allowed us to. We saw others masked up outside but we were the few not the majority.  We are fully vaccinated but at this point, with how many people are around and come in contact with, we would be very surprised if we don’t end up with Covid. I anticipate the risk will be even greater come later this week. We are due to leave on Oct 1st, we do not plan on being in any parks on Thursday or Friday.
> 
> we do rent a car every time we come and I am very thankful to have a “safe” place for a little bit of my park time
> 
> To get a little distance from people, we have booked Horse Back riding for Thursday…. Which we are very excited about.
> 
> I will post more about our trip and observations later in PART 3



I’m sorry but who comes to the parks expecting social distancing now?


----------



## scrappinginontario

CampbellzSoup said:


> I’m sorry but who comes to the parks expecting social distancing now?


Depending on where you live, some places people are still social distancing.  It is still very much a part of life where I live.  Even when not marked, people naturally do it out of respect for one another.

It may not be required at Disney but if it’s the way you’ve lived for 20 months, it’s hard to turn off and people may naturally try to create that space, hoping it will happen.  Not expected but longed for, even in a small way.


----------



## jrsharp21

bsmcneil said:


> My own experience with mobile ordering was that it was fine but felt a little obnoxious as an added step (there were times where I just wanted something like a quick dessert (I'm thinking a pop-tart from Woody's) and I couldn't get in because the windows were 20 minutes away. Everything was empty in TSL and I didn't want to wait for 20 min when I wanted to go see WWoA. Anyway - minor inconvenience truly.



Tip on this. If you go into the app to do a mobile order and the first window of time is a little bit out, say 20 minutes or so, cancel that order. Go back to start a new order and usually the new time windows will have the "now" time frame option. We discovered this out the first day. The first day we saw windows of time that were a little bit out, but no one was there. The next day we discovered this "hack" by accident. 

But in places like Woody's, they did have walk up lines for people who didn't mobile order. My son got a pop tart from Woody's one night. He did the mobile order. But we saw people going to the walk up line and ordering as well.


----------



## ThereYouSeeHer

jrsharp21 said:


> But in places like Woody's, they did have walk up lines for people who didn't mobile order. My son got a pop tart from Woody's one night. He did the mobile order. But we saw people going to the walk up line and ordering as well.


This is one thing we found confusing.  It wasn't always immediately clear which locations were allowing walk ups.  We ended up assuming no one was, and stuck to mobile order.  We didn't want to walk across the park, thinking we would be able to walkup, and get told we had to mobile order for some future time.

However, then there were places like the Ice Cream Parlor in MK that wasn't doing mobile order at all, so we thought it was closed, but then realized it was walk-up only.

Also, unless I missed it, it would have been nice to charge mobile orders to the room.  I didn't like having to put multiple charges on our credit card every time we wanted something to eat or drink.  Consolidating it on the hotel bill would have been nice.


----------



## gottalovepluto

CampbellzSoup said:


> I’m sorry but who comes to the parks expecting social distancing now?


I came from an area there is still some social distancing and many people mask. It’s one thing to say “no social distancing” but it was another to experience fill in every seat, people 2 inches from your backside in lines, people touching you from multiple sides in crowd choke points, people once again slamming their strollers into your legs like battering rams, etc. Even though I didn’t expect social distancing because I read here, I still wasn’t quite ready for the full return to no distancing.

And no social distancing with no masks might be too far for me right now, but until experienced the crowds again I just didn’t fully realize it. I’ll be having a serious discussion with the rest of my family about our day planned at UOR for our Nov WDW trip. Might just turn it into a relax resort day. (Of course Disney could drop all masks as well by then you never know.)


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

jrsharp21 said:


> Tip on this. If you go into the app to do a mobile order and the first window of time is a little bit out, say 20 minutes or so, cancel that order. Go back to start a new order and usually the new time windows will have the "now" time frame option. We discovered this out the first day. The first day we saw windows of time that were a little bit out, but no one was there. The next day we discovered this "hack" by accident.
> 
> But in places like Woody's, they did have walk up lines for people who didn't mobile order. My son got a pop tart from Woody's one night. He did the mobile order. But we saw people going to the walk up line and ordering as well.


The only place we found we had to mobile order was Columbia Harbor house. ABC Commissary, Aloha Isle, and various place throughout the parks had lines for non mobile ordering. I think Gastons didn’t have mobile ordering when we went either (and that was for a water/soda stop)


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

gottalovepluto said:


> I came from an area there is still some social distancing and many people mask. It’s one thing to say “no social distancing” but it was another to experience fill in every seat, people 2 inches from your backside in lines, people touching you from multiple sides in crowd choke points, people once again slamming their strollers into your legs like battering rams, etc. Even though I didn’t expect social distancing because I read here, I still wasn’t quite ready for the full return to no distancing.
> 
> And no social distancing with no masks might be too far for me right now, but until experienced the crowds again I just didn’t fully realize it. I’ll be having a serious discussion with the rest of my family about our day planned at UOR for our Nov WDW trip. Might just turn it into a relax resort day.


UOR also does “recommended” masks. Really in UOR the only places I saw people wearing masks was going into restaurants and stores (much like many of those places elsewhere still require). I wore mine inside (including HHN houses) unless I was eating, and outside I did wear it unless I was relaxing in an area with little to no humans (PS Central Park is great for this-little to no humans, can get some great pictures and take a breather) or I was taking a photo-and even then it wouldn’t come off until right before. I will say I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a number of  people wearing masks as I thought I would be the only one for sure.
Disney I did feel a lot safer, but I will say TMs and CMs alike really do try and keep it as safe as possible. And many of the outdoor staff do wear masks. Ultimately it is your decision.


----------



## bsmcneil

ThereYouSeeHer said:


> This is one thing we found confusing.  It wasn't always immediately clear which locations were allowing walk ups.  We ended up assuming no one was, and stuck to mobile order.  We didn't want to walk across the park, thinking we would be able to walkup, and get told we had to mobile order for some future time.
> 
> However, then there were places like the Ice Cream Parlor in MK that wasn't doing mobile order at all, so we thought it was closed, but then realized it was walk-up only.
> 
> Also, unless I missed it, it would have been nice to charge mobile orders to the room.  I didn't like having to put multiple charges on our credit card every time we wanted something to eat or drink.  Consolidating it on the hotel bill would have been nice.


I hadn't realized there were walk-ups, either. To be fair, the walk-up (for TS) really confused me. For instance, Boma (and a few other places) just weren't included at all. It's not that they said they were too busy to accept walk-ups (as many TS places did) - there just wasn't a listing (so I went and asked and they were). I recognize I'm not super into my phone and apps (born in 83, I'm an older millennial) but it wasn't quite as intuitive as I would've liked. But it mostly worked. I thought I had tried the trick someone mentioned right before this but it could've been that I tried modifying my current order instead of placing a new one (I honestly can't quite remember). It wasn't a huge deal - just one of those, "I wish this was slightly easier." moments. Funny that @BroadwayHermione5 mentioned soda/water stops - there were a number of times I wanted to get something like a soda/water and felt like if I had to deal with mobile ordering (and couldn't find a way to request a cup of water via MO), I just would keep going. And that stunk during really hot days (plus I couldn't find the water bottle refill stations I wanted easily).


----------



## bsmcneil

CampbellzSoup said:


> I’m sorry but who comes to the parks expecting social distancing now?


As @scrappinginontario mentioned, I think it's based a lot in what things are like locally. Do I expect social distancing at Disney World? No. Am I used to social distancing in my hometown and therefore am a little surprised when a CM says, "Fill in all available space" and they really mean "all" vs. "available at a relative social distance"? Yeah, definitely. Saw Epcot Forever and found a spot where I wanted to stand and asked the person nearest if they were saving it. They were reticent to share the space, which I get. We were probably 3' apart and masked and they asked if I would help spread out to keep anyone else from encroaching (which I did). I didn't go in the hub during HEA because it was packed, esp with unmasked people. On a day where MK was listed as a "1" on Touring Plans, do I think people could've enjoyed HEA with a little more space (esp if unmasked) - yeah. But they didn't and my POV wasn't going to prevail - so, I stood off to the side and willingly missed some projections so that I could feel a little safer. Just because things are reopened and some of the world is returning to how things were pre-covid doesn't mean I think that's what I want to do or we should do (and I felt really comfortable that I'd return without a positive Covid test because I sought to avoid exposure). 

I also just stuck to wearing my mask as I pointed out in one of my posts; again - based on where I live and how people do things, I assumed this would be the case (outdoors and indoors). The Disboards helped me adjust that before going but even mentally knowing it vs. what I am used to physically experiencing was eye-opening. I even found myself confused because I assumed QS restaurants were closed given that in my locale, you can't dine-in at fast food places. That experience (even though I hadn't consciously thought about it) + mobile ordering led me to assuming one thing (and perhaps "expecting it" though not consciously) vs. when I found myself at a QS during a rainstorm, I honestly kept thinking, "Why aren't they kicking me out? Well, I guess it's okay if I wait another minute!" and then it was not only fine for me to stay and eat, everyone stayed and ate!


----------



## AndreaDM

We were there from 9/25-9/29 so I'll share a few thoughts. I won't comment on masks, that topic has been covered ad nauseum.

Our flight got in super early, rented a car and headed straight for KSC. We had free return tickets from our trip last year when over half of the stuff was closed so that's the only reason we went back. Did a Walmart stop for a few essentials, then checked into ASMovies. Drove to Wilderness Lodge for dinner at WCC that night and returned car to CCC early on the 26th. Enterprise shuttle took us to GF where we hopped on the monorail to MK. One note, I told them at check in we would only have the car for one night, but on day 3 noticed we had been charged 3 nights. Went to front desk and had the 2 nights of charges taken off. Well, on the last morning going over my statement I saw I was once again charged for parking. Back to front desk and they took that off, plus the first night for the inconvenience. So just note, if you don't have a car for the full length of stay, check your charges!

MK was great, longest wait was for Jungle Cruise, we had lunch at Skipper Canteen right after so that was a nice break. I found taking a long lunch break around 1 re-energized us to head back into the heat. We did almost every attraction at least once and all the mountains at least twice. Went to BB the next day, but I've already posted about that.

Last full day we went to Epcot, we only did 2 park days this trip and if I could do it over, I'd have went to DHS. I LOVE F&W, but it was just really lacking this year. Not the food and wine offerings, but just the overall atmosphere. No entertainment in any of the pavilions, it was just blah. Future world is a disaster and the barges are ugly. Don't get me wrong, I still love Epcot but it just wasn't the same. Also, being waited on by "Becky from Nebraska" in Mexico or Japan was just weird. Saw the last fireworks show before Harmonius debuted the next day. We entered through the IG for EE and were among maybe a dozen other guests walking around WS which was such an odd feeling! Got a few pics with no one in them which is rare!

CMs were mostly awesome, there was one in MK at the pretzel stand who wouldn't look up from her phone, I finally asked if she was open, she grunted not yet (it was 5 min til opening). There was one working at Peter Pan who had the same name as a little girl in line, so she gave her a big hug. Made me realize, guests can be all up in the CMs faces in lines, etc. but Mickey still can't pose for photos with us. Had a late breakfast at Topolino's our last day which was excellent, but the characters just kind of parade through, you have to be quick with your camera and they don't come close to the tables. A lot of money for a subpar character experience. I feel like Disney is definitely picking and choosing on how to use the Covid card on experiences going forward, no consistency at all.

ETA: Totally forgot to mention this! I know that service dogs are allowed at WDW and we saw a few, but I'm pretty sure little purse dogs do not qualify! We were in the pre-show area of Laugh Floor and there was this couple with a shoulder bag with a tiny little dog inside. How did they manage to get that snuck into the park??


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

bsmcneil said:


> I hadn't realized there were walk-ups, either. To be fair, the walk-up (for TS) really confused me. For instance, Boma (and a few other places) just weren't included at all. It's not that they said they were too busy to accept walk-ups (as many TS places did) - there just wasn't a listing (so I went and asked and they were). I recognize I'm not super into my phone and apps (born in 83, I'm an older millennial) but it wasn't quite as intuitive as I would've liked. But it mostly worked. I thought I had tried the trick someone mentioned right before this but it could've been that I tried modifying my current order instead of placing a new one (I honestly can't quite remember). It wasn't a huge deal - just one of those, "I wish this was slightly easier." moments. Funny that @BroadwayHermione5 mentioned soda/water stops - there were a number of times I wanted to get something like a soda/water and felt like if I had to deal with mobile ordering (and couldn't find a way to request a cup of water via MO), I just would keep going. And that stunk during really hot days (plus I couldn't find the water bottle refill stations I wanted easily).


Tbh I was shocked Gastons wasn’t mobile ordering heavy either.

Now I want a cinnamon roll lol


----------



## Gehrig1B

Interested to see if park hopping is allowed to Magic Kingdom this afternoon.  This should tell us about hopping on capacity days like Christmas, NYE, Easter, etc. 

No one has reported being denied entry when hopping since hopping was restored in January.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Gehrig1B said:


> Interested to see if park hopping is allowed to Magic Kingdom this afternoon.  This should tell us about hopping on capacity days like Christmas, NYE, Easter, etc.
> 
> No one has reported being denied entry when hopping since hopping was restored in January.


Going by the wait times, I 100% anticipate hopping to be allowed today.

At 1:45 it's
SDMT: 50 mins
Space Mtn: 15 mins
Splash Mtn:  10 mins

Honestly, super jealous of those 'waits'!!  I wanna go...now!


----------



## CBMom01

scrappinginontario said:


> Going by the wait times, I 100% anticipate hopping to be allowed today.
> 
> At 1:45 it's
> SDMT: 50 mins
> Space Mtn: 15 mins
> Splash Mtn:  10 mins
> 
> Honestly, super jealous of those 'waits'!!  I wanna go...now!


That's shocking, right? I expected it to be wall-to-wall people.  I wonder if there are a significant number of people with APs that made a reservation but didn't show up (or haven't yet)?  I just assume that if people paid specifically for a park day to day they're there but AP reservation holders who are local might decide last minute to go only for a while or not at all.


----------



## cmp1976

CBMom01 said:


> That's shocking, right? I expected it to be wall-to-wall people.  I wonder if there are a significant number of people with APs that made a reservation but didn't show up (or haven't yet)?  I just assume that if people paid specifically for a park day to day they're there but AP reservation holders who are local might decide last minute to go only for a while or not at all.



Seems like they just showed up to buy merch.


----------



## CBMom01

cmp1976 said:


> Seems like they just showed up to buy merch.


I was just looking at the big 10/1 thread, and that's certainly what it sounds like.  I don't think I could articulate why, but I find that really off putting.


----------



## persnickity

Gosh, I kind of regret canceling our Fall Break trip this week for a little bit more time at Thanksgiving. I bought the hype that this week would be just as crowded!


----------



## jrsharp21

bsmcneil said:


> I hadn't realized there were walk-ups, either. To be fair, the walk-up (for TS) really confused me. For instance, Boma (and a few other places) just weren't included at all. It's not that they said they were too busy to accept walk-ups (as many TS places did) - there just wasn't a listing (so I went and asked and they were). I recognize I'm not super into my phone and apps (born in 83, I'm an older millennial) but it wasn't quite as intuitive as I would've liked. But it mostly worked. I thought I had tried the trick someone mentioned right before this but it could've been that I tried modifying my current order instead of placing a new one (I honestly can't quite remember). It wasn't a huge deal - just one of those, "I wish this was slightly easier." moments. Funny that @BroadwayHermione5 mentioned soda/water stops - there were a number of times I wanted to get something like a soda/water and felt like if I had to deal with mobile ordering (and couldn't find a way to request a cup of water via MO), I just would keep going. And that stunk during really hot days (plus I couldn't find the water bottle refill stations I wanted easily).



Sometimes it was struggle at MK to find a vending cart that didn't have a long line so that you could grab a quick soda or water. For the bottle refill stations, they need to add more of these in all of the parks. Two at MK are in Cosmic Ray's. You have to get past the CM's guarding the entrance and checking for mobile orders to be able to even use them. The ones that were easily accessible, like the one at HS in Galaxy's Edge, always had a line for it.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Wait times are low, but the park is packed.


----------



## CBMom01

luv2cheer92 said:


> Wait times are low, but the park is packed.


I guess that makes me believe - though I admit no real evidence for this - that MK is filled with press, TAs, resellers, vloggers, and other "professional" WDW visitors.


----------



## luv2cheer92

CBMom01 said:


> I guess that makes me believe - though I admit no real evidence for this - that MK is filled with press, TAs, resellers, vloggers, and other "professional" WDW visitors.


The longest lines are for food and merch. Even though it was a bit of a cluster, I'm so glad I got into the Emporium around 6:30 this morning and got that out of the way.


----------



## TropicalDIS

Gehrig1B said:


> Interested to see if park hopping is allowed to Magic Kingdom this afternoon.  This should tell us about hopping on capacity days like Christmas, NYE, Easter, etc.
> 
> No one has reported being denied entry when hopping since hopping was restored in January.



Watching Resort TV1 live stream, and apparently there was a massive line of people waiting to get in at 2pm.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Are people that merch hungry?


----------



## mrd7896

99% sure this has been asked/answer but real quick--if extra hours starts at 8:30 is that a firm entry time? what time should we get to the park?
we were so used to arriving about 45 days prior in hopes of a potential earlier entry..should i still get to MK around 7:45? or is that too early?


----------



## GBRforWDW

I don't know if anyone has asked recently, but I remember way back people would ask in this thread how to acknowledge a cast member.  Looks like Disney, for now at least, is making it easier.

On the home page of the app, click on the 50th anniversary guide:


Then scroll all the way down to the bottom to find the Send Some Magic section:


They have various filters to narrow down the specific nature of the compliment.  However, you don't get an option to go into detail about who or what specifically they did, just general nature of compliment and what area location they're at whether park or resort hotel and specific area of that selection.


----------



## luv2cheer92

GBRforWDW said:


> I don't know if anyone has asked recently, but I remember way back people would ask in this thread how to acknowledge a cast member.  Looks like Disney, for now at least, is making it easier.
> 
> On the home page of the app, click on the 50th anniversary guide:
> View attachment 609217
> 
> Then scroll all the way down to the bottom to find the Send Some Magic section:
> View attachment 609218
> 
> They have various filters to narrow down the specific nature of the compliment.  However, you don't get an option to go into detail about who or what specifically they did, just general nature of compliment and what area location they're at whether park or resort hotel and specific area of that selection.
> View attachment 609219


Thanks for this! I had the best Jungle Cruise skipper I've ever had this morning. Marshal. I want to send something specific for him, but everyone there was wonderful, so I'll send this too!


----------



## GBRforWDW

Gehrig1B said:


> Interested to see if park hopping is allowed to Magic Kingdom this afternoon.  This should tell us about hopping on capacity days like Christmas, NYE, Easter, etc.
> 
> No one has reported being denied entry when hopping since hopping was restored in January.


Just saw a notification that park hopping is currently suspended for magic kingdom

ETA: also called the park hopper number and the message is updated to reflect no park hopping to magic kingdom only.


----------



## Gehrig1B

GBRforWDW said:


> Just saw a notification that park hopping is currently suspended for magic kingdom
> 
> ETA: also called the park hopper number and the message is updated to reflect no park hopping to magic kingdom only.



Looks like we have a bit of an answer... "suspended" may or may not mean all day I guess.  I do imagine many will stay for the fireworks though. I do believe a lot of people who were unable to get an MK reservation grabbed another park hoping to hop over.  I am more interested in how this plays out on other holidays moving forward. At least a precedent was set today.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Just checked back, about 45 minutes before the fireworks show and park hopping is available again for magic kingdom and all parks


----------



## Tonyz

CampbellzSoup said:


> Are people that merch hungry?



yes and it’s such a shame. But good for us! I got so much done today! Hope you had an awesome time!


----------



## erinch

mrd7896 said:


> 99% sure this has been asked/answer but real quick--if extra hours starts at 8:30 is that a firm entry time? what time should we get to the park?
> we were so used to arriving about 45 days prior in hopes of a potential earlier entry..should i still get to MK around 7:45? or is that too early?


Arriving 45 days early is quite the commitment. 
I’m in PA so don’t know early entry answers.


----------



## DFelt1

If taking resort transit, what’s the expectation for when to arrive at the bus stop for early entry? 

Park opens at 9:00
Early entry at 8:30
Arrive at bus stop at ???

thanks.


----------



## scrappinginontario

DFelt1 said:


> If taking resort transit, what’s the expectation for when to arrive at the bus stop for early entry?
> 
> Park opens at 9:00
> Early entry at 8:30
> Arrive at bus stop at ???
> 
> thanks.


If you want to be some of the very first into the park I would recommend arriving at the bus stop at 7:00AM.


----------



## DFelt1

scrappinginontario said:


> If you want to be some of the very first into the park I would recommend arriving at the bus stop at 7:00AM.



Perfect, 90 minutes prior was our standard. Thank you!


----------



## scrappinginontario

DFelt1 said:


> Perfect, 90 minutes prior was our standard. Thank you!


We're a 90 minute family too.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Got on the skyliner about 7:45 this morning at Pop (it was a walk on, no line and no line at CBR). And I was on the second Slinky train.
By 10am I've done SDD, TSMx2, MMRR, ToT RnRx2, and am in line for RotR.


----------



## luv2cheer92

luv2cheer92 said:


> Got on the skyliner about 7:45 this morning at Pop (it was a walk on, no line and no line at CBR). And I was on the second Slinky train.
> By 10am I've done SDD, TSMx2, MMRR, ToT RnRx2, and am in line for RotR.


Update: Rise said 65 min wait when I got in line. I was off in less than 45.

I'm solo at the park today, so these short waits are appreciated!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

I'll post a more detailed report when I have more time, but quick synopsis of yesterday for us:

Overall a great (exhausting) day... very different from any other MK day we've done, but we already planned on taking a different approach.

4:30 am - wake up
5:45 am - on bus
Around 6:15 am (I think) - entered MK
(details of day forthcoming)
Camped out for Enchantment around 7 pm
After Enchantment, we allowed the crowd to disperse some (also allowing the bus line to die down a little), then went and rode the TTA People Mover before heading out to the bus around 10:30 pm.
Back to resort around midnight.


----------



## luv2cheer92

I am loving the scavenger hunting for the statues. I needed a little help to find Tink. The pics ahead of time kinda made them look to be about the same size, but they are more proportionate to the size of the characters. Like Joe from Soul and Frozone are huge, like person-sized. While Tink is like the size of my hand.


----------



## Goofygirl514

Any idea on how early parking lots open for parking/when you can start lining up to park? I’m going to MK and Epcot next week and both have an early entry time of 8:30 am. Thanks!


----------



## gottalovepluto

CBMom01 said:


> That's shocking, right? I expected it to be wall-to-wall people.  I wonder if there are a significant number of people with APs that made a reservation but didn't show up (or haven't yet)?  I just assume that if people paid specifically for a park day to day they're there but AP reservation holders who are local might decide last minute to go only for a while or not at all.


Yes. It’s shocking. Even on 10/2 wait times at all the parks on the app are shocking me right now. FoP is 40 mins on what should be their busiest weekend since Holidays of 2019. If this is the busiest they get for the 50th they have seriously screwed up. Epically screwed up actually. They spent SO MUCH money hyping this to the skies to drive mass crowds in.

Turns out they should have just designed a bunch of merchandise and sold it on Shop Disney. Would have saved them a ton money.


----------



## CJK

luv2cheer92 said:


> I am loving the scavenger hunting for the statues. I needed a little help to find Tink. The pics ahead of time kinda made them look to be about the same size, but they are more proportionate to the size of the characters. Like Joe from Soul and Frozone are huge, like person-sized. While Tink is like the size of my hand.


Can't wait to try it! Is there a list of how many of the statues are in each  park? That's all I want to know in advance. Thanks so much!


----------



## GBRforWDW

CJK said:


> Can't wait to try it! Is there a list of how many of the statues are in each  park? That's all I want to know in advance. Thanks so much!


Here's the list by park:
https://www.wdw-magazine.com/full-list-of-disney-fab-50-character-statues-at-walt-disney-world/


----------



## luv2cheer92

CJK said:


> Can't wait to try it! Is there a list of how many of the statues are in each  park? That's all I want to know in advance. Thanks so much!


The link above is great. If you get stuck, DFB has a post that gives a general description of where each one is as a hint. The hint didn't help me with Tink though haha


----------



## luv2cheer92

Wow, I loved Harmonious!! Beautifully done.


----------



## disneyfan150

Anybody at Pop or AoA right now?  Wondering about the Skyliner crowds in the morning when trying to make RD at HS.


----------



## BK2014

luv2cheer92 said:


> Wow, I loved Harmonious!! Beautifully done.


What area did you view it from and how were the crowds?


----------



## luv2cheer92

disneyfan150 said:


> Anybody at Pop or AoA right now?  Wondering about the Skyliner crowds in the morning when trying to make RD at HS.


I got to the Skyliner from Pop at 7:45 this morning. No line there and no line at CBR. I was towards the front of the pack and was on the second train of Slinky.


----------



## luv2cheer92

BK2014 said:


> What area did you view it from and how were the crowds?


I was to the right of the righter-most (not a word lol) store at the front of World Showcase. I was in the little walkway that is separated by the planter garden area and the back rail, so I had nobody directly in front of me. It was a petty perfect view. It was pretty crowded, but I got there about 8:40 and didn't have any trouble finding that spot.


----------



## disneyfan150

luv2cheer92 said:


> I got to the Skyliner from Pop at 7:45 this morning. No line there and no line at CBR. I was towards the front of the pack and was on the second train of Slinky.


Great news! I was worried about crazy long lines with the removal of VQ from Rise. Thank you!


----------



## luv2cheer92

disneyfan150 said:


> Great news! I was worried about crazy long lines with the removal of VQ from Rise. Thank you!


Most people seemed to be heading that way at rope drop. I waited a bit. I rode it three different times today. I know people time the actual wait for that ride differently because of the different pre shows/sections, but I was off the ride in 45 minutes the first time and 35 minutes the other two times.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

scrappinginontario said:


> If you want to be some of the very first into the park I would recommend arriving at the bus stop at 7:00AM.



what time would you be waking up to make this 7 am bud stop for curious minds…?


----------



## scrappinginontario

disneyfan150 said:


> Anybody at Pop or AoA right now?  Wondering about the Skyliner crowds in the morning when trying to make RD at HS.


I read something Saturday but can’t remember if it was on the Pop thread or the Everythng Rope Drop.  You may wish to check those.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Very short wait at Pop skyliner this morning at 7:20. The HS line was backed up a little bit at CBR (probably like a 5 min wait). There was not a single person in the Epcot line.
I got BG 59 this morning! Can't wait to ride Remy!


----------



## disneyfan150

luv2cheer92 said:


> Very short wait at Pop skyliner this morning at 7:20. The HS line was backed up a little bit at CBR (probably like a 5 min wait). There was not a single person in the Epcot line.
> I got BG 59 this morning! Can't wait to ride Remy!


I am so happy for you! We will be doing the same thing in exactly two weeks. DD is the one able to get Rise BG.  I hope our luck holds out with Remy. Depending on the Skyliner to get places at RD makes me nervous.  Thank you for your help!


----------



## disneyfan150

scrappinginontario said:


> I read something Saturday but can’t remember if it was on the Pop thread or the Everythng Rope Drop.  You may wish to check those.


Thank you for the reminder about the RD thread.  I was looking at the transportation boards.


----------



## luv2cheer92

disneyfan150 said:


> I am so happy for you! We will be doing the same thing in exactly two weeks. DD is the one able to get Rise BG.  I hope our luck holds out with Remy. Depending on the Skyliner to get places at RD makes me nervous.  Thank you for your help!


The sjyliner has been great for rope drop. I've never had an issue and I almost always stay at Pop for at least part of all my trips


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

As promised, here are more details about our day at MK on Friday.

We're visiting local family throughout the week, but it was just my wife and I in MK on Friday.  We did a lot of shopping, but did not spend hours in line for anything.

Our must do's were Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and TTA People Mover.  We could have done a lot more attractions with short waits, but we wanted to take it easy and spend more time relaxing, enjoying the sights, etc.  We also knew we would be back next year to ride rides with kids/grandkids.

Here's how our day went:

We decided to go to bed early (10 pm is early for us) and wake up at 4:30 am.  We figured even if the first bus didn't arrive until 6:45, we would prefer sitting at the bus stop to standing in a potential crowd trying to get in to the park.  Around 5:30 am, we walked from Jambo over to Kidani because the bus normally stops there first.  There were about 10-12 people already waiting.  Just a few minutes after we walked up (maybe 5:45ish), the bus pulled up and we were off!  

I think it was around 6:15 am when we arrived to MK.  We breezed through security and joined a smallish crowd that had formed at the tapstiles.  A few minutes later they started letting us in.  The crowd moved quickly.  I heard someone near us comment that everyone waiting outside MK at 6 am "knew the deal" about how to use their magic bands, etc. which avoided a lot of delays in the lines.

We got our commemorative park maps and headed through the train station.  I noticed the sign for merchandise virtual queue near Tony's and joined it (my number was something like 820).  We strolled around Main Street taking pictures, etc.  We avoided the going INTO any of the stores at this point... just enjoying the scenery.

We took pre-dawn photos at the castle and wandered around some more until the sun started to come up.  We made our way back to the castle a little before 8 am to see if there was going to be any kind of opening ceremony (there was, but it was just a simple welcome show, nothing special for the day other than referring to 50 years in the narration). 

After the 8 am opening show, my wife asked me to get a balloon popcorn bucket.  I got in line for the cart near the castle, which snaked around the corner, but wasn't all the way to Cosmic Ray's.  It moved fairly quickly.  I think I spend maybe 20-30 minutes waiting and chatted with nice people in the line around me to pass the time. 

As others have said, since most everyone there were die-hard fans (who else would be crazy enough to get up at 4:30 am to be there that early on a major anniversary?), I noticed a different vibe.  On regular days, I often avoid "talking to strangers" because I don't want to impose on their conversation or have them think "who is this strange guy talking to us?"  But it just felt more open to chatting with everyone around you than normal (although that may have just been how I perceived things).

I rounded the corner (yay, I can finally see the cart again!) and my wife texts me asking me to get two balloon buckets.  So, I ended up with two pink buckets because, as I learned, each color is at a different location.  I told my wife I would wait again and get her a blue one (which was the other color she wanted) when we saw them.  We know plenty of people who we give the extra pink one to.  Thankfully, I talked her off the ledge of needing to have ALL the colors!   

While I was in line for popcorn, my wife decided to go explore Adventureland (I suspect she was actually headed there to get a Dole Whip!) and discovered and got into a line of people waiting to join the virtual queue for the exclusive pins.  I joined her around the tunnel into Frontierland.  We waited 20-30ish minutes to get the front and successfully got signed up for that virtual queue.

It was now between 9-10 am.  We rode Pirates which was a walk-on.  Then we started making our way over to Cinderella's Castle for our 10 am breakfast (we treated it as a "brunch") ADR.  I check-in at CRT and we strolled through the castle looking at the mosaics, getting photos of the crowds in the hub, etc.

We had a nice meal at CRT.  Around 11 am, as we were departing the castle, I got the text that we could enter for the merchandise shopping.  We headed over to the Big Top and got in line.  Magic Bands and Christmas Ornaments were already sold out already, but it seems they had plenty of everything else.  We had toyed with the idea of getting an ornament, but we weren't heartbroken that they were sold out.

We got a few shirts, a water bottle, mug, and pins.  My main gripe with Big Top would be that the first room was way to tight (as in not enough space between the shelves to maneuver), but it was nothing compared to the pinball machine we experienced later at the Emporium. 

I got my wife an Icee on the way out (they were available at the snack bar in the center of the second Big Top room) and we went over to Tomorrowland where I also got something to drink and we sat, rested, and chatted for a while.  We took some pictures at the purple wall.

By now, it was early afternoon... we decided to look in the Emporium (the queue was still kind of long looking, but much less than in the morning).  We waited maybe 15-20 minutes to get in, which wasn't bad.  But it was packed with people and really difficult to navigate.  We ended up just getting a pair of Mickey and Minnie plush dolls and getting out of there. 

I wanted to get a few pictures of the train station entrance in the daylight, so walked out front.  After taking the photos, I noticed a crowd of people outside the gates and glanced at my watch.  1:45 pm!!!!!   I told my wife they were going to be letting those folks into the park in 15 minutes, so let's get the heck off Main Street now.  

We took some daytime photos/selfies at the castle and I got the text that it was time for pin shopping, so we headed over to Frontierland.  There were only a few people waiting in front of me to get in the store, but it moved a bit slow (probably because people had to decide which pins they wanted and it's a really small shop).  I ended up getting a Mickey Mouse Review pin, Haunted Mansion pin, and three varieties of the 50th anniversary logo pins.

After pin shopping, we were sitting around in Frontierland, when a nice lady noticed that we had two pink balloon popcorn buckets.  She had gotten two blue ones and her daughter wanted a pink one.  She asked if we would consider trading one of our pink balloons for a blue one.  We did, which made her day and it saved me from having to go get in another popcorn line (and having an extra one we didn't need).  Even though she said they hadn't been eating out of it, I still discarded the popcorn later.  We just wanted the blue bucket and didn't need more popcorn.

We went back around the corner and got a Dole Whip and relaxed in the shade near the Magic Carpets.  Several people were sitting on the ground, propped against the wall fast asleep!!!!  That's kind of how we were feeling too by this point. 

By now, it was between 3-4 pm.  We were still feeling hot and thirsty, so I mobile ordered drinks from Pecos Bills.  We finished our Dole Whips and made our way around to Pecos Bills.  It wasn't quite time for our window, but they had plenty of tables available and let us go in and sit down.  I picked up our drinks and we cooled off in the AC for a while.  My wife saw someone near us with what we discovered was the Minnie Mouse sipper.  I went back up to the counter and ordered one for her.  I did have to then wait in about a 5 minute or so line to pick it up at the other end of the restaurant.  We later learned about the matching Mickey Mouse popcorn bucket, which I hate that we missed getting, but we have folks who are locals who will probably be able to get one for us down the road.

We made our over to Haunted Mansion and rode that.  About a 20-30 minute wait. 

After HM, we started making our way to The Plaza for our dinner 5:45 pm ADR.  We saw the princess cavalcade on the way there (we'd seen Mickey/50th and "Party" ones earlier in the day).  We're trying to eat light on this trip... I just had the salad and my wife had a sandwich.  Both were good, but nothing special.  We even resisted getting ice cream.  I really only even made this ADR because I didn't want to risk mobile ordering windows being overwhelmed and having trouble getting food.

After dinner (about 7 pm), we strolled over to the hub (where crowds were already starting to form) and camped out a really good spot on the hub to watch Enchantment.  The first hour dragged by slightly, but after we got "packed in" there was a lot of energy, chatting, and anticipation (plus the periodic "teasers" on the castle) which made the time pass more quickly.

We enjoyed the show, but we were not "wowed" by it.  As others have said, there were fewer fireworks than I would have expected, especially for the finale.  We were in a spot where I could turn around and look down Main Street (which I did from time to time), but I never saw anything on the Main Street buildings that I felt I was missing out on by not being further down the street.  If we see this show again in the future (it's going to be at least a year), I may get a spot down the street to see what it looks like from there. 

After Enchantment, we allowed the crowd to disperse some (also allowing the bus line to die down a little), then went and rode the TTA People Mover.  We could have ridden a lot more rides, but it was already an exhausting day even with lots of down time and relaxing throughout the day.  We made the conscious decision weeks ago to not go on lots of rides.  We've been on all of them many times before and we'll ride them again during future visits.

We started heading out to the bus around 10:30 pm (grabbing our posters on the way out) and probably got in line for the bus around 10:45 pm.  I didn't notice the precise times, but we didn't have to wait very long for the bus.  I do recall seeing the bus clock showing 11 pm a little while after we left the station.

By the time we got dropped off and walked back to our room at Jambo House (we are one room away from the very end!!!!!), it was around midnight. 

Our carriage turned into a pumpkin and we did our best Sleeping Beauty impersonations.

I've never been to Disney on October 1st, but have visited during the years of the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th anniversaries (not by design... just happened to be there during those years).   We've visited in the years since, but it just turned out to be on "random" years and not major anniversaries.  Overall, it was a great experience to have "been there" for the actual 50th anniversary.


----------



## ellbell

For all those wishing to get a boarding pass for Remy I really hope you do. I rode yesterday and even with the boarding passes it was a long wait. I don't think it will be requiring it for long though.  The ride is cute but super short.  I prefer runaway railway over this ride.


----------



## lovethattink

Ratatouille virtual queue is filled up for the day. My friend said the attraction broke down for a while. She’s hoping it gets to her number. We’re going tonight if the guys are awake enough after a fishing day.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Remy’s was cute! Not an absolute must do like Rise, so I won't stress about VQ im the future, but definitely a good ride.

Saw a shirt I want, "I'm here for the rat, not the mouse"


----------



## JFDIS

Did AK today. We arrived at 8:30a. 10 min wait for Na’vi River. Walked on safari, Kali x2, Dinosaur x2, triceratop. Ate at Yak&Yeti. We had a fantastic meal and excellent server, Krystal. Watched Kite Tails and Played at the Boneyard. We did all this at a leisurely pace and left at 2p. 
My husband surprised me with this adorable 50th mug from Starbucks.
A CM also gave me and my daughter this cookie for free. She said it was in celebration of the 50th.


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

JFDIS said:


> Did AK today. We arrived at 8:30a. 10 min wait for Na’vi River. Walked on safari, Kali x2, Dinosaur x2, triceratop. Ate at Yak&Yeti. We had a fantastic meal and excellent server, Krystal. Watched Kite Tails and Played at the Boneyard. We did all this at a leisurely pace and left at 2p. View attachment 609844View attachment 609845
> My husband surprised me with this adorable 50th mug from Starbucks.View attachment 609855
> A CM also gave me and my daughter this cookie for free. She said it was in celebration of the 50th.



Is the inside of the cup WHITE or is it a color?


----------



## JFDIS

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> Is the inside of the cup WHITE or is it a color?


The inside is green. It is a beautiful mug! I hope someone can report back from the other parks if there are unique mugs in the Starbucks locations. I really hope so as I would like to collect them all.


----------



## mommamouseca

JFDIS said:


> Did AK today. We arrived at 8:30a. 10 min wait for Na’vi River. Walked on safari, Kali x2, Dinosaur x2, triceratop. Ate at Yak&Yeti. We had a fantastic meal and excellent server, Krystal. Watched Kite Tails and Played at the Boneyard. We did all this at a leisurely pace and left at 2p. View attachment 609844View attachment 609845
> My husband surprised me with this adorable 50th mug from Starbucks.View attachment 609855
> A CM also gave me and my daughter this cookie for free. She said it was in celebration of the 50th.


Seeing this mug absolutely made my day.  I have one from Disneyland that I bought last month and was sooooo hoping they would have some at WDW when I am there in a few weeks.  Would love to see pics of mugs from other parks if you happen to run across any.  Yay - so happy!!


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

JFDIS said:


> The inside is green. It is a beautiful mug! I hope someone can report back from the other parks if there are unique mugs in the Starbucks locations. I really hope so as I would like to collect them all.



THANK YOU!!  I saw on DFB that Hollywood Studios has one as well.  I am hoping that the other parks do, too. I use my 2019 versions of those cups every day! The ONLY downside is that the Starbucks in MK usually has such a long, long line!



mommamouseca said:


> Seeing this mug absolutely made my day.  I have one from Disneyland that I bought last month and was sooooo hoping they would have some at WDW when I am there in a few weeks.  Would love to see pics of mugs from other parks if you happen to run across any.  Yay - so happy!!



Click the link above to see the Hollywood Studios one, too!


----------



## Carol_

TexanInTheMidwest said:


> THANK YOU!!  I saw on DFB that Hollywood Studios has one as well.  I am hoping that the other parks do, too. I use my 2019 versions of those cups every day! The ONLY downside is that the Starbucks in MK usually has such a long, long line!
> 
> 
> 
> Click the link above to see the Hollywood Studios one, too!


Where is that bird from on the Hollywood Studios mug?


----------



## luv2cheer92

Carol_ said:


> Where is that bird from on the Hollywood Studios mug?


MMRR


----------



## TexanInTheMidwest

Carol_ said:


> Where is that bird from on the Hollywood Studios mug?


In Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway!!  She's in the first scene  and again at the very end - the end scene has like 4 different different things that the bird does . 

It's one of my favorite little things in that ride (probably my favorite on property right now). And though I'm not much of a plushie person, I wish I had bought one last fall before the sold out.


----------



## luv2cheer92

The ride crowds have returned. The low waits were nice while they lasted.


----------



## rmclain73

luv2cheer92 said:


> The ride crowds have returned. The low waits were nice while they lasted.



Are you going by actual wait times, or posted times at the parks and on the MDE app?  TP does not show as being too bad, but a bit higher than last week.


----------



## luv2cheer92

rmclain73 said:


> Are you going by actual wait times, or posted times at the parks and on the MDE app?  TP does not show as being too bad, but a bit higher than last week.


Actual wait times, I'm at MK.
Its definitely not horrible, but far worse than the last 5 days.


----------



## coolbrook

bsmcneil said:


> Had breakfast at RFC to make use of Landry’s Select Club Rewards (breakfast was disappointing - wish I hadn’t done it).


What is RFC?  I thought the only place to use the rewards in AK was at the Yak and Yeti restaurant.  Thank you


----------



## Betty Rohrer

coolbrook said:


> What is RFC?  I thought the only place to use the rewards in AK was at the Yak and Yeti restaurant.  Thank you


Rain Forest Cafe at front of AK based on what poster was saying


----------



## Tonyz

luv2cheer92 said:


> The ride crowds have returned. The low waits were nice while they lasted.



Yeah today is ridiculous… but it’s the perfect time to leave. The waits overall the past few days have been non-existent save a few big headliners like Slinky and ROTR.

I never would have guessed the Monday *after* a weekend celebration of the 50th anniversary would be far and away the busiest day.


----------



## bethbuchall

Tonyz said:


> Yeah today is ridiculous… but it’s the perfect time to leave. The waits overall the past few days have been non-existent save a few big headliners like Slinky and ROTR.
> 
> I never would have guessed the Monday *after* a weekend celebration of the 50th anniversary would be far and away the busiest day.


Maybe it's like the first day WDW opened. People stayed away fearing crowds, but within weeks the crowds showed up. I was kind of hoping (against evidence to the contrary) that it would stay slow until we were there next month.


----------



## MainMom

JFDIS said:


> The inside is green. It is a beautiful mug! I hope someone can report back from the other parks if there are unique mugs in the Starbucks locations. I really hope so as I would like to collect them all.


I saw the HS one on Disneyfoodblog. It’s super cute!


----------



## DisneyByMarriage

MainMom said:


> I saw the HS one on Disneyfoodblog. It’s super cute!


I have the 2018 or 2019 ones as well as two 2021 Star Wars ones and I cannot wait to get my hands on these!!!!  All of my kids’ teachers will be getting Disney gifts for Xmas.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Alas, waiting for DME. This has easily been my all time favorite WDW trip.


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Can anybody confirm if they are still selling the Millennium Falcon popcorn "bucket" at WDW?


----------



## NJlauren

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Can anybody confirm if they are still selling the Millennium Falcon popcorn "bucket" at WDW?


I saw it on Thursday.


----------



## emsstacey

I arrived this morning to MCO at 9:15- walked straight onto DME and got my room ready text shortly after. We are at Kidani and have had a relaxing afternoon at the pool, which is not crowded at all! It’s been a great start!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

NJlauren said:


> I saw it on Thursday.


THANK YOU!  So awesome... and so ridiculous at the same time!


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

Ok random Popcorn bucket follow up Q... are they filling buckets again for refills... OR are they still giving you a box instead due to the Popcorn COVID procedure, lol


----------



## NJlauren

SouthFayetteFan said:


> Ok random Popcorn bucket follow up Q... are they filling buckets again for refills... OR are they still giving you a box instead due to the Popcorn COVID procedure, lol


Still a box, as of Saturday in Epcot…. Why do I know so much about popcorn!
Also where does the popcorn go in the millennium falcon, I need to know?


----------



## SouthFayetteFan

NJlauren said:


> Still a box, as of Saturday in Epcot…. Why do I know so much about popcorn!
> Also where does the popcorn go in the millennium falcon, I need to know?


I am here for ALL of the popcorn facts!!

There is a tab that opens up a door.  You can sort of see in that pic I pulled from ebay... The entire back half of the "bucket" opens.

Why don't I just give you an image... google helps!!


----------



## jujubiee4

SouthFayetteFan said:


> THANK YOU!  So awesome... and so ridiculous at the same time!
> 
> View attachment 610109


We got two of those on our Disney cruise 2 or 3 years ago. DD just
had to have. Couple weeks ago I was getting a box ready for Goodwill
and was going to toss those in because they were tucked somewhere
gathering dust. Daughter came flying down the stairs yelling " Don't
touch the falcon!"  Yikes!

**They are big and bulky. I just shoved under her bed lol


----------



## Looper

Is anyone planning on going to the late night hours at Epcot tonight? I’d love to hear how it is! We’re planning on going next Monday.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Looper said:


> Is anyone planning on going to the late night hours at Epcot tonight? I’d love to hear how it is! We’re planning on going next Monday.


 To give something to compare against for the late night hours, there are the wait times at 7:20pm.




The waits are almost all extremely low.  Hoping it stays the same for those going to the event.


----------



## Looper

They do look pretty good even now! My 11yo loves test track….think she’d ride it the whole two hours if the wait time was low enough.


----------



## Cj2017

Looper said:


> They do look pretty good even now! My 11yo loves test track….think she’d ride it the whole two hours if the wait time was low enough.



Hey Looper I will be there too! Keep in mind we have extra hours if staying on-site. at deluxe hotel

**Added deluxe hotel to avoid confusion


----------



## scrappinginontario

Cj2017 said:


> Hey Looper I will be there too! Keep in mind we have extra hours if staying on site.


Just clarifying, guests staying onsite at deluxe resorts have access to the extra hours.  They are not available to value and moderate resort guests.


----------



## Looper

We’re staying at Boardwalk (for the first time!)…I‘m glad we‘ll be able to just walk back.  I’m curious if any of the food carts or stores will be open? I’m assuming they won’t be. But the rides should be fun!


----------



## Meglen

Looper said:


> We’re staying at Boardwalk (for the first time!)…I‘m glad we‘ll be able to just walk back.  I’m curious if any of the food carts or stores will be open? I’m assuming they won’t be. But the rides should be fun!


Not having remy open is a kick in the pants


----------



## Dismama2boys

jujubiee4 said:


> Daughter came flying down the stairs yelling " Don't
> touch the falcon!"  Yikes!
> 
> **They are big and bulky. I just shoved under her bed lol


The Millennium Falcon ALWAYS goes under a bed.  DUH.  Because where else would it go???


----------



## MMSM

Meglen said:


> Not having remy open is a kick in the pants


I thought it was open?


----------



## masupo

MMSM said:


> I thought it was open?



I think they mean Remy isn't open during the evening extra magic hours.


----------



## jujubiee4

Have the extra evening hours started yet? Any feedback?


----------



## crazymomof4

Following. We will be in MK on the 7th and I'm anxious to hear whether or not the quick service food venues are as backed  up as they were on the 1st. We made no ADRs and had planned on snacking our way around MK.  If it's a 2 hr wait for every counter service "snack", that's gonna be tough!  May have to change plans and leave for a QS or sit down at one of the monorail resort food venues.


----------



## scrappinginontario

jujubiee4 said:


> Have the extra evening hours started yet? Any feedback?


They started last night.  There are a couple of threads out there specifically about that so you may wish to look for those.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Some experiences are returning soon, including indoor socially distanced character meet and greets as well as Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular!

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...his-fall/?CMP=SOC-DPFY22Q1wo0930211006210045C
Over the past year, beloved Disney Characters have been popping up in cavalcades, motorcades, flotillas, and surprise sightings, much to the delight of our guests, and I’m pleased to tell you many of those experiences will be continuing. Although the environment is not right just yet for hugs and autographs, you’ll soon be able to have individualized time with some of your favorite characters, getting to visit with them in a themed location and snap a photo or two. Look for the *Disney Princesses to return to Princess Fairytale Hall* in Magic Kingdom Park. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you’ll soon find *Minnie Mouse at Red Carpet Dreams* and the stars of *Disney Junior in Animation Courtyard*. And when you stop in to see *Mickey Mouse backstage at Town Square Theater* on Main Street, U.S.A., he’ll be sporting his all-new EARidescent look designed just for the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration! *Each of these locations is planned to start welcoming guests in November.*


----------



## Haley R

GBRforWDW said:


> Some experiences are returning soon, including indoor socially distanced character meet and greets as well as Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular!
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...his-fall/?CMP=SOC-DPFY22Q1wo0930211006210045C


I’m excited for any kind of meet and greets even if they are socially distant!


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

Cj2017 said:


> Hey Looper I will be there too! Keep in mind we have extra hours if staying on-site. at deluxe hotel
> 
> **Added deluxe hotel to avoid confusion


I think Shades of Green qualifies as a Deluxe Hotel...anyone know if that's correct or not?


----------



## GBRforWDW

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> I think Shades of Green qualifies as a Deluxe Hotel...anyone know if that's correct or not?


You are correct. Here's the full list of qualified hotels for extended evening hours:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/extended-evening/


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

GBRforWDW said:


> You are correct. Here's the full list of qualified hotels for extended evening hours:
> 
> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/extended-evening/


Thanks!!  We will be staying there in less than 3 weeks.


----------



## bsmcneil

coolbrook said:


> What is RFC?  I thought the only place to use the rewards in AK was at the Yak and Yeti restaurant.  Thank you


Rainforest Cafe


----------



## christygobar

Here today and spent the morning at AK.

did 7:30 early entry and straight to FOP. Said 25 min wait but basically took that long to walk through the queue, I felt it was pretty close to walking on.

walk on for Navi River Journey, KS and  KRR. Did not do EE but when we left at noon, the posted wait was maybe 30 min. FOP was then an hour. 

kLooking at the other parks, wait times still look really good this afternoon.

iPad - sorry for typos!


----------



## loves to dive

GBRforWDW said:


> Some experiences are returning soon, including indoor socially distanced character meet and greets as well as Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular!
> 
> https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...his-fall/?CMP=SOC-DPFY22Q1wo0930211006210045C
> Over the past year, beloved Disney Characters have been popping up in cavalcades, motorcades, flotillas, and surprise sightings, much to the delight of our guests, and I’m pleased to tell you many of those experiences will be continuing. Although the environment is not right just yet for hugs and autographs, you’ll soon be able to have individualized time with some of your favorite characters, getting to visit with them in a themed location and snap a photo or two. Look for the *Disney Princesses to return to Princess Fairytale Hall* in Magic Kingdom Park. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you’ll soon find *Minnie Mouse at Red Carpet Dreams* and the stars of *Disney Junior in Animation Courtyard*. And when you stop in to see *Mickey Mouse backstage at Town Square Theater* on Main Street, U.S.A., he’ll be sporting his all-new EARidescent look designed just for the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration! *Each of these locations is planned to start welcoming guests in November.*


So glad the entertainers are coming back to Epcot, I love just sitting on a bench with a refreshing adult beverage and watching.   And darn it to heck, Indy begins on Dec. 17 and I'll be there that week but leaving on the 17th.   Love me some Indy.   Oh well, planning on going back some time in Feb. for Festival of the Arts so I'll see it then.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Are there any new threads on the new MK dessert parties?


----------



## starstruck93

crazymomof4 said:


> Following. We will be in MK on the 7th and I'm anxious to hear whether or not the quick service food venues are as backed  up as they were on the 1st. We made no ADRs and had planned on snacking our way around MK.  If it's a 2 hr wait for every counter service "snack", that's gonna be tough!  May have to change plans and leave for a QS or sit down at one of the monorail resort food venues.



I heard Len Testa (on his podcast) talking about the day the phone quick service went down.... it was awful! He said some people were waiting 2 hours and finally they completely cut off the on-line service and cast members came out with pencil and paper to take orders! I really hope they have this fixed by December!


----------



## CBMom01

starstruck93 said:


> I heard Len Testa (on his podcast) talking about the day the phone quick service went down.... it was awful! He said some people were waiting 2 hours and finally they completely cut off the on-line service and cast members came out with pencil and paper to take orders! I really hope they have this fixed by December!


I don’t mean to be a jerk but why world anyone wait 2 hours for food rather than leave and come back


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Lsdolphin said:


> Are there any new threads on the new MK dessert parties?


https://www.disboards.com/threads/magic-kingdom-fireworks-parties.3852420/


----------



## starstruck93

CBMom01 said:


> I don’t mean to be a jerk but why world anyone wait 2 hours for food rather than leave and come back



I'm with you on this!! I sure wouldn't!


----------



## Lsdolphin

ENJDisneyFan said:


> https://www.disboards.com/threads/magic-kingdom-fireworks-parties.3852420/



Thank you!


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Lsdolphin said:


> Thank you!


Here's another one too...
https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...alifornia-grill.3852440/page-10#post-63427878


----------



## Tonyz

CBMom01 said:


> I don’t mean to be a jerk but why world anyone wait 2 hours for food rather than leave and come back



We’ve got a few people in this fanbase that ain’t the brightest bulbs on the tree…


----------



## robinstrip

CBMom01 said:


> I don’t mean to be a jerk but why world anyone wait 2 hours for food rather than leave and come back


Because they were afraid if they left MK they couldn't get back in for the fireworks. They ended up letting people back in, but people didn't want to chance missing it.


----------



## CBMom01

robinstrip said:


> Because they were afraid if they left MK they couldn't get back in for the fireworks. They ended up letting people back in, but people didn't want to chance missing it.


Think we’re talking about different days, but I can see that on Oct 1. That was crazy


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

This may seem like a strange question...but is WDW accepting cash in the parks or do you need to use a Magic Band or Credit Card?


----------



## robinb

I just returned from a super-quick 3 day trip.  I was VERY pleasantly surprised to see that Genie hasn't started and that the BLISSFFUL no FP lines remain.  This trip was not planned at all.  We had cancelled our WDW 50th anniversary trip because I couldn't face huge crowds + covid and we went on 100% vaxxed cruise instead.  While on the cruise, we found out that our favourite UK Rose and Crown bartender, Carl, was retiring on Monday 10/4.  So, we grabbed a last minute DVC reservation at the Polynesian on Saturday 10/2 for 10/3-10/5 (there were actually plenty of choices!), changed our return flight to be out of Orlando and booked a car from Miami to Orlando.  We did 1/2 day at the MK on Sunday 10/3, a full day at Epcot on 10/4 (Carl's last day) and a 1/2 day at AK on 10/5 before driving to MCO to go home.

The wait times were ... blissful!  We never waited more than 25 minutes for anything.  We did avoid the 7DMT, Pandora and Test Track.  But everything else, including Frozen, Jungle Cruise and the Safari were all less than 25 minutes.  Space Mountain, BTMR, Splash Mountain and Everest were all under 10 minutes.

We rode Remy.  I missed the 7:00 am virtual queue but my DH got us in at 1:00 pm.  It was cute and I'm looking forward to seeing it again.  They loaded the car from back to front so we sat behind the people who were actually in line behind us.  The woman in front of me had mouse ears on and they were VERY annoying and were in the way of me seeing the scenes.  PLEASE take your ears off in rides and shows!  They are bigger and taller than  you think.

We saw the new Hall of Presidents show.  I am pleased to be able to see the show again!

We caught Enchantment on 10/3.  We watched from the hub, slightly to the right so we saw all the projections.  We really liked the fireworks.  I liked the how they would play a song and then include characters from multiple movies with the same general theme as the movie the song was from.  My DH thought that they threw in the whole kitchen sink of intellectual property into the show.  I was not a fan of Happily Ever After, so I consider this an improvement.  I'll be interested to see how I feel about it after seeing it a few more times.  The crowd was pretty intense there and we wore our mask the whole time.

We saw HarmoniUS on 10/4.  We watched between Japan and Morocco.   The crowd was light there.  We wanted to see the round "stargate" ring, but I'm not sure that it really added anything.  It was a little fuzzy even from our slightly off-center view.  I'm not sure if it's sharp from dead on (Japan/USA).  I could tell that much of what was shown on the ring was also shown elsewhere.  The spot between the two gift shops at the head of the World Showplace was a ZOO.  Much of it was roped off.  I'm not sure if that was for fireworks parties/upsells or what.  It was more crowded in Japan and the Torii gate looked like it might get in the way of the projections.  We liked the show better than Enchantment, fewer characters and stories were stuffed into it and the music was better.  The fireworks were better at the MK.

We saw the new AK show KiteTales.  I really enjoyed it.  The best viewing is from the stands near Nemo to see all the puppeteers.  The puppets were super cute and the big kites were cool.  We saw Baloo and King Louie.  I read reviews later and agreed that part of the charm was watching the kites crash land, intentionally and otherwise.   Baloo and Louie crashed intentionally in empty seats near Everest.  Other smaller kites crashed in the water and one grouping got caught up on some rocks.

We saw the wreckage of Primeval Hurl in AK.  It was sad.

Mask usage is down to inside resorts, buildings and rides/queues that are inside.  No masks in BTMR queue until the FP merge point.  No masks on Everest until you enter the last building.  No masks on the safari at all.  In the spaces that mask usage was required, compliance was very good.  Last May you had to mask as soon as you crossed under the marquee sign for the ride even if the queue itself was outside.

I'll post some photos from my phone in another post.


----------



## robinb

KiteTails, King Louie


KiteTails, crash landed Baloo


Primeval Hurl, This Really Extincts!


Sad, sad, sad.  The End is Near ...




HarmoniUS, Epcot




Enchantment, MK.


----------



## jrsharp21

robinb said:


> Mask usage is down to inside resorts, buildings and rides/queues that are inside.  No masks in BTMR queue until the FP merge point.  No masks on Everest until you enter the last building.  No masks on the safari at all.  In the spaces that mask usage was required, compliance was very good.  Last May you had to mask as soon as you crossed under the marquee sign for the ride even if the queue itself was outside..



When we were there 2 weeks ago, we experienced the same with BTMR for the most part. We rode it 4 times while we were there. The first three times, no mask until the FP merge, getting ready to go down the walkway to the loading area. But the last time we got on, we were walking through the queue near the part you can set off the explosions, one of the janitor CM's was walking outside the queue, stopped and point at me and told me to put my mask on. It perplexed me because herds of other people had walked by with no mask on or were behind me with no mask, but somehow he chose me to tell to put it on. It was very strange. The group I was with thought the same thing. Right away they asked "why just you"?


----------



## BK2014

CBMom01 said:


> I don’t mean to be a jerk but why world anyone wait 2 hours for food rather than leave and come back



Because they didn't know it would be a 2 hour wait.  When mobile ordering was having problems on 10/1 it would accept the order, people would go to the restaurant, hit the "I'm Here, Prepare My Order" button without knowing that it was going to be two hours before their food was prepared.  The app was not informing guests of the delay, and the helpfulness of the castmember varied from castmember to castmember.


----------



## Best Aunt

BK2014 said:


> Because they didn't know it would be a 2 hour wait.  When mobile ordering was having problems on 10/1 it would accept the order, people would go to the restaurant, hit the "I'm Here, Prepare My Order" button without knowing that it was going to be two hours before their food was prepared.  The app was not informing guests of the delay, and the helpfulness of the castmember varied from castmember to castmember.



When you mobile order, at what point is your credit card charged?  And what is the latest point at which you can cancel your order without being charged?  Regardnig the people who waited a long time for the food that they mobile ordered - I thought that maybe once they hit "I'm Here, Prepare My Order" their credit card would be charged so they didn't want to leave without the food.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Best Aunt said:


> When you mobile order, at what point is your credit card charged?  And what is the latest point at which you can cancel your order without being charged?  Regardnig the people who waited a long time for the food that they mobile ordered - I thought that maybe once they hit "I'm Here, Prepare My Order" their credit card would be charged so they didn't want to leave without the food.


That last statement is correct, that is when you are charged. When you complete the order, but before hitting "I'm here", you have the option to cancel on the app. However, you can still cancel and get refunded after hitting I'm here by going up to one of the CMs at the restaurant, they can cancel your order for you at that point.


----------



## BridgetR3

Okay so the Primeval Whirl photos disturb me, especially for my teenage son who LOVES the ride.  Please please tell me that those photos are taken through a wall/partition/covering/SOMETHING and that you can't just see it destroyed all over dinoland.......


----------



## jrsharp21

BridgetR3 said:


> Okay so the Primeval Whirl photos disturb me, especially for my teenage son who LOVES the ride.  Please please tell me that those photos are taken through a wall/partition/covering/SOMETHING and that you can't just see it destroyed all over dinoland.......



When we were there two weeks ago and they were starting the dismantle, there were no walls up. Not sure what the plans are for that area, but that whole carnival area needs to be re-themed.


----------



## scrappinginontario

jrsharp21 said:


> When we were there two weeks ago and they were starting the dismantle, there were no walls up. Not sure what the plans are for that area, but that whole carnival area needs to be re-themed.


I agree.  I will say I've never understood the theming of that area.  Even the 'pay to play' games (which I understand some like) just feel so un-Disney to me.  That's the kind of stuff I find at our local fair, not Disney.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

BridgetR3 said:


> Okay so the Primeval Whirl photos disturb me, especially for my teenage son who LOVES the ride.  Please please tell me that those photos are taken through a wall/partition/covering/SOMETHING and that you can't just see it destroyed all over dinoland.......


Agreed.  It's a sad day when Disney makes no attempt to hide a demolition.  That NEVER would have happened in years past...they always did such a great job masking anything that was under refurb.


----------



## luv2cheer92

scrappinginontario said:


> I agree.  I will say I've never understood the theming of that area.  Even the 'pay to play' games (which I understand some like) just feel so un-Disney to me.  That's the kind of stuff I find at our local fair, not Disney.


There is a pretty cool back story to that whole area.


----------



## BebopBaloo

I’m really hoping to hear that walls are up now around Whirl Demo. I’m speechless if not…I like DinoLand and never wanted to actually watch the meteor destroy the dinos.


----------



## scrappinginontario

luv2cheer92 said:


> There is a pretty cool back story to that whole area.


Care to share a link to it?  Possibly I would appreciate the area more if I understood the back story.


----------



## CarolynFH

scrappinginontario said:


> Care to share a link to it?  Possibly I would appreciate the area more if I understood the back story.


I don’t have a link to a more complete explanation, but IIRC it’s intended to be a throwback to the 1950s roadside tourist attractions (or tourist traps, as my dad would call them). A few carnival rides and games, a gift shop, just something to pull people off the road for a bit. That’s why the walkway has a stripe down the middle - it’s supposed to be a road.


----------



## bethbuchall

scrappinginontario said:


> Care to share a link to it?  Possibly I would appreciate the area more if I understood the back story.


https://insidethemagic.net/2015/03/...history-at-walt-disney-worlds-dinoland-u-s-a/


----------



## luv2cheer92

scrappinginontario said:


> Care to share a link to it?  Possibly I would appreciate the area more if I understood the back story.


https://www.orlandofuntickets.com/articles/story-behind-chester-hester-dino-rama/Thats why you see the painted lines on the pavement showing the road and the parking spaces.


----------



## CarolynFH

bethbuchall said:


> https://insidethemagic.net/2015/03/...history-at-walt-disney-worlds-dinoland-u-s-a/


Thanks for the link to the full story!


----------



## Leigh L

jrsharp21 said:


> When we were there two weeks ago and they were starting the dismantle, there were no walls up. Not sure what the plans are for that area, but that whole carnival area needs to be re-themed.


When I was staying at Shades of Green WDW in June, I went over to see if the walking path between Poly and GF was open yet. They had walls up and signs explicitly stating no video or photos allowed. You could peek through if you tried, but Disney wasn't openly doing it, they were trying to hide it and that was just a path. Weird they wouldn't wall up the Dino area. I agree, a retheme is desperately needed here.


ENJDisneyFan said:


> Agreed.  It's a sad day when Disney makes no attempt to hide a demolition.  That NEVER would have happened in years past...they always did such a great job masking anything that was under refurb.



Sad they aren't attempting to cover construction inside of the parks 

On the plus side, I am looking forward to seeing what goes up in the ride's place!

Edited for clarification


----------



## luv2cheer92

BebopBaloo said:


> I’m really hoping to hear that walls are up now around Whirl Demo. I’m speechless if not…I like DinoLand and never wanted to actually watch the meteor destroy the dinos.


There were walls up when I was there on 9/30 and on 10/3.


----------



## luv2cheer92

ENJDisneyFan said:


> Agreed.  It's a sad day when Disney makes no attempt to hide a demolition.  That NEVER would have happened in years past...they always did such a great job masking anything that was under refurb.


But... there are walls lol.


----------



## jrsharp21

luv2cheer92 said:


> There were walls up when I was there on 9/30 and on 10/3.



That was right after we left. So sounds like they put them up for the heavy demo. When we were there, they were just starting the beginning of the dismantle. It wasn't a full on demo yet.


----------



## emsstacey

Yesterday, we got to the bus at 7:00 for an 8:30 early entry at Epcot and waited 30 minutes for a bus. We had heard busses were running 90 minutes early- and they did for magic kingdom but not Epcot. We then were held at the tapstiles for another 20 minutes, then walked to test track and held another 10-15 minutes, only to find out test track was down. Disappointing morning but we did get to ride soarin’ as a walk on after all of that. Crowds looked thick but lines stayed reasonable or low and food booths were only 4-5 people in line max.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

luv2cheer92 said:


> But... there are walls lol.


I’d prefer walls to construction out in the open.  Sounds like walls have since been put up around PW, which is good.


----------



## disneylover102

Ok, I’ve been looking back through a bunch of posts to try to find the answer to this question because I’m sure someone has posted about it, but there’s a lot to read lol. How long is the wait for Rise during early entry? I’m staying offsite in December and I wonder if it’s even worth it to try to be at the front of the stampede of offsite people to try and get there for normal opening. Also I’m thinking FOP is an acceptable thing to do first since someone said it was pretty much a walk-on during EE. I just want to do those ones as much as possible because they’re amazing and so I want to do them first, but if doing them first is going to be a longer wait time than they will be later in the day and/or it’s gonna cause me to miss doing multiple rides during that time it’s not worth it


----------



## robinb

BridgetR3 said:


> Okay so the Primeval Whirl photos disturb me, especially for my teenage son who LOVES the ride.  Please please tell me that those photos are taken through a wall/partition/covering/SOMETHING and that you can't just see it destroyed all over dinoland.......


They have a fabric wall up, but you can easily see through it. The sharper photo was taken through a hole.


----------



## disneyseniors

Sorry to see it go.  It was a people eater and a fun little ride,  They'll probably put something there that you have to pay for.


----------



## JennSaint

emsstacey said:


> Yesterday, we got to the bus at 7:00 for an 8:30 early entry at Epcot and waited 30 minutes for a bus. We had heard busses were running 90 minutes early- and they did for magic kingdom but not Epcot. We then were held at the tapstiles for another 20 minutes, then walked to test track and held another 10-15 minutes, only to find out test track was down. Disappointing morning but we did get to ride soarin’ as a walk on after all of that. Crowds looked thick but lines stayed reasonable or low and food booths were only 4-5 people in line max.


Thanks for sharing your experience.  We will be there on Wednesday 10/20.


----------



## disneylover102

disneyseniors said:


> It was a fun little ride


We’ll I don’t think I can agree with that one  painful!


----------



## robinb

disneylover102 said:


> We’ll I don’t think I can agree with that one  painful!


It used to be MUCH wilder but they tamed it about 10 years ago with more braking.  It was never the same .  Although I liked Primeval Hurl, I'm looking forward to something new!


----------



## lorileahb

disneylover102 said:


> We’ll I don’t think I can agree with that one  painful!



Me either!  But my kids LOVED it...


----------



## Minsc

Just got back. Stayed at Art of Animation from 10/2 to 10/6. Saturday we hit MK, and though it seemed to be moderately crowded, the wait times did not reflect that. Waits were pretty reasonable all day, save for SDMT, which was around 50-60 minutes whenever we checked. We hopped to HS around 5pm for a 7pm reservation at Sci-Fi. We rode Slinky Dog twice and TSMM once before heading out.

Sunday we hit Animal Kingdom in the morning and were able to get on FOP in less than 5 minutes during Early Access, and then ride it again back to back. We were also able to ride EE several times in a row, and the wait time never seemed to go above 10 minutes while we were there. We hopped to HS around 2:30pm and found HS to be much of the same. Rode pretty much everything we wanted, save for RotR, without much of a wait.

Monday was EPCOT in the morning and we were able to ride TT and Soarin' twice each before the waits went above 15 minutes. We had lunch at Via Napoli and then hopped over to HS and had another afternoon/evening of pretty light crowds. The longest wait we had was 25 minutes for Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railroad.

Tuesday everything changed, including the temperature reaching near surface of the sun levels. We did a full MK day, including Boo Bash. The daytime at MK was very crowded and we had to really plan our moves. We had a fantastic dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern (haven't been there in ages!), and then continued to fight the crowds for another hour or so. Around 7:30pm, there was a very noticeable drop in crowds even though BB didn't officially start until 9:30. The rest of the night was very enjoyable, including Boo Bash, with very light crowds and lots of extra fun.

Wednesday, we had a late flight out, so we hung out at HS for the bulk of the day. Temps were a bit of a drag, with the heat index hitting 110 just after noon, and crowds were also very heavy, with most of the headliner rides hanging round 75-80 minutes. We departed around 4pm and headed to the airport. All in all, it was a great trip. For the first time in a long time, we didn't have any flash photography on dark rides and did not experience a single line cutter incident. Enforcement of masks by CM's was very good, maybe the best I've seen it. We found more than a fair share of CM's that were really working to bring the magic, which was great to see. One interesting thing was that we definitely found that Disney's posted wait times were often very off, both under and over. We used the TP Lines app, which was almost spot on every time. It definitely helped us as we planned our moves around the park without the benefit of FP+.


----------



## disneyfan150

emsstacey said:


> We then were held at the tapstiles for another 20 minutes, then walked to test track and held another 10-15 minutes, only to find out test track was down.


The same thing happened to us in June.  It wasn't just TT for us either.  It also happened on SDMT and Slinky. It was disappointing to say the least.


----------



## SmittS

I swear I saw discussion somewhere on this topic, but now I can’t find it.
Success stories with early entry on check in day?  We’re staying offsite for a few days then going to AKL the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Hoping to enjoy early entry to AK that morning.


----------



## Mome Rath

SmittS said:


> I swear I saw discussion somewhere on this topic, but now I can’t find it.
> Success stories with early entry on check in day?  We’re staying offsite for a few days then going to AKL the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Hoping to enjoy early entry to AK that morning.


I was told it is the same as check out day, which we directly experienced.  When you get your band scanned in the park for early entry, have your reservation pulled up on your phone in the MDE App and show them that you indeed have a reservation for that day.  It slows the process down a bit, but they knew about the issue (checkin day/checkout day), and told us just to pull it up on our phone, then we were on our way.


----------



## CanucksRock

Been here since the 26th, fly home Sunday, so had to take a Covid test (Canada), Negative. Yay. We have been eating indoors at restaurants. They still have the spacing going on in most cases, so we were never uncomfortable. 2 more park days, plus a breakfast at GF cafe, then its home. But back again at the end of January.

Ride waits gradually increasing as the trip goes on. My favourite day still the 1st at MK. Ride waits were low.


----------



## chuwy9

Arrived 10/5, staying at Caribbean Beach. Part of a travel party consisting of 9 people - 4 adults, 5 kids.

10/5, played golf at Palm golf course in the AM. Great course. Last minute thing so I didn’t bring my own clubs, so rental was quick and easy.

In the PM, attended Boo Bash. Arrived around 7p, got in around 8. (Issues with tickets)

Witnessed my first ever physical altercation at WDW. Two adults got into a shoving match due to firework watchers blocking the pathway of non watchers in Tomorrowland. No CMs anywhere to be found to deescalate the situation. Luckily other adults stepped in and got the line moving.

Boo Bash was my first ever after hours, ticketed event. While I very much enjoyed being able to walk on to the rides and all the sodas they were handing out, didn’t really think BB was worth it. Members of my travel party agreed as well.

10/6, full day at MK. Longest wait time was about 20 minutes for Space Mountain. For most of the day, my group found that wait times were half of what was advertised on signs/apps. 

10/7, full day at AK. Longest wait was Flight/Avatar at 40 minutes. Everything else was 10 minutes or less. 

Mask compliance indoors has been good, better than I expected.

Leave 10/10, so a couple more days to go.


----------



## jrsharp21

I know some people check this thread now for info like this (as I used to also). Been back home 10 days now from our trip. Happy to report that no one from our group of 7 got sick. No one has experienced any symptoms since returning. I wore a KN95 mask on rides/indoors and the rest of the group wore disposable masks. So really a good ending to a really fun trip!


----------



## disneyseniors

disneylover102 said:


> We’ll I don’t think I can agree with that one  painful!




Well, we are both big enough to keep each other from getting thrown around, LOL.


----------



## luv2cheer92

jrsharp21 said:


> I know some people check this thread now for info like this (as I used to also). Been back home 10 days now from our trip. Happy to report that no one from our group of 7 got sick. No one has experienced any symptoms since returning. I wore a KN95 mask on rides/indoors and the rest of the group wore disposable masks. So really a good ending to a really fun trip!


Same here! We only wore masks in places where they were required.
Even on the three crowded fireworks nights, no masks and negative!


----------



## GBRforWDW

*Genie+ launch *date announced along with pricing!

*October 19th *launch date:
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...d-resort/?CMP=SOC-DPFY22Q1wo1007211013210001C
*Disney Genie+ service will be available for $15 per Guest per day. *Attraction list included here too.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/genie/lightning-lane/?CMP=ILC-DPFY22Q1Wo1007211013210001C
*Lightning Lane Pricing and availability will vary by date, attraction and park.*


----------



## Princess Katelet

aviva5675 said:


> We were there this week, Mon/Tues.
> 
> Got to Coronado Springs around 330, our first time there. Had found a passholder deal on a room awhile ago. Went in to the tower, and were very impressed with it. Were looking around and a guy, apparently a mgr, came up to us and was chatting. I asked if we would be able to see the MK fireworks from our room (401). He said no, not on that side. The said he could check for a different room for us, and after kinda saying no, thats ok, we said ok sure. Awhile later he came back and had upgraded us to a 1 bedroom suite!!  We were shocked, to say the least.  The room(s) were wonderful, living room, bedroom, bath and a 1/2.  Fancy.  We were able to see MK fw great, at 815.  Afterwards we went up to the top floor lounge and watched the Epcot fireworks, and also the ones they have with the show at HS. So managed to see all 3 parks from the hotel!!  Wonderful experience.
> 
> Tues my DH left early for golf. I ate at Rix at the hotel, which was fine. The hotel seemed pretty empty. I then took a bus to Epcot. We had Remy preview at 1-2. Got there about 10 and stood about 15 back in resort early entry line. About 1005 they started scanning us in, yay!!  But then walked us (I went left towards Space 220) and then held us back by the walls til the 1/2 hour, 1030 exactly. There were pretty many in the area by then. Fast walked it over to the restaurant to beg for a ressie.  Was in the line, about 12 back, actually it was the wait for lounge line. About 1045 1050 lady came out and I flagged her down and started my beg. She said she'd check, and a bit later brought me around to the podium and found me a 1230!!!
> 
> Texted my DH to hurry it up and he ran from the car to Space, we were there right at 1230, figuring to eat fast to get to our Remy.  Suffice to say, so thrilled to get the ressie, enjoyed the experience and food (salmon and steak), the elevaotr was the best part... rushed the lunch but then hyper walked all the way to France, got there 130.
> 
> The Remy line said 30 minutes, it was a wound around outside at first, moved along fairly fast tho, so probably all told 20-25 minutes.  Loved the ride, much more than MMRR, not really jerky. Each color car does a slightly different route.  Got out of that and then wait was 15 minutes, no one outside at all. Just walked right back on. Did that twice more!  Got lucky there.
> 
> Walked over and got a griddled cheese in Greece, the only thing I really wanted to try and FW, it was super delicious, could have had 5 more. Then walked to France and got ice cream, and by then we were done. Slow walked it to car.
> 
> Overall one of our best trips yet, lots of surprises and pixie dust.  Monday night dinner El Mulino, could take it or leave it, probably won't return.
> Sorry for the long post.


What restaurant are you referring to??  Space??  I'm so confused, lol!


----------



## mfly

luv2cheer92 said:


> There is a pretty cool back story to that whole area.



I like the backstory, but it’s definitely lost on the average (or even above average) Disney guest. I’ve had multiple people that I’ve traveled with say that the area felt “cheap” and “like Six Flags.”


----------



## Tiggerontheseas

CanucksRock said:


> Been here since the 26th, fly home Sunday, so had to take a Covid test (Canada), Negative. Yay. We have been eating indoors at restaurants. They still have the spacing going on in most cases, so we were never uncomfortable. 2 more park days, plus a breakfast at GF cafe, then its home. But back again at the end of January.
> 
> Ride waits gradually increasing as the trip goes on. My favourite day still the 1st at MK. Ride waits were low.



Can I ask where you got your test?  We are going to be there in a couple of weeks and have a test booking made for a couple of days before we fly back to Canada but it's not at a terribly convenient place.


----------



## aviva5675

Princess Katelet said:


> What restaurant are you referring to??  Space??  I'm so confused, lol!



Yes, Space 220


----------



## Princess Katelet

robinb said:


> It used to be MUCH wilder but they tamed it about 10 years ago with more braking.  It was never the same .  Although I liked Primeval Hurl, I'm looking forward to something new!


The braking is what was so horrible!!  Sudden, lurching, full stops! Just awful!


----------



## Princess Katelet

aviva5675 said:


> Yes, Space 220


Never heard of it.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Princess Katelet said:


> Never heard of it.


Lol


----------



## CanucksRock

Tiggerontheseas said:


> Can I ask where you got your test?


Walgreens (ID NOW test), it’s free. Staying off-site, so have a car rental. Made an appt a couple days in advance, in the afternoon when we take a break from the parks. Had my results in 45 minutes. (My appt was at the one on the Southwest corner OF POINCIANNA & SR 192)


----------



## disneyfan150

I have a question for those of you at the parks now. I noticed that the Mickey pumpkin decorations on the Magic Kingdom Main Street lamp posts have been switched to Cinderella's carriage pumpkins.  Are there Mickey pumpkins somewhere else in the park?


----------



## disneylover102

I was just looking at wait times during early entry vs regular park opening for MK, Epcot, and HS. Are wait times actually that long or are they just really inflated? Like 45 minutes for Space, 95 for Rise before offsite guests can go in sounds kind of off


----------



## scrappinginontario

disneylover102 said:


> I was just looking at wait times during early entry vs regular park opening for MK, Epcot, and HS. Are wait times actually that long or are they just really inflated? Like 45 minutes for Space, 95 for Rise before offsite guests can go in sounds kind of off


At 9:30 per Touring Plans
Space Mtn posted 45; expected 35
RotR posted 125; expected 67


----------



## cindycastle30

disneyfan150 said:


> I have a question for those of you at the parks now. I noticed that the Mickey pumpkin decorations on the Magic Kingdom Main Street lamp posts have been switched to Cinderella's carriage pumpkins.  Are there Mickey pumpkins somewhere else in the park?


I'm pretty sure that there are some in the front of the park. After the turnstiles and before going under the train station. They stood out to me because I also had thought they all were changed out. This was earlier this week.


----------



## disneyfan150

cindycastle30 said:


> I'm pretty sure that there are some in the front of the park. After the turnstiles and before going under the train station. They stood out to me because I also had thought they all were changed out. This was earlier this week.


Thank you so much! I will be on the look out.  Due to work, I have not been this time of year. I took a couple days off this year.  I've never seen the cute Mickey ones in person.


----------



## EpcotPhoenician

Disney:

"Leave no available space!! Fill in those gaps!"



Also Disney:

Here's a disinfected remote control for you. Because.. safety.





I was here back in May, and it feels like so much has changed since then. I understand the risks (hence why I'm here), but it just feels like there's a very odd double standard right now, where Disney wants to do the right thing, but is slowly transitioning out of it.


----------



## srauseo

Currently in line for ROTR. Got to Studios entrance a little before 7:30 to a small crowd. We were let into the park shortly after and power walked to Galaxy’s Edge entrance. We are queuing into the backstage area to the right of the tunnel. We appear to be near the front. Mobile ordered breakfast from Woody’s Lunch Box for 9-9:30 window.


----------



## srauseo

At 8:10 they moved us into GE at a slow walk.


----------



## srauseo

We walked into the actual standby queue at 8:20 and into the preshow room at 8:30. Off the ride around 8:45. Did MF right after as a walk-on. Proceeded to Woody’s Lunch Box and got our mobile order. Slinky Dog was apparently down first thing but is now running with a 70 minute wait.


----------



## CJK

CanucksRock said:


> Walgreens (ID NOW test), it’s free. Staying off-site, so have a car rental. Made an appt a couple days in advance, in the afternoon when we take a break from the parks. Had my results in 45 minutes. (My appt was at the one on the Southwest corner OF POINCIANNA & SR 192)


Thanks for the info Is the ID NOW test similar to a PCR test? Just want to make sure we get the right test for returning to Canada. Thanks!


----------



## hdrolfe

CJK said:


> Thanks for the info Is the ID NOW test similar to a PCR test? Just want to make sure we get the right test for returning to Canada. Thanks!


You can also make an appointment with BeeperMD, they come to you hotel, it's the PCR test. If you don't have a car. Results in 36 hours.


----------



## Minsc

disneylover102 said:


> I was just looking at wait times during early entry vs regular park opening for MK, Epcot, and HS. Are wait times actually that long or are they just really inflated? Like 45 minutes for Space, 95 for Rise before offsite guests can go in sounds kind of off



On the previous page, I mentioned in our trip from 10/2 - 10/6, we found Disney's posted wait times to be off in both directions nearly every time. They used to give someone in line a card you would hand to the CM at the end of the queue and they would scan that to determine how long it took you to get there. This was the first trip in a long time I did not see them use this practice at all. Anyway, we ended up using Touring Plans Line App for the majority of the trip, and it was always very close thanks to it's crowd sourced data. Sometimes, the posted wait time was as much as 15 minutes off.



EpcotPhoenician said:


> I was here back in May, and it feels like so much has changed since then. I understand the risks (hence why I'm here), but it just feels like there's a very odd double standard right now, where Disney wants to do the right thing, but is slowly transitioning out of it.



It definitely felt that way. On one hand, they were as diligent as I've seen on mask enforcement, including a trip we took in March this year. However, they were also barking the "Fill in all available space!" in the same breath. I actually made a sarcastic comment to a CM who yelled "Look down! If you see floor, you are not close enough to the person in front of you."

As I mentioned previously, crowds were unexpectedly light for us on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, but then ramped up considerably on the 5th and 6th, save for the Boo Bash on the 5th, which was so light I was shocked to find out it was supposedly a sold out event.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Minsc said:


> On the previous page, I mentioned in our trip from 10/2 - 10/6, we found Disney's posted wait times to be off in both directions nearly every time. They used to give someone in line a card you would hand to the CM at the end of the queue and they would scan that to determine how long it took you to get there. This was the first trip in a long time I did not see them use this practice at all. Anyway, we ended up using Touring Plans Line App for the majority of the trip, and it was always very close thanks to it's crowd sourced data. Sometimes, the posted wait time was as much as 15 minutes off.
> 
> 
> 
> It definitely felt that way. On one hand, they were as diligent as I've seen on mask enforcement, including a trip we took in March this year. However, they were also barking the "Fill in all available space!" in the same breath. I actually made a sarcastic comment to a CM who yelled "Look down! If you see floor, you are not close enough to the person in front of you."
> 
> As I mentioned previously, crowds were unexpectedly light for us on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, but then ramped up considerably on the 5th and 6th, save for the Boo Bash on the 5th, which was so light I was shocked to find out it was supposedly a sold out event.


They stopped doing the red cards in 2017, brought them back very briefly sometime in 2019, then stopped again.


----------



## Minsc

Coolio. I did see them in 2019, and then we skipped 2020 for the first time in 20 years. As inaccurate as their posted times were this trip, maybe they should consider bringing them back?


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Minsc said:


> Coolio. I did see them in 2019, and then we skipped 2020 for the first time in 20 years. As inaccurate as their posted times were this trip, maybe they should consider bringing them back?


I personally think the wait times are purposely inaccurate (overinflated in many cases).  They do that to control crowds, primarily, but they can also use it to encourage people to buy Genie + and LL$.  No one wants to pay to skip a short line, so it’s to their benefit to make the standby lines appear longer.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

EpcotPhoenician said:


> Disney:
> 
> "Leave no available space!! Fill in those gaps!"
> 
> View attachment 611743
> 
> Also Disney:
> 
> Here's a disinfected remote control for you. Because.. safety.
> 
> View attachment 611739
> 
> 
> 
> I was here back in May, and it feels like so much has changed since then. I understand the risks (hence why I'm here), but it just feels like there's a very odd double standard right now, where Disney wants to do the right thing, but is slowly transitioning out of it.



the “right thing” is subjective and personal and I don’t think anything disney has lifted will not allow people the choice to act however they feel comfortable.

I still think putting my mask on as I enter the restaurant and taking it off at the table is prime stupidity.


----------



## Tiggerontheseas

CanucksRock said:


> Walgreens (ID NOW test), it’s free. Staying off-site, so have a car rental. Made an appt a couple days in advance, in the afternoon when we take a break from the parks. Had my results in 45 minutes. (My appt was at the one on the Southwest corner OF POINCIANNA & SR 192)



Thank you very much.  We will definitely look into this.  We won't have a car so not sure how we'd manage a drive through test.  Lol.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Just a reminder to those in the MK today that today is the last day to visit Mickey’s Philharmagic as it closes tomorrow until Nov 11th to add the Coco portion.


----------



## disneyfan150

scrappinginontario said:


> Just a reminder to those in the MK today that today is the last day to visit Mickey’s Philharmagic as it closes tomorrow until Nov 11th to add the Coco portion.


Arriving next Saturday.  I will miss Philharmagic.


----------



## tracyktn

What time are parking lots opening up for early entry ?  We usually like to drive even though staying on-site.  Are we better off taking the bus and if so how early do buses usually start?  Thanks!


----------



## CampbellzSoup

scrappinginontario said:


> Just a reminder to those in the MK today that today is the last day to visit Mickey’s Philharmagic as it closes tomorrow until Nov 11th to add the Coco portion.



why do you think the closure is so long?


----------



## bookgirl2632

scrappinginontario said:


> Just a reminder to those in the MK today that today is the last day to visit Mickey’s Philharmagic as it closes tomorrow until Nov 11th to add the Coco portion.


I didn’t realize it wouldn’t be open during my trip.  Darn!


----------



## scrappinginontario

They are adding a new scene which could mean many changes.  There are a lot of literal moving parents to this movie so they will need to change up and test things like the water features, curtains, stage frame moving and more.  I can also see them using this time to clean, repair snd refurbish the theatre.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

scrappinginontario said:


> They are adding a new scene which could mean many changes.  There are a lot of literal moving parents to this movie so they will need to change up and test things like the water features, curtains, stage frame moving and more.  I can also see them using this time to clean, repair snd refurbish the theatre.



you’re so smart I didnt even think the the effects had to be timed


----------



## scrappinginontario

CampbellzSoup said:


> you’re so smart I didnt even think the the effects had to be timed


My  profession is as a system’s tester so those things just cross my mind.


----------



## masupo

I also read they are upgrading to a new digital projection system.


----------



## Dakota731

EpcotPhoenician said:


> Disney:
> 
> "Leave no available space!! Fill in those gaps!"
> 
> View attachment 611743
> 
> Also Disney:
> 
> Here's a disinfected remote control for you. Because.. safety.
> 
> View attachment 611739
> 
> 
> 
> I was here back in May, and it feels like so much has changed since then. I understand the risks (hence why I'm here), but it just feels like there's a very odd double standard right now, where Disney wants to do the right thing, but is slowly transitioning out of it.


People can’t expect to be in a bubble while visiting a theme park packed with thousands of tourists from all across the country. And of course they are transitioning out of social distancing just like schools, restaurants and business everywhere. Companies could never stay in business with such limited capacities forever. And thousands have folded during this time. 
Seems like everyone wants to go to WDW themselves but they don’t want anyone else to be there at the same time.


----------



## Dismama2boys

Dakota731 said:


> People can’t expect to be in a bubble while visiting a theme park packed with thousands of tourists from all across the country. And of course they are transitioning out of social distancing just like schools, restaurants and business everywhere. Companies could never stay in business with such limited capacities forever. And thousands have folded during this time.
> Seems like everyone wants to go to WDW themselves but they don’t want anyone else to be there at the same time.


I think maybe you missed the point?


----------



## Cj2017

I used this board for months to plan this trip and today was the big day! 18 family members traveling from Omaha to Disney.

*Magical Express*- The line was huge to check-in, but individual busses to each resort were fast and fun. 50 minutes to get our bags and get to the resort. Our driver slowed down so that we can take pics of the entryway.

We got to All-Star music around 1. We have stayed at All-star music in the past and we were okay with it, but it was always packed and just too hectic for our liking. However, this place was dead there were maybe 5 people in the pool so we decided to do the pool. The cafeteria was empty as well very weird. After the pool, we broke up into two groups. One had reservations at Sanaa while the other at Homecomin.

Homecomin was really good! They sat 9 of us together outside I had the chicken and doughnuts. It was a great family meal and the best part of the trip so far. After dinner, we all met up for some shopping. The other group really enjoyed Sanaa and raved about the bread service and atmosphere. I can't wait to try it on Tuesday.

At this point, the first curveball came. One of the families that are traveling with us asked if there was a way that they could join us at EPCOT tomorrow. This really made me mad because for months I had told them to change their 3-day park pass to a four day so they can go with us and it was always "Nah Epcot is not our thing it looks like its a giant mall and there are no rides" My assumption is that they got intrigued by all our talk about food and wine festival. No big deal off to guest relations.

*Guest relations - *My sister-in-law and I went to GR so I can help her add the fourth-day ticket. I told the front lady what I was trying to do and she put me on the list (90-minute wait). No biggie we waited, but after two hours we went back because they had not called us and right away escorted us to an employee to help. The employee said that because our tickets were not active and tied to our WL room they could not add it, but All-star music can (I smelt BS), but we took the explanation and left. Everyone got on the bus and headed back to All-star music. We waited in line at the front desk for 30 minutes and explained what we were trying to do. I told the lady the same thing that guest relations told us and the front desk lady made a face as to say (never heard of that). However, after a few minutes, the front desk told us the same thing. We could not change the tickets because they were inactive mode.

Back in the room, I was trying to figure out what to do. I decided to cancel their reservation for Animal kingdom and book them Epcot for tomorrow. Once their tickets are active I will go with her to guest relations at WL to add the fourth day. Back at the hotel, my wife started giving me a lecture about how she understands I want to make everyone happy and explained how she was a  little PO that I spent 3 hours on this ticket thing and not with her and the girls. She said that they had months to follow my advice and if they missed out because of it it's on them. She just asked me to make sure I'm not making this a habit the rest of the trip.

Random observations:

World of Disney had very little 50th-anniversary stuff and selection overall.
Disney Springs was super packed.
Buses to and from all star were empty
Lots of police presence at Disney Springs.

Tomorrow we all check out and go to WL for the rest of the stay.

Tomorrow is Epcot


If I hear my brother say one more time "This is $5 (as he holds a soda)? back home this cost like $1" I'm going to lose it lol

I barely survived maneuvering everyone through Disney Springs not sure how I'm going to do it tomorrow.


----------



## srauseo

Headed to Animal Kingdom this morning. Left the hotel room at 6 and on a bus leaving Yacht Club at 6:15. Through security and at the tapstiles a little after 6:30. We were the first ones here.


----------



## lorileahb

srauseo said:


> Headed to Animal Kingdom this morning. Left the hotel room at 6 and on a bus leaving Yacht Club at 6:15. Through security and at the tapstiles a little after 6:30. We were the first ones here.



What is the early entry time this morning... 7:30 a.m.?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Cj2017 said:


> I used this board for months to plan this trip and today was the big day! 18 family members traveling from Omaha to Disney.
> 
> *Magical Express*- The line was huge to check-in, but individual busses to each resort were fast and fun. 50 minutes to get our bags and get to the resort. Our driver slowed down so that we can take pics of the entryway.
> 
> We got to All-Star music around 1. We have stayed at All-star music in the past and we were okay with it, but it was always packed and just too hectic for our liking. However, this place was dead there were maybe 5 people in the pool so we decided to do the pool. The cafeteria was empty as well very weird. After the pool, we broke up into two groups. One had reservations at Sanaa while the other at Homecomin.
> 
> Homecomin was really good! They sat 9 of us together outside I had the chicken and doughnuts. It was a great family meal and the best part of the trip so far. After dinner, we all met up for some shopping. The other group really enjoyed Sanaa and raved about the bread service and atmosphere. I can't wait to try it on Tuesday.
> 
> At this point, the first curveball came. One of the families that are traveling with us asked if there was a way that they could join us at EPCOT tomorrow. This really made me mad because for months I had told them to change their 3-day park pass to a four day so they can go with us and it was always "Nah Epcot is not our thing it looks like its a giant mall and there are no rides" My assumption is that they got intrigued by all our talk about food and wine festival. No big deal off to guest relations.
> 
> *Guest relations - *My sister-in-law and I went to GR so I can help her add the fourth-day ticket. I told the front lady what I was trying to do and she put me on the list (90-minute wait). No biggie we waited, but after two hours we went back because they had not called us and right away escorted us to an employee to help. The employee said that because our tickets were not active and tied to our WL room they could not add it, but All-star music can (I smelt BS), but we took the explanation and left. Everyone got on the bus and headed back to All-star music. We waited in line at the front desk for 30 minutes and explained what we were trying to do. I told the lady the same thing that guest relations told us and the front desk lady made a face as to say (never heard of that). However, after a few minutes, the front desk told us the same thing. We could not change the tickets because they were inactive mode.
> 
> Back in the room, I was trying to figure out what to do. I decided to cancel their reservation for Animal kingdom and book them Epcot for tomorrow. Once their tickets are active I will go with her to guest relations at WL to add the fourth day. Back at the hotel, my wife started giving me a lecture about how she understands I want to make everyone happy and explained how she was a  little PO that I spent 3 hours on this ticket thing and not with her and the girls. She said that they had months to follow my advice and if they missed out because of it it's on them. She just asked me to make sure I'm not making this a habit the rest of the trip.
> 
> Random observations:
> 
> World of Disney had very little 50th-anniversary stuff and selection overall.
> Disney Springs was super packed.
> Buses to and from all star were empty
> Lots of police presence at Disney Springs.
> 
> Tomorrow we all check out and go to WL for the rest of the stay.
> 
> Tomorrow is Epcot
> 
> 
> If I hear my brother say one more time "This is $5 (as he holds a soda)? back home this cost like $1" I'm going to lose it lol
> 
> I barely survived maneuvering everyone through Disney Springs not sure how I'm going to do it tomorrow.


Honestly, trying to please 18 people will be extremely challenging and quite likely affect your trip in a negative way.

If at all possible I recommend breaking into smaller groups snd meeting up once or twice during the day.  Those that choose to stay with you, set a path snd let them follow along but asking for consensus and opinions of what to do will take up far too much time.

I’ve gone with a larger group in the past (not nearly as large as 18 though) and these are just some lessons I’ve learned.

Hope you have a great trip!


----------



## Disneytam

Cj2017 said:


> I used this board for months to plan this trip and today was the big day! 18 family members traveling from Omaha to Disney.
> 
> *Magical Express*- The line was huge to check-in, but individual busses to each resort were fast and fun. 50 minutes to get our bags and get to the resort. Our driver slowed down so that we can take pics of the entryway.
> 
> We got to All-Star music around 1. We have stayed at All-star music in the past and we were okay with it, but it was always packed and just too hectic for our liking. However, this place was dead there were maybe 5 people in the pool so we decided to do the pool. The cafeteria was empty as well very weird. After the pool, we broke up into two groups. One had reservations at Sanaa while the other at Homecomin.
> 
> Homecomin was really good! They sat 9 of us together outside I had the chicken and doughnuts. It was a great family meal and the best part of the trip so far. After dinner, we all met up for some shopping. The other group really enjoyed Sanaa and raved about the bread service and atmosphere. I can't wait to try it on Tuesday.
> 
> At this point, the first curveball came. One of the families that are traveling with us asked if there was a way that they could join us at EPCOT tomorrow. This really made me mad because for months I had told them to change their 3-day park pass to a four day so they can go with us and it was always "Nah Epcot is not our thing it looks like its a giant mall and there are no rides" My assumption is that they got intrigued by all our talk about food and wine festival. No big deal off to guest relations.
> 
> *Guest relations - *My sister-in-law and I went to GR so I can help her add the fourth-day ticket. I told the front lady what I was trying to do and she put me on the list (90-minute wait). No biggie we waited, but after two hours we went back because they had not called us and right away escorted us to an employee to help. The employee said that because our tickets were not active and tied to our WL room they could not add it, but All-star music can (I smelt BS), but we took the explanation and left. Everyone got on the bus and headed back to All-star music. We waited in line at the front desk for 30 minutes and explained what we were trying to do. I told the lady the same thing that guest relations told us and the front desk lady made a face as to say (never heard of that). However, after a few minutes, the front desk told us the same thing. We could not change the tickets because they were inactive mode.
> 
> Back in the room, I was trying to figure out what to do. I decided to cancel their reservation for Animal kingdom and book them Epcot for tomorrow. Once their tickets are active I will go with her to guest relations at WL to add the fourth day. Back at the hotel, my wife started giving me a lecture about how she understands I want to make everyone happy and explained how she was a  little PO that I spent 3 hours on this ticket thing and not with her and the girls. She said that they had months to follow my advice and if they missed out because of it it's on them. She just asked me to make sure I'm not making this a habit the rest of the trip.
> 
> Random observations:
> 
> World of Disney had very little 50th-anniversary stuff and selection overall.
> Disney Springs was super packed.
> Buses to and from all star were empty
> Lots of police presence at Disney Springs.
> 
> Tomorrow we all check out and go to WL for the rest of the stay.
> 
> Tomorrow is Epcot
> 
> 
> If I hear my brother say one more time "This is $5 (as he holds a soda)? back home this cost like $1" I'm going to lose it lol
> 
> I barely survived maneuvering everyone through Disney Springs not sure how I'm going to do it tomorrow.


Somebody needs to give you a trophy for even attempting to do this trip with 18 people! Or a couple of stiff drinks. We are doing a trip in December with 8 of us with one of us being a Disney travel agent and I'm worried on how we are going to pull it off. I have come to the conclusion that herding cats is so much easier! Good luck and hope you have a great rest of your trip.


----------



## SkyGuy

I just did a trip with unseasoned family members and told them “I will be your travel agent for pre-planning, but once we get there, I am not your tour guide.”  It was a great trip.


----------



## gharter

Cj2017 said:


> I used this board for months to plan this trip and today was the big day! 18 family members traveling from Omaha to Disney.
> 
> *Magical Express*- The line was huge to check-in, but individual busses to each resort were fast and fun. 50 minutes to get our bags and get to the resort. Our driver slowed down so that we can take pics of the entryway.
> 
> We got to All-Star music around 1. We have stayed at All-star music in the past and we were okay with it, but it was always packed and just too hectic for our liking. However, this place was dead there were maybe 5 people in the pool so we decided to do the pool. The cafeteria was empty as well very weird. After the pool, we broke up into two groups. One had reservations at Sanaa while the other at Homecomin.
> 
> Homecomin was really good! They sat 9 of us together outside I had the chicken and doughnuts. It was a great family meal and the best part of the trip so far. After dinner, we all met up for some shopping. The other group really enjoyed Sanaa and raved about the bread service and atmosphere. I can't wait to try it on Tuesday.
> 
> At this point, the first curveball came. One of the families that are traveling with us asked if there was a way that they could join us at EPCOT tomorrow. This really made me mad because for months I had told them to change their 3-day park pass to a four day so they can go with us and it was always "Nah Epcot is not our thing it looks like its a giant mall and there are no rides" My assumption is that they got intrigued by all our talk about food and wine festival. No big deal off to guest relations.
> 
> *Guest relations - *My sister-in-law and I went to GR so I can help her add the fourth-day ticket. I told the front lady what I was trying to do and she put me on the list (90-minute wait). No biggie we waited, but after two hours we went back because they had not called us and right away escorted us to an employee to help. The employee said that because our tickets were not active and tied to our WL room they could not add it, but All-star music can (I smelt BS), but we took the explanation and left. Everyone got on the bus and headed back to All-star music. We waited in line at the front desk for 30 minutes and explained what we were trying to do. I told the lady the same thing that guest relations told us and the front desk lady made a face as to say (never heard of that). However, after a few minutes, the front desk told us the same thing. We could not change the tickets because they were inactive mode.
> 
> Back in the room, I was trying to figure out what to do. I decided to cancel their reservation for Animal kingdom and book them Epcot for tomorrow. Once their tickets are active I will go with her to guest relations at WL to add the fourth day. Back at the hotel, my wife started giving me a lecture about how she understands I want to make everyone happy and explained how she was a  little PO that I spent 3 hours on this ticket thing and not with her and the girls. She said that they had months to follow my advice and if they missed out because of it it's on them. She just asked me to make sure I'm not making this a habit the rest of the trip.
> 
> Random observations:
> 
> World of Disney had very little 50th-anniversary stuff and selection overall.
> Disney Springs was super packed.
> Buses to and from all star were empty
> Lots of police presence at Disney Springs.
> 
> Tomorrow we all check out and go to WL for the rest of the stay.
> 
> Tomorrow is Epcot
> 
> 
> If I hear my brother say one more time "This is $5 (as he holds a soda)? back home this cost like $1" I'm going to lose it lol
> 
> I barely survived maneuvering everyone through Disney Springs not sure how I'm going to do it tomorrow.


The joys of traveling with family.    We learned a long time ago that there are family and friends that we will travel with and those we won't.  Mixing the 2 rarely goes well.
Good luck with the rest of the trip.


----------



## gharter

scrappinginontario said:


> Honestly, trying to please 18 people will beextremely challenging and quite likely affect your trip in a negative way.
> 
> If at all possible I recommend breaking into smaller groups snd meeting up once or twice during the day.  Those that choose to stay with you, set a path snd let them follow along but asking for consensus and opinions of what to do will take up far too much time.
> 
> I’ve gone with a larger group in the past (not nearly as large as 18 though) and these are just some lessons I’ve learned.
> 
> Hope you have a great trip!


Similar experience.
Some years back, we traveled with a group of 12.
We had everyone at the same park each day.  We had times set for meals, but outside of that, each group could do what they wanted.  that worked we..


----------



## srauseo

We entered the park a little after 7 and did a second resort screening. Held at bridge until 7:20. Slow walked into queue at 7:20.


lorileahb said:


> What is the early entry time this morning... 7:30 a.m.?


Yes. 7:30am.


----------



## jrsharp21

Cj2017 said:


> Random observations:
> 
> World of Disney had very little 50th-anniversary stuff and selection overall.



Interesting. Wonder if they sold a bunch of stuff over the past week or so and are waiting for new shipments. We were there 9/24-9/28 and WOD had a ton of 50th stuff. The whole middle section and the back of the store was all dedicated to 50th. Plus they had other stuff placed around the store.


----------



## srauseo

After breakfast at Pongu we walked onto Safari a little before 8:15. Great action from the lions and giraffes this morning. After Safari we went to Everest and were done a little after 9:00. Maybe a 5 minute wait. Those were our only goals for today so now we are enjoying the trails and shopping and waiting for Nomad Lounge to open.


----------



## gharter

srauseo said:


> After breakfast at Pongu we walked onto Safari a little before 8:15. Great action from the lions and giraffes this morning. After Safari we went to Everest and were done a little after 9:00. Maybe a 5 minute wait. Those were our only goals for today so now we are enjoying the trails and shopping and waiting for Nomad Lounge to open.


sounds like a great morning.


----------



## chuwy9

Remainder of the trip:

10/8 - Changed park reservation at last minute, went to Hollywood Studios instead.  Went straight to Resistance once the park opened, remained in line for under an hour.  Got to the end of the line at 8:07, got on the ride right round 9a.

Next longest wait was Slinky at 40 minutes, then 35 minutes for Mickeys Runaway train.  Everything else was a wait of 30 minutes or less.

Crowd level was high so it proved difficult to socially distance.  A woman in line, who identified herself as a frequent visitor to WDW, said that the crowd throughout the day was starting to feel like the pre COVID days for her.

Got rained out, luckily we had finished everything we wanted to do though.  **Don't forget your ponchos**

Headed over to Disney Springs around 8pm.  It was PACKED.  This being only the 4th ever I go to the bubble, it struck me how many police officers I saw around.  In previous visits, I recall not seeing much if not at all.

10/9 - Started the day with breakfast at Ohana.  With out a doubt best meal my group experienced the entire trip.  Server was outstanding and the Polynesian struck a chord with my group. Long story short, it was decided that our next visit will include a stay at the resort.

Headed to EPCOT.  Entering the park proved to be time consuming for some reason (this proved to be the longest it took to get into a park all week)  Rode all the rides in the front before heading to the World Showcase.

AT 1pm, managed to snag a spot in the virtual Q for Remy.  However, a technical error left a member of our group out.  As a result, 2 of the adults went over to guest relations to get it fixed.  They estimate it took them about 45 minutes to get the issue sorted out. 

Finally got to World Showcase.  Since I started visiting WDW, I always wanted to go during Wine/Food festival time.  Happy to report that my group and I very much enjoyed it.  The fig cider from Morocco and Baileys/Guiness shake were the stand out drinks for me.  The cheddar/potato soup and chicken kebabs from Morocco were the best food items.  Everything I ate/drank was good.

Remy ride was cute, everyone in the group, in particular the kids, very much enjoyed it.

Stayed until close.  The fireworks were impressive and my group very much enjoyed it.

The crowd level was the highest I experienced the entire trip.  Touring plans said it was a crowd level of 1, but it did not feel like that at all once we were in WS.  Similar to Disney Springs the night before, I noticed more locals in the crowd.  A lot of bachelorette parties and even a wedding party as well.

10/10 - Managed to get home in one piece, without any delays and cancellations despite flying Southwest. (The other family in my group proved to not be so lucky.)

Overall great trip.  Stayed at the Caribbean Beach, no complaints about the property other than everything being so spread out.  Transportation was good, was not late to anything due to it.  My kids loved the Skyliners.

Overall, CMs were great with 2 exceptions at MK during Boo Bash. (CMs got smart alecky with me after asking about kids riding together and if they needed an adult with them.)

Mask compliance indoors was very good, only noticed a few who didn't comply.  CMs were quick to ask people to put them on.

Back home, so far no symptoms of COVID or any other ailment.  Will be getting tested within the next 24 hours.



chuwy9 said:


> Arrived 10/5, staying at Caribbean Beach. Part of a travel party consisting of 9 people - 4 adults, 5 kids.
> 
> 10/5, played golf at Palm golf course in the AM. Great course. Last minute thing so I didn’t bring my own clubs, so rental was quick and easy.
> 
> In the PM, attended Boo Bash. Arrived around 7p, got in around 8. (Issues with tickets)
> 
> Witnessed my first ever physical altercation at WDW. Two adults got into a shoving match due to firework watchers blocking the pathway of non watchers in Tomorrowland. No CMs anywhere to be found to deescalate the situation. Luckily other adults stepped in and got the line moving.
> 
> Boo Bash was my first ever after hours, ticketed event. While I very much enjoyed being able to walk on to the rides and all the sodas they were handing out, didn’t really think BB was worth it. Members of my travel party agreed as well.
> 
> 10/6, full day at MK. Longest wait time was about 20 minutes for Space Mountain. For most of the day, my group found that wait times were half of what was advertised on signs/apps.
> 
> 10/7, full day at AK. Longest wait was Flight/Avatar at 40 minutes. Everything else was 10 minutes or less.
> 
> Mask compliance indoors has been good, better than I expected.
> 
> Leave 10/10, so a couple more days to go.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Cj2017 said:


> I used this board for months to plan this trip and today was the big day! 18 family members traveling from Omaha to Disney.
> 
> *Magical Express*- The line was huge to check-in, but individual busses to each resort were fast and fun. 50 minutes to get our bags and get to the resort. Our driver slowed down so that we can take pics of the entryway.
> 
> We got to All-Star music around 1. We have stayed at All-star music in the past and we were okay with it, but it was always packed and just too hectic for our liking. However, this place was dead there were maybe 5 people in the pool so we decided to do the pool. The cafeteria was empty as well very weird. After the pool, we broke up into two groups. One had reservations at Sanaa while the other at Homecomin.
> 
> Homecomin was really good! They sat 9 of us together outside I had the chicken and doughnuts. It was a great family meal and the best part of the trip so far. After dinner, we all met up for some shopping. The other group really enjoyed Sanaa and raved about the bread service and atmosphere. I can't wait to try it on Tuesday.
> 
> At this point, the first curveball came. One of the families that are traveling with us asked if there was a way that they could join us at EPCOT tomorrow. This really made me mad because for months I had told them to change their 3-day park pass to a four day so they can go with us and it was always "Nah Epcot is not our thing it looks like its a giant mall and there are no rides" My assumption is that they got intrigued by all our talk about food and wine festival. No big deal off to guest relations.
> 
> *Guest relations - *My sister-in-law and I went to GR so I can help her add the fourth-day ticket. I told the front lady what I was trying to do and she put me on the list (90-minute wait). No biggie we waited, but after two hours we went back because they had not called us and right away escorted us to an employee to help. The employee said that because our tickets were not active and tied to our WL room they could not add it, but All-star music can (I smelt BS), but we took the explanation and left. Everyone got on the bus and headed back to All-star music. We waited in line at the front desk for 30 minutes and explained what we were trying to do. I told the lady the same thing that guest relations told us and the front desk lady made a face as to say (never heard of that). However, after a few minutes, the front desk told us the same thing. We could not change the tickets because they were inactive mode.
> 
> Back in the room, I was trying to figure out what to do. I decided to cancel their reservation for Animal kingdom and book them Epcot for tomorrow. Once their tickets are active I will go with her to guest relations at WL to add the fourth day. Back at the hotel, my wife started giving me a lecture about how she understands I want to make everyone happy and explained how she was a  little PO that I spent 3 hours on this ticket thing and not with her and the girls. She said that they had months to follow my advice and if they missed out because of it it's on them. She just asked me to make sure I'm not making this a habit the rest of the trip.
> 
> Random observations:
> 
> World of Disney had very little 50th-anniversary stuff and selection overall.
> Disney Springs was super packed.
> Buses to and from all star were empty
> Lots of police presence at Disney Springs.
> 
> Tomorrow we all check out and go to WL for the rest of the stay.
> 
> Tomorrow is Epcot
> 
> 
> If I hear my brother say one more time "This is $5 (as he holds a soda)? back home this cost like $1" I'm going to lose it lol
> 
> I barely survived maneuvering everyone through Disney Springs not sure how I'm going to do it tomorrow.


Looks like you've gotten some good advice already, just wanted to say hello from a fellow Nebraskan!  Enjoy your trip!


----------



## Looper

We were at Epcot on the night of the 9th  also. I expected it to be crowded since it was a holiday weekend evening, but goodness, I’ve never seen it so crowded. We’re staying at boardwalk, so we just left. I don’t know how Touring Plans thought it would be a 1.


----------



## Farro

Since all you have been there recently, can you help me figure out mobile ordering? 

If I use my credit card linked to my checking account for Mobile Order (not my magic band) - they won't be placing the $100 holds like they do when you use your Magic Band to pay for things? It just charges the card directly like a normal charge? I have another card linked to my magic bands on MDE.

That's what I'm trying to avoid when utilizing mobile ordering. If mobile ordering does require holds, then I would use a different cc with a bigger spending limit.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

SkyGuy said:


> I just did a trip with unseasoned family members and told them “I will be your travel agent for pre-planning, but once we get there, I am not your tour guide.”  It was a great trip.


Where were you in 2019 when I needed this statement.


----------



## Turksmom

Farro said:


> Since all you have been there recently, can you help me figure out mobile ordering?
> 
> If I use my credit card linked to my checking account for Mobile Order (not my magic band) - they won't be placing the $100 holds like they do when you use your Magic Band to pay for things? It just charges the card directly like a normal charge? I have another card linked to my magic bands on MDE.
> 
> That's what I'm trying to avoid when utilizing mobile ordering. If mobile ordering does require holds, then I would use a different cc with a bigger spending limit.


Correct- card is charged directly, no additional hold. You can choose to pay with a different card or gift card, also. It does not have to be the card connected to MDE, although it will default to that.


----------



## Farro

Turksmom said:


> Correct- card is charged directly, no additional hold. You can choose to pay with a different card or gift card, also. It does not have to be the card connected to MDE, although it will default to that.



Thank you so much!


----------



## srauseo

gharter said:


> sounds like a great morning.


It was just what we wanted for our last morning in Disney. Now we are in the lobby waiting for the tragical express.


----------



## srauseo

Looper said:


> We were at Epcot on the night of the 9th  also. I expected it to be crowded since it was a holiday weekend evening, but goodness, I’ve never seen it so crowded. We’re staying at boardwalk, so we just left. I don’t know how Touring Plans thought it would be a 1.


We were also there that day and it was definitely crowded. We called an audible and got walk-up seating at Le Cellier for lunch to get out of the heat and the mass of humanity. Also took a ride on the Skyliner and a late afternoon break back at Yacht Club.

But we still got a lot accomplished. Did Test Track during morning half hour with a short wait and then Frozen at about 20 minutes. Then probably the longest line we waited in was Les Halles for breakfast. 

Got boarding group 46 for the Rat and were called around 11. Also did Soarin twice, Figment, LwtL, Nemo, Spaceship Earth and lots of shopping.


----------



## gottalovepluto

Cj2017 said:


> I used this board for months to plan this trip and today was the big day! 18 family members traveling from Omaha to Disney.
> 
> *Magical Express*- The line was huge to check-in, but individual busses to each resort were fast and fun. 50 minutes to get our bags and get to the resort. Our driver slowed down so that we can take pics of the entryway.
> 
> We got to All-Star music around 1. We have stayed at All-star music in the past and we were okay with it, but it was always packed and just too hectic for our liking. However, this place was dead there were maybe 5 people in the pool so we decided to do the pool. The cafeteria was empty as well very weird. After the pool, we broke up into two groups. One had reservations at Sanaa while the other at Homecomin.
> 
> Homecomin was really good! They sat 9 of us together outside I had the chicken and doughnuts. It was a great family meal and the best part of the trip so far. After dinner, we all met up for some shopping. The other group really enjoyed Sanaa and raved about the bread service and atmosphere. I can't wait to try it on Tuesday.
> 
> At this point, the first curveball came. One of the families that are traveling with us asked if there was a way that they could join us at EPCOT tomorrow. This really made me mad because for months I had told them to change their 3-day park pass to a four day so they can go with us and it was always "Nah Epcot is not our thing it looks like its a giant mall and there are no rides" My assumption is that they got intrigued by all our talk about food and wine festival. No big deal off to guest relations.
> 
> *Guest relations - *My sister-in-law and I went to GR so I can help her add the fourth-day ticket. I told the front lady what I was trying to do and she put me on the list (90-minute wait). No biggie we waited, but after two hours we went back because they had not called us and right away escorted us to an employee to help. The employee said that because our tickets were not active and tied to our WL room they could not add it, but All-star music can (I smelt BS), but we took the explanation and left. Everyone got on the bus and headed back to All-star music. We waited in line at the front desk for 30 minutes and explained what we were trying to do. I told the lady the same thing that guest relations told us and the front desk lady made a face as to say (never heard of that). However, after a few minutes, the front desk told us the same thing. We could not change the tickets because they were inactive mode.
> 
> Back in the room, I was trying to figure out what to do. I decided to cancel their reservation for Animal kingdom and book them Epcot for tomorrow. Once their tickets are active I will go with her to guest relations at WL to add the fourth day. Back at the hotel, my wife started giving me a lecture about how she understands I want to make everyone happy and explained how she was a  little PO that I spent 3 hours on this ticket thing and not with her and the girls. She said that they had months to follow my advice and if they missed out because of it it's on them. She just asked me to make sure I'm not making this a habit the rest of the trip.
> 
> Random observations:
> 
> World of Disney had very little 50th-anniversary stuff and selection overall.
> Disney Springs was super packed.
> Buses to and from all star were empty
> Lots of police presence at Disney Springs.
> 
> Tomorrow we all check out and go to WL for the rest of the stay.
> 
> Tomorrow is Epcot
> 
> 
> *If I hear my brother say one more time "This is $5 (as he holds a soda)? back home this cost like $1" I'm going to lose it lol*
> 
> I barely survived maneuvering everyone through Disney Springs not sure how I'm going to do it tomorrow.


If you get roped into helping with the ticket upgrade again after they go active maybe try it in the app? Tickets>change ticket. IDK if that will work being part of a package it might be worth a shot?

Oof! The price comparisons would drive me insane. I sincerely hope you get time in the parks away from the extraneous family!


----------



## kmrobins03

SmittS said:


> I swear I saw discussion somewhere on this topic, but now I can’t find it.
> Success stories with early entry on check in day?  We’re staying offsite for a few days then going to AKL the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Hoping to enjoy early entry to AK that morning.


We did something similar in July. Check in on the app (pre arrival day) and indicate your check in time to be early. I think there is an option for before 7am. I also selected an option (in the app) to prioritize check in (for any room in our room category) over any specific room requests. Our room was ready by 1230pm. We got a ground level room at the Riviera- but I didn't care. For us, it was more important to have our room ready so we could relax in the room early afternoon. It worked out perfectly.


----------



## Shughart

What is the merch situation like? Easy to get stuff? Or hopping from park to park, shop to shop? I had a heck of a time in December 2019 (second week) trying to get any Christmas merch because they could hardly keep it stocked at that point. We're going to same time next year and I'm worried about both Christmas merch and 50th merch. SO much of it online for resale and so many things I want, and I hope they are still stocking 14 months from now :/


----------



## Bobobob

Visited EPCOT on Monday, 10/11.  Touring Plans predicted a 1, but this morning they say crowd level was 5, which was much more accurate.  Surprised they would predict a crowd level of one on a holiday weekend.

Left AKL around 8:10, arrived and although many people ahead of us, we were still in first  25% of crowd by the time they let us tap in around 9, then led us near Test Track and we were held to almost 9:30.  We were able to finish Test Track and head over to Soarin just in time to beat the regular crowds.  Posted time was 10 minutes at 10:00, but jumped to 70 by the time we were off the ride.  The extra 30 minutes is a killer for offsite guests.  

Rest of ride waits were not bad, except Frozen, which had a line all day.   Space 220 was worth the visit, but probably not returning any time soon.

Remy boarding group 99 was not called until around 4:30, but great little ride enjoyed by kids and adults. 

it felt very busy all afternoon and World Showcase was crowded!


----------



## Cj2017

Thanks, everyone for the suggestions. 

Yesterday was day 2 Epcot (18 travelers see my previous post)


We started the morning eating in the hotel at Whispering canyon cafe. This place is always good and they sat all of us together. Then we all headed to Epcot 

We got to Epcot at 9 am and lined up for EMH. Everything was going great! I had all the families together and boom! My immediate family gets held back and the rest of the group goes in for EMH. I'm told my family's tickets are not activated or there is a technical glitch and I need to go to guest relations to get it fixed. I go to guest relations and there is a huge line and I'm told it's about a 45-minute wait. I just lost out on EMH. I told the rest of the group to just go without us and they made me so happy "No, bro we stick together". 

Finally got through the gates at 10:30 am and met up with the group. We got on Ratatouille and decided to spend the rest of the day walking and eating go back to the hotel around 3 pm and then back to Epcot for Harmonious and EMH from 10-12 am. The rest of the day worked as planned. We did have an encounter with a couple of individuals during the harmonious show but I tried to not let it ruin the night. 

Observations 

1. Epcot was packed but everyone was moving along. Most of the food kiosks were really busy and only had two and in some cases one person working to take orders. At one line there was even one cast member that looked like she had been crying. 

2. Buses were fast and efficient. We only waited maybe 10 minutes ever for a bus. 

3. Extended hours were awesome and we rode everything twice. 

4. Harmonius was just okay to me but the family all loved it 

5. Test track kept breaking down. 

6. Cast members were on it about masks and most people seemed to comply. 

7. All cast members I have encountered have been amazing. 

8. Get a spot for Harmonius early! It was packed


----------



## PrincessJasmine88

Hi can you tell more about the extended evening hours? Were lines extremely short, and what kind of snack carts were open? I’m going in December and am so excited! Thanks


----------



## Cj2017

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> Hi can you tell more about the extended evening hours? Were lines extremely short, and what kind of snack carts were open? I’m going in December and am so excited! Thanks




Yes, the lines were really short. We were able to get on all the attractions twice except for living with the land.


----------



## Cj2017

Cj2017 said:


> Thanks, everyone for the suggestions.
> 
> Yesterday was day 2 Epcot (18 travelers see my previous post)
> 
> 
> We started the morning eating in the hotel at Whispering canyon cafe. This place is always good and they sat all of us together. Then we all headed to Epcot
> 
> We got to Epcot at 9 am and lined up for EMH. Everything was going great! I had all the families together and boom! My immediate family gets held back and the rest of the group goes in for EMH. I'm told my family's tickets are not activated or there is a technical glitch and I need to go to guest relations to get it fixed. I go to guest relations and there is a huge line and I'm told it's about a 45-minute wait. I just lost out on EMH. I told the rest of the group to just go without us and they made me so happy "No, bro we stick together".
> 
> Finally got through the gates at 10:30 am and met up with the group. We got on Ratatouille and decided to spend the rest of the day walking and eating go back to the hotel around 3 pm and then back to Epcot for Harmonious and EMH from 10-12 am. The rest of the day worked as planned. We did have an encounter with a couple of individuals during the harmonious show but I tried to not let it ruin the night.
> 
> Observations
> 
> 1. Epcot was packed but everyone was moving along. Most of the food kiosks were really busy and only had two and in some cases one person working to take orders. At one line there was even one cast member that looked like she had been crying.
> 
> 2. Buses were fast and efficient. We only waited maybe 10 minutes ever for a bus.
> 
> 3. Extended hours were awesome and we rode everything twice.
> 
> 4. Harmonius was just okay to me but the family all loved it
> 
> 5. Test track kept breaking down.
> 
> 6. Cast members were on it about masks and most people seemed to comply.
> 
> 7. All cast members I have encountered have been amazing.
> 
> 8. Get a spot for Harmonius early! It was packed




I wanted to follow up on this because I just went downstairs to pay off my charges for yesterday. The manager asked how everything was going and I told them that everything was amazing at the hotel and mentioned the experience from yesterday at Epcot. She said sometimes when you check-in online that happens on the first day and she gave me a $200 credit. I didn't even ask she just offered it. This is why I love staying WL.


----------



## Violet Parr

Touring plans has dropped almost all of the rest of October to 1s. Can anyone there now confirm that we're talking about real 1s? Days that were listed as 5s and 6s in the last week of October are now all 1s. 

I'm semi excited but also a bit concerned that Disney will understaff even more.


----------



## SkyGuy

Violet Parr said:


> Touring plans has dropped almost all of the rest of October to 1s. Can anyone there now confirm that we're talking about real 1s? Days that were listed as 5s and 6s in the last week of October are now all 1s.
> 
> I'm semi excited but also a bit concerned that Disney will understaff even more.


HS is listed as a 1 today. I’m not there but have a friend who is. She’s a seasoned traveler and says it’s very busy. Slinky is posted at almost a 2 hour wait and TP has it at an 80 minute wait. Even Star Tours, which I’ve done as a walk on on every trip I’ve taken since last July, is posted 40 minutes by TP. I suppose this could still be considered part of the extended holiday.


----------



## Dakota731

Do you have to mobile order at quick service restaurants?


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

SkyGuy said:


> HS is listed as a 1 today. I’m not there but have a friend who is. She’s a seasoned traveler and says it’s very busy. Slinky is posted at almost a 2 hour wait and TP has it at an 80 minute wait. Even Star Tours, which I’ve done as a walk on on every trip I’ve taken since last July, is posted 40 minutes by TP. I suppose this could still be considered part of the extended holiday.


Are the Crowd Levels based on people going through the gates or the wait times?  I'm guessing it's based on entries and with many things in the parks that were crowd magnets (like Indiana Jones) are not open so the people mulling around or in a select number of lines make it seem crowded.  Any thoughts?  Or is this way off?


----------



## luv2cheer92

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Are the Crowd Levels based on people going through the gates or the wait times?  I'm guessing it's based on entries and with many things in the parks that were crowd magnets (like Indiana Jones) are not open so the people mulling around or in a select number of lines make it seem crowded.  Any thoughts?  Or is this way off?


TP bases their crowd level on wait times only. Which is why some days around 10/1 were rated as a 1 even though it was insanely crowded.


----------



## srauseo

A few reflections from my recent trip besides the live updates I shared:

Bus service was great. I don’t think we ever waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. We took a few rides on the Skyliner - once midday just for fun and leaving HS after our after-the-park-closed reservation at Oga's. It's nice. But the line to get on at the end of the night after Harmonious seemed really long. I don't have a sense of how quickly it moved but if I was going back to CBR or AoA after Harmonious I would probably stroll out of the park and grab a drink somewhere on the Boardwalk rather than wait in that line!

Early entry worked great for us. We always felt one step ahead of the crowds.

We didn't have any issues with rides being down but did notice Slinky Dog and Runaway Railway were both down for a while the day we were in HS.

We tried a few new to us places which we liked: Nomad Lounge, Enchanted Rose, Baseline, and Oga's. We had very few ADRs on this trip (really just Oga's) so we mostly just arrived as places were opening. This worked well.

The parks were crowded but the Yacht Club was not full. There was hardly anyone on our floor and the pool was never crowded. I think there were a lot of locals in the parks this weekend.

I kinda wasn’t missing FP. Between a combination of early entry and smart touring (zigging when folks are zagging, avoiding regular meal times) we accomplished everything we wanted even though it was pretty crowded. The park I could most see springing for G+ and/or LL$ would be Studios. There just was no way for us to avoid having to wait in the two long lines (Slinky Dog and Runaway Railway) we ended up waiting in. But because there was not much going on with LL (just DAS and VIP tours, etc.) the standby lines were always moving which "feels" better. And if you aren't an early riser then it could definitely help you out. We didn't get to take advantage of the evening extra hours because of the dates we were there but I could see that being a huge perk for deluxe guests that don't want to wake up early.


----------



## gottalovepluto

Shughart said:


> What is the merch situation like? Easy to get stuff? Or hopping from park to park, shop to shop? I had a heck of a time in December 2019 (second week) trying to get any Christmas merch because they could hardly keep it stocked at that point. We're going to same time next year and I'm worried about both Christmas merch and 50th merch. SO much of it online for resale and so many things I want, and I hope they are still stocking 14 months from now :/


2022 is too far away to even speculate on Imho. We don’t even know what Xmas 2021 will look like.

When I went two weeks ago if I saw something I wanted I grabbed it right away. 50th stuff especially, people were taking stuff as the CMs were stocking the shelves at Emporium in the late morning. It was ridiculous.


----------



## Bobobob

Violet Parr said:


> Touring plans has dropped almost all of the rest of October to 1s. Can anyone there now confirm that we're talking about real 1s? Days that were listed as 5s and 6s in the last week of October are now all 1s.
> 
> I'm semi excited but also a bit concerned that Disney will understaff even more.



Just leaving HS. Like our EPCOT day yesterday, it is not a 1. Been coming this week for years and busiest we have ever seen it. Feels crowded and the lines are actually that long. TOT was an hour, rope dropped ROTR, and although we got in park at 7:30 or so, we didn’t get off the ride until 9. MFSR was then about 45 minutes. Slinky line was all the way to the Mickey and Minnie Railroad, posted as 120 minutes.

maybe it’s the long holiday weekend, but except a quite Blizzard Beach on Sunday, EPCOT  on Monday and HS today are more like a 5/6.  I think if you look at Touring Plans actual crowds the next day, the predicted 1’s will be 3’s to 6’s.  I hope I’m wrong as we have 3 more days!


----------



## scrappinginontario

An *Everything Early Entry* thread has been created.  It is a work in progress and I am looking for guest experiences to update Post 1.  Any information from those who have experienced EE at the parks would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## luv2cheer92

srauseo said:


> A few reflections from my recent trip besides the live updates I shared:
> 
> Bus service was great. I don’t think we ever waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. We took a few rides on the Skyliner - once midday just for fun and leaving HS after our after-the-park-closed reservation at Oga's. It's nice. But the line to get on at the end of the night after Harmonious seemed really long. I don't have a sense of how quickly it moved but if I was going back to CBR or AoA after Harmonious I would probably stroll out of the park and grab a drink somewhere on the Boardwalk rather than wait in that line!
> 
> Early entry worked great for us. We always felt one step ahead of the crowds.
> 
> We didn't have any issues with rides being down but did notice Slinky Dog and Runaway Railway were both down for a while the day we were in HS.
> 
> We tried a few new to us places which we liked: Nomad Lounge, Enchanted Rose, Baseline, and Oga's. We had very few ADRs on this trip (really just Oga's) so we mostly just arrived as places were opening. This worked well.
> 
> The parks were crowded but the Yacht Club was not full. There was hardly anyone on our floor and the pool was never crowded. I think there were a local of locals in the parks this weekend.
> 
> I kinda wasn’t missing FP. Between a combination of early entry and smart touring (zigging when folks are zagging, avoiding regular meal times) we accomplished everything we wanted even though it was pretty crowded. The park I could most see springing for G+ and/or LL$ would be Studios. There just was no way for us to avoid having to wait in the two long lines (Slinky Dog and Runaway Railway) we ended up waiting in. But because there was not much going on with LL (just DAS and VIP tours, etc.) the standby lines were always moving which "feels" better. And if you aren't an early riser then it could definitely help you out. We didn't get to take advantage of the evening extra hours because of the dates we were there but I could see that being a huge perk for deluxe guests that don't want to wake up early.


Just a reference point in regards to the Skyliner after Harmonious. When we got in line it snaked all through the queue and back over the bridge towards the Boardwalk area. We were on a skyliner in about 15 minutes. It moved very fast.


----------



## Lizgistix

Was at WDW 10/4-10/7 staying at Beach Club. Was upgraded from a woods/garden view to a water view. Had a great room near the quiet pool but it was right next to a main path so I had little privacy and a tiny patio that I never used.
Lunch at Beaches and Cream, which was great. I think most of the Epcot crowd Monday was in France or around World Showcase for Food and Wine. I was one of the few people in the upstairs aquarium area of Living Seas and that's fine, I just wanted to check it out.

Tuesday, Magic Kingdom crowds were crazy (10/5). Throngs of people waiting outside of the various lands and everyone wanting to get their ticket scanned (by a CM with that handheld device they have) and being told if you're not a resort guest, you have to wait until the park officially opens at 9. Was able to wedge through the waiting crowd to be admitted into Tomorrowland to get on Buzz Lightyear and the Peoplemover before 9a. Nearly walked on BTMRR but I was in an ECV so that doesn't count. Splash was down in the morning but came up around 10-ish? Rope dropped Pecos Bill and was amazed the number of people wanting lunch at 10:30am (I skipped breakfast). They did have mobile order and also one cashier. Caught the cavalcade twice. Had a churro. Didn't want to wait 55 minutes for Jungle Cruise. Do not even get me started on the zoo inside the Emporium. Good gravy there were so many people. I only wanted the foaming hand soap! Then went to Main Street Cinema for Vault Disney merch and that was almost a zoo as well. Bought several things but wasn't sure where the line was to check out because people were standing everywhere. Caught the Dapper Dan's on my way out, which was lovely. Came back to the resort to drop off everything I bought, took a nap, then went to Poly to visit with a friend. Cut through Epcot so I could take the monorail instead of multiples busses. Happened upon the Jammitors, so I watched them until they were done. Watched the MK fireworks from the Poly DVC smoking area.

Wednesday, Hollywood Studios was also a madhouse. Got there at 8:30 and found the 2 lines for resort guests to get in early. Booked it to Tower of Terror. Was in line for Runaway Railway just before 9a. Went over to Midway Mania afterwards where the wait was already 30 minutes. Was finished with everything I wanted to do by 10a and while trying to figure out how to exit to the smoking area, there were still throngs of people waiting to get in the park. Came back in, went to Muppets 3-D which was showing a sneak peak of Muppets Haunted Mansion in the pre-show. Thought the line for Muppets 3-D was crazy long until it dawned on me that they were using the extended queue for Rise. Then over to Star Wars Launch Bay which is just a museum right now. Then waited for my ADR at Brown Derby and had a fantastic (albeit expensive) lunch. Left the park after lunch, took a nap, then went to Epcot for a few hours. Didn't even step foot in Galaxy's Edge, and that's fine. Went to Epcot for the evening where I proceeded to buy booze in the Germany pavilion. Bought dinner at Fife and Drum and had a great spot staked out to view Harmonious between Italy and American Adventure until I realized I was 1h45m early. Told myself there is no way I'm going to be able to sit in this one spot for that long, so I left to go back to the resort.

Thursday I came home. Yay, laundry: the other vacation souvenir.

So yeah, Early entry was great but hectic since some day guests didn't understand why some people were allowed in but others were not. Hollywood Studios had two lines marked for resort guest early entry. Magic Kingdom allowed everyone into Main Street but had the various lands roped off. Dunno about Epcot or Animal Kingdom. Extended evening hours, there were CMs posted outside of the pavilions scanning people's bands to allow deluxe resort guests in and turning away everyone else. The rat ride wasn't open during extended evening hours (boo!), and neither was Imagination.  Felt uppity saying "yes, I'm staying at the Beach Club!" outside of The Land but I really wanted to ride Soarin', so lemme in! My ECV nearly died every night but that's a story for another thread.

Did I cover everything?

Edited (again) to mention that I did Kidcot one night as well. Out of 11 pavilions, 2 were closed (UK and Germany) and 1 didn't have cards out (China) so I was able to get 8 of the 11. I did it through the Play Disney Parks app because it gives you digital rewards as well as picking up the physical cards and stickers. Had a doozy of a time trying to scan those darn puzzle pieces though!


----------



## kwwdw

I’ve read back a bit, but for anyone who has been recently… it seems parking lots are opening about an hour before EE, but is that for everyone then you find the resort guest lines open for actual early entry? Since we are taking a car we would prefer to drive to the park, but has anyone missed out on EE time because they drove and lots weren’t open? Thanks for any advice!


----------



## Looper

kwwdw said:


> I’ve read back a bit, but for anyone who has been recently… it seems parking lots are opening about an hour before EE, but is that for everyone then you find the resort guest lines open for actual early entry? Since we are taking a car we would prefer to drive to the park, but has anyone missed out on EE time because they drove and lots weren’t open? Thanks for any advice!


The MK parking lot was definitely open with plenty of time. We got to the parking lot gates by about 7:45, and they had definitely already been letting people park for a little while. We were in MK and waiting by Tomorrowland by about 8:15 and walked right onto Space Mountain.


----------



## Cj2017

I really need to understand how to get my family to Disney studios at 7am on Friday for 9am opening (830 EMH). Everything I read says buses start an early before but I’m hearing reports that people are being let in to the park at 7am


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## scrappinginontario

kwwdw said:


> I’ve read back a bit, but for anyone who has been recently… it seems parking lots are opening about an hour before EE, but is that for everyone then you find the resort guest lines open for actual early entry? Since we are taking a car we would prefer to drive to the park, but has anyone missed out on EE time because they drove and lots weren’t open? Thanks for any advice!


A summary of all known Everything Early Theme Park Entry (ETPE) information including parking, park entrance, etc. can be found in the Everything Early Theme Park Entry thread.  We're trying to consolidate answers to the questions that are being asked.

If people have experienced ETPE and has information which can be used to update post 1 of that thread, your experiences would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## JennSaint

Bobobob said:


> Just leaving HS. Like our EPCOT day yesterday, it is not a 1. Been coming this week for years and busiest we have ever seen it. Feels crowded and the lines are actually that long. TOT was an hour, rope dropped ROTR, and although we got in park at 7:30 or so, we didn’t get off the ride until 9. MFSR was then about 45 minutes. Slinky line was all the way to the Mickey and Minnie Railroad, posted as 120 minutes.
> 
> maybe it’s the long holiday weekend, but except a quite Blizzard Beach on Sunday, EPCOT  on Monday and HS today are more like a 5/6.  I think if you look at Touring Plans actual crowds the next day, the predicted 1’s will be 3’s to 6’s.  I hope I’m wrong as we have 3 more days!


You said you got into HS at 7:30am?  What was the scheduled opening time?  Were you staying onsite.  We will be at HS next Thursday.  We are staying at the Dolphin so we can take advantage of the early entry but wondering if early entry starts at 8:30 what time we should get there by.  ROTR is first on my list.  I may splurge for Genie+ too.


----------



## scrappinginontario

JennSaint said:


> You said you got into HS at 7:30am?  What was the scheduled opening time?  Were you staying onsite.  We will be at HS next Thursday.  We are staying at the Dolphin so we can take advantage of the early entry but wondering if early entry starts at 8:30 what time we should get there by.  ROTR is first on my list.  I may splurge for Genie+ too.


All of these questions are answered in the thread linked above.  We'd like to keep this thread to guests sharing their experiences (including Early Theme Park Entry) but discussion and questions all in one location is beneficial to all. With Early Theme Park Entry (ETPE) being so new, we're trying to create a spot for one stop shopping.


----------



## rmclain73

We have been here since Saturday 10/9.  I got very excited when touring plans dropped all crowds to a level 1 for our entire trip.  I can tell you that crowds have actually been a level 5.  Touring plans has confirmed this as well the morning after each day.  Looks like a lot of people have extended their long holiday weekend into a week away.  EMH are a lifesaver!  I think a lot of folks avoided time around the 1st.

We are still having a blast, but just set your expectations that crowd level1s are not happening.  Plan your day with long waits in mind.  Of course Genie is coming out of his bottle just after we leave.


----------



## SandyinMonterey

Just got back from a 4 day trip.  Went to all parks except AK.  Parks were very crowded.  Lines very long.  Restaurants also crowded.  Noticed many people asking for a table only to be told no availability.  Stores also packed.  Especially World of Disney and Emporium...what a mad house.  Everyone trying to get 50th Anniversary merchandise.


----------



## Carol_

Cj2017 said:


> I really need to understand how to get my family to Disney studios at 7am on Friday for 9am opening (830 EMH). Everything I read says buses start an early before but I’m hearing reports that people are being let in to the park at 7am


LOL. I really need to understand how to get my family to the other side of the hotel room door at 7am.


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## LovesBelle

Can anyone report on how mobile ordering at quick service restaurants is going? Those reports of people having to wait 2 hrs to get their food on the first day of the 50th anniversary worried me. I'm wondering if these delays have continued, particularly when it's crowded.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

LovesBelle said:


> Can anyone report on how mobile ordering at quick service restaurants is going? Those reports of people having to wait 2 hrs to get their food on the first day of the 50th anniversary worried me. I'm wondering if these delays have continued, particularly when it's crowded.


So funny story-we only used mobile order at quick service ONCE and it was Columbia Harbour House. They actually said we had to use it. Other places we could walk right in and they had an area or lane  for you to order. It honestly depends on the place.


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## SCDisneyfanatic

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> So funny story-we only used mobile order at quick service ONCE and it was Columbia Harbour House. They actually said we had to use it. Other places we could walk right in and they had an area or lane  for you to order. It honestly depends on the place.


Is the Mobile Ordering part of the MDE App?  Or do I need something else?  Thanks.


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## Jonathan Friedman

At AK right now and it’s PACKED! Busiest I’ve seen it since before Covid. Pathways and walkways are jammed. Nuts!


----------



## scrappinginontario

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Is the Mobile Ordering part of the MDE App?  Or do I need something else?  Thanks.


Mobile ordering is part of the MDE app.  If you open the app, click the + sign at the bottom of the screen and the option to 'Order Food' is there.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

scrappinginontario said:


> Mobile ordering is part of the MDE app.  If you open the app, click the + sign at the bottom of the screen and the option to 'Order Food' is there.


Thanks so much!  Trying to get all this figured out before we go in 10 days!!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Is the Mobile Ordering part of the MDE App?  Or do I need something else?  Thanks.


It is part of the MDE app.
No problem


----------



## Violet Parr

I wonder if the discrepancy with the crowd calendar on TP is that locals are getting their visits in before Genie + starts.


----------



## Dakota731

Florida now being one of the lowest states with new covid cases, I bet crowds are really going to pick up!  I’m scared for our trip in December. But I anglad you don’t have to mobile order now since I don’t know what I want for lunch at nine am!


----------



## Bobobob

JennSaint said:


> You said you got into HS at 7:30am?  What was the scheduled opening time?  Were you staying onsite.  We will be at HS next Thursday.  We are staying at the Dolphin so we can take advantage of the early entry but wondering if early entry starts at 8:30 what time we should get there by.  ROTR is first on my list.  I may splurge for Genie+ too.



I’d aim to arrive at 7, and yes we are on site and 8:30 was EMH.

They allowed everyone to line up outside of SWGE, then around 8, the line started moving to fill the queue.  We then waited and the line began moving at 8:30 when the ride actually opened.  Being off the ride by 9 really only meant 30 minutes of waiting once the ride was opened, but of course we have to count the other hour of waiting too!

by the time we were off the ride, the line was very long!


----------



## JennSaint

Bobobob said:


> I’d aim to arrive at 7, and yes we are on site and 8:30 was EMH.
> 
> They allowed everyone to line up outside of SWGE, then around 8, the line started moving to fill the queue.  We then waited and the line began moving at 8:30 when the ride actually opened.  Being off the ride by 9 really only meant 30 minutes of waiting once the ride was opened, but of course we have to count the other hour of waiting too!
> 
> by the time we were off the ride, the line was very long!


Wow ok thanks for sharing your experience!!


----------



## katyjeka

Dakota731 said:


> Florida now being one of the lowest states with new covid cases, I bet crowds are really going to pick up!  I’m scared for our trip in December. But I anglad you don’t have to mobile order now since I don’t know what I want for lunch at nine am!


We'll be there in December and have no fear of crowds.  I can't remember the last time we visited (before covid) that was not busy.  Disney equals crowds no matter the time of year anymore.  You'll be fine as people who plan always have successful trips.  I'll probably sound crazy but I like the idea of visiting with a crowd....it means the world may finally be returning to normal. Have a great trip.


----------



## MGD2007

Anyone attend the extended evening hours for deluxe resort guests at MK last night?  How were the crowds?


----------



## Bobobob

MGD2007 said:


> Anyone attend the extended evening hours for deluxe resort guests at MK last night?  How were the crowds?



Yes, we arrived at 4:30 and stayed until 11.

Compared to earlier in the week, it seemed a little less crowded overall.  Almost a walk on for Buzz, Speedway and Barnstormer, while we waited 30 minutes each for Space Mountain and BTMR.  That was all done before 9.

Once 9 hit, it was great! We immediately walked on Pirates, then waited about 5 to 10 minutes for Haunted Mansion. Went to SDMT, which had a crazy line earlier, and only waited around 20 minutes or so.

Kids wanted to do Space Mountain, went over to it around 10:25 and rode it twice!  Longest wait for that ride is just getting your Magic Band scanned.  At 10:51 kids wanted to try for BTMR so they speed walked (no running!) to the other side of the park, we arrived at 10:58 and ended up on the last car of the day!

The two hours at the end of the night is worth it!!  Made us feel like FastPass was back…at least for a couple of hours.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Dakota731 said:


> Florida now being one of the lowest states with new covid cases, I bet crowds are really going to pick up!  I’m scared for our trip in December. But I anglad you don’t have to mobile order now since I don’t know what I want for lunch at nine am!


Lol, why would you need to order lunch at 9?


----------



## Naomeri

luv2cheer92 said:


> Lol, why would you need to order lunch at 9?


The back when mobile order was almost the only way to get quick service food, if you wanted to guarantee you could eat at your desired time, you’d figure out your order and submit it way ahead of time.

It never bothered me because I’m solo and I always know where I’m having lunch, and about when I’ll be hungry, so I just did it right when I woke up for the day, and then it was one less thing to worry about.  And I’ll probably still do it on my December trip, just because it’s convenient.


----------



## lorileahb

When we go and when it's hot, I book some of the more inexpensive (comparatively) ADRs so we can have a reserved spot in the shade and AC when the crowds start getting big at 11 / 12.  It goes a long way for me not to be searching for a shaded spot to eat with kids in tow.


----------



## MGD2007

Bobobob said:


> Yes, we arrived at 4:30 and stayed until 11.
> 
> Compared to earlier in the week, it seemed a little less crowded overall.  Almost a walk on for Buzz, Speedway and Barnstormer, while we waited 30 minutes each for Space Mountain and BTMR.  That was all done before 9.
> 
> Once 9 hit, it was great! We immediately walked on Pirates, then waited about 5 to 10 minutes for Haunted Mansion. Went to SDMT, which had a crazy line earlier, and only waited around 20 minutes or so.
> 
> Kids wanted to do Space Mountain, went over to it around 10:25 and rode it twice!  Longest wait for that ride is just getting your Magic Band scanned.  At 10:51 kids wanted to try for BTMR so they speed walked (no running!) to the other side of the park, we arrived at 10:58 and ended up on the last car of the day!
> 
> The two hours at the end of the night is worth it!!  Made us feel like FastPass was back…at least for a couple of hours.



Thank you for the report!!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

When we were at MK on Oct 1st, the one item we wanted, but didn't get our hands on (didn't even know it existed until it was too late) was the Mickey Mouse 50th Popcorn Bucket. 



I can't even find one being sold by anyone on eBay!  I assume those who got them didn't purchase to resell them for a quick buck (unlike the balloon popcorn buckets listed at $50-60 each!).

Has anyone who's been to MK since seen if these have been restocked and were available in the park any time after the 1st?  It seems unlikely they would go to the expense of making these and only produce enough to sell on one day when they could have thousands of guests shelling out $15-20 a pop for them over the next year+.

Also, we were able to get the plush Mickey and Minnie 50th dolls but just before we left Orlando, a relative expressed interest in them and by then World of Disney was sold out. 



Has Disney been restocking these dolls at WoD or in the Emporium at MK?  Again, I would assume that they would keep putting these on shelves for the next year as long as they're selling, but who knows?  Maybe there's another million dolls still sitting on a ship from China at the port!


----------



## Funfire240

Grumpy by Birth said:


> When we were at MK on Oct 1st, the one item we wanted, but didn't get our hands on (didn't even know it existed until it was too late) was the Mickey Mouse 50th Popcorn Bucket.
> 
> View attachment 613133
> 
> I can't even find one being sold by anyone on eBay!  I assume those who got them didn't purchase to resell them for a quick buck (unlike the balloon popcorn buckets listed at $50-60 each!).
> 
> Has anyone who's been to MK since seen if these have been restocked and were available in the park any time after the 1st?  It seems unlikely they would go to the expense of making these and only produce enough to sell on one day when they could have thousands of guests shelling out $15-20 a pop for them over the next year+.
> 
> Also, we were able to get the plush Mickey and Minnie 50th dolls but just before we left Orlando, a relative expressed interest in them and by then World of Disney was sold out.
> 
> View attachment 613137
> 
> Has Disney been restocking these dolls at WoD or in the Emporium at MK?  Again, I would assume that they would keep putting these on shelves for the next year as long as they're selling, but who knows?  Maybe there's another million dolls still sitting on a ship from China at the port!


I haven't looked lately but I ordered mine from ShopDisney.  The lines were so crazy on the 1st that while on the bus over to MK we placed an order from there and had it all shipped home.


----------



## luv2cheer92

Grumpy by Birth said:


> When we were at MK on Oct 1st, the one item we wanted, but didn't get our hands on (didn't even know it existed until it was too late) was the Mickey Mouse 50th Popcorn Bucket.
> 
> View attachment 613133
> 
> I can't even find one being sold by anyone on eBay!  I assume those who got them didn't purchase to resell them for a quick buck (unlike the balloon popcorn buckets listed at $50-60 each!).
> 
> Has anyone who's been to MK since seen if these have been restocked and were available in the park any time after the 1st?  It seems unlikely they would go to the expense of making these and only produce enough to sell on one day when they could have thousands of guests shelling out $15-20 a pop for them over the next year+.
> 
> Also, we were able to get the plush Mickey and Minnie 50th dolls but just before we left Orlando, a relative expressed interest in them and by then World of Disney was sold out.
> 
> View attachment 613137
> 
> Has Disney been restocking these dolls at WoD or in the Emporium at MK?  Again, I would assume that they would keep putting these on shelves for the next year as long as they're selling, but who knows?  Maybe there's another million dolls still sitting on a ship from China at the port!


I don't even know that I saw anybody walking around with that popcorn buckets, but I like it! I'm not usually one to get one of those, but that one I would. Maybe they will have them when I am back in January. Sorry, I know that's not helpful haha


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

Funfire240 said:


> I haven't looked lately but I ordered mine from ShopDisney.  The lines were so crazy on the 1st that while on the bus over to MK we placed an order from there and had it all shipped home.


The dolls are currently sold out online.  We have relatives who are locals and could go pick up another pair of them for us (well, not for us... but for us to give as a gift), but I don't want to ask them to go on a wild goose chase if none are being restocked.



luv2cheer92 said:


> I don't even know that I saw anybody walking around with that popcorn buckets, but I like it! I'm not usually one to get one of those, but that one I would. Maybe they will have them when I am back in January. Sorry, I know that's not helpful haha


I never saw one either.  We did get the Minnie sipper that goes with it, but only because we were in Pecos Bills and my wife saw one at a nearby table.  She asked about it and discovered that they were available right there so I went up and got one.  We never did see the Mickey Popcorn bucket.  I think I read the next day that they were at Cosmic Rays?


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

At MK today and like AK yesterday, as busy as I’ve seen it since Covid began.


----------



## TropicalDIS

luv2cheer92 said:


> I've been 4 times since last August, I've literally never needed to do that.
> 
> I found most to be grossly exaggerating it. Maybe an hour out for a few select places at times, but not even that for most.



Not sure about since then, but Oct 1st it definitely was that crazy.


----------



## luv2cheer92

TropicalDIS said:


> Not sure about since then, but Oct 1st it definitely was that crazy.


I was able to order lunch about an hour out on 10/1 for Casey's (I ordered at 10 for 11-11:30, I cant remember exactly, but I think it was open for 10:30-11, but I didn't want it that early). I did see CHH have openings within 30 minutes a few times that I looked throughout the day, but that is one place I never eat at.


----------



## lovethattink

Friendly reminder to follow DIS Guidelines. This thread often shows how several people can be at the same park on the same day and come out with totally different experiences.

I go about once a week to a park. And I’ve definitely had mixed experiences.

Everyone, please remember to be respectful of each other. If you don’t like what someone has posted and if it follows DIS guidelines, do like a stormtrooper and “move along”. If it doesn’t follow DIS guidelines, please hit the report button instead of responding.


----------



## hereforthechurros

Someone reported that I said mobile ordering ahead of time is a valid tip? And it was deleted? Okay…


----------



## AaronRif

LovesBelle said:


> Can anyone report on how mobile ordering at quick service restaurants is going? Those reports of people having to wait 2 hrs to get their food on the first day of the 50th anniversary worried me. I'm wondering if these delays have continued, particularly when it's crowded.



I was at the Magic Kingdom last night (granted during extra hours), and I was able to pick my order up pretty much after placing the order. I think it was just glitchy that first day of the 50th. Also, people don’t realize they can mobile order despite signs saying to please do so. Just means less waiting for me!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

just want to say thank you to the mods-you guys are awesome!


----------



## lovethattink

From the DIS Guidelines: The DIS has a wonderful group of Moderators who have volunteered to assist our visitors and monitor the boards. Part of their responsibilities are ensuring that our guidelines are followed which may require that a thread is edited, deleted, closed or moved. If these decisions impact you, we ask that you respect them. Should you have any questions, please direct them to admin@wdwinfo.com. Any discussion about a Moderating decision that takes place on the boards could result in an infraction.



hereforthechurros said:


> Someone reported that I said mobile ordering ahead of time is a valid tip? And it was deleted? Okay…



There are several reasons for posts to be deleted. Most likely you quoted a deleted post. Feel free to repost your tip.




BroadwayHermione5 said:


> just want to say thank you to the mods-you guys are awesome!



Thank you!!


----------



## luv2cheer92

My goodness, I have no words.

Guess I won't share my experiences anymore. Thanks guys.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

lovethattink said:


> From the DIS Guidelines: The DIS has a wonderful group of Moderators who have volunteered to assist our visitors and monitor the boards. Part of their responsibilities are ensuring that our guidelines are followed which may require that a thread is edited, deleted, closed or moved. If these decisions impact you, we ask that you respect them. Should you have any questions, please direct them to admin@wdwinfo.com. Any discussion about a Moderating decision that takes place on the boards could result in an infraction.
> 
> 
> 
> There are several reasons for posts to be deleted. Most likely you quoted a deleted post. Feel free to repost your tip.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you!!


You’re welcome! You all are the best!


----------



## Sugarshock

Now I want to know what I missed


----------



## luv2cheer92

Sugarshock said:


> Now I want to know what I missed


Absolutely nothing lol

Would've made more sense if there was something haha


----------



## dizneegirl

Cj2017 said:


> If I hear my brother say one more time "This is $5 (as he holds a soda)? back home this cost like $1" I'm going to lose it lol



If I'm never at Disneyworld again with my BIL, it will be too soon.


----------



## katyringo

Trip is 6 weeks away. Time to start reading recent trip reports. Last trip was a year ago in full restriction mode.

I'd like to know how long it's been taking folks to get to a park after landing at MCO. My flight lands at 11am and I have Epcot reservations that day.  I plan to use lightening lane to book my ride on Remy.


----------



## bsmcneil

katyringo said:


> Trip is 6 weeks away. Time to start reading recent trip reports. Last trip was a year ago in full restriction mode.
> 
> I'd like to know how long it's been taking folks to get to a park after landing at MCO. My flight lands at 11am and I have Epcot reservations that day.  I plan to use lightening lane to book my ride on Remy.


Landed at 9:15a. Took me 2 hours with DME, almost to the minute (I briefly stopped at AKL to drop my suitcase at Bell Services).


----------



## lorileahb

Arrived today - yesterday evening DS decided he'd rather do Animal Kingdom instead of Hollywood Studios, so I swapped our reservation and found new dining reservations (relatively easy being a day out).

Since FOP makes him sick (this is just a mom and me trip) - we drove (instead of going to our resort and catching a bus) and arrived about 7:10 a.m. (for 7:30 early entry).  Two long lines to get in turnstile - moved quickly (opened maybe about 5 or 10 mins after we got there).  Once through turnstiles, Early Entry (and rescan of band for one party member - who was asked to confirm size of party) was over to the left.  We had no issue with it being our check in day (although we did do check-in online in advance).  We followed the masses to Pandora (so we could do Navi - without doing FOP, it was the only one that I had seen the waits get higher).  Early hours for resort guests is awesome!  Since we weren't hustling to FOP, we enjoyed the space and scenery - we walked leisurely.  We got to Navi about 7:25 and they opened queue right at 7:30 a.m.  One of first few boats.  Headed over to Expedition Everest - literally empty park once out of Pandora; walk on. Still before 8 a.m.  On to Dinosaur (now after 8), still empty park outside of Pandora.  Rode Triceratop and then It's Tough to Be a Bug - no waits.  Did a little shopping - lucked into a Mickey 50th Popcorn Bucket, enjoyed the Flight/macaw show at 9:15.  DS said no to Kil Safari (a low wait) and Kali (5 min waiti posted) - and this trip was his, so I let him play at the boneyard.  According to TP wait times, could have easily ridden these or Everest or Dinosaur with low to no wait.  Encountered our first crowds lining up for 10:30 a.m. Lion King - arrived about 10:10 - short wait in the shade - everyone in line got in.  Grabbed a bite to eat (definitely get a Landry's card - you can almost always get in and/or get a reservation at Yak & Yeti or Rainforest Cafe - and I had a surprise $25 credit... I got the card last year for Disney, used it once and just used it again - maybe it was a birthday thing - it did cost me to get the card but I immediately got a credit when I bought it last year so net cost was $0)) and headed to officially unload and check into resort.  Headed to the pool in a bit and back to AK to see Pandora at Night - we'll see what is an easy wait then.

It definitely felt pre-covid crowded in the Pandora and Africa walkways - and the Island by 11 a.m., but empty other places.  But, if you rope drop (or presumably LL in a few days) FOP, the waits (up until 10 a.m.) were walk on or next to nothing.


----------



## preemiemama

Grumpy by Birth said:


> When we were at MK on Oct 1st, the one item we wanted, but didn't get our hands on (didn't even know it existed until it was too late) was the Mickey Mouse 50th Popcorn Bucket.
> 
> View attachment 613133
> 
> I can't even find one being sold by anyone on eBay!  I assume those who got them didn't purchase to resell them for a quick buck (unlike the balloon popcorn buckets listed at $50-60 each!).
> 
> Maybe there's another million dolls still sitting on a ship from China at the port!



The popcorn bucket has returned- DFB tweeted about it being there today.  You may be on to something that the port delays are hindering some of the restocking of items, though!

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1449462498520862721


----------



## lorileahb

preemiemama said:


> The popcorn bucket has returned- DFB tweeted about it being there today.  You may be on to something that the port delays are hindering some of the restocking of items, though!
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1449462498520862721



Yes - we snagged one in Animal Kingdom today!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

lorileahb said:


> Yes - we snagged one in Animal Kingdom today!


Glad to hear that they are more widely available.  Hopefully, our relatives (locals) will be able to score one for us next time they're at the parks.


----------



## Bobobob

Last two updates from our trip!

On a whim, went to AK on Thursday 10/14 for a few PM hours.  Like earlier in the week at other parks, more people were leaving than arriving.  Walked on Dinosaur, Everest (2 x) and River Rapids.  Had dinner at Satu’li, then got in line for FOP at 7:30.  Posted was 90 minutes, but as expected it took us 55.

had already planned to rope drop AK on 10/15 and kids still wanted to so we did. Got on a bus at AKL at 6:37, arrived at AK 10 minutes later. We were very close to the beginning of security line. They let us in a few minutes later, then had to queue at tapstyles until about 7:20. A brisk walk to the bridge, where we were held for a few more minutes, then off to the ride. We were off FOP and Na’vi River, (and a bit of shopping) by 8:05. Headed to safari, but line was growing and waited about 30 minutes. After that, walked on river rapids right before it broke then on to Everest, with a 20 minute wait. After that, it was very busy and crowded.

The extra 30 minutes for on site guests is still key if you are going to rope drop, but unlike last trips, with an extra hour, 30 minutes goes very fast. That was the first time we saw the queue for the Safari. We usually walked on after Pandora rides, but now you have to move quick to squeeze in 2 rides before the rest of the crowd enters.

After almost 10 years of visiting, lack of Fastpass makes a rope drop much less valuable.  (But wait, I can now pay $15 per person for Genie + to fix it!?!?!, no thanks.  I’ll never say neverabout using it, but it’s not the money, it’s the money grab that bothers me about Genie +.)

 My big takeaway from the week, which is hard for a rope dropper to say is, sleep in and go mid afternoon.  If it’s in your budget, staying deluxe or DVC gets the extra 2 hours at EPCOT and MK, which were much more valuable than the 30 minutes in the AM.

At the end of the day, Disney will change their system over time and we all have to accept it, adapt to it or reject it.  I wish I could say we’d reject it, but who am I kidding, we’ll be back and will have to adapt.


----------



## Farro

Hey! How has the humidity been lately? We arrive next week - forecast mid to upper 80s which won't be so bad if the humidity is coming down.

thanks!


----------



## lovethattink

Farro said:


> Hey! How has the humidity been lately? We arrive next week - forecast mid to upper 80s which won't be so bad if the humidity is coming down.
> 
> thanks!



It’s been humid! But today feels less humid. I think a cold front is going through. It’s been unusually hot and humid this October.


----------



## Farro

lovethattink said:


> It’s been humid! But today feels less humid. I think a cold front is going through. It’s been unusually hot and humid this October.



Thanks! I'll plan on putting my curly mess in a bun.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Farro said:


> Hey! How has the humidity been lately? We arrive next week - forecast mid to upper 80s which won't be so bad if the humidity is coming down.
> 
> thanks!


Enjoy your trip!


----------



## Farro

GBRforWDW said:


> Enjoy your trip!



 Oh thank you!!!


----------



## preemiemama

Farro said:


> Oh thank you!!!


Excited for you!  Can't wait to hear all about your trip!


----------



## chuwy9

RE: Mobile Ordering
Was there 10/5-10/10, only needed it to order from Woodys Lunch Box at HS on10/8. 

Tried to walk up but the CM told me that only available via MO at that time. The earliest pick up window available was about 1.5 hours later when I initially tried to order.

 Other than that situation, I was able to walk up and order throughout my trip.  MO allowed me to skip long lines, however, so it was useful.


----------



## KayKayJS

What's up with the wait times right now? They seem crazy high. Can anyone there state if they are inflated (possibly to make genie+ more enticing tomorrow) or if they are really that long? IASW is 50min on the app... I haven't waited more than 10 minutes for that since March and my daughter wants to ride it every single visit. (local)

Thanks!


----------



## Jonathan Friedman

It’s real. Magic Kingdom is INSANITY


----------



## MickeyMice

Lines app shows actual 25 minute wait for IASW now


----------



## jujubiee4

KayKayJS said:


> What's up with the wait times right now? They seem crazy high. Can anyone there state if they are inflated (possibly to make genie+ more enticing tomorrow) or if they are really that long? IASW is 50min on the app... I haven't waited more than 10 minutes for that since March and my daughter wants to ride it every single visit. (local)
> 
> Thanks!


Isn't this a work week and kids in school?  Are you seeing a lot of people?   
Going next month for a few days during the week and hoping most are working or in school. lol


----------



## CBMom01

Jonathan Friedman said:


> It’s real. Magic Kingdom is INSANITY


Fall break


----------



## scrappinginontario

jujubiee4 said:


> Isn't this a work week and kids in school?  Are you seeing a lot of people?
> Going next month for a few days during the week and hoping most are working or in school. lol


Many people take their children out of school to go to Disney so weekdays are also quite busy.


----------



## DIS Lifer

jujubiee4 said:


> Isn't this a work week and kids in school?  Are you seeing a lot of people?
> Going next month for a few days during the week and hoping most are working or in school. lol



It has been crazy crowded the past couple days and this morning MK was slammed. 1hr for people mover.  Thankful  we had boo bash last night and it was all walk on.


----------



## KayKayJS

jujubiee4 said:


> Isn't this a work week and kids in school?  Are you seeing a lot of people?
> Going next month for a few days during the week and hoping most are working or in school. lol



I'm not there today! I just check the app every day to keep an eye on things for our day visits and I've noticed wait times have been really high for about a week. There was a period of time recently things were pretty much just walk ons and it flipped the other way so quickly it seems.


----------



## hdrolfe

Perhaps it's all the people wanting to go before Genie starts up?


----------



## KayKayJS

Thanks everyone - seems like it is much busier then. We went to Epcot weekend before last and it was CRAZY but I just figuerd food/wine.


----------



## jujubiee4

hdrolfe said:


> Perhaps it's all the people wanting to go before Genie starts up?


I was wondering this also.  I can't wait to hear the comparisons after Genie debuts.


----------



## hdrolfe

jujubiee4 said:


> I was wondering this also.  I can't wait to hear the comparisons after Genie debuts.



We go next week and I am anxious to hear the impact starting tomorrow. I hope we don't have to buy it. I don't mind one or two of the extra rides but don't want to have to add it to everyday! So will be watching closely this week.


----------



## lorileahb

Even before COVID 11 a.m. through early afternoon was always a madhouse (we are rope droppers, middle-of-the-day-resort-break, back-to-park people for that reason).  For it to be 1:45 and have 15-40 minute standby waits (what is in touring plans right now... except for the big two or three headliners) seems about right.  I always try to check waits before 11 a.m. and after 3 p.m. to align with how we are going to do the parks.  Good luck to everyone there!  Had to leave early yesterday with a sick child (not-COVID related), but will be back Thursday with a different child. 

Until restaurants are all back at full capacity (I saw half at some places this past weekend) and everything is open, all of the people are out on the pavement.


----------



## VickiVM

CBMom01 said:


> Fall break


Who has Fall break?  This isn't a thing in Texas.


----------



## persnickity

VickiVM said:


> Who has Fall break?  This isn't a thing in Texas.



My youngest just finished a two week fall break (balanced calendar) - the oldest has a more traditional schedule and just got a 4 day weekend. My nephew is off this week. ETA: We're in Indiana


----------



## lilmc

Farro said:


> Thanks! I'll plan on putting my curly mess in a bun.



I saved so much product this week. No reason to try to fix the curls as they’re going into a bun by the time I’m walking in from the parking lot (please bring the trams back, btw!)


----------



## aeasterling

VickiVM said:


> Who has Fall break?  This isn't a thing in Texas.


Midwest here.  We are off all of next week plus the following Monday.  We are headed down on Friday afternoon as soon as school gets out.  We've done this time of year twice before (all pre COVID) and it's typically pretty crowded, especially mid day.


----------



## lovethattink

jujubiee4 said:


> Isn't this a work week and kids in school?  Are you seeing a lot of people?
> Going next month for a few days during the week and hoping most are working or in school. lol



Polk County has no school today. It’s a teacher work day.


----------



## SkyGuy

persnickity said:


> My youngest just finished a two week fall break (balanced calendar) - the oldest has a more traditional schedule and just got a 4 day weekend. My nephew is off this week. ETA: We're in Indiana


We’re in Illinois, and most get the 4 day weekend, and some get the rest of the week off as well.


----------



## WEDWDW

A few notes.

Sportsman Shoppe in United Kingdom reopened yesterday!PROGRESS!
(I am hearing that the Shops that haven't reopened in World Showcase are because of Supply Chain issues and not Staffing issues.)

The Inventory of Disney Buses appears to have GREATLY increased since our last trip.We have only seen one Contract Bus so far.

The new lights "underneath" the Monorail trains at night are AWESOME!!!!

The Beacons of Magic lights on Spaceship Earth are pretty but almost "hurt my eyes".

Saw my first ever YACHT ROCK band!
SUMMER BREEZE was really great last night so much so that we are going to hear them again tonight.
Pretty sure this is the first time BRANDY by LOOKING GLASS has ever been played in America Gardens!lol

We haven't heard ANY of the Cast Members using "Friends"-all we have heard is the standard "Good Morning Guys","Move this way Guys","Goodnight Guys".

The new 50th Anniversary Nametags for the Disney College Program Cast Members lists their Hometown instead of their College.Really miss seeing all the MANY Colleges represented on the tags.Some CPs like the change,some don't.

And finally HarmoniUS-No comment!lol


----------



## CarolynFH

VickiVM said:


> Who has Fall break?  This isn't a thing in Texas.


My grandkids' school district just north of Houston was on Fall Break Oct. 4-8.  The district we live in, also north of Houston, didn't (although they were off Friday-Monday for Columbus Day weekend).  I haven't looked at any of the other Houston-area school districts calendars but wouldn't be surprised if there were other ISDs around here that have a Fall Break.


----------



## chuwy9

El Paso TX here, and we had fall break 10/4-10/15. Today was the first day back.


----------



## BK2014

WEDWDW said:


> We haven't heard ANY of the Cast Members using "Friends"-all we have heard is the standard "Good Morning Guys","Move this way Guys","Goodnight Guys".



This is surprising.  The use of the term "friend(s)" has been so pervasive the last couple of months.  Maybe things are changing again.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Thanks for all the info re: Fall Breaks.  It's officially been confirmed that some locations offer their students a fall break.

*Let's take this thread back to, 'Here Now and Just Back' experiences.*

Thanks!


----------



## dhutchin12

We were there last week and all we heard was “friends”.

QUOTE="BK2014, post: 63463318, member: 463393"]
This is surprising.  The use of the term "friend(s)" has been so pervasive the last couple of months.  Maybe things are changing again.
[/QUOTE]


----------



## GBRforWDW

Check your app version everyone!  Genie+ is only available in Version 7.0.  

https://blogmickey.com/2021/10/my-d...on-7-disney-genie-digital-companion-revealed/
Enjoy the whole new world


----------



## larsonb74

GBRforWDW said:


> Check your app version everyone!  Genie+ is only available in Version 7.0.
> 
> https://blogmickey.com/2021/10/my-d...on-7-disney-genie-digital-companion-revealed/
> Enjoy the whole new world ☺



Also can only do G+ for the day of no future plans with a AP.


----------



## MDIME

GBRforWDW said:


> Check your app version everyone!  Genie+ is only available in Version 7.0.


At 6:30am EDT 10/19/21.. I opened my MDE app and it had a pop-up with a link that told me to update my app to use Genie+


----------



## GBRforWDW

MDIME said:


> At 6:30am EDT 10/19/21.. I opened my MDE app and it had a pop-up with a link that told me to update my app to use Genie+


I didn't get the option when I opened on my Android, but did on iphone.  Thanks for letting me know!

Cool new feature on the app when you click an attraction on the map is forecasted wait times!  

Also, clicking the LL takes you to the Genie section to set a lightning lane selection.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Genie experiences are being thoroughly discussed on the Genie Announcement thread.  Might be beneficial to share all Genie experiences there to consolidate questions and answers. 

https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-genie-announcement.3849361/
A new Everthing Genie thread is being created now that it’s live and we’re able to get some of our many questions answered.

*Please keep this thread dedicated to those looking for general Here Now and Just Back experiences.  Thanks!*


----------



## MDIME

GBRforWDW said:


> I didn't get the option when I opened on my Android, but did on iphone.  Thanks for letting me know!
> 
> Cool new feature on the app when you click an attraction on the map is forecasted wait times!  View attachment 614505
> 
> Also, clicking the LL takes you to the Genie section to set a lightning lane selection.



Oh yes, I was using iPhone. This feature is not yet available on my iPad though


----------



## lovethattink

Updated the app. Sent photos to @scrappinginontario As an AP I can reserve LL atm. But my husband is determined we can still have a great time without purchasing Genie+.


----------



## Meglen

GBRforWDW said:


> I didn't get the option when I opened on my Android, but did on iphone.  Thanks for letting me know!
> 
> Cool new feature on the app when you click an attraction on the map is forecasted wait times!  View attachment 614505
> 
> Also, clicking the LL takes you to the Genie section to set a lightning lane selection.


This chart means nothing tho.. what are the values on the left? From what I can tell it changes the Y axis depending on the ride.. so this chart will seem like the wait for slinky is the same as the wait for teacups. Disney fails at making a basic chart and hopes people won't notice...


----------



## GBRforWDW

Meglen said:


> This chart means nothing tho.. what are the values on the left? From what I can tell it changes the Y axis depending on the ride.. so this chart will seem like the wait for slinky is the same as the wait for teacups. Disney fails at making a basic chart and hopes people won't notice...


True. It does say it'll change throughout the day. I guess I'm hoping as time goes on, it actually looks like a real projection. I would imagine the lines are supposed to be 15 minute or 30 minute increments, but would be nice if that was labeled.


----------



## bookgirl2632

BK2014 said:


> This is surprising.  The use of the term "friend(s)" has been so pervasive the last couple of months.  Maybe things are changing again.


I’ve heard “friends” from every CM.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

WEDWDW said:


> A few notes.
> 
> Sportsman Shoppe in United Kingdom reopened yesterday!PROGRESS!
> (I am hearing that the Shops that haven't reopened in World Showcase are because of Supply Chain issues and not Staffing issues.)
> 
> The Inventory of Disney Buses appears to have GREATLY increased since our last trip.We have only seen one Contract Bus so far.
> 
> The new lights "underneath" the Monorail trains at night are AWESOME!!!!
> 
> The Beacons of Magic lights on Spaceship Earth are pretty but almost "hurt my eyes".
> 
> Saw my first ever YACHT ROCK band!
> SUMMER BREEZE was really great last night so much so that we are going to hear them again tonight.
> Pretty sure this is the first time BRANDY by LOOKING GLASS has ever been played in America Gardens!lol
> 
> We haven't heard ANY of the Cast Members using "Friends"-all we have heard is the standard "Good Morning Guys","Move this way Guys","Goodnight Guys".
> 
> The new 50th Anniversary Nametags for the Disney College Program Cast Members lists their Hometown instead of their College.Really miss seeing all the MANY Colleges represented on the tags.Some CPs like the change,some don't.
> 
> And finally HarmoniUS-No comment!lol


So happy to hear about Sportsman shop!


----------



## chuwy9

So my final post in this thread. 

My travel group of 9 (4 adults, 5 kids under 10) that was in Florida 10/2-10/10 (10/5-10/10 at Disney) did not experience any health issues while there or after leaving.

The group took all recommended precautions (washing hands constantly, etc) and (mostly always) wore our mask indoors.

Hope this info helps persuade some of you on the fence about whether to go to WDW. It’s not ideal, but going to WDW during these times is very doable. 

Safe travels everyone.


----------



## Mle8308

bookgirl2632 said:


> I’ve heard “friends” from every CM.


Heard it a lot on my last trip, drove me nuts for some reason. Why can't they just say "hello" and smile? No need to add the "friends", it sounded condescending more often than not, though I am sure most of the time it wasn't meant to. I am not sure why it irritates me so much! If we were really friends, they would use my name! Must be the newest Disney PC salutation, getting away from the "hi guys" - not inclusive. And if that's my biggest complaint, well then.....


----------



## luv2cheer92

bookgirl2632 said:


> I’ve heard “friends” from every CM.


I've honestly been hearing CMs say friends for as long as I can remember. Years and years. Didnt notice it any more than usual on my most recent trips.


----------



## Violet Parr

From the looks of the Lines app, it seems like crowds are lower today than the last week or so.  It really did seem like the crowds showed up the minute Genie's launch was announced.  Seemed to make sense that locals would get in all the pre-Genie ride time they could.  I'm expecting things to pick up this weekend and then level off again.  I hope I'm right!


----------



## bd410

Back from MK today…will prob do a trip write up once home at Thursday. But in short, 1.genie + worked as well as FP…Walked onto 10 rides with no more than 5 min wait.  2. People will and we’re paying for the individual LL.
We feel pretty Disney savvy, and things started to back up in the after noon once people started to figure things out…a lot of guest services tents with long lines…and those unaware I do feel bad for bc knowing what to expect and how to use the app made for a pretty easy day….3. I suspect once the system as time to run and people get used to it that it’ll make goin onto rides much like before.


----------



## AZMermaid

VickiVM said:


> Who has Fall break?  This isn't a thing in Texas.


Most of AZ is out either the first or second week of October. It affects DL much more than WDW… but I have friends who went to FL last week.

oops, saw moderators note too late! Sorry!


----------



## OhBother1984

AZMermaid said:


> Most of AZ is out either the first or second week of October. It affects DL much more than WDW… but I have friends who went to FL last week.
> 
> oops, saw moderators note too late! Sorry!



I always wonder where this fall break thing is also. I am NE FL and no fall break here and it wasn't when I lived in Ohio or PA.


----------



## lorileahb

OhBother1984 said:


> I always wonder where this fall break thing is also. I am NE FL and no fall break here and it wasn't when I lived in Ohio or PA.



I live in South Carolina - people all around us get it, but we don't  - we have teacher work days that are spread throughout the year, so several long weekends.


----------



## OhBother1984

lorileahb said:


> I live in South Carolina - people all around us get it, but we don't  - we have teacher work days that are spread throughout the year, so several long weekends.



School here get a teacher work day at the end of every grading period so 4. But they get a full week at thanksgiving and close to 2.5 weeks at christmas.


----------



## Leigh L

luv2cheer92 said:


> I've honestly been hearing CMs say friends for as long as I can remember. Years and years. Didnt notice it any more than usual on my most recent trips.


Pretty much the same for us too


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

OhBother1984 said:


> School here get a teacher work day at the end of every grading period so 4. But they get a full week at thanksgiving and close to 2.5 weeks at christmas.


Up here we get the standar 2 1/2 days thanksgiving, anywhere from 1-2 weeks for Xmas, 1 week winter break, one week spring break. The major holidays off. And then sporadic throughout the year. The teachers will also have to come in for professional development but not the kids. And if no or only 1 snow day(s) ends up being used they get days back. This past May they had a five day weekend for Memorial Day because they only used one snow day.


----------



## scrappinginontario

*Please get back to the 'Here Now and Just Back' topic of this thread.*

If someone wishes to start a 'Do you get a fall break?' thread in the community board you're welcome to do that but this thread is intended for people to share their actual experiences while at Disney or who have just returned.

Thanks.


----------



## iheartglaciers

bookgirl2632 said:


> I’ve heard “friends” from every CM.



I noticed this a lot during my trip a couple weeks ago, mainly I think because it's been mentioned here and in a Disney FB group I'm a member of. But I have no idea what they were saying before!


----------



## iheartglaciers

Now that's it's been 2 weeks since I got home, I'll add in my data point.

I was at Disney World Sept 29-Oct 5 and my cousins and I didn't come down with COVID symptoms afterwards. I didn't do indoor dining and wore a KN95 mask indoors and 60-70% of the time outdoors. I did stand and wait for fireworks in a decent crowd. My cousins did some indoor dining and wore a cloth mask indoors, but not outdoors.

Crowds were moderate and ride wait times got high after the 50th weekend was over. We had a great time, but missed some of the entertainment that's not back yet and the World Showcase CMs. I do LOVE the Animal Kingdom flotillas and hope they keep those permanently!


----------



## larsonb74

Delete


----------



## SusanDK

We were at AK yesterday. According to TouringPlans, the crowd level was a 1, but the walkways seemed more crowded than that to us. Standby wait time for FOP was 70 minutes mid-afternoon; Na'vi was 45 minutes (we did not ride either one). Standby for the Safari was 15 minutes and Kali was 5 minutes, so we rode those. We arrived about 10 minutes into one of the feathered friends shows (ca. 3 pm?) and the stadium was probably 80+% full. We walked a couple of the trails and they were moderately crowded. We had eaten lunch before arriving so did not eat there, but none of the eateries appeared overly crowded as we walked by.


----------



## Tess

BK2014 said:


> This is surprising.  The use of the term "friend(s)" has been so pervasive the last couple of months.  Maybe things are changing again.



Not while we were there last week--we were so sick of hearing "friend(s)".  We decided to join in and began to do it ourselves to mock the pervasiveness of the overused term.


----------



## AZMermaid

I teach first grade and use “friends” all day long. I bet it won’t phase me, lol!


----------



## bsmcneil

AZMermaid said:


> I teach first grade and use “friends” all day long. I bet it won’t phase me, lol!


It's become important in my house with a 3rd grader and pre-schooler.


----------



## erinch

my daughter is a Montessori teacher and is required to call her charges Friends, not students. 
It is one of the few gender neutral terms available for Disney CMs.



AZMermaid said:


> I teach first grade and use “friends” all day long. I bet it won’t phase me, lol!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Once again, let's please get back on topic of people sharing what they are experiencing in the parks or have recently experienced.  

The 'friends' topic has run it's course in this thread.  If anyone wishes to discuss it further, please open a new thread in the Community sub-forum.

Thanks.


----------



## Farro

I'm here and it's hot baby!!! Having a blast!


----------



## aeasterling

We just finished the first day of our trip.  I decided to add Genie Plus to our entire trip (7 days).  Ultimately I decided that I would rather not have to deal with buying it individually each day.  This trip is me, my husband and our 15 year old here for the week (fall break) and our 18 year old who is in college and here for today and tomorrow.  He's on a separate two day ticket and this came into play in a way I didn't expect.  We are staying at the Swan. 

Today's reservation was Hollywood studios, with a dinner ADR at EPCOT.  At 7am, I went on MDE to get our ILL for ROTR, but found I couldn't select our son because he's not on our room reservation so not eligible for the early ILL res.  I went ahead and got it for the 3 of us at 11:25 and hoped we could work it out.   Got our first Genie+ for MFSR at 10:45 (SDD was already at 2pm by then 7:05). 

Got to HS at 8.  They scanned my ticket and asked to see my room key to get in.  Went to Guest Services about the Rise pass.  They couldn't sort it out but gave us a recovery pass - score, free!   She did say tomorrow we will need to wait until park open. 

Here's how the rest of the day went:
In queue for SDD at 8:15, line started moving at exactly 8:30, off 8:45.
Standby TSM - Walk on, off 9
Standby MMRR, 20 min wait, off 9:37
Standby Star Tours, walk on, off 10:10
Bought ILL for Remy at 6:35pm
Tapped into MFSR 10:43 (standby was an hour) got next LL for Saucers
11:10 Kids noped out of Saucers (too spinny) so cancelled that and got LL for TSM 12:55
11:20 tapped into ROTR 5 minutes early, done at 11:50
Mobile ordered ABC Commissary - food was ready in 10 minutes
At lunch we decided we were done, so I cancelled TSM LL and got a 2:50 for TT (EPCOT) instead.  This was at 12:05.
Took boat back to hotel to rest for a bit. 
At 2:05 (still at hotel) I got a LL for Soarin at 3:30 since my cooling off period was over.  So now I had two at the same time. 
Headed over to EPCOT at 3ish - World Showcase was PACKED!!  Tapped into TT at 3:30 (standby was 45 minutes). Got another LL for SE at 3:30.  Now we have two again ( Soarin and SE - Both 3:30-4:30). 
Here's where we ran into something interesting.  We were off Soarin at 4:40 and so I figured we missed our SE window but I didn't cancel it. 
Instead got LL for LWTL (10 min standby but whatever). 
When I went to try for another SE after that it wouldn't let me - since it looked like I had already rode it.  Note - make sure you cancel a LL if you aren't going to use it. 
No big deal, did the 5 min standby for SE and then MS with 5 min standby. 
By now it was 6, so we headed back to France and were on Remy at 6:30 - cute but I wouldn't pay for it again. 
We were seated at Via Napoli early at 7:05 and had a great dinner.  
I had originally planned to stay for fireworks, but it was so crowded that we decided that do it another night. 

All in all a successful day - 11 total rides. 2 ILL, 4 LL and 5 standby. Early Entry was great - we had 3 rides done in the first 45 minutes.  While I'm not thrilled about paying for Genie+, it was nice that we could use it in multiple parks. 

Oh also, wow it was hot today!!!


----------



## Datfan1

aeasterling said:


> We just finished the first day of our trip.  I decided to add Genie Plus to our entire trip (7 days).  Ultimately I decided that I would rather not have to deal with buying it individually each day.  This trip is me, my husband and our 15 year old here for the week (fall break) and our 18 year old who is in college and here for today and tomorrow.  He's on a separate two day ticket and this came into play in a way I didn't expect.  We are staying at the Swan.
> 
> Today's reservation was Hollywood studios, with a dinner ADR at EPCOT.  At 7am, I went on MDE to get our ILL for ROTR, but found I couldn't select our son because he's not on our room reservation so not eligible for the early ILL res.  I went ahead and got it for the 3 of us at 11:25 and hoped we could work it out.   Got our first Genie+ for MFSR at 10:45 (SDD was already at 2pm by then 7:05).
> 
> Got to HS at 8.  They scanned my ticket and asked to see my room key to get in.  Went to Guest Services about the Rise pass.  They couldn't sort it out but gave us a recovery pass - score, free!   She did say tomorrow we will need to wait until park open.
> 
> Here's how the rest of the day went:
> In queue for SDD at 8:15, line started moving at exactly 8:30, off 8:45.
> Standby TSM - Walk on, off 9
> Standby MMRR, 20 min wait, off 9:37
> Standby Star Tours, walk on, off 10:10
> Bought ILL for Remy at 6:35pm
> Tapped into MFSR 10:43 (standby was an hour) got next LL for Saucers
> 11:10 Kids noped out of Saucers (too spinny) so cancelled that and got LL for TSM 12:55
> 11:20 tapped into ROTR 5 minutes early, done at 11:50
> Mobile ordered ABC Commissary - food was ready in 10 minutes
> At lunch we decided we were done, so I cancelled TSM LL and got a 2:50 for TT (EPCOT) instead.  This was at 12:05.
> Took boat back to hotel to rest for a bit.
> At 2:05 (still at hotel) I got a LL for Soarin at 3:30 since my cooling off period was over.  So now I had two at the same time.
> Headed over to EPCOT at 3ish - World Showcase was PACKED!!  Tapped into TT at 3:30 (standby was 45 minutes). Got another LL for SE at 3:30.  Now we have two again ( Soarin and SE - Both 3:30-4:30).
> Here's where we ran into something interesting.  We were off Soarin at 4:40 and so I figured we missed our SE window but I didn't cancel it.
> Instead got LL for LWTL (10 min standby but whatever).
> When I went to try for another SE after that it wouldn't let me - since it looked like I had already rode it.  Note - make sure you cancel a LL if you aren't going to use it.
> No big deal, did the 5 min standby for SE and then MS with 5 min standby.
> By now it was 6, so we headed back to France and were on Remy at 6:30 - cute but I wouldn't pay for it again.
> We were seated at Via Napoli early at 7:05 and had a great dinner.
> I had originally planned to stay for fireworks, but it was so crowded that we decided that do it another night.
> 
> All in all a successful day - 11 total rides. 2 ILL, 4 LL and 5 standby. Early Entry was great - we had 3 rides done in the first 45 minutes.  While I'm not thrilled about paying for Genie+, it was nice that we could use it in multiple parks.
> 
> Oh also, wow it was hot today!!!


I would call that a Good Day. Well done.


----------



## ElizaDoesDisney

I also just finished Day 1 of my trip.  Plan was AK morning to ride Safari and see Kite Tails and then hopping to MK.  Bought G+ to get LL for MK after 2PM.  Couldn't go back to sleep after getting up at 7 to make LL selection so ended up at AK at 8:10.

Did all standby at AK:
Dinosaur, walk on at 8:07
Triceratops Spin, walk on at 8:39
Everest Single Rider, walk on at 8:47
Safari - posted 20 minutes, actually 10, on at 9:10
Grabbed a snack at Sat'uli at opening (10)
Feathered Friends in Flight at 10:30
Kite Tails at 11:15
Lucked into a seat at bar at Nomad Lounge for drink/snack

Then hopped over to MK, where I did pretty much everything via LL.  I was able to get three reservations prior to entering (7AM, 11AM, 1PM) and kept rolling those while doing some shopping and general sightseeing in between (note - time stamps are for when I got on ride vehicle - LL lines ranged from walk on to 15ish minutes, I didn't track that so relying on memory)
2:17 - Haunted Mansion
2:40 - Jungle Cruise
3:17 - Pooh
3:47 - Peter Pan
4:04 - Small World
Then had dinner at Jungle Skipper Canteen - had a 4:45 reservation, but checked in a bit early and was seated at 4:30
5:37 Pirates
Then I was supposed to do splash but it went down right as my return time started - my LL reservation was converted to an any LL pass (exceptions of ILL$ and Peter Pan)
6:12 Big Thunder
6:45 Under the Sea
7:10 Tomorrowland Speedway
7:21 Buzz
Fireworks
8:36 Splash
9:07 Splash
9:35 Peoplemover via Standby - walk on
10:01 Space Mountain - posted 20, waited 10

All in all a great, magical, but exhausting day.  I'm sleeping in tomorrow.


----------



## coolbrook

ElizaDoesDisney said:


> I also just finished Day 1 of my trip.  Plan was AK morning to ride Safari and see Kite Tails and then hopping to MK.  Bought G+ to get LL for MK after 2PM.  Couldn't go back to sleep after getting up at 7 to make LL selection so ended up at AK at 8:10.
> 
> Did all standby at AK:
> Dinosaur, walk on at 8:07
> Triceratops Spin, walk on at 8:39
> Everest Single Rider, walk on at 8:47
> Safari - posted 20 minutes, actually 10, on at 9:10
> Grabbed a snack at Sat'uli at opening (10)
> Feathered Friends in Flight at 10:30
> Kite Tails at 11:15
> Lucked into a seat at bar at Nomad Lounge for drink/snack
> 
> Then hopped over to MK, where I did pretty much everything via LL.  I was able to get three reservations prior to entering (7AM, 11AM, 1PM) and kept rolling those while doing some shopping and general sightseeing in between (note - time stamps are for when I got on ride vehicle - LL lines ranged from walk on to 15ish minutes, I didn't track that so relying on memory)
> 2:17 - Haunted Mansion
> 2:40 - Jungle Cruise
> 3:17 - Pooh
> 3:47 - Peter Pan
> 4:04 - Small World
> Then had dinner at Jungle Skipper Canteen - had a 4:45 reservation, but checked in a bit early and was seated at 4:30
> 5:37 Pirates
> Then I was supposed to do splash but it went down right as my return time started - my LL reservation was converted to an any LL pass (exceptions of ILL$ and Peter Pan)
> 6:12 Big Thunder
> 6:45 Under the Sea
> 7:10 Tomorrowland Speedway
> 7:21 Buzz
> Fireworks
> 8:36 Splash
> 9:07 Splash
> 9:35 Peoplemover via Standby - walk on
> 10:01 Space Mountain - posted 20, waited 10
> 
> All in all a great, magical, but exhausting day.  I'm sleeping in tomorrow.


Great info! Could you share which G+ reservations you made at 7, 11, and 1. Trying to figure out what order to make them in.  Thank you


----------



## canyoncam

ElizaDoesDisney said:


> I also just finished Day 1 of my trip.  Plan was AK morning to ride Safari and see Kite Tails and then hopping to MK.  Bought G+ to get LL for MK after 2PM.  Couldn't go back to sleep after getting up at 7 to make LL selection so ended up at AK at 8:10.
> 
> Did all standby at AK:
> Dinosaur, walk on at 8:07
> Triceratops Spin, walk on at 8:39
> Everest Single Rider, walk on at 8:47
> Safari - posted 20 minutes, actually 10, on at 9:10
> Grabbed a snack at Sat'uli at opening (10)
> Feathered Friends in Flight at 10:30
> Kite Tails at 11:15
> Lucked into a seat at bar at Nomad Lounge for drink/snack
> 
> Then hopped over to MK, where I did pretty much everything via LL.  I was able to get three reservations prior to entering (7AM, 11AM, 1PM) and kept rolling those while doing some shopping and general sightseeing in between (note - time stamps are for when I got on ride vehicle - LL lines ranged from walk on to 15ish minutes, I didn't track that so relying on memory)
> 2:17 - Haunted Mansion
> 2:40 - Jungle Cruise
> 3:17 - Pooh
> 3:47 - Peter Pan
> 4:04 - Small World
> Then had dinner at Jungle Skipper Canteen - had a 4:45 reservation, but checked in a bit early and was seated at 4:30
> 5:37 Pirates
> Then I was supposed to do splash but it went down right as my return time started - my LL reservation was converted to an any LL pass (exceptions of ILL$ and Peter Pan)
> 6:12 Big Thunder
> 6:45 Under the Sea
> 7:10 Tomorrowland Speedway
> 7:21 Buzz
> Fireworks
> 8:36 Splash
> 9:07 Splash
> 9:35 Peoplemover via Standby - walk on
> 10:01 Space Mountain - posted 20, waited 10
> 
> All in all a great, magical, but exhausting day.  I'm sleeping in tomorrow.



I was thinking an evening stacking strategy at MK would work best. You proved that. Maybe a bit more difficult for families to accomplish, but looking good for the solo  power riders!


----------



## ElizaDoesDisney

coolbrook said:


> Great info! Could you share which G+ reservations you made at 7, 11, and 1. Trying to figure out what order to make them in.  Thank you



Sure.  I knew I wanted to do Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion since I missed those favorites last trip and those times seemed to get pushed out far fast.  I'm not sure this was the "optimal strategy" but it worked for me.  All times are the start of the return window.

7AM - Book 2PM Jungle Cruise
11AM - Book 2PM Haunted Mansion
1PM - Book 3:45 Peter Pan (one of the few things in Fantasy/Adventure that had pushed past 2 - I didn't think I could do JC/HM and a third ride in the same hour window especially since I couldn't tap into park until 1:55)

Then I rolled some extra Fantasyland rides as I tapped into existing reservations
Pooh - 3:15
it's a small world - 3:55

Then I concentrated on setting up 3 for after my dinner
Pirates - 5:30
Splash - 5:55
Big Thunder - 6:05

And then kept rolling as I worked my way through New Fantasyland and Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland Speedway - 6:20
Under the Sea - 6:45
Buzz - 7:15
Splash Take 2 - 8:50


----------



## Gentry2004

ElizaDoesDisney said:


> Sure.  I knew I wanted to do Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion since I missed those favorites last trip and those times seemed to get pushed out far fast.  I'm not sure this was the "optimal strategy" but it worked for me.  All times are the start of the return window.
> 
> 7AM - Book 2PM Jungle Cruise
> 11AM - Book 2PM Haunted Mansion
> 1PM - Book 3:45 Peter Pan (one of the few things in Fantasy/Adventure that had pushed past 2 - I didn't think I could do JC/HM and a third ride in the same hour window especially since I couldn't tap into park until 1:55)
> 
> Then I rolled some extra Fantasyland rides as I tapped into existing reservations
> Pooh - 3:15
> it's a small world - 3:55
> 
> Then I concentrated on setting up 3 for after my dinner
> Pirates - 5:30
> Splash - 5:55
> Big Thunder - 6:05
> 
> And then kept rolling as I worked my way through New Fantasyland and Tomorrowland
> Tomorrowland Speedway - 6:20
> Under the Sea - 6:45
> Buzz - 7:15
> Splash Take 2 - 8:50



i thought you couldn’t book a LL for the same ride twice.How did you book splash twice?


----------



## Lsyves

Here now. LL lines not moving fast. Not sure it’s worth it honestly. MK.


----------



## persnickity

Lsyves said:


> Here now. LL lines not moving fast. Not sure it’s worth it honestly. MK.



How long are they taking?


----------



## leeniewdw

Gentry2004 said:


> i thought you couldn’t book a LL for the same ride twice.How did you book splash twice?



In their original post of their day, they said Splash was down at their LL time so they were given an LL to use on any ride.


----------



## Farro

persnickity said:


> How long are they taking?



Cant speak for their experience at MK today, but for us the lines have been nonexistent when using Genie + at all the parks. In this heat, we were very happy to have it!


----------



## Lsyves

persnickity said:


> How long are they taking?


The longest was Haunted Mansion, around 30 mins. Maybe I was just overheating but I felt like that was a long time for LL.


----------



## pixiedust2u

Question for those just getting back and who made use of Genie+. Do you think you are on your phone, more, less, or about the same as the old fast pass + system?


----------



## Lsyves

Here now day 1 & 2 recap:

Day 1: After 24 hours of travel (flew in from Europe) we arrived at WL on DME around 9pm. Picked up some packages at front desk and settled into our room. Ordered in person at Roaring Fork and had some issues with missing items and food taking a very long time. Food was cold Went to bed.

Day 2: Kids were up at 3, then made it to 6:30 before they were asking for breakfast. Put in a 7am mobile order for Roaring Fork. Food was cold again  Slowly headed to MK for first LL at Pirates at 10am. Sailed right on. Waited standby for JC which was about 25 mins. Had a hilarious CM. Explored Tom Sawyer’s Island and stopped many times for snacks (our bodies are messed up from the jet lag-anything goes the first day!). Had next LL for HM but still waited about 30 mins! Waited in standby for Little Mermaid bc it said 5 min wait time-it ended up being 25 mins. Not sure what was going on there. Walked over to Buzz Lightyear for next LL and waited about 10 mins. Did speedway standby and waited only 7-8 mins. Crowds seemed light and this was around 2:30. Started to fade so we went back to WL and did another mobile order. Food cold again  Roaring Fork manager called me to apologize for all the issues. Very nice. And we did notice there are a tons of new CMs training around the lodge. Rested and showered until early dinner at Whispering Canyon. Kids fell asleep at table so they went back to the room without eating and slept hard til 4 am. Husband and I ate dinner and bill was $142 for two entrees and four drinks. A bit of sticker shock there but still foggy from jet lag and have to adjust to Disney pricing.

I have to point out that pretty much every CM we have encountered has been friendly, happy, helpful, and yes, magical. They’re really doing their best to maintain standards which makes me super happy!

Animal Kingdom next, and we will probably be more ourselves today and get on more rides than yesterday. Park hopping tonight is the plan...


----------



## elgerber

pixiedust2u said:


> Question for those just getting back and who made use of Genie+. Do you think you are on your phone, more, less, or about the same as the old fast pass + system?


I would say the same slightly less. With fast pass I was refreshing constantly to try to move times.


----------



## ItsMEH

I returned yesterday from a 10/13-10/24 trip, so Genie launched in the middle of our vacation. I have never been to WDW this time of year but crowds seemed similar to other times I had been (Jan and Mar). I am not sure if there is a slow season anymore. I really did not think that I would end up buying any ILL passes but caved on that pretty quickly. Our first day in Hollywood Studios, Rise of the Resistance was down every time we were willing to wait in line for it and this was the one ride my husband and BIL wanted to ride, so I bought ILL for our second HS day. We all felt like it was worth it, not to wait in line. For the first half of our trip, ride times were totally inflated, but once Genie+ hit, they seemed to be more accurate. I used to be in the camp of "fastpass does not affect standby" but I could actually tell the difference once Genie+ launched. We enjoyed continuously moving standby lines and could tell the difference, once LL was introduced.  I ended up adding Genie+ on our last day, which was Saturday in Magic Kingdom. I didn't fully understand exactly how it could be used, so I think I could have maximized it more, but I ended up using it for 7 rides.

I felt like mask compliance was pretty good, there were always a couple people trying to pull them below their noses, but I generally saw them addressed by a cast member pretty quickly. One bus driver had to harp on a guy pretty good for not wearing his and told the guy that health officials make random checks on his bus and he would get fined for any passengers not wearing a mask. I felt really bad, the passenger was being kind of a jerk.

I LOVE the idea of mobile ordering in general, I use it all the time, but it was tough at DisneyWorld. We had 7 people and trying to decide when to order and get everyone to settle on one place, was a challenge. We started to figure out a cadence for it, but it took some time for sure. I think Hollywood Studios was the worst park for this, because they don't have a ton of food carts to walk up to and we kept ending up in Toy Story Land at lunch time and Woody's Lunchbox would be "sold out" hours in advanced.

We stayed at POP Century for the first time and we all absolutely loved the Skyliner. It is so convenient and makes travelling to the parks so much faster. Skyliner will be a consideration in our future stays at WDW.

We rode more charter busses than Disney busses during this trip and more than once, we saw folks in wheelchairs left behind because of it. One night leaving Disney Springs a family told us they sat through 3 busses coming and going, because none of them were busses that could accommodate their son in his wheelchair. My heart broke for that Mom because there was nothing she could do.

Overall we had a wonderful vacation and as always, I can't wait to go back. I hope some of this info was helpful. If anyone has any questions, let me know!


----------



## leeniewdw

Can I ask if you were able to book for your entire party for the ILL$ purchases?  I'm presuming you had > 1 room with that many people.


----------



## ItsMEH

leeniewdw said:


> Can I ask if you were able to book for your entire party for the ILL$ purchases?  I'm presuming you had > 1 room with that many people.


Yes, we had two rooms and I had them linked in the MDE app so I was able to add everyone for our ILL purchase. It let me select the party just like the old Fastpass system.


----------



## leeniewdw

ItsMEH said:


> Yes, we had two rooms and I had them linked in the MDE app so I was able to add everyone for our ILL purchase. It let me select the party just like the old Fastpass system.



When you say you had them linked in MDE, can you explain like I'm 5 .   When I called to get G+ added to our whole trip for 3 rooms (we're paying for all 3 rooms/packages), they did say they "linked them" but when I look in MDE I see the other 4 people but they are just listed in my Friends/Family.  Should I be able to see their rooms too?

Our group trip is in Feb and we're planning to go in early Dec just the 2 of us, so I can always stop at guest services and confirm all this, but just wondering if  can figure it out before.


----------



## ItsMEH

leeniewdw said:


> When you say you had them linked in MDE, can you explain like I'm 5 . When I called to get G+ added to our whole trip for 3 rooms (we're paying for all 3 rooms/packages), they did say they "linked them" but when I look in MDE I see the other 4 people but they are just listed in my Friends/Family. Should I be able to see their rooms too?
> 
> Our group trip is in Feb and we're planning to go in early Dec just the 2 of us, so I can always stop at guest services and confirm all this, but just wondering if can figure it out before.



This is a super annoying feature of MDE app in my opinion. I had the same experience. We had 2 rooms that I paid for but I had to list my husband as the "owner" of the other room when I booked it, so when I looked in the MDE app, I could only see the one room under my stay and the people that were in my room. I could only ever view my balance, but not the balance for the other room even though I was the one that booked them. 

When I went to book virtual queues or ILL or Disney+ however, everyone in our group would show up. Under "My Genie Day" and then on the Tip Board tab is where you book LL or ILL. Once you get to the ride you want and you click "book experience" your whole party should show up.


----------



## leeniewdw

Ok thanks.  I thought it was odd that I could call WDW and say "I'd like to book 3 room packages, here is my CC" and they were like "well if you're not sleeping in the room it has to be under someone's email that IS staying in the room".   I mean it can't be THAT unusual to have 1 person pay for > 1 room/package.

So my kids are getting the email confirmations and have their own MDE accounts (that I can log into after they set them up and gave me the password).  I would think logging into MDE under someone else's email is generally wrong use of security but that's the only way I could figure out how to do it.   Seems like you could have a "responsible for" role for each room despite who was in it.

It wasn't that big of a deal when it was the free FP+, but my fear is about buying the ILL$ and getting tripped up at 7am!   So instead we've book a trip for Dec and I'll ask them in person, LOL.  Nice excuse.   But honestly, I'm on hold now to get an old hopper linked to our Dec plans and I've been on hold for over 2.5 hours.  Flying down sounds more fun than being on hold! (they did finally answer).


----------



## Lsyves

Here now, day 3 recap:

What a day! AK in the morning...HS in afternoon. Husband got queasy from FOP and by 1:30 the heat started to get to me. We canceled all our evening plans to lay low at our hotel  Kind of a bummer but it was so steamy today it was unavoidable. We enjoyed Pandora and all the Star Wars attractions regardless! 

Still feels like parks are not too crowded and our hotel is nowhere near capacity. Enjoying the personal space...

Today more HS early AM then pool afternoon and Boo Bash tonight.


----------



## Kazi7

aeasterling said:


> 11:10 Kids noped out of Saucers (too spinny) so cancelled that and got LL for TSM 12:55
> 
> At lunch we decided we were done, so I cancelled TSM LL and got a 2:50 for TT (EPCOT) instead.  This was at 12:05.



@aesterling  Thanks for posting about the cancelling/rebooking.  It looks like you cancelled an existing G+ and rebooked something else right away, which I've been wondering about.  I didn't know if it would make you wait to book something else according to when your next 120 min window opened up.   It seems like it will let you cancel/replace something whenever you want to, subject to availability of course.


----------



## wings91

Too much still missing. No magic.


----------



## hdrolfe

We rope dropped HS with prepark opening and rode all 3 toy story rides before the park opened, rode millennium falcon quickly and then had a snack. I bought ILL$ for RoR at 10:15. It broke down just when it got good. We left the park to come back to POP and swim, went back and the LL is massive. We didn't want to wait (we have any time LL for RoR because it broke down). We rode Slinky again, about a 30 min wait, posted 60. Now back at POP again, we got some drinks at Petals (virgin for kiddo and a nice Pina colava  for me). We will go back around 6 and hopefully get on Rise then. I am not happy I spent money on the ride and haven't gotten on it yet. I am sure others in that line feel the same. 

We did Epcot yesterday for a few hours and ate some good food. Tomorrow we go to MK and I hope we will get on lots of rides.


----------



## OhBother1984

We got back yesterday. Sat and sun parks were very busy, much more than our trip at the end of August. Monday was more manageable. Masks were enforced even less than August as well. Most follow rules in lines/rides, but hotels/shops/bathrooms very different.

We did the dessert party Sunday night and it was so good and great view and not shoulder to shoulder packed in which was nice. But the exit out was awful so crowded and impossible to know how to get where you needed to.

Monday night we did the evening hours for deluxe hotels and frozen was still a 20 min wait but it was 60-75 most of the day so not too bad.


----------



## JillyMouse

Hello! Here is my Park and Hotel experience from my 10/20--10/24/21 trip. Party of two - me and my college daughter, who had a two day Fall break from school. We stayed at the Contemporary, and took advantage of the Early Entry on 10/21, 10/22, and 10/23. We did purchase Genie+ for our trip, and I also qualify for a DAS (Ovarian Cancer stage 3C, and actively going through chemo), and was fortunate to have pre-registered on-line prior to our trip. We also had a rental car, so we were nimble!

10/20 (Wednesday) - Flew from MKE to MCO, early direct flight on Southwest.  Arrived at 9:45am.  Picked up rental car at Alamo.  Had prepaid, so just went to the Full Size aisle and picked out a car.  Scored a mini-van, which is easy for me to drive, and reminds me of my former car pool days!  Headed to Target on Daryl Carter Parkway (new and clean) to pick up a case of water, breakfast foods, and snacks.  Then had some lunch at Chipolte across the street.  

I had requested an early check-in at noon at the Contemporary, and received notification at 11:30am that our room was ready!  We stayed in the Garden Wing, with the old style room.  The room was clean, and since it was only the two of us, the odd bathroom configuration was fine. We spent the rest of day exploring the hotel, and relaxing, knowing we had four ambitious days ahead!

10/21 (Thursday)- Early Entry - Magic Kingdom. We walked over to Magic Kingdom from the Contemporary. Arrived super early to the walking security check point (before 7am). They opened the check point at 7:30am. We were first in line. After security, we walked to the tap styles, and were about the 10th in line. We tapped in at 7:50am, and headed over to the Tomorrowland bridge. Prior to the bridge, they confirmed our on-site resort status. We were then first at the rope. Promptly at 8:30am, we were walked over behind castmembers to the Space Mountain queue. We were first in line! We completed 10 attractions between 8:30am and noon, using rope drop, Genie+ LL, and my DAS pre-registration.

at 7am, we did secure a Genie+ LL for Haunted Mansion, and a ILL$ for Remy at 3pm at Epcot.

1 - Space Mountain - walk on
2 - Buzz lightyear - walk on
3 - Little Mermaid - walk on
4 - Haunted Mansion - Genie+ LL
5 - Tea Cups - walk on
6 - Seven Dwarves - DAS (off of ride at 9:53am)
7 - Winnie the Pooh - DAS
8 - Peter Pan - DAS advanced selection
9 - Pirates of the Caribbean - DAS selection
10 - Big Thunder - Genie+ LL

We enjoyed watching two of the Cavalcades.

We had lunch at Columbia Harbor House at noon (utilizing mobile order)  We also made a Genie+ reservation for Soarin' since we were heading to Epcot next.

We walked back to our hotel, freshened up, and hopped over to Epcot.  We drove to Epcot in our rental, and utilized Handicapped parking.

As soon as we tapped in at Epcot (right around 2pm), I was able to secure a back-up Boarding Group for Remy.  Since we had paid for a spot through ILL$, I did this to just see if it could be done.  Our boarding group was called at 9:45pm, but we were well gone by that time.

1 - Soarin' - Genie+ LL - 2:15pm
2 - Remy - Paid ILL$ LL - 3:05pm
3 - Frozen - DAS - 3:48pm
4 - Test Track - DAS - 4:34pm

Enjoyed watching the drum show at Japan

We then hopped to Hollywood Studios

We had dinner at Catalina Eddies utilizing mobile order. 

1 - Rock n Rollercoaster - Genie+ LL - 7:25pm
2 - Rise of the Resistance - DAS - 7:48pm

We did a lot of shopping at HS.  Overall, our first day was very successful, and a lot of fun!


10/22 (Friday) - Early Entry - Hollywood Studios. We drove in our rental car to Hollywood Studios. Parking lot opening promptly at 7:30am. I was able to utilize the Handicapped parking. Our on-site resort status was confirmed, and we promptly tapped into the park a little after 7:30am. We briskly walked over to Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway, and were first in line (two days in a row of rope dropping, and being first in line for an attraction!) Mickey and Minnie was a good choice since Rise of Resistance was down that morning. We accomplished 7 attractions prior to our 11:50am lunch at Mama Melrose's.

1 - Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway - walk on
2 - Alien Saucer Swirl - walk-on
3 - Slinky Dog - DAS (time of 9:15am)
4 - Toy Story Midway Mania - DAS advanced selection 10am
5 - Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway - DAS 10:28am
6 - Slinky Dog - Genie + LL 10:49am
7 - Rock n Rollercoaster - DAS advanced selection 11:05am

Lunch at Mama Melrose's - 11:50am - had an excellent experience

8 - Rise of the Resistance - DAS - 1:03pm
9 - Star tours - Genie+ LL - 1:49pm

We then drove back to the Contemporary, and relaxed in room and by the pool.  Then we freshened up for Boo Bash!

Hopped into Magic Kingdom at about 5pm.  We walked over from our hotel.

1 - Jungle Cruise - Genie+ LL - 5:30pm
2 - Big Thunder - DAS - 5:50pm
3 - Peter Pan - DAS - 7pm
4 - Haunted Mansion - Genie+ LL - 7:30pm
5 - Seven Dwarves - DAS - 8:31pm

Boo Bash - We picked up our wrist bands, maps, and candy bags at Tortuga Tavern a little before 7pm.  We only did three attractions, primarily due to enjoying the Halloween festivities so much! Trick or treating, Halloween Cavalcades (watched by the Hub), Dance Parties, actors outside the Haunted Mansion, and free popcorn and ice cream!  We thought the crowds seemed low, lines were short, and really had a nice time!

1 - Space Mountain - DAS 9:15pm
2 - Seven Dwarves - DAS 10:45pm
3 - Haunted Mansion - DAS 11:15pm


10/23 - (Saturday) - Early Entry - Animal Kingdom. We drove in our rental car to Animal Kingdom. Parking lot opened promptly at 6:30am. I utilized the Handicapped parking. I don't remember when the tap-styles opened, but we waited for a while. We were about 10 back in line. After tapping in, our on-site status was confirmed prior to going to the area where we waited to head back to Flight of Passage. Then we walked back to another waiting area just prior to entering Pandora. Right at 7:30am, we were then walked back by cast members into the Flight of passage queue. Although not first in line this time (lol), we were in the first group on the attraction.

1 - Flight of Passage - 7:30am - walk-on
2 - Na'vi River- 8am - walk-on
3 - Flight of Passage - 8:30am - DAS
4 - Safari - 9am - Genie+ LL
5 - Everest - 9:50am - DAS
6 - Feathered Friends show - 10:30am - walk-on
7 - Everest - 11am - DAS

11:50 lunch at Tusker House - great service, however just too much food for my daughter and I, especially since neither of us are big meat eaters. I much preferred this restaurant as a buffet, rather than family style.

After lunch we headed out, since we were exhausted from attending Boo Bash the night before.

We drove back to the Contemporary, and took two hour naps.  After freshening up, we hopped over to Hollywood Studios around 5pm.  Again utilized Handicapped parking.  Park did not seem crowded at that point in the evening!

1 - Frozen Sing-along - walk-on - 5:30pm
2 - Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway - DAS 6:15pm
3 - Slinky Dog - DAS 7:15pm
4 - Rock n Rollercoaster - Genie+ LL 7:30pm

We had dinner at the Backlot Express, which was surprisingly good at about 6:30pm utilizing mobile ordering.  Restaurant was empty.

We then drove back to our hotel, and decided to resort hop the monorail resorts to do some shopping,  Always fun to explore the other hotels and the shopping!


10/24 (Sunday)  "Slept in" until 8am, packed up our room and rental car, and checked out of our hotel.  We then walked over to Magic Kingdom for pictures, shopping, and a couple of rides

1 - Winnie the Pooh - Genie+ LL - 10:45am
2 - Seven Dwarves - DAS - 11:50am
3 - Pirates of the Caribbean - Genie+ LL - 12:35pm

Enjoyed some Dole Whip floats before taking the monorail back to the Contemporary.  We had a quick lunch at the Contempo Cafe, and then drove over to Animal Kingdom.

1 - Dinosaur - Genie+ LL 2:50pm
2 - Everest - DAS 3:20pm
3 - Safari - Genie+ LL 3:45pm  (starting pouring rain during the Safari which was interesting!)
4 - Flight of Passage - DAS - 4:30pm

Since we had a super late flight out (10:25pm), we quickly did a little shopping at Disney Springs.  Zara is one of my daughter's favorite stores!

Drove back to MCO without incident, returned rental car, and flew out about 30 minutes late (due to wait on flight crew).


Overall a truly Magical Trip!!! We walked over 48 miles in total! 


Let me know if you have any questions!


----------



## Lsyves

Here now, a few things to mention that might help others...

-LOVED ROTR but also loved MFSR. This is the first time we’ve seen that entire area at HS and we were very impressed with it all! 
-Crowds are very low. Much less than we expected. It was noticeable yesterday especially (Weds). Our hotel is not crowded either.
-Boo Bash was super fun for us bc we have two older boys who wanted to go simply for the rides. We walked on to everything except SDMT for which we waited 20 mins. I personally was disappointed at the lack of decorations and overall not very Halloween-ish feel of the night. But I also didn’t think they oversold the event. It seemed like a good amount of people and we had lots of space when walking around. We all enjoyed walking up and grabbing popcorn and ice cream for sure though  I am a daily intense hiker but you probably wouldn’t be able to tell after this trip. Not feeling very fit from all the yummy treats but I figured it’s vacation right?
-Housekeeping is sparse, and we aren’t happy about that considering the price for a room. Had to call and ask for soap, tissues, and toilet paper. Today we have to ask them to vacuum. Lots of crumbs around and they have been in our room twice and not swept or vacuumed. I understand all the reasons for housekeeping modifications right now but they didn’t knock prices down at all so that’s where my frustration lies.
-Epcot feels like a ghost town. So much potential there-I hope they improve it very soon. 
-Space 220 was fabulous. Crazy expensive but we enjoyed it. I had been worried about the reviews but the food was perfect EXCEPT for the green salad (tasteless lettuce drenched in dressing). We all had filet mignon and it was cooked perfectly and barely needed the steak knife to cut it. Excellent wine selection too. Well-staffed and efficient. We were all super happy with the entire experience.
-Finally experienced cranky CMs. Mickey and Minnie ride at HS. My son was finishing up a snack at the door and got a “come on, he can’t take that in with him,” as we were already in the process of stopping and pulling off to the side until he finished. Same ride, same son...his mask came off during the windy part and actually flew away into the room. He was mortified bc he’s a rule follower and when we got to the end of the ride the two CMs were shaking their heads at us. My son was almost in tears bc he was stressed already and one of them said, “No, you did not lose your mask on the ride. You didn’t have one.” Super rude. I told them they’ll find a light blue one in the room where it happened and then they will know he had one! Then I asked them where to get a new mask bc we had to get on a bus back to our resort and they were very unhelpful. I know they’re probably annoyed at all the people not complying but this wasn’t the case and they could have “read the room” and easily seen how upset my son was. (I normally have spares in my bag but didn’t today for some reason.) And if you ever need one the gift shops have surgical ones for $1.50 behind the register
-Pixie dust-Little moments from CMs have been plentiful. 99.9% of them have been friendly and fun. Got a free cotton candy at the end of the night when we bought a water. Got extra trading cards at Space 220 just because. When my son’s excitement was all over his face trick or treating at boo bash, a CM gave him a huge extra handful of candy bc she thought it was cute how appreciative he was. As usual, we’ve found that if you are positive and respectful, they go the extra mile. We have seen guests being not so kind and CMs seem to handle it well.
-Skyliner was also a first for us and very pleasant. They weren’t mixing people so we had one to ourselves.

We will have a low-key AK day today and return to HS tonight. That seems to be the place for our kids’ demographic - 12 and 17 year old boys!


----------



## LovesBelle

Lsyves said:


> My son was almost in tears bc he was stressed already and one of them said, “No, you did not lose your mask on the ride. You didn’t have one.”


How awful. Your poor kiddo. My son would be the same way. I suppose it's a good lesson for him to see why it's better to intentionally choose to expect good things from people. That CM did the opposite and spread bad feelings. But the CM who gave him extra candy looked for the good and made his day better.


----------



## Lsyves

LovesBelle said:


> How awful. Your poor kiddo. My son would be the same way. I suppose it's a good lesson for him to see why it's better to intentionally choose to expect good things from people. That CM did the opposite and spread bad feelings. But the CM who gave him extra candy looked for the good and made his day better.


Love that perspective!


----------



## AnnaS

Lsyves said:


> -Finally experienced cranky CMs. Mickey and Minnie ride at HS. My son was finishing up a snack at the door and got a “come on, he can’t take that in with him,” as we were already in the process of stopping and pulling off to the side until he finished. Same ride, same son...his mask came off during the windy part and actually flew away into the room. He was mortified bc he’s a rule follower and when we got to the end of the ride the two CMs were shaking their heads at us. My son was almost in tears bc he was stressed already and one of them said, “No, you did not lose your mask on the ride. You didn’t have one.” Super rude. I told them they’ll find a light blue one in the room where it happened and then they will know he had one! Then I asked them where to get a new mask bc we had to get on a bus back to our resort and they were very unhelpful. I know they’re probably annoyed at all the people not complying but this wasn’t the case and they could have “read the room” and easily seen how upset my son was. (I normally have spares in my bag but didn’t today for some reason.) And if you ever need one the gift shops have surgical ones for $1.50 behind the register
> -Pixie dust-Little moments from CMs have been plentiful. 99.9% of them have been friendly and fun. Got a free cotton candy at the end of the night when we bought a water. Got extra trading cards at Space 220 just because. When my son’s excitement was all over his face trick or treating at boo bash, a CM gave him a huge extra handful of candy bc she thought it was cute how appreciative he was. As usual, we’ve found that if you are positive and respectful, they go the extra mile. We have seen guests being not so kind and CMs seem to handle it well.



Sorry your son had to experience this.  I would have told the CMs to please look at the cameras before passing remarks/making faces.


----------



## AnnaS

We will be spending lot's of time/all of my grandson's time (taking turns) outdoors when we come down next week.  My 2 year old grandson will not wear a mask.  We know and are prepared for this.


----------



## Turksmom

AnnaS said:


> We will be spending lot's of time/all of his time (taking turns) outdoors when we come down next week.  My 2 year old grandson will not wear a mask.  We know and are prepared for this.


I don't want to veer off into a mask debate, but please be aware that masks are required on all Disney transportation (other than open air boats), just in case you need to make other arrangements


----------



## OhBother1984

deleted


----------



## AnnaS

Turksmom said:


> I don't want to veer off into a mask debate, but please be aware that masks are required on all Disney transportation (other than open air boats), just in case you need to make other arrangements



Yes.  Thank you.  They are driving because of this or they would have flown. 

Also, they don't need to go through lobby at resort.  Directly to room from parking lot.

Lot's of pool time, strolling around  - they need to get away. Hopefully it will work out okay. I was tempted to use his points (DVC) too like I am doing with my other son. My other son won't go until no more masks - so I am using his banked points/does not want to rent. I invited another couple to join us in March . (We are all DVC Members).  Keeping fingers crossed!!!!

Definitely not trying/don't want any debates.......I want entertainment.  I have "news" for that


----------



## mom2rtk

Lsyves said:


> My son was almost in tears bc he was stressed already and one of them said, “No, you did not lose your mask on the ride. You didn’t have one.” Super rude. I told them they’ll find a light blue one in the room where it happened and then they will know he had one! Then I asked them where to get a new mask bc we had to get on a bus back to our resort and they were very unhelpful.


You  need to email guest relations about that. It's not OK to treat anyone like that.


----------



## Lsyves

mom2rtk said:


> You  need to email guest relations about that. It's not OK to treat anyone like that.


I know. Especially since he wouldn’t have been on the ride if he didn’t have a mask. They check at the door!


----------



## mom2rtk

Wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com


----------



## Farro

Leaving tomorrow.

Overall, great trip. But I will say pandemic related issues were noticeable with reduced merchandise, it honestly did feel weird to wave at characters while they stood on the lawn , we didn't mind the no bed making, but didn't love throwing out garbage, the bus was pretty bad at our hotel. Only one driver per route and if they took a break, you waited...and waited...oh, and so many places out of certain types of wine!!!

We liked Genie +, found it very easy to use.

Weather was hot and humid. Stormy today and rained a lot Sunday. One of the worst weather trips we've had, but still pretty good.

So we are happy we went. Not our greatest trip, but still fun. Cast members were awesome!

We plan to return late April 2023 and hopefully a lot of these issues are but a memory!

Ask me anything!

Oh, and we took a ride on Skyliner and LOVED it!


----------



## leeniewdw

What hotel were you at (re: the bus issues)


----------



## Betty Rohrer

AnnaS said:


> Yes.  Thank you.  They are driving because of this or they would have flown.
> 
> Also, they don't need to go through lobby at resort.  Directly to room from parking lot.
> 
> Lot's of pool time, strolling around  - they need to get away. Hopefully it will work out okay. I was tempted to use his points (DVC) too like I am doing with my other son. My other son won't go until no more masks - so I am using his banked points/does not want to rent. I invited another couple to join us in March . (We are all DVC Members).  Keeping fingers crossed!!!!
> 
> Definitely not trying/don't want any debates.......I want entertainment.  I have "news" for that


he will need a mask to get to MK even with your car as there is ferry or monorail from parking lot unless you are staying at Contemporary


----------



## luv2cheer92

Betty Rohrer said:


> he will need a mask to get to MK even with your car as there is ferry or monorail from parking lot unless you are staying at Contemporary


Masks aren't required on the ferry, it is open air.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

luv2cheer92 said:


> Masks aren't required on the ferry, it is open air.


Yes but note on the friendship boats they are.


----------



## Farro

leeniewdw said:


> What hotel were you at (re: the bus issues)



Gran Destino


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## scrappinginontario

This is Disney's official statement:

*Face Coverings*
_Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) in all indoor locations, regardless of vaccination status. This includes upon entering and throughout all indoor attractions and indoor queues and in Disney buses, monorail and Disney Skyliner, regardless of vaccination status. Face coverings are optional for Guests in outdoor areas.

All face coverings (whether disposable or reusable) should:_

_Be made with at least 2 layers of breathable material_
_Fully cover the nose and mouth and secure under the chin_
_Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face_
_Be secured with ties or ear loops and allow the Guest to remain hands-free_
_At this time, based on guidance from health authorities, neck gaiters, open-chin, triangle bandanas and face coverings containing valves, mesh material or holes of any kind are not acceptable face coverings.
Costume masks are not considered appropriate and are prohibited from being worn, in alignment with our existing rules.
Face coverings may have an integrated transparent plastic panel to aid in viewing the wearer’s mouth. These face coverings should:_

_Be a fabric face covering featuring a solid plastic panel containing no openings that is attached to the fabric on all sides using tight knit stitching_
_Meet all face covering requirements listed above_

Disney is very clear of their requirements. 

*Please end the discussion re: face masks.*  It never goes anywhere productive.

Thank you.


----------



## HollyMD

So I know that you can’t book one night stays online for Disney right now. Has anyone tried over the phone and had any luck? We are renting DVC points and now we need to take on a night at the beginning, and getting in so late, just wanted a value. Just wondering if any one has tried?


----------



## Gitelfor

HollyMD said:


> So I know that you can’t book one night stays online for Disney right now. Has anyone tried over the phone and had any luck? We are renting DVC points and now we need to take on a night at the beginning, and getting in so late, just wanted a value. Just wondering if any one has tried?


I have seen some dates at the beginning of the year available for one night stays.
.


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## HollyMD

We are needing 11/19


----------



## LSUmiss

On our way back now from a short 4 day trip. I ended up using genie + against my better judgment. While it was annoying to have to pay for it, I think it was much more efficient than fast pass plus was towards the end. Rides were literally walk on for us with it. However, we are ap holders & I think it’s a bad idea for wdw to not let AP holders book it til the day of. I definitely analyzed the money much more than I would have if I had added it to my hotel stay somehow. Also, deluxe extra hours were awesome in MK last night. Walked on everything including mine train. It wasn’t so great at Epcot Monday. Not worth the effort there IMO. I wouldn’t stay in a deluxe just for that, but it was nice to have it. I know ppl complained about it just being for deluxe, but I think it has to stay limited to be valuable. I remember extra magic had become worthless pre-Covid. With no fast pass available, lines were worse than during the day for some things.


----------



## bookgirl2632

We got back a few days ago, but I haven’t had a chance to write up anything.  I’m going to break it up into different posts.  

My mother, sister, and I arrived on Tuesday 10/12. I was really worried that out Southwest flight would be affected by the problems they were having, but our flight lef5 and arrived as scheduled. After collecting our baggage, we only waited about ten minutes to board Magical Express, which left shortly after. While waiting, we got our room assignment in the Pop section I wanted. Yay! Our DME bus stopped at AoA first and then Pop. I believe they were going to CBR and Riviera after as well.

Our room was exactly as requested. We were in the 60s section, ground floor. We were 2 minutes from the food court and the Skyliner. It was our first time at Pop and we were very happy with the resort. Our room was clean and suitably stocked with towels and toiletries. For our entire stay, housekeeping was great, coming in every other day to tidy up, empty trash, take away towels, and restock new towels and coffee. All CMs we came into contact with were kind and helpful. I would stay at Pop again in heartbeat.

We did an Instagram order, which was delivered promptly and with only a couple substitutions. We had lunch at the food court, splitting a couple salads, a cupcake, and a 50th celebration dessert. We then unpacked and headed over to Disney Springs for shopping and dinner. Disney Springs, even on a Tuesday evening was very busy. The World of Disney store was crazy busy. We had dinner at Raglan Road, which was as good as it always is. We had a wonderful table with a great view of the stage and the dancers. It’s not a Disney trip without a meal at Raglan Road for us. The food is fantastic and I love the Irish music and dancing.

On Wednesday, 10/24, we headed to Epcot. We managed to get group 44 for Remy using resort Wifi. There was no line for the Skyliner, either at Pop or at CBR. We got to the International Gateway and through security by 9:10am and were held in the UK section for rope drop. We headed to Soarin’ for our first ride. We were off and on the ride by 9:55am. Living with the Land was down, so we headed to The Seas building, did the ride there and enjoyed the aquarium and the animals. We headed back to Living with the Land when I saw that it was up and running. At this point, we headed to World Showcase to start enjoying the Food & Wine Festival. We hit several booths that afternoon, including Hops & Barley, Spain, Japan, and Ireland. We wanted to try France, but it was very hot and the line for France was crazy long! Our group for Remy was called around 11:40am. We waited around 20 minutes in line. The ride is so fun! I truly loved it.

We ended up calling it a day at Epcot around 2pm. It was hot and we headed back to Pop via the Skyliner for a break. I highly recommend taking breaks midday, especially if it’s hot. That evening, we headed to AK, since I wanted to experience it at night and see the Tree of Life lit up. The lighting was beautiful. If you get a chance to do it, try to fit it in. We also had dinner at Satuli Canteen, one of my favorite quick services anywhere on property. We also rode the Navi River Journey with a 25 minute wait. After the lighting of the tree, we headed back to Pop.

Thursday, 10/25, was spent at the pool at Pop.  It was a pleasant, relaxing day.  I mobile ordered lunch from Everything Pop, though you can order in person now.  I don’t think I’ll ever go back to that though.  I truly enjoyed mobile order.  It was efficient throughout our trip and there was never an instance when we couldn’t use it when we wanted.  We also got some Piña Colavas from Petals.  Very good!  

We headed to MK that evening for dinner at Liberty Tree and to watch Enchantment. It was our first time at LTT and we loved it! The food was good and plentiful. We especially loved the turkey and the pork. The sides were good as well, though we hardly ate the mac and cheese. That was the only disappointing part. And the dessert?! So good! You all weren’t kidding about how good it is. After dinner, we headed to find a spot to watch Enchantment. Admittedly, it was later than I like when I’m staking out a spot, so we ending up on Main Street between the bakery and Casey’s. It was a fine spot though because I felt immersed in the projections on Main Street. It was beautiful! I think they did wonderful job with the entire fireworks show. I got choked up several times while watching.

We tried to shop afterwards and the Emporium was a madhouse, so we bought a few things and gave up. I will say shopping for 50th merch was a huge disappointment the entire trip because I couldn’t find several things that I wanted to buy. I’m now stalking the Disney site because I refuse to pat the resellers.

A bus was pulling up just as we got to the stop, so we had zero wait that night, even after fireworks.  It was a good first few days of the trip.  More details to come later.


----------



## leeniewdw

bookgirl2632 said:


> We did an Instagram order, which was delivered promptly and with only a couple substitutions.



I'm intrigued.  What is this?  We're planning a early Dec trip and planning to use ME and haven't decided if we'll bother with getting a few things delivered (or take an uber to do it) or just bite the bullet and pay the prices at the resort for the few things we want.


----------



## Naomeri

leeniewdw said:


> I'm intrigued.  What is this?  We're planning a early Dec trip and planning to use ME and haven't decided if we'll bother with getting a few things delivered (or take an uber to do it) or just bite the bullet and pay the prices at the resort for the few things we want.


I’m going to guess OP tried to write Instacart and autocorrect changed it to Instagram


----------



## leeniewdw

Naomeri said:


> I’m going to guess OP tried to write Instacart and autocorrect changed it to Instagram



Of course!  I've not used InstaCart so my brain was just struggling at the end of the day.  Nice to know it was fast!


----------



## persnickity

HollyMD said:


> We are needing 11/19



It looks like the Dolphin is practically value priced that night! No minimum nights required.


----------



## bookgirl2632

Naomeri said:


> I’m going to guess OP tried to write Instacart and autocorrect changed it to Instagram


Ha!  Yes, I meant Instacart.  Stupid autocorrect got me.


----------



## Gitelfor

HollyMD said:


> So I know that you can’t book one night stays online for Disney right now. Has anyone tried over the phone and had any luck? We are renting DVC points and now we need to take on a night at the beginning, and getting in so late, just wanted a value. Just wondering if any one has tried?





HollyMD said:


> We are needing 11/19





persnickity said:


> It looks like the Dolphin is practically value priced that night! No minimum nights required.


Yes...the Dolphin has Double/Double rooms @$249 for Disney APs, including resort fee & taxes. As a Dolphin guest, you would have access to the extra a.m. & p.m. park hours.  EP, DHS, and the Boardwalk are short walks, and the Friendship boats stop at the Swan & Dolphin.  I believe that the Dolphin will transfer your bags to any Disney resort, at no cost (just a tip to bell services).  The only extra would be parking, if you have a vehicle.  Though not official Disney buses, there is free motor coach transportation to AK and MK.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Gitelfor said:


> Yes...the Dolphin has Double/Double rooms @$249 for Disney APs, including resort fee & taxes. As a Dolphin guest, you would have access to the extra a.m. & p.m. park hours.  EP, DHS, and the Boardwalk are short walks, and the Friendship boats stop at the Swan & Dolphin.  I believe that the Dolphin will transfer your bags to any Disney resort, at no cost (just a tip to bell services).  The only extra would be parking, if you have a vehicle.  Though not official Disney buses, there is free motor coach transportation to AK and MK.View attachment 617227


Did you make reservation directly thru the Dolphin?


----------



## Gitelfor

Lsdolphin said:


> Did you make reservation directly thru the Dolphin?


The rate quoted was for the night in question, Nov 19.  I found the rate on Marriott’s site, using corporate code QWH, which is the AP rate.  Rates vary by date & occupancy rate, but you can do a flexible search, which brings up a calendar with room rates.


----------



## nerdboyrockstar

Gitelfor said:


> Yes...the Dolphin has Double/Double rooms @$249 for Disney APs, including resort fee & taxes. As a Dolphin guest, you would have access to the extra a.m. & p.m. park hours.  EP, DHS, and the Boardwalk are short walks, and the Friendship boats stop at the Swan & Dolphin.  I believe that the Dolphin will transfer your bags to any Disney resort, at no cost (just a tip to bell services).  The only extra would be parking, if you have a vehicle.  *Though not official Disney buses, there is free motor coach transportation to AK and MK.*



Even the official Disney on-site hotels are using motor coaches too. Anyone know the reason for the uptick in those? Noticed it at both Disney and Universal when they always used their own buses on trips prior.


----------



## VFL

HollyMD said:


> So I know that you can’t book one night stays online for Disney right now. Has anyone tried over the phone and had any luck? We are renting DVC points and now we need to take on a night at the beginning, and getting in so late, just wanted a value. Just wondering if any one has tried?


Honestly, if it were me and getting in late I would book something offsite and save my money.  Grab some food, sleep and then up early and leave Bags at DVC RESORT and start my day.   Not sure if that is an option for you transportation wise or not.


----------



## ElizaDoesDisney

Note that because Swan/Dolphin aren’t using “Disney” transportation their buses drop off at TTC for MK instead of by the park.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Please take the where to stay discussion to the resorts board.  

Just another reminder that this thread is intended for guests to share their Here Now and Just Back experiences, rather than future trip planning.

Thanks.


----------



## jmparry

Has anyone done a character "sighting"? From what I have read, there are no Photopass Photographers there. Is someone available to take a photo of your group (with the character in the background) with your phone? If selfies are the only option, I will need to practice before our trip!


----------



## DisVet2032

ElizaDoesDisney said:


> Note that because Swan/Dolphin aren’t using “Disney” transportation their buses drop off at TTC for MK instead of by the park.


Could walk to one of the nearby Disney resorts and grab a bus from there for MK days


----------



## gottalovepluto

jmparry said:


> Has anyone done a character "sighting"? From what I have read, there are no Photopass Photographers there. Is someone available to take a photo of your group (with the character in the background) with your phone? If selfies are the only option, I will need to practice before our trip!


You can always ask other guests. I’ve had people ask me and visa versa no issues.


----------



## jmparry

Perfect! Thank you!


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

jmparry said:


> Has anyone done a character "sighting"? From what I have read, there are no Photopass Photographers there. Is someone available to take a photo of your group (with the character in the background) with your phone? If selfies are the only option, I will need to practice before our trip!


I did see one with Alice in UK pavilion and with Pluto at front of EPCOT but unsure anywhere else.


----------



## Kazi7

LSUmiss said:


> On our way back now from a short 4 day trip. I ended up using genie + against my better judgment. While it was annoying to have to pay for it, I think it was much more efficient than fast pass plus was towards the end. Rides were literally walk on for us with it. However, we are ap holders & I think it’s a bad idea for wdw to not let AP holders book it til the day of. I definitely analyzed the money much more than I would have if I had added it to my hotel stay somehow. Also, deluxe extra hours were awesome in MK last night. Walked on everything including mine train. *It wasn’t so great at Epcot Monday. Not worth the effort there IMO.* I wouldn’t stay in a deluxe just for that, but it was nice to have it. I know ppl complained about it just being for deluxe, but I think it has to stay limited to be valuable. I remember extra magic had become worthless pre-Covid. With no fast pass available, lines were worse than during the day for some things.



@LSUmiss  I'm curious.  Why did you think the deluxe extra hours at Epcot were not worth the effort?


----------



## gharter

Kazi7 said:


> @LSUmiss  I'm curious.  Why did you think the deluxe extra hours at Epcot were not worth the effort?


EPCOT doesn't have that many attractions. Other than Frozen and TT, the others rarely have much of a line during the day.  Most of the food kiosks are also closed during extra hours.  We also didn't find it helpful as we did everything we wanted to during the day.


----------



## Kazi7

Thanks for the response.  I was wondering if the lines were long or something.  We plan to go in the early evening for the food booths and fireworks then ride during the extra hours so I think that should work.


----------



## Isabelle12345

Kazi7 said:


> Thanks for the response.  I was wondering if the lines were long or something.  We plan to go in the early evening for the food booths and fireworks then ride during the extra hours so I think that should work.


We are planning on doing the exact same thing - hopping from another park and going to Epcot for late evening and extended hours- so I am happy to hear it is potentially a good strategy!


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## lovethattink

Please let me know when Christmas decorations go up at MK, thank you!!


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## AmishGuy91

lovethattink said:


> Please let me know when Christmas decorations go up at MK, thank you!!



Ok will do.

Christmas decorations are up at MK.


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## lovethattink

Instead of trick or treating the neighborhood, we went to Hollywood Studios. DS dressed up as Han Solo, and we packed extra clothes in the car in case that wasn’t allowed. There were a lot of adults in costume, and many more children.

When we arrived, the park was crowded. As time went on, there were less and less people. Around 8pm the pathways were relatively empty as people claimed their spot for the projection show.


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## lovethattink

AmishGuy91 said:


> Ok will do.
> 
> Christmas decorations are up at MK.



Awesome!! Thank you!


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## roxymama

Just back from M-R park days last week.  Some observations of our experience.

*Short Story: we walked on/very short waits on just about everything and only waited 25min once for Mickey's railway at early entry rope drop.  But we paid for the extras.  So at least for last week our experience was that paying the premium meant no more lines basically.  We only do trips every few years so we splurged.

Boo Bash Sun 10/24 night* - we were able to do all 4 "mountains/mines" back to back with minimal waiting starting around 8pm.  Mine Train was 15 min actual during fireworks/25 min posted. Maybe because we had some rain that cleared people out (was raining while we were on Splash Mtn.)  We didn't do treat lines but they seemed short, and we did get the ice cream & drinks with no wait at a cart near the adventureland/hub entrance.  We didn't see any long treat lines.   Crowds didn't seem bad - even those staying for fireworks wasn't intense...plenty of room to walk around them.  Rain again was probable reason.

We did utilize Genie + and some extra paid IA$ LL's.  We did early entry for resort guests every day except our Animal Kingdom day because we had a FOP IA$ and just didn't see a reason to rope drop given the rain and lower crowds that day.  We skipped deluxe after hours because we got so much done during normal hours.

I will say *MK and HS were definitely the best use of our Genie+*, we only ever were waiting in standby lines when they were walk ons/10min or less.  There was tons of G+ availability for rides with huge standby waits (like Peter Pan) well into the evening for return times within that hour except maybe Slinky.  It seemed Genie+ would recalibrate and release new slots often.  If you saw 5pm as next avail...refresh in a little bit and 3pm would show up, etc.  I loved doing parks early, eating lunch back at hotel/swimming and booking my early evening LL at hopper park while lounging.
Epcot and AK we probably could have skipped the $15 G+ and just only did a IA$ for Remy/Frozen and FOP and been fine.  There were just so many short standby lines at those parks, Soaring for instance was 10min wait even at 10am when we had a LL.  Luckily we park hopped those days to MK and HS so were able to grab some value back in the evenings at the parks with more things to do.

I was able on my HS day to get Slinky Dog right at 7am for 9:45am and then it had already bumped past 11am and then into 1pm by 7:02am.  I then grabbed a Rise paid for 10:30am with lots of availability left.  So *grab Slinky first before Rise*!!
We got stuck on Rise in the stormtrooper room for 30min and left and got an anytime recovery FP for it.  We came back and rode it at 7:30pm at night with no issues.  Loved it.  Our cousins got stuck on it/evacuated 3 times that day!!!

We experienced often when headliner rides said 20min they were actually walk-ons or only 5-10 min waits. Space Mtn, Millenium Falcon, Mickey railway past dinner time all had this occur.  So that was nice!  

We bought Remy one afternoon literally an hour before going on it.  Glad we did because I pulled a virtual group #68 right at 7am the next day and they were having issues and didn't get to that group until after 5pm when we were already at our dinner in another park.    

Steakhouse 71 was a last minute lunch grab and was great food.  I'd eat lunch there again in a heartbeat.

Character meets were having soft openings in MK on our last day but only for short windows of time.  We didn't get to do them, but heard from people who did.  

I don't know if people will catch on to using LL/IA$ and my above experience will be different next time.  I probably overpaid as there were times we didn't really need it.  But ultimately since this was a once in a long time trip for some of my extended family it made sense for us.  If I went more often/was local I'd probably be more ticked off about the extra $.


----------



## roxymama

One thought I forgot to share:  my husband and I definitely bought less souveniers and did less splurges on snacks in the park/extra drinks at restaraunts, etc, because we were buying the extra LL/IA$.   So I don't think Disney ultimately got more $ from us, they just go it in the ride category more than the food n wine or gift shop categories.


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## LSUmiss

Kazi7 said:


> Thanks for the response.  I was wondering if the lines were long or something.  We plan to go in the early evening for the food booths and fireworks then ride during the extra hours so I think that should work.


Yes. The exact same reason the pp said.


----------



## roxymama

pixiedust2u said:


> Question for those just getting back and who made use of Genie+. Do you think you are on your phone, more, less, or about the same as the old fast pass + system?



I thought I was on my phone more.  For sure first thing in the morning (ugh to the earlier than usual wake up) and once my husband had to remind me to "enjoy the ride first, then book the next LL" instead of frantically trying to find one after our second tap in while in line.  After I realized how good the availability was during the day I stopped stressing and just booked them more leisurely.


----------



## gharter

roxymama said:


> I will say *MK and HS were definitely the best use of our Genie+*, we only ever were waiting in standby lines when they were walk ons/10min or less. There was tons of G+ availability for rides with huge standby waits (like Peter Pan) well into the evening for return times within that hour except maybe Slinky. It seemed Genie+ would recalibrate and release new slots often. If you saw 5pm as next avail...refresh in a little bit and 3pm would show up, etc. I loved doing parks early, eating lunch back at hotel/swimming and booking my early evening LL at hopper park while lounging.


Agree that Genie + helped in MK and HS.  AK was of some benefit, but once you did FoP and Navi, the other lines were never too long.
Saw no reason to pay for EPCOT.  Again outside of Frozen and TT, none of the others had long lines.


----------



## Princess Katelet

Those of you there and using Genie+...can you book the same ride over and over again if there is availability?  If your favorite ride is, say, Thunder Mountain, can you book that and ride, then book it again and ride, and again and again?  Or is it literally ONE Genie+ specific ride each day, and if you want to repeat it you have to do standby?


----------



## elgerber

Princess Katelet said:


> Those of you there and using Genie+...can you book the same ride over and over again if there is availability?  If your favorite ride is, say, Thunder Mountain, can you book that and ride, then book it again and ride, and again and again?  Or is it literally ONE Genie+ specific ride each day, and if you want to repeat it you have to do standby?


Once per ride per day.


----------



## Princess Katelet

elgerber said:


> Once per ride per day.



Yikes, that's a deal breaker.  No thanks!

Thanks for the quick response!


----------



## trompettecon

Princess Katelet said:


> Yikes, that's a deal breaker.  No thanks!
> 
> Thanks for the quick response!


You can ride the ride again. You just need to do it in the regular lane. So it's often worth it doing a ride with genie+LL early am and then later in the day do stanby when there is less of a wait.


----------



## SCDisneyfanatic

Hey Everyone,

I thought I'd pass along a few thoughts from our recent trip.  We were in WDW 24-29 October staying at the Shades of Green.  It was a trip designed to give our granddaughters (ages 4 and 2) their first taste of the magic of Disney.  We did a few "Big People" rides, but mostly focused on their adventure.  We did 4 actual park days and hopped three of those.  The following are few points of interest and/or tactics we used.  Keep in mind, it was our first attempt and Genie+ and ILL$, so it took a little getting used to.  Plus, it was different than if we were touring for ourselves and not the girls!

1) The parks were pretty busy over all.  Utilizing EE by being in a Premium Resort was well worth the earlier starts.  It especially worked well at MK.  Most folks doing EE seemed to be focused on the bigger rides or heading towards 7DMT.  We went straight to Peter Pan's Flight.  Then crossed over to It's a Small World.  Both rides completed by the time the park opened for Rope Drop. I had a LL for Pirates and then the adults took turns on Splash Mountain.  From there we back-tracked to the Carousel and finally went all the way over to Carousel of Progress.  By then it was 1045 so we headed to Chef Mickey's for our 1120 brunch.  Afterwards we did a pool break and nap time for an hour before heading back to MK for a few more rides, some people watching and then the fireworks.  We thought the show was pretty good.  For those with young kids, we had ear muffs for them and both chose to wear them after the first few fireworks went off.  Overall the day was quite awesome.

2) We utilized ILL$ in EPCOT to make sure the girls could get on Frozen without much of a wait.  It worked great and well worth the extra bucks to not wait in line.  EPCOT was pretty crowded around the Food and Wine booths, but overall it seemed like pretty short lines.  We had LL for Soarin', again splitting the adults.  We purchased Genie + that day because we started in Animal Kingdom that morning and it allowed us to do quite a few rides without wait, especially with EE.  I was able to secure LL in EPCOT before we ever hopped and the ILL$ was bought early in the morning knowing we would be eating in Germany that evening.  It made timing of things quite easy.  For the record...the entertainment in Germany was great...the girls really loved it.

3) ILL and Genie+ are excellent ways to utilize hopping.  We did EPCOT one morning with a hop to Hollywood Studios and between those two methods we were able to do everything we wanted and be done by 1900 and able to get the girls back for an evening swim before lights out.

4) I was a little worried about having to be on my phone too much, but it was less intrusive than I thought.  It was nice however having the wait times at your finger tips.

5) The use of masks was pretty standard by most people on the transportation and in the buildings/rides.  Some rides, like the Safari, did not require a mask be worn.  

6) we never used the food order via online except once (in England) and it worked nicely.  Food was almost instantly available.  The food booths were busy but the food was good and a reasonable price for most items.

I'm sure I have some valuable info but time is short so I'm going to leave it here and answer any questions that come up with specific things in mind.  Oh yeah, a lot of shows were back...Beauty and the Beast...Lion King...Frozen Sing a Long...all pretty good but not quite the same with a lack of parts of the original shows.   Overall, we were very pleased with the entire trip...well, except Sea World but that's for another thread.  Cheers!


----------



## pixiedust2u

roxymama said:


> I thought I was on my phone more.  For sure first thing in the morning (ugh to the earlier than usual wake up) and once my husband had to remind me to "enjoy the ride first, then book the next LL" instead of frantically trying to find one after our second tap in while in line.  After I realized how good the availability was during the day I stopped stressing and just booked them more leisurely.


Thanks for the feedback. Regarding being up early, I too am not happy about the 7 am stressful log on when I'm on vacation. I also find that if I know I have something important first thing in the morning, I don't sleep well, my husband is the same. As much as it was a pain to set the alarm 60 days out to secure FP+ reservations, I'd much rather the pre- vacation excitement than than the stress while I'm supposed to be on vacation.


----------



## roxymama

pixiedust2u said:


> Thanks for the feedback. Regarding being up early, I too am not happy about the 7 am stressful log on when I'm on vacation. I also find that if I know I have something important first thing in the morning, I don't sleep well, my husband is the same. As much as it was a pain to set the alarm 60 days out to secure FP+ reservations, I'd much rather the pre- vacation excitement than than the stress while I'm supposed to be on vacation.



Yeah, I tend to get planning anxiety when things are a little bit unknown.  Just in life in general.  Which I think is why Disney had been so good for me since I could have a list of "knowns."

PRO: I had to be a little more spontaneous and it was fun just finding out what our day would brings us as we went.  Kind of like the old paper FP days or even before.  I really did like that.  We never had tons of luck with 4th FP+ and this version we could do "good/tough to get rides" even later in the day on a whim.
CON: I lose sleep and get anxious when there is the unknown of what will happen each morning.  Will the wifi or internet connection work?  Will my plan for what to choose fall through?  Will I sleep past my alarm?  Will I have time to wake up, make the plans, still get breakfast and shower before leaving for the parks.  Etc, etc.

We already have enough to worry about.  What will crowds be like?  Will it rain? Will X ride break down?  Will the virtual queue be full?  Will my family like what I planned?  etc etc.

So again there are Pros and Cons.  Everything ended up fine despite my anxiety which is the way most things go in life...but that's the fun of having anxiety...it still happens


----------



## pixiedust2u

roxymama said:


> Yeah, I tend to get planning anxiety when things are a little bit unknown.  Just in life in general.  Which I think is why Disney had been so good for me since I could have a list of "knowns."
> 
> PRO: I had to be a little more spontaneous and it was fun just finding out what our day would brings us as we went.  Kind of like the old paper FP days or even before.  I really did like that.  We never had tons of luck with 4th FP+ and this version we could do "good/tough to get rides" even later in the day on a whim.
> CON: I lose sleep and get anxious when there is the unknown of what will happen each morning.  Will the wifi or internet connection work?  Will my plan for what to choose fall through?  Will I sleep past my alarm?  Will I have time to wake up, make the plans, still get breakfast and shower before leaving for the parks.  Etc, etc.
> 
> We already have enough to worry about.  What will crowds be like?  Will it rain? Will X ride break down?  Will the virtual queue be full?  Will my family like what I planned?  etc etc.
> 
> So again there are Pros and Cons.  Everything ended up fine despite my anxiety which is the way most things go in life...but that's the fun of having anxiety...it still happens


 
I think we have the same anxious brain!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience. We have a ways to go before our next trip.  So I'm hoping that will give me plenty of time to work out the best strategy for our next trip.


----------



## tinkychloe

SCDisneyfanatic said:


> Hey Everyone,
> 
> I thought I'd pass along a few thoughts from our recent trip.  We were in WDW 24-29 October staying at the Shades of Green.  It was a trip designed to give our granddaughters (ages 4 and 2) their first taste of the magic of Disney.  We did a few "Big People" rides, but mostly focused on their adventure.  We did 4 actual park days and hopped three of those.  The following are few points of interest and/or tactics we used.  Keep in mind, it was our first attempt and Genie+ and ILL$, so it took a little getting used to.  Plus, it was different than if we were touring for ourselves and not the girls!
> 
> 1) The parks were pretty busy over all.  Utilizing EE by being in a Premium Resort was well worth the earlier starts.  It especially worked well at MK.  Most folks doing EE seemed to be focused on the bigger rides or heading towards 7DMT.  We went straight to Peter Pan's Flight.  Then crossed over to It's a Small World.  Both rides completed by the time the park opened for Rope Drop. I had a LL for Pirates and then the adults took turns on Splash Mountain.  From there we back-tracked to the Carousel and finally went all the way over to Carousel of Progress.  By then it was 1045 so we headed to Chef Mickey's for our 1120 brunch.  Afterwards we did a pool break and nap time for an hour before heading back to MK for a few more rides, some people watching and then the fireworks.  We thought the show was pretty good.  For those with young kids, we had ear muffs for them and both chose to wear them after the first few fireworks went off.  Overall the day was quite awesome.
> 
> 2) We utilized ILL$ in EPCOT to make sure the girls could get on Frozen without much of a wait.  It worked great and well worth the extra bucks to not wait in line.  EPCOT was pretty crowded around the Food and Wine booths, but overall it seemed like pretty short lines.  We had LL for Soarin', again splitting the adults.  We purchased Genie + that day because we started in Animal Kingdom that morning and it allowed us to do quite a few rides without wait, especially with EE.  I was able to secure LL in EPCOT before we ever hopped and the ILL$ was bought early in the morning knowing we would be eating in Germany that evening.  It made timing of things quite easy.  For the record...the entertainment in Germany was great...the girls really loved it.
> 
> 3) ILL and Genie+ are excellent ways to utilize hopping.  We did EPCOT one morning with a hop to Hollywood Studios and between those two methods we were able to do everything we wanted and be done by 1900 and able to get the girls back for an evening swim before lights out.
> 
> 4) I was a little worried about having to be on my phone too much, but it was less intrusive than I thought.  It was nice however having the wait times at your finger tips.
> 
> 5) The use of masks was pretty standard by most people on the transportation and in the buildings/rides.  Some rides, like the Safari, did not require a mask be worn.
> 
> 6) we never used the food order via online except once (in England) and it worked nicely.  Food was almost instantly available.  The food booths were busy but the food was good and a reasonable price for most items.
> 
> I'm sure I have some valuable info but time is short so I'm going to leave it here and answer any questions that come up with specific things in mind.  Oh yeah, a lot of shows were back...Beauty and the Beast...Lion King...Frozen Sing a Long...all pretty good but not quite the same with a lack of parts of the original shows.   Overall, we were very pleased with the entire trip...well, except Sea World but that's for another thread.  Cheers!



If you meant early entry (EE), this is for all onsite guests, not just "premium." FYI. There is one extra hours night per week at MK or Epcot for deluxe resort guests.


----------



## cruisefortibet

We were in the parks 10/25-10/29 and only utilized Genie+ at MK on 10/29. It was definitely more crowded that day at MK.. due to it being Friday or Boo Bash event, not sure. Every other day we focused on utilizing EE, a touring plan, and our extra evening hours benefit @ MK on 10/27 (which was nice). I never felt like we needed Genie+ any of the days at the park with the planning I did beforehand. Any rides that we felt were worth paying for were ILL, which we did do for RotR (which broke down anyway), and FoP (which we didnt get to ride due to DD panicking after being strapped into the ride vehicle).

Everything else was short waits, and while the parks looked crowded, most of the week we were there we didn't see long lines on rides that we were interested in riding (as long as we prioritized busier rides early or at the end of the night). I actually disliked my Genie+ day the most, because I was on my phone more that day and we did more backtracking due to what LL's we snagged. Plus HM went offline after we were tapped in, and it was a huge hassle to get that removed from our genie+ so we could actually ride it later when it went back online. Had a less-than-stellar experience with Guest Services related to this, and honestly, just felt like there was very little "magic" to our genie+ day. Just my experience, though. I think Genie+ has its benefits depending on what kind of planner you are, what rides you want to do, and how crowded lines are the day you are there. Personally, I disliked waking at 7am to plan what ride I can do. I'd much rather have that option earlier, as it just adds another layer of stress to my park morning. 

This coming from someone that hasn't been to WDW since 2009, and only my second trip to WDW ever. For me, the planning was the most significant part of having a stress-free vacation.


----------



## Princess Katelet

tinkychloe said:


> If you meant early entry (EE), this is for all onsite guests, not just "premium." FYI. There is one extra hours night per week at MK or Epcot for deluxe resort guests.


Wait, what??  The extra hours evening hours occurs only ONCE per week??  I thought it was every night!  What if your trip isn't a full week?  No extra evening hours then?


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## trompettecon

Princess Katelet said:


> Wait, what??  The extra hours evening hours occurs only ONCE per week??  I thought it was every night!  What if your trip isn't a full week?  No extra evening hours then?


No. Almost 3 X/Week depending on the week. They alternate between MK & Epcot right now. Here is a link with all the dates:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/guest-services/extended-evening/


----------



## Ensusieasm

Princess Katelet said:


> Wait, what??  The extra hours evening hours occurs only ONCE per week??  I thought it was every night!  What if your trip isn't a full week?  No extra evening hours then?


Once a week for MK and once a week for Epcot. So, two opportunities weekly.


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## trompettecon

trompettecon said:


> No. Almost 3 X/Week depending on the week. They alternate between MK & Epcot right now. Here is a link with all the dates:
> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/guest-services/extended-evening/





Princess Katelet said:


> Wait, what??  The extra hours evening hours occurs only ONCE per week??  I thought it was every night!  What if your trip isn't a full week?  No extra evening hours then?


Looks like I'm not allowed to post the link. Just google Disney Extended Evening Magic Hours. The dates are at the bottom.


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## JakeAZ

Princess Katelet said:


> Wait, what??  The extra hours evening hours occurs only ONCE per week??  I thought it was every night!  What if your trip isn't a full week?  No extra evening hours then?


They are (by design) there to get people to extend their trips but disguised as an on-site "benefit".

Thurs-Sunday (too bad, so sad) unless you arrive a day earlier or leave a day later.


----------



## tinkychloe

Princess Katelet said:


> Wait, what??  The extra hours evening hours occurs only ONCE per week??  I thought it was every night!  What if your trip isn't a full week?  No extra evening hours then?


Sorry for the confusion. It's once per week at MK. Once per week at Epcot, although it's really not needed.


----------



## Kimrlav

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to share some experiences from my recent trip, October 21st - October 28th.  My traveling party was myself and my elderly mother.  In general, the weather was wonderful and any rain did not hinder our plans.  I played golf three mornings and toured the theme parks on the "off" days - either as a solo or with my mother at night.  

Accommodations:  We stayed in a tower room at the Riviera Resort for the first two nights. This room was very claustrophobic for my mother and I.  It was nice to have a balcony which provided a great view of both MK and Epcot fireworks.  The bathroom was nicely appointed with a great rain shower head.  However, the room lacked drawers for storage and it was small for two adults.  It was fine for two days, but we were glad to move to the Boardwalk Inn for the remainder of the trip.  Note: The bell services at both resorts were wonderful with the transfer of luggage -- very impressed with the professionalism, efficiency, and friendliness of this service.

Theme Parks: I was fortunate to secure a virtual boarding group for Remy's and enjoyed the ride. We did use Genie + for the Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom.  Also, I splurged and purchased an ILL$ for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad.  My mother is elderly and it was easier to secure these rides using the service. 

Early Entry:  I was disappointed that the Safari ride was not open during the early morning hours and also some rides at Epcot - Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land were not operating during these hours. I understand these reasons, but it would be nice to have a list of open attractions for early entry in these parks. I am not a thrill ride person, so it was not a great benefit for my group. Also, at the MK the attractions open are in FantasyLand -- this would have been helpful to know prior because I would have selected a different attraction for my first lightening lane attraction.  Overall, Genie + and early entry allowed us to ride everything that we wanted in MK and AK.

Dining: We had delicious sit-down meals at Trattoria Al Forno and Ale & Compass. We found the quick service . Primo Piatto to be have good food and fast, and friendly service.  I was a little disappointed in the selections at the Creperie, but the savory crepes were excellent.  Our dining was hampered by the lack of Minnie Van service - my mom enjoys eating at different resorts, but it is too much for her to take transportation to a park/Disney Springs and then to the resort -- she does not feel safe using Uber or Lyft.

Magical Express:  I previously had a bad experience with late pick-ups for Magical Express on my trips in July and September.  This time, we were fortunate and had a small shuttle bus with another family -- such a nice surprise. We were picked up on time and were dropped off at the curbside check-in for Southwest Airlines. It was so easy and nice to be dropped off right at the airline's check in on the second floor of MCO.  It made me want to book the Express Service for my next trip.

Hope this is a helpful review.  

Recap: We did use Genie + and one $ILL selection, but again it was just a travel party of two adults.  If my mom had been feeling better, we would have taken advantage of the evening hours at both MK and Epcot to eliminate purchasing Genie + for two days of the trip. For future trips, I do not plan on purchasing for more than two days and will try to maximize use of the evening hours, if staying at a Deluxe resort.  I am thinking of venturing to the Swan/Dolphin, especially with the elimination of free ME and their status as deluxe resorts by Disney.


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## scrappinginontario

Posting a link here in case anyone can help them out with pics.

*Engagement at Be Our Guest on Nov 2nd*


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## klitteral2009

I see posts all the time asking about crowd levels or line wait times, Genie+ or not Genie+....but I think I've realized what I want to know, if you are there now or have been within the past week, how was your day?  Did you enjoy your time at the parks?  Was there anything that ruined the overall experience for you like you anticipated while you were planning?


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## bookgirl2632

Resuming my trip report that I started last week.  Work got in the way, unfortunately.  

Friday, 10/15,we headed to MK. We there for the extra half hour in the morning. We got most rides we wanted to do done that day. Lines were manageable throughout the morning, but it got busier as the day wore on. Since a goal on this trip was to experience new things or do things we often skip, we rode the Liberty Belle for the first time in a long while. I’m so glad we did! I had forgotten what a wonderful experience it is! It gave us an opportunity to just be still for a little while and enjoy the sights. Lunch was at Pecos Bill, which we always enjoy. The food is always plentiful. Upon leaving the park after some attempted shopping on Main Street, we saw a Princess Cavalcade. I have to say, I really like the shorter cavalcades. While the parade is fun, I liked not having to stake out a place for it.

In the evening, we headed over to AKL to eat at Boma. I know some may still be apprehensive about buffets, but Boma did a great job, providing hand sanitizer stations at many points in the line. And I saw utensils being changed out often. The food, as always, was fantastic. It is one of our favorites. We also enjoyed seeing the animals and walking around the resort. I just wish the resort didn’t seem so far from everything.

Saturday, 10/16, we spent the entire day at Hollywood Studios, with a midday break thrown in after lunch. We got there for the extra half hour, heading for Runaway Railway first. What a cute ride! It lived up to my expectations. I thought it was a great ride. We then headed to Toy Story Land, but Slinky Dog was down. We rode TSM and the Swirling Saucers, hoping SDD would be up. Nope. Still down. So we headed over to Tower of Terror and rode that, but skipped RnRC, since the wait was long. We found some more 50th statues, rode Star Tours, and watched the Frozen show. I laugh so much at that show.

Lunch was at 50s Primetime Cafe, a family tradition. We had an excellent server, cousin Terry. He was great with all his tables. I had the fried chicken, while my mom had the salmon Caesar salad, and my sister had pot roast. None of it disappointed.

After lunch, the wait was low for MFSR, so we hopped in line. I was a gunner and my mom and sister got engineer. On the way out, we saw Goofy heading off to do some fishing. We did a little shopping before heading out for a break. 
We saw Donald greeting people near the park entrance when we returned a couple hours later.  The Skyliner really does make coming a going to Studios so easy.  After doing TSM again, we grabbed dinner at ABC Commissary.  They have really stepped it up.  I highly recommended them if you are looking for something that isn’t chicken strips or burgers.  We headed into Batuu to walk around, seeing Chewie and Rey along the way.  At this point, the wait for RotR was under an hour, so we jumped on line.  The stated time was 45 minutes, which was actually spot on.  However, when we got halfway through the ride, shortly after we left the docking bay (the stormtrooper room), it went down.  The First Order officers escorted us back to the docking bay for detainment.  We spent about 15 or 20 minutes there before they got the ride back up.  No spoilers, don’t worry, but it was worth the extended wait.  We met a lovely newlywed couple in line who were a lot of fun.  By the time we got off the ride, the park was nearly closed.   We opted to not stay for the nighttime show.  We headed back to Pop on the Skyliner and grabbed some Mickey Bars on the way back to our room.  

Sunday, 10/17, we ended the first part of our split stay at Pop.  It was our first time there and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again.  Our room in the 60s was just steps from the pool, the food court, the buses, and the Skyliner.  The staff was great.  We only had two meals in the food court, but they were both fine.  Gotta have my Mickey waffles!  My only problem was the lack of luggage carts when I was trying to transport luggage to the front to get our Uber.  I did manage to find one though.  We opted to Uber to Yacht Club with our luggage rather than have Disney do it.  I’m glad we did because our room at Yacht was ready right after we arrived there, shortly after 11am.  More on that in my next post.


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## FCDub

This is the thread for you: https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...ences-including-park-hopping.3807247/page-799


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## scrappinginontario

klitteral2009 said:


> I see posts all the time asking about crowd levels or line wait times, Genie+ or not Genie+....but I think I've realized what I want to know, if you are there now or have been within the past week, how was your day?  Did you enjoy your time at the parks?  Was there anything that ruined the overall experience for you like you anticipated while you were planning?


Thanks @FCDub!

Your post has been merged with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread where daily people are sharing their current and recent experiences in the park.  Lots of great information here!


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## Donna M

We got back yesterday and had a wonderful time.  I was thinking about selling a DVC contract because of all the negativity about costs, but I just booked my flights to head back in Feb.  I don´t feel it has changed that much.   
The cm were just as helpful and friendly and the place was just as clean.  We stayed in a CCV cabin, and oh boy! They are great!

We went to the MK twice, once using Genie+ and once just checking with regular Genie.  It was a low crowd level day with two huge rain/thunder storms which drove people away.  We were able to stack with Genie+ and rode back to back that way.  Rope drop helped too.  Early entry is the way to go to get on with low waits.

Putting on the masks was a bit of a pain.


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## Imamom2

DH and I are here 11/3 thru 11/8 and I purchased Genie for the entire trip for both of us. I wanted to see how it worked with park hoppers and LL purchase rides.

It’s really fun and I find it easy to use and definitely helps when park hopping. We did purchase Rise and Remy - totally worth it. We will be purchasing FoP and Runaway Railway, too.  The parks are busy and the virtual queue line for Remy was very long at 6:30 last night. I loved using it in MK and HS. As others have said, I do not think it’s necessary in Epcot or AK. Instead of paying $15, just purchase FoP in AK and Remy in Epcot. We will be back in August and I will purchase it on a specific days but not for  every day.

Overall, I really like it but if we were still traveling with kids I think it could be really expensive.


----------



## bcinohio

Did you try for a virtual queue for Remy at 7am or just decided to buy LL?  We are going in Dec and wondering how hard it is to get a Remy Virtual Queue.  We have purchased genie + for all our days and are planning on getting a LL for Rise and maybe flight of passage.  Thanks for you help.


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## scrappinginontario

Imamom2 said:


> DH and I are here 8/3 thru 8/8 and I purchased Genie for the entire trip for both of us. I wanted to see how it worked with park hoppers and LL purchase rides.
> 
> It’s really fun and I find it easy to use and definitely helps when park hopping. We did purchase Rise and Remy - totally worth it. We will be purchasing FoP and Runaway Railway, too.  The parks are busy and the virtual queue line for Remy was very long at 6:30 last night. I loved using it in MK and HS. As others have said, I do not think it’s necessary in Epcot or AK. Instead of paying $15, just purchase FoP in AK and Remy in Epcot. We will be back in August and I will purchase it on a specific days but not for  every day.
> 
> Overall, I really like it but if we were still traveling with kids I think it could be really expensive.


Your post has been merged with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread.  This thread is dedicated to people like you who are happy to share their current experiences in the parks, using Genie + and ILL$.  Thanks for sharing your info with us.


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## Imamom2

scrappinginontario said:


> Your post has been merged with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread.  This thread is dedicated to people like you who are happy to share their current experiences in the parks, using Genie + and ILL$.  Thanks for sharing your info with us.


Thx - I fixed the dates so it shows here now (11/3 thru 11/8). I know I’m on vacation when I forget what month it is


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## Imamom2

bcinohio said:


> Did you try for a virtual queue for Remy at 7am or just decided to buy LL?  We are going in Dec and wondering how hard it is to get a Remy Virtual Queue.  We have purchased genie + for all our days and are planning on getting a LL for Rise and maybe flight of passage.  Thanks for you help.



We did get the virtual queue - I booked it from the airport before we left home. Our plane was a bit delayed and we were about 20 minutes late for our boarding group. I was going to ask a cast member but the virtual queue line was very long so we bailed. It was very easy to get a boarding group. The virtual line was long both times I was there so far.


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## Jo-Anne

bcinohio said:


> Did you try for a virtual queue for Remy at 7am or just decided to buy LL?  We are going in Dec and wondering how hard it is to get a Remy Virtual Queue.  We have purchased genie + for all our days and are planning on getting a LL for Rise and maybe flight of passage.  Thanks for you help.


I am here now and was awake just before 7 so I signed in and on the dot of 7 I joined the queue and am in boarding group 92 which is estimated to be around 1pm (park opens 10 am)


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## Imamom2

Jo-Anne said:


> I am here now and was awake just before 7 so I signed in and on the dot of 7 I joined the queue and am in boarding group 92 which is estimated to be around 1pm (park opens 10 am)


Enjoy - it’s a great ride!  I’m sitting at Contempo Cafe now and just got Rise and Runaway Rail. I booked LL for Slinky at 7:00 am and the return time is already 5:00 pm. That seems to be the hardest one to get.

Yesterday I purchased FoP and because of the rain all of AK was a walk-on as the park was empty. A great ride but lesson learned - I won’t do that again. The line for purchased LL for Everest was longer than the stand-by line. Genie takes some planning but it’s fun to play around with it.


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## pixiedust2u

Imamom2 said:


> Enjoy - it’s a great ride!  I’m sitting at Contempo Cafe now and just got Rise and Runaway Rail. I booked LL for Slinky at 7:00 am and the return time is already 5:00 pm. That seems to be the hardest one to get.
> 
> Yesterday I purchased FoP and because of the rain all of AK was a walk-on as the park was empty. A great ride but lesson learned - I won’t do that again. The line for purchased LL for Everest was longer than the stand-by line. Genie takes some planning but it’s fun to play around with it.



So if I’m understanding this correctly… if you had planned to hop, and got SDD return time for 5pm, you are basically out of luck? Or I guess your choice is to either ride standby or nothing? Or change your hopping plans? I don’t understand how you can plan ahead if your plans can be derailed the day of at 7am when you realize you can only get on a ride at the time of a previously booked ADR or when you planned to be at another park.


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## jennypenny

I thought SDD was part of Genie+ and not an ILL$? Aren't Rise and Runaway Railway the two ILL$ in HS?


----------



## Farro

jennypenny said:


> I thought SDD was part of Genie+ and not an ILL$? Aren't Rise and Runaway Railway the two ILL$ in HS?



Yes. And you can opt to wait stand-by for both of those if you want. The only ride at this point you can't do stand-by for is Rat because they use boarding queues as the other option.


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## scrappinginontario

Sorry everyone!  I totally misread the question and answered as if guest was asking about Remy.  My misunderstanding.  I deleted my post to avoid confusion.


----------



## persnickity

pixiedust2u said:


> So if I’m understanding this correctly… if you had planned to hop, and got SDD return time for 5pm, you are basically out of luck? Or I guess your choice is to either ride standby or nothing? Or change your hopping plans? I don’t understand how you can plan ahead if your plans can be derailed the day of at 7am when you realize you can only get on a ride at the time of a previously booked ADR or when you planned to be at another park.



I think you almost have to plan an HS afternoon/evening (with hoppers or otherwise) if you are planning to try for a SDD LL.


----------



## elgerber

I am really surprised they aren't charging for SDD instead of MMRR.


----------



## aeasterling

pixiedust2u said:


> So if I’m understanding this correctly… if you had planned to hop, and got SDD return time for 5pm, you are basically out of luck? Or I guess your choice is to either ride standby or nothing? Or change your hopping plans? I don’t understand how you can plan ahead if your plans can be derailed the day of at 7am when you realize you can only get on a ride at the time of a previously booked ADR or when you planned to be at another park.


In my opinion, the best way to ride SDD if you want to start at HS is to rope drop it.  Of course, that essentially forces you to purchase ROTR at $15 a pop if you want to avoid lines.  Seems like you can have better luck getting an earlyish LL for MFSR, then you can do SDD, TSM, and AS2 at rope drop with lower waits.  Then use ILL and LL for MFSR/ROTR and your next LL for RnR and TOT.  Of course, seems like TOT are selling out sooner, which wasn't the case when we were there last week.


----------



## Imamom2

pixiedust2u said:


> So if I’m understanding this correctly… if you had planned to hop, and got SDD return time for 5pm, you are basically out of luck? Or I guess your choice is to either ride standby or nothing? Or change your hopping plans? I don’t understand how you can plan ahead if your plans can be derailed the day of at 7am when you realize you can only get on a ride at the time of a previously booked ADR or when you planned to be at another park.


I am hopping - we did Epcot this morning and we are at Contemporary now. We will hop to Hollywood Studios around 4:30 and my night is set already. We purchased Rise and Minnie then I booked LL for Slinky. At 11:00 am I booked Tower (remember the 120 minute rule) and at 1:00 I booked Smugglers. If you watch a few of the videos it’s easier to follow.  Here is a screenshot of our plans tonight


----------



## pixiedust2u

Imamom2 said:


> I am hopping - we did Epcot this morning and we are at Contemporary now. We will hop to Hollywood Studios around 4:30 and my night is set already. We purchased Rise and Minnie then I booked LL for Slinky. At 11:00 am I booked Tower (remember the 120 minute rule) and at 1:00 I booked Smugglers. If you watch a few of the videos it’s easier to follow.  Here is a screenshot of our plans tonight


Thank you.
And it looks like an amazing night! Have so much fun.


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## Erzengel

I got back yesterday and it was my first time there since they introduced Genie+ and I have to say that whether it's Genie+ or Fast Pass, Hollywood Studios really is a full day park.  

Our usual MO is counter service lunch and sit down dinner.   Occasionally, we can do a Sci-Fi diner but to maximize our experience we just try and do a mobile order.  

Last year we were there around the same time.  We got there when it opened.  We rode 9 rides.  ROR, Smuggler's Run, MM Railroad, Aerosmith, Slinky, Toy Story, Tower of Terror, Alien Spin and Star Tours.  I also built a lightsaber and did pictures.  We left around 8 pm for dinner at the Springs.  This year same thing, rode 8 rides except Alien Spin, did pictures, and shopping.  We left this time around 8 again for dinner at the Springs.  

HS is my favorite park and we are there around almost 12 hours and we still don't even do any of the shows.  

We did AK and MK on the same day.  Got to AK a little later than we wanted but still was able to do FOP, Everest and Safari before we left around 2 pm.  At MK, we did Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion & Pirates.  Had dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern.


----------



## elgerber

Erzengel said:


> I got back yesterday and it was my first time there since they introduced Genie+ and I have to say that whether it's Genie+ or Fast Pass, Hollywood
> 
> Last year we were there around the same time.  We got there when it opened.  We rode 9 rides.  ROR, Smuggler's Run, MM Railroad, Aerosmith, Slinky, Toy Story, Tower of Terror, Alien Spin and Star Tours.  I also built a lightsaber and did pictures.  We left around 8 pm for dinner at the Springs.  This year same thing, rode 8 rides except Alien Spin, did pictures, and shopping.  We left this time around 8 again for dinner at the Springs.
> 
> HS is my favorite park and we are there around almost 12 hours and we still don't even do any of the shows.
> 
> We did AK and MK on the same day.  Got to AK a little later than we wanted but still was able to do FOP, Everest and Safari before we left around 2 pm.  At MK, we did Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion & Pirates.  Had dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern.


Curious, did you use Genie +?  We were at HS on Oct 21 and 22nd, and got there for ETPE, and did all those same rides, a mid morning snack break, and counter service lunch, and we were back in the room for a mid afternoon nap, before heading out to other parks about 5.
Our AK day, the day before Genie started, we did ETPE and got FOP, Navi, Safari and Everest done, had a snack, and left for Disney Springs by 10.


----------



## Erzengel

elgerber said:


> Curious, did you use Genie +?  We were at HS on Oct 21 and 22nd, and got there for ETPE, and did all those same rides, a mid morning snack break, and counter service lunch, and we were back in the room for a mid afternoon nap, before heading out to other parks about 5.
> Our AK day, the day before Genie started, we did ETPE and got FOP, Navi, Safari and Everest done, had a snack, and left for Disney Springs by 10.


We did use Genie+ for 3 rides.  Aerosmith, Slinky, ROR on standby added about over 3 and a half hours of wait time.  We didn't get there at ETPE though. 

Last year, we didn't have Fast Pass during that time.  So last year and this year, got there about the same time, left about the same time.  Almost the same amount of rides, only had counter lunch.  Maybe we could have done a B&B, Little Mermaid or Indiana Jones show? But definitely not all of them.  However, we do go back and forth from the front to the back of the park multiple times.  If we could do all the rides near each other, I'm sure that could cut down on time too.


----------



## hdrolfe

klitteral2009 said:


> I see posts all the time asking about crowd levels or line wait times, Genie+ or not Genie+....but I think I've realized what I want to know, if you are there now or have been within the past week, how was your day?  Did you enjoy your time at the parks?  Was there anything that ruined the overall experience for you like you anticipated while you were planning?



We were there Oct 25 - 30 and had a great time. I forgot how much my feet would hurt  But otherwise it was great. Genie+ was a surprise and I only regretted not getting it on the last day, MK was nuts. We did purchase RoR, FOP & 7DMT which was an unplanned expense, but meant we got to do the rides without long waits. I talked kiddo into RnR at the end of our last HS day and he loved it so we did that a couple times at the end of the night. I've been home almost a week and it feels like we never went away, it was such a rush of a trip and so much fun in the moment. We didn't mind wearing masks that much, and were glad we didn't have to wait too long to ride. We normally go end of August so I wasn't expecting it to be as hot as it was a few of the days we were there, but it was nice at the same time. Kiddo ate a lot of chicken nuggets and pizza (hey, it's vacation!). We had fun, and can't wait to go back.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

We’re here now. We’re staying at Pop this trip and arrived Tuesday (11/2). We check out on 11/9. We use the DAS because my family is of the neurodivergent variety.   Quick observations from this trip:

-Scored boarding group 50 for Remy on Tuesday AM by having everything ready right at 7AM. We arrived an hour after our group was called due to some travel day delays and they had no issues letting us in. We used the DAS line for this because the regular line was pretty long. 

-The Genie+/Lightning Lane changes haven’t impacted the DAS waits any more than the old FP+ used to. I’ve only seen one extremely long lightning lane queue and that was today for Expedition Everest. EE was down most of the day so I think this created a bit of a log jam. The LL was backed up past the exit store over the bridge but it moved surprisingly fast.

-EPCOT was very bizarre on Tuesday. The World Showcase was pretty busy but everything aside from Frozen, Test Track, and Remy was a walk-on. Test Track was only posting a ~30 min wait which I’ve never seen. I’ve also never walked on Soarin’ before! Even the 3 caballeros ride was a ~30 min wait in June and this was back to being a walk on.

-Animal Kingdom was busier than I have ever seen today. Even the Dinosaur area, which used to be pretty empty, was a madhouse. Not surprising given the race weekend and end of Jersey week. Navi had a 110 minute wait when we used the DAS. FoP had 90. I finally tried it but hooo boy, that’s a one and done for me. I don’t consider myself extremely prone to motion sickness but I had to keep my eyes shut the whole ride. Remy also made me slightly motion sick during the running parts but I was fine otherwise.

-Crowds have felt very thick in walkways much of the time here and ride waits definitely aren’t as predictable as they used to be. We are going with the flow though and still having a great time.

-We’ll be at the first Very Merry event on Monday and are going to HS tomorrow so I will try to report back on Tuesday.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

Oh, and I don’t know how I forgot this one: Being able to book a DAS from the app is AMAZING. So, soooo much easier. A+ on that one, Disney!


----------



## Revan

Here now - arrived on 11/4 and staying until 11/11. First time back in 10 years - lots have changed. Party of 6 (parents, adult kids and SO's).  Staying at a Margaritaville bungalow ($400 per night) since there are no 3 bedrooms on property that I could see.

11/4 - Disney Springs travel day.  It wasn't crowded, we were able to order and find seating at Polite Pig at noon, great food.  Walked around for 2 hours, but it's a tough first day activity since it's really just shopping and we wanted to tour.

11/5 - MK, steady, heavy rain all day.  I posted another thread asking about rain and touring, lots of great responses.  We picked up ponchos at target for $5 and headed in.  Two in our party had croc-like sneakers and I really wish I wore my Adidas Slides with no socks.  Walked on Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and Big Thunder.  Splash was about a 10-minute wait.  Haunted Mansion about 10 minutes.  FutureWorld was a little busier, Buzz was a 30-minute wait because TTA, Carousel, and Space were down temporarily.  Space came back up and we rode it twice, completely walk-on.  Did TTA and, since it was around 3pm, decided to hop to Epcot.  Mine Train never rose above 45 minutes - but we will be back. Walking into Epcot and the wind tunnel at Spaceship Earth with steady heavy rain was a little discouraging, but SE was a walk-on, as was Soarin, Living with the Land and Figment (surprise - we were the only one in the building and the cast members were just standing around.)

11/6 - Holywood Studios (a Saturday, race weekend, end of Jersey week, cold but NO rain) - OK today is busy!!!! We managed to start on ToT with a 30 minute wait, did not to RRC since only 4 of our 6 people in the group are thrill riders and we already made them wait for 30 minutes and RRC had a posted 60 minute wait.  Walked to Mickey and Minnie's, waited 40 minutes in a posted 50 - what a great ride!  Then walked to Toy Story Land and waited 60 minutes for Midway Mania (that would have been a score 10 years ago.)  Crowds were very very heavy at this point, Woody's lunch box was at least a 30 minute wait to order.  All other rides (except for Muppets) were 60+ minutes.  We ate and jumped to Epcot, thinking things would be a bit better.  Nope - Epcot was crazy.  I know, I know, I expected crowds but not really hour+ lines for most food booths.  It was very cold - real feel 37 and wind was coming off of the lake. We rode test track and walked the countries, but it was not enjoyable or leisurely.

One thing, Epcot has always been my favorite, but it is really a shadow of its former self without the International Cast Members.  Mitsukoshi was a disorganized mess, no pick a pearl and no fun interaction asking about their homes.  But, College Program is back and we had a fun conversation at MK with a CP Cast member.

11/7 - Heading to AK soon....


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## gottalovepluto

Revan said:


> Here now - arrived on 11/4 and staying until 11/11. First time back in 10 years - lots have changed. Party of 6 (parents, adult kids and SO's).  Staying at a Margaritaville bungalow ($400 per night) since there are no 3 bedrooms on property that I could see.
> 
> 11/4 - Disney Springs travel day.  It wasn't crowded, we were able to order and find seating at Polite Pig at noon, great food.  Walked around for 2 hours, but it's a tough first day activity since it's really just shopping and we wanted to tour.
> 
> 11/5 - MK, steady, heavy rain all day.  I posted another thread asking about rain and touring, lots of great responses.  We picked up ponchos at target for $5 and headed in.  Two in our party had croc-like sneakers and I really wish I wore my Adidas Slides with no socks.  Walked on Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and Big Thunder.  Splash was about a 10-minute wait.  Haunted Mansion about 10 minutes.  FutureWorld was a little busier, Buzz was a 30-minute wait because TTA, Carousel, and Space were down temporarily.  Space came back up and we rode it twice, completely walk-on.  Did TTA and, since it was around 3pm, decided to hop to Epcot.  Mine Train never rose above 45 minutes - but we will be back. Walking into Epcot and the wind tunnel at Spaceship Earth with steady heavy rain was a little discouraging, but SE was a walk-on, as was Soarin, Living with the Land and Figment (surprise - we were the only one in the building and the cast members were just standing around.)
> 
> 11/6 - Holywood Studios (a Saturday, race weekend, end of Jersey week, cold but NO rain) - OK today is busy!!!! We managed to start on ToT with a 30 minute wait, did not to RRC since only 4 of our 6 people in the group are thrill riders and we already made them wait for 30 minutes and RRC had a posted 60 minute wait.  Walked to Mickey and Minnie's, waited 40 minutes in a posted 50 - what a great ride!  Then walked to Toy Story Land and waited 60 minutes for Midway Mania (that would have been a score 10 years ago.)  Crowds were very very heavy at this point, Woody's lunch box was at least a 30 minute wait to order.  All other rides (except for Muppets) were 60+ minutes.  We ate and jumped to Epcot, thinking things would be a bit better.  Nope - Epcot was crazy.  I know, I know, I expected crowds but not really hour+ lines for most food booths.  It was very cold - real feel 37 and wind was coming off of the lake. We rode test track and walked the countries, but it was not enjoyable or leisurely.
> 
> One thing, Epcot has always been my favorite, but it is really a shadow of its former self without the International Cast Members.  Mitsukoshi was a disorganized mess, no pick a pearl and no fun interaction asking about their homes.  But, College Program is back and we had a fun conversation at MK with a CP Cast member.
> 
> 11/7 - Heading to AK soon....


I saw ROTR running a 200 min wait on the app yesterday around dinner time and wasn’t sure if it was an error or legit! Sounds like it was legit


----------



## ajrwdwgirl

Quick question for those that have bought an attraction, especially Rise of the Resistance, on Lightning Lane.  Can you pick a time to ride or is it first available?   I am thinking of buying access to Rise but I definitely want mid-afternoon to early evening.  Is that possible or any tips for that?  Thanks!


----------



## hdrolfe

ajrwdwgirl said:


> Quick question for those that have bought an attraction, especially Rise of the Resistance, on Lightning Lane.  Can you pick a time to ride or is it first available?   I am thinking of buying access to Rise but I definitely want mid-afternoon to early evening.  Is that possible or any tips for that?  Thanks!



I was able to choose, it shows the first available but when you click on that it let's you choose from there.


----------



## Revan

gottalovepluto said:


> I saw ROTR running a 200 min wait on the app yesterday around dinner time and wasn’t sure if it was an error or legit! Sounds like it was legit


Definitely legit, unfortunately


----------



## GBRforWDW

hdrolfe said:


> I was able to choose, it shows the first available but when you click on that it let's you choose from there.


And that's only ILL$ and not G+ correct?  G+ you take what's given to you with no time selection?


----------



## hdrolfe

GBRforWDW said:


> And that's only ILL$ and not G+ correct?  G+ you take what's given to you with no time selection?



I didn't get G+ so can't comment, we only bought 3 ILL$ and I was able to choose the time we wanted for them.


----------



## scrappinginontario

ajrwdwgirl said:


> Quick question for those that have bought an attraction, especially Rise of the Resistance, on Lightning Lane.  Can you pick a time to ride or is it first available?   I am thinking of buying access to Rise but I definitely want mid-afternoon to early evening.  Is that possible or any tips for that?  Thanks!


You may choose a time but just a heads up - with an attraction as busy as RotR, by the time you confirm your purchase the actual return time may be later than you chose.  Sometimes an hour or more later.  Just wanted to mention it as many are not realizing this and are showing up at the time they selected and LL is very strict and guests cannot enter even a minute before their return time.


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## cjlong88

Imamom2 said:


> I am hopping - we did Epcot this morning and we are at Contemporary now. We will hop to Hollywood Studios around 4:30 and my night is set already. We purchased Rise and Minnie then I booked LL for Slinky. At 11:00 am I booked Tower (remember the 120 minute rule) and at 1:00 I booked Smugglers. If you watch a few of the videos it’s easier to follow.  Here is a screenshot of our plans tonight


Am I reading this correctly -- you had EPCOT as your park reservation for the day, but because you booked your LL for Slinky in HS, the 120 minute rule started at 9am (HS opening), not 11 am (Epcot opening)?


----------



## kristenabelle

GBRforWDW said:


> And that's only ILL$ and not G+ correct?  G+ you take what's given to you with no time selection?



That's correct - LL individuals you can book for a specific time, depending on what's available (and for things like ROTR, the earlier times book fast -- all times book fast, tbh). Genie+ is like old paper fastpasses, sort of - you take what you get as it's offered, unless someone drops something and you can snag it.


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## Haley R

I’m sorry if this has been asked but how early before park opening are they opening the parking at MK?


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## scrappinginontario

Haley R said:


> I’m sorry if this has been asked but how early before park opening are they opening the parking at MK?


I would recommend reading post 1 here:  *Everything Early Theme Park Entry*.  It has that answer plus a lot of other information.


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## jrsharp21

Haley R said:


> I’m sorry if this has been asked but how early before park opening are they opening the parking at MK?



I believe the the theme park parking lots typically open one hour before park opening.


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## Haley R

scrappinginontario said:


> I would recommend reading post 1 here:  *Everything Early Theme Park Entry*.  It has that answer plus a lot of other information.


Thanks! To make sure I’m understanding right, if early park entry at MK is 8:30 we could park at 7:30?


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## scrappinginontario

Haley R said:


> Thanks! To make sure I’m understanding right, if early park entry at MK is 8:30 we could park at 7:30?


That is my understanding.  Disney doesn’t publish these times so info is gathered from what guests have shared.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Do Yacht Club and Beach Club share busses to MK and if so which resort is picked up first?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Do Yacht Club and Beach Club share busses to MK and if so which resort is picked up first?


If you don't get an answer to this here (sorry, I don't know), you may wish to ask this question on either the Transportation board or, on the Yacht Club or Beach Club thread(s) on the Resorts board.


----------



## Revan

Second half of our 11/5-11/11 trip (first half is here https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-63516420)

11/7 - Animal Kingdom day, we arrived at about 45 minutes after rope drop, was worried we would be completely out of luck, but aside from Flight of Passage, we weren't.  Kilimanjaro Safaris was a walk on around 9am (park was fully open for an hour.) It was fantastic and the animals were all out and visible after the very raining 11/6.  EE was practically a walk-on. Dinosaur was about a 20-minute wait, park was getting busy. We waited 60 minutes for Na'avi River Journey - ugh, I've watched the movie 4 times since it came out, I am a fan, but this ride is just a way to manage crowds. FOP was over 100 minutes, we passed.  Jeans and fleece weather, though nice in the sun.  We moved to EPCOT at 2:30 after a great lunch at Sa'tuli Canteen.  EPCOT was still insane for a Sunday with lots of race t-shirts and medals.  Happy, happy runners and we congratulated quite a few., 25 minute wait or Spaceship Earth, we opted to wait 60 minutes for Test Track, first time on the trip.  Then started walking the countries from UK, World Showcase for the 2nd night was practically undoable.  We did wait until 9:45 to watch Harmonious from Africa Outpost and you REALLY need to be center from or back to see anything other than fireworks.

11/8 - Magic Kingdom, thinking things would settle on Monday we didn't rope drop and big mistake, we also decided on the fly to purchase Genie+ after getting through the gate around 9:30 since we were hopping to HS later, ~$95 for the 6 of us and we were only able to secure Buzz, Small World and Pirates from 9-2:30, Pirates is arguably an old school e-ticket, but neither of the others.  Park was jammed again.  Jumped to HS around 2:30 with a 6:15 Rockin Roller coaster LL, super busy but we walked around, ate at Cargo Bay 7 for an early dinner, did single rider for Smugglers Run (that was the way to go, we walked right on with a posted 75 minute wait.) We did our Rockin Roller coaster LL and were only able to secure Midway Mania for 8:15,  Mickey and Minnie was a posted 60 minute wait and we gambled, it was way off and was about 30 minutes for a super fun ride.  

11/9 Was a full EPCOT day, I secured group 50 for Remy at 7am, crowd levels were great for the first half and never became unbearable like over the weekend.  We hit Mexico at 11am and waited 5 minutes for La Cava - been dreaming of Avocado Margs for the past 10 years.  Food booth lines were reasonable all the way up to the afternoon.  We rode Remy at 1pm, it was great - it is Runaway Railway with a little extra juice (3D), Creperie was great - I got the Brie Galette which was very rich. We got our first sprinkle of Pixie Dust when a cast member on Soarin held us back and then put us in row 1 boarding group 2 (top middle) - these are the seats that the ride was designed for - a straight Eiffel Tower.

11/10 Last Park Day HS/AK - Started at HS, determined to ride Rise without paying $15 each.  Ride was down at park open and extra magic 1/2 hour, we gambled and walked over, just after  we passed the arch it opened and we jumped in.  75 minute posted wait was about 25 minutes.  Absolutely amazing ride - same basic premise as Mickey & Minnies and Remy, but a good comparison would we Slinky Dog and Everest are coasters - with pretty extreme differences. Tried Single Rider for Rockin Roller Coaster - big mistake, waited 45 minutes with a standby line was of 60 - probably would have been faster.  It started to rain again, steady rain predicted until 8-9pm, we left and jumped to AK to try for FOP.  It was a posted 55 minute when we entered the park - and was about a 40 minute wait.  Again, amazing first ride, FPO is Soarin what Everest is to Slinky.  Crowds were still high - but managable.

Done and heading home!


----------



## CarolynFH

Lsdolphin said:


> Do Yacht Club and Beach Club share busses to MK and if so which resort is picked up first?


Yes, they share, and I believe YC is picked up first, then BC.


----------



## nevergrowup826

CarolynFH said:


> Yes, they share, and I believe YC is picked up first, then BC.


Only during the slow times- mid day.  Night and morning are separate buses


----------



## CarolynFH

nevergrowup826 said:


> Only during the slow times- mid day.  Night and morning are separate buses


Thanks, that's good to know.  I only remember from the bad old days when BWV was at the end of the line that went Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, and then pass by BW because the bus was full! Tagging @Lsdolphin to make sure they read the correct information!


----------



## Wood Nymph

nevergrowup826 said:


> Only during the slow times- mid day.  Night and morning are separate buses





CarolynFH said:


> Thanks, that's good to know.  I only remember from the bad old days when BWV was at the end of the line that went Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, and then pass by BW because the bus was full! Tagging @Lsdolphin to make sure they read the correct information!


The Yacht Club and Beach Club/BCV don't share the morning bus, but they do share all the buses to/from after the morning rush, even evening buses.


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## CarolynFH

Wood Nymph said:


> The Yacht Club and Beach Club/BCV don't share the morning bus, but they do share all the buses to/from after the morning rush, even evening buses.


Thanks for more clarification!  @Lsdolphin, did you see that?


----------



## Lsdolphin

CarolynFH said:


> Thanks for more clarification!  @Lsdolphin, did you see that?



yes thank you all sooo much!   Doing first stay at Yacht Club Jan. 26-Feb 2nd


----------



## JK World

Here now, just wanted to share some thoughts. Just me and my 6yo (turning 7 tomorrow!), got here Wed and headed straight to HS from the airport (arrived around 2pm). Purchased Genie+ and started booking LL at 6am CST, even paid for WiFi on the plane to book 2 more, lol. So we had Slinky Dog, Millennium Falcon, and Toy Story Mania booked before arrival, plus I purchased MMRR. ROTR was sold out by the time I could purchase (staying off-site).

Pouring rain when we arrived, made me hopeful for shorter lines (didn't happen). Our ride reservations didn't start until around 5pm, so we just tried for short lines until then. Did Star Tours, MuppetVision, and Slinky Dog standby because TP said it was only a 15 minute wait (posted around 40). TP was wrong, which is an ongoing theme for us, their times have been way lower than what we experience. Then it was time for MMRR, which was very cute. 

Then a quick dinner at ABC Commissary (mobile order was perfect), and off to Millennium Falcon. I have never had motion sickness on a ride, but that one had me queasy and it's a one and done for me. Toured Galaxy's Edge a bit, then off to our Slinky Dog LL. Ride stopped on the part where you back up, which was interesting, but recovered after about a minute. Next was TSM, which also broke down towards the end but recovered after a few minutes. My son thought the stoppages were exciting, lol. Finished with Frozen show and headed out. Would have liked to do ROTR, but honestly don't want to dedicate another full park day to HS, feeling over it.

Today was Epcot, and TP continued to be very wrong on wait times. MDE is also very wrong, so average the 2 together and you may get close.  Bought Genie+ mostly for Test Track, but then it broke down in the rain and we never got to ride it anyways. We did enjoy Nemo, Soarin, LWTL, Journey, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Gran Fiesta, and Remy. Got boarding group 101 at 1pm, called around 5:36pm, off the ride around 7pm. As soon as it was over, my son said "well that was definitely not worth the wait..." and I completely agree with him. It was cute, but felt like a slightly better Winnie the Pooh.

Tomorrow is AK, and I will not be doing Genie+ or purchasing FOP (just gonna rope drop with my extra 30 Disney+ minutes and hope for the best). Party tomorrow night for my son's birthday, so a long but hopefully fun day!


----------



## boop0524

We are here this week and the parks are jammin. Holy cow didn’t expect this. Where did everyone come from lol! We used Genie+ in MK Monday to thankfully ride some rides. Today we used it in Epcot and it was pretty much a bust. I was so frustrated when the app accidentally didn’t add on one member of our party to Soarin LL and they refused to fix it or allow them in. It happened to us several times at MK Monday and they always accommodated. The app and technology has definitely been frustrating.

So far the trip has had some highlights and good moments for sure, but theres been crowds, technology issues, lack of merch and overall high costs. Not my favorite of trips tbh


----------



## Tgoody

November 3rd through the 10th overview:

Parks: Epcot and AK(4th), HS(5th), MK(6th), HS(7th), Epcot(8th), AK and MK Christmas Party (9th)
Dining Reservations: Sanaa Dinner, Nomads Lounge 2x, Steakhouse 71 Lunch and Dinner, Citricos Dinner, Bull and Bear Dinner, Oga's Lounge, Morimoto Dinner, and Wine Bar George Lunch.
Resort: OKW Studio - Peninsular Road 2920
Transportation: Bus and Uber/Lyft

Epcot on the 4th was low crowds and easy access to food booths. We had a lightning lane reservation for Frozen and got boarding group 10 for Remy. We park hopped at 2:30pm to AK because it was going to rain the next day and wanted to take advantage of AK times. Paid for a LL for FoP that evening and hung around to see the park at night. Had nomads lounge in the afternoon and would make sure I go to Nomads every trip.

HS on the 5th was challenging. We paid for Rise and MMRR that morning. Walked on Slinky and Tower of Terror during EMH. Small wait for RnR. Then we did rise and mmrr before heading out due to rain. Went to Beaches and cream for lunch. Then DS for an afternoon showing of Eternals. Had dinner at Morimoto, which was amazing.

MK day was frustrating. Got to the bus stop at 7:30 for 8:30 EMH. No bus showed up before 8:27. Ordered an uber and got into the park at 9:02 so we missed the EMH benefit. Crowded day so we did Haunted Mansion, SW and we had Genie+ for BTMR. Started stacking rides to go with our SDMT LL purchase after our Steakhouse 71 lunch. The burger and bacon and eggs were amazing. Great meal. Back into the park after lunch for some rides. We had Citircos that evening. Drinks and appetizers were good. The main dish we split was flavorless. Wouldn't go back for price. Back in park for a few rides.

HS on the 7th was amazing. Got there early for EMH. Rode MMRR and MFSR before park open. Paid for Rise and Genie+. Rode every ride with G+ and left the park at 2pm. Had Bull and Bear for dinner. Best meal of the trip by far. 

Epcot on the 8th was EMH and Extra Magic Hours at night. Got BG 18 for Remy. Park was very busy. Rode Soarin and Nemo before park open. Ate a few places before Remy. Ate some more before leaving at 2pm for a nap. Came back around 6pm and strolled around WS and ate the remaining places on our list. Asked a cast member for recommendations for where to stand for Harmonious and was given some pixie dust for a VIP viewing area. Stayed for extra hours and rode Test Track and Frozen.

AK in the morning on the 9th. EMH for safari and Everest. LL for Avatar and we had Nomads again. Did the bird show and walked out around 2pm. Went to Steakhouse 71 for dinner at 6pm. Drinks were not good. Appetizers were okay and my wedge salad was great. The Prime Rib was not good. Cold and no marbling to speak of. Best part of the meal was talking to a DVC owner that was seated near us about her trip and what she enjoyed. We went to MK to see Enchantment which was great. Then stayed for the Christmas party. Rode everything we wanted to without much wait and loved the parade and firework shows, both of which are worth the price to me. Left at 1:30am.

Final day on the 10th we went to DS for lunch and shopping. Had Gideon's and Wine Bar George. The steak frites and macaroni bites are awesome. Flight issues in DFW made us miss out connection, roamed the terminal from 2am to 10am before our new flight.

Few mask issues on rides and in queues. Utilizing EMH is a must and just purchasing the LL vs Genie+ worked well for us. We had some bus issues at OKW and had to use Uber a few times because of lack of busses.


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## boop0524

HS is an nightmare today. Rise sold out before 9 am so no chance for us off-site folks to buy ILL. Thankfully we grabbed a SDD at 7 because that sold out and so has MFSR, so guess we’re not doing anything in GE today. This is a family trip and we really looked forward to doing that.

Everything is overbooked and overly complicated this trip. If this is the new Disney World, I’m regretting buying our APs. Not looking forward to coming back at all. I’m missing the magic


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## leeniewdw

Is there any reporting (blogs/vlog/otherwise) that Disney is throttling ride capacity?  TP doesn't have any park higher than a 5 today, so I don't understand how the system would handle a larger crowd.  There is no 'bigger' ride in HS right now with < an hour standby (according to MDE).


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## CJK

boop0524 said:


> HS is an nightmare today. Rise sold out before 9 am so no chance for us off-site folks to buy ILL. Thankfully we grabbed a SDD at 7 because that sold out and so has MFSR, so guess we’re not doing anything in GE today. This is a family trip and we really looked forward to doing that.
> 
> Everything is overbooked and overly complicated this trip. If this is the new Disney World, I’m regretting buying our APs. Not looking forward to coming back at all. I’m missing the magic


If you're going to be there in the evening, try to get in line for Rise a few minutes before park close. We did that last week, and were in and out in 30 minutes. Worked so well! Also, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway had a very small line around 6:30pm two nights that we were there last week. We always do MFSR through the single rider line. Hope your day gets better!


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## GreyStr0ke

Did they open the parks an hour earlier than the posted openings today? I noticed the wait times were showing up and were quite significant for parks that were't supposed to be open yet.


----------



## Naomeri

GreyStr0ke said:


> Did they open the parks an hour earlier than the posted openings today? I noticed the wait times were showing up and were quite significant for parks that were't supposed to be open yet.


It was Disney+ day today, so Disney+ subscribers could get in 30 minutes early, and if they were also staying onsite, they could get in 1 hour early


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## leeniewdw

GreyStr0ke said:


> Did they open the parks an hour earlier than the posted openings today? I noticed the wait times were showing up and were quite significant for parks that were't supposed to be open yet.



I noticed that today too.  I forget which ride but it was 75 mins and it was before 730am?


----------



## SkyGuy

GreyStr0ke said:


> Did they open the parks an hour earlier than the posted openings today? I noticed the wait times were showing up and were quite significant for parks that were't supposed to be open yet.


Yes, people staying on property got in 60 minutes early because Disney+ subscribers were able to get in 30 minutes early. We walked from BWI at 7:10ish and rode SDD and TSM before 8:30, then headed to MF:SR with a 10 minute wait. We then booked it to RocknRoller Coaster and beat the 9am crowd. When we got off, it was 55 minutes.


----------



## boop0524

As of 3 pm at HS, the only ride not sold out of G+ is Muppets and Star Tours. Wow. MMRR available still but that’s ILL$. What a waste of $15… sorry for the negativity but honestly just so frustrating. We’ve only been able to use G+ for Muppets, SDD, and TSM later today.


----------



## BrotherCraig

boop0524 said:


> As of 3 pm at HS, the only ride not sold out of G+ is Muppets and Star Tours. Wow. MMRR available still but that’s ILL$. What a waste of $15… sorry for the negativity but honestly just so frustrating. We’ve only been able to use G+ for Muppets, SDD, and TSM later today.




Head to guest services and state your complaint there. That is what I would do.  I have been hearing the same from folks with the same issue.  If you only can get a few rides using Genie+, then it is not a system that will work for most guests.


----------



## boop0524

BrotherCraig said:


> Head to guest services and state your complaint there. That is what I would do.  I have been hearing the same from folks with the same issue.  If you only can get a few rides using Genie+, then it is not a system that will work for most guests.


I’m thinking about it. Rise is closed and MMRR is sold out. Still muppets and Star tours left for LL but we’ve already done those. The remaining options are…Well you know


----------



## Revan

boop0524 said:


> I’m thinking about it. Rise is closed and MMRR is sold out. Still muppets and Star tours left for LL but we’ve already done those. The remaining options are…Well you know


Don’t believe the MMRR stand by wait times, they were at least 50% lower the 3 times we rode it this past week


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## TropicalDIS

Here now. Arrived yesterday, MK this morning. Was great at the start with early entry, got multiple rides done, but come 10am park was jammed. Lines were crazy, Splash kept going down, and holy heck is it humid!

Hopped to Epcot for an early dinner and some rides. Crazy busy there as well. Spaceship Earth seemed to move awfully slow when on the ride. Is that just how it is now due to the lack of a refurb?

TP was wrong today. No way was MK a 5.

on the bright side, buses were great today and all CM’s have been fantastic. Oh and Dole Whip, enough said.

Taking tomorrow off and then off to AK Sunday. Will report back.


----------



## cjlong88

Day 1: we are HERE! Woke up and booked ILL$ for Remy at 12:30pm and Rise at 6pm. Booked first LL for SDD at 6:40pm. Hoping to create a stack as the day go a on.

Starting off at Ale & Compass this morning. Amazing as always. Such a great vibe and wonderful food. We will activate our annual passes before heading into Epcot to enjoy F&W. Beautiful weather to start the weekend visit!


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## lovethattink

There is filming being done today. My husband is one of the many there for it!


----------



## scrappinginontario

lovethattink said:


> There is filming being done today. My husband is one of the many there for it!


Fun!  What park is he in as I'm sure it will affect crowd flow in certain places.


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## GBRforWDW

cjlong88 said:


> Day 1: we are HERE! Woke up and booked ILL$ for Remy at 12:30pm and Rise at 6pm. Booked first LL for SDD at 6:40pm. Hoping to create a stack as the day go a on.


Just curious, did you try for virtual queue and get shut out, or were you just not going to mess with the VQ? Seems like VQ Is getting harder to get into now


----------



## lovethattink

scrappinginontario said:


> Fun!  What park is he in as I'm sure it will affect crowd flow in certain places.



MK


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## cjlong88

GBRforWDW said:


> Just curious, did you try for virtual queue and get shut out, or were you just not going to mess with the VQ? Seems like VQ Is getting harder to get into now


We opted to buy it because we wanted to choose the time. Purchasing the LL was nice because the VQ line looked long and we walked right on. We did snag a BG at 1pm, though, because we enjoyed it that much!


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## GBRforWDW

cjlong88 said:


> We opted to buy it because we wanted to choose the time. Purchasing the LL was nice because the VQ line looked long and we walked right on. We did snag a BG at 1pm, thought, because we enjoyed it that much!


Ah nice, that's awesome. I was thinking about the opposite direction... Virtual Queue at 7 and if we liked it enough to ride again, we'd buy ILL$ if there was any passes left.  We're staying off-site in December during Christmas week though, so our only option will probably be virtual queue


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## BioInfoLib

Yesterday we returned from a combined Universal/Disney trip - here's what we did on the Disney portion.

A few notes about us - my husband and I are both in our 60s, DVC, have been to Disney a zillion times. Our priorities on our Disney vacations are sleeping in (no rope drop for us), riding all our favorite attractions, and eating better food than we can find in the college town in which we live.

On this trip we made use of both Genie+ (LL) and Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) purchases, which for all days except Animal Kingdom worked well for us. As we don't rope drop, being able to reserve attractions for later in the day is great. By the end of the trip I was a master at stacking, although a few overlapping reservations were a little bit harrowing. I didn't keep track of times for every LL, but the schedule below should give you some idea of what we accomplished and our strategy, The numbers in brackets indicate the order in which I reserved each day.

*Sunday 11/7, EPCOT* - transfer day with late arrival so did not bother with Genie+.
9:47, leave Portofino Bay/Universal for Disney Springs
11:00, walk in Frontera Cocina lunch, seated right away  
12:17, arrive Fort Wilderness, get golf cart, explore resort, cabin ready 3:14
3:57 arrive EPCOT
Test Track Standby (SB) (47 minutes)
Soaring SB (33 minutes)
Karamel Kuche (shortest line ever - 6 people ahead of us even though World Showcase was packed!)
5:48 arrive walk in Tokyo Dining (seated at 6:04)
Done for the day at 7:11
In park appr 3 hours 15 minutes; 2 rides SB, caramel corn, table service dinner
14,750 steps

*Monday 11/8 Magic Kingdom*
10:42, purchase Seven Dwarves
10:49, purchase Genie+
12:18 arrival at park
12:35 Haunted Mansion LL [2]
Liberty Square Riverboat SB (next boat)
1:30 lunch Liberty Tree Tavern (seated 1:52)
Big Thunder LL [3]
4:15 7 Dwarves ILL [1]
Pirates of the Caribbean LL [4]
Buzz Lightyear LL [5]
People Mover SB (12 minute wait)
6:27 Done for day
In park approx 6 hrs 15 minutes, 7 rides (4 LL, 1ILL, 2 SB), table service lunch
11,860 steps
Was just getting used to Genie+; if I had to do it again I would have booked Jungle Cruise first as it was gone for the day by the time I figured out what I was doing. Splash was available for most of the day, but we didn't want to get wet.

*Tuesday, 11/9, Hollywood Studios*
7:02 purchased Rise of the Resistance
7:04 purchased MMRR
7:09 purchased Genie+
11:30 Steakhouse 71 lunch (seated 11:34)
1:16 arrive Hollywood Studios
Skyliner to/from CBR just for fun as we had time
Toy Story LL [4]
Star Tours LL [5]
Slinky Dog LL [3]
3:40 Rise of the Resistance - down [1]
Muppets LL (unnecessary LL) [6]
Vacation Fun SB (next show)
4:40 MMRR ILL [2]
Rise of the Resistance ILL [1]
Star Tours SB 16 minutes
7:15 dinner Mama Melrose (seated 7:20)
8:13 done for the day
In park approx 7 hours, 8 rides (4LL, 2 ILL, 2 SB), skyliner, table service dinner
18,263 steps
Did better with stacking this day; the only thing we missed was Millennium Falcon - this one runs out fast as well, but I think Slinky is the priority.

*Wednesday, 11/10 Animal Kingdom*
8th day in a row in the parks and we were tired. It was rainy, cold, and we bailed after a couple of hours, so Genie+ was a definite fail on this day.
7:58 purchase FOP
10:50 arrival, line up for Nomad Lounge, table available 11:12
11:02 purchase Genie+ (was super undecided about this)
Safari LL [2]
Rainy walk through gorilla trail
2:05 FOP ILL [1]
3:40 Navi River, [3] bailed instead - went back to cabin took a nap
In park approx 3 hours, 2 rides (1 LL, 1 ILL) plus 1 trail and lounge lunch.
6:30 Dinner at Boma (seated 6:22)
9,072 steps
I'm thinking there are not enough actual rides that we enjoy at this park (we love the trails and exploring the park in general), so perhaps starting here and hopping to EPCOT would make Genie+ worth it (see Thursday for a similar strategy).

*Thursday, 11/11, Hollywood Studios and EPCOT - a really crowded day but Genie+ worked well.*
8:07 purchased MMRR
8:08 purchased Remy
8:14 purchased Genie+
11:02 arrival
11:15 Woody’s Lunchbox Mobile Order
Star Tours 2X SB (34 minutes, 12 minutes)
Toy Story LL [4]
1:30 MMRR ILL [1]
Skyliner to EPCOT, sit at international entrance 20ish minutes until break in rain
Try to ride test track SB but not yet reopened from rain
Earth Eats and Noodle Exchange Early dinner
4:05 Spaceship Earth LL [6]
4:35 Soaring LL [5]
5:24 Remy ILL [2] (only 11 minutes left in window)
Skyliner back to HS
6:28 Millennium Falcon LL [3] (only 12 minutes left in window)
Alien Saucers LL [7]
Churro and pretzel
7:16 Done for day
In parks approx 8 hours 15 minutes - 2 parks, 9 rides (5 LL, 2 ILL, 2 SB), skyliner 2 directions, QS Lunch, booth dinner and snacks
Best day ever, 22,261 steps
Stacked well on this day - maybe a little too well as we ended up near the end of our windows for both Remy and Millennium and if Soaring had taken much longer or if the skyliner lines on the way back to HS had been longer, we may have missed a ride. And I think if I had been up at 7:00 am rather than 8:00, I may have snagged Slinky Dog before it disappeared for the day.

*Friday, 11/12*
11:15 Boathouse (seated at 11:00)
Drive home

We found Genie+ and ILL to be useful for us for both HS and MK. We'll likely combine AK with EP (or either one with another park) to pick up the few rides we enjoy at those two parks. We really enjoyed being able to reserve late in the day; not thrilled that its not free, but happier with the whole Genie thing than we thought we would be.


----------



## CarolynFH

BioInfoLib said:


> Yesterday we returned from a combined Universal/Disney trip - here's what we did on the Disney portion.
> 
> A few notes about us - my husband and I are both in our 60s, DVC, have been to Disney a zillion times. Our priorities on our Disney vacations are sleeping in (no rope drop for us), riding all our favorite attractions, and eating better food than we can find in the college town in which we live.
> 
> On this trip we made use of both Genie+ (LL) and Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) purchases, which for all days except Animal Kingdom worked well for us. As we don't rope drop, being able to reserve attractions for later in the day is great. By the end of the trip I was a master at stacking, although a few overlapping reservations were a little bit harrowing. I didn't keep track of times for every LL, but the schedule below should give you some idea of what we accomplished and our strategy, The numbers in brackets indicate the order in which I reserved each day.
> 
> *Sunday 11/7, EPCOT* - transfer day with late arrival so did not bother with Genie+.
> 9:47, leave Portofino Bay/Universal for Disney Springs
> 11:00, walk in Frontera Cocina lunch, seated right away
> 12:17, arrive Fort Wilderness, get golf cart, explore resort, cabin ready 3:14
> 3:57 arrive EPCOT
> Test Track Standby (SB) (47 minutes)
> Soaring SB (33 minutes)
> Karamel Kuche (shortest line ever - 6 people ahead of us even though World Showcase was packed!)
> 5:48 arrive walk in Tokyo Dining (seated at 6:04)
> Done for the day at 7:11
> In park appr 3 hours 15 minutes; 2 rides SB, caramel corn, table service dinner
> 14,750 steps
> 
> *Monday 11/8 Magic Kingdom*
> 10:42, purchase Seven Dwarves
> 10:49, purchase Genie+
> 12:18 arrival at park
> 12:35 Haunted Mansion LL [2]
> Liberty Square Riverboat SB (next boat)
> 1:30 lunch Liberty Tree Tavern (seated 1:52)
> Big Thunder LL [3]
> 4:15 7 Dwarves ILL [1]
> Pirates of the Caribbean LL [4]
> Buzz Lightyear LL [5]
> People Mover SB (12 minute wait)
> 6:27 Done for day
> In park approx 6 hrs 15 minutes, 7 rides (4 LL, 1ILL, 2 SB), table service lunch
> 11,860 steps
> Was just getting used to Genie+; if I had to do it again I would have booked Jungle Cruise first as it was gone for the day by the time I figured out what I was doing. Splash was available for most of the day, but we didn't want to get wet.
> 
> *Tuesday, 11/9, Hollywood Studios*
> 7:02 purchased Rise of the Resistance
> 7:04 purchased MMRR
> 7:09 purchased Genie+
> 11:30 Steakhouse 71 lunch (seated 11:34)
> 1:16 arrive Hollywood Studios
> Skyliner to/from CBR just for fun as we had time
> Toy Story LL [4]
> Star Tours LL [5]
> Slinky Dog LL [3]
> 3:40 Rise of the Resistance - down [1]
> Muppets LL (unnecessary LL) [6]
> Vacation Fun SB (next show)
> 4:40 MMRR ILL [2]
> Rise of the Resistance ILL [1]
> Star Tours SB 16 minutes
> 7:15 dinner Mama Melrose (seated 7:20)
> 8:13 done for the day
> In park approx 7 hours, 8 rides (4LL, 2 ILL, 2 SB), skyliner, table service dinner
> 18,263 steps
> Did better with stacking this day; the only thing we missed was Millennium Falcon - this one runs out fast as well, but I think Slinky is the priority.
> 
> *Wednesday, 11/10 Animal Kingdom*
> 8th day in a row in the parks and we were tired. It was rainy, cold, and we bailed after a couple of hours, so Genie+ was a definite fail on this day.
> 7:58 purchase FOP
> 10:50 arrival, line up for Nomad Lounge, table available 11:12
> 11:02 purchase Genie+ (was super undecided about this)
> Safari LL [2]
> Rainy walk through gorilla trail
> 2:05 FOP ILL [1]
> 3:40 Navi River, [3] bailed instead - went back to cabin took a nap
> In park approx 3 hours, 2 rides (1 LL, 1 ILL) plus 1 trail and lounge lunch.
> 6:30 Dinner at Boma (seated 6:22)
> 9,072 steps
> I'm thinking there are not enough actual rides that we enjoy at this park (we love the trails and exploring the park in general), so perhaps starting here and hopping to EPCOT would make Genie+ worth it (see Thursday for a similar strategy).
> 
> *Thursday, 11/11, Hollywood Studios and EPCOT - a really crowded day but Genie+ worked well.*
> 8:07 purchased MMRR
> 8:08 purchased Remy
> 8:14 purchased Genie+
> 11:02 arrival
> 11:15 Woody’s Lunchbox Mobile Order
> Star Tours 2X SB (34 minutes, 12 minutes)
> Toy Story LL [4]
> 1:30 MMRR ILL [1]
> Skyliner to EPCOT, sit at international entrance 20ish minutes until break in rain
> Try to ride test track SB but not yet reopened from rain
> Earth Eats and Noodle Exchange Early dinner
> 4:05 Spaceship Earth LL [6]
> 4:35 Soaring LL [5]
> 5:24 Remy ILL [2] (only 11 minutes left in window)
> Skyliner back to HS
> 6:28 Millennium Falcon LL [3] (only 12 minutes left in window)
> Alien Saucers LL [7]
> Churro and pretzel
> 7:16 Done for day
> In parks approx 8 hours 15 minutes - 2 parks, 9 rides (5 LL, 2 ILL, 2 SB), skyliner 2 directions, QS Lunch, booth dinner and snacks
> Best day ever, 22,261 steps
> Stacked well on this day - maybe a little too well as we ended up near the end of our windows for both Remy and Millennium and if Soaring had taken much longer or if the skyliner lines on the way back to HS had been longer, we may have missed a ride. And I think if I had been up at 7:00 am rather than 8:00, I may have snagged Slinky Dog before it disappeared for the day.
> 
> *Friday, 11/12*
> 11:15 Boathouse (seated at 11:00)
> Drive home
> 
> We found Genie+ and ILL to be useful for us for both HS and MK. We'll likely combine AK with EP (or either one with another park) to pick up the few rides we enjoy at those two parks. We really enjoyed being able to reserve late in the day; not thrilled that its not free, but happier with the whole Genie thing than we thought we would be.


Thanks, this is really useful for us - y’all tour like we do, no rope drop or early entry for us!


----------



## PrincessJasmine88

Has anyone seen the projection show at HS at Tower if Terror? I’d love to know when it is, and how long it is. Thanks


----------



## Cotta

cjlong88 said:


> We opted to buy it because we wanted to choose the time. Purchasing the LL was nice because the VQ line looked long and we walked right on. We did snag a BG at 1pm, though, because we enjoyed it that much!


Curious how long you waited in VQ line? Trying to decide if it is worth it with a toddler...


----------



## SkyGuy

Cotta said:


> Curious how long you waited in VQ line? Trying to decide if it is worth it with a toddler...


Probably not super helpful, but I got group 6 and was given an estimated return time of 10:45, so we decided to head up front and do early entry Soarin’, and while on Soarin’, I got the push notification at 9:50 that it was time to head to Remy. We did Living with the Land first before heading back to France. They had called another group by the time we got back there, and it was still a complete walk on.


----------



## AussieFan8

SkyGuy said:


> Probably not super helpful, but I got group 6 and was given an estimated return time of 10:45, so we decided to head up front and do early entry Soarin’, and while on Soarin’, I got the push notification at 9:50 that it was time to head to Remy. We did Living with the Land first before heading back to France. They had called another group by the time we got back there, and it was still a complete walk on.


Were the holiday lights on at Living with the Land yet? I saw they were going up but I wonder if they wait until the day after Thanksgiving to turn them on.


----------



## SkyGuy

AussieFan8 said:


> Were the holiday lights on at Living with the Land yet? I saw they were going up but I wonder if they wait until the day after Thanksgiving to turn them on.


They were not turned on at 10:15 am.


----------



## Biggen

Full day at HS. It’s impossible to buy ILL for Rise if you are offsite. At 9am, it wasn’t available for purchase and then continually checking for any time throughout the day it wasn’t never available.  

I don’t know if this is by design but it seems the flagship ride of the park  should have some availability for non resort guests save for waiting in a 140 minute standby.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Biggen said:


> Full day at HS. It’s impossible to buy ILL for Rise if you are offsite. At 9am, it wasn’t available for purchase and then continually checking for any time throughout the day it wasn’t never available.
> 
> I don’t know if this is by design but it seems the flagship ride of the park  should have some availability for non resort guests save for waiting in a 140 minute standby.


On the first few days of Genie, they saved some ILL$ for offsite guests, but changed it a few days later.  Seems like regardless of the day, those are selling out before park opening    Guess it's good there's now a standby option.


----------



## bsmcneil

Biggen said:


> Full day at HS. It’s impossible to buy ILL for Rise if you are offsite. At 9am, it wasn’t available for purchase and then continually checking for any time throughout the day it wasn’t never available.
> 
> I don’t know if this is by design but it seems the flagship ride of the park  should have some availability for non resort guests save for waiting in a 140 minute standby.


IDK, to me, 140 for the flagship ride (particularly ROTR, vs Space Mountain or something) seems really reasonable. Everyone's experience is relative, for sure.


----------



## scrappinginontario

There has been a lot of discussion asking if there really is a reason to stay onsite with so many of the previous perks gone.  I wonder if they’re trying to find reasons for guests to choose to stay onsite?


----------



## MomOTwins

bsmcneil said:


> IDK, to me, 140 for the flagship ride (particularly ROTR, vs Space Mountain or something) seems really reasonable. Everyone's experience is relative, for sure.


I remember back in the old fastpass days when there were 300 minute standby waits posted for FOP.


----------



## bsmcneil

MomOTwins said:


> I remember back in the old fastpass days when there were 300 minute standby waits posted for FOP.


(probably likely figured it out already - but that's not an actual "like" for those days - but I remember 'em, too)


----------



## Meglen

bsmcneil said:


> IDK, to me, 140 for the flagship ride (particularly ROTR, vs Space Mountain or something) seems really reasonable. Everyone's experience is relative, for sure.


If you think about it in minutes. Spending over 2 hours in line for one ride is just not a good way to spend the day if you already payed 150+ on a ticket. That's alot of time standing still trying to convince yourself that it's worth the 5 min ride.

We struggled this last trip with the popular rides. We rode pretty much everything but ssd,rotr. I just couldn't get myself to wait 90+ min for one ride. My choice of course but we had a good time without the rides. But I can't put my son through that long a line when we could go ride 3+ other rides again in the same time.


----------



## Carol_

Meglen said:


> If you think about it in minutes. Spending over 2 hours in line for one ride is just not a good way to spend the day if you already payed 150+ on a ticket. That's alot of time standing still trying to convince yourself that it's worth the 5 min ride.
> 
> We struggled this last trip with the popular rides. We rode pretty much everything but ssd,rotr. I just couldn't get myself to wait 90+ min for one ride. My choice of course but we had a good time without the rides. But I can't put my son through that long a line when we could go ride 3+ other rides again in the same time.


I get that. It’s too long for that ride. 40 minutes is my top for even the best rides. Rise is cool, but not worth 90+ minutes to me and I like Star Wars enough to have watched and loved the Mandalorian. I also own at least three Star Wars toothbrushes, and I aspire to get myself a reloadable galaxy’s edge gift card.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Meglen said:


> If you think about it in minutes. Spending over 2 hours in line for one ride is just not a good way to spend the day if you already payed 150+ on a ticket. That's alot of time standing still trying to convince yourself that it's worth the 5 min ride.
> 
> We struggled this last trip with the popular rides. We rode pretty much everything but ssd,rotr. I just couldn't get myself to wait 90+ min for one ride. My choice of course but we had a good time without the rides. But I can't put my son through that long a line when we could go ride 3+ other rides again in the same time.


That was always the struggle with boarding groups before, at least for RotR.  Those that got one were happy they got one and only had a short wait while those that didn't were upset that there was no standby line.  So now, the boarding group is paid and if you choose not to pay, you have the option to wait.  Of course all rides are now pay for short line or wait for long line. Of course, with boarding groups, you weren't discriminated against for staying offsite


----------



## Revan

Meglen said:


> If you think about it in minutes. Spending over 2 hours in line for one ride is just not a good way to spend the day if you already payed 150+ on a ticket. That's alot of time standing still trying to convince yourself that it's worth the 5 min ride.
> 
> We struggled this last trip with the popular rides. We rode pretty much everything but ssd,rotr. I just couldn't get myself to wait 90+ min for one ride. My choice of course but we had a good time without the rides. But I can't put my son through that long a line when we could go ride 3+ other rides again in the same time.



We added a 6th day for ~$20 per person and decided we would wait for RoTR up to 2 hours. We lucked out and the ride was closed and opened as soon as we entered the land.  We saw peak waits of 240 minutes this past week


----------



## Revan

scrappinginontario said:


> There has been a lot of discussion asking if there really is a reason to stay onsite with so many of the previous perks gone.  I wonder if they’re trying to find reasons for guests to choose to stay onsite?



I kept thinking about on-site/off-site this past week.  We stayed at Margaritaville since we had 6 adults and wanted separate bedrooms.  We got a 3 bedroom cottage for $450 a night, the equivalent cost on property would have been 2-3x that, easily. The resort is new, the cottage was clean and spacious. Is 30 minutes early access, bus transport and early ILL worth $450-900 a day? Absolutely not, we are rope drop to park close commandos and can sacrifice a ride or two until our next visit.  Having said that, we rode everything but Mine Train and Peter Pan on our 11/4-11/11 trip with 6 park days.


----------



## bsmcneil

Meglen said:


> If you think about it in minutes. Spending over 2 hours in line for one ride is just not a good way to spend the day if you already payed 150+ on a ticket. That's alot of time standing still trying to convince yourself that it's worth the 5 min ride.
> 
> We struggled this last trip with the popular rides. We rode pretty much everything but ssd,rotr. I just couldn't get myself to wait 90+ min for one ride. My choice of course but we had a good time without the rides. But I can't put my son through that long a line when we could go ride 3+ other rides again in the same time.


lol. Yeah I mean - I don't think the conversion from minutes to hours is what will magically make it feel terrible for me - but I get that it does for you (it seems?). I definitely knew when I posted that 140 minutes is 2 hours and 20 min. I'm not saying I would wait that long for ROTR (because I don't really care about Star Wars) - but in terms of waiting for a ride at a theme park (especially one that's new/novel or representative of a IP/fandom you really enjoy) - it doesn't seem crazy. I get that for you it wouldn't be worth it - but to me, it doesn't really matter what you spent, etc on the ticket (I mean - if you really liked SW/ROTR, would you really rather enjoy 5 rides on Alien Swirling Saucers-esque rides in the same amount of time? Sure, you get to ride five things but if they're not _your_ things, why does it matter that you did it?). For some people, Disney World and/or theme/amusement parks are about going and doing all of the things or it's not worth the price of a ticket. For others, the satisfaction is in being entertained/amused/enjoying your time. 

But this was all about access to ROTR/onsite vs. off. And I think that's hard because it is feeling a little bit (with this in particular) like an all or nothing. If you're on-site, you get early entry and earlier access to ILL and ROTR has been selling out. If you're off-site, it's limited to (primarily) stand-by with relatively long waits. When I first started writing, I thought I'd end up saying that it doesn't really seem fair - but compared to other places, etc - maybe it's not so bad, actually. It would really stink if you were just completely blocked from getting to do it - but isn't Hagrid's at Universal in a similar position right now (I've never been - just going off of what I had read a few weeks ago)? And it's mostly at DHS that there's this issue. It's not ideal but I get it. 

We're all different. I know what I'm about to say will seem contradictory (and maybe it is - but I don't think so). If it were me, I wouldn't choose to stay on-site because of early entry and access to ILLS. The higher cost of accommodations doesn't seem to make up for the relatively small perks related to riding a couple of rides. All of that said, I am choosing to stay on-site :-D (for transportation ease, bubble, wanting to stay at AKL which is become my default place when I visit WDW, and so on). Early Entry isn't weighing into it for me (even though I prefer to RD, I don't think my kids and I will be up and ready - and 30 minutes feels so negligible to me) and earlier access to the ILLS doesn't really matter to me (I might buy it for ROTR because the kids would enjoy it but given that when I started planning the trip, it was VQ only and there was a chance we couldn't get in anyway - I've been okay with the fact that it just might happen, especially since I don't really care for it/SW). I also recognize that me taking two kids (9/5) who've never been - our style isn't going to be the style of many folks (we're just not going to do commando this trip and that feels perfectly fine for me).


----------



## ssgtravel

BioInfoLib said:


> Yesterday we returned from a combined Universal/Disney trip - here's what we did on the Disney portion.
> 
> A few notes about us - my husband and I are both in our 60s, DVC, have been to Disney a zillion times. Our priorities on our Disney vacations are sleeping in (no rope drop for us), riding all our favorite attractions, and eating better food than we can find in the college town in which we live.
> 
> On this trip we made use of both Genie+ (LL) and Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) purchases, which for all days except Animal Kingdom worked well for us. As we don't rope drop, being able to reserve attractions for later in the day is great. By the end of the trip I was a master at stacking, although a few overlapping reservations were a little bit harrowing. I didn't keep track of times for every LL, but the schedule below should give you some idea of what we accomplished and our strategy, The numbers in brackets indicate the order in which I reserved each day.
> 
> *Sunday 11/7, EPCOT* - transfer day with late arrival so did not bother with Genie+.
> 9:47, leave Portofino Bay/Universal for Disney Springs
> 11:00, walk in Frontera Cocina lunch, seated right away
> 12:17, arrive Fort Wilderness, get golf cart, explore resort, cabin ready 3:14
> 3:57 arrive EPCOT
> Test Track Standby (SB) (47 minutes)
> Soaring SB (33 minutes)
> Karamel Kuche (shortest line ever - 6 people ahead of us even though World Showcase was packed!)
> 5:48 arrive walk in Tokyo Dining (seated at 6:04)
> Done for the day at 7:11
> In park appr 3 hours 15 minutes; 2 rides SB, caramel corn, table service dinner
> 14,750 steps
> 
> *Monday 11/8 Magic Kingdom*
> 10:42, purchase Seven Dwarves
> 10:49, purchase Genie+
> 12:18 arrival at park
> 12:35 Haunted Mansion LL [2]
> Liberty Square Riverboat SB (next boat)
> 1:30 lunch Liberty Tree Tavern (seated 1:52)
> Big Thunder LL [3]
> 4:15 7 Dwarves ILL [1]
> Pirates of the Caribbean LL [4]
> Buzz Lightyear LL [5]
> People Mover SB (12 minute wait)
> 6:27 Done for day
> In park approx 6 hrs 15 minutes, 7 rides (4 LL, 1ILL, 2 SB), table service lunch
> 11,860 steps
> Was just getting used to Genie+; if I had to do it again I would have booked Jungle Cruise first as it was gone for the day by the time I figured out what I was doing. Splash was available for most of the day, but we didn't want to get wet.
> 
> *Tuesday, 11/9, Hollywood Studios*
> 7:02 purchased Rise of the Resistance
> 7:04 purchased MMRR
> 7:09 purchased Genie+
> 11:30 Steakhouse 71 lunch (seated 11:34)
> 1:16 arrive Hollywood Studios
> Skyliner to/from CBR just for fun as we had time
> Toy Story LL [4]
> Star Tours LL [5]
> Slinky Dog LL [3]
> 3:40 Rise of the Resistance - down [1]
> Muppets LL (unnecessary LL) [6]
> Vacation Fun SB (next show)
> 4:40 MMRR ILL [2]
> Rise of the Resistance ILL [1]
> Star Tours SB 16 minutes
> 7:15 dinner Mama Melrose (seated 7:20)
> 8:13 done for the day
> In park approx 7 hours, 8 rides (4LL, 2 ILL, 2 SB), skyliner, table service dinner
> 18,263 steps
> Did better with stacking this day; the only thing we missed was Millennium Falcon - this one runs out fast as well, but I think Slinky is the priority.
> 
> *Wednesday, 11/10 Animal Kingdom*
> 8th day in a row in the parks and we were tired. It was rainy, cold, and we bailed after a couple of hours, so Genie+ was a definite fail on this day.
> 7:58 purchase FOP
> 10:50 arrival, line up for Nomad Lounge, table available 11:12
> 11:02 purchase Genie+ (was super undecided about this)
> Safari LL [2]
> Rainy walk through gorilla trail
> 2:05 FOP ILL [1]
> 3:40 Navi River, [3] bailed instead - went back to cabin took a nap
> In park approx 3 hours, 2 rides (1 LL, 1 ILL) plus 1 trail and lounge lunch.
> 6:30 Dinner at Boma (seated 6:22)
> 9,072 steps
> I'm thinking there are not enough actual rides that we enjoy at this park (we love the trails and exploring the park in general), so perhaps starting here and hopping to EPCOT would make Genie+ worth it (see Thursday for a similar strategy).
> 
> *Thursday, 11/11, Hollywood Studios and EPCOT - a really crowded day but Genie+ worked well.*
> 8:07 purchased MMRR
> 8:08 purchased Remy
> 8:14 purchased Genie+
> 11:02 arrival
> 11:15 Woody’s Lunchbox Mobile Order
> Star Tours 2X SB (34 minutes, 12 minutes)
> Toy Story LL [4]
> 1:30 MMRR ILL [1]
> Skyliner to EPCOT, sit at international entrance 20ish minutes until break in rain
> Try to ride test track SB but not yet reopened from rain
> Earth Eats and Noodle Exchange Early dinner
> 4:05 Spaceship Earth LL [6]
> 4:35 Soaring LL [5]
> 5:24 Remy ILL [2] (only 11 minutes left in window)
> Skyliner back to HS
> 6:28 Millennium Falcon LL [3] (only 12 minutes left in window)
> Alien Saucers LL [7]
> Churro and pretzel
> 7:16 Done for day
> In parks approx 8 hours 15 minutes - 2 parks, 9 rides (5 LL, 2 ILL, 2 SB), skyliner 2 directions, QS Lunch, booth dinner and snacks
> Best day ever, 22,261 steps
> Stacked well on this day - maybe a little too well as we ended up near the end of our windows for both Remy and Millennium and if Soaring had taken much longer or if the skyliner lines on the way back to HS had been longer, we may have missed a ride. And I think if I had been up at 7:00 am rather than 8:00, I may have snagged Slinky Dog before it disappeared for the day.
> 
> *Friday, 11/12*
> 11:15 Boathouse (seated at 11:00)
> Drive home
> 
> We found Genie+ and ILL to be useful for us for both HS and MK. We'll likely combine AK with EP (or either one with another park) to pick up the few rides we enjoy at those two parks. We really enjoyed being able to reserve late in the day; not thrilled that its not free, but happier with the whole Genie thing than we thought we would be.


----------



## ssgtravel

How did you keep track of all of your stacks?  It seems it would be really confusing. Was your strategy to book a LL return, wait until it "times out", book your second LL, tap into the first one during the grace period, then book another one right after that, etc.?


----------



## MamaJJ2018

What is everyone’s recent experience with mobile ordering at magic kingdom?

I have a Be Our Guest reservation for lunch that day. It is pricier than I’d like to spend, and we’ve done it before, but I also don’t want to be stuck without food options/a place to sit in the park. I have a 4 year old and 1 year old. Thanks!


----------



## itf

scrappinginontario said:


> There has been a lot of discussion asking if there really is a reason to stay onsite with so many of the previous perks gone.  I wonder if they’re trying to find reasons for guests to choose to stay onsite?



My prediction is that there'll soon be availability at for offsite guests again, when they find the sweet spot of how much more they can charge the onsite guests to leave a few over for offsite.


----------



## BioInfoLib

ssgtravel said:


> How did you keep track of all of your stacks?  It seems it would be really confusing. Was your strategy to book a LL return, wait until it "times out", book your second LL, tap into the first one during the grace period, then book another one right after that, etc.?



We never did the grace period thing because I thought it would be too confusing, and I was afraid I’d mess up and miss my window thereby forfeiting that ride. Everything you have a reservation for shows up directly in your day plans, so you can easily see what you have and the windows. One thing I did notice, the ILLs would show up in my plans immediately after they were purchased. The Genie+ LLs took their sweet time to get into my plans - often many minutes and refreshes later. 

In terms of keeping track it was not that hard; bought my 2 ILLs at 8:00ish for afternoon return, and they don’t help you get more LLs so you don’t have to worry about them. I got the first genie around 8:00 for a 5:40 Millennium Falcon return time; it was a priority since we missed this ride the Tuesday before. Grabbed second Genie + (toy Story 12:20 return) at 11:00. Since our first window (Toy Story) closed at 1:20, I was able to pick up our 3rd Genie + at 1:00, for a 4:30 Soaring (We knew were were hopping for 4:35 Remy and figured that could work). Once I tapped into Toy Story I was able to get our 4th Genie+ for a 6:30 Aliens.

Note that now, because all of our LL returns were later in the day, we had the 2 hour cool down, and could not book anything again until 3:27, when we snagged Spaceship Earth. That was fine with us as we needed to hop to EPCOT and we had time for dinner.

This strategy worked great for us as we like to sleep in and tour later. And I did not feel like I spent too much time on my phone, just at 8:00, 11:00, 1:00, immediately after Toy Story, and at 3:27 when eligible again. If I had to do it again would have started at 7:00 (maybe would have been able to get Slinky) but this was day 9 of parks between Universal and Disney and we were tired!


----------



## kappyfamily

BioInfoLib said:


> We never did the grace period thing because I thought it would be too confusing, and I was afraid I’d mess up and miss my window thereby forfeiting that ride. Everything you have a reservation for shows up directly in your day plans, so you can easily see what you have and the windows. One thing I did notice, the ILLs would show up in my plans immediately after they were purchased. The Genie+ LLs took their sweet time to get into my plans - often many minutes and refreshes later.
> 
> In terms of keeping track it was not that hard; bought my 2 ILLs at 8:00ish for afternoon return, and they don’t help you get more LLs so you don’t have to worry about them. I got the first genie around 8:00 for a 5:40 Millennium Falcon return time; it was a priority since we missed this ride the Tuesday before. Grabbed second Genie + (toy Story 12:20 return) at 11:00. Since our first window (Toy Story) closed at 1:20, I was able to pick up our 3rd Genie + at 1:00, for a 4:30 Soaring (We knew were were hopping for 4:35 Remy and figured that could work). Once I tapped into Toy Story I was able to get our 4th Genie+ for a 6:30 Aliens.
> 
> Note that now, because all of our LL returns were later in the day, we had the 2 hour cool down, and could not book anything again until 3:27, when we snagged Spaceship Earth. That was fine with us as we needed to hop to EPCOT and we had time for dinner.
> 
> This strategy worked great for us as we like to sleep in and tour later. And I did not feel like I spent too much time on my phone, just at 8:00, 11:00, 1:00, immediately after Toy Story, and at 3:27 when eligible again. If I had to do it again would have started at 7:00 (maybe would have been able to get Slinky) but this was day 9 of parks between Universal and Disney and we were tired!


Can i ask where you stayed? thank you


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## BioInfoLib

kappyfamily said:


> Can i ask where you stayed? thank you


Fort Wilderness cabin.


----------



## boop0524

So I just watched the Dis video from the Christmas party we were at where Rhyno was shoved, and I totally felt for him. The amount of rudeness this trip was incredible. I got yelled at by a guy in Epcot while trying to figure out how to exit the park. Walking into HS someone was rude to us, leaving HS my nephew got yelled at by a lady. In a separate incident in HS, someone almost backed into me with their scooter. No apologies. 

After encountering the guy in Epcot, it took me several minutes to snap out of it. You know, being rude is a choice. When the parks are crowded we’re all just trying to move around and do our best.

Again, apologies for my negativity but this trip was not the same Disney for us.


----------



## cjlong88

*Saturday 11/13*

Woke up at 6:55 am. Purchased LL for Rise and Remy. Booked our first G+ (SDD in the evening). Breakfast at Ale & Compass — wonderful food and service! We got into Epcot before ETPE and the attractions were already open. Rode Soarin’ with a 15 minute wait and then ate and drank our way around World Showcase. During that time we booked more LL’s for HS (MFSR, RnRC, ToT, TSM) every two hours per the 120-minute rule.

Took a nap at the hotel. Had a lazy afternoon before grabbing a cocktail at one of the hotel bars and heading to the skyliner. Rode it to HS where we rode all of the attractions via LL. Grateful we stacked over the course of the morning and afternoon because by the time we got there all of the high-demand attractions had no LL availability (BUT, if you refresh the tip board you may see a last minute cancellation and be able to snag it…very similar to the refresh method during the FP+ days of old).

Walked back to Epcot to enjoy dinner at La Hacienda. Watched Harmonious afterwards — absolutely loved. The music was spectacular and I love how they utilized the fireworks so it didn’t overpower or take away from the water/light display  on the barges. Walked in thinking I would hate it based on reactions on the boards, but I would definitely watch again. The new lighting on the EPCOT ball….SO COOL! I could have watched that all night. Walked back to the Swan and dozed right off.

*Sunday 11/14*

Decided not to rope drop AK. Woke up and booked FoP and Navi on Genie+. Got to AK and grabbed some breakfast before strolling into Pandora. Rode both attractions. Everest was down so we walked to Dinosaur and used G+ for that. Just as we were walking back towards Everest it was open again. Hopped in line with a 5 minute wait. When we left it was 50 minutes. That is some luck!

Walked to Nomad Lounge early and got a spot at the bar. I had one too many. It was wonderful. Headed back to Epcot at 2pm for some last minute eats and drinks. Snagged a last-minute cancellation for Test Track while in Canada and was able to ride that. We are en route to the airport now.

*Final Thoughts:*

This was a much-needed break from life. Husband and I had a blast and can’t wait to return.

I think Genie+ is as valuable as its user. I can see it being the most valuable for those who choose to park hop, stack rides for the evening, don’t mind refreshing here or there, etc. Stacking in the evening was so nice — we walked into HS at 5pm with 6 LL attractions (one was an ILL$). That made for an awesome evening, and that also meant our pace in the morning and afternoon was more relaxed.

At first I was frustrated with Genie+ but after learning how to navigate it, I became much better quickly and figured out how to maximize it. Overall, I don’t think I would buy it for my entire length of stay, just those few days where I want to focus on riding my highest-priority attractions.

I found I was on my phone less, especially when booking rides for the evening. The 120-minute rule helped with that. At first I was irked that I couldn’t modify an existing reservation, but that meant I just had to pick what I wanted and then I could put my phone away. I could see that if you started in the morning, you would potentially spend more time on your phone overall, especially at MK and HS.

It was crowded. Lines were long for everything including food booths in WS. We still had a great time and felt like the parks are moving closer to normal. Epcot had more live entertainment and not having to wear masks while outdoors was great.


----------



## kappyfamily

cjlong88 said:


> *Saturday 11/13*
> 
> Woke up at 6:55 am. Purchased LL for Rise and Remy. Booked our first G+ (SDD in the evening). Breakfast at Ale & Compass — wonderful food and service! We got into Epcot before ETPE and the attractions were already open. Rode Soarin’ with a 15 minute wait and then ate and drank our way around World Showcase. During that time we booked more LL’s for HS (MFSR, RnRC, ToT, TSM) every two hours per the 120-minute rule.
> 
> Took a nap at the hotel. Had a lazy afternoon before grabbing a cocktail at one of the hotel bars and heading to the skyliner. Rode it to HS where we rode all of the attractions via LL. Grateful we stacked over the course of the morning and afternoon because by the time we got there all of the high-demand attractions had no LL availability (BUT, if you refresh the tip board you may see a last minute cancellation and be able to snag it…very similar to the refresh method during the FP+ days of old).
> 
> Walked back to Epcot to enjoy dinner at La Hacienda. Watched Harmonious afterwards — absolutely loved. The music was spectacular and I love how they utilized the fireworks so it didn’t overpower or take away from the water/light display  on the barges. Walked in thinking I would hate it based on reactions on the boards, but I would definitely watch again. The new lighting on the EPCOT ball….SO COOL! I could have watched that all night. Walked back to the Swan and dozed right off.
> 
> *Sunday 11/14*
> 
> Decided not to rope drop AK. Woke up and booked FoP and Navi on Genie+. Got to AK and grabbed some breakfast before strolling into Pandora. Rode both attractions. Everest was down so we walked to Dinosaur and used G+ for that. Just as we were walking back towards Everest it was open again. Hopped in line with a 5 minute wait. When we left it was 50 minutes. That is some luck!
> 
> Walked to Nomad Lounge early and got a spot at the bar. I had one too many. It was wonderful. Headed back to Epcot at 2pm for some last minute eats and drinks. Snagged a last-minute cancellation for Test Track while in Canada and was able to ride that. We are en route to the airport now.
> 
> *Final Thoughts:*
> 
> This was a much-needed break from life. Husband and I had a blast and can’t wait to return.
> 
> I think Genie+ is as valuable as its user. I can see it being the most valuable for those who choose to park hop, stack rides for the evening, don’t mind refreshing here or there, etc. Stacking in the evening was so nice — we walked into HS at 5pm with 6 LL attractions (one was an ILL$). That made for an awesome evening, and that also meant our pace in the morning and afternoon was more relaxed.
> 
> At first I was frustrated with Genie+ but after learning how to navigate it, I became much better quickly and figured out how to maximize it. Overall, I don’t think I would buy it for my entire length of stay, just those few days where I want to focus on riding my highest-priority attractions.
> 
> I found I was on my phone less, especially when booking rides for the evening. The 120-minute rule helped with that. At first I was irked that I couldn’t modify an existing reservation, but that meant I just had to pick what I wanted and then I could put my phone away. I could see that if you started in the morning, you would potentially spend more time on your phone overall, especially at MK and HS.
> 
> It was crowded. Lines were long for everything including food booths in WS. We still had a great time and felt like the parks are moving closer to normal. Epcot had more live entertainment and not having to wear masks while outdoors was great.


First of all, thank you again for a great review. I've been following what you have been saying. We've done Disney many times but I'm just driving myself crazy with what to do. We have a hotel reservation at Swan Reserve and another at the new JW Marriott (they have shuttles you reserve to take you straight to the parks). We know they will both be new and beautiful. My hesitation is offisite vs onsite. We have our 20 year old daughter with us and she says she will do some early mornings but not really wanting to do the 7:30am early entry days (I could probably talk her into it). My question is : in regards to Genie+ and the paid rides, is it worth $700 more to stay at Swan Reserve? We will be there the 20th-26th and we know it will be crazy. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I know I am WAY overthinking this........ I have until tomorrow evening to cancel one of them. thanks again


----------



## tsme

I’m trying so hard not to get discouraged, but am finding it difficult. We’re AP & usually go twice a year & LOVE Disney. But I’m think the whole Genie +, LL, ILL is so confusing & annoying (not to mention the cost sucks). We have a trip booked for January, so I’m trying to read everyone’s opinions and experiences. I’m just struggling. And I know no one cares if we don’t like it, understand it, or never go back, heck I don’t think Disney even cares any bit if they lose people like me & my DH. But the truth is I don’t want to give up on Disney. So is dealing with the new system that confusing, annoying, exasperating as most reviews say. Really needing some positive feedback. TIA


----------



## Kjdisney

kappyfamily said:


> First of all, thank you again for a great review. I've been following what you have been saying. We've done Disney many times but I'm just driving myself crazy with what to do. We have a hotel reservation at Swan Reserve and another at the new JW Marriott (they have shuttles you reserve to take you straight to the parks). We know they will both be new and beautiful. My hesitation is offisite vs onsite. We have our 20 year old daughter with us and she says she will do some early mornings but not really wanting to do the 7:30am early entry days (I could probably talk her into it). My question is : in regards to Genie+ and the paid rides, is it worth $700 more to stay at Swan Reserve? We will be there the 20th-26th and we know it will be crazy. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I know I am WAY overthinking this........ I have until tomorrow evening to cancel one of them. thanks again


I was in a similar position when planning our trip for my husband and I.  I ultimately chose the Swan Reserve, mainly for the walking access to Epcot, HS and the boardwalk.  After reading so many trip reviews, I think having the option of early hours/extended hours will be nice if we can’t get on everything we want during regular hours.  I won’t even consider changing now that it seems to be the only way to get the ROTR ILL$, which  we both want to experience, but wouldn’t wait in a long SB line.
We would have saved less than $700, it was only about $380 difference for us, but I think considering we only go every few years, I would even pay the $700.  I wouldn’t if we went to WDW more often.


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## boop0524

tsme said:


> I’m trying so hard not to get discouraged, but am finding it difficult. We’re AP & usually go twice a year & LOVE Disney. But I’m think the whole Genie +, LL, ILL is so confusing & annoying (not to mention the cost sucks). We have a trip booked for January, so I’m trying to read everyone’s opinions and experiences. I’m just struggling. And I know no one cares if we don’t like it, understand it, or never go back, heck I don’t think Disney even cares any bit if they lose people like me & my DH. But the truth is I don’t want to give up on Disney. So is dealing with the new system that confusing, annoying, exasperating as most reviews say. Really needing some positive feedback. TIA


I admit our trip this past week was frustrating and our experience with G+ wasn’t the greatest. We knew all the tricks and how to use the system, but being offsite combined with mass amounts of people was just a bad combo for us. Your experience may be very different, so don’t lose faith! I think the thing with G+ to keep in mind is you just have to roll with it. There’s so many things outside of your control, you have to just do the best you can. That’s my biggest takeaway. Sometimes it works great, sometimes not, and you really can’t predict how it will turn out. But no matter what, there is always magic to be found at Disney, you just have to look for it


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## coolbrook

Cotta said:


> Curious how long you waited in VQ line? Trying to decide if it is worth it with a toddler...


Not the OP but we waited about 20 minutes in VQ line.  Then we rode right after with our ILL and sailed right in. We liked that better, but it was fun to ride twice in a row and notice things we missed the first time.


----------



## cjlong88

kappyfamily said:


> First of all, thank you again for a great review. I've been following what you have been saying. We've done Disney many times but I'm just driving myself crazy with what to do. We have a hotel reservation at Swan Reserve and another at the new JW Marriott (they have shuttles you reserve to take you straight to the parks). We know they will both be new and beautiful. My hesitation is offisite vs onsite. We have our 20 year old daughter with us and she says she will do some early mornings but not really wanting to do the 7:30am early entry days (I could probably talk her into it). My question is : in regards to Genie+ and the paid rides, is it worth $700 more to stay at Swan Reserve? We will be there the 20th-26th and we know it will be crazy. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I know I am WAY overthinking this........ I have until tomorrow evening to cancel one of them. thanks again


Personally I think being on-site was a huge advantage. The early theme park entry can be a tremendous asset to families that plan to rope drop. Being able to book our first LL each day also means we got first pick of the litter.

For us the location alone makes Swolphin worth the $$. Being able to walk to two parks AND get early access (and extra time at MK and Epcot on select nights) nowadays seems like a great deal to me. But that’s not true for everyone.

Do what makes you happier and less stressed. We were reminded this weekend why we love the Boardwalk area so much.


----------



## JK World

JK World said:


> Here now, just wanted to share some thoughts. Just me and my 6yo (turning 7 tomorrow!), got here Wed and headed straight to HS from the airport (arrived around 2pm). Purchased Genie+ and started booking LL at 6am CST, even paid for WiFi on the plane to book 2 more, lol. So we had Slinky Dog, Millennium Falcon, and Toy Story Mania booked before arrival, plus I purchased MMRR. ROTR was sold out by the time I could purchase (staying off-site).
> 
> Pouring rain when we arrived, made me hopeful for shorter lines (didn't happen). Our ride reservations didn't start until around 5pm, so we just tried for short lines until then. Did Star Tours, MuppetVision, and Slinky Dog standby because TP said it was only a 15 minute wait (posted around 40). TP was wrong, which is an ongoing theme for us, their times have been way lower than what we experience. Then it was time for MMRR, which was very cute.
> 
> Then a quick dinner at ABC Commissary (mobile order was perfect), and off to Millennium Falcon. I have never had motion sickness on a ride, but that one had me queasy and it's a one and done for me. Toured Galaxy's Edge a bit, then off to our Slinky Dog LL. Ride stopped on the part where you back up, which was interesting, but recovered after about a minute. Next was TSM, which also broke down towards the end but recovered after a few minutes. My son thought the stoppages were exciting, lol. Finished with Frozen show and headed out. Would have liked to do ROTR, but honestly don't want to dedicate another full park day to HS, feeling over it.
> 
> Today was Epcot, and TP continued to be very wrong on wait times. MDE is also very wrong, so average the 2 together and you may get close.  Bought Genie+ mostly for Test Track, but then it broke down in the rain and we never got to ride it anyways. We did enjoy Nemo, Soarin, LWTL, Journey, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Gran Fiesta, and Remy. Got boarding group 101 at 1pm, called around 5:36pm, off the ride around 7pm. As soon as it was over, my son said "well that was definitely not worth the wait..." and I completely agree with him. It was cute, but felt like a slightly better Winnie the Pooh.
> 
> Tomorrow is AK, and I will not be doing Genie+ or purchasing FOP (just gonna rope drop with my extra 30 Disney+ minutes and hope for the best). Party tomorrow night for my son's birthday, so a long but hopefully fun day!


Just got home, thought I'd share a few more thoughts from the rest of our trip!

Friday was AK, followed by the holiday party at MK.  We entered AK at 7:30am due to Disney+ Day and went straight to FOP. MDE said 55 minutes, but the line moved quickly and we were off the ride in  just under 45.  First time on FOP and it was a lot of fun.  The line is also very entertaining and plenty to look at.  I realized that this is also part of what made Ratatouille a terrible wait, the line is very boring with nothing to see until the end.  Next we did the Safari, danced with the African drummers, enjoyed the bird show, rode Expedition Everest, and did It's Tough to be a Bug before lunch at Pizzafari around 12:30. Used mobile ordering again, worked beautifully.  Enjoyed lunch, then playtime in The Boneyard and a quick ride on Dinosaur before we left the park at 2pm for some pool time and dinner.  Overall, it was fine without Genie+ or ILL$.

We entered MK for the party at 7pm and stayed until about 1:30am (we were in a ride line at 1am).  I was shocked my little guy lasted that long, but it was his 7th birthday and he wanted to stay up.  I did have to carry him to the car from the ferry, which was not fun!  From 7pm-9pm we: visited Mickey in Town Square, rode PeopleMover, watched Enchantment while riding AstroOrbiter, did Tomorrowland Speedway and Winnie the Pooh.  Party started at 9 and the snack cart lines were crazy. We decided to wait on that and hit up Little Mermaid instead. Then we grabbed cookies and hot chocolate and headed to IASW. After that the lines were gone and we went back for popcorn and bottled water.  Next was Haunted Mansion, BTMR, and Pirates. We were on Jingle Cruise during the fireworks, so we didn't see much.  Waits for Peter Pan and SDMT stayed over 30 minutes, so we headed to Buzz Lightyear instead and then grabbed a spot on Main Street for the 12:05am parade. Afterwards we got in line for SDMT, which was about a 45 minute wait, and that finished off the night.  Good times, but you definitely have to choose between entertainment or rides. Oh, and we never found Santa or any other characters around the park.

Saturday was another MK day, but after that late night we slept in and didn't get to the park until around 2pm.  I decided not to do Genie+, since we already did most of our big rides the night before.  The only thing we really wanted was Splash Mountain, but it was down almost all day so we never got to ride it.  We did do several things that we've never done before, like the Swiss Family Treehouse and Tom Sawyer Island. We enjoyed a few of the cavalcades, and I introduced my son to churros (he's a fan now).  We also did COP, Buzz Lightyear, PeopleMover, Barnstormer, Dumbo, Little Mermaid, Mickey's Phiharmagic, and Pirates.  We watched Enchantment from PeopleMover this time, and we were riding past Tinker Bell right as she flew by! We also enjoyed an early dinner at Pecos Bills, hot dogs at Casey's, and brownie sundaes at the Plaza.  I meant to leave earlier, but we ended up staying until about 9:15pm.  We had a nice time even without Genie+, and the TP Lines app was much better this day at helping us find low wait times.

This morning we squeezed in a quick trip to Epcot before our flight home.  We only had 2 hours, and the main mission was to ride Test Track. We rope dropped and headed straight over there, the line was posted at 55 minutes and it took about 45 minutes. But another great queue made for an entertaining wait and we didn't mind at all. We wanted more churros, so a stop at the Cantina and a quick ride on Gran Fiesta finished us off. We got to wave goodbye to Mickey and Minnie on our way out!

Overall, we had fun.  Genie+ was necessary at HS, but not the other parks.  The only ILL$ we purchased was MMRR.  I would have purchased Ratatouille if we didn't get a boarding group, and would have purchased ROTR if it hadn't sold out before off-site guests could buy it. I didn't enjoy using Genie+, the return times for rides you want are always hours away, and the only rides with close return times are the rides you don't even need Genie+ to ride (think Star Tours, Journey Into Imagination, and Barnstormer).  This was my son's 4th trip (went for his 3rd, 4th, 5th, and now 7th birthdays), and it was the first time he's indicated that it was starting to feel boring. I think that's because there are no good character interactions (the meet with Mickey at Town Square was awful, they encourage you to take selfies but the CM will use your camera if you ask, but the lighting is bad and they rush you out), and the things that used to make the days more fun for us are missing (parade @ MK, Indiana Jones and Fantasmic @ HS, more entertainment @ AK).  Epcot's World Showcase is so packed you can't enjoy it at all, you can't even walk around and look without being jostled (this was on a Thursday, can't imagine the weekend).  We are among those planning to do other Orlando attractions next visit, with possibly one day at Epcot and one at MK, spending the rest of our vacation on Universal, the beach, and other attractions.


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## kappyfamily

cjlong88 said:


> Personally I think being on-site was a huge advantage. The early theme park entry can be a tremendous asset to families that plan to rope drop. Being able to book our first LL each day also means we got first pick of the litter.
> 
> For us the location alone makes Swolphin worth the $$. Being able to walk to two parks AND get early access (and extra time at MK and Epcot on select nights) nowadays seems like a great deal to me. But that’s not true for everyone.
> 
> Do what makes you happier and less stressed. We were reminded this weekend why we love the Boardwalk area so much.


Thank you for that! I should know this….if I’m at swan reserve, I don’t have to be at the park to start booking rides, right? So my daughter could still sleep in a bit and I can start stacking?


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## JK World

MamaJJ2018 said:


> What is everyone’s recent experience with mobile ordering at magic kingdom?
> 
> I have a Be Our Guest reservation for lunch that day. It is pricier than I’d like to spend, and we’ve done it before, but I also don’t want to be stuck without food options/a place to sit in the park. I have a 4 year old and 1 year old. Thanks!


I didn't have any trouble with mobile ordering.  I was there yesterday and was able to create an order less than 30 minutes before I wanted to eat with no issues!


----------



## cjlong88

kappyfamily said:


> Thank you for that! I should know this….if I’m at swan reserve, I don’t have to be at the park to start booking rides, right? So my daughter could still sleep in a bit and I can start stacking?


Correct!


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## Jnjtrio

Magical moments were harder to come by this trip.  Partially the time period we are in but also the fact we were taking older family members and it simply did not work for  genie+.  We wasted money buying genie+ as it took them twice as long to be ready and leaving early.  My dad wanted to take his sister who is 76 and never been to Disney, she did love FoP (sorry to anyone on the ride as she sounded like a hoot owl).  It seemed really crowded, but perhaps that was just trying to herd 3 scooters around everywhere (sorry to all, especially the gentleman at soarin my aunt tried to run over).


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Just got back from a 10-day trip, with a mix of onsite and off, G+ users and non, race weekend and hard ticket after parties, rain, cold, sun, heat - it was quite a trip!

First things first, *staying onsite is a huge advantage for the free transportation if you don’t have your own car* or intend to rent - rideshares were difficult to come by. We stayed the first weekend at Coronado Springs which is bus-only, middle of the week offsite which required rideshares, and last weekend at Caribbean Beach which was AWESOME for the Skyliner alone - *Skyliner is such a game-changer and a vast improvement over the buses this time of year.*

Onsite is also a *huge advantage for the early entry if your touring style always includes rope drop* - they hold offsite guests at the tapstiles, so you are physically further back than before and behind quite a few onsite guests for all attractions, especially the headliners. It felt so nice to breeze right past the crowds and on to the attractions. 

*Genie+ was a hassle* - good for the people who have figured out how to game the system with it already, but we got so frustrated at MK and HS trying to secure spots that we eventually gave up and *just stuck with standby*, which was perfectly fine. *Wait times were way overstated* - Rise posted 110, we were at the preshow/drop shop in 50, Peter Pan posted 95 we waited 40, Mine Train posted 90 we waited 19 minutes, Slinky posted 70 we waited 45 - all with line pauses to allow LL guests, but from what I can tell they’re interspersing the same # of LL and Standby as compared to the old FP+ which makes the lines move better than the old system. It’s now much easier to judge accurate wait times visually based on where the line starts. For some reason to me it felt less crowded than Spring Break but that’s just my perception.

*Genie+ also necessitated a lot of criss-crossing of the parks* - my in-laws used it on different days and while they were able to figure it out in the app, this was their biggest complaint. 

We did the *Very Merriest After Hours *on Friday night and it was WAY better than the Halloween After Hours! Having that extra hour to the event was great to get more done, plus the park felt probably 70% LESS crowded because there were more parades/shows/events to keep people out of the ride lines. Everything was a walk-on, Mine Train was a 10-minute wait in the middle of it. We got a great spot for the parade right as it came down Main St. standing in front of the Bakery. I ate 3 buckets of popcorn and washed them all down with the surprisingly palatable hot chocolate and I was loving my life.  

Overall a really fantastic, magical trip and I’ll be happy to NEVER pay for Genie+ again lol.


----------



## DisneyGayl

My family returned from a week-long trip to WDW on Saturday.  We had great success with Genie+ and stacking after we got the hang of it!  We bought Genie+ for our MK and HS days because the crowds were large, the standby lines were long, and both parks have a lot of rides.  If I had to buy Genie+ for just one park it would definitely be for HS!  The wait times for rides at HS were very long last week!

I woke up at 6:45 am most mornings to purchase Genie+ for the six of us and then wait for 7:00 am to make our first selection. BTW, it's important to refresh your MDE screen before 7:00 am or you won't be able to make a selection.  A couple mornings our first Genie+ selection was for a time later in the morning than I wanted because the times go fast and my screen wasn't refreshed! 

For stacking with Genie+, we'd book a second ride at 11:00 am and then again after we tapped the second time for the current Genie+ ride.  After that, we just kept making Genie+ selections after we tapped into another ride.  

I liked using Genie+ and found that it saved us A LOT of time waiting in lines.  We bought ILL$ for RotR because even with rope drop, the wait times always seemed very long!  We also got a BG for Remy but still had to wait about an hour for the ride.

I dislike having to pay more money for shorter wait times since the park tickets are already so expensive!  However, since we only visit WDW every few years, it was worth it to get on the rides we wanted without having to wait a long time!

PS - we all loved riding on the Skyliner!  It was way better than waiting for the crowded buses!


----------



## kappyfamily

butterscotchcollins said:


> Just got back from a 10-day trip, with a mix of onsite and off, G+ users and non, race weekend and hard ticket after parties, rain, cold, sun, heat - it was quite a trip!
> 
> First things first, *staying onsite is a huge advantage for the free transportation if you don’t have your own car* or intend to rent - rideshares were difficult to come by. We stayed the first weekend at Coronado Springs which is bus-only, middle of the week offsite which required rideshares, and last weekend at Caribbean Beach which was AWESOME for the Skyliner alone - *Skyliner is such a game-changer and a vast improvement over the buses this time of year.*
> 
> Onsite is also a *huge advantage for the early entry if your touring style always includes rope drop* - they hold offsite guests at the tapstiles, so you are physically further back than before and behind quite a few onsite guests for all attractions, especially the headliners. It felt so nice to breeze right past the crowds and on to the attractions.
> 
> *Genie+ was a hassle* - good for the people who have figured out how to game the system with it already, but we got so frustrated at MK and HS trying to secure spots that we eventually gave up and *just stuck with standby*, which was perfectly fine. *Wait times were way overstated* - Rise posted 110, we were at the preshow/drop shop in 50, Peter Pan posted 95 we waited 40, Mine Train posted 90 we waited 19 minutes, Slinky posted 70 we waited 45 - all with line pauses to allow LL guests, but from what I can tell they’re interspersing the same # of LL and Standby as compared to the old FP+ which makes the lines move better than the old system. It’s now much easier to judge accurate wait times visually based on where the line starts. For some reason to me it felt less crowded than Spring Break but that’s just my perception.
> 
> *Genie+ also necessitated a lot of criss-crossing of the parks* - my in-laws used it on different days and while they were able to figure it out in the app, this was their biggest complaint.
> 
> We did the *Very Merriest After Hours *on Friday night and it was WAY better than the Halloween After Hours! Having that extra hour to the event was great to get more done, plus the park felt probably 70% LESS crowded because there were more parades/shows/events to keep people out of the ride lines. Everything was a walk-on, Mine Train was a 10-minute wait in the middle of it. We got a great spot for the parade right as it came down Main St. standing in front of the Bakery. I ate 3 buckets of popcorn and washed them all down with the surprisingly palatable hot chocolate and I was loving my life.
> 
> Overall a really fantastic, magical trip and I’ll be happy to NEVER pay for Genie+ again lol.


thanks for the report back, it is appreciated! I'm trying to decide between an offisite and Swan Reserve. I have to make up my mind by tonight. The offisite I'm booked at does have a shuttle but is only a few times a day. When you say trouble with rideshare do you mind going a touch more into detail on that? We would probably be using Uber for rides a couple times a day (for breaks).  thank you again!  ***will add we are there for busy thanksgiving week


----------



## dwonderz

kappyfamily said:


> thanks for the report back, it is appreciated! I'm trying to decide between an offisite and Swan Reserve. I have to make up my mind by tonight. The offisite I'm booked at does have a shuttle but is only a few times a day. When you say trouble with rideshare do you mind going a touch more into detail on that? We would probably be using Uber for rides a couple times a day (for breaks).  thank you again!  ***will add we are there for busy thanksgiving week


Not the OP - but when we were down there last week (staying onsite) - we sometimes had a 15+ minute wait for our rideshare/sometimes it would notify us that there were "very limited cars" available. Also - we noticed surge pricing for the first time (previous trip we never noticed it) - one night leaving MK it soared to $40 (from the usual $9) and on the way back to the airport we paid $45 - but 10 minutes later looked again and it was at $92.


----------



## kappyfamily

dwonderz said:


> Not the OP - but when we were down there last week (staying onsite) - we sometimes had a 15+ minute wait for our rideshare/sometimes it would notify us that there were "very limited cars" available. Also - we noticed surge pricing for the first time (previous trip we never noticed it) - one night leaving MK it soared to $40 (from the usual $9) and on the way back to the airport we paid $45 - but 10 minutes later looked again and it was at $92.


thank you for the quick response back!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

kappyfamily said:


> thanks for the report back, it is appreciated! I'm trying to decide between an offisite and Swan Reserve. I have to make up my mind by tonight. The offisite I'm booked at does have a shuttle but is only a few times a day. When you say trouble with rideshare do you mind going a touch more into detail on that? We would probably be using Uber for rides a couple times a day (for breaks).  thank you again!  ***will add we are there for busy thanksgiving week



dwonderz covered it but there are several times a day you’ll be waiting 15+ minutes for your ride to arrive - assuming you get connected at all. If you’re planning on using several times a day I don’t think it’s worth staying that far offsite, Swan Reserve sounds like an excellent alternative!


----------



## kappyfamily

butterscotchcollins said:


> dwonderz covered it but there are several times a day you’ll be waiting 15+ minutes for your ride to arrive - assuming you get connected at all. If you’re planning on using several times a day I don’t think it’s worth staying that far offsite, Swan Reserve sounds like an excellent alternative!


thank you for that! I actually just pulled the trigger and cancelled the offsite and keeping Swan Reserve. thank you!


----------



## CampbellzSoup

I’m honestly shocked how many of you guys are buying genie and the individual lanes I guess it is a big success then.


----------



## twoolle

butterscotchcollins said:


> Just got back from a 10-day trip, with a mix of onsite and off, G+ users and non, race weekend and hard ticket after parties, rain, cold, sun, heat - it was quite a trip!
> 
> First things first, *staying onsite is a huge advantage for the free transportation if you don’t have your own car* or intend to rent - rideshares were difficult to come by. We stayed the first weekend at Coronado Springs which is bus-only, middle of the week offsite which required rideshares, and last weekend at Caribbean Beach which was AWESOME for the Skyliner alone - *Skyliner is such a game-changer and a vast improvement over the buses this time of year.*
> 
> Onsite is also a *huge advantage for the early entry if your touring style always includes rope drop* - they hold offsite guests at the tapstiles, so you are physically further back than before and behind quite a few onsite guests for all attractions, especially the headliners. It felt so nice to breeze right past the crowds and on to the attractions.
> 
> *Genie+ was a hassle* - good for the people who have figured out how to game the system with it already, but we got so frustrated at MK and HS trying to secure spots that we eventually gave up and *just stuck with standby*, which was perfectly fine. *Wait times were way overstated* - Rise posted 110, we were at the preshow/drop shop in 50, Peter Pan posted 95 we waited 40, Mine Train posted 90 we waited 19 minutes, Slinky posted 70 we waited 45 - all with line pauses to allow LL guests, but from what I can tell they’re interspersing the same # of LL and Standby as compared to the old FP+ which makes the lines move better than the old system. It’s now much easier to judge accurate wait times visually based on where the line starts. For some reason to me it felt less crowded than Spring Break but that’s just my perception.
> 
> *Genie+ also necessitated a lot of criss-crossing of the parks* - my in-laws used it on different days and while they were able to figure it out in the app, this was their biggest complaint.
> 
> We did the *Very Merriest After Hours *on Friday night and it was WAY better than the Halloween After Hours! Having that extra hour to the event was great to get more done, plus the park felt probably 70% LESS crowded because there were more parades/shows/events to keep people out of the ride lines. Everything was a walk-on, Mine Train was a 10-minute wait in the middle of it. We got a great spot for the parade right as it came down Main St. standing in front of the Bakery. I ate 3 buckets of popcorn and washed them all down with the surprisingly palatable hot chocolate and I was loving my life.
> 
> Overall a really fantastic, magical trip and I’ll be happy to NEVER pay for Genie+ again lol.


Did you by chance rope drop HS using the skylines? How early did it start running?


----------



## scrappinginontario

twoolle said:


> Did you by chance rope drop HS using the skylines? How early did it start running?


Normally it starts running 60-75 mins before ETPE.


----------



## twoolle

scrappinginontario said:


> Normally it starts running 60-75 mins before ETPE.


Thank you this is what I have been seeing as well but enjoy hearing all the actual reports as well!


----------



## Sydnerella

MomOTwins said:


> I remember back in the old fastpass days when there were 300 minute standby waits posted for FOP.



We waited 3.5 hours for FOP last Thanksgiving and paid rack rate at Riviera. There were no FPs in 2020 and we hadn’t ever experienced it before. So we bit the bullet and waited. And it was 3-4 years old. And we never waited more than 20 minutes for rides prior to that trip as FP system users…. I don’t think I would do it again but it was what we had to do in those circumstances if we wanted to ride it - rope drop got very messed up on our AK day.

Bottom line… I think 140 isn’t unreasonable for a brand new premium ride. Even if that’s a wait I wouldn’t do myself again.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

twoolle said:


> Did you by chance rope drop HS using the skylines? How early did it start running?



We did! We were in Aruba Building 56 right next to the Riviera station, so we took it from there and including transfer it was 12 minutes total from leaving our room to getting off at the HS station. They do start running quite early before early entry so you have PLENTY of time to make it there.


----------



## TropicalDIS

CampbellzSoup said:


> I’m honestly shocked how many of you guys are buying genie and the individual lanes I guess it is a big success then.



Im here now and it is busy. For MK it is a must. Personally, I wouldn’t buy it for EP or AK, and was lucky enough to snag a BG for Remy. Haven’t done HS yet so can’t comment.


----------



## leeniewdw

TropicalDIS said:


> Im here now and it is busy. For MK it is a must. Personally, *I wouldn’t buy it for EP or AK*, and was lucky enough to snag a BG for Remy. Haven’t done HS yet so can’t comment.



We've restructured our early Dec 2-day trip to add the MK AH party and now have EP and AK on the same day (we're using our arrival day to stack LL at HS).   I'm really wondering if it's worth it for an AK/EP day.  We'll purchase FOP and Remy and think we can just work around the rest of the rides based on SB times.  When I've checked evening rides at EP, nothing (aside from Frozen) seem long enough to bother with a LL.  We've already spent so much on tickets (and will add G+ for day 1, plus use 4 $ILL) that I guess "what's another $32" but on the other hand, that's a few drinks and/or food at EP, so why pay for something unnecessary on those days.


----------



## persnickity

Has anyone noticed if Safaris is really closing at 4:45? That's what is listed on the website and seems really early.


----------



## CarolynFH

persnickity said:


> Has anyone noticed if Safaris is really closing at 4:45? That's what is listed on the website and seems really early.


Probably has to do with sundown - it gets dark really early in January so the safari shuts down early.


----------



## persnickity

CarolynFH said:


> Probably has to do with sundown - it gets dark really early in January so the safari shuts down early.



True, I would expect that for January, but they have it listed that way right now when sunset is 5:30ish. I was hoping we could ride around sunset.


----------



## SkyGuy

persnickity said:


> Has anyone noticed if Safaris is really closing at 4:45? That's what is listed on the website and seems really early.


I was in AK on Saturday morning and rode Safari around 9:30, and our driver announced to make sure to get in line no later than 4:30 if you wanted to ride one of the last safaris of the day.


----------



## persnickity

SkyGuy said:


> I was in AK on Saturday morning and rode Safari around 9:30, and our driver announced to make sure to get in line no later than 4:30 if you wanted to ride one of the last safaris of the day.



Thanks so much, we'll make different plans. I wonder if they changed it recently, we were actually given a DAS return of 5:15 when we signed up at the beginning of the month.


----------



## NileNellie

tsme said:


> I’m trying so hard not to get discouraged, but am finding it difficult. We’re AP & usually go twice a year & LOVE Disney. But I’m think the whole Genie +, LL, ILL is so confusing & annoying (not to mention the cost sucks). We have a trip booked for January, so I’m trying to read everyone’s opinions and experiences. I’m just struggling. And I know no one cares if we don’t like it, understand it, or never go back, heck I don’t think Disney even cares any bit if they lose people like me & my DH. But the truth is I don’t want to give up on Disney. So is dealing with the new system that confusing, annoying, exasperating as most reviews say. Really needing some positive feedback. TIA


I'm with you on all of this. I just can't bring myself to pay for Genie +/LL when it used to be a 'free' service. We just returned from a few days at WDW and waited standby for everything. With the exception of ROTR (quoted 120 min but ended up being 250!!!!) it really wasn't all that bad. The longest we waited besides ROTR was around 55 minutes for Test Track. I found that wait times were inflated about 85% of the time so keep that in mind too.


----------



## HollyMD

I’m sure this has been asked and answered a million times, so I apologize. Do you have to buy Genie + for everyone in your party or can you buy it for just a couple to use? We have a couple of teenagers in our group and I wouldn’t mind buying for them, but the rest of us don’t mind waiting.


----------



## BillFromCT

HollyMD said:


> I’m sure this has been asked and answered a million times, so I apologize. Do you have to buy Genie + for everyone in your party or can you buy it for just a couple to use? We have a couple of teenagers in our group and I wouldn’t mind buying for them, but the rest of us don’t mind waiting.


If you buy it the day of you can select individual people for purchasing.  If you buy it attached to a Disney resort package ahead of time you need to purchase it for every day and every person in your room.


----------



## HollyMD

Perfect, thank you, @BillFromCT!


----------



## gottalovepluto

persnickity said:


> Has anyone noticed if Safaris is really closing at 4:45? That's what is listed on the website and seems really early.


There were physical signs out at the safari Mon saying that.


----------



## gottalovepluto

CampbellzSoup said:


> I’m honestly shocked how many of you guys are buying genie and the individual lanes I guess it is a big success then.


I tried to give Disney money for ROTR ILL at 7am Sat and couldn’t get it. Dang app wanted my password again, then a code, then errored out for kicks and grins and by then 3 mins had passed and the return times were 3pm or later which didn’t work for us.

On the bright side all together in our group we saved like $60 that day


----------



## Figment1990

gottalovepluto said:


> I tried to give Disney money for ROTR ILL at 7am Sat and couldn’t get it. Dang app wanted my password again, then a code, then errored out for kicks and grins and by then 3 mins had passed and the return times were 3pm or later which didn’t work for us.
> 
> On the bright side all together in our group we saved like $60 that day


This is what I’m afraid of too - I went to check into our hotel tonight (for saturday) and it asked me for the code it emailed to me. is It going to do that very time I try to purchase something or do something with a credit card (on file)? Is there something I can do so that things go more smoothly? I really don’t want to mess up our RotR or FoP ILL$ (despite hating to have to pay for it)! Seems to be a recent issue. It didn’t send me codes when I booked ADRs last month and I don’t even remember it asking me when I checked in to our hotel a few weeks ago during wine and dine weekend.


----------



## boop0524

Figment1990 said:


> This is what I’m afraid of too - I went to check into our hotel tonight (for saturday) and it asked me for the code it emailed to me. is It going to do that very time I try to purchase something or do something with a credit card (on file)? Is there something I can do so that things go more smoothly? I really don’t want to mess up our RotR or FoP ILL$ (despite hating to have to pay for it)! Seems to be a recent issue. It didn’t send me codes when I booked ADRs last month and I don’t even remember it asking me when I checked in to our hotel a few weeks ago during wine and dine weekend.


When trying to use Genie+ in the park, 8/10 I had to login again and enter a code. I have zero idea why this kept happening. The tip board also was defaulting to a different park every time. New technology, Disney technology, so much fun


----------



## mixtli

gottalovepluto said:


> I tried to give Disney money for ROTR ILL at 7am Sat and couldn’t get it. Dang app wanted my password again, then a code, then errored out for kicks and grins and by then 3 mins had passed and the return times were 3pm or later which didn’t work for us.
> 
> On the bright side all together in our group we saved like $60 that day


I noticed during my trip last week that it happened mostly when the wifi connection was poor or lost. One day I had to enter 10 codes in a row before I was able to access my tip board at 7 am !


----------



## Shellyred8

cjlong88 said:


> The new lighting on the EPCOT ball….SO COOL! I could have watched that all night.


Yes!!!  We stood in front of it and watched for a while.  Said we should probably move on and do something else.  Proceeded to stand there for a while longer watching more of it.  LOL!!!


----------



## GBRforWDW

gottalovepluto said:


> Dang app wanted my password again, *then a code,*





mixtli said:


> I noticed during my trip last week that it happened mostly when the wifi connection was poor or lost. One day I had to enter 10 codes in a row before I was able to access my tip board at 7 am !



Do you know what the code was? Is it just something they sent via email?


----------



## Shellyred8

butterscotchcollins said:


> *Wait times were way overstated* - Rise posted 110, we were at the preshow/drop shop in 50, Peter Pan posted 95 we waited 40, Mine Train posted 90 we waited 19 minutes, Slinky posted 70 we waited 45 - all with line pauses to allow LL guests, but from what I can tell they’re interspersing the same # of LL and Standby as compared to the old FP+ which makes the lines move better than the old system. It’s now much easier to judge accurate wait times visually based on where the line starts. For some reason to me it felt less crowded than Spring Break but that’s just my perception.


Thank-you for sharing this info!  I've been watching the wait times from home for several weeks and wondering if the wait times are really that high.


----------



## Figment1990

mixtli said:


> I noticed during my trip last week that it happened mostly when the wifi connection was poor or lost. One day I had to enter 10 codes in a row before I was able to access my tip board at 7 am !


So would using data instead of wifi help avoid this problem?


----------



## mixtli

GBRforWDW said:


> Do you know what the code was? Is it just something they sent via email?


It's a 6-digit number that is sent via email. You can't enter the same code twice, so as long as they ask you for a new code, you have to check your inbox.


----------



## mixtli

Figment1990 said:


> So would using data instead of wifi help avoid this problem?


Maybe. As I am from Canada, I could not use data and verify.


----------



## GBRforWDW

mixtli said:


> It's a 6-digit number that is sent via email. You can't enter the same code twice, so as long as they ask you for a new code, you have to check your inbox.


Thank you, you two were the first to mention the code, so was curious, and it helps the rest of us planning to be prepared for a curve ball. Definitely sounds frustrating when not prepared for it, especially for something as time sensitive as the LL passes and possibly virtual queue for Remy


----------



## dwonderz

We just returned from a visit last week (Nov. 6 - Nov. 12) and here were some of our takeaways. We stayed onsite at Gran Destino, had Park Hoppers (upgraded to AP's), everyone in our group is in their 20s, and one of our members has DAS. Here are some of our key takeaways  Let me know if you have any questions! 

We used Genie+ only on our first HS day (which was a Sunday with high crowds) and we really liked it. We didn't try "stacking" any of the rides and would just add the next ride after we "tapped" in. We rope-dropped MMRR and used Genie+ to ride Tower of Terror, RNR, SDD, TSM, Swirling Saucers, and purchased ILL for Rise of the Resistance. I think the service is great for young adults/solo travelers. I could see it being tough to pay for though with a family. 
Gran Destino Tower is gorgeous - the rooms are really spacious and feel bright. Only complaint about the resort would be the food options (the "food court" offered very little) and the _bus service_. It was typically great on the way _to_ the parks - but we almost always took an Uber home (waited 50+ minutes for a bus back to the resort from AK and finally gave up).
Ubers/Lyfts are a great way to get around and definitely something we budget for. Rides were typically between $8-$10 no matter where we were going on property. We did notice a lot more surge pricing and longer waits (upwards of 10-15 minutes) for our cars. If you plan on taking an Uber after the fireworks anywhere - either leave right before they finish or wait a bit as the prices soar.
The ability to choose your DAS return time in the app (versus having to go to the individual attraction) is a game changer. If you use DAS, be aware that the return time was often 10-30 minutes earlier than what the actual standby wait would be (ex: At 12pm, Haunted Mansion has a 30 minute wait, the return time _should _be 12:30, but it would often be 12:15 or 12:20 instead).
The crowds have definitely picked up - but it didn't feel overwhelming at any point. We still think rope drop with a break in the middle of the day is the way to go. We saw no issues with COVID compliance anywhere (although be aware outside there are very few masks being worn) and felt as safe as one could.


----------



## Carol_

mixtli said:


> I noticed during my trip last week that it happened mostly when the wifi connection was poor or lost. One day I had to enter 10 codes in a row before I was able to access my tip board at 7 am !


At that rate, my phone goes back in my pocket and I take my own tips.


----------



## JK World

Figment1990 said:


> So would using data instead of wifi help avoid this problem?


Yes, using data seems to eliminate the issue.


----------



## gottalovepluto

GBRforWDW said:


> Do you know what the code was? Is it just something they sent via email?


It’s a random generated code to make sure you really are you.

dang thing popped up again this morning when I was trying to retrieve my mobile order code. Their IT is ridiculously maddening. Last mobile order of the trip, same place I’ve been ordering from, same time of day, same method of internet access - yeah Disney. SUPER suspicious


----------



## dcrunner

General impressions from my trip this past weekend, since I found this thread interesting before my trip. Focused on the "extras" so to speak that we paid for:

- Very Merriest After Hours: We had a total ball. It is admittedly a fortune, and we made the decision to splurge- but its hard to beat being at the Magic Kingdom late at night, with short/no waits for rides (the longest was Mine Train for 30 minutes, most were walk on); all the soda/popcorn/water/ice cream/cookies/hot cocoa you can consume; a fun parade and great fireworks; and fake snow on main street . It did feel more crowded than an After Hours I did in Feb 2020 but obviously different events are hard to compare.

- Genie +: This is the one I don't think I would do again, and minimally wouldn't do for every day of the trip. The good part was that it got us our Slinky Dog ride; Soarin; Test Track; and some other lower level rides to cut the 20min waits on day 1. But by day 2 it really just felt like more of a hassle to remember to check it, and frustrating to try to plan rides around dinner, etc. A bunch of the rides its maybe nice to have, but not really necessary also.

- Staying on property: This is something I always have done and probably will continue to do. the hotels are super pricey, but having disney transport is clutch - we did take a few ubers, but relied quite a bit on bus/skyliner/monorail where we could with general success. We did have some frustrations with the monorail, particularly when trying to get to Magic Kingdom for fireworks, and they had shut down the boats early and only had the resort line - this was frustrating. Early park entry felt useful, especially if you are not inclined to pay for the IAS or Genie +. Disney did get super confused with our switching resorts half way through the trip, and that was also a hassle - so beware, their IT on that type of thing still leaves a lot to be desired! 

- Park hopping: Traditionally used to love it, but having to wait till 2 to hop was very frustrating. On day 2 we had some ride breakdowns in HS, with the end result that we were stuck with nothing to do for like 3 hours, as the lines became unmanageable. Really would have to think hard on doing this one again as well, if they don't change the 2pm rule. 

Absolutely had a ball and ran myself ragged. Will wait a bit for my next trip, as my wallet is feeling all the extra squeezes from Disney these days.


----------



## ambula603

dcrunner said:


> - Park hopping: Traditionally used to love it, but having to wait till 2 to hop was very frustrating. On day 2 we had some ride breakdowns in HS, with the end result that we were stuck with nothing to do for like 3 hours, as the lines became unmanageable. Really would have to think hard on doing this one again as well, if they don't change the 2pm rule.



This was exactly what I was coming here to ask about - do we think the 2 PM rule will stick around forever?  And is it hard and fast 2:00 or can we get into our 2nd park any earlier?


----------



## GBRforWDW

ambula603 said:


> This was exactly what I was coming here to ask about - do we think the 2 PM rule will stick around forever?  And is it hard and fast 2:00 or can we get into our 2nd park any earlier?


I wouldn't count on it changing any time soon, even though, in my opinion, it's long past run its course, other than it allows the under staffed buses to keep their focus on getting everyone to their first park of the day before needing to worry about hopping.

2pm is usually accurate though occasionally depending on the day, some have gotten in 5 - 15 minutes early.


----------



## mom2rtk

ambula603 said:


> This was exactly what I was coming here to ask about - do we think the 2 PM rule will stick around forever?  And is it hard and fast 2:00 or can we get into our 2nd park any earlier?


Without the 2PM rule, there's really no point in having park reservations. So while I can see them maybe backing it up a smidge, I'd bet it sticks around a while.


----------



## katyjeka

I'm not sure if I can post for another family but here goes...We picked up my nephew and his family from the airport a day ago. They had a great trip and it was his inlaws first time.  Our great nephew loved the fireworks and was so very excited.(He's 3) They did not have the extra money to spend on Genie and still accomplished everything they set out to do. His father inlaw is a huge coaster fan and they were able to ride a few several times.  Slinky dog was a walk on in the evening which was a favorite of the family. The longest wait they encountered was Frozen. Epcot seemed the most crowded to them and the largest crowds were around fireworks. This is the first trip that they spent more money on snack foods versus meals. They loved the 50th anniversary snacks!!


----------



## DonnerB

katyjeka said:


> Slinky dog was a walk on in the evening which was a favorite of the family.


This has  been my favorite discovery of our past two trips (May 2021 and last week): how nice Hollywood Studios is the last few hours of the night.  We hopped there one evening and got so much done it took the stress out of our first morning start.  Bonus was seeing all the holiday decorations at night...possible unpopular opinion, but we loved them best!


----------



## jrsharp21

DonnerB said:


> This has  been my favorite discovery of our past two trips (May 2021 and last week): how nice Hollywood Studios is the last few hours of the night.  We hopped there one evening and got so much done it took the stress out of our first morning start.  Bonus was seeing all the holiday decorations at night...possible unpopular opinion, but we loved them best!



Agree that DHS at night is pretty awesome. Galaxy's Edge was empty the night we stayed until close on our last trip. We pretty much walked on ROTR at around 8:30. We got off the ride around 8:55. We high tailed it over to Smugglers Run (may have been told by a CM or two to walk, hehe). Strolled right into an empty queue. It was kind of eery going through an empty queue line for Smugglers Run, especially when you get to the indoor part.


----------



## katyringo

What time are busses arriving to HS? When we went last year in October during full Covid protocols we took a very early AM Uber to boardwalk and walked over and were first in line at HS and escorted on to MMRR.   Wouldn't mind doing that again...


----------



## butterscotchcollins

katyringo said:


> What time are busses arriving to HS? When we went last year in October during full Covid protocols we took a very early AM Uber to boardwalk and walked over and were first in line at HS and escorted on to MMRR.   Wouldn't mind doing that again...



If you’re staying on-site and trying to be first for  early entry that’s not a bad plan, but if you’re offsite it won’t make a lick of difference now.


----------



## wisblue

NM


----------



## katyringo

butterscotchcollins said:


> If you’re staying on-site and trying to be first for  early entry that’s not a bad plan, but if you’re offsite it won’t make a lick of difference now.


 On site at all star movies.


----------



## wisblue

katyringo said:


> What time are busses arriving to HS? When we went last year in October during full Covid protocols we took a very early AM Uber to boardwalk and walked over and were first in line at HS and escorted on to MMRR.   Wouldn't mind doing that again...



Staying at SSR last week we twice got on a bus shortly after 7. I’m not sure if that was the first bus of the day, but there weren’t many people on it either day.

That got us to DHS to join the lines before they opened the security lanes. The second time I was closer to the front and was within the first 10 people past the tapstiles.

Getting there any earlier wouldn’t have accomplished much other than a longer wait to get in.


----------



## Hopscotch

Coming in on Thursday for a mother/son weekend trip.  Weather looks like it ranges from 52-79 over the course fo the day.  Son is 14 so we will be at the parks opening till closing.  What are people wearing right now?  Do we need a jacket in the morning or will a hoodie work?  Will we be too hot if we wear jeans all day?  But think we will freeze if we wear shorts.  I know layers are key but trying to pack light for the parks, I hate carrying around a ton of stuff.


----------



## Mr. Drauer

Everyone is different- your heat / cold tolerance is likely different than other guests.  If it’s a cold front, the wind and lack of humidity makes it much cooler at night.  Sun is warm during the day.  Some guests wear shorts and flip flops, others hats and gloves.  Only you know how you do in the cold.


----------



## Ricguz

We usually travel to Disney this time every couple of years. There have been times watching the Mickey Christmas Parade we wore gloves, and then the next day we are swimming at Stormalong  Bay. We are from the Northeast so cold does not bother us. Bring jeans, gloves, shorts, light jackets or sweatshirts.  In the parks if your moving around wear jeans at night and being a sweatshirt. Watch Resort One TV or one of the other bloggers who video the parks day and night on You Tube and see what people are wearing. I watched last night and they had on sweatshirts. Hope this helps


----------



## DisneyByMarriage

Hopscotch said:


> Coming in on Thursday for a mother/son weekend trip.  Weather looks like it ranges from 52-79 over the course fo the day.  Son is 14 so we will be at the parks opening till closing.  What are people wearing right now?  Do we need a jacket in the morning or will a hoodie work?  Will we be too hot if we wear jeans all day?  But think we will freeze if we wear shorts.  I know layers are key but trying to pack light for the parks, I hate carrying around a ton of stuff.


If your 14 year old son is like most boys, he will be fine in a hoodie and shorts.  It may be chilly in the AM but any ride with an inside queue (Rise, Smugglers, Toy Story, Remy) will be hot.  We were there last week when the high was 72 during the day with younger kids and most people did shorts/hoodies or tech pants and a light long sleeved shirt.  You may only need pants for fireworks, if it even gets that cold.


----------



## Haley R

We live an hour away. This morning we had pants, long sleeves, and jackets. By the afternoon we were in shorts and t shirts. I would bring lots of layers and prepare to take them off as the sun comes out to warm everything up


----------



## GBRforWDW

Haley R said:


> We live an hour away. This morning we had pants, long sleeves, and jackets. By the afternoon we were in shorts and t shirts. I would bring lots of layers and prepare to take them off as the sun comes out to warm everything up


And then put them back on when the sun goes down ridiculously early as well!


----------



## Haley R

GBRforWDW said:


> And then put them back on when the sun goes down ridiculously early as well!


Yep lol! It’s a lot of fun with a toddler who’s used to wearing shorts all year


----------



## KM82

Quick question. We are here with friends and we somehow got a boarding group for only 5 of our 7 (DH and DS are left off). Is it still possible to go to one of the blue umbrellas and have them added?


----------



## Naomeri

KM82 said:


> Quick question. We are here with friends and we somehow got a boarding group for only 5 of our 7 (DH and DS are left off). Is it still possible to go to one of the blue umbrellas and have them added?


Yes, it should be


----------



## KM82

T


Naomeri said:


> Yes, it should be


Thank you!


----------



## MamaJJ2018

I’m not sure if this is news to anyone else, but after our Cinderella’s Royal Table meal today our daughter was given a wand, and our son was given a sword! I know they had not been giving those out for awhile! It was a nice surprise to end out last day at magic kingdom


----------



## CBMom01

Folks that have had the login code issue - did it first appear at the parks when you tried to grab LL spots?


----------



## katyringo

I posted a ton on the genie+ strategy thread so I won't post here about that. You can go there to read that. I used it for every park.  I'll focus on some other things as I wait for my flight:

1. crowds. It's time to get back in the pre Covid mindset. I used to say to folks that Disney is always crowded.Make a plan and set priorities. We need to go back to thinking like that because the crowds are back.
2. Busses. They were frustrating at times from movies. And contrary to what I read about in October- movies and music were sharing busses. Not all the time but sometimes. There was also a lot of inconsistencies in busses leaving a big gap between bus times sometimes. Especially after the Christmas party.  Luckily got a good and early bus for DHS but on MK day first bus came, filled up and there wasn't another behind it... long gap. 
3. festival of the holidays- food was great and even on a busy Epcot day those lines moved fast. 
4. Mobile ordering is a must. And to use it best think ahead to your meals. I would put in an order for later and then when I knew I would start walking that way I would click the prepare button. I hardly ever waited for food. 
5. mobile shopping- many stores now including creations shop, emporium, and world of Disney allow you to use the app to scan the items and pay. You then just take a QR code it gives you to a stand in the store and they quickly verify and you are good to go. This saved me a huge wait in world of Disney and creations shop. 
6. the projections show at night in each park were awesome and worth just hanging out for 30 minutes or so to catch them all- the Christmas and regular versions.
7. The my day section on the free genie is a bit annoying with its recommendations but I did like being able to see entertainment/calvacades/show times and being able to add them to my day. It kept them on my brain that I wanted to do them.
8. This was my first stay at movies and had previously stayed at POP. POP is 100% worth the extra cost. 
9. cast members were very nice and I had a few extra magical moments. I did find that cast members were very direct sometimes in their instructions to guests regarding masks or lines. I actually appreciated this. 
10. I did all 4 parks plus the Christmas party (my experience there is posted on that thread). No hopper. I felt like this really allowed me to take in each park.
11. Enchantment and harmonious are awesome and moving. I don't understand the negativity around them. 
12. I did a dessert party. I posted about it on that thread but it was meh and I do not recommend.
13. As a solo traveler I did all the things but the pace I went at I could not do with the family. Hollywood studios is a "hard" park.. I actually think it could be done better in two days. 

It was a magical trip and there is still lots of magic at DisneyWorld and I felt it.


----------



## KM82

For what it’s worth, we have been at the Kidani bus stop since 6 am for early entry at 7:30. Still not a single bus has come


----------



## TioAdis78

KM82 said:


> For what it’s worth, we have been at the Kidani bus stop since 6 am for early entry at 7:30. Still not a single bus has come


Did it come finally?


----------



## mickeymom629

KM82 said:


> For what it’s worth, we have been at the Kidani bus stop since 6 am for early entry at 7:30. Still not a single bus has come



We will be there in Jan with a vehicle.  I wonder if it's better to drive to the parks (even the MK and take monorail/ferry) than to rely on the bus.


----------



## KM82

TioAdis78 said:


> Did it come finally?


It did…at 7:27. I have no idea what happened. I was concerned that we missed our early entry benefit for FOP.  But, it all worked out ok. The line flows that early since there isn’t really any paid lighting Lane yet. We were off and Safari still had a 5 minute wait at that point. So it all worked out!


----------



## bjcaed

Hopscotch said:


> Coming in on Thursday for a mother/son weekend trip.  Weather looks like it ranges from 52-79 over the course fo the day.  Son is 14 so we will be at the parks opening till closing.  What are people wearing right now?  Do we need a jacket in the morning or will a hoodie work?  Will we be too hot if we wear jeans all day?  But think we will freeze if we wear shorts.  I know layers are key but trying to pack light for the parks, I hate carrying around a ton of stuff.


----------



## bjcaed

Hopscotch said:


> Coming in on Thursday for a mother/son weekend trip.  Weather looks like it ranges from 52-79 over the course fo the day.  Son is 14 so we will be at the parks opening till closing.  What are people wearing right now?  Do we need a jacket in the morning or will a hoodie work?  Will we be too hot if we wear jeans all day?  But think we will freeze if we wear shorts.  I know layers are key but trying to pack light for the parks, I hate carrying around a ton of stuff.


It is so hard to predict this time of year.  We usually start the morning in shorts and a sweatshirt.  We rent a locker at guest services and put sweatshirts and any packages in there, since they no longer deliver to the resort, then retrieve them when it gets colder in the evening.


----------



## KM82

mickeymom629 said:


> We will be there in Jan with a vehicle.  I wonder if it's better to drive to the parks (even the MK and take monorail/ferry) than to rely on the bus.


The buses have been great this trip…except for this morning. We’ve been here since last Friday. We have a car and used to always drive, but we haven’t driven once this trip. Make sure to factor in the lack of parking lot trams too


----------



## Dakota731

KM82 said:


> It did…at 7:27. I have no idea what happened. I was concerned that we missed our early entry benefit for FOP.  But, it all worked out ok. The line flows that early since there isn’t really any paid lighting Lane yet. We were off and Safari still had a 5 minute wait at that point. So it all worked out!


Question for you about Kidani - is there a convenience store where we can get fruit, milk, cereal, parfaits etc for breakfast? We have always stayed at Jambo before and would get breakfast supplies the night before to make mornings easier.


----------



## PortieOwner

Dakota731 said:


> Question for you about Kidani - is there a convenience store where we can get fruit, milk, cereal, parfaits etc for breakfast? We have always stayed at Jambo before and would get breakfast supplies the night before to make mornings easier.



There is definitely a well-stocked convenience store just off the main lobby.


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## EPCOT-O.G.

mickeymom629 said:


> We will be there in Jan with a vehicle.  I wonder if it's better to drive to the parks (even the MK and take monorail/ferry) than to rely on the bus.


After our recent trips where we waited 45+ mins for a bus I have sworn them off. It’s much better IMO to structure your stay - if possible - to be within walking/Monorail/Skyliner distance to your park of choice, and then Uber/Lyft to/from where you need to be, or bring your own car, then to rely on the buses. They were too infrequent and capricious. We saw dozens at the MK going to and from every other destination, and dozens more just looping around. Never again.


----------



## jrsharp21

mickeymom629 said:


> We will be there in Jan with a vehicle.  I wonder if it's better to drive to the parks (even the MK and take monorail/ferry) than to rely on the bus.



When we first started going to WDW we were all about the buses. It felt so cool to be able to just leave your car and have Disney take care of you for all things. But after constantly waiting for a bus to arrive or waiting at the end of the night to get back to the resort, we have changed plans and now we always drive to the parks. Usually Epcot, DHS, and AK are pretty easy walks to the front gate. Parking at the TTC kind of sucks, but even with the walk it is quicker most of the times than waiting around for a bus. When we really made the switch was a few years ago. We were waiting on a bus to get back to our resort and after waiting an hour we gave up and hopped on a bus to a resort near ours and we ended up walking from that hotel to our hotel. Not a huge deal because it wasn't that far, but it was annoying we had to do that.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

By the way - I fully appreciate these are unusual times and they have bus and driver shortages and the like. I get that, I truly do.  That said, this was not what we saw. In multiple instances, there were dozens of buses coming and going to numerous stops, a few dozen idling, and a few dozen more "Filling Up with Pixie Dust" or whatever they say on them. When you see the 60th bus in an hour just do a loop around your spot, it gets tiresome.


----------



## bsmcneil

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> By the way - I fully appreciate these are unusual times and they have bus and driver shortages and the like. I get that, I truly do.  That said, this was not what we saw. In multiple instances, there were dozens of buses coming and going to numerous stops, a few dozen idling, and a few dozen more "Filling Up with Pixie Dust" or whatever they say on them. When you see the 60th bus in an hour just do a loop around your spot, it gets tiresome.


Boy, do I know that feeling (and with your username, it was at Epcot in particular). I had a rough day when I first got there in Sept and I waited for 53 long and painful (literally) minutes while so many buses came and went for every resort except AKL. And then while many people had kindly lined up behind me, as the bus approached, a family literally just walked up and walked in front of me to get on and I felt so less than magical in that moment ...


----------



## SkyGuy

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> By the way - I fully appreciate these are unusual times and they have bus and driver shortages and the like. I get that, I truly do.  That said, this was not what we saw. In multiple instances, there were dozens of buses coming and going to numerous stops, a few dozen idling, and a few dozen more "Filling Up with Pixie Dust" or whatever they say on them. When you see the 60th bus in an hour just do a loop around your spot, it gets tiresome.


This was our experience about three weeks ago. We waited over 40 minutes for a bus from MK to BW, and there were dozens of “Refilling My Pixie Dust” buses in view of our stop. It was infuriating. We finally hopped a bus to BC and walked from there. Same thing happened to us at DS, but there was no alternate bus to grab. An attendant called a bus for us, but we still waited about 45 minutes at 11:30pm even though there were at least 10 buses in the waiting areas.


----------



## KM82

Dakota731 said:


> Question for you about Kidani - is there a convenience store where we can get fruit, milk, cereal, parfaits etc for breakfast? We have always stayed at Jambo before and would get breakfast supplies the night before to make mornings easier.


There is, but I do have to warn you, it’s smaller than the Jambo shop. It’s a small store with some gift shop stuff and some food. I’d imagine it would have what you need food wise.  But, we kept going to it to try to shop, forgetting it’s not anything close to what they have at Jambo (gift wise). It’s not a good time-killer, in other words.


----------



## buckeyegirl1

bsmcneil said:


> Boy, do I know that feeling (and with your username, it was at Epcot in particular). I had a rough day when I first got there in Sept and I waited for 53 long and painful (literally) minutes while so many buses came and went for every resort except AKL. And then while many people had kindly lined up behind me, as the bus approached, a family literally just walked up and walked in front of me to get on and I felt so less than magical in that moment ...


We waited an hour and ten minutes for a bus to magic kingdom on Tuesday.


EPCOT-O.G. said:


> By the way - I fully appreciate these are unusual times and they have bus and driver shortages and the like. I get that, I truly do.  That said, this was not what we saw. In multiple instances, there were dozens of buses coming and going to numerous stops, a few dozen idling, and a few dozen more "Filling Up with Pixie Dust" or whatever they say on them. When you see the 60th bus in an hour just do a loop around your spot, it gets tiresome.


We waited an hour and ten minutes for a bus to MK from CBR on Tuesday evening. We counted 6 HS, and 2 Epcot buses stop in that time frame and they weren’t even scheduled to be running because the skyliner was running to those resorts, they were all empty. Also had at least 4 AK buses too and it closed in an hour. It doesn’t take any sense


----------



## BFSEsq

katyringo said:


> I posted a ton on the genie+ strategy thread so I won't post here about that. You can go there to read that. I used it for every park.  I'll focus on some other things as I wait for my flight:
> 
> 1. crowds. It's time to get back in the pre Covid mindset. I used to say to folks that Disney is always crowded.Make a plan and set priorities. We need to go back to thinking like that because the crowds are back.
> 2. Busses. They were frustrating at times from movies. And contrary to what I read about in October- movies and music were sharing busses. Not all the time but sometimes. There was also a lot of inconsistencies in busses leaving a big gap between bus times sometimes. Especially after the Christmas party.  Luckily got a good and early bus for DHS but on MK day first bus came, filled up and there wasn't another behind it... long gap.
> 3. festival of the holidays- food was great and even on a busy Epcot day those lines moved fast.
> 4. Mobile ordering is a must. And to use it best think ahead to your meals. I would put in an order for later and then when I knew I would start walking that way I would click the prepare button. I hardly ever waited for food.
> 5. mobile shopping- many stores now including creations shop, emporium, and world of Disney allow you to use the app to scan the items and pay. You then just take a QR code it gives you to a stand in the store and they quickly verify and you are good to go. This saved me a huge wait in world of Disney and creations shop.
> 6. the projections show at night in each park were awesome and worth just hanging out for 30 minutes or so to catch them all- the Christmas and regular versions.
> 7. The my day section on the free genie is a bit annoying with its recommendations but I did like being able to see entertainment/calvacades/show times and being able to add them to my day. It kept them on my brain that I wanted to do them.
> 8. This was my first stay at movies and had previously stayed at POP. POP is 100% worth the extra cost.
> 9. cast members were very nice and I had a few extra magical moments. I did find that cast members were very direct sometimes in their instructions to guests regarding masks or lines. I actually appreciated this.
> 10. I did all 4 parks plus the Christmas party (my experience there is posted on that thread). No hopper. I felt like this really allowed me to take in each park.
> 11. Enchantment and harmonious are awesome and moving. I don't understand the negativity around them.
> 12. I did a dessert party. I posted about it on that thread but it was meh and I do not recommend.
> 13. As a solo traveler I did all the things but the pace I went at I could not do with the family. Hollywood studios is a "hard" park.. I actually think it could be done better in two days.
> 
> It was a magical trip and there is still lots of magic at DisneyWorld and I felt it.



Great post. A lot of really useful info and views in there. I am staying at Pop right now, and after a few days here I pretty much agree with this. Crowds. Are. Back. People do need to be ready for it. 

Mobile ordering of food: it's kind of a must now. Things are set up for a lot of mobile orders. A lot of places have half of the stations that used to be for walk-up orders reserved instead for mobile pickup. A lot of people are taking advantage, so it's good to put in orders pretty far in advance. You need to make sure they have your time slot. 

I love the Skyliner. It's my first time using it. So convenient from Pop, and I'm able to avoid taking buses.


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## sloth2021

Many years ago we waited  over an hour for a bus to the Boardwalk. My dh was growing more impatient as the time passed and when he counted the 4th bus to the All stars he was livid. He kept repeating that he paid $700 a night(we needed 2 rooms)and we should have saved thousands and stayed at the All stars. After that vacation he decided driving was the way to go. We've never looked back.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Here now and resort room is freezing!   Have thermo turned up to 76 but doesn’t seem to make a difference...anyone have same issue or know way to adjust heat?


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## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Here now and resort room is freezing!   Have thermo turned up to 76 but doesn’t seem to make a difference...anyone have same issue or know way to adjust heat?


I would recommend going to the resorts board and posting on the thread linked to your resort.  Possibly there is something unique to their system?  Or, report it to guest relations at your resort.  Sounds like something might not be working properly.


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## lovethattink

Lsdolphin said:


> Here now and resort room is freezing!   Have thermo turned up to 76 but doesn’t seem to make a difference...anyone have same issue or know way to adjust heat?



It’s Florida, built to let heat escape and keep things cooler from the hot sun. Did it warm up in time? If not contact maintenance to check it out.


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## princesswahooey

sloth2021 said:


> Many years ago we waited  over an hour for a bus to the Boardwalk. My dh was growing more impatient as the time passed and when he counted the 4th bus to the All stars he was livid. He kept repeating that he paid $700 a night(we needed 2 rooms)and we should have saved thousands and stayed at the All stars. After that vacation he decided driving was the way to go. We've never looked back.


This reminds me of several years ago when we stayed at Coronado Springs. Seems like we were always waiting for a bus and we'd get excited when we could see one coming from a distance that looked like it was labeled Coronado Springs. About 75% of the time, they turned out to be for Saratoga Springs instead. Like there were 3 Saratoga busses for every Coronado.  To this day, we still say, "Curse you, Saratoga Springs!" when we get frustrated about something taking a long time. 

(Also, now we just stay at walkable Epcot hotels so we don't have to deal with as many busses. We're trying Riviera this year and I really hope  we don't have to curse the Skyliner )


----------



## Lsdolphin

Ok I always have a nail file/Emory board handy until I came to Disney...have 2 broken nails and can’t find an Emory board anywhere around!  I looked in the gift shops at four different resorts and at Sephora in DS and no one has a nail file of any kind!!!  So if anyone knows where I might find one please let me know!!!  I can’t believe how I’ve always had one in my bag and never needed it and now I’m desperate...


----------



## Lsdolphin

lovethattink said:


> It’s Florida, built to let heat escape and keep things cooler from the hot sun. Did it warm up in time? If not contact maintenance to check it out.


Still really cold have thermostat set at 78 ...i Did call guest services but so far nothing has changed...


----------



## SwanVT2

MamaJJ2018 said:


> I’m not sure if this is news to anyone else, but after our Cinderella’s Royal Table meal today our daughter was given a wand, and our son was given a sword! I know they had not been giving those out for awhile! It was a nice surprise to end out last day at magic kingdom


Great! I have a suggestion for Disney though that they give kids a choice! My daughter would prefer the sword


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## hereforthechurros

Lsdolphin said:


> Ok I always have a nail file/Emory board handy until I came to Disney...have 2 broken nails and can’t find an Emory board anywhere around!  I looked in the gift shops at four different resorts and at Sephora in DS and no one has a nail file of any kind!!!  So if anyone knows where I might find one please let me know!!!  I can’t believe how I’ve always had one in my bag and never needed it and now I’m desperate...


Sometimes front desks will have a small one as part of a toiletries kit. Doesn’t hurt to ask.


----------



## Lsdolphin

hereforthechurros said:


> Sometimes front desks will have a small one as part of a toiletries kit. Doesn’t hurt to ask.


Great idea!!!


----------



## maryj11

Our last day here! I thought crowds wouldn’t be to bad this week. On Touring Plans it said 3’s and 4’s. I know Touring Plans is not always right, but I never thought it would this crowded. On a scale of 1 to 10 I say it was 9’s and 10’s. It was the most crowded that I have seen. We have been going every year for the past 10 years. Usually during summer though.
Genie + was a lifesaver! We had no trouble riding everything we wanted as long as I was up at 7:00am to book the paid rides. The ones that ran out quick that were not paid rides were Test Track and Slinky Dog. Especially Slinky Dog it’s one that is gone first thing in the morning.


----------



## boop0524

katyringo said:


> 12. I did a dessert party. I posted about it on that thread but it was meh and I do not recommend.


Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I was toying around with doing a dessert party in Feb but the prices are just so high for what they are. This feedback is super helpful, I think we’ll just skip it


----------



## katyringo

boop0524 said:


> Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I was toying around with doing a dessert party in Feb but the prices are just so high for what they are. This feedback is super helpful, I think we’ll just skip it



I think that you can do your own dessert party. At 630 get your favorites food and go camp out a spot. You will get better food, the same view and save $100 per person.


----------



## boop0524

katyringo said:


> I think that you can do your own dessert party. At 630 get your favorites food and go camp out a spot. You will get better food, the same view and save $100 per person.


Love it!! Great idea!!


----------



## maryj11

katyringo said:


> I think that you can do your own dessert party. At 630 get your favorites food and go camp out a spot. You will get better food, the same view and save $100 per person.


After last night I have to disagree. We did not do the dessert party this year and I wished we did. Magic Kingdom was so packed! 
I just hate standing in a crowd of people. If it is in a lower crowded time of the year I think it would be fine though. We were so frustrated with the hoards of people we went to Fantasyland and watched from the back. Not a good spot because we could not see the projections on the castle. 
On the other hand I loved the Merriest Christmas After Hours fireworks and had no trouble standing in front of The Plaza to watch. We had room to move and didn’t feel uncomfortable. I highly recommend the After Hours event. It was great with most rides being a walk on. The only ride we skipped because of a long line was Jungle Cruise. Peter Pan was our longest wait being about 15 minutes. We didn’t ride Seven Dwarfs because we had already rode it the day before with Genie +.


----------



## where_else

Lsdolphin said:


> Ok I always have a nail file/Emory board handy until I came to Disney...have 2 broken nails and can’t find an Emory board anywhere around!  I looked in the gift shops at four different resorts and at Sephora in DS and no one has a nail file of any kind!!!  So if anyone knows where I might find one please let me know!!!  I can’t believe how I’ve always had one in my bag and never needed it and now I’m desperate...


If you still haven't found one, maybe check the department store in Epcot Japan. They have personal care items.


----------



## lovethattink

Lsdolphin said:


> Ok I always have a nail file/Emory board handy until I came to Disney...have 2 broken nails and can’t find an Emory board anywhere around!  I looked in the gift shops at four different resorts and at Sephora in DS and no one has a nail file of any kind!!!  So if anyone knows where I might find one please let me know!!!  I can’t believe how I’ve always had one in my bag and never needed it and now I’m desperate...



I wish I would have read this sooner. Could have had my daughter-in-law run one out to you on her way to or from work.

Can you Uber to Publix, Walgreens, CVS, or Walmart?

What about the gas station near the Boardwalk?


----------



## Farro

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> By the way - I fully appreciate these are unusual times and they have bus and driver shortages and the like. I get that, I truly do.  That said, this was not what we saw. In multiple instances, there were dozens of buses coming and going to numerous stops, a few dozen idling, and a few dozen more "Filling Up with Pixie Dust" or whatever they say on them. When you see the 60th bus in an hour just do a loop around your spot, it gets tiresome.



I couldn't agree with you more! The bus situation was horrid while were there in October.

_Refilling My Pixie dust_....a phrase that still makes me angry to this day.... or the ones that said _Figment_...


----------



## mommy2mrb

Pretty sure “refilling my pixie dust” means they are on a break.


----------



## Farro

mommy2mrb said:


> Pretty sure “refilling my pixie dust” means they are on a break.



Sure, but watching bus after bus loop around the bus stop  and it says "refilling my pixie dust" while many other buses sat there idling and we are going on over an hour waiting to get back to resort, the phrase starts to grate on a person.


----------



## MamaJJ2018

SwanVT2 said:


> Great! I have a suggestion for Disney though that they give kids a choice! My daughter would prefer the sword



They actually did give us a choice! My son is one so my daughter picked for him and got one of each. They had a person with baskets as we left and she let each pick one!


----------



## Lsdolphin

lovethattink said:


> I wish I would have read this sooner. Could have had my daughter-in-law run one out to you on her way to or from work.
> 
> Can you Uber to Publix, Walgreens, CVS, or Walmart?
> 
> What about the gas station near the Boardwalk?


Checked several places today...I’m going to check Pancho’s over at CSR tomorrow if I don’t find one to or I’ll order from Turners Drugs (front desk gave me their card). Thanks


----------



## Lsdolphin

where_else said:


> If you still haven't found one, maybe check the department store in Epcot Japan. They have personal care items.


Oh darn! I was just at Epcot this morning!!!  Tomorrow is MK day but I can go back over to Epcot after 2.  I really wish they would return to regular park hopping this “not until 2pm is ridiculous!!!


----------



## Naomeri

Farro said:


> I couldn't agree with you more! The bus situation was horrid while were there in October.
> 
> _Refilling My Pixie dust_....a phrase that still makes me angry to this day.... or the ones that said _Figment_...


Figment buses are useful though—they’re floaters that get sent wherever there’s a big group of people stuck at a bus stop.  There was one sent to Beach Club for me and about 15-20 other people waiting…and waiting…and waiting for a bus to MK.  The driver was one of the talkative ones and she told us the whole story on the way.


----------



## mrd7896

For AK, what time are they letting non Deluxe guests into the park? Since it’s 730-8 for early morning is it right around 8 for us peasants? I know it used to be about 20 minutes earlier than opening but now I’m not sure


----------



## RNTeacher

All resort guests get early entry. You do not need to be at a deluxe resort to have that benefit.


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## DisneyMom0604

(If this isn't the proper thread please feel free to let me know.) We just got back home today from five days at Disney World staying at the Dolphin! We used Marriott points which allowed us to be a little more “fun” with our trip expenses. We also achieve Platinum status right before this trip so we were able to request the breakfast/food credit instead of extra points for our stay. This was awesome because we were able to pick up some breakfast snacks on our way out to the parks each morning. We were supposed to go in April 2020 and had been looking forward to this trip for quite a while. We rented a double stroller and had it delivered to the resort. My kids were also surprised with our door being decorated and a gift basket delivered to our room on our first night there. The parks were definitely more crowded than we had planned and had read in our research, so we purchased Genie+ for MK and HS days. We also purchased the ILL for Frozen and 7DMT. We were able to get in on the virtual queue for Remy's as well. Here's how our trip went:

*Saturday - Arrival Day:* We arrived at the Dolphin and spent the afternoon enjoying the beach and the paddle boats. That night we walked over to Boardwalk and ordered a dessert snack. My husband took our son back for bath and bed while my daughter and I spent 2 hours exploring the resorts and riding the skyliner. We rode from Epcot over to Pop and had fun walking around taking pictures with the decorations there. We also found the movie for that night and watched some of it as well.

*Sunday - AK: *Rope-dropped and went straight to Pandora which was already backing up. So we rode Navi River ride which was really pretty and enjoyable. Then we rode the safari which minimal wait in line. My kids really enjoyed that! My husband and I rode Everest by using the individual rider line. That was fun! My kids enjoyed DinoLand and both won prizes while there. We drove Sunday morning and parked pretty close to the front. We took a break back at the hotel and then took the bus back before park closing. Lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue was good...the salad was very good! We enjoyed an early dinner at Tusker House! The characters made the rounds often and our waitress was great; my kids are picky eaters and she offered to bring them chicken nuggets and fries. AK just isn’t our favorite park, but we did enjoy our time there.

*Monday - MK:* We took the Mears bus from the Dolphin to the TTC and then hopped the monorail over to the park entrance. The one plus about traveling this route is taking care of security before we got on the monorail so we were able to just scan our magic bands and go on in. We were there for the early hours and had zero issues entering the park by showing our hotel room key. We were able to ride several of the kids’ favorites: teacups, Dumbo, etc. As for masks, you walk through the building while in line for Dumbo and just slip the mask on then once you are back outside you can take it off. Very easy! We got in line for the carousel which then broke down and caused a slight delay. We stayed in line and were on the ride in about 15 minutes. We purchased Genie+ once we got to the park and saw the crowds. We were able to use the LL for just about everything we wanted. We also used Rider Swap along with the LL so my daughter was able to ride a few rides twice. Masks are “required” on Splash Mountain, but many people take them off because it is a water ride. No one said anything about that and pictures still came through on the MM. We saw several characters in the cavalcades which was exciting! We had lunch at Pecos Bill’s which was okay. I don’t know if I would eat there again. We did not stay for fireworks but did stay long enough to see the castle light up right at dark. I also purchased umbrellas for my kids. Just a warning: read the fine print because they end up being expensive! We decided to head back to the hotel early and enjoyed dinner at Cape May Café at Beach Club. This was a very good meal and it was nice seeing the gingerbread carousel in the resort’s lobby.

*Tuesday - Epcot:* Let me preface this by saying we love Epcot! We went for the early entry and rushed to Frozen which was broken down. We ended up deciding not to wait and purchased an ILL for later in the evening. This park was the only park that I had some issues with using my room key for early entry. I feel like maybe Disney needs some better training so that all CMs are on the same page about what counts and what doesn’t count. We did the KidCot activity and collected all the stickers throughout the world showcase. We also purchased the Christmas activity with Olaf although we didn’t enjoy that one quite as much. My suggestion is pick one and focus on it if you are doing those activities with your kids. At 1pm we were able to snag a virtual queue spot for Remy’s which my kids absolutely hated. My 2yo was just not ready for dark/indoor rides so he often just covered his head with his blanket (my daughter did this when she was little too), but my daughter also did not like Remy’s because it is 3D. It was a cute ride, but I wouldn’t say it is one of my favorites. We love the Frozen ride and my kids enjoyed meeting Elsa and Anna outside the ride in Norway. Of course, we rode Soarin’ and my daughter was tall enough to ride this time. She was able to ride it twice with Rider Swap. We ate at Season’s at The Land for lunch and Garden Grill for dinner. Garden Grill is definitely one of our favorite places to eat. The characters came by often and I enjoyed a special birthday treat and song too. As everyone gathered to get ready for the fireworks we still had Canada and the UK KidCot stations to find so my daughter and I set off to find those cards and stickers. Canada was absolutely empty and we enjoyed wandering around by ourselves exploring. We had previously watched the fireworks show the last time we visited so we did have that one to compare the new Reflections show to. We were in agreement that this show is good and very enjoyable even if the equipment used is an eyesore during the day.

*Wednesday - MK:* We chose not to rope drop but to sleep in some and go later in the morning to the park. We also took the bus from Boardwalk to the MK which was overall easier than taking the Bus from the Dolphin. Lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus was very good and dinner at Casey’s was okay. We purchased Genie+ again while at the park and the ILL for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. My kids really liked the Tomorrowland Speedway and It’s a Small World. We ventured over to Tom Sawyer’s Island. My husband wasn’t too excited about this until we got there and he and our daughter started exploring. They loved it! My son was very sleepy and cranky so we found a rocking chair by the water on the island and spent some time rocking and just enjoying looking at the water and waving to everyone on the riverboat as it went by. We stayed for the fireworks and had a pretty good view in front of the castle. We got to our spot early and took turns doing things with my daughter while my son napped in the stroller. We enjoyed the fireworks and light show. My daughter was thrilled to see Tinker Bell flying from the castle! Side note: We purchased her a Tinker Bell doll from one of the shops and as we watched Tinker Bell during her cavalcade, my daughter held the doll up and Tinker noticed and “hearted” her! Made my daughter’s day! After the fireworks we went to ride the mine train but the smoke from the fireworks had set off the smoke alarms on the ride which caused it to be evacuated. We waited around for it to be reset which was after 9pm. Fortunately, we stayed for extended hours and were able to ride. My daughter and I and a couple were the first on the ride. We realized about halfway up the hill we were the only people on the entire train. We also noticed there was no music and no other people on the train behind us. We definitely felt like maybe we were the test dummies! Lol Because there was no music we were offered to ride again which we did. Then my daughter rode again with her dad because we had done the rider swap. Lucky child was able to ride 3 times in less than 15 minutes!! I also rode Space Mountain for the very first time with ZERO wait. We rode a few other rides (speedway, Winnie the Pooh, teacups)  with the kids during the extended time and took pictures in front of the castle with all the pretty lights. It was a late night, but it was very much worth it.

*Thursday - HS:* This was our short day because we were checking out of our hotel and heading up to Jacksonville Beach to see the Atlantic Ocean. We got there before the main opening and went to Toy Story Land where we rode Toy Story Mania. My 2yo son LOVED this ride!! He wanted to ride again and one of the CMs heard him as we were getting off the ride and offered some pixie dust to let us ride again. Because it is a 3D ride, my daughter didn’t really like it so my son and I rode again. Everything about Toy Story Land the queue for TS Mania was just so detailed and wonderful. We felt like we were in a toy box!! We had late breakfast reservations at Hollywood and Vine with the Disney Jr. characters which my kids loved. I felt like the characters didn’t come around quite as often as the other two character meals, but it was still a fun experience. I also found out they have an “infant meal” which consists of scrambled eggs and fruit and doesn’t cost anything extra. We purchased Genie+ but only used it for Tower of Terror which broke down and caused our time window to be moved. We also used Genie+ for the Frozen Sing-A-Long which was wonderful!! Highly recommend going to that show! It was also nice to have the photographers in the animation courtyard taking pictures with the character meets there. My husband enjoyed visiting Star Wars Land too.

Overall, we enjoyed the trip and are exhausted. We chose to drive the 16 hours instead of trying to fly with a 2yo. With a couple pit stops at the beaches along the way it was a bearable drive. If you are able to attend the extended hours at night I highly recommend it!! The park emptied out and we really enjoyed the ability to walk around freely and just walk onto the rides. If you are able to do some character meals, do it! We were able to have the kids stand by our table and take pictures with the characters. Definitely recommend Genie+ if you can swing it. The LL waits for the rides were very short and made for a much better experience especially with us having young kids who have zero patience to wait for a long periods of time. The crowds were higher than we expected, but we adjusted and made the most of the time there. Get the popcorn bucket; it's an easy snack to refill especially for the kids. We also carried Kool-Aid drops and our kids' Disney sipper cups with us and got cups of ice water to make the kids Kool-Aid to drink with their popcorn snacks. I did miss having my purchases sent back to the resort and am hoping that returns before our next trip. We planned accordingly so we weren't carrying a bunch of purchases all around the parks. If you are staying at Swan/Dolphin be sure to contact Guest Relations and they can make sure your reservation number is actually attached to your magic band/tickets for early entry and extended hours. Even though it looked to be attached on my end, it actually wasn't when we scanned the band so I ended up showing our room key for a couple days.


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## SmittS

My family returned on Tuesday from a 5 day trip, starting Thursday staying offsite, then checking into AKL Kidani Saturday for three nights.  We consider ourselves WDW vets at this point, taking multiple trips per year since 2017 (skipping 2020...we ended up at Universal in July 2020 as the timing on that trip didn't line up with being able to do Disney upon reopening).  I wanted to share some overall thoughts as a lot has changed since recent trips in June, July, and September.

*New Shows: *So I never saw any of these shows on Youtube, but I've read the feedback on these and other forums.I'm not speaking to the nighttime shows specifically due to Kite Tails, but I wanted to include it in my comments.  

First, the hate I've seen on Kite Tails is way overblown.  The show was...fine.  My kids (8 and 11) really enjoyed it, as did my wife.  The media coverage early on acting as if this show was completely off the rails is a joke IMO. I'm assuming the "what comes up, must come down" message before the show is a newer add, but regardless, it seemed very obvious to me that the kites coming down in the marked off section of the stands is intentional, and it's just bad reporting that anyone every portrayed this as accidental.  The show was fun and a nice use of 15 or so minutes to sit down and see some pretty kites flying around.  Did it wow me?  Of course not.  But there's nothing inhereintly wrong with the show.

Harmonious was, in my family's opinion, amazing.  I don't understand any negative attitude towards this show.  It's a technical masterpiece and a sight to behold.  We got a great spot between Disney Traders and Port of Entry so we could see the stargate.  I was never a big fan of Illuminations (boring to me) and I hated Epcot Forever.  I think the show did a decent enough job demonstrating the cultural impact of Disney IP worldwide, so I understand the theming and the story they are trying to tell.  Anti-IP people won't like it, sure, but the show was extremely enjoyable.  I will watch this show every single trip.  It was that good.

Enchantment...oh boy.  I won't say it's terrible, but man is it a drop off from Wishes and HEA.  It's as described in many of the reviews online.  A poorly thought out mis-mash of Disney songs and projections.  Nothing celebrating the 50th.  No Fab 5, no Walt.  A lot of the cool effects from HEA, all gone.  The only "cool" factor was the Elsa scene shooting fireworks from the castle.  No crescendo to Tink's flight.  All the sudden, she's there.  No build up at all.  I have no idea what they were trying to achieve with this show.  My kids liked it...it's fireworks.  But they agreed it pales in comparison to HEA.  I can't really say enough bad things about the show.  It's that bad.  I was one that felt emotion with HEA.  Nothing with this show.  My jaw was dropped, but not in a good way.  I couldn't believe what I was watching.  I'll go ahead if my kids want to, but the most miserable part of a WDW vacation is leaving MK after the fireworks.  I'll avoid that moving forward if I can and spend my nights at another park, or spend that time riding rides and waiting out the Main Street rush.
* 
Staffing:*  The staffing shortages are very evident.  Not nearly as many photopass photographers as I'm used to.  My son got a Savi's saber on Friday night and I brought mine, wanting to get some pictures with us together with our sabers.  At 7 pm, there was ONE photographer in GE.  That said, the current ones that ARE there are fantastic.  Some of the best CMs in the whole park.  That makes up for the lack of them because they are all so good.

We had massive delays with meals this trip and normally haven't had many issues.  We had LTT on Thanksgiving, and despite checking in early, we waited for 45 minutes after our reservation time.  The meal took FOREVER, and caused us to miss Enchantment on that first day.  Our reservation was 2.5 hours before Enchantment and it started as we were paying our bill.  Ohana normally gets a bad rap for making folks feel rushed.  I've never had that experience but it was never slow.  Another 2.5 hour meal.  We were going to go to DS after the meal, but since we missed DE the first MK day, we went back to view it.  We had to rush to MK to get to see it and go a spot towards the front of Main Street with a decent view about 10 minutes before it started.  

*G+ and ILL$:  *We did G+ 2 days, and I was not a fan. You have to book so much in advance as it is today, and working around ADRs, Savi's, etc. is a massive pain.  We were FP+ pros and rarely ever waited in standby.  I got very, very little value out of G+.  We missed many reservations as so much else in the park took SO LONG (like the meals), and the inability to pick times.  Also, you're running around the park far more now, wasting time walking.  I know the idea is "spend more time in the park to buy more stuff" but that wasn't us.  We were just friggin walking.  That said ILL$ worked great for us. Yes, paying extra for rides sucks, but it was nice to schedule a time to ride and avoid standby.  We only used it for RotR and FOP, but in the future, I'd be more inclined to use ILL$ and rope drop the other rides that you'd typically use G+ for.  As many others have said, no point in G+ for AK.  AK is our favorite park, and we did everything in one day using the ILL$ for FOP.  We rode Everest 4 times the Saturday after Thanksgiving, not using ILL$ for it once.

Lastly, first stay at AKL in a Savannah room, and it was amazing.  Well worth the price of admission.  We didn't have many troubles with the buses as others have there.  The only negative is the very long ride to MK.


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## Lsdolphin

So this is the first time I’ve had this experience....was just lying down in resort room because I had a bad headache. There was a knock at door and when I answered I was told told I had to step out of my room and wait outside so the CM/housekeeping person could come in and inspect she then closed the door in my face and was inside for several minutes....what is being inspected??? are they going through my things? It doesn’t take several minutes to walk in and walk back out...during previous visits I have had a knock at door by housekeeping person who asks if I need anything while looking into the room but I’ve never been told to leave the room so they can go in...


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## GBRforWDW

Uggh that's unfortunate timing when dealing with a headache.   

I would guess it has to do with room security checks as described in this thread:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/daily-security-checks-at-resorts.3822273/


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## Naomeri

Lsdolphin said:


> So this is the first time I’ve had this experience....was just lying down in resort room because I had a bad headache. There was a knock at door and when I answered I was told told I had to step out of my room and wait outside so the CM/housekeeping person could come in and inspect she then closed the door in my face and was inside for several minutes....what is being inspected??? are they going through my things? It doesn’t take several minutes to walk in and walk back out...during previous visits I have had a knock at door by housekeeping person who asks if I need anything while looking into the room but I’ve never been told to leave the room so they can go in...


That is a bit weird, but maybe it’s an extra covid precaution??  I’m at BCV right now, and they’ve knocked a couple times to ask if I want trash taken (and my trash has been taken while I’ve been out) but they’re happy to take “no” for an answer and leave me be.

I’ve found I have more trouble with security checks if I leave the “room occupied” sign up when I’m not there, so I always make sure to take it down when I’m leaving for a while.


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## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> So this is the first time I’ve had this experience....was just lying down in resort room because I had a bad headache. There was a knock at door and when I answered I was told told I had to step out of my room and wait outside so the CM/housekeeping person could come in and inspect she then closed the door in my face and was inside for several minutes....what is being inspected??? are they going through my things? It doesn’t take several minutes to walk in and walk back out...during previous visits I have had a knock at door by housekeeping person who asks if I need anything while looking into the room but I’ve never been told to leave the room so they can go in...


Wow!  I've been in the room for security checks (pre-Covid) but have never been asked to leave the room.  I would be tempted to contact Guest Services to confirm that this is their normal practice.


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## Mango7100

Lsdolphin said:


> So this is the first time I’ve had this experience....was just lying down in resort room because I had a bad headache. There was a knock at door and when I answered I was told told I had to step out of my room and wait outside so the CM/housekeeping person could come in and inspect she then closed the door in my face and was inside for several minutes....what is being inspected??? are they going through my things? It doesn’t take several minutes to walk in and walk back out...during previous visits I have had a knock at door by housekeeping person who asks if I need anything while looking into the room but I’ve never been told to leave the room so they can go in...


That is bizarre…why do you have to leave? And what takes that long? We were at SSR in May and they only knocked to ask if we wanted any trash taken out or fresh towels.


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## EPCOT-O.G.

When Mousekeeping arrived at my room I recieved a Genie+ notification advising I could bypass the room checks for $5


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## DumboDash2006

We are people who stay off site.  We are doing so again in early March (6-11).  Normally we use touring plans, rope drop and FP to do what we need to do.  Dh is also not a huge Disney fan so he prefers to get there early and head back to our condo mid/late afternoon.  

I fear our normal tactics will not work.  We can rope drop, but on site guests will already be in and lines already long.  We Genie+ and ILL return times may be later in the day.  

I guess I'm just wondering what to expect and if we should even bother with Genie+ and ILL.

If anyone has stayed offsite recently, I would love feedback!  Good or bad.


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## scrappinginontario

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> When Mousekeeping arrived at my room I recieved a Genie+ notification advising I could bypass the room checks for $5


What?  This is new too! 

You mean if you wished to avoid Mousekeeping cleaning your room it would cost you an additional $5?  Which resort were you staying at?


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## scrappinginontario

DumboDash2006 said:


> We are people who stay off site.  We are doing so again in early March (6-11).  Normally we use touring plans, rope drop and FP to do what we need to do.  Dh is also not a huge Disney fan so he prefers to get there early and head back to our condo mid/late afternoon.
> 
> I fear our normal tactics will not work.  We can rope drop, but on site guests will already be in and lines already long.  We Genie+ and ILL return times may be later in the day.
> 
> I guess I'm just wondering what to expect and if we should even bother with Genie+ and ILL.
> 
> If anyone has stayed offsite recently, I would love feedback!  Good or bad.


Your question has been merged with the 'Here Now and Just Back thread'.  As you are waiting for people to share their experiences, taking time to read the past 5 or so pages will show people's experience with your question.


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## Future_WorldPhonencian

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> When Mousekeeping arrived at my room I recieved a Genie+ notification advising I could bypass the room checks for $5


I think/ hope this is a joke/ otherwise what is the point? 5 bucks to pay off disney from making sure you arent up to no good/ or Not clean your room is ridiculous


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## EPCOT-O.G.

scrappinginontario said:


> What?  This is new too!
> 
> You mean if you wished to avoid Mousekeeping cleaning your room it would cost you an additional $5?  Which resort were you staying at?


Sorry this was a joke, given the current trends towards monetizing everything


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## scrappinginontario

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> Sorry this was a joke, given the current trends towards monetizing everything


Sorry, just wasn't sure as so much is happening right now.  The fact that someone was asked to leave their room has me concerned!  I'm almost afraid it was someone impersonating a Cast Member and I've never heard of guests being asked to leave their room!


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## Lsdolphin

scrappinginontario said:


> Wow!  I've been in the room for security checks (pre-Covid) but have never been asked to leave the room.  I would be tempted to contact Guest Services to confirm that this is their normal practice.


I think I will do that....I just don’t understand why I would be asked to step out of my own room ...I wasn’t even wearing my shoes!


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## Lsdolphin

scrappinginontario said:


> What?  This is new too!
> 
> You mean if you wished to avoid Mousekeeping cleaning your room it would cost you an additional $5?  Which resort were you staying at?


I think the poster is joking...


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## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> I think the poster is joking...


Yes, they explained that they were and I responded but after the shock of someone being asked to leave their room when a CM went in today, I was concerned.  There is just too much happening right now that it's sometimes hard to tell when someone is joking.  Until a couple of hours ago I would have thought someone was joking when they were resting, a CM knocked, asked them to leave their room, closed the door and did who knows what inside their room at a time when Disney is not cleaning rooms.  That's not normal so this 'joke' was concerning to me.  A case of poor timing.


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## Lsdolphin

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, they explained that they were and I responded but after the shock of someone being asked to leave their room when a CM went in today, I was concerned.  There is just too much happening right now that it's sometimes hard to tell when someone is joking.  Until a couple of hours ago I would have thought someone was joking when they were resting, a CM knocked, asked them to leave their room, closed the door and did who knows what inside their room at a time when Disney is not cleaning rooms.  That's not normal so this 'joke' was concerning to me.  A case of poor timing.


I am definitely not joking about being told to step out of my own room....and I’m definitely going to go to front desk first thing in the morning.


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## Ensusieasm

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, they explained that they were and I responded but after the shock of someone being asked to leave their room when a CM went in today, I was concerned.  There is just too much happening right now that it's sometimes hard to tell when someone is joking.  Until a couple of hours ago I would have thought someone was joking when they were resting, a CM knocked, asked them to leave their room, closed the door and did who knows what inside their room at a time when Disney is not cleaning rooms.  That's not normal so this 'joke' was concerning to me.  A case of poor timing.



yes, I agree. This is very concerning. I would have said, Wait just a minute, closed the door on them and called housekeeping from the button on the room phone. Very strange request.


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## Ensusieasm

Lsdolphin said:


> I am definitely not joking about being told to step out of my own room....and I’m definitely going to go to front desk first thing in the morning.


Yes, do go to the front desk in the morning. But also, call housekeeping by pressing that button on your room phone right now and describe what happened.


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## DSLRuser

Lsdolphin said:


> So this is the first time I’ve had this experience....was just lying down in resort room because I had a bad headache. There was a knock at door and when I answered I was told told I had to step out of my room and wait outside so the CM/housekeeping person could come in and inspect she then closed the door in my face and was inside for several minutes....what is being inspected??? are they going through my things? It doesn’t take several minutes to walk in and walk back out...during previous visits I have had a knock at door by housekeeping person who asks if I need anything while looking into the room but I’ve never been told to leave the room so they can go in...



uh...just tell them no and do not admit them.  No way I let a housekeeper displace me from my room.  EVER!!


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## twodogs

And yet they won’t actually clean your room…..  Makes me very angry.


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## maryj11

Last week we were laying in our beds watching tv getting resting up for After Hours and they called and asked to have someone come in. I said sure we are just watching tv because I already knew about them coming in inspecting the rooms. It wasn’t 2 minutes when I heard a knock. I opened the door and let them in. They just looked in toward the beds and went in the bathroom then said thank you and walked out. They never said you have to leave the room and they called and asked if it was okay.


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## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> I am definitely not joking about being told to step out of my own room....and I’m definitely going to go to front desk first thing in the morning.


I 100% believe you!! Hopefully you can get some information when you go to the front desk.

It was the person teasing about being charged to not clean the room that I was talking about ill  timing.

I fully believe what happened to you and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard of at Disney since the security checks were implemented years ago. Please let us know what happens when you follow up with the front desk.



maryj11 said:


> Last week we were laying in our beds watching tv getting resting up for After Hours and they called and asked to have someone come in. I said sure we are just watching tv because I already knew about them coming in inspecting the rooms. It wasn’t 2 minutes when I heard a knock. I opened the door and let them in. They just looked in toward the beds and went in the bathroom then said thank you and walked out. They never said you have to leave the room and they called and asked if it was okay.


 Yes, yours is what more commonly happens.  There isn’t always a call but it is common for someone to knock, look around, offer to take garbage, etc.  Glad you received a more ‘normal’ security check than the one that happened above.


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## maryj11

scrappinginontario said:


> I 100% believe you!! Hopefully you can get some information when you go to the front desk.
> 
> It was the person teasing about being charged to not clean the room that I was talking about ill  timing.
> 
> I fully believe what happened to you and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard of at Disney since the security checks were implemented years ago. Please let us know what happens when you follow up with the front desk.
> 
> Yes, yours is what more commonly happens.  There isn’t always a call but it is common for someone to knock, look around, offer to take garbage, etc.  Glad you received a more ‘normal’ security check than the one that happened above.


Yes I would feel uncomfortable if the made us leave and shut the door. That’s just odd.


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## Disneylover99

Lsdolphin said:


> So this is the first time I’ve had this experience....was just lying down in resort room because I had a bad headache. There was a knock at door and when I answered I was told told I had to step out of my room and wait outside so the CM/housekeeping person could come in and inspect she then closed the door in my face and was inside for several minutes....what is being inspected??? are they going through my things? It doesn’t take several minutes to walk in and walk back out...during previous visits I have had a knock at door by housekeeping person who asks if I need anything while looking into the room but I’ve never been told to leave the room so they can go in...


I’ve read other reports of people being asked to step out of their rooms for a room inspection (since COVID) but a room inspection that takes several minutes seems unusually long.


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## Best Aunt

Since the time they started the room inspections (after the mass shooting in Vegas), there have been reports here of inconsistent practices and inconsistent attitudes on the part of the people doing the inspecting.  Sometimes the person insists that the inspection must be done immediately, sometimes they are willing to come back later.  Sometimes they insist that you leave the room, sometimes they let you stay in the room. 

We don't know if the inconsistencies are the result of poor training, or are intentional so that any potential "bad guys" don't know what to expect.

There have been numerous threads on this issue since the room inspections started.


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## Hootiss

@ Best Aunt that actually makes complete sense. There should be no consistency . There is way to much information available online if anyone planning something nefarious was researching .  Yes it is an awkward and annoying position to be put in, but this is the world we live in.


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## CBMom01

Do the room checks happen if you leave the room every day and take the "room occupied" tag off the door?  I'd hate to get a room check during a brief nap window when they could do it any time while we're at the parks.


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## CarolynFH

CBMom01 said:


> Do the room checks happen if you leave the room every day and take the "room occupied" tag off the door?  I'd hate to get a room check during a brief nap window when they could do it any time while we're at the parks.


Yes, I think they try to do it when you're not there.  So we try to remember to take the "room occupied" hangtag off when we leave.


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## scrappinginontario

CBMom01 said:


> Do the room checks happen if you leave the room every day and take the "room occupied" tag off the door?  I'd hate to get a room check during a brief nap window when they could do it any time while we're at the parks.


They happen if the sign is up or not as they are meant to be a safety visit so unplanned, at various times if the day and in spite of the sign being up.  

Sadly they are in place due to the situation that happened in Las Vegas and, child trafficking.


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## Lsdolphin

scrappinginontario said:


> They happen if the sign is up or not as they are meant to be a safety visit so unplanned, at various times if the day and in spite of the sign being up.
> 
> Sadly they are in place due to the situation that happened in Las Vegas and, child trafficking.



Update:
so I posted yesterday about being asked to step out of my room while housekeeping woman did an inspection.....I did go to front desk and described how I was asked to ”step out of my room“ and then had door closed in my face for several minutes during which time I stood outside the closed door.  The CM I spoke with asked me to wait while she went and got a manager who then listened to my story and asked me to wait while she went and called housekeeping manager...15 minutes later manager and CM returned and told me that what happened was unacceptable and they apologized. Apparently immediately following resorts re-opening after closures due to COVID-19 housekeeping was only supposed to enter an empty room but that practice eneded months ago. So basically I got an apology....a few minutes after returning to my room the phone rang and it was the “housekeeping manager” she stated that the reason the person was so long in my room with me was because she was doing a “full cleaning and changing the sheets.“.  I said “no that absolutely did not happen!  i received towels service and trash was emptied on Sat and yesterday was Sunday and it was an inspection and nothing more and now I would really like to know why this woman is claiming to have done a a full service and what exactly she did do during the time she was in the room.
Meanwhile, while I was in lobby at front desk the towels were replaced and trash emptie.  Sheets on bed are same sheets I’ve had since check in.
I arrived on Tuesday 11/30 and I’m checking out tomorrow.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Update:
> so I posted yesterday about being asked to step out of my room while housekeeping woman did an inspection.....I did go to front desk and described how I was asked to ”step out of my room“ and then had door closed in my face for several minutes during which time I stood outside the closed door.  The CM I spoke with asked me to wait while she went and got a manager who then listened to my story and asked me to wait while she went and called housekeeping manager...15 minutes later manager and CM returned and told me that what happened was unacceptable and they apologized. Apparently immediately following resorts re-opening after closures due to COVID-19 housekeeping was only supposed to enter an empty room but that practice eneded months ago. So basically I got an apology....a few minutes after returning to my room the phone rang and it was the “housekeeping manager” she stated that the reason the person was so long in my room with me was because she was doing a “full cleaning and changing the sheets.“.  I said “no that absolutely did not happen!  i received towels service and trash was emptied on Sat and yesterday was Sunday and it was an inspection and nothing more and now I would really like to know why this woman is claiming to have done a a full service and what exactly she did do during the time she was in the room.
> Meanwhile, while I was in lobby at front desk the towels were replaced and trash emptie.  Sheets on bed are same sheets I’ve had since check in.
> I arrived on Tuesday 11/30 and I’m checking out tomorrow.


I'm so glad they took your situation seriously and like you, now wondering why the person made up a story.  Hopefully housekeeping will follow-up with this woman, knowing that someone has reported her behaviour.

Thank you for confirming for us that guests being asked to leave the room during a room check is no longer the accepted practice at Disney.  This was my understanding too so I was shocked when I heard what had happened to you!

It will be interesting to learn if you hear back again.  Sadly I'm guessing it will be no but I hope they follow-up on this.

Thank you for being proactive and bringing this to the attention of resort management.  Hopefully your actions will stop this from happening to someone else!


----------



## loves to dive

Lsdolphin said:


> Update:
> so I posted yesterday about being asked to step out of my room while housekeeping woman did an inspection.....I did go to front desk and described how I was asked to ”step out of my room“ and then had door closed in my face for several minutes during which time I stood outside the closed door.  The CM I spoke with asked me to wait while she went and got a manager who then listened to my story and asked me to wait while she went and called housekeeping manager...15 minutes later manager and CM returned and told me that what happened was unacceptable and they apologized. Apparently immediately following resorts re-opening after closures due to COVID-19 housekeeping was only supposed to enter an empty room but that practice eneded months ago. So basically I got an apology....a few minutes after returning to my room the phone rang and it was the “housekeeping manager” she stated that the reason the person was so long in my room with me was because she was doing a “full cleaning and changing the sheets.“.  I said “no that absolutely did not happen!  i received towels service and trash was emptied on Sat and yesterday was Sunday and it was an inspection and nothing more and now I would really like to know why this woman is claiming to have done a a full service and what exactly she did do during the time she was in the room.
> Meanwhile, while I was in lobby at front desk the towels were replaced and trash emptie.  Sheets on bed are same sheets I’ve had since check in.
> I arrived on Tuesday 11/30 and I’m checking out tomorrow.


I'm thinking a number of things happened.   The person from housekeeping either hadn't gotten the info. about no longer being required to only enter an empty room or had received the info. but was choosing to ignore it because she didn't feel comfortable being in a closed space with a stranger.   If that were the case, she could have asked you leave the room but left the door open, seems to me that would have made more sense if she was worried about Covid any way since an open door with fresh air flowing has to be better than a closed door with forced air blowing.   The second thing that happened was her supervisor called her on the carpet and thinking on her feet she came up with well I was doing a room clean.   I'm thinking it didn't occur to her you would be around to dispute her.   Being asked to step out of the room wouldn't have bothered me as much as the closed door would have.  Like you I would have been wondering what she was doing in my room with the door closed.   Even had she been cleaning the room, they usually leave the doors open when they do that.


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## lilmc

DumboDash2006 said:


> I fear our normal tactics will not work. We can rope drop, but on site guests will already be in and lines already long. We Genie+ and ILL return times may be later in the day.



We stay off property and as we are new AP holders, we don’t want to pay for LL. We most definitely have had to change our traditional touring plans. You are right: the headliners are already backed up at rope drop due to resort guests. We still rope drop, but get as many of the “mid level” rides done as quickly as possible. Decide throughout the day how long you do or do not want to wait for the headliners. Then “park close is the new rope drop” is our family motto as the crowds usually thin.


----------



## Elle23

We arrived home late Saturday after a very last minute trip 11/30-12/4. We had one day at each park.

A few take aways from the trip:

1. If you are at all concerned about Covid, I would not advise going at this time. There were sick, coughing people throughout every park, every day. This was definitely a change from our previous trips in April 2021 and November 2020. Also, there is zero social distancing in any theater or on buses, etc. We were crammed in like sardines once again. It was hard to enjoy the Muppet show when the man in front of me kept taking down his mask to blow his nose.

2. Genie+ worked fairly well for MK and HS, though I HATE not being able to schedule LLs further out in the day. It caused me to have to be on my phone constantly waiting for the time we wanted.  Also I didn’t like being able to schedule only one LL for each ride.  I guess if there is a ride you really like, you have to rope drop it and schedule a LL later to ride it more than once (with minimal waits).

3. Genie+ was a waste for Epcot. We basically paid $15 each to ride Test Track.  We rope dropped Soarin and the other LL rides were walk ons.

4. Genie+ wasn’t really needed at AK either. We basically only used it for the Safari. Rope dropping and being at the parks early is really all you need to do for AK.

5. I actually thought the ILLs were better than the regular LLs because you could schedule them for whenever you wanted. But it was obnoxious having to pay for them (especially Seven Dwarves which is over before you blink). We ended up purchasing a LL for Space Mountain we didn’t need, which was annoying.  

6.The fireworks show at MK was awful. I wouldn’t even bother staying to watch it in the future, much less waste money on a dessert party (those were some expensive chocolate covered strawberries we ate!) 

7. We had fun, but it just wasn’t the same Disney that left me so starry-eyed back in 2017. I can’t believe how quickly it all changed and it makes me sad.  I am getting less and less willing to shell out the increasingly large amount of money it takes to go to WDW. But apparently others feel differently because the parks were as packed as I have ever seen them.


----------



## Jennasis

TP had today listed as a park level of 3 for MK...and it was wall to wall people with waits 45 min +. I don't get it.


----------



## Jimmy Mouse

Lsdolphin said:


> So this is the first time I’ve had this experience....was just lying down in resort room because I had a bad headache. There was a knock at door and when I answered I was told told I had to step out of my room and wait outside so the CM/housekeeping person could come in and inspect she then closed the door in my face and was inside for several minutes....what is being inspected??? are they going through my things? It doesn’t take several minutes to walk in and walk back out...during previous visits I have had a knock at door by housekeeping person who asks if I need anything while looking into the room but I’ve never been told to leave the room so they can go in...


This just does not seem right. I, for one, will stand my ground and tell them heck no! They are more than welcome to come in and do the "Room Check" but I will refuse to leave. They may call security on me but I read through what I could and no where does it state that they will require you to leave the room. Something isn't right with this.


----------



## robotsneedlove2

Ratatouille had standby line during Epcot extended hours last night!!  We were able to walk right on a little after 11pm. 

I know that it normally is not open during evening extended hours.

It may have been running because Frozen broke down, and we had to be walked off the ride.


----------



## holyrita

robotsneedlove2 said:


> Ratatouille had standby line during Epcot extended hours last night!!  We were able to walk right on a little after 11pm.
> 
> I know that it normally is not open during evening extended hours.
> 
> It may have been running because Frozen broke down, and we had to be walked off the ride.


Remy's Ratatouille Adventure was just added to the list of rides available in Epcot for extended evening hours


----------



## ofcabbagesandkings

Elle23 said:


> We arrived home late Saturday after a very last minute trip 11/30-12/4. We had one day at each park.
> 
> A few take aways from the trip:
> 
> 1. If you are at all concerned about Covid, I would not advise going at this time. There were sick, coughing people throughout every park, every day. This was definitely a change from our previous trips in April 2021 and November 2020. Also, there is zero social distancing in any theater or on buses, etc. We were crammed in like sardines once again. It was hard to enjoy the Muppet show when the man in front of me kept taking down his mask to blow his nose.
> 
> 4. Genie+ wasn’t really needed at AK either. We basically only used it for the Safari. Rope dropping and being at the parks early is really all you need to do for AK.
> 
> 7. We had fun, but it just wasn’t the same Disney that left me so starry-eyed back in 2017. I can’t believe how quickly it all changed and it makes me sad.  I am getting less and less willing to shell out the increasingly large amount of money it takes to go to WDW. But apparently others feel differently because the parks were as packed as I have ever seen them.



1. We were going to be in Orlando for just the weekend and chose one day at AK because we felt it would be safe-ish with kids who are only partially vaccinated. But it was more crowded on Dec 5 than I've seen it on Christmas Day in previous years, including most recently in 2019.
While the CMs did their best to remind folks to wear their masks before entering indoor shops/queues, they could only do so much. The worst was the woman in front of me on the Magical Express who decided to eat fried chicken while chatting with the bus driver the whole ride from the airport. Like, really, lady? I thought about saying something, but the driver had his mask under his chin too, so it seemed unlikely that I would find an ally there. 

2. While Genie+ feels like a ripoff at AK, we were glad to have it because most of the rides had waits of at least 45 minutes all day, except Everest which was only 5 minutes for the first hour after opening and went back down to 10 minutes by 5pm. That park needs more rides, period. We found ourselves having to crisscross the parks repeatedly to what was available, since we couldn't plan our FP in advance so that they were next to each other. 

3. I can't believe how much this little weekend trip cost, for an experience that was far less in my control. Before, I could plan everything in advance so that my family experienced a seamless day (barring ride breakdowns, which have happened on every trip). Now, I'm at the mercy of a poorly designed app. It doesn't feel like a luxury vacation anymore, it feels like paying more for way, way less. It's sad, but I'll just be grateful for the memories of our trips from 2013-2019, I guess.


----------



## mrd7896

Omg we were at AK on 12/5 too and it was ABSURD. the busiest i have seen that park in a while, probably similar to my Thanksgiving 2018 trip which was equally as awful.
-We waited more than an hour for FOP at park open, we got to the park about 20 minutes before the early morning half hour started (which was exactly around the time we arrived at DHS the day before which was perfect) and were ushered into the park immediately and held right around the tree of life..that's how far back we were. 
-Waited roughly 50 minutes for Safari
-Everest was posted 45 and we went to single rider which was closed shortly after we entered the queue. We were told immediately by CM's that single rider would take 50 minutes!! About 5 people exited the line due to his announcement. single rider took ~20 minutes and we were lucky that even though we were all separated, it was only three separate trains for our entire party of 10 to get through single riders. Two of us got front row, two of us were in back to back rows and one of us sat completely by ourselves. 
-Walked over to Dinosaur as it dropped down to 25, we got into the queue which was fairly extended and we doubted that it was 25 minutes just from our experience. As soon as we hopped into line the wait shot up to 50 and about 5 minutes later we came to a dead stop. We didn't know the ride was down, and ended up waiting another 25 minutes before they COMPLETELY closed the ride and told every person to get out. We were sporadically moving, since people were exiting the queue, so we didn't think the ride was actually down. But it was an utter waste of time. 

At that point it was 2 and we were completely burnt out and the park was a madhouse so we left.
Some of the rest of our party stayed and did it's tough to be a bug but we didn't find that necessary.

We didn't think Genie+ or the LL$ (whatever it is called) would be worth it for such a few amount of attractions, but clearly it would've helped us get on the literal 5 attractions that the park has.
grrrrrrrr


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## jlundeen

Does anyone else think that the line queues at Everest are about the worst thought out traffic flow plan that there could be?  I mean, the standby line (when we were there last week) started on the NEMO side, which meant that it CROSSED the LL line, which is also the ramp exit for the ride.  So people had to stop and wait to enter LL until they held up the SB line, and then so many were trying to exit, that you could hardly get in.  We were on scooters and it was even a bigger challenge.... both for entering and exiting!


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## JoJoGirl

mrd7896 said:


> Omg we were at AK on 12/5 too and it was ABSURD. the busiest i have seen that park in a while, probably similar to my Thanksgiving 2018 trip which was equally as awful.
> -We waited more than an hour for FOP at park open, we got to the park about 20 minutes before the early morning half hour started (which was exactly around the time we arrived at DHS the day before which was perfect) and were ushered into the park immediately and held right around the tree of life..that's how far back we were.
> -Waited roughly 50 minutes for Safari
> -Everest was posted 45 and we went to single rider which was closed shortly after we entered the queue. We were told immediately by CM's that single rider would take 50 minutes!! About 5 people exited the line due to his announcement. single rider took ~20 minutes and we were lucky that even though we were all separated, it was only three separate trains for our entire party of 10 to get through single riders. Two of us got front row, two of us were in back to back rows and one of us sat completely by ourselves.
> -Walked over to Dinosaur as it dropped down to 25, we got into the queue which was fairly extended and we doubted that it was 25 minutes just from our experience. As soon as we hopped into line the wait shot up to 50 and about 5 minutes later we came to a dead stop. We didn't know the ride was down, and ended up waiting another 25 minutes before they COMPLETELY closed the ride and told every person to get out. We were sporadically moving, since people were exiting the queue, so we didn't think the ride was actually down. But it was an utter waste of time.
> 
> At that point it was 2 and we were completely burnt out and the park was a madhouse so we left.
> Some of the rest of our party stayed and did it's tough to be a bug but we didn't find that necessary.
> 
> We didn't think Genie+ or the LL$ (whatever it is called) would be worth it for such a few amount of attractions, but clearly it would've helped us get on the literal 5 attractions that the park has.
> grrrrrrrr



Oh no!  Sorry you went through that!  AK is my park tomorrow. I will be sure to get G+ and hope for the best. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.


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## ofcabbagesandkings

mrd7896 said:


> Omg we were at AK on 12/5 too and it was ABSURD. the busiest i have seen that park in a while, probably similar to my Thanksgiving 2018 trip which was equally as awful.
> -We waited more than an hour for FOP at park open, we got to the park about 20 minutes before the early morning half hour started (which was exactly around the time we arrived at DHS the day before which was perfect) and were ushered into the park immediately and held right around the tree of life..that's how far back we were.
> -Waited roughly 50 minutes for Safari
> -Everest was posted 45 and we went to single rider which was closed shortly after we entered the queue. We were told immediately by CM's that single rider would take 50 minutes!! About 5 people exited the line due to his announcement. single rider took ~20 minutes and we were lucky that even though we were all separated, it was only three separate trains for our entire party of 10 to get through single riders. Two of us got front row, two of us were in back to back rows and one of us sat completely by ourselves.
> -Walked over to Dinosaur as it dropped down to 25, we got into the queue which was fairly extended and we doubted that it was 25 minutes just from our experience. As soon as we hopped into line the wait shot up to 50 and about 5 minutes later we came to a dead stop. We didn't know the ride was down, and ended up waiting another 25 minutes before they COMPLETELY closed the ride and told every person to get out. We were sporadically moving, since people were exiting the queue, so we didn't think the ride was actually down. But it was an utter waste of time.
> 
> At that point it was 2 and we were completely burnt out and the park was a madhouse so we left.
> Some of the rest of our party stayed and did it's tough to be a bug but we didn't find that necessary.
> 
> We didn't think Genie+ or the LL$ (whatever it is called) would be worth it for such a few amount of attractions, but clearly it would've helped us get on the literal 5 attractions that the park has.
> grrrrrrrr



We arrived for our Dinosaur LL time just as they were dumping the line for the shutdown, and I felt so badly for everyone since they weren't even offering paper fast-passes to make up for the lost time in line. I can't imagine how frustrating it would have been to navigate the parks that day without Genie+, even as ridiculous as Genie+ is. Given that only 3 attractions at the park are part of Genie+ and not the extra upcharge ILL, it's 5 bucks per person per ride, and you can't even book an attraction a second time in a park with only 5 rides. Clearly this is to encourage people to buy hoppers so they can book LL attractions at a second park in the afternoons/evening. While we were able to pass our time waiting for rides in the wildlife trails instead of in line, it still felt like the app was making our choices for us. When you're spending this much money, you should be able to plan your own day.


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## mrd7896

AK definitely was the busiest park on Sunday out of all four--so we just chose poorly.
We didn't go to MK because we had the party that evening, and i'm sure a lot of people didn't go to MK either that day because of the shorter park hours. 
EPCOT looked fine and DHS had relatively 'normal' wait times that i had been used to seeing.
So AK was simply the popular choice.

I will say, after spending two days at Disney and two days at Universal, i just enjoyed our Universal days SO much more. And that was a little sad because it was a first time feeling this way after a trip. I know they are different machines/beasts.
While our Genie+ worked out on our DHS day, i really didn't enjoy it. It just takes so much out of having a magical day and i know that's cliche but i don't want to be worrying about plans every minute while i'm with my family. I found myself OBSESSING over the Genie+ return times, and stressing about what we would be able to do and at what time. It's just isn't convenient. I would GLADLY PAY to have something actually scheduled before my trip, not as i'm navigating through parks, crowds, dining reservations, parades, showtimes, etc. I don't necessarily care as much anymore that what used to be free is now additional, i'll get over that aspect. It's that i now resort to chance, a little bit of luck and stressing over my phone and being a mindreader for what other people will choose in order to plan my day efficiently. 

I'm sure there are people out there that won't stress over their Genie+ selections but i am not one of those people, lol. 

It also didn't help that i was planning out our Genie+ for a large party of over 10 people so I was feeling pressured to make sure our day was successful


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## Ricguz

I’m sad for you but glad that you are letting us all know.  It’s what I have been hearing from a lot of guests. Why the leadership at Disney thinks that this is a better experience being on our phones all day at the park is a better experience than taking in all the sites, I don’t understand. Well I actually do, it’s a money draw. 
I said this months ago. We should be able to preplan our vacations at home and then have a better experience for us and in my opinion for the Disney executives.  If we are able to streamline our vacations at home, then we will be able to shop, dine, and take in more and I think spend more if we want too, not being force to pay for rides.
I don’t think I will use Genie plus most days, and spend more time enjoying the resorts. When I go to the parks, I don’t like to rush around like a herd of cattle trying to beat the system.  I might pay for the some rides at HS and MK but as a lot of guest have been saying your better off late at night taking in rides. I would forgo the fireworks and laser shows and go on rides.  Just my opinion


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## iheartglaciers

ofcabbagesandkings said:


> 2. While Genie+ feels like a ripoff at AK, we were glad to have it because most of the rides had waits of at least 45 minutes all day, except Everest which was only 5 minutes for the first hour after opening and went back down to 10 minutes by 5pm. That park needs more rides, period. We found ourselves having to crisscross the parks repeatedly to what was available, since we couldn't plan our FP in advance so that they were next to each other.



Totally agree. It's much more challening with Genie+ to put together a logical touring plan where you don't feel like you're running all over the place to do whatever LL you could get.



mrd7896 said:


> While our Genie+ worked out on our DHS day, i really didn't enjoy it. It just takes so much out of having a magical day and i know that's cliche but i don't want to be worrying about plans every minute while i'm with my family. I found myself OBSESSING over the Genie+ return times, and stressing about what we would be able to do and at what time. It's just isn't convenient. I would GLADLY PAY to have something actually scheduled before my trip, not as i'm navigating through parks, crowds, dining reservations, parades, showtimes, etc. I don't necessarily care as much anymore that what used to be free is now additional, i'll get over that aspect. It's that i now resort to chance, a little bit of luck and stressing over my phone and being a mindreader for what other people will choose in order to plan my day efficiently.



I also liked pre-planning with FP and then just enjoying myself during the trip. And who wants to get up at 6:50am every morning of their vacation?!


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## iheartglaciers

Ricguz said:


> I said this months ago. We should be able to preplan our vacations at home and then have a better experience for us and in my opinion for the Disney executives.  If we are able to streamline our vacations at home, then we will be able to shop, dine, and take in more and I think spend more if we want too, not being force to pay for rides.



I didn't think about this, but you're right. I spent so little time in stores on my last trip (first with Genie+). I was so preoccupied. And I usually buy so much merch.


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## mrd7896

Our Tuesday at DHS we were there from about 9-7 PM, granted we had an ADR for sci-fi and an oga's reservation during the day but we got on 4 attractions...vs. our Genie+ day where we were able to reserve 4 attractions and rope drop others. 

So even though i don't like Genie+ it was unfortunately necessary.


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## Jennasis

Using G+ had us criss crossing the park the whole time.


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## 01Sweetpea

Just back, on 12/6 we were in HS & Epcot and on 12/7 MK & AK.  I was shocked at how packed the parks were.  I bought Genie+ for both days and also bought $ILL for RoTR, FoP & Space Mtn.  Spent an extra $268.48 (for 4 people), and was glad that I did.  There was no way we could have done everything we did without it.


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## katyjeka

We arrived in Orlando for the start of our 2 week vacation last night. We went to Disney Springs last night to activate our Florida season passes. It took 5 minutes(showed our house insurance)and the cm was super nice. We did early morning at Epcot. Test Track was down when the park first opened so we did Soarin as a walk on.  We were able to snag Remy on our first try, liked it but I would not wait forever for it. My mother is in a wheelchair and our party  of 8 was allowed the handicap entrance for Spaceship Earth, Living with the land. It's nice to see so many people out and enjoying a vacation again. Funny there is a lot of people walking around but ride times have been fantastic I tried at home to get Garden Grill with no luck. Walked up today and had a thirty minute wait. I'm not sure if they had no shows or we just lucked out. Cast members have been as sweet as ever. Loved the skyliner and we rode it twice because our girls enjoyed it so much!! My dh will not take a bus so we circled twice before the lot opened. Only negative today is the parents screaming at their kids. One little guy was freaking out at Soarin and the father was screaming like crazy at him. What a scene!! We did not buy genie and was able to ride everything on our list with no issue.


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## mrd7896

Jennasis said:


> Using G+ had us criss crossing the park the whole time.



that too--any strategy is thrown out the window.  we were able to rope drop and start at ToT and RnRc, then hooofed it over to rise, down to Tsm, over to tap in for smugglers (break for lunch), back down to ToT to tap in, up and across to ST and muppets, waited for MMRR, back down to RnRC to tap in (breaking on the way for snacks/drinks), back up to TSM for our final tap in. 
such a mess!


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## whiporee

I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines?  Honest question.


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## scrappinginontario

whiporee said:


> I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines?  Honest question.


I will preface by saying I haven't used Genie yet but, based on what I read during the time when there were only standby lines and then after when Genie was available, I'd vote Standby Lines only.


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## jrsharp21

whiporee said:


> I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines?  Honest question.



Standby!


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## beesly

whiporee said:


> I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines?  Honest question.



Another vote for all standby.


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## Leigh L

jrsharp21 said:


> Standby!


Ditto!
The several trips we took between 8/20 and 9/21 were awesome without the stagnant lines like FP+ caused. Even 30-60 minute lines went pretty quickly.


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## CarolynFH

Yep, when there's no FP or LL, standby lines move steadily.  Sometimes they get very long (before legacy FP, we routinely waited 2 hours for Space Mountain), but they move steadily.


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## Jennasis

Yeah, I'd take Standby only too.


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## JacknSally

whiporee said:


> I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines?  Honest question.



*We didn't visit during the recent period when it was standby ONLY, but having done a park day last week WITH using Genie+ and ILL$ and a park day last week WITHOUT using Genie+ and ILL$, I would absolutely prefer an all-standby set-up.*


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## Naomeri

Another vote for all standby!  I’ve done 3 Disney trips (2 WDW, 1 DL) without FP/LL/MaxPass and the lines moved so well, with only short interruptions to let DAS/child swap/recovery pass people join the line.  It’s much easier on the feet to be walking more than you’re standing in lines.


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## princesswahooey

I'll be the dissenter. I enjoy the virtual aspect of Genie+ or FP+ because even if I had to wait the whole length of a 2 hour line, I'd rather wait on a bench eating an ice cream cone, watching a show or taking in atmosphere than standing in a line. I don't need to *skip* the line. I just don't want to stand in it! Even if they changed it to where you go to the ride you want, scan your band, and it tells you "come back around X time" and you could only be "standing" in one virtual line at a time, I would prefer that to being stuck in line.


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## Jennasis

princesswahooey said:


> I'll be the dissenter. I enjoy the virtual aspect of Genie+ or FP+ because even if I had to wait the whole length of a 2 hour line, I'd rather wait on a bench eating an ice cream cone, watching a show or taking in atmosphere than standing in a line. I don't need to *skip* the line. I just don't want to stand in it! Even if they changed it to where you go to the ride you want, scan your band, and it tells you "come back around X time" and you could only be "standing" in one virtual line at a time, I would prefer that to being stuck in line.



That's Universal's Volcano Bay system.


----------



## leeniewdw

For us, and our touring style, we really liked it.  We were only there for 2 days, but it worked almost flawlessly for us with an later afternoon/evening at DHS.   My DH was so impressed.   But it may have been luck on being there a day where I could still get a headliner even when it was time to reserve at 3pm (granted, it took me a bit of refreshing, but I got it).   We also have a VERY low tolerance for line waiting (because we like to take a mid-day break at hotel for a rest and an hour in the sun at the pool.   So even only using it for 1 ride at AK, it probably saved us a 45 minute wait (we hopped to EP later that day and continued to use it).


----------



## Ricguz

whiporee said:


> I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines?  Honest question.


Having been to Disney over a dozen times since 1971, the best way to have a wonderful vacation was to plan everything at home prior to arrival.  If that means Genie at home, great. If it means standby ok. I rather plan my days at home and not at 7 am every morning


----------



## PortieOwner

whiporee said:


> I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines?  Honest question.



All standby. I did 2 trips in 2020-21 with no FP and it works just fine. I also went to Disney World in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s at least 6 times, and there were no Fast Passes and we had a great time.


----------



## cjlong88

We are at our gate. Plane arrived a bit late due to
the winter storm. Already a few inches of snow! Luckily living in Minneapolis means our airport can handle the snow. Hope we aren’t too far behind schedule, as we have the Very Merriest After Hours Party tonight! Hoping to arrive at TTC no later than 10:30pm.


----------



## mrd7896

going in 2020 vs. our trip last week i say standby.
not to mention, when it was FP+ the lopsidedness of those moving forward in the FP queue vs. standby wasn't _as _bad. Clearly it was still like 65/35 or maybe even more.
But now that there are people PAYING for this Genie+ service, we found ourselves many times at the excruciating part of watching the entire Genie+ line move through for only one or two parties of standby. 
Obviously, if you are paying for something you are going to get a better/quicker experience...as you should!
But, when it was free for all, the standby didn't seem to get as congested, imo.


----------



## mrd7896

we also had a feeling on more than one occasion that disney was doing whatever they could to get people to pay money instead of waiting in line.
whether it was overstating wait times, or the single rider employee at EE telling us it would be FIFTY MINUTES (ended up being less than 20) we didn't like feeling that way


----------



## cjlong88

Flight has been cancelled. We boarded and then the runway was shut down just as we finished de-icing.  Oh well, we will see what happens…


----------



## Cotta

cjlong88 said:


> Flight has been cancelled. We boarded and then the runway was shut down just as we finished de-icing.  Oh well, we will see what happens…



Bummer!! Hope you find a way down there and make your party!!


----------



## cjlong88

Snow Storm Extravaganza Update:

We now have an 8pm flight scheduled. They are keeping us on the plane. We will be missing the after hours party, which is a huge bummer. I foresee a long phone call asking nicely for a refund or a credit or something. Not expecting anything from it, but will try regardless. At this point we are just grateful to still get out of here (hopefully) in an hour. We are sitting on the plane adjusting tomorrow’s plans.

Seriously we have had little to no snow all fall, one of the warmest Novembers and Decembers since I can remember and the one day we fly out a giant snow storm decides to hit. 

Staying positive. Just excited to still visit for the weekend.


----------



## CeCe0906

PortieOwner said:


> All standby. I did 2 trips in 2020-21 with no FP and it works just fine. I also went to Disney World in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s at least 6 times, and there were no Fast Passes and we had a great time.


I think a big difference between the conditions at that time were the crowd levels.  Lots more people there now and although theyve added some things, they don't absorb all of them.  I took my granddaughter this August, while no FP was in effect.  Unfortunately she has some anxiety/sensory issues that qualify for DAS, so we used that to get return times for stuff like Slinky Dog or FOP/Navi, then did lower wait time rides in between.  But otherwise, there were multiple rides in all parks with wait times over an hour long.  Navi River was interesting, but a 110 minute wait to do it?  Waiting 2 hrs to ride SD or Snow White?.  I went to Disney as a child and teen, spent my honeymoon at WDW 38 years ago, took my kids twice in the 90, and 2000s, and did the WDW marathon 2012.  I never saw wait times like that.  And we were always early to park and close it down people.  
The whole thing sound so complicated, and compounded with frustration with IT ISSUES.  WiFi in park was unreliable and my data seemed really slow, it was tough even doing the mobile ordering, lots of hanging up and slow loading. 
My granddaughter and I did Univeral for a day since we had a late leaving plane to go home.  I bought the express passes; if it hadn't been a last minute decision I probably would have switched hotels and saved money by doing a Universal hotel that included the passes, they are expensive, but they work!  Except for the virtual queue for Hagrids roller coaster, we didn't wait more than 15 minutes for a ride, usually almost walk on.And Univeral seem much more crowded than Disney that day anyway, especially in Harry Potter area.
They could have done a hybrid system.  Expensive, limited Express Passes available for the for purchase at time of ticket purchase or if available as a add on later.  Staying on site? 3 free fast anytime passes for anyride and limited in park paper timed passes.  Offer a discount on express passes for people using packages.    Oh well Rant over.


----------



## cjlong88

Flight cancelled. Bummer. Good thing we have a trip planned in January!


----------



## Cotta

cjlong88 said:


> Snow Storm Extravaganza Update:
> 
> We now have an 8pm flight scheduled. They are keeping us on the plane. We will be missing the after hours party, which is a huge bummer. I foresee a long phone call asking nicely for a refund or a credit or something. Not expecting anything from it, but will try regardless. At this point we are just grateful to still get out of here (hopefully) in an hour. We are sitting on the plane adjusting tomorrow’s plans.
> 
> Seriously we have had little to no snow all fall, one of the warmest Novembers and Decembers since I can remember and the one day we fly out a giant snow storm decides to hit.
> 
> Staying positive. Just excited to still visit for the weekend.



In 2017 we went at Christmas and our flight was majorly delayed. We didn't get in until almost 5am! And we had two babies with us!!  Disney was great, upgraded our room, kids got gifts and gave us dining credits... and it wasn't even their fault!! Hoping you get all the pixie dust as well!!


----------



## Haley R

whiporee said:


> I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines?  Honest question.


100% standby. We were at Epcot today and frozen was like 125 minutes. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve seen it that long. Even figment was 15 minutes. I’ve always seen it at 5 minutes.


----------



## lilmc

whiporee said:


> I understand the resentment towards Genie, let me ask this: if there is no version of FP returning, would you rather have some form of Genie, or have everything be standby lines? Honest question.



100% standby. We love the equality of it and lines moved! That was the best part! However long you wait is not nearly so bad mentally and physically when the line is moving.


----------



## TandT

It’s been such a long week for us at the parks. We managed the HUGE crowds quite well. We had Genie + and used it to the best of our ability. We paid extra for the Lightening Lanes and we rode everything we wanted to ride with a 6 year old ….. a thrill seeking 6 year old  .  So we got to do some of the big popular rides although we did go at rope drop and paid extra $$ .  

I got on Genie + at 7am every single day. 
We made our dining reservations 11 months ago so that was at least a blessing.

We did notice some issues in the park. Granted I don’t think anyone could of predicted these crowds.  We have been coming here since 2007 at this time of the year and it has always been manageable with lower crowd levels.  It was obvious the parks were short staffed and not prepared for the volume of people that were here this week.   The bathrooms were not well maintained, we were cleaning our own table if we wanted a table , trash was littered throughout the parks and we barely seen any cast members cleaning up.  We did see a group in training .. so fingers crossed lol.  

Despite all that, we did experience some magic from the cast members. You could tell they were just as frustrated and overwhelmed as ever but some went above and beyond. They made our vacation with some extra pixie dust .  There are still cast members that really care about the magic of Disney despite the craziness .  And for that we are grateful.    In my opinion, vacation is what you make of it.   You can choose to complain and be miserable or you can just go with the flow. But I do get spending that much money on a vacation, it should be enjoyable and seamless.  

We may decide to bank our points next year and do another Disney Cruise until the parks settle down a bit.   Or they get a better handle on the crowds . But all in all it was a magical week .

Pixie Dust:  
We paid for a LL for Space Mountain. As soon as we got off the ride , my daughter yelled “I wanna do that again, it was soo fun!”  The cast member heard her and routed us to a secret entrance to get on it again !!!!!

The cast member in Epcot slipped in a note that said “ here’s some extra magic “  We had bought our daughter the Aurora collection of Precious Moments Disney Dolls because they were sold out of the Rapunzal collection-her favorite Princess. When we got home we discovered  that the cast member had pixie dusted us with 4 extra dolls!!!  

Uncle Dale at 50’s Prime Time was AMAZING!!!! And the food was very good!  

The Princess Aurora in the MK parade actually listened and talked to my daughter as they were going by. 

Santa in the HS parade was talking to my daughter after she got his attention lol and the snow was magical (we are from Louisiana 

Just experiencing the new Remy ride was WOW!!!


----------



## RoyandWalt

Just returned from our first trip since March 2020.  To all the other families who are eligible to use the new DAS app, it is wonderful.  Genie + was only needed in MK thanks to DAS.  Our son was so happy.  The whole trip was a positive for us, WDW still had the magic for him and us.


----------



## Boopuff

TandT said:


> I got on Genie + at 7am every single day.
> We made our dining reservations 11 months ago so that was at least a blessing.



curious... how the heck were you able to make dining reservations 11months out??? I know it’s a mere 60 days...  do tell, how does one manage to get that lucky/blessed?


----------



## TandT

Boopuff said:


> curious... how the heck were you able to make dining reservations 11months out??? I know it’s a mere 60 days...  do tell, how does one manage to get that lucky/blessed?


Sorry I misspoke     We were able to book our home resort as DVC members 11 months out. Not dining. It was 60 days out     I need more sleep


----------



## emmabelle

cjlong88 said:


> Flight cancelled. Bummer. Good thing we have a trip planned in January!




that happened to us in 2006 *without* snow in our area. Got to the airport on Christmas Day to a bleep show, the planes were stranded out in Illinois. We got booked for two days later. Then of course when we were suppose to fly two days later we now had a snow storm. Missed our connection in Atlanta, got rebooked with my husband on one plane and me and the kids on a different plane. I've always got my wheels turning for a solution. 

I now have a trip in six days and the weather looks fine, but now my big fear is Covid.  We've been vaccinated and have our boosters, but still I don't want to leave the house until I drive to the airport.   I haven't been at Christmas in 3 years and I'm dying to get there!


----------



## EEva

Sounds like you had a great time! I am going to expect huge crowds next week and try to remain positive. 



TandT said:


> It was obvious the parks were short staffed and not prepared for the volume of people that were here this week.



However,
I do understand staff shortages are an issue everywhere. But Disney knows pretty much exactly how many people are going to be at each park each day. AND they now have the ability to control that.

I would think if they don't have the staff to support that number, then they should limit the ARPs.  I've noticed previously "sold out" parks getting more reservations added. Sounds like they don't have the staff to support that. Which is really upsetting.


----------



## jlundeen

By the way, if any day guests are in MK and also have Christmas AH tickets, you can pick up your wrist band in Tomorrowland with little to no line (between the bridge to hub and Stitch building), rather than the LONG line in Town Square.


----------



## Jennasis

We got home from our trip last night and have had some time now to digest everything and try to make sense of it all.  We stayed at BLT from 12/4-12/10 on our DVC points.  The hotel was wonderful and we had a spectacular view with fireworks right outside our balcony every night.  Staff was wonderful all around.  We did all 4 parks, and this is not our first time staying this time of year.  We've been doing this week in December yearly since 2014 though we skipped 2020.

I do not recognize the hot mess WDW has become.  I've never felt so lost and disconnected.  It made me so incredibly sad.  We had been so looking forward to this trip...2 years since our last visit (same week in 2019).

The crowds are mind boggling.  I felt like salmon swimming upstream every single day.  Main Street was always a log jam of humanity all day every day.  I gather there is pent up demand driving people (like me) to the parks, but these crowds were off the chain.  People are not paying attention, just stopping dead in their tracks causing a pile up behind them and angry (someone thought I cut them in line at one point and I though fists were going to fly)  There are people who are clearly SICK, hacking, coughing, sneezing everywhere.  There was literally nowhere to go in the parks to escape the crush.

EPCOT is a shell of itself.  Construction-wall land.  I felt like a rat in a maze.  It's a total joke...an unfunny and mean joke.

Early park entry was a mean joke too.  CM's and park literature telling everyone the park opens 30 min prior to official opening and you get there to find out the park actually opened an HOUR before.

The parks were filthy.  The bathrooms a nightmare.  The streets covered with dirty masks, bits of trash and leaves.  I didn't see a single custodial CM all week sweeping or picking up trash or even drawing a Mickey head on the cement.

Genie+ is an absolute shame.  SHAME on Disney for foisting this disaster on us.  If I may borrow a line from Mushu...DISHONOR!  DISHONOR ON YOU...DISHONOR ON YOUR COW!  What a bloated, buggy, bait-and-switchy pile of garbage.  Having to wake up before 7am every single day of your vacation is ridiculous.  Then having to hope you have the fastest fingers right at 7am to even GET a LL (regular or individual) for the popular attractions is ridiculous.  The app crashes, it logs you out, it sends error  codes, and my favorite, it switches the time you think you're booking right when you click to finalize the transaction  EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.  Every LL I booked, the time changed after I clicked the finalize the choice.  Sometimes by 20 min...often by hours.  And there was so precious little to choose from.  With FP+ I was able to get 8-10 FP a day and reride favorites.  I literally grabbed a LL for BARNSTORMER because it was all that was available, one evening.  And part of me died inside because of it.

Enchantment broke while we were there.  Yep...the nighttime "spectacular" broke.  No projections on Main Street.  Just a bright white spot light above the confectionary blaring down on us.  The only reason we watched from a dangerously packed Main Street was because we wanted to see the projections, otherwise we would have watched from the safety of our balcony at BLT.  I don't think projections would have saved this show...its nowhere near what HEA was.

We did enjoy Harmonious.  It was very vibrant and kinetic. And we had wonderful meals (Steakhouse 71 was fabulous).

I actually started to have a panic attack one night at MK when we went to ride Astro-Orbiter during the fireworks and the CM insisted DH and I ride in 1 rocket.  He's 6' (and had a total knee replacement so can't bend his one knee very well) and I'm 5'8"....had we tried to cram us both into the one rocket they would have had to cut us out.  I finally walked away and let DH ride while the CM's offered to let me ride by myself on the next ride, but at that point I was so disgusted with everything...the crowds, Genie+, LL, I just wanted to go back to our room.

I will adjust our expectations (i.e..lower them) immensely for our upcoming 2022 trips.  We used our DVC points so they are already booked and we have AP's, otherwise we'd be considering Universal.   But I don't recognize this version of WDW and I don't like it at all.


----------



## disneyseniors

Jennasis said:


> We got home from our trip last night and have had some time now to digest everything and try to make sense of it all.  We stayed at BLT from 12/4-12/10 on our DVC points.  The hotel was wonderful and we had a spectacular view with fireworks right outside our balcony every night.  Staff was wonderful all around.  We did all 4 parks, and this is not our first time staying this time of year.  We've been doing this week in December yearly since 2014 though we skipped 2020.
> 
> I do not recognize the hot mess WDW has become.  I've never felt so lost and disconnected.  It made me so incredibly sad.  We had been so looking forward to this trip...2 years since our last visit (same week in 2019).
> 
> The crowds are mind boggling.  I felt like salmon swimming upstream every single day.  Main Street was always a log jam of humanity all day every day.  I gather there is pent up demand driving people (like me) to the parks, but these crowds were off the chain.  People are not paying attention, just stopping dead in their tracks causing a pile up behind them and angry (someone thought I cut them in line at one point and I though fists were going to fly)  There are people who are clearly SICK, hacking, coughing, sneezing everywhere.  There was literally nowhere to go in the parks to escape the crush.
> 
> EPCOT is a shell of itself.  Construction-wall land.  I felt like a rat in a maze.  It's a total joke...an unfunny and mean joke.
> 
> Early park entry was a mean joke too.  CM's and park literature telling everyone the park opens 30 min prior to official opening and you get there to find out the park actually opened an HOUR before.
> 
> The parks were filthy.  The bathrooms a nightmare.  The streets covered with dirty masks, bits of trash and leaves.  I didn't see a single custodial CM all week sweeping or picking up trash or even drawing a Mickey head on the cement.
> 
> Genie+ is an absolute shame.  SHAME on Disney for foisting this disaster on us.  If I may borrow a line from Mushu...DISHONOR!  DISHONOR ON YOU...DISHONOR ON YOUR COW!  What a bloated, buggy, bait-and-switchy pile of garbage.  Having to wake up before 7am every single day of your vacation is ridiculous.  Then having to hope you have the fastest fingers right at 7am to even GET a LL (regular or individual) for the popular attractions is ridiculous.  The app crashes, it logs you out, it sends error  codes, and my favorite, it switches the time you think you're booking right when you click to finalize the transaction  EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.  Every LL I booked, the time changed after I clicked the finalize the choice.  Sometimes by 20 min...often by hours.  And there was so precious little to choose from.  With FP+ I was able to get 8-10 FP a day and reride favorites.  I literally grabbed a LL for BARNSTORMER because it was all that was available, one evening.  And part of me died inside because of it.
> 
> Enchanted broke while we were there.  Yep...the nighttime "spectacular" broke.  No projections on Main Street.  Just a bright white spot light above the confectionary blaring down on us.  The show is nowhere near what HEA was.
> 
> We did enjoy Harmonious.  It was very vibrant and kinetic. And we had wonderful meals (Steakhouse 71 was fabulous).
> 
> I actually started to have a panic attack one night at MK when we went to ride Astro-Orbiter during the fireworks and the CM insisted DH and I ride in 1 rocket.  He's 6' (and had a total knee replacement so can't bend his one knee very well) and I'm 5'8"....had we tried to cram us both into the one rocket they would have had to cut us out.  I finally walked away and let DH ride while the CM's offered to let me ride by myself on the next ride, but at that point I was so disgusted with everything...the crowds, Genie+, LL, I just wanted to go back to our room.
> 
> I will adjust our expectations (i.e..lower them) immensely for our upcoming 2022 trips.  We used our DVC points so they are already booked and we have AP's, otherwise we'd be considering Universal.   But I don't recognize this version of WDW and I don't like it at all.



Jennasis, I have been following your posts for a while now, and your love of disney always comes through.  However, I feel exactly the same way as you do.
It's all very disappointing if you have been going to WDW for years and KNOW how it should be.  It was always our magical place to visit for years.
However, now, with all the changes and money grabs, we have decided that WDW is not on our list of vacation spots anymore.  And this makes me sad, and angry at them for what they are doing to the parks! all in the name of money.  I hope someone else steps up soon in management before the disney we knew isn't anymore.  We are going to miss the old disney, but we are looking forward to new places and experiences.


----------



## Elle23

Jennasis said:


> There are people who are clearly SICK, hacking, coughing, sneezing everywhere.



I wrote about this when we came back from the parks a week ago. My daughter ended up bringing home a nasty respiratory infection she is still fighting. Not the souvenir I had in mind!


----------



## Lsdolphin

cjlong88 said:


> Snow Storm Extravaganza Update:
> 
> We now have an 8pm flight scheduled. They are keeping us on the plane. We will be missing the after hours party, which is a huge bummer. I foresee a long phone call asking nicely for a refund or a credit or something. Not expecting anything from it, but will try regardless. At this point we are just grateful to still get out of here (hopefully) in an hour. We are sitting on the plane adjusting tomorrow’s plans.
> 
> Seriously we have had little to no snow all fall, one of the warmest Novembers and Decembers since I can remember and the one day we fly out a giant snow storm decides to hit.
> 
> Staying positive. Just excited to still visit for the weekend.


Just go to guest services and explain your situation...don’t panic when you no longer see the party tickets showing up on your MDE they automatically disappear after the party date but guest services can see on their computer that you had and didn’t use your tickets for the party...probably won’t given an actual refund but will give you a gift card with total amount you spent on tickets that doesn’t expire  hope you have a safe flight and a great time once you get there.


----------



## cjlong88

Lsdolphin said:


> Just go to guest services and explain your situation...don’t panic when you no longer see the party tickets showing up on your MDE they automatically disappear after the party date but guest services can see on their computer that you had and didn’t use your tickets for the party...probably won’t given an actual refund but will give you a gift card with total amount you spent on tickets that doesn’t expire  hope you have a safe flight and a great time once you get there.


Thank you. It was only a weekend visit so we decided to cancel the entire trip. Disney was kind enough to move our hotel reservation to May (no change fee) and they credited me the difference since it was a lower price. Not sure if those dates will work, but the CM said we will be able to change the reservation on our end since we are once again outside the 30-day window. So that’s nice.

They also told me the value unused tickets can be applied towards another ticketed event. I asked if it could be used when I’m ready to renew our AP’s and he said yes, so that definitely makes us feel better. Flight was completely refunded. In the end we didn’t lose any money. Now we just need to sit down and figure out our make-up trip.

We are visiting WDW with three close friends MLK weekend so at least we won’t be waiting too long to return!


----------



## pigletto

cjlong88 said:


> Flight cancelled. Bummer. Good thing we have a trip planned in January!


I’m to hear that ! I know that must have been really disappointing. I’m glad you have another trip so soon to take the sting out of it.


----------



## SkyGuy

Elle23 said:


> I wrote about this when we came back from the parks a week ago. My daughter ended up bringing home a nasty respiratory infection she is still fighting. Not the souvenir I had in mind!


We went the week of Veteran’s Day. We wore masks more than they were required because there were so many people coughing, sneezing, and blowing noses. My son and I both came home with respiratory infections as well. Mine was so nasty, I took a Covid test, which was negative. My son snapped back fairly quickly, but I still have lingering effects.


----------



## pigletto

SkyGuy said:


> We went the week of Veteran’s Day. We wore masks more than they were required because there were so many people coughing, sneezing, and blowing noses. My son and I both came home with respiratory infections as well. Mine was so nasty, I took a Covid test, which was negative. My son snapped back fairly quickly, but I still have lingering effects.


Worth mentioning that at least where I am in Canada we are having an awful year for RSV which is a respiratory virus. In our public health unit cases are up 65% over the previous year. I do daycare and it absolutely wiped us out over the last two weeks and I was sicker than I can remember in at least a decade. We Covid tested as well. If it’s not one thing it’s another it seems .


----------



## Jennasis

SkyGuy said:


> We went the week of Veteran’s Day. We wore masks more than they were required because there were so many people coughing, sneezing, and blowing noses. My son and I both came home with respiratory infections as well. Mine was so nasty, I took a Covid test, which was negative. My son snapped back fairly quickly, but I still have lingering effects.



We also wore our masks most of the time.  Anytime we were in line indoors or outdoors, stuck in a crowd, any shows etc.


----------



## ThistleMae

Here now, first morning.  Got on the app at 7 a.m. to book Remi...did it!  I was so worried I wouldn't get a boarding group, I even dreamt about it.  Got 94 with return time of 1 p.m. subject to change.  We are going to do early hours at Epcot, eat lunch there, go back to our room for an afternoon swim and then go to Hollywood Studios tonight.  We are not purchasing LL$ or Genie+ for the first few days to see how it goes.  Will post back tonight.


----------



## armerida

SkyGuy said:


> We went the week of Veteran’s Day. We wore masks more than they were required because there were so many people coughing, sneezing, and blowing noses. My son and I both came home with respiratory infections as well. Mine was so nasty, I took a Covid test, which was negative. My son snapped back fairly quickly, but I still have lingering effects.


Same! We were there Veterans weekend too, wore masks in the crowds, yet I still brought home an awful respiratory virus that kept me out of work for days. We noticed so many sick people coughing, sneezing, etc.


----------



## Tuffcookie

ThistleMae said:


> Here now, first morning.  Got on the app at 7 a.m. to book Remi...did it!  I was so worried I wouldn't get a boarding group, I even dreamt about it.  Got 94 with return time of 1 p.m. subject to change.  We are going to do early hours at Epcot, eat lunch there, go back to our room for an afternoon swim and then go to Hollywood Studios tonight.  We are not purchasing LL$ or Genie+ for the first few days to see how it goes.  Will post back tonight.


I’m confused. I thought you had to wait until 2:00 to park hop.  If you are doing early hours at Epcot, don’t you have to wait until 2:00 to enter HS?  Never mind.  You were talking about a boarding group for Remi at 1:00!

TC


----------



## Lsdolphin

While I have loved Disney and appreciated much “pixie dust” over the years  I Just returned from very disappointing trip. Room issues, bus issues, After Hours event issues, Genie+ issues, park hopping issues, Uber issues.....wasted hours and hours trying to resolve problems with very little success. probably going to cancel upcoming trips planned for Jan. and May. even if we do take the trips definitely not planning to renew APs when they expire in June.


----------



## ThistleMae

Did early entry at Epcot.  Did soarin' twice with 10 min. wait both times.  Did living with the land and figment.  Got a iced coffee and headed back to room to chill, eat lunch and head back to Epcot for Remi.  At first we were supposed to be back for our boarding group at 1pm.  Now it's 4:25.  So it sort of messed up my plan to go back to room, swim and go to HS tonight.  So instead, back to Epcot for Remi, park hop to HS after that,  then back to Epcot for fireworks.  Tomorrow's plan is to do Early Hours at MK to get on 7dmt, then when park opens do HM and pirates maybe buzz too.  We will determine whether we need Genie+ after our MK day. Tomorrow night AK for FOP at end of night, right before close.  It's very, very hot here, especially at Epcot, so night is better for me.  We are having fun, taking our time and trying to avoid any long lines.


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## Lancer

Just returned from a Dec 5th - 10th stay at WDW. First, let me preface by saying We had a great time and weather during our stay at the AKL. Also, I am not against change, but sometimes things just shouldn't. The arguement is to keep things fresh, but those beloved 10 year old attractions are , new to alot of people.

- why do they always preface an announcement with " a hugely popular attraction" or "a beloved attraction" or "a guess favorite", followed by its being closed or rethemed. I would think it is popular, because people want to see it just the way it is. 

- It just didn't feel like a 50th anniversary celebration. Sure, "50" was plastered on everything and there were some 50th decorations. But it was like going to someone's 50th birthday, all dressed up, but with no cake or presents. I expected a little bit more, like the "year of a million dreams" celebration.

- All the castmembers were great, as usual. Nice, cheerful, playful, and always willing to help.

- Glad to see the DVC lounge still open. Very simple and basic offerings, but in leu of all the other perks being discontinued, its nice to have.

-It was crowded, expected it to be less so. I don't know what the park capacities are now, but it seemed like it was at 100%. The standby ques were long, but the actual wait times were usually 15-20 minutes less than the time on Genie and the entrance board.

-We did not use Genie plus or individual attraction tickets. With the 30 minutes early entry for resort guests and the 2 hour extended hours for deluxe resort guests, we rode everything, some multiple times. The standby lanes were sometimes long, but moved quickly.

-I hope the castle icicle lights come back next year.

-The "Guest Experience" stations scattered around the parks was a great idea. Better than having to go all the way back to Guest relations at the front of the park. Hope it continues.

-After riding Mickey and Minnie's runaway rail train for the first time, I looked at my friends and said "They replaced the Great movie ride with this?" A big(but not the biggest) disappointment.

- I really, really tried to like Harmonious, but just came away disappointed. To me, it was just a mishmash of random swirling lights and spraying water. The random raising of the curved arms did nothing to add to the performance. Maybe it was the viewing angle as we watched from near the Mexican restaurant. Not to mention the eyesore during the day. Give me a 20 year old illuminations any day, every day. Everything now a days seems to be projection mapping, lasers, or abstract video graphics.

-I discovered a Coke beverage worse tasting than Beverly. That would be the sour plum drink from China. I can at least choke down Beverly in small sips.

- I was overjoyed to see that "Feathered friends in Flight" went back to the old Flights of wonder type show. The interim years shows with the up characters where just plain bad despite the animals. Finnaly, they listened to the guests.

- I am glad I got to ride the current versions of Spaceship earth and splash mountain one last time before their refurbishment/retheming. Given the recent track record, hate to see what will happen to them now.

- they need to add a landing scene to the end of soarin.

-Other than the outside loop, test track is nothing more than black painted wood cutouts with florescent coloring. Another example of reimagining of a ride gone wrong.

- Watched the Candlelight processional with the dining package. I thought Alton Fitzgerald White did an awesome job as did all the performers. A few days latter, saw parts of the show with Bart Millard, from standing in the back and thought he was flat/monotone in his reading. Wish we could be there for Courtney B. Vance. I bet he'll be great.

- We will probably go back in 2-3 years, Jan/Feb, once all the delayed attractions are completed, parades and night time shows come back light Fantasmic, and Behind the scene tours come back. Essentially when things get back to normal, normal.

Until then, hoping fore the best


----------



## loves to dive

Here now, staying at Coronado Springs - Casitas.  Drove down, got on the road at 5:45 this morning and arrived at CS about 1:15.  First bit of pixie dust:  I went to the front desk to check in and originally they had me in a first floor Ranchos room, which I was o.k. with.  The CM asked if I was by myself and when I said yes, she said wait a minute I'm changing your room.  She moved me to Casitas to a third floor room because she didn't want me on the bottom floor.  I actually wanted to be in Casitas but wasn't going to ask to be moved.  
Parked the car and went up to my room and freshened up a bit then headed to the bus stop.  The bus came 1 min. after I got there.  It took 15 min. from the time I walked into the bus stop until I was walking in the gates of Epcot.  SSE was showing a 10 min. wait so after taking a picture I went there, it was a walk on.  While on the ride I noticed the back was missing on one of my ear rings so I went to Creations and bought a new pair.  After that I was hungry since I hadn't eaten since breakfast so walked over to Mexico to see if I could get a table at La Cava, they told me they weren't seating people.  Walked over to one of the shops to get some money added to my gift card then got a Tamale and Marg. from the Mexico booth.   Continued walking around WS and got the cheese bowl and the cookie for the cookie trail from Belgium.  After that I was full so walked over to France to see the Remi section and back to Future World.  Figment was showing a 20 min. wait so I thought why not, it was actually a 10 min. wait.  Went to the Land and Soarin was showing a 45 min. wait so I jumped in line.  It was only 15 min.   Living with the Land was showing a 10 min wait so I went there, it was actually 15 min. but I loved the Christmas decorations on it.   I was exhausted by then, it was around 6:30 so I headed out of the park, stopping to take pictures of SSE doing her show.  Went back to my room and put on a hoody then went to the Tower to watch the movie, which was Jungle Cruise.  I was the only one there, which was weird but nice.  That's it for the night.  I had a good day, all the CM's have been great, it was a little crowded at Epcot but I expected that given the time of year.  Off to AK tomorrow morning.  I don't plan on getting Genie + at all.


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## Tonberry

We just got back from our week long December trip, and while we had a lot of fun, we've never had so many disappointing experiences. Wow, the parks were busy! Guess those old December days of low crowds are gone. I remember in 2016 rides like Haunted Mansion were walk-on. Now, 65 minutes. This was the busiest December I can ever remember.
We came back from the parks and found an infestation of ants in our room. It took them 4 hours to move us, likely because all their rooms were booked out and they had nowhere to put us. Not Disney's fault at all. Just a disappointing experience.

Probably the worst was the amount of rude guests. Someone tried to pick a fight with me for walking too slow. I refused to engage them and stoop to their low. I got my foot ran over twice with strollers and not even an apology. Just dirty looks like it was my fault. Multiple people cutting in from of me and line saving. Even a CM of a VIP tour knocked my son down trying to get his party onto MMRR.


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## jlundeen

We encountered lots of "traffic police" during our after Thanksgiving trip also....  One lady even yelled out at all the folks coming at them that "here, we drive on the right" implying that the traffic flow all abide by traffic rules - which normally does kind of work, except when folks are trying to cross over at intersections, or other areas like coming out of shops and wanting to go left...  the tide of oncoming guests often does not allow for crossing over to the other side - especially for those of us on scooters.  

The biggest gripe I have is the number of people who simply STOP in the middle of the walk way, especially large groups, to discuss who knows what while the moving throngs have to work their way around them - rocks in a moving stream is how I think of them.  All the while the "rocks" pay no attention to the needless congestion that could be avoided by simply moving to the side when they need to stop.


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## elgerber

cjlong88 said:


> Thank you. It was only a weekend visit so we decided to cancel the entire trip. Disney was kind enough to move our hotel reservation to May (no change fee) and they credited me the difference since it was a lower price. Not sure if those dates will work, but the CM said we will be able to change the reservation on our end since we are once again outside the 30-day window. So that’s nice.
> 
> They also told me the value unused tickets can be applied towards another ticketed event. I asked if it could be used when I’m ready to renew our AP’s and he said yes, so that definitely makes us feel better. Flight was completely refunded. In the end we didn’t lose any money. Now we just need to sit down and figure out our make-up trip.
> 
> We are visiting WDW with three close friends MLK weekend so at least we won’t be waiting too long to return!


So sorry you had to cancel. That was one heck of storm.  We got about 4 inches, but my dd had almost a foot and the south metro totals were insane!


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## Lilias

Are most of the rude people in Magic Kingdom and not the other parks?  If some lady yelled at my husband (or me especially) for something as silly as not moving in the direction she wanted, he would legit start a fight with her, so now I'm like do I cancel my trip, is this an anomaly, or do we just avoid Magic Kingdom?  We're going the second week of March, which I thought would be a lower crowd time since easter is so late next year, but I could very much be wrong!  

Yiiiikes.


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## Smuffy

Morning. Arriving tomorrow. Could anyone tell me if it is still as busy as last week please? Noticed a lot of the parks aren’t available this week so I guess I already know the answer!


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## CampbellzSoup

Here now it’s HOT and CROWDED - but I’m loving taking my son to enjoy Christmas at disney.

Ive been multiple times while fast past was gone and Lightening lane has completely and utterly ruined standby.


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## CanadaSCM

armerida said:


> Same! We were there Veterans weekend too, wore masks in the crowds, yet I still brought home an awful respiratory virus that kept me out of work for days. We noticed so many sick people coughing, sneezing, etc.



Add another to the list. We were in the parks Nov 15-19 and I was blown away by how many symptomatic people were out and about like it didn’t matter. My daughter got COVID (asymptomatic, only found out when we tested to fly home) and I got a respiratory virus that I’m finally mostly over.

Keep in mind the masks prevent the wearer from spreading, not so much from contracting. So unless everyone (or at least everyone symptomatic) is wearing them you don’t actually have much protection.

Sounds like crowds have gotten crazy since we left, I’m glad our timing worked out like it has in the past for lower crowds.


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## CampbellzSoup

People always spread germs in a theme park since the Dawn of time.


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## thanxfornoticin

CampbellzSoup said:


> People always spread germs in a theme park since the Dawn of time.


Or at least since the 20th century when theme parks were introduced!


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## thanxfornoticin

Lilias said:


> Are most of the rude people in Magic Kingdom and not the other parks?  If some lady yelled at my husband (or me especially) for something as silly as not moving in the direction she wanted, he would legit start a fight with her, so now I'm like do I cancel my trip, is this an anomaly, or do we just avoid Magic Kingdom?  We're going the second week of March, which I thought would be a lower crowd time since easter is so late next year, but I could very much be wrong!
> 
> Yiiiikes.


Not sure about other experiences, but we were there last week.  We definitely found way more rudeness at EPCOT than any other park.  It's not scientific, but we attribute that to the crowded paths with the festival stands/construction, and the alcohol.

I wouldn't cancel a trip because of some reports of rudeness.  You could run into a rude person at the grocery store.  Just bring some patience with you and ignore those who don't.


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## CampbellzSoup

thanxfornoticin said:


> Or at least since the 20th century when theme parks were introduced!



since the Dawn of theme parks I meant lol.

oh yeah if people are rude ignore them and smile it says more about then than you for sure


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## tinkychloe

Lilias said:


> Are most of the rude people in Magic Kingdom and not the other parks?  If some lady yelled at my husband (or me especially) for something as silly as not moving in the direction she wanted, he would legit start a fight with her, so now I'm like do I cancel my trip, is this an anomaly, or do we just avoid Magic Kingdom?  We're going the second week of March, which I thought would be a lower crowd time since easter is so late next year, but I could very much be wrong!
> 
> Yiiiikes.



If he has such a short fuse, I'd suggest a crowded place like Disney World is not a good destination. It sounds like it will be a test of his patience for the entire trip.


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## Aimeedyan

We visit frequently and I have found the rudeness is the most prevalent when it's hot and crowded. That's almost always when you see the fights break out at the end of the day. Hot. crowded. tired. The park itself doesn't matter as much, though MK has lots of tight spaces (and the post fireworks nightmare!) so it's may be the biggest offender. 

I had my worst guest experience at Epcot during F&WF (hot + crowded).

Will add that we were there Friday and Saturday staying at AKL. Skipped parks on Friday due to crowds (did Night of a Million Lights instead and it's the best thing Central FL is offering - DON'T MISS IT). Visited Epcot on Sat morning: watched Jammitors, saw Mickey, played in the water fountains, stopped at Creation, left. The crowds were not something I had any interest in navigating and it was too hot already. Those are the days when I'm thankful I visit often and have an AP. 

Crowds were much higher than they normally are this time of year (comparing to pre-COVID). We do our holiday staycation this time each year and this year was very different in crowd levels. 

We're sitting out the rest of the month and come back in January in hopes the crowds go back down.


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## Lilias

tinkychloe said:


> If he has such a short fuse, I'd suggest a crowded place like Disney World is not a good destination. It sounds like it will be a test of his patience for the entire trip.



He's usually fine, but when someone makes it personal he just can't abide it!  

Hopefully people will have chilled out a little come March


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## disneyseniors

CampbellzSoup said:


> People always spread germs in a theme park since the Dawn of time.



I agree 100%!  We have been going to WDW yearly for several years.  One of us ALWAYS comes home sick, usually my husband.  It always starts the day before we leave and our last day is usually miserable.  The usual symptoms are cough, congestion, and once a high fever!   It always happens.
There's no way any park is safe from viruses, whatever their name may be, with thousands of people from all walks of life and various countries.  Just no way, so we have always been aware of that risk when going to any amusement park, but especially WDW.  There is no way to get around it, IMO,


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## Jennasis

Our encounter with short-tempered guests was at Disney Springs.  Someone thought I cut them in a line (there was no line) and when I pointed that out and still offered to let them go ahead of me they started getting loud and mouthy.  We walked away.


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## rangerxenos

Back from my November 29 - December 8 trip.  Had a wonderful time despite the unexpected crowds for early December, it was INSANE.  I travel during this timeframe every other year or so, and I've never seen crowds like this.  We actually left Animal Kingdom on the 5th because it was so crowded.  65 minute wait for the safari no matter what time of day it was, and it took us an hour to get through the Flights of Passage line and we were there 30 minutes before early opening.

I will say that indoor mask compliance overall was very good, I was shocked. I wore my mask outside in the crowds as well, and I'll admit that the first couple of days of the trip left me really feeling that I had made a mistake coming. It's one thing to read that Covid numbers are good down there, it's safe. It's quite another to go from not being around a lot of people to being in huge crowds again. I did finally get used to it, and just wore a mask outside when there were lots of people. I suggest wearing a good mask, for protection not for looks, as others have said people sick and hacking everywhere.

Went to the Merriest Christmas party on the 7th, and it was awful. I had not planned on going because tickets were double what they were on my last trip, but my traveling companion really wanted to go as she's never been during the holidays, and bought my ticket. Crowds were insane until 9, when the party actually started and everyone else had to leave. Very few free snack carts open throughout the park, and long lines at all of them. Almost no Photopass photographers to be found to do the special Magic shots they supposedly had. The parade was shorter than normal. I will say that the Christmas fireworks were great, but 4 hours for $229 was price gouging, sorry.

CMs to a one were wonderful, I did not run into any of the rude ones that people keep mentioning, in fact quite the opposite.

Tried a few restaurants for the first time, and all were very good. Sanaa has gone on our list of restaurants to go to every trip, I finally got there this trip and both the service and food were wonderful, even with a limited menu. Steakhouse 71 was also excellent, service and food. And I did enjoy my Space 220 lunch, even though it was a pricey experience. Appetizer and drink were excellent, entree was just okay. Atmosphere was wonderful!

LOVED the two new rides that have opened since my last trip, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad (though it's too short a ride!) and Ratatouille. The later was an absolute delight, and I'm not even a big fan of the movie.  Was very disappointed with Enchanted, though it was a little better from further back where you can see some of the projections on the buildings on Main Street. They should have tied it better to the 50th celebration, and had at LEAST a mention of Walt Disney. It just seemed to be too much flash and too little heart.  Harmonious, on the other hand, was wonderful, I was surprised at how much I loved it.

We did not use Genie+, and were very glad we didn't, seemed to be lots of confusion, the app didn't work a lot of the time, and the most popular rides had no times left by early afternoon, which kind of defeats the purpose.  We found that rope drop was a must to get anything done with the crowds.  We only went to one extended evening hours, at EPCOT, and those were wonderful, almost no lines to speak of.  I wish they would do them every night at one park, and add HS and AK to the list.   We did pay to ride Rise of the Resistance, but turns out we probably didn't need to as wait times at the very end of the night were only an hour.

I had another wonderful stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, we ended up with a great view of the animals despite booking a Standard room.  Not sure if it was considered a Standard with a partial view or not, but it was lovely.  I was not happy when they tried to talk me out of any housekeeping for my 9 night stay, and even less happy when they ended up coming only once to do a light housekeeping after I told them I would do the every 3 days.  For a deluxe resort, that is completely unacceptable, and for stays of more than a week they should be doing a thorough housekeeping after a week.


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## scrappinginontario

Please take this thread back to actual experiences.  Yes, you may share if you encounter rude people but please do not comment about if another person should/should not go to the parks as that is not 'Here Now and Just Back'.  Also, please discontinue the thoughts on sharing germs.  

Let's get this back on track to sharing guests actual experiences recently or now, as they're there.


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## thanxfornoticin

Aimeedyan said:


> Skipped parks on Friday due to crowds (did Night of a Million Lights instead and it's the best thing Central FL is offering - DON'T MISS IT).


We could not agree more.  My wife came across the event online, and we tried it the one evening from 8-10.  Less than a 1/2 hour drive and it was spectacular.  Go if you are in the area, but know you have to pre-buy tickets for a particular time slot to keep crowds manageable.  It's amazing and well run.  Glad you brought it up!


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## Shellyred8

Just back from our 12/3 - 12/10 trip.  We did the parks on 12/5 - 12/7.  This was our last trip before our APs expire.  We won't be renewing them this time around.  We've been to WDW many times during this same timeframe and I was really surprised at how busy it was!  We planned Epcot for a Tuesday thinking it wouldn't be too busy.  Boy was I wrong!  
We didn't use Genie+ or ILL.  We've been there enough times that we didn't care if we got on certain rides or not.  
We got to see Enchanted for the first time.  If you've never seen a WDW fireworks show, this would probably be pretty good for you.  It was just "ok" for us as we've seen what Disney is capable of doing and know that Enchanted is not up to par with past shows.  The people standing beside us were delightful to visit with though!  They hadn't been to WDW in years, so they really enjoyed the show.  
One of my main goals for this trip was to see the Storytellers in EP.  I really missed them last year.  We didn't get to see all of them, but the ones we did see were so much fun!  

The weather last week was absolutely delightful!  I was hoping our flight back to Minnesota would get cancelled so we could enjoy one more day down there!  But it was not meant to be.  

One of the biggest things that I missed this year was the Castle all decked out in her sparkly lights.  They really need to bring that back for future years, as it just adds so much to the park at night.


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## thanxfornoticin

Shellyred8 said:


> One of the biggest things that I missed this year was the Castle all decked out in her sparkly lights.  They really need to bring that back for future years, as it just adds so much to the park at night.


Agreed - expecting it's just a one-off for the 50th Anniversary design for the castle.  Then again, the 50th Anniversary celebration might extend past next Christmas, so I guess it could be this way for 2 holiday seasons?  You're right, though - the way they normally light up the castle for the holidays is breath-taking.  

Funny, we were playing a bit with some of the photo filters you can get with Genie+.  One of them was to take a photo with the pink cake design for the 25th.  Who would want more pictures with that design??  Not us!  We'll take the sparkling lights!


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## scrappinginontario

thanxfornoticin said:


> Agreed - expecting it's just a one-off for the 50th Anniversary design for the castle.  Then again, the 50th Anniversary celebration might extend past next Christmas, so I guess it could be this way for 2 holiday seasons?  You're right, though - the way they normally light up the castle for the holidays is breath-taking.
> 
> Funny, we were playing a bit with some of the photo filters you can get with Genie+.  One of them was to take a photo with the pink cake design for the 25th.  Who would want more pictures with that design??  Not us!  We'll take the sparkling lights!


The 50th Anniversary celebration is scheduled to be 18 months long and began Oct 1, 2021.


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## Mle8308

Back from a week at Disney (12/4 to 12/12), I was also very surprised at how busy it was! I go this week every year and it was more crowded than pre-covid times. I guess revenge travel has really kicked in! I did not do Genie + because I visit a few times each year and if a line is too long, I just skip it. I did get a boarding group for Remy at 7am with no problem, it was cute but I would not pay to ride it. Parks were definitely not as clean as when I was there in August, the queue lines were very dirty, though no overflowing trash cans. I was not very impressed with Enchanted at the MK. It was fine, nice fireworks and a lighting overlay on Main Street, but nothing special, especially since it was for the 50th. No Disney "history" included in the presentation. Harmonious was fine, too. Though I don't think it's worth having those monstrosities in World Showcase Lagoon all day. The lighting effects on Spaceship Earth are wonderful! There are 3 short shows (one for Christmas) that run about every 10 minutes. I could have watched that for hours! Food booths were good, but some had longer lines than the attractions! Did not go to DHS since we went a few times in August, decided to have more pool days since the weather was so great. DAK was busy as well. The puppet animals are delightful (not a word I use often, but it describes the puppets and puppeteers quite well). We forgot about Kite Tails, so I can't report on that show. As another poster mentioned, we did go to the Night of a Million Lights at GKTW Village. It was fantastic. We went last year, it was a little different this year because they are hosting families again. Some of the areas we were able to tour last year were not available and part of the tour is now by tram instead of walking. I highly recommend attending if you can, buy your tickets ahead of time online, many nights will sell out, especially as it gets closer to Christmas. The resorts were beautiful with the Christmas decorations, it was nice spending a day checking out each of them. Stayed at my favorite, the WL, and it was as good as ever, though I do hope they start and complete a BR renovation before our summer trip, fingers crossed! As for merchandise/shopping, you can tell they are having supply chain issues. Halloween merchandise is still on display at some shops, and at others, one item will take up tons of shelf space (at the Emporium the area where the 50th merchandise is sold had literally walls and floor fixtures full of the foam soap dispensers). Guess this was good for my wallet! I think I expected more from Disney with it being the 50th celebration, it definitely did not compare to other milestone years. I would not have known anything special was being celebrated if it were not for the banners. I really can't qualify it, but I did come away with the feeling that things were being cut or shortchanged, even more so than this past August. Overall, it was a nice trip (it was Disney, afterall), however if things keep on this same path, I may cut back to one Disney trip each year and do something different (I almost can't believe I actually said that). I heard quite a few people saying the same thing at different points and at different locations during this trip. I guess we'll see!


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## ThistleMae

Bought Genie+ today for MK.  Didn't do the early morning hours and the lines were pretty okay arriving a little after 9 a.m.  The genie only got us on 2 rides.  The times they give you for return are spread too far apart.  Jungle cruise was already at 4:20 to book at 9 a.m.  So for the park hopping people, it just doesn't work well.  We still enjoyed our morning in spite of it being very crowded and very hot.  Left at noon and hopping later to HS and got one genie+ for TS.  I love the parks at night.  For me, it's a bit too hot this week, so going back to the room in between for a rest works best.  Love the skyliner!


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## thanxfornoticin

Mle8308 said:


> Back from a week at Disney (12/4 to 12/12), I was also very surprised at how busy it was! I go this week every year and it was more crowded than pre-covid times. I guess revenge travel has really kicked in! I did not do Genie + because I visit a few times each year and if a line is too long, I just skip it. I did get a boarding group for Remy at 7am with no problem, it was cute but I would not pay to ride it. Parks were definitely not as clean as when I was there in August, the queue lines were very dirty, though no overflowing trash cans. I was not very impressed with Enchanted at the MK. It was fine, nice fireworks and a lighting overlay on Main Street, but nothing special, especially since it was for the 50th. No Disney "history" included in the presentation. Harmonious was fine, too. Though I don't think it's worth having those monstrosities in World Showcase Lagoon all day. The lighting effects on Spaceship Earth are wonderful! There are 3 short shows (one for Christmas) that run about every 10 minutes. I could have watched that for hours! Food booths were good, but some had longer lines than the attractions! Did not go to DHS since we went a few times in August, decided to have more pool days since the weather was so great. DAK was busy as well. The puppet animals are delightful (not a word I use often, but it describes the puppets and puppeteers quite well). We forgot about Kite Tails, so I can't report on that show. As another poster mentioned, we did go to the Night of a Million Lights at GKTW Village. It was fantastic. We went last year, it was a little different this year because they are hosting families again. Some of the areas we were able to tour last year were not available and part of the tour is now by tram instead of walking. I highly recommend attending if you can, buy your tickets ahead of time online, many nights will sell out, especially as it gets closer to Christmas. The resorts were beautiful with the Christmas decorations, it was nice spending a day checking out each of them. Stayed at my favorite, the WL, and it was as good as ever, though I do hope they start and complete a BR renovation before our summer trip, fingers crossed! As for merchandise/shopping, you can tell they are having supply chain issues. Halloween merchandise is still on display at some shops, and at others, one item will take up tons of shelf space (at the Emporium the area where the 50th merchandise is sold had literally walls and floor fixtures full of the foam soap dispensers). Guess this was good for my wallet! I think I expected more from Disney with it being the 50th celebration, it definitely did not compare to other milestone years. I would not have known anything special was being celebrated if it were not for the banners. I really can't qualify it, but I did come away with the feeling that things were being cut or shortchanged, even more so than this past August. Overall, it was a nice trip (it was Disney, afterall), however if things keep on this same path, I may cut back to one Disney trip each year and do something different (I almost can't believe I actually said that). I heard quite a few people saying the same thing at different points and at different locations during this trip. I guess we'll see!


Agree completely with your assessment of Enchanted (the Christmas party fireworks/projections were much better), also your assessment of the lights on Spaceship Earth - that was a very pleasant surprise and quite stunning.  After dark, the World Showcase lagoon kind of hid the hardware in the lake (and we did enjoy Harmonious), but it's pretty ugly during the day.....  And perhaps our biggest takeaway was the lack of merchandise to buy - my spouse was incredibly disappointed, as were many folks we saw in the stores.  Very little 50th stuff.  Absolutely no glass Christmas ornaments, even at the big Christmas store at DS.  They are missing out on mega-bucks in sales by not having things on the shelve people are desperate to buy.  As you said - saved on the wallet, but was disappointing.  Some things our out of their control, however.


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## CampbellzSoup

This is on a Monday the week before the big holiday week those going next week I’ll pray for you!


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## scrappinginontario

CampbellzSoup said:


> This is on a Monday the week before the big holiday week those going next week I’ll pray for you!View attachment 630323



Hollywood Studios is at capacity today so unless they increase capacity next week, it should not be any worse than it is today.

Pictures can also be subjective.  That particular location is a main thoroughfare at DHS.

I'm not saying it's not busy but I also don't want to add fear to those who are already booked and going next week.  That's doesn't do anything to help them.


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## Beachmom0317

Hi everyone- we arrive 12/21 and I so appreciate your experiences. Can anyone share if the food both lines have been super long on crowded days? We're going to EPCOT on 12/23 and I currently have the Candlelight Processional package booked at 1:20pm at Biergarten for the 5:15 Candlelight Processional show. I'd rather snack around the world but I'm thinking it might be best to have the reservation if food booth lines will be crazy


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## scrappinginontario

Beachmom0317 said:


> Hi everyone- we arrive 12/21 and I so appreciate your experiences. Can anyone share if the food both lines have been super long on crowded days? We're going to EPCOT on 12/23 and I currently have the Candlelight Processional package booked at 1:20pm at Biergarten for the 5:15 Candlelight Processional show. I'd rather snack around the world but I'm thinking it might be best to have the reservation if food booth lines will be crazy



I have a friend who is there now.  While she says it feels very crowded, the lines for the food booths today have not been too bad.  She's guessing 10-12 people in most lines.

Update:  As the time has gotten later many of the lines are around 30 people deep.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

scrappinginontario said:


> Hollywood Studios is at capacity today so unless they increase capacity next week, it should not be any worse than it is today.
> 
> Pictures can also be subjective.  That particular location is a main thoroughfare at DHS.
> 
> I'm not saying it's not busy but I also don't want to add fear to those who are already booked and going next week.  That's doesn't do anything to help them.



telling people it’s busy doesn’t help them?

I got just about everything done today everything was a 70 minute wait outside of the muppets.  Rise of the resistance has a brief time it went down and people left so when it reopened it wasn’t crazy line but lightening lane  is gonna be a must for those who don’t want to wait long lines.


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## katyjeka

We were in AK today, leaving now. Rode Flight of Passage, Navi River, and safari before 9. Rode dinosaur twice, tri spin, Everest 5, yes 5 times, Lion King, Kite show, It's tough to be a bug. We were walking around at 5 deciding what to do...party of 8 no Genie. Forgot, we also saw Feather Friends in Flight. Great day!!;


----------



## Incus

Here in line at Toy story mania. This is the 3rd ride that went down while were in line today. Once a ride goes down the lightening lanes back up and guess who has priority when it reopens. ROTR took us 3 hours today as we were already 65 minutes in when it went  down. RNRR we were 30 minutes in for a 55 minute wait before they told everyone to leave. Now we're going on 40 minutes for a 45 posted wait time and now that we are moving, I'm guessing another 20-25 minutes while they load the lightening lane people at the 9 groups to 1 ratio that they follow. Got to the parks at 9am and here it is 7:10pm and this will be our 4th ride. Just got another announcement that they're having another delay. Don't even mention genie+. Did it yesterday at MK and it was a nightmare with rides going surah there too. Money and time wasted. 
Ugh. We've been in the parks over a hundred times. I'm saddened by this trip.


----------



## CBMom01

I’ve been watching the tip board and it does seem like there’s a lot of downtime. I’m sure staffing is a challenge there


----------



## SkyGuy

CampbellzSoup said:


> People always spread germs in a theme park since the Dawn of time.


Very true, but we have been lucky enough over the years to have not come home with any unwanted germy stowaways. Our November trip was the first time in dozens and dozens of trips over the years that we’ve come home sick - including 8 post-Covid.


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## katyjeka

We timed many rides today and wait times were 15 minutes and many were 20/25 minutes less than stated. Some waits that posted 30 minutes were actually just the time it took to walk to the boarding. We were able to keep pace with the people in the lightning lane. I was honestly not excited for this trip. I had read so many bad reviews. Maybe we've just lucked out but cast members have been awesome. The only negative so far was a dirty restroom by Lion King. I did see many cast members walking around with brooms keeping garbage picked up. We have yet to see one overflowing can as I read in previous reviews. Youngest was given a free Mickey pretzel for answering a question about a spider. Dole whips were as tasty as ever. We've had no issue finding a table to eat on different occasions. The eggnog cupcake was YUM!!


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## katyjeka

I forgot to add that although there seems to be a lot of people they don't seem to be riding. It's the strangest thing. I have noticed a ton of people with heads buried in phones. I left my phone in the room, yes I'm that old school!!!!


----------



## TandT

Tonberry said:


> We just got back from our week long December trip, and while we had a lot of fun, we've never had so many disappointing experiences. Wow, the parks were busy! Guess those old December days of low crowds are gone. I remember in 2016 rides like Haunted Mansion were walk-on. Now, 65 minutes. This was the busiest December I can ever remember.
> We came back from the parks and found an infestation of ants in our room. It took them 4 hours to move us, likely because all their rooms were booked out and they had nowhere to put us. Not Disney's fault at all. Just a disappointing experience.
> 
> Probably the worst was the amount of rude guests. Someone tried to pick a fight with me for walking too slow. I refused to engage them and stoop to their low. I got my foot ran over twice with strollers and not even an apology. Just dirty looks like it was my fault. Multiple people cutting in from of me and line saving. Even a CM of a VIP tour knocked my son down trying to get his party onto MMRR.


We experienced some rude people too !! As we were walking with my 6 year old daughter .. I had a bad knee that day and had my compression sock on with a knee brace to help me move faster , but this ****** In an ECV with a Santa hat on no less was right on my heels. He cut in front of my husband and daughter , got in between us and my husband thought he was going to run me over . He kept looking back at my husband knowing full well what he was doing.  I kept turning back every 2 seconds because I could almost feel him on my heels . 
  This was on our way to the Remy Ride . He was going in a total separate line than we are anyway but my husband told me if he would of ran into me with his ECV, he was going to be sorry


----------



## loves to dive

1st full day here today.  Bus arrived at CS right when I got to the stop and we were at AK in about 15 min.  I got there about 2 min. before the early entry ended.  Walked onto Safari, so many animals out the lion was walking around and roaring, the spring boks were springing.  Walked the Gorilla trail, again lots of active animals, there are two families of mamas and kids and the kids were out running and chasing each other.  Walked the trail in Asia, again active, both tigers out and one very vocal.  All the keepers were so great in answering questions.  Then I got some breakfast and sat and watched people.  Went over and rode Dinosaur, posted wait 35 min, it was 15.  Rode the train to the petting zoo and petted some animals and watched two goats "playing" ramming heads and jumping up and down.  Saw a bird getting a MRI done.  It was about 11:45 by then so walked over to Nomad Lounge and got on the waiting list, it was going to be a 60 min. wait.  I went to the front and watched the puppets, so cute.  Walked both trails around the Tree of Life and browsed some shops.  Had sliders and a refreshing adult beverage at Nomad Lounge.  Rode Navi, it was posted a 45 min. wait, was 20.  Left to go back to the resort for some pool time but on the way out the anteater was out walking around and playing.   Such a great AK day.  I'll be back at some point later in the week.   Pool time and resting then around 5:30 hopped on a bus to MK, I wanted to see the FWs and had no other goal in mind.  As soon as I got in the park I pulled up Caseys and the next open time was 5 min. away so I placed an order.   By the time I got down the street my time was available to pressed ready to order and in about 5 min. had me some corn dog nuggets and fries.  Took them over to the concrete benches under the Tom. Land sign.  Since I really had nothing to do just sat there and chatted with hubby on my phone and read on my Kindle.   Had a great spot picked out and of course 5 min. before the fireworks and entire family came and got in front of me.  I just wanted to see the fireworks and Tinkerbell so I was fine with that.   I have two days reserved at MK, tom. and later in the week so didn't intend to ride any rides, but I was there and people mover was calling my name.  It was a walk on.  Decided since I was there might as well knock out Big Thunder Mountain.  It was posted 45 min but changed to 35 min. by the time I got to the sign, it was 30 min.   Again, what the heck so went to SDMT.  Posted 55 min. it was 20.   Slowly left the park, taking pictures or Main St. and just enjoying the lights.   Bus was at the stop as soon as I got there, standing room only but it was fine.

Another great day, all CMs were really nice and friendly, most of the people were o.k.   A lot of exposed noses in lines at MK and on the bus but didn't really encounter any horribly rude people.   It was hot during the day and cool at night.   Tomorrow MK in the morning and who knows where in the afternoon/evening.


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## CampbellzSoup

Ok let’s just talk some impressions for those who are thinking about coming and having vacations booked soon…

disney is going to get away with anything because the magic is real…

We didn’t rope drop because I work everyday at 5 am getting up that early is not vacation for me, at all.  Additionally I’m not paying for genie Plus for at least this trip as I wanted to see how it worked out.

You need Genie Plus if you want to ride rides without long lines, period.  The crowds were insane and thankfully I got to utilize child swap while we took turns without the baby in line.

 The plus is that I found the opposite of what you guys are saying about rude people being as I’m single on most of these lines people enjoy talking to me lol.  Most people are fabulous and wonderful, so please don’t think the magic in guests is gone.

I travel with a baby now and I’ll be honest I don’t think it’s that bad.  This is his 5th trip since the pandemic and the restrictions are null and void pretty much gone it’s funny we went when it was the strictest to now whag felt like normal times.

no jingle bell jingle bam sign off hurt I’m sorry they did some other show but jingle bell jingle bam was so special to end the night and to have the entrance full of snow was so magical.

overall having a magical time as the rides and cast members are magical FOR Sure!  The photopass people take the best time and photos of my baby!

overall the magic is here, in diet form.


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## mickeymom629

loves to dive said:


> 1st full day here today. Bus arrived at CS right when I got to the stop and we were at AK in about 15 min. I got there about 2 min. before the early entry ended. Walked onto Safari, so many animals out the lion was walking around and roaring, the spring boks were springing. Walked the Gorilla trail, again lots of active animals, there are two families of mamas and kids and the kids were out running and chasing each other. Walked the trail in Asia, again active, both tigers out and one very vocal. All the keepers were so great in answering questions. Then I got some breakfast and sat and watched people. Went over and rode Dinosaur, posted wait 35 min, it was 15. Rode the train to the petting zoo and *petted some animals and watched two goats "playing" ramming heads and jumping up and down.* Saw a bird getting a MRI done. It was about 11:45 by then so walked over to Nomad Lounge and got on the waiting list, it was going to be a 60 min. wait. *I went to the front and watched the puppets*, so cute. Walked both trails around the Tree of Life and browsed some shops. Had sliders and a refreshing adult beverage at Nomad Lounge. Rode Navi, it was posted a 45 min. wait, was 20.


 So glad you had a good morning at AK!  I hope we can, too, on our upcoming trip!  So, the petting zoo is open?  Do you know if the puppets are going to be there in January or are they only there for the holidays?  Are they there all day?


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## rangerxenos

mickeymom629 said:


> So glad you had a good morning at AK!  I hope we can, too, on our upcoming trip!  So, the petting zoo is open?  Do you know if the puppets are going to be there in January or are they only there for the holidays?  Are they there all day?



I believe the puppets are only there for the holidays, guessing they'll be gone when the holiday decorations are.


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## docindigo76

Just back last night from our 12/3-12/13 trip with a day at Kennedy Space Center thrown in.  Holy cowz was it hot and crowded.  Crowded we expected but the weather got to both of us, and we had some rough hotel issues (stayed at Contemporary), but all in all had a good time and the manager at the hotel took care of some things for us to help make up for some of our experiences there (he was really nice and level-headed...and when you speak with staff calmly, you have a good chance of getting nice things in return).  I'm glad we took the plunge and went now--my partner already has ideations of a return visit for us to make up for some of the snafus.  Lot of lessons learned, but still magic was to be found and we experienced special moments.  Genie+ also was fairly intuitive for us and we had no issues with it.

Highlights:

We got to watch the Disney Dream depart from Port Canaveral.  She sang for us as we were dining on the deck of a beautiful waterfront restaurant!
The character meet-and-greets with Mickey and Minnie were a total hoot.  We really made an effort to engage with them and even at a distance we were charmed.  We had the cast members attending them laughing too.  I think my boyfriend would now like to leave me for Minnie Mouse.  That's ok--I've got dibs on Santa Stitch. 
Character interactions at Chef Mickey's breakfast were fantastic in the middle of the week (unfortunately was rushed yesterday morning  ). Food was solid, not gourmet by any means but still tasty and filled us up for a day in the parks.  Plus the manager Sean was super-sweet as well and helped with our dietary needs.
Cannot recommend the Topolino's brunch more highly.  The service and overall happiness of the staff (Alfred was an amazing server!), and the artistic theming of the characters make for a beautiful atmosphere.  The food was some of the best we had too.  The waffles!!  Plus we liked the overall genteel feel of the resort and want to consider a stay there in the future.
Capture Your Moment.  Our photographers Hallie and Brian are skilled and were a joy to work with.  When during our shoot the heat was getting to us, their manager helped us get water and Powerade, complements of Disney.
Pizza at Via Napoli was great.  Really enjoyed the Creperie too.  Both restaurants are excellent values (in Disney Dollars of course).
The spontaneity of the characters appearing on the balcony of the train station in MK was very special.  We hung around a lot by the castle and Main Street areas so it was pretty easy for us to catch them.
The puppets in Animal Kingdom are charming, and the puppeteers enjoyed engaging with the guests.  The baby seal is particularly interactive.
We both enjoyed MMRR and 7DMT.
We were there the day of the monorail debacle (Dec 7th I believe).  When we were ready to leave Epcot and the system was still down, we were able to secure a bus to take us and about half a dozen other visitors back to the Contemporary/Polynesian.  They didn't hesitate to find a way back for us and had that bus for us within 10 minutes.
We did experience issues at the Contemporary...while we are glad we stayed there, we had housekeeping try to come in on us one night without announcing themselves.  This was not a security check.  It was unnerving as that day my partner had to be transported out of the park due to heat exhaustion and we both needed to rest and recover.  There was also confusion amongst the front desk staff about how we could ship items home, but in the end it worked out.  For our sendoff Chef Mickey's meal at the hotel, the table service staff were clearly stressed--they were making a big deal out of how many guests they were expecting to receive over the coming days and seemed a bit upset about my plant-based requests as they were rushing to get platters to the table.  We still kept our cool about it and stayed patient and tried not to show our own stress in front of the staff.  They are going to have enough to deal with this week.

Still glad we took the plunge and went and I have some high compliments to give staff who assisted us when we had the medical emergency.  We essentially found the magic we were looking for and experienced it where we felt it was most likely to be found, in spite of the restrictions of the times and the craziness.  We didn't go in with rose-colored glasses and rolled with everything as best we could--no regrets.


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## Shellyred8

scrappinginontario said:


> I have a friend who is there now.  While she says it feels very crowded, the lines for the food booths today have not been too bad.  She's guessing 10-12 people in most lines.
> 
> Update:  As the time has gotten later many of the lines are around 30 people deep.


This is consistent with our experience with the EP food booths too.  Earlier in the day, they were fine, but by mid-day they were starting to get long.


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## Shellyred8

The petting zoo at Rafiki's is open.


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## spol

I was in Disney 12/4-12/11 and it breaks my heart to write this.  I grew up going to Disney and have probably been there 50+ times over my lifetime, including just before the pandemic shutdown and in May of this year.

The crowds were insane.  My family goes this week every year (for the past 15+ years) and we've always enjoyed the low crowds and holiday feel.  As someone further upthread mentioned - things were filthy.  I've been in bar bathrooms cleaner than many of the Epcot and MK bathrooms.  Anyone else remember years ago never seeing so much as a wrapper on the ground before it was snatched up?  Those days are gone...

People were cranky, many were sniffly or cough-y, and were literally on top of each other.  I've been paranoid for years about getting rammed in the achilles by a stroller or scooter and this is the year it finally happened (because of course it did) - leaving the insane crowd cluster **** of Enchantment, which I found very underwhelming.  You can't use "pandemic" as an excuse for degradation of service, but then also not limit capacity in the parks and orchestrate a show like Enchantment which NEEDS to be viewed in one concentrated area.  I wore my mask during the entire show and really regretted not just riding the PeopleMover instead.

Sat 12/4 - arrival mid afternoon (staying off site) and made the rookie mistake of going to Disney Springs on a Saturday night.  Honestly, I know better.  Was looking forward to the Christmas tree stroll but the trees are now dispersed throughout and I never found all of them.  I assume to manage crowds...but really?  I doubt.  We actually got a walkup table at Wine Bar George which was lovely as always but left quickly after as the crowds were insane, but again it was Saturday night.

Sun 12/5 - Epcot.  No Genie +.  Awfully crowded for a live construction site with a $100+ cost of entry...but I did LOVE the holiday theming on Living with the Land (best ride about vegetables ever) and love the lights on Spaceship Earth.  They really, really need to fix the Soarin' footage - everyone just snickers when they see the Eiffel Tower at a 45 degree angle.  The food lines for the booths were crazy long and I was devastated to see the Vin de France kiosk closed for refurbishment as I dream about that orange drink.  I felt there were fewer actual "food" options at the booths this year and more desserts and sweets.  Boo.  Candlelight Processional was enjoyable as always - we were able to sit down 5 min after it started without having to wait in line standby at all.  Harmonius was...nice. Fine. I actually liked Epcot Forever and I also agree that the barges in the lagoon are an eyesore.  Remy is darling, and I lucked out with a boarding group for the second round of virtual queue.

Mon 12/6 - MK.  Sucked it up and bought Genie + for myself and my parents for the day even though the concept infuriates me.  This was our only day in the park so it was an efficiency call.  We used to go to the Christmas Party every year as our only MK park day and once upon a time the value was there for the ticket and what amounted to 8 hours in the park, but the price is now double and the time is now halved so we just bought a regular park ticket.  We rope dropped Jungle Cruise which immediately broke down but came back online quickly enough that the wait was only about 25 minutes.  When we got off the ride it was up to 70 and never saw it go down the rest of the day.  Had to use Genie+ just to get on old standbys like Pirates and Haunted Mansion, both of which had 50+ minute waits.  We actually left before the park officially closed which I NEVER do. 

The parking at MK is a mess.  We parked...somewhere...very far away, by a mountain of some sort, and it was a pretty scary walk back to the car at night since there were no walking paths and we were forced to walk on the same road as cars leaving for the day.  I saw quite a few near misses with pedestrians and honestly can't believe the safety issue.  Same day just hours earlier we went into the theater for Mickey's Philharmagic and almost got caught in the automatic closing theater doors on the way in.  The cast members inside weren't paying any attention to the people still filtering in and we probably should have been held for the next show but no one was supervising the line entry.  Two safety issues in one day left a pretty bad taste in my mouth.

Tuesday 12/7 - pool day.  Breakfast at Boma (where did my goat cheese scrambled eggs go???) and dinner at Narcoossee's which was EXCELLENT.  Service was lovely also.

Weds 12/8 - AK in the morning - I don't have much interest in this park but we did do Dinosaur and the Safari, which I always enjoy.  Really didn't appreciate having to wait until 2pm to park hop since I was ready to leave by around noon.  HS in the afternoon - didn't have Genie+ here, so we didn't do a lot of the big rides.  My days of Aerosmith are behind me, and I'm not a Star Wars person so I didn't bother with the 105 min wait for RotR, but we did do Toy Story Mania, Smuggler's Run, Muppets, the Railway, and had some cocktails at the Brown Derby Lounge.  We also rode the Skyliner around just because, and wound up grabbing some dessert in Epcot.

Thursday 12/9 - another chill day.  Disney Springs in the afternoon - much more pleasant.  Good dinner at the Boathouse and dessert at Ghiradelli.  Dockside Margaritas is always a great time too.

Friday 12/10 - Epcot again.  Probably didn't need to have a second day in Epcot but we've done it for years and usually it's my favorite park.  It still is but it's definitely in a rough patch right now.  Still crowded, still long lines for kiosks, but a nice day nonetheless.  Didn't see CP or Harmonius again when usually we would go a second round.  The orange drink booth had re-opened and I considered that our pixie dust for the week.  I'll take it.

Overall - a bad day in Disney is usually better than no Disney, but this time around when I really wanted to feel the Disney magic I couldn't quite find it anywhere.  I saw lots of cast members playing on their phones and generally checked out, lots of dirty bathrooms and garbage, a disappointing lack of merch (I echo the person who noted the dearth of Christmas ornaments - my parents have an ornament from every year going back to the early 90s - THIS is the year they don't produce those???).   Everything felt like a money grab - even the parking attendants who kept asking if we were purchasing "preferred parking" as the standard.  I felt like I was in the Hunger Games trying to get dinner reservations and Genie+ times, and was glued to my phone the whole week.

All in all, the bloom is off the rose for me right now.  I'm normally a complete Disney stan but I think this week did me in for awhile.  I just can't pay premium prices for this sub-par experience, as much as I hate to say it.  I don't see myself going over to Universal either - I'm not a theme park person, I'm a DISNEY person.  So hopefully they sort themselves out and this isn't the new normal.  But it was a disappointing week where a bunch of small things added up to an overall negative experience.


----------



## CarolynFH

spol said:


> dearth of Christmas ornaments - my parents have an ornament from every year going back to the early 90s - THIS is the year they don't produce those???)


Even Disney has had problems with supply chains, I'm sure.  I doubt Disney decided not to produce Christmas ornaments this year - they sell too well, make lots of $$ for Disney!


----------



## CBMom01

spol said:


> I was in Disney 12/4-12/11 and it breaks my heart to write this.  I grew up going to Disney and have probably been there 50+ times over my lifetime, including just before the pandemic shutdown and in May of this year.
> 
> The crowds were insane.  My family goes this week every year (for the past 15+ years) and we've always enjoyed the low crowds and holiday feel.  As someone further upthread mentioned - things were filthy.  I've been in bar bathrooms cleaner than many of the Epcot and MK bathrooms.  Anyone else remember years ago never seeing so much as a wrapper on the ground before it was snatched up?  Those days are gone...
> 
> People were cranky, many were sniffly or cough-y, and were literally on top of each other.  I've been paranoid for years about getting rammed in the achilles by a stroller or scooter and this is the year it finally happened (because of course it did) - leaving the insane crowd cluster **** of Enchantment, which I found very underwhelming.  You can't use "pandemic" as an excuse for degradation of service, but then also not limit capacity in the parks and orchestrate a show like Enchantment which NEEDS to be viewed in one concentrated area.  I wore my mask during the entire show and really regretted not just riding the PeopleMover instead.
> 
> Sat 12/4 - arrival mid afternoon (staying off site) and made the rookie mistake of going to Disney Springs on a Saturday night.  Honestly, I know better.  Was looking forward to the Christmas tree stroll but the trees are now dispersed throughout and I never found all of them.  I assume to manage crowds...but really?  I doubt.  We actually got a walkup table at Wine Bar George which was lovely as always but left quickly after as the crowds were insane, but again it was Saturday night.
> 
> Sun 12/5 - Epcot.  No Genie +.  Awfully crowded for a live construction site with a $100+ cost of entry...but I did LOVE the holiday theming on Living with the Land (best ride about vegetables ever) and love the lights on Spaceship Earth.  They really, really need to fix the Soarin' footage - everyone just snickers when they see the Eiffel Tower at a 45 degree angle.  The food lines for the booths were crazy long and I was devastated to see the Vin de France kiosk closed for refurbishment as I dream about that orange drink.  I felt there were fewer actual "food" options at the booths this year and more desserts and sweets.  Boo.  Candlelight Processional was enjoyable as always - we were able to sit down 5 min after it started without having to wait in line standby at all.  Harmonius was...nice. Fine. I actually liked Epcot Forever and I also agree that the barges in the lagoon are an eyesore.  Remy is darling, and I lucked out with a boarding group for the second round of virtual queue.
> 
> Mon 12/6 - MK.  Sucked it up and bought Genie + for myself and my parents for the day even though the concept infuriates me.  This was our only day in the park so it was an efficiency call.  We used to go to the Christmas Party every year as our only MK park day and once upon a time the value was there for the ticket and what amounted to 8 hours in the park, but the price is now double and the time is now halved so we just bought a regular park ticket.  We rope dropped Jungle Cruise which immediately broke down but came back online quickly enough that the wait was only about 25 minutes.  When we got off the ride it was up to 70 and never saw it go down the rest of the day.  Had to use Genie+ just to get on old standbys like Pirates and Haunted Mansion, both of which had 50+ minute waits.  We actually left before the park officially closed which I NEVER do.
> 
> The parking at MK is a mess.  We parked...somewhere...very far away, by a mountain of some sort, and it was a pretty scary walk back to the car at night since there were no walking paths and we were forced to walk on the same road as cars leaving for the day.  I saw quite a few near misses with pedestrians and honestly can't believe the safety issue.  Same day just hours earlier we went into the theater for Mickey's Philharmagic and almost got caught in the automatic closing theater doors on the way in.  The cast members inside weren't paying any attention to the people still filtering in and we probably should have been held for the next show but no one was supervising the line entry.  Two safety issues in one day left a pretty bad taste in my mouth.
> 
> Tuesday 12/7 - pool day.  Breakfast at Boma (where did my goat cheese scrambled eggs go???) and dinner at Narcoossee's which was EXCELLENT.  Service was lovely also.
> 
> Weds 12/8 - AK in the morning - I don't have much interest in this park but we did do Dinosaur and the Safari, which I always enjoy.  Really didn't appreciate having to wait until 2pm to park hop since I was ready to leave by around noon.  HS in the afternoon - didn't have Genie+ here, so we didn't do a lot of the big rides.  My days of Aerosmith are behind me, and I'm not a Star Wars person so I didn't bother with the 105 min wait for RotR, but we did do Toy Story Mania, Smuggler's Run, Muppets, the Railway, and had some cocktails at the Brown Derby Lounge.  We also rode the Skyliner around just because, and wound up grabbing some dessert in Epcot.
> 
> Thursday 12/9 - another chill day.  Disney Springs in the afternoon - much more pleasant.  Good dinner at the Boathouse and dessert at Ghiradelli.  Dockside Margaritas is always a great time too.
> 
> Friday 12/10 - Epcot again.  Probably didn't need to have a second day in Epcot but we've done it for years and usually it's my favorite park.  It still is but it's definitely in a rough patch right now.  Still crowded, still long lines for kiosks, but a nice day nonetheless.  Didn't see CP or Harmonius again when usually we would go a second round.  The orange drink booth had re-opened and I considered that our pixie dust for the week.  I'll take it.
> 
> Overall - a bad day in Disney is usually better than no Disney, but this time around when I really wanted to feel the Disney magic I couldn't quite find it anywhere.  I saw lots of cast members playing on their phones and generally checked out, lots of dirty bathrooms and garbage, a disappointing lack of merch (I echo the person who noted the dearth of Christmas ornaments - my parents have an ornament from every year going back to the early 90s - THIS is the year they don't produce those???).   Everything felt like a money grab - even the parking attendants who kept asking if we were purchasing "preferred parking" as the standard.  I felt like I was in the Hunger Games trying to get dinner reservations and Genie+ times, and was glued to my phone the whole week.
> 
> All in all, the bloom is off the rose for me right now.  I'm normally a complete Disney stan but I think this week did me in for awhile.  I just can't pay premium prices for this sub-par experience, as much as I hate to say it.  I don't see myself going over to Universal either - I'm not a theme park person, I'm a DISNEY person.  So hopefully they sort themselves out and this isn't the new normal.  But it was a disappointing week where a bunch of small things added up to an overall negative experience.


Your description sounds like a fantastic WSW experience to me


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## ThistleMae

The food lines in epcot tonight were not bad in spite of it being very crowded.  We entered the standby line for the Processional at around 6:30 p.m.  The line was super long but we got in and had decent seats.  Andy Garcia was the host and he did a super job.  It was very inspirational!


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## loves to dive

Today I had reservations at MK. I had planned on getting on the bus around 7:30 but you know best laid plans and all.   I woke at 3:30 with an old woman hot flash and got back to sleep so didn't wake up until around 7.   Thankfully I had taken a shower before I went to bed so was at the bus stop in time to get to MK for the 8 am running of the bulls.  I was at the rope drop in Adventure Land though so off to Jingle Cruise me and a couple hundred of my friends went.  It really was just a walk on even with the crowd.   Went to Pirates after that, posted 10 min., it was a walk on (and I got soaked).  After that I grabbed a breakfast sandwich and cup of coffee and sat on the platform in front of the arcade and just enjoyed my breakfast watching people.  Haunted Mansion next, posted 30 min, it was 20.  Peter Pan next, posted 45 it was 30.  I had promised my hubby I'd do Country Bears, which I rarely do so off to see some singing Bears.   It was fun.  Then off to see some presidents, I followed the Tinkerbell float all the way from the bears to the presidents (she is my favorite so I was good with that).   I got there early enough to wander around and look at all the exhibits, I hadn't seen that show in years so I enjoyed it.   Then I went to the little GS location across from the Christmas shop to swap out my AP card for one of the new 50th ones. Then off to Winnie the Pooh to bounce a little.  Posted 30 min. it was about 20 and we got stopped a few times but in good spots.   Then did some shopping down main street and off to GF to see the gingerbread house and tree.   Wandered around there for a while until time to hop, took the monorail to Epcot.   I was really just passing through to grab some food at booths on my way to HS.   Ate at the Hawaii booth, it was o.k. but dry as all heck.  Got another cookie for the cookie stroll and made my way out the IG.  Walked over to BC and spent some time there looking at the carousel then went to YC and looked at the little village for a while.   Took the boat over to HS.   Tom.  is actually my HS day but I love it at night so wasn't really there for much of anything.   Went and saw Beauty and Beast (if you wear mickey ears please take them off at shows) then over to ToT.  Posted 45 min. wait, it was 30.  After I got off I decided to wait list HBD lounge, it was going to be 55 min. so went up to the main drag and walked around the shops.   Got my push notification after 15 min.   Had one of the best and most expensive hamburgers and glass of wine I've ever had.   It was dark by then and I love SDD at night so even though it was posted 70 min. wait I wandered over there.   It was indeed 70 min but I got in a car with a little girl whose Mama and little brother were in the seat behind and I had a blast watching her hoop and holler and had a nice conversation with her when we got stalled for awhile.  Made my way out of the park, stopping to admire the tree and all the street lights, wandered over to see ToT projections and got a cookie for the room.   

All in all, another good day.  All the CM's I've encountered have been great, there have been a few semi-rude guests but nothing horrible and certainly nothing to ruin my trip.   Between last night and this morning, I've done pretty much all I wanted to do at MK, I do have reservations for there on Thurs. so I'll just pop in for a few hours then go off to visit AKL to see the decorations.   There isn't a whole lot left at HS I really want to ride, I can take or leave all the Star Wars stuff and I'm still hurt about MMRR replacing my beloved GMR.   I've ridden the ride a few times and it's just o.k. for me.   I can't ride RNRC, hurts my neck.   I have a reservation there tom. so I might and might not get up early and go.


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## CBMom01

loves to dive said:


> Today I had reservations at MK. I had planned on getting on the bus around 7:30 but you know best laid plans and all.   I woke at 3:30 with an old woman hot flash and got back to sleep so didn't wake up until around 7.   Thankfully I had taken a shower before I went to bed so was at the bus stop in time to get to MK for the 8 am running of the bulls.  I was at the rope drop in Adventure Land though so off to Jingle Cruise me and a couple hundred of my friends went.  It really was just a walk on even with the crowd.   Went to Pirates after that, posted 10 min., it was a walk on (and I got soaked).  After that I grabbed a breakfast sandwich and cup of coffee and sat on the platform in front of the arcade and just enjoyed my breakfast watching people.  Haunted Mansion next, posted 30 min, it was 20.  Peter Pan next, posted 45 it was 30.  I had promised my hubby I'd do Country Bears, which I rarely do so off to see some singing Bears.   It was fun.  Then off to see some presidents, I followed the Tinkerbell float all the way from the bears to the presidents (she is my favorite so I was good with that).   I got there early enough to wander around and look at all the exhibits, I hadn't seen that show in years so I enjoyed it.   Then I went to the little GS location across from the Christmas shop to swap out my AP card for one of the new 50th ones. Then off to Winnie the Pooh to bounce a little.  Posted 30 min. it was about 20 and we got stopped a few times but in good spots.   Then did some shopping down main street and off to GF to see the gingerbread house and tree.   Wandered around there for a while until time to hop, took the monorail to Epcot.   I was really just passing through to grab some food at booths on my way to HS.   Ate at the Hawaii booth, it was o.k. but dry as all heck.  Got another cookie for the cookie stroll and made my way out the IG.  Walked over to BC and spent some time there looking at the carousel then went to YC and looked at the little village for a while.   Took the boat over to HS.   Tom.  is actually my HS day but I love it at night so wasn't really there for much of anything.   Went and saw Beauty and Beast (if you wear mickey ears please take them off at shows) then over to ToT.  Posted 45 min. wait, it was 30.  After I got off I decided to wait list HBD lounge, it was going to be 55 min. so went up to the main drag and walked around the shops.   Got my push notification after 15 min.   Had one of the best and most expensive hamburgers and glass of wine I've ever had.   It was dark by then and I love SDD at night so even though it was posted 70 min. wait I wandered over there.   It was indeed 70 min but I got in a car with a little girl whose Mama and little brother were in the seat behind and I had a blast watching her hoop and holler and had a nice conversation with her when we got stalled for awhile.  Made my way out of the park, stopping to admire the tree and all the street lights, wandered over to see ToT projections and got a cookie for the room.
> 
> All in all, another good day.  All the CM's I've encountered have been great, there have been a few semi-rude guests but nothing horrible and certainly nothing to ruin my trip.   Between last night and this morning, I've done pretty much all I wanted to do at MK, I do have reservations for there on Thurs. so I'll just pop in for a few hours then go off to visit AKL to see the decorations.   There isn't a whole lot left at HS I really want to ride, I can take or leave all the Star Wars stuff and I'm still hurt about MMRR replacing my beloved GMR.   I've ridden the ride a few times and it's just o.k. for me.   I can't ride RNRC, hurts my neck.   I have a reservation there tom. so I might and might not get up early and go.


That sounds like a really lovely day.  Happy for you!


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## katyjeka

Epcot today. Stayed til the end and my feet feel it. Rode Soaring twice, Miss. Space, Spaceship Earth, Test Track twice, Remy, Frozen. We had great viewing for the show. Once again no Genie and we did not need it. My only disappointment....I can't seem to find any thing to buy at least my hubby is happy. Club Cool was almost empty but pretty sticky!!!


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## CampbellzSoup

Magic Kingdom was insanity with the day guests to the after hours and for an after hours event it legit felt more packed than a Christmas party.  Absolutely loved having snow on Main Street with my son watching the parade there’s nothing like that feeling in the world, but my word I’ve been going for years it’s the most packed I’ve seen in a long time.

also I had to walk back to Scar after a long day…my feet


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## x93nelson13

Just got back after spending 5 days at the parks/resort from the 12/7-12. Me, my wife and our 6 year old. I will bullet point my thoughts, as I like bullet pointing thoughts.


Grand Floridian was a pretty usual experience outside of a couple closed restaurants. Room service still available. Pretty decorations. Gingerbread house. Poolside service. Friendly, friendly employees. Still tons of kids stuff like movie night, tie dye t shirt making, letters to santa, ornament making, etc,
The parks were crowded for realz. This did not bother me because we are not park warriors and we...
....did Genie+ and did not shy away from buying the lightning lane. This helped, because my day at Hollywood Studios included Rise of the Resistance, Runaway Railway, Toy Story Mania and Slinky Dog all within 90ish minutes of each other. Then we walked onto Swirling Saucers. Then we had a character meal at Hollywood & Vine which my 6 year old loved. Then we went back to the hotel and chilled by the pool. I could see others finding this day horrible with their own vacay preferences, but we were quite satisfied,
I had to wake up at 7 to play on Genie+, which was fine for me because I am up early anyway. I let my family sleep. But this could suck for you.
Character meals and interactions are not bad and move faster with the selfie thing going on. My daughter enjoyed posing in front of them a lot.
Cinderella's Royal Table is the exception. You can't pose in front of her. They are incredibly strict about not leaving your seat when she is out there. Avoid until things calm down IMO.
We did the xmas party. It was fine. It was much more crowded than other after hours, but much less crowded than the old party. Road a bunch of rides, longest wait was 15 minutes for 7 Dwarf. Entertainment was pretty good, too. I found it worth the money, but I am not a harsh judge of value.
The flash parades are pretty cool. My daughter loved them. Music starts, she ran to a spot near the street, watched them go by for 5 minutes, we moved on. 5 star,
Epcot is a maze with the construction. I assumed people were exaggerating, but it is not ideal. If you go often? Uber yourself to the Yacht Club and hit up the international gateway and get in that way. Ride Remy and Frozen and stroll around. If you are going into Future World (or whatever they are calling it now) use surgical quick strikes to get what you want. It is not scenic or fun to walk around,
We did not go to AK. My daughter likes the safari, but that is about it.
We did not encounter a rude employee or overflowing trash cans. I am not saying it never happens, I am just saying I did not have that experience.
Lack of maid service was not ideal, but less horrible than I thought it would be. My wife was even ok with it, and she is a bit anal about things like that.
Busses and monorails were quick IMO with friendly drivers. This may or may not be due to the specific resort.
Most people were cool with indoor masks and I didn't see anyone be mean to a CM.
Dining was the usual. California Grill 50th Dinner was oddly delicious by Disney standards. Chef Mickey's was the usual bad food but character meal craziness with my kid losing her mind. No long waits if you had rezzies and the servers were friendly and attentive.

We are going back in February for 4 days. We still like it very very much. But we go there a very specific way. Not park warriors, Willing to pay for perks. Don't do the magical express. We don't have a car there. We have a Delta hub in our city so the flight is painless and pleasant.

I totally get why some people are very put off, but if the vacay above is your kind of vacay? You're gonna have a nice time.


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## DSLRuser

Just back from a long weekend staying at Saratoga.  We did The Studios Friday morning, and Epcot Friday night.  AK Saturday morning and MK Saturday night.  Followed by Studios Sunday and Epcot Sunday night.

It was crowded, but manageable.  We did Genie+ all 3 days for 6 and 8 people.  and we paid for the LL access for 2 rides each day.  So we dropped and extra $500 on access we didn't use to have to do.  It was worth it for only 3 days in the parks.

We ate at san angel in (Mexico), Liberty tavern, Ohana.  Everything was ok...not great, but ok.

I think the next time we do a 7 day trip, we would not to Genie + for every day for sure.

Overall, it was a great trip, just hope the sort out the Epcot construction before next December.

Finally saw Harmonious and it was ok.  Liked the hardware, but I think they can choose better music to go with it.

They need to increase capacity at the food kiosks.  Waiting 30 minutes for 2 bites of food is not fun at all.


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## robinb

CarolynFH said:


> Yep, when there's no FP or LL, standby lines move steadily.  Sometimes they get very long (before legacy FP, we routinely waited 2 hours for Space Mountain), but they move steadily.


I loved the 2 trips I took with no FP and no Genie.


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## Miffy

Writing from AKL. We've been here since the 12th. Leaving on the 21st. Spent a night at GDT on the 12th, then came over to AKL.

GDT is lovely. We'd never been there before and will probably go back. It's a beautiful building and our room was lovely, with a view of the MK fireworks. Loved that. Didn't love that bell services was AWOL. We took our bags up to our room on a luggage cart ourselves and did the same when we left.

Now at AKL, where we were asked if we wanted housekeeping. Yes, we do. We are supposed to be getting trash+towels every other day and on the 4th and 8th day a complete service. So far we have gotten zero service and we've been here 3 days. I called and they brought towels--all bath towels, btw--and I had to beg the fellow who brought them to remove the trash. I gather that the housekeeping staff here is very very very new.

Nevertheless for about $650/night, I'd kinda like at least the meagre trash+towel service we were promised. I'll talk to the front desk about it tomorrow.

Meanwhile, G+ and ILL$ . . . Well, as I said to my sister this afternoon, we're doing less and paying more. That's about the size of it. To the people who are miraculously fitting G+ into their day's schedule, I salute you. We have been unable to manage such an astounding feat.

So far we have used G+ for 2 rides max (at DAK 2 days ago) and for 0 rides minimum (at DHS yesterday). I talked to someone at GET yesterday and they actually refunded my G+ money. Perhaps because I'd also bought ILL$ for RotR and didn't complain about it despite having to wait around forever to ride it. We were actually lucky that we got to do RotR yesterday as it was down a huge portion of the day. We got in during a moment when it was up and running. We love RotR and were not horribly unhappy to have to pay for it.

We've now paid ILL$ for FoP twice and today used our G+ for only the safari at DAK since by the time we went to order another G+ the times for NRJ, which was the only other thing we wanted to do, were so far into the late afternoon that they were useless to us.

Upcharges today, including tax, slightly rounded up: $16x2 for G+ and $12x2 for ILL$ = $56 for two people to ride FoP and KS. Kinda stunning. $14/person/ride.

We're going to Epcot tomorrow and I refuse to buy G+. We're going to RD Soarin', hope for the best for SE, and sink our hard-earned dollars into ILL$ for Remy. Interrupted by lunch at R&C, assuming we can get the time we want for Remy.

There are a LOT of people here. I mean a LOT.

And there are a lot of CMs who are very very very new.

Mask compliance has seemed relatively good.

The beautiful winter puppets are out at DAK. Love them. Love the view from our savanna-view room at AKL. Still love Disney, but, hear me, WDW, you are making it hard to love you. Please stop nickel-and-diming us. And I do not love having to plan every day at 7 am then wonder if the G+ gamble will work out for us.


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## CampbellzSoup

…where is all the merch?  Christmas stuff is almost nonexistent.


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## scrappinginontario

CampbellzSoup said:


> …where is all the merch?  Christmas stuff is almost nonexistent.


 Nothing to support it but I believe it’s as others have suspected and Disney is having the same supply chain challenges many other places are having.  I know retail around here has been facing it for a long time now.


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## Aimeedyan

CampbellzSoup said:


> …where is all the merch?  Christmas stuff is almost nonexistent.



We walked away without a Christmas ornament last week because there is so limited options. Even the Christmas store at DS was only 1/3 ornaments - the rest was filled with other merchandise. Absolutely no glass ornaments and the only Mickey ornament they had was a Disney cruise and a graduation Mickey! 

They are having big supply issues. We decided we'll just buy our two year old's annual ornament once stock is better (he'll never know!).


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## loves to dive

Wen. Dec. 16.   Not my best day so far this trip, not a bad day but not my best.   Was all breakfasted up and at the bus stop for HS at 7 am for 7:30 resort guests opening.   My first bad bus, didn't come for 1/2 hour still got there by 7:30 so o.k.   Walked over to Rise only to find it down already?  My bad for not checking MDE on that one but how can it be down before it started?   So off to MMRR which already had a 40 min. wait at 7:40.   Stood in line and it was indeed 40 min.   I had ridden everything I wanted to the night before and everything was already up to a hour wait so I shopped a little then went to watch Frozen.  I'm not a fan of the movie but love that show.   It was crowded so I left and went back to the resort.  Had lunch and shopped at the resort then off to AK.   It rained right when I got there and my umbrella broke but was still sort of useful.   I was only there because I wanted to see some shows so I did.   Went to Birds in Flight which I enjoyed, walked to the front of the park and saw the last show of the birds at the Tree of Life.   Went to Festival of the Lion King - I miss the tumble monkeys.  Then off to Kite Tails.  I know it gets a lot of flack but I thought it was cute.  Then shopped, finally found some Christmas gifts.  Watched the Tree of Life awakenings and back to the resort.  I did walk up at Three Bridges, which was excellent food and excellent service.  For the first time this trip I was in bed by 9:30.  

All and all a relaxing sort of day.  Only did one ride but I've basically done everything I've wanted to already in all 4 parks.   

This morning it's MK to ride CoP and maybe People Mover again, gotta go to the bakery then off to Disney Springs.   I haven't been over there since it was DD Disney probably 10 years but I have the time and need a few more Christmas gifts.  Tonight I'll end the trip at Epcot.


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## NeverlandClub23

We’re here now staying in a cabin at Copper Creek at Wilderness Lodge (resort and cabin are absolutely beautiful). We’ve been coming every year since 1993 and we were just here in July and last December. It is definitely busier than we have seen it in a very long time. Extra magic hours at MK last night were wonderful. We have had lovely interactions with CM’s and several guests (along with just one “bad” interaction where I said “excuse me” to a child rubbing his plastic sword up and down the insides of my legs 3 times and the mother telling me “he’s just a child” and to “grow up”). So it does seem like some people are on edge, but we’ve had a pretty wonderful experience outside of the parks and during extra magic hours. Hope everyone has the same or better!


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## ThistleMae

It is very crowded in the parks, with long wait times.  I do believe the Genie+ and LL$ rides make the stand-by wait times much longer than they should be.  We stood in place for about 15 min. in the 7DMT line at one point.  Lines are moving slow as they let those other folks in.


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## MusicalAstronaut

ThistleMae said:


> It is very crowded in the parks, with long wait times. * I do believe the Genie+ and LL$ rides make the stand-by wait times much longer than they should be.*  We stood in place for about 15 min. in the 7DMT line at one point.  Lines are moving slow as they let those other folks in.


Oh, absolutely.  If people didn't believe us about this with Fastpass, they've now had over a year of regular standby lines to see just how true this is.  My past three trips were in the last weekend of August, November, and December.  It was instantly obvious how much slower the standby lines moved in November & December. It's been frustrating to go back to that.


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## MusicalAstronaut

I'll be heading down this Saturday-Tuesday, so if I don't forget I'll report back haha.  I was also there Dec 3-5 (my usual time for December) and I second what everyone else is saying - crazy crowded compared to previous years. Here's a quick brain dump of that I remember most!

 Loooooooooooong lines thanks to G+/LL.  People ripping masks off the second they get on a ride, so I literally came home with ONE photopass pic.  Thanks, jerks.  Long lines at the Festival of the Holidays booths, which I think was because of the cookie stroll.  I've never seen people get so upset with CM's over a plastic cup & mediocre cookie. Folks, be kind, and if that plastic souvenir cup means that much to you, make sure to get the stamps at the food booths.  Myself & one other woman were pulled out a huge line by a CM at the "cookie redemption booth" because we were just there to buy something.  Another woman got in front of us and spend FOREVER arguing with 4 different CM's to get cups/cookies for everyone in her party (I guess some of them didn't get their passports stamped?  I didn't care).  Just.....seriously, be nice to the CMs.  That being said, I tried to avoid the cookie stroll booths but sadly those were also the booths with the beer flights.   Best beer flight was in America, best cookie I had was the Spaceship Earth one.  I RD'd ROTR and waited just over 20 minutes.  I love that ride so much!  Living with the Land holiday overlay is still awesome.  I lovelovelove Illuminations and I went into Harmonious ready to hate it out of principle.  I loved it, haha, and it seemed like you could have a great view of it from anywhere in WS.  It was great to see the Candlelight Processional again. At Gideon's in DS I got the special "one day only" mint cake - GET THIS IF YOU CAN.  Apparently they're doing it once a week this month, a different day each time.  Follow them on IG but I think they're also doing it Thursday (today?  Their post said "Thursday only this week") but you might get lucky and snag a leftover one tomorrow morning.  Like I said, parks were crazy, so I did stuff I sometimes skip like tiki room, teacups, and carousel of progress.  Always fun!  Cookies & milk (coquito) at Jock Lindsay's was a fun choice, do this with a friend.  That's about all for now....I too was disappointed at the lack of Christmas ornaments in the parks.  Speaking of supply chain issues, Brown Derby has changed their bloody mary mix & it's god awful. Just a heads up lol.


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## CampbellzSoup

Also I’ll write up a whole trip report when I come home as I had an awesome time at Universal today their Christmas parade was legit amazing and the grinch show and it was all included in the basic ticket..,

Enchantment was meh…NO emotional pull what so ever and I didn’t want to hop on the negative train when everyone was, but man was it awful.  Also what was with featuring Coco, Princess and the Frog, and Moana so heavily?  Why toss classic disney out.  Happily ever after hit I think a nice balance of everything.  I legit went into it with an open mind and felt so disappointed.

Harmonious…I’m not sure what that was but it was pretty.  The soundtrack was just so all over the place…no “heart warming feeling” either. I guess I’m just getting older in my mid thirties and place too much on those emotional moments these shows gave me in the past.  I know I’m not just looking on nostalgia as Epcot Forever was entertaining and cohesive.


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## MakiraMarlena

had a blast last week, but was resigned to doing few if any rides. Did a few at MK extra evening, Remy twice on VQ, must ride Living with the Land with holiday lights.  got rid of one park reservation and did a Springs day with dinner at Ohana. No issues with food or Epcot booth lines. Space 220 was not able to take Patina gift card even though it was on the list of participating restaurants.

Merchandise stocks are impacted by supply chain issues. Not enough 50th anniversary merchandise to go around. Favorite holiday nosh was the cookies and milk at Jock's.


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## thanxfornoticin

It was very clear when we were there in early Dec that Disney is having supply issues.  There is no way they would let a 50th Anniversary and a Christmas season that followed a greatly reduced Covid 2020 Christmas season, go by without shelves full of anniversary merchandise and Christmas decorations.  They are losing a lot of money, and we know that's not in any business plan for any business.  Seems like the only people making out well right now are those 'personal shoppers' who somehow are in the know when products are hitting the shelves at WDW, get to the parks early to buy them, and then sell them for a nice markup online.  Of course, that adds to the situation where day-to-day guests don't see items on the shelves.


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## Day-al

To the supply chain issues: I’m wondering if/when a bunch of random merch is going to show up in the parks after being unloaded from a container ship months too late? Will things dated “2021” be sent immediately to the outlets? Will undated Christmas merch just be held in a warehouse until next year? Will more 50th merch arrive sporadically? It will be interesting to see how it plays out.


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## disneyseniors

CampbellzSoup said:


> Also I’ll write up a whole trip report when I come home as I had an awesome time at Universal today their Christmas parade was legit amazing and the grinch show and it was all included in the basic ticket..,
> 
> Enchantment was meh…NO emotional pull what so ever and I didn’t want to hop on the negative train when everyone was, but man was it awful.  Also what was with featuring Coco, Princess and the Frog, and Moana so heavily?  Why toss classic disney out.  Happily ever after hit I think a nice balance of everything.  I legit went into it with an open mind and felt so disappointed.
> 
> Harmonious…I’m not sure what that was but it was pretty.  The soundtrack was just so all over the place…no “heart warming feeling” either. I guess I’m just getting older in my mid thirties and place too much on those emotional moments these shows gave me in the past.  I know I’m not just looking on nostalgia as Epcot Forever was entertaining and cohesive.



Hi:  Universal is fantastic.  Can you tell us more about your day at USO?  It is so nice to have so much included in your admission price.  IMO, that's the way it should be at a theme park


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## Dakota731

I laugh as I read this thread observing how people can be at WDW the same time and have opposite experiences.  We spent the last seven days at AKL 
Our highlights:
1) Crowds and lines didn’t seem any worse than any other of our trips. We didn’t do lightening or genie and still rode every single ride in each park!
2) Cast members were all great and helpful.  I can’t remember a rude encounter at all.  
3) Park guests were super nice and friendly as well. People were sweet to my little guys and constantly apologized when running into any of us. I do think people have better dispositions in the cooler weather than in the summer. 
4) Buses were prompt and frequent. The longest we waited was ten minutes. 
5) Food was great and as much as I dreaded mobile ordering, I loved it. It was a big time saver. 
 Lowlights
1) MASKS
2) Waited till six for our room to be ready though it ended up being a highlight since a cast member asked us to make feeders for the animals, so the kids enjoyed that.  We never usually take the time to do resort activities.  
I must say that all the negativity on these boards had me worried, but all of us (three generations) had an amazing trip!!


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## meghanmione

Dakota731 said:


> I laugh as I read this thread observing how people can be at WDW the same time and have opposite experiences.  We spent the last seven days at AKL
> Our highlights:
> 1) Crowds and lines didn’t seem any worse than any other of our trips. We didn’t do lightening or genie and still rode every single ride in each park!
> 2) Cast members were all great and helpful.  I can’t remember a rude encounter at all.
> 3) Park guests were super nice and friendly as well. People were sweet to my little guys and constantly apologized when running into any of us. I do think people have better dispositions in the cooler weather than in the summer.
> 4) Buses were prompt and frequent. The longest we waited was ten minutes.
> 5) Food was great and as much as I dreaded mobile ordering, I loved it. It was a big time saver.
> Lowlights
> 1) MASKS
> 2) Waited till six for our room to be ready though it ended up being a highlight since a cast member asked us to make feeders for the animals, so the kids enjoyed that.  We never usually take the time to do resort activities.
> I must say that all the negativity on these boards had me worried, but all of us (three generations) had an amazing trip!!


So happy you had a wonderful time! Makes me super excited for my trip in Feb  I admit a lot of the negatives have made me apprehensive also, but posts like yours help a lot and I'm glad it was a great time.


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## CampbellzSoup

disneyseniors said:


> Hi:  Universal is fantastic.  Can you tell us more about your day at USO?  It is so nice to have so much included in your admission price.  IMO, that's the way it should be at a theme park



much more detail when I come home but between the grinch meet the fabulous parade the Hogwarts castle light show and the grinchmas we had an AMAZING time at universal!  I truly mean it.  More when I get home but trust me for Christmas you will not regret it.  It even snowed and had confetti during the parade here!  We did the very merriest after party and it was fun but the parade was definitely watered down from before.  The fireworks from that show were a true highlight though disney does fireworks right!

one of my favorite memories


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## Pens Fan

We were there from the 3rd - 12th and had a wonderful trip.  I think for us we kind of went into this trip with lower expectations.  We'd been there in Oct (pre Genie) and while that trip was fun the crowds, heat and understaffing definitely got to us as the week went on.  It was the first time in my life I was happy to leave WDW and go home.  With that in mind, we tried to keep our expectations in check for the Dec trip and we ended up having a fantastic time.  Was it the magic of Christmas at Disney?  Possibly, but it was more than that.  There were good points and low points:

- While there are still obvious staffing issues / shortages (where aren't they though?) it felt as if things were improving quite a bit vs even October.  Transportation while not perfect, was better, CM's seemed less stressed and we especially noticed the difference at TS restaurants that seemed _almost_ back to the great Disney service we'd come to expect in the past.

- Yeah, it's crowded, but we felt it was manageable.

- CM's were great - if you're missing the magic just interact with a CM.  They still get it.

- We loved the after hours Christmas party.  We were at the one on the 7th and had a fantastic time.  I'd do that again for sure.

- OK - Genie + /LL.  When this was announced I was pretty disappointed in Disney.  If I'm being totally honest, my anger at that decision probably clouded my enjoyment of our October trip.  I still don't particularly like it, but for us it's a necessary evil I guess.  I hate the fact that we have to pay for it on top of the already ridiculous ticket prices, but what bugs me the most is you can't book them ahead of time.  Whoever thought tourists want to get up before 7 AM on their vacation and fight the crappy MDE app should be fired.  That part sucks.  However, we aren't rope droppers and we have no desire to stand in an hour or more line for anything.  So we basically just sucked it up and said if we are going to go to Disney we need to figure this out.  Bottom line: we had 6 day tickets and bought Genie + for 3 days.  We bought "fancy rides" for RotR, MMRR, Remy and KS.  We managed to get all the popular rides we were interested in during that time and just winged it the other days.  One day we only went to the Christmas party and took advantage of that for SDMT and some other MK heavy hitters.  It worked for us and gave us a more enjoyable time vs our Oct trip where our choice was to wait 45 to an hour for many rides or just skip them.  So all in all, while I hate a lot about the new system, we felt it did give us a better experience vs everything being standby.  Not a popular opinion, I know, but it's how we felt.  I'd still rather have FP+ back, but that ship has sailed.

- As a side note about Genie +, you really need to pay attention when you confirm your selection.  As many others have mentioned, the time you click on often changes before you can confirm it.  This happened to us  - a lot!  One time it even moved backward by several hours to a time when we already had something else booked.  Frustrating!

- While the Christmas decorations were somewhat limited compared to pre Covid times, the parks and resorts were still beautiful - especially at night.  The Candlelight Processional was as special as before and we were so glad to have it back.  Christmas at Disney is still just wonderful.

- One day we were waiting for the HS bus at WL and after about 5 minutes a DVC van pulled up, asked where we were going and said hop in!  He ended up taking us and another family directly to HS.  Pixie Dust!!

- On a negative note, the ADR system is a joke right now.  It's hard enough to make your reservations at 60 days out with everything not running at full capacity, but we had quite a few things where they simply hadn't loaded the system out far enough for people to book at 60 days.  If you called or tried a chat, they just told you it was  already booked even though it was pretty obvious that wasn't true.  Then days or weeks later, they would randomly open up the reservations, but if you weren't using a reservation finder service or just happened to be online at the right time you were out of luck.  There are so few on site hotel perks left, it's pretty sad that one of the few remaining can often be worthless if the ADR you're looking for hasn't even been made available in time to book it at 60 days.  I've never worked so hard to plan a Disney trip as I did for this one.  This needs to be fixed, but I doubt it will be because I really don't think they care.

All in all, while I'm pretty unhappy about the current Disney management team, and hate all the hassles of booking things on a basically broken app, when we were actually there it was still Disney and still magical - at least for us.  We had a wonderful trip and are already planning on coming back next December.


----------



## katyjeka

Our two week trip has come to an end.  We had a lot of ups and very few downs!!!  We have visited over the time frame many times and I admit I was a little surprised at the amount of people in the parks. Crowds have never bothered us and this remained true on this trip. We purchased Floridian pixie passes although we live in Pa. most of the year. We activated our passes at Disney Springs, had a bank statement and home insurance to use as proof. The cast member did not take a second to look at them. I'm not sure if we got someone who didn't care but the papers never left the envelopes!! We did not purchase Genie and never felt we needed it. We did however have 12 days in the park which allowed us to ride favorites several times. I do believe early on made all the difference with us. Club Bonnet Creek was as awesome as ever and for the 1350.00 we paid for the entire stay it remains the biggest bargain in the area. I used my employee rate for Hilton Signia for early entry but never slept in the room. Our lodging total was under 2000.00!  We did not encounter a single rude cast member actually they were some of the nicest we remember. The men at the skyliner were so sweet and had us laughing so hard. We missed the passports at Epcot but understood the reason they didn't have them. We enjoyed the nightly shows and thought Kite Tails was comical. A one time and done show.  I won't comment on food because we've never been big supporters of Disney food. Most snacks looked better than they tasted..The eggnog cupcake was excellent. I consider our trip a success and am thankful we had the opportunity to go.  This will be our last trip for awhile as our family has outgrown the parks. We discovered national parks and have decided that's it time to expand our horizons.  For anyone planning a trip please do not panic when you read a bad review. I was second guessing our trip after reading so many negatives and we ended up having a great trip.


----------



## shh

MusicalAstronaut said:


> I've never seen people get so upset with CM's over a plastic cup & mediocre cookie. Folks, be kind, and if that plastic souvenir cup means that much to you, make sure to get the stamps at the food booths.


omg. what is WRONG with people?  To make a fuss over something so small. Has everyone totally lost all perspective in life? Are there any mature adults left? #sickofpeople.


----------



## shh

CampbellzSoup said:


> Universal today their Christmas parade was legit amazing and the grinch show and it was all included in the basic ticket..,


Right? We returned from a recent trip and just loved their holiday experience.


----------



## Sakurachaek

The holiday kitchens are awesome!! We tried Hawaii and L’Chaim but the food is soooo nice. Crowds don’t seem that bad, went to MK day before yesterday and the crowds were mid-level except just before the after hours party, when a million people started coming in (leave at 19:30 on those nights!). The waits were all under an hour in MK. Going to HS today, very excited.


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## NeverlandClub23

We just got home today and all in all had a great trip, it’s just time for a Disney break for us. BUT if you are going during the holidays/50th anniversary, you MUST go to Backlot Express in HS and get the Wookie Cookie (oatmeal cream pie) and the coconut blondie. Both were the BEST desserts/snacks we’ve had all trip!


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## cjlong88

Make up weekend trip! We are staying at AKL for the first time. What an incredible resort. The lobby took my breath away, and we were upgraded to a Savannah view room. 3 zebras are grazing just outside our window as we brush our teeth and get ready for bed. Simply amazing.


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## CampbellzSoup

So we usually eat off site as I like the food better but man I think last night the “Christmas crowds” arrived.  Everything much busier for sure! Sadly tomorrow is my last day gonna check seaworld out.  I’m so thankful I get to go to these amazing places but I will say Universal stepped up their game for Christmas for sure.


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## cjlong88

We had an awesome morning at MK. Was a bit crowded but far from what we experience in 2019. Was able to fit in Space, 7DMT, BTMRR, CoP, Buzz, PeopleMover, Tiki Room, Philharmagic, and Little Mermaid without a single wait (a healthy mix of G+ and standby).

Waiting for our table at Steakhouse 71 now. Plan to hop to AK. We already have FoP and Everest LL’s set up for the evening. Hoping to snag maybe one more G+. Next window is about one hour.

Having a fantastic one-day visit!


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## CampbellzSoup

cjlong88 said:


> We had an awesome morning at MK. Was a bit crowded but far from what we experience in 2019. Was able to fit in Space, 7DMT, BTMRR, CoP, Buzz, PeopleMover, Tiki Room, Philharmagic, and Little Mermaid without a single wait (a healthy mix of G+ and standby).
> 
> Waiting for our table at Steakhouse 71 now. Plan to hop to AK. We already have FoP and Everest LL’s set up for the evening. Hoping to snag maybe one more G+. Next window is about one hour.
> 
> Having a fantastic one-day visit!



tell me how the steakhouse was!


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## cjlong88

CampbellzSoup said:


> tell me how the steakhouse was!


We liked it. Wasn’t the best meal we ever had, but my husbands steak was cooked perfectly. Mine was too salty. The atmosphere is wonderful, however. We would try it again for sure.


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## Lsdolphin

cjlong88 said:


> We had an awesome morning at MK. Was a bit crowded but far from what we experience in 2019. Was able to fit in Space, 7DMT, BTMRR, CoP, Buzz, PeopleMover, Tiki Room, Philharmagic, and Little Mermaid without a single wait (a healthy mix of G+ and standby).
> 
> Waiting for our table at Steakhouse 71 now. Plan to hop to AK. We already have FoP and Everest LL’s set up for the evening. Hoping to snag maybe one more G+. Next window is about one hour.
> 
> Having a fantastic one-day visit!



i remember your flight difficulties from your last planned trip so glad you finally made it! We had lunch at Steakhouse 71 first week of Dec, and were a bit disappointed....service wasn’t that great took a long time to receive food and ridic amount of time to get the bill.  The burger was pretty good but the grilled cheese was not so great...the chocolate cake was fabulous and worth the trip! Hope you enjoyed your meal there.


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## cjlong88

Lsdolphin said:


> i remember your flight difficulties from your last planned trip so glad you finally made it! We had lunch at Steakhouse 71 first week of Dec, and were a bit disappointed....service wasn’t that great took a long time to receive food and ridic amount of time to get the bill.  The burger was pretty good but the grilled cheese was not so great...the chocolate cake was fabulous and worth the trip! Hope you enjoyed your meal there.


Yes! The meal was okay, but nothing spectacular. Glad we were able to make it down, too! It’s only one day but it’s sure better than no days.


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## CampbellzSoup

cjlong88 said:


> We liked it. Wasn’t the best meal we ever had, but my husbands steak was cooked perfectly. Mine meal was too salty. The atmosphere is wonderful, however. We would try it again for sure.



oh no!  That sounds like the most meh if I ever heard one!  I’m sorry it wasn’t outstanding!


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## Bill McKinley

Just got back from WDW.  It was four days at the parks from 12/14-12/17.  We stayed at Swan and all in all it was a fantastic trip.  I was getting very nervous based on reading this board and Touring Plans about crowd levels, difficult logistics and nightmare stories about Genie + and mobile ordering.  This was our first trip back since February of 2020 and our 10th trip overall as our family of four (Me, DW, DD14, DD10).  I'll break this report down into different categories for ease of reading....

Swan hotel - great location for us as we love to the Boardwalk area and the proximity to EP and HS.  The pricing was way better than Epcot area hotels like Yacht (our fave), Beach and Boardwalk, but I definitely didn't feel "in the magic" as much as the other hotels.  That is my only real complaint, as the room was good and the market was good for us to get grab and go food, and getting to take advantage of one the extra time in the parks like other Disney hotels in this day and age.  We don't use the pools as we just want to spend as much time in the parks as possible.  So if you're looking for the Disney magic and the use your magicbands for everything, you won't get that here, but I do think it's a nice value for our family's preferred location.

Crowds - very manageable!  MK was great because there is always something you can go do that has a 20 minute wait or less or you can get Genie + reservations if you just plan it right or stay on top of it (more on that later).  We didn't watch Enchantment so that helped get some good touring done when others were sitting in the hub and we just think that show is a big step down from HEA, so that helped get more stuff accomplished.  HS felt pretty busy but I can understand why because of the lack of shows, less shops open and the fact that there are pretty much 7 headliner attractions so everyone is just doing those things.  But it was still manageable and we definitely did everything we wanted to do there.  Epcot was not busy at all and we were able to use Genie + to get a lot of stuff done in short period of time, so that was a big plus.  Although we passed on strolling through the world showcase one evening because the girls were too tired and we wanted to get up early the next day for HS.

Logistics - I'm a HUGE planner and just love it when things come together logistically so we can maximize our time when we're there.  Both our flights and uBer rides to and from the airport were super smooth and on time.  We never waited for a bus or boat longer than 10 minutes and most of the time the bus or boat was waiting for us when we arrived.  Only once was the bus to MK packed, but other times it was very open.  We did walk over to Yacht to catch the bus there instead of trying the Mears at Swan.  Mobile ordering was outstanding!  We never had trouble finding a place to sit and even on Friday at Sleepy Hollow, our favorite snack, the Nutella fruit waffle was ready even before our "scheduled order window" had even started.  Also, Docking Bay 7 and Backlot Express were really reliable during our stay.  

Genie + - OK, so I was an absolute PRO with Fastpass + and even getting a BG for Rise (4-4 with the worst BG of 24 during our Feb '20 trip).  So to say I was sad to see FP+ go would be an understatement.  But I wanted to keep an open mind when it came to Genie +.  We bought it for all 4 days and do feel that it was necessary for us.  The good side is that on our first park day we did a bunch of stuff at MK (Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Small World with LL) then hopped to EP for the afternoon/evening.  We were able to ride Test Track, Soarin, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space and Remy all on LL or $LL for Remy and did all of that in less than 3 hours, with time to shop at Creations.  We bought Remy that morning and planned ahead to get Soarin and Test Track stacked while we took a break back to resort for about an hour or so.  That was definitely a highlight of using the Genie and throughout our trip we really never had any glitches with using the software.  But in my opinion it is a far inferior product to FP+ and you have to pay for it!  That is the fact I just can't get over.  How can Disney roll out a new product that was once free, charge for it now, and make it worse by pretty much all accounts than the original product??!!  The fact that you cannot modify an existing LL reservation is completely beyond me.  That is something that I would hope would change in the near future but I'm not holding my breathe.  The other things like not being able to pick a return time or only booking one at a time or getting up every morning at 7am are all negatives, but the lack of a modify option is the worst for me.  

The Magic/cast member interactions - I did see a couple examples of cast members getting short with guests but I have to say I completely understand it.  You have no idea how to approach people these days, especially when you're wearing a mask, so it's easy to see where they don't have the patience and chipper attitudes that they normally would have.  Also my daughters are now getting older so they don't get treated the same as when they were say 9 and 5.  I certainly understand that too, but as a father it kind of hurts to know that our Disney trips and vacation times are going to be ever evolving.  I have said to many friends and family that I would imagine we'll still go to Disney when the girls get older and I do believe that to be true, but it's just not the same as when they believe they are meeting the real Cinderella and Belle and Chewbacca as they wear a princess dress or Rey costume.  

We'll definitely be back to Disney, but I can't say when that will be.  The last few times when we've returned home, we've almost always been talking about planning the next trip.  We're not doing that now, even though we had a great time, it's just we need to go other places and do other things before we return.


----------



## Makmak

We went on a quick pre-cruise trip staying at old key west and did EPCOT on Saturday. We were nervous due to the reports of heavy crowds but we were pleasantly surprised. It’s possible we caught “a window” of the incoming Christmas week crowds and departing pre Christmas week people but we didn’t feel it was oppressively crowded. We rope dropped Soarin, land and Nemo, hit Remi (super cute) and frozen with ILL bc we were afraid of not getting a spot. We had test track LL reserved at 7am for a 3:30 time slot. Genie + did “that thing” where it said noon then on booking it assigned 3:30. I refreshed and found a better time, but as there wasn’t a modify option I had to drop the one I had to attempt the better time and then the app said I had to wait until 2pm to book?! Visited guest services and was told their systems were down so come back later. The CM put a note on our account. At 3:00 we went to guest services and they were able to give us an anytime LL for test track but we were unable to use genie until that point so….be aware of tech nightmares as possible. We loved the precious moments disney dolls, and had never seen them before as we generally avoid holidays. I will confirm that LL has crushed standby times. We saw many many upset people that there was no standby for Remi, and many that were unaware of Genie. We loved the candlelight processional. There are people coughing everywhere and we were surprised at that, had heard reports here but it was very noticeable that people were clearly ill. All in all a good time but just very different for us.


----------



## Maxie86

ThistleMae said:


> It is very crowded in the parks, with long wait times.  I do believe the Genie+ and LL$ rides make the stand-by wait times much longer than they should be.  We stood in place for about 15 min. in the 7DMT line at one point.  Lines are moving slow as they let those other folks in.





MusicalAstronaut said:


> Oh, absolutely.  If people didn't believe us about this with Fastpass, they've now had over a year of regular standby lines to see just how true this is.  My past three trips were in the last weekend of August, November, and December.  It was instantly obvious how much slower the standby lines moved in November & December. It's been frustrating to go back to that.


I completely agree with this.  This was our 3rd trip this year and first with Genie+.  We were there on October 1st with a crowd level 10 and the ride wait times were way less than they were last week.  We didn't buy Genie + or ILLs. It's not that we couldn't afford it but I refuse to give them any more money for things that have and should be included with your park ticket.   We didn't ride a lot of rides because of the long lines, but that is OK we have been on them many many times.  Standby lines were long and not moving like they were without Genie or FP.   I had no trouble getting the VQ for Remy at 7AM.  We have been many times at this time of year and this was by far the most crowded. 

All in all we had a great trip.  We enjoy our resort time, stayed CL at the BWI and it didn't disappoint.  The park and resort lobby decorations were beautiful, but was disappointed in the lack of outside resort decorations.


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## CampbellzSoup

Leaving the great state of Florida today and thank god the weather was awful only for my last day!  Full awesome trip report later for those interested in Christmas themed activities don’t sleep on seaworld either.


----------



## M SH

Tomorrow is the last park day of my trip, Dec 13-22. First 3 days were Universal, followed by 8 days of Disney.
Universal was great, but it’s not really Disney, we all know that. Outside of Harry Potter world, it’s one and done for us, but Hagrid’s was the best roller coaster ride I’ve ever been on. We did it 4 times on standby, and didn’t mind the wait. The line moves quickly and it’s worth it. We were staying first 2 nights at RPR and we had unlimited express and it worked great, very simple and worry free system. I don’t need to wake up early to book anything, or get my family ready in a rush to be anywhere.
Now for my Disney days, we were offsite, driving ourselves to the park. The parks were slammed as everyone was saying, but there was a big uptick this week from last week as expected. we did enjoy our time and did mostly everything we wanted, but it’s not like before. For several reasons a lot of magic was missing, and there are several things that we can blame:
- let’s start by long walks in the morning in the parking lots. The parking lots were a mess especially at MK. Sometimes dangerous. Shame on Disney really for this..
- masks and CMs reminding people about masks. I know it’s not their fault that people don’t fully comply. But it just takes away from the magic everywhere that the cms have to keep reminding people with that. Even in the frozen show at HS, the narrator reminds people of that before every single segment.. that just takes away from the experience. On the other hand, there is no issue with having 50 people in the tower of terror pre show room and filling every available space. SMH 
- genie+ and ILL is very inferior to FP. I would have much preferred if FP was kept but just add it as an up charge. I don’t want to wake up early everyday to plan the day of my visit. People are using them heavily, so it’s not going away, but I sure miss fastpass and being able to plan before hand, and refresh day of and do what I want multiple times. Genie+ is only usable at MK. ILL is only worth it for FOP and Rise.
- why do I have to wake up before 7am for BG for Remy, but Epcot opens at 11?
- character meets and character dining is a disappointment. I also miss Star Wars characters in GE roaming around.

anyway just listed some negatives there and I don’t want to totally make it that we didn’t enjoy our time. But this is the most I’ve spent on a Disney trip, and we just did not enjoy it as much as before. We are just not going to do it every year like we usually did, and maybe won’t be back for another 2-3 years as long as we see some positive changes.


----------



## spot28

We almost canceled after hearing people talk about the crowds,  and whatnot but so glad we didn’t.  we were able to manage to do everything we wanted to… Genie plus/LL really did help though and being at a WDWresort as at 7 AM we were able to what we wanted and enter parks early. Otherwise not so sure how it would’ve gone. I did see a huge difference in crowds from Friday to Sunday,  Sunday HS was very, very busy.  One thing that would be helpful if Disney is if listening out there..  is after one day at a park with G+ you really have it figured out pretty quickly.  it is hard to really know the ins and outs until you’ve experienced it. we asked several people,  cast members and got some  misinformation or “I’m not sure I’d have to check into that” kind of thing.  by day three we were answering questions for people… It really seems they should have Disney employees have as training one day in the parks with G+ so they can figure out how to do all the stuff in the morning to relay to guests. . On Friday a.m. none of the  ILL were available at 7 AM we asked and they said you had to be at the park ( even though we were staying on property so this was not correct ) so i skipped breakfast, any thought of hair and make up and ran into the Magic Kingdom “ As is” only to find out once we tapped in it still didn’t work.. went to City Hall and they said it’s not working for anybody right now the system is down but tomorrow morning you should be able to get your ILL from your hotel room at 7 AM.., it all worked out but it is just surprising several people we ask really did not know how it worked.  We got the message on the MDE app about ILL not being available at about 9 AM, saying “we’re having technical difficulties” and that was about the point they actually started working  LOL   One thing is even if you see a ride says not available and you think they’re all gone just refresh because we saw several times certain rides would be completely gone and then refresh and then it would start again back in the morning with G+ times so they must keep releasing more times if it sells out  quickly. Overall it was a great trip the only time people were not diligent about masks indoors was on the bus.  On the rides, shops etc. everyone was very good about it and Disney did a GREAT  job reminding people to mask up properly but it is hard to drive a bus and see behind you that half the people on the bus have taken them off especially at night…it was very packed too…


another tip rise of the resistance it really seems like the only way to get that is with the ILL… but if you can’t do that DO NOT go there first in the morning and get in line that is what everybody does and it immediately starts with a 2 1/2 hour line.  We saw that on Sunday Even with the early entry there was humongous line even getting in yo galaxies edge at 730 early opening ….and later in the day the line went down to more like 90 minutes. The rule for Disney is do the opposite of what the majority do and the majority went straight to rise of the resistance in the interim my kids were able to do rockin roller coaster tower of terror and Smugglers run in the first hour…


----------



## Tink03477

CampbellzSoup said:


> Ok let’s just talk some impressions for those who are thinking about coming and having vacations booked soon…
> 
> disney is going to get away with anything because the magic is real…
> 
> We didn’t rope drop because I work everyday at 5 am getting up that early is not vacation for me, at all.  Additionally I’m not paying for genie Plus for at least this trip as I wanted to see how it worked out.
> 
> You need Genie Plus if you want to ride rides without long lines, period.  The crowds were insane and thankfully I got to utilize child swap while we took turns without the baby in line.
> 
> The plus is that I found the opposite of what you guys are saying about rude people being as I’m single on most of these lines people enjoy talking to me lol.  Most people are fabulous and wonderful, so please don’t think the magic in guests is gone.
> 
> I travel with a baby now and I’ll be honest I don’t think it’s that bad.  This is his 5th trip since the pandemic and the restrictions are null and void pretty much gone it’s funny we went when it was the strictest to now whag felt like normal times.
> 
> no jingle bell jingle bam sign off hurt I’m sorry they did some other show but jingle bell jingle bam was so special to end the night and to have the entrance full of snow was so magical.
> 
> overall having a magical time as the rides and cast members are magical FOR Sure!  The photopass people take the best time and photos of my baby!
> 
> overall the magic is here, in diet form.


Hello, thank you for the post. Did you use Disney Photopass prepaid plan or just the regular one?
TYIA


----------



## scrappinginontario

spot28 said:


> We almost canceled after hearing people talk about the crowds,  and whatnot but so glad we didn’t.  we were able to manage to do everything we wanted to… Genie plus/LL really did help though and being at a WDWresort as at 7 AM we were able to what we wanted and enter parks early. Otherwise not so sure how it would’ve gone. I did see a huge difference in crowds from Friday to Sunday,  Sunday Hollywood studios was very, very busy.  One thing that would be helpful if Disney is if listening out there..  is after one day at a park with Genie plus you really have it figured out pretty quickly.  it is hard to really know the ins and outs until you’ve experienced it. we asked several people,  cast members and got some  misinformation or “I’m not sure I’d have to check into that” kind of thing.  by day three we were answering questions for people… It really seems they should have Disney employees have as training one day in the parks with Genie+ so they can figure out how to do all the stuff in the morning to relay to guests. . On Friday a.m. none of the  ILL were available at 7 AM we asked and they said you had to be at the park ( even though we were staying at the contemporary so this was not correct ) so i skipped breakfast, any thought of hair and make up and ran into the Magic Kingdom “ As is” only to find out once we tapped in it still didn’t work.. went to City Hall and they said it’s not working for anybody right now the system is down but tomorrow morning you should be able to get your ILL from your hotel room at 7 AM.., it all worked out but it is just surprising several people we ask really did not know how it worked.  We got the message on the MDE app about ILL not being available not until about 9 AM, saying “we’re having technical difficulties” and that was about the point they actually started working  LOL   One thing is even if you see a ride says not available and you think they’re all gone just refresh because we saw several times certain rides would be completely gone and then refresh and then it would start again back in the morning with G plus times so they must keep releasing more times if it sells out pretty quickly. Overall it was a great trip the only time people were not diligent about masks indoors was on the bus.  On the rides shops etc. everyone was very good about it and Disney did a great job reminding people to mask up properly but it is hard to drive a bus and see behind you that half the people on the bus Have taken them off especially at night…it was very packed too…


Your post has been merged with the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread so that all recent trips are in one location rather than multiple threads sharing similar information.


----------



## spot28

CampbellzSoup said:


> tell me how the steakhouse was!


We loved our steakhouse 71 breakfast! I had a veggie omelette my husband the prime rib hash and my son the specialty pancakes which were pumpkin pancakes with cream cheese. They also had unlimited  mimosas and bourbon coffee if you’d like to partake in the morning.


----------



## spot28

M SH said:


> Tomorrow is the last park day of my trip, Dec 13-22. First 3 days were Universal, followed by 8 days of Disney.
> Universal was great, but it’s not really Disney, we all know that. Outside of Harry Potter world, it’s one and done for us, but Hagrid’s was the best roller coaster ride I’ve ever been on. We did it 4 times on standby, and didn’t mind the wait. The line moves quickly and it’s worth it. We were staying first 2 nights at RPR and we had unlimited express and it worked great, very simple and worry free system. I don’t need to wake up early to book anything, or get my family ready in a rush to be anywhere.
> Now for my Disney days, we were offsite, driving ourselves to the park. The parks were slammed as everyone was saying, but there was a big uptick this week from last week as expected. we did enjoy our time and did mostly everything we wanted, but it’s not like before. For several reasons a lot of magic was missing, and there are several things that we can blame:
> - let’s start by long walks in the morning in the parking lots. The parking lots were a mess especially at MK. Sometimes dangerous. Shame on Disney really for this..
> - masks and CMs reminding people about masks. I know it’s not their fault that people don’t fully comply. But it just takes away from the magic everywhere that the cms have to keep reminding people with that. Even in the frozen show at HS, the narrator reminds people of that before every single segment.. that just takes away from the experience. On the other hand, there is no issue with having 50 people in the tower of terror pre show room and filling every available space. SMH
> - genie+ and ILL is very inferior to FP. I would have much preferred if FP was kept but just add it as an up charge. I don’t want to wake up early everyday to plan the day of my visit. People are using them heavily, so it’s not going away, but I sure miss fastpass and being able to plan before hand, and refresh day of and do what I want multiple times. Genie+ is only usable at MK. ILL is only worth it for FOP and Rise.
> - why do I have to wake up before 7am for BG for Remy, but Epcot opens at 11?
> - character meets and character dining is a disappointment. I also miss Star Wars characters in GE roaming around.
> 
> anyway just listed some negatives there and I don’t want to totally make it that we didn’t enjoy our time. But this is the most I’ve spent on a Disney trip, and we just did not enjoy it as much as before. We are just not going to do it every year like we usually did, and maybe won’t be back for another 2-3 years as long as we see some positive changes.


Yes I do not understand why the Star Wars characters cannot walk around and instead have to be on stage bc of covid …  I mean they would be the most protected as  they could wear a mask underneath their giant costume stormtrooper mask… There’s so many other cast members serving others with much less protection I did not understand that.


----------



## spot28

Makmak said:


> We went on a quick pre-cruise trip staying at old key west and did EPCOT on Saturday. We were nervous due to the reports of heavy crowds but we were pleasantly surprised. It’s possible we caught “a window” of the incoming Christmas week crowds and departing pre Christmas week people but we didn’t feel it was oppressively crowded. We rope dropped Soarin, land and Nemo, hit Remi (super cute) and frozen with ILL bc we were afraid of not getting a spot. We had test track LL reserved at 7am for a 3:30 time slot. Genie + did “that thing” where it said noon then on booking it assigned 3:30. I refreshed and found a better time, but as there wasn’t a modify option I had to drop the one I had to attempt the better time and then the app said I had to wait until 2pm to book?! Visited guest services and was told their systems were down so come back later. The CM put a note on our account. At 3:00 we went to guest services and they were able to give us an anytime LL for test track but we were unable to use genie until that point so….be aware of tech nightmares as possible. We loved the precious moments disney dolls, and had never seen them before as we generally avoid holidays. I will confirm that LL has crushed standby times. We saw many many upset people that there was no standby for Remi, and many that were unaware of Genie. We loved the candlelight processional. There are people coughing everywhere and we were surprised at that, had heard reports here but it was very noticeable that people were clearly ill. All in all a good time but just very different for us.


Yes we saw several clearly ill too. One note one  time I got  a tickle in my throat, need water… I was not sick, 3x vax but I think I was psychologically trying not to cough fearing others would think I was sick and  that made it worse. So not all coughing have covid


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Tink03477 said:


> Hello, thank you for the post. Did you use Disney Photopass prepaid plan or just the regular one?
> TYIA



I have prepaid plan without a doubt worth it


----------



## M SH

Last day at MK today. Crowds and waits were very light this morning because of the weather. Almost everything was walk-ons. Only day we saw rain and chilly weather during our trip. Was 70s 80s all other days.
Other random thoughts about my trip that I forgot to mention before:
- we found Harmonious to be better than Enchantment. The latter looked really poorly put together, and far inferior to HEA. I do not like all the barges in Epcot during the day though
- the interactions with the first order on rise of the resistance is always priceless.
- Remy is pretty cool but I would never pay for ILL to do it.
- FOP is still captivating every time we do it.
- I don’t get why Indiana jones stunt show is back but not fantasmic.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

I’ll be honest I thought enchantment and harmonious were meh for a Disney nighttime spectacular.  It really just seems like IP thrown in a blender with no rhyme and/or reason for the musical presentation.  Harmonious was pretty but did you ever get those emotional moments?  I actually got them watching the Minnie’s fireworks so it’s not just the old shows I’m preferring.  Mental note has also been made never ever travel anywhere anytime near Christmas the line to check luggage and baby seat was almost 2 hours.  Awful.


----------



## Elleshoodat

Hello! We are back from three days in the parks and one day of touring the Magic Kingdom resorts. Here are some of our highlights:

The Skyliner – Our favorite form of Disney transportation! We stayed at Caribbean Beach and I requested and received a room in Jamaica, so we were right across the street from the Skyliner station. The access to Epcot’s International Gateway can’t be beat, and the Joffrey’s shack at the station is a nice touch.
Crowds – Holy crowds! *People everywhere, but it was manageable* as long as we stayed ahead of them. (Early entry for resort guests jumped to 60 minutes instead of 30 on our second day in the parks.) We’d never been this time of year, but it was worth it to see the parks and resorts decked out for Christmas.
Christmas at the resorts – One of our favorite things to do at Disney is visit the animals at Jambo House and Kidani Village. (Add in bread service at Sanaa, and we were happy campers this day!) We also hit Wilderness Lodge (with a breakfast reservation at Whispering Canyon), the Contemporary and the Grand Floridian – the tree, gingerbread house and décor at the GF are lovely.
New parks experiences – Our must-dos were Living with the Land at night to see it all lit up (LOVED it) and Jingle Cruise (meh). I woke up just before 7 on our Epcot day and scored a boarding group for Remy’s, which I thought was adorable. The kids did the Olaf’s Holiday Traditions scavenger hunt in World Showcase, which we felt wasn’t as clear or organized as other scavenger hunts (like the Spike one from Flower & Garden).
ETA we did NOT purchase Genie+ or ILLs, primarily on principle, and *were still able to accomplish what we wanted* by using Early Entry for resort guests and regularly checking expected wait times on Lines (the kids had fun submitting our wait times).


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## rebelbuddhist

My wife and I are here now.  Arrived Pop Century on Saturday evening and have spent a full day at each of the four parks.  Here's our thoughts so far:
THE GOOD:   Smuggler's Run
                       Skyliner !!!
                       Rennovated rooms at Pop
                        TV offerings in rooms-  not just                    
                         Disney owned      
                         Easy to use Genie +.  Happy to spend $15 to save HOURS of time in lines.
Lot smaller crowds that we expected.  Still crowded but only moderate so far
THE BAD:  Mickey's After Hours night
        Too few photopass photographers
        Too few free food distribution points
   Way, way too expensive for what is offered
   The way too impactful cuts in live shows              such as  FoLK
Commando park visitors ready to run you done so they can do everything  in the first hour after park opening.  
THE UGLY:     
Slupping your own bags at airport.
Cut backs in offerings but no cut back in costs!   Buffets now served family style but at buffet/character meet prices.  Everything has risen in price noticably.
Yak and Yeti quality of food gone so down
The amount of time needed to plan so that all goes smoothly
All the construction walls at Epcot
M


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## kalista

Just back from a trip 12/19-12/22.  We've been many times but only go every 2-3 years during Fall or Spring break, Thanksgiving, or Christmas so we're used to crowds.  This time, it didn't seem as crowded with guests but waits were crazy...for EVERYTHING.  Talked to a couple CMs about understaffing and they confirmed it's a problem.  If you can't fill hand sanitizers (most didn't work), paper towels, make sure sinks have water, notify guests when mobile order is down (AFTER they ordered), or figure out how to get your IT or food court operating consistently then maybe you really need to limit capacity again?!


----------



## tinkerhon

rebelbuddhist said:


> My wife and I are here now.  Arrived Pop Century on Saturday evening and have spent a full day at each of the four parks.  Here's our thoughts so far:
> THE GOOD:   Smuggler's Run
> Skyliner !!!
> Rennovated rooms at Pop
> TV offerings in rooms-  not just
> Disney owned
> Easy to use Genie +.  Happy to spend $15 to save HOURS of time in lines.
> Lot smaller crowds that we expected.  Still crowded but only moderate so far
> THE BAD:  Mickey's After Hours night
> Too few photopass photographers
> Too few free food distribution points
> Way, way too expensive for what is offered
> The way too impactful cuts in live shows              such as  FoLK
> Commando park visitors ready to run you done so they can do everything  in the first hour after park opening.
> THE UGLY:
> Slupping your own bags at airport.
> Cut backs in offerings but no cut back in costs!   Buffets now served family style but at buffet/character meet prices.  Everything has risen in price noticably.
> Yak and Yeti quality of food gone so down
> The amount of time needed to plan so that all goes smoothly
> All the construction walls at Epcot
> M



Here now as well----   arrived yesterday----  all we keep talking about is Epcot---   honestly, it looks awful !!!  And missed Mousegear !   Dont like Creations at all---   and what is with the lack of holiday apparel !!??   On a sidenote----  what is with all of the Chapel coach busses ?   Talk about lack of Disney feel !!  They are like uglier DME busses !!


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## princesswahooey

I think Harmonious was broken tonight. The show started at 10:05 instead of 9:45. We had seen it from the side during Rose & Crown dinner package a few days ago, but wanted to see the center "eye" view. We walked around to the straight-on side but the center ring wasn't doing anything.


----------



## SwanVT2

rebelbuddhist said:


> My wife and I are here now.  Arrived Pop Century on Saturday evening and have spent a full day at each of the four parks.  Here's our thoughts so far:
> THE GOOD:   Smuggler's Run
> Skyliner !!!
> Rennovated rooms at Pop
> TV offerings in rooms-  not just
> Disney owned
> Easy to use Genie +.  Happy to spend $15 to save HOURS of time in lines.
> Lot smaller crowds that we expected.  Still crowded but only moderate so far
> THE BAD:  Mickey's After Hours night
> Too few photopass photographers
> Too few free food distribution points
> Way, way too expensive for what is offered
> The way too impactful cuts in live shows              such as  FoLK
> Commando park visitors ready to run you done so they can do everything  in the first hour after park opening.
> THE UGLY:
> Slupping your own bags at airport.
> Cut backs in offerings but no cut back in costs!   Buffets now served family style but at buffet/character meet prices.  Everything has risen in price noticably.
> Yak and Yeti quality of food gone so down
> The amount of time needed to plan so that all goes smoothly
> All the construction walls at Epcot
> M


Did you use Genie at AK?


----------



## Tink03477

CampbellzSoup said:


> I have prepaid plan without a doubt worth it


Thank you! I signed up for it!


----------



## spot28

Lilias said:


> Are most of the rude people in Magic Kingdom and not the other parks?  If some lady yelled at my husband (or me especially) for something as silly as not moving in the direction she wanted, he would legit start a fight with her, so now I'm like do I cancel my trip, is this an anomaly, or do we just avoid Magic Kingdom?  We're going the second week of March, which I thought would be a lower crowd time since easter is so late next year, but I could very much be wrong!
> 
> Yiiiikes.


We were just there last week and I felt like the crowds though heavy were very congenial. I actually experienced more bad behavior at Epcot during food and wine. Patience at MK may wane but at least folks aren’t completely inebriated.


----------



## 0FF TO NEVERLAND

Lines didn’t seem terrible today from the apps. Long but not previous Christmas long

Anybody remember the 400 min waits from 3 years ago this week? Lol


----------



## PamNC

I was there 12/10 - 12/16... first day at parks 12/11. Stayed at Wyndham Grand Orlando Bonnet Creek. Great Hotel, beautiful actually but exorbitant fees. Anyway, the parks were very crowded. VERY. I remember going the first week of December in the late 90's early 2000's and it being a low crowd time, although I know I basically was there the second week, not the first week of December. And, obviously, it was a long time ago. The parks were beautiful for Christmas and I loved seeing the Candlelight Processional back. Plus The Lion King and other shows. I'm happy things are returning to normal. Genie - not so happy - tried LL on our MK day because it was insanely crowded. Not worth it unless you book it the second you walk in the park and then you have to compete with everyone else to get what you want. You only get one at a time - I find it to be a waste of money. I did pay $9 to get Remy @ Epcot because otherwise I wouldn't have gotten on. I got it at 11:10 a.m. upon entering the park and my ride time was 9:50 p.m.  I'm not a fan of Genie + at all and will not be purchasing it again. It's a shameless money grab if you ask me. Just my opinion of course.  Cast members were fabulous except the dude at the Taphouse. He was rude to me when I was trying to decide what I wanted to drink. It was my first time and I needed extra time to figure it out. I said "I don't really like IPA type beers" and he said "then don't get one."  Not impressed although I loved the Taphouse outside seating and the appetizers were good and reasonably priced. Every other cast member - STELLAR.  I was impressed especially given the enormous crowds. I won't go in December again unless it's a quick weekend trip and I'll concentrate on visiting the resorts more than the parks. Too crowded.


----------



## GBRforWDW

We got back yesterday after a week staying offsite - 12/19-25 going to parks 12/21-24.  We started at the Clarion just south of Animal Kingdom area.  DW complained about the hotel, Though it was in pretty poor condition, so we moved to the new airport Cambria.  It was rough, instead of 5-10 minute drives, it became 25-30 minute.  She was also dealing with a shoulder/neck injury, so had to visit the chiropractor a couple times before heading to the parks.  We ended up typically leaving for the parks around 1030 most days, so there by 11. 

I had bought G+ with the tickets because I knew they'd be busy and we had some things we'd want to do.  The extra hours, plus extra rides/shows available with G+ in each park definitely made it worth it to us, in some ways. Being able to get a guaranteed parade viewing spot was awesome on Wednesday for the first daytime showing of the parade.  Heres our view if you're interested:h ttps://youtu.be/EuS5CGhjDK8. 

We ended up getting 4 or 5 G+ rides in each park. Most of the parks, we could have gotten more LLs, but was trying hard not to push my wife, but still getting yelled at for going too hard .  I also was able to get an ILL$ for myself on FoP and 7DMT and the whole family on Remy.  I got lucky with FoP as it sold out before offsite could get them, but they reloaded more a couple times during the morning that I saw.  I wasn't planning for RotR, and that was a good thing.  I guess it was down a lot on Friday.  I had rode once at DHS in January and twice at Disneyland this summer, so wasn't even going to go to Galaxy's Edge this trip.  We also barely used standby lines.  We did iasw, Gran Fiesta Tour, and AS2 standby, but otherwise, we used Genie or didn't do it, besides a couple shows like Presidents in MK and Cars in DHS.  We were down there for the tower of terror lighting so figured it'd be fun to check out.  I missed arrival times for FoP and Peter Pan, but due to other appointments, so they fortunately let me on the rides.  I know they don't have to do that, but glad they did.

Crowds were heavy in some parts but felt light in other parts.  Obviously parade and fireworks crowds were intense.  World showcase in Epcot was insanely packed.  We were pushing the kid in the stroller and swerving everywhere to avoid people, lol.  Animal Kingdom was rainy most of the day, so wasn't as crowded as it could have been.  It mostly felt like our first trip in 2018 though.  Lots of people. 

Character meals are changing a bit now with allowing kids to stand a few feet in front of characters, so it's easier to get their pictures now.  I had noticed they let us stand up for the pix, but didn't realize it was a new change until DFB posted about it this morning. 

Table service meals are generally taking about 90 minutes for us now.  It seemed like before we could get in and out in 60, but we did Story Book Dining, Rose and Crown Candlelight package and Hollywood and Vine and they all took about 90 minutes.  We also did the Space 220 lounge, but kept it to apps and drinks, so wasn't in for as long.  Looking at time stamps of my videos, about 50 minutes in there.  Cool experience tho. 

Traffic in the WDW resort area wasn't bad for us at the times we went, but I-4 going North was always backed up during the day and sometimes at night if we left the parks early enough.  Southbound wasn't as bad, but still had a decent amount of traffic and some slowdowns.  At WDW, we used Trams, monorail, bus and skyliner and they were all keeping people moving quickly at the times we were on them.  Of course we didn't use at high capacity times either, but was good to get where we wanted to go quickly and efficiently.


----------



## emmabelle

we got back on Friday and overall the trip was good.  Last full day, not so much.  We made the most epic rookie mistake.  We had park reservations for Animal Kingdom.  We knew we wanted to do MK at night.  I spent all day getting the best LL's and even paid extra for 7D.  I had 7D, Thunder, Space, Jungle, and Buzz, all within a three hour time frame.  It was going to be the best night ever.  *We never made it to AK earlier in the day*.  Denied access to MK.

I honestly wanted to cry.  We could've bussed it to AK, swiped in, got back on the bus to MK, but my husband wouldn't do it.  He was annoyed.  I'm the Disney fan, him, not so much.  He swore he would never go to Disney again, he's also a little dramatic.  Hopefully I'll eventually talk him into a last week in August trip.  It might be a hard sell.


----------



## scrappinginontario

emmabelle said:


> we got back on Friday and overall the trip was good.  Last full day, not so much.  We made the most epic rookie mistake.  We had park reservations for Animal Kingdom.  We knew we wanted to do MK at night.  I spent all day getting the best LL's and even paid extra for 7D.  I had 7D, Thunder, Space, Jungle, and Buzz, all within a three hour time frame.  It was going to be the best night ever.  *We never made it to AK earlier in the day*.  Denied access to MK.
> 
> I honestly wanted to cry.  We could've bussed it to AK, swiped in, got back on the bus to MK, but my husband wouldn't do it.  He was annoyed.  I'm the Disney fan, him, not so much.  He swore he would never go to Disney again, he's also a little dramatic.  Hopefully I'll eventually talk him into a last week in August trip.  It might be a hard sell.


I'm so sorry this happened to you and in the heat of the moment, completely understand how it did.  We all have to retrain ourselves now that park reservations are needed but we still make mistakes.  So sorry you missed your time in MK, especially since you had spent a lot of money securing some good reservations. 

Hope your husband remembers the good time he had before that unfortunate challenge at the end.


----------



## emmabelle

scrappinginontario said:


> I'm so sorry this happened to you and in the heat of the moment, completely understand how it did.  We all have to retrain ourselves now that park reservations are needed but we still make mistakes.  So sorry you missed your time in MK, especially since you had spent a lot of money securing some good reservations.
> 
> Hope your husband remembers the good time he had before that unfortunate challenge at the end.




well at least we had guest services reverse the $50 I spent on genie + and the extra 7D fee!


----------



## leeniewdw

emmabelle said:


> It was going to be the best night ever.  *We never made it to AK earlier in the day*.  Denied access to MK.



That is the dumbest rule imo.   I get the 2pm deal is the new way to hop, but not tapping in to park 1 makes absolutely no difference in how the park operates, how the crowd is, etc.  Maybe someone can explain how that requirement helps the parks or other guests when enforced.   WDW literally LOST money by enforcing this by refunding the money (let alone any money spent once in MK).

There's a lot of talk about how rigid the new system is (have to wake up at 7am, etc) but this goes beyond rigidity.   People can't possibly predict how their touring party is going to feel on any given day.  Maybe someone has a blister, maybe someone's knees hurt, wake up not feeling well, etc.   So in order to modify your plans, you have to either cancel a park reservation and attempt a new one (even though you've already paid for the right to hop) or you have to waste a LOT of time to tap in/out and proceed with your day.  Ridiculous.


----------



## Aela

leeniewdw said:


> That is the dumbest rule imo.   I get the 2pm deal is the new way to hop, but not tapping in to park 1 makes absolutely no difference in how the park operates, how the crowd is, etc.  Maybe someone can explain how that requirement helps the parks or other guests when enforced.   WDW literally LOST money by enforcing this by refunding the money (let alone any money spent once in MK).
> 
> There's a lot of talk about how rigid the new system is (have to wake up at 7am, etc) but this goes beyond rigidity.   People can't possibly predict how their touring party is going to feel on any given day.  Maybe someone has a blister, maybe someone's knees hurt, wake up not feeling well, etc.   So in order to modify your plans, you have to either cancel a park reservation and attempt a new one (even though you've already paid for the right to hop) or you have to waste a LOT of time to tap in/out and proceed with your day.  Ridiculous.


I agree.  I’m not sure if we’ll do a park on our “off day”, and I have no idea if we’ll want to hit something before Epcot right now.   I would like to do HDDR and the water park that day, but no idea right now if they’ll be open.   Since we’re staying at Pop I went ahead and booked DHS in case we decide to go somewhere in the evening since it is an easy trip to the gates (and sells out, Epcot usually doesn’t and we can always change our reservation closer if we decide to do Epcot).   If we could just park hop wherever I would’ve not worried.


----------



## brightlined

leeniewdw said:


> That is the dumbest rule imo.   I get the 2pm deal is the new way to hop, but not tapping in to park 1 makes absolutely no difference in how the park operates, how the crowd is, etc.  Maybe someone can explain how that requirement helps the parks or other guests when enforced.   WDW literally LOST money by enforcing this by refunding the money (let alone any money spent once in MK).


The fix here is to drop the tap-in requirement after 2pm. (There's absolutely no effecting difference after 2pm - park capacity after that would be identical, whether or not the person made it to their original park before that.) The same rules could still apply - eg, if the MK hits capacity and "closes" to hopping, only those with actual MK reservations can get in.


----------



## MomOTwins

brightlined said:


> The fix here is to drop the tap-in requirement after 2pm. (There's absolutely no effecting difference after 2pm - park capacity after that would be identical, whether or not the person made it to their original park before that.) The same rules could still apply - eg, if the MK hits capacity and "closes" to hopping, only those with actual MK reservations can get in.


Because local APs would use hopping as a backdoor solution to get into sold out parks after work/school, and guests from out of town would book epcot for a week and go to MK and HS every day exactly at 2pm, and parks would close to hopping much more often. That creates an incentive for everyone hopping “normally” to arrive right at 2pm so as not to miss out because of increased competition for hopping, and necessitates refunds for people who get shut out to hopping.  Is it so crazy that disney would set up a park reservation system and enforce that people actually go to the park they reserve?


----------



## emmabelle

I just hope at some point we're able to go back to being able to go where we want when we want. 


We were there for a week and only spent 2 hours in MK the whole week.  The park was slammed the Monday before Christmas.  I couldn't believe how many people were in there at 9am and they were still streaming in by the thousands.  We left thinking we would go back some night.  Well that didn't happen.


----------



## leeniewdw

MomOTwins said:


> Because local APs would use hopping as a backdoor solution to get into sold out parks after work/school, and guests from out of town would book epcot for a week and go to MK and HS every day exactly at 2pm, and parks would close to hopping much more often. That creates an incentive for everyone hopping “normally” to arrive right at 2pm so as not to miss out because of increased competition for hopping, and necessitates refunds for people who get shut out to hopping.  Is it so crazy that disney would set up a park reservation system and enforce that people actually go to the park they reserve?



So you are suggesting that there is a way for locals to get into non EP parks and the first tap-in prevents them from doing so?  I guess I hadn't thought of that.  The suggestion is they want to circumvent the reservation system but won't if they have to tap in somewhere else first?  

As far as "out of town" people doing this,  how many people could this possibly apply to.  People are going to buy Park Hoppers and then purposely not do ANY park visiting until 2pm as a strategy?  

To me, yes it's a little crazy to force someone in the position of the original poster to jump thru those hoops after the park hopping time has been met.   At minimum, I would think they should have some sort of recourse prior to 2pm to get this straightened out.   

Disney has ALL of these stats.  Who has APs, how may tap in/out within 5 minutes, who has a trip park hopper, how many people are hopping each day, etc.   To pay that much money for a week at disney, and have to jump thru this hoop on a single day just sounds...insane.   Guest services could see it's their last day and they aren't habitual abusers.  So dumb.


----------



## princesswahooey

Experience using a rolling G+ at MK on 12/26

We were tired after a week of the parks. This was our check-out day.

At 7am I booked 2:40pm 7DMT and 11:20 Space Mtn. (I did both since everyone else slept in). We took our time getting to MK around 10am. Surprisingly, it felt a little like rope drop, even though the park had been open for an hour already. We were just in time to snag one ride without waiting, and as soon as we were off, crowds had started to swell.

We had already been to MK on another day during our stay, so were filling in some rides we hadn't done before.

People Mover was walk-on, as it should be. (We had seen a 45 minute wait for it on a previous day , so had not done it at that time).

When we got off, Buzz was at 40 minutes, Speedway at 30, Space at 30. We walked onto Carousel of Progress, which we hadn't done in a long time. 15yo didn't even remember it, so it was fun. We got off that at 11am and were able to pick a new LL for Buzz at 11:25. Rode that and were able to get Speedway LL as soon as we tapped in for 12:30.

Rode Space Mtn (from 7am LL), then had a little time to kill before our Speedway return, so we popped over and watched Philharmagic at 12:15. Headed over to Speedway after and tapped in and immediately got LL for Splash Mtn at 3:45.

That was the end of our "rolling" G+.

We then headed to Cinderella's for 1:10 lunch ressie. They were a bit behind, but we were out just in time to go on our 2:40 7DMT reservation. It was also 2 hours from when I had picked my last LL, so I refreshed for about 3 minutes and got a LL for BTMRR at 3:30. (It had pushed out to 5:30, but I just kept refreshing and got the 3:30 time).

We rode BTMRR  LL (70 min posted wait) and them immediately headed to our Splash LL (120 min posted wait). That felt like a total win.

After tapping into BTMRR I could have snagged another LL to Haunted Mansion in the near future, but it was our check-out day and everyone was ready to go after Splash.

So we got 5 LL on a very busy day, and could have gotten more, but we left the park at 4pm. Super glad to have LL that day.

I think if you are in DHS or MK (or will be hopping to one if them) G+ is a good investment. All day at Epcot, not needed. All day at AK, not needed. If arriving late to Epcot or AK, it can still be useful. I can also see using a rolling G+ at Epcot for less popular rides and picking return times that are close to current time to keep the G+ going, but as soon as you choose a popular ride that makes you wait 2 hours, you're stuck for a while.

Also, don't underestimate the power of refreshing. It still works to get a closer time if you are patient. (Especially good in morning and afternoon, less success in evenings, I'd say.)


----------



## MomOTwins

leeniewdw said:


> The suggestion is they want to circumvent the reservation system but won't if they have to tap in somewhere else first?


Yep.  Since the previous poster acknowledged they could have solved the problem by heading to AK, tapping in, and returning to MK, but didn’t because it wasn’t worth the bother, I’d say that it is a pretty good deterrent.



leeniewdw said:


> As far as "out of town" people doing this,  how many people could this possibly apply to.  People are going to buy Park Hoppers and then purposely not do ANY park visiting until 2pm as a strategy?


We went last year at spring break when the parks were all “grey” or “yellow”, and you wouldn’t believe the number of people we met—at the airport, at the hotel, at the park gates—who showed up without park reservations or had Epcot every day of their trip. You can bet that  there would be some people who would swim at the resort in the morning and go to parks at 2pm every day if they could.


----------



## leeniewdw

MomOTwins said:


> Yep.  Since the previous poster acknowledged they could have solved the problem by heading to AK, tapping in, and returning to MK, but didn’t because it wasn’t worth the bother, I’d say that it is a pretty good deterrent.



Oh sure.  The poster is saying her spouse was so annoyed he's changed his opinion of Disney.  They literally denied them entry for a park that they'd not only paid for, but paid a premium for to "hop".



MomOTwins said:


> We went last year at spring break when the parks were all “grey” or “yellow”, and you wouldn’t believe the number of people we met—at the airport, at the hotel, at the park gates—who showed up without park reservations or had Epcot every day of their trip. You can bet that  there would be some people who would swim at the resort in the morning and go to parks at 2pm every day if they could.



I'm not sure I understand the issue with them having park hoppers and EP as their reservation.  That's what they paid for. 

I'm sure people are confused about park reservations, that's no surprise.    But if people are buying park hoppers so they have flexibility to visit a park in the afternoon, it's just dumb that Disney wouldn't allow them to.   It's literally like "sorry you had a bad morning, now go sit in the corner for an hour and then come back, thanks for your premium park admission though!".   

Again, I get there are people that would abuse any system, but they KNOW who those people are now that everything is electronic.


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## emmabelle

They need a pop up that says “now don’t forget to go to your reserved park first!!!”  I’m surprised it’s the first time we’ve done that in the 5 trips we’ve taken since reopening  I wish we had done it in September when the parks were dead then we would’ve been able to rebook our park.


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## kalista

Can we also get a pop up that says something like…”Hey-you know that mobile order for your party of 8 that you placed two hours ago and checked in for an hour ago and have been getting the ‘prepping your order’ screen for an hour now??  It didn’t actually get placed so please come to the counter and re-order.  And please be patient with the staff that will drop your tray of beverages at the last minute.  Rise is about to go down, so you won’t have to worry about missing your paid LL.  Have a magical day!”


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## GBRforWDW

kalista said:


> Can we also get a pop up that says something like…”Hey-you know that mobile order for your party of 8 that you placed two hours ago and checked in for an hour ago and have been getting the ‘prepping your order’ screen for an hour now??  It didn’t actually get placed so please come to the counter and re-order.  And please be patient with the staff that will drop your tray of beverages at the last minute.  Rise is about to go down, so you won’t have to worry about missing your paid LL.  Have a magical day!”


This sounds oddly specific...


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## PamNC

personally I long for the days of 5 day super duper passes that allowed you to do whatever you want, when you want, hop for free when you want and use anytime in your lifetime and/or affordable AP's. There are too many hoops to jump through and it's totally time consuming. I don't enjoy staring down at my phone while I'm on vacay. JMHO.


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## tinkychloe

Have there been any reports of hoppers being denied this week? I'm planning to hop on 12/30 from MK to Epcot for my Candlelight Processional reservation and back to MK for the midnight fireworks.


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## MakiraMarlena

so far, the only reports of hoppers being denied was for Magic Kingdom on 10/1 and that was just for a few hours.

I would think maybe 12/31 might be an issue, but not for Epcot. 12/30 probably won't be.


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## rdaky

leeniewdw said:


> Again, I get there are people that would abuse any system, but they KNOW who those people are now that everything is electronic.



People who break rules (intentionally or unintentionally) aren't always habitual abusers that can be flagged electronically. It's often just the typical vacation family and someone posts about it online, and next thing you know, a few thousand other people are trying to do the same thing and think that they are the exception to the rule because it was a one time thing. Not necessarily with ill intent, but just thinking that since someone else did it, that it must be ok. Things related to park hopping, sharing magic bands for lightning lane, parking at a resort "to eat" to avoid parking fees, not reporting the actual number of guests in a resort room, and so on.


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## leeniewdw

I think we have to remember that the person that posted was on their final day of a week vacation.  I'm presuming (tho not sure) they aren't local.   To have paid for a hoppers for multiple people and have them strong arm the rule seems insane.... to me.   Everything I just stated could be verified by guest services.   If they had done it 7 days in a row during sold out park days (I'm not familiar if the parks were sold out or not) then SURE, say "I'm sorry".   These guests paid for the right to hop parks, if Disney can't figure out a way to accommodate this situation, it's terrible customer service.  JMHO.

If 1000 people try to "hop" w/o tapping into the first park, exactly how bad is that for disney (presuming these people don't have a history of getting this exception made as mentioned above).   Their absence at park #1 makes the guest experience there better (1000 less people) and they are literally just doing the thing they paid for.   Why make a family drag themselves/kids onto a bus and waste an hour to accomplish nothing but their penance for an honest (or maybe not that honest) oversight.  

All they have to say is that "we can make this one time exception for you, but now that I've explained the system/rules, we won't be able to do it again".  Done.


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## emmabelle

leeniewdw said:


> I think we have to remember that the person that posted was on their final day of a week vacation.  I'm presuming (tho not sure) they aren't local.
> 
> All they have to say is that "we can make this one time exception for you, but now that I've explained the system/rules, we won't be able to do it again".  Done.



We live in MA but are AP holders.  It’s a shame that it was our last night and that it was a night that I finally hadn’t messed up the Genie+.  I kept messing up one way or another trying to change things or trying to get night things and ending up with 2 LL’s for the day.

it was also 4pm when we tried to get into MK and we had ressies for Crystal Palace.  We tried to get them to budge and let us in but they weren’t having it.  At least I’ll be saving mucho bucks on AP renewals!   

At least now I see why they do it as a deterrent for people to not make a park reservation for any park just to get into their choice park after 2pm.


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## tinkerhon

Here now - waiting for ice skating show at Seaworld - just a couple of thoughts - preface by saying we have been Disney fanatics since 1994 - but ... every single time we come for the holidays , our seaworld day turns out to be the best - I don’t know why Disney can’t do more as far as the holiday feel ?? I don’t know , to me that left with the Osborne lights - but still love ya Disney ! Just missing the old days a bit -


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## beesly

Here now. Today is our only Epcot day for this trip. We got BG 56 for Remy and it’s been down all day with our estimated return time pushing further into the afternoon. It finally just changed to say they won’t be able to accommodate us today. No word on why it’s down. Bummer, but we’ll still enjoy being back here for NYE.


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## CBMom01

This is late for a "just back" since it's been almost a week, but I have to say that we did not experience any of the issues I've read about on these boards.  I had a little trouble navigating G+ at first but got the hang of it pretty fast.  We rode everything in 5 days without rope dropping and a couple of those being half days.  We slept in, swam (weather was absolutely fantastic), got good last minute dining reservations.  We were busy the whole time, but not frantic. The only thing we didn't ride was MMRR because it was down when we tried the first time and none of us felt like making a point to go back to it.  

The week before Christmas it felt busy but not unmanageably so.  Our experience solidified what I was sensing from the boards:  The crowds are only a big issue for a handful of rides and restaurants.  

We had a really great time, other than coming down with Covid which we clearly got at the parks.  Still (and especially when compared to what we saw in other parts of FL) we thought mask compliance at WDW was really quite good.  Just too many people to reasonably avoid the risk I suppose.


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## CBMom01

Also, everyone loved Harmonious but found Enchantment merely ok.  Though, we watched from near the Christmas tree and the Main Street projections were fun.  

Footnote:  For one reason or another, I had never ridden Frozen before this trip and I got to ride it with my two stepdaughters and I looooooooooved it.


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## npatellye

We went to World of Disney today and got in line at 9:40. At 9:50, some people walked past the line to stand in front of the second door. Others followed them and started crowding near the doors instead of waiting in line like everyone else. Kudos to the cast members working there because they only opened one door and told the crowd to go to the back of the line and wait their turn like everyone else. I can’t imagine their jobs are easy but I appreciate their diligence.


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## mickeymom629

CBMom01 said:


> This is late for a "just back" since it's been almost a week, but I have to say that we did not experience any of the issues I've read about on these boards.  I had a little trouble navigating G+ at first but got the hang of it pretty fast.  We rode everything in 5 days without rope dropping and a couple of those being half days.  We slept in, swam (weather was absolutely fantastic), got good last minute dining reservations.  We were busy the whole time, but not frantic. The only thing we didn't ride was MMRR because it was down when we tried the first time and none of us felt like making a point to go back to it.
> 
> The week before Christmas it felt busy but not unmanageably so.  Our experience solidified what I was sensing from the boards:  The crowds are only a big issue for a handful of rides and restaurants.
> 
> We had a really great time, other than coming down with Covid which we clearly got at the parks.  Still (and especially when compared to what we saw in other parts of FL) we thought mask compliance at WDW was really quite good.  Just too many people to reasonably avoid the risk I suppose.



Glad you had a great time!  We are going next week and your mention of Covid and getting it in the parks has me wondering how you are doing, if you were vaccinated/boostered and when you realized you had something wrong.   Did you fly or drive?  Sorry, I'm just curious.


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## CBMom01

mickeymom629 said:


> Glad you had a great time!  We are going next week and your mention of Covid and getting it in the parks has me wondering how you are doing, if you were vaccinated/boostered and when you realized you had something wrong.   Did you fly or drive?  Sorry, I'm just curious.


Everyone vaccinated, adults boosted. We were very careful. We flew, but based on timing we are pretty confident it came from the parks.


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## Grumpy by Birth

CBMom01 said:


> We had a really great time, other than coming down with Covid...


My first thought was "talk about burying the lead!"    
But I appreciate your positive outlook despite being impacted like that.


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## CBMom01

Grumpy by Birth said:


> My first thought was "talk about burying the lead!"
> But I appreciate your positive outlook despite being impacted like that.


Thanks. I’m really trying to focus on what a great family vacation it was


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## tinkychloe

Here since Wednesday night. We are having the BEST time. I had forgotten how much I love Magic Kingdom and Epcot on NYE. 

The MK party on 12/30 was so much fun. For a Disney nerd to party in the park with DJs playing music and cast members dancing and having fun is just the best. I love seeing everyone so happy. It was crowded on Main Street for midnight fireworks for sure but we didn't stand there. We had an 11pm dinner at The Plaza and after dinner, walked out and found a spot by the umbrella tables with a perfect view and nobody crowding us. 

Last night, we walked to Epcot from our hotel and walked through the park for a few hours. Had a few drinks, rode much of Future World with zero waits, then found a great uncrowded spot at the stage/benches area in Canada. Again, no crowds and nobody breathing on us. Haha. We saw where there were bunches of people and avoided that and had a great time. There were empty benches and I sat until the fireworks started. We walked back to the Swan and were in bed at 12:28!  Couldn't have done it any better. I can't wait for this week to be done so that I can book it again for next year.


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## mommy2mrb

Trip 12/23 -1/1
Stayed at all stars music 23-30
The swan 12/30-1/1
Myself and college DD
Have been many times before including thanksgivings and spring breaks

Car service from/to MCO 

Did bus from resorts. Little to no issues. 

did two days at each park other than DHS only did 1 and had a down day half way through. 
First day went to DS
Did early entry hour every day except last day. Got 2-3 rides except AK Since we rode FOP both days 
Purchased Genie + for both MK days. My DD was a pro getting them scheduled. Rode lesser rides or did shows in between 

Had great interactions with CM’s

Ate at
Earl of sandwich
Jock Lindsey 
Skippers
Many holiday booths at Epcot
Woodys for breakfast
Hollywood brown derby
Satu’li twice
Flame tree
Steakhouse 71 for lunch
Nomad lounge afternoon cocktails and snacks
Aloha isle
Sleepy hollow
Tortuga tavern
Crepes a’ porter
Regal eagle

We enjoyed all our food and our waiters were all pleasant and had great service. 

Rode all our favorites and REMY and MMRR for first time. Both super cute. 



Our only real complaint was the heat. 
Crowds continued to build as the week went on. We took lots of breaks in ac and shade. Left early a couple nights.  Had to adjust a bit due to heat. Didn’t stay in Epcot for NYE, we were just done. 

Didn’t see any major issues with guests. Parks were clean considering all the crowds. 

Mask wearing was better than I expected. 

Thankful our flights down and back were only delayed a short time. 

Overall we had a fun trip (been wanting to go this week forever). Made lots of memories and enjoyed our time together.


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## beesly

beesly said:


> Here now. Today is our only Epcot day for this trip. We got BG 56 for Remy and it’s been down all day with our estimated return time pushing further into the afternoon. It finally just changed to say they won’t be able to accommodate us today. No word on why it’s down. Bummer, but we’ll still enjoy being back here for NYE.



Didn’t have a chance to update yesterday but  Remy ended up coming back up! We watched Harmonious from between the two Port of Entry shops at the front of World Showcase, and after that we walked to the IG to go to dinner at Beaches and Cream. On the way out, we passed one of the electronic boards that shows wait times, and noticed that it said Remy was boarding groups 7-9! I then checked the app and it still said Remy wasn’t boarding and they wouldn’t be able to accommodate us. We checked again after dinner and they were up to groups in the 30s. We went to the silent DJ party in the UK pavilion and then headed toward Italy to watch the NYE fireworks - by that time, they were boarding groups in the 40s. After the fireworks ended, we booked it straight to the France pavilion and the sign said “Not Boarding”, but a CM said they were and waved us in. We entered the VQ line and it was a walk-on. The ride was so much fun! I think the surprise of being able to ride it after accepting that it wasn’t going to happen for us that day made it even better.

The takeaway for anyone there when the ride goes down is to watch those boards! The app never changed to show that it had come back up. It continued to say Remy was down and that we wouldn’t be able to ride.


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## Lsdolphin

scrappinginontario said:


> I'm so glad they took your situation seriously and like you, now wondering why the person made up a story.  Hopefully housekeeping will follow-up with this woman, knowing that someone has reported her behaviour.
> 
> Thank you for confirming for us that guests being asked to leave the room during a room check is no longer the accepted practice at Disney.  This was my understanding too so I was shocked when I heard what had happened to you!
> 
> It will be interesting to learn if you hear back again.  Sadly I'm guessing it will be no but I hope they follow-up on this.
> 
> Thank you for being proactive and bringing this to the attention of resort management.  Hopefully your actions will stop this from happening to someone else!



i never received a receipt/invoice for my stay via email after checkout and have had to call and email them several times. Finally got a phone number for billing ofc and they sent me the invoice within a few minutes.  there is a $50 credit with a notation about “housekeeping issue” so apparently this is their final response to my experience...


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## tiana1989

Hi everyone! I just got back from an 11-day trip that covered Christmas and New Year’s. Before our trip, we read a lot of frustration over all the changes and loss of the magic, and of course a lot of people now are unfortunately dreading future trips because of that. So I just wanted to let people know that it is still possible to have a magical time at Disney! I don’t want to invalidate anyone who had a negative experience, since perspective and expectations and weather and luck and so many other factors could affect any one family’s trip. I just wanted to offer hope to those with future trips that you might still have a fantastic time!

We did purchase Genie+ and ILL one day for Rise. I did not like having to spend that money, but once we had it, it worked VERY well. Obviously they made changes for the Christmas crowd so it didn’t have the same issues as during Thanksgiving, but those changes really worked. We were able to get Genie+ reservations for every ride we wanted. For full disclosure, I’m a huge drop chicken, so I wasn’t trying to get combos like SDD and MFSR on the same day (I thought my life was over the one time I went on SDD lol). But we easily could have knocked out at least one blockbuster during early entry, like SDD, and prioritized a Genie+ reservation on the other if that’s what we wanted to do. We rope dropped Rise both of our DHS days, and that worked out just fine without having to deal with the crazy long waits later in the day. One day we were out by 8, so we still had half an hour of early entry left (since this was during the one hour early entry period). And on both of our EPCOT days, we were able to secure Genie+ reservations for both Test Track and Frozen, by getting a TT time before the two hours after park open so we beat the second round of Genie+ reservations. On NYE, the Genie+ availability was so plentiful at MK that we had two multi experience passes due to a ride breakdown (Winnie the Pooh of all rides lol…both times), and we didn’t even use them because we still had normal LL availability to use. I really think limiting the ILL ride to just one ride per park made a huge difference, and I hope Disney considers making that change permanent. Judging by the Guest Relations lines, there were a lot fewer complaints!!

We did a split stay at WL and POR, and the cast members at both were so friendly, especially at POR. I think they still have some of that reopening glow! I don’t think we waited longer than 10 minutes for a bus at either resort. On our rest days, we went over to Ft. Wilderness to check out the Christmas lights, went to Drawn to Life (absolutely amazing!!!), and did the surrey bikes at POR. So we packed in lots of fun and varied experiences!

The one big downside our whole trip was that across the board, table service restaurants are insanely slow right now. Once we got our food, we pretty much never saw our server and would have to flag them down for drink refills and the check. At Tony’s it was a good 30 minutes after we finished our food before we got our check. And at Space 220 it took them so long to bring our entrees after we finished our appetizers that the manager discounted our meal (we didn’t complain or ask for this; it was so bad they just came over and offered). It seems the staffing shortage is still plaguing the restaurants in major ways right now.  Just something to keep in mind if you have timed reservations after dining (although Guest Relations was able to help us out when we had a snafu, and the line wasn’t long at all!). And the counter service restaurants had tons of mobile order availability, so we didn’t run into the problem of there being no slots for hours or a long wait after hitting prepare my order. Our longest wait was for Dole Whip haha.

So WDW isn’t firing on all cylinders right now, but overall, we had an excellent time! We definitely aren’t in the “this is our last trip for a while” camp, and instead we’re trying to figure out when we can get back! I just wanted to offer another perspective for those who are worried about upcoming trips. Safe travels and good luck to anyone heading to Disney in the near future! I hope y’all have the same magical time we did!


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## Eastern

There are always things I would have done differently on each trip, but we do always have fun. Glad your trip was successful


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## dipastor

We too had a great trip.  We did research and watched the vloggers so we knew what to expect.  It's still magical for my family (3 teens).  I can't wait to go back.  We were there 12/20 to 12/26.  We utilized early magic hours or rope drop.  I think early strategy for my family works in getting the kids on all of their thrill rides.  It's like herding sloths in the morning but once we're out, everyone is happy.  I was pleasantly surprised it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be.  I've been to Disney in June, March (spring break), Halloween and week before Christmas.  It was better than expected this trip (considering everything that's going on).  We came home healthy, wore our masks when needed and brought plenty of hand sanitizer.  I can't wait to go back.  My kids are already bugging me!


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## princesswahooey

Warning, this is long!

I've been posting quite a bit as we went along so this isn't a travelog (most of that can be found in the G+ strategy thread), but this post is more overall impressions from our week spent from 12/19-12/26. (Our most recent trip before this was Thanksgiving week 2018, for reference.)

Our group: Me, hubby, 20yo daughter, 15yo son. This was our 4th trip to WDW as a whole family since 2010 (although we have also done DL California 2x and DL Paris 3x, so we are pretty savvy Disney-goers or "friends of the monster.") We have not been since pre-covid.

Our touring style: We normally rope drop to get the most of less-busy AM hours, eat a table service lunch & then take a hotel break, returning around 5PM until park close. We use fp+ (or now ILL$ and G+) and tend not to wait longer than 25-30 minutes for anything.

Thoughts on this visit:

PARK RESERVATIONS: It worked out OK for us, since we generally plan what parks we are doing ahead of time anyway. Waiting until 2pm to park hop wasn't usually a big deal since we normally don't head to our second park until after a break, however it meant that our lunch reservation had to be in park #1 unless it was after 2pm, which is later than we usually get hungry since we hit the parks so early. It was also less flexible, obviously. One day we considered altering plans, but couldn't, since there were no park reservations to switch to.

RESORT: We are usually Beach Club/Yacht Club people, but went out on a limb and tried Riviera this time. It's It's a lovely property with an upscale feel. The standard studio room we got was ideal for our family with 2 Murphy beds that easily pulled up for space, but gave everyone their own bed. Also, two showers in the room was great. Laundry down the hall was free (soap available for $1 with credit card swipe) and I never had to wait for a machine. The elevators were fast. The resort felt compact and we could get to the lobby, pool, busses, Skyliner, and restaurants so quickly. It never felt crowded. Pools and hot tub were lovely. Always plentiful recliner chairs, etc. (And this was all while the hotel was at capacity.) Definitely plan to stay again.

SKYLINER: We were firm believers in our own 2 feet, which is why we like Epcot resorts because you can walk to Epcot and DHS for early rope drop. I was worried about timing with Skyliner, especially for DHS days considering we would have to transfer at Caribbean Beach Resort. But the Riviera Skyliner opened early enough that we could take a gondola to Caribbean Beach before they started up, so we were never "behind" or waiting to catch a Skyliner when we got off to transfer. We were easily able to arrive at DHS to be first in line at one of the entry turnstiles. In fact, we never really waited longer than 2 minutes to catch a gondola even at park closing on busy days. One of our favorite things was watching Harmonious at the end of the day on the Skyliner from DHS or Epcot to Riviera. Super magical!

MOBILE ORDER: This was our first time using mobile order and we loved it. We had no trouble getting order times and nearly every time we clicked the "we're here" button, the "your order is ready" alert came almost instantaneously. We used this at Sleepy Hollow, Woody's Lunchbox, Ronto Roasters, Docking Bay 7, and Primo Piatto at Riviera. (Also, why did we never try Ronto Roasters before? They are a sleeper hit!)

GENIE+ AND ILL$: While we miss the old days of FP+ we had used MaxPass before and found it easy to adjust to using G+. Without it during the very crowded week we were there, we would not have done all we wanted to do. In general, our touring style is set up to avoid crowded mid-day times in the park because we don't like waiting in lines. Using rope drop, virtual queue, a few ILL$ and G+ we were able to do everything we wanted with our longest wait being 30 minutes to ride TSMM one morning (after failing rope drop because ROTR and TOT both broke down after we were at the front of the line.) We actually welcomed the indoor line for TSMM because it was pouring rain.

I found it most useful for DHS and MK, but can also be useful if hopping to or from AK or Epcot if you stack for arrival at the 2nd park.

There is a little learning curve with using the G+ reservation system that you really can't do until you are booking your first selection. I recommend playing with the app before you arrive. Refreshing immediately on the second the universal clock hits 7am yielded the best results. We had different members of our party on their phones all at once to get different things. Eg: 1 getting ILL$, one getting G+, one getting virtual queue. With this method we were able to get boarding group 1 twice on Remy (teenagers both times got that!) Our choice of return time for ILL$ and even a 9:40 return time for Slinky (also the teenager).

A FEW TIPS & WARNINGS: Make sure you click ALL the way through when securing ILL$. One morning I thought I had snagged FOP for our group, only to realize half an hour later that even though I had signed into my account, seen the $ total and confirmed time, I had not hit the final "next" button and my reservation was incomplete. By the time I realized my error, that reservation had been released. I tried refreshing, but it was too late. Lesson learned the hard way.

I ascribe my failure there to the fact that I was actively rope-dropping the park with my son that morning so hubby & daughter were sleeping in. The CMs at the park opening generally give you about 3 minutes after 7am to do reservations before they let the floodgates open. But it's very nerve-wracking trying to rope drop AND get reservations at the same time. I thought I had got the reservation, so switched my attention the the hoarde that was about to trample me if I did not move along. So at least my son and I got to ride FOP for rope drop, but hubby & daughter missed out since I didn't get the ILL$. Luckily, we were able to purchase it a different day in the afternoon, so they did get to go once.

Last tip:  REFRESHING!

On my first try to buy a ROTR ILL$, I tried for an early time and it was already gone. Instead of searching further out, I tried the next earliest and then it was out...you see the pattern. Within 3 tries for a new time, the ressies were gone. I was crushed, but remembered the 10-minute refresh phenomenon I had learned on this board. At 7:10, I refreshed again and was able to score a morning return for ROTR. There were several times available. So if you miss the first time, try again in 10 minutes, 20 minutes.

Refreshing G+ can also be rewarding, especially in morning and afternoon. It usually only took a few minutes, but I was usually able to get an earlier return time for most rides for 4 people. This is really useful when trying to maintain a rolling G+ or when stacking for later use. I feel like we got our money's worth from G+ most days. And like I said earlier, we pretty much only did rides if they were G+, ILL$, or short rope drop AM standby lines.

DINING & ADRs: These were hard to come by this time around, even with a 7-night stay, but I eventually managed to get everything we wanted, mostly by using Mousekepros. Having reservations was usually very smooth. We generally ate breakfast in our room (groceries delivered by Kevin the Orlando Butler, A+ check him our if you need groceries delivered) and then ate 1-2 sit down meals per day. Most of the time we were seated instantly, with the exception of The Crepery (30 minute wait), Be Our Guest (30 minute wait), Yak & Yeti (10 minute wait), Cinderella's Royal Table (30 minute wait) and Hollywood Brown Derby (15 minute wait). We also ate at Nine Dragons, Rose & Crown Fireworks package, Space 220 lunch dining room, Biergarten Candlelight package, Teppan Edo, Le Cellier, Topolinos (dinner and breakfast). I will note that the servers on most of the restaurants seemed overworked, holding down a lot of tables, and multi-tasking. They were all still very cordial and friendly. In fact, I don't think we encountered any rude CMs at all. Food was good all around. We really enjoyed our dining experience.

EARLY ENTRY HOURS: I am so glad they changed early entry to be one hour instead of half hour during the busy season. It made a real difference in how many rides we could squeeze in before crowds arrived. On Christmas Day at DHS we were able to ride standby on ROTR, MFSR, MMRR, RnR, ToT, TSMM all before our first G+ of Slinky at 9:40. I will say that if you are staying off property, rope drop may no longer be an effective strategy. Early entry across all 4 parks every day means that the early crowd is more spread out (as opposed to when it was only Early Entry at one park per day) which is good for resort guests who are rope-dropping however, it also means that off-site guests can never get ahead of the crowd.

EXTENDED EVENING HOURS: Seeing as we stayed at a Deluxe resort, I was pleased with this offering. We had it at Epcot on the 20th, which was the horrible rainy day. Despite the rain, during the extra time we were able to ride Soarin and Frozen walk-on. Test Track was closed because of rain. We were wet and tired, so didn't stay the whole time, but that was the only time we managed to actually ride Soarin, despite having 2 G+ for it on different days (had to bail for ADRs both times because the G+ line was taking way too long.) Our Magic Kingdom late night was supposed to be the 23rd, but at the last minute they scrapped the Deluxe hours and just extended the regular park hours until 11. That was fine, since we were still able to pull and stack G+ for that evening and got a ton of rides in without waiting anyway.

HARMONIOUS: The show, itself, is fine. We enjoyed the line-up of songs and the fireworks and energy, but found that the whole giant-tacos-stargate-with-tentacles contraption didn't really add enough amazingness to the show to justify polluting the landscape and ruining the view across the World Showcase. Honestly, the show is carried by the music and fireworks, not by the odd projections. I got more "feels" just feeling the music boom in my chest while walking through World Showcase during the show than by actually seeing the projections.

LIGHT SABER EXPERIENCE: We hadn't planned to do this, so had not made reservations, but when we arrived, my husband seemed interested whenever he saw people carrying around their light sabers. I knew it was probably a lost cause, but I secretly started checking availability every now and then for cancelations. It took a few days, but I eventually scored a reservation for 2 on Christmas day. It was a great surprise for hubby & son (and daughter and I got to go along as their guests). The actor who did the ceremony was fantastic and we all really enjoyed the experience. Definitely recommend.

THE MAGIC: Well, despite things feeling like Disney was still a bit understaffed and let a few too many people back too early, we still felt the magic. The frequency of ride break-downs was our biggest complaint. But our family still had a really good time. This was all the more apparent after we left Disney and headed for 4 days at Universal. Even with the Express Pass (we stayed at Portofino Bay, which includes it as a perk) we just weren't as enchanted by the offerings and didn't feel the need to repeat many of the rides. All the Harry Potter areas were wall-to-wall people from morning until night. Forget trying to cast spells or even just take in the atmosphere. Sadly, we avoided going to those areas, even though they are favorites. (Not going to lie, I enjoyed Hagrid's motorbikes more than ROTR, and Velocicoaster is a seriously fun coaster, but we left Universal feeling a little hollow.) I don't know exactly what it is, but maybe it's just the little things like how Disney CM's smile and wave to you when you enter or exit the parks...somehow, the magic is still there. ♥


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## CarolynFH

princesswahooey said:


> Warning, this is long!
> 
> I've been posting quite a bit as we went along so this isn't a travelog (most of that can be found in the G+ strategy thread), but this post is more overall impressions from our week spent from 12/19-12/26. (Our most recent trip before this was Thanksgiving week 2018, for reference.)
> 
> Our group: Me, hubby, 20yo daughter, 15yo son. This was our 4th trip to WDW as a whole family since 2010 (although we have also done DL California 2x and DL Paris 3x, so we are pretty savvy Disney-goers or "friends of the monster.") We have not been since pre-covid.
> 
> Our touring style: We normally rope drop to get the most of less-busy AM hours, eat a table service lunch & then take a hotel break, returning around 5PM until park close. We use fp+ (or now ILL$ and G+) and tend not to wait longer than 25-30 minutes for anything.
> 
> Thoughts on this visit:
> 
> PARK RESERVATIONS: It worked out OK for us, since we generally plan what parks we are doing ahead of time anyway. Waiting until 2pm to park hop wasn't usually a big deal since we normally don't head to our second park until after a break, however it meant that our lunch reservation had to be in park #1 unless it was after 2pm, which is later than we usually get hungry since we hit the parks so early. It was also less flexible, obviously. One day we considered altering plans, but couldn't, since there were no park reservations to switch to.
> 
> RESORT: We are usually Beach Club/Yacht Club people, but went out on a limb and tried Riviera this time. It's It's a lovely property with an upscale feel. The standard studio room we got was ideal for our family with 2 Murphy beds that easily pulled up for space, but gave everyone their own bed. Also, two showers in the room was great. Laundry down the hall was free (soap available for $1 with credit card swipe) and I never had to wait for a machine. The elevators were fast. The resort felt compact and we could get to the lobby, pool, busses, Skyliner, and restaurants so quickly. It never felt crowded. Pools and hot tub were lovely. Always plentiful recliner chairs, etc. (And this was all while the hotel was at capacity.) Definitely plan to stay again.
> 
> SKYLINER: We were firm believers in our own 2 feet, which is why we like Epcot resorts because you can walk to Epcot and DHS for early rope drop. I was worried about timing with Skyliner, especially for DHS days considering we would have to transfer at Caribbean Beach Resort. But the Riviera Skyliner opened early enough that we could take a gondola to Caribbean Beach before they started up, so we were never "behind" or waiting to catch a Skyliner when we got off to transfer. We were easily able to arrive at DHS to be first in line at one of the entry turnstiles. In fact, we never really waited longer than 2 minutes to catch a gondola even at park closing on busy days. One of our favorite things was watching Harmonious at the end of the day on the Skyliner from DHS or Epcot to Riviera. Super magical!
> 
> MOBILE ORDER: This was our first time using mobile order and we loved it. We had no trouble getting order times and nearly every time we clicked the "we're here" button, the "your order is ready" alert came almost instantaneously. We used this at Sleepy Hollow, Woody's Lunchbox, Ronto Roasters, Docking Bay 7, and Primo Piatto at Riviera. (Also, why did we never try Ronto Roasters before? They are a sleeper hit!)
> 
> GENIE+ AND ILL$: While we miss the old days of FP+ we had used MaxPass before and found it easy to adjust to using G+. Without it during the very crowded week we were there, we would not have done all we wanted to do. In general, our touring style is set up to avoid crowded mid-day times in the park because we don't like waiting in lines. Using rope drop, virtual queue, a few ILL$ and G+ we were able to do everything we wanted with our longest wait being 30 minutes to ride TSMM one morning (after failing rope drop because ROTR and TOT both broke down after we were at the front of the line.) We actually welcomed the indoor line for TSMM because it was pouring rain.
> 
> I found it most useful for DHS and MK, but can also be useful if hopping to or from AK or Epcot if you stack for arrival at the 2nd park.
> 
> There is a little learning curve with using the G+ reservation system that you really can't do until you are booking your first selection. I recommend playing with the app before you arrive. Refreshing immediately on the second the universal clock hits 7am yielded the best results. We had different members of our party on their phones all at once to get different things. Eg: 1 getting ILL$, one getting G+, one getting virtual queue. With this method we were able to get boarding group 1 twice on Remy (teenagers both times got that!) Our choice of return time for ILL$ and even a 9:40 return time for Slinky (also the teenager).
> 
> A FEW TIPS & WARNINGS: Make sure you click ALL the way through when securing ILL$. One morning I thought I had snagged FOP for our group, only to realize half an hour later that even though I had signed into my account, seen the $ total and confirmed time, I had not hit the final "next" button and my reservation was incomplete. By the time I realized my error, that reservation had been released. I tried refreshing, but it was too late. Lesson learned the hard way.
> 
> I ascribe my failure there to the fact that I was actively rope-dropping the park with my son that morning so hubby & daughter were sleeping in. The CMs at the park opening generally give you about 3 minutes after 7am to do reservations before they let the floodgates open. But it's very nerve-wracking trying to rope drop AND get reservations at the same time. I thought I had got the reservation, so switched my attention the the hoarde that was about to trample me if I did not move along. So at least my son and I got to ride FOP for rope drop, but hubby & daughter missed out since I didn't get the ILL$. Luckily, we were able to purchase it a different day in the afternoon, so they did get to go once.
> 
> Last tip:  REFRESHING!
> 
> On my first try to buy a ROTR ILL$, I tried for an early time and it was already gone. Instead of searching further out, I tried the next earliest and then it was out...you see the pattern. Within 3 tries for a new time, the ressies were gone. I was crushed, but remembered the 10-minute refresh phenomenon I had learned on this board. At 7:10, I refreshed again and was able to score a morning return for ROTR. There were several times available. So if you miss the first time, try again in 10 minutes, 20 minutes.
> 
> Refreshing G+ can also be rewarding, especially in morning and afternoon. It usually only took a few minutes, but I was usually able to get an earlier return time for most rides for 4 people. This is really useful when trying to maintain a rolling G+ or when stacking for later use. I feel like we got our money's worth from G+ most days. And like I said earlier, we pretty much only did rides if they were G+, ILL$, or short rope drop AM standby lines.
> 
> DINING & ADRs: These were hard to come by this time around, even with a 7-night stay, but I eventually managed to get everything we wanted, mostly by using Mousekepros. Having reservations was usually very smooth. We generally ate breakfast in our room (groceries delivered by Kevin the Orlando Butler, A+ check him our if you need groceries delivered) and then ate 1-2 sit down meals per day. Most of the time we were seated instantly, with the exception of The Crepery (30 minute wait), Be Our Guest (30 minute wait), Yak & Yeti (10 minute wait), Cinderella's Royal Table (30 minute wait) and Hollywood Brown Derby (15 minute wait). We also ate at Nine Dragons, Rose & Crown Fireworks package, Space 220 lunch dining room, Biergarten Candlelight package, Teppan Edo, Le Cellier, Topolinos (dinner and breakfast). I will note that the servers on most of the restaurants seemed overworked, holding down a lot of tables, and multi-tasking. They were all still very cordial and friendly. In fact, I don't think we encountered any rude CMs at all. Food was good all around. We really enjoyed our dining experience.
> 
> EARLY ENTRY HOURS: I am so glad they changed early entry to be one hour instead of half hour during the busy season. It made a real difference in how many rides we could squeeze in before crowds arrived. On Christmas Day at DHS we were able to ride standby on ROTR, MFSR, MMRR, RnR, ToT, TSMM all before our first G+ of Slinky at 9:40. I will say that if you are staying off property, rope drop may no longer be an effective strategy. Early entry across all 4 parks every day means that the early crowd is more spread out (as opposed to when it was only Early Entry at one park per day) which is good for resort guests who are rope-dropping however, it also means that off-site guests can never get ahead of the crowd.
> 
> EXTENDED EVENING HOURS: Seeing as we stayed at a Deluxe resort, I was pleased with this offering. We had it at Epcot on the 20th, which was the horrible rainy day. Despite the rain, during the extra time we were able to ride Soarin and Frozen walk-on. Test Track was closed because of rain. We were wet and tired, so didn't stay the whole time, but that was the only time we managed to actually ride Soarin, despite having 2 G+ for it on different days (had to bail for ADRs both times because the G+ line was taking way too long.) Our Magic Kingdom late night was supposed to be the 23rd, but at the last minute they scrapped the Deluxe hours and just extended the regular park hours until 11. That was fine, since we were still able to pull and stack G+ for that evening and got a ton of rides in without waiting anyway.
> 
> HARMONIOUS: The show, itself, is fine. We enjoyed the line-up of songs and the fireworks and energy, but found that the whole giant-tacos-stargate-with-tentacles contraption didn't really add enough amazingness to the show to justify polluting the landscape and ruining the view across the World Showcase. Honestly, the show is carried by the music and fireworks, not by the odd projections. I got more "feels" just feeling the music boom in my chest while walking through World Showcase during the show than by actually seeing the projections.
> 
> LIGHT SABER EXPERIENCE: We hadn't planned to do this, so had not made reservations, but when we arrived, my husband seemed interested whenever he saw people carrying around their light sabers. I knew it was probably a lost cause, but I secretly started checking availability every now and then for cancelations. It took a few days, but I eventually scored a reservation for 2 on Christmas day. It was a great surprise for hubby & son (and daughter and I got to go along as their guests). The actor who did the ceremony was fantastic and we all really enjoyed the experience. Definitely recommend.
> 
> THE MAGIC: Well, despite things feeling like Disney was still a bit understaffed and let a few too many people back too early, we still felt the magic. The frequency of ride break-downs was our biggest complaint. But our family still had a really good time. This was all the more apparent after we left Disney and headed for 4 days at Universal. Even with the Express Pass (we stayed at Portofino Bay, which includes it as a perk) we just weren't as enchanted by the offerings and didn't feel the need to repeat many of the rides. All the Harry Potter areas were wall-to-wall people from morning until night. Forget trying to cast spells or even just take in the atmosphere. Sadly, we avoided going to those areas, even though they are favorites. (Not going to lie, I enjoyed Hagrid's motorbikes more than ROTR, and Velocicoaster is a seriously fun coaster, but we left Universal feeling a little hollow.) I don't know exactly what it is, but maybe it's just the little things like how Disney CM's smile and wave to you when you enter or exit the parks...somehow, the magic is still there. ♥


Thanks for the great report! You said you waited 30 minutes to be seated at La Creperie - what time of day was that? We have an early ADR for lunch in a couple of weeks and just want to be prepared. Thanks.


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## tinkerhon

We flew back to NYC on Monday, after a fantastic 10 day trip !! 

Highlights---    NYE @ Epcot was a blast--- 
Loved Remy---  
LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, Space 220 !!!  Yes, its pricey, but so glad we went !! 

(Btw, again, (as far as the holiday spirit) SeaWorld won !!  Christmas at SW is truly amazing !!! 

Biggest gripe---   When did Disney (or maybe they always did) switch the customer service from hotel room?  It goes to a "central station" now?  What happened to the days of calling the front desk from your room, and actually getting... the front desk? 

Example---   when we checked in, I needed to have a Garden Grocer delivery sent to our room---   went to bell services--- they took down the room number, and said the delivery would be "shortly"--- an hour later, nothing. Tried calling bell services, and the call went to a central system, and they asked what hotel we were staying at, and our room number--- this happened 6 times !!!  They kept transferring me, and a different person would answer and ask the same questions. Finally, I pleaded with the last CM, and she called a manager, and around 30 minutes later the delivery was made. 

On our checkout day, the same thing happened when I called for luggage assistance- is this something new?


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## princesswahooey

CarolynFH said:


> Thanks for the great report! You said you waited 30 minutes to be seated at La Creperie - what time of day was that? We have an early ADR for lunch in a couple of weeks and just want to be prepared. Thanks.


I think you may be okay with an earlier reservation. Ours was for 8:30pm , and they were quite behind.


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## kcool

Not sure if anyone cares or if it makes sense to anyone, but here is what our New Years Eve  looked like. I got the first LL at 7 AM and then the others at the exact minute I could later in the day.  It is 4 of us. Kids are 21 and 17. They were a big help to navigate Genie +. 

New Year’s Eve 2021
Magic Kingdom  
Arrived at 11:30
Buzz Lightyear - LL
TTA
Carousel of Progress
Lunch - Liberty Tree Tavern
Little Mermaid - LL
Haunted Mansion - LL
Space Mountain  - LL
Splash-LL
Pirates - LL
Tiki Room
Monster’s Inc. - LL
Left MK at   5:55 to wilderness lodge 
Back to MK 8:00 
Jungle Cruise - LL
Gaston’s Tavern
TTA 
Big Thunder - LL
Haunted mansion 
Small world-LL 
New Years fireworks 11:50 
Peter Pan - LL
Carousel 
Returned at 2


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## scrappinginontario

kcool said:


> Not sure if anyone cares or if it makes sense to anyone, but here is what our New Years Eve  looked like. I got the first LL at 7 AM and then the others at the exact minute I could later in the day.  It is 4 of us. Kids are 21 and 17. They were a big help to navigate Genie +.
> 
> New Year’s Eve 2021
> Magic Kingdom
> Arrived at 11:30
> Buzz Lightyear - LL
> TTA
> Carousel of Progress
> Lunch - Liberty Tree Tavern
> Little Mermaid - LL
> Haunted Mansion - LL
> Space Mountain  - LL
> Splash-LL
> Pirates - LL
> Tiki Room
> Monster’s Inc. - LL
> Left MK at   5:55 to wilderness lodge
> Back to MK 8:00
> Jungle Cruise - LL
> Gaston’s Tavern
> TTA
> Big Thunder - LL
> Haunted mansion
> Small world-LL
> New Years fireworks 11:50
> Peter Pan - LL
> Carousel
> Returned at 2


Wow!!! 11 LLs!  Successful day for sure!!


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## ckmiles

Quick recap and a few opinions- Trip was 12/29 thru 1/4  we stayed at POFQ

Hotel was great- as were the CM's.  We got fresh towels and garbage emptied every other day - which was fine for us (Will this be the 'new' normal for hotels- Im sad of the employees if it is)

We had 6 day park hoppers, and were game to try Genie+ for our first full day in the park which was MK.  I read up on Genie + and thought I had a good handle on it- but I totally failed on the first day.  the whole 2 hour wait, or after you use the current LL was something I could not wrap my head around.  After chatting with a wonderfully nice CM at Guest relations - we had a much better understanding for our next 2 days.

One frustrating part- we had a LL for TOT at 10:45AM- we walked over to the ride-  the stand by line was at 120- the LL return line was out into the middle of Sunset Blvd- over 1 hr long. I have to say that really chapped my cracker- if I wasnt paying for it- I might have not been so crabby- 

It was crowded- people everywhere and lots of them.  Most were complying with masks indoors.  A few 'entitled' people would not were masks on transportation- when they couldnt be seen by a CM, but other than that most were playing by the rules. The stand by lines were long (I've been to NYE in years past and never say the Grand Fiesta Tour at a 45 minute wait!)- I think Genie+ had alot to do with that- 

I did pay for LL+ ROTR- and felt it was worth it-  its an amazing immersive ride - and I would not have gotten to ride it without it (wait times were 3 hrs) 

The Buses-  we had only one issue with the buses which was from POFQ to DHS- we missed EMH because the bus took 45 minutes to get to the hotel.  Apparently it was just this route because we waited at least 30 minutes for a bus at DHS- we chatted with others at the resort and they all experienced the same wait.  

I was going to write a long negative opinion of Genie+ - but Ill leave it at I resent having to pay for it- and find it cumbersome and not the least bit user friendly- and I think that is on purpose.  I love going to WDW- but maybe I just need a break.  

This board -as always - has been a wealth of information and its greatly appreciated.


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## Lsdolphin

scrappinginontario said:


> Wow!!! 11 LLs!  Successful day for sure!!


I thought you could only buy 2 LLs per day...


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## bsmcneil

Lsdolphin said:


> I thought you could only buy 2 LLs per day...


LL = utilizing the access either through G+ or ILLS (individual lightning lane selection/individual attraction selection). ILLS is the 2 per day "fancy rides" (although I wasn't clear on whether that limit still existed when half of the rides were moved over to G+ for the holidays or if it went down to 1 - probably stayed at 2). So, 11 means they could've done 9 Genie+ rides and 2 ILLS (or 10 and 1).


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## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> I thought you could only buy 2 LLs per day...


Yes, you may only purchase 2 ILL$s per day but poster booked 11 LLs using Genie +. 

Yes, VERY confusing!!


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## DisTXMom

Lsdolphin said:


> I thought you could only buy 2 LLs per day...


People refer to the passes obtained through G+ ($15/person/day) as LL’s because they use the lightening lane. Once G+ is purchased, the number of LL’a you get just depends on availability and how you choose to use G+ (among other things) . I think people refer 
 to the individual cost rides as  ILL$  (RoTr, 7DMT etc )and you are correct you can only purchase 2 per day.


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## Lsdolphin

DisTXMom said:


> People refer to the passes obtained through G+ ($15/person/day) as LL’s because they use the lightening lane. Once G+ is purchased, the number of LL’a you get just depends on availability and how you choose to use G+ (among other things) . I think people refer
> to the individual cost rides as  ILL$  (RoTr, 7DMT etc )and you are correct you can only purchase 2 per day.


Yes I’ve used the Genie + already just didn’t notice the LLs instead of the “Ills”


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## Haley R

How has the Frozen wait been during the extra early morning time? That’s the one ride we’d like to take ds on. I think we’ll be coming on the monorail from the poly for rope drop


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## npatellye

Haley R said:


> How has the Frozen wait been during the extra early morning time? That’s the one ride we’d like to take ds on. I think we’ll be coming on the monorail from the poly for rope drop


We walked on quickly when we went on 1/2, when early entry was 60 minutes. We entered from IG and didn’t rush or anything. We were way back in the IG entry line by the Skyliner entrance and there were so many people ahead of us. We got lucky because the passholder entry lane was empty and we were able to use it (we have annual passes). They did let everyone else use it after us, too.

They started letting everyone in 60 minutes early and then held us in Canada until it was 45 or so minutes before opening. We had a child walking so we were moving slower than a lot of people heading out of Canada. A lot of the IG rush was for Test Track and Soarin, not as many people hustling for Frozen. We saw a few runners (literally running) who entered from the front but most of the front entrance crowd was far off when we got to Norway. We ended up in line near the lightning lane sign for Frozen waiting for them to open the ride. The line just kept moving along quickly. We were probably in the second or third boat of people getting on because no one was getting off yet.


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## npatellye

We were at Disney from 12/30 to 1/7 and in the park from 1/1 to 1/6. We didn’t do Genie+ at all but I did do ILL for Remy on 1/2. Little did I know it was a walk on during EEH on 1/3 but it was great to ride it twice.

1/1-MK-Took advantage of 60 minute early entry but only entered 45 minutes early due to crowds. Everyone was let into the park but only eligible guests were able to tap in to head towards Tomorrowland. They had everyone in our party tap in. Posted wait for SDMT was 40 minutes by Dumbo when the ride wasn’t running yet. We were on the ride and off of it in under 20 minutes once it started running. We were able to then do Peter Pan and Small World before official park opening. We went right to Haunted Mansion 5 minutes after park opening and walked right on. We headed over to Splash where the wait was 10 minutes (ended up being walk on), then BTMRR where the wait was 20 minutes (ended up being 10 minutes), then back to Splash for a posted wait of 15 minutes (ended up being under 10 minutes), and then Splash again where the wait said 20 minutes (ended up being 10 minutes). Then headed to Sleepy Hollow for funnel cake and a Mickey Waffle before leaving the park around 11. We weren’t walking fast because our 8 year old was walking and I was pushing a double stroller. We stopped for quite a few bathroom breaks (before entering MK for one kid, in Tomorrowland for another kid, near BOG for DH, in Frontierland for me). We headed back around 5:45/6 and did PeopleMover (posted wait 25; actual wait 10), COP (walk on), Speedway (posted wait 20; actual wait 15), Under the Sea (posted wait 25, actual wait 17), SDMT again (posted wait 40; actual wait 25), Small World (posted wait 30; actual 20); HM (posted wait 20; actual 5 but that’s because they were announcing Enchantment was about to begin soon); SDMT (walk on during the start of Enchantment); SDMT again (still walk on during Enchantment); and BTMRR (posted wait 15; actual wait 5). We didn’t want to see Enchantment since we had seen it on 12/30 and 12/31 from Poly. We stopped for quite a few photos, snacks, and bathroom breaks.

1/2-Epcot-Took advantage of 60 minute early entry but only entered 50ish minutes early due to crowds. They scanned all of our bands before letting us enter the holding area near Canada. Frozen was walk on during Early Entry. We headed towards Test Track right afterwards (with a bathroom break), where the posted wait was 30 and ended up being 15. Then we went to Spaceship Earth, which was walk on. We then did Nemo (posted wait 20, actual wait 7ish), Living with the Land (posted wait 10, but was a walk on),  and Figment (posted wait 15 but was a walk on). We headed back to WS for a leisurely tour, stopping for bubble tea, pretzels, some photos, funnel cake, and bathroom breaks. We returned to Beach Club around 11:30. We headed back to Epcot at 5:45 for 6:15 ILL for Remy. We then did another stroll of WS with breaks for shopping and headed out to get Boardwalk Pizza and to watch Harmonious from our balcony.

1/3-HS-Took advantage of early entry but only entered about 40 minutes early instead of 60 since we weren’t in a rush. They scanned all of our bands. We did MMRR (posted wait 25, actual 15), SDD (posted wait 50, actual 25ish), ROTR (posted wait 90, actual 75ish), Star Tours (posted wait 25, actual 15), MuppetVision (walk on), and left. We stopped for churros, popcorn, pretzels, brownies, watching the Storm Troopers, photos, and some shopping before leaving around 12:15/12:30. We headed back to HS via Skyliner and arrived around 6:30ish. We  did Alien Saucers (posted wait 15, actual 10), TSM (posted wait 25, actual 15), and SDD (posted wait 50, actual 30). We stopped for quite a few snacks and bathroom breaks before heading to Epcot via Friendship boat. We arrived at IG at 8:30 and waited by the WS bridge because we were waiting for EEH. Remy was pretty much a walk on (posted wait 15). Then we headed over to Test Track (posted wait 15), Nemo (walk on), and Spaceship Earth (walk on) before pausing for photos at the front of the park and slowly walking back to Beach Club. All of our bands were scanned at every ride.

1/4-AK-Did not bother with early entry. We arrived around 9 and headed to Navi River (posted wait 40, actual 20), Safari (posted wait 30, actual 15), and River Rapids (posted wait 5, actual walk on). In between, we stopped for Starbucks, grilled corn, ice cream floats, brownie sundaes, and watching character floats. We left midday and returned around 5 pm. We did Dinosaur (posted wait 25, actual 15), Tricetops (posted wait 15, actual 10), Navi again during the Tree of Life lighting (posted wait 30, actual 20), and stopped to shop and watch the Tree of Life on our way out.

1/5-MK-We did not head over until 5:30 pm. We ate at Casey’s Corner and saw the lighting of the castle from our table. Then we headed over to Flying Carpets (posted wait 15, actual less than 10), and Tiki Room (walk on). We stopped at Aloha Isle for ice cream and slowly made our way to HM, with stops at Memento Mori for shirts because my girls insisted they couldn’t keep their dresses on for rides. We did Small World (posted wait 15, actual less than 10), HM (walk on since everyone was rushing to see Enchantment), and SDMT (posted wait 20, actual 10). Then we did tea cups (walk on) and slowly headed to the bathrooms near the Merida area to change back into dresses for photos and then back out of them. We slowly headed over to Tomorrowland for the start of EEH and walked on to Buzz. Then we headed over to the bathroom to put dresses back on, walked to the very front of the castle near the compass for photos, headed over to Sleepy Hollow for food, took some photos near that area of the castle, and headed to the partners statue for photos. The area over there was completely empty so we have some great Photopass shots of the girls. We left the park around 11. Crowds were still heavy immediately after 9 but thinned out considerably by 10. All of our bands were scanned at every ride.

1/6-MK-We headed over at 7 pm to ride BTMRR and Splash immediately before and during Enchantment. Both were walk ons. We stopped for ice cream treats at Sunshine Tree and left during Enchantment. We made it back to BCV in time to see Harmonious from our balcony.

Edited to add: sorry this is so long! I didn’t realize how long it was until I posted it.


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## Haley R

npatellye said:


> We walked on quickly when we went on 1/2, when early entry was 60 minutes. We entered from IG and didn’t rush or anything. We were way back in the IG entry line by the Skyliner entrance and there were so many people ahead of us. We got lucky because the passholder entry lane was empty and we were able to use it (we have annual passes). They did let everyone else use it after us, too.
> 
> They started letting everyone in 60 minutes early and then held us in Canada until it was 45 or so minutes before opening. We had a child walking so we were moving slower than a lot of people heading out of Canada. A lot of the IG rush was for Test Track and Soarin, not as many people hustling for Frozen. We saw a few runners (literally running) who entered from the front but most of the front entrance crowd was far off when we got to Norway. We ended up in line near the lightning lane sign for Frozen waiting for them to open the ride. The line just kept moving along quickly. We were probably in the second or third boat of people getting on because no one was getting off yet.


Thanks! We’ll be there at the end of this month and the early entry is only 30 minutes. We’ll be coming from future world so I’m not sure if that makes a difference for us. If it ends up being too long of a wait we just won’t do it. Our ds is 20 months and has no patience lol.


----------



## npatellye

Haley R said:


> Thanks! We’ll be there at the end of this month and the early entry is only 30 minutes. We’ll be coming from future world so I’m not sure if that makes a difference for us. If it ends up being too long of a wait we just won’t do it. Our ds is 20 months and has no patience lol.


I really think you’ll be fine getting to Frozen with a short wait. I didn’t see the wait time increase to more than 40 minutes until about 10-15 minutes after the official park opening.


----------



## Haley R

npatellye said:


> I really think you’ll be fine getting to Frozen with a short wait. I didn’t see the wait time increase to more than 40 minutes until about 10-15 minutes after the official park opening.


Awesome thank you! That’s the plan for now. It may help that remy is switching to standby also because people might head there instead. I’m not sure we’ll ride that because I doubt he’ll keep the glasses on


----------



## DL1WDW2

I have recently decided I hate those glasses and just don’t wear them… I still enjoy the music and theme ing, etc.
Remys Adventure and the new updated scenes in Mickeys PhilHarmagic with the bright colors and music from Coco are still very enjoyable. I Iove  how Donald Duck manages to get into trouble on the stage during the Coco scene too.
I don’t know how old your child is but it is worth a try, perhaps,
The PhilHarmagic would be a good first attempt sitting in the way back of theatre., plus the lines usually move pretty fast. I think many have forgotten about the new scene or don’t even know about it.
With PhilHarmagic you are allowed to exit if it I making you feel queasy.
(Sorry I have not read all of this conversation and perhaps you have described more in previous posts. Just a suggestion.
And want to remind you that there is still a scene in PhilHarmagic with bursts of air (champagne bottle in Be our Guest and some waterdrops. )
Disney needs t stop designing this in attractions…


----------



## Haley R

DL1WDW2 said:


> I have recently decided I hate those glasses and just don’t wear them… I still enjoy the music and theme ing, etc.
> Remys Adventure and the new updated scenes in Mickeys PhilHarmagic with the bright colors and music from Coco are still very enjoyable. I Iove  how Donald Duck manages to get into trouble on the stage during the Coco scene too.
> I don’t know how old your child is but it is worth a try, perhaps,
> The PhilHarmagic would be a good first attempt sitting in the way back of theatre., plus the lines usually move pretty fast. I think many have forgotten about the new scene or don’t even know about it.
> With PhilHarmagic you are allowed to exit if it I making you feel queasy.
> (Sorry I have not read all of this conversation and perhaps you have described more in previous posts. Just a suggestion.
> And want to remind you that there is still a scene in PhilHarmagic with bursts of air (champagne bottle in Be our Guest and some waterdrops. )
> Disney needs t stop designing this in attractions…


He’s 20 months old so still pretty young. I totally forgot about philharmagic. I highly doubt he’ll sit for the whole thing but that’s a good way to test if he’ll wear the glasses and we can leave if he gets antsy. He does love music. Thanks for the idea!


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## Carol_

MK three days ago was ok but crowded. We rode the one ride we wanted to, Splash Mountain, lost a brand new hat to the ride, was told to basically suck it up by the CM. We left.
Had a very nice day at the CCV cabin, lunched at Geyser Point, hopped in our hot tub, hung out with the family.
HS yesterday was insanely crowded. Ate at ABC Commissary. Got popcorn. Rode Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, and Millenium Falcon after a relatively late arrival. By late afternoon we were exhausted, begged to be allowed on to MF early. Nope. Sat and waited for our arrival time that we paid for for 30 minutes, got in line, was cut in line by some rude people, rode MF, went home to our lovely CCV cabin. Saving grace. Private hot tub. View of fireworks, Electric water pageant. Love that show. Bed.
Decided not to hit AK today. Figured the crowds would be icky. Didn’t want to get up at 7 to try for FOP, or anything. Got in the hot tub early. Breakfast from WL CS… Mickey waffles were a hit. Saw a bald eagle in the trees. (Also a raccoon two nights ago,  and a bunny this morning.)
Not as excited for Marathon weekend as I once was, but still love DVC. The crowds this week just blow.
Also, just filled out my lost and found form for the hat… The CM never suggested this but I figured I’d try. They used to be more upbeat and hopeful/helpful in such instances.


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## Lsdolphin

ckmiles said:


> Quick recap and a few opinions- Trip was 12/29 thru 1/4  we stayed at POFQ
> 
> Hotel was great- as were the CM's.  We got fresh towels and garbage emptied every other day - which was fine for us (Will this be the 'new' normal for hotels- Im sad of the employees if it is)
> 
> We had 6 day park hoppers, and were game to try Genie+ for our first full day in the park which was MK.  I read up on Genie + and thought I had a good handle on it- but I totally failed on the first day.  the whole 2 hour wait, or after you use the current LL was something I could not wrap my head around.  After chatting with a wonderfully nice CM at Guest relations - we had a much better understanding for our next 2 days.
> 
> One frustrating part- we had a LL for TOT at 10:45AM- we walked over to the ride-  the stand by line was at 120- the LL return line was out into the middle of Sunset Blvd- over 1 hr long. I have to say that really chapped my cracker- if I wasnt paying for it- I might have not been so crabby-
> 
> It was crowded- people everywhere and lots of them.  Most were complying with masks indoors.  A few 'entitled' people would not were masks on transportation- when they couldnt be seen by a CM, but other than that most were playing by the rules. The stand by lines were long (I've been to NYE in years past and never say the Grand Fiesta Tour at a 45 minute wait!)- I think Genie+ had alot to do with that-
> 
> I did pay for LL+ ROTR- and felt it was worth it-  its an amazing immersive ride - and I would not have gotten to ride it without it (wait times were 3 hrs)
> 
> The Buses-  we had only one issue with the buses which was from POFQ to DHS- we missed EMH because the bus took 45 minutes to get to the hotel.  Apparently it was just this route because we waited at least 30 minutes for a bus at DHS- we chatted with others at the resort and they all experienced the same wait.
> 
> I was going to write a long negative opinion of Genie+ - but Ill leave it at I resent having to pay for it- and find it cumbersome and not the least bit user friendly- and I think that is on purpose.  I love going to WDW- but maybe I just need a break.
> 
> This board -as always - has been a wealth of information and its greatly appreciated.



actually housekeeping might be just fine if current “modified service” continues....they are receiving same tips for providing towels and taking trash as they were for actually cleaning room and making beds....and they are able to do way more rooms.


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## emmabelle

Carol_ said:


> Also, just filled out my lost and found form for the hat… The CM never suggested this but I figured I’d try. They used to be more upbeat and hopeful/helpful in such instances.




I feel your pain.  I left my Star Wars stainless refillable mug out at the pool.  Never to be seen again...  That stupid mug was $30


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## fbb

Lsdolphin said:


> actually housekeeping might be just fine if current “modified service” continues....they are receiving same tips for providing towels and taking trash as they were for actually cleaning room and making beds....and they are able to do way more rooms.


Except there will be fewer housekeepers.


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## HappyFairydust

Hey there! I was at WDW last week for 7days with my hubby and 2kids (infant, 5y) and wanted to share how our trip went! Gonna be long, sorry!
We did purchase Genie plus in advance (was not necessary) and ILL$.

we arrived 1/2at animal kingdom lodge at 6PM so we just stayed in our hotel room. Got apartial savannah view which made our arrival extra special!
I ordered magic bands but there was a glitch and eventhough a CM told me over the phone and chat they are at the front desk - nah. So I bought only ONE new magic band for the entire family for the ride pictures, which worked well at the end. So people, if you order pre arrival magic bands… please double and triple check your orders…


1/3: EPCOT

Woke up at 6:56 to get remy VQ. Got BG 10. call back was 10:15AM. WDW still offered 1h early entry so we arrived exactly at 9:00 (my husband is not an early riser) and rope dropped TT. 30min wait. We did rider swap and also took 30min. After I had FEA LL for 9:30AM (it was still a genie plus selection this day, not ILL$). After riding I got Soarin, Nemo, spaceship earth LLs.
We ate at Garden Grill and the characters came by very frequently and the food tasted delicious!! Highly Recommend!!!
We went back to our hotel around 4PM and came back around 7PM, strolled around and watched harmonious. Everyone was too tired to stay for extra evening hours so we went home.

1/4: ANIMAL KINGDOM
Again, since my husband is not an early riser we arrived at 7:35AM when the early entry has already begun.
i scored Kilimanjaro safari LL and FoP ILL$ so we rode Navi three times (walk on!!) and then had a nice breakfast, rode kilimanjaro safari and watched all the animals and shows. One thing is: the shows they cram all the people together, no social distamce sitting. If you‘re nervous about COVID then I‘m not sure if lion king show is a good option since it is indoors and literally they pack the people, shouting to sit closer to fit more people in. But the show was lovely!
We went home around 5PM so I did not have a chance to look at the light up tree of life but oh well, next time.

1/5: MK

UFF. Uff. Oooff. So.
We decided to sleep in a little and headed to MK at 8AM. I did not know that you have to take the monorail or ferry to MK from the parking lot. It was so so so so so congested. We waited 1.5hour to get on the monorail and when we tapped in into MK it was already past 10AM. We rushed to the jungle cruise LL but the LL was SO. BACKED. UP. Beyond aladdin‘s magic carpet ride amd we waited 1HOUR for the ride. We were so tired after all the waiting that after the JC ride we only redeemed our ILL$ for SDMT and waited for our dessert party to begin. This was a day where I couldn‘t get good use out of genie plus. Because after JC (around noon) all the LL return time was around 3-4PM and we were not sure if we wanted to go back to our hotel or stay.
The fireworks were good! I‘m a fan of wishes and HEA so yeah, but my husband (has been only to WDW once more than 20years ago LOL) and daughter enjoyed the show from the garden view spot! But it was CROWDED!
after the show, my daughter was still awake so we did take advantage of the evening hours. She rode SDMT four times, thunder mountain twice, tea cup and ariel ride.But then it was already 11PM. And we went back.

1/4: HS

I begged my husbnad to wake up early this day which he did. We arrived 1hour early from official early entrx hours. There was a glitch that day of purchasing ILL$ and around 8:30AM i was able to get MMRR ILL$.
I got slinky LL for 9:30AM
We decided NOT to go to starwars land, RnRC, TT since my kids cant ride it and we wanted something what we could do with the family. Rope dropped MMRR(about 10min wait), rushed to TSMM, then Alien swing sourcer and then had a breakfast amd went to SDD. SDD was so much fun!!! Then went to frozen singalong, lunch at sci-fi, went to beauty and the beast show and went home. The LL for beauty and the beast show is great, because they let you in first and olace you to the middle row seat! So we had an excellent view!! With all the other show LLs (lion king, bird show, frozen) they put you together in the stand by people so you never know if you get a good seat… we were always placed to the very end and had a mediocre view.

1/5: EPCOT

so we actually had MK planned for our last day, but traumatized from our wednesday MK, we decided to go to EPCOT. I only got a LL for TT and otherwise we did not do anything. We just strolled around and all the rides were 5-10min wait anyway so genie plus was a total waste of money this day. TT and FEA broke down but had always a 70min wait, soarin 30-40min.
One thing i wish is, that they will give an approximate time for the princesses to come out. We were waiting and strolling around norway for 3hours!!! Just to see Elsa and Anna… we could have done so much more during this „waiting period“. We went home after riding Remy around 7PM.

so in total. For a family trip with kids, a few things i learned:
1) take advantage of the early entry. Even if somebody is not an early riser. They‘ll get over it, wake them up and be there at least 30min before early entry. For HS, be there an HOUR early. Really. Even with kids. This will make a huge difference and is also easier to plan cause if you plan to buy Genie +, then it‘s easier to just tap the first available than waiting few minutes, checking if there is a later time available and then plan around that time.
2) genie plus: i got anxious and purchased it in advance for the whole 5days but i‘d buy it each day. Reason: with kids you never know how they feel that day. On our second epcot day, my entire party was more in a „want to stroll and look“ mood than rides. Also the strategy „stacking up for the afternoon“ did not really work for us with little kids because they‘d get tired and would rather watch the parades or meet the princesses than ride something. I let several hard to get LLs in the afternoon expire (navi, TT, the „mountain“ rides at MK, etc)
3) ILL$: so worth it for US. But it‘s a price. We REALLY enjoyed SDMT, remy and MMRR.
4) rider swap: very easy to set up. The CM asks who will be staying, scans your magic band and then I asked if my daughter can ride twice with me-it was never a problem. Only for FoP, I asked for a rider swap since our ILL$ was running out of time, but they said they couldn‘t. However if the time runs out, you just go to a CM, explain the situation and they‘ll let you in even if your return time has passed.
5) with young kids, i suggest a sit down place for at least lunch to cool down. It is pricey, yes, but i was able to breastfeed, and everyone was happy to be able to sit down and not looking for seats.
6) sit down: takes AT LEAST 90min even if you‘re a fast eater. Plan accordingly
7) double stroller rental: used scooterbug. Easy peasy. Would highly recommend.
8) COVID: so far no one is sick. We did sanitizer our hands frequently and had masks on indoors and outdoors. But the preshows/liveshows are crowded. I think you can‘t 100% avoid „crowds“ at this point
9) shopping: for remy shop, you need to wait in a que and it takes you about 20min to get in and longer in the afternoon/park closure. Do it in the mornings! And also, if you‘re thinking of something, just get it-you can always return. I was like oh but i might be avle to buy it on shopdisney.com… NAH. All sold out on web and on ebay they sell everything for triple the original price. Just get it even though that tumbler is 50$ or so.
10) if you‘re kids can be awake at night,the extra 2hours for deluxe resort guests is a must. Even if the hours are like 9-11PM. It‘s great. If you cant wake up early then the extra 2h is a great option to do the rides without purchasing genie plus and ILL$. And there were many photographers (for people who bought memory maker)
11) garden dessert  for us it was worth it since the MK day was CROWDED. They open at 6PM so if you want to be fast: stamd in line at 5:50PM, get everything on the plate, head down to the garden at 7:50PM. We went to the garden area around 8PM and the „front row section“ was already taken away.
12) take frequent bathroom breaks with kids
13) if you have little kids, maybe focus on few attractions. For example HS: by just avoiding Starwars, ToT, RnRc gave us so much more time, less stress. Yes I wanted to ride MFSR and RoTR and i even had Oga‘s ADR (which we cancelled) but the kids wouldn‘t have enjoyed it and at the end it was a good decision.

despite the negative changes we all had a blast at disney. Even my not-so-disney-fan husband said we‘ll definitely be back! Do i like the new LL/ILL$ system? Absolutely not but I guess it is what it is. I also wish they‘d do 1hour early entry cause in the 30min realistically you can do only one ride if you have kids in double stroller navigating through the crowd. Hope this helps for people and family with little kids!


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## npatellye

HappyFairydust said:


> 1/4: MK
> 
> UFF. Uff. Oooff. So.
> We decided to sleep in a little and headed to MK at 8AM. I did not know that you have to take the monorail or ferry to MK from the parking lot. It was so so so so so congested. We waited 1.5hour to get on the monorail and when we tapped in into MK it was already past 10AM. We rushed to the jungle cruise LL but the LL was SO. BACKED. UP. Beyond aladdin‘s magic carpet ride amd we waited 1HOUR for the ride. We were so tired after all the waiting that after the JC ride we only redeemed our ILL$ for SDMT and waited for our dessert party to begin. This was a day where I couldn‘t get good use out of genie plus. Because after JC (around noon) all the LL return time was around 3-4PM and we were not sure if we wanted to go back to our hotel or stay.
> The fireworks were good! I‘m a fan of wishes and HEA so yeah, but my husband (has been only to WDW once more than 20years ago LOL) and daughter enjoyed the show from the garden view spot! But it was CROWDED!
> after the show, my daughter was still awake so we did take advantage of the evening hours. She rode SDMT four times, thunder mountain twice, tea cup and ariel ride.But then it was already 11PM. And we went back.


Wait did MK also have EEH on 1/4? Darn it, we missed those. We went to the ones on Wednesday, 1/5 but I don’t know how I missed that they had EEH on 1/4!


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## HappyFairydust

npatellye said:


> Wait did MK also have EEH on 1/4? Darn it, we missed those. We went to the ones on Wednesday, 1/5 but I don’t know how I missed that they had EEH on 1/4!


Oops sorry i mixed up the dates. We were at MK on 1/5 wednesday!!
Sorry for the confusion


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## PrincessJasmine88

Any idea when the crowds will start to go down? I’ve been looking at ride times and they are still very high. I am going on the 21st. I had thought January was a quiet month after marathon week but I guess you just don’t know what to expect these days!


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## scrappinginontario

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> Any idea when the crowds will start to go down? I’ve been looking at ride times and they are still very high. I am going on the 21st. I had thought January was a quiet month after marathon week but I guess you just don’t know what to expect these days!


Not sure we will see a big drop as many cancelled trips from the summer/fall were rescheduled for early 2022.  Crowds may go down a bit but I don't anticipate a lot.


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## PrincessJasmine88

Darn, well at least it will be much cooler weather then when I went in September. I can stand waiting in line much easier when it’s not 93 out!


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## HappyFairydust

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> Any idea when the crowds will start to go down?



Actually I saw a significant drop of people after 1/6. 1/7 friday was my last day at WDW and I was in Epcot but the lines i saw was significantly shorter than what I saw on 1/3.
But you‘re right, there are more people travelling and you can‘t predict a „low crowd time“ anymore. I hope you‘ll have a low crowd level when you visit!


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## Aimeedyan

Honestly, I've found Jan to be quite busy in recent years (as a local-ish AP who visits every week or two). We still love to go in Jan because the temps are glorious but expect heavy crowds. 

September is the only time of year when I think it's truly "low crowds" but that's because most people are melting into the sidewalk


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## WDW Lover

Aimeedyan said:


> Honestly, I've found Jan to be quite busy in recent years (as a local-ish AP who visits every week or two). We still love to go in Jan because the temps are glorious but expect heavy crowds.
> 
> September is the only time of year when I think it's truly "low crowds" but that's because most people are melting into the sidewalk


I agree. Once Disney changed the date of the marathon and all of those other races in January from that first week, to the second week, they took up the "low" time in the parks by filling it with marathoners and marathon supporters. January mid to end used to be uncrowded but not so much anymore. September is definitely the least busy right now. Once foreigners start pouring back in, I bet there won't be an uncrowded time at all!


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## Lsdolphin

I’m hoping that crowds especially local crowds may be lower due to increasing COVID numbers...


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## lostinlakes

Just finishing a 2 day trip as an AP Fl resident with my out of state mom. We used LL and genie+.

Did AK yesterday (1/11). Got there around 9:45ish and went to our LL safari, maybe a 5 min wait in the line but great tour and saw the new baby rhino. Walked the gorilla trail and grabbed a snack and headed over for a Navi River journey and Dinosaur before hanging out under cover to avoid the rainstorm. Caught Bugs Life and hit the shops to kill some time before our 2p purchase for FOP and we were done. Didn’t feel too crowded and good masking inside overall.

Today we started at HS and hit ToT, Star Tours, Muppets, Toy Story Mania, Indiana Jones and the Runaway Railway from 10-2:30 before heading to Epcot for Soarin, Ratatouille, and Nemo and food and shopping. Saw lots of masks and everyone respectful of space. HS crowded at times of course in Star Wars area which we avoided. Overall not bad today and great weather. Epcot pretty darn dead.  Definitely appreciated the lightning lanes for avoiding standing around people for long and never waited in one for longer than 5 min max.


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## RNTeacher

1/9-Marathon day. We had a fabulous day in MK. Crowds were low until around noon. We bought Genie + but probably didn’t need it as we had basically walked on so many rides that morning.
1/10-EPCOT. We opted not to buy Genie +. We rope dropped Remy. We waited 32 minutes. Line was 60 min when we got off. With the EEH, we experienced every attraction we wanted to.
1/11-HS. Bought Genie +. Did not want to buy ILL. Tried to rope drop MMRR without success. It did not open during early entry and was experiencing technical difficulties past early entry and we abandoned the effort.  Rode TOT LL, Star Tours SB, and Frozen sing along SB. it was 1100 and HS felt so crowded and we decided to head back to the resort. We ate lunch at Steakhouse 71. The burger was fabulous! We went back to Studios at 5:30. I had booked TSMM and MFSR from the resort. After we rode those, we did standby for TSMM (husband’s favorite) and MMRR. We are going back Thursday to hopefully catch the others.
Genie + is ok. I just hate having to pay more.


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## lookingforsunshine

Just got back today! Only went to MK yesterday after marathon weekend. Splurged for Genie+ and ILL Space Mountain because my feet are sore and we only had one park day. I think it was worth it because everything had posted 40+ minute waits and we never waited. It did lose its luster by afternoon though when less was available.
My favorite part of the day was being interacted with at Laugh Factory which is my favorite thing in MK! What a blast.
We got to the park around 10 or so and did the following: 
Haunted Mansion LL 
Philharmagic (standby- no wait) 
Under the Sea LL
Mad Tea Party LL— app changed time when I booked and didn’t realize so I had to wait 10 min when I got there. Was able to check in to ride 10 min before LL time
Cinderella’s Royal Table— later in the afternoon my DH lost his sword souvenir so we went back and they replaced it!  
Laugh Factory LL iirc (prob wasn’t necessary) 
Space Mountain ILL
People Mover (standby) 
Met Tiana & Rapunzel (15 min wait) 
Winnie the Pooh LL (our LL was cancelled due to an outage but we were able to get a redemption pass for basically 5 min after the original time) 
Hall of Presidents (I’d never done it and my favorite author, John Green, has an essay on it in his book The Anthropocene Reviewed) 
Enchanted Tiki Room (standby)… this was not as good as I remembered it being as a kid. 
Pirates of the Caribbean LL— let us on 15 min early 
Liberty Tree Tavern— seated 10 min after reservation time (were told it would be 30 min) 

I would have liked to have done SDMT because I haven’t yet and also Peter Pan but it’s okay. We also missed the Calvacades and fireworks because our dinner reservation wasn’t on time. Overall, though, a fun day!


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## EmilyGahr

Can anyone comment on the crowds? Are they starting to slow down? 

I checked at 7:30 am this morning and there was still availability for LL and ILL$ for SDD, ROTR, FOP, TT, and so much more!


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## Halloweenqueen

At MK yesterday. It was very busy. We are vets with the usual strategies and we’re amazed at the crowds. Lots of internationals families which surprised us.


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## lostinlakes

EmilyGahr said:


> Can anyone comment on the crowds? Are they starting to slow down?
> 
> I checked at 7:30 am this morning and there was still availability for LL and ILL$ for SDD, ROTR, FOP, TT, and so much more!



Epcot was great yesterday, AK good on Monday and HS crowded in Star Wars but otherwise not bad yesterday.


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## glocon

There is still availability for SDD and Rise! Wow!!!


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## EmilyGahr

glocon said:


> There is still availability for SDD and Rise! Wow!!!


FOP, Remy, and TT still available too!


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## SheSingsAlong

Question for those at Disney now: What are you wearing? How cold is it at rope drop and does it get too warm for jeans mid-day? Heading down in a week and I'm still not sure what to pack or how to dress for a 20 degree temp spread between the lows and the highs  I do get cold easily.


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## scrappinginontario

SheSingsAlong said:


> Question for those at Disney now: What are you wearing? How cold is it at rope drop and does it get too warm for jeans mid-day? Heading down in a week and I'm still not sure what to pack or how to dress for a 20 degree temp spread between the lows and the highs  I do get cold easily.


Not there but have been in Jan.  Until someone there can answer, my recommendation is to dress in layers.  Bring things you can layer on top of one another and add/remove as needed.

Also, what someone is wearing is often subjective on where they live.  I live in Canada so will wear something very different at 70o from someone who lives in a warmer climate.  70o to me = shorts!  My friend in California = jacket at 70o.


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## lovethattink

I’m a local. It’s been unseasonably warm. We had a cold front come through the other night that knocked us down to 70 as a high. And now it looks like 60’s and 70’s during the day with 40 and 50’s at night. People from up north might not need a jacket. But I’d be in a sweater by day and my winter coat at night with those temps. Layers are always helpful.


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## Naomeri

As a northerner, 50° in Orlando hits differently than 50° in Minnesota, and I usually need more warmth than I do at home.  Layers are definitely the thing to do.


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## Gitelfor

SheSingsAlong said:


> Question for those at Disney now: What are you wearing? How cold is it at rope drop and does it get too warm for jeans mid-day? Heading down in a week and I'm still not sure what to pack or how to dress for a 20 degree temp spread between the lows and the highs  I do get cold easily.


WDW in late January can sometimes be so chilly in the morning, that you can see your breath, while waiting for the bus to a park.  By mid-day, people no longer wear jackets, as the sun usually warms things up.  However, the nights can feel cold, again, once the sun sets.  Waiting for fireworks, a warm coat and gloves may be needed.  There are many families that wrap blankets around their kids.

Layering is a good idea.  If you will be out at a park all day, you may want to be prepared for the chilly mornings and evenings, but rent a locker to store the extra layers, when not being worn.

Of course, when the temps drop, Disney prominently places racks of cold-weather clothing in all of the shops - everything from gloves and scarves to jackets.

I find watching the early local news on TV, before heading out for the day, is helpful in getting a good idea about the day’s predicted temps.


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## cjlong88

We will rope drop Remy using the IG. How early should we arrive with a 9:30 am ETPE opening time? Anyone there now or did this recently (assuming they keep Remy for ETPE this weekend)?


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## Leahc117

Gitelfor said:


> WDW in late January can sometimes be so chilly in the morning, that you can see your breath, while waiting for the bus to a park.  By mid-day, people no longer wear jackets, as the sun usually warms things up.  However, the nights can feel cold, again, once the sun sets.  Waiting for fireworks, a warm coat and gloves may be needed.  There are many families that wrap blankets around their kids.
> 
> Layering is a good idea.  If you will be out at a park all day, you may want to be prepared for the chilly mornings and evenings, but rent a locker to store the extra layers, when not being worn.
> 
> Of course, when the temps drop, Disney prominently places racks of cold-weather clothing in all of the shops - everything from gloves and scarves to jackets.
> 
> I find watching the early local news on TV, before heading out for the day, is helpful in getting a good idea about the day’s predicted temps.


Last time we were at Disney it was so hot and I said I would love to be here when the weather is in the 60s- now I’m sad that it’s going to be cold while we are there next week!!


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## ak517

cjlong88 said:


> We will rope drop Remy using the IG. How early should we arrive with a 9:30 am ETPE opening time? Anyone there now or did this recently (assuming they keep Remy for ETPE this weekend)?


I saw online a Disney instagrammer walk in at about 9 yesterday morning to get in line, which started loading folks at 9:23. She was off by 9:50 or so and headed to frozen before LL started. Would be great if you could report back if the Remy strategy consistently works!


----------



## cjlong88

ak517 said:


> I saw online a Disney instagrammer walk in at about 9 yesterday morning to get in line, which started loading folks at 9:23. She was off by 9:50 or so and headed to frozen before LL started. Would be great if you could report back if the Remy strategy consistently works!


Will do! We are going to a shoot for 8:45 am IG arrival from Yacht Club on Sunday and see what happens.


----------



## WEDWDW

Leahc117 said:


> Last time we were at Disney it was so hot and I said I would love to be here when the weather is in the 60s- now I’m sad that it’s going to be cold while we are there next week!!


We will be there starting Sunday and it is going to be COLD at night!

I mean REALLY cold-looks like 41 degree lows Monday/Tuesday which feels EVEN colder in Orlando!

But a frigid day at WDW is better than a hot day anywhere else IMHO!lol


----------



## Kazi7

SheSingsAlong said:


> Question for those at Disney now: What are you wearing? How cold is it at rope drop and does it get too warm for jeans mid-day? Heading down in a week and I'm still not sure what to pack or how to dress for a 20 degree temp spread between the lows and the highs  I do get cold easily.


We have been lots of times when it ranges from 50's to 70's and I don't like to be cold.  I almost always wear long pants or leggings.  Lightweight leggings or yoga pants aren't too hot for me even if it gets into the 70's.  Jeans are hotter, IMO.


----------



## scrappinginontario

cjlong88 said:


> We will rope drop Remy using the IG. How early should we arrive with a 9:30 am ETPE opening time? Anyone there now or did this recently (*assuming they keep Remy for ETPE this weekend*)?



Disney has officially added Remy to their ETPE schedule so I believe it's here to stay for the foreseeable future.


----------



## jrsharp21

Finally gathering my thoughts from the 6 days I was at the parks last week for MW. Since I was primarily there for MW and had work responsibilities, the first two days were work in the morning/afternoon until around 4pm and then head to the parks. 

I went to Epcot my first evening and didn't get on a single ride because of how crowded it was. Epcot is becoming my least favorite park, especially during the evenings. It is just one big frat party at night. Not my kind of crowd while at Disney World. 

Wednesday night I had a ILL$ for Remy. Knowing that I was going to end at DHS, I actually drove and parked at DHS and walked over to Epcot and entered through IG. Went on Remy and walked back to DHS. Remy was good but nothing that blew me away. Definitely don't need to go on this every time we visit. Back at DHS, I didn't get on any rides because of the waits. I was slowly finding that for people who can't make it into the park until later, you are pretty much out of luck unless you have G+ and stacking reservations through out the day.

Thursday was MK day. I bought G+ for this day. That worked out very well. When I got to MK around 4pm I had several reservations stacked up. I ended up riding BTMRR, Space (ILL$), Pirates, HM with G+.  What was crazy was that it was crowded when I went into Pirates. I came out and it was dead. Around 7:45. Walked out to the hub and saw the mass of humanity waiting for fireworks. Holy cow that was a lot of people. The rest of the park was dead. Good time to get on rides. Because I had to run the next morning I tried to get out of the park and catch the boat back to the TTC. That was nightmare. Lesson learned there. 

Friday was a day off from the parks. It was a explore the resort, PO Riverside, and Disney Springs evening. My family wanted to try Chicken Guy, but I had already tried it earlier in the week. I headed over to D-Luxe Burger. This is my new favorite place in Disney Springs. The burger is good and the fries are awesome.

Saturday after the run was MK again. MK was packed. We waited 30 minutes to get through the parking entrance to the TTC. Then once in there, we were in a long line to just park the car. We had G+ and also booked ILL$ for Space and Seven Dwarfs. We did BTMRR, Pirates, HM, Splash, with G+ and got on several other rides waiting in the normal lines.

Sunday after the marathon I met the family at Epcot. They did Remy while I was running. I ended up eating my way through Epcot to meet up with them. Then we decided to head to DHS. We had a ILL$ for Rise and a reservation for Oga later that evening. We had G+ again for the day. We went on Smuggler's Run and TOT with the reservations. RNR was down and not working. At that point I was exhausted and tapped out. Went back to the resort while the rest of the family went on Rise and went to Oga's.

Observations:

-G+ works, but hate that you have to pay extra for it.
-The lines just to get snacks were so long. It sucks when you just want a pretzel or a churro and the line is a 30 minute wait. I even stopped at the booth at the entrance to Liberty Square and they were out of food. They had sold out and waiting on someone to bring them more.
-The glazed nuts are one of my favorite snacks. In the past they have always been hot and crunchy when I got them. I bought three bags this time and each one was luke warm and the nuts were chewy. Very disappointed in that.
-It feels like people are just walking around aimlessly at the parks. Trying to find a place to sit down and relax is tough as many places don't let you in without a mobile order and there are not enough places to sit. People are trying to kill time between G+ reservations, so people are just walking around like zombies making the park seem jam packed.
-I have never seen the line for HM go down next to the water and underneath the normal entrance and then come back up a set stairs to the normal entrance. I got on the Liberty Belle and turned around to see that and was like whoa.


----------



## ScarletFire

jrsharp21 said:


> -It feels like people are just walking around aimlessly at the parks. Trying to find a place to sit down and relax is tough as many places don't let you in without a mobile order and there are not enough places to sit. People are trying to kill time between G+ reservations, so people are just walking around like zombies making the park seem jam packed.



I literally just made this point to my husband.  We decided that you wait in line for an attraction while waiting for the Genie+ LL attraction.


----------



## GBRforWDW

ScarletFire said:


> I literally just made this point to my husband.  We decided that you wait in line for an attraction while waiting for the Genie+ LL attraction.


While I certainly agree with you, my wife would not! Lol.   Maybe a little, but she prefers a ride and then longer to relax. Not always, but if we’re talking mid day in the sun, then definitely, though at that point, we’d typically head to the hotel


----------



## WIll C

It was a bad day for the IG this morning (Thursday). The scanners were down so they funneled us all into a visual inspection slowly and then there was no end of hassles with the touch points for the magic bands. Took 15+ minutes to get the first part of the crowd in. Then Remy went down early (if it even opened up). We had a DAS time for it so just came back later in the afternoon after Soarin' and some shopping. It was fun but nothing like MMRR and my wife loved Soarin' a whole lot more. It's new but we're probably not going to prioritize it again.


----------



## lovethattink

WIll C said:


> It was a bad day for the IG this morning (Thursday). The scanners were down so they funneled us all into a visual inspection slowly and then there was no end of hassles with the touch points for the magic bands. Took 15+ minutes to get the first part of the crowd in. Then Remy went down early (if it even opened up). We had a DAS time for it so just came back later in the afternoon after Soarin' and some shopping. It was fun but nothing like MMRR and my wife loved Soarin' a whole lot more. It's new but we're probably not going to prioritize it again.



Hopefully it will all be sorted out by tomorrow for the start of the festival.


----------



## Leahc117

WEDWDW said:


> We will be there starting Sunday and it is going to be COLD at night!
> 
> I mean REALLY cold-looks like 41 degree lows Monday/Tuesday which feels EVEN colder in Orlando!
> 
> But a frigid day at WDW is better than a hot day anywhere else IMHO!lol


Same here! I’m still bringing the tanks and swimsuits but bringing down coats and gloves too!  No where better to enjoy my hot coffee next week!


----------



## cjlong88

We are BACK! Third weekend trip in three months. This time with 3 friends.

Resort Day at RPR tomorrow
Universal on Saturday
Epcot / HS on Sunday
AK / Epcot on Monday

Let’s go!


----------



## Wakey

We were there just before Christmas, it was pretty awful, so much so we are not going back to a WDW park for the foreseeable future. I still can’t believe I’m saying that. We have quite a lot of DVC points but I’ll be using them for non park stays, and stays at non WDW resorts.

If you have our pattern, which is arrive rope drop and leave after lunch, and it’s busy, Genie+ certainly does not work as you can’t get the rides unless you ‘stack’ and stay in the park late. So when it’s busy Genie+ is useless for those who don't want to  be in parks in the afternoon.
Summary:

1. EMH in the morning is now ruined. Whereas before it was moderately busy at Xmas, a side effect of rip off paid rides where a family of 4 pay $70 for a 2.5 minute ride on Mine Train is that everyone now floods to EMH to avoid the charge. This meant 75 min waits at Test Track, Mine Train etc at rope drop at EMH. Queue for Mine Train insane, within minutes wait quickly going to 90 mins In EMH.
2. With non resort guests flooding in at normal rope drop to avoid these charges, EMH is now basically one A list ride, then you are done, with long waits then in normal park time for other rides. Example, we entered Epcot at rope drop EMH and ‘ran’ to Test Track. Because we ran, queue was to the top of the pathway and around the corner with 45 min wait. Within seconds queue extended to the lake, and wait was 75 mins. This was Test Track in EMH - 75 mins massive queue within minutes of rope drop EMH. We did that, then Soarin’ was listed as 80 min wait and Frozen has gone down. We never rode either. Week before Xmas this. Just a typical example.
3. This means that it is basically now impossible, at say HWS or MK to do as we did before, and get multiple A list rides done by early afternoon.
4. For the first time ever we didn’t ride multiple top rides on our trip.
5. As I say Genie+ no good for our park attendance pattern.
6. Epcot is a boarded off mess. Years after the project started, Blog Mickey show very little work being done. It’s a disgrace. Huge crowds as a result trudging slowly around World Showcase.
7. One park where we did get all the rides done was AK, where we had a good time but this is only because it opened at 7am. At 6.45 am the crowds were massive, we queued to get in, and ran/ brisk walked to Flight of Passage. Even then the queues at Pandora were huge, extending outside of Pandora and looping around. They moved reasonably quickly, we were through and off the ride in an hour. This was arriving at the park at 6.45 am remember. By lunchtime though the park was a mess.
8. Park reservation system is clearly a major inconvenience, nothing about limiting numbers, but all about increasing ‘yield’.
9. Parks often lacking in other areas. Try and get a snack in busy times at Sleepy Hollow. No times in the near future on mobile order, queue simply not moving. Staff don’t seem to have any manager trying to speed things up. Infuriating 1 hour wait for a waffle. Starbucks 45 mins + wait for a freaking coffee.
10. Rides were breaking down for extended periods all the time. What is going on there. I’ve never seen this so bad.

Yep we have been at Christmas before, for example, 2019 and nothing like this.

I accept we are particularly badly impacted as Genie+ is junk in busy times and if you don’t want to stay in the afternoons. We have no interest in fighting through all that for 10 hours a day.

Im already making reservations in a deluxe hotel at Universal next year with free Express Pass. On top of hotels I will drop maybe $7k next Xmas there instead.

Chapek, D’Amaro, the board and anyone else responsible really need to take a long hard look at themselves. They said it would be more expensive but the experience would be better. Many, many people are reporting it isn’t better, they just ruined it but certainly made it  more expensive though, and it’s become in my view something of an obscene rip off.


----------



## glocon

cjlong88 said:


> We are BACK! Third weekend trip in three months. This time with 3 friends.
> 
> Resort Day at RPR tomorrow
> Universal on Saturday
> Epcot / HS on Sunday
> AK / Epcot on Monday
> 
> Let’s go!


How fun!
Will you be staying at RPR the whole time?
And stacking G+ for afternoons? It seems like I remember that working for you before..
Have the best time


----------



## ScarletFire

GBRforWDW said:


> While I certainly agree with you, my wife would not! Lol.   Maybe a little, but she prefers a ride and then longer to relax. Not always, but if we’re talking mid day in the sun, then definitely, though at that point, we’d typically head to the hotel



My kids are grown and when they were little, we didn't wait in a line longer than 20 minutes.  I ran all over the park collecting fastpasses from the machines.  Now that they're grown, I don't mind to wait in line with them.  It's fun.  We hang out, talk to line neighbors and it's not so bad.   Some of the queues are so cute!  Weird that I don't mind to wait in line.  However, my limit is <60 minutes.

I prefer the mid-day break too.  My park limit is about 5 hours.  I like to hop to EPCOT for dinner or the MK for fireworks.

I love the early mornings when everyone is in line and the park seems empty.  We can afford to relax after many trips to Disney and AP's.


----------



## bmdq89

How are crowds right now with Omicron surging?


----------



## gottalovepluto

bmdq89 said:


> How are crowds right now with Omicron surging?


It’s impossible for anyone to know if that is affecting crowds vs the fact that it is just isn’t Christmas/New Years or a marathon weekend.


----------



## scrappinginontario

The parks continue to be busy.

A reminder to keep discussions on topic of travel and Disney please and not veer off into Covid discussion/debate.

Thanks!


----------



## gottalovepluto

Has anyone tried RAT at end of night or during Harmonious? (When ROTR first went standby doing it last thing at night that week was great for low crowds so I’m hoping RAT is similar…)


----------



## bmdq89

scrappinginontario said:


> The parks continue to be busy.
> 
> A reminder to keep discussions on topic of travel and Disney please and not veer off into Covid discussion/debate.
> 
> Thanks!


Of course! I was just trying to see how crowded the parks are. I am curious how busy they might be at the end of the month/beginning of Feb.


----------



## scrappinginontario

bmdq89 said:


> Of course! I was just trying to see how crowded the parks are. I am curious how busy they might be at the end of the month/beginning of Feb.


I understand that but you chose to question why you thought it might be different which is why I had to address it.


----------



## PrincessJasmine88

Any reports of Fesitval of the Arts would be much appreciated!


----------



## thanxfornoticin

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> Any reports of Fesitval of the Arts would be much appreciated!


Did you see the incredibly long line this morning for the Figment popcorn bucket?  That's the only report I've actually seen so far!  People are funny sometimes........


----------



## lovethattink

I’m not there today, but seeing photos of the line for Figment popcorn bucket and it’s super long!!


----------



## thanxfornoticin

We'll be there next week - very much looking forward to it.  The festival, that is - we don't actually care about the popcorn bucket!


----------



## lovethattink

thanxfornoticin said:


> We'll be there next week - very much looking forward to it.  The festival, that is - we don't actually care about the popcorn bucket!



It’s my favorite festival. I don’t care about the bucket either. I like the Broadway Series and chalk art the best. I’m out of space for Disney popcorn buckets.

I have a park reservation for today, but I’ve decided to cancel it because ds has too much on his plate for today. We’ll probably go Sunday.


----------



## CarolynFH

lovethattink said:


> I’m not there today, but seeing photos of the line for Figment popcorn bucket and it’s super long!!


About 30 minutes ago, DH told me he saw the Figment popcorn bucket on Ebay for $270. And 55 bids for it.


----------



## 2vets

CarolynFH said:


> About 30 minutes ago, DH told me he saw the Figment popcorn bucket on Ebay for $270. And 55 bids for it.



I’m honestly stunned.


----------



## scrappinginontario

While shocking, can we please move the *Figment Popcorn Bucket* discussion to the thread that was created to discuss this phenomenon that is, popcorn buckets! 

Thanks!


----------



## cjlong88

Checked into RPR…it’s a nice room.


glocon said:


> How fun!
> Will you be staying at RPR the whole time?
> And stacking G+ for afternoons? It seems like I remember that working for you before..
> Have the best time


We are only doing RPR for one night to get the express pass, then move over to Yacht Club for three nights. Yes to the evening G+ stacks! We will see if third time’s the charm…


----------



## bsmcneil

bmdq89 said:


> How are crowds right now with Omicron surging?


Thanks for asking a good question about traveling to Disney with a very real and important aspect. I can only imagine what it would be like if we couldn't ask how the weather is since it's a variable that changes daily and has an impact on what the experience is like!


----------



## Gary Stocker




----------



## bsmcneil

bmdq89 said:


> Of course! I was just trying to see how crowded the parks are. I am curious how busy they might be at the end of the month/beginning of Feb.


My sense is that this weekend will continue to be busy as it's a 3 day weekend for some folks - I'm also wondering how things fare (hoping that Tues-Fri of next week might be a relative similar crowd level to the same days the following week). But I don't know if people linger after 3 day weekends or not. I keep being surprised that Touring Plans suggests a Saturday at the Magic Kingdom (29th) will be significantly less crowded than any of the weekdays the following week. Does anyone know why that might be? I just watched a video (I think DFB, maybe AllEars) that said Saturdays at MK were usually busier than otherwise.


----------



## bastraker

We're at HS today.  Just left to head to the pool at beach club.  

The crowds are  pretty heavy but we did what we wanted and are heading out to try the pool while we have some sun.  It's cold here!!!


----------



## bsmcneil

bsmcneil said:


> My sense is that this weekend will continue to be busy as it's a 3 day weekend for some folks - I'm also wondering how things fare (hoping that Tues-Fri of next week might be a relative similar crowd level to the same days the following week). But I don't know if people linger after 3 day weekends or not. I keep being surprised that Touring Plans suggests a Saturday at the Magic Kingdom (29th) will be significantly less crowded than any of the weekdays the following week. Does anyone know why that might be? I just watched a video (I think DFB, maybe AllEars) that said Saturdays at MK were usually busier than otherwise.


Oops, I mis-read. It's Sunday (30th) that is a 3 for MK and the weekdays are higher (not Saturday the 29th).


----------



## naneliz

bsmcneil said:


> Oops, I mis-read. It's Sunday (30th) that is a 3 for MK and the weekdays are higher (not Saturday the 29th).



I am also curious. I have an upcoming trip 01/25-02/02 and I was hoping the crowds would have dissipated by then. The crowd calendars have never let me down but I fear this may be a first. I think that international travel is what might be causing heavy crowds.


----------



## bsmcneil

naneliz said:


> I am also curious. I have an upcoming trip 01/25-02/02 and I was hoping the crowds would have dissipated by then. The crowd calendars have never let me down but I fear this may be a first. I think that international travel is what might be causing heavy crowds.


Right? It seems so strange to me


----------



## Disneyhanna

I am here now and did HS this morning and a brief park hop to Epcot before leaving.
Early entry was rough at HS as RnRC went down and ToT never opened until later in the morning. This was my first time doing genie+ as well and I found it pretty easy to use. Even getting the 9:10 Slinky LL I still was only able to ride MMRR during early opening (arrived to the park 40 minutes early and was off by 8:43), my Slinky LL, breakfast at Woodys, ToT which I got lucky on while refreshing because most returns were afternoon already, and Star Tours at 11:40. I left after because return times were so late. It was definitely busy but crowds weren’t crushing at all.

Epcot was also quite busy, walking around WS was fine but lines were long at the booths. I waited 30 minutes for the France booth at 2:30. I’d say most booths looked 20-30 minutes based on my wait. Headed back to Epcot tomorrow and hoping it’s a bit lighter but doubt it! Ride lines looked pretty short but I was too lazy to even use the LLs I booked. Very few masks on in outdoor queues for food, and definitely no distancing.

Genie+ is such a downgrade from FP+, just have to change expectations on how much you can get done. I’ll be here through Tuesday!


----------



## cjlong88

Just finished dinner at Boma. WOW! Not a buffet person at all, but was incredibly impressed with the service, the quality and diversity of food, and the atmosphere. Would definitely come again.


----------



## Gary Stocker

cjlong88 said:


> Just finished dinner at Boma. WOW! Not a buffet person at all, but was incredibly impressed with the service, the quality and diversity of food, and the atmosphere. Would definitely come again.


Going there for the first time next Sunday night. Hearing good things about zebra domes.


----------



## Day-al

Disneyhanna said:


> Very few masks on in outdoor queues for food, and definitely no distancing.



Masks outdoors and social distancing were done away with at WDW months ago.


----------



## SwanVT2

Day-al said:


> Masks outdoors and social distancing were done away with at WDW months ago.


What about masks inside?


----------



## Day-al

SwanVT2 said:


> What about masks inside?


Check MDE for the latest


----------



## scrappinginontario

SwanVT2 said:


> What about masks inside?


Disney’s current policy can be found here:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/


----------



## SwanVT2

scrappinginontario said:


> Disney’s current policy can be found here:
> 
> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/


Glad masks are still required indoors.


----------



## bsmcneil

For those who are "here now/just back" - I know weather can be unpredictable and I'm good with layers, etc. But - has anyone brought and needed (or didn't bring but needed) a fan or cooling towel? It seems not necessary given the weather predictions - but I thought I'd check in.


----------



## kalista

Wakey said:


> We were there just before Christmas, it was pretty awful, so much so we are not going back to a WDW park for the foreseeable future. I still can’t believe I’m saying that. We have quite a lot of DVC points but I’ll be using them for non park stays, and stays at non WDW resorts.
> 
> If you have our pattern, which is arrive rope drop and leave after lunch, and it’s busy, Genie+ certainly does not work as you can’t get the rides unless you ‘stack’ and stay in the park late. So when it’s busy Genie+ is useless for those who don't want to  be in parks in the afternoon.
> Summary:
> 
> 1. EMH in the morning is now ruined. Whereas before it was moderately busy at Xmas, a side effect of rip off paid rides where a family of 4 pay $70 for a 2.5 minute ride on Mine Train is that everyone now floods to EMH to avoid the charge. This meant 75 min waits at Test Track, Mine Train etc at rope drop at EMH. Queue for Mine Train insane, within minutes wait quickly going to 90 mins In EMH.
> 2. With non resort guests flooding in at normal rope drop to avoid these charges, EMH is now basically one A list ride, then you are done, with long waits then in normal park time for other rides. Example, we entered Epcot at rope drop EMH and ‘ran’ to Test Track. Because we ran, queue was to the top of the pathway and around the corner with 45 min wait. Within seconds queue extended to the lake, and wait was 75 mins. This was Test Track in EMH - 75 mins massive queue within minutes of rope drop EMH. We did that, then Soarin’ was listed as 80 min wait and Frozen has gone down. We never rode either. Week before Xmas this. Just a typical example.
> 3. This means that it is basically now impossible, at say HWS or MK to do as we did before, and get multiple A list rides done by early afternoon.
> 4. For the first time ever we didn’t ride multiple top rides on our trip.
> 5. As I say Genie+ no good for our park attendance pattern.
> 6. Epcot is a boarded off mess. Years after the project started, Blog Mickey show very little work being done. It’s a disgrace. Huge crowds as a result trudging slowly around World Showcase.
> 7. One park where we did get all the rides done was AK, where we had a good time but this is only because it opened at 7am. At 6.45 am the crowds were massive, we queued to get in, and ran/ brisk walked to Flight of Passage. Even then the queues at Pandora were huge, extending outside of Pandora and looping around. They moved reasonably quickly, we were through and off the ride in an hour. This was arriving at the park at 6.45 am remember. By lunchtime though the park was a mess.
> 8. Park reservation system is clearly a major inconvenience, nothing about limiting numbers, but all about increasing ‘yield’.
> 9. Parks often lacking in other areas. Try and get a snack in busy times at Sleepy Hollow. No times in the near future on mobile order, queue simply not moving. Staff don’t seem to have any manager trying to speed things up. Infuriating 1 hour wait for a waffle. Starbucks 45 mins + wait for a freaking coffee.
> 10. Rides were breaking down for extended periods all the time. What is going on there. I’ve never seen this so bad.
> 
> Yep we have been at Christmas before, for example, 2019 and nothing like this.
> 
> I accept we are particularly badly impacted as Genie+ is junk in busy times and if you don’t want to stay in the afternoons. We have no interest in fighting through all that for 10 hours a day.
> 
> Im already making reservations in a deluxe hotel at Universal next year with free Express Pass. On top of hotels I will drop maybe $7k next Xmas there instead.
> 
> Chapek, D’Amaro, the board and anyone else responsible really need to take a long hard look at themselves. They said it would be more expensive but the experience would be better. Many, many people are reporting it isn’t better, they just ruined it but certainly made it  more expensive though, and it’s become in my view something of an obscene rip off.


We were there that same week.  We mostly made it to early entry, but it seemed it only got you a one ride advantage before the masses arrived and waits skyrocketed.  When we would leave late afternoon exhausted, I’d look at the folks arriving and think, “Maybe that’s the way to go?”  Get Genie+ and stack for later, take advantage of lower standby waits, and let everyone sleep in?!


----------



## BK2014

DW and I are local and have APs.  We went to Hollywood Studios this morning.  Got in line for the non-early entry folks at about 8:35am.  It wasn't until 8:56am that the group in front of us in line realized that this was not the line for early entry resort guests.  I felt bad, and would have told them if I had heard them talking about it.  They probably need some announcements or something for people who might not realize what line they are in.  I saw castmembers with signs, but they were easy to miss.  Especially if you are just following the crowds assuming that they are there for the same reason.

We had no plan, except for an ADR at Mama Melrose's for lunch.  No Genie+.  We started at Toy Story Mania.  Wait said 60 minutes.  Then went to Swirling Saucers where the wait was 45 minutes.  After lunch, I did Start Tours with a posted wait time of 25 minutes while DW shopped. For all lines, we found that the posted standby time ended being about the time from getting into line until exiting the ride after riding it.   After that we left for the day.

We are normally 1/2 day park people if we are not staying on-site.  And we knew what to expect with no FP+, and not using Genie +.  So we weren't really disappointed, but it was the least we have been able to accomplish in a half day at a park since we moved here in 2019. 

On a positive note, this was our first time at Mama Melrose's and we both really enjoyed our lunches.  I the Charred Strip Steak and DW had the Margherita Flatbread.  Service was good.  We enjoyed the atmosphere.  And there was plenty on the menu that we would like to try again on a return trip.

We did notice that Rise of the Resistance appeared to be down most, if not the entire time we were there.  We weren't planning on riding it, but I imagine there were a lot of disappointed people.  MDE says it is currently running with a wait time of 230 minutes.


----------



## Wakey

kalista said:


> We were there that same week.  We mostly made it to early entry, but it seemed it only got you a one ride advantage before the masses arrived and waits skyrocketed.  When we would leave late afternoon exhausted, I’d look at the folks arriving and think, “Maybe that’s the way to go?”  Get Genie+ and stack for later, take advantage of lower standby waits, and let everyone sleep in?!



i think you are correct. Problem is we are coming from UK so up at 6 the latest anyway due you time difference, and usually afternoons in winter are better for pool time. So it’s totally messed it up for rope droppers in busy times.


----------



## WIll C

HS yesterday was a big mess. Lots of rides down in the morning and big crowds. We had lunch at Sci-Fi and really didn't do anything as we were just taking it easy since we knew the crowds were going to impact things and ended up finishing up our gold coin medallion search. Epcot was still pretty busy in World Showcase when I hopped over in the afternoon and Disney Springs was really packed that night. Reservations, as normal, are a must.


----------



## mickeymom629

We are just back from 6 nights at Kidani 1/8-1/14.  We did not do G+ at all.  We were 9 adults and 2 5-year-old girls and a 2-year-old boy.  The girls did all thrill rides they were tall enough for and loved them!  Even ToT!  We bought $LL for FoP on Mon 1/10 and RotR on Tues 1/11.  We didn't want to give Disney more $ but bit the bullet for just those two.  We waited in line 60 minutes or so for many rides, which was annoying, as we have always used FP to our advantage in the past.  I was more impatient than the children.    The weather was beautiful except for a little rain on 1/10.  We did all 4 parks and MK two days.  Tried to get to EE for MK on Sunday (see paragraph below for issue), got to EE for HS and Epcot and that made a difference in the a.m. efficiency, for sure!  I was very impressed that my group was able to get out that early and stay until park closing almost all days.  And still there is much we didn't end up doing because we were slow moving with getting in and out of stroller, stopping for snacks, etc.

Went to MK on Sunday of the Marathon and didn't realize that the buses would have to stop at TTC and we would have to transfer to a bus   We were on track to get there about 8 a.m. but ended up being in the park shortly before 9 to watch the welcome show.  Went to Fantasyland and Tomorrowland (did Dumbo, Barnstormer, Ariel, PP, Small World, Pooh, Tea Cups and Speedway before eating at Starlight Cafe).  After lunch we did Carousel, Splash, BTMRR, Aladdin, Pirates and had a Dole Whip/icecream break.  Then to Buzz, People Mover and Astro-orbiter. Mobile ordered and ate by Sleepy Hallow.  Watched fireworks in front of Crystal Palace. MK seemed fairly less crowded than expected the entire day (though we passed on 7DMT this day because of the wait times).  TP had said that it would be more crowded than our day at MK on 1/13 but the opposite was true and I'm so glad we went on Sunday since Thursday was unbearable (we didn't get there until 10:15), when it was noticably much, much more crowded.  Our mission on Thursday was 7DMT (about 70 min wait and then was down for a bit in the afternoon after we rode) and HM.

FotLK was still upbeat and great, but for those of us who know what it was, it was different to see less performers, no monkeys and the birds not flying/close to each other.  Happy to see flame thrower performer, though!  B&tB show was sad/funny that performers were not as numerous and no embraces.  Happy to see the juggler in Italy and the Jammitors.  We enjoyed Kite Tails but some thought it was surprising that this was a Disney show.

I loved all the little parades and saw many since I was the one walking with the 2-year-old while others were on thrill rides.  We saw Minnie, Goofy and Max, Pooh, Joy, Belle and Arora and maybe others just randomly.

Disney Junior dance party was so fun for little ones.  I was happy to see that Alien Swirling Saucers was like Crack the Whip and not Merry Mixer, so that I could enjoy with grandkids.  We really enjoyed MMRR, Remy and RotR, all somewhat the same technology.  Remy was a little more nauseating.  ETA that DH didn't know what all the fuss about RotR was all about, though he enjoyed it, he didn't think it was worth all the hype.

We enjoyed both Harmonious and Enchantment and thought they were very colorful and upbeat.

I loved the spicy, crispy chicken waffle at Sleepy Hallow in MK and the 50th ice cream sandwich at Dino Bites in AK.  I love frozen bananas and could only find them at the trolley-looking stand in front of the castle.  None at AK.

Buses were pretty good our entire trip.  All but one cast member were awesome!

Now hoping that we didn't come home with any illnesses!

Btw, 10 of us drove from MD to FL in a large van through the night on Friday, Jan 7.  Went to Disney Springs and explored the resort until our GV villa was ready (about 2p) at Kidani.  Two others flew from Kansas.  On the way home, 3 of the ones in the van flew home so the van was a little less crowded going back.  Two stops on the road down and back.  No weather or traffic issues!  We were lucky!

Probably won't be back for another 3-4 years with everyone.  Because of DVC, DH and I may be back before that.  The theme we expected of this trip was 'it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't what we expected', but I think we all enjoyed it overall and are very glad we went!

ETA that we all wore masks in and out as much as possible, even the kids.  Disinfected constantly.  Two-year-old rolled on the cement in Tomorrowland a few times and ate things that he dropped while tthinking he was funny not listening to his parents, so crossing fingers he (and the rest of us) don't get sick.


----------



## Lsdolphin

naneliz said:


> I am also curious. I have an upcoming trip 01/25-02/02 and I was hoping the crowds would have dissipated by then. The crowd calendars have never let me down but I fear this may be a first. I think that international travel is what might be causing heavy crowds.


Same here our trip is 1/26-2/2 and hoping for lower crowds and just a bit warmer temps...


----------



## Sarahslay

WIll C said:


> It was a bad day for the IG this morning (Thursday). The scanners were down so they funneled us all into a visual inspection slowly and then there was no end of hassles with the touch points for the magic bands. Took 15+ minutes to get the first part of the crowd in. Then Remy went down early (if it even opened up). We had a DAS time for it so just came back later in the afternoon after Soarin' and some shopping. It was fun but nothing like MMRR and my wife loved Soarin' a whole lot more. It's new but we're probably not going to prioritize it again.


So are they definitely doing DAS for Remy now? My trip next week is my first trip using DAS with the G+ system and Remy, I set up my DAS the other day and the CM said "Remy isn't included in the DAS pass system, you will need to pay for a lightening lane pass or stand in the queue." I was thinking I had heard someone say that now that they weren't doing virtual queue that it was availalbe to do DAS for it, but then the CM was like "NOPE!" when setting up my initial two DAS for me for arrival day.


----------



## WIll C

Sarahslay said:


> So are they definitely doing DAS for Remy now? My trip next week is my first trip using DAS with the G+ system and Remy, I set up my DAS the other day and the CM said "Remy isn't included in the DAS pass system, you will need to pay for a lightening lane pass or stand in the queue." I was thinking I had heard someone say that now that they weren't doing virtual queue that it was availalbe to do DAS for it, but then the CM was like "NOPE!" when setting up my initial two DAS for me for arrival day.


It is included. I haven't seen something that isn't included as far as big rides are concerned. We got our DAS time for Remy, it went down and when it came back up we were able to get right on through the LL.

It's all on the app now and when you are in the park you just select the DAS option and pick your ride. It gives you a time to come back and you're good any time after that.


----------



## DisSurfer878

Sarahslay said:


> So are they definitely doing DAS for Remy now? My trip next week is my first trip using DAS with the G+ system and Remy, I set up my DAS the other day and the CM said "Remy isn't included in the DAS pass system, you will need to pay for a lightening lane pass or stand in the queue." I was thinking I had heard someone say that now that they weren't doing virtual queue that it was availalbe to do DAS for it, but then the CM was like "NOPE!" when setting up my initial two DAS for me for arrival day.


This CM is uninformed clearly on the latest updates. I mean, when you opened the app at Epcot you would have SEEN this CM was mistaken. Unfortunately just shows you can't really trust what they said and need to do your own research


----------



## orum

DisSurfer878 said:


> This CM is uninformed clearly on the latest updates. I mean, when you opened the app at Epcot you would have SEEN this CM was mistaken. Unfortunately just shows you can't really trust what they said and need to do your own research


It is also possible this was just a failure to communicate. Remy is not available for advance selection, and it sounds like that is the part of the process the poster was in. The cast member would have been correct that they couldn’t select Remy for an advance selection for DAS.


----------



## chicagodisneyguy

We just got back from an 8 night stay (6 park days) at SSR.  The weather was absolutely amazing!  With the exception of about 2 hours of rain, we had highs of 75-80 degrees and lows of 55-60 degrees.   The SSR refurb was well done and the rooms look great.  The pull down beds made a huge difference in sleeping comfort for our party.

We bought Genie+ for our two HS & MK days.  We also bought all ILL rides each day.  HS we slept in both days and stacked.  We got to the HS around 1:30pm and had 5 LL rides waiting including the paid ones.  We were pretty much able to ride everything we wanted with minimal waiting.  MK days we got there early & used EE to get a few of the smaller rides while paying for 7DMT and  Space Mountain.  We then basically grabbed rides throughout the day that had close return times.  We used Genie+ for 8 rides one day and 10 the other.  We also stayed for Deluxe hours at MK and was able to ride Space Mountain several times in a row. 

Our Epcot and AK days we paid for the ILL rides but did not pay for Genie+.  There just isn't enough to do at those parks to make it worth it....especially since we had deluxe hours at EP.  With a group of 8, Genie+ added a pretty big expense compared to previous trips.  But it saved us soooo much time that we felt we got decent value out of it.  We will almost definitely buy it again next trip.

Crowd-wise we thought it was busy.  We knew MLK weekend would add to the crowds towards the end of the trip.  But the beginning of the trip was pretty busy too...probably attributed to running events.   

Mask compliance was excellent IMO.  For the few that didn't have them on indoors, castmembers were there to remind them.  I think 100% of people I saw whom needed to be reminded just honestly forgot versus ignoring the rules which was good to see.

Pretty much all cast member we interacted were great!  Everyone seemed in great spirits and had that Disney cast member happiness I've become accustom too.  Most guests seemed in good moods too.  There have been so many reports of fighting guests or angry interaction I was happy to not see any of them.

All in all it was an amazing trip.  It was definitely not one of our cheapest trips we've had...but it was one of the best.  After all the recent threads of people who have "lost the magic", this trip confirmed that I am luckily not in that camp.


----------



## cjlong88

Today is Epcot / HS. I’ve been stacking LL’s for HS since this morning. We rode Remy during ETPE. We got to IG around 8:55 am. Waited about 5-10 minutes before they opened the ride. It was a walk-on. Then rode Soarin’, LwtL, and Nemo…all walk-ons. Made our way from Mexico through Germany today. Will do the other half of WS tomorrow. Relaxing at the hotel before we head back out later this afternoon

So far we have RotR, MMRR, MFSR, RnRC, and SDD LL’s booked for this evening at HS. Next window is in 4 minutes. TSM and ToT still show availability. Should be a good evening.

Having an amazing time so far!

ETA: Just snagged one of the last ToT LL’s!


----------



## jillinastoria

cjlong88 said:


> Today is Epcot / HS. I’ve been stacking LL’s for HS since this morning. We rode Remy during ETPE. We got to IG around 8:55 am. Waited about 5-10 minutes before they opened the ride. It was a walk-on. Then rode Soarin’, LwtL, and Nemo…all walk-ons. Made our way from Mexico through Germany today. Will do the other half of WS tomorrow. Relaxing at the hotel before we head back out later this afternoon
> 
> So far we have RotR, MMRR, MFSR, RnRC, and SDD LL’s booked for this evening at HS. Next window is in 4 minutes. TSM and ToT still show availability. Should be a good evening.
> 
> Having an amazing time so far!



This is a really smart strategy! Am I right that you had a park pass for Epcot, but starting at 7, got a LL for HS (guessing Slinky Dog) and then stacked at HS every two hours after Epcot park opening? Sounds like a fantastic day!


----------



## cjlong88

jillinastoria said:


> This is a really smart strategy! Am I right that you had a park pass for Epcot, but starting at 7, got a LL for HS (guessing Slinky Dog) and then stacked at HS every two hours after Epcot park opening? Sounds like a fantastic day!


Correct, except that my 120-minute window started at HS’s opening time since I booked Slinky as my first attraction. It’s our third time using this strategy and I honestly don’t know a better way to experience HS for us. We can get all the heavy hitters done in 4-5 hours with no waits.


----------



## moorish

cjlong88 said:


> Correct, except that my 120-minute window started at HS’s opening time since I booked Slinky as my first attraction. It’s our third time using this strategy and I honestly don’t know a better way to experience HS for us. We can get all the heavy hitters done in 4-5 hours with no waits.


We’re planning one of our days in much the same way. Happy to hear it’s working well for you!


----------



## Day-al

cjlong88 said:


> Today is Epcot / HS. I’ve been stacking LL’s for HS since this morning. We rode Remy during ETPE. We got to IG around 8:55 am. Waited about 5-10 minutes before they opened the ride. It was a walk-on. Then rode Soarin’, LwtL, and Nemo…all walk-ons. Made our way from Mexico through Germany today. Will do the other half of WS tomorrow. Relaxing at the hotel before we head back out later this afternoon
> 
> So far we have RotR, MMRR, MFSR, RnRC, and SDD LL’s booked for this evening at HS. Next window is in 4 minutes. TSM and ToT still show availability. Should be a good evening.
> 
> Having an amazing time so far!
> 
> ETA: Just snagged one of the last ToT LL’s!



You’re going to have a blast tonight! I’m slightly jealous lol


----------



## jillinastoria

cjlong88 said:


> Correct, except that my 120-minute window started at HS’s opening time since I booked Slinky as my first attraction. It’s our third time using this strategy and I honestly don’t know a better way to experience HS for us. We can get all the heavy hitters done in 4-5 hours with no waits.



That's great and very inspiring, thank you for sharing!


----------



## elgerber

cjlong88 said:


> Correct, except that my 120-minute window started at HS’s opening time since I booked Slinky as my first attraction. It’s our third time using this strategy and I honestly don’t know a better way to experience HS for us. We can get all the heavy hitters done in 4-5 hours with no waits.


Can you share the order in which you booked your LL rides?


----------



## cjlong88

elgerber said:


> Can you share the order in which you booked your LL rides?


Slinky, Millennium Falcon, Rock n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror.

Rise and Mickey & Minnie were purchased at 7am


----------



## Sarahslay

DisSurfer878 said:


> This CM is uninformed clearly on the latest updates. I mean, when you opened the app at Epcot you would have SEEN this CM was mistaken. Unfortunately just shows you can't really trust what they said and need to do your own research


Yeah, unfortunately I don't get there for another week so I can't see until then, and their list of what is included when I look still doesn't include anything that is LL$$. They have't been updating their list on their website at all, and everywhere I look is different info, with everything changing recently it's hard to get accurate news from folks. Since someone who went a month ago had a different experience to someone who just came back, it's a bit tough. Thankfully I would have seen it, but I'm glad I know now before I go and don't drop some money on it early in the morning before we arrive so we can ride it. Only plan to do it once, just want to say we did it lol (but I'd rather not shell out money when I don't have to)


----------



## SwanVT2

chicagodisneyguy said:


> We just got back from an 8 night stay (6 park days) at SSR.  The weather was absolutely amazing!  With the exception of about 2 hours of rain, we had highs of 75-80 degrees and lows of 55-60 degrees.   The SSR refurb was well done and the rooms look great.  The pull down beds made a huge difference in sleeping comfort for our party.
> 
> We bought Genie+ for our two HS & MK days.  We also bought all ILL rides each day.  HS we slept in both days and stacked.  We got to the HS around 1:30pm and had 5 LL rides waiting including the paid ones.  We were pretty much able to ride everything we wanted with minimal waiting.  MK days we got there early & used EE to get a few of the smaller rides while paying for 7DMT and  Space Mountain.  We then basically grabbed rides throughout the day that had close return times.  We used Genie+ for 8 rides one day and 10 the other.  We also stayed for Deluxe hours at MK and was able to ride Space Mountain several times in a row.
> 
> Our Epcot and AK days we paid for the ILL rides but did not pay for Genie+.  There just isn't enough to do at those parks to make it worth it....especially since we had deluxe hours at EP.  With a group of 8, Genie+ added a pretty big expense compared to previous trips.  But it saved us soooo much time that we felt we got decent value out of it.  We will almost definitely buy it again next trip.
> 
> Crowd-wise we thought it was busy.  We knew MLK weekend would add to the crowds towards the end of the trip.  But the beginning of the trip was pretty busy too...probably attributed to running events.
> 
> Mask compliance was excellent IMO.  For the few that didn't have them on indoors, castmembers were there to remind them.  I think 100% of people I saw whom needed to be reminded just honestly forgot versus ignoring the rules which was good to see.
> 
> Pretty much all cast member we interacted were great!  Everyone seemed in great spirits and had that Disney cast member happiness I've become accustom too.  Most guests seemed in good moods too.  There have been so many reports of fighting guests or angry interaction I was happy to not see any of them.
> 
> All in all it was an amazing trip.  It was definitely not one of our cheapest trips we've had...but it was one of the best.  After all the recent threads of people who have "lost the magic", this trip confirmed that I am luckily not in that camp.


I thought you had to get genie to get the ILL? How do you purchase it separately? Thanks!


----------



## tjmw2727

Sarahslay said:


> Yeah, unfortunately I don't get there for another week so I can't see until then, and their list of what is included when I look still doesn't include anything that is LL$$. They have't been updating their list on their website at all, and everywhere I look is different info, with everything changing recently it's hard to get accurate news from folks. Since someone who went a month ago had a different experience to someone who just came back, it's a bit tough. Thankfully I would have seen it, but I'm glad I know now before I go and don't drop some money on it early in the morning before we arrive so we can ride it. Only plan to do it once, just want to say we did it lol (but I'd rather not shell out money when I don't have to)



DAS is an option for any / every attraction with a standby line and since there are no current attractions without a standby line right now that means every attraction.  We used it on I$LL rides including Rise and 7DMT, we also used it on Remy in conjunction with our boarding group two weeks ago.   You're getting the Advance Selection options (no I$LL allowed) with the day of DAS selections available in MDE. 

ie - Don't worry you can use your DAS on Remy now that it has a traditional standby line.


----------



## cindianne320

SwanVT2 said:


> I thought you had to get genie to get the ILL? How do you purchase it separately? Thanks!



Anyone can purchase a combination. ILLs only, Genie + only, or both.


----------



## Sarahslay

tjmw2727 said:


> DAS is an option for any / every attraction with a standby line and since there are no current attractions without a standby line right now that means every attraction.  We used it on I$LL rides including Rise and 7DMT, we also used it on Remy in conjunction with our boarding group two weeks ago.   You're getting the Advance Selection options (no I$LL allowed) with the day of DAS selections available in MDE.
> 
> ie - Don't worry you can use your DAS on Remy now that it has a traditional standby line.


Thank you for the info, so much has changed since the last time I used DAS! Good to know I can use it for Rise as well, I’ve ridden it a bunch (never with DAS since you couldn’t before), but my dad never has so that will be nice. I didn’t have to use DAS on my August solo trip because there were literally no waits, I think I waited once for 15 minutes, it’s a whole new world (and I hate relearning, but it’ll come to me lol)


----------



## cjlong88

Day-al said:


> You’re going to have a blast tonight! I’m slightly jealous lol


We are having SO MUCH FUN! A little walking back and forth, but a small price to pay for skipping all these lines.

update: snagged a last minute TSM LL with some refreshing while walking between attractions. Might not make it if ToT LL doesn’t move quick enough, but no big deal.

ETA: we made our TSM LL and are celebrating with cocktails at Oga’s after park close!


----------



## TheMick424

cjlong88 said:


> Today is Epcot / HS. I’ve been stacking LL’s for HS since this morning. We rode Remy during ETPE. We got to IG around 8:55 am. Waited about 5-10 minutes before they opened the ride. It was a walk-on. Then rode Soarin’, LwtL, and Nemo…all walk-ons. Made our way from Mexico through Germany today. Will do the other half of WS tomorrow. Relaxing at the hotel before we head back out later this afternoon
> 
> So far we have RotR, MMRR, MFSR, RnRC, and SDD LL’s booked for this evening at HS. Next window is in 4 minutes. TSM and ToT still show availability. Should be a good evening.
> 
> Having an amazing time so far!
> 
> ETA: Just snagged one of the last ToT LL’s!


Do you think this strategy would work with an AK morning?


----------



## cjlong88

TheMick424 said:


> Do you think this strategy would work with an AK morning?


Yes!


----------



## Disneyhanna

Had a great day in MK today. Got downpoured on around 8:15 waiting for Fantasyland early entry. That was the worst of the rain, and it was pretty much done before lunch. Definitely kept the crowds at bay until the afternoon.

Rope dropped PPF and got 9:00 Genie+ for Big Thunder which did not open for a few hours so we got an anytime pass around 9:30. That helped our day a lot. Could have done 7DMT around 30min during early entry but it wasn’t a priority for us. Waited a bit on space mountain for the initial crowds to pass and waited 25min in mid-morning. Managed to ride literally every other ride in the park using Genie+ but skipped the speedway and astro orbiter. Did pirates, HM, dumbo twice by riding during first half day with short waits and using genie+ later. Did carousel twice as well. Watched philharmagic and carousel of progress. Spent about 90min at LTT for lunch and waited 30min in hub for fireworks. Left around 9:30 before park close.

Genie+ was great for MK and we did a lot of refreshing in the later afternoon and evening. Never really did any stacking as we preferred to refresh for a time within an hour. Have to be quick to confirm as they do not “hold” the time you see. Overall glad this weather was on our MK day as the crowds were very moderate, which surprised us for the holiday weekend.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

Enchanted sucks I’ve been trying so hard to get into since we last went I said maybe it’s just me that I don’t like change but man I just can’t get into it….Happily ever was so so so perfect


----------



## Makmak

CampbellzSoup said:


> Enchanted sucks I’ve been trying so hard to get into since we last went I said maybe it’s just me that I don’t like change but man I just can’t get into it….Happily ever was so so so perfect


It’s not just you. I have been reading other people saying the same and we just saw it last night for the first time and I was thinking maybe it was just people reacting to change but it definitely lacked the emotional elements of the previous show for us as well.


----------



## WEDWDW

Just a note on the new Mears Connect service.

We used it for the first time yesterday and found it to be very efficient.

We walked right up,they scanned our QR Code and immediately put us on a Bus and about 5 minutes later off we went.

We stopped at AoA,Pop Century,All-Star Music and finally our Resort,All-Star Movies.

Having said that,it was a very "sterile" experience-no welcome video,etc.

No longer can we say "The Vacation "feel" starts as soon as we board the bus to our Resort!".

Thanks Disney!

We will definitely be giving the "Train themed" bus service a try when it debuts.


----------



## Wood Nymph

WEDWDW said:


> Just a note on the new Mears Connect service.
> 
> We used it for the first time yesterday and found it to be very efficient.
> 
> We walked right up,they scanned our QR Code and immediately put us on a Bus and about 5 minutes later off we went.


Did they remove the two check in stations and separate resort lines that were used for the Magical Express? The check in line for ME had gotten crazy long and it would be nice to see that it is gone.


----------



## hsmamato2

cjlong88 said:


> Correct, except that my 120-minute window started at HS’s opening time since I booked Slinky as my first attraction. It’s our third time using this strategy and I honestly don’t know a better way to experience HS for us. We can get all the heavy hitters done in 4-5 hours with no waits.


what do you suggest booking first,second etc? I like this plan too


----------



## MMSM

cjlong88 said:


> Yes!


Your strategy is the best explanation I have heard yet.  I have watched countless YouTube and am really struggling to figure this out.  We have one day planned (starting with HS) and hoppers.  My goal is to hit HS and get Slinky, ToT, MMRR, RnRC, and hopefully Smugglers Run.   My daughter wants to hop later and get Remy.  We are at boardwalk and then move to Poly at night. So late at night she wants to try to do Space Mountain. I know.  Super amount of parks for one day.  Everything I read said getting a morning LL for Slinky is impossible. We have rode MMRR and love it but wouldn’t pay for it. Also the line moves pretty quick. So, I am hoping to wake at 7am and grab a ride that may be hard to get- smugglers? Then I plan on buying Remy. Then I have early entry so we will rush to Slinky like we have every April trip. Then head to ToT and RNC and hope for small lines. So I can book first ride at 7, and at 9 get another one because it’s been 120 min? Does the first ride have to of been used already? Say I book 7am for a ride at 10-11.  Can I book another at 9 because it’s been 2 hours and another at 10 because I used that LL? Hope this is not confusing.


----------



## cjlong88

hsmamato2 said:


> what do you suggest booking first,second etc? I like this plan too


Slinky, Millennium Falcon, Rock n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania


----------



## WEDWDW

Wood Nymph said:


> Did they remove the two check in stations and separate resort lines that were used for the Magical Express? The check in line for ME had gotten crazy long and it would be nice to see that it is gone.


No,it is basically the same setup.


----------



## ellbell

MMSM said:


> Your strategy is the best explanation I have heard yet.  I have watched countless YouTube and am really struggling to figure this out.  We have one day planned (starting with HS) and hoppers.  My goal is to hit HS and get Slinky, ToT, MMRR, RnRC, and hopefully Smugglers Run.   My daughter wants to hop later and get Remy.  We are at boardwalk and then move to Poly at night. So late at night she wants to try to do Space Mountain. I know.  Super amount of parks for one day.  Everything I read said getting a morning LL for Slinky is impossible. We have rode MMRR and love it but wouldn’t pay for it. Also the line moves pretty quick. So, I am hoping to wake at 7am and grab a ride that may be hard to get- smugglers? Then I plan on buying Remy. Then I have early entry so we will rush to Slinky like we have every April trip. Then head to ToT and RNC and hope for small lines. So I can book first ride at 7, and at 9 get another one because it’s been 120 min? Does the first ride have to of been used already? Say I book 7am for a ride at 10-11.  Can I book another at 9 because it’s been 2 hours and another at 10 because I used that LL? Hope this is not confusing.


Your second LL can't be booked until 120 minutes after park open or you've scanned into your first LL. At least if it's working correctly


----------



## MMSM

ellbell said:


> Your second LL can't be booked until 120 minutes after park open or you've scanned into your first LL. At least if it's working correctly


So it’s best to get a LL close to opening so that when done I can grab another.  Is this right?


----------



## MMSM

ellbell said:


> Your second LL can't be booked until 120 minutes after park open or you've scanned into your first LL. At least if it's working correctly


I read it as 120 min after first one. So if I booked one at 7am I thought I could get one at 9am regardless if I have used.  Isn’t that how people are booking later ones and still being able to stack?


----------



## ellbell

MMSM said:


> So it’s best to get a LL close to opening so that when done I can grab another.  Is this right?


It depends.  I'd grab ny must does first even if they are later in the day.  You can stack every 120 minutes after opening but lines will still be relatively short first thing so I wouldn't want to waste a LL for the first 2 hours of park time


----------



## ellbell

MMSM said:


> I read it as 120 min after first one. So if I booked one at 7am I thought I could get one at 9am regardless if I have used.  Isn’t that how people are booking later ones and still being able to stack?


This is a common misconception


----------



## MMSM

ellbell said:


> Your second LL can't be booked until 120 minutes after park open or you've scanned into your first LL. At least if it's working correctly


So no matter what I book at 7am and the next one can’t be until 11am because it’s two hours after opening? Or I can book at 7 and if I have one at 9 I can use it and book another because I have used my LL. Are these my options?


----------



## ellbell

MMSM said:


> So no matter what I book at 7am and the next one can’t be until 11am because it’s two hours after opening? Or I can book at 7 and if I have one at 9 I can use it and book another because I have used my LL. Are these my options?


Yes those are your options but booking a LL for 9am is kind of a waste of a LL.  Lines are short at that time and harder to get LLs will become later and later the longer you wait.


----------



## MMSM

ellbell said:


> Yes those are your options but booking a LL for 9am is kind of a waste of a LL.  Lines are short at that time and harder to get LLs will become later and later the longer you wait.


One last question. Thank you for your help. Let’s say at 7am I get a 11:30 slot.  At 11am, even though I haven’t used my 11:30 LL, I can make another selection because it’s been 120 min.


----------



## DisneyByMarriage

Makmak said:


> It’s not just you. I have been reading other people saying the same and we just saw it last night for the first time and I was thinking maybe it was just people reacting to change but it definitely lacked the emotional elements of the previous show for us as well.


I honestly can’t remember Happily Ever After, because the last time I saw it would have been 2018 and I don’t even know if it was in the park (kids aren’t big in fireworks).  However, we went Thanksgiving week and I can say watching the Beacons of Magic before the fireworks and all the projections on the castle with the newer movies were a hit for the kids.  And on the first night whe. tinker bell appeared the crowd went wild and it was such a great memory.  I think if you’ve seen HEA a million times then you will be disappointed that it’s not as cohesive of a story, but if you haven’t seen in awhile it’s awesome.


----------



## ellbell

MMSM said:


> One last question. Thank you for your help. Let’s say at 7am I get a 11:30 slot.  At 11am, even though I haven’t used my 11:30 LL, I can make another selection because it’s been 120 min.


That is correct


----------



## riversend22

ellbell said:


> Yes those are your options but booking a LL for 9am is kind of a waste of a LL. Lines are short at that time and harder to get LLs will become later and later the longer you wait.



Why would booking an early LL be a waste? If you can book another one after tapping into it, in theory wouldn't you be able to get more done? I know the lines are shorter in the morning, but since I'm staying offsite, I'm assuming the lines will be kinda long right at 9 so I was planning on trying to grab an early LL for slinky if I can at 7. So if you could explain why you think grabbing early ones is a bad idea I would really appreciate it!


----------



## ellbell

riversend22 said:


> Why would booking an early LL be a waste? If you can book another one after tapping into it, in theory wouldn't you be able to get more done? I know the lines are shorter in the morning, but since I'm staying offsite, I'm assuming the lines will be kinda long right at 9 so I was planning on trying to grab an early LL for slinky if I can at 7. So if you could explain why you think grabbing early ones is a bad idea I would really appreciate it!


Because the people who can book at 7 will be scooping up all the other ll for popular rides and then the offsite guests will also be trying to get ll for the popular rides as soon as they walk in.  If there is a popular ride you want to ride and you ignore the 12pm ll when you book at 7am chances are the return time you get when you try to book later is going to be during a dinner reservation or even later when again wait times are decreasing.

Eta: if you cam manage a SDD ll for as soon as the park opens by all means grab it but it doesn't happen for most.


----------



## MMSM

ellbell said:


> That is correct


So every2 hours I can make a new LL.


----------



## riversend22

ellbell said:


> Because the people who can book at 7 will be scooping up all the other ll for popular rides and then the offsite guests will also be trying to get ll for the popular rides as soon as they walk in.


Thanks for such a quick reply! Another question based on this answer though...can't people staying offsite also book LL at 7? They just can't do the individual rides of Rise and Mickey right?


----------



## ellbell

riversend22 said:


> Thanks for such a quick reply! Another question based on this answer though...can't people staying offsite also book LL at 7? They just can't do the individual rides of Rise and Mickey right?


Yes, sorry you are correct.  It is still difficult to get a high priority ride right for park opening though and the longer you wait the later the times get.


----------



## riversend22

ellbell said:


> Yes, sorry you are correct.  It is still difficult to get a high priority ride right for park opening though and the longer you wait the later the times get.



Gotcha, thanks! You sound like you may have some experience with this...do you happen to have a decent strategy for LL/rope drop for those who can't get in until 9?


----------



## dd316

Any insight on Festival of the Arts yet that doesn't revolve around the popcorn bucket insanity?


----------



## ellbell

riversend22 said:


> Gotcha, thanks! You sound like you may have some experience with this...do you happen to have a decent strategy for LL/rope drop for those who can't get in until 9?


Not really just because I always stay on site and pretty much just go with the flow now.  I guess it depends on priorities though.  I myself show up for early park entry.


----------



## riversend22

ellbell said:


> Not really just because I always stay on site and pretty much just go with the flow now.  I guess it depends on priorities though.  I myself show up for early park entry.


Ok well thanks anyways! We always used to stay on site, but my mom bought a house in Florida so we now save some cash to stay there. But it definitely complicates the planning process hahaha


----------



## ellbell

riversend22 said:


> Ok well thanks anyways! We always used to stay on site, but my mom bought a house in Florida so we now save some cash to stay there. But it definitely complicates the planning process hahaha


I don't know how to drive so I'm pretty much stuck on site unless I want to pay for ubers or my husband comes with. He isn't a fan so doesn't come often.


----------



## M SH

cjlong88 said:


> Correct, except that my 120-minute window started at HS’s opening time since I booked Slinky as my first attraction. It’s our third time using this strategy and I honestly don’t know a better way to experience HS for us. We can get all the heavy hitters done in 4-5 hours with no waits.



how does one select genie+ attractions for the evening to stack? i thought genie+ gives you the time, and you don't select it?
so let's say you want to book SDD and other attraction after 2 hrs, for an evening at HS, but won't be in the park till then. how do you tell genie plus to give you the time after let's say 4 PM?


----------



## cjlong88

M SH said:


> how does one select genie+ attractions for the evening to stack? i thought genie+ gives you the time, and you don't select it?
> so let's say you want to book SDD and other attraction after 2 hrs, for an evening at HS, but won't be in the park till then. how do you tell genie plus to give you the time after let's say 4 PM?


Correct, you can’t tell Genie+ what times you want. But the most popular attractions will begin to show evening times the fastest.

Slinky was showing evening times about 1 minute after 7am. When 11am hit and I was eligible to book my next LL, Millennium Falcon was already showing evening returning times. By 1pm (my next booking window) Rock n Roller Coaster showed evening return times, and so on and so forth. This is where the order in which you book your LL’s is important if you are planning to only get evening times.

When your 120 minutes run out and the time is still to early for you. Do a bit of refresh for a few minutes. Times will move later and you can find a time that will work better for you. I did this a few times if the time slot I was offered was just a bit too early.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

riversend22 said:


> Can someone please explain how Genie+ works in regards to having multiple people in a party? By that I mean, if you have a group of 5, can each individual person book their own lightning lane, or do all the people under the MDE account have to book together? I'm not sure if that makes sense but for context: I bought the tickets for my sister and her daughter so they are currently under my account, but she's under the impression that she can book her own lightning lane fast passes separately from me and I'm not sure if that's true. Obviously we would link tickets. Does anyone have info on that?


You will have access to book for anyone on your friends and family list.  You can select all or a subset of people from the list.  Your daughter will be able to do the same from her account.


----------



## T'Lynn

cjlong88 said:


> Correct, except that my 120-minute window started at HS’s opening time since I booked Slinky as my first attraction. It’s our third time using this strategy and I honestly don’t know a better way to experience HS for us. We can get all the heavy hitters done in 4-5 hours with no waits.


This is a great strategy. I'm planning for late March and will follow this example for HS!


----------



## Kazi7

cjlong88 said:


> Correct, you can’t tell Genie+ what times you want. But the most popular attractions will begin to show evening times the fastest.
> 
> Slinky was showing evening times about 1 minute after 7am. When 11am hit and I was eligible to book my next LL, Millennium Falcon was already showing evening returning times. By 1pm (my next booking window) Rock n Roller Coaster showed evening return times, and so on and so forth. This is where the order in which you book your LL’s is important if you are planning to only get evening times.
> 
> When your 120 minutes run out and the time is still to early for you. Do a bit of refresh for a few minutes. Times will move later and you can find a time that will work better for you. I did this a few times if the time slot I was offered was just a bit too early.


I have a slightly different experience with getting LL in HS for later in the day that I haven't seen discussed.  In mid November we planned LL at HS but couldn't be in the park until 4:30pm.  At 7am, I got SDD for 7pm.  At 11am I wanted to get RnRc or ToT for around 5 but the times weren't out that far yet.  I can't remember what times were showing for MFSR but we didn't care about getting LL for that as we often ride single rider.  So I kept refreshing for a few minutes but the times were still too early.   I ended up having to wait until 12:15 to get a LL for ToT after 5pm.  Thankfully I was in a place with good wifi and I had time to search, although it was a pain to keep checking back every few minutes.  However, the thing that got me was that I wasn't eligible to get another LL until 2:15, not 1:00 as I had hoped.  I think at 4:15 I ended up getting RnRc but I had to do a lot of refreshing to get a 5:30 return as I wanted to have a time close to ToT so we could knock them both out in a row.  

People hardly ever talk about not getting late enough LL choices at HS.  Maybe back in November, there weren't as many people using Genie+ yet.  The parks weren't too crowded that week either, so that probably made a difference.


----------



## cjlong88

Kazi7 said:


> I have a slightly different experience with getting LL in HS for later in the day that I haven't seen discussed.  In mid November we planned LL at HS but couldn't be in the park until 4:30pm.  At 7am, I got SDD for 7pm.  At 11am I wanted to get RnRc or ToT for around 5 but the times weren't out that far yet.  I can't remember what times were showing for MFSR but we didn't care about getting LL for that as we often ride single rider.  So I kept refreshing for a few minutes but the times were still too early.   I ended up having to wait until 12:15 to get a LL for ToT after 5pm.  Thankfully I was in a place with good wifi and I had time to search, although it was a pain to keep checking back every few minutes.  However, the thing that got me was that I wasn't eligible to get another LL until 2:15, not 1:00 as I had hoped.  I think at 4:15 I ended up getting RnRc but I had to do a lot of refreshing to get a 5:30 return as I wanted to have a time close to ToT so we could knock them both out in a row.
> 
> People hardly ever talk about not getting late enough LL choices at HS.  Maybe back in November, there weren't as many people using Genie+ yet.  The parks weren't too crowded that week either, so that probably made a difference.


Completely agree. How crowded it is, what rides you want to book, how many are using G+, etc. will all affect what availability one might see every 120 minutes. As always at Disney World, YMMV.


----------



## Thomasboys

cjlong88 said:


> Correct, except that my 120-minute window started at HS’s opening time since I booked Slinky as my first attraction. It’s our third time using this strategy and I honestly don’t know a better way to experience HS for us. We can get all the heavy hitters done in 4-5 hours with no waits.



I'm trying to figure out how this works.  So on your Epcot day you park hopped to HS that afternoon?  But you were able to start booking LL at HS opening?  Did you just start booking your LL times for after 2p?  We have two Epcot days and they are not all full park days for our family.  I'm thinking your strategy would be a good one for us to pop over to HS for a few afternoons.  I bet this would be good for our AK day too.  Do you use LL at Epcot at all in the morning??


----------



## Thomasboys

cjlong88 said:


> We are having SO MUCH FUN! A little walking back and forth, but a small price to pay for skipping all these lines.
> 
> update: snagged a last minute TSM LL with some refreshing while walking between attractions. Might not make it if ToT LL doesn’t move quick enough, but no big deal.
> 
> ETA: we made our TSM LL and are celebrating with cocktails at Oga’s after park close!



EPIC day!!!!!!


----------



## scrappinginontario

Thomasboys said:


> I'm trying to figure out how this works.  So on your Epcot day you park hopped to HS that afternoon?  But you were able to start booking LL at HS opening?  Did you just start booking your LL times for after 2p?  We have two Epcot days and they are not all full park days for our family.  I'm thinking your strategy would be a good one for us to pop over to HS for a few afternoons.  I bet this would be good for our AK day too.  Do you use LL at Epcot at all in the morning??


If you want to use G+ for the park you are hopping to, the times displayed will be 2:00 or later as you don't have a reservation for that park.


----------



## cjlong88

Thomasboys said:


> I'm trying to figure out how this works.  So on your Epcot day you park hopped to HS that afternoon?  But you were able to start booking LL at HS opening?  Did you just start booking your LL times for after 2p?  We have two Epcot days and they are not all full park days for our family.  I'm thinking your strategy would be a good one for us to pop over to HS for a few afternoons.  I bet this would be good for our AK day too.  Do you use LL at Epcot at all in the morning??


If you have a park hopper ticket, you can book your first LL at any park starting at 7am. If you choose a park for which you do not have a reservation for, it will only offer LL return times after 2pm since that is when you can officially enter your second park.

For Epcot we used early entry. Official park open was 10am with early entry beginning at 9:30 am. We arrived at IG around 8:55 and headed straight for Remy. We were held in line for a bit and then were let through the queue around 9:15ish maybe. It was a walk-on. Then we did Soarin’, LwtL, and Nemo as a walk-on as well. We didn’t feel the need to use LL at Epcot because one day we hopped to Epcot for the evening and rode the other attractions during the Deluxe Evening Hours.


----------



## Thomasboys

cjlong88 said:


> If you have a park hopper ticket, you can book your first LL at any park starting at 7am. If you choose a park for which you do not have a reservation for, it will only offer LL return times after 2pm since that is when you can officially enter your second park.
> 
> For Epcot we used early entry. Official park open was 10am with early entry beginning at 9:30 am. We arrived at IG around 8:55 and headed straight for Remy. We were held in line for a bit and then were let through the queue around 9:15ish maybe. It was a walk-on. Then we did Soarin’, LwtL, and Nemo as a walk-on as well. We didn’t feel the need to use LL at Epcot because one day we hopped to Epcot for the evening and rode the other attractions during the Deluxe Evening Hours.



Thank you!  We plan on taking advantage of early entry and will be there an hour before opening to be in a good spot, so I feel good about our ability to get through things quickly.  Although, it will be spring break so it will be busy.  So when you did your Epcot morning described above, you just started snagging LL at 7a for HS in the afternoon, right?


----------



## M SH

Kazi7 said:


> I have a slightly different experience with getting LL in HS for later in the day that I haven't seen discussed.  In mid November we planned LL at HS but couldn't be in the park until 4:30pm.  At 7am, I got SDD for 7pm.  At 11am I wanted to get RnRc or ToT for around 5 but the times weren't out that far yet.  I can't remember what times were showing for MFSR but we didn't care about getting LL for that as we often ride single rider.  So I kept refreshing for a few minutes but the times were still too early.   I ended up having to wait until 12:15 to get a LL for ToT after 5pm.  Thankfully I was in a place with good wifi and I had time to search, although it was a pain to keep checking back every few minutes.  However, the thing that got me was that I wasn't eligible to get another LL until 2:15, not 1:00 as I had hoped.  I think at 4:15 I ended up getting RnRc but I had to do a lot of refreshing to get a 5:30 return as I wanted to have a time close to ToT so we could knock them both out in a row.
> 
> People hardly ever talk about not getting late enough LL choices at HS.  Maybe back in November, there weren't as many people using Genie+ yet.  The parks weren't too crowded that week either, so that probably made a difference.



this is exactly why i think genie+ is the worst thing that happened. FP+ was much superior, even just day of, as you were offered and can search for different times that suits your touring style. It would have been much better if they just had kept FP+ and charged the same amount for it as genie+ to satisfy their hunger for more money grab; but i guess no amount of complaining can help anymore as this system is here to stay.


----------



## cjlong88

Thomasboys said:


> Thank you!  We plan on taking advantage of early entry and will be there an hour before opening to be in a good spot, so I feel good about our ability to get through things quickly.  Although, it will be spring break so it will be busy.  So when you did your Epcot morning described above, you just started snagging LL at 7a for HS in the afternoon, right?


Correct. That day HS opened at 9am, so 11am ended my first 120-minute cool down and I was able to book another, then another at 1pm and 3pm, etc.


----------



## MMSM

Kazi7 said:


> I have a slightly different experience with getting LL in HS for later in the day that I haven't seen discussed.  In mid November we planned LL at HS but couldn't be in the park until 4:30pm.  At 7am, I got SDD for 7pm.  At 11am I wanted to get RnRc or ToT for around 5 but the times weren't out that far yet.  I can't remember what times were showing for MFSR but we didn't care about getting LL for that as we often ride single rider.  So I kept refreshing for a few minutes but the times were still too early.   I ended up having to wait until 12:15 to get a LL for ToT after 5pm.  Thankfully I was in a place with good wifi and I had time to search, although it was a pain to keep checking back every few minutes.  However, the thing that got me was that I wasn't eligible to get another LL until 2:15, not 1:00 as I had hoped.  I think at 4:15 I ended up getting RnRc but I had to do a lot of refreshing to get a 5:30 return as I wanted to have a time close to ToT so we could knock them both out in a row.
> 
> People hardly ever talk about not getting late enough LL choices at HS.  Maybe back in November, there weren't as many people using Genie+ yet.  The parks weren't too crowded that week either, so that probably made a difference.


I don’t understand why you weren’t able to book at 7am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm using 120 min rule. Why did it say 2:15 and 4:15


----------



## elgerber

MMSM said:


> I don’t understand why you weren’t able to book at 7am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm using 120 min rule. Why did it say 2:15 and 4:15


Because the time they wanted to book for was not available until 12:15, so when they booked then, 2 hours out was 2:15


----------



## scrappinginontario

MMSM said:


> I don’t understand why you weren’t able to book at 7am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm using 120 min rule. Why did it say 2:15 and 4:15


The OP was not able to book at 1pm, 3pm etc because at 11:00 they did not see a return time that worked for them so they kept refreshing until 12:15 when they got the return time they wanted.

Once they booked a LL at 12:15 that started their 120 min timer so the next time they would be eligible to book would be 2:15, 4:15, etc.

The 120 min timer starts when someone makes a LL reservation, not when they're eligible to make it.


----------



## PortieOwner

Just to confirm, without reading all 830 pages, if I am staying on-site, at HS I can grab a LL at 7am for Smugglers, enter the park at 8:30am (early entry), then at 9am I can grab my next LL (Tower of Terror), then ride Smugglers at 9:30am, and I can immediately book another LL (my third of the morning) following that ride for Midway Mania?


----------



## CJK

PortieOwner said:


> Just to confirm, without reading all 830 pages, if I am staying on-site, at HS I can grab a LL at 7am for Smugglers, enter the park at 8:30am (early entry), then at 9am I can grab my next LL (Tower of Terror), then ride Smugglers at 9:30am, and I can immediately book another LL (my third of the morning) following that ride for Midway Mania?


Not quite. You can book Smugglers at 7am. You can't book your next LL (which is Tower of Terror in your case) until EITHER you double tap into Smugglers OR it has been 120min. since park open. In your example, you thought you could book Tower of Terror at 9am. That's not possible. You can't book your next ride until either 120 minutes from park open which would be 11am OR after you tap into Smugglers (if it is before 11am). That's when you can book Toystory Mania. HTH!


----------



## DisTXMom

There is so much in G+ that’s dependent on crowd levels. I’d love to do the EPCOT/HS strategy, however saw over holidays where most G+ was gone for HS after 11am, which means I’d have whatever I book at 7, plus what I book at 11 and that may be it. Considering we are going during a very busy week, thinking we may be better off starting with early entry in HS to get 1 or 2 things done before crowds swell and just keep the afternoon/evening flexible to let us stay in HS until we get to do most everything we want. Thoughts? I looked at opening vs closing and wait times appeared to be about the same


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

DisTXMom said:


> There is so much in G+ that’s dependent on crowd levels. I’d love to do the EPCOT/HS strategy, however saw over holidays where most G+ was gone for HS after 11am, which means I’d have whatever I book at 7, plus what I book at 11 and that may be it. Considering we are going during a very busy week, thinking we may be better off starting with early entry in HS to get 1 or 2 things done before crowds swell and just keep the afternoon/evening flexible to let us stay in HS until we get to do most everything we want. Thoughts? I looked at opening vs closing and wait times appeared to be about the same


You may want to ask this over on the Genie thread.  Lots of great discussion there: 
https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-genie-usage-tips-and-strategy-only-thread.3857056/


----------



## T'Lynn

PortieOwner said:


> Just to confirm, without reading all 830 pages, if I am staying on-site, at HS I can grab a LL at 7am for Smugglers, enter the park at 8:30am (early entry), then at 9am I can grab my next LL (Tower of Terror), then ride Smugglers at 9:30am, and I can immediately book another LL (my third of the morning) following that ride for Midway Mania?


No, you could book Smugglers at 7. Unless you tap into the ride right at 9 you wouldn’t be able to book the next lightning lane.

the 120 minutes is based on park opening time, not pre-opening booking time so your next eligible time would be 9:30 when you tap into Smugglers LL … but if your LL isn’t until later then it would be 11 am (120 minutes after park openin)

it’s a bit confusing so I hope that helped


----------



## Day-al

DisTXMom said:


> There is so much in G+ that’s dependent on crowd levels. I’d love to do the EPCOT/HS strategy, however saw over holidays where most G+ was gone for HS after 11am, which means I’d have whatever I book at 7, plus what I book at 11 and that may be it. Considering we are going during a very busy week, thinking we may be better off starting with early entry in HS to get 1 or 2 things done before crowds swell and just keep the afternoon/evening flexible to let us stay in HS until we get to do most everything we want. Thoughts? I looked at opening vs closing and wait times appeared to be about the same



I agree with you. On busier days, stacking may not be the best option. Personally, I would (and have) opted to just do my best to grab earliest time available and refresh throughout the day as soon as I tap into my current Genie+ selection. Kind of like the old days of rolling FP.


----------



## OKWFan88

Hi, At BLT now and wonderful room. 2 bed theme park view. Went to Early Entry today at Magic Kingdom and was turned away because they said we needed a voucher from BLT? They scanned my magic band but said nothing came up, so I showed them my MDE on my phone to show we are staying at BLT, but said I needed a voucher. Has anyone heard of that? Maybe I missed that...Either way having a great time.


----------



## elgerber

OKWFan88 said:


> Hi, At BLT now and wonderful room. 2 bed theme park view. Went to Early Entry today at Magic Kingdom and was turned away because they said we needed a voucher from BLT? They scanned my magic band but said nothing came up, so I showed them my MDE on my phone to show we are staying at BLT, but said I needed a voucher. Has anyone heard of that? Maybe I missed that...Either way having a great time.


No, there is no voucher for early entry.  Any Disney resort guest is eligible just by scanning your band.  That is very strange.


----------



## pixiedust2u

elgerber said:


> No, there is no voucher for early entry.  Any Disney resort guest is eligible just by scanning your band.  That is very strange.


A voucher? I’ve not heard of this. And it’s 2022, not 1996. Everything is electronic. Super weird. Glad you’re having a good day in spite of not getting in early. When you have spare time I’d head to guest services or check with front desk at BLT to clarify what happened.


----------



## Best Aunt

OKWFan88 said:


> Hi, At BLT now and wonderful room. 2 bed theme park view. Went to Early Entry today at Magic Kingdom and was turned away because they said we needed a voucher from BLT? They scanned my magic band but said nothing came up, so I showed them my MDE on my phone to show we are staying at BLT, but said I needed a voucher. Has anyone heard of that? Maybe I missed that...Either way having a great time.



Has your Magic Band worked since then for other purposes?  Could be an issue with your Magic Band/Disney IT.


----------



## OKWFan88

Best Aunt said:


> Has your Magic Band worked since then for other purposes?  Could be an issue with your Magic Band/Disney IT.


I was able to scan into the park fine and get into my room fine... So it's working, not sure why it didn't work for early entry. We will try again tomorrow for early entry. I will go to guest services as well to make sure I'm not missing something.


----------



## Jennasis

OKWFan88 said:


> I was able to scan into the park fine and get into my room fine... So it's working, not sure why it didn't work for early entry. We will try again tomorrow for early entry. I will go to guest services as well to make sure I'm not missing something.


There is no voucher for early entry. Wereyou in the resort guest early entry line? We had a small issue at epcot when we went through the AP line to get in instead of the early entry line.


----------



## mickey916

Jennasis said:


> There is no voucher for early entry. Wereyou in the resort guest early entry line? We had a small issue at epcot when we went through the AP line to get in instead of the early entry line.


Oh...I bet you're right that's the only "voucher" I know of....


----------



## OKWFan88

Jennasis said:


> There is no voucher for early entry. Wereyou in the resort guest early entry line? We had a small issue at epcot when we went through the AP line to get in instead of the early entry line.


I had scanned into magic kingdom and was walking over to Tomorrowland where they stop you to check for early entry and that is where I was turned away. I ended up speaking with a cast member in the lobby of BLT and they gave me a key card for our room as they didn’t have an answer to why I was turned away and had never heard the voucher thing before. They thought maybe it was a new cast member. I will try again tomorrow.


----------



## starryagain

Just arrived tonight. Decided to go to Hollywood Studios. Arrived at 7pm and placed a mobile order at ABC Commissary. It took ten minutes plus twenty minutes to eat, so off to rides at 7:30.

No lightning lanes or genie+. We are DVC annual pass holders.

We rode:

TSMM - posted 40, waited 19
SDD - posted 55, waited 41
MMRR - posted 30, waited 14 for pre show

Overall a nice start.


----------



## OKWFan88

Did early entry for HS this morning. Staying at BLT and took bus. Got to HS around 745am and they were already letting early entry people in. Scanned in with no issues thankfully. Went to slinky’s and waited in line and at 830 the line started moving and was off within 10 min or line moving. Then went over to TSM and five minute wait. Then had a LL$ for runaway train. Love that ride. Then had lightening passes for RnR. Now in line with lightening passes for ToT but four of the elevators are down so moving really slowly. Have a LL$ at 10:40 for RotR. One thing I don’t understand is I am unable to book anymore lightening lane rides until 11:15.  Even though we’ve scanned in for our last lightening lane. Do they limit how many you can do in a day?


----------



## elgerber

OKWFan88 said:


> Did early entry for HS this morning. Staying at BLT and took bus. Got to HS around 745am and they were already letting early entry people in. Scanned in with no issues thankfully. Went to slinky’s and waited in line and at 830 the line started moving and was off within 10 min or line moving. Then went over to TSM and five minute wait. Then had a LL$ for runaway train. Love that ride. Then had lightening passes for RnR. Now in line with lightening passes for ToT but four of the elevators are down so moving really slowly. Have a LL$ at 10:40 for RotR. One thing I don’t understand is I am unable to book anymore lightening lane rides until 11:15.  Even though we’ve scanned in for our last lightening lane. Do they limit how many you can do in a day?


have you done both taps for Tot?


----------



## OKWFan88

elgerber said:


> have you done both taps for Tot?


Thank you that was why. Appreciate it.


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## starryagain

Productive Epcot rope drop. No lightning lanes or G+.

Entered at International Gateway 9am, in Park at 9:16
Remy - 20 minute wait (9:36)
Soarin - posted 10 minutes, walk on 
Living with the land - posted 5, waited 3
Sunshine Seasons break
Nemo - posted 10, waited 16 (posted 25 by that point and the ride was being wonky)
Turtle Talk - no wait
Figment - posted 25, waited 12 (the ride seemed down part of the morning)
Lunch time! 
Back to resort then we will decide where to go tonight.


----------



## T'Lynn

starryagain said:


> Productive Epcot rope drop. No lightning lanes or G+.
> 
> Entered at International Gateway 9am, in Park at 9:16
> Remy - 20 minute wait (9:36)
> Soarin - posted 10 minutes, walk on
> Living with the land - posted 5, waited 3
> Sunshine Seasons break
> Nemo - posted 10, waited 16 (posted 25 by that point and the ride was being wonky)
> Turtle Talk - no wait
> Figment - posted 25, waited 12 (the ride seemed down part of the morning)
> Lunch time!
> Back to resort then we will decide where to go tonight.


Sounds great!! How was Remy?


----------



## Kazi7

starryagain said:


> Productive Epcot rope drop. No lightning lanes or G+.
> 
> Entered at International Gateway 9am, in Park at 9:16
> Remy - 20 minute wait (9:36)
> Soarin - posted 10 minutes, walk on
> Living with the land - posted 5, waited 3
> Sunshine Seasons break
> Nemo - posted 10, waited 16 (posted 25 by that point and the ride was being wonky)
> Turtle Talk - no wait
> Figment - posted 25, waited 12 (the ride seemed down part of the morning)
> Lunch time!
> Back to resort then we will decide where to go tonight.


I'm curious.  You actually arrived to the IG at 9:00?  Or that is when the line started moving?  Trying to decide what time to walk over from Dolphin.  Also, how do they merge the Remy line for the guests entering the IG vs from the front of the park?


----------



## mouschievous

DisTXMom said:


> There is so much in G+ that’s dependent on crowd levels. I’d love to do the EPCOT/HS strategy, however saw over holidays where most G+ was gone for HS after 11am, which means I’d have whatever I book at 7, plus what I book at 11 and that may be it. Considering we are going during a very busy week, thinking we may be better off starting with early entry in HS to get 1 or 2 things done before crowds swell and just keep the afternoon/evening flexible to let us stay in HS until we get to do most everything we want. Thoughts? I looked at opening vs closing and wait times appeared to be about the same


This is why I think Park Hoppers are great.  Run out of options at HS, start stacking in another park and take off.  We did that with AK and MK and it worked great.



T'Lynn said:


> Sounds great!! How was Remy?


I'm not the OP, but I'll answer anyway   We liked it but were glad we didn't pay for it.  It was much shorter than I expected it to be!



Kazi7 said:


> I'm curious.  You actually arrived to the IG at 9:00?  Or that is when the line started moving?  Trying to decide what time to walk over from Dolphin.  Also, how do they merge the Remy line for the guests entering the IG vs from the front of the park?


Again, not the OP, but we did a similar thing as they did.  We arrived to IG via Skyliner.  We were allowed to tap in around 8:45.  We went straight to Remy's.  They started letting people on the ride at 9:05, and we were off by 9:20.  I'm not sure how they handled guests coming from the front of the park for Remy's.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Kazi7 said:


> I'm curious.  You actually arrived to the IG at 9:00?  Or that is when the line started moving?  Trying to decide what time to walk over from Dolphin.  Also, how do they merge the Remy line for the guests entering the IG vs from the front of the park?


I'm not sure there will be too much of a merge for Remy as IG have a definite advantage for this one ride as they enter the park very close to the ride whereas they front guests have about a 10 min walk to reach it.  I'm guessing by the time the front of the park guests arrive, they will just enter the back of the queue.

For guests who are staying at non-Skyliner/Epcot resorts, you may wish to consider taking a bus to DHS and then Skyliner, Friendship Boat or walk to DHS in order to enter via IG for ETPE.


----------



## Tess

scrappinginontario said:


> For guests who are staying at non-Skyliner/Epcot resorts, you may wish to consider taking a bus to DHS and then Skyliner, Friendship Boat or walk to DHS in order to enter via IG for ETPE.



Or not. . .the Skyliner has created enough congestion at the IG entrance without further burdening it with those who are not staying on the line or in the Boardwalk area.


----------



## starryagain

T'Lynn said:


> Sounds great!! How was Remy?


We liked it more than most I think. A lot like Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railroad but not quite as good. But still really enjoyable to us!


----------



## starryagain

Kazi7 said:


> I'm curious.  You actually arrived to the IG at 9:00?  Or that is when the line started moving?  Trying to decide what time to walk over from Dolphin.  Also, how do they merge the Remy line for the guests entering the IG vs from the front of the park?


We arrived at 9. We were no where close to the front, we were near the skyliner. The line seemed to move in chunks. Like five minutes then break, etc. So we were through the turnstiles and checked in for early morning magic by 9:16. No idea on the merge but my best guess is we arrived before anyone in the front of the park


----------



## TheMick424

Anyone have recent experience riding ROTR using standby during the ETPE period for resort guests?  I'd really like to avoid purchasing a ILL$ for it, but questioning whether it is needed during busier times.  I suppose "worth it" is subjective, but interested in what others have to say.  FWIW, we will have 4 people in our party.


----------



## mouschievous

TheMick424 said:


> Anyone have recent experience riding ROTR using standby during the ETPE period for resort guests?  I'd really like to avoid purchasing a ILL$ for it, but questioning whether it is needed during busier times.  I suppose "worth it" is subjective, but interested in what others have to say.  FWIW, we will have 4 people in our party.


We rope dropped and were in the first group to get on the ride. We bought LL while we were on the ride because we wanted to do it again


----------



## scrappinginontario

*UPDATE*:

A thread summarizing information about Genie, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane has finally been created.

Feel free to pop over there and hopefully it will answer any questions you may have.


----------



## SheSingsAlong

ROTR is down  And we have ILL for it starting in 5 minutes. Or, we did, now it's an "experience redemption" for ROTR which we can use at any time for the remainder of the park day. Except we were going to hop to MK for 8pm. Is it a major pain and time suck to seek a refund from guest services?


----------



## JoJoGirl

SheSingsAlong said:


> ROTR is down  And we have ILL for it starting in 5 minutes. Or, we did, now it's an "experience redemption" for ROTR which we can use at any time for the remainder of the park day. Except we were going to hop to MK for 8pm. Is it a major pain and time suck to seek a refund from guest services?



When this happened to me in December, I stopped at GS just inside the park on the way out.  Waited in line ten minutes, give or take.  The process was quick and easy once it was my turn.  Good luck!


----------



## Gary Stocker

Sitting here at nomad lounge..those churros yum! Trying to process my thoughts on my 2nd full day of my solo trip. Magic Kingdom not getting genie or early resort entry today was useless. Walked around with no plan...on purpose...learn from my experiment.  Plan on honing the planning during the week 
Busses seem to be a lot more sparse. At Contemporary animal kingdom bus was scheduled to arrive an hour after i arrived around 1p. Took the monorail to Poly,, had a back scratcher, and took tbr bus from there.


----------



## OKWFan88

Tomorrow is our HS day. We will be driving but wasn’t sure when the car lanes allow you to start getting in line? Is 730am too early?


----------



## stitchfan18

Kazi7 said:


> I'm curious.  You actually arrived to the IG at 9:00?  Or that is when the line started moving?  Trying to decide what time to walk over from Dolphin.  Also, how do they merge the Remy line for the guests entering the IG vs from the front of the park?


Not OP, but we followed a similar timeline for Remy on Friday walking over from the BC right before 9:00. I believe they hold the front of the park resort guests until closer to 9:30. We were heading towards the front of the park from Remy’s at 9:35 & there was a solid pack of people coming from the front of the park. It tapered off by the time we got past Canada.


----------



## VFL

SheSingsAlong said:


> ROTR is down  And we have ILL for it starting in 5 minutes. Or, we did, now it's an "experience redemption" for ROTR which we can use at any time for the remainder of the park day. Except we were going to hop to MK for 8pm. Is it a major pain and time suck to seek a refund from guest services?



you know what would be really great?  If they simply gave you the option of experience redemption or refund by the push of a button.  Then again, that would require marginally functional IT


----------



## bsmcneil

bsmcneil said:


> For those who are "here now/just back" - I know weather can be unpredictable and I'm good with layers, etc. But - has anyone brought and needed (or didn't bring but needed) a fan or cooling towel? It seems not necessary given the weather predictions - but I thought I'd check in.


Bumping because I didn't see an answer to this


----------



## mouschievous

bsmcneil said:


> Bumping because I didn't see an answer to this


Nope, we had no need for any fans or cooling towels.


----------



## Akck

bsmcneil said:


> Bumping because I didn't see an answer to this



Our fans stayed in the resort room. If the temps goes above 70, a cooling towel might be useful, only because of the layers of clothing you’ll need in the morning.


----------



## bsmcneil

Thanks you too - exactly what I suspected but wanted to make sure!


----------



## FinallyFL

Akck said:


> Our fans stayed in the resort room. If the temps goes above 70, a cooling towel might be useful, only because of the layers of clothing you’ll need in the morning.


It's 33  this morning in Orlando so no cooling towels or fans required today.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Rise is down for early entry. Par for the course. Trying to find the magic.  They gave me this at Sanaa last night so not all terrible but tons of issues so far.


----------



## Gary Stocker

It's pretty busy. Hearing a lot of British accents so definitely Europeans getting their vacations on


----------



## Gary Stocker

Baseline tap house always delivers the greatness.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Holy cow there is no quit in these crowds! Manage your expectations if you’re coming, the normal January dip seems to be a January rise right now which feels so bizarre. Still having a good time but it’s definitely a slow go.

Some tips:
1. Take advantage of Early Resort Entry/Deluxe Extra Evening Hours if you can, and for Early Entry get there like an hour earlier than posted time, it seems (at least at HS) they’re letting resort guests onto rides 30 mins earlier than posted time.
2. Mobile order is your friend! I haven’t had any issues getting food slots or picking up, despite the crowds.
3. Buses have been good but the cardinal rule is be at the bus stop an hour earlier than whatever time you’re trying to arrive at your destination (especially if you’re heading between the Epcot and MK areas.) Right now it feels like it’s taking extra time because of the number of ECVs loading/unloading.


----------



## naneliz

butterscotchcollins said:


> Holy cow there is no quit in these crowds! Manage your expectations if you’re coming, the normal January dip seems to be a January rise right now which feels so bizarre. Still having a good time but it’s definitely a slow go.
> 
> Some tips:
> 1. Take advantage of Early Resort Entry/Deluxe Extra Evening Hours if you can, and for Early Entry get there like an hour earlier than posted time, it seems (at least at HS) they’re letting resort guests onto rides 30 mins earlier than posted time.
> 2. Mobile order is your friend! I haven’t had any issues getting food slots or picking up, despite the crowds.
> 3. Buses have been good but the cardinal rule is be at the bus stop an hour earlier than whatever time you’re trying to arrive at your destination (especially if you’re heading between the Epcot and MK areas.) Right now it feels like it’s taking extra time because of the number of ECVs loading/unloading.




I am truly baffled at the crowds. I planned a late January trip hoping for light crowds as that has been the case in the past. Seems like perhaps lots of international travelers might be the reason as  there was pent up demand for so long.


----------



## gottalovepluto

Kazi7 said:


> …  Also, how do they merge the Remy line for the guests entering the IG vs from the front of the park?


here is a write up from a blogger who gave it a go from the front of the park. They were in the park basically as early as possible, walked with the crowd back to Remy, wait was an accurate 40 mins for them by the time they arrived.

It sounds like the IG crowd fills the Remy line before the Front Entrance crowd arrives so no need to merge lines.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Risking getting banned...I have never seen.so many people in scooters...obviously needed by some..also thinking some do not. Some busses with over 3 of them...trying to patk and smashing into each other. Can I get a scooter for being too drunk too? Asking for a friend


----------



## WIll C

My wife and I (both 50+) just got back from a week and a half in Orlando and it was an amazing time. Coming from the PNW, we don't like the heat and so only travel in the late fall to early spring and the weather this last week was perfect for us. Never got out of the mid 70's and cool mornings when we were outside the most. I really couldn't have asked for better.

One thing my wife wanted to do was obtain all the cold 50th anniversary collectable coins. This quest was rather time consuming but it got us to see a lot of places we wouldn't normally do. It's not a cheap thing to do in terms of money or time but it was fun. A lot of running around and a must to have a cheat sheet!

We arrived in the evening of the 11th and went right to our room at Riviera. Love this resort and this was my wife's first trip and she fell in love with the room and resort overall. After getting settled some, we headed over to Epcot to get my wife's AP renewed and set up her DAS. It's so much easier in person (less than 10 minutes) than online (she spent hours waiting and kept getting disconnected). Went into Epcot quickly to check things out and get some food. Crowds were busy around the UK pavilion but mobile ordering got us some quick fish and chips and we sat around and enjoyed the evening.

Our first full day we did a VIP tour with some friends and it was amazing. John, our guide was spectacular. He'd been doing this for 30 years and gave us the perfect tour. We started in AK with Pandora rides, went to HS for MMRR and RotR and finished in MK. We did a number of rides at MK, grabbed some hot dogs at Casey's and finished up watching the fireworks in the VIP section. It really was a perfect day. We did everything we wanted to do and so the rest of our trip was much more laid back.

The next day, we went to Epcot early. Got stuck at the IG line as their scanners were down and they had problems with the tap points. I think we got about 10 minutes of early entry. We grabbed a DAS for Remy and headed over, only to find it was down. I used G+ this day so we could ride a few extra rides and keep the DAS for Remy for later and headed off to Soarin' and then a few other rides. After lunch, we headed back to Remy to ride that. It was a fun ride, not something amazing and we like MMRR better but it's a fun ride to add to Epcot. We spent a lot of time just walking around until dinner at Biergarten. One of our favorite places to eat and we were happy it was back to a buffet.

Friday the crowds started to get heavier with the coming holiday. We spent the morning at MK and had lunch at Be Our Guest. It was not a great experience with the food not up to par but we've had worse. Probably not something we'll do again for the price. It was certainly better back in 2019.

Saturday was a HS day. We rode MMRR and RoTR and did a lot of walking around to see places we hadn't before and had lunch at Sci-Fi diner. This was our first time and probably the best lunch we had all week. Dinner that night was at Homecomin'. Our first time there as well and it was really good. A lot of food and all done very well. We need to try the bunch at one point as I've heard that is good too.

Crowds at this point were getting noticeably heavier on the weekend, though not as bad as Christmastime in 2019 when we were here last. Sunday was the rainy day and we stuck around the resort for the most part as my wife wasn't feeling well enough to go out much. We generally avoided the afternoons as the parks and did things in the morning. Spent a few more days back in HS and MK with evenings around Epcot. We had lunch at both Mama Melrose's and Crystal Palace. Both were good and we'd go back to either one. Crystal Palace is back to a buffet and we were happy with that. Cape May for breakfast wasn't and while good, not what we wanted and hopefully it will be back and have characters by the time we return. We did breakfast at Topolino's and were a bit disappointed. Food was cold and service not great. I've had it before and it was good but this time wasn't quite up to speed. The characters add a lot to the overall atmosphere and if you haven't seen them in their Riviera outfits you should.

Overall out time at Disney was great. We couldn't have asked for a better time to come and pretty much had great experiences all around. We're happy we bought DVC points at Riviera and look forward to returning each year. The location for us is perfect with the skyliner and just enjoy the resort all around. The weather helped a lot with our enjoyment and we were surprised it was a cool as it was but happy for it.

We didn't use G+ much, other than a day at Epcot and one at MK. We never spent all day in a park or park hopped much without taking time back at the resort, mainly due to my wife not lasting, even while in a wheelchair. We still got a lot done without it and since we knew we were coming back time and again, we just kept it easy rather than rushing around.
Mobile ordering was a must with the crowds. I would set us up any time we could, even at Riviera as Primo Piatto was always busy in the evening. Perfect example was the fish and chips spot at Epcot. We walked by, decided we wanted it and saw the long line. I mobile ordered and had it ready in under 10 minutes (if not five). The line had hardly moved by the time we were walking away with our order.

We didn't really do much with the festival at Epcot. Checked out a few food places but nothing was really a must eat. Got most of the special merchandise but no popcorn bucket. I mean, 5 hours in line? Nah. This was our first time at this festival and it as fun to see the artwork but we weren't going to deal with getting stuff home. We stick to pins and shirts 

After our time at Disney, we spent a few days at Universal and the Royal Pacific...Not our best decision. Compared to Riviera, it was a major downgrade. Universal is fun but we'll just take a day and travel up there instead of staying there. Even with the Express pass that comes with the room, we should have just stayed longer at Disney.


----------



## boop0524

butterscotchcollins said:


> Holy cow there is no quit in these crowds! Manage your expectations if you’re coming, the normal January dip seems to be a January rise right now which feels so bizarre. Still having a good time but it’s definitely a slow go.
> 
> Some tips:
> 1. Take advantage of Early Resort Entry/Deluxe Extra Evening Hours if you can, and for Early Entry get there like an hour earlier than posted time, it seems (at least at HS) they’re letting resort guests onto rides 30 mins earlier than posted time.
> 2. Mobile order is your friend! I haven’t had any issues getting food slots or picking up, despite the crowds.
> 3. Buses have been good but the cardinal rule is be at the bus stop an hour earlier than whatever time you’re trying to arrive at your destination (especially if you’re heading between the Epcot and MK areas.) Right now it feels like it’s taking extra time because of the number of ECVs loading/unloading.


Thank you for this info!! We are heading down next week and I’ve been worried about the crowds. My plan for ETPE was going to be get to the SSR bus stop by 6:45 am for 8:30 opening. Based on your recent experience, will that be good? Also, curious if you used Genie+ and found it helped at all with the crowds?


----------



## SheSingsAlong

Finally found out why it is so crazy at MK. There is a cast party tomorrow night closing the park at 4:30PM. So apparently EVERYONE came today. All G+ LL are sold out for the day. Everything, even the shows and silly rides that never need LL.


----------



## NJlauren

Can someone that is there now tell me a bit about the weather?

I can read a forecast, but I’m prior Jan/Feb trips 50th can seem really cold, or am I not remembering correctly?


----------



## Faithful Raider

Wow seems like a lot of good ADRs available for tomorrow. Lot of people cancelling because of the weather?


----------



## butterscotchcollins

boop0524 said:


> Thank you for this info!! We are heading down next week and I’ve been worried about the crowds. My plan for ETPE was going to be get to the SSR bus stop by 6:45 am for 8:30 opening. Based on your recent experience, will that be good? Also, curious if you used Genie+ and found it helped at all with the crowds?



Buses start running an hour before opening so 6:45 might be a bit aggressive but that’s up to you! I am very anti-Genie+ so have not used it BUT we did buy an ILL for MMRR yesterday solely because the posted wait was 45 mins which we had time for before our reservation, and after 45 mins we didn’t even make it inside the building which was frustrating. That ride was only $10 so essentially bought back our time and that was worth it. There are tons of good tips on how to use Genie+ if you’re interested, I wouldn’t discourage you from getting it if you can invest the time into reading the “how to”s. It seems like it works really well for afternoon and evening parkgoers.

But have fun! You’re gonna have a great trip


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Faithful Raider said:


> Wow seems like a lot of good ADRs available for tomorrow. Lot of people cancelling because of the weather?


Maybe, but it's not unusual to see a lot of availability the day before (as people cancel in time to avoid the no-show fee).


----------



## WIll C

I agree, we cancelled a number of dining reservations during our trip. Just decided that dinner, especially, was too much for us and cancelled.


----------



## SheSingsAlong

NJlauren said:


> Can someone that is there now tell me a bit about the weather?
> 
> I can read a forecast, but I’m prior Jan/Feb trips 50th can seem really cold, or am I not remembering correctly?


Here now, yes temps in the 50s feel cold, a breeze feels very cold. Riding an outdoor coaster is cold. If it is overcast it feels REALLY cold. Hopefully you will have better weather, but it was down in the low 40s a lot for me and I wore long sleeve T, short sleeve T, and 2 hoodies, with gloves. When it is sunny and in the 60s, it feels amazing, though - jeans and a long sleeve T are just fine. When it is in the low 70's I was comfortable in jeans, short sleeve T, and sandals.


----------



## NJlauren

SheSingsAlong said:


> Here now, yes temps in the 50s feel cold, a breeze feels very cold. Riding an outdoor coaster is cold. If it is overcast it feels REALLY cold. Hopefully you will have better weather, but it was down in the low 40s a lot for me and I wore long sleeve T, short sleeve T, and 2 hoodies, with gloves. When it is sunny and in the 60s, it feels amazing, though - jeans and a long sleeve T are just fine. When it is in the low 70's I was comfortable in jeans, short sleeve T, and sandals.



Ugh i have a feeling Saturday is going to be BRUTAL!   51 is the high with lots of wind....


----------



## lindsroc

NJlauren said:


> Ugh i have a feeling Saturday is going to be BRUTAL!   51 is the high with lots of wind....



I am flying down Friday and Sat will be our 1sr day at the parks. I am coming down from Boston, so I am used to cold but honestly- you dont spend too much time outside when its cold.  This will be interesting.  In all our trips I have never been when its below 60.    Not looking forward to the 1st time.  lol


----------



## NJlauren

lindsroc said:


> I am flying down Friday and Sat will be our 1sr day at the parks. I am coming down from Boston, so I am used to cold but honestly- you dont spend too much time outside when its cold.  This will be interesting.  In all our trips I have never been when its below 60.    Not looking forward to the 1st time.  lol



Same!  But coming from NJ, and when we went Feb 2020 one day was so cold we froze!  I am bringing hand warmers, and layers and lots of patience!


----------



## lindsroc

NJlauren said:


> Same!  But coming from NJ, and when we went Feb 2020 one day was so cold we froze!  I am bringing hand warmers, and layers and lots of patience!



Lots of layers!!!  lol.  Its funny because Friday doesnt look bad and then Monday on looks good- mostly just the 2 days we will be at Disney look awful.  Wah!!!!


----------



## Turksmom

lindsroc said:


> Lots of layers!!!  lol.  Its funny because Friday doesnt look bad and then Monday on looks good- mostly just the 2 days we will be at Disney look awful.  Wah!!!!


But at least it won't be snowing!


----------



## kylenne

naneliz said:


> I am truly baffled at the crowds. I planned a late January trip hoping for light crowds as that has been the case in the past. Seems like perhaps lots of international travelers might be the reason as  there was pent up demand for so long.



England just relaxed entry requirements and it's the summer school break in a few South American countries. Also just anecdotally a lot of people who cancelled last summer/fall due to Delta rescheduled for early 2022.


----------



## lindsroc

Turksmom said:


> But at least it won't be snowing!



Dont jinx us!  lol  Have a great vacay


----------



## starryagain

I'm just back from a 4.5 day trip - just me and my six year old.

I'm glad to see that crowds were actually high vs just becoming an old lady.

Random thoughts:
- we used G+ at our two MK days (Sunday 1/23 and Monday 1/24). It was definitely worth it. Despite crowds being very high we did 12 attractions in 5-6 hours each day by stacking G+. I'm irritated at having to pay for it but I'm glad I did.
- Our Epcot day was great. We did everything except Frozen and saw Harmonious and a lot of World Showcase entertainment. No G+ or ILL. We also took a four hour break. The Friday evening crowd was very rowdy, I used it as a teachable moment for my kid.
- AK is really suffering without Everest and Nemo. Just not enough to do. We did everything we wanted without G+ / ILL.
- With crowds this high true character meets are needed ASAP. I'm a cautious person who appreciates the safety rules but man there is not enough to do with this many people. 
- restaurants were better staffed than most in the non Disney world. A little slow but no big deals. 
- no big issues at our resorts (Boardwalk and Bay Lake)
- keep monitoring rental car prices. We were finally able to pay a reasonable amount ($180 for 4 days) and it was so convenient for AK and transferring resorts.


----------



## MMSM

starryagain said:


> I'm just back from a 4.5 day trip - just me and my six year old.
> 
> I'm glad to see that crowds were actually high vs just becoming an old lady.
> 
> Random thoughts:
> - we used G+ at our two MK days (Sunday 1/23 and Monday 1/24). It was definitely worth it. Despite crowds being very high we did 12 attractions in 5-6 hours each day by stacking G+. I'm irritated at having to pay for it but I'm glad I did.
> - Our Epcot day was great. We did everything except Frozen and saw Harmonious and a lot of World Showcase entertainment. No G+ or ILL. We also took a four hour break. The Friday evening crowd was very rowdy, I used it as a teachable moment for my kid.
> - AK is really suffering without Everest and Nemo. Just not enough to do. We did everything we wanted without G+ / ILL.
> - With crowds this high true character meets are needed ASAP. I'm a cautious person who appreciates the safety rules but man there is not enough to do with this many people.
> - restaurants were better staffed than most in the non Disney world. A little slow but no big deals.
> - no big issues at our resorts (Boardwalk and Bay Lake)
> - keep monitoring rental car prices. We were finally able to pay a reasonable amount ($180 for 4 days) and it was so convenient for AK and transferring resorts.


Which car rental company?


----------



## starryagain

MMSM said:


> Which car rental company?


We used Alamo through Costco. I'm going to keep monitoring prices for our May trip (currently $600 for 8 days which is a big no from me)


----------



## MMSM

starryagain said:


> We used Alamo through Costco. I'm going to keep monitoring prices for our May trip (currently $600 for 8 days which is a big no from me)


I have $600 for 7 days w Enterprise. I booked it a year ago. It’s 1100 now.  (It’s a van).


----------



## WEDWDW

kylenne said:


> England just relaxed entry requirements and it's the summer school break in a few South American countries. Also just anecdotally a lot of people who cancelled last summer/fall due to Delta rescheduled for early 2022.


Yes,the South Americans are definitely back-been hearing lots of families speaking Portuguese!lol

We also ran into a group from Uruguay celebrating their College Graduation.

And for the first time since January 2020 we are seeing the return of The 15s. 

Not anywhere close to "normal",but there is a "sprinkling" of The 15s here and there.

The below group was from Brazil.

I think,if the Pandemic improves by Summer,July could see the "floodgates" open for The 15s at WDW,lol



*THEY'RE BAAAAACK!LOL*


----------



## tsme

Park hopping for Annual passholders, do we have to tap into reserved park be able to park hop to second park? We decided NOT to go to HS this morning, because I have a massive headache. The weather is icky & I’d rather not have to go all the way to HS just to tap in to be able to go hop to Epcot.


----------



## mom2rtk

tsme said:


> Park hopping for Annual passholders, do we have to tap into reserved park be able to park hop to second park? We decided NOT to go to HS this morning, because I have a massive headache. The weather is icky & I’d rather not have to go all the way to HS just to tap in to be able to go hop to Epcot.


Yes. Or you can see if you can change your park reservation to the other park.


----------



## tsme

mom2rtk said:


> Yes. Or you can see if you can change your park reservation to the other park.


Good idea. Thx!


----------



## dd316

WIll C said:


> One thing my wife wanted to do was obtain all the cold 50th anniversary collectable coins. This quest was rather time consuming but it got us to see a lot of places we wouldn't normally do. It's not a cheap thing to do in terms of money or time but it was fun. A lot of running around and a must to have a cheat sheet!


Got any more info or tips? I didn't realize there were special coins - these are the pressed pennies, correct?


----------



## WIll C

dd316 said:


> Got any more info or tips? I didn't realize there were special coins - these are the pressed pennies, correct?


https://davidscointravels.blog/2021/09/28/50th-anniversary-collectible-medallions-walt-disney-world/
These are actual coins, not pressed pennies. They are 53 total 50th coins + 3 extra Pirates coins sold in batches of 4 for $15 per batch. 

Expect a lot of travel as the Ft. Wilderness and All Stars locations are out of your way (unless staying there, of course). Know that you want to do this ahead of time so you don't have to back track to a location and plan out your travel. We used as much Disney transportation as possible and spent several days doing this as we visited each park, the resorts and Disney Springs.

It's a good distraction from normal park going and gives you something to look for as you travel around. Most of the cast members in the shop know where the vending machine is for the coins. We did run into one issue at Tower of Terror store as the machine wouldn't vend one of the coins. The cast in the store had some in their register so if you run into problems ask them and see if they have extras.


----------



## BridgetR3

OKWFan88 said:


> Thank you that was why. Appreciate it.


So have they gone back to allowing you to book a new ride as soon as you tap into the ride you have booked now?  When we were there, they had closed that "loophole" and you could only make them every two hours whether you checked in to the ride or not.....or at least I thought they had.


----------



## scrappinginontario

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this but, it can't hurt to ask.

Has anyone found a place to watch the fireworks in MK and see the projections that is less crowded than most areas?  I'm not looking for a dessert party, just a hidden gem that I may not be aware of.

Thanks!


----------



## GBRforWDW

scrappinginontario said:


> I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this but, it can't hurt to ask.
> 
> Has anyone found a place to watch the fireworks in MK and see the projections that is less crowded than most areas?  I'm not looking for a dessert party, just a hidden gem that I may not be aware of.
> 
> Thanks!


Hopefully there is something.  We thought we found one by Sleepy Hollow, but all available space was filled in by the time the fireworks started.  

Are you heading to Orlando soon?


----------



## scrappinginontario

GBRforWDW said:


> Hopefully there is something.  We thought we found one by Sleepy Hollow, but all available space was filled in by the time the fireworks started.
> 
> Are you heading to Orlando soon?


Thanks, so much!  We may try there as it will be a smaller crowd than the hub.  

3 sleeps to °o°!!


----------



## GBRforWDW

scrappinginontario said:


> Thanks, so much!  We may try there as it will be a smaller crowd than the hub.
> 
> 3 sleeps to °o°!!


Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Have a great time! So happy it's finally time for you.  

Here's a couple shots of the castle from where we were






It's not the greatest view though because most of the fireworks are going off behind the trees to the left a bit, so it's a lot of looking back and forth between fireworks and castle.   I'd definitely keep an eye out for other suggestions.  

We mainly picked that spot because we watched the Hall of Presidents show right before the fireworks began.


----------



## WEDWDW

tsme said:


> Park hopping for Annual passholders, do we have to tap into reserved park be able to park hop to second park? We decided NOT to go to HS this morning, because I have a massive headache. The weather is icky & I’d rather not have to go all the way to HS just to tap in to be able to go hop to Epcot.


----------



## GBRforWDW

@WEDWDW

Yes, but Does Epcot have availability?  If so just change your reservation.


----------



## scrappinginontario

GBRforWDW said:


> Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Have a great time! So happy it's finally time for you.
> 
> Here's a couple shots of the castle from where we were
> View attachment 642239
> 
> View attachment 642240
> 
> View attachment 642241
> 
> It's not the greatest view though because most of the fireworks are going off behind the trees to the left a bit, so it's a lot of looking back and forth between fireworks and castle.   I'd definitely keep an eye out for other suggestions.
> 
> We mainly picked that spot because we watched the Hall of Presidents show right before the fireworks began.



Thanks so much for the well-wishes and pics!

This is the trip we booked in 2019 and have had to move it a few times.  So thankful it's finally happening!!!


----------



## emmabelle

tsme said:


> Park hopping for Annual passholders, do we have to tap into reserved park be able to park hop to second park? We decided NOT to go to HS this morning, because I have a massive headache. The weather is icky & I’d rather not have to go all the way to HS just to tap in to be able to go hop to Epcot.



Here's a little story about how that goes.    

In December we had AK reserved but decided to just hang at the pool.  For the night, I had 7 dwarfs, Jungle Cruise, Space, Thunder, and Buzz plus dinner at Crystal Palace.  Denied entry.  Didn't even matter that we spoke to GS.  They told us to bus over to AK, tap in, then bus back to MK and then they would let us in.  My husband said to me we're not doing that.  So we went to AK and stayed there long enough to have dinner at Tiffens and then go back to our hotel.  The lines were super long in AK and all our G+ were for MK.  Sad but true...  It was our last night too...


----------



## WIll C

One thing I noticed, if you have APs and a hotel reservation, you can make dual park reservations. We had a day where I wasn't sure if we'd make our morning tap in to Epcot and we had dinner at AK. I was able to get us park reservations for both that day and I had no problem that evening. Obviously, doesn't work with without an AP.


----------



## accm

If there are still park reservations available, they have CMs at the gates to help guests. We were there over Wine and Dine weekend, and had originally planned on going to Epcot after the half marathon. I wasn't feeling it, and we just hung at the hotel instead. Later we decided to go to MK, completely forgetting about park reservations. Before I even realized what had happened, a CM came over to us with an ipad and changed our reservation for us.


----------



## VFL

emmabelle said:


> Here's a little story about how that goes.
> 
> In December we had AK reserved but decided to just hang at the pool.  For the night, I had 7 dwarfs, Jungle Cruise, Space, Thunder, and Buzz plus dinner at Crystal Palace.  Denied entry.  Didn't even matter that we spoke to GS.  They told us to bus over to AK, tap in, then bus back to MK and then they would let us in.  My husband said to me we're not doing that.  So we went to AK and stayed there long enough to have dinner at Tiffens and then go back to our hotel.  The lines were super long in AK and all our G+ were for MK.  Sad but true...  It was our last night too...


 This is why I leave my husband at home.


----------



## emmabelle

VFL said:


> ☝ This is why I leave my husband at home.


 
Yup if it was me and my daughter we probably would have done it.


----------



## lovethattink

emmabelle said:


> Yup if it was me and my daughter we probably would have done it.



For AP, we just have to cancel original reservation then make a new reservation for the park we want, if there’s availability. Would your tickets work like that? Would save a trip to original park.


----------



## Gary Stocker

So I learned and confirmed that if you can't make an ADR within 24 hours you can no longer modify it on the App and cancel however you can still do it in a web browser.
Had an Ogas last night and was able to move to Friday and cancel but not on the app. 
A bartender at wilderness lodge provided this tip.


----------



## mickey916

Gary Stocker said:


> So I learned and confirmed that if you can't make an ADR within 24 hours you can no longer modify it on the App and cancel however you can still do it in a web browser.
> Had an Ogas last night and was able to move to Friday and cancel but not on the app.
> A bartender at wilderness lodge provided this tip.


Good to know...


----------



## eileen2664

Gary Stocker said:


> So I learned and confirmed that if you can't make an ADR within 24 hours you can no longer modify it on the App and cancel however you can still do it in a web browser.
> Had an Ogas last night and was able to move to Friday and cancel but not on the app.
> A bartender at wilderness lodge provided this tip.


Thanks for the tip!! We made a last minute  CG reservation for tonight but all we could get is 5. I keep looking for something a bit later but no luck, after I saw your tip I went to the browser and bam, quickly switched to something a bit later.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Ohana solo is daunting. Ugh


----------



## Gary Stocker

eileen2664 said:


> Thanks for the tip!! We made a last minute  CG reservation for tonight but all we could get is 5. I keep looking for something a bit later but no luck, after I saw your tip I went to the browser and bam, quickly switched to something a bit later.


You owe me a drink now haha.


----------



## Gary Stocker

_...although after ohana might not fit...tried to stay away from noodles but went off on those pot stickers...had 2 forks of bread pudding...awesome awesome...they had no cheddar bacon bread but had the scones._


----------



## Gary Stocker

So stumbled in MK during flag ceremony and Veteran of the Day....that was really cool.


----------



## lovethattink

Gary Stocker said:


> So stumbled in MK during flag ceremony and Veteran of the Day....that was really cool.



There are 2 things that never fail to bring tears to my eyes. The awe of 1st timers walking in main st and the flag ceremony.


----------



## JennyDrake

NJlauren said:


> Can someone that is there now tell me a bit about the weather?
> 
> I can read a forecast, but I’m prior Jan/Feb trips 50th can seem really cold, or am I not remembering correctly?



You are correct it can be quite cold and WDW cold is a DAMP cold and Epcot has breeze off the lake. I'll be down Saturday and the forecast is low's in the 30's and high's in the low 50's.


----------



## Carol_

How do get my veteran the best chance of being picked as veteran of the day?


----------



## bsmcneil

Sorry to be so annoying on this thread since almost every question I answer can be responded to with a simple, "Come and find out!", lol. For those who are here now/lately - how unpleasant is it watching the fireworks (at night) with it being relatively cold (for Florida). I'm trying to figure out if I can even move my special "we're here now" pre-fireworks dessert party to another day or just make do with it on Sunday (or if the crowds will be dissipated enough that we'll have a good view and not need the viewing area). Basically, all of my plans seem a little off since this weekend seems relatively cold.


----------



## emmabelle

lovethattink said:


> For AP, we just have to cancel original reservation then make a new reservation for the park we want, if there’s availability. Would your tickets work like that? Would save a trip to original park.



we have AP’s, but live out of state 

They were out of MK ressies for the day but if we wanted to waste an hour going to AK then they would let us in?  The end result is the same, we would be in the park.  I’m guessing the real reason that they wanted us to go to AK first is to stand by their rules.  They don’t want people going and posting on social media hey they let us in!  I just know I won’t make that mistake again!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

bsmcneil said:


> Sorry to be so annoying on this thread since almost every question I answer can be responded to with a simple, "Come and find out!", lol. For those who are here now/lately - how unpleasant is it watching the fireworks (at night) with it being relatively cold (for Florida). I'm trying to figure out if I can even move my special "we're here now" pre-fireworks dessert party to another day or just make do with it on Sunday (or if the crowds will be dissipated enough that we'll have a good view and not need the viewing area). Basically, all of my plans seem a little off since this weekend seems relatively cold.



I didn’t notice feeling cold when we were there the other night but that might be because I was properly bundled, and packed in with people sharing body heat XD 

Not sure how long you’re there for but the lows at night are all pretty similar until Wednesday so another night of the weekend might not make a difference before then. Either way I hope you enjoy!


----------



## Wood Nymph

bsmcneil said:


> Sorry to be so annoying on this thread since almost every question I answer can be responded to with a simple, "Come and find out!", lol. For those who are here now/lately - how unpleasant is it watching the fireworks (at night) with it being relatively cold (for Florida). I'm trying to figure out if I can even move my special "we're here now" pre-fireworks dessert party to another day or just make do with it on Sunday (or if the crowds will be dissipated enough that we'll have a good view and not need the viewing area). Basically, all of my plans seem a little off since this weekend seems relatively cold.


It can be miserable if you aren't dressed warmly enough. It all depends on the night time temps, but a simple sweatshirt usually isn't warm enough if the temps are in the 50's or lower. A quilted jacket, jeans, gloves and hat are vital if it is cold.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Saturday night's low is forecasted to be 32°!!!  Even we Canadians have a light winter coat and knit gloves packed for that evening.  High for the day is only in the high 40's so it will be a chilly one all round.  Hoping for some lighter crowds to ease us into our Disney week.


----------



## Naomeri

You know it’s chilly if the Canadians are putting on coats! 

Spoken as a Minnesotan who has been frozen in WDW thinking that she could handle FL “cold” in the past


----------



## SheSingsAlong

When it was in the 40s last weekend, I wore long sleeve T,  2 hoodies (with the hoods up), jeans with thermals underneath, and gloves. This kept me warm enough to drink a blue milk in spite of the weather XD Oh, and I'm from Ohio, so I know cold, but I'm not out in it for 12 hours a day like I am at Disney.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Ugh. Rise of the Resistance is down AGAIN!! Been waiting 65 minutes with early entry. Definition of insanity is getting on this line multiple times and expecting it to work.


----------



## lovethattink

NJlauren said:


> Can someone that is there now tell me a bit about the weather?
> 
> I can read a forecast, but I’m prior Jan/Feb trips 50th can seem really cold, or am I not remembering correctly?




Saturday into Sunday temps are expected to break an all time record from 4 years ago.

I’ll be wrapped up like a mummy when @scrappinginontario and I hit the park, lol.


----------



## NJlauren

lovethattink said:


> View attachment 642640
> Saturday into Sunday temps are expected to break an all time record from 4 years ago.
> 
> I’ll be wrapped up like a mummy when @scrappinginontario and I hit the park, lol.


I hope we don’t look ridiculous but I’ve packed my NJ warmest!!!  Including hand warmers


----------



## Faithful Raider

We were at AK this morning for early entry. Busy but manageable thanks to cool weather. We had an awesome Safari! Was worried it might be too cool for t-shirt and shorts but it was fine. Tomorrow though....


----------



## stinkpickle

I wore at least three layers up top during the cold days last week, plus ear muffs, gloves, etc...BUT I wore my shorts.  I don't care how cold it is.  I'm wearing shorts in Florida!  I can't really feel cold on my legs anymore, anyway...that's probably not a good thing.


----------



## eileen2664

I know there’s reason for it but it gets really old hearing “sit down, keep your hands in, watch your kids” on the Living with the Land ride. I think the poor CM on the speaker had to say it 6 times just during the greenhouse part. Takes away from the ride when she’s speaking over the recording.


----------



## stitchfan18

I meant to post this yesterday & forgot. This was our IG rope drop experience yesterday. It’s been busy this week, but manageable if you get to the parks at least an hour early. 

8:30 left room at BCV 
8:38 through security at IG (guests were getting off skyliner by this point)
8:45 tapped in through AP line
8:50 in line for Remy’s (within first 50 people)
9:23 ride started
9:25 on Remy’s
9:30 off Remy’s (posted wait 60 minutes)
9:45 in line at TT (posted 45 minute wait)
10:15 on TT
10:20 off TT
10:40 in line Soarin’ (posted wait 40 minutes)
11:05 on Soarin’


----------



## Naomeri

eileen2664 said:


> I know there’s reason for it but it gets really old hearing “sit down, keep your hands in, watch your kids” on the Living with the Land ride. I think the poor CM on the speaker had to say it 6 times just during the greenhouse part. Takes away from the ride when she’s speaking over the recording.


I had that on MMRR on my last trip, it ended up messing with the audio in one section, so it was just silent and boring.


----------



## DisneyFive

How productive has the early theme park entry been for Disney resort guests? How many headliners are you able to achieve before the non-resort guests are able to enter the cues?

Dan


----------



## gottalovepluto

Wood Nymph said:


> It can be miserable if you aren't dressed warmly enough. It all depends on the night time temps, but a simple sweatshirt usually isn't warm enough if the temps are in the 50's or lower. A quilted jacket, jeans, gloves and hat are vital if it is cold.


HotHands Hand Warmers

I LOVE those things. If I’m hitting a Disney park and cold is in the forecast pack a pack or two of those and distribute through the fam- who is old enough not to try to eat it of course. Warmth for all (for like 10 hours at least ) and pretty cheap!


----------



## bambialways4ever

eileen2664 said:


> I know there’s reason for it but it gets really old hearing “sit down, keep your hands in, watch your kids” on the Living with the Land ride. I think the poor CM on the speaker had to say it 6 times just during the greenhouse part. Takes away from the ride when she’s speaking over the recording.


I was recently watching a youtube video of the train pre closure and it was the exact same thing. It's amazing people can't get their kids to sit for 5 minutes on a moving vehicle; what do they do in their own cars?!


----------



## NJlauren

gottalovepluto said:


> HotHands Hand Warmers
> 
> I LOVE those things. If I’m hitting a Disney park and cold is in the forecast pack a pack or two of those and distribute through the fam- who is old enough not to try to eat it of course. Warmth for all (for like 10 hours at least ) and pretty cheap!


I have 8 packs with us!  Granted my husband and daughter snowboard so I have tons I tossed a ton in my bag, including the toe ones (which I have cause I hate sweaty feet!)


----------



## Faithful Raider

Wow today was pretty darn cold in Magic Kingdom! Got there around 9:30, very cold (especially in the shade) and quite windy. Didn't change the fact that the parks are PACKED! And seemed like no one was really having a good time. Too cold and too crowded isn't probably something you hear often for Disney World but today sure was! We left at sunset when we felt that chilly wind starting to cut through us again. Keep warm if you're staying late at the parks tonight!


----------



## DaisyNY

Please warm us for our March 1 trip...though anything would be an improvement after 18" of snow today!


----------



## Kenzientysmom

Canadian here.  Went to Animal Kingdom today and was miserably cold.  Had on long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, coat, jeans, and mitts.  Packed it in just after 4 and headed back to the resort.  Ended up cancelling our dinner reservation at Disney Springs as we just want to stay in the warmth tonight.


----------



## MEC004

When we were there December 2020 they had a similar cold snap. As a Texan I froze even with hand warmers. If you don’t have them pack them.


----------



## stinkpickle

DisneyFive said:


> How productive has the early theme park entry been for Disney resort guests? How many headliners are you able to achieve before the non-resort guests are able to enter the cues?
> 
> Dan


At least two when we started towards the front of the rope drop pack.


----------



## Orsino

Rope drop really depends on what is running. Today 7DMT was down at EE open and through regular open. PP went down around 9AM. Pooh was down all EE and through regular open. Big thunder was down at open. Haunted mansion went down some time around 10am. It’s a messy day at the magic kingdom. We are hopping away.
This is our first rope drop this trip. I hope this isn’t how it always is. I remember getting 5 rides in one hour before. Today we got one in thirty minutes.


----------



## bambialways4ever

Orsino said:


> Rope drop really depends on what is running. Today 7DMT was down at EE open and through regular open. PP went down around 9AM. Pooh was down all EE and through regular open. Big thunder was down at open. Haunted mansion went down some time around 10am. It’s a messy day at the magic kingdom. We are hopping away.
> This is our first rope drop this trip. I hope this isn’t how it always is. I remember getting 5 rides in one hour before. Today we got one in thirty minutes.


Honestly that just sounds like bad luck.
We took a long trip to Disneyland a few years (prerona) and did two different early mornings at the California Adventure park. One morning was amazing and we got so much done! Like 5-6 rides! Cars land, most of the pier, ariel, and monsters inc. Another morning the entirety of Cars Land was down, the rollercoaster on the pier was down, and Toy Story was down. It was due to power outages in Cars Land and operational issues with toy story and the roller coaster, we were told.

Sometimes you just get bad luck


----------



## DisneyFive

stinkpickle said:


> At least two when we started towards the front of the rope drop pack.


Thank you.

Well, that's one better than this past summer when everything was standby only.  Everyone was on the same park opening schedule, and one headliner is all you got before all wait times skyrocketed.  It got old FAST having to get up early every morning only to get one ride in with a short(ish) wait.  I loathe paying for the inferior G+, but combined with the ETPE I'm hoping we won't be forced to spend soooooooo much time in lines like this past summer.

Dan


----------



## Lsdolphin

Another frustrating day with Genie+...wont be buying again. Same experience as posted above with early afternoon times being available at 7:00 am...again I tappEd on a 9:05 am time only to end up with a 12:15 pm times by time selectoon was processed.  Then was able to get an earlier time for PP but the ride broke down and was closed during my time and had received a “multi-selection“ sent to my phone.  meanwhile had gotten 2nd LL for HM but that was also closed so went to LM and entered standby 40 min wait. Returned to PP and LL line was a mile long people Mover and Winnie the Pooh also went down. Went back to HM LL line was a mile long.  The only rides available for LL within next 2 hr time span had short standby lines anyway...it was just around 2:30 pm and times for JC, SDM, and PP were no longer available so left park at 3 pm with 2 LL multi-selection sitting in MDE.  TP crowd level prediction was a 3...NO WAY the place was packed.  at 8:30 am this morning during extra Magic hours it was a stampede of hordes of people I don’t know where the cast members were who are supposed to prevent this!   Within a few minutes the line to PP was all the way past the front of Philharmonic going toward carousel.  Then within an hour PP was closed.  Oh also DMT was also down at EMH rope drop so most of those people RAN to PP.
unfortunately between the crazy cold and the big crowds of people this has not been the most enjoyable trip we’ve had!


----------



## BarlowFamily

Carol_ said:


> How do get my veteran the best chance of being picked as veteran of the day?


I was wondering the same thing. The military Disney tips site says it used to be the first veteran to stop in city hall  bc and volunteer. It seems to have shifted to random selection now. Try on your next trip and let us know how it goes! And thank you for your family’s service.
https://www.militarydisneytips.com/...cipate-in-disneys-magic-kingdom-flag-retreat/


----------



## Thomasboys

Gary Stocker said:


> So I learned and confirmed that if you can't make an ADR within 24 hours you can no longer modify it on the App and cancel however you can still do it in a web browser.
> Had an Ogas last night and was able to move to Friday and cancel but not on the app.
> A bartender at wilderness lodge provided this tip.


 Oh wow.  Good to know.  Were you able to your use phone web browser to do this?  Just go in through MDE on Disney's website?


----------



## Gary Stocker

Thomasboys said:


> Oh wow.  Good to know.  Were you able to your use phone web browser to do this?  Just go in through MDE on Disney's website?


Yes. Just got home and withdrawals, Disney and adult beverages,  are in full swing. I hope you guys just starting out get better weather than I did....and then to land in arendelle lol up here in NJ.


----------



## Faithful Raider

Today was nice at EPCOT. World Showcase was wall to wall people but we were there for rides for our little one and that worked out great. Weather was still quite cool but in the sun, my short sleeve Tshirt was plenty. Dreading the near-90 forecast I'm seeing for late next week.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Faithful Raider said:


> Today was nice at EPCOT. World Showcase was wall to wall people but we were there for rides for our little one and that worked out great. Weather was still quite cool but in the sun, my short sleeve Tshirt was plenty. Dreading the near-90 forecast I'm seeing for late next week.


From someone who saw an average temperature of about 55 last week with 3 days of rain I will trade you...your kids will not be shivering while trying to swim. Heated pools do not heat the air haha.


----------



## EmilyGahr

Just got back from staying Club Level at Animal Kingdom Lodge from January 18th - January 28th and wanted to share my two cents!

Pros
Housekeeping - I'm not sure if this is unique to Club Level, AKL, or what the situation was, but we got full daily housekeeping (i.e. sheets changed and bed made everyday, towels replaced even when we had them hung up to reuse, bathroom fully cleaned, etc.) I know there are so many conflicting reports on the current status of housekeeping, but this was our experience.

Genie+ - yes, it sucks to have to pay for it. We added it in advance to our 10 day park hoppers so we had it and used it every day. Honestly, if you know how to use it, it works! We barely waited standby for any rides and still got to do everything we wanted with Genie+ and the individual lightning lanes. The only ride we missed out on was Slinky Dog Dash because we chose to do ROTR on both of our half days at Hollywood Studios (by the time we bought ROTR, SDD was too far out into the evening for us). 

Festival of the Arts - we've been to all of the other festivals at Epcot, and this one is hands down the best! We loved all of the art, the booths, everything was so colorful and amazing!

Harmonious - I thought this was an amazing show! Extremely well down, and I think a great replacement to Illuminations. The ONLY thing that bothers me is the barges being out on the World Showcase Lagoon during the day. They are very ugly in my opinion, and the take away from the amazing views of other countries from across the lagoon. 

No Dining Plan - we are typically always sucked in to doing the deluxe dining plan, but that wasn't an option this time. We had plenty of gift cards set aside and only had ADRs for dinner each night. Not having three meals a day scheduled was awesome! We could explore quick service lunches, bars and lounges, and weren't forced to eat three sit down meals per day in order to get the most value out of the dining plan.

Cons
Bus Transportation at AKL - this was awful for our stay. We ended up using Uber on several occasions. Disney Springs was the worst - waiting about 45 minutes each time we tried to go then giving up and calling an Uber. One day, late morning, we walked down to catch a bus to Hollywood Studios and there were so many people waiting, one person said they had been waiting over an hour and still no bus. 

Construction at Epcot - we knew about it, but all of the constructions walls were much worse than we were anticipating. It took forever to walk anywhere in Epcot because you can't go up through the middle of the park. 

Enchantment - I hate to say it, because I wanted to love this show, but I was so disappointed. The projections on Main Street are very cool, but the soundtrack and the fireworks were very disappointing. I didn't feel anything when watching, like I did with Happily Ever After. Just generic Disney soundtracks. 

Covid - despite wearing masks and following all of the rules, both of us did test positive for Covid upon returning home. Mild symptoms and we're both doing fine! (Not trying to start any arguments of discussion, just stating our experience). 

Overall Thoughts
The magic is still there! We had an amazing trip and definitely will be back. We felt that the experience we had was worth the money that we paid. Yes, things are different. But Disney is still Disney and we were so lucky to be able to go!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Gary Stocker said:


> From someone who saw an average temperature of about 55 last week with 3 days of rain I will trade you...your kids will not be shivering while trying to swim. Heated pools do not heat the air haha.



Was also there getting rained on and it was miserable  It was cold when we got home but at least we were dry!

Also for the very few people I saw night swimming I was shocked I’m like I know pools are heated but up north no one would consider swimming outdoors in 40 degree weather like…ever.


----------



## wisblue

Orsino said:


> Rope drop really depends on what is running. Today 7DMT was down at EE open and through regular open. PP went down around 9AM. Pooh was down all EE and through regular open. Big thunder was down at open. Haunted mansion went down some time around 10am. It’s a messy day at the magic kingdom. We are hopping away.
> This is our first rope drop this trip. I hope this isn’t how it always is. I remember getting 5 rides in one hour before. Today we got one in thirty minutes.



Obviously ride breakdowns can have a big impact on the rope drop experience.

But, as someone who has made several visits over the last 30 years, I have observed that the pure number of people who are arriving at parks early has increased dramatically, and that increase has accelerated in the last 10 years.

10-15 years ago there were occasionally 7 AM EMH at MK during busy holiday times, and if you were there at 7 there would be no more than a couple hundred people there at most. We could do virtually every major attraction in the park by about 10 AM with very little wait as the park filled with guests and was packed for the rest of the day.

Those days are long gone. The number of people who are willing to get to all of the parks as early as they will be allowed in is MUCH greater than it used to be and, as a result, wait times build up much faster at top attractions.


----------



## Lsdolphin

wisblue said:


> Obviously ride breakdowns can have a big impact on the rope drop experience.
> 
> But, as someone who has made several visits over the last 30 years, I have observed that the pure number of people who are arriving at parks early has increased dramatically, and that increase has accelerated in the last 10 years.
> 
> 10-15 years ago there were occasionally 7 AM EMH at MK during busy holiday times, and if you were there at 7 there would be no more than a couple hundred people there at most. We could do virtually every major attraction in the park by about 10 AM with very little wait as the park filled with guests and was packed for the rest of the day.
> 
> Those days are long gone. The number of people who are willing to get to all of the parks as early as they will be allowed in is MUCH greater than it used to be and, as a result, wait times build up much faster at top attractions.



yes I definitely found this to be true and there are only a few rides opening during the early opening time with hordes of people ... yesterday with several rides down lines both LL and standby were awful Although afternoon sunny skies were welcome. Also the  MK crowd was way larger than the #3 predicted by TP.


----------



## Orsino

EE Rope drop #2:
Remy is down.


----------



## meremac

Just got back from BWI CL 1/27-1/30.

We liked Genie+ for the most part. We were able to get through everything we wanted to in 2.5 days including almost all of the headliners in all four parks. We actually felt like Genie+ and ILL$ gave us more time to explore and be in the moment than ever before. We did Harmonious Dinner Package at R & C and we didn't find the view to be terrible at all (plus the food was excellent). Mousekeeping was hit or miss event though we were CL, but aside from that, we had zero problems with service. We felt well taken care of, and just about every CM we encountered was as friendly and helpful as any other time we've been there with just one exception (and even then, she wasn't unkind...she just didn't know what the heck she was talking about lol). 

Bottom Line: There's a lot of negativity out there right now, but I am here to tell you that it is absolutely possible to have a magical, memorable time even thought things are different now. We can't wait to go back this summer!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

wisblue said:


> Obviously ride breakdowns can have a big impact on the rope drop experience.
> 
> But, as someone who has made several visits over the last 30 years, I have observed that the pure number of people who are arriving at parks early has increased dramatically, and that increase has accelerated in the last 10 years.
> 
> 10-15 years ago there were occasionally 7 AM EMH at MK during busy holiday times, and if you were there at 7 there would be no more than a couple hundred people there at most. We could do virtually every major attraction in the park by about 10 AM with very little wait as the park filled with guests and was packed for the rest of the day.
> 
> Those days are long gone. The number of people who are willing to get to all of the parks as early as they will be allowed in is MUCH greater than it used to be and, as a result, wait times build up much faster at top attractions.



Do you think part of it might be because of the explosion of Disney-dedicated blogs and social accounts sharing these tips? I feel like I know more than I ever have in this era, 10-15 years ago there weren’t nearly as many resources to share touring tips.


----------



## Lsdolphin

butterscotchcollins said:


> Do you think part of it might be because of the explosion of Disney-dedicated blogs and social accounts sharing these tips? I feel like I know more than I ever have in this era, 10-15 years ago there weren’t nearly as many resources to share touring tips.


 There weren’t the crazy crowds either....


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Lsdolphin said:


> There weren’t the crazy crowds either....



Speak for yourself, I waited 75 minutes for Snow White at the height of summer


----------



## Orsino

The morning crowds are definitely bigger. I don’t think it is a matter of more people overall, just that more people show up earlier than before. After the past two days, I’m down on rope drop as not being worth it anymore. 
I’ve been in line for Remy since 9am. It is now 10am and it isn’t running yet. What’s worse is when it finally does go up, they will prioritize LL over standby. I was sort of pro LL before, but the situation I’m in is that this frustrating situation can be solved by throwing money at Disney. It’s a terrible incentive for Disney to benefit from problems they created. Buying LL would absolutely be “worth it”, but it is worth it in the sense that paying a ransom is “worth it.”

We used have have great mornings at Disneyworld. So far this trip we have had 3 awesome evenings and zero good mornings.


----------



## wisblue

butterscotchcollins said:


> Do you think part of it might be because of the explosion of Disney-dedicated blogs and social accounts sharing these tips? I feel like I know more than I ever have in this era, 10-15 years ago there weren’t nearly as many resources to share touring tips.



I think that is a big part of it.

There were always books trumpeting the value of arriving early but the number of people exposed to social media obviously increases exponentially the number hearing and reacting to that advice.

I also think things like FP+ and messages directly from Disney alerting guests to windows opening for booking reservations caused more people to think about planning ahead instead of just trying to show up and stroll into the park 2 hours after it opens.


----------



## BillFromCT

For us, I would say it's the lack of FP+.  With a park opening at 9:00, we would make our 3 fastpasses at 60 days out for 9-10, 10-11, 11-12.  So, as long as we rolled in by 10:00 we were good.  Rope drop at MK would only be so we could see the welcome show with the characters pulling in on the train.  Genie+, and the 7am one ride luck of the draw, requires you to be there before park opening in order to get those same 3 rides done without paying ILL$, or waiting 45 minutes in line.


----------



## Lsdolphin

I didn’t see anything about this incident but our Disney bus passed an accident involving a Disney bus on Thursday. It looked like the bus had run into back of car. This was over near Swan/Dolphin area.


----------



## DisneyFive

Lsdolphin said:


> yes I definitely found this to be true and there are only a few rides opening during the early opening time with hordes of people ... yesterday with several rides down lines both LL and standby were awful Although afternoon sunny skies were welcome. Also the  MK crowd was way larger than the #3 predicted by TP.



Yeah you are correct. I just checked and Touring plans predicted a level 3 at Magic Kingdom but ended up being a level 7.  normally they are not that far off. I wonder what caused that?

in our experience, anything at a level six or below with touringplans is manageable, and once you get to level 7 and higher you really notice the crowds more.

Dan


----------



## DisneyFive

BillFromCT said:


> For us, I would say it's the lack of FP+.  With a park opening at 9:00, we would make our 3 fastpasses at 60 days out for 9-10, 10-11, 11-12.  So, as long as we rolled in by 10:00 we were good.  Rope drop at MK would only be so we could see the welcome show with the characters pulling in on the train.  Genie+, and the 7am one ride luck of the draw, requires you to be there before park opening in order to get those same 3 rides done without paying ILL$, or waiting 45 minutes in line.



You hit the nail on the head. Disney has created higher crowds in the morning now. When you are up at 7 AM to make a Genie plus reservation, I think a lot of people figure they may as well just stay up and go to the park early anyway. Also, I think people got accustomed to it all last year when there was no fast pass. It became a requirement to get to the parks super early in order to just get one headliner with a little wait. Even so you were standing in line in the park 30 minutes before it would open just for that one headliner, sigh.  The days of FP+ were just so much better for anyone who wanted to even just put 1 ounce of planning into their Disney trip

Dan


----------



## Raemama

elgerber said:


> have you done both taps for Tot?


I’m sorry, I’m playing catch-up on reading this thread and don’t understand “both taps.” Would you mind terribly to explain what it means? Thank you!


----------



## Turksmom

Raemama said:


> I’m sorry, I’m playing catch-up on reading this thread and don’t understand “both taps.” Would you mind terribly to explain what it means? Thank you!


There is a touch point (the light up Mickey head post) as you enter the official start of the line and a second further through the line


----------



## Raemama

Turksmom said:


> There is a touch point (the light up Mickey head post) as you enter the official start of the line and a second further through the line


Thank you! I know what you’re talking about. I guess I didn’t know people sometimes didn’t tap that second time. Thanks again—


----------



## melmel

We went last week for a few pre and post cruise days 1/22, 1/29 and 1/30.  While I understand we only did weekend days and that adds to the madness/crowds it was a miserable experience.  First the fact that the current ticket expiration policy makes it impossible to buy multi-days for pre and post cruise (a 3 day ticket expires in 4 days).  Making my 3 days much more expensive then they should have been.   Then the parks were very crowded for January.   Touring plans had the days listed in the 4 - 6 range which it did not feel, at all, based on line times and walkway crowds.  We noticed a bunch of tour groups both kids sports and overseas.  I'm glad people can travel again but it was surprising to see so many people in a traditionally super quiet week.

Our 1st day was a Friday and we didn't have hoppers, so we did HS.  We arrived around 1 and left at 7.  In that time we only managed to do 4 things (falcon, muppets, mania and railway).  This was without any meals and only a small blue milk break.   We didn't even get to try to get on rise as it was down most of the day. 

2nd day was the following Saturday, we had hoppers and did AK and Epcot.  We only managed 3 things this time.   Wait times we're horribly wrong on both touring plans and mde.  Half of our party went to flight with a 105 posted and it took a full 2 hours.   The other half did dinosaur which was correctly posted at 35 minutes,  and then went to navi which was posted 70 and also took a full 2 hours.  When we finally got to the front of navi we found the issue, they were allowing 2 standby parties for every 20 genie parties.  Party size didn't matter, so 4 people would get through on standby and 60 people would go through genie.  I understand they are trying to make the "paying guests" happy but all it did was throughly piss off everyone else.  At epcot we only manged to ride remi which was thankfully shorter than the post 165 and only took 2 hours.  It was fun and nice to do something new, going forward it's probably a 45 mins or shorter for me.   I've never waited 2 hours to ride anything in past trips in October, November, December and January so the idea that multiple rides were regularly running that long across all 4 parks,  just baffles my mind.  The wall and food situation are still a big issue.  Even with the event booths we were scrambling to find dinner.  The only real upside was the new spaceship earth lights.  They are beautiful and a really nice upgrade in the park. 

Day 3 was Sunday which we only had time to do MK.  After the AK experience the day before we caved and paid for Genie.  We manged 6 things.  We genied pirates, pan, buzz and mansion, and waited for jungle and laugh floor.  We would have managed 1 more however the peoplemover went down just as we made it to the escalators.  The main issue with genie is that with the 2 hour window by the time 1st window reopens, all the bigger items are already pushed out until 3pm or later.  We ended up feeling in the end that genie is pretty much required but not worth the cost.

Sadly I think this is going to be our last wdw trip for quite awhile.  We're dvc and while we usually go about every 3 years this was definitely our least enjoyable, and that includes the one where we all had the stomach flu.  I hate being so negative about our trip but it was so shockingly different from any of our other trips.  I'm starting to understand the people paying for private tours.


----------



## Faithful Raider

My dole whip mobile order took nearly 50 minutes today. Placed it before hopping on jungle cruise, checked in for my window after we got off, and waited about 30 minutes in front of aloha with about 50 other people by my count. Walk up line would have been faster. Just a heads up if you're visiting this week, that's the crowds we have.


----------



## gottalovepluto

Orsino said:


> EE Rope drop #2:
> Remy is down.


If there was ever a sign from the Universe saying “sleep in”…


----------



## lovethattink

Faithful Raider said:


> My dole whip mobile order took nearly 50 minutes today. Placed it before hopping on jungle cruise, checked in for my window after we got off, and waited about 30 minutes in front of aloha with about 50 other people by my count. Walk up line would have been faster. Just a heads up if you're visiting this week, that's the crowds we have.



It’s pretty much been like that since the start of mobile ordering there.


----------



## g-dad66

Raemama said:


> Thank you! I know what you’re talking about. I guess I didn’t know people sometimes didn’t tap that second time. Thanks again—



I think the reason that both taps get mentioned is that with G+, you can't book your next LL until you've done both taps.

This is different from FP+ when you could book your next FP as soon as you completed the first tap.  It was good that you could book next FP while still in line waiting to board.

Now that you can't book until you pass the second tap point, I find myself trying to book while also trying to board a ride at the same time.  Not so good.


----------



## Best Aunt

Raemama said:


> Thank you! I know what you’re talking about. I guess I didn’t know people sometimes didn’t tap that second time. Thanks again—



I assumed the person in question didn't tap the second time because they hadn't reached that point in the line yet.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

melmel said:


> We went last week for a few pre and post cruise days 1/22, 1/29 and 1/30.  While I understand we only did weekend days and that adds to the madness/crowds it was a miserable experience.  First the fact that the current ticket expiration policy makes it impossible to buy multi-days for pre and post cruise (a 3 day ticket expires in 4 days).  Making my 3 days much more expensive then they should have been.   Then the parks were very crowded for January.   Touring plans had the days listed in the 4 - 6 range which it did not feel, at all, based on line times and walkway crowds.  We noticed a bunch of tour groups both kids sports and overseas.  I'm glad people can travel again but it was surprising to see so many people in a traditionally super quiet week.
> 
> Our 1st day was a Friday and we didn't have hoppers, so we did HS.  We arrived around 1 and left at 7.  In that time we only managed to do 4 things (falcon, muppets, mania and railway).  This was without any meals and only a small blue milk break.   We didn't even get to try to get on rise as it was down most of the day.
> 
> 2nd day was the following Saturday, we had hoppers and did AK and Epcot.  We only managed 3 things this time.   Wait times we're horribly wrong on both touring plans and mde.  Half of our party went to flight with a 105 posted and it took a full 2 hours.   The other half did dinosaur which was correctly posted at 35 minutes,  and then went to navi which was posted 70 and also took a full 2 hours.  When we finally got to the front of navi we found the issue, they were allowing 2 standby parties for every 20 genie parties.  Party size didn't matter, so 4 people would get through on standby and 60 people would go through genie.  I understand they are trying to make the "paying guests" happy but all it did was throughly piss off everyone else.  At epcot we only manged to ride remi which was thankfully shorter than the post 165 and only took 2 hours.  It was fun and nice to do something new, going forward it's probably a 45 mins or shorter for me.   I've never waited 2 hours to ride anything in past trips in October, November, December and January so the idea that multiple rides were regularly running that long across all 4 parks,  just baffles my mind.  The wall and food situation are still a big issue.  Even with the event booths we were scrambling to find dinner.  The only real upside was the new spaceship earth lights.  They are beautiful and a really nice upgrade in the park.
> 
> Day 3 was Sunday which we only had time to do MK.  After the AK experience the day before we caved and paid for Genie.  We manged 6 things.  We genied pirates, pan, buzz and mansion, and waited for jungle and laugh floor.  We would have managed 1 more however the peoplemover went down just as we made it to the escalators.  The main issue with genie is that with the 2 hour window by the time 1st window reopens, all the bigger items are already pushed out until 3pm or later.  We ended up feeling in the end that genie is pretty much required but not worth the cost.
> 
> Sadly I think this is going to be our last wdw trip for quite awhile.  We're dvc and while we usually go about every 3 years this was definitely our least enjoyable, and that includes the one where we all had the stomach flu.  I hate being so negative about our trip but it was so shockingly different from any of our other trips.  I'm starting to understand the people paying for private tours.


I’m so sorry this sounds horrible if I’m being honest.
I really enjoyed the standby lines and the lower wait times when we went last September.
And that is why I did the walk up line for Dole Whip. I heard horror stories leading up to my trip.
I will say CHH was relatively quick for mobile order. Placed It, said we were here and within 10 minutes it was ready.


----------



## ak517

On the topic of mobile ordering: my brother and I were in the parks Jan 27-30. Mobile ordering worked well in some places (lunch at Satu'li Canteen) but was awful in others (Casey's at 7PM). The only reason we ordered at Casey's was because I had good luck right before fireworks in July, so maybe it's hit or miss. By the end of our trip our strategy was to mobile order hot coffee or cookies, i.e. items that needed no preparation, while doing walk up for full meals.


----------



## AndreaDM

Any update on the accuracy of wait times? For example, right now the tip board is showing a 40 min wait for IASW, is that accurate??


----------



## Haley R

AndreaDM said:


> Any update on the accuracy of wait times? For example, right now the tip board is showing a 40 min wait for IASW, is that accurate??


We were there this morning and it was PACKED. I wouldn’t be surprised if IASW was actually 40 minutes. Thirty minutes after the park opened everything was busy. Dumbo had a 30 minute wait.


----------



## Leigh L

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> I’m so sorry this sounds horrible if I’m being honest.
> *I really enjoyed the standby lines and the lower wait times when we went last September.*
> And that is why I did the walk up line for Dole Whip. I heard horror stories leading up to my trip.
> I will say CHH was relatively quick for mobile order. Placed It, said we were here and within 10 minutes it was ready.


I get where you're coming from. I haven't been chiming in much lately since I haven't been there since June and then a quick trip in Sept, but yours are my thought as I'm reading posts. We really enjoyed the straight-on stand-by lines throughout 2020-21 (and we went numerous times).

I'm so sorry and sad to read so many people are having rough trips


----------



## PaladinButters

DisneyFive said:


> Yeah you are correct. I just checked and Touring plans predicted a level 3 at Magic Kingdom but ended up being a level 7.  normally they are not that far off. I wonder what caused that?
> 
> in our experience, anything at a level six or below with touringplans is manageable, and once you get to level 7 and higher you really notice the crowds more.
> 
> Dan



Last week I made it a game to check every morning and see how under touring plans predictions were.  I never check once we are there but you could feel it from day one. They were adding 2 points a day to every park. It's just that busy.  
Hard agree that 7s are the messy spot - those were the days we didn't get to ride everything even with Genie + and all the stacking strategies (squeezed in some table service / a dessert party which take up time to be fair) but we are used to asking how many time we get to ride Haunted Mansion, not do we skip Peter Pan or Pooh since we can't do both.  

My mobile order dole whips were ready in like two minutes though, so we had that going for us.... which was nice.


----------



## boop0524

Orsino said:


> EE Rope drop #2:
> Remy is down.


We were there for ETPE at Epcot and heard over the walkie accidentally that Remy was having issues and wouldn’t open on time. We headed straight to Soarin since they held us right near Nemo anyway and did that followed by LWTL both a walk on. Highly recommend that strategy


----------



## Faithful Raider

We were at HS today and lots of people but it was doable. Weather was nice. I loved the Indy stunt show and my DD15 who's lives and breathes stagecrew and sound boards was in heaven. That Sci-Fi ADR I chased for months sure was worth it. We all loved the vibe... Too cool! Out of all our days this was the toughest to plan but came off without a hitch.


----------



## Orsino

Given our recent poor experiences with rope drop and EE, we opted to go to AK late morning and it worked out great. No rope drop, no genie+ and we did fine. Safari was nutso when we arrived around 10:30. The line was out the queue and deep into harambe. We deferred safari until afternoon and our wait was 10 minutes!

Edited to add: we have been trying to use touring plans, but it told us to go to safari around 10:30 with an expected 23 minute wait. Posted was 60, line was out of sight. Reported waits were 60+. I’m finding touring plans is beyond optimistic in its plans.


----------



## NJlauren

Just got back from a quick trip and i was shocked at how crowded it was.  Everything was do able, and the crowds didn't bother us much, but a line for Carousel of Progress is a sign it is busy (moving quickly but i couldn't walk right up to the door).  Know your plan, know what your getting into and roll with it and you'll have a great time, IMO.


----------



## dardis

Just returned from 4 day trip (Sat 1/29-Tues 2/1). Very busy for Jan, but still a fun trip! Group of 4 - me and my DD and a friend from college and DS - both kids are 13. Used G+ and ILL$. I am experienced/expert(?) at WDW planning and execution. I have really appreciated all that people shareand hope this helps someone!

Highlights, Lowlights and Pointers:

- Using Early Entry, G+, ILL$, and Park Hopping allowed us to maximize what we did each day.

Pointers- if you don’t get a G+ or ILL$ at 7 - keep trying! I was able to get SDD at 7:12. I made a family on the Skyliner happy when I told them to keep trying for Rise. They got it at @8 after being shut out at 7. Refreshing to try and get a G+ for a specific ride often works - but can take time.

Transportation - mostly good. Timely busses. One exception we were on a Disney bus when a driver was lost and drove by AoA from MK 3x, not really sure what happened, but long trip at the end of the night. Morning bus line from AoA to MK was crazy long, but moved fast - lots of busses showing up. Skyliner is great - when it is operating. Sunday night after Epcot close the line to AoA/Pop was closed. Directed everyone to BC. Line crazy long and buses infrequent. We took an Uber to AoA.

Pointer - don’t like your Uber price? Close the app and try again. BC to AOA was $33first look (surge pricing), $13 at second look.

Mobile Ordering - I LOVE it! Would pass around my phone and let everyone order while we were on transportation or in a ride line and hit “prepare order” when we were on our way. Typically had short waits. Restaurant seating was very full, but we always found a spot. Going early/late helps.

Table service restaurants - pack your patience. Service is slow - servers and kitchens are busy. Just be prepared to take time and relax. The prices are definitely high.

Enjoy your planning and trips!


----------



## AndreaDM

Quick question, we are heading down on Sat. for a few days. Was planning to skip DHS this time, but now thinking about hopping there one day. Is it worth it just to be able to be there one day from 2-9? 2 adults, 2 kids (3&5).


----------



## MomOTwins

AndreaDM said:


> Quick question, we are heading down on Sat. for a few days. Was planning to skip DHS this time, but now thinking about hopping there one day. Is it worth it just to be able to be there one day from 2-9? 2 adults, 2 kids (3&5).


It’s pretty hard to get much done at DHS because the lines for everything are so long.  If you are going to use G+ and start stacking afternoon rides before you hop, then I think it would be fun if you go in expecting you won’t be doing anywhere near everything, and you don’t mind being in wall to wall people while there.


----------



## Gary Stocker

I just returned from a solo trip and have been trying to find time to summarize my thoughts from that perspective (spoiler alert: I wasn't sober much). At some point this afternoon I will take a stab at it.


----------



## juuuliebeth

Hello.  Adding my Genie+ experience and thoughts for what they're worth.  I used it two different days and had two very different experiences. (I was solo at the time.)

Saturday, January 22nd:

7am - purchased Genie+ and got Slinky Dog for 735pm (later saw earlier return times, so definitely don't give up hope.)
Purchased Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway for 4:45pm
Breakfast at Primo Piatto (lemon blueberry pancakes were AMAZING)
Disney Springs
11am - booked Tower of Terror for 1:30pm
Took loot back to Caribbean Beach and waited out the rain, got a snack
1pm - booked Rock 'n' Roller Coaster for 3:20pm
1:30pm - rode Tower of Terror
2:30pm - Frozen Sing Along (arrived around 2pm and got out around 3pm)
3pm - Reserved Millennium Falcon for 7:05pm
3:15pm - rode Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
3:40pm - Hollywood Brown Derby for Cobb Salad and Grapefruit Cake
5pm - reserved Toy Story Mania for 6:20pm
Skyliner to Epcot to check for art piece I wanted
5:45pm - rode Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway
One Man's Dream
7:15pm - rode Toy Story Mania
Alien Swirling Saucers with 10 minute standby
7:40pm - rode Slinky Dog
8pm - rode Millennium Falcon
Mickey Pretzel and Disney Movie Magic
Skyliner back to Caribbean Beach
It was a most excellent day.  I got everything done that I wanted.  (I've ridden Rise of the Resistance before, so I didn't want to pay for it.)  Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway is my new favorite ride in Hollywood Studios, so I was willing to pay.  I absolutely love it.  The first time I rode it was while COVID protocols were in place and I missed the opening, so I was so glad to experience that.

The other day I used Genie+ was Sunday, January 23rd at Magic Kingdom.  I booked Peter Pan at 7am.  After that, I tried to book as I went throughout the day.  Wasn't too bad.  I got to ride everything I wanted except Space Mountain and Mine Train.  Wasn't willing to pay or wait.  (It was busier than I was hoping for January.)  I took a break around 5pm to wander the monorail resorts and eat at Capt. Cook's.  (I love the pork nachos.)  I normally had to book LLs about an hour out, so I'd find a short wait or a show to wait it out.  As a solo traveler, FP+ worked well for me in the past after using my initial three.  I would be able to book so many.  

I like how Genie+ works, I just dislike that you have to pay for it.  Planning attractions 60 days out seemed a bit too much.  I like being able to decide the day of.  I really liked MaxPass in Disneyland because you paid extra for the ability to use the app, while the free system still existed.  Not having a choice but to pay or not be able to use any LL is so bothersome to me.

While I mostly like how Genie+ works, I found all the suggestions super irritating.  I just wanted to see my official plans, and it's trying to throw all these ideas at me.  Get rid of those, or give me a way of opting out.  I just want to see my day, not what some algorithm thinks I should do.  I'm pretty well versed in the parks.  I don't need your help telling me where to eat lunch.  Thanks.

It's all hit at the same time:  Genie+, Magical Express, very little Mousekeeping.  I'll still stay on site because I like the internal transit options.  (Staying at Caribbean Beach was amazing.  I love the Skyliner.  I bought so much art and it was so convenient to run back and drop it off and head back to Epcot.)  But paying the same, if not more, as before while getting fewer perks really hit me this trip.  And I don't have a family to pay for either.  Just for myself, travel to and from the airport and Genie+ easily added $100 to my three-day trip.  Then coming back to a hotel room that hasn't been attended to.  It's just so disheartening.  

Also, I wanted to run back to Epcot the morning of my Holllywood Studios day because I found art at the Wonderground Gallery that morning that I wanted to have signed by at artist that was there from 11am-1pm.  On my way, I realized I wouldn't have been able to get in because of the new reservation/park hopping situation.  That really bummed me out.  Park Reservations need to go away.


----------



## peteykirch

I'll most likely get flamed for this, but Disney needs to make special entrance gates for "First Time Visitors" the amount of people that have no clue how to tap in at the turnstiles is way too damn high. The amount of people who get to the front and then have to go searching for the ticket is ridiculous. It's just like going to Costco and you get stuck behind the person who made no attempt to pull out their membership card to get in through the front door.

Also, the fact it appears they don't use every touch point is ridiculous. On our last trip the CM at the tap point would block off the front two, reducing capacity from 4 to 2, and then if they were using all 4 people would only use the back one and refuse to move to the front so all the touch points can be utilized.

Not to bash CMs but it seems like the most of them honestly don't care about guest experience. At the LL touch points they just let people congregate around the entrance preventing guests who have reservations to tap in. All the CM needs to do is tell people do not stand in front of the touch points unless you are going to tap in, but they don't say a word.

It shouldn't be the job of the guest to inform and instruct other guests on what to do.

The amount of line jumping is also ridiculous. It should be standard policy that you don't get into line until your whole entire riding party is there and ready. It should be the same as it is in most restaurants where you won't get seated until your entire party has arrived.


----------



## Mango7100

Orsino said:


> Given our recent poor experiences with rope drop and EE, we opted to go to AK late morning and it worked out great. No rope drop, no genie+ and we did fine. Safari was nutso when we arrived around 10:30. The line was out the queue and deep into harambe. We deferred safari until afternoon and our wait was 10 minutes!
> 
> Edited to add: we have been trying to use touring plans, but it told us to go to safari around 10:30 with an expected 23 minute wait. Posted was 60, line was out of sight. Reported waits were 60+. I’m finding touring plans is beyond optimistic in its plans.


I agree about Touring Plans. It had been much more accurate on previous trips, but when we went in November they consistently were wrong on the expected wait times…several times by 30 minutes


----------



## Haley R

We just got back from a 3 night stay in a poly studio. This is the first trip we’ve ever been so excited to drive home. The crowds and standby lines were insane and genie+/LL makes standby SO slow. We had lots of monorail issues to both MK and Epcot from the poly and TTC. Our passes expire in May and I’m not sure we’ll even use them again even though we only live an hour away. If crowds don’t thin out at all we most likely will let them expire. I never thought we would be in this position. Our ds is only 21 months and he talks about Disney all the time but this trip was not magical for any of us.


----------



## DisneyFive

juuuliebeth said:


> Hello.  Adding my Genie+ experience and thoughts for what they're worth.  I used it two different days and had two very different experiences. (I was solo at the time.)
> 
> Saturday, January 22nd:
> 
> 7am - purchased Genie+ and got Slinky Dog for 735pm (later saw earlier return times, so definitely don't give up hope.)
> Purchased Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway for 4:45pm
> Breakfast at Primo Piatto (lemon blueberry pancakes were AMAZING)
> Disney Springs
> 11am - booked Tower of Terror for 1:30pm
> Took loot back to Caribbean Beach and waited out the rain, got a snack
> 1pm - booked Rock 'n' Roller Coaster for 3:20pm
> 1:30pm - rode Tower of Terror
> 2:30pm - Frozen Sing Along (arrived around 2pm and got out around 3pm)
> 3pm - Reserved Millennium Falcon for 7:05pm
> 3:15pm - rode Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
> 3:40pm - Hollywood Brown Derby for Cobb Salad and Grapefruit Cake
> 5pm - reserved Toy Story Mania for 6:20pm
> Skyliner to Epcot to check for art piece I wanted
> 5:45pm - rode Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway
> One Man's Dream
> 7:15pm - rode Toy Story Mania
> Alien Swirling Saucers with 10 minute standby
> 7:40pm - rode Slinky Dog
> 8pm - rode Millennium Falcon
> Mickey Pretzel and Disney Movie Magic
> Skyliner back to Caribbean Beach
> It was a most excellent day.  I got everything done that I wanted.  (I've ridden Rise of the Resistance before, so I didn't want to pay for it.)  Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway is my new favorite ride in Hollywood Studios, so I was willing to pay.  I absolutely love it.  The first time I rode it was while COVID protocols were in place and I missed the opening, so I was so glad to experience that.
> 
> The other day I used Genie+ was Sunday, January 23rd at Magic Kingdom.  I booked Peter Pan at 7am.  After that, I tried to book as I went throughout the day.  Wasn't too bad.  I got to ride everything I wanted except Space Mountain and Mine Train.  Wasn't willing to pay or wait.  (It was busier than I was hoping for January.)  I took a break around 5pm to wander the monorail resorts and eat at Capt. Cook's.  (I love the pork nachos.)  I normally had to book LLs about an hour out, so I'd find a short wait or a show to wait it out.  As a solo traveler, FP+ worked well for me in the past after using my initial three.  I would be able to book so many.
> 
> I like how Genie+ works, I just dislike that you have to pay for it.  Planning attractions 60 days out seemed a bit too much.  I like being able to decide the day of.  I really liked MaxPass in Disneyland because you paid extra for the ability to use the app, while the free system still existed.  Not having a choice but to pay or not be able to use any LL is so bothersome to me.
> 
> While I mostly like how Genie+ works, I found all the suggestions super irritating.  I just wanted to see my official plans, and it's trying to throw all these ideas at me.  Get rid of those, or give me a way of opting out.  I just want to see my day, not what some algorithm thinks I should do.  I'm pretty well versed in the parks.  I don't need your help telling me where to eat lunch.  Thanks.
> 
> It's all hit at the same time:  Genie+, Magical Express, very little Mousekeeping.  I'll still stay on site because I like the internal transit options.  (Staying at Caribbean Beach was amazing.  I love the Skyliner.  I bought so much art and it was so convenient to run back and drop it off and head back to Epcot.)  But paying the same, if not more, as before while getting fewer perks really hit me this trip.  And I don't have a family to pay for either.  Just for myself, travel to and from the airport and Genie+ easily added $100 to my three-day trip.  Then coming back to a hotel room that hasn't been attended to.  It's just so disheartening.
> 
> Also, I wanted to run back to Epcot the morning of my Holllywood Studios day because I found art at the Wonderground Gallery that morning that I wanted to have signed by at artist that was there from 11am-1pm.  On my way, I realized I wouldn't have been able to get in because of the new reservation/park hopping situation.  That really bummed me out.  Park Reservations need to go away.



Wow, well done!  This shows how proper usage and planning can result in a successful (albeit long) day.

I would love one of these for MK, and maybe someone already has done one, but I don't have the patience to wade back through all the pages.  I'm particularly interested in folks who started booking G+ windows starting as soon after park opening as possible and just grabbing the earliest next available throughout the day.  How successful is that strategy?

Dan


----------



## Faithful Raider

Gorgeous day in EPCOT. Little warm in the sun, cool in the shade. Crowds are here but not overwhelming in world showcase. Perfect day to relax and take it slow. Our 6 year old is having fun with the festival activities and the scavenger hunt. She had a great time painting the artist palette cookie from Refreshment Outpost.


----------



## dizneegirl

Were there last week... with a few disappointments here and there (we were in Epcot **9** days after the Festival of the Arts started, and absolutely no 2022 Figment baseball caps or sporks to be found - really had my heart set on one of those caps! Also - found more 50th merchandise than our last trip in Nov., but still cannot get my hands on one of the 50th mouse ear hats with the gold ears), we had a really nice trip. We didn't do much at DHS because the crowds were crazy, and we didn't purchase Genie+, but were able to hit everything we wanted at the other parks relatively easily. We have annual passes, and will be back a couple of times, so we didn't feel like we missed too much - ambiance was fine for those times we didn't want to wait in long lines. And being able to hop to Epcot every evening to dine at the festival booths was a must.


----------



## wdhinn89

DisneyFive said:


> Wow, well done!  This shows how proper usage and planning can result in a successful (albeit long) day.
> 
> I would love one of these for MK, and maybe someone already has done one, but I don't have the patience to wade back through all the pages.  I'm particularly interested in folks who started booking G+ windows starting as soon after park opening as possible and just grabbing the earliest next available throughout the day.  How successful is that strategy?
> 
> Dan


Curious about this too


----------



## BK2014

peteykirch said:


> I'll most likely get flamed for this, but Disney needs to make special entrance gates for "First Time Visitors" the amount of people that have no clue how to tap in at the turnstiles is way too damn high. The amount of people who get to the front and then have to go searching for the ticket is ridiculous. It's just like going to Costco and you get stuck behind the person who made no attempt to pull out their membership card to get in through the front door.
> 
> Also, the fact it appears they don't use every touch point is ridiculous. On our last trip the CM at the tap point would block off the front two, reducing capacity from 4 to 2, and then if they were using all 4 people would only use the back one and refuse to move to the front so all the touch points can be utilized.
> 
> Not to bash CMs but it seems like the most of them honestly don't care about guest experience. At the LL touch points they just let people congregate around the entrance preventing guests who have reservations to tap in. All the CM needs to do is tell people do not stand in front of the touch points unless you are going to tap in, but they don't say a word.
> 
> It shouldn't be the job of the guest to inform and instruct other guests on what to do.
> 
> The amount of line jumping is also ridiculous. It should be standard policy that you don't get into line until your whole entire riding party is there and ready. It should be the same as it is in most restaurants where you won't get seated until your entire party has arrived.



It seems like the presence of other people really affected your trip.  If they do make special entrance gates for "First Time Visitors" it should be most of the tapstiles, since return guests never have issues once they reach the front of the line so those lines would move quickly and without disruption.  I have not noticed the blocking off of touch points, but I would assume that if they are doing so, it is for a reason.

I am not sure that allowing guests to congregate around entrances equal CM not caring about guest experience.  When I have seen this happen, it is usually because the CM cares enough about guest experience to patiently explain something or resolve an issue.  Should they be aware that the entrance point is being blocked, maybe.  But there are a lot of demands on the CMs.

Line jumping is one of those things that really annoy some people, and other people not so much.  I have never felt it significantly affected my waits in line, but at the same time I would like to see it stop as well.  Ironically, I think making groups wait until they are complete would only add to the crowds blocking the entrances.


----------



## boop0524

DisneyFive said:


> Wow, well done!  This shows how proper usage and planning can result in a successful (albeit long) day.
> 
> I would love one of these for MK, and maybe someone already has done one, but I don't have the patience to wade back through all the pages.  I'm particularly interested in folks who started booking G+ windows starting as soon after park opening as possible and just grabbing the earliest next available throughout the day.  How successful is that strategy?
> 
> Dan


We did MK today booking as soon as park opening and then grabbing next available throughout the day, so hopefully this helps. Now keep in mind this meant that we missed out on PPF since it was always super far out and we lucked out with a JC at the end of the day. We also opted out of ETPE and decided to sleep in and take it easy this morning. We arrived in time for our first LL. Here’s our schedule, times approx:

9:30 BTMR — 7 am LL
10:30 7DMT — 7 am ILL
Standby SM, waited the full posted 35 mins
1:20 Pirates
2:10 Buzz
3:30 lunch at CRT 
Hall of Presidents 
People Mover
6:10 Small World
6:20 Haunted Mansion
7:45 JC


----------



## DisneyFive

boop0524 said:


> We did MK today booking as soon as park opening and then grabbing next available throughout the day, so hopefully this helps. Now keep in mind this meant that we missed out on PPF since it was always super far out and we lucked out with a JC at the end of the day. We also opted out of ETPE and decided to sleep in and take it easy this morning. We arrived in time for our first LL. Here’s our schedule, times approx:
> 
> 9:30 BTMR — 7 am LL
> 10:30 7DMT — 7 am ILL
> Standby SM, waited the full posted 35 mins
> 1:20 Pirates
> 2:10 Buzz
> 3:30 lunch at CRT
> Hall of Presidents
> People Mover
> 6:10 Small World
> 6:20 Haunted Mansion
> 7:45 JC



Thank you for that. So all of the times that you posted are for LL’s? (Except for 7DMT of course.)  Did you do other attractions standby besides SM?

Dan


----------



## boop0524

DisneyFive said:


> Thank you for that. So all of the times that you posted are for LL’s? (Except for 7DMT of course.)  Did you do other attractions standby besides SM?
> 
> Dan


All LL except SM, People Mover and Hall of Presidents. We also just snagged an 8:30 LL for Carpets after JC and are doing standby BTMR in the final 15 minutes of the day. All in all pretty happy with the day!!


----------



## DisneyFive

Awesome. Very happy for you! I did not realize that it was a live report and that you are actually there today! I’m jealous. Have a great time!

Dan


----------



## peteykirch

BK2014 said:


> It seems like the presence of other people really affected your trip.  If they do make special entrance gates for "First Time Visitors" it should be most of the tapstiles, since return guests never have issues once they reach the front of the line so those lines would move quickly and without disruption.  I have not noticed the blocking off of touch points, but I would assume that if they are doing so, it is for a reason.
> 
> I am not sure that allowing guests to congregate around entrances equal CM not caring about guest experience.  When I have seen this happen, it is usually because the CM cares enough about guest experience to patiently explain something or resolve an issue.  Should they be aware that the entrance point is being blocked, maybe.  But there are a lot of demands on the CMs.
> 
> Line jumping is one of those things that really annoy some people, and other people not so much.  I have never felt it significantly affected my waits in line, but at the same time I would like to see it stop as well.  Ironically, I think making groups wait until they are complete would only add to the crowds blocking the entrances.



Well using the Passholder Line isn't the work around either. Depending how busy it is at Rope Drop they let anyone use the AP Line to get people through the gates faster.

I just think the bigger issue is not utilizing all the touch points when there is a CM stationed at the entrance gate. One CM stands there for 4 touch points, but all too often the CM blocks off the ones near the front only utilizing the back 2 touch points. I also don't know the regulations CMs have to follow when there is an issue with someones ticket not working, but having them stand there instead of pulling them aside to service other guests leads to a very poor guest experience.

The issue with people blocking the entrance way near the tap points for LL is the CM isn't actively talking or assisting anyone. They are just standing there, there is no active conversation happening between the CM and the Guests congregating there.

Line jumping may or may not increase wait times very often, but it's just a scummy thing to do in general. Sometimes you'll get a guest who will stand off to the side and tell people to go around because they are waiting for someone to join them in line, but that is the slim minority of those experiences. 

I will also say mask compliance inside ride queues was pretty poor. Rides where there is only a CM outside, and then you don't see one until either the 2nd touch point or the loading area leads to a lot of people not bothering to keep their masks on. I really thought the week we were there with the cold weather would make people want to keep masks on longer to keep their faces warmer but that didn't materialize as much as I thought it would. I guess it's Florida just going to Florida.


----------



## dwonderz

dardis said:


> Pointer - don’t like your Uber price? Close the app and try again. BC to AOA was $33first look (surge pricing), $13 at second look.


I just wanted to emphasize this - we had the exact same experience in November!! There would be times that the Uber would drop by $20-$25. Also - if you are leaving a park after fireworks/etc. - either leave a few minutes earlier or wait an extra 15 minutes and the price of the Uber will drop drastically! If you're leaving MK - instead of going to the TTC - we take the monorail/boat over to the Poly/GF and catch an uber from there (it's so much more comfortable waiting in the lobby than at the TTC).


----------



## juuuliebeth

DisneyFive said:


> I would love one of these for MK, and maybe someone already has done one, but I don't have the patience to wade back through all the pages. I'm particularly interested in folks who started booking G+ windows starting as soon after park opening as possible and just grabbing the earliest next available throughout the day. How successful is that strategy?



I started to try and write down my MK day, as that's what I did, but I don't remember the specifics.  It wasn't successful or unsuccessful.  I was essentially able to book attractions about 60-90 minutes into the future.  Started with Peter Pan at 11:30am or so.  Rode Thunder Mountain in standby in the morning (waited about 35 minutes when posted at 50).  Then Cheshire Cafe for a cat tail for breakfast and some shopping around.  Rode Peter Pan as soon as window opened and then booked Haunted Mansion for maybe 1pm or so.  Proceeded to get LLs for Small World, Pirates, Under the Sea with Ariel, Dumbo, and a nighttime ride on Thunder Mountain again.  Filled in time with Philharmagic, Tiki Room, Country Bears, Hall of Presidents, and People Mover.  Then sprinkle in some cavalcades, shopping, snacks, and Enchantment, you can make yourself a full day at MK for sure.  

It wasn't a bad day, but I didn't feel like I got as much done as I wanted to.  Maybe I just need to get used to the new system in order to make it really work for me like FP+ did in the past.  Or maybe it was too crowded to really utilize it.  I'm actually looking forward to trying it again at some point, though I still really resent the price tag.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Just returned from 7day trip last night.  Have posted several times already but just wanted to mention again how we found the early entry for resort guests especially at MK to be extremely disappointing....there were literally hordes of people by 8:30 am waiting for just several attraction!
one morning both 7 DMT and Winnie the Pooh were down, PP went down within an hour followed shortly by HM.  as a result both LL lanes and standby lines were crazy long for most of day.  The other days we did early entrance at MK were not as crazy but still frustrating with only a few rides open and so many people.  in comparison our early entry morning at HS on Friday was great. Line for Slinky dog began moving steadily at 8:20 am and TSM began moving right at 8:30 am. Tried using Genie+ without too much success probably because we can only stay a few hours in a park and not the amount of time it takes to utilize the Genie+ effectively. 
one more observation....stayed at CSR and during course of day yesterday large groups of kids mostly girls appeared to be cheer groups began arriving and groups of screaming kids quickly began showing up at pools....lots of pent up energy!   
I did cancel our early March trip as everything and I mean EVERYTHING is going to be crazy crowded!  
in spite of larger crowds than expected in the parks and really cold temps for several days we ended our trip with 2 beautiful warm sunny days and several peaceful hours at a beautiful pool and enjoyed some great meals throughout the week.


----------



## brockash

BK2014 said:


> It seems like the presence of other people really affected your trip.  If they do make special entrance gates for "First Time Visitors" it should be most of the tapstiles, since return guests never have issues once they reach the front of the line so those lines would move quickly and without disruption.  I have not noticed the blocking off of touch points, but I would assume that if they are doing so, it is for a reason.
> 
> I am not sure that allowing guests to congregate around entrances equal CM not caring about guest experience.  When I have seen this happen, it is usually because the CM cares enough about guest experience to patiently explain something or resolve an issue.  Should they be aware that the entrance point is being blocked, maybe.  But there are a lot of demands on the CMs.
> 
> Line jumping is one of those things that really annoy some people, and other people not so much.  I have never felt it significantly affected my waits in line, but at the same time I would like to see it stop as well.  Ironically, I think making groups wait until they are complete would only add to the crowds blocking the entrances.


I think what the OP experienced is what many of us have over the past few years...Disney's customer service used to be stellar and it seems from many experiences it is not any longer.  It seems the mindset from the very top, which of course works it way down to the CMs on the frontlines, has really changed and not for the better.


----------



## KathyNY76

Thurs Feb 3 - Epcot

Oy. The people. I just had a FB memory from our first family trip to Disney 7 years ago. Same time of year, it's such a different experience now (I used to really hate when people talk about the good old days in 80s or 90s but now I see why! )

Staying at POP. Skyliner was down this am (just came up at 6pm). I requested a room by it since I knew I was doing Epcot and DHS. While walking to bus stop I realize my plan is Remy so I ping an Uber - who happened to be dropping of a CM right then! Yay.

Dropped me at the Swan and I walked to IG. They let us in a little before 9 and over to Remy. I was pretty close to the front. Ride was down until just before 10. Got off at 10:07 so decided Frozen wasn't worth the walk/wait.

Soarin said 30, was 9.
LWtL said 15, was 7 or so.
Figment said 10, was 5
TT said 55, used SR to walk right to load - only for it to go down for hours.
Gave us a LL that I used immediately at Spaceship Earth b/c the posted 20 mins looked to be that and I was getting hungry!

Headed to World Showcase for food booths (Beet Carpacio, Mushroom Risotto, Deconstructed Onion soup all delish. Encanto empanada - eh, it was fine. Didn't live up to the hype I'd heard.)
3 Caballeros pretty much walk on (through some queue zig zags)

It was just really, really crowded. More crowded than our Spring Break trip last year. Which granted, many still weren't traveling, but still - beg of Feb I thought it would be better (though the reports the last few weeks prepared me for the crowds!)

 It was my first time doing a park solo (daughter was practicing with her dance team) and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Not sure if it was being alone (I'm am extravert), or the crowds, or all the "broken" things...


----------



## Sarahslay

KathyNY76 said:


> Thurs Feb 3 - Epcot
> 
> Oy. The people. I just had a FB memory from our first family trip to Disney 7 years ago. Same time of year, it's such a different experience now (I used to really hate when people talk about the good old days in 80s or 90s but now I see why! )
> 
> Staying at POP. Skyliner was down this am (just came up at 6pm). I requested a room by it since I knew I was doing Epcot and DHS. While walking to bus stop I realize my plan is Remy so I ping an Uber - who happened to be dropping of a CM right then! Yay.
> 
> Dropped me at the Swan and I walked to IG. They let us in a little before 9 and over to Remy. I was pretty close to the front. Ride was down until just before 10. Got off at 10:07 so decided Frozen wasn't worth the walk/wait.
> 
> Soarin said 30, was 9.
> LWtL said 15, was 7 or so.
> Figment said 10, was 5
> TT said 55, used SR to walk right to load - only for it to go down for hours.
> Gave us a LL that I used immediately at Spaceship Earth b/c the posted 20 mins looked to be that and I was getting hungry!
> 
> Headed to World Showcase for food booths (Beet Carpacio, Mushroom Risotto, Deconstructed Onion soup all delish. Encanto empanada - eh, it was fine. Didn't live up to the hype I'd heard.)
> 3 Caballeros pretty much walk on (through some queue zig zags)
> 
> It was just really, really crowded. More crowded than our Spring Break trip last year. Which granted, many still weren't traveling, but still - beg of Feb I thought it would be better (though the reports the last few weeks prepared me for the crowds!)
> 
> It was my first time doing a park solo (daughter was practicing with her dance team) and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Not sure if it was being alone (I'm am extravert), or the crowds, or all the "broken" things...


Shoot, my FB memories right now are from my trip the last week of January/first week of February I did in 2020, and I just got back from a trip this past Saturday, night and day trips crowd wise. That’s only 2 years! I mean, sure, it was right before the closure and things have changed, but a lot of people keep saying “I remember 5/10/15 years ago…crowds were never like this in January”, but they weren’t like this right before the shut down either. One of the manager at BW was telling me they couldn’t believe how crowded/busy it is, and they all keep wondering when it will slow down. Same with CMs at several other places. I’m longing for the parks from my FB memories right now, it looks like I had a really great time 2 years ago  (it was a solo trip, and I love solo trips, but goodness it was like the next trip ever)


----------



## Faithful Raider

Weather was nice for our half day pool day we rescheduled from last Saturday. Spent the rest at Animal Kingdom which was predicted a 6 and sure felt every bit of that. We did a few rides and hung out and enjoyed and finished the night at Disney Springs. Weather was perfect but wow sure was busy for a Thursday night!

Hoping to talk the fam into another half day pool day tomorrow. Was able to move my teppen edo reservation back a few hours just in case they say yes! Tomorrow we have our last Epcot day planned and we have to finish the scavenger hunt!


----------



## evilqueenmindy

We got here Wednesday, going home Sunday.  We always do a Disney trip this week in Feb, and this is the most crowded I’ve ever seen the parks at this time of year.
wait times are also way off.  We were at little mermaid yesterday with a posted 40 min wait and literally walked thru the queue and up to the ride.  On the other had, we got ILL for space mount in the morning for 2 in the afternoon, posted wait was 45 minute, and they were using the outdoor queue as well as the entire indoor queue.  It had to have been an hour at least.


----------



## DisneyFive

evilqueenmindy said:


> We got here Wednesday, going home Sunday.  We always do a Disney trip this week in Feb, and this is the most crowded I’ve ever seen the parks at this time of year.
> wait times are also way off.  We were at little mermaid yesterday with a posted 40 min wait and literally walked thru the queue and up to the ride.  On the other had, we got ILL for space mount in the morning for 2 in the afternoon, posted wait was 45 minute, and they were using the outdoor queue as well as the entire indoor queue.  It had to have been an hour at least.


You waited over an hour and you purchased ILL?  That's like standby wait time.  I'd be going to guest services. (and I'm not one to complain, normally)

Dan


----------



## Lsdolphin

Beware of FB messages with “someone has died...” it’s a hacker“. I tried to open the message I received not realizing it and now the same message has been sent to everyone on my FB list. Just finished changing all my passwords!


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## elgerber

DisneyFive said:


> You waited over an hour and you purchased ILL?  That's like standby wait time.  I'd be going to guest services. (and I'm not one to complain, normally)
> 
> Dan


I think they were just commenting on what the standby line looked like when they used their ILL


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## evilqueenmindy

DisneyFive said:


> You waited over an hour and you purchased ILL?  That's like standby wait time.  I'd be going to guest services. (and I'm not one to complain, normally)
> 
> Dan


No, we walked right on.  But we passed by a very long line.  There’s no way it was 45 minutes


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## Sarahslay

evilqueenmindy said:


> We got here Wednesday, going home Sunday.  We always do a Disney trip this week in Feb, and this is the most crowded I’ve ever seen the parks at this time of year.
> wait times are also way off.  We were at little mermaid yesterday with a posted 40 min wait and literally walked thru the queue and up to the ride.  On the other had, we got ILL for space mount in the morning for 2 in the afternoon, posted wait was 45 minute, and they were using the outdoor queue as well as the entire indoor queue.  It had to have been an hour at least.


Last week we noticed the same thing with the SM line, the wait time said something like 35/45 minutes and the queue was all the way outside and wrapped around the whole outdoor queue area they had set up and spilling out in front of the restrooms over there. It reminded me of the line when they still had social distancing, except then you could actually expect the line to be that amount of time.


----------



## DisneyFive

Sarahslay said:


> Last week we noticed the same thing with the SM line, the wait time said something like 35/45 minutes and the queue was all the way outside and wrapped around the whole outdoor queue area they had set up and spilling out in front of the restrooms over there. It reminded me of the line when they still had social distancing, except then you could actually expect the line to be that amount of time.



Back this past summer when it was standby only, that length of line you describe actually WAS 35-45 minutes.  I know because we were at the end of that line right at rope drop one morning.  However now that they are letting ILL people in, it HAS to be much longer.

Dan


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## Sarahslay

DisneyFive said:


> Back this past summer when it was standby only, that length of line you describe actually WAS 35-45 minutes.  I know because we were at the end of that line right at rope drop one morning.  However now that they are letting ILL people in, it HAS to be much longer.
> 
> Dan


Oh it definitely is! We saw the line while on the peoplemover, when we got off (even after a bit of a stop on the ride) the people we had seen in line were still out there. They had moved some, but were nowhere near being inside and it had been probably 20 minutes at that point so who knows how long they had already been standing out there. My dad didn't want to ride it so we didn't stand in line or do LL, but after seeing that I wasn't about to go just get in line by myself.


----------



## DisneyFive

Sarahslay said:


> Oh it definitely is! We saw the line while on the peoplemover, when we got off (even after a bit of a stop on the ride) the people we had seen in line were still out there. They had moved some, but were nowhere near being inside and it had been probably 20 minutes at that point so who knows how long they had already been standing out there. My dad didn't want to ride it so we didn't stand in line or do LL, but after seeing that I wasn't about to go just get in line by myself.



I've NEVER seen Space spill out like that until last summer.  It made more sense though because they were only using one queue line.  There weren't options for both Standby and FP+.  It was standby only.  Most rides were like that.  BTMRR regularly spilled way across the bridge almost to Liberty Square and Haunted mansion would snake down along the wooden dock area. :0

I think FP+ must have done a better job of regulating the flow of people in the FP line versus standby.  From other reports, it sounds as though the number of G+ allotments are less overall which means the standby queue will back up with everyone else.

Looks like we'll be hitting it either at rope drop (if we decide to get up that early), or right before park close.  It's frustrating having to make that choice now (or pay up sucker).  Space is in my top 3 at MK so it's a must do.

Dan


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## Gary Stocker

I can tell you on my last day I decided not to purchase Genie + and rope dropped (Early Entry) Space Mountain. Disney reported 40 minutes around 8:40 and I waited 20...I tell you being 6'3" that ride always makes me think I am going to be scalped.


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## kylenne

Friendly reminder that the Touring Plans Lines app works off of crowdsourced data, if you are seeing wild discrepancies between projected and actual wait times _please_ be part of the solution and submit your times. Too many people passively downloading the app and using it like another MDE doesn’t help anyone.


----------



## Sarahslay

DisneyFive said:


> I've NEVER seen Space spill out like that until last summer.  It made more sense though because they were only using one queue line.  There weren't options for both Standby and FP+.  It was standby only.  Most rides were like that.  BTMRR regularly spilled way across the bridge almost to Liberty Square and Haunted mansion would snake down along the wooden dock area. :0
> 
> I think FP+ must have done a better job of regulating the flow of people in the FP line versus standby.  From other reports, it sounds as though the number of G+ allotments are less overall which means the standby queue will back up with everyone else.
> 
> Looks like we'll be hitting it either at rope drop (if we decide to get up that early), or right before park close.  It's frustrating having to make that choice now (or pay up sucker).  Space is in my top 3 at MK so it's a must do.
> 
> Dan


I do think G+ is making the lines longer overall, I use DAS and even notice that they clear that G+ line faster than they ever did the FP line. If they notice it getting a lot of people lined up they start just flowing that line through and let the standby line stack up. With FP+ they would do the "a little from this line....a little from that line..." approach and that worked to keep it flowing at least a little better. Maybe it's to make people feel they got their money out of it (don't want to have to wait after you paid for it after all, it wasn't free), or making the people in the line go "Man, maybe I should pay for G+, I'm tired of standing in these long lines"...or a little bit of both.


----------



## Sarahslay

Gary Stocker said:


> I can tell you on my last day I decided not to purchase Genie + and rope dropped (Early Entry) Space Mountain. Disney reported 40 minutes around 8:40 and I waited 20...I tell you being 6'3" that ride always makes me think I am going to be scalped.


my husband is 6'3" and always tries to scrunch down as far as he can in that seat. His ride photos are hilarious, like a turtle trying to hide in his shell. I will say that rope drop is a completely different story with that line, it will move! When I go back for my solo trip in June I plan on hitting it at opening, they don't have a chance to get backed up at that point.


----------



## MainMom

Sarahslay said:


> my husband is 6'3" and always tries to scrunch down as far as he can in that seat. His ride photos are hilarious, like a turtle trying to hide in his shell. I will say that rope drop is a completely different story with that line, it will move! When I go back for my solo trip in June I plan on hitting it at opening, they don't have a chance to get backed up at that point.



This is our plan end of May/beginning of June. Good to know about RD Space Mountain. Thanks!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Sarahslay said:


> I do think G+ is making the lines longer overall, I use DAS and even notice that they clear that G+ line faster than they ever did the FP line. If they notice it getting a lot of people lined up they start just flowing that line through and let the standby line stack up. With FP+ they would do the "a little from this line....a little from that line..." approach and that worked to keep it flowing at least a little better. Maybe it's to make people feel they got their money out of it (don't want to have to wait after you paid for it after all, it wasn't free), or making the people in the line go "Man, maybe I should pay for G+, I'm tired of standing in these long lines"...or a little bit of both.



Back in Nov I felt like they were more equitable with alternating between LL and standby but it has gotten noticeably worse. And I get giving priority to LL because yeah they paid for it but the standby waits need to be more accurate then - I don’t mind waiting 60 minutes, but I mind waiting 75 minutes in a line posted as 45.


----------



## bambialways4ever

Sarahslay said:


> I do think G+ is making the lines longer overall, I use DAS and even notice that they clear that G+ line faster than they ever did the FP line. If they notice it getting a lot of people lined up they start just flowing that line through and let the standby line stack up. With FP+ they would do the "a little from this line....a little from that line..." approach and that worked to keep it flowing at least a little better. Maybe it's to make people feel they got their money out of it (don't want to have to wait after you paid for it after all, it wasn't free), or making the people in the line go "Man, maybe I should pay for G+, I'm tired of standing in these long lines"...or a little bit of both.


I also think the fact that DAS uses the lightning lane is part if it too. They take 10 mins off a DAS return time to help account for the time waiting in the lightning lane line.

Disney would have a real problem with many of its DAS users if lightning lane lines were regularly 30 minutes long


----------



## Sarahslay

bambialways4ever said:


> I also think the fact that DAS uses the lightning lane is part if it too. They take 10 mins off a DAS return time to help account for the time waiting in the lightning lane line. Disney would have a real problem with many of its DAS users if lightning lane lines were regularly 30 minutes long



I was told by a CM that they take the 10 minutes off to account for times being off (like it says 60 minutes but it's actually 50), but who knows. I don't mind waiting a little while at all, I just literally can not wait in long lines for several reasons. I actually started having sensory issues and lost it in the FOP LL queue last week when the lady behind us decided she was going to stand so close we were touching AND she was going to talk so loud to the person she was with that she was pretty much yelling....to the person standing less than a foot away from her. Sent me off, ended up in the fetal position on the floor of the queue which was awesome as an adult woman who doesn't ever want to do that in public. That was actually the only LL where we ever had to wait, they definitely don't care about emptying that one out some times. I really think that moving that line quickly has zero to do with DAS and everything to do with paying guests and wanting other people waiting to feel like they NEED the service, purely psychological.


----------



## Sarahslay

butterscotchcollins said:


> Back in Nov I felt like they were more equitable with alternating between LL and standby but it has gotten noticeably worse. And I get giving priority to LL because yeah they paid for it but the standby waits need to be more accurate then - I don’t mind waiting 60 minutes, but I mind waiting 75 minutes in a line posted as 45.


Yep, I've heard several people mention this who have been to the parks over the course of G+ being rolled out. One friend went the second week it was in use, and she was there week before last over MLK, and she said she felt it was almost like they noticed people weren't using it so now they're dangling the carrot out there like "come on, these lines are long....you know you want to pay for it". She paid for it the first time, but only did it one day on her last trip because she was there with her daughters band so rides weren't a priority, but it did make her angry on the second trip. I noticed pretty much what she told me when I went too, hoping I wouldn't, and I hope it was just a fluke because it was so crowded. I just hope it doesn't just keep getting worse.


----------



## ItsOnlyMoney

We went to Universal for 2 days. HP world was MOBBED. The rest of the park wasn't as bad but we aren't roller coaster people so only did a few rides. 
And even though we came prepared with wool sweaters and ponchos we think next trip (in several years) we will try to find a week in March or April. 
Regular Genie kept trying to send us to rides way across the park or suggested a ride we were near 4 hours later. The only good part was that rather than go all across the park to find a long wait time I was able to check for rides closer to where we were. And mobile order meals.


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## hulagirl87

We just got back yesterday and I definitely have some thoughts         Overall, it was a great trip!   We haven't been in over 3 years and it was amazing to be back in the magic!     We went to Epcot our first night in, got in line for Living with the Land and waited 20 minutes, got right to the front and the line stopped.  We waited for about 10 minutes and then were told that the ride had broken down and someone would scan our bands to give us a "fastpass" for another ride.   We went over to Soarin' and they scanned our bands and sent us through the Lightning Lane line so we got to ride that.  Sunday was our Hollywood Studios day and we woke bright and early to get to Rise of the Resistance.   We arrived at 8:15am with the masses and headed that way to be told that it was down and that it should be up by 9.  We decided to wait down that way but when we got closer to the ride they said the didn't know when it would be up, so conflicting information.   So we headed to Runaway Railway.  Waited there in line for 20 minutes, didn't move at all and then were told that it was down as well.   Went to Rock n Roller Coaster and that was up and running so we rode that, but while waiting in line, looked at the app and Slinky Dog was down too.   Not a good start to the day!   The wait times were crazy since so much was down.    Finally everything came back up and running, but it was so busy and wait times were all 80+ minutes for pretty  much everything.  

Observation at every park.....   Lines move very slowly.   Lightning lane slows things down in my opinion.   They stop the lines very frequently to let in 20+ people from the Lightning Lane line.  

Crowds were crazy.    In all my 30+ trips, I've never waited longer in lines than I did this trip.   Wait times were pretty accurate with what was listed.   If it said 80 minutes, it was 80 minutes or more.   Remy especially.   That wait time said 90 minutes, but we waited a little more than that, and then sadly didn't even like the ride.   The 3D seemed really blurry to me at times and I couldn't focus.  It was weird.   Glad I did it, but know I won't do it again.    Though a couple days ago, the wait time for Winnie the Pooh said 40 minutes, but we only waited 15, so that was a pleasant surprise!   

Loved all the characters they had out at MK on the Railroad platform thing!    So fun!

The weather was amazing!   So much sunshine!

All the good we ate was delicious.   They were very accommodating with my allergies.  All our servers were incredible.

Used Uber a few times and that was amazing and so quick!  One day the wait at our resort for the MK bus was over 100 people, so we called an Uber which picked us up in 2 minutes and got us to the TTC within 15 minutes.   And we took the Ferry over to MK which I have never done in all my times there!   We loved that!

I wish waits had been less, but we still had a magical time!

I'm lucky and get to go back with my friend in a couple months and can't wait to get back!


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## ItsOnlyMoney

>Remy especially. That wait time said 90 minutes, but we waited a little more than that, and then sadly didn't even like the ride. The 3D seemed really blurry to me at times and I couldn't focus. It was weird <

I too thought the 3d was blurry. I also had that issue with Flight of Passage. If I looked up through the top part it was ok but otherwise it didn't seem as though the glasses worked at all.


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## Lsdolphin

We found Uber to be amazing rides showed up within a few minutes didn’t experience any of the crazy surge pricing we had in early Dec. drivers were all friendly.  I did tip in cash instead of online so drivers didnt have to wait for their tips and the drivers were all very appreciative of this.


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## Gary Stocker

To wrap a bow on my solo trip...they had the 50th anniversary Monorail sets and I shipped home since it wouldn't fit in my luggage...opening and closing doors, announcements...my boys 6th birthday gift..at least that's I am telling him. Not bad. .took a week to ship from the emporium to my house in NJ


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## BK2014

We are local and have APs.  We went to EPCOT this morning.  Arrived at about 8:35am, and waited with the non-early entry crowds until they let us in a few minutes before 9:00am.  Went straight to Soarin' and it was a walk on.  (Am I the only one who likes a very short line over a walk-on, as by the time I huff it to the ride and through the entire queue I could use a moment to catch my breath before boarding?)  

As we huffed it from the front of the park to Soarin' with the masses, I heard exasperated woman exclaim to her party as we were passing The Seas with Nemo and Friends - "What is this?  Is this Ratatouille?"  

After Soarin'' we headed to Remy.  We got in line at about 9:30 with a posted 60 minute wait. 

The party in front of us was a mother and son (maybe mid-teens?) who argued the entire 65 minutes in line.  They were seated behind us on the ride.  When we boarded, the CM complimented the son's shirt.  I thought that this might help change the mood between the two, but then the mother sighed and asked "why are you wearing the same shirt as yesterday!?"  Not sure why she only noticed it at that point, as the kid was wearing just the shirt during the entire wait in the queue.  

We were off the ride in time to get to our 10:40 ADR at Le Creperie.  

For Remy, having ridden several times, I seem to enjoy the ride more from the front row - the 3D and simulated movement parts seem more immersive when I am in the front.    

This was our first time at Le Creperie.  The restaurant is nice, the service was good.  We were not impressed with the galettes that we had.  We have no prior galette experience to compare it to, but I don't think DW or I are fans of the buckwheat flour or whatever is used.  

It was definitely a cool day at EPCOT with a constant breeze.


----------



## jmparry

Faithful Raider said:


> My dole whip mobile order took nearly 50 minutes today. Placed it before hopping on jungle cruise, checked in for my window after we got off, and waited about 30 minutes in front of aloha with about 50 other people by my count. Walk up line would have been faster. Just a heads up if you're visiting this week, that's the crowds we have.


We had very good experiences with mobile ordering between 1/28 and 2/2. Sometimes we ordered meals and sometimes we ordered snacks, and everything was ready in 5-10 min (even with a long standby line). The only exception was Aloha Isle for Dole Whips. I think this mobile order location works more like Gideon's Bakehouse...the alert that says your order is ready only means it's your turn to get in line. They can't get the frozen stuff ready ahead of time, so it ends up taking longer since they fill the order only after you've reached the counter. On the upside, I didn't have to order or pay when I got to the counter and the Dole Whips were worth the wait!


----------



## jmparry

meremac said:


> Just got back from BWI CL 1/27-1/30.
> 
> We liked Genie+ for the most part. We were able to get through everything we wanted to in 2.5 days including almost all of the headliners in all four parks. We actually felt like Genie+ and ILL$ gave us more time to explore and be in the moment than ever before. We did Harmonious Dinner Package at R & C and we didn't find the view to be terrible at all (plus the food was excellent). Mousekeeping was hit or miss event though we were CL, but aside from that, we had zero problems with service. We felt well taken care of, and just about every CM we encountered was as friendly and helpful as any other time we've been there with just one exception (and even then, she wasn't unkind...she just didn't know what the heck she was talking about lol).
> 
> Bottom Line: There's a lot of negativity out there right now, but I am here to tell you that it is absolutely possible to have a magical, memorable time even thought things are different now. We can't wait to go back this summer!


Out of curiosity, did you book your Harmonious R&C package ahead of time or day of? I was unable to find any availability beginning at 60 days out.


----------



## Jennasis

kylenne said:


> Friendly reminder that the Touring Plans Lines app works off of crowdsourced data, if you are seeing wild discrepancies between projected and actual wait times _please_ be part of the solution and submit your times. Too many people passively downloading the app and using it like another MDE doesn’t help anyone.



THIS!!  We submit a wait time on LINES for every ride we do.  Gotta be a part of the solution!


----------



## lilmc

Jennasis said:


> THIS!! We submit a wait time on LINES for every ride we do. Gotta be a part of the solution!


Every. Single. Ride. I just wish there were some way I could time stamp the timer and submit later when I have better connectivity. So frustrating to go through the effort and I can’t submit. Lose for them on the data point and lose for me on the effort.


----------



## meremac

jmparry said:


> Out of curiosity, did you book your Harmonious R&C package ahead of time or day of? I was unable to find any availability beginning at 60 days out.



We booked it ahead of time.


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## meghanmione

Spending the day at HS today! Got up at 6:30, purchased Genie and got Rise at 7 first thing (said it was for 2:00ish, we got 7:50-8:50. had we waited just SECONDS longer we would’ve missed out) and MRR with a return for 3:35. Our first LL was for Rn’RC for 11:10, so we slept in a bit and made our way to the park by boat around 9:30.

Park is busy but not unmanageable at all. Standbys are all almost 60+ mins, however. We did our Rn’RC LL at 11:20 and just about walked on (forgot just how fun that is!). Waited in standby for ST, posted was 55 felt like 30.

We took a boat back over to BWI for lunch around 1:00. After we eat we’ll head back to the park for our next MRR ILL at 3:30. Afterwards we’ll do more standbys. We have three more rides after that stacked for tonight. MFSR at 6:55, TSM at 7:30 and Rise at 7:50. Quite a bit of overlap but should give us plenty of time to ride.

This is our first time ever using Genie+ and we are getting the hang of it quite well. I agree it’s tedious but to enjoy the headliners at HS it is a must, unless you want to wait 60+ for everything.

Having a wonderful time, the weather is perfectly “chilly” for us Floridians. Tons of random character moments/events have happened all day. Super
excited to see what tonight has in store.


----------



## lovethattink

The cast member party for MK was canceled for tonight. I don’t know if MK hours will change or not? And I heard the cm party will be rescheduled.


----------



## emmabelle

We’re going to MK tomorrow morning.  Does anyone know what time resort guests are being let in?  Are the rides starting earlier than 8:30am?


----------



## Wood Nymph

lovethattink said:


> The cast member party for MK was canceled for tonight. I don’t know if MK hours will change or not? And I heard the cm party will be rescheduled.


We were at MK today and the signs said that the park closed at 4:30pm. Our waiter at LTT talked about today's early closure but didn't mention that the CM party was cancelled.


----------



## Josh125

MK did in fact close at 4:30, we are here.  It has been rescheduled.  Resort guests enter at 8:30, but more importantly deluxe resort guests and DVC resorts have extra magic hours from 9-11 PM tomorrow night.


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## Sarahslay

emmabelle said:


> We’re going to MK tomorrow morning.  Does anyone know what time resort guests are being let in?  Are the rides starting earlier than 8:30am?


We got there right at 8 and were let through in to the park, no clue if people had gotten in before us in to the park, there was just a lot of people. Rides did not start until right at 8:30 on the dot, it was that way at all the parks (and it seemed like extra madness for us at MK for some reason, little kids don't understand). Also, only half the park was open both mornings we went, only Tomorrowland and New Fantasy


----------



## Birdsg223

The rain and early MK close was great today.  Many rides were walk on all day.


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## emmabelle

Birdsg223 said:


> The rain and early MK close was great today.  Many rides were walk on all day.



you know I was tempted to change my ressie to MK.  Missed opportunity



Sarahslay said:


> We got there right at 8 and were let through in to the park, no clue if people had gotten in before us in to the park, there was just a lot of people. Rides did not start until right at 8:30 on the dot, it was that way at all the parks (and it seemed like extra madness for us at MK for some reason, little kids don't understand). Also, only half the park was open both mornings we went, only Tomorrowland and New Fantasy



I noticed that with both Epcot and HS.


----------



## bsmcneil

EmilyGahr said:


> Cons
> Enchantment - I hate to say it, because I wanted to love this show, but I was so disappointed. The projections on Main Street are very cool, but the soundtrack and the fireworks were very disappointing. I didn't feel anything when watching, like I did with Happily Ever After. Just generic Disney soundtracks.


So, when it first came out, so many people were saying it was bad and a handful of people said, "Wait to make a judgment until you see it in person." So, I did. And I'm with you (I didn't get to see the projections - we had spots on the hub grass with the fireworks pre-party) - it was disappointing. I had talked up how Disney nighttime entertainment (fireworks, etc) were great with story, scoring, visuals, etc to my kids and they didn't really care for it (and it didn't really do anything for me). It definitely didn't feel as special and woven together as Wishes (or HEA). It just felt meh (and this was last night of my trip, and fireworks/Disney nighttime things are my very special/favorite thing - so I was primed to love it. I'm usually a crier at these).


----------



## bsmcneil

I'm never concise but I'll try:

Enjoyed the trip. Definitely didn't feel _as_ special as things have before.
CMs were great and helpful for the most part. I really appreciated that. 
I had one particular experience that was frustrating but 100% understandable. We were rushing to get to the fireworks pre-party and I wasn't 100% sure where Tomorrowland Terrace was. I asked one CM who gave me some directions but it became confusing. Stopped and asked the next CM I saw, who was a CM who was Earning their Ears. She had no idea (and was working in Tomorrowland). And I don't mean she had a general sense - it was a deer in the headlights moment. And, unfortunately, she didn't walk me over to another CM or have any way of finding it - she just couldn't help. And she apologized and I totally get it - just was frustrating (we were the last party to check in and all went fine). 
I also had some frustrating experiences of CMs not having info and/or telling me info I knew to be wrong (no need to pay down your balance throughout the trip if you want to use gift cards - just let it all store up and pay at check-out - which I knew was wrong and then ... sure enough, they'd charge my CC. This only mattered because I had purchased a ton of GC to save money over the holidays and planned to pay for everything possible with those).

I saw more CMs "Earning my Ears" this trip than I did in late Sept (after I had understood a lot stared with CP). I honestly couldn't believe how many!
G+/ILLS was really frustrating for me (and at the same time, it helped our trip). I've posted about that in other threads. 
Biggest frustrations were trying to juggle with kids and not really being able to predict things, and times switching during purchasing (ILLS) and/or not being able to choose times. 
This was especially true one day (we were going to MK and I knew we'd be getting there later in the day - so I wanted to try to get a LL for the afternoon ... but any time I got close and clicked, it would refresh and give me earlier times, which I'm sure would be great for many people). I seemed to recall one day (not then, though) that we could set hours (and I forgot about that again until just this moment) and some sort of alert or tutorial with that could've been helpful (like, with the Genie questions it asked, it would be awesome to ask "When will you get started." Minor issue and with most families, likely not a concern. But I was a single parent trying to juggle it all and I hated refreshing for 40 min when I could've gotten a little more sleep that day.

My kids enjoyed it - _*and*_ it was super frustrating for me to think, "Yeah, but if you could only see ___ (Fantasmic, meet characters, not walk around this huge wall in Epcot, etc etc etc)" all the time. There are worse problems - but that kept coming up for me. 
It was really frustrating when a livestreamer walked in front of my two small kids to stream ROTR and blocked their view (this was in the room - I don't know SW/SW:GE very well - where you see Lt. Bek, etc. It just felt really discourteous.
Thank goodness there are bathrooms in the FoP line . I had tried to prep the kids but we made it through 40 min in the line for TSMM before they had to leave for the bathroom (the only attraction we were going to do without a LL that was more than a 10 min wait). Luckily when a similar thing happened for FoP, we didn't have to give up our spot (and we never got to do TSMM sadly, which I think they would've loved).
There was more merch than I expected. I did get the wrong size of a shirt and wanted to exchange it but couldn't find it again (Encanto at DAK and then we only went there one day) and I wish I had more time to shop as we rushed through things.
Dining

Topolino's really is as good as so many people say. We lucked out to get one of the last slots on our last day of the trip (I think I got the ADR at, like, 11:55 the night before). Top notch! Chef Mickey's was good - but Topolino's was great.
I'm pretty sure I'm the only person to get so excited about going to a buffet (Boma) for the asparagus. But man I love their asparagus!
Man, people are not kidding when they talk about the quality of T-Rex/Rainforest Cafe. Like, I _knew_ but the kids really wanted it (and again, I had found a good GC deal during the holidays). I'm glad we did it ... and the food was not worth the very cheap gift card I used, lol.
Because things were so unpredictable (kids' first time and Genie+), I ended up just cancelling most of our ADRs after the first day. Disney would've made a ton of more money from me/through those if Genie+, in particular, wasn't so frustrating and inflexible.
I'm proud/troubled to say we made far more progress on the Kitchen Sink than I ever thought we would .


----------



## TheMick424

bsmcneil said:


> Because things were so unpredictable (kids' first time and Genie+), I ended up just cancelling most of our ADRs after the first day. Disney would've made a ton of more money from me/through those if Genie+, in particular, wasn't so frustrating and inflexible.


I have been wondering how much of an impact Genie+ is having on dining revenue.  We typically have 1 TS meal a day for dinner, but thinking there may be a couple days where that is at risk.


----------



## MainMom

Sarahslay said:


> We got there right at 8 and were let through in to the park, no clue if people had gotten in before us in to the park, there was just a lot of people. Rides did not start until right at 8:30 on the dot, it was that way at all the parks (and it seemed like extra madness for us at MK for some reason, little kids don't understand). Also, only half the park was open both mornings we went, only Tomorrowland and New Fantasy


That’s all that is ever open on morning EMH.


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## DisneyFive

TheMick424 said:


> I have been wondering how much of an impact Genie+ is having on dining revenue.  We typically have 1 TS meal a day for dinner, but thinking there may be a couple days where that is at risk.


I agree, and it does more than that. It actually caused us to remove entire days from our trip.

Our last few vacations to Disney have been 10 nights long. Including Park Hopper‘s.

This upcoming summer  we went down to 8 nights and no Park Hopper‘s. That is mostly, but not all not due to Genie plus (+$640) but also due to the loss of Magical express which will now cost us an extra +$160 round-trip, and the overall increase in resort and ticket costs. 

There is a limit to what I am willing to spend on a Disney vacation and this year, sadly, it hits at eight nights rather than 10.

Dan


----------



## Sarahslay

MainMom said:


> That’s all that is ever open on morning EMH.


I was just saying that because some people don't know, my dad wanted to ride PP one morning so we went over there first thing, as we stood in line many people went over and got to the rope blocking it off and were super upset (one guy visibly mad). Some people don't know, so it's always good just to add just in case, what's known to some isn't known to all.


----------



## p8ntldy

Sarahslay said:


> I was just saying that because some people don't know, my dad wanted to ride PP one morning so we went over there first thing, as we stood in line many people went over and got to the rope blocking it off and were super upset (one guy visibly mad). Some people don't know, so it's always good just to add just in case, what's known to some isn't known to all.


What is PP?


----------



## Naomeri

p8ntldy said:


> What is PP?


Peter Pan


----------



## Yoshi

I was at Hollywood Studios today and Touring Plans has it as a 4 on the crowd calendar. I’ll be curious to see what the actual crowd level was when they post it tomorrow but I’m going to guess it was really an 8 or 9.

Tower of Terror was running at half capacity with a wait of 90-110 minutes most of the day. Slinky Dog Dash had a posted 2 1/2 hour wait in the afternoon. Even just walking around the park was difficult.


----------



## leeniewdw

I just looked for yesterday.  HS was listed as an actual 7.  MK was listed as a 10, so it's definitely crowded.  We have a tentative trip for first weekend in March and just glancing at the return times the last few days and it's looking almost more busy than first weekend in Dec (our last trip).

We may have to adjust our expectations.  I went back and looked at our 2 days in December and it was much lower than what's showing for our trip in March.  We did fine with rides utilizing LL, ILL$, and an AH event, but felt like EPCOT/World Showcase was an absolute mad house.   Hmmm.


----------



## mfly

leeniewdw said:


> I just looked for yesterday.  HS was listed as an actual 7.  MK was listed as a 10, so it's definitely crowded.  We have a tentative trip for first weekend in March and just glancing at the return times the last few days and it's looking almost more busy than first weekend in Dec (our last trip).
> 
> We may have to adjust our expectations.  I went back and looked at our 2 days in December and it was much lower than what's showing for our trip in March.  We did fine with rides utilizing LL, ILL$, and an AH event, but felt like EPCOT/World Showcase was an absolute mad house.   Hmmm.


Oh boy. We’re going for Sat & Sun of President’s Day Weekend. 

If a random Wednesday in early February was a 10, I can only imagine what those days will be like.


----------



## lynzi2004

mfly said:


> Oh boy. We’re going for Sat & Sun of President’s Day Weekend.
> 
> If a random Wednesday in early February was a 10, I can only imagine what those days will be like.



From our experience, you might be better off! When Disney is expecting crowds, they are running on all cylinders, longer hours, more cars/trains running on attractions, more food carts open. We were there the week before Christmas and got so much done by being smart with a plan and staying ahead of the crowds. On a random Wednesday in February, Disney isn’t going to have the staffing or hours they do over a holiday. With the reservation system now, it shouldn’t really make a difference as they know how many people will be there, but there’s a lot of reservations that likely to unused or whatever so I do think Disney is typically more prepared over holiday vs non-holidays. I’ve heard several people shooting for “low-crowd” times be disappointed the last several weeks. But most of the chatter around the holidays, was that it was crowded but Disney and the guests expected it and that Disney was prepared. (At Christmas…not so much aThanksgiving, that was a disaster!)


----------



## leeniewdw

Checking HS again just now (1:50 ET) and both TOT and RNRC are (currently) out of LL for the day.   Perhaps that's due to staffing/hours etc as mentioned above.

Probably good thing we are looking for a warm getaway in March and everything else just a bonus.   We really struck out in early Dec for the 1 night we were at EPCOT for the Holiday Fest, we planned to snack our way around the world but the lines were crazy.  We ended up getting a pretzel just to have something to eat and didn't actually get some real food until Mexico (we were going counter clockwise) at the end.   

Any predictions for how crowded the first weekend of Flower/Garden will be?


----------



## Mle8308

leeniewdw said:


> Checking HS again just now (1:50 ET) and both TOT and RNRC are (currently) out of LL for the day.   Perhaps that's due to staffing/hours etc as mentioned above.
> 
> Probably good thing we are looking for a warm getaway in March and everything else just a bonus.   We really struck out in early Dec for the 1 night we were at EPCOT for the Holiday Fest, we planned to snack our way around the world but the lines were crazy.  We ended up getting a pretzel just to have something to eat and didn't actually get some real food until Mexico (we were going counter clockwise) at the end.
> 
> Any predictions for how crowded the first weekend of Flower/Garden will be?


Epcot will be packed, always is the first day of a festival.


----------



## leeniewdw

If we go, it would be the first Friday, 3/4 of the Flower/Garden.  Technically it starts on 3/2.   Either way, I'm sure it'll be crowded.


----------



## Mle8308

leeniewdw said:


> If we go, it would be the first Friday, 3/4 of the Flower/Garden.  Technically it starts on 3/2.   Either way, I'm sure it'll be crowded.


It's still better than not going!!!


----------



## DisneyFive

leeniewdw said:


> Checking HS again just now (1:50 ET) and both TOT and RNRC are (currently) out of LL for the day.



If this is a regular thing, Disney HAS to open up more LL slots.  That's crazy that all LL's would be sucked up so early.   Takes the value right out of G+. 

Edit:  I went back and looked at thrill-data.com and sure enough, this isn't that unusual.  This is crazy.  Less than half the park day gone and all G+'s sucked up.  Come on Disney, you can do better.  



Tower of Terror is similar.

Dan


----------



## leeniewdw

Mle8308 said:


> It's still better than not going!!!



That's true I suppose.  But it's an expensive ticket to get in and need to make sure we feel it's worth it! 



DisneyFive said:


> If this is a regular thing, Disney HAS to open up more LL slots.  That's crazy that all LL's would be sucked up so early.   Takes the value right out of G+.



I did see a TOT available later, so perhaps you can still refresh to grab cancelations if you are lucky.    On that first Friday in Dec, I was able to successfully grab LLs all morning/early afternoon so we had what we wanted when we arrived around 3pm.  I *think* I had to work for one ride later in the evening with refresh.

I'll say this, we were planning to be there Pres weekend (technically the Thurs/Fri/Sat) with our adult kids/SOs.   We had to cancel due to a job change and some unplanned PTO due to covid/covid exposure that had some of the kids unable to take the PTO.   At this point I'm relieved based on crowds/waits.   I'll be interested to see how that weekend works out.


----------



## Lsdolphin

DisneyFive said:


> If this is a regular thing, Disney HAS to open up more LL slots.  That's crazy that all LL's would be sucked up so early.   Takes the value right out of G+.
> 
> Edit:  I went back and looked at thrill-data.com and sure enough, this isn't that unusual.  This is crazy.  Less than half the park day gone and all G+'s sucked up.  Come on Disney, you can do better.
> 
> View attachment 646501
> 
> Tower of Terror is similar.
> View attachment 646502
> Dan


----------



## Lsdolphin

yep same thing happened to me on multiple days at MK with PP, SMT, And JC


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## DisneyFive

Lsdolphin said:


> yep same thing happened to me on multiple days at MK with PP, SMT, And JC



I think Disney is _trying _to make G+ attractive by significantly limiting the number of LL spots for each attraction, thereby:

Making the LL super fast once you arrive
Making the Standby lines even longer
However by reducing the number of LL spots available each day they are:

Making the popular rides run out of availability by early afternoon (I mean there's typically 5-7 hours of park time left!)
Frustrating the purchaser of G+.

So it's counterproductive.  Limiting the number of LL spots each day makes G+ look more attractive when you don't have it, but once you have it you realize the very limited capability of it.  (especially compared to FP+, I have to sneak that in there  )

Dan


----------



## Lsdolphin

DisneyFive said:


> I think Disney is _trying _to make G+ attractive by significantly limiting the number of LL spots for each attraction, thereby:
> 
> Making the LL super fast once you arrive
> Making the Standby lines even longer
> However by reducing the number of LL spots available each day they are:
> 
> Making the popular rides run out of availability by early afternoon (I mean there's typically 5-7 hours of park time left!)
> Frustrating the purchaser of G+.
> 
> So it's counterproductive.  Limiting the number of LL spots each day makes G+ look more attractive when you don't have it, but once you have it you realize the very limited capability of it.  (especially compared to FP+, I have to sneak that in there  )
> 
> Dan


 Exactly my experience!
I basically spent $15.98 for 2 rides


----------



## dd316

Just back from an 8-day trip. Did everything we wanted to and more. Only experienced a few days where I felt it was overly crowded. Yes there were lines galore, but with other offerings still limited we just waited in the lines. Was really no big deal. Never paid for Genie+, only did ILL for ROTR once because I absolutely had to guarantee I was getting on that ride at some point. Only ride I missed out on was TOT, but that was because nobody wanted to ride it with me. 

The longest line we waited in was 7DMT, a little over an hour. We did not rope drop anything - most days we didn't enter a park until after 10:00. It was all about managing the crowds - patterns were pretty easy to see so we worked it well. One day they closed MK early, just before close I only waited 10 minutes for Peter Pan.


----------



## mouschievous

Based on our experience, they could definitely release more LL and still keep those waits short. Almost every LL we had was a walk on.  I would totally be good with a 15 minute wait if it meant I could get more use of G+.


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## jmparry

At WDW Jan 27-Feb 2. The first few days, temps were in the 40s and 50s, so we were grateful for coats and layers!

*Early Entry* We Rope Dropped Peter Pan on our MK day: on bus from resort by 7:15, through tapstiles by 7:45, and within the first 50 people waiting by the Teacups. The CMs held us there until exactly 8:30, most went to SDMT, we walked on to PP. IASW was down, but we rode Dumbo and Little Mermaid by 9am.

*Genie+ *I purchased Genie+ only for MK. Had some trouble getting the app to complete the transaction ("Disney, please take my money!"), so it was 7:05am before I selected Jungle Cruise which was then 4:50-5:50pm I set an alarm on my watch for 11am and every 2 hours after. I got Pirates for around 5:30, then Small World and Pooh for 8:20 and 8:40. I do think Genie+ was worth the price, but I prefer being able to set up the day ahead of time. It was a distraction for me to have to pick times every two hours, just my opinion.

*ROTR* Bought ILL$ at 7am, got 11:30-12:30. Standby was at 2 hours all day, best money spent all trip! We are huge SW fans, first visitors to GE, and Rise was incredible!

*Mobile Ordering* This is the best! I used it at all 4 parks and it worked so smoothly. Standby food ordering always had long lines, and we had our food within 10min of pressing "I'm here." The only exception was Aloha Isle for Dole Whips. Since they can't prep the orders ahead of time, the "Your food is ready" notification is really just telling you to get in a line to have your order filled. At a busy time, standby is probably faster!

*Festival of the Arts* A first for us and it was amazing! I only wish we'd had more time there. Broadway Concert, artists autographing their work, and the delicious food really made our Epcot day special!

*Crowds* It was definitely crowded for late January, but not as bad as summer! We waited 30-60 min for Soarin', LWTL, Kilamanjaro Safaris, and TSMM.

Overall, we had a fabulous Mother Daughter trip! The best memories are of CMs at Rose & Crown, Skipper Canteen (Richard), and Geyser Point (Cecelia).


----------



## DisneyFive

mouschievous said:


> Based on our experience, they could definitely release more LL and still keep those waits short. Almost every LL we had was a walk on.  I would totally be good with a 15 minute wait if it meant I could get more use of G+.



Agree 1000%.   Yeah, back when FP+ was around we never expected to walk right on.  Our typical waits were 5-10 minutes.

Dan


----------



## mom2rtk

mouschievous said:


> Based on our experience, they could definitely release more LL and still keep those waits short. Almost every LL we had was a walk on.  I would totally be good with a 15 minute wait if it meant I could get more use of G+.


I imagine they will ramp numbers up soon enough.


----------



## twodogs

mom2rtk said:


> I imagine they will ramp numbers up soon enough.


And I fully expect them to increase the price of G+ any minute.  If you look at what they did with the pricing of Max Pass at DLR, they increased it steadily over time.  And this is probably the only way to continue to make G+ feel "worth it" to some people; they have to increase the price to decrease how many people are buying it, to improve the guest experience for those who bought G+.  They will keep raising the price until people stop buying....


----------



## itf

twodogs said:


> And I fully expect them to increase the price of G+ any minute.  If you look at what they did with the pricing of Max Pass at DLR, they increased it steadily over time.  And this is probably the only way to continue to make G+ feel "worth it" to some people; they have to increase the price to decrease how many people are buying it, to improve the guest experience for those who bought G+.  They will keep raising the price until people stop buying....



This is exactly why I added G+ to our tickets for summer now. I suspect the same.


----------



## Josh125

We just got back from a 6 day trip, a few thoughts.

We used Genie+ for all parks and ILL for ROTR, Ratatouille, and M&M Runaway.  Overall I thought the system did what it promised, extracting more money out of the guests.  Just kidding, sort of.  We rode everything we wanted to and found the app overall worked well.  I didn't care for getting up a 6:50 AM every day on vacation but it did work.

The crowds were unbelievable.  Easily the busiest I've seen the parks outside of the holidays.

We had great CM interactions and really never came across a grumpy person.  Even as short handed as they are we were quite pleased with the experience.

The EPCOT ball is stunning, just amazing.  We of course saw pictures ahead of time, but wow!  The walls are still atrocious, though.

We took advantage of the EMH for DVC & Deluxe resort guests at MK.  Now this is what I'm talking about!  We walked on anything we wanted outside of 7DMT.

Like everyone else we hated the current park hopping rules.  The Mouse actually lost money on us because we were unable to hop over for sit down lunches. 

We used some pandemic points (didn't go in 2021) and upgraded to a 1 bedroom at BLT.  We usually stay in a studio.  It was great but is going to make it nearly impossible to go back to a studio.

It was certainly a situation of it's as magical as you make it.  We've been going every year, sans the pandemic years, for 10 years and things have certainly changed.  Most for the worse IMO but I do understand it is a business and their only obligation is to the shareholders.


----------



## TheMick424

Anyone have a recent AK experience to share? Wondering when they actually let resort guests into the park for Early Entry.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

lynzi2004 said:


> *When Disney is expecting crowds, *they are running on all cylinders, longer hours, more cars/trains running on attractions, more food carts open.


The problem is, they should always know exactly what to expect based on park pass reservations.  They really have no excuse to NOT be running on all cylinders.  I get that there are still staff and product shortages, but they can easily adjust capacity to prevent these issues.  They 100% control crowd flows.


----------



## lynzi2004

ENJDisneyFan said:


> The problem is, they should always know exactly what to expect based on park pass reservations.  They really have no excuse to NOT be running on all cylinders.  I get that there are still staff and product shortages, but they can easily adjust capacity to prevent these issues.  They 100% control crowd flows.



I completely agree! That’s why further down in my post, I stated that with park reservations, Disney should know what to expect and staff accordingly. But no one knows what the arbitrary number of park pass reservations are (with the exception of Disney) that triggers the EXTRA hour of Early Entry compared to the half-hour, that triggers at 10pm closing vs an 8pm or triggers some of the $ILL to get thrown in the regular Genie+ pool. All of which happened at Christmas and made our trip very enjoyable. So for people saying it’s crazy crowded there right now (and I can believe them, I had a good friend there the past 2 weeks who has been navigating Disney for 30 years tell me it was nuts) it can definitely be worse but there might be some benefit to going at the “worse” time. As someone who is willing to work the extra morning/night hours, it’s actually my families advantage to go during the holiday times. For other people definitely not so much.  I do think Disney needs to up their staffing overall, but with park pass reservations still remaining for each day, I guess Disney is willing to see how far they can push it before guest satisfaction drops to a point that attendance falls!

I’m actually struggling with this dilemma right now. We have a trip planned for early March and from a Genie+ and $ILL perspective it’s going to actually cost me more and I may not get as much done each day vs the week of Christmas. That seems crazy to me that I would actually be disappointed in how many rides I could get done on a Sunday in March vs a day or two before Christmas but it’s true!  At HS, we did Slinky, MMRR, RnRc and TOT in the hour early entry before the offsite guests were allowed in. No matter how I try, there’s no way I can get those all done in the 30 min of early entry in March.


----------



## lovethattink

Please remember to keep this thread to your recent experiences and not what Disney should or shouldn’t do. A new thread on the topic of what Disney should or shouldn’t do may be started on the theme park community subforum.


----------



## JJsmama

leeniewdw said:


> I just looked for yesterday.  HS was listed as an actual 7.  MK was listed as a 10, so it's definitely crowded.  We have a tentative trip for first weekend in March and just glancing at the return times the last few days and it's looking almost more busy than first weekend in Dec (our last trip).
> 
> We may have to adjust our expectations.  I went back and looked at our 2 days in December and it was much lower than what's showing for our trip in March.



ugh! We’re scheduled to go March 6-10 because my kids want to go after skipping 2-3 years. These reports are much appreciated but it sounds awful there these days! The crowds, the changes, and then not even being able to plan in advance— I honestly want to cancel the whole thing and save my money! Plus, i have celiac disease (gluten allergy), so planning ahead where we will be near to eat is a big deal.  I don’t know whether to grin and bear it and ‘make the best of it’, or go with my gut, cancel and disappoint my son. Not good choices,


----------



## mom2rtk

Josh125 said:


> The EPCOT ball is stunning, just amazing.


It really is. We sat there for a long time, just mesmerized. And the area isn't elbow to elbow like watching a full blown show. So enjoyable.


----------



## thanxfornoticin

It certainly is an adjustment for most regarding how crowded it's been.  We visited early December and late January, normal time periods for us.  It was way busier than we have experienced in the past.  But we were able to do plenty of planning in advance - we just made our LL selections in the morning!  It wasn't a big deal in the long run.  ADRs and park reservations were set 2 months out.


----------



## thanxfornoticin

mom2rtk said:


> It really is. We sat there for a long time, just mesmerized. And the area isn't elbow to elbow like watching a full blown show. So enjoyable.
> 
> View attachment 646888


I think mesmerizing is the perfect word!  Spectacular!


----------



## GBRforWDW

mom2rtk said:


> It really is. We sat there for a long time, just mesmerized. And the area isn't elbow to elbow like watching a full blown show. So enjoyable.


Agreed.  We were ready to leave the park around 9, but stayed and watched the lights for 10-15 minutes.  And yes, it's wonderful that you're able to spread out and also watch from different places.


----------



## wisblue

Lsdolphin said:


> Exactly my experience!
> I basically spent $15.98 for 2 rides



Some people look at it as spending $16 to avoid 1-2 hours standing in line, depending on what rides you choose and at what times.

Some people consider that a good value and some don’t.


----------



## focusondisney

DisneyFive said:


> I think Disney is _trying _to make G+ attractive by significantly limiting the number of LL spots for each attraction, thereby:
> 
> Making the LL super fast once you arrive
> Making the Standby lines even longer
> However by reducing the number of LL spots available each day they are:
> 
> Making the popular rides run out of availability by early afternoon (I mean there's typically 5-7 hours of park time left!)
> Frustrating the purchaser of G+.
> 
> So it's counterproductive.  Limiting the number of LL spots each day makes G+ look more attractive when you don't have it, but once you have it you realize the very limited capability of it.  (especially compared to FP+, I have to sneak that in there  )
> 
> Dan



It would seem they could increase the number of spots for each attraction without increasing the total  number of LL positions sold.  IMO, there should be enough spots for everyone who bought LL to ride each attraction.  I know, that’s not guaranteed.  But if the actual number of LL admissions are limited, you would still move thru the line pretty quick when you get there.


----------



## BK2014

Local couple, AP holders who generally do a half-day before calling it quits.  We went to MK this morning.  Parked at TTC, took the ferry over and got into the park at 8:40am.  Watched the welcome show before heading to Buzz Lightyear, which was less than a 10 minute wait.  We had a few minutes of stoppage time on the ride - which sadly was not reflected in my score.  We then went to the Peoplemover, which was a walk-on.  From there we headed to the Tea Cups, and walked on.  Then headed to the Little Mermaid Ride - not sure what its actually called, and that was a walk on.  From there we headed to Haunted Mansion.  When we joined the end of the line, the app said 20 minutes.  That quickly updated to 30 minutes.  It ended being closer to 35 minutes before we got into the stretching room.  By this time, it was about 10:40am.

We headed back to Main Street U.S.A. where DW shopped while I found a bench near the flag pole.  DW wanted to see the new Adventurers cavalcade which was scheduled to start at 11:25am.  By the time the cavalcade made it to our location, it was a little after 11:40am.  While waiting for the Adventurers cavalcade, we saw two others - Tinkerbell and the Princesses.  DW was appropriate impressed with the number of characters in the Adventurers cavalcade.

We then headed to the Contemporary to have lunch at the Steakhouse 71 Lounge.  We got there right at noon and sat at the bar.  We shared the burger, the macaroni and cheese and the peanut butter and jelly chicken wings.  The burger was by far the best item that we ordered - we both really enjoyed it.  The chicken wings were not bad.  Something unique that I don't think I would feel the need to try again - but we did finish them.  The mac and cheese was disappointing to me.  We both love mac and cheese, and it looked really appetizing.  The jalapeno flavor was too much for DW, who doesn't appreciate spiciness like I do.  For me, the cheese flavor was not that strong.  I am not sure what cheese(s) were used, but something sharper might have helped.  The diced jalepenos were too hard - maybe pickled jalapenos would have worked better.  I think it would have been better with just the mac and cheese and pork belly pieces and no jalapeno.   We both agreed that we liked the lounge, and plan on returning to have another burger, and to try the onion rings and shrimp cocktail.

We were done with lunch shortly after 1:00pm, and then took the monorail back to the TTC and left.  It was definitely sunnier and hotter than our trip to EPCOT last weekend.


----------



## dd316

I still don't know what the huge crowds are everyone is talking about. Was it busy when I was there last week? Sure. But I've seen it WAY worse pre-pandemic. Watching MK fireworks was the least crowded I can remember it being, we had no problem watching from the middle of Main Street, it wasn't shoulder to shoulder like I'm used to. I think a lot of people are equating long lines to big crowds, and that's not really the case. The old bottlenecks in the parks are still the same, didn't feel any different.

Genie+ feels like such a waste of money. Yes, you get through lines faster, but then what? With other offerings still limited, might as well just stand in a line and save a few bucks.


----------



## leeniewdw

It really depends on how you structure your visit.  We never stay in the park all day.  We go in the morning (used to RD but didn't on our last 2 trips), ride a few rides, get something to eat and then return to the hotel and (presuming it's a nice day), sit in the sun.  We might even nap.  Then we head back to the parks for the late afternoon/evening.   I'd much rather compress the time waiting in line and open up a bigger chunk of time to do something in the middle of the day elsewhere.

With G+/ILL$ we waited almost no time for any rides.   We'd rather sit and have a drink and people watch than stand in a line for a ride.   We had the almost perfect day at DHS, arriving at 3pm and riding  MFSR, RotR, MMRR, ToT, RnRC, TSM, Star Tours and stopped to have a beer at the Drafthouse place and another near Echo lake.  Perfect use of G+/LLs .  We even left before the park closed.


----------



## Sarahslay

dd316 said:


> I still don't know what the huge crowds are everyone is talking about. Was it busy when I was there last week? Sure. But I've seen it WAY worse pre-pandemic. Watching MK fireworks was the least crowded I can remember it being, we had no problem watching from the middle of Main Street, it wasn't shoulder to shoulder like I'm used to. I think a lot of people are equating long lines to big crowds, and that's not really the case. The old bottlenecks in the parks are still the same, didn't feel any different.
> 
> Genie+ feels like such a waste of money. Yes, you get through lines faster, but then what? With other offerings still limited, might as well just stand in a line and save a few bucks.


I think the problem is that it's not normally this busy during this time of year. I love going the last week of January, it's my favorite time to go. I normally go alone, but decided to bring my dad this time because it's normally  not crowded and would be a good time for him to go (he's never done a proper trip, and has started having some memory issues, so I didn't want it really crowded). To say I was shocked by the crowd size was putting it lightly, it was far more crowded than it usually is this time of year, I mean WAY more crowded. Even staff were commenting to me about it, managers at BWV couldn't believe it, it was crazy. It was my 8th trip since reopening, and I don't even know how many times I've gone this time of year now, but it was nuts. I mean, I've gone on holidays, spring break, all that, and at least you can prepare yourself. It's a whole different ball game when you go in expecting the usual crowds for a certain time of year and that's not what you get.


----------



## HookPan

Sarahslay said:


> I think the problem is that it's not normally this busy during this time of year. I love going the last week of January, it's my favorite time to go. I normally go alone, but decided to bring my dad this time because it's normally  not crowded and would be a good time for him to go (he's never done a proper trip, and has started having some memory issues, so I didn't want it really crowded). To say I was shocked by the crowd size was putting it lightly, it was far more crowded than it usually is this time of year, I mean WAY more crowded. Even staff were commenting to me about it, managers at BWV couldn't believe it, it was crazy. It was my 8th trip since reopening, and I don't even know how many times I've gone this time of year now, but it was nuts. I mean, I've gone on holidays, spring break, all that, and at least you can prepare yourself. It's a whole different ball game when you go in expecting the usual crowds for a certain time of year and that's not what you get.


I am hoping that is it. I usually go in the summer and have not been back since Covid. I am expecting a crowd, but the way people are talking I am scared it is going to be like you can't see the ground crowded pre-covid.  Maybe people just are not used to it being this crowded during this time of the year?


----------



## dd316

leeniewdw said:


> It really depends on how you structure your visit.  We never stay in the park all day.  We go in the morning (used to RD but didn't on our last 2 trips), ride a few rides, get something to eat and then return to the hotel and (presuming it's a nice day), sit in the sun.  We might even nap.  Then we head back to the parks for the late afternoon/evening.   I'd much rather compress the time waiting in line and open up a bigger chunk of time to do something in the middle of the day elsewhere.
> 
> With G+/ILL$ we waited almost no time for any rides.   We'd rather sit and have a drink and people watch than stand in a line for a ride.   We had the almost perfect day at DHS, arriving at 3pm and riding  MFSR, RotR, MMRR, ToT, RnRC, TSM, Star Tours and stopped to have a beer at the Drafthouse place and another near Echo lake.  Perfect use of G+/LLs .  We even left before the park closed.


That's what we did across our 8 days. Never spent an entire day in the parks, always broken up mid-day with a trip back to the resort for some swimming or a nap. I guess the main difference is when we people watched, we watched the same people for 30-45 minutes in line. 

I can see the value of Genie+ during shorter trips, though. But for us it did not make sense to spend the extra $$$.


----------



## leeniewdw

Oh yes, I should have said our trip was very short -- 2 days!


----------



## GBRforWDW

I know we've discussed this before in this thread...

Last year, Disney brought Cast Compliments to the 50th anniversary section of My Disney Experience.  Now they've made it even easier to send a compliment!


To access Mobile Cast Compliment, search “Cast Compliment” in the My Disney Experience mobile app (you can also conveniently find it in a few other parts of the app, too).

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...t-disney-world/?CMP=SOC-DPFY22Q1wo0210220046A
One other location is in the 3 line menu on the bottom right corner:


The updated form allows you to recognize a specific cast member.  (This is optional if you still want to recognize an entire group)


----------



## nancyrye

Sarahslay said:


> I think the problem is that it's not normally this busy during this time of year. I love going the last week of January, it's my favorite time to go. I normally go alone, but decided to bring my dad this time because it's normally  not crowded and would be a good time for him to go (he's never done a proper trip, and has started having some memory issues, so I didn't want it really crowded). To say I was shocked by the crowd size was putting it lightly, it was far more crowded than it usually is this time of year, I mean WAY more crowded. Even staff were commenting to me about it, managers at BWV couldn't believe it, it was crazy. It was my 8th trip since reopening, and I don't even know how many times I've gone this time of year now, but it was nuts. I mean, I've gone on holidays, spring break, all that, and at least you can prepare yourself. It's a whole different ball game when you go in expecting the usual crowds for a certain time of year and that's not what you get.


Just got back from a week 1/29-2/5. Expecting low crowds based on previous years and Touring Plans prediction. Agree that the crowds were over the top. Biggest rides easily 50 - 60 minutes all times of day. (I stayed for extended hours one night and that didn't help)

Talking to DD who is super fan about all this and she says that's because Disney has started to offer promotions to international visitors for times when it has been low for US visitors. 

Sure enough just looked at a Canada promo that offers $100 off a room per night for 5 nights. This promo started 1/2.
US same promo, starts March. And this was just Canada, have no idea about other countries promos.

Also heard bellhops discussing this very same thing. "January and February have never been this busy" "Guess it's good to get any price for the rooms as opposed to leaving them empty"

Makes sense for Disney revenue. Just not fun for us. It looks like there will never be a "low time" again.
Have decided to take a break on visiting every year for 15 years, and won't return for a few years after this unenjoyable trip.


----------



## scrappinginontario

nancyrye said:


> Just got back from a week 1/29-2/5. Expecting low crowds based on previous years and Touring Plans prediction. Agree that the crowds were over the top. Biggest rides easily 50 - 60 minutes all times of day. (I stayed for extended hours one night and that didn't help)
> 
> Talking to DD who is super fan about all this and she says that's because Disney has started to offer promotions to international visitors for times when it has been low for US visitors.
> 
> Sure enough just looked at a Canada promo that offers $100 off a room per night for 5 nights. This promo started 1/2.
> US same promo, starts March. And this was just Canada, have no idea about other countries promos.
> 
> Also heard bellhops discussing this very same thing. "January and February have never been this busy" "Guess it's good to get any price for the rooms as opposed to leaving them empty"
> 
> Makes sense for Disney revenue. Just not fun for us. It looks like there will never be a "low time" again.
> Have decided to take a break on visiting every year for 15 years, and won't return for a few years after this unenjoyable trip.


Yes, I was there the same time and it was very busy.  More than International guests I believe many of the crowds were due to people moving trips that were previously scheduled summer/fall 2021 when things spiked in FL.  We were originally scheduled to go in Aug/Sep 2021 so I was part of both of those months.  A large number of people reported delaying their trips and Jan/Feb 2022 were where most moved them to.

Also, although International offers were in place they were EXTREMELY limited in availability!!  I checked within 30 mins of the offer dropping and as a Canadian there was nothing at all I could find for our dates or dates around ours.


----------



## Nutmeg2016

nancyrye said:


> (I stayed for extended hours one night and that didn't help)



That's really disappointing to hear. I've only heard (mostly) great things about extended evening hours, and it's a major reason why we're splurging big time (for us) to stay at WL in late April. 

Can you elaborate a little on your experience? 

Thanks!


----------



## lovethattink

Mask policy change starting Feb 17. No longer required for vaccinated, but expected for unvaccinated. Masks are still required on all Disney Transportation.


----------



## boredghost

lovethattink said:


> Mask policy change starting Feb 17. No longer required for vaccinated, but encouraged for unvaccinated. Masks are still required on all Disney Transportation.



To clarify masks are *expected* for the unvaccinated- encouraged implies optional, that is not the language used.


----------



## lovethattink

boredghost said:


> To clarify masks are *expected* for the unvaccinated- encouraged implies optional, that is not the language used.



Thank you, edited to expected.


----------



## Gitelfor

lovethattink said:


> Mask policy change starting Feb 17. No longer required for x, but encouraged for unvaccinated. Masks are still required on all Disney Transportation.


The new policy statement kind of reminds me  of what happens when vehicles greatly exceed the speed limit, when there is no traffic enforcement in place, clocking them.


----------



## Sarahslay

nancyrye said:


> Just got back from a week 1/29-2/5. Expecting low crowds based on previous years and Touring Plans prediction. Agree that the crowds were over the top. Biggest rides easily 50 - 60 minutes all times of day. (I stayed for extended hours one night and that didn't help)
> 
> Talking to DD who is super fan about all this and she says that's because Disney has started to offer promotions to international visitors for times when it has been low for US visitors.
> 
> Sure enough just looked at a Canada promo that offers $100 off a room per night for 5 nights. This promo started 1/2.
> US same promo, starts March. And this was just Canada, have no idea about other countries promos.
> 
> Also heard bellhops discussing this very same thing. "January and February have never been this busy" "Guess it's good to get any price for the rooms as opposed to leaving them empty"
> 
> Makes sense for Disney revenue. Just not fun for us. It looks like there will never be a "low time" again.
> Have decided to take a break on visiting every year for 15 years, and won't return for a few years after this unenjoyable trip.


I actually met up with two different friends from the UK while I was there just the week before you arrived, we went home 1/28, which was the middle of both of their trips since they both were there for 2 weeks. So you have all these folks with longs holidays coming in droves, plus the regular US folks (many of who aren’t traveling abroad yet so WDW is perfect), and it’s just a recipe for high crowds.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Please keep this thread on topic of, 'Here Now and Just Back.'  A thread to discuss masking changes is being discussed here.


----------



## dizneegirl

Anybody there or just back - do they have the Figment Festival of the Arts baseball caps back at Epcot?


----------



## anne60

Some quick feedback about park hopping.  We arrived at the international gateway of Epcot in the pouring rain at 1:49 PM.  Our trip on the skyliner went more quickly than we anticipated and this is how we were treated.  We went thru security and then were told we could not enter the park and also could not wait under cover at guest relations.  We were told we needed to go back out on the other side of security and wait by the bathrooms.  We turned to see about a dozen other poor souls gathered there.  I heard one cast member say "What part of 2 O'Clock don't they understand?".  At 1:57 a cast member walked over to where we were all huddled and told us we could now go thru security (again).  Of all the nonsense I put up with during our last trip, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.  Not going back for a long long time.


----------



## CarolynFH

anne60 said:


> Some quick feedback about park hopping.  We arrived at the international gateway of Epcot in the pouring rain at 1:49 PM.  Our trip on the skyliner went more quickly than we anticipated and this is how we were treated.  We went thru security and then were told we could not enter the park and also could not wait under cover at guest relations.  We were told we needed to go back out on the other side of security and wait by the bathrooms.  We turned to see about a dozen other poor souls gathered there.  I heard one cast member say "What part of 2 O'Clock don't they understand?".  At 1:57 a cast member walked over to where we were all huddled and told us we could now go thru security (again).  Of all the nonsense I put up with during our last trip, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.  Not going back for a long long time.


You could send an email to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com to report this - that was terrible.


----------



## BillFromCT

anne60 said:


> Some quick feedback about park hopping.  We arrived at the international gateway of Epcot in the pouring rain at 1:49 PM.  Our trip on the skyliner went more quickly than we anticipated and this is how we were treated.  We went thru security and then were told we could not enter the park and also could not wait under cover at guest relations.  We were told we needed to go back out on the other side of security and wait by the bathrooms.  We turned to see about a dozen other poor souls gathered there.  I heard one cast member say "What part of 2 O'Clock don't they understand?".  At 1:57 a cast member walked over to where we were all huddled and told us we could now go thru security (again).  Of all the nonsense I put up with during our last trip, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.  Not going back for a long long time.


You actually tried to scan in?  We've scanned in multiple times at HS and MK at exactly 1:48pm.  The HS cast members even had a countdown to when we could start scanning.  They had us form 2 lines on the far right touch points.  That CM sounds like they were having a bad day.


----------



## anne60

BillFromCT said:


> You actually tried to scan in?  We've scanned in multiple times at HS and MK at exactly 1:48pm.  The HS cast members even had a countdown to when we could start scanning.  They had us form 2 lines on the far right touch points.  That CM sounds like they were having a bad day.


No, I asked the CM if It was Okay to do so first. Then I asked if we could wait undercover by guest relations so we would not have to go thru security, but was told, no, we could go wait by the bathrooms. As we walked away that is when another CM made the snarky comment. I don’t know when the others that were over by the bathrooms had arrived.


----------



## brockash

BillFromCT said:


> You actually tried to scan in?  We've scanned in multiple times at HS and MK at exactly 1:48pm.  The HS cast members even had a countdown to when we could start scanning.  They had us form 2 lines on the far right touch points.  That CM sounds like they were having a bad day.


The CM sounds like a jerk.  You can stick by the book rules, even though Disney has consistently NOT practiced this, without being rude and a jerk.


----------



## dd316

dizneegirl said:


> Anybody there or just back - do they have the Figment Festival of the Arts baseball caps back at Epcot?


When I was there last week I struggled to find ANY Festival gear. I found shirts at a stand near the front of Italy, but that was all I saw. I don't recall if they had hats as I wasn't in the market for them.


----------



## heathsf

Does anyone have reports of how the parks have been these past few days? It's looking to be quite busy...


----------



## brockash

heathsf said:


> Does anyone have reports of how the parks have been these past few days? It's looking to be quite busy...


Definitely busy....lots of ppl.  However we are at Epcot today and have been able to ride everything with lil wait using early entry and fpass and ll.  Except Frozen as it was down for a while this morning.


----------



## SaraSpringsIsHome

We just got back from a week at Disney and holy cow it was crowded!!! 

That said, we had an amazing time! 

We used ILL once on Flight of Passage so we could take it easy one morning. Every other morning we arrived at rope drop by 7:30 (for 8:30 early entry) to make sure we could get at least one big ride in (7dmt, RotR, Remy’s, etc) and thankfully it worked out for us. 

We are a party of 2 adults in our 30’s. We only tried out Genie+ on our last day; started at MK and park hopped to DHS. We got 5 lightening lanes- it took a lot of refreshing for our last one but managed to snag Smugglers Run “late@ in the day. This is what we accomplished yesterday (Saturday 2-19):

Space mountain 
Buzz Lightyear
Big thunder mountain 
Haunted mansion LL (made at 7:05)
Peter Pan
Country bears
Pirates LL (made after we tapped into HM)
Aloha Isle for a dole whip 
12:00 left MK and took the boat to Wilderness Lodge for lunch
Star Tours
Indiana Jones show
Lightening McQueen racing academy
Rock n Rollercoaster LL (made after we tapped into pirates)
Dinner @ ABC Commissary
Toy Story Mania LL (set alarm for 2 hours after we booked RnRC)
Mickey and Minnie’s Railway
Smuggler’s Run LL (set alarm for 2 hours after we booked TSMM) 
Rise of the Resistance 

Also, thank goodness for mobile order (worked great for us and we never had to wait more than 3-7 minutes from the time we hit “I’m on my way” until it was ready).


----------



## bsmcneil

anne60 said:


> Some quick feedback about park hopping.  We arrived at the international gateway of Epcot in the pouring rain at 1:49 PM.  Our trip on the skyliner went more quickly than we anticipated and this is how we were treated.  We went thru security and then were told we could not enter the park and also could not wait under cover at guest relations.  We were told we needed to go back out on the other side of security and wait by the bathrooms.  We turned to see about a dozen other poor souls gathered there.  I heard one cast member say "What part of 2 O'Clock don't they understand?".  At 1:57 a cast member walked over to where we were all huddled and told us we could now go thru security (again).  Of all the nonsense I put up with during our last trip, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.  Not going back for a long long time.


I had a similar experience with something completely different at Epcot (first week of Feb). We had just gone through security at the front of the park but my oldest desperately needed to find a bathroom. They ran ahead to one past the ticket booths (to the right) and past security. I (and my 5 year old) were just a little bit behind and yelled to get them to stop because the bathroom was just beyond the security gate. I asked if we could stay on the side of security and get my kid back in (vs. walking back around to the entrance, going through security again) - the kid was in and out of the bathroom before we got there. But, following the rules, the kid couldn't come back in. I completely understand ... and it was super frustrating to deal with. And the security CM said something like, "Well, they should've known better" and I wanted to remark that there weren't clear signs that a 8/9 year old might understand saying if you passed X point, you are out of the park. It was just one of those times when a "Yeah, that really does stink but thanks for adhering to our policies" would go over better than their honest internal monologue (and I recognize we can't all filter those things all the time).


----------



## T'Lynn

SaraSpringsIsHome said:


> We just got back from a week at Disney and holy cow it was crowded!!!
> 
> That said, we had an amazing time!
> 
> We used ILL once on Flight of Passage so we could take it easy one morning. Every other morning we arrived at rope drop by 7:30 (for 8:30 early entry) to make sure we could get at least one big ride in (7dmt, RotR, Remy’s, etc) and thankfully it worked out for us.
> 
> We are a party of 2 adults in our 30’s. We only tried out Genie+ on our last day; started at MK and park hopped to DHS. We got 5 lightening lanes- it took a lot of refreshing for our last one but managed to snag Smugglers Run “late@ in the day. This is what we accomplished yesterday (Saturday 2-19):
> 
> Space mountain
> Buzz Lightyear
> Big thunder mountain
> Haunted mansion LL (made at 7:05)
> Peter Pan
> Country bears
> Pirates LL (made after we tapped into HM)
> Aloha Isle for a dole whip
> 12:00 left MK and took the boat to Wilderness Lodge for lunch
> Star Tours
> Indiana Jones show
> Lightening McQueen racing academy
> Rock n Rollercoaster LL (made after we tapped into pirates)
> Dinner @ ABC Commissary
> Toy Story Mania LL (set alarm for 2 hours after we booked RnRC)
> Mickey and Minnie’s Railway
> Smuggler’s Run LL (set alarm for 2 hours after we booked TSMM)
> Rise of the Resistance
> 
> Also, thank goodness for mobile order (worked great for us and we never had to wait more than 3-7 minutes from the time we hit “I’m on my way” until it was ready).


Sounds like an awesome day! Looks like you accomplished a lot without being glued to the phone! Makes me optimistic for my trip!


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## Ohiostatefan606

This might take multiple posts!  We were scheduled for January but moved to February due to positive Covid tests.  We just returned from 4 Days at Disney, had a great time and I think we did pretty good with our Genie strategy and even a few hiccups
Party of 3, 2 adults and a 13 year boy
Stayed at CBR - Aruba Bldg 53
Bought Genie+ for all 4 days.

Day 1: Up at 3:00 am to head to airport for a 6:00 am flight.  Little bit delayed.  Landed in Orlando about 8:45.  This is our EPCOT day. While we are taxiing, I am on my phone, grabbed Remy's for 7:15pm and then Test Track, which was 7:55 pm.  Picked up our rental car.  Stopped for coffee and then headed to CBR.  Went to front desk, I needed to pick up our magic bands and my birthday button! 

We knew we would be in Aruba or Jamaica so we parked the car and walked to the Skyliner and headed EPCOT.  It was probably 11:10 am.  We were hungry.  Mobile Ordered food from Regal Eagle.  Enjoyed out lunch, a little people watching and then at Noon, because of available return times, I picked up a LL for Spaceship Earth.  We walked through the countries.  Mexico was super crowded.  Headed to Spaceship Earth and walked on in about 5 minutes.  Posted wait time was 25 minutes.  I then picked up Mission Space for later in the afternoon.  After Spaceship Earth we walked over to Soarin', Standby said 35, it was closer to 20.  We then rode Living in the Land, waited about 10 minutes.  It was time for Mission Space - ORANGE LINE.  We had only ever ridden green, I liked it, but I also like the Tea Cups!   My son saw the Festival of the Arts Donuts, stopped for one of those.  Back across the park to go to Canada.  We watch Canada Far and Wide.  It was at this point I told my family, no more simulator rides today.  It was too much.  I think if I could have sat down during Canada Far and Wide I would have been okay. 

We needed a break, found some shade in Canada and sat down for bit.  Then walked through Great Britain and  decided we needed a drink and more chill time.  Keep in mind, we've been up since 3:00 am!  We had 5:15 dinner reservations at San Angel Inn.  Love this place! We had time before our LL times so we rode Gran Fiesta Tour on the most uncomfortable boat seats ever!

IT'S TIME - time to ride Remy's ... we get there, it's down.  AND Test Track is down.  Both our highlight rides for the day.   We walk up to Remy's CM tells us, no way of knowing when it will be up.  Tell them we have a paid LL, they tell us to go to Guest Services.

I wish I had paid better attention to the CM that helped us.  I should have gotten his name.   He moved our Remy's reservation to Saturday.  To an OPEN time.  We told him we had Park Hoppers and that was our only day to come back to EPCOT.  Then he switched our Test Track to an OPEN  LL for MK, which was our park for Day 2.  Not how our EPCOT day was supposed to go, but you can't control those things, and they did make it right. 

It is now close to 7:30 pm, we decide to call it day, get to our room. Our son has different plans, he wants to go swimming.  I mean, can you really go to bed at 7:30 pm at Disney?  I guess not.  We get to the room, unpack, chill out for minute, and walk over to the pool.  Now, it is 73 degrees, which if you are from Ohio, that is a heat wave.  Our son swims, we get a drink and discuss MK for the next day!  I'll make a separate post for Day 2.
One paid LL - Remy's
Genie+: Test Track / Spaceship Earth / Soarin'
Food: Regal Eagle / The Donut Box / San Angel Inn


----------



## MsVanderquack

brockash said:


> Definitely busy....lots of ppl.  However we are at Epcot today and have been able to ride everything with lil wait using early entry and fpass and ll.  Except Frozen as it was down for a while this morning.



Park hopped to Epcot today in the evening when we would have changed plans and gone back to the hotel because we were exhausted and one of our kids had been motion sick after FoP. But we had ILLs for Frozen that can’t be refunded, and the kids had been talking about it all day even though at that point they wanted to go back to the hotel. 

So onward to Epcot… and of course Frozen broke down and stayed down the rest of the night.

That right there is the magic of ILLs: you can’t cancel and get a refund if your kid gets motion sick earlier in the day, but Disney has a ride malfunction and it’s just “ok here’s a refund thanks for planning your vacation day around our systems.”


----------



## Aimeedyan

We go a lot, but just returned from a 2 night quick trip with family who flew in and paid full price for tickets so we toured like a tourist! Because of that, we did 2 things we'd never normally do: travel on a busy holiday weekend & buy Genie+/LL. We had a fantastic whirlwind trip, and had a lot of success, so I thought I'd share some of what we did.

First, this was a trip for 2 two year olds. We had no interest in anything they couldn't do or find interesting. This alone made our touring on a busy weekend so much easier. We skipped things that one of the toddlers was scared of (HM, pirates) and avoided lines like the plague. We tried a show and it did not go well. There was a lot of excitement in the transportation options, checking out animals at the hotel and AK, wandering, finding every set of steps possible to walk up and down, and jumping in puddles in front of the castle.

Friday:
Check in at AKL (room was ready at 11am)
Tried to swim (both Kidani and Jambo pool closed)
Picked up family at MCO
Drove to T&TC
Rode tram (toddler's dream!)
Walked to Captain Cooks for dinner
Watched fireworks on beach (toddler noise friendly - both are scared of fireworks close up)
Watched boats and monorails
Tram back to car (yay!)

Saturday:
@7am buy LL for MMRR, booked TSMM
Early entry for MK
Rode Buzz (5 min)
Rode Dumbo (5 min)
Rode Ariel (10 min)
Rode Teacups (10 min)
Met Cinderella and Elena (20 min)
Watched cavalcade
At 11am, booked Alien SS
Got Mickey D's for lunch on way back to AKL
Lunch, nap
At 1pm, didn't book anything
Arrive at HS at 3pm and race to TSMM (got in during grace period)
Book Disney Jr show (completely unnecessary but we didn't need anything else, and I knew it'd get us front row)
Ride Aliens
Disney Jr show
Meet Disney Jr characters (little to no waits)
Watch Pixar cavalcade
Ride MMRR
Walk in Frozen right as doors were closing (5:30 show - had to leave early because they couldn't sit for it)
6pm dinner at Hollywood & Vine (the beef was AMAZING)
Drive back to AKL

Sunday:
Book safari @ 7am
Breakfast at Sanaa & pack car
Bus to AK (car would have been faster but one toddler is super into buses)
Ride Safari (standby was 120 minutes)
Book Pooh for after 2pm
Walk gorilla trail
Play at Boneyard
Mobile order at Restaurantosaurus
Book Speedway
Bus back to hotel to get car
Car nap at T&TC
Tram!
Book Ariel (it was a favorite the day before)
Ferry boat!
Race to Pooh (we really were cutting things close!)
Ride Speedway
Ride Ariel
Book Mickey (not a long line but we were running out of options)
Watch 2 cavalcades
Lots of castle pics
Shop
Meet Mickey
All lines were ridiculous, and LL bookings were now later than we wanted to stay, so we left for home

Things to note:
- The crowds were intense - have not seen anything like it since pre-Covid
- Restrooms were always clean, and I only had to wait once (behind 1 person)
- Never had to wait for a changing table
- Every LL was at least 10 minute wait, if not more. I saw reports of people walking on and that was not the case for any of the rides this weekend
- Mobile order took 15+ minutes after hitting "I'm here" which we've never experienced. Places were SLAMMED. Captain Cooks was the worst (waited 30 minutes) but thankfully, good outdoor space to run in while waiting. No issues finding tables due to CM's playing door guard.

It was a whirlwind, but we had a wonderful time and more importantly, the toddlers had a blast without any meltdowns


----------



## mickey916

Love the toddler's excitement over riding the transportation! That would have been my younger son's favorite as well! In fact for our May trip he's told me he's planning on just riding the skyliner the whole time lol...he's 23, some things never change!


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## Ohiostatefan606

Back for Post 2: Magic Kingdom Day - Friday, Feb 18.  Crowded
Day 1 at EPCOT

Party of 3, 2 adults and a 13 year boy
Stayed at CBR - Aruba Bldg 53
Bought Genie+ for all 4 days.

7am: $LL SDMT for 7:35 pm
$LL SM for 2:00 pm
picked LL for Buzz
We were behind a bit on Rope Dropping.  Got in line for SM about 8:40.  Took about 30 minutes.
Tea Cups - 10 minutes
COFFEE!
Peoplemover - 20 minutes (said 40)
11:00 Selected Pirates for afternoon LL
Rode Buzz with our LL
Small World - 25 minutes (said 45)
Took some pics by the castle
Lunch at the Plaza
Walked through shops on Main Street
1:00 Selected Haunted Mansion for evening LL
$LL SM
Rode Pirates
Used our Test Track LL for Jungle Cruise
SNACKS at Pecos Bills - Churros!
3:00 Selected Dumbo for late afternoon LL
Stopped at the Frontier Land Shooting Gallery
Hall of Presidents - needed some air conditioning
5:00 Selected Speedway for late LL
Headed to Dumbo
Dinner at Skipper Canteen - loved it!
Rode Haunted Mansion
Rode SDMT with our $LL
Walked on to Tea Cups
Used LL for Speedway
One more trip around on the Tea Cups
Stopped for nighttime castle pics
Headed out
**We rode EVERYTHING we wanted and didn't feel like we were standing in line forever.  We also stuck to Tomorrowland / Fantasyland until lunch.  We didn't cross over the hub until after lunch.

2 paid LL - SDMT / SM
Rope Dropped SpaceMountain
Genie+ Selections: Buzz / Pirates / Haunted Mansion / Speedway / Dumbo
Free Genie+: Jungle Cruise (rescheduled b/c Test Track went down during our EPCOT day)
Standby: Space Mountain / Tea Cups / Peoplemover / Small World
Food: The Plaza / Churros / Skipper Canteen


----------



## brockash

MsVanderquack said:


> Park hopped to Epcot today in the evening when we would have changed plans and gone back to the hotel because we were exhausted and one of our kids had been motion sick after FoP. But we had ILLs for Frozen that can’t be refunded, and the kids had been talking about it all day even though at that point they wanted to go back to the hotel.
> 
> So onward to Epcot… and of course Frozen broke down and stayed down the rest of the night.
> 
> That right there is the magic of ILLs: you can’t cancel and get a refund if your kid gets motion sick earlier in the day, but Disney has a ride malfunction and it’s just “ok here’s a refund thanks for planning your vacation day around our systems.”


Yes, we had an issue like this yesterday at MMRR at DHS.  We're about to load and ride goes down.  We then have to wait our turn for the CM to scan our band to give us a multiple experience pass that's good for anything BUT ToT and RotR at DHS....first of all, definitely not an even trade since I paid for MMRR, second everyone got it, so no difference between if you paid for it or were standby.  I asked for a refund instead because again nowhere near an even trade and they tell me they can't do that, but if I go out of my way some more and go wait in line for guest services they might be able to help.  So after a wasted almost 40 mins. I did get a refund.  Customer service has definitely not been the past Disney customer service this trip.  

I will say if you're willing to pay enough, you can get on most rides with little wait, but again you have to pay for genie+, pay for ILL, and pay to stay not just on property, but at a deluxe.  We stacked MK fastpasses last night and did EMHs last night at MK and we basically walked onto any ride we wanted after watching fireworks- midnight.  

We weren't even pushing it and did the following with very little to no wait starting around 820pm:

PP
Carousel 
7DMT
BTM
HM
WtP
Cars
Buzz
snack
Carpets x2
Pirates
Tea Cups
SM
snack
shopped

It waa pretty great, but again VERY expensive.


----------



## Ohiostatefan606

Post 3: AK / EPCOT / MK - Saturday Feb 19 - NO PARK reservations available
Posts 1 and 2

Up early, early.  AK opens for onsite guests at 7:30.
7am - buy FOP - get 10:00 am - WooHoo
Select Test Track at EPCOT, get 2:05 pm - also perfect
Arrive at AK - walk with a purpose to Na'vi - 5 minutes
COFFEE! and breakfast bars
Pictures by the Tree of Life
Stop and see my fav, the flamingos
Use our $LL for FOP
at 9:35 am we get in line for Jungle Safari, it says 65 minutes.  They lied.
at 11:25 we exit Jungle Safari and we are now late for our Rainforest Cafe Lunch reservation which was 11:15!
Walk with a purpose to the front, check in, CM doesn't blink an eye that we are late.  Most of the restaurant is empty.
Some time during our Safari wait, I book BTMRR for the evening.  It was down Feb 14 - 18, so we couldn't ride it on our original MK day.
We eat lunch and decide that's it, we are done with AK.  Lines are huge, Everest is under refurb and my son and I HATE the Dinosaur ride and even though my hubby likes it.  Not at a 55 minute wait.
We head to our room so I can change.  It is chilly, low 70's.  But we won't go back to our room before being at MK during the evening.
Bus to CBR - change - Skyliner to EPCOT
Walk in right at 2:00.  There was a short line for people rope dropping. 
CROWDED!!
Go left past GB and Canada.  Stop in Creations Shop.  Picked up a couple items.  Saw my friend (that I knew was a Disney). 
Off to Test Track - used our LL
FINALLY - time for Remy's
Use our rescheduled $LL from Thursday night.
We have 5:30 dinner reservations at Ale and Compass.  Decide to leave EPCOT, grab a drink at Big River Grill & Brewery.  Son is getting hungry.  I can't cancel Ale and Compass via the app.  I sent a Chat Message after I tried to call.  Ended up eating at Big River. 
Took the bus from Boardwak Inn/Villas over to MK
During the day, I was booking LL for MK.  My times to select were off because of AK being open, then to EPCOT then to MK.  Basically about 30 minutes I would check to see if I was eligible to book. 
Arrive at MK
6:20 - Buzz standby - posted 35 minutes, was about 25
6:55 - Peoplemover standby - posted 40, was about 20
Walked on Carrousel
LL 7:35 - 8:35 pm for Haunted Mansion - it's down
LL 7:35 - 8:35 BTMRR
We start walking towards our LL - Mansion is up, we go that way.  In hind sight we should have waited.  The line was long because it had been down. 
We do Haunted Mansion, then BTMRR
Earlier in the day picked up a LL for Pirates, basically walked on.
At this point, the nighttime show is done, the big crowd surge to leave is gone.  Choices, go now or wait until the park closes at 10.  We leave.

1 paid LL - FOP
$LL- Remy's - this was rescheduled from Thursday after Remy's went down.
Genie+: Test Track / Haunted Mansion / BTMRR / Pirates
Food: Rainforest Cafe / Big River Grill and Brewery


----------



## Ohiostatefan606

Post 4 - Day 4 Hollywood Studios - NO PARK reservations available. Sunday Feb 20
Posts 1, 2 and 3

What we thought would be a disaster turned into the best day! 
We are at Hollywood Studios for my birthday.  Not planned this way, we were supposed to have gone to Disney in January.  The reschedule meant I got to spend my birthday at my favorite park!

7:00 am - Can't even get Genie+ to load to even attempt to get anything.  We did not have this problem any of the other days.
My husband is also trying.  He gets through, does his "job" get Smugglers Run
My job was ROTR.  Of course they are gone by the time I get Genie to load.
And Smugglers Run is during our dining reservation. 
We buy MMRR for 5:10, perfect
I know, because I researched, more slots drop at 7:10.  I can see Smugglers has times showing for earlier.  I roll the dice, cancel Smugglers.  OMG, then I can't get one. 
Calmly refresh a few times - BAM! more times, I get 10:40 am.
So I've resigned myself that we won't get on ROTR.  We've ridden it before.  I am getting ready, keep my phone by me, keep refreshing - BOOM! ROTR has more times, get 7:35 pm.

Head over to HS on the Skyliner, stop for COFFEE at Starbucks, sit and eat.  The line for RnRC is building.  We get in line before official park opening, but it is long.  It starts at the upside down car and is half way down Sunset Blvd.  But once the park opens, we walk almost all the way into the recording studio room.  Basically, 15 minutes at Rope Drop.  We decide to circle and ride again.  We are off our second ride by 9:10.  Head to TSMM, posted 45 minutes, takes about 30.

Walk through Batuu, head to Star Tours, posted 30 minutes, takes about 15.  Time for Smugglers!
Use our LL.
As soon as we scan in, I book TSMM for 3:50 pm
Walk through Batuu, see Chewy walking around.  Take some pictures.  Decide on Muppets, which puts us right by Sci-Fi for our lunch reservation.
After lunch, back to StarTours, get a different "tour"
Walk through the shops on Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd.
Son wants a donut from Joffrey's - it is tucked back by the exit from ToT.  Take some time to sit and relax.  At some point I picked up LL for Star Tours
Head off for our back to back afternoon
Oga's 3:35
LL for TSMM 3:50 - 4:50
$LL MMRR 5:00 - 6:00
LL StarTours 5:10 - 6:10
Dinner at Mama Melrose's
$LL ROTR 7:35 - 8:35

$LL: ROTR and MMRR
Standby: RnRC - twice / TSMM / StarTours - twice / Muppets
LL: Smugglers / TSMM / Star Tours - We could have gotten Aliens as a LL, but we decided on a 3rd Star Tours
Food: Sci-Fi / Joffrey's Donut / Oga's / Mama Melrose's

We didn't MISS anything we wanted to ride.  We have our favorites and we checked them all off the list.  The lines for Photopass in Batuu were long, so I didn't get those.  But I did get the Toy Story Land photo.

***Best Birthday EVER***


----------



## JoJoGirl

Ohiostatefan606 said:


> Post 4 - Day 4 Hollywood Studios - NO PARK reservations available. Sunday Feb 20
> Posts 1, 2 and 3
> 
> What we thought would be a disaster turned into the best day!
> We are at Hollywood Studios for my birthday.  Not planned this way, we were supposed to have gone to Disney in January.  The reschedule meant I got to spend my birthday at my favorite park!
> 
> 7:00 am - Can't even get Genie+ to load to even attempt to get anything.  We did not have this problem any of the other days.
> My husband is also trying.  He gets through, does his "job" get Smugglers Run
> My job was ROTR.  Of course they are gone by the time I get Genie to load.
> And Smugglers Run is during our dining reservation.
> We buy MMRR for 5:10, perfect
> I know, because I researched, more slots drop at 7:10.  I can see Smugglers has times showing for earlier.  I roll the dice, cancel Smugglers.  OMG, then I can't get one.
> Calmly refresh a few times - BAM! more times, I get 10:40 am.
> So I've resigned myself that we won't get on ROTR.  We've ridden it before.  I am getting ready, keep my phone by me, keep refreshing - BOOM! ROTR has more times, get 7:35 pm.
> 
> Head over to HS on the Skyliner, stop for COFFEE at Starbucks, sit and eat.  The line for RnRC is building.  We get in line before official park opening, but it is long.  It starts at the upside down car and is half way down Sunset Blvd.  But once the park opens, we walk almost all the way into the recording studio room.  Basically, 15 minutes at Rope Drop.  We decide to circle and ride again.  We are off our second ride by 9:10.  Head to TSMM, posted 45 minutes, takes about 30.
> 
> Walk through Batuu, head to Star Tours, posted 30 minutes, takes about 15.  Time for Smugglers!
> Use our LL.
> As soon as we scan in, I book TSMM for 3:50 pm
> Walk through Batuu, see Chewy walking around.  Take some pictures.  Decide on Muppets, which puts us right by Sci-Fi for our lunch reservation.
> After lunch, back to StarTours, get a different "tour"
> Walk through the shops on Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd.
> Son wants a donut from Joffrey's - it is tucked back by the exit from ToT.  Take some time to sit and relax.  At some point I picked up LL for Star Tours
> Head off for our back to back afternoon
> Oga's 3:35
> LL for TSMM 3:50 - 4:50
> $LL MMRR 5:00 - 6:00
> LL StarTours 5:10 - 6:10
> Dinner at Mama Melrose's
> $LL ROTR 7:35 - 8:35
> 
> $LL: ROTH and MMRR
> Standby: RnRC - twice / TSMM / StarTours - twice / Muppets
> LL: Smugglers / TSMM / Star Tours - We could have gotten Aliens as a LL, but we decided on a 3rd Star Tours
> Food: Sci-Fi / Joffrey's Donut / Oga's / Mama Melrose's
> 
> We didn't MISS anything we wanted to ride.  We have our favorites and we checked them all off the list.  The lines for Photopass in Batuu were long, so I didn't get those.  But I did get the Toy Story Land photo.
> 
> ***Best Birthday EVER***



Thanks for the wonderfully detailed trip reports and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Hope the best of your trip is great!


----------



## Ohiostatefan606

JoJoGirl said:


> Thanks for the wonderfully detailed trip reports and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
> 
> Hope the best of your trip is great!


 Thank you.  Home now.    But it was a fabulous trip!


----------



## Duck143

anne60 said:


> Some quick feedback about park hopping.  We arrived at the international gateway of Epcot in the pouring rain at 1:49 PM.  Our trip on the skyliner went more quickly than we anticipated and this is how we were treated.  We went thru security and then were told we could not enter the park and also could not wait under cover at guest relations.  We were told we needed to go back out on the other side of security and wait by the bathrooms.  We turned to see about a dozen other poor souls gathered there.  I heard one cast member say "What part of 2 O'Clock don't they understand?".  At 1:57 a cast member walked over to where we were all huddled and told us we could now go thru security (again).  Of all the nonsense I put up with during our last trip, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.  Not going back for a long long time.


This is insanity.  There really is no reason why they made you go back through security!
We had a similar situation this past May. We had drinks at Oga's at HS and when we finished (under our allotted time limit), we walked out the front door only to find it completely downpouring. It was coming down like a waterfall. We stood with our two children under the overhang with 3 CM's right outside Oga's door. They told us that we couldn't remain there for even a few minutes and kicked us out into the torrential downpour. We had just spent $$$$ in their restaurant (and if it had windows, we would have stayed in and enjoyed another beverage). The CMs laughed as they made us walk away to get thoroughly soaked.


----------



## Ohiostatefan606

MsVanderquack said:


> Park hopped to Epcot today in the evening when we would have changed plans and gone back to the hotel because we were exhausted and one of our kids had been motion sick after FoP. But we had ILLs for Frozen that can’t be refunded, and the kids had been talking about it all day even though at that point they wanted to go back to the hotel.
> 
> So onward to Epcot… and of course Frozen broke down and stayed down the rest of the night.
> 
> That right there is the magic of ILLs: you can’t cancel and get a refund if your kid gets motion sick earlier in the day, but Disney has a ride malfunction and it’s just “ok here’s a refund thanks for planning your vacation day around our systems.”



We had $LL for Remy's last Thursday night.  It was down for a while.  We had been up since 3:00 am to get our flight.  The cast member at Remy's entrance told us to go to Guest Services, even told us where it was located.  They were very nice.    Get to Guest Services (blue umbrella's).  Calmly explain to the CM that Remy's and Test Track are both down, and those were our 2 remaining rides for the day.  Politely told them, we still wanted to ride Remy's.  The CM moved Remy's to Saturday at our request and moved our Test Track LL to MK for Jungle Cruise the next day.

Can't say that all CM would have done the moving of EPCOT to MK, but it can't hurt to ask NICELY.  So often people are so frustrated that they take it out on the CM.  Not their fault. 

We didn't lose our money, and we even came out ahead with JC already set for Friday.


----------



## brockash

Ohiostatefan606 said:


> We had $LL for Remy's last Thursday night.  It was down for a while.  We had been up since 3:00 am to get our flight.  The cast member at Remy's entrance told us to go to Guest Services, even told us where it was located.  They were very nice.    Get to Guest Services (blue umbrella's).  Calmly explain to the CM that Remy's and Test Track are both down, and those were our 2 remaining rides for the day.  Politely told them, we still wanted to ride Remy's.  The CM moved Remy's to Saturday at our request and moved our Test Track LL to MK for Jungle Cruise the next day.
> 
> Can't say that all CM would have done the moving of EPCOT to MK, but it can't hurt to ask NICELY.  So often people are so frustrated that they take it out on the CM.  Not their fault.
> 
> We didn't lose our money, and we even came out ahead with JC already set for Friday.


I'm glad they moved it for you.  They would NOT move our MMRR pass to today from yesterday when it went down as we were about to ride.  They weren't rude or anything, but also weren't real helpful and didn't seem to care at all about all of our wasted time.  I got refunded and was eventually able to book and get one today, but the service is not what we are used to coming from Disney...seems to be the theme lately for us.


----------



## SwanVT2

We are staying at SSR. Got there a little before 8 and booked it right to Safari and took maybe ten minutes at most to walk through line. Saw animals eating breakfast and it was great. Quick snack then walked the trail to see gorillas and birds etc. we had Genie plus and I got Dino for 9:50 but everything else we were interested in when it got to be 10 to book more was for later in the day and we are not full day park people. Went on Kali. Then went on Dino. Had lunch and it was 11 by then. Did quick service at Pizzafari and FYI kids pizza is the size of a woman’s hand. Small!! Got beautiful photos of animals by arriving early. Gorillas were eating breakfast. We came back to hotel after lunch to swim. Highlight of the day was seeing a boat of characters on the river at AK. The boat said 50th anniversary and we saw Mickey and Minnie and Pluto on it waving at everyone!


----------



## Lsdolphin

Be prepared. To Wait.


----------



## Jules123

We arrive next week. How early have they been letting on-site guests enter the parks lately?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Honestly it seems to change park to park and day to day.  The rule of thumb is to arrive at your resort transportation at least 90 mins in advance of ETPE hours to be at the front of the group whenever they open attractions.

We were at Epcot a few weeks ago and they opened Remy exactly to the min but the week before people reported it opening over 30 mins earlier than ETPE started.


----------



## brockash

Jules123 said:


> We arrive next week. How early have they been letting on-site guests enter the parks lately?


This week at MK it was 8, but not allowed to que for rides until 830.

DHS, we were let in earlier and could line for Slinky as soon as let in, but they didn't walk us through the que until 825.  

Honestly I can't remember exact times for AK and Epcot.  Basically we got to our mode of transportation 1.5 hrs prior to regular park open to be on first bus/monorail and we always got there in time to line up at tapstyles but didn't feel like we waited too long before they let us enter.


----------



## Juventus

How do they separate onsite and offsite guests in the morning at MK?  If I'm offsite and want to ropedrop frontierland will I actually be in the park to the left of the hub lining up waiting for the 9:00 opening?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Juventus said:


> How do they separate onsite and offsite guests in the morning at MK?  If I'm offsite and want to ropedrop frontierland will I actually be in the park to the left of the hub lining up waiting for the 9:00 opening?


Yes.


----------



## Ohiostatefan606

Juventus said:


> How do they separate onsite and offsite guests in the morning at MK?  If I'm offsite and want to ropedrop frontierland will I actually be in the park to the left of the hub lining up waiting for the 9:00 opening?



Once inside the MK - they were scanning 1 person per party as we approached Tomorrowland.  But they were also directing offsite guests to stay in the Hub.  It actually moved pretty quick.

Same at AK - they scanned our magic band once inside the park.  Onsite went to the left, offsite stayed to the right.

We didn't rope drop EPCOT.

HS - I feel like they were pushing onsite to the left turnstiles and offsite to the right.  So they were controlling the flow of guests before you got into the park.

Keep your party together, be ready with magic band / card or phone.  Tell the CM how many people in your party.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

Juventus said:


> How do they separate onsite and offsite guests in the morning at MK?  If I'm offsite and want to ropedrop frontierland will I actually be in the park to the left of the hub lining up waiting for the 9:00 opening?


That's a great strategy.  I was offsite over Thanksgiving and did the same, rope dropped Frontierland and was able to walk onto Pirates and Splash and ride HM with a short wait, all within the first hour of park opening.


----------



## Juventus

ENJDisneyFan said:


> That's a great strategy.  I was offsite over Thanksgiving and did the same, rope dropped Frontierland and was able to walk onto Pirates and Splash and ride HM with a short wait, all within the first hour of park opening.


Thanks, that was my next question because it seems like ropedropping may be a bit more popular than when we used to do it (March 2015-2020).

If near the front of the frontierland drop (again, offsite and driving), is it still possible to get in BTMRR, SPLASH, and HM or POTC in with less than 20-25 minute waits? (e.g, 3 decent rides)

I ask because with younger ones we would always ropedrop frontierland (I'm talking front of the line ropedrop) and get in 4 quick rides in with very little wait.  We would go back to our resort around 1:00 and come back for the evening...which is a pain at MK given how long it takes.

If ropedrop is not what it used to be then we may just stack a few rides and show up around 1:00 and stay until close (11:00 close on the days I am looking at).

Thanks!


----------



## M SH

Juventus said:


> Thanks, that was my next question because it seems like ropedropping may be a bit more popular than when we used to do it (March 2015-2020).
> 
> If near the front of the frontierland drop (again, offsite and driving), is it still possible to get in BTMRR, SPLASH, and HM or POTC in with less than 20-25 minute waits? (e.g, 3 decent rides)
> 
> I ask because with younger ones we would always ropedrop frontierland (I'm talking front of the line ropedrop) and get in 4 quick rides in with very little wait.  We would go back to our resort around 1:00 and come back for the evening...which is a pain at MK given how long it takes.
> 
> If ropedrop is not what it used to be then we may just stack a few rides and show up around 1:00 and stay until close (11:00 close on the days I am looking at).
> 
> Thanks!



this is what we did last December. it worked for BTMR and Splash, but after that pirates had more than 25 mins wait. but this was week of christmas so crowds were higher than usual. any other week and it should be doable. although i hear crowds these days are insane too.
anyway i think you can get at least 2 rides, maybe 3-4 on less crowded days.


----------



## MainMom

M SH said:


> this is what we did last December. it worked for BTMR and Splash, but after that pirates had more than 25 mins wait. but this was week of christmas so crowds were higher than usual. any other week and it should be doable. although i hear crowds these days are insane too.
> anyway i think you can get at least 2 rides, maybe 3-4 on less crowded days.


These days a 25 minute wait seems like nothing.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Juventus said:


> Thanks, that was my next question because it seems like ropedropping may be a bit more popular than when we used to do it (March 2015-2020).
> 
> If near the front of the frontierland drop (again, offsite and driving), is it still possible to get in BTMRR, SPLASH, and HM or POTC in with less than 20-25 minute waits? (e.g, 3 decent rides)
> 
> I ask because with younger ones we would always ropedrop frontierland (I'm talking front of the line ropedrop) and get in 4 quick rides in with very little wait.  We would go back to our resort around 1:00 and come back for the evening...which is a pain at MK given how long it takes.
> 
> If ropedrop is not what it used to be then we may just stack a few rides and show up around 1:00 and stay until close (11:00 close on the days I am looking at).
> 
> Thanks!


What will slow things down is Splash as it takes time to go through the queue then the ride itself is 13 minutes long which means people are gathering in other lines while you're on Splash.  You may want to consider making that the last one of your group above in order to ride the other 3 with shorter waits.


----------



## Juventus

Thanks.  Ya I've done this at least a dozen times and we definitely  want to do thunder first and while splash takes time, I feel that going to, say, HM and back eats up time walking.  We were always able to do BTMRR-SPLASH-POTC-HM in that order with maybe a 25-30min wait at HM.  Again, we'd be on one of the very first trains on BTMRR.

Going to keep an eye on the lines app leading up to the trip I guess.


----------



## jsmla

I usually go like this:
Mine Train (Early Entry)
Peter Pan (Early Entry)
Haunted Mansion
Big Thunder
Splash Mt.
Pirates

I think I may wait slightly longer in the queues but I save the time and effort it takes to crisscross the park.


----------



## CookieandOatmeal

How do you fight through the ETPE crowds when trying to get to CRT for a pre-park ADR? Is there a pretty clear path to that part of the castle? My April ADR is at 8am with MK officially opening at 9 that day.


----------



## Lsdolphin

CookieandOatmeal said:


> How do you fight through the ETPE crowds when trying to get to CRT for a pre-park ADR? Is there a pretty clear path to that part of the castle? My April ADR is at 8am with MK officially opening at 9 that day.


Don’t really have to “fight” thru crowds...just walk straight up to castle and you will see 1or 2 CMs holding iPads they will scan your magic band to confirm your CRT reservation and than direct you to continue past them up into castle. As you enter into the castle you will see check in podium up to your right. onsite guests are directed to right for early entry before they get closer to castle.


----------



## Donaldsfans

AndreaDM said:


> Quick question, we are heading down on Sat. for a few days. Was planning to skip DHS this time, but now thinking about hopping there one day. Is it worth it just to be able to be there one day from 2-9? 2 adults, 2 kids (3&5).


When we're you there last? They do have new rides


boop0524 said:


> We did MK today booking as soon as park opening and then grabbing next available throughout the day, so hopefully this helps. Now keep in mind this meant that we missed out on PPF since it was always super far out and we lucked out with a JC at the end of the day. We also opted out of ETPE and decided to sleep in and take it easy this morning. We arrived in time for our first LL. Here’s our schedule, times approx:
> 
> 9:30 BTMR — 7 am LL
> 10:30 7DMT — 7 am ILL
> Standby SM, waited the full posted 35 mins
> 1:20 Pirates
> 2:10 Buzz
> 3:30 lunch at CRT
> Hall of Presidents
> People Mover
> 6:10 Small World
> 6:20 Haunted Mansion
> 7:45 JC


You seemed to get your money's worth, but that's a lot of crisscrossing the park.


----------



## UpstateMick

We are sitting in the airport and waiting for our flight back to Upstate NY. We have been here all week. Stayed at Swan and I have to say the boats and walk to HS and EPCOT was well worth what we paid. Since we have a 17DD, it was great when she wanted to sleep in and stay at the pool and the wife and I wanted to rope drop or just stroll. Overall, after 14 years of WDW we are done, with DD graduating and just not a big fan of the parks like she was when she was younger it’s a good time for us exit. We had a great run of old style Fastpasses and rope drop strategies for the past 14 years that you cannot do today. I spoke to so many families who were getting the crap kicked out of them by LL and ILL and scheduling and paying and being on their phones and rides being down and so on and so forth. I don’t want to be one of those “Im never going back” people, but man, for the money spent and what you get, it’s a hard pill to swallow. The “still” good: Disney Springs is great. Garden Grill is great! Tusker House is great!  Kona Cafe is great! Beaches and Crème was great! All still exceed expectations. ROTR is still unbelievable and worth the ILL price! The “meh”: Sci-Fi dine in food really went downhill. Disney friendliness (cast, managers,  etc.) really blah…it’s like night and day. The cleanliness of parks and bathrooms…yikes! For those of us who remember it was difficult to find a straw rapper on the ground before a cast member swooped in and scooped it up, no more. Remy? Um, it was nice, but short and not our bag of fun. EPCOTS's Harmonious...Jeesh!? What was that mess? Saw Illuminations over 30x and 1x Harmonious was TOO many for us...and had two surveys during my stay asking me how we liked Harmonious...Disney must be nervous about this one, with good reason! Same thing goes for Enchantment at MK, my gosh, are they TRYING to make any connections to anything? another mess that we were "one and done" with. You follow Wishes with Happily Ever After..ok, tough , but I get that, but you follow Happily Ever After with this train wreck...another Disney mistake. The “bad”: ride break down…everywhere, everyday, often, and brings incredible frustration. It was absolutely ridiculous. At rope drop, at our Deluxe Resort 2 hour late night, rides being down really had an effect on our touring and experiences. And speaking of the “perk” of being a deluxe guest with 2 extra hours…it truly ends up being about 45 minutes…absolutely not worth the extra to stay at a deluxe in our opinion. Overall, we had a beautiful weather week, some great meals, a great time at Disney Springs and the Swan Resort, but our park experiences were something we are happy to say we have no need to experience again.


----------



## scrappinginontario

I can relate.  We are huge WDW fans and had visited the parks more than 20 times in 10 years.  I remember for years I would tell people that it is a 'reasonably priced' vacation but I can no longer say that.  Prices have increased exponentially and there are more up-charges which is leading us to explore other options.

I'll be honest and say, we're not leaving the Disney brand, just opening up to what else they might offer.

We booked a trip for Aug but I'm pretty confident we're going to cancel it and try a trip to DL instead.  We won't go for as long but we've talked about going to DL for years but I continually went back to my comfort zone of WDW.  Since WDW is no longer as comfortable as it was, I'm encouraged to try something new in DL.

Also, something Pete said on a recent podcast resonated with me so I looked into it.  For years I said we'd been 'priced out of Disney Cruises' but, he shared a comparison of DCL vs WDW and he's quite right.  Our 9 night WDW trip (Pop Century so still value resort) is less than $500 difference of a 7 night (inside stateroom) cruise on the Fantasy and, the cruise includes food and drinks!!!  WOW!  I understand there are upcharges on a cruise (tipping and shore excursions but, we tip at WDW too and normally don't book too many shore excursions although that may change a bit this time.)

For years our 8 night Disney trips including dining and 8 day PH tickets were less than $2000.  That same trip without food is now over $3000!

So, while we love WDW and will be back for sure, in the meantime we spreading our wings and trying other Disney products.

*Update*:  I will say, we had an amazing time on our recent trip (Jan/Feb 2022), we're just going to branch out a bit before returning to WDW.


----------



## czmom

UpstateMick said:


> We are sitting in the airport and waiting for our flight back to Upstate NY. We have been here all week. Stayed at Swan and I have to say the boats and walk to HS and EPCOT was well worth what we paid. Since we have a 17DD, it was great when she wanted to sleep in and stay at the pool and the wife and I wanted to rope drop or just stroll. Overall, after 14 years of WDW we are done, with DD graduating and just not a big fan of the parks like she was when she was younger it’s a good time for us exit. We had a great run of old style Fastpasses and rope drop strategies for the past 14 years that you cannot do today. I spoke to so many families who were getting the crap kicked out of them by LL and ILL and scheduling and paying and being on their phones and rides being down and so on and so forth. I don’t want to be one of those “Im never going back” people, but man, for the money spent and what you get, it’s a hard pill to swallow. The “still” good: Disney Springs is great. Garden Grill is great! Tusker House is great!  Kona Cafe is great! Beaches and Crème was great! All still exceed expectations. ROTR is still unbelievable and worth the ILL price! The “meh”: Sci-Fi dine in food really went downhill. Disney friendliness (cast, managers,  etc.) really blah…it’s like night and day. The cleanliness of parks and bathrooms…yikes! For those of us who remember it was difficult to find a straw rapper on the ground before a cast member swooped in and scooped it up, no more. Remy? Um, it was nice, but short and not our bag of fun. The “bad”: ride break down…everywhere, everyday, often, and brings incredible frustration. It was absolutely ridiculous. At rope drop, at our Deluxe Resort 2 hour late night, rides being down really had an effect on our touring and experiences. *And speaking of the “perk” of being a deluxe guest with 2 extra hours…it truly ends up being about 45 minutes*…absolutely not worth the extra to stay at a deluxe in our opinion. Overall, we had a beautiful weather week, some great meals, a great time at Disney Springs and the Swan Resort, but our park experiences were something we are happy to say we have no need to experience again.



Can you explain the extra hours being shortened? We go in a couple weeks, and was planning on getting a lot done in those 2 hours.


----------



## DisneyFive

UpstateMick said:


> We are sitting in the airport and waiting for our flight back to Upstate NY. We have been here all week. Stayed at Swan and I have to say the boats and walk to HS and EPCOT was well worth what we paid. Since we have a 17DD, it was great when she wanted to sleep in and stay at the pool and the wife and I wanted to rope drop or just stroll. Overall, after 14 years of WDW we are done, with DD graduating and just not a big fan of the parks like she was when she was younger it’s a good time for us exit. We had a great run of old style Fastpasses and rope drop strategies for the past 14 years that you cannot do today. I spoke to so many families who were getting the crap kicked out of them by LL and ILL and scheduling and paying and being on their phones and rides being down and so on and so forth. I don’t want to be one of those “Im never going back” people, but man, for the money spent and what you get, it’s a hard pill to swallow. The “still” good: Disney Springs is great. Garden Grill is great! Tusker House is great!  Kona Cafe is great! Beaches and Crème was great! All still exceed expectations. ROTR is still unbelievable and worth the ILL price! The “meh”: Sci-Fi dine in food really went downhill. Disney friendliness (cast, managers,  etc.) really blah…it’s like night and day. The cleanliness of parks and bathrooms…yikes! For those of us who remember it was difficult to find a straw rapper on the ground before a cast member swooped in and scooped it up, no more. Remy? Um, it was nice, but short and not our bag of fun. The “bad”: ride break down…everywhere, everyday, often, and brings incredible frustration. It was absolutely ridiculous. At rope drop, at our Deluxe Resort 2 hour late night, rides being down really had an effect on our touring and experiences. And speaking of the “perk” of being a deluxe guest with 2 extra hours…it truly ends up being about 45 minutes…absolutely not worth the extra to stay at a deluxe in our opinion. Overall, we had a beautiful weather week, some great meals, a great time at Disney Springs and the Swan Resort, but our park experiences were something we are happy to say we have no need to experience again.


Really well thought out post.  Sad to think of the "end of the run".  I'm not sure if we are there or not.  I don't _want_ to be done.  Too many memories, nostalgia, and holding out hope that we can still have magical vacations there.

Part of it is the kids growing up, and possibly out, of Disney.  I truly don't see our kids ever growing out of it, but I do see the possibility that the park experience just isn't what they remember from the previous decade+.  Sadly, _that_ could cause the end of it for them. 

Like you said, we had a _GREAT_ run with both the paper and FP+ systems that really allowed the premium cost of a Disney vacation to be worth it.  We'll give it another go this summer.  We'll see...

Dan


----------



## UpstateMick

czmom said:


> Can you explain the extra hours being shortened? We go in a couple weeks, and was planning on getting a lot done in those 2 hours.


So you get two hours, but many people have figured out the “trick” of getting in line for attractions a minute before park closing (say 9:59 for this past Mondays MK) so the EMH start at 10:00, and now as a deluxe resort guest, you go to get in a line, and immediately see there are still 30-40 minute waits on POTC, BTMRR, SM, and HM and JC and PP, and a 70 minute wait on 7DMT, so you go choose one of those and by the time you wait in line, ride one ride, and get out of line, almost an hour has past, not to mention regular guests trying to line jump (we saw this on 3 rides and it really bottlenecks things and caused a chaos)  you really only end up with about 40 minutes of lower waits and even then, 7DMT never went below 40 minutes. And, eat before, because food is VERY scarce after 9:00 PM


----------



## UpstateMick

DisneyFive said:


> Really well thought out post.  Sad to think of the "end of the run".  I'm not sure if we are there or not.  I don't _want_ to be done.  Too many memories, nostalgia, and holding out hope that we can still have magical vacations there.
> 
> Part of it is the kids growing up, and possibly out, of Disney.  I truly don't see our kids ever growing out of it, but I do see the possibility that the park experience just isn't what they remember from the previous decade+.  Sadly, _that_ could cause the end of it for them.
> 
> Like you said, we had a _GREAT_ run with both the paper and FP+ systems that really allowed the premium cost of a Disney vacation to be worth it.  We'll give it another go this summer.  We'll see...
> 
> Dan



You will enjoy your trip this summer, just as we did, and it is hard with all the memories and every nook and cranny of the park holding some emotional connection (we must have said to our 17DD “oh remember when…” 1000x and her retort was either “please stop” or “no!” Lol) My wife and I realized on this trip that our last two trips (June 2021 and this one) the visits to the parks have been mostly for past memories, not for the new experiences, so we realized we have to stop (or get counseling lol). It’s hard to let go, but my daughter said to us that she’d love to come back with us if we stay at a resort near Disney Springs so she could enjoy the resort during the day and get our Disney fix with Disney Springs at night. We are done with parks. We have seen it all and done it all during the past 14 years and we have a lifetime of memories to cherish. We don’t need to keep doing to do! I’m proud of my daughter she taught us a great lesson on this trip, so our next Orlando adventure will take a new form. Change is good! We are looking forward to Phase 2. And I always have Phase 3 (Grandpa Role) down the road. A chance to do it all over again


----------



## UpstateMick

scrappinginontario said:


> I can relate.  We are huge WDW fans and had visited the parks more than 20 times in 10 years.  I remember for years I would tell people that it is a 'reasonably priced' vacation but I can no longer say that.  Prices have increased exponentially and there are more up-charges which is leading us to explore other options.
> 
> I'll be honest and say, we're not leaving the Disney brand, just opening up to what else they might offer.
> 
> We booked a trip for Aug but I'm pretty confident we're going to cancel it and try a trip to DL instead.  We won't go for as long but we've talked about going to DL for years but I continually went back to my comfort zone of WDW.  Since WDW is no longer as comfortable as it was, I'm encouraged to try something new in DL.
> 
> Also, something Pete said on a recent podcast resonated with me so I looked into it.  For years I said we'd been 'priced out of Disney Cruises' but, he shared a comparison of DCL vs WDW and he's quite right.  Our 9 night WDW trip is less than $500 difference of a 7 night (inside stateroom) cruise on the Fantasy and, the cruise includes food and drinks!!!  WOW!  I understand there are upcharges on a cruise (tipping and shore excursions but, we tip at WDW too and normally don't book too many shore excursions although that may change a bit this time.)
> 
> For years our 8 night Disney trips including dining and 8 day PH tickets were less than $2000.  That same trip without food is now over $3000!
> 
> So, while we love WDW and will be back for sure, in the meantime we spreading our wings and trying other Disney products.


It is so funny that you say this! With my daughter going to college in the fall after graduating from HS, and NOT being able to vacation next February with us, my wife and I are going to Disneyland for the first time as well!! I think trip planning is half the fun (I am a pro) so as long as I have something to plan, I’ll be good with it all! Our first trip to WDW with my daughter when she was 3 (2008) was  7 days, 2,450 total! This trip, with airfare, for 6 days, with a teacher discount at the Swan, and food, was just over 6,000! Unreal!


----------



## DisneyFive

UpstateMick said:


> So you get two hours, but many people have figured out the “trick” of getting in line for attractions a minute before park closing (say 9:59 for this past Mondays MK) so the EMH start at 10:00, and now as a deluxe resort guest, you go to get in a line, and immediately see there are still 30-40 minute waits on POTC, BTMRR, SM, and HM and JC and PP, and a 70 minute wait on 7DMT, so you go choose one of those and by the time you wait in line, ride one ride, and get out of line, almost an hour has past, not to mention regular guests trying to line jump (we saw this on 3 rides and it really bottlenecks things and caused a chaos)  you really only end up with about 40 minutes of lower waits and even then, 7DMT never went below 40 minutes. And, eat before, because food is VERY scarce after 9:00 PM


I'm not sure if our park days this summer will line up the EEH, but if they do...   do you think it would be better to just hang back and grab a snack or something for the first 30 minutes of EEH to help the queues empty out from day guests?  I know what you're saying about jumping in line right at park closing, because we did it a number of time our last trip July 2021.  Most of the time we did that we were through the line in about 30 minutes.  FOP was like 65 though, which felt really long but it was awesome leaving Pandora basically by ourselves with no one else around with all the beautiful lighted plants, sounds, etc...



UpstateMick said:


> You will enjoy your trip this summer, just as we did, and it is hard with all the memories and every nook and cranny of the park holding some emotional connection (we must have said to our 17DD “oh remember when…” 1000x and her retort was either “please stop” or “no!” Lol) My wife and I realized on this trip that our last two trips (June 2021 and this one) the visits to the parks have been mostly for past memories, not for the new experiences, so we realized we have to stop (or get counseling lol). It’s hard to let go, but my daughter said to us that she’d love to come back with us if we stay at a resort near Disney Springs so she could enjoy the resort during the day and get our Disney fix with Disney Springs at night. We are done with parks. We have seen it all and done it all during the past 14 years and we have a lifetime of memories to cherish. We don’t need to keep doing to do! I’m proud of my daughter she taught us a great lesson on this trip, so our next Orlando adventure will take a new form. Change is good! We are looking forward to Phase 2. And I always have Phase 3 (Grandpa Role) down the road. A chance to do it all over again



Thanks.  Love this.

Dan


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## scrappinginontario

UpstateMick said:


> You will enjoy your trip this summer, just as we did, and it is hard with all the memories and every nook and cranny of the park holding some emotional connection (we must have said to our 17DD “oh remember when…” 1000x and her retort was either “please stop” or “no!” Lol) My wife and I realized on this trip that our last two trips (June 2021 and this one) the visits to the parks have been mostly for past memories, not for the new experiences, so we realized we have to stop (or get counseling lol). It’s hard to let go, but my daughter said to us that she’d love to come back with us if we stay at a resort near Disney Springs so she could enjoy the resort during the day and get our Disney fix with Disney Springs at night. We are done with parks. We have seen it all and done it all during the past 14 years and we have a lifetime of memories to cherish. We don’t need to keep doing to do! I’m proud of my daughter she taught us a great lesson on this trip, so our next Orlando adventure will take a new form. Change is good! We are looking forward to Phase 2. And I always have Phase 3 (Grandpa Role) down the road. A chance to do it all over again


We took a picture for a family this trip that was taking it a step further and recreating their pics from earlier trips!  (LOL - I'm sure your daughter will breathe a huge sigh of relief that you didn't ask for that!)  I had to say the one they showed us where the now-18yo was sitting on the dad's shoulders in front of RnRC was hilarious!!

My daughter whined the one time we stopped in DS to take our traditional pic with Pooh and Friends near the candy store!


----------



## UpstateMick

Definitely still get in line as soon as you can…don’t hang back. My daughter made a priority list of her “must dos” that night so we prioritized that. We still got on HM, POTC, PP, Buzz and a few times on Big Thunder. Just wouldn’t have been able to do Space Mtn. And 7DMT during that time with the lines.


----------



## UpstateMick

scrappinginontario said:


> We took a picture for a family this trip that was taking it a step further and recreating their pics from earlier trips!  (LOL - I'm sure your daughter will breathe a huge sigh of relief that you didn't ask for that!)  I had to say the one they showed us where the now-18yo was sitting on the dad's shoulders in front of RnRC was hilarious!!\
> 
> My daughter whined the one time we stopped in DS to take our traditional pic with Pooh and Friends near the candy store!



Um…we did 3 of those for graduation party photos and no, it was not a popular activity!  lol!!


----------



## pens4821

Ohiostatefan606 said:


> HS - I feel like they were pushing onsite to the left turnstiles and offsite to the right.  So they were controlling the flow of guests before you got into the park.



Was it clear where you needed to go to get in and use the ETPE?  I’d hate to get there early and be in the wrong line then have to get behind others.


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## brockash

UpstateMick said:


> We are sitting in the airport and waiting for our flight back to Upstate NY. We have been here all week. Stayed at Swan and I have to say the boats and walk to HS and EPCOT was well worth what we paid. Since we have a 17DD, it was great when she wanted to sleep in and stay at the pool and the wife and I wanted to rope drop or just stroll. Overall, after 14 years of WDW we are done, with DD graduating and just not a big fan of the parks like she was when she was younger it’s a good time for us exit. We had a great run of old style Fastpasses and rope drop strategies for the past 14 years that you cannot do today. I spoke to so many families who were getting the crap kicked out of them by LL and ILL and scheduling and paying and being on their phones and rides being down and so on and so forth. I don’t want to be one of those “Im never going back” people, but man, for the money spent and what you get, it’s a hard pill to swallow. The “still” good: Disney Springs is great. Garden Grill is great! Tusker House is great!  Kona Cafe is great! Beaches and Crème was great! All still exceed expectations. ROTR is still unbelievable and worth the ILL price! The “meh”: Sci-Fi dine in food really went downhill. Disney friendliness (cast, managers,  etc.) really blah…it’s like night and day. The cleanliness of parks and bathrooms…yikes! For those of us who remember it was difficult to find a straw rapper on the ground before a cast member swooped in and scooped it up, no more. Remy? Um, it was nice, but short and not our bag of fun. The “bad”: ride break down…everywhere, everyday, often, and brings incredible frustration. It was absolutely ridiculous. At rope drop, at our Deluxe Resort 2 hour late night, rides being down really had an effect on our touring and experiences. And speaking of the “perk” of being a deluxe guest with 2 extra hours…it truly ends up being about 45 minutes…absolutely not worth the extra to stay at a deluxe in our opinion. Overall, we had a beautiful weather week, some great meals, a great time at Disney Springs and the Swan Resort, but our park experiences were something we are happy to say we have no need to experience again.


I have to say we kinda agree as far as the park experience.  We too just returned early this morning from a week down there from the tundra that is the north country in NY and honestly for the weather alone the trip was well worth it for us, however for the first time ever we didn't rope drop each day and chose not to do a handful of attractions just because we didn't find it worth it.

The weather was perfect and I HATE being back here.  We were sweating our butts off at the pool yesterday at this time and just 12 hrs later in negative degree real feel weathee and snow...blah.

We did end up getting to do a decent amount without huge waits even with the crowds...but it cost us and I don't think we're willing to spend that kind of money again.  Also, the constant refreshing, head burried in my phone....literally setting an alarm for every 2 hrs was just not how we want to spend vacation.

We too did deluxe hrs. and originally I thought pretty highly of it for a MK night, however looking back, that night was mainly successful because I had been able to stack and purchase fastpasses for the headliners throughtout the day and by the time it was deluxe hrs.; while we did walk on most everything, we were really only hitting up the less popular rides and then saved Space for last at like 1145pm.

Epcot deluxe hrs was totally different and while we did get to accomplish the big 4, it was only the big 4 and we were really moving to make it to each.  Each ride had around a 20-35 min. wait.  To us, that wasn't worth it.

We also hated how much criss-crossing the park we had to do for everything.  We've been doing Disney for a cpl decades on a regular basis and have never had to criss-cross so much.  We had 1 day that we walked 32000 steps!!... That is waayyy more than we ever had in a single day and that was with a break.  We all definitely felt all the extra walking as well.

We've just gotten to the point that we really enjoy our rest days much more than the actual park days.

CM's were also just very meh.  None that were super rude or anything, but absolutely nothing special or really even friendly about them either.


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## GBRforWDW

scrappinginontario said:


> We booked a trip for Aug but I'm pretty confident we're going to cancel it and try a trip to DL instead. We won't go for as long but we've talked about going to DL for years but I continually went back to my comfort zone of WDW.


You should definitely do Disneyland!  We went last August and are planning a return in July.  It's such a different experience and a lot easier, in my opinion, to go out and do non Disney related things, such as visit Hollywood, go to the ocean, go to sporting events, etc. 

I'm excited for all the nighttime shows retuning in the next few months that we didn't get to see during our first trip.


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## boredghost

sitting at the airport with a very long flight delay so time to share!

February trip Sat 19th-Sat 26th pt 1
4 couples!
Stayed at CBR (Jamaica bldg 42)
Genie+ length of trip, helpful
Park Hopper length of trip, didn’t use it
Memory Maker length of trip, huge value

sat - flew in, got to resort just as our room opened up, took bus to Disney springs, shopped and grabbed an ube donut, met some friends for Thai over at celebration

sun 20-  Epcot day 9am opening, 8:30 am Early Entry (7:45am at skyliner CBR)
7am Grabbed ILL for Remy & Frozen, LL for test track
2nd to last day of FotA- slaw dog was good, beets were good- wish they would have more diverse plant based (or even secretly vegan) options. Sake was alright, rice beer was good.
hit the Coral Reef, decent vegan offerings, had a great view of tank.

Rope dropped Remy then clocked 8miles of park walking and hit the following:
Rope dropped Remy Standby then clocked 8miles of park walking and hit the following:
Test Track LL, Spaceship Earth LL, Nemo LL, Soarin, Living With The Land, Canada Far & Wide, Gran Fiesta, Journey into Imagination LL, Remy LL

No frozen  it was closed every time we tried to ride, we were auto comped a free use pass, held onto it for when Frozen might reopen. Did return, scanned and were 3 boat loads shy of riding when they closed it again and shuffled us out. Had to talk to Guest Services for the ILL refund.

watched the Broadway show, very fun, ended the night with Harmonius- it was the best night show on offering by our group’s opinion.

mon 21- Animal Kingdom day 8am opening -too early for Early Entry. Took Lyft at 7:45a

7am FOP ILL, Safari LL

hit the following: Safari LL, Na’vi River LL, FOP ILL, Festival of the Lion King standby, Dinosaur LL

tried 3 times to see It’s tough to be a Bug, but when we finally got in to the holding area and donned our glasses, they cleared us out cause they had to close it.

walked another 7.5 miles. Saw the gorillas and tigers, a highlight

mostly mobile ordered at parks, snacking, then headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge for Sanaa - it was our favorite in 2019- but it has totally abandoned the Ethiopian flavor and was mediocre Indian food (kinda spoiled in NYC).


----------



## Lsdolphin

I’m sorry but I have to say that the frequent ride closures are getting ridiculous especially  considering the extra expense now of the Genie+.  although you can sometimes get a multi-pass scanned onto your band often people don’t even know that’s possible and just walk off or have to stand in line to get the extra pass.  I cant even remember the last trip to MK where this didn’t happen to us.  Last trip end of Jan we experienced ride closures 4/6 days.


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## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> I’m sorry but I have to say that the frequent ride closures are getting ridiculous especially  considering the extra expense now of the Genie+.  although you can sometimes get a multi-pass scanned onto your band often people don’t even know that’s possible and just walk off or have to stand in line to get the extra pass.  I cant even remember the last trip to MK where this didn’t happen to us.  Last trip end of Jan we experienced ride closures 4/6 days.



When we were in DHS a few weeks ago and TSL was down during our return time our LL automatically changed to an anytime LL.  We didn’t have to request it or tap in anywhere.  I’ve never heard of needing to do that.


----------



## brockash

scrappinginontario said:


> When we were in DHS a few weeks ago and TSL was down during our return time our LL automatically changed to an anytime LL.  We didn’t have to request it or tap in anywhere.  I’ve never heard of needing to do that.


If you've already tapped in and are in the line you have ALWAYS had to do that.  If you haven't gotten in line. then yes it automatically changes to an anytime pass, however if you're already in line you have always had to wait around until it's your turn for them to scan your band to reissue your fastpass.  This has not changed with Genie.  This happened to us multiple times last week as well.
I also reported about the time last week that we purchased separately the fastpass for MMRR and it went down as we were getting ready to board.  We had to wait for them to get around to us to scan our bands.  Then to top it off, they were only able to give us a pass that would work at something at DHS that was NOT RoTR or TOT....ummm excuse, but we already paid extra for these fastpasses.  They could not refund, switch days, switch parks anything there, so we then had to go wait in another long, hot line for guest services to be refunded.

It's definitely frustrating.


----------



## GBRforWDW

brockash said:


> If you've already tapped in and are in the line you have ALWAYS had to do that.  If you haven't gotten in line. then yes it automatically changes to an anytime pass, however if you're already in line you have always had to wait around until it's your turn for them to scan your band to reissue your fastpass.  This has not changed with Genie.  This happened to us multiple times last week as well.
> I also reported about the time last week that we purchased separately the fastpass for MMRR and it went down as we were getting ready to board.  We had to wait for them to get around to us to scan our bands.  Then to top it off, they were only able to give us a pass that would work at something at DHS that was NOT RoTR or TOT....ummm excuse, but we already paid extra for these fastpasses.  They could not refund, switch days, switch parks anything there, so we then had to go wait in another long, hot line for guest services to be refunded.
> 
> It's definitely frustrating.


Yes, we had the same thing happen at MMRR where it went down while we were in the preshow room after using G+LL, but it was over Christmas when it was a G+ ride, so wasn't an issue to get back on it later.  We had to stand around and wait for them to scan our bands as well which took probably 30 minutes.  However, when you pay for an ILL$, that's definitely infuriating to be told you can't use it on that same ride later or another ILL$ ride.  Yikes.

We also had Spaceship Earth go down on us as we were about to check in during the 15 minute grace period.  That did not convert either and they told us we'd have to go to GET to fix it.  We had enough planned the rest of the day that we decided not to do it.


----------



## boredghost

Flight was cancelled so we’re ‘stuck’ in Orlando until Tuesday, time for a report from the last minute hotel:


February trip Sat 19th-Sat 26th pt 2
4 couples!
Stayed at CBR (Jamaica bldg 42)
Genie+ length of trip, helpful
Park Hopper length of trip, didn’t use it
Memory Maker length of trip, huge value

tues 22- Hollywood studios day. 7:15am skyliner from CBR for Early Entry



7am grabbed Rise ILL & MMRR ILL, plus MFSR LL

Split for rope drop- one group hit MFSR then another hit Tower of Terror- followed up with Star Tours.

shopped Galaxy’s Edge and grabbed some ronto wraps for breakfast- probably the best vegan options in park, 3 of us built droids, then we got our blue milk and hit Oga’s. Hit Muppetvision 3D, Indiana Jones LL, Smugglers Run LL, Rise LL, Star Tours LL and Standby (it was the same for us both times, though one group rode it a third time and got other scenes. I think they are weighting the new trilogy content).

lunched at Sci-Fi drive-in, food was good but had to remind them to go light on the salt for the fries. Kinda wish they would make that crab cake into a sandwich entree- burger is fine.

shopped for a bit, hung out and watched the two show- both were alright. Hung out in Galaxy’s Edge until our 10pm Savi reservations- love GE after dark. 3 of us built sabers, was a first time for two, it was magical for all.

grabbed a skyliner just in time!

long day at HS- 7am to 11pm

weds 23- MagicKingdom day- grabbed a Lyft to TTC at 7:15 for the 8:30 early entry- we’re released into the kingdom at 8am, entered the EE crowd to the right of the castle heading towards Fantasy Land.

7am snagged 7dmt ILL & Space Mountain ILL plus haunted mansion LL.

hit Peter Pan first thing, followed by Winnie the Pooh, then hit Haunted Mansion LL, Pirates Standby, Under the Sea Standby, Space ILL, Hall of Presidents, 7DMT ILL, People Mover, Carousel of Progress, Smallworld LL, Philharmagic LL, Jungle Cruise LL.

had splash mountain LL but it went down as soon as we got over to ride, so we used the open LL from that on another Haunted Mansion run. HM is a fave, lots of stops and slow downs on it- seems like a number of rides were running fast or had slowdowns, or some combination of running quickly with pauses so that things often went out of sync. The ghost tracking at end of HM wasn’t working.

photos on Pirates and HM were either missing or for other parties.

Grabbed a Casey dog for lunch, they need to enforce the ‘no seats w/out a mobile order pickup’ cause it was pretty cutthroat getting seats. did Jungle Skippers canteen for dinner- was pretty good, decent vegan options- falafel plate was good- nice to have something other than impossible meat.

weren’t-as into enchantment as harmonius. Took a crowded bus back to CBR


----------



## serenitynow

boredghost said:


> Flight was cancelled so we’re ‘stuck’ in Orlando until Tuesday, time for a report from the last minute hotel:
> 
> 
> February trip Sat 19th-Sat 26th pt 2
> 4 couples!
> Stayed at CBR (Jamaica bldg 42)
> Genie+ length of trip, helpful
> Park Hopper length of trip, didn’t use it
> Memory Maker length of trip, huge value
> 
> tues 22- Hollywood studios day. 7:15am skyliner from CBR for Early Entry
> 
> 7am grabbed Rise ILL & MMRR ILL, plus MFSR LL
> 
> Split for rope drop- one group hit MFSR then another hit Tower of Terror- followed up with Star Tours.
> 
> shopped Galaxy’s Edge and grabbed some ronto wraps for breakfast- probably the best vegan options in park, 3 of us built droids, then we got our blue milk and hit Oga’s. Hit Muppetvision 3D, Indiana Jones LL, Smugglers Run LL, Rise LL, Star Tours LL and Standby (it was the same for us both times, though one group rode it a third time and got other scenes. I think they are weighting the new trilogy content).
> 
> lunched at Sci-Fi drive-in, food was good but had to remind them to go light on the salt for the fries. Kinda wish they would make that crab cake into a sandwich entree- burger is fine.
> 
> shopped for a bit, hung out and watched the two show- both were alright. Hung out in Galaxy’s Edge until our 10pm Savi reservations- love GE after dark. 3 of us built sabers, was a first time for two, it was magical for all.
> 
> grabbed a skyliner just in time!
> 
> long day at HS- 7am to 11pm


So sorry your flight was canceled


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## BroadwayHermione5

boredghost said:


> sitting at the airport with a very long flight delay so time to share!
> 
> February trip Sat 19th-Sat 26th pt 1
> 4 couples!
> Stayed at CBR (Jamaica bldg 42)
> Genie+ length of trip, helpful
> Park Hopper length of trip, didn’t use it
> Memory Maker length of trip, huge value
> 
> sat - flew in, got to resort just as our room opened up, took bus to Disney springs, shopped and grabbed an ube donut, met some friends for Thai over at celebration
> 
> sun 20-  Epcot day 9am opening, 8:30 am Early Entry (7:45am at skyliner CBR)
> 7am Grabbed ILL for Remy & Frozen, LL for test track
> 2nd to last day of FotA- slaw dog was good, beets were good- wish they would have more diverse plant based (or even secretly vegan) options. Sake was alright, rice beer was good.
> hit the Coral Reef, decent vegan offerings, had a great view of tank.
> 
> Rope dropped Remy then clocked 8miles of park walking and hit the following:
> Rope dropped Remy Standby then clocked 8miles of park walking and hit the following:
> Test Track LL, Spaceship Earth LL, Nemo LL, Soarin, Living With The Land, Canada Far & Wide, Gran Fiesta, Journey into Imagination LL, Remy LL
> 
> No frozen  it was closed every time we tried to ride, we were auto comped a free use pass, held onto it for when Frozen might reopen. Did return, scanned and were 3 boat loads shy of riding when they closed it again and shuffled us out. Had to talk to Guest Services for the ILL refund.
> 
> watched the Broadway show, very fun, ended the night with Harmonius- it was the best night show on offering by our group’s opinion.
> 
> mon 21- Animal Kingdom day 8am opening -too early for Early Entry. Took Lyft at 7:45a
> 
> 7am FOP ILL, Safari LL
> 
> hit the following: Safari LL, Na’vi River LL, FOP ILL, Festival of the Lion King standby, Dinosaur LL
> 
> tried 3 times to see It’s tough to be a Bug, but when we finally got in to the holding area and donned our glasses, they cleared us out cause they had to close it.
> 
> walked another 7.5 miles. Saw the gorillas and tigers, a highlight
> 
> mostly mobile ordered at parks, snacking, then headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge for Sanaa - it was our favorite in 2019- but it has totally abandoned the Ethiopian flavor and was mediocre Indian food (kinda spoiled in NYC).


This is very thorough thank you for this


----------



## Lsdolphin

scrappinginontario said:


> When we were in DHS a few weeks ago and TSL was down during our return time our LL automatically changed to an anytime LL.  We didn’t have to request it or tap in anywhere.  I’ve never heard of needing to do that.


I had to wait in a line in front of HM with quite a few others and I think I remember the CM saying it should automatically show up on MDE but that wasn’t happening.  I also saw long line of people at the guest services waiting for refunds for ride they had paid for.   one of the days I was there HM, PP, SDMT, and Winnie the Pooh were all down and I ended up having paid for genie+ then leaving with 3 multi-passes unused because when we tried to return to the rides the LL lines were so long we just couldn’t stand in line that long even having both genie+ and the DAS it was not a great day.
I have been going several times a year for a while and it definitely seems like ride closures have increased due to malfunctions.


----------



## ILoveMyDVC

Lsdolphin said:


> I’m sorry but I have to say that the frequent ride closures are getting ridiculous especially  considering the extra expense now of the Genie+.  although you can sometimes get a multi-pass scanned onto your band often people don’t even know that’s possible and just walk off or have to stand in line to get the extra pass.  I cant even remember the last trip to MK where this didn’t happen to us.  Last trip end of Jan we experienced ride closures 4/6 days.


A colleague just returned from DL two weeks ago and experienced the same issue.  She was not pleased.


----------



## boop0524

Donaldsfans said:


> You seemed to get your money's worth, but that's a lot of crisscrossing the park.


We did do a lot of crisscrossing. Our group was pretty small and able to walk quick, so it was manageable but not necessarily fun or relaxing. I have read the threads, watched many videos and still feel like once there it’s so hard to have a smart park plan. With Genie+ and crowds, it’s like luck of the draw with how it’ll go. I personally hope they make positive changes to the system soon.


----------



## Donaldsfans

boop0524 said:


> We did do a lot of crisscrossing. Our group was pretty small and able to walk quick, so it was manageable but not necessarily fun or relaxing. I have read the threads, watched many videos and still feel like once there it’s so hard to have a smart park plan. With Genie+ and crowds, it’s like luck of the draw with how it’ll go. I personally hope they make positive changes to the system soon.


I do too.


----------



## Gonflipin

Are they loading Disney buses packed like sardines like the good ‘ol days again yet? Went April 2021 and the guaranteed seat on the bus was a dream lol


----------



## Disney102015

Genie glitched on me and by the time I got through to the LL purchase page at 7:02 SDMT was gone  Does anyone know of a particular time more LL slots are “dropped” or should I just keep refreshing throughout the day? Thanks!


----------



## itf

Disney102015 said:


> Genie glitched on me and by the time I got through to the LL purchase page at 7:02 SDMT was gone  Does anyone know of a particular time more LL slots are “dropped” or should I just keep refreshing throughout the day? Thanks!



Keep refreshing especially now, I can see a 3:55 time at the moment...


----------



## Turksmom

Gonflipin said:


> Are they loading Disney buses packed like sardines like the good ‘ol days again yet? Went April 2021 and the guaranteed seat on the bus was a dream lol


Packed like sardines in November.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Gonflipin said:


> Are they loading Disney buses packed like sardines like the good ‘ol days again yet? Went April 2021 and the guaranteed seat on the bus was a dream lol


Buses are running at full capacity including guests standing.


----------



## Disney102015

itf said:


> Keep refreshing especially now, I can see a 3:55 time at the moment...


THANK YOU!! Just snagged one for this morning, suddenly a whole bunch of times popped up at once!


----------



## brockash

Gonflipin said:


> Are they loading Disney buses packed like sardines like the good ‘ol days again yet? Went April 2021 and the guaranteed seat on the bus was a dream lol


Yes, all back to the old ways.


----------



## mom2rtk

brockash said:


> Yes, all back to the old ways.


Unless you want to get close to a character or see a parade.


----------



## Westerner

.


----------



## GBRforWDW

mom2rtk said:


> Unless you want to get close to a character or see a parade.


Parade starts in less than 2 weeks.


----------



## gzh6464

Recently went to WDW/Universal this past presidents week.

*PSA #1* - Pandemic is over and parks are packed way beyond anything I've ever seen in 50 years ( year I have been many times and remember the alphabetical ticket books). As of now masks are still required on buses, monorails, skyliner but despite signs/announcements they were only  enforced on buses.  Difficult to enforce on monorails and skyliners  tend to be broken down by family groups anyway.

_*TIP #1*_ - Never go to these parks  presidents week which is most likely ( next to holiday time) highest traffic week.  Unless you have HS kids (I did) whose academics matter, taking younger kids out of school another  time of year will not affect their chance to get into a good college -  but this is obvious information and shouldn't surprise anyone. 

We split a week between the places and  were also down for Princess Run weekend. Traveled with adults and teens.

*TIP #2* -The G+, ILL$  is understandable  in its basics but don't believe every thing posted by experts here or in video including ALL ears (Molly's videos are great but take info with a grain of Salt) or even what is posted on various Disney sites. Again I've been doing this for 50 years.

It is understandable that Disney is charging for a premium service (they charge for everything else) so no complaints there (they could have simply hiked the prices more - oh they just did or will based upon announcements). I had mastered the FP system and  knew ways to get many  passes, multiple times for many rides.. Most never made to effort but I hate waiting hours for a 3-4 minute ride. But that's gone. I really don't like G+ but some how were given it as part of our package (and $15/pp/d was not a huge  expense over what we were already paying if if helped avoid lines - that is probably why many people use it and the system doesn't  work. If it were a higher cost fewer would use it and those who choose to use it would get a better benefit.

*Are G+ and ILL$ worth it?*
This is a tough question to answer and is a very individual thing based upon many factors including when you are going (we went during peak), the people in your group ( we were adults and teens), your budget, where you are staying ( we stayed at Beach club) and your goals ( we wanted to do rides -and did not do  shows which we had seen previously or were more geared to the little ones). Our feelings about it were generally negative and we only found it helpful at MK.  We dedicated 1 day to each park (less for AK - also dedicated 1day in each Universal park)

*ILL$* -Disney Has designated 2 rides in each park as "special high demand" rides not part of G+. Additional charges of $8-15/pp.  Only used once per ride and on 2 per day.  Yes on top of the  gate price. So your options to ride them ( Remy, Frozen, Space, 7DMT, Rise of Resistance, Mickey/Minnie Railroad, Avatar, Everest) are pay the premium price or go standby.

*PSA #2* - During this trip Everest was closed for extended maintenance and  Space Mtn and Frozen were converted to G+ rides! Universal has similar special rides (Hagrid/Veliciraptor coaster) that are not part of their express pass system, which is much better than G+ allowing access to most rides any time and for additional $ can be unlimited if you want to ride the same ride many times)

*Tip#3 - *Depending upon your budget and sleep schedule wake up early and  do these first thing (early bird gets worm and saves money)since there are only 5 now in 4 parks your only decision is to maybe pay for one in DHS (we did MMrailroad since it was cheaper and worth $7 each to save 2-3 hours of wait time). Alternatively find times in day early , late , mealtimes etc when the lines may be shorter (this is relative instead of 2 hour waits they may be 60-90min hr but not much less).

*Tip#4 *- If you can afford it stay on disney property( or universal property) and take advantage of extra hours/ morning or evening. They are priceless and so much can be done  in that time. GET UP early. Even though additional hours are posted you really need to be there about 45-1 hour before that time...yes get your coffee and go. The lines to enter get long then and  in some cases parks  and rides open even earlier. One day when early hour at DHS was  8:30 for resort guests park opened at  7:55....and hundreds were there way before us but managed to be off RoR by 8:35! (great  ride). On the same note one night during EPCOT extra hours managed to do Frozen, TestT, Spaceship earth, Sorin,  and Mission space as almost walk ons (Test Tr did single rider) in the course of  75 minutes ( best hour  of trip except there was no food available anywhere so we had to settle for the one beer stand in Norway and run between the attractions - good prep for the Princess Runs - Ha). Obviously something you cant do with small kids.

*G+ Ughh!!!!!!*
Personally hate this system and only found it moderately useful in MK during this visit ( as apposed to Express at Universal which was was well worth it). Our experience:

EPCOT - EPCOT has  only 8 rides that  will make you wait any significant times. If you go early you can easily do 2-3 before lines get long and spread the others out over the day.
*TIP #5* - Do Remy first thing and spread the others over the day or  use ILL$ if you can afford it on this ride. Use single rider for TestTrack. If you want to use G+ (personally  we did not see a reason in this park even in peak times - definitely not in low attendance times) unless you were limited in time and  maybe want to do EPCOT/AK - but G+ with its restrictions makes this difficult - another reason for not liking this system if you want to use it). Not sure if Remy also a nice attraction was open during extra hours - no more virtual cues!

AK - There are only 5 rides that will make you wait significant times.If you are spending the day in this Park come early and you can do 1-2 early ( we did Avator  and Navi and stay through the other lines that can get long for  Kilamanjaro, Dino and Everest (which was closed). If you can afford it do ILL$ for Avatar and standby for the rest - this would make it a wash with the ILL$ cost and the G+ cost. 

MK - Here we found G+ to be helpful with a a big warning its use is limited.
*TIP#6* - If you are using G+ you must be ready to use it at7A (resort guests) and (9A non resort guests or when ever park open that day. No learning the system last minute. Know exactly what you want  and  be prepared not to get it or not to get the times you want.
*PSA #3* - G+ is in charge not you. Do not expect to get what you want  when you want it even though you are paying extra for this service. Example:  Decided to G+ PP (for crazy structural loading reasons this ride has terrible waits and G+ disappears relatively early).   At 7A we saw G+ was available at 10:30A ( not sooner like you might expect). Pressed to reservation and after the spinning circle stopped  several seconds later we were given 12:30 given automatically trigger the 2 hour rule (will explain later). So yes several hundred/thousand other people had the same idea and it was luck as to whose wifi internet was  the quickest not you. This makes the service, G+,  very frustrating!

We chose to use ILL$ on 7DMT as it was only $8/pp and came early to  do other things (would never pay premium for Space - done it many times, even walk on during late hours - just not worth it as a coaster ( especially after doing Velociraptor (best coaster in both park if you are  tall enough, followed by Hulk, RNR, Rip Rocket/Hagrid then BTMRR - family is past the kiddie coasters like barnstormer, Woody, Hippigriff, and even SDD. 7DMT has some  theming which makes it interesting with the cars rocking).

*PSA# 4* - Do not believe all you see on this site or videos etc beginning with the  LEEWAY RULE  or DOUBLE TAP RULE. In the LL returns there are 2 tap points (ticket, band etc). They are there to confirm that if you did get a G+ spot and you can enter. It has been said that you may enter your  LL up to to 15 min before your reservation time or 5 min later or  is it visa versa? In either case we were rejected from entry by cast members because we we not exactly within  our designated window the tap point didnt turn green. Yes even three minutes before! (we did not test the late rule). So there was no LEEWAY RULE for us   on any rides.

With respect to the DOULE TAP rule this was also a myth fin and DISney must have realized this concept was a mistake.   Right now there are 2 tap points in the LL of each ride. The first at entry and the second closer to boarding. It was rumored ( and stated all over videos like ALLears) that  when you tap your band to the second tap point. It opens the window for you to get another g+ reservation. This would explain why there are 2 tap points. But in our experience it meant nothing other than possibly a way to collect data on how long the LL wait was which is never posted anyway so not sure about that. 

  So here is our example from the PP ride we booked with G+ at 7A.  We crossed our first PP tap point at 12:35p and then out second one at 12:37p (no line). And tried to book our third G+ ride. (Sorry forgot the 2 HOUR RULE - which states you cannot book another G+ until 2 hour after the  last one  or 2 hour after park opening. In our case we booked PP at 7 for 12:30 (it was 10:30A that we requested) so we we eligible for our next pass at 11a 4 hours after booking or 2 hrs after park opening. So we booked HM for 2pm our 11A opening for another pass). When we double tapped at PP expecting to open another window we were told by G+ we were not  eligible until 1p for our next booking which happened all day.

Effectively the earliest we were ever allowed to book anything was every 2 hours no matter what the actual reservation times were. So 7A, 11A, 1p, 3p, 5p etc By 5 most reservation for more popular attractions were gone. So while G+ was helpful it was of limited use.  DOUBLE TAPPING DID NOTHING AND DID NOT OPEN ANY NEW WINDOWS - though I guess had we not booked HM at  11 for 2p after double tapping we could have booked another ride - but why would we have waited until 12:30 for another G+ ride if we could have done it at 11A.

*PSA #5* - G+ opening happen during the day and you might get something earlier later on if people drop their reservation.  Yes an you might also win the lottery. Human nature says if you have the reservation you will keep it. It is very rare ( we tried checking every 15 minutes and sometimes more often - and never saw new openings. NEW OPENINGS FOR RIDES ARE RARE IF THEY EVER HAPPEN.

So I would say because MK has so many rides and G+ is distributes over many of them and everyone has their favorite the # of G+ passes are greater or there is more chance for you to get the rides you want ( maybe not at the preferred time) that G+ has  some benefit in MK with  limitations.


*DHS*
Here is where things go bad and things are crazy making G+ not worth it in our experience. Here we chose to ILL$ Mickey/Minnie since it was only $8 each more and Went to RoR first thing.  We chose to G+ ToT and got an 11:15 reservation, but if you wand SDD you must G+ this (we skipped).  SDD G+ was gone in minutes -so your only chance to do this was very early or  stand on line for up to 3hrs ( yes 3 hours for a several minute ride). We finished RoR and several other rides over the next few hours when our 11 AM window for getting another G+ ride opened....but guess what.....Nothing was available for  any of the major rides by 11:05 when everyone else's 11A window also opened (gone for the day RoR and M/M railroad by purchase, ToT, RRC, SDD (gone in first few min by 7:05,), Mil Falcon, and TSM....yes for the entire day and we refreshed every  15 min and sometimes more frequently......our experience We paid G+ price to get one ride (or effectively paid a ILL$ for ToT). G+ was not worth it in DHS because the  demand is so high and supply is limited. Was paying $15/pp that day worth saving the 2hrs of line time on ToT?



Summary:
1- Do not go in peak season (even if its the only time your kids are off except if they are HS kids).
2- If you can afford it stay on Disney property to get early hours do it; if you can really afford it stay premium and do extra evening do it.
3- Rope drop Rope drop meaning get to the parks 45-1 hour before the expected opening or early opening.
4- ILL$ is a personal decision based upon finances. With only 5 attractions during our stay it was worth it in DHS but not the other parks if you do those attractions first.
5- G+ may be helpful in MK but be flexible as you will not always get what you want or get what you think you've gotten.
6- Be mindful of what you see or read ( even on this site and other respected sites like Allears.net). In our experience there was no leeway to G+ reservations, Double tapping did nothing,  and expect long/very long lines. 
7 - For us Frozen and Space mountain  were moved to G+ and ILL$ category.  Stay alert. Things change every day.
8- Pandemic is  over is Disney and fill up every available space has replaced social distance (saw a sign that was still left over  at the treehouse that said keep 6 feet apart - luck if people can keep 6 inches aprt pabed upn out experience.


----------



## gregskellington

I couldn't decipher some of this but tapping into a LL absolutely frees you up to get another before your two hour window. But it's one or the other now. Two hour window OR tapping into a LL frees you up for another. 

Briefly there was a glitch that allowed you to get two selections based on that but it's no longer true.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

gzh6464 said:


> In our experience there was no leeway to G+ reservations, Double tapping did nothing


I’m not sure what you mean by this?


----------



## gzh6464

ENJDisneyFan said:


> I’m not sure what you mean by this?


We were turned away from rides and told to come back even 5 min before our window opened. Mickey didnt turn green and the castmenber said you need to wait and come back in a few minutes


----------



## gzh6464

gregskellington said:


> I couldn't decipher some of this but tapping into a LL absolutely frees you up to get another before your two hour window. But it's one or the other now. Two hour window OR tapping into a LL frees you up for another.
> 
> Briefly there was a glitch that allowed you to get two selections based on that but it's no longer true.


Not our experience at all.

At 7Am we got G+ for PP for 12:30 ( we had thought we got 10:30 but were given 12:30 in those 3-4 seconds of the system confirming the reservation.  
At 11 AM we got another G+ reservation for HM at 2p
At  12:35 we completed the second tap at PP and tried to  open another G+ reservation and were given the message you are not available for another pass until 1p
At 1p we got another pass for POC at 3;45p
At 2;10 we completed another second tap at HM and were told we were not eligible until 3P for another G+   ....etc.


Double tapping  Absolutely did nothing to free you up before the 2 hour window!!!!


gregskellington said:


> I couldn't decipher some of this but tapping into a LL absolutely frees you up to get another before your two hour window. But it's one or the other now. Two hour window OR tapping into a LL frees you up for another.
> 
> Briefly there was a glitch that allowed you to get two selections based on that but it's no longer true.


----------



## MainMom

gzh6464 said:


> Not our experience at all.
> 
> At 7Am we got G+ for PP for 12:30 ( we had thought we got 10:30 but were given 12:30 in those 3-4 seconds of the system confirming the reservation.
> At 11 AM we got another G+ reservation for HM at 2p
> At  12:35 we completed the second tap at PP and tried to  open another G+ reservation and were given the message you are not available for another pass until 1p
> At 1p we got another pass for POC at 3;45p
> At 2;10 we completed another second tap at HM and were told we were not eligible until 3P for another G+   ....etc.
> 
> 
> Double tapping  Absolutely did nothing to free you up before the 2 hour window!!!!


I thought it was 2 hours from your most recently scheduled LL.


----------



## ENJDisneyFan

gzh6464 said:


> Not our experience at all.
> 
> At 7Am we got G+ for PP for 12:30 ( we had thought we got 10:30 but were given 12:30 in those 3-4 seconds of the system confirming the reservation.
> At 11 AM we got another G+ reservation for HM at 2p
> At  12:35 we completed the second tap at PP and tried to  open another G+ reservation and were given the message you are not available for another pass until 1p
> At 1p we got another pass for POC at 3;45p
> At 2;10 we completed another second tap at HM and were told we were not eligible until 3P for another G+   ....etc.
> 
> 
> Double tapping  Absolutely did nothing to free you up before the 2 hour window!!!!


That's definitely *not *how it's supposed to work.  Frustrating for sure.


----------



## gregskellington

gzh6464 said:


> Not our experience at all.
> 
> At 7Am we got G+ for PP for 12:30 ( we had thought we got 10:30 but were given 12:30 in those 3-4 seconds of the system confirming the reservation.
> At 11 AM we got another G+ reservation for HM at 2p
> At  12:35 we completed the second tap at PP and tried to  open another G+ reservation and were given the message you are not available for another pass until 1p
> At 1p we got another pass for POC at 3;45p
> At 2;10 we completed another second tap at HM and were told we were not eligible until 3P for another G+   ....etc.
> 
> 
> Double tapping  Absolutely did nothing to free you up before the 2 hour window!!!!



Yes, that's exactly what I said. It worked as expected for you, then. Double tapping was a bug that was quickly fixed.


----------



## MikeandReneePlus5

MainMom said:


> I thought it was 2 hours from your most recently scheduled LL.


It is. That was the OP's misunderstanding.


----------



## gzh6464

The freeing up of LL double tapping might work if you havnt  activated a second pass with the 2 hr rule eg:

Book something at 7Am
Get a pass that allows entry at 9:30
Complete 9:30 double tap at 9:35 and your window for a new one opens..... ( and not 11AM)

but if this was the case we should have been able to open another window at 12:35 after we double tapped. They system specifically told us we were not eligible until 1p  ( presumeable because we got a G+ pass at 11A when our first window for a pass opened.)


----------



## MainMom

gzh6464 said:


> The freeing up of LL double tapping might work if you havnt  activated a second pass with the 2 hr rule eg:
> 
> Book something at 7Am
> Get a pass that allows entry at 9:30
> Complete 9:30 double tap at 9:35 and your window for a new one opens..... ( and not 11AM)
> 
> but if this was the case we should have been able to open another window at 12:35 after we double tapped. They system specifically told us we were not eligible until 1p  ( presumeable because we got a G+ pass at 11A when our first window for a pass opened.)



You might be remembering the stacking that was happening when genie+ first came out. They closed that loop hole. It now defaults to your most recently booked LL.


----------



## gzh6464

gregskellington said:


> I couldn't decipher some of this but tapping into a LL absolutely frees you up to get another before your two hour window. But it's one or the other now. Two hour window OR tapping into a LL frees you up for another.
> 
> Briefly there was a glitch that allowed you to get two selections based on that but it's no longer true.


Not our experience at all.

At 7Am we got G+ for PP for 12:30 ( we had thought we got 10:30 but were given 12:30 in those 3-4 seconds of the system confirming the reservation.  
At 11 AM we got another G+ reservation for HM at 2p
At  12:35 we completed the second tap at PP and tried to  open another G+ reservation and were given the message you are not available for another pass until 1p
At 1p we got another pass for POC at 3;45p
At 2;10 we completed another second tap at HM and were told we were not eligible until 3P for another G+   ....etc.


Double tapping  Absolutely did nothing to free you up before the 2 hour window!!!!


gregskellington said:


> I couldn't decipher some of this but tapping into a LL absolutely frees you up to get another before your two hour window. But it's one or the other now. Two hour window OR tapping into a LL frees you up for another.
> 
> Briefly there was a glitch that allowed you to get two selections based on that but it's no longer true.





MainMom said:


> I thought it was 2 hours from your most recently scheduled LL.


SO basically if you can get a new pass every 2hrs ( or 4 hrs in the AM from a 7 Am booking)  what is the purpose of double tapping? What is it freeing you up to do?


----------



## MainMom

gzh6464 said:


> Not our experience at all.
> 
> At 7Am we got G+ for PP for 12:30 ( we had thought we got 10:30 but were given 12:30 in those 3-4 seconds of the system confirming the reservation.
> At 11 AM we got another G+ reservation for HM at 2p
> At  12:35 we completed the second tap at PP and tried to  open another G+ reservation and were given the message you are not available for another pass until 1p
> At 1p we got another pass for POC at 3;45p
> At 2;10 we completed another second tap at HM and were told we were not eligible until 3P for another G+   ....etc.
> 
> 
> Double tapping  Absolutely did nothing to free you up before the 2 hour window!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> SO basically if you can get a new pass every 2hrs ( or 4 hrs in the AM from a 7 Am booking)  what is the purpose of double tapping? What is it freeing you up to do?


If a ride has 2 checkpoints (double tap) you can’t make a second genie+ until the second tap point.


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## gzh6464

MainMom said:


> If a ride has 2 checkpoints (double tap) you can’t make a second genie+ until the second tap point.


my point is I couldnt get another pass even after the second check point until 2 hours had passed since my last booking.


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## Turksmom

As I understood your post, your last booking was not the one you tapped in for. Tapping into one you had booked earlier does not make you eligible for another booking while your most recent selection has not yet been used


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## gregskellington

It's 2 hours after your most recent booking, or, tapping into your most recently made booking. That's it. Double tapping as you've described it was a bug.


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## FencerGirl

The second tap point helps prevent people from ducking into the the LL line after the initial tap point.


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## cutigerlady

I was there the same time as you and agree with what you said.  I also had issues with selecting another G+ ride after tapping into my ride.  I had read tons of information before our trip and thought I understood how it worked.  We were able to tap in 5 minutes before the return time and it turned the Mickey green.  From what I understand NOW is that once you use the last G+, then you can select another.  So if your first was at 12:35 and at 11:00 you picked one for 12:55, then after you tap in for the 12:55, you can make another selection and get in front of everyone trying at 1:00.  By the time I figured this out, we were done with our park days, so I didn't get to try it out myself.  We could never find options with near time return times, everything was for the late evening.  We ended up with stacked G+ all overlapping for the late evening.  It didn't seem to limit the number of overlapping selections.

Also figured out that if you are on a ride right at 11:00, then you get behind everyone the rest of the day and by 3:00 you are just out of luck!  I overheard so many conversations waiting in line of confused people on how the system works and frustration on wasting money to get nothing.  The lines were always so long at the Guest Experience tent that I never went to complain myself because I didn't want to waste time from my vacation.  

For those of you watching and testing your plans at home, let me warn you that nothing is guaranteed until you get through the entire reservation process.  I had ILL+ times change after the payment page, or worse say it was no longer available.  Many, many times I clicked on a G+ and then it was no longer available.  I thought my party of 2 would be easy to get reservations for, I can't imagine how difficult it is for a large group!


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## MainMom

gzh6464 said:


> my point is I couldnt get another pass even after the second check point until 2 hours had passed since my last booking.


Correct. The double checkpoint has nothing to do with booking unless it’s your most recently booked LL.


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## gzh6464

OK so if I had gotten a pass for 9:30 AM double tapped at 9:40 AM I would be eligible for another pass at 9:40 and not wait until 11 AM?  If so  why couldnt I get one at 12:40 after I double tapped after the 12:30 reservation.  

Essentially double tapping only works if you get early passes before the 2 hr rule is invoked.  I had no chance to get any benefit from double tapping bc my pass was for 12:30 which was after my earliest chance to get a pass at 11 AM. Double tapping at 12:30 was of no benefit since I was eligible after 11 AM anyway.

Why has disney made this so complicated and not made it as simple as universal.?


----------



## MainMom

gzh6464 said:


> OK so if I had gotten a pass for 9:30 AM double tapped at 9:40 AM I would be eligible for another pass at 9:40 and not wait until 11 AM?  If so  why couldnt I get one at 12:40 after I double tapped after the 12:30 reservation.
> 
> Essentially double tapping only works if you get early passes before the 2 hr rule is invoked.  I had no chance to get any benefit from double tapping bc my pass was for 12:30 which was after my earliest chance to get a pass at 11 AM. Double tapping at 12:30 was of no benefit since I was eligible after 11 AM anyway.
> 
> Why has disney made this so complicated and not made it as simple as universal.?


I think you’re stuck on the double tapping being something that it’s not. Some people will try to book their next LL after the first tap, see it’s not working and give up not realizing they have to tap a second time. When you see talk of double tapping it’s just to let people know that SOME lines have 2 checkpoints. There is no additional benefit. The benefit is if you have checked into your most recently booked LL or not. If it’s your most recent THEN you need to tap twice before the system will allow you to book again.


----------



## jbish

gzh6464 said:


> OK so if I had gotten a pass for 9:30 AM double tapped at 9:40 AM I would be eligible for another pass at 9:40 and not wait until 11 AM?  If so  why couldnt I get one at 12:40 after I double tapped after the 12:30 reservation.
> 
> Essentially double tapping only works if you get early passes before the 2 hr rule is invoked.  I had no chance to get any benefit from double tapping bc my pass was for 12:30 which was after my earliest chance to get a pass at 11 AM. Double tapping at 12:30 was of no benefit since I was eligible after 11 AM anyway.
> 
> Why has disney made this so complicated and not made it as simple as universal.?


But by 12:30, you had already booked two G+.  The one you got at 7 am and the one you got at 11 am.  That means the next one you could get would be 1 pm, which is exactly what you experienced.  If your 7 am booking had been around 9:30 am (as in your example above), yes, you would have been able to book your second one after the second tap.  The EXACT scenario you are describing where you had booked one at 7 am and booked your second at 11 am, then tapped into your first G+ reservation at 12:30, does NOT open up another booking "thread" for you.  That is the loophole that was closed by Disney, which is what others have been trying to say in response to your original post.  You obviously saw earlier strategies postings where, basically, you had two different booking windows open up - one based on the two hour "cooling period" and one based on entering the ride queue (and double tapping).  You only have ONE booking thread now.

From what I gather, previously it was an "AND" situation: you could book another G+ after you had tapped into your G+ reservation AND after 2 hours from your first reservation, and every two hours thereafter.  Now it is "OR" - whichever comes first.

The next booking opportunity is based solely off of your most RECENTLY booked G+. Your THIRD booking opportunity is based on your SECOND G+ reservation, which, in your case, occurred at 11 am.  Now, had your 11 am booking been for a ride at 11:30, which then you went through the queue (and had double tapped, if needed), then you would have immediately been able to book your THIRD G+.

[ETA: I have not been yet but this is my understanding of how things are RIGHT NOW - please correct me if I'm wrong. And who knows what it will be in April when I actually go.]


----------



## snikki

jbish said:


> But by 12:30, you had already booked two G+.  The one you got at 7 am and the one you got at 11 am.  That means the next one you could get would be 1 pm, which is exactly what you experienced.  If your 7 am booking had been around 9:30 am (as in your example above), yes, you would have been able to book your second one after the second tap.  The EXACT scenario you are describing where you had booked one at 7 am and booked your second at 11 am, then tapped into your first G+ reservation at 12:30, does NOT open up another booking "thread" for you.  That is the loophole that was closed by Disney, which is what others have been trying to say in response to your original post.  You obviously saw earlier strategies postings where, basically, you had two different booking windows open up - one based on the two hour "cooling period" and one based on entering the ride queue (and double tapping).  You only have ONE booking thread now.
> 
> The next booking opportunity is based solely off of your most RECENTLY booked G+. Your THIRD booking opportunity is based on your SECOND G+ reservation, which, in your case, occurred at 11 am.  Now, had your 11 am booking been for a ride at 11:30, which then you went through the queue (and had double tapped, if needed), then you would have immediately been able to book your THIRD G+.
> 
> [ETA: I have not been yet but this is my understanding of how things are RIGHT NOW - please correct me if I'm wrong. And who knows what it will be in April when I actually go.]


----------



## jbish

snikki said:


> View attachment 650828


I mean, basically.....


----------



## gzh6464

cutigerlady said:


> I was there the same time as you and agree with what you said.  I also had issues with selecting another G+ ride after tapping into my ride.  I had read tons of information before our trip and thought I understood how it worked.  We were able to tap in 5 minutes before the return time and it turned the Mickey green.  From what I understand NOW is that once you use the last G+, then you can select another.  So if your first was at 12:35 and at 11:00 you picked one for 12:55, then after you tap in for the 12:55, you can make another selection and get in front of everyone trying at 1:00.  By the time I figured this out, we were done with our park days, so I didn't get to try it out myself.  We could never find options with near time return times, everything was for the late evening.  We ended up with stacked G+ all overlapping for the late evening.  It didn't seem to limit the number of overlapping selections.
> 
> Also figured out that if you are on a ride right at 11:00, then you get behind everyone the rest of the day and by 3:00 you are just out of luck!  I overheard so many conversations waiting in line of confused people on how the system works and frustration on wasting money to get nothing.  The lines were always so long at the Guest Experience tent that I never went to complain myself because I didn't want to waste time from my vacation.
> 
> For those of you watching and testing your plans at home, let me warn you that nothing is guaranteed until you get through the entire reservation process.  I had ILL+ times change after the payment page, or worse say it was no longer available.  Many, many times I clicked on a G+ and then it was no longer available.  I thought my party of 2 would be easy to get reservations for, I can't imagine how difficult it is for a large group!


Yes I found the entire experience frustrating and  in some cases a huge waste of money.


1- Getting on at 7A. Seeing availability for a ride at 10 (not sure why so late if it was only seconds after 7), pressing the reservation button and having a confirmed reservation for 12:30 !
2- Knowing I could get another pass at 11 so I did....but what this did is lock me into an every 2 hour pass. Double tapping  had nothing to do with reservations as the next time I tried it told me I wasnt eligible until 2 hours  after my last reservation.

3- G+ unnecessary at AK or Ep ( if you get up early or use  evening hours)

4- Biggest frustration was DHS!!!! We paid for G+, got ToT at 11 ( after booking at 7A thinking we were getting 10 A). By the time our next window at 11 opened there was nothing left on any thing (all was gone by 11:05 on major rides. So we paid G+ at DHS for essentially paying a $15/per person charge to ride ToT once ( and no other rides - ok we di star tours but could have walked on  anyway later in the day).  A huge rip off and disappointment.


Universal has the express system down pat  and much more  customer friendly.

Only plus of the weeek if it was a plus was that Space and Frozen  were  on G+ and not ILL$


----------



## gzh6464

jbish said:


> But by 12:30, you had already booked two G+.  The one you got at 7 am and the one you got at 11 am.  That means the next one you could get would be 1 pm, which is exactly what you experienced.  If your 7 am booking had been around 9:30 am (as in your example above), yes, you would have been able to book your second one after the second tap.  The EXACT scenario you are describing where you had booked one at 7 am and booked your second at 11 am, then tapped into your first G+ reservation at 12:30, does NOT open up another booking "thread" for you.  That is the loophole that was closed by Disney, which is what others have been trying to say in response to your original post.  You obviously saw earlier strategies postings where, basically, you had two different booking windows open up - one based on the two hour "cooling period" and one based on entering the ride queue (and double tapping).  You only have ONE booking thread now.
> 
> [ETA: From what I gather, previously it was an "AND" situation: you could book another G+ after you had tapped into your G+ reservation AND after 2 hours from your first reservation, and every two hours thereafter.  Now it is "OR" - whichever comes first.]
> 
> The next booking opportunity is based solely off of your most RECENTLY booked G+. Your THIRD booking opportunity is based on your SECOND G+ reservation, which, in your case, occurred at 11 am.  Now, had your 11 am booking been for a ride at 11:30, which then you went through the queue (and had double tapped, if needed), then you would have immediately been able to book your THIRD G+.
> 
> [ETA: I have not been yet but this is my understanding of how things are RIGHT NOW - please correct me if I'm wrong. And who knows what it will be in April when I actually go.]


OK so if you get bookings soon and close together you can get this benefit.  In a high volume period like this past week where booking times escalated quickly into the PM hours this will almost never happen. Maybe in low volume periods or on rides with low demand. But in those periods and in those cases you really wouldnt need G+ in the first place.


----------



## roctavia

gzh6464 said:


> Yes I found the entire experience frustrating and  in some cases a huge waste of money.
> 
> 
> 1- Getting on at 7A. Seeing availability for a ride at 10 (not sure why so late if it was only seconds after 7), pressing the reservation button and having a confirmed reservation for 12:30 !
> 2- Knowing I could get another pass at 11 so I did....but what this did is lock me into an every 2 hour pass. Double tapping  had nothing to do with reservations as the next time I tried it told me I wasnt eligible until 2 hours  after my last reservation.
> 
> 3- G+ unnecessary at AK or Ep ( if you get up early or use  evening hours)
> 
> 4- Biggest frustration was DHS!!!! We paid for G+, got ToT at 11 ( after booking at 7A thinking we were getting 10 A). By the time our next window at 11 opened there was nothing left on any thing (all was gone by 11:05 on major rides. So we paid G+ at DHS for essentially paying a $15/per person charge to ride ToT once ( and no other rides - ok we di star tours but could have walked on  anyway later in the day).  A huge rip off and disappointment.
> 
> 
> Universal has the express system down pat  and much more  customer friendly.
> 
> Only plus of the weeek if it was a plus was that Space and Frozen  were  on G+ and not ILL$




The problem in comparing to universal is that the volumes are just way too different for a system like universal has to work at disney.... Unless it's outrageously expensive...which for what people will pay at disney, it would probably have to be $200 + per person, and even then a lot of people would be *****ing that it sold out before they could buy it, since it would have be quite limited to work the way express pass does at universal.  And disney already does have their VIP tours that will take you to the front of all the lines.... they're just expensive...


----------



## Neener16

Wow, my head is spinning. 
So, let’s say at 7 am I book a ride for 4:00. Park opens at 9:00. 
at 11:00, I book a ride for 12:30. After I scan my magic band at both locations (assuming there are 2), can I immediately make another reservation or must I wait till 1:00?


----------



## Turksmom

Neener16 said:


> Wow, my head is spinning.
> So, let’s say at 7 am I book a ride for 4:00. Park opens at 9:00.
> at 11:00, I book a ride for 12:30. After I scan my magic band at both locations (assuming there are 2), can I immediately make another reservation or must I wait till 1:00?


In that scenario, you can book another immediately after scanning because you are using the most recently booked


----------



## Neener16

Turksmom said:


> In that scenario, you can book another immediately after scanning because you are using the most recently booked


Thank you. I appreciate everyone posting their experiences. It should not be this hard.


----------



## lockets

Turksmom said:


> In that scenario, you can book another immediately after scanning because you are using the most recently booked


ohhhhhkkkk now i finally understand why i wasn't able to get G+ after taps (like people mentioned all over the boards) but after the 2 hour brackets instead. On the day I went it was impossible to get successively booked rides. i.e. in the morning I already had to book one very popular ride for later afternoon so that kills this tapping thing. When I got back I kept reading about all these "tappers" and I couldn't understand why I wasn't able to be one! I do wonder how many of the "tappers" (i.e. people who successfuly book something after tapping in vs. having to wait till next booking window) have actually done this in reality and aren't just theorizing about it as a possiblity on the boards. In reality, at least from what I experienced using it, G+ is so messy with popular rides only available later that it's really challenging for the times to fall in line perfectly like that.


----------



## jbish

lockets said:


> ohhhhhkkkk now i finally understand why i wasn't able to get G+ after taps (like people mentioned all over the boards) but after the 2 hour brackets instead. On the day I went it was impossible to get successively booked rides. i.e. in the morning I already had to book one very popular ride for later afternoon so that kills this tapping thing. When I got back I kept reading about all these "tappers" and I couldn't understand why I wasn't able to be one! I do wonder how many of the "tappers" (i.e. people who successfuly book something after tapping in vs. having to wait till next booking window) have actually done this in reality and aren't just theorizing about it as a possiblity on the boards. In reality, at least from what I experienced using it, G+ is so messy with popular rides only available later that it's really challenging for the times to fall in line perfectly like that.


I think that's an important point and one that really determines what path you are on for the day.  In MK, which is probably the best park for the "tap and book as you go" strategy, it really depends on what your priorities are.  If you want to book Jungle Cruise, because you know that will be the first G+ that gets sold out in the day, it is unlikely you will get an early enough return time to use "tap and book" method.  Therefore, you are stuck in the "wait two hours" loop.  If you don't want JC, there's a better chance you can get something good early enough in the day to set you up for the rest of the day.


----------



## Westerner

The rule about when you can book your next G+ is documented in the Everything Genie, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane summary thread pinned to top of this board.  See post 3.  Excerpt below.



scrappinginontario said:


> - BOOKING ELIGIBILITY: You become eligible to book another LL EITHER (1) after 2 hours (2 hours after park opening if the booking was done before park opening), OR (2) after double-tapping into the MOST RECENTLY BOOKED LL, whichever comes first.



To clarify OP's initial misconception:  Tapping into a G+ LL that is NOT your most recently booked does nothing as far being eligible for your next LL.  In practice, tapping into your most recently booked LL is only going to help you if you have a fairly early return time.  The most common way for this to happen is for the 2nd LL.  DHS Tap-In Example:

At 7AM Book MFSR for 955AM return time   <= early return time is key
At 10AM tap in and book TSM.
Without the tap in rule you could only book your 2nd LL 2 hrs after park open e.g. at 11AM.

I personally used the tap-in rule several times.


----------



## glocon

I think the problem was that PP was not your most recent reservation when you tapped in. You had gotten a HM LL prior to that. So you were next eligible to get a new LL after your most recent reservation which was you HM not your PP.
it is very confusing.
Edit- I see my response was really late. Should have read more.


----------



## lockets

lockets said:


> ohhhhhkkkk now i finally understand why i wasn't able to get G+ after taps (like people mentioned all over the boards) but after the 2 hour brackets instead. On the day I went it was impossible to get successively booked rides. i.e. in the morning I already had to book one very popular ride for later afternoon so that kills this tapping thing. When I got back I kept reading about all these "tappers" and I couldn't understand why I wasn't able to be one! I do wonder how many of the "tappers" (i.e. people who successfuly book something after tapping in vs. having to wait till next booking window) have actually done this in reality and aren't just theorizing about it as a possiblity on the boards. In reality, at least from what I experienced using it, G+ is so messy with popular rides only available later that it's really challenging for the times to fall in line perfectly like that.





jbish said:


> I think that's an important point and one that really determines what path you are on for the day.  In MK, which is probably the best park for the "tap and book as you go" strategy, it really depends on what your priorities are.  If you want to book Jungle Cruise, because you know that will be the first G+ that gets sold out in the day, it is unlikely you will get an early enough return time to use "tap and book" method.  Therefore, you are stuck in the "wait two hours" loop.  If you don't want JC, there's a better chance you can get something good early enough in the day to set you up for the rest of the day.



E X A C T L Y. And of course we wanted Jungle Cruise lol. And all the other "more popular" rides like Haunted House, etc. Again - this makes me now question how many people are writing about the strategcy of tapping vs. having actually done it successfully in reality. I might start a post on that to learn more about the sequence of the rides they booked.


----------



## Westerner

gzh6464 said:


> *TIP#6* - If you are using G+ you must be ready to use it at7A (resort guests) and (*9A non resort guests or when ever park open that day*. No learning the system last minute. Know exactly what you want  and  be prepared not to get it or not to get the times you want.


Correction to bolded portion: *G+ is open to all guests at 7AM*.  It's $ILL rides eg RotR, FoP that are only open to onsite guests at 7AM and everyone else at park open.  This is documented in the pinned summary thread I quoted above.

I personally booked multiple G+ LL's at 7AM while staying offsite.


----------



## MaxsDad

All this back and forth on double tapping and 2 hour rules and most recently booked just goes to show how absolutely ridiculous this system is. I am leaving today and super stressed out about trying to figure it all out.


----------



## mfly

We also were just at WDW, and I too found Genie+ unnecessarily complex. I’m pretty savvy, but my brain just shouldn’t keep track of exactly when I was eligible for booking the next LL. Frankly, I think the current booking rules are just absurd and need to be simplified. 

My number one complaint about Genie+ and $ILL is that the booking time can change while you’re going through the process. This was so frustrating, particularly for $ILL booking. We’d see a time, go through the booking/payment process, and suddenly we’d be assigned a time 5+ hours later? 

We were there over President’s Day Weekend, and $ILL booking was insanely competitive. Both days, we ended up being able to book what we wanted, but we didn’t get the times we wanted, which totally messed up our park hopping plans. I just don’t understand why Disney doesn’t pull whatever time it offers you from the current availability, give you a reasonable amount of time to check out (even a minute!), and then return that time to the availability if you don’t book within that window.  

My other big complaint about $ILL and Genie+ is the inability to modify them. I assumed I’d be able to tweak my selections (both timing and attraction)  like I used to be able to with FastPass+ (RIP). From what I could tell, I could only cancel my Genie+ selections and re-book, which it would only let me do if I was currently able to book another LL selection (i.e. I basically lost out on a LL window by swapping). $ILL doesn’t allow any modifications that I could find. It was frustrating when a better time for an $ILL or Genie+ selection would pop up, but there was nothing I could do to get it.


----------



## gregskellington

MaxsDad said:


> All this back and forth on double tapping and 2 hour rules and most recently booked just goes to show how absolutely ridiculous this system is. I am leaving today and super stressed out about trying to figure it all out.



Honestly, I think how it works is the easiest part of the system. It's based on the last attraction you booked. "Double tapping" was an obvious bug and the "Disney journalists" that reported on it should have updated or deleted any references to it if they really cared about accurate or helpful content.


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## lynzi2004

What time have they actually been letting guests into MK for early entry? The ETPE starts at 8:30 but I’m assuming guests are getting in to Mainstreet by 7:45 or 8am or is it even earlier?! Thanks!


----------



## MaxsDad

gregskellington said:


> Honestly, I think how it works is the easiest part of the system. It's based on the last attraction you booked. "Double tapping" was an obvious bug and the "Disney journalists" that reported on it should have updated or deleted any references to it if they really cared about accurate or helpful content.



That is a fair point, although I am still not looking forward to trying it out tomorrow for the first time.


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## x93nelson13

We went to Disney World last week from Tue 2/22 through Sat 2/26. So not a very long trip, but it was a make good trip for our niece who we promised a birthday trip to JUST before Covid hit.  

We stayed at Beach Club for the first time, as the Grand Floridian, where we normally stay, was sold out during this (very) busy week. The things people might be interested in:


Delta was good as usual, and the flights were on time. No rowdy customer complaining about masks.
Almost nobody in the parks wore masks inside. Maybe I was there during a low time for masks, but people choosing to wear masks inside were in the minority by far.
We stayed on club level at BC, which got us maid service every day, which was nice. The service from the moment our car pulled up until we left was very much in line with what we received pre-pandemic. 
The club level itself was no better or worse than what it was pre-pandemic, or what we experienced during our December trip. Food stayed stocked, drinks were cold, etc.
The busy nature of the parks meant that some paid lightning lanes went quick. That was only really an issue on Rise of the Resistance, tho. A ride we did not get to get on, as I am not waiting 3 hours. We wanted to buy the pass, but the times available did not work for us. We were able to buy passes for Frozen, Ratatouille and 7 Dwarf. They switched Frozen to regular Genie+ our last day, but we were not in Epcot then. 
Genie+ was really good for our Magic Kingdom day. We rode a bunch of rides and were able to stack nicely from 4-7 with us not getting to the park until about 3 PM. It was useless on AK day. Epcot it was not bad. I don't regret, as the price was negligible vs. the cost of the vacay. But 28 year old me would have felt ripped off on the AK day. 
The food was hit or miss, as usual. We enjoyed Beaches & Cream for what it was. The Cape May breakfast was ok. We enjoyed dinner at Yachtsman's Steakhouse. It is not as good as Narcoossee's IMO.  But still pretty good. Finally, we ate at Teppan Edo, which my daughter really loved. The food at the Beach Club pool was horrific, but hey, watcha gonna do?
The competition for restaurants is lesser near Epcot than it is on the monorail loop. I was able to get a lot of last minute rezzies to good places. That happened A LOT less when I stayed at GF.
Shopping seemed somewhat better than it was in December. We were able to get Starbucks mugs and hoodies and oddball collectables that were extremely hard to come by 2.5 months ago.
The parks were BUSY BUSY BUSY. However, we knew that going in, and we go a lot, so we didn't have any OMG must dos. We did what was available.
The deluxe Epcot hours from 9-11 were pretty good. The park was empty and we rode everything we wanted. 
I booked a trip in June for the F of it, which I am not sure we are going to do mostly as a matter of a time crunch that month. However, nothing I saw this week dissuaded me from wanting to go again immediately. 

But please note: If my vacay above sounds horrid to you? And you are a rope dropping park warrior king/queen? Your opinion may vary considerably. So be sure to read for content.


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## Day-al

x93nelson13 said:


> Almost nobody in the parks wore masks inside. Maybe I was there during a low time for masks, but people choosing to wear masks inside were in the minority by far.


Of course no one was wearing a mask indoors, the mask mandate was dropped on February 17.


----------



## leeniewdw

Day-al said:


> Of course no one was wearing a mask indoors, the mask mandate was dropped on February 17.



I took that as "just back" information for people traveling soon since the change was so sudden.  My local community no longer has a mask mandate but there are still plenty of people who are opting to wear it in stores, etc.  They specifically said "choosing", so they know it's optional.


----------



## BillFromCT

Wanted to relay my experience at HS this morning for Rise.  Walked over from The Dolphin at around 7:10am.  The boat actually passed me right near the end.  I saw a Fort Wilderness bus, a French Quarter bus, and an AKL bus pull in right before I got there.  The skyliner wasn’t dropping off yet, and cars were not entering the parking lot.  They had people form 2 lines. At 7:25 they started leading each line toward security on the left and right.  At 7:30 everyone started through security and through the touchpoints.  They let everyone head straight over to the Rise line.  At 7:45 they let us walk through the que.  7:55 we were moving and grooving through the line.  I was off by 8:15.  Other than the big guns near the end not moving, everything else seemed to be working,


----------



## brockash

lynzi2004 said:


> What time have they actually been letting guests into MK for early entry? The ETPE starts at 8:30 but I’m assuming guests are getting in to Mainstreet by 7:45 or 8am or is it even earlier?! Thanks!


We rope dropped MK last Wed.  They let us through the tapstyles a little before 8.  We went through security at 730 and were able to be first at 1 of the tapstyles.  Once in, we then scanned and you were able to go to 1 of 2 ropes.  They held us there until 829.


----------



## pens4821

BillFromCT said:


> Wanted to relay my experience at HS this morning for Rise.  Walked over from The Dolphin at around 7:10am.  The boat actually passed me right near the end.  I saw a Fort Wilderness bus, a French Quarter bus, and an AKL bus pull in right before I got there.  The skyliner wasn’t dropping off yet, and cars were not entering the parking lot.  They had people form 2 lines. At 7:25 they started leading each line toward security on the left and right.  At 7:30 everyone started through security and through the touchpoints.  They let everyone head straight over to the Rise line.  At 7:45 they let us walk through the que.  7:55 we were moving and grooving through the line.  I was off by 8:15.  Other than the big guns near the end not moving, everything else seemed to be working,



How did they separate ETPE guests from others?  Curious for my upcoming trip.


----------



## brockash

.


----------



## MinnieFan4ever

Neener16 said:


> Wow, my head is spinning.
> So, let’s say at 7 am I book a ride for 4:00. Park opens at 9:00.
> at 11:00, I book a ride for 12:30. After I scan my magic band at both locations (assuming there are 2), can I immediately make another reservation or must I wait till 1:00?


 I was just thinking this exact thing reading all this craziness. MY HEAD IS SPINNING. 
Vacation should not be this confusing.


----------



## lynzi2004

brockash said:


> We rope dropped MK last Wed.  They let us through the tapstyles a little before 8.  We went through security at 730 and were able to be first at 1 of the tapstyles.  Once in, we then scanned and you were able to go to 1 of 2 ropes.  They held us there until 829.



Thank you! Exactly the info I was needing!


----------



## vinmar4

BillFromCT said:


> Wanted to relay my experience at HS this morning for Rise.  Walked over from The Dolphin at around 7:10am.  The boat actually passed me right near the end.  I saw a Fort Wilderness bus, a French Quarter bus, and an AKL bus pull in right before I got there.  The skyliner wasn’t dropping off yet, and cars were not entering the parking lot.  They had people form 2 lines. At 7:25 they started leading each line toward security on the left and right.  At 7:30 everyone started through security and through the touchpoints.  They let everyone head straight over to the Rise line.  At 7:45 they let us walk through the que.  7:55 we were moving and grooving through the line.  I was off by 8:15.  Other than the big guns near the end not moving, everything else seemed to be working,


Wow, we are staying at Riviera the day we plan on doing early morning hours at HS, sad to hear that the skyliner was not  entering the park yet. That's St Patricks day, so all in green attire ( we are originally from Chicago, so we have to celebrate!)
So our plan is early hours at HS until about lunch time at Mama Melrose, head to Disney Spring for some green beer ad then go to Epcot for the moonlight hours! We're all adults  , hoping to have a fun day!


----------



## TigerLaw

BillFromCT said:


> Wanted to relay my experience at HS this morning for Rise.  Walked over from The Dolphin at around 7:10am.  The boat actually passed me right near the end.  I saw a Fort Wilderness bus, a French Quarter bus, and an AKL bus pull in right before I got there.  The skyliner wasn’t dropping off yet, and cars were not entering the parking lot.  They had people form 2 lines. At 7:25 they started leading each line toward security on the left and right.  At 7:30 everyone started through security and through the touchpoints.  They let everyone head straight over to the Rise line.  At 7:45 they let us walk through the que.  7:55 we were moving and grooving through the line.  I was off by 8:15.  Other than the big guns near the end not moving, everything else seemed to be working,


Bill, what were you able to ride after Rise? Was anything else open unofficially betw. 730 to 830?  How did the rest if your HS work out?


----------



## BillFromCT

TigerLaw said:


> Bill, what were you able to ride after Rise? Was anything else open unofficially betw. 730 to 830?  How did the rest if your HS work out?


Went over to RnR coaster after Rise.  Walked through the pre show, then just a  10 minute wait, or so, to board.  It was open prior to 8:30.  ToT was not.  The fact that it’s currently at half capacity makes the waits even worse.  When I came off of RnR coaster ToT was at a posted 40 minute wait already, prior to 9:00.  By 9:00 everything was a 40+ wait, so I went to Starbucks.  I was able to get a genie+ for Slinky at 9:15, and then ones for Midway Mania and ToT.  MMRR was down for a bit towards park opening, so that was a standby no go. Muppets, Indy, and single rider Smugglers weren’t a problem prior to noon. Star Tours was a 50 wait by 11:00, though.


----------



## jbish

BillFromCT said:


> I was able to get a genie+ for Slinky at 9:15, and then ones for Midway Mania and ToT.  MMRR was down for a bit towards park opening, so that was a standby no go. Muppets, Indy, and single rider Smugglers weren’t a problem prior to noon. Star Tours was a 50 wait by 11:00, though.


Clarifying question: (a) at 9:15 am, you secured a SDD G+ for sometime later that day?  or (b) sometime earlier, you secured a SDD G+ for a return time of 9:15?

If (a) that would be impressive given how quickly they go.  But if (b), then that seems like an ideal scenario as that opened you up to go with the "tap and book" method at HS, which would seem like the holy grail as far as G+ strategies go.  Is that how you were able to get TSM and TOT later because you were ahead of the "two hour wait" crowd and could secure earlier G+ return times for these rides as you were using up your G+ return times?  Lately, just seems like the most popular rides run out of G+ by noon.


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## Kerr84

MaxsDad said:


> All this back and forth on double tapping and 2 hour rules and most recently booked just goes to show how absolutely ridiculous this system is. I am leaving today and super stressed out about trying to figure it all out.


Just remember, you can always pretend to book a LL and it will tell you when you are next eligible.


----------



## BillFromCT

jbish said:


> Clarifying question: (a) at 9:15 am, you secured a SDD G+ for sometime later that day?  or (b) sometime earlier, you secured a SDD G+ for a return time of 9:15?
> 
> If (a) that would be impressive given how quickly they go.  But if (b), then that seems like an ideal scenario as that opened you up to go with the "tap and book" method at HS, which would seem like the holy grail as far as G+ strategies go.  Is that how you were able to get TSM and TOT later because you were ahead of the "two hour wait" crowd and could secure earlier G+ return times for these rides as you were using up your G+ return times?  Lately, just seems like the most popular rides run out of G+ by noon.


I got a 9:15 SDD at 7:00am.  After I tapped the 2nd checkpoint at SDD I could book my next one. Then refresh refresh refresh for a close time for the next ride.  I assumed I’d have a difficult time with ToT, but I got a close one pretty quickly.


----------



## leeniewdw

BillFromCT said:


> I got a 9:15 SDD at 7:00am.  After I tapped the 2nd checkpoint at SDD I could book my next one. Then refresh refresh refresh for a close time for the next ride.  I assumed I’d have a difficult time with ToT, but I got a close one pretty quickly.


 
Exactly what I needed to know (asked in diff thread).  It's funny.  We were just in WDW in Dec and our "needs", lol, were so different because we stacked LLs at DHS on our arrival day, did an MK AH, then did AK/EP the next day.   We haven't done a DHS morning yet, but that's on tap for Saturday.   We "need" to do a combo of morning RD & LLs then attempt to stack for a return to DHS in the evening.   

I think it's just another example of how odd this all is, coupled with the huge crowds. Even with "experience", it's like an equation with SO many variables.


----------



## DisneyElite4

vinmar4 said:


> Wow, we are staying at Riviera the day we plan on doing early morning hours at HS, sad to hear that the skyliner was not  entering the park yet. That's St Patricks day, so all in green attire ( we are originally from Chicago, so we have to celebrate!)
> So our plan is early hours at HS until about lunch time at Mama Melrose, head to Disney Spring for some green beer ad then go to Epcot for the moonlight hours! We're all, over eighteen ! LOL !



We will be at DHS the same day, except our party of 6 is half adults/half small children. Fun!


----------



## vinmar4

DisneyElite4 said:


> We will be at DHS the same day, except our party of 6 is half adults/half small children. Fun!


I hope you guys have a great  day!


----------



## Jules123

We had a fantastic day at AK today. We purchased Genie+ and also a ILL for FOP. We were at the gates around 6:55 and headed straight to FOP at rope drop. We rode FOP x2, KS, Navi x2, Dinosaur, FOTLK, ITTBAB, walked the trails, had breakfast at Tusker House, and played in the Boneyard. We only waited in standby lines for FOP (15 minutes) and Navi (5 minutes). We were done with all that by 3:30. Loved loved loved Genie+ there!


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## dwonderz

I just returned from my first solo trip to Disney (2/27-3/2) and stayed 3 nights at the Dolphin. It was definitely the busiest I’ve ever seen at the end of February/beginning of March (usually it slows a little bit in the last bit of Feb) and I think there were lots of people who had postponed travel going now. Some of my thoughts (not necessarily anything new - just reinforcing a lot of what others share)...

*Rope drop rope drop rope drop!!* If you can do it/don’t want to deal with G+ this is a great way to avoid the crowds. Getting there around 45 minutes before early entry (sometimes 30 minutes) seemed to be the sweet spot. Rope dropping was especially helpful in AK - with expedition everest down the crowds elsewhere are higher. Kilimanjaro Safaris had a 60 min wait within 30 minutes of regular park opening.

*Keep an eye out for opening tapstile lanes. A*t both MK and AK the line I was standing in split into 2 lines right before they let people start tapping in. It’s pretty much a free for all when that happens - so keep an eye out!

*Ride during the fireworks. *I did Big Thunder (2x), Haunted Mansion, and Space in the last hour of MK being open. Big Thunder was a literal walk-on while the fireworks were happening (and it’s so cool seeing them from the ride).

*Genie+ was a bit of a miss for me. *I attempted G+ on 2 different days to try “stacking” for my evening park and it was tough. I didn’t quite have the rhythm of drop times/refreshing/etc. and pretty much only used it for about 4 rides across 2 days. It was also insanely busy and rides were gone by 10am both days. I think it could be a great tool if you really know how to use it - I just didn’t have the best understanding.

*Extra Evening Hours* were fantastic! The timing of my trip only worked out for me to attend Epcot’s and I managed to ride Soarin, Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and Nemo in under an hour. Definitely could have also done Remy or Frozen - but I was exhausted from rope dropping AK and so I only stayed for an hour. As others have mentioned - the first 15-20 minutes the lines are still pretty long bc guests are still clearing out.

*Mask usage* was minimal to none. I wore mine indoors bc it’s what I’m comfortable with (just to provide context) and I felt safe!

*Mears Connect was easy but also slow.* I used the standard Mears Connect service to get to/from the Dolphin. Coming from the airport it took almost 1.5 hours and we made stops at Art of Animation, Pop Century, the Swan Reserve, and finally the Dolphin. I would probably pay for an Uber next time. On the way back I was the last stop before the airport and there were only 3 other people (not families - people!!) on my whole coach. As a solo traveler - it was cheaper than an Uber - but if I was traveling with family I would definitely go with an Uber/etc.

*The Dolphin was great*! The location is amazing and the pool complex is fabulous. The room was definitely showing some wear and could stand a refresh. You could request daily housekeeping (it was typically done between 2pm and 5pm) and the Marriott App also had a section where you could request toiletries/towels/etc. The on-site Cabanas restaurant at the pool was great (loved the fish tacos) - I found Picabu (quick service ) and Fuel (grab & go), however, to be pretty mediocre.

*Finally - if you’re thinking of going solo but are nervous - I would say go for it!* I was definitely nervous about being there the whole time by myself - but it was great! If you want to spend the trip meeting new people - I’m sure you could! Or if you’re like me and wanted to spend it quietly - it’s also very possible!


----------



## Jules123

We did great with Genie+ yesterday at AK but I was not as optimistic that we would have good luck at HS today but it actually wasn’t too bad. We snagged SDD for the afternoon and ROTR at 7am. Rope dropped MMRR, then headed straight over to TOT and then RnRC and were able to do all 3 by 10:00. We managed to get additional passes for MFSR, TSM and Star Tours later in the day. ROTR was down when it was our ILL time but we were told we could come back anytime today and use it when the ride was back open. The longest line we waited in was for Alien Swirling Saucers and it was about an hour. We could have gotten a LL for it for later in the day but we had other plans at that time.


----------



## armerida

Jules123 said:


> We did great with Genie+ yesterday at AK but I was not as optimistic that we would have good luck at HS today but it actually wasn’t too bad. We snagged SDD for the afternoon and ROTR at 7am. Rope dropped MMRR, then headed straight over to TOT and then RnRC and were able to do all 3 by 10:00. We managed to get additional passes for MFSR, TSM and Star Tours later in the day. ROTR was down when it was our ILL time but we were told we could come back anytime today and use it when the ride was back open. The longest line we waited in was for Alien Swirling Saucers and it was about an hour. We could have gotten a LL for it for later in the day but we had other plans at that time.


Did you have resort early entry? Or what time did you arrive/when did rides officially open to knock out MMRR, ToT, and RnRC by 10?


----------



## Jules123

armerida said:


> Did you have resort early entry? Or what time did you arrive/when did rides officially open to knock out MMRR, ToT, and RnRC by 10?


Yes we had early entry. We were at the gates by 7:36. Got into line at MMRR and they opened the ride at 8:16.


----------



## amyeb

Just returned from a 5 day visit.  Two adults, have not been since pre-Covid.  Stayed at the Dolphin. I'm a huge planner, studied the Disboards for tips, "practiced" and watched MDE for weeks to get a sense of wait times.  It all worked out pretty well for us, and we had a great time, but wow!  It's a lot of work to use ILL and Genie+. Here's some thoughts that will maybe help some others:

*Dolphin Resort*:  First time here. Usually stay at AKL.  We loved being able to walk to 2 parks. We had great weather but I imagine the walk to HS in the middle of the day in the summer might be pretty painful.  Really no shade and it's probably a 3/4 mile walk.  Hotel was a good value compared to the price of the 3 Disney resorts in that area, but it's definitely generic and has a convention vibe.  I found I did miss the theming of a Disney Resort and feeling like I was fully in the Disney bubble.  Bus to AK was quick.  You are dropped off in a weird spot but it's close to the entrance.  We walked to the Boardwalk to get the MK bus to avoid the TTC. I would stay here again.

*Dolphin Resort Dining*:  The quick service Fuel was great.  They open at 6am instead of 7am like the ones in the Disney resorts and they have Mickey waffles which were way better than the ones I got at Beach Club Marketplace.  Fuel gives you 3 waffles that are warm and topped with powered sugar.  At the Beach Club, got the kids version, which was 2 waffles and a yogurt and grapes, but the waffles were cold and no powdered sugar.  We loved Shula's bar for drinks.  And our dinner at bluezoo was our best meal of the trip. 

*Meals:*  We like sit down lunches at the parks.  Did San Angel Inn, Skipper Canteen, Nomad Lounge and Hollywood Brown Derby.  All were good.  We also did Space 220 for dinner.  I'm glad we went but I probably wouldn't go again.  The food was fine - not bad, not great.  You are locked into the price fix and I don't always want that much food.  It's like the space version of Coral Reef.  For me, the novelty of the atmosphere wore off after 10 minutes.  Reservations overall were way harder to get for this trip than I have ever seen.  We mobile ordered some snack and that worked well.
*
IT Issues:* Yep, we had them.  Reservation stayed linked, even after check in, but then dropped when we were trying to book Genie+. Later in the week I kept getting logged out of MDE.  Have your reservation number and MDE password ready for sure.  We found we had the least issues when we shut all apps about 6:50am then opened MDE back up.  We'd play around with it, make sure the hotel was still linked, check the tip board and our plans.  Also would go in and book a random restaurant reservation for a few days out.  This requires a credit card so it was a good check to make sure MDE had that right. (we'd just cancel the reservation later). Doing all this assured things seemed to work at 7am.  

*Genie +*:  Used 3 days.  Doing the 7am thing every day is stressful and I am not a fan. Definitely had to watch the times when booking.  Often it would change from what time first showed and then what showed on the next screen. Don't give up if you miss the big rides at 7am.  We always saw more times come up around 7:10am, and often early ones.  It was like they would "sell out" but then fully repopulate.  Refresh is your friend. Agree that it's not needed at AK and Epcot.  It's a must at HS but it's really hard to get more than 3. 7am is your only hope for SDD if you want that.  At 11 you can get what you want, and with lots of refreshing we could get the times we wanted, but by 1pm it was really hard to get any of the big rides.  TSM was still possible with enough refreshing. After that, forget it. Really late times would pop up on occasion, but that timing wouldn't work for us.

*ILL:*  We got RoTR, FoP and Remy. We aren't willing to wait in lines longer than 30-40 minutes so we choose to buy these.  

*Rope Drop:*  Got to AK at 6:50 for a 7:30am entry.  We did Navi since we got a ILL for FoP.  Then headed to Safari (doesn't open until 8am), then Dino.  At MK we arrived an hour before opening and started with SM.  We were close the the front but there were lots of ride loading issues and we burned almost 25 minutes here.  Headed to BTMRR and roped dropped that.  Rode it twice with a 15 minute wait, then Splash with a 30 minute wait.  At HS we were there an hour before opening.  We started with ToT, then RNRRC, then TSM.  Rise was down at opening so other lines did build quicker than I think they would have.

*Overall:*  It was crowded but not wall to wall people. With ILL, Genie+, rope drop and deluxe evening hours we were able to ride everything and never waited more than 30 minutes.  But Genie+ stinks.  Everyday starts with stress, you are always having to set timers on your phone to remind you when to book next, always staring at your phone to refresh.  And it's mentally draining always trying to calculate what times you can take, based on all your other plans.  I really miss being able to book 3 in advance like Fastpass.  I don't like how if you don't pay extra, you will wait in 90-150 minute lines.  And how much work the whole system is.  We had a good time, and we'll go back in a couple of years but there is a lot right now to not like about Disney.


----------



## amyeb

armerida said:


> Did you have resort early entry? Or what time did you arrive/when did rides officially open to knock out MMRR, ToT, and RnRC by 10?


We did have early entry.  So park opened for early entry at 8:30.  We were at the gates at 7:30.  We were probably 40 people from the front of the ToT line.  They let us on right at 8:30.  Went from there to Rock n Roll.  Line said 30 but it was not even 20.  (Again, I think this line build quicker b/c Rise was down and everyone had to go elsewhere).  We then went to Toy Story.  Line said 40 but it was maybe 25.  Not many people are using LL returns that early so the standby lines move fast. Then we had our ILL for Slinky.    We didn't ride the Falcon but if we had wanted to I would have done this same plan and used the 11am Genie+ time to get a Falcon.  I think with enough refreshing you could have gotten it.


----------



## TigerLaw

amyeb said:


> Just returned from a 5 day visit.  Two adults, have not been since pre-Covid.  Stayed at the Dolphin. I'm a huge planner, studied the Disboards for tips, "practiced" and watched MDE for weeks to get a sense of wait times.  It all worked out pretty well for us, and we had a great time, but wow!  It's a lot of work to use ILL and Genie+. Here's some thoughts that will maybe help some others:
> 
> *Dolphin Resort*:  First time here. Usually stay at AKL.  We loved being able to walk to 2 parks. We had great weather but I imagine the walk to HS in the middle of the day in the summer might be pretty painful.  Really no shade and it's probably a 3/4 mile walk.  Hotel was a good value compared to the price of the 3 Disney resorts in that area, but it's definitely generic and has a convention vibe.  I found I did miss the theming of a Disney Resort and feeling like I was fully in the Disney bubble.  Bus to AK was quick.  You are dropped off in a weird spot but it's close to the entrance.  We walked to the Boardwalk to get the MK bus to avoid the TTC. I would stay here again.
> 
> *Dolphin Resort Dining*:  The quick service Fuel was great.  They open at 6am instead of 7am like the ones in the Disney resorts and they have Mickey waffles which were way better than the ones I got at Beach Club Marketplace.  Fuel gives you 3 waffles that are warm and topped with powered sugar.  At the Beach Club, got the kids version, which was 2 waffles and a yogurt and grapes, but the waffles were cold and no powdered sugar.  We loved Shula's bar for drinks.  And our dinner at bluezoo was our best meal of the trip.
> 
> *Meals:*  We like sit down lunches at the parks.  Did San Angel Inn, Skipper Canteen, Nomad Lounge and Hollywood Brown Derby.  All were good.  We also did Space 220 for dinner.  I'm glad we went but I probably wouldn't go again.  The food was fine - not bad, not great.  You are locked into the price fix and I don't always want that much food.  It's like the space version of Coral Reef.  For me, the novelty of the atmosphere wore off after 10 minutes.  Reservations overall were way harder to get for this trip than I have ever seen.  We mobile ordered some snack and that worked well.
> 
> *IT Issues:* Yep, we had them.  Reservation stayed linked, even after check in, but then dropped when we were trying to book Genie+. Later in the week I kept getting logged out of MDE.  Have your reservation number and MDE password ready for sure.  We found we had the least issues when we shut all apps about 6:50am then opened MDE back up.  We'd play around with it, make sure the hotel was still linked, check the tip board and our plans.  Also would go in and book a random restaurant reservation for a few days out.  This requires a credit card so it was a good check to make sure MDE had that right. (we'd just cancel the reservation later). Doing all this assured things seemed to work at 7am.
> 
> *Genie +*:  Used 3 days.  Doing the 7am thing every day is stressful and I am not a fan. Definitely had to watch the times when booking.  Often it would change from what time first showed and then what showed on the next screen. Don't give up if you miss the big rides at 7am.  We always saw more times come up around 7:10am, and often early ones.  It was like they would "sell out" but then fully repopulate.  Refresh is your friend. Agree that it's not needed at AK and Epcot.  It's a must at HS but it's really hard to get more than 3. 7am is your only hope for SDD if you want that.  At 11 you can get what you want, and with lots of refreshing we could get the times we wanted, but by 1pm it was really hard to get any of the big rides.  TSM was still possible with enough refreshing. After that, forget it. Really late times would pop up on occasion, but that timing wouldn't work for us.
> 
> *ILL:*  We got RoTR, FoP and Remy. We aren't willing to wait in lines longer than 30-40 minutes so we choose to buy these.
> 
> *Rope Drop:*  Got to AK at 6:50 for a 7:30am entry.  We did Navi since we got a ILL for FoP.  Then headed to Safari (doesn't open until 8am), then Dino.  At MK we arrived an hour before opening and started with SM.  We were close the the front but there were lots of ride loading issues and we burned almost 25 minutes here.  Headed to BTMRR and roped dropped that.  Rode it twice with a 15 minute wait, then Splash with a 30 minute wait.  At HS we were there an hour before opening.  We started with ToT, then RNRRC, then TSM.  Rise was down at opening so other lines did build quicker than I think they would have.
> 
> *Overall:*  It was crowded but not wall to wall people. With ILL, Genie+, rope drop and deluxe evening hours we were able to ride everything and never waited more than 30 minutes.  But Genie+ stinks.  Everyday starts with stress, you are always having to set timers on your phone to remind you when to book next, always staring at your phone to refresh.  And it's mentally draining always trying to calculate what times you can take, based on all your other plans.  I really miss being able to book 3 in advance like Fastpass.  I don't like how if you don't pay extra, you will wait in 90-150 minute lines.  And how much work the whole system is.  We had a good time, and we'll go back in a couple of years but there is a lot right now to not like about Disney.


Thanks for the recap! When you did early entry at DHS, what time did RnRC and Tower open up? Was it any earlier than The stated EE open time? What was the timing from when you got there until your first ride like?


----------



## amyeb

TigerLaw said:


> Thanks for the recap! When you did early entry at DHS, what time did RnRC and Tower open up? Was it any earlier than The stated EE open time? What was the timing from when you got there until your first ride like?


I think they let us into the Park a little before 8am.  They had 2 lines going at the end of Sunset Blvd; ToT was on the right, RnR on the left.  They were single file so MUCH nicer than the RoTR mob.  They did not let us enter the actual que until right at 8:30am and you had to walk through a really long one.  We were pretty close to the front and were off the ride a 8:45.  Walked quickly to RnR.


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## Wood Nymph

amyeb said:


> We also did Space 220 for dinner. I'm glad we went but I probably wouldn't go again. The food was fine - not bad, not great. You are locked into the price fix and I don't always want that much food. It's like the space version of Coral Reef. For me, the novelty of the atmosphere wore off after 10 minutes.


We did Space 220 lounge instead of dinner and I also thought it was similar to Coral Reef  but without the fish. It was definitely a one and done for us. The trip to the restaurant was the best part.


----------



## HydroGuy

amyeb said:


> *IT Issues:* Yep, we had them.  Reservation stayed linked, even after check in, but then dropped when we were trying to book Genie+. Later in the week I kept getting logged out of MDE.  Have your reservation number and MDE password ready for sure.  We found we had the least issues when we shut all apps about 6:50am then opened MDE back up.  We'd play around with it, make sure the hotel was still linked, check the tip board and our plans.  Also would go in and book a random restaurant reservation for a few days out.  This requires a credit card so it was a good check to make sure MDE had that right. (we'd just cancel the reservation later). Doing all this assured things seemed to work at 7am.


These are great tips to work around the IT issues! Thanks!


----------



## amyeb

Wood Nymph said:


> We did Space 220 lounge instead of dinner and I also thought it was similar to Coral Reef  but without the fish. It was definitely a one and done for us. The trip to the restaurant was the best part.


Agree on the "trip" to space part of the experience!  We too had a reservation for the lounge but they put us at a regular table.  I did make sure they would still let us order off the lounge menu before I agreed.  Didn't end up mattering, all 4 of us ordered the price fix after all.  At least 1/4 of the tables were empty while we were there - must be a staffing issue, as demand seems pretty high.


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## amyeb

HydroGuy said:


> These are great tips to work around the IT issues! Thanks!


The restaurant reservation thing may be coincidence but we were having all kinds of issues the first 2 mornings but then once we started really playing around with the app, going into all the screens and booking a restaurant before 7am it all worked great and we got super early times for SDD, Rise and FoP.  Also, go in and edit your selections each time before you want to book something so it "pins" that ride to the top of your screen.  When you pull down to refresh it stays on the top and you can book much quicker.


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## HydroGuy

amyeb said:


> The restaurant reservation thing may be coincidence but we were having all kinds of issues the first 2 mornings but then once we started really playing around with the app, going into all the screens and booking a restaurant before 7am it all worked great and we got super early times for SDD, Rise and FoP.  Also, go in and edit your selections each time before you want to book something so it "pins" that ride to the top of your screen.  When you pull down to refresh it stays on the top and you can book much quicker.


Since I will also be staying at the Dolphin, I am curious if you used the Dolphin WiFi at 7AM or did you turn that off and use your cell-phone data? Were you in the hotel or outside by 7AM?


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## Isabelle12345

We are back from a wonderful week in Orlando, with 3 park days (MK on Feb 25, Epcot/HS on Feb 28, AK/Epcot on March 1st)
We stayed onsite for those nights to get the perks of booking ILLs Early and for ETPE
I will recap our Genie+ Usage in a different post, but I just wanted to mention that we bought ILLs for 7DMT, Remy, Rise and FOP
Every morning I clicked on a time and would get to the screen where I had to confirm the payment method, and all 3 days I was unable to book anything (it told me None were available)
I refreshed until it came back and on all 3 days at exactly 7:17 I was able to get the exact time I was aiming for and many time slots were available, and they weren’t as quick to modifie times as earlier when I booked regularLLs
I was able to book
- MK day: 7DMT at 12:40-13:40 (clicked on  10:30-11:30 but time changed when I booked) at 7:17
- Epcot/HS day: booked Rise for 4:00-5:00 (we were hopping there in the PM) at 7:17 and then Remy for 9:05-10:05 at 7:19
- Animal Kingdom/Epcot day: booked Fop for 8:05-9:05 at 7:17 and then Remy for 6:15-7:15 at 7:19 (part of our group were staying offside and were not able to do Remy, so we bought this ILL for them to use)

So don’t give up if you don’t get what you want at 7:00!


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## SwanVT2

UpstateMick said:


> We are sitting in the airport and waiting for our flight back to Upstate NY. We have been here all week. Stayed at Swan and I have to say the boats and walk to HS and EPCOT was well worth what we paid. Since we have a 17DD, it was great when she wanted to sleep in and stay at the pool and the wife and I wanted to rope drop or just stroll. Overall, after 14 years of WDW we are done, with DD graduating and just not a big fan of the parks like she was when she was younger it’s a good time for us exit. We had a great run of old style Fastpasses and rope drop strategies for the past 14 years that you cannot do today. I spoke to so many families who were getting the crap kicked out of them by LL and ILL and scheduling and paying and being on their phones and rides being down and so on and so forth. I don’t want to be one of those “Im never going back” people, but man, for the money spent and what you get, it’s a hard pill to swallow. The “still” good: Disney Springs is great. Garden Grill is great! Tusker House is great!  Kona Cafe is great! Beaches and Crème was great! All still exceed expectations. ROTR is still unbelievable and worth the ILL price! The “meh”: Sci-Fi dine in food really went downhill. Disney friendliness (cast, managers,  etc.) really blah…it’s like night and day. The cleanliness of parks and bathrooms…yikes! For those of us who remember it was difficult to find a straw rapper on the ground before a cast member swooped in and scooped it up, no more. Remy? Um, it was nice, but short and not our bag of fun. EPCOTS's Harmonious...Jeesh!? What was that mess? Saw Illuminations over 30x and 1x Harmonious was TOO many for us...and had two surveys during my stay asking me how we liked Harmonious...Disney must be nervous about this one, with good reason! Same thing goes for Enchantment at MK, my gosh, are they TRYING to make any connections to anything? another mess that we were "one and done" with. You follow Wishes with Happily Ever After..ok, tough , but I get that, but you follow Happily Ever After with this train wreck...another Disney mistake. The “bad”: ride break down…everywhere, everyday, often, and brings incredible frustration. It was absolutely ridiculous. At rope drop, at our Deluxe Resort 2 hour late night, rides being down really had an effect on our touring and experiences. And speaking of the “perk” of being a deluxe guest with 2 extra hours…it truly ends up being about 45 minutes…absolutely not worth the extra to stay at a deluxe in our opinion. Overall, we had a beautiful weather week, some great meals, a great time at Disney Springs and the Swan Resort, but our park experiences were something we are happy to say we have no need to experience again.


We are to the stage of just going from VT in February for pool time and dining at DS and much more enjoy Discovery Cove or Sea World. DD and I went to AK this year and that was nice but she is not going to stand in long lines.


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## UpstateMick

SwanVT2 said:


> We are to the stage of just going from VT in February for pool time and dining at DS and much more enjoy Discovery Cove or Sea World. DD and I went to AK this year and that was nice but she is not going to stand in long lines.


I hear you! That is going to be our plan going forward. We had a great time at Disney Springs shopping and eating and just enjoying the Disney atmosphere. We are at a MUCH cheaper place  no more park tickets (3-5 day hoppers with Genie+ and ILL broke the proverbial bank)


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## maggnanimouse

Today was day 1 of my first solo trip to WDW, and I had a _very_ long, yet successful day.  Given that I'm alone, I had the opportunity to take VERY detailed notes on the day.  Hopefully someone finds this helpful, as seeing the specific times people are on and off rides/ transportation has helped me vizualize what I might be able to accomplish in a day.  

Again, I'm a solo adult willing to pony up for G+, and 2 ILLs a day, so keep that in mind. 

Here's how my day went!

-My redeye from the west coast landed at MCO at 5:15 AM.  I didn't check a bag, so I went straight to the ride share pickup for a Lyft.
-I arrived at Pop Century, dropped my bags, and went straight to the Skyliner station.  There were maybe 4 groups in front of me when I got in line at 6:35AM. (This also includes a wrong turn or two by my Lyft driver which ended up in us driving through the parking lot for Galactic Starcruiser on the way. Looked a little underwhelming from what little I could see in the dark ).
-The Skyliner opened it's gates at 6:48 AM, but didn't start loading until 7:00 on the dot.
-While literally walking onto the Skyliner I was able to score a Frozen LL for 8:45AM, a Remy ILL for 10:10AM, and a FOP ILL for 7:05 PM. (I chose an evening FOP on purpose, they didn't disappear that quickly).
-There was no line whatsoever at the CBR hub, and I had my own cabin all the way to EPCOT, where I arrived at 7:20.  There were maybe 50 people in line ahead of me.
-They started letting people tap in to the park at 7:38AM, and I went straight to Remy.  Remy was a walk on, and I was on and off by 7:55AM.
-I then took what I learned to be the long way to Frozen, walking in the Morocco direction.  This was pretty awesome, because I _leisurely_ strolled through the World Showcase, and there wasn't a soul around me.  I've never seen a virtually empty world showcase before.  And I mean seriously strolled.  I have short legs to begin with, and when I'm alone, I don't attempt to hoof it.
-When I got to Frozen at 8:12AM, the posted wait time was 25 minutes, but I was on the boat in 5.  After that, I got some breakfast at Kringla and waited for my Frozen LL return time.  I tapped in at 8:40, so I can confirm that 5 minute grace period beforehand is still intact.  After tapping in at the second post, I booked a MMRR LL for 2:00 PM.  I was off Frozen the second time at 8:53.
-I continued along the World Showcase, and rode the 3 Caballeros at 9:00.  When I say this was a walk on, I mean there was not another person in the line, or on any boats that I could see in front or behind me.
-Then I hit up the Test Track single rider line, which was a walk on. I was off TT at 9:22.
-I don't usually do Mission Space, but since it was right there and only have a 10 minute posted wait, I figured I might as well give it a go at 9:26AM.  This ended up being a walk on.  And let me tell you, I was smacked in the face by the concept that my body is aging. I hadn't done Mission Space since I was a teenager, and it really hits different at 30.  I was off Mission Space at 9:40.
-Next up was Spaceship Earth.  By this point I could tell the park was starting to get crowded pretty quickly, with people pouring in the front entrance.  The posted wait was 5 minutes, and was an actual 10 minute wait, and I could see it was continuing to build behind me. I was off SE at 10:18.
- Then I had some poutine and a lavender martini from the Refreshment Port (breakfast of champions).
- I booked a 2:25 RnRC LL at 11AM, and immediately tapped into my Remy ILL.  Didn't note what time I was off the ride, but I can't have spent more than 5 minutes in the LL line.
- By this point, wait times were really starting to build, and I had ridden most of what I was hoping to.  So I got an orange slushy from France, and people watched on a bench.  At this point, my only goal was to secure some frushi and a violet sake, and wait for my room at Pop to be ready.
-I got the room ready notification at 12:25, but figured it was pointless to go all the way back to Pop when I had a lightning lane at 2:00.  So I planned to maybe do some shopping at DHS before my LL.  At 1:00PM, I booked a Navi River Journey LL for 6:15PM
-Right as the Skyliner was making its heart pounding descent into the DHS station, I realized I'd goofed and confused Disneyland's 1:00 PM park hopping time with WDW's.  So I sat on a bench in the sun for an hour waiting to get into DHS, and ended up with a nose Rudolph would be proud of.
-By this point, I was pretty gassed, after having only gotten about 1 hour of sleep on the plane.  So my only goal was to do both lightning lanes.
-At 2;00, I went straight to MMRR, and was off the ride by 2:25.
-Then I backtracked to RnRC, and tapped in at 2:33.  I was off by 2:58.  I think this ride has fallen from "must do" status for me.  For some reason, trying to get through the preshow doors and into the fence area really grinds my gears.  I totally understand wanting to keep your group together, but people get pushy and it gets on my nerves.  And also, it gives me a headache now that never used to happen when I was younger lol
- I finally took the Skyliner that had me back at Pop Century for a power nap at 3:20.
-I then headed to Animal Kingdom.  I have to say, I don't necessarily trust the "Bus Times" listed on the MDE app.  It said the next bus to AK was going to depart at 5:55, but when I got to the bus stop at 5:40, there was a bus waiting that left almost immediately.  (Not that I'm complaining about that.)
- When I got to AK, I went straight to Mr. Kamal's for some fries.  They were NOT good.  They're a must-have for me every trip, but I supposed I've always had them early in the day when they are fresh and crisp.  Do not have them near the end of the day. Lesson learned.
- I then headed to Pandora and tapped into my NJR LL at 6:20, and was off within 10 minutes.
- I placed a mobile order at Satuli Canteen for dinner, and got myself a Rum Blossom in the meantime.
- I tapped into my FOP ILL at 7:15.  I know that this is a relatively slow loading ride, but it seemed to take a really long time tonight.  I wasn't off the ride until 7:51.
-I had intended to end my night with a late night showing of ITTBAB, for an injection of pure nostalgia into the veins, but I missed it by about a minute.
-There was a Pop bus waiting at the bus stop at 8:07, and only about 5 other people on it.

Now I'm back at Pop, writing this absolute monster of a report, and only slightly delirious!

So I suppose my takeaway is that having combined rope drop, G+, and ILL, I was able to accomplish a majority of the rides in Epcot (including Remy 2x and FEA 2x) by noon, 2 big rides in DHS, and 2 big rides in AK.  Especially since my trip is only 2.5 days, I feel fine about having paid the extra to make that happen.

My expecations for tomorrow's DHS rope dropping are significantly lower as compared to today.  Then again, I was pleasantly surprised with today's outcome, having been watching wait times for the last few week or so.  So...who knows?!


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## Miffy

Here right now. At 7:35 a.m., as I'm typing this, there are still ILL$ available for RotR.


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## SkyGuy

Miffy said:


> Here right now. At 7:35 a.m., as I'm typing this, there are still ILL$ available for RotR.


And early spots for FoP.


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## glocon

And now there are still available spots for SDD and RotR!


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## Miffy

There were still openings for RotR at 9:10, although I don't see any right now (9:30).

Update: 9:32 a.m.: RotR ILL$ AT 3:15 available . . . and gone in seconds.


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## GBRforWDW

Definitely an interesting availability map for Rise over the last week.  Kinda all over the place.  This may need updated as it doesn't show the availability Miffy referred to at 910 though.


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## Miffy

I just checked FoP and ILL$ is available at 7:30 pm. It's 9:43 a.m. here.


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## Miffy

9:44 a.m.: RotR ILL$ for 3:50 p.m. appeared and disappeared in moments.

9:45 a.m.: RotR ILL$ for 12:30 p.m. also appeared and disappeared.

If you're still looking for this, keep refreshing. There still seem to be spots available.

ETA: We're just hanging out in the room right now, since we're having a late day today. In case you think I have nothing better to do--I don't!

2nd edit: At 10:11 a.m. an afternoon ILL$ for RotR appeared very briefly.


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## lynzi2004

We are here now and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by crowds and by Genie+ availability. For record, I was here the week before Christmas so I know what crowds and availability were then. Todays crowds and weather were fabulous considering all circumstances of the last couple months crowds!


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## momz

Today’s the day for magic kingdom!  I just added Genie + and have my alarm set for the 7 am starting bell.

we spent the day at Epcot yesterday. We tapped in at the international gateway and went directly to Remy. We were on the ride by 8:15. We had a fantastic day and rode the following rides: Remy, Frozen, Test Track, Soarin, Land, and Remy again during Harmonious. We did not use Genie + at Epcot. In addition, we wandered world showcase sampling many festival foods, did some shopping and took a long mid-day break in our room at Pop. I will add that the sky liner is fantastic! Wish it went to all the parks.

Yesterday was such a good day for the start of our trip, I’m hoping today can match it.


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## Westerner

.


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## MaxsDad

momz said:


> Today’s the day for magic kingdom!  I just added Genie + and have my alarm set for the 7 am starting bell.
> 
> we spent the day at Epcot yesterday. We tapped in at the international gateway and went directly to Remy. We were on the ride by 8:15. We had a fantastic day and rode the following rides: Remy, Frozen, Test Track, Soarin, Land, and Remy again during Harmonious. We did not use Genie + at Epcot. In addition, we wandered world showcase sampling many festival foods, did some shopping and took a long mid-day break in our room at Pop. I will add that the sky liner is fantastic! Wish it went to all the parks.
> 
> Yesterday was such a good day for the start of our trip, I’m hoping today can match it.




Good luck. Took the app 5 minutes to load my tip board this morning.
This system is terrible.

I was pleasantly surprised at how low the crowds were in Epcot yesterday, we even managed to grab a LL for soarin after hoping there. We were in DHS in the morning and the crowds were definitely not low. We were still able to do everything we wanted though.


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## leeniewdw

We were in the parks (EP and DHS) on Fri and Sat, flew home yesterday.  I agree the parks were not as packed as I expected.  I checked TP last night and both Fri/Sat had lower than predicted crowds.  We were in EP the first Saturday in December and the food booth lines were long everywhere.  Not at ALL the case on Friday.

On Saturday, we did DHS.  We rope dropped ToT and RRNC and used a 7am LL grab for MFSR at 9:25.  After we tapped into MFSR we were shocked to see SDD available for 7:25pm, so grabbed that!   We also decided (after originally thinking we'd pass on ROTR since we've done it twice already) to grab RotR while waiting in the (long) standby line for ToT and grabbed a 7:15pm ILL.  Just checked my confirmation email and it was 8:57am.   So were WAY more successful with G+/ILL than we  expected.


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## Aimeedyan

We had an amazing day at Epcot yesterday after church and the crowds were some of the lowest I've seen in a couple months. I looked back and we did the same schedule (a Sunday after church) at Epcot the end of January and the crowds were intense and booth lines very very long. This time, we waited - at most - behind 2-3 people at every booth and most were walk-ups.

Walked on SE, Figment, Land, Nemo, Mickey meet and greet. Creations was easy to navigate through, found plenty of tables and seating near booths, and the weather was just perfect (we had a low humidity day - makes ALL the difference). There were very few pinchpoints in the crowds, too.

Rick Springfield concert was probably the biggest crowd I've seen lately - I was blown away at the standby line. But if you avoided that area during concert let-out, you were fine! Maybe most people at Epcot yesterday were just there for the concert?

So all that to say, I go all the time and I can't even begin to predict the crowds! I expected insanity yesterday due to spring break crowds (I live in a tourist town and it's insanity here already!) and it was a breeze.


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## Wood Nymph

We went into Epcot through the International Gateway around 8:30pm last night and I was surprised to find that in wasn't too crowded in the World Showcase. We really enjoyed Harmonious. 

We went to Hollywood Studios this morning and it was packed. I have never seen that many people in Galaxy's Edge before.


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## momz

We spent the day at MK.  So many people!  But we got a lot done.  The hardest part of the day was the commute to and from Pop to MK.  And the rain…it poured down rain for several hours this evening.  We were drenched, I’m afraid we will be wearing soggy shoes tomorrow.  Despite the crowds, we rode the following rides (not in this order as there was a ton of back tracking across the park):  Jungle cruise, Pirates, Splash, Thunder, Haunted Mansion, Seven Dwarves, Space, Buzz, Laugh Floor and Hall of Presidents.  Also had dinner at Skipper Canteen. 
The rain dropped the crowd level considerably, but it also closed some rides.  We are tired and, wet, and happy.


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## lynzi2004

Spent the day in Epcot. Mostly coming here to say that it came a downpour this evening around 8pm and didn’t let up. Torrential rains, flooded all of Epcot. We made it into The Land and rode Soarin 2x, Land 1x and ate a cupcake. Finally around 9:30 decided to just call it a night but on our way out it had lightened up a bit and we were staying deluxe. We still haven’t rode Frozen so decided to make our way over there. As we hit WS, we realized people were standing around and the torches were all lit. Harmonious started around 9:45 and we had a prime front row view. There was maybe 150-200 people there. I was blown away by the show…it reminded me more of “old Disney”, the kind that makes you sing along and cry and forget that you are soaked clear to the bone and have been walking for 12 hours!  

Anyway, just wanted to mention the delayed start. There’s rain in the forecast the next several days so don’t give up on Harmonious. There wasn’t much announcement either, in fact the app said unavailable. We just lucked into it!


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## ScarletFire

1) We stayed at the lovely Fort Wilderness campground last week.  

2)  It's way crowded.  Lines for everything!  Long, long posted wait times.  Lots of kids skipping school for Disney.  

3)  No Genie+ for us.  We are retirees with APs and attractions are not a priority.  It's a good thing because lines are crazy long.  We managed two attractions.  We entered the line for MMRR at 8:10pm and were out at 8:55 pm.  *We entered the line for Rise at 8:20pm and were out at 9:30pm*. * The posted wait time for Rise was 130 minutes and we were in and out in 70 minutes!*

4) Food was outstanding!  Highly recommend Cape May breakfast Buffet.  Other standouts were Trials End, Sunshine Griddle and Northern Bloom at EPCOT Flower festival, Earl of Sandwich, P and J's fried chicken and Be our Guest.  

5) Despite the crowds, everyone was happy!  

6)  We enjoyed a night at Disney Springs.  The bar at City Works is comfortable with good burgers.  Disney Springs has lots of live music in the evenings.  It was very nice and parking is easy.

7)  Epcot Flower festival is as always amazing and beautiful.  I loved the Spike scavenger hunt.

8)  I saw vloggers Tim Tracker w/ Jenn and Nate (paging Mr. Morrow.)

9)  Disney needs to extend park hours!  9pm is too early considering the crowds.  I remember the days of 11pm or midnight.  There is a noticeable staffing shortage.

10)  We had a good time and we'll be back.


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## socaldisney

These boards were SO helpful, that I wanted to share my experience.  My DS27 and I just returned from a week at the world Feb 28- March 6.  Don't despair - we had a marvelous time!  The weather was prefect and it was super crowded - most we'd ever seen.  Four of the seven days the parks ran out of reservations.  However, we mastered Genie Plus and did everything we wanted.  Did not stand in a lot of long lines.  Bought Genie Plus for MK and HS.  Did all of the big rides with the Lightening Lanes, looked for short wait times, used single rider and got in line right before closing..  We stayed offsite and still managed to buy FOP and ROTR (OMG - LOVED THAT!!).  The key was pick a super popular ride at 7am for 9am.  MK - Jungle Cruise one day, Peter Pan the other two days.  HS was TOT one day and RNR the other.  Then, we snagged the next super popular ride, usually before 9:25am.  At HS both days is was for Slinky around 7pm.  MK we were able to grab one after the other.  HS we managed to stack for the afternoon.   The last day we rode Space Mounting three times - one Lighting Lane in the afternoon and twice during the fireworks.  REFRESH is your friend.  My son would get stubborn in the afternoon when we wanted a specific ride and certain time.  9/10 he managed to refresh to get what we wanted.  Yes, it is a goofy (no pun inteded) system, but, we got it to work.  There was lots of magic among the masses - even some pixie dust.  I got a free Num Num cookie because the cast member said "Mickey knew you were coming!"  For those nervous about upcoming trip, a great time can be had.


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## DisTXMom

So glad to read about your great trip! There are a lot of stories of disappointment, so it’s encouraging to hear of people having great trips, despite the crowds and changes. We head there this weekend for a super busy week- hope we can find some pixie dust


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## Jules123

On our trip last week, we were able to get 4 LL each at HS and AK and 7 at MK. We loved Genie+!


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## MaxsDad

socaldisney said:


> The key was pick a super popular ride at 7am for 9am.  MK - Jungle Cruise one day, Peter Pan the other two days.



That is key, but everytime I tried to do that right at 7am last week they were already at mid-day thirty seconds in, or if it did show early availability by the time I clicked through it moved it an hour ahead. I wanted to give it a chance, but after using it last week, I'm not a fan.


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## DonTheDuck

Great to hear all this positive feedback!  1 week away on my end can’t wait.


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## scrappinginontario

MaxsDad said:


> That is key, but everytime I tried to do that right at 7am last week they were already at mid-day thirty seconds in, or if it did show early availability by the time I clicked through it moved it an hour ahead. I wanted to give it a chance, but after using it last week, I'm not a fan.


Your experience was ours too and one of the many challenges of using Genie+.  It’s hard to plan a day when I choose a time and within seconds, when I confirm my booking it’s an hour or more later than what I selected.


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## Westerner

socaldisney said:


> Yes, it is a goofy (no pun inteded) system, but, we got it to work.


A lot of truth here!


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## leeniewdw

scrappinginontario said:


> Your experience was ours too and one of the many challenges of using Genie+.  It’s hard to plan a day when I choose a time and within seconds, when I confirm my booking it’s an hour or more later than what I selected.



This is what makes it so tough to 'plan' your day because the window is so small as is the margin for error (not really error, perhaps better word is margin for success).  That's why when I relayed our experience on Saturday at DHS, I tried to include each post that the day turned out to be NOT crazy busy/in demand/whatever is the right word.  To be able to grab SDD at 9:40 am and have multiple choices for RotR at 8:57am is a clear indicator that our day was not a "bad" day.


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## Boardwalk III

MaxsDad said:


> That is key, but everytime I tried to do that right at 7am last week they were already at mid-day thirty seconds in, or if it did show early availability by the time I clicked through it moved it an hour ahead. I wanted to give it a chance, but after using it last week, I'm not a fan.



Exactly this. It’s like playing roulette, and not a fun way to start each day of a vacation. Not to mention the 6:45 am daily wake up requirement.

We did it in November. I was well prepared with tips etc. and it was mostly a bust. Couldn’t manage around ADRs or other plans at all. We’ve just canceled our April trip as just don’t have it in me to re-live it again so soon, and hoping things will improve by this fall/early next year.

I’ve been following along with interest folks who have had some luck stacking for later in the day & may try that next trip if we use G+ at all. But with our kids now grown we really do enjoy our nicer ADRs and would have to give those up on those days. Sigh.


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## leeniewdw

Boardwalk III said:


> I’ve been following along with interest folks who have had some luck stacking for later in the day & may try that next trip if we use G+ at all. But with our kids now grown we really do enjoy our nicer ADRs and would have to give those up on those days. Sigh.



I can imagine working around dining ADRs.   We don't typically do ADRs because our trips are so short and we don't want to give up that chunk of time (the last time we did we had to wait so long even though we had a reservation that it just seemed a huge time suck), but even with an ADR for Oga's which we knew would be 45mins max, you had to pause when it came time to make an LL and figure out the time impact and if it would work, etc.   And you also knew if you didn't act fast the time you were looking at might be gone by the time you tried to reserve.


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## scrappinginontario

Boardwalk III said:


> I’ve been following along with interest folks who have had some luck stacking for later in the day & may try that next trip if we use G+ at all. But with our kids now grown we really do enjoy our nicer ADRs and would have to give those up on those days. Sigh.


I've heard it recommended you go to your ADR and then when you return to the attraction you have a LL or ILL$ for, show the CM and ask to ride, being prepared to show ADR receipt.  Not sure it always works but is worth the try.

Dropping an ADR at the last moment may incur the $10 charge/person.


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## momz

Hollywood studios is PACKED today.  It’s about a million degrees and the crowd is pressing in.  This is the hottest park.  Impossible without Genie plus.


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## leeniewdw

Wow, glancing at the app, it certainly is COMPLETELY different than when we were there on Saturday.  On Saturday, I was able to grab LLs at 1:45pm, 3:45pm for rides that are (currently) showing completely booked.  Today is a day for refreshing for sure!


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## jbish

Interesting, because I actually took time this morning between 7-7:30 to track G+ LL availability (planning out my own strategy for our trip) and saw quite a bit of high demand LLs pop back up around 7:10 and 7:20, with early return times, even!  At around 7:12, saw MFSR and MMRR return times as early as 10ish, SDD even popped up for several refreshes.  Again saw a bunch pop up around 7:23.  Then I thought - oh yeah, it hasn't been busy these past couple of days so this is probably not what it will look like in April.  So I'm surprised to hear how crowded it is!!  Gives me hope that waiting for the 7:10 drop might actually work for us.

Here's Thrill Data for this morning showing how long LL were available:


----------



## Lady Hiss

Just back - lowered expectations, increased $$ = Diminished Disney
Adults-only trip, 4 days, deluxe resort, PH tix

We went into the trip knowing the experience would be different than that last 30 trips we've taken to WDW. Boy, was it ever. We decided our line-waiting limit would be 30 minutes which, of course, resulted in not riding much. Also, decided not to spring for more than one day of extra expense (Genie+, iLL), just to see what we could manage to do without it. Answer: not much.

Lessons learned: Rope drop combined with lots of time on your phone with Genie+ and iLL are the keys to getting on rides; diminished experience for more $$ is a given; crowd control efforts have not worked; CMs are just people doing a job - the days of fun guest interactions are mostly gone.  

Here's a synopsis of our park days (with one rope drop day, one Genie+ & iLL day):

Parks were clean and beautiful, especially Epcot for F&G.

Epcot: 
Took Friendship boats to IGW - CM's were very talkative (amongst themselves). However on one trip, there was a singing CM who made everyone smile. 
F&G decor is awesome with some nice seating areas near Creations shop with garden themed info. I miss the garden seminars...
Rides/Experiences: Remy (rope drop, another on a iLL pass); Soarin' - 20 min wait in the AM; Spaceship Earth - 15 mins (no update planned anymore?); Experiences: listened to the mariachi band at Mexico (very fun); did American Adventure & Pixar Short Films; caught a little of Garden Rocks Skillzmatic concert - fantastic. 
The construction barriers In Epcot result in more walking and the park experience is less enjoyable due to what's missing;. Food lines were crazy long esp at food booths; ride lines got long by 10 AM; stayed for Harmonious one night (soooo disappointed in this and feel bad for all who spent so much time designing it - a mishmash of forgettable, screechy songs with a message that was completely lost on us; weird repetitive mechanics; same with fireworks) - one and done for us. 

MK:
Great CM on the ferry boat, calling out 'Happy Birthday! or Welcome, Princess! to those boarding the boat. The worst crowds were here. We didn't ride anything and left after going to Starbucks. All lines were 40+ minutes, even our old stand-by, Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Not fun. Not magical.

HS:
Used iLL for RotR and bought Genie + for TSM, saw Muppets, couldn't get good time for any other rides & decided not to spend time on our phones trying to refresh and get better offerings. As it was, Rise went down when we entered it so had to come back later, which was a pain as we'd hoped to park hop elsewhere, had an ADR elsewhere. 

AK:
Took a bus from Grand Floridian. Bus CM, when asked if he liked being a bus driver: 'Eh, it's a job' (so not much magic there)., however he was very talkative to a teacher on the bus, telling her how much he admired teachers so I guess that's a good thing. 
Went to AK Starbucks - short wait, efficient service. Walked the Gorilla Trek (excellent views of mom, baby, brother, etc.); Triceratops Spin; missed Expedition Everest being available; lines for others rides were 40+ minutes; ate at Flame Tree BBQ (very good) 

The lack of flexibility offered by Genie+ and iLL is a major flaw, IMHO, not to mention the expense. The Genie+ times available were usually mid to late afternoon with no other options unless you wanted to risk cancelling one to get another or keep refreshing, hoping something popped up. Some of us think getting up at 7AM is a pain then waiting another 2 hours to make another Genie+ ressie is not guest friendly. Is there a 'modify' button that I missed somehow? For those of us who used the old FP+ system effectively, this new system is a complete bust. The stand-by lines were ridiculous (think Great America-type waits). So, for those that like to Rope Drop and don't mind the time rules when using Genie+, Disney will probably be a wonderful experience, for those of us who don't, well, we're SOL. 

Despite the lack of magic, we still had a good trip - mostly due to the weather - 75+ degrees each day. Better than dirty snow and sub zero temps at home.


----------



## SkyGuy

leeniewdw said:


> Wow, glancing at the app, it certainly is COMPLETELY different than when we were there on Saturday.  On Saturday, I was able to grab LLs at 1:45pm, 3:45pm for rides that are (currently) showing completely booked.  Today is a day for refreshing for sure!


We had Oga’s reservations yesterday at 7:35. Around 2:00, I decided to try to stack some rides for HS (we did MK in the morning and were quite successful doing the tap and grab method even though it was crowded). I refreshed for 75 minutes trying to get RnR, and while it popped up, maybe, three times, it was never available when I clicked on it. I finally took TSM for 7:55-8:55, then at my next reset, I got Star Tours at 6:30-7:30. Way different than our trip on early February in which I easily had four rides ready for an afternoon in HS.


----------



## leeniewdw

jbish said:


> Interesting, because I actually took time this morning between 7-7:30 to track G+ LL availability (planning out my own strategy for our trip) and saw quite a bit of high demand LLs pop back up around 7:10 and 7:20, with early return times, even!  At around 7:12, saw MFSR and MMRR return times as early as 10ish, SDD even popped up for several refreshes.  Again saw a bunch pop up around 7:23.  Then I thought - oh yeah, it hasn't been busy these past couple of days so this is probably not what it will look like in April.  So I'm surprised to hear how crowded it is!!  Gives me hope that waiting for the 7:10 drop might actually work for us.



I wonder if in those early hours it's people who are the designated "get the LL at 7am person" who then try to rise the rest of their traveling party and get overruled for a 9am return time or for whatever ride they've chosen?  So they cancel and try to rebook or something thus creating the slots?


----------



## Lsdolphin

scrappinginontario said:


> Your experience was ours too and one of the many challenges of using Genie+.  It’s hard to plan a day when I choose a time and within seconds, when I confirm my booking it’s an hour or more later than what I selected.


Exactly!  And when you have someone with a health issue that can only be in park a few hours but doesn’t qualify for DAS it’s really difficul!  Fast pass+ always worked out great for us. We did our 3 rides and left happy.  Last trip we were lucky to get one ride a day with Genie + and although We were there for rope drop we couldn’t compete with the “running of the bulls”


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Exactly!  And when you have someone with a health issue that can only be in park a few hours but doesn’t qualify for DAS it’s really difficul!  Fast pass+ always worked out great for us. We did our 3 rides and left happy.  Last trip we were lucky to get one ride a day with Genie + and although We were there for rope drop we couldn’t compete with the “running of the bulls”


Are you able to go back to a park later in the day?  We had great success in early Feb stacking LLs in the late afternoon/early evening.


----------



## Lsdolphin

scrappinginontario said:


> Are you able to go back to a park later in the day?  We had great success in early Feb stacking LLs in the late afternoon/early evening.


Actually I did try that and was Able to stack HM, POC, and PP for the evening but it was just too much to go back...and just doesn’t work to wait and go later in day ...just seems the morning hours are when there is less discomfort.


----------



## jbish

leeniewdw said:


> I wonder if in those early hours it's people who are the designated "get the LL at 7am person" who then try to rise the rest of their traveling party and get overruled for a 9am return time or for whatever ride they've chosen?  So they cancel and try to rebook or something thus creating the slots?


Can you expand on what you mean by the underlined part?  Are you talking about a delay caused by selecting others in your party?


----------



## lfcfan

SkyGuy said:


> We had Oga’s reservations yesterday at 7:35. Around 2:00, I decided to try to stack some rides for HS (we did MK in the morning and were quite successful doing the tap and grab method even though it was crowded).
> 
> Hi @SkyGuy,
> We have a long trip in May that will give us multiple MK days. I was thinking it would be good to do one morning/day of just tap and grab method--I don't really care what we ride, just would enjoy "keep riding." I will tackle the big rides on other days, with other strategies, $ILL for 7DMT, stacking etc.
> Can you give me an example of what a tap and grab morning might look like? In other words, what rides and what order? The only thing I won't ride is Astro Orbiter.
> I will add that Space is our favorite and I am bummed I can't buy my $ILL for it (I am going very much for convenience this trip.) Any tips for riding Space is appreciated. I imagine we may start there/end there at least some of our MK days.
> We are traveling with our college age son but happy to ride anything in the park. Thank you so much!


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

leeniewdw said:


> I wonder if in those early hours it's people who are the designated "get the LL at 7am person" who then try to rise the rest of their traveling party and get overruled for a 9am return time or for whatever ride they've chosen?  So they cancel and try to rebook or something thus creating the slots?





jbish said:


> Can you expand on what you mean by the underlined part?  Are you talking about a delay caused by selecting others in your party?


I think PP is talking about the designated LL planner reserving an early time and then trying to get the rest of their group out of bed to get ready so they can make it to that early LL time.  But the rest of the group overrules getting up that early, rolls over, and goes back to sleep.  So, then they end up cancelling and trying for a later time.


----------



## leeniewdw

jbish said:


> Can you expand on what you mean by the underlined part?  Are you talking about a delay caused by selecting others in your party?





Grumpy by Birth said:


> I think PP is talking about the designated LL planner reserving an early time and then trying to get the rest of their group out of bed to get ready so they can make it to that early LL time.  But the rest of the group overrules getting up that early, rolls over, and goes back to sleep.  So, then they end up cancelling and trying for a later time.



Yes, that's exactly what I meant.


----------



## jbish

leeniewdw said:


> Yes, that's exactly what I meant.


Well then I'll take their cancelled leftovers!!


----------



## SkyGuy

@lfcfan We didn’t utilize rope drop or EE, even though we are at Beach Club, but if you are on property, and are early risers, I’d suggest doing EE to jump on Space Mountain. You could also get an LL to ride it 2x with no wait. If you happen to be at a deluxe resort and will be around on one of the extended hours days, that will also be a great way to get in some extra rides.
I got up at 6:45 and had Genie+ ready to go.
I purchased 7DMT for 9:45-10:45 and got Space for 11:05-12:05. Those were both times I chose and wanted, which isn’t always the case, so I was lucky.
Philharmonic 11:10-12:10 to see the new Coco scene (very cute!).
Pirates 11:30-12:30
Monsters Inc Laugh Floor - 11:50-12:50
Buzz - 12:10-1:10
BTMRR - 2:30-3:30 (this took me about 25 minutes of refreshing while we waited for and watched Carousel of Progress)

then I switched to trying for HS rides.


----------



## DonTheDuck

jbish said:


> Interesting, because I actually took time this morning between 7-7:30 to track G+ LL availability (planning out my own strategy for our trip) and saw quite a bit of high demand LLs pop back up around 7:10 and 7:20, with early return times, even!  At around 7:12, saw MFSR and MMRR return times as early as 10ish, SDD even popped up for several refreshes.  Again saw a bunch pop up around 7:23.  Then I thought - oh yeah, it hasn't been busy these past couple of days so this is probably not what it will look like in April.  So I'm surprised to hear how crowded it is!!  Gives me hope that waiting for the 7:10 drop might actually work for us.
> 
> Here's Thrill Data for this morning showing how long LL were available:
> View attachment 653096



How real time is this data ?  Will you see it pop up on thrill data immediately and then be able to log in and do it ?


----------



## MaxsDad

Lady Hiss said:


> Just back - lowered expectations, increased $$ = Diminished Disney
> Adults-only trip, 4 days, deluxe resort, PH tix
> 
> We went into the trip knowing the experience would be different than that last 30 trips we've taken to WDW. Boy, was it ever. We decided our line-waiting limit would be 30 minutes which, of course, resulted in not riding much. Also, decided not to spring for more than one day of extra expense (Genie+, iLL), just to see what we could manage to do without it. Answer: not much.
> 
> Lessons learned: Rope drop combined with lots of time on your phone with Genie+ and iLL are the keys to getting on rides; diminished experience for more $$ is a given; crowd control efforts have not worked; CMs are just people doing a job - the days of fun guest interactions are mostly gone.
> 
> Here's a synopsis of our park days (with one rope drop day, one Genie+ & iLL day):
> 
> Parks were clean and beautiful, especially Epcot for F&G.
> 
> Epcot:
> Took Friendship boats to IGW - CM's were very talkative (amongst themselves). However on one trip, there was a singing CM who made everyone smile.
> F&G decor is awesome with some nice seating areas near Creations shop with garden themed info. I miss the garden seminars...
> Rides/Experiences: Remy (rope drop, another on a iLL pass); Soarin' - 20 min wait in the AM; Spaceship Earth - 15 mins (no update planned anymore?); Experiences: listened to the mariachi band at Mexico (very fun); did American Adventure & Pixar Short Films; caught a little of Garden Rocks Skillzmatic concert - fantastic.
> The construction barriers In Epcot result in more walking and the park experience is less enjoyable due to what's missing;. Food lines were crazy long esp at food booths; ride lines got long by 10 AM; stayed for Harmonious one night (soooo disappointed in this and feel bad for all who spent so much time designing it - a mishmash of forgettable, screechy songs with a message that was completely lost on us; weird repetitive mechanics; same with fireworks) - one and done for us.
> 
> MK:
> Great CM on the ferry boat, calling out 'Happy Birthday! or Welcome, Princess! to those boarding the boat. The worst crowds were here. We didn't ride anything and left after going to Starbucks. All lines were 40+ minutes, even our old stand-by, Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Not fun. Not magical.
> 
> HS:
> Used iLL for RotR and bought Genie + for TSM, saw Muppets, couldn't get good time for any other rides & decided not to spend time on our phones trying to refresh and get better offerings. As it was, Rise went down when we entered it so had to come back later, which was a pain as we'd hoped to park hop elsewhere, had an ADR elsewhere.
> 
> AK:
> Took a bus from Grand Floridian. Bus CM, when asked if he liked being a bus driver: 'Eh, it's a job' (so not much magic there)., however he was very talkative to a teacher on the bus, telling her how much he admired teachers so I guess that's a good thing.
> Went to AK Starbucks - short wait, efficient service. Walked the Gorilla Trek (excellent views of mom, baby, brother, etc.); Triceratops Spin; missed Expedition Everest being available; lines for others rides were 40+ minutes; ate at Flame Tree BBQ (very good)
> 
> The lack of flexibility offered by Genie+ and iLL is a major flaw, IMHO, not to mention the expense. The Genie+ times available were usually mid to late afternoon with no other options unless you wanted to risk cancelling one to get another or keep refreshing, hoping something popped up. Some of us think getting up at 7AM is a pain then waiting another 2 hours to make another Genie+ ressie is not guest friendly. Is there a 'modify' button that I missed somehow? For those of us who used the old FP+ system effectively, this new system is a complete bust. The stand-by lines were ridiculous (think Great America-type waits). So, for those that like to Rope Drop and don't mind the time rules when using Genie+, Disney will probably be a wonderful experience, for those of us who don't, well, we're SOL.
> 
> Despite the lack of magic, we still had a good trip - mostly due to the weather - 75+ degrees each day. Better than dirty snow and sub zero temps at home.




Your experience was very similar to ours.

We stayed in the Treehouse villas at Saratoga Springs for the first time from 1 March - 8 March. Not a big fan of the villas, but I'll save my gripes there for the resort board. It was a little hot for me, but still doable, not August/September hot which I have experienced before but still hot when not in the shade as there was very little cloud cover. We were also there for the torrential downpour Monday night and it was interesting to see all the flooding. We had to turn back between Frontierland and Adventureland on our way to Pirates, fortunately we were able to cut through Pecos Bill. 

The crowds were also very high, I have been during Christmas before so not that bad, and I was expecting it based on what I had seen recently but wow, still a lot more than what we had when we visited the same week a few years ago. Mask use was also very low (myself included) so I guess everyone is vaccinated now.  Waits were crazy  high for some rides, Living with the Land and Nemo were both posted at 45 minutes, I think Figment was posted around 30 on Thursday when we were at Epcot, Sunday was surprisingly better crowd-wise. I think most of the wait times were pretty accurate though and I didn't see too many cases of inflation.

CMs overall were fine, we had a couple of not so pleasant experiences including one who rolled his eyes when we wanted to split up our party of 3 for the teacups (my wife didn't want to spin fast and my daughter did). Not really a big deal, but just kind of off putting and I just chalked it up to it being busy. We also had great CMs like the one at Chef Mickey who let us hang out a little longer after we finished breakfast to wait for Pluto who seemed to keep missing our section, along with the waiter from Sci-Fi who was super nice and chatty. We also had two great CMs who let us wait to pilot the Falcon so more good than bad CMs. Although funny story when we checked in for Oga's Cantina they said we would be standing, which we knew was a possibility because we did that on our last trip, unfortunately this was later in our trip and my wife's fake knee was bothering her at this point so we asked to wait for a booth. The CM seemed annoyed at first and said that next time we go to a restaurant we should mention that as soon as we check in because it could be a long wait. We laughed because we thought, how many other restaurants have standing only areas? I know some of the lounges/bars probably do, but it was still funny. She talked to us some more after and I am sure she was just trying to be helpful. I'll add too that this was the first time I have been since Disney changed their policy on facial hair and tattoos and while I don't really care because it doesn't bother me, it was noticeable. Again not in a bad way for the most part, although some of them do look like carnies now lol.

Genie+?? What can I say that I haven't already said? I am not a fan at all. I don't think we got our money's worth. I don't like the lack of flexibility, the inability to pick the same ride more than once, the need to wake up early (although I am an early riser even on vacation) or the glitches in the system. One day it took a full 2 minutes for my tip board to load at 7am on cellular data, which may not have been great at the Treehouses. I missed out on a ILL for Remy because of that. I was fortunate that some more dropped a half hour later but I still wasn't happy. In addition, as I mentioned the way the system doesn't hold your time while you click through is just unacceptable in this day. Ticket vendors can hold your spot for minutes, why can't Disney? Extremely frustrating. It was also difficult with our touring style which usually includes a mid-day pool break when it is hot and crowded. We could have stacked but by 11 there was nothing good left for later in the day. I also didn't enjoy being on my phone the whole time and definitely felt like I missed something.  As a PP said they had to refresh while waiting and watching CoP. I don't want to be looking at my phone while on CoP, I want to enjoy the show and my daughter's reaction. I would also just grab whatever popped up because I didn't want to take the chance that it would be gone with nothing better. Refreshing is fine, but that is a gamble especially with no easy way to modify. I honestly don't mind paying for things like express pass. We do it all the time when we go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, but the value is there and the system is easier. I realize they can't use the same system in Disney but honestly I would have paid $20 a day to keep the old system and I hope they make changes to Genie+ because right now it is a huge turn off for us.  I also felt like it was harder to plan out rides and that I ended up backtracking around the park more than I did in the past.

We used both early entry and the extended MK hours. The extended MK hours was amazing, unfortunately it was on our arrival day so we were tired and couldn't take full advantage of it but we stayed till about 10 and got a lot done. We had adjusted our next day park from DHS to Epcot so we could sleep in the next morning but then Disney adjusted the Epcot hours to open earlier and messed up our plans. The early entry at MK wasn't great, we still ended up waiting an hour for PP, maybe I did it wrong but I think a longer early entry would be great. We also only were able to ride JC and PP once each this trip when in the past we were easily able to combine FP and RD to ride them multiple times. Again maybe it is my fault for using the system wrong, I dunno, but it was disappointing.  We were able to ride MFSR twice during early entry while my wife did ToT one day and Slinky Dog another time for early entry. My first time on slinky! (I'm not a big coaster person).

Overall it was an ok trip, but I really think you can feel the nickel and diming from Disney lately, especially as they continue to take perks away but increase prices. My wife and I have an adults only trip for October that we are planning but only because we have rental credits to use after the trip was postponed because of Covid. After that I may just bank some DVC points for a while or maybe even rent some because some of the magic is lost for us.

ETA my thoughts on both Harmonious and Enchantment. Harmonious was unoriginal and uninspiring compared to its predecessor. I also wasn't a huge fan of Enchantment, I thought the story in Wishes was better and felt like there was an actual flow to the music and the fireworks and they worked well together. Enchantment just seemed to be a mashup of newish Disney tunes with fireworks in the background. To be fair though I'll have to see it again because I was a bit distracted. We had a decent spot on main street to see all the projections there as well and at the last minute some band kid hopped off the curb right in front of my 10 year old and three other kids. I ended up having to lift my daughter up so she could see anything so this kid could take a video of something that is all over the internet in better quality than what he was going to get with his iphone. I get that happens, but it still annoyed me, especially since it was obvious there were a bunch of kids he got right in front of.  Oh, that also reminds me about the woman next to us for Harmonious who had to live cast the entire thing back to her family who didn't mute their mic, so that was cool.  People get in their bubble there and just don't have any consideration for others.


----------



## Grumpy by Birth

MaxsDad said:


> Mask use was also very low (myself included) so I guess everyone is vaccinated now.


----------



## jbish

DonTheDuck said:


> How real time is this data ?  Will you see it pop up on thrill data immediately and then be able to log in and do it ?


I think it's pretty real time but there has to be some amount of delay - even if it's just by a couple of minutes.  I wouldn't recommend you use Thrill Data to track what's available.  I would just follow the app, pull down to refresh the availability, and book then.  I was showing the data from Thrill Data as it's a good look back on the day on what was available and when.  It's also a compilation/average.  What's shown on the app is what is available to YOU to book in the moment.  I have the Thrill Data website open right now.  When I hit refresh at 8:01 am, the 7:55 am data got populated.  So it's at least 5 minutes behind - way beyond any amount of time you'd want to wait to get the right info.


----------



## lfcfan

SkyGuy said:


> @lfcfan We didn’t utilize rope drop or EE, even though we are at Beach Club, but if you are on property, and are early risers, I’d suggest doing EE to jump on Space Mountain. You could also get an LL to ride it 2x with no wait. If you happen to be at a deluxe resort and will be around on one of the extended hours days, that will also be a great way to get in some extra rides.
> I got up at 6:45 and had Genie+ ready to go.
> I purchased 7DMT for 9:45-10:45 and got Space for 11:05-12:05. Those were both times I chose and wanted, which isn’t always the case, so I was lucky.
> Philharmonic 11:10-12:10 to see the new Coco scene (very cute!).
> Pirates 11:30-12:30
> Monsters Inc Laugh Floor - 11:50-12:50
> Buzz - 12:10-1:10
> BTMRR - 2:30-3:30 (this took me about 25 minutes of refreshing while we waited for and watched Carousel of Progress)
> 
> then I switched to trying for HS rides.


Thank you!


----------



## SusanDK

Lsdolphin said:


> Fast pass+ always worked out great for us. We did our 3 rides and left happy.  Last trip we were lucky to get one ride a day with Genie + and although We were there for rope drop we couldn’t compete with the “running of the bulls”



This is my concern. We are not rope-drop, or even pre-lunch, visitors. I loved the old FP+ where I could schedule three afternoon fast passes in quick succession in advance of arrival, using the time in between FP's for some of the other entertainment.

I'm trying to read up enough to know if it's worth paying for Genie+ if we don't arrive at the park until 2 pm or later. Would we be able to get 3-4 rides in before the end of the evening? Not excited about having to stay connected to the phone constantly. 

Disney certainly has the technology from the old system to allow people to plan a few rides in advance. I'm hoping they will tweak the system in the coming months to make it more guest-friendly.


----------



## Lsdolphin

SusanDK said:


> This is my concern. We are not rope-drop, or even pre-lunch, visitors. I loved the old FP+ where I could schedule three afternoon fast passes in quick succession in advance of arrival, using the time in between FP's for some of the other entertainment.
> 
> I'm trying to read up enough to know if it's worth paying for Genie+ if we don't arrive at the park until 2 pm or later. Would we be able to get 3-4 rides in before the end of the evening? Not excited about having to stay connected to the phone constantly.
> 
> Disney certainly has the technology from the old system to allow people to plan a few rides in advance. I'm hoping they will tweak the system in the coming months to make it more guest-friendly.
> [/QU
> 
> 
> 
> actually I think if you are planning not arrive in the park until after 2pm you should be fine with the Genie+...if yo book your first ride at 7:00 am then book your 2nd ride at 11:00 am and additional rides every 2 hours so by time you arrive you could have several rides stacked ...remember you can get overlapping times as each time slot covers an hour and you shouldn’t need that long to do a ride and get to next one.


----------



## Lsdolphin

actually I think if you are planning not arrive in the park until after 2pm you should be fine with the Genie+...if yo book your first ride at 7:00 am then book your 2nd ride at 11:00 am and additional rides every 2 hours so by time you arrive you could have several rides stacked ...remember you can get overlapping times as each time slot covers an hour and you shouldn’t need that long to do a ride and get to next one.


----------



## momz

Lsdolphin said:


> actually I think if you are planning not arrive in the park until after 2pm you should be fine with the Genie+...if yo book your first ride at 7:00 am then book your 2nd ride at 11:00 am and additional rides every 2 hours so by time you arrive you could have several rides stacked ...remember you can get overlapping times as each time slot covers an hour and you shouldn’t need that long to do a ride and get to next one.


the problem I see with this strategy is that you cannot choose your return time.  Genie gets to decide what time you will ride.  So it could assign a time that is earlier than you intend to arrive at the park.

Plus, you will be going back and forth across the park because, even though you can have rides booked, you cannot plan the order in which you ride them.  

it’s very hard to like Genie +.  It helps with avoiding lines, but you will walk yourself to exhaustion.


----------



## Lsdolphin

momz said:


> the problem I see with this strategy is that you cannot choose your return time.  Genie gets to decide what time you will ride.  So it could assign a time that is earlier than you intend to arrive at the park.
> 
> Plus, you will be going back and forth across the park because, even though you can have rides booked, you cannot plan the order in which you ride them.
> 
> it’s very hard to like Genie +.  It helps with avoiding lines, but you will walk yourself to exhaustion.



I really don’t like Genie+ and it didn’t work well for us as we could only stay in parks a few hours in the morning but i did try stacking rides for later one day and was able to do so at MK but it did take a lot of time on phone and refreshing to do so and than we ended up being unable to go to park later in day anyway.  It was especially frustrating when you selected a time and then after you confirmed it gave you a time different than what you selected and there is no way to modify a time...but still think for those going later in day and who don’t mind taking the time it’s possible to stack rides.  As far as Genie+ giving me time earlier than what I wanted I just waited a minute or two and tried again....it never gave me an earlier time once I made a selection though it was always later.  But fast pass+ was sooo much better and I would be happy to pay for it instead of this Genie+ mess!


----------



## Westerner

momz said:


> the problem I see with this strategy is that you cannot choose your return time.  Genie gets to decide what time you will ride.  So it could assign a time that is earlier than you intend to arrive at the park.
> 
> Plus, you will be going back and forth across the park because, even though you can have rides booked, you cannot plan the order in which you ride them.
> 
> it’s very hard to like Genie +.  It helps with avoiding lines, but you will walk yourself to exhaustion.




G+ sometimes assigns a later return time than originally displayed particularly during the 7am rush when return times are rapidly getting later.  But the reverse - an earlier ride time than displayed - generally doesn’t happen, I havent read any reports of that, though plenty of the former.


----------



## Westerner

SusanDK said:


> This is my concern. We are not rope-drop, or even pre-lunch, visitors. I loved the old FP+ where I could schedule three afternoon fast passes in quick succession in advance of arrival, using the time in between FP's for some of the other entertainment.
> 
> I'm trying to read up enough to know if it's worth paying for Genie+ if we don't arrive at the park until 2 pm or later. Would we be able to get 3-4 rides in before the end of the evening?
> 
> Not excited about having to stay connected to the phone constantly.
> 
> Disney certainly has the technology from the old system to allow people to plan a few rides in advance. I'm hoping they will tweak the system in the coming months to make it more guest-friendly.


If you are arriving later, you can get later return times by choosing a high-demand ride for your 1st G+ eg JC, SDD, TT. These rides have return times that go into afternoon/evening very quickly, By the time youre eligible to book your 2nd G+ there should be several rides with later return times to choose from.

It is a myth that you have to stay connected to your phone constantly to stack G+ selections for afternoon/evening.  Suppose park opens at 9am.

Book your 1st G+ at 7am
If you want to sleep in a bit then at least book your 1st before 9am
Set an alarm for 10:55 to book your 2nd by 11am
Set an alarm for 12:55 and 2:55 to book your  3rd/4th by 1pm/3pm
After your 3pm booking may not need the phone bc there probably wont be much availability left (MK excepted).  That’s a total of 4 times on your phone.
Check your confirmed return times after booking, sometimes they can shift from whats originally displayed esp. during the 7am rush


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## SusanDK

Lsdolphin said:


> actually I think if you are planning not arrive in the park until after 2pm you should be fine with the Genie+...if yo book your first ride at 7:00 am then book your 2nd ride at 11:00 am and additional rides every 2 hours so by time you arrive you could have several rides stacked ...remember you can get overlapping times as each time slot covers an hour and you shouldn’t need that long to do a ride and get to next one.



We are local so do not stay onsite. Can we do this?  If we are not physically inside the park, are we able to 'stack' from home for arrival later in the day? Assuming, that is, that we have a reservation for the specific park that day.

Another question - from what I've read, it sounds like people are able to use Genie+ at multiple parks on the same day. So is that one $15 fee per person? Do you have to have a park reservation at your first park to start making Genie+ reservations? How does it work for the park you are going to hop to? Can you start making post-2 pm Genie+ bookings at any time during the morning for the park you plan to go to after 2 pm?

And can you get a Genie+ ride, if available, for an earlier time than an existing reservation? For example, let's say I plan to hop to Epcot in the evening, but I have a reservation for DHS for that day. Can I grab a Soarin' Genie+ for late in the day, but then if I'm at DHS and they have TSM available while I'm there, can I grab it without losing my Soarin' reservation for later?

They really need to rethink this whole thing - I can't believe Disney thinks this is giving people a magical experience.


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## SkyGuy

Westerner said:


> G+ sometimes assigns a later return time than originally displayed particularly during the 7am rush when return times are rapidly getting later.  But the reverse - an earlier ride time than displayed - generally doesn’t happen, I havent read any reports of that, though plenty of the former.


This happened to me repeatedly when I was trying to get a later time for TSM at HS a few days ago. We had an Oga’s for 7:35, and we wanted to do TSM after. Nothing would be available, so I would refresh incessantly, and finally an appropriate time would pop up, like 8:00pm-9:00pm. I’d frantically click on it, hoping it would still be there, and it would give me a return time of 3:00-4:00 (?!). It was honestly making me very mad! I’d cancel and try again. It did it to me four times before I finally got 7:55pm- 8:55pm. In all 4 of my Genie trips, that was the only time the earlier confirmation has happened - but it can and does.


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## scrappinginontario

Westerner said:


> If you are arriving later, you can get later return times by choosing a high-demand ride for your 1st G+ eg JC, SDD, TT. These rides have return times that go into afternoon/evening very quickly, By the time youre eligible to book your 2nd G+ there should be several rides with later return times to choose from.
> 
> It is a myth that you have to stay connected to your phone constantly to stack G+ selections for afternoon/evening.  Suppose park opens at 9am.
> 
> Book your 1st G+ at 7am
> If you want to sleep in a bit then at least book your 1st before 9am
> Set an alarm for 10:55 to book your 2nd by 11am
> Set an alarm for 12:55 and 2:55 to book your  3rd/4th by 1pm/3pm
> After your 3pm booking may not need the phone bc there probably wont be much availability left (MK excepted).  That’s a total of 4 times on your phone.
> Check your confirmed return times after booking, sometimes they can shift from whats originally displayed esp. during the 7am rush


Yes, we used this method too for out Jan/Feb trip and it worked wonderfully.  Quickly setting timers made it easy to put my phone away and enjoy the parks.  I did not feel I was on my phone any more this trip than I was in the past.



SusanDK said:


> 1. We are local so do not stay onsite. Can we do this?  If we are not physically inside the park, are we able to 'stack' from home for arrival later in the day? Assuming, that is, that we have a reservation for the specific park that day.
> 
> 2. Another question - from what I've read, it sounds like people are able to use Genie+ at multiple parks on the same day. So is that one $15 fee per person? Do you have to have a park reservation at your first park to start making Genie+ reservations? How does it work for the park you are going to hop to? Can you start making post-2 pm Genie+ bookings at any time during the morning for the park you plan to go to after 2 pm?
> 
> 3. And can you get a Genie+ ride, if available, for an earlier time than an existing reservation? For example, let's say I plan to hop to Epcot in the evening, but I have a reservation for DHS for that day. Can I grab a Soarin' Genie+ for late in the day, but then if I'm at DHS and they have TSM available while I'm there, can I grab it without losing my Soarin' reservation for later?
> 
> They really need to rethink this whole thing - I can't believe Disney thinks this is giving people a magical experience.



1. Yes
2. Yes, $15/person/day - works in all parks you go to that day
3. Yes, you may book a later LL first for the park you intend to hop to and then an earlier one at the park you are in, when your booking window opens.

I highly recommend you read the first posts on the, '*Everything Genie, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane*' thread as it will explain all of this and more.


----------



## SkyGuy

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, we used this method too for out Jan/Feb trip and it worked wonderfully.  Quickly setting timers made it easy to put my phone away and enjoy the parks.  I did not feel I was on my phone any more this trip than I was in the past.
> 
> 
> 
> 1. Yes
> 2. Yes, $15/person/day - works in all parks you go to that day
> 3. Yes, you may book a later LL first for the park you intend to hop to and then an earlier one at the park you are in, when your booking window opens.
> 
> I highly recommend you read the first posts on the, '*Everything Genie, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane*' thread as it will explain all of this and more.


It doesn’t work so well for HS anymore. It works wonderfully for MK, Epcot, and AK. If you buy the ILL and get a top tier LL for HS at 7, at 11:00, your choices are likely to be AS2, Star Tours, Muppets, Frozen Sing-a-Long, and Beauty and the Beast. If you refresh for a looooong time, you may get TSM to pop up. On Tuesday around noon, I refreshed for 90 minutes to try and get something besides Star Tours, TSM, or AS2.  I finally took Star Tours. Then, due to the fact that I had to refresh so much, my next window was pushed ahead that much more. I had no issues stacking in HS in February; however, HS is a tough beast right now.


----------



## SusanDK

SkyGuy said:


> It doesn’t work so well for HS anymore. It works wonderfully for MK, Epcot, and AK. If you buy the ILL and get a top tier LL for HS at 7, at 11:00, your choices are likely to be AS2, Star Tours, Muppets, Frozen Sing-a-Long, and Beauty and the Beast. If you refresh for a looooong time, you may get TSM to pop up. On Tuesday around noon, I refreshed for 90 minutes to try and get something besides Star Tours, TSM, or AS2.  I finally took Star Tours. Then, due to the fact that I had to refresh so much, my next window was pushed ahead that much more. I had no issues stacking in HS in February; however, HS is a tough beast right now.



If we go to HS, we are looking to ride TSM and MMRR, and not sure if I'd get my husband on MFSR. We're also unlikely to pay for a single LL ride (RotR). He won't do AS2 (due to spinning, even though I told him it wasn't bad) and neither of us will do Star Tours. We've seen Muppets, Frozen Sing-a-Long and Beauty and the Beast more times than I care to mention, just because that's usually what we can get without a long queue whenever we go, so I wouldn't buy Genie+ for those.

So yeah, sounds like HS is not really worth Genie+ for us because there are only two, maybe three, rides we really need it for. Our favorite is TSM so we probably just need to try to time it for a reasonable standby line.

It's disappointing that you're only able to book each ride once with Genie+ because we'd prefer to do our favorites a couple of times, and skip most of the others. Disney should consider letting people have a maximum number of Genie+ experiences (equal to the number of Genie+ rides in the park), but be able to ride more than once.


----------



## Ricguz

Westerner said:


> If you are arriving later, you can get later return times by choosing a high-demand ride for your 1st G+ eg JC, SDD, TT. These rides have return times that go into afternoon/evening very quickly, By the time youre eligible to book your 2nd G+ there should be several rides with later return times to choose from.
> 
> It is a myth that you have to stay connected to your phone constantly to stack G+ selections for afternoon/evening.  Suppose park opens at 9am.
> 
> Book your 1st G+ at 7am
> If you want to sleep in a bit then at least book your 1st before 9am
> Set an alarm for 10:55 to book your 2nd by 11am
> Set an alarm for 12:55 and 2:55 to book your  3rd/4th by 1pm/3pm
> After your 3pm booking may not need the phone bc there probably wont be much availability left (MK excepted).  That’s a total of 4 times on your phone.
> Check your confirmed return times after booking, sometimes they can shift from whats originally displayed esp. during the 7am rush


Thats a great idea   Thanks for thinking of that


----------



## Westerner

SkyGuy said:


> It doesn’t work so well for HS anymore. It works wonderfully for MK, Epcot, and AK. If you buy the ILL and get a top tier LL for HS at 7, at 11:00, your choices are likely to be AS2, Star Tours, Muppets, Frozen Sing-a-Long, and Beauty and the Beast. If you refresh for a looooong time, you may get TSM to pop up. On Tuesday around noon, I refreshed for 90 minutes to try and get something besides Star Tours, TSM, or AS2.  I finally took Star Tours. Then, due to the fact that I had to refresh so much, my next window was pushed ahead that much more. I had no issues stacking in HS in February; however, HS is a tough beast right now.


HS stacking was challenged in Feb, there was a big thread about it, its a good read.  LL availability is better of late, possibly due to earlier hours, or Disney tweaking the system in response to complaints.  HS opens at 830 now.  I see several decent LLs available at 1030/1230 this week on thrilldata.  So I think stacking at HS is still viable.


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## godfather927

SkyGuy said:


> It doesn’t work so well for HS anymore. It works wonderfully for MK, Epcot, and AK. If you buy the ILL and get a top tier LL for HS at 7, at 11:00, your choices are likely to be AS2, Star Tours, Muppets, *Frozen Sing-a-Long, and Beauty and the Beast.* If you refresh for a looooong time, you may get TSM to pop up. On Tuesday around noon, I refreshed for 90 minutes to try and get something besides Star Tours, TSM, or AS2.  I finally took Star Tours. Then, due to the fact that I had to refresh so much, my next window was pushed ahead that much more. I had no issues stacking in HS in February; however, HS is a tough beast right now.


This is probably a dumb question, but what's the advantage of booking a LL for the stage shows? Is it to guarantee a seat in the first couple rows?


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## bambialways4ever

SkyGuy said:


> It doesn’t work so well for HS anymore. It works wonderfully for MK, Epcot, and AK. If you buy the ILL and get a top tier LL for HS at 7, at 11:00, your choices are likely to be AS2, Star Tours, Muppets, Frozen Sing-a-Long, and Beauty and the Beast. If you refresh for a looooong time, you may get TSM to pop up. On Tuesday around noon, I refreshed for 90 minutes to try and get something besides Star Tours, TSM, or AS2.  I finally took Star Tours. Then, due to the fact that I had to refresh so much, my next window was pushed ahead that much more. I had no issues stacking in HS in February; however, HS is a tough beast right now.


It's 11 am right now and MFSR, MMRR, RnRC, TsM all have LL times when I looked a couple minutes ago.


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## Westerner

SusanDK said:


> So yeah, sounds like HS is not really worth Genie+ for us because there are only two, maybe three, rides we really need it for. Our favorite is TSM so we probably just need to try to time it for a reasonable standby line.


One point worth considering is that even though you may not get that many G+ bookings at HS, they may save you a significant amount of time, 114 minutes on average on a high crowd day according to this TP article.  It analyzes how much time G+ saves you on average at the various parks for different crowd levels.  Whether the time saved is worth the $ is up to each individual.


----------



## HydroGuy

Westerner said:


> HS stacking was challenged in Feb, there was a big thread about it, its a good read.  LL availability is better of late, possibly due to earlier hours, or Disney tweaking the system in response to complaints.  HS opens at 830 now.  I see several decent LLs available at 1030/1230 this week on thrilldata.  So I think stacking at HS is still viable.


Disney just updated hours for week of March 27 and they did not (yet) bump DHS to 8:30AM opening. So for now it is 9AM that week.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/when-do-park-hours-come-out.3873773


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## jbish

SusanDK said:


> Our favorite is TSM so we probably just need to try to time it for a reasonable standby line.


I think you would have great success with TSM at Rope Drop or later in the evening.  Here are the wait times per Thrill Data for TSM - green is less time, red is more time.  It's a little blurry but you can see that the wait times in the first hour are very manageable as most people are heading to SDD, ROTR, MFSR, or maybe the Sunset Blvd. rides.


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## GBRforWDW

godfather927 said:


> This is probably a dumb question, but what's the advantage of booking a LL for the stage shows? Is it to guarantee a seat in the first couple rows?


Mainly just to guarantee a seat without standing in a long line not knowing if you'll get in.   We used it for BatB and Frozen in December.  Probably unnecessary, but we wanted to do the shows and not stand in line, so win win.  

You do get first pick of seats in BatB if you're there early, but you sit around and wait longer.  Frozen has a big room where you line up before the theater opens, and people mix around, but if you stand by the doors, you're likely to be told by cast members to move all the way down the rows so people aren't climbing over you, etc, because the rows are 1 long row.  BatB has 3 or 4 seating sections, so you can sit in the middle easier


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## DisneyFive

godfather927 said:


> This is probably a dumb question, but what's the advantage of booking a LL for the stage shows? Is it to guarantee a seat in the first couple rows?


LL for shows have very little value in my opinion

Dan


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## knarly

We just got back from our March 5-10 trip and really had a great time. There were a few challenges, but we rode pretty much everything we wanted to (sometimes multiple times) and had good luck with Genie+. I think it helped that we were staying in the MK area and had park hoppers, so we could line up a few popular rides in the morning at whichever park, then take a resort break and stack some MK rides for the afternoon/evening. We only waited standby for a handful of rides the whole trip. Cast members were uniformly friendly.

I admit to being irked that we wound up paying extra for Genie+ and a couple of ILLs on top of the already-pricey park tickets, but at least the system worked pretty well for us. We booked our top priorities at 7 and then had a loose list of what we'd else we'd like to ride so we could take advantage of whatever was open during our next booking window, which often included decent attractions like the MK mountain rides. I mostly just checked my phone when I knew we had another booking window available. Didn't do a ton of refreshing, although I hear some people have good luck getting a more precise time frame that way.

As others have said, Hollywood Studios was the most challenging. Our 7-year-old isn't very interested in shows, so there wasn't much to do between (limited) ride reservations. And you really had to choose your priorities; we prioritized Rise of the Resistance and MFSR (and got great windows for those at 7), so that meant missing out on Slinky Dog Dash since all those windows get snapped up immediately. And the park was hot! Snack breaks were key here.

Animal Kingdom was a nice surprise; we'd never been but decided to switch out an MK reservation one day to check it out. It was definitely a more relaxed vibe, nice for late in our trip. Our son loved seeing all the various animal habitats scattered around. And the Kilimanjaro Safari was a highlight for sure. So many cool animals! We spotted a last-minute lunch reservation at Yak and Yeti and snapped that up too.

Anyway, everyone's complaints are definitely valid, and Genie+ has some irritating quirks, but we still had a wonderful time. And my son got to ride Space Mountain three times, so he was happy, haha.


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## scrappinginontario

godfather927 said:


> This is probably a dumb question, but what's the advantage of booking a LL for the stage shows? Is it to guarantee a seat in the first couple rows?


Personally, we haven’t seen the value of using LL for a show as you still need to arrive early snd there it doesn’t mean better seating.


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## SkyGuy

bambialways4ever said:


> It's 11 am right now and MFSR, MMRR, RnRC, TsM all have LL times when I looked a couple minutes ago.


I was just there, and compared to my early February trip it was like pulling teeth. The day we arrived in Feb, I started stacking on the plane, and had 5 rides in hand before we entered the parks at 2pm - Rise, MMRR, Tower, MF:SR, Slinky, TSM (first two were ILL), and I was able to get RnR and Star Tours and we were done by 5pm. This time at 2:00 I’d have to refresh for a very long time. When things popped up, it likely wasn’t there when I clicked. I wasn’t stopping to add anyone else either. I was clicking straight through and figured I’d add my son later. It was a real chore for sure. Just because you see availability doesn’t mean it’s there. I had no issues at the other parks. If the ride popped up, it was available.


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## jbish

SkyGuy said:


> When things popped up, it likely wasn’t there when I clicked. I wasn’t stopping to add anyone else either. I was clicking straight through and figured I’d add my son later. It was a real chore for sure. Just because you see availability doesn’t mean it’s there. I had no issues at the other parks. If the ride popped up, it was available.


You actually brought something to my attention I hadn't thought of yet - I'll be getting LLs for my family of 5.  But the system doesn't know that when I'm refreshing for availability yet.  Is that why sometimes those times disappear?  We have no way of knowing if a random time shows up to be booked maybe is just for one person or 10.  For you, maybe it's okay that you try to add just one more person to your reserved LL, but I don't think that would be an option for me with my family.  I haven't done this in practice just yet so it hadn't even occurred to me that the systems doesn't know how many you're booking for until you actually click on the time.


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## Jennasis

Westerner said:


> G+ sometimes assigns a later return time than originally displayed particularly during the 7am rush when return times are rapidly getting later.  But the reverse - an earlier ride time than displayed - generally doesn’t happen, I havent read any reports of that, though plenty of the former.



It happened to us!


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## Neverbeast

x93nelson13 said:


> The deluxe Epcot hours from 9-11 were pretty good. The park was empty and we rode everything we wanted.



Do you happen to remember what all you did or in what order? The rides are so far apart at Epcot I’m trying to wrap my mind around what’s possible or a good way to hit rides without making my family run between everything.
I thought we’d probably try to do Soarin’ and Remy during the day, and at the start of EE do frozen, then head up to future world stuff like test track and spaceship earth. Did that seem doable to you on your busy night?


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## Neverbeast

jbish said:


> You actually brought something to my attention I hadn't thought of yet - I'll be getting LLs for my family of 5.  But the system doesn't know that when I'm refreshing for availability yet.  Is that why sometimes those times disappear?  We have no way of knowing if a random time shows up to be booked maybe is just for one person or 10.  For you, maybe it's okay that you try to add just one more person to your reserved LL, but I don't think that would be an option for me with my family.  I haven't done this in practice just yet so it hadn't even occurred to me that the systems doesn't know how many you're booking for until you actually click on the time.


I’ll be booking for a group of 11  feeling really nervous about whether this will work at all for us. We don’t need every ride together but obviously I had hoped to do some things like the safari, JC, MMRR, and frozen/Remy together. I wish more large parties were sharing their experiences with G+


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## MainMom

Neverbeast said:


> I’ll be booking for a group of 11  feeling really nervous about whether this will work at all for us. We don’t need every ride together but obviously I had hoped to do some things like the safari, JC, MMRR, and frozen/Remy together. I wish more large parties were sharing their experiences with G+


When are you going? We are traveling on May 31 & will have 7 in our party.


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## Neverbeast

MainMom said:


> When are you going? We are traveling on May 31 & will have 7 in our party.


Not until September. So lots of time for everything to change anyway.  but you know, I would like to set expectations early. Please please do a big write up of how it goes for you!


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## Rubymom46

I have mostly been a watcher on this board over the last few months but wanted to post and thank those that give so many great tips on this site. We recently returned from a March 4-8 trip and had an amazing trip. I was very worried going in after seeing so much negativity all over the internet about WDW. But using many of the tips from here, we did great.

Genie + worked great for us. We went to Disneyland in 2019 and used MaxPass there so I think that helped me understand Genie better. We were able to ride everything we wanted even with the high crowds. Like many have said on here, stacking for the evening works well. MK is the best, HS worked pretty well too. Not necessary for Epcot and AK but saved us line wait time so was still worth it.

Rise of the Resistance: Don’t give up if you don’t get a ILL in the first 7am drop. The last day we were there both my daughter and my phone froze and they were gone when we got our phones working. Tried again at 7:15 on the sky liner on our way to HS. Got a 9:40 time and was able to help another family get one as well. I think most people give up and assume they are all gone for the day so keep trying in that first half hour. This was on a sold out day as well.

Get there early and use the EMH if you are onsite. Every morning we would make our Genie selections at 7 and then head to the parks immediately.  Worked well for us with timing for 8:30 opening.  We were able to ride so much in the first two hours and then stack Genie for later in the day. We rope dropped Remy and were on and off before EMH even started. The skyliner is awesome. My goal is to stay at all the WDW resorts but will be hard to go back to bus only location.

For us, the trip was what we made it. I totally understand the frustration of getting less and paying more. Will probably mean shorter and fewer trips for us but WDW is still a great vacation if you go in with a combo of being prepared and flexible.


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## lynzi2004

Neverbeast said:


> Do you happen to remember what all you did or in what order? The rides are so far apart at Epcot I’m trying to wrap my mind around what’s possible or a good way to hit rides without making my family run between everything.
> I thought we’d probably try to do Soarin’ and Remy during the day, and at the start of EE do frozen, then head up to future world stuff like test track and spaceship earth. Did that seem doable to you on your busy night?


 I’ve done 2 of the nighttime hours (once during Christmas week and once last week) during BOTH times Test Track was down during the event due to rain. If test track is a priority at all I would do a lightening lane or single rider during the day and count it bonus if it’s not raining that evening.
Soarin, Nemo, Spaceship earth are ALL walkon during the entire event. The only exit during the evening was on the Nemo side of Spaceship earth, they wouldn’t let us leave on the test track side and made us walk all the way around in the pouring rain so keep that in mind! I don’t know if it was a one time thing or if that is how it is every night.
Frozen has also been complete walkon at both events I attended…even though the app was showing a 35+ minute wait. They won’t let you walk from Frozen to Remy through the China area after hours so keep that in mind…I was disappointed as I was wanting some no crowd pics. You have to go back to the entrance of WS and through Canada. Remy is the only ride I’ve seen with much of a wait…Christmas week is was 15-20 min after about 9:30, I don’t know about this time as we didn’t walk back there. There is no good way to do the late hours and hit everything, so I would just prioritize your favorites and do the other couple during the day!


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## lynzi2004

Rubymom46 said:


> I have mostly been a watcher on this board over the last few months but wanted to post and thank those that give so many great tips on this site. We recently returned from a March 4-8 trip and had an amazing trip. I was very worried going in after seeing so much negativity all over the internet about WDW. But using many of the tips from here, we did great.
> 
> Genie + worked great for us. We went to Disneyland in 2019 and used MaxPass there so I think that helped me understand Genie better. We were able to ride everything we wanted even with the high crowds. Like many have said on here, stacking for the evening works well. MK is the best, HS worked pretty well too. Not necessary for Epcot and AK but saved us line wait time so was still worth it.
> 
> Rise of the Resistance: Don’t give up if you don’t get a ILL in the first 7am drop. The last day we were there both my daughter and my phone froze and they were gone when we got our phones working. Tried again at 7:15 on the sky liner on our way to HS. Got a 9:40 time and was able to help another family get one as well. I think most people give up and assume they are all gone for the day so keep trying in that first half hour. This was on a sold out day as well.
> 
> Get there early and use the EMH if you are onsite. Every morning we would make our Genie selections at 7 and then head to the parks immediately.  Worked well for us with timing for 8:30 opening.  We were able to ride so much in the first two hours and then stack Genie for later in the day. We rope dropped Remy and were on and off before EMH even started. The skyliner is awesome. My goal is to stay at all the WDW resorts but will be hard to go back to bus only location.
> 
> For us, the trip was what we made it. I totally understand the frustration of getting less and paying more. Will probably mean shorter and fewer trips for us but WDW is still a great vacation if you go in with a combo of being prepared and flexible.



We were there March 5-8 and I agree with your statements! I think we really hit the sweet spot on crowds where the Genie+ was really helpful. Too crowded…genie runs out, too slow…genie isn’t needed. We were able to basically book next available throughout our MK day or finally about 2pm start stacking for the evening. We easily got Pan and 7DMT for morning hours. Remy was the only one we had a bit of trouble on and it just glitched at the right time. We were even able to do HS for evening on arrival day and got great LL times for the evening throughout our travel day…there was basically availability all day. Several times the 2nd or 3rd drops of rides got us RotR, Test track (booked at 1:30 even though it had previously been sold out), Splash, Jungle Cruise, etc. I’m still not a Genie+ fan but if Disney could figure out how to make it work in all crowds like it did during our 6-7 crowd level days…they would have far fewer complaints!!!

We never had to wait for Skyliner, monorail, bus, or boat it was all on point this trip. For instance, after our HS night we walked out at 9:15 and was on the skyliner by 9:20. We got to POP bus stop at 7:20 and was on a bus by 7:30…although we were standing, but still better than the lines I’ve seen there before. We rope dropped Space that day and were on one of the first rides of the day. We then moved to GF and had great monorail and boat service. I would give anything if they would go back to 2 fireworks shows. Those crowds are ridiculously intense! But overall a near perfect trip!


----------



## SLThomas318

jbish said:


> You actually brought something to my attention I hadn't thought of yet - I'll be getting LLs for my family of 5.  But the system doesn't know that when I'm refreshing for availability yet.  Is that why sometimes those times disappear?  We have no way of knowing if a random time shows up to be booked maybe is just for one person or 10.  For you, maybe it's okay that you try to add just one more person to your reserved LL, but I don't think that would be an option for me with my family.  I haven't done this in practice just yet so it hadn't even occurred to me that the systems doesn't know how many you're booking for until you actually click on the time.



We were a party of 6 back after Thanksgiving and I ASSUMED that was part of the issue... since you don't select party size 'till after you click on a time.  I figured that is why it would keep giving us a later return time.  I was able to eventually get the time I kept seeing by refreshing/closing the app/going back in... this was for It's a small world though so I don't think it would help with anything popular.  We have a party of 11 the end of the year and I'm hoping things have improved/changed by then.  Small groups are going to have better luck for sure.  That's why I'd also caution checking too much from home, since there is no guarantee you will be able to select the times that you see pop-up.


----------



## MainMom

Neverbeast said:


> Not until September. So lots of time for everything to change anyway.  but you know, I would like to set expectations early. Please please do a big write up of how it goes for you!


I definitely will & probably some daily brief posts during down time.


----------



## LisaRay

Just Back!! trip dates were March 2nd-10th
Just DH and I for the 1st three days then adult kids joined for the last 5 days. 
I was very nervous this trip was going to be a mistake! It was our 1st time traveling anywhere since covid hit! but reading about the crowds, lines, loss of magic, and of course Genie and LL's! ugh I was concerned! 

BUT I'm pleased to say that the only things that went wrong were RAIN and a couple scooter issues! And we did feel the same Disney magic we have before.
 Annoyed by the nickel and diming as well as the rules where they aren't doing certain things because of "covid" but yet they can shove that many people on a bus and it's not a covid issue. LOL. Felt like they were using covid as an excuse when it suited them BUT the trip was GREAT! 

CMs: were all wonderful. so pleasant and magical and no difference from the past the one and only one we encountered that was a bit snippy with us. But one out of hundreds isn't bad! We were also pleasant to them. 

LL's and ILL ugh HATED the 7am thing because with an 8 day trip we'd like to sleep in a few days!! Also just like many others I hate that you need to pay extra for it!  but having not been there for 3 years (normally go once a year) and having grandbabies being born before long not sure when we will be back, so we wanted the most out of the trip! I bought it for every day! I did this because even though I'd heard it's not needed for AK and Epcot we were planning on park hopping on those days and so we used it in both parks on those days. 

We got Rise on three different days. the reason we did it so many times is because on day one I made my husband ride it to determine if I could handle it. Then on another day we both rode it and then later in the trip we rode it with the kids. BUT every time we got it, we never managed to get it at 7:00. This was such a stressful way to begin your day and then NOT get it and feel like your day may have been ruined. but we refreshed for 20 min off and on and got it on all 3 days by 7:20 ish. The same thing happened with our Remy day as well. We also did it those two days before the kids arrived to practice using and become more familiar with it and I'm glad we did! 

The Saturday the kids were flying down was the most stressful for me trying to make it a great day for others LOL and knowing we weren't going to be rope dropping. we headed to HS at 10am with them (very early flight) 
I had booked: 
Rise 5:00-6:00  (booked at 7:00-7:20
Tower 12:00-1:00   (booked at 7:20 after i'd finished with Rise) 
(they didn't care about riding slinky preferred Tower)
TSM 12:15-1:15 (booked at 11) it was soon so we could book another as soon as tapped in
MMRR  6:00-7:00 (booked after TSM 
those are the only ones I booked today because they had been up for a flight at 3am! 

but the day went like this: 
Enter park at 10 
Star Tours 15 min wait standby
MFSR walk on single rider
lunch 
TSM LL 
Tower LL 
RnR single rider  (waited about 40 min) 
Frozen show 
indy show arriving just in time for last few rows of seats at 3:30ish 
Rise LL
baseline taphouse for drinks and pretzel 
MMRR LL at 6pm and headed out for early night due to them being up so early 

We did 7 rides in a park that has 9 (skipped slinky and aliens) and didn't rope drop so I was pleased with how the day turned out..

I have other days to post later too. 
sorry this was soooo long!


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## wiggy500

SLThomas318 said:


> Small groups are going to have better luck for sure.



I've heard this a few times and I'm wondering if it is true that small groups do better than large groups using Genie+.  Can anyone explain from their experience why they know this to be true?  I know this was the case with Fastpass+.  I would think group size would not matter with Genie+.  But maybe I am wrong.


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## LisaRay

Ok, here are the 3 days my DH and I were there before the adult kids showed up. 

Wed March 2nd 
our travel day at airport hotel we booked Rise it was our 1st day using it and phones froze and we got so close several times but finally got Rise at 7:20-7:30am 
we flew in checked into Pop got scooter and took Skyliner over to the Boardwalk for lunch then arrived to HS at 4pm. 
Tower 4:00-5:00  booked at 7am
MMRR 5:00-6:00   booked at 11am while on the plane
Rise  5:30-6:30  booked at 7-7:30am 
TSM 8:00-9:00pm booked at 3pm 
when it came time for our MMRR and Rise they were both down! BOTH AT SAME TIME. ugh. we waited around maybe an hour and they both came back up so rode them both but then decided to skip TSM because we were tired due to travel day,.  


Thursday March 3rd 
Plan was Epcot in morning/early afternoon and MK evening. that didn't happen. 
Tried for Remy gone just as fast as Rise was the day before! I refreshed over and over for an hour and finally got Remy! but it was for 8-9pm so there went our MK evening plan. 
So Epcot! mid morning arrival really just here to festival booths back for rides this evening. but I have to say they need to open the booths before 11am there were SO many people lingering all over WS looking for something to do and waiting for booths to open! 
We did booths from 11-1 then had a Test track LL which we booked at 7-8am while trying for Remy. 
had pool break at hotel and then dinner at Ohanas. 
Back into Epcot at 7ish for a Soarin LL I got earlier then to Remy at 8 but it went down so we were delayed in getting on it. ended up getting off the ride at 8:55 and my DH hates the fireworks crowds so we went to the skyliner and got on with no line right when the fireworks started and watched them from up high! LOL 


Friday march 4th DH's bday
7am made Tower LL for later today and again much refreshing for Rise at 7am also!! 

Rope dropped MK using NO lightening lanes as kind of a test for later in the trip with the kids. 
we rope dropped Buzz LOL (the kids will rope drop Space so we were kind of running through the "plan") then over to Frontierland rope drop at 8:45 for Big Thunder and WOW this rope drop was funny to us we've never seen so many people care to ride BTMR and Splash! LOL we normally go in Nov and people don't seem to want to ride Splash as much when its cooler. anyway even rope dropping there was a 20 min wait to get on BTMR and then Splash said 45 but we timed it and it was 30. but by then we were hot and sweating already we aren't used to this heat. 
Over to pirates said 35 was 25. 
we mobile ordered from Pecos while in line for Pirates which was nice and also meant we didn't have to go far. 
Also in line at 11 we got a LL for MFSR for 7-8 
then standby for Magic Carpets mostly for sentimental reasons it said 35 but was 20. 
then to main street for an ice cream sundae to share. 
Then shopped down main street and to bus around 1:00 ish where I got TSM 8-9 for tonight. 
Dinner was at Sebastians Bistro and then skyliner to HS entered at 6pm 
DH to Tower while I did 6:30 Frozen show cause I love it. 
He met at exit and over to MFSR for 7-8 LL 
Then straight to Rise as it was also for 7-8 
and then to TSM for the 8-9 LL


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## Westerner

wiggy500 said:


> I've heard this a few times and I'm wondering if it is true that small groups do better than large groups using Genie+.  Can anyone explain from their experience why they know this to be true?  I know this was the case with Fastpass+.  I would think group size would not matter with Genie+.  But maybe I am wrong.


It would make sense that it’s easier to catch rapidly shifting LL availability for a small group than a larger one.


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## wiggy500

Westerner said:


> It would make sense that it’s easier to catch rapidly shifting LL availability for a small group than a larger one.



To me it doesn't.  But it depends on how the system works.


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## holden

We got here Monday. We were supposed to fly home today but our flight was canceled, and we are now going home Monday.

Crowds weren’t too bad until today. It’s now a madhouse. Genie + is really a must do, especially if you don’t want to rope drop. We also paid for ILL for ROTR (two times), FOP, and MMRR.

Today we didn’t do Genei+ because we spent most of the day scrambling to make hotel reservations and new flights home. We hit DHS tomorrow and will get Genie+ again. I feel bad for those who don’t get it. Rides that used to be a walk on really aren’t anymore. There a few (like Muppets and COP) but not many at all.


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## Kazi7

Neverbeast said:


> Do you happen to remember what all you did or in what order? The rides are so far apart at Epcot I’m trying to wrap my mind around what’s possible or a good way to hit rides without making my family run between everything.
> I thought we’d probably try to do Soarin’ and Remy during the day, and at the start of EE do frozen, then head up to future world stuff like test track and spaceship earth. Did that seem doable to you on your busy night?


Last time we did extra evening hours at Epcot, we watched Harmonious from Japan and then walked leisurely around world showcase counterclockwise with the intent to ride Frozen.  The line seemed really long with a posted 45 min wait.  That was before Remy was added to what you can do, but still, I think that many people may do Frozen or Remy first since they are in the vicinity after watching Harmonious.  We walked past and rode TT which wasn't a walk on but not too bad, maybe 15-20 min wait.  Then Soarin which was a near walk on by then.  Could have ridden Soarin again but we didn't want to walk all the way back around!  Living with the Land wasn't open which was disappointing.  I have seen a report that Deluxe guests can access the LL to bypass any "regular" guests that are still in line, but not sure that is definitely a thing.  

I think my strategy next time is going to be to walk to the front and do Spaceship Earth first, then Soarin and TT and work back to Frozen and Remy.  We will be exiting the IG since we're staying at BWV.  The 2 hours does go fast since it's so big and walking around all the construction walls takes longer.


----------



## Neverbeast

Kazi7 said:


> The 2 hours does go fast since it's so big and walking around all the construction walls takes longer.



that’s pretty much what I imagined, so thanks for confirming.

I was thinking we won’t do G+ that day but maybe I will ILL Remy and GoTG by then, and then after fireworks we could do frozen and hope the actual time is shorter than posted, then hit just a few others like SE and Soarin on our way out of the front.

We have to leave on busses or monorail so I doubt my party will agree to walking to the front for rides, back to showcase, back to front all in two hours


----------



## Kazi7

Neverbeast said:


> We have to leave on busses or monorail so I doubt my party will agree to walking to the front for rides, back to showcase, back to front all in two hours



Yeah that's not ideal.  And if you watch Harmonious, that knocks 20 min off the 2 hours.  We didn't get around to Frozen until probably 10:35.  I wonder if you try to sneak in line a few min before the end of Harmonious if it would be a little better.


----------



## disneyfan150

holden said:


> We got here Monday. We were supposed to fly home today but our flight was canceled, and we are now going home Monday.
> 
> Crowds weren’t too bad until today. It’s now a madhouse. Genie + is really a must do, especially if you don’t want to rope drop. We also paid for ILL for ROTR (two times), FOP, and MMRR.
> 
> Today we didn’t do Genei+ because we spent most of the day scrambling to make hotel reservations and new flights home. We hit DHS tomorrow and will get Genie+ again. I feel bad for those who don’t get it. Rides that used to be a walk on really aren’t anymore. There a few (like Muppets and COP) but not many at all.


Thank you for sharing. Do you mind me asking which airline? I am thinking of booking a backup hotel reservation in case this happens to us.


----------



## AussieFan8

Kazi7 said:


> I think my strategy next time is going to be to walk to the front and do Spaceship Earth first, then Soarin and TT and work back to Frozen and Remy.  We will be exiting the IG since we're staying at BWV.  The 2 hours does go fast since it's so big and walking around all the construction walls takes longer.


This is what we did the week of Thanksgiving and it worked great! Remy was not available during evening hours at that time, though.


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## Neverbeast

Kazi7 said:


> And if you watch Harmonious, that knocks 20 min off the 2 hours.


That’s a bummer. My family loves fireworks and we’re bringing first timers so they’re not going to want to skip this. Is there a good place to watch it closest to frozen to make a quick path into line after?


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## Boopuff

Kazi7 said:


> I have seen a report that Deluxe guests can access the LL to bypass any "regular" guests that are still in line, but not sure that is definitely a thing.


Do you think this is a real thing?  I would think that regular guests would be standing in line forever!  Although It would be great!  So much for those vloggers who suggest regular guests jump in line right at 9 (or whenever the EMH starts)


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## Meglen

Boopuff said:


> Do you think this is a real thing?  I would think that regular guests would be standing in line forever!  Although It would be great!  So much for those vloggers who suggest regular guests jump in line right at 9 (or whenever the EMH starts)


When I complained about our last trip wasting 30 min of eeh in line at haunted mansion people asked if we tapped in to use the LL line. I said no I didn't know that was a thing. But the time we got off the ride the rest of the rides were clear of day guests. But 7dwarves was super long line all night. Idk if an hour and half was just day guests or what. So I have no clue if it's a thing or not.

Seems like a bad deal if you have to wait with day guests almost to the end of eeh.


----------



## Kazi7

Boopuff said:


> Do you think this is a real thing?  I would think that regular guests would be standing in line forever!  Although It would be great!  So much for those vloggers who suggest regular guests jump in line right at 9 (or whenever the EMH starts)



I wish I could remember where I saw this.  Somewhere on Disboards!  I believe it was in regards to Remy. But I haven't seen it discussed otherwise, so maybe it's not a thing.  Seems like we would have heard more about it.


----------



## Gentry2004

holden said:


> We got here Monday. We were supposed to fly home today but our flight was canceled, and we are now going home Monday.
> 
> Crowds weren’t too bad until today. It’s now a madhouse. Genie + is really a must do, especially if you don’t want to rope drop. We also paid for ILL for ROTR (two times), FOP, and MMRR.
> 
> Today we didn’t do Genei+ because we spent most of the day scrambling to make hotel reservations and new flights home. We hit DHS tomorrow and will get Genie+ again. I feel bad for those who don’t get it. Rides that used to be a walk on really aren’t anymore. There a few (like Muppets and COP) but not many at all.



How many rides were you able to use G+ on at DHS, before all the good stuff was gone? I've seen some reports that after 11am there aren't really any good optiosn left, meaning you got 2 G+ rides.


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## Mango7100

Gentry2004 said:


> How many rides were you able to use G+ on at DHS, before all the good stuff was gone? I've seen some reports that after 11am there aren't really any good optiosn left, meaning you got 2 G+ rides.


We actually had very good success stacking Genie for HS yesterday 3/12. We drove from TN and arrived at HS at 545 pm. We did the following LL…

MMRR (540-640)…booked at 1115 am, had to keep waiting for a time late enough since we were driving so could not book when our window opened at 1030. Posted wait 70, waited 10
Slinky (610-710)…booked about 30 seconds after 7 am. Posted wait 80, waited 5
TSMM (630-730)…booked as our 3rd LL at 130. Posted 35…waited about 10
Saucers (710-810)…booked at 4 (again had to wait a bit to get a later time, was eligible at 330), posted 30 and waited about 5
MFSR (820-900)…found this one at 730 by refreshing for about 10 min while waiting for Woodys Linchbox mobile order.
Did MMRR standby at 855 with an actual 10 min wait (posted 25).

So 5 Genie rides and a standby in 3 1/2 hrs was pretty good for me.


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## holden

disneyfan150 said:


> Thank you for sharing. Do you mind me asking which airline? I am thinking of booking a backup hotel reservation in case this happens to us.





Gentry2004 said:


> How many rides were you able to use G+ on at DHS, before all the good stuff was gone? I've seen some reports that after 11am there aren't really any good optiosn left, meaning you got 2 G+ rides.



American  Airlines

in DHS we did:

ROTR
MMRR
TOT
RNR
TSMM
MFSM
ST
Indiana Jones Show
All but Indy were with Genie+
We had lunch at HBD midday. 

We got there around 7:50. We left the park at 3.


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## UrsulaTime

Mango7100 said:


> We actually had very good success stacking Genie for HS yesterday 3/12. We drove from TN and arrived at HS at 545 pm. We did the following LL…
> 
> MMRR (540-640)…booked at 1115 am, had to keep waiting for a time late enough since we were driving so could not book when our window opened at 1030. Posted wait 70, waited 10
> Slinky (610-710)…booked about 30 seconds after 7 am. Posted wait 80, waited 5
> TSMM (630-730)…booked as our 3rd LL at 130. Posted 35…waited about 10
> Saucers (710-810)…booked at 4 (again had to wait a bit to get a later time, was eligible at 330), posted 30 and waited about 5
> MFSR (820-900)…found this one at 730 by refreshing for about 10 min while waiting for Woodys Linchbox mobile order.
> Did MMRR standby at 855 with an actual 10 min wait (posted 25).
> 
> So 5 Genie rides and a standby in 3 1/2 hrs was pretty good for me.



SO helpful. Thank you so much for posting both times (booking and boarding).
And, YEAH, that sounds like a pretty awesome 3 1/2 hours!


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## UrsulaTime

jbish said:


> You actually brought something to my attention I hadn't thought of yet - I'll be getting LLs for my family of 5.  But the system doesn't know that when I'm refreshing for availability yet.  Is that why sometimes those times disappear?  We have no way of knowing if a random time shows up to be booked maybe is just for one person or 10.  For you, maybe it's okay that you try to add just one more person to your reserved LL, but I don't think that would be an option for me with my family.  I haven't done this in practice just yet so it hadn't even occurred to me that the systems doesn't know how many you're booking for until you actually click on the time.



Waaaiiittt a second. ILL$ doesn't require party size information before showing times? 
Because yeah, like you said, I would think that'd have an effect on the changing times. 

I'm not an expert software developer so I'm sure there's a reason it's designed like that...but...


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## Westerner

You don't even need a reservation to display times on Tip Board.  So it stands to reason that party size only comes into play when you try to book.  And it's logical that it'll be harder to find LL availability for a party of 10 for the same return time than a party of 2-3 especially if new availability is being added in smaller chunks after the initial 7AM crush.


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## Neverbeast

Westerner said:


> You don't even need a reservation to display times on Tip Board.  So it stands to reason that party size only comes into play when you try to book.  And it's logical that it'll be harder to find LL availability for a party of 10 for the same return time than a party of 2-3 especially if new availability is being added in smaller chunks after the initial 7AM crush.



*weeps in party of 11*


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## pens4821

We are here this week and today was our first day in the parks. We had a good day, albeit very long. Left after 7 got back before 10. We bought genie but stacked for the evening.

Walked from yacht club to HS. The boat was just leaving the dock towards HS, and we still beat it at a very leisurely pace. We left the room a little after 7 and were walking into the park about 745. Went to tot where there were maybe 50ish people in front of us. They led us over maybe about 5-10 till but didn’t start the ride until 8. We got off there and went to rnrc and rode twice. Walked through the preshow both times. Second time maybe waited 5 minutes.

From there we decided to wait for mmrr. Posted 30 at 845 actual 35. We stopped for a drink and noticed that sdd was posted 70 at 940 and tsmm was 55 so just went to sdd. Actual wait was 65. We went to star tours and got in line at 11 posted 45 waited 30. Went to mama melrose for lunch.

Left and went to MK. We booked LL every two hours and had btm 2 (was down so we used it after POC), hm 225, poc 530, splash 630, buzz 745. At 7 when we could book another but there really want anything left. I saw a couple things but nothing of interest to us (dumbo,Aladdin,mad tea). I refreshed a couple times while eating at cosmic rays didn’t come across anything.

We also did hall of presidents when we first got there about 2, iasm at 330 (posted 35 actual 30), speedway after dinner (took about 10 minutes about 730) and 7d after our buzz LL. At 825 it was posted 75 but only took 30. We beat the fireworks crowd out of the park.

We are really pleased with our day. We got a lot done, more than I thought with the parks being sold out. We were busy through and tired. Maybe losing the hour of sleep helped us since the waits weren’t horrible until about 10. Having LL stacked for the night worked great. I probably won’t get it the next couple days as we are going epcot deluxe hours tomorrow and MK on Wednesday.


----------



## HeartTink

pens4821 said:


> We are really pleased with our day. We got a lot done, more than I thought with the parks being sold out. We were busy through and tired. Maybe losing the hour of sleep helped us since the waits weren’t horrible until about 10. Having LL stacked for the night worked great. I probably won’t get it the next couple days as we are going epcot deluxe hours tomorrow and MK on Wednesday.



I am happy to hear that you got a lot done, even with the parks being sold out.  We are going in a couple of weeks and there are sold out dates on our schedule as well.  I am really interested in hearing how the extra evening deluxe hotel hours go for you.  I am really hoping that we can use those to knock out a lot of rides.  Have a great time!


----------



## jbish

pens4821 said:


> I probably won’t get it the next couple days as we are going epcot deluxe hours tomorrow and MK on Wednesday.


Would you mind doing a little "on the ground" research during the evening deluxe hours?  Curious if this is a thing:


Kazi7 said:


> I have seen a report that Deluxe guests can access the LL to bypass any "regular" guests that are still in line, but not sure that is definitely a thing.


Maybe not as needed tonight at Epcot, though it is a sold out day so I imagine it will be crazy busy all week.  Definitely would be curious if this works at MK on Wednesday!


----------



## leeniewdw

lynzi2004 said:


> We never had to wait for Skyliner, monorail, bus, or boat it was all on point this trip. For instance, after our HS night we walked out at 9:15 and was on the skyliner by 9:20.



This was our experience on 3/4 and 3/5 with Pop/Skyliner.  We left Epcot about 5 minutes after the fireworks started and the people in our skyliner thing said they'd waited too long a different night and waited 90 minutes to get on!  The next night we were on ToT at 9pm (we actually saw some little fireworks go off when the doors of the elevator opened at the top -- so cool) and were concerned we would get stuck waiting for the skyliner at DHS or the CBR transfer, but it was also fine.   Again, we rode with people coming from EP to POP and they also said they'd waited too long one night and stood in line for 90 minutes.  So just word of warning!


----------



## Little E

Hi All!

I did a spring break trip with my college kiddo (DS20) and his buddy.  We stayed in two rooms at Pop from 3/6-3/11, and we had a wonderful time.  Here are some things we experienced:

1.  A little frustration with Genie+.  It was our first time using this, and while I wound up buying it every day, we definitely didn't get our money's worth from it.  It saved us some waiting in line, especially in conjunction with rope dropping, but we were not able to get a ton of stacked LL passes in the afternoons/evenings like lots of other folks on the Disboards report.  Some things weren't available, and when they were, lots of times they clashed with our dining reservations, so we couldn't use them.  I wished we had been able to request specific times for LL passes...perhaps that would have made stacking more possible for us?  Also, it seemed really random to us as to when we could sign up for another pass. Some mornings when I logged on at 7 am, we were eligible for another LL pass around 9 am, and some days we weren't eligible for another LL pass until 11 am?  I'm not sure what I was doing wrong to get such different times for re-upping on LL passes?  Could anyone set me straight on this?  I'm going on DS17's spring break at the end of the month, and I'd love to be able to use Genie+ more efficiently.

2.  We were lucky enough to get an 11:30 am ressie at Space 220.  WOW!  Just wow!  Daniel was our server, and he was fantastic.  The whole experience from the "ride" into space to the food was phenomenal!  Definitely our favorite dining experience.

3.  Mousekeeping at Pop was hit and miss. When we checked in, I specifically asked which days we would receive mousekeeping services, so I would know when they were coming, when to tip, etc.  The first time they were supposed to come, they didn't.  I had to call in the evening to have them come and at least take our trash and towels.  The second time they were supposed to come during our trip, again, they didn't.  I had to call again to ask them to come; the housekeeper arrived quickly and she was lovely, so everything worked out, but it was a bit of a bummer to have to call and "request" services on the days we were due for service.

4.  I can't stress enough how awesome the Skyliner is from Pop.  We loved being able to jump on the Skyliner and get to two parks so easily.  Even when the early morning lines were long, they moved quickly, and CMs were great.

5.  Our preferred pool view rooms were OH SO LOUD.  I had a preferred room last October as my first stay at Pop, and it was divine!  I loved everything about how close my room was to the food court, the Skyliner, and the quiet pool.  I was on an upper floor, and it was such a lovely, quiet place to retreat from the chaos of the parks.  When I booked this trip, only the pool view preferred room option was available.  We were RIGHT in the middle of the Hippy Dippy pool area, on the ground floor in rooms 5168 and 5169.  We heard EVERY conversation of every group of people that wandered by our rooms day and night. One night, a group planted themselves at two tables right in front of our rooms and drank MANY bottles of wine into the wee hours of the morning.  I heard their whole conversation the entire time they partied there.  Additionally, they had kids that played "catch" LOUDLY with water bottles, right outside our rooms.  Plus, the general noise from the pool made our experience in our rooms just...loud.  This definitely hasn't soured me on Pop...I'm headed back to Pop with DH and DS17 and his buddy at the end of March for his high school spring break.  But, I'm glad we have regular preferred rooms.  Lesson learned.  Never again will I book pool view preferred. 

6.  We saw kindness EVERYWHERE.  We had only wonderful experiences with CMs, and while the parks were really crowded, we saw many instances of kindness between guests.  From the little guy behind us in line at BTMRR who found my DS's dropped magic band, to the family ahead of us outside the Tangled bathrooms who helped reunite a lost little one with his family, to the folks we chatted up in lines, this trip has solidified my faith in humanity.  People are kind and good, and it was awesome to see this at WDW.

7.  One thing I forgot to add to my initial post...we LOVED mobile order, and I hope it never goes away.  It was great to be able to mobile order while waiting in line, and being able to get food without horrible waits.  I put all of our food budget on a Disney gift card, and I was able to use the gift card to pay for the mobile order; it was awesome!

If anyone has any questions about Pop or the parks, feel free to let me know!  I'm glad to answer questions.  And, if anyone has any advice about what I was doing wrong with Genie+, definitely let me know!


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## k5xs

Thanks for that report.

What days were you told you would receive mousekeeping service? What options were offerred?


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## LisaRay

Hi, we were there the same time you were. March 2-10th. At POP. 
Funny you were in the 60's preferred pool view rooms because I said to my family many times I thought it would be fun to stay in that area and be so close to the pool etc.! LOL However, when I'm in my room I want quiet. 
Our room was in the 70's but the farthest possible 70's room and my only request was 1st floor and we got 2nd floor so I was a little disappointed. 

I agree about the skyliner I'm afraid of heights but we really liked it (1st time staying with it) 
We too had some mousekeeping issues. They claimed they didn't service our room the day they were supposed to because we had our do not disturb sign out but we never once put that sign out. 

And I agree about kindness we noticed the CM's were all great and majority of the guests we encountered in the parks and hotel were extra friendly.


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## Little E

@k5xs We checked in on Sunday, and we were told our mousekeeping would be every other day starting on Tuesday.  I was told that housekeepers would dispose of trash, replace towels, soaps/shampoos, coffee supplies, etc, but that they would not make/change beds due to Covid.  All of this was just fine with me.  All I really wanted was to get fresh towels, have trash removed, and get resupplies with soaps and coffee stuff.  So, that meant that we were due for services on Tuesday and again on Thursday.  Tuesday was the day I had to break down and call in the evening, and Thursday I had to call again, but the housekeeper came quickly.  Hope that helps!


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## Little E

@LisaRay So fun to know you were there when we were!  I didn't make any requests about location at all...I would have GLADLY swapped rooms with you in the 70's area! 

I'm also glad to know that you also experienced lots of kindness during your time at WDW.  We all need a little kindness right now.


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## CaptainAmerica

Little E said:


> I can't stress enough how awesome the Skyliner is from Pop.  We loved being able to jump on the Skyliner and get to two parks so easily.  Even when the early morning lines were long, they moved quickly, and CMs were great.


I've wondered about this.  We did a Caribbean Beach trip recently and loved loved loved the Skyliner, but we wondered how convenient it would really be if you were staying at a resort that required a transfer to get anywhere.


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## k5xs

Little E said:


> @k5xs We checked in on Sunday, and we were told our mousekeeping would be every other day starting on Tuesday.  I was told that housekeepers would dispose of trash, replace towels, soaps/shampoos, coffee supplies, etc, but that they would not make/change beds due to Covid.  All of this was just fine with me.  All I really wanted was to get fresh towels, have trash removed, and get resupplies with soaps and coffee stuff.  So, that meant that we were due for services on Tuesday and again on Thursday.  Tuesday was the day I had to break down and call in the evening, and Thursday I had to call again, but the housekeeper came quickly.  Hope that helps!


Thanks.

I sure hope they get back to daily service soon. And I seriously question the Covid reasoning on bed-making. They make the beds between guests as is.

Glad you had fun. We're at Swan in early May and Pop in November.


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## pens4821

jbish said:


> Would you mind doing a little "on the ground" research during the evening deluxe hours?  Curious if this is a thing:
> 
> Maybe not as needed tonight at Epcot, though it is a sold out day so I imagine it will be crazy busy all week.  Definitely would be curious if this works at MK on Wednesday!



Once the deluxe hours are near or started I’ll ask just to see what they say. I’ll ask both places.


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## pens4821

This morning the waits seemed to build faster. We got to HS about 730. Walked right in and we decided on sdd first today. We were on maybe the fourth train of the day. From there we went to rnrc which was posted 5 but waited 10-15. TOT was posted 50. When we got done with rnrc tot was posted 60 and it took 55.

By that time everything was over an hour. We walked to the muppets but the line for that was huge so we just sat around. Went to ABC for an early lunch about 1045. We had a rise ILL for 11-12. Of course it went down right about then so we sat around until it came on a little after noon. While we were there we got through but I heard one CM say to another well that didn’t last long then it was closed again.

We headed back to yacht club, got some beaches and cream to go, going to hit up the pool for an hour or two, then dinner, then epcot for deluxe hours.

The crowds seemed bigger today than yesterday. We were looking from 10-12 and the waits were quite long. Even alien swirl was over an hour and star tours was hovering around that.  Yesterday they were too but we felt like they took a little longer to build. May have been the time change that through everyone off.


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## HydroGuy

We were going to stay at CBR and use the Skyliner and for several reasons ended up pivoting to Dolphin. Some questions...

1. I am reading some nightmare stories of 90 minute waits for Skyliner at certain times of day. Sounds like the OP did not have that? I assume when that happens it is at park closing and return to hotel and not opening?

2. Do you have to show proof of a resort res to ride them? We may want to pop on and ride one as they seem fun!


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## scrappinginontario

HydroGuy said:


> We were going to stay at CBR and use the Skyliner and for several reasons ended up pivoting to Dolphin. Some questions...
> 
> 1. I am reading some nightmare stories of 90 minute waits for Skyliner at certain times of day. Sounds like the OP did not have that? I assume when that happens it is at park closing and return to hotel and not opening?
> 
> 2. Do you have to show proof of a resort res to ride them? We may want to pop on and ride one as they seem fun!


We were there about 5 weeks ago.  Used Skyliner often.  Only once out of about 14 trips was the wait 90 mins and that was leaving Epcot final night, after fireworks and it had 2 20+ min shutdowns but that is not common.  Other 13 times were little/no wait.  Waited at Pop 15 mins once but line was constantly moving so didn't feel long at all.

Disney transportation is open to all.  Onsite and offsite guests, anyone may use it.


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## Mamiamjo

pens4821 said:


> This morning the waits seemed to build faster. We got to HS about 730. Walked right in and we decided on sdd first today. We were on maybe the fourth train of the day. From there we went to rnrc which was posted 5 but waited 10-15. TOT was posted 50. When we got done with rnrc tot was posted 60 and it took 55.
> 
> By that time everything was over an hour. We walked to the muppets but the line for that was huge so we just sat around. Went to ABC for an early lunch about 1045. We had a rise ILL for 11-12. Of course it went down right about then so we sat around until it came on a little after noon. While we were there we got through but I heard one CM say to another well that didn’t last long then it was closed again.
> 
> We headed back to yacht club, got some beaches and cream to go, going to hit up the pool for an hour or two, then dinner, then epcot for deluxe hours.
> 
> The crowds seemed bigger today than yesterday. We were looking from 10-12 and the waits were quite long. Even alien swirl was over an hour and star tours was hovering around that.  Yesterday they were too but we felt like they took a little longer to build. May have been the time change that through everyone off.


Thanks for giving your daily updates, it really helps us get an idea of what to expect.
Can't wait to hear about your experience with Epcot Extended Hours tonight


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## Katie1174

jbish said:


> Would you mind doing a little "on the ground" research during the evening deluxe hours?  Curious if this is a thing:
> 
> Maybe not as needed tonight at Epcot, though it is a sold out day so I imagine it will be crazy busy all week.  Definitely would be curious if this works at MK on Wednesday!


I haven’t experienced Deluxe evening hours yet as we go later in the year this year, but i do know that pre-covid when they did After Hours parties, they always let us into the fastpass line to bypass the standby line. Some  ride CM’s would do this the minute the party officially started and some would let you do it starting about 1/2 hour before it even officially started. Of course, this was an extra paid event, not included for staying Deluxe, so mileage may vary.


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## pens4821

jbish said:


> Would you mind doing a little "on the ground" research during the evening deluxe hours?  Curious if this is a thing:
> 
> Maybe not as needed tonight at Epcot, though it is a sold out day so I imagine it will be crazy busy all week.  Definitely would be curious if this works at MK on Wednesday!



I didn’t really get any info on this tonight at epcot. We got in line for soarin about 830 and by the time we made it to tt it was 925. Everyone was lined up to scan to show they were resort guests in the regular line. However, when we got to the merge point there were people tapping in from the LL side (no one was over there while we waited the few minutes to scan in the regular line) and by that point it was probably about 935. I should’ve asked but I didn’t want to hold up the line.

As for the extra hours, like others say the time goes fast. Not to mention tt went down for maybe 15 minutes so that put us behind. We got in the park a little before 8. Rode nemo and lwtl walk on. Waited about 30 minutes for soarin at 835 (posted 55). Got in line for tt at 925. Met others in Mexico at about 1015 and realized it would either be frozen or remy (both posted 45). So we walked to remy, got in line at 1025, and waited 35.

Even if it wouldn’t have been for the tt down time I don’t think it would’ve worked for us personally to do frozen too. After walking a lot the last couple days anything more than a normal pace wasnt happening at that point. If we wouldn’t have done nemo and lwtl we probably could’ve done frozen too.

Between the space of the rides and how many people actually stay deluxe, I don’t think it’s really that great of a perk. We will see if it works out better at MK where there are more rides and some closer together.


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## jbish

pens4821 said:


> However, when we got to the merge point there were people tapping in from the LL side (no one was over there while we waited the few minutes to scan in the regular line) and by that point it was probably about 935. I should’ve asked but I didn’t want to hold up the line.
> 
> Between the space of the rides and how many people actually stay deluxe, I don’t think it’s really that great of a perk. We will see if it works out better at MK where there are more rides and some closer together.


Very interesting - I wonder what the LL were used for during the evening hours at TT?  Does this mean that those people got in front of those behind you that were also presumably Deluxe guests too? 

I look forward to the report from MK.  Seems like you'd get a lot more benefit there just from the sheer number of rides you can go to.  During our week, we will miss Epcot (arrive Tues) but we happen to be there the one week they're doing HS instead of MK.  Fewer rides to choose from  so maybe it's more in line with Epcot but less spread out.  However, I really figured the limitation to Deluxe resorts would keep the numbers down so I'm very curious how you'll feel at MK given how busy it has been.  Good luck to you!  And thanks for all of the reporting!  Super helpful!!


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## scrappinginontario

jbish said:


> Very interesting - I wonder what the LL were used for during the evening hours at TT?  Does this mean that those people got in front of those behind you that were also presumably Deluxe guests too?
> 
> I look forward to the report from MK.  Seems like you'd get a lot more benefit there just from the sheer number of rides you can go to.  During our week, we will miss Epcot (arrive Tues) but we happen to be there the one week they're doing HS instead of MK.  Fewer rides to choose from  so maybe it's more in line with Epcot but less spread out.  However, I really figured the limitation to Deluxe resorts would keep the numbers down so I'm very curious how you'll feel at MK given how busy it has been.  Good luck to you!  And thanks for all of the reporting!  Super helpful!!


Have you tried asking your questions on the Extra Evening Hours thread?  There's probably some great information there as that thread is only people who qualify for and have used the EEH option.


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## jbish

scrappinginontario said:


> Have you tried asking your questions on the Extra Evening Hours thread?  There's probably some great information there as that thread is only people who qualify for and have used the EEH option.


Well that seems like a logical thing to do....lol.  I'll do that.    Though I did ask here since it was brought up on this particular thread.  But can't hurt to ask on that one too.


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## DisneyElite4

pens4821 said:


> I didn’t really get any info on this tonight at epcot. We got in line for soarin about 830 and by the time we made it to tt it was 925. Everyone was lined up to scan to show they were resort guests in the regular line. However, when we got to the merge point there were people tapping in from the LL side (no one was over there while we waited the few minutes to scan in the regular line) and by that point it was probably about 935. I should’ve asked but I didn’t want to hold up the line.
> 
> As for the extra hours, like others say the time goes fast. Not to mention tt went down for maybe 15 minutes so that put us behind. We got in the park a little before 8. Rode nemo and lwtl walk on. Waited about 30 minutes for soarin at 835 (posted 55). Got in line for tt at 925. Met others in Mexico at about 1015 and realized it would either be frozen or remy (both posted 45). So we walked to remy, got in line at 1025, and waited 35.
> 
> Even if it wouldn’t have been for the tt down time I don’t think it would’ve worked for us personally to do frozen too. After walking a lot the last couple days anything more than a normal pace wasnt happening at that point. If we wouldn’t have done nemo and lwtl we probably could’ve done frozen too.
> 
> Between the space of the rides and how many people actually stay deluxe, I don’t think it’s really that great of a perk. We will see if it works out better at MK where there are more rides and some closer together.



We were at Epcot yesterday too, and got in the lightning lane at close to the same time you got in the standby for Test Track. My family uses DAS, and I had made a DAS selection for the attraction during dinner. There was a family who had a lightning lane pass from earlier in the day who were not staying Deluxe who were arguing with the CMs, so my best guess is that the lightning lane was for DAS users and maybe also Deluxe guests who had LL times for right at park close. I couldn’t ask though as the CMs were occupied with other guests.


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## pens4821

jbish said:


> Very interesting - I wonder what the LL were used for during the evening hours at TT?  Does this mean that those people got in front of those behind you that were also presumably Deluxe guests too?



yes. When we got to the merge point they stopped the standby line and let a couple people through. I heard her say scan your band to someone but I was a little bit back so not sure if anything else was said. Then they let a group of standby through and maybe 4 more people came through the LL line while we were waiting for the design room. I really should’ve asked because I’m curious now too!


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## pens4821

DisneyElite4 said:


> We were at Epcot yesterday too, and got in the lightning lane at close to the same time you got in the standby for Test Track. My family uses DAS, and I had made a DAS selection for the attraction during dinner. There was a family who had a lightning lane pass from earlier in the day who were not staying Deluxe who were arguing with the CMs, so my best guess is that the lightning lane was for DAS users and maybe also Deluxe guests who had LL times for right at park close. I couldn’t ask though as the CMs were occupied with other guests.



I should have read your reply before I answered. Thanks for this!  Makes sense.


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## DisneyElite4

pens4821 said:


> I should have read your reply before I answered. Thanks for this!  Makes sense.



No worries! It was the only thing we did during the deluxe guests extra hours as my special needs child was all done after Test Track, so I didn’t have another chance to ask/test it. We will be at MK tomorrow, so I will try again then and report back.


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## Fabinva

We were there last week, March 7-March 12, stayed offsite and had park hopped tickets. We had 4 day park hop ticket, took at day off to rest midweek and went to Universal another day. We knew better than to try to get everything done in such busy time.  Genie + did not work well for us. Purchased it for a day and it was too hard to get reservation for attractions during the time we had planned to be at a certain park, the time changes so fast when trying to book, usually several hours later than initially selected. We were able to get what we wanted done at rope drop or later in the evening.
On 3/7 we started with AK, right after park opening we went to FoP and waited 60min for it, also purchased LL for it for 12:20pm as we wanted to ride it again. We got the Safari and Dinosaur done that morning.  We had lunch at Rainforest and left the park to rest after. In the evening we went to DHS, rode Millennium Smuggler's ride (45min wait), had reservation for Ogga at 8:30pm and planned to hop to RoTR right before closing but it was raining so hard after Smuggler's ride and then Ogga was packed, there were no tables (stand at bar only) and was too crowded so we declined and left the park with our shoes soaked... you may have seen the TikTok videos and news of the flooding that evening. 
On 3/09 we went back to Hollywood studios in the morning, I jumped in the line for MMRT right after park opening, it was a 30min wait. My family went to SDD, waited about 40min. Then headed to RnR coaster (60min wait). I had purchased Genie + for this day and got a pass to ride MMRT again (all of us this time) at 12:50pm, we then tried TSM but it stopped working so we left and grabbed some food, came back to TSM and the line was much lower then, waited about 30min, and left the park after. 
While waiting in lines I tried to get another pass using Genie + but everything that showed was for much later in the day or what we wanted was not available, spend a long time refreshing, draining phone battery. I was able to find a couple of rides but by the time I went to book it was no longer available, that happened about 3 or 4 times. Eventually gave up. I should note that I was looking for popular ride like TMS, TT and Frozen but even the Alien saucers were showing up much later in the day and we did not want to stay at the park that long.
Went to Epcot in the afternoon, started raining heavy as soon as we got in so we rode Spaceship Earth, the rain was about done when we got out (15min later) and then headed to Mission Space (10min wait for Orange) and then went to Space 220 lounge for a quick bite and drinks, we had a reservation and still waited 30min for our table.  After that we went around the World showcase, enjoyed the concert for a bit (Foreigners Journey) then rode Remy (65min wait) and watched some of Harmonious as we were leaving the park. 
On 03/11 we went to MK in the morning, we rode BTMR first, it was very fast, don't think we waited even 10min and then Pirates (20min wait), then we waited 50min for Peter Pan and after that we left because Space Mountain was down. We came back that evening because it was the only day without predicted rain in the evening and really wanted to see the new Celebrations show at night. We rode Haunted Mansion with a 35 min wait and then Philarmagic with 0 wait time. We then headed to find a spot for the show, we liked it but Wishes was much better (for us). After that headed to Space Mountain, the wait there was longer than then 60 min posted time. Then we rode 7DMT (waited 30min), went to grab drinks and then rode it again, this time the wait was closer to 40min. We left after that.
On 03/12 it rained and had storms in the morning so we arrived at Epcot around 1pm, we did Soaring with a 15min wait, then Frozen ~40min, TT was closed and by the time it opened wait was too long so we skipped it. We shopped at Mexico, ate at France and did more shopping on way out. It was our last day and we had no energy left to go anywhere after that. It was also very windy and cold, we had no heavy jackets to deal with that weather.

We did not get to do ROTR but we are not huge fans of it and had done it already in previous trip so it was ok.  We've been there during Spring break many times before and maybe we forgot how busy it gets, it was busier than expected. We likely won't be doing Park Hopper again. It was tiring to park, walk to entrance, walk around and then a long walk back to car. The only Tram working was at TTC for MK.


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## Mango7100

HS/Epcot on 3/13…

We were held at the finger scans until 745 for a 8 am early entry. We went to MMRR first to queue. After that we did TSMM twice with a 5 minute wait each. We jumped in line again for a third trip with a 10 minute wait and by the time we exited the queue was in the outside area. Did our LL for Slinky at 915, booked LL for RnRC for 1040 (originally got 2 pm but gambled, cancelled, and got an earlier time). Ate breakfast at Woodys lunch box and by this time all the rides (even Saucers) was over 40 minutes and they looked that long with the eyeball test. Did RnRC with our LL (posted was 80 and line was crazy long). Booked LL for meeting Minnie for 1120 since everything else was for return times in the evening. After Minnie had a drink at Baseline and booked LL for Frozen for 820. Booked an LL for Soarin for 615 after our 2 hr window while we were watching basketball tournament in our room. Evening at Epcot was Soarin LL, Living with the Land standby by, Frozen LL and doing some food booths (lines for booths were not long compared to what I was expecting).

So HS definitely was a struggle from 930 onward unless you wanted to do shows. CMs all nice, no overflowing trash, bathrooms clean.


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## Mango7100

MK 3/14…

We went wire to wire, got there at 8 am and we’re on the ferry to TTc at 11 pm. Arrived at 8 am for 830 early entry. We went for Space since we didn’t want to participate in the crazy town 7D rope drop (and we had purchased a LL for 6-7pm). We were in the front 1/4 of the pack for Space and DH and DD were off it by 850. I waited outside and watched a steady stream of people line up for Space until 845. If you aren’t in the front of the pack (which means getting there early) you aren’t getting Space in before early entry is over.

We did the following LLs that day…Peter Pan (first one of the day booked at 7 for return at 1015), meet Tiana, meet Cinderella, Small World, HM, Pirates, Big Thunder, Pooh, and LL for 7D. Ironically the 7D LL was our longest wait of the day. It was down for a long time and the LL line was stretched all the way down to Enchanted Tales with Belle. It took us 30 minutes to get through it, the standby was 160 at that point and I’m sure they were barely taking any standby inorder to clear out the LL back up.

We did the following standby…Barnstormer x4 (don’t judge, DD loves it ), Carousel, Tea Cupsx2, People Mover, Little Mermaid, Tiki Room, Dapper Dan’s, Laugh Floor, Dumbo x 2 during fireworks (very cool), and 12 pm Festival of Fantasy. Also saw Cinderella’s step sisters who were hilarious And got some good pics. We scored a last minute Storybook Dining that morning for a 430 dinner, so that was a great break to go sit at Fort Wilderness during the crowded afternoon.

On a crowded day we accomplished a lot with the longest wait of 30 minutes. It was crowded for sure but not as bad as I was bracing for. The day was way better than I had anticipated.


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## pens4821

We didn’t get many attractions today, but got done pretty much what we wanted. After an all day long Sunday, and an early morning and late night yesterday (had a few hour break in between) it was time for a relaxing morning. We slept in till 830, took our time, and left for MK at 1030. Bus came within a couple minutes.

Went to Buzz first. Posted 65 actual 75 at 11. I know buzz can get kind of long, but never expected that. While in line we ordered some food from lunching pad. As I got off the ride I hit im here for mobile order. It took about a half hour. There were many people just walking up, ordering, and getting their food. There were short lines the other day somewhere else where we waited forever. I think next time I’m just going to look at ordering right at the quick service places instead of mobile order.

We wanted to do people mover but it was listed 30 and the line looked huge. We went to CoP and after that we noticed the people mover line was empty but they were running empty cars. Within a couple minutes they restarted and we walked right on.

From there we were going to do the speedway but it was something like 50 minutes or more so we decided not to.  Went to philarmagic and just had to wait for the next show. It was about 230 and the waits were all high and we had a reservation at boatwrights for 5. We took a couple pictures and walked through some shops. The bus was right there and we were at POR about 330. Just hung out right outside there as it was a pretty nice day. Didn’t really care for the chefs platter but the others all really liked their food.

We headed to HS for the evening. St had the lowest wait so we went there. It was posted 25 at 630 but walked on. Unsure whether to do Mfsm then rotr, or go to the other side and do rnrc and tot to end the night. We decided on the later. Rnrc was posted 90 at 650 took 95. TOT was posted 115 at 830 and it took 60.

It was raining in line for tot and pouring when we left. Went to the bus stop since the boats weren’t running to yacht but ended up just walking. The line was huge and it was shared between yacht/beach/swan/dolphin/boardwalk.Just decided we were already wet who cares and had the walkway pretty much to ourselves.

All in all not a bad day. The only other things I wanted to do at MK was the speedway and country bears. But it was just crowded and didn’t feel like walking towards country bears or waiting for speedway. We will get both later in the week.

Its nice that we can have a sleep in day (actually two as tomorrow is also). We have 6 day hoppers so we usually end up in each park (except AK) 3/4 times so we have enough opportunities to do everything and do it multiple times.


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## BlancheNeige7

Here now ready to start our Day 4 of parks.  Even with all parks sold out  we have been able to tour and accomplish as much as we would have in our past trips (last trip March 2020) thanks to Genie+!

We usually get to the parks later and stay til close.  Yesterday (15/03) we hoped in the line for MMRT with 10 minutes of wait!  On Sunday (13/03) we hoped in line for Ratatouille 5 minutes before closing and waited 15 minutes!  

Genie+ has helped us save quite a bit of time in line at MK, AK and DS.  That said, the Disney App is not user friendly and I would change a few things... I have a love-hate relationship with it.   My advice, please read up on how to use it, explore the app ahead of time and have your park-specific strategies.  We purchased it because of the predicted crowds, but would pass on it on our next trip in August with lower  crowds.


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## pens4821

jbish said:


> Would you mind doing a little "on the ground" research during the evening deluxe hours?  Curious if this is a thing:
> 
> Maybe not as needed tonight at Epcot, though it is a sold out day so I imagine it will be crazy busy all week.  Definitely would be curious if this works at MK on Wednesday!



At 1055 I asked at haunted mansion if deluxe guests got in the regular line and was told yes. There wasn’t much of a wait before the merge point though. Would’ve maybe saved a couple minutes even if they did it. Maybe on a longer wait they would. Nothing we rode had a long wait though. Went from there to pp, 7d. Pp pretty much walk on, 7d maybe 15 minutes. Tomorrowland rides walk on. Big thunder pretty much walk on.


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## armerida

pens4821 said:


> At 1055 I asked at haunted mansion if deluxe guests got in the regular line and was told yes. There wasn’t much of a wait before the merge point though. Would’ve maybe saved a couple minutes even if they did it. Maybe on a longer wait they would. Nothing we rode had a long wait though. Went from there to pp, 7d. Pp pretty much walk on, 7d maybe 15 minutes. Tomorrowland rides walk on. Big thunder pretty much walk on.


Was this for 10:00-12:00 EEH? Did you start right at 10:00?


----------



## Neverbeast

It seems like longer park hours make a bigger difference than anything else. Less families want to jump in the last minute line at 11 than 9 I assume.


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## jbish

pens4821 said:


> At 1055 I asked at haunted mansion if deluxe guests got in the regular line and was told yes. There wasn’t much of a wait before the merge point though. Would’ve maybe saved a couple minutes even if they did it. Maybe on a longer wait they would. Nothing we rode had a long wait though. Went from there to pp, 7d. Pp pretty much walk on, 7d maybe 15 minutes. Tomorrowland rides walk on. Big thunder pretty much walk on.


Thank you for coming back to report! Must have been a LONG night but sounds like it was worth it if everything was a walk on!!


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## jbish

Neverbeast said:


> It seems like longer park hours make a bigger difference than anything else. Less families want to jump in the last minute line at 11 than 9 I assume.


For sure. While we're there in April, we will have the EEH at HS, which, as of now, closes at 9 pm.  So I'm thinking we'll have a lot of day guests jumping in at the last minute so it's probably not apples-to-apples.


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## zillayen

We’re here now. We are Disney vets, I had low expectations, but we came after 3 days at Universal with Express Unlimited passes and I can safely say this will be our last Disney trip. Transportation is much more difficult. The crowds here, while there are similar numbers of people to Universal, are so much more rude and aggressive. Everyone seems stressed and rushed, pushing and stepping on you to get somewhere. The need to schedule/reserve everything and then be unable to cancel or reschedule is incredibly frustrating - for dining and Genie+. We have MK reservations for today but no one wants to go back after last night. But because of the reservations and park hop rules we have to waste hours getting there to tap in before we can hop to another park.

I used to love WDW and was a pass holder at DL for years. I’ve realized that we much prefer to be able to go with the flow and the current mode of Disney is not suited for us at all. We’ve already decided to upgrade our Universal tix to passes and honestly if I can find a room at one of the premier hotels there tonight I’ll just check out of here and not come back.  I am glad my daughter got to ride BTMRR because it’s her favorite.


----------



## Ricguz

zillayen said:


> We’re here now. We are Disney vets, I had low expectations, but we came after 3 days at Universal with Express Unlimited passes and I can safely say this will be our last Disney trip. Transportation is much more difficult. The crowds here, while there are similar numbers of people to Universal, are so much more rude and aggressive. Everyone seems stressed and rushed, pushing and stepping on you to get somewhere. The need to schedule/reserve everything and then be unable to cancel or reschedule is incredibly frustrating - for dining and Genie+. We have MK reservations for today but no one wants to go back after last night. But because of the reservations and park hop rules we have to waste hours getting there to tap in before we can hop to another park.
> 
> I used to love WDW and was a pass holder at DL for years. I’ve realized that we much prefer to be able to go with the flow and the current mode of Disney is not suited for us at all. We’ve already decided to upgrade our Universal tix to passes and honestly if I can find a room at one of the premier hotels there tonight I’ll just check out of here and not come back.  I am glad my daughter got to ride BTMRR because it’s her favorite.


I’m sorry to hear what you went through. I have been dreading this type of news. I hope Disney hears this but since all it is for the executives is a money grab, nothing is going to change. I am also a Disney Vet, next trip in December and I tell you my expectations are very low. So my saving grace is going to be its Christmas, go to the parks and enjoy the decorations and parades etc.. Staying at YC CL WV so we will enjoy the resort and the pool, boardwalk etc .. I will not drive myself crazy looking at my phone and getting Genie + and trying to stack rides. If at 7 am, I’m awake and decide to get something wonderful. If I don’t, I’m not going to be guided by my phone and miss everything else that going on. We will do the Candlelight procession, maybe depending on price Mickey Christmas parade, and HS laser light projections.  I have been following everyone’s take on what is going on, on these boards and the bloggers on You Tube. If we are able to ride the rides we want, wonderful. If not so be it. I see on You Tube, the rush of the crowds, rudeness and can feel the tension.  No thanks. Disney does not care until we stop spending the time and money. What I see is overcrowded parks and displeased guests. Pray that it plays itself out, and gets back to the place we love.  Current management has to go.


----------



## pens4821

armerida said:


> Was this for 10:00-12:00 EEH? Did you start right at 10:00?



EEH was 11-1 last night. So I asked right before it started.


----------



## pens4821

jbish said:


> Thank you for coming back to report! Must have been a LONG night but sounds like it was worth it if everything was a walk on!!



You’re welcome!  It was a late night. I’m not used to that. But we had a blast. It was awesome to have such small waits and so few people in the parks!! The alarm going off at 6 this morning for HS was tough. Relaxing back at the resort now.


----------



## Laura+4

Here now and just finished day 4 in the parks. I had low expectations and we are actually having a really good time. Genie+ is pretty terrible, but it is not really affecting my family’s touring style. We are a family of 7 - 2 adults, 3 teens, 2 toddlers. We were offsite for the first night and have been onsite since. We go to the parks for early entry, but do not get to the parks before the extra time starts (usually about 10 min in). We come back to the room for a nap and then go back for a couple hours (older kids stay later). A few thoughts…
I don’t think our party size is negatively affecting getting rides. I have had great success utilizing the 7:17 ILL drop to get an early time. The one time I tried right at 7, my noon “confirmed time” turned into 4:45 and I had to have it refunded. I’ve also found success getting genie+ drops 2 min past the half hour. We’ve ridden everything we want to ride. For instance today - older kids rope dropped millenium falcon while husband and I went to RNRC (child swapped), then we all rode toy story stand by, then used MMRR genie+, got slinky dog genie+ while on MMRR, went to Disney jr dance party, big kids went to ILL ROTR, we took toddlers to frozen, all rode slinky dog, then went back to hotel for late lunch. 
I’ve had a lot of success because I am on my phone a lot. I don’t like this at all. I think genie+ has put a lot more work on the trip planner.
I haven’t found people to be rude and bathrooms have been clean, but we do leave from around 12:30-4 -!peak crowd time.
We stay in a MK resort and drive a car to HS and AK, so haven’t used buses. Monorail has been prompt. Most CMs have been nice and cheery (Epcot guest services lady was a notable exception). 
In summary, the lines are crazy right now (at least by late morning), but we have completely avoided waits of 25+ min by, arriving early, prioritizing our must do rides, buying ILL and genie+, and stalking rides on my phone. Hope this is helpful!


----------



## Lsdolphin

Ricguz said:


> I’m sorry to hear what you went through. I have been dreading this type of news. I hope Disney hears this but since all it is for the executives is a money grab, nothing is going to change. I am also a Disney Vet, next trip in December and I tell you my expectations are very low. So my saving grace is going to be its Christmas, go to the parks and enjoy the decorations and parades etc.. Staying at YC CL WV so we will enjoy the resort and the pool, boardwalk etc .. I will not drive myself crazy looking at my phone and getting Genie + and trying to stack rides. If at 7 am, I’m awake and decide to get something wonderful. If I don’t, I’m not going to be guided by my phone and miss everything else that going on. We will do the Candlelight procession, maybe depending on price Mickey Christmas parade, and HS laser light projections.  I have been following everyone’s take on what is going on, on these boards and the bloggers on You Tube. If we are able to ride the rides we want, wonderful. If not so be it. I see on You Tube, the rush of the crowds, rudeness and can feel the tension.  No thanks. Disney does not care until we stop spending the time and money. What I see is overcrowded parks and displeased guests. Pray that it plays itself out, and gets back to the place we love.  Current management has to go.


Well, the “current management “ just got a 94% approval rating I don’t think he is going anywhere...


----------



## Kcgaido

Here now. I don’t know if it is lowered expectations or what, but we’ve been having a really outstanding trip. Nothing that we read about - dirty bathrooms, rude cast members, poor food quality - has been present at all. People have been lovely, everything has been clean and everywhere we look managers are pitching in to clean tables and pick up any litter in the parks. Lots of smiling faces and kind words.

As for Genie+, we have found that it works well for us. I’ve been to Disney maybe a dozen times and this time felt fresh and new somehow. I tried food, drinks, attractions and places I never have before and it’s been a very nice change in how we tour this place. And maybe we’ve just been lucky, but we’ve been able to do almost everything we wanted. On a date night earlier this week I stacked LLs for Hollywood Studios and my husband and I did RotR, Smugglers Run, Slinky and Toy Story in 2 hours then had a drink at Oga’s. With the exception of not doing Kilimanjaro Safari, we’ve done everything we wanted.

We have a few more days and things could change (I’ll report if they do), but overall it’s been a really delightful time.


----------



## DisneyFive

Laura+4 said:


> I’ve also found success getting genie+ drops 2 min past the half hour.



Can you explain this?  Are you saying that every half hour you are seeing drops for popular attractions?

Dan


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## Mango7100

Epcot 3/15…

We arrived at about 1030 and were only planning on doing some food booths and walking around looking at the topiary displays until early afternoon before pool time. Ride waits were very high…like 40 minutes for Living with the Land high. We did have a Genie problem today. We had purchased a ILL at 7 am for Remy and my confirmation page said return time of 145-245. Great, hit confirm  and then received an email that we purchased a 630-730 time frame. Um no, will not be here this evening. I knew this had happened to others so got on the Chat with Us app feature. Someone finally answered at 9 am and said we had to go to guest services in the park. Went to guest services and the CM said all she could do was refund our money but couldn’t give us a different time. That was frustrating since I myself could not modify or get a refund and by the time we got to the park the rest of the times were gone. The CM was not super sympathetic and tried to say that I maybe wasn’t fast enough in the app when purchasing…she did not seem to care when I explained that my time on the confirmation page was different than what was given to me after I paid. So we got a refund and never did get an ILL. While it was irritating it wasn’t something that was going to ruin our day.

Sunshine Griddle and Farmers Fresh Market booths are fantastic.


----------



## Mango7100

MK 3/16..

We accomplished a ton by starting with early entry. We like to have 2 full days at MK to ride attractions multiple times. We did the following LLs…Small World, Pooh, Speedway, HM, Pirates, Little Mermaid, Big Thunder, Space, and PP. Space I found at 6 pm for a return time of 825 pm. Peter Pan I found a return time of 10 pm at 8 pm. We also watched the parade again and rode standby for Laugh Floor, People Mover, Teacups, Carousel, Dumbo x4 without getting off while watching the fireworks (a fantastic way to do it since we don’t like being stuck in the massive hub crowd and my daughter is boycotting projections since HEA is gone). Also took a 3 hour break  to go to Wilderness Lodge and eat at Geyser Point.

Takeaways…

Yes, Genie is a pain to pay for. We decided beforehand that we would rather have Genie for some days for our party of 3 than have one table service at a restaurant like BOG or Topolinos.  I wish you could modify or be able to select times for LL. But FP is not coming back. I could complain about it forever, but we bought it, used it, and had success. We got 8 LLs and 9 LLs at our 2 MK days. One HS evening I got 4 LLs to use in 3 1/2 hrs. I was on my phone less than I was with FP. After tapping in or after my 2 hr mark, I would look at next availability for 1-2 attractions we targeted next. If we didn’t see a great return time, I would refresh for 5 minutes. Sometimes when we clicked on a time it would pop up that it was gone, but about 80% of the time we eventually got something close. Then the phone went away until we tapped in or 2 hrs was up.

Based on reports, my expectations were very low about what we would be able to do. It was very crowded and 10/10 days. However, we did way more than I thought. As someone else posted above, we did not see any overflowing trash cans, bathrooms were clean, the park wasn’t trashed. CMs were cleaning quick service tables, picking up litter from the sidewalk, etc. CMs were all nice and some superb. We had the one CM at Epcot who was short with our Remy ILL issue, but we got our refund and it wasn’t that big of a deal. I think we have to remember that the CMs are not some super humans whose purpose is solely to make you have the most magical time ever. They are people working in customer service, one of the most thankless jobs I would suspect. We had a great trip and had tons of fun!


----------



## DisneyFive

Mango7100 said:


> Epcot 3/15…
> 
> We arrived at about 1030 and were only planning on doing some food booths and walking around looking at the topiary displays until early afternoon before pool time. Ride waits were very high…like 40 minutes for Living with the Land high. We did have a Genie problem today. We had purchased a ILL at 7 am for Remy and my confirmation page said return time of 145-245. Great, hit confirm  and then received an email that we purchased a 630-730 time frame. Um no, will not be here this evening. I knew this had happened to others so got on the Chat with Us app feature. Someone finally answered at 9 am and said we had to go to guest services in the park. Went to guest services and the CM said all she could do was refund our money but couldn’t give us a different time. That was frustrating since I myself could not modify or get a refund and by the time we got to the park the rest of the times were gone. The CM was not super sympathetic and tried to say that I maybe wasn’t fast enough in the app when purchasing…she did not seem to care when I explained that my time on the confirmation page was different than what was given to me after I paid. So we got a refund and never did get an ILL. While it was irritating it wasn’t something that was going to ruin our day.
> 
> Sunshine Griddle and Farmers Fresh Market booths are fantastic.


This seems to be happening far too often and is totally unacceptable.  This can totally be resolved properly.  It baffles me that they haven't resolved this by now.

Dan


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## CarolynFH

Mango7100 said:


> Epcot 3/15…
> 
> We arrived at about 1030 and were only planning on doing some food booths and walking around looking at the topiary displays until early afternoon before pool time. Ride waits were very high…like 40 minutes for Living with the Land high. We did have a Genie problem today. We had purchased a ILL at 7 am for Remy and my confirmation page said return time of 145-245. Great, hit confirm  and then received an email that we purchased a 630-730 time frame. Um no, will not be here this evening. I knew this had happened to others so got on the Chat with Us app feature. Someone finally answered at 9 am and said we had to go to guest services in the park. Went to guest services and the CM said all she could do was refund our money but couldn’t give us a different time. That was frustrating since I myself could not modify or get a refund and by the time we got to the park the rest of the times were gone. The CM was not super sympathetic and tried to say that I maybe wasn’t fast enough in the app when purchasing…she did not seem to care when I explained that my time on the confirmation page was different than what was given to me after I paid. So we got a refund and never did get an ILL. While it was irritating it wasn’t something that was going to ruin our day.
> 
> Sunshine Griddle and Farmers Fresh Market booths are fantastic.


I would send an email to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com telling them what happened. They need to hear it.


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## Mango7100

DisneyFive said:


> This seems to be happening far too often and is totally unacceptable.  This can totally be resolved properly.  It baffles me that they haven't resolved this by now.
> 
> Dan


I did ask her if they are going to address this issue since I know it has happened to others. She said they have passed on guest feedback and they are ”working on it”


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## Mango7100

CarolynFH said:


> I would send an email to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com telling them what happened. They need to hear it.


Thanks! I will. That was the only issue we had over our trip


----------



## CarolynFH

Mango7100 said:


> I did ask her if they are going to address this issue since I know it has happened to others. She said they have passed on guest feedback and they are ”working on it”


Yep, and the more guest feedback they get directly from the affected guests, the better.


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## flipflopmom

Little E said:


> Hi All!
> this trip has solidified my faith in humanity.  People are kind and good, and it was awesome to see this at WDW.
> And, if anyone has any advice about what I was doing wrong with Genie+, definitely


First of all-thank you,  thank you. I have actually lost all faith in humanity in the last couple of years, and I really, really, really needed to hear that. 
And secondly, hopefully someone will chime in with better knowledge than me, but it is my understanding that your second G+ can be booked 2 hours after the park opens OR a after tapping into the ride you most recently made a reservation for. If I’m correct, if your first G+ was for 8:30 you should have been eligible immediately after tapping both times. OR if your first is later in the day, you can book your second 2 hours after that park opens. So that could have made for the differing times, based on varying park opening?


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## Laura+4

DisneyFive said:


> Can you explain this?  Are you saying that every half hour you are seeing drops for popular attractions?
> 
> Dan


Not every half hour - it isn’t that predictable, but it happens enough to warrant checking. Also, when it happens, it is a minute or two after the 1/2 hr. If you search genie+ drops online you should find a really helpful touring plans conversation about it.


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## pens4821

Went to Hollywood studios this morning and Epcot tonight. Wasn’t planning on purchasing genie+ but just decided to. It worked great for us going to MK earlier in the week. The parks are just too crowded now that I felt it was worth it. I’ll be getting it for HS tomorrow. That may be different. One thing is I hop and book the genie for the second park. So that helped us.

Our morning started at HS. My first LL I booked right at 7 for tot. Got a time of 1005. We got to the taps about 730 as they opened. Chose a bad line and ended up having to wait 20 minutes for sdd. We were on in 5 a couple days ago. From there we waited 15 for tsm, then 55 for rnrc (posted 80). By that time it was actually exactly 1005 so we used our LL.

We were switching resorts so we drove over to DS. Had some lunch at chicken guy (it was good) and went in a couple stores. Not big shoppers but wanted to see the 50th selection at world of Disney. Went to the super hero and Star Wars stores too.

After a little rest at resort two we went to ep. I had LL for se (down when we were there so came back on the way out), soarin, and ms. Booked nemo as we were walking by it after getting out of se line. I know people say it’s not necessary at ep but it saved us time. And we had the tot from HS in the morning too. The first time se was posted at 30, soarin 50, ms 60, nemo 25.  So while I hate paying even more than the already expensive trip, it saved us a lot of time. I think next time I’ll just buy it for the week.  We also did tt single rider. Took about 30. I do wish I could’ve got a tt or frozen LL. I did a lot of refreshing after tapping in to tot after 10 and for about 25 minutes in the room around 230. And a lot throughout the day. Twice in that I did have a time pop up but when I clicked it was gone. 

Back at the resort. Heading to MK in the morning and HS in the evening. Then home over the weekend. This week has went by quickly. It’s been very busy, and frustrating at times, but we are still having a blast!


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## Steve19842015

I want to post my recap to our trip to help out others. Our park days were 6 days total starting with Wednesday ending this past Monday. Our group was 5 adults and 2 kids 6 and 11. We rope
Dropped and EMH every day since we stayed at a good neighbor hotel. Bought G+ for every day except Animal Kingdom Day. Doubled up on MK and HS. HS was the toughest to use the G+ but we ended up riding every ride and watched all of the shows. Longest wait was RNRC at 90 mins. Aside from that we only waited about 30 mins for most standby by. I would strongly suggest that everyone purchase the G+. OT sucked having to spend that extra money but you have to IMO to have a nice experience.


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## DizneyMommy

Here now, I was prepared for chaos and mayhem and have been pleasantly surprised! Yes, it is crowded. The lines are long at peak times but if you plan a little strategy it is possible to do everything! We have a DAS and have been using the lightning lane all week. I’ve noticed that there are hardly ever more than a couple of other people going into the lightning lane with us. Even on things like Remi, MMRR, FoP. These things are selling out first thing in the morning, but where are these people? Either they are hardly releasing any slots, or…? Except for rare rides where the LL merges really early, we’ve walked on, literally walked on.  On rides that aren’t individually paid, there is rarely more than a few people in the LL with us. I feel like Genie+ is not the money maker that Disney hoped and not as widely purchased as they hoped. I’ll be honest, if we didn’t have DAS, we’d be skipping genie+ and just picking our ride times more strategically to avoid the 120+ minute waits. Not worth the money when you get maybe 3-4 rides out of it if that.


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## zillayen

The 7:17 drop for ILL does work well. I was on at 7 am sharp today to get RotR and everything was immediately gone. I booked a LL for RnRC at 11 am and just kept refreshing. Right around 7:18 am I was able to snag RotR for 9:50 am and actually got that time after I purchased.


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## Turksmom

DizneyMommy said:


> Here now, I was prepared for chaos and mayhem and have been pleasantly surprised! Yes, it is crowded. The lines are long at peak times but if you plan a little strategy it is possible to do everything! We have a DAS and have been using the lightning lane all week. I’ve noticed that there are hardly ever more than a couple of other people going into the lightning lane with us. Even on things like Remi, MMRR, FoP. These things are selling out first thing in the morning, but where are these people? Either they are hardly releasing any slots, or…? Except for rare rides where the LL merges really early, we’ve walked on, literally walked on.  On rides that aren’t individually paid, there is rarely more than a few people in the LL with us. I feel like Genie+ is not the money maker that Disney hoped and not as widely purchased as they hoped. I’ll be honest, if we didn’t have DAS, we’d be skipping genie+ and just picking our ride times more strategically to avoid the 120+ minute waits. Not worth the money when you get maybe 3-4 rides out of it if that.


LL was definitely busier last week. We did all standby and had long waits with no movement while a seemingly endless stream of LL guests went past.


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## DisneyElite4

Checking out today after 7 nights at Old Key West. We had the most wonderful trip we have had in a long time! We had 3 adults and 3 children under 10. We used a combination of Genie+ and DAS. We slept in every day and got to the parks around noon and stayed until closing. We usually got about 3-4 Genie+ at each park with very little effort on my part. I did not feel like I was on my phone the whole time, and I did with FP+. We waited in very few standby lines, as my middle child uses a DAS, but when we did they moved quickly as we only did this on attractions/shows with low wait times.

CMs were lovely and helpful, and the parks did not feel overly crowded walking through them even though all of our days were sold out. We moved about just fine, but we never came at rope drop.

We had many amazing table service meals - we were always seated quickly and food was fantastic. The rest of our meals were in our villa, which was also lovely, clean and relaxing.

We only encountered one grumpy family, and it wasn’t directed at us. We spoke to/met so many interesting and kind people from all over the world in lines and at shows and restaurants.

We had a few minor issues related to having a child with special needs that I won’t go into, but none of those were Disney’s fault, just part of life with a child like ours, and they were all resolved quickly within our own family coming up with solutions that did not impact others negatively.

I really came into this trip expecting the worst and I could not have been more wrong. I’m glad I had lowered my expectations because it helped the overall vibe of the trip - we took it slow, we sat often and took in the atmosphere, we enjoyed each other’s company, and at the end of the week it was perfect and I could not be more pleased!


----------



## godfather927

Mango7100 said:


> MK 3/16..
> 
> We accomplished a ton by starting with early entry. We like to have 2 full days at MK to ride attractions multiple times. We did the following LLs…Small World, Pooh, Speedway, HM, Pirates, Little Mermaid, Big Thunder, Space, and PP. Space I found at 6 pm for a return time of 825 pm. Peter Pan I found a return time of 10 pm at 8 pm. We also watched the parade again and rode standby for Laugh Floor, People Mover, Teacups, Carousel, Dumbo x4 without getting off while watching the fireworks (a fantastic way to do it since we don’t like being stuck in the massive hub crowd and my daughter is boycotting projections since HEA is gone). Also took a 3 hour break  to go to Wilderness Lodge and eat at Geyser Point.
> 
> Takeaways…
> 
> Yes, Genie is a pain to pay for. We decided beforehand that we would rather have Genie for some days for our party of 3 than have one table service at a restaurant like BOG or Topolinos.  I wish you could modify or be able to select times for LL. But FP is not coming back. I could complain about it forever, but we bought it, used it, and had success. *We got 8 LLs and 9 LLs at our 2 MK days*. One HS evening I got 4 LLs to use in 3 1/2 hrs. I was on my phone less than I was with FP. After tapping in or after my 2 hr mark, I would look at next availability for 1-2 attractions we targeted next. If we didn’t see a great return time, I would refresh for 5 minutes. Sometimes when we clicked on a time it would pop up that it was gone, but about 80% of the time we eventually got something close. Then the phone went away until we tapped in or 2 hrs was up.
> 
> Based on reports, my expectations were very low about what we would be able to do. It was very crowded and 10/10 days. However, we did way more than I thought. As someone else posted above, we did not see any overflowing trash cans, bathrooms were clean, the park wasn’t trashed. CMs were cleaning quick service tables, picking up litter from the sidewalk, etc. CMs were all nice and some superb. We had the one CM at Epcot who was short with our Remy ILL issue, but we got our refund and it wasn’t that big of a deal. I think we have to remember that the CMs are not some super humans whose purpose is solely to make you have the most magical time ever. They are people working in customer service, one of the most thankless jobs I would suspect. We had a great trip and had tons of fun!


Are you saying you were able to get 9LLs in for one of your MK days? If so, do you mind posting a rough summary of which rides and how you managed that?


----------



## DizneyMommy

I will say we also tour backwards. We don’t make a mad dash for the big rides, we knock out a bunch of small ones with no wait, the shows, and the fun little things that no one ever wants to waste time on, and then tackle the big ones later. If we didn’t have the DAS this trip, we would still do that, and ride the big ones in the evening as the lines start to dwindle. That’s just how we’ve always toured. Totally backwards of how we do Disneyland interestingly! So funny how the parks have such different patterns


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## Juventus

About to leave after 10 days/7 park days.  Our the best trip yet.  We had 3 recovery passes each day for any 3 rides per day minus rotr, mmrr and remi, but even without these it would have been great.

As offsite guests we used to always rope drop...only did this once this trip (our first night was at Disney springs holiday inn so we dropped rotr).

My advice, especially for mk is go to the parks later in the day.  Yesterday at mk we booked the following LL all after 3:30 every 2 hours:
Space
Thunder
Splash
Haunted
Pirates
Small world

Standby: laugh factory, Ariel ride, carousal, philharmonicx2

Used our 3 recovery passes for thunder mountain (which was a walk on during fireworks) and 7 Dwarves x2.

Dinner at Plaza.

During the trip I was also able to refresh and buy (after 8:30) rotr x1 and remi x3)

Also did rotr standby 2 nights ago posted wait 120, actual 70.

Definitely more walking around the parks but we are recently strollerless so didn't care as much.


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## Mango7100

godfather927 said:


> Are you saying you were able to get 9LLs in for one of your MK days? If so, do you mind posting a rough summary of which rides and how you managed that?


Yes, 9 in one day and 8 on the other.

Made HM for 925 return at 7 am…HM was down so it turned into an anytime pass (could not use for Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, 7D, or Space). Used it for Small World at 925 (not the best use of it but that’s what my daughter wanted and the standby line was already 45 minutes).
Made Pooh for 1020 when we tapped in Small World. Made Speedway for 11 when tapped in for Pooh. Made Little Mermaid for 1145 when tapped on Speedway.
Made HM for 445 when tapped in Little Mermaid. Made Big Thunder for 915 at 145 (120 minute rule after last LL was made)
Made Pirates for 6 at 345 (120 minute rule)
Made Space for 825 at 6 (refreshed for 5 minutes to find it)
Made Peter Pan for 1005 at 825 (again refreshed for a few minutes to find it).

So the LLs were for some smaller rides but on a busy day those even had a 45+ minute wait so it saved time. The Littile Mermaid line was past the entrance when we went and we walked right on with our LL


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## pens4821

Had a relaxing start to our last day, but ended busy. Plan was to get to MK early, but the 14 year old just didn’t want to get up. And really I think none of us did. He said he was ok not riding, just wanted some extra sleep. After about 1.5/2 hours he got up  and said we should have just left earlier since he didn’t really fall back asleep.

By the time we got it the park at 10, things were long already. Splash was at 55, and hm and poc were lower but close to that (don’t remember exact times). Prioritized splash.  Only took 35. When that was done everything was over 50 minutes. We grabbed some food (some went to lunching pad, some Casey’s), sat around a little, looked in a couple stores on Main Street, and left.  Not an ideal last day at MK, but we got plenty of riding done Monday with LL and Wednesday with deluxe evening hours.

we got back to the resort, and since it was so hot went to the pool. While swimming we did some laundry so we don’t have to when we get home. Hopping to HS, we left the resort around 345.

This is a copy/paste of my day leading up to and at HS from another thread. I spent an extra $90, but honestly it was so worth it. At 7 I booked an ill for rotr. After that we booked for tot. I did wait a few minutes to get one around 5. After that, two of us wanted rnrc and two mmrr. I booked rnrc no issue for 630. I had to refresh a few times to get a mmrr but did for 430 for the others. At 1230 I couldn’t find anything so I did as2 for 620. When 230 rolled around I couldn’t find anything. A couple times something would pop up then disappear. Finally I was able to get the two that didn’t do mmrr later ones for it. Then while I was waiting for the first two to ride mmrr I sat refreshing and was able to get Mfsm for two (the other two were heading back to the hotel so didn’t try to book four).

So when we got to the park we went mmrr,tot,rotr,as2,Mfsm,rnrc,mmrr. Did that from about 430-815. Was thinking of getting in line for sdd, but just was ready to relax.

Came back to the resort, mobile ordered on the way, ate, and came back to the room to relax. Getting up at 5 to drop one part of our party at the airport, then driving halfway home to Pittsburgh. Will finish the trip Sunday.

it’s been a good week. I’ll post a recap of my thoughts at some point in the next couple days. It was really crowded and the lines were long, but we still had fun.  I know it adds cost but at these high crowd times I’d say go for the genie. Even if you only get a few rides, it’s nice. We got 5 at MK, 4 at ep (plus the morning we used 1 for tot at hs), and 5 at HS. Even Epcot getting the smaller rides. All the posted waits were pretty high considering the ride so it saved us a lot of time.


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## armerida

Juventus said:


> My advice, especially for mk is go to the parks later in the day.  Yesterday at mk we booked the following LL all after 3:30 every 2 hours:
> Space
> Thunder
> Splash
> Haunted
> Pirates
> Small world


Hi! Wondering if you started booking LL at 3:30 or started in the morning to have them stacked for a 3:30 arrival? Thanks!


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## Gentry2004

DizneyMommy said:


> Here now, I was prepared for chaos and mayhem and have been pleasantly surprised! Yes, it is crowded. The lines are long at peak times but if you plan a little strategy it is possible to do everything! We have a DAS and have been using the lightning lane all week. I’ve noticed that there are hardly ever more than a couple of other people going into the lightning lane with us. Even on things like Remi, MMRR, FoP. These things are selling out first thing in the morning, but where are these people? Either they are hardly releasing any slots, or…? Except for rare rides where the LL merges really early, we’ve walked on, literally walked on.  On rides that aren’t individually paid, there is rarely more than a few people in the LL with us. I feel like Genie+ is not the money maker that Disney hoped and not as widely purchased as they hoped. I’ll be honest, if we didn’t have DAS, we’d be skipping genie+ and just picking our ride times more strategically to avoid the 120+ minute waits. Not worth the money when you get maybe 3-4 rides out of it if that.



Did you feel the need to have G+ with the DAS? We are going in December and I'm trying to decide if I need G+ at Magic Kingdom or Hollywood in addition to DAS. Part of me feels like it will be too chaotic to manage both though. WDYT?


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## scrappinginontario

armerida said:


> Hi! Wondering if you started booking LL at 3:30 or started in the morning to have them stacked for a 3:30 arrival? Thanks!


To stack they would have started early in the day, probably at 7AM.  Based on the attractions  (and dumber of attractions they had stacked) this can only be done by starting early in the morning.

With a 3:30 park arrival, first LL can be booked at 7AM, next one 2 hours after park opening then 2 hours after that   Etc


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## Little E

@HydroGuy The only times we experienced long lines at the Skyliner were first thing in the am.  However, even when the line was crazy long, it seemed to move fast.  I don't think we ever waited more than 30 minutes first thing in the am.  Certainly not 90 minutes.  I will say we were there March 6-11, so things may have changed with increased spring break crowds?  Also, we never took the Skyliner home, so I have no intel on an end of park day experience.  We were either at other non Skyliner parks, Ubered, or didn't close down the parks.  Also, during the day, the Skyliner was basically a walk on.  I don't recall waiting more than a couple of minutes any time from mid morning through dinner time.  I hope that helps!


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## szahner

We are on our way home after being on property all this past week. Our experience was that everything is crowded, but you can get all your priorities done with a plan 
We purchased Genie+ for all days, and visited all 4 parks. We are usually rope droppers who take midday breaks, and we tried this approach with mixed results. We found that you can really only get 1-2 rides done before wait times build to 45+ minutes by 9:30am. If I were doing it all again, I would abandon rope drop and stack LLs for later in the day. We stayed at WL, but did not take advantage of extended evening hours— we were exhausted and by that time gave up on the 1 or 2 rides we missed as not worth losing sleep.
Overall, we had a wonderful time. All our interactions with staff were great, and experienced many kind strangers.
I overheard many people having problems with the app. I got very frustrated with times sliding but I did book all the ILL and LLs I wanted in the 7am rush. I suspect that the system will get worse as more people actually figure it out…..it seemed like maybe half of users were really maximizing it.
I appreciate the insights from this thread!


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## bambialways4ever

DizneyMommy said:


> Here now, I was prepared for chaos and mayhem and have been pleasantly surprised! Yes, it is crowded. The lines are long at peak times but if you plan a little strategy it is possible to do everything! We have a DAS and have been using the lightning lane all week. I’ve noticed that there are hardly ever more than a couple of other people going into the lightning lane with us. Even on things like Remi, MMRR, FoP. These things are selling out first thing in the morning, but where are these people? Either they are hardly releasing any slots, or…? Except for rare rides where the LL merges really early, we’ve walked on, literally walked on.  On rides that aren’t individually paid, there is rarely more than a few people in the LL with us. I feel like Genie+ is not the money maker that Disney hoped and not as widely purchased as they hoped. I’ll be honest, if we didn’t have DAS, we’d be skipping genie+ and just picking our ride times more strategically to avoid the 120+ minute waits. Not worth the money when you get maybe 3-4 rides out of it if that.


What rides have the lightning lane that merges early? We have DAS too so trying to plan accordingly


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## tigger2002

Looking at thrill data it looks like most all rides are not available for LL after about 11:00 at HS.  How are people able to get 7 or 8 LL rides by going late in the day, and some can only get 1 or 2?


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## pens4821

tigger2002 said:


> Looking at thrill data it looks like most all rides are not available for LL after about 11:00 at HS.  How are people able to get 7 or 8 LL rides by going late in the day, and some can only get 1 or 2?



We got rides easily on the first two available booking times of 7 and 1030 (we were at MK in the morning and stacking for evening). At 1230 only star tours (seemed to be available pretty much all day all week) and alien were available. We booked alien. We were able to get Mfsm and mmrr by refreshing constantly. It took a good 10-15 minutes to be able to get it. But for us it was ok as at 230 we were in the room relaxing and at 450 we were in HS waiting for others to finish a ride.


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## Juventus

armerida said:


> Hi! Wondering if you started booking LL at 3:30 or started in the morning to have them stacked for a 3:30 arrival? Thanks!


I waited until 8:59 to book mk opening at 9:00 to make sure times were pushed late enough in afternoon.  Usually only JC and PP go that late, but space did that day (high crowds).


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## scrappinginontario

tigger2002 said:


> Looking at thrill data it looks like most all rides are not available for LL after about 11:00 at HS.  How are people able to get 7 or 8 LL rides by going late in the day, and some can only get 1 or 2?


I have not seen anyone report 7 or 8 LL rides at HS.  Those who were getting more possibly were visiting at less busy times.  We were able to get 5 in late Jan and it could have been 7 if we’d purchased the 2 available to purchase at the time.

We rode the majority of the major attractions at DHS in one day (ToT, RnRC, SDD, TSM, MMRR, MFSR, RotR, ST) plus saw 1 show but some of those we did via standby.

it’s easier to get more attractions done using LL at MK.


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## Mango7100

tigger2002 said:


> Looking at thrill data it looks like most all rides are not available for LL after about 11:00 at HS.  How are people able to get 7 or 8 LL rides by going late in the day, and some can only get 1 or 2?


We got 5 LL for HS Saturday 3/12. We arrived at the park at 545 pm and had SDD, MMRR, TSMM, and Aliens stacked by starting at 7 am during our drive down and booking every 2 hours after park opening. We were also able to find a Smugglers by refreshing once we used our first LL by refreshing. I did have to refresh for several minutes for some Times that worked better for us though…The next day we used 3 in the morning (SDD, rock n roll coaster, meet Minnie) and could have gotten 1-2 more for evening but we hopped so I didn’t look very hard at HS


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## zillayen

We did DHS on Friday. I knew we wouldn’t make it to the park for rope drop. I was up at 7 am and booked a LL for RnRC for 11 am and then an ILL for RotR for 9:50 am. Got to the park around 9 am and rode Star Tours standby (my kids love it and the wait was 20 min).  Headed over to Galaxy’s Edge and rode RotR. It was cool but I don’t think I’d pay to ride it again or wait more than 45 min for it. Did Smugglers Run single rider with about a 10 min wait (85 min posted standby). Left pilot was a 4 year old who did nothing the whole flight so it was pretty bumpy.

We had some time to kill before RnRC so we got a snack and sat in the shade. By 10:30 it was super hot and very crowded. I checked Genie+ and the only return times before 1 pm were for ALien SS or StarTours. We weren’t planning to stay after lunch so I booked Star Tours for 12 in case the kids wanted to ride it again. I think TOT return time was 8 pm and TS was 3 pm if you were trying to book your 2nd LL at 10:30 am.

My husband came and met us and we rode RnRC then sent the kids on Star Tours while we grabbed water. Back to Galaxy’s Edge just because my husband wanted to see it. We rode MFSR again single rider as a walk on. Better ride this time as there was an actual pilot on our ship but we still hit a bunch of stuff. By then it was almost 1 pm and 86 degrees so we decided to head back. By 12:30 pm pretty much anything besides Star Tours and Alien SS was gone from Genie+. We’ve ridden ToT before and my daughter hates it and they weren’t really interested in Slinky or MMRR.

If your kids are old enough and you want to do a lot of rides, I’d strongly suggest riding MFSR single rider and using the LL for another headliner. We did 6 rides before 1 pm - one standby, two LL, one ILL, and two single rider.


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## sweetmama17

We are just back from 4 day/3 nights and we were able to do more than I thought. We had a combination of DAS and G+ mainly due to the non DAS kid wanting to ride coasters (which DAS kid refuses). DAS is a life savor (for anyone who has to be in a line with that kid) it did take 2 days of being on the phone all day to set it up though. Anyway I really think the best thing is a good plan.

Day 1: MK drove over and booked G+ all day.
7am: booked space
11: booked thunder 
1: booked buzz
3: booked Dumbo
5: booked pirates

Entered at 5 (took long at guest services activating tix so got an extra buzz ll)

We did:
Buzz (G+)
Space (with rider swap) (G+)
Ate cosmic rays (mobile order)
Skipped Dumbo due to time constraints 
Pirates (DAS)
Thunder (G+), longest ll wait due to earlier weather (kid didn't want to rider swap but could have)
JC (DAS)
HM (DAS)
Fireworks
Buzz (extra LL G+)
Speedway (SB 10 min)
Tea cups (SB walkon)
Did not use G+ Pirates
Offered to stay to do big kid rides for EMH with big kid but everyone was tired so we went back to the hotel.

Day 2 Epcot:
Didn't enter til about 4
Bought Remi LL and got 630pm (jumped about an hour from what I selected)
Soarin and TT with DAS 
Stand by for figment and Nemo
Glad I had purchased Remy as when we went back to ride with DAS it went down and didn't come back on for the night.

Day 3 HS (kinda wish I bought G+ this day but it worked out)
We entered about 745 for an 8 early entry. Got in line for ToT. This was our longest wait we didn't get out til about 840 (with rider swap). By that time RnR was over 80 min (was hoping to get both of these with early entry as we couldn't use DAS).
SB for star tours (5 min)
Rise, MFSR, sauces and TSM all with DAS (2 pre booked).
Lunch at brown derby
Mickey ride with DAS
Back to hotel for break.
Kids chose to book MFSR as we left the park as that was their favorite.
Got back to HS around 6pm
MFSR
Ogas
Rise (with DAS since wait times had decreased).
Decided to try for RnR with big kid right before close. Worked out great with only a 15min wait.

AK
Was able to do the 4 rides with DAS. Don't know why this park is so hot with all the shade. This is the only park I felt was extra crowded. 

I felt most people we ran into we friendly and positive. This includes guests and cast members. Extra shout out to the concierge at Grand Floridian for helping fix a few things.

I plan to bring my big kid back for some time with him and we won't have DAS for that but I think I have a plan now on how to make a good trip without it.


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## DisTXMom

We just returned from 6 days at the parks during peak spring break. We were a party of 4, except the last two days when we were a party of 2. We purchased Genie + each day of our trip- we hadn’t been in 5 years and won’t likely return for another 2-3 and were ok with the incremental cost given we go infrequently and wanted to be able to not stand in lines.  We took 3-5 hour breaks each day and ate 1-2 table service meals per day. We opened the parks 2 of our 6 days and closed them nearly every night.  A few examples of how our days unfolded:

- Found MK early entry to be hectic and chose to let our family sleep in a little after that first early entry there because we didn’t really feel like it got us much and since we were closing the parks, opening them as well was just too much. HS was better- we rode RNR, then MMRR. 
- We did extended evening hours at MK and EPCOT. At MK, we were able to experience almost as much on other 11pm close nights but it was fun to be in the parks late. Trying to do 7DMT didn’t appear worth it during EE, wait times still around an hour and those folks didn’t get much out of the EE. EPCOT EE was fun as well- we did TT, Soarin and SE (we did Remy via ILLS)

-our All-MK days with hotel breaks midday: we were able to get LL for Jungle Cruise, Splash, Big Thunder, Buzz, plus Haunted Mansion or Pirates, sometimes Space or  Peter Pan as well.  We often picked up smaller rides such as Pooh or Speeday as well. We rode little mermaid, small world, peoplemover, CoP, laugh floor etc all with minimal standby waits. We averaged 7-8 LL per day on our MK days and 5-6 on our other parks/hopper days where we ended the day in MK.   After the first couple of LL’s of the day, we booked in the 7-10pm timeframe working from those that were out the furthest (jungle cruise, big T, splash) to those that went more slowly (haunted mansion, pirates and then buzz)

- on our EPCOT/MK day, we got Test Track and Soarin at EPCOT,  then Splash, Big T, jungle cruise at MK

-we went to AK yesterday for FoP, and was booking LL at HS, we got Tower, RnR, Toy Story, all to use in the 2pm-6pm timeframe

-We booked passes at 7 am and then set an alarm for when our next one was due. It was smoother when we could book an early pass for the first hour and then be on a 2 hour window that ended before the standard one (ie if most people were booking at 7, 11, 1, 3, 5, we’d try to book at 7,10, 12, 2, 4). There is a big rush on LL at those standard eligibility refresh times. However we had mostly the same success when we had to book at the standard eligibility times.

- overall LL let us bypass 3 lines of 90-180 minutes per day, plus several other 45-75 minute lines. For us, that made it worth it. The longer park hours helped keep availability up.  It seemed like we did nearly everything via LL and very little standby

- I didn’t feel like I was on my phone more than normal.Setting alarms let me set it and forget it.

- the 7am booking requires patience/ if I was Unable to get what I wanted right at 7, I waited for things to refresh and reload and was able to get it in the 710-720 timeframe when things reloaded.

- I did some refreshing in the parks and was able to get an early return Peter Pan and tower of terror that way, but I didn’t do a lot of refreshing other than when we were up to book our next pass. It was very draining on my phone battery to keep refreshing

-the cast members were all great. Very positive and happy to be there. We did 2 days at Universal and some of their folks were borderline hostile. It was a marked difference.

- the parks and bathrooms were kept clean, although some people drop masks on the ground and we saw some of that

- we had a lot of great meals. Favorites were
steakhouse 71, Plaza and Skippers canteen.

- we loved enchantment. It didn’t have as much heart as some of the earlier shows but thought it presented the many years of films well and we liked the fireworks and the soundtrack.  Harmonious was just ok- all of that metal projection stuff was awkward.

-I was excited to see festival of fantasy return!

- overall I agree with the OP that you need to have realistic expectations and be prepared to change plans when needed. We altered our park hopping and/or meals and breaks to work around some of the craziest days (st patricks
day). I know people are unhappy about the upcharge for genie +, but for us, were already in on $$$ with flights,hotel, tickets and those were sunk costs. The G+ charge was worth the time and hassle it saved our family. We had a significantly better experience than what we expected based on everything I’ve read online.We definately had a magical and wonderful trip and did/saw everything we wanted. My daughter and I counted all we did on 3/18 in MK- it was 15 attractions, tom sawyers island, fireworks (from 7DMT area), plus we didn’t open the parks and we got in a long break that day. I didn’t expect to have days like that based on what we read ahead of time.  Spring break was crazy, but it also brought a fun energy of attending a packed country bear jamboree - something we don’t encounter on slower times of year.


All in all, it was a great trip and the current structure worked for our family.


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## DizneyMommy

Rough day for HS today, so much dowtime. SDD hasn’t even opened yet and it is noon. RotR broke for a couple of hours at opening. RR has been down off and on. Alien was broken for 2 hours at opening. I feel bad for people who can’t hop or come back!


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## neptuneflame

Just back from our 3/12-3/19 trip! We stayed at POR, and my parents joined for 3 of our days. This was our second pandemic trip (first in May 2021). We had a great trip, with great weather for most of it and we did everything we wanted (except ToT) despite the super high crowds. 

DH really resented G+ but we ended up buying it for 4 of 6 park days. If you buy G+, I highly recommend you also get park hopper, as the ability to stack and knock out headliners in multiple parks in one day is where most of the value is. The first day we used it crowds were not as bad and we got more accomplished than we ever would have under old FP+. The other days were more equivalent to FP. Due to the time change, we forewent RD in favor of late nights, where we had a lot of success, esp at MK. I agree with previous posters that the parks were clean and CMs friendly. The vibe was positive and magical and a great respite from the past two years. I saw a lot of warnings about mask compliance on transportation, but our experience was that 90-95% were compliant.

We plan to take a big break from Disney so I’m glad we had such a great trip. TBH with G+ and park hopper our next trip will likely be much shorter, and we plan to bookend it with a longer Universal trip.


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## Westerner

neptuneflame said:


> If you buy G+, I highly recommend you also get park hopper, as the ability to stack and knock out headliners in multiple parks in one day is where most of the value is.


I’ve been thinking this too.  Can you give an example on how you got synergy out of G+ and PH?


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## neptuneflame

Westerner said:


> I’ve been thinking this too.  Can you give an example on how you got synergy out of G+ and PH?


Sure! On Sunday, we bought $ILL for Avatar, and used G+ for Navi and Kilimanjaro (we did other rides standby). While at AK, we booked $ILL for Remy and LLs for Soarin, Test Track, AND Frozen all in the evening at Epcot. We had a lot of luck waiting just a couple minutes after the time everyone is eligible to refresh and grab LLs. Also, bc we were PH and MDE knew that, it gave us options for return times for Remy rather than forcing us to take the display time. Later in the trip, we started at DHS and stacked rides in MK for that afternoon. This combo worked esp well because G+ runs out of LLs at DHS by noon, so you would not have any options unless you were hopping.


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## SLThomas318

neptuneflame said:


> Sure! On Sunday, we bought $ILL for Avatar, and used G+ for Navi and Kilimanjaro (we did other rides standby). While at AK, we booked $ILL for Remy and LLs for Soarin, Test Track, AND Frozen all in the evening at Epcot. We had a lot of luck waiting just a couple minutes after the time everyone is eligible to refresh and grab LLs. Also, bc we were PH and MDE knew that, it gave us options for return times for Remy rather than forcing us to take the display time. Later in the trip, we started at DHS and stacked rides in MK for that afternoon. This combo worked esp well because G+ runs out of LLs at DHS by noon, so you would not have any options unless you were hopping.



Soarin, Test Track, and Frozen all in one day?!  That is awesome... how big was your group and do you remember what time you booked and what return times you were given?  It didn't seem like it was possible to get all 3 in one day... this gives me hope!


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## EddieValiant

DizneyMommy said:


> Rough day for HS today, so much dowtime. SDD hasn’t even opened yet and it is noon. RotR broke for a couple of hours at opening. RR has been down off and on. Alien was broken for 2 hours at opening. I feel bad for people who can’t hop or come back!



That right there is why the 2pm park hopping rule needs to be eliminated.


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## neptuneflame

SLThomas318 said:


> Soarin, Test Track, and Frozen all in one day?!  That is awesome... how big was your group and do you remember what time you booked and what return times you were given?  It didn't seem like it was possible to get all 3 in one day... this gives me hope!


There were 4 of us. All of our return times were after 5 and we had TT and Soarin’ double booked at 7:20. Refresh and waiting till xx:32 or xx:33 really worked to get these spots on Sunday which was a 6-7. Later that week, when crowds were 8-9, refresh didn’t work as well.


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## DizneyMommy

EddieValiant said:


> That right there is why the 2pm park hopping rule needs to be eliminated.


Yup. And it didn’t even open until sometime after 4ish, we kept checking. We had an Advance DAS pass for it but we gave up waiting and left.


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## pens4821

Westerner said:


> I’ve been thinking this too.  Can you give an example on how you got synergy out of G+ and PH?



I was also there this last week and agree that genie+ and ph should go hand in hand.
Sunday we went to HS and rode tot,rnrc,mmrr, and sdd. We stacked for MK at night. We rode hm,potc,btm,splash,buzz all stacked from the day using LL. 
Thursday we went to HS in the morning. Booked tot right at 7 so rode sdd,tsm,rnrc, then used our tot. At night we had stacked soarin,ms,se,nemo. 
Friday we went to MK in the am. Just relaxed, rode splash, and ate. We used LL for tot,rnrc,as2,mmrr,Mfsm.

the reason the PH is a great help is because you know when your LL return times will begin (2). So you can take a couple hour break every day. If you just stay in one park, you could still get the same done but would probably have to stay open to close (or be more likely to have to stay without a break atleast).


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## holyrita

EddieValiant said:


> That right there is why the 2pm park hopping rule needs to be eliminated.


The last time I was in HS during my February trip, I rope dropped with EE and was one of the first in line for SDD. Slinky magically opened 15 minutes before EE even began so I was able to do Slinky, TSM, MMRR and RNRC without G+ and all before breakfast. I had done ROTR and the rest of the rides in HS on a previous day that trip, so I thought I would head to Epcot to try some new food and browse the Festival of the Arts booths. Was just about to get on the Skyliner when I realized I'd be 4 hours too early for for the 2pm park hopping. Mad at Disney for this incredibly irritating limitation, I left and drove to Universal. I had a fantastic day of rides, 2 meals, and a bit of shopping.


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## acarsme123

Just got back home today from a March 13-19th trip. Wow. That was nuts. I’m absolutely exhausted and sore. This is our 3rd, week long trip over the last 7 years. I never remember being this tired and sore…some of that I attribute to getting older…but I mostly blame the new Genie+ system and the weather being brutally hot compared to our past trips. 

To maximize riding, we did early entry every day except one (rest day). We were up to catch the busses 90 minutes before the early entry time. This actually seemed to be key, as we were almost always near the front of the early entry crowds every day. But getting up that early sure does take a toll, especially if you’re not used to it. Using early entry, and being near the front of the crowd, we were able to knock out 2-3 attractions fairly quickly before the crowds really started to build.  And build they did!  I’ve never seen the parks this crowded before. It was shoulder to shoulder in some sections!  The only exception to this was our first day in the parks, last Sunday at MK. It was in the 30s to start the day. I think the chilly weather kept some of the early entry folks away until mid day. I was starting to get a false sense that the crowd issues were overblown as the MK was not really congested from about park open until 11am…..then it got nuts!  And it stayed nuts the rest of the week!

 Genie+ seemed to have good value at Magic Kingdom and Epcot I felt, especially if you utilize early entry and can be near the front of the pack. HS and Animal Kingdom not so much. HS has too many headline attractions that we were only able to really use Genie+ to secure a LL for one good ride each day we were there.  

I have a lot more I want to say about Genie+. I’ll probably write up something in a seperate post. I’m exhausted. We literally just got back an hour ago (two day drive). 
I’ll probably write up a full trip report when I have time to gather more of my thoughts.

Overall, we had fun, but it’s not the same Disney trip as in the past. This was grueling. I’m not sure I’ll be rushing back anytime soon


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## pens4821

acarsme123 said:


> The only exception to this was our first day in the parks, last Sunday at MK. It was in the 30s to start the day. I think the chilly weather kept some of the early entry folks away until mid day. I was starting to get a false sense that the crowd issues were overblown as the MK was not really congested from about park open until 11am…..then it got nuts!  And it stayed nuts the rest of the week!



I was also there last week and agree. we went to HS. I think not only the cold but also the time change really helped. We got tot, rnrc, mmrr, and sdd was about an hour wait after that. I got happy thinking we would be able to get that much done every morning. Not the case. Two rides with the third being longer wait seemed the norm after that. Then the waits were just too much.

It was more crowded than it’s ever been while we were there. Actually the wait times weren’t that much higher than when we were there for MLK week in 2019 I don’t think. They did seem to build faster though. But just the massive amounts of people everywhere was horrible trying to around.

I will say that the LL moved MUCH faster than the FP lines did our trip in 2019. We waited in many 20+ minute lines to use our FPs that trip. I think between LL and ILL we had 17 attractions. The only time we waited a bit was once on TOT (other times there were ok).  And it was maybe 10 minutes.


----------



## bambialways4ever

Is anyone who is there or has been recently able to tell me if the lantern photo op by the rapunzel bathrooms is back? Hearing mixed reports


----------



## joy13

bambialways4ever said:


> Is anyone who is there or has been recently able to tell me if the lantern photo op by the rapunzel bathrooms is back? Hearing mixed reports


.

I really hope so, my daughter and I plan to Disney Bound Rapunzel and Mother Gothel one day at MK.  So I’ll be interested in the answers you get.


----------



## kcool

bambialways4ever said:


> Is anyone who is there or has been recently able to tell me if the lantern photo op by the rapunzel bathrooms is back? Hearing mixed reports


I saw it was there in March 17th in a you tubers video. No personal experience.


----------



## neptuneflame

bambialways4ever said:


> Is anyone who is there or has been recently able to tell me if the lantern photo op by the rapunzel bathrooms is back? Hearing mixed reports


I saw it on March 17th! Long lines. Right after the fireworks.


----------



## pens4821

bambialways4ever said:


> Is anyone who is there or has been recently able to tell me if the lantern photo op by the rapunzel bathrooms is back? Hearing mixed reports



It was last week. We didn’t get a picture in there. We did take one outside of it and a photographer was in there with people.


----------



## sequoia 14

We just got back from two days at the parks. First day was this past Sat at MK and then yesterday was DHS. We had my mom and my two DDs, 5 and 7.

I tried to come in with the most positive outlook possible as this trip was for my girls. 

For the most part, we had a really good time. I used a lot of the tips I learned from these boards and was able to use Genie pretty well. I got early morning LLs for populat rides in the AMs both days (Peter Pan and Slinky Dog, respectively). I also was never frozen out when trying to book. I was using a tablet on an offsite hotel wifi. I was very surprised by that. I was also surprised that I could still purchase a ILL for Seven Dwarfs at park opening.

Both parks were super busy. The only standby lines we waited in at MK were the Little Mermaid and Dumbo. At DHS it was Alien saucers (posted 60, waited 40). I used a LL for the Mad Tea Party because it was so hot that day and it had a consistent 30 minute wait.

Yesterday at DHS was a bit nuts. When we arrived Rise, SDD, Aliens and something else I dont remember was down. I decided that meant it was a good time to get a pretzel and watch Chip and Dale have a picnic on the lawn. We then saw Olaf (no wait), Mickey and Minnie (20 min wait) and then did standby for Aliens when it opened. We got LLs for Toy Story and a MMRR popped up for the afternoon after refreshing for a few minutes. Slinky open up for the day around 3. We still had our LL for it and waited in that line for about 20 mins. I felt absolutely horrible for those in the standby line. I dont see how they would ever move. We watched a few shows and called it a day. 

The Disney magic is still there but it is just a frustrating experience now trying to make Genie reservations and the standby lines are insane. 

The cast members were wonderful and went above and beyond for us more than once. We also saw a ton of charachters and loved watching the regular parade again at MK.

We had a pretty good trip, but will be taking a break from Disney for 2-3 years so the kids are a little older and we can stay later in the evenings which seemed to be a better way to tour.


----------



## bambialways4ever

Yay!!! Thanks to everyone who responded the Rapunzel photo is back. I'm so thrilled


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## Mango7100

bambialways4ever said:


> Is anyone who is there or has been recently able to tell me if the lantern photo op by the rapunzel bathrooms is back? Hearing mixed reports


Yes it is there. My daughter did it last week right after fireworks (we didn’t watch from the hub) and there were 2 people on line ahead of us


----------



## tigger2002

scrappinginontario said:


> I have not seen anyone report 7 or 8 LL rides at HS.  Those who were getting more possibly were visiting at less busy times.  We were able to get 5 in late Jan and it could have been 7 if we’d purchased the 2 available to purchase at the time.
> 
> We rode the majority of the major attractions at DHS in one day (ToT, RnRC, SDD, TSM, MMRR, MFSR, RotR, ST) plus saw 1 show but some of those we did via standby.
> 
> it’s easier to get more attractions done using LL at MK.


Yes, 9 in one day and 8 on the other. (from mango7100 last Friday)


----------



## acarsme123

I just wanted to log my thoughts about Genie+ after our experience with it last week.  I'm sure what I'm going to say is repeating what has been said by many before, but I still wanted to get my thoughts down.

1.  Overall, I don't like the new system.  From a fairness perspective, I get it, that it's more fair to all guests and not just a system that rewards on-site guests like the old Fast Pass system did.  However, not staying on-site is a choice some people made.  They certainly had the option to stay on-site and get the perks of being able to choose rides months in advance.  The perks of staying on-site are almost all but non-existent now.  The only perk I can see is the 30 mins early early, and while not a lot of time, 30 mins helps to knock out 1-3 good rides before it gets really crowded, especially if you're near the front of the pack.  If they ever get rid of 30 min early entry, it will be official that staying on-site no longer has any benefit at all.  Oh wait, I forgot, and you get the ability to pay Disney $ faster than non on-site guests for the option to ride certain rides!

2.  Genie+ makes these trips too exhausting now.  Not only do you essentially have to be up incredibly early to maximize the amount of LL selections you get (this is especially true if you're a family like ours that is typically done with the parks by dinner time), but since you no longer have control over what LL availability there is, we found ourselves crossing the park back and forth multiple times.  This took a lot out of us.  A ton of extra walking that we never would have done under the old system.  The old system allowed you to strategize where you would start and finish your day in the park....now you're at the mercy of the Genie system and what LL's you can score.  I've never been as sore and tired as I was on this past trip.  Some of that is probably due to getting older, but the new Genie+ system certainly didn't help.  

3.  Genie+ certainly seemed useful for Magic Kingdom and Epcot.  I felt there wasn't much use at HS and AK....at those two parks, you got maybe 1 good selection.  By the time your second pick rolled around, all the good stuff was either gone, or pushing out to late afternoon or the evening which then started conflicting with ADRs or just the times you wanted to be done with the parks.  The best strategy for these two parks seemed to be to just get to the bus stop 90 mins prior to the start of early entry...be near the front of the pack....and knock out what you could early.  Get 1 good LL pick at 7am...pay for the headliner at 7am (Rise or FOP), and ride something big at early entry.  This was actually pretty much our strategy at all parks for all days we were there.  

4.  How to fix the system?
Well, if I had the power I'd scrap it altogether and go back to the old system....but I know that will never happen.  So what are some things Disney could do to fix the current system?  Well, for starters, instead of just showing me the next available time slot for a ride with LL....give me 3 options!  Show me a morning, afternoon, and evening time range in the app.  That alone would allow people to better plan their day in the parks the way THEY WANT TO!  So for instance, when I look at a ride like Splash Mountain....show me a selection that says 9-12, 12-4, 4-10....or something along those lines.  So instead of everyone just grabbing the next available, people can actually strategize and do the parks the way they like to better.  

Lock in times for paid Individual Lightning Lanes!  Give the guests 30-60 seconds to check out from the moment they click a time for a ride!  For instance, I selected a 1pm time slot for Rise....by the time I checked out using Apple Pay (which is quick)….only AFTER I PAID, did I find out Disney changed my slot to a 5:10pm time slot....which now conflicted with and ADR!  Ticketmaster couldn't get away with charging you money for a show, only for them to be able to change your seat or performance date after you paid!  They'd be sued into oblivion!  I don't see how Disney can keep getting away with this, and I'm curious to know if it would be worth maybe a class action lawsuit over the practice?  

And lastly, Disney needs to fix their IT in general.  Their systems obviously can't handle the load at 7am when everyone is mad dashing to make picks.  That's a problem of their own making.  The system shouldn't be in place if their computers can't handle the demand!  Also, the MDE needs to really be tweaked to be more streamlined.  I felt like I had to jump between 3 different pages just to see the information I was looking for.  I have to go to the "tip board" to see what picks are available and to see what time I could officially make my next pick.....but then I had to go to the My Day tab to see what selections I had and when our dinner plans were.....but wait, Disney also decided to flood the My Day tab with a bunch of other suggestions I didn't ask for....so I couldn't just see in a nice streamlined single page when my LLs were for and when my ADR was.....that same page should also show you exactly when you can make your next pick without having to go through the motions of trying to make another selection on the Tip Board.  

Heck, one day the MDE kicked me completely out for no reason twice while we were at the MK....and it wouldn't even let me use the quick FaceID to sign back in!  I had to do the full login.  No explanation!  Just out of the blue!  On our last day at the park, on my wife's MDE app, her Tip Board kept defaulting to the Magic Kingdom despite us being in Hollywood Studios!  She kept setting it back to Hollywood Studios, and it would keep going back to MK.  IT disasters by Disney all around!  Absolutely astonishing for a multi-billion dollar company.  

Anyway, thoughts and rants over.  I'm sure I'll think of more to complain about later.  Lol!


----------



## pens4821

We got back from our trip last evening. We were in the parks from the 13-18. I posted more in depth details of my days here, but figured I’d give an overview of my trip.  One thing I didn’t do was I wanted to look at park maps to see if they had anything 50th related on them but I forgot until I was driving home. Figures. I don’t need the maps so I never even look at them anymore. Would’ve liked a couple to commemorate the 50th.

Crowds- heavy. We were last there MLK week of 2019. The crowds were actually probably similar, but the wait times built quicker. The waits for most the rides were an hour or more within an hour or a little more. It was hard to walk around with all the people.

Genie+- thought it was good and wished we purchased it every day. I think it could use some tweaks but we did like it the three days we used it. Biggest thing I liked about FP was being able to pick specific times. LL cut down our waits big time. The LL lines also moved MUCH faster than the FP lines did the last time we were there. We waited 20+ minutes regularly with FP.  

Wait times- other than the last half hour or so we felt they were pretty spot on. And as I said, long early.

Early entry- nice that it’s every park, but I think an hour would be better. But we did usually get two rides in plus in line for a third before things started getting long.

Cleanliness- we didn’t notice any bad bathrooms or a lot of trash like some reports I read before we went.

Staff- I would say they weren’t as nice as they used to be, but no horrible interactions either. Worst is I’d say hi to a CM with a smile and they’d ignore me. That happened on quite a few occasions. Enough that I really started noticing it. But most interacted back, but very few were the first to acknowledge.

Transportation- never had an issue. We stayed 5 nights at yacht 2 at movies. The boats were great and so were the buses. Didn’t have any long waits. One morning we just missed the boat and walked to HS so it was quicker. Next morning we could’ve made the boat (it was heading to the dock) but decided to walk. Boat beat us but barely. No issues going park to park either.

Mobile order- I liked it last trip, but not this one. It took forever once you hit the im here. Lunching pad we waited 20-30 minutes, meanwhile people were walking up to order and getting theirs right away. Cosmic rays, abc commissary, and movies food court we waited too long. Columbia harbor house we just asked if we could go in and order and even though there was a decent line and one cashier it moved quickly.

Yacht club- first stay there and loved it. Resort was clean, beautiful, quiet, and calm. Pool and quiet pool were great. Location to ep and HS was amazing. Bus to MK good. Liked having the kcups and individual toiletries (body wash, shampoo, lotion) that was in big bottles at movies (and no lotion at all). The shower was awesome! Plenty of storage space for our clothes and closet space with hangers. Housekeeping came every other day which was fine for us as we usually do that anyway. Only minor downfall was only 3 washers. We pack light and do laundry (even before leaving so we don’t have a bunch at home). We lucked out but many others walked away because the washers always seemed to be in use.

Movies- I liked having the food court (YC options weren’t that great), and it had nice theming.  We shouldn’t have went deluxe to value though. It was disappointing other than that. The room was tight (I could open the door from the pull down bed), the amenities weren’t as good (I thought all resorts did kcups now but they had pods), it was LOUD (especially from about 8-11 as we were right by the ducks pools and could hear screaming in the room), and it’s much further from the parks.  although the buses were good even we shared with music. And our room actually was closer to music bus stop so we walked there. It was almost like preferred location for music staying at movies.  If we would’ve stayed there all week the downfalls probably wouldn’t have been noticeable, but coming from deluxe they were.

All in all we had a great time. Ive read people say this is their last trip for a while. Not us. We will be back in 2-3 years as always. It was a little more stressful for me having to make decisions on the fly. I liked having my three rides and times that I knew we’d be on. I had a plan before we went this time though, and we stuck to it decently and it worked out great. Built in two sleep in days, and we got so much done that we actually didn’t get to MK for early entry our last day either. The other three days we got very little sleep, but it worked out ok.  Can’t wait to go back already!


----------



## Tonberry

I hear your all your points. We were disappointed with Genie+ too. Especially for Hollywood Studios. We booked MFSR for 10:00 ($60 for a family of 4). After we scanned in, The next available time was Star Tours for 11:00 so we took that, but the wait time for standby was only 20 minutes anyway, so we did Star Tours twice. After scanning in for 11:00, the next attraction available was for 3:00 for Aliens Saucers. Everything else was 5:00 and later.
An absolute waste of money.
I would spend money on something like what Universal has, an Express Pass. Even if it was $200 per person, per day, I would still buy it. Even though our family of 4 would be out $800, we'd still feel like we're getting our money's worth, even though we really aren't. Yet our measly $60 for one day with Genie+ was not worth it.


----------



## Pink Partridge

DisTXMom said:


> Harmonious was just ok- all of that metal projection stuff was awkward.


This is such a perfect description of how I felt.


----------



## mom2rtk

Tonberry said:


> I hear your all your points. We were disappointed with Genie+ too. Especially for Hollywood Studios. We booked MFSR for 10:00 ($60 for a family of 4). After we scanned in, The next available time was Star Tours for 11:00 so we took that, but the wait time for standby was only 20 minutes anyway, so we did Star Tours twice. After scanning in for 11:00, the next attraction available was for 3:00 for Aliens Saucers. Everything else was 5:00 and later.
> An absolute waste of money.
> I would spend money on something like what Universal has, an Express Pass. Even if it was $200 per person, per day, I would still buy it. Even though our family of 4 would be out $800, we'd still feel like we're getting our money's worth, even though we really aren't. Yet our measly $60 for one day with Genie+ was not worth it.


You also have the option of getting a room at one of the 3 deluxe resorts for the night instead of paying $800.


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## redboat45

Can you buy ILL for your entire friend party or only the people you control?  I know you can only buy Genie + for those you control.


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## ruthies12

@acarsme123 I feel like I could have written your post.  I just got back from a trip last week and everything you stated about Genie plus is exactly what I thought of it.  I hated it.  My app would default to Epcot every single day no matter what park I was in.  I really wanted a fastpass for tower of terror but never managed to get one, thought I had it at one point and the app glitched and I lost it.  

And being the planner in the family made the trip so incredibly exhausting for me.  I had to be up and on the app every day at 7 no matter how late we were out the night before or what time we were actually heading to the park.  Had planned Animal Kingdom in the middle of the week as a break since I knew we would only spend a half day there so the rest of the family got to sleep in until 10 after staying late at MK the night before for fireworks.  I, however, was up at 7 and all the rides we wanted had a return time too early in the day so I had to stay up and occasionally refresh until I got an afternoon time.  Then of course I couldn't book another ride until 2 hours after the first booking which caused the whole fiasco to just be a total waste.  

Having to crisscross the park was the worst part in my opinion. It was so incredibly crowded and the walkways were terrible to try to navigate, especially with a stroller and one person in an ECV. My feet have never hurt so bad as they did last week.  And before someone says "it was spring break of course it was busy" yes I knew that going in and expected it going in but having no control over the return times was insane, tried to balance between choosing the soonest return time and choosing the nearest ride and it was just impossible and we ended up backtracking sooooo much needlessly which made the crowded walkways all the more difficult. 

You can put me in the not going back anytime soon camp.


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## CarolynFH

redboat45 said:


> Can you buy ILL for your entire friend party or only the people you control?  I know you can only buy Genie + for those you control.


You can buy ILL$ and G+ for anyone in your F&F list, whether you manage their profiles or not.  You just check their names when asked to designte your party.


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## k5xs

zillayen said:


> We’re here now. We are Disney vets, I had low expectations, but we came after 3 days at Universal with Express Unlimited passes and I can safely say this will be our last Disney trip. Transportation is much more difficult. The crowds here, while there are similar numbers of people to Universal, are so much more rude and aggressive. Everyone seems stressed and rushed, pushing and stepping on you to get somewhere. The need to schedule/reserve everything and then be unable to cancel or reschedule is incredibly frustrating - for dining and Genie+. We have MK reservations for today but no one wants to go back after last night. But because of the reservations and park hop rules we have to waste hours getting there to tap in before we can hop to another park.
> 
> I used to love WDW and was a pass holder at DL for years. I’ve realized that we much prefer to be able to go with the flow and the current mode of Disney is not suited for us at all. We’ve already decided to upgrade our Universal tix to passes and honestly if I can find a room at one of the premier hotels there tonight I’ll just check out of here and not come back.  I am glad my daughter got to ride BTMRR because it’s her favorite.


So sorry to hear your now-all-too-familiar experience. If you can, PLEASE let WDW guest relations hear from you: guest.services@disneyworld.com


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## redboat45

CarolynFH said:


> You can buy ILL$ and G+ for anyone in your F&F list, whether you manage their profiles or not.  You just check their names when asked to designte your party.


ok. I'l try again.  When I tried to buy it before Christmas it would only let me buy for the ones I manage.
Nope still not letting me.  Maybe it does on the day of only and not ahead of time?


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## CarolynFH

redboat45 said:


> ok. I'l try again.  When I tried to buy it before Christmas it would only let me buy for the ones I manage.
> Nope still not letting me.  Maybe it does on the day of only and not ahead of time?


Yes.  To add G+ ahead of time, you actually have to upgrade their tickets to include G+ for every day of those tickets.  To buy G+ for your party, you have to buy the morning of the day you want to use it.  Have you noticed the *Genie, Genie+ and LL thread? * The first 7 posts on that thread will answer many of your questions.  It is updated regularly as things change!


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## Jedimike

acarsme123 said:


> I just wanted to log my thoughts about Genie+ after our experience with it last week.  I'm sure what I'm going to say is repeating what has been said by many before, but I still wanted to get my thoughts down.
> 
> Lock in times for paid Individual Lightning Lanes!  Give the guests 30-60 seconds to check out from the moment they click a time for a ride!  For instance, I selected a 1pm time slot for Rise....by the time I checked out using Apple Pay (which is quick)….only AFTER I PAID, did I find out Disney changed my slot to a 5:10pm time slot....which now conflicted with and ADR!  Ticketmaster couldn't get away with charging you money for a show, only for them to be able to change your seat or performance date after you paid!  They'd be sued into oblivion!  I don't see how Disney can keep getting away with this, and I'm curious to know if it would be worth maybe a class action lawsuit over the practice?
> 
> And lastly, Disney needs to fix their IT in general.  Their systems obviously can't handle the load at 7am when everyone is mad dashing to make picks.  That's a problem of their own making.  The system shouldn't be in place if their computers can't handle the demand!  Also, the MDE needs to really be tweaked to be more streamlined.  I felt like I had to jump between 3 different pages just to see the information I was looking for.  I have to go to the "tip board" to see what picks are available and to see what time I could officially make my next pick.....but then I had to go to the My Day tab to see what selections I had and when our dinner plans were.....but wait, Disney also decided to flood the My Day tab with a bunch of other suggestions I didn't ask for....so I couldn't just see in a nice streamlined single page when my LLs were for and when my ADR was.....that same page should also show you exactly when you can make your next pick without having to go through the motions of trying to make another selection on the Tip Board.
> 
> Heck, one day the MDE kicked me completely out for no reason twice while we were at the MK....and it wouldn't even let me use the quick FaceID to sign back in!  I had to do the full login.  No explanation!  Just out of the blue!  On our last day at the park, on my wife's MDE app, her Tip Board kept defaulting to the Magic Kingdom despite us being in Hollywood Studios!  She kept setting it back to Hollywood Studios, and it would keep going back to MK.  IT disasters by Disney all around!  Absolutely astonishing for a multi-billion dollar company.
> 
> Anyway, thoughts and rants over.  I'm sure I'll think of more to complain about later.  Lol!



I am also a Disney veteran (200+ nights on property over the last decade, pass holder from Texas) and in general can roll with the punches but I am also not a fan of the Genie+.  In addition to the times changing on you after you agree to purchase a certain time, there were a couple mornings on my trip last week where I was on right at 7 AM, selected my first LL (ie SDD or RoR), only to have the system wait and wait and wait some more before telling me that there was an error.  As you know, you are good and screwed at that point on some of the headliners.  If I was a first time visitor, I'd be extremely disappointed to do everything right and then have an IT issue not allow me to acquire my LL of choice.  Regarding value of the system, it only felt valuable to me when we committed to staying late at night.  If you want to be done around dinner time, you're not going to get more than a couple good LLs.


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## Juventus

"Regarding value of the system, it only felt valuable to me when we committed to staying late at night. If you want to be done around dinner time, you're not going to get more than a couple good LLs."

This is key.  We changed from ropdroppers to afternoon/park closers.  Stack LLs, buy a $ILL (you can get any if you are persistent and even if staying offsite).

Also, AK is a great park to start at while stacking MK.  You can do most of the attractions there first thing in the morning and hopefully get a relatively early $ILL for FoP...with plenty of time for a late morning/early afternoon rest.

Just before MK opens, LLs for PP and JC should be at mid/late afternoon.

EPCOT only has a couple of high wait rides but DHS is a bit of a mess for sure.


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## acarsme123

Jedimike said:


> I am also a Disney veteran (200+ nights on property over the last decade, pass holder from Texas) and in general can roll with the punches but I am also not a fan of the Genie+.  In addition to the times changing on you after you agree to purchase a certain time, there were a couple mornings on my trip last week where I was on right at 7 AM, selected my first LL (ie SDD or RoR), only to have the system wait and wait and wait some more before telling me that there was an error.  As you know, you are good and screwed at that point on some of the headliners.  If I was a first time visitor, I'd be extremely disappointed to do everything right and then have an IT issue not allow me to acquire my LL of choice.  Regarding value of the system, it only felt valuable to me when we committed to staying late at night.  If you want to be done around dinner time, you're not going to get more than a couple good LLs.


On our AK day, I was on right at 7am to buy FOP ILL. When I got to the checkout screen it just spun and finally errored out. By the time I tried it again it said there were no ILLs available. After we got into the park and lined up to then just do FOP standby with early entry, I just happened to check the ILLs again for FOP and a bunch of them dropped again. So I was able to snag a paid one, and we got on standby fairly quickly. So we were able to ride twice. Disney’s systems can’t handle the rush at 7am


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## igrsod

We just returned from a sold out week at WDW.  If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to share my knowledge and experience.
We were able to do everything we wanted to do including all major new rides, without purchasing Genie+ or ILL$.  Without waiting more than an hour for any ride all week.
It is possible, you just have to have a good strategy.  
We stayed at BWV and AKL Jambo. 
We also rented a car with TURO... new one for us.
Happy to help anyone out.


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## Schneewittchen37

Can you explain your "no more than an hour wait" strategy?  Rope drop?  Hop in line at closing?  Extended evening hours for deluxe guests?  Park hopping?  Which rides?


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## igrsod

Schneewittchen37 said:


> Can you explain your "no more than an hour wait" strategy?  Rope drop?  Hop in a line closing?  Extended evening hours for deluxe guests?  Park hopping?  Which rides?


Our biggest win was the half hour early entry for resort guests.  If you get there at least 15 minutes before they let resort guests in, we were able to knock out 2 rides before the park was officially open.  
That was a huge bonus, as we were ahead of the game.  We also found that wait times were extremely over exaggerated.  Our first ride after official park opening was always a short wait probably because lightning lanes were less of a factor at that time of day.
Our Remy strategy was to ride during Harmonious the first time... and we rode the next day by being lucky to be close by France when it reopened after a closure.
Hopping in line at closing was our Rise of the Resistance strategy and that worked.  
We did extended evening hours for MK and Epcot.  On those days, we went for rope drop did 3-4 rides, went back to the hotel for a swim or sleep.  Returned after an early dinner.  We got everything done.
We didn't park hop.  I have never enjoyed park hopping at all.... but I could see how it could be useful at times.  Early 7:00am entry at AK and late 11:00pm MK.  But then you are so exhausted.
I think also having a plan of what rides are must dos, and watching the wait times.  I knew that Tower of Terror, was long all day as it was running at half capacity, where as other rides at HS had more fluctuating wait times.  So we did Tower or Terror at early entry, followed by RR.  This worked well, as most people run to the other areas of the park at opening.  We didn't do EVERY ride in ALL the parks.  We did everything we wanted to do.  BUT, we also didn't spend every waking minute in the parks either.
We also had a bit of luck with being in the right place at the right time.  We hopped in after a closure for HM, Rat, MMRR, TSMM.

We were pleasantly surprised how much we were able to do, especially when we found out that all parks were sold out for the week.


----------



## alyspins

I posted this as a standalone thread but I'll ask you as well -- are trams back at Epcot? I heard they are back at MK but I'm hearing mixed on the rest of the parks. Thanks!


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## igrsod

alyspins said:


> I posted this as a standalone thread but I'll ask you as well -- are trams back at Epcot? I heard they are back at MK but I'm hearing mixed on the rest of the parks. Thanks!


I just replied on your other thread...lol
But no, they were only running at Magic Kingdom.  The other parks we had to walk quite a ways to the entrance.


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## alyspins

igrsod said:


> I just replied on your other thread...lol
> But no, they were only running at Magic Kingdom.  The other parks we had to walk quite a ways to the entrance.



Thanks so much!!


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## boxer

How was Turo??  With price of rentals right now, really thinking of trying this out.


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## mlbrv

Just got back Monday from a 4 day trip (with park hopper tix) - we did each park 2X (except AK)...2 parks a day.
1st time using Genie +, which I bought for all 4 days/ parks..

here's how it shook out:

day 1: 
MK
Peter Pan - early entry, waited in line approx 30 min
Splash 
Seven Dwarves - $ILL
Jungle cruise - LL
Haunted mansion
Pirates- LL
Space mountain - LL
Big thunder mountain
People Mover
Buzz lightyear 

EP
Soarin'
Livng with the Land

dinner @ Saana

day 2:
HS
Slinky Dog - early entry - waited in line approx 30 min
Toy Story 
Rise of the Resistance - $ILL
Rock n Rollercoaster - LL
Star Tours - LL
Mickey and Minnie 


EP
Remy - $ILL
Soarin - LL

dinner @ Steakhouse 71

day 3:
EP
Soarin'
Spaceship Earth
Test Track -LL
Three Caballeros
Frozen
Remy - $ILL

(spent most of day stacking for early evening rides at MK)

MK
Space mountain -LL
Buzz lightyear
Seven dwarves - $ILL
Pirates - LL
Big thunder 
Splash - LL
Haunted - LL

day 4:
AK
Flight of Passage - $ILL
Safari - LL
Dinosaur
It’s tough to be a Bug

HS
Slinky dog dash
Mickey and Minnie
Tower of Terror -LL (we still waited 40 min in line for this)
Rock n rollercoaster - LL

dinner @ Space 220

MK, EP & HS were all a level 9 or 10 while we were there -- parks were very very crowded....but, wait times on the signs were often off - some rides said 80 min - we waited 40...some said 40 mins, we waited 25 mins....so don't let wait times scare you...they often move much faster.

I don't love Genie +, I prefer FP, but we did make it work...and we got plenty of LL reservations. We also found the old "refreshing" method for FP still works here.....we got LL late in the day for popular rides by just continuing to check...and re-check....
and we also found (as many have said) that rides that get "sold out" at 7am, often have more times released around 7:07- 7:10am....and them more throughout the day.

We got on every ride we wanted - and most at the times we wanted....BUT, I'm very put off that I had to pay for $ILL's in order to ride the popular rides without waiting in a 110 min line.....after paying high ticket prices and then also paying for Genie+, to have to pay even more for $ILL was just wrong. But we weren't there for long and wanted to do these rides so I paid....but I think it's asking too much to have to pay a separate premium for these rides...they should be included in Genie+


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## Beamerball

What was your evening at Epcot like with extended hours?  We Have an ADR in France at 7.  Trying to figure out a strategy with extended hours currently at 9pm-11pm.  Thanks!


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## pens4821

Beamerball said:


> What was your evening at Epcot like with extended hours?  We Have an ADR in France at 7.  Trying to figure out a strategy with extended hours currently at 9pm-11pm.  Thanks!



Our experience with it wasn’t as good as MK. We got in line for soarin at 830. Waited about a half hour. Walked to tt. Got in line about 920. It went down for about 20 minutes. By the time we got off frozen and remy were both posted around 45 minutes and it was a little after 10. We planned on doing both but prioritized remy so went there. The wait was just about as posted and by the time we got off the ride it was almost 11. So from a little after 9 till 11 we got 2 rides done. If tt wouldn’t have went down I think we would’ve been ok to do tt, frozen, and remy though.


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## igrsod

boxer said:


> How was Turo??  With price of rentals right now, really thinking of trying this out.


Turo worked out very well.  I was apprehensive as it was our first time, but it was great.  Easy pick up and drop off at the airport and about 50% of what actual car rental prices are right now.
We loved having a car to get groceries, avoid buses, and getting back and forth to the airport.
We will for sure use it again.  It reminded me of our early days as airbnb guests...not really knowing what to expect.  Now we use them easily.


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## igrsod

Beamerball said:


> What was your evening at Epcot like with extended hours?  We Have an ADR in France at 7.  Trying to figure out a strategy with extended hours currently at 9pm-11pm.  Thanks!


It was great.  We did Remy, Test Track and Soarin'.  Not much was open as far as food and merchandise.  We loved the extended hours.  If you can stay til the end, it gets even more quiet.
Highly recommend it.


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## igrsod

pens4821 said:


> Our experience with it wasn’t as good as MK. We got in line for soarin at 830. Waited about a half hour. Walked to tt. Got in line about 920. It went down for about 20 minutes. By the time we got off frozen and remy were both posted around 45 minutes and it was a little after 10. We planned on doing both but prioritized remy so went there. The wait was just about as posted and by the time we got off the ride it was almost 11. So from a little after 9 till 11 we got 2 rides done. If tt wouldn’t have went down I think we would’ve been ok to do tt, frozen, and remy though.


That can happen.  Last time we were at extended Epcot hours, we only got two rides in as well.  
2-3 big rides can be done.  So you budget your day for that.  We did all the shopping and eating around the world during the day and then rode our favourite rides at the evening hours.


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## igrsod

Our MK evening hours was awesome from 11-1 am.  Most people cleared out at 11 and the everything was pretty much a walk on.  We did all of tomorrowland plus some of fantasyland.


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## jimmymc

How did you do your Turo rental? I'm trying them for the first time soon. Also my first time renting a car at Disney.

Also how were the lines for the Epcot festival booths? I don't have any reservations for my Epcot day and want to use them for dinner.


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## lovethattink

igrsod said:


> We just returned from a sold out week at WDW.  If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to share my knowledge and experience.
> We were able to do everything we wanted to do including all major new rides, without purchasing Genie+ or ILL$.  Without waiting more than an hour for any ride all week.
> It is possible, you just have to have a good strategy.
> We stayed at BWV and AKL Jambo.
> We also rented a car with TURO... new one for us.
> Happy to help anyone out.



I merged your just back thread into the Here Now, Just Back thread.


----------



## igrsod

jimmymc said:


> How did you do your Turo rental? I'm trying them for the first time soon. Also my first time renting a car at Disney.
> 
> Also how were the lines for the Epcot festival booths? I don't have any reservations for my Epcot day and want to use them for dinner.


I just looked on the Turo website and found a car in the price range I wanted with an owner with a good rating and went from there.  
We had never rented a car until our last time (dec 2021) at Disney.  Renting was expensive, but we enjoyed having one for many reasons, and will probably always have a car from now on.

Festival booth lines were not that bad.  Only one (mexico) that I had to wait any length of time, the rest were quick.  The food at Flower and Garden was delicious.  We didn't have lunch or dinner reservations.  We just snacked all day when something at a booth struck our fancy.


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## jimmymc

igrsod said:


> I just looked on the Turo website and found a car in the price range I wanted with an owner with a good rating and went from there.
> We had never rented a car until our last time (dec 2021) at Disney.  Renting was expensive, but we enjoyed having one for many reasons, and will probably always have a car from now on.
> 
> Festival booth lines were not that bad.  Only one (mexico) that I had to wait any length of time, the rest were quick.  The food at Flower and Garden was delicious.  We didn't have lunch or dinner reservations.  We just snacked all day when something at a booth struck our fancy.



How did you do the airport pickup for the car? Did they meet you at the airport?

And great to hear with the festival!


----------



## igrsod

jimmymc said:


> How did you do the airport pickup for the car? Did they meet you at the airport?
> 
> And great to hear with the festival!


The owner I had rented from, parked the car in a lot at the airport with a lockbox on the driver's side door.  When we arrived at the airport, he messaged me the location and code for the box... secret agent style lol.


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## jimmymc

igrsod said:


> The owner I had rented from, parked the car in a lot at the airport with a lockbox on the driver's side door.  When we arrived at the airport, he messaged me the location and code for the box... secret agent style lol.



Haha cool!


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## meghanmione

Here now! We spent the day at the MK and are finishing up a nice dinner at the Crystal Palace! We ended up sleeping in and even tho I slept through my 6:30 alarms  I was still able book 7DMT and BTM for midday at 8 AM. Worked out perfect!

I must say, every park at capacity outside of EPCOT did make me apprehensive, but we’ve been having the best time! Lines aren’t outrageous imo and if you can stack genie+ well, you can have a pretty solid line free day for the most part. It is crowded, but absolutely not as bad as I was expecting and we aren’t packed in like sardines like I feared.

With genie we have accomplished 7DMT, BTM, SM, HM, BLSC, JC, AND I just managed to snag a PPF after refreshing for a min or two. We also did pirates and people mover as standby and both were under 30 mins even tho the wait times were higher.


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## T'Lynn

Here now! Waiting for HS rope drop. Got a RotR $LL selected 12:25, got 3:15 so not too bad (but still crazy) and snagged a noon for MFSR (this all at 7 with some slight delay in loading the app. 

Here we go! Day 1 of our trip!


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## bambialways4ever

We're here now!

Hit up Typhoon Lagoon yesterday and it was amazing! It being not too hot yesterday made it a great day for waterparks because the concrete wasn't magma and the sun wasn't completely baking us.

Already got a survey this morning with LOTS of questions about_ "other guests behavior and how it impacted my experience",_ line wait times, and overall CM reviews for a lot of different areas and specifics.

Today we check into DVC after a quick night at POP!, so excited.


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## T'Lynn

HS today EE to about 5

RD SDD - it was down so my DD9 and I rode Swirling Saucers while my DH held our spots. Finally rode it at about 8:45

RotR & RnRC we’re also down so with everyone stuck in line the other rides had short waits a while longer. We were able to do MMRR with a 20 min wait at about 9.

then everything was a huge wait. Star Tours was 65 minutes so we opted to see Olaf and then wait theVacation short film (which was so cute!) before going to Indiana Jones. We were all actually happy that we were diverted and got to see an extra show. It’s nice to enjoy the other park offerings.

After Indy we sampled the milk (DD9 likes green, DH and I preferred blue) then MFSR LL and caught the Pixar Cavalcade on the way to Hollywood Brown Derby for lunch.

After we ate we had Star Tours LL then TSM LL then RotR $LL. Made it just in time for our droid reservation!

It was a full day and very busy but G+ worked ok (mostly because I knew what to expect)

we had dinner and watched Harmonius at Epcot. I loved the new fireworks show!

Full Epcot day with Extended Evening tomorrow!


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## UrsulaTime

3/17 - 3/21
I broke up a longer 'review' into smaller bits for specific forums, so I'm sharing here without backstory but feel free to PM if you have any questions. I'm really so grateful for all of the info made available on this site throughout the years so I'd like to pass that on to others with the relatively limited experience I have. 
I was the planner/instigator for the trip. I was joined by my aunt (she'd been to WDW twenty years ago and didn't remember much) and my 17 y/o cousin (first time, doesn't like rides!). I felt a little responsible for their enjoyment, as far as planning could take us.

I was solo on 3/18 and had made a park reservation for MK weeks before. Chose MK by default, thinking it would be the first to sell out and I'd narrow down my plans and change the reservation then. I had a park hopper anyway, so no big deal, right? By the time I realized I wanted to go to HS, it wasn't available...but I had a park hopper, so on big deal, right? [Repeat intended.] Long story short: I was exhausted morning of 3/18, and since it didn't affect anyone else, I let myself rest and was ready to hit the parks at an obscenely late [i.e., there was no bang-for-my-buck happening] hour. Which was fine...except I couldn't jump into my plans at HS. I had to go to MK first, tap in, and make a U-turn back to the buses. Accordingly, the bus to HS required driver shift switches...I arrived at 6:40. 

On 3/20, with my aunt and cousin, I'd forgotten that when my aunt bought her ticket, I told her to make a reservation for MK (same reasoning as above)...meanwhile I'd switched my cousin's reservation and my own to HS. I didn't remember until we were on the bus to HS at 12:15! In the end, we decided she should try to tap in (because she wasn't 100% sure about her reservation). It didn't work, and a CM (additional to the CM at the turnstile) with an iPad came right over, and we sheepishly told him what had happened. I thought she'd never get in, but he was quite gracious, tapped a few times, and she was in! We expressed our thanks, of course! My aunt, who didn't know much about current DW protocol wasn't surprised at all; she said, "They wouldn't want to break up families," but I was very surprised. And remembered how I didn't even consider asking a CM on 3/18 if I could skip my first park, seeing as it was 6:40 pm.


----------



## T'Lynn

We did Epcot yesterday. I got an  LL for Test Track at 7 am.

RD Remy’s… which was down until about 8:45. We’re 2 for 2 on our RD rides being down! It was ok tho, we enjoyed France, UK and Canada on our way to Future World (or whatever it’s called now)

I had to wait for 10:30 to book another LL so we rode Figment standby and got Nemo for right after and Spaceship Earth after that. We stopped for some great photos in the front of course!

after SE I got LwtL and we had lunch reservations at 12:25 at Garden Grill and I got another 8 pm LL for Soarin

long after swim break!

Returned to the park about 6pm and caught The American Adventure then ate (Magnolia Terrace is delicious!)

we did our LL for TT and then Soarin’ and Extended Evening began. We did Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Frozen, and Grand Fiesta. The walk between rides really cuts into the time at Epcot but it was so nice to walk through a nearly empty park and all the CMs were great!!

MK today!!


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## MainMom

T'Lynn said:


> We did Epcot yesterday. I got an  LL for Test Track at 7 am.
> 
> RD Remy’s… which was down until about 8:45. We’re 2 for 2 on our RD rides being down! It was ok tho, we enjoyed France, UK and Canada on our way to Future World (or whatever it’s called now)
> 
> I had to wait for 10:30 to book another LL so we rode Figment standby and got Nemo for right after and Spaceship Earth after that. We stopped for some great photos in the front of course!
> 
> after SE I got LwtL and we had lunch reservations at 12:25 at Garden Grill and I got another 8 pm LL for Soarin
> 
> long after swim break!
> 
> Returned to the park about 6pm and caught The American Adventure then ate (Magnolia Terrace is delicious!)
> 
> we did our LL for TT and then Soarin’ and Extended Evening began. We did Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Frozen, and Grand Fiesta. The walk between rides really cuts into the time at Epcot but it was so nice to walk through a nearly empty park and all the CMs were great!!
> 
> MK today!!


Was TT already into the evening hours when you booked at 7am? My DD and I will be trying for an evening G+ on our arrival/ travel day.


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## tofubeast

I was at the park 3/18-22. With Spring Break, the crowds were off the charts. Worse than the weekend of T-Day for me. But, being FL AP passholders, we went with the attitude that we didn't need to see everything, and the Poly pool/resort time was a higher priority.

As we were driving north to WDW on our DHS day, I made a point to stack starting in the late afternoon. I had already canceled my 50s PT ADR because not knowing when you would get a Genie and if it conflicted with the ressie time was stressful. (Side note, the day after our DHS visit, Disney sent me a survey about dining at DHS. I made a point to let them know that not being able to schedule or land a time with Genie makes it very hard to work around ADRs. Perhaps them hearing that they missed out on table service revenue (vs QS) might make them rethink things?)

I was able to get a Slinky minutes after 7 am. I refreshed until I knew I probably had a nighttime genie. I think they sold out seconds later. I hit the road. Fortunately, the timing was right for my next genie and I was able to secure one while at a FL turnpike rest stop. (Another side note....there is great mobile phone service at those rest stops because the highway patrol is there. Good towers! I easily scored a Remy VQ last fall from there, too!) I got a RnRC genie then. Later, while chilling at the OKW pool, I got TSM and then ST. 

My DHS stack:
ST 5:50-6:50
RnR 6:35-7:35
SDD: 7:10-8:10
TSM: 8:05-9

Given the level of crowds, this was the best I could do and still made for a fun evening. We ended up eating at DB-7 and doing the single rider line for Smuggler. My daughter is 11, and we have her in the middle between my hubby and me when we do SR. Every time, she has ridden with either him or me. We also did Mickey and Minnie after Slinky (8:00 or so) and had a 25min wait which was much shorter than what was posted. Had we gone on after our TSM genie, the queue would have been even shorter. **I honestly think stacking for a later DHS is the way to go if you don't care about seeing everything. I didn't want to wait in the long queues and I didn't 'care' about the shows and character pics. So even if I had spent the whole day there, given how quickly genie was drying up with each 120 run, I wouldn't have done any better had I been there all day.

That was my only Genie day this trip. Other than that, we took advantage of that extra half hour at MK and did Space and some other rides. One AM, we were a little late for the half-hour, so we RD'd for Splash. We ended up on one of the first logs and then had a short wait for Thunder. One night, we went back to MK (post Enchantment). I'd promised my daughter we'd do 7D. We got in line about a half-hour before closing, even knowing that the ride had just gone down. It came back up and we ended up only waiting about 20min. 

We did Extended PM hours at EPCOT. After viewing Harmonious from Japan, we stayed put for a bit and then took a leisurely stroll to Norway. The posted wait was 50 min, but the true wait was about 20.  We then headed to TT. The posted wait was 45. We decided to just do SR and it was essentially a walk-on. We do the same strategy with SR on Smugglers. Most times, our daughter is in the same car as me or hubby.  Our feet were tired and our allergies bad, so we headed back to the resort. The posted wait times (even assuming they were inflated) were not as awesome as I had hoped. 

Speaking of allergies, we headed to first aid after getting a nice tip to do so from a kind hibachi table-mate at Teppan Edo. They will give you (and children) a dose of allergy meds. People at first aid said that pollen count is really high right now, and perhaps also with the Flower fest, many had been stopping in with allergy issues. So bring your allergy meds with you when packing! (and your moleskin for blisters)

Again, this trip was more chill for us. I finally got to stay at the Poly (childhood dream), and it didn't disappoint. Rather than worry about too many rides at MK, I enjoyed the Dapper Dans, character cavalcades, and strolled the shops. Met lots of nice people along the way and the CMs were very kind and helpful. As far as Genie+, I will never use it for AK or EPCOT. I'd consider it for a DHS stack again (maybe) and MK.


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## lovethattink

We were at Epcot last night. Definitely less people than last week! I noticed a lot more cm were earning their ears.

A tip for those with strollers, keep your bags zipped closed when you leave the stroller unattended. There’s always been squirrel issues of getting into belongings. But last night I saw 2 rats. One was busy eating something outside The Land and one was between the restrooms and pin store that use to be an Art of Disney store. He scurried under a garbage can that had a stroller parked right beside it.

There was a cm feet away from the rat at the land. I told her about it. It was not afraid of people. She went near it and blocked the view of it, so people didn’t stop, take photos and gawk like we did.


----------



## lockets

lovethattink said:


> We were at Epcot last night. Definitely less people than last week! I noticed a lot more cm were earning their ears.
> 
> A tip for those with strollers, keep your bags zipped closed when you leave the stroller unattended. There’s always been squirrel issues of getting into belongings. But last night I saw 2 rats. One was busy eating something outside The Land and one was between the restrooms and pin store that use to be an Art of Disney store. He scurried under a garbage can that had a stroller parked right beside it.
> 
> There was a cm feet away from the rat at the land. I told her about it. It was not afraid of people. She went near it and blocked the view of it, so people didn’t stop, take photos and gawk like we did.


Please repost this at thread below. That thread needs this!
https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...oncerning-disney.3866716/page-2#post-63889087


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## BrianL

lovethattink said:


> We were at Epcot last night. Definitely less people than last week! I noticed a lot more cm were earning their ears.
> 
> A tip for those with strollers, keep your bags zipped closed when you leave the stroller unattended. There’s always been squirrel issues of getting into belongings. But last night I saw 2 rats. One was busy eating something outside The Land and one was between the restrooms and pin store that use to be an Art of Disney store. He scurried under a garbage can that had a stroller parked right beside it.
> 
> There was a cm feet away from the rat at the land. I told her about it. It was not afraid of people. She went near it and blocked the view of it, so people didn’t stop, take photos and gawk like we did.



Oh, it was just Remy taking a break from the France pavilion.


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## mickey916

BrianL said:


> Oh, it was just Remy taking a break from the France pavilion.


Haha! I was trying to think of a good Remy response but you beat me to it!


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## T'Lynn

MainMom said:


> Was TT already into the evening hours when you booked at 7am? My DD and I will be trying for an evening G+ on our arrival/ travel day.


Yes. I refreshed maybe a couple times but it got to the late times pretty quickly for TT!!


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## bambialways4ever

We had a stroke of luck today. We had a Genie+ time for pirates for 9:05 am this morning. At 8:58, we get an alert that "there was an issue" and they've converted it to a multiple experiences pass.

Out of curiosity I went to check, and I could ALSO make a new Genie+ selection even though it hadn't been two hours! It was awesome.We got a freebie and could make a new one


----------



## T.G.I.Friday

We are here now. We arrived on Saturday, so I’ve had a few days to see some things and get my opinions together now that I’ve experienced all of the parks at least once.  

Sold out parks made me concerned, but crowds are manageable, and people are kind and friendly. Everyone seems to have a good attitude.

Parks are clean overall and well maintained. I’ve not encountered any overflowing trash cans or neglect. 

Cast members are fine. Not super friendly, but they aren’t rude either. Some go above and beyond, but on the whole, I’d say they are professionally polite.

Evening Epcot hours had more crowds than I’d expected. Perhaps it moved quickly, but at 9:30 the line for Frozen was out into the world showcase. Remy also showed a 50 minute wait at 9:45.  Magic Kingdom is tonight from 11-1, so we will see what that is like.


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## lovethattink

If you’re here now, be sure to stop by the Grand Floridian’s gorgeous edible Easter egg display and Grand Cottage with Easter treats to purchase. We bought the handmade marshmallows, a 50th Mickey Woopie Pie and a raspberry chocolate Mickey head. The Whoopi pie tastes like French toast. Planning on catching fireworks at MK tonight.


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## bambialways4ever

lovethattink said:


> If you’re here now, be sure to stop by the Grand Floridian’s gorgeous edible Easter egg display and Grand Cottage with Easter treats to purchase. We bought the handmade marshmallows, a 50th Mickey Woopie Pie and a raspberry chocolate Mickey head. The Whoopi pie tastes like French toast. Planning on catching fireworks at MK tonight.


Can second this. Outside of the delicious snacks, the Easter Egg displays are truly works of art.


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## mickey916

bambialways4ever said:


> Can second this. Outside of the delicious snacks, the Easter Egg displays are truly works of art.


Can't wait to see them next week!


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## Sammy

Here now…arrived Sunday.  Any questions let me know.

Arrived at OKW at 10:00 AM, didn’t receive room assignment until 5:20 PM. TONS of people just hanging out at the pool waiting for their rooms. CMs were talking about how short-staffed housekeeping was.

Did Epcot yesterday although hubby did not want to do Early Entry (grrrr), so I set an alarm for 6:45 and did what I said I wouldn’t:  paid for a LL for Remy!  I am SO glad I did though because I didn’t see the wait time drop below 60 minutes all day, with the highest being 150.  As another poster said, it was still 45 minutes at 10:45 PM.  With LL at 10:25, we pretty much walked on. All the rides had long waits all day.  We were there mainly for the food booths though.  Best things we had were the Bison Ribeye at Farmers Feast, Spicy Gumbo at Magnolia, and the Mojo Marinated Pork Belly at Citrus Blossum.  We sampled something from almost every booth!

Busses have been spotty.  One family at the bus stop yesterday morning (7:30) said they had been waiting an hour for a bus to MK.  We waited almost 45 for one back to OKW from Epcot.  Definitely not as plentiful as on past trips.  Masks mandated on all so far.

Side note: Disney is making a KILLING on the Loungefly backpacks. I swear every other person I see has one.

Off to the Polynesian for dinner and a little monorail resort hopping!


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## samsonjs

Update for Coronado And first day of MK today. We utilized genie + and ILL.

Coronado- we haven’t stayed since the tower was built. I can go more in depth later on the Coronado forum but I would say building the tower is a huge plus. It feels much more alive, reminds me of boardwalk. Lots of people out enjoying the resort until late, but it’s still quiet and peaceful. The tower is impressive, love dahlias. Still regret every visit to Rix. No long waits or overcrowding on buses today.

MK: we always have been rope droppers, break, back at night. We did this again today. We were near the fromt of the rope drop. I had bought 7dmt ILL at 7am which it switched to 7:20 then to 8:30 after I paid. I was very annoyed that it switches after I’ve paid. The secondary confirmation page already switched it to 7:20 which I approved but then it switched it again! This is not right for an extra paid ride imo. Genie + we got our moneys worth at MK. I definitely wouldn’t try MK without genie + if you prioritize rides. I dislike that you can only book a genie + once per ride. I like that you can overlap your booking times so I could stack rides in one area of the park which fastpass wouldn’t allow. Towards the second half of the day (around 4-5) headliners were nonexistent and the evening (7-8pm) the genie + options were slim. I did learn something new that I will apply next time. When I’m ready to return to the park I will try to book my final 120 min rule ride as close to my arrival so that I can start checking for more genie+ when I tap in to that ride. I think I could have done more if I had done that. Here’s what we did:

7dmt (rope drop)
Haunted mansion (standby)
Splash (genie +)
QS early lunch
Philharmagic
Meet stepsisters
Pirates (genie +)
Parade
Break
Meet mickey (standby)
Cavalcade
Btmr (genie +)
Space (genie +)
Buzz (genie +)
QS dinner
Meet princess
Teacups (genie +)
7dmt (ILL)

I feel like we got a lot done considering our break. We left just before the parade bc my daughter was very tired. We were in the parks from 8-12:45 and 5:30-9. We didn’t plan to rope drop 7dmt but my kids decided they wanted to do that instead of Peter Pan. We return Thursday and I’m wanting to play around with genie + more. I did a lot of nighttime stacking.

Crowds: its not as bad as I thought. My worst fear was corridors where you can barely move. I haven’t encountered that yet. Genie + helped avoid the headliner lines.

Staff and cleanliness: staff at the resort is very friendly from housekeeping to lifeguards, everyone is wonderful. The park staff was courteous. You can tell they seem more tired of guests or something though. It seemed pretty clean and there was only one time where I could tell they haven’t been through a line. I see lots of staff walking around prepared to clean.

50th: the castle looks amazing at night. It’s much cooler than photos present. But, merchandise and food is disappointing. It’s s lot of the same stuff but slightly different. I wish the Been There mugs were still available. It’s a crime that they aren’t. No fridge magnets. Am I the only person that buys those? I wish there were more special shows or characters for this. I wouldn’t visit just for the 50th. I wish they had more Encanto merch. My daughter really wanted a plush Mirabel doll. It was available briefly on Disney store months ago but now is not and there isn’t anything Encanto on site.


----------



## Haley R

Sammy said:


> Here now…arrived Sunday.  Any questions let me know.
> 
> Arrived at OKW at 10:00 AM, didn’t receive room assignment until 5:20 PM. TONS of people just hanging out at the pool waiting for their rooms. CMs were talking about how short-staffed housekeeping was.
> 
> Did Epcot yesterday although hubby did not want to do Early Entry (grrrr), so I set an alarm for 6:45 and did what I said I wouldn’t:  paid for a LL for Remy!  I am SO glad I did though because I didn’t see the wait time drop below 60 minutes all day, with the highest being 150.  As another poster said, it was still 45 minutes at 10:45 PM.  With LL at 10:25, we pretty much walked on. All the rides had long waits all day.  We were there mainly for the food booths though.  Best things we had were the Bison Ribeye at Farmers Feast, Spicy Gumbo at Magnolia, and the Mojo Marinated Pork Belly at Citrus Blossum.  We sampled something from almost every booth!
> 
> Busses have been spotty.  One family at the bus stop yesterday morning (7:30) said they had been waiting an hour for a bus to MK.  We waited almost 45 for one back to OKW from Epcot.  Definitely not as plentiful as on past trips.  Masks mandated on all so far.
> 
> Side note: Disney is making a KILLING on the Loungefly backpacks. I swear every other person I see has one.
> 
> Off to the Polynesian for dinner and a little monorail resort hopping!


This makes me a little nervous. We check into OKW today for one night and were hoping to get a room earlier even though I know it’s not guaranteed. Did you try asking for a room early at the front desk?


----------



## kc51570

lovethattink said:


> We were at Epcot last night. Definitely less people than last week! I noticed a lot more cm were earning their ears.
> 
> A tip for those with strollers, keep your bags zipped closed when you leave the stroller unattended. There’s always been squirrel issues of getting into belongings. But last night I saw 2 rats. One was busy eating something outside The Land and one was between the restrooms and pin store that use to be an Art of Disney store. He scurried under a garbage can that had a stroller parked right beside it.
> 
> There was a cm feet away from the rat at the land. I told her about it. It was not afraid of people. She went near it and blocked the view of it, so people didn’t stop, take photos and gawk like we did.


I saw a rat at Epcot over the summer-it practically ran over my foot as we were walking along the pathway from test track back to World Showcase.


----------



## Naomeri

Here now, staying at Coronado.  Report for Tuesday, March 29

I bought G+ on my flight down yesterday, and got Jungle Cruise for 605-705 pm.  This was perfect, since I didn’t know exactly when I’d make it to the parks.  I wasn’t landing at MCO until almost noon, and then I’d need to take the Sunshine Flyer to the resort and get my room before I could go (I needed to unpack stuff).

At 11am, I got BTMRR for 415-515.  My flight landed a bit early, my bag was in the first bunch on the conveyor belt, and I waited less than 10 minutes for my bus to Coronado.  I got there right at 1, so before I headed into the lobby, I grabbed Space Mt for 740-840.  My room wasn’t ready yet, soI sat in the tower lobby for about 10 minutes before I went up to the desk to ask for an ETA.  They were able to assign me to an available room right away, so I hauled my stuff to the Casitas and unpacked.  I was on a bus to MK by 215.  I ordered lunch on the way there, but then I pushed the arrival window back because the parade was going to be starting and I wanted to see it.

At 3pm, I got HM for 910-1010.  Then I watched the parade, headed to Cosmic Ray’s for food, and then to my LL at BTMRR.  I did Hall of Presidents to kill some time, and got Buzz for 820-920 at 5pm.  I waited briefly for Philharmagic, and then headed toward Jungle Cruise.  I got over there about 20 minutes early, so I checked other rides, and saw PotC was only 35 minutes, so I did that (wait time was accurate) and then headed back to JC.  At 7pm, I grabbed a Laugh Floor for 740-840, just for the heck of it.  I walked onto the teacups, and then sat by Space Mountain until my LL.  The I did Laugh Floor, had a brownie sundae, did my Buzz LL, and got done just in time to squeeze into the edge of the hub for fireworks.  Then I wriggled through the crowded hub to get to my HM LL and then headed back to the resort.  All in all, a pretty good day for only having half a day.


----------



## T.G.I.Friday

I’ve seen it mentioned before, and I can’t agree strongly enough - if you are eligible, be sure to use the extended hours at MK!!!    We took a really long afternoon break and didn’t enter the park until 8:00. By 12:30, we had done everything and more than we’d hoped - including taking pictures and strolling through the shops - that we left. It was a magical evening.


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## ambula603

T.G.I.Friday said:


> I’ve seen it mentioned before, and I can’t agree strongly enough - if you are eligible, be sure to use the extended hours at MK!!!    We took a really long afternoon break and didn’t enter the park until 8:00. By 12:30, we had done everything and more than we’d hoped - including taking pictures and strolling through the shops - that we left. It was a magical evening.


Thanks for sharing!  We plan to do it but I know we always lose steam as the days of vacation go on. But I am insisting we make the late nights at Epcot and MK a priority!


----------



## pens4821

T.G.I.Friday said:


> I’ve seen it mentioned before, and I can’t agree strongly enough - if you are eligible, be sure to use the extended hours at MK!!!    We took a really long afternoon break and didn’t enter the park until 8:00. By 12:30, we had done everything and more than we’d hoped - including taking pictures and strolling through the shops - that we left. It was a magical evening.



It was great for us too. We did the same. We left the resort about 7, ate at Columbia harbor house, and started riding after 8. We did pirates, btm, splash (we got in line right after the fireworks so this did take a little over an hour), hm (got in line here at 1055) pp, 7d, stopped for the restroom and to enjoy the castle a little), buzz, space then back to btm. Not the best use of time to walk back over there but that’s what my nephew wanted. We got off there about 1245. Could’ve went somewhere else but we were tired by that time so just decided to head out slowly.


----------



## Sammy

Haley R said:


> This makes me a little nervous. We check into OKW today for one night and were hoping to get a room earlier even though I know it’s not guaranteed. Did you try asking for a room early at the front desk?


Hi sorry just seeing this.  Yes, we asked, as did several other guests, but the standard reply was they couldn’t give any answers on timing, the rooms were being assigned as fast as housekeeping  could release them.  You may have better luck checking in on Wednesday vs checking in on Sunday as we did.


----------



## Sarahslay

Haley R said:


> This makes me a little nervous. We check into OKW today for one night and were hoping to get a room earlier even though I know it’s not guaranteed. Did you try asking for a room early at the front desk?


I hate to say it, but we had the exact same experience at OKW in June. We arrived after having brunch at DS, around 1-ish (ate and then shopped), it was fine because my kids wanted to swim. 4pm rolls around so we get them out of the pool because I figured our room should be ready any minute (because, as they state, check-in is at 4). Well, nothing, so I go to the front desk and they say "your room is ready, we're just waiting on it to get inspected and cleared". So we wait.....and wait. We go back close to 5, same situation, they try calling the person and no answer. We go back at 5:30, as they asked us to do if we still haven't gotten a text, and they FINALLY were able to get ahold of them. We finally got in our room at almost 6pm, and we got a room credit of $300 for our troubles, but we were exhausted and had wasted a whole afternoon. We asked when we first arrived around 1 if there was anything available and they said no, it was just a bad time, and the same thing had happened when we got to Riviera at the beginning of our trip too a week prior, room not ready until almost 6, clean but waiting on inspection.


----------



## Haley R

Sammy said:


> Hi sorry just seeing this.  Yes, we asked, as did several other guests, but the standard reply was they couldn’t give any answers on timing, the rooms were being assigned as fast as housekeeping  could release them.  You may have better luck checking in on Wednesday vs checking in on Sunday as we did.


We’ve tried twice today and so far no room. Ds might have to just skip his nap today. The pool is packed

ETA: We got our room!!


----------



## hulagirl87

We just got back yesterday from a short 3 day trip and it was amazing!   The weather was fantastic!   The crowd level was high and at times it was hard to push through the pack.  We were at Hollywood Studios yesterday and Rise was down for a few hours.   Then later in the day when we were in line for Runaway Railway just as we were about to get in a vehicle, it broke down.   On our Epcot day we got stuck on Remy for about 20 minutes and cast members had to come help us out of our rats with a step stool.   We were told to put our phones away as it was a secret area and no photos were allowed.  We had to walk out of the ride, which to me was super cool!    The did give us a free pass to use on any other ride in the park at any time the rest of the day.   I felt bad for those that had been outside waiting the 180 minute wait.   On our Magic Kingdom day, we did do a little resort hopping around 2:00 and went over to the Polynesian for a dole whip and then over to the Grand Floridian to look at the Easter display they have.   That was one of our favorite moments of our trip.  It got us out of the heat and crowds for a bit and it was very relaxing.  I highly recommend that!     All in all it was a great trip and we saw a lot of fun stuff.     Can't wait to go back soon!


----------



## Ecomommy09

mster425 said:


> Wait I go in to work for ONE DAY and this is what happens???





lovethattink said:


> If you’re here now, be sure to stop by the Grand Floridian’s gorgeous edible Easter egg display and Grand Cottage with Easter treats to purchase. We bought the handmade marshmallows, a 50th Mickey Woopie Pie and a raspberry chocolate Mickey head. The Whoopi pie tastes like French toast. Planning on catching fireworks at MK tonight.





bambialways4ever said:


> Can second this. Outside of the delicious snacks, the Easter Egg displays are truly works of art.





mickey916 said:


> Can't wait to see them next week!


I am SO excited to see this.  We are staying at the Poly and going to ride the monorail over just to shop.


----------



## bambialways4ever

Ecomommy09 said:


> I am SO excited to see this.  We are staying at the Poly and going to ride the monorail over just to shop.


If you want to do a full monorail loop, The Contemporary has an Easter Egg display now too that we thought was pretty cool too as it's primarily inspired by the 50th


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## T'Lynn

bambialways4ever said:


> If you want to do a full monorail loop, The Contemporary has an Easter Egg display now too that we thought was pretty cool too as it's primarily inspired by the 50th


It’s not on the monorail but Beach Club also has amazing Easter eggs in the lobby!


----------



## samsonjs

Overall we had a very good trip. I wrote a little bit about how genie worked for us after day 1 and overall it went very well after I got used to it. I never paid attention to any of the genie suggestions. I would absolutely pay to use genie again especially with these crowds. We never waited in a ride line except for rope drop, Pooh and Mickey/minnie RR. (less than 30min). All other rides were done with genie and we got all the headliners plus some mid tier. We rode every ride at HS (some twice!) We wrote 12 rides at MK on our second day. We also take long 4 hour breaks midday. Because of the lines when we had gaps in between genie + we decided to do new things with low or no waits. This was good to force us out of our usual routine and I forgot how fun it is to experience something new at Disney.

I will say characters absolutely need to return and I hope when they do its like before because it did feel less special not getting one on one time with them.  Last year we went when there were no characters and we were willing to overlook it considering the circumstances but this time it felt more empty. The kids did have a great time with the Tremaine sisters. I wish we could have had more experiences like that.

The park was clean up until end of the night when lines were ready to be swept. Resort staff was all wonderful. The buses were the best they have ever been for us. We never waited more than ten minutes for one.


----------



## bambialways4ever

samsonjs said:


> Overall we had a very good trip. I wrote a little bit about how genie worked for us after day 1 and overall it went very well after I got used to it. I never paid attention to any of the genie suggestions. I would absolutely pay to use genie again especially with these crowds. We never waited in a ride line except for rope drop, Pooh and Mickey/minnie RR. (less than 30min). All other rides were done with genie and we got all the headliners plus some mid tier. We rode every ride at HS (some twice!) We wrote 12 rides at MK on our second day. We also take long 4 hour breaks midday. Because of the lines when we had gaps in between genie + we decided to do new things with low or no waits. This was good to force us out of our usual routine and I forgot how fun it is to experience something new at Disney.
> 
> I will say characters absolutely need to return and I hope when they do its like before because it did feel less special not getting one on one time with them.  Last year we went when there were no characters and we were willing to overlook it considering the circumstances but this time it felt more empty. The kids did have a great time with the Tremaine sisters. I wish we could have had more experiences like that.
> 
> The park was clean up until end of the night when lines were ready to be swept. Resort staff was all wonderful. The buses were the best they have ever been for us. We never waited more than ten minutes for one.


I agree about the characters. We saw a lot of "drive by" characters, and it was super unmagical to hear the CMs shouting "there is no line we are not forming a line just walk by or step up and take your photo keep it moving folks" while little kids are trying to talk to their favorite characters. We saw this happen A LOT last week.


----------



## scrappinginontario

samsonjs said:


> Overall we had a very good trip. I wrote a little bit about how genie worked for us after day 1 and overall it went very well after I got used to it. I never paid attention to any of the genie suggestions. I would absolutely pay to use genie again especially with these crowds. We never waited in a ride line except for rope drop, Pooh and Mickey/minnie RR. (less than 30min). All other rides were done with genie and we got all the headliners plus some mid tier. We rode every ride at HS (some twice!) We wrote 12 rides at MK on our second day. We also take long 4 hour breaks midday. Because of the lines when we had gaps in between genie + we decided to do new things with low or no waits. This was good to force us out of our usual routine and I forgot how fun it is to experience something new at Disney.
> 
> I will say characters absolutely need to return and I hope when they do its like before because it did feel less special not getting one on one time with them.  Last year we went when there were no characters and we were willing to overlook it considering the circumstances but this time it felt more empty. The kids did have a great time with the Tremaine sisters. I wish we could have had more experiences like that.
> 
> The park was clean up until end of the night when lines were ready to be swept. Resort staff was all wonderful. The buses were the best they have ever been for us. We never waited more than ten minutes for one.



*Traditional character meet 'n greets are returning April 18th.*


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## bambialways4ever

scrappinginontario said:


> *Traditional character meet 'n greets are returning April 18th.*


I heard. But I was commenting in response to my current trip.


----------



## scrappinginontario

bambialways4ever said:


> I heard. But I was commenting in response to my current trip.


Sorry, I misunderstood.  I have updated my comment and removed your quote.


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## snikki

Hopefully once the character meets are back it’ll suck in a lot of people and the park won’t feel as crowded and lines won’t be as long.


----------



## T'Lynn

That’s great news! I didn’t hear any of the “move along” comments but the Meet & Greets (or Sightings I guess) were just weird. I really missed having the photographers capture the moments. When my DD was little that was most of our trip, just meeting all the princesses!


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## Gentry2004

The Easter Egg Displays sound awesome! If we are staying offsite (doing Discovery Cove/Sea World this trip) but want to do a monorail loop to see the Easter Egg displays, what are my best options for parking? I know I can park at T&TC, but can I also valet at GF? Do I need a dining reservation, or is that only required for the free self parking? TIA.


----------



## lovethattink

Gentry2004 said:


> The Easter Egg Displays sound awesome! If we are staying offsite (doing Discovery Cove/Sea World this trip) but want to do a monorail loop to see the Easter Egg displays, what are my best options for parking? I know I can park at T&TC, but can I also valet at GF? Do I need a dining reservation, or is that only required for the free self parking? TIA.


We parked at the TTC and took the tram, then walked over to the Poly for Dole Whips at the Pineapple Lanai!! Bought the 50th coins there. Then hopped on the monorail to GF. Looked at the displays, bought some candy. Did some shopping. And got back on the monorail to the Contemporary where we bought another set of 50th coins. Took the monorail back to the TTC.


----------



## Gentry2004

lovethattink said:


> We parked at the TTC and took the tram, then walked over to the Poly for Dole Whips at the Pineapple Lanai!! Bought the 50th coins there. Then hopped on the monorail to GF. Looked at the displays, bought some candy. Did some shopping. And got back on the monorail to the Contemporary where we bought another set of 50th coins. Took the monorail back to the TTC.



Love this idea.


----------



## CarolynFH

Gentry2004 said:


> The Easter Egg Displays sound awesome! If we are staying offsite (doing Discovery Cove/Sea World this trip) but want to do a monorail loop to see the Easter Egg displays, what are my best options for parking? I know I can park at T&TC, but can I also valet at GF? Do I need a dining reservation, or is that only required for the free self parking? TIA.


You can pay to valet at GF if you wish. Cost is higher than parking at TTC, and tips are expected as well.


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## JoJoGirl

bambialways4ever said:


> I agree about the characters. We saw a lot of "drive by" characters, and it was super unmagical to hear the CMs shouting "there is no line we are not forming a line just walk by or step up and take your photo keep it moving folks" while little kids are trying to talk to their favorite characters. We saw this happen A LOT last week.



Yes, very frustrating. What happened to us twice last trip was that we saw the characters out in their spots, pulled my brother up in his wheelchair to get a picture, and just then the characters turned around and left with no warning.  Could not even get a pic.  Kind of disappointing.


----------



## DisneyFive

samsonjs said:


> Overall we had a very good trip. I wrote a little bit about how genie worked for us after day 1 and overall it went very well after I got used to it. I never paid attention to any of the genie suggestions. I would absolutely pay to use genie again especially with these crowds. We never waited in a ride line except for rope drop, Pooh and Mickey/minnie RR. (less than 30min). All other rides were done with genie and we got all the headliners plus some mid tier. We rode every ride at HS (some twice!) We wrote 12 rides at MK on our second day. We also take long 4 hour breaks midday. Because of the lines when we had gaps in between genie + we decided to do new things with low or no waits. This was good to force us out of our usual routine and I forgot how fun it is to experience something new at Disney.
> 
> I will say characters absolutely need to return and I hope when they do its like before because it did feel less special not getting one on one time with them.  Last year we went when there were no characters and we were willing to overlook it considering the circumstances but this time it felt more empty. The kids did have a great time with the Tremaine sisters. I wish we could have had more experiences like that.
> 
> The park was clean up until end of the night when lines were ready to be swept. Resort staff was all wonderful. The buses were the best they have ever been for us. We never waited more than ten minutes for one.



The is very encouraging to hear!  Can you explain your G+ process at HS to ride every ride and some twice?

Thanks, Dan


----------



## samsonjs

DisneyFive said:


> The is very encouraging to hear!  Can you explain your G+ process at HS to ride every ride and some twice?
> 
> Thanks, Dan


Sure! We got there first thing. We went to our bus stop at Coronado around 6:30am. Shortly after a bus came. It was not listed in the bus times in the app. Actually 2 of the three days we were one of the very first in the park because the buses came before they would be listed.

At 7am I got a SDD for 10:30am. I didn’t buy ROTR at 7 bc I planned to rope drop. We would have done awesome. We were first in our line to tap, but it was down. So we went to smugglers. I reluctantly checked for a ILL around 7:50am after riding smugglers run. I found a rise ILL for 8:30am and it was quickly converted to an anytime pass since it was down. After smugglers we went to Toy Story mania and did stand by pretty much a walk on. Still part of the early entry. Rockin roller coaster was down. I paid attention to the app, which I usually do when a big ride is down. I try to hit it as soon as it comes online. It worked to our favor and we walked right on through standby. Then I paid attention to Rise coming back online. We rode right as it came online around 10:15 right before our SDD 10:30 genie+. Tapped in to SDD at 10:25 and booked a second genie+ for TOT beating all the 120min rule people waiting for 10:30am. Did muppets and saw chewie. We wanted to do indiana Jones but it was full even before it started.

Then we got lunch (make sure you book ahead for mobile because unlike MK we had a longer wait for our time to open up). We went back to our hotel around noon as lines were so long even for shows. Kids swam and we rested. I tried to get Mickey and Minnie genie+ but I couldn’t get one. Instead I booked another RnR for my son and I. I booked toy story mania for my husband and daughter bc they didn’t want RnR. It took about 10 min of swiping to get toy story and RNR to overlap since we were splitting up while we were resting in our hotel to get those two. Two hours passed and I booked alien saucer spin. But I didn’t mind bc it was rest/quiet time for the kids. We returned to the park around 5.

Next we split and did RnR/toy story, then TOT, walked on to standby Star Tours (it was even shorter than the lightening lane!), alien saucer, walked around Star Wars and toy story at night, watched the Mickey Mouse short, got QS dinner and waited in standby around 8:30 at night for Mickey and Minnie Runaway for 25 min. We noticed SDD was pretty short so that would be a good time to wait but my daughter wanted Mickey. If I didn’t have a tired daughter I would have gone back to SDD to ride that again right before close bc we finished Mickey with a few minutes before park close.

Edit: I also would edit my tip board priorities as the day went on to make what I was looking for first in the lists. I chose 2/3 at a time. Also, for MK it worked well to pick a ride for genie + that would have a time slot when we would return to the parks in the afternoon opening up a second line of genie+ bookings to do as we would complete the last booked one we could book another but still keep our stacked high demand ones in the evening we made using the 2 hour rule on break. These bookings we would make one after the other were tier one rides but small ones like small world, Ariel, tea cups, but all together you still save a lot of time.


----------



## DisneyFive

samsonjs said:


> Also, for MK it worked well to pick a ride for genie + that would have a time slot when we would return to the parks in the afternoon opening up a second line of genie+ bookings to do as we would complete the last booked one we could book another but still keep our stacked high demand ones in the evening we made using the 2 hour rule on break. These bookings we would make one after the other were tier one rides but small ones like small world, Ariel, tea cups, but all together you still save a lot of time.


Thank you.  Well done.  I hope we have similar success.

Can you explain this a little more?  When did you use your "rolling" G+ selections, and when did you stack the G+'s for later?
_"Also, for MK it worked well to pick a ride for genie + that would have a time slot when we would return to the parks in the afternoon opening up a second line of genie+ bookings to do as we would complete the last booked one we could book another but still keep our stacked high demand ones in the evening we made using the 2 hour rule on break. These bookings we would make one after the other were tier one rides but small ones like small world, Ariel, tea cups, but all together you still save a lot of time."_

Dan


----------



## samsonjs

DisneyFive said:


> Thank you.  Well done.  I hope we have similar success.
> 
> Can you explain this a little more?  When did you use your "rolling" G+ selections, and when did you stack the G+'s for later?
> _"Also, for MK it worked well to pick a ride for genie + that would have a time slot when we would return to the parks in the afternoon opening up a second line of genie+ bookings to do as we would complete the last booked one we could book another but still keep our stacked high demand ones in the evening we made using the 2 hour rule on break. These bookings we would make one after the other were tier one rides but small ones like small world, Ariel, tea cups, but all together you still save a lot of time."_
> 
> Dan


The rules for genie+ are that you can make a booking every 2 hours or after you tapped into your _most recently_ booked ride. So we would book something like this:

7am book splash for 10:30am
10:25am tap into splash and book peter Pan for 4-5pm
12:25pm book space for 5-6pm
take our break
2:25 book a Btmr for 6:30-7:30
4:25 pm (we’re on our way back to the park) book small world for 5-6pm
4:55pm ride small world (this allows me to skip the two hour rule and move to the rule of booking my most recently made ride tap in allows me to start booking another genie+ asap)
4:55pm book Ariel for 6-7pm
5:05pm we are on Peter Pan 
Ride space
Ride btmr
Ride Ariel (now I can book another genie +)

So you can keep all of your stacked rides and then when I used small world I can start booking more as soon as I tap into the ride I just booked. It’s kind of confusing but I hope that helps. Remember you can overlap times as long as you can manage it. You can tap in 5 min before and up to 15min after your booked time slot.


----------



## DisneyFive

samsonjs said:


> The rules for genie+ are that you can make a booking every 2 hours or after you tapped into your _most recently_ booked ride. So we would book something like this:
> 
> 7am book splash for 10:30am
> 10:25am tap into splash and book peter Pan for 4-5pm
> 12:25pm book space for 5-6pm
> take our break
> 2:25 book a Btmr for 6:30-7:30
> 4:25 pm (we’re on our way back to the park) book small world for 5-6pm
> 4:55pm ride small world (this allows me to skip the two hour rule and move to the rule of booking my most recently made ride tap in allows me to start booking another genie+ asap)
> 4:55pm book Ariel for 6-7pm
> 5:05pm we are on Peter Pan
> Ride space
> Ride btmr
> Ride Ariel (now I can book another genie +)
> 
> So you can keep all of your stacked rides and then when I used small world I can start booking more as soon as I tap into the ride I just booked. It’s kind of confusing but I hope that helps. Remember you can overlap times as long as you can manage it. You can tap in 5 min before and up to 15min after your booked time slot.


Perfect. Thank you.  That explains clearly what you did.  I was wondering if you used G+ for morning attractions and it look like it was just the one, Splash.  Your strategy makes for a really nice evening though!!

Dan


----------



## live2teach123

samsonjs said:


> The rules for genie+ are that you can make a booking every 2 hours or after you tapped into your _most recently_ booked ride. So we would book something like this:
> 
> 7am book splash for 10:30am
> 10:25am tap into splash and book peter Pan for 4-5pm
> 12:25pm book space for 5-6pm
> take our break
> 2:25 book a Btmr for 6:30-7:30
> 4:25 pm (we’re on our way back to the park) book small world for 5-6pm
> 4:55pm ride small world (this allows me to skip the two hour rule and move to the rule of booking my most recently made ride tap in allows me to start booking another genie+ asap)
> 4:55pm book Ariel for 6-7pm
> 5:05pm we are on Peter Pan
> Ride space
> Ride btmr
> Ride Ariel (now I can book another genie +)
> 
> So you can keep all of your stacked rides and then when I used small world I can start booking more as soon as I tap into the ride I just booked. It’s kind of confusing but I hope that helps. Remember you can overlap times as long as you can manage it. You can tap in 5 min before and up to 15min after your booked time slot.


Just when I thought I understand Genie+… I’m confused again! I thought once you activated the two hour rule there was no way of getting out of that loop?


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## TheSouthernBelle

live2teach123 said:


> Just when I thought I understand Genie+… I’m confused again! I thought once you activated the two hour rule there was no way of getting out of that loop?


You can book one at a time, and can either make another selection after two hours or once you tap into your previous Genie+ selection (both tapstiles for attractions that have two touchpoints), whichever comes first. Also, you can tap in to your G+ 5 min early.


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## samsonjs

live2teach123 said:


> Just when I thought I understand Genie+… I’m confused again! I thought once you activated the two hour rule there was no way of getting out of that loop?


You can get out of it by checking into your most recently booked ride. So if you book something that’s open soon after booking then that let’s you out. That’s why bc of the rolling time slot openings it will probably be a ride in low demand. For example I looked at the app just now. It’s 1pm and there’s a 1pm philarmagic. If you are able to book genie+ now, then booking philarmagic when tapping in will get you out of the 2 hour loop.


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## kikismom

Hey all, I wrote some of this during the trip and some when I got back. Sorry for any mistakes in advance, I dictated some of it and boy did my words come out wrong sometimes. I looked for trip reports and may have just missed them. Mods, feel free to move it if needed. 

Saturday March 26

I traveled with my husband and daughter (9). 

We stayed at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee. It's a huge hotel with multiple water slides and pools. I would've preferred to stay on property but we were tagging along for my husband's conference and it was located here. Our rooms was just okay, it had multiple things left around that makes me think it wasn't cleaned properly. We don't spent a lot of time in the room so we cleaned up some of the grosser things and went about our week. 

Animal Kingdom - Sunday, March 27

We Ubered to the park today because we missed the shuttle due to sleeping in. The time change from West Coast hit us a little bit. The drive was quick and there were no lines to get in at about 11:00.

This park is incredible, I had no idea what to expect here. To me it was like the most incredible zoo I've ever been to. We rode Flight of Passage, Na'vi River Journey, Dinosaur, The Safari and watched It's Tough to be a Bug, saw all of the animals and then the rest of my group road Flight of Passage again. We ate at Rainforest Cafe, it was just okay food as usual, my husband and I ate at the one years ago in Downtown Disney in California. My 9-year-old daughter loved the theming and enjoyed her pizza. 

Magic Kingdom - Monday, March 28th 

We caught the complimentary shuttle from the hotel today to the park. I was very surprised that you're not dropped off at the park. Obviously I missed out on some research when I was looking at transportation. We left our hotel at 10:15 a.m. and got to the park gate at 11:15 a.m. The bus did a drop off at Disney Springs prior to taking us to Magic Kingdom. I was also surprised to learn you have to take a monorail or a ferry to the park once you got dropped off at the parking lot, definitely my fault for not researching well. Very dramatic and fun to ride the ferry and see that Castle getting bigger as you go to it.

Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion is better than Disneyland in my opinion. Jungle Cruise and Peter Pan are also better at Magic Kingdom. Again this is just my opinion. Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland definitely trumps the one at Magic Kingdom. We loved Seven Dwarfs Mine Train so much that my husband and daughter went on a second time at the end of the night. Country Bear Jamboree was so much fun, I saw that show when I was nine and I don't know if that is the same show. The one I saw was in Disneyland possibly were Hungry Bear is now?

We ate at Cinderella's Royal Table and oh my gosh it was worth every penny. We were sat at a window table so we had a view of fantasyland. My daughter and I each had the tenderloin both were incredible. I did not have high hopes for the food here and was only going for the experience. We will definitely do that again. I would have loved to have tried some flights of wine but it was just too darn hot outside to drink.

We ate at Plaza Inn for dinner and it was nothing special. They were really far behind so we waited long after our reservation time. The food was just mediocre and I didn't get part of my meal. Waitress was really nice and took the missing food off the bill of course. 

We closed the park down this night and had such a great time. We rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train twice, the Barnstormer twice, Peter Pan, Ariel, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates twice, watched Country Bear Jamboree, rode the carousel, and Winnie the Pooh. 

Hollywood Studios - Tuesday, March 29th 

We swam in the morning so we got to Hollywood Studios at 1:15. We did Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Midway Mania and watched Frozen. We were gone by 4 after some shopping. I don't love this park. It could have been that it was scorching hot and we encountered our first, and only, unfriendly people of the trip but it had a weird vibe there. 

After leaving early we went back to our hotel, met up with my husband and then headed over to Disney Springs. We ate an incredible meal at the Boathouse and will definitely be eating here again. I get stuck on restaurants but I really like and this could be one the next time we come back. Although there were so many restaurants that I did want to try perhaps we won't. I got a steak and shared it with my daughter. We ordered mac and cheese on the side and it was really good., She also had the 50th cupcake and declared it the best one of the trip. My husband had a few oysters and the mini shrimp boil. He loved both. Our waitress was excellent! We had so many great waiters and waitresses on this trip. We didn't encounter any unfriendly cast members either. 

Magic Kingdom - Wednesday, March 30th 

We went back to Magic Kingdom today. It was very hot but we were able to go on a ton of rides. This park and Animal Kingdom to me have the most shade. We ate at Steakhouse 71 for dinner and it was excellent. The only issue is they were running really far behind on reservations. We continued to run into this, one thing I noticed while we waited for tables We had reservations for was the amount of people who came and said sorry for being late, one lady said sorry for being an hour late to her reservation. It really sets things back for the people who can consistently show up on time. We all three had the New York strip, I had a bowl of french onion soup, some of the best I ever had, before dinner. My daughter had french fries as her side. I also had Mac and cheese. My husband had the au gratin potatoes and I really wish I would have gotten those instead.

After dinner we could only do Haunted Mansion and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train again, we had to skip our Jungle Cruise plan because we ended up getting off of Haunted Mansion at 10:59 and the park closed at 11. I opted out of Seven Dwarfs maintain as I had had a few glasses of wine with my dinner. 

It was our last day at Magic Kingdom so we walked out real slow right at closing and just took it all in. I don't want to sound like I'm hating on DLR but man the castle here is so much more majestic. Disneyland will always be my first love but wow Disney World is putting that to the test. 

Epcot - Thursday, March 31st  

Epcot is my new favorite park here. We loved Ratatouille and Frozen. We ate croissants, and eclairs, and a ham and cheese sandwich, had a mint infused tea in Morocco that was extremely refreshing. My husband tried a few beers and had a margarita. We ate lunch at La Cantina de San Angel and it was awful. We had the nachos and the chips were so stale, it was not white nacho cheese but instead was just run of the mill orange cheese that had no flavor. We also had fresh caramel popcorn and a caramel apple from the Werther's store. 

We had dinner at Via Napoli and it was excellent. We ordered the 20 inch pizza and it was so big was falling off the pan. Really good flavor. I had the caprese salad and my husband had the calamari we both had glasses of wine and they were excellent.

We walked around and around here just exploring the countries. Didn't do a ton of rides, Frozen x 3 because my daughter was obsessed, Ratatouille, Living with the Land, Soarin, the Three Caballeros, Test Track, and I think that's it. I told my daughter this was my day and I wanted to wander.n

Hollywood Studios - Friday, April 1st 

Today'says trip to Hollywood Studios was much better. I may have been quick to judge this park before. Even though it was very hot and humid we got a ton done and had a great day. We did Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway twice, Tower of Terror twice, Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Midway Mania twice, watched Beauty and the Beast, watched the Frozen show, and my husband did Rock and Roller coaster.

We ate at Hollywood Brown Derby for dinner. I got the Cobb salad it was as good as I hoped, my daughter got the kids filet and she said it was the best steak she's ever had, we ordered it rare and it actually came rare. You could cut it with a fork. My husband got the scallops and shrimp and the sherry cream sauce was incredible. I would definitely get that next time. The rolls were so good we used the leftovers to eat the sauce from my husband's dish.

Day of our flight home - Saturday, April 2nd

This is our last day and we are spending it at the water park at the hotel before our flight. I think I count six water slides, a lazy river, a nice long deep pool, and then a shallower pool with basketball hoops and fun things for kids. They also have one of those Flo Riser things that you can surf on for an additional fee. We paid for late check out and it was totally worth it to be able to shower and get ready before our long flight home. 

Recap

We're home now and freezing of course. It was 40 degrees last night when we got off the plane in Seattle. I am already planning a trip back but with staying on property. I want more days so that we can rest between, six straight days was tough for me. Without these boards I never would have been able to do halfnod the things we did. 

My favorite park is definitely Epcot followed by Animal Kingdom. Of course the two parks I only reserved for one day each. I don't think there would be a time where we park hopped, the distance between parks was no joke. People talk about it here but coming from DLR and being able to just walk quickly back and forth, it was something I needed to see to believe. 

I loved how much room there was in each park. It didn't feel as crowded to me because there is was room to walk around people. 

One question, where are the churros and churro toffee? I was so bummed that there aren't the long, fresh churros like we have in DLR in every land. Also churro toffee is my very favorite treat so I missed that. 

We had such a great time and fell in love with Disney World. Also Florida in general. What a beautiful area, next time we'll go out exploring more and hit up a beach for a day. We can't wait to go back!


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

Thank you so much for sharing. We've stayed at gaylord palms before and it's a HUGE hotel. My kids loved the water park and the pools but it's absurdly large. We never used the hotel shuttle when we were there, we had our car but unless you stay at a disney resort, no shuttle bus will ever take you right to MK. They all stop at TTC where you can take the boat, the monorail or bus from there to MK. 

For trips longer than 6 days at Disney, we usually do a break/resort day, either we do disney springs or just swim and relax. WDW is a lot of walking and it is tiring. I usually try to work into the back end of the trip when we really need it. 

If you loved Epcot, you'll probably even love it more when all the construction is complete. It's in better shape than just a year ago but it's definitely evolving. 

As someone who has grown up in FL and has always been to WDW, it's always interesting to hear someone who's only been to DLR view point of WDW. Even if you could find churros at WDW, they're not good. Never been to DLR but have heard that the churros in DLR are actually really good.


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## dez1978

It sounds like you had an amazing time and managed to do so many things despite it being so incredibly busy and not rope dropping.  You give me hope for my next trip.


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## kikismom

@TheSouthernBelle - we found two churros and neither were good. The ones in DL are incredible. Crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside and so fresh. 

@dez1978 - it was so odd, it didn't feel super busy to us due to how large the parks are. We popped into shows or shops when the crowds got crazy.


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## Anna131517

That sounds like such a nice trip!


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## Gabby01

Recently got back from a stay at Pop Century (3/22-26).  The resort was great—I was so happy they have the same menu as ASMo—am I the only one who LOVES the food court lunches and dinners??  I feel like they’re a well-kept secret!

Just one park day this time—Hollywood Studios on 3/25.  Despite the fact that it was a sold-out day, I didn’t do Genie+ or any ILLs.  Rope-dropped RoTR, did single rider for MFSR a couple times, and waited in line for Star Tours (is it just me, or is the actual Star Tours ride shorter now?).  It worked out great!  I thought the Galaxy’s Edge CMs were on top of their game—good service, great acting, they seemed happy!  The bartenders at Oga’s always crack me up with their Star Wars jokes! 

Used the Datapad for the first time and it was so much fun, my new ambition is to go back and wait in line for MFSR!


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## MinnierellaMama

Hi All! Just got back from a 6 night stay (3/28-4/2) and have to say it was sooo much better than I thought it was going to be! We are annual spring break WDW peeps. Our 2020 trip was just 5 days out when the parks got shut down and this was our first time back. I was prepared to completely hate the Genie+, but honestly once I figured out a rhythm, I had decent success with it. We had 6 day passes with park hopper and I ended up adding the Genie+ for all of our days. I know that many on here say you only need it for MK and HS, but if you have park hopper too, I highly recommend adding it for AK and Epcot days because you can use it to stack for the other parks in the evening. For example, on our AK day we used Genie+ for a 9-10am safari, followed by the 11am Festival of the Lion King show. Everything else that we wanted to do at AK wasn’t a huge standby wait so at 11:30 I started stacking for our 2pm hop to HS. At 11:30 I was able to get a 2:40-3:40 for MFSR, then at 1:30 I was able to pull a 3:05-4:05 for MMRR, and then get TSM at 4:10-5:10 and then Alien Swirling Saucers for 4:30-5:30. We headed out after that to Epcot for dinner and I was able to snag a 7:10-8:10 for Soarin’ as well.

Similar situation for us on our first day where we started out at Epcot. I logged on at 7am and purchased an ILL for Remy (1:30-2:30) and reserved a LL for TT (9:30-10:30am). After tapping in for TT, I grabbed a LL for Soarin’ (10:05-11:05). After riding TT, we walked on to MS (only a 5 minute posted wait), then over to Nemo (my 5 year old loves it) which was a 15 minute posted wait, then to our LL for Soarin’. We tapped in there and I was able to get a LL for Frozen (1:05-2:05). After riding Soarin’, we went to Figment which was 20 minute wait. We would’ve done Spaceship Earth too but it was down, so after Figment we headed over to Mexico for lunch. After lunch we used our Frozen LL and then our Remy ILL. We tapped in for Frozen at 1pm and I then made our first Genie+ LL for MK where we were headed for dinner that evening. At 1pm I was able to snag an 8:10-9:10 Peter Pan. We went back to our hotel for a bit after Remy and at 3pm I was able to get an 8:35-9:35 Small World, and then at 5pm I added a 9:05 Ariel ride. We also walked on to the carousel during fireworks. I could’ve kept going but we didn’t plan to stay any later that evening and we were back at MK anyway the next morning.

Needless to say, I do miss the old FP+ system but it’s not totally hopeless with the Genie+ either. The most annoying part was for me, the trip planner, having to be up at 6:45 each day to gear up for the 7am rush for the hot LL’s. But I was able to get everything I wanted with a little refreshing effort here and there. It was hard to let go of my extensive planning and kind of fly by the seat of my pants, but I definitely spent less time on my phone. In the past I would be refreshing constantly to try and find something better than what I had or a better time for my existing FP+. With Genie+, you can only go one at a time and once each one is booked, it’s time to relax and just enjoy the moment (until it’s time to snag the next one!) Good luck to all on your upcoming trips! And make sure to get a good coffee each morning


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## mickey916

Here now and hope to do a full report upon our return but wanted to just say that I  read a lot of reports about magic being gone (mostly on Facebook) that made me very anxious before coming. I'm here tagging along on my husband's conference and then we have a family trip in May and I honestly was a little afraid that we'd have such an unmagical time that we might cancel May. Halfway through our trip and that's definitely NOT the case! The parks are clean, the cast members are friendly, other guests are courteous for the most part and magic is here. There are Photopass photographers readily available in all three parks we've been to so far. The food has been delicious and mobile order works great. Yes the parks are crowded and genie+ isn't great especially in HS but necessary to at least skip a few lines. Yesterday missed my 10 am window due to being in Muppets which set me 15 minutes behind so wasn't able to snag tower or RNRC. Lesson learned. Being offsite I was able to grab Rise though after refreshing a bunch. Totally worth it! So for those with upcoming trips, be assured it is possible to have a magical trip!


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## T'Lynn

I'm just back home after a week long trip and it was our best ever at Disney!

Magic Kingdom: We did 2 full days and 1 half day and we rode and saw EVERYTHING. 7DMT 4x, Splash, Space, and BTMRR twice each. We used Genie+, stayed for the full EEH and never rope dropped. We ate at CRT, BoG, Skipper Canteen and Tony's and did a Enchanted Dessert package - it was awesome

Epcot: We stayed at Beach Club so we had quite a few partial days and one full Epcot day. We rode everything multiple times and watched Harmonious twice (one with a fireworks package) and everything was wonderful. We even got caught in a hug rainstorm and took shelter in Spaceship Earth!  Space 220 Lounge was incredible. Garden Grill was one of the best dining experiences.

Hollywood Studios: We did one RD morning and one evening of LL stacking. We rode everything, most rides twice! Ate at HBD and Oga's after park close

Animal Kingdom: Did one afternoon (after lunch at Sanaa) and rode FoP twice and everything else once. Kite Tails was cancelled due to wind.

I did buy 7DMT three times because my DD just loves it so much. I bought FoP once and RotR twice. We added G+ to our package and used it every day and found it to be very useful. We waited twice in 45 minute lines but those were the only long waits we had.


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## Jfsag123

T'Lynn said:


> Epcot: We stayed at Beach Club so we had quite a few partial days and one full Epcot day. We rode everything multiple times and watched Harmonious twice (one with a fireworks package) and everything was wonderful. We even got caught in a hug rainstorm and took shelter in Spaceship Earth!  Space 220 Lounge was incredible. Garden Grill was one of the best dining experiences.



How was Harmonious with the package vs. without? I'm debating booking Rose and Crown, but don't know if the view would be worth it. However, don't know how much I want to deal with trying to stake out a good spot otherwise.


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## T.G.I.Friday

Jfsag123 said:


> How was Harmonious with the package vs. without? I'm debating booking Rose and Crown, but don't know if the view would be worth it. However, don't know how much I want to deal with trying to stake out a good spot otherwise.


We watched Harmonious for the first time from the Spice Road package. We really enjoyed the show and didn’t feel like we missed anything. When we saw some of the show from more of a head on view another day, it did seem like we missed a little of the projections being direct, but I don’t feel like it was that big of a deal. Having a relaxing seat and enjoying the show from the table far outweighed anything we might not have seen perfectly,  if that makes sense.


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## T'Lynn

Jfsag123 said:


> How was Harmonious with the package vs. without? I'm debating booking Rose and Crown, but don't know if the view would be worth it. However, don't know how much I want to deal with trying to stake out a good spot otherwise.


As you know, the R&C view doesn't show the center circle. On our first night, we staked out a spot about an hour in advance right on the water in front of Italy so we could see the whole show in all it's glory. I learned that there is really only a couple times when the center is showing something that you'd miss from the sides. Usually whatever is in the center it displaying on at least one of the "taco barges"

On our last night we had the R&C package and it was a bit abnormal because it rained that day so we weren't seated on the lower patio, we were on the upper patio with the rain shields pulled down. Luckily it stopped raining just long enough for the whole show. It was really nice to have a covered spot with dinner and drinks to watch the show.

The package was great ... I don't think I'd do it again BUT I think it was a very cool experience to do once. As for the view, it was like watching a whole different version of the show from another angle and I didn't miss out on not being able to see the center. 

All this to say, I do recommend anyone to book it! It was a very cool experience. If you end up with a rainy night like we did it was very much worth it to have a comfy spot and guaranteed good seat! I could see that there were still a lot of people lining up along the railings around the showcase so I think a lot of people still staked out a spot in the rain!


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## starousse

It's refreshing to see so many more people reporting that they're having a great time and getting a lot done in the parks.


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## Lsdolphin

AK is opening at 7:30am this week with early morning hours at 7-7:30...does anyone know if the Safari ride opens at 7:30 I know sometimes when park has opened at 8 am the Safari doesn’t open til 9:00 am?


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## MinnierellaMama

Lsdolphin said:


> AK is opening at 7:30am this week with early morning hours at 7-7:30...does anyone know if the Safari ride opens at 7:30 I know sometimes when park has opened at 8 am the Safari doesn’t open til 9:00 am?


When we were there last week, it didn’t start running until 8:30 on our AK day. Not sure if that’s the norm or not…


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## acpalmer

Lsdolphin said:


> AK is opening at 7:30am this week with early morning hours at 7-7:30...does anyone know if the Safari ride opens at 7:30 I know sometimes when park has opened at 8 am the Safari doesn’t open til 9:00 am?


If you click on the ride in Tip Board in the MDE app, it will tell you the hours that it is running.  Today AK opened at 7:30 and the app says Safari is open from 8:15am to 7:00pm.


----------



## pens4821

mickey916 said:


> Here now and hope to do a full report upon our return but wanted to just say that I  read a lot of reports about magic being gone (mostly on Facebook) that made me very anxious before coming. I'm here tagging along on my husband's conference and then we have a family trip in May and I honestly was a little afraid that we'd have such an unmagical time that we might cancel May. Halfway through our trip and that's definitely NOT the case! The parks are clean, the cast members are friendly, other guests are courteous for the most part and magic is here. There are Photopass photographers readily available in all three parks we've been to so far. The food has been delicious and mobile order works great. Yes the parks are crowded and genie+ isn't great especially in HS but necessary to at least skip a few lines. Yesterday missed my 10 am window due to being in Muppets which set me 15 minutes behind so wasn't able to snag tower or RNRC. Lesson learned. Being offsite I was able to grab Rise though after refreshing a bunch. Totally worth it! So for those with upcoming trips, be assured it is possible to have a magical trip!





T'Lynn said:


> I'm just back home after a week long trip and it was our best ever at Disney!
> 
> Magic Kingdom: We did 2 full days and 1 half day and we rode and saw EVERYTHING. 7DMT 4x, Splash, Space, and BTMRR twice each. We used Genie+, stayed for the full EEH and never rope dropped. We ate at CRT, BoG, Skipper Canteen and Tony's and did a Enchanted Dessert package - it was awesome
> 
> Epcot: We stayed at Beach Club so we had quite a few partial days and one full Epcot day. We rode everything multiple times and watched Harmonious twice (one with a fireworks package) and everything was wonderful. We even got caught in a hug rainstorm and took shelter in Spaceship Earth!  Space 220 Lounge was incredible. Garden Grill was one of the best dining experiences.
> 
> Hollywood Studios: We did one RD morning and one evening of LL stacking. We rode everything, most rides twice! Ate at HBD and Oga's after park close
> 
> Animal Kingdom: Did one afternoon (after lunch at Sanaa) and rode FoP twice and everything else once. Kite Tails was cancelled due to wind.
> 
> I did buy 7DMT three times because my DD just loves it so much. I bought FoP once and RotR twice. We added G+ to our package and used it every day and found it to be very useful. We waited twice in 45 minute lines but those were the only long waits we had.



Glad to read about how great it was for you. We felt the same way. So much gloom and doom here but we had a blast!  Happy to see others reporting the same. Yeah, there were some things I’d have liked to change, but in the grand scheme it was an awesome trip.


----------



## T'Lynn

starousse said:


> It's refreshing to see so many more people reporting that they're having a great time and getting a lot done in the parks.





pens4821 said:


> Glad to read about how great it was for you. We felt the same way. So much gloom and doom here but we had a blast!  Happy to see others reporting the same. Yeah, there were some things I’d have liked to change, but in the grand scheme it was an awesome trip.


It really was a great time but I know that I greatly benefitted from others having gone through trial and error. I think that will always happen when something changes and this time it has the added injury of a cost for something that used to be free.

While I didn't enjoy paying for it, I have to say that I really like the way Genie+ worked for me. I got to ride way more rides than I ever did before and as our plans evolved throughout the week I was able to make different selections each morning.  It's not perfect but the system worked really well for us.


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## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> AK is opening at 7:30am this week with early morning hours at 7-7:30...does anyone know if the Safari ride opens at 7:30 I know sometimes when park has opened at 8 am the Safari doesn’t open til 9:00 am?


Normal start time for Safari is 8:15 regardless of park opening time.


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## lynch34

Here now and thoughts are:
Parks are broken. The wait times are insane. I can’t imagine the summer. Will be a total disaster.

Disney should be totally ashamed that they don’t run the trams in AL and MK. Im sorry but that is a total sham. Im fine but I walk by elderly and kids who are struggling before even getting into the parks and it’s so wrong.

Genie+ is unfortunate. You spend way too much time on your phone. You should be able to modify selection at the same time you cancel a selection. 

Harmonious is great. My whole family loved it. Way better than Illumimations. Don’t understand hate of it at all.

Not to sound obnoxious but I can afford this trip
But Disney is clearly catering to the rich and super rich. This is not an experience most Americans could afford in a million years. It’s been trending that way for awhile but they don’t even hide it at this point. I’m going to choose to spend my money elsewhere and I can’t believe it’s gotten to this point.

Again - if you have summer reservations and can get out of them - I’d consider. It will be a disaster of epic proportions. The magic is gone.


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## lynch34

Oh and they are getting by on nostalgia. They are not investing in the parks. Every long time Disney goer should realize this. Talked to a DVC couple in line at Soarin yesterday and they said they’ve never felt less enthused by Disney. 

I used to pay the big bill and almost feel as I got a bargain. Now I paid the obsence amount and feel as I am being taken advantage of.


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## redboat45

lynch34 said:


> Oh and they are getting by on nostalgia. They are not investing in the parks. Every long time Disney goer should realize this. Talked to a DVC couple in line at Soarin yesterday and they said they’ve never felt less enthused by Disney.
> 
> I used to pay the big bill and almost feel as I got a bargain. Now I paid the obsence amount and feel as I am being taken advantage of.


They don't seem to want to invest in WDW besides throwing a new ride in here and there.  They don't maintain the parks like they used to.  They LOVE to invest is DisneyLAND though.


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## lynch34

I’d add one last thing - go investigate Universal, trips to other countries, states and then total up Disney. Disney will not come out favorable and the experience is borderline awful.


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## Betty Rohrer

lynch34 said:


> Here now and thoughts are:
> Parks are broken. The wait times are insane. I can’t imagine the summer. Will be a total disaster.
> 
> Disney should be totally ashamed that they don’t run the trams in AL and MK. Im sorry but that is a total sham. Im fine but I walk by elderly and kids who are struggling before even getting into the parks and it’s so wrong.
> 
> Genie+ is unfortunate. You spend way too much time on your phone. You should be able to modify selection at the same time you cancel a selection.
> 
> Harmonious is great. My whole family loved it. Way better than Illumimations. Don’t understand hate of it at all.
> 
> Not to sound obnoxious but I can afford this trip
> But Disney is clearly catering to the rich and super rich. This is not an experience most Americans could afford in a million years. It’s been trending that way for awhile but they don’t even hide it at this point. I’m going to choose to spend my money elsewhere and I can’t believe it’s gotten to this point.
> 
> Again - if you have summer reservations and can get out of them - I’d consider. It will be a disaster of epic proportions. The magic is gone.


trams are running at MK but the trams have never run to the handicapped parking area. that is not new and I have had to make that walk a number of times precovid


----------



## Haley R

Betty Rohrer said:


> trams are running at MK but the trams have never run to the handicapped parking area. that is not new and I have had to make that walk a number of times precovid


We were at MK last week and the trams were not running


----------



## redboat45

Betty Rohrer said:


> trams are running at MK but the trams have never run to the handicapped parking area. that is not new and I have had to make that walk a number of times precovid


yes that is correct because wheelchairs can't go on the tram.


----------



## summerlvr

Haley R said:


> We were at MK last week and the trams were not running


 I was there the end of March and the MK trams were running, but not for early entry. Not sure what time they started, but they were running when I left mid day.


----------



## Haley R

summerlvr said:


> I was there the end of March and the MK trams were running, but not for early entry. Not sure what time they started, but they were running when I left mid day.


We were there at night around 5-8 pm and didn’t see them running.


----------



## bambialways4ever

Haley R said:


> We were at MK last week and the trams were not running


We were at the TTC last Thursday and the trams were running.


----------



## askias

Just back from a 4/2-4/6 trip and honestly I think it was the best time we ever had at Disney.  We flew in on Saturday, and went straight to Hollywood Studios.  I had gotten up early and booked an ILL for ROTR (4-5) and we also had lightsabers at 4.  On top of that we got a MFSR through Genie + at about 1:30.  As many folks know, that was a deluge of a rain day, but that ended up being a blessing in disguise, as we were able to tack on Oga's at 8 and Mickey and Minnie's railway with a minimum of fuss.  We got wet and our socks and shoes were soaked, but everyone was happy with our first day at Disney.  We found ILL's and Genie + to be really convenient.  We did MK on Sunday, and used Genie to book Peter Pan's Flight first thing, as well as add a Pirates in the middle of the day and a Jungle Cruise ride at night.  I really liked being able to tell what was available in one place, with the mobile dining options added in.  We used mobile dining for every single lunch in the park and it was super convenient.  Our 3rd day took us back to Hollywood Studios, but we were clearly out of gas.  After doing some light shopping and having our lightsabers shipped home, we called it an early day and went back to the room.  Later in the afternoon, we hopped back to MK for another Peter Pan's Flight, but we did very little this day except shop.  Finally, on the last day, we did EPCOT.  This was the one day we did not do Genie +, although I did ILL Remy's adventure.  After that we did a complete circuit of all the countries, had lunch, and then went back to the hotel for a siesta before going back to MK for another round of Pirates as well as the Tomorrowland People Mover.  Then dinner and the fireworks which wrapped up our vacation.  It's funny, I thought the 14 year old would be jaded about the whole thing, but she was funny and super into the planning of the trip and very engaged.  We've taken her at 3 (WDW) and 6 (Disneyland), but it was super fun having her be an equal planner in the trip and really see the value in it.  Hope all is well with others!


----------



## Sugarshock

We just came back from a fantastic trip 3/30-4/2! Some thoughts: 

Old Key West - I had never stayed at this resort before and really fell in love with it! We had a hiccup where we did not get access to our room until 5:30 (Not a big deal, we were in the parks anyways), but everything else was perfect. The pool wasn’t crowded when we went, Olivia’s was great for dinner, and we can’t wait to go back. 

EPCOT - 3/30 - We arrived late to EPCOT and still managed to do everything we wanted! We rode Frozen, Soarin’, Living with the Land, and Remy using Genie+/ILL$. Standby for Spaceship Earth was quick by the time we arrived. FLAG was excellent, the croissant at the France booth was our best if the fest!

Magic Kingdom - 3/31 - We opted to get there late and stay until close (11PM). We grabbed breakfast at Steakhouse 71 (so good!) and made our way into the park in time for the noon FoF. We managed to get Jungle Cruise, Pirates, HM, Mermaid, Space, and Buzz with Genie+. Crowds weren’t as bad as I was expecting; which was a pleasant surprise. 

Hollywood - 4/1 - Genie+ at DHS was the most challenging, but we still had a lot of success. We got on ToT, Mickey and Minnie, Slinky, Star Tours, Toy Story Mania, and ROTR using G+/ILL$. We left at 5, so I have no doubt we could’ve done everything!

Overall it was a great trip, and I have the unpopular opinion of actually liking Genie+. I’m very much looking forward to our next trip in November. 

Feel free to ask any questions you might have!


----------



## lynch34

Earlier complaining was not at all a slight to cast members. They are still superb.

The unfortunate thing is the corporate strategy has changed for 10-15 years ago and how they treat the parks. It would be totally fine if folks just said that but please save us the facade of how magical the time is.

Again - shout-out to CMs. Amazing job.


----------



## Lsdolphin

Here now at CSR.  In a ground floor room and for the second night in a row there is a constant thumping sound coming from room directly above me...last night there was also a child running back and forth which is to be expected with little ones but I’m trying to figure out what thumping noise could be.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Lsdolphin said:


> Here now at CSR.  In a ground floor room and for the second night in a row there is a constant thumping sound coming from room directly above me...last night there was also a child running back and forth which is to be expected with little ones but I’m trying to figure out what thumping noise could be.


You might find more info on the resort thread for CSR.  If you mention the problem someone there might have experience with this.


----------



## bambialways4ever

Sugarshock said:


> We just came back from a fantastic trip 3/30-4/2! Some thoughts:
> 
> Old Key West - I had never stayed at this resort before and really fell in love with it! We had a hiccup where we did not get access to our room until 5:30 (Not a big deal, we were in the parks anyways), but everything else was perfect. The pool wasn’t crowded when we went, Olivia’s was great for dinner, and we can’t wait to go back.
> 
> EPCOT - 3/30 - We arrived late to EPCOT and still managed to do everything we wanted! We rode Frozen, Soarin’, Living with the Land, and Remy using Genie+/ILL$. Standby for Spaceship Earth was quick by the time we arrived. FLAG was excellent, the croissant at the France booth was our best if the fest!
> 
> Magic Kingdom - 3/31 - We opted to get there late and stay until close (11PM). We grabbed breakfast at Steakhouse 71 (so good!) and made our way into the park in time for the noon FoF. We managed to get Jungle Cruise, Pirates, HM, Mermaid, Space, and Buzz with Genie+. Crowds weren’t as bad as I was expecting; which was a pleasant surprise.
> 
> Hollywood - 4/1 - Genie+ at DHS was the most challenging, but we still had a lot of success. We got on ToT, Mickey and Minnie, Slinky, Star Tours, Toy Story Mania, and ROTR using G+/ILL$. We left at 5, so I have no doubt we could’ve done everything!
> 
> Overall it was a great trip, and I have the unpopular opinion of actually liking Genie+. I’m very much looking forward to our next trip in November.
> 
> Feel free to ask any questions you might have!


We didn't make it to Steakhouse 71 for breakfast but did lunch and dinner last week and loved both!! What were the breakfast standouts for you? On our list for next time lol


----------



## Lsdolphin

Had a fabulous dinner last night at Steakhouse 71..potatoes au gratin and filet YUM!  Someone had the chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and said it was wonderful...tonight dinner at Trattoria Al Forno was also grea!  Breakfast at Ale and Compass nice breakfast option and then you can go right over to Epcot or HS.


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## Betty Rohrer

Haley R said:


> We were there at night around 5-8 pm and didn’t see them running.


what was the weather at the time? maybe not right there but were storms close? because trams are open they most likely have to off parking lots if storms close


----------



## Haley R

Betty Rohrer said:


> what was the weather at the time? maybe not right there but were storms close? because trams are open they most likely have to off parking lots if storms close


It was nice out, no storms nearby. I did see the road blocked off and today saw someone posted they were repaving. Maybe that’s why?


----------



## Betty Rohrer

Haley R said:


> It was nice out, no storms nearby. I did see the road blocked off and today saw someone posted they were repaving. Maybe that’s why?


Know my small park gets lots of complaints when it gets sunny after a storm but we can still hear thunder. Rides are not allowed to reopen until 30 minutes past last thunder heard


----------



## Aimeedyan

Haley R said:


> It was nice out, no storms nearby. I did see the road blocked off and today saw someone posted they were repaving. Maybe that’s why?



They were running Sunday mid-afternoon, but they had a temporary dropoff/pickup spot before you go under the road due to the repaving going on. Not near as convenient. 

We very rarely take the tram - I love walking and hate folding up the stroller - but I am frustrated on behalf of those who really benefit from the steps saved that the other parks have not returned yet.


----------



## Gearbm95

Sugarshock said:


> We just came back from a fantastic trip 3/30-4/2! Some thoughts:
> 
> Old Key West - I had never stayed at this resort before and really fell in love with it! We had a hiccup where we did not get access to our room until 5:30 (Not a big deal, we were in the parks anyways), but everything else was perfect. The pool wasn’t crowded when we went, Olivia’s was great for dinner, and we can’t wait to go back.
> 
> EPCOT - 3/30 - We arrived late to EPCOT and still managed to do everything we wanted! We rode Frozen, Soarin’, Living with the Land, and Remy using Genie+/ILL$. Standby for Spaceship Earth was quick by the time we arrived. FLAG was excellent, the croissant at the France booth was our best if the fest!
> 
> Magic Kingdom - 3/31 - We opted to get there late and stay until close (11PM). We grabbed breakfast at Steakhouse 71 (so good!) and made our way into the park in time for the noon FoF. We managed to get Jungle Cruise, Pirates, HM, Mermaid, Space, and Buzz with Genie+. Crowds weren’t as bad as I was expecting; which was a pleasant surprise.
> 
> Hollywood - 4/1 - Genie+ at DHS was the most challenging, but we still had a lot of success. We got on ToT, Mickey and Minnie, Slinky, Star Tours, Toy Story Mania, and ROTR using G+/ILL$. We left at 5, so I have no doubt we could’ve done everything!
> 
> Overall it was a great trip, and I have the unpopular opinion of actually liking Genie+. I’m very much looking forward to our next trip in November.
> 
> Feel free to ask any questions you might have!



How exactly did you get 5 headliner LLs in 8 hours? Spent 3 days at HS a couple weeks ago and never even came close to that. Did you spend the entire day on your phone refreshing?


----------



## Sugarshock

bambialways4ever said:


> We didn't make it to Steakhouse 71 for breakfast but did lunch and dinner last week and loved both!! What were the breakfast standouts for you? On our list for next time!


Walt’s Breakfast Hash was one of, if not the best thing I ate all trip! The bottomless mimosas can’t be missed either if you drink. The rest was good, but not terribly unique, in my opinion.



Gearbm95 said:


> How exactly did you get 5 headliner LLs in 8 hours? Spent 3 days at HS a couple weeks ago and never even came close to that. Did you spend the entire day on your phone refreshing?


I think it was a combo of luck and strategy lol. Happy to lay it out!

7AM - I booked ROTR while DH booked Slinky. Having two people on at 7 helps tremendously. They both ended up overlapping with an Oga’s reservation we had at 1:40. There was no way we’d be able to do all 3, so we spoke to Guest Relations and they gave me an open-ended time for ROTR. We ended up having Slinky at 1:20, Oga’s 1:40, and we did Rise right after Oga’s.

I set an alarm for 10:29, one minute before we found book our next reservation, and we rode ToT walk on and got some Joffreys

10:30AM - Booked Mickey and Minnie for 2:50, set an alarm for 12:29. Ride Star Tours walk on, shopped/people watched for a bit, and grabbed lunch

12:30 - Booked Toy Story for 3:35, made our way to Slinky to get on that as soon as our window opened.

1:20-3:45 - Rode Slinky, drank at Oga’s, ROTR, Mickey and Minnie, and Toy Story in quick succession.

3:35 - After tapping into Toy Story, I started refreshing the app looking for RRC or ToT, this was the only time was on my phone for long. We were in a line so I didn’t really mind! I got ToT for 4:45 after about 5 minutes of fiddle-faddling. RRC came up before then too, but I wasn’t quite quick enough.

Setting alarms and being on ASAP I think is really the key, especially at DHS. It’s doable and not too complicated as long as you know the rules!

EDIT: Also to add, I think this “stacking” strategy works really well at DHS. Next time I plan on pairing it with a relaxing resort morning, since we ended up with a good bit of down time earlier in the day


----------



## 4Ds4Diz

lynch34 said:


> Earlier complaining was not at all a slight to cast members. They are still superb.
> 
> The unfortunate thing is the corporate strategy has changed for 10-15 years ago and how they treat the parks. It would be totally fine if folks just said that but please save us the facade of how magical the time is.
> 
> Again - shout-out to CMs. Amazing job.


Glad you had a good experience with the staff. After our trip last week, I don't think you can even refer to them as cast members anymore. Cast members cared about the park guest and treated them like guest. Our trip have quite a few bad experiences with the staff. Mostly in restaurants,  but not just there. Given the third degree over our corrct DVC membership cards that are all electronic now. Server with an attitude asking for additional ID after we asked for separate checks. Other restaurants we went to had no problems.  I do have to say our meal and service at Topolinos was awesome.

Park cleanliness was not pre covid days. Pizza scraps on the ground in Epcot and cocktail  cups left sitting on seating areas and napkins blowing all around. Not a staff member insight to clean up. Bathrooms with full cans in some restrooms. Had to inform the guest check in desk at Boma that the bathroom was completely out of paper towels, only to return to the restroom a half hour later and still no paper towels.  Lots of IT problems with Magic Bands at restaurants.  The staff was even frustrated.  Many of the staff in restaurants spoke of understaffed restaurants and the staff over worked, some quitting. 

I still like most of the parks themselves,  but with the staff issues and lack of cleanliness,  Disney is becoming an expensive and glorified Six Flags. So disappointing!


----------



## BellaBaby

Sugarshock said:


> Walt’s Breakfast Hash was one of, if not the best thing I ate all trip! The bottomless mimosas can’t be missed either if you drink. The rest was good, but not terribly unique, in my opinion.
> 
> 
> I think it was a combo of luck and strategy lol. Happy to lay it out!
> 
> 7AM - I booked ROTR while DH booked Slinky. Having two people on at 7 helps tremendously. They both ended up overlapping with an Oga’s reservation we had at 1:40. There was no way we’d be able to do all 3, so we spoke to Guest Relations and they gave me an open-ended time for ROTR. We ended up having Slinky at 1:20, Oga’s 1:40, and we did Rise right after Oga’s.
> 
> I set an alarm for 10:29, one minute before we found book our next reservation, and we rode ToT walk on and got some Joffreys
> 
> 10:30AM - Booked Mickey and Minnie for 2:50, set an alarm for 12:29. Ride Star Tours walk on, shopped/people watched for a bit, and grabbed lunch
> 
> 12:30 - Booked Toy Story for 3:35, made our way to Slinky to get on that as soon as our window opened.
> 
> 1:20-3:45 - Rode Slinky, drank at Oga’s, ROTR, Mickey and Minnie, and Toy Story in quick succession.
> 
> 3:35 - After tapping into Toy Story, I started refreshing the app looking for RRC or ToT, this was the only time was on my phone for long. We were in a line so I didn’t really mind! I got ToT for 4:45 after about 5 minutes of fiddle-faddling. RRC came up before then too, but I wasn’t quite quick enough.
> 
> Setting alarms and being on ASAP I think is really the key, especially at DHS. It’s doable and not too complicated as long as you know the rules!
> 
> EDIT: Also to add, I think this “stacking” strategy works really well at DHS. Next time I plan on pairing it with a relaxing resort morning, since we ended up with a good bit of down time earlier in the day


So what time did you end up arriving at HS and doing the walk on for ToT? We are not rope drop people especially since we come from CO and the time difference at the beginning of the trip is hard on us. We do get used to it ofc but we are on property the first 4 days so that's when we would take advantage unless it's easier just to stack for later?


----------



## AquaGlitter

Sugarshock said:


> Walt’s Breakfast Hash was one of, if not the best thing I ate all trip! The bottomless mimosas can’t be missed either if you drink. The rest was good, but not terribly unique, in my opinion.
> 
> 
> I think it was a combo of luck and strategy lol. Happy to lay it out!
> 
> 7AM - I booked ROTR while DH booked Slinky. Having two people on at 7 helps tremendously. They both ended up overlapping with an Oga’s reservation we had at 1:40. There was no way we’d be able to do all 3, so we spoke to Guest Relations and they gave me an open-ended time for ROTR. We ended up having Slinky at 1:20, Oga’s 1:40, and we did Rise right after Oga’s.
> 
> I set an alarm for 10:29, one minute before we found book our next reservation, and we rode ToT walk on and got some Joffreys
> 
> 10:30AM - Booked Mickey and Minnie for 2:50, set an alarm for 12:29. Ride Star Tours walk on, shopped/people watched for a bit, and grabbed lunch
> 
> 12:30 - Booked Toy Story for 3:35, made our way to Slinky to get on that as soon as our window opened.
> 
> 1:20-3:45 - Rode Slinky, drank at Oga’s, ROTR, Mickey and Minnie, and Toy Story in quick succession.
> 
> 3:35 - After tapping into Toy Story, I started refreshing the app looking for RRC or ToT, this was the only time was on my phone for long. We were in a line so I didn’t really mind! I got ToT for 4:45 after about 5 minutes of fiddle-faddling. RRC came up before then too, but I wasn’t quite quick enough.
> 
> Setting alarms and being on ASAP I think is really the key, especially at DHS. It’s doable and not too complicated as long as you know the rules!
> 
> EDIT: Also to add, I think this “stacking” strategy works really well at DHS. Next time I plan on pairing it with a relaxing resort morning, since we ended up with a good bit of down time earlier in the day


Sounds like an amazing trip! Thanks for all the detail!

Quick question, where you able to get to oga’s on time or were you a little late? And if yes how did they react? By biggest concern for my upcoming trip is dealing with genie+ and ILL conflicting with dining reservations.


----------



## Sugarshock

BellaBaby said:


> So what time did you end up arriving at HS and doing the walk on for ToT? We are not rope drop people especially since we come from CO and the time difference at the beginning of the trip is hard on us. We do get used to it ofc but we are on property the first 4 days so that's when we would take advantage unless it's easier just to stack for later?


We walked through the turnstiles right about 8:15, with early theme park entry. I know it goes against all traditional advice, but I don't think you need to rope drop if you're heavily stacking using Genie+. In all likelihood, your first reservation would be around 11 at the absolute earliest, unless you luck out with an early Slinky time. Plus, DHS doesn't really have nighttime entertainment with Fantasmic paused. Most people will leave before close. I'd plan on getting there around 10:30/11 and stay later than the majority of the crowd. 



AquaGlitter said:


> Sounds like an amazing trip! Thanks for all the detail!
> 
> Quick question, where you able to get to oga’s on time or were you a little late? And if yes how did they react? By biggest concern for my upcoming trip is dealing with genie+ and ILL conflicting with dining reservations.


Happy to help! We managed to get there on time, but it was a bit worrying. Guest relations was really helpful when things overlapped. If there's still availability for the ride you have Genie+ for, (and you're nice to them) they can change it for you or give you a redemption pass so you could go whenever. The lightning lanes move *fast*, assuming the ride didn't recently have a downtime. It took maybe 10 minutes to get on and off Slinky. Also, you can arrive 5 minutes before your Genie+ window, or 15 minutes after, and most cast members will still let you on- which helps a lot when things overlap.


----------



## AquaGlitter

Sugarshock said:


> We walked through the turnstiles right about 8:15, with early theme park entry. I know it goes against all traditional advice, but I don't think you need to rope drop if you're heavily stacking using Genie+. In all likelihood, your first reservation would be around 11 at the absolute earliest, unless you luck out with an early Slinky time. Plus, DHS doesn't really have nighttime entertainment with Fantasmic paused. Most people will leave before close. I'd plan on getting there around 10:30/11 and stay later than the majority of the crowd.
> 
> 
> Happy to help! We managed to get there on time, but it was a bit worrying. Guest relations was really helpful when things overlapped. If there's still availability for the ride you have Genie+ for, (and you're nice to them) they can change it for you or give you a redemption pass so you could go whenever. The lightning lanes move *fast*, assuming the ride didn't recently have a downtime. It took maybe 10 minutes to get on and off Slinky. Also, you can arrive 5 minutes before your Genie+ window, or 15 minutes after, and most cast members will still let you on- which helps a lot when things overlap.


Amazing thank you for the response! Good to know it’s worth trying to go to guest relations before cancelling my ADR or something.


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## scrappinginontario

AquaGlitter said:


> Sounds like an amazing trip! Thanks for all the detail!
> 
> Quick question, where you able to get to oga’s on time or were you a little late? And if yes how did they react? By biggest concern for my upcoming trip is dealing with genie+ and ILL conflicting with dining reservations.


I've heard it recommended often that if you have a conflict that cannot be fixed, go to your ADR then take your receipt to your LL/ILL$ reservation.  They will normally allow you to ride without any problems.  Being late for an ADR is harder to work around and doesn't always work out as easily.


----------



## AquaGlitter

scrappinginontario said:


> I've heard it recommended often that if you have a conflict that cannot be fixed, go to your ADR then take your receipt to your LL/ILL$ reservation.  They will normally allow you to ride without any problems.  Being late for an ADR is harder to work around and doesn't always work out as easily.


Thanks, incredibly useful information! 
I do hope they make it easier to change your genie+ And ILL reservations in the future


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## wonderchica

Had a great RD experience at Hollywood this morning. Arrived at 7 for a 7:30 early entry. They did not let us through the tapstiles until 7:20(?). We did Smugglers, TSM, and MMRR all as walk ons in the first 40 minutes. We had a Genie+ for SDD and a ILL for Rise. We had a great morning!


----------



## maciemouse

Just returned today from our trip Sunday-Thursday.  We stayed at The Beach Club.  We enjoyed this resort...was clean and cast members were great.  We park hopped during this trip.  We never rope dropped but got plenty done.  The only thing we did not get to do was TOT and ROTR.  We go often because we are pass holders so it was okay.  I did not like having to get up at 7am for genie plus.  Every morning!  The only morning I slept until 8am was this yesterday, check out day.  Totally frustrated me to pay for a LL for 1pm and once it was confirmed it was moved to 8pm.  This literally happened with every LL I made.  Guest services gladly fixed it for me in each park except Epcot.  That CM just refunded my money and warned me she would do it this time but not to expect it again. Service in restaurants were great.  We did run into messy bathrooms and outdoor tables but it is a busy time.   Really enjoyed Yak and Yeti and Steakhouse 71.  We all really enjoyed Harmonious.  Loved being able to walk back to Beach Club after it was over and not rely on transportation.  My husband and I discussed how expensive Disney has become.   We have been pass holders for 10 years.  We payed $570.00 for our room a nite and that was with an AP discount and then had to pay for parking.  I can remember paying $300.00 a nite for Poly and free parking when my kids were younger.  I bought an extra magic band from home for my husband to use.  They told me at guest services they will no longer transfer an old magic band to a person.  I had to purchase a new one for him.  It is just sad to me that there are families that will not be able to afford to take their kids to Disney because they have priced so many people out.  A moderate now is a good $300 a nite plus parking.  I also feel if they are going to charge for genie  + and LL they need to add a modify button so you can modify from your phone.   They already have your money...you should able to change your time because things happen.  For example, I made a Rocking Roller coaster genie + first thing in the morning for 11am.  I set my alarm for two hours later and made another one for Toy Story Mania.   Well we were running late from breakfast and we were not going to make it on time for RR.   i can't modify...I just have to cancel and cannot make another genie + in it's place because my two hours has not passed from TSM.  Things can happen and it's like I woke up at 7 am for nothing.  Don't get me wrong, we did have a good time but given the rising prices, our trips are not going to be as frequent.  We usually go once a season.  We are going to reevaluate our pass holder status when the time comes as we both feel the value is not is not what it once was.  PS....love the skyliner.


----------



## maciemouse

Just returned today from our trip Sunday-Thursday.  We stayed at The Beach Club.  We enjoyed this resort...was clean and cast members were great.  We park hopped during this trip.  We never rope dropped but got plenty done.  The only thing we did not get to do was TOT and ROTR.  We go often because we are pass holders so it was okay.  I did not like having to get up at 7am for genie plus.  Every morning!  The only morning I slept until 8am was  yesterday, check out day.  Totally frustrated me to pay for a LL for 1pm and once it was confirmed it was moved to 8pm.  This literally happened with every LL I made.  Guest services gladly fixed it for me in each park except Epcot.  That CM just refunded my money and warned me she would do it this time but not to expect it again. Service in restaurants were great.  We did run into messy bathrooms and outdoor tables but it is a busy time.   Really enjoyed Yak and Yeti and Steakhouse 71.  We all really enjoyed Harmonious.  Loved being able to walk back to Beach Club after it was over and not rely on transportation.  My husband and I discussed how expensive Disney has become.   We have been pass holders for 10 years.  We payed $570.00 for our room a nite and that was with an AP discount and then had to pay for parking.  I can remember paying $300.00 a nite for Poly and free parking when my kids were younger.  I bought an extra magic band from home for my husband to use.  They told me at guest services they will no longer transfer an old magic band to a person.  I had to purchase a new one for him.  It is just sad to me that there are families that will not be able to afford to take their kids to Disney because they have priced so many people out.  A moderate now is a good $300 a nite plus parking.  I also feel if they are going to charge for genie  + and LL they need to add a modify button so you can modify from your phone.   They already have your money...you should able to change your time because things happen.  For example, I made a Rocking Roller coaster genie + first thing in the morning for 11am.  I set my alarm for two hours later and made another one for Toy Story Mania.   Well we were running late from breakfast and we were not going to make it on time for RR.   i can't modify...I just have to cancel and cannot make another genie + in it's place because my two hours has not passed from TSM.  Things can happen and it's like I woke up at 7 am for nothing.  Don't get me wrong, we did have a good time but given the rising prices, our trips are not going to be as frequent.


----------



## Ecomommy09

MK today was great.  We rope dropped but I bought ILL for SDMT, so we rope dropped Ariel, Winnie, Barnstormer, and finally Pirates.  After that we waited 40 minutes for HM. It’s my favorite so I was cool with that wait, but I had to hold my 7 year old a lot of the time. 

After a waffle at Sleepy Hollow, we had PP as our first LL choice from G+. Then I booked meeting Tiana and Rapunzel because we love them.  

After that, we watched the parade and had lunch at LTT. I enjoyed it. There was a funny dad next to us with teen boys who kept asking the server for more food. 

Our next acts were to watch Country Bears (nope) and go to the Tiki Room (love!).  After those we had a LL for Buzz.  As soon as we scanned in I booked Big  Thunder for 1620.  Since we had time we had a snack and rode dumbo twice (mostly for the play ground time!).  After that I pushed her back across the park for Seven Dwarves and Big Thunder as our finale. We headed home after that.  

I don’t like Splash so we didn’t care we missed it. I could have added the other Tomorrowland roses, but I think Space Mtn is too scary for my baby and Astro Orbiter is so boring.  

We had such a lovely time and I have no complaints.  I wasn’t on my phone that much.  LL was really a life saver because most waits were 45+ and that’s too long for me.


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## joy13

wonderchica said:


> Had a great RD experience at Hollywood this morning. Arrived at 7 for a 7:30 early entry. They did not let us through the tapstiles until 7:20(?). We did Smugglers, TSM, and MMRR all as walk ons in the first 40 minutes. We had a Genie+ for SDD and a ILL for Rise. We had a great morning!


Is that the order you did the rides in?  That sounds awesome!


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## Little E

We went a second time from 3/2-4/1 and stayed at Pop (for our high school kiddo's spring break) then too.  We only had a lllooonnnnggggg Skyliner wait when the park closed.  We waited probably about an hour.  Other than that Skyliner lines were short.  We waited roughly 15 minutes first thing in the am, but the line was always moving, so it didn't seem bad at all.


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## wonderchica

joy13 said:


> Is that the order you did the rides in?  That sounds awesome!


Yes! MFSR, TSM, MMRR. Also walked onto Star Tours after that before a coffee break. Smugglers area was a ghost town. We could’ve gotten awesome pics back there if we were inclined. After coffee, we hit two shows, had lunch, then our afternoon stack of SDD, ROR, and another MMRR before hopping to Epcot.


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## joy13

wonderchica said:


> Yes! MFSR, TSM, MMRR. Also walked onto Star Tours after that before a coffee break. Smugglers area was a ghost town. We could’ve gotten awesome pics back there if we were inclined. After coffee, we hit two shows, had lunch, then our afternoon stack of SDD, ROR, and another MMRR before hopping to Epcot.


What a great day!  Thanks for sharing!


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## waldiddy

We've been going to WDW since the mid 90s (wow, I'm getting old!), and the place never fails to entertain and surprise us. We visited the first full week of April. Even though Touring Plans had forecasted a somewhat busy week (mostly 5+ crowds, on a scale of 1 to 10), the streets were relatively easy to navigate. That said, the lines were bad. We've almost always hit the parks as soon as they open, but with resort guests getting there 30 minutes early, the advantage of being at regular opening has diminished. On the other hand, I love how MK and Epcot now get you past the turnstiles before the park is opened. Not sure if AK is also doing this.  

I love mobile ordering, but wish that more of the counter service, especially in Epcot, was plugged into that. The lines for the Parisian boulangerie were nuts. And, on that topic, has their menu been truncated? I remember getting all kinds of different tarts there in the past. This time there were only two options. I had been looking forward to getting one of their lemon tarts, but it wasn't available anymore. 

Mission Space was showing some wear and tear. I noticed one of the screens in the pre-show was grainy, and then our ride vehicle squeaked a great deal. That definitely took away from the feel of being shot into space. Is this ride truly less popular than Test Track? Or is it that TT is just slow-loading? Why in the world riding a rocket into space is less compelling than riding in a car is something I'll never figure out.

Epcot desperately needs those international college kids back soon. It just didn't feel the same without the wonderful accents. 

Hollywood Studios was great. I had visited with my kids a few months prior, so we had already experienced Galaxy's Edge. But this time, my wife was with us. She was impressed! But, I don't think she geeked out to the same degree I did the first time I found myself standing inside the Falcon. Toy Story Land is also great, but I still haven't had a chance to ride Slinky Dog. But it is fun listening to the characters standing astride the coaster, especially Jessie.  Also, I got to try one of those breakfast tarts from Woodie's.  Mmm, mm. I'm missing the food there so bad ... 

Not much to say about MK. It's wonderful and amazing as always. Nothing really new here for us on this trip, except for the food. We tried one of those waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow (yum!) and my son and I split the roasted corn pizza at Pinocchio's (superb!). The counter service in the parks has really stepped up their game over the past few years. 

Ditto for AK. Nothing really new here for us, other than the food at the Pandora counter-service. It was outstanding.  It was sad to see that Primeval Whirl is gone. Everest was also down for refurb. That didn't leave too many rides, although I was surprised that the train was running to the animal hospital area. I thought that train and the petting zoo/viewing area access had been closed down years ago. I also remember, way back, that AK had a lot of people from Africa working the safari ride. Has that changed or is it just a temporary workaround due to Covid?

Overall, it was another wonderful Disney trip. Now to hit the bike and try to burn off all those calories!!


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## RLGNC

Thanks for sharing!


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## wonderchica

Just back from 4/6-4/10. Stayed at Pop. Overall a great time! Very busy crowds, but with Genie+ and ILL for Rise/Remy we did everything we wanted at MK, HS, and EP. Parks were mostly clean, sometimes the trash in bathrooms were a little full. Really enjoyed lunch at GF Cafe, a new one for us. Even with the hours on downpours on Thursday at MK, we got a lot done. Weather was great other than that. We really enjoyed the Skyliner and only had to wait for it at Epcot close, about 20 minutes. I was concerned there would be a line to get to RD at Hollywood but there wasn’t. We got there by 7 for a 7:30 open and were not too far from the front. Buses to and from Pop were frequent.


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## GaSleepingBeautyFan

I survived last week solo . I've been going to the parks since 1986. I'm on a scooter these days. The crowds made it hard to get thru but I managed.  I had done research and thought that last week would be a touch quieter so my research failed me. 

Unfortunately I was in Animal Kingdom the day of the big storms so the scooter got wet underneath. I covered it really well and didn't drive through any puddles but it still got wet. At least it got me back to the resort and the company brought me one the next morning which meant missing the resort early hours at Hollywood Studios.  I had a great Caring for Giants tour. The elephants really liked the rain. 
I was taking my time going around to finish my 2 older Wilderness Explorer books as well as riding the attractions I wanted to. 

Magic Kingdom was busy as well and I gave up on trying to see the new fireworks when the handicapped area was full an hour before Enchanted. So I went to the back of the park and rode a few attractions while everyone was watching that fireworks. That worked out nicely for me. And I mobile ordered a snack from the Confectionery that I got after park close so I enjoyed that while waiting for the exit crowds to get lower. 

Hollywood Studios was great. I was there most of the day and ended with a ride on Slinky Dog Dash. So fun.  I was able to get on most things by constantly refreshing genie+ with the exception of Tower of Terror. I really enjoyed my lunch at Mama Melrose. I have had such good luck with their food. So yummy. 

Epcot I booked for 2 days since I love the flower and garden festival. The first day I rode all the attractions, shopped and did one tour around world showcase. The 2nd day I spent going around seeing all the gardens and topiaries and did 2 rounds of World Showcase. Loved most of the food and drink I tried. It was extremely crowded both days but I still enjoyed myself. Very few people were masked up or even attempting to social distance. 

I also had a dessert party at the Spice Road Table which was a complete and total fail. The Lamb Kefta was dry, the tiropitakia was very bland. Then the small dessert plate was full of tree nuts which I'm allergic too and told them that in advance. So after I informed the server I was allergic, they brought me a small plate of strawberries and 2 chocolate chip cookies broken in half so it was 4 pieces.  The Hibiscus Mimosa was delicious though. 
I think there was a new server because he tried to give me a table of 4's drinks. And a different tables food. It was comical. 

Then because I was solo, I got the worst view in the place. One of the viewing screens was behind the giant pillar along with half of stargate. The other was blocked by a guys head at the table by the railing. I booked this to see the show because I can't stand for long periods of time so it was a very disappointing experience. I don't believe that table should have been considered a fireworks view and I let the manager know that. 
I hate paying for subpar experiences. Next time I'll get a some snacks, a spot by the railing in Japan an hour before and probably have a great view.

Anyways to end the trip, I was coughing and feeling rough on the drive home (which took longer than expected because of so much reckless driving causing accidents including one that I'm sure was fatal) so when I go home I took an at home covid test which was positive. Confirmed it this morning with a drive thru pharmacy test. Luckily I have had my 3 shots so hopefully it won't get any worse but seriously - I wore my mask everywhere except for when I was taking a picture or at a restaurant, washed my hands constantly and it wasn't good enough. 
I had a great time with the exception of the dessert party and now the end of the trip Covid. What a way to end the trip.


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## waldiddy

Very sorry to hear you got sick!  We took absolutely no precautions, even though it sounds like we definitely should have. My wife and son are both sick with a cold, but she tested negative yesterday for Covid.


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## 3gr8boys

WE HAD A FANTASTIC TRIP THANKS TO GENIE +

We were in the parks Sunday April 3 through Friday April 8. It was definitely the most crowded I have ever seen the parks personally. (Previous trips have been around President’s Day and during Spring Break.)
ETA we were a party of 5

For context, we are not able to travel to Disney World frequently. This was our fourth family trip, all four being four or more years apart. I knew that we would not want to RD every day or have to use end-of-the-night strategies to achieve short waits. I added Genie+ to our tickets as soon as it was available.

I had an issue two different mornings with the IAS rides refreshing at 7:00 but the Genie+ rides still saying that availability would open at 7:00. It happened both with wifi on and off. They only way I could correct was to completely shut the app and then reopen it.

Many folks advised pinning your priorities to the top of the tip board- fantastic advice. I often had only one or two rides pinned to the top so I could see them easily when playing the refreshing game.

Our strategy was to pick the ride most important to the group as our first Genie+ of the day- which I would get at 7a.m. It was great to know that the IAS rides would have a second drop at 7:17 (I used this drop to get FOP, ROTR and 7DMT almost exactly when I wanted them in the day) so I could focus on Genie+ at 7:00. If the time I was given didn’t work, I cancelled and refreshed, earlier times tended to resurface at 7:05 and 7:10. We did not ever purposely schedule harder (JC, PP, etc) LL late and then stack, we kept scheduling rides we wanted as soon as possible. When there were no useful LL left, we switched to refreshing (while waiting for shows to start, while having snacks and, yes, while walking behind the rest of the group) for the hard to get ones. We were able to score JC (as in a LL within the hour!) that way on our first MK day and both TT and FEA on two of the days we were hopping to Epcot. On our first HS day we scored a SDD early afternoon by refreshing. At times it was like a game, with two or three of us seeing who could come up with the best LL. Of course, there was disappointment to be had. A LL would should up but be gone by the time I got past the “who’s in your party” screen. We did opt to RD PP on our second MK day (20 minutes) instead of chancing it and got in a MMRR line shortly after park open (45 minutes) instead of risking a longer wait if no LL was to be had.

(ETA 4/18/2022 keep an eye on recent posts AND be sure to monitor patterns prior to travel, I have seen posts re the ILL availability expected at 7:17 occurring later, 7:20 for example)

On our first MK day (4/3 and we were there open to close) we used LL for BTMRR (twice! because we had an anytime due to BTMRR closure AND were able to score another refreshing), SM, JC, HM, POC and Buzz Lightyear. We filled the time between LLs with less than 15 minute wait attractions, cavalcades, shows and food. It was an amazing day. The only significant wait we had was for Astro-orbiter. Totally worth it because we rode during the fireworks. What a view!

ETA we did find Genie+ to be a great advantage even in AK.  We were able to practically walk on to Safari and NRJ at the time of day we wanted despite long lines for both.  Afterwards we started getting EPCOT LLs in preparation for hopping.

It did take some time to make a habit of noting when our 120 minute window would be up. Because I was usually grabbing LLs as I tapped into rides, I was often too distracted to make note of the time and set a phone alarm (if the 120 minute rule was in play).

You can definitely see big shifts in availability at two hours and four hours after park open- it is good luck to be able to tap in and book your next LL before those times.


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## Dizziman

I'm glad it worked out for you. 

For the three days we used it, I felt it worked well on one day, possibly two. The third day I felt was a waste, even though we used it the same way each day. It really depends on availability and, if you're looking to get a specific attraction that is "sold out," your persistency in continuing to refresh the screen to see if it pops up (50/50 it did for us, but only due to constant phone checking).


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## kilik64

3gr8boys said:


> You can definitely see big shifts in availability at two hours and four hours after park open- it is good luck to be able to tap in and book your next LL before those times.


Yup. Why im very much of the opinion that stacking is a suboptimal strat. Get your first g+ ride as early as possible and then try not to ever get hit with a 2 hour window, and if you do, try to select one that hits before the normal ones for the park you are in.


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## Schmedvic

Thanks for the tips! Going to be using G+ for the first time next month. It seems like you need to be screen watching a lot. I like going to Disney as a distraction from life including from having to look at my phone. Did having to monitor your phone impact the Disney magic?


----------



## DisneyFive

3gr8boys said:


> Our strategy was to pick the ride most important to the group as our first Genie+ of the day- which I would get at 7a.m. It was great to know that the IAS rides would have a second drop at 7:17 (I used this drop to get FOP, ROTR and 7DMT almost exactly when I wanted them in the day) so I could focus on Genie+ at 7:00. If the time I was given didn’t work, I cancelled and refreshed, earlier times tended to resurface at 7:05 and 7:10. We did not ever purposely schedule harder (JC, PP, etc) LL late and then stack, we kept scheduling rides we wanted as soon as possible.



When you mention earlier times opened at 7:05 and 7:10, just how early are you talking?  Can you give examples of which rides and what times you got when you waited until 7:05-7:10?  Thanks!

Dan


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## reddog21

DisneyFive said:


> When you mention earlier times opened at 7:05 and 7:10, just how early are you talking?  Can you give examples of which rides and what times you got when you waited until 7:05-7:10?  Thanks!
> 
> Dan


If your on twitter @WDWWait has a daily return time map for lighting lane for each park and each ride.
https://twitter.com/WDWWait


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## 3gr8boys

DisneyFive said:


> When you mention earlier times opened at 7:05 and 7:10, just how early are you talking?  Can you give examples of which rides and what times you got when you waited until 7:05-7:10?  Thanks!
> 
> Dan



I found this to be the case with Space Mountain and MFSR.  Those mornings were the ones when my phone didn't refresh the tip screen properly and I didn't see LL times until I closed and reopened the app.  By then the times offered were late afternoon/evening and I really wanted morning or midday LLs.  While I can't remember if it was in the neighborhood of 7:05 or 7:10, I did refresh often and ultimately got LLs for both.  I believe Space Mountain was a 9:50-10:50 LL (9:00 park open).  The MFSR was later- 12:45 to 1:45.  (Worked out great because we got ROTR at 10:15 during the 7:17 drop.)

ETA the Genie+ priorities (as in first one of the day) for our six days were (in order) SM, Safari (needed time that worked with Rhino tour), MFSR, TT, SM and TOT.  I am not sure which (aside from the ones I wrote about above) I obtained at 7:00 vs 7:05-7:10 with refreshing.


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## 3gr8boys

Schmedvic said:


> Thanks for the tips! Going to be using G+ for the first time next month. It seems like you need to be screen watching a lot. I like going to Disney as a distraction from life including from having to look at my phone. Did having to monitor your phone impact the Disney magic?


I did not feel glued to my phone... refreshing was a fun challenge when I was doing it, but I also made sure to put my phone away during rides, shows, meals etc.


----------



## DisneyOma

3gr8boys said:


> We were in the parks Sunday April 3 through Friday April 8. It was definitely the most crowded I have ever seen the parks personally. (Previous trips have been around President’s Day and during Spring Break.)
> 
> For context, we are not able to travel to Disney World frequently. This was our fourth family trip, all four being four or more years apart. I knew that we would not want to RD every day or have to use end-of-the-night strategies to achieve short waits. I added Genie+ to our tickets as soon as it was available.
> 
> I had an issue two different mornings with the IAS rides refreshing at 7:00 but the Genie+ rides still saying that availability would open at 7:00. It happened both with wifi on and off. They only way I could correct was to completely shut the app and then reopen it.
> 
> Many folks advised pinning your priorities to the top of the tip board- fantastic advice. I often had only one or two rides pinned to the top so I could see them easily when playing the refreshing game.
> 
> Our strategy was to pick the ride most important to the group as our first Genie+ of the day- which I would get at 7a.m. It was great to know that the IAS rides would have a second drop at 7:17 (I used this drop to get FOP, ROTR and 7DMT almost exactly when I wanted them in the day) so I could focus on Genie+ at 7:00. If the time I was given didn’t work, I cancelled and refreshed, earlier times tended to resurface at 7:05 and 7:10. We did not ever purposely schedule harder (JC, PP, etc) LL late and then stack, we kept scheduling rides we wanted as soon as possible. When there were no useful LL left, we switched to refreshing (while waiting for shows to start, while having snacks and, yes, while walking behind the rest of the group) for the hard to get ones. We were able to score JC (as in a LL within the hour!) that way on our first MK day and both TT and FEA on two of the days we were hopping to Epcot. On our first HS day we scored a SDD early afternoon by refreshing. At times it was like a game, with two or three of us seeing who could come up with the best LL. Of course, there was disappointment to be had. A LL would should up but be gone by the time I got past the “who’s in your party” screen. We did opt to RD PP on our second MK day (20 minutes) instead of chancing it and got in a MMRR line shortly after park open (45 minutes) instead of risking a longer wait if no LL was to be had.
> 
> On our first MK day (4/3 and we were there open to close) we used LL for BTMRR (twice! because we had an anytime due to BTMRR closure AND were able to score another refreshing), SM, JC, HM, POC and Buzz Lightyear. We filled the time between LLs with less than 15 minute wait attractions, cavalcades, shows and food. It was an amazing day. The only significant wait we had was for Astro-orbiter. Totally worth it because we rode during the fireworks. What a view!
> 
> ETA we did find Genie+ to be a great advantage even in AK.  We were able to practically walk on to Safari and NRJ at the time of day we wanted despite long lines for both.  Afterwards we started getting EPCOT LLs in preparation for hopping.
> 
> It did take some time to make a habit of noting when our 120 minute window would be up. Because I was usually grabbing LLs as I tapped into rides, I was often too distracted to make note of the time and set a phone alarm (if the 120 minute rule was in play).
> 
> You can definitely see big shifts in availability at two hours and four hours after park open- it is good luck to be able to tap in and book your next LL before those times.


About how much did you spend daily for your group for Genie and all the ILL?


----------



## kilik64

Schmedvic said:


> Thanks for the tips! Going to be using G+ for the first time next month. It seems like you need to be screen watching a lot. I like going to Disney as a distraction from life including from having to look at my phone. Did having to monitor your phone impact the Disney magic?


I still dont get this whole gotta watch phone all day that people get into their heads.

Only time you need to be on your phone for g+ is when you are booking one. Its not like you need to walk around searching for a g+ time all the time. Either right after you ride a ride, during the q after you tap in, or if you get into a 2 hour cool down and its been 2 hours since your last ride do you need to be searching for a g+.

Sure you can constantly search I guess and keep trying to find a different ride or a better time etc, but I never felt the need to do that and didnt have any issues riding what we wanted. More go with the flow I guess, rode a ride, found the next closest/nearest g+ and off we went. Next one not for an hour? Great, lets get a snack, check out a shop, hit up a photo pass, whatever.


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## 3gr8boys

DisneyOma said:


> About how much did you spend daily for your group for Genie and all the ILL?


I added Genie+ as soon as it was available, so that was $15 per person per day (plus tax).  I did pay for each of the ILL rides (FOP, 7DMT, ROTR and Remy) once.  I didn't pay attention to the price on our days (it fluctuates) because I was going to do it no matter what.  It was worth it to me- we rode on the days we wanted at convenient times without having to wait in long lines.


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## Schmedvic

kilik64 said:


> I still dont get this whole gotta watch phone all day that people get into their heads.
> 
> Only time you need to be on your phone for g+ is when you are booking one. Its not like you need to walk around searching for a g+ time all the time. Either right after you ride a ride, during the q after you tap in, or if you get into a 2 hour cool down and its been 2 hours since your last ride do you need to be searching for a g+.
> 
> Sure you can constantly search I guess and keep trying to find a different ride or a better time etc, but I never felt the need to do that and didnt have any issues riding what we wanted. More go with the flow I guess, rode a ride, found the next closest/nearest g+ and off we went. Next one not for an hour? Great, lets get a snack, check out a shop, hit up a photo pass, whatever.


Good to hear. That will be my plan as well. Cheers!


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## Schmedvic

3gr8boys said:


> I did not feel glued to my phone... refreshing was a fun challenge when I was doing it, but I also made sure to put my phone away during rides, shows, meals etc.


Thanks for the follow up. Glad to know you can minimize the distraction. I have already purchased G+ and I am learning the strategies to best use it from other peoples experiences. Cheers.


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## OhhBother

The tarts have been missing at the French bakery since at least last June. My husband and I always get one, and it's not been available on any of our recent trips. Same thing with the caramel shoppe in Germany - many fewer items. I'm hoping the menus broaden back as the international staff returns and things get back to normal.


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## gharter

We found Genie + was very helpful at HS and MK.  Finally getting better at stacking and that makes a huge difference.
Didn't need it at AK or EPCOT.


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## Day-al

GaSleepingBeautyFan said:


> Very few people were masked up or even attempting to social distance.



Because this isn’t a thing any longer.


----------



## lockets

GaSleepingBeautyFan said:


> Anyways to end the trip, I was coughing and feeling rough on the drive home (which took longer than expected because of so much reckless driving causing accidents including one that I'm sure was fatal) so when I go home I took an at home covid test which was positive. Confirmed it this morning with a drive thru pharmacy test. Luckily I have had my 3 shots so hopefully it won't get any worse but seriously - I wore my mask everywhere except for when I was taking a picture or at a restaurant, washed my hands constantly and it wasn't good enough.
> I had a great time with the exception of the dessert party and now the end of the trip Covid. What a way to end the trip.


Feel better!


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## 3gr8boys

DisneyOma said:


> About how much did you spend daily for your group for Genie and all the ILL?


I have gone back and looked at my credit card app so I can better answer your question.  We did each  the four ILL rides once.  We were a party of five for all except 7DMT, only three of us did that one.

4/3 no ILL
4/4 FOP $58.60
4/5 ROTR $79.90
4/6 Remy $47.95
4/7 7DMT $31.95
4/8 no ILL

It's a lot of $ but was totally worth it for us.  Our trips are four or more years apart and there is so much to do besides standing in line. We also don't like to RD every morning to avoid crazy waits.

Per previous post, I added genie+ to tickets prior to trip at $15 each per day (plus tax)


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## ambula603

We just returned from a Land and Sea trip - 4 days in the parks (staying at OKW) and then a 3-night cruise on the Dream, April 4-11.  It was a wonderful vacation! 

A few highlights that I wanted to share, because I love reading this thread as my trips are approaching!  We are typically rope drop people but as my girls get older we are more laid back.  I really worried we would miss things, but with Genie+ and ILL it worked out so well.  On our first day, we flew early so I got return times while waiting in the airport and again right after we landed.  We took a private transportation company called "Away We Go" which dropped us off at Epcot and then took our bags to OKW.  By the time we arrived at Epcot I had Test Track, Soarin and Remy booked.  So we filled in with other rides while we were there.  We did everything in the park BUT Frozen and Space, which was our plan.  We very much enjoyed the show at Epcot! 

Because it went so well the day before, we decided to sleep in/swim the next day with the same type of stacking for AK.  I would get up at 7:15 and get a later return time and then reserve them every two hours until we went to the parks around 1/2 PM.  In fact, the 7:17 drop was most beneficial for me - I was able to get what I wanted each day at that time.  And at 7:17 it was less likely to be a different time after I clicked through.  I just set an alarm for the next time to book and I didn't feel like I was on my phone much.  We had a WONDERFUL breakfast at Olivia's, probably my favorite meal of the trip.  Got to the park and already had FOP, Safari and Dinosaur booked (I think).  We didn't even care to do Navi but one time it popped up so I grabbed it.

The one day we Rope Dropped was Magic Kingdom.  That was the only day I felt the crowds were bad. After nearly getting ran over by strollers (we were in the very front of the rope drop at Tomorrowland) I decided that just wasn't worth the hassle.  We did Space Mountain and Splash before park opening, and had return time for Jungle Cruise and Pirates.  Then we took a mid-day break.  After that point, I had several waiting on us that I had booked while at the resort. We managed to get all the major rides, including a return time for Peter Pan after we watched the fireworks (didn't care for them, but we love Happily Ever After).  For me, it seemed like I lucked out or maybe I planned well because if I fiddled with it, I almost always got a return time for something I wanted.  I did not book anything until it was what I wanted (meaning I didn't try to cancel and rebook, I figured I would rather hold out). We left the park that night around midnight, but could have done a 2nd ride on some of the big hitters with little wait times.

Our last day was Thursday and I think the storms helped us because we slept in (aside from 7:17 Rise and Slinky, then went back to sleep) and still managed to get every ride we wanted minus Smugglers.  And we could have done standby but we were feeling sickly from all the other simulator rides.  We booked Tower around lunch and found RnR around 2:30 which I didn't expect.  I think people must have canceled and I found their scraps!  My 13 yo daughter watched tons of Molly videos (All Ears) and helped me find things, so that was fun for us to do together.

We did 4 parks in 4 days - and 3 of those days were post-lunch arrivals.  We only waited in one line, 20 minutes for Spaceship Earth when we first walked into Epcot.  We have NEVER had a trip with fewer wait times.  In fact, we said we sometimes needed more time in the queues to catch our breath! 

Friday we took ground transportation to Port Canaveral, crossed our fingers for negative Covid tests, and then enjoyed 3 relaxing nights on the Dream.  Low crowds there.  I don't know the number but I know my girls did the Aquaduck 7 times in a row!  Castaway was dreamy, as always. 

Because Southwest changed our return flight we had ground transportation bring us back to OKW where they kept our luggage for a few hours at bell services.  I wasn't sure this was going to work so I had the manager approve it first.  They had no problem doing it.  We took the boat to Disney Springs, spent a final day there, and then ubered back to the airport last night to fly home.

I know many people say Genie+ isn't worth it, but for our touring style and crowd levels, it was worth every penny.  Check at 7:17 for the big rides, it worked every day for me.  Relax at the resort or park hop and stack in the afternoon/evening if you want.  We had very few ADRs so that helped us to be flexible, as well.


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## SLThomas318

Is the 7:17 drop just for the paid rides?  Or do the genie+ rides re-fresh too?  We used genie+ pre 7:17 am drop…


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## 3gr8boys

SLThomas318 said:


> Is the 7:17 drop just for the paid rides?  Or do the genie+ rides re-fresh too?  We used genie+ pre 7:17 am drop…


I found that Genie+ rides often showed earlier availability  again between 7:05 and 7:10.  I did very well with the 7:17 drop for ILL.  I didn't pay attention  to Genie+ rides at the 7:17 because I already had what I wanted.


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## DisneyOma

3gr8boys said:


> I have gone back and looked at my credit card app so I can better answer your question.  We did each  the four ILL rides once.  We were a party of five for all except 7DMT, only three of us did that one.
> 
> 4/3 no ILL
> 4/4 FOP $58.60
> 4/5 ROTR $79.90
> 4/6 Remy $47.95
> 4/7 7DMT $31.95
> 4/8 no ILL
> 
> It's a lot of $ but was totally worth it for us.  Our trips are four or more years apart and there is so much to do besides standing in line. We also don't like to RD every morning to avoid crazy waits.
> 
> Per previous post, I added genie+ to tickets prior to trip at $15 each per day (plus tax)


Thanks for the added info! Yikes, I total it (including genie) as $727? Disney is not for the middle class anymore or it has a caste system now at least  Or, I guess, if you only go every few years or so, it can be budgeted in.


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## 3gr8boys

DisneyOma said:


> Thanks for the added info! Yikes, I total it (including genie) as $727? Disney is not for the middle class anymore or it has a caste system now at least  Or, I guess, if you only go every few years or so, it can be budgeted in.



It is definitely  expensive.... but our trips are not frequent.  We had a lot of fun watching shows and cavalcades, doing low wait attractions, enjoying meals etc in the hours that we saved every day not standing in lines.  It was a fabulous trip! (We stayed at All Star Music and I posted some thoughts in that thread.)


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## DisneyFive

DisneyOma said:


> Thanks for the added info! Yikes, I total it (including genie) as $727? Disney is not for the middle class anymore or it has a caste system now at least  Or, I guess, if you only go every few years or so, it can be budgeted in.





3gr8boys said:


> It is definitely  expensive.... but our trips are not frequent.  We had a lot of fun watching shows, cavalcades etc in the hours that we saved every day not standing in lines.  It was a fabulous trip! (We stayed at All Star Music and I posted some thoughts in that thread.)



It’s a HUGE add.  We are going this summer for eight nights and for our family of five, G+ added $640. If we did one individual Lightning Lane per day it would add another  $400+ to our trip.  So yeah, over $1000 more for what used to be free.  Never mind the $160+ due to loss of Magical Express this year as well.  All of this sadly shortened our trip from 10 nights to 8, and removed Park Hoppers, (for a far inferior system for us)

Dan


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## DisneySyd

3gr8boys said:


> I found that Genie+ rides often showed earlier availability  again between 7:05 and 7:10.  I did very well with the 7:17 drop for ILL.  I didn't pay attention  to Genie+ rides at the 7:17 because I already had what I wanted.


Agreed. The Genie+ rides “dropped” earlier (7:08/10ish). The $ILL dropped at 7:17, although I still refreshed earlier just in case


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## SLThomas318

DisneySyd said:


> Agreed. The Genie+ rides “dropped” earlier (7:08/10ish). The $ILL dropped at 7:17, although I still refreshed earlier just in case


Interesting…. I’m wondering if I shouldn’t even try at 7 am and just wait.  The uncertainty of return time is soooo frustrating.


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## DisneySyd

SLThomas318 said:


> Interesting…. I’m wondering if I shouldn’t even try at 7 am and just wait.  The uncertainty of return time is soooo frustrating.


I would still try at 7, if you don’t like the time then don’t book and wait a few minutes. Just be warned that the time will change, sometimes even after you pay. It tends not to change as much (if at all) on the second “drop”


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## GBRforWDW

DisneySyd said:


> if you don’t like the time then don’t book and wait a few minutes.





DisneySyd said:


> Just be warned that the time will change, sometimes even after you pay.


You just totally contradicted yourself in back to back sentences, going back to the main point of the poster you quoted.  

As you point out, you can get all the way through booking with a time that works, then you submit payment and your time becomes hours later for a time that doesn't.


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## DisneySyd

GBRforWDW said:


> You just totally contradicted yourself in back to back sentences, going back to the main point of the poster you quoted.
> 
> As you point out, you can get all the way through booking with a time that works, then you submit payment and your time becomes hours later for a time that doesn't.


Edited: I originally couldn’t see where you thought I contradicted myself, but think I see it now. I’ll list the rationale to book at either time.

7am booking:
1. I don’t trust Disney IT (things change) so preferred to get the booking done at 7am. It’s stressful waiting for the 7:17 drop, although I was successful each time
ETA (Apr18/22): Things have changed. There are still new drops but the timing has been inconsistent (7:08, 7:20, 7:25) the past few days.
2. Later times don’t shift as much so if you’re looking at afternoon/evening booking you should get close to what you want
3. If you don’t care about time then it’s locked in and you don’t have to worry about refreshing
4. You can always go to the blue umbrellas if your time shifts significantly after payment …it’s a known issue that they were happy to fix when I was there

Wait for the 7:17ish booking:
1. You absolutely need a morning time
2. You don’t want to deal with the blue umbrellas
3. IT glitches caused you to miss the 7am booking
4. You have more than one opportunity (day) to book so if for some reason the 7:17 drop doesn’t pan out you have another chance (I.e. take the risk of waiting until 7:17 to get the time you want vs taking whatever you get at 7am)

My comments/posts were more to reassure people that there was another drop of times every day of my trip (consistent with what others have experienced). That said, I still tried every morning at 7am. If times shown were already late or changing significantly between screens I wouldn’t book and would (nervously) wait until 7:17. If I didn’t care about the time or it wasn’t shifting significantly I booked.
Hope that clears things up.


----------



## Neverbeast

DisneySyd said:


> Edited: I originally couldn’t see where you thought I contradicted myself, but think I see it now. I’ll list the rationale to book at either time.
> 
> 7am booking:
> 1. I don’t trust Disney IT (things change) so preferred to get the booking done at 7am. It’s stressful waiting for the 7:17 drop, although I was successful each time
> 2. Later times don’t shift as much so if you’re looking at afternoon/evening booking you should get close to what you want
> 3. If you don’t care about time then it’s locked in and you don’t have to worry about refreshing
> 4. You can always go to the blue umbrellas if your time shifts significantly after payment …it’s a known issue that they were happy to fix when I was there
> 
> Wait for the 7:17ish booking:
> 1. You absolutely need a morning time
> 2. You don’t want to deal with the blue umbrellas
> 3. IT glitches caused you to miss the 7am booking
> 4. You have more than one opportunity (day) to book so if for some reason the 7:17 drop doesn’t pan out you have another chance (I.e. take the risk of waiting until 7:17 to get the time you want vs taking whatever you get at 7am)
> 
> My comments/posts were more to reassure people that there was another drop of times every day of my trip (consistent with what others have experienced). That said, I still tried every morning at 7am. If times shown were already late or changing significantly between screens I wouldn’t book and would (nervously) wait until 7:17. If I didn’t care about the time or it wasn’t shifting significantly I booked.
> Hope that clears things up.


This is such a great explanation and comparison


----------



## waldiddy

GaSleepingBeautyFan, unfortunately, my wife got Covid during our trip. Just be aware folks .. this pandemic ain't quite over yet.​


----------



## waldiddy

OhhBother said:


> The tarts have been missing at the French bakery since at least last June. My husband and I always get one, and it's not been available on any of our recent trips. Same thing with the caramel shoppe in Germany - many fewer items. I'm hoping the menus broaden back as the international staff returns and things get back to normal.


Thank you for answering my question!  glad i'm not the only one missing the variety of delicious treats!


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## lovethattink

Friendly reminder about the DIS Covid posts policy. Please see pinned thread.


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## mdinme

great post Ty. We are night owls and hope to use G+ and LL like you may 22-26




ambula603 said:


> We just returned from a Land and Sea trip - 4 days in the parks (staying at OKW) and then a 3-night cruise on the Dream, April 4-11.  It was a wonderful vacation!
> 
> A few highlights that I wanted to share, because I love reading this thread as my trips are approaching!  We are typically rope drop people but as my girls get older we are more laid back.  I really worried we would miss things, but with Genie+ and ILL it worked out so well.  On our first day, we flew early so I got return times while waiting in the airport and again right after we landed.  We took a private transportation company called "Away We Go" which dropped us off at Epcot and then took our bags to OKW.  By the time we arrived at Epcot I had Test Track, Soarin and Remy booked.  So we filled in with other rides while we were there.  We did everything in the park BUT Frozen and Space, which was our plan.  We very much enjoyed the show at Epcot!
> 
> Because it went so well the day before, we decided to sleep in/swim the next day with the same type of stacking for AK.  I would get up at 7:15 and get a later return time and then reserve them every two hours until we went to the parks around 1/2 PM.  In fact, the 7:17 drop was most beneficial for me - I was able to get what I wanted each day at that time.  And at 7:17 it was less likely to be a different time after I clicked through.  I just set an alarm for the next time to book and I didn't feel like I was on my phone much.  We had a WONDERFUL breakfast at Olivia's, probably my favorite meal of the trip.  Got to the park and already had FOP, Safari and Dinosaur booked (I think).  We didn't even care to do Navi but one time it popped up so I grabbed it.
> 
> The one day we Rope Dropped was Magic Kingdom.  That was the only day I felt the crowds were bad. After nearly getting ran over by strollers (we were in the very front of the rope drop at Tomorrowland) I decided that just wasn't worth the hassle.  We did Space Mountain and Splash before park opening, and had return time for Jungle Cruise and Pirates.  Then we took a mid-day break.  After that point, I had several waiting on us that I had booked while at the resort. We managed to get all the major rides, including a return time for Peter Pan after we watched the fireworks (didn't care for them, but we love Happily Ever After).  For me, it seemed like I lucked out or maybe I planned well because if I fiddled with it, I almost always got a return time for something I wanted.  I did not book anything until it was what I wanted (meaning I didn't try to cancel and rebook, I figured I would rather hold out). We left the park that night around midnight, but could have done a 2nd ride on some of the big hitters with little wait times.
> 
> Our last day was Thursday and I think the storms helped us because we slept in (aside from 7:17 Rise and Slinky, then went back to sleep) and still managed to get every ride we wanted minus Smugglers.  And we could have done standby but we were feeling sickly from all the other simulator rides.  We booked Tower around lunch and found RnR around 2:30 which I didn't expect.  I think people must have canceled and I found their scraps!  My 13 yo daughter watched tons of Molly videos (All Ears) and helped me find things, so that was fun for us to do together.
> 
> We did 4 parks in 4 days - and 3 of those days were post-lunch arrivals.  We only waited in one line, 20 minutes for Spaceship Earth when we first walked into Epcot.  We have NEVER had a trip with fewer wait times.  In fact, we said we sometimes needed more time in the queues to catch our breath!
> 
> Friday we took ground transportation to Port Canaveral, crossed our fingers for negative Covid tests, and then enjoyed 3 relaxing nights on the Dream.  Low crowds there.  I don't know the number but I know my girls did the Aquaduck 7 times in a row!  Castaway was dreamy, as always.
> 
> Because Southwest changed our return flight we had ground transportation bring us back to OKW where they kept our luggage for a few hours at bell services.  I wasn't sure this was going to work so I had the manager approve it first.  They had no problem doing it.  We took the boat to Disney Springs, spent a final day there, and then ubered back to the airport last night to fly home.
> 
> I know many people say Genie+ isn't worth it, but for our touring style and crowd levels, it was worth every penny.  Check at 7:17 for the big rides, it worked every day for me.  Relax at the resort or park hop and stack in the afternoon/evening if you want.  We had very few ADRs so that helped us to be flexible, as well.


----------



## Nordic4tKnight

We went in the end of March, beginning of April and we never waited in a standby line longer than 40 minutes. We were able to achieve this by using Genie+ and ILLs to their full potential. Every day we were able to get the park headliners (Jungle, SDD, Frozen, Safari) for early morning return times meaning we were a huge step ahead of everyone else who were stuck waiting for the 120 minute rule. We also took advantage of Early Entry and thanks to the posts here we were towards the front of the line at all parks (we didn't want to wait up crazy early for AK but were able to still ride Navi with a 20 minute wait). Using this strategy we were able to ride every ride we wanted and in many cases twice. I understand that our Genie+ mornings were more luck (especially scoring a 9:00am SDD) but I cannot stress enough how important it is to use ILL & Genie+ with Early Entry in the morning.

One other thing we utilized that I don't think the regular park guests didn't know about was the 7:17am ILL drop. This worked for us to get better times (even for Rise) every single time. So much so that we never even tried at 7am for FOP and just waited for 7:17 for better times.


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## chekhovgirl

gharter said:


> We found Genie + was very helpful at HS and MK.  Finally getting better at stacking and that makes a huge difference.
> Didn't need it at AK or EPCOT.


Can you share an example of your stacking strategy? We're doing one day at DHS soon and I'm trying to figure it out! Thinking of booking ToT first because of the reduced capacity.


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## gharter

HS opened at 7:30.  At 7, I booked our 1st LL at 10.  With the 2 hour rule was able to schedule another one at 9:30. Once the 10 was used, was able to schedule another and just kept going.  there were times where I had to keep refreshing to find a LL for a ride and time that we wanted.


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## seashell7290

I’m here now offering a different perspective. Getting my husband up for rope drop is just not possible. I’ve been waking up early booking rides starting late morning and through until close. For HS, we were able to do SDD, Rise, ToT, smugglers run, Indiana and beauty and the beast, MMRR. All with G+ And ILL. Could have done TSM but we had an Ogas reservation instead. I did refresh for some things but overall it wasn’t too bad. We also enjoyed Brown derby lounge and had an ADR at 50s. I liked that I was able to creat this all same day including the ADRs. And yes my battery did last the whole time. I can totally see how I am above average knowledge of G+. I was in line for the GET and heard the questions people were asking. Most people have 0 idea to maximize this system. Yes I know I am paying more to tour like this but I’ll continue to use it to save some sleep.


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## chekhovgirl

gharter said:


> HS opened at 7:30.  At 7, I booked our 1st LL at 10.  With the 2 hour rule was able to schedule another one at 9:30. Once the 10 was used, was able to schedule another and just kept going.  there were times where I had to keep refreshing to find a LL for a ride and time that we wanted.


Oh, I get the stacking strategy in general, but was wondering which rides you did in which order. I'm worried about not getting some of them. Glad it worked for you!


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## gharter

chekhovgirl said:


> Oh, I get the stacking strategy in general, but was wondering which rides you did in which order. I'm worried about not getting some of them. Glad it worked for you!


Initially, couldn't get RoTR.  While riding the bus, checked again and was able to purchase at a good time.
Was able to get MMRR, ToT, RnRC, Smugglers run, toy story mania and Frozen as LL.
Didn't really need it for Frozen.
Also walked up for Star Tours, Indy, and MMRR.  Watched 2 of the small parades.
The only one we couldn't get and wanted to do was Slinky Dog and wasn't going to wait in 90 minute line.


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## UVACHRIS11

waldiddy said:


> GaSleepingBeautyFan, unfortunately, my wife got Covid during our trip. Just be aware folks .. this pandemic ain't quite over yet.​


Our small family of three also all positive. Wife and I work in a hospital and never tested positive. She worked on the first covid unit here. All 3 of us are VERY symptomatic. This is the worst I have felt in years.


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## BridgetR3

Random question - With Remy pulling some people and it being lowered for the summer on Genie +, what are the standby wait times like right now for Frozen?  Yes I know that I could have followed the app recently and checked it a few times a day but I just thought of this.


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## 3gr8boys

BridgetR3 said:


> Random question - With Remy pulling some people and it being lowered for the summer on Genie +, what are the standby wait times like right now for Frozen?  Yes I know that I could have followed the app recently and checked it a few times a day but I just thought of this.



We used LL on FEA late afternoon on a Spring Break Monday and I am pretty sure the standby line said 90 minutes or more (I remember thinking "No way!").  We rode again on Thursday evening not long before park close and the standby line said 60.  I never looked at ETPE/RD/morning.


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## chekhovgirl

gharter said:


> Initially, couldn't get RoTR.  While riding the bus, checked again and was able to purchase at a good time.
> Was able to get MMRR, ToT, RnRC, Smugglers run, toy story mania and Frozen as LL.
> Didn't really need it for Frozen.
> Also walked up for Star Tours, Indy, and MMRR.  Watched 2 of the small parades.
> The only one we couldn't get and wanted to do was Slinky Dog and wasn't going to wait in 90 minute line.


Slinky Dog is the one that I'm not sure we'll prioritize for LL and I'm afraid we won't ride it either, but don't think it's a deal breaker for anyone in our group. We're not staying on site, so we will be rope dropping RoTR because it's our #1 and we don't want to get shut out due to breakdowns or anything! Thank you!


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## Lsdolphin

Just returned from spending last week at CSR...had a great time but parks were very crowded. Purchased Genie+ again and once again it was of little use to us.   the one day when we used it from 7:00 through the day to stack rides for later in the day at MK it was somewhat helpful in that you are able to get rides for later in the day but forget about anything in the morning.  Early morning hours were packed at MK and both mornings we tried, PP had a late opening.  So we ended up doing Small World and then waiting with hordes of people for HM to open at 9am. It’s like the running of the bulls at 8:30 with 95% running to SDMT and the others heading right to PP.  the group that heads toward Tomorrow land is way smaller so Space Mountain is a good choice for early morning hours.  Busses seemed to be plentiful early morning from resorts to parks but we had long waits at all parks for return busses early to late afternoons.
we were surprised at the availability for walk up reservations we actually used the app to get a reservation for Ohana for dinner one night while standing at the TTC and walked right over.  Also went to Beaches and Cream after checking the app while walking over from Epcot.  Took the skyway from HS one day and went to Sebastian’s Bistro over at CBR and it was actually better than Ohana for much less $.  Our server offered to bring us more of anything we wanted and offered us containers for our leftovers.  We did have an ADR for Sebastian’s and it is only open from Thursday -Sunday unless that’s changed since last week.  Highly recommend Sebastian’s Bistro and Steakhouse 71 was also fabulous.  Enjoyed a breakfast at the Ale and Compass restaurant at the Yacht Club the Dark Chocolate waffles with cherries were wonderfu.  favorite Snacks were the Wookie Cookie and the Blondie Brownie from Backlot Express at HS both were huge and great for sharing.  The chocolate chip cookie from the “Market “ over just across from the entrance to Toy Story Land was great and we loved the melty cheese/brisket sandwich from Woody’s.  We also enjoyed items from Captain Cooks at Poly but the food at the quick service at CSR was awful everything still grab and go and served in cardboard brown boxes sitting under the lights. 
still really miss the dole whip served with the pineapple upside cake that used to be in MK.
Disney Springs was busy but no where as crazy as around Christmas it was quite pleasant to walk around and stores didn’t seem too crowded.  Prices for just about everything have really gone up but we have seen that at home as well.  Looking forward to returning in Sept and hoping for way lower crowds.  Definitely won’t be buying the Genie+ again.  Now just have to lose the extra pounds we put on....going out now for another long walk!


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## loves to dive

I've been here, solo, since Easter Sunday.   It has been an interesting trip so far.  I'm doing a split stay, 2 nights at ASMov and 4 nights at Dolpin.  I arrived around 12:30 and went to the lobby at ASMov, I knew my room wasn't ready but I wanted to know if they knew what section it would be in so I could move my car.  The great CM found me a room ready, fairly close to the lobby and right across from the parking lot.  I dropped my stuff off and headed off to Epcot.   It really wasn't all that crowded, at least I didn't think it was.   I bought a gift card and headed off to La Cava in Mexico for some Guac and a refreshing adult beverage.  Rode the ride there with no wait.  Decided what the heck, lets ride Frozen.   I'm not a fan of the movie and not a huge fan of the ride but I thought I'd test the wait times.   It was posted 90 min.   It did indeed take 90 min. get on the boat.   The ride decided to die right when it went backwards.   We sat there for awhile then CMs came and told us we would be evacuated as soon as they emptied the water and turned off the electricity.   It was a total of 2 hours from when I got on the ride to when I got off.   I needed to cleanse the bad vibes from that so walked over to the Land and rode my favorite, Living with the Land.  That was posted 5 min, was a walk on.  Then I went to Soarin.  It was posted 50 min, was a walk on until the merge with LL then maybe a 10 min. wait.   On a roll now, I did SSE, posted 5 min., a walk on.  I decided to head over to MK.  Huge mistake.   I rode the monorail and right when I got on it, the skies opened up.   No problem, I always have at least a cheap poncho with me.   It was coming down pretty hard but not bad so I went to Pirates, which was posted 15 min, was a walk on.   Of course, all the outside rides were down so I went to HM.   It was posted 13 min, was a walk on.   It stopped when I got to the library and we sat there maybe 5 min., then it stopped again when I got just past the coffin dude, I was stuck in the little hallway with the pounding door.  That was about 10 min.  Then it stopped again when I had just been turned backwards and was going down hill so I was laying on my back.  That one wasn't long, maybe 3 min.   When I got outside the skies had really opened up.  I decided to ride people mover, right when I got over there I heard them announcing to the people on the ride to stay in their seats.   I took that as an omen and came back to the room.   

Today I had reservations for MK.  I got there at about 8:45, toward the end of early entry.  I went to SDMT, which was already posted at 80 min but what the heck.  It was an 80 min. wait.  Then I went to BTMRR, posted at 45, it was about 30.  After that Jungle Cruise, posted at 50 and it was just about that.  It was shut down when I got off.  Then I went and rode PeopleMover which was posted 15 min. and was about that.  There were a lot of rides down at this point.  WTP after that, posted 25 and it was that.  I headed out and to the monorail for a hop to Epcot to eat at some booths.  Turns out their gift card readers were mal-functioning.   The CMs could punch in the number on the card but not scan it.  If you had a gift card that could be swiped, those worked, just not the wrist ones.   I managed to get something at three booths, struck out at one because the CM's insisted they couldn't manually enter the card.  I knew they could but it wasn't worth fighting over.   There was a pretty black cloud brewing so I came back to the room to rest.  I'm currently laying in the bed with a heating pad on my back trying to decide if I want to head over to AK and watch the Tree of Life awakening.   

So far, this has been the weirdest trip I've had and I've been 3 times since the parks have reopened.  I'm hoping they get the gift card issue fixed at Epcot since I don't want to put little $6-$10 charges on my cc, which is why I bought it.


----------



## loves to dive

Went to AK about 6 pm.   Joined wait list for Nomad Lounge as soon as I passed security, it was a 10 min. wait, table was ready as soon as I got there.   Enjoyed food and drink were great as usual.   Decided to ride Navi since I was just waiting for the awakenings.   60 min. posted wait.  About 15 min. in they announced the ride was down.   Went to Dino. instead.  posted 10 min. wait, walk on.  Went in some shops and watched 3 of the awakenings.   

All in all not a bad day.  So far I'm 3 for 3 as far as parks and rides breaking down.


----------



## MainMom

loves to dive said:


> Went to AK about 6 pm.   Joined wait list for Nomad Lounge as soon as I passed security, it was a 10 min. wait, table was ready as soon as I got there.   Enjoyed food and drink were great as usual.   Decided to ride Navi since I was just waiting for the awakenings.   60 min. posted wait.  About 15 min. in they announced the ride was down.   Went to Dino. instead.  posted 10 min. wait, walk on.  Went in some shops and watched 3 of the awakenings.
> 
> All in all not a bad day.  So far I'm 3 for 3 as far as parks and rides breaking down.


What are the awakenings?


----------



## ElizaDoesDisney

I'm here right now.  Solo until Thursday when some relatives come in.  My trip's a little different than the norm because I'm working from the hotel during the days and hitting the parks after - but thought I'd post anyway since I've gotten so much value out of reading others' reports.

Flew in late on Easter Sunday.  And arrived even later than planned due to weather delays.  Was glad that I had booked one night at Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport.  Great room, decent breakfast, incredibly convenient for a late night/early morning flight.  Had fun watching the planes take off and land while working this morning.

At my lunchtime, I grabbed a rental car, made a pit stop for supplies at Walmart, and moved over to Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress for three nights.   The room here is very comfortable.  I haven't really explored the resort at all, but I look down at the pool from my room and it looks nice.

As soon as I wrapped up my work day, I headed over to EPCOT for the evening.  I was able to snag a Space 220 Lounge reservation a few days ago and planned my night around that.  In getting my thoughts together for this post I realized that I never actually rode any rides tonight (a first for me), but I had a blast.  On arrival, I went straight to Mexico for an avocado margarita.  Spent some time exploring the China, Norway, and Mexico pavilions and the port of entry area then shopped at Connections until it was time to head to space.  

I was able to check in right at reservation time and sent directly up and was seated at the bar.  At first I was a little disappointed that I didn't have a direct view of the screens, but it ended up being fine.  The bar is mirrored so you could see the view a bit and, honestly, beyond the initial wow factor when first seeing the giant screens it all seemed a bit underwhelming.   I know the conceit is that you are tethered to Earth but that means the view is mostly static with a couple random astronauts/spaceships/etc floating past.  It would have been so much cooler to see earth spinning beneath you.  I was impressed by the food and beverages - I had the Cosmo, Astro Deviled Eggs, Blue Moon Cauliflower, and an Espresso Martini for "dessert."   I would order all of it again, but the Blue Moon Cauliflower was my favorite.  The bartenders were super nice and they were very flexible with the ordering.  You could order the prix fixe or off the lounge menu.  Or they said you could order any appetizer or dessert from the prix fixe menu a la carte.  They even offered to let a couple split a prix fixe meal.

After dinner - I meandered my way counterclockwise around the showcase.  I've always been a big fan of Food & Wine - but I think Flower and Garden may be even better.  I loved all of the topiaries and garden areas - so much to wander around and see.   Also enjoyed spotting some of the Easter eggs hidden throughout the park.  I got an order of frushi in Japan for actual dessert - it was fine, but not my favorite ever - the rice to filling ratio seemed off to me.  Finally made my way over to Germany and grabbed a spot down by the water about 15 minutes before Harmonious.  I know it's controversial, but I love it.  After, I found a bench with a great view of Spaceship earth and relaxed for a while letting the crowds die down.  When I'm not in a hurry, I much prefer waiting for the crowds to disperse before making my way leisurely out.  

Tomorrow's plans: work, MK, the Plaza (monte cristo!)


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## Best Aunt

MainMom said:


> What are the awakenings?


At Animal Kingdom Park:

Tree of Life Awakenings
Entertainment located in Discovery Island at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park
Witness the majestic centerpiece of Disney’s Animal Kingdom park come to life at night.

A Mesmerizing Nighttime Experience​Flickering fireflies magically appear and stir to life the animal spirits in the tree’s towering trunk—bringing to light a dazzling visual display swarming with color and animated imagery.
Gaze upon a young doe embarking upon a thrilling journey. Behold love blossoming between a pair of hummingbirds. Spy a sly fox spreading gifts of love among the denizens of a wintry forest.
A feast for the eyes, each revelation celebrates the eternal balance and harmony that exists in all living things, big or small, and is sure to inspire and delight your whole family tree.
Reawakening Your Love of _The Lion King_​The Tree of Life sleeps tonight—or does it? Experience the wonder as an original musical score and mystical images—featuring animals and themes inspired by _The Lion King_—take you on a sublime journey. Be there to see this slumbering iconic tree become even more stunning in a new awakening.
Know Before You Go​Tree of Life Awakenings begins after dark and occurs approximately every 10 minutes until the park closes.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/animal-kingdom/tree-of-life-nighttime-awakenings/


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## godfather927

waldiddy said:


> GaSleepingBeautyFan, unfortunately, my wife got Covid during our trip. Just be aware folks .. this pandemic ain't quite over yet.​





UVACHRIS11 said:


> Our small family of three also all positive. Wife and I work in a hospital and never tested positive. She worked on the first covid unit here. All 3 of us are VERY symptomatic. This is the worst I have felt in years.


Out of curiosity, did you both have a few ADRs with indoor dining? For our upcoming trip, I'm trying to strike a balance between reasonable precautions but still enjoying a nice meal or not be sweating with a mask on. We have 2 ADRs and plan to wear masks on any public transit but not sure what else we should do beyond that. Maybe also wear it for any indoor ride queues?


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## lynch34

After being home for a week or so now, I think I can calmly present the pros and cons of the trip.

Cons:
Inconsistent trams for parking - To me, this is crazy.  I don't mind it so much at Magic Kingdom as the bridge work makes it borderline useless but in AK - it's quite bad.

Genie+ is an ok product if you don't know the "old world."  The old world of paper Fastpasses or even the 3 fastpass reservations you make ahead of the trip.  The issue if you might get stuck with nothing to do or nothing to see.  That is not an issue in Magic Kingdom but it is in Hollywood Studios, which is a madhouse.  Epcot and Animal Kingdom don't even need Genie+.  I had it for every day but it was totally unnecessary in those parks.  I was advised by a friend to just suck it up and get it every day and then it's one less thing you have to think about and if you can afford it, that's probably the right decision.  The issue with that is - it isn't cheap and it's made wait-times signficantly worse.

I think one of the main issues for me with Genie+ is talking to my family who don't go as often as I do (or have never gone).  They ask me how is it and with the current system I have to tell them that 1 - it's too expensive (meaning the overall trip) and 2 - you have to be a Disney expert to have a good time or just flat out not care if you see or do much. My crew knows how to manage it with the whole (ok - this lunch needs to be a tad longer or hey, the riverboat is running - let's do that, etc.)  People that have the "1st time visit" buttons on - I legitimately feel bad for them.

The parks feel empty compared to the old days but the wait-times have never been worse.  They must not have staff or must be running things at low capacity.  The parking lots are EMPTY and yet everything has a 60 minute wait for it.  I couldn't believe it.  If you would have told me I was in Zurg parking lot in the old days with when we arrived (not rope drop) - I would have said the park was empty.  It's easy to navigate.  There's a massive disconnect with attractions.

Update the shows.  Indiana Jones and Frozen in HS - like how have they not been updated?  Frozen doesn't even bring anything in from the second movie.  That has to be pretty easy to do and it shows you care.  They are the same jokes (and its a good show) but c'mon.  

Remy is very cute but almost every country needs something like that.  Guardians will help but Epcot - there's not a lot there.  In fairness, Disney never marketed it or built it to be some headliner but it's a solid ride but that's about it.  

Toy Story Land is still the hottest place on Earth.  They can put up as many umbrellas as they would like - that design is a total disaster.  I can't imagine July and August.

Cost is a major con.  I'm lucky enough to be able to afford it but the cost is crazy.  I have three kids and a wife.  The 5 of us going for a week - $3k with no park hopper or $3.4k with park hopper and that does not include Genie, food or accommodations.  We are going to Maui in June and I have an oceanfront AirBnB condo for about the same cost (no airfare obviously) but you get my point.  There is going to be a major correction soon.  I did have siblings ask me about this summer and I strongly advised them to skip.  I would have died advising them to go with the current cost.  They are catering to the rich and the super rich.  I could go to Universal for a week and get accommodations and tickets for the cost of just Disney tickets.

Pros:
Harmonious is very good.  It blows Illuminations away for me.
Epcot is gorgeous.
Animal Kingdom is still a great park for those who don't want a stressful day.

Hollywood Studios is a mess - totally a mess.

Wish I could be more positive but I will give it 3-4 years and maybe come back when they have figured it out.  Too many other places to see and spend my money on.  I can't defend spending more for an inferior experience when I've been so much.


----------



## ElizaDoesDisney

Disney Vacation Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

Started off with an oopsie - set my alarm for 6:55PM instead of AM so slept through initial Genie+ drop.  But it all worked out well.   I was able to stack up several offers while I worked from the room making selections at 8:00 (Jungle Cruise), 11AM (Splash), 1PM (Haunted Mansion), 3PM(Pirates).  I had been hoping to get BTMR at 1PM, but it had pushed past when I needed it - but managed to pull one in the right slot at 5PM right as I entered the park.    Perfection.   I got to work - rode Splash, BTMR, HM, JC, and Pirates and still managed to check in for my 7:40 Plaza reservation at 7:21 as I was walking across the hub.  A whirlwind 2.5ish hours in the park.  And I was able to pull a Peter Pan Genie+ after tapping into BTMR.

I made the Plaza reservation because I wanted to try the monte cristo.  I loved the one in Disneyland at Blue Bayou - this was fine but not nearly as good.  And it was a sugar bomb - I was glad I ordered green beans as the side so I could at least pretend it was somewhat balanced.  Also had a glass of Chardonnay - ok two glasses of Chardonnay - there was a bit of a wait for the food.  I know alcohol service in MK can be controversial, but I really enjoy being able to have a glass of wine with dinner.

I finished dinner around 8:40 and decided to rode Peoplemover before heading into Fantasyland.  I found a spot back near Be Our Guest to watch the fireworks.   A very unique view.   Obviously you don't get the castle show, main street lights, and you have to turn around to see the castle (lower) fireworks - but the view of the high fireworks is phenomenal.  And no crowds.  I'd definitely watch from here again - I love the castle projections, but hate crowds even more.

After fireworks I did Pooh walk-on, Under the Sea walk-on, Mickey's Philharmagic, and then Peter Pan.  IASW had gone down early in the evening and never reopened.  Despite lots of fiddle faddling, I never did get a Space Mountain G+.  Thought about going to do it via standby, but decided I'd rather head back to Adventureland.  Did BTMR again - posted 20 minutes at 10:17 and was 21 minutes.  Then got in line for Splash - posted 20 minutes at 10:44 and was a walk on.  That view of the castle lit up from the top of the big drop on Splash is phenomenal.

I feel like I got a ton done in my six hours in the park.  For me, this is kind of the perfect use case for Genie+ - it allowed me to get essentially a full days of rides in even though I didn't enter the park until 5PM.  I'm not an early bird and I think I'll be tempted to tour this way in the future even when I'm not working.  The only downside is the getting up at 7 for the first drop - but I can probably do that and then fall back asleep.   I can see my routine being sleep in, lazy morning at resort, late breakfast or a nice lunch and heading to the parks at 2PMish and having a few G+ reservations lined up already.  But, I totally get why that approach wouldn't work for everyone.

Tomorrow's plans: non-park day, work, checking out the resort, dinner at Topolinos.


----------



## Naomeri

ElizaDoesDisney said:


> Disney Vacation Day 2 - Magic Kingdom
> 
> Started off with an oopsie - set my alarm for 6:55PM instead of AM so slept through initial Genie+ drop.  But it all worked out well.   I was able to stack up several offers while I worked from the room making selections at 8:00 (Jungle Cruise), 11AM (Splash), 1PM (Haunted Mansion), 3PM(Pirates).  I had been hoping to get BTMR at 1PM, but it had pushed past when I needed it - but managed to pull one in the right slot at 5PM right as I entered the park.    Perfection.   I got to work - rode Splash, BTMR, HM, JC, and Pirates and still managed to check in for my 7:40 Plaza reservation at 7:21 as I was walking across the hub.  A whirlwind 2.5ish hours in the park.  And I was able to pull a Peter Pan Genie+ after tapping into BTMR.
> 
> I made the Plaza reservation because I wanted to try the monte cristo.  I loved the one in Disneyland at Blue Bayou - this was fine but not nearly as good.  And it was a sugar bomb - I was glad I ordered green beans as the side so I could at least pretend it was somewhat balanced.  Also had a glass of Chardonnay - ok two glasses of Chardonnay - there was a bit of a wait for the food.  I know alcohol service in MK can be controversial, but I really enjoy being able to have a glass of wine with dinner.
> 
> I finished dinner around 8:40 and decided to rode Peoplemover before heading into Fantasyland.  I found a spot back near Be Our Guest to watch the fireworks.   A very unique view.   Obviously you don't get the castle show, main street lights, and you have to turn around to see the castle (lower) fireworks - but the view of the high fireworks is phenomenal.  And no crowds.  I'd definitely watch from here again - I love the castle projections, but hate crowds even more.
> 
> After fireworks I did Pooh walk-on, Under the Sea walk-on, Mickey's Philharmagic, and then Peter Pan.  IASW had gone down early in the evening and never reopened.  Despite lots of fiddle faddling, I never did get a Space Mountain G+.  Thought about going to do it via standby, but decided I'd rather head back to Adventureland.  Did BTMR again - posted 20 minutes at 10:17 and was 21 minutes.  Then got in line for Splash - posted 20 minutes at 10:44 and was a walk on.  That view of the castle lit up from the top of the big drop on Splash is phenomenal.
> 
> I feel like I got a ton done in my six hours in the park.  For me, this is kind of the perfect use case for Genie+ - it allowed me to get essentially a full days of rides in even though I didn't enter the park until 5PM.  I'm not an early bird and I think I'll be tempted to tour this way in the future even when I'm not working.  The only downside is the getting up at 7 for the first drop - but I can probably do that and then fall back asleep.   I can see my routine being sleep in, lazy morning at resort, late breakfast or a nice lunch and heading to the parks at 2PMish and having a few G+ reservations lined up already.  But, I totally get why that approach wouldn't work for everyone.
> 
> Tomorrow's plans: non-park day, work, checking out the resort, dinner at Topolinos.


I found that the tables outside Gaston’s tavern are very comfortable for watching the fireworks if you don’t care about the castle projections (or have another MK night where you can focus on the projections)


----------



## barbarabini

Here now.  After refreshing for a month after getting dumped into Epcot for two days, and begging ,3 guest relations people here to put me in any other park, it was a no go.  Epcot two days.  Rope drop at IG for ratatouille EM but turns out once inside the ride was on delay and no estimate for opening.  Same day test track went down, and a day later, I'm at Epcot again, where I don't want to be and it's still broke.   Writing this at 7 am because I had to get up early again to try to get a ll pass.  No one understands genie plus here.  I walked into a bathroom and asked and 10 mom's have me 10 different explanations.  Nah.


----------



## Marionnette

barbarabini said:


> Here now.  After refreshing for a month after getting dumped into Epcot for two days, and begging ,3 guest relations people here to put me in any other park, it was a no go.  Epcot two days.  Rope drop at IG for ratatouille EM but turns out once inside the ride was on delay and no estimate for opening.  Same day test track went down, and a day later, I'm at Epcot again, where I don't want to be and it's still broke.   Writing this at 7 am because I had to get up early again to try to get a ll pass.  No one understands genie plus here.  I walked into a bathroom and asked and 10 mom's have me 10 different explanations.  Nah.


So sorry that you have to deal with this during what is supposed to be a "magical" vacation experience. The park pass/2 PM hopping rule is one of my major gripes with Disney right now. It made sense as we were just coming out of the pandemic shutdown and Disney needed to social distance queues, provide additional attraction cleaning and other COVID protocols. But now that pretty much all of those measures no longer exists, the only reason that the park reservation system seems to exist is for Disney's benefit at the expense of the guests.

I hope that your vacation satisfaction improves during your stay. It sounds like your experience so far is not what anyone should have to settle for.


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## Meglen

When did you make your mark passes? Or did you pick Epcot but ended up being a mess of a park ?


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## AnnaKristoff2013

barbarabini said:


> Here now.  After refreshing for a month after getting dumped into Epcot for two days, and begging ,3 guest relations people here to put me in any other park, it was a no go.  Epcot two days.  Rope drop at IG for ratatouille EM but turns out once inside the ride was on delay and no estimate for opening.  Same day test track went down, and a day later, I'm at Epcot again, where I don't want to be and it's still broke.   Writing this at 7 am because I had to get up early again to try to get a ll pass.  No one understands genie plus here.  I walked into a bathroom and asked and 10 mom's have me 10 different explanations.  Nah.


Unfortunately Chapek has your money so he doesn’t care.


----------



## barbarabini

Marionnette said:


> So sorry that you have to deal with this during what is supposed to be a "magical" vacation experience. The park pass/2 PM hopping rule is one of my major gripes with Disney right now. It made sense as we were just coming out of the pandemic shutdown and Disney needed to social distance queues, provide additional attraction cleaning and other COVID protocols. But now that pretty much all of those measures no longer exists, the only reason that the park reservation system seems to exist is for Disney's benefit at the expense of the guests.
> 
> I hope that your vacation satisfaction improves during your stay. It sounds like your experience so far is not what anyone should have to settle for.Unfortunately Chapek has your money so he doesn’t care.


In response to anna, Funny you say that.  With the shot show I saw at epcot early opening on monday, I tought they are destroying their brand. Gen x nd beyond are going to hate this way of vacationing.  I bought puts right there.  Stocks down 5% and falling.  I have chapeks $$$ this morning and their desperate bid for subscribers by giving a 2% vacation discount tells me I am about to get more of it in the coming weeks.  a few more points and I will have totally gotten my money back


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## mickey916

ElizaDoesDisney said:


> I made the Plaza reservation because I wanted to try the monte cristo.  I loved the one in Disneyland at Blue Bayou - this was fine but not nearly as good.  And it was a sugar bomb - I was glad I ordered green beans as the side so I could at least pretend it was somewhat balanced.  Also had a glass of Chardonnay - ok two glasses of Chardonnay - there was a bit of a wait for the food.  I know alcohol service in MK can be controversial, but I really enjoy being able to have a glass of wine with dinner.


I was very interested when you mentioned you were going to the Plaza for the Monte Cristo, as we had a reservation there on 4/7 for the same exact reason. Rather than a sugar bomb ours was a grease bomb. It was just soaked with grease and also cold. My DH and I looked forward to it so much and it was the absolute worst thing we ate in 11 days (and we ate a LOT of stuff). Sounds like you're having a great solo trip though and hope it continues!


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## Mango7100

Returned from a trip 4/14-4/19. We stayed at the Swan. We bought Genie for all of our 3 park days.

Friday 4/15—-HS. First LL was SDD with a return time of 8-9am. Tried to make a ILL at 717 for Rise and said I was ineligible. As I was walking to Guest Service umbrella I realized the app dropped my Swan reservation. Got reservation back on at Guest Services, and the Cm gave us an anytime pass for Rise and did not charge our party of 3! Maybe he was feeling generous since it was so early, but it was a pleasant surprise. Did early entry and Runaway Railway was down, so did RnRC and Smugglers Run during early entry. After that we did LL for Slinky, LL for TSMM, met Olaf standby, Frozen show, ILL for Rise at 1030, and lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge. Returned at 6 for Baseline Tap House, used our 3 stacked LL for MMRR, RnRC, Saucers, and did TSMM as a walk on at park close. We did 5 LLs total.

Saturday 4/16 at MK—Arrived for early entry 30 minutes ahead to do Space. Made our first LL for PP with return time of 915-1015. In morning we did Space, Buzz, and Carousel during early entry. During the morning we did standby for Haunted Mansion with 10 minute wait, People Mover with 5 minute wait, LL for PP, LL Speedway, and LL Buzz. Standby to meet Mickey with a 5 minute wait and then watched the parade at 12 outside of the Mickey Theater (easy to find a spot about 5 minutes before parade arrived). Went to GF to see the Easter Eggs and take a break. Had early dinner at CRT—I though the food was very good, the portions are smaller than Storybook or BOG but it was plenty to eat without feeling stuffed. For the evening we did LLs for Space, Big Thunder, Pooh, and another LL for Big Thunder since our LL for Pirates was converted to an anytime since it was down all evening. After I received the anytime LL for Pirates being down, I booked another Pirates and got another anytime LL since it was still down. Used that one on Small World (not the best choice but DD wanted to go on it and it was a 30 minute wait). Did Dumbo as walk on and rode 3 times in a row during fireworks. Then did Little Mermaid, Speedway and People Mover with short 5-10 minute standby waits to close out the night. So we did 8 LL total.

Monday 4/18–Epcot. I know people say Genie isn’t worth it at Epcot, but I think it is. We did Remy during early entry (it had a 30 minute delay opening and we finally started moving 2 minutes before early entry finished. By the time we were off the ride 20 minutes later, the line was all the way to the France food booth). We did our first LL for Test Track at 10, and then did LL for Spaceship Earth, stacked LL for Frozen and one for Soarin for evening. Those 4 rides had a 3 1/2 hour wait time combined and we waited maybe 25 minutes combined for them. We ate the last seating for Topolinos breakfast—it was the first day of character hugs and the breakfast was excellent. Definitely would do again. Returned to Epcot around 6 to do our LLs for Frozen and Soarin, do some food booths, watched fireworks from Norway and went to Frozen about 2-3 minutes before fireworks ended to start extended evening hours. We walked on Frozen, but as we left the wait time was 30 minutes for extended evening guests. We did Soarin again as a 5 minute wait, and went to Remy at 1040 and did it with a 25 minute wait, Test Track was down for the whole extended evening and then Frozen went done for the last hour, so there wasn’t much left.

We had a great trip. Never been during Easter and it was not as crowded as I was fearing. Lines do build very quickly in the morning. You have about 30 minutes after opening before everything balloons. We didn’t have any negative interactions with CMs, saw plenty of people cleaning, etc.


----------



## orangecuse

Does anyone whose been there recently know if The Incredibles little alleyway with the snacks is open yet? It was closed last time we were there and we love those snacks!


----------



## SkyGuy

orangecuse said:


> Does anyone whose been there recently know if The Incredibles little alleyway with the snacks is open yet? It was closed last time we were there and we love those snacks!


If you mean the coffee shop and the kiosk next to it in HS that sells the NumNum cookies, then yes, those are open. (If not, ignore me!)


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## orangecuse

SkyGuy said:


> If you mean the coffee shop and the kiosk next to it in HS that sells the NumNum cookies, then yes, those are open. (If not, ignore me!)


The place that sells the shushies with like the fizzing candy in it etc! It was a little further down.


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## SkyGuy

The


orangecuse said:


> The place that sells the shushies with like the fizzing candy in it etc! It was a little further down.


The Market (Num Num Cookie stand) sells slushies. They usually have a standard flavor and a specialty flavor. Maybe that will do in a pinch for you.


----------



## ElizaDoesDisney

Disney Vacation Day 3 - Resort Day - Topolino's

Had a fabulous non-park day. Worked from the room most of the day - never even made it to breakfast just snacked in the room.   After finishing I headed down to check out the resort.   I'm at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress.  The resort amenities are great - pool area is super nice plus a beach area, 9 hole pitch and putt course, rock climbing wall, and (my favorite) an adult's only hot tub.  I grabbed a rum runner from the pool bar and relaxed in the hot tub or an hour or so.  I'd definitely stay here again.  I'm a hyatt globalist, so I get free breakfast for 2 adult and 2 kids per room and free valet parking - it's really been an ideal spot for me for this trip and the value can't be beat.   Tomorrow I move over to the Swan/Dolphin (aunt booked the room - I actually don't know which one it is - but I'm excited to be walkable to Boardwalk/EPCOT/DHS).  

Headed over to the Riviera Resort for an 8:30 reservation at Topolino's.   Got there just a little bit early so was able to wander around the resort a bit and explore - very nice grounds.   Dinner was fabulous.  I showed up a bit early for my reservation so had to wait a few minutes - as if hanging out on the terrace was a hardship.  I was seated at a table at the windows with a fireworks view and was thrilled.  Started with a French Rose cocktail and the octopus.  Then a glass of chardonnay with the veal chop.  And finished up with an espresso martini and the warm chocolate cake.  Everything was fabulous.  This might actually be my favorite meal in Disney to date (still haven't made it to V&A).   Afterwards I needed to walk off some of the calories and booze so I did a big loop around the Caribbean Beach resort - it's huge!  I've never stayed there, but it looks super comfortable and laid back - a lot of different pool areas, a playground, beach areas, hammocks - it looks like it would be a great place for a nice, relaxing stay.  Plus direct access to the Skyliner can't be beat.

Tomorrow's plans: Pack up and move to Swan/Dolphin, aunt and uncle arrive, EPCOT in the evening.  No real agenda, but I think we'll be snacking our way around the world showcase for dinner.


----------



## itf

ElizaDoesDisney said:


> Had a fabulous non-park day. Worked from the room most of the day - never even made it to breakfast just snacked in the room.   After finishing I headed down to check out the resort.   I'm at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress.  The resort amenities are great - pool area is super nice plus a beach area, 9 hole pitch and putt course, rock climbing wall, and (my favorite) an adult's only hot tub.  I grabbed a rum runner from the pool bar and relaxed in the hot tub or an hour or so.  I'd definitely stay here again.  I'm a hyatt globalist, so I get free breakfast for 2 adult and 2 kids per room and free valet parking - it's really been an ideal spot for me for this trip and the value can't be beat.   Tomorrow I move over to the Swan/Dolphin (aunt booked the room - I actually don't know which one it is - but I'm excited to be walkable to Boardwalk/EPCOT/DHS).


Just wanted to say thanks for the report on the Grand Cypress, we're staying there in August (myself, wife and 6 year old, she's very excited about the pool!). We've got breakfast included - assume you've got the buffet? How was it?


----------



## ElizaDoesDisney

itf said:


> Just wanted to say thanks for the report on the Grand Cypress, we're staying there in August (myself, wife and 6 year old, she's very excited about the pool!). We've got breakfast included - assume you've got the buffet? How was it?



I had the choice of buffet or a la carte.  I did the buffet one day and it was pretty good - made to order omelets and pancakes, breakfast meats, pastries, fruits.   This morning I ordered the avocado toast and it was very good.  Not the best breakfasts I've ever had - but a solid option for sure.


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## Shadow02

itf said:


> Just wanted to say thanks for the report on the Grand Cypress, we're staying there in August (myself, wife and 6 year old, she's very excited about the pool!). We've got breakfast included - assume you've got the buffet? How was it?


We just left the Grand Hyatt Cypress. We’ve stayed there many times. We love the executive suites because they give us more room. The grounds are great. We did notice they closed pitch n putt, bikes, etc at 5 which is earlier than the 6:30 it used to be. They also removed the outdoor ping pong, pool table and corn hole which was disappointing for our teenage boys. Food is good- a solid breakfast but being a hotel or is pricier than I’d like (it’s only free if you are a globalist). Pool is great, the outside hot tub that is adults only is great, the other one is typically filled with kids and not very appealing to relax in, lol. They could definitely use another adults only hot tub


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## ElizaDoesDisney

Disney Vacation Day #4 - EPCOT

Worked from the room for the morning.  Was sad to be checking out of the Hyatt Grand Cypress, but glad to be moving to the Dolphin.  Dropped my rental car off and worked from the airport for a few hours until Aunt and Uncle arrived.

We went immediately to Phins bar for a welcome drink - a cosmo for me.  It's a great lobby bar - and lots of TVs so a good place to catch a game.  Dropped bags off in the room and over to EPCOT for a ramble around world showcase.   First stop at Rose and Crown for a round of beers - Cider Blackcurrent for me was delicious - and a scotch egg.   Then over to La Cava de Tequila for a margaritas - black magic for me - and chips w/ guac and queso.  Nom nom nom.   Meandered the rest of the way around the world and then back to the Dolphin for dinner at Shula's.   EPCOT was weird tonight - the walkways around world showcase were PACKED and yet there really weren't lines at any of the festival booths or at La Cava or really anywhere except a couple of places right by American pavilion during the Garden Rocks concert.

I've never eaten at Shula's before - but I would definitely come back.  Excellent service and excellent food.  I wasn't feeling a steak - so made a meal out of a few starters - french onion soup (really good), tuna tartare (fabulous) and a crabcake (meh).  Along with a blueberry martini (so GOOD) and a glass of wine.  I love that they have a nice bar and lounge area and it was easy to grab a seat as a walk-in.   

Tomorrow's plans: No idea.  Aunt and Uncle are going to DHS.  I might meet them over there after work.  It's all a game time decision.


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## ElizaDoesDisney

Disney Vacation Day #5 - Resort Day & Celebration

Worked all day - glad that it is officially the weekend.  I grabbed lunch down at Cabana - the pool bar/restaurant at Swan and Dolphin.  This is actually one of my favorite bars on property - excellent drinks, good food, TVs with sports on.  They used to have the NFL Sunday Ticket (no idea if they still do) and I spent plenty of Sunday afternoons watching a game.  Lunch today was chicken fingers and fries with a hibiscus cooler.

Aunt and uncle did the morning at DHS and then hopped over to EPCOT.  I had to work a bit later than I had hoped so decided to make it a resort day and headed down to the pool once I logged off.  A cabana in the shade with my kindle was paradise.  Aunt and uncle joined and we had a nice late afternoon/early evening lounging around with a round of drinks from the bar.

Uncle and I ubered over to Celebration for dinner; aunt wasn't feeling great and relaxed in the room.  We didn't realize it, but Celebration was having a little arts festival - it was fun to walk around.  We were lucky to grab a couple seats at the bar at Celebration Town Tavern - it was packed!   I really enjoy this restaurant - large menu with good seafood, a nice bar menu, and reasonable price to boot.   I had a raspberry lemonade cocktail, a bowl of lobster chowder (v. good with lots of lobster, but I think their clam chowder is even better), a side of fried scallops, and a glass of wine.  Uncle had the clam strip dinner and a couple of glasses of wine.  And then he decided he liked the scallops so much he got another order of them.  It was a fabulous meal and less than $100 for everything.   

Ended the night out on the balcony with a glass of wine.  There was live music coming from somewhere - seemed like maybe a private event at Swan Reserve.   Life really doesn't get much better than this.

Tomorrow's plans: AK day, dinner at Flying Fish


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## jillinastoria

We’re on the last day of a seven night trip (six park days) and we had a great vacation! We are Disney Resort guests and pre-paid for Genie + every day. And for us, it worked really well—between Early Entry (which we only used for MK), Genie +, and ILLs, we saw everything we wanted. And I didn’t think crowds were worse than we’ve seen in previous years during the mid-to-late April week when we usually visit. Overall, we never waited in line for more than 15 minutes. 

I had no particular strategy, other than spreading out the headliners over several days, prepping to see when thing usually booked up on the Touring Plans blog, and, again, spreading things out so that 3 or 4 (on average) Genie + reservations each day were enough for us.

I understand the expense of Genie +, and also know it doesn’t work well for everybody—but just wanted to share our positive experience for anyone nervous about traveling soon!


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## AussieFan8

ElizaDoesDisney said:


> Worked from the room for the morning.  Was sad to be checking out of the Hyatt Grand Cypress, but glad to be moving to the Dolphin.


Your comments about the Dolphin make me excited for our first stay there later this year! We are Wilderness Lodge devotees so nervous about trying a new resort, but Dolphin sounds great! Is Phins serving food again yet?


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## ElizaDoesDisney

AussieFan8 said:


> Your comments about the Dolphin make me excited for our first stay there later this year! We are Wilderness Lodge devotees so nervous about trying a new resort, but Dolphin sounds great! Is Phins serving food again yet?



Phins is not not serving food yet - drinks only.  And doesn't open until 3PM as we learned when we tried to get a cocktail at 2:30 one day.


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## ElizaDoesDisney

Disney Vacation Day 6 - Animal Kingdom / DHS

We slept in a bit and ubered over to Animal Kingdom around 10AM.  Used LL for Kilimanjaro Safari - was a particularly interesting ride as we got stuck for a while due to a giraffic jam - that giraffe was directly in front of our vehicle and wasn't going anywhere.   Then over to Kali River Rapids.   Then grabbed lunch from Yak'n'Yeti Local Foods Cafe - their chicken fried rice is very good and filling and surprisingly reasonably priced.   Next up was Expedition Everest - I'm glad that this is back up and running.  We did some shopping but still had some time to kill before our LL reservation for Dinosaur so we ended up at Restaurantosaurus Lounge having excellent cocktails.   The Crave the Wave, the special earth day cocktail with grey goose, blue curacao, and lemonade, was fabulous and the bartender said he has all the ingredients in stock so it can be ordered even once it is officially off the menu.  Rode Dinosaur and decided to hop over to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon.

At DHS we rode Toy Story Mania via LL - I'm still bitter that aunt crushed me, I must need to practice more.  While in line for Toy Story, I was able to snag LL for MMRR which had been sold out for hours - never hurts to do a little fiddle faddling while stuck in a line.  After we were able to get a table at the Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge with no wait for a late afternoon snack.  They don't really seem to have a lounge menu anymore, just the regular restaurant menu.  I had a pomegranate martini and the scallop and pork belly appetizer.  It was fabulous, as always.  I think I've liked everything I've ever had there - and it's a wonderful spot for people watching.   Finished up in time to ride MMRR and then scored a LL for Millennium Falcon so headed straight there.  Did a little shopping around Galaxy's Edge after crashing the Millennium Falcon approximately a dozen times (maybe they shouldn't let me be a pilot).   Rode Star Tours - which is always one of my favorites even though it's now overshadowed by all the amazing new Star Wars things.   Then took the boat back to Dolphin to relax a bit.

We had late dinner reservations at Flying Fish, but we sauntered over to Boardwalk early and ended up grabbing a table outside at BelleVue Bar for a pre-dinner cocktail - a Moscow Mule for me was nice and refreshing.   Dinner at Flying Fish was fabulous - we shared an order of mussels to start and a bottle of chardonnay, I had the seafood pearl pasta which was excellent.  I meant to leave room for dessert, but I totally failed - next time.  They also have a nice bar area that is first-come, first-served so a nice option for future solo trips for me.


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## dnguyen8

jillinastoria said:


> We’re on the last day of a seven night trip (six park days) and we had a great vacation! We are Disney Resort guests and pre-paid for Genie + every day. And for us, it worked really well—between Early Entry (which we only used for MK), Genie +, and ILLs, we saw everything we wanted. And I didn’t think crowds were worse than we’ve seen in previous years during the mid-to-late April week when we usually visit. Overall, we never waited in line for more than 15 minutes.
> 
> I had no particular strategy, other than spreading out the headliners over several days, prepping to see when thing usually booked up on the Touring Plans blog, and, again, spreading things out so that 3 or 4 (on average) Genie + reservations each day were enough for us.
> 
> I understand the expense of Genie +, and also know it doesn’t work well for everybody—but just wanted to share our positive experience for anyone nervous about traveling soon!


Thanks for sharing. We have two kids under five and have a similar strategy. Glad to hear it wasnt a nightmare like everyone makes it seem. For genie plus and individual lightning lane were you able to get morning/early afternoon times? Our kids still nap so we’re trying to get back to hotel by mid afternoon.


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## ElizaDoesDisney

Disney Vacation Day 7 - Magic Kingdom and Resort Time / Plus Day 8 - Departure

Lazy morning - once again made it into the park around 10AM.  We knew parks were going to be busy so we just wanted to hit a few favorites and have a nice lunch plus do some shopping.   Started out doing Buzz Lightyear - I avenged my loss at Toy Story the day before.  Then rode the peoplemover.  Headed over to Adventure land where we did the Swiss Family Treehouse, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Tiki Room.   Lunch at Jungle Skipper's Canteen - I had the soup (a carrot ginger that was excellent) and the veranda fried rice with a Kungaloosh.  This is officially my favorite restaurant in MK by far.  Good, interesting food, entertaining waitstaff, beer/wine, and a nice place to sit in the air conditioning on a hot day.  After lunch we hit up It's a Small World and then decided to head back to the resort for an afternoon at the pool.

There was a conference that had bought out part of the pool complex for the early afternoon - but we were able to find a couple seats together back by the baby pool.  As a bonus, got to listen to the band that was playing for the group event.   Spent time back and forth between the hot tub and a lounge chair while having a couple rounds of Hibisus Coolers.   

Debated a lot of potential dinner plans before deciding to do the bar at Shula's (again).   This time aunt and I split several courses - the bacon appetizer (amazing, but very heavy), wedge salad, and a lobster tail (fantastic).  Plus a blueberry martini and a glass of wine.

The next day was checkout day (boo).  We were able to get a 1PM checkout which let me work from the room for the morning while aunt and uncle went back to EPCOT.   After getting out of the room we ended up grabbing lunch at the Fountain - I had a chicken BLT which was perfectly acceptable.  I wouldn't rush back, but if I was looking for a sit-down lunch in the immediate area and didn't want to be outside at Cabana I would do Fountain again.   Note to self: try one of their alcoholic ice cream concoctions soon.   Then it was off to the airport - it's amazing how quickly a week at Disney can fly by.


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## jillinastoria

dnguyen8 said:


> Thanks for sharing. We have two kids under five and have a similar strategy. Glad to hear it wasnt a nightmare like everyone makes it seem. For genie plus and individual lightning lane were you able to get morning/early afternoon times? Our kids still nap so we’re trying to get back to hotel by mid afternoon.



We were able to get the ILLs for almost any time we wanted, that was almost never an issue. We'd schedule late morning or early evening, just whatever worked for us that day.

For Genie plus, we had pretty much the same plan every day--one late morning reservation, then we'd stack anywhere from two to four throughout the late afternoon and evening. I do think we could have gotten more morning reservations if we tried, but we preferred the afternoon stacking strategy, since we did a second park visit from about 4 to 8ish every day and really wanted to avoid lines then.

Hope that's helpful!


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## val1234

So we are just back from our first on-site stay at Hard Rock Hotel club level. We stayed 5 nights. We visited both parks and Volcano bay. We had a 5 day park to park ticket with unlimited express pass. To be honest it was nice but it was very very hard not to make constant comparisons to Disney. The only thing that Universal does better is express pass but we all know this already so I will move on. First off is the rides themselves. Too many of the rides are motion simulators uugghh. Never knew how much I would miss Disneys boat rides and animatronics lol. Second that Hogwartz train to take you park to park is extremely claustrophobic and overrated but the overall Harry Potter theme is really amazing. The parks are also very small to Disney in comparison. You could really do both parks in one day if you go at a slower time and have express passes. Universal is all about the rollercoasters, Velocicoaster and Hagrids are the best ever according to my kids if that is your thing( I didn’t ride…getting up at 7am on my vacation wasn’t in the cards for me lol). Also there was not one thing we ate in the parks that was good except for Auntie Anne’s pretzels lol.  Everything to me was edible at best, but maybe we just picked the wrong places? The Mardi Gras food festival was going on and there was no comparison in taste and food quality as compared to Epcot food and wine. As far as the resorts go we also visited  Cabana Bay, Sapphire Bay, Royal Pacific and Portofino Bay. If we ever go again based on the looks of things we may try Portofino. So the reason I posted this on the Disney board is because I didn’t want to offend any on the Universal addicts. My biggest takeaway from this trip is that for me and my family Universal is not a replacement for Disneyworld. Yes we had a great time but we were all ready to leave at the end. At Disney we can never get enough and the last night is a sad time. Universal is a very nicely themed amusement park, but Disney is an experience that we can’t get enough of and that makes us return year after year. I hope things improve with the mouse. This 5 day trip was to test the waters on the dark side but all we are doing now is counting down to our trip in August back at the Yacht club.


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## georgina

OK. Universal addicts read this forum as well, we don't limit ourselves to Disney World. I'm not offended by your opinion, obviously mine differs, but we are all different!


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## dez1978

I have yet to eat anything I was really impressed with at Disney so I’d say they are even there.


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## martikus

Thanks for sharing.  I do wish there were more ET like rides.  But on most other things We disagree but it’s helpful for others to hear all sides.

Our favorite thing about universal is how easy it is.  No planning months in advance.  We can wake up and decide what to do.  My son wants to ride gringotts over and over - absolutely with EP.  

We’ve never found food we love at either place so that’s a wash for us.

For us we won’t be going back to Disney anytime soon but glad there are parks for everyone.


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## Mackenzie Click-Mickelson

val1234 said:


> So we are just back from our first on-site stay at Hard Rock Hotel club level. We stayed 5 nights. We visited both parks and Volcano bay. We had a 5 day park to park ticket with unlimited express pass. To be honest it was nice but it was very very hard not to make constant comparisons to Disney. The only thing that Universal does better is express pass but we all know this already so I will move on. First off is the rides themselves. Too many of the rides are motion simulators uugghh. Never knew how much I would miss Disneys boat rides and animatronics lol. Second that Hogwartz train to take you park to park is extremely claustrophobic and overrated but the overall Harry Potter theme is really amazing. The parks are also very small to Disney in comparison. You could really do both parks in one day if you go at a slower time and have express passes. Universal is all about the rollercoasters, Velocicoaster and Hagrids are the best ever according to my kids if that is your thing( I didn’t ride…getting up at 7am on my vacation wasn’t in the cards for me lol). Also there was not one thing we ate in the parks that was good except for Auntie Anne’s pretzels lol.  Everything to me was edible at best, but maybe we just picked the wrong places? The Mardi Gras food festival was going on and there was no comparison in taste and food quality as compared to Epcot food and wine. As far as the resorts go we also visited  Cabana Bay, Sapphire Bay, Royal Pacific and Portofino Bay. If we ever go again based on the looks of things we may try Portofino. So the reason I posted this on the Disney board is because I didn’t want to offend any on the Universal addicts. My biggest takeaway from this trip is that for me and my family Universal is not a replacement for Disneyworld. Yes we had a great time but we were all ready to leave at the end. At Disney we can never get enough and the last night is a sad time. Universal is a very nicely themed amusement park, but Disney is an experience that we can’t get enough of and that makes us return year after year. I hope things improve with the mouse. This 5 day trip was to test the waters on the dark side but all we are doing now is counting down to our trip in August back at the Yacht club.



The best thing you can do is to not compare them to each other. Each company has their thing. Universal has never devoted themselves to food, it's not their thing but it is understandable looking as the hundreds of choices Disney has, but yeah not Universal's thing.

As far as size well I mean WDW has 4 parks, Universal 2 of course it's going to be smaller. This is excluding the water parks. Islands of Adventure is 101 acres and Studios is 108 acres. But did you know that in comparison Magic Kingdom is 107?  DHS is 135 acres, Epcot is 305 acres and AK is 580 acres. So you're absolutely right it is small but only if you're looking at Epcot and AK. It's right at the same amount of acreage as MK and just a bit shy relatively speaking as DHS. Put MK and DHS together and bam you've got pretty darn close to Studios and Islands of Adventure. It may just seem small because WDW has two other parks to tour and those two other parks are quite a bit larger.

Universal is building a 3rd theme park called Epic Universe to be completed at this point by summer 2025. They haven't said exactly how big the actual theme park will be but they bought 750 acres of land where Epic Universe will eventually sit. Assume though that they will build hotels and other things there to share the space.

Lot of people love Universal for it's relaxation and ease of pace. The lack of planning, etc. I myself don't ride a lot of the rides as I get motion sickness (and that is a common and completely understandable complaint) and I don't do big roller coasters but Universal just has it's own magic for me. I get this feeling walking through CityWalk knowing I'm about to be in the parks and I get that feeling at WDW too.

When it comes to people who are diehards with Disney my personal observation is they really have a hard time soaking up what Universal is. If you're constantly comparing tit for tat you're bound to be disappointed. Your heart is Disney, that's okay, no need to force Universal in there


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## PrincessJasmine88

How are the early May crowds? Looking at wait times today they seem better than they have been for weeks.


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## Gentry2004

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> How are the early May crowds? Looking at wait times today they seem better than they have been for weeks.


I was watching wait times/Genie+ times today while bored at work and noticed the same thing! Low waits and lots of Genie+ availability. I'm guessing its a good week to be there.


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## OhhBother

Gentry2004 said:


> I was watching wait times/Genie+ times today while bored at work and noticed the same thing! Low waits and lots of Genie+ availability. I'm guessing its a good week to be there.


We get there Saturday, and I've been noticing the improved wait times, as well. I hope they hold into next week!


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## boothbay

Returned on Saturday from a 1 week trip.  Random thoughts that might be helpful for others:

We stayed at the Boardwalk Villas.  I could not have asked for a better location for our trip and our needs.  We had space to spread out and have some down time.  I know it is not possible for everyone but for my family's needs it was perfect.  I loved the room we requested too - they gave us the floor above our requested room which actually was better as we had a Boardwalk view and it can get noisy at night but being on the 5th floor helped keep the noise down.   We got to see the fireworks each night at both MK and Epcot - so cool. 

I found the bus situation to be great - the only time we waited for a bus for longer than a few mins was going to AK on our last day - we hopped there and must have just missed a bus because it was almost 25 mins until another came by.  But that was the only time.  I loved being able to take the boat or walk to HS and EP.  

We used Genie + each day and overall were happy with it.   My parents were with us for a few days and they are not the quickest on their feet so I liked being able to avoid waiting in long lines with them.  It is very true that we did not need it at Animal Kingdom.  We arrived right at 7am with Early Entry and walked on to Navi then Expedition Everest.  We could have then waited for Safari to open but we had purchased Genie so we made a 9:30 res for that and walked on Kali River Rapids around 8:30.  Did the Safari and then walked onto It's Tough to be a Bug.  Ate lunch then used our ILL for FOP and were done for the day about 12:15.  It was ideal and truly didn't need Genie + but it allowed my kids to ride Everest one more time at the end of our time there and we hopped to MK after dinner to ride Splash in the dark so we tried to get our money's worth that day.

I found the CMs to be very pleasant.  We went to Universal in 2018 and had a negative interaction with a cashier there and it made me realize how Disney is truly the leader in hospitality and everyone is so nice.  My daughter overheard a CM on the phone on the Boardwalk venting to a friend about how she is not enjoying her job in food service at the moment but we did not experience any one as outwardly unhappy as she seemed to be.     
It has been said a million times but getting to the park early is a great way to get a lot done in little time.  It helps that I'm a morning person but I love how peaceful (relatively) the parks are at that hour.  We liked getting in and out early and gearing up to pop back into the park of our choosing for one or two rides at night.  My kids are 12 and almost 15 so had some stamina to go the distance. 

We had so many rides break down either while we were on them or as we were about to ride them.  I'm sure I'm forgetting some but in no particular order: ROTR (once while we were in the preshow and one time when we were about to ride it), Haunted Mansion, Toy Story Mania, RNRC, Frozen, Remy, Spaceship Earth, SDD.  It was comical after a while.  But we didn't let it ruin our time - just laughed at how we got stuck on Mansion as we were going backwards and were tipped back like we were in a dentist chair.  

We don't go to Disney very often so for us we wanted to ride as much as we could ride and enjoy ourselves which I think we accomplished.   I got lots of good tips from this board.  I was nervous about Genie + but we typically followed the advice of which headliner to go for first as early as possible and it worked out pretty well.  I also got Slinky and ROTR on the same day without using a second phone. Not sure when we'll be back - maybe with grandkids but it was a nice trip that was worth waiting for!


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## NavyDad

Just returned from a 5 day trip. We really lowered our expectations coming in because it was our first post-pandemic trip but honestly had a fantastic time. 

The parks were pretty crowded but the staff handled everything great. Every CM we interacted with was wonderful. Everything was clean and nice like in the past except one MK bathroom close to midnight on an extra hours evening. 

We had 4 day park hoppers with the Genie Plus already on the tickets. We hopped every day after lunch and that worked out great. A couple of days we went back to our resort in the middle of the day for a rest but the other two days we just went directly to our next park. 

Genie Plus: worked way better than I expected. It was very helpful at DHS and MK but kind of a waste at AK and Epcot right now. Nobody likes to pay for something that you used to get for "free" but now that I have used it I like this system better than the FP+ system. I think it's especially helpful if you are park hopping and can start to book rides for the second park of the day. We love Epcot festivals so we started at Epcot three different days and then hopped to other parks. This worked really well for us. I got up every morning and booked an ILL for our second park and got a Genie Plus LL for an in demand ride either at our first or second park. Then I would just set an alarm on my phone for my next booking window and take 5 minutes every 2 hours to book a ride. This took a lot of pressure off of us and allowed us to slow down and enjoy the first park more without having to run from ride to ride. The day we hopped to DHS we were able to do all of the major attractions, including Star Wars and Toy Story, back to back to back from 2:30 PM to around 6:30. Doing all of those major attractions that quickly without standing in line at all was amazing. As of last week, stacking is real and can very easily be done with DHS and MK. 

I may come back with some extra thoughts but wanted to report my experience with Genie Plus for now.


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## NavyDad

boothbay said:


> Returned on Saturday from a 1 week trip.  Random thoughts that might be helpful for others:
> 
> We stayed at the Boardwalk Villas.  I could not have asked for a better location for our trip and our needs.  We had space to spread out and have some down time.  I know it is not possible for everyone but for my family's needs it was perfect.  I loved the room we requested too - they gave us the floor above our requested room which actually was better as we had a Boardwalk view and it can get noisy at night but being on the 5th floor helped keep the noise down.   We got to see the fireworks each night at both MK and Epcot - so cool.
> 
> I found the bus situation to be great - the only time we waited for a bus for longer than a few mins was going to AK on our last day - we hopped there and must have just missed a bus because it was almost 25 mins until another came by.  But that was the only time.  I loved being able to take the boat or walk to HS and EP.
> 
> We used Genie + each day and overall were happy with it.   My parents were with us for a few days and they are not the quickest on their feet so I liked being able to avoid waiting in long lines with them.  It is very true that we did not need it at Animal Kingdom.  We arrived right at 7am with Early Entry and walked on to Navi then Expedition Everest.  We could have then waited for Safari to open but we had purchased Genie so we made a 9:30 res for that and walked on Kali River Rapids around 8:30.  Did the Safari and then walked onto It's Tough to be a Bug.  Ate lunch then used our ILL for FOP and were done for the day about 12:15.  It was ideal and truly didn't need Genie + but it allowed my kids to ride Everest one more time at the end of our time there and we hopped to MK after dinner to ride Splash in the dark so we tried to get our money's worth that day.
> 
> I found the CMs to be very pleasant.  We went to Universal in 2018 and had a negative interaction with a cashier there and it made me realize how Disney is truly the leader in hospitality and everyone is so nice.  My daughter overheard a CM on the phone on the Boardwalk venting to a friend about how she is not enjoying her job in food service at the moment but we did not experience any one as outwardly unhappy as she seemed to be.
> It has been said a million times but getting to the park early is a great way to get a lot done in little time.  It helps that I'm a morning person but I love how peaceful (relatively) the parks are at that hour.  We liked getting in and out early and gearing up to pop back into the park of our choosing for one or two rides at night.  My kids are 12 and almost 15 so had some stamina to go the distance.
> 
> We had so many rides break down either while we were on them or as we were about to ride them.  I'm sure I'm forgetting some but in no particular order: ROTR (once while we were in the preshow and one time when we were about to ride it), Haunted Mansion, Toy Story Mania, RNRC, Frozen, Remy, Spaceship Earth, SDD.  It was comical after a while.  But we didn't let it ruin our time - just laughed at how we got stuck on Mansion as we were going backwards and were tipped back like we were in a dentist chair.
> 
> We don't go to Disney very often so for us we wanted to ride as much as we could ride and enjoy ourselves which I think we accomplished.   I got lots of good tips from this board.  I was nervous about Genie + but we typically followed the advice of which headliner to go for first as early as possible and it worked out pretty well.  I also got Slinky and ROTR on the same day without using a second phone. Not sure when we'll be back - maybe with grandkids but it was a nice trip that was worth waiting for!


One of our days at Epcot - we had an ILL for Remy and a Genie Plus LL for Frozen. We walked back and forth between them 4 times because as one was broke we would walk to the other and by the time we go there that one broke but the other was back up again. It was a bit nuts and we did laugh it off but it was a bit frustrating.


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## EPCOT-O.G.

NavyDad said:


> Just returned from a 5 day trip. We really lowered our expectations coming in because it was our first post-pandemic trip but honestly had a fantastic time.
> 
> The parks were pretty crowded but the staff handled everything great. Every CM we interacted with was wonderful. Everything was clean and nice like in the past except one MK bathroom close to midnight on an extra hours evening.
> 
> .


how crowded were the extended evening hours? We have a trip planned in early August with the hopes our MK park day (Wednesday) gets those extended evening hours.


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## NavyDad

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> how crowded were the extended evening hours? We have a trip planned in early August with the hopes our MK park day (Wednesday) gets those extended evening hours.


Unfortunately, MK was very crowded that night. 

IIRC - the other parks all closed by 9PM that night. MK was open until 11 PM and then had the extra late hours until 1 AM. After 9 PM people were just streaming into MK the next 2-3 hours. It looked like lots of non resort guests were staying in the park to eat/shop as well so just overall felt very crowded that night. We left at midnight and were a little disappointed with the experience. The following day we stayed at MK until park close time of 11 PM. It was much nicer that night with smaller crowds after the 9 PM fireworks. 

That's probably not what you wanted to hear but I wanted to give you a straight answer. In the future we will probably avoid the late extended hours. Right now the 30 minute early entry seems to be more of an advantage.


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## Lsdolphin

boothbay said:


> Returned on Saturday from a 1 week trip.  Random thoughts that might be helpful for others:
> 
> We stayed at the Boardwalk Villas.  I could not have asked for a better location for our trip and our needs.  We had space to spread out and have some down time.  I know it is not possible for everyone but for my family's needs it was perfect.  I loved the room we requested too - they gave us the floor above our requested room which actually was better as we had a Boardwalk view and it can get noisy at night but being on the 5th floor helped keep the noise down.   We got to see the fireworks each night at both MK and Epcot - so cool.
> 
> I found the bus situation to be great - the only time we waited for a bus for longer than a few mins was going to AK on our last day - we hopped there and must have just missed a bus because it was almost 25 mins until another came by.  But that was the only time.  I loved being able to take the boat or walk to HS and EP.
> 
> We used Genie + each day and overall were happy with it.   My parents were with us for a few days and they are not the quickest on their feet so I liked being able to avoid waiting in long lines with them.  It is very true that we did not need it at Animal Kingdom.  We arrived right at 7am with Early Entry and walked on to Navi then Expedition Everest.  We could have then waited for Safari to open but we had purchased Genie so we made a 9:30 res for that and walked on Kali River Rapids around 8:30.  Did the Safari and then walked onto It's Tough to be a Bug.  Ate lunch then used our ILL for FOP and were done for the day about 12:15.  It was ideal and truly didn't need Genie + but it allowed my kids to ride Everest one more time at the end of our time there and we hopped to MK after dinner to ride Splash in the dark so we tried to get our money's worth that day.
> 
> I found the CMs to be very pleasant.  We went to Universal in 2018 and had a negative interaction with a cashier there and it made me realize how Disney is truly the leader in hospitality and everyone is so nice.  My daughter overheard a CM on the phone on the Boardwalk venting to a friend about how she is not enjoying her job in food service at the moment but we did not experience any one as outwardly unhappy as she seemed to be.
> It has been said a million times but getting to the park early is a great way to get a lot done in little time.  It helps that I'm a morning person but I love how peaceful (relatively) the parks are at that hour.  We liked getting in and out early and gearing up to pop back into the park of our choosing for one or two rides at night.  My kids are 12 and almost 15 so had some stamina to go the distance.
> 
> We had so many rides break down either while we were on them or as we were about to ride them.  I'm sure I'm forgetting some but in no particular order: ROTR (once while we were in the preshow and one time when we were about to ride it), Haunted Mansion, Toy Story Mania, RNRC, Frozen, Remy, Spaceship Earth, SDD.  It was comical after a while.  But we didn't let it ruin our time - just laughed at how we got stuck on Mansion as we were going backwards and were tipped back like we were in a dentist chair.
> 
> We don't go to Disney very often so for us we wanted to ride as much as we could ride and enjoy ourselves which I think we accomplished.   I got lots of good tips from this board.  I was nervous about Genie + but we typically followed the advice of which headliner to go for first as early as possible and it worked out pretty well.  I also got Slinky and ROTR on the same day without using a second phone. Not sure when we'll be back - maybe with grandkids but it was a nice trip that was worth waiting for!


Sometimes the rides stop not due to a break down but to load someone with disabilities who needs to transfer from a wheel chair...glad you had an enjoyable trip!


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

NavyDad said:


> Unfortunately, MK was very crowded that night.
> 
> IIRC - the other parks all closed by 9PM that night. MK was open until 11 PM and then had the extra late hours until 1 AM. After 9 PM people were just streaming into MK the next 2-3 hours. It looked like lots of non resort guests were staying in the park to eat/shop as well so just overall felt very crowded that night. We left at midnight and were a little disappointed with the experience. The following day we stayed at MK until park close time of 11 PM. It was much nicer that night with smaller crowds after the 9 PM fireworks.
> 
> That's probably not what you wanted to hear but I wanted to give you a straight answer. In the future we will probably avoid the late extended hours. Right now the 30 minute early entry seems to be more of an advantage.


No I appreciate this. We had some friends that went in mid March. They said that they got more done during EEH than during the day. It seems that some YouTube vids I've watched recently suggested the same, so I appreciate your actual experiences giving me a better idea of what to expect.


----------



## twasbrilig

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> No I appreciate this. We had some friends that went in mid March. They said that they got more done during EEH than during the day. It seems that some YouTube vids I've watched recently suggested the same, so I appreciate your actual experiences giving me a better idea of what to expect.


Just to add my experience, I was at MK for the 4/6 EEH and it seemed much less crowded than during the day. In fact, it made a such a difference that I plan on going specicially for the evening hours and skipping rope drop at that park on my next visit. I went on SDMT at 12:20 and it was a walk-on. I could have done it more times but I was so tired after two that I left around 12:45.


----------



## pens4821

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> how crowded were the extended evening hours? We have a trip planned in early August with the hopes our MK park day (Wednesday) gets those extended evening hours.



When we were there mid March it wasn’t crowded at MK for them. We got in line for hm a couple minutes before 11 regular park closing and didn’t wait long at all. Maybe 5 minutes from entering until getting on the ride. We then walked right on Peter Pan. 7d was maybe a 20 minute wait. Took a restroom break and got a drink, couple pictures in front of the empty castle. Then went to buzz which was walk-in, space which wasn’t quite walk on but only a couple people ahead of us, then btmrr which was the same as space. We would’ve had time for one more ride but figured we would just head out. It was around 1245 at that point. 

Epcot was different. Got in line for tt probably about 915. It took a little bit to get through them scanning bands. Ride must’ve broke down because we stood outside the design room maybe 10-15 minutes. By the time we got off around 10 both frozen and remy were posted as around 45 minutes. We wanted to do both but decided against frozen as remy was the must do. We walked over and by the time we got off it was a couple minutes until 11. Without the tt break down we probably would have been able to do all three, but even then it would have been close to get to the other side of the park after frozen in time if the wait time was accurate like it was for remy.


----------



## kc51570

NavyDad said:


> Unfortunately, MK was very crowded that night.
> 
> IIRC - the other parks all closed by 9PM that night. MK was open until 11 PM and then had the extra late hours until 1 AM. After 9 PM people were just streaming into MK the next 2-3 hours. It looked like lots of non resort guests were staying in the park to eat/shop as well so just overall felt very crowded that night. We left at midnight and were a little disappointed with the experience. The following day we stayed at MK until park close time of 11 PM. It was much nicer that night with smaller crowds after the 9 PM fireworks.
> 
> That's probably not what you wanted to hear but I wanted to give you a straight answer. In the future we will probably avoid the late extended hours. Right now the 30 minute early entry seems to be more of an advantage.


We were there for extra hours the same night and I agree it was crowded. 7DMT still had a very long line around midnight/12:15. I left around that time but my son stayed and it was 20 minutes closer to close. We went back another normal night after fireworks and it did seem emptier from 9:30 to 11 vs. the extra hours.


----------



## Jennasis

We just wrapped up a day in DHS and we did NOT use Genie+ (on principle and because we hated it with the white hot intensity if 10,000 sun's when we used it in December). Instead, we did Early Entry for resort guests and arrived AT the tapstiles a hair after 7am and were maybe the 10th family back in line. We did MINIMAL waiting for all but one ride and we did everything we wanted and were out if there by 1pm. Here's what we did:

While waiting for them to let us in, we grabbed a iLL$ for Rise at 10:20am.  

Then When they opened the flood gates, We zigged while the crowds zagged. IOW we went down sunset and rope dropped ToT while everyone else did Rise and Slinky. We walked on ToT and then walked on RnRC. Were done with both by 7:45.

Walked over to Slinky dog and it was a 15 minute wait. Boom. DONE.

Then we went on TSMM and it was a 10 minute wait. BOOM. Done.

Then got on line for MMRR for a 20 minute wait and the morning crowds began to grow a but.

After we got off we mobile ordered breakfast from Ronto's. Got seats outside. Watched a dude try to steal a table from a mom with a baby. It wasn't pretty when he husband showed up.

Then we rode Rise with our iLL$.

Then our ONE long wait for Smugglers Run. Tried to get the family to activate Chewie mode but someone messed up the sequence. Wait was an hour. Blech.

On our way out we walked on Star Tours.


No Genie+ needed. Great morning. Off to DS for dinner!


----------



## BellaBaby

Jennasis said:


> We just wrapped up a day in DHS and we did NOT use Genie+ (on principle and because we hated it with the white hot intensity if 10,000 sun's when we used it in December). Instead, we did Early Entry for resort guests and arrived AT the tapstiles a hair after 7am and were maybe the 10th family back in line. We did MINIMAL waiting for all but one ride and we did everything we wanted and were out if there by 1pm. Here's what we did:
> 
> While waiting for them to let us in, we grabbed a iLL$ for Rise at 10:20am.
> 
> Then When they opened the flood gates, We zigged while the crowds zagged. IOW we went down sunset and rope dropped ToT while everyone else did Rise and Slinky. We walked on ToT and then walked on RnRC. Were done with both by 7:45.
> 
> Walked over to Slinky dog and it was a 15 minute wait. Boom. DONE.
> 
> Then we went on TSMM and it was a 10 minute wait. BOOM. Done.
> 
> Then got on line for MMRR for a 20 minute wait and the morning crowds began to grow a but.
> 
> After we got off we mobile ordered breakfast from Ronto's. Got seats outside. Watched a dude try to steal a table from a mom with a baby. It wasn't pretty when he husband showed up.
> 
> Then we rode Rise with our iLL$.
> 
> Then our ONE long wait for Smugglers Run. Tried to get the family to activate Chewie mode but someone messed up the sequence. Wait was an hour. Blech.
> 
> On our way out we walked on Star Tours.
> 
> 
> No Genie+ needed. Great morning. Off to DS for dinner!


That's really great! Although, those of us that have been checking wait times on the app, have noticed that this week seems to have shorter waits for some reason. I would hope for that to be the case when we go (arriving 5/30 8 day PHs) but I'm afraid it won't be that easy then. Have a wonderful trip!!


----------



## abbyandangel

Jennasis said:


> We just wrapped up a day in DHS and we did NOT use Genie+ (on principle and because we hated it with the white hot intensity if 10,000 sun's when we used it in December). Instead, we did Early Entry for resort guests and arrived AT the tapstiles a hair after 7am and were maybe the 10th family back in line. We did MINIMAL waiting for all but one ride and we did everything we wanted and were out if there by 1pm. Here's what we did:
> 
> While waiting for them to let us in, we grabbed a iLL$ for Rise at 10:20am.
> 
> Then When they opened the flood gates, We zigged while the crowds zagged. IOW we went down sunset and rope dropped ToT while everyone else did Rise and Slinky. We walked on ToT and then walked on RnRC. Were done with both by 7:45.
> 
> Walked over to Slinky dog and it was a 15 minute wait. Boom. DONE.
> 
> Then we went on TSMM and it was a 10 minute wait. BOOM. Done.
> 
> Then got on line for MMRR for a 20 minute wait and the morning crowds began to grow a but.
> 
> After we got off we mobile ordered breakfast from Ronto's. Got seats outside. Watched a dude try to steal a table from a mom with a baby. It wasn't pretty when he husband showed up.
> 
> Then we rode Rise with our iLL$.
> 
> Then our ONE long wait for Smugglers Run. Tried to get the family to activate Chewie mode but someone messed up the sequence. Wait was an hour. Blech.
> 
> On our way out we walked on Star Tours.
> 
> 
> No Genie+ needed. Great morning. Off to DS for dinner!


What is Chewie mode?


----------



## Akck

abbyandangel said:


> What is Chewie mode?


----------



## SkyGuy

BellaBaby said:


> That's really great! Although, those of us that have been checking wait times on the app, have noticed that this week seems to have shorter waits for some reason. I would hope for that to be the case when we go (arriving 5/30 8 day PHs) but I'm afraid it won't be that easy then. Have a wonderful trip!!


Definitely. We’re not at Disney but decided to head to Universal for a few days before our GotG preview on Sunday. We did US today. We have Express Pass, which obviously helps, but we didn’t get to the park until after 10am, and we’re done with all the main rides (we didn’t do things like Kang and Kodos) by 2:00. We were going to jump over to IoA and do Velocicoaster with a 20 minutes wait and Hagrid’s with a 35 minute wait, but it was 94° at that point, so we decided to head back to the hotel to cool off before dinner. Hopefully waits are similar tomorrow, and we’re not kicking ourselves for skipping those today.


----------



## Jennasis

BellaBaby said:


> That's really great! Although, those of us that have been checking wait times on the app, have noticed that this week seems to have shorter waits for some reason. I would hope for that to be the case when we go (arriving 5/30 8 day PHs) but I'm afraid it won't be that easy then. Have a wonderful trip!!


Yes...sort of. Our arrival day on the 4th was only a "3" at Epcot (and crowds were ok) but DHS was listed so a 10 and waits were stupid.

Today, DHS was a 4.


----------



## ScarletFire

Just back and Park Hopping is the way!  

Must use Genie+, $LL and resort early entry.   

Leave your resort at least 45 minutes before early entry begins.  You still won't be the first in line....

Park Hopping is better for the budget minded people.  Prices fluctuate and these prices are from July:

4-Day Ticket with Admission to 1 Park Per Day:  $484.15 + 4($15) + 4($LL) + 3 or 4 or 5 night resort stay.
2-Day Ticket with Park Hopper Option: $347.50 + 2($15) + 4($LL) +1 or 2 or 3 night resort stay.
3-Day Ticket with Park Hopper Option: $466.07 + 3($15) + 4($LL) + 2 or 3 or 4 night resort stay.

We hit all the highlights in two park days but had four park days. * Three park days are optimal*.  We found that lots of LL's still available for MK and EPCOT in the evening for stacking.  Rope dropping DHS is a must!!  

This is a commando plan!  We are a group of 5 adults who ride everything.  We still had time for food, shows and character meets.

*Fiddle *coined by Molly from allearsnet and means *refresh *your screen.

This is what we did but you can mix it up:

*Day 1*:  RD DHS with early entry.  Start with ToT.  Use $LL for RISE and Mine Train at MK on the same day.  Fiddle for an early $LL for Rise and a late $LL for Mine Train. Get AM LL's for MMRR, RnRC, Smuggler's, TSM; fiddle for early return time.  You may not get them all.  Once LLs become too late at DHS, get evening LL's for MK.  The 120 minute rule is in play, set a timer.  We stacked LL's for MK attractions and used our $LL for Mine Train.

*Day 2*:  RD AK with early entry.  Fiddle for an early $LL for Avatar.  Fiddle for a late $LL for Remy at EPCOT.  Fiddle for an early LL for the Safari.  RD Everest and Dinosaur.  After the safari LL,  start stacking EPCOT LL's.  We were able to stack Frozen, TT and Soarin'.  Plus, we had a Remy $LL.

*Day 3*:  RD MK for Peter Pan or whatever was unavailable on the Day 1.  You won't need LL's for RD at MK.  Get a Slinky LL for the evening at DHS.  My group stacked DHS LL's for the evening while touring MK in the morning.

You could do two days without a mid-day break and you might miss a couple of rides.  Three days will allow you to LL just about everything!  No lines!!  We did it and took mid-day breaks at the resort.   

DD25 and her friends did four park days and got bonus rides.  DH and myself took a day off at the resort.

We saved time by not using the Disney bus system, except for MK.  We had our truck at the campground.  Resorts with walking and skyliner access are the BEST!

My family got in SB lines minutes before park closing.  Got in line for Rise at 8:59 and off the ride at 9:35.  

60 minutes SB for the Haunted Mansion seemed crazy.  I asked a CM if it was really 60 minutes and she said it was more like 20 minutes.  She was correct.

It's a must to splurge on Genie+.   It's already an expensive trip and stand by lines are long.  *Pay the extra $15!*

Disney is an intense and expensive vacation.  We witnessed lots of meltdowns in the parks; not just kids.  Have a plan!

My DD25 traveled with her two BFF's who are not Disney aficionados.  They had a blast!!!!!

Don't pay rack rate for a resort stay.  Find a discount!

Genie+ is not intuitive.  We know the parks!  My DD25 used Genie+ during a race weekend with my help from home.  Watch Molly videos!!

We had one of our best Disney vacations ever!!


----------



## orangecuse

Epcot day today - going to try to track our LLs as we go because I found these reports really helpful while preparing.

7am- booked Frozen for 2:55pm. Had fo wait to 7:15 for it to drop to this time. (We were not arriving until around then).

8:30- purchased Remy for 3:55- time did not change for us when clicking.

10:30- booked test track for 5:45. I had a 4:30 and it jumped on me when I clicked.

12:30- didnt book anything as everything was too soon compared to our arrival time.

1:30- booked 1:45 spaceship earth.

1:46- arrived at Epcot, rode spaceship earth. Ate lunch.

Could have booked another LL here but again, everything was available immediately and we were headed to frozen.

Rode Frozen and then Remy x2. A cast member gave us a free second LL for Remy because of an issue during our first ride. Very cute ride! Our kids loved it!

Walking back from Remy booked LwtL for immediately (4pm). Then booked seas immediately after tapping into LwtL. Walked over to test track and rode our previously booked LL. Left the park for the day to go eat dessert and rest!

So Genie at Epcot really isnt needed but if you bought it for your whole trip anyway itd be a great park to start at and stack for an evening elsewhere, or if you are in epcot all day you can go for frozen and test track first and then have your pick of every other ride (even soarin) all day.


----------



## orangecuse

MK morning- 

7am- Peter Pan for 9:40

Got to the park at about 8:40 and rode the carousel. Then lined up for Haunted Mansion. Line took maybe 5 minutes once they let us move at 8:55. 

Tapped into PP at 9:35 and booked Barnstormer for 9:45. 

Rode Barnstormer once with Genie+ and once standby. After Barnstormer booked Buzz for 10:30. 

Buzz went down so our 10:30 Genie+ converted to an any attraction LL. Immediately booked buzz again for 11. Stayed in the area and ate snacks waiting to see if buzz would come back. It did not so we got a second anything LL. 

Used our anything LLs to have parent 1/kid1 do splash and BTMRR and parent 2/kid2 do aladdin and pirates. 

Left MK at 12 and booked Navi for 4:30. At 2 booked Kali for 4:40. At 4 everything in AK was available immediately so waited and rode Navi and Kali. At 5:50 booked Safari for 6. Watch this closely if doing AK at night because Safari stops early which means genie+ also stops early for it. After tapping into Safari booked dinosaur. Rode dinosaur and triceratops spin and left. We could have gotten FoP at several points in the afternoon so if you miss it in the morning just refresh.


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## DisneyCare

We just got back from a week-long trip. Sorry in advance - my thoughts are all over the place! I wanted to post our experience because in the weeks prior to our trip, I was reading these boards and they really helped me game plan our park days!

I really enjoyed Genie+ and felt it was worth the price! We did 1.5 days at Epcot, 2 days at Hollywood Studios, 2 days at Magic Kingdom and 1 day at Animal Kingdom. No park hopper. We were traveling with 2 under 5 so we did midday breaks for lunch/nap/swim (usually 11:30-3:30). I definitely felt like crowds got heavy come lunchtime so it was nice to get out of the parks then. 

The only exception was our first MK day (Wednesday 5/4) when we “slept in”, had pool time in the morning and then hit the park at about 3:15pm. We lucked out because we walked right in to the Festival of Fantasy parade coming down Main Street. We were there that day from 3:15-9pm and did almost every ride except for Buzz, BTMR, Splash, Little Mermaid and Teacups. I used the LL stacking method. We could have done more had we stayed until park close (11pm) or extended hours (1am). That felt like a win to me! 

We used early entry for 4 out of our 7 park days, but we usually entered the park 15min before official opening rather than 30min. We never used deluxe evening hours because the kids (and some adults!) just couldn’t hang, haha. 

Early entry/rope drop is key in HS. We went right to ToT, did rider switch, and then to RnR where 2 of us did single rider. Waits for ToT later during the day were still crazy (90-105min). I was able to get both SDD and Rise at 7am without using two devices. MMRR LL were still available in the late afternoon. On our second day (Friday 5/6) we were able to get RnR and Smugglers Run LL in the afternoon as well. 

Over the course of the week, we only did standby for maybe 5-7 rides? Our longest wait was 35min for Alien Swirling Saucers (posted 40min). This was one of those situations where we had a time gap between LLs and I didn’t want us criscrossing the park so we just stayed put in Toy Story land. Plus it was a ride that our whole group could go on, so it was worth the wait for us. 

CMs were happy and pleasant, bathrooms were mostly clean (only one very messy one over by Space Mountain), character meet and greets were great! So happy the kids were able to hug characters and get autographs. The magic is still there! And seeing it through your kids’ eyes is pretty amazing


----------



## planplanplan

For those saying that rope dropping HS is essential, we used an evening stacking strategy there with a good outcome last week.  We had rope dropped AK (6 AM bus from the hotel for 7 AM early entry) to MK closing the day before, so we just couldn't manage another RD.

At 7 AM I got a 2 PM ILL for MF and a 6:30 PM LL for Slinky.  At 10 AM, I got a 5:30 PM LL for ToT.  At noon I got a 6:10 PM LL for Smugglers.  At 2 PM I got a 7:45 PM LL for MMRR.  At 4 PM I got a 6:50 PM LL for TSMM.  At 6 PM I got a 7:10 PM LL for Alien SS.

We got to HS around 9:30 AM and rode RnR standyby with a 30 minute wait. Then we watched Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones, met Olaf, and saw Frozen. We rode Star Tours standby (10 minute wait), did the 2 PM MF ILL, and wandered Star Wars land for a bit.  Saw Muppets and made it to a 4:30 PM reservation at Prime Time.  We then started our stack: ToT, Smugglers, Slinky, TSMM, Alien SS and MMRR.

The walk from ToT to Smugglers wasn't the shortest, but the rest of the stack was really, really efficient.  I was especially happy to do Toy Story Land in a single visit.  We were done with the park by 8:15 PM.  I'm sure this wouldn't work if there were high crowds or ride closures, but we did well.  I did very little refreshing, just setting my watch alarm for the next Genie+ window and grabbing whatever was available.  Big thumbs up.


----------



## orangecuse

Today we did HS in the am. We got MMRR for 8:35 at 7am. We did TSMM x2 during early entry, then rode MMRR, then got genie+ for TSMM for 9am. Tapped in to that and got Alien Saucer for 9:15. Rode that and then went to Ogas and watched Indiana Jones. 

Meanwhile started our MK stack for at night and arrived at 3 with SDMT, Peter Pan, Barnstormer, and HM all stacked. Also got Splash, Pooh, Buzz, and Pirates, and Magic Carpets while there tonight and just left. 

Very easy in our experience to grab these night time ones at MK! I had to refresh for a minute to get splash for a close return but everything else was easy.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

My son finally got to hug Mickey Mouse my life is compete


----------



## CampbellzSoup

To see a grown man cry over seeing his son finally meet and hug Mickey Mouse was embarrassing go say the least


----------



## pangyal

Here now for a long-overdue solo trip for F&G and some nice weather, May 9-19. I have a few details to share from my first day of blending Early Entry, Genie+, ILL$ and park hopping. 

At 7:00am, I purchased G+ and an ILL$ for 7DMT for 11:10am. I made my first G+ selection of PP for 11:10, then on the way to MK I cancelled it as it seemed too late to allow the flexibility I wanted with being able to tap in earlier and open up other options after that. I chose HM at 10am instead (the earliest available at that time).

I left Bay Lake Tower this morning at a leisurely 8:17am and was through security and at the tapstiles by 8:28am. I wasn't sure where to start (I had only gotten as far as page 19 of the Early Entry thread, lol) so I first went to Space, which had a line to the Lunching Pad, so I bailed and went to Buzz. I checked MDE and the time for PP was quoted at 50 minutes, which seemed high. Buzz was a walk-on, and when I left, Space's line had already moved into the inside queue, so at 8:53am, I decided to join and ignore the quoted 45 minute posted time. I waited a total of 15 minutes. 

I next headed to PP to see how things looked. I noticed that the outdoor queue was not filled at all, so I crossed my fingers and headed in. It was a posted time of 50 minutes, but I waited only 18. This is a complete reversal from our past few trips, where the posted time is accurate and G+ is the only option unless you are okay with waiting an hour or more for anything, so I was pretty happy. 

My HM was up next, so I waited until 9:55am and tapped in. While waiting in front of the doors, I grabbed a 7:50pm Slinky to start my DHS stack for this evening. After that, I went to check out Splash and BTMR- the lines looked pretty deep, and I still needed to put in more than a few hours of work today, so I headed over to Pirates, which was posted at 35 minutes; I waited 20. 

After Pirates, I headed to Little Mermaid with a posted time of 25 minutes and waited 10. After that, it was well within the time for my 11:10am 7DMT ILL$, so I headed over and didn't have to wait long. I kept trying to refresh for a Pooh, Splash or BTMR as a final MK G+ pick, but was unsuccessful at getting anything within the next 30 minutes.

After 7D, I headed over to Pooh, which had a posted wait of 35 minutes but looked to be moving. I waited about 20 minutes, and was able to grab a BTMR G+ for 12:15pm at 11:55am. After that (and tapping in), I did try refreshing a lot at Pecos Bills during lunch to try to get Splash for any time before 2pm, but was not successful.

I headed back to BLT to work, and started working on my evening at 1:15pm, when I got Runaway Railway for 6:55, and then grabbed MF for 7:50pm at 3:15pm. It is definitively easier to find G+ options right now than it has been for the past three trips, which is really a relief, because I was finding the entire thing just oppressively rigid when combined with the super high crowds.

I plan to get TSMM for around 7:00 during my next G+ window at 5:15pm, and then either get AS2 at 7:15pm or walk on if possible. Then, I will get in line around 8:45pm for Rise.

Overall, a productive day! I have DHS booked for tomorrow, but if I can pull all of this off, I might stay and do a resort day. It's amazing what you can accomplish without a late-sleeping family !


----------



## mom2rtk

CampbellzSoup said:


> View attachment 668467
> 
> My son finally got to hug Mickey Mouse my life is compete


I'm so happy for you!


----------



## Mackenzie Click-Mickelson

DHS really suffers from not having many attractions.

Right now they are only running one side of Alien Swirling Saucers, peeps already know of ToT one side (that was down for a while today at park opening so was Rise)

Minnie and Mickey went down too today.

Lots of down rides over the last few days. Remy though luckily was a brief down while we were in line.

Rise is 130 mins but was just 140 mins

And 1 party at a time is being let in on Alien Swirling Saucers in Standby.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

mom2rtk said:


> I'm so happy for you!



Thank you so much my love you know how far I’ve come and especially trying to be a dad this was just a full circle moment for me.

I’ll share just one more no one told me Mickey Bars and white shirts are dangerous!


----------



## scrappinginontario

CampbellzSoup said:


> Thank you so much my love you know how far I’ve come and especially trying to be a dad this was just a full circle moment for me.
> 
> I’ll share just one more no one told me Mickey Bars and white shirts are dangerous!
> 
> View attachment 668471


Won't fix everything but my mom hack is to put the stick through an upside down plastic cup lid.  Will capture some of the drips - but will do nothing for the chocolate face that will happen!  

Glad you're having such a great trip!


----------



## mom2rtk

CampbellzSoup said:


> Thank you so much my love you know how far I’ve come and especially trying to be a dad this was just a full circle moment for me.
> 
> I’ll share just one more no one told me Mickey Bars and white shirts are dangerous!
> 
> View attachment 668471


It's OK. The white shirt is an acceptable loss for such an adorable photo!


----------



## orangecuse

Mackenzie Click-Mickelson said:


> DHS really suffers from not having many attractions.
> 
> Right now they are only running one side of Alien Swirling Saucers, peeps already know of ToT one side (that was down for a while today at park opening so was Rise)
> 
> Minnie and Mickey went down too today.
> 
> Lots of down rides over the last few days. Remy though luckily was a brief down while we were in line.
> 
> Rise is 130 mins but was just 140 mins
> 
> And 1 party at a time is being let in on Alien Swirling Saucers in Standby.


THATS what was going on today! We stacked HS for the evening and had MMRR, TSMM, Slinky, and Alien. Alien we never did get on as it was so slow we just bailed even w/ our genie+. We hopped to Epcot end of day for Remy ILL$ and it was down so we had to head to guest services for a refund. The people behind us at guest services said they had been waiting in the G+ line for an hour before they were told to just leave. Yikes!


----------



## LMO429

We just got back from a two week visit! We had gone a year ago and things are light years better than last year. All the cast members we interacted with were wonderful. We stayed a riviera and I truly got the old school Disney customer service from every cast member we interacted with there which after 2 weeks was a lot!  Bravo riviera ! We did the guardians ap preview hands down the best ride at Disney I would never wait in a long line for a ride but that ride is def worth the lengthy waits once it opens. We got to ride two times during the preview and I still on a happiness high from it
It’s simply amazing!!!!!!!! It was nice to have housekeeping we stayed at riviera and had a rental car and loved it not sure I would have felt the same
With no reNtal car we did preferred parking every day and we felt jr was worth the money. Don’t rope drop hs  if u r doing genie plus learn to stack your rides and go into the park with a full line up a little later in the afternoon. The bathrooms at mk were gross that was my only complaint. I actually liked enchantment which going in I thought I wouldn’t based on so many negative reviews is it wishes or happily ever after no but being a park regular I found it refreshing and a good change of pace. Mobile order was easy and fast never had a issue with that. Don’t bother with Starbucks on Main Street wish they had a genie plus for that lol it needs a it the lines were insane for coffee go to a Joffrey cart instead.


----------



## LMO429

Oh and infant baby Mickey ears are no where to be found on property currently which was unfortunate for ours babies first visit they have a blue first visit pair but they are too big for babies


----------



## Mackenzie Click-Mickelson

orangecuse said:


> The people behind us at guest services said they had been waiting in the G+ line for an hour before they were told to just leave. Yikes!


Oh my that sounds awful!


----------



## DisneyFive

LMO429 said:


> We just got back from a two week visit! We had gone a year ago and things are light years better than last year. All the cast members we interacted with were wonderful. We stayed a riviera and I truly got the old school Disney customer service from every cast member we interacted with there which after 2 weeks was a lot!  Bravo riviera ! We did the guardians ap preview hands down the best ride at Disney I would never wait in a long line for a ride but that ride is def worth the lengthy waits once it opens. We got to ride two times during the preview and I still on a happiness high from it
> It’s simply amazing!!!!!!!! It was nice to have housekeeping we stayed at riviera and had a rental car and loved it not sure I would have felt the same
> With no reNtal car we did preferred parking every day and we felt jr was worth the money. Don’t rope drop hs  if u r doing genie plus learn to stack your rides and go into the park with a full line up a little later in the afternoon. The bathrooms at mk were gross that was my only complaint. I actually liked enchantment which going in I thought I wouldn’t based on so many negative reviews is it wishes or happily ever after no but being a park regular I found it refreshing and a good change of pace. Mobile order was easy and fast never had a issue with that. Don’t bother with Starbucks on Main Street wish they had a genie plus for that lol it needs a it the lines were insane for coffee go to a Joffrey cart instead.


This is encouraging.  Last summer (with standby only) was really rough for us.  Glad to hear you liked this year  so mch more!

BTW, I think Guardians is going to be virtual queue at the start so waits won't be long (as long as you can get the $ILL and get on the ride to begin with)


----------



## LMO429

DisneyFive said:


> This is encouraging.  Last summer (with standby only) was really rough for us.  Glad to hear you liked this year  so mch more!
> 
> BTW, I think Guardians is going to be virtual queue at the start so waits won't be long (as long as you can get the $ILL and get on the ride to begin with)



Yes so much better than last year.

what I meant about the wait was that its totally worth it if for someone has to wait on a excessive line eventually its totally worth the wait I cant say that for many rides at disney


----------



## Mackenzie Click-Mickelson

LMO429 said:


> Yes so much better than last year.
> 
> what I meant about the wait was that its totally worth it if for someone has to wait on a excessive line eventually its totally worth the wait I cant say that for many rides at disney


My husband said the same for our preview, he'd be willing to wait a while for the ride it was very fun what he did get to experience


----------



## Smugpugmug

I'm here right now and thought I would share my HS day. Early entry and Genie+ are extremely critical if you want to get everything done and avoid the insane waits.

My group and I were on the bus from AKL to HS at around 6:55 and we managed to get a Rise LL for 8:45 am and Tower of Terror for 10:25 am while on the bus. We were let into the park at around 7:45 ish and we rode Smuggler's and Toy Story Mania during early entry with absolutely zero wait. We saw that Rockin Roller Coaster had a 10 minute wait so we walked over there but it shot up to 40 by the time we arrived. Actual wait time was 15. Rise went down during early entry so we got our Lightning Lane turned into an experience redemption pass. We rode Rise when it went back up and then we got Rockin Roller Coaster for 12:05.

After Rockin we decided to go back to AKL for a mid day break at the pool. While at the pool I "fiddle faddled" like Molly from Allears recommends and I got the following evening stack:

Slinky Dog Dash 5:20
Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway 5:55
Toy Story Mania 7:15

At the end of the night we saw Rise was down to a 40 minute wait so we hopped on line and got into the preshow in 25 minutes. The ride then broke down and we were stuck in the Stormtrooper room/room before being interrogated for about 30-40 minutes with absolutely zero communication from Cast Members until they evacuated the queue. We got a Lightning Lane to come back tomorrow but we're at MK tomorrow so I'm typing this while in line at Guest Relations (the CM that gave me the pass told me to go talk to them).

Overall an excellent day using Genie+/ILL but beware of the risk of riding Rise at park close. The trip is great so far as well - crowds are not terrible and CMs are very friendly/helpful.


----------



## TigerLaw

Smugpugmug said:


> I'm here right now and thought I would share my HS day. Early entry and Genie+ are extremely critical if you want to get everything done and avoid the insane waits.
> 
> My group and I were on the bus from AKL to HS at around 6:55 and we managed to get a Rise LL for 8:45 am and Tower of Terror for 10:25 am while on the bus. We were let into the park at around 7:45 ish and we rode Smuggler's and Toy Story Mania during early entry with absolutely zero wait. We saw that Rockin Roller Coaster had a 10 minute wait so we walked over there but it shot up to 40 by the time we arrived. Actual wait time was 15. Rise went down during early entry so we got our Lightning Lane turned into an experience redemption pass. We rode Rise when it went back up and then we got Rockin Roller Coaster for 12:05.
> 
> After Rockin we decided to go back to AKL for a mid day break at the pool. While at the pool I "fiddle faddled" like Molly from Allears recommends and I got the following evening stack:
> 
> Slinky Dog Dash 5:20
> Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway 5:55
> Toy Story Mania 7:15
> 
> At the end of the night we saw Rise was down to a 40 minute wait so we hopped on line and got into the preshow in 25 minutes. The ride then broke down and we were stuck in the Stormtrooper room/room before being interrogated for about 30-40 minutes with absolutely zero communication from Cast Members until they evacuated the queue. We got a Lightning Lane to come back tomorrow but we're at MK tomorrow so I'm typing this while in line at Guest Relations (the CM that gave me the pass told me to go talk to them).
> 
> Overall an excellent day using Genie+/ILL but beware of the risk of riding Rise at park close. The trip is great so far as well - crowds are not terrible and CMs are very friendly/helpful.


So what did guest services end up saying on your issue?


----------



## Smugpugmug

TigerLaw said:


> So what did guest services end up saying on your issue?


They told us to come back to guest services on the day we are returning to HS (Saturday) to get the experience passes changed. I signed a form and they said they'll want to see my ID for some reason? But we're going to hop into guest services in MK to see what they can do. The guest services line was insane last night - went all the way down the main street due to people wanting refunds for the Rise ILL.


----------



## Ariel620

Smugpugmug said:


> They told us to come back to guest services on the day we are returning to HS (Saturday) to get the experience passes changed. I signed a form and they said they'll want to see my ID for some reason? But we're going to hop into guest services in MK to see what they can do. The guest services line was insane last night - went all the way down the main street due to people wanting refunds for the Rise ILL.


Try the blue umbrellas in the park instead of GS up front.  Shorter lines and more helpful imo.


----------



## Smugpugmug

Ariel620 said:


> Try the blue umbrellas in the park instead of GS up front.  Shorter lines and more helpful imo.


It was after park close when I was in line but yeah that's what I did at MK and was told they are not authorized to help with HS issues. This afternoon I did see a Rise experience redemption pass show up on MDE but one of them is linked to my mom, who isn't even here on the trip so guess I'm back in line at guest services tomorrow morning


----------



## MickeysHouse224

We just got back from an incredible trip!  May 7-13th.

Our strategy this time was to sleep in (except for waking up to make Lightning Lane reservations), have lazy mornings, swim in the afternoon and go the parks in the later afternoon/evening.  This worked so well and I would say it had a lot to do with low crowds and a lot of genie+ availability.  Had I not been able to snag the genie+ reservations we wanted throughout the day and still have a ton of availability once we were in the parks, this might not have gone as well.

Stayed at French Quarter - love the theming, love the size, LOVE the boat to Disney Springs.  We shared busses with Riverside a lot, which is just a real bummer when trying to get to the parks.  Food court was just okay - limited options and mobile ordering took a very long time for them to prepare.  

Our schedule this time was something like this: sleep until our kids woke up naturally, slow morning of breakfast at resort or boat to Disney Springs for coffee/breakfast; swim in the afternoon; park in the later afternoon/evening.  We never entered a park before ~2PM (often later) and were able to do everything we wanted with Lightning Lane.

Day 1 - Sunday 5/9 - Hollywood Studios
- arrived ~3PM, left about 8:30PM
- not in order, all with Genie+ - Rise of the Resistance w/ Individual Lightning Lane, Millennium Falcon, Slinky Dog (booked this one first in the morning), Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster.  Also built a droid (walk up).  

Day 2 - Monday 5/10 - Animal Kingdom
- arrived ~2:15PM left about 7:15PM
- dinosaur, everest, kite show, flight of passage ($LL), ate a sau'tili canteen, safari, gorilla falls trail, everest again (no genie + for second ride), boneyard, ice cream near everest - the Yeti Sundae is yummy!

Day 3- Tuesday 5/11- Magic Kingdom
- arrived ~3:00, left 11:30PM (closed at 11)
- in no particular order: peter pan, jungle cruise, big thunder mountain, splash mountain, buzz, speedway (4x throughout the evening), space mountain, people mover, pooh, dumbo x2, watched fire works from back or park, ate dinner while watching Mickey castle show, mine train (got in line a little before 11, waited maybe 15 minutes), ice cream & pretzel breaks!

Day 4 - Wednesday 5/12 - EPCOT
- arrived ~3:00, left ~9:00
- The construction in this park makes it so un-magical.  Did not get that Disney feeling here at all this time!
- spaceship earth, walked world showcase and snacked, Frozen, 3 Caballeros ride, soarin, ate dinner and lingered because we met up with some local family but we could have done Living with the Land and Nemo had we just ate and moved on, Test Track

Day 5 - Thursday 5/13 - Hollywood Studios
- arrived ~3:00, left 9:00
- millennium falcon, ate at the star wars quick service, wandered around star wars to take photos & had blue milk (yuck), slinky, toy story mania, runaway railway, rockin' roller coaster.  Had a LL for Tower of Terror but Rockin' Roller coaster had issues and we didn't finish until 9:05 (went in ~8:30), so that was a bummer.  
- Bought a Mickey pretzel loungefly on the way out!

Day 6 - Friday 5/14 - Animal Kingdom
- arrived ~3:00, left ~5:45 (bus to airport at 7:05)
- looked at animals on the way in, everest, ice cream break for another Yeti sundae, safari, corn on the cobb, flight of passage ($LL)

We used Sunshine Flyer and had no trouble!  Would use again. 

Overall our best trip ever!  We have found the right balance of parks and relaxing for our family.  Can't wait to go back!


----------



## glocon

MickeysHouse224 said:


> We just got back from an incredible trip!  May 7-13th.
> 
> Our strategy this time was to sleep in (except for waking up to make Lightning Lane reservations), have lazy mornings, swim in the afternoon and go the parks in the later afternoon/evening.  This worked so well and I would say it had a lot to do with low crowds and a lot of genie+ availability.  Had I not been able to snag the genie+ reservations we wanted throughout the day and still have a ton of availability once we were in the parks, this might not have gone as well.
> 
> Stayed at French Quarter - love the theming, love the size, LOVE the boat to Disney Springs.  We shared busses with Riverside a lot, which is just a real bummer when trying to get to the parks.  Food court was just okay - limited options and mobile ordering took a very long time for them to prepare.
> 
> Our schedule this time was something like this: sleep until our kids woke up naturally, slow morning of breakfast at resort or boat to Disney Springs for coffee/breakfast; swim in the afternoon; park in the later afternoon/evening.  We never entered a park before ~2PM (often later) and were able to do everything we wanted with Lightning Lane.
> 
> Day 1 - Sunday 5/9 - Hollywood Studios
> - arrived ~3PM, left about 8:30PM
> - not in order, all with Genie+ - Rise of the Resistance w/ Individual Lightning Lane, Millennium Falcon, Slinky Dog (booked this one first in the morning), Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster.  Also built a droid (walk up).
> 
> Day 2 - Monday 5/10 - Animal Kingdom
> - arrived ~2:15PM left about 7:15PM
> - dinosaur, everest, kite show, flight of passage ($LL), ate a sau'tili canteen, safari, gorilla falls trail, everest again (no genie + for second ride), boneyard, ice cream near everest - the Yeti Sundae is yummy!
> 
> Day 3- Tuesday 5/11- Magic Kingdom
> - arrived ~3:00, left 11:30PM (closed at 11)
> - in no particular order: peter pan, jungle cruise, big thunder mountain, splash mountain, buzz, speedway (4x throughout the evening), space mountain, people mover, pooh, dumbo x2, watched fire works from back or park, ate dinner while watching Mickey castle show, mine train (got in line a little before 11, waited maybe 15 minutes), ice cream & pretzel breaks!
> 
> Day 4 - Wednesday 5/12 - EPCOT
> - arrived ~3:00, left ~9:00
> - The construction in this park makes it so un-magical.  Did not get that Disney feeling here at all this time!
> - spaceship earth, walked world showcase and snacked, Frozen, 3 Caballeros ride, soarin, ate dinner and lingered because we met up with some local family but we could have done Living with the Land and Nemo had we just ate and moved on, Test Track
> 
> Day 5 - Thursday 5/13 - Hollywood Studios
> - arrived ~3:00, left 9:00
> - millennium falcon, ate at the star wars quick service, wandered around star wars to take photos & had blue milk (yuck), slinky, toy story mania, runaway railway, rockin' roller coaster.  Had a LL for Tower of Terror but Rockin' Roller coaster had issues and we didn't finish until 9:05 (went in ~8:30), so that was a bummer.
> - Bought a Mickey pretzel loungefly on the way out!
> 
> Day 6 - Friday 5/14 - Animal Kingdom
> - arrived ~3:00, left ~5:45 (bus to airport at 7:05)
> - looked at animals on the way in, everest, ice cream break for another Yeti sundae, safari, corn on the cobb, flight of passage ($LL)
> 
> We used Sunshine Flyer and had no trouble!  Would use again.
> 
> Overall our best trip ever!  We have found the right balance of parks and relaxing for our family.  Can't wait to go back!


Sounds like an amazing trip!
Love the laid back vibe.
I always plan on trying that but just get too excited to get to the parks.
I really really want to try that next time!


----------



## MickeysHouse224

glocon said:


> Sounds like an amazing trip!
> Love the laid back vibe.
> I always plan on trying that but just get too excited to get to the parks.
> I really really want to try that next time!


It took a lot of self control on my end the first couple of days but then I settled into the routine and realized it was perfect!


----------



## hunter1722

I just go back a couple weeks ago (4/23-27) and have always been an avid rope dropper.  With G+ and ILL you absolutely do not need to do this anymore.  Not knowing how it would go, still rope dropped MK and rode PP, Space MT, Pooh, BTMT, HM twice, Pirates (G+), Dumbo, Mermaid... Genie+ stacked in evening for another PP, Pooh, HM, BTMT, JC.  I could have gotten Space MT and ILL Dwarfs but didn't.  Another night I stacked Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Soarin, Frozen, and ILL Remy all from 4-830p.  I am so excited I can sleep in on trips now!  Morning humidity in the parks is the worst!


----------



## 3gr8boys

hunter1722 said:


> I just go back a couple weeks ago (4/23-27) and have always been an avid rope dropper.  With G+ and ILL you absolutely do not need to do this anymore.  Not knowing how it would go, still rope dropped MK and rode PP, Space MT, Pooh, BTMT, HM twice, Pirates (G+), Dumbo, Mermaid... Genie+ stacked in evening for another PP, Pooh, HM, BTMT, JC.  I could have gotten Space MT and ILL Dwarfs but didn't.  Another night I stacked Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Soarin, Frozen, and ILL Remy all from 4-830p.  I am so excited I can sleep in on trips now!  Morning humidity in the parks is the worst!


I really felt like Genie+ gave us options and control.  We didn’t  try to work in resort breaks, but we did approach each day differently- including a little extra sleep a couple of mornings without having to worry about lines.

ETA I expected  my teen son to want resort breaks away from the chaos. I think it was not having to spend time in lines that made spending whole days in the parks fun.


----------



## mickey916

Here now and the my day tab isn’t working. Tip board works but can’t see any of my plans. Already reinstalled app and tried wifi and LTE. Planning for 8 people and can’t see what I’ve booked. Suggestions?


----------



## MomOTwins

mickey916 said:


> Here now and the my day tab isn’t working. Tip board works but can’t see any of my plans. Already reinstalled app and tried wifi and LTE. Planning for 8 people and can’t see what I’ve booked. Suggestions?


Log in through an internet browser on disneyworld.com instead of the app.
Delete and reinstall the app while on wifi.


----------



## hildarumpole

mickey916 said:


> Here now and the my day tab isn’t working. Tip board works but can’t see any of my plans. Already reinstalled app and tried wifi and LTE. Planning for 8 people and can’t see what I’ve booked. Suggestions?


During my trip 2 weeks ago the app was completely dysfunctional.  Front desk at AKL called Tech Support and assisted in getting it slightly more functional.  Had to uninstall app, reinstall, clear cache and restart the phone.  Good luck.


----------



## Lsdolphin

mickey916 said:


> Here now and the my day tab isn’t working. Tip board works but can’t see any of my plans. Already reinstalled app and tried wifi and LTE. Planning for 8 people and can’t see what I’ve booked. Suggestions?


Go to guest services they will look at your phone and help you...


----------



## mickey916

Lsdolphin said:


> Go to guest services they will look at your phone and help you...


Guest services said known glitch they’re working on it. Chat said to update my phones ios which i did. Then they said to email tech support which i did and got a response that they’ll answer in 5 business days..not that helpful.


----------



## scrappinginontario

mickey916 said:


> Guest services said known glitch they’re working on it. Chat said to update my phones ios which i did. Then they said to email tech support which i did and got a response that they’ll answer in 5 business days..not that helpful.



Did you call 1-407-939-4357?  If you call that number in the morning (unfortunately each morning I believe) to have Genie+ added until the glitch is fixed.


----------



## mickey916

scrappinginontario said:


> Did you call 1-407-939-4357?  If you call that number in the morning (unfortunately each morning I believe) to have Genie+ added until the glitch is fixed.


I was able to add genie+ From my DHs phone and use the tip board to book rides to get around that glitch each day but today was a new glitch that just wouldn’t let the my day tab load. It worked fine yesterday but not today. My day tab finally loaded at 6:30 tonight. Hopefully won’t have any more issues as my family members with genie+ already loaded don’t have any more park days with us. Overall we managed okay but just added a little more stress to the day.


----------



## William B

hunter1722 said:


> I just go back a couple weeks ago (4/23-27) and have always been an avid rope dropper.  With G+ and ILL you absolutely do not need to do this anymore.  Not knowing how it would go, still rope dropped MK and rode PP, Space MT, Pooh, BTMT, HM twice, Pirates (G+), Dumbo, Mermaid... Genie+ stacked in evening for another PP, Pooh, HM, BTMT, JC.  I could have gotten Space MT and ILL Dwarfs but didn't.  Another night I stacked Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Soarin, Frozen, and ILL Remy all from 4-830p.  I am so excited I can sleep in on trips now!  Morning humidity in the parks is the worst!


What time did you usually start stacking your genie + rides?  Did you get up at 7 to get the first one for the afternoon and then just do every 2 hours after opening from then on or did you wait until you got up and going and just took what was left and available at that point in time?  Just trying to get an idea on how people are doing the stacking for afternoons and not ending up with something for in the morning?


----------



## MickeysHouse224

William B said:


> What time did you usually start stacking your genie + rides?  Did you get up at 7 to get the first one for the afternoon and then just do every 2 hours after opening from then on or did you wait until you got up and going and just took what was left and available at that point in time?  Just trying to get an idea on how people are doing the stacking for afternoons and not ending up with something for in the morning?


I woke up at 7 each morning and for most parks at that time I could get an afternoon ride.  Then I either went back to sleep or snuck outside with my book.  The only exception was Animal Kingdom, which I did have to wait for.  I just checked now and then to see what the times were looking like and then started booking when they worked for us.

Hollywood Studios: Slinky Dog
Magic Kingdom: Jungle Cruise 
EPCOT: Frozen


----------



## gottalovepluto

EDIT: jk. Apparently it was like a group of 50 being let in via the SR line  

Single Rider is open on RAT this morning. Is that new? Swear it wasn’t running a couple days back when I did this ride…


----------



## krybandt

I had the same issue with not being able to add G+ on my iPhone in the mornings before 7sm  and had to use my daughters phone. Then My Day didn’t work for a day but fixed itself. 

Parks are clean and cast members have been just as friendly as i remember pre Covid. Our dvc room was ready at 11am on our check in day (did not get requested room area so you win some you lose some). Resort is clean, no issues except for minor maintenance ones. Again, friendly CMs and plenty of magic.

G+ has been a mixed bag. It was definitely worth it in MK. Didn’t get it for EP. AK was worth it but mainly because we park hopped afterwards. HS it feels more necessary but it’s been the most frustrating there because there aren’t many rides (this morning, 3 major ones were all down at various points in the first hour of opening) and the good ones go fast. We rope drop, leave by early afternoon and go back or park hop at night, so not being able to choose times is the worst part of G+. I’m glad we had it but not a fan. 

Table service has been wonderful, quick service also good and we’ve used mobile order and it’s definitely saved time.

Crowds seem about what i remember for May, nothing crazy. Weather is hot. In the 90s but not as humid as July. 

Anyway, I was a bit worried reading some posts about crowds and bad experiences and this trip has exceeded expectations. It feels like the Disney we love.


----------



## jrsharp21

Just got back from a 3 day trip for work conference at WDW that included some time in the park. I am not a fan of Genie+ and ILL, but one thing I did realize this time around is that G+ allows you to not have to spend the first half of your day in the parks if you don't want to and still get a lot done in the evening by stacking evening G+ reservations through out the day. On my park days, Sunday at DHS and Tuesday at MK, I didn't get to the park until around 4pm. I was able to ride pretty much all the big rides by stacking G+ and booking an ILL (ROTR). MK was open on that Tuesday until 1am for extra hours, but by 10pm I was walking around trying to figure out things to do and actually ended up heading back to the hotel earlier than I had planned. It definitely opened my eyes that I no longer needed to be in the park all day long each day. Looking forward to the next family trip where we may be able to test this out and go do some other things during the day and then hit the parks late afternoon until close.


----------



## pigletto

I can not even tell you what these positive reviews are doing for me. We are set to arrive on Saturday after 2.5 years of lockdowns and uncertainty. I really really want to enjoy this trip. 

And though we have always been diehard rope droppers  I am loving the idea of some time to sleep in and poke around for the day. Not having to be up and headed to a park every morning would be a lot more relaxing!


----------



## 3gr8boys

pigletto said:


> I can not even tell you what these positive reviews are doing for me. We are set to arrive on Saturday after 2.5 years of lockdowns and uncertainty. I really really want to enjoy this trip.
> 
> And though we have always been diehard rope droppers  I am loving the idea of some time to sleep in and poke around for the day. Not having to be up and headed to a park every morning would be a lot more relaxing!


Our April 2022 trip, hadn't been since April 2018, was magical.  Thanks to avoiding lines with Genie+ and ILL, our park days were jam packed with rides, experiences, and enjoyable meals....and no pressure to RD every day (though we did for MK and HS).  Enjoy your long awaited vacation!


----------



## hunter1722

William B said:


> What time did you usually start stacking your genie + rides?  Did you get up at 7 to get the first one for the afternoon and then just do every 2 hours after opening from then on or did you wait until you got up and going and just took what was left and available at that point in time?  Just trying to get an idea on how people are doing the stacking for afternoons and not ending up with something for in the morning?


7am for first 2 hrs later for next, and so on but we like Big Thunder, HM in the evening so those I had to wait around until 5pm and after to get evening times.  Only PP and JC jumped to evening times quickly.  The rest were issuing return within 1-2 hrs of the current time.


----------



## starryagain

We are wrapping up eight nights (5 at Beach Club Villas studio and 3 at Polynesian studio) and the end of our DVC annual passes. We were here in May 2021, October 2021, mid-January 2022, and now. General thoughts:

- Characters and some shows being back is HUGE vs January 2022. That was by far our hardest trip regarding lines. Also it just adds to the atmosphere.
- We didn't do G+ this time after using in October and January. Part of this is annual passholder privilege and not needing to get everything in, particularly at Magic Kingdom. But partially we just found it annoying to use and constricting.
- We got a ton in at deluxe extra hours at MK. All headliners except Jungle Cruise which I don't care for. Epcot hours were so so... I think they need to be later for impact. We did get in Test Track before Harmonious (30 minute wait), then Frozen (15 minutes), Remy (30 minutes).
- The old standard rope drop, long break, stay until close continues to work well. We rope dropped Rise 3x and never waited over 20 minutes.
- We got in two Guardians previews. It's a great ride but not as good as Rise. 
- Resorts are better functioning than previous post coronavirus trips but still not on par with other luxury properties. Ridiculous that you can't call the front desk.
- Restaurants are also very improved regarding service vs January 

We had a ton of fun but are happy to be going on a hiatus for a few years!


----------



## Betty Rohrer

starryagain said:


> We are wrapping up eight nights (5 at Beach Club Villas studio and 3 at Polynesian studio) and the end of our DVC annual passes. We were here in May 2021, October 2021, mid-January 2022, and now. General thoughts:
> 
> - Characters and some shows being back is HUGE vs January 2022. That was by far our hardest trip regarding lines. Also it just adds to the atmosphere.
> - We didn't do G+ this time after using in October and January. Part of this is annual passholder privilege and not needing to get everything in, particularly at Magic Kingdom. But partially we just found it annoying to use and constricting.
> - We got a ton in at deluxe extra hours at MK. All headliners except Jungle Cruise which I don't care for. Epcot hours were so so... I think they need to be later for impact. We did get in Test Track before Harmonious (30 minute wait), then Frozen (15 minutes), Remy (30 minutes).
> - The old standard rope drop, long break, stay until close continues to work well. We rope dropped Rise 3x and never waited over 20 minutes.
> - We got in two Guardians previews. It's a great ride but not as good as Rise.
> - Resorts are better functioning than previous post coronavirus trips but still not on par with other luxury properties. Ridiculous that you can't call the front desk.
> - Restaurants are also very improved regarding service vs January
> 
> We had a ton of fun but are happy to be going on a hiatus for a few years!


you could not call front desk precovid either


----------



## eeudj

I am sitting here in the airport with some extra time so I thought I would post about my family of four experience, my husband, 2 young adult kids and me. We love Disney!! We love staying on property, rope dropping and the rides, all of them yes … we even loved Stitch  lol we were sooooo excited to celebrate the 50th. But I just say something was missing this time around. Don’t get me wrong I understand we are still in a pandemic and trying to get back to a normal … but something was missing… the cast members were overworked… genie + was a silly tool… and well it’s become a you get what you pay for place. Not all shows are up and running and well it’s expensive, but I guess it always had been. My family and I made some memories, were thrilled to hug a character or two and indulged in our share of Mickey Bars! I just want to say remember this time around things are different….. and understandably so. Go with a “ pancho” attitude… what I mean is you can be one of those people who say “shoot it’s raining at Disney!! Hurry up put your pancho on so you don’t get drenched. “ or you can be a “ Yay!! It’s raining at Disney, let’s get some fun pictures and ride the rides!!” It’s all about attitude and I am hoping yours this time around will be full of pixie dust!! Have fun!


----------



## john7994

eeudj said:


> I am sitting here in the airport with some extra time so I thought I would post about my family of four experience, my husband, 2 young adult kids and me. We love Disney!! We love staying on property, rope dropping and the rides, all of them yes … we even loved Stitch  lol we were sooooo excited to celebrate the 50th. But I just say something was missing this time around. Don’t get me wrong I understand we are still in a pandemic and trying to get back to a normal … *but something was missing… the cast members were overworked… *genie + was a silly tool… and well it’s become a you get what you pay for place. Not all shows are up and running and well it’s expensive, but I guess it always had been. My family and I made some memories, were thrilled to hug a character or two and indulged in our share of Mickey Bars! I just want to say remember this time around things are different….. and understandably so. Go with a “ pancho” attitude… what I mean is you can be one of those people who say “shoot it’s raining at Disney!! Hurry up put your pancho on so you don’t get drenched. “ or you can be a “ Yay!! It’s raining at Disney, let’s get some fun pictures and ride the rides!!” It’s all about attitude and I am hoping yours this time around will be full of pixie dust!! Have fun!


We just got back as well this week, and totally agree - some of the CMs we interreacted with really were standouts and others were just huddled around talking about "work" as we observed. This never used to be the case in past visits. Further on this, we noticed some places staffed up nicely and others just missing - mostly at the resorts. The CMs are the magic of Disney and should be the focus going forward in order to continue the legacy of what made it unique in the first place.


----------



## joy13

hunter1722 said:


> I just go back a couple weeks ago (4/23-27) and have always been an avid rope dropper.  With G+ and ILL you absolutely do not need to do this anymore.  Not knowing how it would go, still rope dropped MK and rode PP, Space MT, Pooh, BTMT, HM twice, Pirates (G+), Dumbo, Mermaid... Genie+ stacked in evening for another PP, Pooh, HM, BTMT, JC.  I could have gotten Space MT and ILL Dwarfs but didn't.  Another night I stacked Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Soarin, Frozen, and ILL Remy all from 4-830p.  I am so excited I can sleep in on trips now!  Morning humidity in the parks is the worst!


We just finished up our Disney days - 6 park days and we didn’t rope drop once.  I didn’t miss that throng of people fighting to be first at all.  G+ made that possible.


----------



## eksmama01

joy13 said:


> We just finished up our Disney days - 6 park days and we didn’t rope drop once.  I didn’t miss that throng of people fighting to be first at all.  G+ made that possible.


Same here. Stacking afternoons and evenings plus ILLs allowed us to do everything we wanted. We did not even need to stay for the extra evening hours.

We thought the CMs were either really awesome or the worst we have encountered. Not much in between. Same with the food.

Worst part was we all started feeling bad at the end and tested positive the day after we got home. 2nd time for all of us.


----------



## JFox

This morning on Main Street I came face to face with the worst villain ever.  More sinister than Cruella, The Evil Queen or Frollo...My EX-Mother In Law.  She was just as surprised to see me.


----------



## CampbellzSoup

I think a lot of magic to be found in these parts it’s just you have to do a little bit more digging to find it!!

Also not being stung or not feeling the buyers remorse of spending so much for less has really Alleviated some of that anxiety…for me not staying on property or shelling out for mediocre food has done wonders with my relationship with disney.  

It’s cheesy but the magic is in the memories with your family.


----------



## mickey916

We just returned from our 10 day trip and had a very busy but awesome time. We accomplished a lot through using Genie+ but it did add a stress level to the trip, especially for me as I was managing it for our group of 4-8 people depending on the day. I was always worried about missing something on our schedule. It actually would be helpful if the system had push notification reminders when your ride window opened and your next booking time was available. At Hollywood Studios I messed up and forgot about the 120 minute rule and missed an opportunity to book something as I was waiting for our RNRC timeslot. It's definitely a lot to keep track of especially while trying to enjoy your time with others.

That being said, it was really the only negative. We found the parks to be clean, Cast Members friendly, other guests were overall pleasant and respectful. Food was very good. Mobile order worked extremely well. We were able to accomplish everything we wanted to experience by rope dropping and using Genie+. I was fortunate to get an AP preview for Guardians. It was incredible...I call it Space Mountain on steroids...

We also spent two days at Universal. While the theming is great and we enjoy the thrill rides, I still am a Disney-girl at heart. We got tired of the motion simulators at Universal (and we will never do Forbidden Journey ever again, ugh). Also there are certain things that just work better at Disney. Here's just two examples: I rented lockers at Disney & Universal. At Disney I followed the instructions and got a locker. At Universal I followed the instructions on a kiosk (three times) and couldn't get it to work, had to summon help and the Team Member said "oh yeah, those kiosks don't work, you can only do it at these kiosks, I wish they had a sign". Also we mobile ordered at Disney, clicked I'm here and picked up our food (several times). At Universal we mobile ordered and received a message saying to wait and they will notify us when our order is ready. We waited forty minutes and finally went up to the counter and were told, "Oh yeah, we don't notify you, you just have to come up and ask if it's ready and then we get it."...the only two areas Universal wins over Disney is Universal Express Pass versus Genie+ and no park reservations IMHO.

Overall had a great trip and am so very grateful to finally take the trip I started planning in 2019!


----------



## boxer

Just back from a great 10-day trip!!!  Here is what I found on my first time using Genie+ and Early Entry:

*We only got Genie Plus 3-days out of the total trip--and utilized Early Morning Hours pretty much every day

*Genie+ worked much better than I thought--but then again we have the typical AP/DVC style touring style--since we are in no rush to see 'everything' in one day (Morning tour--rest in afternoon--and return touring in evening).  I found it worked best for us when I used it for one/two attractions in the morning (say at Epcot), then started loading up my evening rides all throughout the day.  When used in conjunction with Early Morning Hours, it was really valuable.  

*Early Morning Hours are MUST do...with or without Genie+.  Didn't enjoy waking up a 6AM on vacation, but this allowed us a few hours touring in the morning, then return to the hotel at lunch for nap/swim

*DHS at evening is the way to go!!  Got all our attractions in using Genie+ (stacked from earlier in the day), and then even got on Rise in Standby line with only about a 15-min wait.  We tried Rise the one day at Early Entry, and by the time we got back there, it was already 60-min.  Riding right before Park Close is the way to go!  

*No way I would use the Genie+ at Epcot for a full day.  We used it one time in the morning for TT--then Standby lined the rest.  Didn't wait much longer than 15min for everything else.  

*EMH nighttime was awesome!!!  Much better than the old EMH Night Hours

*O'hana was NOT worth the $350 I paid (or near as good as it was a few years ago).  Service was pretty rough, and it is just not worth the money we paid.  We all agreed with in terms of a Buffet/Family Style, that CP and Liberty Tree were better (and cheaper)

*LOVED Steakhouse 71!!!  That and Narcoossee's were best meals by far

Let me know if you have any questions.  Crowd level (I thought anyhow) was awesome, and weather was just as great!


----------



## Feberin

We just got back from 6 park days using Genie+ every day.  We rode pretty much everything and I actually really loved it.  We rope dropped 4 days and it worked great.  Longest line of the entire trip was meeting Anna and Elsa.  We bought ILL for Rise, 7 Dwarfs and FOP.  Rope dropped Remy with a very short wait.  We got at least 5 genie+ reservations each day.  Some weren't really necessary but we definitely saved a few hours each day.


----------



## mickey916

boxer said:


> Just back from a great 10-day trip!!!  Here is what I found on my first time using Genie+ and Early Entry:
> 
> *We only got Genie Plus 3-days out of the total trip--and utilized Early Morning Hours pretty much every day
> 
> *Genie+ worked much better than I thought--but then again we have the typical AP/DVC style touring style--since we are in no rush to see 'everything' in one day (Morning tour--rest in afternoon--and return touring in evening).  I found it worked best for us when I used it for one/two attractions in the morning (say at Epcot), then started loading up my evening rides all throughout the day.  When used in conjunction with Early Morning Hours, it was really valuable.
> 
> *Early Morning Hours are MUST do...with or without Genie+.  Didn't enjoy waking up a 6AM on vacation, but this allowed us a few hours touring in the morning, then return to the hotel at lunch for nap/swim
> 
> *DHS at evening is the way to go!!  Got all our attractions in using Genie+ (stacked from earlier in the day), and then even got on Rise in Standby line with only about a 15-min wait.  We tried Rise the one day at Early Entry, and by the time we got back there, it was already 60-min.  Riding right before Park Close is the way to go!
> 
> *No way I would use the Genie+ at Epcot for a full day.  We used it one time in the morning for TT--then Standby lined the rest.  Didn't wait much longer than 15min for everything else.
> 
> *EMH nighttime was awesome!!!  Much better than the old EMH Night HoursC
> 
> *O'hana was NOT worth the $350 I paid (or near as good as it was a few years ago).  Service was pretty rough, and it is just not worth the money we paid.  We all agreed with in terms of a Buffet/Family Style, that CP and Liberty Tree were better (and cheaper)
> 
> *LOVED Steakhouse 71!!!  That and Narcoossee's were best meals by far
> 
> Let me know if you have any questions.  Crowd level (I thought anyhow) was awesome, and weather was just as great!


Interesting. Was there the same time. Our experience at 'Ohana was completely different. It was our favorite meal of the week and our service was excellent. So funny how it can differ even in the same week. We did Liberty Tree and found it wasn't as good as when we had it in April but still good. 

I agree about crowds and weather...both were really good (and both way better than our April trip as well)


----------



## boxer

mickey916 said:


> Interesting. Was there the same time. Our experience at 'Ohana was completely different. It was our favorite meal of the week and our service was excellent. So funny how it can differ even in the same week. We did Liberty Tree and found it wasn't as good as when we had it in April but still good.
> 
> I agree about crowds and weather...both were really good (and both way better than our April trip as well)



In fairness, I was expecting O'hana '2017' and should have researched the recent changes.  But, still doesn't excuse the dry/overcooked steak, and lack of dipping sauces on this trip.  We basically paid $350 to eat wings and pot stickers, lol


----------



## mickey916

boxer said:


> In fairness, I was expecting O'hana '2017' and should have researched the recent changes.  But, still doesn't excuse the dry/overcooked steak, and lack of dipping sauces on this trip.  We basically paid $350 to eat wings and pot stickers, lol


we hadn't been since Ohana 2010 and it was markedly better than that trip...my family prefers dry/overcooked steak...lol (although we felt it was the weakest part of the meal). We loved the chicken thighs, shrimp, wings, noodles and pot stickers the most. When we went in 2010 we had turkey on a skewer that smelled really bad and my kids thought it was "rhino meat"...when I booked it for this trip they asked if they still had "rhino meat"....so this trip was definitely better...


----------



## boxer

mickey916 said:


> we hadn't been since Ohana 2010 and it was markedly better than that trip...my family prefers dry/overcooked steak...lol (although we felt it was the weakest part of the meal). We loved the chicken thighs, shrimp, wings, noodles and pot stickers the most. When we went in 2010 we had turkey on a skewer that smelled really bad and my kids thought it was "rhino meat"...when I booked it for this trip they asked if they still had "rhino meat"....so this trip was definitely better...


Rhino Meat, lol.


----------



## NavyDad

pigletto said:


> I can not even tell you what these positive reviews are doing for me. We are set to arrive on Saturday after 2.5 years of lockdowns and uncertainty. I really really want to enjoy this trip.
> 
> And though we have always been diehard rope droppers  I am loving the idea of some time to sleep in and poke around for the day. Not having to be up and headed to a park every morning would be a lot more relaxing!


Please let us know how things are going.


----------



## NavyDad

boxer said:


> In fairness, I was expecting O'hana '2017' and should have researched the recent changes.  But, still doesn't excuse the dry/overcooked steak, and lack of dipping sauces on this trip.  We basically paid $350 to eat wings and pot stickers, lol


DW and I snagged a last minute ADR at Kona last month. We got the wings and potstickers and each had an alcoholic drink and our bill was like $40. Love that place!


----------



## pigletto

NavyDad said:


> Please let us know how things are going.


Having a fabulous time. My biggest complaint would be the heat but that’s to be expected. We rode everything we wanted at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios the last two days. 
The magic is still here. We have no complaints


----------



## Mackenzie Click-Mickelson

NavyDad said:


> DW and I snagged a last minute ADR at Kona last month. We got the wings and potstickers and each had an alcoholic drink and our bill was like $40. Love that place!


We literally were in MK on our trip a few weeks back thinking between Kona Cafe (which had a time like 45mins from then) and Grand Floridian Cafe (like 20mins from then) we ended up going with QS at Poly for a less time commitment. There was also BOG available for like an hour later but that was quickly removed from thought the cost was just too much lol.


----------



## DisneyFive

Mackenzie Click-Mickelson said:


> We literally were in MK on our trip a few weeks back thinking between Kona Cafe (which had a time like 45mins from then) and Grand Floridian Cafe (like 20mins from then) we ended up going with QS at Poly for a less time commitment. There was also BOG available for like an hour later but that was quickly removed from thought the cost was just too much lol.


Yeah that's always the struggle for us too...  How much time do we want to commit to a meal versus the quality of the experience?  

We typically do one TS each day and one QS, but those TS can take _TIME_.  Lately we've tried to time our TS for lunch, as we are leaving the park anyway for rest/relaxation at the resort (we take the afternoon off every day now)

Time is finite and precious at WDW.  Leaving the park to have a good TS can be a tough decision and it boxes you into a set time to eat.  Sometimes I think that we should just do QS for all our meals due to time and flexibility but we just enjoy or TS experiences too much.  It's a key part of our vacation.

Dan


----------



## NavyDad

Mackenzie Click-Mickelson said:


> We literally were in MK on our trip a few weeks back thinking between Kona Cafe (which had a time like 45mins from then) and Grand Floridian Cafe (like 20mins from then) we ended up going with QS at Poly for a less time commitment. There was also BOG available for like an hour later but that was quickly removed from thought the cost was just too much lol.


Grand Floridian Cafe is another favorite of ours. When we stayed at the GF I think we ate at the Cafe for a late lunch 3 times. We found the food to be pretty darn good and way less expensive than some of the high end places at the deluxe resorts.


----------



## Mackenzie Click-Mickelson

NavyDad said:


> Grand Floridian Cafe is another favorite of ours. When we stayed at the GF I think we ate at the Cafe for a late lunch 3 times. We found the food to be pretty darn good and way less expensive than some of the high end places at the deluxe resorts.


I almost picked that too! the chicken and waffle sounded sooo good (it would have been lunch).

With Kona and Grand Floridian they at least would have been just a monorail hop away. It was nice just to get out of the hustle and bustle of MK for a moment and with the monorail resorts you're not taking yourself _too_ far away. I think that's why in the end we settled on QS at Poly for that particular moment for a timing thing but I'm keeping a running tab of ideas lol.

We also stopped by Riviera for some coffee on one of our Epcot days, took the skyliner over, got some from Le Petit Cafe and sat in the lobby charging our phones (some of their couches have a charging port right there) and just enjoying the ambience. We would have sat outside right by the lobby but the chairs were taken. That was at least a refreshing but quick enough time. We didn't get any of the food at Le Petit Cafe but it sure looked good. I actually was trying to find a way to make it work to go back to Riviera but it just didn't seem to fit, but I'd do that again.


----------



## NavyDad

DisneyFive said:


> Yeah that's always the struggle for us too...  How much time do we want to commit to a meal versus the quality of the experience?
> 
> We typically do one TS each day and one QS, but those TS can take _TIME_.  Lately we've tried to time our TS for lunch, as we are leaving the park anyway for rest/relaxation at the resort (we take the afternoon off every day now)
> 
> Time is finite and precious at WDW.  Leaving the park to have a good TS can be a tough decision and it boxes you into a set time to eat.  Sometimes I think that we should just do QS for all our meals due to time and flexibility but we just enjoy or TS experiences too much.  It's a key part of our vacation.
> 
> Dan


Our first 2-3 trips to WDW, our kids were younger and we were with extended family. We did 2 TS meals per day and we found them to be a great way to relax, get out of the heat and just reconnect with everyone in the family. The kids were big into meeting all of the characters so doing character meals was great interaction for them. 

I was someone who absolutely would not do a WDW vacation without a full stale of ADR's for years. One trip, my wife was just not feeling well and told me she didn't feel like eating a bunch of big meals. I cancelled all of our ADR's for the week and we just did food on the fly. I think there was a festival at Epcot so we did a lot of small portions at the carts. It kind of opened up a lot of new options for us. 

Flash forward 10 years and our kids either don't go with us anymore or if they do they want to be off doing their own thing. My wife and I usually schedule 1 or 2 nice TS meals per trip. We do a lot more QS meals now which gives us flexibility and has opened our eyes to a lot of cool little places we never would have tried. We also like to frequent the different lounges where we can sample the menu and get a couple of drinks. We are not open to close commandos anymore either so it's nice to have the freedom to kind of just come and go. One day at MK we decided to hop on the water taxi over to Wilderness Lodge and grabbed a fantastic lunch at their QS location and got to explore the resort which was pretty empty at lunch time. 

Now that all the kids have grown up and flown the nest, we are planning another large extended family trip next year. I do think we will try to schedule one ADR per day or every other day so we can use that time to connect and touch base. Our kids and our nephews may be bringing their significant others with them so we are looking forward to showing them some of our family favorites from over the years. 

That's one of the great things about a WDW vacation - lots of ways to have fun for all ages and all of the different seasons in your life.


----------



## NavyDad

Mackenzie Click-Mickelson said:


> I almost picked that too! the chicken and waffle sounded sooo good (it would have been lunch).
> 
> With Kona and Grand Floridian they at least would have been just a monorail hop away. It was nice just to get out of the hustle and bustle of MK for a moment and with the monorail resorts you're not taking yourself _too_ far away. I think that's why in the end we settled on QS at Poly for that particular moment for a timing thing but I'm keeping a running tab of ideas lol.
> 
> We also stopped by Riviera for some coffee on one of our Epcot days, took the skyliner over, got some from Le Petit Cafe and sat in the lobby charging our phones (some of their couches have a charging port right there) and just enjoying the ambience. We would have sat outside right by the lobby but the chairs were taken. That was at least a refreshing but quick enough time. We didn't get any of the food at Le Petit Cafe but it sure looked good. I actually was trying to find a way to make it work to go back to Riviera but it just didn't seem to fit, but I'd do that again.


My wife and daughters loved the chicken and waffles. I remember having some kind of open face turkey sandwich that was amazing. I think I got it all three days LOL. 

DW and I have made it a tradition to visit one resort per trip that we have not visited before to grab a bite to eat and shop. It's a great break in the middle of the day.


----------



## krismom345

About to board flight home now after 4 days 

Highlights~
• great new rides (Remy, Rise!)
• got Genie+ LL times I wanted
• food and CM’s were WAY better than last July trip
• stayed off site at Flamingo Crossing and was pleasantly surprised by room size, free breakfast, free parking… all for 1/4 cost of on site.
• new security lines are simple and quick 
• dropped my son off for the summer DCP and have high hopes it’ll go well. Please be kind to CM’s at QSMK in case they’re mine. 

Lowlights~
• Rain! Cancelled fireworks and left us drenched 2/4 days. I was prepped with ponchos and umbrellas, but they stood no chance.
• too much time on my phone! I had to check myself when I spent the entirely of my Living With the Land ride trying to secure the next Genie+
• my phone alarm would go off altering me to get next one at the worst times
• I think non-Disney t shirts got more attention than the ones I brought. My son wore a Broadway musical T and got so many conversations/compliments it was funny.
(The exception here is the group of moms (?) at EPCOT wearing “Drunk Wives Matter” shirts.  On what planet is that a good idea for a theme park? Or anywhere.

All in all it was a successful few days. Not gonna lie, it’s >CROWDED< and was way hotter than I thought May would be… remember to pack your patience!


----------



## JollyHoliday052

krismom345 said:


> About to board flight home now after 4 days
> 
> Highlights~
> • great new rides (Remy, Rise!)
> • got Genie+ LL times I wanted
> • food and CM’s were WAY better than last July trip
> • stayed off site at Flamingo Crossing and was pleasantly surprised by room size, free breakfast, free parking… all for 1/4 cost of on site.
> • new security lines are simple and quick
> • dropped my son off for the summer DCP and have high hopes it’ll go well. Please be kind to CM’s at QSMK in case they’re mine.
> 
> Lowlights~
> • Rain! Cancelled fireworks and left us drenched 2/4 days. I was prepped with ponchos and umbrellas, but they stood no chance.
> • too much time on my phone! I had to check myself when I spent the entirely of my Living With the Land ride trying to secure the next Genie+
> • my phone alarm would go off altering me to get next one at the worst times
> • I think non-Disney t shirts got more attention than the ones I brought. My son wore a Broadway musical T and got so many conversations/compliments it was funny.
> (The exception here is the group of moms (?) at EPCOT wearing “Drunk Wives Matter” shirts.  On what planet is that a good idea for a theme park? Or anywhere.
> 
> All in all it was a successful few days. Not gonna lie, it’s >CROWDED< and was way hotter than I thought May would be… remember to pack your patience!



I'm staying off site for my next Disney vacation...did staying off site put you at a disadvantage, (with rides and wait times) as opposed to staying onsite? I'm planning on purchasing Genie+ for some park days. We're going at the end of the summer, beginning of the fall season for Disney. I'm hoping that the crowds will subside by then. Congratulations to your son on the DCP!


----------



## flipflopmom

krismom345 said:


> About to board flight home now after 4 days
> • dropped my son off for the summer DCP and have high hopes it’ll go well. Please be kind to CM’s at QSMK in case they’re mine.


Congrats to your son! My DD did DCP in 2019 and it is still the highlight of her life! (Although my post would have called that a low point, I sobbed so hard saying goodbye my younger daughter said “Mom, it’s okay. She’s not dead or gonna die and you still have me.”


----------



## krismom345

JollyHoliday052 said:


> I'm staying off site for my next Disney vacation...did staying off site put you at a disadvantage, (with rides and wait times) as opposed to staying onsite? I'm planning on purchasing Genie+ for some park days. We're going at the end of the summer, beginning of the fall season for Disney. I'm hoping that the crowds will subside by then. Congratulations to your son on the DCP!


I think being mid week and mid May helped- but we got everything we wanted and didn’t enter til regular park opening!


----------



## William B

JollyHoliday052 said:


> I'm staying off site for my next Disney vacation...did staying off site put you at a disadvantage, (with rides and wait times) as opposed to staying onsite? I'm planning on purchasing Genie+ for some park days. We're going at the end of the summer, beginning of the fall season for Disney. I'm hoping that the crowds will subside by then. Congratulations to your son on the DCP!


I think the biggest disadvantage will be in purchasing Rise of the Resistance ILL.  It is usually sold out before off site people have the chance to purchase since they have to wait until park opening and on site guests get to purchase at 7 am.


----------



## scrappinginontario

William B said:


> I think the biggest disadvantage will be in purchasing Rise of the Resistance ILL.  It is usually sold out before off site people have the chance to purchase since they have to wait until park opening and on site guests get to purchase at 7 am.


Yes, and I believe Guardians will be exactly the same way and sold out before offsite guests are eligible to purchase.


----------



## Meglen

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, and I believe Guardians will be exactly the same way and sold out before offsite guests are eligible to purchase.


But they will have the 1pm vq chance atleast


----------



## William B

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, and I believe Guardians will be exactly the same way and sold out before offsite guests are eligible to purchase.


Off site will be able to try for the virtual queue at 7am and 1pm right?  It is only the ILL they could not get at 7am.


----------



## CarolynFH

William B said:


> Off site will be able to try for the virtual queue at 7am and 1pm right?  It is only the ILL they could not get at 7am.


Right, offsite who have a park reservation for Epcot will be able to try for a VQ spot at 7:00 AM and again at 1:00 PM (if they've entered the park by then).


----------



## joy13

krismom345 said:


> About to board flight home now after 4 days
> 
> Highlights~
> • great new rides (Remy, Rise!)
> • got Genie+ LL times I wanted
> • food and CM’s were WAY better than last July trip
> • stayed off site at Flamingo Crossing and was pleasantly surprised by room size, free breakfast, free parking… all for 1/4 cost of on site.
> • new security lines are simple and quick
> • dropped my son off for the summer DCP and have high hopes it’ll go well. Please be kind to CM’s at QSMK in case they’re mine.
> 
> Lowlights~
> • Rain! Cancelled fireworks and left us drenched 2/4 days. I was prepped with ponchos and umbrellas, but they stood no chance.
> • too much time on my phone! I had to check myself when I spent the entirely of my Living With the Land ride trying to secure the next Genie+
> • my phone alarm would go off altering me to get next one at the worst times
> • I think non-Disney t shirts got more attention than the ones I brought. My son wore a Broadway musical T and got so many conversations/compliments it was funny.
> (The exception here is the group of moms (?) at EPCOT wearing “Drunk Wives Matter” shirts.  On what planet is that a good idea for a theme park? Or anywhere.
> 
> All in all it was a successful few days. Not gonna lie, it’s >CROWDED< and was way hotter than I thought May would be… remember to pack your patience!


Yes on the security lines!  So much better than the bag checks.  Getting into the parks was a breeze.


----------



## Meglen

With the new AP rule about showing your AP ticket in the MDE window.. anyone know if a photo of the ticket will be good enough? It will have the exp date. And look just like the MDE screen but I'm worried the app will fail or be slow and I won't get my discount. A photo will just be easier.


----------



## amy1115

Can anyone tell me what time the MK Express Monorail and the Ferry Boats begin running in the mornings. I've found some conflicting info so want to make sure how it's being done right now. 
We'll be there on Sunday.


----------



## jwolfpack

Here now! Time to pay it forward after months of scouring these boards for tips!

Family of 5 with kids aged 8+ | Yacht Club | 6 nights | Genie+ all days | Traveling with another family of 5, not linked on MDE | We hate lines >30 min!

Day 1 - Sun, May 29 - MK hopping to EP with midday break - Memorial Day weekend, very crowded!

7:00 am - from resort bus stop, used 3 phones logged in to same MDE to book $ILL Guardians for 7:05-8:05 pm (no time shift), $ILL SDMT for 2:15-3:15 (shifted by 15 min), and LL for Splash 9:15-10:15 - the other family booked the same and we had no trouble getting all to overlap

7:35 - boarded first MK bus leaving Yacht Club for 8:30 EE, crowds were big already at MK when we arrived
8:30 - rope dropped SDMT (took 25 min)
9:00 - planned to rope drop BTMRR when full park opened, but it was down, so rode Haunted Mansion instead (walk-on)
9:20 - Pirates (35 min posted, 15 min actual)
10:05 - Splash LL - booked next LL for 3 on Space for 2:30-3:30 and 2 on Buzz for 11:10-12:10 (because of differing interests)
10:45 - Tea Cups (15 min) - split up after so 2 with early LL could redeem
11:10 - Buzz LL - booked next LL for 2 on Speedway 12:00-1:00
11:35 - Carousel of Progress (walk-on)
12:05 - Speedway LL - all 5 of us became eligible to book next LL because group of 2 tapped in and it had been 2 hours since group of 3 booked, booked Small World for 1:45-2:45 as it had best return window with ADR and afternoon plans
12:35 - Crystal Palace lunch
~1:30 - Small World LL converted to Multiple Experience pass beginning at 1:45 because ride went down
1:55 - Used Multiple Experience passes to ride Splash and BTMRR (our group split due to interests), booked next LL for Soarin' for 6:30-7:30 pm
2:15 - SDMT $ILL converted to Anytime pass valid for the day because ride went down; since we were leaving MK soon, we went to blue tent and they moved the pass to a different day of our trip (to be used anytime that day)
2:45 - Space LL
3:15 - left park for break
3:55 - from room, checked Epcot availability and saw nothing we were interested in had a late enough return window for our evening plans. I noticed Living with Land was down with a 4:10 return time, so I booked it hoping that it would convert to a Multiple Experience pass.
4:05 - It worked! Living with the Land LL still down, so got the Multiple Experience AND our booking eligibility reopened. Noticed Spaceship Earth was down with a 4:50 return time, so I tried the same thing again.
4:50 - It worked again! Now I had 2 Multiple Experience pass AND our booking eligibility reopened. Living with the Land still down with a 5:10 return, so I tried again. Living with the Land did come back up a few minutes later, so this didn't work, but I lost nothing in trying for it.

We have spent a couple of hours in the pool and resting, and we'll be off to Epcot shortly with Soarin LL for 6:30-7:30, Guardians $ILL for 7:05-8:05, and 2 Multiple Experience passes we can use to catch some of the lower tier rides like Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, etc.

All in all, a great first day despite rides going down! I applied so much of what I learned reading here these last few months, and we never waited more than 30 minutes even on a very busy day!


----------



## DisneySyd

jwolfpack said:


> Here now! Time to pay it forward after months of scouring these boards for tips!
> 
> Family of 5 with kids aged 8+ | Yacht Club | 6 nights | Genie+ all days | Traveling with another family of 5, not linked on MDE | We hate lines >30 min!
> 
> Day 1 - Sun, May 29 - MK hopping to EP with midday break - Memorial Day weekend, very crowded!
> 
> 7:00 am - from resort bus stop, used 3 phones logged in to same MDE to book $ILL Guardians for 7:05-8:05 pm (no time shift), $ILL SDMT for 2:15-3:15 (shifted by 15 min), and LL for Splash 9:15-10:15 - the other family booked the same and we had no trouble getting all to overlap
> 
> 7:35 - boarded first MK bus leaving Yacht Club for 8:30 EE, crowds were big already at MK when we arrived
> 8:30 - rope dropped SDMT (took 25 min)
> 9:00 - planned to rope drop BTMRR when full park opened, but it was down, so rode Haunted Mansion instead (walk-on)
> 9:20 - Pirates (35 min posted, 15 min actual)
> 10:05 - Splash LL - booked next LL for 3 on Space for 2:30-3:30 and 2 on Buzz for 11:10-12:10 (because of differing interests)
> 10:45 - Tea Cups (15 min) - split up after so 2 with early LL could redeem
> 11:10 - Buzz LL - booked next LL for 2 on Speedway 12:00-1:00
> 11:35 - Carousel of Progress (walk-on)
> 12:05 - Speedway LL - all 5 of us became eligible to book next LL because group of 2 tapped in and it had been 2 hours since group of 3 booked, booked Small World for 1:45-2:45 as it had best return window with ADR and afternoon plans
> 12:35 - Crystal Palace lunch
> ~1:30 - Small World LL converted to Multiple Experience pass beginning at 1:45 because ride went down
> 1:55 - Used Multiple Experience passes to ride Splash and BTMRR (our group split due to interests), booked next LL for Soarin' for 6:30-7:30 pm
> 2:15 - SDMT $ILL converted to Anytime pass valid for the day because ride went down; since we were leaving MK soon, we went to blue tent and they moved the pass to a different day of our trip (to be used anytime that day)
> 2:45 - Space LL
> 3:15 - left park for break
> 3:55 - from room, checked Epcot availability and saw nothing we were interested in had a late enough return window for our evening plans. I noticed Living with Land was down with a 4:10 return time, so I booked it hoping that it would convert to a Multiple Experience pass.
> 4:05 - It worked! Living with the Land LL still down, so got the Multiple Experience AND our booking eligibility reopened. Noticed Spaceship Earth was down with a 4:50 return time, so I tried the same thing again.
> 4:50 - It worked again! Now I had 2 Multiple Experience pass AND our booking eligibility reopened. Living with the Land still down with a 5:10 return, so I tried again. Living with the Land did come back up a few minutes later, so this didn't work, but I lost nothing in trying for it.
> 
> We have spent a couple of hours in the pool and resting, and we'll be off to Epcot shortly with Soarin LL for 6:30-7:30, Guardians $ILL for 7:05-8:05, and 2 Multiple Experience passes we can use to catch some of the lower tier rides like Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, etc.
> 
> All in all, a great first day despite rides going down! I applied so much of what I learned reading here these last few months, and we never waited more than 30 minutes even on a very busy day!


Sounds like a wonderful day! Thanks for paying it forward


----------



## erinch

Great report! We will be in MK one week from today!


----------



## daisylovesdisney

jwolfpack said:


> Here now! Time to pay it forward after months of scouring these boards for tips!
> 
> Family of 5 with kids aged 8+ | Yacht Club | 6 nights | Genie+ all days | Traveling with another family of 5, not linked on MDE | We hate lines >30 min!
> 
> Day 1 - Sun, May 29 - MK hopping to EP with midday break - Memorial Day weekend, very crowded!
> 
> 7:00 am - from resort bus stop, used 3 phones logged in to same MDE to book $ILL Guardians for 7:05-8:05 pm (no time shift), $ILL SDMT for 2:15-3:15 (shifted by 15 min), and LL for Splash 9:15-10:15 - the other family booked the same and we had no trouble getting all to overlap
> 
> 7:35 - boarded first MK bus leaving Yacht Club for 8:30 EE, crowds were big already at MK when we arrived
> 8:30 - rope dropped SDMT (took 25 min)
> 9:00 - planned to rope drop BTMRR when full park opened, but it was down, so rode Haunted Mansion instead (walk-on)
> 9:20 - Pirates (35 min posted, 15 min actual)
> 10:05 - Splash LL - booked next LL for 3 on Space for 2:30-3:30 and 2 on Buzz for 11:10-12:10 (because of differing interests)
> 10:45 - Tea Cups (15 min) - split up after so 2 with early LL could redeem
> 11:10 - Buzz LL - booked next LL for 2 on Speedway 12:00-1:00
> 11:35 - Carousel of Progress (walk-on)
> 12:05 - Speedway LL - all 5 of us became eligible to book next LL because group of 2 tapped in and it had been 2 hours since group of 3 booked, booked Small World for 1:45-2:45 as it had best return window with ADR and afternoon plans
> 12:35 - Crystal Palace lunch
> ~1:30 - Small World LL converted to Multiple Experience pass beginning at 1:45 because ride went down
> 1:55 - Used Multiple Experience passes to ride Splash and BTMRR (our group split due to interests), booked next LL for Soarin' for 6:30-7:30 pm
> 2:15 - SDMT $ILL converted to Anytime pass valid for the day because ride went down; since we were leaving MK soon, we went to blue tent and they moved the pass to a different day of our trip (to be used anytime that day)
> 2:45 - Space LL
> 3:15 - left park for break
> 3:55 - from room, checked Epcot availability and saw nothing we were interested in had a late enough return window for our evening plans. I noticed Living with Land was down with a 4:10 return time, so I booked it hoping that it would convert to a Multiple Experience pass.
> 4:05 - It worked! Living with the Land LL still down, so got the Multiple Experience AND our booking eligibility reopened. Noticed Spaceship Earth was down with a 4:50 return time, so I tried the same thing again.
> 4:50 - It worked again! Now I had 2 Multiple Experience pass AND our booking eligibility reopened. Living with the Land still down with a 5:10 return, so I tried again. Living with the Land did come back up a few minutes later, so this didn't work, but I lost nothing in trying for it.
> 
> We have spent a couple of hours in the pool and resting, and we'll be off to Epcot shortly with Soarin LL for 6:30-7:30, Guardians $ILL for 7:05-8:05, and 2 Multiple Experience passes we can use to catch some of the lower tier rides like Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, etc.
> 
> All in all, a great first day despite rides going down! I applied so much of what I learned reading here these last few months, and we never waited more than 30 minutes even on a very busy day!



Sounds like a great day!  Can a multiple experience pass be used for TT or FEA in Epcot?


----------



## jwolfpack

daisylovesdisney said:


> Sounds like a great day!  Can a multiple experience pass be used for TT or FEA in Epcot?


No, it was only valid for the lower tier rides like Mission Space, Spaceship Earth, Figment, Living with Land, etc. 

Test Track, Soarin', Remy, FEA were all excluded.


----------



## Sanwich

Just back from a May 22-28 trip. Going to try a not-too-long summary... this is from the perspective of people who have been many times to Disney, many times of year, experienced the various incarnations of Fastpass:

*CROWDS:* It was definitely crowded, but not the worst we've seen (for us, the highest crowds we've ever experienced were during Mardi Gras week, pre-COVID). Studios during the day felt the most crowded, most likely because there are fewer "people eater" type attractions.

*WEATHER:* It was very hot (for us--highs around 92). Some days there were some clouds or a breeze, but mostly it was just direct sun beating down. We were fortunate that there wasn't any rain to speak of. Between the crowd patterns and the weather, we've decided that going forward, we're going to try to do parks mostly in the evening when we visit in Summer. In almost every case, ride wait times went down significantly in the evenings.

*GENIE+:* Despite being theoretically well-prepared for the new system, knowing the "tricks," etc... G+ was just an enormous fail for us. If you're in a small, mobile group that is very good about sticking to a plan (and being flexible as that plan changes throughout the day), G+ may work for you. We were traveling with my elderly parents, and ran into several cases where the rigidity of the system was an issue. Example--booked a LL at 7 am for a ride window starting at 11:30. When 11 rolled around, booked a second LL. So far so good. Then... parents realized they wouldn't be able to make it to the first LL (11:30-12:30 time). Cancelled that LL, but couldn't make a replacement booking until 2 hours after the second LL had been booked (1 pm). I realize this is working as intended, but it led to us "losing" our first LL with no replacement. Another issue is that a member of our party has difficulties with walking (but stubbornly refuses to use any kind of aid), so with the old system, we could plan to be in X area at the beginning of the day and minimize the need for backtracking. With G+, you basically have to plan around the time availability windows you are assigned, so we had to backtrack/walk more than before.

*ILL: *We were able to get what we needed for these (even Cosmic Rewind on opening day), that said, there were still issues.

Technical problems: More than once, the app just messed things up. Sometimes we would select a timeframe, that same timeframe would be on the confirmation screen, then we hit "purchase" and suddenly were assigned a totally different time (sometimes even an earlier time). There were also instances where the first purchase attempt would return a "payment method error," then we'd hit it a few more times and suddenly it worked. This second issue caused us to almost lose out on the Cosmic Rewind ILL (we lost our first time slot and had to grab a much later one).
Ride-related scheduling issues: I'm not exaggerating when I say that almost every ILL we purchased (4 total) wound up being turned into an "anytime" pass because the ride was down when our ILL window occurred. This caused more scheduling/walking issues, since we had formulated something of a "plan" and then had to change everything around to accomodate the fact that we couldn't use the ILL during the originally scheduled time. I don't blame them for having technical issues with the rides; it just made the shortcomings of the G+ system even more of a pain point during the trip.
*OVERALL HIGHLIGHTS:*

Almost every cast member we encountered was SO friendly and helpful. It may be due to the fact that we had so many more technical/app issues than usual (so we needed help more than before), but each time we had a problem, the staff was completely understanding and went above and beyond to make it right. We also lost an item during the trip and assumed it was gone forever... then suddenly got a call from one of the resorts, who had managed to piece together our contact info from the item, which a guest had turned in (our name/info wasn't even obvious from the item itself, so props to them for their detective work).
Toppolino's Terrace dinner was excellent in every way.
Cosmic Rewind was awesome and very fun (though even with dramamine I was a bit "off" afterward).
Rise of the Resistance is still good... I think even more effects were working this time vs. our first experience.
The new Cirque show was amazing.

*OVERALL LOWLIGHTS:*

As mentioned above, the Disney app and G+/ILL system just didn't work for us.
Worst food--Docking Bay 7. We couldn't believe how far the quality of the food had declined. It was absolutely wonderful a year ago, but the chicken has been turned into ground-up, overcooked gristle, with no sauce whatsoever, and no more mashed potatoes... just plain rice and undercooked broccoli. We are not picky eaters... we find most food at Disney at least "decent," and I almost NEVER call something "inedible"... but this chicken was darn close.
Despite taking precautions, at least one member of our group returned with COVID. The rest of us are waiting on test results.
Overall, we still had a good time, but it would have been better with one of the older FP systems (for us).


----------



## jwolfpack

Here now! Time to pay it forward after months of scouring these boards for tips! (continued)

Family of 5 with kids aged 8+ | Yacht Club | 6 nights | Genie+ all days | Traveling with another family of 5, not linked on MDE | We hate lines >30 min!

Day 2 - Mon, May 30 - EE at HS hopping to EP for EEH - Memorial Day, very crowded!

6:45 - started walking from Yacht Club to DHS
7:00 - used 2 phones logged in to same MDE to book $ILL ROTR for 8:35-9:35 am (no time shift) & LL for SDD (10:35-11:35) - not successful in getting SDD to overlap with other family
7:30 - tapstiles open, speed walk to ROTR (on by 7:37, off by 8:01)
8:05 - MFSR (5 min wait)
8:30 - TSM (15 min wait) - made it JUST ahead of park opening crowds, off by 8:50 and most attractions showing 50+ min wait
9:05 - ROTR $ILL (posted wait 125 min)
9:30 - not enough time to ride anything standby before SDD LL, so we got snacks and saw Muppets
10:30 - booked TSM for 11:30-12:30 - everything else we were interested in had mid-late afternoon return times and we wanted to leave by 1:00
10:35 - SDD LL
10:45 - Woody's Lunchbox
11:25 - TSM LL, booked Soarin' for 5:55-6:55
12:30 - Droid Depot
12:50 - on boat back to Yacht Club

Break - from room, I cancelled Soarin' LL and rebooked when return time shifted to 7:45-8:45 because this worked better with evening plans (this did reset our booking eligibility. Later booked Mission Space LL for 7:35-8:35 pm, which we did not end up using.

6:00 - joined VQ for Guardians, got boarding group 175 with estimated callback time 10:10 pm
6:35 - dinner at Space 220
8:20 - Soarin' LL
8:45 - Living with Land (walk on)
9:15 - Test Track (35 min)
9:20 - Boarding group called for Guardians! 3 of our 5 wanted to ride, so they bailed on the Test Track Line
10:00 - Met at Guardians exit and swapped bands so that 2 could ride again with bands from the 2 family members who didn't want to
10:40 - Test Track
11:10 - off Test Track and headed out of the park

This was a GREAT day for us riding ROTR 2x and Guardians 2x (for part of our group anyway). It all worked because we prioritized certain goals. At HS, we focused on Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land. In Epcot, we prioritized Soarin, Test Track, and Guardians.


----------



## lilmc

Sanwich said:


> Worst food--Docking Bay 7. We couldn't believe how far the quality of the food had declined. It was absolutely wonderful a year ago, but the chicken has been turned into ground-up, overcooked gristle, with no sauce whatsoever, and no more mashed potatoes... just plain rice and undercooked broccoli. We are not picky eaters... we find most food at Disney at least "decent," and I almost NEVER call something "inedible"... but this chicken was darn close.


So agreed! The original version with herb gravy was great. The new version is a boring abomination.


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## daisylovesdisney

jwolfpack said:


> No, it was only valid for the lower tier rides like Mission Space, Spaceship Earth, Figment, Living with Land, etc.
> 
> Test Track, Soarin', Remy, FEA were all excluded.



Oh that's a bummer, thank you.


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## Erica Ladd

Do you need to be in the park for the 6pm VQ drop?


----------



## scrappinginontario

Erica Ladd said:


> Do you need to be in the park for the 6pm VQ drop?


No but you must be staying at a resort that is qualified for Extended Evening Hours as I believe those are the only people who are eligible for the 6pm drop


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## LittleStinkerbelle

Hi All! Just back from a quick MD weekend trip (arrived Saturday, came home Tuesday) and wanted to share a bit about our experience.

We arrived at the Polynesian around 10:30 a.m. Saturday and our room was ready! This was great news since we'd been up since 1:30 a.m. and really wanted to freshen up.  Drove over to Disney Springs around noon and it was surprisingly crowded! Ate lunch and shopped for a bit - there is so. much. 50th merch!

On Sunday we were up bright and early for early entry at Magic Kingdom. We did purchase Genie+ and got a LL for Jungle Cruise at 7 a.m. - our return window started at 10:10 (time changed from 9 a.m. by the time I confirmed). We loved being able to clear security right at the Polynesian so we could go directly to the entrance once we got off the Monorail. We were let into MK before 8 a.m. and held around where Cheshire Cafe is.  Our priorities were Peter Pan and Small World, and we accomplished both in that half hour. Once we tapped in for Jungle Cruise we booked a LL for Pirates, I think our time was around noon. In between we rode Little Mermaid standby. We went back to the hotel for lunch and an afternoon break so we ended up using the 120 minute rule to book three evening LLs - we were able to get Peter Pan, Space Mountain and Small World. We could've gotten more LLs for later in the night but my fam wasn't interested in what was left.  I should note that Space, Thunder and Splash were all intermittently down during this day so I think that affected the times on the other rides. All in all though, even being a holiday weekend I thought the crowds were less than when we were there last July. One fun thing we did was to ride the Peoplemover during the fireworks - cool views.

On Monday we went to EPCOT and it was pretty busy, which we expected due to the holiday.  At 7 a.m. DH tried for the Guardians virtual queue but was unsuccessful, at the same time I went for an ILL for Remy and was able to book 10 a.m. (could've gotten earlier but we weren't getting to the park until 9ish). We had two more chances at the virtual queue (1 p.m. and 6 p.m. due to extended evening hours) but we thought we might as well buy the ILL so we could have a set time and not worry about it.  I was on the fence about riding so we just bought it for DH and DD - at around 7:15 a.m. we were able to get a 10:30 return time. Loved Remy and my fam was wowed by Guardians (but said it was a good call that I didn't ride!) Our priority for the day was exploring F&GF and eating at the food booths so besides Guardians and Remy, we decided to use the extended evening hours to do a any other rides. We had a mid-afternoon ADR at Space 220 lounge - that was a lot of fun and a perfect break in the day. We went back to our hotel in the late afternoon and drove back to EPCOT around 7 p.m. We did a few more food booths and planned to use the extended hours to ride Soarin', Spaceship Earth and possibly Remy if the line went down enough. I have to say, that ended up being a bust for us.  Wait time for Remy was still posted around 50 minutes after 9 so we decided try later in the night hoping for a shorter wait. Posted wait for Soarin' was 20 minutes around 9:45 and we actually waited a bit longer than that. By the time we got off we lost steam to walk back to Remy. SE was a complete walk on but DD was too tired for it, so not getting on those two were on us.

All in all it was a great trip! Genie+ worked well for us at MK. Even though it was an extra expense to buy the ILLs for our EPCOT day, I liked being able to pick a specific time and be done with checking for the day.  This was the first time in all our trips that we've had a rental car and we loved it! Was so nice at the end of our EPCOT day to hop in the car vs. the line for the Monorail.


----------



## jwolfpack

Here now! Time to pay it forward after months of scouring these boards for tips! (continued)

Family of 5 with kids aged 8+ | Yacht Club | 6 nights | Genie+ all days | Traveling with another family of 5, not linked on MDE | We hate lines >30 min!

Day 3 - Tues, May 31 - sleep in morning, lunch at EP, hopping to AK

7:00 bought $ILL FOP for 4:10-5:10, booked EE LL for 2:00-3:00
9:30 booked Navi LL 2:45-3:45 (planned to get Kali here, but return time was still 2:00-3:00)
11:30 booked Kali LL 3:20-4:20
12:00 lunch in Epcot
1:00 joined Guardians VQ with 4 hr estimated return time
1:30 booked Safari LL for 4:20-5:20
2:00 arrived at AK, used LLs back to back, left park by 5:00 - I'm not a huge AK fan, so this was a great way to manage this park for us
6:15 boarding group called for Guardians, wait time was 1 hour once we entered the queue and even longer when we exited


----------



## Corinne

Headed down on Saturday…is it still recommended to turn WiFi off to join virtual queue?


----------



## Wood Nymph

Corinne said:


> Headed down on Saturday…is it still recommended to turn WiFi off to join virtual queue?


You need to do a speed test to see which one is faster. There can be a significant difference and I've found that most of the times the wifi at the resort is much faster.


----------



## Corinne

Thanks Sue, in the past I never was able to score from the room/WiFi, but was able to in the park with LTE. How exactly would one test the speed?


----------



## lovethattink

Corinne said:


> Headed down on Saturday…is it still recommended to turn WiFi off to join virtual queue?


We had reservations for Epcot on Memorial Day. I was staying offsite for a convention. Close to 7am I got all ready to get a VQ. Went through the steps like I always did for Rise. And an error message popped up about not having valid tickets. There was an edit button. But til I pressed it, it was too late. We have APs and our tickets were valid. Went to GS, the cm looked everything over, went to back room for help, came back out and called IT. She told us everything looked fine, to try again at 1. And to do it this way only:

-Click the 3 lines on MDE an hour before.
-Choose your party
-A refresh button will show up. Use that instead of pulling down. 
-At 12:58, hit that refresh button over and over again. It will change to join at 1pm
-click join

It worked for us! The BG said for 300 minutes, but it took 4 hours. So an hour less than originally thought. 

I wore Sea Bands for motion sickness, and my stomach didn’t feel queasy at all. I promised @scrappinginontario I wouldn’t post any spoilers. But I’m happy to answer any questions about the ride if I’m sent a message.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Corinne said:


> Thanks Sue, in the past I never was able to score from the room/WiFi, but was able to in the park with LTE. How exactly would one test the speed?


Just a note of caution that a speed test does not take into account the number of guests that hop onto the Disney wifi all at the same time to try to get a BG.  You would want to try your speed test very close to 7AM to truly determine Disney WiFi when their network is slammed.

Sorry, I don't have any suggestions re: an app to use but I'm sure others will respond or, you can do a search on the boards as others have discussed it in the past.  I was finally able to use my own data last trip (previously not an option due to being an International guest) and my data worked great and we got everything we wanted.


----------



## Wood Nymph

Corinne said:


> Thanks Sue, in the past I never was able to score from the room/WiFi, but was able to in the park with LTE. How exactly would one test the speed?


Open the browser and type "speed test" or "download speed" into the search. 

We had a room in the Yacht Club that was located right next to one of their cell towers, so the wifi from there was a lot faster than LTE. But location is everything when finding which is fastest.


----------



## cjlong88

lovethattink said:


> We had reservations for Epcot on Memorial Day. I was staying offsite for a convention. Close to 7am I got all ready to get a VQ. Went through the steps like I always did for Rise. And an error message popped up about not having valid tickets. There was an edit button. But til I pressed it, it was too late. We have APs and our tickets were valid. Went to GS, the cm looked everything over, went to back room for help, came back out and called IT. She told us everything looked fine, to try again at 1. And to do it this way only:
> 
> -Click the 3 lines on MDE an hour before.
> -Choose your party
> -A refresh button will show up. Use that instead of pulling down.
> -At 12:58, hit that refresh button over and over again. It will change to join at 1pm
> -click join
> 
> It worked for us! The BG said for 300 minutes, but it took 4 hours. So an hour less than originally thought.
> 
> I wore Sea Bands for motion sickness, and my stomach didn’t feel queasy at all. I promised @scrappinginontario I wouldn’t post any spoilers. But I’m happy to answer any questions about the ride if I’m sent a message.


I just ordered sea bands today! Hoping they work for us.


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

So I am doing the WDW Half in November, which includes after party park admission to EPCOT. Staying on site. Can I buy a ILL for Guardians if I don’t have a “reservation” for EPCOT (I have no idea if that race after party will be added to MDE)

Put another way, can you buy a ILL for a park you don’t have a current reservation for?


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## MainMom

Wood Nymph said:


> You need to do a speed test to see which one is faster. There can be a significant difference and I've found that most of the times the wifi at the resort is much faster.


DD & I have  been using WDW Wi-Fi (hotel and parks) and have had no problems booking G+ or ILL so far. I managed a Guardians VQ this morning on hotel Wi-Fi.


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## serenitynow

May 20-26 2022 Beach Club Villas stay. Great trip, fine weather and with the help of these boards, Genie + worked well for us. 

At 7 am each morning, hubby and son worked their phones, one with ILL and the other with Genie +. They took the first ILL time offered but sometimes refreshed the Genie phone to get a better time. 

Arrived at each park about 90 minutes before rope drop for resort guests. Rode early entry rides first, then usually had the first Genie+ ride scheduled in the 9 am time frame. After scanning our Magic bands at the Genie+ ride, immediately scheduled the next Genie+ ride. Left the original park around noon. 

Returned to room for nap, swim and/or rest until 2pm and park hopped to next park, where Genie+ rides were already stacked. 

Returned to first park during last 2 hours or evening entry period for deluxe guests when available to basically walk on to most rides. Rode favorite rides again till park closed.

Only stood in standby line once. That was for 25 minutes at Ratatouille ride at the end of the evening because the ride kept breaking down. Gave up after 25 minutes to go ride Frozen again. Rode Ratatouille next morning during early entry for park guests.

We had great weather which also helped with ride availability. So only stood in one line for 25 minutes the entire trip and rode everything at least once using ILL and Genie+. Always made sure we had the next Genie+ scheduled after each Genie+ ride was entered. 
Zipped through the lightening lanes at each ride. No complaints.

Parks were crowded but still navigable, even using an ECV. Didn’t do any dessert or fireworks parties. Cast members were friendly and personable. Parks and bathrooms seemed clean.

Even had luck with good luck with bus and boat transportation. Never waited more than 15 minutes for a ride. Now that was totally just luck.

All in all, one of our best trips ever using ILL, Genie+  and the tips picked up here. Thanks to everyone for their advice.


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## jwolfpack

Just back! Time to pay it forward after months of scouring these boards for tips! (last post)

Family of 5 with kids aged 8+ | Yacht Club | 6 nights | Genie+ all days | Traveling with another family of 5, not linked on MDE | We hate lines >30 min!

Day 4 - Wed, June 1 - EE at DHS, break, EEH at MK

6:45 - walked to DHS
7:00 - tried for SDD, but return time shifted past lunch (first time this happened for us all week), settled for TSM because earliest return
7:30 - tapstiles open, reached ROTR entrance by 7:35, entered queue but ride did not start running until 7:55 (this was different than 2 days prior when we were allowed to ride immediately)
8:20 - off ROTR, intended to ride TOT but wait was already 65 min (still during EE!) so rode RNR instead (15 min). Part of my family rode MRSR (walk on) and Alien Saucers (30+ min) during this time instead.
9:30 - TSM LL - after we tapped in there was nothing in DHS with a return time before lunch, so I booked Jungle Cruise for evening
Standby lines were all 65+ min, so we shopped, traded pins, and bought snacks then headed to Indiana Jones by 10:10 (30+ minutes early) - the auditorium was already 3/4 full
10:45 - Indiana Jones - mobile ordered Backlot Express for 11:00-11:30 pickup during show
11:15 - lunch at Backlot Express
12:00 - boat back to Yacht Club
During resort break, I continued to check LL availability in MK for the evening. Splash was our priority since it is not open during EEH. We planned to watch fireworks, so I had to wait for return times to shift to after that. I ended up with Splash 8:50-9:50 pm and Big Thunder 9:20-10:20 pm.
6:35 dinner at Beaches & Cream
8:00 bus to MK
8:30 claimed area on Main Street for fireworks
9:20 fireworks
9:55 Splash LL
10:15 Big Thunder LL
10:40 SDMT $ILL (from prior day when we purchased and ride went down)
11:00 - EEH started - walked on Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Tea Cups, and Small World while crowds died down. Peter Pan, SDMT, and Space stayed at 50+ minute posted wait. Rode speedway ~12:15 and considered leaving until someone told us Space was actually walk-on and NOT the posted 50 min wait. We rode it 5x completely walk-on starting around 12:30
Day 5 - Thurs, June 2 - sleep in, EP lunch, DHS evening

7 am: tried and failed for Guardians VQ, $ILL ROTR 4:00-5:00 pm, SDD LL 5:00-6:00 (3 people), TOT 2:00-3:00 (2 people)
10:30 am - booked MFSR LL 4:20-5:20 pm
12:00 - 2 of us walked to Epcot, other 3 stayed in room
12:30 pm - booked MMRR 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
1:00 pm - joined Guardians VQ (could only book for the 2 of us that had entered Epcot)
1:45 pm - the rest of our group met us at Epcot IG to tap in, then we all exited park and caught skyliner to DHS
2:05 pm - entered DHS, used TOT LL
2:30 pm- booked TSM 7:15-8:15 pm
3:00 Oga's - started using LL stack after this! ROTR, MFSR, SDD, etc..
4:30 pm - booked Star Tours 4:45-5:45 pm
6:00 pm - Sci Fi, took forever to get seated per usual
Key Takeaway:
With Genie+, it is hard to have productive mornings (with short lines) AND leave the parks for a mid-day break. You can essentially get 1 LL selection, 1 EE ride, and 1 standby ride in before most standby lines are 60+ minute waits and LL return times shift to afternoon. Magic Kingdom is really the only park where this is not the case.

We used to have magical (productive!) mornings by combining a good rope drop plan with 3 fast passes booked beginning around 10:30 am, but on this trip, we found that building a stack for the afternoons actually made much more sense.


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## jlstwinmommy

Just back from our trip May 30 - June 4.  My extended family includes my parents, my sister and her family, my family of 5 (which this trip included me, my DS who is 24, my twins who are 18 and a friend of my DD who is 17).  We were there twice during COVID (Jan 2021 and June 2021).  While we still had a GREAT time, I do NOT like Genie+ at all.  Some notes from our trip:

My mother uses disability access as does my sister's daughter.  With Genie+ (and changes to DAS), it is now impossible to ride anything together as a family.  We ended up only spending time with our family at dinner which was disappointing as we all do like to ride some things together.  There was one day where my mother toured with us and she was able to get DAS passes that matched up with our Genie+.  This was in MK.  The other parks - forget it.

We had the issue reported here with not being able to purchase Genie+ before 7am on the day we wanted it.  We were staying at SSR, so I was not in the mood to walk to the Carriage House every morning to get it resolved, so we sucked it up and dealt with it.  It did put us at a huge disadvantage when trying to get good times for the rides we wanted.  I was never able to get Remy at all.  We did ride Remy once at the end of the night with a 45 min wait or so.  The last day (6/4) it finally worked correctly.  

We had good luck getting several Genie+ rides at MK, but the other parks were not great.  I was only able to get 2 rides at HS and EP (didn't try to use it at AK).  After 1pm, the only rides available at HS are Muppets and Star Tours (which don't need Genie+) or sometimes very late rides, but we don't typically stay all day in 1 park and like to hop in the afternoons/evenings.  Even going from HS to EP with Genie+, we had a hard time finding anything at EP except Imagination and the Living Seas.  It was disappointing for sure.

We were able to ride Guardians (amazing ride!! family favorite for sure).  We paid for ILL one day (so we would be sure to get it).  Couldn't get the extended hours VQ (that went FAST), but we did get the VQ on our EP day.  My sister changed her last day reservation to EP to try to ride it again and was successful in getting the VQ that day as well.  She was always the one who got us Rise when it was VQ.  Not sure how she is so quick.    

We rope dropped AK and HS one morning to get FoP and RotR.  FoP we waiting maybe 25 min.  RotR was probably 30 min.  We were not crazy early getting to either park (certainly not in front of the massive crowds), but we were still successful.  By the time we got off FoP, the wait for Navi was 50 min so we went to the Safari.  We ended up waiting for over an hour for that.  In hindsight, I maybe should have sucked it up and gotten Genie+ that day just for the Safari.  That was the longest wait of the trip.  We also rope dropped HS another day to ride ToT.  We didn't get there until a few minutes after 8am, but still only waited about 20min so not terrible.

We utilized single rider for Everest, Smugglers, and Test Track.  Best thing ever.  Love single rider.  One day even walked straight on Test Track with no wait at all.  Never waited more than 5 min using single rider.

Overall, it was a great trip.  My DD friend first trip ever.  She had a great time.  Genie+ definitely changed our touring style a bit, but we still rode most everything we wanted to ride.  I do miss the old FP system (shoot - either FP system - both were better than this disaster).


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## emmabelle

We did a Disney/Universal split last week, 3 nights POFQ and 5 nights RPR.  The weather was great, hot, but not crazy you can't breathe humidity.  We only did one park day at Disney.  I wanted to see F&G, so we ended up buying a one day hopper so we could go to MK at night.  We didn't try to buy Guardians because I was worried that it would be a night time slot. On Saturday 5/28, we ubered to the Dolphin because I knew they wouldn't hassle us.  We were in line at Remi by 7:45am and off by 8:20am.  Our first G+ was for 8:55am for Frozen, rode that, got Soarin for 10:40am while in line at Frozen.  After Frozen before Soarin, we got in single rider for TT - 10 minute wait.  Next it was Club Cool, then Soarin and then I started stacking for the night at MK.  I booked Crystal Palace for dinner and then it was ride time.  During the day I got JC, Space, Thunder, Pirates, I had also bought 7D back at 7am. After dinner it was hot, so I dumped JC and got HM instead.  Finally after we finished our rides I got Winnie.  Could have gotten more "filler rides" but my husband was tired so we left.

I felt like it was crowded but easier to get G+ then it was in February.  Maybe not as many people using it?  Idk, but I feel as though it was a successful day.

We have had AP's for years but let them expire.  I think it's okay now to just to do a day here and there, although it did cost a lot of money when I add it all up.


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## emmabelle

jlstwinmommy said:


> We had the issue reported here with not being able to purchase Genie+ before 7am on the day we wanted it.  We were staying at SSR, so I was not in the mood to walk to the Carriage House every morning to get it resolved, so we sucked it up and dealt with it.  It did put us at a huge disadvantage when trying to get good times for the rides we wanted.  I was never able to get Remy at all.  We did ride Remy once at the end of the night with a 45 min wait or so.  The last day (6/4) it finally worked correctly.



I had that problem too but I just called the IT number and they answered quickly and had it fixed.  I wouldn't want to do that every day though.


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## mickey916

emmabelle said:


> I had that problem too but I just called the IT number and they answered quickly and had it fixed.  I wouldn't want to do that every day though.


I had the same problem and thought the first few days it was because we were linked to my brother's family who had pre-purchased Genie+ (and I have an AP). But then the second half of our vacation, my brother's family no longer had tickets or park reservations so I thought I'd be okay. It would never work. I ended up having to do it in my husband's account that wasn't linked to my brother's family. Odd that it didn't work after they had gone home.


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## emmabelle

mickey916 said:


> I had the same problem and thought the first few days it was because we were linked to my brother's family who had pre-purchased Genie+ (and I have an AP). But then the second half of our vacation, my brother's family no longer had tickets or park reservations so I thought I'd be okay. It would never work. I ended up having to do it in my husband's account that wasn't linked to my brother's family. Odd that it didn't work after they had gone home.


It so much anxiety too when you can't buy it.  I didn't try until 6:30am the day of and when it wouldn't go through I was panicking.  Oh Disney, you make things harder then they have to be.


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## TXDisneyFan1

jlstwinmommy said:


> My mother uses disability access as does my sister's daughter. With Genie+ (and changes to DAS), it is now impossible to ride anything together as a family.



We are using DAS for the first time for our trip in June and I'm curious as to why y'all couldn't schedule rides together? Was it the size of your group?


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## Fitzwoman27

TXDisneyFan1 said:


> We are using DAS for the first time for our trip in June and I'm curious as to why y'all couldn't schedule rides together? Was it the size of your group?


Only allowed 6 in group . We have same problem. Two DAS groups and have to separate


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## jlstwinmommy

TXDisneyFan1 said:


> We are using DAS for the first time for our trip in June and I'm curious as to why y'all couldn't schedule rides together? Was it the size of your group?


It's a combination.  Now the DAS group can't be larger than 6 (we have at least 11 traveling).  While we used to occasionally tag along on my sister's DD DAS when the max party size was 10, the larger issue for me is that with the first iteration of FP, we could all just walk around together and pull the paper FPs together if there was a ride with a time that worked for us.  With FP+, I would be the planner and schedule our 3 FPs together.  Then we always knew we had 3 rides each day together and the occasional DAS pass ride with my sister's family.  (My mom doesn't ride the same rides as she has back issues, but would sometimes use her own DAS pass to ride with us).  

With the current system, everyone would have to buy Genie+ to schedule together (my sister and mom don't need Genie+ if they have DAS).  Even if we all bought Genie+, there are issues with larger parties that make it painful.  With them being able to schedule a ride anytime (essentially), and me having to follow the complicated Genie rules, we only rode 1 ride together and that was the morning we rope dropped RotR.  We ended up splitting apart for the entire day as there weren't a lot of options for us to ride together as a family.  It was very disappointing as we enjoy spending the day touring together.


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## erinch

Here now! We did MK on June 5, AK yesterday on June 6 and Epcot today. Length do stay Genie+ and it is working like a dream so far. Parks very crowded, but we glide through and have waited in now lines. We got to MK at 11 for Crystal palace, at dinner at Ohana and still got all the headliner LLs but Splash which was down. I started stacking at 7. Our only mistake was reentering the park at 9 for Enchantment, or whatever it is called. In our opinion, it s*cked —not helped because we were behind a tree. I was able to get LLs all the way up past 10. Park close at 11. We could have walked on to SDMT at 10:40, but the fam was pooped. 

Genie+ definitely worth it for us at AK. Safari and Navi were both over an hour and Everest was 45. Worth it just for that. I was able to buy FoP as an offsite guest when my window opened, with return time of 5:35. I wanted to book Navi’i till  at 5, which I got by fiddle-faddling in Molly’s terms. We walked up to Nomad, had lovely charcuterie and churros and drinks on porch, then did Pandora. Great day.

I was able to get a 12:30 Remi for today while SoL got Guardians.


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## erinch

Genie+ was worth it today at Epcot. I snagged Remy at 7 am, whileSiL got GotG VQ. We arrived in park at 10:30. Due to Remy and lunch ADR at CoralReef, I got Soarin when booking window opened at 10:30. This meant I never got Test Track or Frozen. Nonetheless, it was a crowded day. Genie + saved us 265 minutes of wait times, which made it totally worth it.


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## acgardne

Just back from 7-day trip around Memorial Day weekend. We did everything we wanted to do. Rode GotG seven times. We almost always stacked with G+ to the afternoon/evening, and this worked great. On Memorial Day, we got RotR, MFSR, SDD, and MMRR within a three hour window for the evening. We did do some refreshing once in the parks to get times or rides that worked best.

While there were a few G+ hiccups (some of which may have been user error not clicking thru to the third screen), it did not negatively impact our trip. We asked at GS for help converting an any time LL for one we could use the next day and to give us a little more time when we missed one LL time while waiting in a 30min LL for JC, and both requests were happily fulfilled. We only encountered one surly CM all week, who was sure we didn’t want to go to Ft. Wilderness from MK when that was where we were staying. But we had way more magic and happy CMs!

We all tested positive for Covid after we got home, which sucks, but it is reality now. It was a wonderful trip. We loved Fort Wilderness, and Cosmic Rewind is everyone’s new favorite ride.


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## erinch

Yesterday at MK with Genie+, I stacked for a 1:30 arrival. By ny count LL saved us 640 minutes of lines.


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## Mamiamjo

erinch said:


> Yesterday at MK with Genie+, I stacked for a 1:30 arrival. By ny count LL saved us 640 minutes of lines.


So, you had 4 LLs stacked? Did you have any issues getting the return times that you wanted (afternoon) since you weren't arriving until 1:30?


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## erinch

It all worked perfectly. I had PP right when we arrived, then Liberty Tree for lunch. then SM, SDMT and JC slightly staggered. We got stuck in SM for quite awhile which shut down and was eventually evacuated. We were given 2 anytime LLs for that. I had booked Hm last, so then I was able to get PoC, then Hm,  then  Splash for close to park closing. Used the anytime for BTMR, and we did not make it back to SM to use the other . We also did CoP, Hsll of Presidents, Philharmagic, and I made them wait 25 for Ariel which was the only non LL we did. It was not our only day , so we had picked up riverboat, IASW, Country bears on the previous time, also arriving at 11:30 for Crystal Palace . I personally missed the less glaring sun and the less crowded park by not arriving at rope drop, but I can’t extract the rest of the famdamily out that early. Going later and staying till park close worked great for us. I booked the JC first, then bought SDMT at park open , then SM and picked up PP right at 1 to ride immediately, after refreshing for about 10 minutes. PoC and Hm  times I got by refreshing.


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## EPCOT-O.G.

To those that‘ve been, how are the lines during EEH at MK?


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## jlstwinmommy

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> To those that‘ve been, how are the lines during EEH at MK?


When we were there on 6/1, the lines were not bad but the times were super inflated. Space mountain said 50 minutes but we walked on. Peter Pan said an hour but we waited maybe 20 min. EEH was 11-1am. We got in line for seven dwarves at 12:57. The wait said 60 min, but we waited 10.


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## lorileahb

Way behind, but we (just dh and I) decided just to do a quick one day Epcot/Magic Kingdom trip on Memorial Day (had gift cards for tickets).  So it went something like this (just hitting our favorites, and avoiding lines/waits - just decided we'd relax and enjoy a spur of the moment outing):

-Drive to Epcot - arrived 11:30 a.m.
-Orange Wine Slushie / Mexico & Boat Ride / Snacked at Booths All the Way Around the World / Back Through France / Britain / Canada / A Second Orange WIne Slushie (LOL)
-Soarin' twice (once with Genie - no wait, second time 15 minutes until we were in the pre-show)
-Awesome Planet movie (no wait)
-Seas with Nemo & Friends (no wait)
-Drove to Magic Kingdom
-4 p.m. - Early Dinner (more appetizers and hydration in the cool) at Tony's (we like Tony's, we've been three times in past couple of years and it has always been good)
-Genie (no wait) for Peter Pan
-Philharmagic (no wait)
-Genie (no wait) for Pirates
-Aladdin Carpets
-Dole Whip
-Hall of Presidents (no wait)
-Genie for Buzz Lightyear (no wait)
-Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (no wait)
-Haunted Mansion (5-10 minute wait, had fun with the interactive elements of the queue)
-Watched Fireworks from Behind Castle (with the required Mickey pretzel)
-Carousel (no wait)
-Stop at the Confectionary for treats to take home to the kids

All in all, happy we went and managed to avoid waits.  Loved it, as usual.


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## Jfsag123

Here now. Sitting in Hollywood Studios waiting for my family to get off Rise (we have a baby, so have to rider swap). I’m sitting in front of a giant fan, so it’s manageable. Day 4 of 10. It’s hot. It’s crowded. It’s magical. I was so so worried we would not feel the magic this time like we have in the past, but we’re having an amazing time. I’m still not a fan of all the changes and I miss FP+ desperately, but it still feels like Disney. Also, every cast member we’ve interacted with has been wonderful.


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## Disneymom1102

We had a pretty perfect day in terms of getting to everything we wanted (some 2x), getting extras in, even break with some pool time in the middle of the day. Thought this schedule may be helpful for someone planning a trip with kiddos like mine!

My family: myself, my husband, 7 year old girl, 4 year old boy
Priority rides (each person got to choose one that were cannot miss for us): Small World (mine), Pirates of the Caribbean (husband), Haunted Mansion (daughter), Barnstormer (son). We also wanted to catch the parade which was at 12:00 or 3:00!
Also REALLY wanted to try to fit in: Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Jungle Cruise, and Peoplemover
We were not staying on site so couldn't enter until 9:00. We arrived for rope drop at the rope for Liberty Square at 8:55.

We didn't wait more than 15 min (and that was actually for Jungle Cruise which had a LL) but most were walk-on or 5 minutes even standby. Used Mobile ordering to speed up the snacks.

Park was probably a 7/10 for crowds.

Morning (9:00-1:00)
* Rope drop Haunted Mansion
* Peter Pan right after (booked LL for (9:00-10:00), immediately booked Pooh LL)
* Small World (standby)
* Little Mermaid (standby)
* Pooh (LL, immediately after scanning in, booked Pirates LL for later in the morning)
* Barnstormer (standby)
* Dumbo (standby)
* SNACKS - hamburger and pastrami spring rolls from the food stand and Dole Whips from Aloha Aisle (coconut soft serve for my husband, raspberry dole whip with vanilla soft serve for me, plain vanilla soft serve for the kids) in Adventureland
* Pirates of Caribbean using LL (right after scanning in, booked Jungle Cruise for our first evening LL, booked for 7:20-8:20)
* Festival of Fantasy Parade (watched in Frontierland)
* SNACKS - Casey's corn dog nuggets with cheese and fries, 50th anniversary chocolate silk pie
* Peoplemover

Left park and took break at hotel (lunch and swimming and rest)
Set alarm to book back to back LL (stacking) every two hours for our evening session. Besides Jungle Cruise (booked earlier that morning), also booked Buzz Lightyear, and meeting Mickey at Town Square Theater.

Afternoon/evening (6:00-9:00)
* SNACKS - grabbed some amazing popcorn from Main Street Confectionary for later
* Buzz Lightyear using LL (as soon as scanned into Buzz, booked Monsters Inc; was able to do this because Buzz was last one booked and once you use most recent you can book another one even if you have others stacked).
* Monsters Inc using LL (as soon as scanned in, booked Haunted Mansion which we rode standby first time, had to refresh for about 5 minutes while waiting for Monsters to start but got the time we wanted)
* SNACKS - chicken waffle sandwich, funnel cake from Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square
* Haunted Mansion using LL (as soon as scanned in, booked Small World)
* Small World using LL (once scanned in, booked Aladdin)
* SNACKS - citrus swirl from Sunshine Tree Terrace (yes! The original, real Citrus Swirl!)
* Jungle Cruise with LL
* Aladdin with LL
* Meet Mickey with LL
Left park around 9:00

By the end of the day we were amazed how many rides we rode, the minimal waits for snacks and rides, and that we hit more than we even had hoped for (including all our must-do's and hope-to-do's). We weren't running around and though tired and sweaty, was not too much and we all had a great day!

TOP TIPS:
Use Mobile Order for snacks
Use Genie+ to book LLs (plan best way to stack for later after break and also how to use consecutive LL's for the less popular ones)
Remember that besides the 2 hour rule for booking new LL, you can also book immediately after scanning your MOST RECENTLY BOOKED LL, this helped us A LOT! We would scan in and while walking onto the ride would book the next ride for right after. 
Refresh refresh refresh (there was not one time we didn't get what we wanted when we wanted if I kept refreshing while waiting in line or walking)
Rope drop (or ideally early entry)...the park got MUCH busier after 10 and of course hotter. We got a TON accomplished in the early morning.
Take a mid-day break and come back. It's too hot and with little ones everyone will be whiney and miserable without a break from the sensory overload and heat.

Hope this helps you and your family plan your visit!


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## MissDisney21

Sounds like a GREAT day!! This is helpful to read as I plan our MK day. Does Mickey talk in town square meet? Where did you get the chicken waffle sandwich?


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## ucf_knight

Disneymom1102 said:


> We had a pretty perfect day in terms of getting to everything we wanted (some 2x), getting extras in, even break with some pool time in the middle of the day. Thought this schedule may be helpful for someone planning a trip with kiddos like mine!
> 
> My family: myself, my husband, 7 year old girl, 4 year old boy
> Priority rides (each person got to choose one that were cannot miss for us): Small World (mine), Pirates of the Caribbean (husband), Haunted Mansion (daughter), Barnstormer (son). We also wanted to catch the parade which was at 12:00 or 3:00!
> Also REALLY wanted to try to fit in: Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Jungle Cruise, and Peoplemover
> We were not staying on site so couldn't enter until 9:00. We arrived for rope drop at the rope for Liberty Square at 8:55.
> 
> We didn't wait more than 15 min (and that was actually for Jungle Cruise which had a LL) but most were walk-on or 5 minutes even standby. Used Mobile ordering to speed up the snacks.
> 
> Park was probably a 7/10 for crowds.
> 
> Morning (9:00-1:00)
> * Rope drop Haunted Mansion
> * Peter Pan right after (booked LL for (9:00-10:00), immediately booked Pooh LL)
> * Small World (standby)
> * Little Mermaid (standby)
> * Pooh (LL, immediately after scanning in, booked Pirates LL for later in the morning)
> * Barnstormer (standby)
> * SNACKS - spring rolls and Dole Whips from Adventureland
> * Pirates of Caribbean (right after scanning in, booked Jungle Cruise for our first evening LL, booked for 7:20-8:20)
> * Festival of Fantasy Parade (watched in Frontierland)
> * SNACKS - Casey's corn dog nuggets, chocolate silk pie
> * Peoplemover
> 
> Left park and took break at hotel (lunch and swimming and rest)
> Set alarm to book back to back LL (stacking) every two hours for our evening session. Besides Jungle Cruise (booked earlier that morning), also booked Buzz Lightyear, and meeting Mickey at Town Square Theater.
> 
> Afternoon/evening (6:00-9:00)
> * SNACKS - grabbed some amazing popcorn from Main Street Confectionary for later
> * Buzz Lightyear using LL (as soon as scanned into Buzz, booked Monsters Inc; was able to do this because Buzz was last one booked and once you use most recent you can book another one even if you have others stacked).
> * Monsters Inc using LL (as soon as scanned in, booked Haunted Mansion which we rode standby first time, had to refresh for about 5 minutes while waiting for Monsters to start but got the time we wanted)
> * SNACKS - chicken waffle sandwich, funnel cake
> * Haunted Mansion using LL (as soon as scanned in, booked Small World)
> * Small World using LL (once scanned in, booked Aladdin)
> * SNACKS - citrus swirl
> * Jungle Cruise with LL
> * Aladdin with LL
> * Meet Mickey with LL
> Left park around 9:00
> 
> By the end of the day we were amazed how many rides we rode, the minimal waits for snacks and rides, and that we hit more than we even had hoped for (including all our must-do's and hope-to-do's). We weren't running around and though tired and sweaty, was not too much and we all had a great day!
> 
> TOP TIPS:
> Use Mobile Order for snacks
> Use Genie+ to LL (plan best way to stack for later and also how to use consecutive rides for the less popular ones)
> Refresh refresh refresh (there was not one time we didn't get what we wanted when we wanted if I kept refreshing while waiting in line or walking)
> Rope drop (or ideally early entry)...the park got MUCH busier after 10 and of course hotter. We got a TON accomplished in the early morning.
> Take a mid-day break and come back. It's too hot and with little ones everyone will be whiney and miserable without a break from the sensory overload and heat.
> 
> Hope this helps you and your family plan your visit!


Sounds like a great day for the kids. If anyone has had a similar experience but been able to incorporate the mountains and/or mine train then I’d be really impressed.


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## Disneymom1102

ucf_knight said:


> Sounds like a great day for the kids. If anyone has had a similar experience but been able to incorporate the mountains and/or mine train then I’d be really impressed.


We could've gotten an ILL for Mine Train. We opted not to but was definitely available. During my refreshing I was able to snag the mountains if I wanted but would either have had to spend more time at the parks or trade for other evening rides. But we definitely could have replaced our repeat rides with the mountains without a problem with repeat refreshing...that's the trick!


----------



## Disneymom1102

MissDisney21 said:


> Sounds like a GREAT day!! This is helpful to read as I plan our MK day. Does Mickey talk in town square meet? Where did you get the chicken waffle sandwich?


He doesn't talk anymore but he used to.
Chicken waffle sandwich was at Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square


----------



## covington

Jfsag123 said:


> Here now. Sitting in Hollywood Studios waiting for my family to get off Rise (we have a baby, so have to rider swap). I’m sitting in front of a giant fan, so it’s manageable. Day 4 of 10. It’s hot. It’s crowded. It’s magical. I was so so worried we would not feel the magic this time like we have in the past, but we’re having an amazing time. I’m still not a fan of all the changes and I miss FP+ desperately, but it still feels like Disney. Also, every cast member we’ve interacted with has been wonderful.


Can you pls fill me in on how the Rider Swap is working?  Do you have to ride the ride immediately after your group gets off or can you come back?  Are you only allowed to ride with one other person?  Thank you!!


----------



## scrappinginontario

covington said:


> Can you pls fill me in on how the Rider Swap is working?  Do you have to ride the ride immediately after your group gets off or can you come back?  Are you only allowed to ride with one other person?  Thank you!!


There is a lot of info about rider swap in the Disney for Families forum also.


----------



## Jfsag123

covington said:


> Can you pls fill me in on how the Rider Swap is working?  Do you have to ride the ride immediately after your group gets off or can you come back?  Are you only allowed to ride with one other person?  Thank you!!


It has varied from attraction to attraction. At Rise and Slinky Dog we had to ride back to back. At Test Track, Flight of Passage, and Guardians they scanned the bands of the person who waited and whoever was going to ride with them and they were able to return later in the day. Every attraction but Test Track has had it where the waiting rider rides with one other person. At TT they let both of our older kids ride with each parent. At all other attractions we either have chosen which big kid would get to ride twice or just gone 2 and 2.


----------



## EmilyGahr

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> So I am doing the WDW Half in November, which includes after party park admission to EPCOT. Staying on site. Can I buy a ILL for Guardians if I don’t have a “reservation” for EPCOT (I have no idea if that race after party will be added to MDE)
> 
> Put another way, can you buy a ILL for a park you don’t have a current reservation for?


Yes, it just has to be after 2pm (when park hopping is allowed).


----------



## asuburbanman

First day here using G+ with a 6 and 2 year old.

Booked Peter Pan for 9:30 at 7:00
Arrived at MK about 8:40
Carousel SB (My 2 year olds request)
Small World SB (walk on)
Meet Tiana and Rapunzel SB  (20 minutes)
Peter Pan G+
Are some Cat Tails
Dumbo SB (10 min playing and 10 min wait)
Mermaid G+
Met Belle SB (10 min)
Pooh G+
Tea Cups G+

Left by 12:15

Returned for 4:30 Skippers. Cheese bread is no joke.

Carpets G+
Saw two calvacades
Pirates G+
Cinderella Meet G+
Buzz G+
Dumbo G+

Headed back to hotel at 8:20


----------



## cjlong88

Here now. The CM’s we have interacted with are incredible. Guardians of the Galaxy is hands down our new favorite attraction. We were grinning from ear to ear the entire time.


----------



## preemiemama

cjlong88 said:


> Here now. The CM’s we have interacted with are incredible. Guardians of the Galaxy is hands down our new favorite attraction. We were grinning from ear to ear the entire time.


Agree with you on the CMs. Most of them have been really wonderful. We’re trying to be kind, smile, say hi as much as possible. They are dealing with a lot of grumpy and demanding guests, so being kind seems to be appreciated.


----------



## mkacar24

Guardians was huge, huge hit.
Cast members were friendly all around.
Food was good.

Ride breakdowns were noticeable.
Remy broke down while we were next to load at 8:30PM. We got an anytime LL to use through next day for that. Next day was Hollywood studios and we stacked a bunch of LL plus Rise ILL for that night. Rode runaway railway, which we enjoyed but the fun stopped there. Toy story mania broke down when we got to it. Slinky dog shut down for weather when we went to it next. This was at 7:45PM and we got anytime LL to use that day. So we now had three anytime LL that expired in 1.5 hours and our Rise ILL and a RNR LL. Went to Rise first, big Star Wars fans this was our first time on it. It broke down while we were in interrogation room. We were in the hallway waiting for it to come back up for an hour. They shouldn’t have reopened it as it wasn’t working. No lightsaber through ceiling, the large canons didn’t fire and Kylo at end was in B mode. When we got off ride the park was closed and we had lost the 3 anytime LL and the RNR LL. 

Went to guest services and they refunded Rise and offered to extended one of the anytime LL to our next day at MK which was fine with me. I didn’t even ask for that I just wanted someone to know how poorly the night had gone. Perhaps we should have left the Rise line to use those anytime LL somewhere else in retrospect. But we were excited for Rise and had no indication that it would be down that long. Went to MK the next day and the anytime LL was not extended. I’m not sure what went wrong on that, I blame myself for not checking MDE for it before leaving HS guest services the night before. Bad experience. 

Went back to Hollywood Studios a few days later and again paid ILL for Rise hoping to get the full experience. Kylo was still in B mode at the end though. Bad luck or is it just that unreliable? 

Otherwise good trip. Genie+ worked fine but we missed being able to refresh to get some rides twice like we could before.


----------



## asuburbanman

Day 2 in the books

It was a resort transfer day so it was wonky

7am Frozen for 9:30 and GG boarding group 16

Got to park at 9 bc we had to transfer luggage from AOA to Pop. Learned they are not as close as they look

9:15 rode Frozen
Got some snacks

I was gonna ride GG via BG but kids wanted to swim before checking out of AOA so we went back to hotel. Then switched hotels

2:50 Beaches and Cream reservation 

Had a Remy but overlapped with our dining reservation. Blue Umbrella fixed it so we could ride. Love this addition to the parks to just help with minor adjustments. Remy was fun. Seemed more like a Universal ride but enjoyable.

Disney Character Meet (Pluto and Minnie in 50th attire)
FP+ Nemo
FP+ Land
FP+ Soarin

While my wife did land with kids I did G+ for GOG. Overall I wasn’t too impressed. Except for the launch sequence I thought it was upgraded Space. Would have preferred them refurbish Space and put something different in Epcot

Debating solo hopping to HS. Have G+ for Smugglers Run and Rockin. Will see if I make it that way 

Killed too many miles this morning and am exhausted

Cast members have been great. Encountered one at B&C who initiated wi to my 2 year old for a solid 5 minutes. Just chit chatting. Great restaurant staff as well.


----------



## preemiemama

Not sure if this is just an AKL thing or property-wide, but found out the hard way that there is an issue with room charging privileges if you have done online checkin and you bypass the desk. Thought I’d pass along the warning to stop and check before you get to the park!


----------



## asuburbanman

Yesterday was Hollywood Studios

Booked ROR ILL and MMRR G+

8:30 am Disney Junior breakfast for the kids. Food was…goodish…still not buffet, which I think helps. Well organized. Characters were fun but moved pretty quickly. 

MMRR was a blast but scared the crap out of my 2 year old. They finally fixed the issue with low audio on rides. This thing was so loud. Liked this better than rat at Epcot. Trackless ride systems are the one thing Disney has over Universal at this point. 

G+ Beauty and Beast show. 90s nostalgia all around. Also loud and scared my kid. 

G+ Olaf Meet

I rode ROR while my wife and kids G+ Frozen Sing Along.

ROR lived up to the hype and then some. Last scene was in B mode but I didn’t care. Super creative and great cast members that make it fun. Had some pork rinds and a drink from Rontos. Mobile order is the best. Pretty quick turn around on everything

Went back to the hotel and there was basically a tropical storm. Took a much needed 3 hour rest.

My wife went back to HS and at that point we had stacked Smugglers Run, Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers. Two turned into Multiple Experience passes for low tier rides. She also did ROR. For those with little kids. If you buy an ILL but your kids don’t want to ride they said the other parent can use the ILL any time that day. 

I stayed back at the pool with the kids. The pool is their favorite part of the trip. Go figure.

Honestly the only things we didn’t do that’s we wanted to were Muppets and that dance party.


----------



## mickey916

asuburbanman said:


> Yesterday was Hollywood Studios
> 
> Booked ROR ILL and MMRR G+
> 
> 8:30 am Disney Junior breakfast for the kids. Food was…goodish…still not buffet, which I think helps. Well organized. Characters were fun but moved pretty quickly.
> 
> MMRR was a blast but scared the crap out of my 2 year old. They finally fixed the issue with low audio on rides. This thing was so loud. Liked this better than rat at Epcot. Trackless ride systems are the one thing Disney has over Universal at this point.
> 
> G+ Beauty and Beast show. 90s nostalgia all around. Also loud and scared my kid.
> 
> G+ Olaf Meet
> 
> I rode ROR while my wife and kids G+ Frozen Sing Along.
> 
> ROR lived up to the hype and then some. Last scene was in B mode but I didn’t care. Super creative and great cast members that make it fun. Had some pork rinds and a drink from Rontos. Mobile order is the best. Pretty quick turn around on everything
> 
> Went back to the hotel and there was basically a tropical storm. Took a much needed 3 hour rest.
> 
> My wife went back to HS and at that point we had stacked Smugglers Run, Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers. Two turned into Multiple Experience passes for low tier rides. She also did ROR. For those with little kids. If you buy an ILL but your kids don’t want to ride they said the other parent can use the ILL any time that day.
> 
> I stayed back at the pool with the kids. The pool is their favorite part of the trip. Go figure.
> 
> Honestly the only things we didn’t do that’s we wanted to were Muppets and that dance party.


Sound like you had a great day! Interesting about the B mode. My husband and I rode it for the first time in April and then took our sons in May and I said to my husband afterwards, "I didn't remember some of these parts last time." I had no idea there was a B mode. We must have ridden the B mode the first time because the ride was even better the second time.


----------



## asuburbanman

So far things are working out well for us. We did feel HS felt way more crowded than MK and Epcot but it’s so much smaller.

B mode is the back up. If at the end Ren is on a screen in a tie fighter then it is B mode. I haven’t actually seen the A mode at the end.

MK today with Chef Mickeys tonight. Nabbed a 9-10 SDMT and 9:30-10:30 Jungle Cruise so we are off to a good start.


----------



## asuburbanman

preemiemama said:


> Not sure if this is just an AKL thing or property-wide, but found out the hard way that there is an issue with room charging privileges if you have done online checkin and you bypass the desk. Thought I’d pass along the warning to stop and check before you get to the park!



Experienced same thing at AOA/Pop. Always take back up payment first day


----------



## lovethattink

asuburbanman said:


> Experienced same thing at AOA/Pop. Always take back up payment first day



Also good to have some back up in case the credit card machines are down. That’s happened to us a handful of times.


----------



## snikki

asuburbanman said:


> Yesterday was Hollywood Studios
> 
> Booked ROR ILL and MMRR G+
> 
> 8:30 am Disney Junior breakfast for the kids. Food was…goodish…still not buffet, which I think helps. Well organized. Characters were fun but moved pretty quickly.
> 
> MMRR was a blast but scared the crap out of my 2 year old. They finally fixed the issue with low audio on rides. This thing was so loud. Liked this better than rat at Epcot. Trackless ride systems are the one thing Disney has over Universal at this point.
> 
> G+ Beauty and Beast show. 90s nostalgia all around. Also loud and scared my kid.
> 
> G+ Olaf Meet
> 
> I rode ROR while my wife and kids G+ Frozen Sing Along.
> 
> ROR lived up to the hype and then some. Last scene was in B mode but I didn’t care. Super creative and great cast members that make it fun. Had some pork rinds and a drink from Rontos. Mobile order is the best. Pretty quick turn around on everything
> 
> Went back to the hotel and there was basically a tropical storm. Took a much needed 3 hour rest.
> 
> My wife went back to HS and at that point we had stacked Smugglers Run, Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers. Two turned into Multiple Experience passes for low tier rides. She also did ROR. For those with little kids. If you buy an ILL but your kids don’t want to ride they said the other parent can use the ILL any time that day.
> 
> I stayed back at the pool with the kids. The pool is their favorite part of the trip. Go figure.
> 
> Honestly the only things we didn’t do that’s we wanted to were Muppets and that dance party.



Sounds like a great day and good info on splitting the ILL for two parents. Good idea to split up so you both get to ride rides the kids can't/won't do.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Don't sleep on park time near closing, especially if you have a small child. We went to HS on Sunday night. Got there at 7pm for a 9pm close. Swirling Saucers posted 30 minutes. We waited 12. TSMM was posted 35 minutes. We literally walked on. MMRR posted 40 minutes. We waited 10. Walkways weren't crowded (even in Toy Story Land!) and the atmosphere was so pleasant. No doubt lines for other big rides were similar but we just wanted to do little kid stuff.

We were back at our hotel, watching Harmonious from our room after stopping in the club lounge for desserts, at 9pm.

We were there with our 2 year old and park closing is the only time we do HS right now. He can ride very little, and the lines are soooo long in the morning/early afternoon for a little guy to wait in. And don't believe the posted waits!


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

Aimeedyan said:


> Don't sleep on park time near closing, especially if you have a small child. We went to HS on Sunday night. Got there at 7pm for a 9pm close. Swirling Saucers posted 30 minutes. We waited 12. TSMM was posted 35 minutes. We literally walked on. MMRR posted 40 minutes. We waited 10. Walkways weren't crowded (even in Toy Story Land!) and the atmosphere was so pleasant. No doubt lines for other big rides were similar but we just wanted to do little kid stuff.
> 
> We were back at our hotel, watching Harmonious from our room after stopping in the club lounge for desserts, at 9pm.
> 
> We were there with our 2 year old and park closing is the only time we do HS right now. He can ride very little, and the lines are soooo long in the morning/early afternoon for a little guy to wait in. And don't believe the posted waits!


Assume! We are planning an evening after dinner.


----------



## jlstwinmommy

asuburbanman said:


> Experienced same thing at AOA/Pop. Always take back up payment first day


Same thing for us at SSR.  I found we could not do a room charge until our room number was assigned.  I never had to go to the desk, it just worked once the room number was assigned.


----------



## preemiemama

lovethattink said:


> Also good to have some back up in case the credit card machines are down. That’s happened to us a handful of times.


And now at breakfast all room charges are being declined. Front desk can’t even fix- seems to be systemwide.


----------



## preemiemama

jlstwinmommy said:


> Same thing for us at SSR.  I found we could not do a room charge until our room number was assigned.  I never had to go to the desk, it just worked once the room number was assigned.


It was assigned- it’s just been a glitch in their system apparently.


----------



## preemiemama

Also noticed today that while a lot of CMs at Epcot and DHS were friendly and helpful, many of the ones we encountered today at MK have not been. POTC was the worst- CMs were all bunched up talking about their plans for the evening at the entrance and at the loading area.


----------



## asuburbanman

preemiemama said:


> And now at breakfast all room charges are being declined. Front desk can’t even fix- seems to be systemwide.



Yup tried to buy some diaper rash cream and it got declined. Lady said it was our bands but I could tell from the error on her screen it wasn’t that.

I’ve noticed that CM are trained in a very NARROW role. Almost assembly line like. I am not sure I’d like to be that pigeon holed. However I see why it results in effective operations. Lots of CMs earning their ears.


----------



## asuburbanman

MK today. Crowd levels increased this week over late last week. 

ILL SDMT for 9-10 and G+ Jungle Cruise 9:30-10:30
8:45 arrival
ILL for wife and 6 year old; carousel x2 with 3 year old 
SB Mickey Phillarmagic (daughters stomach hurt due to SDMT but she loved it)
G+ Jungle Cruise…got Skipper Nicole who I saw in a Tik Tok video. She killed it.
G+ Carpets
G+ Dumbo
G + Little Mermaid
Watched the parade in liberty square

Resort Break

5:15 Chef Mickeys…they need to demolish this whole thing. It looks just like it did in 96 when I was a kid. Food was lukewarm but tasted ok. Characters were so quick and no unique interaction. This is a hard pass. The contemporary as a whole  is just not my style. Kids enjoyed the characters at least.

Stacked Pirates, Splash, Haunted Mansion, and Speedway.

Left before fireworks.

Only three days left. Time goes quick in the bubble.


----------



## SaintLouie

We just wrapped up a 7-Night DCL cruise this weekend and spent a single day at Epcot before returning home. Just some notes from our Early Entry in case this information is useful to anyone...

We stayed at Beach Club and took advantage of the quick walk over to the International Gateway and Early Entry into the park. Left the room around 7:20am. By the time we got over to the entrance, there was a crowd of maybe 50-75 people being held back by the Skyliner. At 7:30, we were allowed up to the tapstiles and at 7:35 they started letting people through. We headed toward Ratatouille, and were held briefly in France before being taken back to the ride at 7:40. We were off the ride by 8:00am and made a leisurely stroll toward Norway, stopping for pictures, water and bathroom. Frozen was about a 10 minute wait when we arrived at 8:15, and we were able to complete our ride before 8:30am. By the time we exited, I think the wait was up to 45 minutes.

We didn't really need Genie+ but I purchased it anyway because it was my first chance to use it and I wanted to see how it all worked before using it on a bigger trip later this year. I did use it for shorter waits on Test Track and Soarin, but it wasn't much help on anything else we did since we rope dropped the other big rides earlier in the day. 

We got group 63 in the virtual queue for Guardians at the 7am drop and also purchased ILL ($17 each) so that we could have a second ride. With the way the timing worked out, we got to ride it back to back. We all enjoyed the ride and were glad that we had the chance to go on it twice. I am prone to motion sickness and did have to look away from the screens at some points as we whipped through, but didn't have any lingering issues with the ride. My 5yo daughter said that it was "crazy" but that she would do it again sometime. (Note: Ratatouille was way worse for me than Guardians.)

Overall it was a great day. I'm looking forward to the day when all the construction will be completed but am really enjoying all the new spaces that have opened up so far.


----------



## Pyotr

Here now and having a great time, but the maintenance issues and ride down times are very noticeable.


----------



## preemiemama

Pyotr said:


> Here now and having a great time, but the maintenance issues and ride down times are very noticeable.


Agreed. We’ve had several things go down    when we were trying to get on them. Plus both Kylo Ren and Big Toe the Shaman were in B-mode when we ride this week.


----------



## disneyfan150

SaintLouie said:


> We just wrapped up a 7-Night DCL cruise this weekend and spent a single day at Epcot before returning home. Just some notes from our Early Entry in case this information is useful to anyone...
> 
> We stayed at Beach Club and took advantage of the quick walk over to the International Gateway and Early Entry into the park. Left the room around 7:20am. By the time we got over to the entrance, there was a crowd of maybe 50-75 people being held back by the Skyliner. At 7:30, we were allowed up to the tapstiles and at 7:35 they started letting people through. We headed toward Ratatouille, and were held briefly in France before being taken back to the ride at 7:40. We were off the ride by 8:00am and made a leisurely stroll toward Norway, stopping for pictures, water and bathroom. Frozen was about a 10 minute wait when we arrived at 8:15, and we were able to complete our ride before 8:30am. By the time we exited, I think the wait was up to 45 minutes.
> 
> We didn't really need Genie+ but I purchased it anyway because it was my first chance to use it and I wanted to see how it all worked before using it on a bigger trip later this year. I did use it for shorter waits on Test Track and Soarin, but it wasn't much help on anything else we did since we rope dropped the other big rides earlier in the day.
> 
> We got group 63 in the virtual queue for Guardians at the 7am drop and also purchased ILL ($17 each) so that we could have a second ride. With the way the timing worked out, we got to ride it back to back. We all enjoyed the ride and were glad that we had the chance to go on it twice. I am prone to motion sickness and did have to look away from the screens at some points as we whipped through, but didn't have any lingering issues with the ride. My 5yo daughter said that it was "crazy" but that she would do it again sometime. (Note: Ratatouille was way worse for me than Guardians.)
> 
> Overall it was a great day. I'm looking forward to the day when all the construction will be completed but am really enjoying all the new spaces that have opened up so far.


Thank you! Will be staying at YC soon and this was helpful.  What time was EE supposed to begin that day?


----------



## asuburbanman

My goodness Animal Kingdom is a hot mess right now. This used to be my favorite park. It’s impossible to plan this park because you have a few decent shows that have overlapping times. The issue is they are so far away from each other. So unless you want to basically try to do back to back shows you are just walking all over creation.

My kids are 3 and 6. By 3pm my options were basically ride triceratops spin over and over or wait 80 minutes to meet the only two characters that meet there.

Granted it was a weird day bc we had to wait until my parents arrived to do a few G+ rides

We managed G+ for Everest, Safari, Navi, and Nemo show. My wife ILL for FOP. Did the Tiger trail. Played in Boneyard. Won some toys at Dino Land. Man that place needs some love. At least fill the Triceratops Spin with water. It looks awful. We literally kept being too far away for the Lion King or Bird Show. 

You are basically buying G+ to do Safari and River Journey. Dinosaur and Everest have minimal waits throughout the day. 

After my kids got bored of shoving gravel into buckets, we did walk up to Nomad Lounge and got churros and drinks. 

The highlight was our Capture the Magic session. We went to 4 locations and got 75 pictures! Amazing deal.

For anyone with kids under 10, this is a half day park right now. All the spontaneous entertainment and additional characters (Donald and friends, Pocahontas and friends, etc) are long gone.

Joe Rhode created a beautiful space but Disney has no idea what to do with it. They shove some characters down the river and fly some kites.


----------



## SLThomas318

preemiemama said:


> Not sure if this is just an AKL thing or property-wide, but found out the hard way that there is an issue with room charging privileges if you have done online checkin and you bypass the desk. Thought I’d pass along the warning to stop and check before you get to the park!


Def property-wide, although no one gave us an explanation.  We did a split stay (always do split stays and never had an issue before) and the night before we switched resorts I tried buying a bottle of water and they said I didn’t have charging privileges.  Went to front desk and he checked everything and said it should work fine… said sometimes things get wonky when you are moving to another resort.  Next day we switched resorts and magic band worked fine all day… the next day, denied.  We were in Epcot with no wallet.  Fortunately, guest services was able to turn my charging privileges back on, but only because one of the CM’s use to work on the hotel side so she still had access to fix it… other wise I would have had to head back to the resort to have it fixed.  I assumed it was a fluke, but it sounds like this is an issue!  Lesson learned to start bringing my wallet, but with the magic band it was nice to have one less thing to worry about.


----------



## Pyotr

SLThomas318 said:


> Def property-wide, although no one gave us an explanation.  We did a split stay (always do split stays and never had an issue before) and the night before we switched resorts I tried buying a bottle of water and they said I didn’t have charging privileges.  Went to front desk and he checked everything and said it should work fine… said sometimes things get wonky when you are moving to another resort.  Next day we switched resorts and magic band worked fine all day… the next day, denied.  We were in Epcot with no wallet.  Fortunately, guest services was able to turn my charging privileges back on, but only because one of the CM’s use to work on the hotel side so she still had access to fix it… other wise I would have had to head back to the resort to have it fixed.  I assumed it was a fluke, but it sounds like this is an issue!  Lesson learned to start bringing my wallet, but with the magic band it was nice to have one less thing to worry about.


This happened to me today. I’ve used my magic bands multiple times to buy things on past trips.  Today I tried to purchase some snacks after the pool. I didn’t feel like walking to my room to get my wallet or phone, so I planned on using my magic band. When I tried to use it the CM said I didn’t have privileges. I had to walk back to my room and get my stuff to finish the purchase. 

Guest services was able to turn my buying privileges back on. 

It’s just bizarre and I’m not sure what the problem is.


----------



## preemiemama

SLThomas318 said:


> Def property-wide, although no one gave us an explanation.  We did a split stay (always do split stays and never had an issue before) and the night before we switched resorts I tried buying a bottle of water and they said I didn’t have charging privileges.  Went to front desk and he checked everything and said it should work fine… said sometimes things get wonky when you are moving to another resort.  Next day we switched resorts and magic band worked fine all day… the next day, denied.  We were in Epcot with no wallet.  Fortunately, guest services was able to turn my charging privileges back on, but only because one of the CM’s use to work on the hotel side so she still had access to fix it… other wise I would have had to head back to the resort to have it fixed.  I assumed it was a fluke, but it sounds like this is an issue!  Lesson learned to start bringing my wallet, but with the magic band it was nice to have one less thing to worry about.





Pyotr said:


> This happened to me today. I’ve used my magic bands multiple times to buy things on past trips.  Today I tried to purchase some snacks after the pool. I didn’t feel like walking to my room to get my wallet or phone, so I planned on using my magic band. When I tried to use it the CM said I didn’t have privileges. I had to walk back to my room and get my stuff to finish the purchase.
> 
> Guest services was able to turn my buying privileges back on.
> 
> It’s just bizarre and I’m not sure what the problem is.


It was definitely everyone property wide 2 days ago when we were affected. Seems to be ok for us today.  But yes it’s frustrating!!


----------



## SaintLouie

disneyfan150 said:


> Thank you! Will be staying at YC soon and this was helpful.  What time was EE supposed to begin that day?


@disneyfan150 - EE was supposed to begin at 8:00am and regular park opening was 8:30am.


----------



## SmileEar2Ear

During Spring Break/Easter I know they were letting people into EE 30-45 min sooner than even the EE time. For example - reg park hours were 9, 8:30 for EE, but people were getting in around 7:45/8:00. Then that sort of seemed to die down and EE started close to the EE time. However I have seen more reports of people getting in sooner than the EE time and just wanted to see if people could let me know their most recent experiences. What time was EE supposed to start and when did you get in?  Thanks!


----------



## DMLAINI

Wondering this as well


----------



## CanucksRock

I went third week of May. MK - let into park early, but not let into Fantasyland until 8:30 on the dot. AK - not let into the park until right at ETPE opening, slow walked to FOP. Epcot, I think it was about 10 mins early. DHS - I can’t remember, I believe we were let in about least 10 mins early.


----------



## sethschroeder

Always have gotten in the parks earlier but you can't get in to the rides until the early period starts (or get held at a choke point not next to the rides).


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## asuburbanman

Had a decent day at Epcot. I will say when crowds are heavy there is little chance to get a G+ for the big three (Frozen, Rat, Test Track). So you will need to rope drop something. Turtle Talk was a highlight for my girls. As was meeting Elsa and Anna. However that is one slow moving line. Dinner in Germany was fun and plenty of food. 

My oldest watched Harmonious with me, while my youngest hung in the plaza of Germany with my wife. She doesn’t like firework noise. A cast member brought them out chocolate milks after seeing them there. Disney Magic at its finest. This was her first big night show and she enjoyed it. I like that it’s not too pyro heavy. Was surprised by some of the pyro bc I hadn’t watched it online. I thought it was a great show but needed a bit more narration.

Last day tomorrow! Flew by!


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## Morgol

SmileEar2Ear said:


> During Spring Break/Easter I know they were letting people into EE 30-45 min sooner than even the EE time. For example - reg park hours were 9, 8:30 for EE, but people were getting in around 7:45/8:00. Then that sort of seemed to die down and EE started close to the EE time. However I have seen more reports of people getting in sooner than the EE time and just wanted to see if people could let me know their most recent experiences. What time was EE supposed to start and when did you get in?  Thanks!



I'd like to know this too.  I keep seeing conflicting reports - some say 30-40 minutes before EE the rides are open and others say rides open within 5 mins of EE opening.


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## scrappinginontario

Morgol said:


> I'd like to know this too.  I keep seeing conflicting reports - some say 30-40 minutes before EE the rides are open and others say rides open within 5 mins of EE opening.


I think both are correct as there are no hard and fast rules about when guests are actually allowed in the parks nor when attractions begin allowing guests to ride.

The same park and the same attraction can change day to day.

Reading the ‘Here Now and Just Back’ thread is a great place where people are sharing their recent experiences.

If staying onsite, the best opportunity to be towards the front of ETPE crowd is to arrive at transportation 90 mins before ETPE begins.


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## NicholeB630

So its kind of a late post but I got a lot of advice prior to our trip so I figured Id do a recap. We went to Disney for 4 nights (we've been many times before) but this was our first May trip. Family of 4, myself, husband (not a disney lover) son 10 and daughter 13. 

Dates were May 4-8
Disney Riveria One bedroom Villa.
VIP experience on May 5th
Thursday 5th - HS and MK
Friday 6th - Epcot
Saturday 7th - AK and MK


This was hands down the best trip we've been on. We did more in three full park days then we have in years that we went for 8 nights. Three things played a huge part in that. VIP obviously, We were picked up at the resort at 8:30am and started at HS spent about 4.5 hours there. We rode our favorites more than once, our guide got us waters numerous times, got the kids a snack while we waited in a line, and she ate lunch with us which was totally ok with us. After our last ride we went to MK. Rode everything we wanted there, meanwhile I was stacking Genie+ times for when we separated from our guide. She got us all ice cream bars at MK as well. The ease of getting into parks was amazing and so worth it. We waited for nothing more than 15 min. I know this is a pricey add on but if you are able to do it its worth every penny. I was worried with being with someone all day but she was wonderful and wasn't super fast paced. We walked at a nice stroll all day. Its like being on auto pilot. We tell her what we wanted to do then she leads the way in the best order to utilize time! My husband actually really enjoyed the day and I think its because there was no moments or "What do we do now" "Which way" no one arguing etc. We did 8 hours with her, so one more hour then the minimum time! I would 100% do it again and my husband even said "NEXT TIME we go to Disney we'll do VIP" I was shocked. 

Second big factor. My kids are older now. Its a given the older your kids the easier they are ha. (well in some aspects) but when it comes to theme parks its a PERK. Dont get me wrong I loved talking them younger, when my son was 2 years old and he held onto those characters like they were his best friends, just melted my heart. Or my daughter going to BBB was so magical. BUT now they dont complain, they dont tire out by noon. They ride everything! It's fun to plan and talk to them about it all. It was just easier to do long days, early mornings, later nights. 

Genie+ I know this is a hot topic LOL. I do not love it BUT it worked well for us. Again VIP we didn't need it most of the day, but I was able to get us plenty of rides later in the evening at MK. Epcot it worked fine, we walked on a lot but also was able to use it for Remi, Soarin so we could ride it twice, spaceship earth and TT, other rides we didn't need it. My husband & son actually rode Mission space three times walking on. We did wait 30 min for frozen. So it was useful on Epcot day. AK day as well, just not as many rides, but it was fine. We left AK though after lunch around 2 and I continued to stack time for MK later that night. When kids and I went back to MK around 5pm to 10pm we rode 8 things and ate dinner at the plaza. 5 rides were with Genie+ 3 were walk on. I was pretty happy with that! So I do not love being on my phone non stop, its frustrating that some rides are gone so quickly in the morning. But if you know to get those top rides first you can utilize it a lot. 

Crowds were completely manageable. Both times we were in Fantasyland I could walk with my arms stretched out, I was shocked. The only park that felt really crowded and we honestly had the least fun was AK, It was just a cluster, its a harder park I feel to make a good route without back tracking, my genie+ times kinda weren't the best schedule so it was a lot more back and forth and again it just felt busier and HOTTER despite it being the coolest day. 

We did eat at Space 220 and I was not as thrilled as I thought, It just didn't wow me like I thought it would. From pics and blogs etc it looks so incredible but I was very underwhelmed with it. Just wasn't impressive in my opinion. Food was good but again not amazing. I liked Yak and Yeti better. HA. 

The Riveria is beautiful. I would def stay there again! We rented a car which we used, but also used the sky liner for our break during epcot day and we took the bus twice in evenings from MK. Overall it was just a great trip. It was also our first trip since prior to covid we didn't have to wear masks which for my family was wonderful. Things felt so much back to normal! Cast members were friendly, we never had a hard time getting food or drinks. It was just a great trip! 

If you made it this far thanks for reading!!!


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## farfaraway

We went in May too. We had a blast-not sure what all the complaining is all about. Yes, getting park reservations and changing them based on dining or park hours is a pain. That was seriously the only drawback. We didn't even utilized Genie + and we were able to ride everything we wanted.


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## NavyDad

We are planning a trip for this same week next June. I'm interested to hear from folks who are there now on how the crowds feel.


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## Sarahsal

Just back from 7 nights, 6/20-6/27. Parks were crowded, but not Easter pre-pandemic crowded. Don't want to upset anyone or get into an argument, but once I got the hang of it I loved genie+. One day at MK we used 8 passes. Could have been more if we wanted Dumbo or IASM in the evening. Used stand-by at opening, Genie+ rides that ran out early in the morning, then headed back to the resort for a rest, during which I stacked passes for the evening. It was somewhat like the original fastpass system in that way. Even at a park where it really isn't necessary, (AK and Epcot) we used it and it worked well for us. Best of all, when we did have trouble with the technology, the Guest Experience people, located throughout the parks, were able to solve the problems. Be happy to answer any questions.


----------



## NicholeB630

Sarahsal said:


> Just back from 7 nights, 6/20-6/27. Parks were crowded, but not Easter pre-pandemic crowded. Don't want to upset anyone or get into an argument, but once I got the hang of it I loved genie+. One day at MK we used 8 passes. Could have been more if we wanted Dumbo or IASM in the evening. Used stand-by at opening, Genie+ rides that ran out early in the morning, then headed back to the resort for a rest, during which I stacked passes for the evening. It was somewhat like the original fastpass system in that way. Even at a park where it really isn't necessary, (AK and Epcot) we used it and it worked well for us. Best of all, when we did have trouble with the technology, the Guest Experience people, located throughout the parks, were able to solve the problems. Be happy to answer any questions.



Im very torn on it bc it worked well for us too but I still dont love it. I dont know why Disney cant be like every other theme park in America and just offer a flat rate express line. But guess its better than nothing. I def think new people to Disney have a harder time with it as opposed to experienced guest who know all about rides, what goes faster, lines etc. Glad it was a good trip!


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## TXDisneyFan1

Our family got back from a trip June 22nd - 28th. We did 5 nights in two dvc villas at the Grand Floridian and 1 night with a 2 bedroom dvc villa at Animal Kingdom Lodge. There were 6 in our family.

To start....WOW, it was crowded! I have been to WDW 6 times and this was by far the most crowded the parks have been. That being said, we had a great family vacation! This was our first time staying at the GF and I was surprised by how much I liked the resort. We are normally Poly people, but GF was beautiful and did provide us a sense of luxury. The only let down was our dinner at Citricos. It just wasn't very good and it was very expensive. Almost everything we ordered was mediocre...best thing of the night was the olive bread and salty butter. However, our dinner at California Grill was outstanding! I didn't mind the high price tag because the food was so delicious.

Guardians is my new favorite ride! It was so much fun! We rode it twice and I wish I had bought it for every day of our trip. It didn't make me nauseous at all. 

Weather was as good as I could hope for....only had one long rain shower.

I can't really speak to ride availability because we used genie+ in conjunction with DAS. I was worried about rides being down, but we never seemed to have a problem with that. Rides were mostly up and running....we did get trapped on Splash Mountain twice.

My one big complaint is with the new MK fireworks show. We did the dessert party so we wouldn't have to fight for a good viewing spot. I LOVED Happily Ever After....loved the music, projections and message. The new show appears thrown together, no cohesion and about half of the songs don't have words! It was such a huge disappointment for me. 

We had a great family vacation and created lots of memories that I will cherish forever. Now that our kids are older teenagers, it only added to the fun. They love Disney as much as we do. However, the increased costs will force us to look elsewhere for family trips in the future. (Unfortunately)


----------



## saintsfan57

I have mostly just read this board over the years and not posted much but have always gotten good info from here. 

Until now. Reading this I was convinced that the new Genie and LL system was going to be a disaster. Imagine my surprise when I spend this past week at Disney and had my best trip in years. 

The fact is, the new system reminds me of the original FP system except I didn’t have to run all over. I got my LL and my ILL early each morning and we still took advantage of rope drop to tour way before the crowds built up. I got every LL I wanted and those I didn’t get, which was like 1, we waited until later when the lines were less. I enjoyed not being locked into times that I booked 2 months ago and it felt more spontaneous and we toured the parks more logically. 

So, if the complaints were just about money I get it, but some people are willing to pay for a better experience and let me say, I’d rather pay for this system than get FP+ for free


----------



## Chernabob

saintsfan57 said:


> I have mostly just read this board over the years and not posted much but have always gotten good info from here.
> 
> Until now. Reading this I was convinced that the new Genie and LL system was going to be a disaster. Imagine my surprise when I spend this past week at Disney and had my best trip in years.
> 
> The fact is, the new system reminds me of the original FP system except I didn’t have to run all over. I got my LL and my ILL early each morning and we still took advantage of rope drop to tour way before the crowds built up. I got every LL I wanted and those I didn’t get, which was like 1, we waited until later when the lines were less. I enjoyed not being locked into times that I booked 2 months ago and it felt more spontaneous and we toured the parks more logically.
> 
> So, if the complaints were just about money I get it, but some people are willing to pay for a better experience and let me say, I’d rather pay for this system than get FP+ for free


I'm just back from a 5-day trip, and I'll echo this.  We pre-purchased Genie+ with our tickets for the whole trip, and I thought it was well worth it.  Would I like it better if it were free?  Yes.  But the system generally worked, with enough planning and effort.  I didn't feel "glued to my phone" as some have worried.  And with just a bit of advance research and effort on the park day, it's a great time saver.

Biggest tip--refresh (or "fiddle faddle").  We were able to pull Remy after it was sold out, and more than once get better times than was initially offered for different rides throughout the day.


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## jods

saintsfan57 said:


> I have mostly just read this board over the years and not posted much but have always gotten good info from here.
> 
> Until now. Reading this I was convinced that the new Genie and LL system was going to be a disaster. Imagine my surprise when I spend this past week at Disney and had my best trip in years.
> 
> The fact is, the new system reminds me of the original FP system except I didn’t have to run all over. I got my LL and my ILL early each morning and we still took advantage of rope drop to tour way before the crowds built up. I got every LL I wanted and those I didn’t get, which was like 1, we waited until later when the lines were less. I enjoyed not being locked into times that I booked 2 months ago and it felt more spontaneous and we toured the parks more logically.
> 
> So, if the complaints were just about money I get it, but some people are willing to pay for a better experience and let me say, I’d rather pay for this system than get FP+ for free


I haven't used it yet but my complaint is the need to be up early lol.  We like to sleep in and stay late at the parks.  FP was great for that because we knew we at least had 3 rides.   I have no desire to get up for 7, especially after the Halloween Party and deluxe after hours. Glad you had a great trip.


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## Bahamontes

preemiemama said:


> Also noticed today that while a lot of CMs at Epcot and DHS were friendly and helpful, many of the ones we encountered today at MK have not been. POTC was the worst- CMs were all bunched up talking about their plans for the evening at the entrance and at the loading area.


Saw this EXACT same huddle at Pirates in April. Had a real cringey vibe, like Universal employees. (Anytime I go to the JV parks, I feel like I’m CONSTANTLY imposing upon employees’ conversations.)

Stark contrast to the amazing CMs I had seen throughout MK that day, though - tiki room, sdmt, and fireworks CMs around the core were all fantastic. Like, fantastic for the before times, let alone today.


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## PPFlight75

Bahamontes said:


> Saw this EXACT same huddle at Pirates in April. Had a real cringey vibe, like Universal employees. (Anytime I go to the JV parks, I feel like I’m CONSTANTLY imposing upon employees’ conversations.)
> 
> Stark contrast to the amazing CMs I had seen throughout MK that day, though - tiki room, sdmt, and fireworks CMs around the core were all fantastic. Like, fantastic for the before times, let alone today.


Interesting you say this. We had a similar encounter at Pirates a few days ago. 2 CMs huddled together talking and one by herself singing and not greeting or making eye contact. We found it very unusual. There are always a few few chatting CMs but someone usually smiles or welcomes you. It usually doesn't register but the Pirates encounter was enough for me and DH to mention it to each other.


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## PPFlight75

Just back from a 9 night trip. Very hot and crowded but lots of fun. Most CMs were great. 

A new favorite for us is Ale and Compass. Great late lunch and everyone enjoyed it. 

We only used G+ for our HS day and ILL for GoTg a few times. G+ really doesn't fit our park style. We like to go to the park and only stay a few hours and visiting each park twice allows us to get everything done and even some multiple rides on our favorites. 

We only wanted to visit  HS once so used G+ for this park and it worked great. Got to the park around 7 and let in around 730. Half rode ToT(other half rode RnR), MMRR(10 min wait), Aliens (5 min wait), TSMM(G+), Star Tours(G+), RotR(ILL), lunch, and RnR(G+). We left before 2 and the only ride we didn't ride that we wanted to was Smugglers Run but we were ready for the pool. For one day at the park I would use G+ again.


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## preemiemama

PPFlight75 said:


> Interesting you say this. We had a similar encounter at Pirates a few days ago. 2 CMs huddled together talking and one by herself singing and not greeting or making eye contact. We found it very unusual. There are always a few few chatting CMs but someone usually smiles or welcomes you. It usually doesn't register but the Pirates encounter was enough for me and DH to mention it to each other.





Bahamontes said:


> Saw this EXACT same huddle at Pirates in April. Had a real cringey vibe, like Universal employees. (Anytime I go to the JV parks, I feel like I’m CONSTANTLY imposing upon employees’ conversations.)
> 
> Stark contrast to the amazing CMs I had seen throughout MK that day, though - tiki room, sdmt, and fireworks CMs around the core were all fantastic. Like, fantastic for the before times, let alone today.


I'm glad it wasn't just us, but not so great that it wasn't a one-time experience.  I get that hiring CMs right now is tough, but that one would need a conversation...


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## jwo1976

We spent 2 weeks at WDW at Fort Wilderness (5/28-6/13).  We are a family of 5.  The campground was wonderful and we did have a great time.  Actually enjoyed cruising (looping) at the campground more so than going to the parks.
I dislike Genie+, while it did allow us to ride many things while the parks were over crowded what the trade off is someone in your party (my wife this time) had her nose buried in here phone the whole time and didn't get to enjoy family time together.  To busy trying to get the next thing.  THIS takes away from a FAMILY vacation.  If you had the means to hire an assistant who's job it was to book your next experience then maybe that would be great.  Also the food and extra experiences were VERY lacking and so not worth the money spent.  We went to space 220 and after spending $600 on a meal 1. still hungry, 2. had better steaks at Applebee's, 3 the trip to space VERY underwhelming and the "scenery" out of the "window" is quite cheesy and boring.  That was a total bust and a 1 and done.  We also did a dessert party (which we have done in the past) and it to was lacking.  Way to many people in the "party" variety of the desserts and the quality were lacking as compared to past events.  Just really not enjoyable and soooo not worth $500.  

We did really enjoy the Wild Africa Trek and felt this was a good value, great guides and great food.  Highly recommend this.  Pricey but worth it.

Overall it felt very hurried and not a family vacation.

Side note, we have gone every year since 2007 and have experienced many changes, some good and some bad.  This latest round, while some of the new rides are great (Guardians) some lacking (Remy) overall the new heads have lost the magic and what it means to be the most magical place on earth.  So much so the kids don't even enjoy it anymore.  WDW has become just another place, not that special.   With the renewal of Chapek I fear Disney is on a downward spiral they can't get out of.  Meanwhile Universal seems to be stepping up their game.  May have to make a change next year.


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## pens4821

jods said:


> I haven't used it yet but my complaint is the need to be up early lol.  We like to sleep in and stay late at the parks.  FP was great for that because we knew we at least had 3 rides.   I have no desire to get up for 7, especially after the Halloween Party and deluxe after hours. Glad you had a great trip.



IMO, other than a couple rides no need to get up and book right at 7. You can start booking when you get up. You can’t make your second selection until two hours after park open, so if you can be up around park open time you won’t be far behind the curve. Unless you usually sleep until 10 instead of around 8/9 I don’t think you will have an issue for most the attractions. And even if you wait until 10 you shouldn’t have an issue with much except a handful of rides (other than being 1 LL behind since people can book their second when you’re getting your first). 

When we were there for spring break the only things that sold out right away was sdd and rotr (we didn’t go to ak so not sure about there). It may have changed since then, but there was no need to be up right at 7 unless you wanted one of them, and luckily they are the same park.


----------



## jods

pens4821 said:


> IMO, other than a couple rides no need to get up and book right at 7. You can start booking when you get up. You can’t make your second selection until two hours after park open, so if you can be up around park open time you won’t be far behind the curve. Unless you usually sleep until 10 instead of around 8/9 I don’t think you will have an issue for most the attractions. And even if you wait until 10 you shouldn’t have an issue with much except a handful of rides (other than being 1 LL behind since people can book their second when you’re getting your first).
> 
> When we were there for spring break the only things that sold out right away was sdd and rotr (we didn’t go to ak so not sure about there). It may have changed since then, but there was no need to be up right at 7 unless you wanted one of them, and luckily they are the same park.


I wouldn't be able to sleep on knowing I could book genie and when I'm up, I'm up


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## elgerber

jods said:


> I wouldn't be able to sleep on knowing I could book genie and when I'm up, I'm up


totally me too.


----------



## SLThomas318

elgerber said:


> totally me too.


Same… we weren’t impressed with genie+ at all when we used it back in November so we ended up using it for only 1 day on our June trip.  I was up late so I bought it at midnight, but then I didn’t even sleep well bc I was paranoid I’d over sleep… not relaxing at all.  We got good value out of it the one day we used it, but it’s not something I would enjoy doing/using every day of our trip.


----------



## TXDisneyFan1

PPFlight75 said:


> Interesting you say this. We had a similar encounter at Pirates a few days ago. 2 CMs huddled together talking and one by herself singing and not greeting or making eye contact. We found it very unusual. There are always a few few chatting CMs but someone usually smiles or welcomes you. It usually doesn't register but the Pirates encounter was enough for me and DH to mention it to each other.



I have to agree with those expressing a little disappointment with the CMs. I hate to do this because they really have a tough job and we have had such good interactions over the years, but this year was the worst...by far. There were some really good ones who were definitely into their role and played it so well (TOT, Star Wars Land) but this time, we saw too many who looked like they really didn't want to be there and just didn't care to even be friendly.


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## pens4821

TXDisneyFan1 said:


> I have to agree with those expressing a little disappointment with the CMs. I hate to do this because they really have a tough job and we have had such good interactions over the years, but this year was the worst...by far. There were some really good ones who were definitely into their role and played it so well (TOT, Star Wars Land) but this time, we saw too many who looked like they really didn't want to be there and just didn't care to even be friendly.



We noticed the same in March. Not as many went out of their way to smile or say hi first. I always try to atleast say hi with a smile when I’m walking by a worker. It was even more disappointing the amounts of times I’d say hi and the CM would look the other way or totally ignore me. This happened very often. 

I don’t let it bother me, but it was noticeable. I work with the public and I get it, but even if I’m having a bad day and maybe not as nice as usual someone being nice to me will at least snap me out of it momentarily. Not some of the encounters we had


----------



## PPFlight75

TXDisneyFan1 said:


> I have to agree with those expressing a little disappointment with the CMs. I hate to do this because they really have a tough job and we have had such good interactions over the years, but this year was the worst...by far. There were some really good ones who were definitely into their role and played it so well (TOT, Star Wars Land) but this time, we saw too many who looked like they really didn't want to be there and just didn't care to even be friendly.


Yeah, I was reluctant to even mention it but it was so noticeable. I didn’t really realize how much CM interactions made my trips even better but they really are the heart of the parks.


----------



## state08

Back yesterday from a week trip with 7 people. Some thoughts:

- Pop Century is a great resort for us as a mainly parks all day family. Previous trip stayed at Art of Animation in the Little Mermaid rooms and I think Pop is a much better choice if you don’t need a suite.

- Skyliner is a game changer. I have to imagine demand for Pop and Art go way up when more people discover just how great it is. I was concerned about lines at open but even our rope drop HS day we walked right on. The ride itself is beautiful and so pleasant as well.

- We don’t visit very often so splurged for G+ and ILL each day. I get that we all hate the feeling that Disney is charging for everything nowadays but wow did G+ work great for us. Our previous trip was during FP+ and we thought we did incredibly well with it. We did so much more this trip! We did crisscross more than in the past but it wasn’t awful.

- My biggest G+ advice is to book right at 7 for something you can get a time for 1st thing in the morning and your ILL for late morning/early afternoon when the park is at its most crowded. For example, on our AK day we booked Navi for 8-9 and FOP for noon. We rope dropped Everest (rode twice with no wait) and then went straight to Navi. Since we were already able to book our 2nd G+ so early we had the pick of several rides with immediate times still.

- 2nd piece of advice is refresh refresh refresh. I thought my head would be in my phone all day doing this but it really wasn’t bad at all. We had a ton of luck refreshing over and over and getting great times for things that were either only late in the day or completely gone.

- Cosmic Rewind is the most fun ride in Disney World. If it’s in your budget, get a BG and buy the ILL. You’ll want to ride again.

- Rise was a bit of a disappointment considering all the hype. The whole experience and immersion is very cool from beginning to end but the ride itself could have been faster and more intense. Also I’m pretty sure at least 3 elements (lightsaber through ceiling, cannons, ending Kylo) were on B mode which was incredibly disappointing considering we spent over $100 for the 7 of us to get ILL.

- Along those same lines, rides going down is very noticeable and could become a real issue for Disney. We got at least 3 anytime G+ passes because rides were down when we were supposed to go the LL. Then on Friday MMRR was down almost the whole day, at least from open until late afternoon. When a park already doesn’t have enough attractions, 1 ride going down for that long really makes the rest of the park feel way too crowded.

- Food in the parks has come such a long way over the years. Trying the new food and snacks was a big part of our plan and it was a real highlight for us. Nomad Lounge of course being #1. The food and drinks are great but the staff there really puts it over the top as well.

- It’s been beaten do death but Enchantment is just missing something. It’s almost like they tried to hard or something. HEA was perfect and while the Enchantment fireworks are incredible, the music and projections are noticeably lacking. Still enjoyed it but not nearly the highlight MK fireworks were in the past.

- Cast Members overall were incredible. I noticed a little of what others have mentioned but 99% were as fantastic as ever. In fact, it became a running joke that we couldn’t understand how they were all so happy despite the intense heat and crowds.

Happy to answer any other questions on our experience!


----------



## Selket

TXDisneyFan1 said:


> I have to agree with those expressing a little disappointment with the CMs. I hate to do this because they really have a tough job and we have had such good interactions over the years, but this year was the worst...by far. There were some really good ones who were definitely into their role and played it so well (TOT, Star Wars Land) but this time, we saw too many who looked like they really didn't want to be there and just didn't care to even be friendly.


I was there early December and had the worst interaction with a group of CM's out of all of my trips.  It was the last night there and I wanted to take pics of the castle before I left.  I parked  my ECV and got out my phone (camera) and at that moment a CM walked up to change the trash can bag and parked his rolling thing in front of me.  A group of CMs came and started forming a line to block off access ahead of me cause it was a Christmas party night.  I'm still waiting for trash can guy to finish.  I told them I had been waiting there to take pics and would leave - they were just rude (literally standing in front of my ECV).  I'm like fine - I need to turn around and go back and there was a curb there so I needed to go forward and circle - the CM was like jumping around my ECV with his arms out like I was going to go Bonnie and Clyde on him or something.  I'm thinking I'm in an ECV - not exactly low profile here and I'm an old lady - just let me turn my scooter around so I don't go off the curb cause I'm on a sidewalk and it's too narrow.   The one guy was young so ok maybe he was hired yesterday ...but the one with him was older and was bossing folks around. 

I still imagine me just putting the pedal to the metal and taking off towards Tomorrowland...haha!  I think the guy would literally have tackled me.  I've been to loads of parties at the MK but never saw any CM's so aggressive with guests.  How far could I have even gotten?  Why would I even try?


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## scrappinginontario

While I appreciate a number of guests have had some unfortunate CM experiences lately, the good experiences far outweigh the bad and it would be great to get that thread back to discussing all aspects of recent trips in order to be helpful to those travelling soon.

Thanks.


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## rockabyemonkey

state08 said:


> Back yesterday from a week trip with 7 people. Some thoughts:
> 
> - Pop Century is a great resort for us as a mainly parks all day family. Previous trip stayed at Art of Animation in the Little Mermaid rooms and I think Pop is a much better choice if you don’t need a suite.
> 
> - Skyliner is a game changer. I have to imagine demand for Pop and Art go way up when more people discover just how great it is. I was concerned about lines at open but even our rope drop HS day we walked right on. The ride itself is beautiful and so pleasant as well.
> 
> - We don’t visit very often so splurged for G+ and ILL each day. I get that we all hate the feeling that Disney is charging for everything nowadays but wow did G+ work great for us. Our previous trip was during FP+ and we thought we did incredibly well with it. We did so much more this trip! We did crisscross more than in the past but it wasn’t awful.
> 
> - My biggest G+ advice is to book right at 7 for something you can get a time for 1st thing in the morning and your ILL for late morning/early afternoon when the park is at its most crowded. For example, on our AK day we booked Navi for 8-9 and FOP for noon. We rope dropped Everest (rode twice with no wait) and then went straight to Navi. Since we were already able to book our 2nd G+ so early we had the pick of several rides with immediate times still.
> 
> - 2nd piece of advice is refresh refresh refresh. I thought my head would be in my phone all day doing this but it really wasn’t bad at all. We had a ton of luck refreshing over and over and getting great times for things that were either only late in the day or completely gone.
> 
> - Cosmic Rewind is the most fun ride in Disney World. If it’s in your budget, get a BG and buy the ILL. You’ll want to ride again.
> 
> - Rise was a bit of a disappointment considering all the hype. The whole experience and immersion is very cool from beginning to end but the ride itself could have been faster and more intense. Also I’m pretty sure at least 3 elements (lightsaber through ceiling, cannons, ending Kylo) were on B mode which was incredibly disappointing considering we spent over $100 for the 7 of us to get ILL.
> 
> - Along those same lines, rides going down is very noticeable and could become a real issue for Disney. We got at least 3 anytime G+ passes because rides were down when we were supposed to go the LL. Then on Friday MMRR was down almost the whole day, at least from open until late afternoon. When a park already doesn’t have enough attractions, 1 ride going down for that long really makes the rest of the park feel way too crowded.
> 
> - Food in the parks has come such a long way over the years. Trying the new food and snacks was a big part of our plan and it was a real highlight for us. Nomad Lounge of course being #1. The food and drinks are great but the staff there really puts it over the top as well.
> 
> - It’s been beaten do death but Enchantment is just missing something. It’s almost like they tried to hard or something. HEA was perfect and while the Enchantment fireworks are incredible, the music and projections are noticeably lacking. Still enjoyed it but not nearly the highlight MK fireworks were in the past.
> 
> - Cast Members overall were incredible. I noticed a little of what others have mentioned but 99% were as fantastic as ever. In fact, it became a running joke that we couldn’t understand how they were all so happy despite the intense heat and crowds.
> 
> Happy to answer any other questions on our experience!


Just curious if you found that the time you selected in the app for G+ ended up being close to the time you were assigned.  My daughter and I were there in March for one day and almost all of the times I selected in the app changed to times that were significantly later by the time it was confirmed.  Eg.  At 7am I chose 12:45 for PP for 2 people.  Quickly clicked through to confirm and got 2:45.  Is this still happening?  I'm nervous because that happened repeatedly for a party of 2....we are going again the end of July with a party of 5.  TIA!


----------



## magicmountainmama

state08 said:


> Back yesterday from a week trip with 7 people. Some thoughts:
> 
> - Pop Century is a great resort for us as a mainly parks all day family. Previous trip stayed at Art of Animation in the Little Mermaid rooms and I think Pop is a much better choice if you don’t need a suite.
> 
> - Skyliner is a game changer. I have to imagine demand for Pop and Art go way up when more people discover just how great it is. I was concerned about lines at open but even our rope drop HS day we walked right on. The ride itself is beautiful and so pleasant as well.
> 
> - We don’t visit very often so splurged for G+ and ILL each day. I get that we all hate the feeling that Disney is charging for everything nowadays but wow did G+ work great for us. Our previous trip was during FP+ and we thought we did incredibly well with it. We did so much more this trip! We did crisscross more than in the past but it wasn’t awful.
> 
> - My biggest G+ advice is to book right at 7 for something you can get a time for 1st thing in the morning and your ILL for late morning/early afternoon when the park is at its most crowded. For example, on our AK day we booked Navi for 8-9 and FOP for noon. We rope dropped Everest (rode twice with no wait) and then went straight to Navi. Since we were already able to book our 2nd G+ so early we had the pick of several rides with immediate times still.
> 
> - 2nd piece of advice is refresh refresh refresh. I thought my head would be in my phone all day doing this but it really wasn’t bad at all. We had a ton of luck refreshing over and over and getting great times for things that were either only late in the day or completely gone.
> 
> - Cosmic Rewind is the most fun ride in Disney World. If it’s in your budget, get a BG and buy the ILL. You’ll want to ride again.
> 
> - Rise was a bit of a disappointment considering all the hype. The whole experience and immersion is very cool from beginning to end but the ride itself could have been faster and more intense. Also I’m pretty sure at least 3 elements (lightsaber through ceiling, cannons, ending Kylo) were on B mode which was incredibly disappointing considering we spent over $100 for the 7 of us to get ILL.
> 
> - Along those same lines, rides going down is very noticeable and could become a real issue for Disney. We got at least 3 anytime G+ passes because rides were down when we were supposed to go the LL. Then on Friday MMRR was down almost the whole day, at least from open until late afternoon. When a park already doesn’t have enough attractions, 1 ride going down for that long really makes the rest of the park feel way too crowded.
> 
> - Food in the parks has come such a long way over the years. Trying the new food and snacks was a big part of our plan and it was a real highlight for us. Nomad Lounge of course being #1. The food and drinks are great but the staff there really puts it over the top as well.
> 
> - It’s been beaten do death but Enchantment is just missing something. It’s almost like they tried to hard or something. HEA was perfect and while the Enchantment fireworks are incredible, the music and projections are noticeably lacking. Still enjoyed it but not nearly the highlight MK fireworks were in the past.
> 
> - Cast Members overall were incredible. I noticed a little of what others have mentioned but 99% were as fantastic as ever. In fact, it became a running joke that we couldn’t understand how they were all so happy despite the intense heat and crowds.
> 
> Happy to answer any other questions on our experience!



I totally agree about Pop! We’re DVC & usually stay at BLT, but I did I quick mother-son trip & we stayed at Pop. I loved it & would def stay there again. 
Sounds like you had a great trip!


----------



## asuburbanman

rockabyemonkey said:


> Just curious if you found that the time you selected in the app for G+ ended up being close to the time you were assigned.  My daughter and I were there in March for one day and almost all of the times I selected in the app changed to times that were significantly later by the time it was confirmed.  Eg.  At 7am I chose 12:45 for PP for 2 people.  Quickly clicked through to confirm and got 2:45.  Is this still happening?  I'm nervous because that happened repeatedly for a party of 2....we are going again the end of July with a party of 5.  TIA!



I had no issues with G+ changing times. Only ILL booked at 7am and the time would change slightly


----------



## scrappinginontario

rockabyemonkey said:


> Just curious if you found that the time you selected in the app for G+ ended up being close to the time you were assigned.  My daughter and I were there in March for one day and almost all of the times I selected in the app changed to times that were significantly later by the time it was confirmed.  Eg.  At 7am I chose 12:45 for PP for 2 people.  Quickly clicked through to confirm and got 2:45.  Is this still happening?  I'm nervous because that happened repeatedly for a party of 2....we are going again the end of July with a party of 5.  TIA!


This is still being reported as happening often.


----------



## state08

rockabyemonkey said:


> Just curious if you found that the time you selected in the app for G+ ended up being close to the time you were assigned.  My daughter and I were there in March for one day and almost all of the times I selected in the app changed to times that were significantly later by the time it was confirmed.  Eg.  At 7am I chose 12:45 for PP for 2 people.  Quickly clicked through to confirm and got 2:45.  Is this still happening?  I'm nervous because that happened repeatedly for a party of 2....we are going again the end of July with a party of 5.  TIA!


I was expecting that based on what I had read but that wasn’t my experience. I don’t think we had a time change more than maybe 15-30 min from what we selected. We also used time.gov to refresh right at the exact moment it turned to 7am. For additional context, our 7am selections each day were Navi, Splash, Remy, and TOT and got a block in the 1st hour each time.


----------



## act1980

I last went in May and it was pretty crazy! Is there anyone there now who can shed some light on park attendance? Have the crowds calmed down a bit?


----------



## scrappinginontario

act1980 said:


> I last went in May and it was pretty crazy! Is there anyone there now who can shed some light on park attendance? Have the crowds calmed down a bit?


Your question has been merged with the ‘Here Now and Just Back’ thread where people are sharing their current experiences in the parks.  Reading the last couple of pages of this thread will help you gauge how busy the parks currently are.

The challenge with ‘how busy are the parks?’ is that it’s such a personal opinion based on history and where they are at the moment.

Looking at the ride wait times on MDE is also another good place to help you gauge.


----------



## Carol_

Just back today from 9 days in Orlando. Here’s a quick summary:
1. Against my better instincts, I renewed our APs. I had been to a largely disappointing WDW earlier this year and had no intention of repeating those feelings… But I am weak, so…

2. We stayed 2 nights not exactly on WDW property but close enough, 1 night at Liki Tiki, 1 night in a 1BR Savannah view at Jambo House, AKL, then 3? nights at a CCV studio, and finally 1 night off property at a REALLY nice resort in Orlando.

3. The CMs were great across the board, (which they needed to be to make up for that old sour taste left in my mouth from months ago). I got pixie dusted twice.
3a. Front desk bent over backwards to help my Luddite self manage my dining reservations and park reservations, and magic bands which refused to cooperate. The WDW app opened our doors, though, so yay! Also, we got keys to the world as backup.
3b. Bell services were polite and prompt every time we called, which was a lot.
3c. The inter-CM banter was FAR less than last visit. There was far more crowd interaction, and precious few people standing around doing nothing with teenager scowls on their faces.

4. There were some hiccups. But we were treated so well when they happened, that I’m not mad about anything. 

4a. We got ROTR early. Got kicked off twice for breakdowns. Third attempt was a success. Again, the CMs were funny and helpful.

4b. Lost another hat on a ride (We can’t learn.) The CM magically appeared with it in his hand and we were off smiling again after the most terrifying ride of my life (1st time on Rockin Roller Coaster). Why didn’t I know about the loop-dee-loops? 

4c. We couldn’t find parking at Fort Wilderness and were forced to cancel our dinner reservations at Trails End because of it. (DH had dropped some of us near enough to walk, and we bought lovely drinks while we waited for him to report he couldn’t park…) So we went back to CCV, and managed differently.

Off property notes: Aquatica was crowded but fun. Pay for the quick queue. The Commerson’s dolphin experience was cool. Sea World is better when you sit in the splash zone. Florida is hotter than the surface of the sun, and it rains every day twice a day for 10 minutes. From drizzle to torrential downpour with scary lightning. Dress appropriately. Get your ponchos at Walmart.

So, in summary, I’m very glad I renewed my APs. The no block-out dates was key for me this week. I bought Genie+ at midnight and individual lightning lanes at 7:00(ish) on the two days I had park reservations. We had full days, and when I struggled with the app, guest relations CMs walked me through it. (I can’t read and absorb every hint here on disboards. I have to play wordle and read memes.)
Ok, back to the memes thread.


----------



## coachk34

Just returned from a 9 night stay at Fort Wilderness Campground. 5 family members in total.  A few quick observations.

1.  We had no intentions of buying any ILL and that plan worked really well.  We were able to ride those rides at Rope Drop and park closing with no wait ever over 30 minutes.  3 rides on 7D, 1 ROTR, and 2 rides of FOP.  7D was down one morning at Rope Drop as was Remy.  Our no ILL plan did change after riding Guardians via VQ, we ended up buying a ILL for a second ride.

2.  Big fan of Gen+.  Thought it worked really well. I did spend a lot of time on the phone, but forced myself to put it away during rides and shows.  Felt it was worth buying for every park.

3.  It is possible at Hollywood Studios to get LL for SDD, RnR, TOT, SR, MMRR, and TSMM in one day.  The key is to get the SDD as early as possible and that will keep you ahead for the rest of the day.  Pay close attention to the later times and book according to that.  The only real refreshing I did was to get the TSMM and that took about 15 minutes while riding a bus back to the Studios after a break.

4.  Expect rides to be down, its going to happen. Don't think it wont happen to me.  First morning 7D was down at Rope Drop.  On our Hollywood Studios day MMRR and TSMM both went down at the end of day within 15 minutes of each other.  We were able to use the MMRR Multi pass to get a second ride on SDD and the TSMM rolled over to our next park day at Epcot where we rode Test Track.  Luckily MMRR reopened before closing and we were able to ride as a walk on.  Guardians went down and we were stuck for about 15 minutes.  Came back up within 30 minutes and were given a multi use pass to ride again.  By far the worst was Pirates of the Caribbean going down in the middle of ride. Took over 30 minutes to start evacuating the ride, I know there is a process but it took way longer than it should have.  We were given a multiuse pass, but it was very limited and by the time we used it on Haunted Mansion it would have been a walk on any way.

5.  If you are still paying attention, here is a very useful tip.  Watch for magical LL drops at Epcot at 2:47 and 4:47 for Test Track and Frozen.  Will last for just a few minutes, but the return times are quick and happened ever day I looked.


----------



## DisneyFive

coachk34 said:


> 5.  If you are still paying attention, here is a very useful tip.  Watch for magical LL drops at Epcot at 2:47 and 4:47 for Test Track and Frozen.  Will last for just a few minutes, but the return times are quick and happened ever day I looked.


Thanks for the great review.  Can you explain these two drops?  Do you need to have an open booking spot for each person in your party when these times show up, or are these in addition to what you already have booked?

In other words, if you can't book your next G+ until 3pm, and it is now 2:47pm, can you book those "magical drops"?  Or do you need to plan your G+ bookings so that you have open G+ booking when 2:47 and 4:47 show up?

Is it both Frozen and TT that show up at 2:47 and 4:47, or is it TT at 2:47 and Frozen at 4:47.  Thanks.

Dan


----------



## Good&Plenty

DisneyFive said:


> Thanks for the great review.  Can you explain these two drops?  Do you need to have an open booking spot for each person in your party when these times show up, or are these in addition to what you already have booked?
> 
> In other words, if you can't book your next G+ until 3pm, and it is now 2:47pm, can you book those "magical drops"?  Or do you need to plan your G+ bookings so that you have open G+ booking when 2:47 and 4:47 show up?
> 
> Is it both Frozen and TT that show up at 2:47 and 4:47, or is it TT at 2:47 and Frozen at 4:47.  Thanks.
> 
> Dan



I'm going in a few weeks and just checked the app, you are right! Saw Remy too, for two to three minutes, right at 2:47pm.

ETA, quoted wrong post, sorry


----------



## coachk34

DisneyFive said:


> Thanks for the great review.  Can you explain these two drops?  Do you need to have an open booking spot for each person in your party when these times show up, or are these in addition to what you already have booked?
> 
> In other words, if you can't book your next G+ until 3pm, and it is now 2:47pm, can you book those "magical drops"?  Or do you need to plan your G+ bookings so that you have open G+ booking when 2:47 and 4:47 show up?
> 
> Is it both Frozen and TT that show up at 2:47 and 4:47, or is it TT at 2:47 and Frozen at 4:47.  Thanks.
> 
> Dan


You do have to have an opening to get these drops, they are not that magical.  If you booked TT or Frozen earlier in the day, then this will not be an option.  I do think TT and Frozen appear at both times.  I had not watched for Remy in my research since we planned to get it at 7:00.


----------



## DisneyFive

coachk34 said:


> You do have to have an opening to get these drops, they are not that magical.  If you booked TT or Frozen earlier in the day, then this will not be an option.  I do think TT and Frozen appear at both times.  I had not watched for Remy in my research since we planned to get it at 7:00.


Thanks!   Just checked the 4:47 drop and sure enough Remi, TT and Frozen all had 5pm returns.  Hopefully the timing works out for us to take advantage of these in a couple of weeks!  Thanks for the tips.

Dan


----------



## gottalovepluto

saintsfan57 said:


> So, if the complaints were just about money I get it, but some people are willing to pay for a better experience and let me say, I’d rather pay for this system than get FP+ for free


If you’re comparing reviews from before the G+ changes in end of Feb and Remy with GOTG coming out you’re comparing G+ Apples to Oranges. Adding Space, Frozen, Remy, Everest & MMRR to G+ majorly increased the programs capacity.

Which means anyone going after 8/7/22 should be watching the situation closely. If those rides are put back under the ILL program, G+ will absolutely not be like it is now.


----------



## lukemorenus

gottalovepluto said:


> If you’re comparing reviews from before the G+ changes in end of Feb and Remy with GOTG coming out you’re comparing G+ Apples to Oranges. Adding Space, Frozen, Remy, Everest & MMRR to G+ majorly increased the programs capacity.
> 
> Which means anyone going after 8/7/22 should be watching the situation closely. If those rides are put back under the ILL program, G+ will absolutely not be like it is now.


Yup... and we arrive on 8/7 !


----------



## gottalovepluto

lukemorenus said:


> Yup... and we arrive on 8/7 !


Guess we know who is reporting back on any changes first


----------



## Bibbobboo2u

lukemorenus said:


> Yup... and we arrive on 8/7 !





gottalovepluto said:


> Guess we know who is reporting back on any changes first


Which I will greatly appreciate!!!!  DH and I were "Genie-Pigs" on day one of the original launch of G+, and what a nightmare that was - still have flashbacks.  At least we know the process much better now. I don't like the new game, but I want to know the rules so I can still play.


----------



## elgerber

Bibbobboo2u said:


> Which I will greatly appreciate!!!!  DH and I were "Genie-Pigs" on day one of the original launch of G+, and what a nightmare that was - still have flashbacks.  At least we know the process much better now. I don't like the new game, but I want to know the rules so I can still play.


haha, we were Genie-pigs too.  We didn't really have any problems with it, but it was nerve-wracking up to that first day, not knowing what to expect.


----------



## Bibbobboo2u

elgerber said:


> haha, we were Genie-pigs too.  We didn't really have any problems with it, but it was nerve-wracking up to that first day, not knowing what to expect.


We and the CM's at SDD learned the hard way that you had to tap through both points before booking next LL.  I was a little concerned when my band didn't read correctly at the 2nd tap point, but the CM said to just go on through.  DH went to get lunch, and I went to get help.  Four cast members and a manager near SDD were not able to fix the problem, so I stood in the long line at the blue umbrella, and they figured it out.  We then had to go back through both tap points at SDD and go back to blue umbrella.  We did get a couple of recovery LLs for the aggravation.  One and 1/2 hours later, I was finally able to eat my cold vegan cheese sandwich from Woody's.  Yummy!


----------



## TheDailyMoo

Look through my posts and you'll see I've really been hating on corporate Disney for a long time now. I've adored Disney for years, grown up on it, but I hate the current leadership...have been down big on their stock...hated all the changes they've implemented the last few years and the public decisions they've bungled.

Used to go to Disney World regularly with wife since the mid 2000s with last trip in 2017 before DS was born. Just got back from an 8 night trip with the family and I was expecting the absolute worst. I acknowledge that everyone's opinions on this topic are valid but I personally can wholeheartedly say that when it comes to the parks, the magic is not only still alive but perhaps even more so now than ever. This doesn't mean everything was perfect. This doesn't mean things didn't go wrong. This doesn't mean things were cheap or a great value. This doesn't mean certain things could be better. I'm talking about the magic of being in the parks and in the resorts. On campus let us say. If we can separate everything negative about what corporate Disney has messed up and just be "in the moment and in the magic" of the parks then I honestly don't see how the magic is gone.

I'd like to write up a whole review, probably in the trip report section, because I do have a lot to say, and a lot of criticisms and critiques as well. Again I think many of us are equating the magic with so many outside influences. But as a standalone concept of the magic...which might I add is such a nebulous and "outside the box" concept, I mean what the heck really IS the magic...it really is still all around and almost tangible. We felt the magic and I hope to expound more in a review. All my opinion of course.


----------



## NatNicMum

Back from a 9 day trip (6/25- 7/4/22) where we stayed at Saratoga Springs in a 1BR villa. As I learned so much from other people's experiences, I am sharing a few insights from this trip.

First off, I used to be a pretty seasoned WDW planner but this was the first trip post COVID so I was very nervous about all the changes and my ability to adapt.  Luckily my fears were unfounded and we had a wonderful trip.

My little family is me, my husband and two teen daughters. As such, we went to parks in the evening and spent morning at the resort at the pool. We planned two days at each park and three at MK (one was our arrival day so we only spent a few hours at MK that day). We did not have park hoppers. We had Genie+ for length of stay and bought ILLs at all the parks except GOTG. We were able to get the VQ both days and the Extra EMH queue so we rode three times. Great ride!

Some observations:

Genie+ can work well if you are going in the evening and start reserving times in the morning. We were able to ride everything we wanted with only a little bit of planning. The park that was the hardest was EPCOT because Test Track and Frozen were gone before you could reserve a spot at 10:30. Since we had not ridden Remy we had prioritized it on the first EPCOT day. On the second EPCOT day, I just reserved Test Track and we did not ride Remy again. Genie + is definitely expensive but does save a considerable amount of wait time. Also, it is a buffer in case rides go down. If the ride is down during your ride time, you get a pass to ride it anytime for the rest of the day. We had quite a few rides down, some mechanical and some weather related so this was extremely helpful. I would have been very annoyed if I waited 60 minutes for Remy and then the line was evacuated with no recourse for riding later.
If you get Extra EMH, definitely try to use at Magic Kingdom. You will be able to go on multiple rides with little wait. I would not use this time at EPCOT again. Wait times still high and with fewer rides and more walking between rides, it just didn't work for us. (We did get the extra GOTH ride though so YMMV). Also, not being able to find a place to buy water was incredibly frustrating.
Busses were very good. They came often and were usually not full.
Food was excellent everywhere we went but prices were high. Sit down dinners for four were usually around $200. One dinner at California Grill was much more but I would do it again. we took advantage of snack carts for things like churros and spring rolls in the afternoons and avoided counter service meals at the Parks for the most part. They seemed crowded and finding seats looked like a challenge.
SSR is a great resort. We have always stayed here but with the room renovations, it is really nice. Pools were not crowded so spending mornings at the pool was a good plan. Plus, you avoided the possibility of getting the afternoon rain.
Cast members were very good. I saw some rude customers but not any rude CMs. We had one CM on Star Tours who was phenomenal. Recognized my daughter;s birthday and had the whole car sing Happy Birthday to her. We got to go to the Wookie Planet which was fun too. Love that ride and usually a walk-on.
All in all, it was a great trip. Kids want to go back next year but I think that with the current prices, we will give it two years., That will give me time to earn Reward dollars on the Disney Visa (we had $2,000 for this trip which helped with the sticker shock).

Thank you to everyone whose posts I have been reading for the past six months. You helped me tremendously.

Edited to add that "fiddle faddle" really did work. Once the really good rides/times were gone we would not reserve a ride and spend five minutes or so fiddle faddling and usually get a good option within the hour.


----------



## onegai

Yay!  Glad you feel the magic is still at the parks and resorts and look forward to your trip report.


----------



## cjlong88

Glad you had a great time! So far we have visited in January and June this year. Both trips were amazing -- we definitely felt the magic, too.


----------



## Erica Ladd

coachk34 said:


> You do have to have an opening to get these drops, they are not that magical.  If you booked TT or Frozen earlier in the day, then this will not be an option.  I do think TT and Frozen appear at both times.  I had not watched for Remy in my research since we planned to get it at 7:00.


I just happened to read this at 2:46 and sure enough Remy and TT had return times of 3pm!!!  No frozen but still!  And at 2:49 TT was at 3:05 and Remy at 3:50 so that’s pretty good!!!


----------



## Erica Ladd

And darn it. Just looked now bc I missed 4:47 pm. And nothing special available. I’m gonna set a timer for tomorrow!!


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

How are the crowd levels? I ask because I’ve been seeing and reading elsewhere things have tapered off since right before July 4 (with a surge in mid June). Wait times the last few days seem to have dropped too.
We’re going in early August and they haven’t expanded the hours starting then as compared to what they’ve done up through late July. Also seems there’s a ton of rooms available then (again, as compared to right now)


----------



## lovethesun12

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> How are the crowd levels? I ask because I’ve been seeing and reading elsewhere things have tapered off since right before July 4 (with a surge in mid June). Wait times the last few days seem to have dropped too.
> We’re going in early August and they haven’t expanded the hours starting then as compared to what they’ve done up through late July. Also seems there’s a ton of rooms available then (again, as compared to right now)


I had to reschedule my trip to August and the dining situation definitely looks worse (trying to get reservations) than it did for my July trip. Wondering if maybe the Halloween parties are going to have an impact on crowds when I'm there.


----------



## scrappinginontario

lovethesun12 said:


> I had to reschedule my trip to August and the dining situation definitely looks worse (trying to get reservations) than it did for my July trip. Wondering if maybe the Halloween parties are going to have an impact on crowds when I'm there.


The majority of dining g fills up 60 days out so I haven’t found it’s much of an indication of crowds.

I would recommend to keep watching, especially in the last 24 hours before you want a specific reservation.  We were there in Feb when it was busy and had tried for certain dining reservations for weeks.  The day before each of them we got them and we’re even able to move them around numerous times as new times opened up.  People are changing plans up until the last minute.


----------



## closetmickey

NatNicMum said:


> Back from a 9 day trip (6/25- 7/4/22) where we stayed at Saratoga Springs in a 1BR villa. As I learned so much from other people's experiences, I am sharing a few insights from this trip.
> 
> First off, I used to be a pretty seasoned WDW planner but this was the first trip post COVID so I was very nervous about all the changes and my ability to adapt.  Luckily my fears were unfounded and we had a wonderful trip.
> 
> My little family is me, my husband and two teen daughters. As such, we went to parks in the evening and spent morning at the resort at the pool. We planned two days at each park and three at MK (one was our arrival day so we only spent a few hours at MK that day). We did not have park hoppers. We had Genie+ for length of stay and bought ILLs at all the parks except GOTG. We were able to get the VQ both days and the Extra EMH queue so we rode three times. Great ride!
> 
> Some observations:
> 
> Genie+ can work well if you are going in the evening and start reserving times in the morning. We were able to ride everything we wanted with only a little bit of planning. The park that was the hardest was EPCOT because Test Track and Frozen were gone before you could reserve a spot at 10:30. Since we had not ridden Remy we had prioritized it on the first EPCOT day. On the second EPCOT day, I just reserved Test Track and we did not ride Remy again. Genie + is definitely expensive but does save a considerable amount of wait time. Also, it is a buffer in case rides go down. If the ride is down during your ride time, you get a pass to ride it anytime for the rest of the day. We had quite a few rides down, some mechanical and some weather related so this was extremely helpful. I would have been very annoyed if I waited 60 minutes for Remy and then the line was evacuated with no recourse for riding later.
> If you get Extra EMH, definitely try to use at Magic Kingdom. You will be able to go on multiple rides with little wait. I would not use this time at EPCOT again. Wait times still high and with fewer rides and more walking between rides, it just didn't work for us. (We did get the extra GOTH ride though so YMMV). Also, not being able to find a place to buy water was incredibly frustrating.
> Busses were very good. They came often and were usually not full.
> Food was excellent everywhere we went but prices were high. Sit down dinners for four were usually around $200. One dinner at California Grill was much more but I would do it again. we took advantage of snack carts for things like churros and spring rolls in the afternoons and avoided counter service meals at the Parks for the most part. They seemed crowded and finding seats looked like a challenge.
> SSR is a great resort. We have always stayed here but with the room renovations, it is really nice. Pools were not crowded so spending mornings at the pool was a good plan. Plus, you avoided the possibility of getting the afternoon rain.
> Cast members were very good. I saw some rude customers but not any rude CMs. We had one CM on Star Tours who was phenomenal. Recognized my daughter;s birthday and had the whole car sing Happy Birthday to her. We got to go to the Wookie Planet which was fun too. Love that ride and usually a walk-on.
> All in all, it was a great trip. Kids want to go back next year but I think that with the current prices, we will give it two years., That will give me time to earn Reward dollars on the Disney Visa (we had $2,000 for this trip which helped with the sticker shock).
> 
> Thank you to everyone whose posts I have been reading for the past six months. You helped me tremendously.
> 
> Edited to add that "fiddle faddle" really did work. Once the really good rides/times were gone we would not reserve a ride and spend five minutes or so fiddle faddling and usually get a good option within the hour.


Is “fiddle faddle” the same as refresh?


----------



## Smugpugmug

closetmickey said:


> Is “fiddle faddle” the same as refresh?


Yes. Fiddle Faddle is Molly from Allears' nickname for refreshing the tip board. I call it fiddle faddle too because of her videos LOL


----------



## Erica Ladd

What’s the best way to refresh  again?


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## TheDailyMoo

EPCOT-O.G. said:


> How are the crowd levels? I ask because I’ve been seeing and reading elsewhere things have tapered off since right before July 4 (with a surge in mid June). Wait times the last few days seem to have dropped too.
> We’re going in early August and they haven’t expanded the hours starting then as compared to what they’ve done up through late July. Also seems there’s a ton of rooms available then (again, as compared to right now)


I hate crowds. Hate them. And I'm telling ya July 4th weekend and especially the few days before and after were really NOT bad at all. Like...I'm a complainer by nature lol. It wasn't bad. July 3rd fireworks at MK was out of control packed of course. July 4th at Epcot? Felt like a regular busy night with fireworks. Certainly didn't feel like July 4th. Sure I'd love to be the only one in the park but considering what I was reading about crowd levels I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe that's why I'm being so positive about the whole trip. Maybe I spent so much time reading all the complaints for two years that I completely expected the worst and I got what was really a great time. Going to finish up my trip report tonight. I have a lot to say about Genie+ and random thoughts about the bathroom soap being used in the parks...see I told you, I can find anything to complain about!


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## Smugpugmug

Erica Ladd said:


> What’s the best way to refresh  again?


The typical way of refreshing is to be on the tip board, so this page here:


You then hold the screen and pull down the tip board. It does take a second to load (depending on whether you're on wifi or not and your data provider) but it'll refresh and give you the current available selections.

A way I find better at the 7 am rush is to be on the screen of your preferred ride before 7. So if I wanted Slinky, I would be on this page before 7 am:


At exactly 7:00:00 (not before), click on the Lightning Lane icon and it will bring you to the tip board with Slinky at the top. I found this to be quicker than pulling down the screen at the 7 am selection process but YMMV. I did this for Remy when my parents were going to Epcot and wanted me to help with Genie+ and was able to get a 8:15 am return time.


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## Erica Ladd

Awesome! Just tried it and I see different times!!  Does this work with choosing your experiences when at the parks? Meaning does it refresh your favorite rides and keep them at the top?


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## Smugpugmug

Erica Ladd said:


> Awesome! Just tried it and I see different times!!  Does this work with choosing your experiences when at the parks? Meaning does it refresh your favorite rides and keep them at the top?


You can pin attractions to the top of your tip board and they will stay pinned to the top when you refresh. Unfortunately I cannot screenshot how pinned attractions work since it seems like you need to actually buy Genie+ to be able to do that.


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## Erica Ladd

Smugpugmug said:


> You can pin attractions to the top of your tip board and they will stay pinned to the top when you refresh. Unfortunately I cannot screenshot how pinned attractions work since it seems like you need to actually buy Genie+ to be able to do that.


Great - so when we are there sounds like we can pin our favorites and refresh no problem as we have G+ for all of our days!   Thanks for the info!!


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## Carol_

TheDailyMoo said:


> I hate crowds. Hate them. And I'm telling ya July 4th weekend and especially the few days before and after were really NOT bad at all. Like...I'm a complainer by nature lol. It wasn't bad. July 3rd fireworks at MK was out of control packed of course. July 4th at Epcot? Felt like a regular busy night with fireworks. Certainly didn't feel like July 4th. Sure I'd love to be the only one in the park but considering what I was reading about crowd levels I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe that's why I'm being so positive about the whole trip. Maybe I spent so much time reading all the complaints for two years that I completely expected the worst and I got what was really a great time. Going to finish up my trip report tonight. I have a lot to say about Genie+ and random thoughts about the bathroom soap being used in the parks...see I told you, I can find anything to complain about!


I agree with all this. Not overcrowded. CMs were friendly and helpful. It was crowded, but not scary dangerous miserable dirty crowded. Just WDW crowds. We rode all the rides we wanted to, got food without waiting in line for an hour, and witnessed no fights. We paid for Genie+ and ILLS, and left by 5 or 6pm. Our resort days were great with fun pool activities even in the rain.


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## NavyDad

pens4821 said:


> IMO, other than a couple rides no need to get up and book right at 7. You can start booking when you get up. You can’t make your second selection until two hours after park open, so if you can be up around park open time you won’t be far behind the curve. Unless you usually sleep until 10 instead of around 8/9 I don’t think you will have an issue for most the attractions. And even if you wait until 10 you shouldn’t have an issue with much except a handful of rides (other than being 1 LL behind since people can book their second when you’re getting your first).
> 
> When we were there for spring break the only things that sold out right away was sdd and rotr (we didn’t go to ak so not sure about there). It may have changed since then, but there was no need to be up right at 7 unless you wanted one of them, and luckily they are the same park.


To add to that: in the FP+ system with tiers you would not have been able to book both SDD and RotR ahead of time assuming both would have ended up as tier 1 attractions. You could get one of them but the other one you would have had to RD or hope that you can jump in line the last hour of the park being open. With Genie+ and ILL you reserve both if you are willing to get up at 7. We did it twice over Spring Break.


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## NavyDad

rockabyemonkey said:


> Just curious if you found that the time you selected in the app for G+ ended up being close to the time you were assigned.  My daughter and I were there in March for one day and almost all of the times I selected in the app changed to times that were significantly later by the time it was confirmed.  Eg.  At 7am I chose 12:45 for PP for 2 people.  Quickly clicked through to confirm and got 2:45.  Is this still happening?  I'm nervous because that happened repeatedly for a party of 2....we are going again the end of July with a party of 5.  TIA!


I don't remember this happening to us at all over Spring Break. I think with SDD our time may have changed from like 10:30 to 10:50 or something like that.


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## Lsdolphin

We are making a late dinner reservation at Crystal Palace on a MNSSHP nite and hoping there will still be a full selection available at buffet.  Has anyone noticed an issue with this when booking close to closing?


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## DisneyFive

Lsdolphin said:


> We are making a late dinner reservation at Crystal Palace on a MNSSHP nite and hoping there will still be a full selection available at buffet.  Has anyone noticed an issue with this when booking close to closing?


Might be a fun way to have a meal at CP, but for us that would be a _really_ tough way to use up expensive and valuable MNSSHP park time.  ...or are you not doing MNSSHP and just booking the meal close to the 7pm park closing for regular park guets?

Dan


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## Lsdolphin

DisneyFive said:


> Might be a fun way to have a meal at CP, but for us that would be a _really_ tough way to use up expensive and valuable MNSSHP park time.  ...or are you not doing MNSSHP and just booking the meal close to the 7pm park closing for regular park guets?
> 
> Dan


Yes we are doing party but was just trying to do rides we stack via genie+ then get dinner while park empties all the day guests .  last time we did MNSSHP the lines were really long until past 7 with many day guests jumping in ride lines right at park closing.


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## vinotinto

Lsdolphin said:


> Yes we are doing party but was just trying to do rides we stack via genie+ then get dinner while park empties all the day guests .  last time we did MNSSHP the lines were really long until past 7 with many day guests jumping in ride lines right at park closing.


Just remember that park closing has moved up to 6pm and party starts at 7pm. I remember when the parks closed at 7pm and it was harder to clear the day guests.


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## Lsdolphin

vinotinto said:


> Just remember that park closing has moved up to 6pm and party starts at 7pm. I remember when the parks closed at 7pm and it was harder to clear the day guests.


I’ve been to quite a few parties with park closing at 6 and party beginning at 7 and every party was chaos in the beginning. We always take the bypass behind Main St and used to do the Hallowishes Dessert Party to avoid crowds arriving/leaving park...so decided to dinner at CP instead this year.  We don’t do the characters or TOT really just go for parade, fireworks and shorter ride lines. Went to Boo Bash last year and loved it.


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## Sandiz08

Just got back, magic is still there, but much more difficult to find. We refused to purchase genie plus, but still managed to get on our must dos via rope drop and late magic hours. Enchantment is ok, definitely not Happily ever after. Harmonious is better. Merchandise appears to be low in stock at mostly just Magic Kingdom.  The parks are crowded, a lot of stuff is still closed, and prices are up. We had a better time at the resorts. Hoop dee doo was awesome! Glad we went on the trip, but won't be back anytime soon.


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## leiaorgana

So we just got back on Monday and were there 19th June - 10th July and stayed offsite at Sheraton Vistana Villages since we’re owners there. I’d say up until around the 7th July the parks were surprisingly quiet for this time of year and we couldn’t actually believe just how quiet MK was on the 4th July compared to other years but from the 7th onwards, at DHS and MK especially, it seemed to get crazy busy with crowds all coming after the 4th this year and the South American tour groups back in full force. I actually couldn’t believe just how busy MK was on the 9th tbh when we’d been so spoiled with the lack of crowds during the rest of our trip (we did Uni/IOA and Sea World as well) but thankfully we still got a lot done that day with a combination of Genie+ and my DAS.

The weather there atm is incredibly hot and humid, as expected, and the rain seemed to be coming at around 6pm/7pm last week instead of late afternoon like it usually does.

This was our first trip back since July 2019 with being from the UK and after reading all of the “horror stories” from people on various forums and social media about how bad the parks and CMs are atm I wasn’t expecting much but we had a genuinely amazing time! Got to ride Cosmic Rewind, ROTR and Slinky Dog a couple of times for the first time and I’d say around 90% of the Disney CMs were absolutely impeccable this time around. We received a lot of unexpected “magic” from CMs which took us off guard as we obviously weren’t expecting anything like that and pretty much every CM we ran into were really genuinely friendly and talkative and were just glad to have international visitors back again from what we picked up on.

The parks were spotless as far as I could tell with custodial CMs frequently emptying bins and there was always an attendant in the toilets cleaning them every time we used them. The only mess I saw in the toilets or around the parks was clearly caused by inconsiderate guests and the only negatives we have from this trip is the lack of merch available at places like Galaxy’s Edge etc and the rude and entitled behaviour of other guests we encountered in the parks this time e.g. a lot of blatant line cutting at MK, people trying to push their way into other people’s fireworks and parade spots last minute and purposely encroaching on other people’s space to bully them out of the few places there are to sit around the parks now. 

Overall though, I can’t wait to go back for our October/November trip this year and experience all of the Halloween and Christmas stuff there we’ve never had the opportunity to do before.


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## Tinkerbellmom43

rockabyemonkey said:


> Just curious if you found that the time you selected in the app for G+ ended up being close to the time you were assigned.  My daughter and I were there in March for one day and almost all of the times I selected in the app changed to times that were significantly later by the time it was confirmed.  Eg.  At 7am I chose 12:45 for PP for 2 people.  Quickly clicked through to confirm and got 2:45.  Is this still happening?  I'm nervous because that happened repeatedly for a party of 2....we are going again the end of July with a party of 5.  TIA!


Skimming through this thread and saw your post.
I'm here now and it's still happening. I thought I was getting 8:45-9:45 this morning and after the purchase was complete I got 1:20-2:20. 
Good luck


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## PrincessV

July 4-7 quick review...

*July 4 *Very pleasantly surprised by how comfortable EP was: busy, but never terribly crowded. Arrived around 11am, left after fireworks. Got both VQ and ILL for GOTG: VQ was about a 45 min wait, ILL around 20. Standby waits: Seas 5 min, SE 10 min, Soarin 30 min - all in the afternoon. Lunch at Lotus took less than 5 mins to order and receive.

*July 5* I did a late morning arrival at AK - bought G+, but wanted it for DHS in the evening, so didn't risk "burning" any bookings at AK. AK was uncomfortably crowded all over; I didn't stay long. EE standby was 5 mins for Single Rider, Dino was 20. Safari was 60 and I opted out: too hot for that kind of wait - had I arrived earlier, my wait would've been shorter, but I valued the extra sleep more!

Using G+ for DHS, I booked SDD at 7am, TOT 2 hours after park opening, RnR 2 hours later, MMRR 2 hours later, TSM 2 hours later, and later - maybe around 6pm? - grabbed ST just because I could. I also got ILL for ROTR. My return times started at 3pm, which worked perfectly for an a relaxed evening. I would not pay for G+ routinely, and I wouldn't have felt I got full value out of it if the attractions I wanted were down, but I had a lucky day, it saved me a TON of wait time, and it was worth it to me this time.

*July 6 *started at EP with a VQ time for GOTG and lunch, then hopped to MK. GOTG VQ was a full hour wait this time.

I tried G+ again for a MK evening and it didn't work quite as well... my main complaint with G+ is not being to select a time. It was giving me much earlier times than I wanted when I started booking at 7am, but I didn't want to risk not getting things at all by waiting, so I went ahead and took what it gave me. The result was a bunch of rides stacked up earlier than I intended and nothing left I wanted to do in the late evening when I actually wanted to be there. Starting at 7am and booking every 2 hours, I got Splash, PP, BTMRR, HM, POTC and BL. BTMM was down at my return time due to weather and I didn't really care to wait it out, so I used it for Pooh instead. G+ did save me an hour wait each on Splash and PP, and 30ish mins on everything else, so I guess the value was there... but I'd also have happily skipped half the rides and had the late evening I wanted. I wound up ditching MK, which was pretty crowded, and went to the Poly for a drink before calling it a day around 8pm.

*July 7* one last VQ for GOTG before heading home! I had a little time to kill first, so I did LWTL standby - 10 min wait. VQ for GOTG only took 20 mins this time.

General views:
July 4th felt the least crowded, by a lot. Weird.
I was offsite and had no issues getting what I wanted with VQ and G+, despite being "behind" the onsiters.
A big slice of pizza and side salad at BW Pizza Window might be one of the most underrated quick meals at WDW.
I'm very risk averse, so wore a quality mask 100% of my time indoors and the majority of time outdoors, and ate all meals outdoors, well away from others... the masking was fine, but eating outside in 100* heat got old. I didn't have trouble finding shaded spots to eat, though it often meant sitting on a bench or standing instead sitting at a table.
CMs were ON! Pleasant, friendly, and helpful across the board.

I wasn't sure if I'd renew my AP in Aug., and I feel like WDW worked hard to make me feel appreciated this trip - it may well keep me coming back.


----------



## DisneyFive

PrincessV said:


> July 4-7 quick review...
> 
> *July 4 *Very pleasantly surprised by how comfortable EP was: busy, but never terribly crowded. Arrived around 11am, left after fireworks. Got both VQ and ILL for GOTG: VQ was about a 45 min wait, ILL around 20. Standby waits: Seas 5 min, SE 10 min, Soarin 30 min - all in the afternoon. Lunch at Lotus took less than 5 mins to order and receive.
> 
> *July 5* I did a late morning arrival at AK - bought G+, but wanted it for DHS in the evening, so didn't risk "burning" any bookings at AK. AK was uncomfortably crowded all over; I didn't stay long. EE standby was 5 mins for Single Rider, Dino was 20. Safari was 60 and I opted out: too hot for that kind of wait - had I arrived earlier, my wait would've been shorter, but I valued the extra sleep more!
> 
> Using G+ for DHS, I booked SDD at 7am, TOT at 9am, RnR at 11am, MMRR at 1pm, TSM at 3pm, and later - maybe around 6pm? - grabbed ST just because I could. I also got ILL for ROTR. My return times started at 3pm, which worked perfectly for an a relaxed evening. I would not pay for G+ routinely, and I wouldn't have felt I got full value out of it if the attractions I wanted were down, but I had a lucky day, it saved me a TON of wait time, and it was worth it to me this time.
> 
> *July 6 *started at EP with a VQ time for GOTG and lunch, then hopped to MK. GOTG VQ was a full hour wait this time.
> 
> I tried G+ again for a MK evening and it didn't work quite as well... my main complaint with G+ is not being to select a time. It was giving me much earlier times than I wanted when I started booking at 7am, but I didn't want to risk not getting things at all by waiting, so I went ahead and took what it gave me. The result was a bunch of rides stacked up earlier than I intended and nothing left I wanted to do in the late evening when I actually wanted to be there. Starting at 7am and booking every 2 hours, I got Splash, PP, BTMRR, HM, POTC and BL. BTMM was down at my return time due to weather and I didn't really care to wait it out, so I used it for Pooh instead. G+ did save me an hour wait each on Splash and PP, and 30ish mins on everything else, so I guess the value was there... but I'd also have happily skipped half the rides and had the late evening I wanted. I wound up ditching MK, which was pretty crowded, and went to the Poly for a drink before calling it a day around 8pm.
> 
> *July 7* one last VQ for GOTG before heading home! I had a little time to kill first, so I did LWTL standby - 10 min wait. VQ for GOTG only took 20 mins this time.
> 
> General views:
> July 4th felt the least crowded, by a lot. Weird.
> I was offsite and had no issues getting what I wanted with VQ and G+, despite being "behind" the onsiters.
> A big slice of pizza and side salad at BW Pizza Window might be one of the most underrated quick meals at WDW.
> I'm very risk averse, so wore a quality mask 100% of my time indoors and the majority of time outdoors, and ate all meals outdoors, well away from others... the masking was fine, but eating outside in 100* heat got old. I didn't have trouble finding shaded spots to eat, though it often meant sitting on a bench or standing instead sitting at a table.
> CMs were ON! Pleasant, friendly, and helpful across the board.
> 
> I wasn't sure if I'd renew my AP in Aug., and I feel like WDW worked hard to make me feel appreciated this trip - it may well keep me coming back.


I think some of your times _might_ need to be adjusted because you can’t make your second of G+ booking until either two hours after the park officially opens or after you have tapped into your first G+ whichever is earlier.

Not sure how you got the 7am, 9am, 11am thing at DHS for instance if first G+ was 3pm

Dan


----------



## PrincessV

DisneyFive said:


> I think some of your times _might_ need to be adjusted because you can’t make your second of G+ booking until either two hours after the park officially opens or after you have tapped into your first G+ whichever is earlier.
> 
> Not sure how you got the 7am, 9am, 11am thing at DHS for instance if first G+ was 3pm
> 
> Dan


I booked my first G+ at 7am for a 3pm return. Sorry that wasn't clear!
ETA: but still, you're right - I think park opening was 8am, so they're all off by an hour.


----------



## mwmom

NatNicMum said:


> Back from a 9 day trip (6/25- 7/4/22) where we stayed at Saratoga Springs in a 1BR villa. As I learned so much from other people's experiences, I am sharing a few insights from this trip.
> 
> First off, I used to be a pretty seasoned WDW planner but this was the first trip post COVID so I was very nervous about all the changes and my ability to adapt.  Luckily my fears were unfounded and we had a wonderful trip.
> 
> My little family is me, my husband and two teen daughters. As such, we went to parks in the evening and spent morning at the resort at the pool. We planned two days at each park and three at MK (one was our arrival day so we only spent a few hours at MK that day). We did not have park hoppers. We had Genie+ for length of stay and bought ILLs at all the parks except GOTG. We were able to get the VQ both days and the Extra EMH queue so we rode three times. Great ride!
> 
> Some observations:
> 
> Genie+ can work well if you are going in the evening and start reserving times in the morning. We were able to ride everything we wanted with only a little bit of planning. The park that was the hardest was EPCOT because Test Track and Frozen were gone before you could reserve a spot at 10:30. Since we had not ridden Remy we had prioritized it on the first EPCOT day. On the second EPCOT day, I just reserved Test Track and we did not ride Remy again. Genie + is definitely expensive but does save a considerable amount of wait time. Also, it is a buffer in case rides go down. If the ride is down during your ride time, you get a pass to ride it anytime for the rest of the day. We had quite a few rides down, some mechanical and some weather related so this was extremely helpful. I would have been very annoyed if I waited 60 minutes for Remy and then the line was evacuated with no recourse for riding later.
> If you get Extra EMH, definitely try to use at Magic Kingdom. You will be able to go on multiple rides with little wait. I would not use this time at EPCOT again. Wait times still high and with fewer rides and more walking between rides, it just didn't work for us. (We did get the extra GOTH ride though so YMMV). Also, not being able to find a place to buy water was incredibly frustrating.
> Busses were very good. They came often and were usually not full.
> Food was excellent everywhere we went but prices were high. Sit down dinners for four were usually around $200. One dinner at California Grill was much more but I would do it again. we took advantage of snack carts for things like churros and spring rolls in the afternoons and avoided counter service meals at the Parks for the most part. They seemed crowded and finding seats looked like a challenge.
> SSR is a great resort. We have always stayed here but with the room renovations, it is really nice. Pools were not crowded so spending mornings at the pool was a good plan. Plus, you avoided the possibility of getting the afternoon rain.
> Cast members were very good. I saw some rude customers but not any rude CMs. We had one CM on Star Tours who was phenomenal. Recognized my daughter;s birthday and had the whole car sing Happy Birthday to her. We got to go to the Wookie Planet which was fun too. Love that ride and usually a walk-on.
> All in all, it was a great trip. Kids want to go back next year but I think that with the current prices, we will give it two years., That will give me time to earn Reward dollars on the Disney Visa (we had $2,000 for this trip which helped with the sticker shock).
> 
> Thank you to everyone whose posts I have been reading for the past six months. You helped me tremendously.
> 
> Edited to add that "fiddle faddle" really did work. Once the really good rides/times were gone we would not reserve a ride and spend five minutes or so fiddle faddling and usually get a good option within the hour.


Love this report. Much of what you did mimics our plan, so glad to know it worked out and you had a great time.


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## SusanDK

Thanks for a great comprehensive report!


NatNicMum said:


> Genie+ can work well if you are going in the evening and start reserving times in the morning.


Could you explain this please? I thought that you didn't have an option on return times. That it will only give you the next available return time, which may be earlier than you plan to arrive at the park. So if you "start reserving times in the morning" for an afternoon / evening visit, how are you able to do this and get only evening return times?


----------



## DMLAINI

SusanDK said:


> Thanks for a great comprehensive report!
> 
> Could you explain this please? I thought that you didn't have an option on return times. That it will only give you the next available return time, which may be earlier than you plan to arrive at the park. So if you "start reserving times in the morning" for an afternoon / evening visit, how are you able to do this and get only evening return times?


I have the same question


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## mikalkwin

SusanDK said:


> Thanks for a great comprehensive report!
> 
> Could you explain this please? I thought that you didn't have an option on return times. That it will only give you the next available return time, which may be earlier than you plan to arrive at the park. So if you "start reserving times in the morning" for an afternoon / evening visit, how are you able to do this and get only evening return times?


If you are hopping, all times chosen for your 2nd park will be after 2pm, that helps. 
If you are not hopping, the headliners (SDD at HS for instance) will have late evening time in a few minutes after 7am so you book those first (not easy in MK on low crowds days).


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## cjlong88

SusanDK said:


> Thanks for a great comprehensive report!
> 
> Could you explain this please? I thought that you didn't have an option on return times. That it will only give you the next available return time, which may be earlier than you plan to arrive at the park. So if you "start reserving times in the morning" for an afternoon / evening visit, how are you able to do this and get only evening return times?


I find that there are 2 Basic Strategies when it comes to using the Lightning Lane. There are certainly more nuanced methods that combines these strategies, but for the sake of simplicity, let's keep them separate:

*Strategy 1:* Book LL's with immediate return times (or close-to-immediate) and use them one at a time. This will feel most like FP+, specifically when you would book FP's for additional attractions after using your initial 3. Book and use, book and use, etc. You cannot modify a selected time, so if you are refreshing the app and find something better pop up, you will need to cancel and rebook.

*Strategy 2: *You use the 120-minute rule to stack LL's in the evening. You need to strategically select the rides in a particular order so that every 120 minutes you can book a ride that is already posting evening return times. This is going to feel more like the paper FP system. Some rides will naturally post later return times quicker because they are more popular. You should try to book rides from most to least popular, which is easy to figure out, because every two hours I would just select the ride that has the latest return window. By the afternoon you will have a number of attractions stacked in the evening that I can use back-to-back.


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## SmileEar2Ear

SusanDK said:


> Thanks for a great comprehensive report!
> 
> Could you explain this please? I thought that you didn't have an option on return times. That it will only give you the next available return time, which may be earlier than you plan to arrive at the park. So if you "start reserving times in the morning" for an afternoon / evening visit, how are you able to do this and get only evening return times?



We stacked for Epcot on our arrival day. We didn’t plan to get to the park until almost 4:00. At 7:00am I got a VQ for GG and then went to book Remy and refreshed two or three times and by that point it was pushed out to 4pm so I booked it. Then two hours after park open (as we were boarding the plane) I got Frozen because it had pushed out to 8:20 by that time. Two hours later I could book again and got Soarin for 4:40. We got in the park and started using those, plus we got one for Figment and Spaceship Earth. It made for a great night.


----------



## Aussie RJ

We had planned a day at Typhoon lagoon and a night at Epcot. Stacking throughout the day made the night at Epcot extremely enjoyable. Rode Remy, Frozen, Test Track, GOTG, Soarin’ and spaceship earth. All in about a 2 - 3 hour period. 
I did try this a second time during my trip and although it worked, a bad storm passed though and we never left our room at boardwalk. So maybe consider that if you are traveling during the summer months and don’t like the heavy rain.


----------



## HeiHei2018

SmileEar2Ear said:


> We stacked for Epcot on our arrival day. We didn’t plan to get to the park until almost 4:00. At 7:00am I got a VQ for GG and then went to book Remy and refreshed two or three times and by that point it was pushed out to 4pm so I booked it. Then two hours after park open (as we were boarding the plane) I got Frozen because it had pushed out to 8:20 by that time. Two hours later I could book again and got Soarin for 4:40. We got in the park and started using those, plus we got one for Figment and Spaceship Earth. It made for a great night.


Thanks for sharing. We want to stack Remy and Frozen on our arrival day, but I was getting nervous about availability. Did you do your second pull right at 2 hours after open? Thrill data shows availability disappearping right at 10:30, which makes me nervous.


----------



## mwmom

cjlong88 said:


> I find that there are 2 Basic Strategies when it comes to using the Lightning Lane. There are certainly more nuanced methods that combines these strategies, but for the sake of simplicity, let's keep them separate:
> 
> *Strategy 1:* Book LL's with immediate return times (or close-to-immediate) and use them one at a time. This will feel most like FP+, specifically when you would book attractions after using your initial 3. Book and use, book and use, etc. You cannot modify a selected time, so if you are refreshing the app and find something that's better pop up, you will need to cancel and rebook.
> 
> *Strategy 2: *You use the 120-minute rule to stack LL's in the evening. You need to strategically select the rides in a particular order so that every 120 minutes you can book a ride that is already posting evening return times. This is going to feel more like the paper FP system. Some rides will naturally post later return times quicker because they are more popular. You will want to book from most to least popular, which is easy to figure out, because every two hours I would just select the ride that has the latest return window. By the afternoon I will have a bunch of attractions stacked in the evening that I can use back-to-back.


Concise and easy to understand post about the 2 different strategies. Yes, there are those who have it down and can combine the strategies, but this is a good way for beginners to get a feel for the different ways to use it. My head was starting to spin, because just as I thought I had it down, I questioned myself. Thank you for this post!


----------



## Wdw1015

Just got back, couple observations:
- LOVE the skyliner, complete game changer. That said….I really wish they would be better at communicating when it’s down for lightning. Two different times we were near the front of Epcot, walked back to the skyliner only to find out it was down for weather (didn’t see lightning either time). Then had to turn around and walk ALL the way back. Wish they would send a push notification to those staying on the skyliner resorts when at those 2 parks. They know where we are and where we are staying. 

- Cast members were amazing! Didn’t encounter anyone with a less than magical attitude. 

- Several mornings, we got caught behind people using their phones as their tickets and for some reason, everytime, the scanners wouldn’t work on them. Wish they’d get better scanners if they aren’t going to provide magic bands anymore. 

- Clean parks and bathrooms, saw people cleaning up everywhere.


----------



## SusanDK

mikalkwin said:


> If you are hopping, all times chosen for your 2nd park will be after 2pm, that helps.
> If you are not hopping, the headliners (SDD at HS for instance) will have late evening time in a few minutes after 7am so you book those first (not easy in MK on low crowds days).


So with this method, let's say you want to go to HS in the late afternoon / evening as your only park that day. So you might reserve Epcot initially? But from early in the morning, you start requesting HS Genie+ attractions and it will only show you options from 2 pm and later? You keep adding every 2 hours and will get a batch for the evening. So the only issue is you must then go to Epcot first and check in before you can hop to HS. Do I have that right?


----------



## SusanDK

cjlong88 said:


> I find that there are 2 Basic Strategies when it comes to using the Lightning Lane. There are certainly more nuanced methods that combines these strategies, but for the sake of simplicity, let's keep them separate:
> 
> *Strategy 1:* Book LL's with immediate return times (or close-to-immediate) and use them one at a time. This will feel most like FP+, specifically when you would book attractions after using your initial 3. Book and use, book and use, etc. You cannot modify a selected time, so if you are refreshing the app and find something that's better pop up, you will need to cancel and rebook.
> 
> *Strategy 2: *You use the 120-minute rule to stack LL's in the evening. You need to strategically select the rides in a particular order so that every 120 minutes you can book a ride that is already posting evening return times. This is going to feel more like the paper FP system. Some rides will naturally post later return times quicker because they are more popular. You will want to book from most to least popular, which is easy to figure out, because every two hours I would just select the ride that has the latest return window. By the afternoon I will have a bunch of attractions stacked in the evening that I can use back-to-back.


Thank you.

Do I correctly understand that Strategy 1 is *not* for those who only want to arrive in the late afternoon / evening?

Strategy 2 could work for the late arrivers, but you need to pick as late a return as possible for each ride starting in the morning. So if you log into Genie+ in the morning for a late visit to Epcot, you see you can get TT at noon, Soarin' at 10 am, Frozen at 4 pm. So you select Frozen for 4 pm. Then two hours later, you log in and see you can get Nemo at 11 am, Soarin' at 2 pm, and TT at 6 pm, so you select TT. Two hours later, you look and see Nemo at 1 pm and Soarin' at 8 pm, so grab Soarin'. And so on ... 

Have I got that correct? The only question now is whether you are restricted from selecting an attraction too close to one of your other selections, like with FP+. If you are grabbing them 2 hours apart throughout the day, could you feasibly end up with two attractions only a half an hour apart, or is there still a minimum one-hour gap between any two LL's?


----------



## cjlong88

SusanDK said:


> Thank you.
> 
> Do I correctly understand that Strategy 1 is *not* for those who only want to arrive in the late afternoon / evening?
> 
> Strategy 2 could work for the late arrivers, but you need to pick as late a return as possible for each ride starting in the morning. So if you log into Genie+ in the morning for a late visit to Epcot, you see you can get TT at noon, Soarin' at 10 am, Frozen at 4 pm. So you select Frozen for 4 pm. Then two hours later, you log in and see you can get Nemo at 11 am, Soarin' at 2 pm, and TT at 6 pm, so you select TT. Two hours later, you look and see Nemo at 1 pm and Soarin' at 8 pm, so grab Soarin'. And so on ...
> 
> Have I got that correct? The only question now is whether you are restricted from selecting an attraction too close to one of your other selections, like with FP+. If you are grabbing them 2 hours apart throughout the day, could you feasibly end up with two attractions only a half an hour apart, or is there still a minimum one-hour gap between any two LL's?


You are correct in your example. Additionally, you can use Genie+ to watch the return times and see which attractions are running out first, second, third, etc. a few days before your trip so you have some general idea as to the order of attractions you will want to book. One thing to consider is criss-crossing throughout the park. A lot of guests have noted that with stacking LL's on G+ there might be more walking back and forth because you don't get to choose your return times like with FP+.

YES! Your LL's can overlap!


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## scrappinginontario

Can we please take the questions re: Genie and stacking to the *Everything Genie thread*?  This topic is discussed at great length there.  This thread is intended for sharing their recent experiences in the park.


----------



## serenitygr

SusanDK said:


> Thank you.
> 
> Do I correctly understand that Strategy 1 is *not* for those who only want to arrive in the late afternoon / evening?
> 
> Strategy 2 could work for the late arrivers, but you need to pick as late a return as possible for each ride starting in the morning. So if you log into Genie+ in the morning for a late visit to Epcot, you see you can get TT at noon, Soarin' at 10 am, Frozen at 4 pm. So you select Frozen for 4 pm. Then two hours later, you log in and see you can get Nemo at 11 am, Soarin' at 2 pm, and TT at 6 pm, so you select TT. Two hours later, you look and see Nemo at 1 pm and Soarin' at 8 pm, so grab Soarin'. And so on ...
> 
> Have I got that correct? The only question now is whether you are restricted from selecting an attraction too close to one of your other selections, like with FP+. If you are grabbing them 2 hours apart throughout the day, could you feasibly end up with two attractions only a half an hour apart, or is there still a minimum one-hour gap between any two LL's?


I actually think in your example if you booked that last LL at 8pm you could no longer choose any others until you used the last one you had booked.


----------



## lynzi2004

Any recent experiences with GoTG VQ return times? Fast fingers landed an earlier boarding group than anticipated with BG #30…are they holding to the one hour window or can I stick with my original touring plan and show up a bit late??


----------



## NavyDad

cjlong88 said:


> I find that there are 2 Basic Strategies when it comes to using the Lightning Lane. There are certainly more nuanced methods that combines these strategies, but for the sake of simplicity, let's keep them separate:
> 
> *Strategy 1:* Book LL's with immediate return times (or close-to-immediate) and use them one at a time. This will feel most like FP+, specifically when you would book attractions after using your initial 3. Book and use, book and use, etc. You cannot modify a selected time, so if you are refreshing the app and find something that's better pop up, you will need to cancel and rebook.
> 
> *Strategy 2: *You use the 120-minute rule to stack LL's in the evening. You need to strategically select the rides in a particular order so that every 120 minutes you can book a ride that is already posting evening return times. This is going to feel more like the paper FP system. Some rides will naturally post later return times quicker because they are more popular. You will want to book from most to least popular, which is easy to figure out, because every two hours I would just select the ride that has the latest return window. By the afternoon I will have a bunch of attractions stacked in the evening that I can use back-to-back.


Agree with this and I would suggest strategy 2 works out best for Park Hopping. 

This is a big part of why Genie+ and $ILL worked out so good for us in Spring. We like to hop. Generally we will rope drop one park, take a break at the hotel and then go to the second park in the later afternoon to early evening. Strategy 2 works perfect with our touring style.


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## ak517

lynzi2004 said:


> Any recent experiences with GoTG VQ return times? Fast fingers landed an earlier boarding group than anticipated with BG #30…are they holding to the one hour window or can I stick with my original touring plan and show up a bit late??


You can show up late to a VQ for GOTG. I haven't tried it personally, but there are many many reports of this being the case. ILL windows are constrained to the hour, plus grace periods on either end.

ETA: ILLs for other rides may be monitored for return window plus grace period, but it appears this is not the case for GOTG.


----------



## scrappinginontario

ak517 said:


> You can show up late to a VQ for GOTG. I haven't tried it personally, but there are many many reports of this being the case. ILL windows are constrained to the hour, plus grace periods on either end.


Are you saying the GotG grace period is different for VQ vs ILL$?  I can’t say that I’ve heard this.

I understood the return time was not being monitored for either but you say that’s incorrect?


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## ak517

scrappinginontario said:


> Are you saying the GotG grace period is different for VQ vs ILL$?  I can’t say that I’ve heard this.
> 
> I understood the return time was not being monitored for either but you say that’s incorrect?


I haven't heard or tested the ILL return time grace period for GOTG, so I am working on my assumption on ILLs and G+ grace periods work on other rides! I apologize if this is incorrect and they are not in fact enforcing ILL return times or grace periods. I can edit my post to reflect this.


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## Erica Ladd

I haven’t heard anyone on this thread say that they could show up anytime for a $ILL for GotG. I have only seen people say this about the VQ. Are we sure of this? Is it that way for all $ILLs? Seems weird as YOU pick the time, it’s not random like a VQ.


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## DMLAINI

So we're sleeping in on our EPCOT day because we'll be at MNSSHP the night prior.  I'll be staying LL's for later in the day.   If we're lucky & get a boarding group for Guardians & it's early,  we can show up late & still ride?


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## mikalkwin

Yes, there's been reports of people showing up 5 hours later and no issues from CM when taping in blue.


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## NatNicMum

SusanDK said:


> Thanks for a great comprehensive report!
> 
> Could you explain this please? I thought that you didn't have an option on return times. That it will only give you the next available return time, which may be earlier than you plan to arrive at the park. So if you "start reserving times in the morning" for an afternoon / evening visit, how are you able to do this and get only evening return times?


"Reserve" was probably not the best word. Sorry to confuse. Essentially, we would "pick" a Genie+ time that would work for us when we planned to arrive around 1 or 2. So for Animal Kingdom, at 7AM we chose the latest available time. Then 2 hours after park open, I would chose another late time. The only park where this was an issue was Magic Kingdom because it takes awhile to get to afternoon Genie+ times. One day I did not book my first Genie+ until after park open. This meant that I was not able to book my second Genie+ until 11:10 instead of 11 but that really did not affect the ability to choose good rides. It was kind of a game. We were sitting at the pool and we would check every five minutes to see if the Splash Genie + time was late enough so we could book it.


----------



## Donna feetham

We arrived on had a grand villa  at OKW 7/9/22-7/16/22. Our room was ready at 4:00 pm.

Villa was very clean, but needs some furniture update. They don't have any UBS ports in the villa, that was a pain.

Next day we did MK early entry and had to go to quest services to activate our annual passes.

We arrived at 7:30 and had major issues with the pass activation. Cast member did't knowhow to activate the passes. 
So now almost an hour passed and when we thought we where all set we found out that she canceled the park reservation, so more time to fix that error.
Now it's 9:30 so much for early entry.

Going through the turn style 2 brand new magic bands did not work. More time.

The park reservation is awful. We bought park hoppers and found out that if we didn't go into our the park we reserved we could't park hop.
What a rip off.

Again we had to go to quest services as 2 people were not listed on my Disney experience as hotel guest and could't do extra hours. Another hour to fix it.

Ate at Chef Mickeys no buffet served food at the table it was not great, I guess you paid for the characters dancing around the room. They did stop at the tables.

The best was moonlight magic. It was awesome very short wait times did get on many rides.

We did't get genie+ and glad we didn't the lighting lanes had some very long waits. people who bought said they found it inconvenient as it had them runny all over the parks at late times. 

Well I won't be rushing back until they make some changes. Paid a lot of money and and did't get close to what we expected in return.

Universal here we come.


----------



## TheSouthernBelle

So OKW has needed new furniture.....since it opened... j/k but kind of not. It's always looked dated to me but I think it's even more obvious it needs some updating since so many of the other resorts are newer or have been refurbed.

So, the whole park reservation/hopper thing has been in place since hoppers returned. I get that it's annoying for guests who've not been and need to relearn everything. However, when you buy hoppers, this is clearly outlined. I don't know what sort of tix/passes you had but it's been a policy for quite some time now. It's totally lame and needs to go along with park reservations! 

Curious about your MB not working and guests not on the reservation, did you book them? It sounds like all the things that could go wrong, did go wrong for you. 

As far as Chef Mickey's most of the buffets have not been buffets since COVID, they're almost all table service and I think only a few are actually a buffet now. Chef Mickey's has never had very good food but we did breakfast there and I think it's probably the most palatable of their meals. I prefer not getting up to get food and not have half of creation breathing on my food and having everyone's hands all over the utensils. I'm not a germaphobe but I've always thought buffets were gross. 

All in all, I think WDW just takes guests who don't go often more time to plan and in turn, is a downgrade for many guests.


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## OKWFan88

I was at Disney last week for a few days and going back in a few more days... but had a similar issue with my MB not working. I had renewed my annual pass and went to guest service to activate it. Then anytime I scanned my MB into a park it didn't work. Someone had to come over and take my picture and then let me enter. Happened at each park I went to, which was two parks a day for three days. Never could get an answer as to why it wasn't working. I am DVC and was staying at OKW on points. I used the correct finger to scan and it was a new MB so who knows. Hoping I don't have the same issue when I go back to Disney on Sunday.


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## TXDisneyFan1

We were there at the end of June and there always seemed to be problems with people entering the parks. One time it was our family...magic band didn't work for whatever reason. The person closest to us with an iPad was no help at all; another girl came over and fixed it right away. It was either more common this trip or I always picked the line that had the problems.


----------



## SmileEar2Ear

HeiHei2018 said:


> Thanks for sharing. We want to stack Remy and Frozen on our arrival day, but I was getting nervous about availability. Did you do your second pull right at 2 hours after open? Thrill data shows availability disappearping right at 10:30, which makes me nervous.


Yeah, my second pull was pretty much right at 10:30 because we were boarding the plane and I was anxious to book before I had to switch to airplane mode. My third one was a little after time because we landed about 15 minutes later. Definitely set alarms for a 3-5 minute warning so you can reassess your day depending on how the last two hours went and make sure you know what you really want for your next pull. I would double check return times because sometimes for your third or fourth pull, return times wouldn’t be what I expected for a certain ride and we would change our strategy.


----------



## DisneyFive

OK y’all, today is the first of eight days. I’ll try to report each day.  Up at 4:30 am.  We had an early flight out of Detroit and arrived to MCO at 9:30 AM. We grabbed our bags and were at the Polynesian by 10:30 thanks to Sunshine Flyer.  Reconfirmed our room request with the front desk and were off to AK ~11:30.

At 7am I booked Na’vi G+ for 11:05-12:05
At 10am I booked Expedition Everest for 12:30-1:30
While on Sunshine Flyer we mobile ordered sa’tuli for 12:05-12:30.  Love those protein bowls, didn’t disappoint.

Got to AK at 11:40.  So we did those three things above back to back to back. G+ waits were 5 minutes each.  Pretty slick.  We even did EE a second time single rider with about a 10 minute wait.


At 12pm I booked a 2:20-3:20 G+ for Dinosaur.

Then we got in line for the 2:30 showing of new Nemo show.  LOVE the new version.  The beautiful  huge screen and the shortened time really make it pack a punch.

After the show we did our G+ for Dinosaur

By this time it was about 3:30 and we were feeling pretty accomplished.  Also none of the G+ made sense anymore.  (Safari G+ was immediate for instance)
The two must do’s yet were the anamation class and FOP.  We huffed it over to the train back to Rafikis planet watch and JUST made it to the 4pm class.  We drew Tigger and had a great CM instructing.

We’re feeling pretty tired but decided to grab some Starbucks and wait in line for FOP with all the other poor schmucks who didn’t purchase an $ILL.  We are in line now.  At 5:30 the standby said 95 minutes but our line seems to be moving about as fast as last year when it was standby only.  By the way, we found out that you cannot have drinks in line for flight of passage, despite the 90+ minute wait?, at least not very far into the queue. Only about five minutes in and then you need to dump or toss them.. The Starbucks we bought had to be pretty much guzzled at the first part of the queue unfortunately.

My only regret so far might be not purchasing the $ILL for FOP.  We’ll see.

Edit:  so we ended up waiting in line for two hours for FOP. Was it worth it? Yes. Did I like waiting _that long_? No.  This idea of paying for one particular ride in each park really didn’t hit home until today. It just feels like a money grab, which it is. I get why they are doing it but it doesn’t feel like a Disney I know.  Would I rather have paid $55 for my family of five? Maybe. I just don’t like the idea of doing that out of principle.

After this we’re heading back to the Poly for some Captain Cook’s and to check into our room (northern end of Tukalau)

So far, G+ is saving us a lot of time but I really do not like the lack of ability to choose a return time window. It really makes for a lot of unnecessary scrambling of how to book your G+ most effectively.

Good night animal kingdom. Until next trip!

Stay tuned!


----------



## DisneyFive

Magic Kingdom today! I will edit this post throughout the day. With such a long day yesterday we decided to sleep in a bit.

Magic Kingdom hours today are 9 AM until 11 PM and we also get the benefit of the EEH until 1 AM.  We will be making use of that so I will report back on how that goes with the late extra two hours

We plan to be at the monorail stop around 9 AM.  ish….

At 7 AM I booked our first G+ for Space Mountain from 9 AM to 10 AM.  Then, fortunately I was able to fall back asleep

So we got to Space Mountain at 9:45 and were on a ride in five minutes.  Posted wait was 50 min.  After the second tap I booked us a haunted mansion for 10:05.

Tapped into HM at 10:05, waited 6 minutes.  posted wait 50 min, then snagged an 11am G+ for Pirates.  (Splash and BTMRR times are currently conflicting with our lunch ADR so I’ll probably stack those when we take our afternoon break.

10:30 now and off HM .  Heading to its a small world standby.  Posted 20 min. Edit:  calling an audible. IASW just jumped to 40 minute standby so we are heading to Arial.posted 5 min. On in 7 min.

11:10 AM In line for Pirates G+.  Posted  65 min. On in 9 minutes.

Note, at 10:47 AM it looks like there was a pretty significant drop of G+ for BTMR and Splash for starting at 11 AM and it lasted for about five minutes for the 11 to 11:30 timeframe.  If I hadn’t already booked Pirates for that timeframe I would have snagged one.

At 11:15 booked a G+ for Splash at 4:30-5:30 pm since we are heading to lunch and then back to the resort to rest.  At 1:15 PM I will stack another ride as well as at 3:15PM.

11:50 and on the monorail to Steakhouse’71 in the Contemporary.  Fantastic day so far.





Everything was excellent!  We’ll be back!

1pm now and heading back to the Polynesian to rest up for this evening.

1:15pm and just booked a G+ for BTMRR at 4:55-5:55 so that will overlap perfectly with our 4:30-5:30 Splash especially since they are next door neighbors.  

3:14 now and trying for Peter Pan but it’s hanging around 8:50.  Hoping for something earlier.  I’ll refresh and see what happens and maybe wait to see if earlier times drop at 3:47.
3:42 now and boom! nailed a 4:45-5:45 Peter Pan! Now we have three overlapping stacked G+‘s.  A blessing and a curse.  I think we can squeeze them all in though.

So I think we’ll try to get to Splash at around 4:45, then BTMRR at about 5:10 then walk to PP before the window closes at 5:45.  At least that’s the plan for now lol

4:50 PM now and just tapped into splash mountain. Posted 95 minute wait.  Waited 7 minutes!  Our BTMRR G+ just turned into an any time experience which actually helps us out. We will hit PP G+ after Splash.

5:21 and tapped into Peter Pan.  Posted 75  minutes.  On in 7 minutes.  After tapping into PP at 5:25 booked G+ for IASW for 5:45 since it is right across the walkway and we know you can get in up to 5 minutes early.

5:40 PM now and tapped into a IASW. Posted 25 minutes.  On in 7 minutes

At 5:45 PM I booked a G+ for Jungle cruise!  It had been sold out for quite some time but with refreshing it popped up for 7:30.

6:25 and mobile ordered Columbia Harbour House.

7 PM and all outdoor attractions are temporarily closed due to the weather in the area. (Had some light rain but it’s gone). We are heading to people mover to fill in time hoping that Jungle Cruise opens up within the 7:30 to 8:30 time slot that we got. We also have an anytime G+ from BTMRR that closed during our timeslot

7:07 and in line standby for People Mover.  Posted 20.  On in 12 minutes.  With so many things temporarily closed, everything that is open is pretty busy right now.  While on People mover all the outdoor attractions opened back up.

7:44 PM now. In line for BTMRR.  Posted 55 minutes.  On in 16 minutes.

7:50pm (2 hour rule) and booked a 8:45pm G+ for Buzz

8:15 and in line for our Jungle Cruise G+.  Posted 65 minutes.  On in 8 minutes.

8:45 PM. By popular request couldn’t pass up some Dole whips! Yummmmmm

9:00 and in line for Buzz G+.  Posted 35 minutes.  On in 10 minutes

9:17pm and booked a 9:20pm G+ for Dumbo.  Why? Because we can. Lol. We are victims of our own success. There are not many G+ attractions left to choose from

9:23 in line for Dumbo G+.  The 9:20 fireworks show is going.  Posted 15 minutes.  On in 10 minutes

9:40 and doing Barnstormer standby.  Posted 15 minutes.  On in 5 minutes

10 o’clock now and slowing down our pace; shopping then staking out a spot for the 11 PM Enchantment fireworks.

Immediately after the fireworks, around 11:20pm, we headed over to BTMRR and the line already stretched all the way across the bridge with deluxe resort guests.  By our experience last year that was at least a 30 minute wait. So instead we walked over to Pirates and the line stretched all the way back to the tiki room. Hmm….  I think the fact that the fireworks went twice today, with a second showing at 11 PM, made for a huge push of people at the headliners for EEH right after the second firework show.

We don’t feel like taking the time for these people to flush through those lines to the point where we could have very short waits. It feels like it would be midnight or 12:30 AM before ridies will be short again .  We accomplished _so much_ today that believe it or not we are heading back to the resort and not going to make use of EEH.

We will get more rest for Hollywood Studios tomorrow.  I think we’ll need to sleep in a tad.  I’ll wake for a bit at 7am to book out first G+ for sometime in the 9-10:15 range if possible.

Signing off…. Thanks for joining us on our amazing day today.

-Dan


----------



## tup1830

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom today! I will edit this post throughout the day. With such a long day yesterday we decided to sleep in a bit.
> 
> Magic Kingdom hours today are 9 AM until 11 PM and we also get the benefit of the EEH until 1 AM.  We will be making use of that so I will report back on how that goes with the late extra two hours
> 
> We plan to be at the monorail stop around 9 AM.  ish….
> 
> At 7 AM I booked our first G+ for Space Mountain from 9 AM to 10 AM.  Then, fortunately I was able to fall back asleep
> 
> So we got to Space Mountain at 9:45 and were on a ride in five minutes.  after the second tap I booked us a haunted mansion for 10:05.
> 
> Tapped into HM at 10:05 and snagged an 11am G+ for Pirates.  (Splash and BTMRR times are currently conflicting with our lunch ADR so I’ll probably stack those when we take our afternoon break.
> 
> Lunch today is at Steakhouse 71. Later in the week we will be doing Jungle Skipper Canteen and Kona Café on our Magic Kingdom days
> 
> Here we go…


It would be helpful to know what the normal stand-by wait times are for the times you use G+, just because if the normal wait is only 10 min more, then it may not be worth it.


----------



## DisneyFive

tup1830 said:


> It would be helpful to know what the normal stand-by wait times are for the times you use G+, just because if the normal wait is only 10 min more, then it may not be worth it.


You got it. I got it in my previous post now so you can see the standby posted times.  
 So far we have saved an hour and a half between the first two G+ rides


----------



## Karalee402

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom today! I will edit this post throughout the day. With such a long day yesterday we decided to sleep in a bit.
> 
> Magic Kingdom hours today are 9 AM until 11 PM and we also get the benefit of the EEH until 1 AM.  We will be making use of that so I will report back on how that goes with the late extra two hours
> 
> We plan to be at the monorail stop around 9 AM.  ish….
> 
> At 7 AM I booked our first G+ for Space Mountain from 9 AM to 10 AM.  Then, fortunately I was able to fall back asleep
> 
> So we got to Space Mountain at 9:45 and were on a ride in five minutes.  Posted wait was 50 min.  After the second tap I booked us a haunted mansion for 10:05.
> 
> Tapped into HM at 10:05, waited 6 minutes.  posted wait 50 min, then snagged an 11am G+ for Pirates.  (Splash and BTMRR times are currently conflicting with our lunch ADR so I’ll probably stack those when we take our afternoon break.
> View attachment 686428
> 10:30 now and off HM .  Heading to its a small world standby.  Posted 20 min. Edit:  calling an audible. IASW just jumped to 40 minute standby so we are heading to Arial.posted 5 min. On in 7 min.
> View attachment 686437
> Lunch today is at Steakhouse 71. Later in the week we will be doing Jungle Skipper Canteen and Kona Café on our Magic Kingdom days
> 
> Here we go…


I just have to tell you how much I appreciate this reporting!  As a fellow family of five, it's really helped so much to see your days play out in real time.  I find myself here refreshing for your updates!  Thanks so much for taking the time to do this during your vacation! Hope you have the best, most magical day!


----------



## Leigh L

@DisneyFive Have a great day! Also hope you enjoy Steakhouse71, we loved our lunch there last month!  

We found the 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. hours to be awesome, hope you have a blast


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom today! I will edit this post throughout the day. With such a long day yesterday we decided to sleep in a bit.
> 
> Magic Kingdom hours today are 9 AM until 11 PM and we also get the benefit of the EEH until 1 AM.  We will be making use of that so I will report back on how that goes with the late extra two hours
> 
> We plan to be at the monorail stop around 9 AM.  ish….
> 
> At 7 AM I booked our first G+ for Space Mountain from 9 AM to 10 AM.  Then, fortunately I was able to fall back asleep
> 
> So we got to Space Mountain at 9:45 and were on a ride in five minutes.  Posted wait was 50 min.  After the second tap I booked us a haunted mansion for 10:05.
> 
> Tapped into HM at 10:05, waited 6 minutes.  posted wait 50 min, then snagged an 11am G+ for Pirates.  (Splash and BTMRR times are currently conflicting with our lunch ADR so I’ll probably stack those when we take our afternoon break.
> View attachment 686428
> 10:30 now and off HM .  Heading to its a small world standby.  Posted 20 min. Edit:  calling an audible. IASW just jumped to 40 minute standby so we are heading to Arial.posted 5 min. On in 7 min.
> View attachment 686437
> 11:10 AM In line G+ for pirates.  Posted  65 min. On in 9 minutes.
> 
> Note, at 10:47 AM it looks like there was a pretty significant drop of G+ for BTMR and Splash for starting at 11 AM and it lasted for about five minutes for the 11 to 11:30 timeframe.  If I hadn’t already booked Pirates for that timeframe I would have snagged one.
> View attachment 686449
> At 11:15 booked a G+ for Splash at 4:30-5:30 pm since we are heading to lunch and then back to the resort to rest.  At 1:15 PM I will stack another ride as well as at 3:15PM.
> 
> Lunch today is at Steakhouse 71. Later in the week we will be doing Jungle Skipper Canteen and Kona Café on our Magic Kingdom days
> 
> Here we go…


Thank you for these posts.  I'm pointing some of the 'Is Genie+ worth it?' threads to these posts to help them decide.


----------



## SLThomas318

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom today! I will edit this post throughout the day. With such a long day yesterday we decided to sleep in a bit.
> 
> Magic Kingdom hours today are 9 AM until 11 PM and we also get the benefit of the EEH until 1 AM.  We will be making use of that so I will report back on how that goes with the late extra two hours
> 
> We plan to be at the monorail stop around 9 AM.  ish….
> 
> At 7 AM I booked our first G+ for Space Mountain from 9 AM to 10 AM.  Then, fortunately I was able to fall back asleep
> 
> So we got to Space Mountain at 9:45 and were on a ride in five minutes.  Posted wait was 50 min.  After the second tap I booked us a haunted mansion for 10:05.
> 
> Tapped into HM at 10:05, waited 6 minutes.  posted wait 50 min, then snagged an 11am G+ for Pirates.  (Splash and BTMRR times are currently conflicting with our lunch ADR so I’ll probably stack those when we take our afternoon break.
> View attachment 686428
> 10:30 now and off HM .  Heading to its a small world standby.  Posted 20 min. Edit:  calling an audible. IASW just jumped to 40 minute standby so we are heading to Arial.posted 5 min. On in 7 min.
> View attachment 686437
> 11:10 AM In line G+ for pirates.  Posted  65 min. On in 9 minutes.
> 
> Note, at 10:47 AM it looks like there was a pretty significant drop of G+ for BTMR and Splash for starting at 11 AM and it lasted for about five minutes for the 11 to 11:30 timeframe.  If I hadn’t already booked Pirates for that timeframe I would have snagged one.
> View attachment 686449
> At 11:15 booked a G+ for Splash at 4:30-5:30 pm since we are heading to lunch and then back to the resort to rest.  At 1:15 PM I will stack another ride as well as at 3:15PM.
> 
> 11:50 and on the monorail to Steakhouse’71 in the Contemporary.  Fantastic day so far.
> 
> Later in the week we will be doing Jungle Skipper Canteen and Kona Café on our Magic Kingdom days
> 
> Here we go…


Great detailed post!  I’m glad you are snagging good times.  We still have younger ones so the zig zagging would be rough (space to haunted mansion to ariel to pirates right?).  If it was just the hubs and I then this would be no problem.  Sounds like you are having a magical trip… can’t wait to hear more!


----------



## DisneyFive

Karalee402 said:


> I just have to tell you how much I appreciate this reporting!  As a fellow family of five, it's really helped so much to see your days play out in real time.  I find myself here refreshing for your updates!  Thanks so much for taking the time to do this during your vacation! Hope you have the best, most magical day!





Leigh L said:


> @DisneyFive Have a great day! Also hope you enjoy Steakhouse71, we loved our lunch there last month!
> 
> We found the 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. hours to be awesome, hope you have a blast





scrappinginontario said:


> Thank you for these posts.  I'm pointing some of the 'Is Genie+ worth it?' threads to these posts to help them decide.





SLThomas318 said:


> Great detailed post!  I’m glad you are snagging good times.  We still have younger ones so the zig zagging would be rough (space to haunted mansion to ariel to pirates right?).  If it was just the hubs and I then this would be no problem.  Sounds like you are having a magical trip… can’t wait to hear more!


Thank you all!  G+ is a game changer at MK versus last year when everything was standby only.  It’s also saved us a ton of time today already and we were even able to sleep in a tad. 

SLThomas318 you are correct on the order so far.  Some zigzagging but the first three aren’t toooo far apart.  Some zigzagging is the nature of the beast with G+ unfortunately.


----------



## Erica Ladd

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom today! I will edit this post throughout the day. With such a long day yesterday we decided to sleep in a bit.
> 
> Magic Kingdom hours today are 9 AM until 11 PM and we also get the benefit of the EEH until 1 AM.  We will be making use of that so I will report back on how that goes with the late extra two hours
> 
> We plan to be at the monorail stop around 9 AM.  ish….
> 
> At 7 AM I booked our first G+ for Space Mountain from 9 AM to 10 AM.  Then, fortunately I was able to fall back asleep
> 
> I normally don’t post pictures of us but here we are to put faces with the posts.  If you happen to be here and see us, say hi!
> View attachment 686460
> 
> So we got to Space Mountain at 9:45 and were on a ride in five minutes.  Posted wait was 50 min.  After the second tap I booked us a haunted mansion for 10:05.
> 
> Tapped into HM at 10:05, waited 6 minutes.  posted wait 50 min, then snagged an 11am G+ for Pirates.  (Splash and BTMRR times are currently conflicting with our lunch ADR so I’ll probably stack those when we take our afternoon break.
> View attachment 686428
> 10:30 now and off HM .  Heading to its a small world standby.  Posted 20 min. Edit:  calling an audible. IASW just jumped to 40 minute standby so we are heading to Arial.posted 5 min. On in 7 min.
> View attachment 686437
> 11:10 AM In line G+ for pirates.  Posted  65 min. On in 9 minutes.
> 
> Note, at 10:47 AM it looks like there was a pretty significant drop of G+ for BTMR and Splash for starting at 11 AM and it lasted for about five minutes for the 11 to 11:30 timeframe.  If I hadn’t already booked Pirates for that timeframe I would have snagged one.
> View attachment 686449
> At 11:15 booked a G+ for Splash at 4:30-5:30 pm since we are heading to lunch and then back to the resort to rest.  At 1:15 PM I will stack another ride as well as at 3:15PM.
> 
> 11:50 and on the monorail to Steakhouse’71 in the Contemporary.  Fantastic day so far.
> 
> View attachment 686469
> View attachment 686470
> View attachment 686471
> 
> 
> 
> Everything was excellent!  We’ll be back!
> 
> 1pm now and heading back to the Polynesian to rest up for this evening.
> 
> 1:15pm and just booked a G+ for BTMRR at 4:55-5:55 so that will overlap perfectly with our 4:30-5:30 Splash especially since they are next door neighbors.
> 
> Later in the week we will be doing Jungle Skipper Canteen and Kona Café on our Magic Kingdom days
> 
> Here we go…


If there’s nothing great at 3:15 then wait until 3:47


----------



## DisneyFive

Erica Ladd said:


> If there’s nothing great at 3:15 then wait until 3:47


Is there a drop that I don’t know about?


----------



## Erica Ladd

DisneyFive said:


> Is there a drop that I don’t know about?


Could be…


----------



## Southwest Minnie

DisneyFive said:


> Thank you all!  G+ is a game changer at MK versus last year when everything was standby only.  It’s also saved us a ton of time today already and we were even able to sleep in a tad.
> 
> SLThomas318 you are correct on the order so far.  Some zigzagging but the first three aren’t toooo far apart.  Some zigzagging is the nature of the beast with G+ unfortunately.


Thank you for these posts!! We fly tomorrow and head to the first park on our list on Friday (Epcot).

How is the weather?? I'm dreading more than anything the humidity. I caved and bought myself a neck fan. Here's hoping it works!


----------



## DisneyFive

Southwest Minnie said:


> Thank you for these posts!! We fly tomorrow and head to the first park on our list on Friday (Epcot).
> 
> How is the weather?? I'm dreading more than anything the humidity. I caved and bought myself a neck fan. Here's hoping it works!


Friday is our first Epcot day too!  (Tomorrow is HS). It’s very hot but very doable with the right plan.  I’ll take the heat over storms or cold weather any day.  Taking the afternoon off really helps if you can manage it.  It gets you out of the worst of the heat, let’s you recoup, and it’s also the typical time for showers.  We ordered a couple of neck fans too so you’re not alone .  I got notified by Amazon that that they delivered to our resort today so we’ll go pick them up in a bit.  I’ll have to do a mini review LOL.


----------



## NileNellie

DisneyFive said:


> Friday is our first Epcot day too!  (Tomorrow is HS). It’s very hot but very doable with the right plan.  I’ll take the heat over storms or cold weather any day.  Taking the afternoon off really helps if you can manage it.  It gets you out of the worst of the heat, let’s you recoup, and it’s also the typical time for showers.  We ordered a couple of neck fans too so you’re not alone .  I got notified by Amazon that that they delivered to our resort today so we’ll go pick them up in a bit.  I’ll have to do a mini review LOL.


Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Based off of that photo you posted earlier, may be time for an updated profile pic-your kids have grown!


----------



## DisneyFive

NileNellie said:


> Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Based off of that photo you posted earlier, may be time for an updated profile pic-your kids have grown!


You can say that again!  My wife was mentioning today how it’s so much easier touring the parks now versus when the kids were little.   However I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.  I just love that old photo from our first trip in 2010.  Honestly it may be my favorite family photo ever.  Would be hard to replace it for nostalgia’s sake.  

Dan


----------



## Southwest Minnie

DisneyFive said:


> Friday is our first Epcot day too!  (Tomorrow is HS). It’s very hot but very doable with the right plan.  I’ll take the heat over storms or cold weather any day.  Taking the afternoon off really helps if you can manage it.  It gets you out of the worst of the heat, let’s you recoup, and it’s also the typical time for showers.  We ordered a couple of neck fans too so you’re not alone .  I got notified by Amazon that that they delivered to our resort today so we’ll go pick them up in a bit.  I’ll have to do a mini review LOL.


I'm hoping I get the buy-in from the two 16yr olds to take an afternoon break - they are energizer bunnies and I will sweat off 10 pounds keeping up with them lol!


----------



## disneyfan150

@DisneyFive  Amazing report! Thank you so much. Our trip is in just over a week and I waited until now to figure out G+ since everything keeps changing. You give me hope!


----------



## cakebaker

Just back from our first "real" trip to WDW since the shutdown. The highlight of the trip was getting to see FOTLK return and at the first showing. The crowd was full of vloggers and castmembers and was just an amazing experience. We cried right along with a bunch of other people. It was fun to see the videos from vloggers where we could actually see ourselves in the crowd. We had DAS this trip and along with Genie +, it all worked amazingly well. I was skeptical of Genie +, but after the first day, we were hooked. We accomplished much more in less time than we ever have before and never once needed to use standby for those of us who could do it if we needed to. We had no trouble getting in the VQ, managed it on all 3 days we tried. Crowd levels, at least in the parks themselves were very manageable with the exception of Sunday afternoon at Epcot, but that's to be expected with the start of the F&W festival. We thought the food still suffers from being blah, bland and repetitive- stuck with QS exclusively. I think buying as many bells and whistles as we could - staying DVC to get extra evening hours, Genie +, the fireworks dessert buffet and the Typhoon Lagoon after hours- all made it much easier to get things done and not deal with long lines and crowds.  Overall, I was very pleased- clean parks, clean bathrooms, pleasant CM's. Now if they'll just bring back  Fantasmic! We have a trip on the books for a post cruise visit in September so hoping it's back by then.


----------



## NavyDad

DisneyFive said:


> Magic Kingdom today! I will edit this post throughout the day. With such a long day yesterday we decided to sleep in a bit.
> 
> Magic Kingdom hours today are 9 AM until 11 PM and we also get the benefit of the EEH until 1 AM.  We will be making use of that so I will report back on how that goes with the late extra two hours
> 
> We plan to be at the monorail stop around 9 AM.  ish….
> 
> At 7 AM I booked our first G+ for Space Mountain from 9 AM to 10 AM.  Then, fortunately I was able to fall back asleep
> 
> I normally don’t post pictures of us but here we are to put faces with the posts.  If you happen to be here and see us, say hi!
> View attachment 686460
> 
> So we got to Space Mountain at 9:45 and were on a ride in five minutes.  Posted wait was 50 min.  After the second tap I booked us a haunted mansion for 10:05.
> 
> Tapped into HM at 10:05, waited 6 minutes.  posted wait 50 min, then snagged an 11am G+ for Pirates.  (Splash and BTMRR times are currently conflicting with our lunch ADR so I’ll probably stack those when we take our afternoon break.
> View attachment 686428
> 10:30 now and off HM .  Heading to its a small world standby.  Posted 20 min. Edit:  calling an audible. IASW just jumped to 40 minute standby so we are heading to Arial.posted 5 min. On in 7 min.
> View attachment 686437
> 11:10 AM In line for Pirates G+.  Posted  65 min. On in 9 minutes.
> 
> Note, at 10:47 AM it looks like there was a pretty significant drop of G+ for BTMR and Splash for starting at 11 AM and it lasted for about five minutes for the 11 to 11:30 timeframe.  If I hadn’t already booked Pirates for that timeframe I would have snagged one.
> View attachment 686449
> At 11:15 booked a G+ for Splash at 4:30-5:30 pm since we are heading to lunch and then back to the resort to rest.  At 1:15 PM I will stack another ride as well as at 3:15PM.
> 
> 11:50 and on the monorail to Steakhouse’71 in the Contemporary.  Fantastic day so far.
> 
> View attachment 686469
> View attachment 686470
> 
> 
> Everything was excellent!  We’ll be back!
> 
> 1pm now and heading back to the Polynesian to rest up for this evening.
> 
> 1:15pm and just booked a G+ for BTMRR at 4:55-5:55 so that will overlap perfectly with our 4:30-5:30 Splash especially since they are next door neighbors.
> 
> 3:14 now and trying for Peter Pan but it’s hanging around 8:50.  Hoping for something earlier.  I’ll refresh and see what happens and maybe wait to see if earlier times drop at 3:47.
> 3:42 now and boom! nailed a 4:45-5:45 Peter Pan! Now we have three overlapping stacked G+‘s.  A blessing and a curse.  I think we can squeeze them all in though.
> 
> So I think we’ll try to get to Splash at around 4:45, then BTMRR at about 5:10 then walk to PP before the window closes at 5:45.  At least that’s the plan for now lol
> 
> 4:50 PM now and just tapped into splash mountain. Posted 95 minute wait.  Waited 7 minutes!  Our BTMRR G+ just turned into an any time experience which actually helps us out. We will hit PP G+ after Splash.
> View attachment 686526
> 5:21 and tapped into Peter Pan.  Posted 75  minutes.  On in 7 minutes.  After tapping into PP at 5:25 booked G+ for IASW for 5:45 since it is right across the walkway and we know you can get in up to 5 minutes early.
> 
> 5:40 PM now and tapped into a IASW. Posted 25 minutes.  On in 7 minutes
> View attachment 686533
> At 5:45 PM I booked a G+ for Jungle cruise!  It had been sold out for quite some time but with refreshing it popped up for 7:30.
> 
> 6:25 and mobile ordered Columbia Harbour House.
> 
> 7 PM and all outdoor attractions are temporarily closed due to the weather in the area. (Had some light rain but it’s gone). We are heading to people mover to fill in time hoping that Jungle Cruise opens up within the 7:30 to 8:30 time slot that we got. We also have an anytime G+ from BTMRR that closed during our timeslot
> 
> 7:07 and in line standby for People Mover.  Posted 20.  On in 12 minutes.  With so many things temporarily closed, everything that is open is pretty busy right now.  While on People mover all the outdoor attractions opened back up.
> 
> 7:44 PM now. In line for BTMRR.  Posted 55 minutes.  On in 16 minutes.
> 
> 7:50pm (2 hour rule) and booked a 8:45pm G+ for Buzz
> 
> 8:15 and in line for our Jungle Cruise G+.  Posted 65 minutes.  On in 8 minutes.
> View attachment 686547
> 8:45 PM. By popular request couldn’t pass up some Dole whips! Yummmmmm
> 
> 9:00 and in line for Buzz G+.  Posted 35 minutes.  On in 10 minutes
> 
> 9:17pm and booked a 9:20pm G+ for Dumbo.  Why? Because we can. Lol. We are victims of our own success. There are not many G+ attractions left to choose from
> 
> 9:23 in line for Dumbo G+.  The 9:20 fireworks show is going.  Posted 15 minutes.  On in 10 minutes
> View attachment 686567
> 9:40 and doing Barnstormer standby.  Posted 15 minutes.  On in 5 minutes
> 
> 10 o’clock now and slowing down our pace; shopping then staking out a spot for the 11 PM Enchantment fireworks.
> 
> Immediately after the fireworks, around 11:20pm, we headed over to BTMRR and the line already stretched all the way across the bridge with deluxe resort guests.  By our experience last year that was at least a 30 minute wait. So instead we walked over to Pirates and the line stretched all the way back to the tiki room. Hmm….  I think the fact that the fireworks went twice today, with a second showing at 11 PM, made for a huge push of people at the headliners for EEH right after the second firework show.
> 
> We don’t feel like taking the time for these people to flush through those lines to the point where we could have very short waits. It feels like it would be midnight or 12:30 AM before ridies will be short again .  We accomplished _so much_ today that believe it or not we are heading back to the resort and not going to make use of EEH.
> 
> We will get more rest for Hollywood Studios tomorrow.  I think we’ll need to sleep in a tad.  I’ll wake for a bit at 7am to book out first G+ for sometime in the 9-10:15 range if possible.
> 
> Signing off…. Thanks for joining us on our amazing day today.
> 
> -Dan


This sounds very much like out MK day in the Spring. We got so much done using Genie+, and the crowds got so big the first hour of EEH we just decided to go back to the hotel instead of staying for the extra couple of hours.


----------



## DisneyFive

We’re alive! Today is Hollywood studios.  We’ll see how today goes with a bit of a later start.  Weather today is hot and sunny, high of 94F, which we’re perfectly happy with.

Hours are 8:30 AM until 9 PM. We needed to get some sleep so at 7am I booked our first G+ for TOT from 9:40 - 10:40 AM, hoping that we can tap in and book our next G+ before the crush of people at 10:30 AM.  For these last two parks we have found out it is VERY beneficial  to get that first G+ before the +2 hour time frame after the park opens, this allows you to get ahead of a lot of folks. That is tough at HS for people that want to do slinky dog though, which we don’t plan to do.  Start refreshing _right_ at 7am and grab that morning time slot when it gets to your desired time.

9:30 now and at the Poly bus stop.  Priorities today are ToT, RNRC, MMRR, TSMM, MFSR, and then ROTR at park close.  Slinky doesn’t do much for us so that helps us a little with G+ selection strategy.

We also would like to do Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones, _maybe_ Frozen.  The showtimes might be kind of tough because we like to do afternoon breaks and rides in the morning. We have a lunch ADR at Hollywood Brown Derby for Cobb salads so all these things kind of conflict with the morning through afternoon showtimes.  We’ll see.

10:04 and tapped into ToT.  On immediately.  Posted 50 minutes.

After tapping into ToT snagged a G+ for RNRC  12:05-1:15.  This is perfect right before our 12:25 HBD lunch.

10:27 now and we’re doing the 11am Beauty and the Beast show.


12pm and tapped into RNRC.  Posted 55 minutes.  Waited 15 minutes after tapping in to get into the actual ride vehicle.  Was probably 4 minutes until the preshow with Aerosmith.

While in line for RNRC at 12:04 refreshed a bit and luckily snagged a 7:25-8:25pm G+ for Slinky Dog Dash!  Wasn’t on our must do but not going to turn that gift down.  

Will try for a MMRR at 2:04pm

12:25 and at Hollywood Brown Derby.  Cobb salads and shrimp Mac’n Cheese didn’t disappoint



1:26 PM and done with lunch and still feel like doing another attraction before we head back to the resort to relax. We are in line for Star Tours standby. Posted 30 minutes.  On in 13 minutes


2PM now and noticed that Toy story Mania “dropped” to a 35 minute standby.  On in 41 minutes.  Probably should’ve used a G+for this later. Oh well. Still fun!

2:07pm (2hr window) and booked a 7 PM G+ for MMRR.  Now we have MMRR and SDD G+ stacked back to back for later

2:45pm and heading back to the resort now

At 4:07 spent 22 minutes refreshing and snagged a 6:15-7:15pm Millennium Falcon even though they kept showing sold out for the first 21 minutes of trying !   Awesome, a little persistence pays off!!

5:45pm now after resort rest time and heading back to HS.  Plan is to eat dinner at ABC commissary then do our stacked G+’s, MFSR, MMRR and SDD, quite the lineup

6:51 PM now. At MFSR and using our G+. Posted 65 minutes.  In preshow 4 minutes.
We survived despite our pilots (our daughters)  trying to kill us all


7:27pm and just tapped into slinky dog. Weather in the area so hopefully we can get on before they shut down.  Posted 80 minutes.  On in 7 minutes.  We made it!


7:43pm and tapped into MMRR.  Posted 35 minutes.  At the movie screen in 6 minutes


8:10 now and Just grabbed  a G+ for Star tours with an immediate return, because, why not? It’s one of the few attractions left to G+.

8:33 and in standby line for ROTR, posted 95 minutes.  On in 41 minutes!


Well, I feel like we maximized our day. Even with sleeping in a bit and getting to the park a bit later, and taking an afternoon break at the resort, we still were able to do all the headliners with very short waits even considering our ROTR with 41 minute standby. Another amazing day.!!

There is not even a remote chance that we could have been this successful without Genie+ the last two days. It has saved us a massive amount of time .  Especially at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios it is well well worth it.  After the standby-only debacle of last summer, I’m starting to feel like we have our Disney parks back to some extent.

-Dan


----------



## cheshiregoofy22

DisneyFive said:


> We’re alive! Today is Hollywood studios.  We’ll see how today goes with a bit of a later start.
> 
> Hours are 8:30 AM until 9 PM. We needed to get some sleep so I booked our first G+ for TOT at 9:40 AM to 10:40 AM, hoping that we can tap in and book our next G+ before the crush of people at 10:30 AM.
> 
> 9:30 and at the Poly bus stop.  Priorities today are ToT, RNRC, MMRR, TSMM, MFSR, and then ROTR at park close.  Slinky doesn’t do much for us so that helps us a little with G+ selection strategy.  We also would like to do Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones, _maybe_ Frozen.


Looking forward to your day!!


----------



## TropicalDIS

Appreciate your detailed reports @DisneyFive
Have a great rest of the trip!


----------



## Neverbeast

These are amazing to see how it’s unfolding as you make choices during the day. So helpful and we all appreciate the time you’re giving us to document! Sounds like a great trip!


----------



## cjlong88

@DisneyFive what a great day! Glad to see you are highlighting the benefits of refreshing. We found it to be just as successful as it used to be during the FP+ days. And TBH, a 20 minute refresh FAR outweighs a 2-hour line, at least to us. More persistence = more last minute drops and cancellations.

Hope you and your family are enjoying the trip! Looks like a blast.


----------



## DisneyFive

Epcot today!  Hours are 8:30am -9pm.  Forecast is a measly 95 degrees, and probably something like 105% humidity because you know, it’s Florida..

Priorities are Guardians, Remy, TT, Soarin, Frozen and SE and the countries, and Harmonious, and…

Keeping with our trend we are getting some sleep and not getting to the park for rope drop.  I decided to try for a Guardians boarding group and a Remy G+ on my own this morning to let the family get some good sleep instead of them logging on to another device to help.  Planned to get GoTG boarding group first and then as early of a G+ for Remy as possible.

Here’s how it went.  A few minutes before 7am I confirmed our party for the virtual queue.  However when I went back into the virtual queue _right_ before 7am it wasn’t confirming our party until literally the _very last second_ so at 7am or maybe a couple of seconds later I finally saw the refresh button and hit that, then Join? I ain’t gonna lie, a bit of panic and chaos ensued.  Anyway, scored boarding group 108.  Heart was pumping.  Immediately switched to tip board which wasn’t showing any G+ return times right at 7 am again!  Ahhhh!  So I manually clicked into Remy and it showed a return time of 10:25-11:25 am so I snatched it up!

I particularly wanted Remy before 10:30am to beat the other guests who can book then.  We plan to tap into Remy 5 minutes early at 10:20am and scour our next G+.

We have two ADR’s today, Nine Dragons at 12:15pm and Via Napoli at 6:15pm.  We also plan for an afternoon break at the resort.  Might take some sort of kung fu mastery today to get our G+ times to work but we’re up to the challenge!!!

We plan to get to Epcot via monorail just in time to tap into our 10:25 Remy G+

Sorry for the long winded introduction, I guess I was feeling… wordy. 

9:45am now and just stepped on the Epcot monorail from the TTC (we walked over from our Poly room)

Hello beautiful.


10:20 AM and tapped into Remy.  Posted 70 minutes.  On in 4 minutes.  Our first time.  Loved it! It’s a family favorite movie (we all love to cook) so the ride made it all the better.


Right after tapping into Remy, I booked a 6:55 PM Test Track which will work well with our 6:15 dinner at Via Napoli

At 12:20 will try for Frozen.

10:45 and heading to the Seas with Nemo and Living with the land both standby with shortish waits.  Then we’ll see where Spaceship Earth waits are

11:05 and in standby line for Living with the land.  Posted 15 minutes.  On in 7 minutes, probably the longest we’ve ever waited for LWTL , but it’s HOT out today and this is perfect to cool off.



11:33 at the Seas with Nemo standby.  Posted 20 minutes.  On in 25 minutes.  By far the  longest we’ve ever waited for this ride but it is good filler before lunch and it gets us out of the heat right now


12: 40 now and “refreshing my butt off”  to try and get a Frozen G+.  They are out currently.  Wish me some pixie dust.  

As a tip, I remember “magical” drops that happen at 2:47 PM and at 4:47 PM for the headliners.  I remember checking this at home, and today, and it is legit.

Wow you guys are good.  Pixie dust received!  . Only refreshed 10 minutes and bam, a Frozen for 1:50-2:50pm.  We’ll tap in at 1:45 and head back to the resort after.

Looks like our GOTG boarding group might get called around the same time we do Frozen, so we could do those back to back and then head back to relax and resort.  Working out smoothly!

1:34 PM weather update: it’s hot 

1:45 and doing a quick Gran Fiesta Tour before our Frozen G+.  Posted 15.  On in 4 minutes.

1:55pm and our boarding group, 108, was called.

2:08pm and in line for Frozen with G+.  Posted 70 minutes.  On in 8 minutes


2:33 PM and headed over to Guardians but it is temporarily closed. We are heading back to the resort and will do guardians later.

5 PM and heading back for Guardians and then dinner. We will definitely be able to confirm whether or not they let you in after your  group has been called.  We will be about 4-5 hours after we we’re called, but we did try during our window and it was down .

Still at 5pm, been trying for a G+ for Soarin starting at 7:30pm or so but the G+ return times are still too early and conflict with our dinner or other rides.  Will keep looking.  The “nature of the beast” with G+.

Tapped into Guardians at 5:45 PM. It blinked blue meaning we weren’t supposed to go in but the cast member waved us in and said we were good to go. The ride broke down while we were in line so it took us one hour to get on.

7:15 now and off the ride.  Our impressions of Guardians of the Galaxy? It feels like Rockin roller coaster and Space Mountain had a love child.  It was awesome.

So by now we are way way past our 6:15 reservation for Via Napoli due to the shut down on Guardians. Since we are so late already, we are going to do our Test track G+ while we are right here and then work our way back to Via Napoli and see if they will let us in or at least not charge us the no-show fee.

7:25 PM and tapped into G+ for TT. Got through the design and into a ride vehicle  in 15 minutes.  Posted 65.


7:45PM and booked a G+ from 7:50 PM to 8:50 PM for Soarin

Update:  Via Napoli is letting us in even though we are _very_ late. Thank you!

Made a brisk walk all the way from Italy to Soarin. Tapped in at 8:58 PM to close out our day.


After Soarin we meandered our way to the Monorail but by the time we got there the throngs of people from Harmonious were already there and it was backed up all the way down the full length of all the ramps. So I called an audible and got us a Uber that was there in two minutes. $13 (+$5 tip).  We’ll worth it to us. Very comfortable ride and good conversation with our driver

Now we are finally making use of the Polynesian quiet pool and having some much-needed adult beverages. 

Another awesome day with amazing new experiences.

-Dan


----------



## disneyfan150

@DisneyFive
I am studying your posts more than I studied for finals in college!Thank you for all the fantastic continuing information!! Our trip is in one week and your reports are so very helpful!


----------



## cheshiregoofy22

disneyfan150 said:


> @DisneyFive
> I am studying your posts more than I studied for finals in college!Thank you for all the fantastic continuing information!! Our trip is in one week and your reports are so very helpful!


Me too!


----------



## WedWayPilot

Just back from a great trip July 8th-17th. We stayed at the yacht club (standard double) the first night and Copper Creek (1 bedroom DVC) the next 8 nights.  I’m going to break it into 3 posts because there is a lot of data. It was a great experience with very few exceptions. The cast members were great and lightning lane worked very well for us. We used lightning lane for 7 days and bought an ILL on 7 days. We spent 9 total days in the parks and never waited more than 20 minutes for any attraction. If I saw a time posted for >30 minutes we just skipped over it for another time. We rode almost every ride including many duplicates and Guardians 5 times. We only skipped triceratops spin, Tomorrowland speedway, dumbo and Aladdin’s carpets. I anticipated criss crossing the parks more than with fast pass, but our walking distance was the same in the fastpass days and I seldom thought that lightning lane was making me walk more than a typical trip. We walked 75 miles over the 9 days which is a typical Disney trip for us. We also did Moonlight Magic on July 14th which was a nice bonus.

The number posted behind the attraction is what we actually waited for each. Here is what we were able to do each day.

July 9th
10:30 Guardians ILL 15 min 
1:15 Guardians VQ 15 min
2:30 Yacht Club Swimminng
7:00 Spaceship Earth Walk on

July 10th
8:30 Astro Orbiter walk on 
8:45 Peoplemover walk on
9:00 BTMRR 15
9:30 Splash LL 5
10:00 Riverboat walk on
10:45 Haunted Mansion LL 2 minutes
11:15 Small World LL 5 minutes
12:00 Parade viewed in front of diamond horseshoe
12:15 Diamond Horseshoe Lunch
6:00 Dinner BOG
7:30 Jungle cruise LL 10 minutes 
7:45 Pirates LL 5
8:15 Mine train ILL 10 $42
8:30 Space Mountain LL 5
Buzz Didn’t use because of thunderstorm 

July 11th
9:00 Safari 20
9:45 Everest 15
10:15 Navi LL 5 (Posted 60 Minutes)
10:45 Fop ILL 10 (Posted 165 Minutes)
11:00 Lunch Satuli Canteen
11:30 Nemo Show
Everest LL Didnt Use
1:30 Animation Experience 10
2:30 Animation Experience 10
3:30 Kali River Rapids LL 20
5:00 Dinner Storybook Dining

I’ll put the next few days in separate posts.


----------



## WedWayPilot

As you can start to see my family’s pattern is typically start early (rope drop or soon after), take a break at the resort after lunch, and return to the parks for dinner and rides. I would typically book the first LL as early as possible (ideally before the 120 minutes from park open hits), get a second LL for the morning, then begin to stack for the afternoon. This worked incredibly well for us. I ended up having many LL I never used and we often left the parks with LL still available to book. Here are our next 3 days:

July 12th
8:20 TOT 13 (walk on)
9:00 Olaf walk on
9:20 Frozen walk on
10:20 Slinky LL 5
11:00 Rise ILL 2
Vacation Fun 0
Runaway Railway LL 10
Lunch Docking Bay 7
Resort Swim/Nap
6:00 Dinner OHana
7:45 Peter pan LL  2
8:00 Buzz LL 5
8:15 Barnstormer LL 5
8:30 Teacups LL 0
8:45 Monsters Inc LL 5
9:00 Mickey and Minnie LL 5
Pirates LL Didn’t Use

July 13th
9:40 FEA LL 5
10:30 Guardians VQ 20
11:30 Mission Space LL 5
12:00 Lunch Creperie
5:30 Nemo LL 5
6:00 Dinner Garden Grill
Crush LL Didnt Use
Remi LL Didn’t Use
7:30 Living with the Land LL 5
7:45 Guardians ILL 2
Spaceship Earth LL Didn’t Use

July 14 (Did not use LL a this day. Just picked short waits and went to Moonlight Magic).
9:30 Carousel (0)
10:00 Ariel (20)
10:30 Philharmagic (5)
10:55 Citrus Swirl
11:00 Enchanted Tiki Room (0)
6:15 Muppetvision 3D (5)
6:30 Star Tours (5)
7:30 Alien saucers (0)
Start Moonlight Magic
Millennium Falcon (15)
Toy Story Midway Mania (10)
Rock N Rollercoaster (10)
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (5)

Final post will follow this.


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyFive said:


> Epcot today!  Hours are 8:30am -9pm.  Forecast is a measly 95 degrees, and probably something like 105% humidity because you know, it’s Florida..
> 
> Priorities are Guardians, Remy, TT, Soarin, Frozen and SE and the countries, and Harmonious, and…
> 
> Keeping with our trend we are getting some sleep and not getting to the park for rope drop.  I decided to try for a Guardians boarding group and a Remy G+ on my own this morning to let the family get some good sleep instead of them logging on to another device to help.  Planned to get GoTG boarding group first and then as early of a G+ for Remy as possible.
> 
> Here’s how it went.  A few minutes before 7am I confirmed our party for the virtual queue.  However when I went back into the virtual queue _right_ before 7am it wasn’t confirming our party until literally the _very last second_ so at 7am or maybe a couple of seconds later I finally saw the refresh button and hit that, then Join? I ain’t gonna lie, a bit of panic and chaos ensued.  Anyway, scored boarding group 108.  Heart was pumping.  Immediately switched to tip board which wasn’t showing any G+ return times right at 7 am again!  Ahhhh!  So I manually clicked into Remy and it showed a return time of 10:25-11:25 am so I snatched it up!
> 
> I particularly wanted Remy before 10:30am to beat the other guests who can book then.  We plan to tap into Remy 5 minutes early at 10:20am and scour our next G+.
> 
> We have two ADR’s today, Nine Dragons at 12:15pm and Via Napoli at 6:15pm.  We also plan for an afternoon break at the resort.  Might take some sort of kung fu mastery today to get our G+ times to work but we’re up to the challenge!!!
> 
> We plan to get to Epcot via monorail just in time to tap into our 10:25 Remy G+
> 
> Sorry for the long winded introduction, I guess I was feeling… wordy.
> 
> 9:45am now and just stepped on the Epcot monorail from the TTC (we walked over from our Poly room)
> 
> Here we go!…


Might be too late now but another option to save some steps on your Epcot day is to take a bus to DHS then Skyliner to Epcot.  We found our last trip we used the Skyliner often to get to places we used to bus and walk to.


----------



## DisneyFive

WedWayPilot said:


> As you can start to see my family’s pattern is typically start early (rope drop or soon after), take a break at the resort after lunch, and return to the parks for dinner and rides. I would typically book the first LL as early as possible (ideally before the 120 minutes from park open hits), get a second LL for the morning, then begin to stack for the afternoon. This worked incredibly well for us. I ended up having many LL I never used and we often left the parks with LL still available to book. Here are our next 3 days:
> 
> July 12th
> 8:20 TOT 13 (walk on)
> 9:00 Olaf walk on
> 9:20 Frozen walk on
> 10:20 Slinky LL 5
> 11:00 Rise ILL 2
> Vacation Fun 0
> Runaway Railway LL 10
> Lunch Docking Bay 7
> Resort Swim/Nap
> 6:00 Dinner OHana
> 7:45 Peter pan LL  2
> 8:00 Buzz LL 5
> 8:15 Barnstormer LL 5
> 8:30 Teacups LL 0
> 8:45 Monsters Inc LL 5
> 9:00 Mickey and Minnie LL 5
> Pirates LL Didn’t Use
> 
> July 13th
> 9:40 FEA LL 5
> 10:30 Guardians VQ 20
> 11:30 Mission Space LL 5
> 12:00 Lunch Creperie
> 5:30 Nemo LL 5
> 6:00 Dinner Garden Grill
> Crush LL Didnt Use
> Remi LL Didn’t Use
> 7:30 Living with the Land LL 5
> 7:45 Guardians ILL 2
> Spaceship Earth LL Didn’t Use
> 
> July 14 (Did not use LL a this day. Just picked short waits and went to Moonlight Magic).
> 9:30 Carousel (0)
> 10:00 Ariel (20)
> 10:30 Philharmagic (5)
> 10:55 Citrus Swirl
> 11:00 Enchanted Tiki Room (0)
> 6:15 Muppetvision 3D (5)
> 6:30 Star Tours (5)
> 7:30 Alien saucers (0)
> Start Moonlight Magic
> Millennium Falcon (15)
> Toy Story Midway Mania (10)
> Rock N Rollercoaster (10)
> Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (5)
> 
> Final post will follow this.


Impressive stuff!!  Looks like overall we have similar styles other than we have not rope dropped and we do not purchase $ILL, at least not yet.  -Dan


----------



## Karalee402

DisneyFive said:


> Epcot today!  Hours are 8:30am -9pm.  Forecast is a measly 95 degrees, and probably something like 105% humidity because you know, it’s Florida..
> 
> Priorities are Guardians, Remy, TT, Soarin, Frozen and SE and the countries, and Harmonious, and…
> 
> Keeping with our trend we are getting some sleep and not getting to the park for rope drop.  I decided to try for a Guardians boarding group and a Remy G+ on my own this morning to let the family get some good sleep instead of them logging on to another device to help.  Planned to get GoTG boarding group first and then as early of a G+ for Remy as possible.
> 
> Here’s how it went.  A few minutes before 7am I confirmed our party for the virtual queue.  However when I went back into the virtual queue _right_ before 7am it wasn’t confirming our party until literally the _very last second_ so at 7am or maybe a couple of seconds later I finally saw the refresh button and hit that, then Join? I ain’t gonna lie, a bit of panic and chaos ensued.  Anyway, scored boarding group 108.  Heart was pumping.  Immediately switched to tip board which wasn’t showing any G+ return times right at 7 am again!  Ahhhh!  So I manually clicked into Remy and it showed a return time of 10:25-11:25 am so I snatched it up!
> 
> I particularly wanted Remy before 10:30am to beat the other guests who can book then.  We plan to tap into Remy 5 minutes early at 10:20am and scour our next G+.
> 
> We have two ADR’s today, Nine Dragons at 12:15pm and Via Napoli at 6:15pm.  We also plan for an afternoon break at the resort.  Might take some sort of kung fu mastery today to get our G+ times to work but we’re up to the challenge!!!
> 
> We plan to get to Epcot via monorail just in time to tap into our 10:25 Remy G+
> 
> Sorry for the long winded introduction, I guess I was feeling… wordy.
> 
> 9:45am now and just stepped on the Epcot monorail from the TTC (we walked over from our Poly room)
> 
> Here we go!…


I'm literally reading your posts aloud to my family - next best thing to being there! It's such fun following along with your adventures. Have the very best day today!


----------



## WedWayPilot

The final 3 days were more relaxed with increased break time and more swimming and shopping. By this time we had ridden almost everything so I was picky with the LL I chose. 

Overall I find the LL system works as well or better than fast pass for skipping the lines. Many of the LL we waited in were much shorter than fast pass ever was. LL does require more flexibility in the ORDER you do the rides in. I can see how this would be problematic in a short trip or during an exceedingly busy time. If you are staying for a week, I think you can ride everything you want, most likely multiple times and likely waiting less than 20 minutes. I also do not feel like I was on my phone an increased amount during the old FP days. 

July 15
3:00 It’s tough to be a bug 0 Minutes
4:00 Navi River LL (5)
4:30 Everest LL (5)
5:00 Yak and Yeti
7:00 Dinosaur LL (5)
7:40 Flight of passage ILL (10)

July 16
9:30 Figment (0)
10:00 Remi LL (5)
10:30 Beauty and the Beast LL (3)
Three Cabelleros (1)
12:00 Space 220 lunch
1:30 Guardians of the Galaxy VQ (20)
6:00 Via Napoli Dinner 
7:00 Soarin LL (5)
7:30 Test Track LL (15)
8:00 Frozen LL (5)
8:50 Spaceship Earth LL (0)

July 17
9:00 Breakfast CRT
10:00 Carousel 0
10:15 Peter Pan LL 2
10:50 Mine Train ILL 10
11:00 Haunted Mansion LL 5
11:30 Carousel of progress 5
11:50 Buzz LL 5
12:00 Teacups LL 2

Finally I wanted to say I MUCH prefer lightning lane and ILL to Universals Express pass (Visited Universal twice in the past year). I see a lot of people singing the praises of Universal and Express pass, and I just don’t see how it is better in any way. If you are not staying at one of the 3 premium resorts it is more expensive for 2 days of Express Pass than I paid for LL and ILL for my entire trip. And if you are staying at a premium resort there is no way to purchase express for the top tier rides. At Disney you at least have the option of getting on the best rides with a short wait if you are willing to pay. The Harry Potter, Mummy and Jurassic Park areas at Universal are wonderful, and on par with Disney. Outside of those areas the parks a have a more regional amusement park feel and there is very little to do if you have children under 8. In my opinion Universal is a nice 1-2 day supplement to Disney, but in no way is a replacement.

I also don’t mind the park pass system at all. I made my initial park pass reservations when I booked my dining, modified them as needed and had no problem on any day with a reservation. I don’t understand the discontent with this. Disney knowing how to appropriately staff and supply a park and keep a cap on attendance seems like a overall benefit to the guests.


----------



## DisneyFive

scrappinginontario said:


> Might be too late now but another option to save some steps on your Epcot day is to take a bus to DHS then Skyliner to Epcot.  We found our last trip we used the Skyliner often to get to places we used to bus and walk to.


Great suggestion!  Thank you!   I think we will probably do that on our way back this afternoon or our next Epcot day which is three days from now.


----------



## cjlong88

@DisneyFive GotG is THE ride at WDW right now! So glad you were able to grab a boarding group! Enjoy.


----------



## grannyminnie

Question, please.  How does one refresh the info when using Genie+ to see what times are available?  Is there an actual refresh button?  Going in a few days and I need to know this.  Previous posters have mentioned this in their strategy.


----------



## Smugpugmug

grannyminnie said:


> Question, please.  How does one refresh the info when using Genie+ to see what times are available?  Is there an actual refresh button?  Going in a few days and I need to know this.  Previous posters have mentioned this in their strategy.


You go on the tip board and pull it down using your finger; there is no refresh button.


----------



## Gary Stocker

Man whenever someone takes great pics like that I really want to go..especially the ball. Hoping for spring break..if I can find some reasonable DVC points to rent.


----------



## DisneyFive

grannyminnie said:


> Question, please.  How does one refresh the info when using Genie+ to see what times are available?  Is there an actual refresh button?  Going in a few days and I need to know this.  Previous posters have mentioned this in their strategy.





Smugpugmug said:


> You go on the tip board and pull it down using your finger; there is no refresh button.


Also, when you are on the Tip Board, it is very convenient to tap the “Edit Selections”link (circled in red below) and choose the rides that you want G+ for. After you do that they show up at the top of the list.  That way when you swipe down with your finger to refresh you are able to see the times easier and more quickly.  Throughout today I change my edit selections list to only those that I am still looking for.


----------



## Gary Stocker

DisneyFive said:


> Epcot today!  Hours are 8:30am -9pm.  Forecast is a measly 95 degrees, and probably something like 105% humidity because you know, it’s Florida..
> 
> Priorities are Guardians, Remy, TT, Soarin, Frozen and SE and the countries, and Harmonious, and…
> 
> Keeping with our trend we are getting some sleep and not getting to the park for rope drop.  I decided to try for a Guardians boarding group and a Remy G+ on my own this morning to let the family get some good sleep instead of them logging on to another device to help.  Planned to get GoTG boarding group first and then as early of a G+ for Remy as possible.
> 
> Here’s how it went.  A few minutes before 7am I confirmed our party for the virtual queue.  However when I went back into the virtual queue _right_ before 7am it wasn’t confirming our party until literally the _very last second_ so at 7am or maybe a couple of seconds later I finally saw the refresh button and hit that, then Join? I ain’t gonna lie, a bit of panic and chaos ensued.  Anyway, scored boarding group 108.  Heart was pumping.  Immediately switched to tip board which wasn’t showing any G+ return times right at 7 am again!  Ahhhh!  So I manually clicked into Remy and it showed a return time of 10:25-11:25 am so I snatched it up!
> 
> I particularly wanted Remy before 10:30am to beat the other guests who can book then.  We plan to tap into Remy 5 minutes early at 10:20am and scour our next G+.
> 
> We have two ADR’s today, Nine Dragons at 12:15pm and Via Napoli at 6:15pm.  We also plan for an afternoon break at the resort.  Might take some sort of kung fu mastery today to get our G+ times to work but we’re up to the challenge!!!
> 
> We plan to get to Epcot via monorail just in time to tap into our 10:25 Remy G+
> 
> Sorry for the long winded introduction, I guess I was feeling… wordy.
> 
> 9:45am now and just stepped on the Epcot monorail from the TTC (we walked over from our Poly room)
> 
> Hello beautiful.
> View attachment 686932
> 
> 10:20 AM and tapped into Remy.  Posted 70 minutes.  On in 4 minutes.  Our first time.  Loved it! It’s a family favorite movie (we all love to cook) so the ride made it all the better.
> View attachment 686939
> 
> Right after tapping into Remy, I booked a 6:55 PM Test Track which will work well with our 6:15 dinner at Via Napoli
> 
> At 12:20 will try for Frozen.
> 
> 10:45 and heading to the Seas with Nemo and Living with the land both standby with shortish waits.  Then we’ll see where Spaceship Earth waits are
> 
> 11:05 and standby  in line for Living with the land.  Posted 15 minutes.  On in 7 minutes, probably the longest we’ve ever waited for LWTL , but it’s HOT out today and this is perfect to cool off.
> View attachment 686959
> 
> 
> 11:33 at the Seas with Nemo standby.  Posted 20 minutes.  On in 25 minutes.  By far the  longest we’ve ever waited for this ride but it is good filler before lunch and to gets us out of the heat right now
> View attachment 686984
> 
> 12: 40 now and refreshing my butt off to try and get a frozen G+.  They are out currently.  Wish me some pixie dust.
> 
> As a tip, I remember “magical” drops that happen at 2:47 PM and at 4:47 PM for the headliners.  The 2:27 drops times around 3pm and the 4:47 drops 5pm times.  I remember verifying the from home and it’s legit.
> 
> Wow you guys are good.  Pixie dust received!  . Only refreshed 10 minutes and bam, a Frozen for 1:50-2:50pm.  We’ll tap in at 1:45 and head back to the resort after.
> 
> Looks like our GOTG boarding group might get called around the same time we do Frozen, so we could do those back to back and then head back to relax and resort.  Working out smoothly!
> 
> 1:34 PM weather update: it’s hot
> 
> 1:45 and doing a quick Gran Fiesta Tour before our Frozen G+.  Posted 15.  On in 4 minutes.
> View attachment 687008
> 1:55pm and our boarding group, 108, was called.
> 
> 2:08pm and in line for Frozen with G+.  Posted 70 minutes.  On in 8 minutes
> View attachment 687010
> 
> 2:33 PM and headed over to Guardians but it is temporarily closed. We are heading back to the resort and will do guardians later.
> 
> 5 PM and heading back for Guardians and then dinner. We will definitely be able to confirm whether or not they let you in after your  group has been called.  We will be about 4-5 hours after we we’re called, but we did try during our window and it was down .
> View attachment 687039
> Been trying for a G+ but everything is not out the timeframe that we want yet which is sometime after 7pm.  Plan on booking Soarin
> 
> Tapped into Guardians at 5:45 PM. It blinked blue meaning we weren’t supposed to go in but the cast member waved us in and said we were good to go. The ride broke down while we were on it so it took us one hour to get on.
> 
> Here we go!…


Fantastic. Thank you for sharing. My wallet is looking at me...."here we go again"!  you almost got a pic of the hidden mickey in the gran Fiesta fireworks.


----------



## Erica Ladd

DisneyFive said:


> Also, when you are on the Tip Board, it is very convenient to tap the “Edit Selections”link (circled in red below) and choose the rides that you want G+ for. After you do that they show up at the top of the list.  That way when you swipe down with your finger to refresh you are able to see the times easier and more quickly.  Throughout today I change my edit selections list to only those that I am still looking for.
> View attachment 687033


I believe that is only when in the parks now, correct? Or on your park days? Is it accessible if just testing things out? I know refresh is but not the edit selections option if not there….


----------



## Smugpugmug

Erica Ladd said:


> I believe that is only when in the parks now, correct? Or on your park days? Is it accessible if just testing things out? I know refresh is but not the edit selections option if not there….


That is correct. I don't have a park reservation for today and this is what my tip board looks like:



Notice that the edit selections option is not there. When you set up Genie+ after buying it, it gives you the option of pinning attractions but you can do it whenever you want.


----------



## Erica Ladd

Smugpugmug said:


> That is correct. I don't have a park reservation for today and this is what my tip board looks like:
> 
> View attachment 687077
> 
> Notice that the edit selections option is not there. When you set up Genie+ after buying it, it gives you the option of pinning attractions but you can do it whenever you want.


I have G+ associated with my tickets for September but haven’t seen the edit selections option since it went away for people not in the park or day of. Please lmk if I’m missing something as I’d love to pin my fave attractions at the top!


----------



## Smugpugmug

Erica Ladd said:


> I have G+ associated with my tickets for September but haven’t seen the edit selections option since it went away for people not in the park or day of. Please lmk if I’m missing something as I’d love to pin my fave attractions at the top!


Oh, right I forgot that people had Genie+ on their tickets already. You can only do it day of now. But if you were to buy Genie+ day of, while you buy it you can pin attractions to the top of your tip board.


----------



## Erica Ladd

DisneyFive - what park tomorrow????


----------



## DisneyFive

Erica Ladd said:


> DisneyFive - what park tomorrow????


Magic Kingdom again.  Definitely need to get some good sleep so we will be getting a later start tomorrow probably setting up our first G+ selection for 10 AM to 11 AM and showing up towards the mid to end of that window.  At least that’s the tentative plan


----------



## lchicago

@DisneyFive thank you for such detailed reports! I am loving them and carefully taking notes for our trip in a few weeks. 

When you say you are refreshing, is it literally just constantly refreshing for 10 minutes straight like over and over again? I’m hoping to not be tied to my phone that much.


----------



## DisneyFive

lchicago said:


> @DisneyFive thank you for such detailed reports! I am loving them and carefully taking notes for our trip in a few weeks.
> 
> When you say you are refreshing, is it literally just constantly refreshing for 10 minutes straight like over and over again? I’m hoping to not be tied to my phone that much.


Kind of yeah.  It’s not fun but it pays off.  I tend to do it waiting in line if I can, or some other time when being “present” isn’t as important.  10-20 minutes can save an hour or more easily for the really popular attractions, which for us means doing them, or not. I wouldn’t refresh for secondary rides though.

Dan


----------



## grannyminnie

DisneyFive said:


> Also, when you are on the Tip Board, it is very convenient to tap the “Edit Selections”link (circled in red below) and choose the rides that you want G+ for. After you do that they show up at the top of the list.  That way when you swipe down with your finger to refresh you are able to see the times easier and more quickly.  Throughout today I change my edit selections list to only those that I am still looking for.
> View attachment 687033


Thanks, that's very helpful.


----------



## BK2014

DisneyFive said:


> We’re alive! Today is Hollywood studios.  We’ll see how today goes with a bit of a later start.  Weather today is hot and sunny, high of 94F, which we’re perfectly happy with.
> 
> Hours are 8:30 AM until 9 PM. We needed to get some sleep so at 7am I booked our first G+ for TOT from 9:40 - 10:40 AM, hoping that we can tap in and book our next G+ before the crush of people at 10:30 AM.  For these last two parks we have found out it is VERY beneficial  to get that first G+ before the +2 hour time frame after the park opens, this allows you to get ahead of a lot of folks. That is tough at HS for people that want to do slinky dog though, which we don’t plan to do.  Start refreshing _right_ at 7am and grab that morning time slot when it gets to your desired time.
> 
> 9:30 now and at the Poly bus stop.  Priorities today are ToT, RNRC, MMRR, TSMM, MFSR, and then ROTR at park close.  Slinky doesn’t do much for us so that helps us a little with G+ selection strategy.
> 
> We also would like to do Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones, _maybe_ Frozen.  The showtimes might be kind of tough because we like to do afternoon breaks and rides in the morning. We have a lunch ADR at Hollywood Brown Derby for Cobb salads so all these things kind of conflict with the morning through afternoon showtimes.  We’ll see.
> 
> 10:04 and tapped into ToT.  On immediately.  Posted 50 minutes.
> View attachment 686653
> After tapping into ToT snagged a G+ for RNRC  12:05-1:15.  This is perfect right before our 12:25 HBD lunch.
> 
> 10:27 now and we’re doing the 11am Beauty and the Beast show.
> View attachment 686660
> 
> 12pm and tapped into RNRC.  Posted 55 minutes.  Waited 15 minutes after tapping in to get into the actual ride vehicle.  Was probably 4 minutes until the preshow with Aerosmith.
> View attachment 686672
> While in line for RNRC at 12:04 refreshed a bit and luckily snagged a 7:25-8:25pm G+ for Slinky Dog Dash!  Wasn’t on our must do but not going to turn that gift down.
> 
> Will try for a MMRR at 2:04pm
> 
> 12:25 and at Hollywood Brown Derby.  Cobb salads and shrimp Mac’n Cheese didn’t disappoint
> View attachment 686684
> 
> 
> 1:26 PM and done with lunch and still feel like doing another attraction before we head back to the resort to relax. We are in line for Star Tours standby. Posted 30 minutes.  On in 13 minutes
> View attachment 686687
> 
> 2PM now and noticed that Toy story Mania “dropped” to a 35 minute standby.  On in 41 minutes.  Probably should’ve used a G+for this later. Oh well. Still fun!
> View attachment 686709
> 2:07pm (2hr window) and booked a 7 PM G+ for MMRR.  Now we have MMRR and SDD G+ stacked back to back for later
> 
> 2:45pm and heading back to the resort now
> 
> At 4:07 spent 22 minutes refreshing and snagged a 6:15-7:15pm Millennium Falcon even though they kept showing sold out for the first 21 minutes of trying !   Awesome, a little persistence pays off!!
> 
> 5:45pm now after resort rest time and heading back to HS.  Plan is to eat dinner at ABC commissary then do our stacked G+’s, MFSR, MMRR and SDD, quite the lineup
> 
> 6:51 PM now. At MFSR and using our G+. Posted 65 minutes.  In preshow 4 minutes.
> We survived despite our pilots (our daughters)  trying to kill us all
> View attachment 686836
> 
> 7:27pm and just tapped into slinky dog. Weather in the area so hopefully we can get on before they shut down.  Posted 80 minutes.  On in 7 minutes.  We made it!
> View attachment 686791
> 
> 7:43pm and tapped into MMRR.  Posted 35 minutes.  At the movie screen in 6 minutes
> View attachment 686795
> 
> 8:10 now and Just grabbed  a G+ for Star tours with an immediate return, because, why not? It’s one of the few attractions left to G+.
> 
> 8:33 and in standby line for ROTR, posted 95 minutes.  On in 41 minutes!
> View attachment 686822
> 
> Well, I feel like we maximized our day. Even with sleeping in a bit and getting to the park a bit later, and taking an afternoon break at the resort, we still were able to do all the headliners with very short waits even considering our ROTR with 41 minute standby. Another amazing day.!!
> 
> There is not even a remote chance that we could have been this successful without Genie+ the last two days. It has saved us a massive amount of time .  Especially at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios it is well well worth it.  After the standby-only debacle of last summer, I’m starting to feel like we have our Disney parks back to some extent.
> 
> -Dan


You have taken some amazing photos.  Are these taken on a cellphone? And if so, do you mind sharing what type?


----------



## DisneyFive

Our 2nd of 3 Magic Kingdom days today!

We had a last-minute change of plans. Our oldest is feeling a little under the weather and needed more sleep, so the rest of us four are heading into the parks and will do some rides standby while we stack rides for later this afternoon and evening once she is able to join us. I _had_ booked a 10:45-11:45 am Space but canceled and will rebook for later.  The plan was to tap into that and look for a another selection, beating the crowd that can book again at 11 AM .

This will be a test of the stacking strategy for those that want to stay at the resort in the morning and start your visit later in the day.

Again this morning, at 7am the dang G+ system was not showing wait times and you had to manually click into each ride to see when you could return. This is very annoying because you cannot make a judgment call if you’re trying to choose between multiple rides.  Also, once you choose a selection you cannot see times for others even if you wanted to.  The last few days it has taken about 30 minutes, or 7:30am for the times to show back up in the app and start working properly

It’s 10:20am now and none of the G+ Selections are late afternoon or evening yet except Jungle Cruise, but JC doesn’t do much for us. I know I know.  . Lots of G+ selections (the mountains) are currently still early afternoon.

We have a 12:45 PM ADR at Jungle Skipper Canteen and looking forward to that also

10:37 AM and at Pirates. Posted  20 minutes now, and building I’m sure.  On in 11 minutes standby.


Again today at 10:47 AM there was a drop for a lot of the headliners for return times only about 25 minutes from now.  Unfortunately I cannot make use of it today, but maybe our last day, Tuesday the 26th, we can make use of that drop.

11:01 and heading to BTMRR standby.  Posted 40 minutes. Waited 50 minutes


11:05am Still can’t stack anything yet because times are not far out enough. It looks like it will be Splash that we get first though, that is already out to 3:15pm

11:41am and finally  booked our first G+ for Splash 4:30-5:30pm which we’ll use after our afternoon break.  Will stack another when I can book again at 1:41.  Will target G+ for BTMRR next so we can do those attractions back to back since they are right next to each other.

Booking G+ for an attraction close to park open and rolling from here is definitely the way to go at MK if you can. It is much more efficient, but that wasn’t in the cards that we were dealt today. We will make the most of it though. 

12:13pm and watching the parade go by near Splash Mountain, then heading to lunch.  Jungle Skipper was yummy as usual.


1:25 PM now and heading back to the resort. Will keep stacking G+

2:06 PM now and back at the resort enjoying Dole whips. I booked a G+ for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for 4:40 to 5:40pm PM which overlaps nicely with our G+ for Splash at 4:30 to 5:30.

4:20pm.  We’re _baaaaack_.   We all had a nice nap.

At 4:11 PM I was looking to book my next G+.  *Pro tip*: I saw that Winnie the Pooh is temporarily closed and there was a G+ for 4:30, only 19 minutes later so I grabbed it.  I hoped that it is was still down at 4:30 which will then trigger it to turn into an anytime G+ for multiple attraction options.  (A bit of a gamble, but this is a way to work the system to the max).  Update! At 4:19pm already it did indeed turn into an anytime G+ selection!   The only big rides it’s not good for is 7DMT, Space, PP and JC.  I am also able to book another G+ now

4:35pm now and at the Poly monorail station. Booked a 4:55 Pooh.  Since there is weather in the area we are going to focus on getting our Splash and BTMRR rides done as soon as possible

5:10pm tapped into Splash.  Posted 70 minutes.  On in 5 minutes



5:37 PM and just tapped into BTMRR.  Posted 45 minutes.  On in 7 minutes.

Just _had_ to stop for a couple of Churros, our first time having them, one normal and one 50th (pictured).  We liked the normal better.


6:02pm and tapped into Pooh G+.  Posted 40 minutes.  On in 7 minutes.


6:16 now.  We might try for secondary G+ rides back to back with almost immediately return windows.  This can add up to a lot of time savings, maybe 10-30 minutes per ride.  Then I will book our Space Mountain which right now is sitting at around 9 PM.

6:08 PM and just booked a G+ for Buzz at 6:10, pretty much immediately.

6:25 and tapped into Buzz.  Posted 55 minutes.  On in 3 minutes.

6:35pm now and refreshed and Bam! Lucked out with a 7:00-8:00pm for Space Mountain!

We were going to do a quick service dinner now but we went to Starbucks and it took so long but I’m worried about missing our Space G+. So I canceled our mobile order and we are enjoying our drinks and doing Space, then re-Mobile order our QS dinner at Pecos Bills.

After dinner we’ll probably do our anytime G+ for Haunted Mansion and then decide if we’ve done enough or head back to the resort for pool time and multiple adult beverages. 🫣

Even with the curveball this morning and not getting to the parks as a full family until 5pm things are going great.  No way it would be possible without G+ though.  I’ll say it again, but it’s night and day better than last year when it was standby only.  We can actually enjoy ourselves by having rides booked ahead of time and filling the other time with secondary rides, shopping or just sight seeing the parks.

7:51pm and tapping into our Space G+. Posted 45 minutes. On 12 minutes


8:14 and Heading to Pecos Bills for dinner

8:53 PM now. While at dinner booked a G+ for Haunted mansion from 9pm-10pm.

8:57 and tapped into HM.  Posted 35 minutes.  On in 13 minutes


9:38 and calling it a day, just beating the 9:20 Enchantment crowd out of the park.  We just got on the monorail back to the Poly.

Despite the late start we did everything we wanted, plus some!!  Another successful day.

Hollywood Studios tomorrow, will be another late start I think.

-Dan


----------



## DisneyFive

BK2014 said:


> You have taken some amazing photos.  Are these taken on a cellphone? And if so, do you mind sharing what type?


Thank you! It is an iPhone 13 (not pro). I always have my flash off, and I do not use “live photo” ever.


My typical process for editing photos is to click on the photo, hit edit, then I typically Crop as needed
hit the little magic wand which is Apples way to “intelligently” enhance the picture.
Then increase exposure if it needs it,
and sometimes I reduce the Blackpoint (make the blacks blacker).

All this ends up making a more dynamic photo with better contrast Sometimes I will enhance the highlights as well. It all depends on the picture.

Also, I find myself wiping the lenses on the back of the phone with my shirt quite often. Finger smudges and other smears on the lenses will make your picture turn out hazy.

…it’s always best to hold your camera is still as possible while taking the picture

Low light photos are always the hardest, but using the flash almost always makes it look worse than without a flash in my experience.

Hope this helps!

Dan


----------



## GBRforWDW

DisneyFive said:


> Again this morning, at 7am the dang G+ system was not showing wait times and you had to manually click into each ride to see when you could return


Hi Dan, you may not have seen my post over in the Genie thread, but I found out yesterday through another thread that the 7-7:30 thing is a new "feature"



GBRforWDW said:


> Fyi, something I found posted on another thread:
> 
> https://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2022/07/enhanced-disney-genie-features-now.html?m=1
> 
> 1. As part of the latest update, booked Lightning Lane entrance selections were given a new look on the Tip Board. In addition to the recent enhancement to display the booked arrival window, booked experiences are now highlighted for even greater visibility.
> 
> 2. Now, during periods where there are many Guests attempting to book experiences with Lightning Lane entry, the Tip Board will show "Check Availability" instead of an arrival window that could change, reducing the number of different arrival windows being displayed to a Guest. At this time, "Check Availability" will appear between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. each day for all experiences offering Lightning Lane entry
> 
> This probably helps explain the times not visible until 730
> 
> Latest update is dated July 7, 2022 and is build 7.11


----------



## DisneyFive

GBRforWDW said:


> Hi Dan, you may not have seen my post over in the Genie thread, but I found out yesterday through another thread that the 7-7:30 thing is a new "feature"


Wow, just wow. Clearly an IT issue with Disney and they are definitely putting their spin on it. Enhancement? Now that’s funny

I really appreciate the heads up because now I know it will be the same way for the rest of our trip, three more full days.

-Dan


----------



## GBRforWDW

DisneyFive said:


> Wow, just wow. Clearly an IT issue with Disney and they are definitely putting their spin on it. Enhancement? Now that’s funny
> 
> I really appreciate the heads up because now I know it will be the same way for the rest of our trip, three more full days.
> 
> -Dan


Yeah, I'm not sure if it's an IT issue as much as something they are intentionally doing, probably due to complaints about the tip board showing 1 time, the next screen a different time and the final screen a third, especially for the popular rides in the morning.  Would be better to just do a VQ, but that's what we have for now .

Enjoy the rest of your trip!


----------



## DisneyFive

GBRforWDW said:


> probably due to complaints about the tip board showing 1 time, the next screen a different time and the final screen a third, especially for the popular rides in the morning.





GBRforWDW said:


> Enjoy the rest of your trip!


I agree.  However I consider that an IT or coding issue.  They should be able to lock in the time once you click it on the main screen.  They were able to do it with FP+.  My guess is that they are working on fixing it behind the scenes.  Here’s hoping because this new feature stinks


----------



## g-dad66

DisneyFive said:


> I agree.  However I consider that an IT or coding issue.  They should be able to lock in the time once you click it on the main screen.  They were able to do it with FP+.  My guess is that they are working on fixing it behind the scenes.  Here’s hoping because this new feature stinks



When you book the LL time between 7:00 and 7:30, does it still change times on you when you confirm, or does the time now stay the same?  (I'm guessing that it can still change, because a locked-in time would be a *real* enhancement. )

Thanks for the daily reports.  Much appreciated.


----------



## DisneyFive

g-dad66 said:


> When you book the LL time between 7:00 and 7:30, does it still change times on you when you confirm, or does the time now stay the same?  (I'm guessing that it can still change, because a locked-in time would be a *real* enhancement. )
> 
> Thanks for the daily reports.  Much appreciated.


Well, it definitely does not change now but that’s because by the time you see the time window you are already at the second screen. So instead of showing for example 9 AM on the main screen and by the time you click into it, it says 9:05 AM, you don’t see anything on the first screen anymore and you have to click into the attraction  to see the available time. Hope that makes sense.

What it takes away is the ability to see multiple attractions that you are trying for at a glance. I always used the main screen as an estimate anyway and my times are  typically not off by more than 5 to 10 minutes when I clicked into the second screen.  When refreshing, and all of a sudden an earlier time popped up, I always knew it was a risk that by the time I clicked into it it would be gone.

To me, the big issue is with $ILL attractions that you actually pay for, and then the time slot changes on you. They should have just made those rides not show the time at 7am left all the others

I suppose a lot of guests would be very frustrated by that so I understand why Disney made the change but they really need to fix it completely so that the time in the second screen always matches the first screen, which they can certainly do.

Just my opinion of course

Dan


----------



## jods

DisneyFive said:


> Hey everyone, another Magic Kingdom day!
> 
> Looks like we had a last-minute change of plans. Our oldest is feeling a little under the weather and needed more sleep so the rest of us four are heading into the parks and will do rides standby while we stack rides for later this afternoon and evening once she is able to join us. I had booked a 10:45-11:45 am Space but canceled and will rebook for later.  The plan was to tap into that and look for a another selection, beating the crowd that can book again at 11 AM .
> 
> This will be a test of the stacking strategy for those that want to stay at the resort in the morning and start your visit later in the day.
> 
> Again this morning, at 7am the dang G+ system was not showing wait times and you had to manually click into each ride to see when you could return. This is very annoying because you cannot make a judgment call if you’re trying to choose between multiple rides.  Also, once you choose a selection you cannot see times for others even if you wanted to.  The last few days it has taken about 30 minutes, or 7:30am for the times to show back up in the app and start working properly
> 
> It’s 10:20am now and none of the G+ Selections are late afternoon or evening yet except JC, but JC doesn’t do much for us. I know I know.  . Lots of G+ selections (the mountains) are currently early afternoon.
> 
> We have a 12:45 PM ADR at Jungle Skipper Canteen and looking forward to that also
> 
> 10:37 AM and at Pirates. Posted  20 minutes now, and building I’m sure.  On in 11 minutes
> View attachment 687164
> Again today at 10:47 AM there was a drop for a lot of the headliners for return times only about 25 minutes from now.  Unfortunately I cannot make use of it today , but maybe our last day, Tuesday the 26th, we can make use of that drop.
> 
> 11:01 and heading to BTMRR standby.  Posted 40 minutes. Waited 50 minutes
> View attachment 687167
> Still can’t stack anything yet because times are not far out enough. It looks like it will be Splash that we get first though, that is already out to 3:15pm
> 
> 11:41am and booked our first G+ for Splash 4:30-5:30pm which we’ll use after our afternoon break.  Will stack another when I can book again at 1:41.  Will target G+ for Space or BTMRR next.
> 
> Booking G+ for an attraction close to park open and rolling from here is definitely the way to go at MK if you can. It is much more efficient, but those weren’t the cards that we were dealt today. We will make the most of it
> 
> 12:13pm and watching the parade go by near Splash Mountain, then heading to lunch.
> View attachment 687202
> 
> 1:25 PM now and heading back to the resort. Will keep stacking G+
> Here we go!…


Loving all your trip reports!  Quick question though so I understand correctly.  I know you are stacking for when your whole family is there tonight.  However,  if you had to wait a few hours to stack, why didn't you book the early return times while you were waiting to be able to book the later ones?   I wasn't planning on getting genie + for my August trip but now I think I want it lol.   I just want to make sure I understand properly. Thanks and hope you're enjoying your day!


----------



## DisneyFive

jods said:


> Loving all your trip reports!  Quick question though so I understand correctly.  I know you are stacking for when your whole family is there tonight.  However,  if you had to wait a few hours to stack, why didn't you book the early return times while you were waiting to be able to book the later ones?   I wasn't planning on getting genie + for my August trip but now I think I want it lol.   I just want to make sure I understand properly. Thanks and hope you're enjoying your day!


Thank you

It’s a good question. The reason is, I wanted to be able to have us all together for the G+ attractions with the short waits, and you can only book G+ once per attraction per day. If I had used genie plus in the morning for the four of us I would not be able to book the same rides for later in the day when we are all together

I would highly, highly recommend G+ at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood studios especially.  It’s a game changer at those parks.  It’s saved us massive amounts of time standing in lines

-Dan


----------



## jods

DisneyFive said:


> Thank you
> 
> It’s a good question. The reason is, I wanted to be able to have us all together for the G+ attractions with the short waits, and you can only book G+ once per attraction per day. If I had used genie plus in the morning for the four of us I would not be able to book the same rides for later in the day when we are all together
> 
> I would highly, highly recommend G+ at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood studios especially.  It’s a game changer at those parks.  It’s saved us massive amounts of time standing in lines
> 
> -Dan


AHHH,  forgot that you could only ride once.  Makes complete sense.  Thanks.   Can't wait to read the rest of your day. Have the best time!


----------



## Erica Ladd

Congrats on the anytime DisneyFive!


----------



## g-dad66

DisneyFive said:


> Well, it definitely does not change now but that’s because by the time you see the time window you are already at the second screen. So instead of showing for example 9 AM on the main screen and by the time you click into it, it says 9:05 AM, you don’t see anything on the first screen anymore and you have to click into the attraction  to see the available time. Hope that makes sense.



I understand that you're not seeing any time slot until you get to the second screen, but then when you click on the time on the second screen, doesn't it then still go to a third screen to confirm your time?

You're saying that the time doesn't change between the second screen and the third screen?  That wouild be good news.

In the past, not only did the time often change from the first screen to the second screen, but it would also often change from the second screen to the third screen.


----------



## DisneyFive

g-dad66 said:


> I understand that you're not seeing any time slot until you get to the second screen, but then when you click on the time on the second screen, doesn't it then still go to a third screen to confirm your time?
> 
> You're saying that the time doesn't change between the second screen and the third screen?  That wouild be good news.
> 
> In the past, not only did the time often change from the first screen to the second screen, but it would also often change from the second screen to the third screen.


These are good questions. Let me check again tomorrow morning how it actually works because it was a bit of a blur in the morning when you’re in a rush to grab a good G+

The way I am remembering it now, when you click on the ride from the main Tip Board screen it took you to the next screen which showed the time window and then you could just confirm it in that second window.  The third window was just a confirmation of your time. In my experience the only time the time ever changes is between the first and second window not the second and third.

I will try to check again tomorrow morning and report back


----------



## BK2014

DisneyFive said:


> Thank you! It is an iPhone 13 (not pro). I always have my flash off, and I do not use “live photo” ever.
> 
> 
> My typical process for editing photos is to click on the photo, hit edit, then I typically Crop as needed
> hit the little magic wand which is Apples way to “intelligently” enhance the picture.
> Then increase exposure if it needs it,
> and sometimes I reduce the Blackpoint (make the blacks blacker).
> 
> All this ends up making a more dynamic photo with better contrast Sometimes I will enhance the highlights as well. It all depends on the picture.
> 
> Also, I find myself wiping the lenses on the back of the phone with my shirt quite often. Finger smudges and other smears on the lenses will make your picture turn out hazy.
> 
> …it’s always best to hold your camera is still as possible while taking the picture
> 
> Low light photos are always the hardest, but using the flash almost always makes it look worse than without a flash in my experience.
> 
> Hope this helps!
> 
> Dan


Thank you for the tips!


----------



## DisneyFive

Hey y’all. Hollywood studios today!  Park hours are 8:30 AM until 9 PM

Forecast is 92° and sunny

This is the sixth day of our trip and our second and final Hollywood Studios day. We are testing a late morning/early afternoon stacking strategy.  (because we wanted to sleep in, which we did)

Priorities are ToT, RnRC, MMRR, MFSR and ROTR standby at park close. If we get lucky maybe we will grab a slinky, but not planning on it  We also want to see the Indiana Jones show.  We plan to eat QS for lunch and sushi at Kimonos for dinner in the Swan resort.

At 7 AM I booked us a 11am-12pm Tower of terror. (it took a few times of clicking into ToT ,and out, from the tip boards page but finally it got to that time frame. I could’ve grabbed any time slot from 9 AM to noon easily but I had to wait a little bit for the 11 AM to noon, maybe 30 seconds)

At 10:30 AM I grabbed a 12:15-1:15 G+ For RNRC.  Just before 10:30 RNRC was hanging steady around an 11:50 AM return time but as soon as 10:30 hit it started jumping later very quickly because a lot of people were able to book at that time. So I snagged it quickly.

We will do ToT later in the 11-12 time slot, (around noon) then walk over to RNRC and do that keeping in mind you are able to tap in up to 5 minutes early, so 12:10 at the earliest.

We plan to arrive to the parks around 11:30 AM.

11:30am and we are here!  Heading to ToT


11:42 AM now. Tapped into TOT. Posted 100 minutes! Waited 7 minutes


12:14 PM and just tapped into RNRC.  Posted 100 minutes.  Waited 7 minutes to preshow.

Started looking for more G+ after tapping into RnRC.  Refreshed for a few minutes and found a MFSR that jumped a couple of hours earlier to 3:35-4:35 so I grabbed it.  Will look for MMRR in two hours.

12:40 PM now and heading to the 1:15p.m. show of Indiana Jones.  Grabbed a couple of Mickey pretzels on the way since lunch won’t be until after the show.  


Lunch at Backlot Express after the show

2:24pm and booked a 5:45-6:45 MMRR.  After that we will walk to the front of the park and take a friendship boat over to Kimono’s at the Swan for sushi (no reservations required)

2:41 PM now and doing Star Tours standby. Posted 25 minutes.  On in 15 minutes


3:07 PM and getting in line for Muppets  3-D

3:45pm And just tapped into MFSR.  Posted 75 minutes. On in 5 minutes


Jumped into the 4:30 Frozen Sing along to get some air conditioning.  This is the first day that we have not taken an afternoon break because we got started at such a later time today. (Which we are OK with because we are well rested now). It is hot right now, really hot. Experiencing this heat makes me glad we’ve been taking afternoon breaks but it is nice to do a show like frozen and get some nice A/C which helps a LOT.


While at Frozen started refreshing a little and what popped up?  A 5:15pm Slinky Dog Dash!  Booom!  We will now do that before MMRR.  I don’t know if you want to plan on refreshing later in the day to get SDD but we’re two for two.

5:05 PM now and off to get some caffeine . Much, much caffeine

6:05 PM and just tapped into Slinky dog. Posted 110 minutes. On in 7 minutes.  Gotta love G+, even though I loathe paying for it versus the old free FP+ system.


At 6:10 booked a 8:05-9:00pm Toy story mania.  That works out well because it puts us near Galaxy‘s edge when we will do ROTR standby before park close.  So now we have everything we wanted, plus some.

6:24 and tapped into MMRR.  Posted 40 minutes.  In preshow in 8 minutes


6:50 PM and heading to dinner.  Kimono’s at the Swan.  _YUMMMMMM_


8:20 PM and back in the parks and just tapped into Toy story mania. Posted 50 minutes. On in 8 minutes.

*A word of caution. They will shut down the standby line for Rise of the resistance before 9 PM.  I would plan to be there at least in full 25 minutes before park closing.  We got there at 8:48, a full 12 minutes before per closing and they had just shut down the standby line. The ride was still operating.  It was not down.  If we would have known we would have easily shown up earlier. *Needless to say there were a lot of frustrated guests, including us, but we will make lemonade out of lemons. We hoofed it over to Tower of terror to end the night.  Doing standby at 8:55pm which is a walk on despite a 50 minute posted wait.


So long Hollywood Studios.  Until next time…

-Dan


----------



## Erica Ladd

Looking forward to hear how your day goes today because nobody in our party wants to rope drop either lol


----------



## DisneyFive

Erica Ladd said:


> Looking forward to hear how your day goes today because nobody in our party wants to rope drop either lol


Thanks!!  We have not rope dropped once and we have gotten absolutely everything done that we have wanted to, plus some. It is definitely doable. I’m not advocating one way or the other just saying that it has worked out for us and saved our energy some.


----------



## DisneyFive

g-dad66 said:


> I understand that you're not seeing any time slot until you get to the second screen, but then when you click on the time on the second screen, doesn't it then still go to a third screen to confirm your time?
> 
> You're saying that the time doesn't change between the second screen and the third screen?  That wouild be good news.
> 
> In the past, not only did the time often change from the first screen to the second screen, but it would also often change from the second screen to the third screen.


OK, so reporting back on this. Here’s what you see at 7 AM. No time slots. You have to click into that box that says “ make first selection starting at 7 am “. As you can see, I took that screenshot at 6:56 AM so when it actually hits at 7 AM I think that box might say something different but still there is no time in it.


Once you click into that box for a particular attraction you will see the screen below. You will see that I was looking for Tower of terror this morning.  I was looking for a 11 AM to 12 PM timeslot so this one was too early.  I would click the X at the top left of the screen which would back me out to the main tip board and I would click back in until I got my timeslot.

Once the timeslot got to 11 AM I hit the continue button in that second screen above.

Edit. I noticed that the second screen above already has the red text saying”Please note the time has changed”.  That note carried through to the third screen, because that same red text was there too.  I think the time did stay the same between the second and third screen. That is my guess and how it actually worked. That red text is carryover from the old way the tip board screen showed one time and by the time you get to the second screen it was different

Hope this helps…

Dan


----------



## elgerber

DisneyFive said:


> 10 o’clock now and slowing down our pace; shopping then staking out a spot for the 11 PM Enchantment fireworks.
> View attachment 686743
> Immediately after the fireworks, around 11:20pm, we headed over to BTMRR and the line already stretched all the way across the bridge with deluxe resort guests.  By our experience last year that was at least a 30 minute wait. So instead we walked over to Pirates and the line stretched all the way back to the tiki room. Hmm….  I think the fact that the fireworks went twice today, with a second showing at 11 PM, made for a huge push of people at the headliners for EEH right after the second firework show.
> 
> We don’t feel like taking the time for these people to flush through those lines to the point where we could have very short waits. It feels like it would be midnight or 12:30 AM before ridies will be short again .  We accomplished _so much_ today that believe it or not we are heading back to the resort and not going to make use of EEH.
> 
> We will get more rest for Hollywood Studios tomorrow.  I think we’ll need to sleep in a tad.  I’ll wake for a bit at 7am to book out first G+ for sometime in the 9-10:15 range if possible.
> 
> Signing off…. Thanks for joining us on our amazing day today.
> 
> -Dan


That rain made for very interesting stacking. We walked into MK that night with 4 any ride passes, and an ILL for SDMT.  
About those  lines at BTMRR and Pirates during extra hours, they freaked us out too, and we walked away form BTMRR but when we got to pirates, realized it just back up as they scan bands to make sure everyone is eligible. The line never once stopped moving and we pretty much walked straight into a boat.  We went back to BTMRR after that, and same thing.  Line did not stop until we reached the loading ramp.


----------



## DisneyFive

elgerber said:


> That rain made for very interesting stacking. We walked into MK that night with 4 any ride passes, and an ILL for SDMT.
> About those  lines at BTMRR and Pirates during extra hours, they freaked us out too, and we walked away form BTMRR but when we got to pirates, realized it just back up as they scan bands to make sure everyone is eligible. The line never once stopped moving and we pretty much walked straight into a boat.  We went back to BTMRR after that, and same thing.  Line did not stop until we reached the loading ramp.


Very interesting!!  That information right there is valuable about EEH.  Something we’ll remember if we do EEH at MK again in the future.

We have EEH tomorrow at EP tomorrow and will definitely make use of that for the 6 PM boarding group drop for EEH guests for Guardians!!!

By 11:30pm we were pretty dang tired from a long day at MK, and we had already done it all besides 7DMT so we decided to conserve ourselves and head out.   We had HS the next day and wanted to get started at a reasonable time.


----------



## g-dad66

DisneyFive said:


> OK, so reporting back on this. Here’s what you see at 7 AM. No time slots. You have to click into that box that says “ make first selection starting at 7 am “. As you can see, I took that screenshot at 6:56 AM so when it actually hits at 7 AM I think that box might say something different but still there is no time in it.
> View attachment 687363
> 
> Once you click into that box for a particular attraction you will see the screen below. You will see that I was looking for Tower of terror this morning.  I was looking for a 11 AM to 12 PM timeslot so this one was too early.  I would click the X at the top left of the screen which would back me out to the main tip board and I would click back in until I got my timeslot.
> View attachment 687364
> Once the timeslot got to 11 AM I hit the continue button in that second screen above.
> 
> Edit. I noticed that the second screen above already has the red text saying”Please note the time has changed”.  That note carried through to the third screen, because that same red text was there too.  I think the time did stay the same between the second and third screen. That is my guess and how it actually worked. That red text is carryover from the old way the tip board screen showed one time and by the time you get to the second screen it was different
> 
> Hope this helps…
> 
> Dan




Thanks for the great info!

It will be an improvement if the time doesn't change again after you click Continue on the "Review Details" page.


----------



## DisneyFive

OK, dumb question. Is there somewhere on the app that shows you when you can make your next G+ selection? I’ve normally just set my timer for two hours ahead but it would be good if I could confirm on the MDE app.


----------



## Smugpugmug

DisneyFive said:


> OK, dumb question. Is there somewhere on the app that shows you when you can make your next G+ selection? I’ve normally just set my timer for two hours ahead but it would be good if I could confirm on the MDE app.


You can check by trying to make another Genie+ selection. A page will show up that says you cannot book another one until *insert time here*.


----------



## DisneyFive

Smugpugmug said:


> You can check by trying to make another Genie+ selection. A page will show up that says you cannot book another one until *insert time here*.


Thank you!!!!!  In the fine print after our names, I see it now.  Geez Disney you could make it a little more obvious though.


----------



## jods

What time are the magic drops for Genie +?  I wasn't paying attention because I wasn't planning on getting it but changed my mind after reading @DisneyFive trip reports lol.  So I've been watching epcot today and Remy, frozen and TT have been gone for hours.  Refreshed at 2:47 and boom, Remy and frozen available!  Still no TT and frozen was gone in a couple of minutes but wow, I couldn't believe they came back.  Do I know 2:47, is it 12:47 and 4:47?   Thanks.


----------



## DisneyFive

jods said:


> What time are the magic drops for Genie +?  I wasn't paying attention because I wasn't planning on getting it but changed my mind after reading @DisneyFive trip reports lol.  So I've been watching epcot today and Remy, frozen and TT have been gone for hours.  Refreshed at 2:47 and boom, Remy and frozen available!  Still no TT and frozen was gone in a couple of minutes but wow, I couldn't believe they came back.  Do I know 2:47, is it 12:47 and 4:47?   Thanks.


At Epcot all I know is about the 2:47 pm and 4:47 PM drops

at Magic Kingdom I have seen one at 10:47am


----------



## g-dad66

jods said:


> What time are the magic drops for Genie +?  I wasn't paying attention because I wasn't planning on getting it but changed my mind after reading @DisneyFive trip reports lol.  So I've been watching epcot today and Remy, frozen and TT have been gone for hours.  Refreshed at 2:47 and boom, Remy and frozen available!  Still no TT and frozen was gone in a couple of minutes but wow, I couldn't believe they came back.  Do I know 2:47, is it 12:47 and 4:47?   Thanks.



The LL data at thrill-data.com gives me the best picture of when later aviailability is most likely to pop up.


----------



## jods

g-dad66 said:


> The LL data at thrill-data.com gives me the best picture of when later aviailability is most likely to pop up.


Thanks.  I've tried looking at thrill data and my old eyes can't make sense of the graphs and charts  maybe I'll try the laptop to see if it's any clearer.


----------



## g-dad66

Try this: go to Epcot, then pick Frozen Ever After. Then scroll down to the Genie+ Lightning Lane Availability Map.

Do you see the vertical gold broken line (at 2:50 pm), and the vertical orange line (at 4:50 pm), and the vertical red line (at 6:50 pm)?  Those are good indications of when later availability is most likely to show up.


----------



## Erica Ladd

Try 3 minutes from now at MK and HS


----------



## jods

g-dad66 said:


> Try this: go to Epcot, then pick Frozen Ever After. Then scroll down to the Genie+ Lightning Lane Availability Map.
> 
> Do you see the vertical gold broken line (at 2:50 pm), and the vertical orange line (at 4:50 pm), and the vertical red line (at 6:50 pm)?  Those are good indications of when later availability is most likely to show up.


Thank you. I think I got it.  Is this the map? So those 3 lines that I circled are most likely when there were more drops?


----------



## g-dad66

jods said:


> Thank you. I think I got it.  Is this the map? So those 3 lines that I circled are most likely when there were more drops?



Exactly.  Everything gray is when there is no availability.


----------



## jods

DisneyFive said:


> Hey y’all. Hollywood studios today!  Park hours are 8:30 AM until 9 PM
> 
> Forecast is 92° and sunny
> 
> This is the sixth day of our trip and our second and final Hollywood Studios day. We are testing a late morning/early afternoon stacking strategy.  (because we wanted to sleep in, which we did)
> 
> Priorities are ToT, RnRC, MMRR, MFSR and ROTR standby at park close. If we get lucky maybe we will grab a slinky, but not planning on it  We also want to see the Indiana Jones show.  We plan to eat QS for lunch and sushi at Kimonos for dinner in the Swan resort.
> 
> At 7 AM I booked us a 11am-12pm Tower of terror. (it took a few times of clicking into ToT ,and out, from the tip boards page but finally it got to that time frame. I could’ve grabbed any time slot from 9 AM to noon easily but I had to wait a little bit for the 11 AM to noon, maybe 30 seconds)
> 
> At 10:30 AM I grabbed a 12:15-1:15 G+ For RNRC.  Just before 10:30 RNRC was hanging steady around an 11:50 AM return time but as soon as 10:30 hit it started jumping later very quickly because a lot of people were able to book at that time. So I snagged it quickly.
> 
> We will do ToT later in the 11-12 time slot, (around noon) then walk over to RNRC and do that keeping in mind you are able to tap in up to 5 minutes early, so 12:10 at the earliest.
> 
> We plan to arrive to the parks around 11:30 AM.
> 
> 11:30am and we are here!  Heading to ToT
> 
> 
> 11:42 AM now. Tapped into TOT. Posted 100 minutes! Waited 7 minutes
> View attachment 687433
> 
> 12:14 PM and just tapped into RNRC.  Posted 100 minutes.  Waited 7 minutes to preshow.
> View attachment 687455
> Started looking for more G+ after tapping into RnRC.  Refreshed for a few minutes and found a MFSR that jumped a couple of hours earlier to 3:35-4:35 so I grabbed it.  Will look for MMRR in two hours.
> 
> 12:40 PM now and heading to the 1:15p.m. show of Indiana Jones.  Grabbed a couple of Mickey pretzels on the way since lunch won’t be until after the show.
> View attachment 687476
> 
> Lunch at Backlot Express after the show
> 
> 2:24pm and booked a 5:45-6:45 MMRR.  After that we will walk to the front of the park and take a friendship boat over to Kimono’s at the Swan for sushi (no reservations required)
> 
> 2:41 PM now and doing Star Tours standby. Posted 25 minutes.  On in 15 minutes
> View attachment 687512
> 
> 3:07 PM and getting in line for Muppets  3-D
> 
> 3:45pm And just tapped into MFSR.  Posted 75 minutes. On in 5 minutes
> View attachment 687576
> 
> Jumped into the 4:30 Frozen Sing along to get some air conditioning.
> View attachment 687578
> 
> While at Frozen started refreshing a little and what popped up?  A 5:15pm Slinky Dog Dash!  Booom!  We will now do that before MMRR.  I don’t know if you want to plan on refreshing later in the day to get SDD but we’re two for two.
> 
> 5:05 PM now and off to get some caffeine . Much, much caffeine
> 
> 6:05 PM and just tapped into Slinky dog. Posted 110 minutes. On in 7 minutes.  Gotta love G+, even though I loathe paying for it versus the old free FP+ system.
> View attachment 687591
> 
> At 6:10 booked a 8:05-9:00pm Toy story mania.  That works out well because it puts us near Galaxy‘s edge when we will do ROTR standby before park close.  So now we have everything we wanted, plus some.
> 
> 6:24 and tapped into MMRR.  Posted 40 minutes.  In preshow in 8 minutes
> View attachment 687594
> 
> 6:50 PM and heading to dinner.  Kimono’s at the Swan.  _YUMMMMMM_
> View attachment 687609
> 
> 8:20 PM and back in the parks and just tapped into Toy story mania. Posted 50 minutes. On in 8 minutes.
> 
> *A word of caution. They will shut down the standby line for Rise of the resistance before 9 PM.  I would plan to be there at least in full 25 minutes before park closing.  We got there at 8:48, a full 12 minutes before per closing and they had just shut down the standby line. The ride was still operating.  It was not down.  If we would have known we would have easily shown up earlier. *Needless to say there were a lot of frustrated guests, including us, but we will make lemonade out of lemons. We hoofed it over to Tower of terror to end the night.  Doing standby at 8:55pm which is a walk on despite a 50 minute posted wait.
> View attachment 687654
> 
> -Dan


Sorry you didn't get on rise.  Looked liked you had a great day otherwise.


----------



## DisneyFive

jods said:


> Sorry you didn't get on rise.  Looked liked you had a great day otherwise.


Thanks, yeah live and learn.   Glad we were able to do it earlier in the trip.  

It was another awesome day.  Tower of Terror isn’t a bad trade off for our family.  It’s a nostalgic super family favorite.  Somehow we always seem to be rushing to hop in line to finish our night with ToT.  Happened last year too 

Epcot today.  Our boarding group for Guardians just got called but we’re still at the Poly getting ready. . We’ll get there around 10:30 I’m guessing and tap in.  

Dan


----------



## DisneyFive

Ready for another great Epcot day today! Our second and final Epcot date of the trip

Forecast is 90° and sunny, with a chance of rain as usual

Park hours are 8:30 AM to 9 PM with EEH for an additional two hours for deluxe  resort guests.  We plan to make use of that primarily for the special EEH Guardians boarding groups, and hopefully to do Remy again.

At 7 AM I got boarding group 26 which, has already been called.(it’s 9:18am right now) We are still getting ready at the Poly (things move a little slower by your seventh park day ) and I expect to get to Epcot around 10:30am and we will tap in then.

By the time I got done getting our boarding group, I got us an 11:45am to 12:45PM Remy which works out well with our 12:25 ADR at Beaches and cream nearby at the Beach club. We’ll probably tap in around 11:40 and will finish Remy and walk out the international gateway to the Beach club

At 10:30 AM I tried to be a little strategic with our G+ selection. Test track was sitting out at 8:30 PM and Frozen jumped to around 5 PM which is good for us. So I snagged a 5:15 - 6:15 PM Frozen and later will use the 4:47 PM drop to snag a Test track for about an hour later. At least that’s the plan. At 12:30 PM I plan to start using a number of G+ selections, with close return times, like Spaceship earth, and just keep rolling for a bit until we head back to the resort for an afternoon break.

10:47 AM and at Epcot! Heading to Guardians.

10:58am and tapped into Guardians. I do recommend asking to wait for the very front vehicle, row 1.  They will accommodate you.

Dang that’s an awesome ride!!!

11:59 and tapping into Remy. Posted 65.  On in 7 minutes


12:13 PM now and heading to lunch at Beaches and Cream

Yup, we’re pigs.  

At 12:30pm I could book another G+.  Was looking for Soarin but it was out to 2:30pm and I didn’t want to wait that long because I want to go back and relax. So I was refreshing for a little while, maybe 10 minutes and all of a sudden a Test track for 1:10 PM popped up!(it was showing sold out prior) That will be perfect on our way back from lunch. We will do that and then head back to the room.

2:17 now and worked our way back to Test track.  Tapped in 7 minutes into the late grace period.  Posted 75 minutes.  On in 10.  We got lucky and made it through the ride just before rain shut it down temporarily

3 PM now and heading back to the resort to relax

5:35 PM and heading back to Epcot after some nice little naps.

Can’t wait until this is done.


6:14 PM and just tapped into Frozen. Posted 75. On in 8 minutes.


All of the G+ return times are still too soon. We want to do a little browsing the worlds and then Soarin and then Spaceship Earth but G+ timeframes for those two are almost immediately.

8:26 PM now. Spent a good amount of time browsing the world showcase, having a few drinks, and ended up having dinner at the patisserie in France. Really hard to beat the value of this place. The sandwich below the simple but tasty and only $8.95
The deserts are really good too


I booked an 8:20 PM to 9:00 Soarin G+ but I’m not sure if we will use it. We are having fun browsing the World Showcase.  We can do Soarin during  EEH if we want.

Of course, we had to do the perennial favorite, Club Cool before the park officially  closes.  Not sure if it is open for EEH so we made a beeline over there. In case you were wondering, the Beverly is still nasty


9:20pm headed to Remys before Harmonious ended and scanned in.  In line for 29 minutes.


Browsed around various shops a little.

Tapped into Guardians at 10:25 PM


Finished off the night by hustling (ok, kind of running but don't tell anybody) over to Spaceship Earth and tapping in at 10:59 PM.  Whew!


So long Epcot. Until next time…

-Dan


----------



## DaviVascaino

anyone here saw any stainless steel mugs recently?


----------



## DisneyFive

DaviVascaino said:


> anyone here saw any stainless steel mugs recently?


Have a picture to share?  I can look at Epcot


----------



## WedWayPilot

DaviVascaino said:


> anyone here saw any stainless steel mugs recently?


There is a SS Epcot mug in creations shop with some multi color stripes. I believe there was also a SS mug in the Pandora gift shop. I only saw the plastic mugs at Wilderness lodge and Yacht Club.


----------



## DaviVascaino

DisneyFive said:


> Have a picture to share?  I can look at Epcot





WedWayPilot said:


> There is a SS Epcot mug in creations shop with some multi color stripes. I believe there was also a SS mug in the Pandora gift shop. I only saw the plastic mugs at Wilderness lodge and Yacht Club.



sorry, I updated my previous post. I mean the refillable resort stainless steel mugs


----------



## NavyDad

DisneyFive said:


> We’re alive! Today is Hollywood studios.  We’ll see how today goes with a bit of a later start.  Weather today is hot and sunny, high of 94F, which we’re perfectly happy with.
> 
> Hours are 8:30 AM until 9 PM. We needed to get some sleep so at 7am I booked our first G+ for TOT from 9:40 - 10:40 AM, hoping that we can tap in and book our next G+ before the crush of people at 10:30 AM.  For these last two parks we have found out it is VERY beneficial  to get that first G+ before the +2 hour time frame after the park opens, this allows you to get ahead of a lot of folks. That is tough at HS for people that want to do slinky dog though, which we don’t plan to do.  Start refreshing _right_ at 7am and grab that morning time slot when it gets to your desired time.
> 
> 9:30 now and at the Poly bus stop.  Priorities today are ToT, RNRC, MMRR, TSMM, MFSR, and then ROTR at park close.  Slinky doesn’t do much for us so that helps us a little with G+ selection strategy.
> 
> We also would like to do Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones, _maybe_ Frozen.  The showtimes might be kind of tough because we like to do afternoon breaks and rides in the morning. We have a lunch ADR at Hollywood Brown Derby for Cobb salads so all these things kind of conflict with the morning through afternoon showtimes.  We’ll see.
> 
> 10:04 and tapped into ToT.  On immediately.  Posted 50 minutes.
> View attachment 686653
> After tapping into ToT snagged a G+ for RNRC  12:05-1:15.  This is perfect right before our 12:25 HBD lunch.
> 
> 10:27 now and we’re doing the 11am Beauty and the Beast show.
> View attachment 686660
> 
> 12pm and tapped into RNRC.  Posted 55 minutes.  Waited 15 minutes after tapping in to get into the actual ride vehicle.  Was probably 4 minutes until the preshow with Aerosmith.
> View attachment 686672
> While in line for RNRC at 12:04 refreshed a bit and luckily snagged a 7:25-8:25pm G+ for Slinky Dog Dash!  Wasn’t on our must do but not going to turn that gift down.
> 
> Will try for a MMRR at 2:04pm
> 
> 12:25 and at Hollywood Brown Derby.  Cobb salads and shrimp Mac’n Cheese didn’t disappoint
> View attachment 686684
> 
> 
> 1:26 PM and done with lunch and still feel like doing another attraction before we head back to the resort to relax. We are in line for Star Tours standby. Posted 30 minutes.  On in 13 minutes
> View attachment 686687
> 
> 2PM now and noticed that Toy story Mania “dropped” to a 35 minute standby.  On in 41 minutes.  Probably should’ve used a G+for this later. Oh well. Still fun!
> View attachment 686709
> 2:07pm (2hr window) and booked a 7 PM G+ for MMRR.  Now we have MMRR and SDD G+ stacked back to back for later
> 
> 2:45pm and heading back to the resort now
> 
> At 4:07 spent 22 minutes refreshing and snagged a 6:15-7:15pm Millennium Falcon even though they kept showing sold out for the first 21 minutes of trying !   Awesome, a little persistence pays off!!
> 
> 5:45pm now after resort rest time and heading back to HS.  Plan is to eat dinner at ABC commissary then do our stacked G+’s, MFSR, MMRR and SDD, quite the lineup
> 
> 6:51 PM now. At MFSR and using our G+. Posted 65 minutes.  In preshow 4 minutes.
> We survived despite our pilots (our daughters)  trying to kill us all
> View attachment 686836
> 
> 7:27pm and just tapped into slinky dog. Weather in the area so hopefully we can get on before they shut down.  Posted 80 minutes.  On in 7 minutes.  We made it!
> View attachment 686791
> 
> 7:43pm and tapped into MMRR.  Posted 35 minutes.  At the movie screen in 6 minutes
> View attachment 686795
> 
> 8:10 now and Just grabbed  a G+ for Star tours with an immediate return, because, why not? It’s one of the few attractions left to G+.
> 
> 8:33 and in standby line for ROTR, posted 95 minutes.  On in 41 minutes!
> View attachment 686822
> 
> Well, I feel like we maximized our day. Even with sleeping in a bit and getting to the park a bit later, and taking an afternoon break at the resort, we still were able to do all the headliners with very short waits even considering our ROTR with 41 minute standby. Another amazing day.!!
> 
> There is not even a remote chance that we could have been this successful without Genie+ the last two days. It has saved us a massive amount of time .  Especially at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios it is well well worth it.  After the standby-only debacle of last summer, I’m starting to feel like we have our Disney parks back to some extent.
> 
> -Dan


Dan,

Thanks for doing this great live reports. We are planning a trip for next summer and all of this has been very helpful. 

Your experience has matched ours from April quite closely which is reassuring. We really felt we got the most value out of Genie+ at MK and DHS.


----------



## saraheliz

DisneyFive said:


> Hey y’all. Hollywood studios today!  Park hours are 8:30 AM until 9 PM
> 
> Forecast is 92° and sunny
> 
> This is the sixth day of our trip and our second and final Hollywood Studios day. We are testing a late morning/early afternoon stacking strategy.  (because we wanted to sleep in, which we did)
> 
> Priorities are ToT, RnRC, MMRR, MFSR and ROTR standby at park close. If we get lucky maybe we will grab a slinky, but not planning on it  We also want to see the Indiana Jones show.  We plan to eat QS for lunch and sushi at Kimonos for dinner in the Swan resort.
> 
> At 7 AM I booked us a 11am-12pm Tower of terror. (it took a few times of clicking into ToT ,and out, from the tip boards page but finally it got to that time frame. I could’ve grabbed any time slot from 9 AM to noon easily but I had to wait a little bit for the 11 AM to noon, maybe 30 seconds)
> 
> At 10:30 AM I grabbed a 12:15-1:15 G+ For RNRC.  Just before 10:30 RNRC was hanging steady around an 11:50 AM return time but as soon as 10:30 hit it started jumping later very quickly because a lot of people were able to book at that time. So I snagged it quickly.
> 
> We will do ToT later in the 11-12 time slot, (around noon) then walk over to RNRC and do that keeping in mind you are able to tap in up to 5 minutes early, so 12:10 at the earliest.
> 
> We plan to arrive to the parks around 11:30 AM.
> 
> 11:30am and we are here!  Heading to ToT
> 
> 
> 11:42 AM now. Tapped into TOT. Posted 100 minutes! Waited 7 minutes
> View attachment 687433
> 
> 12:14 PM and just tapped into RNRC.  Posted 100 minutes.  Waited 7 minutes to preshow.
> View attachment 687455
> Started looking for more G+ after tapping into RnRC.  Refreshed for a few minutes and found a MFSR that jumped a couple of hours earlier to 3:35-4:35 so I grabbed it.  Will look for MMRR in two hours.
> 
> 12:40 PM now and heading to the 1:15p.m. show of Indiana Jones.  Grabbed a couple of Mickey pretzels on the way since lunch won’t be until after the show.
> View attachment 687476
> 
> Lunch at Backlot Express after the show
> 
> 2:24pm and booked a 5:45-6:45 MMRR.  After that we will walk to the front of the park and take a friendship boat over to Kimono’s at the Swan for sushi (no reservations required)
> 
> 2:41 PM now and doing Star Tours standby. Posted 25 minutes.  On in 15 minutes
> View attachment 687512
> 
> 3:07 PM and getting in line for Muppets  3-D
> 
> 3:45pm And just tapped into MFSR.  Posted 75 minutes. On in 5 minutes
> View attachment 687576
> 
> Jumped into the 4:30 Frozen Sing along to get some air conditioning.
> View attachment 687578
> 
> While at Frozen started refreshing a little and what popped up?  A 5:15pm Slinky Dog Dash!  Booom!  We will now do that before MMRR.  I don’t know if you want to plan on refreshing later in the day to get SDD but we’re two for two.
> 
> 5:05 PM now and off to get some caffeine . Much, much caffeine
> 
> 6:05 PM and just tapped into Slinky dog. Posted 110 minutes. On in 7 minutes.  Gotta love G+, even though I loathe paying for it versus the old free FP+ system.
> View attachment 687591
> 
> At 6:10 booked a 8:05-9:00pm Toy story mania.  That works out well because it puts us near Galaxy‘s edge when we will do ROTR standby before park close.  So now we have everything we wanted, plus some.
> 
> 6:24 and tapped into MMRR.  Posted 40 minutes.  In preshow in 8 minutes
> View attachment 687594
> 
> 6:50 PM and heading to dinner.  Kimono’s at the Swan.  _YUMMMMMM_
> View attachment 687609
> 
> 8:20 PM and back in the parks and just tapped into Toy story mania. Posted 50 minutes. On in 8 minutes.
> 
> *A word of caution. They will shut down the standby line for Rise of the resistance before 9 PM.  I would plan to be there at least in full 25 minutes before park closing.  We got there at 8:48, a full 12 minutes before per closing and they had just shut down the standby line. The ride was still operating.  It was not down.  If we would have known we would have easily shown up earlier. *Needless to say there were a lot of frustrated guests, including us, but we will make lemonade out of lemons. We hoofed it over to Tower of terror to end the night.  Doing standby at 8:55pm which is a walk on despite a 50 minute posted wait.
> View attachment 687654
> 
> -Dan



These details are so helpful for our trip coming up in just over a week! We have one day we're not planning on heading over to HS until after our 11:50 Topolino's reservation so this is super helpful.


----------



## KandyM

> *A word of caution. They will shut down the standby line for Rise of the resistance before 9 PM. I would plan to be there at least in full 25 minutes before park closing. We got there at 8:48, a full 12 minutes before per closing and they had just shut down the standby line. The ride was still operating. It was not down. If we would have known we would have easily shown up earlier. *Needless to say there were a lot of frustrated guests, including us, but we will make lemonade out of lemons. We hoofed it over to Tower of terror to end the night. Doing standby at 8:55pm which is a walk on despite a 50 minute posted wait.



Wow, so this feels like huge WDW news doesn't it?   Not being allowed to get into a queue before park closes?  Or am I wrong?  Have folks seen this before?
-Apologies if I am using Quote wrong


----------



## DisneyFive

KandyM said:


> Wow, so this feels like huge WDW news doesn't it?   Not being allowed to get into a queue before park closes?  Or am I wrong?  Have folks seen this before?
> -Apologies if I am using Quote wrong


You are using the quote correctly. The ride was not down. It was operating just fine and they decided to close the standby line around 14 minutes before Park closing. The cast member said that they were at capacity which made no sense because there was a lot of open space in the queue past the rope that they had pulled across the entrance. He said that on your park tickets it says they can close the ride at any time.


----------



## KandyM

glad I did the quote correct
This just seems really 'new' to me.  We've taken part in the idea of jumping in line before park close several times over the years and I have never heard of being denied entry to the queue.


----------



## CarolynFH

KandyM said:


> Wow, so this feels like huge WDW news doesn't it?   Not being allowed to get into a queue before park closes?  Or am I wrong?  Have folks seen this before?
> -Apologies if I am using Quote wrong


When FoP was new and routinely pulling in hours-long standby lines, they routinely closed the standby line early. Like RotR, the inside part of the queue is huge, can hold many people, so IMHO it’s not feasible to judge the length of the standby line from the outside.

PS when DVC had its special members-only events at DHS this summer, it was announced in advance that the RotR line would close an hour before the event ended.


----------



## DisneyFive

KandyM said:


> glad I did the quote correct
> This just seems really 'new' to me.  We've taken part in the idea of jumping in line before park close several times over the years and I have never heard of being denied entry to the queue.


As far as I know, at this time, it is only Rise that has a possibility of closing prior to park close.  I haven’t seen other rides stopping the queues early

Dan


----------



## NavyDad

KandyM said:


> Wow, so this feels like huge WDW news doesn't it?   Not being allowed to get into a queue before park closes?  Or am I wrong?  Have folks seen this before?
> -Apologies if I am using Quote wrong


I have never seen that myself but I do remember seeing reports of that happening on RotR and maybe FoP when they first opened because the lines were so very long it would be very late if they let everyone get in line up to park close. so basically it's super rare.


----------



## Fishteacher

DisneyFive said:


> Ready for another great Epcot day today! Our second and final Epcot date of the trip
> 
> Forecast is 90° and sunny, with a chance of rain as usual
> 
> Park hours are 8:30 AM to 9 PM with EEH for an additional two hours for deluxe  resort guests.  We plan to make use of that primarily for the special EEH Guardians boarding groups, and hopefully to do Remy again.
> 
> At 7 AM I got boarding group 26 which, has already been called.(it’s 9:18am right now) We are still getting ready at the Poly (things move a little slower by your seventh park day ) and I expect to get to Epcot around 10:30am and we will tap in then.
> 
> By the time I got done getting our boarding group, I got us an 11:45am to 12:45PM Remy which works out well with our 12:25 ADR at Beaches and cream nearby at the Beach club. We’ll probably tap in around 11:40 and will finish Remy and walk out the international gateway to the Beach club
> 
> At 10:30 AM I tried to be a little strategic with our G+ selection. Test track was sitting out at 8:30 PM and Frozen jumped to around 5 PM which is good for us. So I snagged a 5:15 - 6:15 PM Frozen and later will use the 4:47 PM drop to snag a Test track for about an hour later. At least that’s the plan. At 12:30 PM I plan to start using a number of G+ selections, with close return times, like Spaceship earth, and just keep rolling for a bit until we head back to the resort for an afternoon break.
> 
> 10:47 AM and at Epcot! Heading to Guardians.
> 
> 10:58am and tapped into Guardians. I do recommend asking to wait for the very front vehicle, row 1.  They will accommodate you.
> View attachment 687785
> Dang that’s an awesome ride!!!
> 
> 11:59 and tapping into Remy. Posted 65.  On in 7 minutes
> View attachment 687798
> 
> 12:13 PM now and heading to lunch at Beaches and Cream
> View attachment 687851
> Yup, we’re pigs.
> 
> At 12:30pm I could book another G+.  Was looking for Soarin but it was out to 2:30pm and I didn’t want to wait that long because I want to go back and relax. So I was refreshing for a little while, maybe 10 minutes and all of a sudden a Test track for 1:10 PM popped up!(it was showing sold out prior) That will be perfect on our way back from lunch. We will do that and then head back to the room.
> 
> 2:17 now and worked our way back to Test track.  Tapped in 7 minutes into the late grace period.  Posted 75 minutes.  On in 10.  We got lucky and made it through the ride just before rain shut it down temporarily
> 
> 3 PM now and heading back to the resort to relax
> 
> Here we go!…


Hello, we will be heading to the World next month! Do we have to have a reservation for Epcot to take advantage of the evening extra hours (EEH) boarding group for Guardians or can we have a reservation for another park and then use our park hopper and still gain a boarding group for the night time Deluxe hours? 
Thank you


----------



## Leigh L

Fishteacher said:


> Hello, we will be heading to the World next month! Do we have to have a reservation for Epcot to take advantage of the evening extra hours (EEH) boarding group for Guardians or can we have a reservation for another park and then use our park hopper and still gain a boarding group for the night time Deluxe hours?
> Thank you


You do not need a reservation - we were booked at DHS that day and hopped over in the afternoon. We were in the park at the time we got the VQ (but I don't think you need to be as long as you're eligible for the extra hours and have a hopper)


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

NavyDad said:


> I have never seen that myself but I do remember seeing reports of that happening on RotR and maybe FoP when they first opened because the lines were so very long it would be very late if they let everyone get in line up to park close. so basically it's super rare.


DCA did this during Villains Nite with RSR. Like a half hour before the event ended they just stopped letting people in line.


----------



## DisneyFive

Leigh L said:


> You do not need a reservation - we were booked at DHS that day and hopped over in the afternoon. We were in the park at the time we got the VQ (but I don't think you need to be as long as you're eligible for the extra hours and have a hopper)


Correct, you do not need to be in the park to book your boarding group at 6pm. I got it from our resort. You either need a reservation for Epcot or Park Hoppers.


----------



## donaldanddaisy

Was there a time for your Slinky Drop? Been reading and doing parks (also at the Poly) and today is our only HS day. Would love to get a Slinky later. Used 2:47 at Epcot and it worked like a dream!


----------



## bastraker

For anyone here now - I'm at HS and the extra pay lighting lane is down.  No one can purchase unless you see a cast member at one of the blue umbrellas. 

They were able to purchase guardians for us manually.


----------



## cakebaker

Fishteacher said:


> Hello, we will be heading to the World next month! Do we have to have a reservation for Epcot to take advantage of the evening extra hours (EEH) boarding group for Guardians or can we have a reservation for another park and then use our park hopper and still gain a boarding group for the night time Deluxe hours?
> Thank you



You don't have to be at Epcot or any other park to join the VQ for Guardians - just be eligible to attend the evening hours. I've been told it's hardest one to join, but we had no trouble getting in when we went last week.


----------



## DisneyFive

donaldanddaisy said:


> Was there a time for your Slinky Drop? Been reading and doing parks (also at the Poly) and today is our only HS day. Would love to get a Slinky later. Used 2:47 at Epcot and it worked like a dream!


If I recall, they just popped up. No specific drop time .  I think if you refresh long enough you will find one.  We were able to snag one both days

Edit:  if you are only trying for Slinky, then I would suggest editing your selections in the tip board to only include that ride. That way it will stay at the very top of your list and it is much easier to see if a time slot for Slinky pops up, and you can snag it quickly.  Just keep refreshing…


----------



## DisneyFive

Well, the day is here. Our final full day of the trip.  . We’ll make the most of it though.

Magic Kingdom today. Hours are 9 AM through 11 PM.  Forecast is sunny and 93°

With such a late night last night with Epcot EEH, getting to sleep around 1am, we needed our morning to just chill and sleep in. We have a Kona café reservation starting at 12:10 PM and then we are heading to the park for the start of our day!

Here’s where is some of the difficulties of G+ come in,. At 7 AM the return windows for the rides we wanted like Space, were not anywhere close to the time window after lunch.  I needed to wait a full 2 hours until 9:03 AM before I could book a G+ for Space in the right timeframe, which for us was targeting 12:45 PM to 1:45 PM.  So I was pretty much awake that whole time because I did not know how fast it would get to our desired timeframe.

Luckily, while I was waiting I noticed that Mickey Philharmagic was temporarily closed and there was a return very close to the current time so I booked a G+ for that, and sure enough within five minutes it turned into an anytime G+. So now we have Space from 12:50-1:50  and an anytime G+ that we plan to use for Splash or BTMRR.

At 11:03 I booked us a 2:45-3:45 PM Peter Pan

12:10 PM and lunch at Kona Café.


At 1:06pm and booked a 2:50 to 3:50 PM Pirates. We will keep an eye on the BTMRR and Splash windows so that one of them doesn’t run out before we can grab our next G+

I will say, it is so nice having time to browse the shops and enjoy the atmosphere of the parks rather than standing in line most of the day. It’s nice knowing that you have those rides set aside in the future with low waits.  Feels more like years past versus last year when it was standby only.

1:55 PM now and we are waiting outside  in the lightning lane for Space mountain. The scanners aren’t working for some reason so there is a delay getting into the ride for those with lightning lane reserved, like us.

2 PM to checked into Space. Posted 65 minutes.  On in 15 minutes.  They were manually looking at each persons “My day”screen on the MDE app verifying that you had G+ reserved.  Fortunately I had taken a screenshot of that page while we were waiting in line because by the time we got to the entrance of space the reservation disappeared because we were far enough past our original window because we waited in line outside too long.


2:30 PM and doing Carousel of progress


3:15 PM and tapped into Peter Pan. Posted 90 minutes. Waited 5 minutes

3:25 and tapped into Pirates. Posted 55 minutes . On in 12 minutes.


3:50 PM and snagged a 4:00 PM BTMRR expecting it to be an anytime G+ soon.  Sure enough, around 3:55 PM it turned into another anytime G+ so now we have two!

4:02 now.  Trying again for a Barnstormer anytime G+.   Have it booked from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM and I think there is a decent chance I will get one for that as well. That will set up well for the evening Update:  got an anytime for this one as well.

4:16pm and waiting for the Tiki room.  I don’t think we’ve done this one since our very first visit in 2010!

4:30pm and Trying for a 5pm Aladdin G+.  Will see what happens.  Update:  Anytime G+

4:40 and we’re ducking into Country bear jamboree because believe it or not we have never done this one.  Can’t say that anymore.  Well, the show is done. Not sure what I just watched, but it was a hoot.  Great crowd too.


By the way, you probably guessed it but all these outdoor ride closures are due to weather in the area. It should clear up by the evening. This is one of the reasons I really love when parks have later hours like they used to. Having Magic Kingdom open till 11 PM allows for us to still use these anytime passes as needed

5:15 PM and heading back to the resort to chill for a bit and let this weather clear as well as the crowds on the inside rides.

5:35pm and booked a 7:10-8:10pm BTMRR G+

 7:15 PM now and ready to finish strong! Just about to leave the Poly for MK.  We have 4 anytime G+’s and the BTMRR G+ mentioned above.

7:49PM and just booked a 8:25 PM to 9:25 PM Buzz G+.  Edit, we ended up canceling this G+ and moving it to 9:20 to 10:20 PM since we did Space at 9:16 standby.

7:50pm tapped into BTMRR (not with anytime G+).  Posted 60 minutes.  On in 12 minutes


8:16 PM and just tapped into Splash with anytime G+.  Posted 60 minutes. On in 7 minutes.


8:47 PM and tapped into Haunted mansion with anytime G+.  Posted 60 minutes.  In stretching room in 4


9:16pm now.  Wanted to do Space one more time (standby) and figured the best option would be right before and during the 9:20 fireworks. Posted 40 minutes.  On in 20 minutes!  Amazing.  Just to note, as we are exiting Space the fireworks had just got done and the standby line was very long at that point. We timed it just right.

9:48 PM now and tapping into Buzz with a booked G+.  Posted 15 minutes.  On in 4 minutes

Booked an IASW G+ for 9:55.  Probably unnecessary.  We still have two anytime G+ left as well but are running out of attractions.

10:05 PM and tapped into IASW.  Posted 10 minutes.  On in 4 minutes

10:35 PM and decided to end our rides with the classic, Teacups.

10:45 PM. Ending the night with some tradition, grabbing ice cream from the plaza ice cream parlor and watching the castle.

Another amazing day and trip overall.

So long Magic Kingdom.  Until next time… Thanks for the memories.

-Dan


----------



## Marionnette

DisneyFive said:


> Luckily, while I was waiting I noticed that Mickey Philharmagic was temporarily closed and there was a return very close to the current time so I booked a G+ for that, and sure enough within five minutes and turned into an anytime G+. So now we have Space from 12:50-1:50 and for anytime G+ that we plan to use for Splash or BTMRR.


This is an excellent tip that worked for me back in December. Buzz went down during our return time and we got a multi-experience pass that we used on JC. I snagged another Buzz G+ for the near future and even before we got off our boat, we had another multi-experience pass. If it hadn't been for the fact that we were pretty much done with the MK for the day, I would have tried it again since Buzz was still down.


----------



## DisneyFive

Marionnette said:


> This is an excellent tip that worked for me back in December. Buzz went down during our return time and we got a multi-experience pass that we used on JC. I snagged another Buzz G+ for the near future and even before we got off our boat, we had another multi-experience pass. If it hadn't been for the fact that we were pretty much done with the MK for the day, I would have tried it again since Buzz was still down.


I wondered about this because Philharmagic was down for a LONG time this morning and I could’ve done it again but I wasn’t sure if you could do it twice for the same attraction. Does anyone  know?


----------



## mikalkwin

DisneyFive said:


> I wondered about this because Philharmagic was down for a LONG time this morning and I could’ve done it again but I wasn’t sure if you could do it twice for the same attraction. Does anyone  know?


You can book g+ only once per attraction but if your g+ booking transforms to an multiexperience, then it is as if you'd never booked it with g+.


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyFive said:


> I wondered about this because Philharmagic was down for a LONG time this morning and I could’ve done it again but I wasn’t sure if you could do it twice for the same attraction. Does anyone  know?


I don't know about WDW but have heard you can in DL so it might be worth a try.


----------



## Erica Ladd

might be worth it to tap in early to PP and see if it lets you....


----------



## jods

..I don't know if there is another set epcot drop, but there are currently an immediately return time for Remy and test track.  Frozen was available a few minutes ago.  Hours ago they were  consistently sold out.  Wonder if there is a 147 or this was a unicorn.   I hope I find these unicorns next month when I go.


----------



## Leigh L

DisneyFive said:


> Well, the day is here. Our final full day of the trip.  . We’ll make the most of it though.
> 
> Magic Kingdom today. Hours are 9 AM through 11 PM.  Forecast is sunny and 93°
> 
> With such a late night last night with Epcot EEH, getting to sleep around 1am, we needed our morning to just chill and sleep in. We have a Kona café reservation starting at 12:10 PM and then we are heading to the park for the start of our day!
> 
> Here’s where is some of the difficulties of G+ come in,. At 7 AM the return windows for the rides we wanted like Space, were not anywhere close to the time window after lunch.  I needed to wait a full 2 hours until 9:03 AM before I could book a G+ for Space in the right timeframe, which for us was targeting 12:45 PM to 1:45 PM.  So I was pretty much awake that whole time because I did not know how fast it would get to our desired timeframe.
> 
> Luckily, while I was waiting I noticed that Mickey Philharmagic was temporarily closed and there was a return very close to the current time so I booked a G+ for that, and sure enough within five minutes it turned into an anytime G+. So now we have Space from 12:50-1:50  and an anytime G+ that we plan to use for Splash or BTMRR.
> 
> At 11:03 I booked us a 2:45-3:45 PM Peter Pan
> 
> 12:10 PM and lunch at Kona Café.
> View attachment 688265
> 
> At 1:06pm and booked a 2:50 to 3:50 PM Pirates. We will keep an eye on the BTMRR and Splash windows so that one of them doesn’t run out before we can grab our next G+
> 
> I will say, it is so nice having time to browse the shops and enjoy the atmosphere of the parks rather than standing in line most of the day. It’s nice knowing that you have those rides set aside in the future with low waits.  Feels more like years past versus last year when it was standby only.
> 
> 1:55 PM now and we are waiting outside  in the lightning lane for Space mountain. The scanners aren’t working for some reason so there is a delay getting into the ride for those with lightning lane reserved, like us.
> 
> 2 PM to checked into Space. They were manually looking at each persons “My day”screen on the MDE app verifying that you had G+ reserved.  Fortunately I had taken a screenshot of that page while we were waiting in line because by the time we got to the entrance of space the reservation disappeared because we were far enough past our original window because we waited in line outside too long.
> 
> Here we go!…
> 
> -Dan


Have a great day!! This week has been fun reading about your trip


----------



## cheshiregoofy22

Leigh L said:


> Have a great day!! This week has been fun reading about your trip


Ditto!!!


----------



## Marionnette

DisneyFive said:


> 2 PM to checked into Space. Posted 65 minutes. On in 15 minutes. They were manually looking at each persons “My day”screen on the MDE app verifying that you had G+ reserved. *Fortunately I had taken a screenshot of that page while we were waiting in line because by the time we got to the entrance of space the reservation disappeared *because we were far enough past our original window because we waited in line outside too long.


Another great hint! I never would have thought to screenshot the My Day page if there was a back up at the LL entrance.

Thank you for your on-the-spot reporting. Enjoy your last night and have a safe trip home!


----------



## Aimeedyan

Can anyone share how long the wait was if you used the Guardians virtual queue? 

I'm trying to decide if I want to pay for LL (which I'd assume is a near walk-on) or do the virtual queue. 

Thanks!


----------



## EPCOT-O.G.

cakebaker said:


> You don't have to be at Epcot or any other park to join the VQ for Guardians - just be eligible to attend the evening hours. I've been told it's hardest one to join, but we had no trouble getting in when we went last week.


Anyone know if this will be the case for those of us attending the W&D Half Marathon after party?


----------



## DisneyFive

Aimeedyan said:


> Can anyone share how long the wait was if you used the Guardians virtual queue?
> 
> I'm trying to decide if I want to pay for LL (which I'd assume is a near walk-on) or do the virtual queue.
> 
> Thanks!


The two times that it was operating normally, about 20 minutes to the first preshow for us.  That was using virtual queue.

The third time, also virtual queue it broke down while we were in line and that was like an hour, but that would not have mattered whether you were lightning Lane or virtual queue


----------



## Mango7100

DisneyFive said:


> I wondered about this because Philharmagic was down for a LONG time this morning and I could’ve done it again but I wasn’t sure if you could do it twice for the same attraction. Does anyone  know?


Yes you can. We booked a Pirates in March and it was down for several hours. Once it turned into an anytime LL, I immediately booked Pirates again since the return time was within 30 minutes. Turned into another anytime. I ended up booking Pirates 3 times in one afternoon and got a anytime LL all 3 times!


----------



## jods

Can you use an any anytime G+ on a ride that you already used a G+ for or does the once per day still stand?


----------



## DisneyFive

You can use anytime G+ over and over for the same ride as far as I’m aware.  It cannot be used for these rides: jungle cruise, Peter Pan, space Mountain, or seven dwarves mine train.  Also some meet and greets

Dan


----------



## ellbell

jods said:


> Can you use an any anytime G+ on a ride that you already used a G+ for or does the once per day still stand?


You can donit as many times as you want.  In May I ended up with 2 anytimes and a regular for BTM and rode 3 times in a row


----------



## Isabelle12345

DisneyFive said:


> You can use anytime G+ over and over for the same ride as far as I’m aware.  It cannot be used for these rides: jungle cruise, Peter Pan, space Mountain, or seven dwarves mine train.  Also some meet and greets
> 
> Dan


Do you remember if Meet Mickey and Meet Princesses was included in the anytime FP at magic kingdom?


----------



## rockabyemonkey

This info about anytime G+ is so helpful!  Heading to WDW on Friday.  I'm wondering about the anytime G+ at other parks....does anyone know what rides are excluded at AK, HS, and EP?


----------



## woody5

When you get an anytime G+, how do you use it?  Do you book the ride you want or just scan at the eligible ride of your choosing?


----------



## Marionnette

woody5 said:


> When you get an anytime G+, how do you use it?  Do you book the ride you want or just scan at the eligible ride of your choosing?


You just walk up to the LL and scan in. No scheduling necessary.


----------



## DisneyFive

Isabelle12345 said:


> Do you remember if Meet Mickey and Meet Princesses was included in the anytime FP at magic kingdom?



Shoot, I’m sorry I should have taken screenshots of all the excluded rides.  The Princess meet and greet sounds familiar but don’t quote me on that.


woody5 said:


> When you get an anytime G+, how do you use it?  Do you book the ride you want or just scan at the eligible ride of your choosing?


Yes, you can walk up to any ride that is not excluded and just tap in whenever and then it will remove an anytime G+ from your list of G+’s in the My Day tab


Marionnette said:


> You just walk up to the LL and scan in. No scheduling necessary.


I will also add, the system is intelligent to know whether or not you are using at anytime G+ for a real scheduled G+

For instance, yesterday in the afternoon I got an anytime G+ from BTMRR that went down during the scheduled window. Then later in the day I rescheduled BTMRR and had an actual G+. Then that evening we went and tapped into BTMRR and it used the real G+ not to anytime G+.  That’s probably obvious, but I wondered if I would have to say something when I scanned in, but I did not


----------



## Leigh L

Aimeedyan said:


> Can anyone share how long the wait was if you used the Guardians virtual queue?
> 
> I'm trying to decide if I want to pay for LL (which I'd assume is a near walk-on) or do the virtual queue.
> 
> Thanks!



We went in mid-June. Did VQ twice and ILL$ once. I've yet to see much in the queue since we pretty much ended up in the first room quickly.

The first VQ was for extra evening hours and we were called back at 8:40 but were still in the Remy queue since we expected a 9:20 callback - we started to book it back around World Showcase at 9:15 and we really didn't stop in the queue at all.

The 2nd VQ I somehow managed to get group 2 so that was pretty much a walk-on since they called us 20 minutes before EE started (we were still at TTC and arrived at Epcot around 8:30ish) and not many people in the park yet.

We bought the ILL$ for our first ride since I didn't know how VQ would be for EEH and I didn't want to leave it to chance on our last park day (which was a reservation for Epcot). I found we didn't really need ILL. Also, when I did buy it which was mid-morning on a whim, and it wasn't sold out. Not sure if that's the norm, but somethign to think about.

With ILL$, there were callback times starting at 6 p.m., so plenty of spots left to choose from since the park close was at 9.  So we rode at 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. that day


----------



## DisneyFive

Well, we’re heading out after 8 wonderful days.  We feel content and happy with our trip.

Sitting on the Sunshine Flyer at the Poly as I start this post.  I will use this as a way to summarize our trip and maybe give some additional tips and information that we learned after eight days of using G+ and visiting the parks this year.  I’ll also probably ramble a bit.  

In summary, even though I don’t like paying for the G+ service, and the overall massive cost increase over the last couple of years, *I feel like we have our happy place back.*

We visited during this same time last year when things were standby only, and if it went back to that we would never visit again.  Sounds harsh but it just didn’t work for us versus trips with paper FP, FP+, or now G+.

Here are the links, play by play, to our eight days:
Day 1: Animal Kingdom
Day 2: Magic Kingdom
Day 3: Hollywood Studios
Day 4: Epcot
Day 5: Magic Kingdom - 2nd time
Day 6: Hollywood Studios - 2nd time
Day 7: Epcot - 2nd time
Day 8: Magic Kingdom - 3rd time
Day 9: This post.  Heading home.  Thankful for the solid family time we had together at a place we all love.


*Our touring style:*
We are moreso night owls than morning people. If we don’t need to rope drop, we won’t. Thankfully due to G+, we did not rope drop once this trip and still got more done than I expected.  If you read the daily reports we did *A LOT*.  So thankful.  For us, still not nearly as good as the old FP+ system, but is workable.

*G+:
I will not do Disney right now without G+.  I cannot state that enough.  It saved us massive time every day, with possibly the exception of AK.*

We prepurchased G+ for every day. (That’s not an option now, and must be purchased each Day of your trip if you want it.)  For us, the only park where I question its value is Animal Kingdom. Looking back, I would not purchase it for AK, and purchase the $ILL for FOP instead.  We waited in a two hour line for FOP and that was not magical. Even though I *loathe* the idea of $ILL, it’s the nature of the beast right now and I would pony up for it, but not get G+ at AK.  Personally, if I am paying for G+ I feel that ALL rides should be included. None of this $ILL nonsense.  Just because they can, doesn’t mean they should IMO.

G+ waits on average were under 10 minutes, and most of the time under 7.  Overall they were faster than the old FP+ system by a bit.

*Our G+ strategy:*
You will need to be flexible, make adjustments, call audibles, etc.  It’s part of the G+ game.

Optimally it was important to figure out when we planned to get to the parks.  The earlier the better but rope drop was not necessary.   I’m not arguing its advantage.  Rope drop does get you a head start, but also has its drawbacks, which for us was sleep, energy and overall happiness.   For us, we tried to time that first G+ window generally before the second G+ booking window, which is two hours after park open.  You are able to tap into your first G+ before that 2 hour window, and immediately book another.  Then keep rolling like that.  It constantly puts you ahead of all those people who at 7am booked a G+ for later in the day and had to wait until two hour after park open.

Don’t forego using G+ for less popular rides. Many times you can book a G+ window very close to the current time for less popular attractions, then when you tap in, immediately book another one, and so forth.  This can _easily_ save 15 to 40 minutes each secondary ride at peak hours.  Those times savings really add up.  This is ESPECIALLY true at MK, and remember you can tap in five minutes early

Watch those popular rides. They will start pushing out in the day.  Work them around your schedule. Sometimes they will be more than two hours out and you will have to wait 2 hours to rebook but that is how it goes.  It’s better to book them than miss them.  We had afternoon breaks so typically when we were done in the parks after  lunch I would try to find a popular ride for dinner time or after and then stack more every two hours for our return while back at the resort.

Set alarms or reminders. As soon as I booked a G+ I would set an alarm for 1 hour and 58 minutes later to remind me that I could book another soon (if we hadn’t already tapped into our most recently booked G+ and booked another).

*G+ Booking windows:*
Just a general note to remember that windows are an hour long, with a five minute early grace period and I think a 10 or 15 minute late grace period.  For instance if you are looking for a 5 PM time slot, a 4:00-5:00pm would work, as well as a 5:00pm-6:00, and anything in between.  Work those windows to your advantage. We tapped in five minutes early on a number of occasions  so that I could look another G+ right away

Be aware of those times in the day that are two, four, six hours after park open. Those are generally times when a lot of guests can book G+ again because that is their two hour window. For instance, if Magic Kingdom opens at 9 AM and the first additional booking window is 11 AM, at 10:45am BTMRR might be sitting at 1 PM and _slowly_ crawling later at five minute intervals, but as soon as 11 PM hits it will start taking off and easily jump by an hour later  within seconds.  It is like that for the popular attractions at those two hour intervals.  That’s why booking your fiirst G+ selection before the two hour park interval can really make a difference. You are able to pull your second G+, or more, before a lot of guests have a chance to even book their second.

*Buses and transportation:*
Excellent.  Our average bus wait was less than 10 minutes. Our longest wait was around 20 minutes our very first day to AK, but we had _just_ missed the previous bus (watched it drive away )
We were fortunate to stay at a monorail resort and that was amazing for Magic Kingdom especially, as well as Epcot.  Our average wait to Magic Kingdom was less than five minutes and Epcot 10 minutes or less.

*Park hours:*
Loved the fact that we had more typical park hours again. Magic Kingdom is open until 11 PM (woohoo!) and Epcot and Hollywood studios until 9 and I think 8 PM for Animal Kingdom .  Those additional one to two hours in the evening make a huge difference. A lot of the little kids can’t make it that long and it really helps with the attraction wait times.

*Dining and food:*
Hard to find anything to complain about here. We have dined at many many sit down and quick service locations at Disney  over the past 12 years, and this year felt that the quality has not degraded and everything was still very good.  Our ADR‘s tend to be at places that don’t break the bank like buffets tend to do. We like to go places where we can order entrées, share entrées etc.  One highlight was steakhouse ‘71 this year. We loved the wave in that location before and Steakhouse’71 for lunch was a very fun new experience with high quality offerings. If you have any questions about these places from our trip let me know, *MK* area: Steakhouse’71, Jungle Skipper Canteen, Kona Cafe, QS: Columbia Harbour House, Pecos Bills, Capt’n Cooks, Plaza Ice cream parlor, Aloha Isle.  *HS* area:  Kimonos, Brown Derby, QS:  ABC Commissary, Backlot Express.  *EP* area:  Nine Dragons, Via Napoli, Beaches n Cream QS: French patisserie

*Mobile order:*
Mobile order might be a love or hate thing. We love it, but our kids are old enough to order for themselves.  I would bring up the QS location, choose the time window we wanted to dine, and then hand the phone to the various members of our family and they would just add their items to the order and by the time we were done I would just submit the order.  As we were getting close to the QS location I would hit the button that we were there and prepare the order. Much better than standing in line and I like the fact that the mobile order on the app shows pictures of the food items

*Cast Members*:
Overall cast members were very good. I will say that they seem to have lost a little of their magic luster. I think it is the fact that there are a lot of new hires.  Hopefully over time that special magic will return once they get more seasoned.

*Resort*:
The Polynesian (renting DVC) was wonderful and the deluxe studios thankfully fit our family of five just fine.  The two showers are a HUGE PLUS especially with two daughters.  Really helps with getting ready in the morning, or at night to clean off.   We don’t have a ton of extra space in the room but it is enough for us.  If you typically stay moderate level, I would highly recommend looking into renting DVC for a similar(ish) cost.  Canceling is less forgiving but renting DVC can pack a good “bang for the buck”



-Dan


----------



## Karalee402

DisneyFive said:


> Well, we’re heading out after 8 wonderful days.  Sitting on the Sunshine Flyer at the Poly as I start this post.  I will use this as a way to summarize our trip and maybe give some additional tips and information that we learned after eight days of using G+ and visiting the parks this year.  I’ll also probably ramble a bit.
> 
> In summary, even though I don’t like paying for the G+ service, and the overall massive cost increase over the last couple of years, *I feel like we have our happy place back.*
> 
> We visited during this same time last year when things were standby only, and if it went back to that we would never visit again.  Sounds harsh but it just didn’t work for us versus trips with paper FP, FP+, or now G+.
> 
> *Our touring style:*
> We are more so night owls than morning people. If we don’t need to rope drop, we won’t. Thankfully due to G+, we did not rope drop once this trip and still got more done than I expected.  If you read the daily reports we did *A LOT*.  So thankful.  For us, still not nearly as good as the old FP+ system, but is workable.
> 
> *G+:*
> We prepurchased G+ for every day. (That’s not an option now, and must be purchased each Day of your trip if you want it.)  For us, the only park where I question its value is Animal Kingdom. Looking back, I would not purchase it for AK, and purchase the $ILL for FOP instead.  We waited in a two hour line for FOP at the end of the night and that was not magical. Even though I *loathe* the idea of $ILL, it’s the nature of the beast right now and I would pony up for it, but not get G+ at AK.  Personally, if I am paying for G+ I feel that ALL rides should be included. None of this $ILL nonsense.
> 
> G+ waits on average were under 10 minutes, and most of the time under 7.  Overall they were faster than the old FP+ system by a bit.
> 
> *Our G+ strategy:*
> Optimally it was important to figure out when we planned to get to the parks.  The earlier the better but rope drop was not necessary.   I’m not arguing its advantage.  Rope drop does get you a head start, but also has its drawbacks, which for us was sleep, energy and overall happiness.   For us, we tried to time that first G+ window generally before the second G+ booking window, which is two hours after park open.  You are able to tap into your first G+ before that 2 hour window, and immediately book another.  Then keep rolling like that.  It constantly puts you ahead of all those people who at 7am booked a G+ for later in the day and had to wait until two hour after park open.
> 
> Watch those popular rides. They will start pushing out in the day.  Work them around your schedule. Sometimes they will be more than two hours out and you will have to wait 2 hours to rebook but that is how it goes.  It’s better to book them than miss them.  We had afternoon breaks so typically when we were done in the parks after  lunch I would try to find a popular ride for dinner time or after and then stack more every two hours for our return while back at the resort.
> 
> Set alarms or reminders. As soon as I booked a G+ I would set an alarm for 1 hour and 58 minutes later to remind me that I could book another soon (if we hadn’t already tapped into our most recently booked G+ and booked another).
> 
> *G+ Booking windows:*
> Just a general note to remember that windows are an hour long, with a five minute early grace period and I think a 10 or 15 minute late grace period.  For instance if you are looking for a 5 PM time slot for instance, a 4:00-5:00pm would work, as well as a 5:00pm-6:00.  Work those windows to your advantage. We tapped in five minutes early on a number of occasions  so that I could look another G+ right away
> 
> Be aware of those times in the day that are two, four, six hours after park open. Those are generally times when a lot of guests can book G+ again because that is their two hour window. For instance, if Magic Kingdom opens at 9 AM and the first additional booking window is 11 AM, at 10:55am BTMRR might be sitting at 1 PM and _slowly_ crawling later at five minute intervals, but as soon as 11 PM hits it will start taking off and easily jump by an hour later  within seconds.  It is like that for the popular attractions at those two hour intervals.  That’s why booking your fiirst G+ selection before the two hour park interval can really make a difference. You are able to pull your second G+, or more, before a lot of guests have a chance to even book their second.
> 
> *Buses and transportation:*
> Excellent.  Our average bus wait was less than 10 minutes. Our longest wait was around 20 minutes our very first day to AK, but we had _just_ missed the previous bus (watched it drive away )
> We were fortunate to stay at a monorail resort and that was amazing for Magic Kingdom especially, as well as Epcot.  Our average wait to Magic Kingdom was less than five minutes and Epcot 10 minutes or less.
> 
> *Park hours:*
> Loved the fact that we had more typical park hours again. Magic Kingdom is open until 11 PM (woohoo!) and Epcot and Hollywood studios until 9 and I think 8 PM for Animal Kingdom .  Those additional one to two hours in the evening make a huge difference. A lot of the little kids can’t make it that long and it really helps with the attraction wait times.
> 
> I will update this post throughout the day with random info as I think of it.


Even reading about someone else driving away from Disney makes me sad!  I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed your posts - they've been so helpful and such fun to read.  Thank you for sharing your trip and letting us live vicariously through your family's fun!  Safe travels!


----------



## Southwest Minnie

Was just at Disney Springs, it's Magicband+ release day today. It was very crowded!


----------



## jods

DisneyFive said:


> Well, we’re heading out after 8 wonderful days.  Sitting on the Sunshine Flyer at the Poly as I start this post.  I will use this as a way to summarize our trip and maybe give some additional tips and information that we learned after eight days of using G+ and visiting the parks this year.  I’ll also probably ramble a bit.
> 
> In summary, even though I don’t like paying for the G+ service, and the overall massive cost increase over the last couple of years, *I feel like we have our happy place back.*
> 
> We visited during this same time last year when things were standby only, and if it went back to that we would never visit again.  Sounds harsh but it just didn’t work for us versus trips with paper FP, FP+, or now G+.
> 
> *Our touring style:*
> We are more so night owls than morning people. If we don’t need to rope drop, we won’t. Thankfully due to G+, we did not rope drop once this trip and still got more done than I expected.  If you read the daily reports we did *A LOT*.  So thankful.  For us, still not nearly as good as the old FP+ system, but is workable.
> 
> *G+:*
> We prepurchased G+ for every day. (That’s not an option now, and must be purchased each Day of your trip if you want it.)  For us, the only park where I question its value is Animal Kingdom. Looking back, I would not purchase it for AK, and purchase the $ILL for FOP instead.  We waited in a two hour line for FOP at the end of the night and that was not magical. Even though I *loathe* the idea of $ILL, it’s the nature of the beast right now and I would pony up for it, but not get G+ at AK.  Personally, if I am paying for G+ I feel that ALL rides should be included. None of this $ILL nonsense.
> 
> G+ waits on average were under 10 minutes, and most of the time under 7.  Overall they were faster than the old FP+ system by a bit.
> 
> *Our G+ strategy:*
> Optimally it was important to figure out when we planned to get to the parks.  The earlier the better but rope drop was not necessary.   I’m not arguing its advantage.  Rope drop does get you a head start, but also has its drawbacks, which for us was sleep, energy and overall happiness.   For us, we tried to time that first G+ window generally before the second G+ booking window, which is two hours after park open.  You are able to tap into your first G+ before that 2 hour window, and immediately book another.  Then keep rolling like that.  It constantly puts you ahead of all those people who at 7am booked a G+ for later in the day and had to wait until two hour after park open.
> 
> Watch those popular rides. They will start pushing out in the day.  Work them around your schedule. Sometimes they will be more than two hours out and you will have to wait 2 hours to rebook but that is how it goes.  It’s better to book them than miss them.  We had afternoon breaks so typically when we were done in the parks after  lunch I would try to find a popular ride for dinner time or after and then stack more every two hours for our return while back at the resort.
> 
> Set alarms or reminders. As soon as I booked a G+ I would set an alarm for 1 hour and 58 minutes later to remind me that I could book another soon (if we hadn’t already tapped into our most recently booked G+ and booked another).
> 
> *G+ Booking windows:*
> Just a general note to remember that windows are an hour long, with a five minute early grace period and I think a 10 or 15 minute late grace period.  For instance if you are looking for a 5 PM time slot for instance, a 4:00-5:00pm would work, as well as a 5:00pm-6:00.  Work those windows to your advantage. We tapped in five minutes early on a number of occasions  so that I could look another G+ right away
> 
> Be aware of those times in the day that are two, four, six hours after park open. Those are generally times when a lot of guests can book G+ again because that is their two hour window. For instance, if Magic Kingdom opens at 9 AM and the first additional booking window is 11 AM, at 10:55am BTMRR might be sitting at 1 PM and _slowly_ crawling later at five minute intervals, but as soon as 11 PM hits it will start taking off and easily jump by an hour later  within seconds.  It is like that for the popular attractions at those two hour intervals.  That’s why booking your fiirst G+ selection before the two hour park interval can really make a difference. You are able to pull your second G+, or more, before a lot of guests have a chance to even book their second.
> 
> *Buses and transportation:*
> Excellent.  Our average bus wait was less than 10 minutes. Our longest wait was around 20 minutes our very first day to AK, but we had _just_ missed the previous bus (watched it drive away )
> We were fortunate to stay at a monorail resort and that was amazing for Magic Kingdom especially, as well as Epcot.  Our average wait to Magic Kingdom was less than five minutes and Epcot 10 minutes or less.
> 
> *Park hours:*
> Loved the fact that we had more typical park hours again. Magic Kingdom is open until 11 PM (woohoo!) and Epcot and Hollywood studios until 9 and I think 8 PM for Animal Kingdom .  Those additional one to two hours in the evening make a huge difference. A lot of the little kids can’t make it that long and it really helps with the attraction wait times.
> 
> *Dining and food:*
> Hard to find anything to complain about here. We have dined at many many sit down and quick service locations at Disney and this year felt that the quality has not degraded and everything was still very good.  Our ADR‘s tend to be at places that don’t break the bank like buffets tend to do. We like to go places where we can order entrées, share entrées etc.  One highlight was steakhouse ‘71 this year. We loved the wave in that location before and Steakhouse’71 for lunch was a very fun new experience with high quality offerings.
> 
> *Mobile order:*
> Mobile order might be a love or hate thing. We love it, but our kids are old enough to order for themselves.  I would bring up the QS location, choose the time window we wanted to dine, and then hand the phone to the various members of our family and they would just add their items to the order and by the time we were done I would just submit the order.  As we were getting close to the QS location I would hit the button that we were there and prepare the order. Much better than standing in line and I like the fact that the mobile order on the app shows pictures of the food items
> 
> *Cast Members*:
> Overall cast members were very good. I will say that they seem to have lost a little of their magic luster. I think it is the fact that there are a lot of new hires.  Hopefully over time that special magic will return once they get more seasoned.
> 
> I will update this post throughout the day with random info as I think of it.


Safe travels!  Thank you for sharing your trip with us.  I really enjoyed reading it and felt the magic.  It has my excited for my trip next month.


----------



## VicarJT

DisneyFive said:


> Well, we’re heading out after 8 wonderful days.  We feel content and happy with our trip.
> 
> Sitting on the Sunshine Flyer at the Poly as I start this post.  I will use this as a way to summarize our trip and maybe give some additional tips and information that we learned after eight days of using G+ and visiting the parks this year.  I’ll also probably ramble a bit.
> 
> In summary, even though I don’t like paying for the G+ service, and the overall massive cost increase over the last couple of years, *I feel like we have our happy place back.*
> 
> We visited during this same time last year when things were standby only, and if it went back to that we would never visit again.  Sounds harsh but it just didn’t work for us versus trips with paper FP, FP+, or now G+.
> 
> *Our touring style:*
> We are moreso night owls than morning people. If we don’t need to rope drop, we won’t. Thankfully due to G+, we did not rope drop once this trip and still got more done than I expected.  If you read the daily reports we did *A LOT*.  So thankful.  For us, still not nearly as good as the old FP+ system, but is workable.
> 
> *G+:
> I will not do Disney right now without G+.  I cannot state that enough.  It saved us massive time every day, with possibly the exception of AK.*
> 
> We prepurchased G+ for every day. (That’s not an option now, and must be purchased each Day of your trip if you want it.)  For us, the only park where I question its value is Animal Kingdom. Looking back, I would not purchase it for AK, and purchase the $ILL for FOP instead.  We waited in a two hour line for FOP at the end of the night and that was not magical. Even though I *loathe* the idea of $ILL, it’s the nature of the beast right now and I would pony up for it, but not get G+ at AK.  Personally, if I am paying for G+ I feel that ALL rides should be included. None of this $ILL nonsense.  Just because they can, doesn’t mean they should IMO.
> 
> G+ waits on average were under 10 minutes, and most of the time under 7.  Overall they were faster than the old FP+ system by a bit.
> 
> *Our G+ strategy:*
> You will need to be flexible, make adjustments, call audibles, etc.  It’s part of the G+ game.
> 
> Optimally it was important to figure out when we planned to get to the parks.  The earlier the better but rope drop was not necessary.   I’m not arguing its advantage.  Rope drop does get you a head start, but also has its drawbacks, which for us was sleep, energy and overall happiness.   For us, we tried to time that first G+ window generally before the second G+ booking window, which is two hours after park open.  You are able to tap into your first G+ before that 2 hour window, and immediately book another.  Then keep rolling like that.  It constantly puts you ahead of all those people who at 7am booked a G+ for later in the day and had to wait until two hour after park open.
> 
> Don’t forego using G+ for less popular rides. Many times you can book a G+ window very close to the current time for less popular attractions, then when you tap in, immediately book another one, and so forth.  This can _easily_ save 15 to 40 minutes each secondary ride at peak hours.  Those times savings really add up.  This is ESPECIALLY true at MK, and remember you can tap in five minutes early
> 
> Watch those popular rides. They will start pushing out in the day.  Work them around your schedule. Sometimes they will be more than two hours out and you will have to wait 2 hours to rebook but that is how it goes.  It’s better to book them than miss them.  We had afternoon breaks so typically when we were done in the parks after  lunch I would try to find a popular ride for dinner time or after and then stack more every two hours for our return while back at the resort.
> 
> Set alarms or reminders. As soon as I booked a G+ I would set an alarm for 1 hour and 58 minutes later to remind me that I could book another soon (if we hadn’t already tapped into our most recently booked G+ and booked another).
> 
> *G+ Booking windows:*
> Just a general note to remember that windows are an hour long, with a five minute early grace period and I think a 10 or 15 minute late grace period.  For instance if you are looking for a 5 PM time slot, a 4:00-5:00pm would work, as well as a 5:00pm-6:00, and anything in between.  Work those windows to your advantage. We tapped in five minutes early on a number of occasions  so that I could look another G+ right away
> 
> Be aware of those times in the day that are two, four, six hours after park open. Those are generally times when a lot of guests can book G+ again because that is their two hour window. For instance, if Magic Kingdom opens at 9 AM and the first additional booking window is 11 AM, at 10:45am BTMRR might be sitting at 1 PM and _slowly_ crawling later at five minute intervals, but as soon as 11 PM hits it will start taking off and easily jump by an hour later  within seconds.  It is like that for the popular attractions at those two hour intervals.  That’s why booking your fiirst G+ selection before the two hour park interval can really make a difference. You are able to pull your second G+, or more, before a lot of guests have a chance to even book their second.
> 
> *Buses and transportation:*
> Excellent.  Our average bus wait was less than 10 minutes. Our longest wait was around 20 minutes our very first day to AK, but we had _just_ missed the previous bus (watched it drive away )
> We were fortunate to stay at a monorail resort and that was amazing for Magic Kingdom especially, as well as Epcot.  Our average wait to Magic Kingdom was less than five minutes and Epcot 10 minutes or less.
> 
> *Park hours:*
> Loved the fact that we had more typical park hours again. Magic Kingdom is open until 11 PM (woohoo!) and Epcot and Hollywood studios until 9 and I think 8 PM for Animal Kingdom .  Those additional one to two hours in the evening make a huge difference. A lot of the little kids can’t make it that long and it really helps with the attraction wait times.
> 
> *Dining and food:*
> Hard to find anything to complain about here. We have dined at many many sit down and quick service locations at Disney  over the past 12 years, and this year felt that the quality has not degraded and everything was still very good.  Our ADR‘s tend to be at places that don’t break the bank like buffets tend to do. We like to go places where we can order entrées, share entrées etc.  One highlight was steakhouse ‘71 this year. We loved the wave in that location before and Steakhouse’71 for lunch was a very fun new experience with high quality offerings. If you have any questions about these places from our trip let me know, *MK* area: Steakhouse’71, Jungle Skipper Canteen, Kona Cafe, QS: Columbia Harbour House, Pecos Bills, Capt’n Cooks, Plaza Ice cream parlor, Aloha Isle.  *HS* area:  Kimonos, Brown Derby, QS:  ABC Commissary, Backlot Express.  *EP* area:  Nine Dragons, Via Napoli, Beaches n Cream QS: French patisserie
> 
> *Mobile order:*
> Mobile order might be a love or hate thing. We love it, but our kids are old enough to order for themselves.  I would bring up the QS location, choose the time window we wanted to dine, and then hand the phone to the various members of our family and they would just add their items to the order and by the time we were done I would just submit the order.  As we were getting close to the QS location I would hit the button that we were there and prepare the order. Much better than standing in line and I like the fact that the mobile order on the app shows pictures of the food items
> 
> *Cast Members*:
> Overall cast members were very good. I will say that they seem to have lost a little of their magic luster. I think it is the fact that there are a lot of new hires.  Hopefully over time that special magic will return once they get more seasoned.
> 
> *Resort*:
> The Polynesian (renting DVC) was wonderful and the deluxe studios thankfully fit our family of five just fine.  The two showers are a HUGE PLUS especially with two daughters.  Really helps with getting ready in the morning, or at night to clean off.   We don’t have a ton of extra space in the room but it is enough for us.  If you typically stay moderate level, I would highly recommend looking into renting DVC for a similar(ish) cost.  Canceling is less forgiving but can pack a good “bang for the buck”
> 
> I will update this post throughout the day with random info as I think of it.
> 
> -Dan


Dan - thank you these posts and this summation. Lots of great ideas for us to use on our next trip, and it was really fun reading your progress in “real time.”


----------



## disneyfan150

DisneyFive said:


> Well, we’re heading out after 8 wonderful days.  We feel content and happy with our trip.
> 
> Sitting on the Sunshine Flyer at the Poly as I start this post.  I will use this as a way to summarize our trip and maybe give some additional tips and information that we learned after eight days of using G+ and visiting the parks this year.  I’ll also probably ramble a bit.
> 
> In summary, even though I don’t like paying for the G+ service, and the overall massive cost increase over the last couple of years, *I feel like we have our happy place back.*
> 
> We visited during this same time last year when things were standby only, and if it went back to that we would never visit again.  Sounds harsh but it just didn’t work for us versus trips with paper FP, FP+, or now G+.
> 
> *Our touring style:*
> We are moreso night owls than morning people. If we don’t need to rope drop, we won’t. Thankfully due to G+, we did not rope drop once this trip and still got more done than I expected.  If you read the daily reports we did *A LOT*.  So thankful.  For us, still not nearly as good as the old FP+ system, but is workable.
> 
> *G+:
> I will not do Disney right now without G+.  I cannot state that enough.  It saved us massive time every day, with possibly the exception of AK.*
> 
> We prepurchased G+ for every day. (That’s not an option now, and must be purchased each Day of your trip if you want it.)  For us, the only park where I question its value is Animal Kingdom. Looking back, I would not purchase it for AK, and purchase the $ILL for FOP instead.  We waited in a two hour line for FOP at the end of the night and that was not magical. Even though I *loathe* the idea of $ILL, it’s the nature of the beast right now and I would pony up for it, but not get G+ at AK.  Personally, if I am paying for G+ I feel that ALL rides should be included. None of this $ILL nonsense.  Just because they can, doesn’t mean they should IMO.
> 
> G+ waits on average were under 10 minutes, and most of the time under 7.  Overall they were faster than the old FP+ system by a bit.
> 
> *Our G+ strategy:*
> You will need to be flexible, make adjustments, call audibles, etc.  It’s part of the G+ game.
> 
> Optimally it was important to figure out when we planned to get to the parks.  The earlier the better but rope drop was not necessary.   I’m not arguing its advantage.  Rope drop does get you a head start, but also has its drawbacks, which for us was sleep, energy and overall happiness.   For us, we tried to time that first G+ window generally before the second G+ booking window, which is two hours after park open.  You are able to tap into your first G+ before that 2 hour window, and immediately book another.  Then keep rolling like that.  It constantly puts you ahead of all those people who at 7am booked a G+ for later in the day and had to wait until two hour after park open.
> 
> Don’t forego using G+ for less popular rides. Many times you can book a G+ window very close to the current time for less popular attractions, then when you tap in, immediately book another one, and so forth.  This can _easily_ save 15 to 40 minutes each secondary ride at peak hours.  Those times savings really add up.  This is ESPECIALLY true at MK, and remember you can tap in five minutes early
> 
> Watch those popular rides. They will start pushing out in the day.  Work them around your schedule. Sometimes they will be more than two hours out and you will have to wait 2 hours to rebook but that is how it goes.  It’s better to book them than miss them.  We had afternoon breaks so typically when we were done in the parks after  lunch I would try to find a popular ride for dinner time or after and then stack more every two hours for our return while back at the resort.
> 
> Set alarms or reminders. As soon as I booked a G+ I would set an alarm for 1 hour and 58 minutes later to remind me that I could book another soon (if we hadn’t already tapped into our most recently booked G+ and booked another).
> 
> *G+ Booking windows:*
> Just a general note to remember that windows are an hour long, with a five minute early grace period and I think a 10 or 15 minute late grace period.  For instance if you are looking for a 5 PM time slot, a 4:00-5:00pm would work, as well as a 5:00pm-6:00, and anything in between.  Work those windows to your advantage. We tapped in five minutes early on a number of occasions  so that I could look another G+ right away
> 
> Be aware of those times in the day that are two, four, six hours after park open. Those are generally times when a lot of guests can book G+ again because that is their two hour window. For instance, if Magic Kingdom opens at 9 AM and the first additional booking window is 11 AM, at 10:45am BTMRR might be sitting at 1 PM and _slowly_ crawling later at five minute intervals, but as soon as 11 PM hits it will start taking off and easily jump by an hour later  within seconds.  It is like that for the popular attractions at those two hour intervals.  That’s why booking your fiirst G+ selection before the two hour park interval can really make a difference. You are able to pull your second G+, or more, before a lot of guests have a chance to even book their second.
> 
> *Buses and transportation:*
> Excellent.  Our average bus wait was less than 10 minutes. Our longest wait was around 20 minutes our very first day to AK, but we had _just_ missed the previous bus (watched it drive away )
> We were fortunate to stay at a monorail resort and that was amazing for Magic Kingdom especially, as well as Epcot.  Our average wait to Magic Kingdom was less than five minutes and Epcot 10 minutes or less.
> 
> *Park hours:*
> Loved the fact that we had more typical park hours again. Magic Kingdom is open until 11 PM (woohoo!) and Epcot and Hollywood studios until 9 and I think 8 PM for Animal Kingdom .  Those additional one to two hours in the evening make a huge difference. A lot of the little kids can’t make it that long and it really helps with the attraction wait times.
> 
> *Dining and food:*
> Hard to find anything to complain about here. We have dined at many many sit down and quick service locations at Disney  over the past 12 years, and this year felt that the quality has not degraded and everything was still very good.  Our ADR‘s tend to be at places that don’t break the bank like buffets tend to do. We like to go places where we can order entrées, share entrées etc.  One highlight was steakhouse ‘71 this year. We loved the wave in that location before and Steakhouse’71 for lunch was a very fun new experience with high quality offerings. If you have any questions about these places from our trip let me know, *MK* area: Steakhouse’71, Jungle Skipper Canteen, Kona Cafe, QS: Columbia Harbour House, Pecos Bills, Capt’n Cooks, Plaza Ice cream parlor, Aloha Isle.  *HS* area:  Kimonos, Brown Derby, QS:  ABC Commissary, Backlot Express.  *EP* area:  Nine Dragons, Via Napoli, Beaches n Cream QS: French patisserie
> 
> *Mobile order:*
> Mobile order might be a love or hate thing. We love it, but our kids are old enough to order for themselves.  I would bring up the QS location, choose the time window we wanted to dine, and then hand the phone to the various members of our family and they would just add their items to the order and by the time we were done I would just submit the order.  As we were getting close to the QS location I would hit the button that we were there and prepare the order. Much better than standing in line and I like the fact that the mobile order on the app shows pictures of the food items
> 
> *Cast Members*:
> Overall cast members were very good. I will say that they seem to have lost a little of their magic luster. I think it is the fact that there are a lot of new hires.  Hopefully over time that special magic will return once they get more seasoned.
> 
> *Resort*:
> The Polynesian (renting DVC) was wonderful and the deluxe studios thankfully fit our family of five just fine.  The two showers are a HUGE PLUS especially with two daughters.  Really helps with getting ready in the morning, or at night to clean off.   We don’t have a ton of extra space in the room but it is enough for us.  If you typically stay moderate level, I would highly recommend looking into renting DVC for a similar(ish) cost.  Canceling is less forgiving but renting DVC can pack a good “bang for the buck”
> 
> I will update this post throughout the day with random info as I think of it.
> 
> -Dan


Thank you so much for your reports. We visited last summer and I agree with you. The shorter hours, no FP/G+, and no nighttime entertainment took away from the experience.  I knew that going in last year. So we arrived at the rope extremely early only to find our first attractions down at opening not once but three times. If our upcoming visit is similar to last summer, I would think long and hard about returning any time soon. I am looking forward to trying G+ and appreciate your tips. Your advice will help make this trip so much better. Thanks again!


----------



## heathsf

DisneyFive said:


> Well, we’re heading out after 8 wonderful days.  We feel content and happy with our trip.
> 
> Sitting on the Sunshine Flyer at the Poly as I start this post.  I will use this as a way to summarize our trip and maybe give some additional tips and information that we learned after eight days of using G+ and visiting the parks this year.  I’ll also probably ramble a bit.
> 
> In summary, even though I don’t like paying for the G+ service, and the overall massive cost increase over the last couple of years, *I feel like we have our happy place back.*
> 
> We visited during this same time last year when things were standby only, and if it went back to that we would never visit again.  Sounds harsh but it just didn’t work for us versus trips with paper FP, FP+, or now G+.
> 
> *Our touring style:*
> We are moreso night owls than morning people. If we don’t need to rope drop, we won’t. Thankfully due to G+, we did not rope drop once this trip and still got more done than I expected.  If you read the daily reports we did *A LOT*.  So thankful.  For us, still not nearly as good as the old FP+ system, but is workable.
> 
> *G+:
> I will not do Disney right now without G+.  I cannot state that enough.  It saved us massive time every day, with possibly the exception of AK.*
> 
> We prepurchased G+ for every day. (That’s not an option now, and must be purchased each Day of your trip if you want it.)  For us, the only park where I question its value is Animal Kingdom. Looking back, I would not purchase it for AK, and purchase the $ILL for FOP instead.  We waited in a two hour line for FOP and that was not magical. Even though I *loathe* the idea of $ILL, it’s the nature of the beast right now and I would pony up for it, but not get G+ at AK.  Personally, if I am paying for G+ I feel that ALL rides should be included. None of this $ILL nonsense.  Just because they can, doesn’t mean they should IMO.
> 
> G+ waits on average were under 10 minutes, and most of the time under 7.  Overall they were faster than the old FP+ system by a bit.
> 
> *Our G+ strategy:*
> You will need to be flexible, make adjustments, call audibles, etc.  It’s part of the G+ game.
> 
> Optimally it was important to figure out when we planned to get to the parks.  The earlier the better but rope drop was not necessary.   I’m not arguing its advantage.  Rope drop does get you a head start, but also has its drawbacks, which for us was sleep, energy and overall happiness.   For us, we tried to time that first G+ window generally before the second G+ booking window, which is two hours after park open.  You are able to tap into your first G+ before that 2 hour window, and immediately book another.  Then keep rolling like that.  It constantly puts you ahead of all those people who at 7am booked a G+ for later in the day and had to wait until two hour after park open.
> 
> Don’t forego using G+ for less popular rides. Many times you can book a G+ window very close to the current time for less popular attractions, then when you tap in, immediately book another one, and so forth.  This can _easily_ save 15 to 40 minutes each secondary ride at peak hours.  Those times savings really add up.  This is ESPECIALLY true at MK, and remember you can tap in five minutes early
> 
> Watch those popular rides. They will start pushing out in the day.  Work them around your schedule. Sometimes they will be more than two hours out and you will have to wait 2 hours to rebook but that is how it goes.  It’s better to book them than miss them.  We had afternoon breaks so typically when we were done in the parks after  lunch I would try to find a popular ride for dinner time or after and then stack more every two hours for our return while back at the resort.
> 
> Set alarms or reminders. As soon as I booked a G+ I would set an alarm for 1 hour and 58 minutes later to remind me that I could book another soon (if we hadn’t already tapped into our most recently booked G+ and booked another).
> 
> *G+ Booking windows:*
> Just a general note to remember that windows are an hour long, with a five minute early grace period and I think a 10 or 15 minute late grace period.  For instance if you are looking for a 5 PM time slot, a 4:00-5:00pm would work, as well as a 5:00pm-6:00, and anything in between.  Work those windows to your advantage. We tapped in five minutes early on a number of occasions  so that I could look another G+ right away
> 
> Be aware of those times in the day that are two, four, six hours after park open. Those are generally times when a lot of guests can book G+ again because that is their two hour window. For instance, if Magic Kingdom opens at 9 AM and the first additional booking window is 11 AM, at 10:45am BTMRR might be sitting at 1 PM and _slowly_ crawling later at five minute intervals, but as soon as 11 PM hits it will start taking off and easily jump by an hour later  within seconds.  It is like that for the popular attractions at those two hour intervals.  That’s why booking your fiirst G+ selection before the two hour park interval can really make a difference. You are able to pull your second G+, or more, before a lot of guests have a chance to even book their second.
> 
> *Buses and transportation:*
> Excellent.  Our average bus wait was less than 10 minutes. Our longest wait was around 20 minutes our very first day to AK, but we had _just_ missed the previous bus (watched it drive away )
> We were fortunate to stay at a monorail resort and that was amazing for Magic Kingdom especially, as well as Epcot.  Our average wait to Magic Kingdom was less than five minutes and Epcot 10 minutes or less.
> 
> *Park hours:*
> Loved the fact that we had more typical park hours again. Magic Kingdom is open until 11 PM (woohoo!) and Epcot and Hollywood studios until 9 and I think 8 PM for Animal Kingdom .  Those additional one to two hours in the evening make a huge difference. A lot of the little kids can’t make it that long and it really helps with the attraction wait times.
> 
> *Dining and food:*
> Hard to find anything to complain about here. We have dined at many many sit down and quick service locations at Disney  over the past 12 years, and this year felt that the quality has not degraded and everything was still very good.  Our ADR‘s tend to be at places that don’t break the bank like buffets tend to do. We like to go places where we can order entrées, share entrées etc.  One highlight was steakhouse ‘71 this year. We loved the wave in that location before and Steakhouse’71 for lunch was a very fun new experience with high quality offerings. If you have any questions about these places from our trip let me know, *MK* area: Steakhouse’71, Jungle Skipper Canteen, Kona Cafe, QS: Columbia Harbour House, Pecos Bills, Capt’n Cooks, Plaza Ice cream parlor, Aloha Isle.  *HS* area:  Kimonos, Brown Derby, QS:  ABC Commissary, Backlot Express.  *EP* area:  Nine Dragons, Via Napoli, Beaches n Cream QS: French patisserie
> 
> *Mobile order:*
> Mobile order might be a love or hate thing. We love it, but our kids are old enough to order for themselves.  I would bring up the QS location, choose the time window we wanted to dine, and then hand the phone to the various members of our family and they would just add their items to the order and by the time we were done I would just submit the order.  As we were getting close to the QS location I would hit the button that we were there and prepare the order. Much better than standing in line and I like the fact that the mobile order on the app shows pictures of the food items
> 
> *Cast Members*:
> Overall cast members were very good. I will say that they seem to have lost a little of their magic luster. I think it is the fact that there are a lot of new hires.  Hopefully over time that special magic will return once they get more seasoned.
> 
> *Resort*:
> The Polynesian (renting DVC) was wonderful and the deluxe studios thankfully fit our family of five just fine.  The two showers are a HUGE PLUS especially with two daughters.  Really helps with getting ready in the morning, or at night to clean off.   We don’t have a ton of extra space in the room but it is enough for us.  If you typically stay moderate level, I would highly recommend looking into renting DVC for a similar(ish) cost.  Canceling is less forgiving but renting DVC can pack a good “bang for the buck”
> 
> I will update this post throughout the day with random info as I think of it.
> 
> -Dan


Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. You are a G+ master for sure! Soooo many amazing tips and tricks in your reports and I appreciate it so much!


----------



## manakin

Thank you for this beautiful trip report!

I was amazed on how much you did with genie+. I’ll use it for first time next april and I’m really scared, just because I’ll be with my parents (for dad will be first time ever!) and they don’t do well queues, especially my dad.
but from your report I learnt lots of tric, so, hopefully it will be good.
have a nice and safe trip!


----------



## buyerbrad

Spent a half day at MK today. Myself, wife, and 2 DDs ages 9 & 6. We have another full day planned later in the week with Genie+. Here is a quick overview for those planning:

ETPE - SDMT
Haunted Mansion - we got here exactly at 9am
Small World
Tea Cups
Dumbo
Barnstormer 
Little Mermaid
10:50 - Lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus
Meet Jasmin and Aladdin
Magic Carpets x2 - walk-on during parade
Tiki Room
Swiss Family Treehouse
Philharmagic
Carousel
Meet Tiana & Rapunzel - posted as 30, took 15
Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire
Shopping on Main Street
On the bus by 3pm

Longest wait we had all day was 15 minutes.


----------



## grannyminnie

DisneyFive said:


> At Epcot all I know is about the 2:47 pm and 4:47 PM drops
> 
> at Magic Kingdom I have seen one at 10:47am


Just got back from a short trip and used Genie + twice.  Wish I had known about these.


----------



## buyerbrad

Today was Epcot. Here was our order of attack:

ETPE - Test Track (first group)
ETPE - Frozen - walk on just before 8:30
Mexico Ride
Soarin - walk on
Remy - 9:35 G+
Meet Belle
Meet Snow White
Meet Anna and Elsa - posted 45, actual 15
Meet Minnie
Lunch
Seed Tour - walk on
Nemo - G+
Turtle Talk
Meet Pluto
Meet Goofy
Spaceship Earth G+
Soarin G+
Figment
Meet Venelope
Meet Joy
Frozen G+
Guardians Boarding Group 116 4pm to 5pm
Dinner
Test Track G+ - booked this after Remy
Bus back to resort at 6:45


----------



## Isabelle12345

buyerbrad said:


> Today was Epcot. Here was our order of attack:
> 
> ETPE - Test Track (first group)
> ETPE - Frozen - walk on just before 8:30
> Mexico Ride
> Soarin - walk on
> Remy - 9:35 G+
> Meet Belle
> Meet Snow White
> Meet Anna and Elsa - posted 45, actual 15
> Meet Minnie
> Lunch
> Seed Tour - walk on
> Nemo - G+
> Turtle Talk
> Meet Pluto
> Meet Goofy
> Spaceship Earth G+
> Soarin G+
> Figment
> Meet Venelope
> Meet Joy
> Frozen G+
> Guardians Boarding Group 116 4pm to 5pm
> Dinner
> Test Track G+ - booked this after Remy
> Bus back to resort at 6:45


WoW that’s quite the lineup!!!
May I ask how long you waited for each character approximately? And did you get there before their actual meeting time or did you just line up when you got there?
My daughter would love to meet characters but I am not sure how much time I am willing to sacrifice to waiting in line since we are in Epcot just one day…
Thanks and enjoy the rest of your trip!


----------



## buyerbrad

All were under 10 except Anna and Elsa and Minnie, who was 15 to 20. We saw a line for Donald that was easily 30 mins long. Anna and Elsa was the only intentional stop we made. The rest we just stopped at because they happened to be out or were coming out in the next few minutes with a very short line started.


----------



## Isabelle12345

buyerbrad said:


> All were under 10 except Anna and Elsa and Minnie, who was 15 to 20. We saw a line for Donald that was easily 30 mins long. Anna and Elsa was the only intentional stop we made. The rest we just stopped at because they happened to be out or were coming out in the next few minutes with a very short line started.


thanks, that's good to hear!


----------



## rpmaill

Hi all,

Im a newbie and hadnt been to the parks for about 7 years until 2 weeks ago. This was my first foray with Genie plus, lightning lanes, etc. I wanted to write what I thought worked and what Id do differently.

*THESE ARE JUST THE PLANS THAT WORKED FOR ME AND MY 7 YEAR OLD. *Some of this was luck related. Also, everyone is different. Some kids cant make it 5 hours without a meltdown. We have always been very active and GO GO GO so I knew she could hang through the 4 days, but even so, I wouldve changed a few things. I also know that the outline here worked for 2 but may not work for 4 people or more. This post isnt meant to be "DO IT THIS WAY OR FAIL" type of post. Just my experience. 

I took my daughter to WDW for a 4 day trip July 10-13 2022.

Because we were only there for 4 days and were not going to park hop, my plan was 1 park a day and to try and leave mid day so she could nap, then return and do more rides. That part failed miserably as we never left a park. More to follow on that. My plan was to rope drop (be at the park before opening as close to he front of the line as possible) each park as well as use Genie Plus and Individual Lightning Lanes. I figured, though its more money to do this, when you go to Disney you know your going to spend money, so I wasnt going to try and save money when it came to one of the most important aspects of the trip, the rides!

We had a rental car and drove in from St Augustine FL. They charge you  to park at the hotel but then if you choose to drive to the parks you dont pay to park at each park.

We stayed at _All Star Sports_.
That said, remember this whole post is based off of early theme park entry at each park. 
Resort was great and she loved it, even though she doesnt care for sports other than gymnastics! The bus waits for no problem....10 minutes at max. We never had to wait for more than 1 bus as we were out there an hour before ETPE. In hindsight, I wouldve stayed at Art Of Animation to have skyliner access. Wouldve been great for Epcot as Ill write about below.

The itinerary was Day 1, Epcot, Day 2 MK, Day 3 HS, day 4 AK. We bussed to MK and HS. AK was the last day and we were leaving town for a 2 hour drive after, so we drove to AK. 

The following park tactics allowed us to ride all the popular rides while never waiting more than 30 minutes during a peak summer week. Ill admit, some luck was involved!

*Day 1 - Epcot:*

Epcot was a different strategy. Epcot has two entrances. A main entrance and a back entrance called the International Gateway. There are only a few ways to get to the IG. By skyliner, boat, or walk. This is where it wouldve been nice to be at Art of Animation (there are other hotels also that you can do this, but AOA is closes in price and quality to where we were at) because they have skyliner access which wouldve brought us to the IG. Because we were at All Star Sports, we took a Uber in the morning to the Swan and Dolphin and did a 10 minute walk to the IG. When we got there we were 2nd in line. Now why is this important? Remys Ratatouille ride is right near the IG and is one of the most popular rides at Epcot, along with Frozen, Test Track, and Guardians. As soon as we were allowed in the park we went to Remys. Meanwhile I had secured a virtual queue for Guardians and ALSO purchased a Lightning Lane for Guardians. Because these two LL options dont count toward my regular genie plus LL, I also got a LL for Frozen. We got off of Remys, hiked to Test track, went over to our sched LL at Frozen, and went to wait for our 10am ILL for Guardians. By 10 AM we rode the 4 most popular rides at Epcot! We used the remainder of the day to ride Soarin, Figment, Mission Space, Spaceship Earth, etc. The plan WAS to leave mid day and return to watch the night time show, but as the day kept flying by we found that it was already 1pm and started to rain, so we ducked out and ate there. By the time that was done we knew if we left we werent coming back, so we stayed a little longer and missed out on the night time show. My other fear was watching this show late at night and ropedropping MK the next day with a 7yo didnt seem wise, as we would have to be waiting for the bus by 7am. We ended up leaving Epcot about 4, ate supper and used the resort pool till bedtime.

This strategy worked from park to park. We would rope drop a popular ride, pay for a ILL for another, and Genie Plus a third. 

*Day 2 - Magic Kingdom:*

We took the first bus over to MK and purchased a ILL for Mine Train and rope dropped Space Mountain. This allowed us to then immediately do Buzz Lightyear and squeeze in a teacup ride before our mine train run, all before the park opened to general admission. Many people rope drop snow white, but honestly, the point of rope drop is to ride as many as you can BEFORE the place gets overcrowded and it seemed like we would get more done starting at Space. At 7 AM I had also Genie+ Splash Mountain. My theory on Splash, which has always held true, is ride it early because you know it WILL go down, PLUS, you have weather to contend with. If you think, Ill wait till its really hot at 1pm and ride it then, you may find its not running due to thunderstorms which usually strike late in the day vs early morning. Ironically, this was the day that Splash got shut down later in the day because one of the ride vehicles flooded with people in it so we were happy we did this at 10am. We ended up staying there all day till the nightime show Enchantment. This was where my trip planning needs a overhaul next time. We went for 4 parks, 4 consecutive days. In hindsight, next time I would plan a break day mid way in between, and also place the "night time shows" prior to a rest day. For instance, I wouldve done AK day 1, maybe Epcot day 2, day off to rest and relax, day 4 AK, Day 5 MK. This way we can see the night shows at MK and Epcot and not worry about waking early the next day. Next time!

*Day 3 - Hollywood Studios:*

Again, we bussed in early and were about 15 people from the front. I paid for ILL on Rise of the Resistance and got a LL for Tower of Terror with the pan to rope drop Slinky Dog Dash. Why LL Tower? Well, I didnt want it shut down later in the day due to weather AND I figd if we did it early we could probably walk on to Rock N Roller Coaster right nearby without a long wait early. When we got to slinky dog it was not running and the cast members told us they advised us going somewhere else but we could wait if we wanted. That said, we ran over to Smugglers Run and were so early for it my daughter and I had our OWN SHIP. After this we walked by Slinky which was still down so hit Mickey and Minnie Railroad. After that it was time for our Tower LL. Did that and hit Rock N Roller with a 5 minute wait. Within the first hour we rode 4 of the most popular attractions and had a ILL for Rise later on. Here is where luck played in. By 2pm we had rode on every ride we wanted and did most shows. I wanted to leave and come back before closing to try slinky again BUT I did something Ill never do again. I had made reservations at the Sci Fi Drive Diner for 3:30, so now we were stuck having to wait or forfeit a fee for cancelling. Whats worse was the service was soooo slow for food you couldve gotten at Woodys Lunch Box we didnt get out of there till 5:30. We rode all the rides and saw a bunch of shows etc and were about to leave at 5:30 when my daughter asked if we could check Toy Story Land 1 more time for a Sox the cat plush. I said ok. As we were walking I saw that the short line at Slinky of people waiting for it to open all started to stand up and move. We ran over and the Cast Member said they are now opening the ride! We walked right on! Amazing!

*
Day 4 - Animal Kingdom:*

Here things were a little weird. Everest was out of service at 7am when I went to do genie plus, so I got a LL for the rapids and we rope dropped Flight Of Passage. After that was the Navi River, and we went to the safari. Post Safari we did the rapids and got a LL for Dinosaur. I saw there were ILL for Flight available so bout them because with Everest down we were gonna have more time. Anyway, we did Bugs Life, watched the kite show, ate, etc. I looked at the app and saw Everest was open with a 5 minute wait! We ran over and got on it. As we did I had a LL spot open so I booked it for Everest again. By the time we got to Everest it was a 30 minute wait (at 1pm!). We rode it, killed 20 minutes, and rode it again with the LL. After that we hit Flight for the 2nd time with the ILL. 


To recap, I had 4 days, with a 7 year old, and I hadnt been to the parks in ages, but we were able to do ALL of the major rides and most of the base lvl rides and shows. I learned and here is a recap of DOs and DONTs. Again, luck was also on our side!

*DO's:*

   Buy Genie Plus
   Buy Individual Lightning lanes if you can afford to. I understand that a party of 2 vs a party of 5 over 4 days is a huge difference in cost.
   Rope Drop. We were able to do so much in that first hour allowing us to take our time, look for hidden mickeys, etc.
   Use International Gateway
   Stay at a hotel with Skyliner access (its like a ride in itself!)
   Plan out your LL and ETPE Rope Drop rides so that you can get to another ride nearby quickly and not have to run across the park
   Book an extra day of rest mid vacation to refuel

*DONT'S:*

   Make dining reservations. Quick service is the way to go!
   Wait to ride weather sensitive rides for later in the day
   Plan on a night show a day before rope dropping.


----------



## SusanDK

rpmaill said:


> *Day 3 - Hollywood Studios:*
> 
> BUT I did something Ill never do again. I had made reservations at the Sci Fi Drive Diner for 3:30, so now we were stuck having to wait or forfeit a fee for cancelling. Whats worse was the service was soooo slow for food you couldve gotten at Woodys Lunch Box we didnt get out of there till 5:30.



That was a fabulous trip report! I just wanted to ask about the ADR where you decided to go rather than forfeit a fee for cancelling.

In your case, having been there all day with a 7 year old who perhaps needed a break, I'm wondering if you had gone to the SciFi Diner check-in and asked politely if you could skip the reservation because your child really needed a break, would they have waived the cancellation fee? To me, it's not quite the same as a "no show" if you approached them in person with a polite request to forego the reservation.

Although it does sound like you made lemonade out of lemons and had a great rest of the day.


----------



## rpmaill

SusanDK said:


> That was a fabulous trip report! I just wanted to ask about the ADR where you decided to go rather than forfeit a fee for cancelling.
> 
> In your case, having been there all day with a 7 year old who perhaps needed a break, I'm wondering if you had gone to the SciFi Diner check-in and asked politely if you could skip the reservation because your child really needed a break, would they have waived the cancellation fee? To me, it's not quite the same as a "no show" if you approached them in person with a polite request to forego the reservation.
> 
> Although it does sound like you made lemonade out of lemons and had a great rest of the day.


Its funny because I didnt  write about how truly bad the dining reservation went.  So we had a 3:30 reservation and at 3:05 I checked in. We did not get seated until about 3:45.  On top of that we then Ordered 2 cheeseburgers. Did not get the food for almost an hour. It was the only dining reservation I made for the 4 days and I only did it because my wife and I had eaten there years and years ago when we went and I wanted my daughter to see the restaurant. My wife passed away 3 years ago when my daughter was 4 so I just wanted to do something that would be Able to tie in back what I went with her mom but it really went South.  I didn't like the idea of a reservation and having to be trapped in that time slot and the one I made I regretted so I will never ever ever do it again


----------



## SusanDK

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your wife. You sound like a fabulous Dad and the trip sounded like it will be memorable for your daughter forever! 

Such a shame about that dining experience. My gut feeling is that had you approached the restaurant in person for your reservation but explained sheepishly that your daughter was exhausted from the early start and long day so far, and you really needed to return to the hotel rather than eat a sit-down meal, they would have told you to go ahead with no charge. I've never done it so cannot be certain, but just feel they would have some flexibility at the actual restaurant - they would be able to mark you as having checked in for your reservation, even if they agreed you didn't need to go through with the meal.


----------



## harleyquinn

SusanDK said:


> I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your wife. You sound like a fabulous Dad and the trip sounded like it will be memorable for your daughter forever!
> 
> Such a shame about that dining experience. My gut feeling is that had you approached the restaurant in person for your reservation but explained sheepishly that your daughter was exhausted from the early start and long day so far, and you really needed to return to the hotel rather than eat a sit-down meal, they would have told you to go ahead with no charge. I've never done it so cannot be certain, but just feel they would have some flexibility at the actual restaurant - they would be able to mark you as having checked in for your reservation, even if they agreed you didn't need to go through with the meal.


I’ve actually cancelled after a reservation by calling later and explaining why we didn’t make it. The charge is prevent people from hogging reservations and the CMs are happy to fix things when you legit can’t make it.


----------



## DisneyFive

rpmaill said:


> Its funny because I didnt  write about how truly bad the dining reservation went.  So we had a 3:30 reservation and at 3:05 I checked in. We did not get seated until about 3:45.  On top of that we then Ordered 2 cheeseburgers. Did not get the food for almost an hour. It was the only dining reservation I made for the 4 days and I only did it because my wife and I had eaten there years and years ago when we went and I wanted my daughter to see the restaurant. My wife passed away 3 years ago when my daughter was 4 so I just wanted to do something that would be Able to tie in back what I went with her mom but it really went South.  I didn't like the idea of a reservation and having to be trapped in that time slot and the one I made I regretted so I will never ever ever do it again


So sorry for your loss rpmaill

Speaking of Sci-fi, I can only tell you from experience that it's one of the only "one and done" TS locations at WDW for us.  It took us a long time to get seated as well, the food was just o.k. burgers and sandwiches, and it was just weird sitting in a car with everyone looking the same direction not being able to talk with each other easily.  It was dark and almost weirdly quiet.  It's a unique experience that you won't get anywhere else, but it wasn't our type of unique.    Now we know.

Sci-fi isn't a good representation of most other WDW TS locations.  I wouldn't hesitate to book another TS in the future.  We typically have one per day and our 8 night trip last week was amazing for our TS locations.  Average wait to be seated was probably 5 minutes, food quality was very good, and the wait staff was excellent.  Sci-fi for us, granted it was a one time experience, was probably the worst we've ever had and at the very bottom of our list now.


----------



## jods

DisneyFive said:


> So sorry for your loss rpmaill
> 
> Speaking of Sci-fi, I can only tell you from experience that it's one of the only "one and done" TS locations at WDW for us.  It took us a long time to get seated as well, the food was just o.k. burgers and sandwiches, and it was just weird sitting in a car with everyone looking the same direction not being able to talk with each other easily.  It was dark and almost weirdly quiet.  It's a unique experience that you won't get anywhere else, but it wasn't our type of unique.    Now we know.
> 
> Sci-fi isn't a good representation of most other WDW TS locations.  I wouldn't hesitate to book another TS in the future.  We typically have one per day and our 8 night trip last week was amazing for our TS locations.  Average wait to be seated was probably 5 minutes, food quality was very good, and the wait staff was excellent.  Sci-fi for us, granted it was a one time experience, was probably the worst we've ever had and at the very bottom of our list now.


Ha, we love scifi. My kids love the shakes. We usually do lunch so it's a nice break from summer heat.  Wr actually enjoy the quiet.


----------



## DisneyFive

jods said:


> Ha, we love scifi. My kids love the shakes. We usually do lunch so it's a nice break from summer heat.  Wr actually enjoy the quiet.


Yeah, it’s just a matter of different preferences. I can understand why people would love it for the unique experience. It just doesn’t fit how we like to do our TS meals.  It’s very popular so you certainly aren’t alone.

Dan


----------



## rlk

rpmaill said:


> Its funny because I didnt  write about how truly bad the dining reservation went.  So we had a 3:30 reservation and at 3:05 I checked in. We did not get seated until about 3:45.  On top of that we then Ordered 2 cheeseburgers. Did not get the food for almost an hour. It was the only dining reservation I made for the 4 days and I only did it because my wife and I had eaten there years and years ago when we went and I wanted my daughter to see the restaurant. My wife passed away 3 years ago when my daughter was 4 so I just wanted to do something that would be Able to tie in back what I went with her mom but it really went South.  I didn't like the idea of a reservation and having to be trapped in that time slot and the one I made I regretted so I will never ever ever do it again



We enjoy SciFi, but have at times encountered long waits before.  We now only book an early lunch adr to ensure we get seated quickly.  That said, you had a 3:30 reservation, checked in 25 minutes early, and were seated only 15 minutes past your reservation time.  I understand tired cranky kids (parents too) but sometimes popular restaurants can't accommodate seating you earlier than your reservation. Believe me, I have tried more than once to check in early to try to avoid a meltdown.  Sometimes we got lucky, sometimes we had to call it quits.


----------



## buyerbrad

Followed up our part day at MK posted earlier, with a split day visit today. Longest wait for anything all day was 10 mins. The main part of the strategy was to have 3 G+ booked for our return and to keep using G+ after that to essentially walk on and avoid all the 25 to 40 minute waits:
ETPE - Astro Orbiters
ETPE - Buzz
ETPE - Pooh
Splash - G+ (BTMR was down. Wanted to start there)
Pirates
Carpets
Little Mermaid
Barnstormer x 2
Dumbo x 2
Speedway
Lunch
Meet Merida
12pm parade
Meet Anastasia & Drizella
Daughter PULLED sword from stone
Peter Pan - G+ for 12:35pm
Left for afternoon break
Returned to park at 4:30
Jungle Cruise - G+
Dinner
Meet Cinderella & Elena - G+
Haunted Mansion - G+
Small World - G+
Little Mermaid - G+
Speedway - G+
Buzz - G+
Carousel of Progress
Monsters Inc. G+
Fireworks - found a spot in-front of castle at 9:05pm


----------



## Wood Nymph

buyerbrad said:


> Daughter PULLED sword from stone


That is very exciting. I bet she was happy. 

You had an amazing day with G+.


----------



## NavyDad

rpmaill said:


> Its funny because I didnt  write about how truly bad the dining reservation went.  So we had a 3:30 reservation and at 3:05 I checked in. We did not get seated until about 3:45.  On top of that we then Ordered 2 cheeseburgers. Did not get the food for almost an hour. It was the only dining reservation I made for the 4 days and I only did it because my wife and I had eaten there years and years ago when we went and I wanted my daughter to see the restaurant. My wife passed away 3 years ago when my daughter was 4 so I just wanted to do something that would be Able to tie in back what I went with her mom but it really went South.  I didn't like the idea of a reservation and having to be trapped in that time slot and the one I made I regretted so I will never ever ever do it again


I'm not sure if you plan to make multiple WDW trips over the years but we have found that our preferences of dining have changed depending on the circumstances and the ages of our kids. 

Our first couple of trips we went with extended family (grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles) so it was nice doing one TS meal per day as kind of a gathering to slow things down. Everybody would talk about their day, what their favorite part was and we all enjoyed the time together in a relaxed atmosphere. We read a lot of reviews and found places that were know for a more laid back atmosphere including some nice places at the monorail resorts and in the world showcase at Epcot. We had some great experiences at places like Yak & Yeti, Ohana, Cape May Cafe, Boma, Garden Grill, Tepon Edo, Tuto Italia and many others. 

As our kids got a little older (tweens to young teens) they just wanted to go 100 miles an hour all day and just ride as much as possible. During that time period we stopped making ADR's and just relied on QS. This actually opened up a lot of places that we probably would have never tried before but just chose to duck in there for a quick bite in between rides (Pecos Bills, Pizzafarri). The food wasn't prepared by a 5 star chef but our kids loved the atmosphere. Now our kids are all high school and college age and we have started to go back to TS again. 

One of the things that keeps us coming back to WDW over the years is they have so much to offer that you can have almost completely different vacations at different points in your life and still have a great time.


----------



## IluvMGM

Just wondering what the current procedure is for early entry rope drop? Are we stopped at the gate at the parks or allowed in to go where we want, or allowed in but held at certain points?


----------



## scrappinginontario

IluvMGM said:


> Just wondering what the current procedure is for early entry rope drop? Are we stopped at the gate at the parks or allowed in to go where we want, or allowed in but held at certain points?


Please see the Everything Early Theme Park Entry thread.  Post 1 has all current info for ETPE.


----------



## IluvMGM

scrappinginontario said:


> Please see the Everything Early Theme Park Entry thread.  Post 1 has all current info for ETPE.


Awesome. Thank you!


----------



## Rod B

My wife and I recently returned from WDW after our 10 year wedding anniversary trip. The trip was amazing but a totally different experience from when we last went which was in 2019. Overall we had a magical time but my original "Disney game plan" had to change. I'm sure there's tons of posts talking about the changes of the parks, but I wanted to give my breakdown from my short trip.

We only did 2 park days which was Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Now the entire reservation system wasn't so bad we booked our park passes months in advance so no issues there. We started off with disaster after being delayed at the airport for over 10 hours between 2 airports due to weather issues, so instead of arriving in Orlando at 10pm, when got to Orlando at 5am the next morning. 

During our long haul layover, I purchased Genie+ and by the time we got to the hotel, we just showered and got dressed for the park. By 7am, I made my first LL reservation which was Smugglers Run. Rise of the resistance was shut down before the park even opened and during most of the entire day so we missed that ride but we rode Smugglers run about a hour after opening, which had a 50 min wait by then so we lucked out. And yes we did the entire park with no sleep after a 10 hour delay at the airport..

The LL system for me wasn't much different from fastpass, only difference is no advance reservations. It's  pretty much what you had with fastpass after riding your 3rd ride. We had no problems with getting reservations. Right after Smugglers Run, we got Tower Of Terror, Rocking Rollercoaster, and all the attractions we wanted to ride on, almost right after each other, granted the park was at capacity and all the rides I listed was over 60-90 min waits. We even did Rocking Rollercoaster twice when the lines got shorter. I believe Genie+ is a good help with Hollywood Studios, but other parks maybe not.

Our last park day was Epcot, now I did purchase Genie+ for that day as well, but I feel like it was a waste. We got on the virtual queue for Cosmic Rewind and got group 3 so we got on really early, I used my first LL on Ratatouille and I feel that was the only  good thing about having Genie+ that day. After that I used it on Mission Space and Soaring which had low wait times which most of the park had that day so Epcot isn't a big Genie+ must park.

I learned a new thing for photopass, I didn't  want to purchase the photopass when we were at Hollywood Studios, but Epcot we did. I saw if I brought both photopass each day, I would of saved money instead of the $189 they charged for the entire trip. Each day was $69 so had I did both days, I would of saved around $30 so if your doing a short trip, look into purchasing photopass by the day instead of in advance. 

I haven't  experienced all the parks so I can only speak on 2 parks but Overall I feel the change of Disney is something you have to adjust to, but my opinion so far it's easily to adjust. Now with the covid issues, I felt it was like being home, some had masks some didn't, but we always were extra when going to the parks even before covid with hand sanitizer, washing hands and using wipes. So I didn't  feel uncomfortable being in the parks. I feel Genie+ is kind of a upsell but not hard to manage and things do look more expensive, but after all, this is Disney and things do get pricey. I myself haven't lost any magic at the parks and even though things changed, I still love going.


----------



## cakebaker

Rod B said:


> My wife and I recently returned from WDW after our 10 year wedding anniversary trip. The trip was amazing but a totally different experience from when we last went which was in 2019. Overall we had a magical time but my original "Disney game plan" had to change. I'm sure there's tons of posts talking about the changes of the parks, but I wanted to give my breakdown from my short trip.
> 
> We only did 2 park days which was Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Now the entire reservation system wasn't so bad we booked our park passes months in advance so no issues there. We started off with disaster after being delayed at the airport for over 10 hours between 2 airports due to weather issues, so instead of arriving in Orlando at 10pm, when got to Orlando at 5am the next morning.
> 
> During our long haul layover, I purchased Genie+ and by the time we got to the hotel, we just showered and got dressed for the park. By 7am, I made my first LL reservation which was Smugglers Run. Rise of the resistance was shut down before the park even opened and during most of the entire day so we missed that ride but we rode Smugglers run about a hour after opening, which had a 50 min wait by then so we lucked out. And yes we did the entire park with no sleep after a 10 hour delay at the airport..
> 
> The LL system for me wasn't much different from fastpass, only difference is no advance reservations. It's  pretty much what you had with fastpass after riding your 3rd ride. We had no problems with getting reservations. Right after Smugglers Run, we got Tower Of Terror, Rocking Rollercoaster, and all the attractions we wanted to ride on, almost right after each other, granted the park was at capacity and all the rides I listed was over 60-90 min waits. We even did Rocking Rollercoaster twice when the lines got shorter. I believe Genie+ is a good help with Hollywood Studios, but other parks maybe not.
> 
> Our last park day was Epcot, now I did purchase Genie+ for that day as well, but I feel like it was a waste. We got on the virtual queue for Cosmic Rewind and got group 3 so we got on really early, I used my first LL on Ratatouille and I feel that was the only  good thing about having Genie+ that day. After that I used it on Mission Space and Soaring which had low wait times which most of the park had that day so Epcot isn't a big Genie+ must park.
> 
> I learned a new thing for photopass, I didn't  want to purchase the photopass when we were at Hollywood Studios, but Epcot we did. I saw if I brought both photopass each day, I would of saved money instead of the $189 they charged for the entire trip. Each day was $69 so had I did both days, I would of saved around $30 so if your doing a short trip, look into purchasing photopass by the day instead of in advance.
> 
> I haven't  experienced all the parks so I can only speak on 2 parks but Overall I feel the change of Disney is something you have to adjust to, but my opinion so far it's easily to adjust. Now with the covid issues, I felt it was like being home, some had masks some didn't, but we always were extra when going to the parks even before covid with hand sanitizer, washing hands and using wipes. So I didn't  feel uncomfortable being in the parks. I feel Genie+ is kind of a upsell but not hard to manage and things do look more expensive, but after all, this is Disney and things do get pricey. I myself haven't lost any magic at the parks and even though things changed, I still love going.


Thanks for your take on it. I pretty much feel the same way. It really is just the old fastpass system, just updated technology. I liked it much more than I ever expected to, still far prefer FP+ and the ability to plan ahead. But, it's what we  have and I can live with it. We found it most useful at HS and the MK, probably could've lived without it at AK, although it did come in handy to avoid any standby lines.

After many, many years of visiting WDW, it really was like being a newbie again. I'm glad to get the learning trip out of the way and I think we'll be much more successful on our next trip.


----------



## Rod B

cakebaker said:


> Thanks for your take on it. I pretty much feel the same way. It really is just the old fastpass system, just updated technology. I liked it much more than I ever expected to, still far prefer FP+ and the ability to plan ahead. But, it's what we  have and I can live with it. We found it most useful at HS and the MK, probably could've lived without it at AK, although it did come in handy to avoid any standby lines.
> 
> After many, many years of visiting WDW, it really was like being a newbie again. I'm glad to get the learning trip out of the way and I think we'll be much more successful on our next trip.


Same here. I'm already planning a trip for this fall. It did feel like going for the first time again, but those old school Disney tricks still work today in some cases.


----------



## scjo68

We just got back yesterday from our first trip back to WDW post-Covid.

This was the longest we have gone between trips since we started going in 2003 so it was wonderful to be back!

We did not purchase Genie+ or any ILL.  This was a huge change for us, as we loved FP and FPP and had relied on it and always used it effectively.  For a variety of reasons, we did not plan to purchase it this trip, knowing we could choose to add it if/when we wanted to but we never did.  

I have read many posts stating that the use of G+ was recommended/ practically necessary.  For us, we were able to ride/experience every attraction we wanted to without having to wait terribly long.  I think the longest wait time for us was Space Mountain, which was about 25 minutes, at the very end of the night.  We never did ride Peter Pan, which had a long wait time constantly.  Otherwise, I can't think of anything we missed.

Having said that, our touring strategy might not be possible or desirable for some, in which case G+/ILL  might be preferable.

We stayed at POP, and rope-dropped each morning. We were able to be at each park before ETPE started which put us near the front of the line for the "headliner" attractions.    We used the Skyliner (which is awesome- when weather is good!) to get to DHS and Epcot so we walked on Rise, M&MRR, Smuggler's,  Remy and Frozen as soon as they opened.  We also were able to get a boarding group for Guardians for two days.

By the time we rode Remy and made it from WS to FW, TT had a long line even before regular park opening.  But we were able to use single rider and got on quickly.

We also rode things later at night, sometimes during fireworks.  We love riding BTM during fireworks and it was a walk-on during that time.  

I admit we had some luck.  Our first DHS day after rope-dropping Rise, we went right to M&MRR and walked on.  Our second DHS day M&MRR was down for much of the morning but we had already done it so had planned to do Smugglers run then Slinky.  We might never have gotten to ride M&M, at least not without a long wait, if we hadn't ridden it on our first day.   

We may buy the G+ on our next trip- or we may not.  But for us, on this trip, we had fun even without it!


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## Jiminyfan2020

Thank you all for the wonderful trip reports! For those of you using genie+ who received an anytime fast pass at one park when a ride was down, could you use it at another park the same day if you had a hopper pass?


----------



## CJK

Jiminyfan2020 said:


> Thank you all for the wonderful trip reports! For those of you using genie+ who received an anytime fast pass at one park when a ride was down, could you use it at another park the same day if you had a hopper pass?


Not us. In the 'anytime LL', there's a list of rides that you can use it for in the park you are in. We were never given options for another park (and we are AP holders).


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## acgardne

Jiminyfan2020 said:


> Thank you all for the wonderful trip reports! For those of you using genie+ who received an anytime fast pass at one park when a ride was down, could you use it at another park the same day if you had a hopper pass?


We had an issue where SDD went down, and we had to get to Epcot for our LL on GotG, which was at the end of the night. I politely asked Guest Relations at Epcot if they could move the anytime G+ to the next day, since we hadn’t had a chance to use it. The CM did, and he noted that it was easier to do since we wanted it at Epcot and he was at Epcot, because he had more leeway in the park he was assigned to.

So, I think you may have to ask, and you would have more luck in the park you are trying to use it in, but it can be done.


----------



## buyerbrad

Last day today at HS before we fly home tomorrow. For those planning, it was myself, wife and 2 daughters (9 & 6).

ETPE - Rise - let into the park at 7:35 and allowed straight onto the ride
ETPE - MFSR - walk on
TSMM - walk on
Saucers - walk on
Frozen show
SDD - G+
Meet Fancy Nancy
Meet Vampirina
Meet Doc McStuffins
TSMM - G+
Lunch
Disney Jr. Show
Beauty and the Beast Show - 1pm
Star Tours - G+
Meet Olaf - G+
Muppets
MMRR - G+
Meet Mickey & Minnie
Indy Show - G+
On the bus back to the resort at 5:30. 

If we had planned on staying the full day, easily could have had G+ for TOT, RNR or another for MFSR. Rain was a possibility later in the day (currently really storming) and the girls wanted to go back for one final swim before it started (pool closed at 8:20pm for lightening). LMK if you have any questions about our touring strategy.


----------



## cheshiregoofy22

buyerbrad said:


> LMK if you have any questions about our touring strategy.


Did you find you had to refresh a bunch to get the afternoon lightning lanes?


----------



## tigertides

Spent 2 days in the park (Epcot 7/28, and DHS 7/29)

I was able to secure both VQ and paid ILL+ for Cosmic Rewind. 
Also, agree that ROTR is walk-on at 0735am. And from there, you can walk on for the next 3 rides. My first G+ was for SDD.

Broad brushstrokes:
Was a great trip. I really do not know what all the complaining is about on some forums. The parks are not nearly as crowded in the summer as over Holidays, Springbreak. It didn't rain one time. Pools not crowded. Bus and skyline transportation was efficient. Castmembers were pleasant enough.

For those who think the costs are adding up, I makes ALOT more cents/sense to spend 2 days in park (with paid G+/ILL) than 3 without "paid fast passes".

Ditto for 3 days with paid G+/ILL vs 4 without. 

Although I do think you do not need G+ at DHS if you can do TRUE early Rope Drop. I left my hotel at Swan at 0700, walked to DHS, and was among first ones in the park. Still, with G+, I was able to squeeze in SDD with no wait, as well as TSM.

FYI - NO ONE IS WEARING MASKS anymore. I was only one indoors with one at Remy, GOTG, etc. 
And came back with mild COVID(+).


----------



## buyerbrad

cheshiregoofy22 said:


> Did you find you had to refresh a bunch to get the afternoon lightning lanes?


We did very little refreshing. Yesterday, at HS, we had Slinky for 10:05 to 11:05 and used it right at 10am. I was then able to get TSMM for 10:45 and used it at 10:40. I then booked MMRR for 2:10 to 3:10. It then allowed me to book another G+ at 12:40, Star Tours, used it immediately and the Standby line was 45 minutes.


----------



## cheshiregoofy22

buyerbrad said:


> We did very little refreshing. Yesterday, at HS, we had Slinky for 10:05 to 11:05 and used it right at 10am. I was then able to get TSMM for 10:45 and used it at 10:40. I then booked MMRR for 2:10 to 3:10. It then allowed me to book another G+ at 12:40, Star Tours, used it immediately and the Standby line was 45 minutes.


Awesome! Thank you!


----------



## ScarletFire

tigertides said:


> For those who think the costs are adding up, I makes ALOT more cents/sense to spend 2 days in park (with paid G+/ILL) than 3 without "paid fast passes".
> 
> Ditto for 3 days with paid G+/ILL vs 4 without.


Agree!! I posted this a while back: POST

This could shorten your resort stay, a room on disney property is WAY expensive.  I prefer the bubble and never stay off property.  Or, use the extra day for swimming and resting.



tigertides said:


> FYI - NO ONE IS WEARING MASKS anymore. I was only one indoors with one at Remy, GOTG, etc.
> And came back with mild COVID(+).


DH and DS27 got COVID after a recent Vegas trip.  Both were miserable for over a week.  I've not had it.  This makes me sad.  I hope you feel better soon.


----------



## Trinity88

DisneyFive said:


> Well, we’re heading out after 8 wonderful days. We feel content and happy with our trip.



I can't thank you enough for the detailed trip reports!! I have a family of 5 with teens and while we plan to tour a little differently (not hit the parks until late afternoon), it was so helpful to read how it worked for a similar family composition.  It's so hard to know how the availability of G+ will work when I read reports with 2 people visiting instead of 5. But it sounds like it worked very well for you. Thanks again, I will be using many of your tips in less than 2 weeks!


----------



## DisneyFive

Trinity88 said:


> I can't thank you enough for the detailed trip reports!! I have a family of 5 with teens and while we plan to tour a little differently (not hit the parks until late afternoon), it was so helpful to read how it worked for a similar family composition.  It's so hard to know how the availability of G+ will work when I read reports with 2 people visiting instead of 5. But it sounds like it worked very well for you. Thanks again, I will be using many of your tips in less than 2 weeks!



Sounds like fun!  

I'm missing WDW already, now that we've had some solid rest and can reflect on just how awesome this year's trip was.  I'm so glad that some of my info has been useful, or at least interesting to read.  

Hoping you a fantastic trip. I think having G+ is going to work well in your case.  I can't imagine starting late afternoon without G+.  You'll have a good solid 3-4 G+ attractions before you arrive!  You might have to refresh some for that 3rd or 4th depending on what you're targeting but it will set up well for when you show up to the park!

Dan


----------



## harleyquinn

Here for a week if anyone has anything they’d like me to check on!


----------



## heathsf

harleyquinn said:


> Here for a week if anyone has anything they’d like me to check on!


Have a wonderful trip! Where are you staying?


----------



## set88

rpmaill said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Im a newbie and hadnt been to the parks for about 7 years until 2 weeks ago. This was my first foray with Genie plus, lightning lanes, etc. I wanted to write what I thought worked and what Id do differently.
> 
> *THESE ARE JUST THE PLANS THAT WORKED FOR ME AND MY 7 YEAR OLD. *Some of this was luck related. Also, everyone is different. Some kids cant make it 5 hours without a meltdown. We have always been very active and GO GO GO so I knew she could hang through the 4 days, but even so, I wouldve changed a few things. I also know that the outline here worked for 2 but may not work for 4 people or more. This post isnt meant to be "DO IT THIS WAY OR FAIL" type of post. Just my experience.
> 
> I took my daughter to WDW for a 4 day trip July 10-13 2022.
> 
> Because we were only there for 4 days and were not going to park hop, my plan was 1 park a day and to try and leave mid day so she could nap, then return and do more rides. That part failed miserably as we never left a park. More to follow on that. My plan was to rope drop (be at the park before opening as close to he front of the line as possible) each park as well as use Genie Plus and Individual Lightning Lanes. I figured, though its more money to do this, when you go to Disney you know your going to spend money, so I wasnt going to try and save money when it came to one of the most important aspects of the trip, the rides!
> 
> We had a rental car and drove in from St Augustine FL. They charge you  to park at the hotel but then if you choose to drive to the parks you dont pay to park at each park.
> 
> We stayed at _All Star Sports_.
> That said, remember this whole post is based off of early theme park entry at each park.
> Resort was great and she loved it, even though she doesnt care for sports other than gymnastics! The bus waits for no problem....10 minutes at max. We never had to wait for more than 1 bus as we were out there an hour before ETPE. In hindsight, I wouldve stayed at Art Of Animation to have skyliner access. Wouldve been great for Epcot as Ill write about below.
> 
> The itinerary was Day 1, Epcot, Day 2 MK, Day 3 HS, day 4 AK. We bussed to MK and HS. AK was the last day and we were leaving town for a 2 hour drive after, so we drove to AK.
> 
> The following park tactics allowed us to ride all the popular rides while never waiting more than 30 minutes during a peak summer week. Ill admit, some luck was involved!
> 
> *Day 1 - Epcot:*
> 
> Epcot was a different strategy. Epcot has two entrances. A main entrance and a back entrance called the International Gateway. There are only a few ways to get to the IG. By skyliner, boat, or walk. This is where it wouldve been nice to be at Art of Animation (there are other hotels also that you can do this, but AOA is closes in price and quality to where we were at) because they have skyliner access which wouldve brought us to the IG. Because we were at All Star Sports, we took a Uber in the morning to the Swan and Dolphin and did a 10 minute walk to the IG. When we got there we were 2nd in line. Now why is this important? Remys Ratatouille ride is right near the IG and is one of the most popular rides at Epcot, along with Frozen, Test Track, and Guardians. As soon as we were allowed in the park we went to Remys. Meanwhile I had secured a virtual queue for Guardians and ALSO purchased a Lightning Lane for Guardians. Because these two LL options dont count toward my regular genie plus LL, I also got a LL for Frozen. We got off of Remys, hiked to Test track, went over to our sched LL at Frozen, and went to wait for our 10am ILL for Guardians. By 10 AM we rode the 4 most popular rides at Epcot! We used the remainder of the day to ride Soarin, Figment, Mission Space, Spaceship Earth, etc. The plan WAS to leave mid day and return to watch the night time show, but as the day kept flying by we found that it was already 1pm and started to rain, so we ducked out and ate there. By the time that was done we knew if we left we werent coming back, so we stayed a little longer and missed out on the night time show. My other fear was watching this show late at night and ropedropping MK the next day with a 7yo didnt seem wise, as we would have to be waiting for the bus by 7am. We ended up leaving Epcot about 4, ate supper and used the resort pool till bedtime.
> 
> This strategy worked from park to park. We would rope drop a popular ride, pay for a ILL for another, and Genie Plus a third.
> 
> *Day 2 - Magic Kingdom:*
> 
> We took the first bus over to MK and purchased a ILL for Mine Train and rope dropped Space Mountain. This allowed us to then immediately do Buzz Lightyear and squeeze in a teacup ride before our mine train run, all before the park opened to general admission. Many people rope drop snow white, but honestly, the point of rope drop is to ride as many as you can BEFORE the place gets overcrowded and it seemed like we would get more done starting at Space. At 7 AM I had also Genie+ Splash Mountain. My theory on Splash, which has always held true, is ride it early because you know it WILL go down, PLUS, you have weather to contend with. If you think, Ill wait till its really hot at 1pm and ride it then, you may find its not running due to thunderstorms which usually strike late in the day vs early morning. Ironically, this was the day that Splash got shut down later in the day because one of the ride vehicles flooded with people in it so we were happy we did this at 10am. We ended up staying there all day till the nightime show Enchantment. This was where my trip planning needs a overhaul next time. We went for 4 parks, 4 consecutive days. In hindsight, next time I would plan a break day mid way in between, and also place the "night time shows" prior to a rest day. For instance, I wouldve done AK day 1, maybe Epcot day 2, day off to rest and relax, day 4 AK, Day 5 MK. This way we can see the night shows at MK and Epcot and not worry about waking early the next day. Next time!
> 
> *Day 3 - Hollywood Studios:*
> 
> Again, we bussed in early and were about 15 people from the front. I paid for ILL on Rise of the Resistance and got a LL for Tower of Terror with the pan to rope drop Slinky Dog Dash. Why LL Tower? Well, I didnt want it shut down later in the day due to weather AND I figd if we did it early we could probably walk on to Rock N Roller Coaster right nearby without a long wait early. When we got to slinky dog it was not running and the cast members told us they advised us going somewhere else but we could wait if we wanted. That said, we ran over to Smugglers Run and were so early for it my daughter and I had our OWN SHIP. After this we walked by Slinky which was still down so hit Mickey and Minnie Railroad. After that it was time for our Tower LL. Did that and hit Rock N Roller with a 5 minute wait. Within the first hour we rode 4 of the most popular attractions and had a ILL for Rise later on. Here is where luck played in. By 2pm we had rode on every ride we wanted and did most shows. I wanted to leave and come back before closing to try slinky again BUT I did something Ill never do again. I had made reservations at the Sci Fi Drive Diner for 3:30, so now we were stuck having to wait or forfeit a fee for cancelling. Whats worse was the service was soooo slow for food you couldve gotten at Woodys Lunch Box we didnt get out of there till 5:30. We rode all the rides and saw a bunch of shows etc and were about to leave at 5:30 when my daughter asked if we could check Toy Story Land 1 more time for a Sox the cat plush. I said ok. As we were walking I saw that the short line at Slinky of people waiting for it to open all started to stand up and move. We ran over and the Cast Member said they are now opening the ride! We walked right on! Amazing!
> 
> 
> *Day 4 - Animal Kingdom:*
> 
> Here things were a little weird. Everest was out of service at 7am when I went to do genie plus, so I got a LL for the rapids and we rope dropped Flight Of Passage. After that was the Navi River, and we went to the safari. Post Safari we did the rapids and got a LL for Dinosaur. I saw there were ILL for Flight available so bout them because with Everest down we were gonna have more time. Anyway, we did Bugs Life, watched the kite show, ate, etc. I looked at the app and saw Everest was open with a 5 minute wait! We ran over and got on it. As we did I had a LL spot open so I booked it for Everest again. By the time we got to Everest it was a 30 minute wait (at 1pm!). We rode it, killed 20 minutes, and rode it again with the LL. After that we hit Flight for the 2nd time with the ILL.
> 
> 
> To recap, I had 4 days, with a 7 year old, and I hadnt been to the parks in ages, but we were able to do ALL of the major rides and most of the base lvl rides and shows. I learned and here is a recap of DOs and DONTs. Again, luck was also on our side!
> 
> *DO's:*
> 
> Buy Genie Plus
> Buy Individual Lightning lanes if you can afford to. I understand that a party of 2 vs a party of 5 over 4 days is a huge difference in cost.
> Rope Drop. We were able to do so much in that first hour allowing us to take our time, look for hidden mickeys, etc.
> Use International Gateway
> Stay at a hotel with Skyliner access (its like a ride in itself!)
> Plan out your LL and ETPE Rope Drop rides so that you can get to another ride nearby quickly and not have to run across the park
> Book an extra day of rest mid vacation to refuel
> 
> *DONT'S:*
> 
> Make dining reservations. Quick service is the way to go!
> Wait to ride weather sensitive rides for later in the day
> Plan on a night show a day before rope dropping.



Just wanted to say thank you sooo much for sharing your detailed experience!  I found it very helpful.  I've been wondering about driving vs buses from the All Star Resorts... I've heard horror stories about the bus service, but it sounds like it's not too bad if you get there really early.  The Uber tip to walk to IG EPCOT entrance is really interesting.  

Also glad to read feedback about Sci Fi... I had been planning on it because it sounds cool, but I definitely don't walk to be stuck there for 2 hours, especially for mediocre food.  As much as the TS restaurants sound awesome, I think we might be like you and feel they are unnecessarily restrictive a lot of the time (not to mention they're crazy expensive and maybe that money would be better spent on ILL).  

So thanks again for sharing!  Gave me lots to think about.


----------



## harleyquinn

heathsf said:


> Have a wonderful trip! Where are you staying?


We’re at French Quarter. It seems quieter than normal, but FQ is usually much lower key than the other moderates.


----------



## buyerbrad

set88 said:


> Just wanted to say thank you sooo much for sharing your detailed experience!  I found it very helpful.  I've been wondering about driving vs buses from the All Star Resorts... I've heard horror stories about the bus service, but it sounds like it's not too bad if you get there really early.  The Uber tip to walk to IG EPCOT entrance is really interesting.
> 
> Also glad to read feedback about Sci Fi... I had been planning on it because it sounds cool, but I definitely don't walk to be stuck there for 2 hours, especially for mediocre food.  As much as the TS restaurants sound awesome, I think we might be like you and feel they are unnecessarily restrictive a lot of the time (not to mention they're crazy expensive and maybe that money would be better spent on ILL).
> 
> So thanks again for sharing!  Gave me lots to think about.


We took the busses from All Star Movies last week and they were fantastic.  On the two occasions we took the earliest bus to leave the resort (MK and Epcot), our bus was one of the first 3 to arrive.  Also, because we were staying in the Mighty Ducks section, we could also take the All-Star Music busses.


----------



## wabbott

harleyquinn said:


> Here for a week if anyone has anything they’d like me to check on!


Seems to be several attractions down in MK this afternoon.  aWhat do u see on the ground?


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## scrappinginontario

wabbott said:


> Seems to be several attractions down in MK this afternoon.  aWhat do u see on the ground?


Very common this time of year and for about the next 8 weeks.  Heavy rain in the area.  FL in the summer/early fall.


----------



## harleyquinn

wabbott said:


> Seems to be several attractions down in MK this afternoon.  aWhat do u see on the ground?


Things only seem to be going down when the storms roll through. I havent seen much of any random closures beyond that.


----------



## MamaJJ2018

This may be old news, but my family was in magic kingdom today and Belle had an unmarked meet and greet at the Enchanted Tales cottage! It wasn’t posted in the app but we stumbled across a cast member ushering others into the line. No wait! She was in the cottage and hugged talked for a few minutes with each kid.


----------



## mom2rtk

MamaJJ2018 said:


> This may be old news, but my family was in magic kingdom today and Belle had an unmarked meet and greet at the Enchanted Tales cottage! It wasn’t posted in the app but we stumbled across a cast member ushering others into the line. No wait! She was in the cottage and hugged talked for a few minutes with each kid.


Sounds cool, but I really do wish they'd get the attraction up and going again.


----------



## melking23

MamaJJ2018 said:


> This may be old news, but my family was in magic kingdom today and Belle had an unmarked meet and greet at the Enchanted Tales cottage! It wasn’t posted in the app but we stumbled across a cast member ushering others into the line. No wait! She was in the cottage and hugged talked for a few minutes with each kid.


I loved Enchanted Tales so much.  I hope they bring it back soon although my next trip is sans kids.  I hope I get to take mine back and watch again soon.  The pictures they took of my daughter playing beast are some of my absolute favorites (minus the pacifier ).  She was last pick and right before assigning her as a dish the older child chosen for beast asked to be a dish.  She was adamant and excited for that role.  lol


----------



## Karst

So I'm no good at those trip report things, I'm just gonna give a quick breakdown of what worked strategy wise for us.

To start my family includes: my husband (disabled veteran with bad back, muscle degeneration, twisted ankles, no cartilage in one knee, refuses wheelchairs because he's too proud), myself, my 9 year old (tall enough to ride everything), my 7 year old (tall enough, but scaredy cat), and my 4 year old (about 41", daredevil). We are early morning roper droppers btw so if you're not into that, our plan is probably not for you.

*Dining*: Story Book was AMAZING. Snow White took my daughter to dance with her, the food was cooked to perfection, my husband didn't have to choose just one entree, they let him get two, kids who have a more adult palette can enjoy fish as an offering. Be Our Guest was a HUGE let down compared to this. Price was similar, but food was subpar with the filet mignon being very dry and lobster bisque tasting fishy and very little (think nonexistent) character interaction. I rate that one a skip and say go for Story Book instead! Spending $300+ for Be Our Guest left us on a bit of a sour note, although my husband and I did laugh and crack jokes about it the rest of the night.

*Now! Genie+ stuff*:

*Hollywood Studios*:

We woke up our crew at 0530, did the very short walk to Riverside West Depot- the first stop on route- and hopped on the ~0625 bus. After arriving I made my selections right at 0700: Smuggler's run @1140-1240 and RotR @13:45-14:45. We were one of the first to enter HS when they let us in at roughly 0720 to main front actual park entrance was allowed ~0745 if I remember right because we had to wait for Slinky to open at 0800.

We immediately headed to Slinky Dog, managing to be the second train out the station. Then hit toy Story mania and Mickey and Minnie's runaway railroad. My 4 year old being a Darth Vader fan, dragged us to be first in line to meet him by 0900 where she was made his apprentice and attempted to blow him a kiss, to which he smacked the kiss down with a "NO" She pouted but insisted she still loved him as we went on to meet BB8 and Chewie.

We then rode Star Tours (20 minute wait) before heading to Batuu. Our res for Olga's was 1140, same as Smuggler's, so I checked us in early and was given a table to share at the entrance by 1115. Had a blast meeting new people and had a stormtrooper try to barge in and they wouldn't let him which was funny. Btw controversial opinion but... Blue milk was gross, we preferred the carbon freezes. Ran over the smugglers run and a poor single rider was subjected to my 9 and 7 year old's pilot skills which I apologized for. **Important** 4 year old was too short to reach engineering buttons!! The sweet single rider with us reached back to flick them for her but keep in mind for small children.

By then we had over an hour before RotR, so I parked us in the shade, past the Millennium falcon there is a ledge that provides adequate shade and troopers come out of there and other characters so it's a nice waiting area, and the 4 year old and 7 year old slept while 9 year old ran off with dad to bounty hunt. When it came time we headed to RotR where 4 year old took delight in telling everyone she was Vader's apprentice and to respect her, which they did lol.

By then it was time to eat at Sci-Fi. I snagged a LL for rockin' Rollercoaster since ToT was out and we headed that direction. ToT's line was 45 minutes and ended up actually only being about 20. 4 year old LOVED it and put her hands up, 7 year old did not and was shaking like a leaf after. Then dad rode RR with 9 year old and we left at roughly 1730 or so.

*Magic Kingdom*:

Now understanding Genie+, I did waaaaay better this time lmao.

We left at roughly the same time in the morning and I made a LL for jungle cruise at 0925-1025 and ILL for dwarves 1325-1425. We then proceeded to Adventureland, not realizing that it wasn't open for early entry. So we shrugged it off, got comfy and dad went to Starbucks for cinnamon rolls and coffee while the kids giggled at ducks and bunnies and I chatted with a super fan and cast member. When the rope dropped we headed for Splash, presenting the 'return when taller' pass for the 4 year old and were allowed in the LL. We then rode Big Thunder, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, and Haunted Mansion before returning to our lunch res at Skipper's Canteen for 1140.

Here is where it got fun and a little complicated: I actually scooped up a Haunted mansion LL once boarded on Jungle Cruise that began as we were riding so we were able to head straight to it. I then booked Peter Pan for 1530 while at Haunted Mansion and headed to our lunch.

After lunch we headed towards mine train with thunder booming. We made it on just in time before thunder closed it and I snagged a res for little mermaid since two hours had passed from booking PPF. We then hopped immediately onto LM where I booked another res for Small World. At Small World I was finally barred from booking a second LL and we rode SW and PPF before I could book Winnie the Pooh for immediately after PPF. Then I booked Buzz Lightyear. We had 30 minutes or so before our buzz lightyear start time, so my 9 year old and I jumped in the 45 minute wait Space Mountain and got hubby a child swap. The line actually took about 30 minutes and after hubby rode it with 9 year old we had 20 minutes before our Buzz LL expired. We hopped on quick with dinner time BoG @1805 closing in. I then snapped up a Splash res for 2030 since lightening was making people too nervous to book outdoor LL's amd I LOVE riding it at night. After dinner we headed to Splash, where the kids played on the little playground until our res time. After, we walked on to pirates and ended our day watching fireworks from Aladdin's carpet ride (GREAT spot by the way if you have crowd sensitive children/adults)

I have never felt so GOOD after a Disney trip. Normally I'm sore and achey and tired, but we didn't wait in hardly ANY lines which allowed for a lot of rest.

I'll include some MB+ stuff in post below that I had already shared in another thread but will share here as well.


----------



## Karst

*Bounty* *Hunting*: really cool! Son played for about an hour while little sister and brother napped and we waited for our rise of resistance ILL. **Glitch maybe** make sure you CANCEL your bounty at the board prior to leaving area. Theine was long and our rise time was ready so we left and I attempted to cancel it via the app. Ended up with a buzzing and glowing MB+ the whole rise wait and ride because I could only cancel it from the board (which had a line and why we skipped past it). I reported it to guest services so hopefully there will be a fix for that soon.

*Charge*: with a full overnight charge on all phones and bands, Bluetooth and apps running our whole visit the charges lasted as follows- still full after being at HS from 0700-1730 except for Mando band, it was used for bounties so had a half charge. Phones lasted all day. Another night of full charging and off to MK we went 0700-0000. Bands outlasted my phone which died 30 minutes before park close, all other phones lasted. We did do statue interactions throughout the day.

*Statues*: hit or miss. Sometimes they triggered with a wave, sometimes when we turned the puck towards them, sometimes just because we walked by. I find that adults who are taller/have longer reach, triggered them easier than small children.

*Fireworks*: I couldn't say for sure, but I *believe* you need to be close to the main hub for this to work. We rode Aladdin's carpet ride to watch the fireworks and our bands did not light up/vibrate for the show. So if that's something important to you you may want to double check on it.

*Tip for light eaters*: at skipper's Canteen the 7 year old and 4 year old were allowed to share Mac and cheese and got two sides of volcano cakes so they both got desert for the price of one. We found them to be the best value for those little ones that can split meals


----------



## ghtx

rpmaill said:


> *Day 1 - Epcot:*
> 
> Epcot was a different strategy. Epcot has two entrances. A main entrance and a back entrance called the International Gateway. There are only a few ways to get to the IG. By skyliner, boat, or walk. This is where it wouldve been nice to be at Art of Animation (there are other hotels also that you can do this, but AOA is closes in price and quality to where we were at) because they have skyliner access which wouldve brought us to the IG. Because we were at All Star Sports, we took a Uber in the morning to the Swan and Dolphin and did a 10 minute walk to the IG. When we got there we were 2nd in line. Now why is this important? Remys Ratatouille ride is right near the IG and is one of the most popular rides at Epcot, along with Frozen, Test Track, and Guardians. As soon as we were allowed in the park we went to Remys. Meanwhile I had secured a virtual queue for Guardians and ALSO purchased a Lightning Lane for Guardians. Because these two LL options dont count toward my regular genie plus LL, I also got a LL for Frozen. We got off of Remys, hiked to Test track, went over to our sched LL at Frozen, and went to wait for our 10am ILL for Guardians. By 10 AM we rode the 4 most popular rides at Epcot! We used the remainder of the day to ride Soarin, Figment, Mission Space, Spaceship Earth, etc. The plan WAS to leave mid day and return to watch the night time show, but as the day kept flying by we found that it was already 1pm and started to rain, so we ducked out and ate there. By the time that was done we knew if we left we werent coming back, so we stayed a little longer and missed out on the night time show. My other fear was watching this show late at night and ropedropping MK the next day with a 7yo didnt seem wise, as we would have to be waiting for the bus by 7am. We ended up leaving Epcot about 4, ate supper and used the resort pool till bedtime.
> 
> This strategy worked from park to park. We would rope drop a popular ride, pay for a ILL for another, and Genie Plus a third.


Thanks this was all super-helpful!

Your Epcot day sounds just like our plan - except we aren't going to bother trying to get to the IG entrance. Instead we will aim to get a G+ LL for Remy and rope drop Test Track.  If we could get those same four rides done by 10am (or at least have LL reservations for them), that would be amazing!


----------



## heathsf

Karst said:


> My 4 year old being a Darth Vader fan, dragged us to be first in line to meet him by 0900 where she was made his apprentice and attempted to blow him a kiss, to which he smacked the kiss down with a "NO" She pouted but insisted she still loved him as we went on to meet BB8 and Chewie.


Thank you for sharing all the details of your trip. It sounds like it was a great time. 

Was becoming Vader's apprentice something special because you were the first in line to meet him for the day?


----------



## Karst

heathsf said:


> Thank you for sharing all the details of your trip. It sounds like it was a great time.
> 
> Was becoming Vader's apprentice something special because you were the first in line to meet him for the day?


I'm not sure, it was our first time meeting him 

I have a cute video of my daughter jumping up and down and him just looming over her. Think of the scene where Lottie gets all excited to dance with the "prince" in princess and the frog and that was my kiddo when Vader asked if she wanted ultimate power as his apprentice 

The look of admiration on her face after two months of waiting to meet him is just precious.


----------



## heathsf

Karst said:


> I'm not sure, it was our first time meeting him
> 
> I have a cute video of my daughter jumping up and down and him just looming over her. Think of the scene where Lottie gets all excited to dance with the "prince" in princess and the frog and that was my kiddo when Vader asked if she wanted ultimate power as his apprentice
> 
> The look of admiration on her face after two months of waiting to meet him is just precious.


LOVE this picture!!!


----------



## DSLRuser

Just had a great long weekend.....thursday night to Monday morning 6:25 am flight...yay us.  I thought the parks were not that crowded.

Genie+ and ILL made for a great three days.....

we walked 14.8, 14.1, and 12.7 miles in 3 days of park hopping.

best meal...Teppan Edo

Guardians of the Galaxy was way above my expectations.  Best new attraction since Expedition Everest in 2006.  So great, we did ILL for it each day we were there.

negatives......The contemporary hotel shows it's 50 year age......new Coates of paint and IP can't cover up all the mold and mildew....and it has to have the worst pool on property....but as they say....LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.

Next trip is in December at Animal Kingdom Lodge.


----------



## harleyquinn

Man the difference in today’s crowd at MK compared to last week is crazy. The wait times don’t seem much different, but you can actually walk without being on top of someone else. I wish we could go later into August. Stupid teacher husband!


----------



## rockabyemonkey

We were in the parks 7/29-8/6.  We've gone once a year since 2006 minus 2020.  The magic is still there, you just have to look a little harder.  Our highlights were Voices of Liberty, the Casey's Corner pianist (Grayson was AMAZING!!), Guardians ride, Lion King and Nemo, and Boma (we did breakfast and dinner, but we did have a car which made this easier coming from POP).  Not in love with either of the two new fireworks.  They just didn't grab my emotions like Happily Ever After or Wishes.  But they're worth seeing once.  We had 8 day Park Hopper plus tickets with Genie+.  My 3 boys (13-19), husband and I are pretty fast walkers so we accomplished quite a bit.  Genie+ worked well with Park Hoppers - by the time all the good rides were gone at our first park, we starting booking at our second park.  We were spontaneous with the decision for park #2, usually decided day of based on crowd levels.  

I highly recommend getting Genie+.  It's annoying to pay for something that was free, but I cannot imagine doing all the rides standby as the lines were SO long.  We did not buy ILL's and do not regret it.  We never waited more than 20-25 minutes for anything except Rise and Flights of Passage and Guardians (keep in mind the virtual queue still has a line).  We did both FOP and Rise (Rise on two different nights) in standby lines at park close and wait times were about half the posted times (posted 85, waited 45; posted 60, waited 25).  With Genie+, we frequently tapped in for a ride and immediately booked another for less than 2 hours in the future.  At AK and EP, there would be LL available with return times within 15 minutes while standby lines were over 60 minutes.  

We did end up refreshing to get rides that showed no availability a couple of times.  Once we wanted a Kali LL for 6:00 and there were non available at 4:00 - we kept refreshing and snagged a 6:30 (missed a couple of others in the 15 minutes we were refreshing).  

One recommendation that I haven't read about too often:  we had a lot of success using LL's for shows (partly due to park hopping and also bc our trip was long enough to spend multiple days at each park).  The LL seats for Nemo and Lion King were great and you are guaranteed entry without waiting in the long outdoor queue hoping you'll get in.  For each of those we arrived about 10 minutes before showtime.  Not sure if they'd have turned us away if we were later...the return time on the LL said 2:00-2:20 for a 2:30 LK and 2:00-2:15 for a 2:30 Nemo.  Also, watch the showtimes for Nemo.  We had planned on seeing the 4:30 show one afternoon right before a Boma dinner (based on the showtimes the previous day) but when we checked that morning, the latest show was 2:30 - previous day had 3:30 and 4:30.  Apparently every day is not the same.

One tip regarding water parks:  On Friday, we started our day at MK, went to Capt Cooks at 10:45 for Tonga Toast, then back to the POP to change and head to Typhoon Lagoon.  When we arrived at TL by car about 12:20 we were turned away - told that the park was at capacity.  I understand that happens, but what was irritating was the solution they offered us:  go walk around Downtown Disney for 3 hours and then come back and check.  (We're all in our swimsuits, btw).  I asked if there was a number we could call, or a way to check on the app, or if we could keep circling around, and all they could offer us was "come back later and check".  I should add that MDE never indicated that TL was closed.  The app can tell me it's time to book a mobile order when I walk past Flame Tree BBQ, but it can't notify me that an entire park is closed?  I feel like that's really not respectful of my vacation time....as if I have nothing better to do than drive back and forth to TL all afternoon.  I did try calling the # listed for TL and it ports you into the general Guest Svcs queue.  Estimated hold was 29 minutes.  So if you're planning to do a waterpark, get there early.  Not sure what to recommend if you're trying to go midday.  There's really no way to know if they're open unless you show up.  Kind of disconcerting.

Overall, a great trip...the magic is still there. You just have to look a little harder to find it. (As the fireworks song says, "you are the magic"...sounds like they're putting it back on us!)


----------



## Boopuff

rockabyemonkey said:


> When we arrived at TL by car about 12:20 we were turned away - told that the park was at capacity.


Do you know if they were allowing resort busses in? Or were they turned away as well?


----------



## rockabyemonkey

Boopuff said:


> Do you know if they were allowing resort busses in? Or were they turned away as well?


We asked that, actually, wondering if we should try that instead.  We were told that resort buses were turned away as well...they were taking people to Disney Springs or taking them back to the resort.  Ironically, at about 2:15, a big storm rolled in, so I'm guessing that cleared things out.  But by that time we had moved on to AK.  I just felt bad for people who slept in and planned on a late arrival waterpark only day (no park ticket).  I guess maybe mini golf?  Although we tried that on a different day and there was a 50 minute wait at Fantasia Gardens at around 12:30pm.  But at least they weren't turning people away!


----------



## cakebaker

rockabyemonkey said:


> We asked that, actually, wondering if we should try that instead.  We were told that resort buses were turned away as well...they were taking people to Disney Springs or taking them back to the resort.  Ironically, at about 2:15, a big storm rolled in, so I'm guessing that cleared things out.  But by that time we had moved on to AK.  I just felt bad for people who slept in and planned on a late arrival waterpark only day (no park ticket).  I guess maybe mini golf?  Although we tried that on a different day and there was a 50 minute wait at Fantasia Gardens at around 12:30pm.  But at least they weren't turning people away!


They don't provide bus service to the resorts- so unless this was a special circumstance, it had to be DS they were going to. They must've just hit capacity as I would think if they were full, they'd stop bus service as well.


----------



## rockabyemonkey

cakebaker said:


> They don't provide bus service to the resorts- so unless this was a special circumstance, it had to be DS they were going to. They must've just hit capacity as I would think if they were full, they'd stop bus service as well.


Yes, all the resort buses I saw had the digital signs saying: Disney Springs/Typhoon Lagoon.


----------



## angelinaxox

Could someone help me with pinning the rides? I have done it for previous trips and did do it for the first couple of days of our trip prior to beginning it but now I can't seem to find where and how to do it while on my trip.


----------



## NJlauren

angelinaxox said:


> Could someone help me with pinning the rides? I have done it for previous trips and did do it for the first couple of days of our trip prior to beginning it but now I can't seem to find where and how to do it while on my trip.


Pretty sure you can only do it day of now.


----------



## angelinaxox

I am doing it day of for today. And I can't find anywhere to pin the attractions. I was trying to do Slinky Dog and it didn't show. Genie+ is such a pain.


----------



## NJlauren

angelinaxox said:


> I am doing it day of for today. And I can't find anywhere to pin the attractions. I was trying to do Slinky Dog and it didn't show. Genie+ is such a pain.


I am so sorry, Except I agree it is very frustrating system


----------



## erinch

I  saw on ear scouts vlog that you cannot pin during the first half hour. A new change.


----------



## Trinity88

You can add rides to Top Picks ahead of time, for the days you will be there. Go to My Disney Genie Day, choose the day you will be at the parks (change day, upper right) and then you can add rides/attractions to your Top Picks. They won't show up for today (unless you're going to a park today), but I think will show up once your trip starts.


----------



## angelinaxox

NJlauren said:


> Pretty sure you can only do it day of now.





NJlauren said:


> I am so sorry, Except I agree it is very frustrating system



Thanks for trying to help!


----------



## angelinaxox

Trinity88 said:


> You can add rides to Top Picks ahead of time, for the days you will be there. Go to My Disney Genie Day, choose the day you will be at the parks (change day, upper right) and then you can add rides/attractions to your Top Picks. They won't show up for today (unless you're going to a park today), but I think will show up once your trip starts.



I go in there and I don't see anything that says top picks.


----------



## Miffy

Trinity88 said:


> You can add rides to Top Picks ahead of time, for the days you will be there. Go to My Disney Genie Day, choose the day you will be at the parks (change day, upper right) and then you can add rides/attractions to your Top Picks. They won't show up for today (unless you're going to a park today), but I think will show up once your trip starts.


My experience with using Genie for this purpose was that on the My Day tab, Genie kept pushing attractions and/or experiences that I wasn't interested in, and that some of these appeared above my actual plans for the day so that I had to scroll down past these unwanted recommendations in order to see what my next booked attraction was.

Yes, it works for the Tip Board, but on My Day (I think that's what that tab's called) I was inundated by suggestions and deleting them only made more unwanted recommendations appear in their place.

So I stopped using this and just scrolled down on the Tip Board instead.

Edited for clarity.


----------



## snikki

angelinaxox said:


> I go in there and I don't see anything that says top picks.



Hit Edit My Selections and follow through with the prompts and it'll take you to My Top Picks.


----------



## lovethattink

Went to Epcot yesterday around 4pm and stayed til closing. Tried the fry flight and it was very good!! They were able to make the sweet potato fries without the nut topping! So I was able to enjoy it too! 

In that little bit if time, we walked 5 miles!

Discovered that Sunshine Season food court stops serving hot food at 4pm. But coolers are available with cold prepackaged food. 

My youngest son went on Mission Space for the first time, both Orange and Green, and he liked it! We saw a cat walking on the roof of the store and he posted that on his Instagram, lol. 

It was an interesting experience meeting up with my son’s friends. My son and his two friends are autistic. They got along so well and really understood each other’s limitations. Each child had their own DAS and it took some practice to make the DAS reservations on one phone. We didn’t stay for fireworks. His friend forgot her ear phones. But we all walked out of the park happy and will go together again!

The kids did the Beverly Challenge and invented their own challenge of the BBQ flavored drink from China. (Which happens to be my favorite, but they think it belongs on chicken not in a drink, lol.)


----------



## angelinaxox

snikki said:


> Hit Edit My Selections and follow through with the prompts and it'll take you to My Top Picks.


Where does it say edit my selections? I can't find it.


----------



## snikki

angelinaxox said:


> Where does it say edit my selections? I can't find it.



Under My Disney Genie Day


----------



## DisneyFive

angelinaxox said:


> Could someone help me with pinning the rides? I have done it for previous trips and did do it for the first couple of days of our trip prior to beginning it but now I can't seem to find where and how to do it while on my trip.





angelinaxox said:


> I am doing it day of for today. And I can't find anywhere to pin the attractions. I was trying to do Slinky Dog and it didn't show. Genie+ is such a pain.



While I was in the parks last month, in the "My Day" tab, I had to use the Genie service by clicking the Get Started Now button in the box that says "Start Here to Plan Your Day".  Once I went through that process then the rides I selected would show up at the top of the "Tip Board" page.  See below.

Dan


----------



## angelinaxox

snikki said:


> Under My Disney Genie Day


I knew I  was missing something. It doesn't show edit my selections. We have had trouble with Genie+. First day I went to purchase the $ILL and it purchased genie+ instead. Second day I actually went to purchase it and it said it failed so I purchased a second time and I was double charged. I ended up at Guest Services to remove one of the charges. Now today I purchase it and it won't let me edit. I did reserve Slinky Dog. I was going to rope drop Tower of Terror but it was down this morning. Now I am just sitting here with nothing to do but wait until I can  make another lightning lane. I don't want to wait in the long lines. 

Thank you for trying to help me.


----------



## angelinaxox

DisneyFive said:


> While I was in the parks last month, in the "My Day" tab, I had to use the Genie service by clicking the Get Started Now button in the box that says "Start Here to Plan Your Day".  Once I went through that process then the rides I selected would show up at the top of the "Tip Board" page.  See below.
> 
> Dan
> View attachment 692410


Thank you so much! That finally got me to the edit button. I miss the fast pass system.


----------



## DisneyFive

angelinaxox said:


> Thank you so much! That finally got me to the edit button. I miss the fast pass system.


I know, it’s so intuitive right? LOL. I really miss FP+ too.  Have a great rest of your vacation!

Dan


----------



## angelinaxox

Thank you!


----------



## Isabelle12345

We had great success using genie+ last week!

MK, early entry 8:30
We were a group of 14 between 5-68 years old, so some slow walkers and lots of bathroom breaks!

We made it to the park around 8:10, took pictures in front of the castle and were in line on the Tomorrowland bridge around 8:22; rope dropped a few minutes before 8:30

Walked on Buzz (8:30) Dumbo (8:42), Barnstormer (8:50), Mermaid (9:00), Small World (9:20) and Mickey’s Philarmagic (9:40)

9:55 - ILL 9:15-10:15 SDMT (booked at 7)

10:30 - LL 10:15-11:15 Splash (booked at 9)

11:15 - LL 11:20-12:20 Meet Mickey and Minnie (booked around 10:30) - for this one we had a gap of 30 minutes between the 12 and 2 and we explained to the CMs at the front, and they let us all in at the same time

Lunch at pecos bills
Watched the parade from the outside seating area in Pecos Bills

12:25 - LL 12:00-13:00 Pirates (booked at 11:45)
12:30-13:30 booked LL Magic carpets x2 (booked 5 minutes before when we saw it was down - turned to anytime LL, booked another one right after so we had anytime LL x 2)
12:45 used anytime LL for big thunder 

1:30 Went to resort for a break, pool time and dinner in the room from Capt’n Cook
Stacked some LL for the evening (had to wait sometimes to get better times but never had to refresh to get those!)

5:45 made it back to the park

5:55 - LL 5:30-6:30 Peter Pan (booked around 12:30)
6:05 Carousel
6:20 - LL 5:45-6:45 Meet Tiana and Rapunzel (booked around 16:30)
6:45 - used anytime LL for Pooh
7:05 - LL 7:00-8:00 Speedway
Wanted to do people mover but it was down; stopped for some Photopass pics
7:30 - LL 7:10-8:10 Space for 11 and 7:45-8:45 meet Cinderella and Elena for 3 (booked around 14:30)

Grabbed a spot in the hub for the fireworks, ice cream break

We could have booked Dumbo, Barnstomer, Mermaid and small world with immediate return times between 7:30-9:00 but we had already done those standby in the morning Early Entry with no waits and wanted to have a good spot since there were lots of first timers

9:20 fireworks

9:50 - LL 9:15-10:00 Buzz

We had extra evening hours so went to teacups (walk on), and repeated some of the kids favorites: barnstomer (walk on), Ariel (walk on), big thunder (20 min wait) and pirates (walk on)

Took pics in front of the castle and left around 11:45, exhausted but happy!

It was an amazing day! We never could have done so much if it wasn’t for genie so I have to say, even though it sucks to pay for it, I think you can use it to your advantage!


----------



## daisylovesdisney

Isabelle12345 said:


> 5:55 - LL 5:30-6:30 Peter Pan (booked around 12:30)
> 6:05 Carousel
> 6:20 - LL 5:45-6:45 Meet Tiana and Rapunzel (booked around 16:30)



Hi, we're going in a couple of weeks and have never used the new Genie+ system before.  Is the reason you could have a LL for both 5:30-6:30p and 5:45-6:45p because they were booked so many hours apart?  I'm trying to figure out all the rules.  

Thanks!


----------



## M&E

Isabelle12345 said:


> We had great success using genie+ last week!
> 
> MK, early entry 8:30
> We were a group of 14 between 5-68 years old, so some slow walkers and lots of bathroom breaks!
> 
> We made it to the park around 8:10, took pictures in front of the castle and were in line on the Tomorrowland bridge around 8:22; rope dropped a few minutes before 8:30
> 
> Walked on Buzz (8:30) Dumbo (8:42), Barnstormer (8:50), Mermaid (9:00), Small World (9:20) and Mickey’s Philarmagic (9:40)
> 
> 9:55 - ILL 9:15-10:15 SDMT (booked at 7)
> 
> 10:30 - LL 10:15-11:15 Splash (booked at 9)
> 
> 11:15 - LL 11:20-12:20 Meet Mickey and Minnie (booked around 10:30) - for this one we had a gap of 30 minutes between the 12 and 2 and we explained to the CMs at the front, and they let us all in at the same time
> 
> Lunch at pecos bills
> Watched the parade from the outside seating area in Pecos Bills
> 
> 12:25 - LL 12:00-13:00 Pirates (booked at 11:45)
> 12:30-13:30 booked LL Magic carpets x2 (booked 5 minutes before when we saw it was down - turned to anytime LL, booked another one right after so we had anytime LL x 2)
> 12:45 used anytime LL for big thunder
> 
> 1:30 Went to resort for a break, pool time and dinner in the room from Capt’n Cook
> Stacked some LL for the evening (had to wait sometimes to get better times but never had to refresh to get those!)
> 
> 5:45 made it back to the park
> 
> 5:55 - LL 5:30-6:30 Peter Pan (booked around 12:30)
> 6:05 Carousel
> 6:20 - LL 5:45-6:45 Meet Tiana and Rapunzel (booked around 16:30)
> 6:45 - used anytime LL for Pooh
> 7:05 - LL 7:00-8:00 Speedway
> Wanted to do people mover but it was down; stopped for some Photopass pics
> 7:30 - LL 7:10-8:10 Space for 11 and 7:45-8:45 meet Cinderella and Elena for 3 (booked around 14:30)
> 
> Grabbed a spot in the hub for the fireworks, ice cream break
> 
> We could have booked Dumbo, Barnstomer, Mermaid and small world with immediate return times between 7:30-9:00 but we had already done those standby in the morning Early Entry with no waits and wanted to have a good spot since there were lots of first timers
> 
> 9:20 fireworks
> 
> 9:50 - LL 9:15-10:00 Buzz
> 
> We had extra evening hours so went to teacups (walk on), and repeated some of the kids favorites: barnstomer (walk on), Ariel (walk on), big thunder (20 min wait) and pirates (walk on)
> 
> Took pics in front of the castle and left around 11:45, exhausted but happy!
> 
> It was an amazing day! We never could have done so much if it wasn’t for genie so I have to say, even though it sucks to pay for it, I think you can use it to your advantage!


What time did you grab a spot for the fireworks? Did you have a good spot? And, if you happened to notice, at what point did it get too crowded to grab a good spot?


----------



## BlancheNeige7

Here now and will be for the month with APs purchased years ago!  We will not be using Genie+ or purchasing LL... hoping to make the most of rope-dropping headliners or hoping in line a few minutes before closing.  We are staying off-site.

*Wednesday, Epcot* 
In March Genie+ had us walking quite a bit in the park.  I admit I much preferred taking our time in each area... even if it meant some queues.  It felt more orderly and less chaotic for us. The heat can be exhausting!  Highlights of the day...

Got boarding group 41 for GotG at exactly 7am.  Called just after 10am.
TT at rope drop (wait time posted = 60 min, actual wait =25 minutes)
MS (walk on, posted 15min)
Living with the Land (8 minutes, posted 20)
Soaring (40 mins, posted 70)
Journey into Imagination (walk on, posted 15 min)
Nemo (walk on, posted 15)
Spaceship Earth (5 minutes, posted 20)
The park definitely felt much less crowded than during March Spring Break.  Today was also the first day of school for many students in the state... so maybe we were lucky?  

We left at 2:30 and decided to come back another evening when it is cooler for the World Showcase and Ratatouille.


----------



## Isabelle12345

M&E said:


> What time did you grab a spot for the fireworks? Did you have a good spot? And, if you happened to notice, at what point did it get too crowded to grab a good spot?


We went to grab a spot around 8:00 but it was a large spot for 14 people and we wanted to sit and have a snack before the fireworks
Some people came in around 8:30 for the 9:20 fireworks and were still able to get decent Spots
They had us get up around 8:50 and they started packing the hub with people so I am guessing 30 minutes before would be fine if you are not a large group


----------



## CarolynFH

daisylovesdisney said:


> Hi, we're going in a couple of weeks and have never used the new Genie+ system before.  Is the reason you could have a LL for both 5:30-6:30p and 5:45-6:45p because they were booked so many hours apart?  I'm trying to figure out all the rules.
> 
> Thanks!


I’m not the person you quoted, but I’ll say that one of the benefits of Genie+LL over FP+ is that you can overlap return windows, as that person did. Having to wait 2 hours between booking LLs does help make that possible. Last month DH and I didn’t enter MK until 6 PM, but I started in the morning booking LLs all day, so we had 5 LLs, one ILL$, and 3 standby rides between 6 and 11. And Casey’s hot dogs, too.


----------



## Isabelle12345

daisylovesdisney said:


> Hi, we're going in a couple of weeks and have never used the new Genie+ system before.  Is the reason you could have a LL for both 5:30-6:30p and 5:45-6:45p because they were booked so many hours apart?  I'm trying to figure out all the rules.
> 
> Thanks!


Some LL get to later times faster than others
Usually the most popular will be in the evening times early on and the less popular can be booked for just a few minutes away


----------



## KandyM

Our trip was July 29-Aug 7. Visited each park two days with 8 day non hopper tickets.  Used Genie plus on 5 of the days.  It was worth it (I mean, I wish it was free) but had no trouble refreshing to get every ride we wanted using Genie +.  I did not feel like I was on my phone any more than I was with Fast Pass because we were refreshers on that system too.  We roped dropped most days and rode as much as we could in the first couple hours then stacked rides for late afternoon or evening so we could take a resort break in the middle of the day.  Stacking allows you to be more strategic with your schedule so you can plan for less zig zagging through the parks.  Rode Rise both days at HS at rope drop and were on and off the ride before 8 (with early entry starting at 8).  Cosmic Rewind was the highlight of the trip.  Did virtual queue and paid for ILL for it both our Epcot days and absolutely worth it.  We had no motion sickness issues at all and we LOVED the ride.  Did see a couple people around the exit looking the worse for wear though.  I had booked us three nights in a Deluxe to get the evening extra magic hours.  I guess I would say it was worth it for Magic Kingdom but not for Epcot because lines were really short at MK during that time.   Honestly I would not do that again unless we were there during a cooler time of year though.  The heat is a killer even with an afternoon break and by the time we got to those late hours we were really too tired to make great use of it.


----------



## kgcricket

Anyone who has had a recent trip...

Are the iconic Mickey head balloons still readily available? Kind of looks like more and more regular old round balloons are taking their place.


----------



## Boardwalk III

Looking for help with a 1/2 day DHS touring plan. Up-to-date on most things Genie+, including the news about now having to wait until times are available for afternoon stacking. However haven’t been since last November so if anyone has a good booking plan for the below list of attractions I’m all ears!

- DHS on a Thurs (Oct) between about 12pm -5pm 
- 2 adults
- Top priorities are:  Slinky DD, ROTR, M&M, & Toy Story Mania
- Open to using Genie+ and an ILL$ if it makes most sense
- Mainly looking for the best order to book these in, and assume I‘ll need to do so beginning right at 7 AM  (unless one or more don’t quickly hit afternoon times)

Many thanks in advance to all you experts!


----------



## KrazeeK120

We were there July 31-Aug 6.

We tried to do late hours at Epcot on Aug 1, but it was a monsoon. I thought maybe I needed to consult Noah to get ark-building instructions. We (maybe not smartly) got in line for FEA at park close. We rode it, and buckets of water were falling from the sky when we came out. Of course, we were staying at Beach Club and had to walk ALLLLL the way around World Showcase. There were cast members standing at the doorway handing out towels as people were coming in. We had ponchos, so only our feet were completely soaked, but that was not a pleasant walk, especially for my 6 year old!

The next evening, we got caught in rain again (didn’t learn our lesson, I guess) at DHS. We went to the bus stop and it was MOBBED. The rest of the bus stops were…not. For whatever reason, they weren’t dispatching many busses for the Epcot resorts. It appeared some people had been waiting for a long time. I ended up requesting a Minnie Van, which arrived in 7 minutes. Expensive ride, but worth it to not be standing in a crowd of angry, wet people. I don’t know how long it took for them to get home!

Late hours at MK on 8/3 went much better.

We did early entry twice. One morning, we went to Ratatouille first. It was down. So then we went to FEA. We were in line to board (one party ahead of us going into the next boat and then we would follow in the boat after that) and it went down. We did get an anytime LL for that ride, so that was nice. But we ate up almost the entire early entry time and hadn’t done any run g except walk to broken rides.

Another day, we did early entry for MK and went to Peter Pan’s flight. It was down. My son wanted to ride small world so that’s how we utilized our Early Entry time that day.

On the way home, our flight from Atlanta to Orlando was significantly delayed, so we missed our connecting flight home. We stayed in Atlanta overnight and took a flight to O’Hare the next morning, about a 2 hour drive for us. We rented a car and drove home.

Other than that, it was a great trip!

In all honesty, we really did have fun. We ate at Liberty Tree Tavern and CRT (never done those before) and loved them both. The Runaway Railway, Ratatouille, and the Star Wars rides were new for us and were a lot of fun. (My son didn’t want to ride GotG.)

My son is already planning a return trip for next year so…we’ll see!!


----------



## NJlauren

Boardwalk III said:


> Looking for help with a 1/2 day DHS touring plan. Up-to-date on most things Genie+, including the news about now having to wait until times are available for afternoon stacking. However haven’t been since last November so if anyone has a good booking plan for the below list of attractions I’m all ears!
> 
> - DHS on a Thurs (Oct) between about 12pm -5pm
> - 2 adults
> - Top priorities are:  Slinky DD, ROTR, M&M, & Toy Story Mania
> - Open to using Genie+ and an ILL$ if it makes most sense
> - Mainly looking for the best order to book these in, and assume I‘ll need to do so beginning right at 7 AM  (unless one or more don’t quickly hit afternoon times)
> 
> Many thanks in advance to all you experts!


So im not an expert but everything I read says this is going to be hard.  Using genie I would book Slinky first genie, then ROTR using ILL, after 2 hours book M&M, and then I would plan on trying for toy story mania or waiting in line for that.

However this thread https://www.disboards.com/threads/e...ng-lane-please-read-posts-1-7.3856734/page-87

Will be way more helpful


----------



## dizneyfiend

We just got back from a trip and I have thoughts. I need to organize them and collect myself before sharing because I don’t want to rant. But yeah, my heart sank last week. 

I’ve been a Disney fan since 1977 when I was seven and my mother somehow scratched together the money to take my cousin and I. I continually drag my family back even though we could be spending our hard earned vacation money elsewhere. When I think of the places we could’ve seen by now! But that was my choice and I don’t blame Disney in any way. The Magic and the way I feel in my soul when I’m there truly sustains me. 

But the money grabs have become too much to take. Cutting down on Early Magic hours, resort guest perks in general, and charging extra just to experience the place we’ve spent hundreds per person to get into?? It’s not like those gates open for free. 

Welp I’m ranting ha! I better step away for a bit.


----------



## Her Dotness

I understand, believe me.

We knew our return last fall would be really different because so much had changed.

What we weren't prepared for was how stressed and sometimes sad CMs appeared. A number of them looked exhausted.

And no matter how we tried to have a good time, it was difficult with so many changes that we felt cheapened the experience. There were magical moments, but not nearly as many as we were accustomed to. It was disappointing.

We decided to travel elsewhere this year, hoping that by next spring the magic will have been revived somewhat.


----------



## The Foolish Mortal

Her Dotness said:


> I understand, believe me.
> 
> We knew our return last fall would be really different because so much had changed.
> 
> What we weren't prepared for was how stressed and sometimes sad CMs appeared. A number of them looked exhausted.
> 
> And no matter how we tried to have a good time, it was difficult with so many changes that we felt cheapened the experience. There were magical moments, but not nearly as many as we were accustomed to. It was disappointing.
> 
> We decided to travel elsewhere this year, hoping that by next spring the magic will have been revived somewhat.


FWIW, I think the CM morale has improved since last fall. I noticed it last year too and attributed it to more stress on the job. But I have been four times this year and other than one horrible incident with a security personnel at DS, all of the CM I have encountered have seemed to be in better moods and performing at a level more akin to a few years ago


----------



## Boardwalk III

NJlauren said:


> So im not an expert but everything I read says this is going to be hard.  Using genie I would book Slinky first genie, then ROTR using ILL, after 2 hours book M&M, and then I would plan on trying for toy story mania or waiting in line for that.
> 
> However this thread https://www.disboards.com/threads/e...ng-lane-please-read-posts-1-7.3856734/page-87
> 
> Will be way more helpful


Thanks so much. I meant to post this on the Genie tips forum.  So appreciate your jumping in! I’ll check out the thread, and really appreciate the thoughts.


----------



## Ricguz

dizneyfiend said:


> We just got back from a trip and I have thoughts. I need to organize them and collect myself before sharing because I don’t want to rant. But yeah, my heart sank last week.
> 
> I’ve been a Disney fan since 1977 when I was seven and my mother somehow scratched together the money to take my cousin and I. I continually drag my family back even though we could be spending our hard earned vacation money elsewhere. When I think of the places we could’ve seen by now! But that was my choice and I don’t blame Disney in any way. The Magic and the way I feel in my soul when I’m there truly sustains me.
> 
> But the money grabs have become too much to take. Cutting down on Early Magic hours, resort guest perks in general, and charging extra just to experience the place we’ve spent hundreds per person to get into?? It’s not like those gates open for free.
> 
> Welp I’m ranting ha! I better step away for a bit.


I definitely understand. This next trip in December will be our 12 or so Disney Trip. I love the ambiance, magical memories of Disney  but I fear from what I read and what I see on You Tube that we will be disappointed. So my take is going to be this. I am staying at my favorite report YC CL with WV. I love the pool so that won’t change. If Genie plus gets me crazy then I am going to enjoy the Christmas decorations, Christmas party at MK and Candlelight Procession and the Holiday goodies at Epcot. 
If we get on the rides we want great if not then I have the rest to fall back on. But I am promising myself that I am not going to get crazy if it does not work out because of the management money grab. I feel bad for the parents and children who dish out all this money and have to go through hoops to have a good time. I’m older so I have done that when Disney times were better suited for the guest and cast members. I hope things turn around but the CEO just said that they will raise prices if needed. Awful.


----------



## gottalovepluto

The Foolish Mortal said:


> FWIW, I think the CM morale has improved since last fall. I noticed it last year too and attributed it to more stress on the job. But I have been four times this year and other than one horrible incident with a security personnel at DS, all of the CM I have encountered have seemed to be in better moods and performing at a level more akin to a few years ago


I’ve only a couple trips so far this year but I second this! Moral has vastly improved over last year, it’s been great to see the CMs happy again!


----------



## NavyDad

Ricguz said:


> I definitely understand. This next trip in December will be our 12 or so Disney Trip. I love the ambiance, magical memories of Disney  but I fear from what I read and what I see on You Tube that we will be disappointed. So my take is going to be this. I am staying at my favorite report YC CL with WV. I love the pool so that won’t change. If Genie plus gets me crazy then I am going to enjoy the Christmas decorations, Christmas party at MK and Candlelight Procession and the Holiday goodies at Epcot.
> If we get on the rides we want great if not then I have the rest to fall back on. But I am promising myself that I am not going to get crazy if it does not work out because of the management money grab. I feel bad for the parents and children who dish out all this money and have to go through hoops to have a good time. I’m older so I have done that when Disney times were better suited for the guest and cast members. I hope things turn around but the CEO just said that they will raise prices if needed. Awful.


We have taken our kids to WDW many times since 2009. We had our daughter and one of her friends with us in April during Spring Break. We had far less hoops to jump through this year with Genie Plus than we ever had with the old legacy system or even FP+ and we were able to ride way more rides without any waiting than during any previous trip. I had warned my wife and daughter that with the new systems in place we may not get to ride as much as we did in the past and that this would probably be our last WDW trip for MANY years. Well, after our MK day and our DHS days spent riding back to back to back rides all day, they just laughed at me and said I was being dramatic with my doom and gloom predictions.

Now, obviously Disney has gotten much more expensive. Every person and/or family has to look at the price and make that decision if it's a good value for them. Going to WDW has always been expensive. I grew up in the 80's and 90's in a middle class family and my parents couldn't afford to take us to WDW. Out of all the people I went to school with in PA, only 1 or 2 families I knew could afford to go to WDW. It's always been expensive and unfortunately it seems like everything has gotten much more expensive everywhere the last few years. A house that we rented on the Outer Banks of NC for $3000 a week in 2008 was $6000 a week in 2018 and this summer it was almost $12,000 for the same week. We didn't book it this year because of the cost but I looked at the availability calendar and it's booked the whole summer with a couple of weeks costing nearly $15,000. Somehow people are paying these crazy prices and since people are paying them, the reality companies at the beach and the execs at Disney are going to keep raising the prices.


----------



## DisneyFive

NavyDad said:


> We have taken our kids to WDW many times since 2009. We had our daughter and one of her friends with us in April during Spring Break. We had far less hoops to jump through this year with Genie Plus than we ever had with the old legacy system or even FP+ and we were able to ride way more rides without any waiting than during any previous trip. I had warned my wife and daughter that with the new systems in place we may not get to ride as much as we did in the past and that this would probably be our last WDW trip for MANY years. Well, after our MK day and our DHS days spent riding back to back to back rides all day, they just laughed at me and said I was being dramatic with my doom and gloom predictions.
> 
> Now, obviously Disney has gotten much more expensive. Every person and/or family has to look at the price and make that decision if it's a good value for them. Going to WDW has always been expensive. I grew up in the 80's and 90's in a middle class family and my parents couldn't afford to take us to WDW. Out of all the people I went to school with in PA, only 1 or 2 families I knew could afford to go to WDW. It's always been expensive and unfortunately it seems like everything has gotten much more expensive everywhere the last few years. A house that we rented on the Outer Banks of NC for $3000 a week in 2008 was $6000 a week in 2018 and this summer it was almost $12,000 for the same week. We didn't book it this year because of the cost but I looked at the availability calendar and it's booked the whole summer with a couple of weeks costing nearly $15,000. Somehow people are paying these crazy prices and since people are paying them, the reality companies at the beach and the execs at Disney are going to keep raising the prices.


I was in the same boat in the 80's.  No way could we afford a Disney trip.  Also, we lived in Michigan but my parents grew up in Wisconsin and Minnesota so ALL of our vacation time was driving to see family.   It's just how it was back then.  The ONE family vacation we did as kids was camping through the Black hills area and around Yellowstone.  It was amazing.

Yeah, one thing I need to remind myself about Disney in the 80's is that there were only two parks all the way until '89 when MGM opened.  Not as many kids went because it wasn't the "world" it is now with the 4 parks and many more resorts.

You're right about costs.  Our cruises (non Disney) tend to only be a little less costly than Disney, but not by much.  About the same per diem actually.  Regardless, both are very expensive, but of the two, Disney has been increasing at a MUCH faster pace.

Dan


----------



## dizneyfiend

NavyDad said:


> We have taken our kids to WDW many times since 2009. We had our daughter and one of her friends with us in April during Spring Break. We had far less hoops to jump through this year with Genie Plus than we ever had with the old legacy system or even FP+ and we were able to ride way more rides without any waiting than during any previous trip. I had warned my wife and daughter that with the new systems in place we may not get to ride as much as we did in the past and that this would probably be our last WDW trip for MANY years. Well, after our MK day and our DHS days spent riding back to back to back rides all day, they just laughed at me and said I was being dramatic with my doom and gloom predictions.
> 
> Now, obviously Disney has gotten much more expensive. Every person and/or family has to look at the price and make that decision if it's a good value for them. Going to WDW has always been expensive. I grew up in the 80's and 90's in a middle class family and my parents couldn't afford to take us to WDW. Out of all the people I went to school with in PA, only 1 or 2 families I knew could afford to go to WDW. It's always been expensive and unfortunately it seems like everything has gotten much more expensive everywhere the last few years. A house that we rented on the Outer Banks of NC for $3000 a week in 2008 was $6000 a week in 2018 and this summer it was almost $12,000 for the same week. We didn't book it this year because of the cost but I looked at the availability calendar and it's booked the whole summer with a couple of weeks costing nearly $15,000. Somehow people are paying these crazy prices and since people are paying them, the reality companies at the beach and the execs at Disney are going to keep raising the prices.


Totally agree- Disney is most definitely a luxury item. It’s always been this way. But I can’t help but feel charging us to actually have a decent day in the parks that we’ve spent hundreds to even enter is going too far. Hotels are up, food is up, I get it. Yes families have to weigh out what they can do but come on, I have to shell out another $100 per day so that we have a shot at getting on rides? It’s too much and feels like a shoulder shrug. So what loyal customer; everyone is raising prices so we will too. Especially when they don’t have to do it.


----------



## dizneyfiend

Ricguz said:


> I definitely understand. This next trip in December will be our 12 or so Disney Trip. I love the ambiance, magical memories of Disney  but I fear from what I read and what I see on You Tube that we will be disappointed. So my take is going to be this. I am staying at my favorite report YC CL with WV. I love the pool so that won’t change. If Genie plus gets me crazy then I am going to enjoy the Christmas decorations, Christmas party at MK and Candlelight Procession and the Holiday goodies at Epcot.
> If we get on the rides we want great if not then I have the rest to fall back on. But I am promising myself that I am not going to get crazy if it does not work out because of the management money grab. I feel bad for the parents and children who dish out all this money and have to go through hoops to have a good time. I’m older so I have done that when Disney times were better suited for the guest and cast members. I hope things turn around but the CEO just said that they will raise prices if needed. Awful.


I’m no economic genius but am I missing something? Are the new attractions and hotels causing the money grabs to be super blatant? I’m desperately trying to give Disney the benefit of the doubt. Why would the CEO entertain raising prices even more?


----------



## NJlauren

dizneyfiend said:


> I’m no economic genius but am I missing something? Are the new attractions and hotels causing the money grabs to be super blatant? I’m desperately trying to give Disney the benefit of the doubt. Why would the CEO entertain raising prices even more?


I saw a pretty good analysis on this the other day.  

But basically the parks are to crowded as it is, the only fix at the moment is higher prices, and pricing people out.

If they lowered prices more people would go, and more people would be disappointed because the parks and hotels are packed.

I don’t necessarily agree with this 100%. But the concept is pretty on par with macro economics.

The current environment is showing price is to low, if you raise prices demand goes down, and in this case theoretically they  make the same amount of money.


----------



## WDWvet

My crew- 2 adults, 3 teens.  POR from 8/4-8/7 and YC from 8/7-8/16.  8 park days- 1 AK, 2 HS, 2 MK, 3 EP. We had G+ every day, used ILL every day, and rope dropped every day by arriving 30-60 minutes before each early entry time. We also had MK  extended evenings 1 time and 2 times at EP. 

This post is not pro nor anti G+ or ILL. This is just to report what happened to us. 

The combination of strategic planning, luck, single rider line, G+, ILL, and Early Entry allowed us to ride literally everything we wanted to with extremely low waits.  We waited 0-15 minutes per ride, the only exception being Guardian's virtual queue, we did 3 virtual queues, with waits of 60, 45, 40.   

Before I begin, we got incredibly lucky this trip with the weather, it rained every day, but we were either eating a meal, napping, at a show, or doing something else indoors, we got wet from rain once and dealt with no closures for rain/lighting either, again, there were closures but none that impacted us whatsoever, pure luck! 

The basic plan was very simple:

1. Wake at 6:45
2. Use G+ to book headliner ride
3. Use G+ to book a ILL (FOP, 7DMT, ROTR, Guardians)
4. Immediately go to the park 
5. At early entry rope drop ride headliner of our choice
6. Do headliner rides in order of importance until
7. Early entry time expires, then go to higher capacity lower wait shows and rides until 5 minutes before first LL return time
8. At 5 minutes before the return time opens, tap into first LL, sometimes second tap point, then  
9. Immediately book the next LL for a ride with a close return window, 0-30 minutes away. 
10. Repeat steps 8-9, until return windows start to push out further, then I'd start stacking for late afternoon and evening. 
11. Use our ILL during the return window we selected.  

Using this method, we'd routinely hit 2, sometimes 3 rides in the 30 minutes of Early Entry and then use G+ to get LL for 2-7 rides throughout the day. We maxed out at 7 LL in MK.    Sometimes, we'd skip hundred of people at something like Splash, other times, it was 40 people at Carpets, all told, using G+ saved us hours and hours.  We'd use our ILL within the return window we selected. 

Single rider allowed us to re-ride Everest, RNR, MFSR, Test Track multiple times.  My kids rode Everest 6 times in a row, crazy. 

Rope dropping allowed us to ride the headliners at least twice, once at rope drop in the standby line and once with ILL.  We did Guardians 6 times-3 virtual queue, and 3 ILL.  ROTR 4 times- 2 rope drop standby, 2 ILL.  FOP twice-1 rope drop standby, 1 ILL.  7DMT 4 times-2 rope drop standby, 2 ILL.   

Extended evening hours did little to nothing for us, by the time the extended evening hours came, we had already gone on everything we wanted, and waking at 6:45 made getting the most out of evening hours very difficult.  

While I hate paying all that extra money for G+ and ILL, it really made touring the parks a breeze.  We ended up with hours and hours of free time out of lines, we used this time for extra pool time, re-riding, and exploring the parks in-depth. 

The one big-time thing that we did not plan for was the fact that no waiting means more walking, we were on the move more than ever. For example, we walked from 7DMT, to BTMRR, to Splash, to Pirates, to Space, to Dumbo in what felt like a blink of the eye. We topped over 125 miles walked for the entire trip.  I had blisters on 6 toes and my knees ached, I loved it. 

Any questions? I'm happy to help.


----------



## GoofyDad_4427

NJlauren said:


> The current environment is showing price is to low, if you raise prices demand goes down, and in this case theoretically they  make the same amount of money.


They actually profit more because revenue would stay the same but they would have lower expenses (less customers means less staff).


----------



## NJlauren

GoofyDad_4427 said:


> They actually profit more because revenue would stay the same but they would have lower expenses (less customers means less staff).


But they would sell less at the higher price point.


----------



## dizneyfiend

NJlauren said:


> I saw a pretty good analysis on this the other day.
> 
> But basically the parks are to crowded as it is, the only fix at the moment is higher prices, and pricing people out.
> 
> If they lowered prices more people would go, and more people would be disappointed because the parks and hotels are packed.
> 
> I don’t necessarily agree with this 100%. But the concept is pretty on par with macro economics.
> 
> The current environment is showing price is to low, if you raise prices demand goes down, and in this case theoretically they  make the same amount of money.


Oh my goodness…is this really the reason? And yet we keep coming ha!! It’s not working very well!


----------



## NJlauren

dizneyfiend said:


> Oh my goodness…is this really the reason? And yet we keep coming ha!! It’s not working very well!


I mean we have all proven it’s not really working, they keep making it more money and we keep going.

5th gate maybe would help but I don’t think that’s happening, and frankly even if it was it’s years away.  So until more people reach the breaking point, I don’t expect prices to stop rising.


----------



## Forevermarypoppins

WDWvet said:


> My crew- 2 adults, 3 teens.  POR from 8/4-8/7 and YC from 8/7-8/16.  8 park days- 1 AK, 2 HS, 2 MK, 3 EP. We had G+ every day, used ILL every day, and rope dropped every day by arriving 30-60 minutes before each early entry time. We also had MK  extended evenings 1 time and 2 times at EP.
> 
> This post is not pro nor anti G+ or ILL. This is just to report what happened to us.
> 
> The combination of strategic planning, luck, single rider line, G+, ILL, and Early Entry allowed us to ride literally everything we wanted to with extremely low waits.  We waited 0-15 minutes per ride, the only exception being Guardian's virtual queue, we did 3 virtual queues, with waits of 60, 45, 40.
> 
> Before I begin, we got incredibly lucky this trip with the weather, it rained every day, but we were either eating a meal, napping, at a show, or doing something else indoors, we got wet from rain once and dealt with no closures for rain/lighting either, again, there were closures but none that impacted us whatsoever, pure luck!
> 
> The basic plan was very simple:
> 
> 1. Wake at 6:45
> 2. Use G+ to book headliner ride
> 3. Use G+ to book a ILL (FOP, 7DMT, ROTR, Guardians)
> 4. Immediately go to the park
> 5. At early entry rope drop ride headliner of our choice
> 6. Do headliner rides in order of importance until
> 7. Early entry time expires, then go to higher capacity lower wait shows and rides until 5 minutes before first LL return time
> 8. At 5 minutes before the return time opens, tap into first LL, sometimes second tap point, then
> 9. Immediately book the next LL for a ride with a close return window, 0-30 minutes away.
> 10. Repeat steps 8-9, until return windows start to push out further, then I'd start stacking for late afternoon and evening.
> 11. Use our ILL during the return window we selected.
> 
> Using this method, we'd routinely hit 2, sometimes 3 rides in the 30 minutes of Early Entry and then use G+ to get LL for 2-7 rides throughout the day. We maxed out at 7 LL in MK.    Sometimes, we'd skip hundred of people at something like Splash, other times, it was 40 people at Carpets, all told, using G+ saved us hours and hours.  We'd use our ILL within the return window we selected.
> 
> Single rider allowed us to re-ride Everest, RNR, MFSR, Test Track multiple times.  My kids rode Everest 6 times in a row, crazy.
> 
> Rope dropping allowed us to ride the headliners at least twice, once at rope drop in the standby line and once with ILL.  We did Guardians 6 times-3 virtual queue, and 3 ILL.  ROTR 4 times- 2 rope drop standby, 2 ILL.  FOP twice-1 rope drop standby, 1 ILL.  7DMT 4 times-2 rope drop standby, 2 ILL.
> 
> Extended evening hours did little to nothing for us, by the time the extended evening hours came, we had already gone on everything we wanted, and waking at 6:45 made getting the most out of evening hours very difficult.
> 
> While I hate paying all that extra money for G+ and ILL, it really made touring the parks a breeze.  We ended up with hours and hours of free time out of lines, we used this time for extra pool time, re-riding, and exploring the parks in-depth.
> 
> The one big-time thing that we did not plan for was the fact that no waiting means more walking, we were on the move more than ever. For example, we walked from 7DMT, to BTMRR, to Splash, to Pirates, to Space, to Dumbo in what felt like a blink of the eye. We topped over 125 miles walked for the entire trip.  I had blisters on 6 toes and my knees ached, I loved it.
> 
> Any questions? I'm happy to help.



It's incredible your luck with the rain! Great that all the planning worked to your advantage too! I'm happy to read of your positive experience.

But I got anxiety reading all the things you had to do to get to your next ride/attraction. Head down, phone on I assume! I'm not a "younger" guest. I hate change and honestly the entire G+ and ILL keep me from committing to another WDW vacation.


----------



## lovethattink

Please remember this is for talking about your experiences at Disney, not about Disney’s higher prices. If you would like to discuss prices, please take it to the Theme park Community board instead.


----------



## dizneyfiend

lovethattink said:


> Please remember this is for talking about your experiences at Disney, not about Disney’s higher prices. If you would like to discuss prices, please take it to the Theme park Community board instead.


I apologize. Will do!


----------



## WDWvet

Forevermarypoppins said:


> It's incredible your luck with the rain! Great that all the planning worked to your advantage too! I'm happy to read of your positive experience.
> 
> But I got anxiety reading all the things you had to do to get to your next ride/attraction. Head down, phone on I assume! I'm not a "younger" guest. I hate change and honestly the entire G+ and ILL keep me from committing to another WDW vacation.


I know  it sounds like a lot but, it was literally 10-15 minutes in the morning and then 2 minutes each time your booking window opens up.  Once you get the hang of it, it’s super easy.


----------



## DisneyFive

WDWvet said:


> My crew- 2 adults, 3 teens.  POR from 8/4-8/7 and YC from 8/7-8/16.  8 park days- 1 AK, 2 HS, 2 MK, 3 EP. We had G+ every day, used ILL every day, and rope dropped every day by arriving 30-60 minutes before each early entry time. We also had MK  extended evenings 1 time and 2 times at EP.
> 
> This post is not pro nor anti G+ or ILL. This is just to report what happened to us.
> 
> The combination of strategic planning, luck, single rider line, G+, ILL, and Early Entry allowed us to ride literally everything we wanted to with extremely low waits.  We waited 0-15 minutes per ride, the only exception being Guardian's virtual queue, we did 3 virtual queues, with waits of 60, 45, 40.
> 
> Before I begin, we got incredibly lucky this trip with the weather, it rained every day, but we were either eating a meal, napping, at a show, or doing something else indoors, we got wet from rain once and dealt with no closures for rain/lighting either, again, there were closures but none that impacted us whatsoever, pure luck!
> 
> The basic plan was very simple:
> 
> 1. Wake at 6:45
> 2. Use G+ to book headliner ride
> 3. Use G+ to book a ILL (FOP, 7DMT, ROTR, Guardians)
> 4. Immediately go to the park
> 5. At early entry rope drop ride headliner of our choice
> 6. Do headliner rides in order of importance until
> 7. Early entry time expires, then go to higher capacity lower wait shows and rides until 5 minutes before first LL return time
> 8. At 5 minutes before the return time opens, tap into first LL, sometimes second tap point, then
> 9. Immediately book the next LL for a ride with a close return window, 0-30 minutes away.
> 10. Repeat steps 8-9, until return windows start to push out further, then I'd start stacking for late afternoon and evening.
> 11. Use our ILL during the return window we selected.
> 
> Using this method, we'd routinely hit 2, sometimes 3 rides in the 30 minutes of Early Entry and then use G+ to get LL for 2-7 rides throughout the day. We maxed out at 7 LL in MK.    Sometimes, we'd skip hundred of people at something like Splash, other times, it was 40 people at Carpets, all told, using G+ saved us hours and hours.  We'd use our ILL within the return window we selected.
> 
> Single rider allowed us to re-ride Everest, RNR, MFSR, Test Track multiple times.  My kids rode Everest 6 times in a row, crazy.
> 
> Rope dropping allowed us to ride the headliners at least twice, once at rope drop in the standby line and once with ILL.  We did Guardians 6 times-3 virtual queue, and 3 ILL.  ROTR 4 times- 2 rope drop standby, 2 ILL.  FOP twice-1 rope drop standby, 1 ILL.  7DMT 4 times-2 rope drop standby, 2 ILL.
> 
> Extended evening hours did little to nothing for us, by the time the extended evening hours came, we had already gone on everything we wanted, and waking at 6:45 made getting the most out of evening hours very difficult.
> 
> While I hate paying all that extra money for G+ and ILL, it really made touring the parks a breeze.  We ended up with hours and hours of free time out of lines, we used this time for extra pool time, re-riding, and exploring the parks in-depth.
> 
> The one big-time thing that we did not plan for was the fact that no waiting means more walking, we were on the move more than ever. For example, we walked from 7DMT, to BTMRR, to Splash, to Pirates, to Space, to Dumbo in what felt like a blink of the eye. We topped over 125 miles walked for the entire trip.  I had blisters on 6 toes and my knees ached, I loved it.
> 
> Any questions? I'm happy to help.


Looks like you were there 12 nights with 8 park days, which helps me understand how you were able to get up so early every park day.  No way we could keep up that pace how we do it which is a park each day, despite being healthy and able.

Sounds like a fully fulfilled trip! 

Dan


----------



## Plan Man

Excellent plan and execution!!  We are going in early September and will follow your plan.  It all makes sense especially the stacking after r return times get later.  We always commando in morning and leave when park gets really busy so that will work well for us.   One question.  You say you picked one headliner for your first G+ selection. What were some of the return times?  If they were later in morning it would impact this approach in terms of the second G+ selection.


----------



## a1tinkfans

Omg I was exhausted just reading the trip report lol. Those commando days are long gone for us.  I want to relax and just Take It All In on park days. It’s been 3 years and our first trip back. I don’t want to be looking at a phone continually or trying to finagle rides. I think we ll be doing a bit of meandering and grab a few rides as the lines dictate. No Have To Do’s. 

But… This brought back some fun zany memories of past  visits with extended family, Groups… oh the memories. So many Firsts at Disney. 

 Thx for sharing OP. Sounds like you had a great time!!


----------



## Forevermarypoppins

Thanks and hopefully I'll get on board and visit soon. I didn't like the FP changes  either and did ok afterwards.


----------



## WDWvet

Plan Man said:


> Excellent plan and execution!!  We are going in early September and will follow your plan.  It all makes sense especially the stacking after r return times get later.  We always commando in morning and leave when park gets really busy so that will work well for us.   One question.  You say you picked one headliner for your first G+ selection. What were some of the return times?  If they were later in morning it would impact this approach in terms of the second G+ selection.


Our 1st return times typically started between 9-10, meaning the return window opened at a time between 9-10, not that our window was 9-10.  For example, our Test Track window on our 1st Epcot day was 9:30-10:30.


----------



## Riss

kgcricket said:


> Anyone who has had a recent trip...
> 
> Are the iconic Mickey head balloons still readily available? Kind of looks like more and more regular old round balloons are taking their place.



While we weren’t there super recently, we were there at the end of May, my youngest sister was on the search for the iconic Mickey head balloons for my nephews birthday pictures and was told that no one had them in any park or location due to shipping delays. I guess they essentially ran out. I don’t know what their current state is


----------



## itf

Right. Day 1 of 14, 2 adults one child, G+ everyday. Offsite. Snagged 8:35-9:35 space mountain and heading to the parks now. Will book 7DMT in the Lyft over and try and update as we go. Hoping an early first selection keeps me ahead of the crowd all day.

7DMT for 11:30 and could have got earlier. Looking ok!

Space is down for now so walked on space ranger

Buzz broke down on us and our space mountain is now an anytime. Got an immediate g+ for pirates so headed there

Big thunder g+ secured for lunchtime so now standby  for jungle cruise (posted 30 barely 10)

7DMT down so that’s recovery too 

Barnstormer and teacups ticked off

Walked on mermaid

People outside trying to drum up walk ins for be our guest

Big thunder done just waiting for LL for Splash, then will eat, do space and seven dwarves and haunted mansion and it’s back to the resort. Not a bad job for a “short” party day.

Having genie just decimated MK on a slow day, my most frequent problem has been return times too soon. If it wasn’t for Seven Dwarves and space being down we’d be nearly done!

As a side note Apple Watch as magic band has been seamless and I’ll likely leave my band at home for the rest of the trip


----------



## kgcricket

Riss said:


> While we weren’t there super recently, we were there at the end of May, my youngest sister was on the search for the iconic Mickey head balloons for my nephews birthday pictures and was told that no one had them in any park or location due to shipping delays. I guess they essentially ran out. I don’t know what their current state is


Thank you so much for this info. What a bummer.


----------



## itf

For all that it’s been a very easy day. We’ve had two rides malfunction (haunted mansion and buzz) and two lightning lanes converted (space and 7 dwarves) which is pretty poor.


----------



## DisneyFive

itf said:


> Right. Day 1 of 14, 2 adults one child, G+ everyday. Offsite. Snagged 8:35-9:35 space mountain and heading to the parks now. Will book 7DMT in the Lyft over and try and update as we go. Hoping an early first selection keeps me ahead of the crowd all day.
> 
> 7DMT for 11:30 and could have got earlier. Looking ok!
> 
> Space is down for now so walked on space ranger
> 
> Buzz broke down on us and our space mountain is now an anytime. Got an immediate g+ for pirates so headed there
> 
> Big thunder g+ secured for lunchtime so now standby  for jungle cruise (posted 30 barely 10)
> 
> 7DMT down so that’s recovery too
> 
> Barnstormer and teacups ticked off
> 
> Walked on mermaid
> 
> People outside trying to drum up walk ins for be our guest
> 
> Big thunder done just waiting for LL for Splash, then will eat, do space and seven dwarves and haunted mansion and it’s back to the resort. Not a bad job for a “short” party day.
> 
> Having genie just decimated MK on a slow day, my most frequent problem has been return times too soon. If it wasn’t for Seven Dwarves and space being down we’d be nearly done!
> 
> As a side note Apple Watch as magic band has been seamless and I’ll likely leave my band at home for the rest of the trip


Sounds like an awesome day!

I’m curious, when Space went down during your G+, did the Anytime G+ include Space Mountain as an option? Normally it does not include Space, PP, JC or 7DMT but I am wondering if it does include Space if that is the ride you were on when it went down.

Thanks.  -Dan


----------



## itf

DisneyFive said:


> Sounds like an awesome day!
> 
> I’m curious, when Space went down during your G+, did the Anytime G+ include Space Mountain as an option? Normally it does not include Space, PP, JC or 7DMT but I am wondering if it does include Space if that is the ride you were on when it went down.
> 
> Thanks.  -Dan



It must have done we never thought about it and it went green when we tapped in


----------



## melking23

DisneyFive said:


> Sounds like an awesome day!
> 
> I’m curious, when Space went down during your G+, did the Anytime G+ include Space Mountain as an option? Normally it does not include Space, PP, JC or 7DMT but I am wondering if it does include Space if that is the ride you were on when it went down.
> 
> Thanks.  -Dan


It likely included Space and any rides lesser in “value”.


----------



## DisneyByMarriage

I’m headed to OKW tomorrow but planning on heading straight to Typhoon lagoon.  Do I still need to be there early and if the park opens at 10 can we get into lot around 9?  We’d rather not go to the hotel first because we know the room won’t be ready.


----------



## Good&Plenty

Popped over at 2 pm from Universal yesterday to start our five day WDW trip. We're staying at a Hilton that allows early entry.

Did the following six rides from 2:30pm to 6:45pm and then left. I booked the last two while I was in the park.

7:00am - Booked SDD for 5:30pm (refreshed for a minute to get that time).
8:30am - Booked Rise for 6:30pm
10:30am - Booked Tower of Terror for 2:30pm
12:30pm - Booked Mickey Runaway for 3:30pm
2:30pm - Booked Millennium Falcon for 6:00pm
4:30pm - Booked Toy Story Mania for 5:30pm

Set alarms on my phone to remind me when to book. The rides lined up so that we were able to minimize criss crossing the park. Watched Indiana Jones at 4:30pm to pass time. While waiting for the show to start, put in a mobile order at Woody's. It was a fantastic day.


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## lorileahb

Good&Plenty said:


> Popped over at 2 pm from Universal yesterday to start our five day WDW trip. We're staying at a Hilton that allows early entry.
> 
> Did the following six rides from 2:30pm to 6:45pm and then left. I booked the last two while I was in the park.
> 
> 7:00am - Booked SDD for 5:30pm (refreshed for a minute to get that time).
> 8:30am - Booked Rise for 6:30pm
> 10:30am - Booked Tower of Terror for 2:30pm
> 12:30pm - Booked Mickey Runaway for 3:30pm
> 2:30pm - Booked Millennium Falcon for 6:00pm
> 4:30pm - Booked Toy Story Mania for 5:30pm
> 
> Set alarms on my phone to remind me when to book. The rides lined up so that we were able to minimize criss crossing the park. Watched Indiana Jones at 4:30pm to pass time. While waiting for the show to start, put in a mobile order at Woody's. It was a fantastic day.


Thanks!  Glad you all had a great day!!

HS is one park I'm not going to visit again until I bring all my kids.  I'm saving this plan - looks like you did all the planning that would hit everything I would want to get them to, except we could go a little earlier and add in Muppet Vision and Indiana Jones in, and maybe a meal at Sci Fi.


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## itf

Park day 2, AK, grabbed safari for 8:10-9:10 and will get an avatar LL at park open in a sec!

Avatar 12:35 so that works!

Trying to minimise the genie walking today so have Navi river journey for 11:30 to tie into our flight of passage ILL.

Headed to Everest (10 mins) and split the party so wife and daughter can watch kite tails while I ride.

Did a couple of Dino rides and we’re sat on a g+ that we’re not using because times are too close. Might book a show.

About to bail from the heat but we’ve done the two avatar rides, tough to be a bug, about to meet Micky and Minnie then we’ve got an immediate genie for Kali.

So again very successful with G+ . We will come back and do the shows another day.

Only downer is the length of time on the character meet lightning lane. Doesn’t feel much better than standby.


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## heathsf

I was at MK yesterday and we had great  success with G+, thanks to the previous posters who have shared their experiences, so I wanted to pay it forward.

We arrived at 2:15. I started stacking at 7:15 because before then all of the return times were still too early to be useful for us (even Jungle Cruise!).

At 7:15 am I booked Meet Mickey & Minnie for 2:25-3:25
At 11 am I booked Splash Mountain for 2:30-3:30
At 1pm I booked BTMRR for 3:15-4:15.

We arrived at MK at 2:15, met the mice, and watched FOF in Frontierland so we could book it to Splash after.
The posted wait for Mickey and Minnie was 35 min and we waited less than 10.

The posted wait for Splash was 65 min and we waited 8.

The posted wait for BTMRR was 30 min and we waited 8.

For the rest of the day we booked LL one at a time with returns less than 2 hours away, and most of them were available immediately.

POTC was posted as 15 min and we walked right on the ride with zero wait at all.

Next we used LL for Magic Carpets but I didn’t write down the posted time or actual waiting time (sorry!) If my memory serves, we waited about 2 min.

IASW was posted as 15 min and the LL took about 5 (sorry, didn’t write this one down either)

Did a couple of refreshes while waiting for a mobile order for dinner and got WTP for about an hour earlier than what it had been. I think this was the only LL we booked while in the park that didn’t have an immediate return time and we actually had to wait 40 min, but we were eating dinner anyway. It was posted as 25 min and we were on in 5.

Afterwards, we booked Barnstormer for an immediate return time and waited about 5 min for it. It was posted as 25 min.

At this point we reserved Dumbo for an immediate return but decided to cancel and ride people mover instead because we were running out of time before fireworks.

We were purposeful in choosing LL geographically so we didn’t have to criss cross the park at all. That was one of my favorite things about using Genie+
So in 9 hours we rode 9 rides (8 of them with Genie+), two character meets (1 of them with Genie+), watched a parade, and watched fireworks. If we had stayed at MK after fireworks we could have used it on more rides, plenty of things still had G+ available. Overall it felt like a low crowds day but there’s no way we could have done nearly as much without G+. It really took the stress out of a late-arrival day.

Sorry this ended up being quite long. I’ll just wrap it up by saying the magic is definitely still here


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## Earningmywings

Anyone that stayed at the YC/BC in the last couple of weeks, can you tell me how the morning busses were to MK and AK? We are planning on getting to the busses 45 min prior to the early morning extra 1/2 hour. Did you have to wait for multiple busses?


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## itf

Day 3 is HS which is the one I’m worried about as an offsite guest. Got a 9;30 slinky but it’s whether we get rise…

Well we got a 5:40 ride so just on line for MMRR posted 35 at non resort guest open and that was pretty much spot on. Little one loved it and it’s the first time we’ve seen that ride tech so excited for rise.

Did slinky and walked through galaxy’s edge to muppet vision then met Olaf. Will do star tours on the way to our ILL for smugglers.

Star tours and smugglers done but leaves us with a long gap for next LL. Eating and then we’ve split so I can do rock n rollercoaster and wife and daughter can do toy story mania.

Rise has been down but back up. Fingers crossed for our LL later.

Seen indie and going for a g+ re ride of star tours as my daughter loved it. Just need to fill time to our rise time.

We’re now doing frozen sing along and have a G+ for alien swirling saucers.

Genie was mostly effective for us in combination with standby. If we hadn’t done MMRR standby first thing I think we’d have found it hard to get that, and we didn’t do tower of terror which we will come back and mop up when we come for Oga’s on Saturday.

Aaand rise is down

Rise took an hour to come back and honestly the blue umbrella person I asked about refunds if we didn’t stay was about as unhelpful as anyone I’ve met at Disney, but that’s been the exception most cast members have been good.

Big shout out to Rey who bumped into my daughter, told her to keep her location secret and made her feel special!


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## CarolynFH

Earningmywings said:


> Anyone that stayed at the YC/BC in the last couple of weeks, can you tell me how the morning busses were to MK and AK? We are planning on getting to the busses 45 min prior to the early morning extra 1/2 hour. Did you have to wait for multiple busses?


I haven’t stayed recently, but the general recommendation (as reported in the *ETPE thread *)  is to be at the bus stop 90 minutes before ETPE opening, because the first bus usually runs approximately one hour before ETPE starts. Catching that first bus gives you the best chance of being near the front of the crowds entering for ETPE.


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## saraheliz

WDWvet said:


> My crew- 2 adults, 3 teens.  POR from 8/4-8/7 and YC from 8/7-8/16.  8 park days- 1 AK, 2 HS, 2 MK, 3 EP. We had G+ every day, used ILL every day, and rope dropped every day by arriving 30-60 minutes before each early entry time. We also had MK  extended evenings 1 time and 2 times at EP.
> 
> This post is not pro nor anti G+ or ILL. This is just to report what happened to us.
> 
> The combination of strategic planning, luck, single rider line, G+, ILL, and Early Entry allowed us to ride literally everything we wanted to with extremely low waits.  We waited 0-15 minutes per ride, the only exception being Guardian's virtual queue, we did 3 virtual queues, with waits of 60, 45, 40.
> 
> Before I begin, we got incredibly lucky this trip with the weather, it rained every day, but we were either eating a meal, napping, at a show, or doing something else indoors, we got wet from rain once and dealt with no closures for rain/lighting either, again, there were closures but none that impacted us whatsoever, pure luck!
> 
> The basic plan was very simple:
> 
> 1. Wake at 6:45
> 2. Use G+ to book headliner ride
> 3. Use G+ to book a ILL (FOP, 7DMT, ROTR, Guardians)
> 4. Immediately go to the park
> 5. At early entry rope drop ride headliner of our choice
> 6. Do headliner rides in order of importance until
> 7. Early entry time expires, then go to higher capacity lower wait shows and rides until 5 minutes before first LL return time
> 8. At 5 minutes before the return time opens, tap into first LL, sometimes second tap point, then
> 9. Immediately book the next LL for a ride with a close return window, 0-30 minutes away.
> 10. Repeat steps 8-9, until return windows start to push out further, then I'd start stacking for late afternoon and evening.
> 11. Use our ILL during the return window we selected.
> 
> Using this method, we'd routinely hit 2, sometimes 3 rides in the 30 minutes of Early Entry and then use G+ to get LL for 2-7 rides throughout the day. We maxed out at 7 LL in MK.    Sometimes, we'd skip hundred of people at something like Splash, other times, it was 40 people at Carpets, all told, using G+ saved us hours and hours.  We'd use our ILL within the return window we selected.
> 
> Single rider allowed us to re-ride Everest, RNR, MFSR, Test Track multiple times.  My kids rode Everest 6 times in a row, crazy.
> 
> Rope dropping allowed us to ride the headliners at least twice, once at rope drop in the standby line and once with ILL.  We did Guardians 6 times-3 virtual queue, and 3 ILL.  ROTR 4 times- 2 rope drop standby, 2 ILL.  FOP twice-1 rope drop standby, 1 ILL.  7DMT 4 times-2 rope drop standby, 2 ILL.
> 
> Extended evening hours did little to nothing for us, by the time the extended evening hours came, we had already gone on everything we wanted, and waking at 6:45 made getting the most out of evening hours very difficult.
> 
> While I hate paying all that extra money for G+ and ILL, it really made touring the parks a breeze.  We ended up with hours and hours of free time out of lines, we used this time for extra pool time, re-riding, and exploring the parks in-depth.
> 
> The one big-time thing that we did not plan for was the fact that no waiting means more walking, we were on the move more than ever. For example, we walked from 7DMT, to BTMRR, to Splash, to Pirates, to Space, to Dumbo in what felt like a blink of the eye. We topped over 125 miles walked for the entire trip.  I had blisters on 6 toes and my knees ached, I loved it.
> 
> Any questions? I'm happy to help.



We were there 8/3-8/14 (two parents, two teens, 6 1/2 year old) and I very much agree with everything you posted, including lucking out with the weather and moving efficiently meaning so much walking!! I packed 20 ponchos (from the Dollar Tree) and wondered if that would be enough for 8 August park days with 5 people...we didn't open up a single one until our last night (8/13) when there were some awful storms that moved through around 8.

The only thing we did differently was we did a few later days....one each (starting around lunchtime or just after) at EP, HS, and MK. This allowed us to sleep in/recover from deluxe evening hours (which were nice but I agree not a super huge advantage), and just catch up on rest a little bit. I still woke up at 7 though to book our first G+. The only park that doesn't work great at is MK, especially if you've already ridden JC several times. I had to wait until almost 8 until one of the mountains (we wanted to start on one end of the park and work back through) had a return time past 1. So, I didn't get up going back to sleep. Oh well. But in general that worked well, especially at EP and HS. As much as I hate paying extra, G+ did work well if you've studied the ins and outs and I really didn't spend a ton of time on my phone. No more than I did with the old FP+.

The only frustrating thing for me is the rides going down + the inflexibility of having to book park days, etc. Dinosaur was the ride my 6 year old was most looking forward to (he's a dino fanatic) and it was shut down most of the afternoon/evening on our AK day. It opened back up briefly while we were back at the resort and we went rushing back, only to have it close as we were walking in. We should have started the park on that side instead of in Pandora but there had been so many mornings with EE and/or Dino down that it seemed risky. There were a lot of tears...he recovered and moved on and it was short lived but it's so hard to move plans around with dining reservations that are hard to get/so far out and park reservations...even adding a park hopper to our ticket (for 5 people for one ride) wouldn't have worked well because of the timing of our hard to get dining reservations. So, c'est la vie...kid wants to know when he can go back to ride Dinosaur, gonna be awhile, kiddo.


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## DisneyByMarriage

CarolynFH said:


> I haven’t stayed recently, but the general recommendation (as reported in the *ETPE thread *)  is to be at the bus stop 90 minutes before ETPE opening, because the first bus usually runs approximately one hour before ETPE starts. Catching that first bus gives you the best chance of being near the front of the crowds entering for ETPE.


I am here now at old key west and under the “resort hotel” there is a bus times tab that shows when the busses come.  I can say we  left on the second bus this AM around 6:50 from old key west and we arrived and were held at studios tapstiles (it was a sea of people).  You should be fine 45 minutes before early entry.


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## NJlauren

On day 3, and laying low with an under the weather 4 year old, if anyone had any questions about current park conductions, did AK and typhoon lagoon for H2O glow and the rest of the fam is at HS today.


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## scrappinginontario

NJlauren said:


> On day 3, and laying low with an under the weather 4 year old, if anyone had any questions about current park conductions, did AK and typhoon lagoon for H2O glow and the rest of the fam is at HS today.


Hope your little one  is feeling better soon!


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## NJlauren

scrappinginontario said:


> Hope your little one  is feeling better soon!


Thank you!  Made a turn for the better about an hour ago, so  Crossed !


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## scrappinginontario

Has anyone noticed this sweater in the WDW stores?  

HM themed.


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## Earningmywings

CarolynFH said:


> I haven’t stayed recently, but the general recommendation (as reported in the *ETPE thread *)  is to be at the bus stop 90 minutes before ETPE opening, because the first bus usually runs approximately one hour before ETPE starts. Catching that first bus gives you the best chance of being near the front of the crowds entering for ETPE.


I had read that I was just trying to get a feel how the bus line is specifically at YC/BC 45 min prior to EE hours since the crowds have slowed down some.


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## NJlauren

scrappinginontario said:


> Has anyone noticed this sweater in the WDW stores?
> 
> HM themed.
> 
> View attachment 696278


Not yet, but I’ll keep my eye out tomorrow


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## scrappinginontario

NJlauren said:


> Not yet, but I’ll keep my eye out tomorrow


Thanks!


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## cheshiregoofy22

Here now and confirm the 47 minute past the hour lightning lane drop, at least for Remy.  We were refreshing religiously while at HS, knowing we were headed to EPCOT in the early evening….I remembered reading someone’s advice about a drop at 47 minute mark, and at 2:47 BINGO!  3:00 - 4:00 pm showed up for the five of us!  Problem was we were back in our hotel room taking a break from the heat so getting from the GF to EPCOT in time proved a little difficult.  We left the hotel via monorail at 3:30 PM (rousing resting young adults….) and at 4:19 PM stopped at the great folks at the blue umbrella in France knowing we were four minutes overdue…not a problem at all to get it remedied and off we went to ride!  Many thanks to the poster who clued in on that magical drop!!   Amazing!


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## brockash

Earningmywings said:


> Anyone that stayed at the YC/BC in the last couple of weeks, can you tell me how the morning busses were to MK and AK? We are planning on getting to the busses 45 min prior to the early morning extra 1/2 hour. Did you have to wait for multiple busses?


We caught the MK bus 2 weeks ago today from YC and the first bus arrived around 715-720 for a 9am regular (830 emh) opening.  All that were at the bus stop.got a seat.  We then picked up from BC.


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## itf

Epcot today and our final first day at the main parks. Booked Remy for 8:30 the joined the VQ for guardians which gave a 6pm return so will probably pay for a morning slot. Update : we got a 10:50 guardians.

Plan to hit frozen after we tap into Remy then hope for test track still being available but realistically will need to mop that up another day.

We got our frozen LL for lunchtime and did standby for soarin and figment.

We timed out on genie so grabbed mission space for when we’re done with our Guadians ILL

We’re not staying for Harmonious so it’ll be a short day.

Quick note - the salt & vinegars fries in the fry flight are terrible! Way too much salt and absolutely no vinegar. The other two are good though.

This was the last of our “ride” days - we’ve now done all four parks and hit most rides we wanted. Only test track and tower of terror we didn’t do of the big hitters and we will mop them up later.

Genie plus has worked in all the parks - too well in some cases! ILL have also worked, making things pretty much a walk on for those big ticket rides. We will re buy for seven dwarves as it was our six year old’s favourite and probably just one for me to re ride guardians as I liked that a lot.

Our second visits to each park will be shows / mop up missed rides and fireworks / harmonious and we plan to stack those for afternoon spending the morning at the resort.

Staying off site hasn’t caused us any significant problems. We got all four paid lightning lanes with no hassle, although Rise would have been nice earlier it was hardly a deal breaker. Our biggest challenge is when we want to do park > resort > park as we don’t have a car so are at the mercy of lyft and Uber.

Controversial opinion : I enjoyed MMRR more than Rise at DHS.


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## vinotinto

itf said:


> Epcot today and our final first day at the main parks. Booked Remy for 8:30 the joined the VQ for guardians which gave a 6pm return so will probably pay for a morning slot.
> 
> Plan to hit frozen after we tap into Remy then hope for test track still being available but realistically will need to mop that up another day.


Question, were you able to see available return times for all G+ rides/attractions at 7am or did you have to click on each individual ride/attraction?


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## itf

vinotinto said:


> Question, were you able to see available return times for all G+ rides/attractions at 7am or did you have to click on each individual ride/attraction?


You have to click them for the first 20 mins or so. We were always going to take the first Remy but yeah. By being bang on the second at 7 we’re always getting the first or second boarding time.


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## vinotinto

itf said:


> You have to click them for the first 20 mins or so. We were always going to take the first Remy but yeah. By being bang on the second at 7 we’re always getting the first or second boarding time.


great! Did you upgrade to the new app version this morning, or are you on the previous version?


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## itf

vinotinto said:


> great! Did you upgrade to the new app version this morning, or are you on the previous version?



On the latest iOS I updated all my apps earlier. Only thing I’ve seen different is park reservations now seem to be shown individually not grouped


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## Elsaspiritanimal

scrappinginontario said:


> Has anyone noticed this sweater in the WDW stores?
> 
> HM themed.
> 
> View attachment 696278


Yes I saw it in Disney Springs last week - World of Disney and Marketplace both had it.


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## scrappinginontario

Elsaspiritanimal said:


> Yes I saw it in Disney Springs last week - World of Disney and Marketplace both had it.


Thank you!!


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## SkyGuy

scrappinginontario said:


> Has anyone noticed this sweater in the WDW stores?
> 
> HM themed.
> 
> View attachment 696278


Two weeks ago we saw it in the clothing store that’s attached to the Co-Op at Disney Springs. Not sure of the name of that store, but it’s the one after you walk through pathway between the pet items and The Dress Shop.


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## jods

Just got back yesterday.  Spent sat- sun at the BWI and then Thursday night- yesterday at Universal.   Bought genie + and loved it.  Was able to get Remy, TT and frozen with the 12:47, 2:47 amd 4:47 drops.  We didn't get an early start anywhere lol.  Was able to get a 7am and 6pm GOTG.  I bought it on our last day because we wanted a specific time since we were heading to Universal and had CM at 12:25.  My kids loved it.  We got lucky at AK that a quick rain storm turned our kali into an anytime and we were able to rebook it so we rode twice.  Aldo had an anytime from my safari because it went down. That was a pleasant surprise as I was going to cancel it and make it later.  Since it turned to an anytime I was able to immediately book it for the time I wanted. We went to the Halloween party the night before so couldn't get my kids out the door. At epcot I snagged Remy, tt, frozen, LWTL, mission space and spaceship earth. We had 2 days of rides there but only did Remy first night. Could have did it the next day but no one wanted it.    At HS, got MMRR, MFSR, star tours, and toy story. We did MFSR 2x as we had toy story go anytime.  Bought rise.  We didn't use it at MK as we rode everything we wanted at the party. We were planning to go back the night we did AK for extended hours but we were exhausted.   I used refresh a bit and would book our next as soon as tapped in.  I used @DisneyFive trip reports as a guide.  So thank you for a successful trip! The LL were very fast and it was definitely worth purchasing.  We also ate at the qs BBQ place in epcot and it was delicious.  Did mobile ordering there and the qs at Pandora.  We used it at Boardwalk Deli as well.  Mobile ordering is so easy and convenient.


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## parasail_of_congress

We just returned from eight-night trip, Aug. 13-21, staying at Boardwalk Villa Studio on a DVC point rental with five (two adults, three kids ages 11, 9 and 7). We had an eight-day ticket and visited each park twice (HS on the last day and had to leave midday to catch a plane). We didn’t use G+ or ILL and accomplished everything we wanted to do - most things multiple times. Here’s a quick breakdown per day:

Sun 14 - MK
Rope drop was packed, and we rode all three mountains and HM before 11. Crowds thinned by evening - we rode Big Thunder and Splash twice apiece around fireworks time.

Mon 15 - AK
Slept in a little because of the late-night at MK. Rode Everest twice, then Kali. Rode Everest, Navi and FOP at the end of the day.

Tue 16 - HS
Rise went down right when we got in line at 7:50. Instead we rode Toy Story Mania, then ToT, RnRc, then back to Slinky. We rode Rise midday and RR and Smuggler’s later in the day. Waits were the longest at HS compared to other parks on both days we were there.

Wed 17 - EP
Rope drop was smooth, with Remi, Frozen and TT, then Guardians from the virtual queue. Toured the countries during the day then hit the rest of the rides in the late afternoon when they were all practically walk-ons (including Soarin’). Rode Remi once more at park close.

Thu 18 - AK
Started later again with the late night at EP. Everest was down but back up after we did Kali and Jungle Trek, so we rode Everest twice. Rode Everest twice again later in the day with single rider, then back to Navi and FOP and left the park around 7.

Fri 19 - MK
Early closing, so we got there at the tail end of early morning hours and rode Mine Train. Outside of Splash around noon with a 30-minute wait, we didn’t wait longer than 15 minutes on any ride the entire day.

Sat 20 - EP
Mostly followed the same path as our first day, except we did single rider at TT and rode twice. We went back to the hotel for a couple of hours midday and came back to ride the smaller rides, most multiple times.

Sun 21 - HS
Rise first was a 20-minute wait, then Smuggler’s and Runaway. We skipped Slinky and Toy Story altogether but hit RnRc in the single-rider line (which was still 35 minutes).

A few random thoughts about our trip, plans, waits, etc.:

1. I understand why people want to skip the lines with G+ and ILL, and it’s true that we visited during a time period that is traditionally not busy, but unless you cannot arrive early and/or are staying offsite and/or aren’t staying full days, I just can’t see the justification for paying even more for this service. It could have been useful for us the first HS day, but spending the extra time booking time slots and being tied to certain rides and certain times did not seem to be worth the $75 a day it would have cost us. I really got a kick out of “racing” people in the Lightning Lane in the afternoon/evening when so many rides were virtually walk-on rides anyway.

2. Posted wait times in the middle of the day were pretty accurate across the board (within 5-10 percent). As expected, posted wait times were erratic during ride downtimes and most mornings. The two lines we waited in near closing - Remy and FOP - were within 5-10 minutes of the posted wait time.

3. Likewise, Touring Plans expected wait times were reasonably accurate midday, but not that useful in the morning or evening. The most egregious example was a 120-minute expected wait time for Rise that turned out to be 20 minutes. I think the combination of not completely knowing park attendance and how many people are buying G+, not to mention the downtime and weather bumps, really hampers TP’s ability to be more accurate. Having said that, TP’s historical data was certainly useful at scheduling rides at certain times of the day, and all their rope drop recommendations were spot on.

4. The weather was really cooperative, but also I tried to plan for inside rides in the afternoon/evening where possible. An obvious example of this is riding Soarin’ later in the day, which seems like a no-brainer with hardly any waits. We missed about 30 minutes of rain by riding that, Land and watching Awesome Planet.

5. Besides the rides and shows, my kids really enjoyed the Kidcot country hunt in EP, the Wilderness booklet in AK and the pirate game in MK. And given the hectic nature of a Disney trip, the Animation Experience at AK was a great place to relax and learn how to draw. The paper towel roll I brought along worked perfectly for transporting the drawings back home.

6. We bought Memory Maker, and even though we did zero character pictures, we think it was worth the price. I’ll have to total the number of pictures we actually took, but the kids really enjoyed the magic shots, as well as the various photo booths scattered across the properties.

7. Ninety-five percent of the CM’s we encountered were amazing and doing everything they could to keep the lines moving and the mouse house churning. The focus on ensuring that nearly all seats are full and keeping track of all the different lines is under-appreciated.

8. The Disney bus service to and from Boardwalk worked well. The only minor issue was a 20-minute delay from a posted time for early morning hours on the Friday MK day. There were so many people waiting that when the AK bus arrived, the driver called for an additional bus, which arrived as the MK bus we boarded pulled away. 

9. We took the Sunshine Flyer to and from the hotel, and the service was great!

10. I would definitely stay at Boardwalk again, just for the location. The pools were great, although the main pool was packed most of the time we were there. The quiet pool was a great place to chill.

If you have any specific questions about ride lines, times, etc., I jotted down everything we did in order, but didn’t want to write more volumes, so feel free to ask away!


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## Lady Hiss

parasail_of_congress said:


> We just returned from eight-night trip, Aug. 13-21, staying at Boardwalk Villa Studio on a DVC point rental with five (two adults, three kids ages 11, 9 and 7). We had an eight-day ticket and visited each park twice (HS on the last day and had to leave midday to catch a plane). We didn’t use G+ or ILL and accomplished everything we wanted to do - most things multiple times. Here’s a quick breakdown per day:
> 
> Sun 14 - MK
> Rope drop was packed, and we rode all three mountains and HM before 11. Crowds thinned by evening - we rode Big Thunder and Splash twice apiece around fireworks time.
> 
> Mon 15 - AK
> Slept in a little because of the late-night at MK. Rode Everest twice, then Kali. Rode Everest, Navi and FOP at the end of the day.
> 
> Tue 16 - HS
> Rise went down right when we got in line at 7:50. Instead we rode Toy Story Mania, then ToT, RnRc, then back to Slinky. We rode Rise midday and RR and Smuggler’s later in the day. Waits were the longest at HS compared to other parks on both days we were there.
> 
> Wed 17 - EP
> Rope drop was smooth, with Remi, Frozen and TT, then Guardians from the virtual queue. Toured the countries during the day then hit the rest of the rides in the late afternoon when they were all practically walk-ons (including Soarin’). Rode Remi once more at park close.
> 
> Thu 18 - AK
> Started later again with the late night at EP. Everest was down but back up after we did Kali and Jungle Trek, so we rode Everest twice. Rode Everest twice again later in the day with single rider, then back to Navi and FOP and left the park around 7.
> 
> Fri 19 - MK
> Early closing, so we got there at the tail end of early morning hours and rode Mine Train. Outside of Splash around noon with a 30-minute wait, we didn’t wait longer than 15 minutes on any ride the entire day.
> 
> Sat 20 - EP
> Mostly followed the same path as our first day, except we did single rider at TT and rode twice. We went back to the hotel for a couple of hours midday and came back to ride the smaller rides, most multiple times.
> 
> Sun 21 - HS
> Rise first was a 20-minute wait, then Smuggler’s and Runaway. We skipped Slinky and Toy Story altogether but hit RnRc in the single-rider line (which was still 35 minutes).
> 
> A few random thoughts about our trip, plans, waits, etc.:
> 
> 1. I understand why people want to skip the lines with G+ and ILL, and it’s true that we visited during a time period that is traditionally not busy, but unless you cannot arrive early and/or are staying offsite and/or aren’t staying full days, I just can’t see the justification for paying even more for this service. It could have been useful for us the first HS day, but spending the extra time booking time slots and being tied to certain rides and certain times did not seem to be worth the $75 a day it would have cost us. I really got a kick out of “racing” people in the Lightning Lane in the afternoon/evening when so many rides were virtually walk-on rides anyway.
> 
> 2. Posted wait times in the middle of the day were pretty accurate across the board (within 5-10 percent). As expected, posted wait times were erratic during ride downtimes and most mornings. The two lines we waited in near closing - Remy and FOP - were within 5-10 minutes of the posted wait time.
> 
> 3. Likewise, Touring Plans expected wait times were reasonably accurate midday, but not that useful in the morning or evening. The most egregious example was a 120-minute expected wait time for Rise that turned out to be 20 minutes. I think the combination of not completely knowing park attendance and how many people are buying G+, not to mention the downtime and weather bumps, really hampers TP’s ability to be more accurate. Having said that, TP’s historical data was certainly useful at scheduling rides at certain times of the day, and all their rope drop recommendations were spot on.
> 
> 4. The weather was really cooperative, but also I tried to plan for inside rides in the afternoon/evening where possible. An obvious example of this is riding Soarin’ later in the day, which seems like a no-brainer with hardly any waits. We missed about 30 minutes of rain by riding that, Land and watching Awesome Planet.
> 
> 5. Besides the rides and shows, my kids really enjoyed the Kidcot country hunt in EP, the Wilderness booklet in AK and the pirate game in MK. And given the hectic nature of a Disney trip, the Animation Experience at AK was a great place to relax and learn how to draw. The paper towel roll I brought along worked perfectly for transporting the drawings back home.
> 
> 6. We bought Memory Maker, and even though we did zero character pictures, we think it was worth the price. I’ll have to total the number of pictures we actually took, but the kids really enjoyed the magic shots, as well as the various photo booths scattered across the properties.
> 
> 7. Ninety-five percent of the CM’s we encountered were amazing and doing everything they could to keep the lines moving and the mouse house churning. The focus on ensuring that nearly all seats are full and keeping track of all the different lines is under-appreciated.
> 
> 8. The Disney bus service to and from Boardwalk worked well. The only minor issue was a 20-minute delay from a posted time for early morning hours on the Friday MK day. There were so many people waiting that when the AK bus arrived, the driver called for an additional bus, which arrived as the MK bus we boarded pulled away.
> 
> 9. We took the Sunshine Flyer to and from the hotel, and the service was great!
> 
> 10. I would definitely stay at Boardwalk again, just for the location. The pools were great, although the main pool was packed most of the time we were there. The quiet pool was a great place to chill.
> 
> If you have any specific questions about ride lines, times, etc., I jotted down everything we did in order, but didn’t want to write more volumes, so feel free to ask away!


Glad your trip was a good one and thanks for the daily ride info. Just curious about the wait times for the various headliners - what was your tolerance as far as number of minutes you’d wait for a ride? What was the longest wait you experienced?


----------



## HeiHei2018

First day today. Arrived and parked car at hotel around 11:15. Bus to MK came immediately. We did the following on a Tuesday with MNSSHP at MK:
Caught 5 minutes of friendship faire as we entered
Dumbo walk on
Barnstormer walk on
Little Mermaid 5 min
Carousel walk on
It’s a Small World 15 min
Walked to haunted mansion, but wait had doubled, so bailed
Pirates 5 min
Tiki room (air conditioning!)
Meet Rapunzel LL, waited 5 min (posted wait had dropped to 20 min)
Haunted Mansion LL, waited 5 min
Ran into 3:00 parade and stopped to watch second half
Buzz LL
~3:30 Monorail to TTC, packed but made it on first train
Monorail to Epcot, not so packed 
Spaceship Earth LL(was walk on, but LL saved us from walking through the long queue)
Rain began. Broke out the raincoats, ponchos, and flip flops. 
Nemo LL (LL saved no time)
Turtle Talk LL (LL saved no time)
Downpour. Lightning was dangerously close. Ran to Land pavilion. 
Soarin LL, 5 min
Living with Land walk on (had LL, but canceled instead of scanning)
Lightning had moved off, so splashed our way to Norway to make our LL
Frozen LL (booked at 10:30)
Meet Anna and Elsa, 10 min (Note that this closes at 6. We almost got snack first and would have been among the many sad people who missed it.)
Kringla bakery. Rain letting up.
Gran Fiesta walk on
Learned that Remys had opened, so went to France. 
Crepes (Berry crepe was good. Tried two different savory ones. They were terrible.)
Remys (Anytime LL because it was down during our scheduled time)
Friendship boat back to hotel
Watched the first bit of the Epcot fireworks outside hotel
Collapsed in hotel room.
 8.1 miles total, but it felt like a lot more. Everything is damp. Pondering doing three parks tomorrow, but might come to my senses and stick to two.


----------



## Tina1

HeiHei2018 said:


> First day today. Arrived and parked car at hotel around 11:15. Bus to MK came immediately. We did the following on a Tuesday with MNSSHP at MK:
> Caught 5 minutes of friendship faire as we entered
> Dumbo walk on
> Barnstormer walk on
> Little Mermaid 5 min
> Carousel walk on
> It’s a Small World 15 min
> Walked to haunted mansion, but wait had doubled, so bailed
> Pirates 5 min
> Tiki room (air conditioning!)
> Meet Rapunzel LL, waited 5 min (posted wait had dropped to 20 min)
> Haunted Mansion LL, waited 5 min
> Ran into 3:00 parade and stopped to watch second half
> Buzz LL
> ~3:30 Monorail to TTC, packed but made it on first train
> Monorail to Epcot, not so packed
> Spaceship Earth LL(was walk on, but LL saved us from walking through the long queue)
> Rain began. Broke out the raincoats, ponchos, and flip flops.
> Nemo LL (LL saved no time)
> Turtle Talk LL (LL saved no time)
> Downpour. Lightning was dangerously close. Ran to Land pavilion.
> Soarin LL, 5 min
> Living with Land walk on (had LL, but canceled instead of scanning)
> Lightning had moved off, so splashed our way to Norway to make our LL
> Frozen LL (booked at 10:30)
> Meet Anna and Elsa, 10 min (Note that this closes at 6. We almost got snack first and would have been among the many sad people who missed it.)
> Kringla bakery. Rain letting up.
> Gran Fiesta walk on
> Learned that Remys had opened, so went to France.
> Crepes (Berry crepe was good. Tried two different savory ones. They were terrible.)
> Remys (Anytime LL because it was down during our scheduled time)
> Friendship boat back to hotel
> Watched the first bit of the Epcot fireworks outside hotel
> Collapsed in hotel room.
> 8.1 miles total, but it felt like a lot more. Everything is damp. Pondering doing three parks tomorrow, but might come to my senses and stick to two.


Thank you for the report I loved it


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## itf

Not really sure what to do today. We were always planning a resort morning then fireworks at MK later but that forecast doesn’t look good. I’ve started stacking LLs but not sure we will go. Same really tomorrow for Harmonious, plan was AM typhoon then over to Epcot for rides and harmonious.

Then I’ve got not so scary Friday and H2O on Saturday which both look like probable washouts.


----------



## itf

Ok so in the end we took a totally different tactic to our previous days and spent the day at the hotel and booked late LLs.

So we have : meet M&M, jungle cruise, splash, meet Cinderella and we hope to grab BTMR at 5, giving us five lightning lanes and the fireworks.

A little pixie dust this evening. We had an LL for Cinderella and my daughter spotted her favourite (Rapunzel) was in the other side which we didn’t have an LL for. The cast member let her do both as LL.


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## parasail_of_congress

Lady Hiss said:


> Glad your trip was a good one and thanks for the daily ride info. Just curious about the wait times for the various headliners - what was your tolerance as far as number of minutes you’d wait for a ride? What was the longest wait you experienced?



The maximum time I had allocated to ride any ride was an hour, and that was reserved for Rise (waited an hour once and 20 minutes at rope drop the second) and FOP (waited 50 minutes once and 40 the other, both near the end of the day). Unfortunately we had to wait nearly an hour for Slinky and MMRR. I would put those in the 45-minute group with Remi, TT and maybe Cosmic Rewind when it goes to standby. But now that my kids like the TT single-rider line, they are spoiled with no wait, haha.

At MK, I don’t think there’s anything worth more than a 30-minute wait. Once we waited 35 for Splash, but everything else was under 30 (during two days, we rode Splash four times, Space four times, Thunder six and Mine Train once).

Everest and Soarin’ are two of our favorites, but I’m not sure we’d wait more than 20 minutes for either. I think once we hit 25 with Everest out of the five times we rode it. We rode Soarin’ four times, and it was a walk-on every time (in the evening).

The other longest wait we had was RnRc in the single-rider line - just slightly over 30 minutes. We all like that ride as well, although it sure would be nice if it were longer!

For what it’s worth, I think G+ and ILL are working reasonably well, and I don’t necessarily mind them existing for people who really want to pay more for that service. I just hope that the price is high enough that Disney makes what they want AND that a lot more people don’t buy into it. If that occurs, prices for everything (tickets, G+, you name it) will go up quicker and/or the percentage of LL riders will be even more overwhelming than it is right now. LL riders back up when rides are down, so if you don’t catch the ride right when it goes back up, you are really stuck behind a lot of guests.

Here's a good example - late afternoon at MMRR, the posted wait time was 45, estimated wait was I think 38 and our total wait was nearly 60. The problem was that the ride had been down roughly an hour just before we arrived, so I suspect there was a backlog of G+ going through the line. I estimate that they were running the lines around 90/10 G+/standby for the 20 minutes I could see the meetup.


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## HeiHei2018

Day 2. Woke up before alarm and pulled first LL right at 7. Did not rush out the door for early entry. 
After 8 took boat to HS
In park by 8:28
Alien saucers, 5 min wait 
MMRR LL, 10-15 minute wait after the pre-show
TSMM LL, 5 minute wait, ride broke on second screen, evacuated
Meet Olaf LL (posted 30 min wait, there were three families in standby)
10:30 Frozen singalong
Muppets 3D LL (was walk on)
Before noon, Ate our lunch on a bench outside Muppets
Walked through Batuu, lack of shade made us way too hot
TSMM Recovery LL
Tired and overheated, so left
Skyliner to Epcot
Boat back to hotel
Hydrated and relaxed in hotel room
After 3 took boat to Epcot
Meet Aurora in France, 15 minute wait
Remy LL (lucky afternoon pull)
Boat from Morocco to Canada
Imagination LL (was walk on)
Meet Mickey, 20 minute wait (We wandered around looking for this a bit. He is right inside the Pixar theater entrance.)
Soarin LL
Dinner at Mexico TS 
Soarin, walk on
Spaceship Earth LL (was walk on)
8:00 Snack while watching lights on SSE (It is much more impressive when it is completely dark, which was 8:15.)
Frozen LL (pulled in morning)
9 Harmonious
walked back to hotel 
11.3 miles today. Forecast had 50% chance or rain from 2-9 pm, but only had heat lightning


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## EddieValiant

My first day was EPCOT on Monday, no Genie Plus. Got group #1 for GOTG. Went on Remy first since I'm at the Swan. That's got to be a tough rope drop if you are coming from the front of the park. Loved dropping my wait to see @PaddyWarbucks from a possible 45 to zero thanks to single rider. Didn't ride Test Track or Frozen due to lines, left at peak heat of day. Ended up going to MK fireworks because of storms closing boats. Got ice cream from Plaza, and got an extra ride on Buzz and Space due to a 30 min fireworks delay. I was over near the Tomorrowland bridge for a view. Had a better view yesterday.


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## EddieValiant

Tuesday was Hollywood Studios. Grabbed Slinky Dog at 7am drop for 120pm. Went on RnRC and TOT first during Early Entry. Then did Midway Mania standby, Star Tours. 2nd Genie for Midway Mania just before Slinky time. Looked at wait times and took a chance on Rise via standby after it was down and got it after almost 2 hour rate. Made Midway Mania in the 15 min late  window and then did Slinky. Ate lunch at ABC Commissary and then back to the pool. 
Dinner was at The Fountain due to storms. Stacked a Smugglers Run and Runaway Railway for late after dinner. So I got 4 rides with Genie Plus.


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## MikeandReneePlus5

parasail_of_congress said:


> Everest and Soarin’ are two of our favorites, but I’m not sure we’d wait more than 20 minutes for either. I think once we hit 25 with Everest out of the five times we rode it. We rode Soarin’ four times, and it was a walk-on every time (in the evening).




Soarin' is funny now...they added a theater a few years back and so that's good waits really dropped.  But they also changed the film and that's bad we miss the old one.  I guess both those things really dropped the wait time.  It used be one of the most demanded rides with the longest waits.


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## itf

Decided to believe the weather apps promises of doom and so did the morning at typhoon lagoon which we really enjoyed - hoping the party Saturday doesn’t get rained out. We’d planned to hop to Epcot from there but we snagged remy first thing then couldn’t get test track at all when our time was up and we decided to just not bother. Came to Disney springs instead and returned to Salt & Straw (the weird flavours actually all taste great) and went bowling in anticipation of the storm that never came!


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## itf

Looks like MK fireworks are at least delayed. Harmonious is going on right now though?

Fireworks over the lagoon near the Hyatt too but no sign of MK.


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## 2vets

itf said:


> Looks like MK fireworks are at least delayed. Harmonious is going on right now though?
> 
> Fireworks over the lagoon near the Hyatt too but no sign of MK.


I was at CG tonight, rode monorail back and am in a TPV room at GF. No sign of fireworks.


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## Texans_loyal

itf said:


> Looks like MK fireworks are at least delayed. Harmonious is going on right now though?
> 
> Fireworks over the lagoon near the Hyatt too but no sign of MK.


11 PM and they are still announcing delays. Do they ever cancel them?


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## MomOTwins

Texans_loyal said:


> Do they ever cancel them?


Sometimes, yes.  They will do them in mild rain but not a huge storm.


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## gottalovepluto

MikeandReneePlus5 said:


> Soarin' is funny now...they added a theater a few years back and so that's good waits really dropped.  But they also changed the film and that's bad we miss the old one.  I guess both those things really dropped the wait time.  It used be one of the most demanded rides with the longest waits.


I got to see Soarin Over CA this Spring in Disneyland and it was such a breath of fresh air. Disney World is really missing out not switching between the two I think. At least that one doesn’t have a super leaning Taj Mahal and a super leaning Eiffel Tower


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## scrappinginontario

gottalovepluto said:


> I got to see Soarin Over CA this Spring in Disneyland and it was such a breath of fresh air. Disney World is really missing out not switching between the two I think. At least that one doesn’t have a super leaning Taj Mahal and a super leaning Eiffel Tower


We were at DCA this week and I was so hoping it would be the original!! Sadly they were showing the new one too. 

The emotional connection with the original is  missing from the new one. I like it but nothing like I liked the original.


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## HeiHei2018

Day 3 was Thursday. It was check out day, so we knew we wouldn’t make rope drop. 
after 8, bus to MK
~8:45 Entered MK, very clear signs for early entry scanning
Pooh, posted 20 minutes, waited about 20 minutes
Tea Cups, walk on
People Mover, walk on
Meet Mickey and Minnie LL (I used world clock to pull right at 7:00, and got 9:40)
Buzz LL
Laugh Floor, waited 15 minutes 
Dumbo, 5 minutes
Little Mermaid, walk on
Carousel, 5 minutes 
Before 12, Lunch at Pinocchio. Got in walk up line. Put in mobile order on phone. Got table. Order was ready with at least four parties still in line that had been in front of us.
Small World LL
Country Bears, just missed show start, so had to wait 10 minutes 
Shopping
Bus to Hollywood Studios. Just missed one, so waited 20+ minutes. 
3:30 Frozen sing along
TSMM LL
Aliens LL
5:00 Boat to hotel


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## gottalovepluto

Weather q for those there now/recently. Is it usually rather windy when the rain hits? I was gonna pack my travel umbrella but now seeing thunderstorms, not just rain, in the forecast has me wondering if an umbrella would be kinda useless right now?


----------



## itf

gottalovepluto said:


> Weather q for those there now/recently. Is it usually rather windy when the rain hits? I was gonna pack my travel umbrella but now seeing thunderstorms, not just rain, in the forecast has me wondering if an umbrella would be kinda useless right now?



It’s not felt especially windy to me (here now) but apparently we’re due some wind around now.


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## Mome Rath

gottalovepluto said:


> Weather q for those there now/recently. Is it usually rather windy when the rain hits? I was gonna pack my travel umbrella but now seeing thunderstorms, not just rain, in the forecast has me wondering if an umbrella would be kinda useless right now?


I've seen it both ways, but the umbrella is still handy to "sprint" to a drier location. lol


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## NJlauren

Did MK today, a party day, arrived a bit later then I wanted, around 8, did a few photo pass pictures, BBB for my girls at 840, sir mickeys for a photo shoot, meet Cinderella and Elena (LL), was about 10 when we finished here.  From 10-4 we did the following, haunted mansion (stand by posted 10 minutes), pirates (SB posted 5 minutes), splash (LL), lunch Peco Bills, Big thunder (LL), caught the tail end of noon parade, country bears, small world (SB posted 10 minutes), Winnie the Pooh (LL), mine train, had ILL from the morning but ride was down so was able to use it now, did Barnstormer (LL, but SB was 5), then stopped for ice cream, then Buzz (LL), then we split up 3 to carousel of progress, 2 to space mountain (LL), our 4 year old fell asleep in CoP, so I put her in the stroller and hung out with a coffee, everyone else went to laugh floor.  Then we got a pretzel, did some shopping and make your own popcorn.  It started to rain so we left for our dinner.  Could have easily done more.  I stand behind and still believe party days at MK are great with low crowds.


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## lovethesun12

Just back from the most amazing trip ever. I wasn't sure how my kids would handle all the walking (just turned 7 year old and a 9 year old) but they had no issues at all and even did early entry, extended evening hours and watched both Halloween parades on our party day! Plus they loved all the rides!

I can't believe how much we did. It probably looks like a lot of it was due to genie+, but I think the major reason was lower crowds. My son and I were at Magic Kingdom at 2pm one day during our visit (it was a party day) and the cast member just kept us on to ride BTMRR because there was no line. We rode 6 times in a row (only kept us on once, the rest we had to get off and walk through again) and even though it said 15 minute wait it was a walk on IMO. I've never experienced anything like that at Magic Kingdom at 2pm before in my life. We also waited only 30 minutes for SDMT and maybe 20 minutes for Splash that same day.

Personally, I think the rope drop mornings we did were awesome, however genie+ didn't work that well in the morning other than for Magic Kingdom. The real benefit was rope drop IMO. We did get a lot of lightening lanes but the lines were pretty short anyway, maybe saved 5-10 minutes per line for the last 5 lightening lanes.

Day 1
MK (morning - ETPE)

Under the Sea
LL Peter Pan
Haunted Mansion
IASW
LL Winnie the Pooh
LL Barnstormer
LL Dumbo
ILL SDMT
LL Philharmagic (not necessary)
LL parade (LL was useless)

*resort from ~12-4pm for swim break

Epcot (extended evening hours)
ILL GOTG
LL Mission Space
LL Test Track
LL Remy
TS at Rose & Crown
FEA
Spaceship Earth


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## lovethesun12

Day 2 - MNSSHP. I would 100% recommend visiting MK on a party day. We were there at some point during two party days and each time the waits were beyond reasonable. 

430-7pm 
pirates
splash mountain
big thunder mountain railroad x2
SDMT (less than 30 minute wait, finished a couple minutes before the party started)

7pm-12am party
*trick or treated every station as we went through the park, pretty sure we didn't miss any
-mad tea party
-cosmic rays for dance party/food
-peoplemover
-buzz lightyear
-astro orbiter
-BTMRR (again, kids wanted to see it at night)
-pirates
-fireworks
-met mickey/minnie (spelltacular we planned to watch was cancelled, not a big deal for us)
-parade


----------



## lovethesun12

Day 3: AK/HS
AK (AM)
-Navi
-ILL FOP
-LL KS (made next LL for slinky@8:15pm)
-KRR
*2h window was up during TS so booked LL for dinosaur
-breakfast@Rainforest Cafe
-EE (posted wait was 45 min, we waited <30min)
-LL dinosaur (booked LL for MFSR at this point)
-triceratops spin

*Hotel for ~4h break

HS (PM)
-ILL ROTR
-LL MFSR
-LL MMRR
-dinner at ABC commissary
-LL TSMM
-AS2
-LL Slinky Dog
-ToT


----------



## lovethesun12

Day 4: This was the day we went the morning of the party. We didn't do early entry, the waits were much lower than the posted times. We arrived at about 9am.

MK (morning)
-LL Jungle Cruise
-BTMRR (~15 min wait)
-LL Splash
-country bears
-lunch@Pecos Bills
-LL meet Tiana
-ILL SDMT
-Barnstormer
-Splash
-LL BTMRR
-BTMRRx5 (this was where the castmember kept us on two rides in a row at one point the lines were so short..all were a walk on)
-pirates

We were suppose to go to HS on this day but there was a thunder/lightening storm. Our kids weren't use to that so they weren't interested in going and we decided to have a table service dinner at our hotel and relax instead.


----------



## itf

Rise was at 2pm at park open today for ILL! Seems like Sat is a good day for off site people happy to pay.

MMRR posted 20 walked on. Star tours walked on. Met Minnie, 10 mins posted.


----------



## Wood Nymph

itf said:


> Rise was at 2pm at park open today for ILL! Seems like Sat is a good day for off site people happy to pay.
> 
> MMRR posted 20 walked on. Star tours walked on. Met Minnie, 10 mins posted.


We were at Epcot yesterday (Friday) and LL$ for Rise still had afternoon times available for purchase in the morning. Soarin' had a ten minute wait at 10:15am. It wasn't crowded at all in the morning.


----------



## Texans_loyal

Wrapping up our first family trip! This was my husband's & Bonus son's first Disney trip and my first one back since 2019.

I was hoping my husband would fall in love but it was the opposite   i don't blame him though. customer service wasn't what it used to be and food quality is the worst I've seen in years.

 The kiddo on the other hand is over the moon! He doesn't ask for much, seeing him run around and be so engaged was heartwarming. We will definitely be doing mom/son trips!

Merchandise: if you see something you like, buy it! The shelves at MK were bare by 10 PM and a lot of merch wasn't available in certain locations. I saw the 50th mug once and regret not grabbing it.

Crowds: Not low by any means, We always visit in August and this is the busiest I've ever seen it. Still manageable though!

We mobile ordered every meal. This was a lifesaver with 8 of us! 3 people on 3 separate devices were able to order at the same time under my account with no issues.

We had DAS and Genie+.
I was under the impression that DAS only applied to the person in need and not the whole group. I was wrong, should've done my research. We did everything we wanted and more but you definitely don't need both.

Epcot:
Got a noon return time for Guardians at 7 am.
Rope dropped Ratatouille, Test track and Soarin. Rerode Ratatouille, Test track and Soarin via DAS. The DAS return times were almost immediate.
Rode Guardians and was blown out of the water. WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!
I was originally complaining about paying to ride but I immediately paid for a second LL as soon as we got off, well worth it. Hands down the best ride at DW IMO.

MK:
DAS: Buzz, Astro, 7 dwarfs X 2, peter pan, haunted mansion, pirates. DAS times were available as soon as i booked them.
Genie Stacked for the evening: Splash, Thunder mountain, jungle cruise & Ariel.

HS:
Last park day! Started stacking Genie at 7 am but didn't get into the park till 2. Got some much needed rest!
Genie: MMRR, saucers , Slinky, TOT, RR
DAS: return times varied from one to two hours after booking: ROTR, Muppets, MF, ST, TSM.


----------



## itf

The weather spared us at the H2O glow party so far, and it’s been really good. Concur with people saying it’s hard to find ice cream but overall it’s been good fun and good natured. Would do this again over not so scary


----------



## heathsf

Earningmywings said:


> Anyone that stayed at the YC/BC in the last couple of weeks, can you tell me how the morning busses were to MK and AK? We are planning on getting to the busses 45 min prior to the early morning extra 1/2 hour. Did you have to wait for multiple busses?


Early Entry this past Friday was 7:30am. We got to the bus stop at 6:40 and another family told us they missed the first bus by moments as they saw it pulling away and that was about 5 min before we got there. We had to wait 20 min for the next bus and by the time it came the bus stop was packed. I’d definitely recommend getting to the bus stop 60 min before early entry if you can manage it. We arrived at MK at 7:27 which worked out well for starting with smaller rides. We didn’t bother going for 7 Dwarfs or Peter Pan at that point.

ETA: 7 Dwarfs didn’t open until around 11am this day so it really worked out for us that we decided not to get in line for it.


----------



## heathsf

We have had some of the best cast member interactions on this trip that we’ve ever had. They have made so much magic for us. 
I do see small groups of cast members talking to each other, as previous posters have mentioned, but it in no way negatively affects our experience. We’ve talked to quite a few CMs who clearly love their jobs and spreading pixie dust. I’ve left more cast compliments than I can count and I wish I could submit them for the character interactions we’ve had. 

Side note, this is our first trip without an autograph book and we don’t miss it at all. Without having the book to hand over, our kids are having more unique interactions with the characters and I am so glad we didn’t get the book this time.


----------



## cakebaker

Texans_loyal said:


> We had DAS and Genie+.
> I was under the impression that DAS only applied to the person in need and not the whole group. I was wrong, should've done my research. We did everything we wanted and more but you definitely don't need both.



We had both as well in mid July and found it very helpful to have both. Because of DAS, we could use it for the most popular rides without having to grab those first and/or watch the clock to grab something at the time we needed it. It left Genie+ free to book in our afternoon park or to book rides that didn't run out quite so fast. We don't always have DAS available to us, but when we do, we'll still get Genie+ because it makes everything super easy to do. I'm mentally making notes for my trip mid-October where I will not have DAS and it's much harder to figure out how to get all the must do's in for a shorter trip. I anticipate we'll be doing a lot of change of plans on the fly due to availability, where with DAS, we knew for sure we'd be getting particular rides booked during each park vist every day.


----------



## itf

Out harmonious day so we had a resort morning and stacked remy, tt and frozen in that order. I bought a LL for guardians and we can do filler rides and food and wine around them. Just hope the weather behaves.

My paid LL took over 20 mins this time. May as well have grabbed a boarding group.


----------



## jods

itf said:


> Out harmonious day so we had a resort morning and stacked remy, tt and frozen in that order. I bought a LL for guardians and we can do filler rides and food and wine around them. Just hope the weather behaves.
> 
> My paid LL took over 20 mins this time. May as well have grabbed a boarding group.


My kids boarding group took almost an hour!  We bought it out next epcot day because we wanted a specific time frame since it was check out day. Much quicker.


----------



## itf

jods said:


> My kids boarding group took almost an hour!  We bought it out next epcot day because we wanted a specific time frame since it was check out day. Much quicker.



Interesting. We paid the other day and it was 10 mins


----------



## Honeypot

We did Guardians three times on our trip - twice paid and once virtual queue. The times we paid we were on in 10 min or so, when we did the VQ on our last day it was almost an hour.


----------



## jods

itf said:


> Interesting. We paid the other day and it was 10 mins


Sorry I wasn't clear, at all, lol.  The vq was an hour, so we bought one for the next day.


----------



## EddieValiant

On Wednesday I did Animal Kingdom, 730 am early entry. I couldn't figure out a good day to go to AK this trip with that super early startm  I did EPCOT on Monday and Studios on Tuesday. I was going to late MK hours so I knew I would be in no condition to get up on Thursday morning. Friday I wanted to rope drop MK because I knew it was a party day and it would be light crowds.

I just missed a bus from the Swan by less than a minute and it cost me. Still was in line for FOP at 755am before regular guests but it still took 60. Then after that the Safari line was pretty rough too, posted at 45 and it was at least that long. By that time it was pretty warm and all of the giraffes other than 1 we're off the savanna. There were still plenty of others around, got a great cheetah picture, and the lions were sleeping, but still visible. If you are a Safari junkie, maybe do the ILL. I did not use Genie Plus at Animal Kingdom.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

I was on the fence about switching our MK day to Friday (party day) but based on the past page I’m gonna do it! This is the first trip with our infant so if we can get a lot done before he starts to get cranky I’ll be so happy.


----------



## sweetmama17

Just back from our 3rd weekend trip this year. According to the kids (7 and 9) "Best trip ever". We were able to do everything we wanted so that helped a lot. The 9 year old is about to have a birthday, so this trip was for him and to make sure he got his priority list done (which was all the "big" rides). Stayed at Swan due to low late August rates and just pure convenience. 

Friday: Arrived at Swan around 5pm in the pouring rain. Decided to eat at Il Mulano to wait out the rain. I've never seen a restaurant try so hard at being fine dining but fail so miserably because every table had kids under 10 (didn't bother me but found it kinda funny). I'm sure the child friendly dining was done for later reservations.

It was still raining just enough by the time we walked to the Epcot gate we picked up ponchos. Headed to Soarin and then to guardians. Luckily they honored our boarding group almost 12 hours after it was called (got boarding group 3 and went about 8pm). Big kid wanted to try mission space so DH and him rode "green" for the first time. Stayed for the fireworks (but picked the worst spot ever.....do not stand behind the boat launch near Canada) and headed back.

Saturday: I debated but went ahead and got G+ for today. Little one has DAS pass but because I wanted to make sure big one got on all his rides some of which little one won't do I got it. I started with the big one by myself for early entry and the others joined us a little later...this is how it went:

Arrived at 7:45 at HS and got in line for slinky. Off slinky by 8:15
8: 15 RnR (early entry)
8:30 ToT (G+)  (NOT needed, much different than our 45 min wait experience for ToT early entry in march)
8:45 repeat ToT since it was a walk on and rest of family not there yet. Check out shops while we wait.
9:30am rest of family comes and get DAS for Rise (about an hour and half wait at this point)
9:45 had TSM G+ but it was down so headed to Falcon with recovery G+ (saved about 30 min)
at some point also get a message that Rise is down so am able to select another DAS
Blue/green milk break
10:15am Alien swirl (G+) (15 min save)
10:30am: TSM (DAS)
10:45 Rise up so headed through....placed order for Docking Bay 7 right as we were walking on the ride.
Rise goes down right as we were the next group headed for the trackless portion. Kids want to wait so we sat down for about 45ish minutes. Was told it was a good sign that they didn't clear all of us out. Everyone glad that we stuck it out (CM Order did break character and offer to escort resistance to the restrooms ;-) 
11:45: lunch, well our order had been thrown out at this point but Docking Bay was super nice and remade our order....lesson, don't say you are there unless you are really there!
12:30: Star Tours (DAS) and then lots of "looking" in the gift shop.
1pm Mickey (G+) pretty sure the ride went down because there was quite the extended wait right before we went into the theater but nothing was said. This G+ probably saved a good 45 min
1:45 Done with all the rides and ready to head back to the hotel to crash. Made another G+ for Magic Kingdom but never made it there.

Thought it was going to pour all afternoon but it never did so around 4pm we headed to the pool for a bit, ate at the poolside restaurant and then took on mini golf of Fantasia Gardens (boys loved this)

Sunday: MK
Got the closest parking spot ever to TTC about 7:45am. Took the ferry over (monorail doesn't open til 8).
Goal was to get big kid on Space. Almost bought G+ but took a chance and just used DAS. Most rides still had posted wait times of less than 30 minutes most of the day (including PP!) Bonus was little one was brave and tried a few new rides (honestly thanks to DAS or this would never have happened, lots of pixie dust for this special kiddo). This was by far the quietest weekend day I have ever seen at MK. Guess because there was a party but there was noticeably less people everywhere.
Early entry we did:
Space (x 2 with rider swap)
9: Astro orbiter (hate this line but agreed to it since buzz was down)
930: Buzz (10 min wait)
The rest of the day we had DAS pass for everything
Seven Mine train
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan
Lunch at 11am (Plaza)
Tree House
Cavalcade
12: Thunder Mountain
1230: Splash Mountain
1pm: Pirates
130: Buzz (mainly to pick up Toy Story toys for the birthday kid)
2pm: Out heading back home!

So besides the suffocating heat/humidity and dodging thunderstorms, I love Disney in August! But I live in Florida, so am dealing with those everyday anyway...
Now kids are asking when are we coming back for Animal Kingdom....


----------



## itf

Very quiet this afternoon at AK but we’re stuck on a broken down kili safari… turns out our hop to AK was jinxed and we got on Everest just as the drizzle turned torrential. I don’t recommend it - two hours later and we’re barely dried off!


----------



## lovethesun12

Texans_loyal said:


> Wrapping up our first family trip! This was my husband's & Bonus son's first Disney trip and my first one back since 2019.
> 
> I was hoping my husband would fall in love but it was the opposite   i don't blame him though. customer service wasn't what it used to be and food quality is the worst I've seen in years.
> 
> The kiddo on the other hand is over the moon! He doesn't ask for much, seeing him run around and be so engaged was heartwarming. We will definitely be doing mom/son trips!
> 
> .....
> Rode Guardians and was blown out of the water. WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!
> I was originally complaining about paying to ride but I immediately paid for a second LL as soon as we got off, well worth it. Hands down the best ride at DW IMO.


Well, at least mom/son trips are cheaper! LOL 

I felt the same way about GOTG. We did it 3 times as well (separate days), twice paid and once virtual queue. I absolutely loved it.


----------



## oceanmarina

Texans_loyal said:


> Wrapping up our first family trip! This was my husband's & Bonus son's first Disney trip and my first one back since 2019.
> 
> I was hoping my husband would fall in love but it was the opposite   i don't blame him though. customer service wasn't what it used to be and food quality is the worst I've seen in years.
> 
> The kiddo on the other hand is over the moon! He doesn't ask for much, seeing him run around and be so engaged was heartwarming. We will definitely be doing mom/son trips!
> 
> Merchandise: if you see something you like, buy it! The shelves at MK were bare by 10 PM and a lot of merch wasn't available in certain locations. I saw the 50th mug once and regret not grabbing it.
> 
> Crowds: Not low by any means, We always visit in August and this is the busiest I've ever seen it. Still manageable though!
> 
> We mobile ordered every meal. This was a lifesaver with 8 of us! 3 people on 3 separate devices were able to order at the same time under my account with no issues.
> 
> We had DAS and Genie+.
> I was under the impression that DAS only applied to the person in need and not the whole group. I was wrong, should've done my research. We did everything we wanted and more but you definitely don't need both.
> 
> Epcot:
> Got a noon return time for Guardians at 7 am.
> Rope dropped Ratatouille, Test track and Soarin. Rerode Ratatouille, Test track and Soarin via DAS. The DAS return times were almost immediate.
> Rode Guardians and was blown out of the water. WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!
> I was originally complaining about paying to ride but I immediately paid for a second LL as soon as we got off, well worth it. Hands down the best ride at DW IMO.
> 
> MK:
> DAS: Buzz, Astro, 7 dwarfs X 2, peter pan, haunted mansion, pirates. DAS times were available as soon as i booked them.
> Genie Stacked for the evening: Splash, Thunder mountain, jungle cruise & Ariel.
> 
> HS:
> Last park day! Started stacking Genie at 7 am but didn't get into the park till 2. Got some much needed rest!
> Genie: MMRR, saucers , Slinky, TOT, RR
> DAS: return times varied from one to two hours after booking: ROTR, Muppets, MF, ST, TSM.



Yes to that.  We’ve just gotten back (first stay since pre covid 2019) and the food was the worst we’ve ever had. Really bad. We were resorting to Grubhub throughout our trip. 

We did a split stay at universal. (First time). Food was much better there - both in the parks / resorts/ citiwalk.


----------



## Neverbeast

Has anyone who has been there recently seen this mug? It has Sally’s deadly night shade label on the other side.


----------



## melking23

Here now and it’s quite dead on our first park day!  We went to AK this morning and walked on everything.  I have DAS so used that for FOP while we waited for KJS to open.  The return time was only 20 minutes at that point.  I pre-purchased G+ so I booked KJS for 8AM and we tapped in 5 minutes early.  We walked straight through and were on the first bus.  We got to hear a hippo, a wildebeest, and a lion being vocal (even the guide was amazed)!  After KJS we went to EE and walked on twice.  Posted wait was 5 minutes.  Then we watched a few characters pass by on boats when we were on our way to Dinosaur.  Posted wait was also 5 minutes but we walked on.  After that we went to FOP and tapped in.  Posted wait was 75 minutes.  We waited 5-10 minutes for pre-show.  When we got off the posted wait was 60 minutes.  Then we went to Navi for pre-booked DAS.  Posted wait was 40 minutes but we walked straight through.  We walked out of the park by 10:15AM to the buses.  We waited 5 minutes for a bus to AKL for a 10:45AM Boma breakfast.  We checked in at 10:30AM but wasn’t seated until 11:10AM.  After our brunch we got an Uber To Swan for $10 and only waited 5 minutes.  We were back in our room at 12:25PM and I was finally able to book a G+ for this evening in MK.  I booked JC for 5:10.  We have a reservation for Skipper Canteen at 6:30PM so wanted JC closer to the ADR.  Almost all of the G+ return times were within 30 minutes so I had to keep checking back.  Meet Mickey has the latest G+ available with JC and PP behind them.  Last I looked PP was still at only 2:30 or so but we won’t get to MK until at least 5PM.  When we get there I’ll use DAS for 7DMT.  I’ll come back on tonight or tomorrow to detail how our night goes!


----------



## Neverbeast

Also was in AK today. G+ was actually a little tricky to use because the times stayed so early for so much of the day, but it worked out well!
Woke up at 6:45 to get FoP ILL but really didn’t need to- the evening times I wanted were availabile well after noon and nothing else was ready for times my sleepy, slow moving family would be in the park. 

We got to the park at 9:30, got coffee and breakfast at Isle of Java- coffee was good. Mickey cinnamon roll was dry, breakfast sandwich was adequate. 

Finally booked G+ for safari 10-11 return time 

Maharajah jungle trek, delightful. The tiger was very active and we loved the murals and prayer flag ruins. Great WE guides there talked to us about our local zoo for a long time. 

11- rode G+ safari
12 festival of the lion king, Delightful. Those tumble monkeys are adorable and amazing all at once 

12:44- gorilla falls trail and more WE badges 

1:30 lunch at tusker house. This was so great. The food wasn’t quite as good as when it was a buffet but a lot of it was still really yummy and we got so much food character time. Great server, great time out of the heat! She brought us the vegan chocolate mousse and it was actually our favorite of the current desserts. 

2:45 train to rafiki plant watch, finally booked a late enough Navi river G+ time

3:15 animation experience- we loved it. Again, air conditioned time doing something fun? Yes please! My niece fell asleep, my husband drew a totally different thing… we all had fun. 

4 train back
4:30 dinosaur stand by (15 min wait)
4:50 booked kali G+ for 5pm
5 kali G+ (Wanted to book Everest but times were all immediate!)
5:30 Navi G+ (Got the full shaman. Kids thought it was boring but I loved it. So pretty and relaxing!)
6 FoP (still incredible.) 
Came out of the ride to some lightning and wet pavement - outdoor rides closed.
6:30 booked 6:40 Everest- almost immediately got converted to redemption passes, immediately booked a 6:50 Everest (which also got converted)

Got snacks in pandora. Kids liked the pineapple lumpia, adults liked the beer cheese with the giant pretzle and the hot dog from Satuli canteen. Hawkes grog reminded me of magic hat #9 in a good way, DH though the high country ale was very hoppy. 

7 rerode dinosaur G+ with our redemption passes but didn’t need it- it was walk on. 

Took some photo pass shots. We barely saw any photographers out all day. So all my photos of the day will be on the bridge by Everest… seriously none in pandora was disappointing because I wanted the magic shot with the banshee.

7:30 Everest is back! Jumped on and got G+ and walked on. 

7:45 Starbucks. Passed tree of life but photo pass line was long so we thought we had time to grab coffee… this was a mistake. 
8 pictures in front of tree of life but just with our phones. Photo pass photographers packed up at 7:55 before we could get back. 

Overall this was basically a perfect day. It was hot, it was crowded for a bit in the middle of the day, and we certainly had some good luck with timing on shows and trains and Everest coming back last minute… but I think stacking rides in the evening and spending the middle hot part of the day worked great for my giant party of 11.


----------



## ghtx

We went to Epcot Saturday. We had G+ and got an ILL for GotG.  Got into the VQ also right at 7am (BG 76), got a Remy LL for 9:40, and then GotG ILL for 5:30 (by choice, could have done earlier). 

We pulled into the Epcot parking lot around 7:40 for the 8am early entry. I was pleasantly surprised at how non-chaotic rope drop was, even compared to the last time we went two years ago, post-COVID. Maybe spreading the early entry out to all four parks helps. 

We queued up at the rope by Test Track, and walked on to TT right at 8. Then walked to Frozen and walked on. Then walked over to Soarin, also a walk on. Then walked on to Land, and then to Spaceship Earth which was about 3-5 minute wait. 

By now it’s about 9:45 or so and we headed to France for our Remy LL. Rode it, then took a break and had crepes in France. We also booked a LL for Soarin.  Walked back to Soarin and rode in LL (walk on) then booked a LL for test track for 7:30.  Rode Seas with Nemo, and then our GotG BG was called at 12:16. Made it in the queue and waited about 45 minutes. 

Got nervous now since our lunch reservation at Via Napoli was for 1:10 and we didn’t arrive until 30 minutes late. But we got a table with no wait. 

After lunch, my family went home for a mid-day break, and I stayed in World Showcase. I watched Voices of Liberty, Atlas Fusion in Morocco, and the drummers in Japan. I leisurely explored the countries and listened to most of the audio tales things that come with G+. Booked a LL for Mission Space and rode orange, then my family met me at GotG at 6 for our ILL. 

Then dinner at the restaurant inside Mexico, the Mexico boat ride, TT on our LL (it was down because of rain, so we got an anyplace LL instead, but since TT reopened we used it there). Finally we walked up to a spot for Harmonius about 10 minutes ahead of time. We weren’t waterside, a few people back and sort of blocked by a tree, but we could see most everything and didn’t have to wait long (we probably could have gone even closer if we tried). Plus we were as close to the main exit as you can get. 

After that drove back to OKW. Great day!  G+ probably not needed; saved us some wait time but led us to lots of crisscrossing. 13 rides!


----------



## Boopuff

Catastrophic Deodorant Failure!  I’m finally here!  Did I mention it’s hot? Did AK yesterday.  DD really wanted FOP (bought $LL). Used genie all day, very successful!  I didn’t have my head in my phone, just booked new choices after tapping in.  Stacking worked, our afternoon was plotted out. Also didn’t see huge battery drain on my phone, but I closed all unnecessary apps.  I’m also a sucker for “fun stuff”. I have a magic band +. And it’s funny when you get near a statue and It lights and vibrates.


----------



## TeamSy

We got back on Friday and had the most AMAZING time!!!! We stayed at Contemporary and were nervous going in - everything was clean and service was amazing! 

This was our first time back since Sep ‘19. We did mask indoors and on crowded lines. Kids were great about it. We took our masks off a few times indoors when no one was around. Had no issues at all. We ate a few meals indoors and asked to be seated away from crowds. Had no issues getting that, even in be our guest! 

We LOVED lightening lane!!!!! So much better than fast pass! We waited no more than 5 minutes on anything and were able to LL most if not all attractions!!!

This was a quick trip so did only 2 days at MK.

Day 1 (we did a half day):
8:30: reserved meet mickey
10:30: reserved jungle cruise
12:00: got to park, caught parade right by meet Snow White.
12:30: met Snow White
12:50: meet mickey (LL) - this had a long regular line, we waited about 5 minutes
1:15: Buzz (LL) walked on
1:30: Speedway (LL) about 5 minute wait
2:00: Pirates (LL) about 5 minutes and that was just to walk to the ride
2:30: Thunder (LL) waited 5 minutes to ride front row
3:00: Jungle Cruise (LL) walked on, about an hour regular wait
3:30: Magic Carpets (LL) walk on
4:00: we had an early dinner and headed back to room

Day 2
We reserved haunted mansion as our first LL and did ILL for 7DMT for the afternoon
9:30: Haunted Mansion (LL) walked on (we skipped stretching room)
10:00: Splash (LL) walked on
10:30: It’s a small world (LL) walked on, then reserved Peter Pan for the afternoon.
11:00: While we waited for the 2 hour window to pass we… ate a nice lunch, waited 10 minutes for under the sea little mermaid ride, husband and older child waited 10 minutes for barnstormer while I took you get to wait for chip and dale meet. They met us there.
1:00: Reserved Dumbo (LL). After we met chip and dale we went right to that. Then I reserved Tiana and Rapunzel.
While we waited for that time we did…
Peter Pan (LL) from earlier and the ILL from earlier 7DMT (we did rider swap for this… walked on both and both had over 1 hour regular waits). 
Met Tiana and Rapunzel (LL) about a 5 minute wait, then reserved Cinderella meet for after dinner
Then met Belle, this was our longest wait of about 20 minutes
4:00: Be Our Guest
5:30: After dinner we met Cinderella (LL) less than 5 minute wait. Very surprised and kids were THRILLED that Ariel was meeting with her!
5:45: Booked Winnie the Pooh (LL), slight gap so did carousel.
6:00: Winnie the pooh
Then asked kids what else they wanted to do or re-do form either day. 
We stayed until about 8:30, which wasn’t too bad with a 5 and 2 year old. Although we could have stayed until midnight with the extra hours but mom and dad were tired lol.

We thought LL was an amazing value! It was a little annoying to be on my phone booking but other than that very stress free and smooth. We turned off all notifications and emails so it was JUST the Disney ap!

We cannot wait to go back and are so sad we are home!


----------



## brandelyncon74

Went to MK today, Labor Day. Arrived at 7:45 for resort early entry. By 12:30 we had done Space Mountain, Buzz, Pooh, Barnstormer, Seven Dwarfs (walk-on, not paid), Under the Sea, Peter Pan, Small World, Haunted Mansion (x2), Big Thunder, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Tiki and Country Bears. I bought Genie+ but didn’t really need it. It saved us about 30 min on Peter Pan and 40 min on Jungle Cruise. Party days are looking very good for wait times at MK. DHS tomorrow. Planning to get Genie+. I will report back.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

It’s 4pm and the Guardians VQ is still open, if anyone wants to know how today is going.


----------



## gottalovepluto

butterscotchcollins said:


> It’s 4pm and the Guardians VQ is still open, if anyone wants to know how today is going.


Is Labor Day weekend always this quiet?


----------



## scrappinginontario

gottalovepluto said:


> Is Labor Day weekend always this quiet?


Often, yes.  As of this week kids across the country are back in school, many returning tomorrow.  Historically (with the exception of possibly last year) Labour Day week is one of the lowest crowds, if not the very lowest, all year.


----------



## brandelyncon74

scrappinginontario said:


> Often, yes.  As of this week kids across the country are back in school, many returning tomorrow.  Historically (with the exception of possibly last year) Labour Day week is one of the lowest crowds, if not the very lowest, all year.


I can attest to last year being an anomaly. We are here this same week every year and last year was much more crowded than normal.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Labor Day has always been pretty low - we ALWAYS went - but the new AP blockout calendar now blocks all 3 day weekends so the vast majority of AP's can't get in this weekend. Us included  Womp womp. 

Not sure why they blocked AP's since it's never been a busy time but    Saved me a lot of money this weekend and made for lighter crowds it seems!


----------



## 100AcreWood

Planning a trip in January.  Our last Disney trip was July 2021 and we used our Apple watches as the magic band.  Does that still work?  I'm debating between e-tickets and having the tickets mailed.


----------



## Boopuff

We were at HS yesterday.  We were able to get
TSMM,slinky,MMRRW and RRC using genie.  Worked great for us.  We break HSi to Star Wars day and “other stuff” day so we don’t make ourselves crazy.  Crowds weren’t too bad I’m optimistic that the rest of the week will be calm


----------



## butterscotchcollins

100AcreWood said:


> Planning a trip in January.  Our last Disney trip was July 2021 and we used our Apple watches as the magic band.  Does that still work?  I'm debating between e-tickets and having the tickets mailed.



Yes - iirc Magic Mobile allows you to add your tickets to your Apple wallet so you can access them on your watch. 

I’ll be honest, the functionality was VERY spotty for me the one time I forgot my MB and had to rely on my mobile devices the whole trip, and it was very frustrating, but if you’ve used it before and it worked for you then that’s still an option.


----------



## CarolynFH

100AcreWood said:


> Planning a trip in January.  Our last Disney trip was July 2021 and we used our Apple watches as the magic band.  Does that still work?  I'm debating between e-tickets and having the tickets mailed.


As above, yes, you can still use your Apple Watch as your MB, as long as your tickets are linked to MagicMobile in your Apple Wallet. You don’t need the physical tickets. Just be sure to have your MDE account set to link to Bluetooth on your phone in order to pick up long range ride photos, e.g. on GotG. The Apple Watch can’t do that.


----------



## Boopuff

At Epcot this morning, very nice, felt low crowd level, the only FAW booth with a line of any size was Ireland (the Baileys/Guinness fabulous!). Hot as hades, but we survived!


----------



## lovethattink

At 7:29pm tonight, I got a VQ BG for GOTG! And our group was called right before 8pm!


----------



## Neverbeast

butterscotchcollins said:


> Yes - iirc Magic Mobile allows you to add your tickets to your Apple wallet so you can access them on your watch.
> 
> I’ll be honest, the functionality was VERY spotty for me the one time I forgot my MB and had to rely on my mobile devices the whole trip, and it was very frustrating, but if you’ve used it before and it worked for you then that’s still an option.


I’d bring your card though- my SIL is here now and is the only one in my party who chose to use her watch and it hasn’t worked once. Guest relations couldn’t figure it out either. She has been flashing her phone or her card to enter the parks and use LL. Very frustrating for her.

Related/unrelated- we’re finding the MB+ To be really dumb. I thought my kids would get a kick out of collecting the statues but it’s kind of a pain to switch between the accounts and have the different apps open and synch plus the statues aren’t that interesting when the talk for three seconds. Just… incredibly underwhelming


----------



## mickey916

Neverbeast said:


> I’d bring your card though- my SIL is here now and is the only one in my party who chose to use her watch and it hasn’t worked once. Guest relations couldn’t figure it out either. She has been flashing her phone or her card to enter the parks and use LL. Very frustrating for her.
> 
> Related/unrelated- we’re finding the MB+ To be really dumb. I thought my kids would get a kick out of collecting the statues but it’s kind of a pain to switch between the accounts and have the different apps open and synch plus the statues aren’t that interesting when the talk for three seconds. Just… incredibly underwhelming


I'd agree with getting a card or MagicBand. So many backed up lines at the tapstiles with people fiddling with their phones trying to get them to work. Interesting about the MB+. I was toying with the idea of just getting one to work with the statues....guess I'll stick with my regular one.


----------



## lovethattink

Neverbeast said:


> I’d bring your card though- my SIL is here now and is the only one in my party who chose to use her watch and it hasn’t worked once. Guest relations couldn’t figure it out either. She has been flashing her phone or her card to enter the parks and use LL. Very frustrating for her.
> 
> Related/unrelated- we’re finding the MB+ To be really dumb. I thought my kids would get a kick out of collecting the statues but it’s kind of a pain to switch between the accounts and have the different apps open and synch plus the statues aren’t that interesting when the talk for three seconds. Just… incredibly underwhelming


I agree about bringing your card. I don’t think the phone or watch is the way to go. So often we get stuck behind people having issues with them. MB and MB+ work so much better at tap points. 

I’m not that excited about MB+. Between mine not keeping a charge and the inconvenience of it having to charge while at a park, I don’t think what it does is that amazing. 

I remember light up pins during the Millenium celebration. They did special light ups during shows and attractions and seemed to work better than my magic band +.


----------



## scrappinginontario

A card is also easy to tuck in a pocket and pull out when needed.  Much more convenient than a phone.  We were recently in DL and I wondered what it would be like without MBs but honestly, the card was super simple for park access and LL.


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## Neverbeast

My SIL and her kids already have lanyards to pin trade so they just have their cards in a little pouch and have been really happy with it


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## Boopuff

today at HS -focus on all things Star wars- rode ROTR it was great, I get motion sickness, so during one portion I had to stare at my feet, but loved it otherwise. Crowds weren’t bad, but the rain came, and never left.  Got our reservations for Ogas, server was quick to mention 2drinks, 45min, you‘re out!  Droid build was too much fun, lightsaber was great.  Other than the endless rain, a fun day


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## Neverbeast

Boo puff are you living my same life? We did all the same. Got so wet but had a lot of fun. Oga’s was pretty backed up by the time we got there- 20’min wait even with our reservation and we just couldn’t stand in the rain a single minute more so we bailed. Other than that it was a great day!


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## Leigh L

I was there with you guys!  We only did Rise though and walked around GE a bit. We spent most of the day in front of the park.

We were in galaxys edge and bailed around 2 to 3 pm right before the downpour. Omg that was a storm! 

Went back out and landed at epcot around 5, then hopped to mk.

I don't know if it was the earlier rains or what but I did 5 rides at mk in about 2 hours (splash, big thunder. HM, buzz, and 45 min of that 2 hrs was 7dmt.) Also no problem getting a VQ for Guardians at 5 pm.

Could have done more to close out MK but was wiped so left around 10:20.  I outlasted my adult DD   she went back to the resort after epcot.

Wait times so far are unlike any I've ever seen. Yesterday we did a ton too between MK and epcot.


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## sweetyk83

I think we were all at Hollywood studios yesterday! That rain was a pain but that cloud cover all day was so nice!


----------



## Alex Baker

any reports/ breakdown/tips from anyone traveling with a toddler recently? Wouldnt be riding the headliners. 

Top genie plus options currently for each park for rides with no height requirements and where to start in each park?


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## scrappinginontario

Alex Baker said:


> any reports/ breakdown/tips from anyone traveling with a toddler recently? Wouldnt be riding the headliners.
> 
> Top genie plus options currently for each park for rides with no height requirements and where to start in each park?


Another good place to look for this information is on the Disney for Families board.  A lot of information there re: Disney with children.


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## Boopuff

Started today at MK (we knew about the party). Low waits across the board (minus headliners) we have a one-year-old in tow.  Did jungle, tiki (loved it!) pirates, HM, and small world.  We left at 1for our Space reservation.  Greeted by the crazy crowds at EPCOT.  Busiest day of our week.  Around 5 it was almost uncomfortable.  We snacked a bit then headed out to beat the fireworks insanity.  Sadly we leave tomorrow. Overall a great trip, the guys love the golfing, next time I’ll be sure to add in REST days!


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## canyoncam

Boopuff said:


> Started today at MK (we knew about the party). Low waits across the board (minus headliners) we have a one-year-old in tow.  Did jungle, tiki (loved it!) pirates, HM, and small world.  We left at 1for our Space reservation.  Greeted by the crazy crowds at EPCOT.  Busiest day of our week.  Around 5 it was almost uncomfortable.  We snacked a bit then headed out to beat the fireworks insanity.  Sadly we leave tomorrow. Overall a great trip, the guys love the golfing, next time I’ll be sure to add in REST days!


I was at MK until 1:30 and finished at Epcot too. I was solo, however I’ve been here all week and my feet are starting to hold me up! Both Monday and today I started at MK with Early Entry and accomplished everything I desired (all the headliners and some) by 1pm. Got to stay on Splash for two rides, then over to Thunder were I was brought back to reality when the cast member loading at Thunder would not let me wait for back row. Also disappointed People mover was down this morning while I was in Tomorrowland and even though I watched Laugh Floor and rode Space Mountain twice waiting for it to come up it, I left the park, hopped on the monorail to Epcot and saw it was up. Disney problems!! But I did manage a boarding group for guardians of the Galaxy as I’ve been able to all week. Rode all attractions except Figment and Frozen waiting for my group. I’d done the eating Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday was so slow at Epcot I pulled a GotG BG at 4:30pm and got called at 7pm. Best week ever!!!!!


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## CampbellzSoup

I just got back from a great trip we spent four days in the parks one in Universal we went to the Halloween party and overall had a fantastic time!

However, I will say and I will say… I will never ever ever ever ever go in August again or early September it was hotter than the sun outside at points and worst of all I was staying at Universal‘s cabana bay there was heat lightning every night which close the pool for hours!


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## gottalovepluto

CampbellzSoup said:


> I just got back from a great trip we spent four days in the parks one in Universal we went to the Halloween party and overall had a fantastic time!
> 
> However, I will say and I will say… I will never ever ever ever ever go in August again or early September it was hotter than the sun outside at points and worst of all I was staying at Universal‘s cabana bay there was heat lightning every night which close the pool for hours!


Sad on the weather but your pics are still ADORBS!


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## Neverbeast

Finishing a great week and flying home tomorrow. A few overview thoughts: 

Mostly an incredible trip. Thanks to everyone who shared tips and experiences because I felt like all the planning made things so smooth- any time our plans had to change on the fly I had three other good options in my pocket ready to deploy! 

Weather was tough. It was either super hot or rain/lightning was changing the plan. Overall I’m really happy with the way we did late lunch TS and got out of the sun or storms during the most brutal hours each day. 

G+ worked great for us, yes it was expensive and yes it was low crowds most days and we maybe didn’t “need” it but it made our trip really easy. Everything worked fine for a party of 11, we didn’t have to split anything up for booking. I didn’t love waking up at 6:50 on our G+ days but I was able to go back to sleep most days and my family got to sleep in, ride everything they wanted, and be in great moods all week so worth it to me.

Cast members- we had some really incredible magic moments, mostly from older looking folks I assume have been with Disney a long time… we had some not great moments too, and a LOT of having to wait and eventually interrupt clusters of CMs ignoring us and chatting together. I don’t begrudge anyone having fun work banter but by the end of the week I was finding it annoying. Still better than our universal day, and overall still left a good impression for their customer service. Lots more good than bad. ToT CMs were on fire yesterday with the jokes and hamming it up. We loved them. 

We enjoyed MK the least, HS the most.  Fireworks treats and seats party was worth it for a break from the rain and heat and to get an evening drink.  desserts were meh except the crepe was delicious. Kids loved the whole thing. We got in line to check in way too early, and they let everyone bring the chairs over to the rail to see fireworks anyway so I didn’t need to be so worried about checking in for a good seat. Lovely to watch fireworks with a chair and no one touching me 

Ohana food was pretty meh for me, that was our worst meal. Tusker house was the best. We also liked a lot of the items from Sci Fi. Those wings are insanely expensive but the sauce was so good.  Woody’s lunch box was also kind of disappointing, I thought I’d like the lunch box tarts more. Caseys corner was also a miss for us. None of us liked anything but the fries. HS carrot cake cookie was delicious and we also loved the Wookie cookie. 

Missed a few snacks I wanted, had to bail on Gideons, which I’m still so bummed about, and didn’t find any must have souvenirs, but overall amazing experience!


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## Jennasis

We are here now...

Arrived yesterday a day our room at BLT was ready by 2pm. Fabulous "lake view" room on the Mk side with a perfect view of the castle, fireworks and space mountain.

We Mosied into MK around 4:30 and rode (without G+), pirates (walk on), BTMRR 30 min wait), Space Mountain (20 min wait),  TTA (5 min wait), Buzz (15 min wait), Carousel of Progress (walk on), Haunted Mansion (walk on), Monsters Inc (walk on), ate an ice cream cookie sandwich from the plaza ice cream shop, a spicy chicken waffle sandwich, and a brownie sundae and chocolate shake from Auntie Gravity's while Watching Enchantment with no crowds in Fantasyland. A delightful evening!

This morning we slept in until 8:30am and then went to AK.  Got in around 10:30 and did (with no G+), Dinosaur (15 min wait), FotLK (20 min wait while theater was loading), Gorilla Falls trail, ate at Satuli, did Everest (12 min wait), Safari (10 min wait), ITtBaB (walk on), Finding Nemo show (walked up 5 min prior to show and got great seats) and then went to dinner at Boma.  Am currently in a food coma.

Tomorrow we Epcot!


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## cdurham1

Jennasis said:


> We are here now...
> 
> Arrived yesterday a day our room at BLT was ready by 2pm. Fabulous "lake view" room on the Mk side with a perfect view of the castle, fireworks and space mountain.
> 
> We Mosied into MK around 4:30 and rode (without G+), pirates (walk on), BTMRR 30 min wait), Space Mountain (20 min wait),  TTA (5 min wait), Buzz (15 min wait), Carousel of Progress (walk on), Haunted Mansion (walk on), Monsters Inc (walk on), ate an ice cream cookie sandwich from the plaza ice cream shop, a spicy chicken waffle sandwich, and a brownie sundae and chocolate shake from Auntie Gravity's while Watching Enchantment with no crowds in Fantasyland. A delightful evening!
> 
> This morning we slept in until 8:30am and then went to AK.  Got in around 10:30 and did (with no G+), Dinosaur (15 min wait), FotLK (20 min wait while theater was loading), Gorilla Falls trail, ate at Satuli, did Everest (12 min wait), Safari (10 min wait), ITtBaB (walk on), Finding Nemo show (walked up 5 min prior to show and got great seats) and then went to dinner at Boma.  Am currently in a food coma.
> 
> Tomorrow we Epcot!


Sounds like a great first 2 days!


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## cdurham1

Neverbeast said:


> Finishing a great week and flying home tomorrow. A few overview thoughts:
> 
> Mostly an incredible trip. Thanks to everyone who shared tips and experiences because I felt like all the planning made things so smooth- any time our plans had to change on the fly I had three other good options in my pocket ready to deploy!
> 
> Weather was tough. It was either super hot or rain/lightning was changing the plan. Overall I’m really happy with the way we did late lunch TS and got out of the sun or storms during the most brutal hours each day.
> 
> G+ worked great for us, yes it was expensive and yes it was low crowds most days and we maybe didn’t “need” it but it made our trip really easy. Everything worked fine for a party of 11, we didn’t have to split anything up for booking. I didn’t love waking up at 6:50 on our G+ days but I was able to go back to sleep most days and my family got to sleep in, ride everything they wanted, and be in great moods all week so worth it to me.
> 
> Cast members- we had some really incredible magic moments, mostly from older looking folks I assume have been with Disney a long time… we had some not great moments too, and a LOT of having to wait and eventually interrupt clusters of CMs ignoring us and chatting together. I don’t begrudge anyone having fun work banter but by the end of the week I was finding it annoying. Still better than our universal day, and overall still left a good impression for their customer service. Lots more good than bad. ToT CMs were on fire yesterday with the jokes and hamming it up. We loved them.
> 
> We enjoyed MK the least, HS the most.  Fireworks treats and seats party was worth it for a break from the rain and heat and to get an evening drink.  desserts were meh except the crepe was delicious. Kids loved the whole thing. We got in line to check in way too early, and they let everyone bring the chairs over to the rail to see fireworks anyway so I didn’t need to be so worried about checking in for a good seat. Lovely to watch fireworks with a chair and no one touching me
> 
> Ohana food was pretty meh for me, that was our worst meal. Tusker house was the best. We also liked a lot of the items from Sci Fi. Those wings are insanely expensive but the sauce was so good.  Woody’s lunch box was also kind of disappointing, I thought I’d like the lunch box tarts more. Caseys corner was also a miss for us. None of us liked anything but the fries. HS carrot cake cookie was delicious and we also loved the Wookie cookie.
> 
> Missed a few snacks I wanted, had to bail on Gideons, which I’m still so bummed about, and didn’t find any must have souvenirs, but overall amazing experience!


Wookie cookie is one of the best snacks at WDW, imo. And I feel like we are really taking a break away from the park there.

Sounds like your family is lucky to have you as their planner and keep everything smooth!


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## Jennasis

Heading to Epcot shortly...got VQ and iLL$ for GotG easily right at 7am. Our boarding group is 14 and our iLL$ is for 10am. On to a great day!


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## kmrobins03

butterscotchcollins said:


> It’s 4pm and the Guardians VQ is still open, if anyone wants to know how today is going.


This is a great reminder. We park hopped to Epcot last week and got there early evening, around 5pm. I thought for sure the 1pm VQ would be full- to our surprise.. we got it!  So awesome!


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## butterscotchcollins

kmrobins03 said:


> This is a great reminder. We park hopped to Epcot last week and got there early evening, around 5pm. I thought for sure the 1pm VQ would be full- to our surprise.. we got it!  So awesome!



It is SUCH a fun ride! Props to my husband for figuring out that you can do both VQ and $ILL on the same day lol. Can’t wait to go back but I know November race weekend is going to be a VERY different trip.


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## IluvMGM

We are back from a 2-week trip at Pop Century. We rope dropped every day, usually got in line for the bus or skyliner around 6:15 and didn't have any issues being up front to enter the parks. It was smooth sailing going through security this year, we never got stopped. It was also smooth sailing entering the parks. It seemed like last year there was always a fingerprint issue. We did MK on party days and had no issue walking right on almost everything. We always started with mine train and then did peter pan, jungle cruise, pirates, splash and big thunder and then made our way through fantasyland and tomorrowland. Genie Plus was not needed at all for any of the parks, we had no problem doing everything with low waits. Fireworks were tough because it stormed many of the nights we were there, but we managed to see both shows. Guardians virtual queue was no problem getting. My head didn't feel great after riding it, so it kind of set me back for a few hours. I wanted to try again our 2nd Epcot day, but didn't want to take a chance, so I sat it out. We ate a lot of good food, though some of our usual favorites seemed not quite as good as it normally is. Overall it was a great trip. I did notice more things not working or damaged than I usually do, and more trash laying around. There were cigarette butts in ride queues and all around the resort, which was new to me.


----------



## GBRforWDW

IluvMGM said:


> skyliner around 6:15 and didn't have any issues being up front to enter the parks.


What time would you say a line started forming for the skyliner?  What was the line like over at CBR to either of the parks?  We're Staying at Pop in a couple weeks, so curious what I'll have to do


----------



## IluvMGM

GBRforWDW said:


> What time would you say a line started forming for the skyliner?  What was the line like over at CBR to either of the parks?  We're Staying at Pop in a couple weeks, so curious what I'll have to do


I would say between 6 and 6:15 the line began. There was no line ever at CBR when we got there. We were able to get right on the skyliner to HS or Epcot. I guess they either send all the CBR people off before we arrive or they don't like to get up early. LOL


----------



## Jennasis

Our day at Epcot today was a rousing success once again with NO Genie+. We got up at 6:50 just to purchase an iLL$ for GotG and grab a VQ and got both with no problems. BG 14 and iLL$ for 10am. Took it easy getting ready and walked in the park a little after 8am. Rode Sparin' twice in a row with no wait...row B1 and then B2. Our first ride it was literally just us and one other family on the ENTIRE ride. Second ride it was just a couple of families in the B section and everything else empty.

Then we got called for our Guardians BG and rode that (got "I Ran"), and despite having taken meizine last night the ride made me pretty queasy during the last 1/4 of the ride. It passed pretty quick once we got out of there and I sat for a moment. 

Then we hopped on Test Track single rider and walked right on.

After that we grabbed a soda and pretzel to help the queasiness before going back on GotG for our iLL$. We walked right on and got "I Ran" again...and got SUPER queasy again. So bad I literally had to cover my mouth as I was about to hurl, but the ride ended. 10 more seconds and the ride would have gone offline because of me lol. I had to sit on the bench at the exit of the unload station with my head between my knees. A kind CM asked.me if I needed help and offered to get me water. But sitting helped enough where I could get on my feet and walk out.  We then decided to go back to BLT to swim and have lunch. 

We wanted to mobile order Steakhouse 71 but DH wanted the grilled cheese which us no longer on the mobile order menu. So we did a walk up and just ate in the restaurant right when they opened. It was delicious and I was feeling better. A couple Tylenol for the nausea induced headache helped too.

Then we napped for an hour and then swam for an hour before heading back to Epcot and walking aaaaalllll the way tonthe Dolphin for dinner at Shulas (delicious!). Then we walked through the Y&BC to stay out of the rain as we walked back to Epcot. A gorgeous rainbow formed over the park! We grabbed some desserts from Kringla to take back to the hotel. And hopped on SSE walk on as we exited.

Just got back to our room in time to enjoy watching Enchantment from our balcony. It was like they were exploding in our faces!!

Now we are relaxing before bed. Early night because tomorrow will be an early day at DHS!


----------



## DisneyFive

IluvMGM said:


> We are back from a 2-week trip at Pop Century. We rope dropped every day, usually got in line for the bus or skyliner around 6:15 and didn't have any issues being up front to enter the parks. It was smooth sailing going through security this year, we never got stopped. It was also smooth sailing entering the parks. It seemed like last year there was always a fingerprint issue. We did MK on party days and had no issue walking right on almost everything. We always started with mine train and then did peter pan, jungle cruise, pirates, splash and big thunder and then made our way through fantasyland and tomorrowland. Genie Plus was not needed at all for any of the parks, we had no problem doing everything with low waits. Fireworks were tough because it stormed many of the nights we were there, but we managed to see both shows. Guardians virtual queue was no problem getting. My head didn't feel great after riding it, so it kind of set me back for a few hours. I wanted to try again our 2nd Epcot day, but didn't want to take a chance, so I sat it out. We ate a lot of good food, though some of our usual favorites seemed not quite as good as it normally is. Overall it was a great trip. I did notice more things not working or damaged than I usually do, and more trash laying around. There were cigarette butts in ride queues and all around the resort, which was new to me.





Jennasis said:


> Our day at Epcot today was a rousing success once again with NO Genie+. We got up at 6:50 just to purchase an iLL$ for GotG and grab a VQ and got both with no problems. BG 14 and iLL$ for 10am. Took it easy getting ready and walked in the park a little after 8am. Rode Sparin' twice in a row with no wait...row B1 and then B2. Our first ride it was literally just us and one other family on the ENTIRE ride. Second ride it was just a couple of families in the B section and everything else empty.
> 
> Then we got called for our Guardians BG and rode that (got "I Ran"), and despite having taken meizine last night the ride made me pretty queasy during the last 1/4 of the ride. It passed pretty quick once we got out of there and I sat for a moment.
> 
> Then we hopped on Test Track single rider and walked right on.
> 
> After that we grabbed a soda and pretzel to help the queasiness before going back on GotG for our iLL$. We walked right on and got "I Ran" again...and got SUPER queasy again. So bad I literally had to cover my mouth as I was about to hurl, but the ride ended. 10 more seconds and the ride would have gone offline because of me lol. I had to sit on the bench at the exit of the unload station with my head between my knees. A kind CM asked.me if I needed help and offered to get me water. But sitting helped enough where I could get on my feet and walk out.  We then decided to go back to BLT to swim and have lunch.
> 
> We wanted to mobile order Steakhouse 71 but DH wanted the grilled cheese which us no longer on the mobile order menu. So we did a walk up and just ate in the restaurant right when they opened. It was delicious and I was feeling better. A couple Tylenol for the nausea induced headache helped too.
> 
> Then we napped for an hour and then swam for an hour before heading back to Epcot and walking aaaaalllll the way tonthe Dolphin for dinner at Shulas (delicious!). Then we walked through the Y&BC to stay out of the rain as we walked back to Epcot. A gorgeous rainbow formed over the park! We grabbed some desserts from Kringla to take back to the hotel. And hopped on SSE walk on as we exited.
> 
> Just got back to our room in time to enjoy watching Enchantment from our balcony. It was like they were exploding in our faces!!
> 
> Now we are relaxing before bed. Early night because tomorrow will be an early day at DHS!


Oh how I miss being able to visit during the slow September timeframes.  Touringplans is showing 2-3's overall.  Glad you both are able to fully enjoy it.

Dan


----------



## jimmymc

GBRforWDW said:


> What time would you say a line started forming for the skyliner?  What was the line like over at CBR to either of the parks?  We're Staying at Pop in a couple weeks, so curious what I'll have to do


When I stayed at Caribbean Beach, the line would form around 7:30 for a 9 am opening time. The Skyliner would start running around 7:45, and the line would take 5 to 10 minutes to get through. I can't comment on when the Pop station opens.


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## leeniewdw

jimmymc said:


> When I stayed at Caribbean Beach, the line would form around 7:30 for a 9 am opening time. The Skyliner would start running around 7:45, and the line would take 5 to 10 minutes to get through. I can't comment on when the Pop station opens.



When we were last there (Pop) in March, we made our 7am choices in our room, then left and walked to the food court for a Diet Coke, then walked to the Skyliner.  I'm not sure exactly sure what time it was (I'd guess 7:15am or so) and the line was gone and there may have been ~10 people in front of us stepping on.  YMMV.  The transfer at CBR was more crowded, but it might have been 5-10 mins MAX to get on the HS skyliner.


----------



## GBRforWDW

jimmymc said:


> When I stayed at Caribbean Beach, the line would form around 7:30 for a 9 am opening time. The Skyliner would start running around 7:45, and the line would take 5 to 10 minutes to get through. I can't comment on when the Pop station opens.





leeniewdw said:


> When we were last there (Pop) in March, we made our 7am choices in our room, then left and walked to the food court for a Diet Coke, then walked to the Skyliner.  I'm not sure exactly sure what time it was (I'd guess 7:15am or so) and the line was gone and there may have been ~10 people in front of us stepping on.  YMMV.  The transfer at CBR was more crowded, but it might have been 5-10 mins MAX to get on the HS skyliner.


Thanks all!  We'll be flying in late the night before and I'll be going to HS solo, but wanting to try to go through TSL before Early Entry is over.  Probably a long shot, but this info should give me a chance! Lol.


----------



## IluvMGM

jimmymc said:


> When I stayed at Caribbean Beach, the line would form around 7:30 for a 9 am opening time. The Skyliner would start running around 7:45, and the line would take 5 to 10 minutes to get through. I can't comment on when the Pop station opens.


From Pop the skyliner started running between 6:50-6:55. The ride to Caribbean Beach was usually spent refreshing for the virtual queue on Epcot days. Then as soon as we got to Caribbean Beach we would get right on to the next skyliner to the park.


----------



## jimmymc

IluvMGM said:


> From Pop the skyliner started running between 6:50-6:55. The ride to Caribbean Beach was usually spent refreshing for the virtual queue on Epcot days. Then as soon as we got to Caribbean Beach we would get right on to the next skyliner to the park.


Makes sense. My info was from early 2021, when Epcot still wasn't opening until 10 and early hours weren't back yet, so I assume everything is shifted up by 30 minutes.


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## Boopuff

We were lucky that we were able to purchase Genie with our tickets before Disney stopped it.  We loved Genie.  My DD knew all the ins and outs.  We rode everything we wanted She was clever and stacked several rides each day. Not too much running around.  If we had some free time, she'd even use it for things like Tiki Room. (LOL)  best airconditioning around!  I found crowds manageable, except for Friday afternoon/evening at EPcot.  I think locals swarm in for FW.  It wasn't fun.


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## Leigh L

Just got back last night and had a fun trip!
Guardians is now absolutely one of myh favorites. Disney hit it out of the park with this one. Ended up riding it 4 times in 5 days (2 VQ afternoons after a hop and 1 for the am VQ; 1 $ILL). When I arrived on Friday I was unable to get the 1 p.m. drop after 2 p.m.. As noted above Epcot was pretty packed on this day. It was still available when I was on the monorail coming from MK but by the time I tapped around 2-2:30 p.m. (IIRC), the 1 p.m. VQ was finished.

If you get an early boarding group and you're an early riser, it seems WDW consistently starts the ride roughly 20 minutes before Early Entry even begins. In June I had group 2 and was called at 8:10 and I was still at the TTC coming off the Shades of Green bus. On this Sept trip, I got group 6 and headed straight to the bus. Group 6 was called at 8:10 when I was walking into the ride area.

There was NO ONE there at 8:10, like anywhere. That felt wild. Numerous CMs were at the ride entry but that's it. So I scanned in - walked through the queue completely alone. Preshows I was by myself which was also weird but also cool since I noticed so many more things I hadn't previously (since I'm short and a crowd towers over me lol.)

Walked down to the coaster part, alone. CM told me to pick any seat I wanted. I only saw one other person that wasn't a CM during the entire ride experience and that was walking up the stairs after I exited the ride.

I went back around 2 p.m. for my $ILL and it was as crowded as it normally would be. Such a contrast!


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## Jennasis

DHS was a little wonky today. Due to bith Rise and RnRC being down at park open and for a good chunk of the day, wait times at the other rides we're crazy. We got there at early entry and the queue for ToT was 75 min (but we were near the front of the Line at rope drop and waited 20). Then we got on Slinky with a 40 minute wait. Grabbed a ronto wrap and then managed to get on Rise with our iLL$ at 10am before it went down again. Ate lunch at Sci Fi (yum!) And We hit Star Tours with a short 10 min wait, then walked through Launch Bay and the shops on Hollywood Blvd before heading out for a loooong midday nap and late swim. Finishing the night now exploring the monorail loop. And grabbed dinner at Tambu Lounge (pot stickers, noodles and ribs...quite good!). Will wrap up with the water pageant at some point and watch the Halloween fireworks from our room at BLT again.


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## Jennasis

Today was our second MK day. We slept in to the decadent hour of 8:30am and then walked over to MK from BLT. The wait times looked super low, but then i realized park opening was 9am and we were getting In Around 9:30ish. It was forecasted to be a lower crowd Dat but times grew quickly. 

We got on the standby line for Splash which was posted a 45 min wait but said 27 min on LINES. While in line I begrudgingly checked the various LL return times in the park and found that there were actually quite a few still available for things we wanted to ride all around the time we would be getting off Splash ..so I bought it...and then worked the heck out of it lol. Got off Splash at 10:45 and rode the following in order with G+:

Pirates
Space
Buzz
Little Mermaid
IASW
Dumbo
BtMRR

We ate lunch after Pirates at Pecos Bill's and got the walking taco which was fantastic!

We also did Country Bears.

We also continued our "scavenger hunt" of trying to find all the Golden statues in each park. We found all statues in every park except Tinkerbelle. We will attempt to locate her Friday before leave...don't tell me where she is!!

We also stopped to see Wendell waving at the crowd in Frontierland, saw Mickeys Magical Friendship Faire stage show (literally walked up as it was starting and was right up against the stage), and happened to be right at the parade start point at the exact moment Mickeys cavalcade stepped off so had front row spots to watch that.

We left the park at 3pm and went to our room to freshen up for an evening at Disney Springs and dinner at Morimoto Asia (which was magnificent). It started raining like crazy while we were eating dinner but we had ponchos and umbrellas so just rocked on. We shopped at WoD a bit doing mobile checkout (love it) and then got in lone for Gideons...

While in line the CM walked out from the kitchen with a tray of hot cookies and shouted it was hit cookie hour. Of course we had to try it. .and OMG it was life changing! DOOOOOO IIIITTTT!! We got the hot cookie and ice cream as well as a few cookies to take home and a cake slice.

Now we are relaxing in our room while Enchantment explodes outside and we massage each others tired feet.  A great day!


----------



## wabbott

What is the crowd level this week?  Above normal for this time of year?  Below?  Average?  Trying to get a feel for whether economic conditions are affecting attendance, and by extension, DIS' economic health.


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## scrappinginontario

wabbott said:


> What is the crowd level this week?  Above normal for this time of year?  Below?  Average?  Trying to get a feel for whether economic conditions are affecting attendance, and by extension, DIS' economic health.


I've heard the crowds are low but this is one of the quietest weeks normally so not sure if it's a good indication of current crowds or what things will be like between now and Christmas.

I know many resorts have been full between now and Christmas for many months.


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## Jennasis

Crowds have been manageable. Lower than other times of Years as this week usually is but not as low as it was pre covid. We got a LOT accomplished this week.


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## juuuliebeth

I just came back from a trip from September 8-16.  While the crowd levels were great (going to MK on a party day is a game changer) the weather was not fun to manage.  The sun was fierce and the rain came almost every day.  Luckily, I was prepared with a UV umbrella, a personal fan, and water gear.  I can't imagine not having any of those items.

I also used DAS for the first time.  Due to a chronic illness, I don't deal well with extreme temperatures.  I've learned that Epcot isn't bad because most queues are indoors, but Hollywood Studios has a lot of outdoor ones.  My plan was to use DAS for attractions with large parts of the line outdoors (Tower of Terror, Rock n Roller Coaster, Spaceship Earth, Thunder Mountain) while waiting for lines that are primarily indoors (Soarin', Space Mountain, Toy Story Mania).  Anyway, there were times I didn't even have to bother making DAS reservations because the wait times were low anyway.  It was amazing.  It definitely made it easier to deal with the heat when I didn't have to be out in it for long periods of time.

If you can withstand heat better than I can, I highly recommend going this time of year.  We got everything done we wanted and more.


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## boogienights

Where to begin?  Well I guess I should get the worst over with...the crowds.  They are  truly awful.  There are just way too many people.  Early entry, Genie+ and ILL have been awesome.  We've ridden everything we've wanted to (sometimes more than once) without waiting for more than 20 minutes.  But once the crowds pick up, the fun ends.    The throngs are overwhelming and all we want to do is ESCAPE to somewhere quiet where we can move around without having to dodge a sea of strollers.  I love Animal Kingdom and World Showcase  but it was impossible to explore and enjoy the atmosphere.  Then there is the expense.  I was prepared for and resigned to the expense but it is difficult to justify spending so much and needing to leave after a few hours because of how crowded it is.    If it weren't for Genie+ and ILL, we'd be truly miserable. Do I regret coming? Mostly no.  There have been many fun moments and it's been a decade since my family and I vacationed together.  But I can promise you all this...I won't be coming back to Disney.  They would have to seriously cap attendance or build a couple more parks or dozens more attractions to spread out the crowds to tempt me to return.  We're off to USO tomorrow and I'd be happy to post an update of our experience for comparison there if anyone is interested.


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## MinnieFan4ever

yes, please update. We are heading that way in 10 days.


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## jimim

wait didn't Disney start a park reservation system some time ago to control the amount of people in the park? isn't it suppose to allow for a more enjoyable experience? were you maybe in the park on a day they weren't using the reservation system? cause if they were everything should have been very manageable cause the reservation system should control the amount of people allowed in the parks?


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## craedaisy12

Thank you for your post. I will be going down on the 22nd and i plan to just take my time and enjoy myself. We are there for two weeks with our 1 year old with some family also joining. 

I’m in the mindset that this is all because of ‘revenge vacationing’ and people who had trips in 2020 are making up for it now or have credits to use. I’m thankful for my trip in March 2020 that ended a day before everything shut down!

We try to go every other year and hoping in 2024 things are closer to normal.


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## craedaisy12

jimim said:


> wait didn't Disney start a park reservation system some time ago to control the amount of people in the park? isn't it suppose to allow for a more enjoyable experience? were you maybe in the park on a day they weren't using the reservation system? cause if they were everything should have been very manageable cause the reservation system should control the amount of people allowed in the parks?


I think it started as a way to control crowds now it’s for that and also making sure they have enough staff.

Also some attractions haven’t reopened so the crowds aren’t dispersed as they usually are.


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## DisneyMommyMichelle

Not surprised, we thought the same thing in March but we go so often that we have only a set of must-dos and we have plenty of time to accomplish them. We like going in the evenings and rope drop, the middle of the day is usually reserved for the resort and just hanging out in general. If you ever see a family sitting at a table with drinks and snacks and playing Rummy, that is us just letting crowds thin out a bit and relaxing! LOL 
We head back in 15 days and are spending the first week just relaxing at the resort, doing a Monorail crawl, Segway tour and the like.


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## jimim

craedaisy12 said:


> I think it started as a way to control crowds now it’s for that and also making sure they have enough staff.
> 
> Also some attractions haven’t reopened so the crowds aren’t dispersed as they usually are.


actually lets rephrase "making sure they have enough staff". . . more like know how many people to keep home so they save money buy not overpaying for people to be not busy.

what isn't open isn't going to change how busy the parks are right now.  people are going and they are letting them in the reservation system is a joke.


----------



## jimim

craedaisy12 said:


> Thank you for your post. I will be going down on the 22nd and i plan to just take my time and enjoy myself. We are there for two weeks with our 1 year old with some family also joining.
> 
> I’m in the mindset that this is all because of ‘revenge vacationing’ and people who had trips in 2020 are making up for it now or have credits to use. I’m thankful for my trip in March 2020 that ended a day before everything shut down!
> 
> We try to go every other year and hoping in 2024 things are closer to normal.


last time we were there was June 2019.  I have cx'ed. . . lets see 6 trips.  Only reason I'm going in November is cause my kids and wife are on my back.  We haven't missed 2-3 trips per year since man 2000. . . I just don't have much of a desire to go with all the changes, but we are going for 12 days so we will see how it is.  I'm trying to stay positive cause Disney was a huge pat of our lives, but since covid and all the changes my priority on where I travel and when I want to retire has drastically changed.  our plan is to just kinda go with the flow.  all we really want to accomplish in those 12 days is Star Wars land cause it wasn't open in June of 2019.  the mickey and Minnie railroad, ratatouille, and guardians.  other than that,  what shall be will be.


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## craedaisy12

jimim said:


> last time we were there was June 2019.  I have cx'ed. . . lets see 6 trips.  Only reason I'm going in November is cause my kids and wife are on my back.  We haven't missed 2-3 trips per year since man 2000. . . I just don't have much of a desire to go with all the changes, but we are going for 12 days so we will see how it is.  I'm trying to stay positive cause Disney was a huge pat of our lives, but since covid and all the changes my priority on where I travel and when I want to retire has drastically changed.  our plan is to just kinda go with the flow.  all we really want to accomplish in those 12 days is Star Wars land cause it wasn't open in June of 2019.  the mickey and Minnie railroad, ratatouille, and guardians.  other than that,  what shall be will be.


Totally agree with how much it has changed. This will make my 18th time since 2001 all but 2 trips have happened after 2007. We love being in the Disney bubble but while they keep adding new things it’s hard to have the same mindset because so much is new and we’ve gotta try it. My next trip my only must do is Guadians because that has opened since I last went. 

I hope you have a good time!


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## DisneyFive

boogienights said:


> Where to begin?  Well I guess I should get the worst over with...the crowds.  They are  truly awful.  There are just way too many people.  Early entry, Genie+ and ILL have been awesome.  We've ridden everything we've wanted to (sometimes more than once) without waiting for more than 20 minutes.  But once the crowds pick up, the fun ends.    The throngs are overwhelming and all we want to do is ESCAPE to somewhere quiet where we can move around without having to dodge a sea of strollers.  I love Animal Kingdom and World Showcase  but it was impossible to explore and enjoy the atmosphere.  Then there is the expense.  I was prepared for and resigned to the expense but it is difficult to justify spending so much and needing to leave after a few hours because of how crowded it is.    If it weren't for Genie+ and ILL, we'd be truly miserable. Do I regret coming? Mostly no.  There have been many fun moments and it's been a decade since my family and I vacationed together.  But I can promise you all this...I won't be coming back to Disney.  They would have to seriously cap attendance or build a couple more parks or dozens more attractions to spread out the crowds to tempt me to return.  We're off to USO tomorrow and I'd be happy to post an update of our experience for comparison there if anyone is interested.





jimim said:


> wait didn't Disney start a park reservation system some time ago to control the amount of people in the park? isn't it suppose to allow for a more enjoyable experience? were you maybe in the park on a day they weren't using the reservation system? cause if they were everything should have been very manageable cause the reservation system should control the amount of people allowed in the parks?



_Actual_ overall crowd levels (from touring plans historical crowds) the last week of this September were 4, 4, 6, 5, 7, 3, 4. (out of 10).  If you haven't been in 10 years, I can see how crowds felt heavy but it's still a slower time than most.  I wish we could go back to 2012 crowd levels, but those days have been gone for the last 5+ years.  The only thing that could drastically change that now is another major recession, which is what reset those crowd levels so low in the 2009-2013 timeframe.  (not that I'm wishing for a major recession)

We were in WDW for 8 nights this late July and it felt like any other late July, early August, trip that we've taken over the last 5 years. (measured 5's. 6's, 7's)

Dan


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## mrd7896

can anyone share their experiences relatively recently on how overestimated wait times are? 
I know it's always a gamble, but in preparation for our upcoming trip (yes we chose a HORRIBLE time to go because of Columbus day), i'm trying to get a game plan for some of our days. 
MK won't matter because we have party tickets.
We are going to pay for Genie+ for HS since that seems like a nightmare almost every day--hoping to rope drop tower, rnrc and then head to TSMM before official park open with a genie selection for MMRR on the lineup.  I'm crossing my fingers that we can get tower and RNRC in the 30 minutes because people still rush to rise or slinky????

Basically for AK and EP, are the wait times still being over estimated to manage expectations and force people to buy Genie+? Seeing a 60 minute wait for Soarin right now has me a bit spooked...
We go annually which is why we are going to avoid some of the big headliners aka slinky, rise, seven dwarves or frozen

(admittedly i always get like this before a trip and we are able to navigate things relatively well, but it's never fun looking at current wait times and everything, even some of the...C list attractions..are 35 minutes!)


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## VAtink

DisneyFive said:


> _Actual_ overall crowd levels (from touring plans historical crowds) the last week of this September were 4, 4, 6, 5, 7, 3, 4. (out of 10).  If you haven't been in 10 years, I can see how crowds felt heavy but it's still a slower time than most.  I wish we could go back to 2012 crowd levels, but those days have been gone for the last 5+ years.  The only thing that could drastically change that now is another major recession, which is what reset those crowd levels so low in the 2009-2013 timeframe.  (not that I'm wishing for a major recession)
> 
> We were in WDW for 8 nights this late July and it felt like any other late July, early August, trip that we've taken over the last 5 years. (measured 5's. 6's, 7's)
> 
> Dan


To be fair, 5+ is historically not normal the last week of September.  I just checked the touring plans historical crowds for this past week vs the same week in 2019 to compare to pre-pandemic levels for the same parks/same days we just did this year and across the board it jumped from 1 and 2 in 2019 to 5+ in 2022 (mostly 6 and 7).  We typically go the last week in September, only year we missed was 2020, and it definitely felt a whole lot more crowded this year than it ever has before for that week.


----------



## DisneyFive

VAtink said:


> To be fair, 5+ is historically not normal the last week of September.  I just checked the touring plans historical crowds for this past week vs the same week in 2019 to compare to pre-pandemic levels for the same parks/same days we just did this year and across the board it jumped from 1 and 2 in 2019 to 5+ in 2022 (mostly 6 and 7).  We typically go the last week in September, only year we missed was 2020, and it definitely felt a whole lot more crowded this year than it ever has before for that week.


Was it more busy than other years in late September?  Yes.  However it's still a relatively low crowd time when looking at an annual crowd calendar.

I agree, 5+ is not normal for the last week of September, and 5+ wasn't the average this year either.  For the last week of September, looking at average crowd levels there were four 4's, one 5, one 6, and one 7.  It was not mostly 6 and 7, rather mostly 4's.  The rest of Sept averaged about a 3 with a few 4's, 5's and 6's sprinkled in.

This late September was busier than past late Septembers, but not busy when considering high and low crowd times of the year.  People's perceptions of crowd levels can vary highly, and it can also depend on if you happened to pick the busiest park on a given day.  For example, on Sept 25th, MK was a 3, but EP was a 7

Dan


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## VAtink

DisneyFive said:


> Was it more busy than other years in late September?  Yes.  However it's still a relatively low crowd time when looking at an annual crowd calendar.
> 
> I agree, 5+ is not normal for the last week of September, and 5+ wasn't the average this year either.  For the last week of September, looking at average crowd levels there were four 4's, one 5, one 6, and one 7.  It was not mostly 6 and 7, rather mostly 4's.  The rest of Sept averaged about a 3 with a few 4's, 5's and 6's sprinkled in.
> 
> This late September was busier than past late Septembers, but not busy when considering high and low crowd times of the year.  People's perceptions of crowd levels can vary highly, and it can also depend on if you happened to pick the busiest park on a given day.  For example, on Sept 25th, MK was a 3, but EP was a 7
> 
> Dan


Well, yes, it's not as crowded as say Christmas, but having the parks be at 6 and 7 is not low crowds.  It felt about equal to and in some cases more crowded last week than it has during our spring break trips.  The weeks leading up to the last week of September were generally low crowds comparatively, but not the last week.  Note, I'm looking at the individual parks we actually went to last week not the average, and yes I get that this is a case of zigging when others zagged, and we didn't do that well this trip (how did we manage to be at the most crowded park each day?!?  ), but all but two days of our 10 day trip (really 8 days with the hurricane) the parks we were at were at 6 and 7, the other two days were 5s.  

Funny enough, the least crowded park day seemed like Epcot on the 1st for the 40th...guessing maybe because everyone was in line for the merchandise!


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## Jrb1979

DisneyFive said:


> Was it more busy than other years in late September?  Yes.  However it's still a relatively low crowd time when looking at an annual crowd calendar.
> 
> I agree, 5+ is not normal for the last week of September, and 5+ wasn't the average this year either.  For the last week of September, looking at average crowd levels there were four 4's, one 5, one 6, and one 7.  It was not mostly 6 and 7, rather mostly 4's.  The rest of Sept averaged about a 3 with a few 4's, 5's and 6's sprinkled in.
> 
> This late September was busier than past late Septembers, but not busy when considering high and low crowd times of the year.  People's perceptions of crowd levels can vary highly, and it can also depend on if you happened to pick the busiest park on a given day.  For example, on Sept 25th, MK was a 3, but EP was a 7
> 
> Dan


A lot of that also has to do with things not open yet. Some shows and places to eat. Those help eat up crowds.


----------



## SLThomas318

VAtink said:


> To be fair, 5+ is historically not normal the last week of September.  I just checked the touring plans historical crowds for this past week vs the same week in 2019 to compare to pre-pandemic levels for the same parks/same days we just did this year and across the board it jumped from 1 and 2 in 2019 to 5+ in 2022 (mostly 6 and 7).  We typically go the last week in September, only year we missed was 2020, and it definitely felt a whole lot more crowded this year than it ever has before for that week.


Sept 2019 was when galaxy’s edge opened but they announced the opening kind of last minute if I remember?  I thought that early fall was slower then usual with a lot of people waiting on the opening announcement.  They also had those amazing early park hours!  I know Hurricane Dorian was labor day weekend that year (we were there).  I don’t think fall 2019 was the norm?

Eta… I also wonder how much they are staffing based on park reservations now so that low crowd days don’t really feel low cuz they aren’t running at full capacity.  Just a hunch…


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## only hope

SLThomas318 said:


> Eta… I also wonder how much they are staffing based on park reservations now so that low crowd days don’t really feel low cuz they aren’t running at full capacity.  Just a hunch…



There was an article about that awhile back. Some people made some detailed observations of how many rides were running at less than full capacity. On days with less attendees, less CM’s work to the point where ride capacity is sometimes reduced, which means wait times aren’t lower even though the crowds are. I don’t remember who wrote the article or I’d link it. Obviously this only applies to rides with separate loading areas like Thunder Mountain or Star Tours, not omnimovers.


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## DisneyFive

Jrb1979 said:


> A lot of that also has to do with things not open yet. Some shows and places to eat. Those help eat up crowds.


You are absolutely right about that.  We noticed a marked improvement this summer ('22), versus last ('21), regarding crowd flow.  When those shows, parades, and other venues aren't open guests just spill out into the walkways everywhere.  This year was much better.  Hardly anything isn't open anymore.  I'm looking at you Fantasmic!  That's a show that has a lot of nostalgia for us, and I can't wait to see the new version based on the rumors of what they are cutting and adding.

Dan


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## CarolynFH

only hope said:


> There was an article about that awhile back. Some people made some detailed observations of how many rides were running at less than full capacity. On days with less attendees, less CM’s work to the point where ride capacity is sometimes reduced, which means wait times aren’t lower even though the crowds are. I don’t remember who wrote the article or I’d link it. Obviously this only applies to rides with separate loading areas like Thunder Mountain or Star Tours, not omnimovers.


That also happened before Covid-19 too, at less-busy times like January. BTMRR might have only two trains running instead of three or four, Soarin’ only one or two theaters open instead of three, etc.


----------



## only hope

CarolynFH said:


> That also happened before Covid-19 too, at less-busy times like January. BTMRR might have only two trains running instead of three or four, Soarin’ only one or two theaters open instead of three, etc.


I think the article pre-dated Covid.


----------



## Tom_E_D

SLThomas318 said:


> Sept 2019 was when galaxy’s edge opened but they announced the opening kind of last minute if I remember?  I thought that early fall was slower then usual with a lot of people waiting on the opening announcement.  They also had those amazing early park hours!  I know Hurricane Dorian was labor day weekend that year (we were there).  I don’t think fall 2019 was the norm?
> 
> Eta… I also wonder how much they are staffing based on park reservations now so that low crowd days don’t really feel low cuz they aren’t running at full capacity.  Just a hunch…


Another reason that the Galaxy's Edge opening did not produce the attendance pick-up that Disney was anticipating is that the land opened without Rise of the Resistance. Many Disney fans who had been postponing their trips waiting for Galaxy's Edge to open decided they could wait a few months longer for its super-headliner ride to be available.


----------



## jimim

DisneyFive said:


> _Actual_ overall crowd levels (from touring plans historical crowds) the last week of this September were 4, 4, 6, 5, 7, 3, 4. (out of 10).  If you haven't been in 10 years, I can see how crowds felt heavy but it's still a slower time than most.  I wish we could go back to 2012 crowd levels, but those days have been gone for the last 5+ years.  The only thing that could drastically change that now is another major recession, which is what reset those crowd levels so low in the 2009-2013 timeframe.  (not that I'm wishing for a major recession)
> 
> We were in WDW for 8 nights this late July and it felt like any other late July, early August, trip that we've taken over the last 5 years. (measured 5's. 6's, 7's)
> 
> Dan


A USA recession won't change cloud levels.  Non USA travels prob outnumber us 3-1 or more.  

I haven't been there since the June before COVID. Nov is our return to the land.  Before COVID we did 2-3 trips for 20 years plus.  Oh I have seen how it's changed.


----------



## Tom_E_D

jimim said:


> A USA recession won't change cloud levels.  Non USA travels prob outnumber us 3-1 or more.
> 
> I haven't been there since the June before COVID. Nov is our return to the land.  Before COVID we did 2-3 trips for 20 years plus.  Oh I have seen how it's changed.


I think your ratio of domestic to international travelers is wrong. Moreover, there are many countries besides the USA that will be impacted by the next global recession.


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## jimim

Tom_E_D said:


> I think your ratio of domestic to international travelers is wrong. Moreover, there are many countries besides the USA that will be impacted by the next global recession.
> View attachment 709492


Well if the internet says it who am I to disagree. 

I don’t know when I’m there it deff feels us state folk are deff not the majority.


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## scrappinginontario

jimim said:


> Well if the internet says it who am I to disagree.
> 
> I don’t know when I’m there it deff feels us state folk are deff not the majority.


The parks have only been open to International visitors for less than a year yet they have been extremely busy much longer than that.  Even now, some are ineligible to enter the US.  While International visitors do enjoy going to WDW, there was not a huge uptick in visitors when the borders reopened in late 2021. 

 I am only 1 person but I will say many of my friends have currently changed their vacation strategies and are visiting our own country rather than travelling abroad.  Some will return/go to Disney again but it’s no longer the travel draw destination it once was.  Many just cannot justify/afford the cost of a Disney trip.

We used to visit 2-3 times a year for over 10 years.  We have been once in the last year and do not have a Disney trip in the books which is unheard of for us who went 10 years always having 1 or 2 future WDW trips booked.

It may change but for now I agree that the majority of people visiting WDW are not international guests.


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## VandVsmama

Just back on Sat 10/8 from a week at WDW.  Here are some highlights.  Will post a trip report in the trip reports forum later on.


*Airport transportation: *Use FL Tours, which the Dis recommends.  Top notch service.  We had multiple flight issues getting TO Orlando and FL Tours was very accommodating.  Very professional. Would totally use them again.
*Halloween  *was SUPPOSED to go to Halloween party on 10/2, but totally missed it because of flight problems.  We were SUPPOSED to arrive at MCO on 10/1, but due to the hurricane, I changed our flights to Sunday and then we were going to miss our connecting flight, so Southwest moved us to another direct flight that didn't arrive at MCO until 11 pm Eastern time.  Had a sobbing cry about it in one corner of the Phoenix airport about it.  CM Kristen from upstate NY in Guest Relations at HS got our party tickets switched to Tues, 10/4.  Then I cried happy tears.  Put in a CM compliment in the WDW app for CM Kristen.  She was great.  Halloween party was totally worth the $$ we spent on the tickets.  Walked almost straight onto rides.  Handfuls of candy...our treat bags were totally full after 4 hr.  Didn't make it into the party until just before 8 pm.  We all dressed up as a Star Wars theme, with the exception of DH, who didn't dress up but wore a name tag that said, "Hello, my name is: The only responsible adult."  Got lots of laughs and comments from that.
*Audio descriptive device for the blind:  *1 of our friends who went w/us on the trip is totally blind, so we tried this out on our 1st park day (Mon 10/3).  He turned it back in about mid-afternoon, said that the descriptions were just ok and not all that great compared to descriptions on TV shows and movies.  So for rest of the trip, DH, I, or 1 of our kids would sit next to blind friend and we'd give descriptions to him (not loud, just loud enough for friend to hear).  
*Weather: *expected highs in upper 80s, but highs were around 82-83 almost the entire time. Much lower humidity than on our trips in early June.  That being said, I was still sweating a lot but I'm from AZ and we have, like, no humidity by comparison.
*CMs:  *totally on the "A" game.  Especially at check in at AoA, where we checked in after midnight on 10/2.  CM Joe was so great even in the middle of the night.  It was a great introduction to Disney service for our friends who've never been to WDW.
*Trader Sam's: *tried to go there last Thurs at 4 pm & wait was 2 hr.  I had a quiet temper tantrum about that by myself away from everybody.  Blind friend's wife saved the day and went over to the Tiki Terrace and ordered 2 of the Nautilus drinks for us 4 adults (1 serves 2 people).  So didn't get to hang out inside Trader Sam's but we got the prizes anyway.
*Captain Cook's:* we all liked the QS food here.
*AoA Cars family suite: *plenty of room for the 6 of us, which were 4 adults (2 married couples) & 2 grown-up-sized teenage girls.  Having the microwave was handy. Loved the Cozy Cone pool with the little "cabanas" shaped like traffic cones.  Blind friend & his wife stayed in the master BR, said that the mattress on that bed was amazing.  Skyliner access to HS & Epcot was great.  FYI - there's no longer any bus service from AoA to Epcot.  It's only Skyliner now.
This trip was a reminder of why I don't like being in the theme parks between 1-5 pm.  Honestly, it wasn't really THAT bad, but after a few days of dodging people, we all just got tired of playing bumper cars with people and strollers and scooters.  Really needed to start our days out early like we normally do, but the late night arrival followed by not getting back from the Halloween party until 1:15 am the following day resulted in sleeping being "off" the rest of the week.
YDD was frustrated by lack of decent selections right now for Star Wars sweatshirts/hoodies.
My kids, blind friend & his wife loved GOTG ride at Epcot.  I went on it, too, but felt very ill afterwards.  Needed about 10 min to rest after before I could go anywhere.  Didn't feel right until about an hour after the ride.  Kids & our friends loved it. YDD said it was like being IN the movie. I'm not ever going on it again, but am totally willing to get up early in order to get a virtual boarding group so my kids can go on it during the next trip.
*Cinderella's Royal Table: *reservation was at 7:20 pm on Wed, but they were running a little behind schedule, so didn't get seated until about 30 min later.  That was ok, because we ended up being IN the castle while fireworks went off.  That was pretty great.  CM at reception said that most guests end up very frustrated when they can't be done w/the meal before fireworks.  I told the CM that I've always thought it would be neat to be in the restaurant watching the fireworks go off outside the castle windows.  Food was decent.  Desserts were not a big hit for most of us.  This was a 'one and done' for us. Bucket list thing for blind friend's wife, who LOVES Cinderella.  Glad we did this.
*Primo Piatto:  *ate here 3-4 times.  DH loves the food here.  Easy to get to with Skyliner from AoA.  DH thinks that every WDW resort should serve food like Primo Piatto has.  We all decided that we'd like to stay at Riviera some day.  Very relaxing and elegant resort.
*Ride wait times:  *I considered them long, but your mileage may vary.  Used DAS the entire time because blind friend also has a bad leg injury from car accident years ago...had his entire ankle replaced and he really needed DAS for this trip.  We were all linked together on each others' WDW app accounts, so once we got blind friend set up w/DAS, any of the rest of us could book the next DAS return time on our phones. That was convenient.  Tried to set up DAS from home ahead of time, but that never worked out because the queue was too long and then we received an automated message that they couldn't help us...made sense because the hurricane stuff was going on at the time.  At one point, wait time for 7DMT was 170 minutes.  Pretty crazy.  Jungle Cruise pretty consistently 60 min or more all day long...at DL, we've never waited that long for Jungle Cruise.  
*HM & live performers:  *we never saw them on the Halloween party night. Did see live performers inside POTC, though...that was cool & fun.
LOTS of people from the South at WDW last week.
LOTS of large family groups with everybody wearing matching shirts.  For our Disneylander friends, seeing that was pretty amusing.  We started to joke about how nobody at WDW knows who they are or what family they're with because they all have to wear clothing that states their name and/or role.  
*Skipper Canteen:  *ate here last Fri for a late lunch.  We like this restaurant since YDD loves Jungle Cruise. When you're inside, you can't hear any of the commotion from elsewhere in Adventureland.  It was a nice reprieve from everything. The lime panna cotta was really good.  Blind friend's wife has celiac disease and has to eat gluten free...this dessert is gluten free.  She said it was really excellent.  She also was impressed with how WDW handles food allergies...all of the CMs taking her order took the food allergy seriously.
*Voices of Liberty: *I made everybody listen to 1 of their performances. Voices of Liberty always makes me cry and it happened this time, too.  The American Adventure attraction in that same building is still closed/under refurb.
Didn't have time or energy to battle the horde at Epcot for fall food & wine booths.  On Tuesday afternoon at Epcot, there was a massive line about 45 min long in France for people to just buy stuff at the cheese booth.
*Refillable drink mugs:  *only option are the 50th anniversary ones.  They no longer have the $29.99 Star Wars ones.  Still worth it to purchase these, saved us money on drinks throughout the trip.
*Pizza Ponte at DS:  *ate here for dinner on Fri night. Placed was MOBBED.  Blind friend said that their pizza tasted like the pizza his Italian grandmother used to make when he was a kid.  Heard about this place from 1 of the Dis dining review videos on Youtube...Ryno & Big Fat Panda, I believe, were reviewing this place.  Glad I watched that video because going there was totally worth it.  QS only and it's a limited menu, but food is really good quality for the price, in my opinion.


----------



## cdurham1

Staying on Disney property.10am alarm set this morning. Instead, woke up in cold sweat at 5am from nightmare. Nightmare was somehow owed a bookie 100k if I can't complete our specific touring plan today.

1. Is this just the nightmare that Disney trips inspire now?
2. Is this a Disney nightmare or a gambling nightmare?
3. Is there a market for such bets?


----------



## NavyDad

craedaisy12 said:


> Thank you for your post. I will be going down on the 22nd and i plan to just take my time and enjoy myself. We are there for two weeks with our 1 year old with some family also joining.
> 
> I’m in the mindset that this is all because of ‘revenge vacationing’ and people who had trips in 2020 are making up for it now or have credits to use. I’m thankful for my trip in March 2020 that ended a day before everything shut down!
> 
> We try to go every other year and hoping in 2024 things are closer to normal.


I think there is something to the "revenge vacationing" but at some point we can't blame that anymore. In a couple of short months it will be 2023. 

The fact is there was a long term trend pre-covid of increased attendance. Obviously there was a drop off with a global pandemic and all the restrictions with that but everything we are seeing indicates that demand to visit WDW is still incredibly strong. There are always predictions on these boards that people are going to get mad about price increases, cuts in services and large crowds which will lead demand to drop and ultimately for WDW to lower prices or offer steep discounts but I'm not at all convinced we see that any time soon.


----------



## NavyDad

DisneyMommyMichelle said:


> Not surprised, we thought the same thing in March but we go so often that we have only a set of must-dos and we have plenty of time to accomplish them. We like going in the evenings and rope drop, the middle of the day is usually reserved for the resort and just hanging out in general. If you ever see a family sitting at a table with drinks and snacks and playing Rummy, that is us just letting crowds thin out a bit and relaxing! LOL
> We head back in 15 days and are spending the first week just relaxing at the resort, doing a Monorail crawl, Segway tour and the like.


This has been our strategy for many years now on most of our trips. Enjoy the parks the first 3 hours of the day and the last 3 hours of the day. Relax in the middle of the day. Eat lunch at another resort, go swimming, take naps and then get ready to go back out at night. The temps are cooler and the crowds are thinner.


----------



## ScarletFire

About international visitors....

We traveled to Disney mid-August and there was a British invasion!  Typhoon Lagoon was mobbed with Brits!!  I recall commenting to DH that without the Brits, attendance would be much lower at the parks.  

I for one love to see international visitors.  I understand Europe is in a recession.  Air travel prices are high.  I don't think the Japanese visitors have made a comeback.  So yeah, there must've been a special for British citizens as there sometimes is.

We are returning to Disney this coming weekend!  We are driving and staying at the campground with our little camper.  I've been traveling to WDW since 1971.  The resort prices are astronomical compared to pre-pandemic!  A campsite is not inexpensive relative to state park campsites but Fort Wilderness is one of a kind.  And still a bargain IMO.

I'll post when we return.


----------



## DisneyMommyMichelle

NavyDad said:


> This has been our strategy for many years now on most of our trips. Enjoy the parks the first 3 hours of the day and the last 3 hours of the day. Relax in the middle of the day. Eat lunch at another resort, go swimming, take naps and then get ready to go back out at night. The temps are cooler and the crowds are thinner.


Yessss, exactly and it works out just fine!!!


----------



## LSUmiss

Anyone know if yon can shop at the emporium at 6pm on the way out on party days?


----------



## Betty Rohrer

LSUmiss said:


> Anyone know if yon can shop at the emporium at 6pm on the way out on party days?


would not plan on it as if I remember correctly they put out some special stuff but do not know for sure


----------



## only hope

ScarletFire said:


> About international visitors....
> 
> We traveled to Disney mid-August and there was a British invasion!  Typhoon Lagoon was mobbed with Brits!!  I recall commenting to DH that without the Brits, attendance would be much lower at the parks.
> 
> I for one love to see international visitors.  I understand Europe is in a recession.  Air travel prices are high.  I don't think the Japanese visitors have made a comeback.  So yeah, there must've been a special for British citizens as there sometimes is.
> 
> We are returning to Disney this coming weekend!  We are driving and staying at the campground with our little camper.  I've been traveling to WDW since 1971.  The resort prices are astronomical compared to pre-pandemic!  A campsite is not inexpensive relative to state park campsites but Fort Wilderness is one of a kind.  And still a bargain IMO.
> 
> I'll post when we return.


I think it was the first summer without extensive Covid restrictions on travel from the UK and in the UK you can’t pull your children out of school for a vacation so it makes sense there would’ve been a lot of visitors from there at that time.


----------



## boogienights

I have to say that USO was heaven in comparison to WDW.  We stayed at RPR for EP and didn't wait for more than 25 minutes for anything (usually much less).  The routine: We did EE at IOA for Hagrid and VC, getting to the gate at 7am.  After that we would do a few more rides in IOA, hop to US for more rides, lunch at Citywalk and then return to the hotel for pool time at around 2.  We returned to IOA at 6 for more rides and then a late dinner at citywalk (on Friday we just had a really big late lunch and then snacks instead of dinner because we wanted to do VC at night, getting in line at park close, waited 50 min).  Saturday was IOA/US in the morning before crowds picked up, VB in the afternoon and then dinner offsite at King Cajun Crawfish (sooooo good).  Sunday was EE at VB and then the boys relaxed at the hotel pool while the girls went to a movie.  We left Monday.  Even when crowds picked up on Saturday, it was far more bearable than WDW because there were still fewer people and so few strollers and ECVs to navigate. The girls will be returning Jan 2026 for a week to see the new park.  We'll stay at RPR again and avoid WDW like the plague.


----------



## Disney.fan

For those of you in the parks this week, are you finding long waits with Lighting Lane?


----------



## DCLMP

jimim said:


> A USA recession won't change cloud levels.  Non USA travels prob outnumber us 3-1 or more.
> 
> I haven't been there since the June before COVID. Nov is our return to the land.  Before COVID we did 2-3 trips for 20 years plus.  Oh I have seen how it's changed.


You do realize that the economic conditions in Europe are worse then ours, not to mention the exchange rate is not favorable for any country right now. International travelers will not be an issue.


----------



## Dotluvsdisney

We love Universal too but, after going several times over an 18 month period, we got bored. The hotel prices are higher than what we have been able to get for DVC rentals and we love the DVC resorts. So much more to do and see. Back to Disney for us!


----------



## cdurham1

Disney.fan said:


> For those of you in the parks this week, are you finding long waits with Lighting Lane?


Was at Disney last Monday thru yesterday. Biggest crowds of 2022, easily. It was Fall Break for a lot of schools and there also seemed to be a strong international presence.  The weather was nice and we still had fun. Lines were pretty outrageous at times.

Sitting at the pool today, going to Universal Monday and Tuesday. We will have Express Passes. Spent weeks planning Disney visit. Nice to just show up at Universal with Express Passes and not have to have an elaborate plan


----------



## taythecray

Here now for our Hollywood Studios day. Knocked out all of Galaxy's Edge by 9am thanks to early entry, but Tower of Terror has been 90+ since 10am. After waiting 85, the ride went down, and we were forced to leave due to a dining reservation. Now it's been consistent 130 since it came back up. Even Rise is only 65!! Weird crowds....


----------



## cdurham1

taythecray said:


> Here now for our Hollywood Studios day. Knocked out all of Galaxy's Edge by 9am thanks to early entry, but Tower of Terror has been 90+ since 10am. After waiting 85, the ride went down, and we were forced to leave due to a dining reservation. Now it's been consistent 130 since it came back up. Even Rise is only 65!! Weird crowds....


Yeah, we were there twice this week and noticed one time the wait for Rock N Roller Coaster was 90 minutes and Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway was 10.


----------



## jkw4afh

Just got back last night from a week long trip. We are seasoned Disney vacationers and truly love being there. Here are a few of my observations -- glad to answer any questions you may have if you have an upcoming trip:

--Stayed at Beach Club all 7 nights. CMs were always helpful, pleasant, and relaxed. Our room was smaller this time (only 2 queen beds and no sleeper/couch. Our party was my wife and I and our two teen kids, so it wasn't a major issue. Large balcony was nice. There were some cobwebs in the corners of the room, but nothing we couldn't quickly take care of ourselves. We're not folks that get bent out of shape about those kinds of things.

--Parks were definitely the most crowded we've ever seen them. Especially Magic Kingdom. We would recommend going on party days...the lines seemed a bit shorter those days. Epcot and Animal Kingdom were easy to navigate even though many were there.

--We had park hoppers this time and while it made for LOTS of walking (64 miles in total for the week!), we were able to accomplish everything we wanted to do (and usually multiple times). Our strategy was typically to rope drop most mornings, take an afternoon break (had to take advantage of Stormalong Bay!), and then go to another park at night. 

--We bought Genie+ just 2 days, and we were VERY glad we did. It helped immensely on the very busiest nights. I would highly recommend purchasing it if you are going to MK or HS. We found that we didn't need it for AK or EP...even on a very busy week. 

--Transportation was not an issue except for one morning. We were trying to rope drop HS to hit RotR...but our boat was late, and they started letting people into the park before our boat made it there. That was a bummer, but it was our second time to go to HS that week, so we took it with a grain of salt. Buses and boats were timely the rest of the week.

--BY ALL MEANS, get to Guardians of the Galaxy!!! Undoubtedly the highlight of the trip and among our entire party of 8, it is now our favorite attraction of all 4 parks. The boarding groups were all gone within 2 seconds each drop, but if you do some research, there are some tricks to securing one. I'm glad to help you know what we did...we were able to snag a BG each time we tried (4x). OUTSTANDING RIDE...KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK!

--F&W Festival...fun as always! And the Harmonious is spectacular imo.

--As many others have noted, no--it's not the same Disney. There is some pixie dust missing for sure. And it is kind of amazing how much we now have to pay for that used to be free (Magical Express, Fastpasses, MagicBands). But it's still a wonderful place, filled with family, friends, and fun. We are so grateful we get to visit...when so many others never get the chance. Thanks to all who help provide details and info on these boards. I don't post much, but read a lot...and have found it so helpful.

If you have a trip coming up...I hope you have a FANTASTIC voyage!


----------



## Ricguz

jkw4afh said:


> Just got back last night from a week long trip. We are seasoned Disney vacationers and truly love being there. Here are a few of my observations -- glad to answer any questions you may have if you have an upcoming trip:
> 
> --Stayed at Beach Club all 7 nights. CMs were always helpful, pleasant, and relaxed. Our room was smaller this time (only 2 queen beds and no sleeper/couch. Our party was my wife and I and our two teen kids, so it wasn't a major issue. Large balcony was nice. There were some cobwebs in the corners of the room, but nothing we couldn't quickly take care of ourselves. We're not folks that get bent out of shape about those kinds of things.
> 
> --Parks were definitely the most crowded we've ever seen them. Especially Magic Kingdom. We would recommend going on party days...the lines seemed a bit shorter those days. Epcot and Animal Kingdom were easy to navigate even though many were there.
> 
> --We had park hoppers this time and while it made for LOTS of walking (64 miles in total for the week!), we were able to accomplish everything we wanted to do (and usually multiple times). Our strategy was typically to rope drop most mornings, take an afternoon break (had to take advantage of Stormalong Bay!), and then go to another park at night.
> 
> --We bought Genie+ just 2 days, and we were VERY glad we did. It helped immensely on the very busiest nights. I would highly recommend purchasing it if you are going to MK or HS. We found that we didn't need it for AK or EP...even on a very busy week.
> 
> --Transportation was not an issue except for one morning. We were trying to rope drop HS to hit RotR...but our boat was late, and they started letting people into the park before our boat made it there. That was a bummer, but it was our second time to go to HS that week, so we took it with a grain of salt. Buses and boats were timely the rest of the week.
> 
> --BY ALL MEANS, get to Guardians of the Galaxy!!! Undoubtedly the highlight of the trip and among our entire party of 8, it is now our favorite attraction of all 4 parks. The boarding groups were all gone within 2 seconds each drop, but if you do some research, there are some tricks to securing one. I'm glad to help you know what we did...we were able to snag a BG each time we tried (4x). OUTSTANDING RIDE...KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK!
> 
> --F&W Festival...fun as always! And the Harmonious is spectacular imo.
> 
> --As many others have noted, no--it's not the same Disney. There is some pixie dust missing for sure. And it is kind of amazing how much we now have to pay for that used to be free (Magical Express, Fastpasses, MagicBands). But it's still a wonderful place, filled with family, friends, and fun. We are so grateful we get to visit...when so many others never get the chance. Thanks to all who help provide details and info on these boards. I don't post much, but read a lot...and have found it so helpful.
> 
> If you have a trip coming up...I hope you have a FANTASTIC voyage!


Thanks for the update. Will be there in 49 days.


----------



## Boardwalk III

jkw4afh said:


> Just got back last night from a week long trip. We are seasoned Disney vacationers and truly love being there. Here are a few of my observations -- glad to answer any questions you may have if you have an upcoming trip:
> 
> --Stayed at Beach Club all 7 nights. CMs were always helpful, pleasant, and relaxed. Our room was smaller this time (only 2 queen beds and no sleeper/couch. Our party was my wife and I and our two teen kids, so it wasn't a major issue. Large balcony was nice. There were some cobwebs in the corners of the room, but nothing we couldn't quickly take care of ourselves. We're not folks that get bent out of shape about those kinds of things.
> 
> --Parks were definitely the most crowded we've ever seen them. Especially Magic Kingdom. We would recommend going on party days...the lines seemed a bit shorter those days. Epcot and Animal Kingdom were easy to navigate even though many were there.
> 
> --We had park hoppers this time and while it made for LOTS of walking (64 miles in total for the week!), we were able to accomplish everything we wanted to do (and usually multiple times). Our strategy was typically to rope drop most mornings, take an afternoon break (had to take advantage of Stormalong Bay!), and then go to another park at night.
> 
> --We bought Genie+ just 2 days, and we were VERY glad we did. It helped immensely on the very busiest nights. I would highly recommend purchasing it if you are going to MK or HS. We found that we didn't need it for AK or EP...even on a very busy week.
> 
> --Transportation was not an issue except for one morning. We were trying to rope drop HS to hit RotR...but our boat was late, and they started letting people into the park before our boat made it there. That was a bummer, but it was our second time to go to HS that week, so we took it with a grain of salt. Buses and boats were timely the rest of the week.
> 
> --BY ALL MEANS, get to Guardians of the Galaxy!!! Undoubtedly the highlight of the trip and among our entire party of 8, it is now our favorite attraction of all 4 parks. The boarding groups were all gone within 2 seconds each drop, but if you do some research, there are some tricks to securing one. I'm glad to help you know what we did...we were able to snag a BG each time we tried (4x). OUTSTANDING RIDE...KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK!
> 
> --F&W Festival...fun as always! And the Harmonious is spectacular imo.
> 
> --As many others have noted, no--it's not the same Disney. There is some pixie dust missing for sure. And it is kind of amazing how much we now have to pay for that used to be free (Magical Express, Fastpasses, MagicBands). But it's still a wonderful place, filled with family, friends, and fun. We are so grateful we get to visit...when so many others never get the chance. Thanks to all who help provide details and info on these boards. I don't post much, but read a lot...and have found it so helpful.
> 
> If you have a trip coming up...I hope you have a FANTASTIC voyage!


Thanks for the overview. Fly down from Boston Wednesday night with a friend for a girls weekend. I always stay at Boardwalk but this trip will be at VGF in the new Resort Studios. Looking forward to a more relaxed time than normal (we’ll do parks daily but no commando marathon days  Pool time, and monorail pub crawl also on our list


----------



## Dotluvsdisney

I’d love to hear your GOTG strategy! We have not used Genie+ or LL yet and have lots to learn.


----------



## Mango7100

Dotluvsdisney said:


> I’d love to hear your GOTG strategy! We have not used Genie+ or LL yet and have lots to learn.


We were at Epcot Friday and got a Guardians virtual queue and did the ILL since we love it that much. Before 7 am we confirmed our group for the virtual queue. Closed all our open apps. Used cellular data instead of Siri. Opened My Disney experience app and was on the virtual queue page waiting. At 6:59 started my one minute timer on my Fitbit—right at 659 and 58 seconds pulled down on the screento refresh, hit the join queue button, and got boarding group 60.


----------



## jkw4afh

Dotluvsdisney said:


> I’d love to hear your GOTG strategy! We have not used Genie+ or LL yet and have lots to learn.


I saw this trick posted somewhere and it worked for us. When it comes time to tap “refresh” in the virtual queue when it opens, you want to hit refresh the second before it opens.

Example: if you are trying to secure a Boarding Group at 7:00am, make sure to refresh at 6:59:59. 

But here’s the thing: our devices are usually not exactly synced with Disney’s clock. SO…have someone else’s device opened up to time.gov and use the official world clock. When you see the time.gov clock hit 6:59:59, that’s when you want to hit “refresh” and then “join virtual queue” immediately. Don’t wait until 7:00am.

Others may have different experiences, but that worked for us 4 out of 4 times on a very busy week. We tried twice at 7a, once at 1p, and once at 6p (on Monday night for Epcot extended deluxe hours).

Try searching YouTube for some videos that show you how the virtual queue works. They were so helpful too,


----------



## scrappinginontario

Mango7100 said:


> . At 6:59 started my one minute timer on my Fitbit—right at 659 and 58 seconds pulled down on the screento refresh, hit the join queue button, and got boarding group 60.


Such a great tip!! I’m going to use this at Disney but also when checking in with Southwest.


----------



## SkyGuy

scrappinginontario said:


> Such a great tip!! I’m going to use this at Disney but also when checking in with Southwest.


Doesn’t work for SW; believe me, I try every time . There must be a lag on their end. I find you need to wait until exactly your time or exactly your time and a second or two even. Btw, I’m the queen of getting A1 when I’m traveling Business Select, and I almost always get A16 when traveling normal ticket . Let me know how it works out for you!


----------



## Dotluvsdisney

That is super fancy! Will definitely try this out. My son and I loved the Guardians ride at Disneyland . Hope we get in!


----------



## NavyDad

Dotluvsdisney said:


> We love Universal too but, after going several times over an 18 month period, we got bored. The hotel prices are higher than what we have been able to get for DVC rentals and we love the DVC resorts. So much more to do and see. Back to Disney for us!


We love Universal (especially WWoHP) but we just can't seem to make an entire week-long vacation out of it. We love adding 2 nights at a Universal Resort with 2-3 days of visiting the UO parks to the end of a WDW trip. One year we rented a 2 bedroom condo on I-Drive and did UO, Aquatica and Sea World. It was a lot of fun but didn't quite have the magic of a WDW vacation for our family.


----------



## lugnut33

jkw4afh said:


> I saw this trick posted somewhere and it worked for us. When it comes time to tap “refresh” in the virtual queue when it opens, you want to hit refresh the second before it opens.
> 
> Example: if you are trying to secure a Boarding Group at 7:00am, make sure to refresh at 6:59:59.
> 
> But here’s the thing: our devices are usually not exactly synced with Disney’s clock. SO…have someone else’s device opened up to time.gov and use the official world clock. When you see the time.gov clock hit 6:59:59, that’s when you want to hit “refresh” and then “join virtual queue” immediately. Don’t wait until 7:00am.
> 
> Others may have different experiences, but that worked for us 4 out of 4 times on a very busy week. We tried twice at 7a, once at 1p, and once at 6p (on Monday night for Epcot extended deluxe hours).
> 
> Try searching YouTube for some videos that show you how the virtual queue works. They were so helpful too,


I can't believe the ridiculous things we do for Disney.  Oh L'amour


----------



## jkw4afh

lugnut33 said:


> I can't believe the ridiculous things we do for Disney.  Oh L'amour


Guardians is that good!


----------



## Morgol

We went to Disney in September and had a lot of luck getting on rides at the end of the night with little to no wait, despite the posted wait times.

We're thinking about going back in a couple years in mid October, but noticed the crowds were significantly greater last week.  

Can anyone comment on their experience last week on or around the park closing time and how long they actually had to wait? Thanks


----------



## Morgol

jkw4afh said:


> Guardians is that good!



Was there in September and rode Guardians 4 times - definitely my favorite ride.  We were looking at going mid October in a couple years - sounds like the crowds were pretty crazy last week.  We usually try to get our rides in at night and get in line for headliners at park close - did you have any experience with how long waits were at park close last week?  When we were there rides like RotR and Seven Dwarfs would drop to 0-20 minutes at park close.


----------



## Mango7100

Morgol said:


> We went to Disney in September and had a lot of luck getting on rides at the end of the night with little to no wait, despite the posted wait times.
> 
> We're thinking about going back in a couple years in mid October, but noticed the crowds were significantly greater last week.
> 
> Can anyone comment on their experience last week on or around the park closing time and how long they actually had to wait? Thanks


We were there 2 days last week and did Rise at the end of the night on Friday the 14th. Posted wait time was 70 minutes at 840. Actual waited about 30 minutes to the first preshow


----------



## Morgol

Mango7100 said:


> We were there 2 days last week and did Rise at the end of the night on Friday the 14th. Posted wait time was 70 minutes at 840. Actual waited about 30 minutes to the first preshow


Good to know, thanks for the info - did you do any other rides at park close last week?


----------



## Mango7100

Morgol said:


> Good to know, thanks for the info - did you do any other rides at park close last week?


Not this time. Tacked on 2 days at WDW after the beach-we did the Halloween party and then one day after (Epcot Am/HS PM). We did do Test Track as our first Epcot ride during Early Entry. Waited about 15 minutes (including the time to design)


----------



## GBRforWDW

Just finishing up our short 2 day trip with me, wife, kid and mil.  Nothing too eye opening to share, except I loved Rope dropping Hollywood Studios from Pop Century.  You can see my full video from 645am to 9am here if you're interested in how best to rope drop early entry from the skyliner resorts:






All of toy story land and in line for MMRR before regular park opening.  

My daughter, with as much trouble as she was causing us by not listening and trying to wander off on her own, became a bit of a minor Disney World celebrity this weekend. We went to the first Monster's Inc show at the party Sunday night and she got to talk to the monster about trick or treating.  She had several people the same night recognize her and even once or twice the next day.  Then at Epcot, got to talk to crush, but then he ended up asking me more questions . Then at the Newsboys concert in the American pavilion, we were at the last show and when the lead singer came off stage while singing the last song, she got to do a little dance with him. So pretty successful night for her 

Tip for any non deluxe staying in a skyliner hotel on an Extra Evening Hours night, if you're in Epcot until after 1030 or so, the skyliner does shut down at Riviera, ie, they only allow you on if you're staying at Riviera.  I was walking the park taking videos and pictures until 11.  I Couldn't get on the skyliner (didn't realize until I left the park), so scheduled an Uber for the boardwalk entrance.   then not knowing the boardwalk area well enough, I guess, I couldn't find a way to get through the hotel from the boardwalk and ended up walking all the way around to the front.  It was a very long walk at 11pm, lol .  The car arrived a couple minutes before I did, so at least I didn't have to wait 

We stayed at Pop for the first time, was going to stay in 2020.  Everyone loved the oversized decorations.  As 80s babies staying in the 80s building, that was definitely exciting for my wife and I. 

For anyone going soon, enjoy your trip!


----------



## ValpoCory

Any recent reports of how many minutes before the 30-minute guaranteed entry that resort guests are being let in to the attractions?

Which parks and how much earlier than 30 minutes?

Thank you!


----------



## ValpoCory

GBRforWDW said:


> Just finishing up our short 2 day trip with me, wife, kid and mil.  Nothing too eye opening to share, except I loved Rope dropping Hollywood Studios from Pop Century.  You can see my full video from 645am to 9am here if you're interested in how best to rope drop early entry from the skyliner resorts:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> All of toy story land and in line for MMRR before regular park opening.
> 
> My daughter, with as much trouble as she was causing us by not listening and trying to wander off on her own, became a bit of a minor Disney World celebrity this weekend. We went to the first Monster's Inc show at the party Sunday night and she got to talk to the monster about trick or treating.  She had several people the same night recognize her and even once or twice the next day.  Then at Epcot, got to talk to crush, but then he ended up asking me more questions . Then at the Newsboys concert in the American pavilion, we were at the last show and when the lead singer came off stage while singing the last song, she got to do a little dance with him. So pretty successful night for her
> 
> Tip for any non deluxe staying in a skyliner hotel on an Extra Evening Hours night, if you're in Epcot until after 1030 or so, the skyliner does shut down at Riviera, ie, they only allow you on if you're staying at Riviera.  I was walking the park taking videos and pictures until 11.  I Couldn't get on the skyliner (didn't realize until I left the park), so scheduled an Uber for the boardwalk entrance.   then not knowing the boardwalk area well enough, I guess, I couldn't find a way to get through the hotel from the boardwalk and ended up walking all the way around to the front.  It was a very long walk at 11pm, lol .  The car arrived a couple minutes before I did, so at least I didn't have to wait
> 
> We stayed at Pop for the first time, was going to stay in 2020.  Everyone loved the oversized decorations.  As 80s babies staying in the 80s building, that was definitely exciting for my wife and I.
> 
> For anyone going soon, enjoy your trip!


Nice!  It looks like they let resort guests in 54 minutes before the park opened to all guests at 8:30am, and the attractions (Slinky Dog at least) opened about 35 minutes before 8:30am.


----------



## GBRforWDW

ValpoCory said:


> Nice!  It looks like they let resort guests in 54 minutes before the park opened to all guests at 8:30am, and the attractions (Slinky Dog at least) opened about 35 minutes before 8:30am.


Yes, it worked out great for me just staying in TSL and having no lines for any of the rides compared to the wait times at noon that day 

After the video, I also did tot and rnrr and was done with 6 rides by 11.  Had I been trying to stay all day, could have easily hit a lot of the shows and star wars later in the day, but I had other plans, and left by 1230 or 1


----------



## jkw4afh

ValpoCory said:


> Any recent reports of how many minutes before the 30-minute guaranteed entry that resort guests are being let in to the attractions?
> 
> Which parks and how much earlier than 30 minutes?
> 
> Thank you!


We only rope dropped AK and HS. At AK, they waited until exactly 30 minutes before regular park opening to allow resort guests to enter.

At HS it was the opposite. They let us in early, we went immediately to RotR, rode it and were off the ride before early entry even began.


----------



## MEC004

jkw4afh said:


> We only rope dropped AK and HS. At AK, they waited until exactly 30 minutes before regular park opening to allow resort guests to enter.
> 
> At HS it was the opposite. They let us in early, we went immediately to RotR, rode it and were off the ride before early entry even began.


What time is resort transportation going? In 2020 when we went we had a hard time getting to the parks. Staying at BWI starting next week.


----------



## scrappinginontario

MEC004 said:


> What time is resort transportation going? In 2020 when we went we had a hard time getting to the parks. Staying at BWI starting next week.



To be towards the front of the crowds, it’s recommended you be at your resort transportation at least 90 mins before ETPE hours begin.  Transportation may not be running then but lines will quickly grow and you’ll be towards the front when it starts.


----------



## DisneyFive

MEC004 said:


> What time is resort transportation going? In 2020 when we went we had a hard time getting to the parks. Staying at BWI starting next week.


Love BWI.  The good thing there is you can walk to both EP and HS.  No relying on transportation!  However, I'm assuming you are mobile, which may not be accurate.

Dan


----------



## jimim

scrappinginontario said:


> To be towards the front of the crowds, it’s recommended you be at your resort transportation at least 90 mins before ETPE hours begin.  Transportation may not be running then but lines will quickly grow and you’ll be towards the front when it starts.


so that pretty much means you are doing virtual cues or lightening lanes waiting to go into park or on bus with park times for november it looks.


----------



## scrappinginontario

jimim said:


> so that pretty much means you are doing virtual cues or lightening lanes waiting to go into park or on bus with park times for november it looks.


Yes, unfortunately sometimes the timing is like that.  It's personal choice if you don't want to do both at the same time you can delay going to transportation but it will mean being further back in the ETPE crowd.


----------



## lorileahb

jimim said:


> so that pretty much means you are doing virtual cues or lightening lanes waiting to go into park or on bus with park times for november it looks.


BUT, you aren't using your time in the Park to wait... so you'll get to use all of your time in the Park riding rides, seeing shows, etc.


----------



## jimim

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, unfortunately sometimes the timing is like that.  It's personal choice if you don't want to do both at the same time you can delay going to transportation but it will mean being further back in the ETPE crowd.


We are rope droppers. Have been forever. In early. Out by 12. Rest. Dinner. Back in for night. Works well. Well at least it did.


----------



## jimim

lorileahb said:


> BUT, you aren't using your time in the Park to wait... so you'll get to use all of your time in the Park riding rides, seeing shows, etc.


I totally get it like I said below. We always have been rope droppers. Just never had to worry about booking stuff while riding over to the parks.  I’m sure it won’t be any problem.


----------



## lorileahb

jimim said:


> I totally get it like I said below. We always have been rope droppers. Just never had to worry about booking stuff while riding over to the parks.  I’m sure it won’t be any problem.


Couldn't agree more - it was more relaxing not having to book things en route.  Sadly, don't think those days will return.


----------



## jimim

lorileahb said:


> Couldn't agree more - it was more relaxing not having to book things en route.  Sadly, don't think those days will return.


What it is is what it is. I have been to Disney at least 50-60 times and I feel like this trip is our first coming up cause I haven’t been there since before Covid. I’m never anxious about a trip and this one I am.


----------



## lorileahb

jimim said:


> What it is is what it is. I have been to Disney at least 50-60 times and I feel like this trip is our first coming up cause I haven’t been there since before Covid. I’m never anxious about a trip and this one I am.


The first time I went with Genie+ stressed me out, too.  While it is a little more of a pain, once I was there I just did my best and it worked pretty well.  Don't like being on my phone, but was still able to minimize wait times... less and less stress as the trip went on.


----------



## jimim

lorileahb said:


> The first time I went with Genie+ stressed me out, too.  While it is a little more of a pain, once I was there I just did my best and it worked pretty well.  Don't like being on my phone, but was still able to minimize wait times... less and less stress as the trip went on.


That’s the plan. Let it ride. Lol. Try a day or 2 without and take it from there. I really don’t know. We got 2-3 days each park so I’m not really worried. All we technically have to ride is guardians, Mickey and Minnie train, ratatouille, and rise of resistance and we r good. Anything else is a Repeat encounter.  I just want to eat at all the places I miss so much. Lol


----------



## lorileahb

jimim said:


> That’s the plan. Let it ride. Lol. Try a day or 2 without and take it from there. I really don’t know. We got 2-3 days each park so I’m not really worried. All we technically have to ride is guardians, Mickey and Minnie train, ratatouille, and rise of resistance and we r good. Anything else is a Repeat encounter.  I just want to eat at all the places I miss so much. Lol


Guardians and Rise offer out right buy the time you want (if virtual queue isn't somehow available) - as long as you are staying on site and get first access, don't think that will be a problem.  MM Train and Remy will be more of a game figuring out when during the day to book LL+ - when the time you want will become available.  thrilldata site has some good insight to what timeframe rides are being booked for future return times


----------



## GBRforWDW

jimim said:


> We are rope droppers. Have been forever. In early. Out by 12. Rest. Dinner. Back in for night. Works well. Well at least it did.


I rode 6 rides by 11 at Hollywood Studios last weekend utilizing early theme park entry.  No Genie+/ILL$. In my opinion, it can still work well.  Only skipped Star Wars, so may be worth it to buy for those if you want to do everything, but otherwise, would have plenty of time to standby for those as well.


----------



## jimim

GBRforWDW said:


> I rode 6 rides by 11 at Hollywood Studios last weekend utilizing early theme park entry.  No Genie+/ILL$. In my opinion, it can still work well.  Only skipped Star Wars, so may be worth it to buy for those if you want to do everything, but otherwise, would have plenty of time to standby for those as well.


that’s good to know but we are going the week before thanksgiving and thanksgiving week so I am not getting my hopes up for that type of days. We have done thanksgiving so many times and even when the parks weren’t as nuts as they seem to be now it was still a terribly busy week.  I am planning forcthe worse so I don’t upset myself. Lol. I wasn’t looking forward to this trip at all which is very out of character for me but as it draws near I’m getting more excited.


----------



## GBRforWDW

jimim said:


> that’s good to know but we are going the week before thanksgiving and thanksgiving week so I am not getting my hopes up for that type of days. We have done thanksgiving so many times and even when the parks weren’t as nuts as they seem to be now it was still a terribly busy week.  I am planning forcthe worse so I don’t upset myself. Lol. I wasn’t looking forward to this trip at all which is very out of character for me but as it draws near I’m getting more excited.


Yeah that makes sense.  Last Sunday was the end of fall break crowds, but our first day, so not sure if it was less crowded or the same as the rest of the week, but it was definitely busy by noon with every ride, except maybe star Tours, having a 1 hour posted wait. Our first ever trip was a Thanksgiving week trip a few years ago though, so I definitely know how bad it can be.


----------



## GoofyDad_4427

Spent this past Sunday (Oct 23) at Epcot.  We stayed offsite, for a quick 4 day trip, with only this one park day.  Me (44), DW (44), DS (16), DS (12).

Since it was only one day, it was easy to justify the G+ and ILL so we planned to do both.  Here is how the day went:

10:30 - Arrive at Epcot
10:40 - Soarin via G+ (booked at 10:30)
11:00 - Figment
11:30 - Meet Mickey
12:00 - Short Film Festival
12:30 - Remy via G+ (booked at 7:00am)
1:00 - Snack break
1:45 - Guardians via $ILL (booked at 8:30)
2:00 - Spaceship Earth down, converted to anytime LL (booked at 12:40)
2:30 - Gran Fiesta Tour
2:45 - Margaritas at La Cava del Tequila
3:00 - Lunch at Via Napoli (reservation was 3:20, it was half empty)
4:30 - Gray Goose Slushies
5:00 - Spaceship Earth via G+ (booked 4:55)
5:55 - Guardians via 1:00 VQ (boarding group 140)
6:30 - Mission Space using anytime LL
7:00 - Snack break
7:50 - Test Track via G+ (booked at 10:40 after tapping in to Soarin)

Overall crowd levels were pretty low.  The World Showcase was noticeably more crowded.  Could have ridden Soarin with 15 minute stand by late at night but everyone was done at that point.  Via Napoli was excellent as always.  We ordered a large 4 cheese pizza and a large margarita with pepperoni, along with a pitcher of Peroni.

First time on Remy and Guardians for all of us.  Guardians was much better than expected, although i think the ride time is a little short.  Remy also greatly exceeded expectations, as i think we all expected something like MMRR, but Remy is much better than that IMO.


----------



## Morgol

GoofyDad_4427 said:


> Spent this past Sunday (Oct 23) at Epcot.  We stayed offsite, for a quick 4 day trip, with only this one park day.  Me (44), DW (44), DS (16), DS (12).
> 
> Since it was only one day, it was easy to justify the G+ and ILL so we planned to do both.  Here is how the day went:
> 
> 10:30 - Arrive at Epcot
> 10:40 - Soarin via G+ (booked at 10:30)
> 11:00 - Figment
> 11:30 - Meet Mickey
> 12:00 - Short Film Festival
> 12:30 - Remy via G+ (booked at 7:00am)
> 1:00 - Snack break
> 1:45 - Guardians via $ILL (booked at 8:30)
> 2:00 - Spaceship Earth down, converted to anytime LL (booked at 12:40)
> 2:30 - Gran Fiesta Tour
> 2:45 - Margaritas at La Cava del Tequila
> 3:00 - Lunch at Via Napoli (reservation was 3:20, it was half empty)
> 4:30 - Gray Goose Slushies
> 5:00 - Spaceship Earth via G+ (booked 4:55)
> 5:55 - Guardians via 1:00 VQ (boarding group 140)
> 6:30 - Mission Space using anytime LL
> 7:00 - Snack break
> 7:50 - Test Track via G+ (booked at 10:40 after tapping in to Soarin)
> 
> Overall crowd levels were pretty low.  The World Showcase was noticeably more crowded.  Could have ridden Soarin with 15 minute stand by late at night but everyone was done at that point.  Via Napoli was excellent as always.  We ordered a large 4 cheese pizza and a large margarita with pepperoni, along with a pitcher of Peroni.
> 
> First time on Remy and Guardians for all of us.  Guardians was much better than expected, although i think the ride time is a little short.  Remy also greatly exceeded expectations, as i think we all expected something like MMRR, but Remy is much better than that IMO.


 How long was your Guardians wait when you joined via VQ?


----------



## GoofyDad_4427

Morgol said:


> How long was your Guardians wait when you joined via VQ?



Through VQ it was about 25-30 minutes to get to the preshow.  Through $ILL it was probably 10 minutes.


----------



## Morgol

GoofyDad_4427 said:


> Through VQ it was about 25-30 minutes to get to the preshow.  Through $ILL it was probably 10 minutes.


Thank you for the feedback


----------



## Tina1

Did Epcot today. Was a bit hot after 1pm, but not so hot we’re you felt like you were melting . Crowds didn’t show up till after noon. Got to the park around 8am. We’ve been to WDW the last week in October a few times and it definitely felt busier then the past. Lots of European accents. Not so busy like the holidays. Loved the guardians of the galaxy rideIt was amazing. We’re staying at Bay Lake tower, 1 bedroom suite lake view. I hate the genie plus, miss the fast pass. It just felt like more walking and lots of phone screen time. Disney app glitches way to much and internet was so so. New phone so maybe that had something to to with it. Tomorrow MK


----------



## NJlauren

Tina1 said:


> Did Epcot today. Was a bit hot after 1pm, but not so hot we’re you felt like you were melting . Crowds didn’t show up till after noon. Got to the park around 8am. We’ve been to WDW the last week in October a few times and it definitely felt busier then the past. Lots of European accents. Not so busy like the holidays. Loved the guardians of the galaxy rideIt was amazing. We’re staying at Bay Lake tower, 1 bedroom suite lake view. I hate the genie plus, miss the fast pass. It just felt like more walking and lots of phone screen time. Disney app glitches way to much and internet was so so. New phone so maybe that had something to to with it. Tomorrow MK


I find not being on the wifi better then being on the wifi in the parks.

Good luck!


----------



## jods

NJlauren said:


> I find not being on the wifi better then being on the wifi in the parks.
> 
> Good luck!


I have to agree with this. I never use wifi and had no problems.


----------



## DisneyFive

NJlauren said:


> I find not being on the wifi better then being on the wifi in the parks.
> 
> Good luck!


For the most part, I agree. There are certain places however where cellular does not reach well and I switch to Disney Wi-Fi, such as the depths of Pirates of the Caribbean and other inside attractions where cellular drops

Dan


----------



## Tina1

MK today. Started off rough. 6:45 am genie app not working, 4 phones and 3 iPads later, nothing tickets not showing up it was a hot mess and made getting started stressful. We had one in our party that missed the change over and has to purchase it daily. Stoped at guest service and a couple taps on there iPad and presto everybody’s back online. Missed the 7am window for lightning lane setup. Through the whole morning off. I really miss fast pass. We don’t really mind buying it, but one would think the system should work. MK not to crowded even after noon most rides were no longer than a 30 minute wait.  This was a party night. Weather was a bit cooler but at times more humid with rain showers on and off throughout the day. Even with the day starting off stressful which made the day a bit tough, any day at WDW is a good day


----------



## WIll C

I'm here now and it's getting busier with the weekend coming. Wednesday at HS was pretty chill. Crowds seemed reasonable while I was there until mid-afternoon. Wait times (outside Rise, which was nearing 2 hours) was decent. Got a lot done by myself with G+/LL+ and when I met up with friends we did another 3-4 with reasonable wait times. TSMM was still at 30 mins (really less) at 2pm.
MK on Thursday morning was chill as well and I got a lot done before the party. The MNSSHP was crowded (sold out) and rides weren't just walk ons for the popular ones.  We were too tired to do too much more than get a lot of candy but Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder, Space Ranger Spin and People Mover were all pretty quick to get on. We left at the fireworks and headed back to pass out.
AK was busy today, Friday, and we didn't get much done (didn't rope drop). We bought a LL+ for FoP, spent and hour each for Safari and Everest and then left. Navi was consistently trending over an hour and we didn't want to wait that long. It was even longer than FoP for a good deal of time.
Staying at Riviera, I've been going to Epcot in the evening. Crowds are heavy and getting heavier with the weekend coming. Most people are in World Showcase to eat and you can tell the weekend crowd is there to get in the last bit of F&W and the big rides were still had pretty long wait times.
Heading off tomorrow to Universal to do HHN and I'm sure that will be packed. Looks like we are in the busy season for Disney.


----------



## Gentry2004

How the crowds been low, especially at HS? I've been tracking G+ times/availability the last couple of days trying to envision a touring plan for us and it seems that the rides aren't selling out like they did before. Have people been able to get more than 3-4 G+ rides at HS lately? It does not seem the dire situation it was not that long ago, but maybe its just in a crowd lull. We are going during a much busier time (week before Christmas) so I'm sure I'm not getting a good sense of availability.


----------



## WIll C

I used G+ for a couple of days (both HS and MK) and had no problems with getting times for rides all day. Granted, the bigger rides did tend to sell out but even Slinky still had ones around lunch when I was there. It will just get busier from here until January as the holidays heat up.


----------



## Bibbobboo2u

Did the price of G+ go up today at WDW?  I was just wondering, since Disney said the initial price range was for October.


----------



## WIll C

G+ varies by day. I had $15 & $18 on Wed/Thur and then saw $22 on Fri and Sat last week.


----------



## TropicalDIS

Bibbobboo2u said:


> Did the price of G+ go up today at WDW?  I was just wondering, since Disney said the initial price range was for October.


Not yet, $18 today.


----------



## Cat0727

We were there from 10/30-11/3 and stayed at Pop Century. The Skyliner was so easy to use (less than a 5 minute wait when we rope dropped Epcot and DHS) and the buses ran frequently. We did not purchase Genie+ or ILL. Utilized early entry for most of our park days. I found the crowds not to be bad at all this week. Below are some of the notes I remembered to take.

Airport Transportation: We booked the Sunshine Flyer.....the staff was nice, buses were clean but boy do I miss Magical Express. We checked-in at 10:15am and didn't get to Pop until 11:35. In all my trips with ME it never took more than 45 mins door to door. Going back to MCO the bus was right on time and it took an hour to get to the airport. But for the next trip I might try Mears Connect or just take an Uber because the 90 minutes to get to the hotel was kind of excruciating.

10/30: Arrival and Epcot day. Entered the GoG virtual queue at 7am and got boarding group 32. Our plane was a little delayed so instead of doing this from my seat like I had thought I ended up having to enter while we were standing in the jet bridge so I was freaking out a bit. It is a miracle I had no issues with cell service. Boarding Group got called at 9:35am but we entered the line at 2:45pm and it was about a 30 min wait. Saw the Hanson concert and that was the highlight of the day.

10/31: AK. We were a little late this day (got to the park just before 9am) so we decided to not go to Pandora and instead went to EE, rode that twice in a row since it was a walk-on. Dinosaur was a walk-on. KS was an accurate posted wait time of 35 minutes (this was at 10am). At 3pm the wait was down to 5 minutes. By then FoP and Navi were both an hour wait. We probably would have waited for FoP but after seeing FOTLK we had to head to DS for our Wine Bar George reservation. At 9pm Gideon's was not doing a virtual queue and it was only a 5 minute wait. Nomad Lounge had a 30 min wait when we went at noon which ended up being accurate.

11/1: Epcot. Got boarding group 83 for GoG, this was called at around 1:15pm. When we checked-in at 2:30pm it was only a 10 minute wait. At 9am Remy was a posted wait of 25 minutes but it was more around 15 minutes. Soarin' was a low wait time all day, 15 minutes. TT we could have done single rider but we were too busy with Food & Wine. After 9am Frozen went up from 25 minutes to 55 minutes and stayed at a high wait time all day. There were barely any lines for the F&W booths.

11/2: MK. This was a non-party day so I was wondering how bad the crowds would be. The Christmas decorations were up! We went straight to Peter Pan at 8:30am and it was a 20 minute wait (posted wait time was 60 mins). Then headed to HM which was a walk-on. BTMRR was a 5 min wait (15 min posted). Pirates was a 20 minute posted wait time and we waited about 10 minutes. It was raining that evening so Splash and BTMRR (rode 2x in a row) were walk-ons. Waited 20 minutes for Space Mountain (around 9pm); this wait time was accurate. For lunch we ate at Steakhouse 71 and it was so. good. We were too full for dessert but will definitely split the burger or something next time so we can have some more room; I want to try that chocolate cake.

11/3: DHS. I was worried about this one because the reopening of Fantasmic was that day and I was anticipating insane crowds. Our priority was Slinky. We went straight there and it was only a 15 minute wait. When we got off we could have rode it again but we decided to move on. TSM was a 5 minute wait. RnR was a literal walk-on so we rode that twice in a row. Rode ToT twice in a row, wait time was 10 mins each.  Star Tours was a walk on. We are not Star Wars fans and we have been on those rides last year so we decided to skip them. 

Overall thoughts: I am satisfied with how we were able to navigate the parks without Genie+. It wasn't stressful and we had a fun time. I thought the Food and Wine booths this year were really good as well as all our TS and QS meals. And a big shout-out to all the cast members we encountered. They were absolutely wonderful. I can't wait to go back.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

Cat0727 said:


> We were there from 10/30-11/3 and stayed at Pop Century. The Skyliner was so easy to use (less than a 5 minute wait when we rope dropped Epcot and DHS) and the buses ran frequently. We did not purchase Genie+ or ILL. Utilized early entry for most of our park days. I found the crowds not to be bad at all this week. Below are some of the notes I remembered to take.
> 
> Airport Transportation: We booked the Sunshine Flyer.....the staff was nice, buses were clean but boy do I miss Magical Express. We checked-in at 10:15am and didn't get to Pop until 11:35. In all my trips with ME it never took more than 45 mins door to door. Going back to MCO the bus was right on time and it took an hour to get to the airport. But for the next trip I might try Mears Connect or just take an Uber because the 90 minutes to get to the hotel was kind of excruciating.
> 
> 10/30: Arrival and Epcot day. Entered the GoG virtual queue at 7am and got boarding group 32. Our plane was a little delayed so instead of doing this from my seat like I had thought I ended up having to enter while we were standing in the jet bridge so I was freaking out a bit. It is a miracle I had no issues with cell service. Boarding Group got called at 9:35am but we entered the line at 2:45pm and it was about a 30 min wait. Saw the Hanson concert and that was the highlight of the day.
> 
> 10/31: AK. We were a little late this day (got to the park just before 9am) so we decided to not go to Pandora and instead went to EE, rode that twice in a row since it was a walk-on. Dinosaur was a walk-on. KS was an accurate posted wait time of 35 minutes (this was at 10am). At 3pm the wait was down to 5 minutes. By then FoP and Navi were both an hour wait. We probably would have waited for FoP but after seeing FOTLK we had to head to DS for our Wine Bar George reservation. At 9pm Gideon's was not doing a virtual queue and it was only a 5 minute wait. Nomad Lounge had a 30 min wait when we went at noon which ended up being accurate.
> 
> 11/1: Epcot. Got boarding group 83 for GoG, this was called at around 1:15pm. When we checked-in at 2:30pm it was only a 10 minute wait. At 9am Remy was a posted wait of 25 minutes but it was more around 15 minutes. Soarin' was a low wait time all day, 15 minutes. TT we could have done single rider but we were too busy with Food & Wine. After 9am Frozen went up from 25 minutes to 55 minutes and stayed at a high wait time all day. There were barely any lines for the F&W booths.
> 
> 11/2: MK. This was a non-party day so I was wondering how bad the crowds would be. The Christmas decorations were up! We went straight to Peter Pan at 8:30am and it was a 20 minute wait (posted wait time was 60 mins). Then headed to HM which was a walk-on. BTMRR was a 5 min wait (15 min posted). Pirates was a 20 minute posted wait time and we waited about 10 minutes. It was raining that evening so Splash and BTMRR (rode 2x in a row) were walk-ons. Waited 20 minutes for Space Mountain (around 9pm); this wait time was accurate. For lunch we ate at Steakhouse 71 and it was so. good. We were too full for dessert but will definitely split the burger or something next time so we can have some more room; I want to try that chocolate cake.
> 
> 11/3: DHS. I was worried about this one because the reopening of Fantasmic was that day and I was anticipating insane crowds. Our priority was Slinky. We went straight there and it was only a 15 minute wait. When we got off we could have rode it again but we decided to move on. TSM was a 5 minute wait. RnR was a literal walk-on so we rode that twice in a row. Rode ToT twice in a row, wait time was 10 mins each.  Star Tours was a walk on. We are not Star Wars fans and we have been on those rides last year so we decided to skip them.
> 
> Overall thoughts: I am satisfied with how we were able to navigate the parks without Genie+. It wasn't stressful and we had a fun time. I thought the Food and Wine booths this year were really good as well as all our TS and QS meals. And a big shout-out to all the cast members we encountered. They were absolutely wonderful. I can't wait to go back.


  Question, you said ”Boarding Group got called at 9:35am but we entered the line at 2:45pm and it was about a 30 min wait”, I did not think they would let you in that long after your boarding group was called?


----------



## scrappinginontario

DisneyNDecember said:


> Question, you said ”Boarding Group got called at 9:35am but we entered the line at 2:45pm and it was about a 30 min wait”, I did not think they would let you in that long after your boarding group was called?


VQ BG and ILL$ allow entry any time after they’ve been called, until park close.

G+ LL are only able to be used 5 mins before window through 15 mins after window.


----------



## Cat0727

DisneyNDecember said:


> Question, you said ”Boarding Group got called at 9:35am but we entered the line at 2:45pm and it was about a 30 min wait”, I did not think they would let you in that long after your boarding group was called?



For the VQ boarding group you can enter any time after it has been called. If it is past your window, when you scan your magic band it will scan blue but the CM will just tap their tablet and say you are good to go on through.


----------



## Aimeedyan

Cat0727 said:


> For the VQ boarding group you can enter any time after it has been called. If it is past your window, when you scan your magic band it will scan blue but the CM will just tap their tablet and say you are good to go on through.



Interesting. Mine has always turned green like normal, even hours after it was called


----------



## Aimeedyan

In case anyone is ever interested in such a day, thought I'd share what we did yesterday! We are very frequent visitors (biweekly or so) and rarely do Genie+. However, family was in town and paying $$$$ for a one day park hopper so we had to make it worth their while!

My goal: hit all the best/new rides, plus do some fun things for our 3 year old. We drove in for the day so no onsite perks.

7am book Genie+ Ratatouille for midafternoon
8:30am ILL Rise for evening
8:30am ILL Guardians for midafternoon
10:30am book Genie+ Winnie the Pooh
10:45am arrive at MK
Genie+ Winnie the Pooh
Genie+ Dumbo
Walk-on Teacups
Genie+ Buzz
Book Genie+ for MMRR for late afternoon
Haircut at the Barbershop
Snack/picture at castle
Drive to HS, stopping for ChickFilA on way
Book Genie+ for Smugglers for evening
Take Skyliner to Epcot
ILL Guardians (child swap so takes longer)
Genie+ Ratatouille
Skyliner to HS
Genie+ MMRR
ILL Rise
Snack and drink break
Book Genie+ for TS Mania
Genie+ Smugglers
Eat dinner at Docking Bay
Genie+ TS Mania
Leave park at 9:10pm and head home!

We could have done more at MK - the rides were easy to get back to back - but wanted lunch and the 3 year old needed some rest by that time. 

25k steps, 3 parks, "the best of" tour as I consider it, absolutely worth the $$$ spent. It takes some thought, for sure, to stack them right so it's incredibly helpful to be frequent visitors and know realistically how long it takes to navigate the parks/property.


----------



## Conno

I’m on my first vacay in WDW since November 2019…. What happened — rhetorical. But seriously, it’s not just the locals. I’ve never been one to find things to complain about at WDW - but at this point, I’m struggling to find things that DON’T warrant a complaint.

Let me start with the lack of aircon… literally everywhere, including busses. I used to do full days at the parks, it was easy to duck into a ride, show, or shop and get a refreshing blast of chilly air.

Now I get to stand in a line and “experience” the pleasant sensation of sweat dripping down my back.

My park days this trip have resulted in 4-5 hours in the parks, at most, mainly due to not being able to find relief from the heat. Incase you’re reading this Bob/Josh: you know what I’m not doing while I’m over heating on my way back to the resort hotel on a hot bus? I’m not spending money on merch and extortionately priced snacks. Think about that for a moment.

There’s a bunch of other things I could complain about as I sit here overheating in the AKL Jambo House laundry room. I’ll wait until I get home to do a full write up though.

Going to brave HS for Fantasmic tonight. Will see how it goes 

Can you tell this is going to be my last trip after visiting for 14 days every year for the last decade?


----------



## butterscotchcollins

I don’t believe in Genie+ but it probably would’ve provided some relief from the crowds this weekend! We’re APs and come 3-4x a year so NBD for us to skip stuff, but currently here w family for first time and we’re having miserable luck - insane lines, so many breakdowns. I know that’s not everyone’s experience, and we’re still having fun, but I wish we were able to get more done!


----------



## dorchrislen

Aimeedyan said:


> 7am book Genie+ Ratatouille for midafternoon


You booked right at 7 AM and you couldn’t get Remi until the afternoon? That is going to put a kink in my plan because I was planning on getting Remi by 1030 if I try at seven. Maybe I should change my reservation for San Angel and start in the Mexico side. I was hoping to avoid having to walk back there after eating around the world midday


----------



## Aimeedyan

dorchrislen said:


> You booked right at 7 AM and you couldn’t get Remi until the afternoon? That is going to put a kink in my plan because I was planning on getting Remi by 1030 if I try at seven. Maybe I should change my reservation for San Angel and start in the Mexico side. I was hoping to avoid having to walk back there after eating around the world midday



There were earlier times but I didn't want them - I refreshed every minute or two until I got the late afternoon slot I needed. They were definitely going fast and I'm pretty sure I finally booked at around 7:09ish. 

You should be okay!


----------



## NC State Tigger

Our family will probably make our Covid postponed extended family trip Veterans Day week 2023.  I understand this week is also referred to as Jersey Week.  So, I’m trying to get some first hand info about this time period 2022. 

I would appreciate any  reports from this week. 

The MK should be decorated because MVMCP begin this week.  Correct?

Are Christmas Decorations going up in the resorts?  I believe the “gingerbread” displays are.  I understand resorts get decorated on different days—-any happen this week?
Particularly interested in Wilderness Lodge and monorail resorts as we should be staying at Boulder Ridge. 

Lastly, any information on crowds in each park by day would be wonderful.  I understand it gets busier the closer to Veterans Day you get and that Fridays and weekends are very busy at Epcot. 

Thanks for any information you can share.


----------



## maggnanimouse

Trying to enter Epcot right now (5:30 PM), and the line to get in stretches back to the Beach Club, and is getting longer


----------



## scrappinginontario

maggnanimouse said:


> Trying to enter Epcot right now (5:30 PM), and the line to get in stretches back to the Beach Club, and is getting longer


Hope it didn’t take too long.  Please update later if you’re able.  This is the first I’ve heard of this happening.  

Unusual night for this to happen without a party in the MK or EEH at Epcot.  

Hope for your sake you just happened to hit IG at a busy time.


----------



## maggnanimouse

I hope we just arrived at an unfortunate time. From some conversations I heard around me, it seemed like there was a marathon post-party or something. So I think we arrived around the time those folks started to enter. Could be wrong, though!

That said, the line moved fairly steadily and took around 20 minutes.


----------



## CarolynFH

maggnanimouse said:


> I hope we just arrived at an unfortunate time. From some conversations I heard around me, it seemed like there was a marathon post-party or something. So I think we arrived around the time those folks started to enter. Could be wrong, though!
> 
> That said, the line moved fairly steadily and took around 20 minutes.


Yes, today was the Wine & Dine Half-Marathon, and tonight is the after-party. Another reason that this week at WDW is so busy!


----------



## gottalovepluto

Conno said:


> I’m on my first vacay in WDW since November 2019…. What happened — rhetorical. But seriously, it’s not just the locals. I’ve never been one to find things to complain about at WDW - but at this point, I’m struggling to find things that DON’T warrant a complaint.
> 
> Let me start with the lack of aircon… literally everywhere, including busses. I used to do full days at the parks, it was easy to duck into a ride, show, or shop and get a refreshing blast of chilly air.
> 
> Now I get to stand in a line and “experience” the pleasant sensation of sweat dripping down my back.
> 
> My park days this trip have resulted in 4-5 hours in the parks, at most, mainly due to not being able to find relief from the heat. Incase you’re reading this Bob/Josh: you know what I’m not doing while I’m over heating on my way back to the resort hotel on a hot bus? I’m not spending money on merch and extortionately priced snacks. Think about that for a moment.
> 
> There’s a bunch of other things I could complain about as I sit here overheating in the AKL Jambo House laundry room. I’ll wait until I get home to do a full write up though.
> 
> Going to brave HS for Fantasmic tonight. Will see how it goes
> 
> Can you tell this is going to be my last trip after visiting for 14 days every year for the last decade?


The lack of AC is very odd. On my May & Sept trips I had to keep a jacket in my backpack because I frozen on buses and in restaurants so often.


----------



## scrappinginontario

NC State Tigger said:


> Our family will probably make our Covid postponed extended family trip Veterans Day week 2023.  I understand this week is also referred to as Jersey Week.  So, I’m trying to get some first hand info about this time period 2022.
> 
> I would appreciate any  reports from this week.
> 
> The MK should be decorated because MVMCP begin this week.  Correct?
> 
> Are Christmas Decorations going up in the resorts?  I believe the “gingerbread” displays are.  I understand resorts get decorated on different days—-any happen this week?
> Particularly interested in Wilderness Lodge and monorail resorts as we should be staying at Boulder Ridge.
> 
> Lastly, any information on crowds in each park by day would be wonderful.  I understand it gets busier the closer to Veterans Day you get and that Fridays and weekends are very busy at Epcot.
> 
> Thanks for any information you can share.


The ‘Here Now and Just Back’ thread was created as many have questions like yours and, many want to share their experiences to help others.  

You will find lots of information here.


----------



## DisneyFive

Cat0727 said:


> We were there from 10/30-11/3 and stayed at Pop Century. The Skyliner was so easy to use (less than a 5 minute wait when we rope dropped Epcot and DHS) and the buses ran frequently. We did not purchase Genie+ or ILL. Utilized early entry for most of our park days. I found the crowds not to be bad at all this week. Below are some of the notes I remembered to take.
> 
> Airport Transportation: We booked the Sunshine Flyer.....the staff was nice, buses were clean but boy do I miss Magical Express. We checked-in at 10:15am and didn't get to Pop until 11:35. In all my trips with ME it never took more than 45 mins door to door. Going back to MCO the bus was right on time and it took an hour to get to the airport. But for the next trip I might try Mears Connect or just take an Uber because the 90 minutes to get to the hotel was kind of excruciating.
> 
> 10/30: Arrival and Epcot day. Entered the GoG virtual queue at 7am and got boarding group 32. Our plane was a little delayed so instead of doing this from my seat like I had thought I ended up having to enter while we were standing in the jet bridge so I was freaking out a bit. It is a miracle I had no issues with cell service. Boarding Group got called at 9:35am but we entered the line at 2:45pm and it was about a 30 min wait. Saw the Hanson concert and that was the highlight of the day.
> 
> 10/31: AK. We were a little late this day (got to the park just before 9am) so we decided to not go to Pandora and instead went to EE, rode that twice in a row since it was a walk-on. Dinosaur was a walk-on. KS was an accurate posted wait time of 35 minutes (this was at 10am). At 3pm the wait was down to 5 minutes. By then FoP and Navi were both an hour wait. We probably would have waited for FoP but after seeing FOTLK we had to head to DS for our Wine Bar George reservation. At 9pm Gideon's was not doing a virtual queue and it was only a 5 minute wait. Nomad Lounge had a 30 min wait when we went at noon which ended up being accurate.
> 
> 11/1: Epcot. Got boarding group 83 for GoG, this was called at around 1:15pm. When we checked-in at 2:30pm it was only a 10 minute wait. At 9am Remy was a posted wait of 25 minutes but it was more around 15 minutes. Soarin' was a low wait time all day, 15 minutes. TT we could have done single rider but we were too busy with Food & Wine. After 9am Frozen went up from 25 minutes to 55 minutes and stayed at a high wait time all day. There were barely any lines for the F&W booths.
> 
> 11/2: MK. This was a non-party day so I was wondering how bad the crowds would be. The Christmas decorations were up! We went straight to Peter Pan at 8:30am and it was a 20 minute wait (posted wait time was 60 mins). Then headed to HM which was a walk-on. BTMRR was a 5 min wait (15 min posted). Pirates was a 20 minute posted wait time and we waited about 10 minutes. It was raining that evening so Splash and BTMRR (rode 2x in a row) were walk-ons. Waited 20 minutes for Space Mountain (around 9pm); this wait time was accurate. For lunch we ate at Steakhouse 71 and it was so. good. We were too full for dessert but will definitely split the burger or something next time so we can have some more room; I want to try that chocolate cake.
> 
> 11/3: DHS. I was worried about this one because the reopening of Fantasmic was that day and I was anticipating insane crowds. Our priority was Slinky. We went straight there and it was only a 15 minute wait. When we got off we could have rode it again but we decided to move on. TSM was a 5 minute wait. RnR was a literal walk-on so we rode that twice in a row. Rode ToT twice in a row, wait time was 10 mins each.  Star Tours was a walk on. We are not Star Wars fans and we have been on those rides last year so we decided to skip them.
> 
> Overall thoughts: I am satisfied with how we were able to navigate the parks without Genie+. It wasn't stressful and we had a fun time. I thought the Food and Wine booths this year were really good as well as all our TS and QS meals. And a big shout-out to all the cast members we encountered. They were absolutely wonderful. I can't wait to go back.


Sounds like you picked a prime week to visit


----------



## Isabelle12345

Has anyone received their ride pictures this week?
My phone has Bluetooth turned on, my magic band is recent (June) but yet we have not received any ride pictures that didn’t have a tap at the end (no guardians, tower of terror, slinky or frozen)
Am I the only one?


----------



## snikki

Isabelle12345 said:


> Has anyone received their ride pictures this week?
> My phone has Bluetooth turned on, my magic band is recent (June) but yet we have not received any ride pictures that didn’t have a tap at the end (no guardians, tower of terror, slinky or frozen)
> Am I the only one?



We did slinky on Saturday and received that one but not guardians or tower.


----------



## 2vets

Just a warning for those planning to enter Epcot for resort early entry (at least right now). I arrived here a few minutes before the half hour started, and there was a massive line. I doubt I’ll get more than a 10 min advantage, if any. My own fault for dallying, and for assuming this entrance was set up to handle the capacity entering. Don’t make this mistake - this entrance is simply unable to handle the current crowd congestion. 

I have to be back at the resort at 10 since we are leaving at noon, so right now, just hoping to get in one ride!!


----------



## lovethattink

Heads up for those that are here this week. There is another tropical system growing. The Euro and GFS are not in agreement again. But they both do agree it will be an east coast and central Florida weather maker. Be sure to pay attention to the weather forecasts as they often change. For now plan for rain mid week to the weekend. Of course, this could change a bit depending on what Nicole does.


----------



## Boardwalk III

Isabelle12345 said:


> Has anyone received their ride pictures this week?
> My phone has Bluetooth turned on, my magic band is recent (June) but yet we have not received any ride pictures that didn’t have a tap at the end (no guardians, tower of terror, slinky or frozen)
> Am I the only one?


I had this problem third week of October! Only received one of them automatically I think. Stopped by the photo pass place at DHS one day and was able to recover a couple of them but I gave up after that. Too time consuming. May not add photo pass to my next AP renewal due to this. What the heck?!


----------



## scrappinginontario

2vets said:


> Just a warning for those planning to enter Epcot for resort early entry (at least right now). I arrived here a few minutes before the half hour started, and there was a massive line. I doubt I’ll get more than a 10 min advantage, if any. My own fault for dallying, and for assuming this entrance was set up to handle the capacity entering. Don’t make this mistake - this entrance is simply unable to handle the current crowd congestion.
> 
> I have to be back at the resort at 10 since we are leaving at noon, so right now, just hoping to get in one ride!!


Sorry this happened.  As a rule of thumb, for those going in the future, to take the best advantage of Early Theme Park Entry hours, arrive at transportation 90 minutes prior to the start of ETPE.  For those at resorts close to IG, I would recommend arriving at the IG approx 45 mins prior to ETPE beginning to allow for crowds to enter and get to the attractions, which may open prior to the official 30 mins early.


----------



## Leigh L

Isabelle12345 said:


> Has anyone received their ride pictures this week?
> My phone has Bluetooth turned on, my magic band is recent (June) but yet we have not received any ride pictures that didn’t have a tap at the end (no guardians, tower of terror, slinky or frozen)
> Am I the only one?


That happened to us in both June and September.
I thought in June it was our Magic Bands since we used 2019 and 2020 ones (different people), but in September I brought bands from 2021, and still nothing.


----------



## MrWreckless

Any reason why ride wait times are so high this morning. Even Dumbo and Barnstormer are showing 30-40 minute waits and LL return times of well past an hour. Those have been walk on for weeks. 

Are kids outbid school today?


----------



## NJlauren

MrWreckless said:


> Any reason why ride wait times are so high this morning. Even Dumbo and Barnstormer are showing 30-40 minute waits and LL return times of well past an hour. Those have been walk on for weeks.
> 
> Are kids outbid school today?


It’s Jersey week, all of NJ is off from school Thursday and Friday, but some school the whole week, some parents pull kids for the week.

The whole state doesn’t go but a lot of people do, I personally know at least 5 family’s that I can think of off the top of my head traveling to Orlando this week.


----------



## Leigh L

MrWreckless said:


> Any reason why ride wait times are so high this morning. Even Dumbo and Barnstormer are showing 30-40 minute waits and LL return times of well past an hour. Those have been walk on for weeks.
> 
> Are kids outbid school today?


A lot of regions in the US are off this week. It's known as "Jersey week" for WDW. 

It's not just NJ schools off though, so that between that and other regions with days off this week probably boosts attendance. (we have 2-3 days off this week every year in Va and it used to be my top week for travel before my youngest started doing sports. In 2011, it was an awesome week for WDW, but I hear a lot busier now).


----------



## Leigh L

NJlauren said:


> It’s Jersey week, all of NJ is off from school Thursday and Friday, but some school the whole week, some parents pull kids for the week.
> 
> The whole state doesn’t go but a lot of people do, I personally know at least 5 family’s that I can think of off the top of my head traveling to Orlando this week.


It's a great week to go to see the parks.
Some years the days fell when we saw the last day or two of Halloween and then woke up and it was Christmas in the parks, that was pretty cool.


----------



## gottalovepluto

MrWreckless said:


> Any reason why ride wait times are so high this morning. Even Dumbo and Barnstormer are showing 30-40 minute waits and LL return times of well past an hour. Those have been walk on for weeks.
> 
> Are kids outbid school today?


F&W Marathon leftovers, Jersey Week now, Veterans Day later this week. This week is known for being crazy.


----------



## NJlauren

Leigh L said:


> It's a great week to go to see the parks.
> Some years the days fell when we saw the last day or two of Halloween and then woke up and it was Christmas in the parks, that was pretty cool.


Totally!  It’s a good week, crowded sometimes but good!

Also wondering if people are shifting plans with raining coming so doing a park today instead of later on the week.


----------



## 2vets

scrappinginontario said:


> Sorry this happened.  As a rule of thumb, for those going in the future, to take the best advantage of Early Theme Park Entry hours, arrive at transportation 90 minutes prior to the start of ETPE.  For those at resorts close to IG, I would recommend arriving at the IG approx 45 mins prior to ETPE beginning to allow for crowds to enter and get to the attractions, which may open prior to the official 30 mins early.


Yep, this was definitely on me a bit, I normally get going earlier if I’m planning for ETPE, but to be clear, I have never seen such a backup there before. There was a group in front of me (the CMs were trying to corral everyone from a mob into lines) who arrived 30 min prior to ETPE who also missed the entire 30 min - and we were waaaaaay back in the crowd. In contrast, I arrived 10 min prior to ETPE on Saturday and it was nothing like this.

For me, no big deal - but for someone who visits less and was relying on ETPE to access Remy, for instance, not good. Hopefully a one-off, but it has been extremely crowded, so it’s best to be aware.


----------



## Boardwalk III

Leigh L said:


> That happened to us in both June and September.
> I thought in June it was our Magic Bands since we used 2019 and 2020 ones (different people), but in September I brought bands from 2021, and still nothing.


Seriously, not OK. Ugh.


----------



## Leigh L

Boardwalk III said:


> Seriously, not OK. Ugh.


Honestly, I thought it was a me thing until I saw your post. I'm sorry to hear it's not just our bands. (I thought maybe the ones we bought in 2021 were maybe old stock since so many leftovers from COVID closures and lower attendance.) 
But a June purchase should have definitely worked I'd think


----------



## Toad_Passenger

Boardwalk III said:


> Seriously, not OK. Ugh.



Just experienced the same thing in September. We did a "re-create" the photo moment on Dinosaur (from a 20 year old photo!), and they never showed up in our account. Very disappointing. We made sure to tap for our photos as much as possible the rest of the trip.


----------



## Boardwalk III

Leigh L said:


> Honestly, I thought it was a me thing until I saw your post. I'm sorry to hear it's not just our bands. (I thought maybe the ones we bought in 2021 were maybe old stock since so many leftovers from COVID closures and lower attendance.)
> But a June purchase should have definitely worked I'd think


I’m told people have had good luck in emailing the photo pass group when they get home (I don’t have that email address). Sometimes it takes them weeks but if you can give them enough information of when and where they can pull the photos. I’m just not sure I have the time or motivation to do so, and seem so unnecessary


----------



## Cat0727

Isabelle12345 said:


> Has anyone received their ride pictures this week?
> My phone has Bluetooth turned on, my magic band is recent (June) but yet we have not received any ride pictures that didn’t have a tap at the end (no guardians, tower of terror, slinky or frozen)
> Am I the only one?


I got tower but not slinky or guardians.


----------



## VAtink

Re: missing photopass pictures.  We had a bunch missing from our September trip, and I had emailed them twice a few weeks apart, but got nothing.  Finally when our pictures were about to expire I called them and within about 5 minutes the CM had found all the missing photos and linked them to my account.  So I recommend calling instead of emailing, it seems to work a lot better!


----------



## Betty Rohrer

VAtink said:


> Re: missing photopass pictures.  We had a bunch missing from our September trip, and I had emailed them twice a few weeks apart, but got nothing.  Finally when our pictures were about to expire I called them and within about 5 minutes the CM had found all the missing photos and linked them to my account.  So I recommend calling instead of emailing, it seems to work a lot better!


agree have had better luck calling for missing photos. a couple of trips back even found a few I didnt know were missing


----------



## Isabelle12345

VAtink said:


> Re: missing photopass pictures.  We had a bunch missing from our September trip, and I had emailed them twice a few weeks apart, but got nothing.  Finally when our pictures were about to expire I called them and within about 5 minutes the CM had found all the missing photos and linked them to my account.  So I recommend calling instead of emailing, it seems to work a lot better!


May I ask what number you called?
And did you have to give specific times for rides or were they connected to your account?


----------



## Boardwalk III

Isabelle12345 said:


> May I ask what number you called?
> And did you have to give specific times for rides or were they connected to your account?





VAtink said:


> Re: missing photopass pictures.  We had a bunch missing from our September trip, and I had emailed them twice a few weeks apart, but got nothing.  Finally when our pictures were about to expire I called them and within about 5 minutes the CM had found all the missing photos and linked them to my account.  So I recommend calling instead of emailing, it seems to work a lot better!



I’d love the number as well. I was just going to give up but now I’m intrigued


----------



## rlk

Isabelle12345 said:


> May I ask what number you called?
> And did you have to give specific times for rides or were they connected to your account?


Not the poster you asked but I too had to call to get a bunch of missing pictures.  This is the number -- 407-560-4300.


----------



## VAtink

Isabelle12345 said:


> May I ask what number you called?
> And did you have to give specific times for rides or were they connected to your account?





Boardwalk III said:


> I’d love the number as well. I was just going to give up but now I’m intrigued


I used (407) 560-4300.  It was only about a 5 minute wait to get through too which was a nice surprise!  I did have the date and approximate times ready to give them for the missing photos, not sure if they could have found them without that info, but I figured I had it I might as well give it to them!


----------



## mdguy429

Heads up: LL for MMRR is all kinds of messed up (likely to ROTR being down for a length of time today and ILLs being converted).


----------



## pixiedust2u

Boardwalk III said:


> Seriously, not OK. Ugh.


We have had luck with them finding our photos! I was super bummed when photos from a memorable ride on 7DMT didn’t show up. I told them the approximate time we rode, and what we were wearing and they located them and added them to the app! It’s worth a shot! Good luck.


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Reflecting on the weekend we just had, I don’t think I’d ever choose to come this week on my vacation (we were here for the race). The crowds felt INSANE compared to other times of year (incl. Spring Break) - maybe it felt worse because so many rides went down, maybe we just had bad luck, but it wasn’t really very fun to be in the parks. I had a woman elbow me in the side to get ahead of me to enter a ride queue. We had more fun chilling at our resort, shopping at Disney Springs, sitting down for dinner. I felt bad bc we had First Timers with us and we couldn’t do more. Also bad for Disney’s bottom line because they are super wealthy but after their experience have absolutely no desire to become repeat visitors.


----------



## Boardwalk III

butterscotchcollins said:


> Reflecting on the weekend we just had, I don’t think I’d ever choose to come this week on my vacation (we were here for the race). The crowds felt INSANE compared to other times of year (incl. Spring Break) - maybe it felt worse because so many rides went down, maybe we just had bad luck, but it wasn’t really very fun to be in the parks. I had a woman elbow me in the side to get ahead of me to enter a ride queue. We had more fun chilling at our resort, shopping at Disney Springs, sitting down for dinner. I felt bad bc we had First Timers with us and we couldn’t do more. Also bad for Disney’s bottom line because they are super wealthy but after their experience have absolutely no desire to become repeat visitors.


I was there last year during this same week. I think we arrived the 6th - it was race weekend but don’t think it was Jersey week (I had planned to avoid that) , so that helped. I was there for 10 days and the first five or six days were fine.

Veterans Day was crazy however! We actually did a once in a lifetime VIP tour that day and thank goodness we did as we didn’t have to wait for rides. At one point our group got separated and the VIP Tour guide couldn’t even get us back together quickly because the walkways were so full at AK they were impassable. It was crazy, and I’ll be careful about booking then again. Just got back from a trip which ran from Wed 10/19- Sun 10/23 and the weekdays were really manageable that week!


----------



## butterscotchcollins

Boardwalk III said:


> I was there last year during this same week. I think we arrived the 6th - it was race weekend but don’t think it was Jersey week (I had planned to avoid that) , so that helped. I was there for 10 days and the first five or six days were fine.
> 
> Veterans Day was crazy however! We actually did a once in a lifetime VIP tour that day and thank goodness we did as we didn’t have to wait for rides. At one point our group got separated and the VIP Tour guide couldn’t even get us back together quickly because the walkways were so full at AK they were impassable. It was crazy, and I’ll be careful about booking then again. Just got back from a trip which ran from Wed 10/19- Sun 10/23 and the weekdays were really manageable that week!



Yeah we were there last year too for race weekend and then the following weekend for the Christmas After Hours and I did not recall it being this crowded and slow. Last year’s trip was a blast, this year’s was a struggle.


----------



## scrappinginontario

For those at WDW now, *latest operational information and closures* are being updated here due to Tropical Storm Nicole.

Many updates and changes.  All parks closing early tonight.  Phased closure.   Parks opening late tomorrow but times not announced yet.

Storm discussion can be found in the,  '*Preparing for Nicole...*' thread.  Thanks for discussing storm related matters there.


----------



## mouserrificmom

We just got home last night....gosh I felt so badly for the people just coming in who will have their plans disrupted by the hurricane.  

We arrived late Wednesday evening.....Thursday and Friday were awesome with very light crowds and terrific weather. The crowds picked up on Saturday and by Sunday it was crazy crowded! We left in the afternoon yesterday, but spent the morning at Epcot and it was busier than I've ever seen it - soarin' was at 90 minutes by 10 am which I don't think I've ever seen- maybe before they built the additional theatre, but I don't think so. I even noticed that there was a single rider lane to the left of the Lightning Lane entrance. 

Overall, the crowds were not problematic for us and we did not use Genie + or ILL. We go often enough that we didn't think it was necessary or worth the added expense for our plans.  We rope dropped Hollywood Studios on Friday taking advantage of early entry staying at a Skyliner resort. We arrived at the queue for Rise and they were not quite letting guests in line yet.....once they let us in line we just kept on moving never stopping once. As we got to the preshow room, everything was wide open and they were directing guests to the exit because the ride was down. It was still before park opening - they had no anticipated time for the ride to open up so we did not wait but moved along. Some guests were hovering by the queue waiting for it to open up again. About an hour later we checked and the line was at 100+ minutes - we did everyhing else we wanted to get done at Studios at a leisurely pace and rearranged one of our days to have another early entry morning at studios. That was on Sunday morning. We arrived about 30 minutes prior to Early Entry opening and walked on to Rise after the uphill rush to the queue so all was well. 

The trip was manageable, despite the heavier crowds Sunday forward - we took advantage of Early Entry at Animal Kingdom on Monday and waited about 35 minutes for Flights of Passage.  After another safari and run on EE we had time to kill before planning to hop to the MK at 1:30 and decided to get on line for Flights of Passage again as the wait (at that time) was posted as 50 minutes. While I wouldn't usually wait that long, one member of our party does not get to visit as often and really wanted to ride so we did. Just as we were passing under the entrance, the time jumped from 50 minutes to 80 minutes. We shrugged it off and said "well. we have time to kill..." about 45 minutes into the wait, the ride was having some sort of difficulty and they began making announcements that the ride was operating at reduced capacity and that wait times would increase beyond original expectations.......we got on line around 10:35 and we exited the ride at 1:29.  THAT was the only real downer of our 6 park days....but, luckily it was the tail end of our trip and all is well that ends well.

I think that the combination of the marathon, Jersey Week, and the impending hurricane each contributed to the perfect storm of a crowd swell in the parks on Monday and Tuesday with everyone planning to spend the week at the parks trying to squeeze it all in on Monday and Tuesday expecting closures and wash outs the remainder of the week. When we arrived at MCO it was a madhouse with people trying to get out of Florida before the storm arrives.  As we were leaving Epcot on Tuesday morning to head to lunch at Beaches and Cream before leaving, we noticed characters (Daisy, Prince Charming . . . ) on the bridge by the international gateway greeting guests which seemed to be an intentional effort on Disney's part to divert crowds from rides and provide a lot of character experience opportunities to guests who may be stuck in their rooms over the coming days. 

We still had a great time!  Stay safe and dry for all of you who are there right now!


----------



## maggnanimouse

Last night night I was reminded why I try to avoid Epcot on weekend nights. It’s low key terrifying  Though, it was probably the most spirited ride on Guardians I’ve ever seen. LOTS of cheering lol


----------



## set88

Just finished an absolutely FANTASTIC day at MK and AK. I studied hard and made a plan (that amazingly mostly worked!), and with Genie+ we were able to do 23 attractions between both parks.

I have to say... haven't been to Disney in almost 20 years (since I was a kid)... it really is magical. No hype, it's so true. We had so much fun.

Rough outline of day:
7:30am early entry to MK
Peter Pan
Thunder Mountain
Pirates
Jungle Cruise LL
Haunted Mansion LL
Splash Mountain LL
Small World LL

11:30am Lunch at Columbia Harbor House
Country Bears
Tiki Room
SDMT ILL
Mad Tea Party
Winnie the Pooh LL
Carousel of Progress
Space Mountain LL
Buzz LL

Left MK around 2:45pm, arrived AK 3:20pm

It's tough to be a bug
4pm pre dinner snack at Flame Tree
Kilaminjaro Safari
Expedition Everest LL
Dinosaur LL
Triceratops Spin
EE (2nd time)

7:10pm Dinner at Satuli
Navi LL
FoP (in line at 7:45pm, off ride 8:45pm)

Total step count for the day, including walking to and from all bus stops, around 28,000k.

Other than the 45 min end of night FoP wait, our longest waits were Peter Pan and K Safari, both around 18 min. A couple other waits around 15 min.

EPCOT tomorrow with no Genie+ and Space 220 Lunch!  So excited!

I will be posting a full trip report after the trip with the times when everything was booked and total waits vs standby. I will say this - I did no refreshing for times!  I just booked as we went with only two 2 hour gaps.


----------



## mwmom

set88 said:


> Just finished an absolutely FANTASTIC day at MK and AK. I studied hard and made a plan (that amazingly mostly worked!), and with Genie+ we were able to do 23 attractions between both parks.
> 
> I have to say... haven't been to Disney in almost 20 years (since I was a kid)... it really is magical. No hype, it's so true. We had so much fun.
> 
> Rough outline of day:
> 7:30am early entry to MK
> Peter Pan
> Thunder Mountain
> Pirates
> Jungle Cruise LL
> Haunted Mansion LL
> Splash Mountain LL
> Small World LL
> 
> 11:30am Lunch at Columbia Harbor House
> Country Bears
> Tiki Room
> SDMT ILL
> Mad Tea Party
> Winnie the Pooh LL
> Carousel of Progress
> Space Mountain LL
> Buzz LL
> 
> Left MK around 2:45pm, arrived AK 3:20pm
> 
> It's tough to be a bug
> 4pm pre dinner snack at Flame Tree
> Kilaminjaro Safari
> Expedition Everest LL
> Dinosaur LL
> Triceratops Spin
> EE (2nd time)
> 
> 7:10pm Dinner at Satuli
> Navi LL
> FoP (in line at 7:45pm, off ride 8:45pm)
> 
> Total step count for the day, including walking to and from all bus stops, around 28,000k.
> 
> Other than the 45 min end of night FoP wait, our longest waits were Peter Pan and K Safari, both around 18 min. A couple other waits around 15 min.
> 
> EPCOT tomorrow with no Genie+ and Space 220 Lunch!  So excited!
> 
> I will be posting a full trip report after the trip with the times when everything was booked and total waits vs standby. I will say this - I did no refreshing for times!  I just booked as we went with only two 2 hour gaps.


Great report! You did accomplish a lot!


----------



## jimim

set88 said:


> Just finished an absolutely FANTASTIC day at MK and AK. I studied hard and made a plan (that amazingly mostly worked!), and with Genie+ we were able to do 23 attractions between both parks.
> 
> I have to say... haven't been to Disney in almost 20 years (since I was a kid)... it really is magical. No hype, it's so true. We had so much fun.
> 
> Rough outline of day:
> 7:30am early entry to MK
> Peter Pan
> Thunder Mountain
> Pirates
> Jungle Cruise LL
> Haunted Mansion LL
> Splash Mountain LL
> Small World LL
> 
> 11:30am Lunch at Columbia Harbor House
> Country Bears
> Tiki Room
> SDMT ILL
> Mad Tea Party
> Winnie the Pooh LL
> Carousel of Progress
> Space Mountain LL
> Buzz LL
> 
> Left MK around 2:45pm, arrived AK 3:20pm
> 
> It's tough to be a bug
> 4pm pre dinner snack at Flame Tree
> Kilaminjaro Safari
> Expedition Everest LL
> Dinosaur LL
> Triceratops Spin
> EE (2nd time)
> 
> 7:10pm Dinner at Satuli
> Navi LL
> FoP (in line at 7:45pm, off ride 8:45pm)
> 
> Total step count for the day, including walking to and from all bus stops, around 28,000k.
> 
> Other than the 45 min end of night FoP wait, our longest waits were Peter Pan and K Safari, both around 18 min. A couple other waits around 15 min.
> 
> EPCOT tomorrow with no Genie+ and Space 220 Lunch!  So excited!
> 
> I will be posting a full trip report after the trip with the times when everything was booked and total waits vs standby. I will say this - I did no refreshing for times!  I just booked as we went with only two 2 hour gaps.


I have to say with u having the lunch time in there I was impressed. U did a lot until 1130 lunch. And some pretty quick lightening lanes. Without having ur lunch time in there I would say mmmh they spent all day to get it all in but EVEN THOUGH you spent all day from the looks you did very well in the those blocks of time. Long day for sure but if able you deff got ur time and money worth. 

Awesome. That’s a solid day. Solid use of money. Lol and solid post!


----------



## set88

Day 2 was yesterday 11/15 EPCOT... the day I didn't decide to buy Genie+ until 9:35am and still managed to get LLs for all 3 headliners...

Will go into more thoughts and details in my eventual trip report... G+ was absolutely invaluable in the end, but there was luck involved for absolute sure, and without it things might have felt quite different.

Outline of day  -

7am - Guardians VQ - we were on our game and got boarding group 1!

7:25ish am - arrive at EPCOT ( regular entrance)
Run to holding point for Frozen walk
8:10am on Frozen

The plan had been TT next but it was down. It was down on and off all day.

Morning 9am - 11am
GotG via VQ
Soarin LL
Living with the Land

11am
Booths - Flame Tree, Noodle Exchange, Joffrey, Swanky Swine
Gran Fiesta Tour
Booths - Canada and Appleseed Orchard
Journey into Imagination LL
Nemo LL

Lunch at Space 220!  2:10pm - 3:30pm

Late afternoon

TT LL converted because it was down - anytime LL excluded both Remy and Frozen

Guardians ILL
Mission Space (Green)
Frozen LL (total surprise to pick up with immediate return)
Booth - Refreshment Outpost - while sitting there I picked up a total surprise LL for Remy in the last hour of the day

Then around 5:50pm TT finally came back up and we walked back over to use the anytime LL
Spaceship Earth
Shopping
Booth - Australia
Remy LL

Left park via international gateway because we couldn't face the walk back across the park and to the busses! Took skyliner to Riviera Resort and ubered back to All Star Music. Well worth the $10 + tip Uber fare.

Total step count 26,000k.

Today is Hollywood Studios. Got 30 minutes to kill until hubby wakes up and we start getting ready!


----------



## jods

set88 said:


> Day 2 was yesterday 11/15 EPCOT... the day I didn't decide to buy Genie+ until 9:35am and still managed to get LLs for all 3 headliners...
> 
> Will go into more thoughts and details in my eventual trip report... G+ was absolutely invaluable in the end, but there was luck involved for absolute sure, and without it things might have felt quite different.
> 
> Outline of day  -
> 
> 7am - Guardians VQ - we were on our game and got boarding group 1!
> 
> 7:25ish am - arrive at EPCOT ( regular entrance)
> Run to holding point for Frozen walk
> 8:10am on Frozen
> 
> The plan had been TT next but it was down. It was down on and off all day.
> 
> Morning 9am - 11am
> GotG via VQ
> Soarin LL
> Living with the Land
> 
> 11am
> Booths - Flame Tree, Noodle Exchange, Joffrey, Swanky Swine
> Gran Fiesta Tour
> Booths - Canada and Appleseed Orchard
> Journey into Imagination LL
> Nemo LL
> 
> Lunch at Space 220!  2:10pm - 3:30pm
> 
> Late afternoon
> 
> TT LL converted because it was down - anytime LL excluded both Remy and Frozen
> 
> Guardians ILL
> Mission Space (Green)
> Frozen LL (total surprise to pick up with immediate return)
> Booth - Refreshment Outpost - while sitting there I picked up a total surprise LL for Remy in the last hour of the day
> 
> Then around 5:50pm TT finally came back up and we walked back over to use the anytime LL
> Spaceship Earth
> Shopping
> Booth - Australia
> Remy LL
> 
> Left park via international gateway because we couldn't face the walk back across the park and to the busses! Took skyliner to Riviera Resort and ubered back to All Star Music. Well worth the $10 + tip Uber fare.
> 
> Total step count 26,000k.
> 
> Today is Hollywood Studios. Got 30 minutes to kill until hubby wakes up and we start getting ready!


Sounds like a great day.  I was also able to snag the epcot headliners in August with those afternoon drops.  It's a game.changer for sure.


----------



## Stormtrooper mum

jods said:


> Sounds like a great day.  I was also able to snag the epcot headliners in August with those afternoon drops.  It's a game.changer for sure.


Can you remind us again what time the afternoon drops are?


----------



## jods

Stormtrooper mum said:


> Can you remind us again what time the afternoon drops are?


In August it was 1247 and 247 and maybe 447.   If you look at thrill data it will show the recent drops.  My old eyes can't read the charts so someone else helped me read/interpret them lol.  It's all different lines and colorful and my eyes/brain couldn't discern it on my phone.


----------



## jods

Stormtrooper mum said:


> Can you remind us again what time the afternoon drops are?


I also played around the days leading up to my trip and it was dead on.


----------



## Stormtrooper mum

jods said:


> I also played around the days leading up to my trip and it was dead on.


You’re amazing thanks!


----------



## pixiedust2u

If anyone has any recent experience with drops specially at Epcot and or MK I’d appreciate the info. Thrill data overwhelms me and I end up confused!


----------



## set88

jods said:


> In August it was 1247 and 247 and maybe 447.   If you look at thrill data it will show the recent drops.  My old eyes can't read the charts so someone else helped me read/interpret them lol.  It's all different lines and colorful and my eyes/brain couldn't discern it on my phone.


That's interesting, I believe it was right around 4:45-4:50pm when I booked Frozen with an immediate return.  So maybe it's still the same.


----------



## set88

Day 3 Hollywood Studios 11/16

We are back home now, but I will add our last two "quick summaries" of each day before I start working on the big trip report!  

Bought Genie+ and had the app ready to go right at 7:00:00am but it stuttered and we had to quickly open the app on another phone to book.  This happened a couple mornings on the trip - lesson learned, have two phones ready to go right from the start.  Our SDD return time was 3:05pm.  Bought Rise right after for 5:10pm (I could have had an earlier time but chose to go later - worth noting, though, that some times were definitely already sold out).

We arrived to the front gate (ready to walk through security) at 7:30am.  Walked to ToT and stood in the "out front" line for 10 minutes before they announced that ToT would not be ready to open at 8am, so we quickly jumped into the RockNRollercoaster line.

*Early Entry*
RnRc (10 minute wait)
ToT (posted 35 min wait at 8:20am, actual wait around 20-25 minutes)

*Morning - Noon*
Coffee at Joffrey's
Killing time watching wait times start shooting up to unreasonable levels - didn't help that Rise was down
Mobile ordering food in advance at Woody's (earliest time already an hour away)
Wandering around Walt Disney Presents

Woody's Lunchbox -10:10am (took around 10 minutes for food to be ready)
Muppet Vision
Indiana Jones Show (got there around 11:35am for the noon show - boy, I don't recommend being any later, it was slammed)

*Afternoon*
"Vacation Fun" animated short film
Frozen 1:30pm show (arrived 1:10pm)
Oga's Cantina 2:15pm reservation

MMRR LL (3:15pm, second pick at 10:30am)
SDD LL (3:35pm, first pick at 7am)
Alien Swirling Saucers LL (4:15pm, fourth pick at 2:35pm)

*Late Afternoon - Early Evening *
Dinner at Docking Bay (just before 5pm)
Smuggler's Run LL (5:15pm, third pick at 12:30pm)
Rise ILL
Star Tours x2 

*Evening*
Toy Story Mania LL (7pm, fifth pick at 4:15pm)
RnRc LL (8pm, sixth pick at 6:20pm)

Left the park before close because we were wiped out!  

Total step count around 23k.  

Quick takeaways - Crowd levels were a 7/10 and this was really the only day of the trip they felt "too much" to us.  Genie+ is essential.  In the future, I would not arrive to HS in the morning - I think it's better as an afternoon park once your LLs kick in and where you spend the morning doing something else.

Though, for a first time visitor doing one day at HS - I would definitely recommend doing what we did.  Early entry, knock out RnRc and ToT.  Kill time with shows in the morning and midday until your stacked LLs in the afternoon (arrive early for the shows, there's nothing better to do anyway and you might as well get good seats!)  Plus all the shows were very good.   

If we'd been up for it, I'm sure we could have done a couple more attractions with very low wait times in the last half hour of the day.  Would have loved to do that but our third >23k step day in a row didn't allow for more, haha.  

Next up, our final day of the trip with MK morning and EPCOT afternoon.


----------



## Orsino

Just back and had a great time. I know there is a lot of chatter about lost magic and with all the extra charges and fussing needed with Genie+ I sort of get it. But when we arrived, we had an absolutely great time. Studios, which historically had been our least favorite park was pretty magical. Cast Members were all in great spirits (not just Studios, but everywhere). Out of nowhere, they had a special performance of Fantasmic! for AP holders, which is the first time I've been able to do a special AP holder event. I would not have bothered to see Fantasmic, but with the special showing, we did and enjoyed it.

I have to admit, there is a bit of luck involved too. We happened to be walking past Rise with a posted 60min wait, which was suspiciously short. We figured it had been down and just came up. We were right and had a 30-35 minute wait. [Side note, for the first 20-25 minutes the line moved fast, then I think they were slammed with LL so it moved soooo slow (about 4 people from standby per preshow room).] It was a nice moment and it saved us from Night Dropping Rise at closing time, which would have been fine, but we had an early flight to MCO that morning so leaving early was great too.

Genie+ requires a lot of fuss, there is no denying that, but I'm a fussy person so it works for us. We stacked Studios to great success (7am departure meant I grabbed Slinky just before the plane pulled away from the gate, and we landed just before the next LL grab time). We tried the 'get LL early and use early to book more' to moderate success. This plan allowed us to plan LL for specific lands and reduce walking. For example we could tap into Buzz and book Space for a short while later and bridge the gap with Carousel. The downside is by afternoon the booking situation wasn't great for us because what was left were rides we already booked or rides that were sold out.


----------



## set88

Day 4 - MK morning and EPCOT afternoon - Our final day!  Thursday 11/17

On Tuesday evening when we got back from EPCOT, I got the idea to try to do a nice breakfast our last morning instead of doing another early entry rush.  Made a reservation for Crystal Palace (big splurge, but I have very fond memories of eating there as a small child and meeting the Winnie the Pooh characters.)  Plus it was way easier to do MK breakfast instead of hitting one of the resorts first.

Also bought Genie+ and chose Meet Mickey at 7am.

This was intended to be a slower day for us, and we wanted to do our favorites from our first MK day again as well as a handful of things we missed).

*Morning*
Crystal Palace Breakfast 8am (we LOVED this)
Meet Mickey LL 9am
Haunted Mansion LL
Carousel
Splash Mountain (cold day, no wait)
Thunder Mountain LL
Had booked Pirates LL, but it was down
Dumbo LL
Under the Sea LL
Buzz LL (this was what we used our anytime LL from Pirates on)

(The Thunder LL was about an hour away when I booked it, everything else was an immediate return).

Left MK at 1:30pm to monorail to EPCOT.  We were coming back just to hit up the F&W booths we wanted to do that we missed on our first day, then planning to leave before evening.

*Afternoon*
2:25pm Meet Donald (line was around 25 min)
Booths:
Kenya
Spain
Hops & Barley
Greece
Tangerine Cafe
Brazil

4:45pm Soarin LL (booked this at around 1pm with a 3:50-4:50pm return)
Shimmering Sips to redeem cheese crawl prize
Shopping
Headed back to monorail to TTC to drive home - got to car around 6:30pm, got home to Tampa 2 hours later.

Total step count around 22k... and this was supposed to be a slow day!  No such thing at a Disney park.  I can't even imagine what the count would have been if we'd stayed the last 3 hours of the evening.

Over our 4 days, we got in around 100,000k steps - around 50 miles!

Next trip is already on the calendar for late January!

Overall, we had an AMAZING time.  I've been to so many theme parks (I'm a thrill ride junkie) but hadn't returned to Disney since I was a kid.  I LOVED it.  I honestly didn't expect this trip to turn me into a Disney fanatic, but I think it did.  We've had Universal season passes and love the rides at Universal, but the atmosphere is decidedly lacking in comparison to Disney.  There is truly something different in the air.

Full trip report with tons of photos, restaurant reviews, ride reviews, strategy tips, Genie+ thoughts (the good and bad!), and more... coming soon!


----------



## snikki

We were there 11/3-11/12 and had an amazing time. We had G+ added to our length of stay tickets and it really worked well for us. We were able to utilize it very well and felt it was worth the $15 we paid. We got many more rides than we used to get with FP+ since we used to book those in our PM park.  We stacked HS a few times and it works great at MK, especially if you are there all day. We got 8 or more our first day and that was with a 4 hour midday break and the dessert party. The biggest downside is the zig zagging and walking through the parks.  We walked 75.4 miles/182K steps in our 9 days and we didn't do full park days everyday. 

Our longest waits all trip were one of our VQs for Guardians which took almost an hour and oddly enough Under the Sea for 25 minutes (was posted as 10). Everything else we used G+ or walked on at low wait times. We did ILL for Star Wars x2, FOP x 2, Guardians x 1 and 7DMT x1. It sucked to pay extra for this but it was worth the wait times. I will say we did NOT need G+ for each day of our trip but it was already paid for so we used it. 

The first few days of our trip were low crowds and you could feel the crowds grow by that Saturday and Sunday. The following Friday and Saturday were Veterans Weekend but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting but that's probably due to cancellations from TS Nicole. The parks closed early that Wednesday and opened late Thursday which wasn't a big deal to us since we had 9 days and we just used that as our rest time and rearranged our time. We really needed that. The worst of the storm seemed to pass through overnight so we didn't see much except some rain and gusts of winds here and there. 

The beginning of the week ToT was running well and by midstay I noticed only one side was running. The ride went down at one point on 11/12 and when it reopened they had to close it again since the LL line was 45 minutes and standby was 195 minutes. The ride was still running but no one could get in line. We had a LL and when we got off (took about 35 minutes) it was still closed to new guests. 

Two things I noticed and stuck out to me: I felt that Epcot was just as packed on a weeknight as it was on the weekend. There really was no difference to me. #2 - I felt that 50% of the people in the parks were without children. Especially in DHS and Epcot. Even AK. Of course MK is kid central but even there I saw a lot of people without kids. Much higher than I'm used to. One day we were on a full friendship boat and there were only about 6 kids. Lots of adult only trips. (and my next trip will be just myself and DH!)


----------



## Gentry2004

jods said:


> In August it was 1247 and 247 and maybe 447.   If you look at thrill data it will show the recent drops.  My old eyes can't read the charts so someone else helped me read/interpret them lol.  It's all different lines and colorful and my eyes/brain couldn't discern it on my phone.


Is this only for Epcot or for every park?


----------



## snikki

I did see some drops at 11:47 am.


----------



## dorchrislen

set88 said:


> Day 3 Hollywood Studios 11/16
> 
> We are back home now, but I will add our last two "quick summaries" of each day before I start working on the big trip report!
> 
> Bought Genie+ and had the app ready to go right at 7:00:00am but it stuttered and we had to quickly open the app on another phone to book.  This happened a couple mornings on the trip - lesson learned, have two phones ready to go right from the start.  Our SDD return time was 3:05pm.  Bought Rise right after for 5:10pm (I could have had an earlier time but chose to go later - worth noting, though, that some times were definitely already sold out).
> 
> We arrived to the front gate (ready to walk through security) at 7:30am.  Walked to ToT and stood in the "out front" line for 10 minutes before they announced that ToT would not be ready to open at 8am, so we quickly jumped into the RockNRollercoaster line.
> 
> *Early Entry*
> RnRc (10 minute wait)
> ToT (posted 35 min wait at 8:20am, actual wait around 20-25 minutes)
> 
> *Morning - Noon*
> Coffee at Joffrey's
> Killing time watching wait times start shooting up to unreasonable levels - didn't help that Rise was down
> Mobile ordering food in advance at Woody's (earliest time already an hour away)
> Wandering around Walt Disney Presents
> 
> Woody's Lunchbox -10:10am (took around 10 minutes for food to be ready)
> Muppet Vision
> Indiana Jones Show (got there around 11:35am for the noon show - boy, I don't recommend being any later, it was slammed)
> 
> *Afternoon*
> "Vacation Fun" animated short film
> Frozen 1:30pm show (arrived 1:10pm)
> Oga's Cantina 2:15pm reservation
> 
> MMRR LL (3:15pm, second pick at 10:30am)
> SDD LL (3:35pm, first pick at 7am)
> Alien Swirling Saucers LL (4:15pm, fourth pick at 2:35pm)
> 
> *Late Afternoon - Early Evening *
> Dinner at Docking Bay (just before 5pm)
> Smuggler's Run LL (5:15pm, third pick at 12:30pm)
> Rise ILL
> Star Tours x2
> 
> *Evening*
> Toy Story Mania LL (7pm, fifth pick at 4:15pm)
> RnRc LL (8pm, sixth pick at 6:20pm)
> 
> Left the park before close because we were wiped out!
> 
> Total step count around 23k.
> 
> Quick takeaways - Crowd levels were a 7/10 and this was really the only day of the trip they felt "too much" to us.  Genie+ is essential.  In the future, I would not arrive to HS in the morning - I think it's better as an afternoon park once your LLs kick in and where you spend the morning doing something else.
> 
> Though, for a first time visitor doing one day at HS - I would definitely recommend doing what we did.  Early entry, knock out RnRc and ToT.  Kill time with shows in the morning and midday until your stacked LLs in the afternoon (arrive early for the shows, there's nothing better to do anyway and you might as well get good seats!)  Plus all the shows were very good.
> 
> If we'd been up for it, I'm sure we could have done a couple more attractions with very low wait times in the last half hour of the day.  Would have loved to do that but our third >23k step day in a row didn't allow for more, haha.
> 
> Next up, our final day of the trip with MK morning and EPCOT afternoon.


Thanks for this. Because of your experience I am re-designing my whole day. I think on January 5 the crowds will probably be at 7 also so I’m ditching my plan and going with yours!


----------



## jods

pixiedust2u said:


> If anyone has any recent experience with drops specially at Epcot and or MK I’d appreciate the info. Thrill data overwhelms me and I end up confused!


I have to laugh because I had the same reaction to thrill data.


set88 said:


> That's interesting, I believe it was right around 4:45-4:50pm when I booked Frozen with an immediate return.  So maybe it's still the same.


I'm sure that was it.  They started with immediate returns and refreshing went a couple hours later.  The drops would only last a few minutes so you couldn't be too picky.  


Gentry2004 said:


> Is this only for Epcot or for every park?


There was talk at MK with different times but we were never there early so I didn't test it out.  I think I read around 12 but again, I didn't look.  HS did have random drops when i was there but I didn't really pay attention to a pattern.  Thrill data has the info for all LL if you want to try and figure it out.


----------



## jimim

Thursday:  Happy Turkey Day. I had a stupid idea last night of rope dropping Remy from front of park. I know I know no one ever comment on this. So my wife goes at 6AM why not hop a bus to AK and then to An Epcot resort. Ok let’s go. We are at AKL so bus was there. Over to park. 5 min wait. Onto bus. Off bus at boardwalk. Walked to the gateway. I figured it was going to be swamped.  We were like 10th in line. Wow go figure.  Somehow it worked. The logistics just fell in place. Let me tell you that area is a wicked bottle neck. Everything is right. I never realized how tight. Bit man security and the cast members are on point there. Every rope drop should be run like that. No way anyone is running in that setup. I really like how the cast members walk you right into the remy line. Avatar should be run like that along with test track. Magic kingdom they can do the same for mine train if they wanted.

The team over at the gateway should be applauded cause it’s a tough area.

No way in heck we could have rope dropped it from up front. Once we were in line the line behind us 15 mins before they even let us on the rats was at least 90 mins. When we got off at like 8 after the line was out of control!  Got group 10 for guardians this morning. 3rd time on!  Awesome. No Xmas music as of today.

Side notes:  the maple popcorn in Canada is crazy good. Never knew it was there. The crepe stand in France is very good. A lot better than when it was in front. And my iced mocha from a random cart was actually made properly. Don’t judge me on my eating habits for this morning. Lol. It’s thanksgiving and I won’t be having turkey so I’m pigging out on other food today. Lol. Citricos tonight for dinner. Can’t wait. Haven’t been there in a few years. 

Tuesday morning MK:
Just a little update. Crushing the MK right now and I’m not talking about the tea cups or people mover. I’m talking SDMT, BTMR, SM. Headliners. And no genie or ills. Just old school veteran Disney know how. More later. Back to rides.  The magic is alive for us. I think it just took me getting back and not worrying as much as I did. We left after the parade. Haven’t watched it in years. The dragon still impresses me. I would love to be able to spend an hour walking around it and taking pics of various parts of it. So between 7:30-11:30 we knocked off 12 rides.  Going to morimoto for dinner. I have in and bought a magic band plus for myself and my daughter. She got the 50th anniversary peach one and I got the new dvc one.  My kid shamed me into buying him that remy hat the other night. This is the nuttiest thing I ever bought here. The amount of people who stopped us was historical. The thing is so wonky. That’s the Halloween costume next year.  I’m a big tshirt guy. I love my T-shirt’s. Haven’t found 1 I like so far. Ever since they did that 28 and main line years ago I’m ruined. They were the greatest T-shirt’s. I’m still wearing all of them but some might have to be retired. The stuff they have right now is too bright and colorful for me.

I will post a lot more when I have time but all I got to say is yesterday was our first park day. AK. and after diner at flying fish we headed over to HS. We got through all headliners stuff AK. We rode Mickey railroad, falcon, and finished night on rise.
 All without genie or lightening lane. Just old school rope drop. Out of park at noon. Pack to room rest regroup. Awesome diner and flying fish and back into park at night. Nothing crazy just making good use of time.

Today HS. Slinky, toy story mania, star tours, Aerosmith, and few other minor things. Out of park cause it was Nuts. Showers rest them diner at Il Mulino. But before diner hoofed it to back of Epcot to tap in and grabbed virtual cue for guardians. Awesome diner. Boat over. In line for remy while we wait to be called. Not like us to wait for over an hour but what else u going to door rains. We are under cover.

Again no genie or lightening lane.

So it’s all possible. We are 48 hours in and have hit all the major new rides. Tomorrow is Epcot day. Will be a breeze.

So the rope drop and nights in park still hold fast for us with some planning.

I never would have figured it. I did not want to do this trip. I have said on here over and over but wife and kids rule so I go. I’m usually the one pushing for trips but with all the changes I just wasn’t looking forward to it.

So we got alot of days to still go. I know it will get busier day by day but again we know that. We don’t leave till next Monday. I’m calling win for this trip already.

That’s all I got so far. Man I can’t wait to get on guardian!  Can’t wait!  Rise was cool. We missed Star Wars when it opened cause of Covid. That April trip got c’ed obviously.   I liked the falcon. I really did. Rise was cool really was but the hype I don’t know. Flame me if u want. Just my opinion. Avatar still brings me to a tear. I don’t know why. And toy story mania is just still awesome after all these years. It was paper fast pass!  It is aging so well!  Slinky is just fun.

All I got for you all. Rounding the corner to go inside of remy.

I can honestly say all I complained about is not mattering so far. Except I’m here without season passes which I’m still ticked off about!

Edit added Monday morning.

That new baking and cooking areas in connections over at Epcot is pretty nice. I talked with a very nice cast member this morning about what it’s used for. The bakery side is pretty impressive.

Holy cow guardians last night. Just awesome. I mean awesome. I didn’t watch a thing about it so I didn’t know about any aspect of the ride. I did know the train cars spin. That’s it. Worth the hype. Did a virtual cue this morning. So easy. Got group 38. In line again now.

I got to say nights have been very productive. I mean they always have but this trip just so helpful!  Ok here we go pre show time!!!!!!


----------



## wabbott

jimim said:


> I will post a lot more when I have time but all I got to say is yesterday was our first park day. AK. and after diner at flying fish we headed over to HS. We got through all headliners stuff AK. We rode Mickey railroad, falcon, and finished night on rise.
> All without genie or lightening lane. Just old school rope drop. Out of park at noon. Pack to room rest regroup. Awesome diner and flying fish and back into park at night. Nothing crazy just making good use of time.
> 
> Today HS. Slinky, toy story mania, star tours, Aerosmith, and few other minor things. Out of park cause it was Nuts. Showers rest them diner at Il Mulino. But before diner hoofed it to back of Epcot to tap in and grabbed virtual cue for guardians. Awesome diner. Boat over. In line for remy while we wait to be called. Not like us to wait for over an hour but what else u going to door rains. We are under cover.
> 
> Again no genie or lightening lane.
> 
> So it’s all possible. We are 48 hours in and have hit all the major new rides. Tomorrow is Epcot day. Will be a breeze.
> 
> So the rope drop and nights in park still hold fast for us with some planning.
> 
> I never would have figured it. I did not want to do this trip. I have said on here over and over but wife and kids rule so I go. I’m usually the one pushing for trips but with all the changes I just wasn’t looking forward to it.
> 
> So we got alot of days to still go. I know it will get busier day by day but again we know that. We don’t leave till next Monday. I’m calling win for this trip already.
> 
> That’s all I got so far. Man I can’t wait to get on guardian!  Can’t wait!  Rise was cool. We missed Star Wars when it opened cause of Covid. That April trip got c’ed obviously.   I liked the falcon. I really did. Rise was cool really was but the hype I don’t know. Flame me if u want. Just my opinion. Avatar still brings me to a tear. I don’t know why. And toy story mania is just still awesome after all these years. It was paper fast pass!  It is aging so well!  Slinky is just fun.
> 
> All I got for you all. Rounding the corner to go inside of remy.
> 
> I can honestly say all I complained about is not mattering so far. Except I’m here without season passes which I’m still ticked off about!


Very similar to our mid-October trip.  Rope drop for early hours every day, mid-day break, and late hours to finish up.  No Genie or Lightening Lane.  By the end of the week, our tails were dragging, but it was worth it.


----------



## WishUponAStar3

It's been a week since we returned from our WDW trip, and I am still missing it SO MUCH!! These boards were immensely helpful in planning for our first family trip to the World (we are DLR regulars) and I'm so thankful to all of you for sharing your experiences and opinions! One topic that I know has been discussed a lot is if the magic is gone since the reopening, or if it's diminished, whether it's still worth going even with all the increases and Genie+, etc. At least in my experience--and I went on what is considered a very crowded week (Jersey Week/Veterans Day week) AND we had Tropical Storm Nicole to contend with--the magic is 100% there, and Genie+ was worth every penny. Some more thoughts below...

*The magic: *We felt it everywhere, even on the harder rainy days. The parks offered SO MUCH in the way of magical entertainment, rides, shows, characters, treats, merch, etc, it was easy to see why so many Disney podcasters and travel agents leave their regular lives and move to Orlando!  I also felt like the vast majority of CMs we encountered were all so committed to giving us and the other guests the best day ever. A couple examples of the magic:

- Incredible character interactions at Crystal Palace, Cinderella's Royal Table (just with Cindy, but she was so wonderful with our kids) and especially at Hollywood & Vine, where Minnie and my 1-year-old totally bonded, and she and the other characters visited us a few times and gave the kids so much attention! Something extra magical that happened at Hollywood & Vine: at the beginning of our meal, when our hostess told us to get our autographs book ready, I showed her how my son's book had gotten ruined from getting caught in the rain the day before and asked if there was anywhere I could buy a new one in time for our character meets. She told me she would see what she could do, and then lo and behold--she gifted him a brand new autograph book/photo album, that was even nicer than our previous one. I was SO touched by that!

- With the parks opening later on Thursday due to rain from the tropical storm, characters came to our hotel!! (We stayed at the Polynesian, but I'm assuming all Disney hotels had character visits.) It was SOO much fun for our kids (and me and my hubby!) to see Pluto and Mickey hanging out in our hotel lobby, and even harder to find characters like Lilo! Mickey played peek-a-boo with my 1-year-old daughter and sat with the kids for a trivia game, Lilo was teasing my husband and son at Capt. Cook's, it was all just so much fun and in some ways more special than seeing them at the parks and having to wait in long lines. I so appreciated Disney bringing the magic to the hotels while we were rained out of the parks.

*Genie+: *This was a game-changer for us and made touring the parks a breeze and a joy. To be able to just book rides one after another and not have to wait in long lines? SO WORTH IT! My brother who joined us on the trip with his family was saying that he will never again consider a Disney trip without Genie+ and I totally agree. As long as you remember to book the most in-demand ride right at 7 AM, and then get your next LL two hours later or right after your first ride, you can get soo much done! Coming from Disneyland, where the LL ride options are so much less, I think WDW has it made when it comes to Genie+!

*MVMCP: *This was sooo much fun!! It's a little harder to take advantage of all the offerings and make the most of it with little kids, but we still had a great time and managed to get a decent viewing spot for the first parade (2nd row behind the curb on Main Street) without waiting long. The parade was magical! I also loved the beautiful ornament and art print we got with our tickets- between that and the treats, parade, fireworks, and rides, it definitely felt worth the ticket price.

*Crowds: *Not bad AT ALL! From everything I'd read about how crowded Jersey Week is, how impossible it is to walk through World Showcase on a Food & Wine Festival Friday, I was bracing myself--and the whole time me and my husband were saying how much more manageable the crowds were here than Disneyland! Like, anyone who thinks crowds are bad at WDW probably would not like Disneyland, LOL. Really the only day of our trip that felt really crowded was the Saturday of Veteran's Day weekend at MK, and even that would have been totally manageable had we gotten up early (we rolled in to MK at noon after a late night) and utilizing Genie+. Our Friday at Epcot (on actual Veterans Day) was a breeze! I didn't even know Jersey Week was a thing until we booked this trip, but I would travel this same week again in a heartbeat.

Bottom line: it was amazing and I wish we were back!! There are of course things that didn't go right too, like the weather during the two storm days, and my son catching a bug at the beginning of our trip (not Covid!) that impacted some of his enjoyment, but even he cried when we left and said all last week that he missed Florida--so I call it a big success! Now I just have to deal with the post-Disney trip blues, LOL, and would be grateful for any suggestions you have there! (I wish I could immediately get another trip on the books, but we spent so much $$ on this one, my husband might faint if I start planning another! I am daydreaming about an early September trip though.)

Let me know if any of you have any questions I can answer- I'd love to pay it forward and help others the way these boards have helped me! <3


----------



## Sparkly

My trip was so magical too, Hurricane Ian aside, so it's great to hear that you had a good time.


----------



## jimim

wabbott said:


> Very similar to our mid-October trip.  Rope drop for early hours every day, mid-day break, and late hours to finish up.  No Genie or Lightening Lane.  By the end of the week, our tails were dragging, but it was worth it.


We have always rope dropped. For I have no idea how long. Stinks getting up but we are both up for work earlier everyday and the kids fish with me on weekends and when it’s peak season we are on the water on the boat by 4 usually so up at 3 so used to it but man on vacation it seems harder. Lol. Once up we are good and through the day. You bitcthe wall after the day is over walking to the bus or whatever it seems. Lol


----------



## Carolyn Louise

Thanks for this write up. I've been so nervous about my trip next week, happy to hear a great experience and that even G+ worked for you. I'll try to keep all that in mind and enjoy what we get.


----------



## jimim

Carolyn Louise said:


> Thanks for this write up. I've been so nervous about my trip next week, happy to hear a great experience and that even G+ worked for you. I'll try to keep all that in mind and enjoy what we get.


And you might not even need it. I’m like not even 72 hours in and have all major attractions done for HS AK AND EPCOT all without genie or Ills.  Either way it will  be good!


----------



## c0reyann

We just got back after our trip last week.  

Things we noticed that changed since 2019:

- The restrooms were not nearly as clean, often gross.  On prior trips I'd always marveled at how clean the restrooms were but that is no more.  Some would be out of TP, many stalls full of funk and not able to be used, floors sticky, paper towels out of stock/overflowing from cans.  It was pretty icky.

- I was washing my hands a lot because there were a LOT of sick kids in the parks.  WAY more than I'd ever seen there during prior trips.  Everyone is sick.  Go in assuming you'll have the flu/covid/a funk when you get back and plan accordingly. 

- The busses to/from AKL were much much slower than before (and that was slow).  In the afternoons you could wait 45 minutes to an hour for a ride to the parks. Coming back from the parks was generally at least a 20-30 minute wait and AKL was often the only hotel with the longest bus line with the least frequent returning busses.  

- Genie really worked great for MK, okay for HS and AK but sucked at Epcot.  You have to choose basically if you want Remy, Frozen or Test Track.  We did Remy at 7 but the other two were full/gone for the second time we could book.  Both waits were 2ish hours all day long so we skipped those. 

- Waking up at 7AM to book rides sucked.  I'm glad we had pre purchased Genie with our tickets so we didn't also have to stay up until midnight.  

- The 2PM park hopper thing is annoying and so is park reservations.


----------



## ItsMEH

This thread is so interesting to watch. It has given me so many helpful tips but I can also see how it would be totally overwhelming to a first timer. You can literally have back to back experiences in the same time period and the "reviews" are completely different. For the first timers out there....breathe, have fun, and just enjoy the things you can get done.


----------



## snikki

ItsMEH said:


> This thread is so interesting to watch. It has given me so many helpful tips but I can also see how it would be totally overwhelming to a first timer. You can literally have back to back experiences in the same time period and the "reviews" are completely different. For the first timers out there....breathe, have fun, and just enjoy the things you can get done.



Very true.

The poster before you said the bathrooms were gross. We were there 11/3-11/12 and I actually thought during my trip that it was the cleanest I had ever seen the bathrooms and I go a LOT since I drink tons of water. No pee on the seats, no toilet paper or paper towels on the floor, no overflowing toilets, no overflowing trash bins, everything fully stocked and some even smelled great. Lots of custodial people around manning the bathrooms too.

You can have two people in the same park on the same day and have two completely different perspectives.


----------



## mickey916

snikki said:


> Very true.
> 
> The poster before you said the bathrooms were gross. We were there 11/3-11/12 and I actually thought during my trip that it was the cleanest I had ever seen the bathrooms and I go a LOT since I drink tons of water. No pee on the seats, no toilet paper or paper towels on the floor, no overflowing toilets, no overflowing trash bins, everything fully stocked and some even smelled great. Lots of custodial people around manning the bathrooms too.
> 
> You can have two people in the same park on the same day and have two completely different perspectives.


I was prepared for nasty bathrooms when we went in April and again in May but our experience was similar to yours. They were very clean and well stocked. It is really something how people's experiences differ.


----------



## whiteness

jimim said:


> And you might not even need it. I’m like not even 72 hours in and have all major attractions done for HS AK AND EPCOT all without genie or Ills.  Either way it will  be good!


Just imagine how much more magical it would be if they priced Genie+ so high that very few guests actually purchased it.


----------



## jimim

whiteness said:


> Just imagine how much more magical it would be if they priced Genie+ so high that very few guests actually purchased it.


I think it will get to that universal pricing structure. It seems theirs is much much more exspensive or am I wrong?  Is it very popular?

All I know is we are good without it. We have been here only since Friday. Friday we didn’t even go in a park we just chilled in down town.  We are here till Monday. I got another Epcot day so I’m assuming getting another virtual cue for guardians won’t be an issue. 

Man that ride is awesome. I mean it’s really really good. 

On a side note we just hd lunch at steakhouse 71. Wow smash burger. Highly recommend it. Very good!  Onion rings also. Fries. Mmmmmh. I mean ok but the burger.


----------



## kek1287

c0reyann said:


> We just got back after our trip last week.
> 
> Things we noticed that changed since 2019:
> 
> - The restrooms were not nearly as clean, often gross.  On prior trips I'd always marveled at how clean the restrooms were but that is no more.  Some would be out of TP, many stalls full of funk and not able to be used, floors sticky, paper towels out of stock/overflowing from cans.  It was pretty icky.
> 
> - I was washing my hands a lot because there were a LOT of sick kids in the parks.  WAY more than I'd ever seen there during prior trips.  Everyone is sick.  Go in assuming you'll have the flu/covid/a funk when you get back and plan accordingly.
> 
> - The busses to/from AKL were much much slower than before (and that was slow).  In the afternoons you could wait 45 minutes to an hour for a ride to the parks. Coming back from the parks was generally at least a 20-30 minute wait and AKL was often the only hotel with the longest bus line with the least frequent returning busses.
> 
> - Genie really worked great for MK, okay for HS and AK but sucked at Epcot.  You have to choose basically if you want Remy, Frozen or Test Track.  We did Remy at 7 but the other two were full/gone for the second time we could book.  Both waits were 2ish hours all day long so we skipped those.
> 
> - Waking up at 7AM to book rides sucked.  I'm glad we had pre purchased Genie with our tickets so we didn't also have to stay up until midnight.
> 
> - The 2PM park hopper thing is annoying and so is park reservations.


We just returned from our trip 11/15-18 w 2 Universal days beforehand (w a one night stay at the HR for express passes). Otherwise stayed offsite.

I noticed some gross/not stocked bathrooms as well. Also hated being the Genie mule and having to wake up early. I felt SO stressed on our Disney days. Genie+ made the trip magical for my family but I felt like I missed a lot of the joy and magic due to planning/booking our next move. EP at Universal spoiled me 

We lucked out though! I was able to grab Rise, FOP twice (park hopped late in the day our first day just to ride that and see Pandora at night). Guardians VQ, Remy, Frozen, Jungle Cruise, everything but ToT at HS including Slinky, Everest, the safari, and rode everything we wanted to at MK between 2 days (one was just the Christmas Party with mostly walk on waits). But for a family of 5 (add one for my dad when my parents joined us Thurs-Fri), ILLs add up fast. But there's no way my 70 yo dad or kids would tolerate a 2 hour standing wait. So open the wallet I did.

HS was our favorite day. We loved Star Wars and Toy Story areas/rides. We squeezed in 3 shows along with almost every ride. Stacking LL all morning while we rested was a huge win. First LL wasn't until 2:30 ish so we watched 2 shows and grabbed a bite. Then scan/book/scan/book method for anything I hadn't booked earlier. Refreshing was key, some rides showed nothing available or later return times but refreshing 5-10 min never failed me.

I will say I found it difficult to locate bathrooms in some areas, find where stroller parking was in others. I hated that you're forced to walk a giant circle at Epcot w the center being closed for construction. Missed the railroad being open at MK. Epcot and surprisingly AK were shoulder to shoulder in some areas.

QS mostly was meh, but we liked Flame Tree BBQ. We ate at CRT, it was delicious but expensive for what is. Glad we got the experience though. Also ate at Coral Reef and it was just ok. My girls got a kick out of the giant Mickey Christmas cookies at AK. I got my music box popcorn bucket!

MK while nostalgic felt kinda dated and run down. Epcot was my least favorite likely due to the crowds, but Guardians is by far the best ride I've ever been on! I don't think we'll be back for a long while or ever. But we loved Universal and are planning to go for a full week in 2026 to give EU a year open, and maybe do SeaWorld.


----------



## Ricguz

jimim said:


> I think it will get to that universal pricing structure. It seems theirs is much much more exspensive or am I wrong?  Is it very popular?
> 
> All I know is we are good without it. We have been here only since Friday. Friday we didn’t even go in a park we just chilled in down town.  We are here till Monday. I got another Epcot day so I’m assuming getting another virtual cue for guardians won’t be an issue.
> 
> Man that ride is awesome. I mean it’s really really good.
> 
> On a side note we just hd lunch at steakhouse 71. Wow smash burger. Highly recommend it. Very good!  Onion rings also. Fries. Mmmmmh. I mean ok but the burger.


Thanks for the update. We will be there in two weeks and I have genie plus but I think this is going to more and more a resort, Stormalong Bay and skyliner vacation looking at decorations than killing myself stacking rides and looking at my phone all day especially when I am the planner. I have candlelight (coral reef) and fantasmic (HBD) and Mickey Christmas Party so that’s something. I’m there for 11 days. It’s Cl at YC so taking it easy sounds more like it rather than the rat race everyone has been describing. Watching the bloggers with the crowds is making my mind up quickly on the vacation options


----------



## pixiedust2u

c0reyann said:


> We just got back after our trip last week.
> 
> Things we noticed that changed since 2019:
> 
> - The restrooms were not nearly as clean, often gross.  On prior trips I'd always marveled at how clean the restrooms were but that is no more.  Some would be out of TP, many stalls full of funk and not able to be used, floors sticky, paper towels out of stock/overflowing from cans.  It was pretty icky.
> 
> - I was washing my hands a lot because there were a LOT of sick kids in the parks.  WAY more than I'd ever seen there during prior trips.  Everyone is sick.  Go in assuming you'll have the flu/covid/a funk when you get back and plan accordingly.
> 
> - The busses to/from AKL were much much slower than before (and that was slow).  In the afternoons you could wait 45 minutes to an hour for a ride to the parks. Coming back from the parks was generally at least a 20-30 minute wait and AKL was often the only hotel with the longest bus line with the least frequent returning busses.
> 
> - Genie really worked great for MK, okay for HS and AK but sucked at Epcot.  You have to choose basically if you want Remy, Frozen or Test Track.  We did Remy at 7 but the other two were full/gone for the second time we could book.  Both waits were 2ish hours all day long so we skipped those.
> 
> - Waking up at 7AM to book rides sucked.  I'm glad we had pre purchased Genie with our tickets so we didn't also have to stay up until midnight.
> 
> - The 2PM park hopper thing is annoying and so is park reservations.


Re: sicknesses. I’m not surprised to hear this as kids are getting hit hard with everything right now. 

Did you see anyone in masks? We are planning on masking our family 2 adults, 2 school aged kids, in crowded and indoor spaces, as well as frequent hand washing and sanitizing. Mostly because we are cruising after a couple days at the parks. I’m not just masking for covid, but as a layer of protection against all the other germs out there right now! It’s a lot of money to spend sick in bed! Not that it matters, but just curious if there’s anyone else in masks?


----------



## adizzle819

pixiedust2u said:


> Re: sicknesses. I’m not surprised to hear this as kids are getting hit hard with everything right now.
> 
> Did you see anyone in masks? We are planning on masking our family 2 adults, 2 school aged kids, in crowded and indoor spaces, as well as frequent hand washing and sanitizing. Mostly because we are cruising after a couple days at the parks. I’m not just masking for covid, but as a layer of protection against all the other germs out there right now! It’s a lot of money to spend sick in bed! Not that it matters, but just curious if there’s anyone else in masks?


Not the original poster but we just got back from our trip last week as well and saw very few people in masks. There were a few families I noticed that had them on but I would say less than 5% were wearing them. I'm curious if other people noticed more than we did.


----------



## Ricguz

pixiedust2u said:


> Re: sicknesses. I’m not surprised to hear this as kids are getting hit hard with everything right now.
> 
> Did you see anyone in masks? We are planning on masking our family 2 adults, 2 school aged kids, in crowded and indoor spaces, as well as frequent hand washing and sanitizing. Mostly because we are cruising after a couple days at the parks. I’m not just masking for covid, but as a layer of protection against all the other germs out there right now! It’s a lot of money to spend sick in bed! Not that it matters, but just curious if there’s anyone else in masks?


I am leaving for Disney in two weeks and we will be masking almost everywhere in the parks.  From I have seen from bloggers, few people are masking.  Do what right for your family


----------



## dizneegirl

We were there 10+ days ago... there were some masks everywhere we went. We masked up in indoor lines. Definitely in the minority, but we picked up something bad on our September trip (not Covid... but not pleasant), so we were even more vigilant with masks in the crowded places and sanitizer after every ride. Made it out safe & sound this trip!


----------



## set88

pixiedust2u said:


> Re: sicknesses. I’m not surprised to hear this as kids are getting hit hard with everything right now.
> 
> Did you see anyone in masks? We are planning on masking our family 2 adults, 2 school aged kids, in crowded and indoor spaces, as well as frequent hand washing and sanitizing. Mostly because we are cruising after a couple days at the parks. I’m not just masking for covid, but as a layer of protection against all the other germs out there right now! It’s a lot of money to spend sick in bed! Not that it matters, but just curious if there’s anyone else in masks?



Almost no one in masks.  Not even 5%, probably closer to 1%.   

FWIW, I actually commented to hubby as we were driving home how pleasantly surprised I was that so few people seemed sick.  I've run across more sick sounding people on a random trip to the grocery store or movie theater than anywhere at Disney.


----------



## CJK

We just returned from a 2 week trip to both Disney and Universal. We wore masks in crowded indoor settings, but not outside. We were definitely in the minority. But, we couldn't get over how many sick people there were everywhere, with lots of coughing. We came home totally healthy. The masking indoors is worth it to us.


----------



## jimim

Ricguz said:


> Thanks for the update. We will be there in two weeks and I have genie plus but I think this is going to more and more a resort, Stormalong Bay and skyliner vacation looking at decorations than killing myself stacking rides and looking at my phone all day especially when I am the planner. I have candlelight (coral reef) and fantasmic (HBD) and Mickey Christmas Party so that’s something. I’m there for 11 days. It’s Cl at YC so taking it easy sounds more like it rather than the rat race everyone has been describing. Watching the bloggers with the crowds is making my mind up quickly on the vacation





c0reyann said:


> We just got back after our trip last week.
> 
> Things we noticed that changed since 2019:
> 
> - The restrooms were not nearly as clean, often gross.  On prior trips I'd always marveled at how clean the restrooms were but that is no more.  Some would be out of TP, many stalls full of funk and not able to be used, floors sticky, paper towels out of stock/overflowing from cans.  It was pretty icky.
> 
> - I was washing my hands a lot because there were a LOT of sick kids in the parks.  WAY more than I'd ever seen there during prior trips.  Everyone is sick.  Go in assuming you'll have the flu/covid/a funk when you get back and plan accordingly.
> 
> - The busses to/from AKL were much much slower than before (and that was slow).  In the afternoons you could wait 45 minutes to an hour for a ride to the parks. Coming back from the parks was generally at least a 20-30 minute wait and AKL was often the only hotel with the longest bus line with the least frequent returning busses.
> 
> - Genie really worked great for MK, okay for HS and AK but sucked at Epcot.  You have to choose basically if you want Remy, Frozen or Test Track.  We did Remy at 7 but the other two were full/gone for the second time we could book.  Both waits were 2ish hours all day long so we skipped those.
> 
> - Waking up at 7AM to book rides sucked.  I'm glad we had pre purchased Genie with our tickets so we didn't also have to stay up until midnight.
> 
> - The 2PM park hopper thing is annoying and so is park reservations.


Yea lots of sick people. For real. 

We are at AKL J SinceFriday.  Longest wait for a bus maybe 10 mins. Maybe. From the parks like 5. Maybe we are just getting lucky cause we literally have hit every main attraction in 72 hrs. Haven’t even thought about genie or ills. We got on falcon, rise, and Mickey railroad the one night at 7 to close. Been on guardians twice already. VC at 4 pm the other night and got it before dinner. Group 38 y Easter day morning. 

Again we are in at drop out at 12 and back in after a nice dinner at a hotel. 

Bathrooms I have been in literally all looked perfect. Maybe I’m getting in there right after they clean. 

I’m really seeing no change since we have been here back in June 2019. 

YMMV


----------



## Leigh L

jimim said:


> Yea lots of sick people. For real.
> 
> We are at AKL J SinceFriday.  Longest wait for a bus maybe 10 mins. Maybe. From the parks like 5. Maybe we are just getting lucky cause we literally have hit every main attraction in 72 hrs. Haven’t even thought about genie or ills. We got on falcon, rise, and Mickey railroad the one night at 7 to close. Been on guardians twice already. VC at 4 pm the other night and got it before dinner. Group 38 y Easter day morning.
> 
> Again we are in at drop out at 12 and back in after a nice dinner at a hotel.
> 
> Bathrooms I have been in literally all looked perfect. Maybe I’m getting in there right after they clean.
> 
> I’m really seeing no change since we have been here back in June 2019.
> 
> YMMV


We also saw perfect bathrooms on our September trip. June wasn't bad either IRRC. 
One exception, but it was shortly after a summer downpour, so it was muddy with paper towels strewn everywhere by people. I don't put that one on WDW


----------



## snikki

set88 said:


> *Almost no one in masks.  Not even 5%, probably closer to 1%.
> 
> FWIW, I actually commented to hubby as we were driving home how pleasantly surprised I was that so few people seemed sick.*  I've run across more sick sounding people on a random trip to the grocery store or movie theater than anywhere at Disney.



Same. I would see a few people with them on the bus every once in a while but that is about it. I would also say about 1% of people and that's being generous. I also didn't encounter any sick people. Maybe a kid or two coughing but more of a "I choked on my water type of cough."

We've been back over a week and neither of us got sick during the trip and we aren't sick now. We didn't do anything extra either. Just washed our hands when we used the bathroom which is normal hygiene. I didn't even bring hand sanitizer with me. I did tell DD not to grab the handrails so much but I did that precovid.


----------



## Mango7100

pixiedust2u said:


> Re: sicknesses. I’m not surprised to hear this as kids are getting hit hard with everything right now.
> 
> Did you see anyone in masks? We are planning on masking our family 2 adults, 2 school aged kids, in crowded and indoor spaces, as well as frequent hand washing and sanitizing. Mostly because we are cruising after a couple days at the parks. I’m not just masking for covid, but as a layer of protection against all the other germs out there right now! It’s a lot of money to spend sick in bed! Not that it matters, but just curious if there’s anyone else in masks?


We plan on doing the same when we go for New Years.  We don’t wear masks at home but we will for indoor lines and shows at Disney.  I just don’t want to have get a cold, flu, covid, or any other sickness at the beginning of a trip and lose out on vacation time. And there are a lot of people, who will go sick because they don’t want to waste vacation.  it gives me a bit of extra peace of mind and wearing them doesn’t bother us. When we went for 2 days in October I would say 1% wore them—it tended to be whole families at a time.


----------



## pixiedust2u

Mango7100 said:


> We plan on doing the same when we go for New Years.  We don’t wear masks at home but we will for indoor lines and shows at Disney.  I just don’t want to have get a cold, flu, covid, or any other sickness at the beginning of a trip and lose out on vacation time. And there are a lot of people, who will go sick because they don’t want to waste vacation.  it gives me a bit of extra peace of mind and wearing them doesn’t bother us. When we went for 2 days in October I would say 1% wore them—it tended to be whole families at a time.


Thank as these are my thoughts exactly. Sometimes it does feel funny being such the minority in a mask, but the reality is we can enjoy our vacation so much more with better odds of staying healthy for it.


----------



## mickey916

pixiedust2u said:


> Thank as these are my thoughts exactly. Sometimes it does feel funny being such the minority in a mask, but the reality is we can enjoy our vacation so much more with better odds of staying healthy for it.


I came home with a really bad cold from our trip in April and had to skip Easter with my family. I then came home with COVID (wasn't as bad as the cold) in May and had to miss Memorial Day with my family. Planning on masking indoors for my December trip (which I didn't do this past spring) so I don't go three for three and miss Christmas.


----------



## Boardwalk III

I flew down from the Northeast in October for a 5 day trip. I was one of maybe 5 on the plane who was masked. However I didn’t mask up at Disney except for when I was inside at Lion King performance. Didn’t notice a lot of sickness but do think it’s increasing. I had no issues after getting home. 

On the other hand we have dear friends who went in May. They’re both in their 70s and are fully vaccinated and neither of them had had  Covid. Unfortunately they both got Covid @ WDW. One of them now has significant A-fib as a result of  long-term Covid. No fun.

Everyone has to do what is right for them - just understand the risks, keep yourself safe if you so choose, and don’t worry about what other people think.

Really hard to predict who is susceptible and who is not.


----------



## bookgirl2632

Anyone know how much Genie+ was today?  Was it $29 like yesterday?


----------



## scrappinginontario

bookgirl2632 said:


> Anyone know how much Genie+ was today?  Was it $29 like yesterday?



$29 again on Tues, Nov 22nd.

*Thrill-Data* tracks the price daily.


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## bookgirl2632

scrappinginontario said:


> $29 again on Tues, Nov 22nd.
> 
> *Thrill-Data* tracks the price daily.


Thanks!  I’ve been looking for a site like this.


----------



## Mousetopia

jimim said:


> Tuesday morning MK:
> Just a little update. Crushing the MK right now and I’m not talking about the tea cups or people mover. I’m talking SDMT, BTMR, SM. Headliners. And no genie or ills. Just old school veteran Disney know how. More later. Back to rides.  The magic is alive for us. I think it just took me getting back and not worrying as much as I did. We left after the parade. Haven’t watched it in years. The dragon still impresses me. I would love to be able to spend an hour walking around it and taking pics of various parts of it. So between 7:30-11:30 we knocked off 12 rides.  Going to morimoto for dinner. I have in and bought a magic band plus for myself and my daughter. She got the 50th anniversary peach one and I got the new dvc one.  My kid shamed me into buying him that remy hat the other night. This is the nuttiest thing I ever bought here. The amount of people who stopped us was historical. The thing is so wonky. That’s the Halloween costume next year.  I’m a big tshirt guy. I love my T-shirt’s. Haven’t found 1 I like so far. Ever since they did that 28 and main line years ago I’m ruined. They were the greatest T-shirt’s. I’m still wearing all of them but some might have to be retired. The stuff they have right now is too bright and colorful for me.
> 
> I will post a lot more when I have time but all I got to say is yesterday was our first park day. AK. and after diner at flying fish we headed over to HS. We got through all headliners stuff AK. We rode Mickey railroad, falcon, and finished night on rise.
> All without genie or lightening lane. Just old school rope drop. Out of park at noon. Pack to room rest regroup. Awesome diner and flying fish and back into park at night. Nothing crazy just making good use of time.
> 
> Today HS. Slinky, toy story mania, star tours, Aerosmith, and few other minor things. Out of park cause it was Nuts. Showers rest them diner at Il Mulino. But before diner hoofed it to back of Epcot to tap in and grabbed virtual cue for guardians. Awesome diner. Boat over. In line for remy while we wait to be called. Not like us to wait for over an hour but what else u going to door rains. We are under cover.
> 
> Again no genie or lightening lane.
> 
> So it’s all possible. We are 48 hours in and have hit all the major new rides. Tomorrow is Epcot day. Will be a breeze.
> 
> So the rope drop and nights in park still hold fast for us with some planning.
> 
> I never would have figured it. I did not want to do this trip. I have said on here over and over but wife and kids rule so I go. I’m usually the one pushing for trips but with all the changes I just wasn’t looking forward to it.
> 
> So we got alot of days to still go. I know it will get busier day by day but again we know that. We don’t leave till next Monday. I’m calling win for this trip already.
> 
> That’s all I got so far. Man I can’t wait to get on guardian!  Can’t wait!  Rise was cool. We missed Star Wars when it opened cause of Covid. That April trip got c’ed obviously.   I liked the falcon. I really did. Rise was cool really was but the hype I don’t know. Flame me if u want. Just my opinion. Avatar still brings me to a tear. I don’t know why. And toy story mania is just still awesome after all these years. It was paper fast pass!  It is aging so well!  Slinky is just fun.
> 
> All I got for you all. Rounding the corner to go inside of remy.
> 
> I can honestly say all I complained about is not mattering so far. Except I’m here without season passes which I’m still ticked off about!
> 
> Edit added Monday morning.
> 
> That new baking and cooking areas in connections over at Epcot is pretty nice. I talked with a very nice cast member this morning about what it’s used for. The bakery side is pretty impressive.
> 
> Holy cow guardians last night. Just awesome. I mean awesome. I didn’t watch a thing about it so I didn’t know about any aspect of the ride. I did know the train cars spin. That’s it. Worth the hype. Did a virtual cue this morning. So easy. Got group 38. In line again now.
> 
> I got to say nights have been very productive. I mean they always have but this trip just so helpful!  Ok here we go pre show time!!!!!!


I wish more would understand this! Put the research time into tour strategy rather than genie + and no need to buy it! Sounds like a great trip! Makes me excited to get there next week!


----------



## jimim

Mousetopia said:


> I wish more would understand this! Put the research time into tour strategy rather than genie + and no need to buy it! Sounds like a great trip! Makes me excited to get there next week!


Thanks. I appreciate it. Bit let me give you a look behind the curtain. Lol anything we know or understand is just from going over the years. Seeing the typical patterns. Yes I read here but not a ton. Everyday I try to hit 1 topic and ask if I don’t understand what is going on but really it’s the past experience. You got to physically do it to have it go smooth I think. Maybe it’s the science type personality in me that needs trials to learn. I was really worried about the virtual cue thing cause I couldn’t physically do it from home. Not that night it was still available after 1 pm helped me for the next day at 7 am. 

You deff have to research it like you said but for my personality I got to do it once and fail or concede to know it and plan for next time. 

I can’t get over the drive in peoples eyes at rope drop. I never really payed attention but man I feel like I’m lining up for a marathon. Lol. 

I like how security has a ton of control over the crowd. That’s good. They are knocking it out of the park. I like how at the taps they have a bit more control but they need to do something about after that point and I know they prob can’t but someone is going to get hurt eventually. Kids running on walls. The running. I know I know but something is going to happen.


----------



## mwmom

bookgirl2632 said:


> Anyone know how much Genie+ was today?  Was it $29 like yesterday?


I just figured out today that I can see the price for the day on the app, even if you do not have tickets for that day. Just go to Tip Board and look right under the park listed at the top. You can always use Thrill Data, too, but if you have the app handy, it is easy to see the daily price.


----------



## CarolynFH

mwmom said:


> I just figured out today that I can see the price for the day on the app, even if you do not have tickets for that day. Just go to Tip Board and look right under the park listed at the top. You can always use Thrill Data, too, but if you have the app handy, it is easy to see the daily price.


At home, far from WDW, I just opened the app and scrolled down the home page, to see a headline "Disney Genie+ Service" and the price.  No need to go to the Tip Board.


----------



## Disneyhanna

We are planning to mask up for our trip this week as our friends were just down there last week and all 3 came down with COVID, they even left early (drove) because of it. We were always planning to on the flight but I think we will indoors at the parks now too.

These Genie+ prices are sure a hard pill to swallow. I travel with my mom who can only do a few of the milder rides, so it feels like a waste to buy Genie+ when she would only use it on 1-2 things. But she can't stand for too long either, so I guess I'm paying $60 for us to ride the Safari and NRJ!


----------



## jvalic33

jimim said:


> Thanks. I appreciate it. Bit let me give you a look behind the curtain. Lol anything we know or understand is just from going over the years. Seeing the typical patterns. Yes I read here but not a ton. Everyday I try to hit 1 topic and ask if I don’t understand what is going on but really it’s the past experience. You got to physically do it to have it go smooth I think. Maybe it’s the science type personality in me that needs trials to learn. I was really worried about the virtual cue thing cause I couldn’t physically do it from home. Not that night it was still available after 1 pm helped me for the next day at 7 am.
> 
> You deff have to research it like you said but for my personality I got to do it once and fail or concede to know it and plan for next time.
> 
> I can’t get over the drive in peoples eyes at rope drop. I never really payed attention but man I feel like I’m lining up for a marathon. Lol.
> 
> I like how security has a ton of control over the crowd. That’s good. They are knocking it out of the park. I like how at the taps they have a bit more control but they need to do something about after that point and I know they prob can’t but someone is going to get hurt eventually. Kids running on walls. The running. I know I know but something is going to happen.


It's funny you say that but it's true.  The other day, because I have kids that are spread out, I was sitting around first time Mom's outside ballet, and it was killing me to hear how stupidly they were planning their Disney trips, but you don't really know until you go and there are some hard lessons that just need to be learned (hence the wisom vs. knowledge thing).

However, it also depends on whether this is a once in a lifetime trip or not.  

Knowing that you will return, or if you are DVC, really helps put things into perspective.  I may not get that one thing done this trip, but I'll be back and I can do it next time or have something new to look forward to.

I find myself really excited when I come up with something new to try on a subsequent trip so I've learned to leave things for next time!


----------



## jimim

jvalic33 said:


> It's funny you say that but it's true.  The other day, because I have kids that are spread out, I was sitting around first time Mom's outside ballet, and it was killing me to hear how stupidly they were planning their Disney trips, but you don't really know until you go and there are some hard lessons that just need to be learned (hence the wisom vs. knowledge thing).
> 
> However, it also depends on whether this is a once in a lifetime trip or not.
> 
> Knowing that you will return, or if you are DVC, really helps put things into perspective.  I may not get that one thing done this trip, but I'll be back and I can do it next time or have something new to look forward to.
> 
> I find myself really excited when I come up with something new to try on a subsequent trip so I've learned to leave things for next time!


My father always says to me at least weekly:

“You are deff smarter than me son but I’m wiser” referring that I’m younger and he is older with way more life experience.


----------



## MomOTwins

I’m here now and Thanksgiving day was surprisingly not that bad!  We did AK in the morning and evening with a midday swim break.  Yes it was not fun seeing the cost of FOP ILL at 7am $16pp but after we rode I told my husband they could charge a good deal more and it’d be totally worth it.  G+ also worked reasonably well considering it was a holiday but I suspect that may be because fewer people buy it at AK with so few rides there (we had the length of stay prepurchased G+). Today will be the real test of whether I love G+ or hate it as we are going to HS.

The crowds really picked up when we went back in the evening though, which surprised me given the lack of evening entertainment at AK.  For example, Everest was a walk on at 9am but we went again in the evening using G+ and even the G+ line was a bit of a  wait then 15-20 mins—not bad but still so different from the morning.  Pandora was packed pretty much all the way to closing time. Maybe the crowds were just really really horrible at other parks and people hopped to AK to get away.

Regardless, we rode everything we wanted to and had a great time.  I was very nervous about coming during thanksgiving.  Still a bit nervous about HS today but we plan to arrive late and stack so hopefully that works out.

Edited to add: every CM we’ve bet has been so cheerful and friendly!  We even got pixie dusted free mini golf on our arrival day. I missed that on our last trip.  Can’t help but wonder if that is the Iger news lifting CM spirits.  Whatever the reason, it makes such a difference to see everyone smiling.


----------



## Disneyhanna

MomOTwins said:


> I’m here now and Thanksgiving day was surprisingly not that bad!  We did AK in the morning and evening with a midday swim break.  Yes it was not fun seeing the cost of FOP ILL at 7am $16pp but after we rode I told my husband they could charge a good deal more and it’d be totally worth it.  G+ also worked reasonably well considering it was a holiday but I suspect that may be because fewer people buy it at AK with so few rides there (we had the length of stay prepurchased G+). Today will be the real test of whether I love G+ or hate it as we are going to HS.
> 
> The crowds really picked up when we went back in the evening though, which surprised me given the lack of evening entertainment at AK.  For example, Everest was a walk on at 9am but we went again in the evening using G+ and even the G+ line was a bit of a  wait then 15-20 mins—not bad but still so different from the morning.  Pandora was packed pretty much all the way to closing time. Maybe the crowds were just really really horrible at other parks and people hopped to AK to get away.
> 
> Regardless, we rode everything we wanted to and had a great time.  I was very nervous about coming during thanksgiving.  Still a bit nervous about HS today but we plan to arrive late and stack so hopefully that works out.
> 
> Edited to add: every CM we’ve bet has been so cheerful and friendly!  We even got pixie dusted free mini golf on our arrival day. I missed that on our last trip.  Can’t help but wonder if that is the Iger news lifting CM spirits.  Whatever the reason, it makes such a difference to see everyone smiling.


I just arrived last night and I think the variable prices are putting lots of people off Genie+ and LL. I was browsing at 7:05 and all the ILLs still had plenty of time available even RotR. I haven’t been following how fast they have been going but given the holiday I thought they’d be snapped up much faster, we couldn’t even get one at 7:01 in January/Feb back when it was $15 instead of $25.

I am doing AK today and and will report back! I have done two trips pre-pandemic during the week after thanksgiving so I have a good idea of what to compare this year too. Usually Friday and Saturday have been busy with a noticeable drop off on Sunday and a massive drop off on Monday. We are paying for Genie+ every day even though we aren’t riding everything, we hate lines too much to brave standby.


----------



## MomOTwins

Disneyhanna said:


> I just arrived last night and I think the variable prices are putting lots of people off Genie+ and LL. I was browsing at 7:05 and all the ILLs still had plenty of time available even RotR. I haven’t been following how fast they have been going but given the holiday I thought they’d be snapped up much faster, we couldn’t even get one at 7:01 in January/Feb back when it was $15 instead of $25.
> 
> I am doing AK today and and will report back! I have done two trips pre-pandemic during the week after thanksgiving so I have a good idea of what to compare this year too. Usually Friday and Saturday have been busy with a noticeable drop off on Sunday and a massive drop off on Monday. We are paying for Genie+ every day even though we aren’t riding everything, we hate lines too much to brave standby.


I think you are right!  I was trying to stack the afternoon starting around noon (we want a chill morning at the resort), and I had to wait several minutes for TOT and MFSR G+ times (splitting our party due to some who are too scared for TOT) to get down to noon on each ride.  I was sure things would move much faster thanksgiving week.


----------



## DeeBee3

Thanks for the Thanksgiving posts! haha

Please keep us updated when you go to the other parks and the usage of Genie+ or ILL. I am curious if the higher prices are "scaring" people off because they certainly sound crazy expensive to me.


----------



## PrincessV

I’m semi-local and have had multiple park days over the past few months… I don’t have any specific or data-ish things to add, but I lurk and read here often and thought maybe these couple general points might help some:

1. I’ve yet to be shut out of the GOTG VQ at 7am: I’m a solid 100% there. I don’t do anything special - just get into MDE and refresh at 7. From home, usually - 90 miles away. The latest return time I’ve had was near 1pm. I’ll admit to paying for an ILL for it and Rise, and also have never been shut out.

2. I did try G+ once, but won’t likely ever pay for it again; I really, really am enjoying not having my day scheduled. I don’t do RD, but know I could hit plenty of rides with short waits if I did. I prefer to tour at night and haven’t experienced any crazy long standby waits. Everyone’s idea of “too long” is different, and mine varies by the day (or even time of day), but I’m perfectly willing to spend 30-40 minutes in line for something I actually want to ride. If short wait times are critically important to you, and you can afford it, by all means G+ it up! But don’t feel like it’s a “must” in order to do anything, because it really is not.

3. Masks… I’m high risk and live with someone high risk, so yep, I’m still wearing KN95s at WDW, at all times indoors (other than my resort room), and most of the time outdoors, unless I’m in a wide open space. I do see others doing the same, but agree with previous observations that it’s a small minority at this time. But you do you and if masking makes good sense for you, do it and know that never, ever, has anyone said a word to me about it. WDW has thus far NOT been a hotbed of anti-mask commentary at all.


----------



## Disneyhanna

Noon update, very manageable crowds at AK so far. We didn’t get in until after 10 and headed to our safari LL and walked right on, it is backed up now as we had two delays leading to an almost 45min safari! The only other line over an hour is FoP at 130. I think Minnie and Mickey and NRJ are about 60. Lots of LL availability, just got Dinosaur for in  half an hour and didn’t have trouble stacking NRJ at 1:00 when I booked our second LL at 10:00 after maybe 10 refreshes, it was defaulting to about 3pm then if you didn’t refresh. Safari still has return times less than two hours out. Currently in Everest single rider listed 45 and saw a LL for 12:30. Almost up and waited all of 10 min in single rider!


----------



## Ricguz

PrincessV said:


> I’m semi-local and have had multiple park days over the past few months… I don’t have any specific or data-ish things to add, but I lurk and read here often and thought maybe these couple general points might help some:
> 
> 1. I’ve yet to be shut out of the GOTG VQ at 7am: I’m a solid 100% there. I don’t do anything special - just get into MDE and refresh at 7. From home, usually - 90 miles away. The latest return time I’ve had was near 1pm. I’ll admit to paying for an ILL for it and Rise, and also have never been shut out.
> 
> 2. I did try G+ once, but won’t likely ever pay for it again; I really, really am enjoying not having my day scheduled. I don’t do RD, but know I could hit plenty of rides with short waits if I did. I prefer to tour at night and haven’t experienced any crazy long standby waits. Everyone’s idea of “too long” is different, and mine varies by the day (or even time of day), but I’m perfectly willing to spend 30-40 minutes in line for something I actually want to ride. If short wait times are critically important to you, and you can afford it, by all means G+ it up! But don’t feel like it’s a “must” in order to do anything, because it really is not.
> 
> 3. Masks… I’m high risk and live with someone high risk, so yep, I’m still wearing KN95s at WDW, at all times indoors (other than my resort room), and most of the time outdoors, unless I’m in a wide open space. I do see others doing the same, but agree with previous observations that it’s a small minority at this time. But you do you and if masking makes good sense for you, do it and know that never, ever, has anyone said a word to me about it. WDW has thus far NOT been a hotbed of anti-mask commentary at all.


We will masking indoors and out unless it’s a wide open area.


----------



## Carole

We spent the week of 12 November at Disney and I wanted to share one day of riding our favorite or missed rides.  It was the Friday before we left for home. 

I purchased Lightning Lane starting at Magic Kingdom for early entry.  Rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Under the Sea, Tea Cups, Astro Orbiter then LL with Jungle Cruise.  Left for Disney Springs - lunch at the Polite Pig, sweets at Gideon's using the virtual queue then purchased some gifts.  Back to room at Saratoga Springs.  Headed to the Animal Kingdom for LL Safari, LL Everest and some shopping.  Back to room to drop gifts.  Then headed to Epcot to ride LL Soaring and LL Test Track.  Rode the Skyliner to the Studios and went on LL Toy Story Mania.  We left then and back to the room for packing.  Really fun day with 35,610 steps.  It was just my husband and myself.  We used Disney transportation for the whole day.  

I started booking additional rides each time a window opened up.  Fun way to end our trip!


----------



## Disneyhanna

An update on the remainder of today, I finished my Everest single rider after an 11 minute wait midday and then walked onto my Dinosaur LL next. Standby wasn’t bad at 40 minutes but it looked pretty short. At 1:20 I took a 7:20 Runaway Railway, as we planned to take a midday hotel break and then do HS after dinner. 7:20 was the latest runaway railway I could get, times from 4-5 kept popping back up but I didn’t want that!

We did our NRJ LL next around 1:25. Had Satu’li after, sooo many open tables since they enforce having an order ready to sit. Then did Bug show standby, just had to wait for next show, it was maybe 80-85% full for the 2:50 showing. Short wait for photos around the park, no more than 2-3 groups deep. At 3:25 as we left the park I took another LL, this time for 8:20 Toy Story Mania perfect!

Took our afternoon hotel break and went to make new LL at 5:26 and missed a 7:00 for ToT and Slinky, wasn’t fast enough and for whatever reason Genie only selected me as the party which slowed me down. I did quite a bit of refreshing but no dice. Plenty of LLs showed up for Aliens and Star Tours, I didn’t ever check RnRC.

We did our Runaway Railway and TSM LLs after 8pm and a quick line for both. Scan to on the ride for MMRR was 15 min. For TSM it was 8 min. At 8:50 the slinky standby was 45. Visually I’d say it looked more like 30 minutes, they weren’t using much queue. Instead we walked onto MMRR again at 8:57 and were on in 14 min. HS was quite empty I imagine everyone was at Fantasmic.

We made it to the friendship boats at 9:25 and fit onto the boat that came just 2 minutes later.

Overall recap, this is my first Black Friday in a Disney park (my past two post-Thanksgiving trips we didn’t start parks until Saturday after) and AK was the perfect park. From wait times the other 3 parks looked busier. At AK most waits were 60 or under all day aside from FoP and NRJ. Even FoP didn’t seem too bad today, I don’t think it ever even approached 200 minutes, it seemed to settle around 120-150 I think. Safari only got long due to ostrich jams!

The crowds at AK were minimal, the usual bottlenecks at Harambe but otherwise easy walking. I did MLK and Princess this year and those both felt as busy or busier, but nothing bad, maybe 7/10 crowds. Attaching a pic of AK from mid afternoon, very chill.

I would say Genie+ would not be necessary at AK today but it saved us probably 5 hours of standing over 5 rides. That’s $6/ride for each of us. We could have done more LL if we started the day earlier or didn’t take a break but we were lazy. I think an early morning and then taking a break midday and stacking evening LLs is an awesome strategy.

Epcot tomorrow, we plan to do Genie+ again.


----------



## MomOTwins

Yesterday was Hollywood studios day and we had an amazing day!  We swam at the hotel all morning and arrived in the park around 1pm.  This allowed us to get some popular rides (ToT, MMRR and MFSR) stacked for immediately after our arrival and then book more immediately after riding those.  We the used G+ for TSMM, AS2, Star Tours, And Indiana Jones. I will say Slinky and RnRC sold out pretty early in the day but we have another day at HS next week. 

Now the downsides: definitely nowhere near as user friendly as FP+. I was on my phone A LOT. The inability to book three rides at times we chose together in advance meant we had to criss cross the park a ton. I actually felt embarrassed and kept apologizing profusely to my family because we had to go from TSMM to Star Tours and then all the way back to AS2 in peak afternoon hot sun.  I also felt like it was harder to keep track of things because the arrival times did “shift” a bit for us when booking and I accidentally showed up half an hour early to one ride as a result. 

But in terms of the actual utility of the system and ride availability, it does seem to me the new pricing has addressed the problems they had last thanksgiving week with people only getting one or two G+ rides a day. We also never waited more than 5 mins once we entered a lightning lane.  In other words it costs more, but it isn’t worthless like the horror stories I’ve read about from thanksgiving 2021.  I wish they would bring back the fastpass features, but I am having a good time with my family and that’s the most important thing.


----------



## disneyfam1986

jimim said:


> Thursday:  Happy Turkey Day. I had a stupid idea last night of rope dropping Remy from front of park. I know I know no one ever comment on this. So my wife goes at 6AM why not hop a bus to AK and then to An Epcot resort. Ok let’s go. We are at AKL so bus was there. Over to park. 5 min wait. Onto bus. Off bus at boardwalk. Walked to the gateway. I figured it was going to be swamped.  We were like 10th in line. Wow go figure.  Somehow it worked. The logistics just fell in place. Let me tell you that area is a wicked bottle neck. Everything is right. I never realized how tight. Bit man security and the cast members are on point there. Every rope drop should be run like that. No way anyone is running in that setup. I really like how the cast members walk you right into the remy line. Avatar should be run like that along with test track. Magic kingdom they can do the same for mine train if they wanted.
> 
> The team over at the gateway should be applauded cause it’s a tough area.
> 
> No way in heck we could have rope dropped it from up front. Once we were in line the line behind us 15 mins before they even let us on the rats was at least 90 mins. When we got off at like 8 after the line was out of control!  Got group 10 for guardians this morning. 3rd time on!  Awesome. No Xmas music as of today.
> 
> Side notes:  the maple popcorn in Canada is crazy good. Never knew it was there. The crepe stand in France is very good. A lot better than when it was in front. And my iced mocha from a random cart was actually made properly. Don’t judge me on my eating habits for this morning. Lol. It’s thanksgiving and I won’t be having turkey so I’m pigging out on other food today. Lol. Citricos tonight for dinner. Can’t wait. Haven’t been there in a few years.
> 
> Tuesday morning MK:
> Just a little update. Crushing the MK right now and I’m not talking about the tea cups or people mover. I’m talking SDMT, BTMR, SM. Headliners. And no genie or ills. Just old school veteran Disney know how. More later. Back to rides.  The magic is alive for us. I think it just took me getting back and not worrying as much as I did. We left after the parade. Haven’t watched it in years. The dragon still impresses me. I would love to be able to spend an hour walking around it and taking pics of various parts of it. So between 7:30-11:30 we knocked off 12 rides.  Going to morimoto for dinner. I have in and bought a magic band plus for myself and my daughter. She got the 50th anniversary peach one and I got the new dvc one.  My kid shamed me into buying him that remy hat the other night. This is the nuttiest thing I ever bought here. The amount of people who stopped us was historical. The thing is so wonky. That’s the Halloween costume next year.  I’m a big tshirt guy. I love my T-shirt’s. Haven’t found 1 I like so far. Ever since they did that 28 and main line years ago I’m ruined. They were the greatest T-shirt’s. I’m still wearing all of them but some might have to be retired. The stuff they have right now is too bright and colorful for me.
> 
> I will post a lot more when I have time but all I got to say is yesterday was our first park day. AK. and after diner at flying fish we headed over to HS. We got through all headliners stuff AK. We rode Mickey railroad, falcon, and finished night on rise.
> All without genie or lightening lane. Just old school rope drop. Out of park at noon. Pack to room rest regroup. Awesome diner and flying fish and back into park at night. Nothing crazy just making good use of time.
> 
> Today HS. Slinky, toy story mania, star tours, Aerosmith, and few other minor things. Out of park cause it was Nuts. Showers rest them diner at Il Mulino. But before diner hoofed it to back of Epcot to tap in and grabbed virtual cue for guardians. Awesome diner. Boat over. In line for remy while we wait to be called. Not like us to wait for over an hour but what else u going to door rains. We are under cover.
> 
> Again no genie or lightening lane.
> 
> So it’s all possible. We are 48 hours in and have hit all the major new rides. Tomorrow is Epcot day. Will be a breeze.
> 
> So the rope drop and nights in park still hold fast for us with some planning.
> 
> I never would have figured it. I did not want to do this trip. I have said on here over and over but wife and kids rule so I go. I’m usually the one pushing for trips but with all the changes I just wasn’t looking forward to it.
> 
> So we got alot of days to still go. I know it will get busier day by day but again we know that. We don’t leave till next Monday. I’m calling win for this trip already.
> 
> That’s all I got so far. Man I can’t wait to get on guardian!  Can’t wait!  Rise was cool. We missed Star Wars when it opened cause of Covid. That April trip got c’ed obviously.   I liked the falcon. I really did. Rise was cool really was but the hype I don’t know. Flame me if u want. Just my opinion. Avatar still brings me to a tear. I don’t know why. And toy story mania is just still awesome after all these years. It was paper fast pass!  It is aging so well!  Slinky is just fun.
> 
> All I got for you all. Rounding the corner to go inside of remy.
> 
> I can honestly say all I complained about is not mattering so far. Except I’m here without season passes which I’m still ticked off about!
> 
> Edit added Monday morning.
> 
> That new baking and cooking areas in connections over at Epcot is pretty nice. I talked with a very nice cast member this morning about what it’s used for. The bakery side is pretty impressive.
> 
> Holy cow guardians last night. Just awesome. I mean awesome. I didn’t watch a thing about it so I didn’t know about any aspect of the ride. I did know the train cars spin. That’s it. Worth the hype. Did a virtual cue this morning. So easy. Got group 38. In line again now.
> 
> I got to say nights have been very productive. I mean they always have but this trip just so helpful!  Ok here we go pre show time!!!!!!


What time did you get to the international gateway entrance? We are trying the same thing but our plan is to Uber to beach club. We have a double stroller and taking that on busses drives me crazy!!


----------



## DeeBee3

disneyfam1986 said:


> What time did you get to the international gateway entrance? We are trying the same thing but our plan is to Uber to beach club. We have a double stroller and taking that on busses drives me crazy!!


When we were staying at Beach Club last spring break, they do ask Uber where they are going and if you are staying at the resorts. Depending on the person at the gate, they may not let you in unless you have a dining reservation.

Just a heads up so you have a back-up plan.


----------



## disneyfam1986

DeeBee3 said:


> When we were staying at Beach Club last spring break, they do ask Uber where they are going and if you are staying at the resorts. Depending on the person at the gate, they may not let you in unless you have a dining reservation.
> 
> Just a heads up so you have a back-up plan.


Thanks! I will have them drop us at the gas station across the street and we can walk in if need be! My daughter loves looking at the gingerbread carousel so we have to get in!


----------



## Bibbobboo2u

For anyone who had pre-purchased G+, how did you “activate” it each day?  Did you have to do anything at all, or did the app show you had it and you just went to the rides list and chose LL? Thanks!


----------



## scrappinginontario

disneyfam1986 said:


> What time did you get to the international gateway entrance? We are trying the same thing but our plan is to Uber to beach club. We have a double stroller and taking that on busses drives me crazy!!


Yes, Resort drop off is not being allowed.


disneyfam1986 said:


> Thanks! I will have them drop us at the gas station across the street and we can walk in if need be! My daughter loves looking at the gingerbread carousel so we have to get in!


Not sure where the gas station is but another option is to be dropped off at the Swan/Dolphin and walk or take the friendship boat from there.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Bibbobboo2u said:


> For anyone who had pre-purchased G+, how did you “activate” it each day?  Did you have to do anything at all, or did the app show you had it and you just went to the rides list and chose LL? Thanks!


No activation required. At 7AM you’re eligible to book your first LL.


----------



## Bibbobboo2u

scrappinginontario said:


> No activation required. At 7AM you’re eligible to book your first LL.


Thank you!


----------



## jimim

MomOTwins said:


> I’m here now and Thanksgiving day was surprisingly not that bad!  We did AK in the morning and evening with a midday swim break.  Yes it was not fun seeing the cost of FOP ILL at 7am $16pp but after we rode I told my husband they could charge a good deal more and it’d be totally worth it.  G+ also worked reasonably well considering it was a holiday but I suspect that may be because fewer people buy it at AK with so few rides there (we had the length of stay prepurchased G+). Today will be the real test of whether I love G+ or hate it as we are going to HS.
> 
> The crowds really picked up when we went back in the evening though, which surprised me given the lack of evening entertainment at AK.  For example, Everest was a walk on at 9am but we went again in the evening using G+ and even the G+ line was a bit of a  wait then 15-20 mins—not bad but still so different from the morning.  Pandora was packed pretty much all the way to closing time. Maybe the crowds were just really really horrible at other parks and people hopped to AK to get away.
> 
> Regardless, we rode everything we wanted to and had a great time.  I was very nervous about coming during thanksgiving.  Still a bit nervous about HS today but we plan to arrive late and stack so hopefully that works out.
> 
> Edited to add: every CM we’ve bet has been so cheerful and friendly!  We even got pixie dusted free mini golf on our arrival day. I missed that on our last trip.  Can’t help but wonder if that is the Iger news lifting CM spirits.  Whatever the reason, it makes such a difference to see everyone smiling.





disneyfam1986 said:


> What time did you get to the international gateway entrance? We are trying the same thing but our plan is to Uber to beach club. We have a double stroller and taking that on busses drives me crazy!!


Can u get into beach club property via Uber if not staying there?  Why did I maybe read that somewhere. We landed in security line 1 hr pre opening for early hours. The logistics of it just fell into place for us. Did we get lucky. Maybe.


----------



## jimim

DeeBee3 said:


> When we were staying at Beach Club last spring break, they do ask Uber where they are going and if you are staying at the resorts. Depending on the person at the gate, they may not let you in unless you have a dining reservation.
> 
> Just a heads up so you have a back-up plan.


I bus hopped. AKL to AK to boardwalk. I had read about that on here.


----------



## scrappinginontario

jimim said:


> Can u get into beach club property via Uber if not staying there?  Why did I maybe read that somewhere. We landed in security line 1 hr pre opening for early hours. The logistics of it just fell into place for us. Did we get lucky. Maybe.


No, access to resorts vis their parking gate is restricted to guests staying or eating there snd have a reservation.


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## SkyGuy

disneyfam1986 said:


> Thanks! I will have them drop us at the gas station across the street and we can walk in if need be! My daughter loves looking at the gingerbread carousel so we have to get in





scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, Resort drop off is not being allowed.
> 
> Not sure where the gas station is but another option is to be dropped off at the Swan/Dolphin and walk or take the friendship boat from there.


Gas station is across from the Boardwalk Inn. Swan/Dolphin would be a better drop off as the walk to Epcot would take them past BC for the carousel viewing. Gas station drop off - walk into BW, take elevator down, walk up hill, left to BC, instead of right to Epcot, which (to me), is a lot of unnecessary walking before park time in the morning!


----------



## disneyfam1986

SkyGuy said:


> Gas station is across from the Boardwalk Inn. Swan/Dolphin would be a better drop off as the walk to Epcot would take them past BC for the carousel viewing. Gas station drop off - walk into BW, take elevator down, walk up hill, left to BC, instead of right to Epcot, which (to me), is a lot of unnecessary walking before park time in the morning!


Thanks! I wasn’t even thinking about swan and dolphin


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## Betty Rohrer

disneyfam1986 said:


> Thanks! I will have them drop us at the gas station across the street and we can walk in if need be! My daughter loves looking at the gingerbread carousel so we have to get in!


maybe try dropping at the Swan and walk over from there


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## Disneyhanna

Quickly Remy early entry update from International Gateway:

7:46 left Dolphin room
8:02 Made it to back of line at international gateway not too long
8:07 started letting people through security
8:09 through security
Started feeling really bad about my odds as it looked like everyone from the main entrance was already crossing the bridge to France before hardly anyone from IG was in
8:17 scanned in
At this point, no one was even coming from the main entrance except maybe a few stragglers. I was nervous about my wait!

I was in the outside queue for a while and made it inside at 8:41. The line was moving the entire time I’m not sure if they waited until 8:30 to start the ride or if it started earlier. I’ve only done ILL so I had no idea how long the inside would be. To my huge surprise it was not much queue inside. I was thinking it would be hours 

8:55 onto ride!
9:01 done

Standby was up to 105 by 9:30 and was at Chefs de France. Photo is where I started in line, I had to “cross” the walkway almost right away and the outside moved very fast since LLs weren’t starting until 9:00 with regular park open.


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## jimim

scrappinginontario said:


> No, access to resorts vis their parking gate is restricted to guests staying or eating there snd have a reservation.


That’s what I thought. Why I said what I did above.


----------



## Disneyhanna

Genie+ was probably a waste at Epcot today. We used it for Frozen and Test Track, didn’t try for Remy since I did early entry. Haven’t bothered with anything else because we are doing another half day but all other rides have basically been immediate LLs up til now (5:20) including Soarin. Only Remy, Frozen, TT have remained consistently over an hour wait. Oh well! We probably wouldn’t have ridden Frozen or TT otherwise. You win some you lose some! But obviously people aren’t buying it here today (still $29). Remy is current 95 so not awful.


----------



## Ricguz

Disneyhanna said:


> Genie+ was probably a waste at Epcot today. We used it for Frozen and Test Track, didn’t try for Remy since I did early entry. Haven’t bothered with anything else because we are doing another half day but all other rides have basically been immediate LLs up til now (5:20) including Soarin. Only Remy, Frozen, TT have remained consistently over an hour wait. Oh well! We probably wouldn’t have ridden Frozen or TT otherwise. You win some you lose some! But obviously people aren’t buying it here today (still $29). Remy is current 95 so not awful.


It’s a shame what management has done to the Disney family. I will be there in just over a week staying at YC.  I have genie plus and from what I have seen and heard it’s going to be such a hassle with time management concerning genie plus. I have been playing with the app at home. More often than not the major rides are either not available with genie plus or they are broken down. I am older now so rides are not the end all, however I am not waiting 95 minutes for any ride. I have come to the conclusion, we are going to enjoy CL at YC, enjoy the resort, enjoy Stormalong bay, do the skyliner and see other resort decorations, walk the parks and see the sites, do Mickey Christmas party, fantastmic, and candlelight procession and holiday booths at Epcot. If we can do some rides with genie, great. If not then there are other priorities. I am not going to let genie ruin by vacation. I understand that I get early entry, and a few late night park closings. With that, I am going to have breakfast at YC, CL at 7 am, and if we can get to the parks for rope drop without killing ourselves okay. I can always try to stack rides later in the day or at night. I hope it works out for us.


----------



## Disneyhanna

Ricguz said:


> It’s a shame what management has done to the Disney family. I will be there in just over a week staying at YC.  I have genie plus and from what I have seen and heard it’s going to be such a hassle with time management concerning genie plus. I have been playing with the app at home. More often than not the major rides are either not available with genie plus or they are broken down. I am older now so rides are not the end all, however I am not waiting 95 minutes for any ride. I have come to the conclusion, we are going to enjoy CL at YC, enjoy the resort, enjoy Stormalong bay, do the skyliner and see other resort decorations, walk the parks and see the sites, do Mickey Christmas party, fantastmic, and candlelight procession and holiday booths at Epcot. If we can do some rides with genie, great. If not then there are other priorities. I am not going to let genie ruin by vacation. I understand that I get early entry, and a few late night park closings. With that, I am going to have breakfast at YC, CL at 7 am, and if we can get to the parks for rope drop without killing ourselves okay. I can always try to stack rides later in the day or at night. I hope it works out for us.


I hope you have a great time! I’m not sure if what I said was clear but you could definitely ride every single thing in Epcot very quickly with Genie+ today. The waits were short enough it’s not needed but the only ride that goes quickly is Remy, Frozen and Test Track follow after and every other ride you can basically get the Genie+ return time for whenever you want to ride…today at 5:20 all but the 3 I mentioned about had return times from 5:20-5:15. So you could scan in and then make the next right away. Your walking ability is the limiting factor since they are so far apart! I think HS is the only park so far where it’d be hard to do everything even with Genie+ and a full day. I went a few times earlier this year and to me it seems like the higher prices have way less people purchasing Genie+ as times went way faster earlier this year with similar crowd levels!

We are definitely slowing down too, we don’t need to do everything anymore. The magic is still there. Life has not been a walk in the park these past few years and it feels wonderful just to be here. We spent an hour on the Boardwalk tonight and just soaked it in, everyone was having so much fun watching performers and enjoying time together.


----------



## Ricguz

Disneyhanna said:


> I hope you have a great time! I’m not sure if what I said was clear but you could definitely ride every single thing in Epcot very quickly with Genie+ today. The waits were short enough it’s not needed but the only ride that goes quickly is Remy, Frozen and Test Track follow after and every other ride you can basically get the Genie+ return time for whenever you want to ride…today at 5:20 all but the 3 I mentioned about had return times from 5:20-5:15. So you could scan in and then make the next right away. Your walking ability is the limiting factor since they are so far apart! I think HS is the only park so far where it’d be hard to do everything even with Genie+ and a full day. I went a few times earlier this year and to me it seems like the higher prices have way less people purchasing Genie+ as times went way faster earlier this year with similar crowd levels!
> 
> We are definitely slowing down too, we don’t need to do everything anymore. The magic is still there. Life has not been a walk in the park these past few years and it feels wonderful just to be here. We spent an hour on the Boardwalk tonight and just soaked it in, everyone was having so much fun watching performers and enjoying time together.


That is so nice to hear. Thanks so much for the detailed report and the encouragement.  We will have a blast no matter what happens,  We are both lucky that we know Disney well enough and able to prioritize what important to us.  Thanks again.


----------



## liquid17

Disneyhanna said:


> We are definitely slowing down too, we don’t need to do everything anymore. The magic is still there. Life has not been a walk in the park these past few years and it feels wonderful just to be here. We spent an hour on the Boardwalk tonight and just soaked it in, everyone was having so much fun watching performers and enjoying time together.


----------



## jvalic33

Disneyhanna said:


> Quickly Remy early entry update from International Gateway:
> 
> 7:46 left Dolphin room
> 8:02 Made it to back of line at international gateway not too long
> 8:07 started letting people through security
> 8:09 through security
> Started feeling really bad about my odds as it looked like everyone from the main entrance was already crossing the bridge to France before hardly anyone from IG was in
> 8:17 scanned in
> At this point, no one was even coming from the main entrance except maybe a few stragglers. I was nervous about my wait!
> 
> I was in the outside queue for a while and made it inside at 8:41. The line was moving the entire time I’m not sure if they waited until 8:30 to start the ride or if it started earlier. I’ve only done ILL so I had no idea how long the inside would be. To my huge surprise it was not much queue inside. I was thinking it would be hours
> 
> 8:55 onto ride!
> 9:01 done
> 
> Standby was up to 105 by 9:30 and was at Chefs de France. Photo is where I started in line, I had to “cross” the walkway almost right away and the outside moved very fast since LLs weren’t starting until 9:00 with regular park open.


I didn't notice the park hours the other day when you did this.  Was it EMH starting at 8:30?

Are all the parks letting in about 15-20 minutes before that time like they were last year?  I haven't heard mention of it and I am getting close and need to start planning because like you, the last time I did Remy I had a ILL and it was great and now I have more work to do!


----------



## Disneyhanna

jvalic33 said:


> I didn't notice the park hours the other day when you did this.  Was it EMH starting at 8:30?
> 
> Are all the parks letting in about 15-20 minutes before that time like they were last year?  I haven't heard mention of it and I am getting close and need to start planning because like you, the last time I did Remy I had a ILL and it was great and now I have more work to do!


Early entree was 8:30 for a 9:00 open! They started letting people through security and scanning in 8:07 from the IG. I never stopped in the Remy line so not sure if they started the ride early or not. I got to IG by 8:00ish and was on at 8:50 so I don’t think you need to be THAT early. Not sure how it is at the main entrance though! But I think they all were in line before me


----------



## scrappinginontario

jvalic33 said:


> I didn't notice the park hours the other day when you did this.  Was it EMH starting at 8:30?
> 
> Are all the parks letting in about 15-20 minutes before that time like they were last year?  I haven't heard mention of it and I am getting close and need to start planning because like you, the last time I did Remy I had a ILL and it was great and now I have more work to do!


The rule of thumb to be towards the front of the early entry crowds is to arrive at resort transportation 90 mins before ETPE begins.


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

Bibbobboo2u said:


> For anyone who had pre-purchased G+, how did you “activate” it each day?  Did you have to do anything at all, or did the app show you had it and you just went to the rides list and chose LL? Thanks!


Like pp said it will automatically show up, but don't panic if it takes a minute. Our first day at 7:00 it kept trying to get me to buy Genie+ and I had to spend about a minute refreshing the screen before it would let me book rides. Every day after that it worked fine.


----------



## jvalic33

Disneyhanna said:


> Early entree was 8:30 for a 9:00 open! They started letting people through security and scanning in 8:07 from the IG. I never stopped in the Remy line so not sure if they started the ride early or not. I got to IG by 8:00ish and was on at 8:50 so I don’t think you need to be THAT early. Not sure how it is at the main entrance though! But I think they all were in line before me


We're staying at BW so I'll be entering at IG like you.  

Good to know around when we should arrive.  I don't want to have to use up one of my G+ for Remy since I know I'm basically paying for TT and Frozen as it is and I can walk on Remy.  It should also be a little less crowded the week I go but who knows.  I also don't want to have to backtrack to IG later in the day, but you know how G+ goes...you have to bounce around half the day if you don't plan it just right or are willing to skip things.

Thank you for the advice.


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

Thanksgiving week trip here! We've been back for a few days and I've had some time to think about the trip. Overall, it was great and I'm glad we went. The only day I was taken aback by crowds was Monday at AK - I'd just never seen so many people there, but the same crowd at another park would've seemed normal for a holiday week. We had purchased Genie+ months ago for the trip and did not rope drop a single day, most mornings arriving 30 minutes after opening to avoid the crush. We used up everything we wanted to at Epcot and AK by lunch but it left us time to enjoy the parks. We talked to a lot of people who were turned off of buying Genie+ by the $29 price, and given that we had no trouble booking rides we wanted, the higher price seemed to accomplish what Disney was going for there. We also did not encounter any broken down rides, a first! We walked a minimum of 7 miles a day, more often 9. There's a lot of crisscrossing the park with Genie+. As the week went on we got better about strategizing, but it was still a lot of walking.

One big thing that stood out to me this week (especially when comparing it to 2020 and 2021) is both cast member and guest morale were so much better! We had so many great conversations with people on the buses and in lines. There was one photographer at MK who, while polite, just had that look on her face like she was having a rough day. We were the only ones there at the time, so we took a few minutes to chat and joke with her, and I wish you all could see the transformation - a few kind words really do work miracles sometimes.

Food. We had some of the best we've ever had, and some of the worst. Brown Derby was a huge disappointment. Server was great, but a lot of our food went uneaten. Tiffins and Hoop Dee Doo blew our socks off though! My husband is still raving about the fried chicken at HDD and the whole fish at Tiffins was amazing, my kids kept stealing bites.

We did not see a lot of visibly sick people in the parks. A few random coughs here and there.

Guardians of the Galaxy took us off guard. 3 of the 4 of us were struggling when we got off. Not to the point of being sick, but stumbled a bit for a while while our heads spun. None of us usually struggle with motion sickness. Someone threw up on the ride before us so they had to send that string of cars off to be cleaned. Later in the day a guest told us a woman collapsed in front of them after riding. It's a really cool ride, but that spinning bit at the end.... oof. I'll do it again, but maybe take some meds before.

This is really my favorite time of year to go and I'm looking forward to doing it again in a few years.


----------



## kmoehall

Another Thanksgiving week tripper here! We had a great time. Our last visit was Thanksgiving week 2017 so we knew to expect higher crowds. 
We did bite the bullet and pay for Genie + each day and did not regret it. We are not a rope drop family and don’t like to wait in long lines so it worked perfect for us, we rode all the rides we wanted to. 
Guardians of the Galaxy was awesome! We got VQ every time we tried. My son and I struggle with motion sickness but with Dramamine for him and a Scopalamine patch for me we had no issues and are so glad we tried it. 
Food was great, standouts for us were Steakhouse 71 and Hoop Dee Doo Revue. 
We love the Christmas decorations, and I agree with the poster above that everyone we encountered (staff and other visitors) seemed to be in such good moods. It’s such a fun time of year to go!


----------



## Ricguz

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Thanksgiving week trip here! We've been back for a few days and I've had some time to think about the trip. Overall, it was great and I'm glad we went. The only day I was taken aback by crowds was Monday at AK - I'd just never seen so many people there, but the same crowd at another park would've seemed normal for a holiday week. We had purchased Genie+ months ago for the trip and did not rope drop a single day, most mornings arriving 30 minutes after opening to avoid the crush. We used up everything we wanted to at Epcot and AK by lunch but it left us time to enjoy the parks. We talked to a lot of people who were turned off of buying Genie+ by the $29 price, and given that we had no trouble booking rides we wanted, the higher price seemed to accomplish what Disney was going for there. We also did not encounter any broken down rides, a first! We walked a minimum of 7 miles a day, more often 9. There's a lot of crisscrossing the park with Genie+. As the week went on we got better about strategizing, but it was still a lot of walking.
> 
> One big thing that stood out to me this week (especially when comparing it to 2020 and 2021) is both cast member and guest morale were so much better! We had so many great conversations with people on the buses and in lines. There was one photographer at MK who, while polite, just had that look on her face like she was having a rough day. We were the only ones there at the time, so we took a few minutes to chat and joke with her, and I wish you all could see the transformation - a few kind words really do work miracles sometimes.
> 
> Food. We had some of the best we've ever had, and some of the worst. Brown Derby was a huge disappointment. Server was great, but a lot of our food went uneaten. Tiffins and Hoop Dee Doo blew our socks off though! My husband is still raving about the fried chicken at HDD and the whole fish at Tiffins was amazing, my kids kept stealing bites.
> 
> We did not see a lot of visibly sick people in the parks. A few random coughs here and there.
> 
> Guardians of the Galaxy took us off guard. 3 of the 4 of us were struggling when we got off. Not to the point of being sick, but stumbled a bit for a while while our heads spun. None of us usually struggle with motion sickness. Someone threw up on the ride before us so they had to send that string of cars off to be cleaned. Later in the day a guest told us a woman collapsed in front of them after riding. It's a really cool ride, but that spinning bit at the end.... oof. I'll do it again, but maybe take some meds before.
> 
> This is really my favorite time of year to go and I'm looking forward to doing it again in a few years.


Can you tell me about the Brown Derby. I have a reservation there for fantasmic but if the food is awful, I would rather cancel and do I walk in if I want to see the show


----------



## Memorymakerfor4

Ricguz said:


> Can you tell me about the Brown Derby. I have a reservation there for fantasmic but if the food is awful, I would rather cancel and do I walk in if I want to see the show


Not all was bad. The squash soup was very good and my husband had a seafood soup that he liked. However the Cobb salad was swimming in dressing and the grapefruit cake was really sour. So sour we actually wondered if they forgot to add sugar. My son’s fish was over cooked and dry. 

Im willing to say it might’ve just been an off day. We’re not usually picky but these three things were really bad.


----------



## Ricguz

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Not all was bad. The squash soup was very good and my husband had a seafood soup that he liked. However the Cobb salad was swimming in dressing and the grapefruit cake was really sour. So sour we actually wondered if they forgot to add sugar. My son’s fish was over cooked and dry.
> 
> Im willing to say it might’ve just been an off day. We’re not usually picky but these three things were really bad.


Thanks for that. I know from experience that the Cobb salad can be ordered dry with the dressing on the side and we can mix it ourselves. Other unfortunately like your family have had the same experience.  I’m so sorry for that. It too expensive for that to happen.


----------



## Disneyhanna

MK report on a MVMCP day with Genie+ for a party of 2. We have been many times and only one of us rides the big rides, we are okay not doing everything.

At 7am I got a Jingle Cruise for 9:45, I had to refresh a few times for it to go down as we weren’t rope dropping.

9:34 entered MK
9:41 scanned Jingle Cruise LL, standby 45 in outdoor overflow, on in 3 mins
Made a Winnie the Pooh for 10:05 in the JC queue
10:04 scanned in for Pooh LL, standby 30, on in 7 mins
At this time, PPF was returning 3pm, Space Mountain returning 11am, Big Thunder returning 1:30 for reference 
Made a Buzz LL for 10:25 in Pooh queue
10:24 scanned in for Buzz, standby 15, on in 2 mins
Made a 10:30 speedway LL in Buzz queue
10:35 scanned into Speedway LL, standby 15, on in 7 mins
Made an 11:05 Small World LL in speedway queue
10:58 entered People Mover queue, standby 15, waited 8 mins
11:25 scanned into Small World LL, standby 25, waited 5 mins
Made an 11:30 LL for Little Mermaid in Small World queue
11:55 scanned into Little Mermaid, standby 25, basically walked on
Made a BTMR for 12:30 in Little Mermaid queue - paused to refresh maybe 5 mins in LM queue for this, purposefully did this as it had been down for HOURS and I knew it would most likely become an anytime pass
12:29 got alert that BTMR LL turned to anytime pass, could immediately make new LL now (not good for Space Mountain, 7DMT, Peter Pan, meet and greets, parade, or Jingle Cruise)
Made a Peter Pan LL for 4:35, which was the going return time (no refreshing), took this as we were having lunch at 12:40 and couldn’t ride anything anyways so no worries about 2 hour wait to make a new LL
At 1:30 I saw Splash and Meet Mickey LLs were “gone” (remember nothing is gone, you can almost always refresh for something if there are more than two hours of park time left)
Space Mountain must not be as popular as it still had almost immediate return times 
To pass time did the Liberty Belle, it takes about 20 min to go around the Rivers of America
2:29 went to BTMR but it had just went down again!
2:29 scanned ONE person into Splash, standby 60, waited 4 mins
After I got off I refreshed maybe 5 mins and got a 2:50 Space Mountain LL for one
3:03 scanned into SM LL, standby 45, waited 9 mins (got to skip a few parties as a single rider)
Saw splash standby was down to 25 even with Pirates and BTMR being down, surprising
After SM I sat on a bench and refreshed for about 15 min straight for Meet Mickey or Haunted Mansion, both were “gone”
After 15 min at 3:44 I secured a LL for Meet Mickey at 4:00!
I saw 5:25 HM pop up a few times but too late for us as we wanted to leave by 5
3:58 scanned into Meet Mickey LL, standby 30, waited maybe 10 mins

And that’s all we did for MK! There were immediate LLs pretty much all day for smaller things we skipped like Barnstormer, Aladdin, Dumbo, Tea Party, etc. I checked other parks and wait times were so low, the Thanksgiving crowds definitely subsided! At lunch time I saw Safari at 15 and FoP at 60 and it’s been a nice weather day. I made some FPs for this evening at HS and I had to wait as they were returning times too soon. I refreshed maybe a few min and got a Slinky LL for 6:55 at 4:44, score!

While Genie+ wasn’t necessary for MK today it was “only” $17 compared to the $29 of Thanksgiving and it made getting through rides so easy. Definitely recommend MK on party days which I’ve always done in pre-pandemic years!


----------



## jvalic33

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Not all was bad. The squash soup was very good and my husband had a seafood soup that he liked. However the Cobb salad was swimming in dressing and the grapefruit cake was really sour. So sour we actually wondered if they forgot to add sugar. My son’s fish was over cooked and dry.
> 
> Im willing to say it might’ve just been an off day. We’re not usually picky but these three things were really bad.


It's been a year or so since our last visit, but since COVID we have found the food not as good.  Some of our favorite dishes are no longer on the menu and I was told that it was due to staffing shortages that they had to remove a number of items because they couldn't have as many stations in the kitchen to make the different items.

If you have loved it in the past, you may find the food and menu limited and not as exciting as it once was.  Maybe check it out before you decide.  I checked and still seemed limited so I didn't book it for this trip.

I think that one day it might get back to where it was, but I had a similar experience the last time I was there as well and everyone voted to skip it this trip.


----------



## Ricguz

jvalic33 said:


> It's been a year or so since our last visit, but since COVID we have found the food not as good.  Some of our favorite dishes are no longer on the menu and I was told that it was due to staffing shortages that they had to remove a number of items because they couldn't have as many stations in the kitchen to make the different items.
> 
> If you have loved it in the past, you may find the food and menu limited and not as exciting as it once was.  Maybe check it out before you decide.  I checked and still seemed limited so I didn't book it for this trip.
> 
> I think that one day it might get back to where it was, but I had a similar experience the last time I was there as well and everyone voted to skip it this trip.


Thanks for your insight. I have seen the limited menu and although it’s certainly limited there are not that many restaurants that potentially better. Sci Fi has burgers, Mama’s Italian is just not that good, 50’s would be a decent choice but can’t get a fantasmic time, Hollywood and Vine is not on my list so I am left with HBD. I have an early reservation so I might be okay but I am certainly not that excited about it.


----------



## JFox

Just one observation after our Thanksgiving week...One ply TP!?  Really!!


----------



## DisneyNDecember

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Thanksgiving week trip here! We've been back for a few days and I've had some time to think about the trip. Overall, it was great and I'm glad we went. The only day I was taken aback by crowds was Monday at AK - I'd just never seen so many people there, but the same crowd at another park would've seemed normal for a holiday week. We had purchased Genie+ months ago for the trip and did not rope drop a single day, most mornings arriving 30 minutes after opening to avoid the crush. We used up everything we wanted to at Epcot and AK by lunch but it left us time to enjoy the parks. We talked to a lot of people who were turned off of buying Genie+ by the $29 price, and given that we had no trouble booking rides we wanted, the higher price seemed to accomplish what Disney was going for there. We also did not encounter any broken down rides, a first! We walked a minimum of 7 miles a day, more often 9. There's a lot of crisscrossing the park with Genie+. As the week went on we got better about strategizing, but it was still a lot of walking.
> 
> One big thing that stood out to me this week (especially when comparing it to 2020 and 2021) is both cast member and guest morale were so much better! We had so many great conversations with people on the buses and in lines. There was one photographer at MK who, while polite, just had that look on her face like she was having a rough day. We were the only ones there at the time, so we took a few minutes to chat and joke with her, and I wish you all could see the transformation - a few kind words really do work miracles sometimes.
> 
> Food. We had some of the best we've ever had, and some of the worst. Brown Derby was a huge disappointment. Server was great, but a lot of our food went uneaten. Tiffins and Hoop Dee Doo blew our socks off though! My husband is still raving about the fried chicken at HDD and the whole fish at Tiffins was amazing, my kids kept stealing bites.
> 
> We did not see a lot of visibly sick people in the parks. A few random coughs here and there.
> 
> Guardians of the Galaxy took us off guard. 3 of the 4 of us were struggling when we got off. Not to the point of being sick, but stumbled a bit for a while while our heads spun. None of us usually struggle with motion sickness. Someone threw up on the ride before us so they had to send that string of cars off to be cleaned. Later in the day a guest told us a woman collapsed in front of them after riding. It's a really cool ride, but that spinning bit at the end.... oof. I'll do it again, but maybe take some meds before.
> 
> This is really my favorite time of year to go and I'm looking forward to doing it again in a few years.


WOW. I am thinking more and more about skipping this ride. Your review probably just confirmed it for me.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

Memorymakerfor4 said:


> Like pp said it will automatically show up, but don't panic if it takes a minute. Our first day at 7:00 it kept trying to get me to buy Genie+ and I had to spend about a minute refreshing the screen before it would let me book rides. Every day after that it worked fine.


Thank you for that information. I too already have Genie Plus added every day to our vacation package and I was wondering this same question.


----------



## Disneyhanna

DisneyNDecember said:


> WOW. I am thinking more and more about skipping this ride. Your review probably just confirmed it for me.


I rode it yesterday after keeping away from spoilers and did fine, but I have only ever felt somewhat nauseous from Simpson’s at Universal. I think anyone who is even somewhat prone to motion sickness could struggle with this one. It was way longer than I expected. The stairs definitely seemed like an awful idea after. It was on the same level as Forbidden Journey at Universal for me, I can handle it just fine as long as I’ve eaten and am hydrated but I wouldn’t want to do it twice back to back. If it was like 70% of the length I think it would be much better motion wise. I could ride FoP 100x and probably feel great, I haven’t ridden Mission Space since I was a kid, and Star Tours is always fine for me as is Remy, though I probably wouldn’t do Star Tours twice in a row either.


----------



## Ricguz

Disneyhanna said:


> I rode it yesterday after keeping away from spoilers and did fine, but I have only ever felt somewhat nauseous from Simpson’s at Universal. I think anyone who is even somewhat prone to motion sickness could struggle with this one. It was way longer than I expected. The stairs definitely seemed like an awful idea after. It was on the same level as Forbidden Journey at Universal for me, I can handle it just fine as long as I’ve eaten and am hydrated but I wouldn’t want to do it twice back to back. If it was like 70% of the length I think it would be much better motion wise. I could ride FoP 100x and probably feel great, I haven’t ridden Mission Space since I was a kid, and Star Tours is always fine for me as is Remy, though I probably wouldn’t do Star Tours twice in a row either.


I hear you. I can’t do arrowsmith, space mountain so I won’t try guardian. But tower and big thunder don’t bother me.


----------



## Leigh L

I can't do Rock n' Roller Coaster or Space, both are way too rough for me. Guardians feels far smoother than those two to me. It's become one of my favorite rides.

Nausea is a different issue though (I don't have that problem except for Hagrid's over at Universal during the backward part if I'm close to the front - then I have to close my eyes).

I did Simpsons once...waited three years and tried again last summer to see if I still hated it. Never again LOL. Mission Space was also one-and-done for me.


----------



## DeeBee3

Disneyhanna said:


> I rode it yesterday after keeping away from spoilers and did fine, but I have only ever felt somewhat nauseous from Simpson’s at Universal. I think anyone who is even somewhat prone to motion sickness could struggle with this one. It was way longer than I expected. The stairs definitely seemed like an awful idea after. It was on the same level as Forbidden Journey at Universal for me, I can handle it just fine as long as I’ve eaten and am hydrated but I wouldn’t want to do it twice back to back. If it was like 70% of the length I think it would be much better motion wise. I could ride FoP 100x and probably feel great, I haven’t ridden Mission Space since I was a kid, and Star Tours is always fine for me as is Remy, though I probably wouldn’t do Star Tours twice in a row either.



Everyone has such a different reaction to GOTG that I am having a hard time deciding! Going in a few weeks and I really want to try, but I don't want to be sick all day after. 

For me, I cannot do tea cups any more. Just too dizzy. Screens can throw me off but not make me nauseous. I can do roller coasters with no problem, so I don't know what to think.


----------



## Disneyhanna

DeeBee3 said:


> Everyone has such a different reaction to GOTG that I am having a hard time deciding! Going in a few weeks and I really want to try, but I don't want to be sick all day after.
> 
> For me, I cannot do tea cups any more. Just too dizzy. Screens can throw me off but not make me nauseous. I can do roller coasters with no problem, so I don't know what to think.


Excluding Mission Space bc I haven’t ridden it in so long, Cosmic Rewind is definitely the biggest motion sickness risk ride at WDW right now (in my opinion). I didn’t think it spun so much as it was constantly rotating but not always the same way. This was my first time riding and I’m a huge Guardians fan and I was disappointed, it didn’t feel like a Guardians ride to me, but that may be the holiday overlay. It’s not a must do for me, Universal’s Velocicoaster and Hagrid’s still knock it out of the park for me. I still far prefer traditional coasters with no screens! I guess all that to say, if you choose to skip, I don’t think you’re missing that much.

To stay on topic, it looks like Genie+ is up to $20 today. They must have thought $17 was too cheap yesterday! We are taking a bit of a rest day with DS this morning, some pool time, and an Epcot evening without Genie+ so I will report back. I may try my hand at the 6pm Guardians VQ to see if a second ride changes my opinion.

HS last night was pretty empty, we got in about 7:30 and it was wayyy less busy than Friday night. We rode TSM at the same time as Friday and waited a fair bit longer this time as they seemed to be using just one track this time. Slinky was only a 50 minute standby at 7:34, wild. Wonder if it was lower crowds or everyone capping off their trip with Fantasmic or both. We are here two more days so we shall see if the lower crowds hold up before the early December folks start coming in.


----------



## TISHLOVESDISNEY

I found if I focused on the screens too much on GOTG it got me a little nauseous. So I recommend to my friend/family that have motion sickness issues to focus on the ride, don’t look around at screens


----------



## scrappinginontario

Please take the GotG chat to one of the many threads discussing this attraction so that this thread comes back to the general topic of ‘Here Now and Just Back’

Thanks.


----------



## jvalic33

Ricguz said:


> Thanks for your insight. I have seen the limited menu and although it’s certainly limited there are not that many restaurants that potentially better. Sci Fi has burgers, Mama’s Italian is just not that good, 50’s would be a decent choice but can’t get a fantasmic time, Hollywood and Vine is not on my list so I am left with HBD. I have an early reservation so I might be okay but I am certainly not that excited about it.


Well, in that regard, you are right.  We did Mama's and really didn't like it at all.  Last year we did 50s and really, no matter how much fun a place is, we are big foodies and we can't get past it.  SciFi has creepy movies for the little ones and the food is cafeteria like to me.

If that is your issue and you can't step out of the park, I would definitely just leave it at HBD but don't order too expensive only because it isn't worth it.  I never looked at prices in the past because the food used to really wow me....I'm thinking of you little crab fluffy things that I think they served in a glass (I forget what they were called) but I could order 10 of those and we would always all order a different appetizer because we found them all to be so good, but now I would probably split a few and just try them because their eh....and then maybe save room for mickey ice cream pops instead of dessert, because I remember being a little disappointed in that department whereas again, in the past, they were creative and we could never figure out just what to pick.

The only thing that could fix all of this is if Woody's BBQ opens up!  That would be awesome and I'm trying to figure out how to fit that in if/when we find out it opens!


----------



## PrincessJasmine88

I looked at wait times and they still seem very high. I was hoping they would thin out after thanksgiving. I’m arriving Saturday


----------



## Disneyhanna

PrincessJasmine88 said:


> I looked at wait times and they still seem very high. I was hoping they would thin out after thanksgiving. I’m arriving Saturday


To me they seem so low! Except HS I guess which never has short waits these days  MK will be higher as it’s a non MVMCP day sandwiched between two MVMCP days. I did HEA on this exact day in 2019 and it was wall to wall in the evening since there were regular fireworks. AK and Epcot looks pretty low, Remy is 45 right now at 11:30 and FoP is 65. And it’s BEAUTIFUL out today.

Interestingly enough the AP resort rates were available at almost every hotel for the next three days. I switched the dates to early December and they were all gone. Not to say hotel availability is a perfect indicator of crowds, but it certainly leads me to think crowds will pick back up again beginning December as word has gotten out about it being a good time to travel. But everything is harder to guess with the pandemic.


----------



## lugnut33

Ricguz said:


> I am not going to let genie ruin my vacation.


I think I found the 2023 Disney Parks slogan.


----------



## c0reyann

DeeBee3 said:


> Everyone has such a different reaction to GOTG that I am having a hard time deciding! Going in a few weeks and I really want to try, but I don't want to be sick all day after.
> 
> For me, I cannot do tea cups any more. Just too dizzy. Screens can throw me off but not make me nauseous. I can do roller coasters with no problem, so I don't know what to think.


I wore motion sickness glasses and they worked like a champ.  Looked weird but I had NO issues after the ride and I can't do a lot of the 3D stuff without feeling icky after (like Forbidden Journey).


----------



## pixiedust2u

c0reyann said:


> I wore motion sickness glasses and they worked like a champ.  Looked weird but I had NO issues after the ride and I can't do a lot of the 3D stuff without feeling icky after (like Forbidden Journey).


Never heard of such a thing!


----------



## Ricguz

pixiedust2u said:


> Never heard of such a thing!


You can get them at Amazon and reviews are good and the glasses work


----------



## scrappinginontario

*Please take this thread back to discussing recent park experiences.*  Specific discussions re: GotG that are better suited for those threads will be removed from this thread.


----------



## lynzi2004

Thinking of a last minute trip to WDW over New Years. MK and HS are both sold out. Just making sure there hasn’t been any instances in this recent sold out thanksgiving week that parkhopping to a sold out park was prohibited?! We would start at Ak and EP which is fine with me so that we can do guardians virtual que and FOP, then hop to the other park in the evening.


----------



## scrappinginontario

lynzi2004 said:


> Thinking of a last minute trip to WDW over New Years. MK and HS are both sold out. Just making sure there hasn’t been any instances in this recent sold out thanksgiving week that parkhopping to a sold out park was prohibited?! We would start at Ak and EP which is fine with me so that we can do guardians virtual que and FOP, then hop to the other park in the evening.


No, park hopping was fine over Thanksgiving week. 

The only time it was ever stopped was for a few hours to the MK on its 50th Anniversary, Oct 1, 2021, then it restarted later that day.


----------



## DisneyAuntie12

jvalic33 said:


> and then maybe save room for mickey ice cream pops instead of dessert, because I remember being a little disappointed in that department whereas again, in the past, they were creative and we could never figure out just what to pick.


Visited for the first time since Covid recently and the desserts at various restaurants stood out to me as being bland. We had a bunch of littles and did buffets / family style so maybe that was why, but the offerings all seemed to be super small slices of spongey cake or tarts that tasted pretty similar, with maybe a really bland cookie thrown in the mix. Again, might just be that these restaurants catered to small kids but as I was going to let myself forget calories and go wild at Disney, was mildly disappointed. Crystal Palace did have a cobbler that was pretty good, if I remember correctly, but that was the only thing that stood out. The savory foods were better (kinda limited, probably due to supply chains, but better overall.)


----------



## Tk0021

set88 said:


> Day 4 - MK morning and EPCOT afternoon - Our final day!  Thursday 11/17
> 
> On Tuesday evening when we got back from EPCOT, I got the idea to try to do a nice breakfast our last morning instead of doing another early entry rush.  Made a reservation for Crystal Palace (big splurge, but I have very fond memories of eating there as a small child and meeting the Winnie the Pooh characters.)  Plus it was way easier to do MK breakfast instead of hitting one of the resorts first.
> 
> Also bought Genie+ and chose Meet Mickey at 7am.
> 
> This was intended to be a slower day for us, and we wanted to do our favorites from our first MK day again as well as a handful of things we missed).
> 
> *Morning*
> Crystal Palace Breakfast 8am (we LOVED this)
> Meet Mickey LL 9am
> Haunted Mansion LL
> Carousel
> Splash Mountain (cold day, no wait)
> Thunder Mountain LL
> Had booked Pirates LL, but it was down
> Dumbo LL
> Under the Sea LL
> Buzz LL (this was what we used our anytime LL from Pirates on)
> 
> (The Thunder LL was about an hour away when I booked it, everything else was an immediate return).
> 
> Left MK at 1:30pm to monorail to EPCOT.  We were coming back just to hit up the F&W booths we wanted to do that we missed on our first day, then planning to leave before evening.
> 
> *Afternoon*
> 2:25pm Meet Donald (line was around 25 min)
> Booths:
> Kenya
> Spain
> Hops & Barley
> Greece
> Tangerine Cafe
> Brazil
> 
> 4:45pm Soarin LL (booked this at around 1pm with a 3:50-4:50pm return)
> Shimmering Sips to redeem cheese crawl prize
> Shopping
> Headed back to monorail to TTC to drive home - got to car around 6:30pm, got home to Tampa 2 hours later.
> 
> Total step count around 22k... and this was supposed to be a slow day!  No such thing at a Disney park.  I can't even imagine what the count would have been if we'd stayed the last 3 hours of the evening.
> 
> Over our 4 days, we got in around 100,000k steps - around 50 miles!
> 
> Next trip is already on the calendar for late January!
> 
> Overall, we had an AMAZING time.  I've been to so many theme parks (I'm a thrill ride junkie) but hadn't returned to Disney since I was a kid.  I LOVED it.  I honestly didn't expect this trip to turn me into a Disney fanatic, but I think it did.  We've had Universal season passes and love the rides at Universal, but the atmosphere is decidedly lacking in comparison to Disney.  There is truly something different in the air.
> 
> Full trip report with tons of photos, restaurant reviews, ride reviews, strategy tips, Genie+ thoughts (the good and bad!), and more... coming soon!


Thanks so much for your posts. This is really helping with our up coming trip with the use of genie +.


----------



## disneyAndi14

Betty Rohrer said:


> maybe try dropping at the Swan and walk over from there


We got dropped off at BW and no problems. We did a Lyft from AKL. They let us right through to the front of the hotel.
We had a short walk to IG and rode Remy within 20 minutes.


----------



## scrappinginontario

disneyAndi14 said:


> We got dropped off at BW and no problems. We did a Lyft from AKL. They let us right through to the front of the hotel.
> We had a short walk to IG and rode Remy within 20 minutes.


This is not the norm and many guards are turning away guests who are not staying at the Disney Resort they are trying to enter or, have a dining reservation.  It is not recommended trying as far more guests are turned away than are granted access.


----------



## lugnut33

scrappinginontario said:


> This is not the norm and many guards are turning away guests who are not staying at the Disney Resort they are trying to enter or, have a dining reservation.  It is not recommended trying as far more guests are turned away than are granted access.


Back in May my sister, who lives in Orlando, was nice enough to pick me up at the airport and drop me off at CBR. I go to check out and notice a parking fee on my bill.  I asked why they are charging me and it's because I came in a normal looking vehicle. I had to plead with them, but they ultimately reversed the charges. Moral of the story, be very careful when being dropped off at the resorts by normal looking cars as Disney will charge you.  I imagine they get lots of people on this one since they stopped free transportation from the airport.


----------



## scrappinginontario

lugnut33 said:


> Back in May my sister, who lives in Orlando, was nice enough to pick me up at the airport and drop me off at CBR. I go to check out and notice a parking fee on my bill.  I asked why they are charging me and it's because I came in a normal looking vehicle. I had to plead with them, but they ultimately reversed the charges. Moral of the story, be very careful when being dropped off at the resorts by normal looking cars as Disney will charge you.  I imagine they get lots of people on this one since they stopped free transportation from the airport.


Yes, a good reminder to check your bill carefully.  I had the same thing happen to me one visit, and I arrived via MDE and used Disney transportation exclusively.  They removed it from my bill but it taught me to carefully check my bill in the MDE app as the trip goes along.


----------



## disneyfam1986

disneyAndi14 said:


> We got dropped off at BW and no problems. We did a Lyft from AKL. They let us right through to the front of the hotel.
> We had a short walk to IG and rode Remy within 20 minutes.


What time did you get dropped off?


----------



## DisneyNDecember

Is Twilight Zone Tower of Terror closed? I have noticed in the app today it has been showing "Temporarily Closed" since early this morning? We arrive on Saturday & I did not see it closed for Refurbishment on the App..


----------



## disneyAndi14

disneyfam1986 said:


> What time did you get dropped off?


Around 8am


----------



## Jennasis

At DHS today. The wait time are pretty off the chain yet it didn't seem all that crowded. Hoping things quiet as the post Turkey Day folks head home.


----------



## Shughart

scrappinginontario said:


> Yes, a good reminder to check your bill carefully. I had the same thing happen to me one visit, and I arrived via MDE and used Disney transportation exclusively. They removed it from my bill but it taught me to carefully check my bill in the MDE app as the trip goes along.



Do we have to pay parking just to eat at resorts???


----------



## Shughart

Can anyone share recent experiences with ordering off menus at sit down restaurants that are NOT price fixe/family style, for example like SciFi, any teens/adults have any problems ordering off kids menu? My daughter and I tried to in 2019 as the portions are way too big even for me (piglet sized) and I prefer to order small when I can.


----------



## scrappinginontario

Shughart said:


> Do we have to pay parking just to eat at resorts???


No.  You are allowed to park for a couple of hours at the resort you are dining at.  You will most likely be asked to prove your dining reservation at the gate of the resort.


----------



## jimim

So I think I have posted a lot of positive about my 12 day stay this past holiday. It was an awesome trip. Literal 10/10. I’m serious. Everyday I said to my wife “this is a great trip. I’m so happy we came”.

Ok so the one thing that got me going multiple mornings with rope drop. So we are all standing there like cattle. You try to figure out should I be bias to the left or to the right or maybe just straight up the shoot. You are there like 90 mins early as the bus so you can get urself somewhat close to the front. You kids are tired maybe. You didn’t have you coffee that you are used to. So you have been standing there for like 60 mins waiting to get it on. 10 mins to go you are still thinking about that coffee and then it happens. “Excuse me. Oh excuse me the people I’m with are up here. Excuse me. Oh I’m going right there” then you see they are carrying 4 coffees from Starbucks. Like everyday almost this trip. I go to my wife. “Man I would have liked to have had you go get us coffee and still be able to be way up front.”  I mean it doesn’t make a difference but it just kinda stings when you are putting in the time 100 percent and you still got the people who are looking out for themselves.  

Also o got to say that the Epcot back gate has got it down!  And France has it locked down. The organization they have going on over there needs to be put into every park rope drop. They can do it for avatar. Single line. Cast member or even 1 security guard walking everyone up to the ride into the shoot. Remy is completely in lock down. Even Epcot. Have 3 cast members. 1 for soaring single line. 1 for test track. 1 for anything else and let them people break out. HS same thing. 2 cast members. 1 for Star Wars. 1 for slinky. Some people get up early to be able to take advantage of that rope drop. Bit again you got people showing up 10 mins before in the back and then just full on sprint. Cast members never say anything. Only ones you hear say anything is security.  

I know this isn’t huge in the whole picture but again. 

Some people show up early to be up close and follow the rules. They put the time in. 

Someone is going to get hurt and that’s what it’s going to take for Disney to do something. 

Security is a well oiled machine from what I saw. Single file. All organized. I’m good with it. Yah search my huge camera bag everyday. I got no problem with it. Keeps my family hopefully safe. 

Bit after that Disney has to do something from that point to ride. 

Except for you international gateway and France!  You guys are the gold standard for morning rope drop. Good job!  You keep it safe. You keep it fair!  

And all you Starbucks coffee club folk. Back of the line. You didn’t put in the time. I’ll give you half credit cause all of you still got up and your whole group is in place so only 1 person is cutting up. It’s not like it is 1 person at a tap and then u let 20 people ahead of everyone in line 5 mins before HS opens. That just messes with everyone behind you. That isn’t cool!  You know who you are. 

Ok like I said. Trip rocked!  All the negative I have read that got me all worried and worked up for over a year was dead on arrival when we got to the park. Everyrhing was great!  Maybe we got lucky. Maybe karma was on our side. 

Coffee club. . . “I’m watching you. Always watching”


----------



## DisneyNDecember

Anyone utilize the  first night of Fantasmic dining packages last night? Did they have a separate line entrance for package guests to enter?
How was your viewing spot? Some have said in years past it was to the side, was that the case last night?


----------



## AussieFan8

DisneyNDecember said:


> Anyone utilize the  first night of Fantasmic dining packages last night? Did they have a separate line entrance for package guests to enter?
> How was your viewing spot? Some have said in years past it was to the side, was that the case last night?


WDWNT reported that there was a separate line and that seating is in the center unless you arrive late.


----------



## brentm77

jimim said:


> So I think I have posted a lot of positive about my 12 day stay this past holiday. It was an awesome trip. Literal 10/10. I’m serious. Everyday I said to my wife “this is a great trip. I’m so happy we came”.
> 
> Ok so the one thing that got me going multiple mornings with rope drop. So we are all standing there like cattle. You try to figure out should I be bias to the left or to the right or maybe just straight up the shoot. You are there like 90 mins early as the bus so you can get urself somewhat close to the front. You kids are tired maybe. You didn’t have you coffee that you are used to. So you have been standing there for like 60 mins waiting to get it on. 10 mins to go you are still thinking about that coffee and then it happens. “Excuse me. Oh excuse me the people I’m with are up here. Excuse me. Oh I’m going right there” then you see they are carrying 4 coffees from Starbucks. Like everyday almost this trip. I go to my wife. “Man I would have liked to have had you go get us coffee and still be able to be way up front.”  I mean it doesn’t make a difference but it just kinda stings when you are putting in the time 100 percent and you still got the people who are looking out for themselves.
> 
> Also o got to say that the Epcot back gate has got it down!  And France has it locked down. The organization they have going on over there needs to be put into every park rope drop. They can do it for avatar. Single line. Cast member or even 1 security guard walking everyone up to the ride into the shoot. Remy is completely in lock down. Even Epcot. Have 3 cast members. 1 for soaring single line. 1 for test track. 1 for anything else and let them people break out. HS same thing. 2 cast members. 1 for Star Wars. 1 for slinky. Some people get up early to be able to take advantage of that rope drop. Bit again you got people showing up 10 mins before in the back and then just full on sprint. Cast members never say anything. Only ones you hear say anything is security.
> 
> I know this isn’t huge in the whole picture but again.
> 
> Some people show up early to be up close and follow the rules. They put the time in.
> 
> Someone is going to get hurt and that’s what it’s going to take for Disney to do something.
> 
> Security is a well oiled machine from what I saw. Single file. All organized. I’m good with it. Yah search my huge camera bag everyday. I got no problem with it. Keeps my family hopefully safe.
> 
> Bit after that Disney has to do something from that point to ride.
> 
> Except for you international gateway and France!  You guys are the gold standard for morning rope drop. Good job!  You keep it safe. You keep it fair!
> 
> And all you Starbucks coffee club folk. Back of the line. You didn’t put in the time. I’ll give you half credit cause all of you still got up and your whole group is in place so only 1 person is cutting up. It’s not like it is 1 person at a tap and then u let 20 people ahead of everyone in line 5 mins before HS opens. That just messes with everyone behind you. That isn’t cool!  You know who you are.
> 
> Ok like I said. Trip rocked!  All the negative I have read that got me all worried and worked up for over a year was dead on arrival when we got to the park. Everyrhing was great!  Maybe we got lucky. Maybe karma was on our side.
> 
> Coffee club. . . “I’m watching you. Always watching”



Good report - but I have to say, I am not at all bothered by one person getting morning coffee for the rest of the group and then joining them.  We have never done it, but it doesn't sound all the unfair to me.


----------



## jimim

brentm77 said:


> Good report - but I have to say, I am not at all bothered by one person getting morning coffee for the rest of the group and then joining them.  We have never done it, but it doesn't sound all the unfair to me.


for me like i said up above I'm really on the fence about it.  i go back and forth with it.  i said above even that it doesn't really impact anything but more the fact that so many others are putting in the time to be there early and wait it out and would prob enjoy coffee themselves. 

what really got me going. . . and we all have seen it over the years. . . is the 1 person standing at a tap point and then bringing up a bunch of people.  it just isn't right. 

my whole point to both points is i would really like to see implemented across all ropes drops is what international gateway and the remy cast members have going on.


----------



## Leigh L

jimim said:


> for me like i said up above I'm really on the fence about it.  i go back and forth with it.  i said above even that it doesn't really impact anything but more the fact that so many others are putting in the time to be there early and wait it out and would prob enjoy coffee themselves.
> 
> what really got me going. . . and we all have seen it over the years. . . is the 1 person standing at a tap point and then bringing up a bunch of people.  it just isn't right.
> 
> my whole point to both points is i would really like to see implemented across all ropes drops is what international gateway and the remy cast members have going on.


Either June 2021 or June 2022 we rope dropped Frontierland at MK and the CMs led everyone almost all the way to the attractions walking with the rope. What a much better experience. I'm not sure if they're still doing that but it was great!


----------



## jimim

Leigh L said:


> Either June 2021 or June 2022 we rope dropped Frontierland at MK and the CMs led everyone almost all the way to the attractions walking with the rope. What a much better experience. I'm not sure if they're still doing that but it was great!


No they aren’t. Well the 2 weeks I was there from what I saw they were not on the 4 days we were at mk
Mehta morning for remy was the most stress free easy rope drop I ever did.


----------



## Leigh L

jimim said:


> No they aren’t. Well the 2 weeks I was there from what I saw they were not on the 4 days we were at mk
> Mehta morning for remy was the most stress free easy rope drop I ever did.


Ah, bummer. The IG experience sounds great.

Just curious, did you start in Frontierland? From what I could tell it wasn't happening at Fantasyland or Tomorrowland (our group often splits up at rope drop for the coaster riders vs non-coaster riders)


----------



## jimim

I started each day at fantasyland causexthe kids wanted to do mine train 4 times. Cattle stampede each day there. 

International gateway is on point!  Extra Mickey ice cream for that crew over there!


----------



## brentm77

jimim said:


> for me like i said up above I'm really on the fence about it.  i go back and forth with it.  i said above even that it doesn't really impact anything but more the fact that so many others are putting in the time to be there early and wait it out and would prob enjoy coffee themselves.
> 
> what really got me going. . . and we all have seen it over the years. . . is the 1 person standing at a tap point and then bringing up a bunch of people.  it just isn't right.
> 
> my whole point to both points is i would really like to see implemented across all ropes drops is what international gateway and the remy cast members have going on.


Agreed.  It feels terrible when you have "paid the price" to be upfront for something and others just cheat the system.  It's particularly frustrating when a company like Disney creates systems where it's really easy to do, or where they look the other way when they know it's happening.


----------



## emilymad

Just back from a super quick, last minute trip.  Overall we had a great time.  We did EE every day and did no G+ or ILL.  We got pretty much everything we wanted to do done with minimum waits.  We were just there last year so we didn't feel the need to do every single thing.  I would say the key was the EE because even if we only got one ride done we were well positioned for the next ride.  

We also really liked being able to cancel ADR's 2 hours in advance.  Being tied down to ADRs is not our idea of fun anymore.

We saw the first showing of F!.  We went in about an hour in advance as there was nothing else we wanted to ride.  We easily could have walked in 10 minutes before hand and got a seat.  We got a seat at the 2nd Candlelight show 5 minutes before hand as we were just walking by.

Now for the few negatives.  The number of rides down for the entire day or hours at a time is inexcusable.  I had read enough before hand to not be surprised but it is completely ridiculous when you are there.  At MCO yesterday, we actually heard people behind us in the Starbucks line complaining about this exact thing.

The number of people who are flat out sprinting at rope drop is also ridiculous and dangerous.  At HS especially it was out of control.  People sprinting past many, many CM and not one CM said anything
We also had numerous rides were 10-15+ people cut in the line saying their group was right up "there" although they never were.  This is something that is completely unacceptable.  It was so bad at Rise.  Maybe 20+ people all skipped the line to the point where they literally kicked the person in a wheelchair in front of us.  It was very shocking to see the poor guest behavior in every park.


----------



## Ricguz

emilymad said:


> Just back from a super quick, last minute trip.  Overall we had a great time.  We did EE every day and did no G+ or ILL.  We got pretty much everything we wanted to do done with minimum waits.  We were just there last year so we didn't feel the need to do every single thing.  I would say the key was the EE because even if we only got one ride done we were well positioned for the next ride.
> 
> We also really liked being able to cancel ADR's 2 hours in advance.  Being tied down to ADRs is not our idea of fun anymore.
> 
> We saw the first showing of F!.  We went in about an hour in advance as there was nothing else we wanted to ride.  We easily could have walked in 10 minutes before hand and got a seat.  We got a seat at the 2nd Candlelight show 5 minutes before hand as we were just walking by.
> 
> Now for the few negatives.  The number of rides down for the entire day or hours at a time is inexcusable.  I had read enough before hand to not be surprised but it is completely ridiculous when you are there.  At MCO yesterday, we actually heard people behind us in the Starbucks line complaining about this exact thing.
> 
> The number of people who are flat out sprinting at rope drop is also ridiculous and dangerous.  At HS especially it was out of control.  People sprinting past many, many CM and not one CM said anything
> We also had numerous rides were 10-15+ people cut in the line saying their group was right up "there" although they never were.  This is something that is completely unacceptable.  It was so bad at Rise.  Maybe 20+ people all skipped the line to the point where they literally kicked the person in a wheelchair in front of us.  It was very shocking to see the poor guest behavior in every park.


Disney needs to do something about this problem they created. Thank you for letting me know. It will be helpful on our upcoming trip


----------



## DisneyAuntie12

Totally agree about HS, what the heck is going on with their rope drop? People were cutting in front of each other constantly because there were no defined lines, just a mob trying to organize itself. 

I also worry about crowds getting unruly in some of the more closed in lines. One group cuts, another gets mad cuts, then what if everyone starts to get upset and push - you obviously don’t want a crowd surge in places where people could get pushed up against a hard wall. 

Overall had a good trip but that aspect made me a bit anxious.


----------



## jimim

brentm77 said:


> Agreed.  It feels terrible when you have "paid the price" to be upfront for something and others just cheat the system.  It's particularly frustrating when a company like Disney creates systems where it's really easy to do, or where they look the other way when they know it's happening.


Right like the morning in HS where a single lady got to the tap along side us when they let us through security. She told the guy she was with to go to another tap. 45 mins later they let and I counted 15 people up front with them. The people behind them were shocked. The cast members saw it causexthey were literally standing in front of those taps. They said nothing. Literally watched the whole thing. Didn’t say a word. The lady they cut said something to the cast members. They said nothing. It was shocking. I have seen it so many times but not ever right at the front of a tap with 2 cast members standing right in front with everyone.  

Crazy. Completely crazy.  People are nuts.


----------



## jimim

DisneyAuntie12 said:


> Totally agree about HS, what the heck is going on with their rope drop? People were cutting in front of each other constantly because there were no defined lines, just a mob trying to organize itself.
> 
> I also worry about crowds getting unruly in some of the more closed in lines. One group cuts, another gets mad cuts, then what if everyone starts to get upset and push - you obviously don’t want a crowd surge in places where people could get pushed up against a hard wall.
> 
> Overall had a good trip but that aspect made me a bit anxious.


My HS  days were nutty. We never went towards rise cause we did it 3 nights instead with no more than 35 min waits  and thst was thanksgiving week. But even going to slinky and friends was crazy. Full on sprints. Cast members don’t do a thing. It’s causexthey don’t want to have a situation that ends up on social media. Simple as that. 

Someone is going to get seriously hurt and that’s what it is going to take for something to get done. Simple as that.


----------



## snikki

We didn’t do RD at DHS at all during our 9 day trip. We used G+ to stack for later arrivals and it worked great. We would stay until close and the wait times do overly inflated. TSM had a 50 minute wait and there was no one in standby when we went through. You went straight on the ride. Same with SDD. No line yet showed an over inflated wait time.

We did RD MK and found it fine since we were going to space. Nothing too crazy. A few people trying to run but it was necessary. We also did Epcot the day TS Nicole was coming in and we went to frozen so didn’t find it insane since most were going to Remy.

Other than that we consider “RD” arriving 5-10 minutes before or after opening. Either for EE or regular opening. We find staying until closing to be better than RD.


----------



## emilymad

jimim said:


> My HS  days were nutty. We never went towards rise cause we did it 3 nights instead with no more than 35 min waits  and thst was thanksgiving week. But even going to slinky and friends was crazy. Full on sprints. Cast members don’t do a thing. It’s causexthey don’t want to have a situation that ends up on social media. Simple as that.
> 
> Someone is going to get seriously hurt and that’s what it is going to take for something to get done. Simple as that.


Completely agree but so easily fixed if they walked people with a rope like they used to. 

We were there super early so the ground was very wet. I kept waiting for someone to fall as we thought it was a little slippery walking. 30+ people flat out sprinting seemed like a recipe for disaster.


----------



## Ricguz

snikki said:


> We didn’t do RD at DHS at all during our 9 day trip. We used G+ to stack for later arrivals and it worked great. We would stay until close and the wait times do overly inflated. TSM had a 50 minute wait and there was no one in standby when we went through. You went straight on the ride. Same with SDD. No line yet showed an over inflated wait time.
> 
> We did RD MK and found it fine since we were going to space. Nothing too crazy. A few people trying to run but it was necessary. We also did Epcot the day TS Nicole was coming in and we went to frozen so didn’t find it insane since most were going to Remy.
> 
> Other than that we consider “RD” arriving 5-10 minutes before or after opening. Either for EE or regular opening. We find staying until closing to be better than RD.


Good to know. Thanks


----------



## jimim

Ricguz said:


> Good to know. Thanks


I have said multiple time now over our trip that nights were very productive. In 2 hours over in HS we did rise, Falcon, and Mickey railroad 2 nights. Times were always way way inflated.  Nights have always been good for us over the past 20 plus years. 

I refuse to pay for genie or Ills so I’ll stick with rope drop like we always have. We don’t like being in the parks peek time of the day. It’s just way too busy and just not as productive. Nights and rope drop is where it’s at. Always has been always will be in my opinion. 

We still did every headliner multiple times with ease. And that 1000 dollars I saved on genie and Ills will buy my kids and myself 4 new reels for during bass season. My wife said “there ya go merry Xmas”.


----------



## Gary Stocker

jimim said:


> I have said multiple time now over our trip that nights were very productive. In 2 hours over in HS we did rise, Falcon, and Mickey railroad 2 nights. Times were always way way inflated.  Nights have always been good for us over the past 20 plus years.
> 
> I refuse to pay for genie or Ills so I’ll stick with rope drop like we always have. We don’t like being in the parks peek time of the day. It’s just way too busy and just not as productive. Nights and rope drop is where it’s at. Always has been always will be in my opinion.
> 
> We still did every headliner multiple times with ease. And that 1000 dollars I saved on genie and Ills will buy my kids and myself 4 new reels for during bass season. My wife said “there ya go merry Xmas”.


That last point about saving genie money and reallocating to gifts was part of a discussion my wife and I had...but replace "reels" with food and beverages around the world showcase..


----------



## maryj11

DisneyNDecember said:


> Thank you for that information. I too already have Genie Plus added every day to our vacation package and I was wondering this same question.


You can add genie plus before your trip?


----------



## Ricguz

maryj11 said:


> You can add genie plus before your trip?


I also have genie plus on my vacation package. I was grandfathered in prior to the change. My plan based upon what everyone has been saying is to stack rides more toward evening. I’m at YC CL so we are going to enjoy the resort  CL, Stormalong bay, skyliner rides then parks later. We are older so rides are not the end all. I love the Christmas decorations plus candlelight, fantasmic, Mickey parade at MK so plenty to do. I don’t need to get run over at rope drop plus we can use the orderly transition at the international gateway for Epcot in the morning plus we have at least three late nights since we are deluxe resorts guest


----------



## scrappinginontario

maryj11 said:


> You can add genie plus before your trip?


This is no longer an option.


----------



## jimim

Gary Stocker said:


> That last point about saving genie money and reallocating to gifts was part of a discussion my wife and I had...but replace "reels" with food and beverages around the world showcase..


lol I hear yah.  that adds up quick.  yah know. I mentioned in one post above that our meals were sooooo good.  our typical signature places in the hotels and morimoto, homecoming, and polite pig.  portions are no different like others have said, but sign meals were always smaller. homecoming is just bizarre with the amount of food. they give you. actually unnecessary.  lol the only decrease in sizes I saw was quick serve maybe?  less fries?  we both said that.  sandwiches seemed the same.  snacks added up quicker in price.  that's all I noticed.

2 nights we went around Epcot for the holiday festival.  drinks were good.  the food overall was a C for us.  We were really disappointed form the last time we were at food and wine or the holiday festival. it was so much better.  none of the cookies did it for us.  my kids said thier moms cookies were way better.  I was kinda sad about this, but it was still 2 very fun nights.  oh. . . the yeast donut and the cronut at the donut hut were really good.


----------



## Leigh L

jimim said:


> I started each day at fantasyland causexthe kids wanted to do mine train 4 times. Cattle stampede each day there.
> 
> International gateway is on point!  Extra Mickey ice cream for that crew over there!


Oh, I agree. 7DMT rope drop was def a one-and-done for us due to that stampede. Crazy! DD (12 at the time) and I did it in 2019. After that experience, she said she never ever wanted to do that again. And she's always usually game for any kind of rope drop.  

We did RD fantasyland earlier this year during Early Entry but scooted up to Peter Pan, Small World instead, and then did the back of the park at 9. That was easy since the crowd headed towards Mine Train.  

There was one time, I was in the Soarin' building for Extra Magic Hours when they had that system in place - and coming out of the ride and noticed up ahead a woman had fallen at the bottom of the steps. Literally, everyone was walking over her to get to Soarin' at regular rope drop time (and she was alone with two small children). We were stunned no one stopped and went right over to try to help her. 

As everyone mentions above, this is a huge safety hazard and something Disney should consider looking at in its parks during EE and regular gate entry. Sounds like a lot of things haven't changed over the years and maybe even gotten worse.  DHS earlier this year was definitely no picnic. I think we ended up skipping it for our other reserved DHS day.


----------



## pixiedust2u

Hey All writing from the Poly  arrival day was yesterday. We checked in around 11, our room was ready but we politely asked if they could move our room as we wanted to be away from construction. CM was lovely and was able to move our room to a more desirable location.

We had a quick lunch at Captain Cooks and set off for Epcot. We had a very productive day at Epcot despite it being a short day (1pm-7:30)

We logged on to the app from our plane at 7am, secured a boarding group (53) for GOTH. I had to wait until about 8:30am for a 3-4pm return to frozen. We booked the rest of our attractions using the* “drops” which seemed to consistently occur at the :47 past the hour. *Drops have more of an immediate return time which is great because then you can book another LL.

In our short day we rode Test Track, Remy, Frozen, GOTG and Living of the Land. Had some cookies from the cookie stroll, met some characters, watched some performances (Mariachi Cobre  (sp?)was the best!) Had a sit down dinner at Via Napoli and watched the show on spaceship earth. 

Heading to MK today. We are not rope dropping and plan to arrive to park around 8:30/9.


----------



## DaviVascaino

pixiedust2u said:


> Hey All writing from the Poly  arrival day was yesterday. We checked in around 11, our room was ready but we politely asked if they could move our room as we wanted to be away from construction. CM was lovely and was able to move our room to a more desirable location.
> 
> We had a quick lunch at Captain Cooks and set off for Epcot. We had a very productive day at Epcot despite it being a short day (1pm-7:30)
> 
> We logged on to the app from our plane at 7am, secured a boarding group (53) for GOTH. I had to wait until about 8:30am for a 3-4pm return to frozen. We booked the rest of our attractions using the* “drops” which seemed to consistently occur at the :47 past the hour. *Drops have more of an immediate return time which is great because then you can book another LL.
> 
> In our short day we rode Test Track, Remy, Frozen, GOTG and Living of the Land. Had some cookies from the cookie stroll, met some characters, watched some performances (Mariachi Cobre  (sp?)was the best!) Had a sit down dinner at Via Napoli and watched the show on spaceship earth.
> 
> Heading to MK today. We are not rope dropping and plan to arrive to park around 8:30/9.


did you buy genie plus for the epcot day?


----------



## Carolyn Louise

This week’s trip has been fantastic. It seems like a fabulous time to go. We arrived on Tuesday and are leaving tomorrow. Wednesday, Thursday and today have been spent in the parks. 

Wednesday - We did Epcot all day and fit in everything we wanted to do without purchasing Genie+. Since we were staying at Pop Century, we took the Skyliner over very early for rope drop, planning to go to Remy from the International Gateway. We were actually on the Skyliner when the VQ for GOTG opened and got boarding group 66 with an estimated return time of 3:30. 

We got held up at the gate by ticket problems but the rope drop process at Epcot was so smoothly done that we still walked onto Remy a little while later. After that we rode Frozen, Test Track and Soaring. Our GOTG group was called at 12:30. The rest of the day was wandering the park going on the low wait rides and having snacks in the world showcase. We weren’t very organized so walked about 10 miles that day. 

Thursday - MK had a party and that seemed to keep down crowds in the morning. We bought Genie+ for the day but I’m not sure it was actually needed. We arrived a little past rope drop and did everything we wanted by 1pm. We rode Peter Pan’s Flight, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Jingle Cruise, Pirates, BTMR x2, Space Mountain and People Mover, using G+ for some but standby for others. Most were walk ons. Weirdly, People Mover was one of our longer waits.

Today we’re at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, then Epcot for a Rose and Crown dinner. We were way too exhausted to rope drop again so I bought ILLs for FOP at AK and Rise later at HS. Waiting in line for the Safari as of this posting.


----------



## jvalic33

pixiedust2u said:


> Hey All writing from the Poly  arrival day was yesterday. We checked in around 11, our room was ready but we politely asked if they could move our room as we wanted to be away from construction. CM was lovely and was able to move our room to a more desirable location.
> 
> We had a quick lunch at Captain Cooks and set off for Epcot. We had a very productive day at Epcot despite it being a short day (1pm-7:30)
> 
> We logged on to the app from our plane at 7am, secured a boarding group (53) for GOTH. I had to wait until about 8:30am for a 3-4pm return to frozen. We booked the rest of our attractions using the* “drops” which seemed to consistently occur at the :47 past the hour. *Drops have more of an immediate return time which is great because then you can book another LL.
> 
> In our short day we rode Test Track, Remy, Frozen, GOTG and Living of the Land. Had some cookies from the cookie stroll, met some characters, watched some performances (Mariachi Cobre  (sp?)was the best!) Had a sit down dinner at Via Napoli and watched the show on spaceship earth.
> 
> Heading to MK today. We are not rope dropping and plan to arrive to park around 8:30/9.


You were able to get TT and Remy in the drops?  I have a similar timeframe at Epcot on my arrival day so just curious if you used G+ or they had low enough wait times once you were in the park?


----------



## M SH

does anyone know what time the busses from All star movies to MK and HS start running?
im planning to RD both parks and wondering whether i should take the bus or drive myself (have a car).


----------



## scrappinginontario

M SH said:


> does anyone know what time the busses from All star movies to MK and HS start running?
> im planning to RD both parks and wondering whether i should take the bus or drive myself (have a car).



Please see Post 1 of the, '*Everything Early Theme Park Entry (ETPE)*' thread.  It has all these details and much more information too.

Quick answers:  Many find buses to be more efficient and gain access first.  To be towards the front of the crowd, arrive at your resort transportation 90 mins prior to ETPE begins.


----------



## DisneyNDecember

maryj11 said:


> You can add genie plus before your trip?


Mine was already added to my hotel and ticket package before they made it where you have to purchase it daily. So my 8 day theme park ticket says with Genie Plus on each of my family members tickets.  They no longer offer it now. I am glad I had purchased it before it was changed to having to purchase it daily. We arrive tomorrow.


----------



## arich35

why is Epcot so busy today?


----------



## Gentry2004

arich35 said:


> why is Epcot so busy today?


Whoopi Goldberg narrating CP?


----------



## lovethattink

arich35 said:


> why is Epcot so busy today?


Glad I went Tuesday, it was pretty empty. And yesterday was a bonus day for passholders.

Most likely it’s busy because it’s a weekend and Whoopi Goldberg is the narrator.


----------



## maryj11

DisneyNDecember said:


> Mine was already added to my hotel and ticket package before they made it where you have to purchase it daily. So my 8 day theme park ticket says with Genie Plus on each of my family members tickets.  They no longer offer it now. I am glad I had purchased it before it was changed to having to purchase it daily. We arrive tomorrow.


Oh okay yeah I remember them letting people add it ahead of time. You may have saved more money too because prices have gone up!


----------



## Letting It Go!

Carolyn Louise said:


> This week’s trip has been fantastic. It seems like a fabulous time to go. We arrived on Tuesday and are leaving tomorrow. Wednesday, Thursday and today have been spent in the parks.
> 
> Wednesday - We did Epcot all day and fit in everything we wanted to do without purchasing Genie+. Since we were staying at Pop Century, we took the Skyliner over very early for rope drop, planning to go to Remy from the International Gateway. We were actually on the Skyliner when the VQ for GOTG opened and got boarding group 66 with an estimated return time of 3:30.
> 
> We got held up at the gate by ticket problems but the rope drop process at Epcot was so smoothly done that we still walked onto Remy a little while later. After that we rode Frozen, Test Track and Soaring. Our GOTG group was called at 12:30. The rest of the day was wandering the park going on the low wait rides and having snacks in the world showcase. We weren’t very organized so walked about 10 miles that day.
> 
> Thursday - MK had a party and that seemed to keep down crowds in the morning. We bought Genie+ for the day but I’m not sure it was actually needed. We arrived a little past rope drop and did everything we wanted by 1pm. We rode Peter Pan’s Flight, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Jingle Cruise, Pirates, BTMR x2, Space Mountain and People Mover, using G+ for some but standby for others. Most were walk ons. Weirdly, People Mover was one of our longer waits.
> 
> Today we’re at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, then Epcot for a Rose and Crown dinner. We were way too exhausted to rope drop again so I bought ILLs for FOP at AK and Rise later at HS. Waiting in line for the Safari as of this posting.


How long was your wait for Frozen after Remy?  I'm debating if we should go to Remy 1st or make our way over to Frozen 1st at RD. We have 2 little girls that really want to ride Frozen but I'm thinking it makes more sense to do Remy first.  What was your experience like?


----------



## SLThomas318

Letting It Go! said:


> How long was your wait for Frozen after Remy?  I'm debating if we should go to Remy 1st or make our way over to Frozen 1st at RD. We have 2 little girls that really want to ride Frozen but I'm thinking it makes more sense to do Remy first.  What was your experience like?


If you are at the front of rope drop for early entry and at International gateway, you should be able to get both done during the 30 minutes.  Rope drop at International gateway is super organized and they walk you to Remy and then you can move on to Frozen.  Only hiccup is if one of the rides goes down.  If you are entering via the main entrance then go to Frozen first.


----------



## chris1212

MK was great today!  Crowds weren’t too bad and we managed to get in a ton of rides.  Did all three mountains twice and Peter Pan.  

I think Jungle Cruise was one of the only rides we missed today.  Great day for sure!


----------



## Letting It Go!

SLThomas318 said:


> If you are at the front of rope drop for early entry and at International gateway, you should be able to get both done during the 30 minutes.  Rope drop at International gateway is super organized and they walk you to Remy and then you can move on to Frozen.  Only hiccup is if one of the rides goes down.  If you are entering via the main entrance then go to Frozen first.


Thank you!  We are at AOA so will be coming into the International Gateway entrance. We will follow your advice!


----------



## pixiedust2u

jvalic33 said:


> You were able to get TT and Remy in the drops?  I have a similar timeframe at Epcot on my arrival day so just curious if you used G+ or they had low enough wait times once you were in the park?


Yes! Booked Frozen at 8:30 for 3-4pm return time.
Test Track booked at 12:47 drop
Remy 1:47 drop


----------



## pixiedust2u

chris1212 said:


> MK was great today!  Crowds weren’t too bad and we managed to get in a ton of rides.  Did all three mountains twice and Peter Pan.
> 
> I think Jungle Cruise was one of the only rides we missed today.  Great day for sure!


We were at MK today and also had a wonderful and very productive day.


----------



## pixiedust2u

DaviVascaino said:


> did you buy genie plus for the epcot day?


We had genie+.

Epcot was very crowded, and waits were consistently 60+ minutes for e-ticket rides.


----------



## pixiedust2u

Good Morning again from the  Poly!

Yesterday was our MK day. We decided it wasn’t necessary to rope drop and instead arrived around 8:30. My strategy for the day was to ride consecutive genie+ vs stacking as it was a short park day (closing at 6 due to party). I wanted to do a morning of low waits without genie+ then use genie+ in afternoon to re-ride some of our favorites without a wait. We rode Buzz, Pirates, BTMRR, and Splash as basically walk ons. Used genie+ starting with HM and then rode consecutive genie + (booking one after another for soonish return times) for the rest of the day including, Peter Pan, Small World,  Dumbo, Carousel of Progress (non genie), People Mover (non genie), Buzz again, BTMRR again, Splash again, & magic carpets. We did purchase ILL for SDMT. We also had a sit down meal at Skipper Canteen.

We had a full day, but did not visit any characters, or stop for any parades or shows. I also did not shop at all. 

Leaving the park a little after 6 was a mess. Worse than I feel like it is after the normal rush leaving fireworks. Not sure what is up with the monorail but I do not think it’s running at the frequency it should be. We actually left the resort monorail line and took the boat back instead. 

Heading back to Epcot today. Just grabbed my genie+ for test track. I’m a little weary of the crowd there, as I found Epcot more uncomfortably crowded on Thursday. If it feels too much we make take a mid day break back at hotel.


----------



## Wood Nymph

We got to DHS for early morning entry yesterday and headed over to Rise. The ride was down and they weren't letting anyone into the standby line. We got into a casual, non-official line that was forming and decided to wait until at least regular park opening to see the ride would open soon. Lots of people got out of line, especially after a CM said that it can take three hours for the ride to reboot. A few minutes after she said that, they opened the standby line. We had been in a short line that was now heading for the standby entrance. It was a total walk on for us. Early hours started at 8am. They opened the Rise line around 8:10 and we were off the ride around 8:36.


----------



## arich35

pixiedust2u said:


> Yes! Booked Frozen at 8:30 for 3-4pm return time.
> Test Track booked at 12:47 drop
> Remy 1:47 drop


Is there a Frozen drop time?
Also when Remy drops at 1:47 what are typically the times?


----------



## Carolyn Louise

Letting It Go! said:


> How long was your wait for Frozen after Remy?  I'm debating if we should go to Remy 1st or make our way over to Frozen 1st at RD. We have 2 little girls that really want to ride Frozen but I'm thinking it makes more sense to do Remy first.  What was your experience like?


It said 40 minutes when we arrived but ended up being more like 15-20. I would definitely do Remy first. If you’re at the front of the line you can get on and off very quickly. Even with our delay we breezed through it.


----------



## leeniewdw

Anyone have recent experience when EP doesn't open until 10am?   We'll be there on Marathon Sunday and they just moved EP opening from 11 to 10am.   Trying to decide if we should just RD Remy at the IG, or go ahead and burn a LL.  Was thinking the RD crowd would be much larger for a 10am opening vs 9am.


----------



## Jennasis

Epcot wicked packed today (a festival weekend with Whoopi narrating CP). We still had a good day. 

Yesterday at MK it was busy and we arrived around 10am. Checked LL return times and decided to buy it and got 7 rides in before leaving at 5pm. We also did a bunch stuff without LL. Productive say.


----------



## chris1212

We were at Epcot today too, had an amazing day and rode pretty much everything!  Got virtual bg 47 for guardians and g+ for remy at 10.10am, was shocked we got so early!

Rope dropped Frozen (without early entry) and waited only 20 minutes, then rode Remy and Guardians… all 3 done before lunch!  Since Remy was early, next G+ was Test Track late afternoon.  Also bought ILL for Guardians at park opening for just before 3pm.

Rest of the day was booking G+ with an immediate return time for the rest of the rides.  Was surprised we did so good on a Saturday!


----------



## alisaocean1213

We just got back last week from our first week-long trip in 8 years with a four year old!
We had a great time! Used genie plus every day and got to ride everything with no problem. Even during a Thanksgiving week we did not have to get up at 7 am to book our first LL. All I did is refresh for 2-15 min (15 min took for Remy and Slinky) to get the time we wanted during the day and was always able to book it despite big crowds. I tried 7 am once but I’m not morning person and I just can’t imagine doing it for 7 days straight! 
Highlights: our toddler cleared (barely) all 40” rides and loved all of them! Loved AK (went three times and hoped to Epcot later). Loved Holiday food festival at Epcot. Flight of Passage is my new favorite ride now! MK was good but enough for one day for us. We also did the party on another day and it was not worth it to us at all.
Cons: a big disappointment with HS. It’s just not worth the stress. We were able to get all LL but most everything was broken at the time we were in line ( MMRR, Rise, Tower, RR) We gave it another day and same thing! Basically lost paid LL for Rise. And the pass they gave for other rides couldn’t be used at Slinky, tower, or Rise so what a waste! We are from CA and given this park has same rides we just skipped it for rest of the trip.
And on our departure day we were having cold symptoms and upon return all tested positive for Covid again! My toddler  got the worst of it but is recovering. 
Overall great trip! We will back maybe in 3-5 years!


----------



## pixiedust2u

Saturday was our Epcot day 2. Since we had such a productive day at Epcot Thursday we decided to skip early entry and get a little extra sleep. Grabbed a LL for Test Track around 7:45am for a 10:30-11:30 return. Arrived at park around 8:45 just before general guests rush. Went to frozen, posted time was 30 minutes and we were on the ride in less than 20. Then took a leisurely stroll through World Showcase. Took photos, went into shops that were open, stumbled upon Snow White,  grabbed coffees… it was lovely….. until about 10:30ish. Then the crowds. We went to our Test Track LL, Soarin LL, met Venolope. Then decided around noon that we just didn’t feel like dealing with crowds and opted for a resort break. We hopped on monorail and spent a couple ours back at Poly having lunch and by the pool.

At 1:47 grabbed a LL for Remy. Genie pulled a trick and switched time from 3:30 to 2! Since weren’t in the park this wasn’t going to work…. I kept the LL and planned to ask guest services to help me out once getting to the park. We got back to Epcot about 3pm, I went to guest services and explained situation. CM was so pleasant and helpful and changed to anytime LL for Remy.

We had 4pm dinner reservation in Japan, did Remy after dinner ( was a posted 110 minute wait!!!) was so grateful to have a LL.

World Showcase was too crowded to enjoy. Lines at festivals booths were crazy long. Could barely move and too crowded to take in atmosphere of countries. We headed back to front of park to shop, hit a few attractions with no wait.

Harmonious- got our spot at about 8:50, had no interest in returning to WS so watched just to left of Christmas tree and it was a great spot. Show was meh for me. All technology and fireworks. ZERO emotion.

Overall we enjoyed Epcot. New attractions are great. Guardians was an absolute blast!!!! Felt slightly dizzy briefly after. We took bonine a couple hours before. I won’t return to this park until construction is done, and would probably avoid at Christmas. LL worked well with use of drops. But we couldn’t take in the full atmosphere of WS which I was bummed about, but there’s always next time!


----------



## scrappinginontario

pixiedust2u said:


> Saturday was our Epcot day 2. Since we had such a productive day at Epcot Thursday we decided to skip early entry and get a little extra sleep. Grabbed a LL for Remy around 7:45am for a 10:30-11:30 return. Arrived at park around 8:45 just before general guests rush. Went to frozen, posted time was 30 minutes and we were on the ride in less than 20. Then took a leisurely stroll through World Showcase. Took photos, went into shops that were open, stumbled upon Snow White,  grabbed coffees… it was lovely….. until about 10:30ish. Then the crowds. We went to our Test Track LL, Soarin LL, met Venolope. Then decided around noon that we just didn’t feel like dealing with crowds and opted for a resort break. We hopped on monorail and spent a couple ours back at Poly having lunch and by the pool.
> 
> At 1:47 grabbed a LL for Remy. Genie pulled a trick and switched time from 3:30 to 2! Since weren’t in the park this wasn’t going to work…. I kept the LL and planned to ask guest services to help me out once getting to the park. We got back to Epcot about 3pm, I went to guest services and explained situation. CM was so pleasant and helpful and changed to anytime LL for Remy.
> 
> We had 4pm dinner reservation in Japan, did Remy after dinner ( was a posted 110 minute wait!!!) was so grateful to have a LL.
> 
> World Showcase was too crowded to enjoy. Lines at festivals booths were crazy long. Could barely move and too crowded to take in atmosphere of countries. We headed back to front of park to shop, hit a few attractions with no wait.
> 
> Harmonious- got our spot at about 8:50, had no interest in returning to WS so watched just to left of Christmas tree and it was a great spot. Show was meh for me. All technology and fireworks. ZERO emotion.
> 
> Overall we enjoyed Epcot. New attractions are great. Guardians was an absolute blast!!!! Felt slightly dizzy briefly after. We took bonine a couple hours before. I won’t return to this park until construction is done, and would probably avoid at Christmas. LL worked well with use of drops. But we couldn’t take in the full atmosphere of WS which I was bummed about, but there’s always next time!


Sounds like a great day!

Just a note of clarification.  At 7:45 you grabbed a regular, Genie+ LL for Remy then at 1:47 you purchased an ILL$ for Remy, correct?

Want to clarify as a guest is only eligible for 1 LL per attraction, per day.

Also, just a help for you if you purchase other ILL$ during your trip.  The return time for purchased ILL$ (or GotG VQ) is not enforced.  You can return anytime that day after your ILL$ or VQ is called.

The only return times being enforced for late returns is Genie+ LL's.  Those you must use within the 1 hour return time.  They grant access 5 mins early and 15 mins late but that is all.

Hope this helps you and others.


----------



## pixiedust2u

scrappinginontario said:


> Sounds like a great day!
> 
> Just a note of clarification.  At 7:45 you grabbed a regular, Genie+ LL for Remy then at 1:47 you purchased an ILL$ for Remy, correct?
> 
> Want to clarify as a guest is only eligible for 1 LL per attraction, per day.
> 
> Also, just a help for you if you purchase other ILL$ during your trip.  The return time for purchased ILL$ (or GotG VQ) is not enforced.  You can return anytime that day after your ILL$ or VQ is called
> 
> The only return times being enforced for late returns is Genie+ LL's.  Those you must use within the 1 hour return time.  They grant access 5 mins early and 15 mins late but that is all.
> 
> Hope this helps you and others.


oh gosh! Sorry I meant to write LL for Test Track at 7:45!!! I was so confused by your response and then realized my error. My apologies. I fixed it so I wouldn’t confuse others. It was a late night at MVMCP last night


----------



## pixiedust2u

pixiedust2u said:


> The only attraction right now at Epcot that offers ILLs is GOTG.
> Remy is part of genie + and this you can get a regular LL. There are no restrictions on how many LL you can book in a day.
> 
> I booked Remy as a genie + at 1:47 pm as the :47 past the hour drop that I referenced in a previous post. The return time on the screen showed 3:30-4:30, when I clicked back into my My Day it switched my time to 2:05-3:05 which was impossible given we were at the resort and not Epcot. I went to guest services upon rentering park and explained what happened and they kindly changed my Remy to an anytime LL.


----------



## chris1212

Today at Animal Kingdom was so busy!  Packed everywhere we went, but with G+ and ILL were able to ride pretty much everything.  Only downer was our Flights of Passage ILL wait time was an hour!  Apparently half the ride was down so wait times were ridiculous.  All the other ILL’s this week have been super quick, paying to still wait an hour in line today was not ideal.


----------



## gottalovepluto

chris1212 said:


> Today at Animal Kingdom was so busy!  Packed everywhere we went, but with G+ and ILL were able to ride pretty much everything.  Only downer was our Flights of Passage ILL wait time was an hour!  Apparently half the ride was down so wait times were ridiculous.  All the other ILL’s this week have been super quick, paying to still wait an hour in line today was not ideal.


I’ve done FoP via ILL a couple times this year with the one theater announcement running and never waited more than 25 mins. If that happened to me I’d be at the next blue umbrella or hitting up guest services requesting a refund. An hour for an ILL isn’t right.


----------



## Justrose

We are going to Epcot on 12/18, which I expect to be very busy.  We have breakfast reservations at 'Ohana at 7:30, so we will miss the EE.  We will be taking the monorail from Poly.  Have CP dining package for the 8:30 show.

GotG and Remy are must dos as is TT for my daughter, and we want to do all the rides in the front of the park.  Frozen is not a priority.   Can someone help me figure out the best way to structure our day?  We have Genie+ and I don't mind paying for GotG.  Can I buy a ILL for GotG and still try to get the virtual queue?


----------



## Mango7100

Justrose said:


> We are going to Epcot on 12/18, which I expect to be very busy.  We have breakfast reservations at 'Ohana at 7:30, so we will miss the EE.  We will be taking the monorail from Poly.  Have CP dining package for the 8:30 show.
> 
> GotG and Remy are must dos as is TT for my daughter, and we want to do all the rides in the front of the park.  Frozen is not a priority.   Can someone help me figure out the best way to structure our day?  We have Genie+ and I don't mind paying for GotG.  Can I buy a ILL for GotG and still try to get the virtual queue?


Yes you can get an ILL and a VQ for Guardians…we did this in October to ride twice in one day. Try for the VQ first because those go faster, and then get your ILL. Remy seems to go faster than TT as far as Genie, so I would try to get that one as your first regular LL.


----------



## subtchr

Justrose said:


> We are going to Epcot on 12/18, which I expect to be very busy.  We have breakfast reservations at 'Ohana at 7:30, so we will miss the EE.  We will be taking the monorail from Poly.  Have CP dining package for the 8:30 show.
> 
> GotG and Remy are must dos as is TT for my daughter, and we want to do all the rides in the front of the park.  Frozen is not a priority.   Can someone help me figure out the best way to structure our day?  We have Genie+ and I don't mind paying for GotG.  Can I buy a ILL for GotG and still try to get the virtual queue?


Yes, you can do both VQ and ILL for Guardians. I do both every time, so that I can ride it twice!
Are you staying on property? If so, I'd follow this order for booking:

Before 7:00 - Buy Genie+ for the day
7:00:00 - Guardians VQ
7:00:10  (or whenever you finish getting VQ -- or have someone else do this) - Book Remy LL
7:01 (or whenever; no huge rush on this) - Buy Guardians ILL for whatever time works for you. Unless you are not staying at a Disney resort, in which case you can buy it at 9:00 (or park opening time, if it shifts earlier). 

Try to book TT after you scan in for Remy, or 2 hours after opening time, if you get a later Remy time. Or use single rider, if that works for your family.


----------



## Justrose

Thank you both!  Super helpful.


----------



## chris1212

Today we were at Hollywood Studios, it seemed crazy busy.  So much so that we left at lunch and went back to the hotel for 4 hours and stacked lightning lanes while there.

Doing this we were able to ride every ride, with a lot of refreshing the app and a little luck of rides showing up.

We “rope dropped” (without early access) Tower of Terror, then had a LL at 9.20 for Slinky Dog.  We had some time to kill before our next LL so rode Aliens stand by, about a half hour wait.  Then a LL at 11 for Rock n Roller coaster.  At this point we jumped ship since it was so crazy packed and long lines.

ILL this morning for Rise sold out right at park opening, we got 8.30pm, but didn’t take it since we didn’t want to be there that late.  We managed to pick one up for 5pm with a lot of refreshing throughout the day.

We went back to the park about 4.30 and rode all our stacked LL’s…. Star Tours, Smugglers Run, Rise of the Resistance, Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railway, and Toy Story.  And were done by about 7pm!


----------



## vleeth

chris1212 said:


> Today we were at Hollywood Studios, it seemed crazy busy.  So much so that we left at lunch and went back to the hotel for 4 hours and stacked lightning lanes while there.
> 
> Doing this we were able to ride every ride, with a lot of refreshing the app and a little luck of rides showing up.
> 
> We “rope dropped” (without early access) Tower of Terror, then had a LL at 9.20 for Slinky Dog.  We had some time to kill before our next LL so rode Aliens stand by, about a half hour wait.  Then a LL at 11 for Rock n Roller coaster.  At this point we jumped ship since it was so crazy packed and long lines.
> 
> ILL this morning for Rise sold out right at park opening, we got 8.30pm, but didn’t take it since we didn’t want to be there that late.  We managed to pick one up for 5pm with a lot of refreshing throughout the day.
> 
> We went back to the park about 4.30 and rode all our stacked LL’s…. Star Tours, Smugglers Run, Rise of the Resistance, Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railway, and Toy Story.  And were done by about 7pm!


How long did you wait for Tower at regular rope drop?


----------



## M SH

2 day solo visit this week, to be followed next week by an 8 day with the family. My flight landed wed mid afternoon and my all star movies room was already ready. I had rented a car and drove there, dropped off my luggage and went to Disney springs. It was crazy busy. Three hour virtual queue for Gideons!!! What is going on with those cookies?? Signed up for that and went to grab a bite at deluxe B. Walked around after a little and then decided to head back and cancel my virtual queue spot at gideons after 2 hours.

Day 2, MK. Thursday dec 8 EE was 7:30 am, closing at 6pm. No genie+. Arrived at bus stop for all star music (was closer to my room than the all star movies one) at 6 am, 90 mins before EE as recommended here. First bus arrived 6:10 am, and there was me and 2 others on there. Not going into details about RD here, but did SDD as a walk on. I do have to say that the mad dash at the tea cups rope drop is crazy. I was towards the front and still was dangerous. People in the middle probably have it worse. Some families are not joking around and will mow you down if you get in their way. After SDD did Peter Pan, Winnie, 5min wait, then Space Mountain with a short wait. Day guests were already in, but wait times all over were low till about midday when it started to pick up more. Had breakfast at sleepy hollow. Did all the other mountains, pirates, HM, then went to room for a break. Came back and did jingle cruise, people mover, buzz, speedway, under the sea, and iasw. At this time it was after 4 and party guests were in. The hub was crazy busy unlike earlier in the day where it was mostly empty. Left around 5:30 and went to AKL joined the walk up list for Boma and was notified right away to come and be seated. Boma used to be my favorite buffet at DW. Unfortunately I left disappointed. The quality of the food is noticeably worse than before. I did not enjoy anything there but the dessert. Th hazelnut brownies are my favorites, but I’m not coming back just for those.

Day 3 HS Friday dec 9. EE 8am. Was at bus stop at 6:30. Waited for 15 mins and no bus. Called an audible and drove myself. Several cars were parked before the parking toll plaza since I the road there was blocked at 6:55. Opened after 5 mins at 7 am on the dot. Was in quickly. Best parking spot I had ever at any theme park. There were already a lot of guests lined up but not too deep. As I was lining up at the tapstiles, was lucky that more were opening and got in at the left side with a couple of people ahead. In at 7:30 and headed over to rise. In all the way to the queue but it never started on time. Waiting till 8:15 till it started and was in the first group, and was off at 8:35. Ran over to SDD and got in line with about 40 min wait, was around 30. Did MMRR, ToT, Rock, TSMM, MFSR. Saw Indiana jones in between with a midday resort break. Waits were in double and triple digits most of the day. Had lunch at woodys and dinner at DB7. Walked around the park at night just doing nothing and people watching.


I have to say that after all the time that rise has opened, the frequency of issues with that ride still is unacceptable and embarrassing to Disney. It went down later in the day around 7pm, and the amount of people waiting at the end of the day hoping it opens before park closing to get in is just heart breaking.

Overall i enjoyed my first solo trip. Never get to rope drop usually because my family are not interested in being up that early and we usually stay offsite. So with new EE at all parks all days, rd for offsite guests is not a big deal, but getting early is still much better then getting there midday where crowds start picking up.


----------



## mwmom

Just arrived home last night after a 7 day stay in Orlando. We went to Sea World Saturday because my Godson is managing the ice show. Had a great time there! Ending the night with the Orca show and ice skating show was energizing way to end the night. Stayed at the Renaissance Sea World that night.

Sunday we checked into WL, our favorite hotel! We had a 12:30 reservation for Whispering Canyon, and by the time we finished eating our room was ready. I followed advice I got on here to put in an earlier check-in time and it worked for us. We were settled in the room and heading to MK by 2:45. Because I didn’t know when we would get into our room, I did not purchase G+ this day and had no regrets as we were able to ride POTC, BTMR, HM and Small World all before 6:00. This was a party day and we did go to the party that night. Again, rode all the rides on our list with no problem. The only hiccups were Space went down for about 20 minutes and we were literally the next to get on, so we had to waste time there.  Then we walked through the long Splash que only to find out it was down and we had to walk on through and leave. Got 3 of the cookies since they were individually packaged for you with the thought we would eat them throughout the week. I recommend taking some type of hard container in your backpack like a Ziplock container so they don’t get broken. Some were quite broken after carting them around in the backpack, so we had to throw them out. We skipped the parade and fireworks since we were coming back on Tuesday night, so we got a lot in this night. I found crowds to be very manageable. I should add that TP predicted a 4 crowd for the daytime and it was actually a 2, so that made a huge difference in us getting on lots of rides with little wait between 3-6.

Monday we slept in and then went to AK about noon.  At 7:00 I bought $ILL for FOP and G+ for Navi. 2 hours after park opening I got G+ for Everest. Once we tapped into Everest, I got a G+ for It’s Tough to be a Bug. Everything went very smoothly. After. that we went back and rested for a little while and then on to Epcot. I got G+ for Soarin, after tapping in got Land of the living, and then tapped in there to get Nemo, and next was G+ for Spaceship Earth. This to me is the best way to use G+. Get the big rides first and then tap, tap, tap and keep getting low hanging fruit that way. 

Tuesday we slept in again and enjoyed the hotel. Ate at Geyser point for the first time and I highly recommend it! The spicy edamame and bison burger were both wonderful. DD got a sandwich and mousse for dessert and she loved it. Then we were off to MK. This day we did buy G+ so we had stacked some more popular rides for the afternoon. We shopped on the way out so we could take merch back to the hotel. Then we took the boat back to WL and rested for a few hours. After we were rested, headed back to MK for the party about 6:30. We were tired by now so we felt this was the best plan to prevent meltdowns from both of us! Party was great. On this night, we did watch the parade and fireworks. This was the first time my eyes welled up with tears during the fireworks since Wishes was taken away. It was a wonderful night! 

Wednesday we followed the plans of previous days and slept in. We changed hotels, so we had about a 4 hour gap, so we decided to drive to the beach. This was something we’ve always wanted to do. We chose Cocoa Beach since it was closest. It was an easy hour drive over and we thoroughly enjoyed it! Tip: There was a short side street at 1st Street where we were able to park and use a mobile app to pay for parking. There was a straight pathway to the beach from there. We walked left and a ways down found this one spot where there were 100s of shells. My DD found the most beautiful conch shells. You can’t remove anything from the beach that is a live specimen, but these were dead so she brought them home. That night, we returned to Epcot after checking in the Swan. This was our first time staying at an Epcot resort and we loved it. The proximity to Epcot and DHS made it so easy to get there. My feet were hurting so badly, so the use of the Friendship boats were life savers. I did buy G+ this day and an $ILL for Guardians to limit standing in line. We also made our way around the world shopping. We ate at the quick service in France. 

Thursday was DHS day. Followed our same plan and went later in the day. Used G+ for ToT, RRC, TSM, and bought $ILL for Rise. Because we didn’t ride any other rides, one might ask if G+ was worth it.  Since the standby lines were SO long (60+ min), to me it was absolutely worth it. I had foot surgery a while back and have tendinitis in my ankle, so it is definitely worth it to me to not stand in long lines given the incredible amount of walking you do over the course of a week. Expensive, yes, but fortunately there are only 2 of us and I had budgeted for it. We were lucky that we never paid over $18 per day, and most days it was only $15. I don’t know that I would have been able to swing more. 

Friday, we checked out of the Swan and went to Epcot again. Used the exact same strategy above and rode all we wanted to. After that we ate at Connections before leaving. Food was okay, just your normal burger and chicken strips. Then it was time to head to the airport. We had TSA pre-check which was very helpful as the lines were long to get through security. 

This was a long post, but I wanted to share how we managed our 7 day vacation. All the reports before ours were so helpful in planning our time. I will make another post about some of my thoughts and opinions regarding this trip. I will end with how much we enjoyed it. My DD, who is 17, kept saying how much fun she was having being back at Disney!


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## teawar

leeniewdw said:


> Anyone have recent experience when EP doesn't open until 10am?   We'll be there on Marathon Sunday and they just moved EP opening from 11 to 10am.   Trying to decide if we should just RD Remy at the IG, or go ahead and burn a LL.  Was thinking the RD crowd would be much larger for a 10am opening vs 9am.


The marathon ends just outside of Epcot on Sunday and the runners go through the world showcase. It may impact your touring plans.


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## mom2rtk

leeniewdw said:


> Anyone have recent experience when EP doesn't open until 10am?   We'll be there on Marathon Sunday and they just moved EP opening from 11 to 10am.   Trying to decide if we should just RD Remy at the IG, or go ahead and burn a LL.  Was thinking the RD crowd would be much larger for a 10am opening vs 9am.


We were there on Marathon Sunday this year. Roads and paths in and around World Showcase and Future World were impacted. Paths were split to make room for the runners. Foot traffic was held up to be allowed across in between groups of runners. Characters weren't out in the World Showcase until later in the afternoon. 

That said, we still had a lovely day and it wasn't a huge deal. But we purposely chose to go on Marathon Sunday because we knew we could arrive by Skyliner. I can't address any transportation issues you might have since I don' t know where you're staying.


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## chris1212

vleeth said:


> How long did you wait for Tower at regular rope drop?


I want to say it was around 25 minutes?  Posted time was 70 minutes though.


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## mwmom

After spending a week at Disney Dec. 4-9, here are my thoughts:
*Rides: Rise was the most immersive ride we have ever been on and we aren’t even huge Star Wars fans. Best Christmas overlay goes to Land of the Living. You have to ride it at night during the holiday season to get the full Christmas effect. 
Hotels: WL is still my favorite hotel for theming, especially at Christmas. Our first stay at Swan was wonderful. I am a platinum member for the first time and got an upgrade to a beautiful balcony view. I loved having the Friendship boats transport us since I have foot issues. 
Genie +: I have a love/hate relationship. I did love that it saved us standing in long lines and allowed us to ride more rides in a shorter period of time. I absolutely hated getting up at 7 am since our touring strategy was to spend later nights and sleep in. I was also surprised that we still had to wait in some lines for more than 20 minutes. Most rides were 10 or less, but some were quite long considering we bought G+. I wish they would just roll all rides into G+. I did not like paying for $ILL separately, but I wasn’t going to wait for 60+ minutes, so we made it work. G+ definitely adds to the cost of an already expensive vacation. Also, I hated having to fiddle faddle all day to get the times we wanted. After typing this, I see I had a lot of negative feelings, but again, it was worth it to me to save time standing. 
People: I was very pleasantly surprised at the behavior of people at Disney. I had read a lot of negative comments, but that was not our experience. People were very well behaved and thoughtful. There was one family in front of us at PP who had other members further back in line and they talked about having them come up to where they were, but decided otherwise and everyone just stayed put in their spots. That was very much appreciated. We never saw anyone who was less than pleasant. Cast members were fine. I guess the one thing I noticed was that most were there to do their job, but they didn’t exude excitement like in the past. They were never rude, but just not enthusiastic. I do think that is what set Disney apart in the past. I hope for their sake that the magic can return for them. I was thinking that when they had the ability to sprinkle pixie dust during the year of a million dreams that it probably added to their enthusiasm. 
Food: Due to the extra costs associated with this vacation now, we only ate table service twice, once at Whispering Canyon and once at BOG. We greatly enjoyed both experiences. The food was good and the waiter at BOG and waitress at WC were superb! They were fun, enthusiastic, and attentive. Oh wait, we also ate at Sci Fi the last night at the spur of the moment. It was our first time there. That place is a dream for anyone needing some quiet time away from the crowds. I have never eaten at such a quiet restaurant. Our quick service at Connections was meh, France QS was very good, Columbia Harbor House yummy (we always get the clam chowder and hush puppies), and Roaring Forks had a good breakfast. Geyser Point was a standout for us. The food was delicious and such a nice setting eating outside by the lake. 

Overall, we had a wonderful trip. My DD loved it. I enjoyed everything we did. That said, I did not feel that magical feeling the way I have on our past 6 trips. I couldn’t really put my finger on why. We rode all the rides we wanted to, the crowds were manageable, and we didn’t have any negative experiences. Due to the cost increases and the lack of that magical feel, I think we will wait until my daughter has kids to return. I know one day we will want them to experience it, but in the meantime there are other destinations on our bucket list. With me pushing 60 soon, I want to hit those other destinations, so we will give Disney time to make the adjustments they so desperately need before we return. The memories we have of our trips are all worth storing in our minds, and we are grateful beyond words for having the opportunity to go this year at Christmas.


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## MrWreckless

Just got back from a week long trip and wanted to share a note on Genie+ and Standby Skipper.

We are not rope droppers, or mid day break people.  We enter the parks around 10 and we stay until closing.  During research on the best Genie+ strategies i came across a tool called Standby Skipper.  Ive seen it mentioned here a couple times as well but there werent many hands on user reports.  Also there isnt much activity on their socials so i was a bit leery at first using it especially since they need to be added as a friend on your MDE, but i decided what the heck, if anything bad happens ill just dispute the charge.  

So the way this thing works is if you have Genie+ you can use the Standby Skipper to book LL passes for you.  You just tell it a time frame for which to search (ASAP, Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Within 2 Hours) and its starts searching and if something pops up meeting your parameters then it books it for you.  

So me being the type of person that likes to sleep in, i figured id use this tool to book a LL for mid morning while im still asleep at 7am.  The previous night i purchased Genie+ and then told SS to book a pass for Peter Pan in the morning, figuring since the park opens at 9am id have until 10:10 to make it to Peter Pan if the thing worked that well.  Guess what, i woke up to a booked LL for Peter Pan at 9am. It worked.  I then told it to book a LL for SM ASAP.  The tool knew the earliest i could book again was 11.  When 11 rolled around i was in the middle of the HM ride, when i left the ride i checked my phone and the SM pass was sitting right there in my account. 

So SS does its job well, it books while you are asleep and while you are in the middle of a ride.  But the absolute best thing about the app is that it still grabs LL passes when MDE says there arent any more available. I told SS to search for LL passes for the following rides for which MDE showed there was ZERO LL availability: BTMR, Jingle Cruise, MF:SR, Frozen, Test Track, and Space Mountain.  It took a max of 20 minutes for the app to find each of those LL, even with MDE showing as unavailable.  Sure you could have found them also with CONSTANT refreshing but thats not how i want to spend my vacation, let someone else do the dirty work for me.


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## WIll C

MrWreckless said:


> Just got back from a week long trip and wanted to share a note on Genie+ and Standby Skipper.
> 
> We are not rope droppers, or mid day break people.  We enter the parks around 10 and we stay until closing.  During research on the best Genie+ strategies i came across a tool called Standby Skipper.  Ive seen it mentioned here a couple times as well but there werent many hands on user reports.  Also there isnt much activity on their socials so i was a bit leery at first using it especially since they need to be added as a friend on your MDE, but i decided what the heck, if anything bad happens ill just dispute the charge.
> 
> So the way this thing works is if you have Genie+ you can use the Standby Skipper to book LL passes for you.  You just tell it a time frame for which to search (ASAP, Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Within 2 Hours) and its starts searching and if something pops up meeting your parameters then it books it for you.
> 
> So me being the type of person that likes to sleep in, i figured id use this tool to book a LL for mid morning while im still asleep at 7am.  The previous night i purchased Genie+ and then told SS to book a pass for Peter Pan in the morning, figuring since the park opens at 9am id have until 10:10 to make it to Peter Pan if the thing worked that well.  Guess what, i woke up to a booked LL for Peter Pan at 9am. It worked.  I then told it to book a LL for SM ASAP.  The tool knew the earliest i could book again was 11.  When 11 rolled around i was in the middle of the HM ride, when i left the ride i checked my phone and the SM pass was sitting right there in my account.
> 
> So SS does its job well, it books while you are asleep and while you are in the middle of a ride.  But the absolute best thing about the app is that it still grabs LL passes when MDE says there arent any more available. I told SS to search for LL passes for the following rides for which MDE showed there was ZERO LL availability: BTMR, Jingle Cruise, MF:SR, Frozen, Test Track, and Space Mountain.  It took a max of 20 minutes for the app to find each of those LL, even with MDE showing as unavailable.  Sure you could have found them also with CONSTANT refreshing but thats not how i want to spend my vacation, let someone else do the dirty work for me.


Thanks for trying this out! I wonder how long until Disney pushes back to stop this?


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## igrsod

WIll C said:


> Thanks for trying this out! I wonder how long until Disney pushes back to stop this?


I feel like Disney should add these features to Genie +... then it might be something I would buy.  I just don't like so many things in the way that Genie + works.  Standby Skipper helps to alleviate some of those.


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## gottalovepluto

mwmom said:


> …Best Christmas overlay goes to Land of the Living...


Makes me want to see a Land of the Dead overlay for Halloween


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## Smugpugmug

WIll C said:


> Thanks for trying this out! I wonder how long until Disney pushes back to stop this?


Yeah, I have a feeling that Disney will try to stop this, especially since a lot more people are talking about it. If Standby Skipper costs money to use, then Disney will absolutely stop it. I do find it funny that Genie+ is such a pain to use that you have to download third party apps to improve the experience lol


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## Jrb1979

Smugpugmug said:


> Yeah, I have a feeling that Disney will try to stop this, especially since a lot more people are talking about it. If Standby Skipper costs money to use, then Disney will absolutely stop it. I do find it funny that Genie+ is such a pain to use that you have to download third party apps to improve the experience lol


Genie+ becomes a pain due to most people trying to make it like FP+.  Everyone is trying to stack and setup their day like they did with FP. Genie+ doesn't work well when you do that. 

I still think they should have went with the Universal system but without the free ones. I would have priced it at $150 per person for hoppers and MK. $100 per person at all other parks.


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## wilkydelts

Any one giving a 3rd Party website access to their MDE is tempting fate. Massive risk, little reward


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## Smugpugmug

Jrb1979 said:


> Genie+ becomes a pain due to most people trying to make it like FP+.  Everyone is trying to stack and setup their day like they did with FP. Genie+ doesn't work well when you do that.
> 
> I still think they should have went with the Universal system but without the free ones. I would have priced it at $150 per person for hoppers and MK. $100 per person at all other parks.


I'm not going into any of that here as I don't want to derail the thread. Enough people are having trouble with Genie+ if a third party app that books lightning lanes for you was created. On their site, it does say that they are charging money for this so I think this will eventually be blocked by Disney.


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## Jrb1979

Smugpugmug said:


> I'm not going into any of that here as I don't want to derail the thread. Enough people are having trouble with Genie+ if a third party app that books lightning lanes for you was created. On their site, it does say that they are charging money for this so I think this will eventually be blocked by Disney.


I still maintain the reason so many are having difficulty is they are trying to get return times that work for their day. The way it's supposed to work is you open Genie+ and take what's available.


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## MrWreckless

Jrb1979 said:


> I still maintain the reason so many are having difficulty is they are trying to get return times that work for their day. The way it's supposed to work is you open Genie+ and take what's available.



But what if "whats available" doesnt work for your day at that point in time?  I mean lets be honest, nobody is buying Genie+ because they want to skip a 10 minute queue for the tea cups.  If Disney thinks people want to do that and will feel as though the system was worth their money then they need to get rid of the whole thing right now.  People want to skip the line for the headliners and maximize the number of those they can ride. Its the entire selling point of the system.  

You go to the MK and you want to see the parade, you want to see the fireworks, you may have a dining reservation, etc....all these other things that take up portions of your day. You cant just "take whats available" because whats available may fall into the same bucket of time as the parade or fireworks you want to see.  

If im paying for a booking system why wouldnt i want to book for times where i can maximize my park time and money?


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## lugnut33

Jrb1979 said:


> I still maintain the reason so many are having difficulty is they are trying to get return times that work for their day. The way it's supposed to work is you open Genie+ and take what's available.


Not sure about that.  Disney literally advertises G+ as "service offers convenience and flexibility".


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## leeniewdw

mom2rtk said:


> We were there on Marathon Sunday this year. Roads and paths in and around World Showcase and Future World were impacted. Paths were split to make room for the runners. Foot traffic was held up to be allowed across in between groups of runners. Characters weren't out in the World Showcase until later in the afternoon.
> 
> That said, we still had a lovely day and it wasn't a huge deal. But we purposely chose to go on Marathon Sunday because we knew we could arrive by Skyliner. I can't address any transportation issues you might have since I don' t know where you're staying.



Thanks for that feedback!  We are staying at POP (took a little work to get there as this trip was delayed due to hurricane Nicole and we had to move our trip), so we were thinking arriving via Int’l Gateway would help.


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## mom2rtk

leeniewdw said:


> Thanks for that feedback!  We are staying at POP (took a little work to get there as this trip was delayed due to hurricane Nicole and we had to move our trip), so we were thinking arriving via Int’l Gateway would help.


Perfect! As long as the Skyliner is running, you should be good to go. When we were there in January, we had breakfast at Topolino on our way to Epcot that morning. Line was running and all was grand. Those heading to DHS weren't as lucky. That line was down.

We'll be there heading to DHS this year on Marathon Sunday. See you at the Skyliner station!


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## KGolf31

wilkydelts said:


> Any one giving a 3rd Party website access to their MDE is tempting fate. Massive risk, little reward



Not only this, but for the actual implementation of this app is using it's clients data (IE you have to allow access to your MDE) for allow the third party app itself to leverage it's querying system. 

IE - If they are having 10 people utilize this app for a given single day, a workflow of how it works could consist of the following:

Person 1: Skipper uses their MDE Account to access the API of Disney's G+ to poll current line status, availability etc
10 seconds later, Person 2
20 seconds later, Person 3
etc etc

By spreading out the querying system, they are probably masking some attempts to not get caught by Disney (instead of constantly refreshing data with 1 person every 5 seconds for example)

They're probably using YOUR data to help their data and thus help other customers of theirs obtain the information they need and make the whole system work. 

You are paying this app to make the whole system work. It seems very sketch.


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## MrWreckless

KGolf31 said:


> Not only this, but for the actual implementation of this app is using it's clients data (IE you have to allow access to your MDE) for allow the third party app itself to leverage it's querying system.
> 
> IE - If they are having 10 people utilize this app for a given single day, a workflow of how it works could consist of the following:
> 
> Person 1: Skipper uses their MDE Account to access the API of Disney's G+ to poll current line status, availability etc
> 10 seconds later, Person 2
> 20 seconds later, Person 3
> etc etc
> 
> By spreading out the querying system, they are probably masking some attempts to not get caught by Disney (instead of constantly refreshing data with 1 person every 5 seconds for example)
> 
> They're probably using YOUR data to help their data and thus help other customers of theirs obtain the information they need and make the whole system work.
> 
> You are paying this app to make the whole system work. It seems very sketch.



That’s not what it’s doing at all.

The app used next to none of my data at all the entire week I was using it. And when I say next to none I mean a couple kb, it used a FRACTION of the data compared to apps I don’t even use.

I ran queries using the Lines app ONE day and it used 1200 times more data than SS used all week.


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## leeniewdw

KGolf31 said:


> Not only this, but for the actual implementation of this app is using it's clients data (IE you have to allow access to your MDE) for allow the third party app itself to leverage it's querying system.
> 
> IE - If they are having 10 people utilize this app for a given single day, a workflow of how it works could consist of the following:
> 
> Person 1: Skipper uses their MDE Account to access the API of Disney's G+ to poll current line status, availability etc
> 10 seconds later, Person 2
> 20 seconds later, Person 3
> etc etc
> 
> By spreading out the querying system, they are probably masking some attempts to not get caught by Disney (instead of constantly refreshing data with 1 person every 5 seconds for example)
> 
> They're probably using YOUR data to help their data and thus help other customers of theirs obtain the information they need and make the whole system work.
> 
> You are paying this app to make the whole system work. It seems very sketch.





MrWreckless said:


> That’s not what it’s doing at all.
> 
> The app used next to none of my data at all the entire week I was using it. And when I say next to none I mean a couple kb, it used a FRACTION of the data compared to apps I don’t even use.
> 
> I ran queries using the Lines app one day and it used 1200 times more data.



Are we talking about the same “data”?  I think the first poster is talking about your information as stored and used in MDE, not your mobile data.   

However I’m not really familiar with this new app/service aside from what’s been posted here.

I think the original concern is the sharing of your personal/MDE information with a 3rd party.   But I could be wrong.


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## KGolf31

leeniewdw said:


> Are we talking about the same “data”?  I think the first poster is talking about your information as stored and used in MDE, not your mobile data.
> 
> However I’m not really familiar with this new app/service aside from what’s been posted here.
> 
> I think the original concern is the sharing of your personal/MDE information with a 3rd party.   But I could be wrong.


No, we're not.

By allowing SS to access your MDE account, they're using physical (or virtual really it doesn't matter) servers on their end to process all the data and send/receive requests. They're not using your actual phone to use as actual "backend" for the processing requests. They are, however most likely masking these requests across multiple MDE accounts. 

It's complex to explain, but SS saying all you need to do is add them to your F&F within MDE is simply not telling the whole story and is indeed violating some sort of privacy agreement Disney has in place (presumably)


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## scrappinginontario

Please take this thread back to discussing actual, 'Here Now and Just Back' experiences as the SS system can be a thread all unto it's own.

Thanks.


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## MrWreckless

KGolf31 said:


> No, we're not.
> 
> By allowing SS to access your MDE account, they're using physical (or virtual really it doesn't matter) servers on their end to process all the data and send/receive requests. They're not using your actual phone to use as actual "backend" for the processing requests. They are, however most likely masking these requests across multiple MDE accounts.
> 
> It's complex to explain, but SS saying all you need to do is add them to your F&F within MDE is simply not telling the whole story and is indeed violating some sort of privacy agreement Disney has in place (presumably)



Y’all are making this a LOT more complex than what actually needs to happen.

There are multiple public data feeds that tell you the exact wait time and LL return time for every ride at WDW.  All SS needs to do is monitor those feeds, once it sees a return time that matches a customer request it then books the LL for that customer.

It doesn’t need to piggy back off customers data or use dummy MDE accounts to run its own queries.

Sites like Thrill Data that publish this stuff is what makes SS possible this easy. The level of complexity here is akin to something you may see in a mid level programming course in college.


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## scrappinginontario

Since I wasn't clear enough it appears, *discussions re: Standby Skipper and those not directly referring to an actual 'Here Now and Just Back' experience will be deleted.  Please keep this thread on topic as it is a great resource for those planning upcoming trips.*

There are many places on the boards to discuss these matters.  This thread is dedicated to sharing 'Here Now and Just Back' experience.

After this, off topic posts may be deleted.


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## Gentry2004

Any recent experiences with seeing Fantasmic? Either with dining package or standby?


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## Kirsti

Gentry2004 said:


> Any recent experiences with seeing Fantasmic? Either with dining package or standby?


We saw it on Monday night on standby. We were originally planning on seeing the later show, but wound up at Rocking Rollercoaster at around 20 minutes before the first show. We walked in and got seated with no problems and people were coming in after us. They were mostly filling up the extreme side ends by that point, but we chose to sit above the walkway, a little more centrally. Absolutely good enough, and it got us back to the resort earlier.


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## Carol_

Three days four parks.

Day 1: MK on Sunday, Dec 11, Bought Genie+ and ILL for SDMT. Stayed off property so no extra magic hours, and we didn’t rope drop but we rode everything we wanted to and got a Speedway Driver’s License… which I had not noticed in years prior but DS7 loved it. Crowds were not bad.

Day 2: HS on Monday, Dec 12. Bought Genie+ and ILL for ROTR. Late start again, rode everything we wanted. Heavier crowds. Stayed at OKW 1BR near hospitality house, plumber knocked that evening to investigate a leak noticed by neighbors. (We enjoyed hot showers and the jacuzzi tub before the plumber knocked.) Mobile ordered breakfast from Olivia’s and ate on our outdoor table overlooking a fountain.
30%off discount with DVC and AP today so shopping happened.

Day 3: Epcot on Tuesday, Dec 13. Again no rope dropping. And this time, no Genie+, but I did buy the ILL for Guardians, which was cool and not at all as nauseating as I had expected. Lunch at Seven Dragons, great duck bao buns. Test Track standby line took forever but DS7 loved designing a car and everything that comes after the ride.

Hopped to AK. Bad idea. Arrived after safari ride (and all animal attractions) had shut down and it was raining. Waited a very long 40 minutes (felt like 60) for Navi River ride that DH likes but I do not…

Checked into  AKL Kidani for the evening after dark so couldn’t see the animals through the windows of the 8 mile walk to our studio room. Is it supposed to be missing a bedside table? The Joffrey’s coffee was good. We wrote letters to Santa in the library and a letter appeared to us from Santa that very evening under our door! Bought ready to eat salad, lunchables, and yogurt from the shop and called it a night. Watched keepers scooping poop by flashlight. Can’t say that wasn’t entertaining.

December 14. Swam in the Kidani pool and spa, then off to Boma for last minute breakfast reservation that we almost missed. It was fantastic. I’m not as in love with the Bobodi as Pete is, but the baked ham, asparagus, baked treats, and bread pudding were great. Service was lovely.

H2O shampoo, conditioner, and body wash were available in both OKW and AKL bathrooms. I begged for a free razor from the concierge at OKW and they granted my wish. The magic is still here.


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## thanxfornoticin

Kirsti said:


> We saw it on Monday night on standby. We were originally planning on seeing the later show, but wound up at Rocking Rollercoaster at around 20 minutes before the first show. We walked in and got seated with no problems and people were coming in after us. They were mostly filling up the extreme side ends by that point, but we chose to sit above the walkway, a little more centrally. Absolutely good enough, and it got us back to the resort earlier.


Sorry if this has been asked before, but is the Fantastic show the same/similar to what it was when they stopped it for so long?


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## Gentry2004

thanxfornoticin said:


> Sorry if this has been asked before, but is the Fantastic show the same/similar to what it was when they stopped it for so long?



I think there may be one or two different scenes/characters but largely yes its the same. (I think.)


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## cjlong88

thanxfornoticin said:


> Sorry if this has been asked before, but is the Fantastic show the same/similar to what it was when they stopped it for so long?


It is largely the same with some new scenes -- word on the street from most guests is that it's wonderful, and arguably the best nighttime show right now.


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## jvalic33

I'm interested in this Standby Skipper thing....are we not "allowed" to talk about it on the boards?  I know you mentioned not to post about here but the only other post I can find on it was shut down.

Just curious because I trust people here and would like some guidance.  I'm all for not having to wake up at both  midnight and 7am for Genie plus.


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## scrappinginontario

jvalic33 said:


> I'm interested in this Standby Skipper thing....are we not "allowed" to talk about it on the boards?  I know you mentioned not to post about here but the only other post I can find on it was shut down.
> 
> Just curious because I trust people here and would like some guidance.  I'm all for not having to wake up at both  midnight and 7am for Genie plus.



You can start a thread to ask for experiences if you wish.  The closed thread was closed for a different reason.


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## jvalic33

scrappinginontario said:


> You can start a thread to ask for experiences if you wish.  The closed thread was closed for a different reason.


Ok, thank you.


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## mickey916

Just returned from a 9 day trip. Here's an FYI for those of you shopping around the world in Epcot, the AP discount is different depending on the country/store. We were given a 20% discount in France, Italy, Norway, Canada, UK, and Germany. (We bought one treat in each country for our sons who couldn't join us on this trip). China only gave a 10% discount and Japan said no discount. I believe now the discount may be up to 30% but this was last week. Just be aware it's not consistent throughout World Showcase.


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## only hope

mickey916 said:


> Just returned from a 9 day trip. Here's an FYI for those of you shopping around the world in Epcot, the AP discount is different depending on the country/store. We were given a 20% discount in France, Italy, Norway, Canada, UK, and Germany. (We bought one treat in each country for our sons who couldn't join us on this trip). China only gave a 10% discount and Japan said no discount. I believe now the discount may be up to 30% but this was last week. Just be aware it's not consistent throughout World Showcase.



All WDW owned & operated stores have the same discount, which is currently 30%. Some of the pavilions are not operated by Disney and discounts are at the discretion of the operator.


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## liquid17

Just left this morning (still in the airport as our flight was delayed) and I will say that there was plenty of magic!!!  We hadn't been diwn since January 2019 and the only difference we noticed was that housekeeping did less/only came every other day.

Very glad we were able to go back!


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## Smugpugmug

mickey916 said:


> Just returned from a 9 day trip. Here's an FYI for those of you shopping around the world in Epcot, the AP discount is different depending on the country/store. We were given a 20% discount in France, Italy, Norway, Canada, UK, and Germany. (We bought one treat in each country for our sons who couldn't join us on this trip). China only gave a 10% discount and Japan said no discount. I believe now the discount may be up to 30% but this was last week. Just be aware it's not consistent throughout World Showcase.


The store in the Japan pavilion is not owned by Disney so they don't accept the AP discount. In the past they didn't accept Disney gift cards either.


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## accm

Can someone who's been recently confirm that the Mickey meet and greet at Town Square Theatre is still using the automated cameras? It'll be my 2 year old's first time getting to hug Mickey, and I'd rather have a photopass photographer for it, so we'll plan to go elsewhere.


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## lovethattink

accm said:


> Can someone who's been recently confirm that the Mickey meet and greet at Town Square Theatre is still using the automated cameras? It'll be my 2 year old's first time getting to hug Mickey, and I'd rather have a photopass photographer for it, so we'll plan to go elsewhere.


Few weeks ago it was automated at Mickey. Also at Chewbacca at Launch Bay.


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## RoyandWalt

We returned Monday from a 10 day trip.  Stayed off property and didn’t go into the parks everyday.  The magic is still there for us and especially our adult son with autism.  Watching both Christmas party parades and Fantasmic is the happiest we have seen him in some time, and he is generally a happy guy.  DAS worked great for us, never needed Genie +, but it definitely helps to know the parks as well as we do.  I miss going 3 times a year but what is now our annual trip during Christmas season is wonderful, especially the week after Thanksgiving when the crowds aren’t bad.  Only problem is I’m in my usual post-WDW funk right now.


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## accm

lovethattink said:


> Few weeks ago it was automated at Mickey. Also at Chewbacca at Launch Bay.


Thank you. Do you know if any of the other Mickey meet and greets had a real person?


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## emmabelle

accm said:


> Thank you. Do you know if any of the other Mickey meet and greets had a real person?



If you have the Disney Visa the line today in Epcot next to Figment was only like 15 minutes.  I was there mid afternoon and I saw Mickey and Goofy in their 50th outfits.  It was a photographer taking the pictures


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## 2letterwords

accm said:


> Thank you. Do you know if any of the other Mickey meet and greets had a real person?





emmabelle said:


> If you have the Disney Visa the line today in Epcot next to Figment was only like 15 minutes.  I was there mid afternoon and I saw Mickey and Goofy in their 50th outfits.  It was a photographer taking the pictures



Just a heads up that it isn't always Mickey. Last time we visited it was Minnie and Goofy. But it is nice that it's an actual photographer taking the pictures.


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## vleeth

emmabelle said:


> If you have the Disney Visa the line today in Epcot next to Figment was only like 15 minutes.  I was there mid afternoon and I saw Mickey and Goofy in their 50th outfits.  It was a photographer taking the pictures


Is this a free download now?  I know many years ago they gave a print.


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## lovethattink

accm said:


> Thank you. Do you know if any of the other Mickey meet and greets had a real person?


I do not know. Sorry. But I will try to find out.


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## lovethattink

accm said:


> Thank you. Do you know if any of the other Mickey meet and greets had a real person?


I asked and was told EPCOT at Pixar entrance if Mickey is there.

Our MK automated photos didn’t get bad at all. Here’s my son and Mickey.


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## accm

lovethattink said:


> I asked and was told EPCOT at Pixar entrance if Mickey is there.
> 
> Our MK automated photos didn’t get bad at all. Here’s my son and Mickey.


Thank you! Your photos turned out great!


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## Victoria3

vleeth said:


> Is this a free download now?  I know many years ago they gave a print.


It’s free digital downloads.

Sorcerer Mickey at Hollywood Studios has a human photo pass photographer.


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## lovethattink

accm said:


> Thank you! Your photos turned out great!


Thank you!


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## emmabelle

Last night we went to Disney Springs.  Holy Moley, it was so crowded you could barely walk.  We stayed an hour and left.


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## kylenne

emmabelle said:


> Last night we went to Disney Springs.  Holy Moley, it was so crowded you could barely walk.  We stayed an hour and left.



I make it a rule never to go to DS on weekends anyway but wild horses couldn’t drag me there the Saturday before Xmas. You have to remember what for tourists is part of WDW is for locals their area outdoor mall/“lifestyle center”.


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## lovethattink

kylenne said:


> I make it a rule never to go to DS on weekends anyway but wild horses couldn’t drag me there the Saturday before Xmas. You have to remember what for tourists is part of WDW is for locals their area outdoor mall/“lifestyle center”.


Plus many AP are blocked out of the parks and are offered up to 30% off for a limited time. Disney Springs is the place to go when blocked out.


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## 2xcited2sleep

On another thread, a poster reported that resort package delivery was back at one of the All Star resorts as of last week.  Can anyone confirm and/or has anyone seen it at other resorts?


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## scrappinginontario

2xcited2sleep said:


> On another thread, a poster reported that resort package delivery was back at one of the All Star resorts as of last week.  Can anyone confirm and/or has anyone seen it at other resorts?



Honestly, that’s a very good question as the MDE app says it is available





But the Disney website says it’s paused.



So…we don’t really know.

Considering it hasn’t been shouted from the rooftops nor announced on the News thread, I wouldn’t count on it but it sure would be nice.  I know many are waiting!!


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## kylenne

scrappinginontario said:


> Considering it hasn’t been shouted from the rooftops nor announced on the News thread, I wouldn’t count on it but it sure would be nice. I know many are waiting!!


I’m definitely one of them. Package delivery was the resort perk I missed the most after RAC. Hauling a droid and a huge bag full of souvenirs back from DHS in the pouring rain was not fun last summer.


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## Castlequeen5

That’s funny.  I just heard a guest explaining that perk today, while waiting in line.  And there was a table set up at the main, big gift shop in Epcot.  I almost went there to check out, but realized it was something else.  I think it was for packages, but I’m not sure.  I will ask tomorrow when I go to the parks.


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